Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Shareholder Engagement by Large Institutional Investors

While shareholder engagement has captured much attention recently, the evidence on the role of large institutional investors remains relatively scarce. Large asset managers have become an increasingly powerful force since the financial crisis of 2008, with the top 20 managers controlling together almost 22% of votes in the FTSE 350 companies. The prevailing view, however, holds that large fund families avoid active shareholder engagement. This study aims to contribute to the ongoing discussions about the stewardship role of large institutional investors by identifying the biggest investors in UK listed companies and revealing how these institutional investors behave and vote at shareholders’ meetings. The results show growing shareholder stewardship efforts by large asset managers, including index (often described as passive) fund managers, over the last five years and thus challenge some common assumptions about large institutional investors. The study also reveals that the primary target of these engagement efforts has been corporate governance standards, rather than business strategy or performance. These findings have important implications and will better inform discussions and efforts to build regulatory frameworks for effective shareholder engagement in publicly-traded companies. The results suggest that regulators need to remain realistic by not placing impractical engagement expectations on large institutional investors alone. To go beyond corporate governance engagement, regulatory efforts need to take a broader approach towards investor stewardship and shareholder rights. In particular, hedge funds and other shareholder activists can improve corporate strategy and performance engagement by supplying large asset managers with firm-specific information through activist demands.
Developed river deltas: are they sustainable?

Background. Coastal river deltas provide multiple ecosystem services. Many deltas serve as major centers of agriculture, industry and commerce. The annual economic benefits derived from major deltas are often a substantial fraction of a country’s GDP. Yet, many deltas are losing land due to erosion, subsidence and subsequent flooding. Such vulnerabilities are often increased due to local land and water management decisions, relative sea-level rise, and increases in climate extremes. Aim of this review. Considerable literature exists addressing the formation of deltas and the effects of increasing urbanization, industrialization and crop and fish production, increases in relative sea level rise, and decreasing sediment deposition. This leads to the question: are the economic, environmental, ecological and social benefits derived from developed river deltas sustainable? This review focuses on this question. Methods/Design. Over 180 published documents were identified and reviewed using various search engines and key words. These key words included river deltas; delta sustainability, vulnerability, resilience, coasts, ecology, hazards, erosion, water management, urbanization, reclamation, agriculture, governance, pollution, geomorphology, economic development, socio-economic changes, and delta wetlands; relative sea level change; sediment trapping; sand mining; salinity intrusion; coastal restoration; estuarine engineering; shoreline evolution; estuarine processes; and the names of specific river basin deltas. Review Results/Synthesis and Discussion. Deltas provide humans important resources and ecosystem services leading to their intensive development. The impacts of this development, together with sea-level rise, threatens the sustainability of many river deltas. Various management and governance measures are available to help sustain deltas. Controls on land use, improved farming and transport technology, wetland habitat protection, and d improved governance are some that might help sustain the economic and ecological services provided by deltas. However, increased population growth and the impacts of climate change will put increased pressure on deltas and the benefits derived from them.
Clulas glandulares atpicas em esfregaos cervicovaginais: significncia e aspectos atuais

Atypical glandular cells (AGC) on cervical smears are unusual but important cytologic diagnosis. The incidence of AGC ranges from 0.08% to 0.81 % of all cervical smears tests. The 2001 Bethesda System nomenclature classifies these glandular lesions as AGC not otherwise specified, AGC favor neoplasia, endocervical adenocarcinoma in situ (AIS) and invasive adenocarcinoma. Of women with AGC smears, a great number will have no histologic abnormalities on further evaluation. However, 17.4% to 62.2% are found to have significant histologic lesions such as cervical intraepithelial neoplasia, AIS, squamous and glandular cancers from sites farther the cervix and endometrium. The risk of significant disease is related to the AGC subclassification that was found. Because of the high likelihood that AGC is associated with significant histological disease, simply repeating the cytological smear is not sufficient for the management of this condition. This review describes the epidemiology, evaluation and management of patients with these citologic readings.
Characteristics Affecting Medical Consultation Or Non-Consultation For Chronic Pain In Adults In The United States

Chronic pain (CP) is a prevalent and debilitating chronic condition, but nearly one in five people with CP do not consult a health care profession for their symptoms. This thesis addresses the extent and characteristics of non-consultation for CP in the United States. I develop a model of non-consultation for people reporting CP that is informed by a biopsychosocial perspective. This preliminary model proposes that symptoms, individual and social characteristics, and access to health care jointly contribute to the choice to consult a health care provider about CP. This model is tested in a large, national sample of adults, the MacArthur Study of Midlife in the United States II (MIDUS II). Results indicate that severity of pain symptoms and having health insurance are the most influential factors predicting consultation for CP. This is consistent with previous research on care-seeking for CP and theories of medical care usage that are not specific to CP. Despite the pertinence of a biopsychosocial perspective on the pain experience, measures that represented the social and psychological context of pain were not significant predictors of non-consultation for CP.
Internal Reasons and the Problem of Climate Change

Climate action is conventionally framed in terms of overcoming epistemic and practical disagreement. An alternative view is to treat people’s understandings of climate change as fundamentally pluralistic and to conceive of climate action accordingly. This paper explores this latter perspective through a framework of philosophical psychology, in particular Bernard Williams’s distinction between internal and external reasons. This illuminates why the IPCC’s framework of ‘Reasons for Concern’ has an inefficacious relationship to people’s concerns and, hence, why additional reason giving is required. Accordingly, this paper recommends a model of truthful persuasion, which acknowledges the plurality of people’s motivations and sincerely strives to connect the facts of climate change to people’s subjective motivational sets.
Hemangioma heptico gigante asociado a sndrome de Kasabach-Merrit

Hepatic hemangioma is the most frequent liver’s tumor. The majority are small, asymptomatic and have an excellent progno sis. Those larger than 5 cm can be associated to a consumptive coagulopathy called Kasabach-Merrit syndrome. We present a pa tient with a giant hepatic hemangioma with multiple hemangimatosis associated to Kasabach-Merrit syndrome.
Abstract 19681: Endothelial PGC-1alpha Mediates Vascular Dysfunction in Diabetes

[Background] Endothelial dysfunction and aberrant angiogenesis is a hallmark of diabetes. How metabolic perturbations deteriorate endothelial function, however, still remains elusive. The transcriptional coactivator PPARgamma-coactivator-1alpha (PGC-1alpha) is a powerful regulator of metabolism in numerous cell types and is involved in the development of diabetes, but its role in endothelial cells remains poorly understood. [Objective] We hypothesized that PGC-1alpha may mediate endothelial dysfunction and aberrant neovascularization associated with diabetes. [Methods and Results] PGC-1alpha mRNA was upregulated by two to fivefold in cultured endothelial cells (ECs) following high glucose stimulation as well as in the ECs isolated from distinct diabetic mouse models (streptozocin-induced type I DM, high fat diet (HFD) feeding, and ob/ob mice). Forced expression of PGC-1alpha abolished VEGF and S1P-induced EC migration, and diminished the capacity of EPCs to undergo vasculogenesis. Conversely, pro-angiogenic factors like VEGF, sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) and NO rapidly downregulated PGC-1alpha in ECs, suggesting a role for PGC-1alpha in angiogenic signaling. Consistently, deletion of PGC-1alpha caused pronounced EC migration to a level comparable to that provoked by VEGF. Mechanistically, the angiostatic effect of PGC-1alpha was mediated through inhibition of Rac1 and Akt/eNOS pathway. Transgenic overexpression of PGC-1alpha in ECs in vivo recapitulated multiple diabetic phenotypes, including aberrant reendothelialization in response to carotid injury, wound healing, and blood flow recovery in response to hindlimb ischemia. Conversely, deletion of PGC-1alpha in ECs rescued wound healing dysfunction in type I and II diabetic animals, and restored blood flow recovery in type I diabetic animals with hindlimb ischemia. [Conclusion] Our data identify EC PGC-1alpha as a critical negative regulator of endothelial function and angiogenesis. Upregulation of PGC-1alpha by hyperglycemia renders ECs unable to properly undergo angiogenesis, and thus constitutes a critical mechanism underlying vascular dysfunction in diabetes.
Adding Neurally-inspired Mechanisms to the SceneWalk model improves Scan Path Predictions for Natural Images

The selection of ﬁxation locations during natural scene viewing depends in large part on image-dependent and observer-dependent factors. However, eye movement data from different images, viewers, and experimental designs also consistently contain systematic tendencies such as pronounced saccade angle distributions, return saccade statistics, and dependencies of these measures on ﬁxation duration. When modelling complete human scan paths during extended natural image viewing these systematic tendencies are critical. The SceneWalk model (Engbert et al., 2015) incorporates image-dependent information through saliency maps and uses attentional processing and inhibitory tagging mechanisms to dynamically generate scan paths. Currently, scan paths simulated with this approach only partially reproduce observed systematic tendencies. Here we propose adding several neurally-inspired mechanisms to the model to improve performance: pre-saccadic and post-saccadic attentional shifts as well as facilitation of return mechanisms. These mechanisms are well-established both in experiments and neurocognitive theories of vision. We ﬁnd that this extension improves the model to generate scan paths which are in qualitative agreement with empirical data. As the model is ﬁrmly theory-based, all parameters are biologically interpretable and thus permit evalu-ations of theoretical predictions of behavior. We also dis-cuss a fully Bayesian framework using adaptive Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods
Towards better diagnosis and monitoring of asthma and cystic fibrosis in children : the value of non-invasive inflammometry

Asthma and cystic fibrosis (CF) are very common chronic (children’s) lung diseases. Although chronic inflammation of the bronchial tubes is at the centre of the pathophysiology of asthma and CF, this inflammation does not hold a place in the diagnostics, treatment and monitoring of these disorders. The reason for this is that the current methods of measuring inflammation, such as broncoalveolar lavage or biopsy, are too invasive to be used as a routine. New non-invasive methods concern the analysis of exhaled air by measuring nitrogen monoxide or volatile organic components (VOCs) in exhaled air and analysis of biomarkers in exhaled air condensate. The research shows that exhaled air analysis is a good addition to conventional parameters such as symptoms, physical examination and lung function. This can improve the diagnostics and treatment of children with asthma and CF.
Biochemical and Histochemical Responses of Nonhost Resistance in Cucurbits to the Compatible and Incompatible Powdery Mildew Pathogens

Resistance shown by an entire plant species to a wide range of bacterial, fungal and viral pathogens is already mentioned as nonhost resistance (NHR) phenomenon. Here, the defense responses of cucumber, squash and pumpkin inoculated with two different pathogens of powdery mildew of compatible, which belong to genera Sphaerotheca fuliginea (Schlecht. Fr.) and incompatible, which belong to genera Leveillula taurica, cause powdery mildew of pepper were investigated. No visible symptoms were observed as a result of inoculation of cucurbits with nonadapted (incompatible) pathogen, while severe symptoms were occurred as a result of inoculation with compatible pathogen. Disease severity percentage was increased in all host plants inoculated with compatible pathogen relative to nonhost plants inoculated by incompatible pathogen. Levels of superoxide (O2 ) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) which are the major forms of reactive oxygen species (ROS) were increased and accumulated early after 1, 2 and 3 days from inoculation in the nonhost as compared with host plants. Activities of antioxidant enzymes such as catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POX) and polyphenol oxidase (PPO) in all tested nonhost plants inoculated with incompatible pathogen 1, 2 and 3 days after inoculation were less than host plants inoculated with compatible pathogen at the same time intervals. It seems that accumulation of ROS early in nonhost plants has the key role of inhibiting or killing the incompatible pathogen. Understanding the resistance responses of host and nonhost plants for identifying similarities and differences is needed for the practical application in crop improvement.
Les perturbateurs endocriniens : 25 ans déjà

robert.barouki@parisdescartes.fr S’il faut attribuer une date de naissance aux perturbateurs endocriniens (PE), la conférence de Wingspread en 1991 serait un choix assez judicieux. C’est là que différents chercheurs ont ouvert ce nouveau chapitre de la santé environnementale et de la toxicologie, bien que ses prémices soient bien antérieures [1]. Vingt-cinq ans donc, la majorité, un rayonnement incontestable auprès de très nombreux scientifiques, mais une identité qui reste contestée par certains et pas des moindres, puisque l’Europe continue à hésiter sur la définition même et sur l’impact possible. Pourtant, de nombreuses instances comme l’Organisation mondiale de la santé (OMS) ou les sociétés savantes n’hésitent pas ; il s’agit bien de substances exogènes modifiant l’homéostasie endocrinienne et entraînant de ce fait des manifestations pathologiques. Cette définition est assez exigeante, la plus grande difficulté étant de montrer que les effets toxiques sont bien liés au dérèglement endocrinien. On parlera alors, selon le poids des preuves, de perturbateurs endocriniens avérés, probables ou suspectés, voire possibles, un peu comme ce qui se passe pour les cancérogènes. C’est aux politiques ensuite d’avoir la charge de fixer les seuils de réglementation en fonction du niveau des preuves.
Cognitive and non-cognitive outcomes associated with student engagement in a novel brain mapping and connectomics course-based undergraduate research experience

Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) provide an innovative platform for engaging emergent scholars in the authentic process of scientific discovery. Current evidence indicates that CUREs are effective at fostering students’ development of content knowledge, motivation, and persistence in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. Importantly, CUREs simultaneously offer investigators unique access to an extended population of students who receive education and mentoring in conducting scientifically-relevant investigations and who are thus able to contribute effort toward big-data projects. While this paradigm benefits fields in neuroscience, such as atlas-based brain mapping of nerve cells at the tissue level, there are few documented cases of CUREs in the domain. Here, we describe a curriculum designed to address this deficit, evaluate the scientific merit of student-produced brain atlas maps of immunohistochemically-identified nerve cell populations for the rat brain, and assess shifts in science identity, science communication, and experimental design skills of students engaged in the introductory-level Brain Mapping and Connectomics (BM&C) CURE. BM&C students reported gains in research and science process skills following participation in the course. Furthermore, BM&C students experienced a greater sense of science identity, including a greater likelihood to discuss course activities with non-class members compared to their non-CURE counterparts. Importantly, evaluation of student-generated brain atlas maps indicated that the course enabled students to produce scientifically-valid products. Together, these findings support the efficacy of the BM&C course in addressing the relatively esoteric demands of chemoarchitectural brain mapping.
Do Firms Hedge in Order to Avoid Financial Distress Costs? New Empirical Evidence Using Bank Data

We present a new approach to test the financial distress costs theory of corporate hedging empirically. We estimate the ex ante expected financial distress costs, which serve as a starting point to construct further explanatory variables in an equilibrium setting, as a fraction of the value of an asset-or-nothing put option on the firm’s assets. Using single-contract data of the derivatives’ use of 189 German middle-market companies that stems from a major bank as well as Basel II default probabilities and historical accounting information, we are able to explain a significant share of the observed cross-sectional differences in hedge ratios. Hence, our analysis adds further support for the financial distress costs theory of corporate hedging from the perspective of a financial intermediary.
Proposition d’un modèle de sécurité pour la protection de données personnelles dans les systèmes basés sur l’internet des objets

Les technologies de l'Internet des objets (IdO) et de l'externalisation des services informatiques ont conduit a l'emergence de nouvelles menace sur la vie privee des utilisateurs. Cependant, l'implementation des moyens de securite traditionnels sur les equipements de l'IdO constitue un premier defi lie aux limites de capacites. D'un autre cote, la delegation du traitement et du stockage des donnees, nous pose le probleme de confiance envers les fournisseurs de service.Dans ce contexte, nous avons propose une solution de chiffrement qui assure une protection de donnees centree sur leurs proprietaires et adaptee a l'environnement contraignant des objets connectes. Ce modele se base sur le chiffrement par attributs avec externalisation securisee et la technologie de la Blockchain. Ensuite, en reponse a la problematique de la confiance et de la selection du service, nous avons explore les possibilites offertes par les outils de l'intelligence artificielle. Pour ce faire, nous avons propose un modele de filtrage collaboratif base sur les cartes de Kohonen avec une solution pour detecter les utilisateurs non fiable.
Convergence with IFRS in Malaysia

It is widely suggested in the literature that IFRS offer several advantages to the countries that have adopted IFRS or have converged their own standards with IFRS. The advantages include increased transparency and comparability of financial statements, enhanced quality of financial reporting and increased capital market efficiency. However, the standards issued by the International Accounting Standard Board (IASB) have been largely influenced by the institutional characteristics of developed economies. Hence, converging with IFRS in a developing country like Malaysia is not without issues and challenges.
Custo-Beneficio do dabigatrano etexilato na terapêutica antitrombótica na fibrilação auricular

Atrial fibrillation is the most common arrhythmia in clinical practice in Portugal. It is associated with thromboembolic complications, and therapy with oral anticoagulants an asset to the prevention of these complications. Dabigatran etexilate is a new oral anticoagulant that does not require monitoring of INR unlike traditional therapy with warfarin. It has, also, good efficacy, reducing the risk of stroke and the intracranial hemorrhage effectively. However is costly, hence cost-benefit studies are central to supporting medical choice in the decision to choose the oral anticoagulant. Dabigatran proved to be a cost-effective therapy in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation, especially in those who have moderate to high risk of stroke. Differences were reported in the results and may be explained based on the assumptions and parameter values assumed in the studies. KEY-WORDS: DABIGATRAN; ETEXILATE; ATRIAL; FIBRILLATION; COST; EFECTIVENESS; BENEFIT; ECONOMICS
DNA methylation biomarkers in stool for early screening of colorectal cancer

Objective: Detection of aberrant methylated genes in feces has been developed as an early screening method for colorectal cancer. The aim of this study was to probe the methylation status of SEPT9, BMP3, NDRG4, and SDC2 in stool and study whether methylation of these genes is associated with colorectal cancer. Materials and Methods: DNAs were isolated and purified from cancerous and non-cancerous stool samples and colorectal cancer tissue. Gene methylation levels were quantified by methylation-specific PCR on SEPT9, BMP3, NDRG4, and SDC2 and analyzed by a diagnostic model. Results: DNA methylation of SEPT9, NDRG4 and SDC2, but not BMP3, had diagnostic potential for detecting colorectal cancer. Moreover, integration of SEPT9, NDRG4, and SDC2 methylation demonstrated high feasibility for detecting colorectal cancer and adenoma, with better performance on colorectal cancer than adenoma. Conclusion: The methylation of SEPT9, NDRG4, and SDC2 in stool may be a potential biomarker for early screening of colorectal cancer.
British HIV Association (BHIVA) guidelines for treatment and management of HIV and Hepatitis C coinfection

5.0 Management 7 5.1 General Principles of Hepatitis C Therapy 7 Who to treat 7 When to start treatment 8 5.2 History of HCV treatment 8 Non-pegylated Interferon and Ribavirin 8 5.3 Recommended Treatment Options 9 Pegylated Interferon and Ribavirin 9 Pegylated versus conventional interferons 9 5.4 The interaction between Ribavirin and anti-retroviral agents 10 5.5 Non-responders and relapsers 10 5.6 Acute Hepatitis C 10