bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
What Interferes with the Similarity Between Free Lists Applied at Different Times?
Authors: Meireles Melise Pessôa Araujo , de Albuquerque Ulysses Paulino , de Medeiros Patrícia Muniz
Published: August 2020

AbstractBackground: The free list is an ethnographic method that characterizes the local knowledge of a population about a given cultural domain. However, there is still much to be elucidated about the variables that can influence the number of plants cited by the participants with the use of this technique. This study analyzed whether age and external stimuli influence the similarity of free lists applied at different times.Methods: Data was collected from 103 farmers from the rural community Alto dos Canutos, in the municipality of Picos, PI. For that purpose, two free lists were applied at two different times, with an interval of three months between them. Subsequently, the similarity between the first and second free lists of each participant was calculated using the Jaccard Similarity Index. The Generalized Linear Model (GLM) with binomial errors and stepwise approach was also used to analyze how age and external stimuli affect the collection of information when comparing the free lists applied at different times.Results: The age of the participants influenced the information collected in the free lists, demonstrating that the older the participants, the lower the similarity among the free lists. Among the external stimuli analyzed, only the presence of third parties influenced the content of the free lists at the time of the interview. However, contrary to expectations, it positively influenced the similarity of the lists. Conclusion: The results show that the studied variables can influence the capture of knowledge if the objective of the research is to influence the individual knowledge of the participants.
Myocardial Lschemia Reperfusion Injury is Alleviated by Curcumin-peptide Hydrogel via Upregulating Autophagy and Protecting Mitochondrial Function
Authors: Liao Chilin , Liu Yang , Huang Mengzhao , Liu Huayong , Ye Ziliang , Su Qiang
Published: August 2020

Background: Ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) is an important factor limiting the success of cardiac reperfusion therapy. Curcumin has a significant cardioprotective effect against IRI, can inhibit ventricular remodeling induced by pressure load or MI, and improve cardiac function. Patient: However, the poor water solubility and low bioavailability of curcumin restrict its clinical application. In this study, we prepared and evaluated a curcumin-hydrogel (cur-hydrogel) to reduce cardiomyocyte apoptosis and reactive oxygen species formation induced by hypoxia-reoxygenation injury, promote autophagy, and reduce mitochondrial damage by maintaining the phosphorylation of Cx43. Results: Meanwhile, cur-hydrogel can restore cardiac function, inhibit myocardial collagen deposition and apoptosis, and activate JAK2/STAT3 pathway to alleviate myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats. Conclusion: The purpose of this study is to elucidate the protective effects of cur-hydrogel on myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury by regulating apoptosis, autophagy and mitochondrial injury in vitro and in vivo, which lays a new theoretical and experimental foundation for the prevention and reduction of IRI.
Utilization of Electronic Medical Record and Associated Factors Among Health Professionals in Public Health Facilities With Service Delivery, Eastern Ethiopia
Authors: Oumer Abdu
Published: August 2020

Backgroundadoption of electronic medical record (EMR) systems in the healthcare delivery has the potential to transform healthcare in terms of saving costs, reducing medical errors, and data quality. However, even if a lots of efforts in the use of electronic health records, such systems have not been implemented and used at expected scale. Thus, his study assessed utilization of electronic medical record and associated factors among health professionals in Eastern Ethiopia.Methodsan institutional based analytic cross sectional study was conducted among randomly selected 412 health professionals from Harari and Dire Dawa, eastern Ethiopia using self-administered questioner. Binary logistic regression was performed for each independent variable against outcome variables (EMR utilization) to estimate the crude and adjusted odds ratio with 95% Confidence interval. P value less than 0.05 was used to declare statistical significance.Resultsa total of 412 health professionals from different category and educational level with mean age of 29 year (± 6.4 years) were interviewed. Majority of respondents were from Harari region (70.4%). A total of 229 (55.6%) and 300 (72.8%) of health professionals had good knowledge and attitude towards EMR for health facilities. About 279 (67.7%) reported that they use EMR in their facility currently with (54%) use it on daily basis. A total of 272(66%) of respondents reported to prefer EMR instead of paper based system. Health professional with more than five years’ experience had two times higher odds for using EMR (AOR = 2.22; 95% CI; 1.12–4.42) than early career workers (0–2 years of experience. Having previous EMR training were significantly more to use EMR (AOR = 5.88; 95% CI; 2.93–11.88) as compared to those who did not take training. In addition, having good knowledge (AOR = 1.52; 95% CI; 0.92–1.5) and good attitude on EMR system (AOR = 2.4; 95% CI; 1.35–4.31) had 50% and 140% more odds to use EMR in their facility.Conclusion and recommendationsutilization of EMR was found to be optimal and age, work experience, knowledge, attitude and training were positively associated with use of EMR in their facility. There should be organizational support, more specifically making the system full functional and targeted, timely, effective training packages for health professionals to improve their skills and attitudes.
Early results of COVID-19 pneumonia cases treated with Ultra-Low doses of Radiotherapy (ULTRA-COVID study)
Authors: Moreno-Olmedo Elena , Suárez-Gironzini Vladimir , Pérez Manuel , Filigheddu Teresa , Phys. Cristina Mínguez , Sanjuan-Sanjuan Alba , González José A. , Rivas Daniel , Gorospe Luis , Larrea Luis , Ph.D. Escarlata López
Published: August 2020

Introduction:Since the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare system has focused its effort to find a treatment to avoid the fatal outcome of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). Benefits and risks of systemic treatments are unclear. Radiotherapy could play a role in reducing the inflammatory response in the lungs and relieve life-threatening symptomsMethods:We designed a prospective study of Ultra-Low-Doses of Therapy with Radiation Applied to COVID-19 (ULTRA-COVID) for patients that are no candidates for invasive mechanical ventilation and show no improvement with medical therapy. (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04394182)Results:We present the preliminary results of two patients diagnosed with COVID-19 pneumonia treated with ULTRA-COVID. Significant clinical response is accompanied by lower radiological one, both have happened, achieving hospital discharge after 1 radiotherapy session over a period of 8 and 14 days, respectively.Conclusion:Preliminary clinical and radiological results suggest a potential benefit of treating COVID-19 pneumonia with ultra-LDRT.
COVID-19 Associated Anxiety Enhances Tinnitus: A Case Control Study
Authors: Chen Zhengnong , Xia Li , He Gang , Feng Yong , Yu Xiaoxu , Zhao Xiaolong , Yin Shankai , Wang Jian , Fan Jiangang , Dong Chuan
Published: August 2020

Background: The directional nature of the link between anxiety and tinnitus has not been verified. COVID-19 has added stress to involved residents and provided a good opportunity to discover if anxiety/stress plays a causative/promotive role to tinnitus. Methods: A retrospective research design was used to compare the tinnitus clinics between the patients in 2020 under COVID-19 and those from the matching period in 2019. While anxiety was quantified using the Zung’s Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), tinnitus severity was evaluated using the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) questionnaire and the test of minimum masking level (MML). The assessments were repeated after two months of therapy with sound therapy + educational counselling (STEC) or EC alone. Results: A large increase in anxiety was evident in 2020 in both case rate and SAS. The treatment of both methods was less effective in 2020. SAS, THI and MML were all deteriorated after the EC alone treatment in 2020, while an improvement was seen in 2019. Discussion: The differences between years and between treatment methods suggest that EC alone could not counteract the stress by COVID-19 at all, and the stress, if not managed well, can significantly increase the severity of tinnitus and associated anxiety.Conclusions: By using the EC subgroup in virtual control, we conclude that anxiety can serve as a promoting factor to tinnitus. We believe that this is the first study report that confirm the causative/promotive role of anxiety on tinnitus
­­­­The usage of Mate Select, a web-based selection tool for pedigree dogs for promoting sustainable breeding
Authors: Janes Mateja , Lewis Thomas W. , Ilska Joanna J. , Woolliams John A.
Published: August 2020

Background Inbreeding is a natural phenomenon, which accumulates through the mating of relatives within closed populations, such as pedigree dog breeds, and results in inbreeding depression and reduced genetic variation within breeds. The impact of inbreeding is driven by the selection and mating of parents, but information on choices to reduce inbreeding is difficult to assess for individual breeders. Tools to inform dog breeders on the current state of the inbreeding and the relationships among possible parents are potentially useful for providing guidance towards choices that are more beneficial to the breed. However, their utility depends on their usage and this study examines the overall usage of Mate Select, a web-based tool offered by The Kennel Club, covering 222 breeds for a period of 7 years following its launch in 2011. Results The average usage was 2830 searches/week in 2012 with a slight fall of 2.2% per year (P<0.001) to 2480 searches/week in 2018. Of these, 4% originated from outside the UK, across all continents except Antarctica, with the majority coming from English speaking countries. Searches/week showed a cyclical pattern with two cycles of 26 and 52 weeks. Sin­­­­ce Mate Select’s launch there has been a steady increase in searches from mobile devices, from 11% in 2012 to 43% in 2018. For the 197 breeds with more than 10 dams registered with the Kennel Club during the study period, there was a relationship between usage and registrations, with the average number of searches as a multiple of the number of dams increasing from 2 to 10 for breeds with up to 100 dams and declining towards 2 again for the largest breeds with approximately 20,000 registered dams. However, there remained substantial variation among breeds of similar size, and breeds for which EBVs had become available during the study period had a 1.8 fold greater frequency of searches per registered bitch (P<0.001), although this was not linked explicitly to the publication of EBVs.Conclusions Mate Select has sustained and substantial usage, although there is also substantial variation in usage among breeds, which offers an opportunity to develop further guidance.
Vitamin C Recycling Regulates Neurite Growth in Neurospheres Differentiated in Vitro
Authors: Espinoza Francisca , Magdalena Rocio , Saldivia Natalia , Jara Nery , Martínez Fernando , Ferrada Luciano , Salazar Katterine , Avila Felipe , Nualart Francisco
Published: August 2020

Background: The reduced form of vitamin C, ascorbic acid (AA), has been related to antioxidant defense as well as gene expression and cell differentiation in the cerebral cortex. In neurons, AA is mainly oxidized to dehydroascorbic acid (DHA); however, DHA cannot accumulate intracellularly because it induces metabolic changes and cell death. In this context, it has been proposed that vitamin C recycling via neuron-astrocyte coupling maintains AA levels and prevents DHA parenchymal accumulation. To date, the role of this mechanism during the outgrowth of neurites is unknown.Methods: To stimulate neuronal differentiation, adhered neurospheres treated with AA and retinoic acid (RA) were used. Neuritic growth was analyzed by confocal microscopy, and the effect of vitamin C recycling (bystander effect) in vitro was studied using different cells (astrocytes, HL60 and U87). Reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation was also analyzed by flow cytometry and protein carbonylation / carboximetil-lysine production.Results: AA stimulates neuritic growth more efficiently than RA. However, AA is oxidized to DHA in long incubation periods, generating a loss in the formation of neurites. Surprisingly, neurite growth is maintained over time following co-incubation of neurospheres with cells (HL60, U87, or astrocytes) that efficiently capture DHA (Bystander effect). In this sense, astrocytes have high capacity to recycle DHA and stimulate the maintenance of neurites. Finally, our data indicate that DHA induces ROS generation, a condition that results in protein carbonylation and carboximetil-lysine production. Conclusions: We have demonstrated that vitamin C recycling in vitro regulates the morphology of immature neurons during the differentiation and maturation processes.
Lung Macrophages Accumulate Novel Cytosolic Inclusions With Vaping: A Case Report From an Asymptomatic Habitual Vaper
Authors: Armstrong DA , Stan Radu V , Dessaint John , Aridgides Daniel S , Mellinger Diane L , Hazlett Haley F , Liu Xiaoying , Ashare Alix
Published: August 2020

Background: The effects of habitual vaping on lung health are currently unknown. Acute e-cigarette/vaping product use-associated lung injury (EVALI) has been highlighted recently in numerous cases across the U.S. Several EVALI case reports highlight alterations in lung macrophages, justifying investigation of this key immune sentinel of the lung in habitual vape device users. Methods: Histologic (Oil Red O stain) and transmission electron microscopy were used to evaluate BAL macrophages obtained from a habitual and asymptomatic 25-year-old female vaper. Results: Oil Red O stain evaluation of BAL macrophages demonstrate a prevalence of cells with high lipid accumulation in multiple, discrete cytoplasmic foci. At ultrastructural level, this translated in membrane-bound compartments filled with osmiophilic material of various densities segregated along curved phase separation lines reminiscent of suspensions of immiscible fluids. Conclusions: This ultrastructural pattern is unlike any other previously reported in aspiration syndromes and may represent a defining diagnostic feature of vapers.
PGRN Alleviates Cerebral Amyloid-β Burden and Cognitive Impairments via Mediating Neuroinflammation
Authors: Xu Wei , Tan Chen-Chen , Cao Xi-Peng , Yu Jin-Tai , Tan Lan
Published: August 2020

Background: Both progranulin (PGRN) and neuroinflammatory activities increased over the course of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In this study, we set out to determine if cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) PGRN could be a marker of neuroinflammation, and if so, how it contributed to AD pathogenesis and cognitive impairments. Methods: A total of 965 participants from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) were grouped within the framework of A-T-N biomarker profile and clinical stage. Causal mediation analyses with 10,000 bootstrapped iterations were conducted to explore the mediation effects of neuroinflammatory markers on the associations of PGRN with amyloid burden indicated by CSF β-amyloid (Aβ) levels. The longitudinal influences of PGRN on cognition were tested. Results: Increases of CSF PGRN and multiple neuroinflammatory markers (sTNFR1, sTNFR2, TGF-β1, VCAM1, and ICAM1) were associated with tau-related neurodegeneration, but not with Aβ pathology. PGRN was positively linked with these neuroinflammatory markers only in the presence of tau pathologies (TN+). In TN+ profile, PGRN was associated with higher CSF Aβ42 via mediating neuroinflammatory markers and could also predict slower cognitive decline. The abovementioned associations became non-significant in TN- profile. Conclusions: PGRN could protect against Aβ pathology and cognitive impairments via modulating neuroinflammation that occurs with neuronal injuries.
Direct and Indirect Therapeutic Effect of Traditional Chinese Medicine as an Additional Drug on Non-proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy: A systematic review and meta-analysis of high-quality studies
Authors: an Xuedong , jin de , duan liyun , zhao shenghui , zhou rongrong , lian fengmei , tong xiaolin
Published: August 2020

Bac﻿kground Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the leading cause of blindness in many countries. The current treatment of non-proliferative DR (NPDR) with Western medicine (WM) alone are still insufficient. At present, the treatment of NPDR with the combination of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and WM is universally applied, and we would evaluate the effectiveness and safety of TCM as an additional drug for NPDR with systematic reviews and meta-analysis. Method Data before July 6, 2019 were searched as randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of TCM for the treatment of NPDR with WM, which were collected from China National Knowledge Infrastructure , Wanfang Database , China Biomedical Database , Pubmed , Embase and Cochrane Library . Relevant data was extracted by two reviewers respectively. I 2 statistics was adopted to appraise the heterogeneity, if I 2 <50% then the fixed-effects model would be employed, otherwise the random-effect model would be employed. (PROSPERO: CRD42019134947) Result 18 RCTs (1522 patients) were included according to the inclusion criteria. The results showed that compared with WM, TCM (including Compound Xueshuantong Capsule, Qiming Granule, and others)+ WM for NPDR could improve overall efficiency [n=1686,RR1.24(1.18,1.30), P <0.00001, I 2 =0%], and reduce the level of risk factors related to NPDR, such as glycated hemoglobin level [n=360, MD -0.85(-1.28, -0.41), P =0.0001, I 2 =72%], triglyceride and total cholesterol, but not Qiming Granule. Moreover, no serious adverse events were reported. Conclusion Compared with WM alone, TCM+WM could significantly improve NPDR, and also reduced the correlation levels of risk factors, considering the sample size and the number of patients included in the study, there might be publication bias, so the corresponding results should be treated with caution.
Species Composition of Cockroaches, Their Potential as Mechanical Vectors of Intestinal Parasites and Associated Factors Among Households in Sekota Town, Northeast Ethiopia; A Community-based Cross-sectional Study
Authors: Debash Habtu , Alemu Megbaru , Ayehu Animen
Published: August 2020

Background: Cockroaches pose a significant nuisance, and public health threat due to their ability to transmit pathogenic organisms including intestinal parasites. Due to little attention given to mechanical transmission of parasitic diseases by various vectors, appropriate interventions are not implemented to date.The extent to which cockroaches may harbor parasites is poorly understood in Ethiopia, particularly in the study area. This further overwhelms the already fragile program of prevention and control of parasites. Objectives: To assess species composition of cockroaches, their potential as mechanical vectors of intestinal parasites and associated factors among households in Sekota town, Northeast Ethiopia. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in households found in Sekota town from February to April 2020. A total of 402 households were selected by a systematic random sampling technique. Possible risk factors were collected via a structured questionnaire, and 1750 cockroaches were collected using jars. Species identification of cockroaches was performed using taxonomic keys, and parasite isolation was done using formol-ether and modified modified acid-fast techniques. The data analysis was done using SPSS version 23. P-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results: All cockroaches collected were identified as a species of Blattella germanica (B. germanica). Overall, 63 (36.0%) of the 175 batches were found to harbor intestinal parasites, E. histolytica/dispar (14.3%) and H. nana (8.6%) being the predominant species. About 38 (21.7%), and 49 (28.0%) of cockroaches were found to harbor parasites on external parts and gut contents, respectively. Improper latrine utilization (P=0.006), presence of domestic animals (P=0.032), and presence of parasite-infected child in the household (P=0.001) were significantly associated with parasite carriage of cockroaches. Moreover, houses attached via two or more sides with neighboring houses (P=0.045), houses with cracks on their walls (P=0.001), and households with poor solid waste disposal (P=0.001) were at a significantly higher odds of cockroach infestation.Conclusion: Human and environmental factors have favoured infestation by Blattella germanica in the study area. Therefore, households housing condition, latrine utilization, and waste management systems should be improved.
Correlation of the two most frequent HLA haplotypes in the Italian population to the differential regional incidence of Covid-19
Authors: Pisanti Simona , Deelen Joris , Gallina Anna Maria , Caputo Mariella , Citro Marianna , Abate Mario , Sacchi Nicoletta , Vecchione Carmine , Martinelli Rosanna
Published: August 2020

Background: Understanding how HLA polymorphisms may affect both susceptibility, course and severity of Covid-19 infection could help both at the clinical level to identify individuals at higher risk from the disease and at the epidemiological one to explain the differences in the epidemic trend among countries or even within a specific country. Covid-19 disease in Italy showed a peculiar geographical distribution from the northern most affected regions to the southern ones only slightly touched. Methods: In this study we analysed the regional frequencies for the most common Italian haplotypes from the Italian Bone Marrow Donor Registry (HLA-A, -B, -C and -DRB1 at four-digit level). Then we performed Pearson correlation analyses among regional haplotypes estimated frequency in the population and Covid-19 incidence and mortality.Results: In this study we found that the two most frequent HLA haplotypes in the Italian population, HLA-A*:01:01g-B*08:01g-C*07:01g-DRB1*03:01g and HLA-A*02.01g-B*18.01g-C*07.01g-DRB1*11.04g, had a regional distribution overlapping that of Covid-19 and showed respectively a positive (suggestive of susceptibility) and negative (suggestive of protection) significant correlation with both Covid-19 incidence and mortality. Conclusions: Based on these results, in order to define such HLA polymorphisms as a factor effectively associated to the disease susceptibility, the creation of national networks that can collect patients’ samples from all regions for HLA typing should be highly encouraged.
Implementation of Stacking Based ARIMA Model for Prediction of Covid-19 Cases in India
Authors: Swaraj Aman , Kaur Arshpreet , Verma Karan , Singh Ghanshyam , Kumar Ashok , de Sales Leandro Melo
Published: August 2020

Background: Time-series forecasting has a critical role during pandemics as it provides essential information that can lead to abstaining from the spread of the disease. The novel coronavirus disease, COVID-19, is spreading rapidly all over the world. The countries with dense populations, in particular, such as India, await imminent risk in tackling the epidemic. Different forecasting models are being used to predict future cases of COVID-19. The predicament for most of them is that they are not able to capture both the linear and nonlinear features of the data solely.Methods: We propose an ensemble model integrating an autoregressive integrated moving average model (ARIMA) and a nonlinear autoregressive neural network (NAR). ARIMA models are used to extract the linear correlations and the NAR neural network for modeling the residuals of ARIMA containing nonlinear components of the data.Comparison: Single ARIMA model, ARIMA-NAR model and few other existing models which have been applied on the COVID-19 data in different countries are compared based on performance evaluation parameters.Result:The hybrid combination displayed significant reduction in RMSE(16.23%), MAE(37.89%) and MAPE (39.53%) values when compared with single ARIMA model for daily observed cases. Similar results with reduced error percentages were found for daily reported deaths and cases of recovery as well. RMSE value of our hybrid model was lesser in comparison to other models used for forecasting COVID-19 in different countries.Conclusion: Results suggested the effectiveness of the new hybrid model over a single ARIMA model in capturing the linear as well as nonlinear patterns of the COVID-19 data.
Loss of IL-33 enhances elastase-induced and cigarette smoke extract-induced emphysema in mice
Authors: Morichika Daisuke , Taniguchi Akihiko , Oda Naohiro , Fujii Utako Fujii Utako , Senoo Satoru , Itano Junko , Kitaguchi Yoshiaki , Yasuo Masanori , Hanaoka Masayuki , Satoh Takashi , Akira Shizuo , Kiura Katsuyuki , Maeda Yoshinobu , Miyahara Nobuaki
Published: August 2020

Background: IL-33, which is known to induce type 2 immune responses via group 2 innate lymphoid cells, has been reported to contribute to neutrophilic airway inflammation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. However, its role in the pathogenesis of emphysema remains unclear. Methods: We determined the role of interleukin (IL)-33 in the development of emphysema using porcine pancreas elastase (PPE) and cigarette smoke extract (CSE) in mice. First, IL-33−/− mice and wild-type (WT) mice were given PPE intratracheally. The numbers of inflammatory cells, and the levels of cytokines and chemokines in the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid and lung homogenates, were analyzed; quantitative morphometry of lung sections was also performed. Second, mice received CSE by intratracheal instillation. Quantitative morphometry of lung sections was then performed again. Results: Intratracheal instillation of PPE induced emphysematous changes and increased IL-33 levels in the lungs. Compared to WT mice, IL-33−/− mice showed significantly greater PPE-induced emphysematous changes. No differences were observed between IL-33−/− and WT mice in the numbers of macrophages or neutrophils in BAL fluid. The levels of hepatocyte growth factor were lower in the BAL fluid of PPE-treated IL-33−/− mice than WT mice. IL-33−/− mice also showed significantly greater emphysematous changes in the lungs, compared to WT mice, following intratracheal instillation of CSE. Conclusion: These observations suggest that loss of IL-33 promotes the development of emphysema and may be potentially harmful to patients with COPD.
Causal-Comparative Macroeconomic Behavioral Study: International Corporate Financial Transfer Pricing in the United States
Authors: Kasztelnik Karina
Published: August 2020

This research paper summarizes the ideas of maximization of corporate welfare and basic firm theory, transfer prices among corporate subsidiaries have been found to complicate performance evaluations of subsidiaries and the parent company. The research problem addressed the lack of understanding of transfer price policy and its application to impact firm profits within three specific measures: investor return, earnings per share, and effective tax rate. The main purpose of this study was to ascertain an empirical relationship between transfer pricing policies and these financial performance measures within a study of two multinational firms. The research paper presents an empirical result indicated statistically significant differences between the measures for each firm and allowed further comparative analysis based on other collected data. Overall, results indicated each measure of performance affected transfer pricing tax liabilities, and transfer pricing may be a vehicle to improve company profitability. The results of this study may contribute to positive social change by bringing a focus to efficiency in transfer pricing, which could yield positive impacts on the economy through the reduction of international transaction costs stemming from the minimization of tariffs, income tax liabilities at home and abroad, foreign exchange risk and conflicts with foreign governments’ policies. Positive social change may also be affected by providing investors a new perspective on corporate financial data based on transfer price policies and corporate performance.

Keywords: Finance, Transfer Pricing, Macroeconomy, Corporate Performance, Effective Tax Rate, Earnings Per Share, Investor Return.
Household’s Willingness to Pay for Improved Water Supply Services in Mettu Town: An Assessment
Authors: Singh S.N.
Published: August 2020

The purpose of the article is to analyze and determine the willingness of citizens to pay for improving the quality of water services (the income derived from the consumption of water services does not cover the costs of providing such services). The study focuses on Ethiopia’s metropolitan areas (including households in town Mettu), as it is the problem of financial scarcity in Ethiopia that is particularly relevant and access to water services is a key component in calculating the human poverty index for most developing countries. Based on a survey of 79 Mettu town households, it is justified that residents view water not as a public good but as an economic good, as they are prepared to pay for it. The survey concluded that an average of 69% of Mettu households is willing to pay for improved water quality, with household income, water supply satisfaction, and supply price having a strong impact on households’ willingness to pay for improved water services. In particular, the older the locals are and the higher their income level, the more they are willing to pay for improved water quality and security of water supply. At the same time, rising levels of education in Mettu residents reduce their willingness to incur additional financial costs, more educated people view water services as a boon to the authorities. The results of the study proved that while providing local authorities with high-quality water supply services, more than 80% of households are ready and able to pay for services at a price that exceeds the tariff rate for water supply costs. The article stated that increasing the quality of water supply services by increasing the number of tariffs for water use will contribute to the growth of the financial revenues of local authorities, which will ensure the provision of water supply in the required quantity and on a stable basis.

Keywords: improved water supply services, willingness, bidding Prices and tariff structure.
Natural Resource Rent and Financial Development Nexuses in Bangladesh: The Role of Institutional Quality
Authors: Khan Muhammad Atif , Ali Kishwar
Published: August 2020

This paper examines the relationship between the development of the financial sector of the economy and natural rents. The financial sector of the economy is currently an important driver of economic growth. The study was conducted through the prism of addressing two key issues: determining the nature of the impact of natural rents on the financial development of Bangladesh; study of the role of the quality of institutional mechanisms in the relationship between natural rent and financial development of Bangladesh. The study period includes 35 years, from 1984 to 2019. The calculations were performed using an autoregressive model with a distributed lag, based on the order of integration and stationary properties of the variables of this study. The article presents the results of an empirical analysis, which showed a significant negative impact of the lease of natural resources on the financial development of Bangladesh. It is empirically confirmed that the quality of institutional mechanisms for the functioning of economic entities has a positive effect on the relationship between natural rents and the financial development of Bangladesh. The results of the study empirically confirm the hypothesis of insufficient natural resources in Bangladesh. The article emphasizes that the positive moderating role of the quality of the institutional base indicates that due to the strengthening of the institutional base, insufficient resources can become a benefit for the financial sector. The results of the study can be useful for representatives of the Government of Bangladesh from the standpoint of improving the quality of institutional infrastructure in order to ensure financial development, in which there will be positive effects from the implementation of natural resource lease processes. In the future, a study is planned to expand potential sources for the proper use of natural resource leases in Bangladesh.

Keywords: natural resource rent, financial development, institutional quality, Pakistan.
Financial Policy of Innovation Development Providing: The Impact Formalization
Authors: Samoilikova Anastasiia ,
Published: August 2020

This paper deals with the study of the world and European rankings for innovative development. It is emphasized that Ukraine ranks quite low compared to other countries and even its own last year’s results. The dynamics of Ukraine’s position in the Global Innovation Index is presented for the period from 2009 to 2019. The paper focuses on the tendency that innovation activity and the high level of its financial support are concentrated mainly in individual countries and regions. In this regard, the relevance of the determining factors/indicators of the greatest influence and the reasons for the unsatisfactory state of innovation development in Ukraine is substantiated. The purpose of the study is to substantiate and formalize the impact of fiscal policy indicators to ensure innovative development on the overall level of innovative development. In addition, attention is paid to the functional relationship between the level of competitiveness and innovation capacity, a significant positive relationship between the indicators of the country’s innovation capacity and the dynamism of business and financial system, and so on. Methodical tools are methods of correlation and regression analysis. As a result, some hypotheses have been confirmed, not confirmed or partially confirmed. The study empirically confirms and theoretically proves that the percentage of Gross Domestic Expenditure on Research and Development (GERD) in GDP, the share of Gross Domestic Expenditure on Research and Development (GERD) represented by the business sector and the share of Gross Domestic Expenditure on Research and Development (GERD) financed by business, the volume of domestic credit to the private sector and ease of regulation/resolution of insolvency – these indicators have a direct (positive), strong dependence and significance of correlation with the general level of innovative development.

Keywords: methods of correlation and regression analysis, financial policy, financial support, financial support, functional dependence, innovative development, innovation index, level of innovation, innovation rating.
Sustainable Finance at the time of Institutions : Performativity through the lens of Responsible Management in Morocco
Authors: Amri Adil El , Boutti Rachid , Rodhain Florence
Published: August 2020

The aim of this study is to evaluate the level of Sustainable Finance disclosure in Institutions and to analyze the relationship between Performativity of Responsible Management and Sustainable Finance. A Performativity of Sustainable Finance through the lens of Responsible Management is constructed. To verify the link between the impact of responsible strategies and structures on the implementation and deployment of Sustainable Finance for reducing CO2 emissions at the time of Institutions, the structural relationships in our model are run. Although several studies have investigated the Sustainable finance, the issue of adoption and performance through the prism Responsible Management remains open. This allowed us to conduct empirical research through a questionnaire involving key axes of our study. We targeted primarily a sample of 40 companies ELEC EXPO International Forum in Casablanca, Morocco, held from 04th to 07th October 2018. We review the carbon finance strategies, analyze its relationship with the structure of the compliance New Economic Regulations and ISO 26 000. Subsequently, we assess the validity of its performance and its adoption prism Responsible Management through a reflexive model. To achieve this, we tested the structural relationships in our model, as the reflective nature of our built and predictive vocation of our model led us to retain the method Partial Least Squares as part of the validation of our research model. Our choice of using the Partial Least Squares approach is justified by the fact that it can treat analyzes on samples of reduced size (<100 observations). Ultimately, some of the literature says that strategies of Sustainable Finance include three dimensions. Indeed, the results indicate two important pillars for the performance of the adoption of the Sustainable Finance for the Moroccan plan; Clean Development Mechanism strategy and structure of the compliance New Economic Regulations and ISO 26 000. We then discuss the theoretical and practical implications of this managerial discovery.

Keywords: Sustainable Finance, Joint Implementation (JI), Clean Development mechanism (CDM), Emissions Permits Negotiable (PEN), Responsible Management.
Self Sovereign Digital Identity on the Blockchain: A Discourse Analysis
Authors: Kibaroğlu Onat
Published: August 2020

As a technology that can be traced back to the late 1990s in its structural fundamentals, ‘blockchain’ came into mainstream public discourse as of 2017. Previously discussed in the fringes of the technology-savvy circles, blockchain has now become a global phenomenon and indeed an industry that is rapidly growing and capturing a notable share of the public imagination along with academic discourse. Blockchain’s emergence in the realm of technology is essentially thanks to the invention of bitcoin as both a speculative asset and as a digital store of value. Many governments around the world have made public claims regarding their enthusiasm for adopting ‘blockchain’ in various ways; varying from Russia, Estonia, and Ukraine in Europe all the way to Venezuela in Latin America and even the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean. This paper puts out the objective of achieving self-sovereign identities on the blockchain is a promise that has not yet manifested on the ground, albeit it disproportionately captures a significant share of the contemporary discourse on the three larger concepts of self-sovereignty, digital identity, and the blockchain. A key reason for the lack of manifestation of this promise is that there is little agreement as to what is actually meant by ‘self-sovereign identities’ —in stark comparison to the major consensus over the concepts of ‘blockchain’ or ‘cryptocurrencies’. In order to explore the genealogy of the core concept of ‘identity’, the theoretical genesis of ‘biopolitics’ is consulted, demonstrating that our contemporary technological epoch is best defined as an era of the emergence of ‘bio digital’ power. The paper ultimately argues that the reason for this disproportional share of discourse is created by certain actors to utilize the growing rhetoric on ‘blockchain’ and the libertarian notion of ‘self-sovereignty’ as façades to potentially pursue capitalist objectives.

Keywords: blockchain, self-sovereignty, bitcoin, capitalism, digital identity, privacy, data, cryptocurrencies.
The rise of online banks in Italy “WIDIBA Bank” Case Study
Authors: Faccia Alessio , Moşteanu Narcisa Roxana , Cavaliere Luigi Pio Leonardo , Santis Gabriele
Published: August 2020

The digitalization of technologies for the functioning of the country’s economy, in particular banking institutions, has made a significant impetus to accelerate their development. It is stated that the use of advanced information technologies in the banking sector of the economy (which was gradually formalized into the concept of “online banking”) has greatly facilitated the implementation of financial transactions, in particular, minimized the physical circulation of money. The purpose of the article is to study the features and principles of online banking on the example of the Italian bank WIDIBA. Methodical support of the paper includes a method of analysis of specific situations. The key components of the case method of the study are research on the basis of literature review; formalization of key theses (issues) in the context of the unresolved part of the study; accumulation and analysis of collected information; identification of key features of the issue. This research was carried out in the light of two aspects: the strategic principles of the spread of online banking in Italy; digital technologies in the context of the strategic perspective of the Italian bank WIDIBA. The paper considers the historical aspects of the introduction and use of online banking services. It is noted that in Italy today there are 207 publicly registered commercial establishments, of which 81 are located abroad, and 6 operate mostly in the format of providing online banking services. The object of this research is the activity of the Italian bank WIDIBA, which is justified by its valuable practical experience in formalizing a plan of adequate timely strategy for entering the market of online banking services on the basis of a carefully developed development strategy. The theoretical researches were carried out in the work, in particular, in the following directions: definition of strategic actions of bank establishment according to a time lag of functioning; analysis of the budget of the banking institution (net profitability, interest margin, operating and administrative expenses, etc.); analysis of the income statement of the bank (the ratio of net profit and loss, interest margin and brokerage margin); work with financial report or balance sheet data on the structure of assets, liabilities, and investments, retained earnings; study of trend dynamics of cash flows (operational, financial, investment and free cash flows). Excellent strategies are analyzed, which demonstrate how the banking sector is extremely dynamic and, that technological investments still allow easier access to new operators in case of the implementation of innovation strategies. Keywords: Online banks; online banking; electronic banking; fintech; financial services; WIDIBA; banking sector; banks’ strategies.
Public Debt and Low-Interest Rates: Evidence from the Case of Morocco
Authors: Eddassi Hassane
Published: August 2020

Public debt is a critical topic in modern economic literature. The necessity for massive public investments and economic reforms encouraged countries to solicit important amounts of debt from the international market. The accumulation of high levels of public debt impacts the fiscal equilibrium in countries and affects the ability of the government to meet its responsibilities. Debt Sustainability Analysis is an approach to investigate the capacity of a country to service its debt without the need to incur major fiscal costs (increasing taxes or reducing expenses). The sustainability of the debt is closely related to the interest rate and the growth rate of the GDP. It can be measured by the debt to GDP ratio. This paper investigates the debt sustainability in the case of Morocco. The paper tries to analyze the impact of the interest rate-growth rate differential on the path of the public debt in Morocco. The particularity of this analysis is the use of the Tax Adjusted Interest rate, instead of the regular interest rate. Using the adjusted rate allows for the ability to take into account the tax collected by the government on T-bills which provides a more accurate determination of the cost of the debt. The paper shows, with empirical evidence, that the sustainability of the debt can be insured when the growth rate is higher than the Tax Adjusted Interest rate, even in the absence of a balance surplus. Countries can meet their debt service requirements without severe fiscal measures under two requirements: a high growth rate and a low-interest rate. The conclusions of the paper constitute a source of information for policymakers, researchers, experts, and practitioners in the field of public debt. This study provides them with the required knowledge to manage public debt, make it more sustainable, and maintain financial stability. This study can also be a starting point for researchers desiring to analyze the efficient repartition of public debt among the economic sectors to ensure strong economic growth.

Keywords: Debt Dynamic, Debt Sustainability Analysis, Fiscal Balance, Interest Rate-Growth Rate Differential, Public Debt, Stata, Tax Adjusted Interest rate, Treasury Bonds.
QUALIMETRIC ASSESSMENT OF WAFFLES WITH FILLINGS OF ORGANIC RAW MATERIALS
Authors: Tkachenko Alina , Syrokhman Ivan , Skrypnyk Vyacheslav , Birta Gabriella , Burgu Yuriy
Published: August 2020

For improving the amino acid and organoleptic characteristics of floury confectionary products, new recipes of waffles with fillings of natural raw materials “Summer temptation” and “Coco pleasure” have been created. Only organic raw materials were used for both recipes. The composition of waffles “Summer temptation” included: buckwheat flour, reed sugar, creamy butter, dry skimmed milk and sea-buckthorn oil, lemongrass powder. Rice flour, coco sugar, dry coco milk, lemongrass powder were added to the composition of waffles “Coco pressure”.

A control sample is waffles “Artek”, produced by the traditional recipe. The main difference between the offered samples is in fact that the new waffles are produced of organic raw materials only and contain non-traditional ones in their composition. Wheat flour, lipid base and sugar are replaced in the samples. This paper offers a qualimetric assessment scale for waffles quality and presents assessment results
PROSPECTS OF USING SPINACH IN PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY OF CHAPATTI OF WHOLEGRAIN FLOUR
Authors: Belemets Tatiana , Radzievskaya Irina , Yushchenko Nataliia , Kuzmyk Uliana
Published: August 2020

It is urgent to enrich floury products with vegetable magnesium sources. One of such plants is garden spinach – one-year plant, a representative of Spinacia genus. For this aim, there were studied functional-technological properties of wholegrain flour for substantiating preparation in the chapatti technology.

Research results demonstrated that barley flour had the most water-absorbing capacity – 400 %, this parameter was almost twice less in rice and wheat flour. The most fat-retaining capacity was inherent to barley flour – 87 %, whereas in the control (highest sort wheat flour) this index was 25 %.

Technological parameters of spinach preparation in the chapatti composition have been determined: particles size – 250 up to mcm; optimal amount of introduction of wholegrain flour to the mass – 3 %; swelling process duration after dough mixing – 15–20 min for creating a total spatial structure.

The energetic value calculation testifies that the caloric number of chapatti is unessential, comparing with main dishes and is in average 220.0 kcal/100 g.

Thus, the use of spinach together with wholegrain flour in chapatti gives a possibility to increase a provision degree of the daily need in main nutritive substances for the human organism.

The aim of the work is to develop technologies of new types of culinary products and their introduction at public food enterprises