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This paper investigates the use of machine learning algorithms to aid medical professionals in the detection and risk assessment of diabetes. The research employed a dataset gathered from individuals with type 2 diabetes in Ninh Binh, Vietnam. A variety of classification algorithms, including Decision Tree Classifier, Logistic Regression, SVC, Ada Boost Classifier, Gradient Boosting Classifier, Random Forest Classifier, and K Neighbors Classifier, were utilized to identify the most suitable algorithm for the dataset. The results of the present study indicate that the Random Forest Classifier algorithm yielded the most promising results, exhibiting a cross-validation score of 0.998 and an accuracy rate of 100%. To further evaluate the effectiveness of the selected model, it was subjected to a testing phase involving a new dataset comprising 67 patients that had not been previously seen. The performance of the algorithm on this dataset resulted in an accuracy rate of 94%, especially the study’s notable finding is the algorithm’s accurate prediction of the probability of patients developing diabetes, as indicated by the class 1 (diabetes) probabilities. This innovative approach offers a meticulous and quantifiable method for diabetes detection and risk evaluation, showcasing the potential of machine learning algorithms in assisting clinicians with diagnosis and management. By communicating the diabetes score and probability estimates to patients, the comprehension of their disease status can be enhanced. This information empowers patients to make informed decisions and motivates them to adopt healthier lifestyle habits, ultimately playing a crucial role in impeding disease progression. The study underscores the significance of leveraging machine learning in healthcare to optimize patient care and improve long-term health outcomes.

Phytocosmetics, the sub-discipline of cosmetology which primarily uses plant and plant extracts in beauty treatments, has been endorsed for thousands of years. After a period of time being pushed aside by an enormous wave of interest in synthetic products, phytocosmetics is slowly but surely returning to its propitious moment. Botanical compounds, among which flavonoids are highlighted, are being recognized for their biological activities – namely antioxidant, anti-aging, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial and photoprotective activities. The purpose of this paper is to review updates in the extensive research into the potential of flavonoids in cosmetic applications, in order to demonstrate the newest achievement and encourage more interest into the field. A literature search was performed in PubMed in February and March 2022 with key terms including “phytocosmetics”, “flavonoids” and “antioxidant”. To keep the search topical, the publication years were limited to after 2010. The results were screened with the exclusion criteria of duplicate papers, irrelevant research, and non-English articles. The antioxidant activity of flavonoids have been widely established in a variety of plant sources. Their potential in cosmetics is also evident and has been attributed to their chemical structures, with their biological mechanisms starting to be better understood. In conclusion, flavonoids have been shown to be a viable alternative to synthetic antioxidants for cosmetic applications. However, there is still a need to evaluate effective delivery aids and formulations.

In the two sets of language arts textbooks in Singapore (My pals are here! English 2) and in Vietnam (Chan troi sang tao, Grade 2), there is a pair of reading texts with the same topic about the behavior of the characters. In this article, we adopted the Appraisal Framework (Martin and White, 2005) to analyze the evaluative language used in the two texts. From the analysis, we compared the similarities and differences in the way evaluation is expressed through language. The research findings can not only help textbook writers consider making more suggestions about the materials included in the curriculum, but also help teachers develop teaching materials as well as preparing lesson plans. The ultimate goal is to make contributions to the teaching of the new textbooks more effectively.

This study investigates whether girls’ lower sense of mattering causes gender disparities in computer science.

Quantum sensing with solid-state spins offers the promise of high spatial resolution, bandwidth, and dynamic range at sensitivities comparable to more mature quantum sensing technologies, such as atomic vapor cells and superconducting devices. However, despite comparable theoretical sensitivity limits, the performance of bulk solid-state quantum sensors has so far lagged behind these more mature alternatives. A recent review~\cite{barry2020sensitivity} suggests several paths to improve performance of magnetometers employing nitrogen-vacancy defects in diamond, the most-studied solid-state quantum sensing platform. Implementing several suggested techniques, we demonstrate the most sensitive nitrogen-vacancy-based bulk magnetometer reported to date. Our approach combines tailored diamond growth to achieve low strain and long intrinsic dephasing times, the use of double-quantum Ramsey and Hahn echo magnetometry sequences for broadband and narrowband magnetometry respectively, and P1 driving to further extend dephasing time. Notably, the device does not include a flux concentrator, preserving the fixed response of the NVs to magnetic field. The magnetometer realizes a broadband \textcolor{mhsnew}{near-}DC sensitivity $\sim 460$~fT$\cdot$s$^{1/2}$ and a narrowband AC sensitivity $\sim 210$~fT$\cdot$s$^{1/2}$. We describe the experimental setup in detail and highlight potential paths for future improvement.

Background: Cultural differences provide challenges for multinational corporations, due to the differences in norms, values, and beliefs accompanying national cultures. Multinational corporations must adapt to the new environment to achieve optimal performance and attain competitive advantages. One of these challenges is motivation, which is crucial for employee performance and hence the pursuit of competitive advantage. Vietnam and Sweden, two cultural contexts having remarkable cultural distances, are the specific focus of this study. Purpose: This study aims to explain the effect cultural differences have on job motivation and satisfaction. The authors investigated six motivation factors deemed to lead to job satisfaction based on Herzberg’s Two-Factor theory. The study’s framework is constructed also by four cultural distance factors according to Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions Theory to test the moderation effect of cultural differences on the relationship between motivation and job satisfaction. Method: A quantitative research was conducted on a sample of 79 employees from two MNCs: Samsung in Vietnam and Husqvarna in Sweden. An online survey was distributed to respondents to gather primary quantitative data. The survey questions were based on previous studies to ensure validity in measuring the scales. Finally, two main testing analyses namely multiple linear regression and moderation effect were undertaken in SPSS. Conclusion: The satisfying motivation factors included in Herzberg’s Two-Factor theory correlated positively to employees’ job satisfaction in both countries, although it was evident that each of the six factors contribute to job satisfaction at varying degrees. Furthermore, the finding of the culture dimensions as moderator variables showed that different levels of culture factors could either weaken, strengthen, or had no effect on the relationship between employee satisfaction and the six motivation factors.

In recent years, although smart homes and smart home solutions have been widely accepted in developed regions (such as Europe, the United States, and Japan), their application in emerging countries (such as Vietnam) remains limited. This study is aimed at assessing the factors influencing Vietnamese people’s intention to adopt smart home solutions based on the integration of the technology acceptance model and innovation diffusion theory. The study collected quantitative data from a survey of 310 participants in Vietnam and analyzed them using structural equation modelling with AMOS software. This study’s findings show that compatibility and perceived usefulness play important roles in promoting users’ intention to adopt smart home solutions. This study has practical implications for businesses in Vietnam and provides useful recommendations for future research.

Trabajo presentado al 10th International Fisheries Symposium celebrado en Vietnam entre el 5 y el 7 de diciembre de 2022., This study aims to explore the impact of dietary methionine concentrations combined with temperatures on feed intake (FI) and expressions of appetite neuropeptides (neuropeptide y, npy; agouti-related protein, agrp; cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript, cart; and cholecystokinin, cck) and one receptor (melanocortin 4 receptor mc4r) in the brain of cobia. The juvenile cobia (ca 3.7g body weight) were reared in two recirculation systems at control temperature (30°C) and elevated temperature (34°C) at the Center for Aquatic Animal Health and Breeding Studies (Nha Trang University, Vietnam). The fish were fed diets with different levels of methionine; deficient (M9; 9 g/kg), sufficient (M12; 12 g/kg) and surplus (M16, 16 g/kg) for 6 weeks (triplicate tanks per treatment). Results showed that cobia fed M9 diet had a lower FI at both temperatures. Further, there was a significant interaction between dietary methionine levels and temperature on FI, with a lower FI in cobia at 34°C compared to fish kept at 30°C and fed the M12 diet and M16 diets. Feed intake was correlated to brain mRNA expression levels of npy and agrp, while temperature significantly influenced the mRNA expression of agrp, cart, cck and mc4r. Expression of the orexigenic neuropeptide npy were consistently higher before the meal compared to after the meal for all diets and at both temperatures. At 30°C pre-feeding levels of npy correlated with both increased methionine levels as well as FI. The interaction between dietary methionine and temperature on levels of brain npy expression was significant (P

This study investigates whether girls’ lower sense of mattering in computer science predicts and causes gender disparities in computer science.

We present nuReality, a virtual reality 'VR' environment designed to test the efficacy of vehicular behaviors to communicate intent during interactions between autonomous vehicles 'AVs' and pedestrians at urban intersections. In this project we focus on expressive behaviors as a means for pedestrians to readily recognize the underlying intent of the AV's movements. VR is an ideal tool to use to test these situations as it can be immersive and place subjects into these potentially dangerous scenarios without risk. nuReality provides a novel and immersive virtual reality environment that includes numerous visual details (road and building texturing, parked cars, swaying tree limbs) as well as auditory details (birds chirping, cars honking in the distance, people talking). In these files we present the nuReality environment, its 10 unique vehicle behavior scenarios, and the Unreal Engine and Autodesk Maya source files for each scenario. The files are publicly released as open source at www.nuReality.org, to support the academic community studying the critical AV-pedestrian interaction., arXiv

Consumption emotions responded to food experiences have been found to determine satisfaction and behavioural intentions. The associations between emotions and different food properties and environmental factors, and individual differences, or other cognitive appraisal processes have been established. Consumption emotions have also been found to play an important role in the understanding of tourists��� behaviours. Researchers have just begun to explore the impact of emotions on tourists��� experience with local, but few specifically on street food. Street food has been found to be both an attraction and an impediment to tourists. Either way, tourists��� experience of street food has been found to link to their perception of destination image, satisfaction, and behavioural intentions., This research aims to uncover the meanings that international tourists to Vietnam attribute to their street food experience in Vietnam, with a focus on their emotional responses, and in relation to their overall food experience and travel experience in Vietnam. The research comprised two qualitative studies. In the first study, thirty-eight international tourists, travelling in Vietnam in the last quarter of 2018, were interviewed with in-depth interviewing and the emojis to facilitate expression of emotions. Interviews were then transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. In the second study, 1045 TripAdvisor reviews of the street food tours in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam 2018, and 92 low-rated reviews (rated 1-3 stars) of the tours in four cities were chosen for analysis. Content analysis was used to analyse these reviews due to the large amount of data., In the eyes of international tourists in Vietnam, street food was found to exhibit many typical traits that may attract tourists: food and drinks, food places, and their social and cultural values. Street food could also be perceived as an impediment to consumption for international tourists due to its hygiene and safety conditions, or novelty or communication barriers. Regarding the emotional responses to street food experiences, it was found from these studies that tourists��� expressed emotions are closely linked to their cognitive evaluation or appraisals of the food experiences. These appraisals include novelty, unexpectedness, the unknown and risks, and the distance from expectations or motivations or goals. Emotional responses to street food experiences were found to vary in valence, intensity and time. These emotional responses were also associated with tourists��� behaviours towards street food, being categorised to approach, avoid and caution responses., This thesis helps to expand knowledge in local food tourism and tourists��� perceived risks; and recognises the role of appraisal component of emotion, and the dimension of time in consumption emotion. The research also contributes to the understanding and application of emoji in eliciting emotions in qualitative interviews. Managerial implications can be drawn for the operation, management and marketing of street food as a tourism product.

We present nuReality, a virtual reality 'VR' environment designed to test the efficacy of vehicular behaviors to communicate intent during interactions between autonomous vehicles 'AVs' and pedestrians at urban intersections. In this project we focus on expressive behaviors as a means for pedestrians to readily recognize the underlying intent of the AV's movements. VR is an ideal tool to use to test these situations as it can be immersive and place subjects into these potentially dangerous scenarios without risk. nuReality provides a novel and immersive virtual reality environment that includes numerous visual details (road and building texturing, parked cars, swaying tree limbs) as well as auditory details (birds chirping, cars honking in the distance, people talking). In these files we present the nuReality environment, its 10 unique vehicle behavior scenarios, and the Unreal Engine and Autodesk Maya source files for each scenario. The files are publicly released as open source at www.nuReality.org, to support the academic community studying the critical AV-pedestrian interaction.

Ce travail de Bachelor est réalisé dans le cadre d’un mandat de la Bibliothèque de la Faculté des Lettres et des Sciences humaines de l’Université de Neuchâtel. Elle est la plus grande bibliothèque des cinq facultés académiques de l’Université avec plus de 1900 étudiants. Cette institution est publique et accueille des étudiants, professeurs et chercheurs venant de tout horizon. La réalisation de ce travail consiste en la réflexion sur l’engagement en bibliothèque académique et comment renforcer le lien avec le public grâce à la médiation culturelle et à l’animation de communauté virtuelle. Il s’agit d’un travail à la fois théorique et pratique, explorant la valorisation des liens avec le public au travers de deux pratiques essentielles aux milieux culturels. D’une part ce travail s’intéresse dans un premier temps à la médiation culturelle. Apparue dans les milieux culturels et notamment dans les musées, cette action a rapidement fait son chemin dans les bibliothèques. Avec les divers champs qu’elle englobe et possibilités qu’elle présente, c’est un moyen de créer le lien avec un public de tout âge prenant des formes d’activités très diverses et variées. Dans un deuxième temps, ce mémoire s’intéresse à l’animation de communauté en ligne et ce qu’elle représente pour les institutions. Il explore les enjeux d’une stratégie digitale et notamment la présence sur les réseaux sociaux de ceux-ci. Il permet de comprendre les habitudes du public et leurs préférences sur les médias sociaux. Afin de mieux identifier les besoins et pratiques concernant ces deux domaines, deux enquêtes ont été réalisées auprès de différents publics. Finalement, ce travail propose des recommandations et scénarios pour la Bibliothèque de la Faculté des Lettres et des Sciences humaines, basés sur la réalisation d’une enquête auprès des étudiants afin de la mettre en valeur et attirer son public.

Previous studies indicate a substantial time-variation in the co-movement of commodity futures markets and economic fundamentals. This paper examines the connectedness and directional spillovers for both the agricultural commodity futures markets and the corresponding sentiment indices. We first construct dynamic time-varying connectedness measures both for the agricultural commodity returns and sentiments. Then, we use panel data regressions and time-varying Granger causality tests to evaluate whether the spillovers between these returns and sentiments are influenced by the economic and financial uncertainties, including the global COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, we document that the COVID-19 induced uncertainty influences agricultural commodity returns and sentiments significantly around the first cycle of the pandemic in 2020. Last but not least, economic policy and financial market uncertainty are also found to be significant determinants of the connectedness between agricultural commodity returns and sentiment spillovers.

BACKGROUND: Following liver injury, mast cells (MCs) migrate into the liver and are activated in cholestatic patients. Inhibition of MC mediators decreases ductular reaction (DR) and liver fibrosis. TGF-β1 contributes to fibrosis and promotes liver disease. AIM: To demonstrate that reintroduction of MCs induces cholestatic injury via TGF-β1. METHODS: Wild-type, Kit(W-sh) (MC-deficient), and Mdr2(−/−) mice lacking l-histidine decarboxylase were injected with vehicle or PKH26-tagged murine MCs pretreated with 0.01% DMSO or the TGF-βR inhibitor, LY2109761 (TGF-βRi, 10 μM) three days prior to sac. Hepatic damage was assessed by H&E and serum chemistry. Injected MCs were detected in liver, spleen and lung by immunofluorescence (IF). DR was measured by CK-19 immunohistochemistry (IHC) and F4/80 staining coupled with qPCR for IL-1β, IL-33 and F4/80; biliary senescence evaluated by IF or qPCR for p16, p18 and p21. Fibrosis was evaluated by Sirius Red/Fast Green staining and IF for SYP-9, desmin and α-SMA. TGF-β1 secretion/expression was measured by EIA and qPCR. Angiogenesis was detected by IF for vonWillebrand Factor and VEGF-C qPCR. In vitro, MC TGF-β1 expression/secretion were measured after TGF-βRi treatment; conditioned medium was collected. Cholangiocytes and hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) were treated with MC conditioned medium and biliary proliferation/senescence was measured by MTS and qPCR; HSC activation evaluated for α-SMA, SYP-9 and collagen type-1a expression. RESULTS: MC injection recapitulates cholestatic liver injury characterized by increased DR; fibrosis/TGF-β1 secretion; and angiogenesis. Injection of MC-TGF-βRi reversed these parameters. In vitro, MCs induce biliary proliferation/senescence and HSC activation that was reversed with MCs lacking TGF-β1. CONCLUSION: Our novel study demonstrates that reintroduction of MCs mimics cholestatic liver injury and MC-derived TGF-β1 may be a target in chronic cholestatic liver disease.

Supplemental material, sj-pdf-1-jva-10.1177_11297298211026083 for Cardiac changes following arteriovenous fistula creation in a mouse model by Kevin Ingle, Linh Pham, Viangkaeo Lee, Lingling Guo, Tatyana Isayeva-Waldrop, Maheshika Somarathna and Timmy Lee in The Journal of Vascular Access

Supplemental material, sj-pdf-1-jva-10.1177_11297298211026083 for Cardiac changes following arteriovenous fistula creation in a mouse model by Kevin Ingle, Linh Pham, Viangkaeo Lee, Lingling Guo, Tatyana Isayeva-Waldrop, Maheshika Somarathna and Timmy Lee in The Journal of Vascular Access

This paper explores the impact of financial and legal obstacles that affect small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in middle-income East Asian countries by utilizing the most recent and unique dataset from the World Bank Enterprise Surveys. We particularly assess whether and at what level the effects on SMEs differ from those on large firms; We also examine how financial and institutional development levels contribute to firm performance. Our findings provide important guidance for regulators, including the authorities of middle-income nations, who seek to facilitate SMEs' development.

This thesis was scanned from the print manuscript for digital preservation and is copyright the author. Researchers can access this thesis by asking their local university, institution or public library to make a request on their behalf. Monash staff and postgraduate students can use the link in the References field.

Oligodendrocytes are responsible for axon myelination in the brain and spinal cord. Generation of oligodendrocytes entails highly regulated multistage neurodevelopmental events, including proliferation, differentiation and maturation. The chromatin remodeling BAF (mSWI/SNF) complex is a notable regulator of neural development. In our previous studies, we determined the indispensability of the BAF complex scaffolding subunits BAF155 and BAF170 for neurogenesis, whereas their role in gliogenesis is unknown. Here, we show that the expression of BAF155 and BAF170 is essential for the genesis of oligodendrocytes during brain development. We report that the ablation of BAF155 and BAF170 in the dorsal telencephalic (dTel) neural progenitors or in oligodendrocyte-producing progenitors in the ventral telencephalon (vTel) in double-conditional knockout (dcKO) mouse mutants, perturbed the process of oligodendrogenesis. Molecular marker and cell cycle analyses revealed impairment of oligodendrocyte precursor specification and proliferation, as well as overt depletion of oligodendrocytes pool in dcKO mutants. Our findings unveil a central role of BAF155 and BAF170 in oligodendrogenesis, and thus substantiate the involvement of the BAF complex in the production of oligodendrocytes in the forebrain.

This paper describes the revision of the Vietnamese version of the Multilingual Assessment Instrument for Narratives (LITMUS-MAIN). We first introduce the Vietnamese language and Vietnamese-speaking populations after which we describe the translation and adaptation process of the Vietnamese MAIN and present results from monolingual and bilingual children., ZAS Papers in Linguistics, Bd. 64 (2020): New language versions of MAIN: Multilingual Assessment Instrument for Narratives – Revised

This paper describes the revision of the Vietnamese version of the Multilingual Assessment Instrument for Narratives (LITMUS-MAIN). We first introduce the Vietnamese language and Vietnamese-speaking populations after which we describe the translation and adaptation process of the Vietnamese MAIN and present results from monolingual and bilingual children.

Emotion recognition or emotion prediction is a higher approach or a special case of sentiment analysis. In this task, the result is not produced in terms of either polarity: positive or negative or in the form of rating (from 1 to 5) but of a more detailed level of analysis in which the results are depicted in more expressions like sadness, enjoyment, anger, disgust, fear, and surprise. Emotion recognition plays a critical role in measuring the brand value of a product by recognizing specific emotions of customers' comments. In this study, we have achieved two targets. First and foremost, we built a standard Vietnamese Social Media Emotion Corpus (UIT-VSMEC) with exactly 6,927 emotion-annotated sentences, contributing to emotion recognition research in Vietnamese which is a low-resource language in natural language processing (NLP). Secondly, we assessed and measured machine learning and deep neural network models on our UIT-VSMEC corpus. As a result, the CNN model achieved the highest performance with the weighted F1-score of 59.74%. Our corpus is available at our research website., PACLING 2019

Treatment of lab-grown diamond by electron irradiation and annealing has enabled quantum sensors based on negatively-charged nitrogen-vacancy (NV$^\text{-}$) centers to demonstrate record sensitivities. \cite{Clevenson2015,Wolf2015,Barry2016,Chatzidrosos2017}. Here we investigate the irradiation and annealing process applied to 28 diamond samples using a new ambient-temperature, all-optical approach. As the presence of the neutrally-charged nitrogen-vacancy (NV$^\text{0}$) center is deleterious to sensor performance, this photoluminescence decomposition analysis (PDA) is first employed to determine the concentration ratio of NV$^\text{-}$ to NV$^0$ in diamond samples from the measured photoluminescence spectrum. The analysis hinges on (i) isolating each NV charge state's emission spectrum and (ii) measuring the NV$^\text{-}$ to NV$^0$ emission ratio, which is found to be 2.5$\pm$0.5 under low-intensity 532 nm illumination. Using the PDA method, we measure the effects of irradiation and annealing on conversion of substitutional nitrogen to NV centers. Combining these measurements with a phenomenological model for diamond irradiation and annealing, we extract an estimated monovacancy creation rate of $0.52\pm 0.26$ cm$^{\text{-1}}$ for 1 MeV electron irradiation and an estimated monovacancy diffusion coefficient of 1.8 nm$^2$/s at 850~$^\circ$C. Finally we find that irradiation doses $\gtrsim 10^{18}$ e$^\text{-}$/cm$^2$ deteriorate the NV$^\text{-}$ decoherence time $T_2$ whereas $T_1$ is unaffected up to the the maximum investigated dose of $5\times 10^{18}$ e$^\text{-}$/cm$^2$., Comment: 19 pages, 10 figures

We present a combined theoretical and experimental study of solid-state spin decoherence in an electronic spin bath, focusing specifically on ensembles of nitrogen vacancy (NV) color centers in diamond and the associated substitutional nitrogen spin bath. We perform measurements of NV spin free induction decay times $T_2^*$ and spin-echo coherence times $T_2$ in 25 diamond samples with nitrogen concentrations [N] ranging from 0.01 to 300\,ppm. We introduce a microscopic model and perform numerical simulations to quantitatively explain the degradation of both $T_2^*$ and $T_2$ over four orders of magnitude in [N]. Our results resolve a long-standing discrepancy observed in NV $T_2$ experiments, enabling us to describe NV ensemble spin coherence decay shapes as emerging consistently from the contribution of many individual NV., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures + supplement

This study asks whether organic vegetable production is a suitable alternative farming practice for conventional vegetable farmers in Tan Lac, a mountainous area in the North of Vietnam. The study is motivated by three questions: (1) who among the vegetable farmers in Tan Lac tended to switch to organic vegetable production? (2) is organic vegetable production profitable, compared with conventional production? And (3), what could be done to make organic vegetable production a more sustainable source of income and to help farmers switching to organic farming be more successful? These questions are answered using quantitative and qualitative data collected from a household survey conducted in 2017 that included 95 smallholder farmers. Focus group discussions and key-informant interviews were also used to learn about farming practices and challenges in the area. A series of regressions are used to examine whether organic vegetable production is more or less profitable than conventional vegetable production, and what characteristics are common among farmers who tend to be organic adopters. The results show that organic vegetable production in the study site is less profitable than conventional production. One hectare of organic vegetables is 42 million dong (1840 USD) less profitable than one hectare of conventional vegetables. To help organic farmers in the study site become more successful, (i) farmers need to be aware not only of the benefits but also the challenges when going organic before making the switch; (ii) production sites must be carefully chosen; (iii) a marketing plan should be established when production plans are developed; and (iv) smallholder farmers need to cooperate when producing and selling organic vegetables.

This paper examines the effects of the Global Financial Crisis on the relationship between unemployment and inflation rate through the Phillips Curve in five Nordic countries: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, from 1999 to 2016. The Nordic countries are quite unique in the world, as they are all economically and culturally connected to each other, which allows us to analyse how the crisis affected them differently. The foundation of our research is the Phillips Curve, which shows an inverse relationship between unemployment and inflation. By using the two-way fixed effects model, we have investigated whether the Phillips Curve and the relationship still holds during the time of the crisis for the Nordic countries. The results have shown that the relationship has changed during the crisis period, which might be due to the unemployment shock and the low targeted inflation rate.

et al., Two nanosized Mn and MnNa clusters based on analogues of the high-spin (S=22) [Mn Mn (μ-O)] supertetrahedral core are reported. Mn and MnNa complexes consist of eight and four decametallic supertetrahedral subunits, respectively, display high virtual symmetry (O), and are unique examples of clusters based on a large number of tightly linked high nuclearity magnetic units. The complexes also have large spin ground-state values (Mn: S=61/2; MnNa: S=51/2) with the Mn cluster displaying single-molecule magnet (SMM) behavior and being the second largest reported homometallic SMM., This work was supported by the Cyprus Research Promotion Foundation grant ANABAVMISH/PAGIO/0308/12 which is co-funded by the Republic of Cyprus and the European Regional Development Fund, the US National Science Foundation (Grant DMR-1213030 to G.C.), and the Spanish MINECO (Project FEDER-MAT2012-38318-C03-01).

We evaluate the role of a fossil fuel tax and research subsidy in directing innovation from fossil fuel toward renewable energy technologies in the electricity sector. Using a global firm-level electricity patent database from 1978 to 2011, we find that the impact of fossil fuel taxes on renewable energy innovation varies with the type of fossil fuel. Specifically, a tax on coal reduces innovation in both fossil fuel and renewable energy technologies while a tax on natural gas has no statistically significant impact on renewable energy innovation. The reason is that easily dispatchable energy sources like coal-fired power plants need to complement renewable energy technologies in the grid because renewables generate electricity intermittently. Our results suggest that a tax on natural gas, combined with research subsidies for renewable energy, may effectively shift innovation in the electricity sector towards renewable energy. In contrast, coal taxation or a carbon tax that increases coal prices has unintended negative consequences for renewable energy innovation.

International audience; The employment of alcohol-containing chelates and carboxylates in mixed Fe/Ln (Ln = lanthanide) and Fe/Y reactions has afforded a new family of [Fe(4)(III)Ln(2)(III)] (Ln = Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho) and [(Fe4Y2III)-Y-III] clusters. The reaction of [Fe3O(O2CPh)(6)(H2O)(3)](NO3), Ln(NO3)(3) (Ln = Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho), 2-(hydroxymethyl)pyridine (hmpH) and NEt3 in a 1:1:4:4 molar ratio in MeCN/MeOH gave [Fe(4)Ln(2)O(2)(hmp)(8)(O2CPh)6(]) (Ln = Gd (1), Tb (2), Dy (3), Ho (4)). The same reaction with Y(NO3)(3) gave [Fe4Y2O2(hmp)(8)(O2CPh)(6)] (5). The crystal structure of representative complex 1 was solved and reveals a centrosymmetric structure with an Fe-4-Gd-2 unit in a chair conformation with the two Gd atoms at opposite ends, above and below an Fe-4 rectangular plane. Each Fe2Gd triangle is bridged by a mu(3)-O2- ion, and eight hmp(-) groups bind in an eta(1):eta(2):mu fashion. Ligation is completed by two PhCO2- group at each Gd, one bound eta(1) and the other eta(2). Analysis of the variable-temperature dc and ac magnetic susceptibility data revealed that the central Fe-4 rectangular sub-unit has an S=0 ground state due to strong Fe center dot center dot center dot Fe exchange interactions, so that at low temperatures the two well separated Ln(III) behave as magnetically isolated ions. The Fe center dot center dot center dot Fe interactions were estimated using the magnetostructural correlation reported by Weihe and Gudel, and then determined more accurately from the experimental data for 5 center dot 2H(2)O using the program MAGPACK. The obtained parameters were J(1) = -20.5 cm(-1) and J(2) = -41.3 cm(-1), with g held constant at 2.0, where J(1) and J(2) are for the Fe center dot center dot center dot Fe interactions between and within the two Fe2Y triangles, respectively. The Fe4Dy2 complex (3) exhibits weak out-of-phase signals and very small hysteresis in magnetization versus field scans at low temperature.

The health sector reform programme which began in Vietnam in 1989 in order to improve the efficiency of the health system has altered the way in which Vietnamese hospitals operate. The programme put the spotlight on input savings. This study aims to examine the relative efficiency of hospitals during the health reform process and assess - by looking at the relative efficiency of hospitals - the effects of the regulatory changes. The study employs the DEA two-stage approach referring to data from 101 general public hospitals over the period 1998-2006. The study revealed that there was evidence of improvement in the productivity of Vietnamese hospitals over the period 1998-2006, with a progress in total factor productivity of 1.4% per year. Furthermore, the differences in hospital efficiency can be attributed to both the regulatory changes and hospital-specific characteristics. The user fees and autonomy measures were found to increase technical efficiency. Provincial hospitals were revealed to be more technically efficient than their central counterparts and hospitals located in the North East, South East and Mekong River Delta regions performed better that hospitals from other regions.

We studied the concordance of transgene expression in the transplanted heart using bicistronic adenoviral vector coding for a transgene of interest (human carcinoembryonic antigen: hCEA - beta human chorionic gonadotropin: betahCG) and for a marker imaging transgene (human sodium iodide symporter: hNIS).Inbred Lewis rats were used for syngeneic heterotopic cardiac transplantation. Donor rat hearts were perfused ex vivo for 30 min prior to transplantation with University of Wisconsin (UW) solution (n=3), with 10(9) pfu/ml of adenovirus expressing hNIS (Ad-NIS; n=6), hNIS-hCEA (Ad-NIS-CEA; n=6) and hNIS-betahCG (Ad-NIS-CG; n=6). On postoperative day (POD) 5, 10, 15 all animals underwent micro-single photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography (SPECT/CT) imaging of the donor hearts after tail vein injection of 1000 microCi (123)I and blood sample collection for hCEA and betahCG quantification.Significantly higher image intensity was noted in the hearts perfused with Ad-NIS (1.1+/-0.2; 0.9+/-0.07), Ad-NIS-CEA (1.2+/-0.3; 0.9+/-0.1) and Ad-NIS-CG (1.1+/-0.1; 0.9+/-0.1) compared to UW group (0.44+/-0.03; 0.47+/-0.06) on POD 5 and 10 (p0.05). Serum levels of hCEA and betahCG increased in animals showing high cardiac (123)I uptake, but not in those with lower uptake. Above this threshold, image intensities correlated well with serum levels of hCEA and betahCG (R(2)=0.99 and R(2)=0.96, respectively).These data demonstrate that hNIS is an excellent reporter gene for the transplanted heart. The expression level of hNIS can be accurately and non-invasively monitored by serial radioisotopic SPECT imaging. High concordance has been demonstrated between imaging and soluble marker peptides at the maximum transgene expression on POD 5.

This study examines the connectedness in high-order moments between cryptocurrency, major stock (U.S., U.K., Eurozone, and Japan), and commodity (gold and oil) markets. Using intraday data from 2020 to 2022 and the time and frequency connectedness models of Diebold and Yilmaz (Int J Forecast 28(1):57–66, 2012) and Baruník and Křehlík (J Financ Econom 16(2):271–296, 2018), we investigate spillovers among the markets in realized volatility, the jump component of realized volatility, realized skewness, and realized kurtosis. These higher-order moments allow us to identify the unique characteristics of financial returns, such as asymmetry and fat tails, thereby capturing various market risks such as downside risk and tail risk. Our results show that the cryptocurrency, stock, and commodity markets are highly connected in terms of volatility and in the jump component of volatility, while their connectedness in skewness and kurtosis is smaller. Moreover, jump and volatility connectedness are more persistent than that of skewness and kurtosis connectedness. Our rolling-window analysis of the connectedness models shows that connectedness varies over time across all moments, and tends to increase during periods of high uncertainty. Finally, we show the potential of gold and oil as hedging and safe-haven investments for other markets given that they are the least connected to other markets across all moments and investment horizons. Our findings provide useful information for designing effective portfolio management and cryptocurrency regulations.

People with pre-existing health conditions (PEHC) are vulnerable to viral infection while health literacy (HL) and preventive behaviors (PB) have been shown to benefit people during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study was to examine the association between PEHC and suspected COVID-19 symptoms (S-COVID-19-S), and to investigate the modification effect of HL and PB. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 8291 participants visiting outpatient departments at 18 hospitals and health centers across Vietnam from 14 February to 31 May 2020. Data were collected regarding participant&rsquo, s characteristics, HL, PB, PEHC, and S-COVID-19-S. Regression models were used for analyzing the associations. Results showed that people with PEHC had a 3.38 times higher likelihood of having S-COVID-19-S (odds ratio, OR, 3.38, 95% confidence interval, 95% CI, 3.01, 3.79, p &lt, 0.001). In comparison to participants without PEHC and with the lowest HL score, those with PEHC and one HL score increment had a 7% lower likelihood of having S-COVID-19-S (OR, 0.93, 95% CI, 0.92, 0.94, 0.001). In comparison to participants without PEHC and not adhering to mask wearing, those with PEHC and adhering to mask wearing had a 77% lower likelihood of having S-COVID-19-S (OR, 0.23, 95% CI, 0.16, 0.32, 0.001). Higher HL and adherence to mask wearing can protect people from having S-COVID-19-S, especially in those with PEHC.

The authors consider the strategic trade fragmentation by informed traders in an automated and transparent equity trading environment. Employing unique transactional data for a sample of stocks traded on the Australian Stock Exchange, they find significant evidence of trade fragmentation involving medium- and small-size trades. They also show that informed investors trade differently depending on the availability of liquidity. When liquidity is available, informed investors tend to trade in larger trade sizes. On the other hand, when there is little available liquidity, informed investors fragment their trades into smaller size units in order to camouflage their transactions. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

This paper investigates informed traders' order-splitting strategies on different days of the week and times of the day for a sample of stocks traded on the Australian Stock Exchange. Based on cumulative price changes, we document that informed traders tend to usemedium size trades. We find that informed investors concentrate their strategic trading on Mondays and particularly during the first trading hour. In addition, informed investors also use large size trades around market opening and closing, as well as on days other than Mondays and Fridays. These results are more pronounced for the large market capitalization stocks. Crown Copyright 2009 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.