THE ETHICAL DILEMMA OF EXPATRIATES IN EMERGING ECONOMIES: A LIMINAL PERSPECTIVE

Adjustment to emerging economies is benefited if Western expatriates recognise they are experiencing a liminal situation, which can lead to the instrumental utilisation of coping strategies as equivalent to rites of passage between distinct ethical frameworks. Given the characteristics ascribed to rites, the ethical dilemma resulting from the simultaneous demand to abide by local rules and to respect Western ethical principles is more easily solved. Consequently, effective and sustainable adjustment is favoured. Implications for organisations and individuals are discussed. JEL codes:

Using meta-learning to predict performance metrics in machine learning problems

Machine learning has been facing significant challenges over the last years, much of which stem from the new characteristics of machine learning problems, such as learning from streaming data or incorporating human feedback into existing datasets and models. In these dynamic scenarios, data change over time and models must adapt. However, new data do not necessarily mean new patterns. The main goal of this paper is to devise a method to predict a model's performance metrics before it is trained, in order to decide whether it is worth it to train it or not. That is, will the model hold significantly better results than the current one? To address this issue, we propose the use of meta-learning. Specifically, we evaluate two different meta-models, one built for a specific machine learning problem, and another built based on many different problems, meant to be a generic meta-model, applicable to virtually any problem. In this paper, we focus only on the prediction of the root mean square error (RMSE). Results show that it is possible to accurately predict the RMSE of future models, event in streaming scenarios. Moreover, results also show that it is possible to reduce the need for re-training models between 60% and 98%, depending on the problem and on the threshold used.This work was supported by the Northern Regional Operational Program, Portugal 2020 and European Union, trough European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) in the scope of project number 39900 - 31/SI/2017, and by FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia within projects UIDB/04728/2020 and UIDB/00319/2020

COVID 19 E A CRISE DE PERFORMANCE CONTRATUAL NOS CONTRATOS INTERNACIONAIS REGIDOS PELA CONVENÇÃO DE VIENA SOBRE CONTRATOS DE COMPRA E VENDA INTERNACIONAL DE MERCADORIAS (CISG)

Objetivos: Através deste artigo analisaremos as implicações da pandemia do vírus COVID-19 nos contratos internacionais, impactando as cláusulas de performance segundo a CISG.Metodologia: A pesquisa foi realizada mediante uma abordagem indutiva, hipotética, entendimento de conceitos jurídicos e uma pesquisa bibliográfica/documental, com objetivo exploratório e conclusivo.Resultados: O estudo do assunto nos leva à algumas conclusões quanto ao não cumprimento total ou parcialmente dos contratos internacionais do comércio em razão das dificuldades impostas pela crise epidemiológica mundial da COVID-19.Contribuições: Trata-se de assunto de grande relevância e atual, em especial pelos impactos que estão acarretando nas economias dos diversos Países e na sociedade como um todo, se inserindo num estudo de interesse do Direito Internacional.Palavras-chave: COVID-19; Riscos nos Contratos Internacionais; CISG; Hardship.  ABSTRACTObjectives: This paper analyzes the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic in international commercial contracts and its impacts on the obligations performance within the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG).Methodology: The research was conducted through an inductive, hypothetical approach, based on an understanding of legal concepts and a bibliographic/documentary survey, with an exploratory and conclusive objective.Results: The study leads to some conclusions regarding the total or partial failure to perform contracts due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences on international trades.Contributions: This is a topical matter of great relevance, given its impacts on the different countries’ economies and on the society as a whole, which falls within the field of interest of international law.Keywords: COVID-19; Risks in International Contracts; CISG; Hardships.

Seasonal and sex-related variations in serum steroid hormone levels in wild and farmed brown trout Salmo trutta L. in the north-west of Spain

P. 720-728Serum steroid profiles were investigated in order to evaluate the potential use of circulating sex steroid levels as a tool for sex identification in brown trout. Changes in the serum concentrations of testosterone (T), progesterone (P), 17-β-estradiol (E2), and cortisol (F) in wild and farmed mature female and male brown trout, Salmo trutta L., were measured in each season (January, May, July, and October) in six rivers and four hatcheries located in the north-west of Spain. Serum cortisol levels in farmed brown trout were significantly higher and showed a seasonal pattern opposite to that found in wild trout. Because levels of the hormones under study can be affected by disruptive factors such as exposure to phytoestrogens (which alters the hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal axis) and infection with Saprolegnia (which alters the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis), both factors are taken into account.S

Carotid body chemosensitivity: Early biomarker of dysmetabolism in humans

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Comprehensive Analysis of Tissue Preservation and Recording Quality from Chronic Multielectrode Implants

Multielectrodes have been used with great success to simultaneously record the activity of neuronal populations in awake, behaving animals. In particular, there is great promise in the use of this technique to allow the control of neuroprosthetic devices by human patients. However, it is crucial to fully characterize the tissue response to the chronic implants in animal models ahead of the initiation of human clinical trials. Here we evaluated the effects of unilateral multielectrode implants on the motor cortex of rats weekly recorded for 1–6 months using several histological methods to assess metabolic markers, inflammatory response, immediate-early gene (IEG) expression, cytoskeletal integrity and apoptotic profiles. We also investigated the correlations between each of these features and firing rates, to estimate the impact of post-implant time on neuronal recordings. Overall, limited neuronal loss and glial activation were observed on the implanted sites. Reactivity to enzymatic metabolic markers and IEG expression were not significantly different between implanted and non-implanted hemispheres. Multielectrode recordings remained viable for up to 6 months after implantation, and firing rates correlated well to the histochemical and immunohistochemical markers. Altogether, our results indicate that chronic tungsten multielectrode implants do not substantially alter the histological and functional integrity of target sites in the cerebral cortex