CURRENT CHALLENGES TO THE OFFSHORE BUSINESS

Offshore business is such an integral part of the financial sector that we can hardly imagine the world of money without it. Today we are as accustomed to offshore business as people were to slavery in the 18th and the 19th century when slave labour was considered normal and natural. However, it goes without saying that just like slavery, offshore zones are doomed to gradual decline because they function is parasitic. According to a study conducted by the international confederation Oxfam, offshore companies evade taxes for nearly $200 billion each year. In fact about 50$ 5.6 trillion is kept in offshore zones around the world. This amount represents 8% of the global equity or 10% of the world's gross domestic product

Aggression in school through pupils‘ eyes

School harassment and violence are gradually being recognized as some of the most important problems of modern education systems.The purpose of this study is to examine pupils‘ opinion on the presence of aggression at school, the measures being taken, and to generate suggestions from the pupils themselves to address the problem. The study includes a total of 174 pupils aged 11 to 18 years old from Varna, Dobrich, Shumen, Silistra, and Targovishte.The majority of pupils have witnessed aggression (89.1%), and every second one (52.9%) has been the victim of aggressive behavior. In each class there were on average 3-4 abusers and 3 victims. According to half of the pupils (52.7%), the measures in the school against aggression (mainly lectures, seminars or sanctions) are ineffective. The majority of respondents (87.8%) proposed the introduction of a special subject in health education starting from the first grade and having a different thematic focus, enabling the building of emotional and social competence and including contemporary interactive forms of training

Some Ternary Phenylmethoxybis(tetrazolium) Complexes of Vanadium(IV,V) and Their Constants of Association

Several liquid-liquid extraction systems containing vanadium {vanadium(IV) or vanadium(V)}, azoderivative of resorcinol {ADR: 4-(2-pyridylazo)-resorcinol (PAR) or 4-(2-thiazolylazo)-resorcinol (TAR)} and (phenylmethoxibis)tetrazolium salts {MBT: 3,3\u27-(3,3\u27-dimetoxy-4,4\u27-biphenylene)-bis(2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium) chloride (Blue Tetrazolium, BT) or 3,3\u27-(3,3\u27-dimetoxy-4,4\u27-biphenylene)-bis[2,5-di(4-nitrophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium] chloride (Tetranitroblue Tetrazolium, TNBT)} were studied. The optimum operating conditions and compositions of the extracted species were found. The constants of association (β) between MBT2+ and the anionic V–ADR chelates (Cheln–) were calculated. Previously re-ported negative linear relationship between log β and the number of nitro groups included in tetrazolium cation (Nnitro) was discussed taking into account the obtained results and literature data for V–ADR–MBT complexes of the same class, in which MBT is BT or 3,3\u27-(3,3\u27-dimetoxy-4,4\u27-biphenylene)bis[2-(4-nitrophenyl)-5-phenyl-2H-tetrazolium] chloride (Nitroblue Tetrazolium, NBT). (doi: 10.5562/cca1885

The ATLAS EventIndex: a BigData catalogue for all ATLAS experiment events

The ATLAS EventIndex system comprises the catalogue of all events collected, processed or generated by the ATLAS experiment at the CERN LHC accelerator, and all associated software tools to collect, store and query this information. ATLAS records several billion particle interactions every year of operation, processes them for analysis and generates even larger simulated data samples; a global catalogue is needed to keep track of the location of each event record and be able to search and retrieve specific events for in-depth investigations. Each EventIndex record includes summary information on the event itself and the pointers to the files containing the full event. Most components of the EventIndex system are implemented using BigData open-source tools. This paper describes the architectural choices and their evolution in time, as well as the past, current and foreseen future implementations of all EventIndex components.Comment: 21 page

Design and baseline characteristics of the finerenone in reducing cardiovascular mortality and morbidity in diabetic kidney disease trial

Background: Among people with diabetes, those with kidney disease have exceptionally high rates of cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality and progression of their underlying kidney disease. Finerenone is a novel, nonsteroidal, selective mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist that has shown to reduce albuminuria in type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) while revealing only a low risk of hyperkalemia. However, the effect of finerenone on CV and renal outcomes has not yet been investigated in long-term trials. Patients and Methods: The Finerenone in Reducing CV Mortality and Morbidity in Diabetic Kidney Disease (FIGARO-DKD) trial aims to assess the efficacy and safety of finerenone compared to placebo at reducing clinically important CV and renal outcomes in T2D patients with CKD. FIGARO-DKD is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, event-driven trial running in 47 countries with an expected duration of approximately 6 years. FIGARO-DKD randomized 7,437 patients with an estimated glomerular filtration rate >= 25 mL/min/1.73 m(2) and albuminuria (urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio >= 30 to <= 5,000 mg/g). The study has at least 90% power to detect a 20% reduction in the risk of the primary outcome (overall two-sided significance level alpha = 0.05), the composite of time to first occurrence of CV death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or hospitalization for heart failure. Conclusions: FIGARO-DKD will determine whether an optimally treated cohort of T2D patients with CKD at high risk of CV and renal events will experience cardiorenal benefits with the addition of finerenone to their treatment regimen. Trial Registration: EudraCT number: 2015-000950-39; ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02545049

MACROECONOMIC STATE OF BULGARIA AND PROSPECTS FOR DEVELOPMENT OF BULGARIAN ECONOMY

България успя да намали бюджетния дефицит, както се изисква по процедурата при прекомерен дефицит, и провежда съществена реформа, чиято цел е, законоустановената възраст за пенсия да бъде увеличена за мъжете и за жените. Въпреки напредъка, постигнат от правителството в изпълнение на неговата програма за реформи, главните предизвикателства пред политиката на страната са останали в общи линии непроменени. Поради постоянното увеличение на безработицата е необходимо по-голямо преориентиране на активната политика по заетостта, за да бъде подобрена пригодността за заетост. Ниските постижения в образованието свидетелстват за наличието на значителни структурни пречки пред осигуряването на качествено образование. Устойчивостта и адекватността на пенсионната система все още не са напълно гарантирани. Качеството на публичните разходи, ефективността на данъчната система и бизнес климатът са под оп- тималните. България в голяма степен е зависима от вноса на енергия и нейният енергиен пазар не функционира пълноценно. Bulgaria has managed to reduce the deficit as required according to the excessive deficit procedure and is carrying out a substantial reform aimed at raising the statutory retirement age for both men and women. Despite the progress made by the Government in fulfilling its reform programme, the main challenges facing the country’s policy have remained largely unchanged. Due to the constant increase in unemployment there should be more active reorientation of the active employment policy in order to improve employability. The low educational achievement shows that the provision of quality education faces significant structural barriers. Sustainability and adequacy of the pension system are still not fully guaranteed. The quality of public expenditure, the tax system efficiency and the business environment are suboptimal. Bulgaria is largely dependent on imported energy and its energy market is not fully operational

Wide-Range Database & Application Monitoring for the ATLAS Experiment at CERN

In High-Energy Physics (HEP) experiments at LHC (Large Hadron Collider) the database applications often become complex by reflecting the ever demanding requirements of the researchers. The ATLAS experiment has several Oracle DB clusters with over 216 database schemes each with its own set of database objects. To effectively monitor them, we designed a modern and portable application with exceptionally good characteristics. Some of them include: concise view of the most important DB metrics; top SQL statements based on CPU, executions, block reads, etc.; volume growth plots per schema and DB object type; database jobs section with signaling for problematic ones; in-depth analysis in case of contention on data or processes.This presentation describes also the technical aspects of the implementation. The project can be separated into two independent layers. The first layer consists in highly-optimized database objects hiding all complicated calculations and the Oracle REST Data Services (ORDS) provides the API for accessing the monitoring data. The second layer is an AngularJS Web interface, which allows the creation of reusable components, interactive charts and gives modern look and feel of the application. In addition, we will summarize the continuous integration cycle of the application, which uses GitLab-ci pipelines for basic testing, containerization and deployment on the CERN Openshift infrastructure

The ATLAS Wide-Range Database and Application Monitoring

In HEP experiments at LHC the database applications often become complex, reflecting the increasingly demanding requirements of the researchers. The ATLAS experiment has several Oracle DB clusters with over 216 database schemes each with its own set of database objects. To effectively monitor them, we designed a modern and portable application with exceptionally good characteristics. Some of them include: A concise view of the most important DB metrics; a list of top SQL statements based on CPU, executions, block reads, etc.; volume growth plots per schema and DB object type; a database jobs section with signalization for failures; and in-depth analysis in case of row-lock contention or DB sessions. This contribution also describes the technical aspects of the implementation. The project can be separated into three independent layers. The first layer consists in highly-optimized database objects hiding all complicated calculations. The second layer represents a server providing REST access to the underlying database backend. The third layer is a JavaScript/AngularJS web interface. In addition, we will summarize the continuous integration cycle of the application, which uses GitLab-ci pipelines for basic testing, containerization and deployment on the CERN Openshift infrastructure

The ATLAS wide-range database and application monitoring

International audienceIn HEP experiments at LHC the database applications often become complex, reflecting the increasingly demanding requirements of the researchers. The ATLAS experiment has several Oracle DB clusters with over 216 database schemes each with its own set of database objects. To effectively monitor them, we designed a modern and portable application with exceptionally good characteristics. Some of them include: A concise view of the most important DBmetrics; a list of top SQL statements based on CPU, executions, block reads, etc.; volume growth plots per schema and DB object type; a database jobs section with signalization for failures; and in-depth analysis in case of row-lock contention or DB sessions. This contribution also describes the technical aspects of the implementation. The project can be separated into three independent layers. The first layer consists in highly-optimized database objects hiding all complicated calculations. The second layer represents a server providing REST access to the underlying database backend. The third layer is a JavaScript/AngularJS web interface. In addition, we will summarize the continuous integration cycle of the application, which uses GitLab-ci pipelines for basic testing, containerization and deployment on the CERN Openshift infrastructure