8,013 research outputs found

    Legal determinants of external finance revisited : the inverse relationship between investor protection and societal well-being

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    This paper investigates relationships between corporate governance traditions and quality of life as measured by a number of widely reported indicators. It provides an empirical analysis of indicators of societal health in developed economies using a classification based on legal traditions. Arguably the most widely cited work in the corporate governance literature has been the collection of papers by La Porta et al. which has shown, inter alia, statistically significant relationships between legal traditions and various proxies for investor protection. We show statistically significant relationships between legal traditions and various proxies for societal health. Our comparative evidence suggests that the interests of investors may not be congruent with the interests of wider society, and that the criteria for judging the effectiveness of approaches to corporate governance should not be restricted to financial metrics

    Investigation of a generalized Obukhov Model for Turbulence

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    We introduce a generalization of Obukhov's model [A.M. Obukhov, Adv. Geophys. 6, 113 (1959)] for the description of the joint position-velocity statistics of a single fluid particle in fully developed turbulence. In the presented model the velocity is assumed to undergo a continuous time random walk. This takes into account long time correlations. As a consequence the evolution equation for the joint position-velocity probability distribution is a Fokker-Planck equation with a fractional time derivative. We determine the solution of this equation in the form of an integral transform and derive a relation for arbitrary single time moments. Analytical solutions for the joint probability distribution and its moments are given.Comment: 10 page

    The quality of government

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    THE RISKS AND ADVANTAGES OF ANTI-DIABETES THERAPY IN THE POSITIVE COVID-19 PATIENT

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    The new Sars-Cov-2 (COVID-19) is causing thousands of deaths worldwide and has caused a global pandemic, one of the biggest health challenges ever faced in history. in the most severe cases, Sars-Cov-2 infection can cause fatal lung injuries. In this context, it is essential to recognise effective therapeutic agents against the virus. There are currently no direct and effective vaccines and antivirals available. People with pre-existing conditions, such as diabetes, and with chronic drug therapies in place may represent complex patients difficult to manage clinically during COVID-19 infection and at high risk of major complications. The regulation of blood glucose and the adoption of appropriate measures are critical aspects to consider for the diabetic patient in this pandemic period, especially in the patient with ongoing infection. In this article we describe the current evidence in the literature on the possible risks of side effects caused by taking antidiabetic drugs in the COVID-19 patient and the data on extra homeostasis glycemic activity useful to fight viral infection.              Peer Review History: Received 25 May 2020; Revised 8 June; Accepted 3 July, Available online 15 July 2020 Academic Editor: Essam Mohamed Eissa, Beni-Suef University, Egypt, [email protected] UJPR follows the most transparent and toughest ‘Advanced OPEN peer review’ system. The identity of the authors and, reviewers will be known to each other. This transparent process will help to eradicate any possible malicious/purposeful interference by any person (publishing staff, reviewer, editor, author, etc) during peer review. As a result of this unique system, all reviewers will get their due recognition and respect, once their names are published in the papers. We expect that, by publishing peer review reports with published papers, will be helpful to many authors for drafting their article according to the specifications. Auhors will remove any error of their article and they will improve their article(s) according to the previous reports displayed with published article(s). The main purpose of it is ‘to improve the quality of a candidate manuscript’. Our reviewers check the ‘strength and weakness of a manuscript honestly’. There will increase in the perfection, and transparency. Received file:                Reviewer's Comments: Average Peer review marks at initial stage: 5.5/10 Average Peer review marks at publication stage: 7.0/10 Reviewer(s) detail: Dr. Heba M. Abd El-Azim, Damanhour University, Egypt, [email protected] Dr. George Zhu, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, [email protected] Similar Articles: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DIABETES MELLITUS AND TUBERCULOSIS IN REVIEW OF PREVALENCE, DIAGNOSTICS AND PREVENTIO

    USE OF COLCHICINE TO COUNTERACT THE STRONG HYPERINFLAMMATORY STATE INDUCED BY SARS-COV-2

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    Research in present time has been focusing on finding a specific SARS-CoV-2 vaccine or antiviral, which will probably be the therapeutic goal in the fight against the virus. In the meantime, scientific evidence shows that it is possible to have effective clinical improvements of infected patients in reducing the strong hyperinflammatory state. The SARS-CoV-2 infection is divided into three stages. The most serious phase is the third one where the immune system overdrives and launches an intense attack against itself. This is called "cytokine storm" and leads to tissue damage and often to death. Stopping the cytokine storm early is definitely an effective move; since March several studies have been evaluating how this can be an important pharmacological aspect. Blocking IL-6 or IL-1 inhibitors, for example, is already known to have wide efficacy, but they are not alone in being able to block the cascade of cytokines. This is a clinical pharmacology article and demonstrates how the use of colchicine, monotherapy or in combination in all three phases of SARS-CoV-2, controls inflammation and prevents patient death. Colchicine is safe and effective for treating SARS-CoV-2 patients in preventing inflammation and lung collapse and is certainly useful as an added remedy for other drugs. The advantage is certainly its safety profile much higher than that provided by other drugs, such as corticosteroids and immunosuppressive drugs. Note is the story of hydroxychloroquine: use has been banned due to its high toxicity.                               Peer Review History: Received 25 May 2020; Revised 10 June; Accepted 6 July, Available online 15 July 2020 Academic Editor: Dr. Muhammad Zahid Iqbal, AIMST University, Malaysia, [email protected] UJPR follows the most transparent and toughest ‘Advanced OPEN peer review’ system. The identity of the authors and, reviewers will be known to each other. This transparent process will help to eradicate any possible malicious/purposeful interference by any person (publishing staff, reviewer, editor, author, etc) during peer review. As a result of this unique system, all reviewers will get their due recognition and respect, once their names are published in the papers. We expect that, by publishing peer review reports with published papers, will be helpful to many authors for drafting their article according to the specifications. Auhors will remove any error of their article and they will improve their article(s) according to the previous reports displayed with published article(s). The main purpose of it is ‘to improve the quality of a candidate manuscript’. Our reviewers check the ‘strength and weakness of a manuscript honestly’. There will increase in the perfection, and transparency. Received file:                Reviewer's Comments: Average Peer review marks at initial stage: 5.5/10 Average Peer review marks at publication stage: 7.0/10 Reviewer(s) detail: Dr. Jennifer Audu-Peter, University of Jos, Nigeria, [email protected] Dr. Robert Tungadi, State University of Gorontalo, Indonesia, [email protected]

    The environmental impacts of different mask options for healthcare settings in the UK

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    During the COVID-19 pandemic, different strategies emerged to combat shortages of certified face masks used in the healthcare sector. These strategies included increasing production from the original manufacturing sites, commissioning new production facilities locally, exploring and allowing the reuse of single-use face masks via various decontamination methods, and developing reusable mask alternatives that meet the health and safety requirements set out in European Standards. In this article, we quantify and evaluate the life-cycle environmental impacts of selected mask options available for use by healthcare workers in the UK, with the objective of supporting decision- and policy-making. We investigate alternatives to traditional single-use face masks like surgical masks and respirators (or FFP3 masks), including cloth masks decontaminated in washing machines; FFP3 masks decontaminated via vapour hydrogen peroxide, and rigid half masks cleaned with antibacterial wipes. Our analysis demonstrates that: (1) the reuse options analysed are environmentally preferential to the traditional “use then dispose” of masks; (2) the environmental benefits increase with the number of reuses; and (3) the manufacturing location and the material composition of the masks have great influence over the life-cycle environmental impacts of each mask use option, in particular for single-use options

    Can Observers Predict Trustworthiness?

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    We investigate whether experimental subjects can predict behavior in a prisoner's dilemma played on a TV show. Subjects report probabilistic beliefs that a player cooperates, before and after the players communicate. Subjects correctly predict that women and players who make a voluntary promise are more likely to cooperate. They are able to distinguish truth from lies when a player is asked about her intentions by the host. Subjects are to some extent able to predict behavior; their beliefs are 7~percentage points higher for cooperators than for defectors. We also study their Bayesian updating. Beliefs do not satisfy the martingale property and display mean reversion

    Lagrangian Statistics and Temporal Intermittency in a Shell Model of Turbulence

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    We study the statistics of single particle Lagrangian velocity in a shell model of turbulence. We show that the small scale velocity fluctuations are intermittent, with scaling exponents connected to the Eulerian structure function scaling exponents. The observed reduced scaling range is interpreted as a manifestation of the intermediate dissipative range, as it disappears in a Gaussian model of turbulence.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
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