Public survey instruments for business administration using social network analysis and big data

Purpose: The subject matter of this research is closely intertwined with the scientific discussion about the necessity of developing and implementing practice-oriented means of measuring social well-being taking into account the intensity of contacts between individuals. The aim of the research is to test the toolkit for analyzing social networks and to develop a research algorithm to identify sources of consolidation of public opinion and key agents of influence. The research methodology is based on postulates of sociology, graph theory, social network analysis and cluster analysis. Design/Methodology/Approach: The basis for the empirical research was provided by the data representing the reflection of social media users on the existing image of Russia and its activities in the Arctic, chosen as a model case. Findings: The algorithm allows to estimate the density and intensity of connections between actors, to trace the main channels of formation of public opinion and key agents of influence, to identify implicit patterns and trends, to relate information flows and events with current information causes and news stories for the subsequent formation of a "cleansed" image of the object under study and the key actors with whom this object is associated. Practical Implications: The work contributes to filling the existing gap in the scientific literature, caused by insufficient elaboration of the issues of applying the social network analysis to solve sociological problems. Originality/Value: The work contributes to filling the existing gap in the scientific literature formed as a result of insufficient development of practical issues of using analysis of social networks to solve sociological problems.peer-reviewe

Bank stability : the case of Nordic and non-Nordic banks in Latvia

The banking industry is facing huge challenges due to technology-enabled innovation, to changes in customer preferences, to bank de-risking and to new regulatory initiatives. To go through all these changes, banks need to be stable. The present study contributes to the empirical literature by identifying the determinants of stability of banks in the Latvian Banking Industry. This study covers both bank-specific (endogenous) factors and macroeconomic (exogenous) factors that impact the stability of banks. The data set used in this study is the annual financial statements of Latvian banks operated in the period 2003-2016. Using multivariate regression analysis techniques, we found evidence that credit risk and efficiency ratio have a significant negative impact on banks’ stability, whereas size of the bank, liquidity ratio, profitability, inflation and GDP growth have significant positive impact on bank’s stability. We made comparison of bank-specific variables performance for Nordic-owned and non-Nordic-owned banks. Credit and liquidity risks, as well as efficiency ratio for Nordic-owned banks during the research period were higher, whereas size of the banks and profitability were better. Comparing measurement results of stability of banks, we received that Nordic-owned banks performance between 2003 to 2016 was better than non-Nordic-owned banks performance.peer-reviewe

The impact of population ageing and social stratification : the case of Latvia

Population ageing and social stratification is widely assumed to have detrimental effects on the economy yet there is little empirical evidence about the magnitude of its effects. The aim of this article is to investigate the relationships between population ageing and social stratification and the state of economy of a small and post-transition economy. We are looking for these relationships and their strength of influence; at what time after shocking these variables reach their original levels. We apply standard Granger (non-) causality tests, VAR (Vector Auto-Regressive), IRF (Impulse Response Function) and the prediction error variance analysis by using quarterly data from 2000 to 2018. Research results show that the changes in the level of GDP per capita and the number of pensions paid imply changes in the number of retired persons. The research results have important contribute to policy debates about the impact of population ageing and social stratification on the state of economy in small and post-transition economy.peer-reviewe

Genomic investigations of unexplained acute hepatitis in children

Since its first identification in Scotland, over 1,000 cases of unexplained paediatric hepatitis in children have been reported worldwide, including 278 cases in the UK1. Here we report an investigation of 38 cases, 66 age-matched immunocompetent controls and 21 immunocompromised comparator participants, using a combination of genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic and immunohistochemical methods. We detected high levels of adeno-associated virus 2 (AAV2) DNA in the liver, blood, plasma or stool from 27 of 28 cases. We found low levels of adenovirus (HAdV) and human herpesvirus 6B (HHV-6B) in 23 of 31 and 16 of 23, respectively, of the cases tested. By contrast, AAV2 was infrequently detected and at low titre in the blood or the liver from control children with HAdV, even when profoundly immunosuppressed. AAV2, HAdV and HHV-6 phylogeny excluded the emergence of novel strains in cases. Histological analyses of explanted livers showed enrichment for T cells and B lineage cells. Proteomic comparison of liver tissue from cases and healthy controls identified increased expression of HLA class 2, immunoglobulin variable regions and complement proteins. HAdV and AAV2 proteins were not detected in the livers. Instead, we identified AAV2 DNA complexes reflecting both HAdV-mediated and HHV-6B-mediated replication. We hypothesize that high levels of abnormal AAV2 replication products aided by HAdV and, in severe cases, HHV-6B may have triggered immune-mediated hepatic disease in genetically and immunologically predisposed children

Targeting serpins in high-throughput and structure-based drug design

Native, metastable serpins inherently tend to undergo stabilizing conformational transitions in mechanisms of health (e.g., enzyme inhibition) and disease (serpinopathies). This intrinsic tendency is modifiable by ligand binding, thus structure-based drug design is an attractive strategy in the serpinopathies. This can be viewed as a labor-intensive approach, and historically, its intellectual attractiveness has been tempered by relatively limited success in development of drugs reaching clinical practice. However, the increasing availability of a range of powerful experimental systems and higher-throughput techniques is causing academic and early-stage industrial pharmaceutical approaches to converge. In this review, we outline the different systems and techniques that are bridging the gap between what have traditionally been considered distinct disciplines. The individual methods are not serpin-specific. Indeed, many have only recently been applied to serpins, and thus investigators in other fields may have greater experience of their use to date. However, by presenting examples from our work and that of other investigators in the serpin field, we highlight how techniques with potential for automation and scaling can be combined to address a range of context-specific challenges in targeting the serpinopathies