Official List Research Articles

Financial Leverage and Financial Performance of Oil and Gas Companies in Nigeria: A Re-examination

This study assessed the effect of financial leverage on the financial performance, using data from the annual reports of 7 quoted oil and gas firms in Nigeria, as well as from the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) daily official lists over the period 2005- 2018. Descriptive statistics were used in data presentation, while random effects panel estimator was applied in determining the effect of financial leverage variables as short-term debt ratio (STDR), long-term debt ratio (LTDR) and total-debt equity ratio (TDER) on the financial performance, measured by the return on equity (ROE). The regression results from the random effects model (REM) indicate that STDR and LTDR have no significant effect on the financial performance, and TDER has a negative but significant effect on the financial performance denoted by ROE. The study concludes that higher financial leverage of quoted oil and gas companies in Nigeria attenuates shareholders’ wealth. The investment implication of this conclusion is that oil and gas companies should look more carefully at the utility maximization value of debt vis-à-vis equity in their capital structure.

Economic evaluation of orphan drug Lutetium-Octreotate vs. Octreotide long-acting release for patients with an advanced midgut neuroendocrine tumour in the Netherlands

ObjectivesMultiple studies showed positive effects of Lutetium-Octreotate (LO) treatment in neuroendocrine tumours. LO has been used in the Netherlands since the 1980s and recently received the orphan status shortly after the acquisition by Novartis. Since then, the official list price has increased sixfold. From a value-based pricing perspective, we analysed the impact of the increase in price on the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of LO treatment compared to optimal best supportive care, a high dose of Octreotide long-acting release (O-LAR), using the clinical data of the NETTER-1 trial.MethodsA Markov model was developed to evaluate the costs per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) for LO treatment compared to O-LAR from the healthcare perspective. A scenario analysis was conducted to compare the cost-effectiveness with the initial and increased price level of the LO-treatment.ResultsAt the increased price level, the cost-effectiveness analysis rendered a deterministic ICER of €53,500 per QALY, while at the initial pricing, the ICER was €19,000 per QALY. The probabilistic sensitivity analysis (PSA) showed that LO had a high probability of being cost-effective at both the increased and initial price level, considering a cost-effectiveness threshold of €80,000.ConclusionsEven at the increased price level, LO treatment can still be considered cost-effective using the applicable Dutch willingness-to-pay threshold of 80,000 euro per QALY. Considering the public scrutiny in relation to this price increase, these outcomes raise the question whether traditional cost-effectiveness methods are sufficient in fully capturing the societal acceptance of prices of new medicines.

Financial Factors Determining the Investment Behavior of Lithuanian Business Companies

The article aims to identify and evaluate the financial factors influencing the investment behavior of Lithuanian companies. The article briefly reviews and summarizes previous research that provides detailed evidence of the financial factors that influence a firm’s investment behavior. The study is performed using correlation–regression and factor analysis. Sixteen Lithuanian joint-stock companies, the shares of which are listed on the Nasdaq Baltic stock exchange and whose main activity is not related to financial instruments, were selected for the research. Moreover, 58 companies are listed on the Nasdaq Baltic stock exchange (32 companies on the official list, 26 companies on the additional list). There are only 26 Lithuanian joint-stock companies in both lists. Out of 26 Lithuanian companies listed on this stock exchange, 16 were selected whose activities are not related to financial instruments. The results of the study provided strong evidence that a company’s financial assets have a positive impact on capital and overall profitability, i.e., Lithuanian companies with higher profitability invest in financial instruments more often, while companies with borrowed funds and with higher financial restrictions invest less. The study showed that the performance indicators of Lithuanian companies have a weak impact on the size of the company’s financial assets; therefore, it can be assumed that this is related to cognitive factors and heuristics.

РЕГЛАМЕНТАЦІЯ ПОВНОВАЖЕНЬ ЩОДО ЗДІЙСНЕННЯ ДІЗНАННЯ У КРИМІНАЛЬНОМУ ПРОЦЕСІ

Комплексно досліджено регламентацію повноважень суб’єктів кримінального процесу, які здійснюють дізнання. У роботі розглядаються висловлені в науковій літературі підходи щодо розуміння їх сутності та місця в системі суб’єктів кримінального провадження. Розглянуто питання, пов’язане із способом визначення провадження суб’єктів уповноважених здійснювати досудове розслідування кримінальних проступків. Авторами розкрито особливості реалізації повноважень дізнавача та працівників поліції інших підрозділів органів Національної поліції України, які уповноважені здійснювати досудове розслідування кримінальних проступків.

Suicide prevention and mood disorders: Self-exclusion agreements for firearms as a suicide prevention strategy.

Suicide involves a complex set of behaviors and emotions that lead up to actions that may be based on planning and forethought or the result of impulse. While there are a host of antecedent circumstances the presence of a mood disorder, primarily depression, is the most common factor in suicide. While management of depression is recognized as important prevention strategy in depression, the means by which suicide occurs must be a critical element of prevention. Policies that lower access to the means for suicide will decrease the fatality. Guns are associated with half of suicides and the case fatality rate of gun associated suicide is over 90% compared to 7% for all other means. This emphasizes the importance of offering strategies that limit access to guns to those at higher risk for suicide. A declaration of formal self‐exclusion for access to firearms (guns and ammunition) offers the individual at greater risk for suicide to place themselves on an official list that would prevent them from purchasing lethal weapons. A person with depression, when well, might wish to enroll voluntarily to prevent themselves, when ill, from procuring a weapon to harm themselves or others. This recognizes the autonomy of the person and protects both the individual, the family, and society.

A reproducible picture of open access health facility data in Africa andR tools to support improvement.

Background: Open data on the locations and services provided by health facilities have, in some countries, allowed the development of software tools contributing to COVID-19 response. The UN and WHO encourage countries to make health facility location data open, to encourage use and improvement. We provide a summary of open access health facility location data in Africa using re-useable R code. We aim to support data analysts developing software tools to address COVID-19 response in individual countries. In Africa there are currently three main sources of such open data; 1) direct from national ministries of health, 2) a database for sub-Saharan Africa collated and published by a team from KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme and now hosted by WHO, and 3) The Global Healthsites Mapping Project in collaboration with OpenStreetMap. Methods: We searched for and documented official national facility location data that were openly available. We developed re-useable open-source R code to summarise and visualise facility location data by country from the three sources. This re-useable code is used to provide a web user interface allowing data exploration through maps and plots of facility type. Results: Out of 52 African countries, seven currently provide an official open facility list that can be downloaded and analysed reproducibly. Considering all three sources, there are over 185,000 health facility locations available for Africa. However, there are differences and overlaps between sources and a lack of data on capacities and service provision. Conclusions: These summaries and software tools can be used to encourage greater use of existing health facility location data, incentivise further improvements in the provision of those data by national suppliers, and encourage collaboration within wider data communities. The tools are a part of the afrimapr project, actively developing R building blocks to facilitate the use of health data in Africa.

It's all in the details: A call for administering the COVID-19 vaccine in Lebanon through a transparent and un-politicized collaborative approach.

It's all in the details: A call for administering the COVID-19 vaccine in Lebanon through a transparent and un-politicized collaborative approach.

A Nationwide Survey Study on Medical Student Experience in Acute Care Surgery

BackgroundThere is little known about medical student education in acute care surgery (ACS)—how much and what type of exposure students receive in the specialty. The aim of this study was to investigate the current status of ACS education provided to students in U.S. medical schools. Materials and methodsWe created an online survey tool covering the surgical clerkship and ACS curriculum and distributed this survey to the official email list of the Association for Surgical Education Committee on Clerkship Directors. ResultsA total of 57 of 294 (19.4%) responses were received. All respondents reported that at least some of their major teaching hospitals are affiliated with an ACS service and have a level 1 or 2 trauma center. Although almost two-thirds (61.8%) of respondents believe that medical students should have formal ACS education in the form of a clinical rotation, an ACS rotation is mandatory at only 16.4% of programs and is optional at 69.1% of programs as part of the surgical clerkship curriculum. The duration of ACS rotations ranges from 1 to 6 wk, and half of programs require students to take overnight call (most often 1-2 nights/wk). The most common pathologies that students see on ACS include appendicitis, biliary disease and cholecystitis, intestinal obstruction, and trauma. ConclusionsMedical students across the nation have varying exposure to ACS during their clinical training. With the continued growth of the ACS specialty, further study is warranted to examine the impact of undergraduate ACS education on student career planning.

О БЕДНОМ ДРАГУНЕ ЗАМОЛВИТЕ СЛОВО: СЛУЖБА И УВОЛЬНЕНИЕ СОВЕТНИКА ПРИМОРСКОГО ОБЛАСТНОГО ПРАВЛЕНИЯ АЛЕКСАНДРА ВЫСОКОСОВА

The purpose of the study is to show the role of friendly patronage in the promotion of fellow students in the Russian Empire at the beginning of the 20th century. The career of Alexandr Vysokosov, a graduate of the Nikolaev Cavalry School, first a cornet of a dragoon regiment, then an official of Special Assignments in the Vladimir province and the Primorskii region is taken as an example. Unpublished documents from three archives were used as sources. They are the attestation notebook and record of service – from the collection of the Russian State Military Historical Archive (Moscow), an official list – from the State Archive of the Vladimir Region (Vladimir), cases of recruitment and dismissal – from the Russian State Historical Archive of the Far East (Vladivostok). The documents show that Vysokosov studied poorly and after graduation was unable to build either a military or a civilian career, and from 1903 to 1912 he was retired twice. Thanks to the help of a classmate and friend Vladimir Lodyzhenskii, in 1913 he was able to get a position in the Primorsk regional administration. But in Vladivostok he was remembered only for his bribery, drunkenness and inappropriate behavior. And even the support of a friend – the vice governor – did not save him from the third dismissal, under Article 788 of the Charter on Service.

Profile of continuous use drugs prescribed in primary health care and presence in list of essential drugs

Objectives: To evaluate the profile of the drugs for continuous use prescribed in Primary Health Care (PHC) in Santa Rosa / RS and to identify presence in the official lists of essential drugs. Methods: Cross-sectional, analytical and quantitative study, with analysis of the digital prescriptions of users of primary health care in Santa Rosa. There was no gender restriction and patients who used at least one chronic drug were included. Data were collected through a printed report from users. Results: The study included 642 participants, with a mean age of 60.40±14.48, 64.3% were female and 47.4%, using polypharmacy. A total of 3.009 drugs were identified, with an average of 4.69±2.82 medications/prescription. There was a higher frequency of the cardiovascular system (46.9%), nervous system (16.8%) and digestive tract and metabolism (14.8%). The most commonly used drugs were hydrochlorothiazide, fluoxetine and omeprazole. Regarding the presence of drugs in the official lists, 90.9% are in RENAME and 90.8% in REMUME, and 80% of users have obtained full access to medicines. In the prescriptions, 0.3% contained antibiotics, 1.3% injectable drugs and all drugs were prescribed by the generic name and in a computerized way. Conclusions: The pharmacotherapeutic profile is similar to the national reality and most indicators are as recommended by the WHO, demonstrating the organization of the PA of the city, which facilitates the access of users to essential medicines. However, there was a high number of drugs per prescription and presence of polypharmacy, evidencing the importance of access to it as well as the promotion of the rational use of these drugs.

Audio-Visual Deep Neural Network for Robust Person Verification

Voice and face are two most popular biometrics for person verification, usually used in speaker verification and face verification tasks. It has already been observed that simply combining the information from these two modalities can lead to a more powerful and robust person verification system. In this article, to fully explore the multi-modal learning strategies for person verification, we proposed three types of audio-visual deep neural network (AVN), including feature level AVN (AVN-F), embedding level AVN (AVN-E), and embedding level combination with joint learning AVN (AVN-J). To further enhance the system robustness in real noisy conditions where not both modalities can be accessed with high-quality, we proposed several data augmentation strategies for each proposed AVN: A feature-level multi-modal data augmentation is proposed for AVN-F and an embedding-level data augmentation with novel noise distribution matching is designed for AVN-E. For AVN-J, both the feature and embedding level multi-modal data augmentation methods can be applied. All the proposed models are trained on the VoxCeleb2 dev dataset and evaluated on the standard VoxCeleb1 dataset, and the best system achieves 0.558, 0.441% and 0.793% EER on the three official trial lists of VoxCeleb1, which is to our knowledge the best published single system results on this corpus for person verification. To validate the robustness of the proposed approaches, a noisy evaluation set based on the VoxCeleb1 is constructed, and experimental results show that the proposed system can significantly boost the system robustness and still show promising performance under this noisy scenario.

"Pinyin Tzimu Project" — a Landmark Event in the History of Chinese Civilization Initiated and Supported by the CPC

The Creation of the Alphabet and words spelling of Chinese Mandarin (Pinyin tsimu project) is a landmark event in the history of Chinese civilization. It breathes new life into ancient Chinese characters. Great "dumb" − the Chinese character − for the first time since 1958 has become known to the whole world by sounds of Beijing speech. Today the two types of writing − Chinese Mandarin traditional ideographic and innovative phonographic writing, in their unity, provide the linguocultural unity of the Chinese society and the progress of science and technology of China. Millions of people in China and beyond are studying the Chinese language based on the sound letter standard of the words of Chinese Putonghua. Letter orthogramms of Chinese words provide tele- and Internet communication of hundreds of millions of Chinese. In the 20 century the first Latinized alphabet for the Chinese language was created with the leading participation of one of the founders and leaders of the CPC, Qu Qiubo, (included in the official list of "100 Greatest Figures of New China") under the influence of the experience of creating alphabets for the peoples of the USSR in 1921-26. Chinese alphabet, based on Latin letters and letter-spelling forms of Putonghua words are a huge scientific achievement of Chinese linguists. Outstanding contribution to the creation of the alphabet and letter words of Chinese Mandarin was made by a brilliant Chinese linguist Zhou Youguang (1906-2011), called the «father of pinyin zimu» or Chinese alphabet in China. The top leaders of the Communist Party of China, Mao Tsedong, Zhou Enlai, Chen Yi led the creation of the "pinyin" alphabet. The political will and wisdom of the CPC's senior leadership, combined with the creative genius of Chinese linguists, ensured the creation of a letter writing for the people of China, which was "an epochal event in the history of the development of Chinese civilization".

Żydówki nauczycielkami religii w Galicji do 1914 roku

The article describes the activities of Jewish women teaching religion in Galician public schools. The first women performed this profession in the 1870s, in the 1890s they were listed for the first time in the schematisms (the official lists of civil servants), in the next decade the first woman received a permanent teaching position, and in 1913 they were for the first time directly addressed in the job announcement for teachers of religion. Therefore, their position became more established toward the end of the autonomous period, although they still constituted an absolute minority in this professional group. The emergence of female teachers of religion raised protests among the male members of this professional group. They voiced three main arguments against granting women teaching positions: their alleged insufficient qualifications, the tradition of Judaism, and what they understood to be the “social justice” (according to which men deserved permanent teaching contracts more than women). The article discusses the chronology of granting women the positions of teachers of religion, describes the public debate on the subject, and addresses the issue of women’s professional qualifications. It is based on both printed and archival sources and on historical press.

Основные проблемы цифровизации формальных источников права

The status of formal sources of law is considered from the point of view of their definition and the possibility of creating a list of these sources, enshrined at the legislative level. The problem is posed of the need for the existence of an official list of formal sources of law in the national legal system. The phenomenon of digitalization of social life and legal means necessary for its effective regulation is investigated. The main trends in the digitalization of the legal system of society are determined on the basis of the digitalization of the system of formal sources of law, the necessary conclusions are drawn about the nature of this process, its direction, as well as about those positive and negative aspects that are associated with it. Particular attention is paid to the problem of compliance of “reference” texts of normative legal acts and other formal sources of law, enshrined in the official means of the content of legal information, and “digital” shells of these regulatory prescriptions that function within the framework of commercial legal reference systems. Based on the analysis performed, the main problems of modern digitalization of formal sources of law are determined. The issue of self-reproduction of law is touched upon, attention is drawn to the ethical problem of creating law to regulate social relations using digital technologies. Conclusions are made about the dual, objective and subjective nature of digitalization of formal sources of law and the role of the collective human mind in the creation and implementation of law.

Инициатива “Пояса и Пути”: промежуточные итоги и вызовы в условиях пандемии

The article analyses the current status of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), its key achievements and challenges, including those related to the COVID 19 pandemic. In the 2010s China has become one of world’s largest investors and BRI is one of the most important tools of Chinese investment policy. Due to its flexible structure, BRI has been able to adjust and develop in the context of the U.S. – China trade war and the growing anti-Chinese sentiment in the world that included the concerns over so called China’s debt diplomacy. But this lack of rigidity is also a challenge to those who study BRI because there is no official list of projects (estimations vary between 118 and 374) and countries participating in BRI (up to 138). China’s key BRI partner is Pakistan. The total value of projects implemented by China in Pakistan as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor was initially estimated at $46 billion but now exceeds $70 billion (new projects were signed even during the pandemic). BRI is increasing the number of its participants. In March 2019 Italy became the first G7 country to sign a BRI MoU with China. While implementing BRI China has faced such challenges as rising concerns of “China’s debt trap”, as well as ecological and political issues. In 2020 BRI is facing a new challenge with the COVID-19 pandemic. Some BRI projects were postponed because of the pandemic, but in some cases they were unaffected. There are 64 out of 138 countries participating in BRI that come from low and lower-middle income groups according to the World Bank classification. Their average ratio of foreign debt to GDP was 54% in 2018–2019. It is most likely that these countries will be hit hard by the coronacrisis. Thus the pandemic will encourage China to tighten the selection process for BRI projects with a focus on the most strategically important and cost effective ones. From the point of view of China’s BRI partners, the effect can be two-fold: the most unstable economies will increase their dependence on China, while with the economically strong countries China will be more willing to make concessions and offer more favorable conditions for cooperation.

Birthplace of Brazilian athletes who competed in Tokyo 2020 and the states variables related to the chances of being a medalist

The purpose of this study was to describe the birthplace of Brazilian Tokyo 2020 Olympic athletes, and to investigate the states-related variables associated with winning an Olympic medal. Data were collected based on the Brazilian Olympic Committee official list of athletes competing at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and from ESTADIC research (2016) and Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). Binary Logistic Regression was used with the purpose to estimate the chances of the states have athletes who won an Olympic medal. All the analysis was performed in JAMOVA, considering p<0.05. Sample comprised 303 athletes, from the five Brazilian regions. The model comparisons indicated that the second model was the best to explain the chances of the state have an athlete who won an Olympic medal (Model 2 versus Model 1: c² = 21.41; p<0.001; Model 3 versus Model 2: c² = 2.77; p = 0.429). So, age (OR= 0.91; CI95% = -0.15 – -0.2) and to be part in team sports (OR= 4.36; CI95% = 0.80 – 2.15) are associated with chances to winning an Olympic medal. The most of Brazilian Olympic athletes in Tokyo 2020 were born in Southeast region, especially in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro states. The best model to explain associations with chances to winning a medal was composed to meso-level variables, and it was not found significant association between the macro-level characteristics investigated with the chances to be a medalist.

Names and Works Placed on Official Lists and Indexes or Emended in Rulings of the Commission Published in Volume 77 (2020)

Names and Works Placed on Official Lists and Indexes or Emended in Rulings of the Commission Published in Volume 77 (2020)

RESULTADOS DEL PROGRAMA PROAGRO PRODUCTIVO EN LAS REGIONES DEL ESTADO DE VERACRUZ, MÉXICO

La discusión acerca de logros y resultados de la aplicación de los programas gubernamentales es relevante desde una perspectiva del aprendizaje institucional. El resultado de este ejercicio es materia prima para rediseñar programas en operación o diseñar nuevos. El objetivo de este estudio fue analizar la distribución de los beneficiarios, los montos de apoyo, así como la superficie apoyada y su heterogeneidad productiva, con los datos de operación del programa gubernamental PROAGRO Productivo para las regiones del estado de Veracruz, México. El número de beneficiarios, los montos de apoyo y la superficie sembrada del año inicial (2014) al final (2018), se analizaron con base en el padrón oficial de beneficiarios del programa. A través de análisis multivariados (dendrograma y k-medias) se encontró: una disminución del presupuesto y número de beneficiarios de 2014 a 2018, la agrupación de cinco tipos de municipios con niveles muy altos, altos, medio, bajo y muy bajo de acuerdo con el número de beneficiarios, montos de apoyo y superficie apoyada; distribuidos de forma heterogénea en las diferentes regiones del estado, pero con mayor presencia de agricultores en el estrato autoconsumo (A), seguido de transición (T) y en menor proporción comercial (C), con apoyos a diferentes tipos de cultivos y cantidad de superficie incentivada por región. El desempeño del programa fue a la baja en términos de montos y superficie apoyada, de manera que no logró cumplir sus objetivos. Una reflexión sobre las categorías utilizadas para estratificar a los agricultores queda como paso siguiente, así como rediseñar un esquema nuevo de evaluación en el cual los beneficiarios sean los protagonistas principales.

«Умирание» или «новая жизнь» моногородов (на примере социально-экономической адаптации жителей монопрофильных поселений Северо-Запада России)

The article is devoted to the socio-economic adaptation of single-industry towns’ population on the example of single-industry settlements in the North-West of Russia. The work’s theoretical and meth-odological framework is the approaches of scientists who study the grassroots practices of survival of small towns and villages (seasonal work, commuting, a distributed way of life, the informal economy). The empirical base of the study are statistical data collected from the databases of EMISS, SPARK Interfax, the Foundation for the Development of Single-Industry Towns, websites of administrations of single-industry settlements in the Northwestern Federal District, as well as data from field studies collected by the method of semi-formalized interviews with representatives of administrations and deputies of city and regional councils, with ordinary residents of single-industry towns in Republic of Karelia, Leningrad and Vologda oblasts. The study’s preliminary results are presented: first, an analysis of the contradictions in the management approach. Many single-industry settlements in the Northwestern Federal District do not meet the criteria according to which they are included in the official list of single-industry towns. Also, government support measures to rescue “dying” monotowns are ineffective. Secondly, empirical research results show that residents of single-industry towns have developed strategies for adapting to new socio-economic conditions of life, which are not associated with employment in a city-forming enterprise. These strategies include: 1) rotational work or seasonal work; 2) pendulum migration within spontaneous local agglomerations; 3) “distributed lifestyle”; 4) involvement in various spheres of the informal economy. Thus, single-industry towns “do not die” but survive primarily due to the population’s grassroots economic practices.

О местах традиционного проживания и традиционной хозяйственной деятельности коренных малочисленных народов России: к проблеме разработки критериев отнесения (опыт Республики Саха (Якутия))

The paper presents the results of a study on the expansion of places of traditional residence and traditional economic activities of indigenous small-numbered peoples of the Russian Federation. A comparative analysis of the approaches of the Kha-barovsk region and the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) to including territories in the official List of such places is carried out. The main criteria for classifying territories as places of traditional residence and tra-ditional economic activities of minor indigenous peoples are highlighted. Examples that cause the greatest difficulties are given, in particular the inclu-sion of urban settlements in the List. On the basis of the developed criteria with the use of field data, the possibility of including the municipal formation “City of Tommot” of Aldansky district of the Repub-lic of Sakha (Yakutia) in the List is considered. The research results can be used in the preparation of analytical materials in order to improve Russian leg-islation.