Duc Nguyen

Recent advances in machine learning and neuroscience, the abundances of sensors and emotion data have endowed machines with ability to detect, classify, and interact with human emotions. This study philosophize about affective computing devices by examining emotional artificial intelligence (AI) through the lens of affective artifacts, focusing on as personal AI assistants, work-related emotion trackers, and emotional AI toys and robots. Drawing from philosophical accounts on affective artifacts and empirical evidence on human-AI interaction, we argue how emotional AI technologies fulfill the criteria of being affective artifacts from the four key properties: underlying algorithmic complexity, artifactual nature, semi-agentive capabilities, and semi-interpersonal interactions. Furthermore, recognizing that the underlying algorithmic complexity renders these technologies easily manipulated for emotion-related tasks, we also analyze how these tools help us regulate emotions and influence self-perception, interconnecting with the maintenance and construction of our sense of self and identity, blurring the lines between the infosphere and lived experience.

Heart Failure (HF) is on the end stage of the disease spectrum with many confounders and thus no specific symptoms and signs. There is a need for a test that can effectively confirm the diagnosis of volume overload in HF at its earliest to guide the initial approach and subsequent management. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a new test noted as the Size and Expansion of Femoral Vein (SEFV) in the diagnosis and management of patients with HF. This test was used specifically on asymptomatic patients or those who presented with severe comorbidities. The patients who arrived at the emergency room with a diagnosis of HF or suspected HF were enrolled. Ten patients without HF formed the control group. All patients received a standard physical examination (PE). The patients with the obvious diagnosis of HF by PE formed the HF control group. All patients with tentative diagnoses formed the HF study group. All patients underwent the ultrasound test to measure the size of the common femoral vein (CFV) and artery (CFA). The study enlisted 167 patients with HF or suspected HF. The results showed that the SEFV test was more accurate (98%) than the PE (54%). The SEFV test accurately differentiated between severely sick patients with intravascular overload and moderately sick patients with extravascular overflow. The test was accurate in patients with severe comorbidities (93%) or hypotension (100%). The SEFV test was more accurate in confirming the presence of fluid overload in patients with severe comorbidities or hypotension.

Background. The differential diagnosis of chest pain in women is complex, ranging from atypical angina to chest pain in the absence of coronary artery disease (i.e., Syndrome X). The mechanism of these conditions remains unexplained. The purpose of this study was to examine coronary blood flow based on a new angiographic technique. Methods. Patients with chest pain were enrolled. In the new technique, as the contrast injection stopped, the blood in white color moved in and displaced the black contrast. Characteristics of blood flow could be observed and classified by type and time. The duration of the arterial phase was calculated and compared with the control. Results. Sixty patients were enrolled. Ten patients with normal coronary arteries and ventricular function; without chest pain served as controls. In the control group, the duration of the arterial phase in the RCA was 1.76 sec, while it was 3.76 sec for the syndrome X group (p<0.05). From the mMID segment to the distal segment, syndrome X patients had a much longer delay compared to control subjects (0.81 vs. 0.26 sec) (p<0.05). From the distal segment (bDIS) to the origin of the PDA, syndrome X patients had an average duration of 0.81 sec compared to 0.40 sec in controls (p<0.05). The largest difference was the period of time when the contrast left the PDA until flushed from the distal vasculature, which was 1.66 sec and 0.40 sec in syndrome X vs. control. Syndrome X patients with prolonged myocardial phase (1.89 sec) had dense and prolonged contrast retention at the myocardium. Conclusions. In patients with syndrome X, the prolonged arterial phase deprived the myocardium of highly oxygenated blood and triggered ischemia. This new imaging method allows for a better understanding of the mechanism of ischemia in Syndrome X patients.

One key element distinguishing family firms from non-family firms is the role of the family’s religious beliefs, with growing attention on understanding the fit between religion and family in shaping a business’s ethical conduct. A family firm’s behavior is embedded in an institutional context, and it is important to understand how multiple institutional logic shapes a family firm’s values and ethical behavior. While scholars agree on the central significance of family values and religion in shaping family firms’ values and ethical behavior, a definitive consensus on the influence of family values and religion in confronting ethical challenges and shaping ethical behavior has yet to be reached. We lack a theory explaining how family, family business, and religion shape a family firm’s ethical conduct. We conducted a qualitative study to investigate the role of family values and religion in shaping a family firm’s ethical conduct. The results reveal four themes, namely (a) ethical challenges faced by family firms, (b) family values shaping ethical behavior, (c) religion providing a rationale for family firms’ ethical decision-making, and (d) outcomes of ethical decision-making. The principal contribution of our study is clarifying the role of multiple institutional logics in the form of religion and family in explaining ethical behavior. Our findings suggest that the fit between religion, family, and business as an institution guides decision-making, helps family businesses earn a positive reputation in the community by displaying ethical behavior, and develops a positive workplace climate.

The principle of mandatory prosecution (MP) is respected, extensively applied, and has a long-standing tradition in continental European countries, and it is highly valued in socialist nations. However, in recent decades, there has been a notable shift in its implementation within these countries, with numerous studies reflecting this change by presenting diverse perspectives on the necessity to alter, modify, or preserve this principle. One of the primary aims of this paper is to examine the scope of research on responses to MP and the main reasons for maintaining or renewing MP highlighted in related publications. This paper employed a systematic literature review (SLR) to search the Scopus and Web of Science (WoS) databases, compiling a total of 28 papers spanning 50 years. These articles cover a wide range of countries and diverse jurisdictions currently applying either MP or discretionary prosecution (DP) principles. Furthermore, the literature review includes various arguments and discussions on how countries should respond to MP. Findings indicate that MP persists due to its enduring values, such as legality and equality, alongside its significant role in safeguarding the criminal justice system against arbitrariness and abuse of power. Our paper also reveals that the tendency to renew or replace MP is influenced not only by conflicting opinions but also by political factors and the consideration of victims’ discretion in certain offenses, particularly in cases of domestic violence. Additionally, three options for reconciling MP and DP principles are proposed to aid readers in understanding the transition process between these two fundamental principles. Ultimately, the paper advocates for further research on MP in current or former socialist countries, where applicable.

This book fills the gap between theories and practices of corporate governance in emerging markets by providing the reader with an in-depth understanding of governance mechanisms, practices and cases in these markets. It is an invaluable resource not only for academic researchers and graduate students in law, economics, management and finance, but also for people practicing governance such as lawmakers, policymakers and international organizations promoting best governance practices in emerging countries. Investors can benefit from this book to better understand of these markets and to make judicious investment decisions.

This paper introduces a novel method to control the operation of the active suspension system. In this research, a quarter-dynamic model is used to simulate the vehicle’s vibrations. Besides, the sliding mode-PID-integrated algorithm with five state variables is proposed to be used. This is a completely original and novel algorithm. The process of establishing the control algorithm is clearly described. The simulation is performed by the MATLAB software. The results of the paper have shown the advantages of the sliding mode-PID algorithm used in this research. Accordingly, the displacement and acceleration of the sprung mass were significantly reduced when this algorithm was used. The maximum and average values of the displacement of the sprung mass are only 1.31% and 1.29%, respectively, compared with the situation of the vehicle using a passive suspension. Similarly, the value of the acceleration is 6.98% and 2.94%, respectively. In addition, the phenomenon of “chattering” has also been significantly reduced when using this controller. In the future, some more complex algorithms can be proposed.

Using a sample of US stocks over the period 1991–2019, we test whether stocks with high exposure to a social index exhibit high returns. Using a univariate analysis, our in‐sample results show that stocks with high sensitivities to the MSCI KLD 400 Social Index underperform stocks with low sensitivities by an annual risk‐adjusted performance of 7.02%. The negative premium is also larger in the post‐crisis period of 2007–2019 and is equal to 10.25%. The out‐of‐sample results offer, however, only weak evidence of such a finding, with a risk‐adjusted performance difference of merely −0.84% over the full sample period and no significant differences between the pre‐crisis and post‐crisis periods. In the multivariate regression, we find evidence of a negative relationship between exposure to the social index and stock performance. Moreover, we find that stocks with high exposure to the social index display a low corporate social responsibility score, a high Tobin’s Q, high long‐term debt, a large size, high total risk, a high market beta, a high SMB coefficient, a low HML coefficient, and a small MOM coefficient.

High activity of the mechanistic target of rapamycin is associated with poor prognosis in pre-B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, suggesting that inhibiting mTOR might be clinically useful. However, emerging data indicate that mTOR inhibitors are most effective when combined with other target agents. One strategy is to combine with histone deacetylase inhibitors, since B-ALL is often characterized by epigenetic changes that silence the expression of pro-apoptotic factors. Here we tested combinations of mTOR and pan-HDAC inhibitors on B-ALL cells, including both Philadelphia chromosome-positive and non-Ph cell lines. We found that mTOR kinase inhibitors synergize with HDAC inhibitors to cause apoptosis in B-ALL cells and the effect is greater when compared to rapamycin plus HDAC inhibitors. The combination of TOR-KIs with the clinically approved HDAC inhibitor vorinostat increased apoptosis in primary pediatric B-ALL cells in vitro. Mechanistically, TOR-KI and HDAC inhibitor combinations increased expression of pro-death genes, including targets of the Forkhead Box O transcription factors, and increased sensitivity to apoptotic triggers at the mitochondria. These findings suggest that targeting epigenetic factors can unmask the cytotoxic potential of TOR-KIs towards B-ALL cells.