Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Unsupervised Feature Selection Using Incremental Least Squares

An unsupervised feature selection method is proposed for analysis of datasets of high dimensionality. The least square error (LSE) of approximating the complete dataset via a reduced feature subset is proposed as the quality measure for feature selection. Guided by the minimization of the LSE, a kernel least squares forward selection algorithm (KLS-FS) is developed that is capable of both linear and non-linear feature selection. An incremental LSE computation is designed to accelerate the selection process and, therefore, enhances the scalability of KLS-FS to high-dimensional datasets. The superiority of the proposed feature selection algorithm, in terms of keeping principal data structures, learning performances in classification and clustering applications, and robustness, is demonstrated using various real-life datasets of different sizes and dimensions.
Physical therapy students’ perceptions of team-based learning in gross anatomy using the Team-Based Learning Student Assessment Instrument

Purpose: The objective of this study was to assess physical therapy student perceptions of team-based learning (TBL) in a graduate level gross anatomy course using the TBL Student Assessment Instrument (TBL-SAI). Methods: The TBL-SAI was administered to 85 doctor of physical therapy (DPT) students, comprising three cohorts (classes of 2013, 2014, and 2015), who successfully completed a gross anatomy course where TBL was implemented. The TBL-SAI surveys 33 items, each rated from one (strongly disagree) to five (strongly agree) and measures three subscales: students’ perceptions of accountability, preference for lecture or TBL, and student satisfaction. Results: The means for each subscale and the total TBL-SAI score for each cohort fell above the neutral score. The 2015 group (mean, 37.97; 95% confidence interval [CI], 35.67 to 40.26) reported significantly higher satisfaction than that of the 2013 group (mean, 32.71; 95% CI, 30.31 to 35.05) and the 2014 group (mean, 33.11; 95% CI, 30.69 to 35.53). The 2015 group (mean, 125.3; 95% CI, 120.6 to 130.3) also had a significantly higher total score than that of the 2013 group (mean, 115.6; 95% CI, 110.5 to 120.5). Conclusion: The physical therapy students reported an overall positive experience in using TBL to learn gross anatomy in terms of accountability, preference for learning mode, and satisfaction. This positive experience with TBL was accompanied by their successful academic performance. Given the traits and learning preferences in this generation of graduate students, TBL could be a teaching method that is received positively elsewhere and results in successful academic performance and learning.
Calculation of returns to job tenure revisited

This study considers the robustness of the effects on wages of job tenure and work experience among white adult men in the United States. The Survey of Income and Programme Participation data is used from 1983–1992 and the same methodology is also used to generate results to compare to earlier findings for Panel Study of Income Dynamics data from 1968–1983. Results are remarkably consistent across data sets and time periods in finding significant returns to job tenure, although a slightly flatter wage growth profile is found.
Technoscientific promotion and biofuel policy: How the press and search engines stage the biofuel controversy

What are the conditions for the public understanding of biofuels and how do the media shape these conditions under the influence of a new production of knowledge? This article investigates how the biofuel controversy plays out in the Swedish press and Google search engine results and analyses winners and losers in the tight attention economy of contemporary media. It describes different visibility strategies biofuel stakeholders employ in both media arenas, and identifies a form of technoscientific promotion that hybrid actors use to succeed in the day-to-day struggle for media attention. To conclude, it raises broader societal questions of the contemporary blurring of knowledge boundaries and the emergence of new information hierarchies and their biases. By understanding how contemporary media shape controversies, we can address the democratic potential of both mass media and science.
Quality of maternity care practices of skilled birth attendants in Cambodia.

BACKGROUND The World Health Organization's recommended package of interventions for the integrated management of pregnancy and childbirth provides guidance for the use of evidence-based interventions to ensure the best outcomes for mother and newborn. However, the extent to which skilled birth attendants (SBAs) follow evidence-based guidelines is not known. There are few studies into childbirth practices of SBAs in Cambodia. The aim of this study was to observe practices of SBAs during labour, birth and the immediate post-partum period and their consistency with evidence-based guidelines. METHODS A structured non-participant observation study was undertaken. Data were collected using an observational checklist of evidence-based practices adapted from the Cambodian clinical assessment tools for associate degree in midwifery. Maternity care settings in one provincial hospital, two district referral hospitals and two health centres in one province of Cambodia were purposively selected. RESULTS Twenty-five SBAs who attended 40 women during labour, birth and the postnatal period were observed. The results showed that the use of the partograph was low; birth companions were not permitted; cleanliness during birth was lacking; management of the third stage of labour was inappropriate; monitoring of mother and baby in the early postnatal period was lacking; the SBAs lacked skills in neonatal resuscitation; skin-to-skin contact with the newborn and early breastfeeding were rare; and intramuscular injection of vitamin K varied. CONCLUSION The findings suggest that the current SBA practices during labour, birth and the immediate post-partum period in one province of Cambodia are not consistent with evidence-based guidelines. Service improvements that address evidence-based practices are likely to have an impact on clean and safe childbirth, thereby enhancing outcomes for Cambodia women.
It’s not all about grades: new perspectives on graduate students’ academic performance

• A submitted manuscript is the version of the article upon submission and before peer-review. There can be important differences between the submitted version and the official published version of record. People interested in the research are advised to contact the author for the final version of the publication, or visit the DOI to the publisher's website. • The final author version and the galley proof are versions of the publication after peer review. • The final published version features the final layout of the paper including the volume, issue and page numbers.
Diagnostic performance of electrocardiography in the assessment of significant coronary artery disease and its anatomical size in comparison with coronary angiography

BACKGROUND: Current study addressed the predictive value of 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) in patients with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD). METHODS: Four hundred consecutive patients with new onset of chest pain were studied. A resting standard 12-lead ECG was recorded and all patients underwent coronary angiography. RESULTS: ECG correctly detected significant stenosis in 176 out of 400 patients with an overall sensitivity per patient of 51.5% and specificity per patient of 66.1%. Based on artery analysis, ECG had the highest and lowest sensitivity for the detection of involvement in LAD (37.3%) and RCA (25.8%), respectively. ROC curve analysis showed that ECG changes were not good indicators of coronary arteries involvement with areas under the ROC curves 0.586 (for LAD artery), 0.524 (for RCA artery) and 0.530 (for LCX artery). CONCLUSIONS: ECG has low partial sensitivity and specificity for predicting coronary artery stenosis with accuracy ranged 58.5 to 62.0 percent based on coronary artery analysis.
Financial Regulatory Reform: Challenges Ahead

Today's financial system is dominated by markets with institutions connected by short-term financing, securitization, derivatives, and other means. Yet regulations have focused on depositories, leaving regulators unprepared for the 2008 crisis. We suggest two key principles for regulatory reform. First, some changes in the financial system came as institutions lowered the burden of regulations through "regulatory arbitrage. " Reform needs to avoid driving businesses "into the shadows," where risks may accumulate and sow seeds of future crises. Second, reform ought to improve transparency to reduce uncertainty and inter-linkages between players. We evaluate some of Dodd-Frank Act in light of these principles.
A Quarter Century of Inclusive Education for Children with Intellectual Disabilities in Ontario: Public Perceptions.

Understanding the views of the public is an important factor in developing and evaluating policy on inclusive education. This article presents the results of an opinion poll conducted by an alliance of researchers and community partners to measure public perceptions regarding inclusive education of students with an intellectual disability, the related impacts, and obstacles to expansion. Participants were 680 adults across a large region of Ontario. Respondents held divergent views about the best type of schooling for children with intellectual disabilities; 52% viewed some degree of inclusive education in regular schools as best while about 42% believed that education in special schools was best. When asked to first assume inclusion in regular schools was occurring, about one third of respondents believed that it would cause discipline problems, and make it harder for other students to learn. Schools‟ lack of special resources (79%) and teachers being unprepared to teach students with intellectual disabilities (69%) were seen as obstacles to inclusion. Analyses identified younger age and having known someone with an intellectual disability who was not a family member, as associated with inclusive views. Policy implications are discussed.
The scope of application of management accounting methods in Polish enterprises

The transformation of Poland's economic system in the 1990s as a result of transition from a centrally-planned economy to a market-based system involves significant changes in the regulatory context and in accounting practice and education. This paper presents the scope of application of management accounting concepts and methods in 60 Polish enterprises covered by a questionnaire survey carried out by the author between November 1998 and December 1999 in enterprises located in central and southern Poland. The selected companies were interviewed by means of a postal survey, with inquire forms delivered in person in some cases. The detailed analyses carried out in this paper and the conclusions presented there were also based on information obtained from documentary evidence kept by the enterprises and from direct interviews conducted in the course of work in teams engaged in analysis and assessment of cost accounting practices in a number of large and medium Polish enterprises and in management accounting system designing in these enterprises. The empirical research carried out is aimed at verification of a number of hypotheses including the following: (1) modification of cost accounting systems and implementation of management accounting tools in Polish enterprises is brought about by many different factors, the most important being growth of competition and ownership changes in business entities. (2) Polish enterprises implement mostly the methods and techniques of operational management accounting. (3) Short-term budgeting for cost centres is the most widely used method of management accounting.
Estimating the Returns to Firm-Sponsored On-the-Job and Classroom Training

I estimate returns to firm-sponsored classroom and on-the-job training in terms of value added per worker using longitudinal linked employee-employer Canadian data. I find that a large fraction of on-the-job training is not productivity enhancing and may be best thought of as part of the cost related to turnover. Also, I find that the subjects covered in classroom training are more productivity enhancing. In terms of human capital accumulation, this means that less attention should be paid to the choice between the two types of training and more focus should rest on the subjects covered in training.
Methods, strengths, weaknesses, and limitations of bioequivalence tests with special regard to immunosuppressive drugs

Within the field of solid organ transplantation, the patents for a number of immunosuppressive drugs have expired in the last few years. Tacrolimus, cyclosporine, and mycophenolate mofetil are now available as generic drugs. In some countries, the market penetration of these generic formulations is as high as 70%, whereas in some other countries, this figure is below 10%. Several professional societies have published position papers on the risks and benefits of generic substitution of immunosuppressive drugs. It often appears that transplant professionals are not fully aware of the requirements for registration of generic drugs. This article describes the registration requirements with a focus on bioequivalence testing, the strengths and weaknesses in this process, and the differences between Europe and the US.
Endogenous Acquisition of Information and the Equity Home Bias

This paper investigates the extent to which differences in information costs can explain the equity home bias puzzle. In a model where information costs are higher for the Foreign asset than for the Home asset, I show that, if cost functions are convex and the assets have identical return characteristics, the expected size of the home bias in terms of differences in expected demands is positive and increasing in expected excess returns and risk, but decreasing in risk aversion. However, a calibration to US data suggests that information costs can explain only a small fraction of the observed home bias.
A Re‐examination of Disclosure Level and the Expected Cost of Equity Capital

This paper examines the association between the cost of equity capital and levels of annual report and timely disclosure, and investor relations activities. We estimate the cost of equity capital using the classic dividend discount model. We find that the cost of equity capital decreases in the annual report disclosure level but increases in the level of timely disclosures. The latter result is contrary to theory but is consistent with managers’ claims that greater timely disclosures may increase the cost of equity capital, possibly through increased stock price volatility. We find no association between the cost of equity capital and the level of investor relations activities. We conclude that aggregating across different disclosure types results in a loss of information. Failing to include all disclosure types in regression analyses may lead to a correlated omitted variable bias and erroneous conclusions.
The independent director on the board of company directors

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the views of directors of public-listed Australian companies regarding the role of the independent director and the significance of that role in relationship to the composition of the board of company directors. Design/methodology/approach - A qualitative study using a grounded research approach was used and 30 directors of Australian public-listed companies were interviewed. Findings - The analysis indicates that participating directors were convinced that a majority of non-executive directors (NEDs) provided a safeguard for a balance of power in the board/management relationship. The difference between NEDs, who are also independent directors, and NEDs who are not independent, was highlighted as an important distinction. The capacity for board members to think independently was seen to be enhanced, but not necessarily ensured, with majority membership of NEDs. However, a majority of independent minds expressing multiple points of view was perceived to reduce the board room hazard of “group think. ” Research limitations/implications - The study was conducted within the context of the preferred model for board composition in Australian public-listed companies which requires a majority of NEDs. Originality/value - Conflicting evidence surrounding the claim that a majority of independent members in the board structure contributes to “best pratice governance” makes the paper relevant to governance issues being debated in the global arena.
Public Managers' Perceptions of Organizational Goal Ambiguity: Analyzing Alternative Models

ABSTRACT Much organizational theory, research, and practice emphasizes the value of organizational members having clear perceptions of the organization's goals. For years, authors have asserted that public organizations have particularly vague goals, goals more vague than those of business firms. Yet, researchers have not devoted a lot of attention to ways of measuring perceptions about organizational goal clarity in public organizations and analyzing these perceptions. Many authors claim that the external political context increases goal ambiguity in public organizations. Some survey evidence, however, suggests that other factors, such as individual dispositions and attitudes, and internal organizational structures and processes, have greater effects. We analyze three alternative models of goal ambiguity—a political model, an organizational model, and an individual model—using data collected in Phase II of the National Administrative Studies Project (NASP-II), and then a composite model. Although political context acts as a significant determinant of goal ambiguity, both organizational and individual models have better explanatory power. Implications of these findings for theory and managerial practice are discussed.
Training soft skills via e‐learning: international chain hotels

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to investigate the perceived importance of soft skills for hotel employees, their willingness to use electronic learning (e‐learning) as a training tool to improve their soft skills, and the impact of hotel employees' individual characteristics (i.e. motivation, self‐efficacy, technology anxiety) on their intentions to use e‐learning across different age groups.Design/methodology/approach – The sample was randomly selected from hotel employees working at various upscale international chain hotels in South Korea. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) to simultaneously measure the impact of four independent variables on the intention to use e‐learning for both younger and older learners.Findings – The analysis revealed that responsibility, self‐esteem, sociability, and working with diverse groups were rated more important by younger hotel employees. The results suggest that learners who have higher extrinsic motivations in using e‐learning wil.
c-Cbl Ubiquitin Ligase Regulates Focal Adhesion Protein Turnover and Myofibril Degeneration Induced by Neutrophil Protease Cathepsin G*

Background: The neutrophil protease cathepsin G induces myocyte anoikis. Results: Cathepsin G promotes c-Cbl activation and interaction with focal adhesion proteins that leads to focal adhesion and myofibril protein degradation and myocyte anoikis. Conclusion: c-Cbl is a key ligase required during cathepsin G-induced focal adhesion and myofibrillar protein degradation. Significance: This is a novel mechanism to regulate focal adhesion and myofibril stability and turnover. The neutrophil-derived serine protease, cathepsin G (Cat.G), has been shown to induce myocyte detachment and apoptosis by anoikis through down-regulation of focal adhesion (FA) signaling. However, the mechanisms that control FA protein stability and turnover in myocytes are not well understood. Here, we have shown that the Casitas b-lineage lymphoma (c-Cbl), adaptor protein with an intrinsic E3 ubiquitin ligase activity, is involved in FA and myofibrillar protein stability and turnover in myocytes. Cat.G treatment induced c-Cbl activation and its interaction with FA proteins. Deletion of c-Cbl using c-Cbl knock-out derived myocytes or inhibition of c-Cbl ligase activity significantly reduced FA protein degradation, myofibrillar degeneration, and myocyte apoptosis induced by Cat.G. We also found that inhibition of the proteasome activity, but not the lysosome or the calpain activity, markedly attenuated FA and myofibrillar protein degradation induced by Cat.G. Interestingly, c-Cbl activation induced by Cat.G was mediated through epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) transactivation as inhibition of EGFR kinase activity markedly attenuated c-Cbl phosphorylation and FA protein degradation induced by Cat.G. These findings support a model in which neutrophil protease Cat.G promotes c-Cbl interaction with FA proteins, resulting in enhanced c-Cbl-mediated FA protein ubiquitination and degradation, myofibril degradation, and subsequent down-regulation of myocyte survival signaling.
Olfactory epithelium amyloid‐β and paired helical filament‐tau pathology in Alzheimer disease

Olfactory dysfunction is common in Alzheimer disease (AD) and other neurodegenerative diseases. Paired helical filament (PHF)‐tau, α‐synuclein, and amyloid‐β lesions occur early and severely in cerebral regions of the olfactory system, and they have also been observed in olfactory epithelium (OE). However, their frequency, abundance, and disease specificity, and the relationships of OE pathology to brain pathology have not been established.
Is Collective Bargaining Detrimental to Student Achievement?: Evidence from a National Study

The two largest teacher unions in the United States claim millions of members and wield substantial political influence over educational policy. In light of the often negative claims about the operation of teacher unions in public schools, it is puzzling why so few scholars have empirically scrutinized whether collective bargaining shapes the academic performance of students. I used data from the National Education Longitudinal Study to examine whether collective bargaining was related to student achievement or student educational expectations. I employed multivariate regression techniques whenever possible to isolate possible effects of bargaining from those of confounding variables. Findings suggest that bargaining was not associated with either lower student achievement (math, reading, science, or history) or lower educational expectations between the eighth and tenth grades.
Independent Mobility and Mode Choice for School Transportation: A Review and Framework for Future Research

Interest in active school transportation has emerged in response to concern over the reduced levels of physical activity (PA) among children. PA derived from active school travel may have important implications for the healthy development of children and youth. This article reviews transportation, urban planning, health and environmental psychology literatures to explore current understanding of school travel behaviour. The major theoretical approaches used to study and explain walking/cycling behaviour were examined; and existing evidence of the influences on school travel outcomes was summarized. Based on this review, the paper outlines a conceptual framework for exploring school travel behaviour of children and youth. The model hypothesizes multiple levels of influence on independent mobility and mode choice for school transportation; independent mobility is conceptualized within the household activity-travel paradigm. Future empirical research based on this framework will inform policy interventions that are focused on children's active mobility and PA.