Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Future of Children

Research conducted over the past decade indicates that a wide range of psychological and interpersonal problems are more prevalent among those who have been sexually abused than among individuals with no such experiences. Although a definitive causal relationship between such difficulties and sexual abuse cannot be established using current retrospective research methodologies, the aggregate of consistent findings in this literature has led many to conclude that childhood sexual abuse is a major risk factor for a variety of problems. This article summarizes what is currently known about these potential impacts of child sexual abuse. The various problems and symptoms described in the literature on child sexual abuse are reviewed in a series of broad categories including posttraumatic stress, cognitive distortions, emotional pain, avoidance, an impaired sense of self, and interpersonal difficulties. Research has demonstrated that the extent to which a given individual manifests abuse-related distress is a function of an undetermined number of abuse-specific variables, as well as individual and environmental factors that existed prior to, or occurred subsequent to, the incidents of sexual abuse. Research conducted over the past decade indicates that a wide range of psychological and interpersonal problems are more prevalent among those who have been sexually abused than among individuals with no such experiences. Although a definitive causal relationship between such difficulties and sexual abuse cannot be established using current retrospective research methodologies, the aggregate of consistent findings in this literature has led many researchers and clinicians to conclude that childhood sexual abuse is a major risk factor for a variety of problems, both in the short term and in later adult functioning.2 Further, longitudinal studies currently under way suggest that sexual abuse, as well as other forms of child maltreatment, does in fact lead to subsequent psychological difficulties in the short and longer term. As a result, the contention of some earlier clinicians that childhood sexual abuse is a neutral or even benign event has little current acceptance in the field. The Future of Children SEXUAL ABUSE OF CHILDREN Vol. 4 • No. 2 – Summer/Fall 1994
Neutrino-induced nucleosynthesis and the site of the r process

If the r process occurs deep within a type II supernova, probably the most popular of the proposed sites, abundances of r-process elements may be altered by the intense neutrino flux. We point out that the effects would be especially pronounced for eight isotopes that can be efficiently synthesized by the neutrino reactions following r-process freeze-out. We show that the observed abundances of these isotopes are entirely consistent with neutrino-induced nucleosynthesis, strongly arguing for a supernova r-process site. The deduced neutrino fluences place stringent constraints on the freeze-out radius and dynamic time scale of the r process.
European Market Reaction to Audit Reforms

Abstract This paper investigates European stock market reaction to events associated with the proposed EU audit reforms that were ultimately implemented in 2016. These include, inter alia, mandatory audit firm rotation, prohibition of non-audit services, and fee caps. We find that investors react positively to the proposals, lifting aggregate market value by approximately €108,630 million. In cross-sectional analysis at both country and firm level, we find that these net benefits arise from the prohibition of non-audit services and the placing of a cap on total fees charged by the auditor. Furthermore, we find investors in firms with low earnings quality appear to perceive the greatest benefits from the proposed reforms.
Forces and mechanical energy fluctuations during diagonal stride roller skiing; running on wheels?

Mechanical energy can be conserved during terrestrial locomotion in two ways: the inverted pendulum mechanism for walking and the spring–mass mechanism for running. Here, we investigated whether diagonal stride cross-country roller skiing (DIA) utilizes similar mechanisms. Based on previous studies, we hypothesized that running and DIA would share similar phase relationships and magnitudes of kinetic energy (KE), and gravitational potential energy (GPE) fluctuations, indicating elastic energy storage and return, as if roller skiing is like ‘running on wheels’. Experienced skiers (N=9) walked and ran at 1.25 and 3 m s−1, respectively, and roller skied with DIA at both speeds on a level dual-belt treadmill that recorded perpendicular and parallel forces. We calculated the KE and GPE of the center of mass from the force recordings. As expected, the KE and GPE fluctuated with an out-of-phase pattern during walking and an in-phase pattern during running. Unlike walking, during DIA, the KE and GPE fluctuations were in phase, as they are in running. However, during the glide phase, KE was dissipated as frictional heat and could not be stored elastically in the tendons, as in running. Elastic energy storage and return epitomize running and thus we reject our hypothesis. Diagonal stride cross-country skiing is a biomechanically unique movement that only superficially resembles walking or running.
Statistical Discrimination

Statistical discrimination is a theory of inequality between demographic groups based on stereotypes that do not arise from prejudice or racial and gender bias.When rational, information-seeking decision makers use aggregate group characteristics, such as group averages, to evaluate individual personal characteristics, individuals belonging to different groups may be treated differently even if they share identical observable characteristics in every other aspect. Discrimination can be the agents' efficient response to asymmetric beliefs, or discriminatory outcomes may display an element of inefficiency: the disadvantaged group could perform better if beliefs were not asymmetric across groups (but beliefs are asymmetric because the disadvantaged are not performing as well as the dominant group). Statistical discrimination is a theory of inequality between demographic groups based on stereotypes that do not arise from prejudice or racial and gender bias. It occurs when rational, information-seeking decision makers use aggregate group characteristics to evaluate relevant personal characteristics of the individuals with whom they interact. Because group-level statistics, such as group averages, are used as a proxy for the individual variables, individuals belonging to different groups may be treated differently even if they share identical observable characteristics in every other aspect. Some examples may help clarify the concept. * When an insurance company chooses life insurance premia, the customer's likelihood of dying is one of the most relevant variables affecting the company profitability. A seemingly irrelevant proxy, gender, is highly correlated with death frequencies at every age. It is therefore optimal for the company to adopt a policy setting different premia for men and women who share similar characteristics. * Employers usually place value on job attachment, for reason such as the costs of specific human capital investment. Historically, women have had lower labour market attachment than men, perhaps because of a higher propensity to be involved directly in child-rearing. In evaluating workers with otherwise identical characteristics, employers may prefer hiring male over identical female candidates. This is because employers assess probabilistically higher profitability from hiring a man. * Highway police are often accused of searching cars driven by minorities more frequently than other cars. While such a policy may be viewed as unfair, it may not be the outcome of prejudice if police officers hold (perhaps biased) beliefs that minorities are more likely to engage in criminal activities. They use such beliefs to maximize the probability of arrest over a given time frame. All of the above examples …
On Statistical Tests for Randomness Included in the NIST SP800-22 Test Suite and Based on the Binomial Distribution

In this paper we review some statistical tests included in the NIST SP 800-22 suite, which is a collection of tests for the evaluation of both true-random (physical) and pseudorandom (algorithmic) number generators for cryptographic applications. The output of these tests is the so-called p-value which is a random variable whose distribution converges to the uniform distribution in the interval [0,1] when testing an increasing number of samples from an ideal generator. Here, we compute the exact non-asymptotic distribution of p-values produced by few of the tests in the suite, and propose some computation-friendly approximations. This allows us to explain why intensive testing produces false-positives with a probability much higher than the expected one when considering asymptotic distribution instead of the true one. We also propose a new approximation for the Spectral Test reference distribution, which is more coherent with experimental results.
Combined Antiviral-Antimediator Treatment for the Common Cold

Abstract A randomized, controlled, double-masked clinical trial was conducted with a combination antiviral-antimediator treatment for experimental rhinovirus colds. In all, 150 healthy men and women (aged 18–51 years) were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups: intranasal interferon (IFN)–α2b (6×106 U every 12 h × 3) plus oral chlorpheniramine (12 mg extended release) and ibuprofen (400 mg) every 12 h for 4.5 days (n=59 subjects); intranasal placebo plus oral chlorpheniramine and ibuprofen (n=61 subjects); or intranasal and oral placebos (n=30 subjects). Treatment was started 24 h after intranasal viral challenge. During the 4.5 days of treatment with IFN-α2b, chlorpheniramine, and ibuprofen, the daily mean total symptom score was reduced by 33%–73%, compared with placebo. Treatment reduced the severity of rhinorrhea, sneezing, nasal obstruction, sore throat, cough, and headache and reduced nasal mucus production, nasal tissue use, and virus concentrations in nasal secretions. IFN-α2b added to the effectiveness of chlorpheniramine and ibuprofen and was well tolerated
GAUGE TRANSFORMATIONS AND RECIPROCAL LINKS IN 2 + 1 DIMENSIONS

Generalized Lax equations are considered in the spirit of Sato theory. Three decompositions of an underlying algebra of pseudo-differential operators lead, in turn, to three different classes of integrable nonlinear hierarchies. These are associated with Kadomtsev-Petviashvili, modified Kadomtsev-Petviashvili and Dym hierarchies in 2 + 1 dimensions. Miura- and auto-Backlund transformations are shown to originate naturally from gauge transformations of the Lax operators. General statements on reciprocal links between these hierarchies are established, which, in particular, give rise to novel reciprocal auto-Backlund transformations for the Dym hierarchy. These links are formulated as Darboux theorems for the associated Lax operators.
Altered Gut Microbiota Composition Associated with Eczema in Infants

Eczema is frequently the first manifestation of an atopic diathesis and alteration in the diversity of gut microbiota has been reported in infants with eczema. To identify specific bacterial communities associated with eczema, we conducted a case-control study of 50 infants with eczema (cases) and 51 healthy infants (controls). We performed high-throughput sequencing for V3–V4 hypervariable regions of the 16S rRNA genes from the gut fecal material. A total of 12,386 OTUs (operational taxonomic units) at a 97% similarity level were obtained from the two groups, and we observed a difference in taxa abundance, but not the taxonomic composition, of gut microbiota between the two groups. We identified four genera enriched in healthy infants: Bifidobacterium, Megasphaera, Haemophilus and Streptococcus; and five genera enriched in infants with eczema: Escherichia/Shigella, Veillonella, Faecalibacterium, Lachnospiraceae incertae sedis and Clostridium XlVa. Several species, such as Faecalibacterium prausnitzii and Ruminococcus gnavus, that are known to be associated with atopy or inflammation, were found to be significantly enriched in infants with eczema. Higher abundance of Akkermansia muciniphila in eczematous infants might reduce the integrity of intestinal barrier function and therefore increase the risk of developing eczema. On the other hand, Bacteroides fragilis and Streptococcus salivarius, which are known for their anti-inflammatory properties, were less abundant in infants with eczema. The observed differences in genera and species between cases and controls in this study may provide insight into the link between the microbiome and eczema risk.
The Dynamic Spatial Simulation Modelling of the Effects of Land Use Change on Avian Species

A spatial dynamic simulation model for two bird species was constructed. It is developed as a part of a greater project being carried out in University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign. The project LEAM is about analysing urban sprawl in the United States and developing policies to prevent it. Under LEAM project, a comprehensive urban development model of Kane County in the state of Illinois was constructed. The model presented in this paper is an integral part of the LEAM model and serves as a means to evaluate the effects of urban sprawl on two bird species selected as indicators for their ecosystems: Eastern meadowlark (Sturnella magna) for the grassland, and ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapillus) for forest ecosystems. The model is capable of running for both species with the help of a ‘switch’ variable. The model was integrated with a hypothetical land use map through a spatial analysis software, Spatial Modelling Environment (SME) and tested for behavioural validity. Non-spatial results were used for verification and calibration; spatial results revealed the extent of effects of urban sprawl on avian species in particular and wildlife in general. Lack of sufficient data was a significant problem during the study and it is believed that the model could be improved with the availability of more data on population dynamics and habitat requirements of grassland and forest bird species. The spatial modelling studies are still novel approaches and their success partly depends on availability of relevant and sufficient data. There is still much to improve in this field and it is realistic to expect great contributions to the scientific and practical theory from spatial dynamic modelling in the future.
Pipelined architectures for the TD-LMS adaptive filter

In this paper, efficient pipelined architectures for the implementation of the transform domain LMS algorithm, are presented. Pipelining of the TD-LMS algorithm is achieved by introducing an amount of time delay into the original adaptive scheme. The adaptation delay introduced to the TD-LMS algorithm allows for the development of pipelined architectures. By retiming the delays existing in the error feedback loop, two efficient, pipelined implementations of the delayed TD-LMS algorithm are developed.
Control of attention before reflexive and intentional saccades

The relation between covert and overt spatial attention and saccadic eye movements was investigated in control subjects, Parkinson’s Disease (PD) patients, and cerebellar patients in a dual-task paradigm. The main question was how different types of cues (reflexive/intentional) guide the spatial attention during fixation or during the preparation phase of a saccade. The subjects were asked to follow a reflexive or intentional cue, to discriminate a character that appeared either at the cued side (valid trials) or at the non-cued side (invalid trials), and to respond by pressing a joystick. The proportion of valid/invalid trials (cue relevance) was 75/25 and 50/50 for the control subjects, for the patients only the proportion 75/25 was used. All discrimination tasks were performed during the preparation of the saccade to the cued target and also during fixation. The results of the control subjects showed that discrimination of the character is always better at the cued side irrespective of the eye movement condition or the cue relevance, suggesting that spatial attention is engaged at the cued location even under fixation conditions and irrespective of the relevance of the cue. The results of the PD patients point to an intentional saccade impairment that does not correlate with the overall impairment in the attentional control. In the double task, also cerebellar patients showed an intentional saccade impairment that correlates with the deficit in the attentional control. After these experiments further research could investigate the impairment of the patients shown here is true for all cerebellar disorders.
Algorithmic guided screening of drug combinations of arbitrary size for activity against cancer cells

The standard treatment for most advanced cancers is multidrug therapy. Unfortunately, combinations in the clinic often do not perform as predicted. Therefore, to complement identifying rational drug combinations based on biological assumptions, we hypothesized that a functional screen of drug combinations, without limits on combination sizes, will aid the identification of effective drug cocktails. Given the myriad possible cocktails and inspired by examples of search algorithms in diverse fields outside of medicine, we developed a novel, efficient search strategy called Medicinal Algorithmic Combinatorial Screen (MACS). Such algorithms work by enriching for the fitness of cocktails, as defined by specific attributes through successive generations. Because assessment of synergy was not feasible, we developed a novel alternative fitness function based on the level of inhibition and the number of drugs. Using a WST-1 assay on the A549 cell line, through MACS, we screened 72 combinations of arbitrary size formed from a 19-drug pool across four generations. Fenretinide, suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid, and bortezomib (FSB) was the fittest. FSB performed up to 4.18 SD above the mean of a random set of cocktails or “too well” to have been found by chance, supporting the utility of the MACS strategy. Validation studies showed FSB was inhibitory in all 7 other NSCLC cell lines tested. It was also synergistic in A549, the one cell line in which this was evaluated. These results suggest that when guided by MACS, screening larger drug combinations may be feasible as a first step in combination drug discovery in a relatively small number of experiments. [Mol Cancer Ther 2009;8(3):521–32]
Application of Generalized Sidelobe Canceller and Sparse Array in Relieving Congestion in Multi-beam CDMA Systems

During operation of a cellular system, unexpected growth of traffic may develop in various regions, create traffic congestion. Among many methods to solve problem of large blocking probability, dynamic cell sectoring using smart array antenna is specially interested. In this paper, we investigate the relationship between antenna parameters (main beamwidth, sidelobe attenuation.) and blocking probability of multibeam CDMA system under the presence of hotbeam. From that, we consider deployment sectoring dynamically based on Generalized Sidelobe Canceller (GSC) structure to get blocking probability below 1%. In addition, we consider the way to decrease the complexity of array antenna using sparse array.
LIA at TREC 2012 Web Track: Unsupervised Search Concepts Identification from General Sources of Information

Abstract : In this paper, we report the experiments we conducted for our participation to the TREC 2012 Web Track. We experimented a brand new system that models the latent concepts underlying a query. We use Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA), a generative probabilistic topic model, to exhibit highly-specific query-related topics from pseudo-relevant feedback documents. We define these topics as the latent concepts of the user query. Our approach automatically estimates the number of latent concepts as well as the needed amount of feedback documents, without any prior training step. These concepts are incorporated into the ranking function with the aim of promoting documents that refer to many different query-related thematics. We also explored the use of different types of sources of information for modeling the latent concepts. For this purpose, we use four general sources of information of various nature (web, news, encyclopedic) from which the feedback documents are extracted.
FINANCIAL DEVELOPMENT AND ECONOMIC GROWTH IN BOTSWANA: A TEST FOR CAUSALITY / DÉVELOPPEMENT FINANCIER ET CROISSANCE ÉCONOMIQUE AU BOTSWANA: UN TEST DE CAUSALITÉ

Botswana has a small financial sector, dominated by the government, with a limited range of financial assets and undeveloped capital markets. Real assets are by far more popular than financial assets. The country was poor until the discovery of diamonds in the 1970s. Economic growth has been rapid even in the non-mining sectors such that the country is now ranked as a lower middle-income country. This study examines the relationship between financial development and economic growth in Botswana. Two indicators are used to examine Gragercausality between real per capita income and financial development. An error-correction method is adopted following the tests for unit roots and cointegration. The study suggests that per capita income in Botswana and the financial development indicators cause one another, supporting the view that economic growth causes and is caused by financial development in Botswana. DEVELOPPEMENT FINANCIER ET CROISSANCE ECONOMIQUE AU BOTSWANA: UN TEST DE CAUSALITE Resume Le Botswana a un secteur financier reduit, domineparle gouvernement, avec une gamme limitee d'actifs financiers et un marche de capitaux sousdeveloppe. Les biens immobiliers sont beaucoup plus populaires que les actifs financiers. Jusqu 'aux annees 1970 quand on a decouvert les diamants, le Botswana etait un pays pauvre. Sa croissance economique a depuis ete rapide aussi dans les secturs non miniers et le pays est actuellement classifie parmi les pays a moindre revenue moyen. Cette etude analyse le rapport entre developpement financier et croissance economique au Botswana en utilisant deux indices pour mesures la causalite de Granger entre le revenu reel par tete et le developpement financier et une methode de correction des erreurs apres les tests pour les racines unitaires et la cointegration. L 'etude semble demontrer qu 'au Botswana le revenu par tete est la cause du developpement financier et viceversa, et done que la croissance economique cause et est causee par le developpement financier.
The discone antenna in a BPSK direct-sequence indoor UWB communication system

The current ultra-wideband (UWB) channel models proposed by different research groups are generally based on measurements in which the effect of the antennas used are inevitably embedded. There is potentially significant waveform distortion by UWB antennas, and it is difficult to distinguish between antenna and real propagation path effects in many of the reported channel measurements. However, understanding these effects is important for overall system performance prediction. The discone antenna is known for its broadband characteristics and has been widely used for channel measurements. In this paper, we address the importance of the antenna and indoor propagation effects as applied to a UWB system analysis. This is achieved by use of a true time-domain three-dimensional ray-tracing propagation model coupled with accurate simulation of the time-domain performance of the discone antenna. A DS-UWB system approach was adopted for detailed study and its performance is evaluated under the channel model with and without considering the antenna pattern effect. Both line-of-sight and non-line-of-sight cases are considered. The antenna effect can be seen to be significant, leading to the conclusion that interpretation of practical system measurements must allow for the antennas being used in the measurement system.