Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prevailing Misconceptions of Vitiligo among Saudi School Children.

OBJECTIVES To identify the prevailing myths and misconception about vitiligo among the school students in Qassim region of Saudi Arabia. METHODS We conducted a cross sectional study in 18 schools of Qassim Regions in Saudi Arabia, Data was collected by 486 pre-tested, self-administered questionnaires. The questionnaires included a section on social-demographic information (age, sex, education of parents) besides prevailing myths on vitiligo. Data was analyzed by using SPSS (version 17 for Windows). RESULTS THE RESPONSE RATE: Males 46.3%, and females 53.3%. With vitiligo disease: 24.1% and non-diseased 75.9%, with positive family history: Males 9.3%, female 13.8%. Myths among students compared with gender: Vitiligo with; Fish/milk food (P= 0.374), calcium deficiency (P= 0.001), iron deficiency (P= <0.001), Vit C deficiency (P= 0.225), infectious (P= <0.001), Chicken pox like disease (P= <0.001), precancerous (P= 0.212) and not curable (P= <0.001). Myths among students compared with diseased/not diseased, namely that relation of vitiligo with: Fish/milk food (P= 0.006), calcium deficiency (P= <0.001), iron deficiency (P= 0.022), Vit C deficiency (P= <0.001), infectious (P= 0.228), Chicken pox like disease (P= <0.001), precancerous (P= 0.051) and not curable (P= 0.231). CONCLUSION The prevailing myths and conceptions delay seeking medical advice and should be addressed by focused health education programs through school health services.
Comparing Chinese, Japanese andSpanish Speakers in L2 English Article Acquisition: Evidence against theFluctuation Hypothesis?

The main aim of our paper is to present new data in L2 English article choice in order to test the Fluctuation Hypothesis proposed by Ionin, Ko and Wexler (2004). The data collected comes from Japanese, Spanish and Chinese intermediate L2 learners. We firstly outline in section 2 the Article Choice Parameter and the Fluctuation Hypothesis. In section 3 we discuss the cross-linguistic variation of definiteness focussing on the L1s in our studies. Section 4 presents the current two studies involving Spanish, Japanese and Chinese speakers. Section 5 offers a different account of fluctuation in L2 article choice. Finally, Section 6 discusses definiteness in Chinese and concludes the paper.
Differential Equations based on Fuzzy Rules

The purpose of this paper is to use the Fuzzy Set The- ory, specially fuzzy rule-based systems, as a mathematical tool for modeling dynamical systems given by differential equation, whose direction field is f (IVP-f). As fuzzy systems methodology produces input-output systems, that is, it produces m outputs from n inputs, one can see it as fr : R n → R m , where r is the number of rules of the rule base. Under certain assumptions, one can prove that the functions (fr) have good analytical properties. Beyond it, they can approximate theoretical functions (f). The main result of this paper states that the solutions x of an ODE whose direction field is f (IVP-f) can be approximated by the solutions xr of an ODE whose direction field is fr (IVP-fr). By utilizing important theorems as the Lebesgue's Dominated Convergence Theorem it was possible to prove the proposed theorem. Finally we use a numerical method (Runge-Kutta) to simulate solutions x n that approximates xr when n increases. The solutions x n approximates the solution x of IVP-f also provided {x n } n→∞ −→ xr r→∞ −→ x.
Community Development Model for Public Health Applications: Overview of a Model to Eliminate Population Disparities

For well over two decades, the public health community has undertaken a broad range of initiatives to identify and eliminate various health-related disparities among populations. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Office on Smoking and Health (OSH), for example, has committed resources to help states eliminate population disparities related to tobacco use. These initiatives have enjoyed a degree of success and some measurable decreases in population disparities. However, traditional public health approaches that are overly influenced by reductionist paradigms more content with risk factor assessment of at-risk strata may not be sufficient to produce successful results when applied to more intractable disparities. The elimination of disparities will require a more encompassing and comprehensive approach that addresses both population strata at risk and the communities in which they reside. This article proposes a new, concentrated model to address the elimination of population disparities—a model that focuses on community as the critical unit of analysis and action to achieve success.
Pricing Power Derivatives: A Two-Factor Jump-Diffusion Approach

We propose a two-factor jump-diffusion model with seasonality for the valuation of electricity future contracts. The model we propose is an extension of Schwartz and Smith (Management Science, 2000) long-term / short-term model. One of the main contributions of the paper is the inclusion of a jump component, with a non-constant intensity process (probability of occurrence of jumps), in the short-term factor. We model the stochastic behaviour of the underlying (unobservable) state variables by Affine Diffusions (AD) and Affine Jump Diffusions (AJD). We obtain closed form formulas for the price of futures contracts using the results by Duffie, Pan and Singleton (Econometrica, 2000). We provide empirical evidence on the observed seasonality in risk premium, that has been documented in the PJM market. This paper also complements the results provided by the equilibrium model of Bessembinder and Lemmon (Journal of Finance, 2002), and provides an easy methodology to extract risk-neutral parameters from forward data.
A dynamic common-property resource problem with potential regime shifts

This paper provides a general framework with which a dynamic problem with potential regime shifts can be analyzed in a strategic environment as well as from social planner’s perspective. A typical situation described by such a game is the joint exploitation of a common-property resource such as lakes, forests, marine fish populations, and at a larger scale the global climate system. By applying the framework to a simple dynamic common-property resource problem, we show that when the risk is endogenous, potential of regime shifts can facilitate precautionary management of common-property resources even in a strategic environment. It is also shown that there exists a resource-depletion trap in which a regime shift, once it happens, triggers a reversal of resource accumulation dynamics, possibly leading to a collapse of resource base.
Gestational Diabetes and Future Risk of Diabetes

Background In this study of women with gestational diabetes we attempted to (a) Determine the magnitude of the long term risk of progression to diabetes and (b) Identify factors that predict the development of diabetes. Methods All women diagnosed with gestational diabetes (GDM) at Worcestershire Royal Hospital, UK from 1995 to 2003 were included in this observational cohort study and followed up till 2009. Diabetes was diagnosed if fasting glucose ≥ 7.0 mmol/L, random/two-hour glucose following 75 gram oral glucose test (OGTT) ≥ 11.1 mmol/L or HbA1c ≥ 7.0%. Results The risk of developing diabetes was 6.9% at five years and 21.1% at ten years following the initial diagnosis of GDM. Fasting and post-prandial glucose levels in the oral glucose tolerance test during pregnancy were associated with future risk of diabetes. There was no association with age, gestational age at diagnosis of GDM, numbers of previous and subsequent pregnancies. Conclusion Risk of progression to diabetes in a UK based cohort of women with GDM is estimated. Women with fasting antenatal glucose ≥ 7.0 mmol/L and/or an antenatal two-hour glucose ≥ 11.1 mmol/L are at higher risk and need close follow up.
Compressed time difference of arrival based emitter localization

Utilizing the time differences of arrival of a signal, impinging on a distributed sensor network, is a well known approach for the location estimation of a radio wave emitter. The high sampling rate necessary for a precise positioning implies a huge amount of data exchange between the sensor nodes. Contrary, the absence of high data rate enabled backbone links, connecting the nodes, restricts the system performance or may even render it dysfunctional in some cases. In order to tackle the problem we propose a novel method for compressed time difference of arrival based localization. Due to the joint spatial sparsity of the underlying problem the amount of exchanged samples can be reduced by applying the compressed sensing methodology. Furthermore, our algorithm provides a direct way of estimating the location, avoiding the necessity of solving a system of nonlinear hyperbolic equations. The performance of the proposed method and the impact on the estimation accuracy are evaluated based on simulations.
Study of the relationship of bug consistency with respect to performance of spectra metrics

In practice, manual debugging to locate bugs is a daunting and time-consuming task. By using software fault localization, we can reduce this time substantially. The technique of software fault localization can be performed using execution profiles of the software under several test inputs. Such profiles, known as program spectra, consist of the coverage of correct and incorrect executions statement from a given test suite. We have performed a systematic evaluation of several metrics that make use of measurement obtained from program spectra on Siemens Test Suite. In this paper, we discuss how the effectiveness of various metrics degrade in determining buggy statements as the bug consistency (error detection accuracy, qe) of a statement approaches zero. Bug consistency of a statement refers to the ratio of the number of failed tests executing the statement over the total number of tests executing the statement. We proposed Effect(M) as to measure the effectiveness of these metrics as qe value varies. We also demonstrate that the qe (previously not considered as a metric), is just as effective as some of the metrics proposed. We also formally prove that qe is identical to the metric that Tarantula system uses for bug localization.
Age-related differences in medial temporal lobe involvement during conceptual fl uency

perirhinal cortex (PRC), in the context of impaired recollection, linked with the hippocampus (HC). However, according to the dedifferentiation hypothesis, healthy aging reduces the specialization of MTL memory subregions so that they may mediate different memory processes than in young adults. Using fMRI, we tested this possibility using a conceptual fluency manipulation known to induce familiarity-related PRC activity. The study yielded two main findings. First, although fluency equivalently affected PRC in both young (18–28; N1⁄414) and older (62–80; N1⁄415) adults, it also uniquely affected HC activity in older adults. Second, the fluency manipulation reduced functional connectivity between HC and PRC in young adults, but it increased it in older adults. Taken together, the results suggest that aging may result in reduced specialization of the HC for recollection, such that the HC may be recruited when fluency increases familiarity-based responding. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled SI: Memory & Aging. & 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1 rved. ang).
Determinants of Capacity Utilisation in Road Freight Transportation

Recent performance indicators in the European road freight transport sector show there is an excess capacity. To shed light on this, this paper studies two aspects of capacity utilisation in trucking: the extent of empty running and the load factor. Using a joint econometric modelling framework, the paper shows that they can be explained as a function of haul, carrier, and truck characteristics. For estimation, a unique dataset from the Danish heavy vehicle trip diary was used. The results indicate distance and being a for-hire carrier have a positive effect on capacity utilisation, whereas the effect of truck size is non-linear. © 2014 LSE and the University of Bath
THERMODYNAMIC LIMIT FOR THE MALLOWS MODEL ON Sn

The Mallows model on Sn is a probability distribution on permutations, qd(π,e)/Pn(q), where d(π,e) is the distance between π and the identity element, relative to the Coxeter generators. Equivalently, it is the number of inversions: pairs (i,j) where 1≤i πj. Analyzing the normalization Pn(q), Diaconis and Ram calculated the mean and variance of d(π,e) in the Mallows model, which suggests that the appropriate n→∞ limit has qn scaling as 1−β/n. We calculate the distribution of the empirical measure in this limit, u(x,y)dxdy=limn→∞(1/n)∑i=1nδ(i,πi). Treating it as a mean-field problem, analogous to the Curie–Weiss model, the self-consistent mean-field equations are (∂2/∂x∂y)ln u(x,y)=2βu(x,y), which is an integrable partial differential equation, known as the hyperbolic Liouville equation. The explicit solution also gives a new proof of formulas for the blocking measures in the weakly asymmetric exclusion process and the ground state of the Uq(sl2)-symmetric XXZ ferromagnet.
Network Dynamics in the French-Speaking and English-Speaking IS Research Communities

A partir de donnees bibliographiques, nous mettons en exergue et comparons les references majeures et les ecoles de pensee de la recherche francophone et de la recherche anglophone en Systemes d’Information (SI) de 1996 a 2016, ainsi que les grandes thematiques qui en emergent. Avec l’aide de techniques bibliometriques, nous etudions l’organisation intellectuelle des deux communautes a partir d’une cartographie dynamique de leurs reseaux de recherche sur les periodes 1996-2006 et 2007-2016. Pour les deux periodes concernees, nous effectuons une analyse de tous les articles publies dans une revue representative de chacune des deux communautes (Systemes d’Information & Management et Management Information Systems Quarterly), ainsi que des references citees par ces articles. Nous mettons en evidence des similarites et differences entre les reseaux de recherche des deux communautes.
Does the Choice of Stock Market Synchronicity Measure Matter? Evidence from Developed and Emerging Countries

This paper analyses stock synchronicity measures proposed by Morck et al (2000), the classical measure and the R square measure. The Study finds evidence that stock markets of emerging economies are more synchronous than the developed economies using both the synchronicity measures. It is found that China, Malaysia and Turkey exhibit the highest stock synchronicity during the observation period. Further, cross-sectional analysis illustrates that inflation is generally positively correlated with stock synchronicity and government accountability and trade openness is generally negatively correlated with stock price co-movement, which is consistent with Morck et al (2000). Finally Pearson correlation coefficients and Spearman rank correlation coefficient show that the classical measure and the R square measure are positively correlated. The study concludes that the classical measure and the R square measure capture similar aspects of stock market synchronous behaviour.
Hippocampal Neuron Populations Are Reduced in Vervet Monkeys With Fetal Alcohol Exposure

Prenatal exposure to beverage alcohol is a major cause of mild mental retardation and developmental delay. In nonendangered alcohol-preferring vervet monkeys, we modeled the most common nondysmorphic form of fetal alcohol syndrome disorder with voluntary drinking during the third trimester of pregnancy. Here, we report significant numerical reductions in the principal hippocampal neurons of fetal alcohol-exposed (FAE) offspring, as compared to age-matched, similarly housed conspecifics with isocaloric sucrose exposure. These deficits, particularly marked in CA1 and CA3, are present neonatally and persist through infancy (5 months) and juvenile (2 years) stages. Although the volumes of hippocampal subdivisions in FAE animals are not atypical at birth, by age 2, they are only 65–70% of those estimated in age-matched controls. These data suggest that moderate, naturalistic alcohol consumption during late pregnancy results in a stable loss of hippocampal neurons and a progressive reduction of hippocampal volume. © 2015 The Authors. Developmental Psychobiology Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 57:470–485, 2015.
Teenagers, Literacy and School: Researching in Multilingual Contexts

Part 1. 1. Patterns of Community Literacy 2. Pathway(s) to Literacy 3. Change and Literacy Practices: Teenagers and Technology 4. Mediation in Community and School Literacy 5. Conflict and Control: Literacy as Management 6. Identity, Place and Identity Part 2: A Harbourful of Yachts: Making Sense of Literacy Research 8. No Single Answer: What Schools Can and Can't do 9. Researching in Multilingual/Multicultural Contexts 10. A Harbourful of Yachts: Making Sense of Literacy Research 11. Researching Reading and Writing in Homes and Schools
Characterization of carbon induced lattice contraction of highly carbon doped InGaAs

Lattice contraction introduced by the smaller covalent radius of carbon (77 pm) relative to arsenic (120 pm), gallium (126 pm), and indium (144 pm) has been observed in highly carbon doped GaAs. This paper addresses similar effects in heavily doped InGaAs:C layers, which find applications as the base of InP/InGaAs heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs). Heavily carbon doped InGaAs epilayers (p>1/spl times/10/sup 19/ cm/sup -3/) have been grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) using CBr/sub 4/ as the carbon precursor. The lattice contraction effect induced by carbon incorporation has been studied in such samples by extending the technique previously reported for heavily doped GaAs:C. High-resolution double crystal X-ray diffraction (DXRD) as well as Hall measurements have been performed for this purpose. The experiments clarify the way lattice contraction takes place in case of strong carbon incorporation in InGaAs:C samples. They also show that InGaAs:C becomes increasingly compensated as the doping concentration increases. The study has direct impact on the development of high quality InP-based HBTs.
Policymaking in the open economy : concepts and case studies in economic performance

The Economic Development Institute (EDI) was established by the World Bank in 1955 to help mobilize the Bank's knowledge and experience for the purpose of strengthening development decisionmaking in its member countries. This volume examines several areas of policy that critically influence economic performance: monetary policy, exchange rate policy, financial reform, tax reform, and foreign capital. The conceptual discussions of these topics are complemented by several country case studies that illustrate the effects of various policy options. The book does not offer specific policy prescriptions for every conceivable situation a country might face, but the writers give valuable advice based on their experience. Although intended for use in courses and seminars at the EDI and its partner institutes, the study should also be of interest to government officials and policymakers in the developing world who want to have an overview of the various policy issues.
BLEST: Blocking estimation-based MPTCP scheduler for heterogeneous networks

With the widespread availability of multi-homed devices, multipath transport protocols such as MPTCP are becoming increasingly relevant to support better use of multiple connectivity through capacity aggregation and seamless failover. However, capacity aggregation over heterogeneous paths, such as offered by cellular and Wi-Fi networks, is problematic. It causes packet reordering leading to head-of-line (HoL) blocking at the receiver, increased end-to-end delays and lower application goodput. MPTCP tackles this issue by penalising the use of longer paths, and increasing buffer sizes. This, however, results in suboptimal resource usage. In this paper, we first evaluate and compare the performance of default MPTCP and alternative state-of-the-art schedulers, all implemented in the Linux kernel, for a range of traffic patterns and network environments. This allows us to identify shortcomings of various approaches. We then propose a send-window BLocking ESTimation scheduler, BLEST, which aims to minimise HoL-blocking in heterogeneous networks, thereby increasing the potential for capacity aggregation by reducing the number of spurious retransmissions. The resulting scheduler allows an increase by 12% in application goodput with bulk traffic while reducing unnecessary retransmissions by 80% as compared to default MPTCP and other schedulers.
An extended model of theory of planned behaviour

Purpose The purpose of this study is to provide an extended model of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and examine how institutional infrastructure and two social factors – peer effect and gender discrimination – determine entrepreneurial intention in emerging economies such as India. Design/methodology/approach Using a structural equation modelling (SEM) approach, the proposed model is tested on a sample of 265 post-graduate students from the Indian Institute of Management campuses in India. Perceived gender discrimination is used as a grouping variable to test its impact in the model. Findings The study found that peer effect has positive association with an individual attitude towards entrepreneurship. It also found positive moderating effect of institutional infrastructure on entrepreneurial intention in a regional entrepreneurial ecosystem, but in case of entrepreneurial self-efficacy, the result is non-conclusive. Further, our results establish that gender discrimination has varying influence but remains a significant factor to choose entrepreneurial career in emerging countries such as India. Research limitations/implications The study adds to the understanding of drivers or antecedents to entrepreneurial intention, especially in emerging economy context and finds its usefulness in country such as India. It contributes to the existing model by empirically proving the role of peer effect and institutional infrastructure in emerging economies which are characterised by weak institutions and inadequate access to resources to start and sustain any entrepreneurial activity. Practical implications The results make several implications for academic institutions, entrepreneurial ecosystem stakeholders and policy makers in emerging economies. The academic institutions, universities and incubation hubs can consider promoting a peer-group culture that strengthens individual’s EI in emerging economies. Policy makers and stakeholders should build an encouraging entrepreneurial ecosystem with adequate institutional infrastructure to promote entrepreneurship. Originality/value The authors extend research on entrepreneurial intention beyond individual factors (personal-level variables) and examine the contingent role of institutional infrastructure and socio-cultural factors (peer effect and gender discrimination). Whilst TPB successfully predicted entrepreneurial intention in Western settings, this study provides strong empirical evidence to this research in emerging countries.
A Field Experiment in Charitable Contribution: The Impact of Social Information on the Voluntary Provision of Public Goods

We study the effect of social information on the voluntary provision of public goods. Competing theories predict that others' contributions might be either substitutes or complements to one's own. We demonstrate a positive social information effect on individual contributions, supporting theories of complementarities. We find the most influential level of social information is drawn from the 90th to 95th percentile of previous contributions. We furthermore find the effect to be significant for new members but not for renewing members. In the most effective condition, social information increases contributions by 12% ($13). These increased contributions do not crowd out future contributions. Copyright © The Author(s). Journal compilation © Royal Economic Society 2009.