Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Randomized Algorithm for Principal Component Analysis

Principal component analysis (PCA) requires the computation of a low-rank approximation to a matrix containing the data being analyzed. In many applications of PCA, the best possible accuracy of any rank-deficient approximation is at most a few digits (measured in the spectral norm, relative to the spectral norm of the matrix being approximated). In such circumstances, efficient algorithms have not come with guarantees of good accuracy, unless one or both dimensions of the matrix being approximated are small. We describe an efficient algorithm for the low-rank approximation of matrices that produces accuracy that is very close to the best possible accuracy, for matrices of arbitrary sizes. We illustrate our theoretical results via several numerical examples.
Spatiotemporal Statistics for Video Quality Assessment

It is an important task to design models for universal no-reference video quality assessment (NR-VQA) in multiple video processing and computer vision applications. However, most existing NR-VQA metrics are designed for specific distortion types, which are not often aware in practical applications. A further deficiency is that the spatial and temporal information of videos is hardly considered simultaneously. In this paper, we propose a new NR-VQA metric based on the spatiotemporal natural video statistics in 3D discrete cosine transform (3D-DCT) domain. In the proposed method, a set of features are first extracted based on the statistical analysis of 3D-DCT coefficients to characterize the spatiotemporal statistics of videos in different views. These features are used to predict the perceived video quality via the efficient linear support vector regression model afterward. The contributions of this paper are: 1) we explore the spatiotemporal statistics of videos in the 3D-DCT domain that has the inherent spatiotemporal encoding advantage over other widely used 2D transformations; 2) we extract a small set of simple but effective statistical features for video visual quality prediction; and 3) the proposed method is universal for multiple types of distortions and robust to different databases. The proposed method is tested on four widely used video databases. Extensive experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method is competitive with the state-of-art NR-VQA metrics and the top-performing full-reference VQA and reduced-reference VQA metrics.
Journal of Internet Banking and Commerce Application of Decomposed Theory of Planned Behavior on Internet Banking Adoption in Jordan

This study investigates twelve factors that may influence internet banking adoption in Jordan. Using of DTPB (Decomposed Theory of Planned Behavior) model in this study provide a comprehensive model to understand the antecedents of Internet Banking Adoption in Jordan. The results show that all hypotheses were supported except for two hypotheses related to compatibility and technology support.
An Empirical Study on the Relationship between the Use of Agile Practices and the Success of Software Projects that Use Scrum

This work has the goal of investigating the relationship between the use of agile practices and the success of software projects that use Scrum. The method used in the investigation was a cross-sectional survey that collected data from 62 software engineers associated to 11projects in 9 different software firms, representing 75% of the population in the studied projects. The results show that only 8 of the 25 attributes associated with agile practices have significant correlation with project success. These results suggest that it is important to consider carefully which agile practices must be prioritized in order to increase the effectiveness of the deployment of agile methodologies in the software industry.
Non‐linear vector summation of left and right vestibular signals for human balance

The left and right vestibular organs always transduce the same signal of head movement, and with natural stimuli can only be activated simultaneously. To investigate how signals from the left and right vestibular organs are integrated to control human balance we electrically modulated the firing of vestibular afferents from each labyrinth independently and measured the resulting balance responses. Stimulation of one side at a time (monaural) showed that individual leg muscles receive equal inputs from the two labyrinths even though a single labyrinth appeared capable of signalling 3‐D head motion. To deduce principles of left–right integration, balance responses to simultaneous stimulation of both sides (binaural) were compared with responses to monaural stimuli. The binaural whole‐body response direction was compatible with vector summation of the left and right monaural responses. The binaural response magnitude, however, was only 64–74% that predicted by the monaural sum. This probably reflects a central non‐linearity between vestibular input and motor output because stimulation of just one labyrinth revealed a power law relationship between stimulus current and response size with exponents 0.56 (force) and 0.51 (displacement). Thus, doubling total signal magnitude either by doubling monaural current or by binaural stimulation produced equivalent responses. We conclude that both labyrinths provide independent estimates of head motion that are summed vectorially and transformed non‐linearly into motor output. The former process improves signal‐to‐noise and reduces artifactual common‐mode changes, while the latter enhances responses to small signals, all critical for detecting the small head movements needed to control human balance.
Empirically Testing a Model for the Intention of Firms to Use Remote Application Hosting

In light of the new interest in remote application hosting, or application service provision (ASP), this study aims at empirically testing the ASP Intention Model (AIM), by surveying 143 decision makers in organizations. The model, based on institutional theories, reflects factors affecting organizational intention to adopt remote application hosting: perceived business benefits of ASP, perceived ease of ASP implementation, and institution-based trust. While the first two factors have previously been suggested in organizational IT adoption models, institution-based trust was not. Besides contributing to research by validating a new model, and to practice by highlighting plausible explanations for the failure of first-wave ASP, we also argue that AIM can be generalized to other web-driven organizational applications, such as B2B e-commerce, e-markets, inter-organizational systems and web-services.
CD163 Expression Was Associated with Angiogenesis and Shortened Survival in Patients with Uniformly Treated Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma

Background Recent studies have reported the prognostic value of tissue-associated magrophages (TAMs) in classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL). In addition, TAMs are implicated in the tumor angiogenesis. In this study, we examined the prognostic relevance of TAMs in relation to vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression and angiogenesis in uniformly treated cases of cHL. Methods Diagnostic tissue from 116 patients with ABVD-treated cHL was evaluated retrospectively by immunohistochemical analysis for CD68, CD163 and VEGF expression and for CD31 expression as a measure of microvessel density (MVD). Results High CD163 expression (≥35% of cellularity) correlated with VEGF expression (Pearson’s Chi-square test, P = 0.008) and MVD (Spearman correlation coefficient 0.310, P<0.001). High CD163 expression was associated with inferior event-free survival (EFS, P = 0.005) and overall survival (OS, P<0.001) in univariate analysis. In multivariate analysis, high CD163 expression was strongly associated with inferior EFS (P = 0.043) and OS (P = 0.008). Patients with high MVD had a lower OS than those with low MVD, but the difference was not significant (P = 0.071, respectively). While high expression of CD68 was also associated with inferior EFS (P = 0.007), it showed no correlation with VEGF or MVD. Conclusions Our data confirms that CD163 expression provides independent prognostic information in cHL. The correlation of CD163 with VEGF expression and MVD suggests the role of CD163-positive cells in tumor angiogenesis of cHL.
STUDENTS’ READING-RELATED FACTORS AS PREDICTORS OF ACHIEVEMENT IN ENGLISH READING COMPREHENSION IN LAGELU LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, OYO STATE, NIGERIA

Secondary school students are reportedly deficient in English language reading comprehension, and this partly accounts for the poor results recorded in English language at public examinations. Studies indicate that some students really have low interest in reading, just as a number of researchers have queried availability of reading materials for students’ poor achievement in reading comprehension. The argument is that availability and use of appropriate instructional resources will tend to facilitate effective learning in schools. Thus, the study examined students’ interest in reading and availability of reading materials as they relate to and predict students’ achievement in English reading comprehension in Lagelu Local Government Area (LGA) of Oyo State, Nigeria. Survey research design of the correlational type was adopted for the study, which was guided by four research questions. The study population comprised SSS II students in this LGA. Five secondary schools were randomly selected; and a simple random technique was used to select 40 students from each school, thus, a total of 200 participants in the study. Three properly validated instruments – English Reading Comprehension Achievement Test, Students’ Interest in Reading Scale, and Availability and Utilization of English Reading Materials’ Inventory – were used to gather data, which was analyzed using frequency count, percentage, Pearson product moment correlation and multiple regressions. Results show that the current level of students’ achievement in English reading comprehension is generally low. There is no significant relationship between students’ interest in reading and academic achievement (r=0.04, p>0.05). There is a statistically significant and positive relationship between reading materials and students’ achievement (r=0.14, p<0.05). A linear relationship exists among the variables in the study, R=0.14, R 2 =0.02 and Adj. R 2 =0.01. However, availability of reading materials [β=0.14, t(200)=1.93, p<0.05] is a potent and significant predictor of achievement in English reading comprehension. The study concludes that students’ interest in reading and availability of reading materials are significantly related to students’ achievement in English reading comprehension, though only reading materials could substantially predict students’ achievement in reading comprehension. Governments should increase reading materials in schools. There should be adequate and regular supervision of the use of instructional materials in all schools to enhance effective teaching and learning towards boosting students’ achievement. Teachers should always try their best to make use of available instructional materials, or improvise, to make lessons more interesting. Principals should provide teachers with enabling environment for the use of available instructional materials to make learning more meaningful. Article visualizations:
YOUTH SMOKING PREVALENCE IN DEVELOPED AND DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: The Effect of Advertising Bans

This paper examines the effect of tobacco advertising bans on youth smoking prevalence in developed and developing countries. Despite little direct empirical analysis of this issue, public health professionals frequently propose advertising bans as a first step in dealing with youth smoking. Using a Bayesian learning model, the paper first develops a plausible mechanism for an effect of advertising bans on youth smoking. Advertising is hypothesized to alter youth perceptions of the ubiquity of smoking and the risks associated with this behavior. Using survey-based data, several cross-country linear probability models of youth smoking prevalence are estimated, including separate results for developed and developing countries by gender, pooled results, and results by frequency of smoking (weekly, 30-day, ever-smoked). Explanatory variables are included for price, income, demographics, advertising bans, and several other important policy variables (health warnings, prohibition of sales to minors, school classes, anti-smoking messages, access in retail stores). The results demonstrate that advertising bans have had little or no influence on youth smoking prevalence in developed or developing countries. This result holds for complete bans as well as partial bans. Some of the results suggest that school classes and other education efforts would be effective as a means to affect youth perceptions of the risks associated with smoking.
Critical Factors Influencing the Evolution of Companies’ Environmental Behavior: An Agent-Based Computational Economic Approach

Although a wealth of studies on companies’ environmental behavior exists, little is known about the factors with the greatest influence on the evolution of such behavior. Thus, employing empirical data on China and an agent-based simulation model, this study examines the evolution from defensive to preventive environmental behavior. The results show that community support is the most important factor in this process, followed by managers’ environmental awareness and companies’ financial ability. However, financial ability is the most significant factor in the evolution from preventive to enthusiastic environmental behavior, followed by managers’ environmental awareness and community support. Our identification of the most important factors can serve as a basis for decision makers to focus on improving the operational effectiveness of environmental policies.
Congruence of self-reported medications with pharmacy prescription records in low-income older adults.

PURPOSE This study examined the congruence of self-reported medications with computerized pharmacy records. DESIGN AND METHODS Pharmacy records and self-reported medications were obtained for 294 members of a state pharmaceutical assistance program who also participated in ACTIVE, a clinical trial on cognitive training in nondemented elderly persons. The average age of the sample participants was 74.5 years (range = 65-91); 87.8% were females. RESULTS Congruence between self-report and pharmacy data was generally high. Self-reports omitted drug classes in the pharmacy records less often than the pharmacy records did not include self-reported drug classes. The percentage of individuals with perfect agreement between self-reports and pharmacy records varied from 49% for major drug classes to 81% for specific cardiovascular and central nervous system drugs. Within a drug class, agreement tended to be higher for individuals without a prescription in that class. Poorer health was consistently related to poorer self-report of medications. IMPLICATIONS Self-reported medications are most likely to be congruent with pharmacy records for drugs prescribed for more serious conditions, for more specific classes of drugs, and for healthier individuals.
Intrinsic Axis Ratio Distribution of Early-Type Galaxies from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

Using the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 5, we have investigated the intrinsic axis ratio distribution (ARD) for early-type galaxies. We have constructed a volume-limited sample of 3922 visually inspected early-type galaxies at 0.05 ≤ z ≤ 0.06, carefully considering sampling biases caused by the galaxy isophotal size and luminosity. We attempt to deproject the observed ARD into three-dimensional types (oblate, prolate, and triaxial), which are classified in terms of triaxiality. We confirm that no linear combination of randomly distributed axis ratios of the three types can reproduce the observed ARD. However, using Gaussian intrinsic distributions, we have found reasonable fits to the data using preferred mean axis ratios for the oblate, prolate, and triaxial (triaxials are given in two axis ratios) types of μo = 0.44, μp = 0.72, μt,β = 0.92, and μt,γ = 0.78, where the fractions of oblate, prolate, and triaxial types are O : P : T = 0.29 ± 0.09 : 0.26 ± 0.11 : 0.45 ± 0.13. We have also found that the luminous sample (-23.3 < Mr ≤ -21.2) tends to have more triaxial types than the less luminous (-21.2 < Mr < -19.3) sample does. Oblate types are relatively more abundant among the less luminous galaxies. Interestingly, the preferences of axis ratios for triaxial types in the two luminosity classes are remarkably similar. We have not found any significant influence of the local galaxy number density on the ARD. We show that the results can be seriously affected by the details of the data selection and type classification scheme. Caveats and implications for galaxy formation are discussed.
Measurement of skeletal muscle tissue oxygenation in the critically ill

Shock is a state of acutely reduced tissue oxygenation. In cardiogenic shock oxygen delivery (DO2) is reduced, but oxygen extraction is preserved. In septic shock DO2 is preserved, but oxygen extraction is decreased because of microvascular changes and disturbed metabolism. Global assessment of DO2 and oxygen consumption does not tell us enough about adequacy of regional perfusion. The aim of this study was to assess the value of near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) in detecting skeletal muscle tissue oxygenation (StO2) in critically ill patients. Patients in cardiogenic shock (n=17), septic shock (n=14), without shock but with localized infection (n=14) and healthy volunteers (n=15) were included. Thenar StO2 was measured with NIRS before (baseline StO2, %), between (downward StO2 slope, %/min) and after 90 seconds of upper arm stagnant ischemia (hyperemic StO2, %). Muscle oxygen extraction (mOER) was calculated as follows: mOER (%) = (1-baselineStO2/hyperemic StO2)*100. Repeatability was assessed using the Bland Altman method (95 % of values within limits of agreement), comparing 55 pairs of measurements performed in 5-minute intervals. Repeatability of measurements was clinically acceptable. Compared to septic shock patients, cardiogenic shock patients had lower baseline StO2 (68.9 ± 10.0 % vs. 84.3 ± 10.4 %; p < 0.05) and hyperemic StO2 (80.8 ± 7.8 % vs. 91.8 ± 8.3 %; p < 0.05), and a higher downward StO2 slope (-17.4 ± 31.7 %/min vs. -9.1 ± 2.6 %/min; p < 0.05). mOER was higher in healthy volunteers (11.9 ± 3.8 %) and volunteers with cardiogenic shock (14.8 ± 7.3 %) compared to septic shock patients (8.1 ± 7.8 %) and those with localized infection (7.6 ± 5.4 %) (p < 0.05). Repeatability of baseline StO2 and hyperemic StO2 is clinically acceptable. Results support the hypothesis that skeletal muscle oxygen extraction capability is preserved and extraction is increased in cardiogenic shock compared to septic shock.
POTENCY OF MONETARY AND FISCAL POLICY INSTRUMENTS ON ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES OF AFRICAN COUNTRIES / L'EFFICACITÉ DES INSTRUMENTS DE POLITIQUE MONÉTAIRE ET FISCALE SUR L'ACTIVITÉ ÉCONOMIQUE DES PAYS AFRICAINS

Basically, macroeconomic policy can be divided into two broad categories, namely monetary and fiscal policies. Like many concepts in the economic literature, there is no generally accepted definition of these two terms among economists. Some economists define monetary policy as all monetary decisions, irrespective of whether their aims are monetary or non-monetary, and all non-monetary decisions and measures that aim at affecting the monetary system. On the other hand, people like Johnson (1962) defines monetary policy as ? a policy employing the Central Bank's control of the money supply as an instrument for achieving certain given objectives of economic policy ? As regards fiscal policy, Bluchler (1974) defines it as the use of public finance or expenditure, taxes, borrowing and financial administration to further national economic objectives. But Smithies (1949) refers to fiscal policy as a policy which government uses in its expenditure and revenue programmes to produce desirable effects and avoid undesirable effects on national income, production and employment.
Policies and Institutional Engineering in Developing Economies

The existence of profound relationships of some sorts between innovation, industrialization and economic development is now generally acknowledged in both economic history and economic theory. However, the conditions which foster technological learning and its successful incorporation into the economy and in particular the role of institutions and policies continues to be more controversial. This chapter addresses these issues and tries to offer a framework for the interpretation of the ways activities of “institutional engineering” and policies shape technological catching-up and industrial development.
Note on Khovanov link cohomology

We extend Lee's result on sl(2) Khovanov cohomology of a link L to the general sl(n) case: a filtered chain complex C(L) whose spectral sequence E_2 term equals Khovanov cohomology is exhibited. We also compute C(L)'s cohomology: it depends only on linking numbers of certain sublinks of L.
Synaptotagmin: Is 2 Better than 1?

The synaptotagmin protein family, characterized by two C-terminal calcium-binding motifs, is expressed throughout the brain ([Grise et al., 2007][1]). Synaptotagmin-1, the best characterized member, acts as a calcium sensor in the Ca2+-dependent release of neurotransmitter vesicles ([Geppert et al
Effects of a Pure α/β-Adrenergic Receptor Blocker on Monocrotaline-Induced Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension With Right Ventricular Hypertrophy in Rats

Background: It is unclear how much the sympathetic nervous system is involved in the development of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). The present study examined whether or not a pure α/β-adrenergic receptor blocker (arotinolol) could prevent the development of PAH and right ventricular hypertrophy (RVH) in a rat model of monocrotaline (MCT)-induced PAH. Methods and Results: The heart rate, arterial blood pressure (BP), left ventricular pressure, pulmonary artery pressure (PAP), and right ventricular pressure (RVP) were measured after administration of arotinolol or saline for 2 weeks. Ventricular weight and myocyte size were also measured. Mean PAP was increased less in the arotinolol group (n=6), (53 ±9 vs 21 ±2 mmHg in the control (n=6); P<0.01). Systolic RVP was also less in the arotinolol group (41 ±3 vs 91 ±14 mmHg in the control, P<0.05) without differences in BP. It also significantly reduced the RV/body weight ratio (0.58 ±0.01 vs 0.77 ±0.04 mg/g; P<0.01). Furthermore, the myocyte width was significantly decreased in the arotinolol group. Conclusions: The pure α/β-blocker arotinolol prevented the progression of MCT-induced PAH and RVH in rats, suggesting that sympathetic nervous activation might play a role in the development of PAH. (Circ J 2009; 73: 2337-2341)
Actin-binding protein promotes the bipolar and perpendicular branching of actin filaments

Branching filaments with striking perpendicularity form when actin polymerizes in the presence of macrophage actin-binding protein. Actin- binding protein molecules are visible at the branch points. Compared with actin polymerized in the absence of actin-binding proteins, not only do the filaments branch but the average length of the actin filaments decreases from 3.2 to 0.63 micrometer. Arrowhead complexes formed by addition of heavy meromyosin molecules to the branching actin filaments point toward the branch points. Actin-binding protein also accelerates the onset of actin polymerization. All of these findings show that actin filaments assemble from nucleating sites on actin- binding protein dimers. A branching polymerization of actin filaments from a preexisting lattice of actin filaments joined by actin-binding protein molecules could generate expansion of cortical cytoplasm in amoeboid cells.