Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Impact of Microfinance Institutions on Women Empowerment in Rajshahi, Bangladesh

The empowerment of women is one of the central issues in the process of development of all developing countries in the world. This study investigated the empowerment of poor women who participated in group-based credit program in Bangladesh. Studies have shown how women participation in group-based credit program can improve individual and household income. However, limited evidence exists on which type of empowerment is more significant for poor women. It is not known whether economic decision making, household decision making, freedom of movement, ownership of property or political and social awareness is more significant for women. This study is based on household level data collected from 600 poor women in eight districts of Rajshahi division in Bangladesh. This study collected micro-credit borrower data from Grameen Bank, Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) and Association for Social Advancement (ASA). Five dimensions of women empowerment are used to arrive at the overall empowerment. To measure empowerment, this study used mean value of the five dimensions of empowerment. The findings show that age, family size, area, involvement with Micro Finance Institution (MFI) and loan size are positively correlated and significant with women empowerment. Another important factor such as education is negatively correlated with women empowerment for all women (MFI member and non MFI member). Based on the results of the study it can be concluded that the level of women empowerment of poor women in Bangladesh can be significantly improved by involvement with MFI. It is noted that MFI members have more empowerment than non MFI members, but the level of women empowerment of MFI member is not satisfactory. Higher income increases women’s ability to contribute more to the daily household expenditure, and eventually improve their empowerment. It is recommended that the government and other development organizations should work together in addressing this empowerment issue with better implementation of strategies such as more loans, and proper guide to borrowers. All these strategies can influence the level of empowerment of women in a developing country such as in Rajshahi division, Bangladesh.
An Optimized Computational Model for Multi-Community-Cloud Social Collaboration

Community Cloud Computing is an emerging and promising computing model for a specific community with common concerns, such as security, compliance and jurisdiction. It utilizes the spare resources of networked computers to provide the facilities so that the community gains services from the cloud. The effective collaboration among the community clouds offers a powerful computing capacity for complex tasks containing the subtasks that need data exchange. Selecting the best group of community clouds that are the most economy-efficient, communication-efficient, secured, and trusted to accomplish a complex task is very challenging. To address this problem, we first formulate a computational model for multi-community-cloud collaboration, namely MG3. The proposed model is then optimized from four aspects: minimizing the sum of access cost and monetary cost, maximizing the security-level agreement and trust among the community clouds. Furthermore, an efficient and comprehensive selection algorithm is devised to extract the best group of community clouds in MG3. Finally, the extensive simulation experiments and performance analysis of the proposed algorithm are conducted. The results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm outperforms the minimal set coverings based algorithm and the random algorithm. Moreover, the proposed comprehensive community clouds selection algorithm can guarantee good global performance in terms of access cost, monetary cost, security level and trust between user and community clouds.
Optimized Null Model for Protein Structure Networks

Much attention has recently been given to the statistical significance of topological features observed in biological networks. Here, we consider residue interaction graphs (RIGs) as network representations of protein structures with residues as nodes and inter-residue interactions as edges. Degree-preserving randomized models have been widely used for this purpose in biomolecular networks. However, such a single summary statistic of a network may not be detailed enough to capture the complex topological characteristics of protein structures and their network counterparts. Here, we investigate a variety of topological properties of RIGs to find a well fitting network null model for them. The RIGs are derived from a structurally diverse protein data set at various distance cut-offs and for different groups of interacting atoms. We compare the network structure of RIGs to several random graph models. We show that 3-dimensional geometric random graphs, that model spatial relationships between objects, provide the best fit to RIGs. We investigate the relationship between the strength of the fit and various protein structural features. We show that the fit depends on protein size, structural class, and thermostability, but not on quaternary structure. We apply our model to the identification of significantly over-represented structural building blocks, i.e., network motifs, in protein structure networks. As expected, choosing geometric graphs as a null model results in the most specific identification of motifs. Our geometric random graph model may facilitate further graph-based studies of protein conformation space and have important implications for protein structure comparison and prediction. The choice of a well-fitting null model is crucial for finding structural motifs that play an important role in protein folding, stability and function. To our knowledge, this is the first study that addresses the challenge of finding an optimized null model for RIGs, by comparing various RIG definitions against a series of network models.
Hierarchy Low CD4+/CD8+ T-Cell Counts and IFN-γ Responses in HIV-1+ Individuals Correlate with Active TB and/or M.tb Co-Infection

Objective Detailed studies of correlation between HIV-M.tb co-infection and hierarchy declines of CD8+/CD4+ T-cell counts and IFN-γ responses have not been done. We conducted case-control studies to address this issue. Methods 164 HIV-1-infected individuals comprised of HIV-1+ATB, HIV-1+LTB and HIV-1+TB- groups were evaluated. Immune phenotyping and complete blood count (CBC) were employed to measure CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell counts; T.SPOT. TB and intracellular cytokine staining (ICS) were utilized to detect ESAT6, CFP10 or PPD-specific IFN-γ responses. Results There were significant differences in median CD4+ T-cell counts between HIV-1+ATB (164/μL), HIV-1+LTB (447/μL) and HIV-1+TB- (329/μL) groups. Hierarchy low CD4+ T-cell counts (<200/μL, 200-500/μL, >500/μL) were correlated significantly with active TB but not M.tb co-infection. Interestingly, hierarchy low CD8+ T-cell counts were not only associated significantly with active TB but also with M.tb co-infection (P<0.001). Immunologically, HIV-1+ATB group showed significantly lower numbers of ESAT-6-/CFP-10-specific IFN-γ+ T cells than HIV-1+LTB group. Consistently, PPD-specific IFN-γ+CD4+/CD8+ T effector cells in HIV-1+ATB group were significantly lower than those in HIV-1+LTB group (P<0.001). Conclusions Hierarchy low CD8+ T-cell counts and effector function in HIV-1-infected individuals are correlated with both M.tb co-infection and active TB. Hierarchy low CD4+ T-cell counts and Th1 effector function in HIV-1+ individuals are associated with increased frequencies of active TB, but not M.tb co-infection.
Mental health is the most important factor influencing quality of life in elderly left behind when families migrate out of rural China

Objectives to investigate the quality of life and the associated factors on left behind elderly in rural China. Method the research was conducted cluster sampling to select 456 elderly left behind when family members migrated out of rural China to participate in a cross-sectional study by completing a general data questionnaire and Quality of Life questionnaire. Results 91.5% of the elderly requested psychological counseling and education. For the elderly, scores for mental health (39.56±13.73) were significantly lower compared with Chinese standard data (61.6±13.7) (P<0.001). Age, chronic disease type, gender, residence pattern and economic support from children were the main psychological factors influencing this population. Conclusion mental health is the most important factor influencing quality of life of elderly left behind when family members migrated out of rural China. Our study suggested a need to widely establish a general practitioner team for psychological intervention for improving rural elderly people's Quality of Life level, especially in the psychological domain.
A study on knowledge sharing behavior among academicians in India

The intention of this paper is to present the concept of knowledge sharing practices among faculty members in academic institutions through the theory of planned behavior (TPB). This paper examines survey results collected on academician’s knowledge sharing. A theory of planned behavior is used as a source model to develop two models: one with the causal path from subjective norms to attitude and the other with a causal path from subjective norms to perceived behavioral control. From the results of the significance of the subjective norms to the attitude path, it is possible to conclude that there is a similarity in faculty attitude toward knowledge sharing and what they feel about knowledge sharing due to social pressure. Similarly, the casual path created from subjective norms to perceived behavioral control reveals that the academician's behavior in knowledge sharing depends upon his/her feelings about the views of others. Further analysis of the three models resulted in the emergence of a new model.
A NOTE ON METHODOLOGICAL PARALLELS BETWEEN ACCOUNTING AND ECONOMICS

Once upon a time, positive accounting theory -a variant of positive economic theory -was radical. Watts and Zimmerman, whose book Positive Accounting Theory now is the most standard fare in accounting PhD programs, had a great deal of trouble getting published in the early 1970s. Now, research in accounting must at the very least be highly quantitative, or it simply is not viewed as scholarly by the key players in academia. A parallel may be developing, however, between the progression of acceptable research methodologies in accounting with that in its elder sister, economics. Indeed, the currently pejorative term "mere" could even be dropped from the orthodox mantra of "mere descriptive research" some day in the not so distant future. This article explores the parallel.
Trade, Demographic Transition, and the Great Divergence: Why are a Third of People Indian or Chinese?

This research argues that the rapid expansion of international trade in the second phase of the industrial revolution has played a significant role in the timing of demographic transitions across countries and has thereby been a major determinant of the distribution of world population and a prime cause of the Great Divergence in income per capita across countries in the last two centuries. The theory suggests that international trade affected the evolution of economies asymmetrically. The gains from trade were channeled towards population growth in non-industrial nations while in the industrial nations they were directed towards investment in education and growth in output per capita. International trade enhanced the specialization of industrial economies in the production of skilled intensive goods. The rise in the demand for skilled labor induced an investment in the quality of the population, expediting the demographic transition, stimulating technological progress and further enhancing the comparative advantage of these industrial economies in the production of skilled intensive goods. In nonindustrial economies, in contrast, the specialization in the production of unskilled intensive goods that was brought about by international trade reduced the demand for skilled labor and provided limited incentives to invest in population quality. The gains from trade were utilized primarily for an increase in the size of the population. The demographic transition was therefore delayed, increasing further the abundance of unskilled labor in these economies and enhancing their comparative disadvantage in the production of skilled intensive goods. The research suggests, therefore, that international trade affected persistently the distribution of population, skills, and technologies in the world economy, and has been a significant force behind the ‘Great Divergence’ in income per capita across countries.
On the Deployment of Password Hints Using Pre-Attentive Visual Priming for One-Time Passwords

Password based security is still the most prevalent form of controlling access to trusted resources accessed through computers. There are several difficulties associated with password based systems, the predominant one being password memorability. The average person has approximately 15 passwords to maintain, which engenders a significant cognitive burden if passwords are selected and utilised properly. One potential solution to the memorability issue is to provide users with password hints. For instance, literal hints in the form of a displaying a subset of the actual password characters in situ during have been deployed commercially. Although potentially effective, this approach compromises the password coverage space, effectively weakening the password. Further, this approach may render the password susceptible to shoulder surfing and other means of surveillance. In this work, a compromise was sought between enhancing password memorability while reducing the likelihood of successful surveillance based attacks. The scheme deployed in this work is based on a one-time password scheme (OTP). To enhance memorability, password hints are utilised, which are deployed in the form of pre-attentive hinting. The question explored in this work is whether pre-attentive hinting is sufficient to enhance memorability, without rendering the approach susceptible to a surveillance based attack.
Efficient, fair interpolation using Catmull-Clark surfaces

We describe an e‐cient method for constructing a smooth surface that interpolates the vertices of a mesh of arbitrary topological type. Normal vectors can also be interpolated at an arbitrary subset of the vertices. The method improves on existing interpolation techniques in that it is fast, robust and general. Our approach is to compute a control mesh whose Catmull-Clark subdivision surface interpolates the given data and minimizes a smoothness or \fairness" measure of the surface. Following Celniker and Gossard, the norm we use is based on a linear combination of thin-plate and membrane energies. Even though Catmull-Clark surfaces do not possess closed-form parametrizations, we show that the relevant properties of the surfaces can be computed e‐ciently and without approximation. In particular, we show that (1) simple, exact interpolation conditions can be derived, and (2) the fairness norm and its derivatives can be computed exactly, without resort to numerical integration.
THE RED EXPERIMENT An Assessment of Boundary Layer Effects in a Trade Winds Regime on Microwave and Infrared Propagation over the Sea

SEPTEMBER 2004 AMERICAN METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY | W hen radars first came into operation during the late 1930s, they were not expected to detect targets much beyond the geometrical horizon. These early radars, operating at a wavelength of 13 m, generally met expectations. As new radars were rapidly developed, operating at shorter and shorter wavelengths for better target detection, observations of anomalous propagation effects became more frequent. When 10-cm radars were installed along the south coast of England during World War II, they were often able to see the coast of France, even though the coast was well beyond the geometric horizon (Booker 1948). These anomalous propagation effects also became more pronounced as the operating area became more tropical. For example, a 1.5-mwavelength radar operating in Bombay, India, reTHE RED EXPERIMENT An Assessment of Boundary Layer Effects in a Trade Winds Regime on Microwave and Infrared Propagation over the Sea
SuperQ: Computing Supernetworks from Quartets

Supertrees are a commonly used tool in phylogenetics to summarize collections of partial phylogenetic trees. As a generalization of supertrees, phylogenetic supernetworks allow, in addition, the visual representation of conflict between the trees that is not possible to observe with a single tree. Here, we introduce SuperQ, a new method for constructing such supernetworks (SuperQ is freely available at www.uea.ac.uk/computing/superq.). It works by first breaking the input trees into quartet trees, and then stitching these together to form a special kind of phylogenetic network, called a split network. This stitching process is performed using an adaptation of the QNet method for split network reconstruction employing a novel approach to use the branch lengths from the input trees to estimate the branch lengths in the resulting network. Compared with previous supernetwork methods, SuperQ has the advantage of producing a planar network. We compare the performance of SuperQ to the Z-closure and Q-imputation supernetwork methods, and also present an analysis of some published data sets as an illustration of its applicability.
Collaboration in international standardization committees: A case analysis from the postal sector

Electricity, telecommunication, and postal networks are networked systems. It is inherent in the structure of networked systems that many network components are required for the provision of a typical service. Under the effect of new institutional developments, such as globalization and liberalization, these components are owned by different firms. Therefore, the question of compatibility and interconnection among network components has become of paramount importance. This paper is built on a case study of the so-called International Postal System (IPS). The case analysis will focus on how firms collaborate through voluntary standard setting committees, and why such collaboration is significant in these networks. Rival firms collaborate in standard setting committees, in which they can exchange valuable knowledge about new technologies. This collaborative strategy allows them to align positions on technical options, improve their network's public value, and enhance their efficiency and innovativeness.
An Introduction to Risk and Return from Common Stocks, 2nd Edition

Richard Brealey presents a brief, nontechnical description of current research on investment management and its implications for the investment manager. He covers market efficiency, valuation, and modern portfolio theory in a book that The New York Times noted "rates high as reading for every professional investor. " Brealey's easy-to-understand approach to modern investment theory will also prove invaluable to students. The book evaluates the use of technical models and fundamental analysis for common stock selection, examining the implications of the random walk hypothesis, publicly available information, and the efficient market theory. It takes up the valuation of common stocks and reasons for fluctuations in earnings and deals with the choice of a common stock portfolio, discussing how stocks move together, the effect of the market on stock prices, passive and active portfolios, risk and return, and measuring investment performance. Richard A. Brealey is Midland Bank Professor of Corporate Finance and Director of the London Business School's Institute of Finance and Accounting.
The structural and scaling properties of nearby galaxy clusters. I. The universal mass profile

We present the integrated mass profiles for a sample of ten nearby (z < 0.15), relaxed galaxy clusters, covering a temperature range of (2−9) keV, observed with XMM-Newton. The mass profiles were derived from the observed gas density and temperature profiles under the hypothesis of spherical symmetry and hydrostatic equilibrium. All ten mass profiles are well described by an NFW-type profile over the radial range from 0.01 to 0.5R200 ,w hereR200 is the radius corresponding to a density contrast of 200 with respect to the critical density at the cluster redshift. A King model is inconsistent with these data. The derived concentration parameters and total masses are in the range c200 = 4− 6a ndM200 = 1.2×10 14 −1.2×10 15 M� , respectively. Our qualitative and quantitative study of the mass profile shape shows, for the first time, direct and clear observational evidence for the universality of the total mass distribution in clusters. The mass profiles scaled in units of R200 and M200 nearly coincide, with a dispersion of less than 15% at 0.1 R200 . T hec200−M200 relation is consistent with the predictions of numerical simulations for a ΛCDM cosmology, taking into account the measurement errors and expected intrinsic scatter. Our results provide further strong evidence in favour of the Cold Dark Matter cosmological scenario and show that dark matter collapse is well understood, at least down to the cluster scale.
The Effects of Culturally Responsive Pedagogy in a Middle School AVID Class

The purpose of this research study was to measure the effects of Culturally Responsive Pedagogy (CRP) on academic engagement and behavior. Participants included eighth grade AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) students from a Midwestern suburban middle school. The study took place over six weeks in the fall of students’ second year in the AVID Program. During four weeks of focused intervention, the teacher implemented CRP strategies, including dramatically increasing opportunities for peer collaboration and improving student-teacher relationships through brief but individualized interactions. At the end of the implementation period, data indicated an increase in grades, teacher assessment, and student perception for almost every subgroup when compared to the previous academic year, and particularly substantial growth for black males. Results indicate that CRP positively affects both academic engagement and behavioral success for all learners, and most notably for those with the most to gain from its implementation. Further application and measurement will continue to gauge the value of additional strategies.
Non-existence and splitting theorems for normal integral bases

We establish new conditions that prevent the existence of (weak) normal integral bases in tame Galois extensions of number fields. This leads to the following result: under appropriate technical hypotheses, the existence of a normal integral basis in the upper layer of an abelian tower Q \subset K \subset L forces the tower to be split in a very strong sense.