Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Measurement Model and Adaptation of a Self-Efficacy Scale for Mathematics in University Students

The aim of the study was to adjust the measurement model of an instrument of sources of Self-efficacy for Mathematics to sample of university students from Northeast of Mexico and the sex measurement invariance. A second-order modeling was performed, which shows convergent and discriminant validity, which corresponds to the original Bandura theory of self-efficacy and contains four factors: experience in mastery, social persuasion, vicarious learning, and physiological state (emotional activation). There was adequate goodness of fit of the model in the confirmatory analysis. The advantages of the use of this instrument are discussed for its simplicity and ease of applications, qualification, and interpretation, to be used by teachers, tutors, and advisors of mathematics.
GROWTH , FLOWERING AND DRY MATTER PARTITIONING RESPONSE OF MID-FLOWERING SNAPDRAGON CULTIVAR LIBERTY WHITE GROWN UNDER DIFFERENT LIGHT GRADIENTS

The rationale of the present study was to quantify the effects of different shade levels (30%, 40%, 50% and 60%) and a control (no shade) on growth, flowering and dry matter partitioning traits of Snapdragon cultivar Liberty Wight. A linear relationship was observed between different shade levels and flowering time, rate of progress to flowering, leaf numbers, leaf area, plant height, plant spread, plant fresh weight, plant dry weight, leaf fresh weight and lead dry weight. These growth and development traits increased linearly from 30% to 60% shade levels, however, the rate of progress to flowering was inverse to flowering time when plants were kept under shades. A polynomial hyperbolic relationship was observed in specific leaf area, specific leaf weight, leaf weight ratio, leaf area ratio, relative growth rate and net assimilation rate. It is concluded that different shade levels significantly (P≤0.05) prolonged various growth and development phases of Snapdragon cultivar Liberty White. These finding can be applied to enhance crop quality and to delay growth and flowering time for steadily supply of plants to the market.
Tax-Related Human Capital: Evidence from Employee Movements

Despite the human capital in corporate tax departments representing the average firm’s most direct and substantial investment in tax compliance and planning, our understanding of it is limited. We shed light on the determinants and consequences of tax-related human capital by examining employee movement between the tax departments of large U.S. corporations. We first show that deteriorations in firm tax performance, measured either by increases in cash effective tax rates (ETRs) or tax-related internal control weaknesses or restatements, are associated with an increased likelihood of tax department hiring. Second, we find that tax departments tend to hire from firms with similar characteristics (such as industry membership, size, and the extent of foreign operations), suggesting that tax-related human capital is highly specific in nature. Finally, we document that firms exhibit meaningful increases in tax avoidance when they hire from low ETR firms, and that this association varies predictably with the employee’s prior role and experience, consistent with employee movement being a mechanism through which tax planning knowledge spreads across firms. Overall, we provide some of the first evidence on tax-related human capital and its relation to tax planning outcomes. Our findings have implications for recent trends in firms’ investments in internal tax departments.
Multimodal Deep Convolutional Neural Network for Audio-Visual Emotion Recognition

Emotion recognition is a challenging task because of the emotional gap between subjective emotion and the low-level audio-visual features. Inspired by the recent success of deep learning in bridging the semantic gap, this paper proposes to bridge the emotional gap based on a multimodal Deep Convolution Neural Network (DCNN), which fuses the audio and visual cues in a deep model. This multimodal DCNN is trained with two stages. First, two DCNN models pre-trained on large-scale image data are fine-tuned to perform audio and visual emotion recognition tasks respectively on the corresponding labeled speech and face data. Second, the outputs of these two DCNNs are integrated in a fusion network constructed by a number of fully-connected layers. The fusion network is trained to obtain a joint audio-visual feature representation for emotion recognition. Experimental results on the RML audio-visual database demonstrates the promising performance of the proposed method. To the best of our knowledge, this is an early work fusing audio and visual cues in DCNN for emotion recognition. Its success guarantees further research in this direction.
Sesleria nitida Ten . and Sesleria feretrana sp . nova in Tuscan-Romagna Apennines ( Italy )

The authors report on the presence of Sesleria nitida Ten. also in the Tuscan-Romagna area of the Northern Apennines, where this species was considered absent. In fact Ujhelyi (1959) and the authors of the Italian floras (Zangheri, 1976; Pignatti, 1982, 2017) determined the species as Sesleria italica (Pamp.) Ujhelyi, whose typus is however recognized here as a sample of plants attributable to one of the forms of Sesleria nitida present in the area. Among these, a particular form from the Mugello upland (Tuscany), at the northern edge of the Tuscan-Romangna Apennines, is described here with the name of Sesleria nitida var. candae. For Montefeltro, the southernmost part of this sector of the Apennines, an area at the boundaries with the Central Apennines, the authors describe a new species under the name Sesleria feretrana. It is intermediate between Sesleria nitida and the sympatric Sesleria pulchella (Chiosi) Ubaldi; this new species, too, was previously determined as Sesleria italica.
Dexamethasone mimics aspects of physiological acclimatization to 8 hours of hypoxia but suppresses plasma erythropoietin

Dexamethasone ameliorates the severity of acute mountain sickness (AMS) but it is unknown whether it obtunds normal physiological responses to hypoxia. We studied whether dexamethasone enhanced or inhibited the ventilatory, cardiovascular, and pulmonary vascular responses to sustained (8 h) hypoxia. Eight healthy volunteers were studied, each on four separate occasions, permitting four different protocols. These were: dexamethasone (20 mg orally) beginning 2 h before a control period of 8 h of air breathing; dexamethasone with 8 h of isocapnic hypoxia (end-tidal Po2 = 50 Torr); placebo with 8 h of air breathing; and placebo with 8 h of isocapnic hypoxia. Before and after each protocol, the following were determined under both euoxic and hypoxic conditions: ventilation; pulmonary artery pressure (estimated using echocardiography to assess maximum tricuspid pressure difference); heart rate; and cardiac output. Plasma concentrations of erythropoietin (EPO) were also determined. Dexamethasone had no early (2-h) effect on any variable. Both dexamethasone and 8 h of hypoxia increased euoxic values of ventilation, pulmonary artery pressure, and heart rate, together with the ventilatory sensitivity to acute hypoxia. These effects were independent and additive. Eight hours of hypoxia, but not dexamethasone, increased the sensitivity of pulmonary artery pressure to acute hypoxia. Dexamethasone, but not 8 h of hypoxia, increased both cardiac output and systemic arterial pressure. Dexamethasone abolished the rise in EPO induced by 8 h of hypoxia. In summary, dexamethasone enhances ventilatory acclimatization to hypoxia. Thus, dexamethasone in AMS may improve oxygenation and thereby indirectly lower pulmonary artery pressure.
Hyperintense signal abnormality in subarachnoid spaces and basal cisterns on MR images of children anesthetized with propofol: new fluid-attenuated inversion recovery finding.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE MR imaging is the method of choice for pediatric neuroimaging. Sedation is often needed to suppress patient motion and ensure diagnostic image quality, and propofol is rapidly becoming the preferred anesthetic. The purpose of this study was to document a new finding on fast fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (fast-FLAIR) MR images of children anesthetized with propofol that can be mistaken for subarachnoid space pathologic abnormality. METHODS A retrospective analysis was conducted of 55 MR images of the brain for children who ranged in age from 1 week to 12 years. Forty-two patients received chloral hydrate, and 13 received propofol anesthetic. Multiplanar MR images were studied to detect the presence or absence of hyperintense signal (artifact) in the subarachnoid spaces and basal cisterns. The T1 values and null times of chloral hydrate, propofol, and CSF were determined in vitro at room temperature by using an inversion recovery pulse sequence at 1.5 T. RESULTS The fast-FLAIR images of all 13 patients who received propofol had hyperintense signal abnormality. For 10 (77%) of 13 patients, this artifact was in the basal cisterns and subarachnoid spaces overlying the brain convexity. For three (23%) of 13 patients, this artifact was in the convexity region only. Two patients underwent follow-up MR imaging with a nonpropofol anesthetic agent, and the artifact resolved. None of the images of the children who received chloral hydrate had this artifact. The T1 value of chloral hydrate was 0.2 s, of propofol was 1.86 s, and of CSF was 2.32 s at room temperature. CONCLUSION The fast-FLAIR images of children anesthetized with propofol have artifactual hyperintense signal in the basal cisterns and subarachnoid spaces, and this artifact mimics disease of the subarachnoid space. The T1 value of propofol approaches that of CSF. Depending on the chosen null time, there may be incomplete nulling of signal coming from propofol. To account for this observation, other possible causes include increased CSF pulsation in children creating motion artifact, changes in arterial oxygen concentration intrinsic to propofol or related to the supplemental oxygen normally administered, or changes in CSF protein levels related to propofol binding to proteins for uptake into CSF.
Axiomatising ST-Bisimulation Equivalence

A simple ST operational semantics for a process algebra is provided, by defining a set of operational rules in Plotkin’s style. This algebra comprises TCSP parallel composition, ACP sequential composition and a refinement operator, which is used for replacing an action with an entire process, thus permitting hierarchical specification of systems. We prove that ST-bisimulation equivalence is a congruence, resorting to standard techniques on rule formats. Moreover, we provide a set of axioms that is sound and complete with respect to ST-bisimulation. The intriguing case of the forgetful refinement (i.e. when an action is refined into the properly terminated process) is dealt with in a new, improved manner. 1. To appear in Proceedings of the IFIP Working Conference on Programming Concepts, Methods and Calculi (PROCOMET ’94), S. Miniato, Italy, June 1994. The first and third authors have been supported by CNR, MURST and Esprit project 8130LOMAPS. The second author has been fundedbyONRundergrant numberN00014-92-J-1974. 2. Dipartimento di Matematica, Universita di Siena Via del Capitano, 15, I-53100 Siena, Italy. 3. Computer Science Department, Stanford University Stanford, CA 94305, USA. 4. Dipartimento di Matematica, Universita di Bologna Piazza di Porta S. Donato 5, I-40127 Bologna, Italy.
A bandwidth inheritance algorithm for real-time task synchronization in open systems

In this paper, we present algorithm BandWidth Inheritance (BWI), a new scheduling strategy that extends the bandwidth reservation approach to systems where tasks can interact through shared resources. The proposed algorithm provides temporal isolation between independent groups of tasks, and enables a schedulability analysis for guaranteeing the performance of realtime tasks. After showing that BWI is the natural extension of the well-known Priority Inheritance Protocol to dynamic reservation systems, a formal analysis of the algorithm is presented, and simple guarantee tests for hard real-time tasks are proposed.
An Economic Model of Patent Exhaustion

The doctrine of patent exhaustion implies that the authorized sale of patented goods “exhausts” the patent rights in the goods sold and precludes additional license fees from downstream buyers. Courts have considered absolute exhaustion, in which the patent owner forfeits all rights upon an authorized sale, and presumptive exhaustion, in which the patent owner may opt-out of exhaustion via contract. This paper offers the first economic model of domestic patent exhaustion that incorporates transaction costs in licensing downstream buyers and considers how the shift from absolute to presumptive exhaustion affects social welfare. We show that when transaction costs are high, the patent owner has no incentive to individually license downstream users, and absolute and presumptive exhaustion regimes are equivalent. But when transaction costs are at the intermediate level, the patent owner engages in mixed licensing, individually licensing high-valuation buyers and uniformly licensing low-valuation buyers. Presumptive exhaustion is socially optimal when social benefits from buyer-specific pricing outweigh social costs from transaction cost frictions in individualized licensing, which requires sufficiently low transaction costs.
Psychological Intervention in Traumatic Brain Injury Patients

Objective To provide a brief and comprehensive summary of recent research regarding psychological interventions for patients surviving a traumatic brain injury. Methods A bibliographical search was performed in PubMed, Cochrane Library, PsycNET, Scopus, ResearchGate, and Google Scholar online databases. Analysis included distribution by year of publication, age stage of participants (paediatric, adult), location of the research team, study design, type of intervention, and main outcome variables. Results The initial search eliciting 1541 citations was reduced to 62 relevant papers. Most publications had adult samples (88.7%). The United States outstands as the country with more research (58.1%); Latin America countries provided no results. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) was the most widely used approach for treatment of (sub)clinical mental disturbances (41.9%). Neuropsychological interventions were scarce (4.8%). Outcome measures included psychiatric disorders (e.g., posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety) (37.1%), postconcussive symptoms (16.1%), cognitive and functional deficits (48.1%), and social and psychological dimensions (62.9%). Conclusions CBT outstands as the preferred therapeutic approach for treating behavioural and emotional disturbances. Also, other related therapies such as dialectical behaviour, mindfulness, and acceptance and commitment therapies have been proposed, and probably in the years to come, more literature regarding their effectiveness will be available. On the other hand, evidence showed that interventions from the field of neuropsychology are minimal if compared with its contribution to assessment. Future research should be aimed at performing studies on more diverse populations (e.g., nonmilitary communities and paediatric and Latin American populations) and at controlling designs to examine the therapeutic efficacy of psychotherapeutic and neurocognitive rehabilitation interventions and compare amelioration by injury severity, age of patients, and clinical profile, in the hopes of creating better guidelines for practitioners.
Identiication of Complex Shapes Using a Self Organising Neural System

We present a multi layer, hierarchical neural system for automatic classiication of complex contour patterns. The system consists of a Neocognitron-like network structure combined with Self Organising Maps to automatically determine feature classes. We present results showing that multi-layer hierarchical networks are able to tolerate pattern distortion considerably better than standard neural network implementations.
Dynamic Incentives for Buy-Side Analysts

We develop a dynamic adverse selection model where a career-concerned buy-side analyst advises a fund manager about investment decisions. The analyst's ability is privately known, as is any information she learns over time. The manager wants to elicit information to maximize fund performance while also identifying and retaining high-skill analysts. We characterize the optimal dynamic contract, show that it has several features supported by empirical evidence, and derive novel testable implications. The fund manager's optimal contract both maximizes the value of information and screens out low-skill analysts by incentivizing the analyst to always provide honest advice.
Mechanical Characterization of Parts Processed via Fused Deposition

The possibility of using materials with better physical and mechanical properties together with the quickly improving capabilities of various processes increasingly make Rapid Prototyping (RP) as a new manufacturing technology for specialty components. In Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), the build orientation and the toolpath used strongly affect the properties of the part. This study presents the results of experimental work based on mechanical characterization of parts fabricated with fused deposition to determine the stiffness matrix and the thermal expansion coefficients for an equivalent orthotropic material. The results can be directly adapted into computational analysis tools based on classical lamination theory, for part quality and performance prediction. Current investigation focuses on use of ABS material in Stratasys FDM 1650 rapid prototyping equipment. BACKGROUND For conventional polymer-based material technologies the properties of the fabricated parts are well known and can be predicted and determined with different tools and characterization techniques. However, for parts fabricated using rapid prototyping, there are no standard methods available. In the current work, complete mechanical characterization for ABS parts with a pseudo-isotropic stacking sequence has been performed. Figure 1 SEMpictures ofa section ofa standard lay-up part [0 90] [1]
Tribological properties of Al matrix composites reinforced with MAX type phases

A method was developed to manufacture Al-Si alloy matrix composites reinforced with MAX phases by squeeze casting pressure infiltration of porous preforms. The MAX phases were synthesized using self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) in the microwave assisted mode. For the produced composites abrasive wear resistance tests were carried out using the pin-on-flat method with reciprocating motion for different load values (0.1, 0.2 and 0.5 MPa), while maintaining other parameters (sliding distance, speed) constant. The sliding distance equaled 2000 m with the average speed of 0.3 m/s, whereas the flat counterpart was made of CT70 tool steel with the hardness of 67 HRC and roughness Ra = 0.4÷0.6. Before testing both of the tribosurfaces were degreased with acetone. Volumetric sample consumption was investigated and changes in the structure of the working surfaces were analyzed. Optical and scanning electron microscopy analysis were also performed and elaborated in order to facilitate understanding and interpretation of the wear mechanisms. It was confirmed that the composite materials exhibit more than two times higher wear resistance than that of the matrix itself. The wear rate of the matrix falls within the range of 3.5÷5.5⋅10−4 mm3/Nm, while for the composite material 1.3÷2.4⋅10−4 mm3/Nm. In the Al-Si matrix the main wear mechanism was identified to be based on plastic deformation composed of scaling and cracking processes, while for the MAX phase composite it is principally abrasive wear leading to pre-fracture, delamination and extraction of MAX phase platelets.
Adaptive Low-Gain Integral Control of Multivariable Well-Posed Linear Systems

The principle of low-gain integral control for finite-dimensional systems is well known. More recently, low-gain integral control results have been obtained for classes of infinite-dimensional systems. In this paper we show that integral control with a simple and natural adaptation of the integrator gain achieves tracking of constant reference signals for every exponentially stable, multivariable, well-posed, infinite-dimensional, linear system whose steady-state gain matrix has its spectrum in the open right-half plane. Our results considerably extend, improve, and simplify previous work by the authors [SIAM J. Control Optim. {35} (1997), pp. 78--116].
Statistical Analysis of the Hirsch Index

Abstract. The Hirsch index (commonly referred to as h‐index) is a bibliometric indicator which is widely recognized as effective for measuring the scientific production of a scholar since it summarizes size and impact of the research output. In a formal setting, the h‐index is actually an empirical functional of the distribution of the citation counts received by the scholar. Under this approach, the asymptotic theory for the empirical h‐index has been recently exploited when the citation counts follow a continuous distribution and, in particular, variance estimation has been considered for the Pareto‐type and the Weibull‐type distribution families. However, in bibliometric applications, citation counts display a distribution supported by the integers. Thus, we provide general properties for the empirical h‐index under the small‐ and large‐sample settings. In addition, we also introduce consistent non‐parametric variance estimation, which allows for the implementation of large‐sample set estimation for the theoretical h‐index.
Reduced Levels of Tear Lacritin Are Associated With Corneal Neuropathy in Patients With the Ocular Component of Sjögren's Syndrome

Purpose To determine whether levels of endogenous tear protein, lacritin, are linked to altered corneal innervation and dry eye severity in patients with Sjögren's syndrome (SS). Methods Clinical data were obtained from 10 SS and 10 age-matched controls. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to assess total tear lacritin extracted from Schirmer strips. Western blot was used to detect active lacritin monomer (∼25 kDa), active lacritin fragment (∼12–15 kDa), and inactive tissue transglutaminase–generated lacritin (≥40 kDa). In vivo confocal microscopy was used to assess nerve fiber density (NFD) and length (NFL). Relationships between nerve morphology and tear lacritin were examined by Spearman correlation. Diagnostic performance of tear lacritin was analyzed using receiver operating characteristic. Results Active tear lacritin was significantly reduced in SS patients (3.72 ± 5.62 [SS] versus 18.17 ± 4.57 ng/100 ng total tear protein [controls]; P < 0.001), while inactive lacritin was increased (84.99% ± 11.15% [SS] versus 51.04% ± 12.03% [controls]; P < 0.001). Nerve fiber density (21.70 ± 18.93 vs. 31.80 ± 9.35; P = 0.03) and NFL (4.18 ± 3.44 vs. 6.54 ± 2.47; P < 0.05) were significantly decreased in SS patients compared to controls. Reduced NFL (r = 0.74, P < 0.01) and NFD (r = 0.70, P < 0.01) were highly correlated with reduced tear lacritin. Similarly, total tear lacritin was highly correlated with Schirmers (r = 0.77, P < 0.01), ocular staining (r = −0.80, P < 0.01), and corneal sensitivity (r = 0.81, P < 0.01). Tear lacritin showed equivalent or better diagnostic performance compared to traditional clinical measures for SS (100.00% sensitivity, 85.71% specificity, cutoff = 14.50 ng/100 ng tear protein). Conclusions Reduced tear lacritin levels in SS patients are highly correlated with clinical signs of dry eye, as well as decreased NFD and NFL. Lacritin and its components provide excellent diagnostic sensitivity and specificity in SS.