Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Assessing the Economic and Environmental Prospects of Stand-By Solar Powered Systems in Nigeria

This paper presents an economic analysis of two stand-by power supply options for a typical Nigerian household namely diesel generator plant and solar powered systems. The analysis reveals that solar systems are the most economically viable. The environmental benefits associated with substituting diesel powered stand-by plants with solar powered photovoltaic systems were also estimated. The amount of diesel save was estimated and the reduction in air pollution calculated. With this two analysis it is hope that individual households in Nigeria, will be encouraged to go for solar stand-by systems while Government will be encouraged to pursue further an energy-environmental friendly policy which will lead to reduction in the production of air pollutants. This kind of policy is very essential, as the number of household installing stand-by power plants in Nigeria has been found to increase exponentially over the past few years. (Journal of Applied Sciences & Environmental Management: 2003 7(1): 37-42)
Unbundling the Incumbent: Evidence from UK Broadband

We consider the impact of a regulatory process forcing an incumbent telecom operator to make its local broadband network available to other companies (local loop unbundling, or LLU). Entrants are then able to upgrade their individual lines and offer Internet services directly to customers. Employing a very detailed data set covering the whole of the United Kingdom, we find that, over the course of time, many entrants have begun to take advantage of unbundling. LLU entry only had a positive effect on broadband penetration in the early years, and no longer in the recent years as the market reached maturity. In contrast, LLU entry continues to have a positive impact on the quality of the service provided, as entrants differentiate their products upwards compared to the incumbent. We also assess the impact of competition from an alternative form of technology (cable) which is not subject to regulation, and what we discover is that inter-platform competition has a positive impact on both penetration and quality.
Regional market segments of China: opportunities and barriers in a big emerging market

As one of the big emerging markets, China’s enormous population and rapid increase in consumer spending have attracted many multinational corporations (MNCs). Meanwhile, the misconception of China as a homogeneous market often leads to difficulties in assessing market demand and enacting effective strategies. Examines the diversity among Chinese consumers across seven regional markets. Data from a national survey suggest that consumers from various regions are significantly different from one another in terms of purchasing power, attitudes, lifestyles, media use, and consumption patterns. MNCs need to take a cautionary approach when expanding into the inland regions, and must adapt to the local market conditions and devise sustainable strategies.
Low plasma uromodulin is a predictor of early stagechronic kidney disease progression

Uromodulin might play an important role in maintaining normal kidney function. However, the relationship between uromodulin concentration and the clinical outcomes of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) is poorly known. The aim of the present study was to clarify whether plasma uromodulin concentration is associated with renal outcomes in CKD patients. This prospective observational study included 116 patients with CKD (non-end-stage renal disease) and 40 healthy controls. ELISA was performed to measure the concentration of plasma uromodulin in all the participants. The association between plasma uromodulin and estimated GFR (eGFR) was then evaluated. Uromodulin concentrations of CKD patients were divided into quartiles. Survival and Cox analysis were utilized to determine the risk of reduced plasma uromodulin for predicting the poor renal outcomes. The expression level of plasma uromodulin was significantly reduced in patients with CKD compared with the healthy volunteers (P<0.01). A positive correlation was found between plasma uromodulin and eGFR. In addition, the CKD patients with lower plasma uromodulin have a higher chance to develop into end-stage renal disease (ESDR) (P<0.01). Moreover, the CKD patients in the 3rd and 4th plasma uromodulin quartiles (higher plasma uromodulin concentrations) had significantly better renal outcomes than those in the 1st quartile (lower plasma uromodulin concentrations). Taken together, lower plasma uromodulin levels were associated with poorer renal outcome, indicating that uromodulin may be a useful biomarker for predicting the progression of CKD.
A Multidisciplinary, Team-Based Teleconsultation Approach to Enhance Child Mental Health Services in Rural Pediatrics

ABSTRACT Mental health services for rural youth are extremely limited, especially given the national shortage of child and adolescent psychiatrists (CAPs). Patient-centered primary care medical homes (PCMHs) are often their only available portal of care, yet high-quality PCMH integrated models of behavioral health that include a CAP are rare. This manuscript presents a unique multidisciplinary teleconsultation model wherein integrated behavioral systems consultation was employed to increase access to integrated behavioral health services. Common referrals included complex presentations outside of provider comfort range or medication and diagnostic clarification. Primary concerns were symptoms of ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, anxiety, and depression. Recommendations included referral to outpatient therapy, further coordination with the medical team, and follow-up with the CAP. Providers noted access to care, specialized quality of care, provider support, and enhancing principles of the PCMH as strengths of the teleconsultation. Challenges included patient engagement, scheduling/availability, challenges with the teleconsultation process, and provider-level barriers.
Tick Size Tolls: Can a Trading Slowdown Improve Earnings News Discovery?

This study examines how an increase in tick size affects algorithmic trading (AT), fundamental information acquisition (FIA), and the price discovery process around earnings announcements (EAs). Leveraging the SEC's randomized Tick Size Pilot experiment, we show that a tick size increase results in a decline in AT and a sharp drop in absolute cumulative abnormal returns and volume around EAs. More importantly, we find increased FIA in the preannouncement period. Specifically, we show: (1) treatment firms' pre-announcement returns better anticipate next quarter's standardized unexpected earnings; (2) these firms experience an increase in EDGAR web traffic prior to EAs; and (3) they exhibit a drop in price synchronicity with index returns. Taken together, our evidence suggests that while an increase in tick size reduces AT and abnormal market reaction after EAs, it also increases FIA activities prior to EAs. JEL Classifications: M40; M41; G12; G14.
The Association between Accounting Conservatism and Cash Dividends: Evidence from Emerging Markets

This research examines the association between accounting conservatism and cash dividends of listed firms in the Kingdom of Bahrain. It has addressed two questions. First, does accounting conservatism actually work? Second, can accounting conservatism influence cash dividends of firms in the Kingdom of Bahrain? The findings of this study support the hypothesis that accounting conservatism plays an important role in reducing cash dividends and managing agency conflicts. It documents a significant negative association between accounting conservatism and cash dividends of Bahraini Firms.
Is it Beneficial to be Included in a Sustainability Stock Index? A Panel Data Study for European Firms

This paper empirically examines the effect of inclusion in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World) on corporate financial performance. On the basis of panel data for European firms that were included in the Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index over time, our micro-econometric analysis with fixed and random effects models implies positive impacts on return on assets for continental European countries, but insignificant effects for Anglo-Saxon European countries (i.e., the United Kingdom and Ireland). Furthermore, the impacts on alternative indicators of corporate financial performance such as Tobin’s Q are generally insignificant. The weak or neutral effect of inclusion in the DJSI World on corporate financial performance can be explained by several mutually confounding factors. Furthermore, the composition of this sustainability stock index is influenced by factors that need not necessarily be directly connected to corporate environmental or social activities, so that potential positive and negative effects of corporate sustainability performance on financial performance can be weakened. Methodologically, this study again supports the strong relevance of unobserved firm heterogeneity since the application of misspecified pooled regression models leads to obviously biased estimation results.
Assessing the Effectiveness of a Blended Web-Based Learning Environment in an Australian High School.

The enhanced accessibility, affordability and capability of the Internet has created enormous possibilities in terms of designing, developing and implementing innovative teaching methods in the classroom. As existing pedagogies are revamped and new ones are added, there is a need to assess the effectiveness of these approaches from students' perspective. For more than 30 years, proven qualitative and quantitative research methods associated with learning environments research have yielded productive results for educators. While much of the research has focussed on characterising the learning environment, very few investigations have used the results as a tool to refine the learning environment. This chapter presents the findings of a study in which Getsmart; a teacher designed website was blended into science and physics lessons at an Australian High School. It shows how the results of learning environments research were used in assessing the effectiveness of the approach from students' perspective. The investigation also gave an indication of how effective Getsmart was as a teaching model in such environments.
2018 Aging , Disability and Disease in India

Obtaining detailed evidence on disabilities and their covariates is important as India’s elderly population (60 years or more) is growing three times faster than the population as a whole. This study is the first of its kind to provide an analysis of disability and its covariates among the elderly in 2012, based on the India Human Development Survey 2015, a nationally representative panel survey. Our analysis throws light on factors associated with (reported) disabilities in 2012.Given better reporting of disabilities in 2012, we examine the role of their covariates in 2005. Variations in both disabilities by count and type are analysed. Based on probit and ordered probit specifications, we find that vulnerability of the elderly people to (reported) disabilities in 2012 is associated with important covariates in 2005: a largely rural population, low assets, noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), disabilities, lack of school education, widowhood, aging, and lack of participation in social networks. Similar associations are found for variations in disabilities by type in 2012, using the covariates in 2005.Thus disabilities are not just a medical or social problem but an outcome of their interplay. While the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016 is laudable in its intent and procedural detail, it is largely silent on disabilities among the elderly. A major overhaul of the health system is proposed to address better the disabilities of India’s aging population.
Immune Reconstitution Inflammatory Syndrome: Cutaneous and Bone Histoplasmosis Mimicking Leprosy after Treatment

We present a case of disseminated histoplasmosis in a 12-year-old HIV infected boy. This is a rare presentation of Histoplasma capsulatum var. capsulatum which presented as Immune Reconstitution Inflammatory Syndrome with osteoarticular involvement. He was treated with fluconazole for five years and healed with shortening of all the digits.
Predicting Mortality and Functional Outcomes after Ischemic Stroke: External Validation of a Prognostic Model

Background: We previously developed predictive models for 3-month mortality and modified Rankin Score (mRS) after ischemic stroke. Aim: The aim was to test model validity for 3-month mortality and mRS after ischemic stroke in two independent data sets. Methods: Our derivation models used data from 451 subjects with ischemic stroke in 1999 enrolled in the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Stroke Study (GCKNSS). We utilized two separate cohorts of ischemic strokes through GCKNSS (460 in 2005 and 504 in 2010) to assess external validity by utilizing measures of agreement between predicted and observed values, calibration, and discrimination using Transparent Reporting of a multivariable prediction model for Individual Prognosis or Diagnosis. Results: The 3-month mortality model performed well in the validation datasets with an average prediction error (Brier score) of 0.045 for 2005 and 0.053 for 2010 and excellent discrimination with an area under the curve of 0.86 (95% CI: 0.79, 0.93) for 2005 and 0.84 (0.76, 0.92) for 2010. Predicted 3-month mRS also performed well in the validation datasets with R2 of 0.57 for 2005 and 0.50 for 2010 and a root mean square error of 0.85 for 2005 and 1.05 for 2010. Predicted mRS tended to be higher than actual in both validation datasets. Re-estimation of the model parameters for age and severe white matter hyperintensity in both 2005 and 2010, and for diabetes in 2005, improved predictive accuracy. Conclusions: Our previously developed stroke models performed well in two study periods, suggesting validity of the model predictions.
Safety and efficacy of guanidinoacetic acid as feed additive for chickens for fattening 1 Scientific Opinion of the Panel on Additives and Products or Substances used in Animal Feed ( Question No EFSA-Q-2007-050 ) Adopted on 3 March 2009

Following a request from European Commission, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) was asked to deliver a scientific opinion on guanidinoacetic acid. The additive (trade name: CreAmino) is described by the applicant as a nutritional additive under the functional group amino acids, their salts and derivatives. CreAmino, a granulated product, contains a minimum of 96 % chemically synthesised guanidinoacetic acid (GAA) as active substance. Cyanamide (≤ 0.03 %) and dicyandiamide (≤ 0.5 %) are impurities arising from the production process.
McClure-Griffiths , N . M . ; et al . GMIMS : The Global Magneto-Ionic Medium Survey . In Cosmic Magnetic Fields : From Planets , to Stars and Galaxies

Modern radio spectrometers make measurement of polarized intensity as a function of Faraday depth possible. I investigate the effect of depolarization along a model line of sight. I model sightlines with two components informed by observations: a warm ionized medium with a lognormal electron density distribution and a narrow, denser component simulating a spiral arm or H II region, all with synchrotron-emitting gas mixed in. I then calculate the polarized intensity from 300− 1800 MHz and calculate the resulting Faraday depth spectrum. The idealized synthetic observations show far more Faraday complexity than is observed in Global Magneto-Ionic Medium Survey observations. In a model with a very nearby H II region observed at low frequencies, most of the effects of a “depolarization wall” are evident: the H II region depolarizes background emission and less (but not zero) information from beyond the H II region reaches the observer. In other cases, the effects are not so clear, as significant amounts of information reach the observer even through significant depolarization, and it is not clear that low-frequency observations sample largely different volumes of the interstellar medium than high-frequency observations. The observed Faraday depth can be randomized such that it does not always have any correlation with the true Faraday depth.
Atmosphere in an urban nightlife setting

• A submitted manuscript is the author's version of the article upon submission and before peer-review. There can be important differences between the submitted version and the official published version of record. People interested in the research are advised to contact the author for the final version of the publication, or visit the DOI to the publisher's website. • The final author version and the galley proof are versions of the publication after peer review. • The final published version features the final layout of the paper including the volume, issue and page numbers.
Biclusters Based Visual Exploration of Multivariate Scientific Data

This paper proposes a co-analysis framework based on biclusters, i.e., two subsets of variables and voxels with close scalar-value relationships, to guide the visual exploration process of multivariate data. We first automatically extract all meaningful biclusters, each of which only contains voxels with a similar scalar-value pattern over a subset of variables. These biclusters are organized according to their variable sets, and further grouped by a similarity metric to reduce redundancy and encourage diversity during visual exploration. Biclusters are visually represented in coordinated views to facilitate interactive exploration of multivariate data from the similarity between biclusters and the correlation of scalar values with different variables. Experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of our framework in exploring local relationships among variables, biclusters and scalar values in the data.
On the Channels of Foreign Aid to Corruption

The debate by Okada & Samreth (2012, EL) and Asongu (2012, EB; 2013, EEL) on ‘the effect of foreign aid on corruption’ in its current state has the shortcoming of modeling corruption as a direct effect of development assistance. This note extends the debate by assessing the channels of foreign aid to corruption in 53 African countries for the period 1996-2010. Two main findings are established to unite the two streams of the debate. (1) Foreign aid channeled through government’s consumption expenditure increases corruption. (2) Development assistance channeled via private investment and tax effort decreases corruption. It follows that foreign aid that is targeted towards reducing corruption should be channeled via private investment and tax effort, not through government expenditure. Our results integrate an indirect component and reconcile the debate by showing that, the effect could either be positive or negative depending on the transmission channel.
A Lateglacial archaeological site in the far north‐west of Europe at Rubha Port an t‐Seilich, Isle of Islay, western Scotland: Ahrensburgian‐style artefacts, absolute dating and geoarchaeology

The exact pattern, process and timing of the human re‐colonization of northern Europe after the end of the last Ice Age remain controversial. Recent research has provided increasingly early dates for at least pioneer explorations of latitudes above 54°N in many regions, yet the far north‐west of the European landmass, Scotland, has remained an unexplained exception to this pattern. Although the recently described Hamburgian artefacts from Howburn and an assemblage belonging to the arch‐backed point complex from Kilmelfort Cave have established at least a sporadic human presence during earlier stages of the Lateglacial Interstadial, we currently lack evidence for Younger Dryas/Greenland Stadial 1 (GS‐1) activity other than rare stray finds that have been claimed to be of Ahrensburgian affiliation but are difficult to interpret in isolation. We here report the discovery of chipped stone artefacts with technological and typological characteristics similar to those of the continental Ahrensburgian at a locality in western Scotland. A preliminary analysis of associated tephra, pollen and phytoliths, along with microstratigraphic analysis, suggest the artefacts represent one or more episodes of human activity that fall within the second half of GS‐1 and the Preboreal period. © 2015 The Authors. Journal of Quaternary Science published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Reliability-based fatigue life estimation of shear riveted connections considering dependency of rivet hole failures

Standards and guidelines for the fatigue design of riveted connections make use of a stress range-endurance (S-N) curve based on the net section stress range regardless of the number and the position of the rivets. Almost all tests on which S-N curves are based, are performed with a minimum number of rivets. However, the number of rivets in a row is expected to increase the fail-safe behaviour of the connection, whereas the number of rows is supposed to decrease the theoretical stress concentration at the critical locations, and hence these aspects are not considered in the S-N curves. This paper presents a numerical model predicting the fatigue life of riveted connections by performing a system reliability analysis on a double cover plated riveted butt joint. The connection is considered in three geometries, with different number of rivets in a row and different number of rows. The stress state in the connection is evaluated using a finite element model in which the friction coefficient and the clamping force in the rivets are considered in a deterministic manner. The probability of failure is evaluated for the main plate, and fatigue failure is assumed to be originating at the sides of the rivet holes, the critical locations, or hot-spots. The notch stress approach is applied to assess the fatigue life, considered to be a stochastic quantity. Unlike other system reliability models available in the literature, the evaluation of the probability of failure takes into account the stochastic dependence between the failures at each critical location modelled as a parallel system, which means considering the change of the state of stress in the connection when a ligament between two rivets fails. A sensitivity study is performed to evaluate the effect of the pretension in the rivet and the friction coefficient on the fatigue life.