Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Repeatability and Reproducibility of Buari-Chen Malay Reading Chart

The purpose of our study was to evaluate the repeatability and reproducibility of Buari-Chen Malay Reading Chart (BCMRC). Thirty normally sighted young adults (mean age: 20.6 years) were recruited based on convenient sampling. They were instructed to be read aloud 2 sets of BCMRC (contextual sentences (CS) set and random words (RW) set) at random sequence in three different sessions. The repeatability limits of the reading speed for contextual sentences (CS) set and random words (RW) set were 45.46 wpm and 29.16 wpm respectively, while the limit for reproducibility was 33.12 wpm for CS set and 28.38 wpm for RW set. Bland and Altman's plot showed good agreement for both sets of BCMRC as most differences of reading speed between reading sessions were placed within the limits of agreement (LoA). The mean difference in repeatability for CS set was 13.14 wpm (95% LoA = 40.81 to -14.53) and 8.96 wpm (95% LoA = 32.63 to -14.70 for RW set. For reproducibility, the mean difference was 11.30 wpm (95% LoA = 36.38 to -13.78) for CS set and 2.79 wpm (95% LoA = 31.13 to -25.55) for RW set. The BCMRC showed good repeatability and reproducibility that supported its usage as reading research tool as well as clinical diagnostic tool.
Critical review: cholesterol and fat-soluble vitamins on shrimp feeding

Four types of poly unsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) are essential for all shrimp species, linoleic (LOA, 18:2n-6), alfa-linolenic (ALA, 18:3n-3), eicosapentaenoic (EPA, 20:5n-3) and docosahexaenoic (DHA, 22:6n-3) acids. Moreover, the arachidonic acid (ARA, 20:4n-6), even when present, seems to be, in crustaceans, not so important or yet dispensable. It is relevant knowing that cholesterol as much as PUFA are not well absorbed when not followed by a substantial amount of lecithin, reaching 5% of the ration. The sum of PUFA reaches around 3% of the diet, even varying according to the species, stage and ration type. For Penaeus monodon a complex mathematic model was formulated in order to describe the relationships between the requirements of the cited PUFA. Industries involved with feed production on this segment must possess its own adaptation for another species. On the other hand, biochemical knowledge on PUFA n-3 series compounds functions are yet very delayed in comparison to the advances on pharmaceutical industry that investigates the n-6 series, with its prevalence in humans. In this review, the term PUFA is generically used to include ALA, LOA, DPA, EPA, ARA and DHA.
Performance Measures: An Application of Economic Value Added

Economic Value Added (EVA) is a value based performance measure that gives importance on value creation by the management for the owners. Profit maximization as a concept is age-old, wealth maximization is matured and value maximization is today’s wisdom. Stern Stewart’s EVA raises storm in corporate world and gives a new way to think about rewarding management. Usability of EVA largely depends on the quality of accounting information system, as traditional information system will not provide sufficient information to compute true EVA. Thus, EVA is required to be tailored in line with accounting system, management philosophy and the degree of demand of such a system. In this paper, an earnest effort has been made to explain theoretical foundation of EVA with its origination, definition, ways to make it tailored, adjustments required, scope and some other related issues. The methodology used is a type of theoretical mining of logics resulting a step-by-step process required for EVA implementation. As corporate house plans to move from traditional to value based performance measures, EVA would yield good result and the paper may become helpful to them to comprehend the methodology.
Strategic viability and going-concern audit opinions

In this paper we examine the association between client strategic viability and the likelihood that an auditor issues a going-concern opinion. Prior going-concern studies that focus on the impact of non-financial information only investigate particular short-term operating turnaround initiatives, such as cost reduction strategies (see, Behn et al., 2001; and Geiger and Rama, 2003). We contribute to this literature by studying the impact of a broader set of strategic initiatives – including both long-term (strategic) and short-term (operating) – on the auditor’s going-concern assessment. Consistent with the strategy literature, we first argue and hypothesize that auditors are likely to perceive long-term strategic initiatives as mitigating factors. However, given the going-concern decision making context, we expect such actions only to have an impact if they are able to generate performance improvements within the next twelve months. On the contrary, we then hypothesize that short-term operating initiatives do not function as mitigating factors in the going-concern decision making context. The latter hypothesis is motivated by the mixed results from the strategy literature regarding the success of short-term operating turnaround initiatives, as well as prior going-concern evidence by Behn et al. (2001) and Geiger and Rama (2003). Our findings are consistent with both our hypotheses. In particular, the engagement in (long-term) cooperative agreements are negatively associated with the likelihood that a distressed firm receives a going-concern opinion, whereas the presence of (short-term) cost reduction strategies and (short-term) marketing strategies increases the likelihood to receive a going-concern opinion. This evidence suggests that auditors perceive the engagement in (long-term) cooperative agreements as a mitigating factor and the presence of (short-term) cost reduction and marketing strategies as additional going-concern risk factors.
Effects of Video Self-Modeling on Eliminating Public Undressing by Elementary-Aged Students with Developmental Disabilities During Urination

This study investigated the effectiveness of video self-modeling (VSM) for eliminating the public undressing of two elementary-aged students with developmental disabilities during urination. A multiple-probe design across participants revealed that the degree of exposed body parts decreased immediately after introduction of VSM. However, exposure of buttocks was not eliminated for one student until a component of hero modeling was added to the VSM. The mechanism of eliminating public undressing by use of VSM and video self and hero modeling is discussed within a framework of motivating operation.
Analysis And Automatic Annotation Of Singer'S Postures During Concert And Rehearsal

Bodily movement of music performers is widely acknowledged to be a means of communication with the audience. For singers, where the necessity of movement for sound production is limited, postures, i.e. static positions of the body, may be relevant in addition to actual movements. In this study, we present the results of an analysis of a singer’s postures, focusing on differences in postures between a dress rehearsal without audience and a concert with audience. We provide an analysis based on manual annotation of postures and propose and evaluate methods for automatic annotation of postures based on motion sensing data, showing that automatic annotation is a viable alternative to manual annotation. Results furthermore suggest that the presence of an audience leads the singer to use more ‘open’ postures, and differentiate more between different postures. Also, speed differences of transitions from one posture to another are more pronounced in concert than during rehearsal.
Color Light Emitting Diode Reflection Topography- Clinical Applications

Purpose: Report pre and post arcuate keratotomy (AK) values, guided by laser emitting diode (LED) topography, for residual astigmatism in pseudophakia, laser in situ keratomileusis( LASIK), and ingrowth patients. Setting: Private clinical practice in Barcelona, Spain. Methods: Prospective, interventional study using LED topography anterior keratometric map for post-surgical AK. Pre and post-operative variables included uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA), best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), subjective sphere, astigmatism, and axis, LED and Orscan topography cylinder, SimK, and axis (steep). Data reported as mean and standard deviation, student t- test to assess statistical significance, Pearson correlation, and linear regression analysis were calculated. Bonferroni adjustment for p values. Results: AK performed on pseudophakic (45 eyes), LASIK (10 eyes), and ingrowth patients (5 eyes). Pre and post AK mean astigmatism results, respectively, for pseudophakia were: subjective: 0.82 ± 0.4/0.2 ± 0.3D; p 0.05, and ingrowth subjective: 1.2 ± 0.2/0.6 ± 0.4D; p>0.05, LED 2.1 ± 0.6/2.1 ± 0.4D; p 0.05. Pseudophakia LED vs. Orbscan astigmatism R2=0.60, p 0.01 for SimK and R2=0.85, p>0.01 for axis values. Subjective vs. topography axis correlation for LASIK was R2=0.83, p>0.05 for Orbscan and R2=0.81, p>0.05, for LED. For ingrowth, values were R2=0.81, p>0.01 for Orbscan and R2=0.91, p>0.05 for LED. Conclusion: LED topography guided AK significantly improved UCVA in pseudophakic, LASIK, and ingrowth residual astigmatism. Strong correlation for astigmatism and SimK values between LED and Orbscan values in pseudophakic eyes.
UC San Diego Recent Work Title A Flexible Nonparametric Test for Conditional Independence Permalink

This paper proposes a nonparametric test for conditional independence that is easy to implement, yet powerful in the sense that it is consistent and achieves n 1=2 local power. The test statistic is based on an estimator of the topological distance between restricted and unrestricted probability measures corresponding to conditional independence or its absence. The distance is evaluated using a family of Generically Comprehensively Revealing (GCR) functions, such as the exponential or logistic functions, which are indexed by nuisance parameters. The use of GCR functions makes the test able to detect any deviation from the null. We use a kernel smoothing method when estimating the distance. An integrated conditional moment (ICM) test statistic based on these estimates is obtained by integrating out the nuisance parameters. We simulate the critical values using a conditional simulation approach. Monte Carlo experiments show that the test performs well in nite samples. As an application, we test the key assumption of unconfoundedness in the context of estimating the returns to schooling.
Array based genetic profiling of chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Although no common genetic defect has been described in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), recurrent genomic aberrations (i.e. deletions of chromosome 11q, 13q, 17p and trisomy 12) are important for prognostication. Deletion of 13q as single aberration is associated with the best prognosis, whereas del(11q) and del(17p) predict a poor outcome. Recent development of high-resolution genomic techniques, i.e. microarrays, provides effective detection of the known recurrent aberrations and simultaneous exploration of the whole genome. Hence, this thesis aimed to map genomic aberrations in CLL through application of high-resolution microarrays. In paper I, we investigated the pros and cons of four differently designed microarray platforms. All platforms readily detected the known recurrent aberrations in CLL as well as other large copy-number aberrations (CNAs). The difference in technical performance and discrepancies in detection of small CNAs were influenced by differential platform density, different reference sets, and platform-specific analysis. In paper II and IV, 250K single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-array screening of 203 and 370 samples, respectively, detected CNAs in >90% and the known recurrent aberrations in >70% of patients. Moreover, novel recurrent gains of chromosome 2p in combination with 11q deletion and copy-number neutral loss of heterozygosity on chromosome 13q were revealed. Furthermore, a high genomic complexity was correlated to worse survival, but also closely linked to poor-prognostic markers. In addition, study IV also included follow-up samples (n=43) to investigate clonal evolution, which showed that patients with unmutated immunoglobulin heavy chain variable (IGHV) genes and treated patients with mutated IGHV genes often gained novel aberrations. In paper III, high-density screening revealed a different spectrum of genomic aberrations in CLL patients with ‘stereotyped’ IGHV3-21 (poor-prognostic) versus IGHV4-34 (good-prognostic) B-cell receptors. IGHV3-21 subset #2 (n=29) showed a high frequency of samples carrying genomic aberrations, and a particularly high prevalence of del(13q) and del(11q), which may correspond to the adverse survival reported for these patients. In contrast, IGHV4-34 subset #4 (n=17) showed a lower frequency and complexity of CNAs, which may reflect an inherent low-proliferative disease, preventing accumulation of genomic alterations. In summary, the studies included in this thesis provided a greater insight of genomic aberrations in newly diagnosed patients, at follow-up and in different subgroups of CLL. (Less)
VaR Forecasts and Dynamic Conditional Correlations for Spot and Futures Returns on Stocks and Bonds

The paper investigates the interdependence and conditional correlations between futures contracts and their underlying assets, both for stock and bond markets, and the impact of the interdependence and conditional correlations on VaR forecasts. The paper finds evidence of volatility spillovers from spot (futures) to futures (spot) markets, and time-varying conditional correlations between futures and their underlying assets. It also finds evidence that the DCC model of Engle (2002) provides slightly better VaR forecasts as compared with the CCC model of Bollerslev (1990) and the BEKK model of Engle and Kroner (1995).
Secondary sex ratio adjustment in a pseudo-arrhenotokous insect , H ypothenemus hampei ( Coleoptera : ScoIytidae )

The natural selection theory of local mate competition (Ne) predicts that idreeding species undergoing complete development and reproduction within small patches of habitat have femalebiased sex ratios. In sirch species, mothers control the sex ratio of their brood by laying eitherfertilized eggs that develop into diploid females or unfertilized eggs that develop into haploid males (arrhenotoky). The coffee bewy borer, Hypothenemus hampei, has some of the features of a typical LMC species. However, males are finctionally haploid but karyologically diploid (pseudoNote présentée par Pierre Buser. _ _ J = O ~ ~ S Domeneaire QRSTOM Note remise le 2 juillet Corresponding author: Ca;&: fqe,ko73 m:J1/
Characterisation of polyclonal antibodies raised against two isolates of cucumber mosaic virus

SUMMARY Antisera were raised in rabbits against two isolates of Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), representing groups I (DTL) and II (ToRS). The reactions of these polyclonal antibodies (PAbs) with several CMV isolates were checked, using ELISA, Western blotting and IC-RTPCR. One of the PAbs against isolate M (group I) enabled detection of most of the CMV isolates tested but failed to recognize isolate P26, originating from lily. A PAb against isolate Wic (group II) reacted also with all isolates tested, showing up to 100-fold improvement in detection sensitivity compared with two other CMVspecific PAbs. The coat protein (CP) of CMV isolates belonging to both groups was detected by Western blotting using M and Wic antisera. The suitability of a mixture of PAbs for immunocapturing CMV and for the sensitive detection of all viral isolates tested by IC-RTPCR was also shown.
XRD, AFM AND UV-VIS OPTICAL STUDIES OF PBSE THIN FILMS PRODUCED BY CHEMICAL BATH DEPOSITION METHOD

PbSe thin �films have been deposited on microscope glass substrates by chemical bath deposition technique. The chemical bath consisted of lead nitrate, sodium selenate and triethanolamine solutions. The influence of bath temperature on the properties of PbSe �lms was investigated. The X-ray diff�raction, atomic force microscope and UV/Vis Spectrophotometer were used to obtain the structural characterization, surface morphological and absorbance data, respectively. Based on the X-ray diff�raction results, the thin �films obtained were found to be polycrystalline in nature with cubic structure. The intensity of the (111) peak showed a signifi�cant increased as the bath temperature was increased from 40 to 80C. The �films deposited at 80C indicated that the crystallinity was improved and more PbSe peaks were observed. On the other hand, the grain size, fi�lm thickness and surface roughness were increased while band gap energy decreased as could be observed in atomic force microscope and UV-Vis optical studies, respectively.
Fish offal based aqua-feed for rearing post-larvae of freshwater prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii

Market demand for freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) is high in Sri Lanka. The national agencies stock 20 days old post-larvae (PL 20 ) of this prawns in minor perennial reservoirs but the yield is low due to high mortality. There is a need to develop a low-cost nursing strategy for PL 20 before stocking. This research was conducted to evaluate the potential for nursing PL 20 in backyard nurseries using low-cost fish offal-based aqua-feed. The trial was carried out in a backyard nursery comprising 6 cement tanks (1.73 m 3 ) each. One hundred PL 20 were stocked in each tank (stocking density=57 PL 20 m -2 ). There were two feeding treatments each with three replicates: (1) fish offal-based aqua feed (Af), and (2) commercial prawn feed (Cf) at a rate of 5% of body weight. Af was made using a 1:1 mixture of rice bran and boiled fish-offal and Cf was purchased from the market. The feeding rate was adjusted for body weight using bi-weekly sampling and the trial was conducted for 96 days. Average Daily Growth (ADG) of PL 20 fed with Af on days 16, 30 and 47 were higher than the ADG of PL 20 fed with Cf on same days but not significantly different (p>0.05). However, ADG of PL 20 that fed on Af on day 85 and 96 were lower than that were fed on Cf on same days but not significantly different (p>0.05). Nevertheless, ADG of the PL 20 that fed on Af on day 63 (0.0038±0.0001 g day -1 ) was significantly lower (p0.05) from WG of PL 20 that fed on Af on same days. However, WG of the PL 20 that fed on Cf on days 63 and 85 (0.4551 ± 0.0784 and 1.0117 ± 0.0944 g respectively) were significantly different (p0.05) except the values on day 63 in Af (56.67±1.15) and in Cf (50.3±1.0). However, % survival of PL 20 that were fed with Af on days 85 and 96 were lower than that of the PL 20 that fed on Cf but not significantly different (p>0.05). Fish offal-based aqua-feed can therefore be effectively used for nursing PL 20 of M. rosenbergii for 47 days in backyard nurseries.
Minimum Wage and Employment : Escaping the Parametric

Parametric regression models are often not flexible enough to capture the true relationships as they tend to rely on arbitrary identification assumptions. Using the UK Labor Force Survey, the authors estimate the causal effect of national minimum wage (NMW) increases on the probability of job entry and job exit by means of a non-parametric Bayesian modelling approach known as Bayesian Additive Regression Trees (BART). The application of this methodology has the important advantage that it does not require ad-hoc assumptions about model fitting, number of covariates and how they interact. They find that the NMW exerts a positive and significant impact on both the probability of job entry and job exit. Although the magnitude of the effect on job entry is higher, the overall effect of NMW is ambiguous as there are many more employed workers. The causal effect of NMW is higher for young workers and in periods of high unemployment and they have a stronger impact on job entry decisions. No significant interactions were found with gender and qualifications. JEL C23 C11 C14 J3 J4
Explaining Economic Growth and Total Factor Productivity in Thailand

The purpose of this research is to investigate the economic growth and Total Factor Productivity (TFP) in Thailand by introducing the GeneralizedAutoregressive Conditional Heteroskedastic (GARCH) technique. The notion of productivity used in this study is the Solow’s residual, estimated through the Cobb-Douglas production function in the Thai economy during 1979-2005. Unfortunately, the log likelihood function tends to reject the AR(1)-GARCH(1,1) specification in favor of the AR(1) process. Nonetheless, significant coefficients of conditional variance is very close to unity, implying that any shock to variance has substantial persistence, and the Thai economy cannot be explained by rational expectations. The factors’ accumulation statistically indicates more significant importance than the improvement of quality of factors and economic instability. Foreign direct investment (FDI) possesses a negative and significant effect in all models while the proxy of input quality is powerless in explaining growth. Therefore, the implication of development policy in promoting
Coefficients of ergodicity for imprecise Markov chaines

Coecients of ergodicity are an important tool in measuring convergence of Markov chains. We ex- plore possibilities to generalise the concept to impre- cise Markov chains. We nd that this can be done in at least two dierent ways, which both have in- teresting implications in the study of convergence of imprecise Markov chains. Thus we extend the exist- ing denition of the uniform coecient of ergodicity and dene a new so-called weak coecient of ergod- icity. The denition is based on the endowment of a structure of a metric space to the class of imprecise probabilities. We show that this is possible to do in some dierent ways, which turn out to coincide.
Liquidity, Inflation and Asset Prices in a Time-Varying Framework for the Euro Area

In this paper, we investigate how the dynamic effects of excess liquidity shocks on economic activity, asset prices and inflation differ over time. We show that the impact varies considerably over time, depends on the source of increased liquidity (M1, M3-M1 or credit) and the underlying state of the economy (asset price boom-bust, business cycle, inflation cycle, credit cycle and monetary policy stance).
Labor Demand and Unequal Payment: Does Wage Inequality matter? Analyzing the Influence of Intra-firm Wage Dispersion on Labor Demand with German Employer-Employee Data

This paper examines the relationship between intra-firm wage dispersion and establishments’ employment in a theoretical analysis and empirical regressions using German “Linked Employer-Employee Data from the IAB” (LIAB) for the years of 1996 through 2008. Therefore, fractional probit models for the panel data, recommended in Papke and Wooldridge (2008), and fixed effects regression with a log-odds transformation of the dependent variable are conducted to estimate share equations of a labor demand model. The results illustrate a negative influence of the residual wage inequality that takes into account the composition of the workforce in the establishment with employment. In addition, an increasing wage dispersion at the lower end of the wage distribution decreases labor demand of the establishment but the estimates of the overall wage dispersion becomes insignificant then.