Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Development of the Effort Estimation Model Using Fuzzy Decision Tree

In the field of software engineering, the way of Effort Estimation consists of two steps working phenomenon, first one is for the development of the estimation model for the current dataset or repository and the second one is towards the reliability of this developed model. Effort Estimation can be elaborated in terms of a required managerial activity to estimate the realistic and accurate amount of effort(expressed normally in PersonHours, Person-Month) for the project or the set of projects. It’s also defined as efficiency that relies on the realistic utilization of the amount of modality or resources in the development of projects. In our work, we selected an integrated concept i.e. Fuzzy concept with Decision Tree to estimate the effort. Triangular membership function is used to quantify the attributes of Desharnais dataset and C4.5 decision tree is used to develop the effort model. Normally, if we apply C4.5 Decision tree on such large datasets without any tool then it took 3 to 4 month to construct an effort model, we have tried weka tool for this dataset but this tool only supports categorical target class so we made a tool ‘C4.5 data statics calculator’ which takes an excel dataset file as an input and induces a decision tree. The result from C4.5 decision tree is compared to all the methods that have been applied to this dataset in past. By our work, we found that C4.5 decision tree gives far better estimation model than other models. Keywords— decision making, fuzzy logic, fuzzy set. , membership function, weka j48, machine learning, entropy, information gain, gain ratio, C4.5 decision tree.
The Impact of Concentrated Ownership on Payout across Nordic Firms

We investigate the influence of concentrated ownership structures on payout for 809 listed firms across Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden during the years 2006 to 2014. We find that the impact of highly concentrated ownership on payout largely differs across Nordic countries. Highly concentrated ownership increases the propensity to dividend payment for firms in Denmark and Norway. However, high ownership concentration results in a lower propensity to pay dividends in Finland and to repurchase stocks in Norway and Sweden. We reveal that highly concentrated ownership has a significant negative impact on the amount of dividends in Sweden. At the same time, high ownership concentration reduces the amount of money used for repurchases in firms in Denmark, Finland, and Sweden. In addition, we establish that large foreign institutional owners reduce dividends in Finland and repurchases in Denmark.
University of Birmingham Atypical dorsolateral prefrontal activity in females with conduct disorder during effortful emotion regulation

BACKGROUND: Conduct disorder (CD), which is characterized by severe aggressive and antisocial behavior, is linked to emotion processing and regulation deficits. However, the neural correlates of emotion regulation are yet to be investigated in adolescents with CD. Furthermore, it remains unclear whether CD is associated with deficits in emotional reactivity, emotion regulation, or both. METHODS: We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to study effortful emotion regulation by cognitive reappraisal in 59 female adolescents 15 to 18 years of age (30 with a CD diagnosis and 29 typically developing (TD) control adolescents). RESULTS: Behaviorally, in-scanner self-report ratings confirmed successful emotion regulation within each group individually but significant group differences in emotional reactivity and reappraisal success when comparing the groups (CD , TD). Functional magnetic resonance imaging results revealed significantly lower activation in left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and angular gyrus in CD compared with TD adolescents during emotion regulation, but no group differences for emotional reactivity. Furthermore, connectivity between left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the bilateral putamen, right prefrontal cortex, and amygdala was reduced in CD compared with TD adolescents during reappraisal. Callous-unemotional traits were unrelated to neural activation, but these traits correlated negatively with behavioral reports of emotional reactivity. CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrate reduced prefrontal brain activity and functional connectivity during effortful emotion regulation in female adolescents with CD. This sheds light on the neural basis of the behavioral deficits that have been reported previously. Future studies should investigate whether cognitive interventions are effective in enhancing emotion-regulation abilities and/or normalizing prefrontal and temporoparietal activity in female adolescents with CD.
Financial Hedging and Corporate Investment: Evidence from Mergers and Acquisitions∗

M&As are the most important form of corporate investment. Their capital intensiveness makes the financing decision key to the M&A process. Given the welldocumented relationship between corporate financial hedging and the firm’s borrowing costs and capacity, this study examines the impact of corporate financial hedging on the likelihood of undertaking acquisition investments as well as the associated financing choices. Results show that utilizing financial derivatives enables firms to pursue inorganic growth opportunities in the form of M&As. Acquiring firms with financial hedging programs in place are more likely to finance their acquisitions with cash as well as external borrowing. Our study contributes to existing literature by showing that nancial hedging could serve as an effective vehicle for firms to bring their inorganic investment plans to fruition by facilitating their financing.
The Mediating Effects of e-Satisfaction on the Relationship between e- Banking Adoption and its Determinants: A conceptual Framework

The purpose of this study is to theoretically establish the mediating effect of esatisfaction on e-banking adoption and its determinants in the banking industry. Though there are several studies that have linked perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEU), e-satisfaction and e-banking adoption together, no existing literature has theoretically and empirically established the mediating effect of e-satisfaction in this relationship. This study therefore is an attempt to fill this gap as the mediating effect of e-satisfaction will help to elicit the impact of PU and PEU on e-adoption. Though this study is conceptual, its findings will be useful for managers and academic scholars while coming up with factors that can be used to predict e-banking adoption especially with enormous challenges of low adoption that is being faced globally.
Comparison of Face Segmentation Methods for Non-contact Video-based Pulse Rate Measurement

Robotic applications in the context of prevention and assistance for elderly people living alone in their home environment are of special interest in the near future. Measuring pulse rate on a mobile service robot aimed to motivate elderly users for physical exercise can be a valuable information in order to adapt to the users conditions. Non-contact image photoplethysmography has shown promessing results for remote pulse rate measurements of the face under ambient illumination. However, significantly less work can be found that aims to analyze different methods for face segmentation. Therefore, in this work, a typical processing pipeline was implemented, and a detailed comparison of methods for face segmentation was conducted, which is the key factor for robust pulse rate extraction even, if the subject is moving. A benchmark data set is introduced focusing on the amount of motion of the head during the measurement.
The Importance of Community

Complex networks, comprising tens to thousands of nodes are ubiquitous in society, ranging from acquaintance networks—which are of interest in sociology— to networks of interactions between companies and financial institutions—which are of interest in economics. A large number of such systems exhibit structural patterns that appear to be universal. One such organizational feature seen in many networks is modularity, where the network is divided into several connected clusters (‘communities’) with the connection density in each cluster being significantly higher than that for the entire network. Modularity can often be also hierarchical, appearing at several different scales. Recent advances in reconstructing networks from empirical data have shown that modularity is ubiquitous. In this article we explore the role of modularity in organizing the collective dynamics of social networks. The lessons of this analysis may have important implications for understanding the process of consensus formation through individuals affecting the opinions of their neighbours via interactions through the links of the social network.
Histopathological Evaluation and Review of Cutaneous Adnexal Tumors (Cats) – A Research Study

Introduction: Tumors arising from primary adnexal structures skin are Cutaneous adnexal tumors (CATs). These are benign and malignant tumors derived from multipotential cell lines. Even though HPE can differentiate benign and malignant CATs, the classification is still a different task due to variable growth patterns and metaplastic transformations. Aim: To study, classify and review various CATs and evade pitfalls in differentiating benign and malignant CATs. Material and Method: A retrospective study of the diagnosed CATs was done for a period of three years. Histopathological examination (HPE) and classification of tumors was carried out. Results: In the present study 32 cases of CATs were diagnosed. There were 16 (50%) of sweat gland tumors. Male predominance was observed, Male: Female ratio, 1.4:1. Maximum numbers of CATs seen in age group of 21-40 yrs, 15 (46.8%). Majority 30 (93.75%) cases were benign tumors, only 2 (6.25%) malignant tumors. Pilomatricoma was most common of CATs 6 (18.75%) cases. Head and neck region, common site 24 (75%). Conclusion: There is low incidence of CATs in India. The majority of cases are benign tumors. HPE helps in diagnosis, classification, differentiation and management of CATs.
The Role of Accruals and Cash Flows in Explaining UK Stock Returns and the Impact of Auditor Quality Author(s):

In this paper, we examine the importance of cash flow and accruals earnings components in explaining the variation in UK company stock returns and the extent to which this varies by auditor quality. In general, prior UK evidence is mixed with both earnings components being value relevant to differing degrees. Since much of the prior research on this topic was conducted, however, there have been major improvements in cash flow reporting as a result of the UK Accounting Standards Board’s FRS 1: Cash Flow Statements. Furthermore, recent survey evidence suggests that the use of cash flow valuation models is becoming more widespread among the UK investment community. Since one of the main reasons for using cash flow models is the subjectivity involved in relying on accruals-based information, we examine whether auditor quality affects the importance of accruals and cash flow in driving stock returns. Our results indicate that both components of earnings are important drivers of stock returns, though, unlike recent US-based evidence, cash flows are more influential than accruals. Our findings also suggest that the significance of both earnings components is higher for high-quality auditors.
THE EFFECT OF SYSTEMATIC RISK FACTORS ON THE PERFORMANCE OF THE MALAYSIA STOCK MARKET

Malaysia has undergone a tremendous transformation in its economic due to the New Economic This has created instability on the changes in the macroeconomic fundamental, called systematic risk. The study aims to determine the effect of the systematic risk towards the performance of the stock returns. The paper aims to use the arbitrage pricing theory (APT) framework to relate the systematic risk with the performance of stock return. The variables chosen to represent the systematic risk were variables that were in line with the transformation policy implemented. The independent variables chosen were interest rate, inflation rate due to the removal of fuel subsidy and the implementation of good and service tax, exchange rate which is influenced by the inflow of foreign direct investment, crude oil price that determines the revenue of the country being an oil exporter and industrial production index that reflect political as well as business news meanwhile the dependent variable is stock returns. All the macroeconomic variables will be regressed with the lagged 2 of its own variable to obtain the residuals. The residuals will be powered by two to obtain the variance which represents the risk of each variable. The variables were run for unit root to determine the level of stationarity. This was followed by the establishment of long run relationship using Johansen Cointegration and short run relationship using Vector Error Correction Modeling.
CONFERENCE ON ASPHALT PAVEMENTS FOR SOUTHERN AFRICA

The Draft Test Protocol: DPG1: Method for evaluation of permanent deformation and susceptibility to moisture damage of bituminous road paving mixtures using the Model Mobile Load Simulator (MMLS) (DPG1, 2008) has load frequency as a test variable. This was added to the original test protocol adopted by the MMLS users group in Baton Rouge in 2004 to simulate harsh trafficking conditions. Indications are that the adaptation was necessary and successful in curbing premature failures. The paper reports on analysis and synthesis of national and international case studies of applications of this mode. Three are in South Africa: One in Western Cape (N1 Hex River Pass), the other in KwaZulu Natal (N3 – Marianhill) and the third is from an APT HMA field study for Gauteng Government Department of Public Works and Transportation (a test section on the R80). The fourth case study pertains to airport pavements in Dubai and Australia. A synthesis of the case studies provided evidence of the relationship between slow speed MMLS tests and field performance of HMA under harsh full-scale trafficking. Thus ratifying the guidelines in DPG1. 1 Emeritus Professor, Stellenbosch University, Western Cape, SA 2 Engineer: Airports, Roads & Highways, Arcus Gibb, Western Cape, SA 3 Principal Pavement Engineer, GHD, Brisbane, Australia 4 Engineering Specialist SANRAL, Durban, KZN, SA 10 th CONFERENCE ON ASPHALT PAVEMENTS FOR SOUTHERN AFRICA
MODULATING THE ANTIESTROGENIC EFFECTS OF CLOMIPHENE CITRATE BY ETHINYL ESTRAKIOL IN PATIENTS UNDERGOING INTRAUTERINE INSEMINATION

Infertility with an incidence of about 10-15% is a social problem that sometimes threatens the continuity of the family life. Clomiphen Citrate (C.C.) is one of the most commonly used drugs in the treatment of infertility. The purpose of this study was to compare the pregnancy and abortion rates after IUI in two groups of patients who received clomiphen citrate alone or C.C. in combination with ethinyl E2 to stimulate ovulation in patients undergoing IUI. This was a randomized clinical trial study performed at the Infertility Center of Mashad Medical Science University. The subjects were 159 women, aged 20-30 years with infertilty back ground of 1-10 years who were randomly assigned to two groups. The first group received C.C. plus ethinyl E2 and the other group C.C. alone. The number and diameter of the follicles, endometrial thickness, and pregnancy and abortion rates were evaluated by transvaginal ultrasonography and analyzed by chi-square and T-test. There was a significant difference in endometrial thickness between the two treatment groups (7.88 mm in group I vs. 7.02 mm in group II, p=0.001). There were no significant differences between pregnancy and abortion rates in the two groups. Pregnancy rate was 18.6% in group I vs. 14.5% in group II and first trimester abortion rate was in group I, 21% vs in group II, 25%. Ethinyl E2 can modulate the deleterious effects of C.C. on endometrial thickness, which could not contribute to higher pregnancy rates and lower spontaneous abortion rates.
WST 50.3 PL11 corr

Three operating strategies were tested for decreasing activated sludge deflocculation due to temperature shifts from 30° to 45°C: magnesium sludge enrichment, increased sludge retention time (33 d), and spikes of an easily degradable substrate (methanol). The temperature shifts were conducted sequentially in 4 parallel lab-scale sequencing batch reactors (SBRs) treating kraft pulp mill effluent. Three SBRs operated at an SRT = 20 days, and in one of them the sludge was not manipulated, thus, serving as a reference SBR. The temperature shift was associated with decreased soluble chemical oxygen demand (SCOD) removals, decreased sludge settleability and substrate removal capacity, and increased effluent suspended solids (ESS) and turbidity levels. The shift also increased the sludge specific respiration rates and reduced the sludge substrate removal capacity. Sludge deflocculation was assessed as floc solubilisation (increased effluent SCOD levels) and floc fragmentation (increase in effluent solids smaller than 50 μm). Mg enrichment of the sludge and methanol spikes reduced the ESS levels (in 9 and 25%), and the three operating strategies decreased effluent turbidity (in 22–35%) compared to the maximum levels from the non-manipulated reactor (44 mg ESS/L). The stronger sludge floc structure achieved by magnesium enrichment and a high sludge age of 33 days was unsuccessful in significantly decreasing deflocculation. The mechanisms involved in sludge deflocculation require further fundamental research.
Process Standards and Management Practices: Evidence from Peru

This paper explores the role of adoption costs as a determinant of managerial upgrading and proposes a feasible way to promote the adoption of better management practices by firms. Using a regression discontinuity strategy, I show that a subsidy to certify process standards, such as ISO 9001, increases certification probability and, additionally, induces the adoption of modern management practices that are beyond the standards’ scope. Managerial improvement is concentrated in monitoring and targetsetting practices, while no change is detected in practices related to incentives for employees. These findings are consistent with a model in which process documentation, which is required by the standards, and modern management practices are complementary and suggest that subsidizing the certification of process standards is a feasible way to improve management. *E-mail: da2628@columbia.edu I would like to thank professors Eric Verhoogen, Jonas Hjort, and Réka Juhász for their advice and support; professors Michael Best, Donald Davis, Christian Pop-Eleches, Amit Khandelwal, Suresh Naidu, David Weinstein, and Jack Willis for their valuable comments; Alejandro Afuso, Celia Cornejo, Rafael Castillo, Luis Meśıas, Juan Manuel Garćıa, Santiago Cueto, and Eduardo Zegarra for their help during this project; Andrea Quijano and Johnathon F. Cherry for their research assistance; and Nuria Alfaro Serrano for her help with the model figures. I am also indebted to the Grupo de Análisis para el Desarrollo (GRADE) for providing a productive and stimulating work environment during my stay in Peru; and to Innóvate Perú for providing information needed for this project. This research would not have been possible without the financial support provided by Columbia University’s Department of Economics development colloquium and Program of Economic Research, the Center for Development Economics and Policy (CDEP), and the National Science Foundation (NSF). All views, opinions, and conclusions expressed are my own.
DIRECT DISPLACEMENT BASED SEISMIC DESIGN

Research Line IV of the RELUIS (Rete di Laboratori Univeristari Ingegneria Sismica) project was responsible for the development of displacement-based design guidelines, considering structural typologies commonly utilised in Italy. The main aim and product of the research line has been the formation of a model code for displacement-based seismic design. The background of this research holds an interesting place in the history of seismic design and recent developments provide several strong motives for the further development of displacement-based seismic design methods.
Why They Buy: Primary Market Demand for U.S. Treasury Securities

This paper provides an explanation for why investors purchase Treasury securities through the primary market, and why primary dealers compete to aid the government in the distribution process. On average, primary market prices are lower than secondary market prices upon issuance, resulting in what appears to be large excess returns. The contemporary view is that these excess returns are the result of supply shocks and represent a debt issuance cost that is borne by the Treasury. However, the bulk of these returns can be explained by volatility, so what appears to be excess is in fact compensation for risk. In addition, I show that primary market demand increases with increases in expected risk-adjusted returns. Together, these results explain why, following the 2008 financial crisis, lowering interest rates to the zero-lower-bound helped to triple primary market demand despite that debt issuance more than doubled. JEL: G12
Customer News and Supplier Short Selling

The paper employs a new database by Factset Revere that contains information about firm-level relations of customers, suppliers, and competitors and Reg SHO daily short sales data for the period January 3, 2005 to July 6, 2007 to examine short selling in customer-supplier links. We find that supplier short selling increases with negative post-news customer return, and that the relation becomes more pronounced in supplier information asymmetry. We further examine possible extensions of the effects across the entire supply chain. We document increased short selling of the supplier’s closest rival based on unfavorable customer news even if the rival is not the customer’s supplier, while show no relationship between short selling of the upstream supplier and downstream customer news in upstream supplier-midstream firm-downstream customer 3-party links. Finally, short sellers do not trade supplier stock prior to customer news announcements, suggesting evidence of trades based on public information. Combined, these results indicate an information intermediary role of short sellers in customer-supplier settings.
The Real Effects of Bank Lending Cuts

A large body of cross-sectional evidence has established that cuts in the supply of bank lending affect firm outcomes and the allocation of credit. However, it is unclear what these results imply for the effect on aggregate output of a cut in aggregate bank lending. I estimate this aggregate effect using a new general equilibrium model that incorporates multibank firms, relationship banking, endogenous credit dependence, and bank market power. I use a set of cross-sectional patterns to estimate the key structural parameters of the model. The effect of an aggregate lending cut on aggregate output is large: a 1 percent decline in aggregate bank lending supply reduces aggregate output by 0.2 percent. The structure of labor and credit markets is important in reaching this answer. Under an alternative parametrization of the model that ignores input market frictions, the response of aggregate output is three times smaller. Under my preferred parametrization, the cross-sectional effects survive aggregation in general equilibrium. Instead, with frictionless input markets the cross-sectional patterns overestimate the aggregate response by a factor of five.