Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Optimal Portfolio Diversification via Independent Component Analysis

A natural approach to enhance portfolio diversification is to rely on factor-risk parity, which yields the portfolio whose risk is equally spread among a set of uncorrelated factors. The standard choice is to take the variance as risk measure, and the principal components (PCs) of asset returns as factors. Although PCs are unique and useful for dimension reduction, they are an arbitrary choice: any rotation of the PCs results in uncorrelated factors. This is problematic because we demonstrate that any portfolio is a factor-variance-parity portfolio for some rotation of the PCs. More importantly, choosing the PCs does not account for the higher moments of asset returns. To overcome these issues, we propose using the independent components (ICs) as factors, which are the rotation of the PCs that are maximally independent, and care about higher moments of asset returns. We demonstrate that using the IC-variance-parity portfolio helps to reduce the return kurtosis. We also show how to exploit the near independence of the ICs to parsimoniously estimate the factor-risk-parity portfolio based on value at risk. Finally, we empirically demonstrate that portfolios based on ICs outperform those based on PCs, and several state-of-the-art benchmarks.
Health Informatics Research Methods: Principles and Practice

Perspectives in Health Information Management has an exclusive excerpt of the new book, Health Informatics Research Methods: Principles and Practice. The text focuses on the practical applications of research in health informatics and health information management. The book's organization guides readers through the process of conducting research specific to health informatics concepts and functions. Learn more.
A Study to Assess the Factors and Out of Pocket Expenditures in the Patients of Road Traffic Accidents Admitted in a Tertiary Care Hospital in a Central India District

BACKGROUND: Road traffic injuries are estimated to be the eighth leading cause of death globally, with an impact similar to that caused by many communicable diseases, such as malaria. road traffic injuries are estimated to cost low- and middle-income countries between 1-2 % of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP), an estimate of about US$ 100 billion a year. OBJECTIVES: To study the epidemiological profile of Road Traffic Injuries among the patients admitted in a tertiary care centre and too find out the various out of pocket expenditure in the patients of Road Traffic Accidents. Material and Method: The present study was a hospital based Descriptive Prospective Study. A list of all the patients admitted due to Road Traffic Accident in last one week was obtained from the ward sisters of Orthopedic Department. All the selected participants were interviewed on the two fixed days. A pre tested structured open ended questionnaire was used for data collection. RESULTS: Of the 48 participants interviewed, 34male and 14 females. Most common age group affected was 21-25 years followed by 16-20 years. The rate of accidents was most common on the weekends. The rate of accidents was more in users of two wheelers. Majority of the expenditure in the First week of admission was on the purchase of medicines followed by diagnosis. Majority of the victims also suffered huge financial loss due to loss of salary, closure of shop, loss due to daily wages etc. CONCLUSION: The present study hereby concludes that there is an urgent need for creating awareness about Road Traffic Accident. The study also concludes that majority of the out of pocket expenditure in the first week of admission is on the medication. Key Words: Road Traffic Accident, Out of Pocket Expenditures, Financial loss
The Determinants of Executive Compensation in Family-Controlled Public Corporations

Little previous research has focused on the CEO's salary in family-controlled public firms. This lack is addressed by comparing and contrasting the executive compensation contracts of family-member CEOs and non-family CEOs. Data gathered during the years 1995 through 1998 from 253 randomly selected family-controlled public firms was analyzed. Professional managers with no family ties to firm owners were found to be compensated at a higher rate than executives with family ties. This relative pay disadvantage increases as the family ownership position improves (which depresses the pay of the family CEO) and R&D investments increase (which improve the pay of the professional CEO but not the family CEO). On the other hand, family ties protect a CEO from bearing excessive personal risk, as indicated by a greater compensation premium, as uncontrollable (systematic) business risk increases. These findings point to a complex company dynamic: when family-member CEOs are in charge, altruistic motives exist that often result in risk protection for the CEO's personal income rather than in higher pay for these executives. (SFL)
Islanding Detection of Synchronous Generator-Based DGs using Rate of Change of Reactive Power

The question of the islanding operation of distributed generations (DGs) and that of the current inadmissible networking policy of islanding operations sets a demanding task for an efficient islanding detection, preferably from a single place, using either passive or active islanding-detection method. Islanding detection shall be faster than the fast automatic reclosing of the connected transmission line connected to the DG unit. This paper deals with the detection method of islanded operation mode for the large power synchronous generator-based DGs in bio-mass power plants. The proposed method has been applied to a practical 10-MW bio-mass power plant and experimentally tested to verify the simulation results. The rate of change of reactive power (dQ/dt >) criterion is derived as a yardstick for islanding detection. The practical power plant model has been implemented to be simulated in DIgSILENT PowerFactory and MATLAB/Simulink software environments. Offline digital time-domain simulations and experimental tests on a practical bio-mass power plant reveals that the proposed method efficiently, and authentically detects islanding phenomena with high accuracy, low detection time, very small number of non-detected zones and, with almost zero power balance (ΔP = 0).
Demografia e autotomia caudal de dois lagartos endêmicos de uma savana neotropical

Disturbance caused by anthropogenic fires are increasingly affecting the biodiversity of fire-prone ecosystems worldwide. The Cerrado biodiversity hotspot suffers higher deforestation rates than Amazonia and concentrates most of the burned areas in South America. To support adequate fire-management decisions in Cerrado, knowledge on the effects of altered fire regimes upon its animal populations is necessary. Based on a long-term, large-scale fire experiment, we investigated the effects of different fire regimes on the demography of the gymnophthalmid Micrablepharus atticolus, an endemic lizard of the Cerrado. Because M. atticolus is more abundant in open habitats, we predicted that frequent burns should favor its populations. Over eight years, we conducted a mark-recapture study using pitfall trap arrays in five 10 ha plots of cerrado sensu stricto, subjected to prescribed burns. Using generalized linear mixed-models of time series data and an information theoretic approach to select demographic models, we describe the life history of M. atticolus and assess the response of apparent survival, detectability, and recruitment to burn regimes and climate variation. Micrablepharus atticolus has an annual life cycle, with complete annual population turnover; breeding takes place during the dry season, when activity is higher, and hatchlings appear in the wet season. Apparent survival, detectability, and recruitment increased in the short-run after the passage of fire in all experimental plots. In the long run, however, both fire-suppression and more severe fire regimes were seemingly detrimental, presumably by affecting microclimatic conditions and food availability. Short-term studies may not adequately describe the effects of fire on the demography of lizard populations. Adequate fire management is warranted for biodiversity conservation in Cerrado, both inside and outside protected areas, including a reduction in the frequency and severity of burns in open physiognomies and controlled, patch mosaic fires to prevent excessive fuel accumulation in denser physiognomies.
Spinal Cord Stimulation: A New Method to Produce an Effective Cough in Spinal Cord Injured Patients

ABSTRACT Patients with spinal cord injury have an increased risk of developing respiratory tract infections as the result of expiratory muscle paralysis and consequent inability to cough. We have developed a method by which the expiratory muscles can be activated via lower thoracic and upper lumbar spinal cord stimulation to produce an effective cough mechanism. In a tetraplegic patient who required frequent (mean ± SEM = 8.57 ± 2.3 times per week) caregiver assistance to facilitate airway clearance and expectoration of secretions, three epidural electrodes were applied in the T9, T11 and L1 spinal cord regions. During stimulation at the T9 and L1 levels, airway pressures were 90 and 82 cm H 2 O, respectively; peak expiratory flow rates were 6.4 L/s and 5.0 L/s. During combined (T9+L1) stimulation, airway pressure and expiratory flow rate increased to 132 cm H 2 O and 7.4 L/s, respectively. Addition of the third lead did not result in any further increases in pressure generation. These values are characteristic of those observed with a normal subject. Since the patient is able to trigger the device independently, he no longer requires caregiver support for airway management. If confirmed in additional patients, spinal cord stimulation may be a useful method to restore an effective cough mechanism in patients with spinal cord injury. Abstract Word Count: 211 Key words: spinal cord injuries, cough
Assessing dietary intake in adolescents: the Role of food portion size evaluation in food frequency questionnaires

3 Introduction 5 1. Diet: a major determinant of health 5 1.1. Diet and disease 5 1.2. The importance of diet in adolescence 6 2. Measuring food intake 7 2.1. Overview of dietary assessment methods at the individual level 8 3. Portion Size in dietary assessment 15 3.1. Issues in portion size estimation: the effects of food characteristics 17 3.2. Issues in portion size estimation: the effects of subjects’ characteristics . 17 4. Diet intake measurement among adolescents 18 Objectives 21 Methods 22 Results 29 Discussion 41 Conclusions 46 References 47
Specialty Preference Among Medical Students and Factors Affecting It

Introduction: Medical education is one of the core part of educational system of any country. Medical education requires undergraduate students to study a wide range of medical specialties. It is often assumed that students do not make their career preferences until after they have graduated from medical school. So the reasons and factors responsible for preferences need to be found out among medical students. Material and Methods: It was a Cross sectional study on 180 medical students to assess preference for specialty and factors responsible. Results: Out of total 190 medical students more or less everyone (97.89%) wanted to pursue specialization and majority of them (96.84%) wanted to pursue the same in Medical Field(p>0.05). majority of male students were interested to pursue their specialization in the field of medicine (37.63%), surgery (23.65%) and pediatrics (13.97%). On the other hand female students were more interested in medicine (24.17%), pediatrics (32.96%) and obstetrics & gynecology (24.17%)(p<0.05). Interest, by far was found to be most common factor (76.63%) responsible for the preference of particular medical specialty among all four groups of students (1st professional-25.27%, 2nd professional-75.92%, final professional-89.47%, interns-68.42%). Conclusion: It is thus concluded there are many factors playing role in the specialty selection and preference among the medical students and should be equally justified and addressed.
A survey of bovine practitioners to determine factors associated with acute bloat syndrome in pre-weaned dairy heifers.

Acute bloat syndrome (ABS) -also known as abomasal bloat syndrome; perhaps better termed acute forestomach dilatation syndromeis an emerging problem in dairy calves. The disease syndrome affects young calves that are generally healthy prior to the onset of clinical signs and is characterized by abdominal distension ar;id death within 6 to 24 hours. Some calves will apparently respond to therapy if they receive immediate and aggressive intervention, although it is not clear that clinical improvement is necessarily a result of the therapy. ABS has been identified primarily in well managed herds but that may simply reflect a tendency for managers of those herds to be more aggressive at pursuing the problem diagnostically. Many herds have had calf losses due to ABS. In order to further clarify the syndrome and in hopes of identifying promising avenues for further research, members of the American Association of Bovine Practitioners were asked about their experience with ABS.
The process and practice of diagnosis : innovations in diagnostics for Lassa fever in Sierra Leone

This thesis is about the process and practice of diagnosis and the implications of new diagnostic technologies in low resource settings. As a setting and a disease which has seen significant investment in diagnostics, Lassa fever in Sierra Leone has been selected as a case study to examine these themes. In this thesis, 'new diagnostic technologies’ refers to laboratory-based diagnostics which are fast, reliable, accurate and can be used in low income settings. The starting point of this thesis is a narrative surrounding such technologies which suggests that they will revolutionise low income healthcare settings by allowing accurate scientific diagnosis in places where it was not possible before. Various perspectives on diagnosis are examined and some limitations are identified in relation to their accounts of diagnostic process, context, practice and technology. To explore the case, aspects of science and technology studies, the sociology of scientific knowledge and medical anthropology are combined. A multi-sited ethnography of Lassa fever diagnosis was conducted in three settings: a rural village, a laboratory and the wards of a hospital. Documents were reviewed and interviews conducted with key actors and ex-Lassa fever patients. Analysis focused on framings (partial and subjective interpretations), narratives (persuasive storylines which make use of particular framings) and practice in relation to Lassa fever and the development of technology for its diagnosis. Assumptions about the disease, diagnostics and the process of diagnosis are identified and the conclusion considers how they compare with practice in each setting. This thesis argues that diagnosis is a complex negotiated process and that new diagnostics represent only one aspect of that process. Thus, they are not a ‘silver bullet’ to transform low resource healthcare contexts. In particular, ‘improved’ diagnostics do not always have the expected impacts, sometimes even introducing complexity and uncertainty. In challenging narratives about diagnostics, this thesis provides an alternative, practice-based, approach to thinking about diagnostics and innovations in health systems; this approach acknowledges the importance, and complexity, of the diverse contexts which shape innovations and technology use.
Cultural Usability in E-commerce Website Design: Using Objective Characteristics

The increased communication speed has tremendously increased the usage of the internet and number of users. All the businesses are looking forward to build a presence in online arena through e-commerce websites. Usability of a website is the level of satisfaction and comfort that assures the acceptance by the users and attract maximum number of customers. As the internet is global market, customers of e-commerce websites belong to different regions and cultures. Every culture has its own characteristics, values and norms. For assuring usability, culture plays an important role in user interface which is lacking in most of the e-commerce websites and mostly ignored by website designers. The purpose of this research is to evaluate objective cultural usability for e-commerce websites in Pakistan. The study will also provide guidelines to the website designers for assuring the success of e-commerce websites in e-market.
Androgenic supplementation in men: effects of age, herbal extracts, and mode of delivery

In young men chronic ingestion of 100 mg androstenedione three times per day does not increase serum total testosterone, but does increase serum estrogen and androstenedione concentrations. We investigated the effects of androstenedione ingestion in healthy 30-56 year old men. In a double blind, randomly assigned manner, subjects consumed 100 mg androstenedione three times daily (ASD; n=28) or placebo (PL; n=27) for 28 days. Serum androstenedione, dihydrotestosterone, free and total testosterone, estradiol, prostate specific antigen, and lipid concentrations were measured at week 0, and each week throughout the supplementation period. Serum total testosterone and prostate specific antigen
Much ado about adherence: a tale of two disease states

ii Dedication . iv Acknowledgments . v Vita . vii List of tables . xiv List of figures . xvi
SERUM TRACE ELEMENTS IN CHILDREN ON MAINTENANCE HEMODIALYSIS

During dialysis some trace elements can accumulate while others may be removed from blood, leading to deficiency of some trace elements. For evaluating changes of serum trace elements in children on maintenance hemodialysis we measured copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), cobalt (Co), manganese (Mn), chromium (Cr) and nickel (Ni) in 3 groups of children: Group 1, children with CRF who were on regular hemodialysis; Group 2, children with CRF who were on conservative management, and Group 3, healthy children. For evaluating the impact of duration of dialysis on serum trace elements, group 1 patients were divided into two subgroups: A, patients who were on hemodialysis therapy for shorter than 18 months, and B, patients who were on hemodialysis therapy for longer than 18 months. The technique used for measurement of trace elements was PIXE (Proton Induced X-ray Emission). Mean serum levels of Zn, Mn, and Ni in group 1 were lower than group 2 and group 3. There were not significant differences in serum levels of Zn, Mn and Ni between group 2 and 3. The differences in serum levels of Cr, Co and Cu among 3 groups were not significant. The serum levels of Zn, Mn and Ni were significantly lower in subgroup B compared to subgroup A. Correlation test showed that there were an inverse linear relation between the period of hemodialysis and serum levels of Zn, Mn and Ni. Chronic hemodialysis leads to abnormalities of some trace elements in children, and these derangements increase with duration of hemodialysis.
Nutrition Knowledge and Eating Behaviors of Elementary School Children in Seoul

This study was aimed to examine nutrition knowledge, dietary attitudes, and eating habits of elementary school students and to examine if their characteristics differ by gender. Subjects were 5th and 6th graders of an elementary school (n = 317) in Seoul, and the survey was done during July 2007. Mean height, weight, BMI of subjects was 148.1 cm. 41.7 kg, 19.0, and 14.3% of subjects were categorized as the overweight/obese group. Anthropometric data were not significantly different by gender. Mean score of nutrition knowledge was 14.9 out of 20 showing moderate knowledge levels, and girls scored higher on nutrition knowledge than boys (p < 0.05). Subjects showed knowledge deficit in areas such as nutrients, food groups and specific weight control information. The percentages of correct answers regarding meals for brain function were significantly higher in girls than in boys (p < 0.05). They got nutrition information mainly from mass media and family/relatives. The mean score of dietary attitudes was 41.2 (possible score: 10-50) indicating somewhat positive attitudes, and the score of eating behaviors was 34.8 (possible score: 15-45). Subjects showed problems in eating habits such as having unbalanced diets and snack foods. 82.6% of subjects had unbalanced meals, and these percentages were higher in girls (87.2%) than in boys (78.1%, p < 0.05). Vegetables and fish/shellfish were the most disliked foods. Specific eating behaviors, such as eating slowly, eating grains and having processed foods less frequently, were better in girls than in boys (p < 0.05). Results also showed that majority of subjects need to improve specific behaviors including having diverse foods, eating meals slowly, having meals at regular times, having adequate foods in each food groups, and eating sweets or salty foods less frequently. Only 52.7% of subjects perceived their body images as normal, and 56.4% had experience of weight control. Reasons for weight control were different by gender (p < 0.05). Based on these findings, nutrition education for school children should focus on modifying eating habits or eating behaviors, by suggesting practically applicable methods and providing nutrition information that is interesting and suitable to school-aged children. (Korean J Community Nutrition 14(1) : 55~66, 2009)
Modelización del flujo de un fluido viscoso en un tubo curvilíneo con paredes viscoelásticas

El objetivo de esta tesis doctoral es modelizar el problema de un fluido viscoso incompresible en una tuberia curva con paredes viscoelasticas utilizando el metodo de los desarrollos asintoticos. Por un lado, se deduce un modelo unidimensional para el flujo viscoso incompresible justificado con estimaciones del error. Por otro lado, se deducen las ecuaciones bidimensionales para una lamina viscoelastica a partir del correspondiente tridimensional y presentamos resultados de convergencia fuerte que justifican los modelos. Finalmente, combinando los resultados obtenidos en la memoria, se presentan las ecuaciones del modelo acoplado para el problema motivador y se muestran ejemplos numericos considerando una ley de pared algebraica elastica.
TeamSTEPPS(™): Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety -- Advances in Patient Safety: New Directions and Alternative Approaches (Vol. 3: Performance and Tools)

Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety (TeamSTEPPS) is a systematic approach developed by the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to integrate teamwork into practice. It is designed to improve the quality, safety, and the efficiency of health care. TeamSTEPPS is based on 25 years of research related to teamwork, team training, and culture change. As a direct outcome of the 1999 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report, To Err is Human, TeamSTEPPS introduces tools and strategies to improve team performance in health care. This article describes the evolution of the TeamSTEPPS program and its research foundation, development, and implementation. To date, the DoD has taught TeamSTEPPS at over 68 facilities, creating approximately 1,500 trainers/coaches, who have trained over 5,000 staff members. Beginning with the public release of TeamSTEPPS resources in November 2006, AHRQ began its effort to disseminate TeamSTEPPS nationwide. To support this plan, a national infrastructure is being established for long-term sustainment through collaborative efforts of several Federal agencies, academic centers, and health care networks, aiming for wide-scale dissemination.