Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
THE PREVALENCE OF RESPIRATORY SYMPTOMS AMONG WORKERS IN A DOMESTIC WASTE COLLECTION CENTER IN KLANG VALLEY, MALAYSIA

ABSTRACT Background: Domestic waste collectors are potentially exposed to many occupational hazards which might result in health problems including respiratory illnesses. The severity of the problem might differ between developed and developing countries due to the protective measures taken for the workers. Therefore the objective of this research was to determine the prevalence of respiratory symptoms among workers who were working in a domestic waste collection centre, in Klang Valley, Malaysia. Materials and Methods: A cross sectional study was carried out for one week period in November 2014. Those aged between 18 to 60 years old and without any chronic respiratory illness have been included in the study. Data of respiratory symptoms were obtained using interview-guided questionnaire. Result: A total of 111 workers responded out of 130 with response rate of 85%, to the questionnaire with mean age (±SD) of 40.38 years old. Majority of them were Malay with average working experience up to 6.3 (±3.62) years. Their average working duration was 11.27 ((±1.18) hours per day and majority of them had 1 to 5 days of absentees in the last 6 months. The prevalence of respiratory symptoms was 56.8%. Age of workers (p = 0.03; 95% CI), age started working (p = 0.003; 95% CI) and days of absentees (p < 0.001; 95% CI) were significantly associated with respiratory symptoms among the workers. Conclusion: There were respiratory health implications among the workers and appeared to be relative effect on those who have direct contact and with longer period of exposure to domestic waste. Nevertheless, compliance of workers to preventive measures is crucial and emphasis on further intervention is important in reducing the exposure and to prevent the incidence of adverse health effects among the workers. Keywords: Domestic waste, respiratory symptoms, staff, Klang Valley, Malaysia
Investigation on the precursors to and effects of human resource information system use: The case of a developing country

Abstract There is an inadequate understanding of the successful use and effects of a human resource information system (HRIS) in a developing country context. Given this backdrop, this study aims to explore the precursors to and effects of HRIS use in a developing country. A research model was developed after studying the existing literature, and a questionnaire was developed accordingly to collect data through a purposive sampling method. The research data were obtained from different companies in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The collected data were analyzed using the partial least squares method, a statistical technique based on the structural equation model. The results show that all four hypothesized precursors are significant predictors of the purposes for using an HRIS, and the purposes for using an HRIS are significantly connected to all of the resulting variables except one. The theoretical contribution of this study is that it serves as further evidence for the appropriateness of using Rogers’ innovation attributions to gauge different dimensions of the intention to use an HRIS, and Remenyi’s and Zuboff’s information technology frameworks are used to measure the outcomes of the intention to use an HRIS. The practical contribution of this study is that information technology seems to empower human resources professionals and increase the value of their work. This study adds value to the existing literature on HRISs by focusing on a developing country setting.
Interactive comment on “Interannual sedimentary effluxes of alkalinity in the southern North Sea: Model results compared with summer

The paper by Pätsch and coworkers deals with an important topic, namely on how coastal systems respond to increased nutrients input. Hitherto the focus of this discussion has largely been on the interaction between primary production, aerobic respiration and oxygen conditions with respect to changes of the overall CO2 pool. In recent times this focus has been broadened to further consider anaerobic metabolic pathways for the respiration of organic matter, which in turn affect both the overall CO2
Ethnopharmacological Survey of Garcinia Pedunculata Roxb. Fruit in Six Different Districts of Assam, India

Gastrointestinal diseases (GDs) have been a cause of concern mostly in the rural parts of developing countries worldwide. The rural Assam is predominantly inhabitated by tribal people and they are primitive indigenous community and most of them are also socio-economically backward. These people have been traditionally using natural medicine for curing of different diseases instead of allopathic medicines. In this study we have tried to scientifically enumerate the ethnomedicinal use of Garcinia pedunculata Roxb. (Family: Clusiaceae) (GP) fruit in six different districts of Assam of Northeast region of India. Open-ended and semi structured questionnaire were prepared and distributed among different sections of people. In the study, total 2,600 samples at random were collected from six districts of Assam and out of that 1,967 numbers of people (75%) use GP fruit and they consider it as a healer of dysentery, diarrhea and jaundice. The present study reveals some important facts like popularity of GP for treatment of GDs, distribution of GP in different districts of Assam, gradual extinction of GP due to various threats which will create awareness among different communities for conservation of GP for future use.
Catholic Schools and Immigrant Students: A New Generation

Background/Context This article considers the role of Catholic schools, an institution born of the adaptation of previous immigrant waves, in the education of new immigrants and their native-born counterparts. The new immigrants enter a landscape in which education plays a much bigger role than it did for their predecessors and yet faces many challenges. Public schools, particularly in urban centers, struggle with financial difficulties and new standards of accountability. Although scholars and the media have praised Catholic schools for performing better than public schools in promoting academic achievement among urban low-income minority students, the Catholic system also faces fiscal difficulties, declining enrollments, and school closings. Purpose/Objective/Research Questions/Focus of Study We examine the use of Catholic school by families of different ethnic backgrounds and how attendance relates both to religious affiliation and to socioeconomic class. We also analyze whether attending or graduating from Catholic high school has a positive effect on educational attainment and on the incidence of arrest and incarceration for men, and early childbearing for women. Finally, we seek to understand why immigrant families choose Catholic schools and how their children experience them. Research Design We draw on data collected for the Immigrant Second Generation in Metropolitan New York Study (ISGMNY). The study includes survey data on 3,415 young adults aged 18–32 who were interviewed between 1998 and 2001. Respondents include second-generation immigrants and native-born individuals. The study also includes qualitative data from in-depth interviews. For this article, we use interviews conducted with 74 respondents from immigrant and native-born groups who attended Catholic high schools, and those who referenced Catholic schools in their educational history even if they did not attend. Conclusions/Recommendations For immigrant families who have arrived recently, religion seems to be more or less irrelevant to the decision to send their children to Catholic school. Instead, like many native Blacks and Latinos, these families choose Catholic schools to avoid what they see as a seriously deficient public school system. To some extent, this represents a rational choice, but for many immigrant families, it also reflects a lack of knowledge about the public education system. Although many low-income families would like to send their children to Catholic school, cost is an insurmountable barrier for many. With the exception of native-born Whites, socioeconomic factors are very important in shaping who can go to Catholic school and whether students can stay until graduation. In many cases, families were forced to withdraw their children by high school, when costs rise sharply. Nonetheless, overall, the data show a benefit in terms of educational attainment for nearly all groups, and also a positive impact in terms of avoiding of certain problems, such as early pregnancy for girls and trouble with police for boys.
Cultural Intelligence in the School Inteligencia cultural en la escuela

A wide range of research, including Scribner’s cultural psychology, work by Rogoff and Lave on daily and situated cognition, and the notion of funds of knowledge (Moll & González, 2004), has demonstrated that all people have cultural intelligence which allows them to address and resolve many problems in daily life. In the same vein, the study of successful educational actions within the framework of the INCLUD-ED project reveals that more types of intelligence must be included in schools if educators are to respond successfully to the educational demands of highly heterogeneous classrooms. Using two case studies of community-based educational projects in Spain, this article shows how it is essential to recognize the cultural intelligence of all students in order to connect learning in classrooms with life outside school and thus provide meaning and a context for school knowl-
Exploring patterns of satisfaction and shopping motivation in a tourist shopping village

Although satisfaction is a core concept in understanding visitor behaviour and shopping is a core activity for many visitors, visitor satisfaction with shopping activities has been given only limited research attention. This paper seeks to address this by examining the relationships between shopping motivation and visitor satisfaction in Hahndorf, an historic German-themed village in Australia. The study surveyed 506 visitors to this tourist shopping village (TSV) using multiple measures of satisfaction. Four shopping motivation groups were identified and profiled and a series of importance-performance analyses revealed distinctive patterns of satisfaction for each group. These results have implications both for the planning of TSVs and the way we examine visitor satisfaction.
Observing local CO2 sources using low-cost, near-surface urban monitors

Abstract. Urban carbon dioxide comprises the largest fraction of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, but quantifying urban emissions at subnational scales is highly challenging, as numerous emission sources reside in close proximity within each topographically intricate urban dome. In attempting to better understand each individual source's contribution to the overall emission budget, there exists a large gap between activity-based emission inventories and observational constraints on integrated, regional emission estimates. Here we leverage urban CO2 observations from the BErkeley Atmospheric CO2 Observation Network (BEACO2N) to enhance, rather than average across or cancel out, our sensitivity to these hyperlocal emission sources. We utilize a method for isolating the local component of a CO2 signal that accentuates the observed intra-urban heterogeneity and thereby increases sensitivity to mobile emissions from specific highway segments. We demonstrate a multiple-linear-regression analysis technique that accounts for boundary layer and wind effects and allows for the detection of changes in traffic emissions on scale with anticipated changes in vehicle fuel economy – an unprecedented level of sensitivity for low-cost sensor technologies. The ability to represent trends of policy-relevant magnitudes with a low-cost sensor network has important implications for future applications of this approach, whether as a supplement to existing, sparse reference networks or as a substitute in areas where fewer resources are available.
Entrepreneurs’ Improvisational Behavior and Firm Performance: A Study of Dispositional and Environmental Moderators

Previous research indicates that improvisation—the deliberate extemporaneous composition and execution of novel action—is a key form of entrepreneurial behavior. It has been argued, however, that entrepreneurs’ improvisational behavior does not necessarily result in performance gains for their firms. Instead, a contingency perspective suggests that the effectiveness of entrepreneurs’ improvisational behavior depends on key moderating variables. Drawing on this framework, the current study uses a national (U.S.) random sample of new ventures to examine the interactive effects on firm performance of entrepreneurs’ improvisational behavior with key dispositional and environmental variables. Consistent with predictions, findings indicated that within the context of dynamic environments, the relationship between improvisational behavior and firm performance was significantly more negative for entrepreneurs who were high in optimism than it was for those who were moderate in optimism. In contrast, within the context of stable environments, results demonstrated marginally significant evidence that entrepreneurs’ improvisational behavior was more positively associated with firm performance for entrepreneurs who were high in optimism than it was for those who were moderate in optimism. Overall, results suggest that improvisational behavior can be an effective form of entrepreneurial action within rapidly and unpredictably shifting environments, but only when coupled with realistic levels of optimism. Copyright © 2012 Strategic Management Society.
Ultrafast dynamics in topological insulators

Ultrafast dynamics of carriers and phonons in topological insulators CuxBi2Se3-y (x=0, 0.1, 0.125, y=0, 1) was studied using femtosecond optical pump-probe spectroscopy. One damped oscillation was clearly observed in the transient reflectivity changes (ΔR/R), which is assigned to the coherent optical phonon (A1g 1). According to the red shift of A1g1 phonon frequency, the Cu atoms in CuxBi2Se3 crystals may predominantly intercalated between pair of the quintuple layers. Moreover, the carrier dynamics in the Dirac-cone surface state is significantly different from that in bulk state, which was investigated using optical pump mid-infrared (mid-IR) probe spectroscopy. The rising time and decay time of the negative component in ΔR/R, which is assigned to carrier relaxation in Dirac cone, is 1.62 ps and 20.5 ps, respectively.
Anthraquinones from Cratoxylum aborescens (Guttiferae)

Our continuing interest in anthraquinones from the Guttiferae family has led us to look at the genus Cratoxylum. A detailed chemical study on Cratoxylum aborescens resulted in the isolation of three anthraquinones, namely 1,8-dihydroxy-3-methoxy-6-methylanthraquinone (1), vismiaquinone (2) and vismione (3). These compounds were identified using 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy. This is the first report on the chemistry of Cratoxylum aborescens.
Related-party disclosures in the two-tier board system in China: Influences of ownership structure and board composition

Yuan George Shan and Dennis W. Taylor used content analysis of annual reports of listed companies in China over 5-years from 2001 to 2005. Results show that the comprehensiveness of related-related party disclosures is positively affected by companies' domestic ownership concentration and the proportion of independent directors on the corporate board. But the proportion of supervisory board members with professional knowledge and experience is, unexpectedly, found to have a significant inverse relationship with the extent of related-party disclosure. Reasons peculiar to the context in China are proffered, particularly the likelihood of internal censorship of the more professionally qualified members of supervisory boards.
Palaeomagnetic and structural investigations in unbeknown areas of Central Tibet : a study on block rotations and crustal shortening

Palaeomagnetic and structural investigations were carried out in Central Tibet along a ~600 km NSextending stretch between N30°30’-35°30’ and E88°30’-90°30’. During two expeditions in the framework of INDEPTH 3/GeoDepth sampling of mainly Tertiary red beds was accomplished at 73 palaeomagnetic drilling sites. The Dogai Coring Tso fold-and-thrust belt (DGC) in the northern Qiangtang block (~N34°45’, E89°00’) is build up by a deformed succession of probably Tertiary red beds. The results of field mapping, cross-section and fault-slip analyses, and high-resolution remote sensing lead to a model that explains the DGC as an (a) sinistral transpressional belt formed in response to NE-SW compression in which (b) fault-bound blocks rotated counterclockwise in domino-style, delimited (c) by sinistral oblique thrusts trending subparallel to the Kun Lun belt. Estimations of N-S shortening enforced by folding range from 25 to 58 % while counterclockwise rotation of 35° can account for about 20 %. Palaeomagnetic investigations on 11 sites identified a stable ChRM with well-grouped site means carried by hematite. The fold test is significantly positive and calculation of stepwise unfolding reveals best grouping of directions at 82 % of unfolding. Remagnetisation is assumed during an early stage of the tectonic development. The overall mean direction of 332.6°/40.9° is consistent with the structural findings and verifies a minimum of 28° counterclockwise rotation of blocks. The deformation in the DGC gives evidence that NE-SW compression and northeastward growth of the plateau occurs already in the Tertiary. The Zagaya section in the northernmost Lhasa block (~N32°15’, E89°30’) is situated within the Bangong-Nujiang suture zone and comprises folded Tertiary red beds and ophiolitic material. Steeply west-dipping normal faults building the western boundary of two characteristic blocks and a leftlateral EW-trending strike-slip fault to the north are main structural features. About 60 % shortening is represented by the large governing fold. Fault-slip data show ENE-WSWand NNE-SSW-trending compression and EW-trending extension. Palaeomagnetic investigations on 15 sites of mostly Eocene red beds identified a stable ChRM with well-grouped site means carried by hematite. Remanence acquisition prior to folding (positive fold test) and best grouping of directions at 93 % of unfolding is revealed. Measured declinations deviate in a linear trend from the expected values: Counterclockwise rotation increases when proceeding to the northern fault zone (8.1 °/km, maximum relative rotation of 55°). In the most likely explanation model folding predates a two-phase block rotation where (a) internal small-scaled left-lateral brittle shear is followed by (b) normal faulting with the break-up of blocks. Pre-existing structures within the Bangong-Nujiang suture zone are reactivated in left-lateral style and allow eastward lateral extrusion due to frontal compression enforced by the India-Asia collision.
Nonparametric covariance estimation for mixed longitudinal studies, with applications in midlife women's health

Motivated by applications of mixed longitudinal studies, where a group of subjects entering the study at different ages (cross-sectional) are followed for successive years (longitudinal), we consider nonparametric covariance estimation with samples of noisy and partially-observed functional trajectories. To ensure model identifiability and estimation consistency, we introduce and carefully discuss the reduced rank and neighboring incoherence condition. The proposed algorithm is based on a sequential-aggregation scheme, which is non-iterative, with only basic matrix operations and closed-form solutions in each step. The good performance of the proposed method is supported by both theory and numerical experiments. We also apply the proposed procedure to a midlife women's working memory study based on the data from the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN).
Experiential Marketing and Long-Term Sales

ABSTRACT This study investigates the ability of winery tasting rooms to create brand awareness and build long-term brand loyalty. Specifically, we test the conjecture that if tasting rooms create brand awareness and a pleasurable tasting room experience, then those visitors are more likely to recognize and seek out those brands once they leave the tasting room. To measure these effects, we exploit differences in tasting room characteristics to conduct a series of natural experiments from which we analyze differences in off-premise retail sales away from the tasting room. We use scan data on wine sold off-premise through traditional retail outlets to then test for differences among tasting room characteristics. Our results indicate that tasting rooms act as a form of experiential marketing for wineries, creating brand awareness and generating greater growth in off-premise retail sales. Finally, we address issues of endogeneity and unobserved heterogeneity as potential sources of bias.
D-optimal Designs with Ordered Categorical Data

Cumulative link models have been widely used for ordered categorical responses. Uniform allocation of experimental units is commonly used in practice, but often suffers from a lack of efficiency. We consider D-optimal designs with ordered categorical responses and cumulative link models. For a predetermined set of design points, we derive the necessary and sufficient conditions for an allocation to be locally D-optimal and develop efficient algorithms for obtaining approximate and exact designs. We prove that the number of support points in a minimally supported design only depends on the number of predictors, which can be much less than the number of parameters in the model. We show that a D-optimal minimally supported allocation in this case is usually not uniform on its support points. In addition, we provide EW D-optimal designs as a highly efficient surrogate to Bayesian D-optimal designs. Both of them can be much more robust than uniform designs.
Computational Advances and Applications of Hidden (Semi-)Markov Models

The document is my habilitation thesis, which is a prerequisite for obtaining the "habilitation a diriger des recherche (HDR)" in France (https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habilitation_universitaire#En_France). The thesis is of cumulative form, thus providing an overview of my published works until summer 2013.
Polarization from microlensing of spherical circumstellar envelopes by a point lens

We discuss the flux and polarization signals obtained from the microlensing of stars with extended circumstellar envelopes by a single point-mass lens. A previous paper considered the case of main-sequence stars, and showed that microlensing of the stellar photosphere could produce a small net polarization (up to 0.1 per cent). In this paper, we show that stars with extensive envelopes will show a much higher level of variable polarization (up to 10 per cent), even if they are spherically symmetric. Since the stellar envelopes most likely to be lensed are produced by red giant winds, we also investigate the effects of a central cavity (representing the dust condensation radius) within the scattering envelope, as well as different radial density distributions. Our study has led to three major results. (i) For optically thin envelopes with an inner cavity, the lensing light curve for the polarization can be of longer duration than that for the total flux, the latter being dominated by the much brighter, unpolarized photospheric emission. If observed, the differing time-scales would provide direct evidence of a thin circumstellar envelope with a cavity. (ii) The combination of photometric and polarimetric light curves determines the lens impact parameter even if the event is not a photospheric transit. (iii) The variation of the polarization position angle determines both the magnitude and direction of the relative proper motion. Finally, we derive an asymptotic limit of the lensing polarization for large Einstein radii. This limit greatly simplifies the determination of the lensing parameters.