Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Quantifying Prosthesis Control Improvements Using a Vibrotactile Representation of Grip Force

Prosthetic technology is a prime candidate for the integration of haptic feedback. Conventional myoelectric prostheses do not have a mechanism to convey any sensory information, making it difficult for users to feel connected to their hand and to engage in active grasping and exploration tasks. Vibrotactile stimulation is a simple and safe choice for a noninvasive haptic display that can be easily integrated into current hardware. A force-matching grasping task is used to quantify performance improvements at three different force levels with a pulsing vibrotactile feedback channel to convey grasping force. Results show that the haptic feedback led to improved performance in an experienced subgroup of subjects while naive subjects showed no improvement. These preliminary findings suggest that users experienced in EMG control may be able to improve their control of grasping capabilities with a vibrotactile representation of grip force.
Size at birth and lipoprotein concentrations in adulthood: two prospective studies in Latin American cities

Background The relationship between birth weight and plasma lipoproteins is inconsistent. Aims To assess the association between birth weight and (1) body mass index (BMI) at birth and (2) lipoproteins in young adults, and also to explore the possible effect of current obesity as a possible effect modifier. Methods Two prospective studies based on representative samples of subjects born in the 1970s were carried out in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil (n=2063) and Limache, Chile (n=999). The surveys were carried out between 2001 and 2004. Results Mean birth weights were 3267 g and 3177 g and mean adult BMIs were 24.3 kg/m2 and 25.8 kg/m2 in the Brazilian and Chilean samples, respectively. Total adult cholesterol was 4.57 mmol/l in Chileans, 0.26 mmol/l higher than in Brazilians (p<0.001). The main finding was an interaction between adult obesity (BMI 30 or over) and birth weight and also BMI at birth and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and total cholesterol. A birth-weight increment of 1 kg was associated with a decrease in total cholesterol (−0.374 mmol/l, 95% CI −0.567 to −0.181) and LDL (−0.304 mmol/l (−0.479 to −0.129) in obese participants only. These associations persisted after allowing for gestational age in a smaller sample. This finding was consistent in separate analyses in the Brazilian and Chilean samples. No associations were found in relation to high-density lipoprotein and triglyceride concentrations. Conclusion The results suggest that those who were of low birth weight and are obese are more likely to have high cholesterol and LDL concentrations. Thus preventing obesity may be especially rewarding in subjects with a low birth weight.
Brazil's Bolsa Escola program: the role of local governance in decentralized implementation

This study analyzes the role of local governance in the implementation of Bolsa Escola, a decentralized conditional cash transfer program for child education in Brazil. It is based on a survey of 260 municipalities in four states of the Northeast. The analysis focuses on program implementation. Results show that there was considerable confusion over the municipality’s role in beneficiary selection and consequently much heterogeneity in implementation across municipalities. Social control councils as direct accountability mechanisms were often not in place and poorly informed, weakening their role. However, electoral support for incumbent mayors rewarded larger program coverage, presence of councils, and low leakages of benefits to the non-poor.
Exploring the Link between Total Quality Management and Business Performance

The study examined the influence of total quality management on business performance in manufacturing industry in Nigeria with a particular reference to Nestle Nigeria Plc. The broad objective of this study was to examine how leadership, supply quality management, employee participation, recognition and reward and quality system management predicted business performance. The study employed survey research. Primary data was used for the study with questionnaire as research instrument. The subjects were two hundred employees from Nestle Nigeria Plc. The six hypotheses formulated for this study were tested using multiple Regression and Pearson correlation. The findings for this study revealed that leadership, supply quality management, employee participation, recognition and reward and quality system management jointly and independently predicted business performance. Based on the findings of the study, it is recommended that management should try to update themselves on the various TQM practices so as to face the competitive environment. Keywords : Total Quality Management, Business Performance, Employee Participation, Recognition and Reward
Are Algorithmic Trades Informed? - An Empirical Analysis of Algorithmic Trading Around Earnings Announcements

This study examines the impact of corporate earnings announcements on trading activity and speed of price adjustment, analyzing algorithmic and non–algorithmic trades during the immediate period pre– and post– corporate earnings announcements. We confirm that algorithms react faster and more correctly to announcements than non–algorithmic traders. During the initial surge in trading activity in the first 90 seconds after the announcement, algorithms time their trades better than non–algorithmic traders, hence algorithms tend to be profitable, while non–algorithmic traders make losing trades over the same time period. During the pre announcement period, non–algorithmic volume imbalance leads algorithmic volume imbalance, however, in the post announcement period, the direction of the lead–lag relationship is exactly reversed. Our results suggest that as algorithms are the fastest traders, their trading accelerates the information incorporation process.
Risk-Neutralizing Statistical Distributions: With an Application to Pricing Reinsurance Contracts on Fdic Losses

This paper proposes methods for obtaining risk neutral distributions when only the statistical density is observed. We employ renormalized exponential tilts and estimate the tilt coefficients from related options markets. Particular emphasis is placed on reinsurance losses for which we price in closed form using the Weibull extreme value distribution. The procedure is illustrated in detail for FDIC losses.
Effects of residue management and controlled traf ® c on carbon dioxide and water loss

Management of crop residues and soil organic matter is of primary importance in maintaining soil fertility and productivity and in minimizing agricultural impact on the environment. Our objective was to determine the effects of traf®c and tillage on short-term carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O) ̄uxes from a representative soil in the southeastern Coastal Plain (USA). The study was conducted on a Norfolk loamy sand (FAO classi®cation, Luxic Ferralsols; USDA classi®cation, ®ne-loamy siliceous, thermic Typic Kandiudults) cropped to a corn (Zea mays L.) Ð soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr) rotation with a crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum L.) winter cover crop for eight years. Experimental variables were with and without traf®c under conventional tillage (CT) (disk harrow twice, chisel plow, ®eld cultivator) and no tillage (NT) arranged in a splitplot design with four replicates. A wide-frame tractive vehicle enabled tillage without wheel traf®c. Short-term CO2 and H2O ̄uxes were measured with a large portable chamber. Gas exchange measurements were made on both CT and NT at various times associated with tillage and irrigation events. Tillage-induced CO2 and H2O ̄uxes were larger than corresponding ̄uxes from untilled soil. Irrigation caused the CO2 ̄uxes to increase rapidly from both tillage systems, suggesting that soil gas ̄uxes were initially limited by lack of water. Tillage-induced CO2 and H2O ̄uxes were consistently higher than under NT. Cumulative CO2 ̄ux from CT at the end of 80 h was nearly three times larger than from NT while the corresponding H2O loss was 1.6 times larger. Traf®c had no signi®cant effects on the magnitude of CO2 ̄uxes, possibly re ̄ecting this soil's natural tendency to reconsolidate. The immediate impact of intensive surface tillage of sandy soils on gaseous carbon loss was larger than traf®c effects and suggests a need to develop new management practices for enhanced soil carbon and water management for these sensitive soils. # 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Market-oriented innovation: When is it profitable? An abstract agent-based study

Agent-based models have been increasingly used to model artificial societies. Many of these models fall into the field of biological sciences and a very important part of them deals with economical problems ([1] [2] [3] and [4]). Economical, ecological and social environments share as a common feature the fact that the agents operating in these environments spend a large amount of their time trying to maximize some kind of actual or perceived utility, be it related to profit, to food or reproduction or to confort and power. It so happens that many times the improvement of one agent’s utility is made at the expense (or causes) the decrease of the other agents utilities. A general concept that is attached to this improvement struggle is the idea of innovation. In the economy, innovation may be concerned with the identification of new markets, with the development of new products to capture an higher
Echocardiographic evaluation of changes in left ventricular size and valvular regurgitation associated with physical training during and after maturity in Standardbred trotters.

OBJECTIVE To assess whether physical training induces cardiac hypertrophy and valvular regurgitation in maturing Standardbred trotters and to establish a prediction model for the size of the left ventricle. DESIGN Longitudinal observational study. ANIMALS 53 Standardbred trotters. PROCEDURES Each horse underwent 2-D, M-mode, and color flow Doppler echocardiography at 5.5 years of age; previously, each horse had been examined at 2, 2.5, 3, and 3.5 (time of maturity) years of age. Horses were or were not in training or racing for variable periods during the entire assessment period; data for a given horse were assigned to 1 of 2 groups on the basis of the horse's status at the fifth examination (racing [n = 40] or not racing [13]). At each examination, left ventricular (LV) internal diameter in diastole (LVIDd), LV mass, and mean and relative LV wall thicknesses were measured. Prevalence and severity of tricuspid, pulmonary, mitral, and aortic valve regurgitation were determined. RESULTS During the assessment period, LVIDd, LV mass, and mean LV wall thickness increased; body weight was significantly associated with those variables. Prediction of LV mass was possible when sex and weight were included in the model. Prevalence of valvular regurgitation increased for all valves. An increased risk of development of tricuspid and pulmonary valve regurgitation for horses in racing was observed. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE The LV mass and prevalence of valvular regurgitation increased (indicative of development of exercise-induced cardiac hypertrophy and valvular regurgitation) in young horses, even during the latter part of the assessment period, when maturity was attained.
Banking-Sector Crisis and Mergers as a Solution

The 1997-1998 Asian economic crisis threatened the survival of banks in many Asian countries. Local bank regulators encouraged or even forced ailing banks to merge as a way to reduce bank failure risk. Casting doubt on the wisdom of such policies, the paper shows that whether merging two banks weakened by the Asian economic crisis or merging one weak bank into a healthier one, the result in many cases would be a bank even more likely to fail than both the predecessor banks.
Investing in community : Canadian junior mining companies, corporate social responsibility, and the communication gap

Drawing on experience as a communications consultant to the junior mining industry, this research emerged from my observations that anti-mining, non-governmental organization (NGO) campaigns are currently winning the public relations war against the mining industry. Increasing global awareness and anti-mining sentiment may be due in part to a lack of communication on behalf of mining companies with respect to corporate social responsibility (CSR) and specifically community investment activities in developing countries. I sought to investigate what community investment initiatives a sample of Canadian junior exploration companies are conducting and the root causes for a possible CSR communication gap or “reporting silence” in this regard, which, if remedied, could potentially help balance this negative publicity. Results from interviews with mining company executives, industry CSR practitioners, and investment fund managers identified a number of factors contributing to a community investment communication gap, and reflect upon the multiplicity of stakeholder audiences with complex and divergent information needs. My thesis concludes with recommendations as to how junior exploration companies and industry CSR practitioners might consider community investment in developing countries through a complexity science lens to explore collaborative solutions in addressing these communication gaps. Key phrases – industry communication gaps, Canadian junior mining companies, corporate social responsibility, developing countries, community investment, stakeholder mapping, complexity science Investing in community iii
Organizational Tradeoffs and the Dynamics of Search and Coordination

We analyze the interactions and tradeoffs that result from organizational search and coordination. Our analysis suggests an antagonistic relationship between organizational search and coordination. The more an organization searches, the higher is the demand for coordination. However, meeting the demands for increased coordination constrains organizational search. Based on a case analysis and insights from existing theory, we identify four fundamental organizational tradeoffs in the coordination of interdependent search processes that give rise to the antagonistic relationship between the two. These are (1) the specialization of tasks, (2) the interdependencies between tasks, (3) the delegation of tasks and the constraints placed on organizational members to carry out these tasks, and (4) the incentives for organizational members. Our findings may be useful for the analysis of organizational strategies and structures, interorganizational modes of coordination, and industry architectures.
Origins of multisynaptic projections from the basal ganglia to rostrocaudally distinct sectors of the dorsal premotor area in macaques

We examined the organization of multisynaptic projections from the basal ganglia (BG) to the dorsal premotor area in macaques. After injection of the rabies virus into the rostral sector of the caudal aspect of the dorsal premotor area (F2r) and the caudal sector of the caudal aspect of the dorsal premotor area (F2c), second‐order neuron labeling occurred in the internal segment of the globus pallidus (GPi) and the substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr). Labeled GPi neurons were found in the caudoventral portion after F2c injection, and in the dorsal portion at the rostrocaudal middle level after F2r injection. In the SNr, F2c and F2r injections led to labeling in the caudal or rostral part, respectively. Subsequently, third‐order neuron labeling was observed in the external segment of the globus pallidus (GPe), the subthalamic nucleus (STN), and the striatum. After F2c injection, labeled neurons were observed over a broad territory in the GPe, whereas after F2r injection, labeled neurons tended to be restricted to the rostral and dorsal portions. In the STN, F2c injection resulted in extensive labeling over the nucleus, whereas F2r injection resulted in labeling in the ventral portion only. After both F2r and F2c injections, labeled neurons in the striatum were widely observed in the striatal cell bridge region and neighboring areas, as well as in the ventral striatum. The present results revealed that the origins of multisynaptic projections to F2c and F2r in the BG are segregated in the output stations of the BG, whereas intermingling rather than segregation is evident with respect to their input station.
Building durable rural financial markets in Africa

D. W ADAMS RURAL FINANCIAL MARKETS IN AFRICA Author evaluates two schools of thought on how success should be measured in finan cial markets and goes on to discuss the important but limited contributions these markets are able to make to development. Reasons for the unsatisfactory performance of rural financial markets in many low-income countries and lessons that can be drawn from this experience are then presented. The author concludes that credit activities have been overemphasized and that more attention ought to be given to developing durable financial markets through deposit mobilization. DES MARCHES FINANCIERS RURAUX DURABLES EN AFRIQUE
An investigation of the price discovery for cross-listed stocks: Evidence from New Zealand and Australian stock markets

This study investigates the price discovery of selected cross-listed stocks on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) and the New Zealand Stock Exchange (NZX). It examines prices and exchange rates over the period 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2011 when both markets were in a bear trading phase. Using intraday data of three Australian stocks and five New Zealand stocks, we investigate the price discovery dynamics by evaluating the vector error correction mechanism (VECM), Hasbrouck’s (1995) information share (IS) and Grammig et al.’s (2005) conditional information share (CIS). Consistent with previous research, we find that the price series of the sample of crosslisted stocks on the ASX and the NZX are cointegrated. We also find that the price discovery takes place mostly on the home market for the Australian domiciled firms and for all but one of the New Zealand domiciled firms. This is true in terms of both Hasbrouck’s (1995) information share and Grammig et al.’s (2005) conditional information share. However, when we evaluate price discovery dynamics over time using the information share approach, our findings differ from those of Frijns et al. (2010). In bull market conditions they find an increasing trend in the significance of the ASX. In a bear market setting, we find the NZX growing in importance with a declining significance for the ASX for the Australian as well as New Zealand domiciled companies.
Growth and productivity as influenced by nutrient management practices on Pigeon pea [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.] in upland alfisols of Tripura

Pigeon pea [ Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp. ] is the rich sources of dietary protein, carbohydrate & certain minerals but its poor yield needs to formulate a nutrient management practices for higher productivity in upland alfisols of Tripura and to combat it, an experiment was conducted during three consecutive kharif seasons at College of Agriculture, Lembucherra, Tripura comprising of two levels of Lime (150 and 200 kg ha -1 ) in main plot and two levels of molybdenum seed treatment (0 and 4g kg -1 of seed) in sub plot and 4 levels of recommended doses, viz., 0% of RDF ha -1 , 50% of RDF ha -1 , 75% of RDF ha -1 and 100% of RDF ha -1 (Recommended dose @ 20:60:40 of NPK). It was revealed that by the use of 100% RDF ha -1 with 150 kg ha -1 lime and 4g kg -1 of molybdenum seed treatment leads to higher yield and return per rupee respectively. But by the use of 100% RDF ha -1 with 200 kg ha -1 lime and 4g kg -1 of molybdenum seed treatment, return per rupee was recorded at 2.98. The investigation reflects that by the use of 75% RDF ha -1 return per rupee (3.78) was less compared to 100% RDF ha -1 but significant with saving the cost of 25% RDF ha -1 and soil health from the excessive use of fertilizer for sustaining the agricultural growth. SAARC J. Agri. , 13(1): 123-134 (2015 )
Augmentation Autologous Adipose Injections in the Larynx

Objective: Autologous adipose injection (AAI) is a recognized method for vocal fold augmentation. The study’s purpose is to explore short- and long-term outcomes of AAI. Methods: Retrospective chart review of 43 patients undergoing AAI was performed; patient perception of outcome, Voice Handicap Index (VHI), maximum phonatory time (MPT), and disposition were evaluated. Results: Over 5 years, 43 AAI patients had documented postoperative follow-up (25 paralysis, 8 paresis, 9 bowing/presbylarynges, and 5 scar/sulci). Mean follow-up was 32 weeks. There was gradual patient loss to follow-up. Thirty-nine of 40 (98%) had patient-reported improvement at 6 weeks, 28 of 34 (82%) had improvement at 2 to 6 months, with 10 of 12 (83%) sustaining their improvement for >1 year. Significant improvement in mean VHI was observed at 4 to 6 weeks (mean reduction, 26; P < .0001) and 2 to 6 months (mean reduction, 23; P < .0001). Improvement in mean MPT was observed at 4 to 6 weeks (mean increase, 8 s; P < .0001), 2 to 6 months (6 s; P = .007), and >1 year (4 s; P = .03). Eight patients went on to medialization laryngoplasty. Conclusion: AAI successfully augments vocal folds in short-term outcomes with some gradual decrease in effectiveness. Although patient attrition limited conclusions, objective long-term benefit may occur in >50% of patients.
Generalized minimum distance decoding in Euclidean space: Performance analysis

We present a detailed analysis of generalized minimum distance (GMD) decoding algorithms for Euclidean space codes. In particular, we completely characterize GMD decoding regions in terms of receiver front-end properties. This characterization is used to show that GMD decoding regions have intricate geometry. We prove that although these decoding regions are polyhedral, they are essentially always nonconvex. We furthermore show that conventional performance parameters, such as error-correction radius and effective error coefficient, do not capture the essential geometric features of a GMD decoding region, and thus do not provide a meaningful measure of performance. As an alternative, probabilistic estimates of, and upper bounds upon, the performance of GMD decoding are developed. Furthermore, extensive simulation results, for both low-dimensional and high-dimensional sphere-packings, are presented. These simulations show that multilevel codes in conjunction with multistage GMD decoding provide significant coding gains at a very low complexity. Simulated performance, in both cases, is in remarkably close agreement with our probabilistic approximations.