Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nature and Factors Influencing High School Students and Parents’ Demands for Private Supplementary Tutoring in Kazakhstan

The primary purpose of this research study is to explore the nature and demands of private supplementary tutoring at a selective school in Aktobe. Basing the arguments on literature review and qualitative research design, this work aims to identify the nature of private supplementary tutoring and the demands that drive high-school students and their parents to engage in private tutoring. Within the qualitative research study the following research question was addressed in order to fulfill the purpose of the study: What is the nature and factors that influence high school students and their parents for taking Private Supplementary Tutoring at a selective school in Aktobe, Kazakhstan? A qualitative semi-structured interview approach was used in the study to address the research question. The sample of the study included nine participants, five of whom were high school students and four parents, who were engaged in private supplementary tutoring as consumers. The maximal variation sampling technique was used to help select participants. The study revealed that the phenomenon of private supplementary tutoring is widely recognized in the research site. It also revealed that high stakes examinations, future career choice, teachers’ lack of time, high family expectations, and interaction with peers are the main factors that influence students and parents to refer to private tutoring. The main implication for further research is to conduct a quantitative research which will fulfill the gaps of this study and give more reliable results through conducting a survey among private tutoring users of this particular school.
Social Support for and Through Exercise and Sport in a Sample of Men with Serious Mental Illness

Social support is important for people experiencing serious mental illness and is also important during the initiation and maintenance of exercise. In this article we draw on interpretive research into the experiences of 11 men with serious mental illness to explore four dimensions of social support both for and through exercise. Our findings suggest that informational, tangible, esteem, and emotional support were both provided for and given by participants through exercise. We conclude that experiences of both receiving and giving diverse forms of support in this way are significant for some people living with and recovering from serious mental illness.
The Synthetic Cost of Liquidity

We propose a new approach to model the cost of liquidity based on the synthetic replication of the sale of a liquid asset. Assuming that markets are complete, the sale of a liquid asset can be replicated by a) taking the decision to sell an illiquid asset and effectively sell it at a later date at its fair value b) borrowing cash until the sale is completed and c) short-selling an equivalent liquid asset or portfolio of assets in order to cancel out the economic exposure over the same period. The synthetic replication implies that the cost of liquidity should equal the investor's credit spread plus the securities lending cost or cost of borrow, accounting for the time to liquidate and the holding period. The model produces annualized liquidity cost that can range from a few basis points for liquid stocks to 60bps for real estate and up to 3% for illiquid assets such as infrastructure or private equity. This approach links market and funding liquidity measures and can explain contagion of liquidity crisis among asset classes as well as the absence of liquidity premium in the presence of investors with little funding constraints such as pension funds and soverign wealth funds.
[Concentration of foreigners and urban policy in Brussels].

The distribution of the foreign population of Brussels, Belgium, is analyzed by nationality for the period 1970-1981. The author notes that despite the increase in the number of foreigners during this period, their concentration in specific areas did not increase. The ethnic and socioeconomic factors affecting the residential location of foreigners are discussed. Urban policy concerning the foreign population is reviewed. (SUMMARY IN ENG AND DUT)
Examining the Decision to Opt In versus Opt Out of Section 107 of the JOBS Act of 2012: Determinants and Consequences

The Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (hereafter, JOBS Act) creates a new category of firms, referred to as “Emerging Growth Companies” (hereafter, EGCs). Section 107 of the JOBS Act, titled “Opt-In Right for EGCs,” gives EGCs the choice to take advantage of an extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an EGC can choose to delay the adoption of new or revised accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. Using a logistic regression approach with hand-collected data, we examine the underlying firm characteristics associated with EGCs’ choice of opting in or out of the accounting standards exemption, as provided by Section 107 of the JOBS Act. Using additional ordinary least square regression analyses, we further examine whether the choice of opting in or out is associated with earnings management and financial statement restatement behavior. Our results suggest that EGC firms designated as “smaller reporting companies” are more likely to choose to delay the adoption of a new or revised accounting standard (i.e., opt in). Our findings also show that EGCs that employ Big 4 auditors are more likely to opt out. We further find that EGCs that choose to opt out are less likely to engage in earnings management behavior, proxied by the absolute value of abnormal accruals, and are less likely to restate their financial statements. Taken together, our findings suggest that EGCs that choose to opt out of Section 107 produce higher quality financial statements.
User Motivations in Protecting Information Security: Protection Motivation Theory Versus Self-Determination Theory

Abstract Managers desiring to protect information systems must understand how to most effectively motivate users to engage in secure behaviors. Information security researchers have frequently studied individuals’ performance of secure behaviors in response to threats. Protection motivation theory (PMT) has been used to explain individuals’ propensity to engage in voluntary secure behaviors, but the adaptation of this theory has yielded inconsistent results. Motivation as a measurable construct, as derived from self-determination theory (SDT), has never been included in or compared against PMT. In this study, we construct security messages that appeal to individuals’ intrinsic motivation, rather than fear, as a way to elicit secure responses. Using three sets of respondents, we integrated the SDT and PMT models and compared the native models in the context of security behaviors. We demonstrate that by using data- and individual-focused appeals and providing choices for users, managers may observe greater intention to engage in secure behavior among employees.
Root surface removal and resultant surface texture with diamond-coated ultrasonic inserts: an in vitro and SEM study.

BACKGROUND A new diamond-coated ultrasonic insert has been developed for scaling and root planing, and it was evaluated in vitro for the amount of root surface removed and the roughness of the residual root surface as a result of instrumentation. METHODS 48 extracted single-rooted human teeth were ground flat on one root surface and mounted (flat side up) in PVC rings of standard height and diameter with improved dental stone. Each tooth surface was treated with either a plain ultrasonic insert (PI), an ultrasonic insert with a fine grit diamond coating (DI) or sharp Gracey curettes (HI). The mounted teeth were attached to a stepper motor which drove the teeth in a horizontal, reciprocal motion at a constant rate. The thickness from the flattened bottom of the ring to the flattened tooth surface was measured before and after 10, 20, and 30 instrumentation strokes for each root surface with each of the experimental instruments. A number of treated teeth were randomly selected for examination with SEM and a profilometer. Statistical analysis (analysis of co-variance) was performed to compare the amounts of tooth structure removed among the 3 instruments and t-test was used to compare the roughness of the treated root surfaces. RESULTS The mean depth of root structure removed was PI 10.7 microm, HI 15.0 microm, and DI 46.2 microm after 10 strokes; and PI 21.6 microm, HI 33.2 and DI 142.0 microm after 30 strokes, respectively. On average, 0.9 microm, 1.3 microm, and 4.7 microm of root surface was removed with each stroke of PI, HI and DI, respectively. PI and HI were not different from each other for all the stroke cycles, while DI was significantly different from PI and HI for all the stroke cycles (p<0.0001). Analysis with the profilometer showed that the smoothest surface was produced by the PI followed by the HI. The DI produced a surface that was significantly rougher than the surface produced by the PI or HI. CONCLUSION These results suggest that diamond-coated ultrasonic instruments will effectively plane roots, and that caution should be used during periodontal root planing procedures. Additionally, the diamond-coated instruments will produce a rougher surface than the plain inserts or the hand curettes.
Experimental herpes simplex encephalitis. Treatment with pyrimidine nucleosides.

An experimentally induced herpes simplex virus encephalitis in rabbits was treated with either idoxuridine or cytarabine. The cerebral lesions produced in this model bore histologic and topographic similarities to those seen in humans. Treatment was begun after infection was established in nervous system tissue. In animals treated with idoxuridine there was neither clinical nor histological evidence of a therapeutic effect. Cytarabine initially appeared to inhibit the development of lesions, but the effect was temporary.
Credit Guarantees and New Bank Relationships

Credit guarantee schemes for bank loans are at the heart of most Governments’ strategies to help firms, and often direct vast volumes of credit. This paper examines Chile’s credit guarantee scheme for bank loans to small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which is structured like many OECD countries’ schemes. We use a regression discontinuity around the eligibility cutoff and find that this credit guarantee design generates large positive effects on firms’ total borrowing without large increases in default rates. The scheme also has an amplification effect: firms increase borrowing from other banks in the eighteen months following a loan guarantee. Moreover, we show that the guarantees are used to build new bank relationships, an important process for SMEs. Finally, we show that firms use the credit increase to significantly scale up their sales, employment and input purchases. These results provide evidence that credit guarantees are an effective policy tool for both boosting credit availability, and for establishing new bank relationships for SMEs.sentiment score - proxies for the monetary policy tilt. We then evaluate how the surprise component of the sentiment scores - together with unexpected policy changes - impact Chilean financial assets.
α-Viniferin-Induced Structural and Functional Alterations in Raillietina echinobothrida, a Poultry Tapeworm

Abstract α-viniferin, an active component of the plant Carex baccans L. , is known for its anticancer, antidiabetic, and anti-inflammatory properties. In Northeast India, different tribes traditionally consume C. baccans to control intestinal helminth infections. Therefore, the present study was carried out to assess the extent of tegumental alteration caused by α-viniferin in Raillietina echinobothrida, a widely prevalent poultry helminth in northeast India. Helminths were exposed in vitro to various doses of α-viniferin (50, 100, and 200 µM/mL of physiological buffered saline) and their motility and mortality were recorded. Stereoscan observations on the parasite exposed to the active compound showed extensive distortion and destruction of the surface fine topography of the tegument compared with controls. The compound also caused extensive damage to the tegument by disintegration of microtriches, disorganization of muscle bundles, and loss of cellular organelles combined with distortion and disruption of the plasma membrane, nuclear membrane, nucleolus, mitochondrial membrane, and cristae. Histochemical and biochemical studies carried out parasites exposed to α-viniferin revealed a decline in the activity of vital tegumental enzymes like acid phosphatase, alkaline phosphatase, and adenosine triphosphatase. Extensive structural and functional alterations observed in the treated parasites are indicative of efficient cestocidal activity of the compound.
Assessing meta‐regression methods for examining moderator relationships with dependent effect sizes: A Monte Carlo simulation

Dependent effect sizes are ubiquitous in meta‐analysis. Using Monte Carlo simulation, we compared the performance of 2 methods for meta‐regression with dependent effect sizes—robust variance estimation (RVE) and 3‐level modeling—with the standard meta‐analytic method for independent effect sizes. We further compared bias‐reduced linearization and jackknife estimators as small‐sample adjustments for RVE and Wald‐type and likelihood ratio tests for 3‐level models. The bias in the slope estimates, width of the confidence intervals around those estimates, and empirical type I error and statistical power rates of the hypothesis tests from these different methods were compared for mixed‐effects meta‐regression analysis with one moderator either at the study or at the effect size level. All methods yielded nearly unbiased slope estimates under most scenarios, but as expected, the standard method ignoring dependency provided inflated type I error rates when testing the significance of the moderators. Robust variance estimation methods yielded not only the best results in terms of type I error rate but also the widest confidence intervals and the lowest power rates, especially when using the jackknife adjustments. Three‐level models showed a promising performance with a moderate to large number of studies, especially with the likelihood ratio test, and yielded narrower confidence intervals around the slope and higher power rates than those obtained with the RVE approach. All methods performed better when the moderator was at the effect size level, the number of studies was moderate to large, and the between‐studies variance was small. Our results can help meta‐analysts deal with dependency in their data.
The incidence of thrombocytopenia in children with Cornelia de Lange syndrome

Thrombocytopenia was first reported in Cornelia de Lange syndrome (CdLS) by Froster in 1993. Despite early reports, thrombocytopenia has been rarely reported in this disorder. We performed a retrospective analysis of a large cohort of patients with CdLS. We calculated prevalence of thrombocytopenia in three subsets of this cohort: the entire cohort (n = 1,740), a subset of subjects with substantial clinical records (n = 695) and a subset of subjects with clinical information regarding platelet counts (n = 85). This analysis revealed that 15 have had thrombocytopenia (18% of those with available blood counts); seven had immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). The reported prevalence of pediatric ITP is between 5 and 13 per 100,000 persons. The prevalence of ITP in this cohort is between 7/1,740 and 7/85, giving a relative risk of ITP of between 30 (CI 12–77) and 633 (CI 259–1,549). Contrary to the reported cases in the literature, none of our patients have had progression of the thrombocytopenia nor have they developed other cytopenias. All 15 patients with thromobocytopenia had CdLS based on clinical criteria. Of the 10 patients tested for mutations in NIBPL, 8 had mutations identified. These data support an increased incidence of thrombocytopenia and ITP in CdLS. Subsequently, patients are at risk for spontaneous hemorrhage, and likely increased risk secondary to the high frequency of self‐injurious behavior. Although further studies are needed to better define the scope of the problem and to define the mechanisms of thrombocytopenia in CdLS, we would recommend screening for thrombocytopenia upon diagnosis and at 5‐year intervals thereafter. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Foraging modes of chinstrap penguins: contrasts between day and night

Penguins rely on vision to travel and hunt at sea. Vision in marine predators, particularly those hunting phototactic prey under a broad range of light intensities, must be better understood to realize how these species respond to changes in their environment. We studied the effects of daily cycles in light intensity on visual predators by examining the duration and timing of chinstrap penguins' PjrgosceUs antarctica foraging trips and the size, composition, and timing of their meals. We used radio telemetry and stomach-contents sampling to study adult penguins that were provisioning chicks during the summers of 1993 and 1994 at Seal Island, Antarctica. The penguins rarely initiated or terminated foraging trips at night, but otherwise varied the timing and duration of trips to sea. Cluster analyses using departure and arrival times revealed 5 distinct modes of foraging: 3 were strictly diurnal (early, mid-, and late) and 2 were partly nocturnal (overnight and extended). Durations of diurnal trips (4 to 11 h) were shorter than overnight (13 to 14 h) and extended trips (18 to 22 h). Early and rniddiurnal trips and extended trips were significantly shorter in 1993 than in 1994; late diurnal and overnight trip durations did not differ between years. Diurnal foraging was most common in 1993, whereas overnight foraging predominated in 1994. Shortened diurnal foraging in 1993 appears to have increased the frequency of diurnal foraging by allowing more parent birds to alternate diurnal trips within a single day and by reducing the incidence of birds extending diurnal foraging through the night. That penguins foraged more frequently by day when permitted by shorter trip durations (in 1993) suggests that they opted to forage diurnally whenever possible. Returning dlurnal and overnight foragers had greater than 99 and 74 % Antarctic krill Euphausia superba by weight in their stomachs, respectively However, overnight foragers also returned with significant amounts of highly digested remains of pelagic fish, suggesting birds were in offshore waters talung fish during the night. In contrast, only 1 out of 40 diurnal foragers from both years combined had evidence of fish. Thus, the daily light cycle affected both the timing and duration of chinstrap penguin foraging as well as the type of prey consumed during trips to sea.
An Exploration of the Business Model Concept’s Meaning and Usage in Switzerland:Towards an Application Framework

Although considered a popular and useful tool to support the creation of new enterprises and to develop existing businesses, the business model concept is used so widely and loosely that it may have no clear meaning in practice. A thorough literature review showed that the concept is often discussed theoretically and conceptually but there was a distinct lack of empirical studies of its conceptualisation and application. This research is intended to address this limitation in extant knowledge. The broad research aim was to explore the conceptualisation and application of the business model concept within three Swiss communities of academics, training and consultancy professionals and small business owner-managers. Subsidiary aims were to explore the concept’s perceived limitations, and the ways that members of the three communities have further refined the concept in order to address to its shortcomings. To fulfil these aims, in-depth interviews were conducted with samples of 10 academics with expertise in business models, 13 business support professionals and 12 owner-managers of technology-based small businesses, all located in the German-speaking part of Switzerland. The research findings revealed a high level of diversity in the interpretation and application of the business model concept and in evaluations of its usefulness, both within and across the three samples. There were some interesting general differences between the samples. The academics reflected ideas from the literature while support professionals also offered new application perspectives, but only rarely applied the concept in their work with firms. Only a few SME owner-managers applied the concept in any way and some were unaware of it. The contributions include the finding that the business model concept is understood and applied differently across the three communities, a distinction being made between revenue and ‘advanced’ concept thinking, and the importance of time and emergence in the application of business model thinking. It is shown that SMEs are in a different business model development stage from start-ups and large firms, having different business model needs. The necessity of a framework assisting managers in the creation and diversification of revenue streams is proposed. As a final integrative contribution, the thesis concludes with a conceptual framework differentiating between the two main sub-units ‘value proposition’ and ‘business architecture/logic’ on the one side, and the two main purposes ‘analysis/refinement’ and ‘creation’ on the other side. This four-dimensional framework reduces complexity in application allows for making better-informed business model application decisions.
Coordinate Systems for Modeling the Hydrodynamic Resistance and Diffusion Coefficients of Irregularly Shaped Rigid Macromolecules

The analysis of the deterministic motion of a rigid molecule through a quiescent viscous liquid is properly carried out with the origin of coordinates at the center of reaction (CR). In treating the stochastic motions of the diffusion of this same body, however, the center of diffusion (CD) is the appropriate origin. For an irregularly shaped macromolecule, the CR and CD generally do not coincide with one another or with the center of mass (CM). The CR is that point at which the translation-rotation coupling resistance tensor is symmetric and at which the trace of the rotational resistance tensor is a minimum. The CD, defined as that point where the translation-rotation coupling diffusion tensor is symmetric, is the point at which the trace of the translational diffusion tensor is a minimum; the macroscopic translational diffusion coefficient corresponds to the value calculated there. Expressions are given for the transformation of the various tensors from one coordinate system to another. These equations are used to derive formulas for the locations of the CR and CD. One example is treated, a bent rigid rod composed of two arms each of length L. When the angle between the arms is 90°, the distance between the CR and the CD is 0.03L. The physical basis for the origin dependence of the resistance and diffusion coefficients is discussed, as is the reason that the CM, CR, and CD are generally distinct points.