Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Intelligent NLP-Driven Text Classification

Information Retrieval (IR) and NLP-driven Information Extraction (IE) are complementary activities. IR helps in locating specific documents within a huge search space (localization) while IE supports the localization of specific information within a document (extraction or explanation). In application scenarios both capabilities are usually needed. IE is important here, as it can enrich the IR inferences with motivating information. Works on Web-based IR suggest that embedding linguistic information (e.g. sense distinctions) at a suitable level within traditional quantitative approaches (e.g. query expansion as in [26]) is a promising approach. "Which linguistic level is best suited to which IR mechanism" is the interesting representational problem posed by the current research stage. This is also the central concern of this paper. A traditional method for efficient text categorization is here presented. Original features of the proposed model are a self-adapting parameterized weighting model and the use of linguistic information. The key idea is the integration of NLP methods within a robust and efficient TC framework. This allows to combine benefits of large scale and efficient IR with the richer expressivity closer to IE. In this paper we capitalize the systematic benchmarking resources available in TC to extensively derive empirical evidence about the above representational problem. The positive experimental results confirm that the proposed TC framework characterizes as a viable approach to intelligent text categorization on a large scale.
Risk factors for breast cancer in women undergoing mammography.

To determine risk factors for carcinoma of the breast, we compared women with cancer on screening and diagnostic mammography with those in whom cancer was not detected. For 39 months, medical histories were collected by mammography technologists on 3492 women having routine screenings or diagnostic mammograms at our institution. Potential risk factors of women with biopsy-proved breast cancer were compared with those in women who had normal findings on mammograms or negative biopsy results (control subjects). Of the 3492 women, 49 had biopsy-proved breast cancer. There were 3361 patients in the control group, including those women with normal findings on mammograms (3294) and those with negative biopsy results (67). Eighty-two women had incomplete questionnaires or were lost to follow up. Nearly all of the patients with breast cancer were postmenopausal compared with 68% of the control subjects. The mean length of lactation for breast cancer patients was significantly less than for control subjects: 5.6 vs 7.5 weeks (p = .015). This was true also for the postmenopausal patients: 8.1 vs 6.1 weeks (p = .041). Postmenopausal breast cancer patients had menstruated significantly more years (p = .016) than the postmenopausal control subjects: 34 vs 31 years, although the mean age at menarche was not different. When corrected for age, there was no significant difference in the total duration of menstruation in the postmenopausal cancer patients compared with the postmenopausal control subjects. Postmenopausal breast cancer patients had a significantly greater (p = .021) average body weight than postmenopausal control subjects: 71.7 vs 66.7 kg, although body weight was the same when all patients were considered. Similar results were found when Quetelet's index for obesity (weight in kg/height in cm2) (p = .004) was calculated for postmenopausal patients: 28 for cancer patients and 26 for control subjects. There was no significant difference in height between the cancer patients and control subjects when all patients or just the postmenopausal patients were considered. History of oral contraceptive use was significantly less common among postmenopausal breast cancer patients than among postmenopausal control subjects: 9% vs 20%. Patients with breast cancer had lower parity than the control subjects. In our series of patients, women in whom breast cancer was detected on mammography lactated less, showed no significant difference in years of menstruation when corrected for age, had a greater average body weight, used oral contraceptives less often, and had fewer children than women in whom no cancer was detected on mammography.
The impact mechanism of social networks on Chinese rural–urban migrant workers’ behaviour and wages

Chinese domestic rural–urban migrant workers have played a substantial role in economic development since the late 1970s. This article makes an attempt to establish a two-period hiring model interpreting the impact mechanism of social networks on migrant workers’ wages. The findings indicate that the extension of social networks of both firms and workers facilitates a decrease in the information gap between them and improves extra common benefits to both.
Verbal self-monitoring and auditory verbal hallucinations in patients with schizophrenia

Background. Contemporary cognitive models of auditory verbal hallucinations propose that they arise through defective self-monitoring. We used a paradigm that engages verbal self-monitoring to investigate this theory in patients with schizophrenia. Methods. Ten patients with auditory verbal hallucinations and delusions (hallucinators), eight patients with delusions but no hallucinations (non-hallucinators), and 20 non-psychiatric control subjects were tested. Participants read single adjectives aloud, under the following randomized conditions: reading aloud; reading aloud with acoustic distortion of their own voice; reading aloud with alien feedback (someone else's voice); and reading aloud with distorted alien feedback. Immediately after articulating each word, participants identified the source of the speech they heard (‘self’/‘other’/‘unsure’), via a button press. Response choice and reaction time were recorded. Results. When reading aloud with distorted feedback of their own voice, patients in both groups made more errors than controls; they either misidentified its source or were unsure. Hallucinators were particularly prone to misattributing their distorted voice to someone else, and were more likely to make errors when the words presented were derogatory. Both patient groups made faster decisions than controls about the source of distorted or alien speech, but faster responses were only associated with errors in the former condition. Conclusions. Impaired verbal self-monitoring was evident in both hallucinators and non-hallucinators. As both groups had delusions, the results suggest an association between delusions and impaired judgements about ambiguous sensory stimuli. The specific tendency of hallucinators to misattribute their distorted voice to someone else may reflect impaired awareness of internally generated verbal material.
An Analysis of the Comprehensive Implementation of Strategic Plans in Emerging Economies: The United Arab Emirates as a Case Study

Despite the potentially important impact of strategy implementation on organizational performance, relatively little has been discovered so far about its antecedents and consequences. This study aims to help fill this gap by exploring the antecedents and consequences of the comprehensiveness of strategic plan implementation. Out of 500 questionnaires, 231 usable ones were collected from United Arab Emirates (UAE) public organizations. We find that our three factors of strategy formulation, namely, adoption of intended mode of strategy, enhancing employees' participation, and minimizing political behavior significantly influence the comprehensiveness of strategic plan implementation, which in turn has a significant positive impact on the effectiveness of strategic planning. We discuss our empirical results, the potential influence of culture, implications for both theory and practice, the limitations of the research and several avenues for future study.
Holding Schools Accountable: Performance-Based Reform in Education.

"Perhaps the most urgentand complextask facing American education today is to figure out how to hold schools accountable for improved academic achievement. In this important new work, Helen Ladd and her colleagues describe the options available to policymakers, weigh their respective strengths and pitfalls, and lay out principles for creating schools where learning is the number one objective. This book should be at the top of the reading list for anyone seriously interested in transforming the quality of American schools. "Edward B. Fiske, Former Education Editor, The New York Times A central theme of current efforts to reform elementary and secondary education in the United States is a more explicit focus on the outcomes of the educational system. This volume examines efforts throughout the country to hold schools accountable for the academic performance of their students. Researchers from various disciplinesmost notably, economics, educational policy and management, and political scienceaddress a range of questions related to performance- based strategies for reforming education. The authors describe and evaluate programs that recognize and reward the most effective schools, discuss the costs of achieving high performance, summarize what is known about parental choice as an accountability mechanism, and provide new evidence on the relationship between school inputs and educational outcomes. Grounded in the actual experiences of various states and school districts, the book provides a wealth of new information and provocative insights. Contributors argue that programs to hold schools accountable for student performance must be carefully designed to assure that schools are treated fairly; that vouchers, if used, should be directed toward low-income families; that resources do indeed matterpoor school districts may well require additional funding to increase student learning. In addition to the editor, the contributors include Charles T. Clotfelter, David K. Cohen, Richard F. Elmore, Ronald F. Ferguson, Susan H. Fuhrman, Eric A. Hanushek, Caroline Minter Hoxby, Richard J. Murnane, John F. Witte, and John McHenry Yinger. "
Effect of Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation on Reducing Spasticity in Patients Suffering From HTLV-1–Associated Myelopathy

Purpose: Human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 has been implicated in human T-lymphotropic virus type 1–associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP). Regarding its endemicity in Iran and the role of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in reducing spasticity, we decided to evaluate the efficacy of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in reducing spasticity (as primary outcome) and pain, muscle power, and quality of life (as secondary outcomes) in patients suffering from HAM/TSP. Methods: In this pretest–posttest study, nine definite patients with HAM/TSP (according to WHO guidelines) were recruited. All patients underwent five consecutive daily sessions of active repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (each session consisting of 20 trains of 10 pulses at 5 Hz and an intensity of 90% of resting motor threshold for the biceps brachii muscle). Main outcome measures including spasticity (by modified Ashworth scale), pain (by visual analog scale), muscle power, and quality of life (by SF 36) were measured before the study and days 5, 7, 30 after the termination of the sessions. Results: Seven (77.8%) females and 2 (22.2%) males were recruited with the mean age of 52 ± 12.67 years, and the mean duration of the disease was 5 ± 3.94. Comparison of the repeated measures showed a statistically significant decrease in pain and spasticity in lower limbs. The decrement in spasticity was persistent even 30 days after the intervention; however, the pain reduction was seen only 5 days after the procedure. No change in quality of life, and muscle power was detected. Conclusions: It seems that repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation could decrease spasticity and pain in patients with HAM/TSP, and this effect could persistently continue by 1 month, but it did not influence patients' muscle power and quality of life, and it could be used as an adjuvant therapy in patients suffering from human T-lymphotropic virus type 1–associated HAM/TSP.
Effect of diagnosis and treatment of inoperable cervical cancer on quality of life among women receiving radiotherapy at Kenyatta National Hospital.

BACKGROUND Cancer of the uterine cervix is the most common female cancer in Kenya. Despite being preventable, it is often diagnosed when it is already late. For this reason, only palliative therapy is provided. Hence, it is expected that their daily routines and that of their caregivers are severely disrupted. OBJECTIVES To determine the extent to which diagnosis and treatment of inoperable cervical carcinoma affects quality of life (QOL). DESIGN Cross-sectional descriptive study. Setting Radiotherapy Department at the Kenyatta National Hospital. SUBJECTS Women undergoing radiotherapy for inoperable cervical cancer. RESULTS There is high prevalence of profound disruptions in nearly all domains of QOL. In the social domain, between 33% and 44% had the perception that family members and friends had withdrawn social support. Reduction in various economic facets was reported by 47.4%-52.6%, with 44.7% reporting a fall in the overall living standards. There were significant changes in the sexual domain, as a result in which 28.3% reported marital discordance. In the personality domain, decreased self-esteem and self-projection in life occurred in 30.9% and 36.2% respectively. On functional outcomes (EORTC QLQ-C30), only 32%-41% reported not being affected in the various facets of emotional function. Physical functions were affected in 19%-79%, role functions in 69%-75%; symptoms in 49%-80%; cognitive functions in 46%-56%; social functions in 63%-71% and financial aspects by 63%. On global QOL, 53% and 47% respectively reported high level disruption in overall physical health and overall QOL. CONCLUSION Severe deterioration of QOL occurs as a result of diagnosis of inoperable cervical cancer and subsequent therapies. For this reason there is need to establish severe disease and end-of-life research and management services that would ensure better coping with cancer for patients and for home-based caregivers.
Communalism Versus Race/Ethnicity: Which Predicts What Pedagogical Strategies Will Be Culturally Relevant? Or Do You Need Both?

Research on Culturally Relevant Pedagogy claims that culture drives students’ attitudes and behaviors to determine what learning contexts best scaffold learning but operationalizes race/ethnicity. This study extends the developmental range of this work and compares race/ethnicity and self-reported group orientation as predictors. In total, 138 high school (Study 1) and 118 college (Study 2) students completed a math task after a learning session. Race/ethnicity alone was not predictive. High group orientation students performed best after communal learning, while low scorers did best after competitive learning in both studies. This was true for Black participants only. More nuanced examination of these issues is needed.
Home orthostatic training in vasovagal syncope modifies autonomic tone: results of a randomized, placebo-controlled pilot study.

AIMS To detect possible autonomic changes due to home orthostatic training (HOT) and to assess the feasibility of a larger, placebo-controlled study of HOT in vasovagal syncope (VVS). METHODS AND RESULTS Twenty-two consecutive patients, aged 18-85, diagnosed with VVS following a positive head-up tilt-table test were randomized to 40 min of HOT (n = 12) or 10 min of sham training (n = 10) daily for 6 months. Baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) and heart rate variability (HRV) were measured at weeks 0, 1, 4, and 24. Symptom response was assessed by event diaries. Home orthostatic training resulted in increases in up and down slope BRS at week 4 (e(log difference) = 1.59, 95% CI = 0.84-3.03 and 1.79, 95% CI = 1.00-3.22) and week 24 (e(log difference) = 1.75, 95% CI = 1.01-3.06 and 1.53, 95% CI = 0.66-2.68) compared with placebo. Relative improvements in low- and high-frequency HRV were also observed in the HOT group compared with placebo at week 4 (e(log difference) = 3.22, 95% CI = 1.06-9.86 and 3.19, 95% CI = 1.03-10.59) and week 24 (e(log difference) = 2.11, 95% CI = 0.72-6.17 and 2.13, 95% CI = 0.52-8.79). Fifty percentage of HOT subjects and 20% of control subjects were syncope-free at 6 months. CONCLUSION This was the first placebo-controlled study in orthostatic training which has demonstrated that such a study is indeed feasible. An enhancement in overall autonomic tone is observed with HOT in tandem with a non-significant trend in symptom improvement. A larger, adequately powered, randomized controlled trial of tilt-training is now needed.
Conditional Asset Pricing with a Large Information Set

Dynamic factors summarize the information in a large number of variables and are therefore intuitively appealing proxies for the information set available to investors. This paper demonstrates that conditioning on dynamic factors instead of commonly used instruments substantially reduces the pricing errors implied by conditional models. Dynamic factors are further shown to exhibit incremental explanatory power over benchmark conditioning variables. The results withstand a number of robustness tests and carry important implications for the specification of conditional asset pricing models in applied research and practice.
Partisanship and Non-Partisanship Among American Indians

This research examines the partisan inclinations of American Indians, a minority population with a complicated history with the U.S. government and American society. The empirical analyses identify Native Americans as preferring the Democratic Party over the Republican Party. The impact of being Native American on identification with the Democratic Party is sizable, equivalent to the effect for being Hispanic, Asian, or female. In addition, American Indians demonstrate a pronounced tendency to not affiliate with a major American political party. The higher incidence of non-identification among Native Americans likely results from the importance of their claims for sovereignty and, relatedly, living separate from much of American society. Unlike other broad-based social groups in American politics, Native Americans disseminate cues that reduce the tendency of their members to affiliate with a major political party.
Endovascular Managment for Intracranial Carotid Artery Aneurysms

Objective: To assess safety and effectiveness of endovascular management for different types of intracranial carotid artery aneurysms. Patients and Methods: prospective and retrospective review of intracranial carotid artery aneurysms treated by endovascular procedures in Al-Azhar University Endovascular Center and other centers. Twenty patients met inclusion criteria. Results: fourteen medium sized, nine small, four large and one giant aneurysm. Seventeen narrow necks, eleven wide-necks and seven have involved branches in neck. Twenty-three cases were treated with coiling, three cases were treated with stent-assisted coiling and two cases were treated with stenting as flow diverter. Conclusion: pre-procedural conscious patients with GCS15 or 14 associated with better outcome. PcomA, Ophthalmic and Choroidal aneurysms were associated with better outcome after endovascular procedures. Coiling of narrow neck aneurysms was associated with better outcome.
The Influence of Visitors’ Satisfaction on Expenditure Behaviour

This study analyses spending behaviour of international visitors to Italy. In specific it focuses on the impact that visitors’ satisfaction with different attributes of the trip exerts on expenditure among different service categories. Despite a general recognition by the economic literature that customer satisfaction exerts a positive effect on both economic returns and brand loyalty, very few academic studies explored the relationship between tourists’ satisfaction with a destination and spending behaviour. This study focuses on the 1,030 visitors who travelled to the provinces Bolzano, Trento, and Belluno (Northern Italy), an area around the Dolomites. The Double-hurdle model with the Heien and Wessells estimator is applied. Discussion of the empirical evidence is aimed at highlighting the main relations between expenditure behaviour and satisfaction. Policy implications and managerial issues for tourism destinations are also presented.
An Econometric Analysis Of The Impact Of Economic Freedom On Economic Growth In The Sadc

The SADC is attempting to achieve development and economic growth. By improving economic freedom, a country can experience sustained economic growth without increasing fundamental inputs i.e. labour and capital. This study tests the effects of population growth, openness and economic freedom on economic growth as well as the causality between economic freedom and economic growth. A panel data model is used due to the lack of data for individual SADC countries. The fixed effects model is statistically significant and allows county-specific differences, arising from independent variables, to be measured. Results reveal that population growth positively affects economic growth although it is not significant. Openness is positively related to economic growth. However, the magnitude of this openness relationship is relatively small. Economic freedom has a significantly favourable effect on economic growth, stronger than that of openness. The Granger causality test confirms the direction of causality, economic freedom precedes economic growth.
Managerial Overconfidence, Government Intervention and Corporate Financing Decision

Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of managerial overconfidence on corporate financing decision and the moderating effect of government ownership on the relationship between managerial overconfidence and corporate financing decision. Design/methodology/approach - – Pooled OLS, fixed effect models (FEM), and Tobit regressions are employed to examine the relationship between managerial overconfidence, government ownership and corporate financing decision of publicly listed companies in Malaysia for the period of 2002-2011. Findings - – The authors conclude that: first, CEO overconfidence is significantly and negatively related to corporate financing decision; second, a higher degree of managerial overconfidence would result in lower leverage in GLCs, whereas the effect does not significantly exist in NGLCs; third, a larger ownership of government in a firm will reduce the negative effect of managerial overconfidence on corporate financing decision; fourth, the moderating effect of government ownership on the association between managerial overconfidence and corporate financing decision in GLCs is more effective than NGLCs; and fifth, government intervention plays its role as moderating effect on the relationship between managerial overconfidence and corporate financing decision in firms with lower ownership concentration but not in firms with high ownership concentration (more or equal than 50 percent). Practical implications - – The finding implies that the moderating effect of government ownership on the association between managerial overconfidence and corporate financing decision in GLCs is more effective than NGLCs. Originality/value - – The authors make the first attempt to test the moderating effect of government ownership on the relationship between ownership concentration and corporate financing decision.