Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
ECOLE POLYTECHNIQUE

: The application of the controllability principle to eliminate external factors remains problematic in practice. A key issue concerns the fact that the manager may get some private pre-decision signal about this external environment and may use this information to mitigate or amplify its impact. The question is analyzed in a multitask agency model in which the agent has a limited liability, thus earns rents and is not indifferent to the task performed. Under certain conditions, it is proved that the optimal contract only selectively eliminates the impact of the environment. It does neutralize it if the agent reports a signal of low impact of the environment but does not filter it out if the agent reports a signal of high impact.
Returns to science: computer networks in oceanography

science has been raainly an ad hoc enterprise. One vision of the future is the Collaboratory: a "combination of technology, tools, and infrastructure that allows scientists to work with remote facilities (co-laboratory) and one another (collaboratory) as if they were colocated and effectively interfaced" [17]. In this article we examine the alternative theories of the returns to science from networking, present early results from one group of networked research scientists, and discuss some implications for policy and technical development. The ! general case is familiar: benefits to science from network technology derive from scientists' increased access to remote scientific resources. These resources include scarce and expensive technology such as the space telescope or supercomputers, large databases such as those for DNA sequences or satellite weather images, or scientific-literature databases such as Chemical Abstracts. They include services such as" mail-order" fulfillment of requests for reprints, algorithms, or even experimental-chip fabrication. They also include the time and attention of other scientists, accessible through electronic mail, b-boards, and telecon-ferences. Increasing ease of access to these resources should lead to a con-comitant increase in scientific productivity. This argument has gone unchal-lenged even though, generally speaking , computer technologies have not had empirically strong effects on productivity in any industry. In his wide-ranging review of sectoral, industrial, and organizational studies, Attewell [2] shows that these studies fail to demonstrate a positive association of investments in computer technologies with productivity. For instance, P. Weill [27] divided computer investments of 33 strategic business units into "strategic systems" (e.g., an inventory system allowing sales staff to give accurate delivery time estimates), "transactional systems" (e.g., accounts payable, order entry), and information systems (e.g., email, networked databases). Transactional-system investments (23 % of the total) were related to better performance as measured by improved Return on Assets (ROA) and lower nonproduc-tion labor costs adjusted for sales. But strategic-systems investments (which had a negative effect in the short run) and information systems were unrelated to any performance measure. Scientists who use computer networks extensively claim that those networks have already enhanced their productivity and changed the nature of their work [16, 20, 21, 24]. Despite such claims and confident predictions for the future, there has been no systematic empirical research on how computer network support for science is related to important scientific outcomes , including productivity [4, 8, 9, 11]. 1 We therefore decided to do such a study and collected data from
Prevalence of depression & assessment of risk factors among school going adolescents.

Background: Adolescents comprise nearly one-fifth of the total population of India. Undiagnosed adolescent depression can have potentially long term serious consequences along with increased risk of suicide. Objectives: To find out the prevalence of depression among school going adolescents and the socio environmental risk factors associated with it. Materials and Methods: A cross sectional study was carried out among 1632 school going adolescents (13-19yrs) in the rural and urban areas of district Ambala. Two pretested questionnaires were used. Depression subscale of Symptom Check List 80 (SCL 80) was used for ascertaining the prevalence of depression and a self-report questionnaire to assess effect of socio-environmental factors. Results: 29.9% adolescents had evidence of depression having cut off score > 13 in depression subscale of SCL 80. Most of the students in depression syndrome group were found to be suffering from mild category 22.9% followed by moderate category 7%. Depression was found to be associated with increasing age, low socio economic status and urban students. Conclusion: Regular screening of adolescents for depression and strengthening of school health services could provide the impetus for detection, prevention & management of adolescent depression.
Ethnobotanical survey of some Cameroonian plants used for treatment of viral diseases

In this study, five species (Enantia cholorantha Oliv., Pteleopsis hylodendron Mildbr. and Spathodea campanulata P. Beauv., Costus afer Ker-Gawler and Mormodica charantia L.) belonging to five families were used for treatment of viral diseases including chicken pox, measles, influenza, shingles and viral hepatitis. The ethnobotanical survey of plant medicine was conducted in the Centre and South regions of Cameroon. The study aim was to obtain information on the use of plants in the treatment of viral diseases, the plant organs used, method of preparing herbal antiviral remedies and how it is administered, with a view to contribute to the search of new natural antiviral medicines. Results showed that traditional prescription of viral diseases generally included drinking, purging and steam bathing of the aqueous herbal preparations until symptoms of the disease disappear. This study shows the need for the enlightenment of traditional healers and the public in general on selective use of plants for the treatment of viral diseases.
Arabic Natural Language Processing: Challenges and Solutions

The Arabic language presents researchers and developers of natural language processing (NLP) applications for Arabic text and speech with serious challenges. The purpose of this article is to describe some of these challenges and to present some solutions that would guide current and future practitioners in the field of Arabic natural language processing (ANLP). We begin with general features of the Arabic language in Sections 1, 2, and 3 and then we move to more specific properties of the language in the rest of the article. In Section 1 of this article we highlight the significance of the Arabic language today and describe its general properties. Section 2 presents the feature of Arabic Diglossia showing how the sociolinguistic aspects of the Arabic language differ from other languages. The stability of Arabic Diglossia and its implications for ANLP applications are discussed and ways to deal with this problematic property are proposed. Section 3 deals with the properties of the Arabic script and the explosion of ambiguity that results from the absence of short vowel representations and overt case markers in contemporary Arabic texts. We present in Section 4 specific features of the Arabic language such as the nonconcatenative property of Arabic morphology, Arabic as an agglutinative language, Arabic as a pro-drop language, and the challenge these properties pose to ANLP. We also present solutions that have already been adopted by some pioneering researchers in the field. In Section 5 we point out to the lack of formal and explicit grammars of Modern Standard Arabic which impedes the progress of more advanced ANLP systems. In Section 6 we draw our conclusion.
The Effectiveness and Ethical Justification of Psychiatric Outpatient Commitment

Studies link involuntary outpatient commitment with improved patient outcomes, fueling debate on its ethical justification. This study compares inpatient utilization for committed outpatients in the 1990s with those who were not under outpatient civil commitment orders. Findings reveal committed outpatients had higher utilization of inpatient services and restraint episodes prior to their commitment compared with a control group. Committed outpatients also were more likely to have been on discharge status at the time of admission, have been admitted involuntarily under emergency legal procedures, and have had a greater number of admissions and hospital days prior to their commitment. Following commitment, patients had fewer hospitalizations, shorter lengths of stay, fewer seclusion episodes and hours, and fewer restraint episodes and hours. Findings are discussed within the context of parens patriae and therapeutic jurisprudence, and support medical and public policy justifications for ethical uses of outpatient civil commitment laws for seriously mentally ill patients.
Study on the prevalence and underlying factors of myopia among the students of a medical college in Kerala

Background: Few decades earlier, wearing spectacles was a province of adults over 40 years of age. Now we see more children and adolescents with spectacles/contact lenses. Various studies in Asian population show a dramatic increase in refractive error, especially myopia among school and college students. More advanced levels of education like medical education that involves extensive near work such as reading and writing have been repeatedly associated with greater myopia prevalence Objective: To study the prevalence and the underlying factors of myopia in MBBS students of a Medical college in Kerala. Research methodology: One hundred and sixty two MBBS students (2009 - 2012 batches) were examined. 40 students were selected from each class by systematic random sampling technique, their visual acuity was checked using Snellen’s Chart and Diopters were obtained. Details of factors were obtained using a questionnaire. Results: Prevalence of myopia was observed as 39.5%. First and second year students had a greater percentage of myopia with 40% & 52.5% respectively. 40.6% of myopics had positive family history of myopia (p = 0.003). Duration of TV watching and computer use showed a significant relation with myopia. (p = 0. 033, 0.009). Reading hours, type of light used, playing or texting with cell phone and sleeping habits of students were not significant. Conclusion: Prevalence of myopia was high among medical students (39.5%). Significance of genetic predisposition was well appreciated in our study.
Improving acute and long-term myocardial infarction care : bridging the gap between science and practice

The main topic of this thesis was the design, implementation and subsequent evaluation of an all-phases integrated care program for patients with acute myocardial infarction: the MISSION! protocol. The aim of MISSION! was to improve daily care for patients with an acute myocardial infarction by implementation of the most recent guidelines into clinical practice. Although prior surveys did show an improvement of care over the years, still a major gap exists between optimal care and daily clinical practice. Important aspect of MISSION! was the alignment of treatment strategies of the different healthcare professionals involved in the treatment of AMI patients. By doing so, unnecessary and harmful treatment delays were reduced and long-term care for patients with an acute myocardial infarction was improved. Within the implementation of the MISSION! protocol it became possible to perform clinical evaluation studies. For example, the development of left ventricular remodeling after myocardial infarction was studied. By early identification of patients prone to develop left ventricular dilatation it may become possible to intervene at an early stage by optimizing drug-treatment, surgery or resynchronization therapy. In this thesis, the results of two studies are reported aimed at identifying predictors of left ventricular remodeling after acute myocardial infarction. Moreover, studies were performed to investigate plaque characteristics of the infarct-related coronary artery and to evaluate the use of drug-eluting stents in patients with acute myocardial infarction. In the SHIVA study, conventional cardiovascular risk factors and Framingham-risk scores were assessed in asymptomatic 3rd to 7th generation Asian Indian descendants, compared to Europeans. It appeared that young Asian Indians exhibited frequently an unfavorable cardiovascular risk profile.
The role of hip abductor and external rotator muscle strength in the development of exertional medial tibial pain: a prospective study

Objective To prospectively identify proximal risk factors contributing to the development of exertional medial tibial pain (EMTP). Methods Data were prospectively collected on healthy female students in physical education, who were freshmen in 2010–2011 and 2011–2012. 95 female students, aged 18.15±0.84, were tested at the beginning of their first academic year. Testing included isokinetic hip strength measurements of the abductors, adductors, internal rotators and external rotators. The follow-up of the individulas was assessed using a weekly online questionnaire and a 3-monthly retrospective control questionnaire. EMTP was diagnosed by an experienced MD (Doctor of Medicine). Cox regression analysis was used to identify the potential risk factors for the development of EMTP. Results 21 individuals were diagnosed with EMTP during follow-up. The results of this study identified that decreased hip abductor concentric strength is a predictive parameter for the development of EMTP in females. More specifically, total work (p=0.010) and average power (p=0.045) for concentric abduction strength were found to be significant predictors for this lower leg overuse injury. Conclusions Hip abductor weakness is a significant predictor for EMTP in women. Preventive screening methods for EMTP should therefore include this proximal contributing factor.
Meaning and Management of Food Security Among Rural Elders

Food insecurity is the limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods, or limited or uncertain ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways. This study uses fixed response and textual data obtained through in-depth interviews with adults 70 years and older from a multiethnic population in rural North Carolina to examine the incidence of food insecurity and how older adults experience food insecurity and maintain food security. We interviewed 145 elders up to five times over the course of 1 year. Responses to standard food insecurity questions indicate that only 12% of older adults experience food insecurity. However, analysis of textual data reveals common themes concerning food insecurity that suggest that these questions may underestimate the number of rural elders who are food insecure and not tap the potential vulnerability of others who are dependent on precarious nutritional self-management strategies to meet their needs.
Modeling soil: realtime dynamic models for soil slippage and manipulation

A physically based model of an object is a mathematical representation of its behavior, which incorporates principles of Newtonian physics. Dynamic soil models are required in animations and realtime interactive simulations in which changes of natural terrain are involved. Analytic methods, based on soil properties and Newtonian physics, are presented in the paper to model soil slippage and soil manipulations. These methods can be used to calculate the evolution of a given soil configuration under the constraint of volume conservation and to simulate excavating activities such as digging, cutting, piling, carrying or dumping soil. Numerical algorithms with linear time and space complexities are also developed to meet the requirement of realtime computer simulation. CR Categories: I.3. 7 [Computer Graphics]: Graphics and Realism; I.6. 3 [Simulation and Modeling]: applications. Additional
Pharmacokinetics of isoniazid in Ethiopian children with tuberculosis in relation to the N-acetyltransferase 2 (NAT2 ) genotype

Until recently, the dose of isoniazid used to treat tuberculosis was the same for all patient groups. However, the pharmacokinetic profile of isoniazid varies across different populations. A comparative, observational, single-dose, 5 h study was conducted evaluating the pharmacokinetics of isoniazid in Ethiopian children. Pharmacokinetic parameters for a dose of 5 mg/kg and NAT2 genotype were determined in 29 children with tuberculosis (<15 years, with mean age of 8.6). Initially, univariate analyses evaluated covariates that exhibited associations (p < 0.2) with isoniazid pharmacokinetic parameters. Covariates with associations, acetylator genotype (p < 0.01) and age (p < 0.1) were further analysed with multiple linear regression. Sixteen (55%) were genotyped as rapid and 13 (45%) as slow acetylators. Four rapid acetylators had 2 and 3 h post-dose concentrations of < 3 and 1.5 ug/ml, respectively. Multiple linear regression analyses revealed acetylator status to be the only predictor of k, area under the curve (AUC2→5h), and isoniazid concentrations at 2, 3, 4 and 5 h. The mean values of these variables were also found to differ between genotypes (p < 0.0025). These findings reaffirm that 5 mg/kg isoniazid dose may not provide adequate plasma drug levels in all paediatric patients. Thus, isoniazid dose for children should be higher than 5 mg/kg body weight to cover the diverse acetylation kinetics. Key words: Acetylator status, paediatric tuberculosis, isoniazid, pharmacokinetics, NAT2, Ethiopia.
Study Of Management Development Effectiveness Of Banking Organizations In Pakistan

The objectives of the present study are to assess the effectiveness of management development (MD) programs in Pakistani banking sector, identify factors affecting the success of MD and investigate relationships among those factors that affect MD effectiveness.The research employed a blend of qualitative and quantitative methodologies.Based on extensive literature review a model of MD effectiveness was developed and tested with structural equation modeling techniques.The achieved sample for the current study consisted of managers from 33 banking organizations operating in Rawalpindi/Islamabad using “self-reported rating” survey questionnaire and interviews which resulted in 168 completed responses and 25 in-depth interviews.Although participants of the study were very hopeful regarding bright future of MD in Pakistan yet the current level of MD effectiveness is not high.Both lack of trainees’ seriousness in self-development and less top management support for MD were found serious threats to effectiveness.Observed model of MD effectiveness had a good fit with the predicted model and all paths were significant.Individual initiatives for self-development, MD program design and opportunity for skill utilization were the three variables most closely associated with MD effectiveness.Top management should assign higher priority to MD.Pakistani organizations should create strong link between their MD efforts and their corporate strategies, focus more on creating positive training attitude of their employees, provide training program which are flexible enough, contents of MD programs must be relevant to company’s real problems and issues and provide maximum opportunities to utilize knowledge and skills gained through development program in the work place. Risk taking and new ideas should be encouraged.The reward system needs revising and a continuous learning environment ought to be established for effective MD in Pakistan.This study, for the first time, assessed the current state of MD effectiveness in Pakistan and contributes to the present stock of knowledge and understanding of the subject by contextualizing the concept of “MD effectiveness” in Pakistani banking sector.
INCORPORATION OF CpG OLIGODEOXYNUCLEOTIDES INTO α2-MACROGLOBULIN: DEVELOPMENT OF A NOVEL VACCINE ADJUVANT DELIVERY MECHANISM

INCORPORATION OF CpG OLIGODEOXYNUCLEOTIDES INTO α2-MACROGLOBULIN: DEVELOPMENT OF A NOVEL VACCINE ADJUVANT DELIVERY MECHANISM by Ryan Berger Anderson Department of Pathology Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Salvatore V. Pizzo, M.D., Ph.D., Chairman of Committee ___________________________ George J. Cianciolo, Ph.D. ___________________________ Soman N. Abraham, Ph.D. ___________________________ Herman F. Staats, Ph.D. ___________________________ Jeffrey R. Dawson, Ph.D. An abstract of a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Pathology in the Graduate School of Duke University 2007 Copyright by Ryan Berger Anderson 2007
Access to employment: A supported employment project to enable mental health service users to obtain jobs within mental health teams

This paper considers the importance of employment for people who experience serious mental health problems, together with the shortage of employment opportunities for them. A supported employment project is described. People who experience serious mental health problems are recruited to clinical posts within an inner London mental health service. These ' user employees' are provided with assistance during the recruitment process, and afterwards in their initial training and ongoing employment. Service users have thus far been employed as mental health support workers, nursing assistants, care assistants, physiotherapy assistants and occupational therapy assistants. The problems encountered in this initiative, and the solutions sought, are outlined. The project has provided much needed employment opportunities for people who have experienced serious mental health problems. It has also recognised the special skills and expertise of users and made these available to other users and staff within the service.
Redesigning the string hash table, burst trie, and BST to exploit cache

A key decision when developing in-memory computing applications is choice of a mechanism to store and retrieve strings. The most efficient current data structures for this task are the hash table with move-to-front chains and the burst trie, both of which use linked lists as a substructure, and variants of binary search tree. These data structures are computationally efficient, but typical implementations use large numbers of nodes and pointers to manage strings, which is not efficient in use of cache. In this article, we explore two alternatives to the standard representation: the simple expedient of including the string in its node, and, for linked lists, the more drastic step of replacing each list of nodes by a contiguous array of characters. Our experiments show that, for large sets of strings, the improvement is dramatic. For hashing, in the best case the total space overhead is reduced to less than 1 bit per string. For the burst trie, over 300MB of strings can be stored in a total of under 200MB of memory with significantly improved search time. These results, on a variety of data sets, show that cache-friendly variants of fundamental data structures can yield remarkable gains in performance.