Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Performance-Based Rankings and School Quality

I study students’ inferences about school quality from performance-based rankings in a dynamic setting. Schools differ in location and unobserved quality; students differ in location and ability. Short-lived students observe a school ranking as a signal about schools’ relative qualities, but this signal also depends on the abilities of schools’ past intakes. Students apply to schools, trading off expected quality against proximity. Oversubscribed schools select applicants based on an admission rule. In steady-state equilibrium, I find that rankings are more informative if more able applicants are given priority in admissions or if students care less about distance to school.
OPINI AUDIT GOING CONCERN

The main purposes of this reseach is to examine the effect of audit quality, company’s financial condition, audit tenuree, company size, company’s growth and audit opinion prior year meeting on acceptance of going concern opinion of manufacturing firm listed on Indonesia Stock Exchange in 2010-2015. Samples are obtained by sampling purposive method and based on the criteria, 37 companies were chosen as the samples of this study. The logistic regression used to examine the factors that are predicted to affect the probability of acceptance of going concern audit opinion. The result of this reseach is that the previous years audit opinion and the company’s financial condition had a significant influence on the audit going concern opinion and the other hand such us audit quality, audit tenuree, company size, company growth do not significantly influence to the going concern opinion. Key Word: audit quality, company’s financial condition, audit tenuree, company size, company’s growth, audit opinion prior year
Impacts of Robotic Process Automation on Global Accounting Services

The aim of this study is to understand the impact of Robotic Process Automation (RPA) on Global Accounting Services (GAS) using the institutional logic lens. This study uses an in-depth case study approach in one of the largest global business services firm that provides global accounting services. The result of the study showed that RPA technology has significant impacts on individual and organization resulted in the change and reduction of work, thus reducing the number of employees. Nevertheless, the introduction of new technology in the organization creates unnecessary competition between humans and robots. Although the RPA technology could solve issues involving humans such as disciplinary problems, employee productivity, and human resource shortages, high level of works such as analytical aspect could not be completely replaced by robots and can only be done by humans.
Deep Supervised Quantization by Self-Organizing Map

Approximate Nearest Neighbour (ANN) search is an important research topic in multimedia and computer vision fields. In this paper, we propose a new deep supervised quantization method by Self-Organizing Map (SOM) to address this problem. Our method integrates the Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) and Self-Organizing Map into a unified deep architecture. The overall training objective includes supervised quantization loss and classification loss. With the supervised quantization loss, we minimize the differences on the maps between similar image pairs, and maximize the differences on the maps between dissimilar image pairs. By optimization, the deep architecture can simultaneously extract deep features and quantize the features into the suitable nodes in the Self-Organizing Map. The experiments on several public standard datasets prove the superiority of our approach over the existing ANN search methods. Besides, as a byproduct, our deep architecture can be directly applied to classification task and visualization with little modification, and promising performances are demonstrated on these tasks in the experiments.
Cybersecurity challenges and practices: A case study of Bhutan

Bhutan is an emerging country with transitioning economy with a vision to become an ICT knowledge-based information society. Many government organizations, businesses and individuals are adopting the Internet for day to day operations and activities. With increasing dependency on information systems, networks, and the Internet; securing and protecting Bhutan’s cyberspace from malicious attackers and cyber criminals is a serious concern. Few scholarly studies related to cybersecurity have been conducted in developing countries. No scholarly and empirical research has been conducted in Bhutan to understand how the government is addressing and managing cybersecurity. This has resulted in a critical knowledge gap that must be addressed urgently through empirical research to guide government policy makers, security professionals and practitioners to develop and implement cybersecurity program. This thesis investigates the development and implementation of cybersecurity policies and practices in government organizations in Bhutan. A sequential mixed methods research design was employed to collect primary data on cybersecurity risks, effectiveness of cybersecurity policies and practices, and perceptions of cybersecurity in government organizations. The research also used secondary data sources such as government reports, print and social media, to validate the results of the research study. The findings suggest that government organizations in Bhutan are vulnerable to cybersecurity risks, such as malware and hacking, and that they lack adequate knowledge and awareness of cybersecurity, cybersecurity policies and procedures, technical controls, and incident response capabilities. Furthermore, the evidence suggests that the use of pirated software and expired security products in many government organizations is rampant and offsets the effectiveness of technical measures. Based on the research findings and analysis, a government cybersecurity framework is proposed, highlighting the key areas necessary for improving cybersecurity in government organizations. It is hoped that the outcomes and findings of this research will benefit other ICT emerging countries.
Processor Tradeoffs in Distributed Real-Time Systems

Optimizing the design of real-time distributed systems is important since the systems are frequently critical to life. This optimization is a difficult problem, and heuristics and designer judgment are called for in the process. The chief cause of the difficulty is the large number of parameters under the designer's control which impact performance and life-cycle cost. We study the interplay between the more important parameters in this paper using two objective measures, i. e. , the mean cost and the probability of dynamic failure in [6], [10]. Among these are the processor burn-in time and processor replacement policy. A central feature of this work is a look at how the application requirements affect the optimality of the distributed systems; indeed, the application requirements are an integral part of the analysis.
Effects of Board Globalizing on Financial Performance of Banks in Nigeria

The Board of Directors (BoD) is the body of strategic decision-making, representation and highest executive body of a firm. A firm`s board can influence the formation of business and investment strategies and policies and ultimately performance. The objective of the study was to examine the effect of banks’ board globalizing on financial performance of quoted banks in Nigeria. The study made use of secondary data which were obtained from the annual reports of ten banks for the years 2011- 2015. The study adopted the ordinary least square (OLS) regression as the basic techniques of analysis and employed both normality and the multi-collinearity tests to examine the features of the data for analysis. Findings of the study reveal that foreign board membership, asset growth and institutional ownership have a significant positive relationship with financial performance of banks. The study also finds no significant relationship between board gender diversity and financial performance as well as a negative relationship between bank riskiness and financial performance of banks in Nigeria. The study recommends amongst others the consolidation of the code of corporate governance and concludes that board globalizing and diversity improves financial performance of banks in Nigeria.
Extended-release epidural morphine and postoperative nausea or vomiting.

A single dose of epidural morphine can provide analgesia for up to 24 hours. Severe postoperative pain may last more than 24 hours and require repeated morphine injections or continuous infusion via an indwelling epidural catheter. Lipid-encapsulated, extended-release epidural morphine (EREM) can
Relative Weights on Performance Measures in a Principal-Agent Model with Moral Hazard and Adverse Selection

This paper examines the role of multiple measures of performance in a principal-agent model incorporating both moral hazard and adverse selection. The outcome of interest to the principal depends stochastically on the agent’s unobservable ability and effort, while the principal implements a contract contingent on two noisy measures of the outcome. There are three main findings. First, the weights assigned the performance measures are reduced in the presence of adverse selection because the informational rent paid to the agent lowers the return to the principal of hiring the agent, but it does not affect how informative one signal is relative to another. Second, the weights assigned the signals are decreasing in the sensitivity of performance to ability. Third, a signal is assigned more weight if and only if it is more precise and sensitive to the agent’s effort; thus, the Banker and Datar (1989) result is robust to the introduction of adverse selection. An empirical test of the model is provided in the context of the CEO pay-for-performance sensitivity and the investment opportunities set (IOS) of the firms they manage. If high IOS firms are more ability-intensive, the model predicts the weights on the performance measures are decreasing in IOS. We examine a sample of 12,221 firm-year observations for 1,411 firms spanning the period 1992-2006 obtained from ExecuComp, CRSP, and Compustat. In agreement with the model, we find that CEO compensation is less sensitive to accounting and stock returns in high IOS firms.
International Tourism Advertisements on Social Media: Impact of Argument Quality and Source

To guarantee sustainable international tourism market growth, challenges for international tourism advertisements (ITAs) include how and by whom they are made. Different to traditional ITAs, a new type of ITA has been created by the international tourists themselves; it contains not only pictures but also their own tour stories, and it is distributed via social media (e.g., Youtube.com). However, few studies have investigated the impacts of this type of ITA. I was challenged to empirically validate the impacts on potential tourist reactions of argument quality and the peer tourist source of ITAs. I developed my research model based on Toulmin’s model of argument, institution-based trust, the information adoption model, and consumer reaction literature. I conducted the quasi-experiment using three types of ITAs that vary by argument quality and advertisement source. A total of 387 data were collected and analyzed using ANOVA and the partial least squares (PLS) analysis. The results indicate that argument quality and peer tourist source significantly increase perceived ITA quality, ITA fit-to-task and trusting belief, and decrease perceived risk. Argument quality and peer tourist source could also significantly increase tourist reactions, such as ITA adoption, planned/unplanned visit, and word-of-mouth intention. These findings could make ITAs more persuasive on social media.
Debt Restructuring with Multiple Bank Relationships

When the debt of firms in distress is dispersed, a restructuring agreement is difficult to reach because of free riding. We develop a repeated game in which banks come across each other frequently, allowing them to threaten a punishment in case of free riding. As the number of lending banks grows, the chance of meeting again a bank and of being punished for free riding increases, improving the likelihood of cooperation. Looking at Italian firms in distress, we find that the restructuring probability increases with the number of banks up to a threshold - three banks - beyond which coordination problems prevail.
A Network Topology Optimization Model Based on Substation and Node-Breaker Modeling

In power system operation, network topology optimization (NTO) based on bus-branch model and opening/closing transmission lines has been previously proposed and utilized as a congestion mitigating tool to reduce operation cost. The bus-branch model cannot provide a detailed picture of all substation switching actions (e.g., bus splitting) that are well known to operators. In this paper, an NTO model based on substation and node-breaker modeling is presented to relieve congestion and consequently reduce cost. The substation reconfiguration provides a practical and realistic picture of switching actions, while having a higher flexibility in switching actions. However, due to introducing more number of nodes and binary variables associated with breakers, solving an NTO model would be challenging. Therefore, some tightening bounds are presented to maintain the reliability and accelerate the computations. Furthermore, using sensitivity analysis of substations, a method to cluster the network to congestion zones is then employed to determine suitable candidate substations for reconfiguration, thus significantly reducing the number of binary variables associated with breaker switchings. The results of applying the NTO model to the IEEE 118-bus test system demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method to remove congestion, while utilizing less number of switching actions compared to bus-branch switching.
Pneumocystis jirovecii Carriage in Portuguese Immunocompetent Patients: Preliminary Results

OLGA MATOS, MARINA CELIA COSTA, ISABEL CORREIA, PAULA MONTEIRO, MIGUEL MONTEIRO, JORGE SOARES, JORGE ROLDAO VIEIRA, MARINA BONNET and FRANCISCO ANTUNES Unidade de Protozoarios Oportunistas/VIH e Outras Protozooses, Centro de Microbiologia e Parasitologia Medica, Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical, Lisboa, Portugal, and Servico de Pneumologia, Hospital de Santa Maria, Lisboa, Portugal, and Servico de Pneumologia, Hospital Garcia de Orta, Almada, Portugal, and Clinica das Doencas Infecciosas, Hospital de Santa Maria, Lisboa, Portugal
Changes of Serum Calcium, Magnesium and Parathyroid Hormone Induced by Hemodialysis with Citrate-Enriched Dialysis Solution

Background/Aims: In recent years, one of technical attempts to improve biocompatibility and tolerability of the hemodialysis procedure is the substitution of acetate in dialysis solution with citrate. The aim of our study was to compare two dialysis solutions: traditional bicarbonate dialysis solution containing acetate (3 mmol/L) (solution A); and (solution C) commercially produced citrate-enriched bicarbonate dialysis solution (0.8 mmol/L citrate). Methods: Patients from a single hemodialysis center (N=126) were included in the study. Both conventional low-flux hemodialysis and on-line hemodiafiltration procedures were studied. Both dialysis solutions contained identical calcium (1.5 mmol/L) and magnesium (0.5 mmol/L) concentrations. Results: Parathyroid hormone (iPTH) concentration decreased during procedures with solution A by 64%. On the contrary, when solution C was used, iPTH concentration increased insignificantly by 4%. For solution A, serum calcium and magnesium increased during procedures in patients with predialysis concentrations lower than 2.33 and 0.76 mmol/L, respectively. In procedures with dialysis solution C these concentrations were significantly lower: 2.19 mmol/L for Ca and 0.68 mmol/L for Mg. Conclusion: Our study clearly shows that the substitution of part of acetate with citrate in dialysis solution significantly influences changes of serum calcium, magnesium and parathyroid hormone concentrations during hemodialysis and hemodiafiltration procedures.
Meta-heuristic algorithm for binary dynamic optimisation problems and its relevancy to timetabling

1 Data Mining and Optimisation Research Group, Centre for Artificial Intelligence Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia 2 Faculty of Information & Communication Technologies, Swinburne University of Technology, Victoria 3122, Australia. 3 The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus, Jalan Broga, 43500 Semenyih Selangor, Malaysia. ayadalrashid@gmail.com, salwani@ukm.edu. my, Nasser.Sabar@nottingham.edu. my
Exploratory analysis of mobile network traffic data: a case of a major mobile network operator in Nigeria/Ayisat Wuraola Yusuf-Asaju, Zulkhairi Md Dahalin, and Azman Ta'a

The most effective and common method of assessing mobile network operator’s (MNO) performance is through customer perception, usually gathered using mail, telephone, or internet-based surveys. However, previous studies have observed that the percentage of responses received from customers are extremely low, because customers do not return and complete the surveys at the stipulated time. To overcome the surveys’ drawbacks, recent studies suggested the use of customer experience data obtained from the mobile network traffic. Therefore, this article explores the data collected from a major mobile network operator in Nigeria to determine whether the variables constituted in the dataset can be used in future to evaluate mobile network operator’s performance. The dataset (data tariff, customer complaints and network quality (uplink and downlink throughput) used in this article was gathered from mobile network traffic. The study examined the gathered dataset in R Programming and the result shows that there is a relationship between data tariff and number of internet subscribers, as well as uplink and downlink throughput, which represents the network quality. Overall, the results from the study suggests the dataset can be used to evaluate the MNOs internet service performance to determine mobile internet customers’ satisfaction.
A Selective Transforming Growth Factor-β Ligand Trap Attenuates Pulmonary Hypertension.

RATIONALE Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) ligands signal via type I and type II serine-threonine kinase receptors to regulate broad transcriptional programs. Excessive TGF-β-mediated signaling is implicated in the pathogenesis of pulmonary arterial hypertension, based in part on the ability of broad inhibition of activin-like kinase (ALK) receptors 4/5/7 recognizing TGF-β, activin, growth and differentiation factor, and nodal ligands to attenuate experimental pulmonary hypertension (PH). These broad inhibition strategies do not delineate the specific contribution of TGF-β versus a multitude of other ligands, and their translation is limited by cardiovascular and systemic toxicity. OBJECTIVES We tested the impact of a soluble TGF-β type II receptor extracellular domain expressed as an immunoglobulin-Fc fusion protein (TGFBRII-Fc), serving as a selective TGF-β1/3 ligand trap, in several experimental PH models. METHODS Signaling studies used cultured human pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells. PH was studied in monocrotaline-treated Sprague-Dawley rats, SU5416/hypoxia-treated Sprague-Dawley rats, and SU5416/hypoxia-treated C57BL/6 mice. PH, cardiac function, vascular remodeling, and valve structure were assessed by ultrasound, invasive hemodynamic measurements, and histomorphometry. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS TGFBRII-Fc is an inhibitor of TGF-β1 and TGF-β3, but not TGF-β2, signaling. In vivo treatment with TGFBRII-Fc attenuated Smad2 phosphorylation, normalized expression of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, and mitigated PH and pulmonary vascular remodeling in monocrotaline-treated rats, SU5416/hypoxia-treated rats, and SU5416/hypoxia-treated mice. Administration of TGFBRII-Fc to monocrotaline-treated or SU5416/hypoxia-treated rats with established PH improved right ventricular systolic pressures, right ventricular function, and survival. No cardiac structural or valvular abnormalities were observed after treatment with TGFBRII-Fc. CONCLUSIONS Our findings are consistent with a pathogenetic role of TGF-β1/3, demonstrating the efficacy and tolerability of selective TGF-β ligand blockade for improving hemodynamics, remodeling, and survival in multiple experimental PH models.
The development of noncontinuity behavior through continuity learning.

Tested the hypothesis that as a rat learns to make a specific discrimination he also learns the response of discriminating by noting whether there is a more rapid learning of a discrimination reversal by rats given an excessive amount of overlearning in the original discrimination problem. Even though the Ss which overlearned the original response to the black card “continued to run longer to the black stimulus card upon reversal, they also learned the reversal to white at a far more rapid rate than did Ss of the other groups. ” (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)
The distribution of axon collaterals from the olfactory bulb and the nucleus of the horizontal limb of the diagonal band to the olfactory cortex, demonstrated by double retrograde labeling techniques

Three different pairs of double retrograde axonal tracers have been used to study the distribution of axon collaterals from individual cells in the olfactory bulb and the nucleus of the horizontal limb of the diagonal band: (1) horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and tritiated apo‐HRP (3H‐HRP), (2) HRP and 125I‐wheat germ agglutinin (I‐WGA), and (3) the flurochromes true blue (TB) and bisbenzimide (BB) or nuclear yellow (NY). With each combination of tracers, paired injections were made into different parts of the olfactory system, and the olfactory bulb and the nucleus of the diagonal band were examined for the presence and arrangement of cells labeled with one or both retrograde tracers.
The green consumer identity formation process: the context of organic food consumption

In recent decades the organic conventionalization and mainstream agro-food sector is more interested in its commercial value than in its original vision, raising the question of whether these products are truly organic. Accordingly, this research based on 31 phenomenological interviews with committed organic consumers in urban and rural areas of Portugal aims to analyse how ethical motivations and ecological awareness are related to organic food consumption. A qualitative approach based on consumer narratives covered three main areas of research: (1) to understand organic consumer motivations and cultural meanings represented by organic consumption; (2) to identify the main barriers in accessing and consuming organic products; and (3), to identify how environmental concerns and ethical behaviour influence organic consumption. The thematic analysis points up aspects related to society and environmental concerns. For these consumers, local organic products consumption made for significant changes in their lives, aiding in the establishment of a green identity, and involves a ‘life philosophy’ perspective. This vision of organic is grounded in a political and ecological perspective, beyond the usual organic definition, as a ‘post-organic’ era. The paper contributes to better understand how an ideological environmental discourse allows to highlight the relation between consumers’ environmental concerns and the politics of food, resulting in a possible transition to new sustainable consumption practices.