Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Risk factors associated with high blood pressure in adolescents

High levels of arterial blood pressure in childhood and adolescence have been often associated with other cardiovascular risk factors – apart from arterial hypertension in the adult stage of life. The present study aimed at identifying risk factors associated with high blood pressure in adolescents. The subjects were 674 adolescents from public and private schools in the city of João Pessoa, Paraíba. These subjects were of both sexes (i.e., 303 boys and 371 girls) and their ages spanned from 14 to 17 years old. By means of a questionnaire, information about the following aspects was gathered: a) socio-demographic status; b) physical activity levels; c) eating habits; d) body mass index; e) consumption of alcohol and smoking. Moreover, measurements of arterial pressure (AP) showed that the prevalence of high AP was 7.4%, being higher in boys (10.2%) when compared with girls (5.1%, p < 0.01). The results of the multivaried analysis indicated that overweight adolescents displayed from five to six times more chance of having high AP than adolescents with light/normal weight (boys: OR = 5.5; CI 95% = 1.11-27.53, and girls: OR = 4.8; CI 95% = 1.51-15.45). The other variables did not seem to be associated with high AP. In this study, among the various risk factors analyzed, body overweight acted out as the only potential risk factor increasing arterial blood pressure in adolescents, irrespective of their sex and age.
Test Generation for Delay Faults on Clock Lines under Launch-on-Capture Test Environment

SUMMARY This paper deals with delay faults on clock lines assuming the launch-on-capture test. In this realistic fault model, the amount of delay at the FF driven by the faulty clock line is such that the scan shift operation can perform correctly even in the presence of a fault, but during the system clock operation, capturing functional value(s) at faulty FF(s), i.e. FF(s) driven by the clock with delay, is delayed and correct value(s) may not be captured. We developed a fault simulator that can handle such faults and using this simulator we investigate the relation between the duration of the delay and the di ﬃ culty of detecting clock delay faults in the launch-on-capture test. Next, we propose test generation methods for detecting clock delay faults that a ﬀ ect a single or two FFs. Experimental results for benchmark circuits are given in order to establish the e ﬀ ectiveness of the proposed methods.
A new influenza virus infection in turkeys. I. Isolation and characterization of virus 6213.

and A micro method for performing parainfluenza virus A microneutralization technique is de- scribed for the parainfluenza viruses of man and animals. Rhesus monkey kidney cells were used in cups in a disposable plate, virus was detected by the haemad-sorption technique, and the results were read with a standard light microscope. The tests were reliable, less cumbersome to perform and to read than conventional tube neutralization tests, and far more economical in terms of cell cultures and reagents. Its use for the identification of viral isolates is limited as certain isolates do not possess sufficiently high titres to produce clear-cut haemadsorption.
Bayes Filters and Recurrent Neural Networks

Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs) have seen a massive surge in popularity in recent years, particularly with the advent of modern architectures such as LSTMs. These sophisticated modern models have resulted in significant performance gains across a number of challenging tasks. Despite their success, we still struggle to provide a rigorous theoretical analysis of these models, or to truly understand the mechanism behind their success. Prior to the success of RNNs, time series data modelling was dominated by Bayes Filters in their many forms. In contrast to RNNs Bayes Filters are grounded in axiomatic probability theory, resulting in a class of models which can be easily analyzed and whose action is well understood. In this work we propose a new class of models called Predictive State Recurrent Neural Networks, which combine the axiomatic probability theory of Bayes Filters with the rich functional forms and practical success of RNNs. We show that PSRNNs can be learned effectively by combining Backpropogation Through Time (BPTT) with a method-of-moments initialization called Two-Stage Regression. Furthermore we show PSRNNs reveal interesting connections between Kernel Bayes Rule and conventional RNN architectures such as LSTMs and GRUs. Finally we show PSRNNs outperform conventional RNN architectures, including LSTMs, on a range of datasets including both text and robotics data. November 14, 2017 DRAFT
NF 90 / ILF 3 is a transcription factor that promotes proliferation over differentiation by hierarchical regulation in K 562 erythroleukemia cells

NF90 and splice variant NF110 are DNAand RNA-binding proteins encoded by the Interleukin enhancer-binding factor 3 (ILF3) gene that regulate RNA splicing, stabilization and export. The role of NF90 in regulating transcription as a DNA-binding protein has not been comprehensively characterized. Here, ENCODE ChIP-seq identified 9,081 genomic sites specifically bound by NF90/110 in K562 cells. One third of binding sites occurred at promoters of annotated genes. NF90/110 binding colocalized with chromatin marks associated with active promoters and strong enhancers. Comparison with 150 ENCODE ChIP-seq experiments revealed that NF90 clustered with transcription factors exhibiting preference for promoters over enhancers (POLR2A, MYC, YY1). Differential gene expression analysis following shRNA knockdown of NF90 in K562 cells revealed that NF90 directly activates transcription factors that drive growth and proliferation (EGR1, MYC), while attenuating differentiation along erythroid lineage (KLF1). NF90/110 binds chromatin to hierarchically regulate transcription factors to promote proliferation and suppress differentiation. CC-BY-NC 4.0 International license not peer-reviewed) is the author/funder. It is made available under a The copyright holder for this preprint (which was . http://dx.doi. org/10.1101/189647 doi: bioRxiv preprint first posted online Sep. 15, 2017;
Roundtable Discussion: Machines Versus Free Weights

MANY STRENGTH AND CONditioning professionals design and implement resistance-training programs that involve both free weights and weight machines. These programs are often designed in an attempt to improve strength, power, and ultimately athletic performance. The benefits of both modalities of resistance training are often discussed by athletes, coaches, athletic trainers, and sport scientists. In these discussions, there are many differing opinions about which modality or combination of modalities produces optimal sports performance gains. The purpose of this roundtable is to discuss several issues related to the use of free-weight and machine modalities in an athletic setting.
Stopping Variables in Online Buying Processes: An Innovation Diffusion Approach

In this empirical study, variables that discriminate between consumers who search online but buy offline and consumers who search and buy online using Internet and the World Wide Web are identified using the innovation diffusion framework. Results show that, across eight product categories, mainly two variables discriminate between the two groups of consumers: self-assessed skill level and perceived transaction security.
The Consequences of EU Enlargement for Central and Eastern European Labour Markets

This paper summarizes some of the findings of Boeri, Burda and Kollo (1998), which provide an overview of the state of labour markets in the transition economies of Central and Eastern Europe. It argues that a hasty ‘return to Europe’ with respect to labour market policies may not be in the best interests of these economies, and may actually impede an efficient transition.
Activity recognition using a single accelerometer placed at the wrist or ankle.

PURPOSE Large physical activity surveillance projects such as the UK Biobank and NHANES are using wrist-worn accelerometer-based activity monitors that collect raw data. The goal is to increase wear time by asking subjects to wear the monitors on the wrist instead of the hip, and then to use information in the raw signal to improve activity type and intensity estimation. The purposes of this work was to obtain an algorithm to process wrist and ankle raw data and to classify behavior into four broad activity classes: ambulation, cycling, sedentary, and other activities. METHODS Participants (N = 33) wearing accelerometers on the wrist and ankle performed 26 daily activities. The accelerometer data were collected, cleaned, and preprocessed to extract features that characterize 2-, 4-, and 12.8-s data windows. Feature vectors encoding information about frequency and intensity of motion extracted from analysis of the raw signal were used with a support vector machine classifier to identify a subject's activity. Results were compared with categories classified by a human observer. Algorithms were validated using a leave-one-subject-out strategy. The computational complexity of each processing step was also evaluated. RESULTS With 12.8-s windows, the proposed strategy showed high classification accuracies for ankle data (95.0%) that decreased to 84.7% for wrist data. Shorter (4 s) windows only minimally decreased performances of the algorithm on the wrist to 84.2%. CONCLUSIONS A classification algorithm using 13 features shows good classification into the four classes given the complexity of the activities in the original data set. The algorithm is computationally efficient and could be implemented in real time on mobile devices with only 4-s latency.
Born global firms – do they perform differently?

This paper investigates whether born global firms perform differently compared to other newly founded manufacturing firms. A rigorous quantitative treatment of born global firms has been absent in the international entrepreneurship literature. The quantitative focus of the paper adds to this literature. To a simple OLS estimation is added a matching approach in order to circumvent the absence of counterfactual for born global firms had they not chosen to pursue a born global strategy. Measuring performance five years after firm foundation, born global firms are found to have higher growth in employment and sales per employee but no such effect is found when performance is measured by profitability or labor productivity. For robustness purposes, similar results are found when the analysis is augmented to include a wider spread of born global firm definitions and having performance measured three to seven years subsequent to firm foundation.
Fluoride ingestion from toothpaste: fluoride recovered from the toothbrush, the expectorate and the after-brush rinses.

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to determine the effects of rinsing and spitting on fluoride ingestion from toothpaste during normal oral-hygiene procedures of younger children, and hence to make recommendations on rinsing during toothbrushing. METHODS The brushing habits of 166 Dutch and 185 Irish children between 1.5 and 3.5 years were observed during home visits. The weight of the toothpaste tube was determined before and after use. After brushing, the toothbrush and any associated expectorate and rinses, combined with any toothpaste spilled during the brushing procedures, were collected. The amounts of fluoride retained on the toothbrush and in the associated expectorate and rinses were measured. RESULTS Over 90% of the Dutch children used a special toddlers' toothpaste with < or =500 ppm F. Eleven per cent of the younger (<2.5 years) Dutch children and 22% of the older children rinsed after brushing. Of the Irish children approximately 52% used a children's toothpaste containing around 500 ppm F. Of the younger Irish children 31% spat without rinsing, while another 31% rinsed during or after brushing. For the older Irish children, these percentages were 14 and 70%, respectively. On average, 22% of the fluoride dispensed on the toothbrush was retained on the brush after brushing irrespective of the rinsing and spitting behaviour of the children. The maximum ingestible amount of fluoride from toothpaste assuming no rinsing or spitting was calculated. CONCLUSIONS Fluoride ingestion from toothpaste is significantly reduced by rinsing and/or spitting during toothbrushing. Recommendations that younger children use small amounts of toothpaste (< 0.5 g) and that children using toothpaste with > or = 1000 ppm F rinse their mouths after brushing continue to be valid.
Predictive Value of Stock Message Board Sentiments

Online brokerages and message board providers have introduced community stock sentiments to influence investors in their trading decisions. Community stock sentiments reflect the average opinions of investors to either buy (bullish) or sell (bearish). However, it is unclear if these sentiments have informational value. This paper studies the predictive power of message board sentiments over future abnormal stock returns. The results show that message board sentiments have a negative but insignificant impact on stock abnormal returns in the subsequent two weeks. However, the negative impacts become both statistically and economically significant in the third week. Moreover, sentiments of investors who have correctly predicted recent stock movements are more negatively associated with future stock movements. The findings are consistent with psychological theories suggesting investors overreact to news and those who happen to predict correctly in the past are more likely to overreact. Based on the analysis, a trading strategy that involves buying stocks with low sentiments while selling stocks with high sentiments was implemented. The results indicated weekly returns ranging from 0.44% to 0.66%. [Note: We discovered an error in coding in the earlier paper with the same title. The abstract and paper have been updated. ]
Impact of Corporate Governance Practices on Financial Performance: Empirical Evidence from Pakistan

Corporate governance refers to the mechanism which ensures that the affairs of a corporate body are conducted in order to serve and protect the individual and collective interests of all stakeholders. It ordains that while a firm is achieving its goal of shareholder’s wealth maximization, this achievement should not be at the expense of other stakeholders. This study attempts to find an empirical evidence for impact of corporate governance practices on firm’s financial performance. A sample of 50 non financial firms (listed on any one of three stock exchanges in Pakistan) was randomly selected. The study period covers from 2003 to 2005, thus covering 150 firm years. To measure the quality of Corporate Governance practices in the sample firms, a Corporate Governance Index (CGI) consisting of 30 indicators/parameters was developed which measures the strength/quality of Corporate Governance practices. These CG index scores for each firm were then compared with the financial performance indicators i.e. ROA, ROE, Price to Book ratio and P/E of the sample firms to find out any relationship between them. The results show that CGI scores are positively associate with ROA, ROE and Price to Book (P/B) ratio and statistically significant. P/E is also positively correlated with CGI scores but the impact is insignificant.
A critical review of compliance and call quality monitoring in Phonetic’s insurance tele-marketing campaigns

Phonetic is a tele-marketing agency that focuses on outbound lead generation mainly in the insurance sector. They make appointments and transfer prospects by telephone to their insurance/broker client’s teams for a quote at the time of the insurance renewal. Insurance organisations are authorised and regulated by the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) as are Phonetic. As a result, there are certain guidelines that any authorised company needs to interpret and adhere to when making calls to prospects. Increasingly call quality and compliance is becoming a key area of focus alongside hitting traditional quantitative targets. The study examined how Phonetic’s insurance clients interpreted the FCA guidelines into call guides and call quality monitoring requirements for both their internal teams and external outsourcers. It consisted of secondary data analysis of call quality forms as well as questionnaires to key client contacts and semi-structured interviews to compliance contacts with client organisations. The research unveiled that many insurers and brokers have a focus on both qualitative and quantitative measures. However, organisations with both an internal team and external outsourcers performing the same function rarely have an aligned approach to managing all parties. The size of the parent organisation heavily influenced whether a contract was in place, which in turn affected the level of formality agreed regarding call quality monitoring and compliance. Recommendations include a review of all call quality monitoring documents internally within Phonetic as well as facilitating a review amongst clients with multiple teams to ensure they have a consistent approach to managing all teams that perform the same function. In addition, for the compliance and training departments within Phonetic’s clients to become more involved in the campaign and the qualitative targets set. Finally, for Phonetic to create a call quality monitoring system that allows any user to access call quality records for any agent on any campaign allowing greater transparency and knowledge sharing of best practice.
SHOULD YOU TAKE THE VIRTUAL FULFILLMENT PATH

SUBTITLE: AT FIRST GLANCE, THE DECISION TO USE VIRTUAL INVENTORY TO FILL ONLINE ORDERS SEEMS A NO-BRAINER. WHY HOLD GOODS IN ANTICIPATION OF ORDERS IF YOU CAN GET SOMEONE ELSE TO DO IT FOR YOU? BUT UPON CLOSER EXAMINATION, VIRTUAL ORDER FULFILLMENT PROVES TO BE SOMETHING LESS THAN THE SILVER BULLET. THE GUIDELINES OFFERED HERE WILL HELP BOTH PURE-PLAY AND BRICK-AND-MORTAR COMPANIES DETERMINE WHICH FULFILLMENT PATH -- VIRTUAL OR TRADITIONAL -- IS RIGHT FOR THEIR ONLINE BUSINESS.
Strategic or status quo-preserving business exit: (how) do CEO turnover and succession matter?

Business exit has implications for a firm's corporate strategy. Two types of exit events are distinguished: those that involve strategic change and those that are status quo-preserving. This study investigates the impact of CEO turnover and succession on strategic versus status quo-preserving business exits. Based on a sample of CEO turnover and succession events and subsequent business exits of German corporations from different industries, our results suggest that neither voluntary nor involuntary CEO turnover is relevant to business exit. In contrast, outsider succession significantly affects the likelihood of strategic business exit, while a corporation's performance does not moderate this relationship.
Organizational & Customer Factors Influencing Adoption of Electronic Banking: Proposed Strategies for Egyptian Banking Sector

Electronic Banking is relatively a recent technology that enables customers to perform many financial services with no need to visit bank branches. It is internet based technology that can be accessed through a PC (Internet banking) or a wireless network and mobile phone (Mobile banking). This technology is adopted by almost all the banks worldwide for many years now and still there is high potential for growth. Many past studies have examined the benefits of diffusion and adoption of this banking alternative channel to both customers and banks. However, the uptake of this technology in Egypt is still slow and still many Egyptian customers are relying on bank branches to perform financial transactions.This paper explores some organizational and customer factors that influence the diffusion and adoption of electronic banking in Egypt towards increasing the rate of usage by both Egyptian banks and customers. The study also proposes some guiding strategies for Egyptian banking sector based on the explored factors. These strategies are change management, Building bank-customer relationship (trust), creating awareness and removing the risk and security customer concerns of technology. The study also recommends that the Egyptian banks should consider the demographics variables, specially age, education and income level when setting strategies for electronic banking as an alternative channel to traditional banking. The importance of customer and employees past experience in using technology also was highlighted in this research.
Civic Engagement among Early Internet Adopters: Trend or Phase?

This paper brings evidence to bear on the question of the long-term effects of Internet diffusion on civic engagement in geographic communities. It draws on findings from survey data collected in four U.S. towns and cities in fall 2000 where community computer networking is established. The study shows that early adopters of the Internet are more likely to engage in civic activities and to have higher levels of community involvement than later adopters. Further, early adopters are more likely to use the Internet to increase their community involvement and political participation. Later adopters in all four sites show less involvement in their local community and less interest in political activity and information, online or offline. These findings reinforce those of the Kohut (1999) study showing that later adopters are less civic minded and more interested than early adopters in consumer and commercial applications, such as shopping and entertainment. The evidence in these four sites is consistent with earlier findings in Blacksburg, Virginia (Kavanaugh, 2000; Patterson and Kavanaugh, 2001; Kavanaugh and Patterson, 2001) and other studies of early innovation adopters (Rogers, 1983; Kohut, 1999; Valente, 1995, among others). The results reported in this paper lend weight to the argument that increases in civic engagement and community involvement are due primarily to the behavior of early adopters, making such increases a phase, not a trend. As later adopters come on line, use of the Internet for community involvement or civic engagement decreases. In the long term, we can expect that Internet access may have only a modest effect on community involvement and civic engagement in geographic communities.
An Explanatory Model of Preterm Labor

The purpose of this article is to describe women’s explanatory model of their preterm labor (PTL) experiences. Fourteen young adult (20 to 23 years of age) women living in the southeast, who were hospitalized for the treatment of PTL, participated in this naturalistic study. Stress was the dominant theme that all participants used to explain what had precipitated PTL. All women described multiple stressors and chaos in their lives, which preceded their admission to the hospital for PTL. Meanings of PTL were intertwined with dysfunctional families and problematic relationships. All 9 women who delivered at term were able to find a friend or family member to provide support that allowed the women to relax and reduce the stress in their lives. In contrast, women who delivered preterm had no one in their lives that could provide help and support. Women’s conceptualizations of PTL suggest that culturally appropriate interventions to reduce stress and mobilize support may help improve birth outcomes after an episode of PTL.
Effects of sodium chloride on steady-state growth and metabolism of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

SUMMARY: Sodium chloride decreased the maximum specific growth rate of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Chemostat experiments showed this to be largely due to an increased requirement for energy-yielding substrate, apparently linked to maintenance and leading to a decrease in the yield. The increased maintenance requirement is probably concerned with maintaining an intracellular Na+ concentration ten times lower than the extracellular concentration. NaCl caused much higher concentrations of glucose to be required to maintain any particular glucose-uptake rate; it also increased the production of glycerol.