Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Is the Insurance Cost-of-Capital Fair?

This paper aims to present the insurance cost-of-capital computation issue. It highlights two methodologies introduced by Chief Risk Officer Forum (2008) to perform the cost-of-capital rate and which more or less justify the risk premium adopted by supervisory authorities. These strategies are based either on market return of insurance companies or on the modelling of insurance business profit and loss. We estimate a cost-of-capital rate corresponding to these basic methodologies and point out the benefits and drawbacks of each method. We show that the risk premium adopted by the supervisory authorities is inside the interval confidence given either by market data or by the modelling: thus it would correspond to a fair cost-of-capital rate. In addition to that we discuss the fact that this rate is quite low and allows to adopt a relative conservative strategy.
Image Authentication Using Only Partial Phase Information from a Double-Random-Phase-Encrypted Image in the Fresnel Domain

(Received March 5, 2015 : revised April 20, 2015 : accepted May 4, 2015)The double-random phase encryption (DRPE) algorithm is a robust technique for image encryption, due to its high speed and encoding a primary image to stationary white noise. Recently it was reported that DRPE in the Fresnel domain can achieve a better avalanche effect than that in Fourier domain, which means DRPE in the Fresnel domain is much safer, to some extent. Consequently, a method based on DRPE in the Fresnel domain would be a good choice. In this paper we present an image-authentication method which uses only partial phase information from a double-random-phase-encrypted image in the Fresnel domain. In this method, only part of the phase information of an image encrypted with DRPE in the Fresnel domain needs to be kept, while other information like amplitude values can be eliminated. Then, with the correct phase keys (we do not consider wavelength and distance as keys here) and a nonlinear correlation algorithm, the encrypted image can be authenticated. Experimental results demonstrate that the encrypted images can be successfully authenticated with this partial phase plus nonlinear correlation technique.
Community Engagement, Routine Immunization, and the Polio Legacy in Northern Nigeria

Northern Nigeria has a history of low use of health services, resistance to immunization programs, and high maternal and child mortality rates. Cultural, physical, and financial barriers prevent many families from accessing health care. The Partnership for Reviving Routine Immunization in Northern Nigeria; Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health Initiative (PRRINN-MNCH) was a project funded by the UK Department of International Development and the Norwegian government that used an integrated approach to strengthen health services and increase community demand for and access to quality health care. The project’s community engagement approach aimed to empower communities, work with volunteers, and develop solutions to overcome barriers to health. Simultaneously, PRRINN-MNCH was building primary health care systems, including immunization, and strengthening governance to increase the availability and quality of services. Baseline and endline population-based random household surveys conducted in 2009 and 2013 showed improved community knowledge, increased use of antenatal care and immunization services, and a decrease in maternal, infant, and under-5 mortality. In the project areas, the maternal mortality ratio fell from 1,270 to 1,057; under-5 mortality decreased from 160 to 90.1 per 1,000 live births, and infant mortality decreased from 90 to 46.9 per 1,000 live births. The overall coverage of fully immunized children rose from 2.2% to 19.3%. Many of the PRRINN-MNCH lessons learned about community engagement are relevant to the Polio Eradication Initiative when Nigeria reaches polio-free status and community mobilizers are mainstreamed into routine health services.
WHO EMRO | Prognostic Factors of Breast Cancer Survival in the Islamic Republic of Iran: an Additive Bayesian Approach

Breast cancer is a public health challenge in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Relatively few studies have dealt with large dataset and advanced statistical methods. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the role of prognostic factors on breast cancer survival using Additive Empirical Bayesian model with large data set. Breast cancer data set included 1574 women diagnosed with breast cancer from 2002 to 2012 that registered from Cancer Registry in Fars Province, Islamic Republic of Iran. Overall survival rates at 2, 3, 5 and 10 years were 0.98, 0.94, 0.87 and 0.76, respectively. Five years survival at stages 1, 2 and 3 were 0.94, 0.92 and 0.74, respectively. The younger patients with characteristics such as zero involved nodes, negative progesterone receptor, free skin and good prognostic level had a higher survival chance than others. The 5-year survival probability by stage in Fars Province was nearly the
Life after a festival: local leadership and the lasting legacy of festivals

This article considers how local leadership capacities can be developed through locally organized fetivals and argues that this skill development can be an important legacy of festivals. It draws on the case study of SnowFest, a festival held annually from 2000 to 2003 in a small rural town in New South Wales, Australia. It is argued that festivals provide a useful setting for the development of local leadership capacities. Through reviewing the events leading up to and following SnowFest it was found that seven followers learned new leadership skills through their involvement in SnowFest. Four of these followers had since moved into leadership roles in the community. The particular nature of the leadership of the SnowFest leaders was important in enabling followers to develop their own leadership skills. The article contributes to the growing body of scholarly work that argues the impacts and benefits of locally organized festivals can extend beyond the spatial and temmporal limits of the festival event and therefore beyond the scope of typical evaluation tools. The findings of this study are particularly relevant to small rural communities that are negotiating major socioeconomic changes, where effective local leadership has been identified as being crucial to the success of bottom-up community adaptation initiatives.
A Critique Of Waiver Research

Of the many recent changes in juvenile justice, none are more prominent than waiver laws designed to more easily transfer young offenders to adult courts. These laws create more options to punish youth as if they were adults, leading some to question the need for a separate juvenile justice system. As yet, however, we have little systematic empirical basis for assessing the effectiveness of these laws. To help develop the foundation for such an assessment, this article examines the leading intended and unintended impacts identified by researchers. It then discusses critical research gaps that must be addressed if we are to develop a balanced and empirically informed assessment of the effectiveness of waiver.
A thermal behavior of low-substituted hydroxyethyl cellulose and cellulose solutions in NaOH-water

Hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC) with low molar substitution has better solubility in 8%NaOH-water solution than pure cellulose. The thermal behavior of ternary HEC/NaOH/water mixtures was investigated by DSC, and the results are compared with those of cellulose/NaOH/water solutions, aiming at providing better understanding about cellulose dissolution mechanism in NaOH-water. At low polymer concentrations and below 0°C, HEC and cellulose solutions exhibit a similar thermal behavior with ice, eutectic and/or melting and recrystallization peaks, showing that the overall interactions between NaOH, water and cellulose or HEC are identical. However, when the concentration increases above 2%, the eutectic peak of HEC solutions disappeared, leaving only the ice peak, which is different from previous results for cellulose where the disappearance of the eutectic peak was related to the maximum solubility of cellulose (around 8 wt%). This implies that the dissolution behavior of HEC in NaOH solution is changed due to possible changes of chain flexibility and/or increased attractions to water caused by the hydrophilic hydroxyethyl groups. The melting and recrystallization peaks visible only at low concentrations of HEC or cellulose in solution also support the conclusion that dissolution of cellulose and HEC at low concentrations bears features which are not yet understood.
Determination of enzymatic activities using a miniaturized system as a rapid method to assess soil quality

Soil quality determination requires the analysis of a number of soil attributes using different approaches. In recent years, one of the most promising approaches has been the determination of enzymatic activities. Generally, only a few enzymes have been analysed and related to other soil properties such as total carbon, nitrogen content or microbial biomass carbon. The aim of this work was to investigate the possible use of the API ZYM strip, a semi‐quantitative miniaturized system that determines 19 enzymatic activities, to study soil quality. To this end, we tested the system in different soil types, including albic Arenosols, mollic Leptosols, rendzic Leptosols, haplic Leptosols and calcaric Regosols. Fresh samples were sieved through a 2‐mm sieve in the field and soil extracts were prepared by mixing 2–20 g (depending on the soil horizon characteristics) from each sample with 2–20 ml of sterile water. Next, 65‐µl aliquots of the supernatant extract were placed into each API ZYM microtube and were incubated at 37°C for 16 hours. Our results show important qualitative and quantitative differences among the different soil types studied, with soil characteristics and biological properties correlating with biochemical information. The results provide useful information not only to determine soil quality, but also to assess changes in the soil environment. As a whole, our results suggest that the use of the API ZYM system could prove most useful in soil environmental studies. Finally, some suggestions are presented, including modifications to the system that could improve its application in this field.
Nonspecialist, Preservice Primary-School Teachers: Predicting Intentions to Teach Physical Education

The purpose of this study was to establish the utility of the Theory of Planned Behavior in predicting nonspecialist, preservice primary-school teachers’ intentions to teach physical education for 2 hr per week. A questionnaire was developed, according to the recommended procedures, and was administered to 128 final-year teacher trainees in two Primary Teacher Training courses in England. A variety of predictors were identified, including beliefs of significant others, such as parents; a positive assessment of control over difficult barriers; and experiences of past (teaching) behavior. The most significant predictor in discriminating between intenders and nonintenders, however, was personal exercise behavior. Helping preservice primary-school teachers become more physically active themselves might positively influence their intent to teach physical education 2 hr per week more than alleviating barriers to teaching physical education.
Spectral characterization of selected humic substances.

Enev V. , Pospisilova L. , Klucakova M. , Liptaj T. , Doskocil L. (2014): Spectral characterization of selected humic substances. Soil&Water Res., 9 : 9-17. Current concern for soil quality has stimulated research on soil organic matter (OM). Humic substances (HS) of different origin were compared applying ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), "steady-state" fluorescence spectroscopy, and 13 C nuclear magnetic resonance ( 13 C NMR). Sodium humates samples were isolated from soil (Gleyic Luvisol), compost, and South-Moravian lignite from the mine Mir in Mikulcice. Sodium humates (SH) were extracted by a conventional procedure recommended by the International Humic Substances Society (IHSS). Results showed that the presence of O-containing functional groups (carbonyl in aldehydes and ketones, carboxyl in carboxylic acids, ester and ether groups) are in the order of compost > soil > lignohumate > lignite. Further, results of FTIR, fluorescence spectroscopy, and 13 C NMR suggested that samples of sodium humates isolated from soil, compost, and lignite were a more polycondensed, oxidized, unsaturated, humified, and aromatic structure. On the other hand, commercial lignohumate (LH) had very simple structural components and wide molecular heterogeneity. Furthermore, a small molecular size and weight, low degree of aromatic polycondensation, low level of conjugated chromophores and fluorophores, and low humification degree were characteristic for commercial LH. It should be noted that the sample of commercial LH was characterized by 13 C NMR analysis with a slightly higher value of aromaticity α in comparison with the sample of compost. The application of non-destructive analytical methods such as UV-VIS, FTIR, 13 C NMR, and fluorescence spectroscopy help us to provide main characteristics of selected humic substances.
SAMBA: Stochastic Analytical Model with a Bayesian Approach

We develop and estimate a DSGE model for the Brazilian economy, to be used as part of the macroeconomic modeling framework at the Central Bank of Brazil. The model combines the building blocks of standard DSGE models (e.g., price and wage rigidities and adjustment costs) with the following features that better describe the Brazilian economy: (i) a fiscal authority pursuing an explicit target for the primary surplus; (ii) administered or regulated prices as part of consumer prices; (iii) external finance for imports, amplifying the effects of changes in external financial conditions on the economy; and (iv) imported goods used in the production function of differentiated goods. It also includes the presence of financially constrained households. We estimate the model with Bayesian techniques, using data starting in 1999, when inflation targeting was implemented. Model evaluation, based on impulse response functions, moment conditions, variance error decomposition and initial forecasting exercises, suggests that the model can be a useful tool for policy analysis and forecasting.
Relationship between Nurses ' Burnout and Implemented Evidence Based Guidelines in Intensive Care Units

Burnout is one of the most recent concerns among nurses in intensive care units and can be influenced by many factors such as emotional exhaustion and depersonalization. This study was carried out to assess the relationship between nurses' burnout and implemented evidence based guidelines in intensive care units. This study was conducted at neurological and anesthesia intensive care units of Tanta University Hospital. Design: A descriptive correlational study design was utilized to achieve the aim of the study. A convenience sample of 97 nurses, and two tools were utilized to collect the data. Tool I: Nurses' assessment questionnaire, it consisted of three parts: nurses’ bio-sociodemographic and professional data, burnout risk factors and Maslach burnout inventory scale to assess nurse's burnout. Tool II: Implemented evidence based guidelines checklist. Results: the most common risk factor (92.8%) among critical care nurses was inappropriate nurse to patient's ratio. Also, it was found that the majority of critical care nurses had poor evidence based practice regarding ventilator associated pneumonia and injuries form falls. Conclusion: more than half of the critical care nurses were high risk to burnout that may be critical for implemented evidence based guidelines. Based on the current study findings it is recommended that the head nurse should take some actions to decline high-risk factors and improve evidence based practice implementation in intensive care units.
On Green’s function retrieval by iterative substitution of the coupled Marchenko equations

Iterative substitution of the coupled Marchenko equations is a novel methodology to retrieve the Green's functions from a source or receiver array at an acquisition surface to an arbitrary location in an acoustic medium. The methodology requires as input the single-sided reflection response at the acquisition surface and an initial focusing function, being the time-reversed direct wavefield from the acquisition surface to a specified location in the subsurface. We express the iterative scheme that is applied by this methodology explicitly as the successive actions of various linear operators, acting on an initial focusing function. These operators involve multidimensional crosscorrelations with the reflection data and truncations in time. We offer physical interpretations of the multidimensional crosscorrelations by subtracting traveltimes along common ray paths at the stationary points of the underlying integrals. This provides a clear understanding of how individual events are retrieved by the scheme. Our interpretation also exposes some of the scheme's limitations in terms of what can be retrieved in case of a finite recording aperture. Green's function retrieval is only successful if the relevant stationary points are sampled. As a consequence, internal multiples can only be retrieved at a subsurface location with a particular ray parameter if this location is illuminated by the direct wavefield with this specific ray parameter. Several assumptions are required to solve the Marchenko equations. We show that these assumptions are not always satisfied in arbitrary heterogeneous media, which can result in incomplete Green's function retrieval and the emergence of artefacts. Despite these limitations, accurate Green's functions can often be retrieved by the iterative scheme, which is highly relevant for seismic imaging and inversion of internal multiple reflections.
Building a Real-Time Multi-GPU Platform: Robust Real-Time Interrupt Handling Despite Closed-Source Drivers

Abstract—Architectures in which multicore chips are augmented with graphics processing units (GPUs) have great potential in many domains in which computationally intensive real-time workloads must be supported. However, unlike standard CPUs, GPUs are treated as I/O devices and require the use of interrupts to facilitate communication with CPUs. Given their disruptive nature, interrupts must be dealt with carefully in real-time systems. With GPU-driven interrupts, such disruptiveness is further compounded by the closed-source nature of GPU drivers. In this paper, such problems are considered and a solution is presented in the form of an extension to LITMUSRT called klitirqd. The design of klitirqd targets systems with multiple CPUs and GPUs. In such settings, interruptrelated issues arise that have not been previously addressed.
Development Method for Determination of Metronidazole in Pharmaceutical Preparation via Flow Injection Technique Using Phosphotungstic Acid as a Precipitant Agent

The applications of flow injection-turbidimetric technique for the determination of Metronidazole (MTZ) are described.The method is based on the using the phosphotungstic acid as a precipitating agent for MTZ to form a turbid solution of ion pair MTZphosphotungstic acid (PTA). Turbidity values were measured via locally made turbidimeter(6SX1-T-2D Solar Cell) that fabricated with flow injectionsystem. Lots ofchemical and physical parameters such as precipitant concentration, salts effect, flow rate and sample volume have been investigated.Theresults of proposed methodshowa relatively wide range of MTZ concentration (0.1-5.0) mmol.Land correlation coefficient (r) =0.9982. The detection limit thatdependson the dilution of minimum concentration in drug variation curve is 0.946 μg/sample while thelimit of quantitation (L.O.Q) was 12. 05μg/sample. The proposed method has good repeatability of3.0and 3.5 mmol.Lof MTZsolution and was found less than 1% for n=6.The paired t-test value at 95% confidence interval was conducted and the results indicate that there is no significant difference between the proposed and classical methods.The developmentmethod can be used for theroutine and quantitativeassay of MTZ in pharmaceuticaldos ages.
The Effect of Group and Family Ownership on Firm Performance: Empirical Evidence from Pakistan

This paper examines the impact of group - and family - ownership on financial performance of a sample of firms listed on the Karachi Stock Exchange from the year 2003 to 2008. Since previous studies have found ownership structure to be endogenously determined, we account for this problem by using two 2SLS technique. This paper contributes to the extant literature as it uses a larger sample of 158 firms and the 2SLS technique; existing studies on this topic in Pakistan lack both of these aspects. Results of the OLS and 2SLS regressions show that group ownership in a firm has no significant impact on a firm’s performance. However, when group ownership is significantly higher in a firm, the given firm performs poorly. This is an indication of some sort of expropriation of the minority shareholders. Moreover, the analysis shows that larger firms, firms with higher sales-turnover ratio and growing firms performe better than other firms. Firms with higher financial leverage show poor financial performance. For comparing the performance of family and non-family firms, a sample of 28 family and 26 non-family firms listed on Karachi Stock Exchange is used. The results of two sample tests show that mean Tobin’s Q of family firms is economically larger than non-family firms; though the difference is statistically insignificant. Accounting-based measures such as return on assets, assets turnover, and profit margin show similar statistics - the statistical differences are negligible between family and non-family firms.
Gender Differences in the Relationship Between Self-Esteem and Aggression in Young People Leaving Care

Young people in care are known to have high levels of aggressive behaviors and high levels of self-esteem, and these difficulties continue into adult life. Previous research has suggested that there is a relationship between self-esteem and aggression, although the nature of this relationship is unclear and possible differences due to gender have rarely been explored. Therefore, the relationships between different forms of self-esteem (global self-esteem, social rank, social fit, and attractiveness) and aggression were investigated in a sample of young care-leavers. For men, high levels of social rank and high levels of attractiveness were predictive of aggression, whereas for women low levels of perceived social inclusion and low levels of attractiveness were predictive of aggression. These findings suggest that there are significant gender differences in the relationship between self-esteem and aggression in care-leavers and that using domain-specific measures of self-esteem provides a richer understanding of these relationships. They also suggest that a more targeted approach to intervention is needed.