Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Digitization effects on banks’ financial performance: the case of an African country

Purpose The concept of digitization covers a wide range of initiatives to achieve sustainable development. This paper aims to determine the impact of bank digitization strategies on financial performance in an African country. Design/methodology/approach This study used the generalized least squares estimation method to analyze data from a sample of 12 Tunisian banks from 2010 to 2020. The reason for selecting this method was its ability to address issues of heteroscedasticity and autocorrelation. Findings This study indicates that digital transformation has a positive effect on Tunisian banks financial performance, as measured by return on assets and return on equity. Specifically, investing in payment tools, digital channels and internet security leads to improved performance for banks. These findings suggest that banks that offer digital services perform better, as they are able to increase profitability, maintain financial stability and improve transparency. Research limitations/implications This study is important for central bank, regulators, policymakers and investors. Overall, this study emphasizes the need for banks in Tunisia to embrace digital transformation to improve their performance and remain viable in the modern business landscape. Originality/value This study ponders the effect of Tunisian banks’ digital transformation on financial performance. Tunisia context serves as model for other African countries. Tunisian banks should prioritize investments in digital technologies to stay competitive in the market.
Facial infrared thermography as an index of social anxiety

ABSTRACT Previous research on physiological indices of social anxiety has offered unclear results. In this study, participants with low and high social anxiety performed five social interaction tasks while being recorded with a thermal camera. Each task was associated with a dimension assessed by the Social Anxiety Questionnaire for Adults (1 = Interactions with strangers. 2 = Speaking in public/Talking with people in authority, 3 = Criticism and embarrassment, 4 = Assertive expression of annoyance, disgust or displeasure, 5 = Interactions with the opposite sex). Mixed-effects models revealed that the temperature of the tip of the nose decreased significantly in participants with low (vs. high) social anxiety (p < 0.001), while no significant differences were found in other facial regions of interest: forehead (p = 0.999) and cheeks (p = 0.999). Furthermore, task 1 was the most effective at discriminating between the thermal change of the nose tip and social anxiety, with a trend for a higher nose temperature in participants with high social anxiety and a lower nose temperature for the low social anxiety group. We emphasize the importance of corroborating thermography with specific tasks as an ecological method, and tip of the nose thermal change as a psychophysiological index associated with social anxiety.
Analysis and modification of Newton's method at singularities

For systems of nonlinear equations f = 0 with singular Jacobian Vf(x*) at some solution x* e f 1(0) the behaviour of Newton's method is analysed. Under a certain regularity condition Q-linear convergence is shown to be almost sure from all initial points that are sufficiently close to x* . The possibility of significantly better performance by other nonlinear equation solvers is ruled out. Instead convergence acceleration is achieved by variation of the stepsize or Richardson extrapolation. If the Jacobian Vf of a possibly underdetermined system is known to have a nullspace of a certain dimension at a solution of interest, an overdetermined system based on the QR or LU decomposition of Vf is used to obtain superlinear convergence.
Exploring mental health from the perspective of DNA methylation: evidence from the hospitality employees

ABSTRACT Awareness of work-related stress or mental health has been increasing in global tourism, but there has often been a dilemma to deal with it properly. In this paper, we adopted the allostatic load model and differential susceptibility model to conduct an interdisciplinary study. Study 1 collected longitudinal data and adopted a latent class growth analysis to identify two major growth trajectories of mental health: escalating class and normative class. Study 2 showed that significant DNA methylation (>10%) occurred at some loci of the target genes (NR3C1, FKBP5, NGFR, DRD3, and SLC6A4). The DNA methylation level of the escalating class was higher than the normative class in FKBP5, SLC6A4, and NGFR, which could be recognized as susceptibility genes of hotel employees in the stressful working environment. This study illustrated the potential of psychobiology in solving the mental health issues of hotel employees theoretically and practically.
A motion-level-aware denoising framework for x-ray fluoroscopic images

Fluoroscopy in a low-dose tube output is used to reduce the damage associated with radiation exposure. However, lowering the radiation dose inevitably increases random noise in x-ray images, resulting in poor diagnostic image quality, which requires noise reduction for accurate diagnosis. Also, in the case of non-static objects, the image is blurred due to motion. The most-used denoiser with a recursive filter (RF) preserves details well when applied to temporal data, but it is vulnerable to motion blur. Existing convolutional neural network (CNN)-based algorithms with single-frame input cannot use the temporary context, and others with multi-frame input are good for motion detection but poor for detail preservation. Therefore, we propose a motion-level-aware denoising framework to combine the results of RF- and CNN-based algorithms depending on the pixel-wise magnitude of motion to complement each other. The data we use are fluoroscopy images taken in continuous time, and we aim at many-to-one so that one frame is denoised by considering sequential frames. Also, since both RF- and CNN-based algorithms used in our architecture are many-to-one methods, they can consider spatiotemporal information. In the multi-frame input, the difference in intensity of each pixel between frames is calculated to obtain a moving map. Depending on the factor value from the moving map, the final image is obtained by reflecting the outputs of the RF- and CNN-based algorithms. If the factor value is high, the pixel intensity of the final image is like the CNN-based output, which is good for motion detection, and vice versa, it more reflects the intensity of RF output, which is excellent in perceptual quality. Therefore, it prevents motion blur and does not over-smooth microdetails, such as bones and muscles. The results show that combining the two outputs together records higher peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) and has better perceptual quality for diagnosis than using only one method. Furthermore, our combining method can output x-ray images of higher quality by using more advanced networks in future fluoroscopy denoising studies, since the proposed denoising framework is not only applicable to specific architectures used in this study but can also be broadly applied to other alternative networks.
Factors Influencing the Role of Agricultural Intentions in The Empowerment of Ornamental Plant Farming Group in Lubuk Minturun Village

Extension agents empower farmer groups by assisting them in improving their welfare by expanding their knowledge and skills. Extension officers also help farmer groups become independent and solve their problems. This research was conducted so that the authors could see the factors that influence how agricultural extension workers in Lubuk Minturun Village, Padang City, empower ornamental plant farmer groups. Qualitative research is the method used by researchers. The informants of this study consisted of ten farmer groups, agriculture extension, and village office staff. Researchers collected data from documentation studies, interviews, and observations. Triangulation of methods and technical sources used as a basis for testing validity. Based on data from the research results, the level of independence of farmer groups to develop farming is one of the factors that increased the farming of ornamental plants farmer groups, one of which can b seen from the interactions between farmer groups and extension workers in making the right decisions. Ornamental plant farmer groups influence the roles of agricultural extension workers in empowering groups in Lubuk Minturun Village, Padang City, as well as the level of marketing independence, resource ownership, and business income. It is tough to produce superior seeds; the main problems farmer groups face stem from these various factors. Based on the research on the knowledge and skills factors of farmer groups in cultivating ornamental plants, the use of yard land and the arrangements of ornamental plants is still relatively low, so that it will affect the increase in the farming business.
Acceptance of baits, designed to carry oral rabies vaccines, by foxes in Britain

Abstract The spread of classical rabies (RABV) in the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) within Europe has been reversed during the last few decades by the widespread use of vaccine baits. This approach has resulted in most of western Europe being essentially free of terrestrial rabies, and has been associated with significant increases in fox density. The few remaining foci of disease in western Europe are now situated within areas of increasing density of foxes. In Great Britain, rabies contingency planning is centred on the use of vaccine baits, following the successes in Europe. However, in Britain fox density in both rural and urban areas has generally been higher than in continental ‘rabies-endemic’ Europe. One consequence of a high fox density is that a greater proportion of the population needs to consume the vaccine baits and become immunised, to reduce the absolute density of susceptible animals and thus eradicate the disease. Therefore, bait uptake rates in Great Britain, in both rural and high-density urban areas, should be of interest in contingency planning for the control of future outbreaks of rabies in Europe. We report here on studies in Britain on the uptake of vaccine baits by foxes, and how this should influence both British and European rabies contingency planning.
Diabetes Complications and Cognitive Function in Young Adults with Youth-Onset Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes: The SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth Study

Aims/Hypotheses. People with type 1 (T1D) or type 2 diabetes (T2D) who also have diabetes complications can have pronounced cognitive deficits. It remains unknown, however, whether and how multiple diabetes complications co-occur with cognitive dysfunction, particularly in youth-onset diabetes. Methods. Using data from the SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth Study cohort, a prospective longitudinal cohort, we examined clustering of complications and their underlying clinical factors with performance on cognitive tests in young adults with youth-onset T1D or T2D. Cognition was assessed via the NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery. The main cognitive variables were age-corrected scores for composite fluid cognition and associated cognitive subdomains. Diabetes complications included retinopathy, microalbuminuria, and peripheral neuropathy (PN). Lipids, systolic blood pressure (SBP), hemoglobin A1c, and other clinical factors were included in the analyses. Clustering was applied separately to each group (T1D = 646; T2D = 165). A three-cluster (C) solution was identified for each diabetes type. Mean values and frequencies of all factors were compared between resulting clusters. Results. The average age-corrected score for composite fluid cognition differed significantly across clusters for each group ( p < 0.001 ). People with T1D and the lowest average fluid cognition scores had the highest frequency of self-reporting at least one episode of hypoglycemia in the year preceding cognitive testing and the highest prevalence of PN. Persons with T2D and the lowest average fluid cognition scores had the highest SBP, the highest central systolic and diastolic blood pressures, and highest prevalence of PN. Conclusions/Interpretations. These findings highlight shared (PN) and unique factors (hypoglycemia in T1D; SBP in T2D) that could be targeted to potentially mitigate cognitive issues in young people with youth-onset diabetes.
AN APPROXIMATE EVALUATION OF THE PHENOMENOLOGICAL AND STATE COEFFICIENTS FOR VISCO-ANELASTIC MEDIA WITH MEMORY

In a previous paper we have studied some properties of the phenomenological and state coefficients for a viscoanelastic medium of order one with memory. In that case we have used sometimes numerical approximation. In this paper we study the same coefficients by mean of approximate dynamic moduli expression for low and high frequency and we obtain some properties for viscous coefficients which are connected only on the choice of maximum value of the region of low frequency. In particular we show that the frequency corresponding to minimum value of the viscous coefficient is function of the maximum frequency value in the region of low frequency. Analogous studies have been performed in the region of high frequency. It is shown that the physical implications of the results are in agreement with experiments.
Aggression Is Associated With Social Adaptive Functioning in Children With ASD and Anxiety

Social adaptive functioning is notably compromised and may be further impaired by aggressive behavior in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study examined the association between aggressive behavior and social adaptive skills in children with ASD and the contribution of aggressive behavior to social adaptive skills in a combined sample of children with and without ASD. Participants consisted of children, ages 8 to 15 years, with ASD (n = 52) and who were typically developing (n = 29). Results indicate that aggressive behavior is negatively associated with social adaptive skills in children with ASD and that it contributes to reduced social adaptive functioning above and beyond ASD diagnosis. Findings underscore the importance of considering the role of aggressive behavior when evaluating and promoting social functioning in children with ASD.
Mathematic Model of 25 and 13mm Particles Motioning in Jigging

With the help of a high-speed video and dynamic analysis soft,the motion images of particles during the jigging in an experimental model system were shot at the speed of 100 frames per second.The motions of the particles with two size fractions and two density fractions under more than 60groups experimental conditions were investigated.The particles motion curves were obtained.The position curve of particles is similar to that of typical damped vibration.The motion differential equation of particles was educed and the solution equations were gained.In the equations the motion parameters,including velocity,acceleration and force,are in a direct proportion to the air pressure,and have a definite non-linear relationship with jigging cycle,thickness,mobility of jig bed,mass and size of the particles.
Antecedents and consequences of fake news exposure: a two-panel study on how news use and different indicators of fake news exposure affect media trust

Despite abundant studies on “fake news,” the long-term consequences have been less explored. In this context, this study examines the dynamic relationship between traditional and social news media use, fake news exposure—measured as perceived fake news exposure and exposure to actual fake news stories, and mainstream media trust. We found interesting patterns across two U.S. panel survey studies. First, we found that exposure to fake news—regardless of how we measured it—decreased people’s trust in the mainstream media. Yet, we also found that while both social media and traditional news use were positively associated with exposure to actual fake news stories, only social media news use was positively associated with perceived fake news exposure. This finding implies that while many people believe that social media is the culprit of fake news exposure, traditional news use may also contribute to people’s exposure to popular fake news stories.
Risk in sustainable construction supply chains: construct development and measurement validation

Abstract Although previous studies have focused on different aspects of green/sustainability risk in construction supply chains (SCs) such as identification of risks or the linkage between characteristics of stakeholders and risk assessment, research on this topic is still quite limited. One important reason for this limitation is the absence of valid and reliable measurement of risk, resulting in the impossibility to discriminate between risk constructs. Therefore, the current study is performed to develop and then validate a measurement scale of risk in sustainable construction SCs. The data are collected from a large-scale survey supported by the Japanese government to promote sustainable socioeconomic development for the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) region, with the participation of 283 firms in Vietnam. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) are used to test the reliability, convergent validity, and discriminant validity of the risk constructs. The results indicate that all tests strongly support the measurement scale, and seven reliable risk constructs are identified including supply, demand, internal processes, information, financial, time, and environmental risks. This study also presents opportunities for further developing research on risk management (especially the three phases: risk assessment, risk mitigation, and risk monitoring) in sustainable construction SCs.
Morse Inequalities and Bergman Kernels

This thesis consists of two parts. In part I, we prove equivariant Morse inequalities via Bismut-Lebeau’s analytic localization techniques. As an application, we obtain Morse inequalities on compact manifold with nonempty boundary by applying equivariant Morse inequalities to the doubling manifold. In part II, we calculate the second coefficient of the asymptotic expansion of the Bergman kernel of the Hodge-Dolbeault operator associated to high powers of a Hermitian line bundle with non-degenerate curvature, using the method of formal power series developed by Ma and Marinescu.
The relationship between Corona disease Anxiety and General Health in Health Care Working

Background and aims: Occupational and social exposures to COVID-19 are among the significant stressors that threaten the health of Healthcare workers (HCWs) in various dimensions. This study aimed to determine the relationship between Corona disease anxiety and the general health of health care workers in the summer of 2021. Methods: This is a descriptive correlational study. Sampling was done by the available method. Study samples included 170 HCWs. Data were collected using tools such as the Demographic Questionnaire, the Corona disease Anxiety Scale(C-19 AS) and the General Health Questionnaire. The data were collected using Porsline software (online). Statistical data were analyzed by SPSS software version 16 using the Kruskal-Wallis test, U Mann-Whitney test, Spearman correlation coefficient, and Stepwise Multiple Regression. The significance level was P<0.05. Results: There was a positive and significant relationship between Corona disease anxiety and general health (p<0.01), and the variables of physical anxiety (β coefficient = -0.233) and marital status (β coefficient = -0.147) had the highest regression effect on public health. Conclusion: Health policymakers and managers of health care systems take preventive and curative measures such as providing psychological counseling and implementing training programs such as problem-solving skills training and resilience when necessary, especially for married healthcare workers to reduce the level of Corona disease anxiety. © 2022 Iran University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved.
Fostering online communities through pakikiramay and pakikidalamhati on memorialized Facebook accounts

Memorializing the dead through death rituals has inevitably permeated in online spaces. In particular, Facebook users have maximized the platform to commemorate the dead, thereby forming communal digital mourning. Hence, this paper investigates how Filipinos foster an online community through their online practices of the Filipino concept of pakikipagkapwa[one-of-us] in pakikiramay and pakikidalamhati. Guided by Virgilio Enriquez’s Sikolohiyang Pilipino (Filipino psychology) and Rotman and Preece’s (2010) characteristics of online communities, this paper investigated 593 posts from 24 memorialized Facebook accounts using textual analysis. Findings reveal that pakikiramay [sympathizing with another] and pakikidalamhati [sharing the burden of mourning] expressed through practicing death rituals using the technological affordances of Facebook demonstrate that the bereaved has maintained company with the departed in life and in death (“I have been with you, and I will always be with you”). Communal digital grief affirms that the bereaved are never alone while in mourning (“We are together in mourning”).
A Comparative Study Between Plate Osteosynthesis and Intramedullary Nailing for Diaphyseal Fracture of Radius and Ulna in Adults

Introduction: In this era of active living, industrial growth, increasing automobile accidents, and athletic activities, fractures of the forearm bones are becoming more frequent. The incidence of diaphyseal fractures of both bone forearms is reported to be approximately 10 per 10,000 persons per year, although rates may vary according to age and sex. If not properly treated, a fracture of the forearm bones might cause a serious loss of function. Therefore, to restore function, these fractures require adequate anatomical reduction and internal fixation. The majority of forearm fractures in adults are treated surgically, and various modes of internal fixation are available. In this study, we evaluated and compared the clinical, functional, and radiological outcomes of both bone forearm diaphyseal fractures treated with plate osteosynthesis and intramedullary nailing. Material and method: This prospective and comparative study was conducted in a tertiary care medical teaching hospital in southern Rajasthan, India. Forty patients with diaphyseal fractures of the radius and ulna bones who presented to the casualty or orthopedic outpatient departments of our institute were included. Patients were divided into two groups, 20 patients in each group and treated by intramedullary nailing (group A) and plate osteosynthesis (group B), and regularly followed up and evaluated for clinical, functional, and radiological outcomes. Result: Final results were calculated according to the modified Grace-Eversmann scoring system. In group A, out of 20 cases excellent score was seen in six cases (30%), good score in nine cases (45%), fair score in three cases (15%), and at last, two cases (10%) showed poor results. In group B, excellent score was in eight cases (40%), good score was in eight cases (40%), fair score was in three cases (15%), and at last, one case (5%) was poor in our study. Conclusion: Based on our findings, we conclude that for the treatment of diaphyseal fractures of the radius and ulna, both treatment modalities provide equally satisfactory results.