Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Assessing normality in stationary stochastic processes Evaluación de normalidad en procesos estocásticos estacionarios

Normality (a set of observations being sampled from a Gaussian process) is an important assumption in a wide variety of statistical models. Therefore, developing procedures for testing this assumption is a topic that has gained popularity over several years. Extensive literature exists on goodness of fit tests for normality under the assumption of independent identical distributed random variables. However, this is not the case for the context of stationary stochastic process, case in which the independence assumption is violated. For this matter, several tests have been proposed over the years. The aim of this work is to present a discussion and references of the most common tests for normality in stationary processes, such as Epps, Lobato and Velasco, the random projections, and Psaradakis and Vavra. For assessing model adequacy in a Bayesian approach,we propose an alternative methodology for checking model’s assumptions inspired by the random projection results with promising results, in all the designed case studies. Additionally we present our implemented nortsTest package, an R package that performs all the reviewed tests mentioned above.
The isometric horizontal push test correlates with jumping and sprinting performance among athletes and recreationally active controls

The aim of this study was two-fold: (i) to examine the relationships between force outputs measured in the isometric horizontal push test (IHPT) and athletic performances; (ii) to compare IHPT outputs between football players and recreationally active controls. Thirty-two male subjects (football players, n = 16; university students, n = 16) completed the IHPT, countermovement jump (CMJ), standing long jump (SLJ), 5 m, 10 m and 20 m sprint tests, randomly across two testing sessions. Multivariate linear regression analysis was used to examine the relationships between IHPT outputs and athletic performances by accounting for the subjects’ athletic background. An independent sample t-test was used to compare the IHPT outputs between groups. Moderate to very strong linear relationships (r2 range: 0.16–0.56) were found between the IHPT and all athletic performances (all p < .026). Percent variance explained by the IHPT outputs after accounting for groups difference was 16%, 56%, 54%, 48% and 40% for CMJ height, SLJ distance, 5 m, 10 m and 20 m sprint performances, respectively. Compared to controls (6.18 ± 0.89 N/kg), football players (10.09 ± 1.57 N/kg) achieved greater IHPT force outputs (p < .001, Hedges’ g = 3.2, large ES). The IHPT is clearly correlated to horizontal and vertical athletic performances and can adequately distinguish between athletes and recreationally active controls based on their IHPT results. Future studies should examine the usefulness of the IHPT as a testing tool informing training prescription and performance monitoring practices.
Predicting Doctor’s Impression For Radiology Reports with Abstractive Text Summarization

Predicting doctor’s impression (summarization) for radiology reports saves doctors and patients tremendous time from manually digging through the reports. But there are few pre-trained language models for summarization, especially for radiology datasets. We solve abstractive summarization for the free-text radiology reports in the MIMIC-CXR dataset [1] by building ClinicalBioBERTSum, which incorporates domain-speciﬁc BERT-based models into the state-of-the-art BERTSum architecture [2]. We give a well-rounded evaluation of our model performance utilizing both word-matching based metrics and semantic based metrics. Our best-performing model obtains a ROUGE-L F1 score of 57.37/100 and a Clinical-BioBERTScore of 0.55/1.00. With comprehensive experiments, we showcase that domain-speciﬁc pre-trained and ﬁne-tuned encoders and sentence-aware embed-dings could signiﬁcantly boost the performance of abstractive summarization for radiology reports. Our work also provides a set of pre-trained transformer weights that could further facilitate practitioner’s future research with radiology reports.
Effects of Land Rights on Agricultural Investment among Farmers in Okigwe Agricultural Zone , Imo State , Nigeria

The study evaluates the effects of land rights on agricultural investment in Imo, State. Simple random sampling technique was used to select 120 respondents from the list of farmers obtained from the Extension agent in-charge of Okigwe Agricultural Zone. The mean age of the respondents is 49.5. The respondents are married with over 60% educated, have large family size, and small farm size of 0.5-1ha. The existing tenure systems are purchase, inheritance, pledge, communal and rent. The respondents (87.5%) have use rights only. Land right affect enhance household food security, bolster family economy, increase optimal land use by farmers, eliminates fear of eviction, encourages investments, allow the development of an off farm economy and improve family stability. We concluded that secure land right is a veritable tool for poverty reduction, food security and agricultural investment. The benefits include bolstering family economy, enhancing household security and increasing optimal land use by farmers. It was therefore recommended that policies should be made by government for improving tenure security. Land should be made available to enhance agricultural production and programmes to increase the standard of living and the purchase of land should be introduced by the government. © 2015 Elixir All rights reserved. ARTICLE INFO Article history: Received: 1 May 2015; Received in revised form: 26 May 2015; Accepted: 4 June 2015;
Meta Learning on Topics as Tasks for Robust QA Performance

A key pain point of current neural QA-focused NLP systems is the lack of generalization — often these systems learn parameters that fail to generalize to never-before-seen data domains, unlike how humans can take previous knowledge and build accurate inferences beyond "training" data distributions. Clearly, advances in meta-learning have shown promise in improving model resiliency and adaptability across many AI domains, and thus we hope to modify our given Transformer QA model to improve performance on out-of-domain QA tasks and data. Specifically, we hope to use the Reptile meta-learning algorithm applied to multiple prelearning tasks — which we interpret to be topics from within a single dataset — to create a metalearner on which we test out-of-domain QA, in order to hopefully show that this model would be more robust than baseline (higher EM and FI scores).
Multisystemic Cellular Tropism of SARS-CoV-2 in Autopsies of COVID-19 Patients

Background: Multiorgan tropism of SARS-CoV-2 has previously been shown for several major organs. Methods: We have comprehensively analyzed 25 different formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues/organs from autopsies of fatal COVID-19 cases (n=8), using detailed histopathological assessment, detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA using polymerase chain reaction and RNA in situ hybridization, viral protein using immunohistochemistry, and virus particles using transmission electron microscopy. Finally, we confirmed these findings in an independent external autopsy cohort (n=9). Findings: SARS-CoV-2 RNA was mainly localized in epithelial cells, endothelial and mesenchymal cells across all organs. Next to lung, trachea, kidney, heart, or liver, viral RNA was also found in tonsils, salivary glands, oropharynx, thyroid, adrenal gland, testicles, prostate, ovaries, small bowel, lymph nodes, skin and skeletal muscle. Viral RNA was predominantly found in cells expressing ACE2, TMPRSS2, or both. The SARS-CoV-2 replicating RNA was also detected in these organs. Immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy were not suitable for reliable and specific SARS-CoV-2 detection in autopsies. The findings were validated using in situ hybridization on external COVID-19 autopsy samples. Finally, apart from the lung, correlation of virus detection and histopathological assessment did not reveal any specific alterations that could be attributed to SARS-CoV-2. Conclusion: SARS-CoV-2 could be observed in virtually all organs, colocalizing with ACE2 and TMPRSS2 mainly in epithelial but also in mesenchymal and endothelial cells, and viral replication was found across all organ systems. Apart from the respiratory tract, no specific (histo-)morphologic alterations could be assigned to the SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Enforceability of Noncompetition Agreements and Forced CEO Turnover

We examine whether corporate boards factor the potential cost of competitive harm caused by a departing CEO into the forced CEO turnover decision. Using staggered changes in the state-level enforceability of Covenants Not to Compete (CNC) for identification, we find that enhanced CNC enforceability increases both the likelihood of forced CEO turnover and the sensitivity of forced CEO turnover to firm performance. We present additional cross-sectional evidence that shows such effects are more pronounced when firms face more severe product market threats or operate in industries with greater potential threats of predatory hiring. Investors react to turnover announcements more positively when CNC enforceability increases, indicating that enhanced CNC enforceability increases efficiency in CEO replacement decisions.
Interest Rates and the Distribution of Housing Wealth

Do homeowners experience equal gains in housing wealth following shocks in interest rates? Exploiting incidental differences in the distribution of the metropolitan population to estimate demand for small neighborhoods, this paper shows that a decline of 1.2 percentage points in mortgage rates leads to a concurrent increase of 5% to 7% in home values in middle-priced neighborhoods. High- and low-priced neighborhoods experience no changes. I introduce a housing assignment model with credit constraints that rationalizes these findings. The results have two implications for the interest rate shock between July-2000 and December-2001. First, this shock led to an estimated contemporaneous aggregate increase of $160B to $240B in housing wealth for homeowners of middle-priced homes; and second, it may have caused an increase of 21% to 26% in house prices in middle-priced neighborhoods during the subsequent housing boom.
How Symbolic Human Resource Function Actions Affect the Implementation of High Performance Work Practices: The Mediating Effect of Influence on Strategic Decision Making

Despite growing evidence of HRM-performance linkages, the department entrusted to implement High Performance Work Practices (HPWPs), the Human Resource function, is perceived to lack organizational power. Drawing on political perspectives on organizational behavior, we argue that the HR function can increase its influence on strategic decision making in the organization by developing symbolic HR function actions such as interacting effectively with directors, involving line managers in HRM, outsourcing, and using HR metrics. Next, we explore how HR function influence is associated with implementation of HPWPs. Finally, we test whether the mediation mechanism is moderated by industry type within a global sample of 11,780 raters at 409 business units. The findings of this study have important implications for HR professionals who seek to implement HPWPs in their organizations. It provides insight into how HR functions can develop and use influence toward increasing line managers’ willingness to implement such practices.
The Impacts of Microcredit on Informal Risk Sharing: Experimental Evidence from China

This study examines the impacts of a large-scale government-led microcredit program on informal risk sharing among poor households in rural China based on a randomized controlled trial. The results show that financial inclusion, on average, reduced households’ borrowing from informal financial networks, and informal borrowing decreased substantially among households that were program members, regardless of whether they had borrowed from the program. Further analyses suggest that the program alleviated the dependence on informal financial networks to afford consumption shocks for program members who did not obtain program loans, and the crowding-out effect on informal borrowing existed even during the announcement period of the program for these households. These results are consistent with limited commitment models, which predict that access to microcredit raises the expected value of autarky utility relative to the utility derived from risk-pooling arrangements, and thus reduces the scope of implementable risk-sharing contracts.
For Love or Money? Family Versus Financial Blockholders in International Acquisitions

Research Question/Issue: We study the relationship between family blockholding of voting rights and the relative size of international acquisitions, and the moderating effect of two types of financial blockholders (pressure-resistant and pressure-sensitive blockholders). <br><br>Research Findings/Insights: Employing an international sample of 8,687 nonfinancial cross-border acquisitions conducted by 4,630 acquirer firms from 40 home markets to 66 host countries between 2004 and 2013, we find a U-shaped relationship between family blockholding of voting rights and the relative size of international acquisitions. Further, we find evidence that this relationship is moderated by the presence and type of financial blockholders. While pressure-resistant financial blockholders shift this relationship downwards (due to intensified conflicts), pressure-sensitive financial blockholders shift it upwards. <br><br>Theoretical/Academic Implications: We contribute to the literature on family firm governance and internationalization on several fronts. First, we revisit the predominant logic of linear effects of the family blockholding. We suggest the family blockholding’s effects are related to nonlinear risk preferences of family owners, expressed through SEW slack. Second, we suggest that the “dominant shareholder interest” assumption of family firms, usually based on the controlling family’s SEW should be interpreted contingent upon the interests of other financial shareholders. Finally, using family-financial blockholder conflicts as the scenario, we suggest that principal-principal conflicts depend on the composition of the conflicting blockholders, specifically, upon the nature of their relations with the firm. <br><br>Practitioner/Policy Implications: This study offers insights to policymakers and those interested in incentivizing family ownership that family owners’ risk behaviors should be understood and discussed in the context of different financial blockholders as a reference group. <br>
The Effects of Computerized Accounting System on Auditing Process: A Case Study From Northern Iraq

The study is aimed at determining the effects of computerized accounting systems (CAS) on the effectiveness and efficiency of internal audit. The study was conducted at Zanko bank and initially based on a sample size of 35 employees. However, only 30 managed to respond to the questionnaires as the others were not available. The researcher used stratified sampling and later random sampling to ensure equal chances of selection of all the respondents. The study used correlation coefficient tests and descriptive statistics to analyse the findings while paired sample t-tests were used to determine the validity of the formulated hypothesis. The results showed that CAS contributed to the effectiveness and efficiency of audit to a moderate extent through making the processing of transactions faster and minimizing errors. The findings also revealed that audit effectiveness has a significant impact on the auditing process. Audit efficiency, significance, and other CAS problems do not significantly impact the auditing process. Contributions from CAS were discovered to be negatively correlated with audit effectiveness and significant problems but positively correlated with audit efficiency and other CAS problems
The Impact of International Students on US Colleges: Higher Education as a Service Export

Between 2005 and 2016, international enrollment in US higher education nearly doubled. I examine how trade shocks in education affect public universities' decision-making. I construct a shift-share instrument to exploit institutions' historical networks with different origins of international students, income growth, and exchange-rate fluctuations. Contrary to claims that US-born students are crowded out, I find that international students increase schools' funding via tuition payments, which leads to increased in-state enrollment and lower tuition prices. Schools also keep steady per-student spending and recruit more students with high math scores. Lastly, states allocate more appropriations to universities that attract fewer international students.
Risk Factors for the Efficiency of Artificial Insemination in Dairy Cows and Economic Impact of Failure of First Service Insemination in and around Haramaya Town, Oromia Region, Eastern Ethiopia

A cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2019 to May 2020 in and around Haramaya Town to study the risk factors of artificial insemination (AI) in dairy cattle and evaluate the economic impact of failure of first service AI. A questionnaire survey and field follow-up were employed for collecting data from cattle owners and artificial insemination technicians (AITs) who were selected purposively. Out of the 221 inseminated cows and heifers, the overall conception rate was 60.2% (n = 133). The conception rate was statistically different between breed (P=0.019) and insemination time (P=0.049). From a total of 133 conceived cows and heifers, the conception rate was 68 (53.54%) in local breeds and 65 (69.15%) in cross breeds. Parity, age of cows, inseminator experience, and body condition of cows did not create a significant difference in conception rate (P > 0.05). Failure to conceive at their first AI results in an extra cost of 440 ETB per day until conception. Therefore, to increase the conception rate, dairy cows should be inseminated early when they show signs of estrous; the owners of dairy cows should be trained on how to detect estrous signs in dairy cows and AI technicians should also take training in order to improve their skills.
Hereditary cancer syndrome-associated pathogenic variants are common in patients with hematologic malignancies subsequent to primary solid cancer

Background: As the number of long-term survivors of solid cancers keeps increasing, risk assessment of secondary hematologic malignancies is important for the prognosis of the patient. Germline genetic predisposition to secondary hematologic malignancy has been studied widely in myeloid neoplasms and rarely in lymphoid neoplasms. This study aimed to profile the mutational spectrums of patients with subsequent lymphoid tissue neoplasm to shed some light on the understudied area. Methods: In total, 39 patients who had primary solid cancer and subsequent hematologic malignancies were enrolled. We performed two next-generation sequencing (NGS) panel tests encompassing hereditary cancer predisposition genes and genes related to clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP). All statistical analyses were performed using R 3.5. 1. Results: We found 8 of 39 patients with germline mutations in cancer predisposition genes; 4 of 18 patients had therapy-related myeloid neoplasms (22.2%); and 4 of 15 patients had secondary lymphoid malignancies (26.7%). Notably, of 14 patients who initially suffered from thyroid cancer, 5 patients (35.7%) had germline mutations. Malignancy of lymphoid tissue showed no association with radioactive iodine therapy but was observed to a greater extent in germline mutation-positive thyroid cancer patients regardless of their history of treatment. We observed that 24 of 39 patients (61.5%) were CHIP carriers. Patients who had secondary lymphoid malignancy were less likely to have CHIP than those who had myeloid malignancy. Conclusions: In patients with primary solid cancer who are planning to undergo cytotoxic chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or radioactive iodine therapy, an initial assessment with germline mutation testing using an expanded NGS panel, including low, moderate, and high-risk cancer-associated genes, and somatic CHIP mutation testing can screen the patients who are at risk of developing therapy-related myeloid and lymphoid malignancies. Through careful screening and monitoring throughout the treatment process, patients can benefit from the early detection of secondary malignancies and receive proper treatment.
Galectin-9 and PSMB8 overexpression predict unfavorable prognosis in patients with AML

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a deadly heterogeneous hematologic malignancy. Despite the well-characterized genetic characteristics and new promising targeted therapies for AML, the clinical outcome remains suboptimal. Galectin-9 (Gal-9) is a good potential target due to its immunosuppressive capacity in inflammatory processes. In our study, we firstly performed a wide range of integrated bioinformatical approach to assess the importance of Gal-9 by analyzing the expression, potential function and prognostic impact in AML. The results indicated that Gal-9 is overexpressed in AML cells, especially when relapse after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) and predicts poor prognosis. Co-expression analysis showed Gal-9 has a strong positive correlation with proteasome subunit beta type-8 (PSMB8), which was also highly expressed in AML with poor prognosis, implying a synergy in cell survival, cell signaling and the development of AML. In summary, we have confirmed the overexpression of Gal-9 and its partner PSMB8 in AML and validated their importance as prognostic factors. We propose that Gal-9 and PSMB8 could be a promising molecular target for treatment of AML and may provide more combined treatment options, especially in patients with relapse after HSCT.
Effect of a Cobalt-Based Oxygen Evolution Catalyst on the Stability and the Selectivity of Photo-Oxidation Reactions of a WO3 Photoanode

A bare WO3 electrode and a WO3 electrode coupled with a layer of Co−Pi oxygen evolution catalyst (OEC) were prepared to investigate the effect of Co−Pi OEC on the selectivity of photo-oxidation reactions and photostabilities of WO3 photoanodes. WO3 photoanodes have been reported to produce peroxo species as well as O2 during photo-oxidation reactions, and the accumulation of peroxo species on the surface is known to cause a gradual loss of photoactivity of WO3. The photocurrent to O2 conversion efficiencies of the WO3 and WO3/Co−Pi OEC electrodes were obtained by simultaneously measuring the photocurrent and O2 gas generated during illumination at 0.8 V vs Ag/AgCl. The result shows that the presence of OEC increases the photocurrent to O2 conversion efficiency from approximately 61% to approximately 100%. The complete suppression of peroxo formation provided the WO3/Co−Pi OEC photoelectrode with long-term photostability. The photocurrent−potential characteristics show that the presence of OEC effectively .