Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Who is responsible for asymmetric fuel price adjustments? An application of the threshold cointegrated VAR model

ABSTRACT The purpose of the paper is to test the hypothesis about asymmetric price transmission between the fuel markets. The distribution chain is considered at three levels: the European wholesale market, the domestic wholesale market, and the domestic retail market. It is shown that between the European and domestic wholesale markets fuel prices adjust symmetrically and asymmetrically between the domestic wholesale market and the retail market. This finding confirms that the most probable cause of asymmetric price adjustments (especially in new EU member states) is the behaviour of petrol stations and not of oil companies. The empirical analysis is conducted using an appropriately modified Hansen-Seo method. The procedure, which has until recently been used to estimate bivariate threshold models, prevents the presence of the constant in the cointegrating vector entailing the risk of severe distortion of the estimation results. Moreover, the interpretation of a dummy variable present in the CVAR equation as a result of a data generating process distortion is limited by its presence in the cointegration space.
A novel technique for monitoring highly cryptic lizard species in forests.

—There are few effective or efficient methods for monitoring arboreal forest lizards, especially in areas with low lizard densities. This is problematic for their conservation and research. I developed a novel technique for capturing lizards using closed-cell foam covers as artificial retreats placed on tree trunks. I tested the method at three sites in New Zealand by comparing lizard occupancy rates with the outcomes from conventional methods (lizard houses, g-minnow traps, pitfall traps, Onduline artificial retreats, and spotlighting). At the site where Duvaucel’s Geckos (Hoplodactylus duvaucelii) were abundant, most methods detected their presence, but the foam cover technique detected geckos much more effectively (39 geckos per 100 observations). Also, I was able to sample juvenile lizards better using foam covers than any other technique, and both sexes used foam covers equally. On a per unit effort basis, night spotlighting resulted in 0.6–1.6 geckos per hour, whereas covers returned 3.1 geckos per hour. At the other two sites where either Pacific Geckos (H. pacificus) or Forest Geckos (H. granulatus) were at low densities, only foam covers detected them. Lizard houses typically caught either zero to one gecko per 100 observations; whereas, at these sites, foam covers returned four geckos per 100 observations, despite low gecko abundance. This is a significant improvement in detection. Foam covers offer improved population sampling of arboreal forest lizards, improved efficiency, and lower costs compared to other sampling techniques. They may also reduce some potential biases experienced when using other sampling techniques. This study suggests that foam covers are an effective method for inventorying and monitoring arboreal lizard communities.
Quantifying sand delivery to deep water during changing sea‐level: Numerical models from the Quaternary Brazos Icehouse continental margin

Sequence stratigraphy for clastic continental margins predicts the development of sand‐rich turbidite deposits during specific times in relation to base‐level cycles. It is now widely understood that deltas can extend to the shelf‐edge forced by high sediment flux and/or base level, providing a direct connection to transfer sediment and sand to the slope and basin floor even during high base level periods. Herein, we build a stratigraphic forward model for the last 120 kyr of the fluvio‐deltaic to deep‐water Brazos system (USA) where sediment partitioning along an Icehouse continental margin can be evaluated. The reduced‐complexity stratigraphic forward model employs geologically constrained input parameters and mass balance. The modelled architecture is consistent with the location of depositional units previously mapped in the shelf. Sand bypasses the shelf and upper slope between 35 to 15 kyr before present and only about 20%–30% of all the sediment and sand supplied to the system is transferred to deep water. Several scenarios based on the initial Brazos model investigate the relationships between base level and deep‐water sand ratio (DWSR). DWSR is defined as the relative amount of sand transferred to the deep‐water portions of the system subdivided by the total sand input to the model. Linear correlations between DWSR and base level change rates or base level are very poor. Short‐term variability due to local processes (for example avulsions) is superimposed to the long‐term trends and mask the base level signal. DWSR for an entire base‐level cycle is mainly controlled by the proportion of time the delta stays docked at the shelf‐edge. Stratigraphic forward models are useful to complement field observations and quantify how different processes control stratigraphy, which is important for making predictions in areas with limited information.
Degradability of Forages in Sacco

Abstract Rumen degradabilities of meadow grasses and silages of the same grasses were observed by incubation in sacco for 2, 6, 24 and 48 h. Samples of crops and silages were oven dried (70°C) and freeze dried (-60°C). Grass crops lost more dry matter (DM) and organic matter (DM) than silages, while silages showed the greater losses of N at 2 and 6 h incubation. Rate constants of losses, obtained by non linear regression, ranged higher for crops than silages. DM losses exceeded OM losses, but gradually less by extended incubation. Freeze drying resulted in greater losses than oven drying, yet mainly until 12 h incubation. The effect of drying method was greater on silages than crops, but initial losses of N was more depressed by oven drying of crops than silages. Efective protein degradability (EPD) ranked higher for silages than crops and higher for freeze dried oven dried samples. Increasing outflow rate from the rumen would decreased EPD to a greater degree for grass crops than silages.
Assessment of alcoholic beverage addiction in Nigerian secondary school adolescents: a cross-sectional study using a self-administered questionnaire adapted from a validated WHO substance use questionnaire

F Background. Alcoholic beverage addiction among adolescents appears to be a global problem. However, its prevalence among secondary school adolescents in south-east Nigeria is poorly documented. Objectives. To determine the prevalence of alcoholic beverage addiction among secondary school adolescents in a south-eastern Nigerian city. Material and methods. 500 adolescents aged 12–19 years were recruited from 5 out of 9 secondary schools in a south-eastern Nige rian city by random sampling. The validated World Health Organization (WHO) drug-use questionnaire was adapted for the study and administered to these students. Data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics on SPSS Version 16.0. The level of statisti cal significance was set at p < 0.05. Results. The prevalence of alcoholic beverage addiction was 48.2% (236/490) with a male: female ratio of 2.4:1. The addiction rate was highest amongst students aged 18–19 years (55.4%, 93/168, p = 0.001) and students from the middle socio-economic class (28/45, 62.2%, p = 0.001). Approximately 49% of the addicted students were initiated into consumption of alcoholic beverages by their peers, while 56.8% used it in order to achieve euphoria. Conclusions. The prevalence of alcoholic beverage addiction among secondary school adolescents in this study is seen as high. Factors such as male gender, peer-group pressures, middle socio-economic class and being older were significant contributors to this high rate of alcohol addiction. Parental divorce and parental deaths were equally contributory to this high rate.
Host response gene transcript accumulation in relation to visible cytological events during Erysiphe graminis attack in isogenic barley lines differing at the Ml-a locus

Abstract Temporal patterns of transcript accumulation of six host response genes (β-1,3 glucanase and five of unknown function), were determined for two near-isogenic barley lines (Algerian R and Algerian S), differing at the Ml-a locus for race-specific incompatibility with Erysiphe graminis f.sp. hordei . The cDNAs of these response genes were originally cloned in other laboratories. Transcript levels of the six response genes were measured using quantitative, radioanalytical analysis of Northern blots containing RNA isolated from leaves at discrete intervals from 0-48 h after inoculation. At each time interval, leaf tissue was also fixed and stained for light microscopic observations of fungal development and host epidermal cell responses to E. graminis . Response gene transcripts accumulated in biphasic patterns corresponding to periods of cytoplasmic aggregation and papilla deposition in host cells beneath primary germ tubes at 2-10 h after inoculation and again beneath appressoria at 10-21 h. This biphasic pattern was virtually the same in both isolines up to 21 h, indicating that transcript accumulation was a general, race nonspecific response to pathogen attack. From 21 to 40 h after inoculation, transcript levels tended to remain higher in the resistant than in the susceptible isoline, possibly as a consequence of hypersensitive epidermal cell death which was visible only by light microscopy and occurred at 18-30 h in the resistant isoline.
Pathogenic Germline DNA Repair Gene and HOXB13 Mutations in Men With Metastatic Prostate Cancer.

PURPOSE Germline mutations in DNA repair (DR) genes and susceptibility genes CDKN2A and HOXB13 have previously been associated with prostate cancer (PC) incidence and/or progression. However, the role and prevalence of this class of mutations in metastatic PC (mPC) are not fully understood. PATIENTS AND METHODS To evaluate the frequency of pathogenic/likely pathogenic germline variants (PVs/LPVs) in men with mPC, this study sequenced 38 DR genes, CDKN2A, and HOXB13 in a predominantly white cohort of 317 patients with mPC. A PC registry at the University of Utah was used for patient sample acquisition and retrospective clinical data collection. Deep target sequencing allowed for germline and copy number variant analyses. Validated PVs/LPVs were integrated with clinical and demographic data for statistical correlation analyses. RESULTS All pathogenic variants were found in men self-reported as white, with a carrier frequency of 8.5% (DR genes, 7.3%; CDKN2A/HOXB13, 1.2%). Consistent with previous reports, mutations were most frequently identified in the breast cancer susceptibility gene BRCA2. It was also found that 50% of identified PVs/LPVs were categorized as founder mutations with European origins. Correlation analyses did not support a trend toward more advanced or earlier-onset disease in comparisons between carriers and noncarriers of deleterious DR or HOXB13 G84E mutations. CONCLUSION These findings demonstrate a lower prevalence of germline PVs/LPVs in an unselected, predominantly white mPC cohort than previously reported, which may have implications for the design of clinical trials testing targeted therapies. Larger studies in broad and diverse populations are needed to more accurately define the prevalence of germline mutations in men with mPC.
Transformer-Based Text-to-Speech with Weighted Forced Attention

This paper investigates state-of-the-art Transformer- and FastSpeech-based high-fidelity neural text-to-speech (TTS) with full-context label input for pitch accent languages. The aim is to realize faster training than conventional Tacotron-based models. Introducing phoneme durations into Tacotron-based TTS models improves both synthesis quality and stability. Therefore, a Transformer-based acoustic model with weighted forced attention obtained from phoneme durations is proposed to improve synthesis accuracy and stability, where both encoder–decoder attention and forced attention are used with a weighting factor. Furthermore, FastSpeech without a duration predictor, in which the phoneme durations are predicted by another conventional model, is also investigated. The results of experiments using a Japanese female corpus and the WaveGlow vocoder indicate that the proposed Transformer using forced attention with a weighting factor of 0.5 outperforms other models, and removing the duration predictor from FastSpeech improves synthesis quality, although the proposed weighted forced attention does not improve synthesis stability.
Convergence of Password Guessing to Optimal Success Rates †

Password guessing is one of the most common methods an attacker will use for compromising end users. We often hear that passwords belonging to website users have been leaked and revealed to the public. These leaks compromise the users involved but also feed the wealth of knowledge attackers have about users’ passwords. The more informed attackers are about password creation, the better their password guessing becomes. In this paper, we demonstrate using proofs of convergence and real-world password data that the vulnerability of users increases as a result of password leaks. We show that a leak that reveals the passwords of just 1% of the users provides an attacker with enough information to potentially have a success rate of over 84% when trying to compromise other users of the same website. For researchers, it is often difficult to quantify the effectiveness of guessing strategies, particularly when guessing different datasets. We construct a model of password guessing that can be used to offer visual comparisons and formulate theorems corresponding to guessing success.
Hemocompatibility of Carbon Nanostructures

Carbon nanostructures (CNs), such as carbon nanotubes, fullerenes, carbon dots, nanodiamonds as well as graphene and its derivatives present a tremendous potential for various biomedical applications, ranging from sensing to drug delivery and gene therapy, biomedical imaging and tissue engineering. Since most of these applications encompass blood contact or intravenous injection, hemocompatibility is a critical aspect that must be carefully considered to take advantage of CN exceptional characteristics while allowing their safe use. This review discusses the hemocompatibility of different classes of CNs with the purpose of providing biomaterial scientists with a comprehensive vision of the interactions between CNs and blood components. The various complex mechanisms involved in blood compatibility, including coagulation, hemolysis, as well as the activation of complement, platelets, and leukocytes will be considered. Special attention will be paid to the role of CN size, structure, and surface properties in the formation of the protein corona and in the processes that drive blood response. The aim of this review is to emphasize the importance of hemocompatibility for CNs intended for biomedical applications and to provide some valuable insights for the development of new generation particles with improved performance and safety in the physiological environment.
Organizational Hindrances to the Retention of Older Healthcare Workers

The Swedish healthcare sector is currently experiencing recruitment difficulties combined with increasing demand for healthcare services. This study accordingly seeks knowledge of the obstacles to and opportunities for retaining older employees in the Swedish healthcare sector. Results of interviews with line managers and human resource (HR) partners indicate that the informants have positive attitudes toward older healthcare workers in general, particularly acknowledging their contributions based on long experience and skill. However, line managers’ high workload, the absence of age-management strategies, and universal HR policies not conducive to older workers’ individual needs are considered obstacles to retention on an organizational level. To retain older healthcare workers and maintain their ability and motivation, the healthcare sector and especially HR strategies need to be more proactive in addressing these issues, and formalized policies are required in order to benefit from the potential labor reserve that older employees constitute. (Less)
Skeletal muscle fatigue in health and disease : the role of active muscle mass, afferent feedback and oxidative stress

The overall objective of this thesis was to examine skeletal muscle function and the development of peripheral quadriceps fatigue in health and in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The aim of the first study was to further elucidate the role of afferent feedback in the regulation of locomotor muscle fatigue during dynamic exercise by varying the amount of active muscle mass. Utilizing cycling (BIKE) and single-leg knee extensor (KE) exercise, far greater quadriceps fatigue at exhaustion was observed following KE exercise. These data imply that when the source of skeletal muscle afferent feedback is confined to a small muscle mass, the central nervous system tolerates a greater magnitude of peripheral fatigue, and likely a greater intramuscular metabolic disturbance; a finding that has important implications for the adoption of small muscle mass exercise in rehabilitative medicine. The second study sought to determine the impact of an acute oral antioxidant cocktail (AOC), with previously documented efficacy, on free radical concentration and KE exercise performance in patients with COPD. In this population, recognized to have elevated oxidative stress, administration of the AOC significantly attenuated resting free radical levels, which were negatively correlated with the degree of airflow limitation and baseline MVC force. Upon secondary analysis, however, a dichotomous response to the AOC was recognized, whereby the AOC appeared to be most efficacious in those patients with high initial free radical levels, with minimal effects when the initial free radical
An Epidemiological Study of Female Breast Cancer in Sulaymaniyah City, Iraqi Kurdistan

Introduction: The present study was aimed at describing the epidemiological characteristics of female breast cancer and explore its main risk factors in Sulaymaniyah city, the Kurdistan region of Iraq.Material and Methods: The present case-control study was conducted in Sulaymaniyah, the Kurdistan region of Iraq from 2012-2014 in two hospitals. The study sample consisted of 150 women with breast cancer and 150 healthy women. Required data including sociodemographic and lifestyle factors, medical history, and reproductive factors were collected using a questionnaire through face-to-face interviews.Results: The mean age of the cases and controls was 47.89±10.98 and 47.38±10.87 years respectively. Low level of education was a risk factor for breast cancer, such that breast cancer was significantly less prevalent among women with university education than those with lower education (P=0.001). The likelihood of developing breast cancer in women with a positive family history of cancer was significantly higher (P=0.003). Also, women with rural residency, unemployment, low income, early age of menopause, multigravida (+3), history of abortion, duration of feeding the first and second babies, and obesity were at a significantly higher risk of developing breast cancer (P<0.05). Conclusion: The Kurdish women in Iraq, develop breast cancer at age range of 40-50 years. Women with low level of education, a positive family history of cancer, rural residency, unemployment, low income, multigravida (+3), history of abortion, and obesity need to be taken into special consideration in order to diagnose breast cancer early and adopt appropriate interventions.
The Mediating Role of Leisure Satisfaction between Work and Family Domain and Work-Life Balance

This study aimed to determine the mediating role of leisure satisfaction between work domain (work overload and job involvement), family domain (family workload and family support) and work-life balance among teachers in Kuching. Fifty employees responded to the self-administered questionnaire in one of a primary school in Kuching area. Data was analyzed Pearson Correlation, Regression and Sobel Test. Results indicated that work overload and family workload are negative and significantly influence employee work-life balance while job involvement and family support are positive and significantly effect work-life balance. This research revealed work overload, job involvement, family workload, family support, and work-life balance are partially mediated by leisure satisfaction. Thus, it is recommended for organizations to organize variety of leisure activities as a strategy to assist employees to improve work-life balance. Keywords: Work overload; Job involvement; Family workload; Family support; Leisure satisfaction; Work-life balance
The Effectiveness of English Learning Media through Google Classroom in Higher Education

The technological development of the industrial revolution era 4.0 greatly influenced the world of education, especially higher education. The purpose of this study was to analyze the effectiveness of the implementation of education using Blended learning based learning in the Covid 19 season. Blended learning used one of which is Google Classroom. Blended learning involves all academics in the tertiary institution in English language courses. This research is a trial with two cycles namely cycle I and cycle II. The results of the data are analyzed based on the cycle in the implementation of learning. The results achieved in this study describe blended learning, knowing Google classroom as an alternative in learning English, and learning blended learning through Google classroom. Results in Cycle I are on average lower than Cycle II as measured by learning (69% to 100%), active student (27% to 100%), achievements (89% to 96%), learning process (70% to 100 %), complete score 25% to 86%), not complete ye (75% to 12%), success (45% to 75%) The use of Google classroom can improve the results of the average achievement of English material on students of English education departments. The conclusion of this research is that this application can run effectively, in order to help facilitate lecturers and students in English education study programs in carrying out the learning process more deeply.
Speech Intelligibility Enhancement by Equalization for in-Car Applications

In this paper, we propose a speech intelligibility enhancement method for typical in-car applications in noisy environments. While traditional speech enhancement algorithms aim at increasing the Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR), the goal here is to increase intelligibility by applying dedicated voice transformation techniques without changing the original SNR. The proposed method consists in an adaptive equalizer which reallocates the energy of frequency bands to maximize the Speech Intelligibility Index (SII) under the constraint of a fixed perceived loudness. The validation of the algorithm is carried out by means of a perceptual test derived from the Hearing in Noise Test (HINT) using four typical in-car noises of different driving conditions. The results obtained demonstrate the merit of the algorithm for low-frequency noises, that correspond to usual driving conditions, but also show the limit of the algorithm on noises with a spectrum more spread out induced by rain.