Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Visual-Motor Perceptual and Reading Processes of Schoolchildren With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Objectives: Compare and relate the performance of schoolchildren with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and with good academic performance in the visual-motor perceptual and reading processes. Method: Twenty schoolchildren, of both genders, aged between nine and 11 years old, participated in this study. They were divided into two groups: Group I (GI): comprising 10 students diagnosed with ADHD; and Group II (GII): 10 students with good academic performance paired according to gender, age group, and educational level with GI. All students were submitted to the Developmental Test of Visual Perception (DTVP 3) and Reading Processes Assessment Protocol (PROLEC). Results: There was lower performance of GI compared to GII in the subtests of copying, eye-hand coordination, and figure-ground in the standard score of general visual perception and visual-motor integration. GI presented lower performance in all reading processes except for the punctuation marks test. There was a statistically significant difference in the comparison between GI and GII regarding the classification of reading processes. A relationship was identified between the reading and visual perception subtests in the GI students, demonstrating a relationship between the visual perceptual motor skills and the reading processes in the group of students with ADHD. Conclusion: Schoolchildren with ADHD performed less well than their peers with good academic performance in the visual-motor perceptual and reading skills; such that the worse their performance in the visual-motor perceptual processes, the worse their performance in the reading processes.
Effect of Superplasticizer on Strength and Durability of Rice Husk Ash Concrete

In this research work, the effect of rice husk ash (RHA) along with and without superplasticizer (SP) on the properties of concrete was investigated. The good workability and compaction is key parameter for strength and durability of concrete, and it may achieved by adding SP in to the concrete. In India RHA is available in huge quantity. It is byproduct of agriculture. In present research ordinary portland cement (OPC) was replaced by 10 to 50% RHA. The fresh properties as workability and hardened properties of concrete as compressive strength were examined. For durability test water absorption, acid attack and sulphate attack tests were conducted.The test results show that at 10%RHA with SP the maximum strength of concrete was attained with respect to control concrete mix (CM). The satisfactory test results were shown for durability and strength. Such kind of blend concrete is more efficient to enhance the properties of concrete which reduce the consumption of cement. The utilization of agricultural byproduct makes concrete sustainable and reduce environmental problems. doi: 10.5829/ijee.2021. 12.03. 04
The timing of childbearing among the descendants of immigrants in France

This study analyses the transition to the first, second and third births for four groups of second generation immigrants in France – women of North and Sub-Saharan African, Southeast Asian and Turkish origin. It analyses the extent to which descendants of immigrants have assimilated to host-country fertility norms and whether the observed differences arise from cultural or structural determinants. Using the Trajectories and Origins Survey (Ined-Insee, 2008) and event history techniques, we show a convergence towards French standards, which, however, differs across groups. Those of Southeast Asian descent clearly deviate from fertility pattern of their parents, whereas those of Turkish descent preserve their parents’ cultural heritage the most. The differences in adaptation between groups depend on family social capital, family structure and family values. Access to a higher level of education is a crucial factor that erases differences between groups.
Primary Biliary Cholangitis: Predictors of Poor Response to Ursodeoxycholic Acid after 1 Year of Treatment in Moroccan Patients

Introduction: Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), the new dominance of primary biliary cirrhosis, is a cholestatic disease of autoimmune etiology and represents the leading cause of intra-hepatic cholestasis. Treatment is mainly based on ursodeoxycholic acid. The biological response to treatment is the main predictor of survival without liver transplantation. The Globe-score has been recently validated as the main prognostic factor. Materials and methods: This is a retrospective study carried out in our department collating all cases of PBC followed in consultation. The aim of our work is to research the predictors of poor response to UDCA. Results: 46 patients were collected. The mean age of the patients was 58.82 years, with a predominance of women (n = 43, 93.5%). 34.78% of patients were in the stage of cirrhosis. Anti-M2 mitochondria antibodies were positive in 44 patients (95.65%). An overlap syndrome was found in 11 patients (23.9%). Treatment was based on UDCA combined with corticosteroid therapy and immunosuppressant for overlap syndrome. A biochemical response at 1 year of treatment according to the Paris II criteria was found in 47.8%. The average value of the globe score was 1.35. A score greater than 0.30 was objectified in 20 cases (43.47%). Nineteen cirrhotic patients (41.30%) had a globe score> 0.30. Factors associated with poor response to therapy were: stage of decompensated cirrhosis, elevated pre-therapy total bilirubin greater than 30 g / l and hypoalbunemia less than 35 g / l. The study of the correlation between Globe score and Paris II showed a strong and significant association with a correlation coefficient estimated at 67%. The Paris II score was significantly correlated with the response to treatment (p = 0.001). Conclusion: In accordance with the data in the literature, the globe-score and Paris II are two similar predictive means for evaluating the response at 1 year of treatment in Moroccan context. Keywords: Morocco, Predictors of response, Primary biliary cholangitis, Ursodeoxycholic acid
Combine to Conquer: Innovations in the Use

The study main goal is to assess the effectiveness of deep learning models for the identification of solar panels in aerial images. To this end, various transfer learning approaches are evaluated to identify the most effective strategy. This contribution makes solely use of pre-trained deep learning architectures based on convolutional filters. CNNs can successfully be applied for the classification of solar panels in aerial images. The best performing model was the pre-trained version of the Xception network where all 126 layers were set to trainable. Training and testing accuracy of more than 90%. Nonetheless, we also discovered that generalization is an issue, as it does not seem to be possible to transfer the learning of Xception to other geographical regions. However, the performance of the VGG16 model during the generalization experiments that a successful application of a trained model on images from another area is possible
Therapeutic Antitumor Efficacy of Cancer Stem Cell-Derived DRibble Vaccine on Colorectal Carcinoma

Dendritic cell (DC)-based immunotherapy has been a promising strategy for colon cancer therapy, but the efficacy of dendritic cell vaccines is in part limited by immunogenicity of loaded antigens. In this study, we aimed to identify a putative tumor antigen that can generate or enhance anti-tumor immune responses against colon cancer. CD44+ colon cancer stem cells (CCSCs) were isolated from mouse colorectal carcinoma CT-26 cell cultures and induced to form defective ribosomal products-containing autophagosome-rich blebs (DRibbles) by treatment with rapamycin, bortezomib, and ammonium chloride. DRibbles were characterized by western blot and transmission electron microscopy. DCs generated from the mice bone marrow monocytes were cocultured with DRibbles, then surface markers of DCs were analyzed by flow cytometry. Meanwhile, the efficacy of DRibble-DCs was examined in vivo. Our results showed that CCSC-derived DRibbles upregulated CD80, CD86, major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-I, and MHC-II on DCs and induced proliferation of mouse splenic lymphocytes and CD8+ T cells. In a model of colorectal carcinoma using BALB/c mice with robust tumor growth and mortality, DC vaccine pulsed with CCSC-derived DRibbles suppressed tumor growth and extended survival. A lactate dehydrogenase test indicated a strong cytolytic activity of cytotoxic T-cells derived from mice vaccinated with CCSC-derived DRibbles against CT-26 cells. Furthermore, flow cytometry analyses showed that the percentages of IFN-γ-producing CD8+ T-cells were increased in SD-DC group compare with the other groups. These findings provide a rationale for novel immunotherapeutic anti-tumor approaches based on DRibbles derived from colon cancer stem cells.
Diacetyl in Australian dry red wines and its significance in wine quality

The diacetyl content of 466 Australian dry red table wines ranged from less than 0.1 ppm to 7.5 ppm with a mean of 2.4 ppm. Malo-lactic fermentation had occurred in 71 per cent of the wines, which had a mean diacetyl level of 2.8 ppm. In wines which had not undergone malo-lactic fermentation the mean diacetyl level 1.3 ppm. Taste threshold tests showed that a difference of as little as 1 ppm could be detected in a light dry red wine containing 0.3 ppm diacetyl. In a full flavoured darker wine of higher quality containing 3 ppm the minimum detectable addition was 1.3 ppm. It is considered that diacetyl in amounts up to 2 to 4 ppm, depending on the wine, improved quality by adding complexity to the flavour. Above these levels the aroma of diacetyl became identifiable as such and resulted in a reduction in quality. The diacetyl content of a range of red table wines stored at 15° C showed a mean decrease of 19 per cent in diacetyl content in 4 months, 22 per cent in 8 months, 26 per cent in 12 months and 28 per c ent in 18 months.
In vitro antioxidant potential of Mallotus repandus (Willd.) Muell. Arg stem extract and its active constituent bergenin

Mallotus repandus (MR) is used in Thai traditional medicine recipes for anti-inflammation and adaptive homeostasis. Bergenin is the bioactive constituent in MR stem. This study evaluated the in vitro antioxidant activity of bergenin and the methanol, ethanol, and water extracts of MR stem prepared by maceration and Soxhlet extraction by assaying 2,2-azino-bis-(3ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS), hydroxyl (OH), superoxide (O2), and nitric oxide (NO) radical scavenging activities and ferric reducing antioxidant power. Bergenin had the highest ferric reducing power and all the MR extracts showed concentration-dependent ferric reducing power. Methanol and water extracts showed superior radical scavenging activities compared to ethanol extract. The water and methanol Soxhlet extracts demonstrated the highest ABTS and OH radical scavenging activities, respectively, and the macerated water extract had the lowest O2 and NO IC50 values. Therefore, MR stem and bergenin are promising natural candidates for developing antioxidant supplements.
How to Create Knowledge Sharing Behavior: The Key Success of Lecturers Performance

This paper examines the influence of Leadership Spirituality and Workplace Spirituality on Knowledge Sharing Behavior and Lecturers Performance at State Islamic University of Sultan Syarif Kasim Riau. To achieve this goal, the study was conducted on a sample of 112 Lecturers of State Islamic University of Sultan Syarif Kasim Riau. Data collection was primarily conducted using a questionnaire and analyzed through Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The hypothesis was tested by examining the value of R-Square, Q-Square, and path coefficient. This approach was meant to determine how the latent dependent variable is influenced by the independent latent variable and significance test. The results showed that Leadership Spirituality did not significantly influence Knowledge Sharing Behavior or the Performance of Lecturers. Contrastingly, Workplace Spirituality significantly influence the Knowledge Sharing Behavior of Lecturers. However, it did not significantly affect the Performance of Lecturers. Additionally, Knowledge Sharing Behavior has no significant effect on Lecturer Performance. The structural model has a good Goodness of Fit. To create an excellent spiritual work environment, the university should encourage community service activities and make a more tangible contribution to society. This is because of the community's needs to create a more spiritual work environment. Corporate Social Responsibility activities need to be prioroitized to increase public confidence in the university and apply useful research results in the community.
Dynamic Bundling of Goods and Bads in Media Markets

We develop a framework to study dynamic media consumption decisions and their tensions with the interests of advertiser-supported media. The model captures the core characteristics of how commercial media markets operate and audiences form. Media trade utility-raising goods (programs, information, and services) with audiences in exchange for utility-decreasing bads (exposure to advertisements), and goods are otherwise free to the audience except for their opportunity cost of time. Goods and bads are dynamically arranged, and as such traded in an intertemporal bundle. No monetary transfers take place between media and audiences, and this barter exchange is not contractually sustained.
Bunching Responses to Training Expenses Deduction Policy: Evidence from Kinks in China

This paper explores firms’ bunching responses to training expenses deduction policy using microdata on Chinese manufacturing firms from 2004 to 2007. By exploiting a bunching method, we estimate elasticities of training intensity with respect to (one plus) the marginal tax rate at the kink points. We provide robust evidence that firms bunch at the kink points and gradually respond to threshold change. Taking the policy compliance into account, the estimated elasticity of fiscal incentive is −0.713 and −0.499 for DOEs and FOEs, respectively. Based on these estimates, we find that if all the training expenses are deductible, the training intensity will increase by 23.5% (DOEs) and 7.5% (FOEs). Heterogeneous analyses indicate that the wage-ratio-based policy may spur more bunching incentives among firms with higher wage bills. Finally, we rule out alternative explanations of tax evasion and relabeling.
Climate Events and Return Comovement

We show that individual stock returns comove more with market returns when there are climate disasters such as hurricanes and floods. Comovement increases in the month of and the month following the disaster before declining back to normal levels. The impact of climate events on comovement is stronger in recessions and crisis periods but is evident in all periods. The increased return correlation stems from an increase in covariance rather than stock or market standard deviations. Moreover, we show that climate events affect comovement more strongly in stocks with greater sensitivity to its local economy and higher information asymmetry.
Platform Policies and Sellers’ Competition in Agency Selling in the Presence of Online Quality Misrepresentation

ABSTRACT On e-commerce platforms, consumers rely heavily on online reviews, sales volume, and social media discussions to infer product quality. As a result, the past decade has witnessed an explosive growth of seller-initiated misrepresentation of quality through fake reviews, fake sales, and fake posts. We develop an analytical model to investigate sellers’ competition in quality misrepresentation in agency pricing and the platform’s policies. The platform can discourage sellers’ quality misrepresentations by increasing the cost of misrepresentation or implementing a more lenient product return policy. We find that while a stricter anti-misrepresentation policy deters the misrepresentation of the high-quality seller, such a strategy may unintendedly incentivize the low-quality seller to misrepresent the quality more. Furthermore, increasing return leniency deters low-quality seller’s misrepresentation in a wider range of market conditions than increasing the misrepresentation cost. We show sellers’ online quality misrepresentation behaviors in a competitive setting, and our results have practical implications for platform policies.
Physician Response to Prices of Other Physicians: Evidence from a Field Experiment

Recent efforts to increase price transparency for American consumers of health care have largely failed to produce savings. At the same time, little effort has been made towards increasing physician-side price transparency, which may be due to limited high-quality research being available on the topic. I try to address this limitation in the literature by performing a field experiment on physician price transparency for an area that has received little attention: physician referrals. Working with a group of medical practices linked as an Independent Practice Association (IPA), I randomly selected primary care practices to receive a list of prices for new referrals to six ophthalmology practices that were part of the IPA's provider network. These practices handled the bulk of the IPA's ophthalmology patients and represented substitute providers. Using the IPA's administrative data on referrals, I find that during the first two months following the distribution of the price list, the treatment group primary care physicians (PCPs) increased referral share towards the least expensive ophthalmology practice by 147 percent. These referrals were allocated away from the most expensive practice and those not listed on the report. These effects were only found, however, for patients for whom the PCPs had a cost reduction incentive. The large initial effect dissipated over the following four months. For patients with a limited financial interest for the PCPs, I find little evidence of a treatment response. These contrasting results suggest the PCPs were influenced by cost reduction motives and provide evidence of the potential for savings from physician-side price transparency.
Intellectual Capital and Sustainable Economic Performance in the Public Sector: The Context of the New Public Management in Malaysia

The New Public Management allows us to reflect upon whether intellectual capital helps public sector organisations meet their performance benchmarks. Sustainable economic performance gains importance from the public sector’s service ideal. Although there have been empirical endeavours using intellectual capital as operational variables, this study examines the theoretically informed relationship between the intellectual capital construct and its construct dimensions and the sustainable economic performance construct and its construct dimensions. The decision-making inputs of senior officials in the Malaysian public sector are vital for evaluating the relationship, as these officials are the individual strategists of the collective organisational strategy. The study conducted a survey that received 1092 usable responses and analysed them using the structural equation modelling research method. The findings showed a robust theoretical relationship between intellectual capital and sustainable economic performance. Furthermore, the study identified intellectual capital items that play a vital role in supporting public sector sustainable economic performance in Malaysia under New Public Management. The findings provide useful knowledge for public sector officials and policymakers, and for further research.
Risky Asset Holdings During Covid‐19 and their Distributional Impact: Evidence from Germany

We present evidence from a repeated survey on risky asset holdings carried out on a representative sample of the German population six times between April and June 2020. Given the size of the Covid‐19 shock, we find little evidence of portfolio rebalancing in April 2020. In May, however, individual investors started buying heavily, parallel to market recovery. The cross‐section shows large differences as young, educated, high income, and risk tolerant investors are net buyers throughout and, thus, benefit from the stock market recovery. Older individuals, parents of young children, and individuals affected by adverse liquidity shocks from Covid‐19 are net sellers. Given the high risk of illness, older people are hit by dual blows to both health and finances.
The Stakeholder Corporation and Social Welfare

The stakeholder (or responsible) firm maximizes the (weighted or unweighted) sum of the surpluses of its customers and suppliers (including workers). Although this objective is hard to empirically measure, it can be pursued by simple management rules that rely on constrained profit maximization. Unconstrained profit maximization gives a competitive edge to ordinary firms, but stakeholder firms are better for social welfare and internalize several important effects of their activities on society. Long-term entry decisions should rely on profit modified by Pigouvian pricing of externalities, and this result provides a novel justification for the polluter-pays principle.
(Mis-)Perception of Inequality: Measures, Determinants, and Consequences

Despite being considered by many to be harmful for society, inequality has been rising in the past decades. How people experience the level of inequality may be different from the objective levels of inequality. In this literature review we systematically revisit common elicitation methods of perceived inequality and find that they lead to quite different conclusions. Yet, it is clear that most people’s perceptions of inequality are biased. Individuals’ past experience and exposure to local inequality, have profound impact on subjective perception of inequality and on redistribution preferences. Positive expectations about upward mobility explain lack of support for redistribution.
Does a Mutual Fund’s Exposure to Pollution Influence Its Environmental Engagements?

This paper studies the relationship between mutual fund management's direct experience with air pollution and the fund's engagements with portfolio companies on environmental issues. We find that higher air pollution in a mutual fund's headquarter county increases the propensity of the fund to vote in support of shareholders' environmental proposals and to liquidate its holdings of portfolio firms with lower environmental ratings. We also find that greater air pollution exposure of a mutual fund predicts better environmental performance at its portfolio companies. To establish causality, we use elevated air pollution produced by large wildfires in a mutual fund's headquarter county as an instrument and identify similar effects on the outcome variables. These results suggest that a mutual fund's direct exposure to pollution can inform its environmental engagements at its portfolio companies.