Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Funds Managers' Risk Tolerance vis-a-vis Ability: Market Structure Implications

Suppose funds managers are differentiated by innate ability at some origin point in time. Suppose also that funds managers are homogeneous with respect to risk tolerance. Regardless of continuity of the continuum for asset risk, the continuum of risk-return trade-offs that is available to funds managers is shown to be endogenously and rigidly segmented into continuums of `safe', and `innovative' assets. Stated endogenous rigid segmentation is shown to induce a U-shaped return generating function (equivalently, topology) for either of native or expected returns, with outcome the universe of fund performance is characterized by a U-shaped return distribution. The resulting U-shaped return distribution, which cannot be rationalized by heterogeneity of risk tolerance, resolves an empirical anomaly - the finding that index funds (safe funds) perform about as well as actively managed funds (innovative funds). In aggregate, while the risk tolerance paradigm casts funds managers as competing primarily with reference to assets' native return potential, the ability paradigm casts funds managers as competing primarily with reference to capacity for right interpretation of information for conditioning of asset expected returns. We arrive then at optimality of conditioning of funds managers' compensation on fund size, as opposed to fund performance.
From crisis to opportunity? Innovations in Australian social work field education during the COVID-19 global pandemic

ABSTRACT In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, Australian universities have had to radically rethink and reconfigure many aspects of social work education. This has been particularly pronounced for field education, as human service organizations that ordinarily host student placements have also needed to rapidly design remote modes of service delivery in the context of current social distancing requirements, and unprecedented demands for assistance. Prior to COVID-19, a growing body of literature had emerged, mounting concerns about the current Australian model of field education. During the pandemic, the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) has modified some of the standards related to field education. Such variations are entirely necessary in the context of the pandemic and create opportunities for social work educators, not only to imagine new models of field education that are more suitable for contemporary contexts but to implement and trial them in ways that have not been possible until now. This paper largely focuses on innovations in field education that are currently being developed and implemented at Queensland University of Technology (QUT), in Australia.
PERFORMANCE OF AMMONIA-FIRED GAS-TURBINE COMBUSTORS

Abstract : A theoretical and experimental program was undertaken to investigate scaling and combustion in gaseous ammonia-fired gas turbine combustors. Theoretical analysis of performance and scale test data previously performed strongly indicates that the final size chosen for an operating gas turbine is performance-limited almost equally by chemical reaction kinetics (residence time) and by turbulent diffusion or mixing processes (velocity or Reynolds number). Experimental results confirmed that a small-diameter combustor is chemically rate-limited at pressures very slightly less than the minimum previously reported, and becomes limited almost equally by chemistry and mixing at higher pressures. The fundamental problem with utilizing gaseous ammonia as a turbine fuel is certainly the relatively slow (compared to hydrocarbon fuels) chemical reaction between ammonia and air. As air flow is reduced, to allow sufficient residence time for the reaction to progress, diminished Reynolds number effects lead to less efficient mixing. This in turn leads to decreased combustion efficiency. The only apparent solutions (apart from chemical enrichment by cracking or use of additives) are to use a smaller fuel nozzle orifice to create a more vigorous fuel jet in the primary zone, and to use two or more combustors in parallel rather than build a single larger combustor.
A Study of Cardiogenic Stroke Risk in Non-valvular Atrial Fibrillation Patients

Objectives: We attempted to develop more precisely quantified risk models for predicting cardiogenic stroke risk in non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) patients. Methods: We conducted a case-control study, using data from hospitalized patients with AF who underwent transesophageal echocardiography at Shanghai Chest Hospital. A total of 233 high cardiogenic stroke risk patients with left atrial appendage thrombus (LAT) or left atrial spontaneous echo contrast (LA-SEC) and 233 controls matched for age, sex, AF type. Results: AF history, LA diameter enlargement, larger left ventricular end diastolic diameter, lower ejection fraction, greater serum uric acid (SUA), and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels showed association with high stroke risk. The multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that AF duration, left atrial diameter (LAd), left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), SUA, and BNP were independent risk factors of the LAT/LA-SEC. We used LAd, LVEF, SUA, and BNP to construct a combined predictive model for high stroke risk in NVAF patients (the area under ROC curve: 0.784; sensitivity 66.1%; specificity 76.8%; 95% CI 0.744–0.825, P < 0.001). Conclusion: Comprehensive evaluation of LAd, LVEF, SUA, and BNP may help stratify the cardiogenic stroke risk among non-valvular AF patients, guiding anticoagulation therapy.
Global Surveillance of COVID-19 by mining news media using a multi-source dynamic embedded topic model

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to unfold, understanding the global impact of non-pharmacological interventions (NPI) is important for formulating effective intervention strategies, particularly as many countries prepare for future waves. We used a machine learning approach to distill latent topics related to NPI from large-scale international news media. We hypothesize that these topics are informative about the timing and nature of implemented NPI, dependent on the source of the information (e.g., local news versus official government announcements) and the target countries. Given a set of latent topics associated with NPI (e.g., self-quarantine, social distancing, online education, etc), we assume that countries and media sources have different prior distributions over these topics, which are sampled to generate the news articles. To model the source-specific topic priors, we developed a semi-supervised, multi-source, dynamic, embedded topic model. Our model is able to simultaneously infer latent topics and learn a linear classifier to predict NPI labels using the topic mixtures as input for each news article. To learn these models, we developed an efficient end-to-end amortized variational inference algorithm. We applied our models to news data collected and labelled by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Global Public Health Intelligence Network (GPHIN). Through comprehensive experiments, we observed superior topic quality and intervention prediction accuracy, compared to the baseline embedded topic models, which ignore information on media source and intervention labels. The inferred latent topics reveal distinct policies and media framing in different countries and media sources, and also characterize reaction to COVID-19 and NPI in a semantically meaningful manner. Our PyTorch code is available on Github (htps://github.com/li-lab-mcgill/covid19_media).
Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy Presenting as Massive Subarachnoid Haemorrhage: A Case Study and Review of Literature

Cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) is characterised by the progressive accumulation of β-amyloid (Aβ) in the walls of cerebral capillaries and arteries representing a major cause of haemorrhagic stroke including lobar intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) and convexity subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH). Haemorrhaging from CAA predominantly involves smaller arteries rather than arterial aneurysm. Restricted bleeding into the subarachnoid space in CAA results in asymptomatic or mild symptomatic SAH. Herein, we present an autopsied case of massive SAH related to CAA. An 89-year-old male with a history of mild Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and advanced pancreatic cancer with liver metastasis developed sudden onset of coma. Head CT illustrated ICH located in the right frontal lobe and right insula, as well as SAH bilaterally spreading from the basal cistern to the Sylvian fissure, with hydrocephalus and brain herniation. He died about 24 h after onset and the post-mortem examination showed no evidence of arterial aneurysm. The substantial accumulation of Aβ in the vessels around the haemorrhagic lesions led to the diagnosis of ICH related to CAA and secondary SAH, which may have been aggravated by old age and malignancy. This case suggests that CAA can cause severe SAH resembling aneurysmal origin and thus may be overlooked when complicated by atypical cerebral haemorrhage.
What is the School Counselors’ Level of Technology Competence in Indonesia?

The development of technology and information has several positive impacts on counseling services, requiring school counselors to have technological competence. This study aimed to know school counselors’ level of technological competency in guidance and counseling services and investigated whether there was a relationship between demographic elements (gender, length of work, and level of education) on their competence or not. Purposive-design surveys were used to collect data. 43 school counselors of several Indonesian schools were involved as research respondents. The sampling technique used was random sampling by providing a survey fulfilled by the participants. The results showed that the school counselors’ level of technology competency was in the medium category so it still needed to be improved. The most mastered aspect of competency was word processing. While the least one was website development. Meanwhile, there was an effect of gender and length of service on technological mastery. Male school counselors had higher levels of mastery the competence than women did. The length of service was related to age. The longer the working period decreased the score of technological mastery. Whereas the level of education was not in line with the mastery of technology of school counselors. This research was expected to be able to contribute to the improvement of the school counselors’ competencies and served as a material consideration to provide training to improve the counselor's technological competence in accordance with the aspects needed.
Is It Possible to Use Facebook instead of Moodle Learning Management Systems (LMS) to Support the Learning Process?

This research examines the possibility of employing Facebook as a Learning Management System instead of Moodle to support the learning process at Zarqa University, Jordan, where most of Moodle's features are not provided. A questionnaire was designed for the purpose of this research and a total of 120 students participated. Despite the fact that Facebook had various issues when used as a Learning Management System from the students’ perceptions, the results showed that students were happy to use it instead of Moodle LMS to download resources, send assignments, communicate with the staff and obtain staff feedback. The results also showed that the students agreed with five advantages and one disadvantage regarding the employment of Facebook instead of Moodle LMS to support the learning process.
Electrophysiological Changes in the Virtual Reality Sickness: EEG in the VR sickness

This paper proposes a specific brain wave in which changes in virtual reality (VR) sickness are noticeably observed by comparing stages before and during the watching VR video. Although VR sickness generally induces physical symptoms such as headache, dizzy, and nausea and causes difficulties in using VR devices, there were still insufficient methods to quantify the degree of VR sickness. We divided the experiment into three conditions: baseline, VR video, and recovery. Each condition was measured by electroencephalography (EEG) to examine which frequency band responded prominently. The absolute power of alpha wave decreased during VR video condition compared to the baseline, and after the VR sickness was relieved, the absolute power of alpha wave increase during recovery condition compared to the VR video condition.
The Anxiety-Buffer Hypothesis in the Time of COVID-19: When Self-Esteem Protects From the Impact of Loneliness and Fear on Anxiety and Depression

Introduction The coronavirus (COVID-19) disease has spread worldwide, generating intense fear of infection and death that may lead to enduring anxiety. At the same time, quarantine and physical isolation can intensify feelings of dispositional loneliness that, by focusing on thoughts of disconnection from others, can trigger intense anxiety. Anxiety, generated by both fear of COVID-19 and dispositional loneliness, can activate negative expectations and thoughts of death, potentially generating alarming depressive symptoms. However, the anxiety-buffer hypothesis suggests that self-esteem acts as a shield (buffer) against mental health threats – fear and loneliness – thus hampering anxiety and depressive symptoms. Objective This study aims to test the process – triggered by COVID-19 fear and loneliness – in which self-esteem should buffer the path leading to anxiety symptoms, then to depression. Methods An observational research design with structural equation models was used. A sample of 1200 participants enrolled from the general population answered an online survey comprising: the fear of COVID-19 scale, the UCLA loneliness scale, the Rosenberg self-esteem scale, and the anxiety and depression scales of the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised. Results Structural equation models showed the link between anxiety symptoms (mediator) with both the fear of COVID-19 and dispositional loneliness (predictors), as well as its association with consequent depressive symptomatology (outcome). In line with the anxiety-buffer hypothesis, self-esteem mediated the relationship between the predictors and their adverse psychological consequences. Conclusion Self-esteem represents a protective factor from the antecedents of depression. Targeted psychological interventions should be implemented to minimize the psychological burden of the disease whilst promoting adaptation and positive psychological health outcomes.
Investigating the Effects of COVID-19 Quarantine in Migraine: An Observational Cross-Sectional Study From the Italian National Headache Registry (RICe)

Background: Previous studies during SARS and Ebola pandemics have shown that quarantine is associated with several negative psychological effects, such as post-traumatic stress symptoms, confusion, and anger. These conditions may affect the course of many diseases, including migraine. Although it is possible that the quarantine measures for the current COVID-19 pandemic affect migraine burden, no information is currently available on this issue. Aim: In this study, we aimed to: (1) explore the possible changes in migraine frequency, severity, and days with acute medication intake during quarantine period; (2) evaluate possible differences in migraine outcomes in consideration of lifestyle changes, emotions, pandemic diffusion, and COVID-19 infection. Methods: We interviewed patients who were included in the observational Italian Headache Registry (Registro Italiano Cefalee, RICE), retrospectively collecting information on main headache features, lifestyle factors, emotions, individual infection status, and perception of COVID-19 for 2 months before (pre-quarantine) and after the beginning of the quarantine (quarantine). Inclusion criteria were: age > 18, diagnosis of migraine without aura, migraine with aura and chronic migraine, last in-person visit more than 3 months preceding the beginning of quarantine. Results: A total of 433 migraine subjects agreed to be interviewed. We found an overall reduction in headache frequency (9.42 ± 0.43 days with headache vs. 8.28 ± 0.41) and intensity (6.57 ± 0.19 vs. 6.59 ± 0.21) during the quarantine, compared to pre-quarantine. There was a correlation between improvement and number of days of stay-at-home. When results were stratified for geographic area, we found a tendency toward worsening of headache frequency in northern Italy. Disgust regarding viral infection corresponded to a minor improvement in migraine. Conclusions: Migraine patients showed a mild improvement of migraine features, probably attributable to resilient behavior toward pandemic distress. Disgust regarding the contagion whereas potentially favoring defensive behavior, could potentially worsen migraine. The spontaneous limitation of migraine burden during quarantine could favor patient follow-up via the use of telemedicine visits, reliable diaries, and frequent remote contacts.
Dark Participation in Games

With the advent of digital games came the advent of gamer cultures and identities. A “gamer” became a new social first for the group of individuals who played video games (primarily in arcades) in the late 1970’s. Over time, however, gamer cultures have grown into what is largely discussed as “toxic cultures,” and come to become more associated with exclusion than inclusion if you don’t fit a certain mold. Despite its prevalence, deviant behaviors in games as a subject of academic study is a confusing space, with different researchers using different criteria to describe the same things. This article provides the first comprehensive cataloging and overview of dark participation in games. This includes defining these behaviors, cataloging their variants, and discussing their social and psychological impact and their potential underpinnings. It is critical to establish a shared language about what these behaviors are in order to effectively understand and combat them.
First Report of New Delhi Metallo-β-Lactamase-6 (NDM-6) in a Clinical Acinetobacter baumannii Isolate From Northern Spain

The objective of this study was the phenotypic and genotypic characterization of a carbapenem resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) isolate. The isolate, recovered in Northern Spain in 2019, was identified by MALDI-TOF to the species level. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed using the Phoenix BD NMIC-502 Panel, E-test, and broth microdilution methods. The presence of a metallo-β-lactamase (MBL) was verified by PCR and immunochromatographic assays. The genetic location of the MBL was confirmed using S1-pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (S1-PFGE) followed by Southern blot hybridization. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) was completed using the Miseq and MinION platforms, followed by core-genome MLST (cgMLST) and seven-locus MLST analysis. The CRAB was assigned ST85 (Pasteur scheme) and ST957 (Oxford scheme) representing international clone (IC) 9 and harbored the intrinsic β-lactamase OXA-94 with ISAba1 upstream of it, and the MBL blaNDM-6. Hybridization experiments revealed that the blaNDM-6 was encoded on the chromosome. Using WGS the blaNDM-6 environment could be identified arranged in the following order: ISAba14, aphA6, ISAba125, blaNDM-6, bleMBL, trpF, dsbC, cutA, and ISAba14. Downstream, a 10,462 bp duplication was identified, including a second copy of blaNDM-6 in the following genetic composition: ISAba125, blaNDM-6, bleMBL, trpF, dsbC, cutA, and ISAba14. To our knowledge, this is the first description of blaNDM-6 in A. baumannii. The MBL was present in two copies in the chromosome in a new genetic environment associated with IS elements highlighting the contribution of mobile genetic elements in the dissemination of this gene.
Heterologous Overexpression of Arabidopsis cel1 Enhances Grain Yield, Biomass and Early Maturity in Setaria viridis

Heterologous overexpression of Arabidopsis cellulase 1 (Atcel1) results in enhanced yield, early maturity, and increased biomass in dicotyledonous species like poplar and eucalyptus but has not been demonstrated in monocots. We produced transgenic Setaria viridis accession A10.1 plants overexpressing a monocotyledonous codon optimized (MCO) Atcel1. Agronomic characterization of the transgenic events showed that heterologous overexpression of MCOAtcel1 caused enhanced grain yield, shoot biomass, and accelerated maturation rate in the model grass species S. viridis under growth chamber conditions. The agronomic trait differences observed were consistent with previous reports in dicots but are here described in a monocot species and associated with increased seed yield. Overexpression of Atcel1 in S. viridis was shown to increase the number of panicles and seeds by 24–30%, enhance overall grain yield by up to 26%, and lead to a shoot dry biomass increase of 16–19%. Overexpression also reduced time to plant maturation and senescence by 12.5%. Our findings in S. viridis suggest that manipulation of Atcel1 has potential for developing early-maturing and higher-yielding monocotyledonous biomass crops suitable for climate-smart agriculture.
The Influence of an Acute Exercise Bout on Adolescents’ Stress Reactivity, Interference Control, and Brain Oxygenation Under Stress

Background High psychosocial stress can impair executive function in adolescents, whereas acute exercise has been reported to benefit this cognitive domain. The aim of this study was to investigate whether an acute bout of aerobic exercise improves the inhibitory aspect of executive function and the associated dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) oxygenation when under stress. Methods Sixty male high school students aged 16–20 years performed a Stroop task (baseline condition) and were randomly assigned to an exercise group (30 min on ergometer at 70% of maximum heart rate) and a control group (30 min of reading). Subsequently, all participants underwent a modified Trier Social Stress Test, which included a Stroop task under enhanced stress. The Stroop tasks in both conditions were combined with functional near-infrared spectroscopy to record changes in DLPFC oxygenation in response to the tasks. Stress reactivity was measured with saliva samples (cortisol, alpha-amylase), heart rate monitoring, and anxiety scores. Results All stress parameters indicated increases in response to the stressor (p < 0.001), with higher alpha-amylase [t(58) = −3.45, p = 0.001, d = 1.93] and anxiety [t(58) = −2.04, p = 0.046, d = 0.53] reactions in the control compared to the exercise group. Controlling for these two parameters, repeated measures analyses of covariance targeting changes in Stroop interference scores showed no main effect of stress [F(1,58) = 3.80, p = 0.056, ηp2 = 0.063] and no stress × group interaction [F(1,58) = 0.43, p = 0.517, ηp2 = 0.008]. Similarly, there was no main effect of stress [F(1,58) = 2.38, p = 0.128, ηp2 = 0.040] and no stress × group interaction [F(1,58) = 2.80, p = 0.100, ηp2 = 0.047] for DLPFC oxygenation. Conclusion Our study confirms potentially health-enhancing effects of acute exercise on some of the physiological and psychological stress reactivity indicators. However, our data do not support the notion of an effect on interference control and DLPFC activation under stress.