Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Assessing work disability for social security benefits: international models for the direct assessment of work capacity

Abstract Purpose: It has been argued that social security disability assessments should directly assess claimants’ work capacity, rather than relying on proxies such as on functioning. However, there is little academic discussion of how such assessments could be conducted. Method: The article presents an account of different models of direct disability assessments based on case studies of the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Norway, the United States of America, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, utilising over 150 documents and 40 expert interviews. Results: Three models of direct work disability assessments can be observed: (i) structured assessment, which measures the functional demands of jobs across the national economy and compares these to claimants’ functional capacities; (ii) demonstrated assessment, which looks at claimants’ actual experiences in the labour market and infers a lack of work capacity from the failure of a concerned rehabilitation attempt; and (iii) expert assessment, based on the judgement of skilled professionals. Conclusions: Direct disability assessment within social security is not just theoretically desirable, but can be implemented in practice. We have shown that there are three distinct ways that this can be done, each with different strengths and weaknesses. Further research is needed to clarify the costs, validity/legitimacy, and consequences of these different models. Implications for rehabilitation It has recently been argued that social security disability assessments should directly assess work capacity rather than simply assessing functioning – but we have no understanding about how this can be done in practice. Based on case studies of nine countries, we show that direct disability assessment can be implemented, and argue that there are three different ways of doing it. These are “demonstrated assessment” (using claimants’ experiences in the labour market), “structured assessment” (matching functional requirements to workplace demands), and “expert assessment” (the judgement of skilled professionals). While it is possible to implement a direct assessment of work capacity for social security benefits, further research is necessary to understand how best to maximise validity, legitimacy, and cost-effectiveness.
Persons with chronic widespread pain experience excess mortality: longitudinal results from UK Biobank and meta-analysis

Objective It is uncertain whether persons with chronic widespread pain (CWP) experience premature mortality. Using the largest study conducted, we determine whether such a relationship exists, estimate its magnitude and establish what factors mediate any relationship. Methods UK Biobank, a cohort study of 0.5 million people aged 40–69 years, recruited throughout Great Britain in 2006–2010. Participants reporting ‘pain all over the body’ for >3 months were compared with persons without chronic pain. Information on death (with cause) was available until mid-2015. We incorporated these results in a meta-analysis with other published reports to calculate a pooled estimate of excess risk. Results 7130 participants reported CWP and they experienced excess mortality (mortality risk ratio 2.43, 95%CI 2.17 to 2.72). Specific causes of death in excess were cancer (1.73adjusted age and sex, 95% CI 1.46 to 2.05), cardiovascular (3.24adjusted age and sex, 95% CI 2.55 to 4.11), respiratory (5.66adjusted age and sex, 95% CI 4.00 to 8.03) and other disease-related causes (4.04adjusted age and sex, 95% CI 3.05 to 5.34). Excess risk was substantially reduced after adjustment for low levels of physical activity, high body mass index, poor quality diet and smoking. In meta-analysis, all studies showed significant excess all-cause (combined estimate 1.59 (95% CI 1.05 to 2.42)), cardiovascular and cancer mortality. Conclusions Evidence is now clear that persons with CWP experience excess mortality. UK Biobank results considerably reduce uncertainty around the magnitude of excess risk and are consistent with the excess being explained by adverse lifestyle factors, which could be targeted in the management of such patients.
Contributions of dangling end stacking and terminal base-pair formation to the stabilities of XGGCCp, XCCGGp, XGGCCYp, and XCCGGYp helixes.

The role of stacking in terminal base-pair formation was studied by comparison of the stability increments for dangling ends to those for fully formed base pairs. Thermodynamic parameters were measured spectrophotometrically for helix formation of the hexanucleotides AGGCCUp, UGGCCAp, CGGCCGp, GCCGGCp, and UCCGGAp and for the corresponding pentanucleotides containing a 5'-dangling end on the GGCCp or CCGGp core helix. In 1 M NaCl at 1 X 10(-4) M strands, a 5'-dangling nucleotide in this series increases the duplex melting temperature (Tm) only 0-4 degrees C, about the same as adding a 5'-phosphate. In contrast, a 3'-dangling nucleotide increases the Tm at 1 X 10(-4) M strands 7-23 degrees C, depending on the sequence [Freier, S. M. , Burger, B. J., Alkema, D. , Neilson, T. , & Turner, D. H. (1983) Biochemistry 22, 6198-6206]. These results are consistent with stacking patterns observed in A-form RNA. The stability increments from terminal A.U, C.G, or U.A base pairs on GGCC or a terminal U.A pair on CCGG are nearly equal to the sums of the stability increments from the corresponding dangling ends. This suggests stacking plays a large role in nucleic acid stability. The stability increment from the terminal base pairs in GCCGGCp, however, is about 5 times the sum of the corresponding dangling ends, suggesting hydrogen bonding can also make important contributions.
Mechanism of action of Moloney murine leukemia virus RNA-directed DNA polymerase associated RNase H (RNase H I).

The mechanism of action of the ribonuclease H (RNase H) activity associated with Moloney murine leukemia virus RNA-directed DNA polymerase (RNase H I) and the two-subunit (alpha beta) form of avian myeloblastosis virus DNA polymerase were compared by utilizing the model substrate (A)n. (dT)n and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in 7 M urea to analyze digestion products. Examination on 25% polyacrylamide gels revealed that a larger proportion of the RNase H I oligonucleotide products generated by limited digestion of [3H](A)(1100). (dT)n were acid insoluble (15-26 nucleotides long) than acid soluble (less than 15 nucleotides long), while the opposite was true for products generated by alpha beta RNase H. RNase H I was capable of attacking RNA in RNA.DNA in the 5' to 3' and 3' to 5' directions, as demonstrated by the use of [3H,3'- or 5'-32P](A)(380). (dT)n and cellulose--[3H](A)n. (dT)n. Both RNase H I and alpha beta RNase H degraded [3H]-(A)n. (dT)n with a partially processive mechanism, based upon classical substrate competition experiments and analyses of the kinetics of degradation of [3H,3'- or 5'-32P](A)(380). (dT)n. That is, both enzymes remain bound to a RNA.DNA substrate through a finite number of hydrolytic events but dissociate before the RNA is completely degraded. Both RNase H I and alpha beta RNase H were capable of degrading [14C](A)n in [3H](C)n-[14C](A)n-[32P](dA)n. (dT)n, suggesting that retroviral RNase H is capable of removing the tRNA primer at the 5' terminus of minus strand DNA at the appropriate time during retroviral DNA synthesis in vitro.
Minority Shareholders’ Protection: the Romanian Experience

This paper performs an analysis of the regulation regarding minority shareholders protection in Romania. The paper estimates the level for minority shareholders protection based on the Pistor, Raiser and Gelfer (2000) index during the period 1996-2008. This index improved from 13 (January 1996) to 17.25 (March 2008) having a maximum value of 17.75 during May 2002- November 2006.
Learning the Implicit Preference of Users for Effective Recommendation

Although recommendation systems based on the latent factor models provide an appealing solution to the collaborative filtering problem, some major issues such as data sparsity and cold-start problems, still remain open. In particular, for a large portion of items that there are not sufficient purchase records, their latent factors cannot be estimated accurately. In this paper, we aim to learn and exploit the preference of users in combination with the latent factor models to mitigate these issues and to improve recommendation accuracy. To this end, we propose a novel algorithm to accurately learn the preference of users from observed ratings and available taxonomy of items. We show that predictions made based on the extracted users’ preferences enable to capture the taste of users and generates more effective recommendations than pure latent factor models. To the best of our knowledge, the proposed algorithm is the first to extract and exploit the implicit preference of users in the recommendation. We conduct thorough experiments on real datasets that demonstrate the proposed model improves significantly over state-of-the-art latent factor models.
The Virtual University? Knowledge, Markets and Management

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What Online Reviewer Behaviors Really Matter? Effects of Verbal and Nonverbal Behaviors on Detection of Fake Online Reviews

Abstract The value and credibility of online consumer reviews are compromised by significantly increasing yet difficult-to-identify fake reviews. Extant models for automated online fake review detection rely heavily on verbal behaviors of reviewers while largely ignoring their nonverbal behaviors. This research identifies a variety of nonverbal behavioral features of online reviewers and examines their relative importance for the detection of fake reviews in comparison to that of verbal behavioral features. The results of an empirical evaluation using real-world online reviews reveal that incorporating nonverbal features of reviewers can significantly improve the performance of online fake review detection models. Moreover, compared with verbal features, nonverbal features of reviewers are shown to be more important for fake review detection. Furthermore, model pruning based on a sensitivity analysis improves the parsimony of the developed fake review detection model without sacrificing its performance.
Energy Efficient D2D Communications: A Perspective of Mechanism Design

The energy consumption of a base station (BS) has attracted much attention in the study of wireless communication. Device-to-device communication, which can be utilized to offload the traffic from the BS, provides an effective way to increase network energy efficiency. How to optimally coordinate users to redistribute the traffic so as to minimize the energy consumption is an important issue. In this paper, we study two problems that are critical to this issue. First, considering that relaying data to others incurs costs to the users and different users have different costs, we propose a contract theoretical approach to design the mechanism for pricing the contributions of users. The second problem is to make a proper matching between users who demand data and users who are willing to relay data. Matching theory is exploited to deal with this problem. Specifically, we consider both interference-free and interference scenarios and develop matching algorithms, which can achieve stable matching and weak stable matching, respectively. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms.
Wavelet Transform Based Accurate Estimation of Hemodynamic Response Function in functional MR images

Based on principals of blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) effect, MR signals raised according to brain neural activity. Such temporal change of MR signal is called Hemodynamic response function (HRF). Because HRF varies among activation sites and among subjects, we have been considering that estimating HRF will be available for analyzing neurological condition of cerebrum and for investigating and diagnosing cerebral diseases. Many conventional methods for analyzing functional MR images have been proposed, however, there are few methods that can detect activation areas in the cerebral cortex and can estimate HRF. This paper proposes a method that detects activation areas and estimate HRF simultaneously. The performance of estimating HRF is evaluated by phantom study, and results are compared with statistical parametric mapping (SPM).
A neurofuzzy selfmade network with output dependable on a single parameter

In some fuzzy systems the number of rules and the membership functions are estimated by designers, often being a tedious task. In this paper we describe a neurofuzzy system (SIMAP) able to build its structure and membership functions using only the input-output data. The system compresses the input-output data, minimizing predictive error by the increment of an input vigilance-parameter, in a similar way to the fuzzy-artmap neural network (G A. Carpenter et al., 1992). In the SIMAP network the output-clusters are weighted to obtain the final output vector, implementing a continuous map. A method for calculating the membership functions in neurofuzzy systems is proposed. These membership functions are used to operate the SIMAP network. The softness of the inference mechanism can be controlled adjusting a single fuzziness-parameter p.
Marine reserves can mitigate and promote adaptation to climate change

Strong decreases in greenhouse gas emissions are required to meet the reduction trajectory resolved within the 2015 Paris Agreement. However, even these decreases will not avert serious stress and damage to life on Earth, and additional steps are needed to boost the resilience of ecosystems, safeguard their wildlife, and protect their capacity to supply vital goods and services. We discuss how well-managed marine reserves may help marine ecosystems and people adapt to five prominent impacts of climate change: acidification, sea-level rise, intensification of storms, shifts in species distribution, and decreased productivity and oxygen availability, as well as their cumulative effects. We explore the role of managed ecosystems in mitigating climate change by promoting carbon sequestration and storage and by buffering against uncertainty in management, environmental fluctuations, directional change, and extreme events. We highlight both strengths and limitations and conclude that marine reserves are a viable low-tech, cost-effective adaptation strategy that would yield multiple cobenefits from local to global scales, improving the outlook for the environment and people into the future.
Empirical analysis of the labour market earnings determination process in the Eastern Caribbean

The study utilizes Labour Force Surveys (LFS) for Barbados, Dominica, and St.Lucia for selected periods within 1996 – 2004 to analyse the themes of private rates of returns to the individual investment in education; and inter-industry wage structure and the subthemes of public sector pay premium and the gender pay gap. The interval coded nature of the earnings data reported in the LFS, requires the use of an interval regression model estimated by maximum likelihood techniques. A key empirical finding in the study is that the Eastern Caribbean labour market places a relatively high valuation on formally acquired post-primary human capital assets. The industrial wage structure in the selected countries reflects the effects of recent trade policy changes in regard to agriculture. The overall inter-industry wage dispersion was found to be high in Dominica and St.Lucia, remaining relatively constant in the two periods in the latter country. In Barbados the inter-industry wage structure was substantial but unlike the other countries expanded over time. The study finds the ceteris paribus public sector pay premium in the recent past has improved for women and is relatively large and suggests public sector workers are securing a high rent through employment in this sector. A gender pay gap in the range of 14 percent – 20 percent is detected and in Dominica there is also evidence of a sizeable ethnic pay disadvantage for male members of the island’s indigenous population. In all respects the outcomes for the selected countries follow a clear pattern that mirrors the findings in the empirical literature on the Caribbean.
Two-dimensional autoregressive (2-D AR) model order estimation

Much research has been devoted to the area of one-dimensional autoregressive (1-D AR) and autoregressive moving average (ARMA) model order selection. The most well-known solutions for this problem are the Akaike information criterion (AIC), MDL, and the minimum eigenvalue (MEV) criteria. On the other hand, all works in the 2-D case have focused on the problem of parameter estimation. In this correspondence, we extend the previous criteria to the 2-D AR model order determination. The model is assumed causal, stable, and spatially invariant with p/sub 1//spl times/p/sub 2/ quarter-plane (QP) support. Numerical examples are given to illustrate the effectiveness of each method.
Smallest detectable change and test‐retest reliability of a self‐reported outcome measure: Results of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, General Self‐Efficacy Scale, and 12‐item General Health Questionnaire

RATIONALE, AIMS, AND OBJECTIVES This study aims to examine the smallest detectable change (SDC) and test-retest reliability of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES), and 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). METHOD We tested 154 young adults at baseline and 2 weeks later. We calculated the intra-class correlation coefficients (ICCs) for test-retest reliability with a two-way random effects model for agreement. We then calculated the standard error of measurement (SEM) for agreement using the ICC formula. The SEM for agreement was used to calculate SDC values at the individual level (SDCind ) and group level (SDCgroup ). RESULTS The study participants included 137 young adults. The ICCs for all self-reported outcome measurement scales exceeded 0.70. The SEM of CES-D was 3.64, leading to an SDCind of 10.10 points and SDCgroup of 0.86 points. The SEM of GSES was 1.56, leading to an SDCind of 4.33 points and SDCgroup of 0.37 points. The SEM of GHQ-12 with bimodal scoring was 1.47, leading to an SDCind of 4.06 points and SDCgroup of 0.35 points. The SEM of GHQ-12 with Likert scoring was 2.44, leading to an SDCind of 6.76 points and SDCgroup of 0.58 points. CONCLUSION To confirm that the change was not a result of measurement error, a score of self-reported outcome measurement scales would need to change by an amount greater than these SDC values. This has important implications for clinicians and epidemiologists when assessing outcomes.
Sexual Abuse Histories of Young Women in the U.S. Child Welfare System: A Focus on Trauma-Related Beliefs and Resilience

ABSTRACT This research provides descriptive data regarding sexual abuse histories of high-functioning women (N = 84; 18–25 years old) previously in the child welfare system. Placement histories of foster youth who were sexually abused were distinct. Girls with a history of sexual abuse were more likely to have been in restrictive housing and changed placements twice as often as girls with no history of sexual abuse. Trauma-related beliefs (TRB) subsequent to sexual abuse varied depending upon where sexual abuse occurred. TRB scores were negatively correlated with resilience and positively correlated with number of sexual abusers. Powerlessness was found to make a significant contribution to resiliency scores above and beyond foster care and abuse demographics.
Glucose Counterregulation in Pre-School-Age Diabetic Children With Recurrent Hypoglycemia During Conventional Treatment

To determine whether immature or defective glucose counterregulation was responsible for the severe recurrent hypoglycemic episodes (3.6 per patient per year) observed during conventional therapy (CT) in six pre-school-age diabetic children, we investigated their metabolic and hormonal responses to insulin infusion (40 mU/kg i.v. for 60 min). Counterregulation was considered adequate because no patient experienced symptoms requiring discontinuation of the test, and blood glucose (BG) nadirs averaged 42 ± 5 mg/dl. Glucose production rate decreased from 4.2 ± 0.2 to 2.6 ± 0.6 mg · kg−1 · min−1. Blood 3-hydroxybutyrate levels were elevated (∼ 3 mM) and did not change during insulin infusion. The responses of epinephrine (from 137 ± 37 to 393 ± 143 pg/ml), norepinephrine (from 145 ± 33 to 347 ± 152 pg/ml), and growth hormone (from 6.0 ± 1.5 to 20.3 ± 5.1 ng/ml) were normal for this age group. As previously observed in diabetic adults, glucagon response was deficient (from117 ± 30 to 114 ± 18 pg/ml). The six children were subsequently treated with continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII), which resulted in a 20-fold decrease in the number of severe hypoglycemic reactions. Predisposition to severe hypoglycemia in this subset of diabetic children, which remains a refractory problem even after considerable efforts have been made to decrease them, may thus be sharply decreased with CSII therapy. During this therapy, a significant inverse correlation appeared between the individual frequency of BG values <40 mg/dl and BG nadir during the insulin infusion test (r = .94, P < .001). We conclude that the glucose counterregulatory status evaluated by a simple standardized insulin- infusion test can predict the risk of developing hypoglycemia during CSII in young diabetic children, as proposed previously in adults.
Terrestrial Walking Robot With 2DoF Ionic Polymer–Metal Composite (IPMC) Legs

This paper proposes a terrestrial walking robot using ionic polymer-metal composite (IPMC) actuators based on a poly-vinylidene fluoride (PVDF)/polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP)/polystyrene sulfuric acid (PSSA) blend membrane. The IPMC based on PVDF/PVP/PSSA with a polymer mixture ratio of 30/15/55 shows a higher tip displacement and greater blocking force than Nafion-based IPMC actuators at low dc voltages. An actuation model is developed for the proposed membrane-based IPMC actuators, representing the transfer function between the input applied voltage and the output displacement of the IPMC actuator. For the terrestrial walking robot, we use a two-degrees-of-freedom (2DoF) leg structure because of its superior characteristics in comparison with a 1DoF leg structure. In addition, a kinematic model of the 2DoF leg structure is introduced as a modeling framework based on the actuation model for the analysis of the locomotion using this IPMC leg structure. The simulation results of the actuation model and the kinematic model are compared with the empirical response of 1 and 2DoF legs. A terrestrial walking robot (size: 28 mm × 18 mm × 16.5 mm, weight: 1.2 g) with two 2DoF IPMC legs and two dummy legs has been designed and fabricated. Finally, we demonstrate the walking motion of the terrestrial walking robot.