Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A New Approach in the Examination on the Day-of-the Week Effect Using Fuzzy Rule Based Regressions

In this paper a new approach for the investigation of the week effect is proposed. Specifically, fuzzy dummy variables are created based on three fuzzy membership functions. The first one is the log-sigmoid, the second is the Gaussian and the last one is the triangle fuzzy membership function of the stock returns of each trading day of the week. The results are compared with those of the asymmetric GARCH models. The main advantage of this approach is to capture the Monday and the reverse Monday effect or any other daily pattern based on specific rules and intervals of stock returns. Furthermore the fuzzy regressions are not determined by the disturbance term and we show that there are not autocorrelation and heteroskedasticity problems as also ARCH effects with simple ordinary least squares method. This methodology is very useful for financial traders and fund managers to allocate their assets on the portfolio by buying and selling when a specific rules takes place, in an optimum way and with purpose the maximization of the profits.
Coping with intermittent water supply: problems and prospects.

This study examines whether consumer demand is sufficient to support a full-service water supply system without the need for government intervention to subsidize low-income groups in Dehra Dun India. Data were obtained from a survey of 1100 households in Dehra Dun. Demand information pertained to consumers coping costs based on an unreliable water supply and consumers willingness to pay more for improved water service. The site was selected due to the prevalence of favorable attitudes toward reform and the intermittent nature of the water supply. This city satisfied project criteria of having a sound water system that was no older than 10 years an adequate water supply source for the next 5-10 years and the willingness of the state and local government to privately commercialize the water supplies. This report presents findings on the overall water supply conditions and constraints consumer usage and payment patterns estimated demand based on two methods the value and price of water improving the water supply and conclusions. The survey was conducted during the regular season while the costs were highest in the dry season. It is assumed despite the local patterns of costs that demand functions are the same during the wet and dry seasons. The estimates do not include possible industrial and commercial tariffs. Current supplies are likely to be overestimates. Willingness to pay exceeded the revenues currently collected by the water works department. Current coping costs meet current billings. A full service water supply is a commercially viable option. The poor currently pay higher real costs for water than people with water connections. It is recommended that a study be conducted in the dry season in a larger town among institutions and on environmental health conditions. Skills in survey methods and demand analysis need to be transferred.
ABCC2-Mediated Biliary Transport of 4-Glutathionylcyclophosphamide and Its Contribution to Elimination of 4-Hydroxycyclophosphamide in Rat

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation patients conditioned with cyclophosphamide (CY) and total body irradiation have substantially greater risk of nonrelapse mortality when plasma area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) of O-carboxyethylcyclophosphoramide mustard (CEPM) is high. The discovery was paradoxical because CEPM is a nontoxic elimination route of the protoxic CY metabolite hydroxycyclophosphamide (HCY). CY was administered to Wistar and TR- rats (a Wistar strain lacking functional ABCC2) at doses of 100 and 200 mg/kg CY, respectively. After either dose, Wistar rats excreted 4-glutathionylcyclophosphamide (GSCY) abundantly in bile; GSCY was absent from bile of TR- rats. Liver AUCGSCY was 2- to 2.5-fold greater in TR- than Wistar rats after 100 and 200 mg/kg CY, respectively. Liver AUCHCY was 24-46% greater in TR- rats than in Wistar rats after the respective CY doses. Plasma AUCCEPM of TR- rats was approximately twice that of Wistar rats after 100 mg/kg, but did not differ between the two strains after 200 mg/kg. Conversely, plasma AUCHCY was not different after 100 mg/kg CY, but was 40% greater in TR- rats after 200 mg/kg. The dose dependence of plasma AUCCEPM and AUCHCY was explained by the concentrations of HCY attained and the in vitro Km of aldehyde dehydrogenase and inhibition of aldehyde dehydrogense in TR- rats. We conclude that GSCY is a substrate of ABCC2, and plasma AUCCEPM functions as a reporter of liver exposure to HCY and toxins formed from it when HCY concentration is below the Km of aldehyde dehydrogenase and the activity is not compromised.
GLOBAL PHYLOGEOGRAPHY OF A CRYPTIC COPEPOD SPECIES COMPLEX AND REPRODUCTIVE ISOLATION BETWEEN GENETICALLY PROXIMATE “POPULATIONS”

The copepod Eurytemora affinis has a broad geographic range within the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting coastal regions of North America, Asia, and Europe. A phylogenetic approach was used to determine levels of genetic differentiation among populations of this species, and interpopulation crosses were performed to determine reproductive compatibility. DNA sequences from two mitochondrial genes, large subunit (16S) rRNA (450 bp) and cytochrome oxidase I (COI, 652 bp), were obtained from 38 populations spanning most of the species range and from two congeneric species, E. americana and E. herdmani. Phylogenetic analysis revealed a polytomy of highly divergent clades with maximum sequence divergences of 10% in 16S rRNA and 19% in COI. A power test (difference of a proportion) revealed that amount of sequence data collected was sufficient for resolving speciation events occurring at intervals greater than 300,000 years, but insufficient for determining whether speciation events were approximately simultaneous. Geographic and genetic distances were not correlated (Mantel's test; r= 0.023, P= 0.25), suggesting that populations had not differentiated through gradual isolation by distance. At finer spatial scales, there was almost no sharing of mtDNA haplotypes among proximate populations, indicating little genetic exchange even between nearby sites. Interpopulation crosses demonstrated reproductive incompatibility among genetically distinct populations, including those that were sympatric. Most notably, two geographically distant (4000 km) but genetically proximate (0.96% 16S, 0.15% COI) populations exhibited asymmetric reproductive isolation at the F2 generation. Large genetic divergences and reproductive isolation indicate that the morphologically conservative E. affinis constitutes a sibling species complex. Reproductive isolation between genetically proximate populations underscores the importance of using multiple measures to examine patterns of speciation.
Agonists for neuropeptide Y receptor subtypes NPY-1 and NPY-2 have opposite actions on rat nodose neuron calcium currents.

1. The whole-cell variation of the patch-clamp technique was used to study the effect of neuropeptide Y (NPY) and preferential agonists for the NPY-1 and NPY-2 receptor subtypes on voltage-dependent calcium currents in acutely dissociated postnatal rat nodose ganglion neurons. 2. Both low- and high-threshold calcium current components were present. NPY altered voltage-dependent calcium currents in approximately 50% of neurons studied. NPY (0.1-100 nM, ED50 6 nM) decreased the peak amplitude of transient high-threshold calcium currents in approximately 45% of the neurons. NPY (100 nM) decreased the peak amplitude of these currents 31 +/- 5% (mean +/- SE). However, in approximately 5% of the neurons NPY (100 nM) caused a reversible and reproducible increase in transient high-threshold calcium currents of 21 +/- 4%. NPY did not affect either transient low-threshold or slowly inactivating high-threshold calcium current components. 3. Application of the C-terminal fragment NPY 13-36 (100 nM), a preferential agonist for NPY-2 receptors, reversibly decreased the peak amplitude of transient high-threshold calcium currents by 26 +/- 5% in 9 of 20 cells (45%). Application of [Pro34]-NPY (100 nM), a preferential agonist for NPY-1 receptors, reversibly increased the peak amplitude of transient high-threshold calcium currents 20 +/- 4% in 23 out of 48 neurons (48%). Six of 20 neurons (30%) responded to application of both agonists. Neither the NPY-1 nor NPY-2 agonists affected transient low-threshold or slowly inactivating high-threshold calcium current components. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
e-Gov Theory and the Role of Design Science in Transforming Public Governance

This paper aims to contribute to understanding design challenges and opportunities in public governance, and as such contribute to the debate on e-government theory. The paper discusses the role of design science in radical innovation in the domain of public governance, from perspectives of both relevant political, as well as technical innovation. To this end, it elaborates on and puts into context the concepts at stake, namely design science (method of designing novel artefacts), technology, and radical innovation (form of innovation that enables transformation).
Work-related subjective experiences among community residents with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder.

OBJECTIVE To develop a self-report scale of subjective experiences of illness perceived to impact on employment functioning, as an alternative to a diagnostic perspective, for anticipating the vocational assistance needs of people with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorders. METHOD A repeated measures pilot study (n(1) = 26, n(2) = 21) of community residents with schizophrenia identified a set of work-related subjective experiences perceived to impact on employment functioning. Items with the best psychometric properties were applied in a 12 month longitudinal survey of urban residents with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder (n(1) = 104; n(2) = 94; n(3) = 94). RESULTS Construct validity, factor structure, responsiveness, internal consistency, stability, and criterion validity investigations produced favourable results. Work-related subjective experiences provide information about the intersection of the person, the disorder, and expectations of employment functioning, which suggest new opportunities for vocational professionals to explore and discuss individual assistance needs. CONCLUSION Further psychometric investigations of test-retest reliability, discriminant and predictive validity, and research applications in supported employment and vocational rehabilitation, are recommended. Subject to adequate psychometric properties, the new measure promises to facilitate exploring: individuals' specific subjective experiences; how each is perceived to contribute to employment restrictions; and the corresponding implications for specialized treatment, vocational interventions and workplace accommodations.
The use of calendars to measure child illness in health interview surveys.

BACKGROUND During the past two decades, health interview surveys have become an increasingly common source of information about current morbidity patterns and utilization of health services in developing countries. This study describes a recent effort to enhance the utility of these surveys by incorporating a calendar format. METHODS A calendar of morbidity and treatment behaviour during the 2-week period prior to interview was implemented in the Guatemalan Survey of Family Health (EGSF), a large-scale sample survey that was fielded in 60 communities in rural Guatemala in 1995. A total of 2872 women aged 18-35 were interviewed and provided information on 3193 children born since 1990. RESULTS The EGSF calendar data provide estimates of diarrhoeal illness that are consistent with those obtained from more conventional questionnaire designs. However, in contrast to conventional health survey questions, these calendar data: (1) permit a much more complete evaluation of the accuracy of reporting; and (2) offer a richer and more complex description of child illness and treatment behaviour. For example, the results demonstrate that even the preferred 2-week recall period suffers from underreporting of diarrhoeal illness, that the majority of children with diarrhoea experience at least one additional symptom, and that mothers assess severity of diarrhoea from the type and number of accompanying symptoms. CONCLUSIONS The findings indicate that additional implementation and evaluation of calendar formats is warranted in order to provide the most useful and accurate data possible at relatively low cost.
Visual data mining for feature space exploration using in-situ data

In this paper, we present the visualization of image databases based on their primitive features. Our approach is to have a visual navigation tool for allowing the exploration and exploitation of large image archives. The tool is able to project the content of a given image database based on the primitive feature space and to provide interaction between the final user and the huge amount of data. Land Use/Land Cover area frame statistical Survey in-situ data are used as test dataset. Bag-of-Words and Weber Local Descriptors are used as primitive features.
Nutritional quality of meals compared to snacks in child care.

BACKGROUND Most young children are in child care. Previous studies suggest that children may receive insufficient vegetables, and foods and beverages with added sugars, fats, and sodium in these settings. None have compared the nutritional quality of meals to snacks. METHODS Directors from 258 full-day child-care centers in two urban counties of southwestern Ohio were surveyed via telephone in the fall of 2009 about their nutrition practices, and asked to provide a current menu. Lunch and afternoon snack menus were categorized according to average weekly frequency for fruits, vegetables, lean meats, juice (100%), and sweet or salty foods served. Frequencies were compared by meal occasion (lunch vs. snack) using the Fisher exact test. RESULTS Most (60%) directors reported serving 2% milk to children ≥3 years; 31% served whole milk. Menu analysis demonstrated the composition of lunches differed from snacks (p<0.0001) in all food categories. A total of 87% centers rarely (<1 time per week) listed nonstarchy vegetables for snacks, but 67% of centers included them at lunch ≥3 times per week. Juice (100%) was on snack menus >2 times per week in 37% centers, but in only 1 center as a regular component of lunch. Similarly, 87% centers listed sweet and salty foods at snack ≥3 times per week, but rarely at lunch. CONCLUSIONS Despite efforts to improve children's diets in child care, meals-and particularly snacks-still lack whole fruits and nonstarchy vegetables and contain added sugars and fats. Snacks represent a missed opportunity to improve the nutritional quality of foods served in childcare.
An Evaluation of the Role of Properdin in Alternative Pathway Activation on Neisseria meningitidis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae

Properdin, a positive regulator of the alternative pathway (AP) of complement is important in innate immune defenses against invasive Neisserial infections. Recently, commercially available unfractionated properdin was shown to bind to certain biological surfaces, including Neisseria gonorrhoeae, which facilitated C3 deposition. Unfractionated properdin contains aggregates or high-order oligomers, in addition to its physiological “native” (dimeric, trimeric, and tetrameric) forms. We examined the role of properdin in AP activation on diverse strains of Neisseria meningitidis and N. gonorrhoeae specifically using native versus unfractionated properdin. C3 deposition on Neisseria decreased markedly when properdin function was blocked using an anti-properdin mAb or when properdin was depleted from serum. Maximal AP-mediated C3 deposition on Neisseriae even at high (80%) serum concentrations required properdin. Consistent with prior observations, preincubation of bacteria with unfractionated properdin, followed by the addition of properdin-depleted serum resulted in higher C3 deposition than when bacteria were incubated with properdin-depleted serum alone. Unexpectedly, none of 10 Neisserial strains tested bound native properdin. Consistent with its inability to bind to Neisseriae, preincubating bacteria with native properdin followed by the addition of properdin-depleted serum did not cause detectable increases in C3 deposition. However, reconstituting properdin-depleted serum with native properdin a priori enhanced C3 deposition on all strains of Neisseria tested. In conclusion, the physiological forms of properdin do not bind directly to either N. meningitidis or N. gonorrhoeae but play a crucial role in augmenting AP-dependent C3 deposition on the bacteria through the “conventional” mechanism of stabilizing AP C3 convertases.
Towards side-channel secure block ciphers

Since the late 90's side-channel attacks have been a threat for cryptographic implementations. They use observations of physical features of a device while it computes cryptographic algorithms. These leakages can give information about the key. A common countermeasure against such attacks is masking. The main idea of masking is to randomize the internal state. In consequence an adversary must combine of several leakages to mount the attack. Masking schemes have an impact on the efficiency of the implementations. In this thesis, we explore different solutions to improve the efficiency of masking implementations. Firstly, we explore solutions for masking implementations for the AES. We investigate the use of amortization technique to reduce the cost of polynomial masking. We also propose a new way to combine Boolean secure multiplications to reduce the cost of masking. Next, we focus on the assumptions used for proofs of masking. We show that the use of low entropy masking schemes can . Document type : Thèse (Dissertation) Référence bibliographique Grosso, Vincent. Towards side-channel secure block ciphers. Prom. : Standaert, François-Xavier Ecole polytechnique de Louvain ICTEAM Institute UCL Crypto Group Towards Side-Channel Secure Block Ciphers
An exploration of usable authentication mechanisms for virtual reality systems

Usable security for virtual reality systems (VR) is an area that is relatively underexplored. This research investigates the feasibility of some authentication mechanisms for VR. We implemented three password methods including 3D patterns, 2D sliding patterns, and a PIN system within a VR environment. Two experiments were conducted to test the usability and security level of the three password systems. The results suggested that the 3D password system may have the highest security level among the three systems, whereas the pattern lock and PIN systems were likely to be perceived as more usable.
Phospholipid ester-linked fatty acid profile changes during nutrient deprivation of Vibrio cholerae: increases in the trans/cis ratio and proportions of cyclopropyl fatty acids

The phospholipid ester-linked fatty acids of 0-day-, 7-day-, and 30-day-starved cultures of Vibrio cholerae were compared. Statistically significant trends were noted in the fatty acid profiles as the cells starved. The amount of the cis-monoenoic fatty acids declined (e.g., 16:1 omega 7c: 0 day, 39%; 7 day, 18%; 30 day, 11%). In contrast, the saturated fatty acids, the cyclopropyl derivatives of the cis-monoenoic fatty acids, and trans-monoenoic fatty acids increased during starvation. For instance, the amounts of 16:1 omega 7t were: 0 day, 1%; 7 day, 13%; 30 day, 17%; which increased the trans/cis ratio for 16:1 omega 7 from 0.02 (0 day) to 0.70 (7 day) to 1.56 (30 day). This may be due to the reported high turnover rates of cis-monoenoic fatty acids of membrane phospholipids and the availability of enzymes for the metabolism of these isomers. During starvation-induced phospholipid loss, the cis-monoenoic fatty acids would, therefore, be preferentially utilized. The ability to either synthesize trans-monoenoic acids (which are not easily metabolized by bacteria) or modify the more volatile cis-monoenoic acids to their cyclopropyl derivatives may be a survival mechanism which helps maintain a functional (although structurally altered) membrane during starvation-induced lipid utilization. In addition, a trans/cis fatty acid ratio significantly greater than that reported for most bacterial cultures and environmental samples (less than 0.1) may be used as a starvation or stress lipid index. Such a ratio could help determine the nutritional status of ultramicrobacteria and other reported dormant cells in natural aquatic environments. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
In search of self-definition: motivational primacy of the individual self, motivational primacy of the collective self, or contextual primacy?

Four investigations examined the dynamics between the individual self (self-representation independent of group membership) and the collective self (self-representation derived from group membership). Relative to participants whose collective self was threatened, participants whose individual self was threatened (a) considered the threat more severe, (b) experienced a more negative mood, (c) reported more anger, and (d) derogated to a greater extent the source of threat. In addition, a self-description task indicated that participants generate more aspects of their individual than collective self. These effects occurred even when confounding variables (i.e., accessibility of the selves, group identification, individualism and collectivism, importance of threat domain) were controlled. The individual self is motivationally primary.
Evaluation of AUV fixed and vectorial propulsion systems with dynamic simulation and non-linear control

This paper presents an evaluation method for assessing different Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) propulsion systems (or topologies). This evaluation is based on solid/fluid dynamics simulation and uses a model-based control (feedback linearisation) to achieve the robotic mission assigned to the AUV. The objective of this work is to provide an evaluation relevant enough to be used for optimisation purposes. A model of an existing AUV (RSM) is proposed and detailed as well as two studied propulsion systems in competition: Fixed and vectorial thrusters. The main contribution of this work is to bring a consistent evaluation including models, tasks and a generic high-level control adapted to each system. Simulations of our AUV achieving a diving task are carried out for both propulsion systems. The simulated task analysis allows to evaluate the influence of the propulsive strategy over AUVs operability. Subsequently, numerical results are discussed in terms of energy efficiency and control.
Hidden Labour of Portfolio Work: dignity, design and direct relations

‘Portfolio work’, a flexible form of self-employment emerging in the new economy, has been identified as significant but under-researched. Smeaton (2003) argues that existing literature presents two opposing models of portfolio work: as liberatory and as marginalizing or exploitive. This paper explores this proposition drawing from findings of a qualitative study interviewing 42 individuals practicing portfolio work. Participants represented two contrasting groups: immigrants to Canada, many who appeared to take up portfolio work to survive; and Canadia n-born individuals. Across the groups, their narrated experiences indicated that conditions of portfolio work generating the deepest satisfaction also generated some of the deepest anxiety and stress. Overall the conclusion is that portfolio work simultaneously embeds both liberatory and exploitive elements, particularly hidden labour, for which individuals assume personal responsibility.