Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Multiple Imputation and Random Survival Forests: Application to the Demographic and Health Survey Child Survival Data

Background: Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) provide data on a wide scope of risk-factors of under-five child survival. Missing covariate data is inevitable in the DHS under-five survival data since data is collected retrospectively and on a large number of covariates. We studied the missing data problem on the risk-factors of under-five child survival in DHS data sets. Methods: Random survival forests model was first used for selecting the highly predictive risk factors from a pool of over 400 covariates, from which a subset of 50 covariates was selected. Multiple imputation by chained equations (MICE) and random forests were applied to handle missing covariate data. Imputed data was then analyzed using random survival forests and Cox-regression models. Results: The results showed that missingness in covariates was more related to the time to event (52%) than the event status (19%) response variables. The ranking of under-five risk factors from imputed data sets was closely related to the ranking from the observed values, albeit, multiple imputation led to increase in the variable importance scores. The unadjusted estimates from the Cox-regression model based on imputed values were closely similar to the estimates from the observed values. However, minimal discrepancies in estimates were observed in covariates with over 30% missing data. Random forests approach shown potential for producing estimates much closer to the true estimates with high level of missing than MICE. Conclusion: Multiple imputation shown potential to produce estimates closely similar to the true estimates even with high missingness. Random forests imputation shown potential to perform better than MICE imputation strategies. The current study results may need to be validated using a larger simulation study and other non-response models for decisive conclusions to be made. Dissertations in Mathematics at the University of Nairobi, Kenya. ISSN 2410-1397: Research Report in Mathematics ©Afra Nuwasiima, 2018 DISTRIBUTOR: School of Mathematics, University of Nairobi, Kenya
Depression among Hispanic women with type 2 diabetes.

OBJECTIVE Investigate psychosocial barriers to self-care and the prevalence of depression among Hispanic women with type 2 diabetes. RESEARCH AND DESIGN METHODS One hundred twenty-six (126) Hispanic women living in Miami-Dade, South Florida were recruited through outpatient diabetes clinics, physicians' offices, or community referrals to participate in a cross-sectional survey to assess psychosocial factors that can interfere with type 2 diabetes self-care. The survey collected information on sociodemographics, performance of self-care regimens, a diabetes care profile (support, knowledge, empowerment, and attitudes), depression (Beck Depression Inventory-II), health locus of control, and perceived stress, as well as other data used to evaluate diabetes status. RESULTS Only 4 of the 126 diabetic women interviewed reported having had depression previously assessed. Mean for depression scores was 12.76 +/- 8.71. Scores on the depression inventory indicated depression in 40.6% of subjects, with 23% categorized as mildly, 11.1% moderately, and 6.3% severely depressed. Greater self-assessed depression was associated with poorer self-rated health, understanding of diabetes, and diabetes knowledge scores. Subjects classified as severely depressed had lived with diabetes for a significantly longer mean number of years than those classified as moderately, mildly, or minimally depressed. CONCLUSIONS Depression had not been previously assessed by any healthcare providers seen by participants or addressed in most participants in this study. While the literature abounds with findings on the depression in diabetes and potential for improved compliance when depression is treated, this concept seems to not yet be adopted into mainstream diabetes care for our Hispanic population.
A novel distal convoluted tubule-specific Cre-recombinase driven by the NaCl cotransporter gene.

Cre-lox technology has revolutionized research in renal physiology by allowing site-specific genetic recombination in individual nephron segments. The distal convoluted tubule (DCT), consisting of distinct early (DCT1) and late (DCT2) segments, plays a central role in Na+ and K+ homeostasis. The only established Cre line targeting the DCT is Pvalb-Cre, which is limited by non-inducibility, activity along DCT1 only, and activity in neurons. Here, we report the characterization of the first Cre line specific to the entire DCT. CRISPR/Cas9 targeting was used to introduce a tamoxifen-inducible IRES-Cre-ERT2 cassette downstream of the coding region of the Slc12a3 gene encoding the NaCl cotransporter (NCC). The resulting Slc12a3-Cre-ERT2 mice were crossed with R26R-YFP reporter mice which revealed minimal leakiness with 6.3% of NCC-positive cells expressing YFP in the absence of tamoxifen. After tamoxifen injection, YFP expression was observed in 91.2% of NCC-positive cells and only in NCC positive cells, revealing high recombination efficiency and DCT-specificity. Crossing to R26R-TdTomato mice revealed higher leakiness (64.5%), suggesting differential sensitivity of the floxed site. Western blotting revealed no differences in abundances of total or the active-phosphorylated form of NCC in Slc12a3-Cre-ERT2 mice of either sex compared to controls. Plasma [K+] and [Mg2+], and thiazide-sensitive Na+ and K+ excretion did not differ in Slc12a3-Cre-ERT2 mice compared to controls when sex-matched. These data suggest genetic modification had no obvious effect on NCC function. Slc12a3-Cre-ERT2 mice are the first line generated demonstrating inducible Cre recombinase activity along the entire DCT, and will be a useful tool to study DCT function.
On Co-Training Style Algorithms

During the past few years, semi-supervised learning has become a hot topic in machine learning and data mining, since manually labeling training examples is a tedious, error prone and time-consuming task in many practical applications. As one of the most predominant semi-supervised learning algorithms, co-training has drawn much attention and shown its superiority in many applications. So far, there have been a variety of variants of co-training algorithms aiming to settle practical problems. In order to launch an effective co-training process, these variants as a whole create their diversities in four different ways, i.e. two-view level, underlying classifiers level, datasets level and active learning level. This paper gives a review on co-training style algorithms just from this view and presents typical examples and analysis for each level respectively.
Opening pathways to cancer screening for Vietnamese-American women: lay health workers hold a key.

PURPOSE We describe a controlled trial of a community outreach intervention to promote recognition, receipt, and screening-interval maintenance of clinical breast examinations (CBE), mammograms, and Pap smears among Vietnamese-American women. METHODS Over a 3-year period, indigenous lay health workers conducted small-group sessions of Vietnamese women in a low-income district of San Francisco, California. Women in Sacramento, California, served as controls. Lay workers conducted 56 sessions on general prevention, 86 on cervical cancer, and 90 on breast cancer. Surveys of 306 to 373 women were conducted in the study communities in 1992 and 1996. RESULTS In the intervention community, recognition of screening tests increased significantly between pre- and postintervention surveys: CBE, 50 to 85%; mammography, 59 to 79%; and Pap smear, 22 to 78% (P = 0.001 for all). Receipt of screening tests also increased significantly: CBE, 44 to 70% (P = 0.001); mammography, 54 to 69% (P = 0.006); and Pap smear, 46 to 66% (P = 0.001). Best-fitting logistic regression models, adjusting for preintervention rates and significant covariates, also showed statistically significant odds ratios for the intervention effect (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS Trained Vietnamese lay health workers significantly increased Vietnamese women's recognition, receipt, and maintenance of breast and cervical cancer screening tests.
Redistribution in Whose Favor? Preferences with Regard to Nationality and Type of Beneficiaries

In this paper, we elicit preferences for the allocation of income redistribution to different uses through a Discrete Choice Experiment performed with a representative sample of Swiss citizens. The total desired amount of income redistribution is estimated as a share of disposable income. Further, we estimate marginal willingness-to-pay values for recipients' nationalities (Swiss, citizens of western European countries, citizens of other countries) as well as their types (old-age pensioners, people with ill health, the unemployed, working poor, and families with children). Swiss citizens are found to have a positive willingness to pay for a reallocation of social expenditure in favor of themselves or Western European citizens to the detriment of citizens of other countries, who are perceived to be culturally distant.
Secure group key management using uni-directional proxy re-encryption schemes

The group key management is for a group manager to maintain a consistent group key for a dynamic group of members through a broadcast channel. In this paper we propose a group key management scheme based on a meta proxy re-encryption (PRE) scheme. In particular, we propose an RSA-based PRE scheme with special properties. It is the first RSA-based PRE scheme for group key management and has the desired properties of uni-directionality and multi-hop. In our group key management scheme, each group member holds just one secret auxiliary key and logN public auxiliary keys. The size of rekey messages for each group key update remains O(logN). Additionally, our scheme has some distinct features. Firstly, the size of the key update history is a constant O(N) no matter how many times of group key updates occur. Secondly, the computation time of computing the newest group key from the key update history is always O(logN) no matter how many group key updates are missed. This feature provides a practical solution for group key update when members go offline from time to time. Finally, the proposed scheme is immune to the collusion attack of other members.
The Impact of Innovation Capital on Firm Values

The current worldwide tendency to transform the global economy into a knowledge economy indicates that there is a need to analyze intellectual capital and approaches to its measurement, management and influence on company value. Taking into account the intangible nature of intellectual capital its measurement is an unconventional task for researchers with tough choices of adequate proxies. In this paper, we differentiate between components of intellectual capital and focus on innovation capital. We propose a methodology to measure intellectual capital and we analyze how intellectual capital influences company value in emerging markets. For this purpose, we investigate the relation between intellectual capital and the cost of equity influencing a company’s value through a discount rate
Platelet surface membranes are highly mitogenic for coronary artery smooth muscle cells--A novel mechanism for sustained proliferation after vessel injury?

The effects of isolated platelet surface membranes on DNA synthesis and proliferation of bovine coronary artery smooth muscle cells (SMC) were studied. Platelet membranes were very potent mitogens for SMC. The potency was about 10-fold higher than the maximum effects of platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF). Platelet membrane-induced mitogenesis was inhibited by rapamycin, wortmannin or heating for 15 min at 70 degrees C but not by the PDGF receptor antagonist SCH 13.929 or by neutralizing PDGF antibodies. Only a partial (30%) inhibition was seen with PD 98059. In contrast, PDGF-induced SMC mitogenesis was heat-stable but sensitive to SCH 13. 929, PDGF antibodies, and PD 98059. These findings provide evidence for a novel mechanism for platelet-induced SMC proliferation that is independent of PDGF secretion. Platelet membranes, attached to or incorporated into the vessel wall, could maintain sustained SMC proliferation following injury.
Store attributes, relationship investment, culture, religiosity and relationship quality

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of store-level attributes, relationship investment, culture and religiosity on relationship quality. Design/methodology/approach To attain the above objective, data were collected from 350 customers from India and Nigeria. Data were analyzed using SPSS and AMOS. Findings In the present study, empirical evidence was found for the impact of most of the store’s positioning attributes on perceived relationship investment and relationship quality, in India and Nigeria. Factors like personalization and their impact on relationship investment and quality were not supported in Nigeria. Additionally, religiosity was found to impact relationship quality only in case of Nigerian customers. Cultural differences were also found between consumers of both these countries. Originality/value The present study contributes to the theory of consumer behavior and cross-cultural studies by examining the effect of the relationship between various cultural dimensions and religiosity on customer’s commitment with a store, which to the author’s best knowledge is not done before. The present study makes important contribution to the existing literature of relationship quality in three ways: first, by specifying important store-level attributes that impact customer’s perception about relationship investment. By applying these practices, retailers can guide customer’s perception of relationship investment, second, this study confirmed the impact of relationship investment on relationship quality, thus demonstrating the retailers as to why should they invest time and effort in building positive perception about relationship investment, third, this study is first of its kind to have investigated the impact of culture and religiosity on the perception of relationship investment and relationship quality.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Funding for HIV Testing Associated With Higher State Percentage of Persons Tested.

OBJECTIVES To assess the association between state per capita allocations of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) funding for HIV testing and the percentage of persons tested for HIV. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS We examined data from 2 sources: 2011 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and 2010-2011 State HIV Budget Allocations Reports. Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data were used to estimate the percentage of persons aged 18 to 64 years who had reported testing for HIV in the last 2 years in the United States by state. State HIV Budget Allocations Reports were used to calculate the state mean annual per capita allocations for CDC-funded HIV testing reported by state and local health departments in the United States. DESIGN The association between the state fixed-effect per capita allocations for CDC-funded HIV testing and self-reported HIV testing in the last 2 years among persons aged 18 to 64 years was assessed with a hierarchical logistic regression model adjusting for individual-level characteristics. MAIN OUTCOME The percentage of persons tested for HIV in the last 2 years. RESULTS In 2011, 18.7% (95% confidence interval = 18.4-19.0) of persons reported being tested for HIV in last 2 years (state range, 9.7%-28.2%). During 2010-2011, the state mean annual per capita allocation for CDC-funded HIV testing was $0.34 (state range, $0.04-$1.04). A $0.30 increase in per capita allocation for CDC-funded HIV testing was associated with an increase of 2.4 percentage points (14.0% vs 16.4%) in the percentage of persons tested for HIV per state. CONCLUSIONS Providing HIV testing resources to health departments was associated with an increased percentage of state residents tested for HIV.
Longitudinal Research in Learning Disabilities

In June of 1995 an international symposium on longitudinal research in learning disabilities (LD) was held in Missillac, France. The purpose of the symposium was to bring together an international panel of experts in this area to promote international dialogue on longitudinal research in LD, define and develop guidelines for conducting such research, identify problems inherent in this type of research and methods to alleviate them, and establish research priorities. This article synthesizes and highlights the information that emerged from individual presentations and ensuing discussions. Generic considerations regarding longitudinal research are presented; however, particular emphasis is given to the confluence of longitudinal research and learning disabilities.
Determining and Detecting Permission Issues of Wearable Apps

Wearable apps are becoming increasingly popular. Nevertheless, to date, very few studies have examined the issues that wearable apps face. Prior studies showed that user reviews contain a plethora of insights that can be used to understand quality issues and help developers build better quality mobile apps. Therefore, in this thesis, we start by empirically studying user reviews to understand the user complaints about wearable apps. We manually sample and categorize 2,667 reviews from 19 Android wearable apps. Additionally, we examine the replies posted by developers in response to user complaints. This study allows us to determine the type of complaints that developers care about the most and to identify problems that, despite being important to users, do not receive a proper response from developers. We find that the most frequent complaints are related to Functional Errors, Cost, and Lack of Functionality, whereas the most negatively impacting complaints are related to Installation Problems, Device Compatibility, and Privacy & Ethical Issues. We find that developers mostly reply to complaints related to Privacy & Ethical Issues, Performance Issues, and notification-related issues. Furthermore, we observe that when developers reply, they tend to provide a solution, request more details, or let the user know that they are working on a solution. Our results highlight the issues that users face the most, and the issues to which developers should pay additional attention to due to their negative impact. Based on these results from the first empirical study, we investigate the most negatively impactful complaints. We observe that mainly two permission problems are a common factor to raise issues that cause these complaints -namely the permission mismatch problem and the problem of superfluous features. As a result, we propose a technique to detect permission problems in wearable app. To operationalize our technique we developed a tool, called Permlyzer, that automatically detects these two problems from Android APKs. We then perform an empirical study on of 2,724 free wearable apps. Our findings show that the permission mismatches exist in 6.1% of released apps on the app store. Moreover, we find that 19.2% of studded wearable apps contain superfluous features.
International Trade in Used Vehicles: The Environmental Consequences of NAFTA

Over the last two decades an unprecedented increase in private vehicle ownership has taken place in the developing world. This growth is due, in part, to increased international trade in used vehicles. In this paper we use theory and empirical evidence to evaluate the environmental implications of free trade in vehicles and other used durable goods. With non‐homothetic preferences, used vehicles are relatively inexpensive in high‐income countries and free trade causes these goods to be exported to low‐income countries. We apply this framework to the North American Free Trade Agreement. Since trade restrictions were eliminated in 2005, over 2.5 million used cars have been exported from the United States to Mexico. Using a unique, vehicle‐level dataset, we find that traded vehicles are dirtier than the stock of vehicles in the United States and cleaner than the stock in Mexico, so trade leads average vehicle emissions to decrease in both countries. Total greenhouse gas emissions increase, primarily because trade gives new life to vehicles that otherwise would have been scrapped. Key Words: Durable Goods, Non‐Homothetic Preferences, NAFTA, Climate Change JEL: F18, H23, Q54, Q56.
Sequential convex programming MPC for dynamic vehicle collision avoidance

This paper presents a dynamic collision avoidance controller of a connected vehicle group using Model Predictive Control (MPC). The vehicles should follow a predefined reference trajectory while simultaneously avoiding collisions on this trajectory. MPC pursues the tracking of the reference trajectory in the objective function of the optimization problem. In order to avoid collisions, MPC defines avoidance constraints between each pair of vehicles. Due to the collision avoidance constraints, the feasible set of the optimization problem is non-convex. Thus, the resulting optimization problem is non-convex. This paper presents an efficient method to solve this non-convex optimization problem based on sequential convex programming.
IP Datacast and the Cost Effectiveness of its File Repair Mechanism

Internet protocol datacast (IPDC) (ETSI, 2006a) is a framework for the distribution of digital data services to wireless, mobile handsets via a broadcast infrastructure based on digital video broadcasting for handhelds (DVB-H). The technical extensions of DVB-H (ETSI, 2004; Faria et al., 2006) to the widely used terrestrial DVB transmission system called DVB-T (ETSI, 2009a; Reimers, 2005) allow for specific requirements of rather small mobile devices, like a smaller screen size compared to television sets, or their dependency on accumulators for electricity and therefore their special need for low power consumption. As a broadcasting infrastructure does not automatically offer the possibility of data transmission in the “upstream” path from a mobile device to the sender, in the context of IPDC this sole one-way system is enriched with upstream paths using cellular networks or wireless local area networks (WLAN) – two types of networks which are typically used by mobile devices. Using these upstream paths for interactivity or signalling purposes, handsets are given the possibility to inform the sender about lost data segments allowing it to retransmit portions of data already sent. This chapter will give an introduction into the digital video broadcasting (DVB) technology, especially into the DVB transmission system useful for mobile devices called DVB-H. It will describe the architecture of IP datacast, which is based on DVB-H, and the protocols used by this technology. One means of using IPDC is the broadcasting of binary data to a number of receivers using IP multicast protocols. In order to achieve correct reception of all of the sent binary data, a signalling mechanism has been specified, which enables receivers to inform the sender about lost or irreparable data fragments. This so-called file repair mechanism allows the setting of different parameters which affect the amount of data which can be corrected at the receiver and therefore have impact on the retransmission costs. The main topics of the research presented in this chapter are studies on the parameterization of the IPDC file repair mechanism and the effects of retransmissions on financial repair costs. In order to accomplish these studies, a simulation model has been designed and implemented which simulates an IP datacast network including a state-of-the-art error model for the wireless transmission channel and a versatilely parametrizable implementation of the file repair mechanism.