Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Modélisation flexible des données de survie en présence de risques concurrents et apports de la méthode du taux en excès

En epidemiologie, la probabilite de survie (associee au delai jusqu'au deces) d’une cohorte de patients est un indicateur-cle de l’impact d’une maladie. Mais, cette survie peut etre estimee selon diverses causes de deces qui sont alors des evenements concurrents. Dans cette these, apres presentation theorique de ce cadre d’analyse, nous proposons un modele flexible qui permet d'estimer conjointement les taux des evenements concurrents ainsi que les effets de facteurs pronostiques en fonction du temps ecoule depuis le diagnostic. De plus, ce modele permet de comparer les effets des facteurs pronostiques sur les taux des evenements concurrents ; il est illustre par l’analyse de donnees sur patients atteints de cancer colorectal aux Etats-Unis. Mais les causes des deces s’averent parfois difficiles a obtenir ou inutilisables (cas des registres qui ne recueillent pas la cause de deces en routine). La methode statistique du taux en exces permet de s’affranchir des causes de deces en utilisant la mortalite de la population generale pour estimer la mortalite en exces liee directement ou non a la maladie. Une strategie d'analyse est proposee pour estimer la mortalite en exces ainsi que les effets dependants du temps et/ou non lineaires des facteurs pronostiques. En plus du deces, la methode des evenements concurrents est appliquee aussi aux evenements intercurrents (recidives ou metastases). Un modele combinant les methodes des evenements concurrents et du taux en exces est propose pour estimer les taux des evenements intercurrents et la mortalite en exces ; il est applique a des donnees de registres FRANCIM sur patients atteints de cancer colorectal et traites a but curatif
Formative measurements in operations management research: Using partial least squares

Abstract The partial least squares (PLS) approach to structural equation modeling (SEM) appears across a wide array of business research publications, including those in operations management (OM). However, the authors’ summary of PLS use in the OM literature suggests some concerns and issues. First, the debate on the use of PLS-SEM is intensifying instead of being mediated despite the increasing use of PLS-SEM. Second, a lack of clarity exists among OM researchers about the use of reflective and formative measurements for constructs. Third, the validation of formative measurement is not routinely conducted in studies, which supports the need to summarize and illustrate the validation procedure of formative measurement. Without addressing these questions, the rigor involved in selecting reflective versus formative measures, especially in the OM field, is compromised. This research summarizes the procedures for choosing and validating formative measurement. The authors provide an illustrative OM example to demonstrate how the specific steps are applied. Through proactive selection and judicious operationalization of the measurement model and appropriate comparisons of the overall research model effectiveness based on criteria such as the R2 of the dependent variable OM, researchers provide a tool to help them extend existing theoretical frameworks and explore new theories.
Conhecimento, atitude e prática do uso de pílula e preservativo entre adolescentes universitários

Foram avaliados o conhecimento, atitude e pratica em relacao a pilula e ao preservativo entre adolescentes, ingressantes de uma universidade publica paulista. Um questionario foi aplicado a 295 universitarios. Observou-se que os adolescentes apresentaram atitudes positivas em relacao a pratica contraceptiva, ja que 92,6% opinaram que devem utilizar metodos anticoncepcionais, e dentre os adolescentes com vida sexual ativa, aproximadamente 82% responderam que utilizavam algum metodo em todas as relacoes sexuais. Demonstraram ter maior conhecimento do que pratica. Quando comparados o preservativo e a pilula, os adolescentes apresentam maior conhecimento e pratica em relacao ao preservativo. Conclui-se que embora os adolescentes tenham conhecimento e atitudes adequadas, precisam modificar algumas de suas praticas para uma anticoncepcao eficaz.
Punctuations in Life: Exploring the Developmental Journeys of Campus Tradition Builders

PUNCTUATIONS IN LIFE: EXPLORING THE DEVELOPMENTAL JOURNEYS OF CAMPUS TRADITION BUILDERS Preston Scott Reilly Old Dominion University, 2019 Director: Dr. Chris Glass Campus traditions are powerful vehicles that can shape college life (Cowley & Waller, 1979). Students foster smaller identities through their involvement in traditions on campus, and these traditions often ritualize coming-of-age or the start of American adulthood (Bronner, 2012). However, the climate of higher education today may be putting campus traditions and the purposes they achieve at risk. Often mistaken as frivolous and unnecessary parts of campus life (Manning 1994), these critical meaning-shaping events could fall prey to cost-cutting and downsizing as college campuses continue to evolve. Guided by narrative analysis methods described by Patton (2002) and the Standard Life Story Interview (McAdams & Guo, 2014), this study investigated the developmental journeys of 16 full-time, undergraduate campus tradition builders. Participants were asked to complete a brief story map reflection exercise to guide reflection on their experiences as a tradition builder. This reflection was used to guide a narrative interview which explored the student's developmental journey. Data were collected through story map submissions, interview transcripts, and extensive researcher field notes. Themes were drawn from examination of three key pillars of developmental journeys. These pillars included initiations, flashbulb memories, and graduations. Interesting counter narratives are also shared to help illustrate the diverse experiences of tradition builders. Initiation themes suggest that tradition builders both randomly fell into opportunities or intentionally sought them out. Participants often experienced traditions as an outsider first or were inspired by a “gatekeeper” to get further involved. Flashbulb memories surrounded three areas, including relationships, identity, and challenges. Graduation themes surrounded future career plans, craving the comforts that come from being a part of a community, and increasing leadership experience. The documented journeys all lead to traditions builders either wanting to maintain a connection to their organization/institution or needing a break. Experiences were typically framed by pressures that may be unique to the tradition builder experience. Implications for policy, practice, and future research are also discussed.
ISOLATION OF CALDATRIBACTERIUM (OP9) AND INVESTIGATION OF ITS POTENTIAL INTERACTIONS WITH A NOVEL, CO-CULTIVATED THERMODESULFOBACTERIUM SPECIES

iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . vi LIST OF TABLES . ix LIST OF FIGURES . xi CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION Uncultivated Microbes. 1 Candidate Phyla . 2 Difficulty of Growing Microbes in Lab . 2 Methods for Studying Uncultivated Microbes . 6 Atribacteria (OP9) and Laboratory Cultivation . 8 Sulfate Reducers and the Genus Thermodesulfobacterium . 13 Hypothesis . 14 Goal 1: Isolation and Characterization of Novel Thermodesulfobacterium Species . 15 Goal 2: Symbiotic Relationship Experiments . 16 Goal 3: 13C Isotope Labeling Experiments . 16 CHAPTER TWO: METHODS Cultivation Conditions for the Co-culture. 18 Cultivating Thermodesulfobacterium Species and Other Sulfate Reducers . 20 Growth on Solid Media. 20 Identification of Isolates . 21 Characterization of the Thermodesulfobacterium Isolate from the Coculture . 22
Interference mitigation technique with coverage improvement in indoor VLC system

We consider an indoor visible light communication system in which an arbitrary number of light‐emitting diodes are transmitting the information to the users. Due to the circular field of view of the light‐emitting diode transmitters, there is always a trade‐off between the coverage and interference at the receiving end. Any approach to increase the coverage area increases the overlapping area of two or more field of views resulting in severe interference at the receiver. In this paper, we propose a method that simultaneously reduces the interference due to multiple sources in an indoor visible light communication system and improves the coverage area. The signal‐to‐interference ratio (γSIR)–based approach is used for analyzing the outage and error performances. Specifically, the effect of the proposed method is investigated on various performance metrics such as signal‐to‐interference ratio, coverage probability, and bit error rate. The effect of ambient light on system performance is also incorporated in the analysis.
Scaffolds to support the development of scientific skills in physics

This paper responds to the social demand to equip learners with the skills capable to create solutions that are sustainable over time, to increasingly complex problems. To this end, this study designed implemented and evaluated an instructional process aimed to students’ development of scientific skills during the scientific inquiry process. A quasi-experimental study was designed in which participated 61 university students of physics university course participated in the study. The results show that the students of the experimental group developed higher level of scientific skills than the control group.
A Pain Management Decision Support System for Nurses

This paper describes the development and uses of the Nursing Pain Management Consultation System, a prototype demonstration project for Integrated Academic Information Management System (IAIMS) at the University of Utah. A knowledge base representing the best current thinking regarding management of acute pain secondary to total hip arthroplasty (THA) is the knowledge core of the expert system. The decisions modeled range from assessment of the severity of pain to decisions related to both pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic approaches to the alleviation of pain. The system also advises the nurses on measures to assess and prevent complications of the treatments.
Entropy Generation Rate Minimization for Methanol Synthesis via a CO2 Hydrogenation Reactor

The methanol synthesis via CO2 hydrogenation (MSCH) reaction is a useful CO2 utilization strategy, and this synthesis path has also been widely applied commercially for many years. In this work the performance of a MSCH reactor with the minimum entropy generation rate (EGR) as the objective function is optimized by using finite time thermodynamic and optimal control theory. The exterior wall temperature (EWR) is taken as the control variable, and the fixed methanol yield and conservation equations are taken as the constraints in the optimization problem. Compared with the reference reactor with a constant EWR, the total EGR of the optimal reactor decreases by 20.5%, and the EGR caused by the heat transfer decreases by 68.8%. In the optimal reactor, the total EGRs mainly distribute in the first 30% reactor length, and the EGRs caused by the chemical reaction accounts for more than 84% of the total EGRs. The selectivity of CH3OH can be enhanced by increasing the inlet molar flow rate of CO, and the CO2 conversion rate can be enhanced by removing H2O from the reaction system. The results obtained herein are in favor of optimal designs of practical tubular MSCH reactors.
Planning for success: Why conservation programs need a strategic program for recovering species

A substantial amount of money has been spent globally on threatened species management. While the number of threatened species continues to increase, we would expect to observe a portion of those receiving active management to respond positively and recover over time. Management of these recovering species requires a different approach to those which are declining. In particular, recovering species may require active monitoring as the primary management activity, once the threats causing their initial decline have been managed such that populations are stable or increasing. When prioritizing funding actions to improve species persistence (in particular with species prioritization approaches such as cost‐effectiveness rankings), we demonstrate that monitoring species to track their continued improvement would only occur in the (unlikely) scenario of comprehensive program funding. We provide one easily implemented solution to this—the establishment of a separately funded transitional management stream within which recovering or recovered species are prioritized for monitoring from a dedicated monitoring budget. We present a set of criteria to assess recovering species eligible for this management arrangement and demonstrate the successful application of this approach in New South Wales, Australia in the Saving our Species program.
Özel Sermayeli Bankaların Kurumsal Sürdürülebilirlik Performanslarının Değerlendirilmesine Yönelik Çok Kriterli Bir Yaklaşım: Entropi-ARAS Bütünleşik Modeli

Calismanin amaci, Turkiye'deki ozel sermayeli bankalarin kurumsal surdurulebilirlik performanslarini analiz etmektir. Bu amacla Entropi-ARAS butunlesik modeli onerilmistir. Onerilen modelinin etkinligini kontrol etmek icin ayrica duyarlilik analizi yapilmistir. Calismanin bulgularina gore ozel sermayeli bankalarin surdurulebilirlik performanslarinin belirlenmesinde en onemli boyut sosyal boyuttur. Kurumsal surdurulebilirlik bakimindan yuksek performans hedefine ulasmak isteyen bankalar, oncelikle personel devir hizini dusurmeli, ardindan dogrudan sera gazi tuketimini azaltmalidirlar. Calisma ayrica, onerilen modelin bankalarin kurumsal surdurulebilirlik performanslarinin belirlenmesinde yararlanilabilecek kullanisli ve guclu bir karar araci oldugu ortaya koymustur.
Enhancement of Convergence Properties of Adaptive CDMA Receiver over Rayleigh Flat Fading Channel

CDMA system is a promising multiple access technique which extremely increases the channel capacity and supports multiple-access and multimedia transmission. However, the performance of CDMA system degrades in presence of multipath and dense multiple-access environment . Usually an adaptive filter is utilized to compensate the effect of multipath and multiple- access interference and signal fading over the channel. This paper provides a variable step size algorithm to accelerate convergence of the adaptive filter. The optimum performance is achieved by governing the rate of convergence and the amount of steady state excess mean square error (MSE). The performance is optimized in thispaper by two main methods mainly: variable step size parameters and gradient adaptively regularization parameter. The first method is implemented through variable step size least mean square algorithm VSSLMS, modified variable step size MVSS algorithm and variable step size affine projection algorithm VS-APA. On the other hand, the second method isimplemented using generalized normalized gradient descent algorithm GNGD and generalized square-error-regularized LMS algorithm GSER-LMS. This paper concerns with comparative study of the five mentioned adaptive algorithms,(VSSLMS – MVSS – VS-APA – GNGD – GSER-LMS), to overcome the multipath and multiple-access problems of CDMA systems. The mentioned algorithms had the advantages of fast convergence and low steady state MSE, these advantages candidate the mention algorithms to improve the bit error rate (BER) performance of the CDMA system, in the presence of multipath and multiple-access environment. The results indicate that the proposed algorithm provides faster convergence compared with the fixed step size and fixed regularization parameters algorithms.
SIBSHOPS: A Handbook for Implementing Workshops for Siblings of Children with Special Needs.

Meyer, Donald J.; And Others SIBSHOPS: A Handbook for Implementing Workshops for Siblings of Children with Special Needs. Washington Univ., Seattle. Child Development and Mental Retardation Center. Special Education Programs (ED/OSERS), Washington, DC. Handicapped Children's Early Education Program. ISBN-0-295-96306-9 85 G00810080 64p. University of Washington Press, P.O. Box C-50096, Seattle, WA ($14.95 plus shipping). Guides Non-Classroom Use (055) Reports Descriptive (141)
Heterogeneous Industrial Vehicle Usage Predictions: A Real Case

Predicting future vehicle usage based on the analysis of CAN bus data is a popular data mining application. Many of the usage indicators, like the utilization hours, are non-stationary time series. To predict their values, recent approaches based on Machine Learning combine multiple data features describing engine status, travels, and roads. While most of the proposed solutions address cars and trucks usage prediction, a smaller body of work has been devoted to industrial and construction vehicles, which are usually characterized by more complex and heterogeneous usage patterns. Thispaper describes a real case study performed on a 4-year CAN bus dataset collecting usage data about 2250 construction vehicles of various types and models. We apply a statistics-based approach to select the most discriminating data features. Sepa-rately for each vehicle, we train regression algorithms on historical data enriched with contextual information. The achieved results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed solution.
Dylematy wokół wykorzystania sprawozdania z całkowitych dochodów do oceny sytuacji finansowej przedsiębiorstw

Informacje o wynikach działalności jednostek gospodarczych, sporządzających sprawozdanie finansowej według MSSF, prezentowane są w sprawozdaniu z całkowitych dochodów. Całkowite dochody obejmują elementy kształtujące wynik finansowy (przychody i koszty) oraz inne całkowite dochody. Sposób prezentacji tych kategorii jest mało przejrzysty, zwłaszcza w kontekście wykorzystania informacji na potrzeby analizy rentowności. Na przykładzie sprawozdań finansowych wybranych spółek wskazano, jak sposób prezentacji informacji może zniekształcić postrzeganie sytuacji finansowej podmiotu.
PROFUTURO, A SOCIAL INITIATIVE TO IMPROVE EDUCATION WITH E-LEARNING ANALYTICAL TOOLS

One of the main factors that governments and enterprises have to bridge the digital gap in society is Education. Profuturo is a foundation that develops a proposal on digital education in order to reduce that gap in vulnerable areas working with e-learning programs. These e-learning activities bring them a large data set that can be analyzed with learning analytics tools, such as big data or artificial intelligence technology. The use of these technologies has the aim to improve the learning process in those vulnerable areas and to act in a personal way such as the students have been demanded. This short paper shows how the data analysis obtained from mathematics and linguistic data can be used in order to identify talented students in those areas.
How does Google know my gender if I didn't say it? Measuring how Google infers the gender of the users

Nowadays, online services like social networks or ecommerce sites (among many others) have the capacity of learning the preferences and interests of individual users based on their online activity. Furthermore, some of these online services have also access to the users’ personal data, like their phone number, their gender, their age, their neighborhood, or the places they visit. Using such knowledge and algorithms that they keep private, online services can generate very accurate user profiles, and use them to deliver personalized content. This personalization can be beneficial for the users, for example, when they receive good recommendations about films and TV series on their favorite streaming platform. However, personalization does not always benefit users. Previous work has shown that the algorithms used by online services to decide which content each particular user receives can in fact discriminate the user based on personal data, like gender, race, or geographical location (Hannak et al. 2014; Kliman-Silver et al. 2015; Hannák et al. 2017; Mikians et al. 2012). In addition, recent reports have revealed how Cambridge Analytica, a political consulting company, used Facebook data to try to influence users in national elections (Guardian 2018). All these facts have raised concerns in society, putting in the spotlight the importance of knowing which user data is collected by online services, how it is processed, and for which purposes. Due to the demands of the online users and the pressure of new digital regulation (EU-GDPR ), more online services have started to implement transparency tools like Google Ads Settings1. This platform that belongs to Google, gives users the capacity to control which categories and interest have associated with them based on their behavior. Google computes such categories using the data that collects through different mechanisms, like the queries that users make using the search engine, the videos that they watch on YouTube or also thought tracking techniques (Ex: Cookies delivered thought ads). Also, Google Ads Settings gives
Dissipativity-Based Stability Analysis of Networked Nonlinear Descriptor Systems and Its Application to Power Grids

This paper pursues to construct a theoretical framework which can efficiently capture the dynamics of largescale heterogeneous power grids. We formulate a networked nonlinear descriptor system consisting of subsystems and network system as a mathematical abstraction of such grids. This descriptor representation of the system enables us to consider efficient analysis and control of the system while preserving its network topology. As a main result, we clarify the dissipativity of the systems and derive a sufficient condition for local asymptotic stability of partial states and synchronization based on the dissipativity. We apply these results to a power grid described by a structure-preserving model, showing their effectiveness in an engineering problem.
Multiscale Entropy Quantifies the Differential Effect of the Medium Embodiment on Older Adults Prefrontal Cortex during the Story Comprehension: A Comparative Analysis

Todays’ communication media virtually impact and transform every aspect of our daily communication and yet the extent of their embodiment on our brain is unexplored. The study of this topic becomes more crucial, considering the rapid advances in such fields as socially assistive robotics that envision the use of intelligent and interactive media for providing assistance through social means. In this article, we utilize the multiscale entropy (MSE) to investigate the effect of the physical embodiment on the older people’s prefrontal cortex (PFC) activity while listening to stories. We provide evidence that physical embodiment induces a significant increase in MSE of the older people’s PFC activity and that such a shift in the dynamics of their PFC activation significantly reflects their perceived feeling of fatigue. Our results benefit researchers in age-related cognitive function and rehabilitation who seek for the adaptation of these media in robot-assistive cognitive training of the older people. In addition, they offer a complementary information to the field of human-robot interaction via providing evidence that the use of MSE can enable the interactive learning algorithms to utilize the brain’s activation patterns as feedbacks for improving their level of interactivity, thereby forming a stepping stone for rich and usable human mental model.
Generating Corrupted Data Sources for the Evaluation of Matching Systems

One of the most diﬃcult aspects of developing matching systems – whether for matching ontologies or for other types of mismatched data – is evaluation. The accuracy of matchers are usually evaluated by measuring the results produced by the systems against reference sets, but gold-standard reference sets are expensive and diﬃcult to create. In this paper we introduce crptr, which generates multiple variations of diﬀerent sorts of dataset, where the degree of variation is controlled, in order that they can be used to evaluate matchers in diﬀerent context.