Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Probabilistic modeling for learning-based distance estimation

Estimating the position of an acoustic source is an essential step for many signal processing applications. Hence, many approaches for acoustic source localization have been proposed in recent years, whereby most of them are based on the estimation of the direction of arrival of a wavefront emitted by the acoustic source relative to an observing microphone array. In contrast, the estimation of the source-microphone distance is much less investigated. Especially for complex sound fields in acoustic enclosures, a promising approach is to apply machine learning approaches to learn the mapping of a distance-related feature to the corresponding source-microphone distance. Here, we focus on a recently proposed method for distance estimation based on the coherent-to-diffuse power ratio and Gaussian process regression. We investigate the influence of different probabilistic models reflected by the choice of kernel and mean functions of the Gaussian process employed for regression. The influence of these choices is quantified by experiments.
Integration of a Human Risk Module into a Risk Management Software

In the scientific literature and in practice, many questionnaires based on a myriad of measures have been designed and tested to measure and evaluate perceived work stress or employee involvement. The objective of our research is to identify the most significant elements of human risks and to combine them into a single score at the level of teams and departments. Indeed, for companies, what really matters are the stress or dissatisfaction factors that lead to harmful behavior that prevent managers and their teams from achieving their objectives. Based on this research, we are developing a module that will be incorporated into the Oxial software and will also be available as a stand-alone module. This module will collect and analyze the data to calculate a single score measuring the level of human risk. This aspect is very innovative, because no risk management software currently includes a module dedicated to human risks.
Musical Exercise as Physiotherapy

Physical exercise is necessary to one’s good health. But it is not enough to keep up one’s motivation to do exercise regularly. Also there are cases when physiotherapy in the shape of exercise is a must. Still then, doing exercise regularly is hard for anyone. Sometimes even if people do exercise, they cannot be certain that, they are doing it in the right way. These types of problems are addressed in this paper and we have discussed different solutions using technologies. This technical solutions have adopted different ways to motivate people to do exercise and also give feedback about its proper form of exercises. Our proposal is one of these solution. But its novelty lies in uses of gesture based devices for exercising and music to motivate and give feedback to people. Discussion of our proposed system and its comparisons with other techniques is main theme of this research paper.
Research on Exploring the Influence of Customer ’ s Openness to Experience on Online Purchase Intention

Online shopping is growing rapidly in 21 century, as compared with brick and mortar stores electronic stores are offering more diverse products to the customers. Customers have more product choices, information and convenience for purchasing online. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of openness to experience customers on online purchase intention. This is the first study that is going to check the effect of openness to experience on online purchase intention. A theoretical model is developed to check the causal effect among those variables. Data were collected through questionnaire from the students of different universities in Pakistan and analyzed through partial least square (PLS) method. The results show that openness to experience did not affect the online purchase intention of Pakistani customers. Openness personality trait affects the perceived usefulness and usefulness affect the online purchase intention. Perceived usefulness mediates the relationship between openness to experience and online purchase intention.
Power-Laws Model of Large-Scale Peer-to-Peer Networks Based on Broadcast Routing Mechanism

The peer-to-peer applications have become the killer applications in Internet information-sharing revolution. It is therefore important to analyze and evaluate network topology and its corresponding geometric characteristic of the overlay network. The peer-to-peer systems based on broadcast routing mechanism, typically Gnutella, are still the most popular peer-to-peer systems. The paper develops a new “network crawler” to extract the topology of Gnutella network, and empirically derives the shutter speed for an accurate topological snapshot. By analyzing the topology graph, this paper evaluates corresponding static geometric characteristic, and builds power-laws model of Gnutella network. Key-Words: Network measurement, peer-to-peer, Gnutella, network crawler, network topology, power-law
Understanding Wordscores

Wordscores is a widely used procedure for inferring policy positions, or scores, for new documents on the basis of scores for words derived from documents with known scores. It is computationally straightforward, requires no distributional assumptions, but has unresolved practical and theoretical problems. In applications, estimated document scores are on the wrong scale and the theoretical development does not specify a statistical model, so it is unclear what assumptions the method makes about political text and how to tell whether they fit particular text analysis applications. The first part of the paper demonstrates that badly scaled document score estimates reflect deeper problems with the method. The second part shows how to understand Wordscores as an approximation to correspondence analysis which itself approximates a statistical ideal point model for words. Problems with the method are identified with the conditions under which these layers of approximation fail to ensure consistent and unbiased estimation of the parameters of the ideal point model.
Prevalence and Epidemiology of Enteric Viruses in Children Attending Lwak Mission Hospital in Asembo, Western Kenya

Enteric viruses have been recognized as the most important etiologic agents of gastroenteritis worldwide in young children. The major enteropathogenic viruses include: rotavirus, norovirus, adenovirus, astrovirus and sapovirus. Worldwide, rotavirus is considered to cause a greater proportion of diarrhoea in children. Studies have investigated the prevalence and epidemiology of these viruses in many countries, however, mostly in hospitalized children. There is limited data available of viruses causing diarrhea amongst outpatient cases including the circulating aetiologies, prevalence and seasonality. The aim of this study was therefore to determinethe prevalence of these five most important diarrhoeal viruses among children below14 years of age who visited the outpatient clinic atLwakMissionHospitalin Asembo with mild to severe symptoms of diarrhoea.This was a sub-study within a major Morbidity study SSC No. 932: Active Population-based Study of Infectious Disease Syndromes in Western Kenya and Nairobi. A total of 206 stool specimens collected from children below the age of fourteen years who visited the outpatient clinic in Asembo with diarrhoea, between January 2007 and June 2010 were screened for rotaviruses, noroviruses, adenoviruses, astroviruses and sapoviruses. Enzyme immunoassay technique was used to test for the presence of rotavirus and adenovirus, while reverse transcriptase multiplex polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay was used for norovirus, astrovirus and sapovirus detection. At least one viral agent was detected in 26.7% (55/206) of the children. Rotavirus was the most prevalent with 13.6% (28/206), whereas norovirus was detected in 6.3% (13/206), adenovirus in 4.9% (10/206), astrovirus in 2.9% (6/206) and sapovirus in 1.5% (3/206). Mixed infection (co-infection of viruses) was found in 9.1% (5/55) of the positive samples, with the majority of co-infections attributable to rotavirus dual infections.In most cases the viruses were detected in children aged 13-24 months (≤ 2 years) as the average age of children infected with these agents was less than five years. Vomiting and fever were the most common clinical features detected in these children especially amongst those who had rotavirus and norovirus infections. These findings suggest that at least five enteric viruses are potentially important agents of diarrhoeain this rural site in western Kenya. Defining clinical and epidemiologic characteristics predictive of viral etiology may have implications for the management of diarrhea in children in Kenya and similar settings.
The moderating effect of brand trust on business tools subscription : An application of the Theory of Planned Behavior

This study involves the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and the influence of Brand Trust among Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME’s) towards the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) services offered by an established telecommunications company. The study measured two kinds of brand trust cognitive trust, which responds to the utilitarian value of a brand, and affective trust, which responds to the hedonic value of a brand. The review of related literature reveals that although attitudes are related, they are still distinct and it is possible that one attitude could be more relevant than the other. The researchers operationalize the Theory of Planned Behavior by Icek Ajzen with the addition of brand trust as a moderating variable. Moreover, instead of only considering the intention of the respondents to incorporate and retain or upgrade ICT services, the researchers also test the intention of incorporating and retaining or upgrading Business Tools in general. Through this framework, the study will identify how MSME’s make decisions towards the use of business tools and measure the kind and level of brand trust that they have with the service provider. The research is quantitative in design and involved the use of a structured questionnaire distributed to 256 respondents reached through purposive and convenience sampling techniques. Through the use of Structural Equation Modeling with Partial Least Squares Path Modeling, it was found that perceived behavioral control moderated by hedonic brand trust is the variable that significantly affects the intention of potential clients for availing the ICT services. Meanwhile, attitude towards behavior moderated by utilitarian brand trust is the variable that significantly affects the intention of existing clients for retaining or upgrading ICT services. In the case of hedonic and utilitarian brand trust moderating the relationships between the independent variables and their intention to use business tools in general, the researchers agree that the results are spurious correlations based on past literatures. Therefore, the researchers recommend Asia Pacific Business & Economics Perspectives, Summer 2017, 5(1). 99 future campaigns targeting potential clients to focus on their control beliefs by showing the ease of incorporating said tools and associating this with experiential values such as feelings of confidence. On the other hand, campaigns for existing clients should focus on their positive evaluations towards retaining or upgrading ICT services and associate this with functional values such as feelings of the brand being reliable and effective. Overall, future campaigns for the brand should focus and allocate resources based on the outcomes of this study.
Model for Analysis and Simulations ( MAS ) ∗

This document presents a first version of the Model for Analysis and Simulations (MAS), a new general equilibrium model for the Chilean economy. The document describes the structure and the main components of the model, and analyzes some impulse-response functions. It also presents a preliminary evaluation of the model comparing some moments in the model with the corresponding ones in the data.
An assessment of Regional and Gender equity in healthcare coverage under different healthcare policies in Ghana

The study assesses regional and gender equity in healthcare coverage under two different healthcare policies – the Medium-Term Health Strategy (MTHS) and the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) – among 10 regions in Ghana. The Afrobarometer survey round 1, conducted in 1999; round 2, conducted in 2004; round 4, conducted in 2008; and round 5, conducted in 2012, as well as data from the Ministry of Health were used in the study. Using annual growth rates of the proportion of the respondents who had access to healthcare from various regions in Ghana – based on 1999, 2004, 2008 and 2012 equities – the healthcare coverage in 2025 (a post MDG era) was estimated. There were significant regional inequities for the National and Gender levels for all the four rounds of the survey. Among the respondents who always had healthcare access, between 1999 and 2012 there were 32%, 29% and 36% significant percentage increases for the whole Nation pertaining to Male and Female respondents respectively. Based on annual healthcare coverage growth rates, most of the south-western and forest regions such as Western, Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo, Central and Eastern regions will achieve more than 85% coverage by the year 2025, while other regions such as the Northern, Upper East, Upper West and Volta regions may attain less than 60% coverage by 2025. It is therefore strongly recommended that other African countries, especially those struggling with universal healthcare coverage, adopt and implement the principle of health insurance for all, as it is currently done in Ghana.
Impact of Public Expenditure on Economic Growth : Evidence from Nigeria ' s Data

The paper investigates the impact of public expenditure on economic growth with evidence from Nigeria's data in a democratic era (2000-2014). Secondary data sourced from the Central Bank of Nigeria was used. Econometric modelling was adopted and the Ordinary Least Square (OLS) was employed as the technique used to analyse the impact of public expenditure on growth in a system of multiple regression equation of the structural model. The result shows that public expenditure has an insignificant positive impact on growth in Nigeria. Corruption has been adduced as the major reason for the insignificant performance. The paper recommends that public expenditure should be directed to priority sectors such as infrastructure, education and power for it to impact significantly on growth in the country. The diversification of the economy has become necessary to diversify non-oil revenue sources and finance public expenditure in the light of falling oil earnings as a result of shocks in oil prices in the world market. The fight against corruption should be deepened and toughened by strengthening institutions that are saddled with the responsibility of fighting corruption, and by introducing stiff penalties such as death by hanging on whoever that is found guilty of corruption and corrupt practices amongst other recommendations.
ALSgeneScanner: a pipeline for the analysis and interpretation of DNA sequencing data of ALS patients

Abstract Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, MND) is a neurodegenerative disease of upper and lower motor neurons resulting in death from neuromuscular respiratory failure, typically within two years of first symptoms. Genetic factors are an important cause of ALS, with variants in more than 25 genes having strong evidence, and weaker evidence available for variants in more than 120 genes. With the increasing availability of next-generation sequencing data, non-specialists, including health care professionals and patients, are obtaining their genomic information without a corresponding ability to analyze and interpret it. Furthermore, the relevance of novel or existing variants in ALS genes is not always apparent. Here we present ALSgeneScanner, a tool that is easy to install and use, able to provide an automatic, detailed, annotated report, on a list of ALS genes from whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data in a few hours and whole exome sequence data in about 1 h on a readily available mid-range computer. This will be of value to non-specialists and aid in the interpretation of the relevance of novel and existing variants identified in DNA sequencing data.
The Impact of Customer Knowledge on the Security of E-Banking

In this paper one of the most affective factors on security of e-banking will be discussed, by accepting the use of information technology for the execution of the Traditional e-banking, As we know that e-banking is done online and the customers are considered the active element and the other party in e-banking operations. So if the level of customer knowledge in the use of IT ص low, then this points that customers are not professional in the execution of the traditional e-banking using IT , furthermore this create flaws in the security of e-banking by facilitating the sneaking into the personal information and distrust in customer confidence of the e-banking security. which leads to reject the use of technology in e-banking, And this is what will be discussed in this paper by offering some security gaps which is resulting from the low level of customer knowledge in information technology, and that will be studied through Technology Acceptance Model and In light of this we will suggest some solutions.
Plant growth-promotion by S treptomyces spp . in sorghum ( Sorghum bicolor L . )

Seven strains of Streptomyces spp. : BCA-546 (KF770898), BCA-659 (KF770889), BCA-667 (KF770888), BCA-689 (KF770899), BCA-698 (KF770900), CAI-133 (KF770895) and CAI-8 (KF770890), reported earlier to produce biocontrol and plant growth-promoting (PGP) substances were further evaluated for PGP traits in sorghum under greenhouse and field conditions. Under greenhouse conditions, plant height, leaf area and weight, root length and weight, shoot weight, panicle weight and seed weight were enhanced in plots inoculated with Streptomyces spp. than the un-inoculated control at 30, 60 days after sowing (DAS) and at final harvest. Similarly, treatment with Streptomyces spp. led to growth and yield enhancements under field conditions at 60 DAS and final harvest. Among the seven strains, BCA-698, BCA-689, BCA-546 and BCA-659 were found to be superior for PGP. Under field conditions, at both flowering and harvest stages, the soil organic C, available P and total N were also found to improve with Streptomyces spp. treatments. A scanning electron microscopic study showed extensive root colonization of sorghum. The gene expression profiles revealed up-regulation of β-1,3-glucanase, indole acetic acid (IAA) and siderophore genes. Based on the present findings, the seven selected Streptomyces strains could be employed to enhance plant growth and yield in sorghum.
Answer Validation for SQuAD 2 . 0

We explore approaches to extractive reading comprehension with unanswerable questions, as defined in the SQuAD 2.0 dataset. In particular, we explore answer verification, the task of determining whether a predicted answer is legitimate given the question, context paragraph, and answer. We attempt enhancing the baseline BiDAF with better loss function to handle unanswerable questions, as well as enhancing it with additional sub-layers and character embeddings. Beyond that, we build and evaluate a separate "Answer Verifier" component that is used to double check the model’s predicted output as a post-processing step. We see improved performance both from our enhancements and from the new answer verifier. We then perform some basic analysis on where the two models (the question answerer and the answer verifier) make mistakes, and how they compliment each other. We finally made an attempt to build a simple verifier on top of BERT base lowercased, and report on how it does when combined with a BERT question answerer.
Skill mismatch : more than meets the eye Skill deficits

The global financial and economic crisis has led to alarmingly high unemployment and underemployment in many European Union (EU) countries. Yet, surveys still find that more than one in three employers has problems filling vacancies. The latest European company survey, in spring 2013, found that about 40% of firms across the EU had difficulties finding staff with the right skills. A 2010 Eurobarometer survey found some 33% of employers identifying a shortage of applicants with the right skills as their main challenge in filling vacancies ( 1 ). Manpower’s 2013 survey also found that, on average across 17 Member States, more than 25% of employers reported recruitment difficulties. Some 34% of these employers cite a lack of technical competences while 19% believe candidates also lack workplace skills.
Cobas Amplicor Conventional PCR as a Routine Diagnostic tool for Quantification of HBV-DNA , HCV & HIV-RNA

Liver cell carcinoma and liver failure are caused by both of viruses of hepatitis B and C. Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is purposed by infection of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The aim of the study was to quantification of HBV DNA, HCV and HIV RNA titer in infected patients using Cobas Amplicor analyzer with monitor test methods for antiviral treatment and analyzed its disadvantages with current updated technology. Total of 130 for HBsAg positive, 72 for anti HCV positive, and 8 for anti HIV positive patients were preferred from serology division of laboratory. There are 130 HBV DNA, 72 HCV RNA, and 8 HIV RNA were extracted from positive specimens with test specific control and incorporated in this study. The viral load titer was analyzed individually by Cobas Amplicor analyzer. Out of 130 HbsAg positive cases, 121cases of HBV DNA quantification were obtained with different ranges (60-10) and 9 cases were not detected because of lower limit of detection. All positive cases of anti HCV were confirmed as positive and HCV RNA measurement were obtained with different ranges (600-10). One case was not quantified out of eight anti HIV positive patients. This mean HIV RNA not detected or less than50 copies/ml or it might be improper screening from serology division. The HIV RNA viral measurement was achieved with different ranges (50-10). The detection ranges might be compared with others updated and published technical data for future direction. Present updated molecular assays like Cobas Taqman and Abbott having greater sensitivity and accuracy then old version of Cobas Amplicor. Also, not possibility to get complete clearance of viral copy in antiviral treatment through Cobas Amplicor, because of this assay has minimum detection ranges 600 IU/ml for HCV,62IU/ml for HBV and 400 IU/ml for HIV(standard methods) viral load. Key word: RT-PCR Viral load quantification, hepatitis B&C, HIV Abbreviation: RT-PCR-Real Time Polymerase Chain Reaction, Human Immuno-deficiency virus RESEARCH • MEDICAL BIOLOGY Medical Science, Volume 5, Number 17, February 19, 2014
Intracranial hypotension syndrome following surgery of the spine: A rare cause of postural headache in adolescence

Abstract We report on a seventeen-year-old boy presenting with postural headache caused by intracranial hypotension following surgical treatment of juvenile scoliosis. The clinical presentation, diagnostic findings and treatment are described and a review of the relevant literature is given. It is concluded that physicians should be aware of intracranial hypotension syndrome as a possible, though rare, complication after spine surgery.