Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A note on the applicability of log-Gumbel and log-logistic probability distributions in hydrological analyses: II. Assumed pdf

Abstract Applicability of log-Gumbel (LG) and log-logistic (LL) probability distributions in hydrological studies is critically examined under real conditions, where the assumed distribution differs from the true one. The set of alternative distributions consists of five two-parameter distributions with zero lower bound, including LG and LL as well as lognormal (LN), linear diffusion analogy (LD) and gamma (Ga) distributions. The log-Gumbel distribution is considered as both a false and a true distribution. The model error of upper quantiles and of the first two moments is analytically derived for three estimation methods: the method of moments (MOM), the linear moments method (LMM) and the maximum likelihood method (MLM). These estimation methods are used as methods of approximation of one distribution by another distribution. As recommended in the first of this two-part series of papers, MLM turns out to be the worst method, if the assumed LG or LL distribution is not the true one. It produces a huge bias of upper quantiles, which is at least one order higher than that of the other two methods. However, the reverse case, i.e. acceptance of LN, LD or Ga as a hypothetical distribution, while the LG or LL distribution is the true one, gives the MLM bias of reasonable magnitude in upper quantiles. Therefore, one should avoid choosing the LG and LL distributions in flood frequency analysis, especially if MLM is to be applied.
Women, empowerment and development in Arab Gulf States: a critical appraisal of governance, culture and national human resource development (HRD) frameworks

Current literature has not examined gender issues nor considered the governance regimes and institution cultures that shape national human resource development (HRD) systems. This is a key knowledge gap as many developing countries target women's learning in national HRD planning. This article addresses the following questions: what are the social and cultural factors that shape gender and HRD systems in three Arab Gulf States (Bahrain, UAE and Saudi Arabia), and how are they linked to women's current social and economic status in the Gulf? In addition, how can national and institutional HRD frameworks support women's empowerment and education development? The findings of the investigation lead to a new framework for conceptualizing a gender and national HRD model that facilitates women's empowerment. I discuss how the model can guide government national HRD skills strategies and empowerment for women. In contributing to new knowledge on gender and HRD, I suggest that national HRD interventions improve women's livelihoods, but that partnership with civil society will be necessary to facilitate long-lasting social change. However, I also maintain that Arab women should be supported to develop feminist agency and create their own versions of Islamic feminism, relevant to their own empowerment agendas.
The insertion of Roma in Sénart Project (2000–2007): a local minority-targeted affirmative action following in the footsteps of the French republican citizenship model

Between 2000 and 2007, 34 Romanian families living in shanty towns in a Parisian suburb participated in a local group-specific social integration project. A socio-anthropological study was undertaken 2 years after it ended, including documentary analysis of its archives, interviews with its beneficiaries and the professionals involved and ethnography among three families with distinct integration histories. Using the analysis of the project’s implementation and outcomes, this article sheds light on how exceptional acts of minority identity recognition – sporadic and on a case-by-case basis – were ultimately functional in the performance of a republican redistributive policy on individual access to rights and resources based on the denial of racialised inequalities.
VANCOMYCIN INTERMEDIATE AND VANCOMYCIN RESISTANT STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS – MECHANISMS, CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE AND DETECTION

Vancomycin is used as the antibiotic of choice for severe infection caused by methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus . Increased use of vancomycin and the selective pressure has resulted in the emergence of S.aureus with reduced susceptibility to vancomycin and vancomycin resistant S.aureus . This review summarizes the definition, mechanism, clinical significance and epidemiology of S.aureus with reduced susceptibility to vancomycin. It also discusses laboratory methods for detection and treatment options available for these pathogens.
The evolution of family level sales forecasts into product level forecasts: Modeling and estimation

It is frequently the case that sales forecasts are available at the detailed product level for only a relatively short time horizon. For the rest of the forecast horizon, only aggregate sales forecasts at the product family level are available. The problem addressed in this paper is how to fit a forecast simulation model to a history of these aggregate and disaggregate forecasts. Our approach to develop such a model is to combine a forecast update model with a forecast disaggregation model. The forecast update model is called the Martingale Model of Forecast Evolution (MMFE). The parameters of the two models must be estimated from historical forecast data. It is this statistical parameter estimation problem that occupies the major part of our investigation. We recommend an estimation technique based on the method of moments. Heath and Jackson (1994) use a simulation model for the manner in which sales forecasts evolve over time in order to estimate the need for safety-stock in a production-distribution system. The model is fitted to historical forecast data. Their approach has the advantage that it does not require a specification of the actual forecasting techniques employed by the sales department. It captures correlations in forecast history. These correlations are important for correctly assessing the effectiveness of any safety-stock policy. In this paper, we extend this approach to handle the situation in which the forecasting system provides forecasts at different aggregation levels over different time intervals. From a history of these aggregate-disaggregate forecasts, we seek to build a model for how these forecasts will evolve in the future. The primary use of such a model would be as input to a production and inventory planning model. It is frequently the case in manufacturing companies that sales forecasts are available at the detailed product level for only a relatively short time horizon. For the rest of the forecast horizon, only aggregate sales forecasts at the product family level are available. The problem addressed in this paper is how to fit a forecast simulation model to a history of these aggregate and disaggregate forecasts. Our approach to develop such a model is to combine a forecast update model with a
Diagnostic yield of video capsule endoscopy in obscure occult gastrointestinal bleed

Background: Gastrointestinal blood loss is the leading cause of iron deficiency anemia in developing world. Many patients had normal findings on initial upper and lower gastrointestinal endoscopy. When such patients present with stool occult blood positivity, it’s an indication to evaluate small bowel by video capsule endoscopy for detecting possible source of bleeding. Aim was to know the diagnostic yield of video capsule endoscopy in anaemic patients with occult gastrointestinal bleed. Methods: In this retrospective study, we evaluated all the data of video capsule endoscopy which were done in patients with obscure occult gastrointestinal bleed. Results: Total sample size was 21 patients. M:F ratio was 1.6:1 Average age of patients was 51.52±6.3 years. Youngest patient was of 16 years and Oldest patient was of 78 years. Video capsule endoscopy was normal in 8/21(38.09%), and had positive findings in 13/21(61.90%). Most common finding was aphthous ulcer in jejunum and ileum in 19.04%. Followed by Telangiectasia in 14.28%, NSAID enteropathy in 4.76%, Jejunal diverticulosis in 9.52%, celiac disease, xanthelasma, enteroliths in ileum, ileal nodularity in 4.76% each. Complication occurred in one patient (4.76%) in the form of retention of the capsule, which was retrieved by double balloon Enteroscopy. Conclusions: Video capsule endoscopy has a good diagnostic yield of around 61.90% in patients with obscure occult gastrointestinal bleed. It is best performed during ongoing bleed or immediately thereafter. Careful patient selection and repeating the upper and lower GI Scopy before video capsule endoscopy can be a reliable option before video capsule endoscopy to prevent complication.
Risky Habits and the Marginal Propensity to Consume Output of Permanent Income, or, How Much Would a Permanent Tax Cut Boost Japanese Consumption?

Papers in a variety of disparate literatures have recently suggested that habit formation in consumption may explain several empirical puzzles, ranging from the level and cyclical variability of the equity premium (Abel, 1990, 1999: Constantinides, 1990; Jerman, 1998; Campbell and Cochrane, 1999) to the ‘excess smoothness’ of aggregate consumption (Fuhrer, 2000) to the apparent fact that increases in economic growth cause subsequent increase in aggregate saving rates (Carroll and Weil, 1994: Bosworth, 1993; Attanasio, Picci, and Scorceu, 2000; Rodrik, 1999; Layza, Schmidt-Hebbel, and Servén, 2000) This paper examines an implication of these models that has mostly been overlooked: Habits strong enough to solve these puzzles imply an immediate marginal propensity to consume out of permanent shocks of much lees than one. When the model is calibrated to roughly match the rise in the Japanese saving rate over the postwar periode, it implies that the immediate MPC out of Permanent tax cuts may be as low as 30 percent, suggesting that calls for a permanent income tax cut as a quick means of stimulating aggregate demand in Japan may be misguided. [D11, D81, D91, E10, E17, E21, H31]
FREQUENCY OF CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES AND DRUG USE IN TURKISH ELDERLY POPULATION FOLLOWED UP AT CARDIOLOGY CLINICS: THE ELDERTURK STUDY

KARDİYOLOJİ KLİNİKLERİNDE TAKİP EDİLEN YAŞLI TÜRK NÜFUSUNDA KARDİYOVASKÜLER HASTALIK SIKLIĞI VE İLAÇ KULLANIMI: ELDERTURK ÇALIŞMAS
Mechanism analysis of pedestrian knee-bending angle by SUV type vehicles using human FE model

Abstract This paper describes the reconstructions of pedestrian accidents colliding with the SUV (Sport Utility Vehicle) type vehicle. The finite element human model of American male 50 percentile is used to evaluate the kinematics and injuries of the lower leg. The finite element models of the frontal structures made of urethane blocks that have equivalent stiffness to the frontal structure of the SUV finite element model were established to conduct parametric studies of the frontal structure stiffness. The parametric studies show optimum stiffness distributions of the urethane blocks to help reduction of the knee-bending angle and injuries.
The Planning and Development of an Education Framework for Practice Educators within Health and Social Care Professions.

Providing quality placements for students in the hospital setting is an essential component of the BSc in Clinical Measurement Science degree programme at DIT. The practice educator (hospital supervisor) role involves mentoring and supervising students on placement. Prior to 2012 practice educators received no training to support this role. Current training involves one full day of generic education and a second half-day of discipline specific knowledge relating to projects, log books and assessments. The aim of this research is to identify training needs for practice educators across the four disciplines and recommend an education framework to meet those needs. The proposed framework will be transferable to other degree programmes within DIT such as Biomedical Sciences, Human Nutrition and Dietetics, Optometry, Ophthalmic Dispensing and Social Care. There are currently 41 sites offering clinical placements to the BSc in Clinical Measurement Science. In May 2016 the chief in each department was surveyed to gain an understanding of how placements were managed within the hospital setting. In all 38 of the 41 sites took part in the survey. From the research it was clear that practice educators within Clinical Measurement Science have a desire for further knowledge and training to support their role. As the only education provider in the south of Ireland offering this degree programme it is incumbent on us to provide this post-graduate education. A 5 ECTS, level 9 module on practice education is currently under the review. The implication of this research is great. Clinical physiology departments are understaffed and receive no additional resources for taking students on placement. Providing practice educators with on-going training and support will be critical to ensuring there will be enough placements in the future to meet the degree programme needs.
Domestic versus Multilateral Institutions in Bilateral Trade: A Comparative Gravity Analysis

The role of domestic and multilateral institutional variables in determining bilateral trade is estimated using recent cross-sectional data covering 192 countries. Linear estimations are conducted using lognormal and Tobit models while multiplicative models use Poisson and hurdle Poisson-logit estimators. The multiple indices of domestic institutional quality available are scaled into four categories using multidimensional scaling. Membership of trade and political organizations proxy for multilateral institutional heterogeneity. Count data models a report better model fit and conservative estimates compared with linear estimations. Domestic institutional quality has a significant but moderate association with bilateral trade while multilateral institutions have a substantially large and statistically significant association with trade.
HYDROLOGICAL SCIENCES JOURNAL DES SCIENCES HYDROLOGIQUES

E. Adar, Israel (1994); N. W. Arnell, UK {1999); A. Bârdossy, Germany (1997); R. Berndtsson, Sweden (1994); F. Chiew, Australia (1998); A. Coudrain-Ribstein, France (1998); A. Das Gupta, Thailand (1996); A. Dassargues, Belgium (1998); S. Demuth, Germany (1999); M. J. Hall, The Netherlands (1994); E. Hoehn, Switzerland (1999); J. D. Kalma, Australia (1997); V. Kotwicki, Oman (1997); W. F. Krajewski, USA (1998); I. Krasovskaia, Sweden (1997); M. Kuhn, Austria (1994); Li Shiming, China (1996); J. J. McDonnell, USA (1999); M. Marino, USA (1999); H. i. Morel-Seytoux, USA (1996); T. Mizuyama, Japan (1994); P. Naden, UK (1996); J. J. Napiorkowski, Poland (1997); J.-C. Olivry, France (1995); E. J. Plate, Germany (1995); P. F. Rasmussen, Canada (1999); R. Romanowicz, UK (1995); R. Vogel, USA (1998); B. W. Webb, UK (1999); Xia Jun, China (1996)
Operations research applications in hospital operations: Part III

ABSTRACT Hospital decision and policy makers are tasked with developing innovative strategies to provide patients with quality healthcare in an effective and efficient manner. Operations research (OR) methods have been applied to hospital operations to improve effectiveness and efficiency. In this three-part article, we review OR applications in hospital environments. In particular, we develop a timeline of events in US healthcare from the late 1940s to 2015 and separate the timeline into four eras: Expansion, Cost Control, Reform, and Accountability. Part I of the article describes the Eras of Expansion and Cost Control, Part II describes the Era of Reform, and Part III describes the Era of Accountability. Research performed during each era is contextualized and stratified by OR method and hospital operations application area. The series of three articles provides a comprehensive review of publications detailing operations research applications in hospital operations. The following is Part III, which details the OR applications in hospital operation area publications from 2010 to January 2015. During the Era of Accountability, the most commonly used OR methods were discrete event simulation and deterministic modeling (optimization), while the most common hospital operation areas where OR methods were applied were staff, room, and patient scheduling, as well as general patient flow assessment.
Modelling progression and heterogeneity in Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, accounting for approximately 60-80% of cases. Pathologically, the disease is characterised by the accumulation of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in brain tissue, which give rise to downstream neurodegeneration and cognitive deficits. Biomarkers, such as volumetric measures of neurodegeneration derived from Magnetic Resonance Imaging, allow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease to be monitored in vivo. Hypothetical models have been proposed that describe a distinct sequence of biomarker changes, but also heterogeneity in this sequence across different population subgroups. However, the quantitative evolution and heterogeneity of these biomarker changes has yet to be determined. This thesis investigates the progression and heterogeneity of Alzheimer’s disease by developing mathematical models of disease progression that characterise the evolution of biomarker measurements from cross-sectional data. Three key contributions are made. First, the application of data-driven models to sporadic and dominantly-inherited Alzheimer’s disease to determine the sequence of biomarker changes in each form of Alzheimer’s disease, and to ascertain the utility of patient staging systems derived from the models. Second, the development of a simulation framework that produces synthetic neurodegenerative disease datasets, allowing the evaluation of the performance of mathematical models of disease progression. Third, the formulation of a data-driven subtyping model that uniquely uncovers population subgroups with distinct biomarker trajectories, enabling the separation of disease subtype from disease stage. Application of this model to sporadic Alzheimer’s disease provides a novel data-driven classification of Alzheimer’s disease into subtypes with distinct patterns of regional volume loss, as well as fine-grained subtyping and staging information. The models proposed in this thesis have wide potential further application to advance disease understanding and to provide precise patient staging information for other diseases and developmental processes.
Adaptation and validation of the Sexual Sensation Seeking Scale for Portuguese higher education students

Background: The use of personality assessment tools is essential not only to understand sexual behaviors but also to develop nursing interventions for the prevention of sexual risk behaviors. Objectives: Adaptation and validation of the Sexual Sensation Seeking Scale (SSSS) for Portuguese higher education students. Methodology: Descriptive and correlational study using a sample of 1,946 college students aged 18 to 29 years. The final sample was composed of 1500 students who already had sexual intercourse. The psychometric characteristics of SSSS were assessed using 2 randomized subgroups. Results: The exploratory factor analysis revealed a two-factor structure with 9 items, which explained 54.80% of the total variance. The model showed a good internal consistency (α = 0.789). The confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the adequate goodness-of-fi of the modified model. Conclusion: The instrument has good validity, fidelity, and reliability, and can be used to assess young people’s sexual sensation seeking behaviors.
Initiative for Infrastructure Integration in South America: Way Toward Regional Convergence

ABSTRACT This paper studies how the public provision of transportation infrastructure impacts output convergence and trade integration in a two-country dynamic general equilibrium model in which the transportation cost between countries is endogenously determined by the stock of public infrastructure in both countries. Because of its particular conception, the so-called ‘Initiative for the Integration of Regional Infrastructure in South America IIRSA’ serves as the case of study. Data from Argentina and Brazil is thus used to solve the model. Two main results emerge. First, increasing public investment in infrastructure provides an impetus to commercial integration but does not necessarily generate output convergence. Second, the model shows that the only way for the two countries to achieve output convergence (in a win–win economic growth scenario) is to coordinate their increments on public infrastructure, as proposed by IIRSA.
Novel approaches to identify biomechanisms in systemic sclerosis

Systemic sclerosis is a severe connective tissue disease in which inflammation and autoimmunity are associated with progressive tissue remodeling and fibrosis of the skin and internal organs. Complex genetic backgrounds contribute to susceptibility and the disease can be triggered by environmental factors. It is proposed that based on the genetic susceptibility an immune inflammatory disease microenvironment is initiated leading to overexpression of cytokines and growth factors and the development of a fibrotic disease process. Analysis of copy number variation in candidate genes was performed using DNA from patients and controls. This identified a possible association between disease susceptibility and one candidate factor, LEPREL1, a prolyl 3- hydroxylase involved in collagen alignment in the endoplasmic reticulum. Deletion of the LEPREL1 gene led to resistance to dermal fibrosis in mice, whereas levels of the encoded enzyme were increased in disease fibroblasts, all consistent with an important role in the fibrotic process. Furthermore, profiling of tissue fluid from the dermal lesions revealed the presence of an inflammatory, pro-fibrotic microenvironment. When candidate factors present in the tissue fluid (e.g. PDGF), were applied to fibroblasts on aligned collagen matrices, fibroblast orientation and migration was enhanced, modeling the effect on spread of the disease. In contrast, the use of inhibitors (e.g. heparin, imatinib), particularly in combination, attenuated fibroblast alignment and migration. Finally, since this disease has proved resistant to current non-specific therapies, a novel anti-inflammatory peptide was evaluated using a mouse model of systemic sclerosis-like inflammation and fibrosis. Treatment with the peptide suppressed the pattern of inflammatory changes seen in this model of systemic sclerosis, and significantly reduced tissue fibrosis and the replacement of the normal tissue architecture with scar tissue. This approach using antiinflammatory peptides could be potentially relevant for the treatment of individuals with systemic sclerosis in order to attenuate the pathological inflammatory fibrotic process.