Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
What’s My Employee Worth? The Effects of Salary Benchmarking

While U.S. legislation prohibits employers from sharing information about their employees’ compensation with each other, companies are still allowed to acquire and use more aggregated data provided by third parties. Most medium and large firms report using this type of data to set salaries, a practice that is known as salary benchmarking. Despite their widespread use across occupations, there is no evidence on the effects of salary benchmarking. We provide a model that explains why firms are interested in salary benchmarking and makes predictions regarding the effects of the tool. Next, we measure the actual effects of these tools using administrative data from one of the leading providers of payroll services and salary benchmarks. The evidence suggests that salary benchmarking has a significant effect on pay setting and in a manner that is consistent with the predictions of the model. Our findings have implications for the study of labor markets and for ongoing policy debates. JEL Classification: D83, J31, J38, M52.
University of Birmingham Surgery in the era of the 'omics revolution

Background: Surgery is entering a new phase with the revolution in genomic technology. Cheap, mass access to next-generation sequencing is now allowing the analysis of entire human genomes at the DNA and RNA level. These data sets are being used increasingly to identify the molecular differences that underlie common surgical diseases, and enable them to be stratified for patient benefit. Methods: This article reviews the recent developments in the molecular biology of colorectal, oesopha-gogastric and breast cancer. Results: The review specifically covers developments in genetic predisposition, next-generation sequencing studies, biomarkers for stratification, prognosis and treatment, and other ’omics technologies such as metabolomics and proteomics. Conclusion: There are unique opportunities over the next decade to change the management of surgical disease radically, using these technologies. The directions that this may take are highlighted, including future advances such as the 100000 Genomes Project.
University of Birmingham The role of system-building agency in regional path creation

The emergence of new industries that are not closely related to existing regional paths remains an underexplained process in evolutionary economic geography. This paper responds to this gap through a case study of a maturing ecosystem of activity related to arti ﬁ cial intelligence in Montreal, Canada. Conceptually it brings together recent thinking in economic geography about agency in path development with complementary concepts from the literature on technological innovation systems. The empirical ﬁ ndings demonstrate the role of multiple agents in system-building and legitimation activities that have varied across pre-formative and formative phases of new path development in this analytical knowledge ﬁ eld.
Insulin Resistance and Truncal Obesity as Important Determinants of the Greater Incidence of Diabetes in Indian Asians and African Caribbeans Compared With Europeans

OBJECTIVE To determine the extent of, and reasons for, ethnic differences in type 2 diabetes incidence in the U.K. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Population-based triethnic cohort. Participants were without diabetes, aged 40–69 at baseline (1989–1991), and followed-up for 20 years. Baseline measurements included fasting and postglucose bloods, anthropometry, and lifestyle questionnaire. Incident diabetes was identified from medical records and participant recall. Ethnic differences in diabetes incidence were examined using competing risks regression. RESULTS Incident diabetes was identified in 196 of 1,354 (14%) Europeans, 282 of 839 (34%) Indian Asians, and 100 of 335 (30%) African Caribbeans. All Indian Asians and African Caribbeans were first-generation migrants. Compared with Europeans, age-adjusted subhazard ratios (SHRs [95% CI]) for men and women, respectively, were 2.88 (95%, 2.36–3.53; P < 0.001) and 1.91 (1.18–3.10; P = 0.008) in Indian Asians, and 2.23 (1.64–3.03; P < 0.001) and 2.51 (1.63–3.87; P < 0.001) in African Caribbeans. Differences in baseline insulin resistance and truncal obesity largely attenuated the ethnic minority excess in women (adjusted SHRs: Indian Asians 0.77 [0.49–1.42]; P = 0.3; African Caribbeans 1.48 [0.89–2.45]; P = 0.13), but not in men (adjusted SHRs: Indian Asians 1.98 [1.52–2.58]; P < 0.001 and African Caribbeans, 2.05 [1.46–2.89; P < 0.001]). CONCLUSIONS Insulin resistance and truncal obesity account for the twofold excess incidence of diabetes in Indian Asian and African Caribbean women, but not men. Explanations for the excess diabetes risk in ethnic minority men remains unclear. Further study requires more precise measures of conventional risk factors and identification of novel risk factors.
NOVA University of Newcastle Research Online

—We study index-coding problems (one sender broad-casting messages to multiple receivers) where each message is requested by one receiver, and each receiver may know some messages a priori. This type of index-coding problems can be fully described by directed graphs. The aim is to ﬁnd the minimum codelength that the sender needs to transmit in order to simultaneously satisfy all receivers’ requests. For any directed graph, we show that if a maximum acyclic induced subgraph (MAIS) is obtained by removing two or fewer vertices from the graph, then the minimum codelength (i
Syllable-based Speech Recognition System Using Pitch Detection on Time–Frequency Domain Feature Extraction

: This research presents the segmentation of single-syllable sounds for speech recognition using an artificial neural network. The network combines key features from speech signals in the time and frequency domains. The approach involves dividing speech signals into frames using the short-time energy waveform. Pitch markers are then extracted from the frames and used as reference points to split them into sections. The sections are further analyzed using window searching to identify positions, amplitudes, local minimum and maximum values, and maximum slope values, which serve as key features in the time domain. In the frequency domain, cepstrum coe ffi cients on the Mel scale are used as additional key features. The two types of key features are combined for speech recognition using the artificial neural network. The study also compares the performance of the combined and separated key features in the time and frequency domains when fed into the neural network. The results demonstrate that using the artificial neural network with two input layers (Mel frequency cepstral coe ffi cient and time domain features) and the same hidden layers yields the highest recognition accuracy of 96.97% and 88.43% for blind tests.
Effect of Striga Resistant Maize Varieties on Productivity and Food Security of the Farmers in Niger State, Nigeria

he study examined the effect of Striga resistant maize T varieties on productivity and food security of the farmers in Niger State, Nigeria. Primary data were used for the study. A multi-stage sampling technique was employed in the selection of respondent for the study. The primary data were obtained using structured questionnaires administered to 266 farmers. Descriptive statistics, Total Factor Productivity (TFP) Index and Multiple regression, Food security index estimation and binary logit regression were used for the analysis of data. The result shows that majority of the striga resistant maize farmers were male as indicated by 88.7% of the respondents. About 37.25 of the striga resistant maize farmers were within 41 – 50 years and 31.1% were within 31 – 40 years with mean age of 45 years. About (32%) had no formal education, 88.7% were married with household size ranging from 6 – 10 as indicated by 45% of the striga resistant maize farmers in the study area. Furthermore, majority (74%) of the respondents were into farming as their major occupation, with inheritance (77.1%) being the major means of farmland acquisition. Also, the result shows that majority of the striga resistant maize farmers had farming experience between 1 – 5 years as indicated by about 94.7% of the maize farmers in the study area. The results also indicated that SAMMAZ 11, SAMMAZ 15 and SAMMAZ 16 striga resistant maize varieties seeds positively affected farmer's productivity at 5%, 1% and 5% levels of probability respectively. This indicated that a percentage increased in the use of these striga resistant maize varieties seeds led to an increase in the productivity of maize farmers in the study area. Also, the influence of farm size, farming experience and educational status of the farmer on productivity were positive and statistically significant at 1%, 5% and 1% levels of probability respectively. While labour cost, agrochemical and access to credit were all negatively related to the productivity of maize farmers in the study area and were statistically significant 1% level of significant. The result also shows that quantity of seed, education, and assets were positively related to the food security of maize farmers. The study concludes that the striga resistant maize boost the food security status of the farmers in the study area. It is therefore recommended that adequate policy measures should be put in place to fast track seed multiplication and distribution and on-farm trials through effective extension service delivery so as to intensify and sustain the adoption of striga resistant maize varieties. Issues relating to availability and affordability of seed need to be addressed. In this regard government should subsidize the price of seed and as well the farmers should be given short term loan government credit to promote wide adoption of striga resistant maize varieties
Introducing RSESS: An Open Source Enumerative Sphere Shaping Implementation Coded in Rust

In this work, we present an open-source implementation of the enumerative sphere shaping (ESS) algorithm used for probabilistic constellation shaping (PCS). PCS aims at closing the shaping gap caused by using uniformly distributed modulation symbols in channels for which information theory shows non-uniformly distributed signaling to be optimal. ESS is one such PCS algorithm that sets itself apart as it operates on a trellis representation of a subset of the possible symbol sequences. ESS leads to an empirical distribution of the symbols that closely approximates the optimal distribution for the additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channel. We provide an open-source implementation of this algorithm in the compiled language Rust, as well as Python bindings with which our Rust code can be called in a regular Python script. We also compare simulation results on the AWGN channel using our implementation with previous works on this topic.
University of

Background . Investigation of aberrant large-scale brain networks offers novel insight into the role these networks play in diverse psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia. While there are studies reporting altered functional brain connectivity in participants at ultra-high risk (UHR) for psychosis, it is unclear whether these alterations extend to structural brain networks. Methods . Whole-brain structural covariance patterns of 133 participants at UHR for psychosis (51 of whom subsequently developed psychosis) and 65 healthy controls (HC) were studied. Following data pre-processing (using VBM8), the mean signal in seed regions relating to specific networks (visual, auditory, motor, speech, semantic, executive, salience and default-mode) were extracted and voxel-wise analyses of covariance were conducted to compare the association between whole brain signal and each seed region for UHR and HC individuals. UHR participants who transitioned were compared to those who did not. Results . Significantly reduced structural covariance was observed in the UHR sample compared to HC for the default-mode network, and increased covariance for the motor and executive control networks. When those who transitioned to psychosis were compared with those who did not, aberrant structural covariance was observed in the salience, executive-control, auditory and motor networks.
BRIEF REPORT Undervaluing the Positive Impact of Kindness Starts Early

Prosocialitycancreatesocialconnectionsthatincreasewell-beingamongbothgiversandrecipients,yetcon-cernsabouthowanotherpersonmightrespondcanmakepeoplereluctanttoactprosocially.Existing research suggests these concerns may be miscalibrated such that people underestimate the positive impact their prosociality will have on recipients. Understanding when miscalibrated expectations emerge in development is critical for understanding when misplaced cognitive barriers might discourage social engagement and for understanding when interventions to build relationships could begin. Two experiments asking children (aged 8 – 17, Experiment 1;aged 4 – 7,Experiment 2) andadultsto performthe same randomact of kind-ness foranother person document that both groups signi ﬁ cantly underestimate how “ big ” the act of kindness will seem to recipients, and how positive their act will make recipients feel. Participants signi ﬁ cantly under-valued the positive impact of prosocialityacross ages. Miscalibrated psychological barriersto social connection may emerge early in life.
services for autism: Recommendations from a specialist multidisciplinary perspective using freelisting. Current Psychology

The guidance available for tailoring mental health services for autistic people is limited and dispersed. Practitioners attempting to appropriately adapt mental healthcare and therapy provision report low confidence and inconsistency in their approach. This study contributes to the guidance by providing a shortlist of usable and priority adaptations for diagnostic and therapy services as described by multidisciplinary staff members responsible for the design and delivery of a specialist autism service in the UK. Individual freelisting interviews were conducted with 15 staff, who were asked to list the ways that they adapt their practice individually, within therapy, and collectively as a service. Salience and cultural consensus analyses demonstrated the following agreed priority service adaptations: ensuring the suitability of the service environment with consideration of sensory demands, adapting communication, knowing individual gender identity preferences and minimising client uncertainty. Detailed examples are given for flexibly adapting therapy to individual needs to inform general and specialist services. The findings require replication and evaluation.
Modelling spatiotemporal trends in the frequency of genetic mutations conferring insecticide target-site resistance in African malaria vector species

Resistance in malaria vectors to pyrethroids, the most widely used class of insecticides for malaria vector control, threatens the continued efficacy of vector control tools. Target-site resistance is an important genetic resistance mechanism caused by mutations in the voltage-gated sodium channel (Vgsc) gene that encodes the pyrethroid target-site. Understanding the geographic distribution of target-site resistance, and temporal trends across different vector species, can inform strategic deployment of vector control tools. Here we develop a Bayesian statistical spatiotemporal model to interpret species-specific trends in the frequency of the most common resistance mutations, Vgsc-995S and Vgsc-995F, in three major malaria vector species Anopheles gambiae, An. coluzzii, and An. arabiensis. For nine selected countries, we develop annual predictive maps which reveal geographically-structured patterns of spread of each mutation at regional and continental scales. The results show associations, as well as stark differences, in spread dynamics of the two mutations across the three vector species. The coverage of ITNs was an influential predictor of Vgsc allele frequencies in our models. Our mapped Vgsc allele frequencies are a significant partial predictor of phenotypic resistance to the pyrethroid deltamethrin in An. gambiae complex populations, highlighting the importance of molecular surveillance of resistance mechanisms.
On Econometric Analysis of Structural Systems with Permanent and Transitory Shocks and Exogenous Variables

This paper considers the implications of the permanent/transitory decomposition of shocks for identi…cation of structural models in the general case where the model might contain more than one permanent structural shock. It provides a simple and intuitive generalization of the in ‡uential work of Blanchard and Quah (1989), and shows that structural equations for which there are known permanent shocks must have no error correction terms present in them, thereby freeing up the latter to be used as instruments in estimating their parameters. The proposed approach is illustrated by a re-examination of the identi…ca-tion scheme used in a monetary model by Wickens and Motta (2001), and in a well known paper by Gali (1992) which deals with the construction of an IS-LM model with supply-side e¤ects. We show that the latter imposes more short-run restrictions than are needed because of a failure to fully utilize the cointegration information.
Study of the Blue Moon Diamond

The Blue Moon diamond, discovered in January 2014 at the historic Cullinan mine in South Africa, is of significance from both trade and scientific perspectives. The 29.62 ct rough yielded a 12.03 ct Fancy Vivid blue, Internally Flawless gem. The authors were provided the opportunity to study this rare diamond at the Smithsonian Institution before it went on exhibit at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. Infrared spectroscopy revealed that the amount of uncompensated boron in the diamond was 0.26 ± 0.04 ppm, consistent with measurements of several large type IIb blue diamonds previously studied. After exposure to short-wave ultraviolet light, the Blue Moon displayed orange-red phosphorescence that remained visible for up to 20 seconds. This observation was surprising, as orange- red phosphorescence is typically associated with diamonds of Indian origin, such as the Hope and the Wittelsbach-Graff. Time-resolved phosphorescence spectra exhibited peaks at 660 and 500 nm, typical for natural type II blue diamonds. As with most natural diamonds, the Blue Moon showed strain-induced birefringence.
Intra super-channel fiber nonlinearity compensation in flex-grid optical networks

: We report on the nonlinear transmission limits of various super-channel configurations in a flex-grid network upgrade scenario. In particular, we consider flexible data-rates ranging from 180Gb/s to 1.2Tb/s, employing either single-carrier, dual-carrier, or penta-carrier polarization multiplexed m-state quadrature amplitude modulation (PM-8QAM/PM-16QAM) –termed as super-channels, and establish transmission performance margins for each configuration, both with and without super-channel fiber nonlinearity compensation. Our results show that the benefit of intra super-channel nonlinearity mitigation (nonlinear compensation addressing full super-channel bandwidth) reduces with increasing sub-carrier count within the super-channel, and that single-carrier super-channel achieves the maximum improvement from nonlinearity mitigation (up to ~4.5dB, in Q-factor), better than dual-carrier (up to ~3.5dB) and penta-carrier (up to ~2dB) configurations. Moreover, the maximum reach improvement, compared to linear compensation only, is found to be ~170% (180Gb/s, PM-8QAM), ~150% (240Gb/s, PM-16QAM), ~100% (360Gb/s, PM-8QAM), ~100% (480Gb/s, PM-16QAM), and ~65% (1.2Tb/s, PM-16QAM). ©2013
Effect of Display Methods on Intention to Use Virtual Reality in Museum Tourism

The application of virtual reality (VR) promises unique visitor experiences in museum tourism; however, the underlying characteristics of the experiences still need to be well-researched. This research used world-famous paintings (Vincent van Gogh’ s The Starry Night and Claude Monet’s Water Lilies ) as examples, combining flow theory and Stimulus-Organism-Response framework and using the experimental research method. The findings were: (1) the display methods of museum exhibits affected visitor flow experience and intention to use VR; (2) flow experience had a significant mediating effect in the main effect, and (3) the familiarity with VR had a moderating effect on flow experience’s mediating effect. The findings enriched the research literature on VR usage and display methods in museums, providing a theoretical reference and strategic suggestions for enterprises developing museum exhibits and applying VR technology.
The Early Roots of the Digital Divide: Socioeconomic Inequality in Children’s ICT Literacy from Primary to Secondary Schooling

Information and communications technology (ICT) skills are crucial for labour market success and full participation in society. Socioeconomic status (SES) inequality in the development of ICT skills would prevent disadvantaged children from reaping the benefits of the digital age. Besides, the digital divide in ICT literacy might add to the already well-documented large and persistent SES inequality in ‘hard’ skills—like math, reading, and science. This article studies the roots, evolution, and drivers of SES inequality in ICT literacy from age 8 to 15 in Germany. Drawing from the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS), we highlight five main findings: (1) SES gaps in ICT literacy exist as early as age 8 (grade 3) and are similar in size compared to SES gaps in hard skills; (2) like hard skills, SES gaps in ICT literacy remain stable over primary and tracked lower secondary schooling; (3) ICT access and use at home and school do not substantially explain SES gaps in ICT literacy at any age; (4) selection into school tracks seems a critical pathway, although not necessarily a casual one, leading to SES inequality in secondary school; (5) SES gaps in ICT literacy are not observed among children with similar levels of hard skills. We discuss the implications of these findings for the interdisciplinary literature on social stratification, skill formation, and the digital divide.
Improving Outpatient Alcohol Treatment Systems: Integrating Focus on Motivation and Actuarial Matching

ABSTRACT This study investigates the benefit of adding a data-driven actuarial matching system and focus on motivation to routine outpatient alcoholism treatment. The study is a two-cohort quasi-experimental study. One cohort (188 clients) were assigned to treatment based on clinician judgment. Cohort 2 (175 clients) were assigned to treatment based on actuarial matching procedures. Both cohorts were followed for 12 months. A total of 37% of Cohort 2 dropped out of treatment, compared to 52% of Cohort 1. Cohort 2 also showed greater reduction in alcohol consumption and greater improvement. Actuarial matching procedures appear to have improved treatment retention and outcome.
SpECULARIA Structured Ecological CULtivation with Autonomous Robots in Indoor Agriculture

— A robotic system to be used in small indoor organic farming is presented in this paper. The system consists of heterogenous robot agents with speciﬁc abilities, able to execute certain tasks only when working together, namely, an unmanned aerial robots (UAV), unmanned ground robots (UGV), and a compliant multi degree of freedom dual arm manipulator. The compliant manipulator, responsible for a delicate task of plant treatment, is developed within the Soft robotics paradigm. Using the Soft robotics principles, a dexterous human like motion can be achieved through simultaneous deployment of soft robot body parts, compliant control, and tactile sensing capabilities of the manipulator. Testing the robots on the described challenging application represents an interesting research opportunity that will certainly lead to new results in the rapidly expanding ﬁeld of research that soft robotics represents.