Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The digital identity divide: how technology knowledge impacts college students

This article embraces the concept of technology identity as an innovative theoretical and methodological approach to study the digital divide. Reporting on qualitative data taken from a mixed-method study, the analytical approach goes beyond an access and skills perspective in measuring digital inequities. Narratives collected from students demonstrate how powerful sociocultural influences, such as family practices and access to a quality K-12 education, contribute to the development of a technology identity. The stories outlined in this article offer illustrative accounts of how holding a particular technology identity impacts the academic and social life of college students. Taken together, the narratives highlight the role of schools and universities as institutions which are perpetuating — rather than resisting — inequalities associated with the digital divide.
Intraoperative auditory brainstem responses in patients with cerebellopontine angle meningiomas involving the inner auditory canal: analysis of the predictive value of the responses.

OBJECT Meningiomas of the cerebellopontine angle (CPA) can either arise from or secondarily grow into the inner auditory canal (IAC). This location may have a great impact on hearing function following surgery to remove these lesions. The aim of this retrospective study was to investigate the reliability and predictive importance of auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) for the determination of postoperative auditory function in patients with CPA meningiomas in comparison with results obtained in patients who undergo surgery for vestibular schwannomas. METHODS In a consecutive series of 1800 meningiomas surgically treated between 1978 and 2002, 421 lesions were located in the CPA. In 38 patients with CPA meningiomas involving the IAC, the findings of intraoperative ABR monitoring and the hearing status of each patient before and after surgery were retrospectively analyzed. On analysis, ABR monitoring demonstrated stable findings in 24 patients throughout tumor resection and fluctuating signals in 10 patients. Among the 24 patients with stable ABRs, postoperative hearing function improved in three patients, remained the same in 15, and worsened in six patients, including one patient who displayed postoperative deafness. There was even one patient recovering from preoperative deafness. Among the 10 patients with unstable ABRs, intermittent decreases in amplitude and deformations of variable duration in the ABR wave were noted. The risk of deafness was considerably higher in patients with prolonged phases of intermittent ABR deterioration. CONCLUSIONS The presence and absence of ABRs during surgery for CPA meningiomas reliably predicted the presence and absence of postoperative auditory function. Intermittent deterioration of ABRs may result in postoperative deafness, depending on the duration of these events during surgery. Improvements in hearing are only seen when the ABRs are stable for amplitudes and latencies throughout surgery.
Cryptanalysis of a dynamic identity‐based remote user authentication scheme with verifiable password update

In the authentication scheme, it is important to ensure that the user's identity changed dynamically with the different sessions, which can protect the user's privacy information from being tracked. Recently, Chang et al. proposed an untraceable dynamic identity‐based remote user authentication scheme with verifiable password update. However, our analysis show that the property of untraceability can easily be broken by the legal user of the system. Besides, we find the scheme of Chang et al. vulnerable to offline password guessing attack, impersonation attack, stolen smart card attack, and insider attack. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The effect of oral anticoagulation on clotting during hemodialysis.

BACKGROUND Between 5% and 10% of hemodialysis patients are treated with oral anticoagulants. It is currently unknown whether additional anticoagulation with heparin or low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) is needed to prevent clotting during hemodialysis. METHODS In this prospective, randomized, cross-over study 10 patients treated with oral anticoagulants (phenprocoumon) received either no additional anticoagulation or low dose dalteparin (bolus of 40 IU/kg body weight) before dialysis. Efficacy of hemodialysis was measured by normalized weekly Kt/V and urea reduction rate (URR). Thrombus formation was evaluated by measurement of D-dimer and inspection of air traps and dialyser. RESULTS The median international normalized ratio (INR) did not differ between both observation periods (phenprocoumon 2.2(2 to 3) vs. dalteparin 2.1(2 to 2.9). The anti-Xa level in dalteparin patients was 0.33 (0.27 to 0.38) IU/mL after 2 hours and 0.16 (0.03 to 0.23) IU/mL after 4 hours of hemodialysis. The median increase of D-dimer was significantly higher in patients without additional dalteparin therapy during hemodialysis (DeltaD-dimer 0.23 microg/mL vs. 0.03 mug/mL) (P= 0.0004). Complete thrombosis of the dialyser membrane occurred in one patient in the phenprocoumon group but in none with combined treatment. The extent of thrombosis in the arterial and venous air trap and dialyser was significantly less in patients with additional dalteparin therapy (P= 0.0014, P= 0.0002, and P= 0.0005, respectively). Weekly Kt/V and URR was similar in both groups. CONCLUSION Standard oral anticoagulation with an INR between 2 and 3 is insufficient to prevent clotting during hemodialysis. Additional low dose anticoagulation with a LMWH or heparin is necessary to facilitate treatment.
Social Collaboration Analytics for Enterprise Collaboration Systems: Providing Business Intelligence on Collaboration Activities

The success of public Social Media has led to the emergence of Enterprise Social Software (ESS), a new type of collaboration software for organizations that incorporates “social features”. Surveys show that many companies are trying to implement ESS but that adoption is slower than expected. We believe that in order to understand the issues with its implementation we need to first examine and understand the “social” interactions that are taking place in this new kind of collaboration software. We propose Social Collaboration Analytics (SCA), a specialized form of examination of log files and content data, to gain a better understanding of the actual usage of ESS. Our research was guided by the CRISP-DM approach. We first analyzed the data available in a leading ESS. Together with leading user companies of this ESS, we then developed a framework for Social Collaboration Analysis, which we present in this paper.
Parents’ experiences with hiding vegetables as a strategy for improving children’s diets

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the practice of hiding vegetables among low socioeconomic parents. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative longitudinal study involving 37 low socioeconomic Australian parents with at least one overweight or obese child aged five to nine years. Data were obtained with the use of interviews, focus groups, and self-introspections. Findings – Identified issues relating to the practice of hiding vegetables included: how parents manage hiding vegetables, children's presence in the kitchen during vegetable preparation, the employment of deception when hiding vegetables, the use of cookbooks and blogs, and the alternative views of parents not strongly in favour of hiding vegetables. Research limitations/implications – Hiding vegetables is a practice used by some parents to increase their children's vegetable intake. Children who are unaware of hidden vegetables in their meals are potentially missing the opportunity to develop an appreciation for vegetables an.
A Note on Discretization of Sparce Linear Systems

Abstract In this paper a modified Euler transformation is introduced and studied. The main merit of this transformation is to outperform stability preservation (with respect to the traditional Euler transformation) besides preserving the matrix sparseness. This is particular appealing in the analysis of positive systems since it is shown that stability is preserved independent of the sampling period. A brief collection of results for switched systems has been also provided.
Risk, collateral and investor sentiment in exchange traded funds

The exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have become very popular investment vehicles among individual and institutional investors alike. However, the international agencies, amongst which the IMF and the Financial Stability Board, have warned about the potential instability issues that may arise from ETFs. This thesis contributes to our understanding of these funds. First, we describe and quantify an overlooked risk behind direct investment into ETFs. Second, we design tools and methodology to improve investment guarantees. Finally, we explore the determinants of ETF investor choices. The first chapter presents a framework to study counterparty risk and provide empirical estimates for a sample of physical and synthetic funds. We find that counterparty risk exposure is higher for swap-based ETFs, but that investors are compensated for bearing this risk. In the second chapter, we theoretically derive the optimal composition of the collateral portfolio that minimizes the counterparty risk exposure of an ETF investor. Furthermore, we find, for a sample of swap-based ETFs, that the counterparty risk exposure is significantly lower with optimal collateral portfolios than with actual collateral portfolios. Finally, we extract, in the third chapter, a novel investor sentiment measure from index option prices. Then, we empirically show that investor sentiment is related to flows entering ETFs. We also observe a correction on flows after three weeks, which is consistent with the idea that sentiment-based trading induces a slow market error correction.
Analysis of the impact of sports sponsorship by Banco Panamericano: an event study

This work provides evidence of the impact of decisions by companies to invest in publicity on soccer jerseys and the reflection of such investments on their stock price, based on the efficient market hypothesis (Fama, 1970). Employing the event study method, we carried out an exploratory study of the performance of the preferred shares of Banco Panamericano (BPNM4), which are listed on the BM&FBovespa. The event analyzed is the announcement on April 23, 2009 of an agreement to sponsor the Corinthians professional soccer team in the last games of the Sao Paulo state championship competition that year. We investigated the abnormal returns of the bank’s preferred shares based on the model of Campbel, Lo & Mackinlay (1997). After calculating the normal and abnormal returns, we tested the homogeneity of the variances and normality of the data before applying parametric t-tests. Upon validation, we carried out tests of the means for the abnormal returns within the event window, before and after the announcement. The results provide support for the semi-strong market efficiency hypothesis, since the shares presented abnormal performance in the days after disclosure of the sponsorship.
Cutaneous heterotopic meningeal nodules

The clinical, light microscopic and immunohistochemical features of six cutaneous heterotopic meningeal nodules (primary, or type I, cutaneous meningiomas) are described. These are rare lesions of the scalp and back which generally present at birth or in childhood. They appear as small subcutaneous fibrous nodules, with no specific clinical features although they can be associated with abnormalities of spinal closure. Microscopically, they show a variable architecture but have similar cytological features. Important diagnostic features include psammoma and small collagenous bodies. An intimate relationship to nerves is seen in some cases, and this may be of significance with regard to the development of these lesions. As with intracranial meningiomas, there is widespread vimentin expression, and most cases show epithelial membrane antigen expression.
The Analysis of Traffic Drivers' Behavior based on Kmeans

We used kmeans algorithm to classify the drivers' traffic behaviors and combined the concrete effect to determine the k value. After the classification, we generated cluster label and then correlated the user information table to the cluster label. Finally, we analyzed the behaviors of the group user. The experimental results will be displayed and analyzed in a pie chart.
Structural studies of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) SH3 domain in complex with a peptide ligand: role of the anchor residue in ligand binding

Abstract Src homology 3 (SH3) domains are mediators of protein-protein interactions. They comprise approximately 60 amino acid residues and are found in many intracellular signaling proteins. Here, we present the crystal structure of the SH3 domain from phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) in complex with the 12-residue proline-rich peptide PD1R (HSKRPLPPLPSL). The crystal structure of the PI3K SH3-PD1R complex at a resolution of 1.7 Å reveals type I ligand orientation of the bound peptide with an extended conformation where the central portion forms a left-handed type II polyproline (PPII) helix. The overall structure of the SH3 domain shows minimal changes on ligand binding. In addition, we also attempted crystallization with another peptide ligand (PD1) where the residue at anchor position P-3 is a tyrosine. The crystals obtained did not contain the PD1 ligand; instead, the ligand binding site is partially occupied by residues Arg18 and Trp55 from the symmetry-related PI3K SH3 molecule. Considering these crystal structures of PI3K SH3 together with published reports, we provide a comparative analysis of protein-ligand interactions that has helped us identify the individual residues which play an important role in defining target specificity.
17β-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenase Activity of Ovary and Hepatopancreas of Freshwater Prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii: Relation to Ovarian Condition and Estrogen Treatment

Abstract The activity of 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (17β-HSD) was determined in the hepatopancreas anti the ovary of freshwater prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii , at different stages of life. A uniform level of 17β-HSD activity was observed in the hepatopancreas of immature, maturing, matured, and gravid prawns, whereas the activity of this enzyme was found to be higher in the ovary of the maturing prawn only. Gradual increases in the GSI values and ovarian protein content at the different stages of maturity were observed in this animal. Between the two organs, higher activity of 17β-HSD was observed in the hepatopancreas of the prawn in the maturing stage. The estradiol-17β (E 2 ) level measured by radioimmunoassay showed its peak in both the hemolymph 126.0 ± 7.0 pg/ml) and the ovary (300.00 ± 9.0 pg/mg protein) in the maturing prawn only compared to that in immature, matured, and gravid prawns. The hormone level became undetectable in the hemolymph and remained about 10-fold less (30.6 ± 5.0 pg/mg protein) in the ovary of the gravid prawn in comparison to the prawns in the maturing stage. A parallelism between the nature of 17β-HSD activity and the hormone level was observed in the ovary at different stages of life. A dose-dependent stimulation of 17β-HSD activity was observed in the hepatopancreas of the maturing prawn after three consecutive injections of 0.25. 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 μg/g of estradiol-17β (E 2 ) on the 4th day of treatment compared to the control values. E 2 at a higher dose (4.0 μg/g) caused only a little stimulation of 17β-HSD activity in this organ. The ovary of the maturing prawn showed a higher degree of responsiveness to E 2 by increasing the activity of 17β-HSD in a dose-dependent manner, in the range of 0.05, 0.1, and 0.25 μg/g doses. A graded inhibition of the enzyme activity was observed in the ovary with higher doses of E 2 (0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 μg/g). The E 2 -induced increase of 17β-HSD activity was neutralized by concurrent use of tamoxifen and cycloheximide. The present study suggests that the endogenous and E 2 -inducible nature of steroid metabolism probably through increased biosynthesis of 17β-HSD in the hepatopancreas and the ovary of the maturing freshwater prawn has a reproductive role.
Relationship between Capital Structure and Performance of Non- Financial Companies Listed In the Nairobi Securities Exchange, Kenya

Corporate failure among companies in Kenya has often been associated with the financing behaviour of the firms. Momentous efforts to revive the ailing and liquidating companies have focused on financial restructuring. A great dilemma for management and investors alike is whether there exists an optimal capital structure and how various capital structure decisions, both short-term and long-term, influence business performance. This study therefore investigated the relationship between capital structure on the performance of non-financial companies listed in the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), Kenya. The study employed an explanatory non- experimental research design. A census of 42 non-financial companies listed in the Nairobi Securities Exchange, Kenya was taken. The study used secondary panel data contained in the annual reports and financial statements of listed non-financial companies. The data were extracted from the Nairobi Securities Exchange hand books for the period 2006-2012.The study applied panel data models (random effects). Feasible Generalised Least Square (FGLS) regression results revealed that financial leverage had a statistically significant negative association with performance as measured by return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE). The study recommended that managers of listed non-financial companies should reduce the reliance on long term debt as a source of finance.
Interrogating SERVQUAL: a critical assessment of service quality measurement in a high street retail bank

This paper presents a case study of a pioneering nationwide implementation of SERVQUAL by a major UK high street bank between 1993 and 1997 at an annual cost of one million pounds. In addition to highlighting serious weaknesses in the value of SERVQUAL as a measure of service quality and as a diagnostic tool, this study raises some of the practical difficulties entailed in its implementation. Moreover, in this particular instance, it becomes apparent that difficulties are introduced by the separation of service quality management from the management of marketing and human resources. In addition, there was a discernible lack of top management commitment, as well as obstacles in the form of functional and informational silos, which served to constrain an integrated company response to SERVQUAL criteria.
Vedolizumab for the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases

Although multiple therapies for IBD currently exist, a substantial proportion of patients do not respond to conventional agents and important safety concerns have emerged regarding the use of broad-spectrum immunosuppression. Given these limitations, development of more specific, gut-targeted therapy is an attractive approach. Vedolizumab specifically blocks trafficking to the gut of a small proportion of circulating T-lymphocytes to prevent the chronic inflammatory response observed in IBD. Several large-scale clinical trials support the efficacy of vedolizumab for the treatment of IBD, and have led to regulatory approval of this agent. However, multiple questions remain regarding the use of vedolizumab in clinical practice. This article will explore several of these issues.
Polynomial curve registration for matching point clouds of different scales

Two point clouds of the same scene reconstructed by different techniques may differ in scale. A new scale registration algorithm is proposed in the paper to find the scale difference between two point clouds. First, principle components analysis is applied on descriptors of the point cloud to derive different cumulative contribution rates (CCR) in different neighbor regions. The discrete CCR of each point cloud are then fitted by polynomial scale curves (PSC). The unknown scale is formulated as a solution minimizing the scale difference between two PSCs. Finally, the optimal solution is explicitly formulated as one eigenvalue of a companion matrix. Experimental results prove that the proposed algorithm achieve higher accuracy than existing methods.
Measuring competitiveness in the EU market: a comparison between food industry and agriculture

Facing the growing competition in the European food market, the purpose of this paper is to assess European country competitiveness at the sector level in the intra-EU market over the last fifteen years, comparing the evolution of the food industry, where firms have had to reshape strategies to maintain market position, and agricultural sector, where changes in Common agricultural policy have forced farms to face market trends. The analysis of competitiveness was carried out by assessing trade indices (EMS, RCA, RXA, RMA, NEI). Cluster analysis was also run to classify groups of countries with similar features in terms of competitive performance over the 1991-2006 period. The country that profited most from market integration in both sectors, reaching a high level of competitiveness was Spain, followed by Germany and Italy which gained competitiveness especially in the food industry. The United Kingdom had the worst performance, with a big decrease in indices, followed by France and Netherlands, still among the first but with lower indices.
Interaction Detection with Depth Sensing and Body Tracking Cameras in Physical Rehabilitation

Summary Introduction: This article is part of the Focus Theme of Methods of Information in Medicine on “Methodologies, Models and Algorithms for Patients Rehabilitation”. Objectives: This paper presents a camera based method for identifying the patient and detecting interactions between the patient and the therapist during therapy. Detecting interactions helps to discriminate between active and passive motion of the patient as well as to estimate the accuracy of the skeletal data. Methods: Continuous face recognition is used to detect, recognize and track the patient with other people in the scene (e.g. the therapist, or a clinician). We use a method based on local binary patterns (LBP). After identifying users in the scene we identify interactions between the patient and other people. We use a depth map/point cloud for estimating the distance between two people. Our method uses the association of depth regions to user identities and computes the minimal distance between the regions. Results: Our results show state-of-the-art performance of real-time face recognition using low-resolution images that is sufficient to use in adaptive systems. Our proposed approach for detecting interactions shows 91.9% overall recognition accuracy what is sufficient for applications in the context of serious games. We also discuss limitations of the proposed method as well as general limitations of using depth cameras for serious games. Conclusions: We introduced a new method for frame-by-frame automated identification of the patient and labeling reliable sequences of the patient’s data recorded during rehabilitation (games). Our method improves automated rehabilitation systems by detecting the identity of the patient as well as of the therapist and by detecting the distance between both over time.