Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Saddlepoint Approximation to Left-Tailed Hypothesis Tests of Variance for Non-normal Populations

When the variance of a single population needs to be assessed, the well-known chi-squared test of variance is often used but relies heavily on its normality assumption. For non-normal populations, few alternative tests have been developed to conduct left tailed hypothesis tests of variance. This thesis outlines a method for generating new test statistics using a saddlepoint approximation. Several novel test statistics are proposed. The type-I error rates and power of each test are evaluated using a Monte Carlo simulation study. One of the proposed test statistics, R! "##"! , controls type-I error rates better than existing tests, while having comparable power. The only observed limitation is for populations that are highly skewed with heavy-tails, for which all tests under consideration performed poorly. CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Motivation There are many real-world problems that require knowledge about the variability in a population. For example, in a quality control setting the variability of a product being produced, or of an input into a process, needs to be controlled. Likewise in a clinical trial, the amount of variation in treatment effects on the people in a population needs to be assessed. In these situations, low variability in the population is desired. To determine whether or not the variability is low, a hypothesis test can be conducted. Variability can be measured in terms of variance. If evidence of low variability is desired, then a left-tailed test of variance can be conducted. The variance of the population is assumed to be at least some amount, say σ! This is the hypothesized value under the null hypothesis, H! The alternative hypothesis, H! , is that the variance is smaller than σ! A significance level is chosen, which indicates the acceptable rate of type-I errors; these errors occur when H! is falsely rejected. Finally, a test statistic is computed and a decision rule is followed to determine whether the null hypothesis should be rejected. If it is rejected, then there is sufficient evidence to conclude that the variance is smaller than σ! Otherwise, the sample did not provide sufficient evidence to reject H! In this context, controlling type-I error rates is particularly important. A test statistic with inflated type-I errors will lead the researcher to falsely conclude that the population has small variance more often than is expected. In a quality control setting, this error could mean that a much larger proportion of products will fail to meet specifications than anticipated. In a financial market setting, underestimating the
Colaboración de tipo cordada entre UGVs en entornos de búsqueda y rescate

La robotica ha conseguido introducirse en diversos aspectos de las vidas de las personas. Se pueden encontrar robots en la industria, realizando tareas con alta precision, rapidez y eficiencia. Tambien se puede encontrarlos realizando servicios domesticos, o incluso en el ejercito de algunos paises. Pero una de las aplicaciones donde mas puede interesar aprovecharse de las ventajas que ofrece la robotica, y donde su utilizacion no esta tan extendida como en otros ambitos, es en los entornos de busqueda y rescate. En estas circunstancias, se debe hacer frente a escenarios desconocidos que deben de ser explorados, y que pueden presentar algun peligro, por lo que sustituir a personas por robots para evitar riesgos innecesarios parece lo mas logico. Teniendo en cuenta que es dificil predecir que tipo de retos va a tener que superar el robot, se suele confiar en un agente humano para la toma de decisiones, y en muchas ocasiones tambien para pilotar la plataforma robotica que se vaya a utilizar. Lo que se pretende conseguir en este trabajo es precisamente facilitar la labor de esta persona, para aumentar las probabilidades de superar con exito las misiones que se desarrollen en estos escenarios de busqueda y rescate. Para ello, en vez de utilizar un unico robot tele-operado, se va a incluir otro robot de apoyo, que ofrecera imagenes desde una perspectiva exterior, para que el piloto pueda situar el robot que esta manejando de una manera mas adecuada en el entorno. Al tener este nuevo punto de vista externo, el operador dispondra de mas informacion para poder superar los obstaculos que se le presenten en su camino. El robot de apoyo, al que tambien se le denominara robot esclavo en este trabajo, debe de ser capaz de realizar su objetivo de manera autonoma, ya que en caso contrario, podria dificultar al piloto su tarea al tener este que preocuparse de controlar dos robots en vez de uno. Y como justo lo que se quiere conseguir en este proyecto es lo contrario, es decir, facilitar la tele-operacion, resulta indispensable desarrollar una serie de algoritmos para que el esclavo pueda completar sus objetivos sin la ayuda o la supervision del operador.
Drug Utilization at Household Level in Nekemte Town and Surrounding Rural Areas, Western Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: At household levels drug may be hoarded and re-utilized inappropriately, shared within families and/or outside family and unnecessarily utilized in self-medication. Therefore this study was conducted to assess drug utilization at household level in Nekemte town and surrounding rural areas western Ethiopia. Methods: It was conducted on 844 households’ head through interviewing where households were stratified into urban and rural; a household was selected by using systematic random and cluster sampling in the town and rural areas respectively. Results: It was found that prevalence of drug hoarding was 49.9% where urban areas were 1.4 times more likely to hoard drug than rural areas (Adjusted OR = 1.4; 95% CI = 1.02 - 1.8) and it was also found that drug hoarding was associated with level of households’ education where household heads who had level of education higher than or equal primary were 1.5 times more likely to hoard drug (Adjusted OR = 1.5; 95% CI = 1.04 - 2.3). The prevalence of drug sharing was found to be 24.9% where urban areas were 0.4 times less likely to share drugs than surrounding rural areas (Crude OR = 0.4; 95% CI = 0.3 - 0.6). Nineteen point five percent of illness episodes were reported from total surveyed households where 36.3% of them were self-medicated with modern medicines. Self-medication with modern drugs was significantly associated with age older than fifteen years old (Crude OR = 0.37; %CI = 0.2, 0.83). Conclusions: Drug hoarding, sharing and self-medication with modern drugs particularly antibiotics are commonly practiced in the community, so they should be avoided through educating general public on drug use so as to minimize of risk of using expired drugs and accidental poisoning; under dose and inappropriate use; and combat antimicrobial resistance.
External Links of Video Sharing using RFP Recommendations

Now a day‟s popularity of video sharing site is increased. People can watch videos from sites and also interested in relevant links videos which are suggested by social video sharing sites. To increase popularity of video external links concept is used. Now in video sharing sites through external links video or audio contents can be embedded into external web sites. User can copy the URL(uniform resource locater) of that embedded link and post on their own blog or website. In this paper intention is study of relevancy of videos and & increase the popularity and measure the quantification. With the results collected from two major video sharing sites like YouTube & Youku.Then observed that these links have a various impact on popularity. Overall, videos which are collected from external links are analyzed also accuracy & popularity is measured. Keyword Video sharing, YouTube, Youku, External links, frequent item set; data mining.
SIMPLIFIED SEISMIC ANALYSIS OF LOCK GATES

The paper deals with the seismic design of lock gates. When such structures are submitted to an earthquake, the water contained in the chamber is responsible for an additional hydrodynamic pressure acting on the gate. This one is the sum of three different parts, respectively called the convective, rigid and flexible contributions. The two first ones have already been extensively studied in the literature, but the flexible part is more difficult to assess as it is largely influenced by the coupling occurring between the fluid and the gate. To overcome this difficulty, it is of course possible to use finite elements software, but doing so is not always convenient. This is why some research have been undertaken to provide a rapid way for approximating the flexible pressure on lock gates. This is achieved by applying the analytical approach that is shortly presented in this paper. As a matter of validation, the results obtained through this simplified procedure are compared to numerical solutions. The agreement between both of them is found to be satisfactory.
Asymmetric proof-of-work based on the Generalized Birthday problem

The proof-of-work is a central concept in modern cryptocurrencies, but the requirement for fast verification so far made it an easy prey for GPU-, ASIC-, and botnet-equipped users. The attempts to rely on memory-intensive computations in order to remedy the disparity between architectures have resulted in slow or broken schemes. In this paper we solve this open problem and show how to construct an asymmetric proof-of-work (PoW) based on a computationally hard problem, which requires a lot of memory to generate a proof (called ”memory-hardness” feature) but is instant to verify. Our primary proposal is a PoW based on the generalized birthday problem and enhanced Wagner’s algorithm for it. We introduce the new technique of algorithm binding to prevent cost amortization and demonstrate that possible parallel implementations are constrained by memory bandwidth. Our scheme has tunable and steep time-space tradeoffs, which impose large computational penalties if less memory is used. Our solution is practical and ready to deploy: a reference implementation of a proof-of-work requiring 700 MB of RAM runs in 30 seconds on a 1.8 GHz CPU, increases the computations by the factor of 1000 if memory is halved, and presents a proof of just 148 bytes long.
Relationship between Emotional Engagement and Academic Achievement among Kenyan Secondary School Students

Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between emotional engagement and academic achievement among secondary school students of Manga Sub County, Nyamira County, Kenya. The study was hinged on the Self Determination theoretical perspective. The concurrent triangulation design of the mixed methods approach was employed. From the target population of 1750 form four students, 35 Principals and 35 Guidance and Counselling teachers, 316 students, 11 Principals and 11 Guidance and counselling teachers, and 11 student leaders were randomly sampled for the study. Questionnaires were used to collect data from the students, while interview schedules were used to collect data from Principals, Guidance and Counselling teachers and student leaders. The face validity of the research instruments was determined by experts from the department of Psychology and Educational Foundations of Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology. Reliability was ascertained by the internal consistency method using Cronbach’s alpha, and a reliability coefficient of 0.849 was obtained for the questionnaire. Inferential statistics from quantitative data were analyzed using Pearson’s Product correlation and regression analysis with the aid of the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 22. Qualitative data from interviews were analyzed thematically. The study revealed that there was a statistically significant moderate positive correlation(r=.354, N=312, p<.05) between emotional engagement and academic achievement among the students, with an increase in emotional engagement occasioning an improvement in academic achievement. The study recommended that teacher counsellors should adopt appropriate therapy techniques geared towards the enhancement of emotional engagement of all students in the schools of their jurisdiction in order to boost their chances of doing better in their studies.
General distributed secondary control for multi-microgrids with both PQ-controlled and droop-controlled distributed generators

A novel general distributed secondary control (DSC) scheme is proposed to implement coordination control for both droop-controlled and active power and reactive power (PQ)-controlled distributed generator (DG)-clusters in multi-microgrids (MMGs), using cluster concept. It not only reduces the steady-state derivation caused by primary droop control, but also brings the whole MMG into a new optimised operation state in the secondary control. The implementation of the DSC is accomplished based on the protocol combining pinning control and in-group and inter-group information exchange of multi-agent system. Accordingly, the DSC of the MMG is converted to the distributed multiple DG-clusters control, and the control process is tuned to tracking group synchronisation to pinning-based anticipative consensus in DG-clusters. In this way, the implementation of many MMG functions, such as global coordination among MGs, local autonomy in an MG, reliability, scalability, and self-healing are all simplified. Meanwhile, the dimensions of control and the number of controllers are dramatically reduced by pinning control. In addition, the requirements for a central controller and complex communication topologies are obviated. Simulation results are presented and discussed to illustrate the effectiveness, adaptability and advantages of the proposed control.
Stabilized Border Matrix Newton Parallel Load Flow Method

The traditional parallel computing algorithm on power system needs more computation than those of serial computing and the efficiency of parallel computing is limited. In this paper, detailed analyses of the computation complexity of the bordered block diagram form(BBDF for short) parallel algorithm on load flow are given. Both the computation amount of border variations and the block variations are involved. Careful examination discovers that computations of border variations are the overwhelming majority among all the computations. The operation forms the bottleneck since the calculation of border variations are the serial part of parallel computing. In order to eliminate the bottleneck, a stabilized border matrix Newton method (SBMN for short), which stabilizes the border variations during computing, is presented. With the border variations of matrix fixed, the new method needs less computations for the border variations. The computational complexity on border variations is reduced roughly to one-fifth and the communication times is reduced to two-third of the original in each iterating. The total communication amount is also greatly reduced. All above efforts make the efficiency of parallel computing improved. The algorithm is tested with a Pentium 4 2.4G personal computer on three typical IEEE networks: IEEE57, IEEE118 and IEEE300. Different network partition numbers such as 2,4,8,12and16 are tested on each network. Both the times of iteration and computation time are tested. Testing results show that all cases converge with the new algorithm, but the iteration times increase. The new algorithm iterates twice to thrice of the original, and varies between different networks and partitions. Due to the reduction of computation and communication, the total computation time is still less than that of the original algorithm. With serial computation part shrinking, the parallel efficiency increases as well. Due to more computation amount saving, the new algorithm will perform better on larger networks.
The effect of the behavior modification program Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) on reducing the risk of hypertension among elderly patients in the rural community of Phayao, Thailand

Aim The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) program with self-efficacy on reducing the risk of hypertension among elderly patients in the rural community of Phayao Province in Northern Thailand. Patients and methods A quasi-experimental study was employed among elderly patients in the rural community of Phayao. Multistage random sampling was used to select a study area with similar characteristics. Ninety elderly participants were placed in the intervention group and 85 elderly participants from the same village were placed in the control group. The intervention group used the behavior modification guidelines of the DASH program with self-efficacy for 3 months, including 45-minute weekly group education meetings, 25-minute group activity training sessions, and a 15-minute individual checklist. A control group received no intervention. Data were collected by using self-administered questionnaires. The analyses included descriptive statistics, the Mann−Whitney U-test, and sample t-testing. Three different time periods were examined using repeated measures ANOVA. Results More than half of the participants (65.7%) were aged 60–69 years. The results from comparison of the intervention and control groups showed that the perceived severity of hypertension and self-efficacy had increased and preventive behaviors toward hypertension had improved in both groups. There were statistically significant differences after the intervention and at 3-month follow-up (P<0.001). After the intervention, the systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure of the elderly people in the intervention group had decreased (P<0.001) Conclusion The behavior modification guidelines of the DASH program with self-efficacy, were effective in improving the mean score of perceived severity, self-efficacy, and preventive behaviors among elderly participants with a high risk of hypertension. Furthermore, the program was effective in lowering blood pressure and it may be useful in controlling stage 1 hypertension in elderly people.
Use of continuous glucose monitoring for sport in type 1 diabetes

Background The benefits of exercise for patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D) are difficult to balance with associated glycaemic excursions. The aim of this cohort study was to show that continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) could reduce glycaemic excursions in patients with T1D already using insulin pumps, exercising at moderate to high intensity. Methods Questionnaires were used to identify patients with T1D using insulin pumps and naive to CGM use, who reported regular exercise. Six were enrolled and trained on Enlite sensor use with Medtronic Minimed Paradigm Veo system and given activity trackers and written advice on adjustment of insulin or carbohydrate intake for exercise. Resting heart rate (HR) and age were used to determine HR surrogates of moderate and high-intensity exercise. They were to exercise as usual for 3 weeks (run-in week, week 1 and week 2) using the activity trackers and heart rate monitors. Problem areas in Diabetes, Hypoglycaemia fear survey II, Diabetes Technology Questionnaire and Gold scores were completed prior to run-in and at the end. The downloaded sensor glucose data were used to compare the change in time in range (glucose 3.9–10.0 mmol/L) from week 1 to week 2. Results For the duration of exercise, this time in glucose range increased from 72±20 to 88%±16 %, p=0.05. The time in hypoglycaemia range (glucose < 3.9 mmol/L) went from 3.9±7.9 to 2.4%±4.8 %, p=0.39. The time in hyperglycaemia range (> 10 mmol/L) reduced from 24±19 to 10%±17%, p=0.04. Conclusion These results demonstrate the benefit of CGM use for patients with T1DM doing moderate-intensity to high-intensity exercise.
Improved census transform for noise robust stereo matching

Abstract. Census transform (CT), a stereo matching algorithm, has a strong advantage in radial distortion and brightness changes. However, CT is noise-sensitive because it compares the brightness of a single central pixel based on the brightness values of neighborhood pixels within a matching window. Star-census transform, which compares the brightness of pixels separated by a certain distance along a symmetrical pattern within the matching window, is presented. The proposed method can select the distance between the pixels for comparison and comparison patterns. The experiment results show that the proposed method yields a better performance than the previous CT methods.
Inducible nitric oxide synthase as a potential blood-based biomarker in inflammatory bowel diseases

Aim: Here, we evaluated the role of (iNOS) as a blood-based biomarker of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). Background: Up-regulation of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in the intestinal epithelial cells has been closely associated with the initiation and maintenance of intestinal inflammation in IBD. Methods: In a case-control design, 59 IBD patients and 30 healthy control subjects were participated in this study. A total of 10 ml blood sample was taken from each participant. Blood leukocytes were isolated and iNOS mRNA expression level was evaluated in the isolated leukocytes using relative quantitative Real-time PCR. Results: The patients’ population included 40 ulcerative colitis (UC) and 19 Crohn's disease (CD) patients. The flare and remission phase of disease were seen in 43 and 16 patients, respectively. The mean iNOS mRNA expression was not significantly different between the IBD patients and healthy controls (p=0.056). The mean iNOS mRNA expression was significantly higher in the flare phase of the disease compared to the remission phase (p=0.039). No significant difference was observed between the mean iNOS mRNA expression in the blood leukocytes of UC and CD patients (p=0.82). Conclusion: iNOS is differently expressed in the blood leukocytes of active vs. inactive IBD disease. Thus, it could be potentially used as a non-invasive blood-based biomarker of IBD.