Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Relationship between Interpersonal Trust and Loneliness of University Students: The Mediating Role of Personality Hardiness

Objective: To understand the status quo of university students’ personality hardiness, interpersonal trust and loneliness, and to explore the relationship between those three attributes. Methods: A total of 332 university students in Guangdong province were selected as the research objects, and selected personality hardiness measurement scale, interpersonal trust scale and the UCLA Loneliness Scale (the third edition) as research tools.Results: University students’ total level of persistence, responsibility, challenge capability and hardiness, and loneliness, interpersonal trust were significantly different in gender variables ; the levels of persistence and hardiness of university students were significantly different in grade variables ; The responsibility and the capacity of challenge of university students were significantly different in the leadership roles students carried out ; The interpersonal trust and challenge, control and hardiness have shown a significant negative correlation ; Loneliness has shown a significant negative correlation with personality hardiness in every dimension ; Interpersonal trust and loneliness are significantly positive related ; The personality hardiness has a mediating role between interpersonal trust and loneliness, with the effect accounted for 10.9% of the total effect. Conclusion: The personality hardiness of university students plays a part of mediating role in the relationship between interpersonal trust and loneliness. Keywords—university students; personality hardiness; interpersonal trust; loneliness; mediating role
Hybrid Procedure For Multi-Publicity Picture Fusion Headquartered Completely On Weighted Imply And Sparse Illustration

We recommend a hybrid process for multi-publicity photo fusion in this paper. The fusion blends some photographs taking pictures the same scene with different publicity occasions and produces a high first-rate image. Established on the pixel-wise weighted mean, many methods had been actively proposed, but their resultant pictures have blurred edges and textures since of the imply system. To beat the hazards, the proposed method individually fuses the manner and important points of input pictures. The small print are fused situated on sparse illustration, and the results keep their sharpness. Hence, the resultant fused images are exceptional with sharp edges and textures. Through simulations, we show that the proposed method outperforms previous methods objectively and perceptually
Validation of a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease questionnaire

Background Epidemiological surveys using questionnaires are increasingly used as the sole method for diagnosing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in at risk population. The performance of such questionnaires may be affected by cultural differences and translation may alter outcome; therefore, it may not be possible to use questionnaires validated in settings different to ours. In Sudan, the epidemiology of COPD remains unknown. This study was conducted to test the validity of a COPD diagnosis questionnaire in a cohort of Sudanese patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). The questionnaire has the potential for future use in Sudan. Methods We studied consecutive adults with catheter diagnosed CAD recruited from two cardiac centers. All patients completed the COPD diagnosis questionnaire and performed spirometry. The questionnaire was translated in Arabic by the doctors who conducted the interview. COPD was diagnosed if patients score placed them in the high likelihood zone of having COPD or ____________________________________ Correspondent author: AlaEldin H. Ahmed, Department of Medicine, University of Khartoum, Sudan E-mail: drahahmed@hotmail.com if their forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1) was less than 80% predicted. The validity of the questionnaire was tested, using spirometry diagnosed COPD as gold standard, by calculating sensitivity, specificity, negative and positive predictive values. Results Forty patients were studied. Their mean ± SD age was 45 ± 6.8 years. The calculated sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values of the questionnaire were 36%, 69%, 31% and 74% respectively. Conclusion In this group of patients with CAD the COPD questionnaire yielded results on validity testing comparable to results from similar questionnaires.
Option pricing under the generalized mixed fractional brownian motion model

In this thesis, we consider the pricing of option derivatives under the so-called GMFBM (generalized mixed fractional Brownian motion) model, which is a generalization of all the FBM (fractional Brownian motion) models. Based on the martingale properties of FBM illustrated in [33], a new theorem illustrating that the GMFBM is not a semimartingale under certain conditions is successfully obtained. By using the portfolio analysis and applying the Wick-Ito formula, a PDE (partial differential equation) governing the price of option derivatives under the GMFBM model is then derived. A closed-form analytical solution of European options under the GMFBM model is also solved by using the Fourier transform. On the other hand, we consider the pricing of American-style options under this new model. We have derived the closed-form analytical solution for perpetual American options. For American options with finite-maturity, we formulate the pricing problem under the current model as a LCP (linear complementarity problem). Due to the numerical instability resulting from the degeneration of the governing PDE as time approaches zero, the LCP under the GMFBM model is more difficult to be solved accurately than the original B-S (Black-Scholes) model or the generalized B-S model discussed in [57]. Despite difficult, we have managed to design a stable numerical approach to solve for the option price accurately. It is shown that the coefficient matrix of the current method is an M-matrix, which ensures its stability in the maximum-norm sense. We also provide a sharp theoretic error estimate of the current method, which is further verified numerically. The results of various numerical experiments also suggest that this new approach is quite accurate, and could be
Thrust-related extension in the Prebetic (Southern Spain) and clousure of the North Betic Strait

The Betic External Zone, classically divided into the Prebetic and Subbetic Zones, forms a 100 km scale fold-and-thrust belt in the northern periphery of the Betic-Rif arc, the western end of the Alpine belt of southern Europe. Thrusting and folding in the Betic External Zone initiated in the latest Oligocene to early Miocene, and has continued to the present. This study addresses an almost complete stratigraphic record from the early to the late Miocene preserved in three narrow, elongate basin fragments in the western part of the Prebetic Zone around Pontones and Santiago de la Espada. The Miocene basin fill is folded and disrupted by thrusts but, noticeably, also by extensional normal faults. Previous and new biostratigraphic data are used to establish an updated stratigraphic correlation of the different basin fragments, whilst the sedimentary facies are used in combination with paleobathymetry estimates to asses first-order vertical motions. Our stratigraphic and structural study indicates that prior to late Miocene thrusting in the Prebetics, the three basin fragments formed part of a large marine basin in the early-middle Miocene which made up the northern Atlantic-Mediterranean connection commonly known as the North Betic Strait. Paleobathymetry on the basis of single samples suggests an abrupt subsidence of this basin of several hundreds of meters during the middle Miocene, presumably in response to progressive loading of the Iberian plate by the emplacement of the Subbetic and Betic Internal Zones. Subsequent shallowing of the basin in the late Miocene was immediately followed by the onset of folding and thrusting in the western Prebetics. The development of outcrop and map-scale extensional structures is interpreted as being inherent to the process of thrusting and reverse faulting. Some of the reverse faults probably initiated as Mesozoic extensional faults, and were reactivated as reverse faults through late Miocene thrusting. We suggest that during fault propagation upwards, the reverse faults became progressively less inclined, which inevitably led to extension in the hanging wall and consequent development of normal faults. This implies that irrespective of the extensional nature of some of the faults, the Miocene basins in the Prebetics in essence developed in a compressive setting, eventually leading to segmentation of the large basin into smaller basins and closure of the northern Atlantic-Mediterranean connection.
Spatial sharpening of thematic mapper multispectral images with a higher resolution panchromatic band image

A method for spatial resolution enhancement, or sharpening of three bands of a Landsat thematic mapper (TM) multispectral image by a higher resolution SPOT panchromatic (pan) image, is described. Visible band TM images having positive correlation with the geometrically coregistered pan image are sharpened with a reported multiresolution sharpening technique. Application of neural network estimation technique is described to improve sharpening of near-infrared bands specifically when there are reverse contrast patterns at respective edge boundaries of the pan and TM images. Unless corrections are made for reverse patterns there will be degraded sharpening. Thus multilayer feedforward neural networks are trained to adaptively estimate, at multiple resolutions, pan edge patterns that have the same contrast as the TM edge patterns. Using this estimated data with a reported multiresolution sharpening technique gives spatial resolution enhancement. Image examples illustrate opposite contrast edges of pan and near-infrared TM bands. Other examples show improved sharpening when neural network modified edge information is combined with the multiresolution sharpening methods. Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
CEO Succession and Proprietary Directors: Evidence from Spanish Listed Firms

La version espanola de este articulo se puede encontrar en: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2324055This study advances research on CEO succession and board monitoring of senior executives by examining how proprietary directors can affect the probability of CEO dismissal. Drawing on our newly developed database covering all CEO successions occurring in all Spanish listed firms during the period 2007-2010, we propose that proprietary directors may increase the board’s monitoring efforts over the chief executive, forcing him to resign in situations of poor performance. Hypotheses are tested longitudinally, using CEO succession data taken from 111 publicly-traded firms in the Spanish ‘mercado continuo’ over a four-year period.
Entropy measures in critical infrastructure graphs

Critical infrastructure (CI) consists of assets and systems which are essential in maintaining vital societal functions. Disruption or destruction of CI has significant effects on safety, health and security of people. Faults in the infrastructure may quickly affect other systems and cause cascading failures across the interconnected network. Real-time awareness of CI health and performance is a necessity for both everyday usage and efficient incident response and disaster mitigation. Critical infrastructure has become a noteworthy field of contemporary research, where various differing modelling formalisms and analysis methods have been studied. These approaches include graphs, bayesian belief networks, neural networks and fuzzy logic, among other more esoteric ones [1].
Tropical Atlantic sea surface temperature variability and its relation to El Niño‐Southern Oscillation

Past analyses of tropical Atlantic sea surface temperature variability have suggested a dipole behavior between the northern and southern tropics, across the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). By analyzing an improved 43-year (1950-1992) record of SST (Smith et al., 1996) and other data derived from the Comprehensive Ocean-Atmosphere Data Set (COADS), it is shown that the regions north and south of the ITCZ are statistically independent of each other at the seasonal to interannual timescales dominating the data, confirming the conclusions of Houghton and Tourre (1992). Some dipole behavior does develop weakly during the boreal spring season, when there is a tendency for SST anomaly west of Angola to be opposite of that in the tropical North Atlantic. It is further shown that tropical Atlantic SST variability is corre- lated with Pacific E1 Nifio-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) variability in several regions. The ma- jor region affected is the North Atlantic area of NE trades west of 40oW along 10oN - 20oN and extending into the Caribbean. There, about 50-80% of the anomalous SST variability is associ- ated with the Pacific ENSO, with Atlantic warmings occurring 4-5 months after the mature phases of Pacific warm events. An analysis of local surface flux fields derived from COADS data shows that the ENSO-related Atlantic warmings occur as a result of reductions in the surface NE trade wind speeds, which in turn reduce latent and sensible heat losses over the region in ques- tion, as well as cooling due to entrainment. This ENSO connection is best developed during the boreal spring following the most frequent season of maximum ENSO anomalies in the Pacific. A region of secondary covariability with ENSO occurs along the northern edge of the mean ITCZ position and appears to be associated with northward migrations of the ITCZ when the North At- lantic warmings occur. Although easterly winds are intensified in the western equatorial Atlantic in response to Pacific warm events, they do not produce strong local changes in SST. Contrary to expectations from studies based on equatorial dynamics, these teleconnected wind anomalies do not give rise to significant correlations of SST in the Gulf of Guinea with the Pacific ENSO. As the teleconnection sequence matures, strong SE trades at low southern latitudes follow the de- velopment of the North Atlantic SST anomaly and precede by several months the appearance of weak negative SST anomalies off Angola and stronger positive anomalies extending eastward from southern Brazil along 15o-30oS.
Does color influence eye movements while exploring videos

Although visual attention studies consider color as one of the most important features in guiding visual attention, few studies have investigated how color influences eye movements while viewing natural scenes without any particular task. To better understand the visual features that drive attention, the aim of this paper was to quantify the influence of color on eye movements when viewing dynamic natural scenes. The influence of color was investigated by comparing the eye positions of several observers eye-tracked while viewing video stimuli in two conditions: color and grayscale. The comparison was made using the dispersion between the eye positions of observers, the number of attractive regions measured with a clustering method applied to the eye positions, and by comparing eye positions to the predictions of a saliency model. The mean amplitude of saccades and the mean duration of fixations were compared as well. Globally, a slight influence of color on eye movements was measured; only the number of attractive regions for color stimuli was slightly higher than for grayscale stimuli. However, a luminance-based saliency model predicts the eye positions for color stimuli as efficiently as for grayscale stimuli.
Micromanagement: An Employee’s Adversary

Leadership is the ability of an individual to initiate guidance and influence a group or an organization in order to maximize its performance. Micromanagement leadership is one such form, where the managers closely monitor and direct their subordinates. Although a select few managers and employees could benefit from such a practice, micromanagement, as a leadership style has relatively more negative implications on an employee’s behavior and his engagement towards the work at hand. This creates a sense of perceived stress leading him to behave in a counterproductive manner. In this article, we have intended to develop a theoretical framework by investigating from an employee’s perspective. Thus, highlighting the various implications of micromanaging. Interrelating the concepts of employee disengagement, perceived stress and deviant behavior, our study provides several implications for organizations and managers alike apart from a theoretical literature base for further study. Keywords: Micromanagement, Employee Disengagement, Perceived Stress, Leadership
VANCOMYCIN RESISTANCE AMONG CLINICAL ISOLATES OF STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS

Background: Vancomycin has been widely used in the treatment of infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The emergence of vancomycin-intermediate and -resistant Staphylococcus aureus (VISA and VRSA, respectively) in various parts of the world has been of great concern in clinical settings. This study was performed to evaluate the possible presence of VISA and VRSA in Tehran, Iran. Methods: The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of vancomycin for 139 Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated between April and August 2003 was carried out according to the standards of the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (NCCLS) using the agar dilution method. Resistance of VRSA to vancomycin was checked by E-test. Disk diffusion method was also used to determine the susceptibility of strains to common antibiotics. Determination of oxacillin MIC was performed for VRSA with the agar dilution method according to the guidelines of NCCLS and the E-test. Results: Using the disk diffusion test, most isolates (91.7%) were resistant to penicillin while the lowest resistance (10.9%) was to imipenem. Five of the 139 isolates had a vancomycin MIC of ≥ 128 by agar dilution and E-test methods. All VRSA isolates were MRSA (MIC ≥ 256) and the majority were also highly resistant to other examined antibiotics. Conclusion: This is the first report of isolation of VRSA in Tehran, which calls for confirmation by reference laboratories and further epidemiological studies.
Noninvasive evaluation of injectable chitosan/nano-hydroxyapatite/collagen scaffold via ultrasound

To meet the challenges of designing an in situ forming scaffold and regenerating bone with complex three-dimensional (3D) structures, an in situ forming hydrogel scaffold based on nano-hydroxyapatite (nHA), collagen (Col), and chitosan (CS) was synthesized. Currently, only a limited number of techniques are available to mediate and visualize the injection process of the injectable biomaterials directly and noninvasively. In this study, the potential of ultrasound for the quantitative in vivo evaluation of tissue development in CS/nHAC scaffold was evaluated. The CS/nHAC scaffold was injected into rat subcutaneous tissue and evaluated for 28 days. Quantitative measurements of the gray-scale value, volume, and blood flow of the scaffold were evaluated using diagnostic technique. This study demonstrates that ultrasound can be used to noninvasively and nondestructively monitor and evaluate the in vivo characteristics of injectable bone scaffold. In comparison to the CS, the CS/nHAC scaffold showed a greater stiffness, less degradation rate, and better blood supply in the in vivo evaluation. In conclusion, the diagnostic ultrasound method is a good tool to evaluate the in vivo formation of injectable bone scaffolds and facilitates the broad use to monitor tissue development and remodeling in bone tissue engineering.
Multiobjective optimization as a decision aid for managing build-to-order supply chains

This paper provides an overview of multiobjective optimization (MOO) as a decision aid in build-to-order supply chains (BTO-SC). The main features of BTO-SCs are discussed along with capabilities of MOO to enhance decision making at different points along the chain. Key decision points across a typical BTO-SC are identified and potential applications of MOO are discussed. A sample application is presented and future avenues for further research highlighted.
A DETAILED LOOK AT CHEMICAL ABUNDANCES IN MAGELLANIC CLOUD PLANETARY NEBULAE. I. THE SMALL MAGELLANIC CLOUD

We present an analysis of elemental abundances of He, N, O, Ne, S, and Ar in Magellanic Cloud planetary nebulae (PNe) and focus initially on 14 PNe in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). We derive the abundances from a combination of deep, high-dispersion optical spectra, as well as mid-infrared (IR) spectra from the Spitzer Space Telescope. A detailed comparison with prior SMC PN studies shows that significant variations in relative emission-line flux determinations among the authors, lead to systematic discrepancies in derived elemental abundances between studies that are ≳0.15 dex, in spite of similar analysis methods. We use ionic abundances derived from IR emission lines, including those from ionization stages not observable in the optical, to examine the accuracy of some commonly used recipes for ionization correction factors (ICFs). These ICFs, which were developed for ions observed in the optical and ultraviolet, relate ionic abundances to total elemental abundances. We find that most of these ICFs work very well even in the limit of substantially sub-solar metallicities, except for PNe with very high ionization. Our abundance analysis shows enhancements of He and N that are predicted from prior dredge-up processes of the progenitors on the asymptotic giant branch (AGB), as well as the well-known correlations among O, Ne, S, and Ar that are little affected by nucleosynthesis in this mass range. We identify MG 8 as an interesting limiting case of a PN central star with a ≈3.5 M☉ progenitor in which hot-bottom burning did not occur in its prior AGB evolution. We find no evidence for O depletion in the progenitor AGB stars via the O–N cycle, which is consistent with predictions for lower-mass stars. We also find low S/O ratios relative to SMC H ii regions, with a deficit comparable to what has been found for Galactic PNe. Finally, the elemental abundances of one object, SMP-SMC 11, are more typical of SMC H ii regions, which raises some doubt about its classification as a PN.
Abdominal Compartment Syndrome as an Independent Mortality Predictor Factor During Acute Pancreatitis

Abdominal Compartment Syndrome as an Independent Mortality Predictor Factor During Acute Pancreatitis Aim: The aim was to study the role of abdominal compartment syndrome and intra-abdominal hypertension (IAH) as indipendent predictor factors on outcome and mortality in patients during early phase of acute pancreatitis (AP). Material and Methods: According the IAP 102 patients with medically treated AP were divided: in the first group (N = 32 patients) the IAP was over 12 mmHg, in second group (N = 27 patients) the IAP was over 20 mmHg (ACS), and the third group (N = 43 patients) with normal pressure. There were recorded APACHE 2 score in admission, the incidence of multiorganic dysfunction syndrome and mortality. Results: No statistical significance is observed between three groups regarding age, gender, APACHE II score, Ranson score, CTSI. Kruskal-Wallis test resulted positive for all variables suggesting a statistically significant difference between groups. The pairwise test for comparison of subgroups according to Conover, yielded a statistically significant difference of ACS (p<0.05). ACS group resulted with more early deaths (13 patients) and total deaths (15 patients). Conlusion: The abdominal compartment syndrome and increased intrabdominal pressure occurred during the early fase of AP may be predictors of increased MODS and mortality.