Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prediction intervals for the Gaussian autoregressive processes following the unit root tests

Recently, Diebold and Kilian (9), Niwitpong (21,22), and Niwitpong and Panichkitkosolkul (23) indicated that the preliminary unit root test was a useful tool for improving the accuracy of a one-step-ahead predictor and prediction interval for an AR(1) process. This paper extends these mentioned concepts to the prediction interval for the Gaussian autoregressive processes. We propose the methods to construct the simple prediction interval based on the residual model, PIa, and the prediction intervals following the unit root tests, PIfi. The unit root tests applied in this paper consisted of the augmented Dickey-Fuller test, the Phillips-Perron test, and the Elliott-Rothenberg-Stock test. In addition, an expression of the coverage probability is derived and we found that the structure of the coverage probability is independent from the parameter of a random error, but it is a function of the autoregressive parameters only. The coverage probability and average width of prediction intervals are compared through Monte Carlo simulation studies. Simulation results have shown that the proposed prediction intervals have minimum coverage probabilities 0.95 for almost all situations. Furthermore, the average widths of prediction intervals PIfi are shorter than that of a prediction interval PIa when the first-order autoregressive parameter value approaches one. A comparison of the proposed methods is also illustrated by using an empirical application.
Attachment and sleep: a study of night waking in 12-month-old infants.

Sleep regulation was examined from a mother-child relational perspective. Although the link between sleep and attachment has been previously discussed, empirical support is rather limited. This report, which is a part of a longitudinal investigation of sleep in infancy, examines the association between the child's sleep pattern and mother-infant attachment in 94 mother-infant dyads. At 12 months each dyad participated in the Strange Situation procedure; 77% were securely attached. Mothers' description of the infant's fussiness was not found to predict the attachment pattern, but was associated with the sleep habits. It was found that 55% of the secure and 60% of the ambivalent children were described as night wakers. To a sub-group of 37 infants, a sleep monitor (actigraph) was provided for two nights' recordings. The frequency of the objective awakenings was higher than what mothers reported but similar for the secure and insecure infants. The findings confirm that night waking at the end of the first year is a common developmental phenomenon. Among this group of non-risk infants, sleep characteristics were only marginally associated with the quality of the child's attachment relationship.
Recent Developments in the Irish Labour Market: Is it All Good News?

Across many countries, the rise of atypical work has been noted whereby employees are increasingly in less secure contractual situations. While this might lead to more flexible labour markets, there are potential downsides for individuals. We explore the prevalence of atypical work in Ireland which provides a fascinating case-study. Ireland experienced a dramatic deterioration in its labour market around the Great Recession with unemployment rising from 4.8 percent in 2007 to 15 percent in 2012. This situation was also reversed somewhat quickly with unemployment falling to 8 percent by 2016. Such dramatic swings provide the context in which we explore whether atypical work increased for new job holders with the onset of recession and whether or not this weakened as the economy recovered. We find that atypical work did increase with the recession and, although moderating, the likelihood of new jobs being atypical persisted into the recovery. This raises important questions about whether economic recovery alone will improve job quality, in addition to jobs numbers.
Comparison of the MB/BacT and BACTEC 460 TB Systems for Recovery of Mycobacteria from Various Clinical Specimens

ABSTRACT A total of 1,830 specimens (75.7% respiratory and 24.3% nonrespiratory) were cultured in parallel with the MB/BacT and BACTEC 460 TB systems and on Lowenstein-Jensen (LJ) medium. Mycobacteria were identified from 173 (6.5%) specimens. The most common species recovered were Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (65.9%),Mycobacterium avium complex (22.5%), andMycobacterium chelonae (9.2%). The recovery rates by individual systems were 96.5, 99.4, and 95.9% for MB/BacT, BACTEC 460 TB, and LJ medium, respectively, for all mycobacteria; the recovery rates were 99.1, 100, and 98.2%, respectively, for M. tuberculosis complex alone. The difference among the recovery rates for all mycobacteria and those for individual species was not significant. The BACTEC 460 TB system detected M. tuberculosis isolates more rapidly than the MB/BacT system (8 versus 11.8 days for smear-positive specimens [P < 0.01] and 18 versus 21 days for smear-negative specimens [P < 0.05]), whereas the MB/BacT system more rapidly detected the nontuberculous mycobacteria (17.1 versus 12.7 days [P < 0.01]). These results indicate that the nonradiometric MB/BacT system is a rapid, sensitive, and efficient method for the recovery ofM. tuberculosis and nontuberculous mycobacteria from both pulmonary and extrapulmonary clinical specimens.
When does residential mobility benefit low-income families? Evidence from recent housing voucher programmes

Policy reforms try to improve education or employment while individuals remain in the same locations – these reforms often fail. Such policies may be fighting an uphill battle as long as individuals live in the same social contexts. Findings from Chicago’s Gautreaux programme suggest that residential mobility is a possible lever. By moving into more advantaged neighbourhoods, with higher-quality schools and better labour markets, mothers had improved employment rates and children had access to better educational settings and jobs. However, a subsequent mobility programme (MTO) was conducted with a randomised field trial and child and family outcomes were more mixed We speculate about what kinds of moves and social settings are required in order to effect improved economic and social outcomes.
Small hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with chronic liver damage: prospective comparison of detection with dynamic MR imaging and helical CT of the whole liver.

PURPOSE To compare contrast material-enhanced dynamic magnetic resonance (MR) imaging with helical computed tomography (CT) for the detection of small hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with chronic liver damage. MATERIALS AND METHODS Fifty patients with chronic hepatitis or liver cirrhosis underwent dynamic contrast-enhanced fast low-angle shot MR imaging and multiple-phase helical CT. Arterial, portal-venous, and delayed-phase images were compared. Diagnostic ability with both techniques was evaluated by means of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis; images in patients with (n = 27) and those without (n = 15) HCC in whom the same anatomic levels were available for both examinations were assessed. Seventy-two lesions were evaluated, and tumor diameter ranged from 0.5 to 3.0 cm (mean, 1.9 cm). RESULTS ROC analysis showed that the arterial-phase images obtained with both techniques allowed better detection of HCC. Diagnostic ability was significantly better with arterial-phase MR imaging (mean area under the ROC curve [Az] = 0.96) than arterial-phase CT (Az = 0.87) or with images from any other phase (P < .05). For the delayed phase, diagnostic capability was significantly better with CT (Az = 0.84) than with MR imaging (Az = 0.77) (P < .05). CONCLUSION Arterial-phase dynamic MR imaging is superior to helical CT for the detection of HCC in patients with chronic liver damage.
Negative Marking and the Student Physician–-A Descriptive Study of Nigerian Medical Schools

Background There is considerable debate about the two most commonly used scoring methods, namely, the formula scoring (popularly referred to as negative marking method in our environment) and number right scoring methods. Although the negative marking scoring system attempts to discourage students from guessing in order to increase test reliability and validity, there is the view that it is an excessive and unfair penalty that also increases anxiety. Feedback from students is part of the education process; thus, this study assessed the perception of medical students about negative marking method for multiple choice question (MCQ) examination formats and also the effect of gender and risk-taking behavior on scores obtained with this assessment method. Methods This was a prospective multicenter survey carried out among fifth year medical students in Enugu State University and the University of Nigeria. A structured questionnaire was administered to 175 medical students from the two schools, while a class test was administered to medical students from Enugu State University. Qualitative statistical methods including frequencies, percentages, and chi square were used to analyze categorical variables. Quantitative statistics using analysis of variance was used to analyze continuous variables. Results Inquiry into assessment format revealed that most of the respondents preferred MCQs (65.9%). One hundred and thirty students (74.3%) had an unfavorable perception of negative marking. Thirty-nine students (22.3%) agreed that negative marking reduces the tendency to guess and increases the validity of MCQs examination format in testing knowledge content of a subject compared to 108 (61.3%) who disagreed with this assertion (χ 2 = 23.0, df = 1, P = 0.000). The median score of the students who were not graded with negative marking was significantly higher than the score of the students graded with negative marking (P = 0.001). There was no statistically significant difference in the risk-taking behavior between male and female students in their MCQ answering patterns with negative marking method (P = 0.618). Conclusions In the assessment of students, it is more desirable to adopt fair penalties for discouraging guessing rather than excessive penalties for incorrect answers, which could intimidate students in negative marking schemes. There is no consensus on the penalty for an incorrect answer. Thus, there is a need for continued research into an effective and objective assessment tool that will ensure that the students’ final score in a test truly represents their level of knowledge.
Discourses of entrepreneurial leadership: Exposing myths and exploring new approaches

This article explores gender and entrepreneurial leadership, notably the meanings female entrepreneurs ascribe to notions of entrepreneurial leadership. Drawing from interviews with female business owners, the article questions the dominant hegemonic masculine entrepreneurial leadership model as well as that reportedly associated with women. Research findings illuminate the fluidity and variability of the entrepreneurial leadership construct. Our feminist poststructural lens and critical leadership stance adds new insight into the multiple subjectivities of entrepreneurs and surfaces contradiction and tension that shape the very sense of their entrepreneurial selves. By questioning accepted knowledge, this research offers new perspectives on the multiple realities of entrepreneurial leadership, which should be heeded by policy makers, academics and practitioners alike.
Binomial Analysis of the Demand for Higher Education in Borno State of Nigeria

Demand is a multidimensional and determined by many factors. Education is viewed as investment and key to development of any nation. This paper investigated the demand for private education in Nigeria with focus on Borno State. Both primary and secondary sources of data were utilized in this paper. The primary data were obtained from random administration of 2000 questionnaires to 5 enumeration areas. The paper extensively used probabilistic sampling techniques to get the data ready. The living standard measurement Surveys was also utilized in collecting data. The probit regression technique was used to assess the impact as well as determinants of higher private education for rural households, urban households and combinations of both variables. The result shows that the size of households, per capita spending, school fees, father’s level of education, households location in the rural or urban areas, and intermittent strikes of university teachers constitute the main determinants of higher education demand in Borno state. Note that high increase in the demand for higher private institution in Borno state can be attributed to the influence of institutional, economic and socio cultural factors. The paper recommends that some measures should be put in place by educational planners to emphasize the quality of output from the higher public and private institutions. There is also need to match the candidate choice of course and the marketability of the course in the labor market. This paper also note that school fee is never an impediment to choosing the private higher institution, Therefore user charges could be used to address poor funding of public institutions in Nigeria. Policy makers should look into agitations of lecturers in tertiary public institutions in order to address the teething problem of inadequate funding of public institutions to avoid brain drain and further falling standard of education in Nigeria.
Neonatal Encephalopathy: Association of Cytokines with MR Spectroscopy and Outcome

In term neonatal encephalopathy, little is known about the relationship between early inflammatory markers, neonatal brain injury, and long-term neurodevelopmental outcome. Our goal was to determine whether neonatal serum cytokine levels are associated with cerebral metabolism assessed by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) abnormalities, and with neurodevelopmental outcome at 30 mo of age. Levels of seven cytokines [IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-9, IL-12, IL-13, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α] were measured in dried neonatal blood by immunoaffinity chromatography in a prospective cohort of 62 term newborns at risk of neonatal encephalopathy. MR images (n = 61) were scored and lactate/choline and N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA)/choline were measured by MRS (n = 42) on median day of life 6 in the deep gray nuclei (DGN) and in the watershed/cortical zone (WS). Neurodevelopmental outcome (n = 54) was considered abnormal if the infant died or if cognitive delay and/or functional motor deficit were detected at 30 mo. IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α were significantly associated with lactate/choline in the DGN (p = 0.03, 0.02, 0.03, and 0.01 respectively), but not in the WS (all p > 0.1). Cytokines were not associated with NAA/choline in any region or with MRI scores. Children with abnormal neurodevelopmental outcome had higher neonatal levels of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, and lower levels of IL-12 (p = 0.04, 0.03, 0.01, 0.03 respectively). Elevated inflammatory cytokines were associated with impaired cerebral oxidative metabolism, but not with detectable MRI changes in the neonatal period. Understanding the link between elevated cytokines and outcome would inform novel strategies of cerebral protection.
Mr. Bush’s National Energy Plan: A Case Study in Ethical Policy Assessment

Abstract On taking office, President George W. Bush established the National Energy Policy Development Group (NEPD). In 2001 it published a report proposing an Energy Supply Increase strategy (ESI). In late 2000 the Department of Energy had published a quite different report, Scenarios for a Clean Energy Future (SCEF). A comparison of the two policy proposals utilizing a set of Integrated Ethical Guidelines (IEG) leads to the conclusion that the SCEF strategy is preferable to the NEPD but not adequate to prevent a major environmental crisis from occurring.
Banking Union in Europe: How Much Centralisation is Needed?

We examine the efficiency of banking regulation in a federation with two tiers of government and highly integrated banking systems. We assume that policy makers have incomplete information about banksâ€™ true health, and banking sector turmoil can generate crossâ€ border spillâ€ over effects. We show that, in such an environment, the decentralisation of policy responsibilities for the regulation of banks can achieve the firstâ€ best allocation and ensure financial stability. While national governments design banking regulations, the federal policy maker authorises interâ€ regional income redistribution payments throughout the federation. Our results suggest that strengthening national responsibilities in banking regulation and supervision in the course of the further development of the European banking union may be advisable.
Detection of lung cancer in silicosis patients using a tumor-marker panel.

BACKGROUND This study evaluates the diagnostic power of a fuzzy classifier and a tumor marker panel for the detection of lung cancers in comparison to pneumoconiosis patients at high-risk of developing lung cancer. METHODS CEA, CYFRA 21-1, NSE, SCC and CRP were measured in newly diagnosed lung cancer patients of different histological types and stages in comparison to patients suffering from silicosis. First a fuzzy classifier was generated with a set of 216 primary lung cancer patients (158 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and 58 small cell lung cancer (SCLC) patients) and 127 patients suffering from pneumoconiosis (51 silicosis and 76 asbestosis). Subsequently, the classifier was validated on a second cohort of 38 NSCLC patients, 55 silicosis patients, 32 patients with chronic obstructive airway diseases (COLD) and 28 healthy control subjects. RESULTS At 95%-specificity, NSCLC patients were detected in 50% at stage I (n= 30), in 64% at stage II (n=22), in 82% at stage III (n=56), in 88% at stage IV (n=50) and SCLC patients with limited disease status (n=21) in 71% and with extensive disease status (n=37) in 89% by use of the fuzzy classifier. Detection rates of single markers were below those. For the best single marker in NSCLC, CYFRA 21-1, sensitivities were 23.3% at stage I, 45.4% at stage II, 71.4% at stage III, 84% at stage IV (n=50), respectively. For the best single marker in SCLC, NSE, sensitivities were 61.9% at stage of limited disease and 81.1% at stage of extensive disease. In the validation set, the fuzzy classifier showed correct negative classification in 49 of the 55 cancer-free silicosis patients (specificity: 89%), in all COLD patients (specificity: 100%) and in all but one healthy subject (specificity: 96%). This confirmed an overall specificity of 93.9%. The sensitivity for lung cancer detection in high risk populations was 73.6%. All large cell carcinomas could be detected. The positive predictive value was 80%. The negative predictive value reached 91.5%. CONCLUSION With the fuzzy classifier and a marker panel a reliable diagnostic tool for the detection of lung cancers in a high risk population is available.
Somatization increases medical utilization and costs independent of psychiatric and medical comorbidity.

CONTEXT Somatoform disorders are an important determinant of medical care utilization, but their independent effect on utilization is difficult to determine because somatizing patients frequently have psychiatric and medical comorbidity. OBJECTIVES To assess the extent of the overlap of somatization with other psychiatric disorders; to compare the medical utilization of somatizing and nonsomatizing patients; and to determine the independent contribution of somatization alone to utilization. DESIGN Patients were surveyed with self-report questionnaires assessing somatization and psychiatric disorder. Medical care utilization was obtained from automated encounter data for the year preceding the index visit. Medical morbidity was indexed with a computerized medical record audit. SETTING Two hospital-affiliated primary care practices. PARTICIPANTS Consecutive adults making scheduled visits to their primary care physicians on randomly chosen days. In all, 2668 questionnaires were distributed, and 1914 (71.7%) were returned. Of these, 1546 (80.8%) contained complete data and met eligibility criteria. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Medical care utilization and costs within our hospital system in the preceding 12 months. RESULTS Two hundred ninety-nine patients (20.5%) received a provisional diagnosis of somatization; 42.3% of these patients had no comorbid depressive or anxiety disorder. Somatizing patients, when compared with nonsomatizing patients, had more primary care visits (mean [SE], 4.90 [0.32] vs 3.43 [0.11]; P<.001); more specialty visits (mean [SE], 8.13 [0.55] vs 4.90 [0.21]; P<.001); more emergency department visits (mean [SE], 1.29 [0.15] vs 0.52 [0.036]; P<.001); more hospital admissions (mean [SE], 0.32 [0.051] vs 0.13 [0.014]; P<.001); higher inpatient costs (mean [SE], USD 3146 [USD 380] vs USD 991 [USD 193]; P<.001); and higher outpatient costs (mean [SE], USD 3208 [USD 180] vs USD 1771 [USD 91]; P<.001). When these results were adjusted for the presence of comorbid anxiety and depressive disorders, major medical morbidity, and sociodemographic characteristics, patients with somatoform disorder still had more primary care visits (P = .04), more specialist visits (P = .002), more emergency department visits (P<.001), more hospital admissions (P<.001), more ambulatory procedures (P<.001), higher inpatient costs (P<.001), and higher outpatient costs (P<.001). When these findings are extrapolated to the national level, an estimated USD 256 billion a year in medical care costs are attributable to the incremental effect of somatization alone. CONCLUSIONS Patients with somatization had approximately twice the outpatient and inpatient medical care utilization and twice the annual medical care costs of nonsomatizing patients. Adjusting the findings for the presence of psychiatric and medical comorbidity had relatively little effect on this association.
SDN Enabled Dynamically Reconfigurable High Capacity Optical Access Architecture for Converged Services

Dynamically reconfigurable time-division multiplexing (TDM) dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) long-reach passive optical networks (PONs) can support the reduction of nodes and network interfaces by enabling a fully meshed flat optical core. In this paper, we demonstrate the flexibility of the TDM-DWDM PON architecture, which can enable the convergence of multiple service types on a single physical layer. Heterogeneous services and modulation formats, i.e., residential 10G PON channels, business 100G dedicated channel, and wireless fronthaul, are demonstrated co-existing on the same long reach TDM-DWDM PON system, with up to 100 km reach, 512 users, and emulated system load of 40 channels, employing amplifier nodes with either erbium-doped fiber amplifiers or semiconductor optical amplifiers. For the first time, end-to-end software-defined networking management of the access and core network elements is also implemented and integrated with the PON physical layer in order to demonstrate two service use cases: a fast protection mechanism with end-to-end service restoration in the case of a primary link failure; and dynamic wavelength allocation in response to an increased traffic demand.