Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Assurance of anonymity for respondents in sensitive online surveys

Online survey applications enable researchers to create and distribute surveys in a cost-effective way. However, respondents may feel reluctant to participate in surveys collecting sensitive personal information if they believe that they can be re-identified and related to the collected data set. Giving respondents a strong assurance of anonymity may improve the response rate and quality of data collected. In some instances, it may be beneficial for the researcher or survey administrator to place restrictions on the demographic group or domain where respondents are invited to participate. We approach assurance of anonymity in two contexts. One where the survey is open for everyone and one where the participants are invited or restricted to a specific group. Conducted interviews have shown a tendency for respondents to feel reluctant to post a submission, or not answer truthfully on sensitive topics if their identity is known. To increase the response rate and data quality in online surveys, we have proposed a solution providing strong assurance of anonymity in open surveys. The proposed solution utilizes client-side encryption, randomization and caching of submissions to decrease the probability of re-identification, at the cost of potentially reduced reliability in the data collection process. Further, we have developed a framework for determining the assurance of anonymity provided by a particular solution, which we use to evaluate the proposed solutions for anonymous authentication of respondents. Our evaluation of the proposed solutions enabling anonymous authentication have shown it is possible to allow respondents to post a submission while given a strong assurance of anonymity. However, the strong assurance of anonymity comes at the cost of requirements for one or several additional elements such as a pre-registration process by the respondent, management of cryptographic keys or secrets by the respondent, or trust in a third-party. Our results show that a system providing strong assurance of anonymity to respondents is possible to implement, and it may increase the response rate and data quality of sensitive online surveys, with the only disadvantage that it could potentially reduce the reliability of the data collection process. However, the latter is not seen as a practical problem. Truly anonymous authentication of respondents is possible, but at the added cost of increased overhead, decreased usability or by requiring trust in third parties by the respondent. Future research is recommended to assess the value of a high assurance of anonymity related to response rates and data quality, compared to the trade-off with reliability, overhead, usability and trust identified above.
CONCEPTUAL DESIGN FRAMEWORK FOR ICT SERVICE SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT AND DELIVERY

This paper propose conceptual design framework for ICT service system development and delivery. To provide ICT service systems with high value-in-use, ICT service providers explore clients' business needs and design sustainable them at the early development phase. However, this work has been relied on by certain experts and consultants.To assist such skilled work, it is necessary to urgently establish high-level service modelling methods and procedures of conceptual ICT service system design for inexperienced engineers of ICT service providers.
Multi-method assessment of access to primary medical care in rural Colorado.

The objectives of this study include conducting an analysis of access to primary medical care in rural Colorado through simultaneous consideration of primary care physician-to-population and distance-to-nearest provider indices. Analyses examined the potential development and implications of excessively large, perhaps unmanageable patient caseloads that might result from every rural Coloradoan's exclusive use of the nearest generalist physician as a regular source of care. Using American Medical Association Physician Masterfile data for 1995 and coordinates for latitude and longitude from U.S. Census files (Census of Population and Housing, 1990), the authors calculated distance to the nearest primary care physician for residents of each of the 1,317 block groups in Colorado's 52 rural counties. Caseloads for each generalist physician were computed assuming the population used the nearest provider for care. Straight-line mileage to primary medical care was modest for rural Coloradoans--a median distance of 2.5 miles. Almost two-thirds (65 percent) of the population resided within 5 miles, and virtually all residents (99 percent) were within 30 miles of a generalist physician. However, had everyone traveled the shortest possible distance to care, demand for service from many of the 343 primary care doctors in rural regions of the state would have been overwhelming. The results of simultaneous application of distance-to-care and provider-to-population techniques unrestricted by geographic boundaries depict access to primary medical care and corresponding consumer difficulty more fully than in previous studies. Further combination of methods of needs assessment such as those used in this analysis may better inform the future efforts of organizations mandated to address health care underservice in rural areas.
Transcriptional regulation of gene expression: Mechanisms and pathophysiology

Transcription factors are key mediators of the genetic programs that underlie human development and physiology. Mutations in genes that encode transcription factors or in DNA sequences to which these factors bind may adversely affect gene expression and result in disease. Mutations in genes encoding transcription factors often have pleiotropic effects because each transcription factor is involved in the regulation of multiple genes. For several transcription factors, germline mutations have been shown to result in malformation syndromes whereas somatic mutations in the same genes contribute to the multistep process of tumorigenesis. The study of transcription factors and their involvement in human disease thus provides insight into the molecular mechanisms underlying human development, physiology, dysmorphology, and oncology. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
STUDENT’S GUIDE TO THE VISIR REMOTE LABORATORY FOR ELECTRICAL EXPERIMENTS

A VISIR laboratory is a computer mediated university laboratory where remote students conduct physical experiments in the same way as in a hands-on laboratory using a PC, iPad, smart phone etc. 24/7. It is always safe to perform experiments in a VISIR laboratory because you, the experimentalist, are separated from the instruments and other equipment. The laboratory staff sets bounds to the experimentalists’ actions in order to avoid damage of the equipment. Thus, if something in the laboratory happens to be damaged it is never the experimentalist’s fault. If you have at least some experience of components and have tried experimenting on a breadboard you may start experimenting right now in the VISIR laboratory for electrical experiments at Blekinge Institute of Technology (BTH) in Sweden. Please feel free to perform experiments with four resistors1. Main differences between a VISIR laboratory for electrical experiments and a hands-on one are summarized in section 1.
Methods of measurement of CSR disclosure level in corporate reporting

Summary: In the research on CSR disclosure level in annual, integrated, environmental and CSR reports different methods of measurement of this level based on the content analysis are used. The aim of the paper is to present methods of measurement of CSR disclosure extent and quality applied in practice on the basis of the literature review. The wide diversity of these methods on the one hand enables to capture different aspects of CSR reporting level and on the other hand leads often to difficulties in comparability of various research results concerning disclosure extent and quality and their determinants.
Isolation and properties of hydrolecithin (dipalmityl lecithin) from lung; its occurrence in the sphingomyelin fraction of animal tissues.

Sphingomyelin prepared and purified by the usual methods (14) was shown to be hydrolyzed enzymatically by calves’ liver extracts to ceramides (lignoceryl sphingosine), phosphoric acid, and choline (5). The only fatty acid formed during the enzymatic hydrolysis was found to be palmitic acid. It was demonstrated that the fatty acid groups present in sphingomyelin in -NH-OC *R linkage (like lignoceryl sphingosine in ceramides) are not split off by the liver enzyme. The palmitic acid must therefore have originated from another source. At that time the possibility was considered that a part of the sphingomyelin contains palmitic acid in ester linkage with its free hydroxyl group. The correctness of this assumption became doubtful when all attempts to isolate a sphingomyelin palmitic acid ester were unsuccessful. In further search for the source of palmitic acid we analyzed our sphingomyelin samples for glycerol according to the micromethod of Blix (6). It was found that all samples of so called pure sphingomyelin contained considerable amounts of glycerol (7). Similar experiences were reported at the same time by Klenk and Rennkamp (8). The glycerol-containing substance could not be removed by exhaustive ether extraction or by repeated recrystallization of sphingomyelin from various solvents. Since the amount of the total phosphorus of these preparations was in agreement with that present in phosphatides, the most plausible explanation for the presence of glycerol as well as that of palmitic acid in ester linkage was the assumption that, together with the sphingomyelin, a saturated etherinsoluble monoaminophosphatide was present. This assumption was all the more appealing since Lesuk and Anderson (9) reported the isolation of a saturated, ether-insoluble lecithin from the lipide mixture of the larvae of Cysticercus jasciolaris, demonstrating for the first time the presence of a saturated lecithin in animal lipide mixtures. The isolation of hydrolecithin from the lipide fraction of Cysticercus jasciolaris larvae
Predictors of firm growth in India: An exploratory analysis using accounting information

Abstract This paper aims at identifying relevant financial factors which critically affects firm revenue growth. We specifically focus on the dynamic nature of such factors across up or down-market cycles and also for different scales and size of business. The study uses annual data of 17 accounting and financial variables for a sample of 1,450 Indian firms which exist continuously between 2003 and 2014 and generate a framework for identification of critical factors which affect firm revenue growth. We employ a variable reduction technique via principal component analysis (PCA), and then use the “principal factors” identified thereon, in a logistic regression approach to develop such a framework. The study finds efficiency in management of current assets and capital (both short- and long-term) to be the most critical factors, determining the firm revenue growth in Indian context. The relative importance of capital deployment efficiency is more for small firms than for large firms whereas asset management efficiency is the most critical factor in larger firms. Long-term solvency supersedes all other factors during market downturns. These findings may have important implications for firms and its stakeholders as a priori knowledge on the importance of critical factors regarding firm’s revenue growth could enable the mangers to support them in their decision-making process.
Structural basis by which alternative splicing confers specificity in fibroblast growth factor receptors

Binding specificity between fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) and their receptors (FGFRs) is essential for mammalian development and is regulated primarily by two alternatively spliced exons, IIIb (“b”) and IIIc (“c”), that encode the second half of Ig-like domain 3 (D3) of FGFRs. FGF7 and FGF10 activate only the b isoform of FGFR2 (FGFR2b). Here, we report the crystal structure of the ligand-binding portion of FGFR2b bound to FGF10. Unique contacts between divergent regions in FGF10 and two b-specific loops in D3 reveal the structural basis by which alternative splicing provides FGF10-FGFR2b specificity. Structure-based mutagenesis of FGF10 confirms the importance of the observed contacts for FGF10 biological activity. Interestingly, FGF10 binding induces a previously unobserved rotation of receptor Ig domain 2 (D2) to introduce specific contacts with FGF10. Hence, both D2 and D3 of FGFR2b contribute to the exceptional specificity between FGF10 and FGFR2b. We propose that ligand-induced conformational change in FGFRs may also play an important role in determining specificity for other FGF-FGFR complexes.
Vertex response: Influence of lesions in the auditory system

The principal value of specialized audiologic techniques lies in early diagnosis of retrocochlear lesions, which in turn minimizes technical difficulties in the surgical removal of acoustic neuromas; however, despite a wide battery of audiometric tests, the otolaryngologist too often has difficulty in distinguishing between cochlear and retrocochlear lesions. Johnson1 observed deviations in one or more respects from the classic audiometric findings in almost half of the cases of acoustic neuroma that he studied. Other audiologists2 have encountered similar problems.
On a Definition of Building Penetration Loss for High Elevation Angles

Different methods of defining building penetration loss for high elevation angle paths exist. A key factor is the selection of the reference level. A comparison of four of the most common types of reference levels used to determine building penetration loss for high elevation angles is presented based on a measurement trial using unmodulated carriers at 2.0 GHz and 5.0 GHz performed at a three-storey office building. It was shown that the choice of reference level significantly affects the results obtained. Particular cases are discussed and general recommendations on the selection of the reference level for building penetration loss measurement are provided.
Prognostic index for the development of liver metastases in patients with colorectal cancer

The incidence of synchronous and metachronous liver metastases in patients with colorectal cancer is extremely high. Approximately 25 per cent of patients will have overt liver metastases at the time of presentation, and in the remainder up to 40 per cent will eventually develop liver metastases. In an attempt to obtain a prognostic index for the prediction of those patients most likely to develop liver metastases, 134 patients with primary colorectal cancer but without overt liver metastases at initial presentation were followed up for between 5–10 years. Regular liver scans were performed and the presence of liver metastases observed. A total of 47 patients developed liver metastases. Those preoperative variables related to the subsequent development of liver metastases were sex, log10 serum alkaline phosphatase level and Dukes' classification. A prognostic index using these parameters has been calculated.
A New Technique for Studying Nocturnal Bird Migration

I followed nocturnal bird migration over central Israel by using an acoustic tracking system, which includes a sensitive Pressure Zone (PZM) Microphone, and a Hi-Fi VCR used to record bird calls sounded during migration. Identification of bird calls is performed both by an automatic computerized system (designed by the Acoustic Laboratory at Cornell University) and aurally by an experienced ornithologist using Canary software (written by the Acoustic Laboratory at Cornell University). The automatic computerized system helped to identify 134 different spectrographs and the experienced ornithologist identified 15 different species. Research results showed two general differences between this project and similar studies conducted in North America. First, the number of calls recorded during spring and autumn migration in central Israel each night was lower than the number of calls recorded in North America. Second, the frequencies of the various bird calls during migration over Israel were much lower than the birds of North America. Introduction Nearly all birds that migrate at night give characteristic flight calls. Warblers, sparrows, cockoos, rails, and herons are among the species known to give night flight calls (Thorpe, 1961; Kroodsma et al., 1983; Ranft and Slater, 1987; Evans, 1994, Evans and Mellinger, 1995). By aiming microphones at the night sky, a volume of sky (dimensions are dependent on microphone design) can be monitored for calls (Graber and Cochran, 1959). Species that regularly form flocks during the day have a night migration call apparently indistinguishable from the daytime call. Other species seem to have a night-time call so different from the daytime call, that it is often difficult to identify the calls (Hamilton, 1962). The function of night calls apparently are: compensation for lack of visual communication (Kroodsma et al., 1982) to help birds maintain spatial association in flight (Hamilton, 1962), to organize their spacing in order to minimize collisions (Graber, 1968), to help
Classification method based on Association Rule Mining

In the field of data mining very large amount of data is processed in order to get small amount of useful data. There are two important data mining techniques to optimize efficiency, namely association rule mining and classification rule mining. In Data Mining, Classification is the process of finding and applying a model to describe and distinguish data classes, concepts and values. This work is a survey of major classification methods based on association rule mining. After this study better comparison of various classification methods can be done. After studying this all classification methods now, we develop a new method that name, BCAR in which we first apply fp-growth algorithm for rule generation and then calculate chi square value of each rule for subset selection after selecting this subset does classification based on chi square analysis. Main purpose is to build association rule classifier without loss of performance & accuracy of the resultant classifier.
Influence of water deficit on maize endosperm development : enzyme activities and RNA transcripts of starch and zein synthesis, abscisic Acid, and cell division.

In maize (Zea mays L.), drought during the post-pollination stage decreases kernel growth and often leads to grain yield losses. Kernels in the apical region of the ear are more severely affected than basally positioned kernels. We hypothesized that water deficit during early endosperm development might inhibit kernel growth by decreasing endosperm cell division, and that this response might be mediated by changes in endosperm abscisic acid (ABA) levels. Greenhouse-grown maize, cultivar Pioneer 3925, was subjected to water limitation from 1 to 15 days after pollination (DAP), spanning the period of endosperm cell division and induction of storage product accumulation. Water deficit decreased the number of endosperm nuclei during the treatment period; the most substantial effect was in the apical region of ears. Correspondingly, endosperm fresh weight, starch accumulation and dry mass at maturity were decreased by water limitation. Abscisic acid concentrations in endosperm were quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Water deficit increased ABA concentration in apical-region endosperm by four-fold compared to controls. ABA concentrations were also increased in middle and basal regions of the ear, but to a lesser extent. Two key enzymes in the starch synthesis pathway, sucrose synthase and granule-bound ADP-glucose starch synthase, and zein, the major storage protein in maize endosperm, were studied as markers of storage product synthesis. Water deficit did not affect sucrose synthase enzyme activity or RNA transcript abundance relative to total RNA. However, ADP-glucose starch synthase activity and RNA transcript abundance decreased slightly in apical-region endosperm of water-limited plants by 15 DAP, compared with well-watered controls. In contrast to starch, there was no treatment effect on the accumulation of zein, evaluated at either the polypeptide or RNA level. We conclude that under the conditions tested, the establishment of starch and zein synthetic potential in endosperm was only slightly affected by plant water deficit during the early phase of kernel growth, and that capacity for growth and starch accumulation was affected by the extent to which cell division was inhibited. Based on correlative changes in ABA concentration and cell division we suggest that ABA may play a role in inhibiting endosperm cell division during water limitation.
Compact Broadband Crescent Moon-Shape Patch-Pair Antenna

A novel compact wideband patch antenna is presented. The antenna consists of two simple patch pairs with opposite phase feed. Considering the coupling between two patches in the design, an antenna with a size about 54.5 × 22 × 20 mm3 is constructed and tested. The simulated and measured results show that the antenna has the active reflection coefficient less than -9.6 dB in the band 2.6-6 GHz. The radiation performance of the antenna is good over the whole frequency band.
Vascular endothelial growth factor in the plasma, follicular fluid and granulosa cells of women with endometriosis submitted to in vitro fertilization – a pilot study

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a potent angiogenic factor that is altered in endometriosis, supports the immunological mechanism involved in this disease. The aim of the present study was to assess VEGF concentration in the plasma, follicular fluid (FF) and culture medium (CM) of granulosa cells from patients with endometriosis submitted to in vitro fertilization (IVF). A case–control study was conducted on 14 patients with endometriosis and 14 women without endometriosis submitted to IVF. Peripheral blood samples were collected before and after administration of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), in addition to FF and CM samples. Plasma VEGF levels increased after hCG administration in women with endometriosis and in controls, but were significant only in controls. VEGF levels were lower in FF but were significantly increased in the CM of patients with endometriosis. There was no correlation between VEGF and age, response to ovarian stimulation, oocyte or embryo quality, and pregnancy result. The increase of VEGF levels after hCG in both groups demonstrated a positive effect of this hormone on VEGF. VEGF in the FF and CM presented opposite results in endometriosis, suggesting that granulosa cells may show a different behavior in vivo and in vitro.