bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Degree-Day Climatology over Central and Southeast Europe for the Period 1961-2018 – Evaluation in High Resolution
Authors: Chervenkov Hristo , Ivanov Vladimir , Gadzhev Georgi , Ganev Kostadin , Melas Dimitrios
Published: January 2021

The ongoing climate change over Central and Southeast Europe has a great potential to affect significantly the public energy demands and in particular the energy consumption in the residential heating and cooling sector. The linkage of the ambient daily extreme and mean temperatures and the energy needs for condition or heat buildings can be quantified as numerical indicators as the heating and cooling degree-days. In the present study, these indicators are calculated according the UK Met Office methodology from the daily mean and extreme temperatures, which, in turn, are computed from the output of the MESCAN-SURFEX system in the frame the FP7 UERRA project. The study, which is performed in a very high resolution, is dedicated on the analysis of the spatial patterns as well as assessment of the magnitude and statistical significance of the temporal evolution of the heating and cooling degree-days. It reveals general tendencies which are coherent with the regional climate warming, but with high spatial heterogeneities. The study confirms the essential impact of the ongoing climate change on the heating, ventilating and air-conditioning industry over Central and Southeast Europe.
Design of Multi-Epitope Vaccine against SARS-CoV-2
Authors: Doytchinova Irini , Tchorbanov Andrey
Published: January 2021

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic requires urgently specific therapeutics and approved vaccines. Here, the four structural proteins of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome CoronaVirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of COVID-19, are screened by in-house immunoinformatic tools to identify peptides acting as potential T-cell epitopes. In order to act as an epitope, the peptide should be processed in the host cell and presented on the cell surface in a complex with the Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA). The aim of the study is to predict the binding affinities of all peptides originating from the structural proteins of SARS-CoV-2 to 30 most frequent in the human population HLA proteins of class I and class II and to select the high binders (IC50 < 50 nM). The predicted high binders are compared to known high binders from SARS-CoV conserved in CoV-2 and 77% of them coincided. The high binders will be uploaded onto lipid nanoparticles and the multi-epitope vaccine prototype will be tested for ability to provoke T-cell mediated immunity and protection against SARS-CoV-2.
Immunoinformatic Analysis of Human Thyroglobulin
Authors: Doytchinova Irini , Tchorbanov Andrey , Ivanov Stefan
Published: January 2021

The AutoImmune ThyroiDitis (AITD), known as Hashimoto’s disease, is a chronic autoimmune thyroid disease progressively developed to hypothyroidism. The AITD is characterized by the formation of autoantibodies targeting two specific thyroid antigens, Thyroglobulin (Tg) and Thyroid PerOxidase (TPO). Tg is a precursor of the thyroid hormones while TPO catalyses their synthesis. The AITD has a strong genetic predisposition. During the last years, it was found that the susceptibility to AITD is associated with certain Human Leukocyte Antigens (HLA) class II genes of loci DR and DQ. In the present study, we applied in-house immunoinformatic tools to identify peptides originating from Tg and binding to AITD susceptible alleles: HLA-DR3, HLA-DR4, HLA-DR5, HLA-DQ2 and HLA-DQ8. Five peptide fragments containing promiscuous overlapping binders were selected. These were p470, p949, p1948, p2348 and p2583. Only one of them contains a known epitope (p1948). The rest have not been reported yet. The selected peptide fragments will be coupled to monoclonal antibodies specific to inhibitory B cell receptors designed to suppress the production of Tg autoantibodies.
Anti-Fraud Strategy
Authors: Todorović Zdravko , Tomaš Darko , Todorović Boris
Published: January 2021

Fraud is not an individual problem, but rather, we deal with a systematic fraud, particularly in the public sector through the creation of a private monopoly over public sector. Therefore, the first step, which needs to be set in organization in order to develop an efficient system for fraud control is development of anti-fraud strategy. Anti-fraud strategy is based on a policy of integrity and zero tolerance for fraud. Under the fraud we imply: corruption, assets misappropriation and fraudulent statement. Fraudsters are in the organization and beyond. Factors influencing performing of fraud are: pressure, opportunity and rationalization. Costs incurred due to the fraud may be difficult to realistically consider. Battle against fraud is determined by political will, effective legislation and anti-fraudulent culture and strategy.
Analysis of Okun’s Regularity: The Case of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Authors: Erić Ognjen , Popović Goran , Bjelić Jelena
Published: January 2021

Economic growth, or, more precisely, GDP growth rate (Y) is the key macroeconomic indicator. Positive tendencies of GDP growth (r) mostly impact the economic welfare of the national economy. Hence, output is analysed in combination with other macroeconomic aggregates and indicators: investments, inflation, unemployment, trade exchange and the like. In the context of researching the relation between GDP trends and unemployment rate, A.M. Okun was the first to notice regularity between these variables. Okun’s law shows the direction and strength of GDP changes under the influence of (un)employment and represents functional relation between the output market and labour market. This paper aims to prove that, to a certain extent, there exists Okun’s regularity in Bosnian and Herzegovinian economy for the period of 2000-2019. The results of linear regression analysis show that there is negative correlation (R=0,451) between variables Y (output) and X (unemployment). Determination coefficient R2 = 0,204 indicates that 20,4% variations in GDP is determined by the changes in unemployment. Coefficient β in linear regression equation is negative, amounting to -0,596, which means that a change in unemployment by 1 percentile point brings about an inverse change in GDP by approximately 0,6 units. Variable direction indicates that there exists Okun’s regularity, though with significantly weaker intensity among the variables. This proves the hypothesis that there is a negative functional relation between the output market and labour market in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Factors Affecting Precision Agriculture Adoption: A Systematic Litterature Review
Authors: Yatribi Taoufik
Published: January 2021

The aim of this paper is to present the main advances in the adoption of precision agriculture technologies. While we are witnessing the emergence of a literature dedicated to the adoption of new technologies, this theme still suffers from a lack of consensus on its conceptualization. Based on the prisma statement method (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyzes), the objective is to carry out a review of the systemic literature in order to identify the main factors of adoption of the technologies of precision agriculture over the past ten years. The results show that individual factors are the most empirically identified as determining factors in the adoption of precision agriculture technologies. That said, the farmer is at the center of the adoption decision. Perceived utility is the factor most identified in the literature as the determinant of adoption.
The Role of Organizational Culture in Commitment to Implement Total Quality Management (Case Study of Algerian Public Companies)
Authors: Mohamed Fellague
Published: January 2021

The management in TQM implies that it‘s a management approach, not just a narrow quality control or quality assurance function. Some principles and practices of TQM may differ among firms and industries, but there is unanimous agreement as to the importance of organizational culture in implementing TQM. Accordingly the objective of the paper is to empirically investigate the relationship between organizational culture and the implementation of TQM. This study limited to public companies in Algeria. The sample of study consisted (107) executives and managers who are working under functional heads. We used convenience sampling in selecting the subjects. The instrument used in the study was a survey questionnaire. The Correlation analysis explained a positive moderate relationship between organizational culture and implementation of TQM (r=0.580, p=0.000) that is culture of a (Algerian public companies) is positively related to the implementation of TQM.

The study recommended increasing the interest in improving the availability levels of the organizational culture dimensions in general; and place a particular focus on the relatively low level dimensions, and the necessity to take into account realizing coherence among these dimensions in terms of the closeness of the availability levels, and lessening the deviations among these dimensions as well as among the elements of the same one dimension, due to the integrative nature among them. The study further recommended assimilating the organizational culture concept as an administrative concept by the managerial executives in the Algerian public companies, being an important foundation, upon which the success or failure of applying the TQM depends.
A Downside to the Brain Gain Story
Authors: Abdulloev Ilhom , Epstein Gil S. , Gang Ira N.
Published: January 2021

We consider how the possibility of international migration affects an individual’s educational choices in their home country. Educational choice dictates skill, and the paper refers to the highly educated, highly skilled as “professionals”; others are “non-professionals.” Without the opportunity to emigrate abroad people choose their educational investment (and hence their skill level) as we might expect. To this normal choice the higher status given professionals is also accounted for. Consider now how the opportunity for international migration to a higher paying job affects both professionals and non-professionals. Despite the higher status a professional enjoys, once an individual takes the possibility of migration to a different country into consideration, he may well decide to choose education leading to non-professional employment. A result of this paper is that if there are low chances of obtaining professional jobs in the host country, individuals may well choose an educational track leading to a low occupational profession in order to increase their chances of obtaining a job in the host country after migration. Thus, all home country students may choose the non-professional education track. Those who might have otherwise pursued higher, professional education may forgo that schooling. The theory developed here explains the forsaken schooling phenomenon. This phenomenon shows that low-skilled and skilled home country workers are willing to accept low-skilled positions in host countries. This leads to the forgoing of professional schooling in the home country since it is not optimal for the worker in the home country to choose a high skilled education since, they will be overqualified in the host country. This will have a long run affect. As time goes on, therefore, people who consider migrating abroad will have either lower years of schooling, or generally have not completed professional schools (technical-vocational or tertiary).
Covid-19 Pandemic and Outward Foreign Direct Investment: A Preliminary Note
Authors: Ajide Folorunsho M. , Osinubi Tolulope T.
Published: January 2021

Social-distance policy of most governments and the pandemic impact of corona virus (COVID-19) on human health are expected to shutter international investment and business environment. However, there is little or no study to show the early empirical evidence on this relationship, most especially its impacts on FDI flows in the economies. This note provides a preliminary evidence of the impact of COVID-19 on FDI outflows. Our data cover cross-sectional first quarter, average data; between 1 January – 31 March, 2020 from 43 countries. Using Ordinary least square (OLS) and Quantile regressions, we document that there is a positive relationship between COVID-19 confirmed cases and FDI outflows. In addition, there is a positive impact of COVID-19 related confirmed deaths on FDI outflows across all quartiles estimations. This means that COVID-19 pandemic fuels the foreign direct investment outflows. The major causes could be the reduction in the ability of firms to invest due to a shortage in the number of skilled employees because they care for their health safety, a decline in corporate profits and increase in cost of finance. In addition, the propensities to invest have been widely affected negatively in most economies. These factors also become obvious when most economies experience a very high level of risk perception in financial market.
Valuing Women Entrepreneurship in the Informal Economy in Bangladesh
Authors: Mukit Mohammad Mushfiqul Haque , Nabila Nusrat Jahan , Islam Mohammad Safiqul , Abdel-Razzaq Assim Ibrahim
Published: January 2021

The study aims to address issues related to valuing women entrepreneurship in the informal economy in Bangladesh. To achieve the above objective, both qualitative and quantitative methods have been used. The author reviewed several articles, research reports, and included face to face in-depth interviews of fifteen entrepreneurs. Moreover, the applied five-point Likert scale questionnaire responded 100 random entrepreneurs from the rural areas of Bangladesh to recognize the barriers in accessing financial institutions and figure out how financial inclusions can contribute more in the informal economy. The results of this study suggest that complicated loans process, high-interest rates, absence of a life skills program, lack of financial freedom for women and property rights, entrepreneurial paradox, absence of collaterals, financial institutions negligence, mismanagement of loans, lack of interactions with local successful entrepreneur and imbalance of family and professional promise are the major barriers in accessing financial institutions in Bangladesh. In addition, financial inclusions are required to bring about changes in their lives. The results of the study will help Bangladesh and other developing countries break down the barriers for women entrepreneurs and develop the business opportunities created by women. In this regard, future research will anticipate both urban and rural areas, with a larger sample and quantitative studies will be conducted.
Dimension of Justice in Restorative Justice Paradigm in the Criminal System for Sexual Violence in Indonesia
Authors: Soepadmo Nurianto Rachmad
Published: January 2021

The act of sexual violence is a crime that is classified as a violation of human rights (HAM). The increase number of sexual violence cases in the world, including Indonesia, shows that the current justice system is unable to guarantee justice for victims, and most importantly recovery for victims. For this reason, a justice restoration approach is needed as an alternative in law enforcement against sexual crimes. Practically, marriage used as a way to approach justice restoration. This article used normative and juridical approach to discuss law enforcement on sexual crimes through restorative justice approach. It can be concluded that law enforcement on sexual crimes should observe based on criminology, victimology and ontology aspects, in order to be able to place the problem objectively. As a complaint offense, sexual crimes may not be passed on to criminal process, if there is peace between the victim and the perpetrator, provided that there is an agreement among the victim, perpetrator, family and society without coercion from various parties. The main focus in restorative justice of sexual crimes is to provide protection and assistance to victims from various parties, thus, the victims can be released from trauma or psychological impact that caused by sexual violence experienced by the victim or the impact received after the occurrence of sexual crime.
Status of Third Sector Entities in the State and Society
Authors: Ďurkovičová Jana
Published: January 2021

The basic definition of the third sector comes from the sectoral division of the Slovak economy. The sectoral breakdown of the economy operates with concepts such as the public sector, the private sector, and the third sector(1). Civil society represents the third sector of society that exists alongside the state and the market. The third sector is a commonly used term for all non-governmental organizations in the Slovak Republic. Their legal form may vary. This sector is characterized by the existence of organizations that have a formal structure, non-state character, do not aim to make a profit, are independent, operate on a self-governing basis and are voluntary. The existence of non-governmental organizations and their participation in the life of society characterizes every civil society. One type of such organizations are non-profit organizations, the scope of which is regulated by the Act no. 213/1997 Coll. on Non-profit Organizations Providing Services of General Interest, as amended. They represent non-governmental non-profit organizations operating in civil society. The register of these legal entities operating in the territory of the Slovak Republic is provided by the Ministry of the Interior of the Slovak Republic. The aim of this paper is to point out the importance of the existence and scope of non-profit organizations in civil society, to analyze the legal forms of their functioning, through analysis of current legislation, available literary sources with emphasis on analysis of development and employment in non-profit organizations providing public services in the territory of the Slovak Republic in the defined period from 2016 to 2018. According to the latest available data as of 31 December 2018(2), there were 66 926 non-profit organizations registered and operating in the Slovak Republic, employing an average of 39 706 employees, while there were 3 272 of non-profit organizations providing services of general interest. The system of remuneration of employees of non-profit organizations is regulated by legislation in two ways. If the non-profit organization is not established by law, municipality, higher territorial unit or state, then it is possible to apply Act no. 311/2001 Coll. Labor Code as amended. Otherwise, if the nonprofit organization is established by law, wich means that the employee performs work in accordance with the law in the public interest, the procedure for his remuneration is in accordance with the Act no. 553/2003 Coll. on Remuneration of Certain Employees in the Performance of Work in the Public Interest and on Amendments to Certain Acts, as amended.
Computer assisted language learning in English language classrooms in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Authors: Džanić Nihada Delibegović , Hasanspahić Amila
Published: January 2021

The paper examines the application of computer assisted language learning (CALL) in English language classes in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The research was designed as an empirical examination of the attitudes of teachers and students on the successful application of computer assisted language learning in English language classrooms in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Lack of motivation is one the problems that most teachers are faced with. There are many causes of poor motivation, but one of them is certainly the unattractiveness and dullness of traditional methods, teaching materials and resources. However, many authors with educational experience point out that the use of information technology can positively influence students’ motivation and encourage them to work actively. While adults, as digital immigrants, might not use modern information technology excessively, children and teens are true digital natives, who have grown up with the latest technologies and use them with great pleasure in all aspects of their lives adapting them to their needs (Prensky, 2001). The results obtained in this research are an indicator of the current attitude of teachers and students towards these issues, but they also highlight some important necessary reforms in the field of teacher education.
Sisters of Inspiration. From Shakespearean Heroine to Pre-Raphaelite Muse
Authors: Percec Dana
Published: January 2021

The paper aims to make a connection between the female models of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the portrayal of Shakespearean heroines, given that the 19th-century school of painting was using the Bard not only as a source of legitimation and authority, but also as a source of displacement, tackling apparently universal and literary subjects that were in fact disturbing for the Victorian sensibilities, such as love and eroticism, neurosis and madness, or suicide. As more recent scholarship has revealed, the women behind the Brotherhood, while posing as passive and contemplative, objects on display for the public gaze, had more agency and mobility than the average Victorian women.
Feminist Orthodoxy and Shakespeare’s Shrew
Authors: Răzniceanu Vlad
Published: January 2021

Since The Taming of the Shrew is a particularly ambiguous play, its interpretation is predictably vulnerable to ideological excesses. The author argues that feminist criticism often exploits rather than explains the text, illustrates the techniques that are typically employed in slanting its meaning, and compares various interpretations in order to highlight a pervasive set of premises defined as ‘orthodoxy’.
Hysteria as Alternative Masculinity in the Gothic Discourse of the 19th Century: The Case of E.T.A. Hoffmann, Edgar Allan Poe and Guy De Maupassant
Authors: Băniceru Ana Cristina
Published: January 2021

From its onset, the Gothic has attempted to challenge established norms and conventions, either for sensational effects or to question their homogenizing and reductive tendencies. The questioning or reinforcing of received notions of femininity in Gothic fiction has been much debated by critics, with the concept of masculinity coming second. The present paper discusses normative masculinity as it was perceived in the 19th century and how E.T.A. Hoffmann, Edgar Allan Poe and Guy de Maupassant challenge its validity by creating male characters who adopt a hysterical, almost feminine voice, contesting the belief that hysteria was a “female malady”. The characters expose their unconventional masculinity, which resists the model of the ‘ganzer Mann’ in Germany, ‘marketplace man’ in US and the ‘conjugal heterosexual’ in France.
Exploring Gender Ideologies in Social Media Jokes During the Coronavirus Pandemic
Authors: Lomotey Benedicta Adokarley
Published: January 2021

This paper investigates contemporary gender ideologies as manifested in social media during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic. Using a Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis approach, the author analyses jokes in memes and news items posted through social media in the form of videos, pictures, and texts. Specifically, it focuses on how gender stereotypes and ideologies are constructed and sustained through humour, in several themes built upon gendered representations. The author analyses the complex configuration of factors such as beliefs, stereotypes, and ideologies, which, closely interwoven, form the tapestry of the gender order. Additionally, in order to establish the constancy of gender ideologies over time and across cultures, a correlation is made between the gender ideologies reflected in proverbs and those manifested in the internet memes. The study contends that the complex role of humour enhances the subtle propelling of gender stereotypes and ideologies and ultimately, the existing gender status quo.
Does Traditional Mean Good? A Pilot Study on University Students’ Perceptions of Different Types of Women and Men
Authors: Fernandes Kristina
Published: January 2021

Gender stereotyping remains a pervasive issue in society. Gender stereotypes are cognitive structures containing socially shared knowledge and expectations about women and men. Research has found that the dimensions evaluation (sweetheart vs. bitch) and traditionality (businessman vs. stay-at-home dad) have high explanatory power for identifying gender stereotypes. As a pilot study, the current paper investigates the traditionality and evaluation perceptions of expressions for women and men in English and Spanish, analysing them in the framework of Conceptual Metaphor and Metonymy Theory. In an online questionnaire, university students in London and Madrid rated 20 expressions for women (e.g. Eng. bitch, Spa. princesa) and men (e.g. Eng. player, Spa. cabrón), previously produced by themselves in single brainstorming sessions. The results indicate the existence of gender stereotypes, especially regarding promiscuity, and a correlation between traditionality and evaluation. Surprisingly and contrary to previous research, female participants produce more promiscuous subtypes than male participants.
Social Acceptance and Section 377: A Case Study of Transgender People in Jammu City
Authors: Priya Parul , Kumar Anurag
Published: January 2021

The Supreme Court of India recently decriminalized section 377 of the Indian Penal Code to outlaw the unfair violence and discrimination against transgender people. The paper argues that despite the legal acceptance of Section 377, the discrimination and social exclusion of transgender people continue in the Indian public sphere. The method of Interpretative Phenomenological Approach has been used to analyze the interviews of five transgender people from Jammu city. The findings suggest patterns and relationships within the data which are useful for understanding various ways in which transgender people negotiate and contemplate their lives outside the known social network they resort to. By analyzing the interpretations of selected transgender people, the study reveals that they bear the brunt of social and economic exclusion due to their gender identity on day-to-day basis.
Some Bullen-type inequalities for conformable fractional integrals
Authors: Çakmak Musa
Published: January 2021

In this study, the author has established a new lemma and Bullen-type inequalities for conformable fractional integrals. Also, it is given some applications involving Bullen type integral inequalities for differentiable functions to show the results.
On the reconstruction via Urysohn-Chlodovsky operators
Authors: Karsli Harun
Published: January 2021

The main first goal of this work is to introduce an Urysohn type Chlodovsky operators defined on positive real axis by using the Urysohn type interpolation of the given function f and bounded on every finite subinterval. The basis used in this construction are the Fréchet and Prenter Density Theorems together with Urysohn type operator values instead of the rational sampling values of the function. Afterwards, we will state some convergence results, which are generalization and extension of the theory of classical interpolation of functions to operators.
Some univalence conditions related to a general integral operator
Authors: Bărbatu Camelia , Breaz Daniel
Published: January 2021

For some classes of analytic functions f, g, h and k in the open unit disk 𝕌, we consider the general integral operator 𝒢
n
, that was introduced in a recent work [1] and we obtain new conditions of univalence for this integral operator. The key tools in the proofs of our results are the Pascu’s and the Pescar’s univalence criteria, as well as the Mocanu’s and Şerb’s Lemma. Some corollaries of the main results are also considered. Relevant connections of the results presented here with various other known results are briefly indicated.
Differential subordination results for holomorphic functions associated with Wanas Operator and Poisson Distribution series
Authors: Wanas Abbas Kareem , Páll-Szabó Ágnes Orsolya
Published: January 2021

In the current paper, we introduce a new family for holomorphic functions defined by Wanas operator associated with Poisson distribution series. Also we derive some interesting geometric properties for functions belongs to this family.
Upper bound of second Hankel determinant for bi-univalent functions with respect to symmetric conjugate
Authors: Wanas Abbas Kareem , Bulut Serap
Published: January 2021

In this article, our aim is to estimate an upper bounds for the second Hankel determinant H
2(2) of a certain class of analytic and bi-univalent functions with respect to symmetric conjugate defined in the open unit disk U.
Differences and quotients of positive linear operators
Authors: Hodiş Sever
Published: January 2021

We consider the classical Szász-Mirakyan and Szász-Mirakyan-Durrmeyer operators, as well as a Kantorovich modification and a discrete version of it. The images of exponential functions under these operators are determined. We establish estimates involving differences and quotients of these images.
Geometric properties of some applications of the Tremblay operator
Authors: Irmak Hüseyin
Published: January 2021

By this research notes, the well-known Tremblay operator and certain core knowledge therewith are firstly introduced and an extensive result containing numerous (analytic and) geometric properties (of possible applications of the related operator) along with a number of special implications are then constituted. As method for proving, the well-known assertion proposed by [8] is also considered there.
Automatic Classification of Locomotion in Sport: A Case Study from Elite Netball.
Authors: Smith P.D. , Bedford A.
Published: January 2021

In team sport Human Activity Recognition (HAR) using inertial measurement units (IMUs) has been limited to athletes performing a set routine in a controlled environment, or identifying a high intensity event within periods of relatively low work load. The purpose of this study was to automatically classify locomotion in an elite sports match where subjects perform rapid changes in movement type, direction, and intensity. Using netball as a test case, six athletes wore a tri-axial accelerometer and gyroscope. Feature extraction of player acceleration and rotation rates was conducted on the time and frequency domain over a 1s sliding window. Applying several machine learning algorithms Support Vector Machines (SVM) was found to have the highest classification accuracy (92.0%, Cohen’s kappa Ƙ = 0.88). Highest accuracy was achieved using both accelerometer and gyroscope features mapped to the time and frequency domain. Time and frequency domain data sets achieved identical classification accuracy (91%). Model accuracy was greatest when excluding windows with two or more classes, however detecting the athlete transitioning between locomotion classes was successful (69%). The proposed method demonstrated HAR of locomotion is possible in elite sport, and a far more efficient process than traditional video coding methods.
Optimising Daily Fantasy Sports Teams with Artificial Intelligence
Authors: Beal Ryan , Norman Timothy J. , Ramchurn Sarvapali D.
Published: January 2021

This paper outlines a novel approach to optimising teams for Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) contests. To this end, we propose a number of new models and algorithms to solve the team formation problems posed by DFS. Specifically, we focus on the National Football League (NFL) and predict the performance of real-world players to form the optimal fantasy team using mixed-integer programming. We test our solutions using real-world data-sets from across four seasons (2014-2017). We highlight the advantage that can be gained from using our machine-based methods and show that our solutions outperform existing benchmarks, turning a profit in up to 81.3% of DFS game-weeks over a season.
A Critical Comparison of Machine Learning Classifiers to Predict Match Outcomes in the NFL
Authors: Beal Ryan , Norman Timothy J. , Ramchurn Sarvapali D.
Published: January 2021

In this paper, we critically evaluate the performance of nine machine learning classification techniques when applied to the match outcome prediction problem presented by American Football. Specifically, we implement and test nine techniques using real-world datasets of 1280 games over 5 seasons from the National Football League (NFL). We test the nine different classifier techniques using a total of 42 features for each team and we find that the best performing algorithms are able to improve one previous published works. The algoriothms achieve an accuracy of between 44.64% for a Guassian Process classifier to 67.53% with a Naïve Bayes classifer. We also test each classifier on a year by year basis and compare our results to those of the bookmakers and other leading academic papers.
Multimodal Approach for Kayaking Performance Analysis and Improvement
Authors: Nagy G. , Komka Zs. , Szathmáry G. , Katona P. , Gannoruwa L. , Erdős G. , Tarjányi P. , Tóth M. , Krepuska M. , Grand L.
Published: January 2021

Artificial Intelligence (AI) invades fields where sophisticated analytics has not been applied before. Modality refers to how something happens or is experienced. Multimodal datasets are beneficial for solving complex research problems with AI methods. Kayaking technique optimization has been challenging, as there seems to be no gold standard for effective paddling techniques since there are outstanding athletes with profoundly different physical capabilities and kayaking styles.

Multimodal analysis can help find the most effective paddling techniques for training and competition based on individuals’ abilities.

We describe the characteristics of the output power of kayak athletes and Electromyogram (EMG) measurements collected from the most critical muscles, and the relationship between these modalities. We propose metrics (weighted arithmetic mean difference and variability of power output and stroke duration) suitable for discerning athletes based on how efficiently and correctly they perform particular training tasks. Additionally, the described methods (asymmetry, coactivation, muscle intensity-output power) help athletes and coaches in assessing their performance and compare it with others based on their EMG activities.

As the next step, we will apply machine-learning approaches on the synchronized dataset we collect with the described methods to reveal desirable EMG and stroke patterns.
Nowcasting GDP of Bosnia and Herzegovina: A Comparison of Forecast Accuracy Models
Authors: Abdić Ademir , Resić Emina , Abdić Adem , Rovčanin Adnan
Published: January 2021

The paper explores the possibilities of creating an econometric model for making short-term forecasts of the Gross Domestic Product of Bosnia and Herzegovina (GDP of B&H). Its aim is to determine the most representative and most efficient model for forecasting the quarterly GDP of B&H. This is the first paper that simultaneously compares ARIMA models, bridge models and factor models in three different time periods. All variables are available for the period of 2006q1-2016q4. The final choice of the model for forecasting the quarterly GDP of B&H was selected on the basis of a comparative analysis of the predictive efficiency of the analysed models. Based on the obtained results, the most efficient model for forecasting quarterly GDP of B&H is the bridge model, which includes four variables as regressor: Retail sale of other goods, Total loans, Manufacturing and Manufacture of food products.
The Effect of Financial Deepening on Economic Growth, Inequality, and Poverty: Evidence from 73 Countries
Authors: Sugiyanto Catur , Yolanda Zefania
Published: January 2021

This study aims to analyze the effect of financial deepening on economic growth, income inequality, and poverty rates in 73 countries during the period 1991–2015. Panel data regression and the interaction of dummy variables are used to measure the effect. The results indicate that financial deepening has positive effects on economic growth, but negative effects on income inequality and poverty rates; has significant effect on economic growth in advanced economies (AEs) and significant effect on income equality and poverty rates in emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs). These findings show that countries have to be selective in developing their financial sectors as it either can have positive or negative effect.
The Relationship Between CO2 Emissions and Gross Capital Formation in Turkey and Kuwait
Authors: Satrovic Elma , Muslija Adnan , Abul Sadeq J.
Published: January 2021

The aim of this paper is to explore the potential link between gross capital formation and CO2 emissions by using the Toda and Yamamoto approach. The annual time-series data were collected for the period 1971-2014. Due to the fact that Kuwait aims to become a major trading hub by 2035, it has made significant efforts to improve the infrastructure. Moreover, Turkey is also making strong efforts to improve the manufacturing sector as well as infrastructure, and represents an important trading hub that links Europe with the Middle East. Thus, Turkey and Kuwait are expected to strengthen their economic ties and expand trade, which was the motivation for comparing the link of interest in these two countries. The study’s findings confirm the bidirectional links between all of the variables of interest not only in the case of Turkey but also in the case of Kuwait, suggesting some important policy implications.
Inpatient Costs in the Perspective of Polish Health Policy: Scenario Analysis
Authors: Miszczyńska Katarzyna M. , Miszczyński Piotr M.
Published: January 2021

Constantly growing health needs, changing demographic situation resulting in often prolonged treatment process, technological progress in the field of highly specialised medical procedures and the associated increase in patient awareness translate into an increase in the operating costs of the healthcare sector. The main aim of the study was the assessment of the relationship between the labour costs of medical staff and in-patient curative care costs financed by the main payer over the next decade. The research results confirmed that the assumed increase of expenditures on healthcare sector to the level of 9% of GDP in 2027 (proposed by management units) is unlikely to happen. The research findings were obtained by the implementation of scenario analysis supported by the development trend analysis.
External Debt in Bosnia and Herzegovina – An Empirical Analysis
Authors: Hurić-Bjelan Jasmina , Hadžiahmetović Azra
Published: January 2021

Over the last few decades, many countries in the world have been struggling with high indebtedness. This has been especially emphasized in periods of crisis, and this was not an exception during the last global economic crisis in 2009. The advent of the crisis has further increased the need for borrowing. Increasing indebtedness after the crisis was also characteristic of BiH economy, the country in our research focus, which had an increase of public external debt by over 100% over the last two decades.

The paper focuses on the external indebtedness of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) over the period 2004-2017. The empirical part relies on dynamic modelling - Vector Autoregression Model, which is used to explore total external indebtedness. The empirical investigation implies that foreign-trade exchange deficits have had the greatest impact on rising indebtedness in BiH, while movements in EURIBOR interest rates have little influence in explaining this variability. The empirical investigation implies that macroeconomic policy in BiH, if it wants to keep the external debt under control over the longer time horizon, does need to focus on deficits in its foreign exchange more. One of inevitable priorities is to work on supporting production based of export from this economy.
Big Five Personality Traits and Workplace Spirituality: A Mixed Method Study
Authors: Tutar Hasan , Oruç Emre , Erdem Ahmet Tuncay , Serpil Harun
Published: January 2021

This mixed method study aims to examine the relationship between big-five personality traits and workplace spirituality from a managerial perspective by analyzing its potential effects on management. In the quantitative step, the cross-sectional survey was employed as the data collection, and the data were obtained from a sampling group through the simple random sampling. Further, the qualitative part of the study was designed as a purposive sampling technique. The quantitative research data were obtained from 238 participants working in a public university in Turkey. The qualitative data were obtained by interviewing a group of 14 people from the same sample of participants working as administrators at the same university. The qualitative data of the study were analyzed by content analysis. The findings indicate that the harmony between the perception of personality structures and workplace spirituality has an important function in the adoption of workplace values by the employees.
Classification Ratemaking Using Decision Tree in the Insurance Market of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Authors: Omerašević Amela , Selimović Jasmina
Published: January 2021

This paper investigates the impact of risk classification on life insurance ratemaking with particular reference to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). The research is based on a sample of over eighteen thousand insurance policies for passenger vehicles collected over the period 2015-2020. In our empirical investigation we develop a standard risk model based on the application of Poisson Generalized linear models (GLM) for claims frequency estimate and Gamma GLM for claim severity estimate. The analysis reveals that GLM does not provide a reliable parameter estimates for Multi-level factor (MLF) categorical predictors. Although GLM is widely used method to deter insurance premiums, improvements of GLM by using the data mining methods identified in this paper may solve practical challenges for the risk models. The popularity of applying data mining methods in the actuarial community has been growing in recent years due to its efficiency and precision. These models are recommended to be considered in BiH and South East European region in general.
Primary Medical Effects and Economic Impact of Anastomotic Leakage in Patients with Colorectal Cancer. A Middle-Income Country Perspective
Authors: Élthes Etele , Török Árpád , Dénes Márton , Neagoe Radu Mircea , Sala Daniela , Székely János
Published: January 2021

Introduction: Anastomotic leakage is one of the most serious surgical complications that can increase the potential postoperative morbidity, mortality, and overall costs of patient care. Aim of study: To assess the economic burden of anastomotic leakage and to estimate its major clinical effects on patient evaluation.

Materials and methods: We retrospectively reviewed single-surgeon data about patients who underwent surgical intervention for colorectal cancer at the 2nd Surgery Department of the Mureș County Emergency Clinical Hospital between January 2019 and July 2020. We assessed general characteristics, surgical data, postoperative information, oncologic results, and financial aspects for each patient. Depending on the presence of anastomotic leakage, patients were divided into two groups: a study group (SG) – patients with postoperative anastomotic failure, and a control Group (CG) – patients without postoperative anastomotic failure.

Results: Patients with anastomotic leakage presented increased use of antibiotics, greater number of surgical reinterventions, longer period of intensive care treatment, prolonged hospitalization, increased overall costs, and significantly greater financial loss for the hospital.

Conclusion: Anastomotic leakage leads to important negative effects, including longer hospitalization, prolonged intensive care unit stay, greater incidence of surgical reintervention, increased hospitalization costs, and significant financial loss.
Is Physical Therapy the Early Solution for Post-Acute Myocardial Infarction Patients? A Meta-Analysis
Authors: Copotoiu Monica , Șușcă Mihaela-Maria , Popoviciu Horațiu , Popescu Daniela , Benedek Theodora
Published: January 2021

Background: Physical rehabilitation is essential to improve the quality of life of patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI).

Study aim: The study intended to demonstrate the benefits of early rehabilitation in patients with AMI.

Material and method: We performed a meta-analysis to document the benefits of physical treatment in patients who suffered an AMI. Studies were searched in the following databases: PubMed, PlosOne, Mendeley, and clinicaltrials.gov. The terms used in our research were “rehabilitation”, “physical exercise”, “physical training” “quality of life”, “early”, and “post MI”. The inclusion criteria consisted in the assessment of the following parameters: heart rate, maximal/submaximal capacity, and characteristics of the left ventricle – end-diastolic volume, ejection fraction, and left ventricle hypertrophy included in the study design.

Results: The database search identified 710 studies, of which only 10 passed the inclusion criteria. Out of 1,515 patients who underwent early physical therapy, 960 reported improvement in the quality of their life (p <0.001). A number of 2,703 patients out of a total of 3,595 underwent a complete physical treatment and medication program. From the ten studies included in the meta-analysis, six had a positive feedback to the multimodal treatment within 1 month post-AMI. Patients who performed physical exercises within a month after the cardiac arrest (1,103 post-AMI patients from a total of 1,278) demonstrated a high heterogeneity represented by the coefficient I2 = 84% but with a significant statistical value of p <0.00001.

Conclusion: Early physical therapy initiation significantly improves the quality of life of patients with AMI.
Examination of Air Pollution’s Relationship with COVID-19, Physical and Mental Health
Authors: Islam Hina , Shakoori Irfan Sharif , Aslam Fauzia , Ashraf Gohar , Akram Hammad
Published: January 2021

Air pollution is a result of natural phenomena or human activities that can cause the release of harmful substances in the environment, leading to adverse health outcomes among living beings. Pollution is associated with adverse health impacts on multiple organ systems among humans. While the respiratory and cardiovascular systems are mainly affected, there are other health issues related to the eyes, skin, brain, blood, immunity, behavioral/mental well-being, and reproduction among exposed individuals. Air pollutants can especially have higher health impacts on people at the extremes of their ages (children and elderly) and on those suffering from underlying respiratory and heart issues. Pollutants such as ozone, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, and nitrogen dioxide have respiratory effects among children and adults and are associated with increased respiratory diseases, asthma exacerbations, and related hospitalizations. Carbon monoxide interferes with transporting oxygen by forming carboxyhemoglobin leading to cardiovascular, neurological, and respiratory problems. Particulate matter is a heterogeneous mixture of tiny particles of varying compositions found in the atmosphere and has a wide variety of severe health effects. Particulate matter emits from combustion, diesel engines, power generation, and wood-burning, and certain industrial activities. Lead is considered neurotoxic and has more severe consequences among children. Here we summarize characteristics of six criteria air pollutants and associated air quality risk assessment parameters known as the Pollutant Standard Index (PSI). The present manuscript also examines the impact of air pollution on human behavior, mental well-being, and neurological health consequences, as air pollution has been associated with cognitive decline, hyperactivity, dementia, anxiety, depression, aggression, and Alzheimer’s disease-related changes. Lastly, we also attempt to look into any relationship between air pollutants and Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and examine its possible association with a higher COVID-19 incidence, complications, and mortality.