cometadata/datacite-rtg-text-other-reclassification-records huggingface dataset:
Identification of a chlorodibenzo-p-dioxin dechlorinating Dehalococcoides mccartyi by stable isotope probing
Creators: name: Dam, Hang T.
name: Sun, Weimin
name: McGuinness, Lora R.
name: Häggblom, Max M.
Publisher: name: Rutgers University
Year: 2020

description: Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) are released into the environment from a variety of both anthropogenic and natural sources. While highly chlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins are persistent under oxic conditions, in anoxic environments these organohalogens can be reductively dechlorinated to less chlorinated compounds that are then more amenable to subsequent aerobic degradation. Identifying the microorganisms responsible for dechlorination is an important step in developing bioremediation approaches. In this study, we demonstrated the use of a DNA-stable isotope probing (SIP) approach to identify the bacteria active in dechlorination of PCDDs in river sediments, with 1,2,3,4-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (1,2,3,4-TeCDD) as a model. In addition, pyrosequencing of reverse transcribed 16S rRNA of TeCDD dechlorinating enrichment cultures was used to reveal active members of the bacterial community. A set of operational taxonomic units (OTUs) responded positively to the addition of 1,2,3,4-TeCDD in SIP microcosms assimilating 13C-acetate as the carbon source. Analysis of bacterial community profiles of the 13C labeled heavy DNA fraction revealed that an OTU corresponding to Dehalococcoides mccartyi accounted for a significantly greater abundance in cultures amended with 1,2,3,4-TeCDD than in cultures without 1,2,3,4-TeCDD. This implies the involvement of this Dehalococcoides mccartyi strain in the reductive dechlorination of 1,2,3,4-TeCDD, and suggests the applicability of SIP for a robust assessment of the bioremediation potential of organohalogen contaminated sites.
Forecasting TV audience: a consulting project with the Italian public television
Creators: name: GASPARINI, MAURO; Dipartimento Di Matematica-Politecnico Di Torino
name: IMPARATO, DANIELE; Dipartimento Di Matematica-Politecnico Di Torino
Publisher: name: Dep. of Statistical Sciences "Paolo Fortunati", Università di Bologna
Year: 2013

description: A statistical marketing consulting project financed by RAI, the public Italian television, is illustrated. Two alternative models have first been used, a statistical regression model and a data mining one, of a more empirical nature. Then the two models are hybridised in a third model, a compromise useful for applications. Finally, some real forecasting examples are illustrated.
description: Statistica; Vol 67, No 2 (2007); 143-156
title: Evaluating the Zero Draft on a UN Treaty on Business and Human Rights: What Does it Regulate and how Likely is its Adoption by States?
Creators: name: Bialek, Julia
Publisher: name: Institut für Völker- und Europarecht, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
Year: 2019

description: Infringements of human rights through the actions of transnational corporations are common in our globalizing world. While the international community has undertaken numerous attempts to hold private corporations responsible for their actions, only soft law instruments govern this area of public international law. Only recently, a first draft was released for a Legally Binding Instrument to Regulate, in International Human Rights Law, the Activities of Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises, also known as the Zero Draft. This article argues that the Zero Draft, while based on contemporary international law, represents a positive first step in the treaty-making process, but it still needs specification and clarification in order to close the gap in human rights protection effectively. First outlining the need for a closure of the gap in human rights protection, this article then closely examines the content of the Zero Draft. To that end, an in-depth analysis of the core provisions of the Draft is offered, especially focusing on the rights of victims, the prevention of human rights infringements, and corporate liability. Furthermore, this article analyzes current State practice and the expectations of the international community towards a legally binding instrument on the topic of business and human rights. Significantly, this article also compares the Zero Draft to existing soft law and previous recommendations on how to close the gap in a binding manner. Finally, the article concludes that, by indirectly holding companies accountable without depriving States of their sovereign power over their companies, the Zero Draft has the potential to be implemented as a future Treaty on Business and Human Rights.
description: Goettingen Journal of International Law ; Vol. 9, no. 3, page 501-536
Linear programming via discrete L_1 curve-fitting
Creators: name: Steiger, William L.
Publisher: name: Rutgers University
Year: 1981
Subjects: LAD
LAD curve-fitting
Linear Programming

description: A bounded linear programming problem with feasible solutions may be cast as a discrete L_1 curve-fitting problem of the same size. This may be usefully exploited in solving dense LP problems: On the average, a recent L_1 algorithm solves the equivalent L_1 curve fit far fewer required problem steps, and taking far less time, in than that which would be by the one-phase Simplex method applied to the original The relative advantage increases with problem size and the comparison is even more favorable against the two-phase Simplex method. Finally, the Klee-Minty problems on which the Simplex method is of exponential complexity seem to be "easy" problems as equivalent L_1 curve fits.
Robust regression trees based on M-estimators
Creators: name: GALIMBERTI, GIULIANO; Department Of Statistics-University Of Bologna
name: PILLATI, MARILENA; Department Of Statistics-University Of Bologna
name: SOFFRITTI, GABRIELE; Department Of Statistics-University Of Bologna
Publisher: name: Dep. of Statistical Sciences "Paolo Fortunati", Università di Bologna
Year: 2013

description: The paper addresses the problem of robustness of regression trees with respect to outlying values in the dependent variable. New robust tree-based procedures are described, which are obtained by introducing in the tree building phase some objective functions already used in the linear robust regression approach, namely Huber’s and Tukey’s bisquare functions. The performance of the new procedures is evaluated through a Monte Carlo experiment.
description: Statistica; Vol 67, No 2 (2007); 173-190
Decomposition of variance in terms of conditional means
Creators: name: FIGÀ TALAMANCA, ALESSANDRO; Department Of Mathematics- University Of Rome “La Sapienza”
name: GUERRIERO, ANGELO; Alma Laurea
name: LEONE, ALBERTO; Alma Laurea     GIAN PIERO MIGNOLI
name: MIGNOLI, GIAN PIERO; Alma Laurea
name: ROGORA, ENRICO; Department Of Mathematics- University Of Rome “La Sapienza”
Publisher: name: Dep. of Statistical Sciences "Paolo Fortunati", Università di Bologna
Year: 2013

description: Two different sets of data are used to test an apparently new approach to the analysis of the variance of a numerical variable which depends on qualitative variables. We suggest that this approach be used to complement other existing techniques to study the interdependence of the variables involved. According to our method, the variance is expressed as a sum of orthogonal components, obtained as differences of conditional means, with respect to the qualitative characters. The resulting expression for the variance depends on the ordering in which the characters are considered. We suggest an algorithm which leads to an ordering which is deemed natural. The first set of data concerns the score achieved by a population of students on an entrance examination based on a multiple choice test with 30 questions. In this case the qualitative characters are dyadic and correspond to correct or incorrect answer to each question. The second set of data concerns the delay to obtain the degree for a population of graduates of Italian universities. The variance in this case is analyzed with respect to a set of seven specific qualitative characters of the population studied (gender, previous education, working condition, parent's educational level, field of study, etc.).
description: Statistica; Vol 67, No 2 (2007); 191-201
A joint calibration model for combining predictive distributions
Creators: name: AGATI, PATRIZIA; Dipartimento Di Scienze Statistiche “P. Fortunati”-Università Di Bologna
name: CALÒ, DANIELA GIOVANNA; Dipartimento Di Scienze Statistiche “P. Fortunati”-Università Di Bologna
name: STRACQUALURSI, LUISA; Dipartimento Di Scienze Statistiche “P. Fortunati”-Università Di Bologna
Publisher: name: Dep. of Statistical Sciences "Paolo Fortunati", Università di Bologna
Year: 2013

description: In many research fields, as for example in probabilistic weather forecasting, valuable predictive information about a future random phenomenon may come from several, possibly heterogeneous, sources. Forecast combining methods have been developed over the years in order to deal with ensembles of sources: the aim is to combine several predictions in such a way to improve forecast accuracy and reduce risk of bad forecasts.In this context, we propose the use of a Bayesian approach to information combining, which consists in treating the predictive probability density functions (pdfs) from the individual ensemble members as data in a Bayesian updating problem. The likelihood function is shown to be proportional to the product of the pdfs, adjusted by a joint “calibration function” describing the predicting skill of the sources (Morris, 1977). In this paper, after rephrasing Morris’ algorithm in a predictive context, we propose to model the calibration function in terms of bias, scale and correlation and to estimate its parameters according to the least squares criterion. The performance of our method is investigated and compared with that of Bayesian Model Averaging (Raftery, 2005) on simulated data.
description: Statistica; Vol 67, No 2 (2007); 203-2012
A truncated bivariate inverted Dirichlet distribution
Creators: name: NADARAJAH, SARALEES; School Of Mathematics-University Of Manchester
Publisher: name: Dep. of Statistical Sciences "Paolo Fortunati", Università di Bologna
Year: 2013

description: A truncated version of the bivariate inverted dirichlet distribution is introduced. Unlike the inverted dirichlet distribution, this possesses finite moments of all orders and could therefore be a better model for certain practical situations. One such situation is discussed. The moments, maximum likelihood estimators and the Fisher information matrix for the truncated distribution are derived.
description: Statistica; Vol 67, No 2 (2007); 213-221
Latitude-enhanced species-area relationships for conservation planning
Creators: name: Meixler, Marcia S.
name: Fisher, Kim
name: Sanderson, Eric W.
Publisher: name: Rutgers University
Year: 2019
Subjects: Model
Negative binomial regression
Species richness
Taxa
Vertebrates

description: Context Changes in biodiversity patterns have prompted efforts aimed at development of tools for conservation planning. Species-area relationships are useful; however these models could be strengthened with the addition of a latitudinal factor. Objectives We built latitude-enhanced species-area relationship models to predict species richness for a variety of common taxa in the eastern United States. Methods We used data from complete surveys of East Coast parks in the United States to build latitude-enhanced species-area relationship models for amphibians, birds, freshwater fish, mammals, marine fish, plants, and reptiles. We used data from the published literature and United States Fish and Wildlife Refuges to independently test the accuracy of the models. We demonstrated the utility of all modeled taxa within selected East Coast Protected Areas of the United States. Results Our models explained 35-91% of the variation in surveyed species richness, with marine fish, freshwater fish and reptile models exhibiting the strongest relationships (pseudo-R2=0.91, 0.66, and 0.70, respectively). The amphibian model was the weakest and had the lowest accuracy but was the model in which latitude had the strongest influence, explaining 8% of the overall variance. During accuracy testing, all taxa exhibited significant agreement between observed and predicted species richness and explained 75-97% of the variation. Our demonstration showed that when comparing two similarly sized US Protected Areas, the parcel l.25 degree in latitude lower would likely have one more bird species, four more plant species, and an additional amphibian species. Conclusions The latitude term added value to the species-area relationship models for most taxa and proved useful in explaining variation in species richness in areas of the East Coast of the United States. Our latitude-adjusted SAR approach is useful for species richness optimization in conservation planning.
Multigroup-multiwaves Lisrel modeling in tourist satisfaction analysis
Creators: name: BERNINI, CRISTINA; Dipartimento Di Scienze Statistiche-Università Di Bologna
name: CAGNONE, SILVIA; Dipartimento Di Scienze Statistiche-Università Di Bologna
Publisher: name: Dep. of Statistical Sciences "Paolo Fortunati", Università di Bologna
Year: 2013

description: The paper analyzes the influence of tourist heterogeneity on the Tourist Local System Overall Satisfaction and its changes over time. We investigate two aspects: if different tourists segmented according to their trip motivation (seaside, conference and sport) show the same pattern of evaluation toward some relevant features of the TLS and if the evaluation scheme is dynamic. At this aim, a Multigroup-Multiwaves Lisrel model is estimated on a data set from the Tourist Satisfaction Survey, conducted in Rimini from 2004 to 2006 by the Faculty of Statistics – University of Bologna. The analysis shows that tourist evaluation scheme toward Rimini is quite similar among groups and over time, suggesting that differences among tourists do not affect TLS satisfaction.
description: Statistica; Vol 67, No 3 (2007); 235-252
Calligrapha (Zygogramma) estriata Clark & Douglas & Cavan 2024, new combination
Creators: name: Clark, Shawn M.
name: Douglas, Hume B.
name: Cavan, Daniel J.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Chrysomelidae
Calligrapha
Calligrapha estriata

description: Calligrapha (Zygogramma) estriata (Schaeffer), new combination
 (Fig. 1F) Zygogramma estriata Schaeffer 1920: 332.
 Riley et al. (2003) listed this species from only Arizona. We have also examined specimens from only Arizona.
description: Published as part of Clark, Shawn M., Douglas, Hume B. & Cavan, Daniel J., 2024, Notes on Calligrapha Chevrolat (Subgenus Zygogramma Chevrolat) and Tritaenia Motschulsky (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Chrysomelinae), pp. 281-295 in The Coleopterists Bulletin 78 (2) on page 284, DOI: 10.1649/0010-065X-78.2.281, http://zenodo.org/record/13244012
Unidimensionality in the Rasch model: how to detect and interpret
Creators: name: BRENTARI, EUGENIO; Dipartimento Metodi Quantitativi-Università Degli Studi Di Brescia
name: GOLIA, SILVIA; Dipartimento Metodi Quantitativi-Università Degli Studi Di Brescia
Publisher: name: Dep. of Statistical Sciences "Paolo Fortunati", Università di Bologna
Year: 2013

description: Unidimensionality, that is the items in a questionnaire measure only a single construct, is a fundamental requirement for the Rasch model. The paper deals with the detection of unidimensionality making use of principal components analysis of residuals and item fit statistics. Simulated bi-dimensional data sets are analized in order to find regolarities in the behavoiur of these statistical tools. The results are applied to a real database coming from the satisfaction section of the first national survey concerning the social services sector carried out in Italy
description: Statistica; Vol 67, No 3 (2007); 253-261
Characterization of Wood Mulch and Leachate/Runoff from Three Wood Recycling Facilities
Creators: name: Giménez, Daniel
name: Kannepalli, Sarat
name: Strom, Peter F.
name: Krogmann, Uta
name: Subroy, Vandana
name: Miskewitz, Robert
Publisher: name: Rutgers University
Year: 2018
Subjects: Wood recycling
Wood mulch
Leachate
Stormwater runoff
Aquatic toxicity
Water Pollution

description: Large-scale open storage of wood mulch is common practice at wood recycling facilities. During rain and snow melt, leachate with soluble compounds and suspended particles is released from mulch stockpiles. The objective of this study was to determine the quality of leachate/runoff from wood recycling facilities to evaluate its potential to contaminate receiving waterbodies. Wood mulch (n = 30) and leachate/runoff (n = 26) samples were collected over 1.5 years from three wood recycling facilities in New Jersey, USA. Differences by site were found (p < 0.05) for most of the 21 constituents tested in the solid wood mulch samples. Biochemical oxygen demand (range <20 – 3000 mg/L), chemical oxygen demand (134 - 6000 mg/L) and total suspended solids (69 - 401 mg/L) median concentrations of the leachate/runoff samples were comparable to those of untreated domestic wastewater. Total Kjeldahl N, total P and fecal coliform median values were slightly lower than typical wastewater values. Dose-response studies with leachate/runoff samples using zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos showed that mortality and developmental defects typically did not occur even at the highest concentration tested, indicating low toxicity, although delayed development did occur. Based on this study, leachate/runoff from wood recycling facilities should not be released to surface waters as it is a potential source of organic contamination and low levels of nutrients. A study in which runoff from a controlled drainage area containing wood mulch of known properties is monitored would allow for better assessment of the potential impact of stormwater runoff from wood recycling facilities.
Trajectory of End-of-Life Pain and Other Physical Symptoms among Cancer Patients Receiving Home Care
Creators: name: Seow, Hsien
name: Guthrie, Dawn M.
name: Stevens, Tara
name: Barbera, Lisa C.
name: Burge, Fred
name: McGrail, Kimberlyn M.
name: Chan, Kelvin K. W.
name: Peacock, Stuart
name: Sutradhar, Rinku
Publisher: name: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
Year: 2021

description: Purpose: To describe the trajectory of physical symptoms among cancer decedents who were receiving home care in the six months before death. Patients and Methods: An observational cohort study of cancer decedents in Ontario, Canada, who received home care services between 2007 and 2014. To be included, decedents had to use at least one home care service in the last six months of life. Outcomes were the presence of pain and several other physical symptoms at each week before death. Results: Our cohort included 27,295 cancer decedents (30,368 assessments). Forty-seven percent were female and 56% were age 75 years or older. The prevalence of all physical symptoms increased as one approached death, particularly in the last month of life. In the last weeks of life, 69% of patients reported having moderate–severe pain; however, only 20% reported that the pain was not controlled. Loss of appetite (63%), shortness of breath (59%), high health instability (50%), and self-reported poor health (44%) were also highly prevalent in the last week of life. Multivariate regression showed that caregiver distress, high health instability, social decline, uncontrolled pain, and signs of depression all worsened the odds of having a physical symptom in the last 3 months of life. Conclusion: In this large home care cancer cohort, trajectories of physical symptoms worsened close to death. While presence of moderate–severe pain was common, it was also reported as mostly controlled. Covariates, such as caregiver distress and social decline, were associated with having more physical symptoms at end of life.
Another blow for populism?
Creators: name: Brent, Peter
Publisher: name: Swinburne
Year: 2024

description: It happened again last week, in another major advanced democracy. People power had lumped a mainstream political party with an unelectable vote-repellent leader/candidate, but the polls had narrowed as the election campaign progressed, guffawing had given way to bewilderment, and it turned out that the political kryptonite was not so poisonous after all. Republican candidate Donald Trump lost the national vote by just 2.1 per cent last November. Last week, Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party came up only 2.4 per cent short in Britain. Drawing parallels between political events is often a facile exercise, but this time the comparison is apt. Both campaigns sprang, at least in part, from the same source: what’s commonly called “populism.”
title: CSR and Social Rights: Juxtaposing Societal Constitutionalism and Rights-Based Approaches Imposing Human Rights Obligations on Corporations
Creators: name: Kampourakis, Ioannis
Publisher: name: Institut für Völker- und Europarecht, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
Year: 2019

description: This article examines two different approaches seeking to impose human rights obligations on corporations: Rights-based approaches and societal constitutionalism. Drawing from natural law arguments and from a fundamental basis of universal morality, rights-based approaches focus on the human rights of the rights holders applying against all those that could infringe upon them. On the contrary, societal constitutionalism understands human rights as social and legal counter-institutions to the expansionist tendencies of social systems and places the emphasis on the need to trigger the internal self-regulatory dynamics of corporations. Rights-based approaches favor the establishment of legally binding obligations on corporations through an international treaty, while societal constitutionalism sees in Corporate Social Responsibility codes emerging civil constitution. The article concludes with a nuanced normative argument, tailored according to whether the goal sought through social rights protection approaches further the distributional imperative of sufficiency or equality.
description: Goettingen Journal of International Law ; Vol. 9, no. 3, page 537-569
ЭФФЕКТИВНОСТЬ И ОСОБЕННОСТИ БЛОКАТОРОВ АНГИОТЕНЗИННЫХ РЕЦЕПТОРОВ (ФОКУС НА ВАЛСАРТАН)
Creators: name: Абдурахмонов, Ф.Ф.
name: Зайниддинова, Д.Г.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024

description: На сегодняшние дни невозможно представить лечение без применения блокаторов ренин-ангиотензиновой системы. Именно эти препараты в последние десятилетия способствовали значительному прорыву в лечении ряда сердечно-сосудистых заболеваний, в том числе как артериальная гипертензия. Блокаторы РААС в современных рекомендациях по лечению большинства сердечно-сосудистых заболеваний рассматриваются как базовые средства. Группа БРА позиционировалась как альтернатива иАПФ и рекомендовалась для использования только в случае возникновения сухого кашля при применении иАПФ. Подчеркивается особая роль препаратов, блокирующих активность ренин-ангиотензин – альдостероновой системы, в частности блокаторов рецепторов ангиотензина II (БРА). Эффективность БРА в комбинированной антигипертензивной терапии [1].
Negotiating Elder Care in Akuapem, Ghana: Care-Scripts and the Role of Non-Kin
Creators: name: Coe, Cati
Publisher: name: Rutgers University
Year: 2017
Subjects: Older people--Care
Negotiation
Slavery
Domestic service
Household employees
Fosterage
Ghana

description: In contemporary Ghana, adult children are considered responsible for the care of aged parents. Within this idealized framework, two aspects of elder care are overlooked. First, such a narrative obscures the role of non-kin and extended kin in providing elder care in southern Ghana historically and in the present. Secondly, it hides the negotiations over obligations and commitments between those who manage elder care and those who help with an aging person’s daily activities. It is in this latter role in which non-kin and extended kin are significant in elder care, while closer kin maintain their kin roles through the more distant management, financial support, and recruitment of others. This paper examines recruitment to elder care and the role of kin and non-kin in elder care in three historical periods—the 1860s, the 1990s, and the 2000s—centered on Akuapem, in southern Ghana. In particular, I show that helping an aged person relies on previous and expected entrustments, in which more vulnerable, dependent, and indebted persons are most likely to be recruited to provide care.
Gender and educational variations in the earnings premiums of occupational credentials
Creators: name: Kim, Jeounghee
name: Chatterji, Sangeeta
Publisher: name: Rutgers University
Year: 2021
Subjects: License
Certification
Occupational credential
Middle-skilled workers
Earnings premiums

description: Occupational credentials such as professional licenses and certifications are known to generate significant earnings premiums. Based on this, the federal workforce development policy focuses on industry-recognized occupational credentials for less-educated adults to help them obtain family-supporting jobs without having to invest in a postsecondary degree. This study used data from the 2016-2019 Current Population Survey (CPS) outgoing rotation group samples to examine differences in the earnings premiums associated with occupational credentials by gender and education. Our analyses revealed that the earnings premium of job-required credential holding was greater for women than men. For women, estimates of the earnings premiums do not vary much by education level, while for men, those without a Bachelor’s degree tend to have high premiums than those without.
Web&: an architecture for non-interactive web
Creators: name: Badrinath, B. R.
name: Iftode, Liviu
name: Esakki, V.
name: Phatak, Shirish
Publisher: name: Rutgers University
Year: 1999

description: As the use of the world wide web grows, the profile of web use has changed significantly. Web use has gone from purely information access (soft data) to critical operations such as e-commerce (hard data). However, the synchronous model which the world wide web currently supports is time consuming. Thus web browsing can easily become a frustrating experience if the network or servers incur delays, are not accessible, or the same interaction must be repeated many times. This model is even more painful for clients who are disconnected most of the time or are accessing the web via low bandwidth connections and resource constrained devices such as PDAs. Thus, there is a legitimate need to support non-interactive, asynchronous transactions between client and servers on the web. In this paper, we propose a novel non-interactive service architecture for the web called Web&. The architecture incorporates server and service discovery, support for disconnected and heterogenous clients, web transactions via a uniform server interface, and persistent client state. We also present a prototype that we have implemented using JAVA, XML and JDBC. The prototype consists of a client proxy, server proxies and a directory structure. The client proxy stores the client state and performs web queries on the client’s behalf. Server proxies provide a uniform interface to servers on the web based on XML. The directory service allows clients to discover servers for a service and enforces a standard protocol for communication between the client proxy and the server proxies. The benefits of asynchronous interaction include: concurrent activities, client mobility, device independence, reduced sensitivity to network/server latencies/unavailability. These lead to a more efficient interaction with the web.
Efficiency indicators versus forntier methods: an empirical investigation of italian public hospitals
Creators: name: CLEMENTI, LORENZO; Dipartimento Di Scienze Economiche   Università Di Roma – La Sapienza. ECARES – Université Libre De Bruxelles
name: MARUOTTI, ANTONELLO; Dipartimento Di Istituzioni Pubbliche, Economia E Società-Università Di Roma Tre
Publisher: name: Dep. of Statistical Sciences "Paolo Fortunati", Università di Bologna
Year: 2013

description: Efficiency has a key-role in the measurement of the impact of the National Health Service (NHS) reforms. We investigate the issue of inefficiency in health sector and provide empirical evidence derived from Italian public hospitals. Despite the importance of efficiency measurement in health care services, only recently advanced econometric methods have been applied to hospital data. We provide a synoptic survey of few empirical analyses of efficiency measurement in health care services. An estimate of the cost efficiency level in Italian public hospitals during 2001-2003 is obtained through a sample. We propose an efficiency indicator and provide cost frontiers for such hospitals, using stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) for longitudinal data.
description: Statistica; Vol 67, No 3 (2007); 263-279
Dental Students and Faculty Perceptions of Teaching Methods : Traditional Classes, Online Virtual Classes, and Recorded Lectures
Creators: name: Alfallaj, Hayam A.
name: Alkadhi, Ruba M.
name: Alfuriji, Samah N.
name: Alfadley, Abdulmohsen A.
name: Aleksejuniene, Jolanta
Publisher: name: Bentham Open
Year: 2021

description: Background: Rapid advancement in technology has provided alternatives to traditional classroom teaching. Such instructional methods have gained increasing importance during the COVID-19 pandemic when physical classroom attendance was not possible. The study evaluated faculty’s and students’ perceptions concerning the online virtual classes and recorded lectures as compared to traditional classes delivered at the College of Dentistry, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences. Materials and Methods: Surveys were developed and distributed to 34 faculty members and 186 students. Perceptions about virtual classes, recorded lectures, physical attendance, the effectiveness of different teaching methods, and overall experience were evaluated. Descriptive statistics were presented using frequencies and percentages. The Chi-square test compared the students’ and the faculty members’ responses. The level of significance was set at α =0.05. Results: Thirty-one faculty members and 149 dental students participated, and the overall response rates were 91.2% and 80.1%, respectively. While there was a general agreement on the usefulness of making recorded lectures available, a statistically significant difference (p<0.001) was found between students’ and faculty members’ views on making classroom-lecture attendance optional (67.1% of students and 12.9% of the faculty agreed/strongly agreed). Statistically significant differences (p<0.001) were found between the students and faculty members concerning the effectiveness of recorded lectures and attending online virtual classes as an alternative to classroom attendance. Conclusion: Overall, students were more accepting of technology than faculty members as a substitute for traditional classroom teaching. For a more efficient and satisfactory learning experience, both teaching methods should be considered in a blended-learning module.
The evaluation of University educational processes: a quantile regression approach
Creators: name: DAVINO, CRISTINA; Dipartimento Di Studi Sullo Sviluppo Economico-University Of Macerata
name: VISTOCCO, DOMENICO; Dipartimento Di Scienze Economiche   University Of Cassino
Publisher: name: Dep. of Statistical Sciences "Paolo Fortunati", Università di Bologna
Year: 2013

description: The paper aims to analyse the internal effectiveness of an university educational process by means of quantile regression. In particular, the goal is to evaluate how the students features affect the outcome of the University careers taking into account that this effect can be different for students with good or bad performances.
description: Statistica; Vol 67, No 3 (2007); 281-292
On the development of an instructional operating system project
Creators: name: Ruschitzka, Manfred
Publisher: name: Rutgers University
Year: 1977

description: The undergraduate course on operating systems at Rutgers University is couple with an implementation project. To serve its purpose, such a project must incorporate many features of contemporary operating systems, but it must also be manageable within the given timeframe. We describe the nature of this project and the adopted development methodology, which simplified the construction phase by increasing the complexity of the analysis and the design. Statistics about the development effort, student productivity, and computing resource usage are presented and related to those of industrial efforts. The high is attributed to the development not restricted to instructional productivity rate methodology which software projects.
Complex sampling designs for the Customer Satisfaction Index estimation
Creators: name: DI BATTISTA, TONIO; Department Of Quantitative Methods And Economic Theory-University Of Chieti-Pescara
name: VALENTINI, PASQUALE; Department Of Quantitative Methods And Economic Theory-University Of Chieti-Pescara
Publisher: name: Dep. of Statistical Sciences "Paolo Fortunati", Università di Bologna
Year: 2013

description: In this paper we focus on sampling designs best suited to meeting the needs of Customer Satisfaction (CS) assessment with particular attention being paid to adaptive sampling which may be useful. Complex sampling designs are illustrated in order to build CS indices that may be used for inference purposes. When the phenomenon of satisfaction is rare, adaptive designs can produce gains in efficiency, relative to conventional designs, for estimating the population parameters. For such sampling design, nonlinear estimators may be used to estimate customer satisfaction indices which are generally biased and the variance estimator may not be obtained in a closed-form solution. Delta, jackknfe and bootstrap procedures are introduced in order to reduce bias and estimating variance. The paper ends up with a simulation study in order to estimate the variance of the proposed estimator.
description: Statistica; Vol 67, No 3 (2007); 293-308
Scoring ordinal variables for constructing composite indicators
Creators: name: MANISERA, MARICA; Department Of Quantitative Methods-University Of Brescia
Publisher: name: Dep. of Statistical Sciences "Paolo Fortunati", Università di Bologna
Year: 2013

description: In order to provide composite indicators of latent variables, for example of customer satisfaction, it is opportune to identify the structure of the latent variable, in terms of the assignment of items to the subscales defining the latent variable. Adopting the reflective model, the impact of four different methods of scoring ordinal variables on the identification of the true structure of latent variables is investigated. A simulation study composed of 5 steps is conducted: (1) simulation of population data with continuous variables measuring a two-dimensional latent variable with known structure; (2) draw of a number of random samples; (3) discretization of the continuous variables according to different distributional forms; (4) quantification of the ordinal variables obtained in step (3) according to different methods; (5) construction of composite indicators and verification of the correct assignment of variables to subscales by the multiple group method and the factor analysis. Results show that the considered scoring methods have similar performances in assigning items to subscales, and that, when the latent variable is multinormal, the distributional form of the observed ordinal variables is not determinant in suggesting the best scoring method to use.
description: Statistica; Vol 67, No 3 (2007); 309-324
ANALYSIS OF POWDER-GAS FLOW IN NOZZLES OF SPRAY-BASED ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGIES
Creators: name: Gabor, Theodore
Publisher: name: Purdue University Graduate School
Year: 2024
Subjects: classificationCode: 401408
subject: Manufacturing processes and technologies (excl. textiles)
classificationCode: 401401
subject: Additive manufacturing
classificationCode: 401204
subject: Computational methods in fluid flow, heat and mass transfer (incl. computational fluid dynamics)
classificationCode: 400406
subject: Powder and particle technology
classificationCode: 401211
subject: Multiphysics flows (incl. multiphase and reacting flows)
classificationCode: 401213
subject: Turbulent flows
classificationCode: 400904
subject: Electronic device and system performance evaluation, testing and simulation

description: Powder Sprays such as Direct Energy Deposition and Cold Spray are rapidly growing and promising manufacturing methods in the Additive Manufacturing field, as they allow easy and localized delivery of powder to be fused to a substrate and consecutive layers. The relatively small size of nozzles allows for these methods to be mounted on CNC machines and Robotic Arms for the creation of complex shapes. However, these manufacturing methods are inherently stochastic, and therefore differences in powder size, shape, trajectory, and velocity can drastically affect whether they will deposit on a substrate. This variation results in an inherent reduction of deposition efficiency, leading to waste and the need for powder collection or recycling systems. The design of the nozzles can drastically affect the variation of powder trajectory and velocity on a holistic level, and thus understanding the gas-powder flow of these nozzles in respect to the features of said nozzles is crucial. This paper proposes and examines how changes in the nozzle geometry affect gas-powder flow and powder focusing for Direct Energy Deposition and Cold Spray. In addition, a new Pulsed Cold Spray nozzle design is proposed that will control the amount of gas and powder used by the nozzle via solenoid actuation. By making these changes to the nozzle, it is possible to improve deposition efficiency and reduce powder/gas waste in these processes, while also allowing for improved coating density. Furthermore, the research done in this thesis will also focus on novel applications to powder spray manufacturing methods, focusing on polymer metallization and part identification.
Orbit-based dynamical models of the Sombrero Galaxy (NGC 4594)
Creators: name: Jardel, John R.
name: Gebhardt, Karl
name: Shen, Juntai
name: Fisher, Deanne
name: Kormendy, John
name: Kinzler, Jeffry
name: Richstone, Douglas
name: Lauer, Tod R.
name: Gültekin, K.
Publisher: name: Swinburne
Year: 2024

description: We present axisymmetric, orbit-based models to study the central black hole (BH), stellar mass-to-light ratio (M/L), and dark matter (DM) halo of NGC4594 (M104, the Sombrero Galaxy). For stellar kinematics, we use published high-resolution kinematics of the central region taken with the Hubble Space Telescope, newly obtained Gemini long-slit spectra of the major axis, and integral field kinematics from the Spectroscopic Areal Unit for Research on Optical Nebulae instrument. At large radii, we use globular cluster kinematics to trace the mass profile and apply extra leverage to recovering the DM halo parameters. We find a BH of mass M • = (6.6 ± 0.4) × 108 M ⊙ and determine the stellar M/L I = 3.4 ± 0.05 (uncertainties are the 68% confidence band marginalized over the other parameters). Our best-fit DM halo is a cored logarithmic model with asymptotic circular speed Vc = 376 ± 12 km s-1 and core radius rc = 4.7 ± 0.6kpc. The fraction of dark to total mass contained within the half-light radius is 0.52. Taking the bulge and disk components into account in our calculation of σe puts NGC4594 squarely on the M-σ relation. We also determine that NGC4594 lies directly on the M-L relation.
Improving Bicycle Safety through Automated Real-Time Vehicle Detection
Creators: name: Tonde, Chetan
name: Ananthanarayanan, Vancheswaran
name: Smaldone, Stephen
name: Iftode, Liviu
name: Elgammal, Ahmed
Publisher: name: Rutgers University
Year: 2010

description: The manner in which people use bicycles has changed very little since their invention in 1817. In that time, though, roadways have become congested with a dramatically less environmentally friendly mode of transportation: automobiles. These vehicles and the motorists who drive them represent, at times, a serious threat to the safety of both road cycling enthusiasts and bicycle commuters alike. Since bikers typically ride with the ow of trac, the most dangerous situation for them is when they are being passed by a motorist from behind. As a result, a biker must spend a substantial amount of her cognitive and physical ability to periodically scan for rear-approaching vehicles, reducing her capacity to handle the bicycle safely and maintain continual awareness for both the forward and rearward situations.To improve road cycling safety, we present a system that augments a standard bicycle with audio and video sensing, and computational capabilities. This Cyber-Physical bicycle system continuously senses the environment behind a biker, processes the sensed data utilizing audio processing and computer vision techniques, automatically detects the occurrences of rear-approaching vehicles, and alerts the biker in real time prior to the encounter. In this paper we present (i) the design of our prototype Cyber-Physical bicycle system and (ii) the results of our evaluation using video and audio traces collected from bikers. These results demonstrate both the feasibility of the system, exhibiting a high degree of detection accuracy while operating under the real-time and energy constraints of the problem scenario.
Convergence in per-capita GDP across EU-NUTS2 regions using panel data models extended to spatial
Creators: name: PIRAS, GIANFRANCO; REAL, UIUC E DASTA-Università Di Chieti
name: ARBIA, GIUSEPPE; DASTA, Università Di Chieti
Publisher: name: Dep. of Statistical Sciences "Paolo Fortunati", Università di Bologna
Year: 2013

description: Most of the empirical works in regional convergence are based on either crosssectional or “a-spatial” panel data models. In this paper, we propose the use of panel data econometrics models that incorporate an explicit consideration of spatial dependence effects (Anselin, 1988; Elhorst, 2001; 2003). This allows us to extend the traditional convergence models to include a rigorous treatment of regional spillovers and to obtain more reliable estimates of the parameters.We consider two models respectively based on the introduction of a spatial lag among the explanatory variables (the “spatial lag model”) and imposing a spatial autoregressive structure to the stochastic component (the “spatial error model”). We apply such a modelling framework to the long-run convergence of per-capita GDP of 125 EU-NUTS2 regions observed yearly in the period 1977-2002. A comparison of the results obtained using the two spatial panel data specifications with the main evidence available in the literature is also provided.
description: Statistica; Vol 67, No 2 (2007); 157-172
An artificial intelligence system to model and guide chemical synthesis planning by computer: a proposal
Creators: name: Sridharan, N.S.
Publisher: name: Rutgers University
Year: 1976

description: One of the central problems in applying computer methods to chemical synthesis planning is Search Guidance. The ability of a chemist to guide an interactive computer in its search for syntheses and the possibilities for self-guidance in Artificial Intelligence programs are both limited by the form and content of the search information that is made available as the exploration proceeds. A system for Search Modelling is proposed in this paper which can augment existing systems for synthesis planning and serce to gather, analyze and amplify the information generated during controlled exploration. The search management model is specified in a simple descriptive form and two example models are included in the paper. The guidance of search using te information gathered is specified by a rule set in the simple syntax of Condition=>Action pairs. A chemist can interactively modify this rule set. Further, an advanced search model is presented which, by introducing the powerful concept of a Planning Space, allows the search for syntheses to go forward, backward and to leap into the middle under controlled conditions.
Agglomeration effects in the labour market: an empirical analysis for Italy
Creators: name: DE CASTRIS, MARUSCA; Department Of Public Institutions, Economy And Society-University Of Rome “Roma Tre”
name: PELLEGRINI, GUIDO; Department Of Economic Theory And   Quantitative Methods For Political Choice-Sapienza, University Of Rome
Publisher: name: Dep. of Statistical Sciences "Paolo Fortunati", Università di Bologna
Year: 2013

description: Extensive and persistent geographic variability of the unemployment rate within the same region has been attributed to various causes. Some theories identify the “thickness” of markets as the source of positive externalities affecting labour market by improving the ability to match the skills requested by firms with those offered by workers. A recent paper by Gan and Zhang (2006) empirically confirms this hypothesis for the US labour markets. Agglomeration can be defined as aggregation of people, basically measured by city size, or as aggregation of firms, measured by cluster size (employment or number of plants). However, the population location and the industrial location are by far more similar in United States than in Europe and in Italy. Our paper aims to evaluate the effects of agglomeration on the local unemployment rate. The new methodological contribution of the study is the identification of both urban and industrial cluster agglomeration effects, using a wide set of control variables. Adjusting the system for the effects of sectorial and size shocks, as well as those relating to geographic structure and policy interventions, the results of our analysis differ from that for the United States. The study stresses the presence of negative and significant urbanisation externalities. We obtain, instead, positive effects concerning the geographic agglomeration of firms, and their thickness, in a specific area. Furthermore, positive and significant effects can be found in local systems with features of a district. Finally, the model distinguishes the negative effects of urban agglomerations (in terms of population density) from positive firm’s agglomerations (in terms of density of local units).
description: Statistica; Vol 67, No 4 (2007); 331-350
Probabilistic assessment of sea level during the last interglacial stage
Creators: name: Kopp, Robert E.
name: Simons, Frederik J.
name: Mitrovica, Jerry X.
name: Maloof, Adam C.
name: Oppenheimer, Michael
Publisher: name: Macmillan Publishers Limited
Year: 2009
Subjects: subject: Sea level--Environmental aspects
subject: Glacial climates
subject: Global temperature changes
subject: Ice caps
subject: Climatic changes
subject: Global Warming
subject: Oceanography
subject: FOS: Earth and related environmental sciences

description: With polar temperatures ∼3–5 °C warmer than today, the last interglacial stage (∼125 kyr ago) serves as a partial analogue for 1–2 °C global warming scenarios. Geological records from several sites indicate that local sea levels during the last interglacial were higher than today, but because local sea levels differ from global sea level, accurately reconstructing past global sea level requires an integrated analysis of globally distributed data sets. Here we present an extensive compilation of local sea level indicators and a statistical approach for estimating global sea level, local sea levels, ice sheet volumes and their associated uncertainties. We find a 95% probability that global sea level peaked at least 6.6 m higher than today during the last interglacial; it is likely (67% probability) to have exceeded 8.0 m but is unlikely (33% probability) to have exceeded 9.4 m. When global sea level was close to its current level (≥-10 m), the millennial average rate of global sea level rise is very likely to have exceeded 5.6 m kyr-1 but is unlikely to have exceeded 9.2 m kyr-1. Our analysis extends previous last interglacial sea level studies by integrating literature observations within a probabilistic framework that accounts for the physics of sea level change. The results highlight the long-term vulnerability of ice sheets to even relatively low levels of sustained global warming.