nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
Multi step ahead Crude Oil Price Forecasting based on Grey Wave Forecasting Method

Crude oil price plays an important role in the development of global economy. Numerous industry practitioners, researchers and policy makers pay much attention on the fluctuations of crude oil price as while as the accurate prediction of it. This paper uses a graphical prediction method grey wave forecasting to forecast multi step ahead crude oil price, which enriches the literature of crude oil price prediction and extends the application scope of grey system forecasting theory. The empirical results demonstrate that based on the daily data of crude oil price, grey wave forecasting method performs well in multi step ahead prediction and it can also dominate ARMA(1,1)
Reconsidering Single Failure Recovery in Clustered File Systems
Venue: 2016 46th Annual IEEE/IFIP International Conference on Dependable Systems and Networks (DSN)

How to improve the performance of single failure recovery has been an active research topic because of its prevalence in large scale storage systems. We argue that when erasure coding is deployed in a cluster file system (CFS) existing single failure recovery designs are limited in different aspects: neglecting the bandwidth diversity property in a CFS architecture, targeting specific erasure code constructions, and no special treatment on load balancing during recovery. In this paper, we reconsider the single failure recovery problem in a CFS setting, and propose CAR, a cross rack aware recovery algorithm. For each stripe, CAR finds a recovery solution that retrieves data from the minimum number of racks. It also reduces the amount of cross rack repair traffic by performing intra rack data aggregation prior to cross rack transmission. Furthermore, by considering multi stripe recovery, CAR balances the amount of cross rack repair traffic across multiple racks. Evaluation results show that CAR can effectively reduce the amount of cross rack repair traffic and the resulting recovery time.
Comparison of 3 Topical Treatments against Ulcerative Dermatitis in Mice with a C57BL/6 Background.
Venue: Comparative medicine

Ulcerative dermatitis (UD) is a common condition in C57BL/6 mice and strains with this background. The etiology of UD is unclear but appears to have a genetic component associated with the C57BL/6 strain and has been reported as secondary to a variety of conditions. Treatment is unrewarding, resulting in euthanasia in many cases. In the present study we compared 3 topical treatments against spontaneous UD in mice with a C57BL/6 background. In total, 301 mice of both sexes were included in this study, and the tested treatments comprised bacitracin neomycin sulfate polymixin B sulfate ointment twice daily, 10% povidone iodine ointment plus 1% silver sulfadiazine cream once daily, and 0.005% sodium hypochlorite once daily. Lesion healing was defined as complete skin reepithelialization with or without hair regrowth. Sex, age, lesion location, and type and length of treatment were analyzed by using univariate and multivariate logistic regression. Of the 79 mice treated with triple antibiotic ointment, 27 (34% healed, compared with 43 of the 125 (34% treated with povidone iodine and sulfadiazine and 69 of the 97 (71% treated with hypochlorite. Lesion size and treatment with 0.005% sodium hypochlorite were the only significant predictors of healing; all other variables were not statistically significant in multivariate analysis. We conclude that 0.005% sodium hypochlorite is an effective topical treatment alternative for UD in C57BL/6 mice and strains on this background, and a favorable prognosis depends on the early identification and treatment of those lesions.
The Effect of Non Financial Compensation on Employee Performance of Micro Finance Institutions: A Case of Wakenya Pamoja Sacco, Kisii County, Kenya

A compensation system is based on the expectancy theory, which suggests that employees are more likely to be motivated to perform when they perceive that there is a strong link between their performance and the reward they receive (Fey and Bjorkman, 2001; Guest, 2002; Mendonca, 2002) Aspects of non financial compensation include workplace environment, career development, training, employee empowerment and participation. This study aimed at establishing the effect of non financial compensation on employee performance of micro finance institutions in Kenya with special reference to WakenyaPamoja Sacco in Kisii County Kenya. The study was guided by the following objectives: to establish the different forms of non financial compensation at WakenyaPamoja Sacco Kisii, to determine how aspects of non financial compensation promotes employees performance at WakenyaPamoja Sacco Kisii, to find out how non financial incentives contributes to better employee performance, and to find out the extent to which WakenyaPamoja Sacco Kisii has benefited from non financial compensation. It was the intention of this study that upon realization of the objectives, the findings of this research study would be of great significance to researchers and scholars, the government and the existing body of knowledge related to the field of study in improving the overall employee performance and operations of the microfinance institutions. This study was done in the month of December 2015. It targeted microfinance institutions in Kenya with specific reference to WakenyaPamoja Sacco in Kisii County. The target population was determined using a census survey method since the population under study was small. All the 65 employees of WakenyaPamoja Sacco Kisii participated in the study. To collect data, the researcher used questionnaires which were distributed to all respondents. To ensure validity, a pilot study was done. For reliability, questions were discussed with the supervisors prior to collection of data. The data was then analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. The study established that indeed the Micro finance industry especially WakenyaPamoja Sacco Kisii, does employ Non financial compensation and incentives to motivate employees, drive up their performance as well as to retain staff.
Data Mining using Ensemble Classifiers for Improved Prediction of Student Academic Performance

In the last decade Data mining (DM) has been applied in the field of education, and is an emerging interdisciplinary research field also known as Educational Data Mining (EDM) One of the goals of EDM is to better understand how to predict student academic performance given personal, socio economic, psychological and other environmental attributes. Another goal is to identify factors and rules that influence educational academic outcomes. In this paper, we use multiple classifiers (Decision Trees J48, Naive Bayes and Random Forest) to improve the quality of student data by eliminating noisy instances, and hence improving predictive accuracy. We also identify association rules that influence student outcomes using a combination of rule based techniques (Apriori, Filtered Associator and Tertius) We empirically compare our technique with single model based techniques and show that using ensemble models not only gives better predictive accuracies on student performance, but also provides better rules for understanding the factors that influence better student outcomes.
Relationships with God among Young Adults: Validating a Measurement Model with Four Dimensions

Experiencing a relationship with God is widely acknowledged as an important aspect of personal religiosity for both affiliated and unaffiliated young adults, but surprisingly few attempts have been made to develop measures appropriate to its latent, multidimensional quality. This paper presents a new model for measuring relationships with God based on religious role theory, attachment to God theory, and insights from interview based studies, which allows for a wider array of dimensions than have been considered in prior work: anger, anxiety, intimacy, and consistency. To test our model's internal validity, we use confirmatory factor analysis with nationally representative data. To test its external validity, we (1) use difference in means tests across gender, race/ethnicity, geographical region, and religious affiliation; and (2) analyze correlations between our four new dimensions and four other commonly used measures of religiosity, thereby demonstrating both our model's validity and value for future studies of personal religiosity.
Change detection based on deep feature representation and mapping transformation for multi spatial resolution remote sensing images

Multi spatial resolution change detection is a newly proposed issue and it is of great significance in remote sensing, environmental and land use monitoring, etc. Though multi spatial resolution image pair are two kinds of representations of the same reality, they are often incommensurable superficially due to their different modalities and properties. In this paper, we present a novel multi spatial resolution change detection framework, which incorporates deep architecture based unsupervised feature learning and mapping based feature change analysis. Firstly, we transform multi resolution image pair into the same pixel resolution through co registration, followed by details recovery, which is designed to remedy the spatial details lost in the registration. Secondly, the denoising autoencoder is stacked to learn local and high level representation/feature from the local neighborhood of the given pixel, in an unsupervised fashion. Thirdly, motivated by the fact that multi resolution image pair share the same reality in the unchanged regions, we try to explore the inner relationships between them by building a mapping neural network. And it can be used to learn a mapping function based on the most unlikely changed feature pairs, which are selected from all the feature pairs via a coarse initial change map generated in advance. The learned mapping function can bridge the different representations and highlight changes. Finally, we can build a robust and contractive change map through feature similarity analysis, and the change detection result is obtained through the segmentation of the final change map. Experiments are carried out on four real datasets, and the results confirmed the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed method.
Beyond technology adequate regulation and oversight in the age of fintechs

With the number of financial technology firms, or fintechs, increasing steadily in the age of digitalisation, banks as well as regulators must learn to deal with them. Supervisory authorities must ensure that their supervisory approach produces financial stability and establishes a level playing field for banks and technological innovators. In Germany, a risk based regulatory approach ensures that no relevant risks remain unregulated neither those stemming from traditional banks nor those created by fintechs. Traditional established banks, meanwhile, must face up to the challenges posed by these new competitors and ensure that their business models remain profitable. The following paper presents the status quo in terms of the regulation of fintechs under the German regulatory framework, assesses challenges for regulated institutions and sheds light on potential future risks.
Near source Doppler radar monitoring of tephra plumes at Etna

Over the last twenty years Mount Etna has produced more than one hundred explosive events ranging from light ash emissions to violent sub plinian eruptions. Significant hazards arise from tephra plumes which directly threaten air traffic, and generate fallout affecting surrounding towns and infrastructures. We describe the first radar system, named VOLDORAD 2B, fully integrated into a volcano instrumental network dedicated to the continuous near source monitoring of tephra emissions from Etna's summit craters. This 23.5 cm wavelength pulsed Doppler radar is operated in collaboration between the Observatoire de Physique du Globe de Clermont Ferrand (OPGC) and the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Osservatorio Etneo (INGV OE) since 2009. Probed volumes inside the fixed, northward pointing conical beam total about 1.5 km in length, covering the summit craters which produced all recent tephra plumes. The backscattered power, related to the amount of particles crossing the beam, and particle along beam velocities are recorded every 0.23 s, providing a proxy for the tephra mass eruption rate. Radar raw data are transmitted in real time to the volcano monitoring center of INGV OE in Catania and are used to automatically release alerts at onset and end of eruptive events. Processed radar parameters are also made available from the VOLDORAD database online (http:/voldorad.opgc.fr/ In addition to eruptive crater discrimination by range gating, relative variations of eruption intensity can be tracked, including through overcast weather when other optical or infrared methods may fail to provide information. Short lived dense ash emissions can be detected as illustrated for weak ash plumes from the Bocca Nuova and New South East craters in 2010. The comparison with thermal images suggests that the front mushroom of individual ash plumes holds the largest particles (coarse ash and small lapilli) and concentrations at least within the first hundred meters. For these short lived ash plumes, the highest particle mass flux seems to occur typically within the first 10 s. We also analyze data from the first lava fountain generating an ash and lapilli plume on 12 January 2011 that initiated a series of 25 paroxysmal episodes of the New South East Crater until April 2012. We illustrate the pulsating behavior of the lava fountain and show that vertical velocities reached 250 m s 1 (with brief peaks exceeding 300 m s 1) leading to mean and maximum tephra fluxes (DRE) of 185 and 318 m3 s 1 (with peaks exceeding 380 m3 s 1) respectively, and a total volume of pyroclasts emitted during the lava fountain phase of 1.3 x 106 m3. Finally, we discuss capacities and limits of the instrument, along with future work aimed at providing source term inputs to tephra dispersal models in order to improve hazard assessment and risk mitigation at Etna.
Bringing secure Bitcoin transactions to your smartphone
Venue: ARM@Middleware

To preserve the Bitcoin ledger's integrity, a node that joins the system must download a full copy of the entire Bitcoin blockchain if it wants to verify newly created blocks. At the time of writing, the blockchain weights 79 GiB and takes hours of processing on high end machines. Owners of low resource devices (known as thin nodes) such as smart phones, avoid that cost by either opting for minimum verification or by depending on full nodes, which weakens their security model. In this work, we propose to harden the security model of thin nodes by enabling them to verify blocks in an adaptive manner, with regards to the level of targeted confidence, with low storage requirements and a short bootstrap time. Our approach exploits sharding within a distributed hash table (DHT) to distribute the storage load, and a few additional hashes to prevent attacks on this new system.
Flipped Classroom Modules for Large Enrollment General Chemistry Courses: A Low Barrier Approach to Increase Active Learning and Improve Student Grades.

In the face of mounting evidence revealing active learning approaches result in improved student learning outcomes compared to traditional passive lecturing, there is a growing need to change the way instructors teach large introductory science courses. However, a large proportion of STEM faculty continues to use traditional instructor centered lectures in their classrooms. In an effort to create a low barrier approach for the implementation of active learning pedagogies in introductory science courses, flipped classroom modules for large enrollment general chemistry course sequence have been created. Herein is described how student response systems (clickers) and problem based case studies have been used to increase student engagement, and how flipped classroom modules have integrated these case studies as collaborative group problem solving activities in 250 500 seat lecture halls. Preliminary evaluation efforts found the flipped classroom modules provided convenient access to learning materials that increased the use of active learning in lecture and resulted in a significant improvement in the course grade point average (GPA) compared to a non flipped class. These results suggest this approach to implementing a flipped classroom can act as a model for integrating active learning into large enrollment introductory chemistry courses that yields successful outcomes.
Hubungan perfeksionisme, keperluan psikologi asas dan kesejahteraan psikologi dalam kalangan pelajar universiti di Sabah, Malaysia

Menurut Ryff, Keyes dan Shmotkin (2002) kesejahteraan psikologi merangkumi resolusi berjaya bagi cabaran utama dalam setiap tahap perkembangan hidup seseorang (Erikson, 1963) Kesejahteraan psikologi dalam kalangan pelajar mula mendapat perhatian dan dilihat sebagai aspek penting dalam kehidupan seseorang individu yang bergelar pelajar sama ada pada peringkat sekolah rendah, menengah mahupun peringkat institusi tinggi. Tujuan kajian ini dilakukan untuk mengkaji hubungan tiga sub faktor perfeksionisme, tiga sub faktor keperluan psikologi asas dan kesejahteraan psikologi dalam kalangan pelajar universiti. Metodologi kajian adalah berbentuk survei dalam kalangan 468 orang pelajar unversiti dengan menggunakan soal selidik iaitu Scales of Psychological Well Being (SPWB) Almost Perfect Scale Revised (APS R) dan Basic Psychological Needs Scale (BPNS) Subjek kajian terdiri daripada 468 orang pelajar peringkat sarjana muda di Universiti Malaysia Sabah. Data yang diperolehi telah dianalisis dengan menggunakan IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) versi 21. Hasil kajian menunjukkan terhadap hubungan yang signifikan antara perfeksionisme, keperluan psikologi asas dan kesejahteraan psikologi dalam kalangan pelajar universiti. Implikasi dan cadangan kajian turut dibincangkan.
[New Developments in Video Games for Psychotherapy]
Venue: Praxis der Kinderpsychologie und Kinderpsychiatrie

A literature survey on new developments in the area of video games and psychotherapy of children and adolescents was conducted. Despite the omnipresence of computers and the internet, development of therapeutic games seems rather slow. The video game Treasure Hunt was introduced in 2008 to support treatment of children with internalizing and externalizing disorders. Camp Cope A Lot was developed for treatment of anxious children, whereas the self help game SPARX is directed at depressed adolescents. Rage Control is a biofeedback game for children with anger problems. The game Zoo U aims to assess and train social skills of primary school children. Ricky and the Spider for young children with obsessive compulsive disorder is meant to support the cognitive behavioural treatment of these patients. Clash Back is a French game for adolescents with externalizing problems. Possible reasons for the relatively slow development of therapeutic games are the high methodological demands concerning an evaluation as well as the high costs of game development. Nonetheless, computers and the internet are bound to influence psychotherapy with children and adolescents in the long run.
Acceptance of Serious Games in Psychotherapy: An Inquiry into the Stance of Therapists and Patients.
Venue: Telemedicine journal and e health the official journal of the American Telemedicine Association

Serious games are computer or video games that contain elements that are specifically designed for the purpose of education or training. Serious games are increasingly being used within healthcare, but their introduction into and application in psychotherapeutic settings as an e mental health treatment modality raises questions for both patients and therapists. Current research demonstrates the potential role and effectiveness of serious games within a psychotherapeutic context. However, a limited understanding of patients' and therapists' existing knowledge and experience of serious games, as well as of their readiness to utilize and apply them for the treatment of psychological conditions, requires further investigation.  Acceptance, experience, and requirements for the utilization of serious games in therapeutic contexts were assessed through online surveys with German speaking patients (n 260) and psychotherapists (n 234) Respondents' answers were analyzed by a combination of descriptive and inferential statistics by using SPSS.  Current knowledge regarding serious games was very limited, with only 10.4% of patients and 11.5% of therapists reporting existing knowledge. However, a general openness toward the concept was observed: 88% of patients and 90% of therapists could envisage a therapeutic use. Patients (rs 0.169, p 0.006) who self rated their level of computer and video game expertise as high were more likely to consider use within psychotherapy, compared with patients who self rated their expertise as low. Therapists who currently play computer and video games perceive fewer disadvantages of serious game application in a psychotherapeutic context (p 0.097) Consideration of serious game use was differentiated by the therapeutic approach (p 0.003) specific mental disorders (highest rated relevant cases: anxiety disorders, affective disorders, disorders regarding impulse control, and adjustment disorders) and patient age (i.e. use with young adults was deemed the most appropriate by 91.8% of therapists) CONCLUSION The application of serious games is conceivable for patients and therapists, especially as a complementary element to traditional face to face psychotherapy. Acceptance is strongly related to therapeutic context. Only a small number of therapists and patients agree on the possibility of using a serious game instead of face to face therapy.
A randomized trial of amlodipine in addition to standard chelation therapy in patients with thalassemia major.
Venue: Blood

Cardiovascular disease resulting from iron accumulation is still a major cause of death in patients with thalassemia major (TM) Voltage gated calcium channel blockade prevents iron entry into cardiomyocytes and may provide an adjuvant treatment to chelation, reducing myocardial iron uptake. We evaluated whether addition of amlodipine to chelation strategies would reduce myocardial iron overload in TM patients compared with placebo. In a multicenter, double blind, randomized, placebo controlled trial, 62 patients were allocated to receive oral amlodipine 5 mg/day or placebo in addition to their current chelation regimen. The main outcome was change in myocardial iron concentration (MIC) determined by magnetic resonance imaging at 12 months, with patients stratified into reduction or prevention groups according to their initial T2* below or above the normal human threshold of 35 ms (MIC, 0.59 mg/g dry weight) At 12 months, patients in the reduction group receiving amlodipine (n 15) had a significant decrease in MIC compared with patients receiving placebo (n 15) with a median of 0.26 mg/g (95% confidence interval, 1.02 to 0.01) vs 0.01 mg/g (95% confidence interval, 0.13 to 0.23) P .02. No significant changes were observed in the prevention group (treatment effect interaction with P .005) The same findings were observed in the subgroup of patients with T2* <20 ms. Amlodipine treatment did not cause any serious adverse events. Thus, in TM patients with cardiac siderosis, amlodipine combined with chelation therapy reduced cardiac iron more effectively than chelation therapy alone. Because this conclusion is based on subgroup analyses, it needs to be confirmed in ad hoc clinical trials.