Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Organizational complexity: leadership and change in research-intensive academic departments

Higher education institutions in Norway have gone through policy level reforms associated to new ideas regarding how universities should be led. The debate about such reforms has been characterised by two contrary positions: one defending traditional collegial leadership while another emphasising a more modernising view claiming that old organisational aspects of universities are obsolete. The objective of this study is to contribute to this debate by employing complexity theory to understand current changes. Complexity theory is a relatively new perspective in the study of organisations that focuses on interrelations, self-organisation, emergence and non-linearity. The present study discusses the role of leadership in academic departments in the context of organisational changes in Norwegian higher education. The main research objective here is to understand how leadership and teaching are perceived in the context of a research-intensive academic department. Semi-structured interviews carried out in a dialogical manner aiming at grasping faculty perceptions of leadership were the main data gathering method. Findings suggest that changes in higher education cannot be understood as simple reactions to external demands but also in relation to complex interactions from which power relations and leadership emerge.
Indicators of microbial water quality

Current guidelines in the three water-related areas (drinking water, wastewater and recreational water) assess quality, in microbiological terms, by measuring indicator organisms. This chapter looks at the history and examines some of the methods used to assess the microbiological quality of water, highlighting the current limitations and also possible future developments. Traditionally, indicator microorganisms have been used to suggest the presence of pathogens (Berg 1978). Today, however, we understand a myriad of possible reasons for indicator presence and pathogen absence, or vice versa. In short, there is no direct correlation between numbers of any indicator and enteric pathogens (Grabow 1996). To eliminate the ambiguity in the term 'microbial indicator', the following three groups (outlined in Table 13.1) are now recognised:
Optimum Design of Discrete-Time Differentiators via Semi-Infinite Programming Approach

In this paper, a general optimum full-band, high-order discrete-time differentiator design problem is formulated as a peak-constrained least squares optimization problem. That is, the objective of the optimization problem is to minimize the total weighted square error of the magnitude response subject to the peak constraint of the weighted error function. This problem formulation provides great flexibility for the tradeoff between the ripple energy and the ripple magnitude of the discrete-time differentiator. The optimization problem is actually a semi-infinite programming problem. Our recently developed dual parameterization algorithm is applied to solve the problem. The main advantages of employing the dual parameterization algorithm to solve the problem are as follows: (1) the guarantee of the convergence of the algorithm and (2) the obtained solution being the global optimal solution that satisfies the corresponding continuous constraints. Moreover, the computational cost of the algorithm is lower than that of algorithms that are implementing the semidefinite programming approach.
Association of Mitochondrial DNA Polymerase γ Gene POLG1 Polymorphisms with Parkinsonism in Chinese Populations

Background Mitochondrial DNA polymerase gamma (POLG1) mutations were associated with levodopa-responsive Parkinsonism. POLG1 gene contains a number of common nonsynonymous SNPs and intronic regulatory SNPs which may have functional consequences. It is of great interest to discover polymorphisms variants associated with Parkinson's disease (PD), both in isolation and in combination with specific SNPs. Materials and Methods We conducted a case-control study and genotyped twenty SNPs and poly-Q polymorphisms of POLG1 gene including in 344 Chinese sporadic PD patients and 154 healthy controls. All the polymorphisms of POLG1 we found in this study were sequenced by PCR products with dye terminator methods using an ABI-3100 sequencer. Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and linkage disequilibrium (LD) for association between twenty POLG1 SNPs and PD were calculated using the program Haploview. Principal Results We provided evidence for strong association of four intronic SNPs of the POLG1 gene (new report: c.2070-12T>A and rs2307439: c.2070-64G>A in intron 11, P = 0.00011, OR = 1.727; rs2302084: c.3105-11T>C and rs2246900: c.3105-36A>G in intron 19, P = 0.00031, OR = 1.648) with PD. However, we did not identify any significant association between ten exonic SNPs of POLG1 and PD. Linkage disequilibrium analysis indicated that c.2070-12T>A and c.2070-64G>A could be parsed into one block as Haplotype 1 as well as c.3105-11T>C and c.3105-36A>G in Haplotype 2. In addition, case and control study on association of POLG1 CAG repeat (poly-Q) alleles with PD showed a significant association (P = 0.03, OR = 2.16) of the non-10/11Q variants with PD. Although intronic SNPs associated with PD didn't influence POLG1 mRNA alternative splicing, there was a strong association of c.2070-12T>A and c.2070-64G>A with decreased POLG1 mRNA level and protein levels. Conclusions Our findings indicate that POLG1 may play a role in the pathogenesis of PD in Chinese populations.
Stability and transparency in bilateral teleoperation

Tools for analyzing teleoperation system performance and stability when communication delays are present are presented. A general multivariable system architecture is utilized which includes all four types of data transmission between master and slave: force and position in both directions. It is shown that the proper use of all four channels is of critical importance in achieving high-performance telepresence in the sense of accurate transmission of task impedances to the operator. It is also shown that transparency and robust stability (passivity) are conflicting design goals in teleoperation systems. Achieved transparency and stability properties of two common architectures, as well as a 'passivated' approach and a novel 'transparency optimized' architecture, are quantitatively compared on one-degree-of-freedom examples. <<ETX>>
The Critical Psychological States: An Underrepresented Component in Job Characteristics Model Research

The mediating role of the critical psychological states (CPS) in the job characteristics model was examined in two studies. Using Baron and Kenny’s (1986) approach for examining mediation hypotheses, results from Study 1: (1) supported the hypothesized linkages between the core job dimensions and the CPS, and between the CPS and attitudinal outcomes; (2) provided no support for the hypothesis that all three CPS must be experienced to maximize internal work motivation; (3) supported the present authors’ hypothesis that the CPS would explain significant amounts of outcome variance beyond the core job dimensions; and (4) supported the present authors' hypothesis that the CPS are partial rather than complete mediator variables. Using causal modeling analyst and another sample, results from Study 2 provided the strongest support for a job characteristics model that allowed the core job dimensions to have direct and indirect effects on personal and work outcomes, further supporting the Study 1 finding that the CPS were partial mediator variables. The general discussion centered on the implications the present findings have for future job characteristics model research.
Influence of family control in the practice of earnings management

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify if the open Brazilian companies that have family control manage their accounting results in a negative way, and if this influence is in a positive sense of pushing the results down, that is, worsening their present profits due to future results. Design/methodology/approach – The empirical investigation is developed using as a sample 123 Brazilian companies listed on BM&FBovespa, totaling 1.353 observations for a period of 11 years (2000-2010). Data analysis is conducted by means of regression with panel data, method of ordinary least squares (OLS), and random effects. Findings – First, it was found that family-type companies show lower profits compared to profits earned by non-family companies. Nevertheless, it was observed that family businesses have negative discretionary accruals higher than those submitted by non-family firms, and that family control has a positive influence on this type of earnings management. Research limitations/implications – The .
The De Novo Cytosine Methyltransferase DRM2 Requires Intact UBA Domains and a Catalytically Mutated Paralog DRM3 during RNA–Directed DNA Methylation in Arabidopsis thaliana

Eukaryotic DNA cytosine methylation can be used to transcriptionally silence repetitive sequences, including transposons and retroviruses. This silencing is stable between cell generations as cytosine methylation is maintained epigenetically through DNA replication. The Arabidopsis thaliana Dnmt3 cytosine methyltransferase ortholog DOMAINS REARRANGED METHYLTRANSFERASE2 (DRM2) is required for establishment of small interfering RNA (siRNA) directed DNA methylation. In mammals PIWI proteins and piRNA act in a convergently evolved RNA–directed DNA methylation system that is required to repress transposon expression in the germ line. De novo methylation may also be independent of RNA interference and small RNAs, as in Neurospora crassa. Here we identify a clade of catalytically mutated DRM2 paralogs in flowering plant genomes, which in A.thaliana we term DOMAINS REARRANGED METHYLTRANSFERASE3 (DRM3). Despite being catalytically mutated, DRM3 is required for normal maintenance of non-CG DNA methylation, establishment of RNA–directed DNA methylation triggered by repeat sequences and accumulation of repeat-associated small RNAs. Although the mammalian catalytically inactive Dnmt3L paralogs act in an analogous manner, phylogenetic analysis indicates that the DRM and Dnmt3 protein families diverged independently in plants and animals. We also show by site-directed mutagenesis that both the DRM2 N-terminal UBA domains and C-terminal methyltransferase domain are required for normal RNA–directed DNA methylation, supporting an essential targeting function for the UBA domains. These results suggest that plant and mammalian RNA–directed DNA methylation systems consist of a combination of ancestral and convergent features.
Reasons to Believe : Cognitive Models of Beliefs Change

It is a fact of life that we cannot believe everything we observe or that we are told. We accept a given information or datum as a belief on the basis of our previous beliefs, of its evidences, supports and sources, and of others psychological factors. Here I will sketch some crucial points of these cognitive mechanisms. Our knowledge base is not a file where one can introduce new data or eliminate a file-card without altering the other data. Our beliefs are integrated, interconnected and mutually supported: to drop a belief or to add a new one entails checking its coherence with other beliefs and revising previous knowledge. The belief-belief coherence and support is quite a well studied problem in philosophy and AI (truth maintenance systems; belief revision and updating; argumentation) and in some cognitive agent architectures. There are in fact two schools in belief revision (Harman 1986; Gärdenfors 1988; Doyle 1992): the "foundations approach" stressing the importance of supports and justifications of beliefs, and the "coherence approach" modelling logical compatibility and coherence. However, we agree with Doyle (1992) that there is no incompatibility between the two models, and that beliefs must be both relatively coherent and justified.
Prevalence of Neuropathy and Peripheral Arterial Disease and the Impact of Treatment in People With Screen-Detected Type 2 Diabetes

OBJECTIVE There is limited evidence on how intensive multifactorial treatment (IT) improves outcomes of diabetes when initiated in the lead time between detection by screening and diagnosis in routine clinical practice. We examined the effects of early detection and IT of type 2 diabetes in primary care on the prevalence of diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) and peripheral arterial disease (PAD) 6 years later in a pragmatic, cluster-randomized parallel group trial. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A stepwise screening program in 190 general practices in Denmark was used to identify 1,533 people with type 2 diabetes. General practices were randomized to deliver either IT or routine care (RC) as recommended through national guidelines. Participants were followed for 6 years and measures of DPN and PAD were applied. RESULTS We found no statistically significant effect of IT on the prevalence of DPN and PAD compared with RC. The prevalence of an ankle brachial index ≤0.9 was 9.1% (95% CI 6.0–12.2) in the RC arm and 7.3% (5.0–9.6) in the IT arm. In participants tested for vibration detection threshold and light touch sensation, the prevalence of a least one abnormal test was 34.8% (26.7–43.0) in the RC arm and 30.1% (24.1–36.1) in the IT arm. CONCLUSIONS In a population with screen-detected type 2 diabetes, we did not find that screening followed by IT led to a statistically significant difference in the prevalence of DPN and PAD 6 years after diagnosis. However, treatment levels were high in both groups.
The Kurds and Kurdistan

As the Kurdish question becomes more prominent in Middle Eastern politics, it is attracting attention from the media, the academic community, and governmental and non-governmental organizations. Swamped with questions from the press and academic departments, students of Kurdish topics have needed a comprehensive bibliography on the Kurds. This book meets that need. An introductory essay provides users with general background information on the Kurds and Kurdistan. With over 800 entries, the annotated bibliography provides information on the most important works about the Kurds and Kurdistan published from World War II through 1996. Emphasizing recent titles, the book focuses on English-language scholarly works. Arranged in topical chapters, the book opens with a section on general works, then covers travel works, history and archaeology, politics, minorities and religion in Kurdistan, society, economy, language and education, literature and folklore, and culture and arts.
Emotional intelligence and academic achievement: the moderating influence of age , intrinsic and extrinsic motivation

The study examined the moderating influence of emotional intelligence, age and academic motivation on academic achievement of secondary school students. The study adopted a survey research design. The participants in the study were 1563 (male = 826, female = 737) secondary school students from Oyo state, Nigeria. Their age ranged between12 years and 17 years with mean age of 15.96 years. Two valid and reliable instruments were used to assess emotional intelligence and academic motivation while achievement tests on English Language and Mathematics were used as a measure of academic achievement. Descriptive statistics, Pearson’s product moment correlation and hierarchical regression were used to analyse the data. The result revealed that Emotional Intelligence, Age and Academic Motivation were potent predictors mildly associated to academic achievement. The study has implications for the curriculum developers to integrate emotional intelligence into the school curriculum of secondary school. That teachers, counselling and educational psychologists should encourage the development of a strong achievement motivation in the students through the provision of appropriate counselling intervention programmes and enabling environment. By so doing, the academic performance of the students could be improved barring all other teaching-learning obstacles.
A randomized, controlled pilot trial of a school intervention for children with sickle cell anemia.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the feasibility and efficacy of a randomized clinical pilot trial comparing routine services (RS) with a school intervention program (SIP) for children with sickle cell anemia (SCA). METHOD Twenty-four children (ages 8-12 years) with SCA were randomized to RS or SIP. General disease knowledge, consumer satisfaction, self-concept, and school absences were evaluated. RESULTS Compared with children receiving RS, children and teachers receiving SIP evidenced more accurate information about their disease, and children with SCA had significantly fewer absences. Teachers receiving SIP reported higher consumer satisfaction. CONCLUSIONS A modest educational curriculum can increase knowledge of SCA, is associated with lower absence rates, and yields high consumer satisfaction ratings.
High frequency trading, noise herding and market quality

We develop a discrete-time inflnite-horizon model to investigate the role of a high frequency trader’s speed advantage when he interacts with a low frequency trader and with noise traders who herd on informed trading. We flnd that speed in trading rather an informational advantage can make the high frequency trader a temporary monopolist in the market, and thus lead to a higher trading volume and trading proflts for the high frequency trader. Furthermore, noise traders herding behavior combined with high frequency trading leads to slower price discovery, i.e., the market is not semi-strong as in Chau and Vayanos (2008). In addition, when the high frequency trader can adopt an order splitting strategy, he can generate more proflt, and the market quality, for instance, in terms of price discovery and market depth is further improved. JEL classiflcation: G11; G12; G14
Key Exchange in IPsec revisited Formal Analysis of IKEv1 and IKEv2

The IPsec standard aims to provide application-transparent end-to-end security for the Internet Protocol. The security properties of IPsec critically depend on the underlying key exchange protocols, known as IKE (Internet Key Exchange). We provide the most extensive formal analysis so far of the current IKE versions, IKEv1 and IKEv2. We combine recently introduced formal analysis methods for security protocols with massive parallelization, allowing the scope of our analysis to go far beyond previous formal analysis. While we do not ﬁnd any signiﬁcant weaknesses on the secrecy of the session keys established by IKE, we ﬁnd several previously unreported weaknesses on the authentication properties of IKE.
Evaluation of Digital Libraries: Testbeds, Measurements, and Metrics

The work of the DELOS Network of Excellence Workgroup 2.1 on Digital Library Evaluation has produced a generic scheme for the classification of digital libraries. This scheme allows a wide range of library-types to be compared and can be used to develop metrics for cross-evaluation. The library classification and evaluation is shown to be analogous to aspects of strategic marketing. Specifically, the ideas of market segmentation, gap analysis and market extension are shown to be directly applicable to digital library evaluation. The development of a metaLibrary and the next steps of the Workgroup are also surveyed.
Gate-to-Gate Life-Cycle Inventory of Softwood Lumber Production

To perform a life-cycle analysis, a life-cycle inventory is needed. Data from surveys of manufacturers are presented for the energy and materials required to produce 1.623 m 3 (1 mbf) of planed, dry, dimension lumber from logs in the western and southern U.S. In the West and South, 53 and 41% of the log volume (3.05 and 3.92 m 3 ) leaves the mill as planed, dry dimension lumber, respectively. A much greater portion of the energy used for production in the South is produced on site from wood fuels. CO 2 emissions were greater in the South because of the wood fuel, 574 kg versus 419 kg per 1.623 m 3 produced.
Competing with Loyalty Discounts

Loyalty discounts, offered to customers that meet purchase thresholds, can shift share from rival firms. In a differentiated product duopoly, only one firm employs a program that customers adopt in equilibrium. Whenever consumers strongly prefer the product of said firm, such discounts increase producer surplus. When a firm requires customers to meet thresholds in multiple rivalrous markets, the loyalty discount and consumer surplus may fall. Finally, when a branded product monopolist faces competition for an unrelated generic product, the monopolist raises the branded spot price, and offers a discount to customers that purchase generic product only from the monopolist.
Farmers' choice of medical treatment of mastitis in Danish dairy herds based on qualitative research interviews.

A qualitative research study was conducted to describe and analyze farmers' perspectives on their own choices regarding decisions to have cows treated for mastitis. Through qualitative research interviews of 16 Danish dairy farmers, four levels of the decision-making process used by farmers to decide whether or not to treat a cow with antibiotics were identified. Those levels were: 1) symptom level (seriousness of the mastitis case), 2) cow level (to the extent a cow fulfilled goals of the farmer and the herd), 3) herd level (the situation of the herd, e.g., in relation to milk quota), and 4) level of alternatives (whether the farmer regards such practices as blinding of teats or homoeopathy as serious alternatives to antibiotic treatment). All four levels could be recognized in all herds, but with differing weights and relative importance across herds. Directions of different possibilities within each level also varied among farmers. By identifying those four levels, a model for understanding the farmers' choices is provided. This provides background for dialogue with each farmer about choices in the context of each specific herd. It also provides insight into implications of mastitis treatments for effective treatment versus issues of antibiotic resistance when discussing choices on a more general level. Communication and understanding between farmers and their veterinarians and cattle-oriented advisors is essential. Farmers were shown to be coherent in their choices of treatment, but their decisions often seemed to differ from normal veterinary recommendations. Such differences have to be understood and implemented into effective decisions for the whole farm.
Immunotherapy in allergic fungal sinusitis: The controversy continues. A recent review of literature

Allergic fungal sinusitis (AFS), also referred to as allergic fungal rhinosinusitis (AFRS), is a noninvasive, eosinophilic form of recurrent chronic allergic hypertrophic rhinosinusitis. AFS has distinct clinical, histopathological, and prognostic findings that differentiate it from other forms of sinusitis. The core pathogenesis and optimum treatment strategies remain debated. Concerns surround the use of immunotherapy for AFS because allergen-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) induced by immunotherapy could theoretically incite a Gell and Coombs type III (complex mediated) reaction. Type I hypersensitivity is established by high serum levels of allergen-specific IgE to various fungal antigens and positive Bipolaris skin test results. Type III hypersensitivity is established by an IgG-mediated process defined by the presence of allergen-specific IgG that forms complexes with fungal antigen inducing an immunologic inflammatory response. These reveal the multiple immunologic pathways through which AFS can impact host responses. Recent literature establishing benefits of fungal immunotherapy and no evidence of type III-mediated reactions, severe local reactions, or delayed reactions, indicate that application of AFS desensitization is a reasonable therapeutic strategy for this difficult to manage entity. Our review should encourage further clinical acceptance of AFS desensitization because the existing literature on this subject shows benefits of fungal immunotherapy and no evidence of type III-mediated reactions, severe local reactions, or delayed reactions.