Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Women in prison and use of illicit drugs before arrest.

I Choo QL, Kuo G, Weiner AJ, Overby LR, Bradley DW, Houghton M. Isolation of a cDNA clone derived from a blood-borne non-A, non-B viral hepatitis genome. Science 1989;244:359-62. 2 Kuo G, Choo QL, Alter HJ, et al. An assay for circulating antibodies to a major etiologic virus of human non-A, non-B hepatitis. Science 1989;244:362-4. 3 Esteban JI, Esteban R, Viladomiu L, et al. Hepatitis C virus antibodies among risk groups in Spain. Lancet 1989;ii:294-7. 4 Roggendorf M, Deinhardt F, Rasshofer R, et al. Antibodies to hepatitis C virus. Lancet 1989;ii:324-5. 5 Zuckerman AJ. The elusive hepatitis C virus. B3MJ 1989;299:871-3. 6 Alter HJ, Purcell RH, Shih JW, et al. Detection of antibody to hepatitis C virus in prospectivelv followed transfusion recipients with acute and.chronic nonA, non-B hepatitis. N EnglJ Med 1989;321:1494-500. 7 Bruix J, Calvet X, Costa J, et al. Prevalence of antibodies to hepatitis C virus in Spanish patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and hepatic cirrhosis. Lancet 1989;ii: 1004-6. 8 Colombo M, Choo QL, Del Ninno E, et al. Prevalence of antibodies to hepatitis C virus in Italian patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. I.ancet 1989;ii: 1006-8. 9 Maisonneuve 1P, Laurian Y, Noel L, Verroust F, Guerols C. Antibodies to HCV in sexual partners of patients with hemophilia. First interniational symposium on hepatitis C virus. [Abstract. ] Rome, 1989. 10 Alter MJ, Coleman PJ, Alexander WJ, et aImportance of heterosexual activity in the transmission of hepatitis B and non-A, non-B hepatitis. JAMA 1989;262:1201-5. 11 Centers for Disease Control. Revision of the CDC surveillance case definition for acquired immunodeficiency svndrome. MMWR 1987;36:1-15S. 12 Tor J, Muga R, MIelus R,et al. HIV infection prevalence in intravenous drug abusers in Barcelona 1984-1987. European conference on clinical aspects of HI't infection. [Abstract. ] Brussels, 1987. 13 Tor J, Ginesta C, AMuga R, Clotet B, Rey-Joly C, Foz M. Information on HIVI transmission and sexual behavior in couples of intravenous drug abttsers. Fifth international conference on AIDS. [Abstract. ] Montreal: World Health Organisation, 1989. 14 Cadeo GP, El-Hamad J, Rodella A, et al. Preliminary report on hepatitis C antibodies prevalence among high risk groups and blood donors in the area of Brescia. First internatiotnal symposium on hepatitis C virus. [Abstract. ] Rome, 1989. 15 Mortimer PP, Cohen BJ, Litton PA, et al. Hepatitis C virus antibody. Lancet 1989;ii:798.
Understanding Influences of the Typographic Quality of Text

ABSTRACT In an electronic-society the production of texts is increasingly enabled or mediated through ICT. Existing typographic research seems to focus on isolated, rule-formulating studies that often have little impact on typographic practice. Our proposed framework aims to overcome these problems, by providing as complete and holistic explanation as possible of influences on a typographic quality in an emerging e-society. Five field studies were conducted in various locations in Sydney in 2005. The participants photographed examples of typographic text that they considered meaningful to their experiences. These were then used in subsequent photo-elicitation interviews. The results of data analysis supported by the literature led to the formation of a framework that synthesizes the influences on the quality of typographic text perceived by the audience. These include the typographic text's form and content, its immediate context, as well as the audience's own personal background and the purpose behind their reading activity. The framework aims to be generic and apply to texts in all various forms, including in print but also text presented on computer screens for e-commerce, e-government and other Internet applications supporting the electronic-society.
Budget effectiveness in multinational companies : a systems-fit approach

Budget effectiveness in multinational companies receives research interest because of globalisation. Research to date has used contingency-theory methods which have limitations. A systems-fit approach, which views organisations and systems holistically, is a complementary alternative. Compared with reductionistic contingency framework methods using regression analysis, it emphasises holistic methods related to effectiveness and deals with the inherent complexity of multinationals. This study examines the effectiveness of budget control systems in a Finnish multinational company using the systems approach. The tests examined the correlation of the fit of different profiles with effectiveness of the budget control system for both domestic and foreign subunits under conditions of high and low environmental uncertainty. No significant difference between domestic and foreign subunits is detected. Reliance on budget control is not inherently dysfunctional. The study demonstrates the viability of the systems-fit research approach.
Spatial Agglomeration, Technological Innovations, and Firm Productivity: Evidence from Italian Industrial Districts

The aim of this paper is to analyse the impact on firms' productivity of innovative activities and agglomeration effects among firms belonging to Marshallian industrial districts and the possible joint effect of these two forces. We study a sample of 2,821 firms active in the Italian manufacturing industry in the period 1992-1995. Our analysis uses an original data set based on three different Istituto Nazionale di Statistica statistical sources-Community Innovation Survey, Archivio Statistico delle Imprese Attive (Italian Business Register), and Sistema dei Conti delle Imprese (Italian Structural Business Statistics)-to estimate an "augmented" Cobb-Douglas production function to account for the impact of technological innovations and district-specific agglomeration effects on a firm's productivity growth. Our data set allows us to distinguish between product and process innovations, thus, through econometric analysis, we hope to achieve a better understanding of which of these two types of innovative activities benefits most from participation in an industrial district. Our empirical results show that belonging to an industrial district and making product innovations are key factors in the productivity growth of firms and that product innovations appear to have a greater effect on the economic performance of district rather than non-district firms. Copyright (c) 2008 Copyright the Authors. Journal compilation (c) 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Narrative ecologies : a teacher-centred model for professional learning and practice with technologies in initial teacher education

This thesis documents the evolution and evaluation of a conceptual model for developing and researching student teachers’ online pedagogical practice. The research is set against a backdrop of significant investment in web-based technologies in formal schooling in the United Kingdom (UK). Thus, the research questions some of the factors that affect the development of student teachers’ online professional and pedagogical practice faced with new opportunities to utilise web-based tools. As the project evolved it became apparent that a more fundamental research question was: How do we research student teachers’ professional learning and development with new technologies in a manner that recognises their active agency in the process?
Is Sequential Estimation a Suitable Second Best for Estimation of Hybrid Choice Models?

The simultaneous estimation method has overtaken the sequential approach as the preferred estimation method for hybrid discrete choice models. Notwithstanding, the computational cost of the simultaneous estimation can be prohibitive when models become more involved, and in such cases sequential estimation can still be a potent option. In previous work a theoretical analysis was conducted that led to the identification of a major bias affecting the sequential estimation method, and a correction term was proposed for the bias induced on the estimated parameters by the variability associated with the latent variables. However, no attempt was made to quantify that induced variability. In this study, an attempt was made to determine the nature of the variability induced through the latent variables as well as the viability of relying on the sequential estimation method as an alternative (second-best) estimation tool for cases in which the complexity of the specification makes relying on simultaneous estimation unfeasible. Results show that the sequential method behaves in an acceptable way (the bias can be avoided through the correction) when the variability associated with the latent variables is low in comparison with the error term of the discrete choice model. However, when this variability is considerable the bias correction becomes an intricate matter and appropriate results cannot be guaranteed.
Distinct Types of Lipofuscin Pigment in the Hippocampus and Cerebellum of Aged Cheirogaleid Primates

The formation of autofluorescent lipopigment or lipofuscin is a highly consistent and reliable cytological change that correlates with cellular aging in postmitotic cells. One causal factor of lipofuscinogenesis involves free radical‐induced lipid peroxidation. In mammals, dentate gyrus neurons and Purkinje cells are usually affected widely. In this study, we investigated the ultrastructure of lipofuscin deposits in large neurons of the dentate gyrus and in Purkinje cells of aged fat‐tailed dwarf lemurs (Cheirogaleus medius Geoffroy, 1812) with electron and confocal microscopy and compared it with previous observations in other species. Cheirogaleid primates such as mouse and dwarf lemurs are archaic primates that provide interesting nonhuman models of aging. Our study revealed region‐specific as well as species‐specific characteristics of lipofuscin ultrastructure. This suggests differences in cellular metabolism and/or in organelles involved in lipofuscin production in cerebellar Purkinje cells and in hippocampal dentate gyrus neurons. Anat Rec, 296:1895–1906, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Institutionalized Action and Corporate Governance: The Reliance on Rules of CEO Succession

This paper follows an institutional theory of action in exploring the consequences of formal and informal rules on the chief executive officer (CEO) succession process. An analysis of the competing risks of insider versus outsider CEO succession in U.S. industrial corporations provides evidence that boards rely on both past precedents and formal internal labor markets for executive succession and the selection of insiders versus outsiders as CEOs. To exclude alternative explanations that view rules as epiphenomenal, I examine the moderating effects of performance, late CEO departures, the founder's power, and board structure on reliance on rules. The results show substantial inertia in the rules of CEO succession, consistent with an institutionalized action perspective. The findings suggest that rules both enable and constrain board decision making.
Turkey's Ministry of National Education Study-Abroad Program: Is the MoNE Making the Most of Its Investment?

To answer an overwhelming demand for university faculty, Turkey’s Ministry of National Education (MoNE) developed a scholarship program to sponsor graduate study abroad. After completion, program recipients are expected to serve in Turkey’s universities. However, the cost of the program relative to the contributions of returning scholars has led to tremendous criticism. In order to explore whether this program is truly worth the investment, the author chose a qualitative research design to investigate the experiences of two program beneficiaries. The results revealed that their contributions were minimized by numerous institutional barriers; consequently, the system was unable to fully benefit from their expertise. The author concluded that the elimination of obstacles inherent in Turkish higher education was necessary to realize the goals of MoNE’s graduate study program. Key Words: Educational Reform, Higher Education, Turkish Ministry of National Education, MoNE, Turkey, Qualitative Research. Since the founding of the Turkish Republic in 1923, the government has been acutely aware that education of its citizens is critical to the social and economic outlook of the nation. Higher education, in particular, has come to be recognized as a major catalyst for scientific and economic growth, socio-political progress, and intercultural communication and awareness. As a result, a great deal of emphasis has been placed on raising the nation’s higher education institutions to the level of their counterparts in the Western world. To this end, the government has continuously added to its contingent of public universities, beginning with a single institution in 1923 and adding steadily to this number, establishing 53 universities by 1994 and reaching a total of 103 state institutions by 2011 (Gunay & Gunay, 2011). With this massive increase in the number of higher education institutions it became an urgent need for trained and qualified faculty members. In spite of strenuous exertions to respond to this need, including the addition of numerous graduate programs at the country’s largest universities, these efforts were not enough to meet the growing demand for teachers. This deficit eventually led to the creation of an amendment in Turkish Law No. 1416, Students to be sent to Foreign Countries (Ecnebi
Mangrove Mapping and Change Detection in Ca Mau Peninsula, Vietnam, Using Landsat Data and Object-Based Image Analysis

Mangrove forests provide important ecosystem goods and services for human society. Extensive coastal development in many developing countries has converted mangrove forests to other land uses without regard to their ecosystem service values; thus, the ecosystem state of mangrove forests is critical for officials to evaluate sustainable coastal management strategies. The objective of this study is to investigate the multidecadal change in mangrove forests in Ca Mau peninsula, South Vietnam, based on Landsat data from 1979 to 2013. The data were processed through four main steps: 1) data preprocessing; 2) image processing using the object-based image analysis (OBIA); 3) accuracy assessment; and 4) multitemporal change detection and spatial analysis of mangrove forests. The classification maps compared with the ground reference data showed the satisfactory agreement with the overall accuracy higher than 82%. From 1979 to 2013, the area of mangrove forests in the study region had decreased by 74%, mainly due to the boom of local aquaculture industry in the study region. Given that mangrove reforestation and afforestation only contributed about 13.2% during the last three decades, advanced mangrove management strategies are in an acute need for promoting environmental sustainability in the future.
Diversification, Performance, and the Corporate Life Cycle

This paper investigates the relation between the extent of diversification in firms and their performance at different life cycle stages. To illustrate the joint endogeneity of diversification and performance, we treat both the extent of diversification and firm performance as endogenous variables in a simultaneous equation system. Empirical results reveal that corporate diversification erodes firm value. Overall, firms in their growing stages experience a significant diversification discount; however, mature firms do not show such findings. Although unrelated diversification leads to trading at a discount in all growing and mature firms, conversely, related diversification exhibits an evident premium in mature firms.
Autonomous Motivation in Palestine through Self-Determination Theory

Motivation which is broadly defined as a set of forces that cause people to behave in certain ways, and it is part of managerial directing function. One employee may be motivated to work hard to produce as much as possible, whereas another employee may be motivated to produce just enough to escape the sack. Managers must comprehend these differences in behavior and the reasons for them. This behavior becomes intrinsically complicated because Palestinians endured 648 Israeli army check points that restrict Palestinians interlinks and the movement of their goods for security reasons, and businesses were plummeting in economic crisis through the second Palestinian uprising (September 2000 – November 2004). A survey of 32 ISO certified manufacturing firms in Palestine were asked to complete a questionnaire that focused on the means of motivating their employees to keep the firms afloat during that period of socio-economic crisis. Palestinian firms embarked on autonomous motivation that stems from coherent goals, local cultural values, and self-worth performance to overcome business constraints and contingency hindrance. Self-determination theory that has steered up survival rate of firms in Palestine, explains organizational behaviour and performance throughout.
Life‐Cycle Variations in the Association between Current and Lifetime Income: Replication and Extension for Sweden

We apply Haider and Solon’s generalized errors‐in‐variables model to Swedish income tax data to produce estimates of the association between current and lifetime income. Our estimates demonstrate strong life‐cycle patterns. This implies that the widespread use of current income as a proxy for lifetime income leads to inconsistent parameter estimates (i.e., life‐cycle bias) even when the proxy is used as the dependent variable. Estimates for comparable cohorts of Swedish and American men demonstrate surprising similarities. There are, however, significant gender and cohort differences in this association that lead to statistically significant and quantitatively meaningful differences in life‐cycle biases.
Boards of Directors, Market Discipline and Firm Performance

The board of directors is generally seen as an important internal governance structure. However, the empirical evidence on the board-performance relationship is not conclusive. On the other hand, a growing literature suggests that different control mechanisms, either internal or external to the firm, can interact with each other and affect performance. One such important factor is product market competition. The objective of the study is to investigate further the board-performance relationship taking into consideration the potential effect of market competition. More precisely, the study analyzes the combined effect of boards of directors' characteristics, and market discipline on firm performance. Overall, the results suggest that competition has a positive and significant impact on firm profitability and productivity. Moreover, this determinant factor creates the conditions for which the board-performance relationship is supported. In other words, for boards to be effective, firms should be exposed to a competitive environment. Copyright Blackwell Publishers Ltd, 2005.
Effect of dragon fruit extract on oxidative stress and aortic stiffness in streptozotocin-induced diabetes in rats

Cardiovascular complications are consistently observed in diabetic patients across all age groups. The objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of aqueous extract of the fruit pulp of Hylocereus undatus (DFE) on aortic stiffness and oxidative stress in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes in rats. Twenty-four male, Sprague-Dawley rats were randomized into four groups: I (control), II (diabetic), III (DFE, 250 mg/kg) and IV (DFE 500 mg/kg). Diabetes was induced in groups II, III and IV by intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of STZ (40 mg/kg). After confirmation of diabetes, group III and IV received DFE for 5 weeks. Pulse wave velocity (PWV) was used as a marker of aortic stiffness and was determined at the end of 5 weeks. DFE significantly decreased (P < 0.05) the fasting blood glucose levels in diabetic rats, but not to normal levels. Systolic blood pressure, pulse pressure and PWV were significantly increased (P < 0.05) in diabetic rats at the end of 5 weeks in comparison with control group. DFE treatment significantly decreased (P < 0.05) these elevations. Oxidative damage was observed in group II after 5 weeks. Plasma malondialdehyde levels significantly decreased (P < 0.05), while superoxide dismutase and total antioxidant capacity significantly increased (P < 0.05) with DFE treatment in comparison with group II. These data demonstrate that DFE treatment was effective in controlling oxidative damage and decreasing the aortic stiffness measured by PWV in STZ-induced diabetes in rats.
Characterization of Naturally Acquired Immunity to a Panel of Antigens Expressed in Mature P. falciparum Gametocytes

Introduction Naturally acquired immune responses against antigens expressed on the surface of mature gametocytes develop in individuals living in malaria-endemic areas. Evidence suggests that such anti-gametocyte immunity can block the development of the parasite in the mosquito, thus playing a role in interrupting transmission. A better comprehension of naturally acquired immunity to these gametocyte antigens can aid the development of transmission-blocking vaccines and improve our understanding of the human infectious reservoir. Methods Antigens expressed on the surface of mature gametocytes that had not previously been widely studied for evidence of naturally acquired immunity were identified for protein expression alongside Pfs230-C using either the mammalian HEK293E or the wheat germ cell-free expression systems. Where there was sequence variation in the candidate antigens (3D7 vs a clinical isolate PfKE04), both variants were expressed. ELISA was used to assess antibody responses against these antigens, as well as against crude stage V gametocyte extract (GE) and AMA1 using archived plasma samples from individuals recruited to participate in malaria cohort studies. We analyzed antibody levels (estimated from optical density units using a standardized ELISA) and seroprevalence (defined as antibody levels greater than three standard deviations above the mean levels of a pool of malaria naïve sera). We described the dynamics of antibody responses to these antigens by identifying factors predictive of antibody levels using linear regression models. Results Of the 25 antigens selected, seven antigens were produced successfully as recombinant proteins, with one variant antigen, giving a total of eight proteins for evaluation. Antibodies to the candidate antigens were detectable in the study population (N = 216), with seroprevalence ranging from 37.0% (95% CI: 30.6%, 43.9%) for PSOP1 to 77.8% (95% CI: 71.6%, 83.1%) for G377 (3D7 variant). Responses to AMA1 and GE were more prevalent than those to the gametocyte proteins at 87.9% (95% CI: 82.8%, 91.9%) and 88.3% (95% CI: 83.1%, 92.4%), respectively. Additionally, both antibody levels and breadth of antibody responses were associated with age and concurrent parasitaemia. Conclusion Age and concurrent parasitaemia remain important determinants of naturally acquired immunity to gametocyte antigens. Furthermore, we identify novel candidates for transmission-blocking activity evaluation.