Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Religion and politics: examining the impact of faith on political participation

ABSTRACT This study examines the relationship between religion and political activity. It theorises religious influences on political activity and tests the impact of various religious factors on political participation in a large cross-national sample (1981–2014). This study integrates longitudinal data from the aggregated World Values Survey with country-level data in the hierarchical multilevel analysis that allows teasing out the individual-level religious influences, including membership in religious organisations, religiosity and self-identification with various religious denominations, and the country-level impacts. The temporal and spatial coverage of the data used in the study includes more than 65% of the world’s population. The seven types of political participation examined in the study include signing petitions, joining in boycotts, participating in demonstrations, taking part in unofficial strikes, occupying buildings and factories, voting and membership in political parties. We find that religion matters but not always in the expected ways. Religiosity, by itself, often serves as a deterrent rather than mobilising force for political engagement, regardless the denominational differences. It is the membership in religious organisations and other voluntary associations of a secular nature that make individuals more likely to engage in political activity.
Impeding estrogens and the etiology of breast cancer.

Abstract The partial agonistic role of impeding estrogens is further described. Synthesis of progesterone receptor, induced with estradiol, is inhibited by appropriate doses of estriol or 16-epiestriol. Inhibition of 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene-induced rat breast tumors by estriol was observed. Silastic tubing implants containing estriol markedly reduced tumor takes and delayed onset of first tumors. Experiments are described that suggest different physiological functions for estradiol and estriol. Administration to pregnant rats of antibody specific to estradiol or estriol during Days 11 to 14 of gestation resulted in a slight reduction in the number of offspring for antiestradiol antibody but a nearly total loss of fetuses with antiestriol antibody. As in previous experiments with estriol, the contraceptive function of estriol cyclopentyl ether was found to be reversible when small doses of estradiol were injected on Day 4 of pregnancy. The effect of 2-hydroxyestrone was examined for its antiimplantational and estrogenic activity. No systemic activity was observed up to 500 µg of steroid, but topical activity, following insertion of Silastic tubing implants in rabbit uteri, produced complete contraceptive effects, as compared to 0.9% NaCl solution-containing implants in the contralateral horn. Multiple injections of 50 µg 2-hydroxyestrone resulted in maximal uterine growth in immature and adult ovariectomized rats. The evidence presented suggests that estriol, while containing some estrogenic properties, must have a significantly different physiological role in cancer and reproduction when present in an appropriate admixture with estradiol.
Impact of Maternal Hemoglobin Concentration on Fetal Outcomes in Adolescent Pregnant Women

Background: Studies on the association between maternal hemoglobin (Hb) concentration and adverse pregnancy outcome have been inconsistent. Many studies have shown the impact of Hb concentration on pregnancy outcomes in adult women; however, it is not revealed in adolescent pregnant women. Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine the effect of Hb concentration on birth outcomes in pregnant adolescents as a high-risk group. Patients and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 312 healthy and nonsmoker adolescent pregnant women with gestational age (GA) of 37-40 weeks were chosen by random sampling, and were followed until delivery. A complete history was obtained from women. In addition, clinical examination and Hb test were performed. After birth, the associations between Hb concentration during pregnancy and birth outcomes were investigated. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS software by t-test, chi-square and ANOVA. Results: In total, about 23.2 % were anemic, 58% had normal level of Hb (11-13.2 g/dL) and 18.8% had Hb > 13.2 g/dL. The mean birth weight was 3197.8 ± 398.25 grams and it was more in mothers with Hb = 10.5-12.5 g/dL than others (Hb < 10.5 or Hb > 12.5 g/dL) (P < 0.001). The lowest mean birth weight was found in mothers with Hb < 10.5 (3033.33 ± 422). Moreover, the mean birth weight of male newborns was more than females (P = 0.001). Eight percent of neonates had Apgar score less than eight. Low Apgar score in anemic group and mothers with high Hb concentration (Hb > 12.5 g/dL) was more than others. Conclusions: Abnormal Hb concentrations increase the risk of adverse birth outcomes such as low birth weight (LBW) and low Apgar scores in pregnant adolescents, so intensive care is recommended for this group of pregnant women.
Bmc Medical Research Methodology Open Access the Fading of Reported Effectiveness. a Meta-analysis of Randomised Controlled Trials

Background: The "real" effect size of a medical therapy is constant over time. In contrast, the effect size reported in randomised controlled trials (RCTs) may change over time because the sum of all kinds of bias influencing the reported effectiveness is not necessarily constant. As this would affect the validity of meta-analyses, we tested the hypothesis that the reported effect size decreases over time. Furthermore, we tested three hypotheses that would explain a possible change.
On the Importance of Geographic and Technological Proximity for R&D Spillovers: An Empirical Investigation

Empirical studies of the external effects of R&D suggest that both geographic and technological distance attenuate inter-firm spillovers from innovative activity. The results presented here indicate that the tendency for R&D spillovers to localize economic activity is conditional on the technological relation between spillover generating and receiving firms. The production function framework is generalized to control for correlation between measures of geographic and technological proximity. Coefficient estimates confirm that R&D spillovers are largest among technological neighbors. However, spillovers within narrowly defined technological groups do not appear to be attenuated by distance. Geographic proximity serves to attenuate only those inter-firm spillovers that cross narrowly defined technological boundaries.
Exploring the Relationship Between Job Quality, Performance Management, and Career Initiative: A Two-Level, Two-Actor Study

This study examines how job quality and performance management influence career initiative in the workplace. Based on signaling theory and the notion of internal fit in performance management and HRM, we argue that performance management with a learning orientation further enhances career initiative, whereas performance management with a results orientation constrains it. Combining the two performance management types is expected to diminish career initiative. In addition, we expect the positive effect of job quality to be contingent upon the performance management types. A total of 772 employees working in the (public) service industry or manufacturing industry and nested within 53 work units rated their job quality (job variety and job autonomy) as well as career initiative. Line managers from these work units rated the performance management types practiced. Results indicate that job variety and learning-oriented performance management positively relate to career initiative. The positive relationships between learning-orientated performance management, job variety, and career initiative are weakened when line managers simultaneously practice results-oriented performance management. These findings underline the need to focus on how performance management orientations and job quality combine to influence career initiative.
Statistical Sulcal Shape Comparisons: Application to the Detection of Genetic Encoding of the Central Sulcus Shape

Principal Component Analysis allows a quantitative description of shape variability with a restricted number of parameters (or modes) which can be used to quantify the difference between two shapes through the computation of a modal distance. A statistical test can then be applied to this set of measurements in order to detect a statistically significant difference between two groups. We have applied this methodology to highlight evidence of genetic encoding of the shape of neuroanatomical structures. To investigate genetic constraint, we studied if shapes were more similar within 10 pairs of monozygotic twins than within interpairs and compared the results with those obtained from 10 pairs of dizygotic twins. The statistical analysis was performed using a Mantel permutation test. We show, using simulations, that this statistical test applied on modal distances can detect a possible genetic encoding. When applied to real data, this study highlighted genetic constraints on the shape of the central sulcus. We found from 10 pairs of monozygotic twins that the intrapair modal distance of the central sulcus was significantly smaller than the interpair modal distance, for both the left central sulcus (Z = -2.66; P < 0.005) and the right central sulcus (Z = -2.26; P < 0.05). Genetic constraints on the definition of the central sulcus shape were confirmed by applying the same experiment to 10 pairs of normal young individuals (Z = -1.39; Z = -0.63, i.e., values not significant at the P < 0.05 level) and 10 pairs of dizygotic twins (Z = 0.47; Z = 0.03, i.e., values not significant at the P < 0.05 level).
Discriminative Word Alignment with Conditional Random Fields

In this paper we present a novel approach for inducing word alignments from sentence aligned data. We use a Conditional Random Field (CRF), a discriminative model, which is estimated on a small supervised training set. The CRF is conditioned on both the source and target texts, and thus allows for the use of arbitrary and overlapping features over these data. Moreover, the CRF has efficient training and decoding processes which both find globally optimal solutions.We apply this alignment model to both French-English and Romanian-English language pairs. We show how a large number of highly predictive features can be easily incorporated into the CRF, and demonstrate that even with only a few hundred word-aligned training sentences, our model improves over the current state-of-the-art with alignment error rates of 5.29 and 25.8 for the two tasks respectively.
Depthrow: A Physics-based Audio Game

We present an interactive audio game designed around the auditory perception of distance and the use of physics-based models for simulations of the dynamics, the sound source, and the acoustical environment. The game consists in throwing a virtual sounding object inside a virtual open-ended tube which is inclined. The task is to keep the object inside the tube, in other words the user should adjust the initial velocity applied to the object such that the latter does not fall out at the far end of the tube. The position of the object inside the tube is provided by continuous audio feedback. User performance is closely related to its ability to perceive the dynamic distance of the object in the virtual tube. Therefore, this game represents a potential tool for exploring the usability of auditory distance information in interaction design. 1. ARCHITECTURE OF THE INTERFACE The game prototype has been developed as a complex Max/MSP patch where three interacting physics-based models enable to simulate, respectively, the dynamics of the environment (an inclined plane), the sound source (a rolling ball), and to render the acoustical properties of the environment (an open-ended tube). The action of throwing is performed using a Wii Remote which provides, among other things, a 3D accelerometer, a vibration actuator, several buttons, and Bluetooth connectivity. The three physics-based models are connected in a top-down chain structure. Figure 1 shows the main Max/MSP patch. The throwing force applied to the virtual ball is captured (gesture mapping) by means of the accelerometer and provides the input to the computation (integration) of the initial velocity with which the ball is getting thrown inside the inclined tube. Then the initial velocity provides the input to the simulation of the inclined plane. The resulting velocity of the ball moving along the inclined plane drives the real-time synthesis of a rolling sound, which constitutes the audio input to a spatialization process (simulation of a tube), while the distance currently covered controls the distance parameter of the spatialization model. The latter conveys auditory information about the relative position of the sound source inside the virtual tube. The vibration actuator is exploited for providing tactile feedback: for example when the object comes back to the user’s hand, or when the ball falls over. 1http://www.cycling74. com/products/maxmsp 2The handed wireless controller for Nintendo’s Wii console. Thanks to Masayuki Akamatsu for his [aka.wiiremote] Max object (available at http://www.iamas.ac.jp/∼aka/max/). Figure 1: The main Max/MSP patch 2. PHYSICS-BASED MODELS
The Drivers and Implications of Business Divestiture – An Application and Extension of Prior Findings

The purpose of this study is to extend the current understanding of business divestiture by investigating its potential for triggering strategic reorientation. A divestiture involving strategic reorientation is here denoted as a strategic business exit, otherwise it is a status quopreserving business exit. The motives for divestiture specified in prior studies are mainly associated with firm financial performance and corporate strategy. Most studies investigate their impact on divestiture separately though both may interact. This study contributes to research by, first, distinguishing divestiture types, and, second, empirically testing the influence of performance and strategy both separately and in conjunction on the choice between strategic and status quo-preserving business exit with secondary data on 213 divestitures during 1999-2004 which were undertaken by a cross-industry sample of 91 firms listed in the German CDAX. The findings mainly indicate that firm financial performance is a stronger predictor of strategic business exit than corporate strategy.
Developing New Learning Resources for the Linguistic Mediators’ Training in Modern Social Environment

The topicality of the research is stipulated by the challenges of bringing the educational content and learning materials in line with the needs that young translators and interpreters have entering the labour market in modern fast developing society. The article aims to analyze from students’ perspective the practical value and effectiveness of the learning materials for language mediators’ training developed on the basis of the new content-focused technology in comparison to learning materials developed within the framework of the traditional approach. The methodology of the research included survey based experiment as well as the method of statistic data processing. The experiment involved the students doing their master degree course on Public Service Interpreting and Translation (total number of the participants is 30 students). The experiment was conducted in several stages including two surveys: the entry survey focused on obtaining the students’ feedback on their general satisfaction with traditional learning materials, students’ assessment of the materials’ effectiveness for training as well as identifying particular areas of professional interest and respective needs; the second survey elicited students’ responses concerning the effectiveness of the proposed new materials. The research enhances the awareness of the specific characteristics of the public services setting for training lingo cultural mediators. Practical learning materials were worked out and implemented into practice. The correlated training of interpreting and translation skills was proved. Based on the results obtained in the course of the experiment the authors propose new content focused approach to developing learning materials which constitutes practical outcomes of the research. The article had both theoretical and practical value as the theoretical background and the proposed methodology can be applied to developing training courses on translation and interpreting in various professional domains.
The Effect of Writing Feedback Techniques and Students’ Writing Anxiety on Students’ Essay Writing Ability

The Research was aimed at finding out the effects of the implementation of writing feedback techniques and students’ writing anxiety on students’ writing ablity. Experimental method of 3x2 factorial design was employed in the research. There were three experimental groups of students who were taught by using teacher feedback, peer feedback and the combination of peer and teacher feedback writing technique. Prior the treatment, each student was asked to do an expository essay writing test in order to get the writing scores and to fill SLWAI (Second Language Writing Anxiety Inventory) to classify them into low and high writing anxiety students. Then, the students were taught on how to produce expository essay writing. At the end of the meeting, the students were asked to compose an expository essay as the posttest. The data were analyzed by using paired t-test, two-way ANOVA and Post Hoc test. From the results of data analysis it could be inferred that the implementation of writing feedback techniques affected students’ writing ability and the effects depended on the degree of students’ writing anxiety.
Contract agreements via logic

Contracts are gaining an increasing relevance in the design and implementation of concurrent and dis-tributed systems. This is witnessed by the proliferation of proposals of models and standards for contractsappeared in the literature in the last few years. For instance, choreography languages like WS-CDL [21],BPEL4Chor [16] and Scribble [19] can be used to specify the overall interaction protocol of a set of Webservices. By projecting a choreography on each of the participants, we obtain the speciﬁcation of thebehaviour expected from each single service involved in the application. These projections can be in-terpreted as contracts: if the actual implementation of each Web service respects its contract, then theoverall application is guaranteed to behave correctly; otherwise, the service violating its contract may beresponsible (and punishable) for the global failure. On a more theoretical side, formal models for con-tracts have been devised by adapting and extending models of concurrent systems, such as Petri nets [1],event structures [18, 8], process algebras [12, 13, 14, 15, 20], timed automata [22, 24], and by extendingvarious logics, such as modal [2], intuitionistic [3, 11], linear [3], and deontic [23, 17] logics (just to citea few recent approaches). A main motivation for using contracts resides in the fact that large distributed applications are oftenconstructed by dynamically discovering and composing services published by different organizations.The larger an application is, the greater the probability that some of its components deviates from theexpected behaviour (either because of unintentional bugs, or maliciousness of a competing organization). Hence, it becomes crucial to protect oneself from other participants’ misbehaviour. Standard enforce-ment mechanisms do not apply, because of the total lack of control on code run by mutually untrusted,distributed participants. Instead, contracts may offer protection by legally binding the participants in aservice composition to either behave as prescribed, or otherwise be blamed for a contract breach [4]. In this methodology, contracts are the pillars which support the reliability of distributed applications,hence the choice of the actual contract model to be used is critical. However, the ecosystem of contractmodels proposed in the literature is wide and heterogeneous, and the actual properties and the relationsamong different models are not clearly established. In particular, there is a gap between the two mainparadigms for modelling contracts, i.e. the one which interprets them as interactive multi-agent systems,and the one where contracts are rendered as formulae of suitable logics. To contribute towards reduc-ing this gap, in this paper we consider two recent models for contracts — one based on game-theoreticnotions and the other one on logic — and we formally relate them. More precisely, we show that a cor-
The Effect of Rewards and Sanctions in Provision of Public Goods

A growing number of field and experimental studies focus on the institutional arrangements by which individuals are able to solve collective action problems. Important in this research is the role of reciprocity and institutions that facilitate cooperation via opportunities for monitoring, sanctioning, and rewarding others. Sanctions represent a cost to both the participant imposing the sanction and the individual receiving the sanction. Rewards represent a zero sum transfer from participants giving to those receiving rewards. We contrast reward and sanction institutions in regard to their impact on cooperation and efficiency in the context of a public goods experiment.
Energy Efficient Spectrum Sharing Strategy Selection for Cognitive MIMO Interference Channels

In this paper, we propose a promising discrete game-theoretic framework for distributed energy efficient discrete spectrum sharing strategy selection (i.e., joint discrete power control and multimode precoding strategy selection) with limited feedback for cognitive MIMO interference channels. Given the competitive nature, the secondary users are assumed to be selfish and noncooperative, each of whom attempts to maximize its individual energy efficiency under a minimum data rate constraint and an interference power constraint. A mechanism for shutting down links is proposed to reduce interference and save energy. A payoff function is designed to guarantee the feasibility of the pure strategy Nash equilibrium with no need to know the infeasible strategy profiles (a spectrum sharing strategy profile is said to be feasible if the stated constraints are satisfied; otherwise, the spectrum sharing strategy profile is said to be infeasible, i.e., they may not satisfy the interference power constraint and minimum data rate constraint) in advance. We then investigate the existence and the feasibility of the pure strategy Nash equilibrium, and further devise a pricing-based distributed algorithm for spectrum strategy selection. The proposed algorithm is proved to converge to a feasible pure strategy Nash equilibrium under specific conditions. Moreover, by studying the relationship between our proposed game and the social optimum, we find that the pricing mechanism can result in Pareto improvement and lead to better convergence for the proposed distributed algorithm. Numerical results show that our designed algorithm significantly outperforms the random selection algorithm and the pricing mechanism has a dramatic effect in improving the system performance.