Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The effects of prayer on organizational life: A phenomenological study

Abstract There is substantial evidence showing that it is not uncommon for workers to face, for example, unfriendly relationships, poor organizational climate, and aggressive bosses in their work settings. While self-help readings, relaxation exercises, yoga, mentalization therapies and psychological counseling help to address workers' reactions, this paper focuses on prayer and its effects, through a phenomenological study. The results indicate that the sample members usually pray everyday and/or many times during the day. The majority of them seek for some form of celestial support, like to express gratitude to some deity, and believe that there is no right place or time to pray. The findings show that the average time that is spent on praying varies. Further, prayer is also seen as a form of communication with a divine power and it is also regarded as beneficial to deal with tasks, colleagues' relationships, negative emotions and spiritual vibrations at work settings, among other things.
Predicting the Perceived Flow of Time From Qualities of Activity and Depth of Engagement

Framed in an ecologically grounded and event-based perspective, this study examined perceived temporality during participation in everyday activities for 35 students. Students completed up to 140 experience-sampling surveys rating activity features over 18 days. Structural modeling was used to examine the covariance structures of 8 variables. Differences in speed of perceived time in passing are predicted from 2 variable groups: (a) activity features (novelty, skill, and complexity), and (b) a participation factor (emotional and intellectual engagement, focus on self, and focus on activity). Path coefficients suggest that activity features, along with individuals' skill use, significantly predict the engagement factor, which in turn predicts temporality. A 2-way path between temporality and engagement suggests that increased engagement led to increased perceived speed of time in passing, which in turn increased engagement.
Reflections on collaborative inquiry in Cyprus: lessons for researchers and practitioners

Effective teaching in mixed ability classes has dominated much of the Cyprus government’s agenda for educational reform. However, there remains widespread dissatisfaction with Cyprus teachers’ ability to teach in mixed ability classes. A factor behind the unsuccessful attempts of the Ministry of Education and Culture to improve teaching in mixed ability classes is that little attention is paid to the method of supporting teachers during in‐service training and to the development of a praxis of educating where the skills of action learning as a professional practitioner upon one’s own practice and in collaboration with others are seen as central to a teacher’s continued professional development. In this paper, the authors reflect on their experiences from different research projects which were designed and implemented following collaborative inquiry, not only for experienced researchers who act as critical friends to schools but also for practitioners who want to carry out investigations in their school context and to improve their teaching in mixed ability classes. The authors first analyse what they mean by collaborative inquiry, and then present the advantages and difficulties of this sort of research as they have seen them through their experiences in the research projects they were involved in within the trusted community of joint and shared revelation.
Pharmacological hypothesis: Nitric oxide‐induced inhibition of ADAM‐17 activity as well as vesicle release can in turn prevent the production of soluble endothelin‐converting enzyme

Endothelin‐1 (ET‐1) and nitric oxide (NO) are two highly potent vasoactive molecules with opposing effects on the vasculature. Endothelin‐converting enzyme (ECE) and nitric oxide synthase (NOS) catalyse the production of ET‐1 and NO, respectively. It is well established that these molecules play a crucial role in the initiation and progression of cardiovascular diseases and have therefore become targets of therapy. Many studies have examined the mechanism(s) by which NO regulates ET‐1 production. Expression and localization of ECE‐1 is a key factor that determines the rate of ET‐1 production. ECE‐1 can either be membrane bound or be released from the cell surface to produce a soluble form. NO has been shown to reduce the expression of both membrane‐bound and soluble ECE‐1. Several studies have examined the mechanism(s) behind NO‐mediated inhibition of ECE expression on the cell membrane. However, the precise mechanism(s) behind NO‐mediated inhibition of soluble ECE production are unknown. We hypothesize that both exogenous and endogenous NO, inhibits the production of soluble ECE‐1 by preventing its release via extracellular vesicles (e.g., exosomes), and/or by inhibiting the activity of A Disintegrin and Metalloprotease‐17 (ADAM17). If this hypothesis is proven correct in future studies, these pathways represent targets for the therapeutic manipulation of soluble ECE‐1 production.
Worlds in Motion: Understanding International Migration at the End of the Millennium

At the end of the 20th century nearly all developed nations have become countries of immigration, absorbing growing numbers of immigrants not only from developed regions, but increasingly from developing nations of the Third World. Although international migration has come to play a central role in the social, economic, and demographic dynamics of both immigrant-sending and immigrant-receiving countries, social scientists have been slow to construct a comprehensive theory to explain it. Efforts at theoretical explanation have been fragmented by disciplinary, geographic, and methodological boundaries. Worlds in Motion seeks to overcome these schisms to create a comprehensive theory of international migration for the next century. After explicating the various propositions and hypotheses of current theories, and identifying area of complementarity and conflict, the authors review empirical research emanating from each of the world's principal international migration systems: North America, Western Europe, the Gulf, Asia and the Pacific, and the Southern Cone of South America. Using data from the 1980s, levels and patterns of migration within each system are described to define their structure and organization. Specific studies are then comprehensively surveyed to evaluate the fundamental propositions of neoclassical economics, the new economics of labour migration, segmented labour market theory, world systems theory, social capital theory, and the theory of cumulative causation. The various theories are also tested by applying them to the relationship between international migration and economic development. Although certain theories seem to function more effectively in certain systems, all contain elements of truth supported by empirical research. The task of the theorist is thus to identify which theories are most effective in accounting for international migration in the world today, and what regional and national circumstances lead to a predominance of one theoretical mechanism over another. The book concludes by offering an empirically-grounded theoretical synthesis to serve as a guide for researchers and policy-makers in the 21st century. Contributors to this volume - Douglas Massey, Princeton University Joaquin Arango, Complutense University of Madrid Graeme Hugo, University of Adelaide Ali Kouaouci, University of Montreal Adela Pellegrino, University of the Republic, Uruguay Edward J. Taylor, University of California, Davis
Disparate effects of prostaglandins on basal and gonadotropin-stimulated progesterone production by luteal cells isolated from rhesus monkeys during the menstrual cycle and pregnancy.

To examine the direct effects of prostaglandins (PC) on corpus luteum function in primates, luteal cells isolated from rhesus monkeys were incubated in the presence of PGE2 or PGF2 �, either alone, or in combination with gonadotropin (hCC) or dibutyryl cyclic AMP. Luteal cells were obtained at Days 16-18 (4-7 days after the preovulatory LH surge; midluteal phase cells) and Days 2 1-22 (8-10 days after the LH surge; late luteal phase cells) of the menstrual cycle and at 160-166 days of gestation (term pregnancy cells). Under control conditions, luteal cells at these stages produced similar amounts of progesterone in vitro. Progesterone production by cells from midluteal phase of the menstrual cycle was significantly (P<0.05) increased in the presence of 50 ng PCE2/ml, with a maximal response at 5000 ng/ml. PGFD,a was 10-fold less potent than PGE2 in stimulating progesterone production by midluteal phase cells. In contrast, the progesterone synthetic activity of luteal cells from late luteal phase of the cycle and at term pregnancy was unaltered by the presence of 5-5000 ng/ml of either PGE2 or PGFDa. PG (5000 ng/ml) stimulation of progesterone secretion by midluteal phase cells was less (P<0.01) than that elicited by the presence of 1000 ng hCC/ml and the combination of hCG and either PGE2 or PGFZ,a produced a response no different from that by hCG alone. Although cells from late luteal phase of the cycle and term pregnancy responded to 1000 ng hCG/ml with enhanced (P<0.01) progesterone production, the combination of hCG and 5000 ng/mI of either PGE2 or PGF20 failed to increase progesterone secretion. However, neither PG prevented the stimulation of luteal cell progesterone production by 1 mM dibutyryl cyclic AMP. Thus, PC mimicked gonadotropin stimulation of luteal cell steroidogenesis at midluteal phase of the menstrual cycle, but antagonized the stimulatory effect of hCG on luteal cells isolated later in the cycle and at term pregnancy. PC may act prior to the elevation of cellular cyclic AMP to block the mechanism of hCG stimulation of progesterone production by luteal cells. The data suggest that PC may have a potential luteotropic or luteolytic effect on luteal cells of the rhesus monkey, depending upon the “age” of the corpus luteum.
A New Scale to Measure Adolescent Reports of Academic Support by Mothers, Fathers, Teachers, and Friends in Latino Immigrant Families

The purpose of this article was to report factor structures, reliability, and validity of the Significant Other Academic Support Scale from two different Latino samples of Mexican and Central American origin youth. Self-report data were collected from 394 Mexican and 220 Central American youth from immigrant families living in Los Angeles. Exploratory factor analyses indicated that the same four factors (i.e., academic support by mothers, fathers, teachers, and friends) emerged in both the Mexican and Central American samples. Also, high internal consistency reliabilities were found for all four subscales in both samples. The initial evidence of construct validity was provided through the tests of convergent validity, discriminant validity, and predictive validity.
Small heterodimer partner attenuates profibrogenic features of hepatitis C virus‐infected cells

An atypical orphan nuclear receptor small heterodimer partner (SHP) is known to be regulated by AMP‐activated protein kinase (AMPK). Both of them inhibit TGF‐β and Smad signalling and exhibit antifibrotic activity in the liver. However, little is known about the protective effects of SHP and AMPK against hepatitis c virus (HCV)‐induced hepatic fibrosis.
Biochemistry of the Phagosome: The Challenge to Study a Transient Organelle

Phagocytes are specialized cells of the immune system, designed to engulf and destroy harmful microorganisms inside the newly formed phagosome. The latter is an intracellular organelle that is transformed into a toxic environment within minutes and disappears once the pathogen is destroyed. Reactive oxygen species and reactive nitrogen species are produced inside the phagosome. Intracellular granules or lysosomes of the phagocyte fuse with the phagosome and liberate their destructive enzymes. This process of phagocytosis efficiently protects against most infections; however, some microorganisms avoid their destruction and cause severe damage. To understand such failure of phagosomal killing, we need to learn more about the actual destruction process in the phagosome. This paper summarizes methods to investigate the biochemistry of the phagosome and discusses some of their limitations. In accordance with the nature of the phagosome, the issue of localization and temporal dynamics is emphasized, and recent developments are highlighted.
Spatial, Dietary and Temporal Niche Dimensions in Ecological Segregationof Two Sympatric, Congeneric Marsupial Species

Didelphis aurita and D. albiventris are widely distributed in South America, with a range of sympatry in the limit of their distribution, particularly in Araucaria mixed ombrophilous forest in the southern Atlantic Forest. We investigated the spatial, feeding, and time use between these morphologically similar species in a remnant of Araucaria forest in southern Brazil for one year. We tested the hypothesis that these species when in sympatry segregate each other in space use, diet, and/or activity time. We expect that they segregate between each other primarily in the dimension of space use, as occurs for Australian congeneric marsupials. We used a mark-capture-release protocol for obtaining data. We analysed the spatial segregation by measuring the distance of captures in relation to the remnant centre, stream and edges. There were significant differences in the use of space, as adult females of D. aurita used mainly the remnant interior and stream sides, and D. albiventris females its edges or open areas. The consumption of feeding resources, particularly fruits, was different mainly between females and during the breeding season. However, there was no difference in the activity time between species. We believe that the territorial behaviour of D. aurita females had a crucial role in this spatial segregation with D. albiventris females, leading to a diet differentiation, particularly for fruits which were highly available inside the remnant. Interspecific competition between females is thought to be the main reason maintaining D. albiventris females far from the richest parts of the remnant. The mechanism behind this ecological segregation is discussed, and an ecological niche shift when both species are in sympatry is suggested, rather than the ghost of competition past.
The Internal Impedance of Traction Rails for DC Railways in the 1&#8211;100 kHz Frequency Range

The electrical behavior of the sample steel traction rails is analyzed, considering the resistance and internal inductance. Measurements are performed on a sample rail with a circulation of audiofrequency current (with frequency regulated on a wide frequency interval range of 1-100 kHz) superimposed on a dc supply current. The results complete the other measurement results obtained with a 50-Hz bias current; the resistance values are 30%-50% smaller, whereas the internal inductance is almost similar
The bone in the throat: some uncertain thoughts on baroque method

The paper conjures some possibilities for a baroque method in qualitative educational research. It draws on work across a range of disciplines that has detected a recurrence of the baroque in the philosophical and literary texts of modernity. A baroque method would resist clarity, mastery and the single point of view, be radically uncertain about scale, boundaries and coherence, and favour movement and tension over structure and composure. It would open up strange spaces for difference, wonder and otherness to emerge. The paper uses baroque exemplars such as trompe l’oeil painting and the cabinet of curiosities to pose methodological questions about analysis, representation and meaning. The obstructive potential of the baroque might, it is argued, help post‐foundational research resist the bureaucratic reason that animates education policy and research. As the ‘bone in the throat’ of closure‐seeking systems, the baroque offers a hopeful figure for a productively irritating method.
Incentivizing Exploration In Reinforcement Learning With Deep Predictive Models

Achieving efficient and scalable exploration in complex domains poses a major challenge in reinforcement learning. While Bayesian and PAC-MDP approaches to the exploration problem offer strong formal guarantees, they are often impractical in higher dimensions due to their reliance on enumerating the state-action space. Hence, exploration in complex domains is often performed with simple epsilon-greedy methods. In this paper, we consider the challenging Atari games domain, which requires processing raw pixel inputs and delayed rewards. We evaluate several more sophisticated exploration strategies, including Thompson sampling and Boltzman exploration, and propose a new exploration method based on assigning exploration bonuses from a concurrently learned model of the system dynamics. By parameterizing our learned model with a neural network, we are able to develop a scalable and efficient approach to exploration bonuses that can be applied to tasks with complex, high-dimensional state spaces. In the Atari domain, our method provides the most consistent improvement across a range of games that pose a major challenge for prior methods. In addition to raw game-scores, we also develop an AUC-100 metric for the Atari Learning domain to evaluate the impact of exploration on this benchmark.
Observations of thermal tides in the middle atmosphere of Mars by the SPICAM instrument

[1] We use vertical profiles of Martian atmospheric density, pressure, and temperature from the Mars Express SPICAM UV spectrometer to study thermal tides in the poorly studied middle atmosphere region at 70–120 km. Here we show that nonmigrating tides cause zonal pressure variations of tens of percent and zonal temperature variations on the order of 10 K in these observations. Wave-2 and wave-3 components are dominant, consistent with previous work at lower and higher altitudes and with theoretical predictions. Normalized pressure amplitudes tend to increase with altitude for the cases and altitudes studied here. Phases of the pressure variations vary little with altitude, indicating long vertical wavelengths for the underlying tidal modes. We derive theoretical relationships between zonal variations in temperature and in pressure and find that they are generally satisfied. Failure of these relationships can be used to infer the presence of multiple tidal modes contributing to a single observed wave component. The wave-2 component is dominated by the diurnal Kelvin wave 1 (DK1) above about 80 km but contains multiple tidal modes below this altitude. In one unusual instance, 40°S–30°S, Ls = 150°–180°, and local time of 22–24 h, the usually strong wave-2 component is extremely weak. The wave-3 component is always dominated by a single tidal mode, which for tropical and extratropical latitudes we identify as the diurnal Kelvin wave 2 (DK2).
High-risk profile in a region with extremely elevated cardiovascular mortality.

INTRODUCTION Although mortality rates from cardiovascular diseases have shown a remarkable decline in many western countries, cardiovascular mortality in Lithuania has remained high. It is widely accepted that half of the decline in cardiovascular mortality can be attributed to favourable changes in modifiable risk factors. METHODS In 2006, the Lithuanian High Cardiovascular Risk Programme was started. A two-level approach--primary health care institutions and specialised cardiovascular prevention units--was applied. The cardiovascular risk profile was evaluated for a group of 17,031 middle-aged subjects enrolled into the programme at a primary level and 2908 at a specialised level. RESULTS Among the persons examined, 61.8% (10,519) were female. Arterial hypertension was present in 60.2% of the subjects. Dyslipidaemia was present in 88.8%. Total cholesterol was 6.02 ± 1.23 mmol/L, LDL cholesterol 3.74 ± 1.09 mmol/L, HDL cholesterol 1.53 ± 0.52 mmol/L, and triglycerides 1.61 ± 1.27 mmol/L. Diabetes mellitus was found in 10.3%, abdominal obesity in 45.4%, and metabolic syndrome in 43.8% of cases. These values were even greater in high-risk subjects. CONCLUSIONS In middle-aged subjects the prevalence of dyslipidaemia, arterial hypertension, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome was found to be high. We can roughly state that almost nine out of ten middle-aged subjects in Lithuania have established dyslipidaemia, every second one has established arterial hypertension, and four out of ten are obese. Hence, these are the main risk factors that should be considered first of all in daily clinical practice.
Positive and Normative Judgments Implicit in U.S. Tax Policy, and the Costs of Unequal Growth and Recessions

Calculating the welfare implications of changes to economic policy or shocks requires economists to decide on a normative criterion. One approach is to elicit the relevant moral criteria from real-world policy choices, converting a normative decision into a positive inference, as in the recent surge of “inverse-optimum” research. We find that capitalizing on the potential of this approach is not as straightforward as we might hope. We perform the inverse-optimum inference on U.S. tax policy from 1979 through 2010 and argue that the results either undermine the normative relevance of the approach or challenge conventional assumptions upon which economists routinely rely when performing welfare evaluations.
Thought suppression, memory, and interrogative suggestibility

Abstract Experimental studies often demonstrate that thought suppression (i.e., consciously trying to avoid having certain thoughts), paradoxically, leads to hyperaccessibility of the to-be-suppressed thought. On the other hand, thought suppression has been claimed to possess memory-undermining qualities. The present study sought to investigate the potential memory-undermining effect of thought suppression. Thereto, the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale (GSS; Gudjonsson, 1984; Personality and Individual Differences) was administered to 56 undergraduate students. Participants were appointed to one of three conditions: a suppression condition (n = 20), a thinking condition (n = 19), and a no-instruction control condition (n = 17). The memory performance and suggestibility tendencies of the three groups were compared. Results indicate that thought suppression has little or no influence on episodic memory or suggestibility. More specifically, thought suppression resulted in decreased accuracy of free recall compared to thinking, but not compared to no-instruction control.
MOSFET Degradation Under RF Stress

We report on the degradation of MOS transistors under RF stress. Hot-carrier degradation, negative-bias temperature instability, and gate dielectric breakdown are investigated. The findings are compared to established voltage- and field-driven models. The experimental results indicate that the existing models are well applicable into the gigahertz range to describe the degradation of MOS transistors in an RF circuit. The probability of gate dielectric breakdown appears to reduce rapidly at such high stress frequencies, increasing the design margin for RF power circuits.