Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Casualties, regime type and the outcomes of wars of occupation

Conventional wisdom has long held that conducting counterinsurgency wars overseas is an invitation for foreign policy difficulty, if not outright disaster for democracies. However, current research lacks systematic evidence to support such a claim, fostering uncertainty regarding the connection between regime type and the outcomes of such conflicts and leaving open the question if such a link even exists. I address these issues by linking the level of casualties suffered by an occupying force to its leadership’s decision to withdraw from the territory. Using a dataset of wars of occupation from 1800 to 2005, I find that, while democracies are no more likely to lose than their autocratic counterparts, they consistently abandon these conflicts at significantly lower levels of casualties.
Membrane potential is important for bacterial cell division

Many cell division-related proteins are located at specific positions in the bacterial cell, and this organized distribution of proteins requires energy. Here, we report that the proton motive force, or more specifically the (trans)membrane potential, is directly involved in protein localization. It emerged that the membrane potential modulates the distribution of several conserved cell division proteins such as MinD, FtsA, and the bacterial cytoskeletal protein MreB. We show for MinD that this is based on the membrane potential stimulated binding of its C-terminal amphipathic helix. This function of the membrane potential has implications for how these morphogenetic proteins work and provide an explanation for the effects observed with certain antimicrobial compounds.
The Stochastic Dependence of Security Price Changes and Transaction Volumes: Implications for the Mixture-of-Distributions Hypothesis

A theory of financial markets based on a two-parameter portfolio model is shown to imply stochastic dependence between transaction volume and the change in the logarithm of security price from one transaction to the next. The change in the logarithm of price can therefore be viewed as following a mixture of distributions, with transaction volume as the mixing variable. For common stocks these distributions (of which the distribution of A log p is a mixture) appear to have a pronounced excess of frequency near the mean and a deficiency of outliers, relative to the normal. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that stock price changes over fixed intervals of time follow mixtures of finitevariance distributions.
Patterns of Innovation Capabilities in KIBS Firms: Evidence from the 2003 Statistics Canada Innovation Survey on Services

The aim of this paper is to shed light on complementarities and substitutions between various types of innovation capabilities in knowledge-intensive-based service (KIBS) firms. The data used in this study are the responses of 2,625 innovative firms to the 2003 Statistics Canada Innovation Survey on services. The empirical results suggest the presence of three patterns of complementary innovation capabilities, one pattern of substitute activities and finally, four patterns of innovation capabilities that are independent from each other. Hence, the results suggest the presence of complementarities: first, between internal R&D, external R&D, acquisition of equipment and machinery, and marketing activities; second, between external R&D, acquisition of equipment and machinery, acquisition of external knowledge and marketing activities; third, between acquisition of equipment and machinery, acquisition of external knowledge and marketing activities. Such complementarities lead to the conclusion that, in practice, managers of KIBS firms consider the consolidation of these capabilities jointly instead of separately. The paper also discusses issues related to patterns of capabilities that are substitutes and independent from each other. The results of this study also show significant heterogeneity in the determinants of the different patterns of innovation capabilities.
Flattening the effective marginal tax rate structure in Australia: Policy simulations using the Melbourne Institute Tax and Transfer Simulator

This article uses the Melbourne Institute Tax and Transfer Simulator to examine the effects of a reduction in the means-tested benefit taper, or withdrawal, rates in Australia to 30 per cent. That is, all taper rates of 50 per cent and 70 per cent in the March 1998 benefit system are reduced to 30 per cent, while leaving all basic benefit levels unchanged. This change is therefore expected to 'flatten' the tax structure by reducing the high marginal tax rates applying to those with relatively low incomes and increasing the marginal tax rates of medium incomes. Simulations in which all individuals are assumed to remain at their pre-reform labour supply levels are compared with behavioural simulations in which the majority of individuals are free to adjust the number of hours worked. The results reflect only the supply side of the labour market. The database used is the 1997-98 Survey of Income and Housing Costs, so that weekly incomes are based on the financial year 1997-98. The comparison shows that, for sole parents, accounting for behavioural effects of the reform results in a lower estimated expenditure for government, whereas for couples, accounting for behavioural effects results in a higher estimated expenditure. Copyright 2003 The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research.
Body image and weight reduction attempts among adolescent girls involved in physical activity.

UNLABELLED The aim of the current study was to examine associations between adolescent girls' body image and the character of engagement in physical activity in a representative sample of Kaunas high school girls. MATERIAL AND METHODS A total of 405 girls (mean age 16.9+/-0.4) filled in a self-constructed questionnaire (reliability 90.3%), aimed at assessing the engagement in physical activity and weight related body image. RESULTS Most kinds of sports emphasizing body image such as fitness, dancing, gymnastics were most popular among the irregular participants (82.7%), and among regular participant, too (62.7%). The main reason to engage in physical activity was to improve the body image (45.2%), while the health improvement motive was left out in the second place (33.6%). Satisfaction with the body shape and the overall appearance strongly depended on body mass index (BMI, kg/m2), but not on the participation or the character of participation in physical activity. Irregular participants showed more attempts to reduce weight compared to regular exercisers and nonparticipants, while both groups participating in sport reported healthier ways of weight reduction practice. CONCLUSIONS Satisfaction with body shape and overall appearance strongly depends on body mass index, but not on the participation in physical activity. Irregular engagement in physical activity could be an indicator of more frequent attempts to reduce body weight among adolescent girls.
Differences in Supervisor and Non-Supervisor Perceptions of Quality Culture and Organizational Climate

Data were collected from 8,126 employees in à large government service agency using an anonymous survey measuring 9 aspects of quality culture and 10 aspects of organizational climate. Results show that supervisors perceived all 19 aspects of the culture and climate measured on the survey significantly more positively than did non-supervisors. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for organizational effectiveness.
Limits of the Effect of Social Information on the Voluntary Provision of Public Goods: Evidence from Field Experiments

Previous work has demonstrated the effect of social information in the voluntary provision of public goods in the field. In this article, we demonstrate the boundary conditions of the effect. We show that when social information is too extreme, it ceases to influence individual contributions. The results highlight a natural limitation of the social information effect, and provide a characterization of the most effective levels for an organization to use.
Workplace learning in general practice: Supervision, patient mix and independence emerge from the black box once again

Background: Medical students increasingly participate in rotations in primary care settings, such as general practices. Although general practices can differ markedly from hospital settings, research on the instructional quality of general practice rotations is relatively scarce. Aim: We conducted a study to identify which aspects make a significant contribution to the instructional quality of general practice clerkships, as perceived by students. Method: After completing their general practice attachment, 155 fifth-year medical students filled out an evaluation questionnaire. Exploratory factor analysis and reliability analysis identified clusters of correlated independent variables. Subsequent regression analysis revealed the relations between the reduced set of independent variables and the dependent variable ‘Instructional quality’. Results: Both the quality of supervision and the size and diversity of the patient mix substantially affected students’ experienced instructional quality. Opportunities and facilities to perform independently were correlated with instructional quality, but did not affect the instructiveness directly. Conclusions: Supervision, patient mix and independence are crucial factors for learning in general practice. This is consistent with findings in hospital settings. The perceived quality of instruction hinges on supervision, which is not only the variable most strongly related to instructional quality, but which also affects both the patient mix and students’ independence.
Anti-Makeup: Learning A Bi-Level Adversarial Network for Makeup-Invariant Face Verification

Makeup is widely used to improve facial attractiveness and is well accepted by the public. However, different makeup styles will result in significant facial appearance changes. It remains a challenging problem to match makeup and non-makeup face images. This paper proposes a learning from generation approach for makeup-invariant face verification by introducing a bi-level adversarial network (BLAN). To alleviate the negative effects from makeup, we first generate non-makeup images from makeup ones, and then use the synthesized non-makeup images for further verification. Two adversarial networks in BLAN are integrated in an end-to-end deep network, with the one on pixel level for reconstructing appealing facial images and the other on feature level for preserving identity information. These two networks jointly reduce the sensing gap between makeup and non-makeup images. Moreover, we make the generator well constrained by incorporating multiple perceptual losses. Experimental results on three benchmark makeup face datasets demonstrate that our method achieves state-of-the-art verification accuracy across makeup status and can produce photo-realistic non-makeup face images.
The Relation Among Targets’ R&D Activities, Acquirers’ Returns, and In-Process R&D in the Us

Using a sample of 129 mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in the US between publicly traded acquirers and targets in research and development (R&D) intensive industries over the period of 1994-2004 and a size- and industry-matched sample, we examine the relation among targets' R&D activities, the probability of acquirers' writing-off in-process R&D (IPRD), and acquirers' returns around the time of M&A announcements. We find that firms acquiring targets with higher R&D investments tend to write off some of the acquired R&D assets upon the completion of the M&As. We also find that the median cumulative abnormal return during the three days around M&A announcements for acquirers with subsequent IPRD write-offs is - 2.73% while the return for acquirers without IPRD write-offs is - 0.60%. This suggests that acquirers' stock returns around M&A announcements are much lower when investors expect acquirers to expense IPRD. The results are consistent with our conjecture that acquirers tend to write-off IPRD when they acquire overvalued targets. We also find that IPRD write-offs do not increase earnings or stock returns of acquirers after M&As, which is inconsistent with an earnings management hypothesis. Copyright (c) 2009 The Authors Journal compilation (c) 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
The effect of changes in institutional environment on creative research environments at government research institutes

This study analyses how organizational environment factors affecting creative R&D performance of governmental research institutes (GRIs) are influenced by changes in the institutional environment on an empirical basis. We have identified environmental factors that affect the creative R&D performance of the Korean GRIs and analysed how these environmental factors are affected by the Korean government's newly adopted project-based system (PBS), which has intensified competition and expanded project scale. For an empirical analysis, a survey was conducted with researchers at GRIs holding doctoral degrees, inquiring about institutional environmental factors, factors affecting the creative research environment and their creative performance. According to the analysis, the creative performance of Korean GRIs is influenced by factors such as the managerial ability of research team leaders, autonomy in project undertakings, horizontal organization, diversity, and flexibility. However, these creative environmental factors are also affected by changes in institutional environment through a new system introduced by government. In an institutional environment where competition is intensified by the introduction of a new system, managerial ability of research team leaders, autonomy in undertaking projects and flexibility are significant factors affecting creative performance compared to an institutional environment at a lower level of competition. Under an environment where the scale of R&D projects has been expanded through the introduction of a new system, autonomy, horizontal organization and diversity are considered significant factors affecting performance. The results of the analysis imply that institutional changes led by the government not only affect factors relating to creative research environments at GRIs but also impose significant and varying influence over the outcome of creative research.
The Development of Tourism Areas: a Comparative Case Study of the Factors Underpinning Tourism Development in Killarney and Clifden in Ireland

This research investigates the local, place-based factors that influence tourism development, and asks why some tourism areas develop more than others. It provides important insights into the dynamics that occur at the local level, and contributes to the existing literature on destination development by investigating the influence of local tourist influentials; the presence of a social and professional milieu and the propensity for co-operation. Taking an inter-disciplinary approach, the research draws from existing tourism literature on models of tourism development, as well as literatures on entrepreneurship and industrial district theory. Underpinned by a pragmatic philosophy, it adopts a mixed-methods approach within a predominantly qualitative framework, and undertakes a comparative case study of tourism development in Killarney (a highly developed tourist town in the southwest of Ireland) and Clifden (a less developed tourist area in the west of Ireland). The research provides a comprehensive understanding of the way communities of individuals and businesses, with deep social roots and a common history, can influence tourism development. This detailed analysis of tourism development explores the way in which two tourism areas and communities have engaged with tourism, how their different histories have resulted in different factors of development, and how this has influenced their development as destinations. The research enhances the academic literature on tourism development in Ireland, an area that is extremely underdeveloped. Furthermore, it contributes to our understanding of how destinations develop, and the transferability of its key findings to other tourism areas has implications for both academics and policy-makers alike.
Commitment To the Disadvantaged Among Urban Administrators

This paper examines potential correlates of attitudinal commitment to minority hiring among urban personnel officials. The authors hypothesized that sociopolitical beliefs concerning equality would be particularly powerful predictors of attitudes toward recruit ing nonwhites, but that work-related beliefs, professional characteristics, community relationships, and personal attributes would explain additional variance in commitment to hiring minorities. Sociopolitical and work-related beliefs do achieve substantial correlations with attitudes toward recruiting nonwhites, but the three other clusters of independent variables account for less variance than expected. A concluding section examines some implications of the data for minority hiring practices in urban bureau cracies.
Changing Susceptibility to Non-Optimum Temperatures in Japan, 1972–2012: The Role of Climate, Demographic, and Socioeconomic Factors

Background: Previous studies have shown that population susceptibility to non-optimum temperatures has changed over time, but little is known about the related time-varying factors that underlie the changes. Objective: Our objective was to investigate the changing population susceptibility to non-optimum temperatures in 47 prefectures of Japan over four decades from 1972 to 2012, addressing three aspects: minimum mortality temperature (MMT) and heat- and cold-related mortality risks. In addition, we aimed to examine how these aspects of susceptibility were associated with climate, demographic, and socioeconomic variables. Methods: We first used a two-stage time-series design with a time-varying distributed lag nonlinear model and multivariate meta-analysis to estimate the time-varying MMT, heat- and cold-related mortality risks. We then applied linear mixed effects models to investigate the association between each of the three time-varying aspects of susceptibility and various time-varying factors. Results: MMT increased from 23.2 [95% confidence interval (CI): 23, 23.6] to 28.7 (27.0, 29.7) °C. Heat-related mortality risk [relative risk (RR) for the 99th percentile of temperature vs. the MMT] decreased from 1.18 (1.15, 1.21) to 1.01 (0.98, 1.04). Cold-related mortality risk (RR for the first percentile vs. the MMT) generally decreased from 1.48 (1.41, 1.54) to 1.35 (1.32, 1.40), with the exception of a few eastern prefectures that showed increased risk. The changing patterns in all three aspects differed by region, sex, and causes of death. Higher mean temperature was associated (p<0.01) with lower heat risk, whereas higher humidity was associated with higher cold risk. A higher percentage of elderly people was associated with a higher cold risk, whereas higher economic strength of the prefecture was related to lower cold risk. Conclusions: Population susceptibility to heat has decreased over the last four decades in Japan. Susceptibility to cold has decreased overall except for several eastern prefectures where it has either increased or remained unchanged. Certain climate, demographic, and socioeconomic factors explored in the current study might underlie this changing susceptibility. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP2546
Network Intermediaries in International Trade

Motivated by evidence on the importance of incomplete information and networks in international trade, we investigate the supply of network intermediation. We build a general-equilibrium model in which agents with networks of foreign contacts either can use their networks themselves in support of production or can make their networks available for others to use and thereby can become network intermediaries. We use this model for comparative statics and welfare analysis. One welfare conclusion is that intermediaries may have inadequate incentives to maintain or to expand their networks, suggesting a rationale for the policies followed by some countries to encourage large-scale trading companies.
Blood Inventory Management: An Overview of Theory and Practice

Blood Inventory Management has attracted significant interest from the Operations Research profession during the last 15 years. A number of methodological contributions have been made in the areas of inventory theory and combinatoric optimization that can be of use to other products or systems. These contributions include the development of exact and approximate ordering and issuing policies for an inventory system, the analysis of LIFO or multi-product systems, and various forms of distribution scheduling. In addition, many of these results have been implemented, either as decision rules for efficient blood management in a hospital, or as decision support systems for hierarchical planning in a Regional Blood Center. In this paper we attempt a review of the recent Operations Research contributions to blood inventory management theory and practice. Whereas many problems have been solved, others remain open and new ones keep being created with advances in medical technology and practices. Our approach is not to present an exhaustive review of all the literature in the field, but rather to address several important issues from a unified perspective of theory and practice, and point out new areas for further research.
Production of RANKL by Memory B Cells: A Link Between B Cells and Bone Erosion in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic autoimmune disease that often leads to joint damage. The mechanisms of bone damage in RA are complex, involving activation of bone‐resorbing osteoclasts (OCs) by synoviocytes and Th17 cells. This study was undertaken to investigate whether B cells play a direct role in osteoclastogenesis through the production of RANKL, the essential cytokine for OC development.
Climatological variations of total alkalinity and total dissolved inorganic carbon in the Mediterranean Sea surface waters

Abstract. A compilation of data from several cruises between 1998 and 2013 was used to derive polynomial fits that estimate total alkalinity (AT) and total dissolved inorganic carbon (CT) from measurements of salinity and temperature in the Mediterranean Sea surface waters. The optimal equations were chosen based on the 10-fold cross-validation results and revealed that second- and third-order polynomials fit the AT and CT data respectively. The AT surface fit yielded a root mean square error (RMSE) of ± 10.6 μmol kg−1, and salinity and temperature contribute to 96 % of the variability. Furthermore, we present the first annual mean CT parameterization for the Mediterranean Sea surface waters with a RMSE of ± 14.3 μmol kg−1. Excluding the marginal seas of the Adriatic and the Aegean, these equations can be used to estimate AT and CT in case of the lack of measurements. The identified empirical equations were applied on the 0.25° climatologies of temperature and salinity, available from the World Ocean Atlas 2013. The 7-year averages (2005–2012) showed that AT and CT have similar patterns with an increasing eastward gradient. The variability is influenced by the inflow of cold Atlantic waters through the Strait of Gibraltar and by the oligotrophic and thermohaline gradient that characterize the Mediterranean Sea. The summer–winter seasonality was also mapped and showed different patterns for AT and CT. During the winter, the AT and CT concentrations were higher in the western than in the eastern basin. The opposite was observed in the summer where the eastern basin was marked by higher AT and CT concentrations than in winter. The strong evaporation that takes place in this season along with the ultra-oligotrophy of the eastern basin determines the increase of both AT and CT concentrations.