Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mapping Digital Competence: Towards a Conceptual Understanding

Technologies are increasingly being used in society and the economy, and this is transforming ways of working, studying, communicating, accessing information and spending leisure time, among others. Attention must be paid to ensuring that everyone has digital competence as it provides important benefits while its lack can lead to various risks to children, young people, workers, elderly, groups at risk of exclusion and all citizens in general. It is not always clear however what is meant with digital competence. Therefore, the IS Unit at JRC-IPTS has launched a project to develop guidelines for supporting digital competence development in Europe on the request of DG Education and Culture. This report reviews needs for digital competence, different concepts used to describe and understand it, and related policy approaches and measurements. Based on these, it suggests a conceptual model with the following main areas: 1) Instrumental knowledge and skills for tool and media usage; 2) Advanced skills and knowledge for communication and collaboration, information management, learning and problem-solving, and meaningful participation; 3) Attitudes to strategic skills usage in intercultural, critical, creative, responsible and autonomous ways. Instrumental knowledge and skills are a precondition for developing or using more advanced skills. The objective of the conceptual model is to highlight the various knowledge, skill and attitude areas that should be considered when developing digital competence. The proposed structure allows flexibility and the concept to be tailored to different target groups of digital competence learners and users. The work developed in this report will contribute to the IPTS DIGCOMP project, where it will also be developed further. The reader is encouraged to follow the project’s progress and results at the project website: http://is.jrc. ec.europa. eu/pages/EAP/DIGCOMP.html How to obtain EU publications Our priced publications are available from EU Bookshop (http://bookshop.europa.eu), where you can place an order with the sales agent of your choice. The Publications Office has a worldwide network of sales agents. You can obtain their contact details by sending a fax to (352) 29 29-42758.
Regional convergence in the enlarged European Union

There are only a few studies which examine regional convergence in the enlarged European Union. None of these approaches uses a conditional convergence model, which considers different initial conditions of regions. We refer to the Mankiw et al. (1992) model to examine convergence including the New Member States. Note that most researchers use equal values of depreciation rate and rate of technological progress for all regions. Our analysis is based on country specific values of both variables, which vary markedly. We give empirical evidence for a convergence process which exceeds the often measured value of 2%.
Migration decision making: multidisciplinary approaches to microlevel studies in developed and developing countries.

This book focuses on the study of migration at the individual microlevel. This approach emphasizes the process of migration decision making. The book addresses the need for a systematic evaluation of microlevel theories and models of migration decision making in the work of demographers economists geographers planners anthropologists and psychologists. Several trends indicate the rising significance of migration in population studies: 1) there is a slowdown in the rate of natural increase which results in the dynamics of internal population growth patterns shifting to migration 2) the enlarged size of rural-urban population movement in developing countries excerbate serious problems of unemployment housing and education 3) there is the emergence of a population deconcentration trend through metropolitan-nonmetropolitan area migration in developing countries and 4) there is increasing attention to migration policy in developing countries. The microlevel determinants of internal migration are predicated on the knowledge that transfers of population will be internal and not international. The concept of decision making is used in its most general form to refer to the formation of an intuition or disposition towards migration behavior. 3 themes are addressed by the authors: 1) systematic review and evaluation of microlevel frameworks and models of the migration decision 2) applicability of microlevel migration models and frameworks to developing and developed countries and 3) general policy implications of microlevel migration models. One of the more fundamental arguments in this book is that all noncoercive migration-related policies must respond to individual and/or household-level migration decisions. Commonalities in the authors migration decision analysis are: 1) emphasis on microlevel decisions 2) an assumption that the decision makers are rational 3) the emphasis on the motivations of migration information and actualizing decisions to move 4) the design of research on microlevel aspects of migration and 5) explanation of the decision to move or stay and different types of movement.
Single- versus multi-item scales in measuring death anxiety.

The author investigated the reliability and concurrent validity of a Likert-type single-item test asking for a self-rating of death anxiety in two Arabic countries: Egypt and Kuwait. A total of 1,439 participants were divided into 9 male and female subsamples and were tested by a single item of death anxiety, along with three psychometric multi-item instruments (i.e., Templer's Death Anxiety Scale, Thorson and Powell's Revised Death Anxiety Scale, and the Arabic Scale of Death Anxiety). The single- and multi-item scales had high reliabilities. All of the thirteen correlations between the single-item and the multi-item scales of death anxiety among men and women were statistically significant (p less than .001) and positive. They ranged from . 30 to . 66, with a median of . 51. It was concluded that single-item assessment can be reliable across time (test-retest = .82) and that it correlates moderately with multi-item instruments.
Local Government and the NHS: Accountability in the Hollowed Out State

The aim of this paper is to compare and contrast accountability within local government and the NHS in the UK. There are it seems a plethora of analyses which deal individually with each of these components of decentralised government, but few purport to compare and contrast the concept of account ability as it applies to both. A key theme of the analysis is that in spite of a number of differences between regimes of accountability in local government and the NHS, there are crucial similarities. These similarities need to be located within the political economy of the 1980s and the 1990s. The authors use Rhodes' concept of 'the hollowing out of the state' for consid ering the changes that have permeated local government and the NHS. The hollowed out state is conceptualised as a shift in the balance of power within the state towards the centre rather than as a weakening of the state, as the language may imply. This has had a crucial impact on accountability. In terms of the public services which are delivered under the auspices of local government and the NHS, it has meant that the centre has been attempting in effect to reconstitute the concept of accountability in accordance with its own predilections
Invasion, stress, and spinal arthritis in cane toads

The impact of invasive species on biodiversity has attracted considerable study, but impacts of the invasion process on the invaders themselves remain less clear. Invading species encounter conditions different from those in their ancestral habitats and are subject to intense selection for rapid dispersal. The end result may be significant stress on individual organisms, with consequent health problems. Our studies on invasive cane toads in Australia reveal severe spinal arthritis in ≈10% of large adult toads, associated with the same factors (large body size, frequent movement, and relatively long legs) that have enabled toads to invade so rapidly across the Australian tropics.
Lower limb muscle weakness predicts use of a multiple- versus single-step strategy to recover from forward loss of balance in older adults.

BACKGROUND Older adults compared with young adults have reduced strength and balance recovery ability. The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether age, sex, and/or lower limb strength predicted the stepping strategy used to recover from a forward loss of balance. METHODS Ninety-five, community-dwelling, older adults, aged 65-90 years, participated in the study. Loss of balance was induced by releasing participants from a static forward lean. Participants performed four trials at three initial lean magnitudes and were subsequently classified as using a single- or multiple-step strategy. Isometric strength of the ankle, knee, and hip joint flexors and extensors was assessed using a dynamometer. RESULTS Univariate logistic regression revealed that a unit (ie, 1% body weight [BW] × height) decrease in ankle plantar flexion, knee extension, or hip flexion strength was associated with 1.7-2.5 times increased odds of adopting a multiple-step strategy. Women also had greater odds of requiring a multiple-step recovery strategy at the two greatest lean magnitudes. Forward stepwise logistic regression revealed that hip flexor strength in particular was influential as it was the primary predictor included in the logistic regression models at 20% and 25% BW lean magnitudes. CONCLUSIONS Lower limb muscle weakness, especially of the hip flexors and knee extensors, was associated with increased odds of requiring multiple steps compared with single steps to recover from forward loss of balance across a range of initial lean magnitudes. Improved balance recovery ability might be achieved by targeting these muscle groups in falls prevention programs.
Estrogen regulates luminal progenitor cell differentiation through H19 gene expression

Although the role of estrogen signaling in breast cancer development has been extensively studied, the mechanisms that regulate the indispensable role of estrogen in normal mammary gland development have not been well studied. Because of the unavailability of culture system to maintain estrogen-receptor-positive (ERα+) cells in vitro, the molecular mechanisms that regulate estrogen/ERα signaling in the normal human breast are unknown. In the present study, we examined the effects of estrogen signaling on ERα+ human luminal progenitors using a modified matrigel assay and found that estrogen signaling increased the expansion potential of these progenitors. Furthermore, we found that blocking ERα attenuated luminal progenitor expansion and decreased the luminal colony-forming potential of these progenitors. Additionally, blocking ERα decreased H19 expression in the luminal progenitors and led to the development of smaller luminal colonies. We further showed that knocking down the H19 gene in the luminal progenitors significantly decreased the colony-forming potential of the luminal progenitors, and this phenotype could not be rescued by the addition of estrogen. Lastly, we explored the clinical relevance of the estrogen–H19 signaling axis in breast tumors and found that ERα+ tumors exhibited a higher expression of H19 as compared with ERα− tumors and that H19 expression showed a positive correlation with ERα expression in those tumors. Taken together, the present results indicate that the estrogen–ERα–H19 signaling axis plays a role in regulating the proliferation and differentiation potentials of the normal luminal progenitors and that this signaling network may also be important in the development of ER+ breast cancer tumors.
A simple test of the Fama and French model using daily data: Australian evidence

The current study contributes to the empirical literature aimed at testing the Fama and French three-factor model, using daily Australian data. In general, the evidence found is quite favourable to the model based on formal asset pricing tests. However, when the estimated risk premia are taken into account, the support for the Fama-French model is less persuasive. In particular, a negative size premium is uncovered consistent with a wave of recent findings questioning its continued existence over recent years.
Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use in Chronic Liver Disease Patients

Goals To examine a wide range of sociodemographic and clinical characteristics as potential predictors of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use among chronic liver disease (CLD) patients, with a focus on CAM therapies with the greatest potential for hepatotoxicity and interactions with conventional treatments. Background There is some evidence that patients with CLD commonly use CAM to address general and CLD-specific health concerns. Study Patients enrolled in a population-based surveillance study of persons newly diagnosed with CLD between 1999 and 2001 were asked about current use of CAM specifically for CLD. Sociodemographic and clinical information was obtained from interviews and medical records. Predictors of CAM use were examined using univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis. Results Of the 1040 participants, 284 (27.3%) reported current use of at least 1 of 3 CAM therapies of interest. Vitamins or other dietary supplements were the most commonly used therapy, reported by 188 (18.1%) patients. This was followed by herbal medicine (175 patients, 16.8%) and homeopathy (16 patients, 1.5%). Several characteristics were found to be independent correlates of CAM use: higher education and family income, certain CLD etiologies (alcohol, hepatitis C, hepatitis C and alcohol, and hepatitis B), and prior hospitalization for CLD. Conclusions Use of CAM therapies that have the potential to interact with conventional treatments for CLD was quite common among this population-based sample of patients with CLD. There is a need for patient and practitioner education and communication regarding CAM use in the context of CLD.
Post-disaster physical symptoms of firefighters and police officers: role of types of exposure and post-traumatic stress symptoms.

OBJECTIVES To examine the relationships between exposure to the air disaster in Amsterdam and multiple physical symptoms among firefighters and police officers, and to explore the role of post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) herein. DESIGN Historic cohort study. METHODS On average 8.5 years post-disaster, exposed professional firefighters (N=334) and police officers (N=834) and their nonexposed colleagues (N=194 and N=634, respectively) completed questionnaires on disaster exposure and current symptoms. Logistic regression with adjustment for background characteristics was used to compare exposed and nonexposed workers. PTSS were added to these models, as was the interaction between exposure and PTSS, to explore potential mediating and modifying effects, respectively. RESULTS Exposed workers reported multiple physical symptoms significantly more often. Multiple physical symptoms seemed to have particularly affected the exposed firefighters who rescued people, and the exposed police officers who supported injured victims and workers, who were involved in the identification of or search for victims and human remains, who witnessed the immediate disaster scene or had a close one affected by the disaster. These exposure effects were essentially independent of PTSS, and no significant interactions between exposure and PTSS were found. CONCLUSIONS In conclusion, the excess in post-disaster multiple physical symptoms in exposed workers could not be attributed to PTSS.
DECISION MAKING AND THE TEMPORAL RESOLUTION OF UNCERTAINTY

There exist in the literature many two-period analyses of behavior under uncertainty. (See, for example, Sandmo [1970] and [1971], Rothschild and Stiglitz [1971], Turnovsky [1973] and Epstein [1975, 1978].) These works typically assume that a decision must be made in period 1 subject to uncertainty about the environment that will prevail in period 2. At the start of period 2 the true state of the environment becomes known and perhaps some further decisions are made. The effects on the period 1 decision of the prior uncertainty in expectations are closely examined. Clearly the above framework is inadequate for modelling the more general situation where n >1 decisions are made sequentially and subject to improving information about the eventual state of the world. In this general framework the influence on decisions of the way in which uncertainty is resolved through time represents an interesting area of investigation. This paper undertakes such an investigation in the context of several specific decision problems. For simplicity (see footnote 4), we adopt a minimal extension of the two-period model that makes possible the analysis of the temporal resolution of uncertainty, namely, a three-period model. Thus the decision-making framework considered in this paper may be described as follows: an expected utility maximizing agent faces a three-period planning horizon. He makes decisions in each period. Period 3 decisions are made after all uncertainty has been resolved. In period 1 the decision is made subject to prior expectations about the state of the world that will prevail in period 3. The uncertain future environment is represented by a random variable Z. Before the start of period 2 new information about the ultimate value of Z becomes available. The information is forthcoming through the observation of another random variable Y which in general is correlated with Z. The agent is a Bayesian decision maker and revises his prior probability distribution about Z after observing Y. The amount of additional information about Z provided by Y is a parameter in the model. The objective of the paper is to compare the decisions in period I in two choice problems that differ only with respect to the amount of information provided by Y about Z. Note that in both problems the agent faces the identical prior uncertainty about Z. The difference in the two problems is only in the amount of
Role Models for Radical Innovations in Times of Open Innovation

In this paper, we study the influence of innovator roles in highly innovative ventures. In order to obtain a differentiated picture we take into account the degree of innovativeness as a moderating variable. To test our hypotheses we use a sample of 146 highly innovative new product development projects. We choose a rigorous sampling design and apply state-of-the-art measures for the degree of innovativeness. Furthermore, we apply multi-trait-multi-method methodology (MTMM) to enhance the validity of our study. The results show that innovator roles have a strong influence on innovation success but these influences are positively and negatively moderated by innovativeness. The moderating influences depend on the type of innovativeness. Remarkably, with increasing technological innovativeness innovator roles which create inter-organizational links with the outside world appear to be more important than intra-organizational linker roles, and support from high-ranked organizational members turns out to have a significant negative effect on project success with higher degrees of technological innovativeness. Possible explanations for these findings are discussed and consequences for innovation research and innovation management are shown.
Identification of Differentially Expressed Proteins in Direct Expressed Prostatic Secretions of Men with Organ-confined Versus Extracapsular Prostate Cancer*

Current protocols for the screening of prostate cancer cannot accurately discriminate clinically indolent tumors from more aggressive ones. One reliable indicator of outcome has been the determination of organ-confined versus nonorgan-confined disease but even this determination is often only made following prostatectomy. This underscores the need to explore alternate avenues to enhance outcome prediction of prostate cancer patients. Fluids that are proximal to the prostate, such as expressed prostatic secretions (EPS), are attractive sources of potential prostate cancer biomarkers as these fluids likely bathe the tumor. Direct-EPS samples from 16 individuals with extracapsular (n = 8) or organ-confined (n = 8) prostate cancer were used as a discovery cohort, and were analyzed in duplicate by a nine-step MudPIT on a LTQ-Orbitrap XL mass spectrometer. A total of 624 unique proteins were identified by at least two unique peptides with a 0.2% false discovery rate. A semiquantitative spectral counting algorithm identified 133 significantly differentially expressed proteins in the discovery cohort. Integrative data mining prioritized 14 candidates, including two known prostate cancer biomarkers: prostate-specific antigen and prostatic acid phosphatase, which were significantly elevated in the direct-EPS from the organ-confined cancer group. These and five other candidates (SFN, MME, PARK7, TIMP1, and TGM4) were verified by Western blotting in an independent set of direct-EPS from patients with biochemically recurrent disease (n = 5) versus patients with no evidence of recurrence upon follow-up (n = 10). Lastly, we performed proof-of-concept SRM-MS-based relative quantification of the five candidates using unpurified heavy isotope-labeled synthetic peptides spiked into pools of EPS-urines from men with extracapsular and organ-confined prostate tumors. This study represents the first efforts to define the direct-EPS proteome from two major subclasses of prostate cancer using shotgun proteomics and verification in EPS-urine by SRM-MS.
Chromatin organization of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae 2 microns plasmid depends on plasmid-encoded products

We have used gene disruptions and nuclease probes to assess the roles of yeast 2 micron plasmid genes in plasmid chromatin organization. The chromatin structure at the replication origin is not dependent on any of the four major open reading frames, A, B, C, or D. While stable plasmid maintenance is known to depend on a cis-acting locus STB and genes B and C, we find that only gene B influences STB chromatin. Other interactions between plasmid gene products and sequences may reflect gene regulation: the chromatin organization at the 5' end of gene A, which codes for a site-specific recombinase, depends on both gene B and gene C. Since disruption of gene C results in an increase in plasmid copy number that is dependent on gene A, we propose that gene C (and probably gene B) control copy number by regulating the level of the gene A recombinase.
Ultrasonically Enhanced Vancomycin Activity Against Staphylococcus Epidermidis Biofilms in Vivo

Infection of implanted medical devices by Gram-positive organisms such as Staphylococcus ssp. is a serious concern in the biomaterial community. In this research the application of low frequency ultrasound to enhance the activity of vancomycin against implanted Staphylococcus epidermidis biofilms was examined. Polyethylene disks covered with a biofilm of S. epidermidis were implanted subcutaneously in rabbits on both sides of their spine. The rabbits received systemic vancomycin for the duration of the experiment. Following 24 h of recovery, one disk was insonated for 24 or 48 h while the other was a control. Disks were removed and viable bacteria counted. At 24 h of insonation, there was no difference in viable counts between control and insonated biofilms, while at 48 h of insonation there were statistically fewer viable bacteria in the insonated biofilm. The S. epidermidis biofilms responded favorably to combinations of ultrasound and vancomycin, but longer treatment times are required for this Gram-positive organism than was observed previously for a Gram-negative species.