Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Parental Participation in Drug Abuse Prevention: Results From the Midwestern Prevention Project

The Midwestern Prevention Program (MPP) is an ongoing trial of a multi-component intervention—including a school-based social influence curriculum, a parent program, mass-media programming, community organization, and health policy change—designed to prevent drug and alcohol abuse among adolescents. In this article, we focus on the Indianapolis program site, and we address relationships between parental participation in the program and adolescent drug use. Components of the parent program included parent-child homework exercises linked to the curriculum, establishment of a parent program implementation committee at each school, implementation of parenting skills training by researcher-trained parent committee members, and participation in community-wide drug abuse prevention meetings. The analysis sample included 1,001 students who partidpated in the school-based social influence curriculum and completed self-report questionnaires at baseline and 18-month follow-up and whose parents completed a mailed par.
Using Airborne LiDAR and QuickBird Data for Modelling Urban Tree Carbon Storage and Its Distribution - A Case Study of Berlin

While CO2 emissions of cities are widely discussed, carbon storage in urban vegetation has been rarely empirically analyzed. Remotely sensed data offer considerable benefits for addressing this lack of information. The aim of this paper is to develop and apply an approach that combines airborne LiDAR and QuickBird to assess the carbon stored in urban trees of Berlin, Germany, and to identify differences between urban structure types. For a transect in the city, dendrometric parameters were first derived to estimate individual tree stem diameter and carbon storage with allometric equations. Field survey data were used for validation. Then, the individual tree carbon storage was aggregated at the level of urban structure types and the distribution of carbon storage was analysed. Finally, the results were extrapolated to the entire urban area. High accuracies of the detected tree locations were reached with 65.30% for all trees and 80.1% for dominant trees. The total carbon storage of the study area was 20,964.40 t (σ = 15,550.11 t). Its carbon density equaled 13.70 t/ha. A general center-to-periphery increase in carbon storage was identified along the transect. Our approach methods can be used by scientists and decision-makers to gain an empirical basis for the comparison of carbon storage capacities between cities and their subunits to develop adaption and mitigation strategies against climate change.
In Pursuit of Scarcity: Transnational Students, ‘Employability’, and the MBA

‘Credential inflation’ is perhaps one of the more contentious consequences of the recent expansion of higher education. Concerns over the effects of credential inflation have spawned a number of debates around concepts of ‘employability’ and postgraduate learning. In the contemporary knowledge-based economy, it is argued, the employability of young graduates is increasingly dependent upon their ability to maintain ‘positional advantage’ in a labour market characterised by ‘boundaryless careers’. I examine these debates in the context of East Asia. Here, young people's positional advantage is sought, firstly, through the acquisition of an international first degree, obtained at an overseas institution. However, with more and more middle-class students going abroad for their education before returning to seek work, the ‘overseas degree’ is also increasingly subject to devaluation through credential inflation. I highlight the significance of postgraduate education and particularly the Masters of Business Administration (MBA) for young, overseas-educated, graduates in Hong Kong. I argue that the MBA is now seen as a vital supplement to an overseas undergraduate education and as part of an extended temporal and spatial process of study, in the face of prevalent discourses of ‘employability’, individual responsibility, and the need for the continual upgrading of skills.
Jatropha Developments in Mozambique: Analysis of Structural Conditions Influencing Niche-Regime Interactions

This article investigates the transition dynamics related to Jatropha developments in Mozambique. The analysis focuses on how structural conditions (infrastructure, institutions, interaction and collaboration and capabilities and resources) enable or constrain interactions between niche-level Jatropha experiments and incumbent energy, agriculture and rural development regimes in Mozambique. Investors in agro-industrial Jatropha projects focused on establishing projects in areas with relatively good infrastructure, rather than in remote rural areas. Furthermore, they predominantly focused on Jatropha production instead of investing in the entire Jatropha value chain, which turned out to be a challenge in itself, as growing a productive Jatropha crop was much more complex than initially anticipated. The development of institutions that could nurture and protect Jatropha projects from the prevailing regimes lagged behind Jatropha project establishment, leading to an insecure investment climate. Strong inter-ministerial collaboration and organized civil society interaction and representation contrasted with non-organized private sector and rather isolated smallholder Jatropha projects. The global financial crisis and limited adaptive capacity reduced the time and space for experimentation and learning to overcome disappointing crop performance. Together, this hampered Jatropha’s potential to challenge the energy, agricultural and rural development regimes. Nevertheless, the Jatropha experience did initiate the development of policy and regulation and stimulated interaction and collaboration between specific groups of stakeholders, which could provide the basis to capture future biofuel momentum in Mozambique.
STEPPED-FREQUENCY ISAR MOTION COMPENSATION USING PARTICLE SWARM OPTIMIZATION WITH AN ISLAND MODEL

This paper proposes a motion compensation method to compensate for the inter-pulse phase errors caused by the target movement in stepped-frequency ISAR imaging. For this purpose, genetic algorithm, particle swarm optimization (PSO) and PSO with an island model (PSOI) were applied in the proposed procedure. Simulation results using point scatterers and measured data show that PSOI is the most efficient in the proposed method.
Legitimizing the Euro-`polity' and its `Regime'

This article discusses the normative implications of the European integration process by addressing the question of the legitimacy deficit in the EU and its member states. It starts from an analysis of legitimacy as implying a distinction between `polity' and `regime', each of which has an `internal' and an `external' dimension relating respectively to the subjective perceptions of citizens and to more objective- and universalist-oriented criteria. Standard accounts of the integration process and the constitutionalisation of the EU have overlooked the complex ways in which polity- and regime-building interact. They have also emphasized the external legitimacy of the EU while neglecting the internal dimension. Both descriptively and prescriptively, the EU lies in between the interpretations offered by neofunctionalist or intergovernmental realists and federal idealists. The `internal' norms channelled through the EU's `regime' have helped form the economic interests appealed to by the former, but in rather different ways to that assumed by the latter. The result has been a polycentric `polity' with a multi-level `regime'. Consequently, we reject having either an EU written constitution that goes beyond the treaties or a federal legislature, advocating instead the `republican' model of a `mixed commonwealth'.
Growth Hormone Treatment in Short Children ‐Short‐Term and Long‐Term Effects on Growth

Short children with normal GH responses to arginine‐insulin provocation testing and various amounts of spontaneously secreted GH over 24 hours participated in an ongoing study with GH, 0.1 IU/kg/day. A total of 40 prepubertal children have been treated for 1 year. Their mean height velocity increased from 4.6 to 7.5 cm/year. The children with the slowest pretreatment height velocity showed the best increment. An inverse relationship was found between the endogenous GH secretion and the increment in growth; 80% of the children had an endogenous GH secretion of less than 300 milliunits/litre/24 hours, estimated as area under the curve above the calculated baseline. They all showed an increment in height above 2 cm. The remaining 20% all had an endogenous GH secretion of more than 300 milliunits/litre/24 hours, estimated as area under the curve above the calculated baseline, Twenty‐four of the children were prepubertal for the following 4 years, and their GH therapy continued. Their Deight velocity changed from 4.2 cm/year before therapy to 8.1,6.7,6.0 and 4.9 cm/year for the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th years on treatment. Many of them have passed their expected final height, but have still not stopped growing. Those children who were in early puberty when GH treatment started went into a rapid growth spurt and have now stopped growing. They have all reached but not improved their expected final height. In 15 of the children GH treatment was stopped after 1‐3 years. Their mean height velocity for the first post‐treatment year was 5.1 cm/year; thus, for the group as a whole no‘catch down’was observed. Of the 15 children, only 4 decreased in height velocity despite increasing age. Further studies on the long‐term results of GH treatment in larger groups of short children are needed to verify the findings in this study.
Descriptions of Media-Induced Fright Reactions in a Sample of US Elementary School Children

Grade-school children (N = 219, M age = 8.5 years) reported their experiences of media-induced fear in their own words and using forced-choice items. Seventy-six per cent reported a specific instance of media-induced fright; most were responding to movies (seen in theaters or homes) and media content they had not chosen to view. The most commonly mentioned content involved supernatural themes. More than one-third of children scared by movies named a movie rated G or PG. Frequent symptoms included sleep disturbances and anxieties in normally nonthreatening situations. Having a television in one's bedroom was the best predictor of fright severity. Findings demonstrate the value of using open-ended questions and underscore the need for further research on prevention and coping strategies.
Impact of Radical and Partial Nephrectomy on Renal Function in Patients with Renal Cancer

Objective: To evaluate renal function in renal cancer patients undergoing radical nephrectomy (RN) or partial nephrectomy (PN) (open or laparoscopic - ORN, OPN, LRN or LPN) and to identify risk factors contributing to renal function loss. Methods: We analysed 228 consecutive renal cancer patients admitted for OPN, LPN, ORN or LRN. The variables analysed were age, gender, weight, type of surgery (radical versus partial), type of surgical access (open versus laparoscopic), preoperative renal function and history of hypertension, diabetes or malignancy. Absolute renal function was calculated as the difference in glomerular filtration rate (ΔGFR) between the renal function before (GFR₀) and 12 months after surgery (GFR12). The relative renal function of patients undergoing PN and RN was evaluated by the change in chronic kidney disease stage. Results: LRN caused the greatest loss in absolute renal function, followed by ORN, LPN and OPN. A GFR of ≥60 ml/min was noted for 90 (68.7%) patients before and 65 (49.6%) patients after RN and for 80 (82.5%) patients before and 74 (76.3%) patients after PN. The chronic kidney disease stage dropped to 4 or 5 in the case of 6 (4.6%) patients who underwent RN and 2 (2.1%) patients who underwent PN. Multivariate analysis revealed that only preoperative weight and type of surgery (radical versus partial) had a significant impact on renal function. Conclusion: Renal function significantly decreased in patients undergoing RN, irrespective of the access route. Patients with preoperative poor renal function are at risk of postoperative end-stage renal disease.
Consumer culture, the mobilisation of the narcissistic self and adolescent deviant leisure

The purpose of this analysis is to investigate the consumer packaging of adolescent deviance through commodified leisure. It argues that under conditions of neoliberalism, deviant leisure is commodified by industry, emptying deviance of its political potential, selling it back to adolescents in the form of narcissistic self-identities. These self-identities appear to challenge authority, albeit produced within youth culture and marketing, purchased and consumed in the belief that it is resistance. Forms of adolescent deviance and narcissism are normalised as challenging, exciting and risky while providing associations with power, wealth, celebrity and physical beauty. In the final analysis, we explore some possibilities for the resistance of market-based constructions of self-identity for adolescents in western consumer cultures.
Laparoscopic treatment of a huge mesenteric pseudocyst – case report

Intra-abdominal cysts and pseudocysts are rarely occurring lesions. Their incidence is reported to be 1 per 100 000-250 000 hospitalizations. The lesions’ rarity and their mostly asymptomatic development causes troubles in early recognition and treatment. The patients’ complaints are unspecific and mostly occur when the cysts are enlarged. Sometimes these entities may cause signs of peritoneal irritation and be the reason for immediate operation. It may happen in the event of cyst rupture, torsion, haemorrhages into the lesion or signs of compression of neighbouring structures. Many radiological methods are helpful in revealing intra-abdominal cysts. Unfortunately they cannot accurately distinguish the character of the lesion. The most common surgical procedure of treatment is excision during laparotomy. However, in some cases the laparoscopic approach can be equal to open surgery. This article presents a case of a young woman with a large intra-abdominal pseudocyst treated with laparoscopy.
A Test of Two Consumer Response Scales in Advertising

In the past, advertising researchers have built up, in an exploratory fashion, multi-item profiles for measuring consumer response to advertising. Two of the most commonly used profiles, Wells’ reaction profile and Leavitt's commercial profile, were developed this way. However, very little is known about the reliability, validity, or predictive powers of the underlying structures postulated by these two profiles. The authors examine the hypothesized factor structure of the profiles, as well as their predictive validity with respect to attitude and purchase intention. The reaction profile is found to be consistent with its postulated structure whereas the commercial profile is not. The two profiles predict attitude toward the brand equally well, but the reaction profile is superior with respect to purchase intention.
Effects of some steroids and other compounds on ovarian growth of the red swamp crayfish, Procambarus clarkii, during early vitellogenesis.

The effects of spiperone, a dopaminergic receptor blocker, the terpenoid JHIII, and the steroids 17alpha-hydroxyprogesterone and 17beta-estradiol (10(-7) mol/crayfish) were assayed in vivo on females of the red swamp crayfish, Procambarus clarkii, during early vitellogenesis. All these compounds were injected twice a week for 3 weeks. The rate of molting in response to these compounds was also determined. At the end of the experiment the ovaries were dissected out, in order to determine the gonadosomatic indexes and oocyte diameters. Spiperone, 17alpha-hydroxyprogesterone, and 17beta-estradiol produced a significant increase in the gonadosomatic index, while only the first two compounds were able to significantly increase the oocyte diameter; therefore, the effect of 17beta-estradiol the on gonadosomatic index could be merely due to increased water uptake by the ovary. Spiperone could be causing a decrease in secretion of the gonad and/or mandibular inhibiting hormones from the eyestalks, and 17alpha-hydroxyprogesterone could be having a direct stimulatory effect on vitellogenin production. Concerning molting, of the compound tested, only JHIII had a significant (P < 0.05) stimulatory effect, producing a 100% molting rate versus 66.7% among the controls.
Inhibition of Ca2+-Independent Phospholipase A2β (iPLA2β) Ameliorates Islet Infiltration and Incidence of Diabetes in NOD Mice

Autoimmune β-cell death leads to type 1 diabetes, and with findings that Ca2+-independent phospholipase A2β (iPLA2β) activation contributes to β-cell death, we assessed the effects of iPLA2β inhibition on diabetes development. Administration of FKGK18, a reversible iPLA2β inhibitor, to NOD female mice significantly reduced diabetes incidence in association with 1) reduced insulitis, reflected by reductions in CD4+ T cells and B cells; 2) improved glucose homeostasis; 3) higher circulating insulin; and 4) β-cell preservation. Furthermore, FKGK18 inhibited production of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) from CD4+ T cells and antibodies from B cells, suggesting modulation of immune cell responses by iPLA2β-derived products. Consistent with this, 1) adoptive transfer of diabetes by CD4+ T cells to immunodeficient and diabetes-resistant NOD.scid mice was mitigated by FKGK18 pretreatment and 2) TNF-α production from CD4+ T cells was reduced by inhibitors of cyclooxygenase and 12-lipoxygenase, which metabolize arachidonic acid to generate bioactive inflammatory eicosanoids. However, adoptive transfer of diabetes was not prevented when mice were administered FKGK18-pretreated T cells or when FKGK18 administration was initiated with T-cell transfer. The present observations suggest that iPLA2β-derived lipid signals modulate immune cell responses, raising the possibility that early inhibition of iPLA2β may be beneficial in ameliorating autoimmune destruction of β-cells and mitigating type 1 diabetes development.
Music and Mathematics: Modest Support for the Oft-Claimed Relationship.

According to conventional wisdom, music and mathematics are related, and musical individuals are also mathematically inclined. After all, musical rhythm is based upon mathematical relations, and it is certainly reasonable to assume that an understanding of music requires some understanding of ratios (e.g., 3/4 time vs. 4/4 time) and repeating patterns. In addition, if music experiences enhances spatial-temporal reasoning,1 then music may also enhance understanding of those aspects of math that involve spatial-temporal reasoning, such as geometry and proportional reasoning.2 Igor Stravinsky noted the links between music and mathematics, claiming that music is "something like mathematical thinking and mathematical relationships.3 In short, if music is based on mathematical principles, and if an understanding of music requires some understanding of these principles, then it is possible that music education can lead to an improved understanding. What follows is a report on three meta-analyses investigating the relationship between music and mathematics.
Sociology of Corruption and ‘Corruption of Sociology’

This article examines corruption as a social problem and a phenomenon that illustrates certain problems in agenda-setting in sociology. Understanding such questions as why corruption remains largely outside the purview of sociology, and how sociological agendas are set can be found in the works of Syed Hussein Alatas, who wrote about corruption as far back as the 1950s. Sociology of corruption as a subfield failed to take off despite the ubiquity of this phenomenon. In recent years, new books have been published, including an updated version of Professor Alatas's work. Studies of corruption remain a prerogative of the political scientists and public policy experts. Economists see corruption as a market-distorting externality and treat it as a peripheral subject. Gunnar Myrdal, who was an exception, in his Asian Drama, identified corruption as a serious bottleneck for Asian development. The problem persists 40 years on from Myrdal's analysis. In many countries in the developing world, corruption has become part of the fabric of society. Yet, sociological theorization and empirical studies are lacking. This article examines corruption both as a social problem and an indicator of the ‘corruption of sociology’, drawing on the writings of Alatas, especially his notion of ‘captive mind’ or the absence of intellectual autonomy on the part of the Third World sociologists.
Towards adaptive classification for BCI

Non-stationarities are ubiquitous in EEG signals. They are especially apparent in the use of EEG-based brain–computer interfaces (BCIs): (a) in the differences between the initial calibration measurement and the online operation of a BCI, or (b) caused by changes in the subject's brain processes during an experiment (e.g. due to fatigue, change of task involvement, etc). In this paper, we quantify for the first time such systematic evidence of statistical differences in data recorded during offline and online sessions. Furthermore, we propose novel techniques of investigating and visualizing data distributions, which are particularly useful for the analysis of (non-)stationarities. Our study shows that the brain signals used for control can change substantially from the offline calibration sessions to online control, and also within a single session. In addition to this general characterization of the signals, we propose several adaptive classification schemes and study their performance on data recorded during online experiments. An encouraging result of our study is that surprisingly simple adaptive methods in combination with an offline feature selection scheme can significantly increase BCI performance.
Moving in the Right Direction?: Mapping literature on Cloud Service Certifications' Outcomes with Practitioners' Perceptions

Cloud service certifications (CSCs) are proposed in practice as instruments to mitigate the prevailing uncertainties about cloud computing, but research on their efficacy in business contexts thus far is lacking. In addition, previous research on other types of IT certifications is consumer-focused and inconclusive in terms of certifications’ effects on factors that influence decisions, resulting in a vast literature body on certifications’ outcomes that lacks structure. To address these research needs, we first derive a conceptual model of certifications’ outcomes based on a systematic literature analysis of 42 empirical studies. Next, informed by the conceptual model, we explore outcomes of CSCs and related contingency factors through seven interviews with cloud computing experts. We find that cloud service certifications influence decisions directly and indirectly via perceived assurance, perceived risks and trust. Moreover, these outcomes are moderated by contingency factors, such as trust in the certification and cloud experience. Our study contributes to research by structuring the variety of concepts in literature on certifications’ outcomes and serving as a knowledge base for future research. Furthermore, it contributes to practice by helping practitioners to understand CSCs’ outcomes and contingency factors.