Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Speaking with One Voice? European Union Co-Ordination on Human Rights Issues at the United Nations

This article analyses the extent to which the EU acts cohesively and effectively within the UN General Assembly Third Committee and the Commission on Human Rights. There is considerable evidence of increasing EU 'output' at the UN since the early 1990s, but there are serious limits to EU unity posed by conflicting national interests and the persistent desire of Member States to act independently at the UN. Furthermore, the energy required to reach internal agreements restricts the EU's influence within the wider UN system. Copyright 2006 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Adoption of fertiliser and hybrid seeds by smallholder maize farmers in Southern Malawi

Despite decades of agricultural policies that promoted the adoption of fertiliser and hybrid seed technologies as ways of improving productivity in maize farming, smallholder farmers in Malawi have been relatively slow to adopt the new technology. Using bivariate probit analysis and controlling for technology acquisition through grants, we found that fertiliser adoption was positively associated with higher levels of education, larger plot sizes and higher non-farm incomes, but negatively associated with households headed by women and distance from input markets. The adoption of hybrid seeds is positively associated with market-based land tenure systems and fertile soils, but negatively associated with age of the farmer and distance from input markets.
Engaging communities in municipal sustainability planning: the use of communication strategies and social networks in Alberta

In this paper we examine and compare communication processes aimed at building social networks and increasing citizen engagement in two communities participating in a municipal sustainability planning (MSP) pilot programme in Alberta, Canada, initiated by the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association (AUMA). Data were gathered through qualitative semi-structured interviews and documentary review. In soliciting citizen engagement, each community utilised a variety of communication methods, based on available resources and on-going evaluation of community responses. In both cases, citizens developed a shared vision of a preferred future for their community, aided by a reconfiguration of their internal and external social networks. In addition to drawing upon and strengthening bonding relationships within the community, bridging relationships with external actors and agencies promoted knowledge mobilisation that aided in planning and transitioning towards sustainability. Both communities faced challenges as well, which the authors discuss in relation to the sustainability of MSP planning.
Essays on the demand for child care services

In Switzerland, as in many developed countries, a growing number of parents face a pertinent challenge in trying to reconcile family and work commitments. Parents working full-time or part-time may purchase child care services (such as school-meal and after-school services) provided at school or by other professionals, while others directly provide personal care to their children until school age and reduce their participation to the labor market. Access to child care services represents a key issue and local governments play an important role in the market for child care services. The availability of child care services is not homogeneous across Swiss cantons and municipalities. Therefore, households may face some constraints in optimizing the allocation of time between work and family. To define effective policies to improve child care services and households choices, governments need information on households’ demand for different types of child care services. The main objective of this thesis is to investigate socioeconomic factors affecting the demand for child care services and households’ willingness to pay for these services. We address these issues by means of three different essays. In the first essay, we analyze preferences of Swiss families for child care facilities. A choice experiment is used to study the effects of the facilities’ characteristics as well as socioeconomic factors on hypothetically-selected child care modes. The experimental data are analyzed using a discrete choice model under different multinomial logit specifications. We correct for the selection bias due to households’ participation in the labor force. The second essay focuses on the demand for school-meals by Swiss families using a stated preferences approach. We collect data from number phone structured interviews. A Poisson model with random-effects is used to explore factors affecting the demand for school- meals. The third study investigates decisions of families living in the City of Lugano about the use of school-meal services and after-school services. Moreover, we analyze the willingness to pay for these services. Data on revealed and stated preferences from 906 households are collected by means of a questionnaire. Factors affecting households’ decisions are explored using Tobit, Heckman and Cragg models, which account for possible sample selection problems.
Antecedents and Consequences of Online Brand Community Participation: A Conceptual Framework

In recent years, brand communities have generated considerable interest among both researchers and marketers. This article presents a conceptual framework of antecedents and consequences of online brand community participation and proposes five motives as antecedents of participation (information, self-discovery, social integration, social enhancement, and entertainment). Also proposed are two broad, but separate, types of consequences of participation (community consequences [consciousness of kind, moral responsibility, and shared rituals and traditions] and brand consequences [sustainable brand loyalty, oppositional brand loyalty, and brand recommendation intention]). Length of membership is proposed as a moderator between participation and the three community consequences. The proposed conceptual framework can facilitate managers' establishing online brand communities and attracting participation of members, as well as development of a research program to develop scales for the various constructs in order to test the propositions.
Linking individual performance to business strategy: The people process model

During the last five years, a team of researchers has worked with the senior human resource (HR) teams of seven large companies with Great Britain operations. A key challenge facing organizations is how they continue to deliver sustained competitive advantage in the short-term while also preparing for longer-term success. It is widely acknowledged that the sources of sustained competitive advantage lie not only in access to finance or capital, but within the organization, in people and processes capable of delivering business strategies such as customer satisfaction or rapid innovation. This article builds on previous models of strategic HR processes and describes what role these processes play in linking business strategy and individual performance. The majority of models of the strategic human resource process are normative, in the sense that they map how human resource management should work and provide guidelines on best practice. The methodology and initial theory behind the mapping was guided by a number of implicit assumptions.
IL-1beta and TNF-alpha, but not IFN-alpha, IFN-gamma, IL-6 or IL-8, are secretory mediators in human distal colon.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and HIV infection can cause diarrhoea which is accompanied by elevated cytokine levels. To elucidate a pathogenic role of cytokines, their effect on ion secretion was studied in human distal colon using the Ussing technique. Interluekin 1beta (IL-1beta) dose dependently increased short-circuit current (ISC). An ISC maximum of 2.5+/-0.3 micromol. h-1.cm-2 was reached at 20 ng/ml within 43+/-4 min. 22Na+ and 36Cl- fluxes were not altered and residual flux increased by 2.4+/-1.0 micromol.h-1.cm-2 indicating that the IL-1beta-induced ISC is based on electrogenic bicarbonate secretion. IL-1beta had no effect on HT-29/B6 epithlial monolayers suggesting that IL-1beta does not act directly on the epithelium. Furthermore, in human colon the effect was not attenuated by removal of the submucosa (total stripping) pointing to a mediation step via subepithlial cells in the lamina propria. While tetrodotoxin and the 5-lipoxygenase inhibitor ICI-230487 had no effect, indomethacin completely blocked IL-1beta action. Prostaglandin determination by RIA revealed an increased production of PGE2. At half maximum effective concentrations an additive action of tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) could be demonstrated on IL-1beta-induced secretion. Interferon alpha (IFN-alpha), IFN-gamma, IL-6, and IL-8 had no seretory effect in human distal colon. None of the investigated cytokines altered the intestinal barrier function. By their secretory effects IL-1beta and TNF-alpha, but not IFN-alpha, IFN-gamma, IL-6, and IL-8, may contribute to diarrhoea in IBD and AIDS.
Positive and Negative Information Transfers from Management Forecasts

We examine positive and negative information transfers associated with management earnings and revenue forecasts. Positive information transfers are due to industry commonalities whereas negative information transfers are caused by competitive shifts. We argue that positive and negative intra-industry information transfers offset each other and lead to an overall finding of no information transfers even though they exist. We also conjecture that the type of information transfers from the same management forecast can be positive or negative based on the characteristics of the information receiver. We hypothesize positive information transfers to non-rival firms and negative information transfers to rivals. Consistent with our prediction, we find negative (positive) information transfers between forecasting firms and non-forecasting rival (non-rival) firms in the same industry. Through analyses using competitors identified by Hoover's and 10-K reports, we show more general evidence of negative information transfers to rival firms.
Mushroom-derived preparations in the prevention of H2O2-induced oxidative damage to cellular DNA.

Aqueous extracts of the sporophores of eight mushroom species were assessed for their ability to prevent H2O2-induced oxidative damage to cellular DNA using the single-cell gel electrophoresis ("Comet") assay. The highest genoprotective effects were obtained with cold (20 degrees C) and hot (100 degrees C) water extracts of Agaricus bisporus and Ganoderma lucidum fruit bodies, respectively. No protective effects were observed with Mushroom Derived Preparations (MDPs) from Flammulina velutipes, Auricularia auricula, Hypsizygus marmoreus, Lentinula edodes, Pleurotus sajor-caju, and Volvariella volvacea. These findings indicate that some edible mushrooms represent a valuable source of biologically active compounds with potential for protecting cellular DNA from oxidative damage.
Entrapping hidden changes in nature : understanding the past with the power of recurrences

The study of climate change is a very important field of science, since life is directly affected by these changes. Many proxies, i.e. data previously preserved within speleothems, sediments, tree rings, corals, etc., have been observed and many theoretical models have been developed in order to gain a comprehensive understanding of past and future climate. Investigating the past climate changes leads to the forecasts of future possibilities. Therefore, enlightening the past is a keystone to answer questions about climate as well as vegetation, life, evolution, and nature. Paleoclimatology, the understanding of changes in climate during the history of Earth, has become a popular area of research at the intersection of climatology, chemistry, physics and mathematics. In order to extract the proxy information, many observations and mathematical studies have been performed.
Circuit training provides cardiorespiratory and strength benefits in persons with paraplegia.

PURPOSE This study tested the safety and the effects of circuit resistance training (CRT) on peak upper extremity cardiorespiratory endurance and muscle strength in chronic survivors of paraplegia due to spinal cord injury. METHODS Ten men with chronic neurologically complete paraplegia at the T5-L1 levels participated in the study. Subjects completed 12 wk of CRT, using a series of alternating isoinertial resistance exercises on a multi-station gym and high-speed, low-resistance arm ergometry. Peak arm ergometry tests, upper extremity isoinertial strength testing, and testing of upper extremity isokinetic strength were all performed before and after training. RESULTS None of the subjects suffered injury from exercise training. Significant increases were observed in peak oxygen consumption (29.7%, P < 0.01), time to fatigue (P < 0.01), and peak power output during arm testing (P < 0.05). Significant increases in isoinertial strength for the training maneuvers ranged from 11.9% to 30% (Ps < 0.01). Significant increases in isokinetic strength were experienced for shoulder joint internal rotation, extension, abduction, adduction, and horizontal adduction (Ps < 0.05). CONCLUSION Chronic survivors of paraplegia safely improve their upper extremity cardiorespiratory endurance and muscle strength when undergoing a short-term circuit resistance training program. Gains in fitness and strength exceeded those usually reported after either arm endurance exercise conditioning or strength training in this subject population.
Long Dark Shadows or Innovative Spirits? The Effects of (Smoothing) Business Cycles on Economic Growth: A Survey of the Literature

It is argued that fiscal policy can play a part in preventing a possible downward spiral or be instrumental in achieving a higher long‐term path of growth. Never before has this argument been advanced as frequently as in the current economic crisis. However, the economic literature – an overview of which is given here – does not provide an unambiguous answer, either theoretically or empirically, to the question of the relationship between (the smoothing of) cyclical fluctuations and long‐term growth. In this context, two main contrasting explanatory paradigms can be identified: Schumpeter’s concept of creative destruction and the learning by doing hypothesis. Even if it were possible to identify the relationship more clearly on this basis, it is important not to lose sight of the problems associated with the real‐time assessment of the current economic situation, time lags and political economic incentives even in difficult times.
Distance-based recent use (DRU): an enhancement to instruction cache replacement policies for transition energy reduction

According to the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS), the minimum feature size for microprocessors will shrink to 40 nm by 2010. Leakage currents in devices fabricated at these dimensions have been shown to be so dominant that design methodologies driven by power budgets will face challenges in reducing static power in addition to active power. An effective solution to tackle static power is to transition devices to a low-static-power sleep mode using special circuit-level techniques. However, these transitions come with energy costs, and as these techniques are perfected, and devices transition more often to sleep state, the relative contribution of transition energy to total energy will increase. To deal with the transition overhead, often used techniques are history-based and concentrate only on recognizing when to transition, but do not provide for reducing total transitions without adversely effecting the total sleep time of the devices. In this paper, we study transition-overhead reduction in associative instruction caches. We take advantage of the fact that many programs, particularly those for multimedia applications, spend most of their time in loops and most execution is near-sequential (high spatial locality). We present a technique called DRU (Distance-based Recent Use), which constrains near-sequential fetches to a single bank from the set of associative banks. Evaluation of DRU for different replacement policies in a system-level environment using Mediabench's applications and with various processor architectures (including SPARC and MIPS) have shown energy savings between 20%-28% with negligible hardware and timing overheads.
Course of functional status and pain in osteoarthritis of the hip or knee: a systematic review of the literature.

OBJECTIVE To systematically review studies describing the course of functioning in patients with osteoarthritis (OA) of the hip or knee and identifying potential prognostic factors. METHODS A systematic search was performed. Studies involving patients with hip or knee OA, >6 months of followup, and outcome measures on functional status or pain were included. Methodologic quality was assessed using a standardized set of 11 criteria; a qualitative data analysis was performed. RESULTS Approximately 6,500 titles and abstracts were screened and 48 publications were considered for inclusion. Eighteen studies, 4 of which met the high methodologic quality criteria, were included. For hip OA, there was limited evidence that functional status and pain do not change during the first 3 years of followup. After 3 years, however, a worsening of functional status and pain was seen. For knee OA, there was conflicting evidence for the first 3 years and limited evidence for worsening of pain and functional status after 3 years. Furthermore, limited evidence was established for negative associations between future functional status and laxity, proprioceptive inaccuracy, age, body mass index, and knee pain intensity. In contrast, greater muscle strength, better mental health, better self-efficacy, social support, and more aerobic exercise were protective factors in the first 3 years. CONCLUSION Pain and functional status in hip or knee OA seem to deteriorate slowly, with limited evidence for worsening after 3 years of followup. In specific subgroups, prognosis in the first 3 years of followup was either worse or better, as both risk factors and protective factors were identified. Prognostic factors included biomechanical factors, psychological factors, clinical factors, and treatment modalities. To strengthen the evidence, further high-quality longitudinal research on hip or knee OA functioning is needed.
Contribution Norms in Heterogeneous Groups: A Climate Change Framing

While results from public good games with homogeneous players reflect the contribution norm of equal contributions, it is unclear what contribution norm will arise in a heterogeneous setting. Climate change is a perfect example of a social dilemma involving heterogeneous agents. As such, using a public good game with a climate change framing, this study examines what contribution norm arises when players are asymmetric in terms of their impact on the public good (mitigation). The climate change framing exacerbates equity considerations and ultimately increases the difficulty of finding a generalizable concept of fairness (contribution norm) acceptable to both player-types. The efficacy of communication as a means to promoting public good provision is also considered. The default contribution norm, irrespective of player-type, was to free-ride. With the introduction of communication, two dominant contribution norms emerge: free-riding and perfect cooperation.
Information-Theoretic Compressive Measurement Design

An information-theoretic projection design framework is proposed, of interest for feature design and compressive measurements. Both Gaussian and Poisson measurement models are considered. The gradient of a proposed information-theoretic metric (ITM) is derived, and a gradient-descent algorithm is applied in design; connections are made to the information bottleneck. The fundamental solution structure of such design is revealed in the case of a Gaussian measurement model and arbitrary input statistics. This new theoretical result reveals how ITM parameter settings impact the number of needed projection measurements, with this verified experimentally. The ITM achieves promising results on real data, for both signal recovery and classification.
Adult hippocampal neural stem and progenitor cells regulate the neurogenic niche by secreting VEGF

Significance Adult hippocampal neurogenesis is a lifelong process by which new neurons are derived from a pool of resident stem and progenitor cells. Research on the functional role of this process has, to date, focused on the contributions of new, highly plastic neurons to memory function. We show here a previously unidentified functional role of undifferentiated neural stem and progenitor cells in the adult hippocampus as secretory cells that help maintain their own neurogenic niche by secreting large, biologically relevant quantities of the essential growth factor, VEGF. These findings suggest that the function of adult neurogenesis may include the secretome of undifferentiated stem and progenitor cells. The adult hippocampus hosts a population of neural stem and progenitor cells (NSPCs) that proliferates throughout the mammalian life span. To date, the new neurons derived from NSPCs have been the primary measure of their functional relevance. However, recent studies show that undifferentiated cells may shape their environment through secreted growth factors. Whether endogenous adult NSPCs secrete functionally relevant growth factors remains unclear. We show that adult hippocampal NSPCs secrete surprisingly large quantities of the essential growth factor VEGF in vitro and in vivo. This self-derived VEGF is functionally relevant for maintaining the neurogenic niche as inducible, NSPC-specific loss of VEGF results in impaired stem cell maintenance despite the presence of VEGF produced from other niche cell types. These findings reveal adult hippocampal NSPCs as an unanticipated source of an essential growth factor and imply an exciting functional role for adult brain NSPCs as secretory cells.
Sixty-one cases of obturator hernia in Chiangrai Regional Hospital: retrospective study.

OBJECTIVE To review the patient characteristics and clinical symptoms, intraoperative finding and management, including morbidity and mortality rate of obturator hernia cases. MATERIAL AND METHOD A retrospective study was performed in 61 patients diagnosed as obturator hernia at Chiangrai Regional Hospital between January 2000 and December 2005. RESULTS The incidence of obturator hernia is 61 of 2,828 cases (2.2%) of all hernias, female:male 6.6:1. The mean age was 72.85 years. The mean body weight was 35.72 Kg. Howship-Romberg's sign were positive in eight patients (13.11%). Thirty-five patients (57.38%) were Richter type hernia, left:right side 3:2. Strangulation of bowel occurred in 41 patients (67.21%) Mortality rate was 11.47%. All patients with postoperative complications and all deaths showed bowel strangulation and all were more than 70 years of age. CONCLUSION In the present study, the authors found a high incidence of obturator hernia (2.2% of all hernias) compared with a previous report (0.05%-1.4% of all hernias). This high incident rate might relate to the specific local life style of people in Chiangrai as most patients had a habit of smoking. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), old age, and low body weight were possible contributing factors. Bowel strangulation and age more than 70 years old were associated with morbidity and mortality.