Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Relational Contract Theory: Confirmations and Contradictions

Scholarly work on contracts offers a valuable lens through which exchange relationships among companies or individuals can be studied. Contracts may regulate business alliances, strategic partnerships or collaborations among parties. The nature and form of contracts have been investigated by a number of academic disciplines each of which has adopted a different approach. Much of this work has been of a theoretical nature and it is often referred as ‘relational contract theory’. This paper considers two theoretical approaches to ‘relational contracts’. The first theoretical approach to relational contracts is described as the ‘normsbased’ approach, while the second is that of a group of organizational economists and is often referred as the ‘incomplete contracts’ approach. In comparison only a limited number of empirical studies have been undertaken. This paper will set out the findings of these two major streams of theoretical analysis of contracts and then contrast them with recent empirical research into contracts described as ‘umbrella agreements’. The paper demonstrates that, while the two theoretical streams of relational contract theory are not contradictory, there are differences in their emphases and interpretations and that the results of empirical studies do not always conform to those that might be expected as a result of these theoretical studies.
Quantitative polymerase chain reaction to estimate the number of amplified esterase genes in insecticide-resistant mosquitoes.

ogy as with DSPE–PEG 2000. Since the concentrations of PEG 5000 containing proteins could also be measured by Skoog’s method (13), we believe that this modified method would also work. In conclusion, a simple and direct colorimetric method, modified from Skoog’s PEG measurement method (13), for determining the amount of DSPE– PEG 2000 in buffer solutions containing blood or albumin was reported. The concentrations of DSPE–PEG 2000 in those solutions could be determined at 435 nm as low as 25 mg/ml with simple sample preparations. It may facilitate the application of PEG–liposomes in drug delivery or blood substitutes.
Identifying Disengaged Survey Responses: New Evidence Using Response Time Metadata

ABSTRACT Disengaged responding is a phenomenon that often biases observed scores from achievement tests and surveys in practically and statistically significant ways. This problem has led to the development of methods to detect and correct for disengaged responses on both achievement test and survey scores. One major disadvantage when trying to detect disengaged responses on surveys is that, unlike on achievement tests, there are no correct answers. As a result, validating decision rules for detection methods is problematic. In this study, we condition results from a variety of detection methods used to identify disengaged survey responses on response times. We then show how this conditional approach may be useful in identifying where to set response time thresholds for survey items, as well as in avoiding misclassification when using other detection methods.
The Integrated Knowledge Management Maturity Model

Although many organisations worldwide are introducing knowledge management (KM) practices, there is no generally acknowledged methodology for assessing where the organisation stands, compared to its competitors. Several knowledge management maturity models have been developed, but they are so heterogeneous that the practice is evidently calling for a universal and standardised knowledge management maturity model. Most of the models have something in common: they are all based on the selected KM factors and they all define maturity through different maturity levels. The main goal of this paper is to propose the integrated knowledge management maturity model (I-KMMM) based on literature review.
The Use of Gallery Walk to Enhance Speaking Ability of the Eleventh Grade Students of State Madrasyah Aliyah

The objectives of the study were to find out (1) the significant improvement on the eleventh grade student’s speaking ability before and after being taught using Gallery Walk strategy at one State Madrasyah Aliyah in Palembang, South Sumatera, Indonesia; and (2) the significant difference on the eleventh grade students’ speaking ability between those who were taught by using Gallery Walk Strategy and those who were not at State Madrasyah Aliyah in Palembang. Quasi experimental with pretest and posttest non equivalent-group design was used. There were 301 students at eleventh grade students of State Madrasyah Aliyah Palembang in academic year of 2016/2017 who were used as the population of the study. 76 students were taken as sample by using purposive sampling. 38 students from the first class of eleventh grade students were chosen as experimental group and 38 students from the second class of eleventh grade students were chosen as control group. This study used speaking performance test to collect the data in a form of oral test. There were two kinds of test which administered in this study. They were pretest and posttest for both experimental and control groups. The results of the test were analyzed by using paired sample t-test and independent t-test. The result of this study showed that (1) significant improvement on the eleventh grade students’ speaking ability before and after the treatment at was found since the p-output was lower than 0,05; and (2) significant difference from students’ posttest score in experimental and control group on the eleventh grade students’ speaking ability taught by using Gallery Walk Strategy and teacher’s strategy were found since the p-output was lower than 0,05. In short, Gallery Walk strategy can be implemented as one of the strategies since it can enhance students’ speaking ability.
Monotone Stochastic Choice Models: The Case of Risk and Time Preferences

Suppose that, when evaluating two alternatives x and y by means of a parametric utility function, low values of the parameter indicate a preference for x and high values indicate a preference for y. We say that a stochastic choice model is monotone whenever the probability of choosing x is decreasing in the preference parameter. We show that the standard use of random utility models in the context of risk and time preferences may sharply violate this monotonicity property and argue that their use in preference estimation may be problematic. They may pose identification problems and could yield biased estimations. We then establish that the alternative random parameter models are always monotone.
Mubobobo: Women have no Sexual Fantasies in their Sleep

Mubobobo is a belief among traditional Shona people of Zimbabwe that women cannot have nocturnal emis- sion in their sleep. This study explored traditional Shona womens experiences of mubobobo from an ethnopsychological perspective. Participants were three men who were alleged to be the perpetrators of mubobobo and three women who claimed to be the victims of mubobobo. The men and women in this study were not related or involved in litigation relat- ing to mubobobo. In fact, the presented cases in this study were isolated individual experiences of mubobobo. In-depth in- terviews were held to assess the views of participants who were embroiled in the mubobobo controversy as perpetrators and victims. A thematic content analysis of the narratives of the participants was done to establish the reasonableness of participantsconvictions about mubobobo in the context of human sexuality. The findings of the study revealed that tradi- tional Shona women experienced nocturnal emission like any other women in the world but due to cultural constraints they could not believe the excitation of their reproductive system in their sleep as real and a normal biological process. Furthermore, research on the sexuality of traditional Shona women could have a special focus on women empowerment in the context of sexual and reproductive health education.
Causes and Consequences of the Oil Shock of 2007–08

This paper explores similarities and differences between the run-up of oil prices in 2007–08 and earlier oil price shocks, looking at what caused these price increases and what effects they had on the economy. Whereas previous oil price shocks were primarily caused by physical disruptions of supply, the price run-up of 2007–08 was caused by strong demand confronting stagnating world production. Although the causes were different, the consequences for the economy appear to have been similar to those observed in earlier episodes, with significant effects on consumption spending and purchases of domestic automobiles in particular. Absent those declines, it is unlikely that the period 2007Q4–2008Q3 would have been characterized as one of recession for the United States. This episode should thus be added to the list of U.S. recessions to which oil prices appear to have made a material contribution.
The Absent-Minded Consumer

We present evidence that many households have only a vague notion of what they are spending on various consumption items. We then develop a life-cycle model that captures this absent-mindedness'. The model generates precautionary spending, whereby absent-minded agents tend to consume more than attentive ones. The model also predicts fluctuations over time in the level of attention, and thereby sheds new light on the sharp reduction in consumption both at retirement, and in cyclical downturns. Finally, we find patterns of attention in the data that are consistent with those predicted by the model.
Shortest Loops are Pacemakers in Random Networks of Electrically Coupled Axons

High-frequency oscillations (HFOs) are an important part of brain activity in health and disease. However, their origins remain obscure and controversial. One possible mechanism depends on the presence of sparsely distributed gap junctions that electrically couple the axons of principal cells. A plexus of electrically coupled axons is modeled as a random network with bi-directional connections between its nodes. Under certain conditions the network can demonstrate one of two types of oscillatory activity. Type I oscillations (100–200 Hz) are predicted to be caused by spontaneously spiking axons in a network with strong (high conductance) gap junctions. Type II oscillations (200–300 Hz) require no spontaneous spiking and relatively weak (low-conductance) gap junctions, across which spike propagation failures occur. The type II oscillations are reentrant and self-sustained. Here we examine what determines the frequency of type II oscillations. Using simulations we show that the distribution of loop lengths is the key factor for determining frequency in type II network oscillations. We first analyze spike failure between two electrically coupled cells using a model of anatomically reconstructed CA1 pyramidal neuron. Then network oscillations are studied by a cellular automaton model with random network connectivity, in which we control loop statistics. We show that oscillation periods can be predicted from the network’s loop statistics. The shortest loop, around which a spike can travel, is the most likely pacemaker candidate. The principle of one loop as a pacemaker is remarkable, because random networks contain a large number of loops juxtaposed and superimposed, and their number rapidly grows with network size. This principle allows us to predict the frequency of oscillations from network connectivity and visa versa. We finally propose that type I oscillations may correspond to ripples, while type II oscillations correspond to so-called fast ripples.
Investigating longitudinal pragmatic development of complaints made by Chinese EFL learners

Abstract Few studies have investigated the development of L2 complaints. This paper reports on a longitudinal study of L2 complaints produced by Chinese university English learners based on their performance of a discourse completion task consisting of 18 complaint scenarios in terms of power (+P, =P, −P) and social distance (−D, =D, +D), supplemented by a delayed retrospective verbal report. Data were collected twice, over two academic years. The results indicate that students in these two ‘phases’ showed broadly similar patterns of sociopragmatic competence in terms of their ability to calibrate complaints to complainees’ (addressees’) position on power and social distance continua. However, as to internal modifications, learners in Phase 2 used significantly more lexical and syntactic downgraders than in Phase 1 at all levels of power and social distance except for syntactic downgraders at +D and =D; they only used significantly more lexical upgraders at −D. As for external modifications, the findings also showed significantly different patterns in the use of pre-moves at all levels and post-moves at all levels except at −P. Increase of English proficiency and a certain degree of explicit pragmatic instruction may have contributed to Chinese EFL learners’ pragmatic development. Implications for pragmatic instruction are also discussed.
Pilot study of an association between a common variant in the non-muscle myosin heavy chain 9 (MYH9) gene and type 2 diabetic nephropathy in a Taiwanese population

: Nowadays diabetic nephropathy (DN) is the most common cause of end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Recent studies have demonstrated that the myosin, heavy chain 9, non-muscle (MYH9) gene is associated with ESRD in African Americans. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that a common single nucleotide polymorphism rs16996677 in the MYH9 gene may contribute to the etiology of DN in type 2 diabetes (T2D) in a Taiwanese population with T2D. There were 180 T2D patients diagnosed with DN and 178 age-and sex-similar T2D without DN controls. Single locus analyses showed no significant main effects of MYH9 rs16996677 on the risk of DN in T2D. The results suggest that the rs16996677 SNP in MYH9 may not contribute to the risk of DN in T2D in Taiwanese T2D patients.
A Fuzzy Domain Sentiment Ontology based Opinion Mining Approach for Chinese Online Product Reviews

Online product reviews have become an important opinion resource which many researchers pay their attention to. In this paper, a novel method of opinion mining is proposed and evaluated by a collection of real online product reviews. A hierarchical fuzzy domain sentiment ontology-FDSO has been introduced by this approach, which defines a space of product features and corresponding opinions, thus makes it possible for a product to be classified and scored by commonly accepted features. Therefore enhance the user experience to search a product and compare it with other products feature by feature. The evaluation is based on the Chinese product reviews collected from 360buy.com. The experimental results show that our approach is able to automatically identify the polarity for a large of sentiment expressions.
Dual Effect of Serum Amyloid A on the Invasiveness of Glioma Cells

Evidence sustains a role for the acute-phase protein serum amyloid A (SAA) in carcinogenesis and metastasis, and the protein has been suggested as a marker for tumor progression. Nevertheless, the demonstration of a direct activity of SAA on tumor cells is still incipient. We have investigated the effect of human recombinant SAA (rSAA) on two human glioma cell lines, A172 and T98G. rSAA stimulated the [3H]-thymidine incorporation of both lines, but had dual effects on migration and invasiveness which varied according to the cell line. In T98G, the rSAA increased migration and invasion behaviors whereas in A172 it decreased these behaviors. These findings agree with the effect triggered by rSAA on matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) activities measured in a gelatinolytic assay. rSAA inhibited activity of both MMPs in A172 cells while increasing them in T98G cells. rSAA also affected the production of compounds present in the tumor microenvironment that orchestrate tumor progression, such as IL-8, the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nitric oxide (NO). We also observed that both lines expressed all three of the isoforms of SAA: SAA1, SAA2, and SAA4. These data suggest that some tumor cells are responsive to SAA and, in these cases, SAA may have a role in cancer progression that varies according to the cell type.
Evolve your history: Learner engagement in the university history classroom explored through augmented reality

ii Chapter 1 Modern Historical Education . 8 Defining Key Terms . 11 Engagement. 11 Student to Student engagement. 11 Teacher-Student engagement. 11 Historical research methods. 12 Neomillennial. 12 Heritage: The Living History . 13 Purpose of the Study . 14 Summary . 14 Chapter 2 Literature Review . 16 History Instruction. 16 Rethinking critical pedagogy, curriculum, and technology. 17 The relevance and implications of history instruction. 19 Learner Engagement . 20 Relevance and implications of learner engagement. 21 Educational Technology . 21 Relevance and implications of educational technology. 23 Augmented Reality Technology. 23 Augmented reality, gamification, and immersion. 27 Augmented Reality as a Curriculum . 32 The what. 33 The why. 34 The how. 34 Potential classroom activities. 36 Two Examples of Augmented Reality Curricula . 37 Mad City Mysteries. 37 General summary. 37 Breaking it down. 38 Implications. 39
Manifestations of Pupil Aggression towards Teachers in Elementary and Secondary Schools

The study focuses on pupils’ aggression towards teachers. The goal of the study was to determine a statistically significant relationship between the forms of aggressive behaviour and the age of teachers and the length of their teaching experience. The research sample consisted of 268 teachers of elementary schools, secondary vocational schools and grammar schools in the region of Banská Bystrica. Results revealed a statistically significant negative relationship between teachers’ age and the years of teaching experience in three forms of aggressive behaviour: refusal to obey instructions, intentional disruption and ironic remarks. A statistically significant relationship was observed between the length of teachers’ teaching experience and destruction of school property.
Off-Pump Versus On-Pump Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery: Differences in Short-Term Outcomes and in Long-Term Mortality and Need for Subsequent Revascularization

Background— Off-pump coronary artery bypass graft surgery (OPCAB) has been performed for many years, but its use is increasing in frequency, and it remains an open question whether OPCAB is associated with better outcomes than on-pump coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. Methods and Results— New York State patients who underwent either OPCAB with median sternotomy (13 889 patients) or on-pump CABG surgery (35 941 patients) between 2001 and 2004 were followed up via New York databases. Short- and long-term outcomes were compared after adjustment for patient risk factors and after patients were matched on the basis of significant predictors of type of CABG surgery. OPCAB had a significantly lower inpatient/30-day mortality rate (adjusted OR 0.81, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.68 to 0.97), lower rates for 2 perioperative complications (stroke: adjusted OR 0.70, 95% CI 0.57 to 0.86; respiratory failure: adjusted OR 0.80, 95% CI 0.68 to 0.93), and a higher rate of unplanned operation in the same admission (adjusted OR 1.47, 95% CI 1.01 to 2.15). In the matched samples, no difference existed in 3-year mortality (hazard ratio 1.08, 95% CI 0.96 to 1.22), but OPCAB patients had higher rates of subsequent revascularization (hazard ratio 1.55, 95% CI 1.33 to 1.80). The 3-year OPCAB and on-pump survival rates for matched patients were 89.4% and 90.1%, respectively (P=0.20). For freedom from subsequent revascularization, the respective rates were 89.9% and 93.6% (P<0.0001). Conclusions— OPCAB is associated with lower in-hospital mortality and complication rates than on-pump CABG, but long-term outcomes are comparable, except for freedom from revascularization, which favors on-pump CABG.
Hepatitis B virus infection in Chinese patients with hepatitis C virus infection: prevalence, clinical characteristics, viral interactions and host genotypes: a nationwide cross-sectional study

Objectives Little is known about hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in China. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence, clinical characteristics, viral interactions and host genotypes of HBV/HCV dual infection compared with HCV monoinfection. Study design A cross-sectional study. Setting China. Participants and methods 997 patients with HCV from 28 university-affiliated hospitals in China were enrolled in this research. Patients were divided into two subgroups. Results The prevalence of HBV infection in patients with HCV was 4.11% (41/997). The age-specific prevalence of HBsAg was 0.70%, 3.97% and 5.85% in groups aged 18–30, 30–50 and >50 years old (p=0.057), respectively. Patients with HBV/HCV dual infection and patients with HCV monoinfection had similar HCV viral loads (5.80±0.89 vs 5.83±1.00 log10 IU/mL, p=0.904). The dominant HCV genotype was 1b in both groups (53.65% vs 56.90%, p=0.493). The protective C allele in IL-28B (rs12979860) was also the dominant allele type in both patient groups (85.36% vs 83.99%, p=0.814). Patients with HBV/HCV dual infection had a higher ratio of liver cirrhosis and hepatic decompensation than patients with HCV monoinfection (39.02% vs 17.69%, p=0.001; 31.70% vs 12.13%, p=0.001). Conclusions The HBV burden was moderate in HCV-infected patients in China. Liver cirrhosis was more common in patients with HBV/HCV dual infection, suggesting the need for closer monitoring of dual-infected individuals. Trial registration number NCT01293279; Post-results.
Enhancer I Predominance in Hepatitis B Virus Gene Expression

ABSTRACT Previous studies of human hepatitis B virus (HBV) transcription revealed the requirement of two enhancer elements. Enhancer I (EnhI) is located upstream of the X promoter and is targeted by multiple activators, including basic leucine zipper proteins, and enhancer II (EnhII) is located upstream to the PreCore promoter and is targeted mainly by nuclear receptors (NRs). The mode of interplay between these enhancers and their unique contributions in regulating HBV transcription remained obscure. By using time course analysis we revealed that the HBV transcripts are categorized into early and late groups. Chang (CCL-13) cells are impaired in expression of the late transcripts. This could be corrected by overexpressing EnhII activators, such as hepatocyte nuclear factor 4α, the retinoid X receptor α, and the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α, suggesting that in Chang cells EnhI but not EnhII is active. Replacing the 5′-end EnhI sequence with a synthetic Gal4 response (UAS) DNA fragment ceased the production of the early transcripts. Under this condition NR overexpression poorly activated EnhII. However, activation of the UAS by Gal4-p53 restored both the expression of the early transcripts and the EnhII response to NRs. Thus, a functional EnhI is required for activation of EnhII. We found a major difference between Gal4-p53 and Gal4-VP16 behavior. Gal4-p53 activated the early transcripts, while Gal4-VP16 inhibited the early transcripts but activated the late transcripts. These findings indicate that the composition of the EnhI binding proteins may play a role in early to late switching. Our data provides strong evidence for the role of EnhI in regulating global and temporal HBV gene expression.