Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Farming for health : green-care farming across Europe and the United States of America

The utilization of agricultural farms as a base for promoting human mental and physical health and social well-being is a new promising development. On farms, the animals, the plants, the garden, the forest and the landscape are used in recreational or work-related activities for psychiatric patients, people with learning disabilities, people with a drug history, problem youth, burnt-out and elderly people and social-service clients. If not pure therapy, such activities may have therapeutic value according to extensive experience. The numbers of such multifunctional farms offering Green Care services is increasing rapidly in many countries. The positive experiences seem to be similar in different countries: working on the farm contributes to self-esteem, social skills, rehabilitation, inclusion, responsibility, physical health and sense of purpose. Important recognized qualities of Green Care farms are the space, quietness, useful work, diverse activities, caring activities, the working with plants and animals, and the protective and caring environment of the farmers? family and social community. Social farming appears as an evolving, dynamic scenario, which is gaining increasing attention from multiple stakeholders. The first part of this book contains scientific papers dealing with different aspects of Farming for Health. The second part describes the situation in different countries
Essays in financial economics

This paper presents a theoretical framework to understand the impact of foreign entry on the access to and the price of credit for different types of firms. A major point of departure from the previous literature is that incumbents' information about firms is endogenous in the model; previous screenings and lending relations of incumbents determine which type(s) of firms they can identify. I show that incumbents' information is negatively correlated with the quality of borrowers. Moreover, although a priori entrants have a comparative advantage in lending to transparent firms, previous lending relations of incumbents might reverse this relation. In particular, given that transparent firms are the only type screened before the entry and therefore they are the only type distinguishable by incumbents, entrants might have a comparative advantage in lending to opaque firms. The analysis provides new insights into the inconclusive evidence of the literature regarding entrants' credit allocation.
Hidden surface states on pristine and H-passivated Ni(111): Angle-resolved photoemission and density-functional calculations

By means of angle-resolved photoemission, we have uncovered surface related states on the pristine and hydrogen saturated Ni(111) surfaces. Near normal emission spectra were recorded at room temperature as a function of photon energy. A hidden Tamm surface state is found on the clean Ni(111) surface at a binding energy of $\ensuremath{\sim}1.19\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{eV}$, completely masked by the ${\ensuremath{\Lambda}}_{1}$ bulk $d$ band. The existence of this surface state is in agreement with the density-functional theory calculations presented here. On the other hand, a surface state related to hydrogen adsorbed on the surface has been identified at a binding energy of $\ensuremath{\sim}0.22\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{eV}$. Under hydrogen exposure, it grows at the same rate as the three other surface states of the clean Ni(111) vanish.
Stock Market Firm-Level Information and Real Economic Activity

We provide evidence that changes in the equity price and volatility of individual firms (measures that approximate the definition of 'granular shock' given in Gabaix, 2010) are key to improve the predictability of aggregate business cycle fluctuations in a number of countries. Specifically, adding the return and the volatility of firm-level equity prices to aggregate financial information leads to a significant improvement in forecasting business cycle developments in four economic areas, at various horizons. Importantly, not only domestic firms but also foreign firms improve business cycle predictability for a given economic area. This is not immediately visible when one takes an unconditional standpoint (i.e. an average across the sample). However, conditioning on the business cycle position of the domestic economy, the relative importance of the two sets of firms - foreign and domestic - exhibits noticeable swings across time. Analogously, the sectoral classification of the firms that in a given month retain the highest predictive power for future IP changes also varies significantly over time as a function of the business cycle position of the domestic economy. Limited to the United States, predictive ability is found to be related to selected balance sheet items, suggesting that structural features differentiate the firms that can anticipate aggregate fluctuations from those that do not help to this aim. Beyond the purely forecasting application, this finding may enhance our understanding of the underlying origins of aggregate fluctuations. We also propose to use the cross sectional stock market information to macro-prudential aims through an economic Value at Risk. JEL Classification: C53, C58, F37, G15
The nature of hypervelocity stars as inferred from their Galactic trajectories

We have computed the Galactic trajectories of 12 hypervelocity stars (HVSs) under the assumption that they originated in the Galactic Centre. We show that eight of these 12 stars are bound to the Galaxy. We consider the subsequent trajectories of the bound stars to compute their characteristic orbital period, which is 2 Gyr. All eight bound stars are moving away from the centre of the Galaxy, which implies that the stars' lifetimes are less than 2 Gyr. We thus infer that the observed HVSs are massive main-sequence stars, rather than blue horizontal branch stars. The observations suggest that blue HVSs are ejected from the Galactic Centre roughly every 15 Myr. This is consistent with the observed population of blue stars in extremely tight orbits round the central supermassive black hole (SMBH), the so-called S-stars, if we assume that the HVSs are produced by the breakup of binaries. One of the stars in such a binary is ejected at high velocities to form a HVS; the other remains bound to the SMBH as an S-star. We further show that the one high-velocity system observed to be moving towards the Galactic Centre, SDSS J172226.55+594155.9, could not have originated in the Galactic Centre; rather, we identify it as a halo object. (Less)
Limited Depressive and Anxiety Symptoms Late in Pregnancy Are Not Related to Neonatal Outcomes

Background: Prior studies have reported inconsistent findings regarding the link between antenatal depressive and anxiety symptomatology, with neonatal outcomes. Objectives: The aim of the present study was to assess the possible association of prenatal depressive and anxiety symptoms, in the third trimester of pregnancy, with perinatal outcomes (birth weight of the newborn, Apgar score and the newborn’s admission in neonatal intensive care unit) in a sample of pregnant women, in Greece. Patients and Methods: A total of 117 women from Athens, during the 32nd to 35th week of pregnancy, participated in the study. Demographic and obstetric history data, as well as neonatal outcomes, were recorded. Three self-administered psychometric scales (Beck depression inventory (BDI), Edinburg postnatal depression scale (EPDS) and beck anxiety inventory (BAI)) were used to evaluate in detail the prenatal depressive and anxiety symptoms. Descriptive statistics, Spearman’s Rho coefficients, Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis testes were applied to analyze the data. Results: On the basis of BDI, 81.1% of the sample showed minimal, 15.4% mild, 2.6% moderate and 0.9% severe depressive symptoms, respectively. Furthermore, 80.3% of the participants, scored on EPDS below the cut-off point for a likely diagnosis of depression. According to BAI scale, 43.6% showed minimal, 42.7% women mild, 10.3% moderate and 3.4% severe anxiety symptoms. No statistically significant correlations were found between depressive and anxiety symptoms and neonatal outcomes (birth weight, Apgar score and admission in neonatal intensive care unit). Conclusions: Limited levels of prenatal depressive and anxiety symptoms do not seem to be associated with neonatal outcomes. In clinical practice, pregnant women, who suffer from low levels of prenatal depressive and anxiety symptoms, may be reassured, in respect of the adverse outcomes of these mood symptoms on the neonate.
Effect of high-speed centrifugation on the sensitivity of irradiated McCoy cell culture for the isolation of Chlamydia.

as well as Rickettsia prowazeki onto cell monolayers will increase the sensitivity of cell culture several fold. Using centrifugal force to facilitate the precipitation of infective particles onto irradiated McCoy cells, Gordon, Magruder, Quan, and Arm (1963) and Gordon, Dressler, and Quan (1967) developed a cell culture technique as an alternative to cultivation in the yolk sac of fertile eggs for the primary isolation of Chlamydia. This technique has been shown to be three to four times more sensitive than the isolation of Chlamydia in the yolk sac or the detection of inclusion bodies in smears (Gordon, Harper, Quan, Treharne, Dwyer, and Garland, 1969; Darougar, Treharne, Dwyer, Kinnison, and Jones, 1971). It has since been extensively used in our laboratory for the isolation of Chlamydia from the eye, genital tract, and rectum of patients in the United Kingdom (Gordon and others, 1969; Dunlop, Hare, Darougar, Jones, and Rice, 1969; Dunlop, Vaughan-Jackson, Darougar, and Jones, 1972) and from the eye in the
CEO Power and Risk Taking: Evidence from the Subprime Lending Industry

Manuscript Type: Empirical. Research Question/Issue: There is a general consensus that the lack of restraint by US financial firm executives to engage in risky subprime mortgage lending practices played a contributing role in both the inflation and deflation of the housing bubble at the heart of the global financial crisis. Evidence is less clear on what influenced the managerial proclivity to ignore warning signs and take on more and more risk to the detriment of numerous firm stakeholders. Our study examines the effects of power on Managerial Risk Taking in the context of the subprime mortgage industry. Research Findings/Insights: We hypothesize that a CEO's power is positively related to excessive risk taking. We find general support for these hypotheses in a matched pair sample of 74 firms and 344 firm years, where half the firms specialized in subprime lending and the other did not from 1997 to 2005. Theoretical/Academic Implications: We take a novel theoretical approach to our research by drawing from the social psychology literature to employ the approach/inhibition theory of power. The use of this theoretical perspective affords the opportunity to contribute a nuanced understanding of how managerial power within an agency‐based governance framework propels managers from taking reasonable risks to engaging in excessive risk taking. Practitioner/Policy Implications: By presenting evidence of the role that CEO power had in promoting excessive risky lending practices, corporate directors and policy makers will be empowered and more capable of designing and enacting governance and regulatory frameworks that result in not only profitable but prudent risk taking.
Relay Beamforming Design with SIC Detection for MIMO Multirelay Networks with Imperfect CSI

In this paper, we consider a dual-hop multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) wireless multirelay network, in which a source-destination pair, both equipped with multiple antennas, communicates through multiple half-duplex amplify-and-forward (AF) relay terminals, which are also with multiple antennas. Since perfect channel-state information (CSI) is difficult to obtain in a practical multirelay network, we consider imperfect CSI for all channels. We focus on maximizing the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) at the destination. We propose a novel robust linear beamforming at the relays, based on the QR decomposition filter at the destination node, which performs successive interference cancellation (SIC). Using the law of large numbers, we obtain the asymptotic rate in the presence of imperfect CSI, upon which the proposed relay beamforming is optimized. Simulation results show that the asymptotic rate matches with the ergodic rate well. Analysis and simulation results demonstrate that the proposed beamforming outperforms the conventional beamforming schemes for any power of CSI errors and SNR regions.
Lifelong treatment with atenolol decreases membrane fatty acid unsaturation and oxidative stress in heart and skeletal muscle mitochondria and improves immunity and behavior, without changing mice longevity

The membrane fatty acid unsaturation hypothesis of aging and longevity is experimentally tested for the first time in mammals. Lifelong treatment of mice with the β1‐blocker atenolol increased the amount of the extracellular‐signal‐regulated kinase signaling protein and successfully decreased one of the two traits appropriately correlating with animal longevity, the membrane fatty acid unsaturation degree of cardiac and skeletal muscle mitochondria, changing their lipid profile toward that present in much more longer‐lived mammals. This was mainly due to decreases in 22:6n‐3 and increases in 18:1n‐9 fatty acids. The atenolol treatment also lowered visceral adiposity (by 24%), decreased mitochondrial protein oxidative, glycoxidative, and lipoxidative damage in both organs, and lowered oxidative damage in heart mitochondrial DNA. Atenolol also improved various immune (chemotaxis and natural killer activities) and behavioral functions (equilibrium, motor coordination, and muscular vigor). It also totally or partially prevented the aging‐related detrimental changes observed in mitochondrial membrane unsaturation, protein oxidative modifications, and immune and behavioral functions, without changing longevity. The controls reached 3.93 years of age, a substantially higher maximum longevity than the best previously described for this strain (3.0 years). Side effects of the drug could have masked a likely lowering of the endogenous aging rate induced by the decrease in membrane fatty acid unsaturation. We conclude that it is atenolol that failed to increase longevity, and likely not the decrease in membrane unsaturation induced by the drug.
The Press and China Policy: The Illusion of Sino-American Relations, 1950-1984

This unique book systematically examines the interplay among foreign policymakers, the press, and public opinion in the process of China policy decision making from 1950 to 1984. Readers will benefit from the findings that, through 35 years of Sino-American relations, the press helps perpetuate the illusion that has existed in the public mind since 1950. The comprehensive analysis allows readers to understand hoe the press shapes and is shaped by foreign policy decisions.
Ethical Issues in Clinical Research: A Practical Guide

SECTION I ETHICAL AND REGULATORY BACKGROUND * Historical Perspective * Ethical Framework for Research * Federal Regulations on Human Participants Research * IRB Review of Human Participants Research * Assessment of Risks and Benefits * Informed Consent * Confidentiality SECTION II THE RESEARCHER-PARTICIPANT RELATIONSHIP * Identification and Recruitment of Participants * Payment to Research Participants * Responsibility for Incidental Risks * Offering Results of Research Tests to Participants SECTION III RESPONSIBLE CONDUCT OF RESEARCH * Research Misconduct * Authorship and Its Responsibilities * Patenting and Commercialization of Discoveries * Conflicts of Interest SECTION IV VULNERABLE PARTICIPANTS * Persons with Impaired Decision-Making Capacity * Research with Children * Research with Adolescents * Emergency and Intensive Care Research * Research with Ethnic and Minority Populations * Research with Prisoners * Clinical Research in Resource-Poor Countries SECTION V ETHICAL ISSUES IN SPECIFIC TYPES OF RESEARCH * Research with Existing Data and Biological Materials * Observational Studies * Translational Research * Clinical Trials * Genetics, Genomics, and Gene Transfer Research * Stem Cell Research INDEX
Neural specialization for speech in the first months of life

How does the brain’s response to speech change over the first months of life? Although behavioral findings indicate that neonates’ listening biases are sharpened over the first months of life, with a species-specific preference for speech emerging by 3 months, the neural substrates underlying this developmental change are unknown. We examined neural responses to speech compared with biological non-speech sounds in 1- to 4-month-old infants using fMRI. Infants heard speech and biological non-speech sounds, including heterospecific vocalizations and human non-speech. We observed a left-lateralized response in temporal cortex for speech compared to biological non-speech sounds, indicating that this region is highly selective for speech by the first month of life. Specifically, this brain region becomes increasingly selective for speech over the next 3 months as neural substrates become less responsive to non-speech sounds. These results reveal specific changes in neural responses during a developmental period characterized by rapid behavioral changes.
Synthesis of stabilizing switched controllers for N-dimensional quantum angular momentum systems

This paper provides a class of feedback controllers that guarantee global stability of quantum angular momentum systems. The systems are in general finite dimensions and the stability is around an assigned eigenstate of observables with a specific form. It is realized by employing the control law which was proposed by Mirrahimi & van Handel. The class of stabilizing controllers is parameterized by a switching parameter and we show that the parameter between 0 and 1/N assures the stability, where N is the dimension of the quantum systems.
Cardiac adaptation to high altitude in the plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae)

The aim of this study was to assess maximal heart rate (HR) and heart morphological changes in high altitude living “plateau pikas” and rats bred at 2260 m. Rats and pikas were catheterized to measure HR (2260 m). After baseline measurements, 1 mg/kg of atropine (AT) and increasing doses of isoproterenol (IsoP) (0.1, 1, 10, and 100 μg kg) were injected into animals. Right (RV) and left ventricles (LV) were removed to calculate Fulton's ratio (LV + septum (S) to RV weights) and to assess mRNA expression level of β1‐ and β2‐adrenoceptors, muscarinic m1 and m2 receptors, and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Resting HR was significantly lower in rats than in pikas and increased after AT injection only in rats. IsoP injection induced a significant increase in HR in rat for all doses, which was systematically greater than in pikas. In pikas HR was slightly increased only after the two highest concentrations of IsoP. Fulton's ratio was greater in rats compared with pikas but the LV + S adjusted for body weight was greater in pikas. Pikas showed lower β1‐adrenoceptors and muscarinic m2 receptors mRNA expression but larger VEGF mRNA expression than rats both in RV and LV. These results suggest that pikas have a lower maximal HR compared with rats certainly due to a decrease in β‐adrenergic and muscarinic receptors mRNA expression. However, the LV hypertrophy probably led to an increase in stroke volume to maintain cardiac output in response to the cold and hypoxic environment.
Leadership : a study of global and cultural context in Saudi Arabian organisations

Despite the substantial number of studies and the developments that have been made in the field of leadership studies, organizations all over the world and across diverse sectors are not able to meet today? s business challenges. Leadership accounts for successful implementation of strategies as well as development of human capital, and social and economic growth. Nowadays, the diversity of work environments, projects, culture and social conditions significantly influence leadership practices and therefore must be carefully and urgently considered. The most important aspect of leadership that makes it hard to measure is people. Leadership is about communicating with people, understanding their diverse perspectives, respecting their cultural values, and reflecting their social identity. Over the years, leadership has been studied, defined and many theories on it have been developed, each one providing a critical understanding of the leadership phenomenon. However, the field research is continuing to expand as demand continues to grow. The aim of this research project is to understand the current leadership behaviours that are present within organizations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) in order to positively influence leadership practices and, overall improve organizations? performance and productivity. The researcher conducted an in-depth study in which all aspects of the context are examined, including leadership, cultural influence and the organization? s unique context. The adaptation of the grounded theory analytical approach and the use of in-depth interviews allow the researcher to better understand the study? s findings. The generated substantive theory of leadership has been represented and named as ? collective leadership in action? and is demonstrated and clarified by the introduction of the conceptual model and the theoretical model. This substantive theory is broken down into three critical categories, namely leadership in action, knowledge management in action, and social influential factors. The relationships between these categories are highly important and have been comprehensively discussed. The main conclusion is the new approach to leadership, which assumes that each individual in this world is powerful beyond measure, and that human capital and individual competences and growth are therefore the greatest aspects of leadership development in Saudi Arabia organizations, with focus on the context and global influence. Future research are encouraged examine the generated substantive theory within different contexts and industries.
Questionnaire survey of urinary incontinence in women with cystic fibrosis

Cystic fibrosis is an inherited disease characterised by the production of infected secretions, and it requires lifelong daily treatment by airway clearance. We knew that some women attending our clinic for adults with cystic fibrosis leaked urine when performing airway clearance or spirometry, but they were dismissive during discussion and were rarely forthcoming about the problem. This study was designed to determine the prevalence of urinary incontinence in women with cystic fibrosis, to establish the importance of the problem as perceived by the patients, and to identify those women who wanted help.
Evaluating topic coherence measures

Topic models extract representative word sets - called topics - from word counts in documents without requiring any semantic annotations. Topics are not guaranteed to be well interpretable, therefore, coherence measures have been proposed to distinguish between good and bad topics. Studies of topic coherence so far are limited to measures that score pairs of individual words. For the first time, we include coherence measures from scientific philosophy that score pairs of more complex word subsets and apply them to topic scoring.