Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Deterrence and brutalization: The dual effects of executions

On April 21, 1992, California received wide national attention when Robert Alton Harris was executed in the gas chamber at San Quentin. Harris's execution marked a reintroduction of the death penalty in California after a 25-year moratorium. We use weekly time-series data on the level and type of criminal homicide incidents in the state from 1989 through 1995 to exploit the quasi-experimental qualities of this naturally occurring “experiment,” and assess the impact of Harris's execution on the incidence of homicide. As in several recent studies, we disaggregate criminal homicides into forms of murder highly likely to be affected by capital punishment: felony-murders of nonstrangers, for which we predict a deterrent effect, and argument-murders of strangers, for which we predict a brutalization effect. On the basis of an autoregressive integrated moving-average approach to time-series analysis, we find (as predicted) a significant decline in the level of nonstranger felony-murders and a significant increase in the level of argument-based murders of strangers in the period following the execution. Moreover, the increase in argument-based stranger murders associated with the Harris execution endured across a subsequent execution period, while the decline in nonstranger felony-murders shifted to the subsequent execution.
Lunar-Lunacy Research

Research on the relationship between phase of the moon and human behavior indicative of "lunacy" should not be encouraged. The hypothesized lunar-lunacy relationship appears to lack validity. Theories to explain the hypothesized correlation by means of gravitational forces and airion effects are untenable upon close scrutiny. Researchers in this area are encouraged to explore more promising environmental influences than lunar effects.
Preventing pregnancy and improving health care access among teenagers: an evaluation of the children's aid society-carrera program.

CONTEXT Despite the recent declines in rates of teenage pregnancy, relatively little is known about the few programs that have been successful in reducing adolescent pregnancy. METHODS Six agencies in New York City each randomly assigned 100 disadvantaged 13-15-year-olds to their usual youth program or to the intervention being tested--the Children's Aid Society-Carrera program, a year-round afterschool program with a comprehensive youth development orientation. Both program and control youth were followed for three years. Multivariate regression analyses assessed the effects of program participation on the odds of current sexual activity, use of a condom along with a hormonal contraceptive, pregnancy and access to good health care. RESULTS Seventy-nine percent of participants remained in the program for three full years. Female program participants had significantly lower odds than controls of being sexually active (odds ratio, 0.5) and of having experienced a pregnancy (0.3). They had significantly elevated odds of having used a condom and a hormonal method at last coitus (2.4). However, participation in the program created no significant impact on males' sexual and reproductive behavior outcomes. Nonetheless, program participants of both genders had elevated odds of having received good primary health care (2.0-2.1). CONCLUSIONS This program is one of only four whose evaluation has successfully documented declines in teenage pregnancy using a random-assignment design. Better outcomes among males may be achieved if programs reach them even earlier than their teenage years.
Gendered risks and opportunities? : Exploring teen girls' digitized sexual identities in postfeminist media contexts

In debates on young people's engagements with new media, social networking sites (SNSs) have been explored as potentially democratizing spaces allowing a wider spectrum of young users to engage with digital technology than ever before. In relation to gender difference, SNSs are viewed as places that have opened up girls' and women's use of new media, building on earlier claims about how online practices like personal websites and blogging have revolutionized girls' access to and uses of digital technology. On the other hand, there are prominent public debates over children and sexualization, for example, that position young people and particularly girls as at risk of exposure to online content or SNSs that are not age appropriate, and which may contain adult sexually explicit content or pornography, or even put young people at risk from online paedophiles. In this article we try to think through and beyond SNSs as sites of both gendered risk and opportunity, drawing on qualitative data from a UK study of teens' uses of the SNS Bebo. We discuss and trouble what gendered and sexualized risk and opportunity might mean in relation to user-generated content and peer-to-peer networks. We situate peer networks as operating within wider postfeminist, pornified media contexts which may intensify dynamics like sexual objectification of girls' bodies. But we also illustrate how girls navigate such trends in complex ways exploring instances of porno-chic performance and sexualized cyberbullying.
Asymptomatic and Submicroscopic Carriage of Plasmodium knowlesi Malaria in Household and Community Members of Clinical Cases in Sabah, Malaysia

Although asymptomatic carriage of human malaria species has been widely reported, the extent of asymptomatic, submicroscopic Plasmodium knowlesi parasitemia is unknown. In this study, samples were obtained from individuals residing in households or villages of symptomatic malaria cases with the aim of detecting submicroscopic P. knowlesi in this population. Four published molecular assays were used to confirm the presence of P. knowlesi. Latent class analysis revealed that the estimated proportion of asymptomatic individuals was 6.9% (95% confidence interval, 5.6%–8.4%). This study confirms the presence of a substantial number of asymptomatic monoinfections across all age groups; further work is needed to estimate prevalence in the wider community.
Organizational health and teacher education

Abstract The concept of organizational health in teacher education programs is conceptualized and investigated. Eleven dimensions of organizational health in academia are identified and described. In addition, the current state of affairs regarding organizational health as recognized by the faculty and administration of 12 colleges/schools of education in the United States is described. Respondents felt most positive about the dimension of loyalty and commitment; the resource utilization dimension received the most negative organizational health rating. Demographic variables of age, gender, type of appointment (administrative or faculty), academic rank, number of years at the present institution, and tenure status were examined to determine whether they influenced perceptions of organizational health in teacher education programs. Type of appointment was the most influential factor on perceptions of organizational health; administrators had significantly higher perceptions than did nonadministrators on 10 of the 11 organizational health dimensions. Age was also found to be a significant factor on more than one‐half of the dimensions, and number of years at the institution influenced perceptions of three of the health dimensions.
The Competitiveness and Performance of Small Manufacturing Firms: An Analysis of Matched Pairs in Scotland and England

In this paper we present a comparative analysis of the competitiveness and performance of matched pairs of small manufacturing companies in Scotland and the south of England. Several aspects of performance are investigated, and evaluations of the price and quality competitiveness of the product samples are made. One-third of Scottish products were judged to be of an unacceptable quality by the matched English companies. English companies are manufacturing to a higher quality but at a similar price to the Scottish ones. English firms displayed higher levels of skill and were more aware of the need to train. The empirical evidence provides confirmation of the conceptual framework, namely that production-related issues lie at the core of the problem of competitiveness for small companies. The findings suggest that government assistance should shift away from fixed assets to soft assets, and especially towards training and advisory systems.
Friendships of Indonesian Children: Adjustment of Children Who Differ in Friendship Presence and Similarity Between Mutual Friends

Two aspects of the friendships of 960 Indonesian 10-year-old children were assessed. First, the characteristics of children with and without mutual friends were compared. Children without friends were more aggressive, withdrawn, and lower in academic achievement and social preference than those with friends. Second, similarities between children and their friends were assessed by comparing 132 target children with their friend and non-friend classmates. Children were more similar to their friends than to non-friends in social preference, achievement, peer and teacher rated antisocial behavior, and peer and teacher rated social withdrawal. The similarities of the friendships of Indonesian children to those of Western children with respect to these two features provide evidence of construct equivalence of friendships across cultures.
Intensity of Emotions, Emotional Regulation, and Goal Framing: How are They Related to Adolescents' Choice of Coping Strategies?

This article examined adolescents' reports of how they cope with a specific social stressor: authority conflict with parents. This situation was presented to 626 adolescents as part of a larger study on coping with stress. Students were requested to report on the intensity of the stress experienced, intensity of emotions, emotion regulation, perceived availability of social support, goal framing, and coping strategies used. Coping strategies split up factor-analytically into two coping patterns, namely fighting the stressor and coming to terms with the stressor. The relations between these two coping modes and various aspects of the students' mental representation of the stressor were examined. It was predicted that the way students frame the coping goal would affect their choice of coping strategies. Direct effects of coping strategy, emotion regulation and social support on intensity of stress were tested as well as moderating effects of the type of coping mode used on the relationship between emotion regulation and experienced stress. It is suggested that some youngsters consider an authority conflict with their parents as a normal aspect of daily functioning, whereas other view it as a developmental challenge.
Trying to Consume

An important but relatively neglected area of consumer behavior--the pursuit of goals--is addressed. Two recent modifications of the Fishbein model are discussed, and an extension is introduced to better explain goal pursuit. Major revisions include (1) specification of three dimensions of attitude--toward success, failure, and the process of trying, (2) the incorporation of self-efficacy judgments as expectations of success and failure, and (3) refinement in the specificity of referents and their correspondence to reflect trying as the focal explanatory concept. Recency and frequency of past trying are independent variables in three models tested with weight loss data. Copyright 1990 by the University of Chicago.
Text Effects on Main Idea Comprehension.

IN TWO STUDIES the authors examined the effects of selected text features on students' main idea comprehension. Seventy-five fourth-grade, 78 sixth-grade, and 107 eleventh-grade students in the United States participated in the studies. In Study 1, students were asked to identify the main ideas of two kinds of text with a listing structure: contrived instructional texts, and less constrained texts like those in content area textbooks. In Study 2, the same students identified the main ideas of texts of four different structures: listing, sequence, cause/effect, and comparison/ contrast. In half of the texts of each structure, the main idea was explicit; in the other half, it was implicit. Students in both studies inferred significantly fewer correct main ideas for the less constrained texts than for the contrived texts. The authors suggest that students who have been taught to identify main ideas using only contrived texts such as those found in basal reader skills lessons will have difficulty transferring their main idea skills to naturally occurring texts. Thus, instruction in main idea should include the opportunity for students to practice applying their skills to naturally occurring texts.
Parasitological Prevalence of Bovine Trypanosomosis in Kubo Division of Kwale County of Coastal: Baseline Survey

Prior to field trials of large scale tsetse repellent technology validation in July 2011, a cross-sectional survey of bovine trypanosomosis and its vectors was carried out to know the disease level in Kwale County of Coastal Kenya. A total of 584 adult cattle were examined at ten different Locations. The trypanosome prevalence in cattle with regard to age, sex, location and apparent tsetse density was investigated. The overall trypanosome prevalence in cattle in Kubo Division of Kwale County was 33.9%. Two types of infections were recorded in various parts of the Division in the following proportions: T. congolense 61.1%, T. vivax 38.9%. Findings from this study indicated that the Location dependent trypanosome prevalence can be stratified in three main levels: high (Mkongani 16.7%); very high in (Kizibe 25%, Zunguluka 25.5% and Mangawani 26.7%) and extremely high in (Katangini 32.2%, Mkanda 34.4%, Msulwa 42.4%, Mawia 46.4% and Kidongo 52.5%). The mean apparent density for G. pallidipes was 30 flies/trap/day while that of G. austeni 0.8 flies/trap/day and G. brevipalpis was 0.4 flies/trap/day. There was a positive and significant correlation (p
Observations of pore systems of natural siliciclastic mudstones.

Grains within siliciclastic muds are deposited either as flocs, in which grains are generally ,10 mm, or as single grains: “sortable silt,” generally . 10 mm. When clay-size (,2 mm diameter) particles form . 30% of mudstones, pore-size distributions are controlled mainly by the interaction of phyllosilicates; these materials are ‘matrix-supported. ’ Pores associated with clay-size particles are typically ,20 nm, even at shallow burial. When clay-size particles comprise ,30% of the grain-size distribution, a second, much larger pore system is observed, controlled by the amount and size of sortable silt; these mudstones are ‘framework-supported. ’ Compaction of these silt-rich materials occurs mainly by the loss of the largest pores, but large pores still exist up to high effective stresses in the absence of chemical compaction. Mercury injection porosimetry (MIP) gives information about pore-throat size and pore connectivity and thus provides useful data with which to estimate permeability. Models based on generally flat pore shapes can estimate the permeability of homogenous mudstones to+a factor of 3 of the true value, but cannot be used for heterogeneous, laminated mudstones, which exhibit highly anisotropic permeabilities. As MIP gives information about pore throats and microscopy gives information about pore bodies, the two techniques generate different results. Both are required, along with other techniques such as small-angle neutron scattering and low-pressure gas sorption, in order to fully appreciate the complexity of mudstone pore systems.
Network Coding Based Information Spreading in Dynamic Networks With Correlated Data

In this paper, we design and analyze information spreading algorithms for dynamic networks with correlated data. In these networks, either the data to be distributed, the data already available at the nodes, or both are correlated. Moreover, nodes' availability and connectivity is dynamic - a scenario typical for wireless networks. Our contribution is twofold. First, although coding schemes for correlated data have been studied extensively, the focus has been on characterizing the rate region in static networks. In an information spreading scheme, however, nodes may communicate by continuously exchanging packets according to some underlying communication model. The main figure of merit is the stopping time - the time required until nodes can successfully decode. While information spreading schemes, such as gossip, are practical, distributed, and scalable, they have only been studied for uncorrelated data. We close this gap by providing techniques to analyze network-coded information spreading in dynamic networks with correlated data. Second, we give a clean framework for oblivious dynamic network models that in particular applies to a multitude of wireless network and communication scenarios. We specify a general setting for the data model and give tight bounds on the stopping times of network-coded protocols in this wide range of settings. En route, we analyze the capacities seen by nodes under a network-coded information spreading protocol, a previously unexplored question. We conclude with extensive simulations, clearly validating the key trends and phenomena predicted in the analysis.
Nano SiO2 and MgO Improve the Properties of Porous β-TCP Scaffolds via Advanced Manufacturing Technology

Nano SiO2 and MgO particles were incorporated into β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) scaffolds to improve the mechanical and biological properties. The porous cylindrical β-TCP scaffolds doped with 0.5 wt % SiO2, 1.0 wt % MgO, 0.5 wt % SiO2 + 1.0 wt % MgO were fabricated via selective laser sintering respectively and undoped β-TCP scaffold was also prepared as control. The phase composition and mechanical strength of the scaffolds were evaluated. X-ray diffraction analysis indicated that the phase transformation from β-TCP to α-TCP was inhibited after the addition of MgO. The compressive strength of scaffold was improved from 3.12 ± 0.36 MPa (β-TCP) to 5.74 ± 0.62 MPa (β-TCP/SiO2), 9.02 ± 0.55 MPa (β-TCP/MgO) and 10.43 ± 0.28 MPa (β-TCP/SiO2/MgO), respectively. The weight loss and apatite-forming ability of the scaffolds were evaluated by soaking them in simulated body fluid. The results demonstrated that both SiO2 and MgO dopings slowed down the degradation rate and improved the bioactivity of β-TCP scaffolds. In vitro cell culture studies indicated that SiO2 and MgO dopings facilitated cell attachment and proliferation. Combined addition of SiO2 and MgO were found optimal in enhancing both the mechanical and biological properties of β-TCP scaffold.
Rapid Reversion from Monomer to Dimer Regenerates the Ultraviolet-B Photoreceptor UV RESISTANCE LOCUS8 in Intact Arabidopsis Plants1[W][OA]

Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) UV RESISTANCE LOCUS8 (UVR8) is a photoreceptor that specifically mediates photomorphogenic responses to ultraviolet (UV)-B in plants. UV-B photoreception induces the conversion of the UVR8 dimer into a monomer that interacts with the CONSTITUTIVELY PHOTOMORPHOGENIC1 (COP1) protein to regulate gene expression. However, it is not known how the dimeric photoreceptor is regenerated in plants. Here, we show, by using inhibitors of protein synthesis and degradation via the proteasome, that the UVR8 dimer is not regenerated by rapid de novo synthesis following destruction of the monomer. Rather, regeneration occurs by reversion from the monomer to the dimer. However, regeneration of dimeric UVR8 in darkness following UV-B exposure occurs much more rapidly in vivo than in vitro with illuminated plant extracts or purified UVR8, indicating that rapid regeneration requires intact cells. Rapid dimer regeneration in vivo requires protein synthesis, the presence of a carboxyl-terminal 27-amino acid region of UVR8, and the presence of COP1, which is known to interact with the carboxyl-terminal region. However, none of these factors can account fully for the difference in regeneration kinetics in vivo and in vitro, indicating that additional proteins or processes are involved in UVR8 dimer regeneration in vivo.
Prevalence and incidence of lower extremity injuries in male marathon runners

The aim of this study is to describe the prevalence and incidence of lower extremity injuries occurring before and during the Rotterdam marathon, and to evaluate the impact of the injuries. A cohort study was compiled of recreational male participants in the 2005 Rotterdam marathon. Demographic data and information on previous injuries were obtained from participants using a baseline questionnaire. Information on injuries sustained shortly before or during the marathon was obtained from a post‐race questionnaire. Seven hundred and twenty‐five (48.3%) participants returned the baseline questionnaire. The 1‐year prevalence of running injuries was 54.8%. In the post‐race questionnaire, 15.6% of all respondents reported at least one new lower extremity injury in the month preceding the Rotterdam marathon. The incidence of lower extremity injuries occurring during the marathon was 18.2%; most of these injuries occurred in the calf, knee and thigh. Immediately after the marathon the median score of pain intensity at rest was 2 points vs 4.5 points during physical exercise. Hence we can conclude that running injuries are very common among recreational male marathon runners. However, the pain severity and consequences for work and daily activities seem to be relatively low 1 week after the marathon.
Quality management in musculoskeletal imaging: form, content, and diagnosis of knee MRI reports and effectiveness of three different quality improvement measures.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this article is to evaluate the quality of reports of knee MRI examinations in form, content, and diagnosis and to assess the effect of three different quality improvement measures. MATERIALS AND METHODS Reports of 500 knee MRI examinations (first round, or baseline) were reviewed retrospectively by five musculoskeletal radiologists. Fifteen different criteria were assessed for formal and content-related quality of reports. Diagnostic discrepancies were categorized using a 5-point scale, as follows: I, no deviation; II, undetected finding, clinically irrelevant; III, wrong interpretation of finding, clinically irrelevant; IV, undetected finding, clinically relevant; and V, wrong interpretation of finding, clinically relevant. Then three different quality improvement measures were applied prospectively to a total of 510 consecutive reports: a quiet work environment, double reading, and the use of a structured report template. These 510 knee MRI reports (second round) were evaluated using the same criteria. RESULTS A statistically significant improvement in 13 of 15 criteria was found in the second-round reports: orthographic errors improved from 32.4% to 22.0% (p < 0.001) of reports and digital speech recognition errors improved from 8.4% to 7.6% (p = 0.660). Missing anatomic structures decreased from 6.3% to 0.4%. Diagnostic discrepancies were less frequently found (12.9% vs 20.8%; p = 0.001), along with the following changes in categorization (first-round results are in parentheses): I, 87.1% (79.2%); II, 9.2% (16.8%); III, 2.3% (1.0%); IV, 1.0% (2.6%); and V, 0.4% (0.4%). Quality improvement was found in all three measure groups, without statistical significance among the groups, except for the orthographic errors (p < 0.001), which were most common in the template group. CONCLUSION All three quality improvement measures significantly improved the quality of the knee MRI reports, but no measure was clearly superior to the others.