Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mediated Personalization of Executive European Union Politics: Examining Patterns in the Broadsheet Coverage of the European Commission, 1992–2016

The personalization of politics is a popular thesis but often challenged when it comes to media personalization. While previous research compared the prominence of different types of political actors across national political contexts, this article situates its research in the context of European Union (EU) politics and, thereby, studies similar reference points across countries. Its focus lies on the European Commission and its members. Personalization is conceptualized as individualization and presidentialization, respectively. The article proposes that the EU integration process provides journalists with the opportunity to report more often about individual politicians, while political developments should further incentivize journalists to personalize their news from Brussels. To test this argument, the article investigates personalization patterns in seven broadsheets from Ireland, Britain, France, the Netherlands, Denmark, Italy, and Poland. In total, 119,070 articles are analyzed by automated content analysis over a period of twenty-five years. The article finds no pan-European trend toward greater personalization of politics with respect to news coverage of EU executive politics. The findings nonetheless provide important implications for future research. The article particularly discusses the universal applicability of the phenomenon, the time frame for analysis, and journalistic styles in covering European politics.
Applied Time Series Modelling and Forecasting

Preface. 1. Introduction and Overview. Some Initial Concepts. Forecasting. Outline of the Book. 2. Short-- and Long--run Models. Long--run Models. Stationary and Non--stationary Time Series. Spurious Regressions. Cointegration. Short--run Models. Conclusion. 3. Testing for Unit Roots. The Dickey--Fuller Test. Augmented Dickey--Fuller Test. Power and Level of Unit Root Tests. Structural Breaks and Unit Root Tests. Seasonal Unit Roots. Structural Breaks and Seasonal Unit Root Tests. Periodic Integration and Unit Root--testing. Conclusion on Unit Root Tests. 4. Cointegration in Single Equations. The Engle--Granger (EG) Approach. Testing for Cointegration with a Structural Break. Alternative Approaches. Problems with the Single Equation Approach. Estimating the Short--run Dynamic Model. Seasonal Cointegration. Periodic Cointegration. Asymmetric Tests for Cointegration. Conclusion s. 5. Cointegration in Multivariate Systems. The Johansen Approach. Testing the Order of Integration of the Variables. Formulation of the Dynamic Model. Testing for Reduced Rank. Deterministic Components in the Multivariate Model. Testing of Weak Exogeneity and VECM with Exogenous I (l) Variables. Testing for Linear Hypotheses on Cointegration Relations. Testing for Unique Cointegration Vectors. Joint Tests of Restrictions on alpha and beta Seasonal Unit Roots. Seasonal Cointegration. Conclusions. Appendix 1: Programming in SHAZAM. 6. Modelling the Short--run Multivariate System. Introduction. Estimating the Long--run Cointegration Relationships. Parsimonious VECM. Conditional PVECM. Structural Modelling. Structural Macroeconomic Modelling. 7. Panel Data Models and Cointegration. Introduction. Panel Data and Modelling Techniques. Panel Unit Root Tests. Testing for Cointegration in Panels. Estimating Panel Cointegration Models. Conclusion on Testing for Unit Roots and Cointegration in Panel Data. 8. Modelling and Forecasting Financial Times Series. Introduction. ARCH and GARCH. Multivariate GARCH. Estimation and Testing. An Empirical Application of ARCH and GARCH Models. ARCH--M. Asymmetric GARCH Models. Integrated and Fractionally Integrated GARCH Models. Conditional Heteroscedasticity, Unit Roots and Cointegration. Forecasting with GARCH Models. Further Methods for Forecast Evaluation. Conclusions on Modelling and Forecasting Financial Time Series. Appendix: Cointegration Analysis Using the Johansen Technique: A Practitioner's Guide to PcGive 10.1. Statistical Appendix. References. Index.
Incidence and main risk factors for severe retinopathy of prematurity in infants weighing less than 1000 grams in Brazil.

OBJECTIVES This study evaluated the incidence and risk factors for severe retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in babies <1000 g at Porto Alegre, Brazil. METHODS Prospective cohort study including premature children with birth weight ≤1000 g was conducted. Main outcome was the occurrence of severe ROP needing treatment. RESULTS A total of 157 infants were included. Severe ROP occurred in 20 infants (12.7%). Nineteen patients were treated by laser photocoagulation. Main risk factors for severe ROP were gestational age (P = 0.029), infant's weight measured at sixth week of life (P < 0.001) and number of days of oxygen therapy under mechanical ventilation (P < 0.001). After logistic regression, infant's weight at sixth week of life and number of days in mechanical ventilation were associated to severe ROP. CONCLUSIONS We reported the incidence of 12.7% of severe ROP among babies born ≤ 1000 g in our institution. Laser photocoagulation was effective to stabilize the disease among 19 treated patients.
Perceived Overqualification : An Exploration of Outcomes

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between perceived overqualification (POQ) and relevant work behaviors and perceptions. Results indicate that POQ is related to lower job satisfaction and organizational commitment, and higher turnover intentions. Further research is needed to address POQ's relationship to absenteeism and truancy. Attracting, selecting, and hiring the best people is of utmost importance to organizations. Personnel create the work environment (Schneider, 1987) and selecting high performing employees offers companies a competitive edge (Salgado, Viswesvaran, & Ones, 2001). Additionally, numerous negative outcomes are associated with hiring ill-suited employees, such as decreases in productivity, Understanding what leads to withdrawal behavior and turnover can help organizations take measures to prevent its occurrence. Previous research has examined the effect of both organizational variables such perceived organizational support (e.g., Eder & Eisenberger, 2008) and individual difference variables such as organizational identification However, one seldom examined factor is the extent to which an individual believes he or she is overqualified for the job. According to self-reported assessments of recent graduates, overqualification is experienced by an estimated one-quarter of the population (Feldman & Turnley, 1995). The purpose of this study is to assess the influence of perceived overqualification (POQ) on work behaviors and attitudes. Overqualification Although others have defined excessive cognitive ability as a single overarching characteristic of overqualification (Fine & Nevo, 2008), it is better conceptualized more holistically in terms of knowledge, skills, abilities, and other necessary characteristics (KSAOs). Fine (2007) defines POQ as being " the degree to which individuals perceive themselves (or others) as possessing more than the required job qualifications " (p. 61). Similarly, Johnson and Johnson (2002) describe POQ as resulting from incongruence between job demands and employee competencies. Maynard et al. (2006) argue that POQ is more relevant than objective levels of overqualification for predicting withdrawal behaviors since the psychological state of the employee may exert more influence on behavior than actual overqualification levels. Johnson, Morrow, and Johnson (2002) also advise examining POQ, as opposed to objective overqualification, as it is a meaningful interpretation of the work environment by the employee. Underemployment is any situation of lesser quality employment compared to an objective job standard (Fine & Nevo, 2008; Maynard et al., 2006). Underemployment includes over-education, over-experience, skill underutilization (Fine & Nevo, 2008), involuntary temporary work, involuntary part-time employment (Maynard et al., 2006), underpayment, and working outside one's professional area (Fine, 2007). Although Johnson …
Introduction to Statistical Pattern Recognition

Annotation : Pattern recognition problem is briefly characterized as a process of machine learning. Its main stages (dimensionality reduction and classifier design) are stated. Statistical approach is given priority here. Two approaches to dimensionality reduction, namely feature selection (FS) and feature extraction (FE) are specified. Though FS is a special case of FE, they are very different from a practical viewpoint and thus must be considered separately.
Renin inhibitors in diabetes and hypertension: an update

The coexistence of hypertension and diabetes increases the incidence of cardiovascular events and long-term morbidity and mortality. Blood pressure should be controlled with the most appropriate drugs as well as tight blood glucose control in patients with diabetes and hypertension. RAAS (Renin Angiotensin Aldosterone System) blockers have an important role in the treatment of these patients, in this sense, ACEi and ARB remained the major treatment option in hypertension guidelines. The most recent RAAS blocker to be approved by the FDA was aliskiren in 2007, a renin inhibitor. Studies showed that aliskiren is as effective as other antihypertensive drugs and has a safety profile similar to placebo. The potent renin inhibitor aliskiren directly inhibits the RAAS system at its rate limiting step and differently from other RAAS blockers; it decreases plasma renin activity (PRA). Although the relationship of increased PRA levels and cardiovascular risk has been shown, it is unclear if the PRA decrease provided by aliskiren has an impact on clinical outcomes and cardiovascular endpoints. On the other hand, large trials like ASPIRE, AVANT-GARDE, ALTITUDE, ASTRONAUT, which investigated the combination of aliskiren with other RAAS blockers, failed to show the expected outcomes or resulted with an increased incidence of adverse effects, which raised more questions. As a result of the ALTITUDE trial, combination of aliskiren with an ACEi or ARB is not recommended in patients with hypertension and diabetes, or at least moderate renal dysfunction. Trials designed to prove aliskiren's efficacy in new indications like diabetes, may face similar problems related to dual RAAS blockade because in the majority of cases, the optimal treatment is achieved with an ACEi or ARB. In this conjuncture, the increase in adverse events seen with aliskiren might be related to dual RAAS blockade rather than aliskiren directly. For instance, it is unclear whether the adverse event incidence would be the same, less, or higher if ALTITUDE was designed to investigate ACEi and ARB combination without aliskiren. In fact, every new molecular entity and mechanism of action faces the same barriers. For the time being, differentiating points like PRA lowering effects as an add-on therapy to calcium channel blockers or hydrochlorothiazide, and the populations that might have additional benefit, should be carefully investigated.
Snow crystal imaging using scanning electron microscopy: I. Precipitated snow

Abstract Low-temperature scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to observe precipitated snow crystals. The newly-fallen snow crystals were obtained in storms at Beltsville, Maryland, and at Bearden Mountain near Davis, West Virginia, USA. The snow samples were mounted on modified SEM stubs, frozen in liquid nitrogen, sputter coated with platinum, and imaged with an electron beam. Many types of precipitated snow crystals were observed including hexagonal plates, columns, needles, stellar dendrites, bullets, graupel, and rimed crystals. The SEM techniques that were developed can be used for quantitative measurements of size, shape and structure of crystals. SEM of precipitated snow appears to have direct application for the inference of atmospheric and cloud conditions where the snow crystals formed and travelled to the ground and for the development of a relationship between snow crystal type and snowfall intensity and amount. The SEM technique provides a new procedure to record permanently snow cryst.
Viral Load Analysis of Hepatitis C Virus in Huh7.5 Cell Culture System

Background: Previous studies using cell culture systems for the replication of hepatitis C virus have opened new research dimensions, and paved the ways for further and detailed studies of the virus in vitro. Objectives: The purpose of the present study was to cultivate hepatitis C virus in a cell culture system and evaluate viral amplification. Materials and Methods: In order to propagate hepatitis C virus, cloned whole genome of virus, JFH-1, was used. JFH-1 cDNA was introduced into strain JM109 of Escherichia coli and plasmid, containing the viral genome was purified from transformed bacteria. After XbaI digestion, RNA synthesis was induced using T7 RNA polymerase enzyme. Next, eukaryotic cell line Huh 7.5 was transfected by the purified RNA. Finally, Huh-7.5 cell line was infected with replicated virus and viral load was determined using real-time PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction). Results: The amount of viral load, which was measured using real-time PCR was 17592 IU/mL. Conclusions: In the present study, using cell culture, a high titer (in acceptable range) of infectious hepatitis C virus was produced. This method could be used in future studies.
Temporal-Code to Rate-Code Conversion by Neuronal Phase-Locked Loops

Peripheral sensory activity follows the temporal structure of input signals. Central sensory processing uses also rate coding, and motor outputs appear to be primarily encoded by rate. I propose here a simple, efficient structure, converting temporal coding to rate coding by neuronal phase-locked loops (PLL). The simplest form of a PLL includes a phase detector (that is, a neuronal-plausible version of an ideal coincidence detector) and a controllable local oscillator that are connected in a negative feedback loop. The phase detector compares the firing times of the local oscillator and the input and provides an output whose firing rate is monotonically related to the time difference. The output rate is fed back to the local oscillator and forces it to phase-lock to the input. Every temporal interval at the input is associated with a specific pair of output rate and time difference values; the higher the output rate, the further the local oscillator is driven from its intrinsic frequency. Sequences of input intervals, which by definition encode input information, are thus represented by sequences of firing rates at the PLL's output. The most plausible implementation of PLL circuits is by thalamocortical loops in which populations of thalamic relay neurons function as phase detectors that compare the timings of cortical oscillators and sensory signals. The output in this case is encoded by the thalamic population rate. This article presents and analyzes the algorithmic and the implementation levels of the proposed PLL model and describes the implementation of the PLL model to the primate tactile system.
Original Paper

Much has been written and said of the importance of crop management to sustain plant health, a fundamental for feeding a world population expected to reach around nine billion by 2050. Yet, the two elements, crop management and plant health management, are generally addressed as two distinct entities, the former often being seen as a source for options for the latter. Agriculture of the Middle Age (900– 1600 CE) seems not always to have distinguished crop and plant health management, considering them instead as a whole. In this article, these elements are addressed as parts of production situations, which represent a much broader level of integration for systems analysis. At the production situation level, plant disease epidemics, or their suppression, can both be seen as consequences of crop management. Modern agriculture tends to distinguish specific plant health management techniques (which are often overemphasized) and general, non-specific ones (which are often downplayed). The former (e.g., specific host plant resistances, biological control, pesticides) may be overcome rather rapidly by plant pathogens , while the latter (e.g., crop rotation, tillage), with often progressive, incomplete, and confounded effects, may constitute the basis of sustainable management of plant health. A simulation modelling framework, with two model structures, is used to highlight the three components of disease management outlined by Berger (Annual Review of Phytopathology, 15, 165–183, 1977): (1) eliminate or reduce the initial inocu-lum or delay its appearance, (2) slow the rate of disease increase, and (3) shorten the time of exposure of the crop to the pathogen. The degree of involvement of these three components is further discussed in three groups of examples in plant production systems that significantly contribute to global food provisioning and food security. A few modelling outputs and evaluation of these examples suggest that, even in the most specialized production situations, both specific and non-specific plant health management strategies are necessary for sustained health of our crops and for durable performances of agricultural systems.
Expression of DNA repair and metabolic genes in response to a flavonoid-rich diet

A diet rich in fruit and vegetables can be effective in the reduction of oxidative stress, through the antioxidant effects of phytochemicals and other mechanisms. Protection against the carcinogenic effects of chemicals may also be exerted by an enhancement of detoxification and DNA damage repair mechanisms. To investigate a putative effect of flavonoids, a class of polyphenols, on the regulation of the gene expression of DNA repair and metabolic genes, a 1-month flavonoid-rich diet was administered to thirty healthy male smokers, nine of whom underwent gene expression analysis. We postulated that tobacco smoke is a powerful source of reactive oxygen species. The expression level of twelve genes (APEX, ERCC1, ERCC2, ERCC4, MGMT, OGG1, XPA, XPC, XRCC1, XRCC3, AHR, CYP1A1) was investigated. We found a significant increase (P < 0·001) in flavonoid intake. Urinary phenolic content and anti-mutagenicity did not significantly change after diet, nor was a correlation found between flavonoid intake and urinary phenolic levels or anti-mutagenicity. Phenolic levels showed a significant positive correlation with urinary anti-mutagenicity. AHR levels were significantly reduced after the diet (P = 0·038), whereas the other genes showed a generalized up regulation, significant for XRCC3 gene (P = 0·038). Also in the context of a generalized up regulation of DNA repair genes, we found a non-significant negative correlation between flavonoid intake and the expression of all the DNA repair genes. Larger studies are needed to clarify the possible effects of flavonoids in vivo; our preliminary results could help to better plan new studies on gene expression and diet.
All Virtue Is Relative: A Response to Prior

In “The Challenge of Measuring Media Exposure: Reply to Dilliplane, Goldman, and Mutz,” Markus Prior suggests that scholars should avoid using a new method of measuring exposure to political television that we evaluated in a recent article published in the American Journal of Political Science. We respond to each of his criticisms, concluding that although no measurement approach is without its flaws, scholars should always use the best approach that is available at any given point in time.
The Impact of Food Quality On Customer Satisfaction And Behavioural Intentions: A Study On Madurai Restaurant

Food quality is by all accounts acknowledged as a central part to fulfil restaurant customers; be that as it may, it has been regularly ignored in restaurant benefit quality and satisfaction contemplates. The essential target of this review was to examine how food quality is seen in connection with satisfaction and behavioural intentions in mid-to-upscale restaurants. This review additionally endeavoured to distinguish which properties among food-related qualities are basic in enhancing satisfaction and uplifting return to goal. This review demonstrates that general food quality fundamentally influences customer satisfaction and behavioural intentions. Consequent regression analysis showed that taste and introduction were the two biggest donors to customer satisfaction and behavioural intentions. In this manner, supervisors ought to focus on the key food quality properties that evoke customer satisfaction and upgrade return visits in the restaurant business.
Chandra imaging of the X-ray core of Abell 1795

We report the discovery of a 40 arcsec long X-ray filament in th e core of the cluster of galaxies A 1795. The feature coincides with an H�+NII filament found by Cowie et al in the early 1980s and resolved into at least 2 U-band filaments by McNamar a et al in the mid 1990s. The (emission-weighted) temperature of the X-ray emitting gas along the filament is 2.5 3 keV, as revealed by X-ray colour ratios. The deprojected temperature will be less. A detailed temperature map of the core of the cluster presented. The cD galaxy at the head of the filament is probably moving through or oscillating in the cluster core. The radiative cooling time of the X-ray emitting gas in the filament is about 3×10 8 yr which is similar to the age of the filament obtained from its length and velocity. This suggests that th e filament is produced by cooling of the gas from the intracluster medium. The filament, much of which is well separated from the body of the cD galaxy and its radio source, is potentially of great importance in helping to understand the energy and ionization source of the optical nebulosity common in cooling flows.
Star complexes and stellar populations in NGC 6822

Aims. The star complexes (large scale star forming regions) of NGC 6822 were traced and mapped and their size distribution was compared with the size distribution of star complexes in the Magellanic Clouds (MCs). The spatial distributions of different age stellar populations were compared with each other. Methods. The star complexes of NGC 6822 were determined by using the isopleths, based on star counts, of the young stars of the galaxy, using a statistical cutoff limit in density. In order to map them and determine their geometric properties, an ellipse was fitted to each distinct region satisfying this minimum limit. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistical test was used to study possible patterns in their size distribution. Isopleths were also used to study the stellar populations of NGC 6822. Results. The star complexes of NGC 6822 were detected and a list of their positions and sizes was produced. Indications of hierarchical star formation, in terms of spatial distribution, time evolution and preferable sizes were found in NGC 6822 and the MCs. The spatial distribution of the various age stellar populations has indicated traces of an interaction in NGC 6822, dated before 350 ± 50 Myr.
Leveraging dynamic slicing to enhance indirect branch prediction

An indirect branch specifies where the address of the next instruction to execute is located. The address to be jumped to is not known until the instruction is executed. Indirect branches can incur a significant fraction of branch misprediction overhead even though they remain less frequent than the more predictable conditional branches. Indirect branch instructions implement multiway branch statements and virtual function calls in object-oriented languages. Multiple targets indirect branch instructions are difficult to predict. We employ dynamic slicing to categorize indirect branches and use the most convenient predictor for each category. We also propose Dynamic Slicing directed Indirect Branch (DSIB) predictor, a profiling based target address prediction technique for indirect branch instructions. We compare the proposed predictor to VBBI and ITTAGE predictors. DSIB enhances prediction accuracy by 13% and 9% over VBBI and ITTAGE respectively. DSIB also results in IPC improvement of 11%, 4.2% and 3.55% over BTB, VBBI and ITTAGE respectively.