Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Renewable and nonrenewable energy production and economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa: a hidden cointegration analysis

The objective of this article is to investigate the hypothesis of asymmetric effects between economic growth and renewable and nonrenewable energy production. To this end, both the linear cointegration and the hidden cointegration methodology are employed, with the latter allowing a straightforward delimitation of the data in an economically sensible way. We test for the presence of hidden cointegration across 12 sub-Saharan African countries spanning the period 1971–2011. The empirical results confirm the growth hypothesis for a subset of countries, suggesting that their growth could be adversely affected by conservation policies, while for a second subgroup of countries they confirm the conservation hypothesis, indicating that conservation policies could enhance the growth process in these countries. The differentiation of the results could be captured entirely by the linear approach, indicating that the lack of cointegration between renewable energy production and economic growth found in previous studies may be due to failures to properly delimit the nonlinearity property in the data.
Social innovation: An exploration of the barriers faced by innovating organizations in the social economy

Social and community-based organizations are increasingly viewed as wellsprings of valuable social innovations. Government policies, most notably David Cameron’s Big Society initiative, have entrenched the concept of localism across the UK, and the move towards smaller government has placed the onus on communities to creatively tackle their own problems. While antecedent research on social innovation has largely concentrated on success stories, few have stopped to consider the profound nature of this shift and the operational obstacles it may pose for small resource-constrained organizations. This article seeks to contribute to current debates on social innovation by critically reviewing extant literature and proposing a model of ‘open’ social innovation. Furthermore, it serves as a tool to stimulate further discussion around the ‘opening up’ of the social innovation process and raises some timely questions about the efficacy of localism policy measures.
Exploring the links among organisational commitment, knowledge sharing and innovation capability in a public organisation

This study examines the relationships among three important human resource management-related topics: organisational commitment, knowledge sharing and innovation capability. The research model and hypotheses were developed based on existing related studies. Results from a survey of 90 participants from a public organisation in a developing country showed that only affective commitment had a positive effect on knowledge sharing and innovation capability. The results further indicated that only knowledge sharing and knowledge donating affected innovation capability. These findings support the notion that organisational commitment is an important antecedent of knowledge sharing and innovation capability. This paper contributes to the commitment, knowledge sharing and innovation literatures by developing links among the three HRM-related constructs.
Validation of Indian diabetic risk score in diagnosing type 2 diabetes mellitus against high fasting blood sugar levels among adult population of central India

Globally the increasing prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) is major public health concern. The Indian Diabetes Risk Score (IDRS) was developed by Madras Diabetes Research Foundation (MDRF) as a simple tool to help detect undiagnosed type 2 DM (T2DM) in the community. We conducted a study among 911 adults of Jabalpur District to validate the IDRS score against increased fasting blood sugar levels in diagnosing T2DM. T2DM was confirmed either by history of previously known disease or fasting plasma glucose ≥126 mg/dl on two occasions. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, Youden index (sensitivity + specificity −1), likelihood ratio for positive test, and likelihood ratio for negative test were calculated for IDRS cut-offs of ≥20, ≥40, ≥60, and ≥80 against the presence of T2DM (either known diabetic or fasting plasma glucose >126 mg/dl on two occasions). The overall prevalence of T2DM was 9.99% (95% confidence interval, 8.04-11.94%). In the Receiver operating characteristic analysis, IDRS had an area under the curve of 0.736 (P < 0.001). The best cut-off was IDRS 40 with a sensitivity, specificity, and Youden index of 60.4%, 70.7%, and 0.31, respectively. The findings of our study indicate that IDRS has excellent predictive value for detecting undiagnosed diabetes in the community and IDRS is also a much stronger risk indicator than examining individual risk factors like age, family history, obesity, or physical activity.
Electron transport regulates exchange of two forms of photosystem II D1 protein in the cyanobacterium Synechococcus.

Synechococcus sp. PCC 7942 modulates photosynthetic function by transiently replacing the constitutive D1 photosystem II protein, D1:1, with an alternate form, D1:2, to help counteract photoinhibition under excess light. We show that a temperature drop from 37 to 25 degrees C also drives D1:1/D1:2 exchange under constant, moderate light. Chilling or light‐induced D1 exchange results from rapid loss of psbAI message coding for D1:1 and accumulation of psbAII and psbAIII messages coding for D1:2. During chilling, a large pool of a novel form, D1:2*, transiently accumulates, distinguishable from normal D1 by an increase in apparent molecular mass. D1:2* is not phosphorylated and is probably a functionally inactive, incompletely processed precursor. After acclimation to 25 degrees C, D1:2* disappears and D1:1 again predominates, although substantial D1:2 remains. Partial inhibition of electron transport under constant, moderate light also triggers the D1 exchange process. These treatments all increase excitation pressure on photosystem II relative to electron transport. Therefore, information from photosynthetic electron transport regulates D1 exchange without any requirement for a change in light intensity or quality, possibly via a redox sensing mechanism proximal to photosystem II.
Improving Classroom Practices: The impact of Leadership, School Organizational Conditions, and Teacher Factors

Schools are challenged to improve classroom practices as they are expected to enhance students’ motivation. While leadership, school organizational conditions and teacher factors are considered essential for improving classroom practices, more should be known about the interplay between school internal conditions and their development over time to explain teacher learning and change. This book describes a study that gains more insight into the impact of leadership, school organizational conditions and teacher factors on teachers’ classroom practices and students’ motivation to learn. As indicators of school-wide capacity for improvement, a model consisting of school internal conditions is used to relate changes in classroom practices to developments in schools’ capacity for improvement. In addition, the relative importance of teachers’ classroom practices for the motivation of students to learn is analyzed. The study outcomes show that school-wide capacity for improvement can be considered an important prerequisite for improving classroom practices and enhancing students’ motivation. Moreover, the results indicate that it seems a major challenge for schools to build and subsequently sustain their capacity to improve. This dissertation increases our understanding of the nature, dynamics and effects of building school-wide capacity for improvement.
Alternative conceptions of feedback in dynamic decision environments: an experimental investigation

Studies conducted in recent years have shown that outcome feedback in dynamic decision-making tasks does not lead to improved performance. This has led researchers to examine alternatives to outcome feedback for improving decision makers' performance in such tasks. This study examines the feasibility of improving performance in dynamic tasks by providing cognitive feedback or feedforward. We report a laboratory experiment in which subjects managed a set of simulated software development projects. Results indicate that subjects provided with cognitive feedback performed best, followed by those provided with feedforward. Subjects provided with outcome feedback performed poorly. We discuss the implications of the results for decision support in dynamic tasks.
An Analysis of One-Star Online Reviews and Responses in the Washington, D.C., Lodging Market

The hotel industry continues to develop strategies for addressing consumer-generated online reviews, and particularly responding to poor reviews, which can have a damaging effect on a hotel’s reputation. To gain a greater understanding of the dynamics of poor reviews, this study analyzed 1,946 one-star reviews from ten popular online review websites, as well as 225 management responses from eighty-six Washington, D.C., hotels. A comprehensive complaint framework found that the most common complaints related to front desk staff, bathroom issues, room cleanliness, and guestroom noise issues. Complaints were also analyzed by hotel characteristics, including chain-scale segments, and reviewer characteristics, including purpose of travel and geographic location. Examining the reviews, highly rated hotels often respond to online complaints with appreciation, apologies, and explanations for what had gone wrong. Compensation adjustments are rarely mentioned by any hotel. The increasingly prominent role of social media necessitates that hotels use online reviews for market research and service recovery opportunities, regardless of whether they respond publicly.
Efficient Recognition of Forest Species Biodiversity by Inventory-Based Geospatial Approach Using LISS IV Sensor

Tropical forest is one of the great biodiversity repositories of the world ecosystem. Biodiversity is depleting very fast due to conversion of forest region into agricultural or other land use. Here comes the role of biodiversity assessment and evaluation of spatial data of species to prioritize the conservation purposes. Traditionally, ground-based plots were used to assess different biodiversity. Later on, remote sensing approaches were also incorporated along with field-based studies to quantify the results accurately. Assessment of biodiversity constitutes estimation of various indices that were obtained using ground-based plot or survey. With the advancement of the remote sensing technology, spatial information about tree species was collected using field sample and satellite data and field sample plots within the Sariska Tiger Reserve. Different diversity indices were calculated like α, β, diversity, and others, i.e., Pilot's index (J), Shannon-Wiener index (SR), Margalef index (Ew), and Whittaker's index (H'). The multistage statistical techniques, which integrate high spatial resolution and spectral characteristics of satellite data (LISS IV), will help in providing precise information about tree species. Regression analysis provides better results to identify forest species among different bands. A positive correlation has been found in the infrared band even negative correlation has been found in other bands. This paper incorporates field-based surveys along with remote sensing technologies using a regression model (r2 = 0.636) to estimate and recognize different species diversity in Sariska Tiger Reserve.
Self efficacy as a predictor of compassion satisfaction, burnout, compassion fatigue: A study on psychological counselors

The aim of this study is to reveal the relationship between psychological counselors’ levels of compassion satisfaction, burnout and compassion fatigue and their perception of self-efficacy with regard to multidirectional roles and skills (MRS). The sample of the study is composed of 142 school psychological counselors. In order to collect the research data, the study used personal information form, life quality scale for workers, and school counselor competency expectation scale. In terms of the analysis of the research data, in order to determine whether or not there is any direct relationship between variables, the study calculated the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient. This was followed by the application of the direct multiple regression analysis technique to the data. The findings of the data showed that, there is a positive relationship between perceptions of self-efficacy with regard to the skills of psychological counseling and multidirectional roles, skills and compassion satisfaction; and that there is a negative relationship between burnout and compassion fatigue. The results of the regression analysis, on the other hand, revealed that psychological counseling skills (PCS) and perceptions of self-efficacy as to MRS significantly predicted compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue; and that fatigue is not a significant predictor. Key words: Psychological counselors, self-efficacy, compassion satisfaction, burnout, compassion fatigue.
Satisficing in Financial Decision Making A Theoretical and Experimental Attempt to Explore Bounded Rationality

In this paper, we apply the bounded rationality approach to an investment situation. In a simple setting where an investor decides between a riskless bond and a risky asset, we distinguish three aspiration levels: a lowest threshold which one wants to guarantee, the aspiration level given by investing all risk-free, and an even higher return level representing a real success. The ranges for such aspirations are naturally determined by the parameters. These three aspirations allow us to classify investors as actual or only potential satisficers, as well as risk shy or more open to risk. In the experiment, participants are first asked for their lowest and highest aspiration before investing. Thus, we can test whether they behave as predicted by their aspiration type. By presupposing specific cardinal utility functions, we also compare the bounded rationality approach to the rational choice-approach.
Impact of lymph node staging on therapy of esophageal carcinoma.

BACKGROUND & AIMS Therapy of esophageal carcinoma is stage dependent. The role of EUS-guided fine-needle aspiration (EUS FNA) in this setting is unclear. The aims of this study were to compare the performance characteristics of CT, EUS, and EUS FNA for preoperative nodal staging of esophageal carcinoma and to measure the impact of each staging test on treatment decisions. METHODS From December 1999 to March 2001, all patients with esophageal carcinoma seen at the Mayo Clinic Rochester were prospectively evaluated with CT, EUS, and EUS FNA. The impact of tumor stage on final therapy was assessed. RESULTS A total of 125 patients with esophageal carcinoma were enrolled. EUS FNA was more sensitive (83% vs. 29%; P < 0.001) than CT and more accurate than CT (87% vs. 51%; P < 0.001) or EUS (87% vs. 74%; P = 0.012) for nodal staging. Direct surgical resection was contraindicated in 77% of patients evaluated due to advanced locoregional/metastatic disease. Tumor location, patient age, comorbidities, and tumor stage determined by CT, EUS, and EUS FNA were associated with treatment decisions (P < 0.05). EUS FNA resulting in a higher/worse stage than CT (41 patients) was associated with a greater rate of treatments that were not direct surgeries compared with cases in which the stage was the same or better. CONCLUSIONS EUS FNA is more accurate for nodal staging and impacts on therapy of patients with esophageal carcinoma. EUS FNA should be included in the preoperative staging algorithm of these patients.
Regional Economic Performance and Net Migration Rates in Russia, 1993–2002 1

Soviet legacies and uneven economic distress make post-Soviet Russia an especially interesting case in which to assess the effects of economic performance on regional net migration rates. Random effects models of net regional migration in 77 Russian regions from 1993 to 2002 indicate that mean wages and unemployment levels have substantial and predictable effects. These effects have several dynamic aspects: changes in mean wages (but not changes in unemployment) exert effects independently of wage and unemployment levels, the effect of unemployment decreases over time, and the effect of wage levels appears to increase. Overall, the results suggest a tendency toward regional equilibrium with respect to employment following the initial shock of Soviet collapse and market reforms, but continuing disequilibrium with respect to wages.
Divergence and Convergence within Anglo-American Corporate Governance Systems: Evidence from the US and UK, 1950–2000

The objective of this article is to compare the United States and British systems of business organisation and corporate governance during the last 50 years. Of particular interest is the contrasting relationship between governance systems and the pursuit of diversification and refocusing strategies. In order to explain these relationships, a theoretical model integrating the firm’s resource base with the main aspects of corporate governance to explain strategy, structure and managerial behaviour is developed. It is then applied to examine changes in the United States and British corporate economies in the period 1950–2000.
The effects and policy implications of state aids to industry: an economic analysis

The use of state aids to industry is a poorly understood part of competition policy. Currently, the EU Commission presumes that state aids distort competition, yet it approves 98% of applications, often for social or distributional reasons. We argue that proper regulation of state aids should focus on two issues, the externalities generated and the inefficiencies arising from failures in competition between governments. We thus develop a new framework for EU policy and compare its implications with the existing practice of the EU Commission. Copyright Centre for Economic Policy Research, Centre for Economic Studies, Maison des Sciences de l'Homme 1999.
Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1-Mediated Inhibition of Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor α Expression During Hypoxia1

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) are nuclear hormone-binding proteins that regulate transcriptional responses to peroxisome proliferators and structurally diverse fatty acids. PPARs have been implicated in a wide variety of functions, including lipid homeostasis and inflammatory responses. In this study, we examined the expression of PPAR-α in response to ambient hypoxia. Initial studies using microarray analysis of intestinal epithelial mRNA revealed that hypoxia rapidly down-regulates PPAR-α mRNA and protein in epithelial cells in vitro and in vivo. Subsequent studies revealed that the PPAR-α gene bears a DNA consensus motif for the transcription factor hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1). EMSA analysis revealed that ambient hypoxia induces HIF-1α binding to the HIF-1 consensus domain of PPAR-α in parallel to HIF-1 nuclear accumulation, and antisense depletion of HIF-1α resulted in a loss of PPAR-α down-regulation. The PPAR-α ligand pirinixic acid (WY14643) functionally promoted IFN-γ-induced ICAM-1 expression in normoxic epithelia, and this response was lost in cells pre-exposed to ambient hypoxia. Such results indicate that HIF-1-dependent down-regulation of PPAR-α may provide an adaptive response to proinflammatory stimuli during cellular hypoxia. These studies provide unique insight into the regulation of PPAR-α expression and, importantly, provide an example of a down-regulatory pathway mediated by HIF-1.
Anti-asthmatic property and possible mode of activity of an ethanol leaf extract of Polyscias fruticosa

Abstract Context: Polyscias fruticosa (L.) Harms (Araliaceae) is used as a traditional remedy for asthma in Ghana. Objective: The objective of this study is to establish the anti-asthmatic property and a possible mode of activity of an ethanol leaf extract of P. fruticosa (PFE). Materials and methods: The time (min) for pre-convulsive dyspnea, and time for recovery, after sensitization with 150 μg OVA and induction of bronchospasm with 1% acetylcholine or histamine in normal, and 100, 250, and 500 mg/kg PFE-treated Dunkin Hartley guinea pigs, were recorded. Atropine (0.1 mg), mepyramine (0.1 mg), and PFE (1 mg) effect on a contractile response of 2.0 × 10−2 μg/ml acetylcholine and 5.8 × 10−2 μg/ml histamine on the isolated guinea pig ileum was investigated. Cytological and histological studies were conducted using guinea pig peritoneal mast cells and mesenteric cells, respectively, to establish PFE effect on compound 48/80-induced mast cell degranulation. Results: PFE (100–500 mg/kg) prolonged the onset of pre-convulsive dyspnea by 76.1–180.2% (p ≤ 0.01–0.001), and decreased recovery time by 71.9–78.5% (p ≤ 0.01–0.001). It also enhanced percentage protection against histamine-induced bronchospasm by 15.8–80.1-fold (p ≤ 0.05–0.01), and decreased percentage recovery time 2.5–3.3-fold (p ≤ 0.05–0.01). PFE significantly inhibited (60.4 ± 8.3%) contractile responses of histamine and produced significant inhibition (56–79%: p ≤ 0.001) of mast cell degranulation. Conclusion: PFE has anti-asthmatic, antihistaminic, and mast cell stabilization effect making it useful in traditional asthma management.
Housing Tenure and Psychological Distress

Abstract Housing policies in a number of European countries promote homeownership for low income households. Previous economic research on mental health seems to indicate that homeownership is positively related to better health outcomes, but little research has been undertaken on the relationship between homeownership and psychological distress. The present study attempts to fill some of this gap by deploying a rich set of controls and a range of regression methods using data from three Danish living conditions surveys. A negative connection between homeownership and psychological distress is found, especially for the low income group.