Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Regional and gender differentials in the persistence of unemployment in Europe

Abstract The persistence of unemployment increased during the recent great recession in many European countries, although with diversified impacts. We therefore analyse such impacts in four European countries – Italy, Spain, France and the UK – which represent different institutional frameworks and may reflect the so-called continental European and Anglo-Saxon frameworks. We analyse the determinants of unemployment persistence using individual-level data from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) panel for the period 2007–2013. These data enable us to take into account initial conditions and state dependence in addition to individual and household characteristics. We focus on gender and regional effects, which have a strong impact on the persistence in the state of unemployment. We find that gender gap is significant in Italy and the UK, implying that male workers show a higher probability of remaining unemployed. In Italy, such a pattern is due to the worsening of male workers’ conditions during the crisis, whereas in the UK, male workers show higher unemployment rates than women. Regional effects are significant in all countries analysed and underline a relevant structural factor that should be addressed on policy grounds in Europe. Such effects are greater in Spain and Italy.
POLÍTICA DE DIVIDENDOS: ESTUDO DOS FATORES DETERMINANTES PARA AS EMPRESAS ATUANTES NO SETOR DE UTILIDADE PÚBLICA

A política de dividendos é uma tomada de decisão estratégica que pode influenciar o valor de uma empresa. Ela se relaciona com a avaliação de quanto, como e quando distribuir ou não os lucros obtidos aos acionistas, sendo considerada, portanto, um atrativo aos investidores. Esta pesquisa tem por objetivo analisar os fatores determinantes da distribuição de dividendos das empresas brasileiras atuantes no setor de Utilidade Pública. A pesquisa é quantitativa, descritiva e documental, com a amostra delimitada em 56 empresas, que publicaram seus demonstrativos do período de 2010 a 2016, totalizando 380 observações. Foram utilizadas para analisar os dados coletados a estatística descritiva, a regressão logit (dummy associada se houve ou não distribuição de dividendos) e a regressão com dados em painéis com efeito fixo (valor dos dividendos). Os achados indicaram que o tamanho e a rentabilidade contribuem positivamente com a probabilidade da empresa distribuir dividendos, em contrapartida de que a existência de acordo entre acionistas apresentou efeito inverso sobre essa probabilidade (modelo logit). Além disso, o acordo de acionistas influenciou positivamente o valor dos dividendos, ao passo que a complexidade (remuneração dos administradores) impactou de forma inversa o valor dos dividendos (modelo com dados em painel).
Title-Performance evaluation of Xpert HBV viral load (VL) assay: Point-of-care molecular test 1 to strengthen and decentralize management of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) infection

17 Introduction: Estimation of hepatitis B (HBV) viral load (VL) is critical in hepatitis-B cascade-18 of-care and currently there is no point of care (POC) molecular assay available for that. This 19 study evaluated the performance of a new near point of care molecular assay Xpert HBV-VL 20 assay against FDA approved Real time PCR assays. 21 Materials & methods: In this retrospective study 119 archived plasma samples from HBV 22 infected patients, and 53 hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) patients were simultaneously 23 tested for HBV DNA quantification on 2 real time PCR conventional assays and Xpert assay. 24 The routine method for reporting to patient was Abbott Real Time PCR. 25 Results: The range of HBV DNA load in samples was 1 to 8.76 log 10 IU/ml with a median load 26 of 4.46 (IQR: 1-8.76) log 10 IU/ml as detected by routine assay (Abbott Real-Time HBV VL 27 assay). Genotyping could be
Contextualizing risk and building resilience: returnee versus local entrepreneurs in China

Risk is a pivotal concept in entrepreneurship research, as entrepreneurs constantly face uncertainty, ambiguity, setbacks, and stressful situations. Attitudes toward risk vary contingent upon individual risk preferences and cultural influences. Building resilience is critical for entrepreneurs to overcome obstacles, deal with risk, and grow their ventures. By juxtaposing effectuation theory and resilience literature, we compare the perceptions of risk held by Chinese returnees and local entrepreneurs and their coping strategies in building resilience. Our research reveals two types of coping approaches, namely effectual coping and causal coping. This study contributes to the comparative international entrepreneurship literature by contextualizing the notion of risk held by entrepreneurs influenced by Eastern and Western cultures. Our study further contributes to the nascent literature on resilience in organizations by specifying the entrepreneurial occupational context and exploring the influence of cultures on resilience, and by identifying distinctive resilience-building coping strategies based upon cultural influences and interpretations of risk. Furthermore, we suggest that resilience can constitute one micro-foundation of effectuation theory in the context of entrepreneurship
Eulerian-Lagrangian analysis of pollutant transport in shallow water. Final report

A numerical method for the solution of the two-dimensional, unsteady, transport equation is formulated, and its accuracy is tested. The method uses a Eulerian-Lagrangian approach, in which the transport equation is divided into a diffusion equation (solved by a finite-element method) and a convection equation (solved by the method of characteristics). This approach leads to results that are free of spurious oscillations and excessive numerical damping, even in the case where advection strongly dominates diffusion. The method is cost-effective in modeling pollutant transport in coastal waters, as demonstrated by two prototype applications: hypothetical sludge dumping in Massachusetts Bay and the thermal discharge from Brayton Point Generating Station in Narragansett Bay.
Relationship lending and switching costs.docx

This theoretical paper extends the pioneering articles on relationship lending (e.g., Sharpe 1990; Rajan 1992; von Thadden 2004) by examining relationship lending and hold-up problems in credit markets when borrowers are identical and banks are different. The results show that existing borrowers are informationally captured by good banks and yield profits to them, but new borrowers are unprofitable. In this market, short-term loan contracts and unsecured loans are optimal while loan commitments should not be used. Further, banks and borrowers have long-term relationships. This paper challenges the standard theories on product quality, reputation and experience goods by introducing scenarios in which good and bad banks can retain their existing borrowers. In the standard theories, consumers leave bad producers and search for good ones.
ROCZNIKI PSYCHOLOGICZNE / ANNALS OF PSYCHOLOGY

Until recently, a university degree at the Master’s level was considered a standard of professional qualification for a psychologist’s entire working life. It was up to individual psychologists whether or not they would seek further academic or professional training. This has been changing rapidly. In most countries in Europe formal requirements have been formulated or are in the process of being formulated that demand a year of working under supervision after university and thereafter CPD, especially for psychologists, who work in the area of mental health. Sometimes there are national administrative regulations, on other occasions regulations are drawn up by a national association, but it will be merely a matter of time for CPD to become a general requirement for all qualified psychologists. In the regulations concerning EuroPsy, the European Certificate in Psychology issued by the European Federation of Psychologists Associations (EFPA, 2013a), CPD is an explicit requirement for revalidation after each period
THE JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE

Seven cultivare of pepper (Capsicum annuum L ) , representing both frying and bell types, and open-poflinated and hybrid varieties, were planted at population levels of 35,878, 53,818, and 71,757 plants/ha. The lowest density is the conventional rate ¡n Puerto Rico. They were planted af the Fortuna Substation, Juana Díaz, Puerto Rico. Irrigation was supplied throughout the dry season. After the fourth harvest, two replicates were pruned to 12 cm for a second crop. Planting density affected yield but not fruit size. There was a density x cult ivar interaction at P = 0.09 for yield. Doubling the populat ion increased yield 12 to 4 0 % . Response to pruning was cultivar-specific. Total yield was 25 to 100% greater than yield before pruning. Both practices could serve as low capital innovations for the tropics,
Modelling the snow cover in a complex Alpine topography

The areal distribution of snow cover and the variability of its characteristics were investigated at various locations in the eastern Swiss Alps. An areal energy-balance (AEB) model was used to calculate the predominant energy fluxes at the snow–atmosphere interface based on automatic meteorological measurements as input. By coupling the AEB model with a one-dimensional, physically based mass and energy-balance model of the snowpack, temperature distribution as well as energy and mass flow in the snowpack were simulated at three different locations in the topographically complex environment at Weissfluhjoch-Davos, 2540 m a.s. l. On a horizontal test site, calculated energy fluxes and characteristics of the snow cover are in good agreement with their measured counterparts. On inclined slopes, the temperature distribution is well represented by the coupled models, but the snow depth and density are not yet satisfactorily simulated. This discrepancy may be attributed to inhomogeneous accumulation and deposition of snow on the weather and lee sides.
OBSERVATION OF DISTRIBUTION AND QUALITATIVE PROPERTIES OF HORSELIVESTOCK (EQUUSCABALLUS) IN NORTH SUMATRA)

This study aims to determine the spread of horses and horses based on the observation of the color of feathers, facial marks, foot shape and back shape in Humbang Hasundutan, Samosir, Karo and North Tapanuli districts. This research was conducted in July-September 2016 by performing phenotypic analysis (color and face mark) at 271 horses in Humbang Hasundutan District, Samosir Regency, Karo Regency and North Tapanuli Regency. The research method used is survey method and Simple Random Sampling method (simple random sampling) done to determine the cattle that will be used as sample. The analysis shows that horses in North Sumatera have various color and dominant red brown (27,86%). Horses in North Sumatra have various dominant faces that dominate strike (54.95%).
Annual primary production: Patterns and mechanisms of change in a nutrient‐rich tidal ecosystem

Although nutrient supply often underlies long‐term changes in aquatic primary production, other regulatory processes can be important. The Sacramento‐San Joaquin River Delta, a complex of tidal waterways forming the landward portion of the San Francisco Estuary, has ample nutrient supplies, enabling us to examine alternate regulatory mechanisms over a 21‐yr period. Delta‐wide primary productivity was reconstructed from historical water quality data for 1975–1995. Annual primary production averaged 70 g C m−2, but it varied by over a factor of five among years. At least four processes contributed to this variability: (1) invasion of the clam Potamocorbula amurensis led to a persistent decrease in phytoplankton biomass (chlorophyll a) after 1986; (2) a long‐term decline in total suspended solids—probably at least partly because of upstream dam construction—increased water transparency and phytoplankton growth rate; (3) river inflow, reflecting climate variability, affected biomass through fluctuations in flushing and growth rates through fluctuations in total suspended solids; and (4) an additional pathway manifesting as a long‐term decline in winter phytoplankton biomass has been identified, but its genesis is uncertain. Overall, the Delta lost 43% in annual primary production during the period. Given the evidence for food limitation of primary consumers, these findings provide a partial explanation for widespread Delta species declines over the past few decades. Turbid nutrient‐rich systems such as the Delta may be inherently more variable than other tidal systems because certain compensatory processes are absent. Comparisons among systems, however, can be tenuous because conclusions about the magnitude and mechanisms of variability are dependent on length of data record.
Return migration : a review of the literature

A review of the literature on return migration is presented with particular reference to return migration to southern Italy. The main types trends and frameworks of return migration research are first described and the concept of return migration is defined. The geographic focus is on European return migration since World War II but some reference is also made to the literature on the Caribbean Southeast Asia and the United States. (ANNOTATION)
Medico legal aspects of Medical Malpractice living cases in Cairo and Giza governorates from 2014-2015

Introduction: Medical malpractice is all the behaviors and attitudes that result from unsuitable interaction of health professionals functioning within different disciplines, which might also affect the percentage of mortality within health authorities or specific societies. Aim of the study: The objectives of the present study were to evaluate the medico-legal aspects of medical malpractice living cases in Cairo and Giza governorates. Also, the study aimed to understand the most frequent underlying causes of medical errors and how they happened. besides, it aimed to know the outcome of medical malpractice living cases if these errors lead to permanent infirmity or completely cured without disabilities. Subjects and Methods: The current retrospective descriptive observational study recruited the medical malpractice living cases in Cairo and Giza governorates. We used all the available records and reports of Forensic Medical Authority from the 1st of Jan 2014-to the 1st of Jan 2015. That included 99 subjects with alleged medical malpractice living cases. The inclusion and exclusion criteria were determined according to the results of forensic examinations. Results: The findings showed a difference in the age of alleged medical malpractice living cases. Participants with ages less than a year represented 4% of the living cases, while 14.1% had ages ranging from 1-20 years. Cases with 20-40 and 40-60 years old represented 48.5% and 20.2%, respectively, while 13.1% were older cases (>60 years old). Most of the cases were females. The most affected age group was 20-40 years old, while the least affected group was less than a year old. Regarding the medical specialties, general surgery had the most alleged living cases. Conclusion: Tightening control over the various health institutions, to ensure that any case of medical negligence is monitored, is required. Also, the penalties must be increased for all health practitioners accused of cases of willful medical negligence.
Design of PSO-based Fuzzy Classification Systems

In this paper, a method based on the particle swarm optimization (PSO) is proposed for pattern classification to select a fuzzy classification system with an appropriate number of fuzzy rules so that the number of incorrectly classified patterns is minimized. In the PSO-based method, each individual in the population is considered to automatically generate a fuzzy classification system for an M-class classification problem. Subsequently, a fitness function is defined to guide the search procedure to select an appropriate fuzzy classification system such that the number of fuzzy rules and the number of incorrectly classified patterns are simultaneously minimized. Finally, two classification problems are utilized to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed PSO-based approach.
Classifying the response space of questions: A machine learning approach

The main goal of this work is to conduct a pilot study on the automatic classiﬁcation of the response space of questions in English. We aim for a relatively ﬁne-grained understanding of the learning problem of this response space; hence, we conducted classical machine learning studies to automatically identify different response classes based on carefully designed features. Moreover, we compared the results from feature-based classical machine learning algorithms to the classiﬁcation results obtained from a large-scale pre-trained BERT language model. Experimental results show that the feature-based classical machine learning algorithms can achieve performance results which are close to the results obtained by BERT model on this novel task. The overall trend of the classiﬁcation results for each response class are also similar in both models. Learnability trends similar to corpus-based studies presented in previous literatures emerge.
Functional movement disorders.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW The review highlights the most relevant recent developments in the field of functional movement disorders (FMD). RECENT FINDINGS The emphasis on making a 'positive' diagnosis has driven a renewed interest in assessing the value of simple clinical signs. Furthermore, an effort has been made to develop and test objective diagnostic tools. The association of FMD with several comorbidities is being acknowledged. Pathophysiological understanding has grown with the identification of new neurobiological abnormalities, including a decreased interoceptive sensitivity. Finally - and most importantly - the recognition of the potential benefits of specialized physiotherapy is changing FMD management. SUMMARY The field of FMD is moving forward on a number of fronts, including diagnosis, pathophysiology, and treatment. A major priority for future research is providing robust evidence regarding treatment.
Investigating the use of digital technology in Jewellery Design: A thematic analysis

According to Brynjolfsson and McAfee (2012), digital technologies are one of the most important driving forces in the economy today, thus an understanding of these phenomena and a discussion of their influences has to be developed. Brown (2009), notes that one of the technologies that can be seen as an important innovation in this era is Computer Aided Design (CAD), which has revolutionised the creative capabilities available to designers and engineers worldwide. Nonetheless, there is a distinct lack of questioning in regards to what influence digital technology has on the creativity of designers. As a field, jewellery design is heavily associated with traditional handcraft values such as labour, material and complexity. And such values are being challenged by digital technologies. MacLachlan, Earl and Eckert (2012) suggest that, in the case of designer makers, tools are embodiment of rules working alongside more conceptual rules and conventions, in order to transform a design problem towards a creative design solution.
An Improved Algorithm for Computing Altitude Dependent Corrected Geomagnetic Coordinates.

Abstract : An improved algorithm for computing altitude dependent corrected geomagnetic (CGM) coordinates from geocentric coordinates (and, where it exists, the inverse) using spherical harmonics is described. The method uses a tenth order spherical harmonic fit to the direction cosines (a unit vector) in a suitably chosen intermediate, altitude adjusted coordinate system. The need for this auxiliary coordinate system is to avoid convergence problems associated with the discontinuity in the CGM latitude at the magnetic equator at non- zero altitude. Altitude dependence is obtained by computing the spherical harmonic fits to CGM (and inverse) at 0, 300 and 1200 km altitude, and using a quadratic fit to interpolate each coefficient. The new algorithm provides a good representation of the CGM compression around the South Atlantic Anomaly in addition to modeling the increasing discontinuity with altitude at the magnetic equator. Comparisons are provided with previous approaches. Accuracy limitations and consistency between the direct and inverse computations are also discussed.
ODD UNIMODAL SEQUENCES

In this paper we study odd unimodal and odd strongly unimodal sequences. We use q -series methods to (cid:28)nd several fundamental generating functions. Employing the Euler(cid:21)Maclaurin summation formula we obtain the asymptotic main term for both types of sequences. We also (cid:28)nd families of congruences modulo 4 for the number of odd strongly unimodal sequences.
Chinese College Students’ English Writing Self-efficacy and Writing Self-regulated Strategies

: This study aims to determine English writing self-efficacy and writing self-regulated strategies among Chinese non-English majors. Online surveys were conducted and a total of 409 freshmen and sophomores from Anhui Xinhua University of China were involved in the study and answered the adopted online questionnaires. The descriptive statistics analysis and correlation analysis were conducted with SPSS after the data collected. The results showed that the respondents reported a quite low level of self-efficacy and infrequent use of self-regulated strategies in their English writing. Additionally, writing self-efficacy had highly significant relationship with writing self-regulated strategies. The present study facilitates understanding of the interplay of these two factors and sheds light on enhancing Chinese college students’ writing proficiency by boosting their writing self-efficacy and writing self-regulated strategies.
Climate-proofing the flood protection of the Netherlands

Abstract Global sea level is rising at an increased rate since the late 19th century as a result of rising global mean temperatures. This rise is geographically non-uniform, with substantial spatial differences, and in the latest decade faster than expected. New evidence suggests that more rapid changes than indicated in the Fourth IPCC report take place in the two large continental ice sheets, Greenland and Antarctica. Consequently, the projected sea level rise threatens low-lying countries like the Netherlands. The process of ‘climate-proofing’ the flood protection system of the country offers, however, new opportunities for innovative solutions, providing not only higher flood protection, but also possibilities for multifunctional land-use.