Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Children's reactions to novelty: an experimental study of "curiosity motivation".

Casual observation of the activities of children and adults is sufficient to establish the power of novel features of the environment to evoke and direct behavior. Unusual or unfamiliar objects have considerable potency for attracting attention, while monotony and routine appear to arouse, in many individuals, an active striving to encounter new aspects of their environment. The apparent independence of these behavior tendencies from primary needs and "social influences" have led a number of psychological theorists to consider an explanation of curiosity and exploratory behavior essential to our understanding of human motivational processes. Since MacDougall's instinct theory, personality theorists have introduced such concepts as "effort after meaning" (3), need cognition (9), and competence motivation (28) to account for individual variation in the tendency to seek and maintain contact with environmental and/or psychological novelty. More recently the research of Harlow (13) and others (cf. review by Glanzer [I2]) based on the concept of exteroceptively elicited drives has produced extensive data indicating that rats, raccoons, and monkeys, as well as men, under certain conditions tend to behave so as to maximize knowledge of an unfamiliar or novel environment. However, the environmental and psychological conditions that facilitate the development and maintenance of curiosity motivation during the various stages of ontogenetic development have received little attention. The investigation presented below is a preliminary step designed to provide information for the systematic study of curiosity motivation during early stages of childhood. Curiosity motivation is generally inferred from instrumental actions that function to increase the organism's contact with new or different environmental objects. These actions may be such as to: (a) increase the level or quantity of sensory input; (b) increase the perceptual clarity, or number,
Road accidents in Kenya : a case of poor road network or human error ?

Considering the recent increase in reported accidents in Kenyan roads, there is need to identify the major causes for effective interventions. Using data from The Ministry of Transport -Traffic departmenton 135,277 road accidents reported between the years 2000 and 2010, drivers and motorcyclists, pedestrians, and vehicle defects were identified as the major causes of accidents, while passengers and road defects did not significantly cause accidents. Passengers and pedestrians were however, amongst the major victims of road accidents and therefore reforms in the transport sector should as well target them.
International Differences in Male Wage Inequality: Institutions versus Market Forces

This paper studies the considerably higher level of wage inequality in the United States than in nine other OECD countries. We find that the greater overall U.S. wage dispersion primarily reflects substantially more compression at the bottom of the wage distribution in the other countries. While differences in the distribution of measured characteristics help to explain some aspects of the international differences, higher U.S. prices (i.e., rewards to skills and rents) are an important factor. Labor market institutions, chiefly the relatively decentralized wage-setting mechanisms in the United States, provide the most persuasive explanation for these patterns.
Syndrome of inappropriate secretion of antidiuretic hormone in a patient with carcinoma of the nasopharynx

Both Drs. Kadin and Wang are pathologists and do not routinely see or perform workups on patients. Some patients with lymphomatoid papulosis are seen by Dr. Kadin on an ad hoc basis, but not for the purpose of performing workups on the patients for malignant lymphomas. Although the biopsy material referred to Dr. Kadin was always investigated thoroughly, the patients were not necessarily investigated more thoroughly. We do not believe that our study represented the definitive study for an association between lymphomatoid papulosis and malignant lymphomas. In fact, we initiated the study to fill the vacuum of knowledge concerning risk factors of this rare but fascinating skin disease and to establish a patient population for follow-up to determine its progression to lymphomas. Since most case reports in the literature documented development of lymphomas in patients with lymphomatoid papulosis, we originally intended, and still do, to ascertain the association between lymphomatoid papulosis and malignant lymphomas in the follow-up of these patients. Under the constraints of the nature and rarity of the disease and logistics, we chose the least biased and most feasible methods among all possibilities available to us. We hope to provide a report on the follow-up of these patients in the future and hope that our study will stimulate others to conduct other epidemiologic studies of this enigmatic disease.
Financial Crisis and Interacting Heterogeneous Agents

In this paper we examine various types of financial crises and conjecture their underlying mechanisms using a deterministic heterogeneous agent model (HAM). In a market-maker framework, forward-looking investors update their price expectations according to psychological trading windows and cluster themselves strategically to optimize their expected profits. The switches between trading strategies lead to price dynamics in market that subsequently move price up and down, and in the extreme case, cause financial crises. The model suggests that both fundamentalists and chartists could potentially contribute to the financial crises.
AGRICULTURAL TRADE LIBERALISATION, AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH AND EMPLOYMENT

This paper reports an exploration of the impact of productivity growth in agriculture during a period of agricultural trade liberalisation, both domestic and global, on welfare and employment in the South African economy. The analysis are carried out using a computable general equilibrium (CCE) model calibrated to a social accounting matrix (SAM) for South Africa. The results indicate that agricultural trade liberalisation will have positive impacts upon the economy, but that the extent of the benefits is dependent on whether agriculture can remain competitive by improving productivity. There is a downside to increasing agricultural productivity; employment levels will fall unless there are other changes that stimulate employment. The results provide in sights into some of the reasons why agricultural employment in South Africa has fallen in recent years, despite the fact that liberalisaiion might be expected to enhance employment prospects.
Solution structures of cyclic melanocortin agonists and antagonists by NMR.

The melanocortin receptors are involved in many physiological functions, including pigmentation, sexual function, feeding behavior, and energy homeostasis, making them potential targets for drugs to treat obesity, sexual dysfunction, etc. Understanding the conformational basis of the receptor-ligand interactions is crucial to the design of potent and selective ligands for these receptors. The solution structures of the cyclic melanocortin agonists, partial agonist, and antagonists MTII, VJH085, SHU9119, MK5, and MK9 were determined by two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (2D NMR) spectroscopy at pH 4.5 and 25 degrees C in water (90% H(2)O/10% D(2)O). The overall backbone structures of these cyclic alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH) analogues around the message sequence (His(6)-D-Phe(7)/D-Nal(2')(7)-Arg(8)-Trp(9)) were similar and reasonably well defined. beta-Turns spanning His(6) and D-Phe(7)/D-Nal(2')(7) were identified in all analogues, and an amphiphilic molecular surface was obtained for the message sequence residues in most structures within the NMR ensembles. The beta-turn, which most closely resembles a type II beta-turn, leads to stacking between the aromatic rings of His(6) and D-Phe(7) in MTII and VJH085. However, no aromatic stacking between His(6) and D-Nal(2')(7) was found in structures of the D-Nal(2')(7)-containing analogues. The difference in the side-chain dispositions of His(6) and D-Nal(2')(7) may be responsible for the reduced potency or antagonist activity of the D-Nal(2')(7)-containing analogues. In addition, our results suggest that the side-chain orientations may also modulate the receptor selectivity. The information found in this study will be useful for the further design of ligands for melanocortin receptors.
Plasma A[beta]40 and A[beta]42 and Alzheimer's disease: relation to age, mortality, and risk.

BACKGROUND Plasma amyloid [beta]-peptide (A[beta]) 40 and A[beta]42 levels are increased in persons with mutations causing early-onset familial Alzheimer's disease (AD). Plasma A[beta]42 levels were also used to link microsatellite genetic markers to a putative AD genetic locus on chromosome 10 and were observed in patients with incipient sporadic AD. METHODS The authors measured plasma A[beta]40 and A[beta]42 levels using a sandwich ELISA after the initial examination of 530 individuals participating in an epidemiologic study of aging and dementia. Participants were examined at 18-month intervals, and plasma A[beta]40 and A[beta]42 levels were repeated in 307 subjects 3 years after baseline. RESULTS Compared with individuals who never developed AD, patients with AD at baseline and those who developed AD during the follow-up had significantly higher A[beta]42, but not A[beta]40, plasma levels. The risk of AD in the highest quartile of plasma A[beta]42 was increased by more than twofold over that in the lowest quartile. The highest plasma A[beta]42 levels were observed in patients with AD who died during the follow-up. Plasma A[beta]42, but not A[beta]40, levels decreased over time in patients with newly acquired AD. CONCLUSIONS Plasma A[beta]40 and A[beta]42 increase with age and are strongly correlated with each other. Plasma A[beta]40 and A[beta]42 levels are elevated in some patients before and during the early stages of AD but decline thereafter. High plasma A[beta]42 levels may also be associated with mortality in patients with AD.
Russian Small Business, Authorities and the State

IN RUSSIA THERE ARE AS MANY AS 844 000 registered small companies,' with over 6 million full-time employees.2 In total over 12 million people are currently engaged in the small business sector, including self-employed and temporary employees. As a result, about 27 million Russians live on incomes from working in small businesses. Over half of Russia's small firms are in trading and other services, 21% are in construction and only 12% are manufacturers. By official data, during 1997 small companies produced about 12% of national product. The official economic situation of small business in Novosibirsk is not very different from the average Russian one. There are 25 124 small business companies registered in the city, that is 40.4% of all firms. The busiest spheres of activity are trade and public catering (52.9%)3 and construction (21%). Some 18% of the Novosibirsk labour force is employed by small private companies, which provide 19% of all payments to the city's budget and produce 11% of products manufactured in Novosibirsk. I shall refrain from making any quantitative comparisons between Western and Russian small business development as 'statistical evidence on the evolution of small enterprises in Russia is scant and unreliable' (Aslund, 1997, p. 193). The above official figures do not reflect the real economic picture of small business development in the Russian market, greatly underestimating its role in the economy of both the country and the region. However, there is no doubt about the present contrast between the entrepreneurial environments in the West and Russia in terms of government policies and procedures, socioeconomic conditions and entrepreneurial and business skills. For example, practices of small business regulation in many advanced countries such as the USA, Australia, Sweden, the UK and Japan mainly 'help attract potential entrepreneurs to start a business' (Gnyawali & Fogel, 1994, p. 43), while in Russia the whole system of state regulation is like an endless ladder where every step is an obstacle provoking the small entrepreneur to abandon the business. Socioeconomic conditions are also very different, with peculiarly negative public opinion and social values in relation to private enterprises and profit making in Russia. That is why a great part of the activity of small enterprises is hidden within the shadow sector. Depending on the company, its proportion of informal activity varies from 10% to 90%. 4 Many entrepreneurs work either to a large extent or wholly
Políticas Industriais e de Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação na Irlanda: Ênfase em Setores de Alta Tecnologia e Comparação com o Brasil

From a theoretical foundation favorable to industrial policies, this paper intends to show the main policies followed by Ireland since the 1950s, with a special emphasis on those directed to Science, Technology and Innovation (S,T&I), FDI and high tech sectors, like software and biotechnology. We compare these policies with those used in Brazil, in a similar period, in order to have some hints for virtual transformations of current Brazilian policies. We conclude that the compromise of the State with the direction of the development and the continuity of industrial policies is very important to a solid building of comparative advantages in technologically dynamic sectors.
Recruiting Students Is One Thing; Keeping Them Is Another

Retaining students who are in their prenursing classes is the focus of an ongoing program in the department of nursing at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Concerned that less than one-half of the students in prenursing classes actually entered the nursing program, faculty developed a program to increase student retention. The authors discuss the structure and content of monthly programs held for prenursing students.
Human Capital, Organizational Learning, Network Resources and Organizational Innovativeness

Abstract It has been claimed that with product life-cycles shortening and technologies becoming increasingly imitable, organizational knowledge emerges as a major source of competitive advantage. However, as surveyed by KPMG (2003), 80% of the respondents considered knowledge a strategic asset, while 78% believed that they were currently missing out on business opportunities by failing to successfully exploit their available knowledge. To address this issue, this research aims to examine the main questions: how organizational innovativeness can be achieved by knowledge-based resources? What are the underlying mechanisms that transform intangible assets into organizational innovativeness? More specifically, we suggest that organizational innovativeness depends on its human capital, organizational learning and external network resources. Using a two-group comparison method, we surveyed 126 firms in the hardware industry and 43 firms in the software industry in Taiwan. Because these two industries are characterized by different factors, it allows us to compare the specific causal links between the models and draw a broader inference from the results. Partial Least Squares (PLS) was used to test the theoretical model. The findings broadly support the hypotheses and suggest a number of insights about differences between the hardware and software firms.
The contribution of motor commands to position sense differs between elbow and wrist

• Knowing the position of our limbs is critical for accurate movement. Central motor command signals generated by the brain contribute to position sense at the human wrist, but this could not be demonstrated at the elbow. • We tested whether this represents a fundamental difference between the two joints or whether it reflects the two different methods used to measure position sense. • For both measurement methods, contraction of wrist muscles led to illusions that the wrist is displaced. No such illusions were detected at the elbow during muscle contraction. • Thus, the contribution of centrally generated command signals to position sense differs between joints. Any contribution at the elbow joint is small and new methods will be needed to reveal it.
An Assessment of Stakeholder Advisory Committees in Forest Management: Case Studies from Manitoba, Canada

Forest management in Canada is evolving from being largely bilateral and closed to being more inclusive and open. In an effort to test new approaches to public participation, many forest products companies have established advisory committees. Since there is little empirical evidence documenting advisory committee processes, our purpose was to determine the strengths and weaknesses of such processes. This was achieved by assessing the advisory committees of three major forest products companies in Manitoba, Canada, responsible for managing over 5 million hectares of productive forest. Our approach was inductive and qualitative, involving standardized, semistructured interviews with committee members. Results coalesce around both process and outcome strengths and weaknesses, such as multiple involvement techniques, information sharing and communication, and breadth of participant learning. While the results are mixed, the study confirms that advisory committees have promise as a method of actively involving a select group of stakeholders in forest management.
Citizenship, Public Service, and the Employment Relationship

This paper reports on the effects on employment relations and conceptions of citizenship of the shift from bureaucratic to market-led forms of public service provision in britain. Two contrasting case studies are reported, one based on the public education service, the other on the utilities. Education, which remains within the public sector, has become subject to a high degree of hierarchical control through political and administrative processes which together amount to a form of 'imposed contractualism'. Excessively prescriptive performance targets are in danger of bringing about a low-trust dynamic within employment relations, which in turn threatens the viability of government-initiated reforms. By contrast, in the privatised (and re-regulated) utilities, collective bargaining has been re-emerging in the last few years on the basis of 'partnership' arrangements between labour and management. However, the regulatory framework continues to place employers under continuous pressure to cut costs and to reduce employment levels. The partnership solution is therefore in many ways a highly precarious one, which may not survive further tightening of regulatory controls.
Promoting positive motherhood among nulliparous pregnant women with an intense fear of childbirth: RCT intervention

This RCT intervention among nulliparous pregnant women with an intense fear of childbirth sought to promote preparedness for childbirth and to enhance positive parenting. Pregnant women (n = 8,611) filled in a ‘fear of childbirth’ questionnaire. Nulliparous women with severe fear of childbirth (n = 355) were randomized into intervention (n = 131; 41 refused) and control (n = 224) groups. They rated themselves on a preparedness scale in middle and late pregnancy, and on a motherhood scale three months after childbirth. The intervention included six psycho-education group sessions during pregnancy and one after childbirth. This intervention increased the mothers’ preparedness for childbirth, which predicted an increase in positive motherhood.
Grand Challenges in Protoplanetary Disc Modelling

Abstract The Protoplanetary Discussions conference—held in Edinburgh, UK, from 2016 March 7th–11th—included several open sessions led by participants. This paper reports on the discussions collectively concerned with the multi-physics modelling of protoplanetary discs, including the self-consistent calculation of gas and dust dynamics, radiative transfer, and chemistry. After a short introduction to each of these disciplines in isolation, we identify a series of burning questions and grand challenges associated with their continuing development and integration. We then discuss potential pathways towards solving these challenges, grouped by strategical, technical, and collaborative developments. This paper is not intended to be a review, but rather to motivate and direct future research and collaboration across typically distinct fields based on community-driven input, to encourage further progress in our understanding of circumstellar and protoplanetary discs.
Alcohol: equity and social determinants.

This document is printed as a background paper for the Global Expert Meeting on Alcohol, Health and Social Development (Stockholm, September 2009). The final version of this document will be published as a chapter in the book 'Priority public health conditions: from learning to action on social determinants of health' by the World Health Organization.
ENHANCEMENT BY LYSOZYME AND HYALURONIDASE OF THE PENETRATION BY TOXOPLASMA GONDII INTO CULTURED HOST CELLS.

The absorption with bentonite. -Bentonite was employed for the removal of lysozyme. The method used for absorption was in principle that of Myrvik and Weiser (1955). Four mg. bentonite washed in Hanks' solution were employed for the absorption of 1 mg. lysozyme.
Financial liberalization, financial regulation and bank efficiency: a multi-country analysis

This article investigates the impact of financial reforms on bank efficiency. More specifically, we distinguish between two different types of financial reforms, i.e. financial liberalization measures and measures of the quality of bank regulation and supervision (i.e. financial regulation), and study their relationship to bank efficiency separately. Moreover, we analyse whether the impact of financial liberalization on bank efficiency is conditional on the quality of regulation and supervision of the banking system. We apply stochastic frontier analysis to calculate bank efficiency at the individual bank level and use a new and detailed database that measures different aspects of financial reforms. The data-set consists of 87 312 bank-year observations covering 61 countries for the period 1996–2005. Overall, we show that the impact of financial liberalization policies on bank efficiency is conditional on the extent to which bank regulation and supervision has been adopted and developed.