Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Toward a Theory of Political Strategy in Policy Analysis

Policy makers use political strategies when implementing public policies. This is the result of an increasing number of empirical studies—especially from research on unpopular welfare state reforms. However, an overarching theoretical framework systematizing the existing work is still missing from the literature. The present article tackles this shortcoming. Our approach starts from the assumption that the electoral consequences of policies result from the combination of two dimensions: the popularity of a policy and the attribution of responsibility for that policy. Drawing on theories of electoral support and political behavior, we unfold a catalog of strategies according to how they operate to influence these two dimensions.
Plaintext Checkable Encryption with Check Delegation: New Models and Simple Constructions

Plaintext-checkable encryption (PCE) provides an add-on check interface in addition to traditional public key encryption. It allows that given a target plaintext, a ciphertext and a public key, the check algorithm can check whether the ciphertext encrypts the target plaintext with the public key. With the functionality of checkability, PCE cannot achieve the CPA-security inherently. To make CPA security possible, we can change the system framework and then restrict that only the specific and authenticated checker can perform such the check algorithm. In addition, the sender who encrypts a message does not need to have any information or identity of any checker. In this paper, we achieve these goals by formally providing two new definitions, PCEAC and PCEDC. Accordingly, we propose two simple constructions.
The Nazareth Riots

Against the background of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and increased internal ethnic tensions, violent demonstrations erupted between Arab and Jewish Israelis in Nazareth in October 2000. The nature of this riot participation, the congruence between motivation for political participation and actual riot activity, and different psychological outcomes across the two ethnic groups are examined. Results show that Arabs reported engaging more often in both nonviolent and violent riot activities than Jews. The majority of riot participants showed stable motivation-activity patterns. In terms of psychological consequences, only Jewish Israelis who engaged in nonviolent activities were spared distress, whereas all other groups expressed significant distress and symptoms after the riots, indicating different psychological consequences for the two ethnic groups.
Clustered Environments and Randomized Genes: A Fundamental Distinction between Conventional and Genetic Epidemiology

Background In conventional epidemiology confounding of the exposure of interest with lifestyle or socioeconomic factors, and reverse causation whereby disease status influences exposure rather than vice versa, may invalidate causal interpretations of observed associations. Conversely, genetic variants should not be related to the confounding factors that distort associations in conventional observational epidemiological studies. Furthermore, disease onset will not influence genotype. Therefore, it has been suggested that genetic variants that are known to be associated with a modifiable (nongenetic) risk factor can be used to help determine the causal effect of this modifiable risk factor on disease outcomes. This approach, mendelian randomization, is increasingly being applied within epidemiological studies. However, there is debate about the underlying premise that associations between genotypes and disease outcomes are not confounded by other risk factors. We examined the extent to which genetic variants, on the one hand, and nongenetic environmental exposures or phenotypic characteristics on the other, tend to be associated with each other, to assess the degree of confounding that would exist in conventional epidemiological studies compared with mendelian randomization studies. Methods and Findings We estimated pairwise correlations between nongenetic baseline variables and genetic variables in a cross-sectional study comparing the number of correlations that were statistically significant at the 5%, 1%, and 0.01% level (α = 0.05, 0.01, and 0.0001, respectively) with the number expected by chance if all variables were in fact uncorrelated, using a two-sided binomial exact test. We demonstrate that behavioural, socioeconomic, and physiological factors are strongly interrelated, with 45% of all possible pairwise associations between 96 nongenetic characteristics (n = 4,560 correlations) being significant at the p < 0.01 level (the ratio of observed to expected significant associations was 45; p-value for difference between observed and expected < 0.000001). Similar findings were observed for other levels of significance. In contrast, genetic variants showed no greater association with each other, or with the 96 behavioural, socioeconomic, and physiological factors, than would be expected by chance. Conclusions These data illustrate why observational studies have produced misleading claims regarding potentially causal factors for disease. The findings demonstrate the potential power of a methodology that utilizes genetic variants as indicators of exposure level when studying environmentally modifiable risk factors.
Niveles de actividad física, beneficios, barreras y autoeficacia en un grupo de empleados oficiales

Objetivo: determinar la relacion entre el nivel de actividad fisica y la percepcion de los beneficios, las barreras y la autoeficacia en un grupo de empleados de 18 a 65 anos con factores de riesgo cardiovascular. Metodo: estudio de tipo cuantitativo, descriptivo, correlacional. Para evaluar la actividad fisica se utilizo el Cuestionario Internacional de Actividad Fisica (IPAQ) version larga y para la evaluacion de la escala de barreras, beneficios y autoeficacia se empleo el cuestionario de Nola Pender (EBBS). Muestra: conformada por 243 empleados. Resultados: el 65,8% de los empleados eran activos fisicamente, los hombres 70,9% y las mujeres 61,7%. Se encontro una correlacion negativa entre METS y autoeficacia y beneficios de la actividad fisica; no se evidencia correlacion entre actividad fisica y barreras. Conclusiones: los hombres son mas activos fisicamente que las mujeres, los niveles de actividad fisica se elevan con la edad y disminuyen cuando aumenta el nivel educativo. La percepcion de los beneficios de la actividad fisica en las personas sedentarias fue mayor que en personas fisicamente activas.
On the development of a tactile sensor for fabric manipulation and classification for industrial applications

In this paper a novel multi-modal tactile sensor is presented, featuring a matrix of capacitive pressure sensors, a microphone for acoustic measurements and proximity and ambient light sensor. The sensor is fully embedded and can be easily integrated at mechanical and electrical levels with industrial grippers. Tactile sensing design has been put on the same level of additional requirements, usually overlooked in tactile sensor research, such as the mechanical interface, cable harness and robustness against continuous and repetitive operations, just to name but a few. The performances of the different sensing modalities have been assessed in a test rig for tactile sensors. Experiments have been performed in order to show the capabilities of the sensor for implementing tactile based industrial gripper control and tactile based fabric classification.
Repressor-Sensitizer Differences on Repeated Exposures to Pain

A Hardy-Wolff-Goodell heat test and a pressure algometer test of pain tolerance were given to 72 female Ss divided into two groups on the basis of their R-S scores. Half the Ss received the heat test first while half received the pressure test first. 5 min. elapsed between the two trials. Analysis of the data indicated that repressors had a higher tolerance for pain than sensitizers on the first trial. However, repressors showed a significant decrease in their tolerance scores from Trial 1 to 2, but not sensitizers. These results were opposite to those expected, indicating that personality factors may have a different effect on the way an individual copes with repeated exposures to psychological stresses and with repeated exposure to pain.
Registered Replication Report: Rand, Greene, and Nowak (2012)

In an anonymous 4-person economic game, participants contributed more money to a common project (i.e., cooperated) when required to decide quickly than when forced to delay their decision (Rand, Greene & Nowak, 2012), a pattern consistent with the social heuristics hypothesis proposed by Rand and colleagues. The results of studies using time pressure have been mixed, with some replication attempts observing similar patterns (e.g., Rand et al., 2014) and others observing null effects (e.g., Tinghög et al., 2013; Verkoeijen & Bouwmeester, 2014). This Registered Replication Report (RRR) assessed the size and variability of the effect of time pressure on cooperative decisions by combining 21 separate, preregistered replications of the critical conditions from Study 7 of the original article (Rand et al., 2012). The primary planned analysis used data from all participants who were randomly assigned to conditions and who met the protocol inclusion criteria (an intent-to-treat approach that included the 65.9% of participants in the time-pressure condition and 7.5% in the forced-delay condition who did not adhere to the time constraints), and we observed a difference in contributions of −0.37 percentage points compared with an 8.6 percentage point difference calculated from the original data. Analyzing the data as the original article did, including data only for participants who complied with the time constraints, the RRR observed a 10.37 percentage point difference in contributions compared with a 15.31 percentage point difference in the original study. In combination, the results of the intent-to-treat analysis and the compliant-only analysis are consistent with the presence of selection biases and the absence of a causal effect of time pressure on cooperation.
Rateless codes for single-server streaming to diverse users

We investigate the performance of rateless codes for single-server streaming to diverse users, assuming that diversity in users is present not only because they have different channel conditions, but also because they demand different amounts of information and have different decoding capabilities. The LT encoding scheme is employed. While some users accept output symbols of all degrees and decode using belief propagation, others only collect degree-1 output symbols and run no decoding algorithm. We propose several performance measures, and optimize the performance of the rateless code used at the server through the design of the code degree distribution. Optimization problems are formulated for the asymptotic regime and solved as linear programming problems. Optimized performance shows great improvement in total bandwidth consumption over using the conventional ideal soliton distribution, or simply sending separately encoded streams to different types of user nodes. Simulation experiments confirm the usability of the optimization results obtained for the asymptotic regime as a guideline for finite-length code design.
Literacy in the early years and English as an additional language: The case of a British international school

The study upon which this article is based investigates teachers’ literacy development methods used in nursery and reception classrooms of a British international school, and focuses specifically on children having English as an additional language (EAL). Findings from teaching observations and from interviews with teachers present the techniques used in order to develop pupils’ literacy skills. The study supports professionals by shedding light on various inclusive techniques for facilitating the literacy development of a class with a significant number of EAL children.
Molecular Characterization of a Strawberry FaASR Gene in Relation to Fruit Ripening

Background ABA-, stress- and ripening-induced (ASR) proteins have been reported to act as a downstream component involved in ABA signal transduction. Although much attention has been paid to the roles of ASR in plant development and stress responses, the mechanisms by which ABA regulate fruit ripening at the molecular level are not fully understood. In the present work, a strawberry ASR gene was isolated and characterized (FaASR), and a polyclonal antibody against FaASR protein was prepared. Furthermore, the effects of ABA, applied to two different developmental stages of strawberry, on fruit ripening and the expression of FaASR at transcriptional and translational levels were investigated. Methodology/Principal Findings FaASR, localized in the cytoplasm and nucleus, contained 193 amino acids and shared common features with other plant ASRs. It also functioned as a transcriptional activator in yeast with trans-activation activity in the N-terminus. During strawberry fruit development, endogenous ABA content, levels of FaASR mRNA and protein increased significantly at the initiation of ripening at a white (W) fruit developmental stage. More importantly, application of exogenous ABA to large green (LG) fruit and W fruit markedly increased endogenous ABA content, accelerated fruit ripening, and greatly enhanced the expression of FaASR transcripts and the accumulation of FaASR protein simultaneously. Conclusions These results indicate that FaASR may be involved in strawberry fruit ripening. The observed increase in endogenous ABA content, and enhanced FaASR expression at transcriptional and translational levels in response to ABA treatment might partially contribute to the acceleration of strawberry fruit ripening.
La importancia de medir el valor de marca desde la perspectiva del consumidor:evidencia empírica en España y el Reino Unido

Dado el papel central que las marcas ocupan en la estrategia de las empresas, la medicion y control de su valor sigue siendo una de las lineas de investigacion mas importantes del marketing. Ante la falta de acuerdo existente en la conceptualizacion y medicion del valor de marca, el presente estudio tiene como objetivo proponer y validar una medida para su valoracion. Asi, tras poner de relieve la importancia de la gestion y medicion del valor de las marcas, se realiza una propuesta de medicion del valor de marca, fiable y practica, para cuya validacion se realiza un estudio en dos paises: Espana y el Reino Unido. De acuerdo a los resultados del trabajo, el valor de marca esta constituido por las siguientes dimensiones: la notoriedad de marca, la calidad percibida, la lealtad y las asociaciones de marca, que incluyen el valor percibido, la personalidad de la marca y las asociaciones organizativas. La propuesta de medicion realizada permite analizar y comprender el valor otorgado por los consumidores a las ensenas, presentando diversos usos para las empresas.
Human platelet glycoprotein VI function is antagonized by monoclonal antibody‐derived Fab fragments

Summary. Platelet interactions with adhesive ligands exposed at sites of vascular injury initiate the normal hemostatic response but may also lead to arterial thrombosis. Platelet membrane glycoprotein (GP)VI is a key receptor for collagen. Impairment of GPVI function in mice results in a long‐term antithrombotic protection and prevents neointimal hyperplasia following arterial injury. On the other hand, GPVI deficiency in humans or mice does not result in serious bleeding tendencies. Blocking GPVI function may thus represent a new and safe antithrombotic approach, but no specific, potent anti‐GPVI directed at the human receptor is yet available. Our aim was to produce accessible antagonists of human GPVI to evaluate the consequences of GPVI blockade. Amongst several monoclonal antibodies to the extracellular domain of human GPVI, one, 9O12.2, was selected for its capacity to disrupt the interaction of GPVI with collagen in a purified system and to prevent the adhesion of cells expressing recombinant GPVI to collagen and collagen‐related peptides (CRP). While 9O12.2 IgGs induced platelet activation by a mechanism involving GPVI and FcγRIIA, 9O12.2 Fab fragments completely blocked collagen‐induced platelet aggregation and secretion from 5 µg mL−1 and fully prevented CRP‐induced activation from 1.5 µg mL−1. 9O12.2 Fabs also inhibited the procoagulant activity of collagen‐stimulated platelets and platelet adhesion to collagen in static conditions. Furthermore, 9O12.2 Fabs impaired platelet adhesion, and prevented thrombi formation under arterial flow conditions. We thus describe here for the first time a functional monoclonal antibody to human GPVI and demonstrate its effect on collagen‐induced platelet aggregation and procoagulant activity, and on thrombus growth.
New Results on Reachability Realization of Switched Impulsive Control Systems

This paper studies construction of switching sequences for reachability realization of switched impulsive control systems. An approach is proposed to design switching sequences so that the reachable subspace of switched impulsive control systems is expressed in terms of the reachable state sets of the designed switching sequences. For a class of switched impulsive control systems, it is proved that a single switching sequence can be designed with its reachable state set coinciding with the reachable subspace. The results present a new point of view for switching mechanism involved in the reachability and controllability of switched impulsive control systems.
Security Feelings among Jewish Settlers in The Occupied Territories

The objective of the described study was to assess the effect of living in a communal settlement in Israel's occupied territories on residents' general feelings of insecurity and related variables. The sample was drawn from three settlements that are similar in size, urban-communal nature, year of establishment, and socioeconomic status, but different in geographic location, political ideology, and extent of exposure to the Palestinian uprising. The results indicate, contrary to the authors' hypothesis, that living in the settlement had little effect on insecurity feelings and most other dependent variables. On the other hand, variables related to the personal rather than the communal context had a significant effect on insecurity feelings. These variables included gender, ethnic origin, level of income, age, having a family member who lived through the Holocaust, level of hawkishness, military service, religiosity, and health problems. Findings are interpreted and considered in the context of the cognitive-relational appraisal theory.
The Effects of Matching Post-transgression Accounts to Targets' Preferences

The Effects of Matching Post-transgression Accounts to Targets’ Preferences by Kaitlin Elizabeth Toner Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Mark R. Leary, Supervisor ___________________________ Rick H. Hoyle ___________________________ Timothy J. Strauman ___________________________ Richard P. Larrick An abstract of a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience in the Graduate School of Duke University
Planning as Optimization: Dynamically Discovering Optimal Configurations for Runtime Situations

The large number of possible configurations of modern software-based systems, combined with the large number of possible environmental situations of such systems, prohibits enumerating all adaptation options at design time and necessitates planning at run time to dynamically identify an appropriate configuration for a situation. While numerous planning techniques exist, they typically assume a detailed state-based model of the system and that the situations that warrant adaptations are known. Both of these assumptions can be violated in complex, real-world systems. As a result, adaptation planning must rely on simple models that capture what can be changed (input parameters) and observed in the system and environment (output and context parameters). We therefore propose planning as optimization: the use of optimization strategies to discover optimal system configurations at runtime for each distinct situation that is also dynamically identified at runtime. We apply our approach to CrowdNav, an open-source traffic routing system with the characteristics of a real-world system. We identify situations via clustering and conduct an empirical study that compares Bayesian optimization and two types of evolutionary optimization (NSGA-II and novelty search) in CrowdNav.
Concepts of self-rated health: specifying the gender difference in mortality risk.

PURPOSE This study addresses the question of how the relation between self-rated health (SRH) and mortality differs between genders. In addition to the general question, four specific concepts of SRH are distinguished: SRH in comparison with age peers, SRH in comparison with one's own health 10 years ago, and current and future health perceptions. For these concepts, the gender-specific risks of mortality were evaluated for a short and a longer follow-up period. DESIGN AND METHODS Baseline and mortality data from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam (N = 1917, initial ages 55-85 years) were used. Mortality risks were evaluated in Cox regression models at 3 and 7.5 years of follow-up, both adjusted for age and for sociodemographic characteristics, indicators of functional and mental health, lifestyle, and social involvement. All SRH measures were scaled from 1 (positive) to 5 (negative). RESULTS Baseline correlations between SRH concepts were similar for men and women. After 3 years, 12% of the men and 7% of the women had died; after 7.5 years, these percentages were 27 and 15, respectively. In fully adjusted models, current health perceptions predicted 3-year mortality in men (risk ratio of 1.33). At 7.5 years, mortality in men was predicted by current health perceptions and by SRH compared with age peers (risk ratios of 1.25 and 1.23, respectively). In women, no SRH concept predicted either 3-year or 7.5-year mortality. IMPLICATIONS SRH was a predictor of mortality only in men, not in women. The gender difference showed most clearly at longer follow-up, in the SRH concept "comparison with age peers. "
Objective Tinnitus and the Tensor Tympani Muscle.

Objective tinnitus (OT) may be caused by contraction of the tensor tympani muscle (TTM). The more forcefully the TTM contracts, the greater the intensity of the OT heard. Forceful closure of both eyelids can reflexively cause OT by contracting the TTM. The Forceful Eyelid Closure Syndrome (FECS) was reported at the Proceedings of the Second International Tinnitus Seminar in 1983. (1) FECS consists of several factors: (1) Objective tinnitus (2) An associated waning of hearing primarily of the lower frequencies, as much as 45 dB at 125 Hz, 30 to 40 dB at 250 Hz ascending to the patient's norm at 2000 Hz and approximately a 5 to 10 dB at 4000 Hz and 5 to 20 dB at 8000 Hz (3) Retraction of the manubrium and posterior mid-third of the tympanic membrane (TM) at the malleus-umbo area as seen under the otomicroscope (OM) in 25% (108) of 432 ears examined (4) These same ears were 75% (324) positive for increased impedance at maximum compliance with FEC. Of the patients studied, 25% had no response under the otomicroscope or by impedance audiometry.