Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Early perceptions of COVID-19 intensity and anti-Asian prejudice among White Americans

Anecdotal reports suggested an uptick in anti-Asian prejudice corresponding with the initial outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Examining responses from White U.S. citizens (N = 589) during the first months of the pandemic, this study tested: (a) whether actual intensity (official number of cases or deaths reported) or perceived intensity (participants’ estimates of the same) of the COVID-19 outbreak predicted indicators of racial outgroup prejudice, particularly those associated with cross-group interaction, (b) whether outgroup prejudice was oriented toward Asian people specifically, or toward racial outgroups more broadly (e.g., toward both Asian people and Black people), and (c) whether contact with racial outgroups moderated relations between COVID-19 intensity and racial prejudice. Results showed that perceived COVID-19 intensity was associated with prejudice indicators representing the desire for social distance from Asian people, as well as from Black people, yet it was unrelated to reports of negative affect toward either racial outgroup. These patterns support the idea that prejudice during periods of disease outbreak might functionally serve to reduce willingness for interaction with, and likelihood of infection from, racial outgroups. Contact moderated the relation between official reports of COVID-19 intensity and support for anti-China travel policies, such that greater contact with Asian people was associated with less support for exclusionary, anti-China travel policies when actual COVID-19 intensity was high. Overall, these results suggest that intensity of disease threat can exacerbate racial outgroup prejudice and reduce willingness for cross-group interaction, but that intergroup contact may sometimes provide a prejudice-attenuating effect.
Role of folinic acid in methotrexate-based prophylaxis of graft-versus-host disease following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

ABSTRACT Methotrexate (MTX) is one of the main therapeutic agents currently used for the prophylaxis of graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. However, it is associated with significant toxicity and considerable side effects in many patients, which lead to either early withdrawal or dose reductions that may expose patients to the risk of GvHD and graft failure. Folinic acid (FA) can bypass the inhibitory effects of MTX on folate availability and control MTX toxicity. However, concerns that FA might inhibit the anti-GvHD effect of MTX and limited reports on its clinical usefulness have led to reluctance in its inclusion in standard GvHD prophylaxis regimens. Additionally, universal dosing and timing guidelines are lacking. I discuss the available literature and evaluate the evidence for the effect of FA on MTX toxicity and its safety regarding GvHD development and graft rejection in both adult and pediatric patients. Although FA administration appears to be safe, its efficacy for routine use in all types of transplants in adult patients is unproven and further research is required to confirm its MTX toxicity-lowering effect, identify the individual parameters that influence its usefulness in clinical practice, and evaluate its potential when developing a personalized prophylaxis regimen.
Assessing manufacturing/quality culture and practices in Asian companies

This article uses data collected from direct observations made during visits to over 20 Asian companies over a period of four years (1992‐1995) and discusses the culture and managerial approaches of companies located in Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan. The main objective of these visits was to provide the participants the opportunity to gain an appreciation of the management approaches of internationally competitive manufacturing companies located in Asia and to gain an understanding of “World Best Practice” for a range of manufacturing/quality management methods and technologies. In this paper we present our overall observations relating to such factors as mission and purpose, culture of the organisation and consistency of purpose and of management. The evidence suggests, for example, that Asian companies have a long‐term vision and mission which is focused on benefiting mankind and a dedication to developing the knowledge, skills and health of the general community as well as their employees.
Caseload , time-pressure and discrimination : Are school principals who have less time for e-mail correspondence more likely to discriminate in their e-mail

he equal application of the law to all citizens is a vital normative goal of democratic governance and a cornerstone of public sector service. Despite this goal, numerous experiments have shown that public officials discriminate against ethnic minorities, even in established democracies (for reviews, see Costa, 2017 and Hansen & Tummers, 2020; for two recent studies, see Olsen et al., 2021 and Grohs et al., 2019). A crucial question for political science is whether public bureaucracies may be reorganized to reduce discriminatory behaviour. Are certain workplace characteristics among public officials associated with a higher risk of discrimination? In contrast to our knowledge on the prevalence of discrimination, much less is known about the causes of discrimination and the degree to which contextual factors affect this behaviour (for reviews see Hardin & Banaji, 2013; Paluck & Green, 2009; Spencer et al., 2016). One factor that is often highlighted as associated with discriminatory behaviour is the working conditions and workload of public officials. In public administration research (Lipsky, 1980), street-level bureaucrats are assumed to use a wide variety of coping mechanisms to handle high workloads and psychological exhaustion (for a review of these mechanisms as well as the literature on coping, see Tummers et al., 2015). Some of the coping mechanisms are based on the discrimination of clients. For example, officials may selectively focus their attention, resources and efforts on some clients (cream skimming). They may also conversely try to decrease service availability, attractiveness or expectations from certain client groups (rationing) by, e.g., selectively increasing administrative burdens (cf. Jilke et al., 2018). Using T V V Abstract: Street-level bureaucrats are assumed to use discriminatory practices against clients to handle high workloads and psychological exhaustion. However, empirical research on the relationships between caseloads, time pressure and discrimination is limited. This article is one of the first to study this topic using a large correspondence experiment that captures actual real-life discriminatory behaviour. Swedish school principals were randomly contacted via email by parents with Arabicor Swedish-sounding names and with low-SES and high-SES professions who were interested in placing their children at the school. The principals’ actual caseloads and perceived time pressure were captured using registry and survey data. The results reveal few robust effects. However, a slight tendency is seen in the results where principals who perceived that they had sufficient time to respond to emails were less likely to discriminate the Arabic and low-SES parents.
A Comparison of the Resilience, Anxiety, and Life Satisfaction of Chinese Left-Behind Children and International Students

The present study compared the resilience level, anxiety level, and life satisfaction level of Chinese left-behind children (LBC) and international students (IS) between 11 and 15 years old and investigated the relationships between these three variables and physical activity (PA). Chinese LBC (n = 86) from Guiyang City, Guizhou Province, China and Chinese IS (n = 60) in Vancouver, Canada filled out a survey that measured their resilience level, anxiety level, life satisfaction level, the duration and frequency of PA of different types and intensities in various domains, PA Enjoyment, and participants’ attitudes toward PA. In addition, 10 participants were randomly chosen to participate in an interview after completing the survey. The survey results showed that IS possessed higher resilience level and life satisfaction level than LBC, and both groups had no significant difference in anxiety level; LBC engaged in more PA than IS. Besides, resilience level was positively related to the amount of light PA in household or yard work domain as well as PA enjoyment; anxiety level was negatively related to PA enjoyment as well as annual household income; life satisfaction was positively related to the total amount of PA across all domains as well as PA enjoyment. Participants also mentioned in the interviews the effectiveness of PA in distracting them from worries and other negative emotions, which in turn helped reduce their anxiety and improve their resilience and life satisfaction. Therefore, participating in more PA could be a promising way to improve resilience level and life satisfaction level or reduce anxiety level for the two groups.
Sustaining Social Trust and Volunteer Role Identity Reciprocally over Time in Pre-adult, Adult, and Older Volunteers

ABSTRACT Social services often organize volunteer work to achieve social well-being, such as building volunteer trust in various people. Meanwhile, a vital goal for the organizing is the development of volunteer identity, such that volunteers identify themselves with volunteering. Volunteer identity is supposed to maintain reciprocal effects with social trust. Moreover, the individual's volunteer identity and social trust are supposed to be responsive to the identity and trust of the volunteer team. To examine these uncharted suppositions, the present study employed a three-wave panel design to survey 872 volunteers in Hong Kong, China. Results show that earlier volunteer identity revealed a weak positive effect on social trust among adult (age 18–59 years) volunteers. Social trust also indicated a positive effect on subsequent volunteer identity, especially in the older (age 60 years or more) volunteer. In contrast, earlier volunteer identity in the volunteer team was predictive of the social trust of the preadult (aged 11–17 years) volunteer. These results imply that social services can capitalize on the reciprocal effects between volunteer identity and social trust to promote identity and trust. Future directions based on the results of this study support the promotion related to different age groups to improve the volunteering experience.
Clinical and biological features associated with epidermal growth factor receptor gene mutations in lung cancers.

BACKGROUND Mutations in the tyrosine kinase (TK) domain of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene in lung cancers are associated with increased sensitivity of these cancers to drugs that inhibit EGFR kinase activity. However, the role of such mutations in the pathogenesis of lung cancers is unclear. METHODS We sequenced exons 18-21 of the EGFR TK domain from genomic DNA isolated from 617 non-small-cell lung cancers (NSCLCs) and 524 normal lung tissue samples from the same patients and 36 neuroendocrine lung tumors collected from patients in Japan, Taiwan, the United States, and Australia and from 243 other epithelial cancers. Mutation status was compared with clinicopathologic features and with the presence of mutations in KRAS, a gene in the EGFR signaling pathway that is also frequently mutated in lung cancers. All statistical tests were two sided. RESULTS We detected a total of 134 EGFR TK domain mutations in 130 (21%) of the 617 NSCLCs but not in any of the other carcinomas, nor in nonmalignant lung tissue from the same patients. In NSCLC patients, EGFR TK domain mutations were statistically significantly more frequent in never smokers than ever smokers (51% versus 10%), in adenocarcinomas versus cancer of other histologies (40% versus 3%), in patients of East Asian ethnicity versus other ethnicities (30% versus 8%), and in females versus males (42% versus 14%; all P < .001). EGFR TK domain mutation status was not associated with patient age at diagnosis, clinical stage, the presence of bronchioloalveolar histologic features, or overall survival. The EGFR TK domain mutations we detected were of three common types: in-frame deletions in exon 19, single missense mutations in exon 21, and in-frame duplications/insertions in exon 20. Rare missense mutations were also detected in exons 18, 20, and 21. KRAS gene mutations were present in 50 (8%) of the 617 NSCLCs but not in any tumors with an EGFR TK domain mutation. CONCLUSIONS Mutations in either the EGFR TK domain or the KRAS gene can lead to lung cancer pathogenesis. EGFR TK domain mutations are the first molecular change known to occur specifically in never smokers.
Relation between bone mineral density and IL-17 serum levels in Serbian patients with early Rheumatoid arthritis

Abstract Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by synovial inflammation and destruction of joint cartilage and bone. Different cytokines play important role in the processes that cause articular destruction and extra-articular manifestations in RA. The contribution of cytokines representing the Th1 (INF-γ), Th2 (IL-4) and IL-17A to the pathogenesis of early RA and bone mineral density (BMD) loss in still poorly understood. Serum samples of 38 early RA patients were evaluated for erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), rheumatoid factor (RF), C-reactive protein (CRP), anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies (anti-CCP) and for the tested cytokines (IL-17A, IL-4 and INF-γ). BMD was evaluated by dualenergyX-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Disease activity score (DAS28) calculation was assessed for all patients. Control serum samples were obtained from 34 healthy volunteers. The levels of tested cytokines were significantly higher (IL-17A, p<0.001; INF-γ, P<0.001; IL-4, P<0.01) in patients with early RA, compared to the healthy controls. In early RA patients, strong correlation of serum IL-17A was found with DAS28, ESR and CRP. Also, a significant negative correlation was found between serum INF-γ levels and the DAS28 score. Significantly positive correlation of BMD values and CRP, DAS28 IL-17A were also demonstrated. DXA analysis revealed that the most common site for osteoporosis was the lumbar spine followed by the femoral neck. BMD values significantly correlated with CRP, DAS28 score and IL-17A serum levels. The mean serum IL-17A levels, in patients with early RA, corresponded with disease activity, severity and BMD loss, indicating the potential usefulness of serum IL-17A in defining the disease activity and bone remodeling.
China turns to multilateralism : foreign policy and regional security

* Introduction 1. International Multilateralism with Chinese Characteristics: Attitude Changes, Policy Imperatives, and Regional Impacts, Guoguang Wu and Helen Lansdowne Part I: Global Concerns 2. China's New Internationalism, Lowell Dittmer 3. Racing to Integrate, or Cooperating to Compete? Liberal and Realist Interpretations of China's New Multilateralism, Thomas G. Moore 4. New Player in the Game: China, Arms Control, and Multilateralism, Jing-dong Yuan Part II: Regional Security 5. China's Multilateralism and Regional Order, Michael Yahuda 6. China and the North Korean Nuclear Problem: Diplomatic Initiative, Strategic Complexities, and Relevance of Security Multilateralism, Yinhong Shi 7. China and SCO: Towards a New Type of Interstate Relations, Jianwei Wang, 8. Chinese and ASEAN Responses to the US Regional Maritime Security Initiative, Gaye Christoffersen 9. Maritime Security and Multilateral Interactions between China and Its Neighbours, Keyuan Zou Part III: Peaceful Rise? 10. Intentions on Trial: 'Peaceful Rise' and Sino-ASEAN Relations, Yongnian Zheng and Sow Keat Tok 11. Peaceful Rise? Soft Power? Human Rights in China's New Multilateralism,Jeremy Paltiel 12. China's Petroleum Diplomacy: Hu Jintao's Biggest Challenge in Foreign and Security Policy, Willy Lam 13. China's Multilateralism and Its Impacts on Cross-Strait Relations: A View from Taipei, Dong-Ching Day 14. An Exception to the Growing Emphasis on Multilateralism: The Case of China's Policy toward Hong Kong, Jean-Philippe Beja Conclusion 15. Multiple Levels of Multilateralism: The Rising China in the Turbulent World, Guoguang Wu
Using the Panama Papers to explore the financial networks of the Middle East

In what has been described as the WikiLeaks of the financial world, the release of millions of documents (known as the “Panama Papers”) have placed at the center of global media attention the elaborate ways used by some of the elite to hide their financial assets leading to serious allegation of financial corruption. In this work, we explore the information contained in these documents using social network analytics. Due to the large size of the network constructed from the Panama Papers, we limit our attention to a specific region, which is the Middle East. The analysis reveals that while the constructed network enjoys some typical characteristics, there are many interesting observations and properties worth discussing. Specifically, using the extracted network consisting of 37,442 nodes and 79,544 edges, our social network analysis finding show that, perhaps surprisingly, the nodes or the social network are not necessarily directly correlation with perceived financial influence.
Analysis of Genetic Diversity and Population Structure of Rice Germplasm from North-Eastern Region of India and Development of a Core Germplasm Set

The North-Eastern region (NER) of India, comprising of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura, is a hot spot for genetic diversity and the most probable origin of rice. North-east rice collections are known to possess various agronomically important traits like biotic and abiotic stress tolerance, unique grain and cooking quality. The genetic diversity and associated population structure of 6,984 rice accessions, originating from NER, were assessed using 36 genome wide unlinked single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers distributed across the 12 rice chromosomes. All of the 36 SNP loci were polymorphic and bi-allelic, contained five types of base substitutions and together produced nine types of alleles. The polymorphic information content (PIC) ranged from 0.004 for Tripura to 0.375 for Manipur and major allele frequency ranged from 0.50 for Assam to 0.99 for Tripura. Heterozygosity ranged from 0.002 in Nagaland to 0.42 in Mizoram and gene diversity ranged from 0.006 in Arunachal Pradesh to 0.50 in Manipur. The genetic relatedness among the rice accessions was evaluated using an unrooted phylogenetic tree analysis, which grouped all accessions into three major clusters. For determining population structure, populations K = 1 to K = 20 were tested and population K = 3 was present in all the states, with the exception of Meghalaya and Manipur where, K = 5 and K = 4 populations were present, respectively. Principal Coordinate Analysis (PCoA) showed that accessions were distributed according to their population structure. AMOVA analysis showed that, maximum diversity was partitioned at the individual accession level (73% for Nagaland, 58% for Arunachal Pradesh and 57% for Tripura). Using POWERCORE software, a core set of 701 accessions was obtained, which accounted for approximately 10% of the total NE India collections, representing 99.9% of the allelic diversity. The rice core set developed will be a valuable resource for future genomic studies and crop improvement strategies.
Does high supply chain integration enhance customer response speed?

The capability of customer response speed is commonly employed by firms that wish to strengthen their relationship with customers in order to maintain a high level of service in a hypercompetitive environment of rapidly changing technology. Improved customer response speed also helps manufacturers respond more rapidly to satisfy customer needs. However, does high level of supply chain integration with customers have positive impact on customer response speed? This study proposes a conceptual model to examine antecedents to better firm performance, with customer response speed as a mediator. The conceptual model was empirically tested using data collected from 809 manufacturing companies in the Greater China Region. The results show that the nature of the relationship between customer integration and customer response speed may vary substantially from one area to another. Also, customer response speed mediates between customer integration and firm performance in China and Taiwan.
Comparative framework for care regime analysis in East Asia

This special issue focuses on the changing care regimes for children and older people in the East Asian societies of China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong. As a result of dramatic changes in family structures and behaviours, each society has been struggling to reform its care regime. Each chapter addresses the impact of demographic trends on the care regimes, and the conclusion highlights the similarities and differences among these societies. The purpose of this introductory chapter is to map the demographic shifts and the changing profile of the family in each society, and to present a framework for the analysis of both elder and child care.
research paper series China and the World Economy Research Paper 2006 / 21 Has China Displaced Other Asian Countries ’ Exports ?

This paper uses gravity modelling to explore whether and how the growth of China’s exports is displacing exports of other Asian countries to third markets over the period 1990-2003. Chinese exports are defined both narrowly and more broadly to include exports from Hong Kong. We investigate whether the displacement effect on Asian exports differs when exports from Hong Kong and China are combined compared to the narrow case of Chinese exports only. Aggregate and disaggregated analyses are undertaken. In the latter, we explore whether the displacement effect varies across Asian countries and in trade with different types of countries. We find evidence of a displacement effect which is more pronounced in developed markets and stronger for Hong Kong and China combined. Further it is the high income Asian exporters that experienced a greater displacement effect. We also investigate whether China’s development has generated any offsetting effects on its neighbours’ exports to China itself and find that Chinese growth has indeed increased China’s imports from the Asian countries in the sample and in particular Japan and Korea. JEL classification: F14 Outline
Raising services’ tangibility in foreign markets via marketing

Purpose – Intangibility plays a critical role in the field of services and brings great managerial problems to services firms, particularly for cross‐national firms that operate in unfamiliar host markets. This study attempts to explore how to raise the tangibility of services in foreign markets by marketing‐based activities, rather than the conventional perspective based on operational activities.Design/methodology/approach – Based on the literature, this study builds a six‐element model to circumscribe and define the managerial problems caused by intangibility. Moreover, this study proposes six strategies to raise consumers’ sense of tangibility toward services, namely: quantitation, ranking, factualization, substantialization, word‐of‐mouth effect, and information frequency. Following that, this study samples US‐, Japan‐, and Europe‐owned firms operating in China and Taiwan to examine the proposed model.Findings – The results indicate that the six strategies can improve the tangibility of services suff.