Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Constructing Crises in Europe: Multifaceted Securitisation in Times of Exception Progressive and Regressive Securitisation: Covid, Russian Aggression and the Ethics of Security

This paper contributes to the debate about the normative assessment of securitisation in light of Covid-19 and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It develops the distinction of progressive and regressive securitisation. In doing so, it emphasises the processual, contextual and ambiguous nature of securitisation. I suggest that progressive securitisation is closely linked to the solidarisation, whereas regressive securitisation implies the pluralisation of international society. The two cases of Covid-19 and Russia illustrate that international order has increasingly been characterised by regressive securitisation and a pluralisation of international society, despite possible alternatives, such as a transnational response to the spread of Covid-19. They have thus contributed to the further demise of the post–Cold War liberal order, which despite its problems, has involved a re-orientation of security away from state territory and national identity as the core referent objects. I end with a plea to take the ethics of security more seriously again, and in particular to scrutinise the ways in which our own behaviour reinforces regressive securitisation.
The Dynamics of Political Narratives During the Russian Invasion of Ukraine

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has elicited a diverse array of responses from nations around the globe. During a global conflict, polarized narratives are spread on social media to sway public opinion. We examine the dynamics of the political narratives surrounding the Russia-Ukraine war during the first two months of the Russian invasion of Ukraine (RU) using the Chinese Twitter space as a case study. Since the beginning of the RU, pro-Chinese-state and anti-Chinese-state users have spread divisive opinions, rumors, and conspiracy theories. We investigate how the pro- and anti-state camps contributed to the evolution of RU-related narratives, as well as how a few influential accounts drove the narrative evolution. We identify pro-state and anti-state actors on Twitter using network analysis and text-based classifiers, and we leverage text analysis, along with the users' social interactions (e.g., retweeting), to extract narrative coordination and evolution. We find evidence that both pro-state and anti-state camps spread propaganda narratives about RU. Our analysis illuminates how actors coordinate to advance particular viewpoints or act against one another in the context of global conflict.
Evaluating Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behaviors toward HPV Infection and Vaccination among University Students in Italy

Background: This survey investigated the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors towards HPV preventive measures among university students in Italy and their associated factors. Methods: The cross-sectional survey was conducted between November 2022 and April 2023. Results: Only 41.7% knew about HPV infection and the main preventive measures. Multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression analysis showed that females, those aged 25–30 years, those who have had oral sex, those who had received information about HPV infection and preventive measures from physicians, and those who needed additional information about HPV infection and preventive measures were more knowledgeable. Only 39.1% have received at least one HPV vaccination dose, whereas 29.2% and 31.7% had not been vaccinated or did not remember. Multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression analysis identified that female students enrolled in the field of health sciences, those who did not report a prior history of a sexually transmitted infection, and those with a higher knowledge about HPV infection and preventive measures were more willing to receive the HPV vaccination. Conclusions: Despite some limitations, this was the first detailed survey on this topic conducted in the post-acute phase of COVID-19 among university students in Italy. The survey underlined the need to develop and to implement comprehensive educational programs and health interventions among students, to enhance their knowledge and modify their attitudes and improve the HPV vaccine uptake.
Prediction of Prognosis of Tongue Squamous Cell Carcinoma Based on Clinical MR Imaging Data Modeling

Objective: Tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC) is one of the most common and poor prognosis head and neck tumors. The purpose of this study is to establish a model for predicting TSCC prognosis based on clinical and MR radiomics data and to develop a nomogram. Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on the clinical and imaging data of 211 patients with pathologically confirmed TSCC who underwent radical surgery at xx hospital from February 2011 to January 2020. Patients were divided into a study group (recurrence, metastasis, and death, n = 76) and a control group (normal survival, n = 135) according to 1 to 6 years of follow-up. A training set and a test set were established based on a ratio of 7:3 and a time point. In the training set, 3 prediction models (clinical data model, imaging model, and combined model) were established based on the MR radiomics score (Radscore) combined with clinical features. The predictive performance of these models was compared using the Delong curve, and the clinical net benefit of the model was tested using the decision curve. Then, the external validation of the model was performed in the test set, and a nomogram for predicting TSCC prognosis was developed. Results: Univariate analysis confirmed that betel nut consumption, spicy hot pot or pickled food, unclean oral sex, drug use, platelet/lymphocyte ratio (PLR), neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR), depth of invasion (DOI), low differentiation, clinical stage, and Radscore were factors that affected TSCC prognosis (P < .05). In the test set, the combined model based on these factors had the highest predictive performance for TSCC prognosis (area under curve (AUC) AUC: 0.870, 95% CI [0.761-0.942]), which was significantly higher than the clinical model (AUC: 0.730, 95% CI [0.602-0.835], P = .033) and imaging model (AUC: 0.765, 95% CI [0.640-0.863], P = .074). The decision curve also confirmed the higher clinical net benefit of the combined model, and these results were validated in the test set. The nomogram developed based on the combined model received good evaluation in clinical application. Conclusion: MR-LASSO extracted texture parameters can help improve the performance of TSCC prognosis models. The combined model and nomogram provide support for postoperative clinical treatment management of TSCC.
A Study of Partisan News Sharing in the Russian invasion of Ukraine

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a large volume of biased and partisan news has been spread via social media platforms. As this may lead to wider societal issues, we argue that understanding how partisan news sharing impacts users' communication is crucial for better governance of online communities. In this paper, we perform a measurement study of partisan news sharing. We aim to characterize the role of such sharing in influencing users' communications. Our analysis covers an eight-month dataset across six Reddit communities related to the Russian invasion. We first perform an analysis of the temporal evolution of partisan news sharing. We confirm that the invasion stimulates discussion in the observed communities, accompanied by an increased volume of partisan news sharing. Next, we characterize users' response to such sharing. We observe that partisan bias plays a role in narrowing its propagation. More biased media is less likely to be spread across multiple subreddits. However, we find that partisan news sharing attracts more users to engage in the discussion, by generating more comments. We then built a predictive model to identify users likely to spread partisan news. The prediction is challenging though, with 61.57% accuracy on average. Our centrality analysis on the commenting network further indicates that the users who disseminate partisan news possess lower network influence in comparison to those who propagate neutral news.
Documentation and valuation of tree species used in traditional agroforestry systems by nyishi tribe of arunachal pradesh, eastern himalaya.

Agroforestry is considered as a potential landuse system in the Eastern Himalaya for the protection of environment, food security, conservation of biological diversity, etc. The present study emphasised on both documentation and valuation of tree species used in agroforestry systems by the Nyishi tribe of Arunachal Pradesh. A total of 45 tree species representing 26 families were recorded. Arecaceae and Leguminosae were the dominant families. About 88.89% species of the tree species were used as fuelwood, followed by food (66.67%), field use (46.67%), tool (37.78%), construction (31.11%) and other uses (80%). Mangifera indica was found maximum Cultural Importance index value (3.27), Cultural value index (2.447) and Relative value index with relatively higher frequency of citation (FC=94) and use reports (NU=7). Terminalia chebula ranked 1 in Relative Frequency of citation value with highest number of citations (FC=102). However, male had significantly higher knowledge than female in certain use categories like medicine, field use, fodder and tools, which show that male, were more knowledgeable than females in the traditional agroforestry systems.
The self-efficacy-interest relationship and RIASEC type: Which is figure and which is ground? Comment on Armstrong and Vogel (2009).

Armstrong and Vogel (2009) proposed that the differences between self-efficacy and interests are a matter of measurement artifact rather than substance. In tests of this hypothesis, they conceived of self-efficacy and interest as observed indicators of larger RIASEC (Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional) types and as response method factors. We revisit the authors' theoretical assumptions, measurement procedures, analyses, and interpretation of findings. When viewing this study in the context of the larger literature, we find ample support for the construal of self-efficacy and interests as distinct but related constructs. In addition, we examine the authors' reanalysis of earlier longitudinal findings, reaching different conclusions than they did about the nature of the temporal relations among the social cognitive variables. Ultimately, whether one wishes to highlight or minimize the differences between interest and self-efficacy may largely depend on whether one's purpose is explanation (e.g., how do people make career-relevant choices? ) or classification (e.g., which RIASEC type does a person most resemble? ).
Verapamil Use Is Associated With Reduction of Newly Diagnosed Diabetes Mellitus

Objective The mechanism of the beneficial effect of calcium-channel blockers (CCBs), especially verapamil, on the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has been described. This study compared the incidence of T2DM in adults prescribed oral verapamil and propensity score-matched adults prescribed other oral CCBs. Methods This retrospective population-based cohort study used Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database from 2000 to 2011. T2DM was defined according to the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification. Results During follow-up periods of 41,958 and 42,118 person-years, 269 of 4930 patients in the verapamil cohort and 340 of 4930 patients in the matched cohort, respectively, developed T2DM. The incidence rates were 6.41 and 8.07 per 1000 population per year among verapamil and other CCB users, respectively. The adjusted hazard ratio (HR) for T2DM associated with use of verapamil (vs. other CCBs) was 0.80 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.68 to 0.94; P = 0.006]. After exclusion of patients followed for <180 days or <365 days (to avoid bias derived from delayed diagnosis), adjusted HRs remained significant [0.79 (95% CI, 0.67 to 0.93; P = 0.005) and 0.77 (95% CI, 0.65 to 0.91; P = 0.002), respectively]. Only the interaction term for age was significant (P = 0.009). Verapamil had a more prominent effect on patients aged older than 65 years (P < 0.001). Conclusions In patients with no known history of diabetes mellitus, oral verapamil use was associated with a decreased incidence of T2DM compared with other CCBs.
Media, Market, and Democracy in China: Between the Party Line and the Bottom Line

Media, Market, and Democracy in China: Between the Party Line and the Bottom Line. Yuezhi Zhao. Urbana and Chicago, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1998. 255 pp. $44.95 hbk. $19.95 pbk. Since the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union around the early 1990s and amid its continuing reform and openness even after the heavy-handed crackdown on the 1989 Tiananmen Square prodemocracy movement, both the academic and journalistic communities have been searching for new concepts and ways of making sense of the structure and processes of mass media in China, the last stronghold of communist ideology and the world's fast emerging economic power. By all measures and through various accounts, China's changing media landscape within the larger socio-political context continues to defy conventional wisdom and contemporary conceptual fixation. With a variety of approaches, numerous articles and books have attempted to determine, either quantitatively or qualitatively, how the Chinese media system strives to strike an uneasy balance between the unyielding political control dictated by the necessity of state domination in an authoritarian system on the one hand and the unrelenting momentum unleashed by the market forces on the other hand. This book by Yuezhi Zhao, a native of China and an assistant professor of communication at the University of California at San Diego, represents an insightful and challenging addition to a significant body of literature on China research in social sciences in general and in mass communication/ journalism in particular. It presents a skillful synergy of what is and what should be in the Chinese media system in both the political and economic sense. For anyone who follows the spirit and practices of Chinese journalism, the book makes a fascinating, and to some extent provocative, reading of the tension, negotiation, and accommodation of the willing bedfellows between the highly politicized Communist Party and the increasingly commercialized mass media in China. Its approach is a combination of historical description and critical analysis of the form and content of the Chinese media system over time and across space. Relying heavily on such publications as books, academic journals, and trade magazines, however, the author provides little original or systematic data. The book is nevertheless full of useful anecdotes and circumstantial evidence culled from Chinese sources not readily available to mass communication researchers outside China. They are helpful in story telling, but are insufficient in theory building, especially when the book argues for a new mass communication model in China. …
Liquidity and Crises in Asian Markets

This article presents a discussion of stock market liquidity and its relation to financial crises. It begins by defining liquidity and explaining possible measures of liquidity and then explores factors influencing liquidity. It also analyzes the liquidity among 11 Asian countries. The empirical findings based on the time-series analysis show a sharp decline in stock liquidity during both the 19971998 Asian and the recent 20072008 global financial crisis. The multivariate regression results show that both stock liquidity and trading activity decrease after large market declines. Stock liquidity responds significantly to large market declines in South Korea and Taiwan whereas it is least sensitive in Singapore. The findings indicate that stock trading, measured by turnover, slows down after a large market decline, which affects trading activity in all markets examined especially those of South Korea and China, but have the least effect in Singapore and Japan.
Differences in leadership behaviour between expatriate and local bosses as perceived by their host country national subordinates

Presents an investigation of how host country national subordinates perceive the leadership behaviour of their expatriate bosses in foreign assignments. From a sample of 240 middle managers in Hong Kong with experience of both local Chinese bosses and expatriate bosses from a broad spectrum of Western and Asian countries, finds that the subordinate managers assessed the leadership behaviour of their expatriate bosses to be significantly different from that of their Hong Kong Chinese bosses. US bosses were perceived as the most different and Japanese bosses, as well as bosses from other Asian countries, were seen as the least different, while British bosses and bosses from other Western countries constituted a middle group. Discusses the implications of these findings for international business and future academic research.
Disease of the Month Lipoprotein Metabolism and Lipid Management in Chronic Kidney Disease

Lipoprotein Metabolism and Lipid Management in Chronic Kidney Disease Bonnie C.H. Kwan,* Florian Kronenberg, Srinivasan Beddhu, and Alfred K. Cheung *Department of Medicine & Therapeutics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; Division of Nephrology & Hypertension and Dialysis Program, University of Utah, and Medical Service, Veterans Affairs Salt Lake City Healthcare System, Salt Lake City, Utah; and Division of Genetic Epidemiology, Department of Medical Genetics, Molecular and Clinical Pharmacology, Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria J Am Soc Nephrol 18: 1246–1261, 2007. doi: 10.1681/ASN.2006091006
Family Dynamics in Three-Generation Grandfamilies

Grandparent-headed families, called grandfamilies, are increasingly important in assisting adult children and grandchildren. This study (N = 376) provides a qualitative analysis of statements made by grandmothers about relationships between three core family members: (a) grandmother, (b) parent, and (c) grandchild. These family members constitute an intergenerational triad, displaying a variety of relationship patterns based on emotional closeness or distance. The most common configuration in three-generation families was all-three inter-generational members emotionally close or connected, and comments about relationships reflected problem solving, communication, and emotional management. Families in which the parent was close to and linked both adjacent generations were also frequent, and comments showed a clear parenting hierarchy with grandmother as secondary. Few families had weak, disconnected relationships between all three triad members or an emotionally isolated parent: These patterns were related to low grandmother and grandchild well-being. Evaluating intergenerational relationships aids identification of at-risk grandfamilies and has implications for family interventions.
Individual, Organizational, and Societal Influences on Media Role Perceptions: A Comparative Study of Journalists in China, Taiwan, and the United States

This article reports a secondary analysis comparing media role perceptions among journalists in China, Taiwan, and the United States, based on three recent nationwide surveys in these societies. By comparing the goodness-of-fit of a series of loglinear models, we have found that the societal factor has the strongest impact on journalists' views about media roles, the organizational factor has a significant but weak impact, and the individual factor has virtually no impact. Within the societal factor, we have further contrasted two competing models: political determinism vs. cultural determinism. The study provides clear-cut evidence in favor of the former.
The Strength of Sibling Ties: Sibling Influence on Status Attainment in a Chinese Family

What allowed eight siblings from a politically disadvantaged rural family to overcome institutional barriers and achieve upward mobility during Maoist China? What then restricted their children’s chances of upward mobility during the Reform era, when both family background and institutional environment were more favourable? In studying this anomalous case, whose experiences contradicted the well-documented effects of state policies and yet cannot be explained by parental influence, this study examines how adult siblings influenced each other’s status attainment processes, an issue largely neglected in the literature. Through comparing the micro-level mobility processes of the two generations in this family, I propose that, in times of rapid social change, sibling influence is more effective in generating status gain than parental influence, because the extensivity of sibling ties allows people to mobilize more relevant and heterogeneous social resources to facilitate social mobility.
Volatility Spillovers from Australia's Major Trading Partners Across the GFC

This paper features an analysis of volatility spillover effects from Australia's major trading partners, namely, China, Japan, Korea and the United States, for a period running from 1st January 2004 to 30th June 2014. This captures the impact of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). These markets are represented by the following major indices: The Shanghai composite and the Hangseng. (in the case of China, as both China and Hong Kong appear in Australian trade statistics), the S&P500 index, the Nikkei225 and the Kospi index. We apply the Diebold and Yilmaz (2009) Spillover Index, constructed in a VAR framework, to assess spillovers across these markets in returns and in volatilities. The analysis confirms that the US and Hong Kong markets have the greatest influence on the Australian one. We then move to a GARCH framework to apply further analysis and apply a tri-variate Cholesky-GARCH model to explore the effects from the US and Chinese market, as represented by the Hang Seng Index. We further explore three sample sub-periods, Pre-GFC 2004/1/1/ until 2007/07/08/, GFC 2007/08/09 until 2010/05/07 and Post-GFC 2010/05/10 until 2014/06/20 and analyse the behaviour of time-varying conditional correlations in these sub-periods. The GARCH analysis re-affirms the strong influence of the Hang Seng Index and the S&P500 Index.
Test Anxiety and Performance of Adolescent Children of Divorced Parents

Abstract Many studies have indicated that children of divorced parents perform less well in school than children of intact families. A variety of reasons have been put forward for these findings. The chief purpose of the present study was to examine the level of test anxiety that is characteristic of adolescent children of divorced parents and to suggest this as a possible explanation of the lower scholastic achievements of such children. A sample of 30 tenth‐grade adolescents boys (15 of whom were children of divorced parents and 15 from intact families) were given Spielberger's Test Anxiety Inventory and their school achievement over a period of two semesters was calculated. The results showed that the children of divorced parents had significantly higher Test Anxiety scores than did the children of intact families. These results are discussed in terms of the appropriate school environment and the exerted pressure on children of divorced parents to succeed in their studies.