Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Determinants of non-performing loans in North Macedonia

Abstract This paper aims to examine macroeconomic and bank-specific determinants of non-performing loans (NPLs) in the case of the Republic of North Macedonia. Following the respective literature review that indicates the GDP and the unemployment rate as the most relevant macroeconomic variables, and weighted average interest rate, gross loans, and lagged NPLs as the bank bank-specific ones, we apply an ARDL bounds testing approach to investigate the determinants of NPLs of this landlocked, new NATO member country that seeks access to the EU. The studied period is from the first quarter of 2005 to the second quarter of 2022, which includes apart from the severe financial crises, i.e. the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) of 2007–2009 and the European Sovereign Debt Crisis of 2010–2012, the Pandemic Covid-19 period and the Russian Invasion of Ukraine. Our research output provides statistical evidence that the strongest long-run impact on NPLs comes from unemployment, GDP and interest rates; while Gross Loans seem not to have any significant effect. Our findings, holding both in the short- and the long-run, bear signs that are consistent with the economic theory. Overall, we add in the understanding, measuring, and forecasting of NPLs in a country under transition, and propose corrective macroeconomic policy measures in mitigating the related pressure and shocks, especially under periods of prolonged uncertainty.
The Political Development Cycle: The Right and the Left in People’s Republic of China from 1953

We quantify the effects of the political development cycle—the fluctuations between the Left (Maoist) and the Right (pragmatist) development policies—on growth and structural transformation of China in 1953–1978. The left policies prioritized structural transformation toward nonagricultural production and consumption at the expense of agricultural development. The right policies prioritized agricultural consumption through slower structural transformation. The imperfect implementation of these policies led to large welfare costs of the political development cycle in a distorted economy undergoing a structural change. (JEL D72, N15, N45, N55, O21, P21, P24)
From the Brazilian Income Transfer Program to the Fiscal Framework: perspectives on the social agenda of Lula’s third Government

This article is published in Open Access under the Creative Commons Attribution license, which allows use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, without restrictions, as long as the original work is correctly cited. A hallmark of the first and second Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva governments (2003-2006; 2007-2010), the Brazilian Income Transfer Program (Programa Bolsa Família, in Portuguese) is analyzed by an article published in this issue of CSP 1. The article details the incremental improvements made to the program throughout its existence, and it helps us understand its centrality among social policies. It also discusses disruptions and continuities of cash transfer programs that complemented or succeeded the Brazilian Income Transfer Program – at first under pressure from the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic and later against the backdrop of the 2022 election dispute. The study calls for an update on discussions that have occupied the public debate in recent decades. To what extent do focused policies, aimed primarily at the most vulnerable, represent the best use of public resources to mitigate poverty and inequality? Is the combination of focused and universal social policies the most effective way to ensure equal opportunities 2,3,4,5? The answers to these questions are not isolated from the debate on development strategies for the country. In the previous governments of Lula, social policy was allied to economic policy and vice versa 6,7,8. At the moment that Congress analyzes the so-called Fiscal Framework, with new rules to control public spending, the relationship between the social and the economic returns to the center of the dispute. Lula’s third administration doubles down on Brazilian Income Transfer Program and other social programs, but hints at important concessions to those who believe in an essential rivalry between social policy and macroeconomic policy, as we will discuss below. Lula’s third Government begins under the sign of reconstruction. If continuity with diversification set the tone for the governments of Dilma Rousseff (2011-2014; 2015-2016) 9, the impeachment marked the beginning of a period already characterized as one of policy dismantling, particularly social ones 10. Michel Temer (2016-2018) took his fiscal austerity project to the point of constitutionalizing the prohibition of real increases in public spending, creating the Expenditure Ceiling (Constitutional Amendment n. 95/2016) 11. In addition to promoting underfunding in health and education, the Temer administration bet on the rhetoric that social policies established by the 1988 Brazilian Federal Constitution, such as the Continuous Benefit Conveyance (BPC), did not fit in the Brazilian Gross Domestic From the Brazilian Income Transfer Program to the Fiscal Framework: perspectives on the social agenda of Lula’s third Government
The Leap of the Tiger: How Malaysia Can Escape the Middle-Income Trap

Only a few European economies and Korea and Taiwan Province of China reached high-income status during 1970-2010. Malaysia’s real income per capita increased to 26 percent of the U.S. level in 2010 from 20 percent in 1970. Despite relatively strong growth and a substantial improvement in export sophistication, Malaysia’s total factor productivity lagged behind that of Korea and Taiwan Province of China. We argue that what characterizes their experience in contrast to Malaysia’s is the creation of technologies by domestic firms and a push to leapfrog to the technological frontier at an early stage of development.
Development of a Computerized Number Sense Scale for 3-rd Graders: Reliability and Validity Analysis

This study was to develop a computerized number sense scale (CNST) to assess the performance of students who had already completed the 3rd-grade mathematics curriculum. In total, 808 students from representative elementary schools, including cities, country and rural areas of Taiwan, participated in this study. The results of statistical analyses and content analysis indicated that this computerized number sense scale demonstrates good reliability and validity. Cronbach’s α coefficient of the scale was . 8526 and its construct reliability was . 805. In addition, the 5-factor number sense model was empirically and theoretically supported via confirmatory factor analysis and literature review.
The emergence of COVID-19 over-concern immediately after the cancelation of the measures adopted by the dynamic zero-COVID policy in China

Background This study aimed to report the prevalence of COVID-19 over-concern and its associated factors after the relaxation of the health-protective measures in China. Methods A team of seven experts in psychiatry and psychology specializing in COVID-19 mental health research from China, Hong Kong, and overseas reached a consensus on the diagnostic criteria for COVID-19 over-concern. Individuals had to meet at least five of the following criteria: (1) at least five physical symptoms; (2) stocking up at least five items related to protecting oneself during the COVID-19 pandemic; (3) obsessive-compulsive symptoms related to the COVID-19 pandemic; (4) illness anxiety related to the COVID-19 pandemic; (5) post-traumatic stress symptoms; (6) depression; (7) anxiety; (8) stress and (9) insomnia. An online survey using snowball sampling collected data on demographics, medical history, views on COVID-19 policies, and symptoms of COVID-19 over-concern. Multivariate linear regression was performed using significant variables from the previous regressions as independent variables against the presence of COVID-19 over-concern as the dependent variable. Breush-Pagan test was used to assess each regression model for heteroskedasticity of residuals. Results 1,332 respondents from 31 regions in China participated in the study for 2 weeks from December 25 to 27, 2022, after major changes in the zero-COVID policy. After canceling measures associated with the dynamic zero-COVID policy, 21.2% of respondents fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for COVID-19 over-concern. Factors significantly associated with COVID-19 over-concern were poor self-rated health status (β = 0.07, p < 0.001), concerns about family members getting COVID-19 (β = 0.06, p < 0.001), perceived usefulness of COVID-19 vaccine (β = 0.03, p = 0.012), impact on incomes, employment and studies (β = 0.045, p < 0.001) and impact on families (β = 0.03, p = 0.01). Conclusion After removing measures associated with the dynamic zero-COVID policy in China, approximately one-fifth of respondents met the diagnostic criteria for COVID-19 over-concern.
A Tale of Two Cities: Community Psychobehavioral Surveillance and Related Impact on Outbreak Control in Hong Kong and Singapore During the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Epidemic

Abstract Objectives: To compare the public's knowledge and perception of SARS and the extent to which various precautionary measures were adopted in Hong Kong and Singapore. Design: Cross-sectional telephone survey of 705 Hong Kong and 1,201 Singapore adults selected by random-digit dialing. Results: Hong Kong respondents had significantly higher anxiety than Singapore respondents (State Trait Anxiety Inventory [STAI] score, 2.06 vs 1.77; P < .001). The former group also reported more frequent headaches, difficulty breathing, dizziness, rhinorrhea, and sore throat. More than 90% in both cities were willing to be quarantined if they had close contact with a SARS case, and 70% or more would be compliant for social contacts. Most respondents (86.7% in Hong Kong vs 71.4% in Singapore; P < .001) knew that SARS could be transmitted via respiratory droplets, although fewer (75.8% in Hong Kong vs 62.1% in Singapore; P < .001) knew that fomites were also a possible transmission source. Twenty-three percent of Hong Kong and 11.9% of Singapore respondents believed that they were “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to contract SARS during the current outbreak (P < .001). There were large differences between Hong Kong and Singapore in the adoption of personal precautionary measures. Respondents with higher levels of anxiety, better knowledge about SARS, and greater risk perceptions were more likely to take comprehensive precautionary measures against the infection, as were older, female, and more educated individuals. Conclusion: Comparative psychobehavioral surveillance and analysis could yield important insights into generic versus population-specific issues that could be used to inform, design, and evaluate public health infection control policy measures.
Human Papillomavirus in Head and Neck Cancer

Throughout the last three decades, there has been a notable shift in the epidemiology of head and neck cancer (HNC) worldwide. A rapidly spreading subtype of HNCs is caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. HPV-related cancers are now considered to constitute 30–65% of all HNC cases and 50–80% of oropharyngeal cancers. HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancers have a unique demographic profile and tumor biology characteristics. HPV-associated patients predominantly consist of younger men with better performance status and fewer comorbid diseases. They have better dentition, higher numbers of oral sex partners, and use less amount of tobacco or alcohol, higher amount of marijuana compared with HPV-negative patients. In addition, patients with HPV-positive tumors have a 60–80% reduced mortality rates, a finding that was confirmed by multiple trials and led to several ongoing deintensification studies. This chapter describes epidemiologic features of HPV-positive HNC, risk factors for HPV infection and HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer, HPV detection methods, mechanisms of carcinogene‐ sis and improved treatment response, and the impact of HPV status on clinical outcome as well as deintensification approaches and potential of vaccination. in fine-needle aspirates to determine tumor origin in patients with metastatic squamous
Begomovirus–whitefly mutualism is achieved through repression of plant defences by a virus pathogenicity factor

Plant‐mediated interactions between herbivorous arthropods and pathogens transmitted by herbivores are important determinants of the population dynamics of both types of organisms in the field. The role of plant defence in mediating these types of tripartite interactions have been recognized but rarely examined especially at the physiological and molecular levels. Our previous work shows that a worldwide invasive whitefly can establish mutualism with the begomovirus Tomato yellow leaf curl China virus (TYLCCNV) via crop plants. Here, we show that TYLCCNV and betasatellite co‐infection suppresses jasmonic acid defences in the plant. Impairing or enhancing defences mediated by jasmonic acid in the plant enhances or depresses the performance of the whitefly. We further demonstrate that the pathogenicity factor βC1 encoded in the betasatellite is responsible for the initiation of suppression on plant defences and contributes to the realization of the virus–vector mutualism. By integrating ecological, mechanistic and molecular approaches, our study reveals a major mechanism of the plant‐mediated mutualism between a virus and its vector. As the test plant is an important economic crop, the results also have substantial implications for developing novel strategies for management of crop viruses and the insect vectors associated with them.
Secular Ethics, Embodied Cognitive Logics, and Education

The Dalai Lama’s model of secular ethics not only makes possible an understanding of contemplative practices within a wider ethical framework, but also helps to illuminate the important question of the relationship between contemplative practices and the religions within which they developed. This article explores that question and proposes an approach to the study of contemplative practices that examines the diachronic and synchronic relationships among embodied cognitive states and the “embodied cognitive logics” inherent in the theories and practices of contemplative traditions. Since secular ethics looks to common experience, common sense, and scientific findings, rather than metaphysics or religion, to ground ethical virtues and decision-making, recognizing that such virtues and prosocial emotions correspond to common embodied psychological realities can help us to understand how we can implement practices that enhance such virtues in secular educational settings.
Development of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for serodiagnosis of human paragonimiasis.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE Although human paragonimiasis is known to occur in Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh, there is no indigenous immunodiagnostic test available in India. Sputum examination for detection of eggs is less sensitive method for diagnosis of paragonimiasis and unfortunately, the eggs are not always present in the sputum of infected individuals. Due to overlapping clinical manifestations and similarities between X-ray picture in pulmonary paragonimiasis and pulmonary tuberculosis, chances of diagnostic confusion can increase. Therefore, the objective of this study was to develop an ELISA test indigenously for diagnosis of paragonimiasis. METHODS Somatic (S) and excretory-secretory (ES) antigens of adult trematodes belonging to genus Paragonimus were prepared. Serum samples were collected from 22 confirmed patients of paragonimiasis and from five groups of negative controls. The cut-off points for both types of antigens were calculated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. The sensitivity, specificity, predictive values and efficiency of the ELISA tests were also calculated. RESULTS IgG-ELISA test using either S or ES antigens were 100 per cent sensitive yet the utility of S antigen for diagnosis of paragonimiasis seemed to be less reliable because of low specificity (91.3%). On the other hand, ES antigen was more reliable with 100 per cent specificity as no false positive cases were recorded. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION ES antigen can be effectively used for screening large populations for paragonimiasis. In areas where both paragonimiasis and tuberculosis are endemic, suspected subjects should be screened for both the diseases because of chance of mistaken diagnosis. Correct diagnosis will avoid unnecessary costly treatment.
Implicit Motives and Sexual Conservatism as Predictors of Sexual Behaviors

ABSTRACT This study was designed to provide an assessment of the relationship between the two most important implicit motives and the most frequently studied sexual behaviors. A community sample of 102 men and 92 women completed measures of implicit power and affiliation-intimacy motives, sexual conservatism, social desirability, and sexual behavior. For men, high power motivation was positively associated with the number of sexual partners and the frequency of sex. There was an interaction between sexual conservatism and power motivation in women. For women low in sexual conservatism, high power motivation was positively associated with the number of sexual partners and with earlier initiation to intercourse and oral sex. There were few associations between affiliation-intimacy motivation and sexual behaviors; however, women high in this motive reported later initiation to oral sex.
Development and validation of the Chinese creative writing scale for primary school students in Hong Kong

The 13-item Chinese Creative Writing Scale was expanded and modified from the Carlson Originality Scale to assess creativity elements in compositions of primary school students in Hong Kong. The content validity was endorsed by a small expert panel. Results show that the scale has excellent interrater reliability (.90 to .98), and moderate to good internal consistency. Exploratory factor analysis shows that the three factors (flexibility, originality, and fluency) accounted for 59.1% of the variability, which is consistent with the design of the scale. The scale can also be used as an outcome measure for assessing the effectiveness of strategies which aim at enhancing creativity of students. With minor modifications, the scale can also be applied in mainland China, Taiwan, and Chinese societies elsewhere in the world.
Observation of Grooming Behaviour in Wild Capped Langur Trachypithecuspileatus

The manual dexterity of primates allows them to use their hands to clean their skin and hairs as well as maintain a good social relationship with intra-group members. This behaviour is described as grooming. It is the most common affinitive behaviour among primates and may be directed to the self (Autogrooming) or with a intra-group member (Allogrooming or social grooming). Auto-grooming is often determined by the site accessibility, while social grooming is concentrated on parts inaccessible to the groomee. In this paper, we have recorded the grooming behaviour and patterns in capped langur (Trachypithecus pileatus) in Pakke Wildlife Sanctuary, Arunachal Pradesh, India. Focal-animal sampling technique was adopted for recording the grooming behaviour. The following behavioural observations in relation to time spent on grooming, grooming bouts and length, and grooming site preference are studied with the aim to assess the diurnal active time spent on grooming patterns of capped langurs. Of the 1683 hrs of observation, T. pileatus spent totally 60.95 hrs in grooming behaviours including 32.9 hrs (54%) for social grooming and 28.1 hrs (46%) for auto-grooming. A total of 1934 grooming bouts were recorded during the observation period. Of these, 58% bouts were for auto-grooming followed by 42% for social grooming. Maximum (15 min) grooming bout length was recorded in social grooming prior to copulation in compare to auto-grooming (8 min). Seven major body regions namely dorsal, ventral, lateral, ano-genital, face and head, tail and hind limbs were frequently observed to be groomed by capped langur. Of the total social grooming bouts (817), maximum (30%) was estimated on the dorsal side followed by 23% on ventral side, 21% on ano-genital region, 14% on lateral side, and 11% on face and head. Social grooming is adopted as tool to manipulate reproductive behaviour and to formulate survival strategies of the species.
An innovation network analysis of science clusters in South Korea and Taiwan

Innovation develops within a diverse group of social entities that form an interwoven structure. The role and relations of regional entities within clusters have become a critical point of innovation due to the emphasis of globalization on the importance of regional competitiveness. In this study, we model such interactions via the Triple Helix framework, which can be used to demonstrate the collaborative relations of three entities (university, industry, and government) in an innovation system. This framework allows this research to diagnose the roles and relations of regional innovation institutions and define the characteristics of the innovation models for science parks in South Korea and Taiwan; subsequently, this research quantitatively measures two regional university–industry–government network densities to find collaborative knowledge generation. Second, network centrality is measured in order to analyse the regional innovation participations’ roles of collaboration. Finally, the status of cluster performance is qualitatively compared and related to collaboration networks. This study presents an analysis of the structure and position (qualitatively and quantitatively) of regional innovation institutions by applying a Triple Helix model. This case analysis also provides regional innovation policy implications to design regional innovation systems for developing countries.