Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Feeding Students? Examining Views of Parents, Students and Teachers on the World Food Program’s School Feeding Initiatives in Chamwino District in Tanzania

School feeding programs have become a worldwide phenomenon and an agenda pushed by the International Development Agencies such as the World Food Program (WFP) with the assumption that it may contribute towards addressing barriers to poor students’ enrollment and retention in primary schools in developing countries. The assumption is that, because of hunger and low income, parents are mostly likely not motivated to send their children to school; and on the other hand, children too may not effectively concentrate in learning and therefore are likely to drop out of schools. Different studies have shown the effectiveness of the school-feeding program in increasing students’ enrollments, reducing students’ dropout and improving students’ health. However, most available studies do not show how the parents, teachers and students who are the key stakeholders of the program perceive the school feeding program in increasing students’ enrolment and reducing students drop out rate in developing countries. Using school feeding program implemented by WFP in Chamwino district (in Dodoma Tanzania) as a case study, this study investigated the perceptions of parents, teachers and students on the contribution of school feeding program to increasing students’ enrollment and reducing students’ dropout rate. Sustainability of the school feeding program was also part of this study. The study used mixed methods of data collection, including focus group discussions, informal interviews and questionnaires to unveil the parents’, teachers’ and students’ perceptions towards the school feeding program. The collected data (qualitative and quantitative) were then tabulated, transcribed and analyzed using SPSS. While results on one hand show that parents and teachers considers school feeding as an effective tool to make students enroll in primary school; students’ perception is that school feeding is not an effective factor to make them enroll or to prevent dropout. The study recommends policy options and more areas that need further research.
Evaluating Monetary Policy

Evaluating inflation-targeting monetary policy is more complicated than checking whether inflation has been on target, because inflation control is imperfect and flexible inflation targeting means that deviations from target may be deliberate in order to stabilize the real economy. A modified Taylor curve, the forecast Taylor curve, showing the tradeoff between the variability of the inflation-gap and output-gap forecasts can be used to evaluate policy ex ante, that is, taking into account the information available at the time of the policy decisions, and even evaluate policy in real time. In particular, by plotting mean squared gaps of inflation and output-gap forecasts for alternative policy-rate paths, it may be examined whether policy has achieved an efficient stabilization of both inflation and the real economy and what relative weight on the stability of inflation and the real economy has effectively been applied. Ex ante evaluation may be more relevant than evaluation ex post, after the fact. Publication of the interest-rate path also allows the evaluation of its credibility and the effectiveness of the implementation of monetary policy.
The Antihelmintic Drug Pyrvinium Pamoate Targets Aggressive Breast Cancer

WNT signaling plays a key role in the self-renewal of tumor initiation cells (TICs). In this study, we used pyrvinium pamoate (PP), an FDA-approved antihelmintic drug that inhibits WNT signaling, to test whether pharmacologic inhibition of WNT signaling can specifically target TICs of aggressive breast cancer cells. SUM-149, an inflammatory breast cancer cell line, and SUM-159, a metaplastic basal-type breast cancer cell line, were used in these studies. We found that PP inhibited primary and secondary mammosphere formation of cancer cells at nanomolar concentrations, at least 10 times less than the dose needed to have a toxic effect on cancer cells. A comparable mammosphere formation IC50 dose to that observed in cancer cell lines was obtained using malignant pleural effusion samples from patients with IBC. A decrease in activity of the TIC surrogate aldehyde dehydrogenase was observed in PP-treated cells, and inhibition of WNT signaling by PP was associated with down-regulation of a panel of markers associated with epithelial-mesenchymal transition. In vivo, intratumoral injection was associated with tumor necrosis, and intraperitoneal injection into mice with tumor xenografts caused significant tumor growth delay and a trend toward decreased lung metastasis. In in vitro mammosphere-based and monolayer-based clonogenic assays, we found that PP radiosensitized cells in monolayer culture but not mammosphere culture. These findings suggest WNT signaling inhibition may be a feasible strategy for targeting aggressive breast cancer. Investigation and modification of the bioavailability and toxicity profile of systemic PP are warranted.
A Branch-and-Cut Algorithm for the Resolution of Large-Scale Symmetric Traveling Salesman Problems

An algorithm is described for solving large-scale instances of the Symmetric Traveling Salesman Problem (STSP) to optimality. The core of the algorithm is a “polyhedral” cutting-plane procedure that exploits a subset of the system of linear inequalities defining the convex hull of the incidence vectors of the hamiltonian cycles of a complete graph. The cuts are generated by several identification procedures that have been described in a companion paper. Whenever the cutting-plane procedure does not terminate with an optimal solution the algorithm uses a tree-search strategy that, as opposed to branch-and-bound, keeps on producing cuts after branching. The algorithm has been implemented in FORTRAN. Two different linear programming (LP) packages have been used as the LP solver. The implementation of the algorithm and the interface with one of the LP solvers is described in sufficient detail to permit the replication of our experiments. Computational results are reported with up to 42 STSPs with sizes rangin.
Cumulative Prospect Theory and the Variance Premium

Cumulative Prospect Theory (CPT) can explain the variance premium puzzle. We solve a simple equilibrium model with CPT investors and ﬁnd that probability weighting plays a key role in generating a substantial variance premium, while loss aversion captures the equity premium. Using GMM on a sample of U.S. equity and index-option returns between 1996 and 2010, our estimate of the probability distortion parameter implies that real-world investors in option markets distort probabilities signiﬁcantly, but less so than subjects in lab experiments. We also show that the CPT model prices the cross-section of out-of-the-money index options well. In a dynamic setting, probability weighting and time-varying equity return volatility combine to match the observed time-series pattern of the variance premium.
Understanding the diagnostic yield of current endoscopic biopsy for gastric neoplasm

AbstractAlthough there are general guidelines on endoscopic biopsy for diagnosing gastric neoplasms, they are predominantly based on outdated literature obtained with fiberscopes without analyses specific to tumor characteristics.This study aims to comprehensively characterize the contemporary endoscopic biopsy by determining the diagnostic yield across different lesion morphologies and histological stages, especially exploring how the number and site of biopsy may influence the overall yield.Biopsy samples from suspected gastric neoplasms were collected prospectively from May 2011 to August 2014 in a tertiary care medical center. A standardized methodology was used to obtain a total of 6 specimens from 2 defined sites per lesion. Rate of positive diagnosis based on the biopsy number and site was assessed for specific gastric lesion morphologies and histological stages.A total of 1080 biopsies from 180 pathologically diagnosed neoplastic lesions in 176 patients were obtained during the study. For depressed/ulcerative and polypoid lesions, the yield was already >99% by the fourth biopsy without further gain from additional biopsies. Lower overall yield was observed for infiltrative lesions (57.1% from 4 biopsies). The site of biopsy did not influence the diagnostic yield except for with infiltrative lesions in which biopsies from thickened mucosal folds were of higher yield than erosive regions.Obtaining 4 specimens may be sufficient for accurate diagnosis of a depressed/ulcerative or polypoid gastric lesion regardless of its histological stage. For infiltrative lesions, at least 5 to 6 biopsies per lesion with more representative sampling from thickened mucosal folds may be preferable.
Pattern of Smoking and Nicotine Dependence in Patients with Psychiatric Disorders

Background Smoking prevalence is high among psychiatric patients. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of smoking, related factors and nicotine dependence in patients suffering from psychiatric disorders. Materials and Methods This analytical descriptive study was performed on patients who had been hospitalized for at least 2 days in Razi Hospital during 2010. Data were collected via an interview and the obtained information was recorded in a questionnaire. Fagerstrom test was also used. After determining the prevalence of smoking in these patients, the related factors and nicotine dependence were also evaluated using multiple logistic regression test and SPSS software. Results A total of 78.4% of men and 36.2% of women in this study were smokers and 64.4% had high nicotine dependence. Final logistic regression models showed that smoking was related with advanced age, male sexuality, hookah consumption, and depression. High nicotine dependence was correlated with hookah consumption and history of suicide attempt. Conclusion Prevalence of smoking is higher among psychiatric patients compared to the public. Adequate intervention and strategies are necessary in these patients to promote smoking cessation.
Economic Freedom and Life Satisfaction: A Cross Country Analysis

Abstract: This paper estimates the relationship between various sub-indicators of economic freedom and life satisfaction for 122 countries. The estimation results show that life satisfaction is positively related to the quality of the legal system and protection of property rights. For poor countries, freedom of trade fosters life satisfaction as well. Life satisfaction is independent from the size of the government and sound money and tends to be negatively related to low regulation. If the relationship between life satisfaction and economic freedom is controlled for income per capita, life satisfaction is independent from economic freedom. This indicates that the relationship between life satisfaction and economic freedom is mediated by income per capita.
G R ] 1 0 N ov 2 00 2 Automorphic orbits in free groups

Let Fn be the free group of a finite rank n. We study orbits Orbφ(u), where u is an element of the group Fn, under the action of an automorphism φ. If an orbit like that is finite, we determine precisely what its cardinality can be if u runs through the whole group Fn, and φ runs through the whole group Aut(Fn). Another problem that we address here is related to Whitehead’s algorithm that determines whether or not a given element of a free group of finite rank is an automorphic image of another given element. It is known that the first part of this algorithm (reducing a given free word to a free word of minimum possible length by elementary Whitehead automorphisms) is fast (of quadratic time with respect to the length of the word). On the other hand, the second part of the algorithm (applied to two words of the same minimum length) was always considered very slow. We give here an improved algorithm for the second part, and we believe this algorithm always terminates in polynomial time with respect to the length of the words. We prove that this is indeed the case if the free group has rank 2.
Serum carotenoid levels and risk of lung cancer death in US adults

Lung cancer is one of the most common cancers worldwide and is the leading cause of cancer‐induced death in the USA. Although much attention has been focused on the anti‐carcinogenic effect of consuming carotenoid‐containing food or supplements, the results have been inconsistent. We investigated whether serum carotenoid levels were associated with the mortality risk of lung cancer in US adults using data from a nationally representative sample. The data were obtained from the Third Nutrition and Health Examination Survey (NHANES III) database and the NHANES III Linked Mortality File. A total of 10 382 participants aged over 20 years with available serum carotenoid levels and no other missing information on questionnaires and biomarkers at baseline (NHANES III) were included in the present study. Of the 10 382 participants, 161 subjects died due to lung cancer. We found that high serum levels of alpha‐carotene and beta‐cryptoxanthin at baseline were significantly associated with a lower risk of lung cancer death. When we stratified the risk by current smoking status, the risk of death of current smokers was significantly decreased to 46% (95% confidence interval, 31–94%) for alpha‐carotene and 61% (95% confidence interval, 19–80%) for beta‐cryptoxanthin. By contrast, no association was observed among never/former smokers at baseline. High serum levels of alpha‐carotene and beta‐cryptoxanthin are associated with a lower risk of lung cancer death in US adults.
THE EFFECTS OF TWO DIFFERENT TYPES OF DYNAMIC WARM-UP AND STATIC STRETCHING ON POWER AND SPEED

Static stretching has often been found to decrease performance in power and speed activities, but dynamic warm-ups usually increase performance. We examined the effects of a mini-band warm-up, a medicine ball warm-up, and static stretching on 10m and 20m sprint times, as well as overhead medicine ball throw performance. Twenty-four Division I female soccer players completed the three warm-ups and a control 5 minute jog condition on separate days and were tested on the 10m and 20m sprint times and overhead medicine ball throw. ANOVA's and follow-up paired t-tests ( ~ ~ 0 . 0 5w)er e used to determine differences between the warm-ups. Significant differences were found between groups for the 1 Om sprint times but not for the 20m sprint times or the overhead medicine ball throw.
The Varied Economic Returns to Postsecondary Education: New Evidence from the Class of 1972

This paper estimates the returns to postsecondary education using the National Longitudinal Survey of the Class of 1972, with earnings measured at about age 32. The results are based on transcripts, rather than self-reports about the amount of education, allowing postsecondary education to be more precisely described than usual. The results confirm the well-known returns to B.A. degrees. Other credentials-associate degrees, and certificates for women-also lead to higher earnings and wage rates, though indirectly: these credentials gain individuals access to jobs where they accumulate more experience and on-the-job training, but provide no further advantage once experience and OJT are controlled. Most individuals who enroll in postsecondary education but fail to complete credentials have no higher earnings than high school graduates. The effects of experience, high school achievement, and family background are familiar. The results indicate a fundamental difference between labor markets for college graduates and the sub-baccalaureate labor market.
Manufacturing strategy and organisational performance: The role of competition and MAS information

Purpose – The extant literature suggests that an increasing number of organisations are adopting manufacturing strategies such as JIT practices to continuously improve provision of products and associated services desired by customers. The authors aim to investigate the relationship between adoption (implementation) of JIT practices and organisational performance taking into account the role of market competition and managerial use of management accounting system (MAS) information. Design/methodology/approach – Data for the study were collected from 92 general managers of Australian manufacturing organisations. Mailed questionnaire and personal interviews were used to collect the data. Findings – The results reveal that market competition and managerial use of MAS (hereafter, the use of MAS) information impact the relationship between an organisation's adoption of JIT practices and its financial performance. The results reported in prior studies on the relationship are mixed; some studies report a positiv.
The Analysis of Escherichia Coli Resistance in Urine Culture and in Antibiograms as Requested by Emergency Service

SUMMARY Objectives The aim of this study was to determine the antibiotic resistance of infectious and non-infectious E. coli species in order to increase the success of empirical antibiotic treatment in urinary system infections. Methods The antibiotic susceptibility of 464 E. coli strains that were isolated from urine samples of patients who visited Derince Training and Research Hospital Emergency Department between January 1 and December 31, 2012 were retrospectively evaluated from records. The antibiogram results were classified as susceptible, moderately susceptible or resistant. Moderately susceptible strains were assumed to be resistant. Results Bacterial proliferation was seen in 563 (28.1%) of the 1998 urine cultures tested. One hundred and twelve cultures could not be evaluated due to contamination, and there was no proliferation in 1323 cultures. E. coli strains were isolated in 464 (82.4%) of the cultures in which proliferation was seen. Three hundred and sixty seven (79%) of the patients were female, 97 (21%) were male, and the mean age of all of the patients was 41.1±24.1 years (min: 1, max: 90). The antibiograms of the E. coli strains revealed that meropenem had the lowest resistance (0%), while ampicillin-sulbactam had the highest resistance (36.8%). Conclusions In this study, we investigated the antibiotic resistance of E. coli strains isolated from urine cultures in our region. Future studies, perhaps similar to this one, can be performed in the future to increase the success of treatments.
Do OPEC Members Know Something the Market Doesn’t? ‘Fair Price’ Pronouncements and the Market Price of Crude Oil

OPEC producers, individually or collectively, often make statements regarding the “fair price” of crude oil. In some cases, the officials commenting are merely affirming the price prevailing in the crude oil market at the time. In many cases, however, we document that they explicitly disagree with the contemporaneous futures price. A natural question is whether these “fair price” pronouncements contain information not already reflected in market prices. To find the answer, we collect “fair price” statements made between 2000 and 2009 by officials from OPEC or OPEC member countries. Visually, the “fair price” series looks like a sampling discretely drawn (with a lag) from the daily futures market price series. Formally, we use several methodologies to establish that “fair price” pronouncements have little influence on the market price of crude oil and that they supply little or no new news to oil futures market participants.
Neuroblast Distribution after Cortical Impact Is Influenced by White Matter Injury in the Immature Gyrencephalic Brain

Cortical contusions are a common type of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in children. Current knowledge of neuroblast response to cortical injury arises primarily from studies utilizing aspiration or cryoinjury in rodents. In infants and children, cortical impact affects both gray and white matter and any neurogenic response may be complicated by the large expanse of white matter between the subventricular zone (SVZ) and the cortex, and the large number of neuroblasts in transit along the major white matter tracts to populate brain regions. Previously, we described an age-dependent increase of neuroblasts in the SVZ in response to cortical impact in the immature gyrencephalic brain. Here, we investigate if neuroblasts target the injury, if white matter injury influences repair efforts, and if postnatal population of brain regions are disrupted. Piglets received a cortical impact to the rostral gyrus cortex or sham surgery at postnatal day (PND) 7, BrdU 2 days prior to (PND 5 and 6) or after injury (PND 7 and 8), and brains were collected at PND 14. Injury did not alter the number of neuroblasts in the white matter between the SVZ and the rostral gyrus. In the gray matter of the injury site, neuroblast density was increased in cavitated lesions, and the number of BrdU+ neuroblasts was increased, but comprised less than 1% of all neuroblasts. In the white matter of the injury site, neuroblasts with differentiating morphology were densely arranged along the cavity edge. In a ventral migratory stream, neuroblast density was greater in subjects with a cavitated lesion, indicating that TBI may alter postnatal development of regions supplied by that stream. Cortical impact in the immature gyrencephalic brain produced complicated and variable lesions, increased neuroblast density in cavitated gray matter, resulted in potentially differentiating neuroblasts in the white matter, and may alter the postnatal population of brain regions utilizing a population of neuroblasts that were born prior to PND 5. This platform may be useful to continue to study potential complications of white matter injury and alterations of postnatal population of brain regions, which may contribute to the chronic effects of TBI in children.
Intravital Placenta Imaging Reveals Microcirculatory Dynamics Impact on Sequestration and Phagocytosis of Plasmodium-Infected Erythrocytes

Malaria in pregnancy is exquisitely aggressive, causing a range of adverse maternal and fetal outcomes prominently linked to Plasmodium-infected erythrocyte cytoadherence to fetal trophoblast. To elucidate the physiopathology of infected erythrocytes (IE) sequestration in the placenta we devised an experimental system for intravital placental examination of P. berghei-infected mice. BALB/c females were mated to C57Bl/6 CFP+ male mice and infected with GFP+ P. berghei IE, and at gestational day 18, placentas were exposed for time-lapse imaging acquisition under two-photon microscopy. Real-time images and quantitative measurements revealed that trophoblast conformational changes transiently restrain blood flow in the mouse placental labyrinth. The complex dynamics of placental microcirculation promotes IE accumulation in maternal blood spaces with low blood flow and allows the establishment of stable IE-trophoblast contacts. Further, we show that the fate of sequestered IE includes engulfment by both macrophagic and trophoblastic fetal-derived cells. These findings reinforce the current paradigm that IE interact with the trophoblast and provide definitive evidence on two novel pathogenesis mechanisms: (1) trophoblast layer controls placental microcirculation promoting IE sequestration; and (2) fetal-derived placental cells engulf sequestered IE.