Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Modelling international tourism demand in Ghana

This study attempts to find out the determinants of international tourists’ arrivals in Ghana. A panel data on five tourists originating regions (Africa, Europe, Americas, East Asia Pacific and Middle East) have been used to estimate international tourism demand model. The results show that incomes of the originating regions, representative exchange rates, substitute price, prevailing civil liberties and political rights have significant effect on international tourists’ arrivals while transportation costs have been insignificant. Exchange rate appreciation makes Ghana’s export of tourism not competitive and that Nigeria is a substitute destination to Ghana. Government should ensure that nothing negative (such as curtailment of freedom of expression and belief, personal autonomy and individual rights, associational and organizational rights) is done to tarnish the positive image the country is enjoying in the international circles.
Child Care: Toward What Kind of "Social Europe"?

Child care is central to contemporary welfare state redesign. The emergence of the dual-earner family challenges states to take on new responsibilities as families can no longer provide full-time care, nor can they afford to rely exclusively on markets. There are, however, different ways of addressing the care deficit, and each holds different implications for equality. This article examines the three dominant alternatives being pursued in Western European countries, arguing that each establishes a different “horizon of legitimate expectations. ” Welfare state redesign no longer takes place exclusively within national boundaries, however. The struggle to build a “social Europe” is engaging member states in reflexive practices, opening them to new and different ideas. The article thus concludes by examining which, if any, of the competing models of care provision has come to define “best practice” for Europe and what this tells us about the emergent contours of social Europe.
A BREAST MRI BIOMARKER FOR CYSTS AND INFILTRATING DUCTAL CARCINOMAS

Parametric MR information from tissues is known to increase the specificity of segmentation resulting from contrast enhanced MR studies. Rapid signal acquisition methods, such as FSPGR, prevent the extraction of complete parametric information; this in turn limits the specificity that can be achieved from dynamic breast MR studies. We introduce a biomarker k, which combines pseudo-proton density and T2* information. Following tissue segmentation by two experts and removal of the bias field, we compute k for each tissue type for 83 patients. A Gaussian distribution model for k for each tissue is used to detect cysts and infiltrating ductal carcinomas (IDCs) using a 95% confidence interval in new cases. The method yields encouraging results in both cases
ISSUES IN ADOPTING DSGE MODELS FOR USE IN THE POLICY PROCESS

Our discussion is structured by three concerns - model design, matching the data and operational requirements. The paper begins with a general discussion of the structure of dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) models where we investigate issues like (i) the type of restrictions being imposed by DSGE models upon system dynamics, (ii) the implication these models would have for 'location parameters', viz. growth rates, and (iii) whether these models can track the long-run movements in variables as well as matching dynamic adjustment. The paper further looks at the types of models that have been constructed in central banks for macro policy analysis. We distinguish four generations of these and detail how the emerging current generation, which are often referred to as DSGE models, differs from the previous generations. The last part of the paper is devoted to a variety of topics involving estimation and evaluation of DSGE models.
HIV combination therapy: partial immune restitution unmasking latent cryptococcal infection

Objective:To describe two cases of cryptococcal meningitis and one re-exacerbation of Cryptococcus-associated meningitis occurring in temporal association with commencement of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in patients with advanced HIV infection (CD4 cells < 50 × 106/l), which suggests that partial immune restitution can facilitate development of clinically apparent meningitis in response to Cryptococcus or its antigen. Design:All HIV-infected patients with culture-proven cryptococcal meningitis diagnosed at a tertiary referral centre specialist infectious diseases unit from 1 January 1996 to 31 December 1996 were reviewed to examine the clinical and immunological parameters prior to and after commencing antiretroviral therapy. Results:Three patients were diagnosed with clinically apparent meningitis within 7–39 days of changing or altering antiretroviral combination therapy consisting of zidovudine or stavudine, in combination with lamivudine and saquinavir. All patients had CD4 cell counts below 50 × 106/l at initiation of therapy. Following institution of HAART, evidence of immune restitution was suggested by the following: (i) significant increases (3.7–14-fold) in numbers of CD4 cells (all three patients), (ii) significantly reduced (> 2–4 log10 reduction) HIV viral loads (two out of three patients), and (iii) prominent inflammatory changes in cerebrospinal fluid (white blood cells > 10 × 106/l) at diagnosis (two out of three patients). Conclusions:Our report suggests that in patients with advanced HIV infection, partial immune restitution induced by HAART can precipitate onset of clinically apparent meningitis in those patients with latent cryptococcal central nervous system infection or with residual cryptococcal antigen present in the cerebrospinal fluid.
“What's in a Name?” Social Labeling and Gender Practices

What do we call one another? How do we identify ourselves? When and how do we label ourselves and others? What is the significance of rejecting labels for ourselves or others? Of adopting new labels? Social labeling practices offer a window on the construction of gendered identities and social relations in social practice. To get the flavor of some ways that labeling can enter into gender practice, consider the English nominal labels italicized in (1), which are being used to describe or to evaluate, to sort people into kinds. These predicative labels characterize and categorize people.
How Deep are Scuba Divers' Pockets?

More than 60,000 divers annually visit Sodwana Bay in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, one of the world's top diving sites. A survey was conducted during March and April 2012 to identify factors that influence the spending behaviour of divers. Data from 402 questionnaires provided information about spending per person, socio-demographic profile, diving behaviour and motives, and environmental awareness. A quantile regression approach was used to analyse the determinants of spending. The inclusion of environmental awareness as a factor that might influence spending behaviour is an advance on previous studies of determinants of spending, and this factor was found to increase spending significantly. Knowledge about the relationship between environmental awareness and spending could be valuable for policy aimed at both economic and ecological sustainability.
Market Intervention Policies When Production Is Risky

The supplies of many agricultural commodities involve important production risks. In analyzing market intervention policies, these risks should enter the analysis as stochastic elements in the slope of the supply function and not just in the intercept term. This specification leads to the result that optimally distorted prices are more efficient for social welfare than competitive market equilibrium prices. Important gains in social welfare may be obtained with risky products through the appropriate use of production quotas and price stabilization schemes designed to optimally distort the market.
System Maker and Privilege Taker: U.S. Power and the International Political Economy

There is striking consistency in the international economic behavior of the United States across the bipolar and unipolar eras. The United States has been simultaneously a system maker and privilege taker, and its ability to play that dual role has required the willing collaboration of foreign partners. U.S. influence over those partners, however, has changed in important ways. During the cold war the United States dominated international economic adjustment struggles. Its ability to prevail in those struggles after the cold war has been significantly compromised. The United States, notwithstanding its preponderant power, no longer enjoys the same type of security leverage it once possessed, and the very success of the U.S.-centered world economy has opened a greater range of international and domestic economic options for America’s supporters. In the unipolar era the United States may continue to act its own way, but it can no longer count on getting its own way.
Socio-Economic Development and the Girl-Child Education: a Look at Jos North Local Government, Plateau State

The problem of the girl child education in Jos North Local Government Area has some socio-economic aspects. One of the factors which have militated against women‟s equality in education is the traditional belief that “a women‟s place is in the kitchen” and that “a woman should be seen and not heard”. This work aims to under study girls enrollment in schools and at the work place and address the need for gender disparities and inequalities to be reduced to the barest minimum. Girl-child education in Jos North and Nigeria at large will continue to trail the boy-child education if the necessary policy actions are not put in place. The inability to address the issue will further widen the gender gap in education. Moreover, the desired level of development in Jos North can only be attained when girl-child education is given adequate attention.
Validation of the unassisted, gum-elastic bougie-guided, laryngeal mask airway-ProSeal™ placement technique in anaesthetized patients

Aims: The laryngeal mask airway-ProSeal™ can be inserted digitally, by introducer tool, or by railroading it over a bougie placed first in the patient's oesophagus, which is highly successful, but as originally described, requires an assistant. An unassisted bougie-guided placement technique has also been described, but no data on its effectiveness have been reported. Methods: We reviewed data collected during a randomized, controlled trial comparing the air-Q® Intubating Laryngeal Airway and LMA-Proseal™, in which all LMA-Proseal™ devices were inserted using the unassisted (one-operator), bougie-guided placement technique. Results: Forty-eight devices were placed. All devices were placed successfully. Successful placement was achieved in 47 (98%) patients on first attempt and in one (2%) patient on the third attempt. Mean (SD) time required for insertion establishing ventilation was 28 (11) s. Mean (SD) airway seal pressure was 30 (6) cmH2O. Gross blood was found on four (8%) devices upon removal, but no oropharyngeal injuries were noted on oral exam in the recovery unit prior to discharge. The most common complaints in recovery and 24 h post-operatively were sore throat [discharge: mild = 18/48 (38%); 24 h: mild = 9/38 (19%), moderate = 1/38 (3%)] and pain on swallowing [discharge: mild = 7/48 (15%); 24 h: mild = 2/38 (6%)]. Conclusions: Our data confirm that in experienced hands, bougie-guided placement of the LMA-Proseal™ without the aid of an assistant can be accomplished quickly and successfully without affecting the expected clinical performance of the device.
Determinants of Smokeless Tobacco Consumption and its Cessation among its Current Users in India.

INTRODUCTION Global Smokeless Tobacco (SLT) consumption is on the rise and constitutes a major Public Health problem. Controlling SLT intake is central to containing the increasing tobacco menace. AIM The present study was undertaken to comprehensively explore various factors involved in SLT consumption and its cessation among current SLT users. MATERIALS AND METHODS Present study was conducted among current SLT users visiting Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology, Manipal College of Dental Sciences (MCODS), Manipal University, Mangalore, Karnataka, India. A structured, pretested and self-administered questionnaire was employed for the present study. Knowledge, attitude, behaviour, worksite practices of respondents towards SLT consumption and its cessation, barriers to SLT cessation were explored. Information about socio-demographic variables was also collected. RESULTS Overall, 170 current SLT users participated in the present study. Results revealed that the mean knowledge, attitude, worksite related practices and barrier scores were 9.96(55.33%), 48.89(81.48%), 2.70(33.75%) and 54.25(60.27%) respectively. Correlation analysis revealed significant association of socio-demographic factors with knowledge, attitude and worksite related practices (p<0.05). SLT cessation related practices revealed that majority wished to quit (90%) and significant associations were noted amongst wish to quit with higher attitude scores; actual quit attempts with higher attitude, lower barrier scores and difficulty to quit with higher barrier scores (p<0.05). CONCLUSION The present study draws attention towards involvement of complex interactions of various parameters including socio-demographic factors in SLT consumption and its cessation. Hence, it is imperative to implement multifactorial SLT control approach in order to contain tobacco menace spread across the globe.
Rapid HLA-DQB1 Genotyping for Four Alleles in the Assessment of Risk for IDDM in the Finnish Population

OBJECTIVE To study the effectiveness of MHC genotyping in the assessment of risk for IDDM based on the identification of alleles that are significantly associated with risk for IDDM (DQB1 *0302 and *0201) and protection from it (DQB1 *0602/*0603 and *0301). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A long series of 649 index cases of IDDM, together with their healthy siblings and 756 healthy blood donors, was collected in Finland. The samples were analyzed using a large-scale assay procedure that was developed for rapid screening purposes. The method utilizes time-resolved fluorometry to detect the hybridization of lanthanide-labeled allele-specific oligonucleotide probes with amplified gene product. RESULTS A total of 61.9% of IDDM index cases had high risk (DQB1 *0201/*0302) or moderate risk (DQB1 *0302/x [x meaning DQB1 *0302 or a nondefined allele]) genotypes compared with 14.3% of the reference population. In patients and control subjects, the frequencies of low risk genotypes were 28.0 and 22.1%, respectively, and those of decreased risk genotypes, 10.0 and 63.6%. The relative risk of a *0201/*0302 genotype was 53.5 (31.1–92.8) compared with the decreased risk genotypes (63.6% of controls). The graded risk estimation was equally efficient in assessing the risk of IDDM in siblings of child with IDDM. CONCLUSION The near-automatic typing procedure developed is attractive for large-scale screening projects, such as diabetes prevention and intervention trials.
Genistein Derivatization – From a Dietary Supplement to a Pharmaceutical Agent

Many soy supplements in the market focus on estrogen and antioxidant properties of isoflavonoid, genistein. Due to the structural similarity to estrogen and binding to estrogen receptor, genistein is often referred to as a phyto-hormone or a dietary estrogen from soy. Target applications of isoflavone-enriched whole soy concentrates include natural hormonal replacement therapy and women’s health products (Knight & Eden, 1996; Messina, 1995). However, beneficial effect of genistein on human health extends to the prevention of cancer, cardiovascular events, diabetes, and incidence of inflammatory diseases and management of some metabolic diseases (Birt et al., 2001, Kurzer, 2002; Rimbach et al., 2008; Wegrzyn et al., 2010). The view of genistein as a safe and healthy food supplement is not entirely clear, however. Although most studies show no risk of high consumption of soy-based products for human growth, development or reproduction, there are some data urging caution in genistein overdose. Genistein is implicated as a possible cause of infertility and liver disease in some animal species. Consumption of genistein-rich food and supplements during pregnancy have been suggested to increase the risk of infant leukemias (Hengstler et al., 2002). In addition, experimental data showing stimulatory effect of genistein on proliferation of some breast cancer cells lines raise the problem of safety of genistein supplementation in women with diagnosed breast cancer (Lavigne et al., 2008). Despite the controversies about safety and benefits of soy food supplementation, the pleiotropic activity of genistein, resulting from its interaction with numerous molecular targets, along with the possibility of chemical derivatization of a molecule place genistein among leading compounds for drug development. This chapter deals with two main issues: (1) describes the main molecular targets affected by genistein and indicates alterations in signaling pathways, revealed by global gene profiling analyses, and (2) delineates the relevant examples of genistein derivatives synthesized with aim to obtain compounds exhibiting improved pharmacological activity, increased affinity
Time and the Process of Security Price Adjustment

This paper delineates the link between the existence of information, the timing of trades, and the stochastic process of prices. The authors show that time affects prices, with the time between trades affecting spreads. Because the absence of trades is correlated with volume, the authors' model predicts a testable relation between spreads and normal and unexpected volume, and demonstrates how volume affects the speed of price adjustment. Their model also demonstrates how the transaction price series will be a biased representation of the true price process, with the variance being both overstated and heteroskedastic. Copyright 1992 by American Finance Association.
On the Concept and Dimension of Human Capital in a Knowledge-Based

Economy Context Technological changes, along with the globalization of markets, are transforming industrial countries into knowledge-driven economies. This shift has made human capital one of the leading public policy themes. However, existing measures of investment do not allow policymakers to comprehend fully the implications of human capital on economic performance and technological advancement. This paper discusses the elements of a comprehensive definition of human capital and identifies the fundamental differences between human and physical capital. It shows that the main features of human capital and its differences with physical capital have implications for national income acounting, the classification of government expenditures, and the endogenous growth literature.
Execution Probability of Limit Orders on the Tokyo Stock Exchange

We reconstruct order flow at the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) for December 1998 from tick-by-tick transactions data that cover the entire market. The TSE is a pure order-driven market, and executions are carried out by matching limit orders on the limit order book with incoming market orders. We estimate probabilities of limit orders to be executed entirely within a day to find the following relationships: 1) execution probabilities of limit orders are low when the depth of the same side of the limit order book is thick; 2) execution probabilities are high when the depth of the opposite side of the book is thick; 3) execution probabilities are low when there are open ticks between the bid-ask spread; and 4) execution probabilities are higher for limit orders submitted during earlier times of the day. These statistically significant evidences indicate that traders understand the implications of several factors of limit orders on the priority for their execution.
N-(3-Methoxybenzoyl)-2-methylbenzenesulfonamide

In the title compound, C15H15NO4S, the dihedral angle between the methyl- and methoxy-substituted benzene rings is 88.99 (12)°. An intramolecular C—H⋯O hydrogen bond occurs. In the crystal, adjacent molecules form inversion-related dimers through strong N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, generating R 2 2(8) loops. The dimers are further connected through C—H⋯O interactions that form C(8) chains parallel to (001). Molecules are also connected through other C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds along the b axis, forming additional C(8) chains. Two aromatic π–π stacking interactions [centroid–centroid separations = 3.6150 (1) and 3.6837 (1) Å] generate a three-dimensional architecture.
Variation in timing of ossification affects inferred heterochrony of cranial bones in Lissamphibia

The evolutionary origin of Lissamphibia likely involved heterochrony, as demonstrated by the biphasic lifestyles of most extant orders, differences between Anura (with tadpole‐to‐froglet metamorphosis) and Urodela (which lack strongly defined metamorphosis), and the appearance of direct development among separate lineages of frogs. Patterns in the timing of appearance of skeletal elements (i.e., ossification sequence data) represent a possible source of information for understanding the origin of Lissamphibia, and with the advent of analytical methods to directly optimize these data onto known phylogenies, there has been a renewed interest in assessing the role of changes in these developmental events. However, little attention has been given to the potential impact of variation in ossification sequence data—this is particularly surprising given that different criteria for collecting these data have been employed. Herein, new and previously published ossification data are compiled and all pairs of data for same‐species comparisons are selected. Analyses are run to assess the impact of using data that were collected by different methodologies: (1) wild‐ versus lab‐raised animals; (2) different criteria for recognizing timing of ossification; and (3) randomly selecting ossification sequences for species from which multiple studies have been published, but for which the data were collected by different criteria. Parsimov‐based genetic inference is utilized to map ossification sequence data onto an existing phylogeny to reconstruct ancestral sequences of ossification and infer instances of heterochrony. All analyses succeeded in optimizing sequence data on internal nodes and instances of heterochrony were identified. However, among all analyses little congruence was found in reconstructed ancestral sequences or among inferred instances of heterochrony. These results indicate a high degree of variation in timing of ossification, and suggest a cautionary note about use of these data, particularly given that in most instances issues associated with the original sources of data (e.g., wild‐ vs. lab‐raised animals; or criteria for identification of earliest ossification) are not addressed. Potential sources of variation in the original data are discussed and may explain the incongruence observed here.