Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Power of Incentive Schemes , Provision of Quality and Monitoring : The case of the public transit system in Santiago de Chile

One important issue in procurement of public services is how to design a contract that incentivizes private firms to reduce costs and produce efficiently. In theory, fixed price contracts dominate cost-plus contracts. However, the economic efficiency gains in the fixed price contract can harm the users if the firms can reduce cost at the expenses of the delivered quality. The aim of this paper is to model and test empirically that cost-reduction effort is replaced by quality reduction when there is no monitoring and demand is almost inelastic to quality. The implementation of the transportation plan of Santiago de Chile (Transantiago) shows that unmonitored fixed price contract creates incentives to reduce costs by lowering the quality delivered. This paper measures the relative level of efficiency of the firms operating in Transantiago and the level effort to reduce costs when the intensity of monitoring changes. To do so, we specify a cost function that depends on the effort to reduce cost and an inefficiency parameter distributed across firms. Our results indicate that if the operators are monitored, they increase the cost reduction effort. * Corresponding author: Department of Transport Engineering and Logistics, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Macul, Santiago, Chile, +56 (2) 2354 1797, mbatarce@ing.puc. cl
The Relevance of the OPRM 1 118 A > G Genetic Variant for Pain Review : the Role of OPRM 1 A 118 G in Pain

Methods: PubMed, Cochrane library, and EMBASE databases were systematically searched up to May 5, 2018, using the keywords “OPRM1,” “genetic variant,” “opioid,” and “pain” to identify reviews or meta-analyses on this topic. Two independent reviewers performed the data extraction and assessed study quality. The authors investigated the standardized mean difference (SMD) of opioid requirement between AA homozygotes and G allele carriers. The authors also examined the association between the OPRM1 118A>G genetic variation and adverse effects such as nausea and vomiting. Potential bias was assessed using the Egger’s test and the Begg’s test.
Ovarian function after uterine artery embolisation

Objective. To evaluate ovarian function in 29 patients who underwent uterine artery embolisation (UAE). Methods. Twenty-nine patients with myomas of the uterus underwent UAE using polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) particles with a diameter of 150 - 550 μm. Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels were measured before and after UAE. Results. The median age of the patients was 39 years (range 19 - 51 years). Two patients (7%) were menopausal before UAE was attempted. In 3 patients (10.3%), normal pre-procedural FSH values rose to menopausal levels afterwards (95% confidence interval (CI) 3.6 - 26.4%). Only 1 of these patients was younger than 40 years of age (39 years). Of 15 patients less than 40 years of age, 6.7% (95% CI 1.2 - 29.8%) therefore developed a significant rise in FSH levels. One patient, aged 35 years, developed temporary amenorrhoea and endometrial atrophy, which returned to normal within a year. Conclusions. UAE resulted in ovarian failure in 7% of patients younger than 40 years of age and 10% of patients overall.
Is Nuchal Cord a cause of concern?

Results: Total women with nuchal cord in labour room were 1116 (2.56%) of which 85.21 percent had single turn around the babies neck. Most of the babies ( 77.96 %) had a loose nuchal cord, however 22.04 percent had a tight cord. Cesarean section was twice as common with nuchal cord. There was two times more risk of meconium stained liquor in nuchal cord labours and 3 times risk of abnormal fetal heart rate patterns. Apgar scores below 7 was more common in neonates with cord (33.42 %) as compared to non nuchal cord (6.69%). Admissions in neonatal intensive care unit (33.42 %) and neonatal mortality(4.39 %) were higher compared to their counterparts.
Distributed Antenna Arrays versus Cooperative Linear Relaying for Broadband Indoor MIMO Wireless

* Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETHZ), Communication Technology Laboratory, Sternwartstr. 7, CH-8092 Zurich, Switzerland. web: www.nari.ee.ethz.ch, email: wittneben@nari.ee.ethz.ch, rankov@nari.ee.ethz.ch; tel. : +41 1 632 3611, fax: +41 1 632 1209 Abstract − We investigate distributed antenna systems and cooperative relaying to improve the throughput between a MIMO source and a MIMO destination node in a Line-ofSight dominated indoor environment with poor scattering. We derive the capacity for different traffic patterns and give typical numerical results. The main conclusion is surprising: a simple amplify&forward linear relaying approach outperforms distributed antenna systems in many cases under the considered traffic patterns. On this basis it seem likely, that cooperative relaying will be key in future MIMO enhanced WLANs beyond 5 GHz due to the increasingly poor scattering of the channel.
To Plea or Not to Plea : Evidence from North Carolina

The decision to accept a plea bargain is one of the highest stakes decisions under uncertainty that an individual can make. It is also an extremely important source of unwarranted disparity in the criminal justice system. This paper undertakes the most detailed empirical study to date of the plea bargain decision. We use a dataset of approximately 375,000 observations from 12 years of court cases across North Carolina. In order to overcome omitted variables bias, we make use of an instrumental variables strategy. As expected, In North Carolina a defendant seeking to minimize their sentence length or chance of incarceration is generally better off accepting a plea. Behind this result, however, we find substantial heterogeneity. Most importantly, we find significant differences between the treatment of black and white defendants, even when addressing unobservable factors, Also in spite of North Carolina’s efforts to create judicial homogeneity, we find substantial regional variation. These findings have important implications both for optimal decision-making by defendants and for structure and equity of the criminal justice system. ∗University of Pennsylvania Law and Wharton. Email: dabrams@law.upenn. edu †University of Pennsylvania Economics The authors would also like to thank Bernardo Silveira and others for their assistance with this paper.
Strategy for Obtaining Inexpensive Prodigiosin Production by Serratia Marcescen

The wild-type of Serratia marcescens which could produce prodigiosin was isolated by our laboratory. With utilizing the kitchen waste by solid fermentation method, the strategy for obtaining inexpensive prodigiosin was established. Optimum prodigiosin production was achieved when the moisture level was 200%; the ratio of biomass of rice husk to kichen waste material was 1.2 and adding 1.5% level proline to the substrate. The physiological fermentation factors such as incubation time (60h), pH of the medium (pH 8.0), and fermentation parameter such as temperature (28°C), inoculum level (1%) also have impact on the prodigiosin production. After modifying the fermentation contions, the maximum prodigiosin yield was more than 4155 milligram per kilo kitchen waste at 60h, which was two times more than initial production yield.
Effect of DHA supplementation on muscle damage and inflammation during the first two weeks of a novice resistance training program

Aim: The purpose of this study was to investigate docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) ingestion on muscle damage and inflammation during the first two weeks of a novice resistance training (RT) program. Methods: This study was a placebo-controlled, double-blind design. Forty-one healthy untrained males between the ages of 18 and 28 years consumed 2,000 mg/d of either DHA or corn oil (PCB) for 44 days including a 28 day loading period. Serum fatty acids were analyzed to determine treatment efficacy. During the 17 day training period, an acute eccentric exercise bout was implemented followed by a full-body RT regimen thrice weekly. Six fasted blood draws (days 1, 2, 4, 7, 12, and 17) during this exercise period were analyzed for creatine kinase (CK) and C-reactive protein (CRP). Maximum isometric strength (ISO) of the elbow flexors, delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), and range of motion (ROM) were measured on day 1 prior to exercise and also on days 2, 3, 4, 7, 12, and 17. Results: The CK response and the area under the curve (AUC) analysis for DOMS trended to decrease in the DHA group in comparison to placebo (p=0.0925 and p=0.0536, respectively). Treatment showed no effect on CRP levels. DHA supplementation significantly increased serum DHA by 380% as a proportion of total fatty acids (p<0.0001). Conclusion: This study does not demonstrate convincing benefits of DHA ingestion to recovery from a new resistance exercise program but does suggest a need for further investigation.
Management of Differentiated Thyroid Cancer Patients with Elevated Serum Thyroglobulin Level but Negative Radioiodine Scan

After undergoing the initial therapy for differentiated thyroid cancer of surgery and radioiodine, a patient is considered in remission when a follow-up radioiodine scan is negative, serum thyroglobulin is undetectable and there is no clinical or radiological evidence of the disease. However, cases with elevated serum thyroglobulin, but negative radioiodine scan are occasionally seen. Management of these patients is controversial, particularly the role of alternative radionuclear imaging studies, empiric radioiodine therapy and other treatment options.
PARAZITÉ ZPŮSOBUJÍCÍ PTAČÍ MALÁRII A JEJICH PŘENAŠEČI AVIAN MALARIA PARASITES AND THEIR VECTORS

Parasites causing avian malaria belong to the group Haemosporida, which represents a monophyletic group of dixenic protists within Apicomplexa. Their asexual reproduction takes place in a vertebrate intermediate host, and the formation of gametes and sporogony occur in blood-sucking dipteran insects, which are the definitive hosts of these parasites. Three main genera (​Plasmodium​, Haemoproteus ​and ​Leucocytozoon​) are found mostly in their avian hosts. We focused on the Haemosporida of wild birds and their transmission by insect vectors in natural populations, which had previously been a neglected area. Our results were obtained both by traditional methods (investigation of infections by microscopy of blood smears) and mainly by molecular methods (e.g. nested PCR) centered around work with unique haplotypes of the haemosporid lineages. The aim of our work was to determine the range of possible insect vectors of avian haemosporidians in the territory of the Czech Republic, taking into account the specificity of the parasites within these vectors, and to describe the diversity of haemosporidians in the populations of their bird intermediate hosts. We chose four different species of birds from four orders (Passeriformes, Strigiformes, Accipitriformes, and Galliformes). As potential vectors of avian blood haemosporidians in the Czech Republic, we identified the biting midges of the species ​Culicoides kibunensis​, ​C​. ​segnis ​and ​C​. ​festivipennis​, mosquitos of the ​Culex pipiens complex and black flies of the species ​Eusimulium ​angustipes ​and ​Nevermannia vernum​. In the vectors we found a total of 12 haemosporid lineages; four of them were new. These results represented some of the very first publications dealing with avian malaria vectors using molecular methods (especially for biting midges as ​Haemoproteus ​vectors and for black flies as ​Leucocytozoon vectors). Later on, our results were followed by numerous further studies, corresponding to an expansion of molecular detection methods. Prevalence in the bird intermediate hosts ranged from 12 % in Grey Partridge (​Perdix perdix​) to 86 % in Tengmalm's owls (​Aegolius funereus​). We detected a total of 27 lineages (unique haplotypes) of all three major avian haemosporidians (​Plasmodium​, Haemoproteus ​and ​Leucocytozoon​), of which 8 were completely new.
Determinants of Tanzania rural households’ income diversification and its impact on food security

The purpose of this study is to analyze the determinants of rural household income diversification and its impact on food security in Tanzania. With the current changes in the climatic conditions, there is a need for households to reduce their dependence on agriculture and diversify into other income generating activities. Apart from climatic shocks, I study what other factors influence the level of income diversification in Tanzania rural households Data from the National Panel survey covering 2251 households for 2010/11 and 2012/13 were used, forming a long-balanced panel of 4502 households. A Tobit regression model is applied to determine factors influencing household income diversification. Results of descriptive statistics show that value of household productive asset, household size, climatic shock, household’s education level, and age are important determinants of household income diversification. Rich households obtain the largest share of their income from wages (35%) while poor households obtain the largest share from crop sales (61.7%) To examine the impact of Income diversification on household food security, binary logistic models are used. The results show that income diversification increases household calorie intake. Meaning that a household with more diversified income consumes more calories per day per adult. However, increasing income sources does not affect household food spending because agriculture supply a large share of their food requirements. Since households rely on rain-fed agriculture as their main source of income, there is a need for diversification in order to increase their income and improve their food security status. Therefore, policies should be set to encourage households to diversify their income into nonfarm activities as it is necessary for sustainable income and improved health.
INVESTMENT CHOICE ARCHITECTURE IN TRUST GAMES: WHEN “ALL‐IN” IS NOT ENOUGH

While many economic interactions feature “All‐or‐Nothing” options nudging investors towards going “all‐in,” such designs may unintentionally affect reciprocity. We manipulate the investor's action space in two versions of the “trust game. ” In one version investors can invest either “all” their endowment or “nothing. ” In the other version, they can invest any amount of the endowment. Consistent with our intentions‐based model, we show that “all‐or‐nothing” designs coax more investment but limit investors' demonstrability of intended trust. As a result, “all‐in” investors are less generously reciprocated than when they can invest any amount, where full investments are a clearer signal of trustworthiness. (JEL C72, C90, C91, D63, D64, L51)
Contemporary challenges in English teacher education : some contributions from the studies of English as a Lingua Franca /

The singular character of the English language has contributed to the production of an abundant literature aimed at delineating a teaching pedagogy of that language which considers its role as a lingua franca. In recent years, the studies on English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) has shown great interest in presenting practical examples of ELF-oriented lessons. Similarly, lots of research papers have shown the importance of integrating ELF studies into teacher education curriculum. In this paper, based on considerations made by ELF researchers (BAYYURT; SIFAKIS, 2017; COGO; SIQUEIRA, 2017; GIMENEZ; EL KADRI; CALVO, 2018; JORDÃO; MARQUES, 2018; SIFAKIS, 2014), the importance of integrating ELF studies in teacher education is discussed taking into consideration the challenge that such integration may represent due to the fact that the process of learning and teaching English is still oriented by the construct of the native speaker (KUMARAVADIVELU, 2016; WIDDOWSON, 2012).
Re-Examining the Role of Sticky Wages in the U . S . Great Depression : A Multi-sector Approach ∗

We quantify the role of contractionary monetary shocks and wage rigidities in the U.S. Great Contraction. While the average economy-wide real wage varied little over 1929-33, some industries experienced large increases while others experienced outright declines. We calibrate a two-sector model with intermediates to the 1929 U.S. economy where wages in one sector adjust slowly. We find that while the model qualitatively replicates key sectoral facts, it can account for only a fifth of the fall in GDP over 1929-33. Intermediate linkages are important, as removing them roughly doubles the output decline predicted by the model. JEL Classification: E20, E30, E50.
Atividade fsica e estado de sade mental de idosos

OBJETIVO: Avaliar a associacao entre nivel de atividade fisica e o estado de saude mental de pessoas idosas. METODOS: Inquerito de base populacional com amostragem probabilistica, incluindo 875 idosos da cidade de Florianopolis, Santa Catarina, em 2002. Foram aplicados os questionarios: Internacional de Atividades Fisicas e Brazil Old Age Schedule. Os problemas de saude mental avaliados foram depressao e demencia, alem da pratica de atividade fisica total (lazer, ocupacao, deslocamentos e servicos domesticos). Apos analises descritivas e bivariadas, realizou-se analise ajustada por meio de regressao logistica, com ajuste para os fatores de atividade fisica total, atividade de lazer, escores de depressao e demencia. RESULTADOS: Verificou-se associacao estatisticamente significativa e inversa de demencia e depressao com atividade fisica total e atividade fisica no lazer. A odds ratio ajustada para demencia entre os sujeitos sedentarios para atividade fisica total comparada a dos ativos foi de 2,74 (IC 95%: 1,85; 4,08), enquanto o respectivo valor para depressao foi de 2,38 (IC 95%: 1,70; 3,33). CONCLUSOES: Os resultados reforcam a importância de estilo de vida ativo para prevencao de problemas de saude mental de idosos. Infere-se que a atividade fisica tem conseguido reduzir e/ou atrasar os riscos de demencia, embora nao se possa afirmar que a atividade fisica evita a demencia.
The Effect of " Axis Hits Bonus " Version Tagline Advertising and Ambassador Brand Against Axis Cards Awareness ( study in STIE Amkop Makassar Students )

This study aims to determine: (1) the effect of the "Axis Hits Bonus" ad tagline on Axis card brand awareness, (2) the influence of brand ambassadors on brand awareness of Axis cards and (3) the effect of the "Axis Hits Bonus" ad tagline and brand ambassador to brand awareness Axis card for STIE AMKOP Makassar students. This research is explanatory research. The sample in this study were 96 STIE AMKOP Makassar students who were determined using the Paul Leedy formula. Data collection techniques used are through distributing questionnaires and documentation from primary data and secondary data. The analytical method used is multiple linear regression analysis. While for the hypothesis test used F-Test and t-Test. The results showed that (1) the advertisement tagline version of "Axis Hits Bonus" had a positive and significant effect on brand awareness (2) Brand ambassadors have a positive and significant effect on brand awareness. (3) The advertisement tagline and brand ambassador have a positive and significant effect
EFFECT OF PHASE LAGS ON THERMOELASTIC FUNCTIONALLY GRADED MICROBEAMS SUBJECTED TO RAMP-TYPE HEATING

Abstract– This article deals with the study of generalized solution for the vibration of functionally graded (FG) microbeam in the context of the dual phase lag model. Numerical results are presented for the FG beam subjected to a ramp-type heating and has exponentially varying material properties through the thickness. The effect of the ramping time parameter is studied on the lateral vibration, temperature, displacement, stress, the moment and the strain energy of the FG microbeam. The influence of the thickness of the beam is also analyzed. A comparison of the results for different theories is presented. The results obtained theoretically have been computed numerically and are presented graphically. Some particular cases are also discussed in the context of the problem.
Calibrating Focused Light-Field Cameras Using Plenoptic Disc Features

This paper proposes a new method for estimating calibration parameters of plenoptic cameras by minimizing the nonlinear plenoptic reprojection error. Novel plenoptic feature types are proposed as data for the calibration method. These plenoptic disc features are in a natural one-to-one correspondence with physical points in front of the camera. We exploit the intrinsic geometry of plenoptic cameras in a novel projection model that relates the plenoptic disc features to physical points. The resulting calibration quality, as quantiﬁed by mean reprojection error and 3D reconstruction error, outperforms recently published results.
The Effect of 12-Week Endurance Training on Lipid Profiles and Fat Percentage of Overweight Girls

Background and Purpose: Overweight and obesity in childhood are associated with the potential risk of cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome in adulthood. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of 12 weeks of moderate endurance training on lipid profile and body composition of overweight girls. Material and Method: The present study was semi-experimental with pre-test and post-test design, in which 19 overweight girls aged 8 to 12 were randomly selected. Before and after intervention, body composition of subjects was measured under fasting conditions by BODY LOGIC BODY FAT ANALYZER and biochemical indices were measured and recorded by enzyme-calorimetric method. Results: Statistical analysis showed that 12 weeks of endurance training resulted in a significant reduction in triglycerides levels (p<0.025) and body fat percentage (p<0.002), while no significant change was found in cholesterol serum levels and body mass index. Conclusions: The findings of this study suggested that moderate intensity endurance training lead to improvement of body composition and biochemical parameters related to obesity in overweight girls, which reflected the vital role of these training in preventing obesity and related cardiovascular diseases among children and adolescents.
Influence of Rating Announcements and Their Characteristics on Abnormal Liquidity in Corporate Debt Market

The influence of rating announcements on corporate debt market liquidity has been ignored for a long time. Based on an event study, this article examines the effects of the announcements of actual rating changes, outlook notices, and CreditWatch placements provided by Moody’s, Standard and Poor’s and Fitch on abnormal liquidity in the Spanish corporate debt market. Also, by means of cross-section regressions, we establish what factors determine the sign and intensity of the liquidity reactions. The presented results indicate that factors related to the characteristics of the rating announcement, the issuing company and the economic environment are relevant in light of several hypotheses.