Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Weight gain, physical activity and dietary changes during the seven months of first-year university life in Malawi

Abstract Objective: The objective of the study was to assess weight gain, physical activity and dietary changes during the first year of university life in Malawi. Setting: The setting was Bunda College of Agriculture, University of Malawi. Subjects: The subjects were first-year students (n = 47) enrolled for the 2008/2009 academic year. Method: A prospective cohort study was carried out, with repeated measures (November 2008 and June 2009). It included residential and nonresidential students. Data were collected using self-administered structured questionnaires. Weight, height and mid-upper-arm circumference were measured. Results: There was a significant difference in mean weight gain between female (7.1 ± 3.2 kg, n = 26) and male students (9.6 ± 3.5 kg, n = 21) (p-value = 0.013). Overall, within the first year of university life, the students gained 8.5 ± 3.6 kg (p-value < 0.001), and a modest but significant height of 0.2 cm (p-value = 0.04). Body mass index (kg/m2) increased from 20.7 ± 3.2 to 23.9 ± 3.2 (p-value < 0.001). At the baseline, in general, the students lived sedentary lives, with 6.6 hours spent resting, 2.1 hours engaged in light activities, and 0.9 hours engaged in heavy activities. No significant changes were observed at the end of the study. Daily consumption of wheat products, meat and meat products, sugar, milk and milk products and margarine increased, while that of other foods such as fish, and fruits and vegetables declined. Conclusion: Unprecedented freshman weight gain was observed in this study. Transition to university life in Malawi might be the beginning of poor dietary and lifestyle changes. If not restrained, these could elevate the risk of lifestyle diseases in people who have attained tertiary education and who are important to national development.
Ex situ and in situ biodegradation of lindane by Azotobacter chroococcum

This study was undertaken to investigate the potential of Azotobacter chroococcum for degrading lindane. Ten cultures were screened for lindane degradation by a chloride estimation method and the best A. chroococcum culture JL 102 was selected for further studies. This strain was subjected to a lindane–tolerance experiment and based on the results obtained, 10 and 100 ppm of lindane were selected to study the potential of the A. chroococcum strain for ex situ and in situ biodegradation of lindane. The organism was grown in 2 different media viz. Jensen's broth and soil extract broth and ex situ lindane degradation was studied for a period of 6 days. Maximum degradation of lindane was recorded at 10 ppm concentration. The degradation was higher in Jensen's medium, compared to the soil extract broth. A pot culture experiment was conducted using both sterile and non-sterile soils supplemented with 10 ppm lindane to study in situ degradation potential of this strain for a period of 8 weeks. In both the conditions (sterile and non-sterile), the organism exhibited increased degradation over the days with maximum degradation observed on the 8th week of incubation. It could degrade most of the applied lindane by the end of the study period.
The 2003 Dividend Tax Cut, Insider Equity Positions and Agency Costs: Were Changes in Dividend Payments Beneficial to Shareholders?

The general consensus regarding the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003, which reduced the maximum tax rate on dividends for individual investors, is that aggregate dividend payments increased after passage of the act. Research also suggests that changes in dividend payments appear to have been influenced by insider equity positions where firms with larger management share ownership were more likely to increase dividends. Research has not addressed however, whether the increase in dividend payments was beneficial or detrimental for investors. We analyze shareholder returns in relation to unexpected dividends where the unexpected level of dividends is calculated using a variation of the Fama and French (2001) and DeAngelo et al. (2004; 2006) dividend models. Controlling for differences in financial characteristics among firms that have previously been identified in the literature as associated with dividends, we find a statistically significant positive relation between excess dividend payments and management share ownership in the period following implementation of the act. We also observe a negative relation between unexpected dividends and management options holdings in the post-act period. Neither of these relationships is evident in the pre-act period. We further find that buy-and-hold shareholder returns suffer when actual dividends differ from expected dividends, either in paying insufficient or excess dividends. This finding suggests that the relationship between the structure of insiders’ equity interests and the new dividend tax environment raises legitimate agency concerns.
Human Immunodeficiency Virus, Syphilis Prevalence and Risk Factors among Migrant Workers in Konongo, Ghana

Migrant workers, particularly gold mining workers, have been identified as a group at risk for HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STI). A cross-sectional study was undertaken on the correlates of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and syphilis infections in a sample of migrants (Ghanaian citizens [156] and non-Ghanaian citizens [8]) working in a gold mining centres in Konongo, Ghana. The study was conducted between the months of January 2013 to December 2013. Of a total of 600 eligible migrant workers, only 164 (27.33%; males 114, females 50) of the eligible migrants took part in the study. Subjects voluntarily completed a risk-factor questionnaire and provided blood specimen for testing for the presence of antibodies to HIV and Treponema pallidum, the causative agent of syphilis. These data were analyzed using both univariate and multivariate techniques. The median age of the participants was 29.0 years (range 18 - 62 years). Of the 164 migrant workers tested, HIV and syphilis seroprevalence were 6.7% and 3.7% respectively. On multivariate analysis, the independent determinants for HIV infection were being female [odds ratio (OR) 2.94; 95% confidence interval (95% CI 0.86 - 10.0); unmarried (OR 10.13; 95% CI 1.2 - 81.09); drug use (OR 3.76; 95% CI 0.38 - 36.3); and blood transfusion (OR 2.45; 95% CI 0.27 - 22.37). Similarly, on multivariate analysis, the independent determinants for syphilis infection were having concurrent sexual partners (OR 2.16; 95% CI 0.38 - 12.12); and blood transfusion (OR 5.07; 95% CI 0.51 - 50.37). Consistent with similar studies worldwide, our results suggest high prevalence of HIV and syphilis infections among migrant workers who work in gold mining centres in Ghana.
Patterns of infections among blood donors in a tertiary care centre: a retrospective study.

BACKGROUND Transfusion-transmitted infections continue to be a threat to safe transfusion practices. We analysed the prevalence and patterns of co-infections among voluntary and replacement donors. METHODS Blood donations collected over a 5-year period were studied for the type of donation (voluntary or replacement), number of seroreactive cases and the number, type and distribution of co-infections. RESULTS Of the 42 439 units of blood collected over a 5-year period, 19 118 (45%) were from voluntary and 23 321 (55%) from replacement donors. There were 1603 seroreactive cases (3.8%). These included 250 with HIV (0.6%), 734 with hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg; 1.7%), 337 with hepatitis C virus (HCV; 0.8%) and 282 (0.7%) with VDRL (Venereal Diseases Research Laboratory) reactivity. Twenty-three (0.05%) of these had > or = 2 seroreactive infections; 20 of these were in replacement donors and only 3 in voluntary donors and the difference was statistically significant (p < 0.005). Among HIV seropositive donors, there were 4 seroreactive for syphilis and 5 for HBsAg. Among HIV seronegative donors, 5 were seroreactive for HBsAg and VDRL, 4 for HCV and VDRL, and 2 for HBsAg and HCV. One person was seroreactive for HIV, HBsAg and VDRL. The multiple infection rate showed a decreasing trend over the years. CONCLUSION Multiple infections pose a small but definite risk to the recipients of blood products. Voluntary donations are safer as compared with replacement ones and need to be encouraged.
Differences in veterans' and nonveterans' end-of-life preferences: a pilot study.

BACKGROUND Investigators conducting focus groups on end-of-life preferences noted that veterans voiced opinions that strongly differed from those of nonveterans. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to further explore differences between veterans' and nonveterans' end-of-life preferences. METHODS Ten focus groups and a pilot survey were conducted. SETTING AND SAMPLE The focus groups consisted of Arab Muslims, Arab Christians, Hispanics, blacks, and whites stratified by gender (n = 73). Fifteen male veterans were included across all five racial groups. MEASURES A moderator discussion guide was used to lead the focus groups and a pilot survey asked about demographic information and end-of-life preferences. RESULTS Veterans were more likely to be married (p < 0.05) and less connected to their cultural group (p < 0.05) than nonveterans. The focus group results indicated that veterans in this study were more likely to oppose the use of heroic measures compared to nonveterans. More so than nonveterans, veterans felt that their doctors should be frank and open (p < 0.05) were strongly in favor of do-not-resuscitate (DNR) orders (p < 0.10), yet were less likely to have a proxy (p < 0.10) or durable power of attorney p < 0.01). Comparing end-of-life preferences, veterans felt less strongly than nonveterans about remembering personal accomplishments (p < 0.05), being listened to (p < 0.05), being with friends (p < 0.01), or being comfortable with their nurse (p < 0.05), but did want to be around their pets at the end of life p < 0.10). IMPLICATIONS The Department of Veterans Affairs is in a unique position to improve endof- life care for veterans. Providing end-of-life care that is congruent with the veteran's wishes can improve satisfaction and increase cost effectiveness by eliminating unacceptable services.
Perinatal nutrition interacts with genetic background to alter behavior in a parent‐of‐origin‐dependent manner in adult Collaborative Cross mice

Previous studies in animal models and humans have shown that exposure to nutritional deficiencies in the perinatal period increases the risk of psychiatric disease. Less well understood is how such effects are modulated by the combination of genetic background and parent‐of‐origin (PO). To explore this, we exposed female mice from 20 Collaborative Cross (CC) strains to protein deficient, vitamin D deficient, methyl donor enriched or standard diet during the perinatal period. These CC females were then crossed to a male from a different CC strain to produce reciprocal F1 hybrid females comprising 10 distinct genetic backgrounds. The adult F1 females were then tested in the open field, light/dark, stress‐induced hyperthermia, forced swim and restraint stress assays. Our experimental design allowed us to estimate effects of genetic background, perinatal diet, PO and their interactions on behavior. Genetic background significantly affected all assessed phenotypes. Perinatal diet exposure interacted with genetic background to affect body weight, basal body temperature, anxiety‐like behavior and stress response. In 8 of 9 genetic backgrounds, PO effects were observed on multiple phenotypes. Additionally, we identified a small number of diet‐by‐PO effects on body weight, stress response, anxiety‐ and depressive‐like behavior. Our data show that rodent behaviors that model psychiatric disorders are affected by genetic background, PO and perinatal diet, as well as interactions among these factors.
GAAP 2001 : a survey of national accounting rules benchmarked against international accounting standards

GAAP 2001 and GAAP 2000 provide summaries of areas in which national accounting standards require different accounting and reporting treatments from International Accounting Standards (IAS). Both GAAP 2001 and GAAP 2000 are available at www.ifad. net. In addition to the country summaries, the web site includes an analysis of new national requirements that affect the differences reported in GAAP 2000. It also includes a similar analysis of national requirements (or proposals for national requirements) which may further reduce differences from IAS when they come into effect in the future. GAAP 2001 and GAAP 2000 are designed to increase the awareness of users of financial statements that, although financial reports from different countries appear to be similar, significant differences in national requirements and the resulting financial statements still exist. Within each country summary are additional links to the GAAP 2000 summary, differences from GAAP 2000 and future national requirements. Following is a sample country summary from GAAP 2001: The rapid development of global financial markets has greatly reinforced the desirability of— indeed now demands —international consistency in accounting standards and auditing approaches. What progress is being made towards the convergence of accounting standards? Two years of GAAP comparison information shows that, while progress has been made in many countries, much work remains to be done. Convergence will require a joint effort of governments, stock market regulators, standards setters, preparers, users and the accounting profession. " " * Background
Critical sizing of LRU caches with dependent requests

It was recently proved by Jelenković and Radovanović (2004) that the least-recently-used (LRU) caching policy, in the presence of semi-Markov-modulated requests that have a generalized Zipf's law popularity distribution, is asymptotically insensitive to the correlation in the request process. However, since the previous result is asymptotic, it remains unclear how small the cache size can become while still retaining the preceding insensitivity property. In this paper, assuming that requests are generated by a nearly completely decomposable Markov-modulated process, we characterize the critical cache size below which the dependency of requests dominates the cache performance. This critical cache size is small relative to the dynamics of the modulating process, and in fact is sublinear with respect to the sojourn times of the modulated chain that determines the dependence structure.
THE BREAST IMAGING REPORTING AND DATA SYSTEM- BI-RADS: POSITIVE PREDICTIVE VALUE OF CATEGORY 4 AND 5 LESIONS

Objective To determine the positive predictive value of BI-RADS categories 4 and 5. Materials and methods Institutional Reviewed Board approval was obtained. From 12,284 women, who underwent screening and diagnostic mammography at our institution, 236 were categorized as BI-RADS 4 and 144 as BI-RADS 5 between January 2006 and December 2008. Biopsy methods, imaging fi ndings, and pathological results were recorded. The positive predictive value (PPV) of BI-RADS categories 4 and 5 were analyzed. Results The PPV for BI-RADS 4 was 26.6% and BI-RADS 5 89.5%. Mass, with or without microcalcifi cations, was the most common imaging abnormality. Fibroadenoma and fi brocystic change were the most common benign lesions leading to biopsy. The most common histologic diagnosis of malignancy was invasive carcinoma. The most common biopsy method was fi ne-needle aspiration. Conclusion The BI-RADS categorization is useful in predicting the chance of malignancy. Breast mass, with or without calcifi cations, had a high chance of malignancy. Preoperative biopsy should be performed before defi nite treatment in all suspicious mammographic fi ndings because of the overlap in mammographic appearances of benign and malignant breast lesions. Fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) was the most common method used in this study. Chiang Mai Medical Journal 2010;49(3):111-116.
Management of Epstein–Barr Virus‐induced Post‐transplant Lymphoproliferative Disease in Recipients of Solid Organ Transplantation

The optimal management of Epstein–Barr virus (EBV)‐induced post‐transplant lymphoproliferative diseases (PTLD) remains controversial. While withdrawal or reduction of immunosuppression is widely accepted as the strategy for the treatment of EBV/PTLD, the role of additional therapeutic interventions remains less clear. Newer strategies, including anti‐B‐cell monoclonal antibodies and adoptive immunotherapy offer the promise of impaired efficacy and outcome against EBV disease, but lack data demonstrating how and when to use these approaches. The current review provides an overview of potential strategies and presents guidelines for the management of EBV/PTLD in solid‐organ transplant recipients.
Competition and Co-Operation Among Exchanges: A Theory of Cross Listing and Endogenous Listing Standards

We analyze firms’ choice of exchange to list equity and exchanges’ choice of listing standards when insiders have private information about firm value, but outsiders can produce (noisy) information at a cost. Exchanges are populated by two kinds of investors, whose numbers vary across exchanges: sophisticated (low information production cost) investors and ordinary (high–cost) investors. While firms are short-lived, exchanges are long-lived, value-maximizing agents whose listing and disclosure standards evolve over time. The listing standards chosen by exchanges affect their ‘‘reputation,’’ since outsiders can partially infer the rigor of these standards from the post-listing performance of firms. We show that, while exchanges use their listing standards as a tool in competing for listings with other exchanges, this will not necessarily lead to a ‘‘race to the bottom’’ in listing standards. Further, a merger between two exchanges may result in a higher listing standard for the combined exchange relative to that of either of the merging exchanges. We develop several other implications for firms’
Management of mother's own milk for very preterm infants in tertiary-level neonatal units in the Ile-de-France region in France.

HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific research documents, whether they are published or not. The documents may come from teaching and research institutions in France or abroad, or from public or private research centers. L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires publics ou privés. Management of Mother’s Own Milk for Very Preterm Infants in Tertiary-Level Neonatal Units in the Ile-de-France Region in France. Mercedes Bonet, Mélanie Durox, Béatrice Blondel, Pascal Boileau, Véronique Pierrat, Jennifer Zeitlin
Efficient Tests for Long-Run Predictability: Do Long-Run Relations Convey Extra Information?

Short-run and long-run relations among time series can differ. In situations in which short-run constraints and information biases obscure equilibrium relations among economic variables, estimates of the long-run relations, which are free of such contaminations, become the only basis for evaluating economic hypotheses. The common approach to estimating long-run predictability has been long-horizon regressions. However, long-horizon regressions are not designed to extract long-run information efficiently, and the lack of accuracy often outweighs their robustness to short-run noise. This study suggests two methods for replacing long-horizon regressions. The corresponding tests can be viewed as long-run versions of the Q-test by Campbell and Yogo (2006) and the nearly optimal test by Elliott,
A Population-based Cohort Study on Chronic Pain: The Role of Opioids

ObjectivesThe aims of this study were 2-fold: (1) to investigate the consequences of opioid use in individuals with chronic pain in the Danish population, and (2) to investigate the development of and recovery from chronic pain from 2000 to 2005. MethodsData derived from the Danish Health Interview Survey in 2000, which were linked on the individual level with register-based follow-up data. The survey was based on a county-stratified random sample of 16,684 individuals, out of which 10,434 individuals (62.5%) completed a face-to-face interview and returned a self-administered questionnaire. In addition, a subsample of the sample in 2000 was reinvited to a follow-up survey in 2005. In total, 3649 individuals (61.7%) of this subsample completed the interview and returned the questionnaire at baseline in 2000. At follow-up, 2354 of these participants completed the interview and returned the self-administered questionnaire. Respondents with cancer diagnosis were excluded from all analyses. Respondents with chronic pain were identified as having chronic/long-lasting pain more than 6 months. Results and DiscussionThe annual incidence for the development of and the recovery from chronic pain was 2.7% and 9.4%, respectively. Increasing age up to 64 years, short education, poor self-rated health, high body mass index, and physical strain at work were predictors of chronic pain. The odds of recovery from chronic pain were almost 4 times higher among individuals not using opioids compared with individuals using opioids. In addition, use of strong opioids was associated with poor health-related quality of life. Furthermore, the results indicated that individuals with chronic pain using strong opioids pain had a higher risk of death than individuals without chronic pain (HR: 1.67; 95% CI: 1.03-2.70). However, this study cannot exclude disease severity as the primary cause of increased mortality.
Ischaemic heart disease among workers in occupations associated with heavy lifting.

OBJECTIVES To investigate a hypothesized positive association between employment in occupations where heavy lifting is likely to occur, and the risk of ischaemic heart disease (IHD). MATERIAL AND METHODS Male blue-collar workers from Denmark (N = 516,180) were monitored with respect to hospital treatment or death due to IHD, through national registers over the years 2001-2010. Poisson regression was used to estimate relative rates of IHD between "workers in occupations which, according to an expert opinion, are likely to involve heavy lifting" and "other blue-collar workers. " Prevalent cases were excluded from the analysis. RESULTS The rate ratio was estimated at 0.97 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.94-1.00) for deaths or hospitalizations due to IHD and 1.07 (95% CI: 0.94-1.21) for deaths due to IHD. CONCLUSIONS The results do not support the hypothesis that occupational heavy lifting is an important risk factor for IHD.
Pure white-cell aplasia. Antibody-mediated autoimmune inhibition of granulopoiesis.

THE development of techniques for the in vitro clonogenic assay of hematopoietic progenitors1 has allowed investigation of clinical syndromes associated with immunologic injury to human stem cells.2 T-lymphocyte suppression of granulopoiesis has been described in patients with Felty's syndrome,3 and humoral inhibition of granulocyte-progenitor cells has been reported in patients with drug-associated agranulocytosis.4 Spontaneously arising (non-drug-associated) antibodies directed against human myeloid progenitors in patients with neutropenia have only recently been recognized.2 , 5 6 7 8 The antigenic and cellular specificity of these inhibitors, however, have not been well characterized, and the failure to demonstrate serum inhibitory activity against autologous granulocyte progenitors raises questions about .