Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Effects of Entry-Tests during Primary-School Teacher Education in the Netherlands

This thesis investigates the effects of the implementation of entry-tests in the Dutch teacher education for primary-schools. During the first year of the study, students were required to pass tests in mathematics and the Dutch language in order to proceed towards the second year. Using the synthetic control method originally coined by Abadie and Gardeazabal (2003), we find a gradual but severe decline in change of enrollments- year-by-year developing to about 40% points in 2009. These effects are roughly similar per subgroup of highest previously attained education. More importantly, our results document a severe deterioration in the rate of students being granted permission to enter the second year (6.5%). In turn, the magnitude of these effects are in line with the presumed set of cognitive standards per highest previously attained education. About two-third of the retention decline correspondingly also develop into reduced graduation rates. Lastly, we find no evidence for the notion that the cognitive skills of entering pabo students have improved over time
MILLIAN EFFICIENCY WITH ENDOGENOUS FERTILITY

Should governments implement policies that affect fertility decisions on efficiency grounds? What is the correct notion of efficiency to use? To address these issues, this paper develops an extension of the notion of Pareto efficiency, referred to as Millian efficiency, to evaluate symmetric allocations in an overlapping generations setting with endogenous fertility. This extension is based on preferences of those agents who are actually alive, and exclusively allows for welfare comparisons of symmetric allocations. First, we provide necessary and sufficient conditions to determine whether an allocation is Millian efficient or not, and we show that the sufficient conditions for dynamic efficiency offered by Cass (1972) and Balasko and Shell (1980) cannot be directly applied when fertility decisions are endogenous. Second, we characterize Millian efficient allocations as the equilibria of a decentralized price mechanism, and we present a sufficient condition for dynamic efficiency that uses the sequence of prices associated to such decentralized equilibria. Finally, we analyse how intergenerational policies should be designed to restore efficiency and achieve net welfare gains in two different settings in which markets yield inefficient allocations: dynamic inefficiencies and financial market incompleteness regarding human capital. In the former, a pay-as-you-go social security system eliminates dynamic inefficiencies, provided pensions are explicitly linked with fertility decisions. In the latter, a specific link between social security and public education becomes a necessary condition for Millian efficiency. Copyright , Wiley-Blackwell.
Statistical Analyses and Reproducible Research

It is important, if not essential, to integrate the computations and code used in data analyses, methodological descriptions, simulations, and so on with the documents that describe and rely on them. This integration allows readers to both verify and adapt the claims in the documents. Authors can easily reproduce the results in the future, and they can present the document's contents in a different medium, for example, with interactive controls. This article describes a software framework for both authoring and distributing these integrated, dynamic documents that contain text, code, data, and any auxiliary content needed to recreate the computations. The documents are dynamic in that the contents—including figures, tables, and so on—can be recalculated each time a view of the document is generated. Our model treats a dynamic document as a master or “source” document from which one can generate different views in the form of traditional, derived documents for different audiences. We introduce the concept of a compendium as a container for one or more dynamic documents and the different elements needed when processing them, such as code and data. The compendium serves as a means for distributing, managing, and updating the collection. The step from disseminating analyses via a compendium to reproducible research is a small one. By reproducible research, we mean research papers with accompanying software tools that allow the reader to directly reproduce the results and employ the computational methods that are presented in the research paper. Some of the issues involved in paradigms for the production, distribution, and use of such reproducible research are discussed.
Influence of feeding regime and finishing system on lamb muscle fiber and meat quality

The study verified the influence of different nutritional levels of the dams, before parturition, the weaning age of the lambs and the finishing system on lamb muscle fiber morphology and meat quality. Ile-de-France × Bergamacia crossbred dams grazing on natural grassland were divided into two groups: 1) nutritional supplement 30 days before the parturition (SUPL), and 2) no nutritional supplement (NS). These groups were further subdivided by weaning age of the lambs, which corresponded to either 45 or 60 days. The weaned lambs from each of the previous groups were also divided into different finishing systems: confined and fed a complete diet (CD), confined and fed hay (H) and kept on grassland (P). The lambs were slaughtered at 30 kg live weight (CD and P), or at 150 days of age (H). The carcasses were cooled at 4oC/24h. The analyzed variables were: longissimus dorsi muscle fiber morphophysiology, post mortem myofibrillar fragmentation (at 0, 3 and 7 days post mortem), meat pH and temperature. There was no effect of supplementation of dams or weaning age of the lambs for the evaluated variables. The frequency of slow-oxidative (SO), fast-oxidative-glycolytic (FOG) and fast-glycolytic (FG) muscle fiber types was not altered by the treatments, but the fiber cross-sectional area was smaller for the lambs finished only on hay, and the meat pH values and temperature were lower and the myofibrill fragment dimensions were smaller. As time maturation increased from 0 to 3 and 7 days post mortem, there was a decrease in the length of the myofibrill fragments. The diet of the lambs which were maintained confined and fed only with hay was nutritionally inferior when compared with all the others, and this changed the quality of the meat compared to the finishing systems on grassland or confined and fed complete diet.
Effect of Nateglinide on C-Peptide level in Fasting Elderly Diabetic Patients: A Placebo-Controlled Cross Over Study

Nateglinide is suggested to have a glucose-dependent insulinotropic effect. We recently compared serum insulin levels in fasting and non-fasting elderly diabetic patients following nateglinide administration and did not find a significant difference. Insulin, but not c-peptide is subjected to a significant first pass hepatic metabolism. Given the inclusion of 2 patients with liver dysfunction in the study, we estimated serum c-peptide levels in the same samples to further investigate this finding. Eight elderly diabetics underwent a fixed dose single blinded, placebo controlled, cross-over study. They received either nateglinide 120 mg or a placebo, both under fasting and non-fasting states. Serum c-peptide levels were measured at 30 minutes intervals for four hours, following drug or placebo administration. None of the eight patients developed hypoglycemia under the non-fasting state and only one patient developed mild hypoglycemia (66 mg/dl) under the fasting state in response to nateglinide. Area under the serum c-peptide concentration-time curve was not significantly different between the fasting and non-fasting states, following nateglinide, though it was significantly different in case of placebo. There was no correlation between serum c-peptide levels and serum glucose levels, in either of the 4 days. The present results are possibly explained by the lower mean fasting serum glucose levels, which would lead to the relatively lower insulin secretory effect of nateglinide and thus the insignificant difference in insulin secretion between the fasting and the fed state. (Hussam A.S. Murad, May Hamza and Sarah A. Hamza. Effect of Nateglinide on C-Peptide level in Fasting Elderly Diabetic Patients: A Placebo-Controlled Cross Over Study. Life Sci J 2013; 10(3): 1476-1481) (ISSN: 1097-8135). http://www.lifesciencesite. com. 221
02. Ecological observations on the leaf-litter frog Adenomera marmorata in an Atlantic rainforest area of southeastern Brazil

We analysed the diet, pattern dispersion, calling activity and microhabitat use of the leptodactylid frog Adenomera marmorata at an Atlantic rainforest site on Ilha Grande, in southeastern Brazil. Adenomera marmorata is endemic to the Brazilian Atlantic rainforest biome, occurring in the leaf litter of forests from Rio de Janeiro state to Santa Catarina state, and this is the first ecological study of the species. It has a clumped pattern of dispersion along the forest floor. Calling activity extended from dusk to dawn, although on rainy days some individuals remained active during the daylight period. The individuals collected for diet analysis were most frequently found on the leaf-litter surface and under the leaf litter of the forest floor. Of the six potential microhabitat categories we recorded, A. marmorata used only two (leaf litter and fallen branch). We conclude that in the Atlantic forest of I1ha Grande, A. marmorata possesses crepuscular-nocturnal calling activity, and is exclusively associated with the leaf litter of the forest floor where it feeds predominantly on isopods, ants and insect larvae.
A Study of the Gamma-Ray Burst Fundamental Plane

Long gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) with a plateau phase in their X-ray afterglows obey a 3D relation, between the rest-frame time at the end of the plateau, Ta, its corresponding X-ray luminosity, La, and the peak luminosity in the prompt emission, Lpeak. This 3D relation identifies a GRB fundamental plane whose existence we here confirm. Here we include the most recent GRBs observed by Swift to define a “gold sample” (45 GRBs) and obtain an intrinsic scatter about the plane compatible within 1σ with the previous result. We compare GRB categories, such as short GRBs with extended emission (SEE), X-ray flashes, GRBs associated with supernovae, a sample of only long-duration GRBs (132), selected from the total sample by excluding GRBs of the previous categories, and the gold sample, composed by GRBs with light curves with good data coverage and relatively flat plateaus. We find that the relation planes for each of these categories are not statistically different from the gold fundamental plane, with the exception of the SSE, which are hence identified as a physically distinct class. The gold fundamental plane has an intrinsic scatter smaller than any plane derived from the other sample categories. Thus, the distance of any particular GRB category from this plane becomes a key parameter. We computed the several category planes with Ta as a dependent parameter obtaining for each category smaller intrinsic scatters (reaching a reduction of 24% for the long GRBs). The fundamental plane is independent from several prompt and afterglow parameters.
FIRM CAPABILITIES, ENTREPRENEURIAL COMPETENCY AND PERFORMANCE OF UGANDAN SMES

This paper is based on a study that examined the relationship between the firms’ capabilities, entrepreneurial competency and performance of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Uganda. The study used stratified random sampling to derive a sample of 314 SMEs and a cross-sectional research design. Data was collected using self-administered questionnaires that were filled out by firm owners and managers as units of enquiry whereas a firm was the unit of analysis. The study findings indicate that an increase in the level of a firm’s capabilities through competent management, market linkages and marketing capabilities leads to enhanced SME performance. As entrepreneurial competences and firm capabilities predict 30.4 percent of the variance in SME performance, SME owners and managers, through their entrepreneurial competences, can use firm capabilities as tools to influence their firms’ operations to enhance their performance. Future research can be carried out in other geographical places to verify whether what was observed in Uganda specifically in Jinja district is applicable to the rest of the world. Similarly, future research can explore other predictors of SME performance.
Carbonatite Metasomatism of the Oceanic Upper Mantle: Evidence from Clinopyroxenes and Glasses in Ultramafic Xenoliths of Grande Comore, Indian Ocean

material in or, most probably, below the asthenospheric mantle, Petrological and geochemical data are presented for a suite of brought down in a subducting slab at a former convergent plate ultramafic xenoliths (lherzolites and wehrlites) from La Grille margin. volcano, Grande Comore island. These xenoliths have peculiar textural features characterized by reaction rims or glassy patches, where clinopyroxene grows at the expense of orthopyroxene. The glasses vary from very strongly silica-oversaturated to strongly undersaturated varieties. They are generally homogeneous within a single xenolith, are extremely alkali rich, with Na2O contents (up
Dynamics and mass balance of Taylor Glacier, Antarctica: 1. Geometry and surface velocities

[1] Taylor Glacier, Antarctica, exemplifies a little-studied type of outlet glacier, one that flows slowly through a region of rugged topography and dry climate. This glacier, in addition, connects the East Antarctic Ice Sheet with the McMurdo Dry Valleys, a region much studied for geomorphology, paleoclimate, and ecology. Here we report extensive new measurements of surface velocities, ice thicknesses, and surface elevations, acquired with InSAR, GPS, and GPR. The latter two were used to construct elevation models of the glacier's surface and bed. Ice velocities in 2002–2004 closely matched those in 2000 and the mid-1970s, indicating negligible interannual variations of flow. Comparing velocities with bed elevations shows that, along much of the glacier, flow concentrates in a narrow axis of relatively fast flowing ice that overlies a bedrock trough. The flow of the glacier over major undulations in its bed can be regarded as a “cascade”; it speeds up over bedrock highs and through valley narrows and slows down over deep basins and in wide spots. This pattern is an expected consequence of mass conservation for a glacier near steady state. Neither theory nor data from this Taylor Glacier study support the alternative view, recently proposed, that an outlet glacier of this type trickles slowly over bedrock highs and flows fastest over deep basins.
MICROHABITAT AND PREY ODOR SELECTION IN THE FORAGING PIGMY RATTLESNAKE

We tested the roles of shelter and prey odor cues on the prestrike movement patterns of the dusky pigmy rattlesnake, Sistrurus miliarius barbouri. In the first experiment, prey odors—mouse, frog, lizard, plus control—were presented in various combinations with and without shelters. The pigmy rattlesnake initially preferred sites with both frog odor and shelter. However, this changed over a 23-h period so that shelter alone became the most preferred feature of the microhabitat choices. The initial 2 h pigmy response was similar to that reported for the western rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis), in that they responded differently to the four choice combinations of shelter and prey odor. This initial pigmy response differed in that only frog odor (but not mouse or lizard odor) affected their initial choices. Our work also indicates that when foraging, novel prey odors (frog) initially attracted their attention, but preference for this odor soon declined. In the second experiment, we examined the preference for prey odors by simultaneously presenting all three prey odors plus control (water). The snakes exhibited no prey odor preference during the first 2-h or during the total 23-h of the trials. In both experiments, the pattern of circadian activity was the same. Circadian activity showed two peaks, one shortly before onset of the nocturnal phase and the second just before midnight; thereafter, activity gradually declined so that most snakes were in, and remained in, a shelter by morning when the diurnal phase began. In these experiments, active movement in pigmy rattlesnakes occurred nocturnally and by day they remain in settled locations. While in such settled positions, the pigmy rattlesnakes coiled into stereotypic ambush postures facing the opening in their shelter where prey would most likely pass.
Determinants of Successful Loan Application at Peer-to-Peer Lending Market

DOI: 10.14254/2071789X.2018/11-1/6 ABSTRACT. Peer-to-peer lending, as an alternative to classic bank loans, has become popular all over the world. On the basis of the conceptual characteristics, it can be expected that loans should be more advantageous from the view of costs. But as the studies describe, there are significant differences due to the factors, which can be affected by borrowers with the aim to get funded. We have examined the role of the particular factors, as part of provided data by borrowers for the decision-making process by investors in the dataset from the peer-to-peer lending website Bondora, managed by the Estonian company Isepankur. With the method of the multinomial logistic regression model, we described the importance of borrowers’ decisions and their effects on funding results. The debt to income rate is the most significant variable and the highest negative impact is reached by the home ownership type variable. There are 28 factors with a nonnegative impact and 20 factors have a negative influence. Comparison of these findings to other studies enable us to describe the impacts of the social identity data and information about the loan for investors, within the peerto-peer lending market environment.
Precipitable water vapor estimates from homogeneously reprocessed GPS data: An intertechnique comparison in Antarctica

[1] Homogeneously reprocessed GPS data offer the possibility of an accurate, stable, and increasingly long-term record of integrated precipitable water vapor (PW) of particular value in data sparse regions. We present such a global reanalysis of GPS data, focusing on 12 Antarctic sites. We show stepwise improvements of GPS zenith total delay (ZTD) estimates upon adoption of each of (1) absolute antenna phase centre variations, (2) VMF1 tropospheric mapping functions, and (3) an accurate model of a priori zenith hydrostatic delay (ZHD) from observed surface meteorological data. The cumulative effect of these three additions to the analysis is a systematic decrease in the magnitude of GPS estimates of ZTD by an average of ∼11 mm ZTD (∼1.8 mm PW). The resultant GPS PW data set for 2004 shows a mean bias to radiosonde measurements of -0.48 mm PW. Our conclusion is that, in Antarctica at least, a proportion of the widely observed bias between GPS and radiosonde measurements can be explained by earlier GPS analysis deficiencies. We also compare our GPS PW measurements with AIRS and MODIS level 2 PW products. The GPS agreements with AIRS and MODIS are comparable. Reanalyzed GPS gives typically larger measurements than AIRS with a mean site bias of 0.58 mm PW and a mean rms of 1.24 mm PW. By contrast, the GPS measurements are typically smaller than those from MODIS, with a mean site bias of -0.35 mm PW and rms of 1.42 mm PW. PW estimates from reprocessed GPS solutions using state-of-the-art models now have greater potential for assimilation into regional or global numerical weather models.
Preparation of value added products from dehydrated bathua leaves (Chenopodium album Linn.)

Green leafy vegetables form an important part of daily diet. Since these are produced in surplus and have short shelf-life, preservation of vegetables can prevent wastage and increase availability in the diet during off-season. Bathua (Chenopodium album Linn.) leaves, rich in micronutrients were selected for dehydration. Leaves were tray dried at 50-60 o C for three to four hours till the moisture reached to 6-7 per cent. These dehydrated leaves were incorporated at 3-15 per cent levels in two conventional foods namely green gram dal and paratha. Organoleptic properties of products were judged by nine point hedonic scale. Proximate composition, iron content and carotene content of leaves and products were analyzed. Results showed that dehydrated leaves were rich source of protein, carbohydrate and ash. Iron and carotene contents of dehydrated bathua leaves (27.48mg/100g and 14826µg/100g, respectively) were 6-8 times higher than fresh leaves. Green gram dal and paratha incorporated with 7 and 5 per cent dehydrated bathua leaves were liked most. Iron content of green gram dal (8.8mg/100g) and paratha incorporated with dehydrated bathua leaves was higher than their respective control. In comparison to control enriched paratha (4255.66±0.6µg/100g) and green gram dal (984 ±1.8µg/100g) had many fold greater carotene content. Therefore, it can be concluded that incorporation of dehydrated bathua leaves in various conventional food items can improve the nutritional quality of the products as well as add variety in the diet.
UNIVERSITY OF VAASA FACULTY OF BUSINESS STUDIES DEPARTMENT OF ACCOUNTING AND FINANCE

This study investigates the relation of risk-return of four Nordic stock market’s indices – OMX Copenhagen, OMX Helsinki, OMX Stockholm and Oslo Exchange All Shares from January 1996 to February 2017. EGARCH and GARCH model are used to model conditional volatility. OMX Copenhagen shows a reliable negative risk-return relation through the estimated period in both daily and monthly frequency. There is no positive risk return correlation found in this study. This study indicates that there is strong covariation in risk premium and unexpected volatility in four Nordic stock market’s indices. The leverage effect testing shows that the lower return would induce the higher realized volatility change.
An overview of the operations/products offered by Islamic banks in Pakistan

Islamic banks are striving to capture the maximum number of customers to compete with conventional banks by providing a large number of products as an alternative for interest based products. There is a clear difference between operations/products offered by Islamic and conventional banks. Islamic banks are offering interest free products according to Shariah principles to promote business and trade in the country. This study presents an overview of operations and products offered by Islamic banks especially in Pakistan. Islamic banks provide a variety of products according to principles of Shariah to cope with the challenges of the recent age. These products may be categorized as short-term, medium-term and long-term according to their specific characteristics. It also reflects a brief picture regarding performance of Islamic banks in Pakistan since 2002. This study contributes a lot towards existing literature by beautiful reflection of operations and products of Islamic banks as bank-customer relationship for provision of quality services. It also presents the popularity and progressive products offered by Islamic banks in Pakistan. It could enhance the understanding of customers, bankers, policy makers and academicians. This study provides an insight regarding products/operations of Islamic bank that enables the researchers, academicians and policy makers to explore the ways to realize the potential benefits of Islamic banking. Key words: Islamic banking, operations, products, Pakistan.