Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Lessons from land administration projects : a review of project performance assessments - IEG category one learning product

Land rights and the systems that administer them can vary significantly across the world and within countries (World Bank 2003). For a number of reasons, land rights may be unclear or insecure. Securing land rights plays an important role in driving economic growth and poverty reduction. In recent years there has been increasing awareness of the relevance of land tenure issues to food security, climate change, rapid urbanization, informality, and indigenous peoples’ rights. The World Bank Group has a long history of developing and implementing projects aimed at securing land rights through a variety of interventions. This note synthesizes cross-cutting findings from 14 Independent Evaluation Group assessments of land administration projects that the World Bank has supported from 1998 to 2014. The project-level assessments reviewed for this report contain a wealth of information about how the Bank Group approached different problems related to strengthening land administration systems in diverse environments. This information is relevant to both land administration specialists and experts in other fields whose work is impacted by land tenure issues.
The Effect of Government R&D Subsidies Program Participation Factor for SMEs R&D Performances

This study is about effects of government R&D subsidies program participation factor for SMEs R&D performances. Currently, Government R&D subsidies program has been operating in various forms, and each company subsidies, facilities, equipment, personnel and training have been supported. Each of the companies is also involved with various factor of support to participate in the subsides program. Therefore, This study verifies the hypotheses that after government R&D subsidies program of project implementation, various participation factor of companies have an effect positive impact on business management skills of administrative performance. Also, This study verifies the hypothesis of an influence on the R&D investment and the technological capability of technical performance. Through such a analysis results will help to carry out guide for strategic R&D performance management of government R&D subsidies program participation companies.
Comparison of Long-Term Outcome between Doublet and Triplet Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Non-Metastatic Osteosarcoma of the Extremity

Objective: This study compared outcomes between doublet (AP) and triplet (IAP) neoadjuvant chemotherapy for nonmetastatic osteosarcoma of the extremity. Methods: A total of 124 patients were enrolled. In the AP group, a doublet regimen of intraarterial cisplatin and intravenous doxorubicin was given to 77 patients from 1991 to 1999. In the IAP group, a triplet regimen of additional intravenous ifosfamide was given to 47 patients from 2000 to 2007. After completion of 3 cycles of chemotherapy, patients underwent surgery. We assessed tumor response according to pathologic tumor necrosis, and treated patients with further adjuvant chemotherapy. Results: The overall pathologic response was excellent with more than 90% tumor necrosis in 74.8% of patients. Total necrosis of tumors was also found in 46 (37.4%) patients. There was no difference between the 2 groups in pathologic response (75.3 vs. 72.3%; p = 0.52) or other clinicopathologic parameters. There was no difference between the 2 groups in recurrence rate (31.2 vs. 31.9%; p = 0.17) or lung metastasis (28.6 vs. 23.4%; p = 0.53). Moreover, there were no statistical differences in median disease-free survival and overall survival between the groups. There was more hematologic toxicity in the IAP group (neutropenia, p = 0.002; thrombocytopenia, p = 0.001; febrile neutropenia, p < 0.001). Conclusions: The addition of ifosfamide to doxorubicin and cisplatin in neoadjuvant chemotherapy did not show improved outcomes in this study. Further trials are required to elucidate optimal neoadjuvant chemotherapy and effective salvage regimens.
Early childhood infectious diseases and the development of asthma up to school age: a birth cohort study

Abstract Objective: To investigate the association between early childhood infections and subsequent development of asthma. Design: Longitudinal birth cohort study. Setting: Five children's hospitals in five German cities. Participants: 1314 children born in 1990 followed from birth to the age of 7 years. Main outcome measures: Asthma and asthmatic symptoms assessed longitudinally by parental questionnaires; atopic sensitisation assessed longitudinally by determination of IgE concentrations to various allergens; bronchial hyperreactivity assessed by bronchial histamine challenge at age 7 years. Results: Compared with children with 1 episode of runny nose before the age of 1 year, those with 2 episodes were less likely to have a doctor's diagnosis of asthma at 7 years old (odds ratio 0.52 (95% confidence interval 0.29 to 0.92)) or to have wheeze at 7 years old (0.60 (0.38 to 0.94)), and were less likely to be atopic before the age of 5 years. Similarly, having 1 viral infection of the herpes type in the first 3 years of life was inversely associated with asthma at age 7 (odds ratio 0.48 (0.26 to 0.89)). Repeated lower respiratory tract infections in the first 3 years of life showed a positive association with wheeze up to the age of 7 years (odds ratio 3.37 (1.92 to 5.92) for 4 infections v 3 infections). Conclusion: Repeated viral infections other than lower respiratory tract infections early in life may reduce the risk of developing asthma up to school age.
Prevalence and risk factors for human immunodeficiency virus-associated neurocognitive impairment, 1996 to 2002: Results from an urban observational cohort

To assess prevalence and risk factors for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-related neurocognitive impairment (NCI), the authors performed a 7-year survey in the period 1996 to 2002. A total of 432 patients were examined. HIV-related NCI was diagnosed in 238 patients (55.1%), meeting the HIV dementia (HIV-D) criteria in 45 (10.4%). The prevalence of both NCI and HIV-D did not change significantly during the study period. Compared with patients without NCI, patients with NCI were older (40.4 versus 38.2 years; P = .003), had a higher prevalence of positive HCV serology (61.1% versus 38.9%; P = .003), and a lower nadir CD4 cell count (156 versus 222 cells/μl; P < .001). Compared with patients seen during 1996 to 1999, patients with NCI seen during 2000 to 2002 were older (40.7 versus 38.8 years; P = .004), had a less advanced disease stage (previous acquired immunodeficiency syndrome [AIDS] 28.8% versus 65.7%; P < .001) and a higher nadir CD4 count (174 versus 132 cells/μl; P = .026). This study showed an unchanged prevalence of both HIV-related NCI and HIV-D in the period 1996 to 2002. The authors found evidences for new additional potential risk factors for HIV-related NCI (older age, lower nadir CD4 count, positive hepatitis C virus [HCV] serology), and for a change of risk factors for NCI in the late highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) era (older age, less advanced disease, higher nadir CD4 count).
The pathophysiology and treatment of hyponatraemic encephalopathy: an update.

Hyponatraemia is a common disorder that occurs in both the out-patient and in-patient setting. Hyponatraemic encephalopathy can be difficult to recognize, as the most frequent symptoms are nonspecific and can easily be incorrectly attributed to other causes. The patient usually presents with headache, nausea, vomiting and confusion, but can present with seizures, respiratory arrest and non-cardiogenic pulmonary oedema [1]. Over the past two decades, risk factors other than changes in the serum sodium level have been found to play a major role in the development of hyponatraemic encephalopathy, such as age, gender and hypoxia.
Salient Object Detection with Semantic Priors

Salient object detection has increasingly become a popular topic in cognitive and computational sciences, including computer vision and artificial intelligence research. In this paper, we propose integrating \textit{semantic priors} into the salient object detection process. Our algorithm consists of three basic steps. Firstly, the explicit saliency map is obtained based on the semantic segmentation refined by the explicit saliency priors learned from the data. Next, the implicit saliency map is computed based on a trained model which maps the implicit saliency priors embedded into regional features with the saliency values. Finally, the explicit semantic map and the implicit map are adaptively fused to form a pixel-accurate saliency map which uniformly covers the objects of interest. We further evaluate the proposed framework on two challenging datasets, namely, ECSSD and HKUIS. The extensive experimental results demonstrate that our method outperforms other state-of-the-art methods.
Creating a 'just and sustainable' food system in the City of Vancouver: The role of governance, partnerships and policy-making

Food systems, understood as the ways that people produce, obtain, consume and dispose of their food, have historically played an integrat part in processes of urbanisation. Over and above the role of nourishing populations, food and food systems have often come to symbolise a society's beliefs and struggles around ideals of social redistribution, justice, and democracy itself. Due tc~ a range of factors, the 20th century witnessed a deep rift between cities and their food systems. Now, after decades of estrangement, food and food systems are once again being conceptualised as an urban governance concern. This reconciliation is being felt in many Canadian cities where food is reappearing on the agenda of a growing number of local governments. Such a shift reflects changes in the ways that food, and other social and environmental dimensions of urban life are recognised and managed in local governance arrangements that are themselves undergoing transformations in their social, political and spatial composition. Based on an in-depth study of one Canadian city, Vancouver, this dissertation analyses the ways that food policy as a sustainability issue came to find a place on the local governance agenda; how, by whom and at what geographical scales ensuing tensions were mediated; and what food policy may reveal about the role of local government in coordinating governance strategies at different scales and contexts, particularly where 'sustainability' is involved. The pressures generated by Vancouver's adoption of food policy raise important geographical question~s that are central to this dissertation. Specifically, where and how do policies on sustainability develop, what groups and interests are involved in their formulation, and what are the resulting types of local policy and governance? The aim is not to determine a formula that assumes uniformity between and within places. Rather it is to consider why certain sustainability approaches are adopted in some places and not others, and why at particular times and not others. Underlying all clf these questions is the importance of the broader Canadian context characterised by active debate over the need for new governance arrangements and rinter-governmental relations that better reflect Canada's shifting realities.
Chromate Adsorption by Kaolinite

Chromate (CrO42−) adsorption was investigated on kaolinite (0.2–2 μm) saturated with NaClO4 over a range of pH. Adsorption increased with decreasing pH because of protonation of chromate and/or variable charge sites on kaolinite. Chemical pretreatment to remove noncrystalline and crystalline oxide contaminants affected the magnitude of CrO42− adsorption, but not the pH range over which CrO42− adsorbed. Chromate adsorption at different sorbate and sorbent concentrations increased below the pHzpc for the kaolinite edge, suggesting the formation of weak surface complexes. If CrO42− and SO42− were present at equal concentration (5.0 × 10−7 M), the two solutes sorbed independently, suggesting binding to separate sites. The presence of excess SO42− (5.0 × 10−4 M), however, unexplainably enhanced CrO42− adsorption. The adsorption of both Chromate and sulfate can be described in terms of a site-binding model of the kaolinite edge, in which the edge is viewed as composite layers of Al and Si oxide. Surface complexation constants for CrO42− on kaolinite were similar to those for alumina, pointing to the importance of Al-OH edge sites in Chromate adsorption.
INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL REPORTING STANDARDS AND FINANCIAL REPORTING QUALITY IN NIGERIA

The study examines the impact of the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) on the quality of financial reporting in Nigeria. The study utilises a period based approach to analyse changes in the degree of financial reporting quality (FRQ) that hinges on three proxies: Value Relevance, Earnings Quality and Earnings Management. Three models were developed to capture each proxy, and the models were analysed using regression analysis to evaluate the R 2 statistics; which captured the direction of change in the reporting quality. The results showed that financial reporting quality increased after the adoption of the IFRS for all the relevant proxies. The study concludes that the adoption of IFRS to enhance financial reporting quality while reducing the probability of earnings management practices could be beneficial in the long run to the Nigerian financial landscape. Keywords : Reporting Standards, Value, Relevance, Earnings, Management
Allometric constraints on, and trade‐offs in, belowground carbon allocation and their control of soil respiration across global forest ecosystems

To fully understand how soil respiration is partitioned among its component fluxes and responds to climate, it is essential to relate it to belowground carbon allocation, the ultimate carbon source for soil respiration. This remains one of the largest gaps in knowledge of terrestrial carbon cycling. Here, we synthesize data on gross and net primary production and their components, and soil respiration and its components, from a global forest database, to determine mechanisms governing belowground carbon allocation and their relationship with soil respiration partitioning and soil respiration responses to climatic factors across global forest ecosystems. Our results revealed that there are three independent mechanisms controlling belowground carbon allocation and which influence soil respiration and its partitioning: an allometric constraint; a fine‐root production vs. root respiration trade‐off; and an above‐ vs. belowground trade‐off in plant carbon. Global patterns in soil respiration and its partitioning are constrained primarily by the allometric allocation, which explains some of the previously ambiguous results reported in the literature. Responses of soil respiration and its components to mean annual temperature, precipitation, and nitrogen deposition can be mediated by changes in belowground carbon allocation. Soil respiration responds to mean annual temperature overwhelmingly through an increasing belowground carbon input as a result of extending total day length of growing season, but not by temperature‐driven acceleration of soil carbon decomposition, which argues against the possibility of a strong positive feedback between global warming and soil carbon loss. Different nitrogen loads can trigger distinct belowground carbon allocation mechanisms, which are responsible for different responses of soil respiration to nitrogen addition that have been observed. These results provide new insights into belowground carbon allocation, partitioning of soil respiration, and its responses to climate in forest ecosystems and are, therefore, valuable for terrestrial carbon simulations and projections.
International Evidence on the Determinants of Initial Public Offerings

This paper offers empirical insights into the determinants of IPO listing activity using annual data sampled across 38 exchanges representing 39 countries. Listing activity in developed countries stock markets is found to be influenced by a range of variables which capture stock market and business conditions. The single most important factor in explaining the current level of listing activity however, is found to be past IPO volume. For the sample of stock markets in emerging countries, none of the independent variables tested possessed any real explanatory power. Finally, evidence is found which suggests that hot issue markets are associated with equity sales by both private firms seeking to list and also by firms which are already listed.
Expatriate Satisfaction in International Assignments: Perspectives from Indian IT Professionals Working in the US

Rapid globalisation and boundaryless business ventures have contributed to a growing number of expatriates working in foreign locales. As a result of this, it is increasingly important that multinational corporations sending their employees for international assignments prioritise expatriate management. The Global Delivery Model followed by the Indian software firms creates a number of onsite (international) opportunities for Indian software professionals. The effective management of expatriates is increasingly been recognised as a major determinant of success or failure in international business. This study attempts to identify factors that impact expatriate satisfaction in the software industry. Using the method of exploratory factor analysis, through a survey conducted of 75 Indian expatriates currently on assignment in the United States, 25 variables which impact expatriate performance have been grouped into five factors and the correlations of these factors with overall expatriate satisfaction have been examined.
The convenience consumer's dilemma

Purpose – The overall aim of this research is to increase understanding of consumers' barriers in relation to convenience food. While the motivation for consuming convenience food has been investigated frequently, few studies have investigated the barriers.Design/methodology/approach – Three focus group studies, exploring consumers' ready‐to‐heat (RTH) meal dilemmas, were conducted in Norway.Findings – The frequency of barriers and four narratives are presented, and the results indicate that consumers face bottom‐up dilemmas related to barriers like sensory perception, health, economy, and managing relationships; and/or top‐down value dilemmas related to traditions, quality of life and environmental barriers when considering convenience food consumption.Research limitations/implications – This research contributes to the current body of literature, which mainly focuses on drivers of convenience demand, by elaborating on barriers and dilemmas for convenience choice.Practical implications – The findings imp.
Long-term obesity prevention and the Motivating Adolescents with Technology to CHOOSE Health™ program.

BACKGROUND The Motivating Adolescents with Technology to CHOOSE Health™ (MATCH) intervention integrates lifestyle behavior change curriculum within academic subjects taught in seventh grade. This study assesses obesity prevention in participants into high school. METHODS The study compares four- to five-year longitudinal data from a single-site cohort (N=106, 54% retained from 195 participants at baseline; 82% of those still at the school) pre- and postintervention in a rural middle school with high obesity rates with data from the 2006 Child Survey and 2010 Child and Young Adult Surveys from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (N=600), which serves as a nationally representative comparison group. Outcome measures include pre- and postchanges in weight category, BMI, BMI z-score, BMI percentile for age and gender, and rates of change per month in BMI measures. RESULTS At follow-up, change in percent overweight was significantly different between groups, with the MATCH group decreasing (20-12%) and the comparison group increasing (17-19%). Overall, the MATCH group had significantly higher decrease rates in BMI z-scores (p=0.002) and BMI percentile (p=0.01) than the comparison group. Of all adolescents at healthy weight at baseline, 2% from MATCH became overweight after five years, whereas 13% of the comparison group increased to overweight or obese (p=0.02) after four years. CONCLUSIONS Despite a small sample size and a high-risk setting, at long-term follow-up, a greater proportion of MATCH participants than in the comparison group decreased from overweight to healthy weight or remained at healthy weight. The MATCH results suggest that some proportion of high-risk adolescents can have their growth trajectory follow a healthier path than expected.
Bone modelling at fresh extraction sockets: immediate implant placement versus spontaneous healing: an experimental study in the beagle dog.

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this investigation is to describe histologically the undisturbed healing of fresh extraction sockets when compared to immediate implant placement. METHODS In eight beagle dogs, after extraction of the 3P3 and 4P4, implants were inserted into the distal sockets of the premolars, while the mesial sockets were left to heal spontaneously. Each animal provided four socket sites (control) and four implant sites (test). After 6 weeks, animals were sacrificed and tissue blocks were dissected, prepared for ground sectioning. RESULTS The relative vertical buccal bone resorption in relation to the lingual bone was similar in both test and control groups. At immediate implant sites, however, the absolute buccal bone loss observed was 2.32 (SD 0.36) mm, what may indicate that while an apical shift of both the buccal and lingual bone crest occurred at the implant sites, this may not happen in naturally healing sockets. CONCLUSIONS The results from this investigation showed that after tooth extraction the buccal socket wall underwent bone resorption at both test and control sites. This resorption appeared to be more pronounced at the implant sites, although the limitations of the histological evaluation method utilized preclude a definite conclusion.
The impact of initial team composition and performance on team dynamics and survival

The article presents the results of a study which analyzed the dynamics of teams in the workplace. The importance of changes to the line-ups of entrepreneurial teams is emphasized and the homophily principle is discussed. Various possible scenarios were studied, such as team changes which led to dissolution and team changes which did not. The data analyzed was drawn from Swedish businesses in the late 1990s. The impact which various types and degrees of diversity had on team formation, durability and success are discussed.
Consumer awareness of name removal procedures: Implications for direct marketing

Providing consumers an opportunity to remove their names from mailing lists is one method for addressing rising consumer concerns about privacy. Name removal is also central to the success of the industry's self-regulatory programs. However, 52 percent of the public, including 45 percent of those who shop by mail, are not aware of name removal procedures. This study investigates how consumers who are aware of name removal differ from those who are not, based on an analysis of the raw data from the 1991 Harris-Equifax Consumer Privacy Survey (17). Consumers who are unaware of name removal are more likely to be young and to be African-American, and less likely to be well-educated, to have shopped by mail, and are less likely to be concerned about privacy than consumers who are aware.