Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
‘ Poverty , Equity and Growth in Developing and Transition Countries : Statistical Methods and Empirical Analysis

This paper analyzes the creation, destruction and reallocation of jobs to better understand the micro-dynamics of aggregate employment change in African manufacturing. The nature and magnitude of gross job flows are examined using a unique panel data of Ethiopian manufacturing establishments over the period 1996-2007. We also assess the relative importance of firm demographics, industry effects and business cycles for job flows. The rates and patterns of job creation and destruction in our sample are comparable to the findings from developed and emerging economies suggesting that African firms adjust their labor force in a manner broadly similar to firms elsewhere and that African labor markets are not uniquely restrictive to undermine job reallocation across firms. We also find, like in many other countries, that job reallocation is relatively higher in industries dominated by small and young establishments. Unlike in other regions, however, job reallocation in our sample is pro-cyclical and its cross-industry variation holds very little similarity with that of developed and emerging economies. Small firms in Africa create jobs mainly at the point of entry to a market with limited contribution to manufacturing employment through post-entry expansion. JEL Classification: J20, J23, J49
Incremental Processing of Gap-filler Dependencies : Evidence from the Processing of Subject and Object Clefts in Japanese 1

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: This research was supported by (1)Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B) “Neurocognitive basis for language learning through the processing of input and output (PI: Hiromu Sakai, #20320060) ” by JSPS; (2) Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B) (PI: Kentaro Nakatani, #21320083) by JSPS; (3) Grant-in Aid for Young Scientists from the MEXT (PI: Hajime Ono, # 21720152). TCP-2011 March 11-12 KEIO UNIVERSITY The teacher who i [the student saw i ] was young.
PREVENTING SUBSTANCE USE PROBLEMS AMONG YOUTH : A LITERATURE REVIEW & RECOMMENDATIONS

This paper critically reviews the evaluative literature on programs and other interventions designed to prevent substance-use problems among youth. We start from a description and discussion of patterns and trends in youthful drug use, and evidence on types of harm. We then describe and assess the literature evaluating programs and initiatives to prevent youthful drug problems. The following headings were used: Education & Persuasion, Community-Based, Legal and Regulatory Policies, and Harm Reduction. Lastly, in the light of this review, we offer some commentary and analysis concerning the reality of program goals, theoretical underpinnings, and cost-effectiveness. We conclude with recommendations for future prevention strategies. 1. Scope of this Report This paper reviews the evaluative literature on programs and other interventions designed to prevent substance-use problems among youth. Our goal has been to specify “what works” in youth problems prevention, and to suggest paths forward in future programs and experiments. The “substances” covered include tobacco, alcohol and illicit drugs. For most youth prevention programs discussed in the literature, marijuana is the primary illicit drug covered. We acknowledge at the outset that carrying out a good evaluative study on a prevention initiative or program is a difficult task. Somehow the enthusiastic conviction necessary for the initiative to have a chance of success must be wedded to the detached skepticism necessary to a good evaluation (Room, 1990). The initiative or program must operate in real time and real life, and under these circumstances the evaluator may have no choice but to compromise on methods
Conservation tillage implementation under rainfed agriculture: Implication for soil fertility, green water management, soil loss and grain yield in the Ethiopian Highlands

Soil degradation and declining agricultural productivity due to soil erosion and poor soil management using repeated cross plowing by the traditional plow had been the major problem in the Ethiopian highlands. To reduce the impacts of land degradation, research institutes, researchers and NGOs cooperatively developed and or adopted conservation tillage tools and had been implemented in an on-farm experiment for the last decades. Thus, this paper reviewed scientific conservation tillage researches which had been conducted on its impact on soil fertility, soil water properties, runoff, soil loss and agricultural productivity in the Ethiopian highlands. Majority of the implemented conservation tillage had brought significant effect on soil fertility improvement, moisture conservation, increased yield, reduced runoff and soil loss compared to the traditional tillage. Although, tillage changes soil properties, the effects had been usually inconsistent and not repeatable from site to site and time to time. Environmental and socioeconomic factors especially weed infestations and unaffordable costs are among the major challenges for its adoption in Ethiopia. To optimize the productivity and maintain the sustainability of soils, further studies on the effect of long-term tillage particularly on soils and soil water properties under various tillage practices and environments would be essential.
OriginalClinicalScienceçGeneral Cytomegalovirus Infection in Pediatric Renal Transplantation and the Impact of Chemoprophylaxis With ( Val-) Ganciclovir

Cytomegalovirus Infection in Pediatric Renal Transplantation and the Impact of Chemoprophylaxis With (Val-)Ganciclovir Britta Höcker, MD, Sebastian Zencke, Kai Krupka, Alexander Fichtner, MD, Lars Pape, MD, PhD, Luca Dello Strologo, MD, Isabella Guzzo, MD, PhD, Rezan Topaloglu, MD, Birgitta Kranz, MD, Jens König, MD, Martin Bald, MD, Nicholas J. A. Webb, MD, FRCP, FRCPCH, Aytül Noyan, MD, PhD, Hasan Dursun, MD, Stephen Marks, MD, Fatos Yalcinkaya, MD, Florian Thiel, MD, Heiko Billing, MD, Martin Pohl, MD, Henry Fehrenbach, MD, Thomas Bruckner, PhD, and Burkhard Tönshoff, MD, PhD
Local sorting, bend curvature, and particle mobility in meandering gravel bed rivers

Hydraulic, grain scale sorting of mixed bed sediment influences the mobility of grains in discrete areas of river channels. To assess this effect, local values of surface grain size sorting were compared with measurements of bed load at corresponding locations in a bend of the Colorado River in Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP), and the distribution of local Shields stress through the reach was derived from a two‐dimensional flow model. With decreasing degrees of local sorting, the relative mobility of the fine‐ and coarse‐size fractions of the load appeared to decrease and increase, respectively. Furthermore, back‐calculated critical Shields stress values for sediment entrainment decreased with values of local sorting, particularly for the upstream portion of the reach where particles were more poorly sorted and coarse grains had higher relative exposure. To evaluate the pervasiveness of these and other patterns of sorting in gravel rivers, detailed field measurements of channel topography and surface grain size (317 pebble counts) were obtained for seven additional reaches of differing curvature (radius of curvature/width from 1 to 28) near the headwaters of the Colorado and Fall rivers in RMNP. Moderately curved and tight bends (radius of curvature/width ≤ 7) were significantly better sorted than comparatively straight reaches. Values of local sorting decreased with distance downstream for the majority of curved channels, reflecting a reduction in the standard deviation of surface grain sizes toward the lower end of the reach; this effect increased slightly with bend sharpness.
The flexural dynamics of melting ice shelves

Abstract A conspicuous precursor of catastrophic ice-shelf break-up along the Antarctic Peninsula, reported widely in the literature, is the gradual increase in surface melting and consequent proliferation of supraglacial lakes and dolines. Here we present analytical and numerical solutions for the flexure stresses within an ice shelf covered by lakes and dolines, both isolated and arrayed. We conclude that surface water promotes ice-shelf instability in two ways: (1) by water-assisted crevasse penetration, as previously noted, and (2) by the inducement of strong tensile flexure stresses (exceeding background spreading stress by 10–100 times) in response to surface water mass loads and ‘hydrostatic rebound’ occurring when meltwater lakes drain.
EASL Clinical Practice Guidelines: The diagnosis and management of patients with primary biliary cholangitis

• Users may freely distribute the URL that is used to identify this publication. • Users may download and/or print one copy of the publication from the University of Birmingham research portal for the purpose of private study or non-commercial research. • User may use extracts from the document in line with the concept of ‘fair dealing’ under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (? ) • Users may not further distribute the material nor use it for the purposes of commercial gain.
Video monitoring and field measurements of a rapidly evolving coastal system: the river mouth and sand spit of the Mataquito River in Chile

ABSTRACT Cienfuegos R. , Villagran M. ,Aguilera J.C. , Catalán P., Castelle B. , Almar R,, 2014. Video monitoring and field measurements of a rapidly evolving coastal system: the river mouth and sand spit of the Mataquito River in Chile. In: Green, A.N. and Cooper, J.A. G. (eds.), Proceedings 13th International Coastal Symposium (Durban, South Africa), Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 70, pp. 639–644, ISSN 0749-0208. The understanding of morphological processes controlling the evolution of sand spit reformation after a tsunami impact is a challenging and interesting topic, especially in highly energetic and micro tidal environments. A field campaign performed during December 2012 at the Mataquito River mouth in Chile, allowed us to simultaneously monitor topo-bathymetry evolution, wave climate, tidal range, swash zone dynamics and upper beach face evolution over a portion of its sand spit. A video system was set up for a continuous and long-term monitoring of the evolution of the river mouth and sand spit. Primarily, in this work we focus on the application of a video-derived shoreline detection method to assess shoreline evolution and beach cusps migration at hourly scales. We test the method performance on short-term episodic migration of beach cusps recorded during the campaign. Beach face variations at a daily scale were observed, which can be attributed to the migration of beach cusps in the alongshore direction, and linked to wave forcing and alongshore sediment transport.
Status and trends of native birds in the Keauhou and Kilauea Forest, Hawai`i Island.

1U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center, Kīlauea Field Station, P.O. Box 44, Hawai i National Park, HI 96718 2U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center, 677 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 615, Honolulu, Hawai i 3U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center, Kilauea Field Station, P.O. Box 44, Hawai i National Park, Hawai i 4U.S. National Park Service, Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit, Hawai i Volcanoes National Park, P.O. Box 52, Hawai i National Park, Hawai i
a score to predict short-term risk of COPD exacerbations (sCOPeX)

Background: There is no clinically useful score to predict chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbations. We aimed to derive this by analyzing data from three existing COPD clinical trials of budesonide/formoterol, formoterol, or placebo in patients with moderate-to-very-severe COPD and a history of exacerbations in the previous year. Methods: Predictive variables were selected using Cox regression for time to first severe COPD exacerbation. We determined absolute risk estimates for an exacerbation by identifying variables in a binomial model, adjusting for observation time, study, and treatment. The model was further reduced to clinically useful variables and the final regression coefficients scaled to obtain risk scores of 0–100 to predict an exacerbation within 6 months. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and the corresponding C-index were used to investigate the discriminatory properties of predictive variables. Results: The best predictors of an exacerbation in the next 6 months were more COPD maintenance medications prior to the trial, higher mean daily reliever use, more exacerbations during the previous year, lower forced expiratory volume in 1 second/forced vital capacity ratio, and female sex. Using these risk variables, we developed a score to predict short-term (6-month) risk of COPD exacerbations (SCOPEX). Budesonide/formoterol reduced future exacerbation risk more than formoterol or as-needed short-acting β 2 -agonist (salbutamol). Conclusion: SCOPEX incorporates easily identifiable patient characteristics and can be readily applied in clinical practice to target therapy to reduce COPD exacerbations in patients at the highest risk.
Farmers' Perceptions of and Adaptations to Changing Climate in the Melamchi Valley of Nepal

Knowledge of farmers’ perceptions of and adaptations to climate change is important to inform policies addressing the risk of climate change to farmers. This case study explored those issues in the Melamchi Valley of Nepal through a survey of 365 households and focus group discussions in 6 communities using a Community-Based Risk Screening Tool–Adaptation and Livelihoods (CRiSTAL). Analysis of climate trends in the study area for 1979–2009 showed that mean annual temperatures rose by 1.02°C and the frequency of drought increased measurably after 2003. Farmers reported increases in crop pests, hailstorms, landslides, floods, thunderstorms, and erratic precipitation as climate-related hazards affecting agriculture. They responded in a variety of ways including changing farming practices, selling livestock, milk, and eggs, and engaging in daily wage labor and seasonal labor migration. With more efficient support and planning, some of these measures could be adjusted to better meet current and future risks from climate change.
Atmospheric and oceanic evidences of El Niño‐Southern Oscillation events in the south central Pacific Ocean from coral stable isotopic records over the last 137 years

We measured δ18O and δ13C in Porites lutea collected in the Moorea lagoon where the instrumental records show that an El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) event implies both a cloud cover decrease and a weak sea surface temperature (SST) increase. Two proxies allow an ENSO record to be reconstructed at Moorea: the annual δ13C anomaly, associated with the South Pacific Convergence Zone motion, and an annual δ18O anomaly showing increased SST. The frequency bands exhibited by the singular spectral analysis (SSA) and the multitaper method of the annual δ18O and δ13C records are centered on 2.5 and 5.2 years and 2.4 and 3.2 years, respectively, which are the main ENSO modes. We used SSA to reconstruct ENSO events at Moorea over the past 137 years. Results indicate that climate variability at this site is strongly affected by ENSO events.
Long-term outcome of patients with clinical stage I high-risk nonseminomatous germ-cell tumors 15 years after one adjuvant cycle of bleomycin, etoposide, and cisplatin chemotherapy.

BACKGROUND To report the long-term results of adjuvant treatment with one cycle of modified bleomycin, etoposide, and cisplatin (BEP) in patients with clinical stage I (CS I) nonseminomatous germ-cell tumors (NSGCT) at high risk of relapse. PATIENTS AND METHODS In a single-arm, phase II clinical trial, 40 patients with CS I NSGCT with vascular invasion and/or >50% embryonal cell carcinoma in the orchiectomy specimen received one cycle of adjuvant BEP (20 mg/m(2) bleomycin as a continuous infusion over 24 h, 120 mg/m(2) etoposide and 40 mg/m(2) cisplatin each on days 1-3). Primary end point was the relapse rate. RESULTS Median follow-up was 186 months. One patient (2.5%) had a pulmonary relapse 13 months after one BEP and died after three additional cycles of BEP chemotherapy. Three patients (7.5%) presented with a contralateral metachronous testicular tumor, and three (7.5%) developed a secondary malignancy. Three patients (7.5%) reported intermittent tinnitus and one had grade 2 peripheral polyneuropathy (2.5%). CONCLUSIONS Adjuvant chemotherapy with one cycle of modified-BEP is a feasible and safe treatment of patients with CS I NSGCT at high risk of relapse. In these patients, it appears to be an alternative to two cycles of BEP and to have a lower relapse rate than retroperitoneal lymph node dissection. If confirmed by other centers, 1 cycle of adjuvant BEP chemotherapy should become a first-line treatment option for this group of patients.
Making Sense of Motherhood: A Narrative Approach

Dedication Acknowledgements Introduction 1. The storied human life: a narrative approach 2. Making sense of motherhood: cultural scripts 3. Setting the Western context: mothering in late-modern society 4. Anticipating motherhood: the antenatal period 5. Making sense of early mothering experiences 6. A return to normal: becoming the expert 7. Conclusions and reflections: making sense of motherhood References Index.
Forecasting the South African Economy: A DSGE-VAR Approach

This paper develops an estimable hybrid model that combines the micro-founded DSGE model with the flexibility of the theoretical VAR model. The model is estimated via the maximum likelihood technique based on quarterly data on real Gross National Product (GNP), consumption, investment and hours worked, for the South African economy, over the period of 1970:1 to 2000:4. Based on a recursive estimation using the Kalman filter algorithm, the out-of-sample forecasts from the hybrid model are then compared with the forecasts generated from the Classical and Bayesian variants of the VAR for the period 2001:1-2005:4. The results indicate that, in general, the estimated hybrid DSGE model outperforms the Classical VAR, but not the Bayesian VARs in terms of out-of-sample forecasting performances. ∗Contact Details: Department of Economics, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, 0002, South Africa, Email: dave.liu@up.ac. za. Phone: +27 12 420 3729, Fax: +27 12 362 5207. †To whom correspondence should be addressed. Contact details: Professor, Department of Economics, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, 0002, South Africa, Email: Rangan.Gupta@up.ac. za. Phone: +27 12 420 3460, Fax: +27 12 362 5207. ‡Professor, South African Reserve bank Chair, University of Pretoria and Center for Economic Research, Tilburg University, The Netherlands, Department of Economics, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, 0002, South Africa, Email: eric.schaling@up.ac. za. Phone: +27 12 4203820, Fax: +27 12 362 5207. §The authors would like to thank Professor Peter N. Ireland for his invaluable comments and suggestions.
Association of low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and acute kidney injury in the critically ill*

Objective:Given the importance of inflammation in acute kidney injury and the relationship between vitamin D and inflammation, we sought to elucidate the effect of vitamin D on acute kidney injury. We hypothesized that deficiency in 25-hydroxyvitamin D prior to hospital admission would be associated with acute kidney injury in the critically ill. Design:Two-center observational study of patients treated in medical and surgical intensive care units. Setting:Two hundred nine medical and surgical intensive care beds in two teaching hospitals in Boston, Massachusetts. Patients:Two thousand seventy-five patients, aged ≥18 yrs, in whom serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D was measured prior to hospitalization between 1998 and 2009. Interventions:None. Measurements and Main Results:The exposure of interest was preadmission serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D and categorized a priori as deficiency (25-hydroxyvitamin D <15 ng/mL), insufficiency (25-hydroxyvitamin D 15–30 ng/mL), or sufficiency (25-hydroxyvitamin D ≥30 ng/mL). The primary outcome was acute kidney injury defined as meeting Risk, Injury, Failure, Loss, and End-stage kidney disease (RIFLE) Injury or Failure criteria. Logistic regression examined the RIFLE criteria outcome. Adjusted odds ratios were estimated by multivariate logistic regression models. Preadmission 25-hydroxyvitamin D deficiency is predictive of acute kidney injury. Patients with 25-hydroxyvitamin D deficiency have an odds ratio for acute kidney injury of 1.73 (95% confidence interval 1.30–2.30; p < .0001) relative to patients with 25-hydroxyvitamin D sufficiency. 25-Hydroxyvitamin D deficiency remains a significant predictor of acute kidney injury following multivariable adjustment (adjusted odds ratio 1.50; 95% confidence interval 1.42–2.24; p < .0001). Patients with 25-hydroxyvitamin D insufficiency have an odds ratio for acute kidney injury of 1.49 (95% confidence interval 1.15–1.94; p = .003) and an adjusted odds ratio of 1.23 (95% confidence interval 1.12–1.72; p = .003) relative to patients with 25-hydroxyvitamin D sufficiency. In addition, preadmission 25-hydroxyvitamin D deficiency is predictive of mortality. Patients with 25-hydroxyvitamin D insufficiency have an odds ratio for 30-day mortality of 1.60 (95% confidence interval 1.18–2.17; p = .003) and an adjusted odds ratio of 1.61 (95% confidence interval 1.06–1.57; p = .004) relative to patients with 25-hydroxyvitamin D sufficiency. Conclusion:Deficiency of 25-hydroxyvitamin D prior to hospital admission is a significant predictor of acute kidney injury and mortality in a critically ill patient population.
Postoperative adjuvant TACE-associated nomogram for predicting the prognosis of resectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma with portal vein Tumor Thrombus after Liver Resection

Background: To explore the effects of postoperative adjuvant transarterial chemoembolization (PA-TACE) on the prognosis of HCC patients with Portal Vein Tumor Thrombus (PVTT) undergoing resection, and to develop a PA-TACE-related nomogram for predicting survival individually. Patients and Methods: Two hundred and ninety-three consecutive HCC patients with PVTT under R0 hepatectomy were recruited. Forty-seven cases had recurrence within one month after surgery. The remaining 246 cases consisted of 90 PA-TACE and 156 non-PA-TACE cases. COX regression analysis was performed for overall survival (OS) or recurrence-free survival (RFS) of these 246 cases, allowing the derivation of independent factors that were integrated into the nomogram. C-index, calibration curves, and risk stratification were performed to evaluate the performance and discriminative power of the nomograms. Results: In 246 patients without recurrence within one month after surgery, the OS and RFS for the PA-TACE group were significantly better than those for the non-PA-TACE group (P<0.0001, P<0.0001, respectively). After Cox regression analysis of OS or RFS, PA-TACE-related nomogram models were constructed. The C-index of the PA-TACE-related nomogram for OS and RFS was 0.72 and 0.73, respectively. Calibration curves revealed a good agreement between predictions and observations for the nomograms. Based on the nomogram-related risk stratification, Kaplan-Meier curves showed powerful discriminative ability. Conclusions: PA-TACE therapy improved the survival of HCC patients with PVTT undergoing hepatectomy. Accurate nomogram models were developed for predicting the individual survival and recurrence of these patients.