Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Service Quality Undergraduate – A Case of Public Education

A growing number of courses have been created lately in higher education in Brazil. The quality of these courses must be maintained to ensure that professionals are prepared for the labour market. The present work aims to identify, through a case study, the factors that contribute so that the student does not abandon the course s/he chose in a public higher education institution, FEA/USP. The students who participated in this study are those who started the courses in Management, Accountancy, Actuarial Science and Economics in 2007. In order to develop this work, some steps were followed: review of relevant literature and development of a model used in the research. Then a quantitative study was structured to conducted with the students from FEA/USP, and finally, a quantitative analysis was performed using quantitative analysis techniques in order to examine the results obtained. The model chosen to frame this study was the one proposed by Bloemer (1998), which was previously applied to financial institutions. In the present study, the model was used in a higher education institution with constructs of quality, image, satisfaction and loyalty. To assess the relationship among the above-mentioned constructs, structural equations technique were used. As a result of the analysis, it could be observed that student’s loyalty comes directly from his or her general satisfaction with the course, which is influenced by the course’s perceived quality. It is important to observe that the aspects that most distinguish loyal students from non-loyal ones are satisfaction with professors,, administrative processes and with administration in general.
Psychiatric symptoms and disorders in adolescents with low birth weight

Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of psychiatric symptoms and disorders associated with low birth weight. Design/study groups: A population based follow up study of 56 very low birthweight (VLBW: birth weight ⩽ 1500 g), 60 term small for gestational age (SGA: birth weight < 10th centile), and 83 term control (birth weight ⩾ 10th centile) children at 14 years of age. Outcome measures: Schedule for affective disorders and schizophrenia for school aged children, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) rating scale IV, autism spectrum screening questionnaire, and children’s global assessment scale. Results: VLBW adolescents had a higher prevalence of psychiatric symptoms (46%) than controls (13%) (odds ratio (OR) 5.7, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.5 to 13.0) and more psychiatric disorders (25%) than controls (7%) (OR 4.3, 95%CI 1.5 to 12.0), especially anxiety disorders. Although 25% of the VLBW adolescents had attention problems, ADHD was diagnosed in only 7%. Four VLBW adolescents had symptoms of Asperger’s disorder, and the VLBW group had a higher sum score than controls on the autism spectrum screening questionnaire. Although more SGA adolescents had psychiatric symptoms than controls (23% v 13%), the difference was not statistically significant. Results remained essentially the same when adolescents with low estimated intelligence quotient were excluded, and persisted after possible psychosocial confounders had been controlled for. Conclusion: VLBW, but not SGA adolescents, have a high risk of developing psychiatric symptoms and disorders by the age of 14, especially attention deficit, anxiety symptoms, and relational problems.
Anchored in Reality or Blinded by a Paradigm: The Role of Cap-Weighted Indices in the Future

In this article, the author examines the long rise and recent rethinking of cap-weighted indices. The research suggests their widespread adoption was propelled both by cap-weighted market indices—capital asset pricing model (CAPM)—theory and exceptional returns in the 1980s and 1990s. Yet since 1999, performance has faltered, and the preponderance of evidence indicates that cap-weighted market indices are not necessarily the be all and end all for investors. Going forward, exposures to cap-weighted indices will need to be balanced, weighed, and combined with other exposures such as those related to size, value, volatility, etc. A simple portfolio solution, like a cap-weighted market index, is not likely to be optimal for all investors, and investment committees probably will need to revise and update their policy portfolios, performance measurement, and compensation schemes. The skill of active management will be defined relative to these new policy portfolios, not cap-weighted benchmarks.
Preservation of metastatic ability of colorectal tumor cells stratified by inducibility of endogenous tumor necrosis factor after orthotopic transplantation in nude mice.

BACKGROUND Inducibility of endogenous tumor necrosis factor (TNF) by colorectal tumor cells can be regarded as a novel prognostic factor in terms of distant metastasis or local recurrence following curative operation, especially at Duke's stage C. In this study, the metastatic ability of human colorectal tumor cells stratified by inducibility of endogenous TNF was analyzed by orthotopic transplantation in nude mouse. METHODS Fifty three cases of freshly resected colorectal tumor specimens cut into about 50mg pieces were inoculated into the cecum wall of nude mice. Two to nine months after transplantation, tumor growth on this wall and metastases to the peritoneal wall as well as to the liver were assessed. RESULTS Of forty one evaluable cases, successful transplantation was observed in twenty nine (70%), and metastases to the peritoneal wall or to the liver was found in thirteen (32%), or eight cases (20%), respectively. In the twenty nine cases with local tumor growth, incidence of the liver metastases in nude mice when tumor specimens from patients with liver metastases (4/8) were used was significantly higher than that from patients without liver metastases (4/21) (P = 0.096). Inducibility of endogenous TNF was separately analyzed in fourteen of the evaluable twenty nine cases. Seven cases belonged to the high group and seven to the low group in terms of the amount of endogenous TNF secreted by tumor cells. Incidence of metastases in mice was 1/7 in the high group and 6/7 in the low group, and there was a statistically significant difference between liver metastases in mice and inducibility of endogenous TNF by colorectal tumor cells (p = 0.0057). CONCLUSION From these results, it is strongly suggested that inducibility of endogenous TNF by colorectal tumor cells can affect a patient's prognosis since it regulates metastatic ability to the liver.
Monetary Policy and Oil Prices

Because of volatility, commodity prices are excluded from the CPI when inflation targeting is exercised. Rising commodity prices contribute to inflation but central banks show no reaction since the CPI does not register rise in prices. Frankel (2006) argues that monetary policy should consider the price of important export commodities such as oil, in oil exporting countries. He maintains that by doing so, central banks are able to benefit from the fluctuations of the exchange rate in the presence of a negative international trade shocks. Central banks cannot benefit from the fluctuation of the exchange rate if inflation targeting is the strategy for conducting monetary policy.
Do retail gasoline prices respond asymmetrically to cost shocks? The influence of Edgeworth Cycles

Asymmetric price cycles similar to Edgeworth Cycles are appearing in increasingly many retail gasoline markets in the United States and worldwide. The asymmetry in the cycles can give rise to a finding of asymmetric price responses to cost shocks (asymmetric passthrough). This article estimates asymmetric passthrough for the market of Toronto, which exhibits cycles, and decomposes it into two components-that part explainable by the cycles and that part driven by other unknown sources. Significant asymmetric passthrough is found, with increases passed through more quickly than decreases. A significant cause of the finding is the presence of the cycles themselves. Copyright (c) 2009, RAND.
Malnutrition and obesity in pediatric oncology patients: Causes, consequences, and interventions

In children with cancer, suboptimal nutrition states are common consequences of the disease and its treatment. These nutrition states have been attributed to a number of etiologies dependent on the patient's tumor type and treatment, and are associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Interventions vary from psychosocial to pharmacological and surgical management. Further research is necessary to understand the epidemiology and etiology of these nutrition states. Of great importance is the development and implementation of effective interventions to optimize nutritional status among children with cancer during and after therapy. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2012; 59: 1160–1167. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Can formant shifts and effort cues enhance boundary tone perception in whispered speech?

Whispered speech holds cues to speech melody, in spite of the absence of F0. Shifts in the locations of formant peaks have been forwarded as a main cue. Whispering speakers, however, may convey high versus low boundary tones signalling questions versus statements without shifting their formants. Would the addition of formant shifts enhance these natural productions and improve question/statement classification in whisper? Moreover, multiple acoustic correlates tend to vary with pitch or intonation conditions in whispered speech, and may function as listener cues. Here, an attempt was made to better understand the function of one of these ‘secondary’ cues: intensity. Results show that formant shifts may improve performance, but not dramatically, and that intensity seems more useful when coding increased effort than when being higher across the board to compensate for reduced audibility in whisper
Biogenesis of chloroplast membranes. VI. Cooperation between cytoplasmic and chloroplast ribosomes in the synthesis of photosynthetic lamellar proteins during the greening process in a mutant of Chlamydomonas reinhardi y-1.

Abstract Proteins from a membrane fraction enriched in chloroplast material obtained by density gradient centrifugation were analyzed by electrophoresis on acrylamide gels. About 15 to 20 bands could be resolved. The electrophoretic pattern of the proteins obtained from dark-grown cells, lacking the chloroplast lamellae, differed from that of light-grown photosynthetic cells. When dark-grown cells were exposed to light, a main protein peak designated as L protein appeared parallel to the increase in the chlorophyll content. Continuous labeling and pulse labeling of the proteins during the greening process, in the presence or absence of cycloheximide and chloramphenicol, indicated that the L protein fraction is synthesized de novo; its synthesis is inhibited by cycloheximide but not by the latter compound. Membranes synthesized in the presence of chloramphenicol have a very low photosynthetic activity although a normal amount of L protein is present in the cells. Removal of the inhibitor allows synthesis of new proteins and activation of the defective membranes. This process does not require synthesis of additional L protein or chlorophyll since it is not inhibited by cycloheximide and it can occur in the dark. Pulse labeling of proteins after transfer of greening cells from chloramphenicol to cycloheximide indicates progressive reduction in the labeling of the L protein peak and appearance of radioactivity in other protein peaks which are not labeled in the presence of chloramphenicol. Cycloheximide completely blocks the synthesis of chlorophyll and protein when added at any time during the greening process in a normal noninhibited system. However, prior incubation of the greening cells with chloramphenicol leading to accumulation of L protein protects the system against the complete inhibition exerted by cycloheximide. Based on these data it is suggested that in the process of synthesis and assembly of the photosynthetic membranes, proteins of cytoplasmic and chloroplast origin concur to form a functional membrane. The synthesis of these two types of protein is regulated by a feedback-like mechanism; its features include control of the level of the lamellar proteins of cytoplasmic origin by the level of chlorophyll and control of the level of proteins of chloroplast origin by that of the cytoplasmic proteins. In addition, the light-dependent chlorophyll synthesis is controlled by the level of the lamellar proteins of chloroplasts and cytoplasmic origin.
A new drimane sesquiterpenoid glycoside from the seeds of Antiaris toxicaria

A new drimane sesquiterpenoid glycoside, named 7-drimen-3β,11-diol 3-O-β-d-glucopyranoside, was isolated from the 95% EtOH extract of the seeds of Antiaris toxicaria (Pers.) Lesch. The chemical structure was completely elucidated using a combination of 1D and 2D NMR techniques (COSY, HMQC, HMBC, and ROESY) and HR-ESI-MS analysis. The compound showed inhibitory activities toward methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), chronic myelogenous leukemia (K562), and human hepatoma (SMMC-7721) cell lines.
Body mass index and individual physical fitness tests in Taiwanese youth aged 9-18 years.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and four components of physical fitness in a national cross-sectional sample of Taiwanese youth. METHODS A subsample of 102 765 youth (50 940 girls, 51 825 boys) 9-18 years was selected from a nationwide sample. Height, weight and four fitness items were measured: sit and reach (flexibility), standing long jump (power), sit-ups (abdominal muscular strength/endurance), and 800/1 600 m run/walk (cardiorespiratory endurance). BMI was calculated. Sex-specific regressions using a non-linear quadratic model of each fitness item on BMI were done in four age groups: 9-10, 11-12, 13-15, 16-18 years. RESULTS The relationship between BMI and fitness varied among tests. Lower fitness in three items (sit-ups, jump, distance run) was evident in boys and girls with higher BMIs in each age group. Slopes of decline with increasing BMI varied by age group and sex. Relationships became parabolic for the three fitness items with age and peaks of the parabola were sharper in adolescent boys than girls. Relationships for the sit and reach contrasted with the other tests and differed among age groups and between sexes. CONCLUSION BMI significantly and differentially influenced individual fitness tests, but effects varied with age and sex. Higher BMIs were generally associated with lower fitness.
Gestion des âges et processus de déstabilisation des marchés du travail au Japon: le cas des secteurs de la sidérurgie et de la production d'ordinateurs de 1989 à 2007

L'objet de notre communication porte sur les nouvelles dynamiques des marches du travail en France et au Japon. Precisement, il s'agit d'envisager a travers une approche comparative l'emergence de nouveaux mecanismes a l'œuvre sur ces marches du travail, en nous concentrant particulierement sur les modes de gestion par les âges. Alors que ces deux pays se caracterisaient par la preeminence des marches internes du travail, il s'agit de se questionner sur les modalites de leur destabilisation et sur la nature de dynamiques de gestion d'emploi renouvelee. Les marches du travail en France et au Japon ont connu des evolutions notables au cours de la decennie precedente. Ces transformations se traduisent par un double phenomene aux logiques concomitantes. Il s'agit, d'une part, de la « destabilisation » des marches internes, longtemps consideres comme une modalite d'organisation dominante dans les deux pays, et d'autre part, de l'effritement des cloisonnements entre les differentes categories ou types de segments qui se traduit par un flou sur leurs frontieres respectives et des passages de plus en plus frequents de l'un a l'autre pour des franges elargies de la population active. Dans un contexte de recherche de flexibilite et de chomage de masse, la transformation des modes de gestion et d'organisation du travail sont un des elements determinant de ce brouillage des frontieres et de la destabilisation du rapport salarial fordiste. Pourtant, malgre la pesanteur du chomage de masse et une progression indeniable des formes atypiques de travail, une part assez large du salariat conserve un statut classique ou un contrat standard. La « norme d'emploi » basee sur le statut des CDI, certes combinee avec des situations de plus en plus complexes du travail (sous-traitance, externalisation des operations, delegation du travail etc.), semble continuer a jouer son role pivot dans la societe salariale. Cette situation n'apparait pas correspondre tout a fait ni a « l'eclatement des normes d'emplois », ni a la precarisation generalisee du marche du travail. L'hypothese de la liberalisation des marches et des espaces qui redefinirait profondement les rapports sociaux de production et salariaux merite d'etre nuancee et precisee, notamment a l'aide de recherches comparatives. La gestion des âges constitue une cle pertinente pour rendre compte de ces transformations. En effet, la remise en cause des principes de marches internes en France et au Japon conduit logiquement a repenser le rapport entre les âges, les transitions d'entree et de sortie dans la vie active, et au-dela, l'ensemble de la trajectoire des individus sur leur cycle de vie professionnelle. Au travers des modes specifiques de gestion de main d'œuvre des travailleurs seniors, on decryptera les nouvelles formes d'organisation du travail qui font eclater les frontieres traditionnelles de l'entreprise et du salariat.
Discounting, Distribution and Disaggregation: Discount Rates for the Rich and the Poor with Climate as a Source of Utility

To consider the implications of disaggregated consumption and discounting in the context of climate change, we study discounting in a world composed of the rich and the poor; a standard setting in the literature of cost–benefit analysis with distributional considerations. We derive several discount rates for different numeraires, which allow us to discuss intergenerational and intragenerational equity in common terms. In the example of CES‐CRRA utility, we also show that disaggregated discount rates may vary owing to several factors. One important parameter, inequality aversion, can be determined in the weighting of intergenerational and intragenerational concerns.
ILLEGAL OR LEGITIMATE USE? PRECURSOR COMPOUNDS TO AMPHETAMINE AND METHAMPHETAMINE

The interpretation of methamphetamine and amphetamine positive test results in biological samples is a challenge to clinical and forensic toxicology for several reasons. The effects of pH and dilution of urine samples and the knowledge about legitimate and illicit sources have to be taken into account. Besides a potentially legal prescription of amphetamines, many substances metabolize to methamphetamine or amphetamine in the body: amphetaminil, benzphetamine, clobenzorex, deprenyl, dimethylamphetamine, ethylamphetamine, famprofazone, fencamine, fenethylline, fenproporex, furfenorex, mefenorex, mesocarb, and prenylamine. Especially the knowledge of potential origins of methamphetamine and amphetamine turns out to be very important to prevent a misinterpretation of the surrounding circumstances and to prove illegal drug abuse. In this review, potential precursor compounds are described, including their medical use and major clinical effects and their metabolic profiles, as well as some clues which help to identify the sources.
A port-Hamiltonian approach to visual servo control of a pick and place system

In this paper we take a port-Hamiltonian approach to address the problem of image-based visual servo control of a pick and place system. We realize a closed-loop system, including the nonlinear camera dynamics, which is port-Hamiltonian. Although the closed-loop system is nonlinear, the resulting controller is a PD-type controller which only requires the camera states. From the passivity property of port-Hamiltonian systems we then derive conditions for exponential stability of the closed-loop system, which are used to tune the PD controller gains.
Gottfried Haberler's Principle of Comparative Advantage

Like the Torrens-Ricardo Principle of Comparative Advantage, Haberler's Principle rests on the implicit assumption that, in autarchic equilibrium, each country produces and consumes all commodities, at least incipiently. Without that assumption, both principles must be substantially qualified. In the present paper, which focuses on Haberler's Principle, the required qualifications are provided in detail.
Extended object tracking using particle techniques

In This work we consider the problem of extended object tracking. An extended object is modelled as a set of point features in a target reference frame. The dynamics of the extended object is formulated in terms of the translation and rotation of the target reference frame relative to a fixed reference frame. This leads to realistic, yet simple, models for the object motion. We assume that the measurements of the point features are unlabelled, and contaminated with a high level of clutter, leading to measurement association uncertainty. Marginalising over all the association hypotheses may be computationally prohibitive for realistic numbers of point features and clutter measurements. We present an alternative approach within the context of particle filtering, where we augment the state with the unknown association hypothesis, and sample candidate values from an efficiently designed proposal distribution. This proposal elegantly captures the notion of a soft gating function. We demonstrate the performance of the algorithm on a challenging synthetic tracking problem, where the ground truth is known.