Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Women Entrepreneurship In West Africa: The Cowpea Street Food Sector In Niger And Ghana

Women entrepreneurship in the informal sector, such as street food vending, is important for poverty alleviation in West Africa. The street food sector provides employment for women and inexpensive and nutritious food for the urban poor. In this paper, we determine the importance of the cowpea street food sector, evaluate the determinants of successful enterprises and ascertain the impact of economic, cultural, religious and geographic differentials between enterprises in Niamey, Niger and Kumasi, Ghana. Data were collected through in-person interviews with 114 and 122 women street food entrepreneurs in both countries in 2009. Results revealed that women entrepreneurs engaged in the cowpea street food sector can earn incomes 4 times and 16 times higher than the minimum legal wage in Niamey and Kumasi, respectively. Incomes earned from these entrepreneurial activities contribute directly to health, education and needs of their families. OLS regression results indicate that lack of financial resources, stable business locations and religious beliefs are important entrepreneurial success factors. Cross-country comparisons revealed enterprises in Kumasi are larger and more successful than those in Niamey.
Sugarcane growth monitoring through spatial cluster and temporal trend analysis of radar and optical remote sensing images

During the 2014-2015 sugarcane growth season in São Paulo, Brazil, a considerable dataset was acquired consisting of space-based remote sensing images from radar and optical sensors, together with intensive ground measurements. In this work, images from the Sentinel-1, Radarsat-2 and Landsat-8 satellites are used to test the effectiveness of satellite-based indicators in sugarcane growth monitoring. A two-fold hypothesis testing is applied, in order to find statistically significant emerging hot spots and cold spots, both in space and time. Especially the comparison of results from the radar and optical sensors gives an insight into the difference in capability of these sensors to detect spatial and temporal patterns and trends.
Free cash flows and anomalous returns – the case of Poland

This study investigates the performance of the free cash flow portfolio in the period of 2001-2011 in Poland. Firstly, a portfolio of large firms with positive free cash flows, low free cash flow multiples, and low financial leverages was selected. Then it was compared to other firms listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. The results were observed in different time periods and exposed to different models. Both buy-and-hold (BHARs) and cumulative abnormal returns (CARs) were estimated. Mean and median buy-and-hold abnormal returns for the free cash flow portfolio were in most of the years much above the averages for other companies. This was also observed for the whole sample period. The difference between the free cash flow portfolio and other companies was significant in economic and statistical terms during market downturns. It may seem plausible that the free cash flow portfolio outperforms other companies, especially during bear markets. However, the free cash flow anomaly was not always robust to different models and statistical tests and dependable in all the years of the sample period. Negative medians for BHARs and the unfavorable comparison of mean CARs between the free and non-free cash flow portfolio were found. This makes the possibility of earning above-average risk adjusted returns on investing in the free-cash-flow portfolio questionable.
Productivity losses associated with diabetes in the US.

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to estimate the cost of productivity losses in the U.S. attributable to diabetes, with regard to specific demographic and disease-related characteristics in the U.S. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We used the 1989 National Health Interview Survey, a random survey of individuals in the U.S. that included a diabetes supplement. Data on individuals were obtained for labor force participation, hours of work, demographic and occupational characteristics, self-reported health status, and several variables that indicated the presence, duration, and severity (complications) of diabetes. Using multivariate regression analyses, we estimated the association of independent variables (e.g., demographics, health, and diabetes status) with labor force participation, hours of work lost, and the economic value of lost work attributable to diabetes and its complications and duration. RESULTS In general, the presence of diabetes and complications were found to be related to workforce participation variables. The magnitude of the lost-productivity costs depended on personal characteristics and on the presence and status of diabetes. In general, the loss of yearly earnings amounted to about a one-third reduction in earnings and ranged from $3,700 to $8,700 per annum. CONCLUSIONS Diabetes has a considerable net effect on earnings, and the complications and duration of diabetes have compound effects. Our findings have implications for the cost-effectiveness of diabetes control; the presence of complicating factors is the single most important predictive factor in lost productivity costs attributable to diabetes, and thus the avoidance or retardation of complications will have an impact on indirect health-related costs.
A Comment On Two-Phase Behavior Of Financial Markets

A recent study linked the behavior of buying and selling in financial markets to the phenomenon of phase transitions that occur in physical systems with many interacting components. We urge caution with such findings. In particular, we show that the statistical technique employed in the study referred to above to analyze stock trading data also produces evidence of two-phase behavior when used to analyze a simple sequence of independent and identically distributed random variables.
Restructuring and Reculturing Schools to Provide Students with Multiple Pathways to College and Career

The prevailing way of conceptualizing multiple pathways to college and career segregates or “tracks” students into college prep or voc-ed curriculum. Recent research and public commentary have shown that tracking neither provides students with equal educational opportunities nor serves the needs of employers for a well-educated workforce. Recognizing that tracked schools are both inequitable and ineffective, educators have been exploring alternatives to tracking practices since the 1980s. This paper focuses on one attempt to redefine and restructure the academic curriculum, pedagogy, and course structures of California schools into “multiple pathways” to college and career. The Preuss School at UCSD “detracks” its curriculum, i.e., establishes high instructional standards and presents rigorous curriculum to all students while varying the supports available to enable all students to meet high the school’s academic standards. Detracking high schools can provide students with access to multiple pathways when they complete high school. By gaining access to a rigorous academic curriculum, they are well prepared for both college and career. This approach requires a school district to assemble a portfolio of schools, each with a different theme or focus (such as performing arts, science academies, interactive technology, etc.). When a district assembles a portfolio of theme-based schools, each of them rigorous, then students (and their parents) are enabled to choose from an array of possibilities. This form of curriculum differentiation aligns well with the democratic project of providing equal opportunities for all students to learn and to have significant life choices when they complete high school.
Polymorphisms of the IL12B, IL1B, and TNFA genes and susceptibility to asthma.

BACKGROUND Asthma is one of the most common chronic inflammatory diseases in developed countries. Susceptibility to asthma is associated with interaction between multiple genes and environmental factors. Several cytokines play a major role in the pathophysiology of the disease. OBJECTIVE We analyzed the distribution of cytokine gene polymorphisms in a group of patients with asthma and a control group in order to determine the effect of these variants, or their combinations, on the development of clinical phenotypes. METHODS We genotyped 22 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) corresponding to 13 cytokine genes (IFNG, IL1A, IL1B, IL1R1, IL1RN, IL2, IL4, IL4R, IL6, IL10, IL12B, TGFB1, and TNFA) in 376 individuals (219 asthmatic patients and 157 controls). Genetic association was evaluated using genotype and allele models for different asthma phenotypes. Gene-gene interactions were explored using multifactor dimensionality reduction. RESULTS Genotype AC of IL12B-1188 was associated with the presence of asthma. A significant association was detected between 2 SNPs analyzed in TNFA (-308 and -238) and atopic asthma and severe-persistent asthma. The IL1B TT haplotype (3962T and -511T) was also associated with atopy and moderate-persistent asthma. CONCLUSION Our data show that the presence of SNPs in IL12B, TNFA, and IL1B was significantly associated with asthma, atopy, and severity of asthma.We also highlight the importance of genetic context, haplotype, and gene-gene interaction analysis in genetic association studies.
Auswirkungen der Finanzkrise auf die private Altersvorsorge

Abstract This study aims at estimating the losses in old-age wealth and forfeited returns. The analysis is based on the German SAVE study in 2008. In comparison to a scenario without the crisis individuals on average lost 4.3% of their financial wealth. Considering only wealth in investment classes specific for old-age provision the average loss is 2%. Comparing wealth losses at retirement entry reveals that the rates of return of cohorts born between 1940 and 1990 decreased by around 0.1 percentage points (old-age provision wealth) or 0.2 percentage points (financial wealth), respectively.
Photonic immobilization of bsa for nanobiomedical applications: creation of high density microarrays and superparamagnetic bioconjugates

Light assisted molecular immobilization has been used for the first time to engineer covalent bioconjugates of superparamagnetic nanoparticles and proteins. The technology involves disulfide bridge disruption upon UV excitation of nearby aromatic residues. The close spatial proximity of aromatic residues and disulfide bridges is a conserved structural feature in proteins. The created thiol groups bind thiol reactive surfaces leading to oriented covalent protein immobilization. We have immobilized a model carrier protein, bovine serum albumin, onto Fe3O4@Au core–shell nanoparticles as well as arrayed it onto optically flat thiol reactive surfaces. This new immobilization technology allows for ultra high dense packing of different bio‐molecules on a surface, allowing the creation of multi‐potent functionalized active new biosensor materials, biomarkers identification and the development of nanoparticles based novel drug delivery system. Bioeng. 2011; 108:999–1010. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The analgesic effects of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors

This paper endeavours to provide a critical clinical review of the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) in the management of pain. Case reports, placebo-controlled trials and trials comparing SSRIs with tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) are considered. The analgesic effects of TCAs are well known and this review suggests that there is little evidence for their replacement by SSRIs in pain management. There are, at present, too few comparative drug trials to make a definitive statement, although the trend is clearly against SSRIs.
Good quality of oral anticoagulation treatment in general practice using international normalised ratio point of care testing.

INTRODUCTION Oral anticoagulation treatment (OACT) with warfarin is common in general practice. Increasingly, international normalised ratio (INR) point of care testing (POCT) is being used to manage patients. The aim of this study was to describe and analyse the quality of OACT with warfarin in general practice in the Capital Region of Denmark using INR POCT. METHODS A total of 20 general practices, ten single-handed and ten group practices using INR POCT, were randomly selected to participate in the study. Practice organisation and patient characteristics were recorded. INR measurements were collected retrospectively for a period of six months. For each patient, time in therapeutic range (TTR) was calculated and correlated with practice and patient characteristics using multilevel linear regression models. RESULTS We identified 447 patients in warfarin treatment in the 20 practices using POCT (median = 19 patients; range: 6-55). The mean TTR for all patients was 69.3% (standard deviation (SD) = 24%), and for all practices the mean TTR was 67.3% (SD = 6.7%). The TTR in single-handed practices was lower than in group practices, 64.6% (SD = 8.0%) and 70.0% (SD = 3.6%), respectively; but the difference was not significant (4.2 percentage points (pp); 95% confidence interval (CI): -0.8-9.2). Short sampling intervals, e.g. 10-20 days (-11 pp; 95% CI: -16-6)) and lack of diagnostic coding (-11.8 pp; 95% CI: -19.9-3.7) were correlated with a low TTR. CONCLUSION In our study most of the general practices using INR POCT in the management of patients in warfarin treatment provided good quality of care. Sampling interval and diagnostic coding were significantly correlated with treatment quality.
Localized delivery of growth factors for periodontal tissue regeneration: Role, strategies, and perspectives

Difficulties associated with achieving predictable periodontal regeneration, means that novel techniques need to be developed in order to regenerate the extensive soft and hard tissue destruction that results from periodontitis. Localized delivery of growth factors to the periodontium is an emerging and versatile therapeutic approach, with the potential to become a powerful tool in future regenerative periodontal therapy. Optimized delivery regimes and well‐defined release kinetics appear to be logical prerequisites for safe and efficacious clinical application of growth factors and to avoid unwanted side effects and toxicity. While adequate concentrations of growth factor(s) need to be appropriately localized, delivery vehicles are also expected to possess properties such as protein protection, precision in controlled release, biocompatibility and biodegradability, self‐regulated therapeutic activity, potential for multiple delivery, and good cell/tissue penetration. Here, current knowledge, recent advances, and future possibilities of growth factor delivery strategies are outlined for periodontal regeneration. First, the role of those growth factors that have been implicated in the periodontal healing/regeneration process, general requirements for their delivery, and the different material types available are described. A detailed discussion follows of current strategies for the selection of devices for localized growth factor delivery, with particular emphasis placed upon their advantages and disadvantages and future prospects for ongoing studies in reconstructing the tooth supporting apparatus. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Med Res Rev, 29, No. 3, 472‐513, 2009
Die griechisch-europäische Krise: Ungleichgewichte, Finanzmärkte und die Stabilität des Euroraums

The external imbalances in Europe have led the Europzone into a crisis. Out of three goals in international monetary policy, only two can be realized at the same time. By joining a monetary union a country has implicitly decided about these two goals. In order to stay competitive, wages and prices have to adjust to the targeted inflation rate of the common currency. This failed largely in Greek and other Southern-European countries. Thus, ending the Greek-European crisis requires a solution for this structural problem. According to the monetary union's present arrangements, full adjustment has to be taken by the Southern-European memeber states.
Core Inflation and Monetary Policy

What are the implications of targeting different measures of inflation? We extend a basic theoretical framework of optimal monetary policy under inflation targeting to include several components of CPI inflation, and analyze the implications of using different measures of inflation as target variable--core inflation, CPI excluding interest rates, and headline CPI inflation. Our main results are the following. (i ) Barring the interest rate component, temporary shocks to inflation do not affect optimal monetary policy under any regime. (ii) Indirect (second-round) effects of disturbances on goal variables need to be accounted for properly. Simply excluding seemingly temporary disturbances from the reaction function risks leading to inappropriate policy responses. (iii) It may be optimal to respond to changes in one measure of inflation even if the target is defined in terms of another. (iv ) The presence of the direct interest rate component in the CPI tends to push optimal monetary policy in an expansionary direction. The net effect, considering also the traditional channel, however, depends on the nature of the initial disturbance.
[Expression of hypoxia inducible factor-1alpha in different brain regions in aged rats].

OBJECTIVE To observe the distribution of hypoxia inducible factor-1alpha (HIF-1alpha) in different brain regions in aged rats and investigate the role of HIF-1alpha in the aging process of the nervous system. METHODS The Nissl bodies and HIF-1alpha expression in different brain regions were observed in rats aged 3 and 30 months using Nissl staining and immunohistochemical method, respectively. RESULTS In the 30-month-old rats, the neural cells in 4 different brain regions presented with large cell body and loose alignment, containing reduced Nissl bodies in the cytoplasm. Compared with the 3-month-old rats, the aged rats showed greater number of HIF-1alpha-positive cells in the brain (P < 0.01), and the number varied significantly between the different brain regions (P < 0.01). The CA3 region contained the greatest number of positive cells, which were fewer in the motor cortex and cerebellum. CONCLUSION The capacity for protein synthesis in the neural cells is weakened but the expression of HIF-1alpha increased in aged rats, suggesting the important role that HIF-1alpha may play in the aging process of the nervous system, especially in hypomnesis.
CAMT in a female with developmental delay, facial malformations and central nervous system anomalies

Congenital amegakaryocytic thrombocytopenia (CAMT) is a rare disorder characterized by thrombocytopenia and absence or decline in the number of megakaryocytic precursors in the bone marrow. It is caused by mutations in the thrombopoietin receptor gene, c‐mpl, involved in the proliferation and differentiation of megakaryocytes and platelets. The association between CAMT and central nervous system (CNS) anomalies has been reported in the literature, albeit not very frequently. Here we present a unique case where CAMT appeared associated to cerebellum agenesis, hypoplasia of the corpus callosum and brainstem, facial malformations, and developmental delay. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2011;56:452–453. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The role of SAP and SLAM family molecules in the humoral immune response

Effective B cell–mediated immunity, including the formation of germinal centers and the generation of high‐affinity memory B cells and long‐lived plasma cells, is dependent on CD4+ T cells. Immunodeficiencies that present with defects in the antibody response have provided insights into the molecular mechanisms of B cell responses and the provision of T cell help. One such immunodeficiency is X‐linked lymphoproliferative disease (XLP), which results from mutations in SH2D1A, the gene encoding SLAM‐associated protein (SAP). Patients with XLP present with humoral defects characterized by hypogammaglobulinemia. We now know that SAP, through its signaling downstream of multiple members of the signaling lymphocytic activation molecule (SLAM) family of cell surface receptors, plays a crucial role in many aspects of this immune response. Here, we discuss the role of SAP in the generation of humoral immunity, particularly T cell–dependent antibody responses and the generation of germinal centers.
Motor unit number estimation in infants and children with spinal muscular atrophy

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a disease of lower motor neurons. Motor unit number estimation (MUNE) is an electrophysiologic method to estimate the number of motor neurons innervating a muscle group. We applied the multiple point stimulation technique to the ulnar nerve–hypothenar muscle group to study lower motor neuron loss in 14 SMA subjects, including those presymptomatic, and varying from newborn through 45 years of age. Preliminary data support the value of MUNE to help understand the time course of motor neuron loss in SMA. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Muscle Nerve 25: 000–000, 2002
Forest Governance in a Changing World: Reconciling Local and Global Values

Abstract There has been intense international debate on the governance of forests, in particular tropical forests. This has been driven by contrasting pressures from conservation and human rights groups, respectively calling for global values to prevail so as to protect biodiversity and reduce climate change, or for freedom of choice that empowers local people with the right to manage their own forests. Both sides have condemned irresponsible behaviour by forest officials and political actors, and highlighted the harmful impacts of disregard for the law. However, these normative approaches to forest governance have coincided with a fundamental re-examination of the objectives that societies have for their forest resources. The debate is not only about legality, but also about the legitimacy of forest laws and institutions. This review explores the divergence of views on long-term goals for forests and the implications for their governance. It emphasises that the real challenge is to reconcile the management of forests for values that accrue at different spatial and temporal scales. Forest governance needs to adapt, moving away from a framework based upon the neatly defined boundaries beloved of international organisations and treaties, and submitting to a constant process of adaptation and improvisation at a more local scale. The challenge is to find ways to aggregate such approaches into something that recognisably addresses the global values of forests and forest landscapes. Commonwealth countries have a wide range of forest conditions and are innovating with a range of governance options that provide lessons of potentially wide application.