Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Are engineers people? : an investigation into the approach of civil engineers to development in South Africa.

Engineers have throughout history performed an important role in the technical advancement of mankind. The record of development in the less developed countries ofthe world, however, has been less than successful. These countries are littered with monuments to failed development programmes that have incurred immense financial, economic and social costs. Among the primary causes offailure are the inadequate attention to the details ofthe social and political dimensions of development, and a tendency by engineers to presume that their common sense view of the world is sufficient. This situation is exacerbated by the fact that frequently engineers have found themselves to be in the position of sole arbiters of development projects. For most of the latter half of the twentieth century engineers have been constrained by the complexities of their technology to confine themselves to providing technical solutions to the needs of society. In the 1980s however society, at least in the First WorId, started to become increasingly concerned with environmental degradation and perceptions ofdiminishing resources. These concerns and the economic and financial costs of failed development, have led to concerted efforts to reexamine the processes of development. Successful development is driven by social and political understanding and commitment combined with innovative and appropriate technology. These require knowledge of the historical context of each society, an understanding of the concept of community, and an ability to recognise the requirement for interdisciplinary relationships.
Choice, Chance, and Wealth Dispersion at Retirement

People earn just enough to get by' is a phrase often used to explain the low personal saving rate in the United States. The implicit presumption is that households simply do not earn enough to pay for current needs' and to save. We show in this paper that at all levels of lifetime earnings there is an enormous dispersion in the accumulated wealth of families approaching retirement. It is not only households with low incomes that save little; a significant proportion of high income households also saves little. And, a substantial proportion of low income households save a great deal. We then consider the extent to which differences in household lifetime financial resources explain the wide dispersion in wealth, given lifetime earnings. We find that very little of this dispersion can be explained by chance differences in individual circumstances largely outside the control of individuals' that might limit the resources from which saving might plausibly be made. We also consider how much of the dispersion in wealth might be accounted for by different investment choices of savers some more risky, some less risky given lifetime earnings. We find that investment choice is not a major determinant of the dispersion in asset accumulation. It matters about as much as chance events that limit the available resources of households with the same lifetime earnings. We conclude that the bulk of the dispersion must be attributed to differences to in the amount that households choose to save. The differences in saving choices among households with similar lifetime earnings lead to vastly different levels of asset accumulation by the time retirement age approaches.
Sonographic fetal weight estimation prior to delivery : analysis of accuracy and interobserver variability between obstetrician and radiologist

The aim of this study was to evaluate the interobserver reliability of sonographic fetal weight estimation between experienced obstetrician and radiologist immadiately prior to delivery and to compare the sonographic accuracies of estimated fetal weights (EFW) between the sonographers. This was a prospective study of singleton pregnancies that underwent sonographic fetal weight estimation prior to scheduled delivery. One obstetrician and one radiologist, performed all examinations prior to delivery. Sonographic fetal weight estimations were obtained from each ultrasonographic examination. EFWs were compared with the actual birth weight (ABW) and interobserver reliability of sonographic fetal weight estimation between two sonographers was assessed. A total of 245 subjects were included. Inter-observer reliability coefficient for EFW was 0.864 (95% confidence interval: 0.825-0.894, P < 0.001). Mean values of EFWs by radiologist and obstetrician did not significantly differ (P = 0.480) while both did significantly differ from the ABW (P < 0.001, for both comparisons). The mean absolute error for EFW obtained by radiologist and obsterician was 227 (± 160) and 197 (± 138), respectively (P < 0.01). The mean absolute percentage error for EFW obtained by radiologist and obsterician was 7.09 (± 5.17) and 6.15 (± 4.38), respectively (P < 0.01). EFWs measured by radiologists and obstetricians are similar but both are significantly distant from the ABW. However, obstetricians measure EFW significantly more accurate than the radiologists do.
Multiprocessor Fault Diagnosis Under Local Constraints

The authors study the fault diagnosis of multiprocessor systems when fault constraints in the local domain of each processor are specified. They use the comparison-based model. A multiprocessor system S is t-in-L diagnosable if, given a syndrome, all faulty processors can be uniquely identified provided there are at most t faulty processors in the local domain L(u/sub i/) union (u/sub i/) of every processor, u/sub i/ in S, where L (u/sub i/) denotes the set of processors adjacent to u/sub i/. Certain basic results that lead to efficient conditions for unique diagnosis of a system when certain fault constraints are satisfied in the local domain of each processor in the system are presented. The t-in-L diagnosability of certain regular interconnected systems is examined under the assumption that less than half of the processors in the system are faulty. Diagnosis algorithms for these systems are presented. >
Reasons for Remitting

This paper presents a set of reflections on what gives rise to remittances, which constitute a major part of the impact of migration on economic development in the migrants’ own countries. The collage of reasons presented serves to illustrate that remittance behavior is the outcome of an intricate interplay between the preferences and interests of migrants and their families.
Private Equity Exits: German Trade and Secondary Sales in the Financial Crisis

In the article at hand, first, the acquisition exits ‘trade and secondary sale’ are described with regard to the literature in this field. Second, an overview about the global current situation of acquisition exits is given. Afterwards, being the main part of this article, the focus lies on the analysis of the German market: In particular, an empirical regression analysis aims at providing insight into the impact factors of German trade and secondary sales. Furthermore, the analysis tries to forecast the upcoming German acquisition exit characteristics.
Single text image super-resolution based on edge-compensated autoregressive model

Text image super-resolution technique is widely used to improve the text image quality in different resolution without distortion. However, the existed algorithms for text image super-resolution fail to work under many conditions, such as image blurring, edge discontinuity, edge artifact, etc. In this paper, we propose a novel algorithm framework to solve these above problems, in which we firstly obtain a high resolution text image with a sharper edge by using edge map as the priori condition, and then the edge signals of high-resolution image compensating edge residual is computed by iterative back-projection, finally the false edges and sharpen edges are suppressed at the same time. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed algorithm compared to previously reported methods.
Expression of adhesion molecules on human granulocytes after stimulation with Helicobacter pylori membrane proteins: comparison with membrane proteins from other bacteria

Type B gastritis in its active form is characterized by a dense infiltration of the lamina propria with granulocytes. Since the bacterium Helicobacter pylori does not invade the epithelial barrier, a signaling pathway chemoattractive for granulocytes must exist across this mucosal boarder. One possible mechanism tested was whether granulocytes are directly activated by water-soluble membrane proteins (WSP) from H. pylori. These findings were compared with the effects of WSP from other bacteria (Helicobacter felis, Campylobacter jejuni, Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus aureus). A unique activation pattern by H. pylori WSP was found. Like all other WSP tested, they induced an upregulation of CD11b but had no influence on CD11c and, most strikingly, CD62L expression. In contrast, E. coli WSP, e.g., not only induce a strong CD11b and CD11c expression but also lead to a loss in surface CD62L. The lack of CD62L shedding conserves rolling of granulocytes along the endothelium, creating a favorable precondition for granulocytes to stick more readily to activated endothelium after H. pylori stimulation via CD11b-CD54 receptor-counterreceptor interaction. This may explain why H. pylori infection is a very strong stimulus for granulocyte infiltration. The active fraction for the induction of CD11b on granulocytes is a heat- and protease-sensitive protein with a molecular mass between 30 and 100 kDa. One activation step involved may be the binding of WSP to CD15 determinants on granulocytes with subsequent induction of CD11b.
The Impact of Trade Openness on the Real Exchange Rate and the Trade Balance : Closed-Form Solutions and Some Evidence

When agents across countries have home-biased preferences in a world of incomplete financial markets, an increase in the relative price of home-produced goods resulted from a permanent adverse home output shock makes the cost of living of home agents higher than that of foreign agents [appreciation of real exchange rate], reducing home relative consumption. Intertemporal utility maximizing agents with the degree of relative risk aversion greater than unity in the CES utility function would like to smooth their relative consumption by reducing exports and increasing imports, resulting trade deficit. JEL Classification: E58, E61, F33, F41, F42
Equity Index Funds Have Lost Their Way

The author argues that equity index funds get more credit for low costs and high efficiency than they deserve. The original idea of a low–cost, low–turnover, diversified portfolio has been replaced by funds that deliver only on their pledges of low turnover and diversification. The concentration of trading around index changes causes investors to incur transaction costs far higher than the pioneers of indexing anticipated. The author concludes that index funds based on popular benchmark indexes have become a much more costly way to invest than they used to be–and than they need to be.
Liver fibrosis progression in hepatitis C virus infection after seroconversion.

IMPORTANCE Knowing the rate of liver fibrosis progression in hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected persons can help inform patients and providers (clinicians, medical institutions or organizations, and third-party payers) in making treatment decisions. OBJECTIVE To determine the rate and factors associated with liver fibrosis progression and hepatic decompensation in persons after acquiring HCV infection. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Secondary data analysis of persons in the Electronically Retrieved Cohort of HCV Infected Veterans (ERCHIVES), a national Veterans Affairs (VA) database, between 2002 and 2012. Among 610 514 persons in ERCHIVES (half were HCV positive), we identified those with an initial negative and subsequent positive test result for HCV antibody and positive HCV RNA test result (HCV+). Controls had 2 negative HCV antibody test results (HCV-) in a comparable time frame and were matched 1:1 on age (in 5-year blocks), race, and sex. We excluded persons with human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis B, less than 24 months of follow-up, hepatocellular carcinoma, and cirrhosis at baseline. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Progression of liver fibrosis as estimated by the Fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) index; development of cirrhosis, defined by a FIB-4 score greater than 3.5; and development of hepatic decompensation. RESULTS The evaluable data set consisted of 1840 persons who were HCV+ and 1840 HCV- controls. The HCV+ persons were younger and had a lower mean (SD) body mass index (27.39 [5.51] vs 29.49 [6.16]; P < .001), a higher prevalence of alcohol and drug abuse and dependence diagnoses, and higher serum aminotransferase levels, but had a lower prevalence of diabetes and hypertension. Fibrosis progression started early after infection among HCV+ persons and tapered off after 5 years. A total of 452 cirrhosis and 85 hepatic decompensation events were recorded. After 10 years of follow-up, HCV+ persons were more likely to have a diagnosis of cirrhosis compared with HCV- controls (18.4% vs 6.1%). Nine years after diagnosis of cirrhosis, hepatic decompensation events were uncommon but had a higher rate in the HCV+ group (1.79% vs 0.33%). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Persons who seroconverted for HCV have a more rapid progression of liver fibrosis and accelerated time to development of cirrhosis after seroconversion compared with HCV- controls. Fibrosis progression occurs early after infection; however, hepatic decompensation is uncommon after diagnosis of cirrhosis.
Effects of Macroeconomic Policies on Sectoral Prices

The effect of macroeconomic policies on the relative prices of internationally traded and domestic goods has been the subject of extensive study. Analysis of the way in which these policies then affect prices at the sectoral level is complicated by the heterogeneity of sectoral productions: even the prices of single products usually are determined by both domestic and traded components. We present a framework which first traces the influence of macropolicy on the relative prices of exports, imports, and home goods. It then accounts for each sector's degree of "tradability," which is based on the importance of trade in sectoral income, and the influence of macroeconomic policy on sectoral prices. To illustrate the use of this approach, it is applied to a simulation of trade liberalization in Argentina. Our results suggest that economywide policies had substantial negative effects on both the real exchange rate and the incentive to agricultural exports. Copyright 1990 by Oxford University Press.
Modulation of epidermal growth factor receptor status by chemotherapy in patients with locally advanced non-small-cell lung cancer is rare.

PURPOSE To determine whether epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) expression in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is modulated by chemotherapy and to assess the agreement of EGFR status between mediastinal nodes and the primary tumor after chemotherapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS Patients with NSCLC stage IIIa/b pN2/3 confirmed by mediastinoscopy or mediastinostomy were treated with at least three cycles of chemotherapy before undergoing surgery. EGFR expression was evaluated on mediastinal nodes at the time of initial diagnosis and on both the primary tumor and residual metastatic nodes after treatment. RESULTS EGFR expression determined on 138 of 164 patients who underwent mediastinoscopy or mediastinostomy was 0 (22 patients), 1+ (27 patients), 2+ (28 patients), and 3+ (61 patients). Fifty-four patients of 164 received chemotherapy followed by surgery. Of the 89 of 138 patients with EGFR score of 2+/3+ at the time of diagnosis, 34 patients underwent surgery after induction chemotherapy. None changed to zero EGFR immunoreactivity, with 29 patients (88%) maintaining a score of 2+/3+. Of the 22 of 138 patients with no EGFR expression at the time of diagnosis, six underwent surgical resection after induction chemotherapy. Of these six patients, four changed their EGFR expression from an EGFR score of 0 to 2+/3+. After treatment, the agreement of EGFR status between tumor and nodes in the subgroup of patients with EGFR score 2+/3+ was 89% to 92%. CONCLUSION Our data suggest a very good agreement of EGFR status before and after chemotherapy in EGFR-positive NSCLC. Induction chemotherapy can induce EGFR expression in occasional EGFR-negative tumors.
Risk Factors for the Development of Clostridium difficile-Associated Diarrhea During a Hospital Outbreak

Abstract Objective: To evaluate the risk factors associated with a nosocomial outbreak of Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea. Design: Case-control study with two control groups. Setting: University-affiliated urban hospital. Patients: A convenience sample of 26 patients was chosen out of a total of 78 hospitalized patients with C difficile-associated diarrhea, defined as the presence of diarrhea and a positive C difficile cytotoxin assay or stool culture. Twenty-six controls were matched for age, gender, ward, and date of admission; 18 additional controls were matched to surgical patients for date and ward of admission, as well as for the type of surgical procedure performed. Results: Significant risk factors for the development of C difficile-associated diarrhea were gastrointestinal surgery (exposure odds ratio [EOR] = 7.9, p= .004, 95% confidence interval [CI]= 1.9, 35), use of neomycin (EOR= 15.6, p=.012, 95% CI=1.7, 92), clindamycin (EOR=15.6, p=.005, 95% CI=1.7, 92), metronidazole (EOR=5.7,p=.02,95%CI= 1.4, 25), and excess antibiotic use (mean number of antibiotics = 4.2 versus 1.4, p<.00005). The presence of systemic disease and the use of antacids or immunosuppressive drugs were similar in cases and controls. In surgical patients, no specific antibiotic could be linked to C difficile-associated diarrhea because of uniform perioperative antibiotic use. There was a significant difference in the number of antibiotics administered to cases and controls (mean = 3.1 versus 1.9, p< .005). Conclusions: The results suggest that control of nosocomial C difficile-associated diarrhea may be attained by minimizing the administration of antibiotics, avoidance of high-risk antibiotics, and having a high index of suspicion of C difficile-associated diarrhea in patients who develop diarrhea after gastrointestinal surgery. Perioperative administration of metronidazole, when given with other antibiotics, failed to protect against the development of C difficile-associated diarrhea.
Long‐term survival and predictors of mortality in Alzheimer's disease and multi‐infarct dementia

Long‐term survival was examined for 218 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and 115 patients with multi‐infarct dementia (MID). The 14‐year survival rate for AD was 2.4% versus an expected rate of 16.6%, and for MID 1.7% versus 13.3% expected. MID showed a more malignant natural course than AD. Men carried a less favourable survival prognosis than women, both in AD and MID: the relative risk of dying for women was half that for men in both diseases. In MID, advanced disability indicated a relative risk of dying over twice as high. In both diseases the risk of death was substantially higher in the event of occurrence of primitive reflexes.
The Earned Income Tax Credit and Transfer Programs: A Study of Labor Market and Program Participation

The cornerstone of the Clinton administration's welfare reform agenda is a large expansion of the earned income tax credit (EITC), a refundable tax credit directed primarily toward low-income taxpayers with children. This paper reviews existing studies and provides new evidence on the degree to which policies, like the EITC, that alter after-tax wages affect hours of work, labor market participation, and transfer program participation. Simulations based on recent labor supply estimates suggest that the overall effect of the EITC expansion on hours of work from those in the labor market will be negative but fairly small. We then examine the effect of the EITC on labor market participation. We use a detailed SIPP-based microsimulation model of the tax and transfer system to accurately characterize families' budget constraints. Our empirical model relates labor market and program participation decisions to budget constraint variables and other characteristics. We find that the positive effect of the EITC on labor market participation offsets and, depending on the hours and weeks worked by new labor market participants, can exceed the negative effect of the EITC on hours worked by those already in the labor force. We also show that transfer program participation is negatively correlated with after-tax wages, which should, over time, lower the cost of the EITC.
Tyrosine phosphorylation regulates the proteolytic activation of protein kinase Cdelta in dopaminergic neuronal cells.

Oxidative stress is a key apoptotic stimulus in neuronal cell death and has been implicated in the pathogenesis of many neurodegenerative disorders, including Parkinson disease (PD). Recently, we demonstrated that protein kinase C-delta (PKCdelta) is an oxidative stress-sensitive kinase that can be activated by caspase-3-dependent proteolytic cleavage to induce apoptotic cell death in cell culture models of Parkinson disease (Kaul, S., Kanthasamy, A., Kitazawa, M., Anantharam, V., and Kanthasamy, A. G. (2003) Eur. J. Neurosci. 18, 1387-1401 and Kanthasamy, A. G. , Kitazawa, M. , Kanthasamy, A. , and Anantharam, V. (2003) Antioxid. Redox. Signal. 5, 609-620). Here we showed that the phosphorylation of a tyrosine residue in PKCdelta can regulate the proteolytic activation of the kinase during oxidative stress, which consequently influences the apoptotic cell death in dopaminergic neuronal cells. Exposure of a mesencephalic dopaminergic neuronal cell line (N27 cells) to H(2)O(2)(0-300 microm) induced a dose-dependent increase in cytotoxicity, caspase-3 activation and PKCdelta cleavage. H(2)O(2)-induced proteolytic activation of PKC was delta mediated by the activation of caspase-3. Most interestingly, both the general Src tyrosine kinase inhibitor genistein (25 microm) and the p60(Src) tyrosine-specific kinase inhibitor (TSKI; 5 microm) dramatically inhibited H(2)O(2) and the Parkinsonian toxin 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium-induced PKCdelta cleavage, kinase activation, and apoptotic cell death. H(2)O(2) treatment also increased phosphorylation of PKCdelta at tyrosine site 311, which was effectively blocked by co-treatment with TSKI. Furthermore, N27 cells overexpressing a PKCdelta(Y311F) mutant protein exhibited resistance to H(2)O(2)-induced PKCdelta cleavage, caspase activation, and apoptosis. To our knowledge, these data demonstrate for the first time that phosphorylation of Tyr-311 on PKCdelta can regulate the proteolytic activation and proapoptotic function of the kinase in dopaminergic neuronal cells.
Clinical inquiries. How effective is prophylactic therapy for gout in people with prior attacks?

■ EVIDENCE-BASED ANSWER Colchicine (strength of recommendation [SOR]: B, based on 1 double-blind crossover study), allopurinol (SOR: B, based on 2 cohort studies), and weight loss (SOR: B, based on 1 small cohort study) have been shown to reduce symptomatic recurrences of gout, although the data to support their use is limited. Some evidence suggests that despite their serum uric acid–lowering effects, uricosurics (such as probenecid) fail to reduce gout attacks (SOR: B, based on 2 cohort studies). We were unable to find any double-blind, placebo-controlled long-term outcome studies addressing this problem.