Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Changes in Average Annual Precipitation in Argentina’s Pampa Region and Their Possible Causes

Changes in annual rainfall in five sub-regions of the Argentine Pampa Region (Rolling, Central, Mesopotamian, Flooding and Southern) were examined for the period 1941 to 2010 using data from representative locations in each sub-region. Dubious series were adjusted by means of a homogeneity test and changes in mean value were evaluated using a hydrometeorological time series segmentation method. In addition, an association was sought between shifts in mean annual rainfall and changes in large-scale atmospheric pressure systems, as measured by the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO), the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) and the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI). The results indicate that the Western Pampas (Central and Southern) are more vulnerable to abrupt changes in average annual rainfall than the Eastern Pampas (Mesopotamian, Rolling and Flooding). Their vulnerability is further increased by their having the lowest average rainfall. The AMO showed significant negative correlations with all sub-regions, while the PDO and SOI showed significant positive and negative correlations respectively with the Central, Flooding and Southern Pampa. The fact that the PDO and AMO are going through the phases of their cycles that tend to reduce rainfall in much of the Pampas helps explain the lower rainfall recorded in the Western Pampas sub-regions in recent years. This has had a significant impact on agriculture and the environment.
A Real Estate Portfolio Strategy for Europe: A Review of the Options

Executive Summary. This study examines the basis for the construction of a pan-European real estate portfolio strategy within the context of increased economic and monetary integration in Europe and the differences that exist between European property markets in their institutional structure. Utilising data on returns by property type from 1990 to 1996 taken from the ONCOR International data set, a limited empirical examination is carried out of portfolio strategies as an illustration of the issues raised. The findings of this analysis clearly indicate that, portfolios need to be constructed on a country basis, a portfolio concentrated in secondary cities outperforms a similar one in capital cities, and the composition of the optimal portfolio exhibits considerable inter-temporal instability.
Gene expression changes in an in vitro model of chondroinduction: a comparison of two methods

There are many useful technologies to describe patterns of gene expression that occur during tissue repair and regeneration. Results from different methods used in one experimental setting are not often compared. In this case study of chondrogenesis, we compare two methods to identify differentially expressed genes, representational difference analysis and targeted macroarray analysis, as a model for investigating genes that may be relevant to tissue repair. We sought to identify genes whose expression was altered when human dermal fibroblasts were cultured in a three‐dimensional, porous collagen sponge with the chondroinductive agent, demineralized bone. Both representational difference analysis and macroarray experiments revealed several functional families of genes as up‐regulated or down‐regulated in chondroinduced fibroblasts. An advantage of representational difference analysis is that altered expression of specific mRNA transcripts can be revealed. In this example, representational difference analysis uncovered the up‐regulation of a specific transcript of Wnt5a in fibroblasts cultured with demineralized bone. Representational difference analysis is limited, however, as there can be false negatives for genes not readily amplified by polymerase chain reaction. We conclude that small arrays containing functional classes of genes can be used to ask specific, hypothesis‐driven questions at minimal cost. It may be prudent, however, to use more than one method to survey differences in gene expression in order to validate and expand findings. (WOUND REP REG 2003;11:386–392)
A Reduction in the Amount and Anti-Contractile Effect of Periadventitial Mesenteric Adipose Tissue Precedes Hypertension Development in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats

The aim of this study was to determine whether alterations in periadventitial adipose tissue and its anti-contractile effect precede hypertension development. We used 4-week-old male Wistar Kyoto (WKY) and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), which were pre-hypertensive. Vascular function was studied in the perfused mesenteric bed (MB, 1.5 mL/min). MB weight was lower in SHR (8.0±0.3 mg/g body weight) than in WKY (9.0±0.3 mg/g body weight) rats. Concentration-response curves to KCl (6 to 75 mmol/L) and to acetylcholine (10−9 to 10−5 mol/L) were similar between groups. Contractile responses to serotonin (10−9 to 10−5 mol/L) were significantly higher in SHR compared to WKY. 4-Aminopyridine (4-AP, 2 mmol/L), a blocker of Kv channels, induced a similar increase in perfusion pressure in both strains. However, 4-AP (2 mmol/L) significantly increased the contractile response to serotonin (10−9 to 10−5 mol/L) only in WKY. The anti-contractile effect of fat was confirmed by a comparison of (+) fat and (−) fat mesenteric arteries, which revealed that 4-AP significantly enhanced contractions only in (+) fat rings from WKY. These results show that alterations in visceral periadventitial fat mass and function in SHR precede hypertension, suggesting a constitutive mechanism independent of age and the hypertensive state.
Public Sector Alternatives to Water Supply and Sewerage Privatization: Case Studies

The paper presents a consideration of public sector operations as an alternative to the privatization of water and sewerage services. Cross-country case studies of publicly owned enterprises which have succeeded in reconciling efficiency and social purposes and carrying out structural and managerial changes are compared with some experiences of privatized concessions. Overall, public enterprises appear no less efficient that private companies, while being capable of development-oriented consideration of public interests.
Exchange rate determination: monetary approach in the new EU members and Turkey

This study is based on the evaluation of the long-run performance of the monetary model approach of exchange rate determination for the newly entered EU members and Turkey. First, we tested the cointegration relationship between exchange rates and monetary variables. Then, the forecast estimates of the monetary approach were used for comparing the performances with the random walk model.
Effect of growth hormone on fatty acid synthase gene expression in porcine adipose tissue cultures

Abstract We describe an efficient in vitro assay to test growth hormone effects on mRNA levels and fatty acid synthase (FAS,EC. 2.3.1.85) activity. Swine adipose tissue explants were long-term cultured in medium containing growth hormoneand FAS mRNA levels and enzyme activity were measured. We quantified FAS transcripts by competitive reversetranscriptase PCR (RT-PCR) using total RNA from cultured adipose tissue explants and RT-PCR standard-curveswere constructed using a cloned 307 bp segment of native FAS cDNA and a shorter fragment from which a 64 bp(competitor, 243 bp) internal sequence had been deleted. A known amount of competitor was added to each PCR asan internal control and -actin transcripts were also measured to correct for differences in total RNA extraction andreverse transcription efficiency. In cultures with added growth hormone FAS mRNA levels decreased 70% (p < 0.01)and FAS enzyme activity decreased 22% (p < 0.05). These in vitro growth hormone effects were consistent withthose observed
Comparative phytochemical evaluation, antimicrobial and antioxidant properties of Pleurotus ostreatus

This study scientifically examined the phytochemistry, antioxidant and antimicrobial potencies of two organic extracts of Pleurotus ostreatus. Generally, both extracts were effective against 89.8% of the isolates tested with Bacillus subtilis (7.6 – 7.8 mm), Escherichia coli (7.6 – 8.2 mm) and Saccharomycee cerevisae (10.5 – 10.8 mm) exhibiting highest gram ±ve, gram –ve and fungal susceptibilities by agar well diffusion method, respectively. However, petroleum ether extract (PE) exhibited greater anti-gram negative bacterial activity than the acetone extract (AE) and further produced growth inhibition of these isolates in broth. Compared to PE, the acetone extract elicited higher total phenolic content and in vitro antioxidant capacity. Phytochemical analyses of the extracts revealed low to moderate levels of terpenoids, tannins, steroidal glycosides and carbohydrates, while flavonoids, alkaloids and cynogenic glycosides were not detected. The results indicate that P. ostreatus possesses antimicrobial and antioxidant potentials.
Interventions for preventing obesity in children.

BACKGROUND Obesity prevention is an international public health priority. The prevalence of obesity and overweight is increasing in child populations throughout the world, impacting on short and long-term health. Obesity prevention strategies for children can change behaviour but efficacy in terms of preventing obesity remains poorly understood. OBJECTIVES To assess the effectiveness of interventions designed to prevent obesity in childhood through diet, physical activity and/or lifestyle and social support. SEARCH STRATEGY MEDLINE, PsycINFO, EMBASE, CINAHL and CENTRAL were searched from 1990 to February 2005. Non-English language papers were included and experts contacted. SELECTION CRITERIA Randomised controlled trials and controlled clinical trials with minimum duration twelve weeks. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS Two reviewers independently extracted data and assessed study quality. MAIN RESULTS Twenty-two studies were included; ten long-term (at least 12 months) and twelve short-term (12 weeks to 12 months). Nineteen were school/preschool-based interventions, one was a community-based intervention targeting low-income families, and two were family-based interventions targeting non-obese children of obese or overweight parents. Six of the ten long-term studies combined dietary education and physical activity interventions; five resulted in no difference in overweight status between groups and one resulted in improvements for girls receiving the intervention, but not boys. Two studies focused on physical activity alone. Of these, a multi-media approach appeared to be effective in preventing obesity. Two studies focused on nutrition education alone, but neither were effective in preventing obesity. Four of the twelve short-term studies focused on interventions to increase physical activity levels, and two of these studies resulted in minor reductions in overweight status in favour of the intervention. The other eight studies combined advice on diet and physical activity, but none had a significant impact. The studies were heterogeneous in terms of study design, quality, target population, theoretical underpinning, and outcome measures, making it impossible to combine study findings using statistical methods. There was an absence of cost-effectiveness data. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS The majority of studies were short-term. Studies that focused on combining dietary and physical activity approaches did not significantly improve BMI, but some studies that focused on dietary or physical activity approaches showed a small but positive impact on BMI status. Nearly all studies included resulted in some improvement in diet or physical activity. Appropriateness of development, design, duration and intensity of interventions to prevent obesity in childhood needs to be reconsidered alongside comprehensive reporting of the intervention scope and process.
Book Rate-Of-Return And Prediction Of Earnings Changes - An Empirical-Investigation

Over the years, there has developed a fairly substantial body of research on the time series of earnings. As a whole, this literature concludes that changes in (annual) accounting earnings are unpredictable, that is, earnings follow a "random walk. "1 Based on this result, some inferences of economic substance (policy) have been claimed.2 In this paper we reconsider empirical issues which, at least to some extent, have been obscured by this conclusion. We argue that the above result is only true in a limited sense, since a modest enlargement of the predictive information set should allow for a rejection of the hypothesis that earnings changes are
The effect of bicycle helmet legislation on bicycling fatalities

A number of states passed legislation in the 1990s requiring youths to wear helmets when riding bicycles. The effect of this legislation on bicycling fatalities is examined by subjecting data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System to a panel analysis, using a control-group methodology. A helmet law reduces fatalities by about 15 percent in the long run, less in the short run. There is no evidence of spillover effects (to adults) or substitution effects (youths choosing other methods of transportation) associated with implementation of a helmet law. Through 2000, existing helmet laws have saved 130 lives. If all states had adopted helmet laws in 1975, more than 1500 lives would have been saved. © 2004 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.
[Can Severe Fiscal Contractions Be Expansionary? Tales of Two Small European Countries]: Comment

Francesco Giavazzi and Marco Pagano present two cases where a sharp fiscal contraction meant to stabilize an inflationary economy led not simply to a significant increase in private consumption and investment, but to an expansion rather than a contraction of output. There are others, such as the economic expansion in Israel in 1986-1987 in wake of the July 1985 stabilization. What mechanisms can explain this "perverse" effect of fiscal contractions on output? Though contradictory to basic textbook aggregate demand models of economic activity, it has gained many adherents in Europe, coming to be known as the "German view" of the effect of fiscal policy. The possible explanations can be put into two basic categories: those which rely primarily on changes in current variables, such as interest rates or wealth (which Giavazzi and Pagano term direct effects); and those which rely primarily on expectations of changes in variables in the future-specifically, changes in the current deficit induce expectations of future changes in fiscal policy. Giavazzi and Pagano consider various direct mechanisms empirically to see how much of the "perverse" effects that can explain. They reject the direct mechanisms, I think correctly, as providing a full explanation, suggesting the need to concentrate on policy expectations effects. In these comments I want to do three things. First, I want to highlight what struck me as "regularities" in these episodes, with an eye toward differentiating possible explanations. Second, I will review their evidence on the explanatory power of the direct, current variable effects, adding further evidence that rejects these as the full explanation. Finally, I want to look at the policy expectations view more closely and suggest what type of model might explain some of the regularities from these episodes. Basically, I want to formalize slightly the notion of process switching, which I think is inherent in the policy expectations view.
Laws of Motion of Capital in the Center-Periphery Structure

The laws of motion of capital in the world economic system are analyzed through the fundamental necessary relation between production and consumption capacities. The structural contrasts between center and periphery and domination of the former over the latter create specific barriers to the pro cess of accumulation that are overcome through external relationships among them. Specifically, the tendency for the rate of profit to fall in the center and, in the periphery, the deficit in the balance of payments, the low rate of investment, the limited market size, and the food crisis create the internal possibilities for these external relations. The laws of motion provide the objective basis for the contrasted relations between growth and income distribution in center and per iphery and for the deepening of dualism in the latter.
Exposure to Toxoplasma gondii in Galapagos Penguins (Spheniscus mendiculus) and Flightless Cormorants (Phalacrocorax harrisi) in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

Toxoplasma gondii is one of the most common protozoan parasites of humans and warm-blooded animals. Members of the family Felidae are the only definitive hosts of this parasite and, thus, important in the epidemiology of the disease. Previous studies on Pacific islands have found T. gondii infections in a number of avian species where domestic cats (Felis catus) have been introduced. Little is known about T. gondii in the Galapagos Islands, although introduced domestic cats in the archipelago are known to be T. gondii antibody-positive. In this study, we quantified prevalence of antibody to T. gondii in two threatened avian marine species, Galapagos Penguins (Spheniscus mendiculus) and Flightless Cormorants (Phalacrocorax harrisi), and tested the hypothesis that this parasite is more prevalent on Isabela Island (with cats) than on Fernandina Island (without cats). Overall, antibody prevalence was 2.3% in both Galapagos Penguins and Flightless Cormorants from samples collected during 2003–2005, and in 2008. In Galapagos Penguins (n=298), a significantly higher antibody prevalence was found in penguins on Fernandina Island (free of cats) than on Isabela Island (with cats; Fisher's exact test; P=0.02). In Flightless Cormorants (n=258), there was a higher antibody prevalence in cormorants living on Isabela than on Fernandina, although this difference was not statistically significant (Fisher's; P=0.19). This study is the first to show exposure to T. gondii in endemic avian species in the Galapagos Islands, providing evidence for disease-related risks associated with the feral cat population in the archipelago. We provide possible explanations for these findings and recommendations for future studies towards a better understanding of the epidemiology of T. gondii in the Galapagos Islands.
Effects of pregabalin on post operative morphine consumption and pain after abdominal hysterectomy with/without salphingo-oophorectomy: a randomized, double-blind trial.

BACKGROUND Achieving post operative pain management is difficult with the use of only opioids analgesia. Multimodal pain management is a method to improve post operative analgesia with minimal side effects. Pregabalin has an analgesic and opioids sparing effects in post operative analgesia. OBJECTIVE The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of premedication with pregabalin 300 mg compared with lorazepam 0.5 mg on post operative morphine consumption in women undergoing abdominal hysterectomy with/without salphingo-oophorectomy. MATERIAL AND METHOD Eighty ASA I-III, aged 18-65 year patients undergoing elective abdominal hysterectomy with/without salphingo-oophorectomy were randomized to receive either lorazepam 0.5 mg or pregabalin 300 mg 1 hr before surgery. Anesthesia was induced with thiopental (3-5 mg/kg) and atracurium (0.6 mg/kg) and maintained with sevoflurane with a fresh gas flow of 2 L/min (50% N2O in O2) and morphine 0.1-0.2 mg/kg. All patients received patient-controlled analgesia with morphine with a 1 mg incremental dose, 5-min lockout interval, and 4-hr limit of 40 mg post operative. Patients were studied at 0, 1, 4, 12 and 24 hours post operatively for verbal numerical rating scale (VNRS), morphine consumption, satisfaction score and side effects. RESULTS The VNRS scores of the pregabalin group were significantly lower than the control group at 1, 4, 12 and 24 hours after surgery. The total morphine consumption at 24 hours post operatively of pregabalin group (7.11 +/- 5.57) was significantly lower than the control group (21.18 +/- 7.12) (p < 0.01). There were no differences between groups in somnolence and dizziness (p = 0.93) and nausea-vomiting (p = 0.11). The satisfaction score was higher in the pregabalin group. CONCLUSION A 300 mg pregabalin administered 1 hr preoperatively before abdominal hysterectomy with/without salphingo-oophorectomy significantly reduced morphine consumption, VNRS pain score and improved satisfaction score at 24 hr post operatively without any significant differences in side effects. Pregabalin is an alternative combination to opioids as multimodal analgesia.
Remembering the pain: Accuracy of pain recall in endometriosis

Endometriosis diagnosis and treatment planning are guided primarily by retrospective pain recall, despite the facts that (1) there is only a tenuous relationship between pain reports and physical pathology, and (2) the accuracy of pain recall has never been assessed in this population. The current study investigated the accuracy of endometriotic pain recall for pain experienced over a 30-day period, as well as potential psychological mediators of pain recall accuracy, including psychological wellbeing, distress specific to infertility, passive and active coping, and pain present at time of recall in 100 women with endometriosis. Findings indicated that women were relatively accurate in their recall of pain. Only passive coping and pain present at recall were predictive of accuracy, with greater passive coping and lower pain at recall predictive of overestimation of past pain. Study implications are discussed, including: (1) report of pain over a 30-day duration appears credible for the majority of patients with endometriosis and (2) women exhibiting greater passive coping may benefit from psychological treatment in addition to medical intervention.
The Effectiveness of Post-Disaster Recovery Marketing Messages—The Case of the 2009 Australian Bushfires

ABSTRACT An understanding of how best to communicate with the tourism market in the wake of a disastrous event is essential for destination marketing organizations seeking to manage the misperceptions and media-imposed attitudes held by potential visitors. To date, the literature remains silent in terms of the types of messages destination marketing organizations are best to employ when a disaster has hit and consequently marketers often take an “ad hoc” approach to their post-disaster communications that may or may not be effective in terms of encouraging visitation. In response to this knowledge gap, the research presented in this article adopted an experimental methodology to examine the effectiveness of nine disaster recovery message themes commonly used by destination marketing organizations. The messages were presented to respondents via a print advertisement promoting the Victorian region of Gippsland—a tourism region severely affected by the 2009 Black Saturday Bushfires. The results revealed that a marketing message endorsed by a well-known and well-associated celebrity figure is likely to be most effective in encouraging tourists to return to or visit a disaster-affected destination 12 to 24 months following the event. The findings also revealed a significant relationship between past visitation and the time frame in which visitors will visit a disaster-affected region. Those who had visited the region four times or more were much more likely to return within 6 months of the event than less frequent visitors. A final important message revealed in this study was the fact that the tourism market is not averse to disaster recovery promotional activities, a concern often considered by destination marketers when planning their post-disaster recovery campaigns.