Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Detailed vs. fuzzy information in non-market valuation studies: the role of familiarity

We apply a split-sample contingent valuation survey to test whether the level of ecological information affects the willingness to pay (WTP) and valuation uncertainty for improved water quality. For respondents who are unfamiliar with water quality problems, the WTP is significantly different between the sample that received detailed ecological information and the sample that received fuzzy information. This study also provides new empirical evidence for the counterfactual; in a situation with high familiarity, more information does not affect mean WTP. The main recommendation to future valuation practice is to provide detailed ecological information in the case when many respondents are unfamiliar with the good. The level of information did not influence valuation uncertainty.
Quantification of integrated and total HIV-1 DNA after long-term highly active antiretroviral therapy in HIV-1-infected patients.

OBJECTIVE To assess the impact of long-term virus suppression on the peripheral blood CD4 T cells integrated and total HIV-1 DNA loads in patients receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). METHODS A total of 10 HIV-1-infected patients receiving a triple combination therapy (two nucleoside analogues and one protease inhibitor) were longitudinally studied to compare integrated and total HIV-1 DNA loads. HIV-1 DNA quantification was performed using a quantitative nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on genomic peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) DNA obtained at baseline and at 48 weeks of HAART. RESULTS All the study patients showed an early and sustained decrease in plasma HIV-1 RNA to below the limit of detection (200 copies/ml). Concordant with the plasma viral decline, a significant increase in the CD4 T cell count was observed (P = 0.007). A statistically significant fivefold decrease in total HIV-1 DNA was detected after 48 weeks of HAART (P = 0.005). However, no statistically significant change was noted after the therapy when the integrated HIV-1 DNA copy number was compared (P = 0.333). Taken together, these results suggest that in the patients analysed the integrated HIV-1 DNA does not decay rapidly after HAART. CONCLUSION Within the study cohort the total amount of PBMC HIV-1 DNA decreased drastically after 48 weeks of HAART. Nevertheless, the integrated HIV-1 DNA did not significantly decay during this period. Although the data presented here are limited by the number of patients analysed, our findings suggest that 48 weeks of HAART does not significantly reduce the integrated HIV-1 proviral DNA load in the latently infected CD4 T cell reservoir.
Empirical Determinants of Manufacturing Direct Foreign Investment in Developing Countries

Nearly all developing countries actively seek capital and technology from the advanced countries. Although private direct foreign investment (mainly in the form of multinational enterprise) is viewed with ambivalence by many developing countries, it is nonetheless true that direct investment remains a substantial source of capital and is sometimes the only source of specific technologies. Indeed, given the slow growth in official external assistance, developing countries are becoming more, not less, dependent on direct foreign investment. While disbursements of official development assistance by the OECD countries rose 43% from 1961 through 1970, direct investment flows rose almost 90% over the same period. In the later year, the flow of direct investment was more than two-fifths of all official assistance, $3.2 billion compared to $7.8 billion.1 Furthermore, the United States and other major capital exporting countries would prefer, for economic as well as ideological reasons, to channel more of their capital outflows to developing countries through private investment. It is highly probable, therefore, that developing countries will continue to rely on direct foreign investment in the foreseeable future to carry out their development programs. It is against this background that the present study seeks to identify the empirical determinants of direct foreign-investment flows in the manufacturing sectors of developing countries. Our purpose is to select from the many economic, social, and political features of a developing country those features that are critical to making that country attractive or unattractive to private foreign investors. Available empirical studies are limited
Mutual Funds as Monitors: Evidence From Mutual Fund Voting

We address how mutual funds vote on shareholder proposals and identify factors that help determine support of wealth-increasing shareholder proposals. We examine 213,579 voting decisions made by 1799 mutual funds from 94 fund families for 1047 shareholder proposals voted on between July 2003 and June 2005. In an analysis of voting across funds within the same fund family, we find significant divergence in voting within families, emphasizing the importance of focusing on voting by individual funds. We also find that, in general, mutual funds vote more affirmatively for potentially wealth-increasing proposals and funds' voting approval rates for these beneficial resolutions are significantly higher than those of other investors. Our results suggest that funds tend to support proposals targeting firms with weaker governance. We also find that funds with lower turnover ratios and social funds are more likely to support shareholder proposals. Finally, fund voting approval rates significantly impact whether a proposal passes and whether one is implemented.
HEAVY METALS AND TRACE ELEMENTS IN THE LIVERS AND KIDNEYS OF SLAUGHTERED CATTLE, SHEEP AND GOATS

Background: This study was performed to evaluate the levels of heavy metals in the livers and kidneys of cattle, sheep and goats from a mining region in the west of Iran. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 90 samples were collected from the livers and kidneys of cattle (n=30), sheep (n=30) and goats (n=30) from a slaughterhouse in Hamedan City, western Iran. Lead, cadmium, manganese, zinc, copper, and iron concentrations were analyzed using Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy. Results: Lead concentration exceeded the permissible limit in all samples. Cadmium level was within the permissible limit in most samples, except for the cattle and sheep kidneys. Iron concentration was normal in all samples, except for sheep livers and kidneys. The rest of the elements (manganese, zinc and copper) were within the safe range. There were no sex and agerelated significant differences in metal concentrations of cattle samples. The highest effects of age and sex were observed in sheep samples. Conclusion: The soil of these areas contains high level of lead and cadmium, contaminating the plants, water and animals of these regions; therefore, precise care and health inspection of livestock in these areas are recommended.
Characteristics of Escherichia coli isolates from avian cellulitis.

The purpose of this study was to characterize Escherichia coli isolates from avian cellulitis, particularly with respect to the occurrence of potential virulence factors. At slaughter, five broilers with lesions of cellulitis were selected from each of 20 farms from among the broilers processed. One hundred E. coli isolates from the lesions were characterized with respect to serotype; biotype; drug susceptibility; plasmid profile; ability to produce aerobactin, colicin, colicin V, and hemolysin; and cytotoxicity for Vero cells and chicken fibroblasts. The same properties were determined from a collection of 25 E. coli from the feces of chickens. Serotyping showed that, among the cellulitis isolates, 23 belonged to O group 78, 14 belonged to O2, eight belonged to O115, and seven belonged to O(21.83); 25 were untypable. Isolates from a single farm typically belonged to three to five O groups. More than half of the fecal isolates were untypable, and the rest were distributed among seven O groups. Biotype, drug-resistance pattern, and plasmid profile could not be used as markers of avian cellulitis E. coli. No plasmid was detected in 12% of cellulitis isolates and 48% of fecal isolates. No isolate was hemolytic or showed cytotoxic effects. Aerobactin was produced by 90% of cellulitis isolates, and colicin was produced by 85% of these isolates; the corresponding percentages for the fecal isolates were 16% and 40%. Production of colicin V was detected in 21% of cellulitis isolates and 24% of fecal isolates. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Do budget maximizing public officials increase the probability of property reassessment?

County governments in Pennsylvania face non‐binding limits on their property tax rates. These are considered non‐binding because they do not place a limit on tax levies or expenditures. Assuming local public officials have monopoly power, tax rate limits can be circumvented by reassessing the property tax base. A two‐stage process was hypothesized in which the probability of reaching tax rate limits first was determined and the probability of reassessment then was determined. The effect of budget maximizing government officials at each stage was tested for 66 Pennsylvania counties over the 1970–1995 period. The empirical results showed that variables associated with budget maximizing behaviour influenced the choice in each stage. Public expenditure growth increased the probability of reaching the tax rate limit in the first stage while reaching the tax rate limit increased the probability of reassessment in the second stage. The estimates also showed that economic, fiscal and taste variables were significant determinants of these probabilities.
The impact of stroke on the cost and level of care in nursing homes: a retrospective population-based study.

OBJECTIVE To estimate the impact of incident stroke on nursing home (NH) costs and level of care. SUBJECTS AND METHODS This retrospective population-based cohort study is part of a larger study that identified all Rochester, Minn, residents with a confirmed first stroke occurring between January 1, 1988, and December 31, 1989. One Rochester resident who had not had a stroke was matched to each person with stroke. Persons with and without stroke were followed up in provider-linked medical records and NH files from baseline (i.e., date of stroke) through December 31, 1994, for evidence of NH use. This study characterized the NH activity of those individuals with any NH activity after baseline (58 persons with major stroke, 36 persons with minor stroke, and 63 persons without stroke) as to NH case mix at first assessment, number of NH days, and per diem Medicaid reimbursement. RESULTS Characteristics at first NH assessment after baseline revealed that NH residents with major stroke were younger and more disabled and required more services than residents without stroke. Over the full period of follow-up, the mean number of NH days was similar for NH residents with major stroke and those without stroke, yet per diem Medicaid reimbursement was 11% higher for residents with major stroke compared with residents without stroke. Nursing home residents with minor stroke appeared similar to those without stroke with respect to time to admission, characteristics at first assessment, number of NH days, and per diem Medicaid reimbursement. CONCLUSION Lower incidence and severity of stroke may contribute to lower care needs and per diem cost, but no fewer NH days.
Sonographic Findings in Fetal Viral Infections: A Systematic Review

Viral infections are a major cause of fetal morbidity and mortality. Transplacental transmission of the virus, even in subclinical maternal infection, may result in a severe congenital syndrome. Prenatal detection of viral infection is based on fetal sonographic findings and polymerase chain reaction to identify the specific infectious agent. Most affected fetuses appear sonographically normal, but serial scanning may reveal evolving findings. Common sonographic abnormalities, although nonspecific, may be indicative of fetal viral infections. These include growth restriction, ascites, hydrops, ventriculomegaly, intracranial calcifications, hydrocephaly, microcephaly, cardiac anomalies, hepatosplenomegaly, echogenic bowel, placentomegaly, and abnormal amniotic fluid volume. Some of the pathognomonic sonographic findings enable diagnosis of a specific congenital syndrome (eg, ventriculomegaly and intracranial and hepatic calcifications in cytomegalovirus, eye and cardiac anomalies in congenital rubella syndrome, limb contractures and cerebral anomalies in varicella zoster virus). When abnormalities are detected on ultrasound, a thorough fetal evaluation is recommended because of multiorgan involvement. Target Audience: Obstetricians & Gynecologists, Family Physicians Learning Objectives: After completion of this article, the reader should be able to recall that both clinical and subclinical maternal viral infections can cross the placenta, explain that there are specific sonographic findings along with laboratory findings to detect infectious agents, and state that when sonographic abnormalities are detected fetal viral infections need to be considered.
How Do Risk Perceptions Respond to Information? The Case of Radon

A specialized survey of Maine households' responses to information about the risks associate d with radon concentrations in their homes and water supplies was use d to evaluate how they form risk perceptions. The findings support a modified form of a Bayesian learning model to describe how individual s used the information to revise their risk perceptions. Moreover, in dividuals who took some mitigating actions reported lower risk percep tions after that action. The overall results are potentially importan t to the use of information programs as policy instruments for risk r eduction because they indicate that new information can affect risk p erceptions in a systematic way. Copyright 1988 by MIT Press.
Distinct Factor Requirements for Exonic Splicing Enhancer Function and Binding of U2AF to the Polypyrimidine Tract*

Exonic splicing enhancer (ESE) sequences are important for the recognition of adjacent splice sites in pre-mRNA and for the regulation of splice site selection. It has been proposed that ESEs function by associating with one or more serine/arginine-repeat (SR) proteins which stabilize the binding of the U2 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein particle (snRNP) auxiliary factor (U2AF) to the polypyrimidine tract upstream of the 3′ splice site. We have tested this model by analyzing the composition of splicing complexes assembled on an ESE-dependent pre-mRNA derived from the doublesex gene of Drosophila. Several SR proteins and hTra2β, a human homolog of theDrosophila alternative splicing regulator Transformer-2, associate with this pre-mRNA in the presence, but not in the absence, of a purine-rich ESE. By contrast, the 65-kDa subunit of U2AF (U2AF-65 kDa) bound equally to the pre-mRNA in the presence and absence of the ESE. Time course experiments revealed differences in the levels and kinetics of association of individual SR proteins with the ESE-containing pre-mRNA, whereas U2AF-65 kDa bound prior to most SR proteins and hTra2β and its level of binding did not change significantly during the course of the splicing reaction. Binding of U2AF-65 kDa to the ESE-dependent pre-mRNA was, however, dependent on U1 snRNP. The results indicate that an ESE promotes spliceosome formation through interactions that are distinct from those required for the binding of U2AF-65 kDa to the polypyrimidine tract.
Longer Run Changes in the Distribution of Income in Australia

This paper brings new evidence to bear on the question of changes in income distribution among individuals in Australia between 1942-43 and 1989-90. The changes observed over this period are analyzed in the context of previous studies of the changing distribution of income in Australia over the past eighty years. The main conclusions of the paper are that the distribution of individual income in 1989-90 is very similar to that estimated for 1942-43 and there is evidence that income inequality has been increasing during the 1980s. Copyright 1993 by The Economic Society of Australia.
Identification of Violence in Psychiatric Case Presentations

Previous research on medical discourse suggests that physicians minimize patients' social problems through conversational and linguistic interactions. There has been little assessment, however, of the neglect of violence by psychiatric staff. In an attempt to address this important area, the case presentations of 77 recently violent psychiatric patients were examined. A contextual analysis of the violence mentioned during the case presentations revealed four categories of identification violence as part of the primary problem, as a psychiatric disorder, as an unrelated incident, or not mentioned at all In nearly two-thirds of the case presentations, the violence was not identified as part of the primary problem The findings and case examples substantiate the assertion that social problems are neglected, minimized, or medicalized in medical discourse They also suggest that clinical protocol should be established to ensure more extensive consideration of the "dangerousness" implied by reported violence The sociological study of medical discourse—that is, the discussion among physicians, clinicians, and patients—has become a rich and fruitful field in recent years (Kuipers, 1989; Mechanic, 1989). The broad perspective of this research has exposed the interactive processes by which medical conditions are defined and addressed. This research suggests how macrolevel
A Postfunctionalist Theory of Regional Government

The structure of government―the number of tiers and the allocation of tasks over these tiers―has been a subject of political research since Althusius (1603) and Pufendorf (1672). More recently, the process of European integration revived the interest in the allocation of tasks across government tiers.1 One approach to this topic is the subsidiarity principle of the European Union which states that matters ought to be handled by the lowest feasible tier. However, the subsidiarity principle has also been used by the member states of the European Union as an argument to safeguard national autonomy (Van Kersbergen and Verbeek 1994). The precise allocation of tasks across government tiers remains a matter of fierce normative and empirical debate.
Curriculum as destiny: forging national identity in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh

This dissertation investigates the political, social, and religious influences on curriculum policy and social studies textbooks. It highlight the importance of historiography in the creation and transmission of national ideologies. This study focuses on three nations of the Indian Subcontinent, India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, which share thousands of years of history, but who after 1947 have entertained distinct, often opposing visions of the past. In this context, historical interpretations, often characterized by omission, elision, and embellishment, may become standardized narratives used as justification for ethnic violence and military brinkmanship. The civic imperative to create patriotic citizens finds a malleable, teleological tool in the social studies. This study seeks to understand the sources of contentiousness which characterize the relationships between these often hostile nations where textbooks may be used as a site for negatively “othering” their neighbors. The first section deals with the history of education in the Subcontinent and background information about the research. The second section looks at the three countries in the Subcontinent, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India. A brief conclusion attempts to tie them all together. History textbooks are narrated with the intent of developing students into patriotic, productive citizens. Examples from state-sponsored textbooks can illustrate the appropriation of history to reinforce national ideologies. When history is seen as a tool to mold a nation's youth, interpretations of historical events are often manipulated in response to current events, as heroes become villains across the borders of neighboring countries, and opposing political parties ​ within nations vie to control the grand narrative of the nation state. Department Curriculum and Instruction
The Effect of Creatine and Coenzyme Q10 Combination Therapy on Mild Cognitive Impairment in Parkinson's Disease

Background: To investigate the effect of creatine and coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) combination therapy on mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in Parkinson's disease (PD; PD-MCI) and its influences on plasma phospholipid (PL) levels in PD-MCI. Methods: The demographic data of 75 PD-MCI patients who enrolled in this collaborative PD study were collected. These patients were evaluated using the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) III and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). These 75 PD-MCI patients were randomly treated with creatine monohydrate 5 g b.i. d. and CoQ10 100 mg t.i. d. orally or placebo. MoCA evaluation and PL level measurements were performed after 12 and 18 months of treatment. Results: After 12 and 18 months of treatment, the differences in the MoCA scores of the combination therapy and control groups were statistically significant (p < 0.05 at 12 months and p < 0.01 at 18 months), and the plasma PL levels of the combination therapy group were significantly lower than those of the control group (p < 0.01 at 12 months and p < 0.001 at 18 months). Conclusions: Combination therapy with creatine and CoQ10 could delay the decline of cognitive function in PD-MCI patients and could lower their plasma PL levels; therefore, this combination therapy may have a neuroprotective function.
Entrepreneurial Spirals: Deviation–Amplifying Loops of an Entrepreneurial Mindset and Organizational Culture

As environments become more dynamic and increasingly competitive, organizations must become more entrepreneurial. To explain how and why an organization becomes more (or less) entrepreneurial over time, we investigate the interrelationship between the psychology of individuals and the culture of organizations. To that end, we develop the notion of entrepreneurial spirals—enduring, deviation–amplifying loops—that serve to link the manager's mindset to his or her organization's culture and vice versa. We investigate how entrepreneurial spirals start, perpetuate, and stop, and detail the implications and insights suggested by entrepreneurial spirals for the relationship between managerial mindset and organizational culture.
Oxidized LDL-mediated monocyte adhesion to endothelial cells does not involve NFkappaB.

Oxidised LDL (oxLDL) is a key pathogenic mediator of atherogenesis, exhibiting many proatherogenic properties. We have examined the effect of oxLDL on monocyte adhesion in the endothelial cell line, EA.hy 926. This has included the role of endothelial cell adhesion molecule expression (ICAM-1 and VCAM-1), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), and the transcription factor NFkappaB in this interaction. In response to oxLDL (10-100 microg/ml), monocyte adhesion to cells increased dose-dependently. Adhesion of oxLDL at 100 microg/ml was equivalent to that seen with TNFalpha (10 ng/ml). Unmodified LDL (nLDL, 100 microg/ml) had no effect. Both oxLDL and nLDL increased MCP-1 mRNA levels. Interestingly, oxLDL had no effect on the expression of ICAM-1 and VCAM-1. In addition NFkappaB was not activated as shown by western blots of IkappaB-alpha degradation and electrophoretic mobility shift assay. In summary these data show that increased monocyte adhesion to EA.hy 926 cells occurs independently of ICAM-1, VCAM-1, and NFkappaB activation and may involve novel adhesive mechanisms.