Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Does Economic Freedom Matter For CO2 Emissions? Lessons From Africa

Abstract:The increase in the concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere has become one of the major issues worldwide. This increase has also drawn the attention of many financial and economic researchers to empirically investigate the determinants of CO2 emissions and environmental quality. However, many studies ignore the influence of economic freedom when investigating the determinants. This gap in the literature has motivated this study to examine the environmental impacts of economic freedom and whether these effects differ across various income groups. This study also offers what we know as the first study on the effect of unemployment rate on environmental quality. In order to strengthen the explanatory power of the estimation results, we employ electricity power consumption and GDP per capita as our control variables. Using the system generalized method of moments (GMM) estimator with a panel dataset for 24 African countries over 1995 – 2013 period, our results show that increases in economic freedom, proxied by trade freedom index, business freedom index, freedom from corruption and fiscal freedom index, increase environmental quality, measured using CO2 emissions. Our finding that fiscal freedom exerts a negative effect on CO2 emissions remained unchanged with the sample split into different income groups (low income, lower-middle, and upper-middle income countries). This suggests that tax reduction policies can be implemented to reduce CO2 emissions. At the same time, our further analyses, which are based on the different income groups, show that the effects of business freedom, freedom from corruption, and trade freedom on CO2 emissions differ across the various income groups. Specifically, the results indicate significant negative impacts of freedom from corruption and business freedom on CO2 emissions only for upper-middle income countries, while trade freedom is significantly negative only for lower-middle income countries, implying that the impacts of the variables depend on the income levels of the countries. The results also show that unemployment rate has no significant negative effect on CO2 emissions in lower-middle and upper-middle income countries, yet it significantly reduces CO2 emissions in low income countries. Thus, in order to have a robust understanding of the effects of economic freedom and unemployment rate on CO2 emissions, it is important to use a panel of more homogeneous economies. Our findings suggest that country-specific (or country-income based) environmental policies should be encouraged in order is to win the war against CO2 emissions and by extension environmental degradation.
Prostatic artery embolization: radiation exposure to patients and staff

The aim of this study was to evaluate the radiation doses to patients and staff received from the first cases of prostatic artery embolization (PAE) conducted in a public hospital in Recife, Brazil. Five PAE procedures for 5 men diagnosed with benign prostatic hyperplasia were investigated. In order to characterize patient exposure, dosimetric quantities, such as the air kerma-area product (PKA), the cumulative air kerma at the interventional reference point (Ka,r), the number of images, etc, were registered. To evaluate the possibility for deterministic effects, the peak skin dose (PSD) was measured using radiochromic films. For evaluation of personal dose equivalent and effective dose to the medical staff, thermoluminescent dosemeters (TLD-100) were used. The effective dose was estimated using the double dosimetry alghoritm of von Boetticher. The results showed that the mean patient’s PSD per procedure was 2674.2 mGy. With regard to the medical staff, the mean, minimum and maximum effective doses estimated per procedure were: 18 μSv, 12 μSv and 21 μSv respectively. High personal equivalent doses were found for the feet, hands and lens of the eye, due to the use of multiple left anterior oblique projections and the improper use of the suspended lead screen and the lead curtain during procedures.
Boosting effect of purified chick embryo cell rabies vaccine using the intradermal route in persons previously immunized by the intramuscular route or vice versa.

BACKGROUND At present, in the event of re-exposure to rabies, 2 booster doses are recommended for people who have been previously vaccinated with cell culture rabies vaccines by the conventional intramuscular route. As the intradermal route of vaccination is likely to be introduced in the future, we investigated the immune response to a cell culture rabies vaccine after crossing over from the intramuscular to the intradermal route and vice versa. METHODS Twenty healthy adult volunteers who had received a primary course of rabies vaccination with purified chick embryo cell rabies vaccine by either the intramuscular (n = 10) or intradermal (n = 10) route received booster vaccination with the same vaccine by the alternative route. The regimen used was 0.1 ml of vaccine by the intradermal route at two sites (deltoid area) for the intramuscular group, or 1 ml of vaccine by the intramuscular route (deltoid muscle) to the intradermal group on days 0 and 3. RESULTS There was a 15-fold rise in the rabies virus neutralizing antibody response both by the intradermal and intramuscular routes of booster vaccination (p < 0.0001). Thus, the change of route of purified chick embryo cell booster vaccination did not alter the anamnestic immune response to the vaccine. No side-effects were observed after vaccination with either of the routes. CONCLUSION Purified chick embryo cell vaccine was found to be safe and immunologically efficacious following booster vaccination after cross-over from the intradermal to the intramuscular route and vice versa.
Iodine-deficiency disorders in the Aseer region, south-western Saudi Arabia: 20 years after the national survey and universal salt iodization

Abstract Objective To study (i) the current prevalence of iodine-deficiency disorders among schoolchildren in south-western Saudi Arabia after universal salt iodization and (ii) the iodine content of table salts and water. Design Cross-sectional study on a stratified proportional allocation sample of children. Thyroid gland enlargement was assessed clinically and by ultrasound scanning. Urine, table salt and water samples were taken to measure iodine content. Settings The Aseer region, south-western Saudi Arabia. Subjects Schoolchildren aged 8–10 years. Results The study included 3046 schoolchildren. The total goitre rate amounted to 24·0 %. Prevalence of enlarged thyroid by ultrasound was 22·7 %. The median urinary iodine concentration of the study sample amounted to 17·0 µg/l. The iodine content of table salt ranged from 0 to 112 mg/kg; 22·5 % of the table salt samples were below the recommended iodine content (15 mg/kg) set by WHO. The total goitre rate increased significantly from 19·8 % among children using table salt with iodine content ≥15 mg/kg to reach 48·5 % among children using table salt with 0 mg iodine/kg. Analysis of water samples taken from schools showed that the majority of water samples (78·8 %) had an iodine content of 0 µg/l. Conclusions The study documented that 18 years after the national study, and after more than a decade of universal salt iodization in Saudi Arabia, the problem of iodine-deficiency disorders is still endemic in the Aseer region. Efforts should focus on fostering advocacy and communication and ensuring the availability of adequately iodized salt.
Sexual Dysfunction in First-Episode Schizophrenia Patients: Results From European First Episode Schizophrenia Trial

Sexual dysfunctions (SDs) occur frequently in schizophrenia patients and have a huge impact on quality of life and compliance. They are often associated with antipsychotic medication. Nicotine consumption, negative or depressive symptoms, and physical illness are also discussed as contributing factors. Data on SD in first-episode schizophrenia patients are scarce. As part of the European First Episode Schizophrenia Trial, first-episode schizophrenia patients were randomly assigned to 5 medication groups. We assessed SD by analyzing selected items from the Udvalg for Kliniske Undersugelser at baseline and at 5 following visits. Differences between antipsychotics were small for all SDs, and fairly little change in the prevalence of SDs was seen over the course of the study. A significantly larger increase of amenorrhea and galactorrhea was seen with amisulpride than with the other medications. In men, higher age, more pronounced Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale general psychopathology symptoms, and higher plasma prolactin levels predicted higher rates of erectile and ejaculatory dysfunctions. Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale negative symptoms and higher age were predictors for decreased libido. In women, higher prolactin plasma levels were identified as a predictor of amenorrhea. Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale negative symptoms predicted decreased libido. All evidence taken together underscores the influence of the disease schizophrenia itself on sexual functioning. In addition, there is a strong correlation between the prolactin-increasing properties of amisulpride and menstrual irregularities.
Macroeconomic Determinants of Capital Flight: Evidence from the Sub-Saharan African Countries

The aim of the study was to examine the macroeconomic determinants of capital flight from the Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries between the period 1981-2015. The study used secondary data obtained from the World Bank Development Indicators (WDI) and applied the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model technique to determine the macroeconomic factors influencing capital flight from the SSA region. The results of the study showed that economic growth had a significant negative relationship with capital flight in both the long-run and short-run. Also, the outcome of the study revealed that external debt had a significant positive relationship with capital flight in the short-run. In addition, the study noted that economic variables such as interest rate spread, inflation, and trade openness have no significant influence on capital flight in the SSA region. Overall, the study revealed that economic growth rate and external debt constitute the macroeconomic fundamentals that influence the rate of capital flight from SSA countries.
Prevalence and Characterization of Asymptomatic Pacemaker and ICD Lead Perforation on CT

Background: Pacemakers and implantable cardiac defibrillators (ICDs) are widely used for the management of cardiac arrhythmias and congestive heart failure (CHF). Acute implantation complication rates range from 3% to 7%. The aim of this study is to describe the incidence of lead perforation on computed tomography (CT), and correlate these findings with electrophysiologic data.
Dyspepsia in Iran: SEPAHAN Systematic Review No. 3

Background: Dyspepsia is an upper gastrointestinal tract syndrome presenting epigastric pain and discomfort, fullness sensation, early satiety, nausea, vomiting, and belching. The prevalence of dyspepsia has been reported to be high all over the world. In this study, we reviewed studies reporting the prevalence of dyspepsia in Iran and discussed the probable risk factors of dyspepsia to shed light on future research on this topic. Methods: The four electronic databases of PubMed, Google Scholar, IranMedex, and Scientific Information Database were searched. The keywords for the electronic search were “dyspepsia” and “Iran”. A manual search of the reference lists of the selected articles was also carried out. Two reviewers reviewed and identified articles independently and selected relevant studies based on our inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results: Nine articles reporting the prevalence of dyspepsia in Iran were included. The reported prevalence ranged from 2.2% to 29.9%. The majority of studies have reported the prevalence of dyspepsia to be higher in women. Conclusion: Dyspepsia seems to be highly prevalent in Iran. Considering the wide range of data reported in different studies, conducting further population-based studies is necessary to investigate the epidemiology and risk factors of dyspepsia among Iranians.
Optimal transplant education for recipients to increase pursuit of living donation.

CONTEXT Inadequate transplant education may stop kidney patients from beginning or completing evaluation or limit recipients from considering living donation. OBJECTIVE To learn about recipients' decision making about living donation and preferred transplant education resources. DESIGN Retrospective, cross-sectional survey. PATIENTS 304 kidney recipients. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Living donation comfort, concerns, education preferences. RESULTS Recipients spent 10 median hours learning about transplant, primarily by speaking to medical staff (2-3 hours) and reading transplant brochures (0-1 hour). Twelve percent had not received any education before coming to the transplant center. At least 75% wanted education discussing the evaluation, surgery, and medical tests required of recipients and donors, as well as common transplant-related fears. Recipients who received living donor transplants were more interested in information about donors' evaluation (P < .001), surgery (P < .001), medical tests (P < .001), and donation concerns (P = .004) than were other recipients. Recipients who had living donors evaluated were more comfortable accepting family members or friends who volunteered rather than asking potential donors because of concerns about pressuring donors (85%), harming their health (83%), or causing them pain or inconvenience (76%). Besides providing accurate medical information, education that addresses recipients' fears about transplantation, explains living donors' donation experiences, and teaches patients how to pursue living donation may increase recipients' pursuit of living donation.
How Social Pensions and Income Contributes to Successful Ageing? A Mixed Method Study

Understanding of the dimensions and associated factors that contribute to successful ageing is still evolving. To date, there is no universal consensus on the dimensions and associated factors of successful ageing [1-4]. Meanwhile, the most common dimension used in most studies on successful ageing is by Rowe and Kahn [1-5]. Among these, [6] identify Rowe and Kahn’s three dimensions of successful ageing: physical functioning, wellbeing, and social engagement which have been adopted by most quantitative studies on successful ageing. Crimson Publishers Wings to the Research Research Article
Modeling the chemotactic response of Escherichia coli to time-varying stimuli

In their natural environment, cells need to extract useful information from complex temporal signals that vary over a wide range of intensities and time scales. Here, we study how such signals are processed by Escherichia coli during chemotaxis by developing a general theoretical model based on receptor adaptation and receptor–receptor cooperativity. Measured responses to various monotonic, oscillatory, and impulsive stimuli are all explained consistently by the underlying adaptation kinetics within this model. For exponential ramp signals, an analytical solution is discovered that reveals a remarkable connection between the dependence of kinase activity on the exponential ramp rate and the receptor methylation rate function. For exponentiated sine-wave signals, spectral analysis shows that the chemotaxis pathway acts as a lowpass filter for the derivative of the signal with the cutoff frequency determined by an intrinsic adaptation time scale. For large step stimuli, we find that the recovery time is determined by the constant maximum methylation rate, which provides a natural explanation for the observed recovery time additivity. Our model provides a quantitative system-level description of the chemotaxis signaling pathway and can be used to predict E. coli chemotaxis responses to arbitrary temporal signals. This model of the receptor system reveals the molecular origin of Weber's law in bacterial chemotaxis. We further identify additional constraints required to account for the related observation that the output of this pathway is constant under exponential ramp stimuli, a feature that we call “logarithmic tracking. ”
Evaluation of Green Paradox: Case Study of Japan

Introducing renewable energy is progressing rapidly in various countries. It has long been thought that the introducing is not only extending the availability period of fossil fuels but also not directly discharging harmful substances into the atmosphere. In recent years, a concept of “Green Paradox” casts doubt on that ideas. According to the concept, the renewable energy introducing accelerates fossil fuels consumption and promotes the increase of harmful substances due to the consumption. Because the number of papers evaluating the Green Paradox is limited and evaluation method is not well established. This paper attempts to evaluate the Green Paradox in Japan following three indicators. The first is the electricity charge, the second is the introduction amount of renewable energy, and the third is the relocation amount of Japanese factories to other countries.
The relationship between changes in debt levels and firms’ stock returns within emerging markets

I document a positive effect of both, positive and negative changes, of a firm’s leverage ratio on its stock returns for the Brazilian emerging market for the period of ranging from 2000 to 2016. I find positive alphas which indicates the existence of abnormal returns and try to explain them using asset pricing models. Additionally, I use the Event study methodology to quantify both the abnormal and cumulative abnormal returns. Furthermore, I run time series regressions for each company in the Brazilian index with available data to test the CAPM and Fama French 3 factor models and include other variables to possibly explain the abnormal returns.
Refractive Errors and Ocular Motility Disorders in Preterm Babies with and without Retinopathy of Prematurity

Ocular motility, refraction and visual acuity (VA) were evaluated at the age of 4 years in 136 preterm infants with gestational ages (GAs) at birth of less than 32 weeks. Group 1 (non-retinopathy of prematurity, ROP) included 87 children that had never developed ROP. Group 2 contained 19 children whose ROP had regressed spontaneously. Group 3 (cryo-ROP) was composed of 30 patients who had undergone cryotherapy for severe ROP. Strabismus was found in 13.9% of the total population. χ2 analysis revealed that strabismus was significantly (p < 0.01) associated with prematurity (i.e. GA <29 weeks), ROP and cryotherapy. Myopia of more than 3 dpt was significantly (p < 0.001) more common in the cryo-ROP infants than in the regressed-ROP and non-ROP groups. The distribution of hypermetropia was similar in all three groups. VA was measured with the E chart. Of the 272 eyes examined, 251 (92.3%) displayed VA of more than 20/25. The majority of these eyes were from the non-ROP group (65.4%), 15.3% had regressed ROP and 21.1% belonged to the cryo-ROP group. Fifteen eyes (8 non-ROP, 3 regressed ROP and 4 cryo-ROP) presented VAs between 20/25 and 20/60. VA of less then 20/60 was found in 6 eyes (2 non-ROP, 1 regressed ROP, 3 cryo-ROP). Cryotherapy did not appear to preclude the development of good VA.
Over-Expression of Bcl-2 Provides Protection in Septic Mice by a trans Effect 1

Transgenic mice that over-express B cell leukemia/lymphomas (Bcl)-2 in myeloid cells under control of the human MRP8 promoter (hMRP8-Bcl-2) or in T lymphocytes under the Eμ promoter (Eμ-Bcl-2) were compared with C57BL/6 control mice following cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). There was a significant difference in outcome between the hMRP8-Bcl-2 and control mice with 100% survival in the hMRP8-Bcl-2 mice vs 25% survival in the control mice. In separate experiments there was a significant difference between Eμ-Bcl-2 and control mice with 87.5 and 22.2% survival, respectively. Adoptive transfer of CD11b-positive bone marrow cells from hMRP8-Bcl-2 or C57BL/6 mice to C57BL/6 mice subjected to CLP resulted in 100 and 0% survival, respectively. Adoptive transfer of CD11b-positive cells from either hMRP8-Bcl-2 or C57BL/6 mice to Rag-1−/− mice (no mature T or B cells) subjected to CLP resulted in survival of 87.5 and 12.5%, respectively. The hMRP8-Bcl-2 mice had significantly more neutrophils and fewer bacteria in the peritoneum compared with C57BL/6 mice 24 h after CLP. These experiments show that Bcl-2 over-expression is protective in CLP and that protection is independent of lymphocytes. We propose that over-expression of Bcl-2 in T cells or myeloid cells induce release of a molecule(s) that protects against death following CLP.
Restricting Access to Neonatal Intensive Care: Effect on Mortality and Economic Savings

Objective. Neonatal intensive care for very low birth weight (VLBW) infants is expensive, and cost-containment policies have been proposed that would restrict care according to birth weight. We examined the potential reduction in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) VLBW charges and the impact on survivors if care were not offered to infants of extremely low birth weights or gestational ages. Design. We reviewed hospital charges for a retrospective cohort of VLBW infants born during the 5-year period from 1988 to 1992. Local charges and survival statistics were applied to national VLBW birth statistics to estimate the national effects of a birth weight-based rationing program. Setting. A high-risk perinatal referral center. Patients. A consecutive sample of 1361 VLBW infants was tracked from birth to discharge home, transfer to a level II nursery, or death. Main Outcome Measures. Hospital charges and survival. Results. Mean charges per survivor ranged from $250 654 for infants weighing <500 g to $74 101 for those weighing 1000 to 1500 g. Policies denying care to infants born at <500, 600, or 700 g would lead to total NICU care savings of 0.8%, 3.2%, and 10.3%, respectively. Applying the local birth weight-specific survival rates, such policies applied nationally would not have offered care to 136, 575, and 2689 potential survivors annually. Birth weight-based rationing schemes also are shown to increase further the racial disparity of NICU deaths. Conclusions. To attain significant reduction in NICU charges, policies offering care to the larger or more mature VLBW infants only will result in denying care to many infants who would otherwise survive.
Blending in with the crowd: social parasites integrate into their host colonies using a flexible chemical signature

Social parasites are able to exploit their host's communication code and achieve social integration. For colony foundation, a newly mated slave–making ant queen must usurp a host colony. The parasite's brood is cared for by the hosts and newly eclosed slave–making workers integrate to form a mixed ant colony. To elucidate the social integration strategy of the slave–making workers, Polyergus rufescens, behavioural and chemical analyses were carried out. Cocoons of P. rufescens were introduced into subcolonies of four potential host species: Formica subgenus Serviformica (Formica cunicularia and F. rufibarbis, usual host species; F. gagates, rare host; F. selysi, non–natural host). Slave–making broods were cared for and newly emerged workers showed several social interactions with adult Formica. We recorded the occurrence of abdominal trophallaxis, in which P. rufescens, the parasite, was the donor. Social integration of P. rufescens workers into host colonies appears to rely on the ability of the parasite to modify its cuticular hydrocarbon profile to match that of the rearing species. To study the specific P. rufescens chemical profile, newly emerged callows were reared in isolation from the mother colony (without any contact with adult ants). The isolated P. rufescens workers exhibited a chemical profile closely matching that of the primary host species, indicating the occurrence of local host adaptation in the slave–maker population. However, the high flexibility in the ontogeny of the parasite's chemical signature could allow for host switching.