Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Endothelial Function in Pre-diabetes, Diabetes and Diabetic Cardiomyopathy: A Review

Diabetes mellitus worsens cardiovascular risk profile of affected individuals. Its worldwide increasing prevalence and its negative influences on vascular walls morphology and function are able to induce the expression of several morbidities which worsen the clinical conditions of the patients getting them running towards a reduced survival curve. Although overt diabetes increases the mortality rate of individuals due to its pathogenesis, poor information are in literature about the role of pre-diabetes and family history of diabetes mellitus in the outcome of general population. This emphasizes the importance of early detection of vascular impairment in subjects at risk of developing diabetes. The identification of early stages of atherosclerotic diseases in diabetic persons is a fundamental step in the risk stratification protocols followed-up by physicians in order to have a complete overview about the clinical status of such individuals. Common carotid intima-media thickness, flow-mediated vasodilatation, pulse wave velocity are instrumental tools able to detect the early impairment in cardiovascular system and stratify cardiovascular risk of individuals. The aim of this review is to get a general perspective on the complex relationship between cardiovascular diseases onset, pre-diabetes and family history of diabetes. Furthermore, it points out the influence of diabetes on heart function till the expression of the so-called diabetic cardiomyopathy.
Bioluminescent response of the dinoflagellate Lingulodinium polyedrum to developing flow: Tuning of sensitivity and the role of desensitization in controlling a defensive behavior of a planktonic cell

Dinoflagellate bioluminescence is believed to serve a defensive function, decreasing grazing at night. Previous characterization of bioluminescence stimulated by fully developed flows might have underestimated the true sensitivity of bioluminescence by not observing the initial response. Also, it has been suggested that bioluminescence may be more sensitive to time‐varying flow than to constant flow conditions. We used developing laminar Couette flow to characterize the sensitivity of the initial bioluminescent response of the dinoflagellate Lingulodinium polyedrum in time‐varying flow. Both the absolute sensitivity (threshold) and dynamic sensitivity were consistent with that determined previously in fully developed flows, although there were differences between different cultured isolates of the same species and between those isolates and cells harvested from a unialgal bloom of the same species. When the rate of increase of shear was varied while keeping the maximum shear level similar, the threshold was independent of the rate of increase of shear. Surprisingly, the integrated bioluminescence was strongly dependent on the rate of increase of shear. The mechanism behind the preferential response to rapidly increasing shear was determined to be desensitization. Desensitization may influence which naturally occurring flows strongly stimulate bioluminescence either by allowing cells to avoid producing a primary response in certain slowly changing flows or, more generally, to avoid the cost of repeated stimulation when entrained in environmental flows containing above‐threshold shears.
Rearing strategies alter patterns of size-selective mortality and heritable size variation in steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

Steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) reared under two different regimes: high food ration for 1 year (S1; typical strategy) or low ration for 2 years (S2) were subjected to a seawater challenge during the corresponding spring outmigration period. The S1 smolts were smaller and suffered greater seawater challenge mortality (23.9% compared with 0.7% for the S2 smolts) that was significantly and negatively related to body size. Heritability of body size was similar for the two treatments during the parr stage (fork length: S1 = 0.181, S2 = 0.245; mass: S1 = 0.372; S2 = 0.447), but higher for the S1 treatment during the smolt stage for length (S1 = 0.212, S2 = 0.002) and body mass (S1 = 0.145, S2 = 0.015). Strong family effects for both traits and significant family by environment interactions for parr mass and smolt length indicated significant phenotypic plasticity. A genetic response to size-selective mortality caused by insufficient growth opportunity in the S1 treatment is plausible and may affect fitne.
PRACTICAL STUDY ON HIGH-DISPERSION AND HIGH-PENETRATION DIESEL INJECTION NOZZLE (SECOND REPORT: ATOMIZATION OF INTERMITTENT SPRAY OF HIGH-DISPERSION ATOMIZATION ENHANCEMENT NOZZLE AT HIGH-AMBIENT PRESSURE)

It is important to obtain excellent spray characteristics and combustion characteristics in order to reduce fuel consumption ratio and carbon dioxide for control of global warming. In the previous studies, it was clarified that disturbance of the liquid flow in the nozzle hole due to occurrence of cavitation has a dominant effect on atomization of the liquid jet [1]-[13]. It has developed the atomization enhancement nozzle, which excellent spray characteristics correspond to super-high injection pressure of 200 MPa are obtained at relatively low injection pressure of 10 MPa [14]. Cavitation has a dominant effect on atomization of the liquid jet. The purpose of this study is to develop the atomization enhancement nozzle which is obtained the spray with high-dispersion and high-penetration, and it is to improve the spray characteristics of a D. I. Diesel nozzle. At previous results, it has been developed that although the spray tip penetration of the atomization enhancement nozzle [14] invented in this study is short, spread of the spray becomes large considerably compared with a previous single hole nozzle for a D. I. Diesel injector at the intermittent spray [15]. In this paper, the effect of the atomization enhancement nozzle [14], which was invented in the previous study on atomization of the intermittent spray at high-ambient pressure condition and application to the actual Diesel injector, were investigated. The test nozzles were used a single hole nozzle and the atomization enhancement nozzle [14]. The effects of geometric shape and dimensions of the atomization enhancement nozzle such as the hole diameter, the hole length, the gap diameter made at the nozzle hole, the bypass number which was connected between the upstream chamber and the gap on atomization of the intermittent spray and atomization characteristics were investigated. As a result, it was cleared that although the spray tip penetration of the atomization enhancement nozzle is short, spread of the spray becomes large considerably compared with the previous single hole nozzle at high-ambient pressure of 1.6 MPa at ambient temperature of 300 K. 2. EXPERIMENTAL APPARATUS AND METHORD
Construct Validation of Mathematics Achievement: Evidence from Interview Procedures.

This study investigated the validity of measures derived from a large-scale multiplechoice achievement test in mathematics, using evidence from introspective think-aloud protocols of students as they attempted test items. In a small-scale study of 21 local high school students, we sought to identify and describe cognitive processes underlying performance on test items, and to examine their utility in supporting validity claims about the achievement dimensions tapped by the test. We examined differences and similarities in solution strategies and sources of knowledge used to solve items representing five achievement dimensions. The results provided further evidence for the plausibility of interpretations of the dimensions derived from a large-scale factor analysis and support the conclusion that 12th-grade mathematics achievement is factorially and cognitively complex. Test scores that do not capture such complexity may mask important achievement information. The study reported here examined the validity of measures derived from a large-scale multiple-choice achievement test in mathematics. Messick (1989) defines validity as Oan integrated evaluative judgment of the degree to which empirical evidence and theoretical rationales support the adequacy and appropriateness of inferences and actions based on test scores or other modes of assessmentO (p. 13). It follows that an important goal of construct validation of test scores should be to identify the forms of reasoning processes involved and the extent to which they can account for test performance. In order to claim validity of test scores for a particular measurement purpose, one must consider such evidence in an effort to refute rival hypotheses concerning what these scores actually measure. 1 We wish to thank Yuko Butler for assistance with the development of the coding system and coding student transcripts, Larry Gallagher for assistance with interviewing, and Rich Shavelson for helpful comments on an earlier draft of this report. 2 Richard Snow, the original project director for this research, passed away in December 1997.
Salt effect on sensitized photooxidations. A kinetic approch to environmental decomposition of marine contaminants

The salt effect on the kinetics of singlet molecular oxygen [O 2 ( 1 Δ g )]-mediated photooxidations of sea water contaminants was investigated. Two families of photooxidizable compounds were employed in the study: anthracene derivatives and phenols. The presence of salt (NaCl in H 2 O and LiCl in MeCN, in both cases in the range 0-0.45 M) produces changes in the photooxidation rate. For solvent-polarity-dependent reactions, this behavior can be predicted, by knowing the solvent-polarity dependence of the rate constant for chemical reaction of the substrates with O 2 ( 1 Δ g) in non-saline solutions (k r ). For the cases of photooxidations possessing solvent-polarity-independent or scantily-dependent k r values, the photooxidation rates decrease as the salt content in the solution increases, mainly due to a predominance of the physical quenching pathway. In addition, the quantum yield for O 2 (1 Δ g ) generation (Φ Δ ) was determined in a series of saline solutions, in the range of 0-0.45 M in water and MeCN solutions, in the presence of NaCl and LiCl respectively. The Δ values are independent, within the experimental error on the salt content.
Biogeography of planktonic bacterial communities across the whole Mediterranean Sea

Abstract. Bacterial population distribution in the Mediterranean Sea has been mainly studied by considering small geographical areas or specific phylogenetic groups. The present study is a molecular microbiology investigation aimed to identify the environmental factors driving total bacterioplankton community composition of seawater samples collected along a transect covering the whole Mediterranean Sea. We performed automated ribosomal intergenic sequence analysis (ARISA) and microscope evaluation of prokaryotic abundance of seawater sampled across both vertical profiles and longitudinal transects in the whole basin. Prokaryotic abundance decreased with depth at all the stations and presented similar values in epi-, meso- and bathypelagic layers across the whole Mediterranean Sea. However, peculiar bacterial assemblages were selected along a longitudinal transect in the epipelagic layers of the eastern and western sub-basins. Vertical differences of the bacterial communities were observed only when considering the epi- and bathypelagic waters, while the study of the structure of bacterial communities at a finer scale across the water column displayed higher variability at the intermediate layers. Nonetheless, different physico-chemical factors were significantly related to the distribution of bacterial populations, both according to geographic position and down the water column in the whole Mediterranean Sea. These results demonstrated that bacterial assemblages are putatively correlated to different water masses of the complex hydrographical systems of the eastern and western Mediterranean sub-basins.
Determinants of Farm Household Income Diversification in the United States: Evidence from Farm-Level Data

This study examines the determinants of income diversification of farm households in the United States. Farm households allocate their time between farm and off-farm activities to help stabilized household income (consumption). What characterizes those households who engage in off-farm activities? Is there any pattern over time? Using 1999, 2003 and 2007 farm-level data from the USDA’s Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS), this study estimates intensity of off-farm income (or income diversification). The results show that older operators, full owners, and small farms have higher intensity of off-farm income in total household income. In contrast, dairy farms, vertically coordinated farms and farms located in the Southern and Pacific regions have lower intensity of off-farm income. In other words, household incomes of these farms are less likely to be diversified.
1 Determinants of City Growth in Brazil

In this paper, we examine the determinants of Brazilian city growth between 1970 and 2000. We consider a model of a city, which combines aspects of standard urban economics and the new economic geography literatures. For the empirical analysis, we constructed a dataset of 123 Brazilian agglomerations, and estimate aspects of the demand and supply side as well as a reduced form specification that describes city sizes and their growth. Our main findings are that increases in rural population supply, improvements in inter-regional transport connectivity and education attainment of the labor force have strong impacts on city growth. We also find that local crime and violence, measured by homicide rates, impinge on growth. In contrast, a higher share of private sector industrial capital in the local economy stimulates growth. Using the residuals from the growth estimation, we also find that cities that better administer local land use and zoning laws have higher growth. Finally, our policy simulations show that diverting transport investments from large cities toward secondary cities does not provide significant gains in terms of national urban performance. World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 3723, September 2005 The Policy Research Working Paper Series disseminates the findings of work in progress to encourage the exchange of ideas about development issues. An objective of the series is to get the findings out quickly, even if the presentations are less than fully polished. The papers carry the names of the authors and should be cited accordingly. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the authors. They do not necessarily represent the view of the World Bank, its Executive Directors, or the countries they represent. Policy Research Working Papers are available online at http://econ.worldbank. org. Acknowledgements This paper is a product of a joint research program between the World Bank and the Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada (IPEA), Brasilia. This research has been partly funded a World Bank research grant and by the Urban Cluster of the World Bank’s Latin America and Caribbean Region, and is also an input to the World Bank’s urban strategy for Brazil. We have benefited from discussions with Carlos Azzoni, Pedro Cavalcanti Ferreira, Ken Chomitz, Dean Cira, Marianne Fay, Mila Freire, João Carlos Magalhães, Maria da Piedade Morais, Marcelo Piancastelli, Zmarak Shalizi, Christopher Timmins and Alexandre Ywata de Carvalho. All errors are the authors’. A preliminary version of the paper was presented at the World Bank/ IPEA Urban Research Symposium in Brasilia (April 2005). WPS3723 P ub lic D is cl os ur e A ut ho riz ed P ub lic D is cl os ur e A ut ho riz ed P ub lic D is cl os ur e A ut ho riz ed P ub lic D is cl os ur e A ut ho riz ed
A TX Clock Timing Technique for the CIJ Compensation of Coupled Microstrip Lines

By using the clock timing control at transmitter (TX), the crosstalk-induced jitter (CIJ) is compensated for in the 2-bit parallel data transmission through the coupled microstrip lines on printed circuit board (PCB). Compared to the authors’ prior work, the delay block circuit is simplified by combining a delay block with a minimal number of stages and a 3-to-1 multiplexer. The d elayblock generates three clock signals with different delays corresponding to the channel delay of three different signal modes. The 3-to-1 multiplexer selects one of the three clock signals for TX timing depending on the signal mode. The TX is implemented by using a 0.18 ㎛ CMOS process. The measurement shows that the TX reduces the RX jitters by about 38 ps at the data rates from 2.6 Gbps to 3.8 Gbps. Compared to the authors’ prior work, the amount of RX Jitter reduction increases from 28 ps to 38 ps by using the improved implementation.
Effect of variable winds on current structure and Reynolds stresses in a tidal flow: analysis of experimental data in the eastern English Channel

Abstract. Wind and wave effects on tidal current structure and turbulence throughout the water column are examined using an upward-looking acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP). The instrument has been deployed on the seafloor of 18-m mean depth, off the north-eastern French coast in the eastern English Channel, over 12 tidal cycles, and covered the period of the transition from mean spring to neap tide, and forcing regimes varied from calm to moderate storm conditions. During storms, we observed gusty winds with magnitudes reaching 15 m s−1 and wave heights reaching up to 1.3 m. Analysis of velocity spectra revealed a noticeable contribution of wind-induced waves to spectral structure of velocity fluctuations within the subsurface layer. Near the surface, stormy winds and waves produced a significant intensification of velocity fluctuations, particularly when the sustained wind blew against the ebb tide flow. As during wavy periods, the variance-derived Reynolds stress estimates might include a wave-induced contamination, we applied the Variance Fit method to obtain unbiased stresses and other turbulent quantities. Over calm periods, the turbulent quantities usually decreased with height above the seabed. The stresses were found to vary regularly with the predominantly semidiurnal tidal flow. The along-shore stress being generally greater during the flood flow (~2.7 Pa) than during the ebb flow (~−0.6 Pa). The turbulent kinetic energy production rate, P, and eddy viscosity, Az, followed a nearly regular cycle with close to a quarter-diurnal period. As for the stresses, near the seabed, we found the maximum values of estimated quantities of P and Az to be 0.1 Wm−3 and 0.5 m2 s−1, respectively, during the flood flow. Over the storm periods, we found the highest unbiased stress values (~−2.6 Pa) during ebb when tidal currents were opposite to the southwesterly winds while, during the flood, the surface stresses slightly exceeded those estimated for a calm period. A comparison of obtained results gives a good agreement with those of other researchers working on direct measurements of turbulence in tidal flows.
Bioactivity of Leaves, Skins and Seeds of Berry Color Variant Grapevines (Vitis vinifera L.)

Grapevine synthesizes a wide variety of polyphenolic compounds, which can be beneficial both the plant and human health, due to their antioxidant effects. In this study, total antioxidant capacities (TAC), flavonoid and flavanol content in various plant parts of berry color variants (V. vinifera L. conc. Goher) were evaluated for the first time. The current research aimed to examine the effect of sunlight exposure on the accumulation of polyphenolic compounds in shaded and sun exposed leaves and also included the measurements of berry skins and seeds. Two electron transfer based techniques were used for antioxidant analyses; Trolox Equivalent Antioxidant Capacity (TEAC) and Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Potential (FRAP). In addition, Total Reducing Capacity (TRC) and relative amounts of compound groups such as flavonols and flavanols were measured using photometric assays. Our results revealed significant differences in the studied parameters among the varieties and their different tissues. Furthermore, we documented different sunlight acclimation of leaves in terms of differently increased TAC values and flavonoid content. Our study proved that grapevine leaves contain more antioxidants than berry skins and they have more varied antioxidant composition than seeds, therefore this plant part is an excellent source of bioactive compounds, applicable for food, chemical and pharmaceutical industries.
Coping with Autocracy: Corporate political activity, institutional duality, and MNE – local firm rivalry during “institutional backsliding”

This study contributes to the corporate political activities (CPA) and the “institutional duality” literature by investigating how MNE subsidiaries and local firms develop their CPA in an increasingly politicised environment in an emerging market (EMs). Our longitudinal case study, based on interviews with top-level managers in Hungary, supports the view that institutional duality is not just a constraint for MNEs, but allows even firms from institutionally distant economies to successfully transfer political capabilities to the host context, providing them with competitive advantage over local firms. However, we also find that the value of these capabilities changes as institutional change progresses in our post-socialist case. Therefore institutional duality needs to be understood as a time-dependent phenomenon.
Credit Access in the Northern Mountainous Region of Vietnam: Do Ethnic Minorities Matter?

By using the Bayesian Approach to address the problem of model uncertainty and a binary logit regression, this paper examines the credit accessibility of ethnic minority households compared to Kinh households in one of the poorest regions of Vietnam–the Northern Mountainous Region. Analyses show that minorities have more disadvantages compared to the Kinh majority in terms of household endowments. Ethnic minorities are still much more limited to accessing overall rural credit, commercial credit and informal credit compared to the Kinh majority population. Although ethnic minorities are more likely to access preferential credit, they receive a smaller amount of loans in comparison to the Kinh households irrespective of loan sources. This study builds on previous research that shows that the lack of access to affordable credit can make it very difficult for the ethnic minorities to expand agricultural production and their household’s livelihoods. Unless constraints with credit access are addressed, ethnic minorities might not benefit from the sustainable development of the country. Therefore, an improvement in access to credit and other resources needs more concern by national poverty reduction policies targeting ethnic minorities.
Higher Education and Economic Growth: Evidence from Africa

This paper assesses the economic contribution of tertiary education for a sample of 13 African economies over the time period 1990-2013. Using a Panel VAR framework to account for the dynamic and endogeneous relationship between tertiary education(TER) and growth, our findings show that TER is positively and significantly related to the economic growth of the sample of African countries under study. It is noteworthy that the magnitude of the TER coefficient remains relatively smaller as those obtained for developed country cases and samples. Interestingly the study also found the presence of a reverse causation as output appears to be also a determinant of TER. In other words, output level which proxies for the earning capacity of the economy play an important role in TER, which is mostly financed by the government in the countries under study. In addition to the national income, domestic investment, education attainment, foreign direct investment and openness level being other determinants of such TER for these countries. Moreover, there is evidence that TER encourages private investment suggesting some indirect effects of TER on output via the private capital channel. As such similar indirect effect through the FDI channel is observed.