Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Financial Liberalisation and Political Variables: a response to Abiad and Mody

We challenge recent findings by Abiad and Mody (2005) which suggest that financial liberalization has little to do with political variables. This analysis is at odds with some of the established literature, and only with difficulty comes to terms with the considerable cross-national variation in the pace, phasing, and extent of financial reforms over time. Using Abiad and Mody's own index of financial liberalization, but slightly unbundling and refining their measures of 'ideological affinity' and 'regime type', we examine what Abiad and Mody call the 'triggers' of liberalisation and the dynamics of the subsequent 'cumulative transformation'. We demonstrate the role of political variables in relation to initial liberalisation episodes, and as variables affecting the cumulative dynamics and sustainability of ongoing financial reform processes, including those which affect the acceptability and costs of liberalization. These factors include (i) shifts to - as opposed to levels in - Left government; (ii) the incidence of Left governments combined with low levels of democracy; (iii) international voter support for free markets; (iv) the extent of social safety nets; (v) the presence of multilateral and bilateral aid programs. Our empirical investigation confirms these factors as statistically significant determinants of financial liberalization, and reveal what Abiad and Mody identify as 'learning' to be a highly political process.
O ct 2 01 6 Quarkonium Contribution to Meson Molecules

Starting from a molecular picture for the X(3872) resonance, this state and its J = 2 heavy quark spin symmetry partner [X2(4012)] are analyzed within a model which incorporates possible mixings with 2P charmonium (cc̄) states. Since it is reasonable to expect the bare χc1(2P ) to be located above the DD̄ ∗ threshold, but relatively close to it, the presence of the charmonium state provides an effective attraction that will contribute to bind the X(3872), but it will not appear in the 2 sector. Indeed in this latter sector, the χc2(2P ) should provide an effective small repulsion, because it is placed well below the DD̄ threshold. We show how the 1 and 2 bare charmonium poles are modified due to the DD̄ loop effects, and the first one is moved to the complex plane. The meson loops produce, besides some shifts in the masses of the charmonia, a finite width for the 1 dressed charmonium state. On the other hand, the X(3872) and X2(4012) start developing some charmonium content, which is estimated by means of the compositeness Weinberg sumrule. It turns out that in the heavy quark limit, there is only one coupling between the 2P charmonia and the DD̄ pairs. We also show that for reasonable values of this coupling, leading to X(3872) molecular probabilities of around 70-90%, the X2 resonance destabilizes and disappears from the spectrum, becoming either a virtual state or being located deep into the complex plane, with decreasing influence in the DD̄ scattering line. Moreover, we also discuss how around 10-30% charmonium probability in the X(3872) might explain the ratio of radiative decays of this resonance into ψ(2S)γ and J/ψγ. Finally, we qualitatively discuss within this scheme, the hidden bottom flavor sector, paying a special attention to the implications for the Xb and Xb2 states, heavy quark spin flavor partners of the X(3872).
The Geomorphology of the Great Barrier Reef: Development, Diversity and Change

Over the last 25 years considerable information on the geomorphological evolution of the world's largest coral reef system, the Great Barrier Reef, has become available. This book reviews the history of geomorphological studies of the Great Barrier Reef and assesses the influences of sea-level change and oceanographic processes on the development of reefs over the last 10,000 years. It presents analyses of recently attained data from the Great Barrier Reef and reconstructions of the sequence of events which have led to its current geomorphology. The authors emphasise the importance of the geomorphological time span and its applications for present management applications. This is a valuable reference for academic researchers in geomorphology and oceanography, and will also appeal to graduate students in related fields.
Prevalence of syPhilis, diagnostic methods and associated factors in Patients treated in the laboratory of health foundation of vitória da conquista (ba)

Introduction: In spite been discovered centuries ago, syphilis remains a sexually transmitted infectious disease of major public health impact given the high prevalence found in Brazil and worldwide. The laboratory detection, with subsequent treatment of this disease, can reduce vertical contamination rates among adults and reduce sequelae from its clinical manifestations. Objective: To determine the prevalence of syphilis, as well the gestational and congenital forms of syphilis, and associated factors among patients attending the laboratory of Health Foundation of Vitoria da Conquista (FSVC). Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study, using secondary data obtained from the system of notification for syphilis, from FSVC laboratory from July 2012 to July 2013, following the ordinance criteria no 3242 of 2011. Results: 134 patients were identified with positive diagnostic tests for syphilis among the 6,699 patients that were tested, revealing a global prevalence of 2%. The prevalence of congenital syphilis was 2.84 and 2.24% for gestational syphilis. It stands out among the positive ones that 19.4% of the patients were aged less or equal to one year old, 37.3% were pregnant women and the vast majority (94%) of them lived in urban areas. 47% of the patients had venereal disease research laboratory (VDRL) titers up to 1:4. Among those patients with primary positive test, 94% got positive results from the confirmatory test. Between newborns that tested positive for syphilis, 60% had titers up to 1:2. Conclusion: The prevalence rates are high considering the parameters established by World Health Organization (WHO) and are capable of representing burden for the population. However, they point out good chances of screening the county from the disease, which is an essential step in addressing this
VOLUME-TO-CAPACITY RATIO AND TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS ON INTERURBAN FOUR-LANE HIGHWAYS IN GREECE

Traffic volume is a measure of exposure widely used at present in traffic accident analysis. However, the same traffic volume on road sections with different capacities creates different operating conditions, and, therefore, different probabilities for accidents. Thus, the volume-to-capacity (V/C) ratio may offer a better measure of exposure than traffic volume per se. Recent work by the Transportation Planning and Engineering Department of the Faculty of Civil Engineering at the National Technical University of Athens on the relationship between traffic accidents and V/C ratio on an interurban four-lane undivided national highway in Greece is presented and compared with previous work by the department. It has been found that the rates for all traffic accidents at nonhazardous locations are almost constant, up to a V/C ratio of 0.65, and increase considerably for higher ratios, more than doubling when V/C is greater than 1.0. The same pattern of relationship between accident rates and V/C ratio also occurs at locations that are found to be hazardous by the quality control technique, and when only certain specific categories of accidents are analyzed, such as day and night, or dry and wet pavement accidents. Most of the accidnets occurring at higher V/C ratios were of the rear-end type, while at lower V/C ratios, head-on and out-of-control accidents prevailed.
Enrichment materials for fattening pigs : summary of IFIP trials

Three trials compared different objects designed to enrich the living space of fattening pigs housed on fully slatted floors. The objects were composed of chains, sometimes associated with other objects: a plastic ball or variably sized pieces of wood. They were fixed to the floor or accessible at floor level, except for one chain fixed at snout height. Twelve objects were tested, including a chain hanging 5 cm above the floor as a control in each trial. These devices enabled the study of the effects of location (height, and place in the pen), number of objects (one vs. three), and the nature of the object (organic or not). The trials were conducted in an experimental room containing 12 pens of 10 pigs in one replicate (Trial 2, four objects) or two replicates (Trial 1, four objects, and Trial 3, six objects replaced after 6 weeks). Direct observation of the pigs for 2 h 30 min was carried out several times during fattening, and their physical condition was recorded. More than on the nature of the object, the rate of use of the objects depended on their cleanness, ease of access, whether they were deformable or destructible, their nearness to the floor, and how low their mobility was. Inorganic objects such as chains can meet most of these criteria.
World heritage site management: a case study of sacred sites and pilgrimage routes in the Kii mountain range, Japan

ABSTRACT This research examines three themes: heritage management and conservation activities, local communities and tourism development in Kii World Heritage Site (WHS) after WHS designation. Kii is a cultural WHS having links with Japanese religions and consisting of shrines, temples and pilgrimage routes. This study inductively and qualitatively examines these three themes. Overall, the current status of Kii WHS is satisfactory. Local people, tourists/visitors and experts are all actively involved in heritage management and conservation activities. WHS listing seems to have enhanced local identity, increased local people's pride in their culture and place of residence, and triggered a revitalisation of local culture. Moreover, tourism's negative impacts appear to be minimal, despite an increase in the number of visitors since UNESCO inscription. There are a few issues to be improved, which derive mainly from a lack of understanding of WHS status or conflicts between heritage management/tourism and religious practices. A more holistic approach, such as establishing a forum consisting of all key stakeholders, would be useful for the further success of Kii WHS as a religious and sacred site, place to live and tourist destination.
Elliptic Equations with One-sided Critical Growth

We consider elliptic equations in bounded domains R N with nonlinearities which have critical growth at +1 and linear growth at1 , with > 1, the rst eigenvalue of the Laplacian. We prove that such equations have at least two solutions for certain forcing terms provided N 6. In dimensions N = 3; 4; 5 an additional lower order growth term has to be added to the nonlinearity, similarly as in the famous result of Brezis-Nirenberg for equations with critical growth.
Hysteresis in European labour market

This paper revisits the hysteresis and unemployment problem in Europe by using new data and some innovative methods. Blanchard and Summers are among first researchers to detect the existence of unemployment hysteresis and to attribute the hysteresis effects to the European unemployment problem (Blanchard and Summers, 1986). Despite numerous empirical inquiries on this topic, researchers have not decided whether the hysteresis would exist in unemployment. Thus, this paper chooses five countries in the region, namely France, Germany, Italy, Spain and United Kingdom, and examines systematically their unemployment behaviours by employing several different econometric tests, such as the SUR-ADF test (Breuer et al., 2002), the Fourier ADF (FADF) test (Enders and Lee, 2012) and the SUR-Fourier ADF (SUR-FADF) test. These four tests produced consistent findings that unemployment rates in these five European countries could be described as the unit root process. In other words, these different unit root tests uniformly detected the existence of hysteresis in these five countries in line with the hysteresis hypothesis.
Plant-parasitic nematodes in Chilean vineyards.

Aballay, E. , P. Persson, and A. Martensson. 2009. Plant-parasitic nematodes in chilean vineyards. Nematropica 39:85-97. A survey to detect the presence and distribution of plant-parasitic nematodes in Chilean vineyards was undertaken during the years 2006 and 2007 covering an area of 40000 km2, over 90% of the surface area cultivated with Vitis vinifera L. Descriptive statistics relative to the distribution observed, number of nematodes per taxa and sample was performed. Correspondence analysis and canonical correspondence analysis were performed to determine relations between nematodes taxa with cultivars and soil type. Twelve nematode genera were extracted from 1818 soil samples, but only four were considered to be highly pathogenic to the crop, Xiphinema spp. (X. index, X. americanum sensu lato), Meloidogyne spp. (M. ethiopica, M. spp.), Mesocriconema (M. xenoplax) and Tylenchulus (T. semipenetrans). The population densities of determined taxa were fairly variable; however, at least one of the species was present in every sample in high density. No correlations between nematode species were observed, nor was there a tendency of two or more nematodes to occur together. The total variance of nematodes was only marginally explained by cultivars and soil with an incidence of 18% and 0.5%, respectively, and an unexplained variation of 81.3%. These data indicated that environmental factors or management practices not measured in the survey greatly influenced nematode populations, and that previous selection of the variables to be evaluated should include some of them, like irrigation, tillage or fertilizers, especially under intensive agriculture.
The dichotomy of Malthusian positive checks: Destruction and even more intensified regeneration

Impacts of Malthusian positive checks are investigated using data compiled by the United Nations Development Program. We show how the intensity of Malthusian positive checks are correlated with indicators describing the standard of living such as ecological footprint, income per capita, severe poverty, access to pure water and access to sanitation facilities. We then show that mortality increases exponentially with the intensity of Malthusian positive checks (adult mortality, under-five mortality, maternal mortality and deaths by polluted water). However, total fertility rate also increases exponentially. The surprising result of our analysis is that the growth rate and the rate of natural increase are directly proportional to the intensity of Malthusian positive checks. The regenerating impacts triggered by Malthusian positive checks do not just keep the growth undisturbed – they stimulate growth and make it even faster. Using data for Africa, we show that while the death rate increases with the intensity of hunger, total fertility rate, birth rate and the rate of natural increase also increase. Records from China also show that Malthusian positive checks of wars and famines triggered the intensified growth of population. Thus, contrary to the generally promoted interpretations, hunger and famines do not necessarily suppress the growth of population. Similar patterns of stress-induced growth are also observed in nature. This study is closely related to the problem of controlling the growth of human population.
GENDER DISPARITIES IN THE KENYAN LABOUR MARKET: IMPLICATIONS FOR POVERTY REDUCTION

Parts one and two of this paper deal with conceptual issues and focus on gender mainstreaming into investment activities for increased women’s employment and poverty reduction. The central argument here is that the mainstreaming of a gender perspective into investment activities is necessarily a long-term process which involves the integration of gender issues in all national and sectoral policies and programmes. The key to gender mainstreaming is to make the process a collective responsibility. Some of the essential steps in this process are the production of gender disaggregated data, the establishment and strengthening of gender management systems, the commitment of senior management personnel to the goal of gender equality as a reflection of attitudinal and behaviour change at personal and institutional levels. The discussion in part three brings to the fore the issue of women’s education and training. Available data show gender and regional disparities in education and training at primary, secondary and tertiary levels. These data indicate women’s limited access to formal education and lower adult literacy rates which undermine their capacity to participate in the formal and informal labour market on an equal basis with men. Part four shows the link between women’s education, employment and poverty reduction. The analysis of gender participation in different sectors of the economy revealed some important patterns and trends. These include the fact that female labour force participation in the modern sector has remained below 30% over the last several years compared to men who hold a disproportionately larger share of the modern sector jobs. The majority of women are employed in the education and informal sectors. Those who work in the agricultural sector are usually engaged as casuals. Women’s overall lower level of education, limited skills, and access to productive, resources, heavy domestic workload, cultural attitudes and segregation of the labour market are some of the factors associated with their limited participation in the modern sector. Gender representation in the Kenyan civil service also shows gross under-representation of women in top management and policy-making positions. This gender disparity calls for an Affirmative and/or Positive Action to deal not only with increasing women’s participation in public and private sector institutions at all levels but also address the twin issue of women’s entitlements and cultural barriers which are at the root of their poverty and powerlessness. The low budgetary allocations to women’s programmes also reflect lack of political will, improper targeting and non-involvement of women in priority setting.
Incompleteness of measurement apparatuses

A complete apparatus is defined as reacting to every state of the measured system. Standard quantum mechanics of indistinguishable particles is shown to imply that apparatuses must be incomplete or else they would be drowned out by noise. Each quantum observable is then an abstract representation of many measurement apparatuses, each incomplete in a different way. Moreover, a measured system must be prepared in a state that is orthogonal to the states of all particles of the same type in the environment. This is the main purpose of preparations. A system so prepared is said to have a "separation status". A new, more satisfactory definition of separation status than the spatial one proposed in previous papers then results. Conditions are specified under which the particles in the environment may be ignored as is usually done in the theory of measurement.
January 12 , 2010 Inequality and School Funding in the United States , 1890

This paper examines the relationship of inequality to school funding within counties of the U.S. in 1890. Inequality, measured here on the basis of farm-size distributions, is found to significantly decrease property tax revenues used specifically for education across the entire sample of 2124 counties. However, the relationship is non-monotonic within the sample. For counties with the highest inequality, the effect of inequality on school taxation is actually positive. In contrast, counties with the lowest inequality display a negative connection of inequality and taxation. The non-linear relationship can be explained within a median-voter model once the nature of the property tax assessment process in this period is incorporated. Specifically, with assessment rates declining in wealth, the non-monotonic relationship of inequality and school taxation is predicted by the median-voter model. JEL Codes: O13, N51, Q15
Origin of fluids and related barite deposits at vent sites along the Peru convergent margin

The venting at the northern Peru convergent margin, unlike at other margins, has produced large barite deposits, which have not been observed outside the vents. The 87Sr/86Sr isotopic ratios of the fluids are more radiogenic than seawater. To explain these elevated values, we propose either the influence of a fluid characterized by a more radiogenic signature originating from the continent, or a reaction between seawater and the underlying continental metamorphic basement. The presence of this nonlocal radiogenic component is marked more strongly on the 87Sr/86Sr ratios measured in the barite deposits. We assume that the fluid sampled at the venting site and the fluid responsible for the barite deposit sampled at the same site originated from the same source, i.e., the Paleozoic metamorphic basement of the Andean continental margin.
Organic and Mineral Input Management to Enhance Crop Productivity in Central Kenya

Organic resources (ORs) are important nutrient inputs in tropical agriculture. Combined with mineral fertilizers, they form the backbone ofintegrated soil fertility management. This study was conducted to determine the medium- to long-term influence of OR quality and quantity on maize productivity and to evaluate the occurrence of additive benefits in terms of extra grain yield produced by the combined application of ORs and N fertilizers. Farmyard manure, high quality Mexican sunflower (Tithonia diversifolia (Hemsl.) A. Gray], intermediate quality calliandra (Calliandra calothyrsus Meisn.) and maize (Zea mays L.), and low quality silky-oak (Grevillea robusta A. Cunn. ex R. Br.) sawdust were incorporated into the soil at equivalent rates of 1.2 and 4 Mg C ha -1 yr -1 in Embu (clayey) and Machanga (sandy soil), together with a control to which no OR was added. All plots were split, with one half receiving 120 kg N ha -1 season -1 as CaNH 4 NO 3 . The ORs, except sawdust and maize, improved maize grain yields compared with the control at both sites. Greatest mean maize yields (i.e., 4.9 and 2.3 Mg ha -1 season -1 , in Embu and Machanga, respectively) over 10 seasons were observed with the high rate of Mexican sunflower, but was not significantly different from calliandra and manure. Generally, maize yields were greater with higher than lower OR rates, except for maize and sawdust. Although N fertilizer additions to the ORs improved grain yields in Embu, the increase was marginal; resulting in negative interactive effects of applying ORs with N fertilizers, especially with high-N ORs. Thus high-N ORs should not be applied in combination with N fertilizers, especially at such high fertilizer N rates.
AMELIORATING EFFECT OF HAWTHORN (CRATAEGUS OXYACANTHA) AND PHYSICAL EXERCISE ON ACUTE PENICILLIN INDUCED SEIZURES IN GERBILS

The aim of the present study was to assess the effect of Hawthorn (Crataegus oxyacantha) and physical activity. We studied its effect on penicilline induced epilepticus (Pie) in gerbils. Pie was induced by administration of penicilline G (500 IU, ip). The gerbils were divided randomly in four groups (6 animals per each group) and studied as described below: 1) Control group 2) Exercise group (30 min/each day for 8 weeks) (Eg) 3) Extract group, 50mg/kg/day/animal in 1 ml saline, 3 h prior to exercise (Exe) 4) Exercise+Extract + (Exe+Ex). The severity of Pie was observed and recorded. The means of latencies (Mean±SE) were 236±45, 369±36, 386±58 and 433±37 ms in groups of control, Exe, Ex, and Exe+Ex respectively. The mean spike latency significantly (P=0,033 F=3,560) decreased in Exe, Ex and Exe+Ex when compared control. Although spike frequency significantly (P