Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Exploring the Stabilization of a Political Force: The Social and Attitudinal Basis of Green Parties in the Age of Globalization

About 30 years after gradually gaining parliamentary representation, Green parties have become established political actors throughout Western Europe. Based on a comparative analysis of 12 countries, this study argues that the stability this party family has achieved is the result of an enduring coalition with groups of voters who not only share a particular set of attitudes but also several specific social characteristics. Such a structural perspective clearly contradicts earlier approaches in the literature that primarily explained the Green vote as being issue- or value-based and sometimes simply as representing political protest. Green voters, by contrast, are young, highly educated, work as social-cultural specialists or are students, are predominantly urban, and less attached to Christian churches. These structural components are connected with environmental, libertarian, and pro-immigration attitudes. With respect to new divides caused by globalization processes, especially the latter issue explicitly distinguishes them from other voter groups.
Standards and Institutional Capacity: An Examination of Trade in Food and Agricultural Products

The ability of developing countries to cope with emerging standards in food and agricultural products is influenced by their institutional capacity. This paper develops original measures of four dimensions of standards-related, institutional capacity: information, conformity, enforcement, and international standard-setting. These measures are incorporated into a gravity model to investigate whether these capacities offset the negative effects of Aflatoxin B1 standards on food and agricultural product trade. The results indicate that informational capacity and conformity capacity do indeed have such offsetting effects. The evidence with regard to enforcement and international standard-setting is less clear.
Inverse relationship between education and parietotemporal perfusion deficit in Alzheimer's disease

A higher prevalence of dementia in individuals with fewer years of education has suggested that education may protect against Alzheimer's disease (AD). We tested whether individuals with more years of education have a more advanced AD before it is clinically evident. As a measure of pathophysiological severity, we quantified regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF), by the 133Xenon inhalation technique; a specific pattern of flow reduction in the parietotemporal cortex corresponds to AD pathology. In 3 groups of patients with probable AD, matched for clinical measures of dementia severity but with varying levels of education, whole‐cortex mean flows were comparable. However, the parietotemporal perfusion deficit was significantly greater in the group with the highest level of education, indicating that AD was more advanced in this group. We conclude that education or its covariates or both may provide a reserve that compensates for the neuropathological changes of AD and delays the onset of its clinical manifestations.
Occupational Choice and Earnings Determination: The Role of Sample Selection and Non-pecuniary Factors

ALL ENTRANTS to the labour market make occupational choices but the extent to which these choices can be explained empirically by individual preferences over job characteristics is largely unknown. Equally uncertain is the degree to which education, social background and human capital acquisition influence this choice. The main objective of this paper is to explore these issues by modelling the complex relationship between occupational choice, earnings determination and occupational attributes. The relationship is necessarily simultaneous. A choice of occupation subsequently affects life time earnings and labour market history, and the nature of any training that a person undertakes. At the same time earnings, employment and training conditions influence the choice of occupation. Equally for many individuals the choice of a particular occupation depends on other aspects of the job apart from earnings. In this study a measure of occupational status is used to capture other dimensions of an occupation and is explicitly incorporated into the model of occupational choice. The specification of an empirical model which addresses these issues is complicated by the existence of two sample selection effects. Modelling occupational choice as a choice over alternative possible earnings and status profiles is not straightforward because foregone earnings and status are not observed in the careers which the individual did not follow. A second problem occurs because most women make decisions about whether or not to participate in the labour force so that the women who are observed working may not be a random subset of all women who could work. These two sample selection effects are central features of the simultaneous model of occupational choice developed in this paper.1 One of the perennial issues in studies of occupational choice is to explain why women have different career patterns to men. According to human
‘Marginal employment’ and the demand for heterogeneous labour – elasticity estimates from a multi-factor labour demand model for Germany

We develop a structural multi-factor labour demand model which distinguishes between eight labour categories including marginal employment, i.e. low-paying jobs with only a few working hours and partially exempted from employee's social security contributions. Using a new panel data set for Germany, the model is estimated both for the number of workers and total working hours. For unskilled and skilled workers in full-time employment, we find labour demand elasticities similar to previous estimates. Our new estimates of own-wage elasticities for marginal employment range between −0.13 (number of male workers in West Germany) to −1 (working hours for women).
Defined benefit pension schemes: a welfare analysis of risk sharing and labour market distortions*

Abstract Traditionally, collective defined benefit pension schemes have played an important role in the provision of pensions. Various trends such as population ageing put these schemes under serious pressure, however. Whether this is good or bad depends among other things on two factors: one is the value of the risk sharing between generations that is organized by pension schemes, and another is the cost of the distortions of labour supply decisions that these collective schemes imply. This paper constructs a model with overlapping generations of households and a pension scheme to assess the role of these two factors. The paper finds that the welfare gain from intergenerational risk sharing generally dominates the cost of labour supply distortions.
A Multivariate Test of a Dual-Beta CAPM: Australian Evidence

I apply a multivariate one-step testing procedure to investigate a dual-beta CAPM. I begin by establishing that there is no statistical relation between beta and returns for the standard CAPM. I then re-cast the one-step test to accommodate a dual-beta CAPM under bull and bear market conditions. When the excess market return is negative (positive), I find strong evidence of a negative (positive) relation between beta and returns. The strength of my results suggests that the success of the model is not crucially dependent on the argument for beta instability. Copyright 2001 by MIT Press.
Glial fibrillary acidic protein expression and promoter activity in the inner ear of developing and adult mice

The intermediate filament glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) is a classic marker for several types of glial cells, including astrocytes and nonmyelinating Schwann cells. The pattern of expression of GFAP in the postnatal murine inner ear, from postnatal day 3 (P3) to P38, was studied by anti‐GFAP immunostaining in wild‐type mice as well as in two lines of transgenic mice expressing either β‐galactosidase (LacZ) or green fluorescent protein (GFP) under the control of the GFAP promoter. Analysis of protein and promoter activity shows that several classes of supporting cells in the sensory epithelia, as well as Schwann cells and satellite cells express GFAP. Early after birth, all cochlear supporting cells express GFAP, in a gradient decreasing in intensity from base to apex. After P15, GFAP expression in the organ of Corti is mostly restricted to supporting cells of the inner hair cell area (i.e., inner border and inner phalangeal cells) and outer hair cell area (i.e., Deiters' cells). A small population of limbic cells also showed expression in a base‐to‐apex gradient. In the vestibular organs, high expression was detected in supporting cells in extrastriolar regions of the utricular macula and in the canal ampullae, with weaker staining in the saccular macula. These results suggest that supporting cells of the inner ear have important similarities to glial cells and may play roles similar to those of astrocytes or Schwann cells in supporting the normal development and maintenance of neurons and sensory cells of the inner ear. J. Comp. Neurol. 442:156–162,2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Photochemical Inactivation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Adaptability to a broad range of environments together with relatively high resistance to antibiotics and to disinfectants makes Pseudomonas aeruginosa a concern in hospitals and in public health. We investigated whether UVA‐mediated photochemical inactivation of P. aeruginosa could be accomplished with high efficiency while at the same time preserving the sensitivity of subsequent diagnostic tests. We characterized dose responses and bactericidal kinetic rates of 5‐iodonaphthyl 1‐azide (INA) and of amotosalen (AMO) as these substances exposed to UVA are known to inactivate germs with minimal impact to blood products or to viral antigens. Neither UVA without photochemicals nor INA or AMO in the dark inactivated bacteria. We found that AMO was ca 1000‐fold more effective in inactivating P. aeruginosa cells than INA under similar conditions. Photoinactivation with either INA or AMO at conditions that abolished bacterial infectivity did not impair polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) testing. For comparison, similar titers of Bacillus atrophaeus spores (a surrogate for B. anthracis) remained unaffected at conditions that reduced the survival of P. aeruginosa below detection levels. The results presented in this study should assist in improved methods to inactivate P. aeruginosa in environmental, clinical and forensic samples without impairing subsequent nucleic acid‐ or immune‐based analysis.
Single-dose and chronic dietary neurotoxicity screening studies on 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid in rats.

Forms of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (collectively known as 2,4-D) are herbicides used to control a wide variety of broadleaf and woody plants. Single-dose acute and 1-year chronic neurotoxicity screening studies in male and female Fischer 344 rats (10/sex/dose) were conducted on 2,4-D according to the U.S. EPA 1991 guidelines. The studies emphasized a Functional Observational Battery (which included grip performance and hindlimb splay tests), automated motor activity testing, and comprehensive neurohistopathology of perfused tissues. Dosages were up to 250 mg/kg by gavage for the single-dose study, and up to 150 mg/kg/day in the diet for 52 weeks in the repeated-dose study. In the acute study, gavage with 250 mg/kg test material caused slight transient gait and coordination changes and clearly decreased motor activity at the time of maximal effect on the day of treatment (day 1). Mild locomotor effects occurred in one mid-dose rat (75 mg/kg), on Day 1 only. No gait, coordination, or motor activity effects were noted by day 8. In the chronic study, the only finding of neurotoxicologic significance was retinal degeneration in females in the high-dose group (150 mg/kg/day). Body weights of both sexes were slightly less than controls in the mid-dose group, and 10% less than controls in the high-dose group. In summary, the findings of these studies indicated a mild, transient locomotor effect from high-level acute exposure, and retinal degeneration in female rats from high-level chronic exposure. Based on the results from these two studies, the no-observed-adverse-effect level for acute neurotoxicity was 15 mg/kg/day and for chronic neurotoxicity was 75 mg/kg/day.
Post–World War Two industry policy: opportunities and constraints

There exists an entrenched conventional wisdom that, for the first seventy years of the twentieth century, Australia was closed to the global economy in the pursuit of an inward–looking and market–defying approach to development. This interpretation is neglectful of the broad forces at work and their evolution. The economic policy process inevitably embodies compromise between conflicting views and interests, including bureaucratic rivalries. An investigation of the role and treatment of the post–War industry bureaucracy provides some insight into the character of the contemporary balance of forces. Post–War development certainly involved dysfunctionalities, but the causes were located in a complex set of determinants rooted in culture rather than just inwardness or rent seeking. Thus, the importance of the protective tariff for the manufacturing sector in the 1960s deserves to be reinterpreted as a symptom rather than the cause of any underlying problems with policy character and policy priorities.
Conduct disorder and oppositional defiant disorder in a national sample: developmental epidemiology.

BACKGROUND Despite an expanding epidemiological evidence base, uncertainties remain over key aspects of the epidemiology of the 'antisocial' disorders in childhood and adolescence. METHODS We used cross-sectional data on a nationally representative sample of 10,438 5-15-year-olds drawn from the 1999 British Child Mental Health Survey to examine age trends, gender ratios and patterns of comorbidity in DSM-IV Conduct Disorder (CD) and Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD). RESULTS CD was significantly more common in boys than girls, and increased in prevalence with age. Among children who met diagnostic criteria for CD, status violations and other non-aggressive conduct problems increased with age, while aggressive symptoms became less common. Gender differences in ODD varied by reporter. Estimates of age trends in ODD depended heavily on treatment of overlaps with CD. Following DSM-IV guidelines (where ODD is not diagnosed in the presence of CD), rates of ODD fell with age; if that constraint was released, clinically significant rates of oppositionality persisted at similar levels from early childhood to middle adolescence. CD and ODD showed high levels of overlap, and both diagnoses showed substantial comorbidity with other non-antisocial disorders. CONCLUSIONS Results from this large-scale study confirm and extend previous findings in the epidemiology of the disruptive behaviour disorders.
Applying Expenditure-based Segmentation on Special-Interest Tourists: The Case of Golf Travelers

Given the growing competition among golf travel destinations and the increasing costs of managing and maintaining related facilities, it is important to investigate and understand the expenditure patterns of golf travelers. The results of this research provide useful information for golf destination marketers in the development of strategies to attract and retain golf travelers. This study uses an expenditure-based segmentation of golf travelers visiting a Southern Gulf region in the United States. The findings indicate that the heavy spenders exhibit clear spending patterns and are responsible for most of the sample’s total expenditures. The heavy spenders also are well differentiated along golfographic and tripographic measures, but not along sociodemographics and information sources used prior to the vacation. The article ends with an assessment of the contributions of the findings both to the literature on travel expenditure and to golf destination marketers.
Ten Years of General Oligopolistic Equilibrium: A Survey

In this paper, I survey the recent and rapidly increasing theoretical literature using the brand-new approach in embedding oligopolistic competition in general equilibrium, as designed by J. Peter Neary. First, I introduce the reader to Neary's approach, by describing the main ingredients. Then, I present a comprehensive set of studies that, over the last decade, apply this approach in different contexts, most of which are in open economy, and I examine the relevant outcomes. Although the theoretical literature has generously advanced, there is a lack of research on the empirical side, which would be an important area for future research besides theoretical extensions, some of which I highlight in the conclusions.
Monitoring toxicity, impact, and adherence of hydroxyurea in children with sickle cell disease

Hydroxyurea (HU) is underutilized in sickle cell disease (SCD). Patient adherence with taking HU and with required drug monitoring is a provider perceived barrier to HU utilization. (1-4) To determine process issues that may contribute to these barriers we sought to: 1) describe how providers monitor and adjust HU dosing in children with SCD in clinical practice and 2) identify providers' methods of assessing HU adherence. A pilot-tested survey was emailed to American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology (ASPHO) members. Descriptive statistics were performed. Thirty-one percent (n=350) of 1128 surveys were returned; 63% (220 of 350) of respondents provided care for children with SCD. Most providers (64.7%) follow labs monthly and almost half (41.9%) see patients monthly. The majority (61.9%) adjusted HU dosing using maximum tolerated dose commonly determined using ANC (27.9%), platelets (26.5%), and WBC count (11.2%). Adherence was primarily assessed using patient interview (84.2%), MCV (75.3%), and HbF levels (70.7%). The majority of providers perform monthly monitoring and assess HU adherence using unreliable methods. Determining optimal frequency of monitoring HU and more reliable methods of assessing adherence are essential to balancing safety and the elimination of barriers to promote HU utilization.
New Technologies and the Modernization of Local Government: an Analysis of Biases and Constraints

In emerging structures of local governance the institutions of elected local government have the potential to fulfil three complementary roles: those of local democracy, public policy making and direct service delivery. Although ICTs (information and communication technologies) could effectively develop all three roles there is a systemic bias which favours service delivery applications and ignores others. This bias can be explained by reference to a network of actors who determine ICT policy in relative isolation from the other policy networks active at the local level. The ways in which this bias is perpetuated are explored through a case study of ICT policy making in UK local government. The implications of the systemic bias for the long-term future of local government, and indeed public administration, are both severe and profound. They suggest an over-emphasis upon performance measurement, a decline in democratic activity and a diminishing capacity among elected bodies to effect broad public policy initiatives.
Prevalence and Characterization of a Binary Toxin (Actin-Specific ADP-Ribosyltransferase) from Clostridium difficile

ABSTRACT In addition to the two large clostridial cytotoxins (TcdA and TcdB), some strains of Clostridium difficile also produce an actin-specific ADP-ribosyltransferase, called binary toxin CDT. We used a PCR method and Southern blotting for the detection of genes encoding the enzymatic (CDTa) and binding (CDTb) components of the binary toxin in 369 strains isolated from patients with suspected C. difficile-associated diarrhea or colitis. Twenty-two strains (a prevalence of 6%) harbored both genes. When binary toxin production was assessed by Western blotting, 19 of the 22 strains reacted with antisera against the iota toxin of C. perfringens (anti-Ia and anti-Ib). Additionally, binary toxin activity, detected by the ADP-ribosyltransferase assay, was present in only 17 of the 22 strains. Subsequently, all 22 binary toxin-positive strains were tested for the production of toxins TcdA and TcdB, toxinotyped, and characterized by serogrouping, PCR ribotyping, arbitrarily primed PCR, and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. All binary toxin-positive strains also produced TcdB and/or TcdA. However, they had significant changes in the tcdA and tcdB genes and belonged to variant toxinotypes III, IV, V, VII, IX, and XIII. We could differentiate 16 profiles by using typing methods, indicating that most of the binary toxin-positive strains were unrelated.
The Trade Credit Channel of Monetary Policy Transmission: Evidence from Nonfinancial Manufacturing Firms in Turkey

This study investigates the trade credit channel of monetary policy transmission in Turkey by using a large panel of corporate firms and includes detailed information on balance sheets and income statements of firms that regularly reported to the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey during the period 1996-2008. The study suggests that the composition of external finance differs considerably across firm types based on size and export performance under tight and loose financial conditions. Small and medium-size manufacturing firms and firms with a low export share are less likely to have access to bank finance, especially in tight periods. In addition, financially constrained firms with limited access to bank finance (small, low-export-share firms) tend to substitute trade credits for bank loans more aggressively in tight periods as monetary policy tightens. The large volume of trade credit on firms' balance sheets and its positive response to contractionary monetary shocks imply that the trade credit channel might subdue the traditional credit channel of monetary transmission.
Patterns of Axillary Lymph Node Metastasis from Breast Cancer in Egyptian Patients

Background: Although axillary lymph node metastasis is one of the most important determinants of breast carcinoma prognosis and adjuvant therapy, the patterns of axillary lymph node metastasis from breast cancer remain unclear. Materials and methods: Fifty female patients with operable invasive breast cancer underwent complete axillary lymph node dissection (ALND), as part of their therapy. Forty-six patients underwent modified radical mastectomy, three underwent radical mastectomy and one underwent breast conserving surgery. The number of positive nodes, as well as their levels were recorded. Special group of lymph nodes at the cords of the brachial plexus, named brachial lymph nodes (BLN), were resected separately. Detailed pathological study of the tumor and detected nodes were done. Results: Thirty-seven patients (74%) were premenopausal and 26% were postmenopausal. The median age of the studied group was 45 years. Tumor was found in the upper outer quadrant in 50% of the cases. Invasive duct carcinoma was the commonest histopathological type (84%). Patients with stage II constituted 84% of the total sample, while stage III were 16%. The median number of nodes identified in the dissection was 18.5 lymph nodes. A total of 41 patients (82%) showed pathologic involvement of lymph nodes, 46% had 1 to 3 positive nodes and 24% had 4 to 9 positive nodes. The frequency of lymph node metastasis was 80% at level I, 34% at level II, 20% at level III and 4% at BLN. Brachial nodes were detected in 22 patients (44%). Their number ranged from 1 to 4 with a mean of 1.86. Only two patients (4%) had positive BLN associated with lymph node metastases at all levels of the axilla. Conclusion: In Egypt, we are still dealing with relatively advanced cases of breast cancer. Complete ALND is advised in all patients with invasive breast cancer. BLND is specially recommended in patients with clinically positive axillary lymph nodes.