Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Rigidez na balança comercial e movimentos de capital: uma abordagem estruturalista

The paper develops a structuralist North-South model in which growth in the South is constrained by a technology-gap, leading to reduced competitiveness and Balance-of-Payments disequilibrium. The South demands foreign capital in order to achieve full employment and convergence with respect to the Northern rates of growth. But the rate of growth of foreign capital inflows falls as the Southern debt increases. This leads to a brief period of convergence, followed by slower growth in the South.
The Introduction of an Integrated Early Warning Score Observation Chart–A Picture Paints a Thousand Words

Objectives Previous studies have demonstrated that abnormal physiological observations are often recorded on patients’ observation charts but not acted on, with ensuing negative consequences. To address this issue within our hospital, traditional charts with a graphic depiction of observations were replaced with new charts combining early warning scores (EWS) with numerically depicted observations. However, the replacement did not include a graphic display of observations in the form of trend graphs. The present study compared the speed and accuracy of data interpretation between the 2 charts. Methods Six clinical scenarios (low-grade temperature, spiking temperature, tachypnea, Cushing’s response, hypovolaemic shock and normal observations) were identically depicted on old and new charts, creating 12 charts. One hundred health-care professionals were asked to study each of the charts, and the time taken to give a diagnosis was recorded. Time taken and accuracy of response were compared between the 2 charts. Results The old chart was associated with faster responses in all of the scenarios, reaching statistical significance in 5 of the 6 scenarios (P < 0.0001). Additionally, the response was more accurate in all of the scenarios, reaching statistical significance in 3 of the 6 scenarios (P < 0.0001). Overall, response to the old chart was 1.6 times faster (P < 0.0001) and 15% more accurate (90% versus 75%, P < 0.0001) than the new chart. Conclusions Graphic display of data is associated with faster and more accurate assimilation of information. Hence, charts combining EWS with graphic portrayal of observation trends may contribute to earlier recognition of sick patients.
Assessment of Irradiated Brain Metastases by Means of Arterial Spin-Labeling and Dynamic Susceptibility-Weighted Contrast-Enhanced Perfusion MRI: Initial Results

Rationale and Objectives:To assess if preradiation and early follow-up measurements of relative regional cerebral blood flow (rrCBF) can predict treatment outcome in patients with cerebral metastases and to evaluate rrCBF changes in tumor and normal tissue after stereotactic radiosurgery using arterial spin-labeling (ASL) and first-pass dynamic susceptibility-weighted contrast-enhanced (DSC) perfusion MRI. Methods:In 25 patients with a total of 28 brain metastases, DSC MRI and ASL perfusion MRI using the Q2TIPS sequence were performed with a 1.5-T unit. Measurements were performed prior to and at 6 weeks, 12 weeks, and 24 weeks after stereotactic radiosurgery. Follow-up examinations were completely available in 25 patients for Q2TIPS and 17 patients with 18 metastases for DSC MRI. The rrCBF of the metastases and the normal brain tissue was determined by a region-of-interest analysis. rrCBF values were correlated with the treatment outcome that was classified according to tumor volume changes at 6 months. Results:The alteration of the rrCBF at the 6-week follow-up was highly predictive for treatment outcome. A decrease of the rrCBF value predicted tumor response correctly in all metastases for Q2TIPS and in 13 of 16 metastases for DSC MRI. The pretherapeutic rrCBF was not able to predict treatment outcome. The rrCBF values in normal brain tissue affected by radiation doses less than 0.5 Gy remained unchanged after therapy. Conclusion:These preliminary results suggest that ASL and DSC MRI techniques determining rrCBF changes in brain metastases after stereotactic radiosurgery allow the prediction of treatment outcome.
An Interaction Effect of Leisure Self-determination and Leisure Competence on Older Adults’ Self-rated Health

This study examined whether there was an interaction effect of leisure self-determination and leisure competence on older adults’ self-rated health (SRH), controlling for self-efficacy. Three hundred eighty-nine older adults living in Keelung City, Taiwan were systematically selected as participants. Data were collected by a face-to-face questionnaire survey which included measures of self-efficacy, leisure self-determination, leisure competence, and SRH scales. The data were analyzed using multiple regression analysis. The results showed a significant reinforcement interaction effect of leisure self-determination and leisure competence on SRH among the participants after controlling for self-efficacy. Implications of the results are further discussed.
Note on the Validity of the Random Walk for European Stock Prices

The purpose of this note is to test whether European stock prices follow a random walk. A sample of 234 securities from 8 major European stock markets is used in this study. Some of the standard serial correlation tests which have been traditionally performed on the New York Stock Exchange are being applied to this body of data. The development of the random walk concept originated in some empirical findings that successive price variations were uncorrelated (Kendall [6], Osborne [10], etc.). It is now widely believed that the New York Stock Exchange is an efficient market and that U.S. security price behavior is quite consistent with a random walk concept. The most comprehensive work in this area is the study by Fama [4] on 30 Dow Jones Industrial stocks for a five-year period (1956-1961); for all differentiating intervals (from daily to monthly), the serial correlation coefficients were small and generally not significantly different from zero. However some authors (see Cheng and Deets [1], Jenning [5]) have recently suggested that a rebalancing strategy of portfolio investment will work better than a Buy and Hold strategy because of the existence of negative serial correlation of security prices. While this time dependence is only one of the arguments advanced in favor of the rebalancing strategy, it would certainly work in favor of the strategy. Reviewing the literature, it appears that Cootner [2], Moore [8], and Cheng and Deets [1] found a preponderance of negative signs for weekly changes, as did King [7] for monthly price relatives. Although Fama [4] reached the same conclusions for fourand nine-trading day changes, he found opposite results (i.e., positive serial correlation) for daily or sixteen-day returns. So did Kendall [6] for weekly returns. Few serious tests of the random walk have been performed on European data. This was probably due to the lack of systematic computerized data bases. In 1953 Kendall [6] did not find any evidence of systematic price patterns for British securities. However some evidence of positive serial correlation has been found more recently on the Dutch market (Theil and Leenders [11]) and the British Stock Exchange (e.g., Dryden [3]). The first goal of this note is to study the distribution of serial correlation coefficients of common stocks for each European market and draw comparison with the results found by Fama [4] on a comparable sample of American stocks. No important deviations from the random walk are found. Then the stationarity over time of serial correlation coefficients for individual securities
Four-year cost-utility analyses of sealed and nonsealed first permanent molars in Iowa Medicaid-enrolled children.

OBJECTIVES Dental sealants, by their ability to prevent caries and maintain teeth in better health, have some inherent utility to individuals, programs, or society. This study assessed the 4-year incremental cost utility of sealing first permanent molars of 6-year-old Iowa Medicaid enrollees from a societal perspective and identified the group of teeth or children in whom sealants are most cost effective. METHODS Dental services for first permanent molars were assessed using claims and encounter data for a group of continuously enrolled Medicaid enrollees who turned 6 between 1996 and 1999. Previously published utilities were used to weight the different health states. The weighted sum of outcomes [Quality-Adjusted Tooth-Years (QATYs)] was the measure of effectiveness. Costs and QATYs were discounted to the time of the child's sixth birthday. RESULTS For all first molars, the cost of treatment associated with sealed teeth was higher but the utility was also slightly higher over the 4-year period. The relative incremental cost per 0.19 QATY ratio [changing the health state from a restored tooth (utility= 0.81) to a nonrestored tooth (utility = 1)] by sealing the molar ranged from $36.7 to $83.5 per 0.19 QATY. The incremental cost/QATY ratio was lower for sealing lower utilizers and for mandibular versus maxillary molars. CONCLUSIONS Sealants improved overall utility of first permanent molars after 4 years. The 4-year cost/QATY ratio of sealing the first permanent molar varied by arch and type of utilizers. Sealing first permanent molars in lower dental utilizers is the most cost-effective approach for prioritizing limited resources.
The Effectiveness of an Advance Notice Letter on the Recruitment of African Americans and Whites for a Mailed Patient Satisfaction Survey

Objectives:Evaluate an advance notice letter for enhancing patient satisfaction survey response rates in African Americans and Whites. Methods:Randomized trial of an advance notice letter (versus no letter) mailed two weeks prior to a mail satisfaction survey in a random sample of 600 African American and White patients ages 50 and older, stratified by ethnicity, sex, and age. Results:The advance letter was independently associated with a completed survey in Whites (odds ratio = 2.73; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.66, 4.50), but not in African Americans (odds ratio = 1.24; 95% CI 0.76, 2.02). Being male was independently associated with returning a survey in Whites (odds ratio = 1.86; 95% CI 1.13, 3.06). Younger age (odds ratio = 0.98; 95% CI 0.96, 0.99) was independently associated with a completed survey in African Americans. Discussion:An advance letter prior to a satisfaction survey is associated with increased response rates in Whites, but not in African Americans.
Tourists’ use of restaurant webpages: Is the internet a critical marketing tool?

No one questions the power of the internet as a means of information dissemination. But how effective is the medium for restaurant marketing? Are tourists using the tool, and does it influence their purchase behavior? Though there is no shortage of consultants and technology companies touting the importance of the internet and their abilities to harness the medium for their restaurant clients, little empirical research has been performed to determine its effectiveness in tourism settings. This paper reflects the results of an empirical study of tourist restaurant selection in a vacation destination, and notes that while a reasonable percentage of vacationers believe the medium to be a useful research tool, few in fact translate research into patronage; a disconnect that should be of significant interest to restaurateurs considering the investment return of their internet marketing dollars. Implications and suggestions for restaurants catering to vacation travelers are discussed.
Investigation and resonances damping of multiple PV inverters

This paper addresses the resonance problem in multiple PV inverters based microgrid. Unlike the performance of single grid-connected PV inverter where the resonance frequency is mainly fixed by the output LCL filter parameters, the multiple-PV inverter based microgrid system presents a more challenging picture where inverter interactions will excite complex resonances at various frequencies. As a result, line currents of inverters can be severely distorted even the control schemes and filter circuits are properly designed based on the single inverter model. This paper first develops a microgrid model based on discrete-time domain closed-loop Norton's equivalent circuits. Multiple resonances can then be evaluated using the developed model. To mitigate the resonances, this paper also designs a virtual harmonic resistance based active damping method. The proposed damping scheme is seamlessly incorporated into the conventional deadbeat current tracking schemes through the direct control reference modification. Simulation and experimental results are provided to validate the correctness of the developed resonance modeling and active damping methods.
A Local Positioning System for Loader Cranes Based on Wireless Sensors—A Feasibility Study

This paper presents a feasibility study that deals with a local positioning system for a loader crane based on battery-powered wireless sensors and consists of two joint angular sensors and one telescopic boom length ranger. The practical challenges associated with using conventional sensors are described in order to provide the motivation behind the choice to use the sensing methods proposed in this paper. A novel method is tested using microelectromechanical system inertial sensors mounted around the crane joints to indirectly measure the joint angles, as well as an ultrasound time-of-flight ranging method to measure the telescopic boom length. The local positioning system's wireless sensor prototype designs are described in detail. Data from the angular sensor experiments conducted on a loader crane and the ultrasound ranging experiments conducted both in the laboratory and on the loader crane are presented and analyzed. The preliminary results from these experiments show that the performance of the new sensors is promising. The conclusion is drawn from the experimental results, and future work for this local positioning system is also described.
Pollen‐based quantitative reconstructions of Holocene regional vegetation cover (plant‐functional types and land‐cover types) in Europe suitable for climate modelling

We present quantitative reconstructions of regional vegetation cover in north‐western Europe, western Europe north of the Alps, and eastern Europe for five time windows in the Holocene [around 6k, 3k, 0.5k, 0.2k, and 0.05k calendar years before present (bp)] at a 1° × 1° spatial scale with the objective of producing vegetation descriptions suitable for climate modelling. The REVEALS model was applied on 636 pollen records from lakes and bogs to reconstruct the past cover of 25 plant taxa grouped into 10 plant‐functional types and three land‐cover types [evergreen trees, summer‐green (deciduous) trees, and open land]. The model corrects for some of the biases in pollen percentages by using pollen productivity estimates and fall speeds of pollen, and by applying simple but robust models of pollen dispersal and deposition. The emerging patterns of tree migration and deforestation between 6k bp and modern time in the REVEALS estimates agree with our general understanding of the vegetation history of Europe based on pollen percentages. However, the degree of anthropogenic deforestation (i.e. cover of cultivated and grazing land) at 3k, 0.5k, and 0.2k bp is significantly higher than deduced from pollen percentages. This is also the case at 6k in some parts of Europe, in particular Britain and Ireland. Furthermore, the relationship between summer‐green and evergreen trees, and between individual tree taxa, differs significantly when expressed as pollen percentages or as REVEALS estimates of tree cover. For instance, when Pinus is dominant over Picea as pollen percentages, Picea is dominant over Pinus as REVEALS estimates. These differences play a major role in the reconstruction of European landscapes and for the study of land cover–climate interactions, biodiversity and human resources.
Do Economic Reforms InfluenceHome-Based Work? Evidence from India

Abstract This paper analyzes the factors that influence the conditions under which a woman in India participates as a home-based worker using secondary level data at the micro level. At the macro level, the paper analyzes whether trade and industrial liberalization in India led to an increase in subcontracted work, of the home-based variety. The results show a historically high share of women in home-based work, which implies that female participation in such work was more likely to be determined by their cultural milieu than by the recent liberalization process. Further, while the micro model of social determinants appears to fit the female home-based work equation, the macro model is found to be insignificant. The lower but increasing share of male home-based work and the statistical significance of the macro model as a determinant of such work lead us to conclude that the economic reforms in India had a statistically significant impact on this form of production organization among men.
Why some US nonmetropolitan counties moved out of persistent high-poverty status in the 1990s

Nearly one-third of US nonmetropolitan counties that began the 1990s with persistent high poverty were not high-poverty counties by the end of the decade. Aside from the poverty rate at the beginning of the decade, it is found that employment growth, along with indicators of the initial quality of the labour force and level of human-capital, increased the probability of counties moving out of persistent high-poverty status.
Molecular genetics of Aristaless, a prd-type homeo box gene involved in the morphogenesis of proximal and distal pattern elements in a subset of appendages in Drosophila.

Viable aristaless (al) mutations of Drosophila affect pattern elements at both ends of the proximodistal axis in a subset of adult appendages. The al gene has been cloned and identified by P-element-mediated germ-line transformation with a genomic DNA fragment, which rescues a lethal mutation of al as well as aspects of the adult al phenotype. The al gene contains a prd-type homeo domain and a Pro/Gln-rich domain and, hence, probably encodes a transcription factor. Its transcript distribution in third-instar imaginal discs closely corresponds to the anlagen of the tissues that later become visibly affected in adult al mutants. The striking similarity of a bimodal al expression in different imaginal discs indicates that al is under the control of a "prepattern," which is shared at least among antennal, leg, and wing discs. The al gene is also transcribed during embryogenesis. Apart from a function in the ontogeny of specific larval head and tail organs, its embryonic transcript pattern suggests a possible role in early imaginal disc development.
Investor Reaction to Salient News in Closed-End Country Funds

We provide a model of closed-end fund pricing which includes investors who do not form expectations correctly and allows for salient country-specific news to affect this expectation formation process. We use panel data on prices and net asset values of closed- end country funds to examine investor reaction to news that affects fundamentals, and measure the response of the idiosyncratic change in fund prices to the idiosyncratic change in fund asset values. In a typical week, US prices underreact to changes in foreign fundamentals; the (short-run) elasticity of price with respect to asset value is significantly less than one. In weeks with major news (relevant to the specific country) appearing on the front page of The New York Times, prices react much more to fundamentals; the elasticity of price with respect to asset value is closer to one. These results are roughly consistent with the hypothesis that major news events lead some investors who normally lag behind in updating their expectations to temporarily react more quickly.
Is There a Local Business Community?

This article reports a study of the attitudes of small business owners to the localities in which their businesses are located and local economic development. The views of the owners contrasted strongly with those of representatives of local business bodies and economic agencies. The findings indicate small business owners tend to be detached from the locality and from local economic initiatives. This appears to be due to historical trends that have reduced the role of small business in local political and economic processes and the logic(s) of business practice within the sectors analysed. This has occurred despite trends soliciting more private sector involvement in local economic initiatives.
Un voyage vers une photographie feminine: The gender politics of body and space

In 1999 I embarked on a photographic journey to various cities around the world. The photographs produced are the results of my critical attention as a woman and a feminist to the issues concerning gender, travel and landscape aesthetics. This dissertation is an analysis of my documentary photographs. I am interested in ways in which my photographs correspond with the French feminist theories of Helene Cixous and Lucy lrigaray on ecriture feminine. Their work on the politics of the body has been influential in my journey towards a photographie feminine. 'Moreover, I also incorporate the feminist work of cultural and travel theorists such as Elizabeth Wilson, Janet Wolf, Trinh T. Minh-ha, amongst others, in my 'writing the body'. A photographie feminine places an emphasis on the primacy of the feminin. My use of the term feminin is different from a masculine construct of the feminine. Instead, it resists the masculine closure of representation and attempts to depict feminin heterogeneity and feminin desire repressed by the Law of the Father. Importantly, it is also concerned with using and reworking the masculine myths and metaphors of the feminine. As such, much of my photography involves reframing found advertising images of women in the city, as well as self-representations. A photographie feminine also shares a number of similarities with postmodern documentary photography, such as self-reflexivity, a concern with power relationships and the nature of images and their circulation as well as the production of images that use irony as a political device. The concept of gendered spatiality is also central to this study. In the first chapter I describe my journey photography, linking the traditions of travel and landscape aesthetics to feminist theories of the body. In particular, I discuss my 'politics of location' which highlights the significance of gender and race in regards to 'how I see the world' as well as discussing my approach in reading the photographs.
Training or EPT in perimenopause on balance and flushes

With advancing age, the postural balance function deteriorates as a consequence of decreased functional capacity. Deteriorating balance is a risk factor for bone fractures due to increased risks of falls. It has been suggested that the loss of estrogen, which occurs in relation to the menopause, may be associated with loss of balance. Regular physical exercise without balance training has, in some studies, been shown to have positive effects on the postural balance. The aim of the present study was to examine balance function during the perimenopausal period, and evaluate the effect of estrogen plus progesterone therapy (EPT) or aerobic training on balance. Sixty perimenopausal women were recruited to the study. The subjects were then randomised to either physical training (n = 20), EPT (n = 20), or to a control group (n = 20). The study period was 18 months. Postural stability was measured every third month using a custom‐made force platform. The women using EPT achieved better results in 3 of 6 parameters, after 18 months.