Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of aspirin, nimesulide, and SC-560 on vasopressin-induced contraction of human gastroepiploic artery and saphenous vein*

Objective:The present experiments were designed to evaluate differences in the effects of cyclooxygenase (COX)-1 and COX-2 inhibition on contractile responses of human gastroepiploic artery and saphenous vein elicited by vasopressin. Design:Laboratory investigation. Setting:University laboratory. Subjects:Rings of human gastroepiploic artery were obtained from 32 patients undergoing gastrectomy, and rings of saphenous vein were obtained from 30 patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery. Interventions:The rings were suspended in organ baths for isometric recording of tension. We studied the responses to vasopressin in the absence and in the presence of either the vasopressin V1-receptor antagonist d(CH2)5Tyr(Me)AVP or the COX inhibitors aspirin, nimesulide, or SC-560. Measurements and Main Results:Vasopressin (10−11–10−6 mol/L) produced concentration-dependent contractions with an EC50 value of 4.3 × 10−10 mol/L for gastroepiploic artery and 3.4 × 10−8 mol/L for saphenous vein. The vasopressin V1-receptor antagonist d(CH2)5Tyr(Me)AVP (10−7 mol/L) induced significant shifts (p < .001) of the control curves to the right. The COX-1 and COX-2 inhibitor aspirin (10−6–10−5 mol/L) and the COX-2 inhibitor nimesulide (10−6 mol/L) induced leftward shifts of the concentration-response curve for vasopressin in gastroepiploic artery. Lower concentrations of aspirin or the COX-1 inhibitor SC-560 (10−8 mol/L) did not affect the responses of gastroepiploic artery. COX-1 or COX-2 inhibition did not modify the contraction of saphenous vein to vasopressin. Conclusion:The results provide functional evidence that aspirin at high concentrations and the COX-2 selective inhibitor nimesulide potentiate the contractile response of gastroepiploic artery to vasopressin, thus suggesting the release of relaxant prostaglandins by the peptide. However, contractions of human saphenous vein were unaffected by COX inhibition, indicating that vasopressin does not stimulate the release of prostanoids. The amplifying effect of aspirin on vasopressin-induced contraction may contribute to early graft failure when the gastroepiploic artery is used as a coronary artery bypass graft.
Total polyamines and their non-alpha-amino acid metabolites simultaneously determined in urine by capillary gas chromatography, with nitrogen-phosphorus detector; and some clinical applications.

A capillary gas-chromatographic method with nitrogen-phosphorus detection is used here to simultaneously determine 1,3-diaminopropane, putrescine, cadaverine, spermidine, spermine, isoputreanine , putreanine , and N-(3-aminopropyl)-N'-(2-carboxyethyl)-1,4- diaminobutane in urine. After acid hydrolysis the compounds are isolated by adsorption onto silica gel and converted into their methyl-heptafluorobutyryl derivatives. We give quality-control data and age-dependent values for urinary excretion of these analytes by 76 apparently healthy controls. Circadian rhythmicity in the excretion of spermidine and (especially) isoputreanine was established and is discussed in the light of its implications for monitoring therapy of cancer. Investigation of menstrual-cycle-dependent diurnal variation in one normal woman showed no distinct, consistent fluctuations. We applied the method to monitor (by use of 24-h urine specimens) an uncomplicated, normally progressing pregnancy, a patient with metastatic melanoma being treated with cytostatic drugs, and (in more detail) the treatment of a patient with high-grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Universities and Climate Change Mitigation: Advancing Grassroots Climate Policy in the US

Abstract While US climate change mitigation policy has stalled at the national level, local and regional actors are increasingly taking progressive steps to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Universities are poised to play a key role in this grassroots effort by targeting their own emissions and by working with other local actors to develop climate change mitigation programmes. Researchers at the Pennsylvania State University have collaborated with university administrators and personnel to inventory campus emissions and develop mitigation strategies. In addition, they have facilitated a stakeholder-driven climate change mitigation project in one Pennsylvania county and started an ongoing service-learning project aimed at reducing emissions in another county. These campus and community outreach initiatives demonstrate that university-based mitigation action may simultaneously achieve tangible local benefits and develop solutions to broader challenges facing local climate change mitigation efforts. Outcomes include improved tools and protocols for measuring and reducing local emissions, lessons learned about service-learning approaches to climate change mitigation, and methods for creating climate change governance networks involving universities, local governments and community stakeholders.
Supply and Demand for Water Use by New Forest Plantations: A Market to Balance Increasing Upstream Water Use with Downstream Community, Industry and Environmental Use?

This study examines the use of water by existing downstream entitlement holders and their possible market interactions with upstream interests in new forestry plantations in the case of the Macquarie River Catchment, NSW. Demand for offset water to allow upstream plantation establishment is estimated as a function of tree product value and direct and opportunity costs in six sub-catchment areas with different rainfalls and locations with respect to urban and other high security water users (UHS). This upstream demand is aggregated with downstream demand for water. The aggregate supply of downstream water entitlements is posited in terms of marginal values to each of three sectors [stock & domestic (SD downstream losses, not counting damages to the wetlands, are $233M and $236M (summing the IRR and SD further, uncompensated losses of 154 and 156 GL in annual river flow would be suffered by the wetlands. With the requirement to purchase water for establishing new tree plantations, upstream surpluses are projected to be $192M and $220M in the FRESH and SALTY cases, respectively, while downstream sums of IRR and S&D surpluses are $138M and $151M, given 90 and 97 GL of water traded upstream with no damages to the wetlands. Greater surpluses in the hypothetical SALTY cases are due to subsidies paid by UHS for tree planting to reduce water yields from the very salty sub-catchment, thereby lowering river salinity to acceptable levels for domestic use. Although sale of downstream water entitlements may just balance reductions in river flow due to new tree plantations, water delivery efficiency may be reduced and overhead costs increased for those not selling entitlements. Our analysis has not counted these costs.
Price-Earnings Ratios

WITHIN THREE TO TEN YEARS, will the better price performance be in common stocks, with the current price earnings multiples of over 25 times, or in those under 12 times? Answers to this question as posed to sophisticated Financial Analysts and business men, in the past year, have been nearly ten-to-one in favor of the high multiples. It is assumed they are bought for growth, and the low multiples only for income. The results of certain studies, covering data for past years, would indicate a contrary conclusion; i.e., that on the average the purchase of stocks with low priceearnings multiples will result in greater appreciation in addition to the higher income provided.
Paternity Deferments and the Timing of Births: U.S. Natality During the Vietnam War

During the conflict in Vietnam, married men with dependents could obtain a deferment from the draft. In 1965, following President Johnson's Executive Order 11241 and a subsequent Selective Service System announcement, the particulars of this policy changed substantially in a way which provided strong incentives for childless American couples to conceive a first-born child. This study examines the effects of the intervention on the decision to start a family. In my empirical analysis, I extract data from the Vital Statistics for the period 1963-1968 and employ a difference-in-differences methodology. The estimated magnitude of the effect is substantial.
The Frontal Hypothesis of Cognitive Aging: Factor Structure and Age Effects on Four Frontal Tests Among Healthy Individuals

With 101 healthy aging adult participants, the authors investigated whether executive functions are a unitary concept. The authors established the factor structure of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST; E. A. Berg, 1948), the Stroop color and word test (C. J. Golden, 1978), verbal fluency using the Controlled Oral Word Association Test (COWAT; Benton, 1967), and the Digits Backwards subtest of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R; D. Wechsler, 1981). The authors also evaluated the extent to which age and other demographic variables predicted common underlying properties of these frontal tests. Results revealed an age-related decline in executive abilities differentially reflected by the selected tasks. These data suggest caution using the COWAT to evaluate executive abilities in older people. The authors interpret findings to support the unitary view of executive abilities and the executive decline proposed by the frontal hypothesis.
Livelihood impacts of the conversion of cropland to forest and grassland program

Abstract Land use changes induced by the Conversion of Cropland to Forest and Grassland Program are found to provide farm households sampled in four counties from Shaanxi and Qinghai Provinces with increased net profits. This result is found to be robust for a range of discount rates and output price projections. The net present value of the difference in farm profits with and without the Program is found to be positive even when payments made under the Program are subtracted from with Program profits. Variations in the impact of the Program on farm household net profits were observed across the county samples. These results suggest that reversion to pre-Program land uses is unlikely as long as farmer's rights over converted land are well defined and defended.
Capitalizing on Franchisee Autonomy: Relational Forms of Governance as Controls in Idiosyncratic Franchise Dyads*

Franchisee autonomy not only fosters system‐wide adaptability and outlet owners' satisfaction but also raises the costs from agency problems present in franchisee–franchisor dyads. Advancing upon the understanding of agency issues involved in franchising, we test the argument that chains counterbalance the loss in control inherent to autonomy with relational governance mechanisms. The empirical results provided strong support for this presumption. In addition, and most notably, we found that the more relational governance becomes important, the weaker agents' incentives are aligned with the interests of the entire network. The moderating effects of five franchisee characteristics influencing goal congruencies were considered: multiunit ownership, age of the relationship, geographic distance, franchisee success, and the level of perceived intra‐chain competition. Implications for chain management are provided.
Government Fragmentation and Budgetary Policy in 'Good' and 'Bad' Times in Flemish Municipalities

Using a panel of budgetary data over the period 1989-1996, we analyse how political fragmentation of Flemish local governments affects their reactions in the context of a major reform of the grant system. This reform reallocated grants among municipalities and thus unavoidably created "winners" and "losers". Thus, it is possible to distinguish between political reactions in good and bad times. The presence of a balanced budget requirement implies that in bad times municipalities have to react whereas in good times the decision to react is endogenous to the government. The results are in line with the hypotheses, if not the findings, of Kontopoulos and Perotti (1999) in that we find that fragmentation is important both in good and in bad times. Coalition size - the number of political parties - plays a crucial role when the budgetary shock is endogenous (in "good times" when grants increase). In this case, we find that more-party governments spend more of the additional funds. On the other hand, cabinet size - the number of spending ministers (aldermen) - is the relevant dimension of fragmentation when the reaction is exogenous (in "bad times"). When grants are cut back, expenditures are cut back more in municipalities with fewer ministers. Copyright Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2005.
The Impact of Standards-Based Reform on Special Education: An Exploration of Westvale Elementary School

A critical, interpretivist, qualitative study, this project examines how standardsbased reform impacts special education at an urban school, called Westvale Elementary School. The school was labeled a Persistently Low Achieving school under the No Child Left Behind Act and was thus required to undergo a “transformation” process. The demographics of the school at the time of the study were: 97% free and reduced lunch, 40% Limited English Proficiency, 21% students with disabilities. The racial makeup of the school is: 50% Hispanic or Latino, 35% Black or African American, and 10% white. My methodological approach drew primarily upon 19 in-depth, semi-structured interviews with teachers, administrators, and policy makers. All participants were either associated with, working at, or overseeing Westvale Elementary School. I also conducted observations at over 15 public events relevant to the study. Interview and observation data were contextualized through an examination of public documents, such as policy statements or media reports. Findings indicate that the transformation process that Westvale was required to undertake was both a dramatic and sanction-laden one. For instance, prior to the transformation process, Westvale operated fully inclusive classrooms and afterwards the school shifted to a variety of self-contained, tracked, and pull-out programs. Thus, a key finding of this study was that standards-based reform impacted the physical inclusion of students with disabilities, even if they were accessing, at least to some degree, regular education content. Findings also showed how standards-based reform policies, including the implementation of the Common Core standards, testing, teacher and leader evaluations, and accountability systems significantly impacted special education, particularly in this “failing” school. Financial incentives, the media, and research all played distinct roles in disseminating standards-based reform ideology, which forced failing urban schools to adopt standards-based reform policy, even if local educators and administrators believed that the policies negatively impacted students. Unfortunately, the study also documents how special education is often an after-thought during local, district, state, and national policy-making, which resulted in policies ill-suited for the needs of students with disabilities. Finally, I illustrate how standards-based reform relies on discourse that blames teachers for the failures of urban schools, essentially removing the need to remedy the inequities existent in our educational system. I conclude this study with a series of recommendations directed to teachers, administrators, and policy-makers.
Optimal Monetary Policy and Finite Horizons

This paper studies the Ramsey optimal monetary policy in the baseline New Keynesian model with capital accumulation and overlapping generations. With balanced-budget fiscal policy, the generational turnover effect reduces the aggregate capital stock, consumption, and social welfare. The traditional trade-off between nominal price stickiness and monopolistic competition becomes more intense, so that the monetary authority seems to be motivated to close the gap between the inefficient steady state and the modified golden rule. Optimal monetary policy, however, obtains a stabilizing rather than an expansionary nature, because the Ramsey planner is concerned with both current and future generations. Optimal policy becomes countercyclical, but deviations from strict price stability entail a social welfare cost below the lower bound described by Lucas (2003).
Adjuvant Gamma Knife Stereotactic Radiosurgery at the Time of Tumor Progression Potentially Improves Survival for Patients with Glioblastoma Multiforme

OBJECTIVE:Gamma knife stereotactic radiosurgery (GK-SRS) is a safe and noninvasive treatment used as adjuvant therapy for patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). Several studies have yielded conflicting results in the effectiveness of radiosurgery in GBM. This study is a retrospective review of our institutional experience with GK-SRS adjuvant therapy in the treatment of GBM. METHODS:From October 1998 to January 2003, 51 consecutive patients were treated with GK-SRS as an “upfront” adjuvant therapy after surgery or at the time of tumor progression at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Survival analysis was performed using the Kaplan-Meier actuarial method. Univariate and multivariate analyses of patient characteristics and treatment variables were performed. RESULTS:Treatment with adjuvant GK-SRS yielded a median overall survival of 14.3 months for our cohort. Survival rate of the cohort was 68% at 12 months, 30% at 24 months, and 24% at 36 months. Karnofsky performance score greater than 90 and adjuvant chemotherapy were associated with increased survival on multivariate analysis. Adjuvant GK-SRS performed at tumor progression seems to increase median survival to 16.7 months compared with 10 months when performed after the time of initial tumor resection. Median survival rates by recursive partitioning analysis class breakdown in our cohort are greater than those predicted by other studies. CONCLUSION:GK-SRS is a relatively safe and noninvasive procedure that conferred an improvement in overall survival of GBM patients in our retrospective study. Particularly, GK-SRS may improve overall survival when performed at the time of tumor progression.
Clinical and microbiologic effects of commercially available dentifrice containing aloe vera: a randomized controlled clinical trial.

BACKGROUND Certain plants used in folk medicine serve as a source of therapeutic agents that have antimicrobial and other multipotential effects. This prospective, randomized, placebo, and positively controlled clinical trial was designed to evaluate the clinical and microbiologic effects of a commercially available dentifrice containing aloe vera on the reduction of plaque and gingival inflammation in patients with gingivitis. METHODS Ninety patients diagnosed with chronic generalized gingivitis were selected and randomly divided into three groups: group 1, placebo toothpaste; group 2, toothpaste containing aloe vera; and group 3, toothpaste with polymer and fluoride containing triclosan. Clinical evaluation was undertaken using a gingival index, plaque was assessed using a modification of the Quigley-Hein index, and microbiologic counts were assessed at baseline, 6 weeks, 12 weeks, and 24 weeks. A subjective evaluation was also undertaken by questionnaire. RESULTS Toothpaste containing aloe vera showed significant improvement in gingival and plaque index scores as well as microbiologic counts compared with placebo dentifrice. These improvements were comparable to those achieved with toothpaste containing triclosan. CONCLUSION Toothpaste containing aloe vera may be a useful herbal formulation for chemical plaque control agents and improvement in plaque and gingival status.
Addressing Current Controversial Issues through the Social Studies Curriculum: Making Social Studies Come Alive

Social studies is defined differently by different authors but the rationale for the subject still remains universally the same: that of developing the good citizen. While definitions of the subject may differ, the type of good citizen may also vary according to the perspectives of the good citizen held by different countries and peoples of the world. Accordingly social studies focuses on the study of human beings, their interaction with the environment in the past and present, with due consideration of the future. It is through this subject that students are expected to gain a lot of knowledge, skills, attitudes and values that will enable them to effectively deal with issues in contemporary society. This paper explores the various ways in which primary school teachers in Botswana can address current controversial issues through the teaching of social studies curriculum in order to make it as lively and interesting as possible. Social studies has been rated in some countries as a non-interesting school subject as compared to other school curriculum subjects. This paper also addresses the methods of teaching controversial issues in our everyday lives in the context of a fast changing world. The paper concludes with suggestions for making the teaching and learning of the subject as lively, interesting and relevant to all students in order to develop their full potentials as good citizens of this world. It is through this subject that students are expected to gain knowledge, skills, attitudes and values that will enable them to effectively deal with all those controversial issues in contemporary society. Keyword : controversial issues, social studies, issue-centered curriculum, citizenship, contemporary society
Phylogenetic signal in bone histology of amniotes revisited

Legendre, L, Le Roy, N, Martinez‐Maza, C, Montes, L, Laurin, M & Cubo, J. (2012). Phylogenetic signal in bone histology of amniotes revisited. —Zoologica Scripta, 42, 44–53.
Estimation of the Age-Dependent Decline of Glomerular Filtration Rate from Formulas Based on Creatinine and Cystatin C in the General Elderly Population

Background/Aims: To evaluate the performance of estimation formulas for glomerular filtration rate (GFR) based on creatinine and cystatin C in elderly. Methods: This study includes 2,931 men and women comprising nine age cohorts (60–93 years) from a longitudinal population-based project in Sweden. The participants were divided into four age groups. GFR was estimated from four formulas: the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD), CKD-EPI and Cockroft-Gault (CG) based on creatinine and one based on cystatin C (eGFR-CysC). CG was also adjusted for body surface area (BSA) to CG/BSA. Results: CG, CG/BSA and eGFR-CysC yielded significantly lower GFR values compared to MDRD and CKD-EPI in the oldest persons (>80 years). A low GFR (<30 ml/min/1.73 m2) was demonstrated with MDRD in 3.3% (80–89 years) and in 6.3% (>90 years). With CG/BSA it was 8.0% (80–89 years) and 27.2% (>90 years), and with eGFR-CysC it was 12.1% (80–89 years) and 27% (>90 years), respectively. The individual formulas showed different eGFR in the four age cohorts and also different slopes by increasing age. CG/BSA and eGFR-CysC both show steeper declines than MDRD and CKD-EPI. Conclusion: Age-associated decline of renal function is common in elderly and increases immensely after the age of 80 years. More than 25% of the oldest demonstrate eGFR <30 ml/min/1.73 m2. CG and eGFR-CysC yielded the highest prevalence of decline and MDRD the lowest.