Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Institutional Responses to Transformative Stressors: Confronting the Climate Adaptation Imperative through Metro-Regional Planning

Manifestations of climate change are already creating significant stress in many parts of the world. On-going increases in greenhouse gas emissions are tracking the upper level scenario forecasts proposed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. This indicates a high probability that climate change stress will intensify over the coming decades. Consequently, responding through climate adaptation must become a central tenet of successful urban governance and management. Climate change adaptation is defined as an imperative in this thesis. The institutionalisation of climate adaptation is identified as a key institutional challenge for urban and metropolitan planning. Institutionalisation refers to climate adaptation becoming established, codified and implemented as a central tenet of planning governance. This thesis develops conceptual understandings of climate adaptation as an institutional imperative. It identifies the intersection of this problem with planning and examines how planning regimes, as institutions, can better manage climate change stresses impacts in human settlements. Institutional transformation is identified as central to this process. Planning regimes must transform in order to institutionalise new rules of governance, which are designed to better respond to climate change stress through climate adaptation. A new conceptualisation of institutional transformation is presented in this thesis, focused on a new typology of stressors, referred to as ‘transformative stressors’. This is based on an argument that institutional scholarship does not adequately articulate the idea that certain stressors can create such severe stresses that institutional transformation must follow, or the institutions charged with responding risk failing or becoming redundant. A transformative stressor is characterised as a chronic, large-scale phenomenon, which triggers a process of institutional transformation, whereby institutions seek to re-orientate their activities in order to better respond to the social, economic and environmental impacts created by the transformative dynamic. Climate change is characterised as a transformative stressor within the institutional context of urban and regional planning. Institutional transformation, leading to climate adaptation becoming established as a central element of planning governance, is identified as a necessary response to the social, economic and environmental stress associated with of climate change.
Perceptual Frames in Frequency Estimation

This study is an introductory investigation of cognitive frames, focused on perceptual frames divided into information and formal perceptual frames, which were studied based on sub-additivity of frequency estimations. It was postulated that different presentations of a response scale would result in different percentage estimates of time spent watching TV or using the Internet. The results supported the existence of perceptual frames that influence the perception process and indicated that information perceptual frames had a stronger effect than formal frames. The measures made possible the exploration of the operation of perceptual frames and also outlined the relations between heuristics and cognitive frames.
Fluorescence observation and manipulation of individual DNA molecules in a microfluidic channel

Observation and manipulation of a single DNA molecule in real time have been applied for gene analyses and novel biochemical analyses of DNA-protein interactions. The DNA molecule in solution frequently changes its position and its shape due to Brownian motion, therefore precise handling technique is required. At the same time, miniaturized chemical reaction systems such as micro total analysis systems (μTAS) have been actively studied in recent years. Fluid control in microchannel networks is one of the most important aspects of μTAS. This fluid control technique is available for not only chemical analysis but also single-molecule DNA analysis. Here, we describe two topics concerning the single-molecule DNA manipulation. The first topic is surface treatments for anchoring individual DNA molecules in a microchannel. We focused attention on phospholipid bilayers. We have obtained clear images of the DNA molecules by using supported lipid bilayers made from amphiphilic lipids which prevent the nonspecific surface adsorption of DNA. The second topic is manipulation of individual DNA molecules by applying high voltage electric field. The electric force can be easily applied and move DNA molecules in a bulk system. We have tried to stretch DNA molecules in viscous solution by applying high voltage electric field. These manipulation techniques may contribute for accelerating novel single-molecule DNA analysis.
Financial literacy among youth

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to analyse the level of financial literacy among youth in the world based on previous studies. The study, particularly, focus at how socio-economic and demographic factors such as age, gender, marital status and income influence financial literacy level of youth and whether there is any interrelationship between financial knowledge, financial attitude and financial behaviour. Strong endeavour of the world economies to improve the financial well-being of their citizens has contributed to the rising importance of financial literacy as it equips the individuals to take quality financial decisions to enhance their financial well-being. Design/methodology/approach - This literature review consists of seven key sections. The first section of this paper reviews the conceptual definitions of youth. Second part summarises the literature on financial literacy. Third, fourth and fifth section summarises the literature on the components of financial literacy, i.e. financial knowledge, financial attitude and financial behaviour, respectively. Sixth section reviews the empirical studies on the influence of socio-economic and demographic factors on financial literacy level. Seventh section summarises the literature on interrelationship between financial knowledge, financial attitude and financial behaviour. Findings - The study reveals that the financial literacy level among youth is low across the most part of the world that has become a cause of concern. Also, it has been observed that various socio-economic and demographic factors such as age, gender, income, marital status and educational attainment influence the financial literacy level of youth and there exists an interrelationship between financial knowledge, financial attitude and financial behaviour. Originality/value - Youth have to live a longer life ahead, thus, the decisions taken by them are going to affect them for a longer period of time, making it imperative for them to develop an understanding of the world of finance so as to avoid wrong choice of financial products. Thus, financial literacy is of significant relevance. This paper aims to understand the influence of various factors influencing the financial literacy as understanding the factors that contribute to or detract from the acquisition of financial literacy among youth can help in making policy interventions targeted at youth to enhance their financial well-being.
Faculty triage shortens emergency department length of stay.

OBJECTIVE To determine whether faculty triage (FT) activities can shorten emergency department (ED) length of stay (LOS). METHODS This was a comparison study measuring the impact of faculty triage vs no faculty triage on ED LOS. It was set in an urban county teaching hospital. Subjects were patients presenting to the registration desk between 9 AM and 9 PM on 16 consecutive Mondays (August 2 to November 15, 1999). On eight Mondays, an additional faculty member was stationed at the triage desk. He or she was asked to expedite care by rapid evaluation orders for diagnostic studies and basic therapeutic interventions, and by moving serious patients to the patient care areas. He or she was not provided with detailed instructions or protocols. The ED LOS, time of registration (TIMEREG), inpatient admission status (ADMIT), x-ray utilization (XRAY), total patients registered each day between 9 AM and 9 PM (TOTREG), and patients who left without being seen (LWBS) were determined using an ED information system. The LOS was analyzed in relation to FT, ADMIT, and XRAY by the Mann-Whitney U test. The LOS was related to TIMEREG and TOTREG by simple linear regression. Stepwise multiple linear regression models to predict LOS were generated using all the variables. RESULTS Patients without FT (n = 814) had a mean LOS of 445 minutes. Patients with FT (n = 920) had a mean LOS of 363 minutes. Mean difference in LOS was -82 minutes (95% CI = -111 to -53), a reduction of 18%. The LOS was also related to: ADMIT +203 minutes (95% CI = 168 to 238), TOTREG -2.7 min/additional patient registered (95% CI = -1.15 to -4.3), and TIMEREG +0.14 min/min since 9 AM (95% CI = 0.07 to 0.21). The LWBS was reduced by 46% with FT. In multiple regression analysis, ADMIT, FT, TIMEREG, and XRAY were all related to LOS, but the model explained only a small part of variance (adjusted R(2) = 0.093). The faculty cost is estimated to be $11.98/patient. CONCLUSIONS Faculty triage offers a moderate increase in efficiency at this ED, albeit with relatively high cost.
The role of ethnic matching between patient and provider on the effectiveness of brief alcohol interventions with Hispanics.

BACKGROUND Evaluating the effectiveness of treatments such as brief alcohol interventions among Hispanics is essential to effectively addressing their treatment needs. Clinicians of the same ethnicity as the client may be more likely to understand the culture-specific values, norms, and attitudes and, therefore, the intervention may be more effective. Thus, in cases in which Hispanic patients were provided intervention by a Hispanic clinician improved drinking outcomes were expected. METHODS Patients were recruited from an urban Level I Trauma following screening for an alcohol-related injury or alcohol problems. Five hundred thirty-seven Hispanics were randomly assigned to brief intervention or treatment as usual. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to determine the effects of ethnic match on drinking outcomes including volume per week, maximum amount, and frequency of 5 or more drinks per occasion. Analyses controlled for level of acculturation and immigration status. RESULTS For Hispanics who received brief motivational intervention, an ethnic match between patient and provider resulted in a significant reduction in drinking outcomes at 12-month follow-up. In addition, there was a tendency for ethnic match to be most beneficial to foreign-born Hispanics and less acculturated Hispanics. CONCLUSION As hypothesized, an ethnic match between patient and provider significantly enhanced the effectiveness of brief intervention among Hispanics. Ethnic concordance between patient and provider may have impacted the effectiveness of the intervention through several mechanisms including cultural scripts, ethnic-specific perceptions pertaining to substance abuse, and ethnic-specific preferred channels of communication.
Diagnostic Performance of Split-Bolus Portal Venous Phase Dual-Energy CT Urography in Patients With Hematuria.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study is to evaluate the diagnostic performance of split-bolus portal venous phase dual-energy CT (DECT) urography in patients with hematuria. MATERIALS AND METHODS True unenhanced and split-bolus portal venous phase contrast-enhanced weighted-average images were obtained in 171 patients with hematuria. Virtual unenhanced and iodine-overlay images were reconstructed from contrast-enhanced 80-kVp and tin-filtered 140-kVp scans. Images were independently reviewed by two radiologists who were blinded to the final diagnoses in two separate reading sessions: virtual unenhanced and iodine-overlay images (single phase) in the first session and true unenhanced and contrast-enhanced weighted-average images (dual phase) in the second session (mean ± SD, 52 ± 8 days later). Sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of mass detection were calculated from the data of both reading sessions. The number of calculi detected on virtual unenhanced images was compared with the number detected on true unenhanced images. The difference in radiation dose between the single- and dual-phase protocols was calculated. The statistical significance was determined by ANOVA. RESULTS The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy were 98.7%, 98.9%, and 98.8%, respectively, for the single-phase approach to malignant mass detection and 98.7%, 97.9%, and 98.3%, respectively, for the dual-phase approach (p > 0.05 for all comparisons). The overall sensitivity of stone detection was 86.7% (39/45) for virtual unenhanced images. Omitting the unenhanced scan reduced the mean radiation dose from 15.4 to 6.7 mSv. CONCLUSION The diagnostic performance of both the single- and dual-phase approaches of portal venous phase split-bolus DECT urography is equally good in patients with hematuria, and single-phase acquisition has the added benefit of radiation reduction.
Factor structure of the alcohol urge questionnaire under neutral conditions and during a cue-elicited urge state.

BACKGROUND The Alcohol Urge Questionnaire (AUQ) is a promising multi-item measure of self-reported urges to drink in human laboratory studies; however, its factor structure has not been examined during an acute urge state. This study sought to validate the AUQ's factor structure under neutral conditions and during a cue-elicited urge state in heavy drinkers. METHODS Participants (248 heavy drinkers; 70% male) completed the AUQ, the Alcohol Dependence Scale (ADS), and the Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS) under neutral conditions. A randomly selected subsample (n=61; 74% male) then underwent a multimodal alcohol cue exposure and completed the AUQ and PANAS a second time. RESULTS Under neutral conditions, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) replicated the previously reported single-factor structure, on which all items significantly loaded (p<0.001). Alcohol urges, as measured by the AUQ, exhibited significant positive associations with drinks per week and severity of dependence. Following the alcohol cue exposure, participants exhibited a significant increase in urge on the AUQ. Confirmatory factor analysis of the AUQ during the cue-elicited urge state also supported the single factor structure, on which all items significantly loaded (p<0.001). Positive and negative affect were positively associated with urges across the experimental protocol, but at greater magnitudes during an acutely elevated urge state. CONCLUSIONS These results further validate the use of the AUQ for real-time measurement of alcohol craving in human laboratory research.
Mast cell activation and leukotriene secretion in wheezing infants. Relation to respiratory syncytial virus and outcome

The persistence of wheezing after early wheezing episodes in infancy may be related to the virus involved and to the type of inflammation during the initial wheezing. The role of mast cell activation and leukotriene secretion in wheezing, and the relation to outcome, is not known. Our objective was to study markers of mast cell activation and leukotriene secretion from wheezing infants, and the relation to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection and persistent wheezing. Urinary 9α,11β‐PGF2, a marker of mast cell activation, and urinary leukotriene E4 were measured in 106 infants hospitalized for wheezing during their first year of life. Results were related to the presence of RSV infection and the persistence of wheezing at follow‐up 20 months later. Levels of 9α,11β‐PGF2 were higher in infants positive for RSV than in those with RSV negative wheezing, but both groups had higher levels than controls. Leukotriene E4 levels were higher in wheezing infants than in controls. Urinary 9α,11β‐PGF2 levels were higher in infants with transient compared with persistent wheezing. We found a positive correlation between 9α,11β‐PGF2 and leukotriene E4, strongest in infants with RSV negative disease and in infants with persistent wheezing. The results suggest that mast cells play an important role in infant wheezing, and may be a major source of leukotriene secretion in these infants. Mast cell activation and leukotriene secretion were not associated with persistent wheezing.
Agitation Associated with Aripiprazole Initiation

Aripiprazole is a novel antipsychotic with a mechanism of action different from those of traditional first‐ and second‐generation antipsychotics. We describe three patients with long histories of treatment for schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder in whom conversion to aripiprazole was being attempted. After they started aripiprazole, their psychosis, agitation, anxiety, or aggression worsened. Although the cause of the increased agitation was unclear, it may have been related to long‐term use of dopamine‐blocking antipsychotics and resultant upregulation of postsynaptic dopamine receptors. The mechanism of partial dopamine agonism observed with aripiprazole may increase dopaminergic activity and worsen positive dopamine‐associated symptoms, such as paranoia, agitation, and aggression. The treatment of schizophrenia is often a clinical challenge, particularly when patients have a long history of noncompliance and poor response. Clinicians face difficult decisions in finding an effective and well‐tolerated regimen. These cases magnify some of the challenges and provide insight into the clinical implications of converting to therapies with different pharmacodynamic effects.
Nitric oxide-sensitive guanylyl cyclase signaling affects CO2-dependent but not pressure-dependent regulation of cerebral blood flow.

Cerebrovascular CO2 reactivity is affected by nitric oxide (NO). We tested the hypothesis that sildenafil selectively potentiates NO-cGMP signaling, which affects CO2 reactivity. Fourteen healthy males (34 ± 2 yr) were enrolled in the study. Blood pressure (BP), ECG, velocity of cerebral blood flow (CBF; measured by transcranial Doppler), and end-tidal CO2 (EtCO2) were assessed at baseline (CO2 ~39 mmHg), during hyperventilation (CO2 ~24 mmHg), during hypercapnia (CO2 ~46 mmHg), during boluses of phenylephrine (25-200 µg), and during graded head-up tilting (HUT). Measurements were repeated 1 h after 100 mg sildenafil were taken. Results showed that sildenafil did not affect resting BP, heart rate, CBF peak and mean velocities, estimated regional cerebrovascular resistance (eCVR; mean BP/mean CBF), breath/min, and EtCO2: 117 ± 2/67 ± 3 mmHg, 69 ± 3 beats/min, 84 ± 5 and 57 ± 4 cm/s, 1.56 ± 0.1 mmHg·cm-1·s-1, 14 ± 0.5 breaths/min, and 39 ± 0.9 mmHg, respectively. Sildenafil increased and decreased the hypercapnia induced in CBF and eCVR, respectively. Sildenafil also attenuated the decrease in peak velocity of CBF, 25 ± 2 vs. 20 ± 2% (P < 0.05) and increased the eCVR, 2.5 ± 0.2 vs. 2 ± 0.2% (P < 0.03) during hyperventilation. Sildenafil did not affect CBF despite significant increases in the eCVRs that were elicited by phenylephrine and HUT. This investigation suggests that sildenafil, which potentiates the NO-cGMP signaling, seems to affect the cerebrovascular CO2 reactivity without affecting the static and dynamic pressure-dependent mechanisms of cerebrovascular autoregulation.
2008-2 Earnings Functions and Rates of Return

The internal rate of return to schooling is a fundamental economic parameter that is often used to assess whether expenditure on education should be increased or decreased. This paper considers alternative approaches to estimating marginal internal rates of return for different schooling levels. We implement a general nonparametric approach to estimate marginal internal rates of return that take into account tuition costs, income taxes and nonlinearities in the earnings-schooling-experience relationship. The returns obtained by the more general method differ substantially from Mincer returns in levels and in their evolution over time. They indicate relatively larger returns to graduating from high school than from graduating from college, although both have been increasing over time. JEL Code: C31 ∗Heckman is Henry Schultz Distinguished Service Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago, Professor of Science and Society, University College Dublin, and Senior Research Fellow, American Bar Foundation. Lochner is Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Western Ontario. Todd is Professor of Economics at the University of Pennsylvania. Heckman’s research was supported by NIH R01-HD043411, NSF 97-09-873, NSF SES-0099195, NSF SES-0241858, and support from the American Bar Foundation. The first draft of this paper was prepared in June 1998 and previously circulated under the title “Fifty Years of Mincer Earnings Regressions. ” We thank Dayanand Manoli for research assistance. We also thank George Borjas, Jim Davies, Reuben Gronau, Eric Hanushek, Lawrence Katz, John Knowles, Derek Neal, Kenneth Wolpin, and participants at the 2001 AEA Annual Meeting, the Labor Studies Group at the 2001 NBER Summer Institute, and participants at Stanford University and Yale University seminars for helpful comments.