Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Wine tourism development in South Africa: a geographical analysis

ABSTRACT Wine tourism, which is growing and developing on a global scale, is widely considered a driver of economic and social development in rural areas. Limited job opportunities and unemployment are prevalent in most rural areas, particularly in South Africa. In 2015, the South African wine industry generated close to 300,000 direct and indirect employment opportunities. A geographical analysis of the development and current state of wine tourism in the region can assist in the country's efforts to develop a new strategy to enhance and preserve wine tourism in the future. Wine tourism development is analysed from a nodes, network and winescape perspective using the results from a national questionnaire survey. This mostly quantitative approach explains the wine tourism development over more than 40 years from a supply-side perspective including its wine tourism product portfolio and in terms of its physical footprint. Wine tourism development commenced from only three pioneer open cellar doors in 1971, to network formation of 21 wine routes and today boasting well-established wine tourism destinations. The Stellenbosch-Franschhoek-Paarl nexus emerges as South Africa's premier winescape, as being a well-established destination in its mature life cycle phase. Strong evidence of hierarchical differentiation between the wineries of the more established wine tourism regions has emerged. The impact of the wine tourism resorts on the smaller wineries has yet to be determined in the context of the resilience of the whole region. The development of wine tourism is also responsible for the transformation of rural landscapes and especially in the regions that have the most developed wine routes. These regions need higher-level protection (especially the cultural and natural resource bases) in the form of an ‘agricultural reserve’ or the declaration of a ‘national heritage site’.
Evaluation of equivalence of upslope method-derived myocardial perfusion index and transfer constant based on two-compartment tracer kinetic model

The purpose of this study was to describe the upslope method-derived myocardial perfusion index using the parameters based on a tracer kinetic model of iodixanol contrast agent and to validate this theoretically derived relationship using an ischemic canine model. The established modified Kety model was used to describe the extravascular diffusion of iodixanol contrast agent, which undergoes no cellular uptake or metabolism. This model consists of two functional compartments, one describing the vascular compartment and the second representing all myocardial capillaries, interstitium, and cells. These compartments are connected by two rate constants, K1 and k2, which represent the first-order transfer constants from the left ventricular (LV) blood to myocardium and from myocardium to the vascular system, respectively. In the early phase after the arrival of contrast agent in the myocardium, the relationship between K1 and the concentrations of iodixanol contrast agent in the myocardium and arterial blood (LV blood) is described by K1 = {dCmyo(tpeak)/dt}/Ca(tpeak) (Eq. 1), where Cmyo(t) is the relative concentration of iodixanol contrast agent in the myocardium at time t, Ca(t) is the relative concentration of iodixanol contrast agent in the LV blood, and tpeak is the time at the peak of Ca(t) and maximum upslope of Cmyo(t). Six canine models of left anterior descending (LAD) artery stenosis were prepared and underwent first-pass contrast-enhanced mult-detector row computed tomography (MDCT) perfusion imaging during adenosine infusion (0.14–0.21 mg/kg/min) to study a wide range of flow rates. K1 was measured using the Patlak plot method and upslope method applied to time-attenuation curve data of the LV blood pool and myocardium. The results were compared against microsphere myocardial blood flow measurements. The Patlak plot-derived K1 and upslope method-derived K1 showed a good linear association. Regional K1 can be measured accurately using the upslope method-derived myocardial perfusion index based on a compartment model.
Gold kiwifruit consumed with an iron-fortified breakfast cereal meal improves iron status in women with low iron stores: a 16-week randomised controlled trial

Ascorbic acid, and more recently, the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin have been shown to enhance Fe absorption. However, it is not clear whether Fe status improves when foods high in ascorbic acid and carotenoids are consumed with Fe-fortified meals. The present study aimed to investigate whether consuming high v. low ascorbic acid-, lutein- and zeaxanthin-rich fruit (gold kiwifruit v. banana) with Fe-fortified breakfast cereal and milk improved Fe status in women with low Fe stores. Healthy women aged 18–44 years (n 89) with low Fe stores (serum ferritin ≤ 25 μg/l and Hb ≥ 115 g/l) were randomly stratified to receive Fe-fortified breakfast cereal (16 mg Fe as ferrous sulfate), milk and either two gold kiwifruit or one banana (164 mg v. not detectable ascorbic acid; 526 v. 22·90 μg lutein and zeaxanthin, respectively) at breakfast every day for 16 weeks. Biomarkers of Fe status and dietary intake were assessed at baseline and end in the final sample (n 69). Median serum ferritin increased significantly in the kiwifruit group (n 33) compared with the banana group (n 36), with 10·0 (25th, 75th percentiles 3·0, 17·5) v. 1·0 (25th, 75th percentiles − 2·8, 6·5) μg/l (P < 0·001). Median soluble transferrin receptor concentrations decreased significantly in the kiwifruit group compared with the banana group, with − 0·5 (25th, 75th percentiles − 0·7, − 0·1) v. 0·0 (25th, 75th percentiles − 0·3, 0·4) mg/l (P = 0·001). Consumption of an Fe-fortified breakfast cereal with kiwifruit compared with banana improved Fe status. Addition of an ascorbic acid-, lutein- and zeaxanthin-rich fruit to a breakfast cereal fortified with ferrous sulfate is a feasible approach to improve Fe status in women with low Fe stores.
In vivo evidence of oxidative stress in brains of patients with progressive multiple sclerosis

Background: The oxidative stress hypothesis links neurodegeneration in the later, progressive stages of multiple sclerosis (MS) to the loss of a major brain antioxidant, glutathione (GSH). Objective: We measured GSH concentrations among major MS subtypes and examined the relationships with other indices of disease status including physical disability and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measures. Methods: GSH mapping was performed on the fronto-parietal region of patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS, n = 21), primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS, n = 20), secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS, n = 20), and controls (n = 28) using GSH chemical shift imaging. Between-group comparisons were performed on all variables (GSH, T2-lesion, atrophy, Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS)). Results: Patients with MS had substantially lower GSH concentrations than controls, and GSH was lower in progressive MS (PPMS and SPMS) compared with RRMS. GSH concentrations were not significantly different between PPMS and SPMS, or between RRMS and controls. Brain atrophy was significant in both RRMS and progressive MS compared with controls. Conclusion: Markedly lower GSH in progressive MS than RRMS indicates more prominent involvement of oxidative stress in the progressive stage of MS than the inflammatory stage. The association between GSH and brain atrophy suggests the important role of oxidative stress contributing to neurodegeneration in progressive MS, as suggested in other neurodegenerative diseases.
An Empirical Validation of the Patient-centered e-Health Framework in Patient-focused Websites

Although the Internet is in its second decade of wide-spread adoption, many patient-centered health websites are still in a phase of early adoption, scrambling to define and defend market segments in a shifting healthcare information landscape. Consequently, healthcare and health information providers are jockeying for position in a dynamic industry trying to serve different patients’ needs. To understand the situation, this article takes the approach of Patient-centered e-Health (PCEH) and makes three contributions. One, we empirically test the PCEH framework on patient-focused websites. Two, given the PCEH framework, we identify five categories of websites that serve different segments of the patient-centered health information market. Three, we analyze the five categories in terms of different features and derive a classification model. This article helps us better understand PCEH websites and guide the future development of online healthcare and health information services.
Livelihoods and production diversity on U.S. permaculture farms

ABSTRACT Permaculture is an international grassroots movement with a focus on diversified farming systems (DFS). We visited 36 self-identified permaculture farms in the continental United States and gathered multidimensional data on the distribution of labor and income across enterprises and seasons, along with sociodemographic information and farm characteristics. Using this data we assessed livelihood diversity and performed a cluster analysis to develop a preliminary typology of U.S. permaculture farms. Farms were predominantly small in scale, with a high proportion of young farmers, new farmers, and new farms, when compared with national figures. Diversity of farm-based income was high for enterprises and across seasons. Cluster analysis based on sources of income produced a preliminary typology with five categories: small mixed annual and perennial cropping (N = 10), integrated production (perennial and animal crops, N = 5), a mix of production and services (N = 9), animal base (N = 5), and service base (cultural services and material products and services, N = 5). Our research suggests that permaculture farms fit well within the emerging framework of DFS, and are using a familiar set of strategies, including non-production enterprises, in order to develop and maintain diversified agroecosystems.
A Review on the Multidimensional Analysis of Earnings Quality

There is a generalized consensus among accounting researchers about the multidimensional nature of earnings quality: Earnings quality depends on a series of characteristics that enhance the usefulness of the earnings figure for decision making. In this paper, we undertake a literature revision on empirical research on earnings quality that reveals that, although earnings quality is probably the most recurrent topic in accounting, empirical research that have treated earnings quality as a multidimensional concept is almost inexistent. In this sense, we document that: (1) Most of the empirical papers on earnings quality deal with just one earnings characteristic, not including the potential effect of the other characteristics related to earnings quality. (2) Some characteristics (particularly, accruals quality and, in a lesser way, conservatism) are widely employed for representing earnings quality, whereas other characteristics (smoothness, persistence) are much less used by researchers. (3) The research on the relationships among the different earnings quality characteristics is scant and with mixed results. (4) Only a few papers develop multidimensional measures of earnings quality, but these measures are based on too restrictive assumptions and there is no evidence of superiority over single-property measures. We complement our bibliometric analysis by discussing the limitations of both the single-dimension approach and the multidimensional approaches used to date, illustrating our arguments with a simulation process. Finally, we conclude that the research on earnings quality can benefit from the use of more sophisticated statistical methods, particularly Structural Equation Modelling, for overcoming these issues.
C2A activates a cryptic Ca2+-triggered membrane penetration activity within the C2B domain of synaptotagmin I

Synaptotagmin (syt) I, an integral membrane protein localized to secretory vesicles, is a putative Ca2+ sensor for exocytosis. Its N terminus spans the membrane once, and its cytoplasmic domain contains two conserved C2 domains, designated C2A and C2B. The isolated C2A domain penetrates membranes in response to Ca2+; isolated C2B does not. Here, we have addressed the function of each C2 domain, but in the context of the intact cytoplasmic domain (C2A-C2B), by using fluorescent reporters placed in the Ca2+-binding loops of either C2A or C2B. Surprisingly, these reporters revealed that, analogous to C2A, a Ca2+-binding loop in C2B directly penetrates into lipid bilayers. Penetration of each C2 domain was very rapid (kon ≈1010 M−1⋅s−1) and resulted in high affinity C2A-C2B–liposome complexes (Kd ≈13–14 nM). C2B-bilayer penetration strictly depended on the presence, but not the membrane binding activity, of an adjacent C2A domain, severing C2A from C2B after protein synthesis abolished the ability of C2B to dip into bilayers in response to Ca2+. The activation of C2B by C2A was also displayed by the C2 domains of syt III but not the C2 domains of syt IV. A number of proteins contain more than one C2 domain; the findings reported here suggest these domains may harbor cryptic activities that are not detected when they are studied in isolation.
The Impact of Turkish Agricultural Policy on Competitiveness of Cotton Production

This﻿study﻿applied﻿Policy﻿Analysis﻿Matrix﻿(PAM)﻿to﻿assess﻿the﻿competitiveness﻿of﻿cotton﻿production﻿ in﻿terms﻿of﻿profitability﻿and﻿to﻿measure﻿the﻿effects﻿of﻿agricultural﻿policies﻿at﻿national﻿level﻿which﻿ is﻿produced﻿under﻿a﻿set﻿of﻿various﻿subsidies﻿in﻿Turkey. ﻿First,﻿agricultural﻿policies﻿applied﻿for﻿cotton﻿ production﻿in﻿Turkey﻿were﻿examined. ﻿Policy﻿transfers,﻿resource﻿utilization,﻿costs,﻿private﻿and﻿social﻿ profits﻿resulting﻿from﻿these﻿applications﻿were﻿also﻿presented﻿with﻿PAM. ﻿Also﻿some﻿important﻿indicators﻿ such﻿ as﻿ Domestic﻿ Resource﻿ Cost﻿ (DRC),﻿ Effective﻿ Protection﻿ Coefficient﻿ (EPC),﻿ and﻿ Nominal﻿ Protection﻿Coefficient﻿(NPC)﻿were﻿calculated﻿from﻿PAM﻿framework﻿to﻿measure﻿competitiveness. ﻿ This﻿method﻿is﻿widely﻿used﻿to﻿analysis﻿of﻿the﻿impact﻿of﻿policies﻿on﻿production﻿economics﻿and﻿it﻿is﻿ a﻿very﻿effective﻿method. ﻿PAM﻿is﻿mainly﻿based﻿on﻿benefit-cost﻿analysis. ﻿Besides﻿the﻿secondary﻿data﻿ analysis﻿of﻿the﻿effects﻿of﻿policy,﻿the﻿data﻿obtained﻿through﻿face﻿to﻿face﻿interviews﻿with﻿producers﻿ selected﻿through﻿stratified﻿sampling﻿method﻿in﻿the﻿3﻿regions﻿and﻿4﻿provinces﻿with﻿high﻿productions. KeywoRdS Agricultural Policies, Competitiveness, Cotton, Policy Analysis Matrix, Social Prices
Interferon therapy in haemodialysis patients with acute hepatitis C virus infection and factors that predict response to treatment

In view of the high rate of chronicity of acute hepatitis C and the low efficacy of interferon (IFN) treatment in advanced liver disease, it may be beneficial to treat patients during the acute phase of the infection. Here we assessed the effects of variable‐dose IFNα‐2b treatment in haemodialysis patients with acute hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, and identified factors that may predict response to this therapy. The study population included 67 patients, but 14 were excluded due to side‐effects or because they were lost to follow‐up. Seventeen patients who received no specific treatment were used as controls (Group 1). Sixteen and 20 patients received low‐(3 MU) and high‐dose (6–10 MU) IFNα‐2b three times weekly for 3 months (Groups 2 and 3, respectively). Virological end‐of‐treatment response (ETR) was observed in 1 (5.6%), 13 (56.5%), and 17 (65.4%) patients in Groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively, and virological sustained response (SR) was observed in 1 (5.6%), 6 (26.1%), and 13 (50%) patients in the three groups. The rates of virological ETR and SR in the treated groups were significantly higher than those of the control group (P < 0.01 for all comparisons). In multivariate logistic regression analysis, single stranded confirmational polymorphysm (SSCP) band number (P=0.02) was the only factor that was significantly associated with virological SR. In conclusion, IFN‐α treatment initiated during the acute phase of HCV infection is associated with a higher rate of virological ETR and SR. This study suggested that quasispecies heterogeneity has predictive value with regard to virological SR.
Medicine in the U.S.A

in the main hospitals is still very much underpaid. Thus a great dispersal of medical effort has been created, quite unnecessarily. Finally, on such an important question as public health, the principle itself of compulsory partial insurance is open to question. The political trend being definitely towards State Medicine and the doctors being adamant in their refusal to be tied to the State, one would expect to hear more of the opinion of the third, most interested party: the layman. Unfortunately, public opinion is biased according to the individual's political and even religious beliefs. On the whole, the man in the street dislikes impersonal mass medicine, prefers the traditional relationship with the doctor of his own choice, but doesn't want to pay any more for it, since the State compels him to bc insured. The intelligent layman (and many a doctor, too) feels that it is high time the unpleasant commercial side of traditional medicine was eradicated, but he agrees with the doctors in thinking that political bondage is paying too high a price for it. He also thinks that ofTering the doctors a hard life and financial insecurity is a very foolish policy, bound to bring very soon a lowering of the professional and moral standards of the medical profession whose pressing need is to attract men of good brains and high integrity. In Belgium, the present crisis has brought about the long overdue unity of the medical world. By proposing a health scheme of their own, they have taken a step in the right direction. Medicine must remain a liberal profession in the hands of the doctors but {t is their duty to protect the individual citizen against financial hardship through illness. Unfortunately the doctors' own scheme falls still short of that social prerequisite. It looks as though, in Belgium, it will be many years before a satisfactory agreement can be reached between doctors and politicians. Meanwhile, thc Health Insurance Scheme is bound to become very soon a national issue, and any Government will have to tackle the financial problem involved without going back on any of the hard-won social reforms and without enslaving the medical profession to the State.
The role of nuclear factor‐κB in rats of radiocontrast‐media‐induced nephropathy

This study was undertaken to examine the possible role of the DNA‐binding activity of nuclear factor‐kappa B (NF‐κB) in rat of radiocontrast‐media‐induced nephropathy (RCIN) and to explore the characteristic of RCIN in rats and the role of NF‐κB in its occurrence. Forty‐eight adult male Sprague–Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into Groups A–D. Rats of Groups A and B were intravenously injected with NG‐nitro‐L‐arginine methyl ester (L‐NAME) (10 mg/kg) and indomethacin (10 mg/kg), respectively. Rats of Groups C and D were intravenously injected with 1‐M phosphate buffer (PH = 8.4 3 mL/kg) and normal saline (NS 2 mL/kg), respectively. After 30 min, Groups A and D were injected with NS (8 mL/kg) and Groups B and C were injected with diatrizoate (DTZ 8 mL/kg). After injected contrast media (CM) for 6 h, the serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen of rat in Group B increased sharply as compared with Groups A, C, and D. After 48 h, the data recovered to 49.28 ± 8.81 μmol/L and 6.72 ± 2.75 mmol/L, respectively. Vacuolization of the tubule epithelial cells of the kidney was observed in Group A. Especially, these pathological changes were most obvious in outer medulla. Contrast to group A, the DNA‐binding activity of NF‐κB in rat kidney of Group B reached a peak at the 6th h and recovered to the normal level after the 48th h. CM mainly damages renal tubular–interstitial, which appears the earliest and most serious in the outer medulla. Activation of NF‐κB of renal may be one of the mechanisms of RCIN occurrence. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biochem Mol Toxicol 22:416–421, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/jbt.20256
Ecological patterns of fish distribution in the Slave River Delta region, Northwest Territories, Canada, as relayed by traditional knowledge and Western science

Abstract Indigenous community members along the Slave River in Canada have voiced their concerns for the health of ecosystems under pressure from resource extraction, hydroelectric development and global climate change. We present a test case of traditional knowledge and scientific results about the spawning and migration patterns of fish in the Slave River and Delta. This dual knowledge system approach elucidates the broader connectivity of local study regions and can improve monitoring programmes by extending beyond the usual context/confines of the present or recent past, increasing the spatial and temporal range of system information.
Simulation of operational processes in hospital emergency units as lean healthcare tool

Recently, the Lean philosophy is gaining importance due to a competitive environment, which increases the need to reduce costs. Lean practices and tools have been applied to manufacturing, services, supply chain, startups and, the next frontier is healthcare. Most lean techniques can be easily adapted to health organizations. Therefore, this paper intends to summarize Lean practices and tools that are already being applied in health organizations. Among the numerous techniques and lean tools used, this research highlights the Simulation. Therefore, in order to understand the use of Simulation as a Lean Healthcare tool, this research aims to analyze, through the simulation technique, the operational dynamics of the service process of a fictitious hospital emergency unit. Initially a systematic review of the literature on the practices and tools of Lean Healthcare was carried out, in order to identify the main techniques practiced. The research highlighted Simulation as the sixth most cited tool in the literature. Subsequently, a simulation of a service model of an emergency unit was performed through the Arena software. As a main result, it can be highlighted that the attendants of the built model presented a degree of idleness, thus, they are able to atend a greater demand. As a last conclusion, it was verified that the emergency room is the process with longer service time and greater overload.
A central role for ROS in the functional remodelling of L-type Ca2+ channels by hypoxia

Periods of prolonged hypoxia are associated clinically with an increased incidence of dementia, the most common form of which is Alzheimer's disease. Here, we review recent studies aimed at providing a cellular basis for this association. Hypoxia promoted an enhanced secretory response of excitable cells via formation of a novel Ca2+ influx pathway associated with the formation of amyloid peptides of Alzheimer's disease. More strikingly, hypoxia potentiated Ca2+ influx specifically through L-type Ca2+ channels in three distinct cellular systems. This effect was post-transcriptional, and evidence suggests it occurred via increased formation of amyloid peptides which alter Ca2+ channel trafficking via a mechanism involving increased production of reactive oxygen species by mitochondria. This action of hypoxia is likely to contribute to dysregulation of Ca2+ homeostasis, which has been proposed as a mechanism of cell death in Alzheimer's disease. We suggest, therefore, that our data provide a cellular basis to account for the known increased incidence of Alzheimer's disease in patients who have suffered prolonged hypoxic episodes.