Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Tariffs and the Plano Real in Brazil

This article analyses the economic rationale of Brazil's tariff policy during the first two years of the Plano Real. To this end, a study is made of the changes made in import duties for all the products traded. The tariff reform process in Brazil was begun in 1988, after the old Tariff Act had been in effect for thirty years, and represented a marked intensification in the process of trade openness, with the definition of a schedule of gradually decreasing tariffs which was further speeded up as from 1990. The Plano Real began in July 1994 and had many effects on import policy. The trade liberalization process reached its height in the first quarter of 1995 in terms of the average level of tariffs and their degree of dispersion. Since then there have been several episodes of tariff increases, differentiated by sectors, which have increased the degree of dispersion of the tariff structure. If two sectors with special treatment (petroleum and motor vehicles); are excluded, a direct relation may be observed between the value of imports and the nominal tariff level, with pronounced variations over the period studied. At the same time, the fact that for some sectors the tariff rate weighted by the value of imports was below the average rate for a number of months indicates that there are grounds for reviewing tariff levels in some cases. The article concludes with some observations on the performance of import policy.
Podocytes as a therapeutic target

The filtration system of a kidney is critical for retaining essential proteins from the blood plasma and removal of toxic waste from the body. When a kidney loses its filtration function it results in life threatening complications and the survival usually depends on dialysis and eventually surgical intervention requiring a kidney transplant. The filtration function in a kidney is carried out by glomeruli and each glomerulus with its tubules is termed as a “nephron” which is also known as the filtration unit of the kidney [1]. A human kidney is composed of approximately 1 million glomeruli and on an average filters about 200 quarts of blood plasma generating about 2 quarts of urine per day [2]. The filtration function of a glomerulus is affected by a wide spectrum of diseases such as FSGS (focal and segmental glomerulosclerosis) and various nephrotic syndromes that are also the leading causes of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) [3-5]. The incidence of ESRD is increasing at an alarming rate and costs about $49 billion a year in patient care [6,7]. Limited progress has been made in the therapeutic advancement in this field primarily due to poor understanding of the basic mechanisms that regulate the different layers of the filtration assembly of the glomerulus.
Introduction to Special Issue on Suicide, Mental Health, and Youth Development

In early September 2010, when the Journal of Homosexuality’s editorial staff received a submission of a comprehensive review of research on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) suicide risk that was generated by an expert consensus panel, we decided to feature this document in a special issue by packaging it with articles on mental health. We shifted through the submissions and found a concentration of articles related to LGBT/sexual minority youth mental health and began to prepare the introduction for this special issue. During that time, several events made the national news, highlighting the timeliness of this special issue:
Long-term Comparative Effectiveness of Telemedicine in Providing Diabetic Retinopathy Screening Examinations: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

IMPORTANCE Minimal information exists regarding the long-term comparative effectiveness of telemedicine to provide diabetic retinopathy screening examinations. OBJECTIVE To compare telemedicine to traditional eye examinations in their ability to provide diabetic retinopathy screening examinations. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS From August 1, 2006, through September 31, 2009, 567 participants with diabetes were randomized and followed up to 5 years of follow-up (last date of patient follow-up occurred on August 6, 2012) as part of a multicenter randomized clinical trial with an intent to treat analysis. We assigned participants to telemedicine with a nonmydriatic camera in a primary care medical clinic (n = 296) or traditional surveillance with an eye care professional (n = 271). Two years after enrollment, we offered telemedicine to all participants. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Percentage of participants receiving annual diabetic retinopathy screening examinations, percentage of eyes with worsening diabetic retinopathy during the follow-up period using a validated scale from stage 0 (none) to stage 4 (proliferative diabetic retinopathy), and percentage of telemedicine participants who would require referral to an eye care professional for follow-up care using a cutoff of moderate diabetic retinopathy or worse, the presence of macular edema, or an unable-to-determine result for retinopathy or macular edema. RESULTS The telemedicine group was more likely to receive a diabetic retinopathy screening examination when compared with the traditional surveillance group during the 6-month or less (94.6% [280/296] vs 43.9% [119/271]; 95% CI, 46.6%-54.8%; P < .001) and greater than 6-month through 18-month (53.0% [157/296] vs 33.2% [90/271]; 95% CI, 16.5%-23.1%; P < .001) time bins. After we offered telemedicine to both groups, we could not identify a difference between the groups in the percentage of diabetic retinopathy screening examinations. Diabetic retinopathy worsened by 2 stages or more in 35 (8.6%) of 409 participants (95% CI, 5.8%-11.2%) and improved by 2 stages or more in 5 (1.2%) of 409 participants (95% CI, 0.1%-2.3%) during the 4-year period. The percent of telemedicine participants requiring referral ranged from 19.2% (52/271) to 27.9% (58/208). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Telemedicine increased the percentage of diabetic retinopathy screening examinations, most participants did not require referral to an eye care professional, and diabetic retinopathy levels were generally stable during the study period. This finding suggests that primary care clinics can use telemedicine to screen for diabetic retinopathy and monitor for disease worsening over a long period. TRIAL REGISTRATION clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01364129.
Postoperative pulmonary function in coronary artery bypass graft surgery patients undergoing early tracheal extubation: a comparison between short-term mechanical ventilation and early extubation.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effect of a short period of mechanical ventilation (3 hours) versus immediate extubation (within 1 hour of surgery) on pulmonary function, gas exchange, and pulmonary complications after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. DESIGN Prospective randomized study. SETTING University teaching hospital. PARTICIPANTS Thirty-five patients undergoing CABG surgery. INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized into 2 groups. Patients in group I were extubated as soon as possible after surgery. Patients in group II were ventilated for a minimum of 3 hours after surgery. Patients in both groups were extubated only after achieving predetermined extubation criteria. Patients who did not meet the criteria for extubation within the predetermined set time limit (90 minutes in group I and 6 hours in group II) were withdrawn from the study. Pulmonary function tests (vital capacity, forced expiratory volume in 1 second, total lung capacity, functional residual capacity), arterial blood gases, and chest radiographs were done preoperatively and postoperatively. Pulmonary complications were recorded. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Demographic data were similar between groups. The mean time to extubation in group I was 45.7 plus minus 27.6 minutes and in group II was 201.4 plus minus 21 minutes (p < 0.01). Two patients in group I and 1 patient in group II did not meet the extubation criteria within the predetermined set time limit and were excluded from the study. In both groups, there was a significant decline in pulmonary function but no differences between groups at 24 or 72 hours after surgery. There were no differences between groups in blood gases, atelectasis scores, or pulmonary complications. CONCLUSION The data suggest that extending mechanical ventilation after CABG surgery does not affect pulmonary function. Provided that routine extubation criteria are met, patients can be safely extubated early (within 1 hour) after major cardiac surgery without concerns of further pulmonary derangement.
How Large is the Magnitude of Fixed-Mobile Call Substitution? - Empirical Evidence from 16 European Countries

This paper investigates the degree of xed-mobile call substitution (FMCS). We use quarterly data from 2004 to mid 2010 on 16 mainly Western European countries. By applying dynamic panel data techniques, we are able to estimate shortand long-run elasticities. The own-price and cross-price elasticities found give strong empirical evidence for substitutional eects towards mobile services. In particular, the estimated cross-price elasticities of the mobile price on the xed line call demand are relatively large compared to other studies.
Current sensorless maximum power point tracking in a cascaded h-bridge photovoltaic power system

Multilevel Cascaded H-Bridge (CHB) converters have attractive features for the implementation of large scale photovoltaic systems. They can be directly connected to high voltages and the multilevel voltage synthesis reduces the harmonic distortion introduced. In addition, they have individual DC links ideal for connecting photovoltaic arrays. Existing high performance voltage balancing techniques can also be adapted to integrate Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT). However, MPPT schemes typically require a measurement of the generated photovoltaic power to operate, leading to a significant number of current sensors in a multilevel system. This paper considers a 19 level three-phase CHB converter photovoltaic power system without sensing the photovoltaic array current for MPPT. The converter control strategy is used to infer the information necessary for the MPPT algorithms to operate. Simulation results are presented to demonstrate the performance of the proposed implementation of MPPT.
Septic shock: new pharmacotherapy options or better trial design?

Introduction: Over the last two decades, many of the mechanisms underlying the pathophysiology of sepsis have been uncovered, but this has not led to the development of effective therapies for sepsis. Despite improvements in the general care of critically ill patients in recent years, mortality rates for patients with severe sepsis and septic shock remain high at 30 to 50% and there is an urgent need to develop new, effective therapeutic strategies. Areas covered: Attempts to develop a therapy for sepsis have focused on modulating this immune response. Past and present clinical research in this field are reviewed and promising candidates and approaches for the future are discussed. Expert opinion: Many reasons have been put forward over the years to explain the many negative results from trials of immunomodulatory therapies. Future studies need to be designed to specifically target patients who can benefit from the intervention being studied rather than at the sepsis population in general. The timing of administration of potential therapies also needs to be taken more into consideration.
Sustained High Frequencies of Specific CD4 T Cells Restricted to a Single Persistent Virus

ABSTRACT Replication of cytomegalovirus (CMV) is largely controlled by the cellular arm of the immune response. In this study the CMV-specific CD4 T-cell response was characterized in a cohort of apparently healthy individuals. In 11% of all individuals, extremely high frequencies, between 10 and 40%, were found. High-level frequencies of CMV-specific CD4 T cells persisted over several months and were not the result of an acute infection. Specific T cells were oligoclonal and were phenotypically and functionally characterized as mature effector cells, with both cytokine-secreting and proliferative potential. These high-level frequencies do not seem to compromise the immune response towards heterologous infections, and no signs of immunopathology were observed. Whereas a large temporary expansion of virus-specific T cells is well known to occur during acute infection, we now show that extremely high frequencies of virus-specific T cells may continuously exist in chronic CMV infection without overtly compromising the remaining protective immunity.
Periodic limb movements in sleep are associated with stroke and cardiovascular risk factors in patients with renal failure

Periodic limb movements in sleep (PLMS) is prevalent among dialysed patients and is associated with increased risk of mortality. Our study aimed to determine the prevalence of this disease in a sample of transplanted and waiting‐list haemodialysed patients. One hundred transplanted and 50 waiting‐list patients underwent polysomnography. Moderate and severe diseases were defined as periodic limb movements in sleep index (PLMSI) higher than 15 and 25 events h−1, respectively. The 10‐year coronary heart disease risk was estimated for all patients using the Framingham Score. Moreover, the 10‐year estimated risk of stroke was calculated according to the modified version of the Framingham Stroke Risk Profile. PLMS was present in 27% of the transplanted and 42% of the waiting‐list group (P = 0.094); the proportion of severe disease was twice as high in waiting‐list versus transplanted patients (32 versus 16%, P = 0.024). Patients with severe disease had a higher 10‐year estimated risk of stroke in the transplanted group [10 (7–17) versus 5 (4–10); P = 0.002] and a higher 10‐year coronary heart disease risk in both the transplanted [18 (8–22) versus 7 (4–14); P = 0.002], and the waiting‐list groups [11 (5–18) versus 4 (1–9); P = 0.032]. In multivariable linear regression models the PLMSI was associated independently with the Framingham cardiovascular and cerebrovascular scores after adjusting for important covariables. Higher PLMSI is an independent predictor of higher cardiovascular and cerebrovascular risk score in patients with chronic kidney disease. Severe PLMS is less frequent in kidney transplant recipients compared to waiting‐list dialysis patients.
SLIDE: subspace-based line detection

The SLIDE (subspace-based line detection) algorithm, a technique for estimating parameters of multiple straight lines in an image, is described. By reformulating the line fitting problem into a spectral estimation framework, SLID exploits subspace-based techniques of sensor array processing to obtain high resolution and closed-form estimates for the line parameters. The computational complexity of SLIDE is an order of magnitude less than that of the Hough transform method, and, unlike the Hough transform, SLIDE does not require a search procedure to estimate the parameters. Potential application areas of this technique include road tracing in robotic vision, aerial image analysis, mask-wafer alignment and linewidth measurement in semiconductor manufacturing, and text alignment in document analysis. <<ETX>>
A Dynamic Model of Leap-Frogging Investments and Bertrand Price Competition

We present a dynamic extension of the classic static model of Bertrand price competition that allows competing duopolists to undertake cost-reducing investments in an attempt to "leapfrog" their rival and attain, at least temporarily, low-cost leadership. The model resolves a paradox about investing in the presence of Bertrand price competition: if both firms simultaneously invest in the current state-of-the-art production technology and thereby attain the same marginal cost of production, the resulting price competition drives the price down to marginal cost and profits to zero. Thus, it would seem that neither firm can profit from undertaking the cost-reducing investment, so the firms should not have any incentive to undertake cost-reducing investments if they are Bertrand price competitors. We show this simple intuition is incorrect. We formulate a dynamic model of price and investment competition as a Markov-perfect equilibrium to a dynamic game. We show that even when firms start with the same marginal costs of production there are equilibria where one of the firms invests first, and leapfrogs its opponent. In fact, there are many equilibria, with some equilibria exhibiting asymmetries where there are extended periods of time where only one of the firms does most of the investing, and other equilibria where there are alternating investments by the two firms as they vie for temporary low cost leadership. Our model provides a new interpretation of the concept of a "price war". Instead of being a sign of a breakdown of tacit collusion, in our model price wars occur when one firm leapfrogs its opponent to become the new low cost leader.
MUTATIONS DO NOT ACCUMULATE IN ASEXUAL ISOLATES CAPABLE OF GROWTH AND EXTINCTION–MULLER'S RATCHET RE‐EXAMINED

The rarity of exclusively asexual species is often attributed to Muller's Ratchet. This supposes that because asexual populations cannot recreate individuals with fewer mutations than the currently least‐loaded line, mutations will accumulate in such isolates. However, because the computer models that corroborate this theory have assumed isolate immortality, it is possible that mutations will accumulate only if there is “soft” selection acting on relative, rather than absolute, fitness. Here we, therefore, describe several models in which 200 asexual organisms randomly selected from an infinite population in genetic equilibrium under “hard” selection (acting through absolute fitness), were followed for 100 generations. When there were no limits to the fluctuations in population size, the deterministic distribution of mutations per individual was maintained for 100 (as well as for 200) generations. If population growth was limited by a proportional decrease in fertility of the whole isolate, then the isolates tended to become extinct. The rate of extinction was inversely related to maximum isolate size. When resource limitation at maximum population size had an extra deleterious effect on mutants, then isolates shed the mutant classes. Mutations accumulated (ad inifinitum) in immortal isolates whose population numbers were kept constant by proportionately increasing or decreasing each class's size whenever isolate size ≠ 200. Muller's Ratchet, therefore, operates only when mutations affect the outcome of intraspecific contests, but not the organisms' intrinsic ability to survive in the ecosystem.
Output, Inflation and Commodity Prices

The purpose of this paper is to provide a simple model which illuminates the interdependence between primary commodity prices and the rest of the economy. We study the role of commodity prices in a disinflation program, the role of commodity prices in determining whether or not a fiscal expansion is crowded out, and the effect on the manufacturing sector of the economy (i.e. that part of the economy described by a conventional macroeconomic model) of an exogenous increase in the supply of primary commodities. One of our main concerns is to draw an analogy between the roles of commodity prices and of exchange rates in all of the above processes.
A Model for Assessing the Effect of Social Capital on Sustainable Development

This research tries to study the effect of social capital on sustainable development and offer a model for assessing such relationship. In this respect, it initially deals with the concepts, dimensions and components of social capital as independent variable and sustainable development as dependent variable. The results from the research showed that there is a there is a significant and positive relation between social capital and its dimensions and sustainable development and its components, i.e. the increase in social capital and its dimensions of social, cultural, political and communicational would lead in the improvement of sustainable development and its components as economical and financial sustainability, institutional sustainability and ecological sustainability.
Using IASI to simulate the total spectrum of outgoing long-wave radiances

Abstract. A new method of deriving high-resolution top-of-atmosphere spectral radiances in 10 181 bands, over the whole outgoing long-wave spectrum of the Earth, is presented. Correlations between different channels measured by the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interfermeter (IASI) on the MetOp-A (Meteorological Operation) satellite and unobserved wavenumbers are used to estimate far infrared (FIR) radiances at 0.5 cm−1 intervals between 25.25 and 644.75 cm−1 (the FIR), and additionally between 2760 and 3000 cm−1 (the NIR – near infrared). Radiances simulated by the line-by-line radiative transfer model (LBLRTM) are used to construct the prediction model. The spectrum is validated by comparing the Integrated Nadir Long-wave Radiance (INLR) product spanning the whole 25.25–3000 cm−1 range with the corresponding broadband measurements from the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) instrument on the Terra and Aqua satellites at points of simultaneous nadir overpass. There is a mean difference of 0.3 W m−2 sr−1 (0.5% relative difference). This is well within the uncertainties associated with the measurements made by either instrument. However, there is a noticeable contrast when the bias is separated into night-time and daytime scenes with the latter being significantly larger, possibly due to errors in the CERES Ed3 Spectral Response Functions (SRF) correction method. In the absence of an operational spaceborne instrument that isolates the FIR, this product provides a useful proxy for such measurements within the limits of the regression model it is based on, which is shown to have very low root mean squared errors. The new high-resolution spectrum is presented for global mean clear and all skies where the FIR is shown to contribute 44 and 47% to the total INLR, respectively. In terms of the spectral cloud effect (Cloud Integrated Nadir Long-wave Radiance – CINLR), the FIR contributes 19% and in some subtropical instances appears to be negative; results that would go unobserved with a traditional broadband analysis.
Comparison of the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome by WHO, AHA/NHLBI, and IDF definitions in a German population with type 2 diabetes: the Diabetes in Germany (DIG) Study.

UNLABELLED This study investigated the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome (MetS) in a German population with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) using the three definitions for MetS according to WHO 1999, AHA/NHLBI 2005, and IDF 2005 criteria. Four-thousand and twenty participants as a cross section of daily practice of diabetes care in Germany (238 unselected sites) were included in the Diabetes in Germany (DIG) study. INCLUSION CRITERIA T2DM and age between 35-80 years. EXCLUSION CRITERIA major cardiovascular event < 3 months before entry, NYHA-IV, macroproteinuria, and cancer < 5 years before entry. The components of MetS were measured following a standard protocol for anthropometric and laboratory control. The average diabetes duration was 8.4 years and HbA (1C) 7.0%. The prevalence of MetS by WHO criteria was 26.1%, by AHA/NHLBI 79.3%, and by IDF 82.6%. The degree of agreement (kappa statistic) was kappa = 0.69 between AHA/NHLBI and IDF definitions, but only 0.12 for WHO VS. IDF, and 0.17 for WHO vs. AHA/NHLBI. The frequency of central obesity by WHO was 50.9%, by AHA/NHLBI 72.9%, and by IDF 92.0% and for hypertension 29.3%, 92.6%, and 92.6%, respectively. However, the frequencies of lipid components by the three definitions were in the same range (57.8%, 59.5%, 59.5%). In this representative German sample of patients with type 2 diabetes, the prevalence of MetS was very highly independent of using the IDF or AHA/NHLBI definition. Females were significantly more affected than males. The distinctly lower prevalence delineated from WHO criteria is due to low frequency of central obesity and hypertension as consequence of higher cutoff limits for these components used in the WHO definition.