Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Passive bioremediation technology incorporating lignocellulosic spent mushroom compost and limestone for metal- and sulfate-rich acid mine drainage

ABSTRACT Passive bioremediation of metal- and sulfate-containing acid mine drainage (AMD) has been investigated in a batch study. Multiple substrates were used in the AMD remediation using spent mushroom compost (SMC), limestone, activated sludge (AS), and woodchips (WC) under anoxic conditions suitable for bacterial sulfate reduction (BSR). Limestones used were of crushed limestone (CLS) and uncrushed limestone, provided at two different ratios in mixed substrates treatment and varied by the proportion of SMC and limestone. The SMC greatly assisted the removals of sulfate and metals and also acted as an essential carbon source for BSR. The mixed substrate composed of 40% CLS, 30% SMC, 20% AS, and 10% WC was found to be effective for metal removal. Mn, Cu, Pb, and Zn were greatly removed (89–100%) in the mixed substrates treatment, while Fe was only removed at 65%. Mn was found to be removed at a greatly higher rate than Fe, suggesting important Mn adsorption onto organic materials, that is, greater sorption affinity to the SMC. Complementary with multiple treatment media was the main mechanism assisting the AMD treatment through microbial metal reduction reactions.
Epidemiology of AKI: Utilizing Large Databases to Determine the Burden of AKI

Large observational databases linking kidney function and other routine patient health data are increasingly being used to study acute kidney injury (AKI). Routine health care data show an apparent rise in the incidence of population AKI and an increase in acute dialysis. Studies also report an excess in mortality and adverse renal outcomes after AKI, although with variation depending on AKI severity, baseline, definition of renal recovery, and the time point during follow-up. However, differences in data capture, AKI awareness, monitoring, recognition, and clinical practice make comparisons between health care settings and periods difficult. In this review, we describe the growing role of large databases in determining the incidence and prognosis of AKI and evaluating initiatives to improve the quality of care in AKI. Using examples, we illustrate this use of routinely collected health data and discuss the strengths, limitations, and implications for researchers and clinicians.
The hand of government in shaping accounting and reporting in the UK charity sector

Accounting in the UK charity sector has changed massively over the past 25 years, with various stakeholders influencing what has occurred. Using insights from stakeholder theory, and interviews with a number of key actors, this article focuses on the influence of one definitive stakeholder—government—in developing a regime of quality accounting and reporting in the sector. In particular, the evolution of the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) for charities is explored. It is argued that a much tighter and more meaningful regime of accounting and reporting has been encouraged by government, among other stakeholders, and this has led to a more accountable and healthier charitable sector.
Relationship between Leuko-Araiosis and Blood Pressure Variability in the Elderly

Although leuko-araiosis is a common finding on computed tomographic (CT) scans of the brain, its pathogenesis remains uncertain. To investigate the association between blood pressure (BP) disturbances and leuko-araiosis, we retrospectively reviewed CT scans and 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitorings of 79 elderly patients (57 women and 22 men; mean age: 83.3 ± 6.4 years). Of the 79 patients, 50 were demented (30 had Alzheimer’s disease and 18 vascular dementia) and 29 were not demented. The leuko-araiosis score (LA score) was determined by using Rezek’s scale. To evaluate short-term variation of BP, we determined (1) the variability of systolic and diastolic BPs (SBP, DBP; within-subject standard deviation of all readings over a 24-hour period), (2) the coefficient of variability (variability of BP/mean BP) and (3) the maximal variation of BP (difference between the maximum and minimum 24-hour BPs). Higher LA scores were associated with higher SBPs in 24-hour, diurnal and nocturnal periods, higher maximal variation of SBP, greater variability of SBP during 24-hour, diurnal and nocturnal periods and greater coefficient of variability of SBP during sleep. Our study suggests that elevations and short-term variations of SBP may contribute to the pathogenesis of white matter lesions in elderly persons.
Nation Building and Economic Growth

Over the past half-century there have been over three hundred instances of nation building initiatives, episodes where countries jointly give military and economic aid to a country embroiled in conflict. Despite the prevalence and expense of this foreign policy, little research has explored the potential growth effects from these operations. This project uses a standard growth regression framework to quantify the effects of nation building on GDP per capita growth of the recipient nation. The research considers how the characteristics of conflict zones and the interaction of diverse types of both military and economic aid impact the development process.
Individual transferable quota contribution to environmental stewardship: a theory in need of validation

We explored the extent to which (1) individual transferable quotas (ITQs) may lead to changes in environmental stewardship and (2) environmental stewardship may in turn contribute to explain the success or otherwise of ITQs in meeting sustainability objectives. ITQs are an example of incentive-based fisheries management in which fishing rights can be privately owned and traded. ITQs are aimed at resolving the problems created by open-access fisheries. ITQs were proposed to promote economic efficiency, and there is growing empirical evidence that ITQs meet a number of economic and social fisheries management objectives. Even though improved stock status arises as a consequence of the total allowable catch levels implemented together with ITQs, the effect is difficult to separate from the improvement attributable to existing and new management changes. However, stock status improvements have also been attributed to increased environmental stewardship resulting from the allocation of individual fishing rights. We defined environmental stewardship as a set of normative values that private individuals may hold, and that entail perceived duties and obligations to carefully manage and use marine resources. We did not debate the success or otherwise of ITQs in meeting sustainability objectives but discussed the premise that this success may in part be a consequence of a change in fishers' environmental stewardship. In particular, because of the absence of empirical literature, we explored the theoretical effects of the introduction of ITQs in conjunction with comanagement on a change in environmental stewardship. Although psychological theory suggests that there may be a relationship, there is insufficient evidence to draw the conclusion that improved environmental outcomes are attributable to changes in stewardship ethics arising from the combined effect of allocating fishing rights and comanagement in ITQ-managed fisheries. Complexity added by the move to fewer and generally larger scale fishing operations, the concentration of ownership with processors and investors, the increasing numbers of lease fishers, and corporate membership on comanagement committees may all affect stewardship, and more research is needed to establish in which direction these effects are in fact playing out.
Levosimendan for the treatment of acute heart failure syndromes

Levosimendan is a novel calcium-sensitising agent that has been shown to have beneficial inotropic, metabolic and vasodilatory effects in the treatment of acute and advanced chronic heart failure. Levosimendan binds to troponin-C in cardiomyocytes and, thereby, improves cardiac contractility without disturbing the metabolic status of the heart and increasing myocardial oxygen demand or provoking fatal cardiac arrhythmias. Levosimendan also opens ATP-sensitive potassium channels, causing peripheral arterial and venous dilatation, and increasing coronary flow reserve. When it is given as a short-term therapy, levosimendan enhances cardiac output, reduces systemic vascular resistance and lowers pulmonary capillary wedge pressure. Clinical outcomes were significantly reduced in decompensated or postmyocardial infarction heart failure patients who received levosimendan, compared with those on dobutamine or placebo. Recent investigations focusing on the anti-inflammatory and antiapoptotic actions of levosimendan in the failing heart indicate that improvement of cardiac contractile performance is closely related with the drug-induced reduction of circulating pro-inflammatory cytokines and apoptosis inducers. The most common adverse effects of levosimendan treatment are hypotension and headache. Overall, levosimendan represents an effective and safe option for the treatment of decompensated heart failure patients.
Is There Convergence and Causality Between the Drivers of Energy-Related Carbon Dioxide Emissions Among the Portuguese Tourism Industry?

The various sub-sectors related to tourism have different impacts on the level of emissions but also different factors that contribute to these emissions. The purpose of this paper is to study: (i) whether the various subsectors of tourism in Portugal behaved similarly in the period 1996-2009 inrelation to the intensity of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions and for their determinant ratios. This question is studied through the convergence analysis, dividing tourism subsectors between their direct or indirect impact on tourism industry; and (ii) the prediction of the interaction between the intensity of emissions and its determinant ratios in the future. The lower divergences in tourism activities would facilitate the implementation of measures on how to mitigate CO2 emissions at tourism industry and as a result, commit to Kyoto protocol Keywords : CO2 emissions intensity; Convergence; Decomposition; Generalized variance decomposition; impulse response functions; Tourism; Portugal. JEL Classifications: Q49 ; Q53 ; Q58
HIV‐1 ICD p24 antigen detection in Ugandan infants: Use in early diagnosis of infection and as a marker of disease progression

The objective of this study was to determine the use of immune‐complex dissociated (ICD) p24 antigen detection for the diagnosis and prognosis of HIV‐1 infection in Ugandan children. Plasma collected prospectively from children born to HIV‐1 infected Ugandan women was stored and later analyzed for the presence of neutralizable HIV‐1 p24 antigen using the Coulter ICD p24 antigen and neutralization kits. HIV‐1 infection status, disease progression, and survival of the children were determined. Specimens from 311 children born to HIV‐1 infected women, including 138 HIV‐1 infected children, and 113 children born to negative women were tested. Sixty‐nine (50%) infected children were p24 antigen positive at least once. For early HIV‐1 diagnosis, the specificity and positive predictive value of the assay were consistently high (>95% and >83% respectively), but the sensitivity was low (6–53%), especially in the first months of life. The presence of p24 antigenemia in the first two years of life was associated with poor survival (20%) by 80 months of age compared with infected children without antigenemia (43%, P < 0.001). Early detection of p24 antigen (≤2 months) was associated with higher mortality than first detection at an older age (>6 months, P < 0.001). The data suggest that ICD p24 antigen detection is not a sensitive method for the determination of infant HIV‐1 status in our cohort of HIV‐1 infected Ugandan children tested in the first two years of life. There was a strong correlation, however, between the presence and time of onset of p24 antigenemia and mortality among HIV‐1 infected children. J. Med. Virol. 62:426–434, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss Inc.
Margins, Concentration and Oligopolistic Interdependence

In this paper we examine the relationship between margins, elasticities of demand and the Hirschman-Herfindahl index of concentration for Australian manufacturing. Our main aim is to estimate the degree of collusion in various manufacturing sectors in the years 1968-69, 1972-73 and 1977-78. There appear to be marked differences in the apparent degree of collusion between industries. It is argued that once sub-optimization is allowed the Cowling-Waterson model will yield biased estimates of the degree of collusion.
Willingness to pay for BMP-induced water quality benefits and deviations around expected water quality outcomes

This paper investigates the economic valuation of the benefits accruing to farmers derived from expected water quality improvements stemming from the adoption of best management practices (BMPs). The study applies the stated-choice experiments administered on a sample of farmers located in the Chaudière and Etchemin watersheds just south of Quebec City to characterize the preferences of farmers in terms of the mean and standard deviation of phosphorus and coliform reductions, and the costs borne by local farmers and by taxpayers in the province of Quebec to support the adoption of BMPs. The results show significant observed and unobserved heterogeneity regarding farmers’ marginal utility of phosphorus and coliform reductions. The distribution of risk attitudes encompasses all three types: risk aversion, risk neutrality and risk loving. Benefit valuation decreases with age, but the age effect is smaller than the heterogeneity across farmers of a given age. Farmers experience disutility when their own cost or taxpayers’ cost increases, but a private dollar is worth substantially more to farmers than a public one.
The p.R1109X mutation in SH3TC2 gene is predominant in Spanish Gypsies with Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease type 4

Charcot–Marie–Tooth (CMT) disease type 4 (CMT4) is the name given to autosomal recessive forms of hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy (HMSN). When we began this study, three genes or loci associated with inherited peripheral neuropathies had already been identified in the European Gypsy population: HMSN‐Lom (MIM 601455), HMSN‐Russe (MIM 605285) and the congenital cataracts facial dysmorphism neuropathy syndrome (MIM 604168). We have carried out genetic analyses in a series of 20 Spanish Gypsy families diagnosed with a demyelinating CMT disease compatible with an autosomal recessive trait. We found the p.R148X mutation in the N‐myc downstream‐regulated gene 1 gene to be responsible for the HMSN‐Lom in four families and also possible linkage to the HMSN‐Russe locus in three others. We have also studied the CMT4C locus because of the clinical similarities and showed that in 10 families, the disease is caused by mutations located on the SH3 domain and tetratricopeptide repeats 2 (SH3TC2) gene: p.R1109X in 20 out of 21 chromosomes and p.C737_P738delinsX in only one chromosome. Moreover, the SH3TC2 p.R1109X mutation is associated with a conserved haplotype and, therefore, may be a private founder mutation for the Gypsy population. Estimation of the allelic age revealed that the SH3TC2 p.R1109X mutation may have arisen about 225 years ago, probably as the consequence of a bottleneck.
Wealth Effects and Macroeconomic Dynamics

The effect of wealth on consumption is an issue of long‐standing interest to economists. Conventional wisdom suggests that fluctuations in household wealth have driven major swings in economic activity both in the United States and abroad. This paper considers the so‐called consumption wealth effects. There is an extensive existing literature on wealth effects that has yielded some insights. For example, research has documented the relationship between aggregate household wealth and aggregate consumption over time, and a large number of household‐level studies suggest that wealth effects are larger for households facing credit constraints. However, there are also many unresolved issues regarding the influence of household wealth on consumption. We review the most important of these issues and argue that there is a need for much more research in these areas as well as better data sources for conducting such analysis.
Functional analysis of the CD8+CD57+ cell population in normal healthy individuals and matched unrelated T‐cell‐depleted bone marrow transplant recipients

The biological activities of CD8+ that co‐express CD57 remain poorly defined. It is unclear whether all CD8+ cells have the potential to become CD57+ or whether they represent a unique subset with distinct functions. Several studies have reported the association between elevated numbers of CD8+CD57+ and a wide range of clinical disorders such as viral reactivation of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV). In this study, we have investigated the relationship between viral reactivation and the effect of diminished interleukin (IL)‐2 production. Using CD8+ cells isolated from patients at various times after allogeneic transplants and in vitro models of HCMV infection, we determined their combined effect on CD8+CD57+. Our results show that high numbers of CD8+CD57+ correlated with diminished killing of HCMV‐infected targets. In addition, we showed a synergistic effect between IL‐2 and HCMV in the expansion of CD8+CD57+ cells. Furthermore, these cells after anti‐CD3 stimulation did not produce tumour necrosis factor (TNF)‐α or interferon (IFN)‐γ. Interestingly, IL‐10 production was elevated in several patients which appeared to be associated with the time from transplant.
Rapid Analysis & Design Methodologies of High-Frequency LCLC Resonant Inverter as Electrodeless Fluorescent Lamp Ballast

The papers presents methodologies for the analysis of 4th-order LCLC resonant power converters operating at 2.63 MHz as fluorescent lamp ballasts, where high frequency operation facilitates capacitive discharge into the tube, with near resonance operation at high load quality factor enabling high efficiency. State-variable dynamic descriptions of the converter are employed to rapidly determine the steady-state cyclic behaviour of the ballast during nominal operation. Simulation and experimental measurements from a prototype ballast circuit driving a 60 cm, 8W T5 fluorescent lamp are also included.
Markers of preeclampsia and the relationship to cardiovascular disease: review of the twenty-first century literature

Objective. The objective of this article was to review the literature to identify the most promising markers of preeclampsia (PE) and the relationship to cardiovascular disease to gain a better understanding of the mechanism of PE to identify women at risk for cardiovascular disease to improve their outcomes. Methods. Forty case–control studies were assessed for relationships between different serum markers to identify PE and to identify markers that may predict women who may be at greater risk for cardiovascular sequela in later life. Results. Angiogenic, proteomic, and tumor necrosis markers were the most promising and important in the development of PE. The interplay among various growth factors, hormones, proteins, and other molecular compounds appears to be critical in the development of PE. Specific angiogenic (sVEGF, PLGF) and antiangiogenic (sFlt-1, sENG) markers and proteomic markers (fibrinogen and a-1-antichymotrypsin, SERPINA1, albumin, 1-antichymotryps) are the most promising markers of PE. Evidence of metabolic abnormalities associated with PE and common markers with cardiovascular disease include free leptin concentration which increases in normal pregnancy and is further increased in PE. Conclusions. Markers are important to help understand disease, potentially identify women at risk to improve their outcomes, design therapies to ameliorate symptoms so that pregnancy can be prolonged and neonatal outcomes improved, and provide a better understanding the link between PE and increased risk for disease later in life.
Strategic Manufacturer Response to a Dominant Retailer

The growing dominance of large retailers has altered traditional channel incentives for manufacturers. In this paper, we present a theoretical model to illustrate a strategic manufacturer response to a dominant retailer. In our model, a dominant and a weak retailer compete for the sale of a single product supplied by a single manufacturer. The dominant retailer has the power to dictate the wholesale price, but the manufacturer sets the wholesale price for the weak retailer. The manufacturer also has partial ability to transfer demand between retailers. In the strategic manufacturer response, the manufacturer begins by raising the wholesale price for the weak retailer over that for the dominant retailer. This makes the weak retailer the high-margin channel. The manufacturer then transfers demand to the weak retailer by engaging in joint promotions and advertising. We then use this strategic response model to derive a testable hypothesis that may guide future research in determining the source of dominant retailers' low prices.
Regional Integration Beyond the Traditional Trade Benefits--Labor Mobility Contribution: The Case of Burkina Faso and Cote D'Ivoire

L'Union Economique et Monetaire Ouest africaine (UEMOA) vise a renforcer l'integration commerciale de la region et a reduire les disparites entre les pays membres. Comment atteindre ces objectifs avec une si forte heterogeneite des membres comme le montre l'exemple de la Cote d'Ivoire (pole regional) et du Burkina Faso (parmi les plus pauvres) ? Il s'agit d'un enjeu essentiel. Les migrations regionales en Afrique representent le meilleur instrument d'integration face a la faiblesse des autres types d'integration (commerce et investissements) et la forte presence des burkinabe en Cote d'Ivoire fait du Burkina Faso un "actionnaire" integral des succes ivoiriens. En se basant sur les theories economiques de la migration, cette these analyse l'impact des modifications de la mobilite des facteurs a l'interieur de l'UEMOA, en mettant l'accent sur ces deux pays representatifs. Leurs migrations concernent essentiellement les populations rurales et afin d'examiner les differents enjeux, l'analyse repose sur des donnees collectees dans le Sahel au Burkina Faso.
Studies on crossover-specific mutants and the distribution of crossing over in Drosophila females

In Drosophila females, the majority of recombination events do not become crossovers and those that do occur are nonrandomly distributed. Furthermore, a group of Drosophila mutants specifically reduce crossing over, suggesting that crossovers depend on different gene products than noncrossovers. In mei-218 mutants, crossing over is reduced by approximately 90% while noncrossovers and the initiation of recombination remain unchanged. Importantly, the residual crossovers have a more random distribution than wild-type. It has been proposed that mei-218 has a role in establishing the crossover distribution by determining which recombination sites become crossovers. Surprisingly, a diverse group of genes, including those required for double strand break (DSB) formation or repair, have an effect on crossover distribution. Not all of these mutants, however, have a crossover-specific defect like mei-218 and it is not understood why some crossover-defective mutants alter the distribution of crossovers. Intragenic recombination experiments suggest that mei-218 is required for a molecular transition of the recombination intermediate late in the DSB repair pathway. We propose that the changes in crossover distribution in some crossover-defective mutants are a secondary consequence of the crossover reductions. This may be the activation of a regulatory system that ensures at least one crossover per chromosome, and which compensates for an absence of crossovers by attempting to generate them at random locations.