Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Potassium load prevents the decrease of GFR induced by captopril in sodium-depleted rats.

Captopril decreases the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) in Na-depleted rats and inhibits the stimulation of glomerular prostanoid synthesis induced by Na depletion. Because K loading stimulates glomerular prostanoid production in normal rats, we studied the effects of K loading in Na-depleted captopril-treated (LNC) rats. Potassium, but not Cl, loading stimulated the glomerular synthesis of 6-ketoprostaglandin F1 alpha (PGF1 alpha) and thromboxane B2 (TxB2). Urinary kallikrein-like activity (UKALLV) and plasma aldosterone increased in K-loaded animals. LNC rats had lower clearances of inulin (CIN) and p-aminohippurate (CPAH) than controls (0.22 +/- 0.02 vs. 0.94 +/- 0.07 and 0.56 +/- 0.12 vs. 2.23 +/- 0.23 ml.min-1.100 g body wt-1, both P less than 0.01). KCl-loaded LNC rats had CIN and CPAH greater than LNC (0.64 +/- 0.16 and 1.90 +/- 0.28 ml.min-1.100 g body wt-1, P less than 0.01). Similar results were observed in LNC rats loaded with a K solution not containing Cl, but not in LNC rats loaded with a mixture of CaCl2, MgCl2, and HCl. In KCl-loaded LNC rats, cyclooxygenase inhibition decreased CIN from 0.49 +/- 0.09 to 0.30 +/- 0.08 ml.min-1.100 g body wt-1 (P less than 0.01). Aprotinin did not affect renal function despite significant decrease of UKALLV. We conclude that K loading prevents the decrease of GFR induced by captopril in Na-depleted rats and that this might be mediated by stimulation of glomerular prostanoid synthesis.
Sobre a economia política do desenvolvimento e a contribuição dos serviços

On the political economy of development and the contribution of services. This paper aims to ponder on recent approaches to Political Economy of Development, that bring about new concepts about the role of services activities in the economic development process. The analysis begins by checking the new attributions of services entailed by the productive paradigm changes that have occurred since the 1970's. Then, it examines the debate about the new kind of society, called "post-industrial", which is centered in the services dynamics. Finally, it discusses the relevance of social capital disponibility, as a prime factor to attain economic development
A Review of Recent Studies on Brominated Flame Retardants in the Asia-Pacific Region

Introduction Recently, environmental issues relating to brominated flame retardants (BFRs) such as polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs) have become a matter of great concern due to their persistent and bioaccumulative properties and potential toxic risk to humans. Growth in interest on PBDEs has been exponential as their apparent increase in the environment over the last few decades in Europe and North America. However, there is still little information on contamination of BFRs in the Asia-Pacific region (Watanabe and Sakai, 2003). Significant contamination by BFRs may arise from rapid industrialization in some Asian countries. Therefore, we have started monitoring studies on the contamination status of BFRs as well as legacy POPs in the Asia-Pacific region. In this presentation, we review our recent studies on BFRs including PBDEs and HBCDs in mussels, skipjack tunas, marine mammals, human breast milk, house and office dusts, sediment cores and terrestrial environments such as waste dumping sites to delineate their present status of contamination, global distribution, human exposure, potential sources and temporal trends.
Stent-Graft Treatment of Pseudoaneurysms and Arteriovenous Fistulae in the Carotid Artery

The purpose of this study was to assess the safety and efficacy of stent-graft placement in the management of arteriovenous fistulae (AVF) and pseudoaneurysms (PAs) involving the carotid artery (CA). Twenty-two patients (16 men, 6 women) with a CA AVF (n = 5) or PA (n = 17) owing to a gunshot or stab wound, carotid endarterectomy, blunt trauma, a tumor, spontaneous dissection, or a central venous catheter were treated with percutaneous placement of stent grafts. The patients presented with tumor, bruit, headache, mouth and tracheostomy bleeding, transitory hemiparesis, seizure, or stroke. Diagnoses were made by using computed tomographic angiography (CTA) and digital subtraction angiography. Fourteen lesions were in the common CA; eight were in the internal CA. Homemade devices and stent grafts from a variety of manufacturers were employed. Follow-up evaluations included clinical, CTA, and Doppler ultrasound assessments. All patients had resolution of the PA or AVF. In one patient with a large petrous PA, acute occlusion of the CA developed after placement of three balloon-expandable stent grafts, but there were no neurologic complications because the circle of Willis was functional. During follow-up ranging from 2 months to 13 years, asymptomatic 90% stenosis owing to stent compression was observed on Doppler ultrasound and angiographic examinations in a patient with an autologous vein–covered stent graft in the internal CA. Three other patients died of causes unrelated to stent-graft placement. In all other patients, the stent graft remained patent. Our results indicate that stent grafting is an acceptable alternative to surgery in the treatment of AVF and PAs in the CA.
Mary Ainsworth’s legacy: a systematic review of observational instruments measuring parental sensitivity

Since Mary Ainsworth’s formulation of the Sensitivity-Insensitivity to Infant Signals and Communications observational scale, new instruments have been developed to observe parental sensitivity. In this paper, we provide an overview of eight commonly used observational instruments to measure parental sensitivity. Their similarities and differences in comparison to the original Ainsworth sensitivity construct and its applications will be discussed. Consistent with the search criteria, each of the instruments clearly includes the key elements of Ainsworth’s definition of sensitivity. Notable deviations from the original scale are the use of composite scales rather than a single global scale and the related inclusion of new elements, and specifically the inclusion of positive affect as an indicator of sensitivity. Further, most of the instruments have a wider scope than Ainsworth’s sensitivity scale in terms of target age groups and the assessment of sensitivity in fathers. We discuss the interpretation of the sensitivity construct depending on variations in how the construct is defined in different observational instruments, and advances in the application of the construct.
Product Information, Hedonic Evaluation, and Purchase Decision: an Experimental Study of Orange Juice*

Abstract Two randomly sampled groups of subjects were endowed with real budgets and placed in 5 different budget/price situations. In each situation they had to evaluate 6 orange juices and complete a demand table. At the end of the experiment, one demand table was randomly selected and participants had to buy the corresponding products. In one group, participants choose after looking at the packaging in the other they could also taste the products. Results show that participants who chose without tasting, made quicker decisions, selected a larger number of variants and were more influenced by prices than those who could taste the products. Although choices appeared very heterogeneous, most participants exhibit coherent behaviors. (JEL classification: C91, D12)
Forward Contracts and Firm Value: Investment Incentive and Contracting Effects

Abstract Corporate risk hedging with forward contracts increases value by reducing incentives to underinvest. This occurs because the hedge decreases the sensitivity of senior claim value to incremental investment, allowing equity holders to capture a larger portion of the incremental benefit from new investment. Hedging also allows the firm to credibly commit to meet obligations in states where it otherwise could not, which improves contract terms the firm can negotiate with customers, creditors, and managers. These benefits cannot be duplicated by individual hedging, and each result holds independent of agents' risk preferences.
Platelet-rich fibrin and bovine porous bone mineral vs. platelet-rich fibrin in the treatment of intrabony periodontal defects.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Bovine porous bone mineral (BPBM) is a xenograft that has been successfully utilized in periodontal regeneration. Platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) is a leukocyte and platelet preparation that concentrates various polypeptide growth factors and therefore has the potential to be used as regenerative treatment for periodontal defects. The purpose of this study was to examine the suitability of autologous PRF as regenerative treatment for periodontal intrabony defects in humans and to examine the ability of BPBM to augment the regenerative effects exerted by PRF. MATERIAL AND METHODS Using a split-mouth design, 17 paired intrabony defects were randomly treated either with PRF or with PRF-BPBM combination. Re-entry surgeries were performed at 6 mo. Primary study outcomes were changes in pocket depth, attachment level and defect fill. RESULTS Preoperative pocket depths, attachment levels and transoperative bone measurements were similar for the PRF and PRF-BPBM groups. Postsurgical measurements revealed a significantly greater reduction in pocket depth in the PRF-BPBM group (4.47±0.78 mm on buccal and 4.29±0.82 mm on lingual sites) when compared with the PRF group (3.35±0.68 mm on buccal and 3.24±0.73 mm on lingual sites). The PRF-BPBM group presented with significantly greater attachment gain (3.82±0.78 mm on buccal and 3.71±0.75 mm on lingual sites) than the PRF group (2.24±0.73 mm on buccal and 2.12±0.68 mm on lingual sites). Defect fill was also greater in the PRF-BPBM group (4.06±0.87 mm on buccal and 3.94±0.73 mm on lingual sites) than in the PRF group (2.21±0.68 mm on buccal and 2.06±0.64 mm on lingual sites). CONCLUSION The results of this study indicate that PRF can improve clinical parameters associated with human intrabony periodontal defects, and BPBM has the ability to augment the effects of PRF in reducing pocket depth, improving clinical attachment levels and promoting defect fill.
On the Co-Evolution of Innovation and Demand: Some Policy Implications

Long term economic development is characterized not only by increasing efficiency of economic activities but also by qualitative change within industries and increasing variety concerning the existence of different industries. Traditional economic growth models do not cope with the complex amalgam of these three trajectories of economic development nor could comprise the interactions among them. Furthermore, economic development is not a process which is spurred by supply-side effects but driven by the co-evolutionary interplay of supply and demand side forces. With our TEVECON model we analyze economic development driven by efficiency and quality improvements together with structural change and the co-evolution between innovation and demand. The first part of the paper introduces to the basic model and some general results. The second part of the paper deals with policy experiments which are undertaken by comparing different numerically analyzed scenarios.
Understanding Tourism Behavior: Examining the Combined Effects of Prior Visitation History and Destination Status

All tourism markets can be deconstructed into two basic dimensions: whether people have visited before (first/repeat) and the role played by the destination (main/secondary). As such, all destinations attract four basic types of tourists: first-time main-destination visitors (FM), repeat main-destination visitors (RM), first-time secondary-destination travelers (FS), and repeat secondary-destination travelers (RS). Previous research has examined the effect of one dimension on tourism without considering the moderating effect of the other. This article examines the combined effect of both dimensions. The authors conclude that the main/secondary-destination dimension is most appropriate in developing an understanding of differences in demographic profile of tourists, their origin and trip characteristics, while the first/repeat dimension helps understand differences in behavior and satisfaction levels.
The dynamics of bond versus treasury bill deficit financing

Many governments have a long-run target of lowering budget deficits in the future through current deficit spending, relying on economic growth to deliver their policy objective. This paper shows that this is unattainable under bond finance, since there exists no stable equilibrium. However, it is shown that a sustainable growth equilibrium is possible, but only if the deficit is treasury bill financed.
Markets, Quasi-Markets and Middle Managers in Local Government

Operating as purchasers or providers, middle managers play a key role in the implementation of the new market systems recently introduced within local authorities. However, relatively little empirical investigation has been undertaken into the first-hand experiences of the middle managers who are on the ‘receiving end’ of these market systems. After a brief review of the literature, this paper uses Williamson's (1975; 1985) model of behavioural attributes as an analytical framework for analysing the impact of the new Purchaser and Provider model on the performance of middle line managers working within a local authority well-known for its commitment to market service delivery systems. These managers' responses about the positive and negative aspects of their experiences of market systems varied significantly according to their roles as either Purchaser or Provider managers, and to their location within particular service departments. The paper draws attention to the important differences in the nature of the transactions within each of these departments which appeared to account, at least in part, for the managers' different responses, and argues against the wholesale application of market forms of service delivery across highly differentiated organisations such as local authorities.
A Field Experiment with Tradable Development Rights in Germany

Within its Strategy for Sustainability, the German Federal Government aims to reduce the land utilization to a maximum of 30 hectare per day in 2020. From an economic perspective, market-based-instruments such as cap-and-trade schemes are promising policy mechanisms to achieve this goal eciently. Market-based instruments are relatively new mechanisms for the management of natural resources and the environment, for which regulatory approaches have largely failed. Recent case studies have revealed that the implementation of such a cap-and-trade scheme is very complex. This paper reports on a rst national controlled eld experiment including real planners of 14 German municipalities to test a trading scheme in Germany. Based on their current data, the participating municipalities as well as a student control group simulated the period from 2008 to 2022 under the rules of a cap-and-trade system. The study reveals that the total incomes of the municipalities for reaching the target can be higher in the cap-and-trade system than in a comparable commandand-control system. Nevertheless, both the experts from the eld and the student control group failed to reach the theoretical optimum. Especially the complexity of the trading system and the design of decision support tools are linked to the market outcome. An extensive preparatory phase for practical decision makers in municipal administrations is needed to assure sucient competence and acceptance for the new instrument.
Does egalitarian pay add value? Pay compression, union structure and manufacturing productivity growth in the OECD

Unions reduce aggregate pay inequality. Where industrial, or encompassing, unionism predominates, movements have generally coherently pursued inter-enterprise or inter-occupational compression. However, pay compressions have generally been rather unstructured where unionism is segmented by enterprise or the craft-general divide. Analysis of labour productivity growth in manufacturing across 14 OECD countries between 1965 and 1995 shows that an emphasis on aggregate pay compression hampers productivity growth under encompassing unionism, but under segmented unionism promotes it.
Why Did the Debt Maturity of the Japanese Firms Get Longer H: A Preliminary Investigation

As Japanese firms have reduced the proportion of debts in their capital structures, they have also increased their debt maturities. Since the shorter debt maturity is more costly for the firms of poor performance, it is argued that the maturity length plays the role of signal as the theoretical model of Flannery (1986) and Diamond (1991, 1993) suggest. Using Financial Statements Statistics of Corporations by Industry (FSSCI) data, I examine if the story that both total amount of debt and the debt maturity choice serve as signaling devices of borrower firms, an extension of the signaling model of the choice of debt maturity. At least for the non-manufacturing industry sample, it is confirmed that there is a clear correlation between corporate performance and the reduction of corporate borrowings. On the other hand, when the growth rates of the total debt are at the similar level, the industries that have better performance measured by ROA are more prone to increase or less aggressive to reduce the short-term borrowings. The result of the empirical analyses is consistent with the static model of the debt maturity choice by Flannery=Diamond, when we look at the relationship between the growth rate of the short/long-term debt and ROA alone. However, when the growth rate of total debt is taken into account, significant parts of the variations in the growth rates of short-term and long-term debts remain unexplained.
Melatonin modulates microsomal PGE synthase 1 and NF‐E2‐related factor‐2‐regulated antioxidant enzyme expression in LPS‐induced murine peritoneal macrophages

Increasing evidence demonstrates that melatonin regulates inflammatory and immune processes acting as both an activator and inhibitor of these responses. Nevertheless, the molecular mechanisms of its anti‐inflammatory action remain unclear. Here we have characterized the cellular mechanisms underlying the redox modulation of LPS‐stimulated inflammatory responses in murine peritoneal macrophages by melatonin to provide insight into its anti‐inflammatory effects.
HYBRID ADAPTIVE DIFFERENTIAL EVOLUTION IN PARTITIONAL CLUSTERING

The problem of optimal partitioning by minimizing pooled-within-variance of groups is addressed. Three state-of-the-art adaptive differential evolution algorithms are compared on four real-world data sets. A novel hybrid differential evolution algorithm, including k-means algorithm for local search is proposed. The experimental comparison is done with either the plain adaptive differential evolution variants or the hybrid algorithms. Experimental results showed that hybrid algorithms are substantially better preforming when compared with plain differential evolution variants. Among hybrid variants, the competitive differential evolution appeared to be the most efficient.
Strategic measure of competitiveness for ranked data

This study offers a method of evaluating the stability of ranks of a data vector over time. In particular, we study improvement of a process observed over time where the data is ranked. The degree of competition at a major tennis championship (Wimbledon) as well as how trends in the level of competition have changed over time is studied. A metric for shifts in competitiveness and a new statistical methodology is proposed. The findings suggest that competitiveness at Wimbledon has been extremely high. The study offers implications for the sport of tennis as well as an approach to measuring competitive dynamics that can be applied to other contexts. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A logical MIMO MAC approach for uplink access control in centralized wireless networks

The multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) technology has been extensively used to improve wireless physical channel capacity at the expense of increased implementation complexities especially at mobile terminals since either an antenna array or inter-terminal cooperation is required for implementation. Differently, this short paper discusses an alternative MIMO application, called logical MIMO (L-MIMO), which enables medium access control (MAC) to support concurrent transmissions from different terminals in the up-link channel of a centralized wireless network. This paper analytically shows that with this proposal, performances in terms of a terminal¿s throughput and average medium access delay as well as overall channel utilization can be improved significantly. Other advantages of L-MIMO over other MIMO applications includes (i) using 1-antenna mobile terminals, (ii) no need of inter-terminal cooperation and (iii) the major changes for implementation being constrained in the access point or base station of a network.
GOVERNMENT SUPPORT FOR PROFIT SHARING, GAINSHARING, ESOPs, AND TQM

Empirical evidence suggests that profit sharing, gainsharing, employee ownership, worker participation, and Total Quality Management (TQM) may increase productivity and firm performance. Nevertheless, one needs to ground the case for government intervention in support of each of these programs on arguments concerning externalities or merit goods. This paper argues that no one yet has offered a convincing case of this nature. It also discusses the U.S. government's support for ESOPs and suggests reasons for its disappointing results in the hope that future policy experiments will not repeat these mistakes.
Evaluation of two, commercial, multi‐dye, nucleic acid amplification technology tests, for HBV/HCV/HIV‐1/HIV‐2 and B19V/HAV, for screening blood and plasma for further manufacture

Background The cobas® TaqScreen MPX Test, version 2.0, a multiplex, multi‐dye nucleic acid amplification technology (NAT) test from Roche was evaluated by two European Blood Banks, the German Red Cross Blood Donor Service, Frankfurt, Germany and Centro de Hemoterapia y Hemodonación de Castilla y León, Valladolid, Spain. In addition, the cobas® TaqScreen DPX Test was evaluated for the simultaneous detection and quantitation of parvovirus B19 and the detection of hepatitis A virus (HAV).