Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Privatization trends at the world's top-100 container ports

Over recent years, the role of the private sector in seaports has been greatly expanded. Yet, in practice, the extent of privatization in ports can vary significantly, in part due to the different methods employed to bring about private sector participation. This paper identifies and analyses, through a survey of ports, recent trends in regard to privatization at the world's top-100 container ports. The survey has benefitted from, and seeks to extend, a previous survey undertaken by the International Association of Ports and Harbours (IAPH). Findings suggest that, although the influence of private sector actors in ports is growing, the role of public sector agencies also remains significant.
An Empirical Survey of Residential Water Demand Modelling

The increased reliance on demand-side management policies as an urban water consumption management tool has stimulated considerable debate among economists, water utility managers, regulators, consumer interest groups and policymakers. In turn, this has fostered an increasing volume of literature aimed at providing best-practice estimates of price and income elasticities, quantifying the impact of non-price water restrictions and gauging the impact of non-discretionary environmental factors affecting residential water demand. This paper provides a synoptic survey of empirical residential water demand analyses conducted in the last 25 years. Both model specification and estimation and the outcomes of the analyses are discussed.
Eat, Drink, and Tip: Exploring Economic Opportunities for Full-Service Restaurants

This exploratory study sought to empirically confirm anecdotal observations by local area full-service restaurant servers, who reported that their tip income was nearly always better when customers purchased alcoholic beverages. Analysis of unambiguous point of sale guest check and credit card receipt data confirmed a positive relationship between alcoholic beverage purchases and servers' tip percentages. This is encouraging news for the restaurant industry, especially during the current economic downturn, because increased tip levels should motivate servers to sell more alcoholic beverages, which are highly profitable. Managerial implications are discussed.
Costs of Cardiac Rehabilitation and Enhanced Lifestyle Modification Programs

PURPOSE Inadequate payment to providers for traditional cardiac rehabilitation (CR) and lifestyle modification programs may contribute to low utilization, but little systematic evidence exists. This article estimates and compares the per-patient costs and revenues for 3 types of secondary prevention programs: the Dr Dean Ornish Program for Reversing Heart Disease (Ornish), the Benson-Henry Mind/Body Medical Institute's Cardiac Wellness Program (M/BMI), and CR. METHODS The authors developed an Excel spreadsheet template for the costs of a secondary prevention program and calibrated it to 7 programs that provided the necessary data. The calibration was based on budgets, cost accounting, statistical reports, and structured interviews (in person or by telephone). RESULTS The 4 lifestyle programs (2 Ornish and 2 M/BMI) cost almost 4 times as much per patient as the 3 traditional CR programs (means of $7,176 and $1,828, respectively; difference P < .05). The Ornish program costs averaged more than twice those of M/BMI ($9,895 and $4,458, respectively; difference P < .10). Medicare-allowed charges (including co-payments) were $5,650 for Ornish, $4,800 for M/BMI, and about $32.50 per session or $683 overall for CR. CONCLUSIONS Programs achieved the lowest costs per patient by carefully matching program capacity to demand. In none of the programs did net revenues cover costs. The findings suggest that 4 patients could attend a traditional CR program for the cost of 1 patient in an enhanced program.
Visual Cues in the Interpretation of Medical Images

The use of the computer in imaging has provided great versatility for the display of medical image information. In order to be useful in a medical sense, the display must be perceptually acceptable to the human observer, who must be able to extract the relevant diagnostic information from the image. Diagnostic information is defined by the imaging task, and the concept of task-dependent image quality is, therefore, very important. Visualization and estimation tasks may require different visual cues for their performance. Visualization tasks require strong boundary cues, whereas intensity estimation tasks require texture cues. Both tasks can be aided by appropriate image displays. Color can be helpful in estimation tasks, and three-dimensional display can aid visualization tasks. No matter what the task or the image, as long as an observer is needed to read out the information, performance is the final arbiter of the goodness of the image.
Increased skeletal muscle Na+, K+-ATPase activity as a cause of increased lactate production after hemorrhagic shock.

BACKGROUND Lactate production after hemorrhagic shock may be produced by aerobic glycolysis, which has been linked to activity of the Na+/K+ pump in smooth muscle and other tissues. We tested whether increased muscle Na+/K+ pump activity after shock was linked to increased lactate production. METHODS Male Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to 1 or 2 hours of hemorrhagic shock and then resuscitated with shed blood and normal saline. After 24 hours, pairs of extensor digitorum longus muscles were preincubated for 30 minutes in Krebs buffer (95:5, O2:CO2) with 10 mmol/L glucose. One muscle served as a control and was incubated in buffer alone; the other was incubated in buffer with 1 mmol/L ouabain, an inhibitor of the Na+, K+-ATPase. Lactate, ADP, ATP, glycogen, and creatinine-phosphate were determined. RESULTS Under these well-oxygenated conditions, muscles from shocked rats produced about twice as much lactate as sham muscles. Inhibition of the Na+/K+ pump by ouabain significantly reduced lactate production. CONCLUSIONS Hypoxia is unlikely to account for increased muscle lactate production after resuscitated hemorrhagic shock, because high lactate production persists under well-oxygenated incubation conditions. Inhibition of shock-induced lactate production by ouabain indicates energetic coupling of glycolysis to the Na+, K+-ATPase.
The effects of some factors on the growth and morphology of Naegleria sp. and three strains of the genus Acanthamoeba.

The effects of various biophysical and chemical factors on the cytology of vegetative stages of Naegleria sp. , Vitek strain, Acanthamoeba culbertsoni, Acanthamoeba castellanii, Neff strain and Acanthamoeba polyphaga, No. 1289, were studied. The amoebae were cultured in a liquid medium under axenic conditions. The optimum temperature was 37 degrees C for pathogenic strains of Naegleria sp. and Acanthamoeba culbertsoni and 20 degrees C for A. castellanii. No changes were observed in the growth of A. polyphaga at the temperatures 20 degrees and 37 degrees C. The strains investigated grew at pH values of 5.6 to 7.7 using Soerensen's buffer. At the limit values the growth was inhibited and the morphology of cells was markedly changed. All of the four strains grew still at pH 8.4 kept by NaHCO3. A. polyphaga grew at partial anaerobiosis. The three tested strains of the genus Acanthamoeba grew in liquid axenic medium with 0.89% NaCl. The growth of Naegleria sp. , Vitek was inhibited already at 0.2% concentration of this salt. The addition of 3 X 10(-2) m KCl to the culture medium had a harmful effect on the growth and morphology of three tested strains, except A. polyphaga. In the culture medium containing 2 X 10(-3) m CaCl2 the encystment of both pathogenic strains was stimulated. The cytological changes under experimental conditions were manifested by atypical movement of trophozoits and their intracellular structure.
The effects of integration and transnational ties on international return migration intentions

While return migration is receiving increasing attention, there is still insufficient insight into the factors which determine migrants’ intentions and decisions to return. It is often assumed that integration in receiving countries and the concomitant weakening of transnational ties decreases the likelihood of returning. However, according to alternative theoretical interpretations, return migration can also be the outflow of successful integration in receiving countries. Drawing on a dataset of four African immigrant groups in Spain and Italy, this article reviews these conflicting hypotheses by assessing the effects of integration and transnational ties on return migration intentions. The results of the analysis suggest that sociocultural integration has a negative effect on return migration intentions, while economic integration and transnational ties have more ambiguous and sometimes positive effects. The results provide mixed support for the different hypotheses but question theoretical perspectives that unequivocally conceptualize return migration and transnationalism as causes and/or consequences of “integration failure. ”
Instability of the Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism Pattern of Open Reading Frame 5 of Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus during Sequential Pig-to-Pig Passages

ABSTRACT Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis is one of the tools commonly used to study the molecular epidemiology of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome viruses (PRRSVs). As PRRSVs are genetically variable, the stability of the RFLP pattern of a PRRSV during in vivo replication was evaluated by carrying out 13 sequential pig-to-pig passages (P1 to P13) of PRRSV ATCC VR-2332 in three independent pig lines for a total of 727 days. During P1 the pigs were inoculated with a homogeneous inoculum (CC-01) prepared through a series of plaque purifications, and during P2 to P13 the pigs were inoculated with a tissue filtrate from the corresponding pig in the previous passage. Fifteen viral plaque clones were directly isolated from CC-01 and the day 7 serum of each pig of each passage, open reading frame 5 of the clones was sequenced, and the clones were compared to CC-01 to assess the mutation rates and RFLP patterns (obtained by digestion with MluI, HincII, and SacII) over time. Among the 495 viral clones recovered during the passages, 398 clones, including CC-01, had pattern 2-5-2 (MluI-HincII-SacII); however, the remaining 97 viral clones showed different patterns (2-6-2 [P2], 1-5-2 [P3], 2-5-4 [P7], and 2-1-2 [P10]). Importantly, the MluI site that was reported to be present in only one of the PRRS modified live virus vaccine strains (Ingelvac) and its parental strain (ATCC VR-2332) can disappear during in vivo replication. Furthermore, sequence homology between CC-01 and clones with pattern 2-5-2 or clones with other patterns differed by 0.05 to 1.58% and 0.5 to 1.45%, respectively, suggesting that RFLP analysis cannot accurately predict genetic relatedness between PRRSVs. Collectively, precaution should be taken when the molecular epidemiology of PRRSVs is evaluated by RFLP analysis.
Volatility transmission in the UK equity market

We provide evidence of the nature of the transmission of volatility within the UK stock market. We find a distinct asymmetry in that shocks to the return volatility of a portfolio of relatively large firms influence the future volatility of a portfolio of relatively small firms, but find that the reverse is not the case. The characteristics of the volatility process suggest that this result is not caused by thin trading.
Investing in the self: structure, agency and identity in graduates' employability

This article presents an alternative approach to the dominant analysis of graduate employability, through a consideration of the dynamic and socially mediated interaction that graduates have with labour market. This interaction is largely constitutive of their dispositions and identities as graduates, and entails a dynamic interplay between graduates' agency and the wider structural context of the labour market. Informed by structuration theory, this perspective offers a richer, more socially nuanced account into employability than that presented by dominant policy-based approaches, namely the human capital and ‘skills’ agenda. Such approaches present a largely de-contextualised account of employability and a somewhat simplistic notion of the link between education and the labour market more generally. In this article, we argue that employability must be seen as an active social process, and that this process is mediated significantly by the way graduates position themselves, and are positioned, within a .
Organizational mechanisms for successful IS/IT strategic planning in the digital era

As e‐business strategies have received growing attention from entrepreneurs, executives, investors and industry, information systems (IS)/information technology (IT) strategic planning has progressively come to be considered a critical method for developing a successful e‐strategy. However, despite the growing number of theoretical frameworks for IS/IT strategic planning, practical implementation faces several problems. Most importantly, numerous IS/IT strategic planning frameworks do not seem to realize that IS‐related problems are not merely technological, but are also caused by neglecting the interrelationship between IS/IT and organizational context. This study aims to identify and explore the key organizational mechanisms related to IS/IT strategic planning, and thus improve planning effectiveness. The proposed mechanisms provide a valuable reference for business managers or strategic planners who are initiating or conducting IS/IT strategic planning exercises in the digital era, and for researchers interested in information systems management.
Serovar determination of Chlamydia trachomatis isolates by using type-specific monoclonal antibodies

A panel of 15 monoclonal antibodies was prepared that could distinguish among the 15 serovars of Chlamydia trachomatis. Twelve of these antibodies were specific for a single serovar (A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, K, L1, and L2) and three were specific for two serovars (B/Ba, C/J, and C/L3). Ten of the serovar-specific and two of the bispecific antibodies were shown by immunoblotting to recognize epitopes on the major outer membrane protein. These data provide evidence that such epitopes are closely correlated with and may be partly responsible for the antigenic variations detected by microimmunofluorescence that distinguish the currently recognized serovars. When used in a radioimmunoassay, these antibodies correctly identified the serovar of 17 strains that had been serotyped by the microimmunofluorescence test. In addition, we found that the chlamydial antigen derived from 1.0 cm2 of an infected HeLa cell monolayer was sufficient to allow serotyping with these antibodies. Thus, these monoclonal antibodies may provide a rapid and reliable alternative to mouse immunization and microimmunofluorescence for serotyping of clinical isolates.
Human Parvovirus B19

SUMMARY Parvovirus B19 (B19) was discovered in 1974 and is the only member of the family Parvoviridae known to be pathogenic in humans. Despite the inability to propagate the virus in cell cultures, much has been learned about the pathophysiology of this virus, including the identification of the cellular receptor (P antigen), and the control of the virus by the immune system. B19 is widespread, and manifestations of infection vary with the immunologic and hematologic status of the host. In healthy immunocompetent individuals B19 is the cause of erythema infectiosum and, particularly in adults, acute symmetric polyarthropathy. Due to the tropism of B19 to erythroid progenitor cells, infection in individuals with an underlying hemolytic disorder causes transient aplastic crisis. In the immunocompromised host persistent B19 infection is manifested as pure red cell aplasia and chronic anemia. Likewise, the immature immune response of the fetus may render it susceptible to infection, leading to fetal death in utero, hydrops fetalis, or development of congenital anemia. B19 has also been suggested as the causative agent in a variety of clinical syndromes, but given the common nature, causality is often difficult to infer. Diagnosis is primarily based on detection of specific antibodies by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay or detection of viral DNA by dot blot hybridization or PCR. Treatment of persistent infection with immunoglobulin reduces the viral load and results in a marked resolution of anemia. Vaccine phase I trials show promising results.
The influence of the emotional intelligence on self monitoring

Self monitoring is an ability to consciously observe and regulate one’s own behaviour. Incorporating self monitoring in today’s research and practice is beginning to yield a better understanding of how organizational processes are substantially affected by individual issues of how they are seen by others. Especially in service industries, the effect of outcome of interactions of the employees with the clients is an inevitable part of portraying their identity. Most of the actions in the service industry having a legal importance, it is highly essential that controlled image presentation should not cause any deceptions. Hence, it is essential that the employees should know how they present themselves and be able to use self monitoring in the best way possible by them. There are two approaches to the measurement of emotional intelligence: as a mental ability or as a personality trait. Emotional intelligence is the capacity for recognizing our own feelings and those of others, for motivating ourselves, and for managing emotions effectively in ourselves and others. The findings of this study confirm that emotional intelligence is related to self monitoring behaviour. This understanding can contribute to practitioners in the areas of recruitment and in assessing the training needs of healthcare professionals. Key words: Self monitoring, emotional intelligence, healthcare industry.
Provably convergent structure and motion estimation for perspective systems

Estimation of structure and motion in computer vision systems can be performed using a dynamic systems approach, where states and parameters in a perspective system are observed. This paper presents a new approach to the structure estimation problem, where the estimation of the 3D-positions of feature points on a moving object is reformulated as a parameter estimation problem. For each feature point, a constant parameter is estimated, from which it is possible to calculate the time-varying 3D-position. The estimation method is extended to the estimation of motion, in the form of angular velocity estimation. The combined structure and angular velocity observer is shown stable using Lyapunov theory and persistency of excitation based arguments. The estimation method is illustrated with simulation examples, demonstrating the estimation convergence.
Genetic selection to increase bone strength affects prevalence of keel bone damage and egg parameters in commercially housed laying hens.

The prevalence of keel bone damage as well as external egg parameters of 2 pure lines divergently selected for high (H) and low (L) bone strength were investigated in 2 aviary systems under commercial conditions. A standard LSL hybrid was used as a reference group. Birds were kept mixed per genetic line (77 hens of the H and L line and 201 or 206 hens of the LSL line, respectively, per pen) in 8 pens of 2 aviary systems differing in design. Keel bone status and body mass of 20 focal hens per line and pen were assessed at 17, 18, 23, 30, 36, 43, 52, and 63 wk of age. External egg parameters (i.e., egg mass, eggshell breaking strength, thickness, and mass) were measured using 10 eggs per line at both 38 and 57 wk of age. Body parameters (i.e. tarsus and third primary wing feather length to calculate index of wing loading) were recorded at 38 wk of age and mortality per genetic line throughout the laying cycle. Bone mineral density (BMD) of 15 keel bones per genetic line was measured after slaughter to confirm assignment of the experimental lines. We found a greater BMD in the H compared with the L and LSL lines. Fewer keel bone fractures and deviations, a poorer external egg quality, as well as a lower index of wing loading were found in the H compared with the L line. Mortality was lower and production parameters (e.g., laying performance) were higher in the LSL line compared with the 2 experimental lines. Aviary design affected prevalence of keel bone damage, body mass, and mortality. We conclude that selection of specific bone traits associated with bone strength as well as the related differences in body morphology (i.e., lower index of wing loading) have potential to reduce keel bone damage in commercial settings. Also, the housing environment (i.e., aviary design) may have additive effects.
Donor screening for antibody to hepatitis B core antigen and hepatitis B virus infection in transfusion recipients

BACKGROUND: Testing for antibody to hepatitis B core antigen (anti‐HBc) as a surrogate for hepatitis C viremia is no longer needed for blood donor screening. Currently, the important question is how much its use supplements hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) donor screening in preventing transfusion‐transmitted hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: In a study conducted in the 1970s, 64 blood donors were associated with 15 cases of HBV (1.0%) in 1533 transfusion recipients. Sera from 61 donors at donation and 29 follow‐up visits were available for present‐day assays for HBsAg, HBV DNA, anti‐HBc, and antibody to HBsAg (anti‐HBs). RESULTS: HBsAg was found in four previously negative blood donors; HBV DNA was limited to three of these four. Anti‐HBc was detected in six HBsAg‐negative donors. Two other donors were negative in all assays at donation, but positive for anti‐ HBc and anti‐HBs 2 to 4 months later. The remaining donors were negative for all HBV markers, which left five recipient cases unexplained. No HBV transmission was observed when anti‐HBs sample‐to‐ negative control values were > or = 10. CONCLUSION: Some 33 to 50 percent of cases of hepatitis B that could be transmitted by transfusion of blood from HBsAg‐negative donors are prevented by anti‐ HBc screening. Anti‐HBc‐positive donors unequivocally positive for anti‐ HBs should be considered noninfectious for HBV and should be allowed to donate. Anti‐HBc screening of paid plasmapheresis donors, supplemented by anti‐HBs testing, would reduce the amount of HBV to be processed by virus inactivation and increase the content of anti‐HBs in plasma pools.
Participation, Information, Values, and Community Interests Within Health Impact Assessments

i DEDICATION . ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . iii LIST OF TABLES . iv LIST OF FIGURES . vii CHAPTER 1 – HEALTH, PLANNING, AND COMMUNITY . 1 PROMOTING HEALTH OUTSIDE PUBLIC HEALTH . 3 URBAN PLANNING’S CURRENT INTEREST IN HEALTH . 6 HEALTH IMPACT ASSESSMENT . 8 GUIDING RESEARCH QUESTIONS . 11 METHODOLOGY OVERVIEW . 12 DEFINITIONS OF KEY TERMINOLOGY . 14 ORGANIZATION OF DISSERTATION . 16 CHAPTER 2 – RELEVANT LITERATURES . 18 HISTORY OF HIA IN THE U.S. . 18 HIA REGULATORY FRAMEWORK . 22 HIA PROCEDURE . 23 HIA VALUES . 24 PARTICIPATION MODELS WITHIN PLANNING . 26 COMMUNITY KNOWLEDGE IN PLANNING . 30 PARTICIPATION IN PUBLIC HEALTH . 33 CBPR AS AN EXEMPLARY PARTICIPATORY STRATEGY IN PUBLIC HEALTH . 34 PARTICIPATION WITHIN EIA . 36 PARTICIPATION WITHIN HIA . 40 EVALUATING HIA . 42 CHAPTER 3 – RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS . 49 CASE SELECTION . 49 GUIDING RESEARCH QUESTIONS . 52 DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS . 57 CROSS CASE COMPARISON . 68 CHAPTER 4 – CLARK COUNTY BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN PLAN AND HIA . 69 BACKGROUND . 70 OVERVIEW OF THE PLANNING AND HIA PROCESS . 72 COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS AND INTERESTS . 74 COMMUNITY INTERESTS WITHIN THE HIA . 77 COMMUNITY INTERESTS IN THE PLAN . 89 SUMMARY . 97 CHAPTER 5: CASE STUDY OF LAKE MERRITT BART STATION AREA PLAN . 98 BACKGROUND . 98 INITIATING THE HIA . 106 DEVELOPING A SCOPE . 111 COMMUNITY INTERESTS WITHIN THE HIA . 126