Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Virtual Allocations: Expanding the Framework of Hydro-Hegemony to Inform Virtual Water Trade

ii This paper investigates the relationship between access to water resources, global trade patterns, and power through the lens of virtual water and hydro-hegemony. “Virtual water” has been defined by Tony Allan as “the water needed to produce agricultural commodities”, with recognition that the term could be expanded to include other commodities as well (2003). Virtual water trade refers to the ability of countries to trade ‘water’ by importing and exporting goods requiring water for production, rather than actual water. Proponents of virtual water trade argue that food trades from water-rich, arable land to arid land can help to enhance the arid area’s food and water securities, freeing up local water resources for other uses. Critics of the virtual water discourse are concerned that highlighting markets and trade as the saviours of water-poor countries may be yet another component of the neoliberal economic prescription. This paper will seek to shed light on this debate, considering the power relations at play in how virtual water is accessed and allocated by expanding the Framework of Hydro-Hegemony. In 2006, Zeitoun and Warner introduced the Framework of Hydro-Hegemony, an analytical tool for analysing transboundary water conflicts. This paper will expand that Framework to be relevant for analysis of virtual water trade patterns. Applying this expanded Framework of Virtual Hydro-Hegemony to three case studies (Peruvian asparagus exported to the United Kingdom, American cereals imported by Egypt, and Israeli agricultural produce consumed in the European Union) indicates that virtual water flows are highly subject to hydro-hegemony, shaped by material, bargaining, and ideational powers. The paper will conclude with suggestions for how scholars and practitioners concerned with access to resources might engage with virtual water allocations.
Predictability and Persistance of Demand Response Load Shed in Buildings

Author(s): Price, Phillip N. ; Addy, Nathan; Kiliccote, Sila | Abstract: We analyze data from 36 commercial and government buildings that participated in a Demand Response (DR) program in California, to investigate the extent to which DR load shed in each building depends on outdoor air temperature, and whether the load shed varies systematically from year to year. Our baseline model has substantially lower error than other standard models but uncertainty in the load shed is still an impediment to addressing these questions. The model is accurate enough in 29 buildings to be used to investigate the relationship between outdoor temperature and the DR load shed, and data availability and accuracy are suﬃcient to investigate year-to-year persistence of load shed in 19 buildings. We ﬁnd that for buildings in this dataset, most buildings shed several percent of their load during DR events. In about two thirds of buildings, higher outdoor air temperature lead to slightly reduced load shed. Year-to-year changes in load shed were generally small, except that in several buildings the load shed was small or nonexistent in the ﬁrst year of participation in the program and increased subsequently.
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections in collegiate football players.

PURPOSE Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has been recognized as a serious skin infection in the athletic population. Literature in reference to football players has been sparse. We sought to better elucidate circumstances surrounding such infections in collegiate football players. METHODS Data from three Division-I collegiate football programs were consolidated and analyzed. Variables included presence of MRSA infection, timing of occurrence, body location involved, lesion morphology, need for surgical treatment, and antibiotic route. Data were analyzed statistically to evaluate player position, body location, and timing of occurrences. RESULTS Of the 491 collegiate football players, 33 (6.7%) were diagnosed with MRSA infections. Cutaneous manifestations included abscess (70%), cellulitis (16%), folliculitis, impetigo, and necrotizing fasciitis. Of the infections, 90% underwent surgical drainage, whereas 27% received intravenous antibiotics. Extremity infections (n = 30) greatly exceeded truncal infections (n = 7); the most common locations were the elbow (n = 11), knee (n = 6), leg (n = 4), and forearm (n = 4). There was no difference in occurrence by player position. Infections occurred predominantly in the first third of the season (P < 0.001, chi-square test) and significantly decreased as the season progressed. CONCLUSION MRSA infections involving football players are becoming more common. This study documents player positions involved, timing of occurrence in the season, location and type of infections, and required treatment. Exposed extremities may predispose to infection due to risk for minor trauma and direct contact with bacteria. As infection risk seems to be independent of position, all players should observe protective measures. Although most infections occur earlier in the season, physicians should remain alert for infection occurrences throughout the season.
Community periodontal index of treatment needs and prevalence of periodontal conditions.

BACKGROUND/AIMS In 1977, the World Health Organization (WHO) proposed a new index, the community periodontal index of treatment needs (CPITN) to evaluate the periodontal treatment needs of populations. The aim of this study is to compare different approaches of recording and presenting the CPITN. METHODS A sample of 2110 subjects aged 35-44 years were examined between September 1994 and July 1995, throughout the province of Quebec, Canada. For each tooth (3rd molars excluded), the presence of bleeding and calculus, the level of epithelial attachment, and the depth of periodontal pockets were measured. Periodontal pocket depths were measured from the edge of the free gingiva, at 2 sites (mesiovestibular and vestibular), as well as all around the tooth. RESULTS Only 8.5% of adults had at least one tooth with a 6 mm or deeper periodontal pocket when probing on 2 sites, whereas if probing is done all around the tooth, this percentage is 2.5x higher (21.4%). The partial recording of pocket depths (10 index teeth recommended by WHO, or 2 quadrants chosen at random) resulted in an underestimation of the prevalence of subjects with at least one tooth with a periodontal pocket (CPITN score 3 and 4). Among subjects with at least one tooth with a 6 mm or deeper periodontal pocket, 12% were not detected with the 10 index teeth recording, and 25% go undetected with the measure on 2 quadrants. Finally, using the % of subjects with periodontal pockets overestimates the prevalence of deep pockets compared with using sextants. Indeed, close to 30.0% of sextants have no treatment needs, whereas only 5.2% of subjects are in this category. Similarly, 7.7% of sextants have at least one tooth with a 6 mm or deeper periodontal pocket, yet there are 3x more subjects in this category (21.4%).
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs): new pollutants-old diseases.

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are a class of recalcitrant and bioaccumulative halogenated compounds that have emerged as a major environmental pollutant. PBDEs are used as a flame-retardant and are found in consumer goods such as electrical equipment, construction materials, coatings, textiles and polyurethane foam (furniture padding). Similar in structure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), PBDEs resist degradation in the environment. Less brominated PBDEs like tetra-, penta- and hexa- demonstrate high affinity for lipids and can accumulate in the bodies of animals and humans. Breast milk from North American women contained much higher amounts of PBDEs than levels in breast milk from Swedish women, indicating that North American exposures to PBDEs may be particularly high. Evidence to date suggests that tetra- and penta-BDEs are likely to be the more toxic and bioaccumulative of the PBDE compounds, compared to octa- and deca-congeners. PBDEs are sold as mixtures, under names such as "pentabromodiphenyl ether" and "octabromodiphenyl ether. " The pentabromo product is a mixture of tetra-BDEs and penta-BDEs in approximately equal amounts. Pentabromo consists of PBDEs that are believed to be the most toxic. This mixture has been banned by the European Union, but is still used in North America. The United States is the leading producer and user of pentabromo. In August 2003, the State of California passed a bill to phase out the use of penta- and octa-PBDE by 2008. The toxicology of PBDEs is not well understood, but PBDEs have been associated with tumors, neurodevelopmental toxicity and thyroid hormone imbalance. The neurotoxic effects of PBDEs are similar to those observed for PCBs. Children exposed to PBDEs are prone to subtle but measurable developmental problems. It is presumed that PBDEs are endocrine disruptors, but research in this area is scant. Further studies are imperative in a multitude of health and environmental disciplines to determine the adverse effects and mode of action of this widespread emerging pollutant on human health.
Organisational culture and change: implementing person-centred care.

PURPOSE The purpose of this paper is to explore the connection between organisational cultures and the employee's resistance to change at five hospital wards in Western Sweden. Staff had experienced extensive change during a research project implementing person-centred care (PCC) for patients with chronic heart failure. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH Surveys were sent out to 170 nurses. The survey included two instruments--the Organisational Values Questionnaire (OVQ) and the Resistance to Change Scale (RTC). FINDINGS The results indicate that a culture with a dominating focus on social competence decreases "routine seeking behaviour", i.e. tendencies to uphold stable routines and a reluctance to give up old habits. The results indicate that a culture of flexibility, cohesion and trust negatively covariate with the overall need for a stable and well-defined framework. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS An instrument that pinpoints the conditions of a particular healthcare setting can improve the results of a change project. Managers can use instruments such as the ones used in this study to investigate and plan for change processes. ORIGINALITY/VALUE Earlier studies of organisational culture and its impact on the performance of healthcare organisations have often investigated culture at the highest level of the organisation. In this study, the culture of the production units--i.e. the health workers in different hospital wards--was described. Hospital wards develop their own culture and the cultures of different wards are mirrored in the hospital.
UK National Audit of Chlamydial Infection Management in Sexual Health Clinics. Case notes audit: information-giving, partner notification and follow-up

Summary Verbal information-giving is good, but only half of cases were reportedly given written information on chlamydia. Follow-up by ‘phoning or texting (43%) was as common as follow-up in clinics (39%). About one-fourth of cases did not have follow up, with no recall for around 60% of these cases. Advice about partner notification (PN) was provided by a health adviser or other suitably trained health professional to 91% of cases, and the method of PN was documented for 92% of these cases. PN outcome was not documented for about 25% of these cases. There was no information on the chlamydial status of sexual contacts of about half of cases, and no information about the treatment status of sexual contacts of about 40% of cases. The average number of contacts screened per index was 0.52 outside London and 0.29 for the London Regions, levels below those suggested in the National Guideline.
Impact of the type of SERPINC1 mutation and subtype of antithrombin deficiency on the thrombotic phenotype in hereditary antithrombin deficiency

Summary Mutations in the antithrombin (AT) gene can impair the capacity of AT to bind heparin (AT deficiency type IIHBS), its target proteases such as thrombin (type IIRS), or both (type IIPE). Type II AT deficiencies are almost exclusively caused by missense mutations, whereas type I AT deficiency can originate from missense or null mutations. In a retrospective cohort study, we investigated the impact of the type of mutation and type of AT deficiency on the manifestation of thromboembolic events in 377 patients with hereditary AT deficiencies (133 from our own cohort, 244 reported in the literature). Carriers of missense mutations showed a lower risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) than those of null mutations (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 0.39, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.27–0.58, p<0.001), and the risk of VTE was significantly decreased among patients with type IIHBS AT deficiency compared to patients with other types of AT deficiency (HR 0.23, 95%CI 0.13–0.41, p<0.001). The risk of pulmonary embolism complicating deep-vein thrombosis was lower in all type II AT deficiencies compared to type I AT deficiency (relative risk 0.69, 95%CI 0.56–0.84). By contrast, the risk of arterial thromboembolism tended to be higher in carriers of missense mutations than in those with null mutations (HR 6.08-fold, 95%CI 0.74–49.81, p=0.093) and was 5.9-fold increased (95%CI 1.22–28.62, p=0.028) in type IIHBS versus other types of AT deficiency. Our data indicate that the type of inherited AT defect modulates not only the risk of thromboembolism but also the localisation and encourage further studies to unravel this phenomenon.
Clinical and biological markers of asthma control

Asthma has substantial impact on the patient, their family and health systems, and its control has gained increasing attention. Perception of asthma control has varied widely among patients as well as healthcare providers. Several clinical markers have been developed to define and standardize the measurement of asthma control. They are based primarily on patients’ symptoms and have been popular in clinical practice and in clinical studies. With the advances in basic research on the pathology of asthma, several biological markers have evolved that have the advantages of being objective, quantitative and more reflective of the underlying pathology, which makes them a better guide for selecting optimal therapy. In addition to the cost and expertise required, biological makers are influenced by multiple factors that limit their application in clinical practice. Ongoing research is expected to define the role of individual biological markers, the optimal method of their application, and their appropriate interpretation.
Inhibition of rab5 GTPase activity stimulates membrane fusion in endocytosis.

Small GTPases of the rab family control distinct steps of intracellular transport. The function of their GTPase activity is not completely understood. To investigate the role of the nucleotide state of rab5 in the early endocytic pathway, the effects of two mutants with opposing biochemical properties were tested. The Q79L mutant of rab5, analogous with the activating Q61L mutant of p21‐ras, was found to have a strongly decreased intrinsic GTPase activity and was, unlike wild‐type rab5, found mainly in the GTP‐bound form in vivo. Expression of this protein in BHK and HeLa cells led to a dramatic change in cell morphology, with the appearance of unusually large early endocytic structures, considerably larger than those formed upon overexpression of wild‐type rab5. An increased rate of transferrin internalization was observed in these cells, whereas recycling was inhibited. Cytosol containing rab5 Q79L stimulated homotypic early endosome fusion in vitro, even though it contained only a small amount of the isoprenylated protein. A different mutant, rab5 S34N, was found, like the inhibitory p21‐ras S17N mutant, to have a preferential affinity for GDP. Overexpression of rab5 S34N induced the accumulation of very small endocytic profile and inhibited transferrin endocytosis. This protein inhibited fusion between early endosomes in vitro. The opposite effects of the rab5 Q79L and S34N mutants suggest that rab5:GTP is required prior to membrane fusion, whereas GTP hydrolysis by rab5 occurs after membrane fusion and functions to inactivate the protein.
Symptomatic Scapulothoracic Crepitus and Bursitis

&NA; Scapulothoracic crepitus and scapulothoracic bursitis are related painful disorders of the scapulothoracic articulation. Scapulothoracic crepitus is the production of a grinding or snapping noise with scapulothoracic motion, which may be accompanied by pain. Scapulothoracic bursitis manifests as pain and swelling of the bursae of the scapulothoracic articulation. Scapulothoracic bursitis is always seen in patients with symptomatic scapulothoracic crepitus, but may exist as an isolated entity. Symptomatic scapulothoracic crepitus may be due to pathologic changes in the bone or soft tissue between the scapula and the chest wall or may be due to changes in congruence of the scapulothoracic articulation, as seen in scoliosis and thoracic kyphosis. Treatment of patients with symptomatic scapulothoracic crepitus begins with nonoperative methods, including postural and scapular strengthening exercises and the application of local modalities. When soft‐tissue lesions are the cause of scapulothoracic crepitus, conservative treatment is highly effective. When symptomatic scapulothoracic crepitus is due to osseous lesions, or when conservative treatment has failed, surgical options are available. Partial scapulectomies have produced satisfactory outcomes in selected patients. Recently, open and arthroscopic scapulothoracic bursectomies have been performed with some success and are being used more frequently.
On the Reliability-Security Tradeoff and Secrecy Throughput in Cooperative ARQ

This work has studied the physical layer security in cooperative automatic-repeat-request (CARQ), under the assumption of no instantaneous channel state information (CSI) at legitimate users. Different from present works, this paper not only derives closed form expressions for connection outage probability (COP) and secrecy outage probability (SOP) to evaluate the reliability and security, respectively, but also first establishes the direct relationship between them via the reliability-security tradeoff (RST). Moreover, we present a novel formulation for secrecy throughput, which gives a more complete insight into the efficiency of CARQ achieving reliable and secure transmission.
Heterogeneous Beliefs and Asset Price Dynamics: A Survey of Recent Evidence

This paper reviews the empirical literature on heterogeneous beliefs and asset price dynamics that challenges the traditional rational agent framework. Emphasis is given to the validation and estimation of (dynamic) heterogeneous agent models that have their roots in the agent-based literature. Heterogeneous agent models perform well in describing, explaining, and often forecasting asset markets dynamics, such as equities, foreign exchange, credit, housing, derivatives, and commodities. Our survey suggests that heterogeneous agent models have the ability to produce important stylised facts observed in financial time series and to replicate important episodes of financial turmoil.
Reconfigurable All-Band RF CMOS Transceiver for GPS/GLONASS/Galileo/Beidou With Digitally Assisted Calibration

This paper presents a fully integrated reconfigurable all-band RF transceiver for GPS/GLONASS/ Galileo/Beidou in 55-nm CMOS. The transceiver incorporates three low-IF receivers (RXs) and one direct up-conversion BPSK transmitter (TX), which can be configured to receive any two global navigation satellite system (GNSS) signals or switched to process the Chinese Beidou(I) signals. A switching module is integrated to provide the connectivity between different RF front-end and IF channel (IFC), which will effectively simplify the design complexity of the IFC and save power consumption, while the GNSS signals are received. A flexible frequency plan with two frequency synthesizers is utilized to satisfy different local oscillator requirements of the transceiver. An optimized automatic frequency calibration scheme using an error compensation logic enables fast and high-precision calibration process for optimum phase-locked loop operation. Several digitally assisted calibration modules are integrated to ensure that the chip performance only shows a weak process, voltage and temperature (PVT) dependence. While drawing about 21.5-30.2 mA per RX channel from a 1.2-V supply, the RXs achieve an image rejection ratio more than 49 dB after I/Q mismatch calibration, an automatic gain control range of 88 dB, and an input-referred 1 dB compression point of better than -25 dBm with a minimum noise figure of about 2 dB. The output power of the TX is about 5 dBm with about 6% error vector magnitude (EVM) and 30-mA current from a 1.2-V supply. The whole transceiver consumes a die area of 2.8 × 3 mm2.
GATA-5 Is Involved in Leukemia Inhibitory Factor-responsive Transcription of the β-Myosin Heavy Chain Gene in Cardiac Myocytes*

Leukemia inhibitory factor is a member of a family of structurally related cytokines sharing the receptor component gp130. Activation of gp130 by leukemia inhibitory factor is sufficient to induce myocardial cell hypertrophy accompanied by specific changes in the pattern of gene expression. However, the molecular mechanisms that link gp130 activation to these changes have not been clarified. The present study investigated the transcriptional pathways by which leukemia inhibitory factor activates β-myosin heavy chain expression during myocardial cell hypertrophy. Mutation of the GATA motif in the β-myosin heavy chain promoter totally abolished leukemia inhibitory factor-responsive transcription without changing basal transcriptional activity. In contrast, endothelin-1 responsiveness was unaffected by the GATA mutation. Among members of the cardiac GATA transcription factor subfamily (GATA-4, -5, and -6), GATA-5 was the sole and potent transactivator for the β-myosin heavy chain promoter. This transactivation was dependent on sequence-specific binding of GATA-5 to the β-myosin heavy chain GATA element. Cardiac nuclear factors that bind to to the β-myosin heavy chain GATA element were induced by leukemia inhibitory factor stimulation. Last, leukemia inhibitory factor stimulation markedly increased transcripts of cardiac GATA-5, the expression of which is normally restricted to the early embryo. Thus, GATA-5 may be involved in gp130 signaling in cardiac myocytes.
Genetics of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension: Current and Future Implications

Idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (formerly primary pulmonary hypertension) can affect more than one member of the same family. In the past 25 years scientists have exposed the inheritance pattern and a major element of the molecular basis for inherited pulmonary arterial hypertension. Familial pulmonary arterial hypertension is inherited as an autosomal dominant trait with incomplete penetrance (i.e., several individuals inherit a predisposition to the disease, but never express it). Mutations in the gene that codes for bone morphogenetic protein receptor type II (BMPR-II) are a major predisposition for the development of pulmonary arterial hypertension. These mutations are present in at least half of familial cases of pulmonary arterial hypertension and 10 to 25% of idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension patients. Mutations in the gene that codes for activin receptor-like kinase (ALK 1), another transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta) cell surface receptor, appear responsible for the rare occurrence of pulmonary arterial hypertension in patients with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia. These discoveries coupled with other basic investigations offer opportunities for advances in the management of pulmonary arterial hypertension.