Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Restricting Access to Foods and Children's Eating

This study evaluated maternal restriction of children's access to snack foods as a predictor of children's intake of those foods when they were made freely available. In addition, child and parent eating-related "risk" factors were used to predict maternal reports of restricting access. Participants were 71, 3-to-5-year-old children (36 boys, 35 girls) and their parents. Children's snack food intake was measured immediately following a meal, in a setting offering free access to palatable snack foods. Child and maternal reports of restricting children's access to those snack foods were obtained. In addition, information on child and parent adiposity as well as parents' restrained and disinhibited eating was used to examine "risk" factors for restricting access. For girls only, child and maternal reports of restricting access predicted girls' snack food intake, with higher levels of restriction predicting higher levels of snack food intake. Maternal restriction, in turn, was predicted by children's adiposity. Additionally, parents' own restrained eating style predicted maternal restriction of girls' access to snack foods.
Evidence for interactions between the 30 kDa N- and 50 kDa C-terminal tryptic fragments of human lactotransferrin.

Gel filtration of a mild tryptic digest of diferric human lactotransferrin carried out in presence of 10% (v/v) acetic acid led to the isolation of two fragments, an N-terminal tryptic fragment having an Mr of 30,000 and a C-terminal tryptic fragment having an Mr of 50,000 [Legrand, Mazurier, Montreuil & Spik (1984) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 787, 90-96]. Both fragments possess a degree of organization lower than that of the native protein, as shown by the decrease of about 30% of the alpha-helical content observed by c.d. The two fragments are able to re-associate in neutral solutions, as shown by the isolation, by gel chromatography, of a re-associated 80 kDa N,C-tryptic complex having the chromatographic behaviour of the native lactotransferrin. Computer-based comparison of the measured c.d. spectrum of the mixture of N-tryptic and C-tryptic fragments (molar ratio 1:1) with the spectrum calculated by assuming one molecule of each fragment, shows that the alpha-helix content of lactotransferrin is restored. These results strongly suggest the existence of non-covalent and reversible interactions between the two lobes of lactotransferrin. In addition it was demonstrated that short peptide segments (residues 19-24, 45-58 and 264-276) are involved in the secondary-structure modifications referred to above.
Estimation of Profit Efficiency in the Hotel Industry Using a Bayesian Stochastic Frontier Model

The present study measured profit efficiency and its determinants in the hotel sector in Spain from 2010 to 2014, using a Bayesian stochastic frontier approach. This model provides estimates of efficiency and more accurate confidence intervals than the traditional frequentist approach. The results revealed that the hotels are operating with significant profit inefficiencies. These inefficiencies are significantly affected by size, location, occupancy rate by region, customer satisfaction, and whether the hotel is affiliated or independent. Finally, the study points out the strategic implications of these findings, to improve the efficiency of the hotels.
Interventionist classroom management and learning of children with disabilities in primary schools: An inclusive and reframing approach

The study aimed at examining the relationship between interventionist classroom management and learning of pupils with disabilities in primary schools. The objectives of the study were; (i) to examine the relationship between teacher proximity and learning of pupils with disabilities in primary schools, (ii) to analyze the relationship between relationship building and learning of pupils with disabilities in primary schools, and (iii) to examine the relationship between sitting arrangement and learning of pupils with disabilities in primary schools. A cross sectional survey research design was used to obtain information from 135 respondents. A questionnaire, interview guide and focus group discussion template were used as tools to collect data for the study. Quantitative and qualitative data collected was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and thematic content analysis respectively. Pearson product moment correlation coefficient results showed that a positive statistically significant relationship existed between teacher proximity and learning of pupils with disabilities (r = .69, n = 135, p < .01), a positive statistically significant relationship with relationship building (r = .52, n = 135, p < .01) and sitting arrangement (r = .38, n = 135, p < .01). It was concluded that teacher proximity has the highest statistically significant effect with learning of pupils with disabilities. Relationship building has a moderate statistically significant effect on the learning of pupils with disabilities. Sitting arrangement has the least statistically significant effect with learning of pupils with disabilities. It is recommended that teacher proximity, relationship building and sitting arrange should be considered when using interventionist classroom management for better learning of the disabled pupils.
Unemployment rate forecasting using Google trends

In order to make sound economic decisions, it is of great importance to be able to predict and interpret macro-economic variables. Researchers are therefore seeking continuously to improve the prediction performance. One of the main economic indicators is the US unemployment rate. In this paper, we empirically analyze whether, and to what extent, Google search data have additional predictive power in forecasting the US unemployment rate. This research consists of two parts. First, we look for and select Google search data with potential predicitive power. Second, we evaluate the performance of level and directional forecasts. Here, we make use of different models, based on both econometric and machine learning techniques. We find that Google trends improve the predictive accuracy in all used forecasting methods. Lastly, we discuss the limitations of our research and possible future research suggestions.
Impacts of Technology Adoption by Small Independent Food Retailers

This paper aims to understand the impacts of technology adoption on small independent food retailers in Portugal. Based on primary data, perceptions of the impacts were related to types of technology and retailer‐specific characteristics. Although technologies for managing customer relationships are the most frequently adopted, there is no empirical evidence that they yield strong perceived impacts on firms' performance. The complexity and novelty of such technologies seems to require time for firms and workers to become proficient in their use, and hence to generate perceived impacts on firms' performance.
Adenosine‐mediated inhibition of casein production by mouse mammary glands in culture

The present study was carried out to examine whether activation of adenosine receptors by adenosine analogues will affect casein production by mouse mammary epithelial cells. The morphogenesis and functions of epithelial tissue in the mammary gland are influenced by their surrounding adipocytes. Adipocytes are known to release adenosine into the extracellular fluid which can modulate cyclic‐AMP levels in surrounding cells through binding to their adenosine receptors. To examine a possible paracrine effect of adenosine, the modulation of casein production in mammary explant culture and mammary epithelial cell (MEC) culture by adenosine receptor agonists has been investigated. We have observed that activation of the A1‐adenosine receptor subtype in mammary tissue by an adenosine analogue (—)N6‐(R‐phenyl‐isopropyl)‐adenosine (PIA) raised cAMP levels. PIA and another adenosine receptor agonist, isobutylmethylxanthine (IBMX), inhibited casein accumulation both in explants and in MEC cultures in the presence of lactogenic hormones, which suggests that PIA or adenosine can act directly on the epithelial cells. This inhibition does not appear to be caused by elevation of cAMP levels or phosphodiesterase activity. The inhibition of intracellular casein accumulation by PIA and IBMX in explant cultures can be reversed via treatment of pertussis toxin which is known to ADP‐ribosylate GTP‐binding Gαi‐proteins, indicating that a Gi‐protein‐dependent pathway may be involved in this inhibition. The results also suggest that local accumulation of adenosine in the extracellular fluids of mammary glands is likely to inhibit the lactogenic response of mammary epithelial cells. © 1996 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Atheromatous pseudo-occlusion of the internal carotid artery.

In the past year, three patients were referred for microvascular bypass surgery for relief of symptoms secondary to an apparently occluded internal carotid artery (ICA). Careful review of the late films of their initial arteriographic series or repeat arteriography with a specialized technique revealed a thin trickle of contrast medium flowing antegrade through a region of extreme stenosis. This thin line of contrast material ascended slowly to meet the column of contrast medium in the cavernous carotid segment that was filling by collateral circulation. Surgical exploration of the neck in these patients revealed a patent but collapsed ICA distal to a localized atheromatous plaque. These patients have been asymptomatic following carotid endarterectomy. This distinctive angiographic appearance may be described as "atheromatous pseudo-occlusion. " Once recognized, carotid endarterectomy is the logical treatment of choice.
Familiality of physical and metabolic characteristics that predict the development of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus in Pima Indians.

Susceptibility to non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) is largely genetically determined. In Pima Indians, obesity, insulin resistance, and a low acute insulin response (AIR) to an intravenous glucose infusion are each predictors of the disease. To ascertain whether these phenotypes are genetically determined, we estimated their familiality in nondiabetic Pima Indians with a maximum-likelihood method. Percentage body fat (PFAT) was highly familial (h2 =.76), whereas waist/ thigh circumference ratio (W/T ratio) was not significantly familial after controlling for PFAT (h2 = .16). AIR was also highly familial (h2 = .80 at 10 min), even after controlling for PFAT and insulin action (h2 = .70). Insulin action at physiologic plasma insulin concentrations was familial (h2 = .61) but less so after controlling for PFAT and W/T ratio (h2 = .38). At maximally stimulating insulin concentrations, insulin action was familial (h2 = .45) and was less influenced by controlling for PFAT and W/T ratio (h2 = .49). We conclude that in Pima Indians (1) PFAT and AIR are highly familial traits, (2) central distribution of fat is not a familial trait when controlled for PFAT, (3) 38%-49% of the variance in insulin action, independent of the effect of obesity, is familial, and (4) PFAT, AIR, and insulin action are useful traits to study genetic susceptibility to NIDDM. Because genetic parameter estimates are applicable only to the populations from which they were estimated, it is important to determine whether these estimates of familialities in Pima Indians can be confirmed in other populations before the utility of these traits in searching for NIDDM susceptibility genes in those populations can be fully advocated.
Family Support and Performance of Women-owned Enterprises: The Mediating Effect of Family-to-Work Enrichment

The objective of this article was to examine the mediating role of family-to-work enrichment (FWE) on the relationship between family support and the performance of women-owned businesses. Empirical data from 251 women entrepreneurs in South Africa were used to assess the postulated relationship. The findings showed that all three examined types of family support (i.e., emotional, instrumental and financial family support) were positively associated with firm performance. Additionally, affective FWE mediated the relationship between emotional support and performance, while instrumental FWE mediated the association between instrumental family support and performance. The study culminates with a discussion of the implications of the study, by emphasising the need for the current system to take into account the distinctive needs and challenges of women entrepreneurs and provide the necessary support and environment to foster their growth and prosperity.
Assessing Kuwaiti Energy Pricing Reforms

From mid-2014 Kuwait has experienced a substantial drop in its petroleum export price and,consequently, government revenue, causing a severe fiscal deficit and impaired economic performance. Cutting energy subsidies has become a policy priority. In the face of widespread opposition, the government raised gasoline prices in August 2016, proclaiming such reform the key to solving economic problems; yet recent policy discussions have not addressed the mechanism of pricing reforms. The paper offers a quantification and assessment of energy pricing reform in the current low petroleum price environment via a general equilibrium model of the Kuwaiti economy that embodies the structure of its economy and its labor market, its oligopolistic industries, and external flows associated with its sovereign wealth fund. Simulations clarify the required adjustments, including the seldom discussed expatriate labor exit and the decline in oligopoly rents. While necessary, subsidy reform implies trade-offs, notably between fiscal stabilization and cost of living sustainability. The results confirm that successful implementation must be accompanied by carefully designed mitigation measures and associated microeconomic reforms.
Decomposing seasonality in an urban destination: the case of Milan

ABSTRACT This paper analyses demand fluctuations in the field of urban destinations, decomposing Milan’s hotel seasonality. Four different seasonal periods are identified and two research questions are explored. The first aims to verify how seasonality evolved over the period 2004–2015 and the effectiveness of analysing tourism flow in an urban destination using daily data. The second aim explores the effects generated by the Milan Expo 2015 on seasonality. Using Smith Travel Research data, a longitudinal analysis (2004–2015) is carried out, decomposing the annual Theil index. Evidence is reported and discussed.
ARE TRIOECY AND SEXUAL LABILITY IN ATRIPLEX CANESCENS GENETICALLY BASED?: EVIDENCE FROM CLONAL STUDIES

Prior studies have alternatively considered floral phenotypes in Atriplex canescens as trioecious (having three sexual genders) and/or dioecious and having a “leaky genetical switch. ” Clones transplanted from three populations and grown in common gardens reveal the existence of two distinctly different genetic controls regulating gender expression. In some clones gender is fixed as male (staminate) or female (pistillate), while in other clones gender varies, ranging from a mixture of male and female ramets to simultaneous hermaphrodites with various proportions of male and female flowers. For clones which vary their sex expression, variation occurs within irrigation treatments, between treatments and over time, as a consequence of the combined effects of genotype plus environment. The magnitude of sex change is also a product of the interaction of genetics and environment. Some clones have been repeatedly examined for 20 years.
China’s macroeconomy: main challenges and countermeasures*

Abstract At the turn of the twenty-first century, the Chinese economy has become a leader from a complete follower in some industries. Thus, without innovation, it will be difficult for China to keep improving its technology further in the twenty-first century. Under the situation that ‘cash is of paramount importance’, the expansionary monetary policy leads to an increasing liquidity. People, with more money at hand, are prone to invest in stocks rather than in industries because it could be harder to withdraw their money from long-term investments. This phenomenon leads to bubbles in stocks and real estates in China. Based on the current situations, Professor Wu advocates an inclusive tax cut policy, as one of the biggest problems many Chinese entrepreneurs face is a lack confidence in the future. The main function of the government is to provide public goods, not to manipulate the market, intervene in the micro economy or ‘adjust the structure’ directly.
Convergence or Divergence in the EMU?

The past decade has dramatically shaped the European economic landscape. After the global financial and economic crisis of 2008/09 hit the continent, the southern European periphery exemplified by Greece experienced a strongly diverging economic development. As capital inflows from the North dried up, the highly indebted southern euro countries running large current account deficits provoked fears of contagious sovereign defaults. The EU responded to the subsequently escalating ‘euro crisis’ with a series of institutional adjustments including the hitherto unwanted bail-out opportunities for individual member states. While these reforms were meant to strengthen supra-national capacities and cohesion, in 2016, UK citizens rather decided to exit the EU as the first country in history and being one of its economically powerful member states in the North. However, the corresponding heated debates about ‘Grexit’ and ‘Brexit’ on opposite sides of Europe also reflected the rising overall skepticism about the benefits from economic and monetary integration. Similar discussions across EU member states in fact created the impression that the European unification sooner or later might drift apart. The question of convergence or divergence of macroeconomic parameters among a diverse set of 28 EU countries is thus crucial for a smoothly operating EMU and the future integration process as a whole. In fact, the euro crisis highlighted clearly that a high degree of real and nominal homogeneity among the participating EA countries is important for both maintaining financial stability and finding a ‘one size fits all’ monetary policy for the core and the periphery. The purpose of this dissertation is therefore to empirically assess how the group-dynamic convergences and divergences in European macroeconomic developments affect the efficiency and stability of EMU. To this end, the first article, ‘One Size Fits Some: A Reassessment of EMU’s Core-periphery framework’, follows a multivariate framework using the Macroeconomic Imbalance Procedure’s scoreboard of indicators to cluster EU economies in terms of external balances, competitiveness, indebtedness, and economic performance. The country group pattern of European business cycles based on univariate output gap series is assessed in the second article, ‘The core-periphery pattern of European business cycles: A fuzzy clustering approach’. And, finally, the third article, ‘Global vs. group-specific business cycles: The importance of defining the groups’, looks at multivariate European business cycles in a worldwide country sample. This allows to disentangle the European co-movements from those at a global level.
Hitachi Real-time Tissue Elastography for Liver Disease

The purpose of this study was to investigate the diagnostic value of shear wave elasticity imaging (SWEI) and real-time elastography (RTE) in liver fibrosis induced by dimethylnitrosamine (DMN) and to compare the accuracy of these methods. Seventy male Wistar rats given a single intra-peritoneal injection of DMN and 10 control rats given a saline injection underwent SWEI and RTE to determine their shear wave velocity (Vs) and liver fibrosis (LF) index, respectively. Correlations between Vs or the LF index and histologic stage of liver fibrosis (S0-S4) were analyzed, and the diagnostic values of the techniques were assessed using a receiver operating characteristic curve. A positive correlation was found between Vs and stage of liver fibrosis (r = 0.947, p < 0.001) and between LF index and stage (S) of liver fibrosis (r = 0.662, p < 0.001). For Vs, the areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve for the diagnosis of fibrosis, S ≥ S1, S ≥ S2, S ≥ S3 and S = S4, were 0.983, 0.995, 0.999 and 0.964, respectively; for the LF index, the values were 0.871, 0.887, 0.761 and 0.839, respectively (all p < 0.001). Vs and the LF index values in rats with severe inflammatory activity were significantly higher than those in controls (p < 0.001). In conclusion, positive correlations exist between Vs or the LF index and the severity of liver fibrosis in rats. Vs is more accurate than the LF index in predicting liver fibrosis in rats. However, severe inflammatory activity may reduce the accuracy of both techniques. Ultrasound Med Biol. 2013 Apr 18 [Epub ahead of print] ______________________ PERFORMANCE OF REAL-TIME STRAIN ELASTOGRAPHY, TRANSIENT ELASTOGRAPHY, AND ASPARTATE-TO-PLATELET RATIO INDEX IN THE ASSESSMENT OF FIBROSIS IN CHRONIC HEPATITIS C. Ferraioli G, Tinelli C, Malfitano A, Dal Bello B, Filice G, Filice C; Liver Fibrosis Study Group, Above E, Barbarini G, Brunetti E, Calderon W, Di Gregorio M, Lissandrin R, Ludovisi S, Maiocchi L, Michelone G, Mondelli M, Patruno SF, Perretti A, Poma G, Sacchi P, Zaramella M, Zicchetti M.
Statistical Analysis and Modeling of Noise on 10-kV Medium-Voltage Power Lines

This paper presents a statistical method to model the noise on 10-kV medium-voltage power networks. The cumulative distribution function of the Nakagami-m distribution is calculated and compared with the corresponding empirical cumulative probability distribution in time domain for both the total noise power and the noise power at certain frequencies. It shows that the Nakagami-m distribution offers an excellent fitting to the measured data. The noise spectrum is also analyzed and the exponential and Gaussian functions are used to fit the spectrum. All of the parameters of these fitting functions are random variables which follow the Nakagami-m distribution.
Family Constitution and Business Performance: Moderating Factors

This study analyzes the relationship between implementing a Family Constitution (Protocol) and future family business performance. We analyze a unique sample of 530 Spanish family businesses. Half of these firms received financial aid from the government to implement a Family Protocol during 2003-2013. The analysis reveals that family businesses that implemented a Family Constitution had significantly improved performance within 2 years after the implementation. The positive relationship between the implementation of a Family Constitution and future firm performance is stronger for firms that had a nonfamily CEO, had multiple family owners, or were controlled by later generations.