Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Political Economy of Endangered Species Conservation

The Political Economy of Endangered Species Consveration Jay O'Laughlin University of Idaho One of the many definitions of politics is the authoritative allocation of values (Easton 1953). Economics is concerned with the allocation of scarce resources (Samuelson 1976). Combining these definitions, political economy is the authoritative allocation of scarce resources based on values. Environmental issues are subjects of disagreement arising from different perspectives and values. Recognition of these differences reveals choices for resolving issues and their allocation implications, such as who gets the benefits, and who pays the costs. The question policy-makers face is how a representative set of values can be integrated into environmental policy decisions. The conservation of species threatened or endangered by extinction is an example of a policy choice where contending values have been politically allocated. The remainder of this paper is based on a slide presentation, and in place attempts to describe copyrighted images such as political cartoons and the covers of books and magazines. Economic Activity and Biodiversity Conservation As the book titled Saving All the Parts: Reconciling Economics and the Endangered Species Act (Barker 1993) implies, the policy choice mechanisms in the ESA reconcile economic issues in favor of saving protected species, with almost no consideration of economic consequences. The ESA begins with a statement about economics: The Congress finds and declares that . various species of fish, wildlife and plants have been rendered extinct as a consequence of economic growth and development untempered by adequate concern and conservation. (ESA sec.2). The law is designed to redress the perceived imbalance between economic activity and species conservation. The goal of the ESA is conserving biological diversity, which in its simplest terms is the variety of life and its processes, including the variety of living things, the genetic differences among them, and the communities and ecosystems in which they occur (Keystone Center 1991). Although there are other laws focused on specific organisms, such as the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, or specific places, such as the National Forest Management Act of 1976, the ESA is the only cross-cutting law for protecting all biodiversity, everywhere that it is imperiled. Along with the
O SENTIDO HISTÓRICO DO DESENVOLVIMENTISMO E SUA ATUALIDADE

O artigo aborda a formacao historica do desenvolvimentismo brasileiro e discute sua atualidade como projeto para a economia brasileira. Para tanto, recupera suas origens, mostrando que resulta da confluencia de ideias nacionalistas, intervencionistas e em defesa da industrializacao que comecaram a se amalgamar no ultimo quarto do seculo XIX, ainda no periodo agroexportador. A seguir, parte da conceituacao de desenvolvimentismo para mostrar que este, como fenomeno historico, mostrou-se capaz de se adaptar as transformacoes por que passou a economia brasileira ao longo do seculo XX, nao sendo restrito ao periodo da industrializacao por substituicao de importacoes. Assim, conclui que o desafio da atualidade consiste na sua reatualizacao diante das mudancas economicas das ultimas decadas, principalmente no que tange a desindustrializacao.
The HEALTHGRAIN definition of ‘whole grain’

Most cereal products, like white bread, pasta, and biscuits, are based on flour after removal of bran and germ, the two parts of grain kernels containing most of the dietary fibre and other bioactive components. In the past decade, consumers have been rediscovering whole grain-based products and the number of wholegrain products has increased rapidly. In most countries in Europe and worldwide, however, no legally endorsed definition of wholegrain flour and products exists. Current definitions are often incomplete, lacking descriptions of the included grains and the permitted flour manufacturing processes. The consortium of the HEALTHGRAIN EU project (FP6-514008, 2005–2010) identified the need for developing a definition of whole grain with the following scope: 1) more comprehensive than current definitions in most EU countries; 2) one definition for Europe – when possible equal to definitions outside Europe; 3) reflecting current industrial practices for production of flours and consumer products; 4) useful in the context of nutritional guidelines and for labelling purposes. The definition was developed in a range of discussion meetings and consultations and was launched in 2010 at the end of the HEALTHGRAIN project. The grains included are specified: a wide range of cereal grains from the Poaceae family, and the pseudo-cereals amaranth, buckwheat, quinoa, and wild rice. The definition also describes manufacturing processes allowed for producing wholegrain flours. This paper compares the HEALTHGRAIN definition with previous definitions, provides more comprehensive explanations than in the definition itself regarding the inclusion of specific grains, and sets out the permitted flour manufacturing processes.
Alcohol consumption and ovarian cancer risk in a population‐based case–control study

Alcohol consumption has been investigated as a possible risk factor for ovarian cancer in several epidemiological studies, with inconsistent findings. Recent studies have suggested that the association between alcohol consumption and ovarian cancer may vary according to histologic subtype of ovarian cancer and type of alcohol consumed (e.g., wine, beer, or liquor). We examined these associations in a population‐based case‐control study comprised of 762 incident cases of epithelial ovarian cancer and 6,271 population controls from Massachusetts and Wisconsin aged 40–79 years. Women reported their usual alcohol consumption as young adults (20–30 years of age) and in the recent past. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. There was no significant association of ovarian cancer with increasing alcohol consumption either during ages 20–30 years (p trend 0.42) or in the recent past (p trend 0.83). Regular drinking of beer (1 drink/day or more) during ages 20–30 (OR 1.55, 95% CI 1.07–2.26), though not liquor (OR 1.35, 95% CI 0.86–2.11) or wine (OR 0.99, 95% CI 0.49–2.00), was associated with a statistically significant increase in risk of invasive tumors, whereas no significant relationships were observed for recent drinking, regardless of alcohol type. The elevated risk for early adult regular drinking was confined to serous invasive tumors (OR 1.52, 95% CI 1.01–2.30), though results for other subtypes were based on sparse data and results were imprecise. In this study, neither total alcohol consumption as a young adult nor recently was associated with an increase in the risk of ovarian cancer. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Large-Scale traffic characterization of Chinese Multimedia Messaging Service using hadoop

Recently, there have been many mobile value-added services in the Chinese mobile telecommunication market nowadays. Among them, the characteristics of Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) have not yet been fully understood. In this paper, with the help of a cloud computing platform, we investigated the flow-level characteristics of Chinese MMS. All of the experimental data were collected by the TMS equipment deployed in a major node in Southern China. The collection time spanned six months. We performed high-level analysis to show the basic distributions of MMS characteristics. Then, by analysing the detailed MMS features, we determined the distribution of personal MMS, and made a comprehensive comparison between 2G and 3G MMS. Finally, we tried to build a model on the personal MMS inter-arrival time, and we found that the Weibull distribution was optimum.
Role of biochemical investigation in prediction of biliary etiology in acute pancreatitis.

INTRODUCTION Acute pancreatitis is common clinical presentation. Gall stone disease and alcohol consumption are most common etiologies. Detection of biliary etiology is important in order to provide definite management in form of cholecystectomy to prevent further attacks. Sensitivity for abdominal ultrasound to detect cholelithiasis is decreased to 67-87% in presence of acute pancreatitis. Difference in biochemical investigations of acute biliary and non-biliary pancreatitis has been proposed to increase the suspicion of biliary etiology. METHODS Sixty patients admitted with diagnosis of acute pancreatitis from March 2012 to December 2012 were included in the study. The relation between etiology with age, sex, admission serum amylase and liver function test were evaluated. RESULTS Out of 60 patients 38 (63.33%) and 22 (36.66%) had biliary and non-biliary etiology respectively. Biliary pancreatitis was more common in females (25 vs. 3). Distribution of severity was comparable between both groups. Biliary pancreatitis group had significantly higher amylase level (3466.42 vs. 1987.5, p 0.003) whereas values of liver function test were higher in biliary pancreatitis though not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS A simple, rapid and accurate prediction of biliary etiology of acute pancreatitis can be provided by changes in biochemical parameters.
Relationship between adherence and the development of resistance in antiretroviral-naive, HIV-1-infected patients receiving lopinavir/ritonavir or nelfinavir.

BACKGROUND Relationships between adherence to protease inhibitor (PI)-based therapy and resistance development have not been fully characterized. METHODS We conducted a double-blind, randomized, controlled study of lopinavir/ritonavir versus nelfinavir, each administered with stavudine and lamivudine, in 653 antiretroviral-naive, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1-infected patients. Relationships between adherence and probability of resistance development were evaluated by local linear regression or logistic regression. RESULTS A higher risk of detectable HIV-1 RNA loads after week 24 was associated with lower adherence (odds ratio [OR], 1.08 per 1% decrease in adherence [95% confidence interval {CI}, 1.05-1.10]; P<.001) and nelfinavir use (OR, 2.4 vs. lopinavir/ritonavir [95% CI, 1.6-3.6]; P<.001). Among all nelfinavir-treated patients, a bell-shaped relationship between adherence and the risk of nelfinavir resistance was observed, with a maximum probability of 20% at 85%-90% adherence. No lopinavir resistance was observed. A bell-shaped relationship was also observed for the probability of lamivudine resistance, with a maximum probability of 50% at 75%-80% adherence to nelfinavir and of 15% at 80%-85% adherence to lopinavir/ritonavir. CONCLUSIONS Bell-shaped relationships between adherence and resistance were observed. Irrespective of adherence level, the risk of detectable HIV-1 RNA loads or of PI or lamivudine resistance was significantly higher in nelfinavir-treated patients than in lopinavir/ritonavir-treated patients.
Tree colonization by the Asian longhorn beetle, Anoplophora glabripennis (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae): effect of habitat and tree suitability

Tree colonization and feeding activity of the invasive wood‐borer Asian longhorn beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis), an Asian pest introduced into North America and Europe, was studied in a newly invaded area in Italy. The hypothesis being tested was that the reproductive success of the insect depend on habitat type and tree suitability. Adult beetles were caged on branches of host and nonhost species, in both urban and forest habitats. Two months later, number and size of feeding patches on plant tissues, eggs laid, and surviving larvae were assessed. Bark concentration of C and N was also measured from the same trees. Results indicated that the mean area of plant tissues consumed by adult feeding was significantly larger on trees growing in forest than in urban habitat, although within the same habitat there were no differences between susceptible and nonsusceptible trees. ALB tree colonization, in terms of number of eggs laid and young larvae survival, was not affected by habitat while it was higher on susceptible trees. Although trees growing in forests had a lower nitrogen concentration, they allowed colonization rates similar to those of trees growing in the urban habitat. Hence, the amount of carbon and nitrogen did not fully explain tree suitability or habitat selection. We suggest compensatory feeding as a potential mechanism that might explain this peculiar situation, as supported by a more intensive feeding activity recorded on trees in the forest. Suitability of different trees may be due to other factors, such as secondary chemical compounds.
Urbanisation and household consumption in China

This paper focusses on the link between urbanisation and consumption behaviour in China. Urbanisation is defined here as rural people moving to cities to work and migrant workers in cities obtaining urban residential status, against the backdrop of government plans to settle 100 million rural dwellers into cities and grant urban residential status to another 100 million migrant workers who already reside in cities. Using household data of the China Family Panel Studies dataset, the paper investigates the impact of those residential status changes on household consumption. The results of the analysis suggest that moving up the residential ladder in this way will likely result in increased consumption by almost 30% for both groups of people and thus contribute to rebalancing of the economy. Higher incomes and longer times in education are important drivers of this process, while a greater number of children in the family discourages consumption. This Working Paper relates to the 2017 OECD Economic Survey of China (www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/economic-survey-china.htm).
Psychological and social adjustment after pediatric liver transplantation as a function of age at surgery and of time elapsed since transplantation.

The study assessed psychological and social adjustment to pediatric liver transplantation in 101 patients aged 4-16 years who had undergone transplantation 2-10 years earlier. Each parent completed the Child Behavior Check List (CBCL) independently and answered a transplantation questionnaire assessing psychosocial issues. Most children scored within the normal range for both parts of the CBCL (i.e. Behavioral Problems and Social Competences). The impact of age at transplantation and of time elapsed since transplantation were examined. Earlier transplantation was associated with subsequent higher scores for Aggressive Behavior and Sex Problems, with lower scores for Activities and Competences, and with more parental anxiety concerning their child's health. The longer the time elapsed since transplantation, the more mothers rated high levels on the Somatic complaints, Anxiety/depression, Competence, and Social activity CBCL scales for their child. Parents reported talking more about the transplantation with their children with increasing time following transplantation. This suggests that transplantation remains an important event even after long periods of time from the transplant event. Finally, despite the difficulties encountered, more than 80% of the parents considered the transplantation had been beneficial to their child.
Sclerostin: a possible target for the management of cancer-induced bone disease

Introduction: Sclerostin is a cysteine-knot-containing protein, which is produced by osteocytes and inhibits osteoblast function. The aim of this review is to summarize the data about the role of sclerostin in cancer-induced bone disease. Areas covered: We performed a thorough search for articles in the PubMed using the words “sclerostin, cancer, multiple myeloma”, and for similar abstracts that were presented in the ASH and ASCO annual meetings (2005 – 2011). In multiple myeloma, sclerostin is produced by myeloma cells and elevated in the serum or the plasma of the patients, and correlates with extensive bone disease and adverse myeloma features. In prostate cancer, sclerostin expression is reduced and in combination with bone morhogenetic protein-6 and noggin expression may serve as prognostic predictor for metastatic progression. In breast cancer, in vitro data suggest that the malignant cell induces the expression of sclerostin to inhibit osteoblasts in the metastatic bone area. Expert opinion: Sclerostin may play a role in inhibiting bone formation in the biology of bone metastases in breast cancer and of myeloma-related bone disease. The results of phase I/II studies with anti-sclerostin drugs in subjects with low bone mass may lead to the potential clinical investigation of these agents in cancer-induced bone disease.
Glucose, Galactose, and Glutamine Metabolism in Pig Isolated Enterocytes during Development

ABSTRACT: In the pig, the gastrointestinal tract grows rapidly after birth and undergoes a short postnatal maturation. The objective of the present work was to assess the metabolic characteristics of the small intestinal mucosa during this period by investigating glucose, galactose, and glutamine metabolism in pig isolated enterocytes. Piglets were used immediately after birth or at various stages during suckling or postweaning. Fed animals were taken in a postabsorptive state. The jejunoileum was excised and perfused with an EDTA (5 mM)-containing buffer. The epithelial cell layer was further dissociated in the presence of hyaluronidase (0.01%). The resulting cell suspension (95% absorbing enterocytes; viability greater than 90%) was incubated with 14C-labeled substrates to measure 14CO2 production in parallel with substrate disappearance. The capacity to utilize glutamine was high and remained steady during the suckling period. Glucose utilization capacity was limited at birth and increased more than 3-fold during the first week of suckling. Such an increase was not observed in piglets kept unsuckled since birth. Galactose utilization capacity remained steady during the first week but afterward gradually disappeared. Lactate and pyruvate production through glycolysis was the major pathway accounting for glucose or galactose disappearance. A capacity for a net glucose production from galactose was evidenced during the first week of suckling. Thus, isolated newborn pig enterocytes exhibit specific and transient metabolic characteristics during the first postnatal week.
An African Ethic of Hospitality for the Global Church: A Response to the Culture of Exploitation and Violence in Africa

Barely seventeen years into the twenty-first century, our world continues to be plagued by endless wars and violence. Africa is not immune from these crises. As many countries in Africa celebrate more than fifty years of independence from colonial rule, Africa is still the poorest continent in the world. Religious wars, genocides, ethnic and tribal cleansings have come to define the continent’s contemporary history. Corruption, nepotism, dictatorship, disregard for human life, tribalism, and many social vices are normalized realities in many parts of the continent. Rather than despair, a radical refocusing on Africa’s rich history of hospitality that affirms the flourishing of all life ought to be embraced. This article aims to do exactly this by exploring Africa’s role and place in the history of three Abrahamic religions; Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. While celebrating Africa’s unique role as the gateway for the realization of divine hospitality, this article aims to serve as a witness to an ethic of life that is relevant for the global church’s vision and mission to a pluralistic world and for the mission of the churches of Africa to addressing the social, cultural, and political crises faced by the continent. To achieve these, this work appropriates a comparative theological method that sheds light on the centrality of Africa in these three Abrahamic religions with a bias for the flourishing of life. Keywords: Africa, Hospitality, Life, Christianity, Islam, Judaism
Gastroduodenal diseases of childhood

Purpose of review This paper will review new developments in the etiology and management of gastric and duodenal diseases affecting children. Recent findings Despite dropping prevalence rates in developed nations, most new Helicobacter pylori infections are primarily acquired during childhood. Resistance to standard triple therapy and falling eradication rates are increasing problems for clinicians, necessitating the study of alternative treatment strategies. Eosinophilic diseases of the gastrointestinal tract are being increasingly recognized. Although population-based epidemiology and the natural history of eosinophilic diseases are not yet fully characterized, biologic therapies are in development for the treatment of these chronic, often refractory, conditions. A recent US National Institutes of Health celiac disease consensus conference suggested that infants' diet constituents and timing of solid food introduction are potential environmental influences in the development of celiac disease. Summary New methods of diagnosis and treatment are greatly impacting care of pediatric patients with gastric and duodenal diseases. Less invasive but highly accurate tools for diagnosis are becoming better validated. Early diagnosis and effective intervention in most gastroduodenal disorders of childhood can alter natural history and improve overall quality of life.
Visual servoing for microrobotic platforms

A system capable of centering an object in the field of view of a camera is introduced in this work. The centering ability is achieved through visual servoing techniques. Components of the system are a visual servocontroller, using a camera as the sensor, and an intelligent actuator. Such an actuator has the ability to make decisions related to the camera motion. These decisions are made according to the information extracted from the acquired images. Software implementing specific methods for these tasks is used to save the acquired images into memory. This software enables the interface between the video device and the programming languages. The implemented system has the advantage of being able to be integrated to mobile robots supplying them with the ability to interact with the environment. Experimental tests have been done in order to evaluate the system response in real-time applications. Results are discussed in detail.
Chorionic plate vessels as an origin of amniotic fluid neutrophils

The present study was conducted to investigate the potential anatomical source of amniotic fluid neutrophils. Microdissection of neutrophils from the chorioamnion of the fetal membranes and the amnion of the chorionic plates of 10 preterm placentas with acute chorioamnionitis was performed and the genotypes of the neutrophils were compared with those of the mother and fetus using polymerase chain reaction of nine autosomal STR loci. In separate analyses, we reviewed eight cases of fetal autopsies with increased amniotic fluid neutrophils for the presence of neutrophils in the alveoli, and also analyzed the relationship between the amniotic fluid white blood cell (WBC) count and the histological pattern of placental inflammation. The genotypes of all of the neutrophils found in the chorioamnion of the fetal membrane matched those of the mother (n = 10). The genotypes of neutrophils found in the chorionic plate were of mixed maternal and fetal origin (n = 4). In the autopsy series of the fetuses with amniotic fluid WBC (n = 8), only five cases showed neutrophils in the alveolar space, while all the placentas had chorioamnionitis. There was no significant difference in amniotic fluid WBC count between the cases with or without acute membranitis, while among the cases with placental inflammation, those with inflammation of the chorionic plate had a significantly higher amniotic fluid WBC count than both the membranitis‐only cases (P < 0.001) and the membranitis and funisitis cases (P < 0.05). These results imply that fetal vasculature at the chorionic plate is the main source of amniotic fluid neutrophils, especially in the cases without funisitis.