Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Importance of Oil in the Allocation of Foreign Aid

While it is often alleged that natural resource endowment might influence the destination of foreign aid, there is lack of empirical evidence in which this map may come into play, and even less so in which channels this can operate. This paper aims to bring evidence that contributes to address those points. Specifically, we investigate the role of oil in aid allocation of the major OECD donors, namely the G7 countries, over the 1980-2010 period. Results show that, unsurprisingly, aid allocated by these countries increases significantly with oil endowment of recipient countries. Looking more deeply, we interestingly show that their strategic interests in terms of oil security play a role in their provision of aid. More importantly, we find evidence for competition for access to oil supplies among OECD donors.
A Social–Ecological Systems Approach to Assessing Conservation and Fisheries Outcomes in Fijian Locally Managed Marine Areas

ABSTRACT Locally managed marine areas (LMMAs) are often recommended as a strategy to achieve conservation and fisheries management, though few studies have evaluated their performance against these objectives. We assessed the effectiveness of eight periodically harvested closures (PHCs), the most common form of management within Fijian LMMAs, focusing on two outcomes: protection of resource units and biodiversity conservation. Of the eight PHCs, only one provided biodiversity benefits, whereas three were moderately successful in protecting resource units (targeted fish biomass). Protection of resource units was more likely when PHCs were harvested less frequently, less recently, and when total fish biomass in open areas was lower. Our findings further suggest that monitoring, enforcement, and clearly defined boundaries are critical, less frequent harvesting regimes are advised, and culturally appropriate management incentives are needed. Although PHCs have some potential to protect resource units, they are not recommended as a single strategy for broad-scale biodiversity conservation.
Avoiding Rotational Mismatch of Locking Distal Tibia Plates Depends on Proper Plate Position

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the most appropriate positioning of anatomical locking plates on the distal tibia. Methods: We positioned 4 types of locking plates (3 straight and 1 bayonet) at anterior, middle, and posterior positions on the medial malleolus on both lower limbs of 15 cadavers. We measured the rotational mismatch angle between the tibia and the proximal part of the plate and calculated the plate prominence at each position. Results: The average rotational mismatch angles of a combined group containing all 3 straight plates were 0.3, 16.9, and 29.4 degrees at the anterior, middle, and posterior positions, respectively (P < 0.001). In the group with 1 bayonet plate, the rotational mismatch angles were −10.5, 0, and 16.7 degrees on average, respectively (P < 0.001). The average plate prominence for each of the positions (anterior, middle, and posterior) in the group with 3 straight plates were 3.5, 6.9, and 9.4 mm, respectively (P < 0.001). The average plate prominence in the group with 1 bayonet plate were 5.4, 3.6, and 6.7 mm, respectively (P < 0.001). Conclusions: We confirmed that anterior placement of the 3 straight locking plates in the distal tibia showed the best fit with regard to rotational alignment and that middle placement of the bayonet locking plates showed best fit. Placement of distal end of the locking plates in inappropriate positions results in a greater risk of rotational mismatch and plate impingement.
Exploring the biocomputing frontier

Stop thinking that the universe is best described by Boolean order operations, consider the world of biocomputing. The idea in exploring the multidimensional characteristics of biocomputing systems involves multilevel protein logic interaction with hybrid digital systems (bio/digital/analog systems). In the protein biocomputing world, all models are multilevel and nonlinear exponential in nature. These biocomputing systems are linearized by boundary limited frequency, time response and dimensional ranges. The protein model and its correct development is probably the most difficult aspect for biocomputing issues. Previous protein models were not dealing with 2 and 3 dimensional models, while the current protein models are now faced with high frequency design, due to the emergence of bio-nanodevices. These future biocomputing devices will be chemical sensors, fluidic computer systems, optical switches, nanoactuators, self-repairing polymorphic computing systems, cognitive processors and biorobotics
Effect of salmeterol treatment on nitric oxide level in exhaled air and dose–response to terbutaline in children with mild asthma

The aim of this study was to investigate whether regular treatment with inhaled salmeterol modifies the dose–response curve to the inhaled short‐acting β2‐agonist terbutaline or affects the concentration of nitric oxide (NO) in exhaled air of children with asthma. Twenty‐two children aged 7 to 15 years (mean = 11.6 years) with mild asthma were treated with inhaled 50 μg salmeterol twice daily or placebo for 3 weeks in a randomized double‐blind cross‐over study. These treatments were followed by treatment with inhaled 200 μg budesonide twice daily for 3 weeks. On the last day of each period, NO level was measured in exhaled air and a cumulative dose–response experiment with terbutaline (cumulative dose: 1,475 μg) was performed.
Atypical Femoral Fractures: Transverse Morphology at Lateral Cortex Is a Critical Feature

In 2010, the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR) task force defined major and minor features to assist in the case finding and reporting of atypical femoral fractures (AFFs). One major feature that was proposed was a “transverse or short oblique configuration. ” Our primary aim was to compare the conventional overall fracture morphology (OFM) with its associated angle (OFMA) and our proposed lateral cortical fracture angle (LCFA) in the assessment of fracture configuration in suspected AFFs and non‐AFFs. The radiographs of 79 patients with AFFs and 39 patients with non‐AFFs were each analyzed by two blinded reviewers to obtain the OFM, OFMA, and LCFA. Using the overall fracture morphology to assess the suspected AFFs resulted in discordance between reviewers in 18 cases (22.8%), of which 5 (6.3%) were discordant between short oblique (>30° to 60°) and long oblique (>60° to 90°) configurations, therefore affecting their classifications as AFFs. By assessing only the critical component within the lateral cortex, all the suspected AFFs fell well within the classification as transverse fractures with a mean LCFA of 4.8° (range 0.3 to 18.0, SD = 4.23). The inter‐reader variability was also lower for LCFA versus OFMA (4.1° versus 6.9°, p = 0.001) when used to assess AFFs. Fracture angles were significantly different in AFFs versus non‐AFFs regardless of whether the OFMA or LCFA methodology was employed, but the greater difference associated with LCFA suggests its greater discriminating power. When LCFA was used in conjunction with 0° to 30° as the criteria for transverse morphology, all the AFFs and non‐AFFs were correctly classified. By using a standardized and precise method in measuring the fracture angle, specifically using only the component of the lateral cortex and limiting to truly transverse fractures, ie, between 0° and 30°, the LCFA is a robust and accurate method to assess the fracture morphology in suspected AFFs. © 2014 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.
Systolic blood pressure in cats with diabetes mellitus.

OBJECTIVE To determine the prevalence of systemic hypertension in cats with diabetes mellitus and establish ranges for echocardiographic variables in diabetic cats. DESIGN Prospective study. ANIMALS 14 cats with diabetes mellitus and 19 healthy control cats. PROCEDURE Systolic blood pressure was measured indirectly with a noninvasive Doppler technique. Ophthalmic and echocardiographic examinations were performed, and urine protein concentration was measured. Cats were considered to have hypertension if they had systolic blood pressure > 180 mm Hg and at least 1 other clinical abnormality typically associated with hypertension (eg, hypertensive retinopathy, left ventricular hypertrophy, or proteinuria). RESULTS None of the diabetic or control cats had systolic blood pressure > 180 mm Hg. One diabetic cat had left ventricular hypertrophy, but systolic blood pressure was 174 mm Hg. None of the cats had evidence of hypertensive retinopathy or proteinuria. Mean values for echocardiographic variables for the diabetic cats were not significantly different from published values for healthy cats. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Results suggest that hypertension does not occur or occurs in only a small percentage of cats with diabetes mellitus.
Software for analytical development of communications protocols

We describe a way to develop and implement communications protocols so they are logically sound and meet stated requirements. Our methodology employs a software system called the coordination-specification analyzer (COSPAN) to facilitate logical testing (in contrast to simulation or system execution testing). Logical testing of a communications protocol is carried out on a succession of models of the protocol. Starting with a high-level model (e.g., a formal abstraction of a protocol standard), successively more refined (detailed) models are created. This succession ends with a low-level model which is in fact the code that runs the ultimate implementation of the protocol. Tests of successive models are defined not by test vectors, but by user-defined behavioral requirements appropriate to the given level of abstraction. Testing a high-level design permits early detection and correction of design errors. Successive refinement is carried out in a fashion that guarantees properties proved at one level of abstraction hold in all successive levels of abstraction. We recount the experience of an application of this methodology, employing COSPAN, to develop (analyze and implement in software) a new session protocol at an interface of an AT&T product called the Trunk Operations Provisioning Administration System (TOPAS).
Structure and dynamics of zooplankton in a semi-arid wetland, the National Park Las Tablas de Daimiel (Spain)

Zooplankton structure and dynamics were studied in a freshwater wetland subject to strong hydrologic fluctuations. This wetland underwent a six-year drought that terminated at the end of 1996. At that time, inundation area and water level increased, diminishing macrophyte cover in some cases and enhancing a continuing eutrophication problem. Sampling was performed monthly from January 1996 to December 1998 in five shallow water sites. Zooplankton were a mixture of limnetic and littoral species (66 rotifer, 15 cladoceran, and 10 copepod taxa, plus unidentified oligotrichid and peritrichid ciliates), the composition of which changed coincident with the shift of the hydrologic conditions. The most common taxa were bdelloid rotifers and Lecane closterocerca. The microcrustancean Ceriodaphnia dubia, Daphnia curvirostris, and Acanthocyclops robustus were frequent. Ciliates were the most important component of zooplankton in terms of biomass, except in spring when cladocerans were dominant. Rotifer biomass was the lowest fraction of zooplankton. When community structure was described by taxonomic classes, mean biomass, or time biomass trajectories, only weak spatial patterns were found following the flux of water in the wetland. Each zooplankton group was distinctly affected by flood. Ciliates and rotifers increased biomass after the flooding, possibly as a result of the enhancement of eutrophication; cladoceran populations decreased after the flooding likely due to macrophyte loss that facilitated planktivorous fish control. Copepods increased biomass consequent to the stabilized water level. There was a clear seasonal trend of zooplankton biomass seemingly unaffected by flood. Ciliates and rotifers had fluctuating low biomass in winter-spring, with maximum biomass in summer-autumn; cladocerans appeared and peaked only in spring; copepods peaked in late winter and spring.
Why do some women micro-entrepreneurs decide to formalise their businesses?

The present study intends to identify the profile of women microentrepreneurs and assess the extent to which their entrepreneurial motivations may be influenced by legal incentives to formalise their businesses and by their capacity to reconcile the demands of family and work. A questionnaire was used to gather data on the individual entrepreneurial initiatives of women in Brazil. We evaluated multiple linear regression models for their explanation of the dimensions involving motivations to formalise business activities and dual roles as workers and homemakers, as well as using cluster analysis to identify the profile of women micro-entrepreneurs. The results suggest that these women opt for legalised individual entrepreneurship to access the benefits offered by the formalisation of their businesses and to search for mechanisms that encourage a work-family balance.
Targeted corneal transplantation

Purpose of review Corneal transplantation surgery has moved from an era of conventional penetrating keratoplasty to selective replacement of the diseased corneal layer with complementary healthy donor corneal tissue. Anterior lamellar transplantation surgeries do not involve replacement of corneal endothelium, consequently eliminating the occurrence of endothelial rejection. Similarly, in diseases affecting the corneal endothelium, selective replacement with a lamellar lenticule bearing healthy endothelium provides better outcomes in terms of ocular surface, lesser astigmatism and quick visual recovery. In addition to the advantages of enhanced surgical outcomes, targeted corneal transplantation allows the use of one donor cornea for more than one recipient, thereby offering a viable solution to the problem of paucity of donor corneas. Recent findings Evolving techniques of corneal transplantation have enabled better utilization of donor corneal tissue. Anterior lamellar as well as endothelial keratoplasty surgeries have become first-choice surgeries in appropriately selected cases. This review briefly discusses some of these novel surgical techniques. Summary A better understanding of targeted corneal transplantation would lead to adaptation of the concept of component corneal surgery. This would further enable the corneal surgeons to circumvent the problem of donor corneal shortage especially in the developing world.
Social Context in Gene-Environment Interactions: Retrospect and Prospect.

While many behavioral scientists believe that gene-environment (GE) interactions play an important and perhaps pervasive role in human development and aging, little attention has been devoted to a fundamental conceptual issue: What is it about social context that could alter gene expression? We draw on existing examples of GE interactions to formulate a typology that identifies a set of generic mechanisms by which E moderates G. Empirical studies suggest four ideal types: Social context can trigger a genetic diathesis, compensate for a genetic diathesis, act as a control to prevent behaviors for which there is a genetic predisposition, and enhance adaptation through proximal processes. This typology highlights several problems, however, with prior empirical research, which may explain, in part, why so few GE interactions have actually been observed. These problems include inattention to the dynamic nature of social experience, the manifold, often-intercorrelated dimensions of social context ("EE interactions"), mediators that link social context and the genotype, and analytic models that examine GE interactions as processes that characterize individual development. In turn, these insights call for the integration of life course sociology and behavioral genetics to foster ways of studying genes, context, and aging.
Optical monitoring of transmitter release and synaptic vesicle recycling at the frog neuromuscular junction.

1. Frog cutaneous pectoris motor nerve terminals were loaded with the fluorescent dye FM1‐43, which produced a series of discrete spots along the length of terminals, each spot evidently marking a cluster of synaptic vesicles. Terminals were imaged for 2‐10 min as they destained during repetitive nerve stimulation. Endplate potentials (EPPs) were recorded simultaneously from the muscle fibres innervated by these terminals; their summed amplitudes provided a measure of cumulative transmitter release. 2. Individual fluorescent spots in any one terminal varied in initial brightness but destained at similar fractional rates. 3. The rates of cumulative transmitter release and destaining increased with stimulus frequency in the range 2‐30 Hz. At 40 Hz, however, both transmitter release and destaining were slower than at 30 Hz. 4. In twenty‐six experiments, rates of dye loss and transmitter release were compared quantitatively. When the time course of summed EPPs was scaled to fit the time course of dye loss during the first 30‐60 s of destaining, the two curves usually diverged at later times, the dye loss curve falling below the summed EPP curve. Thus, assuming that dye loss and transmitter release are proportional at early times, at later times the rate of dye loss decreases relative to the rate of transmitter release. 5. At stimulus frequencies from 2 to 30 Hz, the results could be fitted by a simple model in which vesicles lose their dye during exocytosis and, after a fixed recycle ‘dead time’, they re‐enter the vesicle pool, mixing randomly with other vesicles. 6. Unlike stimulation at lower frequencies, at 40 Hz dye loss and summed EPP amplitude curves did not significantly diverge. Stimulation periods lasted up to about 2 min. Interpreted according to the model of vesicle recycling, this suggests that vesicle recycling is inhibited at 40 Hz. 7. The model led to predictions about the relative number, N, of vesicles (labelled and unlabelled) in the terminal at any time during stimulation. The calculated value of N decreased at times less than the recycle ‘dead time’, and then increased, reflecting the appearance of recycled vesicles in the vesicle pool. 8. From estimates of N and recorded EPP amplitudes, the fraction of vesicles released per shock, F, could be calculated during the entire stimulation period. At low stimulus frequencies (2‐5 Hz), after an initial rapid fall, F decreased slowly and monotonically by about 50% in 6 min. At higher stimulus frequencies, a different process was observed. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
The organ center of the United Network for Organ Sharing and twenty years of organ sharing in the United States.1

The increasing size of the transplant waiting list and the increasing use of expanded criteria donors places a premium on efficient use of recovered organs. Maximal organ utilization often necessitates organ sharing between transplant organizations. Optimal organ sharing requires rapid, integrated communication of donor information combined with expedited organ transportation. For more than 20 years, the United Network for Organ Sharing’s Organ Center has fulfilled this task for the United States transplant community. This overview details a brief history of United States organ sharing and the role played by the Organ Center. The current scope and modes of Organ Center operations are detailed.
Learning from mistakes

I could continue writing about evangelism from a theoretical and abstract perspective, but I realize that is only one way of learning. We can also learn from examples and even from mistakes. In this section, I want to share an evangelistic experience I had. Two years ago, I shared the gospel with a good friend of mine. There are some things that I did well, and some things I did poorly. Since I have had two years to reflect on this experience, I have often thought about how I could have done things better. The problem with evangelism is that we must share the gospel in real conversations, which are conducted in real time. It is hard to plan how and where a conversation will go, and sometimes we say foolish things or steer the conversation into unfruitful directions. We will be better off if we pray, lean on the Holy Spirit " s guidance, prepare our minds, and learn to think well on our feet. Please, learn from my experience, particularly my mistakes. I first met Mike 1 in 1995 when we were both students at Brandeis University. It was the toward the end of my freshman year and his sophomore year. We were both interested in sports journalism; he wrote for the campus paper and I started working for the campus radio station. We were both covering an early spring baseball game. Over the next two years, we spent some time together as Mike occasionally worked for the radio station. I can " t recall that we spent a lot of time hanging out as students at Brandeis, but after he graduated, we became good friends. I think it happened simply because I was one of the people from college who kept in touch with him. Sometimes, simply keeping in touch with someone and caring for how he or she is doing is enough to forge a lifelong friendship. Over the years, Mike and stayed in touch, as the paths of our lives diverged and, occasionally, converged. He moved to Connecticut, then Europe for a year. I moved to Austin, Texas for graduate school. For a time, he was particularly nomadic, moving every year or even every few months. At one point, he decided he wanted to consider living in Austin. He visited me twice before making that decision, and then later he moved into my apartment for …
Open Up and Say “Baa”: Examining the Stomachs of Ruminant Livestock and the Real Subsumption of Nature

ABSTRACT This article examines the stomachs of ruminant livestock as a site of biotechnological intervention and analyzes efforts to reengineer ruminant digestion as a case of the real subsumption of nature. The livestock industry’s capacity to increase production is constrained by available grazing land and concern about environmental consequences of ever-increasing livestock numbers. Ruminants are also a significant source of greenhouse gases and the mitigation of methane is a recognized priority within the global climate framework. The pursuit of “sustainable intensification” and new technological fixes have been identified as preferred responses to these constraints. The case of ruminant methane calls into question assumptions about the primacy of accumulation, rather than regulation, in driving the real subsumption of nature. The pursuit of technological fixes within biologically based industries may be motivated by a need to stabilize the conditions of production, and regulation itself can provide an impetus for the real subsumption of nature.
What have we learned from the last three decades of empirical studies on factors driving local privatisation?

ABSTRACT Scholarly empirical studies on factors that motivate local privatisation have greatly grown in the last decade. As well, having available better and more comprehensive databases and using more refined empirical techniques have made possible to enhance our understanding of the dynamics of local privatisation, particularly in many European countries. The influence of fiscal stress, cost considerations – scale economies as well as transaction costs – and political partisan interests is usually confirmed. Furthermore, ideological attitudes appear to be more influential than they seemed to be, particularly when considering social services, rather than the technical ones.