Fiscal decentralization and regional disparities: The importance of good governance

In this paper we consider how government quality mediates the relationship between fiscal decentralization and regional disparities. Previous work has argued that fiscal decentralization has the potential to reduce income differences across regions but that this potential may not be realized because of governance problems associated with sub-national authorities. Our empirical evidence based on a sample of 24 OECD countries over the period 1984 to 2006 lends a measure of support to this idea. We find that fiscal decentralization promotes regional convergence in high government quality settings but, worryingly, it leads to wider regional disparities in countries with poor governance.     

Effects of rind removal on physicochemical quality characteristics of fresh‐cut watermelon [Citrullus lanatus (Thunb) Matsum & Nakai] during cold storage

The impact of removing the rind from fresh‐cut watermelon slices was assessed on the quality of the product during storage at 4 °C for 9 days. Flesh lycopene declined from 55.4 to 47.9 mg kg^?1 f.w. and colour lightness (L*) increased from 43.2 to 45.8 after 2 days of storage. Initial heart and placental flesh firmness increased from 7.3 and 9.8 N, respectively, to 9.5 and 12.8 N after 9 days, but were unaffected by rind processing. Electrolyte leakage from placental tissue was unaffected by storage and rind. Rind presence limited juice run‐off by 47.2% and maintained mean total soluble sugar concentration in the slices at 86.0 mg mL^?1 as opposed to 76.8 mg mL^?1 in rind‐less slices. Change in the quality was most pronounced between 0 and 2 day of storage. Removing the rind accelerated senescence and off‐flavour production, while the presence of rind improved the overall storage stability of fresh‐cut watermelon slices.     

Prebiotic potential of barley derived β-glucan at low intake levels: A randomised,double-blinded,placebo-controlled clinical study

This randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical study aimed to evaluate the in vivo prebiotic potential of barley β-glucan. Fifty-two healthy volunteers aged 39–70 years were randomly assigned to consume daily a cake containing 0.75 g of barley β-glucan or a placebo for 30 d. Stool samples were collected before, during and 2 weeks after the intervention for bacterial enumeration. Gastrointestinal side effects were recorded during the treatment period. In older subjects (?50 years old), barley β-glucan induced a strong bifidogenic effect and an increase of bifidobacteria into traceable range in cases of no detectable baseline levels. A concurrent significant increase in bacteroides was also observed in this age group. Ingestion of the experimental food resulted in no undesirable gastrointestinal side effects in older subjects. We concluded that the daily intake of a cake containing barley β-glucan is well-tolerated and demonstrated significant bifidogenic properties in older healthy volunteers consuming their usual diets.     

A mode-matching technique for the study of circular and coaxialwaveguide discontinuities based on closed-form coupling integrals

A mode-matching scheme for the analysis of concentric circular and/or coaxial waveguide step discontinuities is proposed in this paper. An analytical evaluation of the involved coupling integrals for all possible discontinuities formed by any combination of a circular and a coaxial waveguide is performed. The originality mainly concerns the multimode excitation and scattering at a circular-to-coaxial waveguide step junction. Numerical results for a number of applications are compared against those of other techniques and/or measurements and are found to be in good agreement     

Wireless telemedicine systems: an overview

Rapid advances in information technology and telecommunications and, more specifically, wireless and mobile communications - and their convergence ("telematics") are leading to the emergence of a new type of information infrastructure that has the potential of supporting an array of advanced services for healthcare. The objective of this paper is to provide a snapshot of the applications of wireless telemedicine systems. A review of the spectrum of these applications and the potential benefits of these efforts is presented, followed by successful case studies in electronic patient record, emergency telemedicine, teleradiology, and home monitoring. It is anticipated that the progress carried out in these efforts and the potential benefits of emerging mobile technologies will trigger the development of more applications, thus enabling the offering of a better service to the citizen     

The geometrical theory for the input impedance of the isosceles orthogonal triangular microstrip patch antenna

Contents The geometrical optics model for a triangular 45°/45°/90° patch antenna is presented. The antenna is fed by a current probe, and the input impedance of the antenna is found by the emf method. Numerical as well as experimental results show the validity of the model.

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Die geometrische Theorie der Eingangsimpedanz einer dreieckförmigen (45°/45°/90°) Mikrostripantenne

Übersicht Für das Modell einer dreieckförmigen (45°/45°/90°) Mikrostripantenne mit Speisung über eine Stromsonde wird die Eingangsimpedanz der Antenne nach der EMK-Methode berechnet. Numerische und experimentelle Ergebnisse bestätigen die Brauchbarkeit des Modells.

     

Functional and evolutionary implications of natural variation in clock genes

Stomach cancer remains the second leading cancer in incidence in Shanghai, China, despite its decline over the past 2 decades. To clarify risk factors for this common malignancy, we conducted a population-based case-control study in Shanghai, China. Included in the study were 1,124 stomach cancer patients (age 20-69) newly diagnosed in 1988-1989 and 1,451 controls randomly selected among Shanghai residents. Usual adult dietary intake was assessed using a comprehensive food frequency questionnaire. Adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using logistic regression models. Risks of stomach cancer were inversely associated with high consumption of several food groups, including fresh vegetables and fruits, poultry, eggs, plant oil, and some nutrients, such as protein, fat, fiber and antioxidant vitamins. By contrast, risks increased with increasing consumption of dietary carbohydrates, with odds ratios (ORs) of 1.5 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.1-2.1) and 1.9 (95% CI 1.3-2.9) in the highest quartile of intake among men (p for trend=0.02) and women (p=0.0007), respectively. Similar increases in risk were associated with frequent intake of noodles and bread in both men (p=0.07) and women (p=0.05) after further adjustment for fiber consumption. In addition, elevated risks were associated with frequent consumption of preserved, salty or fried foods, and hot soup/porridge, and with irregular meals, speed eating and binge eating. No major differences in risk were seen according to subsite (cardia vs. non-cardia). Our findings add to the evidence that diet plays a major role in stomach cancer risk and suggest the need for further evaluation of risks associated with carbohydrates and starchy foods as well as the mechanisms involved.     

A 32-electrode data collection system for electrical impedancetomography

A 32-electrode data collection system for electrical impedance tomography (ETT) is presented. In this system, the demodulator is a multiplexed sample and hold (S&H) circuit followed by a voltage difference stage. This configuration provides high CMRR due to the low (almost DC) operating frequency of the signals the difference stage is required to process