Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Socially transmitted mate preferences in a monogamous bird: a non-genetic mechanism of sexual selection

There is increasing evidence that animals can acquire mate preferences through the use of public information, notably by observing (and copying) the mate preferences of others in the population. If females acquire preferences through social mechanisms, sexual selection could act very rapidly to spread the preference and drive elaboration of the preferred trait(s). Although there are reports of ‘mate-choice copying’ in polygynous species, there is no clear evidence for this process in monogamous species. Here, we investigated whether adult female zebra finches Taeniopygia guttata can socially acquire sexual preferences for individual males and, in a separate study, for a generalized trait (coloured leg bands) of males. In both studies, test females observed males in two simultaneous conditions: a (‘chosen’) mixed-sex situation in which a male was paired with a (model) female, and a (‘unchosen’) same-sex situation in which a male was paired with another male. In the first experiment, after two weeks of females observing males, test females significantly preferred individual males who had been paired with another female (i.e. chosen males). In the second experiment, test females significantly preferred novel males that were wearing the same leg band colour as the apparently chosen males. Our findings are consistent with the conclusion that female zebra finches' mate preferences are altered by public information. Our study implies that mate preferences can spread rapidly through populations by social mechanisms, affecting the strength of sexual selection in a monogamous species.
Evolution of the Study of Methylphenidate and Its Actions on the Adult Versus Juvenile Brain

Objective: Methylphenidate (MPH) is the most often prescribed medication for treatment of ADHD. However, many of its specific cellular and molecular mechanisms of action, as well as developmental consequences of treatment, are largely unknown. This review provides an overview of current understanding of MPH efficacy, safety, and dosage in adult and pediatric ADHD patients, as well as adult animal studies and pioneering studies in juvenile animals treated with MPH. Method: A thorough review of the current literature on MPH efficacy and safety in children, adults, and animal models was included. Results of studies were compared and contrasted. Results: While MPH is currently considered safe, there is a lack of knowledge of potential developmental consequences of early treatment, as well as differences in drug actions in the developing versus mature brain system. Conclusion: This review emphasizes the need for further research into the age-dependent activities and potency of MPH, and a need for tighter control and clinical relevance in future studies.
The Political Economy of the Public Finances Situation: An Empirical Investigation with French Data, 1970-2006

In this paper, we conducted a deep empirical analysis of the evolution of public finances over the long term in France. This is motivated by at least three elements. First, public finances have recently received a great attention due to the setting of the European Union institutions. On the one hand, since monetary policy is in the exclusive remit of an independent central bank, the fiscal policy remains the sole instrument at the disposal of national governments. On the other hand, the deficit is one of the major indicators followed within the framework of the Stability and Growth Pact. So it is important to know precisely the determinants of the evolution of public finances. Then, fiscal variables are always treated as exogenous by economic bodies and their macroeconometric models, but this leads to poor forecasts. So, endogenizing these variables may improve their forecast. Finally, this paper provides an opportunity to update the empirical work on the politicoeconomic determinants of public finances in France. There exists very few contributions with such an aim. We can hardly count five studies (Lecaillon, 1981, Roubini and Sachs, 1989b, Aubin et al., 1985, 1987, Auberger, 2004) and we can note that no study was published in the last two decades. The paper is organized as follows: the model is presented in section 2 and the estimations are shown and discussed in section 3. Section 4 concludes.
The Classification, Storage and Retrieval of Electronic Mail-Two Exploratory Studies.

Electronic mail has been fully integrated into the communication processes in this country. Within the business environment, e-mail allows managers to efficiently communicate not only with customers and venders, but also internally with subordinates, superiors and peers. Less hard copy and more digital copy is being used to share and disseminate knowledge. The dialogue between managers that precede a decision may be trapped within a plethora of e-mail messages. The scholarly interest in e-mail lies not only in its use as a vehicle to communicate, but as a storage container for knowledge.
US interests, institutions, and negotiation strategies for agricultural trade

This paper provides an empirical test of how U.S. interests and the GATT regime affect the likelihood of cooperation. Specifically, I examine cooperation on the issue of agriculture trade policy liberalization. By disaggregating different features of negotiations, I demonstrate which institutional features are most important and how they change the political balance in countries that favor agricultural protection. The findings confirm that some but not all features of the GATT institution facilitate liberalization outcomes while controlling for other likely explanations for policy change. Through linking industry issues together in a negotiation with agricultural issues and providing credibility for the linkage, a package negotiation structure can increase the likelihood of liberalization. Comparison of negotiations between the US, Japan and Europe, reveals intriguing differences in how GATT influences policy. Cross-sector linkage between industry and agriculture promotes liberalization in both Japan and the EU, but formal GATT mediation and normative pressure from legal rulings change behavior in Japan and not in Europe. Top candidates for alternative theories point to budget pressures and economic conditions, or the coercive power of threats. While these factors cannot be dismissed, my point is to illustrate that they play a secondary role to features related to the institutions of the trade system. Threats are also more influential against Japan than Europe,while both tend to liberalize agriculture more when there is lower growth in government budget spending. Agriculture policies stand out as one of the most difficult areas for countries to reform protection policies given the entrenched programs and continuing political power supporting the status quo. The fact that agricultural programs resisted reform for decades and protection levels rose despite GATT rules against those policies makes this a ”least likely” case for GATT mediation to promote trade liberalization. If I can show that the GATT institution has any effect in the area of agriculture trade, this is strong evidence supporting theories about the importance of institutions in international relations. Such a hard test is necessary in order to respond to the critiques of realist theories of international relations that contend institutions have little independent impact on international relations and can only facilitate cooperation in the easy cases where differences between parties are small (Mearsheimer 9945). There are two tasks for this study of negotiation context and policy liberalization. First I will briefly address the pre-negotiation stage in which the negotiation context is chosen. Here I focus on US interests as the demanding country along with its anticipation of the reaction in the targeted country. This analysis addresses the potential for a selection effect for which cases go to the GATT institution for mediation. The literature on international
Early development conditions and the oxidative cost of social context in adulthood: an experimental study in birds

Environmental conditions during early life may shape phenotype in adulthood. Early adverse conditions may increase the oxidative stress in adults, which could affect their reproductive output and survival. It has also been hypothesized that the larger the reproductive investment, the higher the oxidative stress. We tested this and the potential influence of early oxidative stress on how individuals respond to a reproductive stimulation. The synthesis of the antioxidant glutathione was inhibited in captive zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) during growth. In adulthood, the expression of a carotenoid-based sexual signal, bill redness, increased in both sexes, with females also being heavier than controls. The social context of control and glutathione-inhibited males was then manipulated to stimulate precopulatory reproductive investments. Males were individually caged in front of a female or another male. We predicted that males enduring lower early antioxidant levels and placed close to a female should pay the highest cost of a hypothetical increase in bill redness in terms of oxidative damage. However, early conditions only influenced the male’s phenotype via their partners. Males caged with females showed increases in circulating pigment (carotenoid) levels, but only when females endured early low antioxidant values. This was probably related to the higher attractiveness of these females. Nevertheless, the bill redness of males did not differ during the social manipulation. Moreover, males facing females from any early condition group showed lower oxidative damage levels in plasma lipids. This result agrees with some findings in rodents, also in captivity. However, the effect may be due to increased triglyceride levels and body mass in males not facing females, as variation in these traits explained oxidative damage variability. The importance of considering housing conditions and life history when interpreting oxidative stress-related trade-offs is highlighted.
Reciprocal Associations Between Inhibitory Control and Early Academic Skills: Evidence From a Nationally Representative Sample of Head Start Children

ABSTRACT Research Findings. The present study examined patterns of longitudinal associations between inhibitory control (IC) and early academic skills during the preschool and kindergarten years. Using data from the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey Cohort 2009 (FACES 2009) (N = 939), a national data set of predominantly low-income children attending Head Start, two models were compared: (1) a lagged path model predicting subsequent academic skills based on prior IC skills and (2) a cross-lagged path model predicting reciprocal associations between IC and academic skills. Our results showed a better model fit for the cross-lagged path model with bidirectional associations. Prior IC predicted subsequent early reading and math skills during the preschool and kindergarten years; simultaneously, prior early math skills, but not reading skills, predicted subsequent IC. The reciprocal associations between IC and early math were consistently identified for multiple groups of children, regardless of their gender or home-language use (i.e., monolingual versus dual language learners). Practice or Policy. This study showcases group-general patterns of reciprocal relationships between IC and early math. The findings suggest that stimulation of both skills could lead to stronger skill sets and successful school outcomes. Early education and intervention programs may provide integrated developmental opportunities of IC and academic skills for successful school readiness.
Organic molecular markers and signature from wood combustion particles in winter ambient aerosols: aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS) and high time-resolved GC-MS measurements in Augsburg, Germany

Abstract. The impact of wood combustion on ambient aerosols was investigated in Augsburg, Germany during a winter measurement campaign of a six-week period. Special attention was paid to the high time resolution observations of wood combustion with different mass spectrometric methods. Here we present and compare the results from an Aerodyne aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS) and gas chromatographic – mass spectrometric (GC-MS) analysed PM1 filters on an hourly basis. This includes source apportionment of the AMS derived organic matter (OM) using positive matrix factorisation (PMF) and analysis of levoglucosan as wood combustion marker, respectively. During the measurement period nitrate and OM mass are the main contributors to the defined submicron particle mass of AMS and Aethalometer with 28% and 35%, respectively. Wood combustion organic aerosol (WCOA) contributes to OM with 23% on average and 27% in the evening and night time. Conclusively, wood combustion has a strong influence on the organic matter and overall aerosol composition. Levoglucosan accounts for 14% of WCOA mass with a higher percentage in comparison to other studies. The ratio between the mass of levoglucosan and organic carbon amounts to 0.06. This study is unique in that it provides a one-hour time resolution comparison between the wood combustion results of the AMS and the GC-MS analysed filter method at a PM1 particle size range. The comparison of the concentration variation with time of the PMF WCOA factor, levoglucosan estimated by the AMS data and the levoglucosan measured by GC-MS is highly correlated (R2 = 0.84), and a detailed discussion on the contributors to the wood combustion marker ion at mass-to-charge ratio 60 is given. At the end, both estimations, the WCOA factor and the levoglucosan concentration estimated by AMS data, allow to observe the variation with time of wood combustion emissions (gradient correlation with GC-MS levoglucosan of R2 = 0.84). In the case of WCOA, it provides the estimated magnitude of wood combustion emission. Quantitative estimation of the levoglucosan concentration from the AMS data is problematic due to its overestimation in comparison to the levoglucosan measured by the GC-MS.
Midazolam versus diazepam for the treatment of status epilepticus in children and young adults: a meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND Rapid treatment of status epilepticus (SE) is associated with better outcomes. Diazepam and midazolam are commonly used, but the optimal agent and administration route is unclear. OBJECTIVES The objective was to determine by systematic review if nonintravenous (non-IV) midazolam is as effective as diazepam, by any route, in terminating SE seizures in children and adults. Time to seizure cessation and respiratory complications was examined. METHODS We performed a search of PubMed, Web of Knowledge, Embase, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects, American College of Physicians Journal Club, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, and International Pharmaceutical Abstracts for studies published January 1, 1950, through July 4, 2009. English language quasi-experimental or randomized controlled trials comparing midazolam and diazepam as first-line treatment for SE, and meeting the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT)-based quality measures, were eligible. Two reviewers independently screened studies for inclusion and extracted outcomes data. Administration routes were stratified as non-IV (buccal, intranasal, intramuscular, rectal) or IV. Fixed-effects models generated pooled statistics. RESULTS Six studies with 774 subjects were included. For seizure cessation, midazolam, by any route, was superior to diazepam, by any route (relative risk [RR] = 1.52; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.27 to 1.82). Non-IV midazolam is as effective as IV diazepam (RR = 0.79; 95% CI = 0.19 to 3.36), and buccal midazolam is superior to rectal diazepam in achieving seizure control (RR = 1.54; 95% CI = 1.29 to 1.85). Midazolam was administered faster than diazepam (mean difference = 2.46 minutes; 95% CI = 1.52 to 3.39 minutes) and had similar times between drug administration and seizure cessation. Respiratory complications requiring intervention were similar, regardless of administration route (RR = 1.49; 95% CI = 0.25 to 8.72). CONCLUSIONS Non-IV midazolam, compared to non-IV or IV diazepam, is safe and effective in treating SE. Comparison to lorazepam, evaluation in adults, and prospective confirmation of safety and efficacy is needed.
Using External Knowledge to Solve Multi-Dimensional Queries

To improve the precision of an information retrieval system in a specific domain we propose a new indexing scheme based on external knowledge resources such as thesauri or ontologies.We introduce the notion of domain dimension, which is a substructure of a knowledge resource, to formally represent the different aspects of a domain that appear in a document. Then, we identify dimensions in documents and queries using a conceptual indexing. The result of this indexing is a representation of each document along its semantic dimensions. We also propose a query processing based on multi-dimensional indexing. It is comprised of a dimensional filtering followed by a dimensional ranking. Experimental results on medical imaging documents (ImageCLEFmed-2005 collection) show that the dimensional filtering, using three dimensions, can improves the mean average precision by about 25%.
A Study of the Effect of Economic Policies on the Domestic Film Market

These days, the U.S. films' market share in the world is almost 70 percent and many countries have devised various means, including import quota, screen quota, subsidy, and tax concessions to protect the domestic film industry by preserving local film's market share against U.S. film domination. Retaining these policies has important symbolic reasons because market share of the domestic film is related to preserving each country's cultural sovereignty. However, the effectiveness of the economic policies is murky. If the policies do not bring any advantageous effect to the domestic film industry, there is no rational justification for sticking with them. Although these policies are permissible under current international trade agreements, quotas are not a promising means of protectionism because implementing those regulations can be problematic in trade and relationships with other countries, especially the U.S. Also, if subsidies and tax concessions do not have any positive impact on the domestic film industry, those policies may waste public money. Thus, to examine the impact of the policies on the domestic film markets, this study explores the relationship between screen quotas, subsidies, tax concessions and market share of the domestic film, controlling for economic factors, such as GDP, the number of domestic films produced, and the average budget per film. Two years of data for 2004 and 2008 for 44 countries are used. On the basis of the result of OLS, fixed-effects, and random-effects regression, this study supports the following conclusions: First, there was little impact of economic policies of screen quota, subsidy, and tax concessions on the market share of domestic films whereas import quotas were found to have a significant impact on domestic film market shares. Also, when these regulatory factors were controlled, market size was not a significant determinant. Finally, as variables having an impact on the market share of the domestic film, the number of domestic films and the average budget per film were statistically significant. Based on the results, countries can take some options to increase their domestic films' market share by improving the average budget per film and by increasing the number of domestic films produced. This implies that film production support efforts should be balanced between quality and quantity. Import quotas also increase domestic film market shares, but at the risk of damaging trade relations. 4 The global spread of liberalization does not result in simple deregulation but rather in varieties of regulatory capitalism – …
The dynamic performance of Australian enterprises

This paper investigates the interaction of discretionary investments (R&D, capital investment, training and advertising), innovation, productivity and profitability within a dynamic framework of firm performance. A dynamic and closed model of firm performance is set up, and the resulting empirical model is tested as a series of recursive equations, using a four-year balanced panel data set of Australian firms drawn from the Business Longitudinal Survey. The results indicate that current economic profit has an important role to play in enabling firms to invest, and the findings indicate which of these investments are complements and which are substitutes. The paper explores the impact of these discretionary investments on innovation and total factor productivity performance. Finally, the impact of past discretionary investments both directly and indirectly (that is, via innovation and productivity performance) on current profitability is examined. Past values of these investments have a significant influence on current profit, effectively closing the model. The various results enable the paper to draw a number of other policy conclusions, in particular, some concerns about the potentially negative impact of own-market share on dynamic performance.
Physiological and Affective Responses to Immersion in Virtual Reality: Effects of Nature and Urban Settings

1 With the rapid advancements in technology, researchers are seeking new ways to incorporate modern high-tech solutions such as Virtual Reality (VR) into treatment paradigms for stress. The current experiment explores the beneficial effects of immersing an individual into VR after a stressful encounter. The potential restorative effects of three unique immersive VR environments were examined by inducing stress and negative affect in 69 participants, and then randomly assigning them to freely explore one of three environments (a virtual nature setting, a virtual urban cityscape, or a neutral environment composed of solid geometric shapes) for 10 min. Participants who explored the nature environment were found to have significantly improved affect (as measured by a standardized questionnaire), and significantly lower stress levels (as measured by self-report and skin conductance levels) compared to those who explored the urban and geometric environments. The results suggest that virtual nature has restorative properties similar to real nature, and that simply immersing participants into a virtual nature setting can reduce stress. These results also suggest that the content of the VR experience (i.e., whether it contains nature) is important in promoting restoration, and that in the absence of nature, stress levels remain unchanged. inTroduCTion Over the last 30 years, researchers have provided empirical evidence suggesting that surrounding oneself with nature can have restorative effects on emotional, physiological and cognitive states. The restorative effects of exposure to nature have been classified as a reduction in cognitive fatigue, decreases in both physiological and cognitive stress, a decrease in negative affect, and an in-(2008) comparing the effects of interacting with natural versus urban environments has found that individuals performed better on a working memory task after taking a walk in a local park versus taking a walk in a local downtown area. Furthermore, Berman et al. found that individ-uals' executive attention (as measured by the Attention