Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Benefits of induced host responses against an ectoparasite

As a consequence of the deleterious effects of parasites on host fitness, hosts have evolved responses to minimize the negative impact of parasite infection. Facultative parasite–induced responses are favoured when the risk of infection is unpredictable and host responses are costly. In vertebrates, induced responses are generally viewed as being adaptive, although evidence for fitness benefits arising from these responses in natural host populations is lacking. Here we provide experimental evidence for direct reproductive benefits in flea–infested great tit nests arising from exposure during egg production to fleas. In the experiment we exposed a group of birds to fleas during egg laying (the exposed group), thereby allowing for induced responses, and kept another group free of parasites (the unexposed group) over the same time period. At the start of incubation, we killed the parasites in both groups and all nests were reinfested with fleas. If induced responses occur and are adaptive, we expect that birds of the exposed group mount earlier responses and achieve higher current reproductive success than birds in the unexposed group. In agreement with this prediction, our results show that birds with nests infested during egg laying have (i) fewer breeding failures and raise a higher proportion of hatchlings to fledging age; (ii) offspring that reach greater body mass, grow longer feathers, and fledge earlier, and (iii) a higher number of recruits and first–year grandchildren than unexposed birds. Flea reproduction and survival did not differ significantly between the two treatments. These results provide the first evidence for the occurrence and the adaptiveness of induced responses against a common ectoparasite in a wild population of vertebrates.
Neither Fear Nor Favour, Affection Or Ill Will: Modernisation of care proceedings and the use and value of independent social work expertise to senior judges

This is part two of an evaluation of the work of independent social work experts (ISWs) in care proceedings (stage I was published in April 2012). It takes forward findings from stage I exploring further the evidential base for views put to the Family Justice Review about the practice of courts. It examines the views, experiences and practices of a sample of senior judges in commissioning ISW assessments, placing these in the context of the timing, format and value of local authority assessments. Finally, judges’ views about the implications of the modernisation programme for use of ISWs are explored - in the light of a need for earlier completion of cases, without loss of quality in assessments, and with regard to issues of fairness, justice and transparency in judicial decision making. In the report each section is followed by a summary of findings reflecting the key issue for policy and practice. The study is based on interviews with 23 senior judges (20 DFJs, 3 Circuit Judges) in 20/43 county courts in England and Wales. Interviews were held between February and April 2013. They include representation from all circuits, and courts with small and high volume case loads (less than 115, 251 - 900 applications in 12 months). They hear applications from just over half of authorities in England (59%) and just over one third (36%) in Wales.
Dynamics of Alliance Networks: Evidence for Development Phases Based on a Sample of Young Nanotechnology Companies

During the last years, inter-organizational cooperation and strategic alliances of companies received both managerial and academic attention. In many cases, the alliances of a firm can only be understood as an ensemble forming the alliance network of the given entity. Alliance networks are a complex phenomenon that still poses many open questions. One of them is how to describe and explain their dynamics. This article discusses the first results of our research on the dynamics of alliance networks. We build our effort on literature about alliance formation during the life-cycle of the company. Based on exploratory interviews with Nanotechnology companies, we developed a general phase model for technology-driven start-ups. The model distinguishes technology and market activity phases of exploration and exploitation and links those phases with the formation of different types of cooperation. Our results refine the understanding of network development and of its business-related drivers.
Firm Dynamics, Persistent Effects of Entry Conditions, and Business Cycles

This paper examines how the state of the economy when businesses begin operations affects their size and performance over the lifecycle. Using micro-level data that covers the entire universe of businesses operating in the U.S. since the late 1970s, I provide new evidence that businesses born in downturns start on a smaller scale and remain smaller over their entire lifecycle. In fact, I find no evidence that these differences attenuate even long after entry. Using new data on the productivity and composition of startup businesses, I show that this persistence is related to selection at entry and demand-side channels. I build a model of firm dynamics that includes aggregate shocks, idiosyncratic productivity, and a demand accumulation process. When I mute the effects of selection mechanisms, I find that the average initial size differences are more procyclical, but they are less persistent over time. Finally, I use the model to quantitatively evaluate the role of the persistent effects of entry conditions in the propagation of the Great Recession. My current model simulations indicate that the impact of the crisis on the 2008â€“2009 cohorts reduces aggregate employment by at least one percentage point in the following ten years.
Investigating Temporal Patterns of a Native Bee Community in a Remnant North American Bunchgrass Prairie using Blue Vane Traps

Abstract Native bees are important ecologically and economically because their role as pollinators fulfills a vital ecosystem service. Pollinators are declining due to various factors, including habitat degradation and destruction. Grasslands, an important habitat for native bees, are particularly vulnerable. One highly imperiled and understudied grassland type in the United States is the Pacific Northwest Bunchgrass Prairie. No studies have examined native bee communities in this prairie type. To fill this gap, the bee fauna of the Zumwalt Prairie, a large, relatively intact remnant of the Pacific Northwest Bunchgrass Prairie, was examined. Native bees were sampled during the summers of 2007 and 2008 in sixteen 40-ha study pastures on a plateau in northeastern Oregon, using a sampling method not previously used in grassland studies—blue vane traps. This grassland habitat contained an abundant and diverse community of native bees that experienced marked seasonal and inter-annual variation, which appears to be related to weather and plant phenology. Temporal variability evident over the entire study area was also reflected at the individual trap level, indicating a consistent response across the spatial scale of the study. These results demonstrate that temporal variability in bee communities can have important implications for long-term monitoring protocols. In addition, the blue vane trap method appears to be well-suited for studies of native bees in large expanses of grasslands or other open habitats, and may be a useful tool for monitoring native bee communities in these systems.
Adaptive InSAR Stack Multilooking Exploiting Amplitude Statistics: A Comparison Between Different Techniques and Practical Results

Efficient estimation of the interferometric phase and complex correlation is fundamental for the full exploitation of interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) capabilities. Particularly, when combining interferometric measures arising both from distributed and concentrated targets, the interferometric phase has to be correctly extracted in order to preserve its physical meaning. Recently, an amplitude-based algorithm for the adaptive multilooking of InSAR stacks was proposed where it was shown that a comparison of the backscatter amplitude statistics is a suitable way to adaptively group and average the pixels in order to preserve the phase signatures of natural structures in the observed area. In this letter, different methods to compare amplitude statistics will be presented, compared through simulation and applied to real data. Based on these, recommendations are made concerning which method to use in practice.
Stratosphere–Troposphere Coupling in a Relatively Simple AGCM: The Importance of Stratospheric Variability

Abstract The impact of stratospheric variability on the dynamical coupling between the stratosphere and the troposphere is explored in a relatively simple atmospheric general circulation model. Variability of the model’s stratospheric polar vortex, or polar night jet, is induced by topographically forced stationary waves. A robust relationship is found between the strength of the stratospheric polar vortex and the latitude of the tropospheric jet, confirming and extending earlier results in the absence of stationary waves. In both the climatological mean and on intraseasonal time scales, a weaker vortex is associated with an equatorward shift in the tropospheric jet and vice versa. It is found that the mean structure and variability of the vortex in the model is very sensitive to the amplitude of the topography and that Northern Hemisphere–like variability, with a realistic frequency of stratospheric sudden warming events, occurs only for a relatively narrow range of topographic heights. When the model ca.
Genome-Wide Progesterone Receptor Binding: Cell Type-Specific and Shared Mechanisms in T47D Breast Cancer Cells and Primary Leiomyoma Cells

Background Progesterone, via its nuclear receptor (PR), exerts an overall tumorigenic effect on both uterine fibroid (leiomyoma) and breast cancer tissues, whereas the antiprogestin RU486 inhibits growth of these tissues through an unknown mechanism. Here, we determined the interaction between common or cell-specific genome-wide binding sites of PR and mRNA expression in RU486-treated uterine leiomyoma and breast cancer cells. Principal Findings ChIP-sequencing revealed 31,457 and 7,034 PR-binding sites in breast cancer and uterine leiomyoma cells, respectively; 1,035 sites overlapped in both cell types. Based on the chromatin-PR interaction in both cell types, we statistically refined the consensus progesterone response element to G•ACA• • •TGT•C. We identified two striking differences between uterine leiomyoma and breast cancer cells. First, the cis-regulatory elements for HSF, TEF-1, and C/EBPα and β were statistically enriched at genomic RU486/PR-targets in uterine leiomyoma, whereas E2F, FOXO1, FOXA1, and FOXF sites were preferentially enriched in breast cancer cells. Second, 51.5% of RU486-regulated genes in breast cancer cells but only 6.6% of RU486-regulated genes in uterine leiomyoma cells contained a PR-binding site within 5 kb from their transcription start sites (TSSs), whereas 75.4% of RU486-regulated genes contained a PR-binding site farther than 50 kb from their TSSs in uterine leiomyoma cells. RU486 regulated only seven mRNAs in both cell types. Among these, adipophilin (PLIN2), a pro-differentiation gene, was induced via RU486 and PR via the same regulatory region in both cell types. Conclusions Our studies have identified molecular components in a RU486/PR-controlled gene network involved in the regulation of cell growth, cell migration, and extracellular matrix function. Tissue-specific and common patterns of genome-wide PR binding and gene regulation may determine the therapeutic effects of antiprogestins in uterine fibroids and breast cancer.
LHR effects in nonducted whistler propagation – new observations and numerical modelling

Abstract. VLF-ELF broadband measurements onboard the MAGION 4 and 5 satellites at heights above 1 Re in plasmasphere provide new data on various known phenomena related to ducted and nonducted whistler wave propagation. Two examples are discussed: magnetospherically reflected (MR) whistlers and lower hybrid resonance (LHR) noise band. We present examples of rather complicated MR whistler spectrograms not reported previously and argue the conditions for their generation. Analytical consideration, together with numerical modelling, yield understanding of the main features of those spectrograms. LHR noise band, as well as MR whistlers, is a phenomenon whose source is the energy propagating in the nonducted way. At the plasmaspheric heights, where hydrogen (H + ) is the prevailing ion, and electron plasma frequency is much larger than gyrofrequency, the LHR frequency is close to its maximumvalue in a given magnetic field. This frequency is well followed by the observed noise bands. The lower cutoff frequency of this band is somewhat below that maximum value. The reason for this, as well as the possibility of using the LHR noise bands for locating the plasma through position, are discussed. Key words. Magnetospheric physics (plasmasphere; wave propagation)
Predicting Asset Returns with Expected Oil Price Changes

Market returns and industry performance are predicted by forecastable oil price movements. Although predictability can be compatible with market efficiency, these results may be more readily explained by underreaction to information about subsequent oil price changes. Some market participants appear to ignore the effect of partially anticipated oil price movements on non-oil industrial sectors. The evidence from the oil industry indicates that the asset returns of stocks explicitly dependent on the price of oil are not forecastable using the predicted component of oil price changes. The predictability of both aggregate returns and the relative performance for some industries, such as household goods, medical equipment, construction, fabricated products, mines, real estate, and finance suggests that market participants may not pay attention to the broader impact of forecastable oil price changes.
Refining Image Categorization by Exploiting Web Images and General Corpus

Studies show that refining real-world categories into semantic subcategories contributes to better image modeling and classification. Previous image sub-categorization work relying on labeled images and WordNet's hierarchy is not only labor-intensive, but also restricted to classify images into NOUN subcategories. To tackle these problems, in this work, we exploit general corpus information to automatically select and subsequently classify web images into semantic rich (sub-)categories. The following two major challenges are well studied: 1) noise in the labels of subcategories derived from the general corpus; 2) noise in the labels of images retrieved from the web. Specifically, we first obtain the semantic refinement subcategories from the text perspective and remove the noise by the relevance-based approach. To suppress the search error induced noisy images, we then formulate image selection and classifier learning as a multi-class multi-instance learning problem and propose to solve the employed problem by the cutting-plane algorithm. The experiments show significant performance gains by using the generated data of our way on both image categorization and sub-categorization tasks. The proposed approach also consistently outperforms existing weakly supervised and web-supervised approaches.
Fiscal aggregates, aid and growth in Kenya: A vector autoregressive (VAR) analysis

Theoretical predictions and empirical evidence on the impact of foreign aid and fiscal policy on growth are mixed. This paper examines the effect of fiscal variables (government expenditure and revenue) and aid on growth using annual time series data for Kenya over the period 1964 – 2002. Multivariate cointegration (VAR) and vector error correction models (VECM) are estimated to establish both the shortand longrun relationships between foreign aid, fiscal variables and growth of per capita income. Two measures of aid are used; external grants and loans, and both yield different results. Aid loans are found to have a negative impact on long run growth whilst grants have a positive one. Government spending is found to have a positive long-run influence on growth, and there is no evidence that taxes retard growth. The implication for policy is that aid to Kenya could be more effective if given in form of grants, and associated with fiscal discipline. Outline
Modeling the role of working memory and episodic memory in behavioral tasks

The mechanisms of goal‐directed behavior have been studied using reinforcement learning theory, but these theoretical techniques have not often been used to address the role of memory systems in performing behavioral tasks. This work addresses this shortcoming by providing a way in which working memory (WM) and episodic memory may be included in the reinforcement learning framework, then simulating the successful acquisition and performance of six behavioral tasks, drawn from or inspired by the rat experimental literature, that require WM or episodic memory for correct performance. With no delay imposed during the tasks, simulations with WM can solve all of the tasks at above the chance level. When a delay is imposed, simulations with both episodic memory and WM can solve all of the tasks except a disambiguation of odor sequences task. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Terminal B cell differentiation is skewed by deregulated interleukin‐6 secretion in β2 integrin‐deficient mice

Absence of the common β chain (CD18) of β2 integrins leads to leukocyte‐adhesion deficiency type‐1 (LAD1) in humans. Mice with a CD18 null mutation suffer from recurrent bacterial infections, impaired wound healing, and skin ulcers, closely resembling human LAD1. Previous findings in CD18−/− mice demonstrated a skewed terminal B cell differentiation with plasmacytosis and elevated serum immunoglobulin G (IgG). As interleukin‐6 (IL‐6) is a potent enhancer of plasma cell formation and Ig secretion, we assessed IL‐6 serum levels of CD18−/− and wild‐type (WT) mice kept under a conventional or barrier facility or specific pathogen‐free (SPF) conditions. We detected an up to 20‐fold increase in IL‐6 in serum of CD18−/− mice compared with WT controls when kept under conventional or barrier facility conditions, respectively. Under SPF conditions, no significant differences in terms of IL‐6 serum levels were found between CD18−/− and WT mice. However, histological alterations of secondary lymphoid tissues, plasmacytosis, abnormal plasmacytoid cells (Mott cells), and hypergammaglobulinemia persisted. To further analyze the role of IL‐6 in these pathological alterations, we established a CD18−/− IL‐6−/− double‐deficient mouse mutant. In these mice, serum IgG levels were normal, and the altered plasma cell phenotype, including Mott cells, was no longer detectable. The CD18−/− IL‐6−/− double‐deficient mouse model thus demonstrated that IL‐6 is responsible for parts of the phenotype seen in the CD18−/− mouse mutants. It may be of interest to examine human leukocyte‐adhesion deficiency type‐1 patients closer and search for pathological changes possibly induced via overproduction of IL‐6.
"Couldn't It Be Birth to Five?": Parents' Perceptions of Early Intervention for Their Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

“Couldn’t it be Birth to Five? ”: Parents’ Perceptions of Early Intervention for their Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder by Hilary R. Bougher-Muckian The purpose of this Grounded Theory study was to understand parents of children with autism’s perceptions of early intervention involvement, satisfaction, transition into and out of EI, and goals for their children’s development. Twenty parents participated in initial interviews and 13 parents participated in follow-up interviews. Data were analyzed and a theory was generated to describe parents’ experiences. Parents described their experiences and goals for their children in three stages: before, during, and after EI. In each of these stages, social and language/communication were a primary focus of parents’ goals for their children’s development. Prior to EI, parents expressed a high level of frustration with the referral process into EI. Parental agency was key in gaining access to EI services. During EI, parents described high levels of satisfaction, involvement and collaboration with service providers. After EI, parents again described high levels of frustration with access to services in the public school setting, with several parents having to seek private therapy. Parental selfeducation and the community of parents of children with autism were critical in helping parents gain access to services for their children. These findings highlight a need for more identification programs prior to EI and support programs for parents after aging out of EI.
On the Stabilizing Effect of Convection in 3 D Incompressible Flows

We investigate the stabilizing effect of convection in 3D incompressible Euler and NavierStokes equations. The convection term is the main source of nonlinearity for these equations. It is often considered destabilizing although it conserves energy due to the incompressibility condition. In this paper, we show that the convection term together with the incompressibility condition actually has a surprising stabilizing effect. We demonstrate this by constructing a new 3D model which is derived for axisymmetric flows with swirl using a set of new variables. This model preserves almost all the properties of the full 3D Euler or Navier-Stokes equations except for the convection term which is neglected in our model. If we add the convection term back to our model, we would recover the full Navier-Stokes equations. We will present numerical evidence which seems to support that the 3D model may develop a potential finite time singularity. We will also analyze the mechanism that leads to these singular events in the new 3D model and how the convection term in the full Euler and Navier-Stokes equations destroys such a mechanism, thus preventing the singularity from forming in a finite time. Keyword: Finite time singularities, 3D Navier-Stokes equations, stabilizing effect of convection.
The Effect of Thermal History on the Fast Crystallization of Poly(l-Lactide) with Soluble-Type Nucleators and Shear Flow

The N1,N1ʹ-(ethane-1,2-diyl)bis(N2-phenyloxalamide) (OXA) is a soluble-type nucleator with a dissolving temperature of 230 °C in poly(l-lactic acid) (PLLA) matrix. The effect of thermal history and shear flow on the crystallization behavior of the PLLA/OXA samples was investigated by rheometry, polarized optical microscopy (POM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The crystallization process of the PLLA/OXA-240 sample (i.e., pre-melted at 240 °C) was significantly promoted by applying a shear flow, e.g., the onset crystallization time (tonset) of the PLLA at 155 °C was reduced from 1600 to 200 s after shearing at 0.4 rad/s for even as short as 1.0 s, while the crystallinity (Xc) was increased to 40%. Moreover, the tonset of the PLLA/OXA-240 sample is 60%–80% lower than that of the PLLA/OXA-200 sample (i.e., pre-melted at 200 °C) with a total shear angle of 2 rad, indicating a much higher crystallization rate of the PLLA/OXA-240 sample. A better organization and uniformity of OXA fibrils can be obtained due to a complete pre-dissolution in the PLLA matrix followed by shear and oscillation treatments. The well dispersed OXA fibrils and flow-induced chain orientation are mainly responsible for the fast crystallization of the PLLA/OXA-240 samples. In addition, the shear flow created some disordered α′-form crystals in the PLLA/OXA samples regardless of the thermal history (200 or 240 °C).