Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Forecasting Japanese Arrivals to Guam- An Empirical Model

Abstract Monthly air arrival patterns of Japanese travelers to Guam were examined in this study. An empirical demand model was developed and validated that explained more than 95 percent of variation in the arrival patterns of Japanese visitors over the ten-year period between 1987 and 1997. A significant positive relationship was found between Japanese monthly earnings and their air arrival patterns resulting in an income elasticity estimate of 1.70. Significant seasonality was also identified. The previous periods' arrival data was also found to be a helpful predictor of the future tourism demand from the Japanese market. The model was used to simulate arrival data and produced simulations with a mean absolute percent error below the 10 percent level. Implications of the study were discussed in the context of forecasting modeling and destination marketing.
Satisfying customer preferences via mass customization and mass production

Two operational formats namely mass customization and mass production can be implemented to satisfy customer preference-based demand. The mass customization system consists of two stages: the initial build-to-stock phase and the final customize-to-order phase. The mass production system has a single stage: building products with pre-determined specifications to stock. In each case, the company makes decisions on the number of initial product variants, product specifications, production quantities and product pricing. Under a uniform customer preference distribution, the optimal number of base-product variants resembles the well known economic order quantity solution, and the optimal product specifications are equally spaced. We characterize three possible benefits of mass customization: (i) the gained surplus from offering each customer her ideal product; (ii) extra revenue from price discrimination; and (iii) reduced costs due to risk pooling under stochastic demand.
Insight for Teacher Preparation Program Administrators: Enhancing Pre-service Educators’ Intercultural Sensitivity and Deep Proficiency in Culturally Responsive Teaching through Short-term Study Abroad

Recommended Citation Gresham, Gloria; Griffin, Paula; Hasbun, Tracy; and Boatman, Vikki (2014) "Insight for Teacher Preparation Program Administrators: Enhancing Pre-service Educators' lntercultural Sensitivity and Deep Proficiency in Culturally Responsive Teaching through Short-Term Study Abroad," School Leadership Review: Vol. 9 : Iss. 1 , Article 6. Available at: https://scholarworks.sfasu. edu/slr/vol9/iss1/6
BS-CPA: Built-In Determined Sub-Key Correlation Power Analysis

Correlation power analysis (CPA) is a well-known attack against cryptographic modules with which an attacker evaluates the correlation between the power consumption and the sensitive data candidates calculated from a guessed sub-key and known data such as plaintexts and ciphertexts. This paper enhances CPA to propose a new general power analysis, built-in determined sub-key CPA (BS-CPA), which finds a new sub-key by using the previously determined sub-keys recursively to compute the sensitive data candidates and to increase the signal-to-noise ratio in its analysis. BS-CPA also reuses the power traces in the repetitions of finding sub-keys to decrease the total number of the required traces for determining the all sub-keys. BS-CPA is powerful and effective when the multiple sensitive data blocks such as sbox outputs are processed simultaneously as in the hardware implementation. We apply BS-CPA to the power traces provided at the DPA contest and succeed in finding a DES key using fewer traces than the original CPA does.
Real estate stock selection and attribute preferences

The majority of studies that explore property portfolio construction and management strategies utilise highly aggregated ex-post data, but stock selection is known to be a significant determinant of portfolio performance. Thus, here we look at stock selection, focusing on the choices faced by investors, necessitating the collection and analysis of primary data, carried out utilising conjoint analysis. This represents a new step in property research, with the data collection undertaken using a simulation exercise. This enables fund managers to make hypothetical purchase decisions, viewing properties comprising a realistic bundle of attributes and making complex contemporaneous trade-offs between attributes, subject to their stated market and economic forecasts and sector specialism. In total 51 fund managers were surveyed, producing 918 purchase decisions for analysis, with additional data collected regarding fund and personal characteristics. The results reveal that ‘fixed’ property characteristics (location and obsolescence) are dominant in the decision-making process, over and above ‘manageable’ tenant and lease characteristics which can be explicitly included within models of probabilities of income variation. This reveals investors are making ex-ante risk judgements and are considering post acquisition risk management strategies. The study also reveals that behavioural factors affect acquisition decisions.
Phytoremediation of Cadmium-Contaminated Soils by Young Douglas Fir Trees: Effects of Cadmium Exposure on Cell Wall Composition

Douglas fir trees grown on an artificially Cd-contaminated soil, can tolerate this trace element (up to 68 mg/kg in soil) during several months. Most of the absorbed Cd is retained in roots (25 mg/kg DM), but transfer to aerial part is also effective. Showing the highest content, up to 6 mg/kg DM, among all the aboveground parts, barks seem to be a preferred storage compartment. However, the transfer factor is quite low, about 0.3. Another objective of this study was to compare the cell wall components of trees exposed to increasing Cd amounts in soil. A decrease in lignin and an increase in pectin contents were observed in response to increasing soil cadmium concentration. A concurrent reduction in methyl-esterification of pectin suggests than the structure of this major binding site could therefore be modified as a reaction to cadmium contamination. Future prospects will focus on the modulation of pectin composition in response to Cd exposure.
An Evolutionary and Applied Perspective of Insect Biotypes

Benjamin Walsh (174) was probably the first to seriously consider the status of insects that morphologically resemble one another so closely that they can only be distinguished on the basis of subtle biological traits such as preference for or the ability to survive on different hosts. Most of Walsh's "phytophagic varieties" now fall under the rubric "biotype," a term employed primarily by applied biologists to distinguish populations of insects and other organisms whose differences are due to a very wide range of underlying causes. The significance of biotypes for both evolutionary and applied fields is not general­ ly appreciated. Our objective is to integrate the current concepts used by evolutionary biologists to describe various patterns and levels of differentiation in insects with the views of the applied biologist. A classification system of insect biotypes, based on the mechanisms underlying their differentiation, is outlined below. We also consider the significance of biotypes in adaptation, speciation, and pest management.
HIV Without AIDS: The Immunological Secrets of Natural Hosts

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection causes Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), while its ape and monkey progenitor Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV) does not cause AIDS in its nonhuman primate natural reservoir hosts. Astonishingly, AIDS is avoided despite findings in a number of these host primate species indicating they too harbor high levels of virus replication that kills off CD4 T cells. These primate species that are so called “natural hosts” of SIV, essentially have HIV without ever getting AIDS. The elucidation of the exact mechanisms allowing natural SIV hosts to avoid disease progression may prove decisive in the battle to understand HIV pathogenesis for the purpose of preventative or curative HIV and AIDS therapy. Comparative studies in natural and nonnatural hosts of lentiviral infections (i.e. HIV or SIV) have defined essential distinguishing features, opening up new avenues for possible therapeutic and preventative intervention. In this chapter, we will describe recent and past breakthroughs that come from comparing lentiviral infections in AIDS-free natural hosts, to immunocompromised nonnatural hosts. In addition, we will discuss how the knowledge derived from the study of natural hosts may inform the design of novel therapies and vaccine strategies for HIV-infected humans.
International operations and sustainable development: Should national culture matter?

As manufacturers around the world have seen an increasing number of opportunities to produce abroad and to source from low cost regions, they also have had to address growing pressure from non-governmental organizations, consumer groups and even the population in general regarding sustainable development. This paper examines the conjuncture of these two trends by assessing the linkage between national culture and corporate sustainable development practices in 55 countries. The results suggest that two of Hofstede's national culture dimensions are linked to a higher degree of sustainable practices by corporations. In particular, a nation's high degree of individualism and uncertainty avoidance were both related to green corporatism, environmental innovation, fair labor practices and corporate social involvement. The results provide managers with another tool in making decisions about offshoring, global sourcing and international production expansion. Copyright (C) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.
Expert Holistic Nurses’ Advice to Nursing Students

Purpose: The purposes of this study were to describe the advice that expert holistic nurses gave to nursing students regarding the theory and practice of holistic nursing and to describe nursing students’ experience and perceptions of their interaction with the experts. Design: This was a qualitative descriptive study. Methods: Nursing students who attended the 2008 and 2009 conferences of the American Holistic Nurses Association interviewed expert holistic nurses, asking them for advice for beginners. Students recorded the interviews on paper and wrote their perceptions of interacting with experts. The data were examined for recurring themes. Findings: The most common advice from the experts was regarding the importance of self-care, person-centered care, touch, and lifelong learning. Students’ perceptions of the interviews included feeling empowered to accomplish goals, gaining a greater understanding of holistic nursing, and feeling admiration for the holistic nurse experts. Conclusion: Giving students the opportunity to interact with nurse experts in an individual, informal setting is a useful educational strategy that increases knowledge, promotes socialization to the nursing profession, and offers students opportunities for professional networking.
Washington Meets Wall Street: A Closer Examination of the Presidential Cycle Puzzle

We show that the annual excess return of the S&P 500 is almost 10 percent higher during the last two years of the presidential cycle than during the first two years. This pattern cannot be explained by business-cycle variables capturing time-varying risk premia, differences in risk levels, or by consumer and investor sentiment. We formally test the presidential election cycle (PEC) hypothesis as an alternative to explain the presidential cycle anomaly. The PEC states that incumbent parties and presidents have an incentive to manipulate the economy (via budget expansions and taxes) to remain in power. We formulate eight testable propositions relating to the fiscal, monetary, tax, unexpected inflation and political implications of the PEC hypothesis. We do not find statistically significant evidence confirming the PEC hypothesis as a plausible explanation for the presidential cycle effect. The presidential cycle effect in U.S. financial markets thus remains a puzzle that cannot be easily explained by politicians employing their economic influence to remain in power, as is often believed.
A common neural code for social and monetary rewards in the human striatum

Abstract Although managing social information and decision making on the basis of reward is critical for survival, it remains uncertain whether differing reward type is processed in a uniform manner. Previously, we demonstrated that monetary reward and the social reward of good reputation activated the same striatal regions including the caudate nucleus and putamen. However, it remains unclear whether overlapping activations reflect activities of identical neuronal populations or two overlapping but functionally independent neuronal populations. Here, we re-analyzed the original data and addressed this question using multivariate-pattern-analysis and found evidence that in the left caudate nucleus and bilateral nucleus accumbens, social vs monetary reward were represented similarly. The findings suggest that social and monetary rewards are processed by the same population of neurons within these regions of the striatum. Additional findings demonstrated similar neural patterns when participants experience high social reward compared to viewing others receiving low social reward (potentially inducing schadenfreude). This is possibly an early indication that the same population of neurons may be responsible for processing two different types of social reward (good reputation and schadenfreude). These findings provide a supplementary perspective to previous research, helping to further elucidate the mechanisms behind social vs non-social reward processing.
Understanding and Acquisition of Entrepreneurial Skills: A Pedagogical Re-Orientation for Classroom Teacher in Science Education

The understanding and acquisition of entrepreneurial skills, most especially in teacher education is a minimum requirement for a competent teacher. This paper gives illumination of basic concepts, procedures, stages and essential indices for acquiring entrepreneurial skills in globalised teaching enterprise by teachers and students alike. It also provides justification for inclusion and acquisition of entrepreneurial skills in teacher education and the essential pedagogical strategies that can be used by classroom teachers. This will ultimately promote employability of science education students in globalised economy.
Screening for resistance against Pseudomonas syringae in rice-FOX Arabidopsis lines identified a putative receptor-like cytoplasmic kinase gene that confers resistance to major bacterial and fungal pathogens in Arabidopsis and rice

Approximately 20 000 of the rice-FOX Arabidopsis transgenic lines, which overexpress 13 000 rice full-length cDNAs at random in Arabidopsis, were screened for bacterial disease resistance by dip inoculation with Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000 (Pst DC3000). The identities of the overexpressed genes were determined in 72 lines that showed consistent resistance after three independent screens. Pst DC3000 resistance was verified for 19 genes by characterizing other independent Arabidopsis lines for the same genes in the original rice-FOX hunting population or obtained by reintroducing the genes into ecotype Columbia by floral dip transformation. Thirteen lines of these 72 selections were also resistant to the fungal pathogen Colletotrichum higginsianum. Eight genes that conferred resistance to Pst DC3000 in Arabidopsis have been introduced into rice for overexpression, and transformants were evaluated for resistance to the rice bacterial pathogen, Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae. One of the transgenic rice lines was highly resistant to Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae. Interestingly, this line also showed remarkably high resistance to Magnaporthe grisea, the fungal pathogen causing rice blast, which is the most devastating rice disease in many countries. The causal rice gene, encoding a putative receptor-like cytoplasmic kinase, was therefore designated as BROAD-SPECTRUM RESISTANCE 1. Our results demonstrate the utility of the rice-FOX Arabidopsis lines as a tool for the identification of genes involved in plant defence and suggest the presence of a defence mechanism common between monocots and dicots.
Induction of Programmed Cell Death by Parvovirus H-1 in U937 Cells: Connection with the Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha Signalling Pathway

ABSTRACT The human promonocytic cell line U937 undergoes apoptosis upon treatment with tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α). This cell line has previously been shown to be very sensitive to the lytic effect of the autonomous parvovirus H-1. Parvovirus infection leads to the activation of the CPP32 ICE-like cysteine protease which cleaves the enzyme poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase and induces morphologic changes that are characteristic of apoptosis in a way that is similar to TNF-α treatment. This effect is also observed when the U937 cells are infected with a recombinant H-1 virus which expresses the nonstructural (NS) proteins but in which the capsid genes are replaced by a reporter gene, indicating that the induction of apoptosis can be assigned to the cytotoxic nonstructural proteins in this cell system. The c-Myc protein, which is overexpressed in U937 cells, is rapidly downregulated during infection, in keeping with a possible role of this product in mediating the apoptotic cell death induced by H-1 virus infection. Interestingly, four clones (designated RU) derived from the U937 cell line and selected for their resistance to H-1 virus (J. A. Lopez-Guerrero et al., Blood 89:1642–1653, 1997) failed to decrease c-Myc expression upon treatment with differentiation agents and also resisted the induction of cell death after TNF-α treatment. Our data suggest that the RU clones have developed defense strategies against apoptosis, either by their failure to downregulate c-Myc and/or by activating antiapoptotic factors.
Nutrition, HIV, and Drug Abuse: The Molecular Basis of a Unique Role for Selenium

&NA;HIV‐infected injection drug users (IDUs) often suffer from serious nutritional deficiencies. This is a concern because plasma levels of micronutrients such as vitamin B12, zinc, and selenium have been correlated with mortality risk in HIV‐positive populations. Injection drug use also increases lipid peroxidation and other indicators of oxidative stress, which, combined with antioxidant deficiencies, can stimulate HIV‐1 replication through activation of NF‐&kgr;B transcription factors, while weakening immune defenses. As detailed herein, these prooxidant stimuli can also increase the pathogenic effects of HIV‐1 by another mechanism, involving viral selenoproteins. Overlapping the envelope coding region, HIV‐1 encodes a truncated glutathione peroxidase (GPx) gene (see #6 in reference list). Sequence analysis and molecular modeling show that this viral GPx (vGPx) module has highly significant structural similarity to known mammalian GPx, with conservation of the catalytic triad of selenocysteine (Sec), glutamine, and tryptophan. In addition to other functions, HIV‐1 vGPx may serve as a negative regulator of proviral transcription, by acting as an NF‐&kgr;B inhibitor (a known property of cellular GPx). Another potential selenoprotein coding function of HIV‐1 is associated with the 3′ end of the nef gene, which terminates in a conserved UGA (potential Sec) codon in the context of a sequence (Cys‐Sec) identical to the C‐terminal redox center of thioredoxin reductase, another cellular regulator of NF‐&kgr;B. Thus, in combination with known cellular mechanisms involving Se, viral selenoproteins may represent a unique mechanism by which HIV‐1 monitors and exploits an essential micronutrient to optimize its replication relative to the host.
CMOS MEMS Hot-Film Thermoelectronic Flow Sensor

In this article, we present a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor microelectromechanical system (CMOS MEMS) thermoelectronic flow sensor and discuss the advantages of employing anemometric and calorimetric transduction principles simultaneously. This readout concept exploits the fact that anemometric flow sensors take advantage of the maximum temperature generated within the device and, thus, are provided with the maximum flow sensitivity, while calorimetric flow sensors have the temperature sensing elements placed away from this maximum temperature region and, thus, are intrinsically less sensitive. At the same time, fluid flow direction discrimination in bidirectional flow sensors can be achieved by simply looking at the polarity of the differential signal coming from the temperature sensors placed aside the heating element. We also show that thermoelectronic flow sensors can benefit by having temperature sensors formed by an array of diodes to further enhance the device sensitivity. Although we apply these concepts to a sensor with a nonoptimum design and lacking any support electronics (e.g., filters, amplifiers, constant temperature driving circuitry, etc.), results are among the best ever reported in literature (including non-CMOS technologies), thus showing the high potential of our technology.
Survey of resistance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa from UK patients with cystic fibrosis to six commonly prescribed antimicrobial agents

Background: Respiratory infection with Pseudomonas aeruginosa is very common in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) but antimicrobial resistance rates of CF isolates across the UK are largely unknown. Methods: The susceptibility of 417 CF patient isolates of P aeruginosa from 17 hospitals to six commonly prescribed antibiotics were examined. Isolates were tested by an agar break point dilution method and E-tests according to British Society of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy guidelines. Genotyping of isolates was performed by XbaI DNA macrorestriction and pulsed field gel electrophoresis. Results: 38% of isolates were susceptible to all of the agents tested; almost half were resistant to gentamicin compared with ceftazidime (39%), piperacillin (32%), ciprofloxacin (30%), tobramycin (10%), and colistin (3%). Approximately 40% were resistant to two or more compounds with ceftazidime in combination with gentamicin, piperacillin or ciprofloxacin being the most common cross resistances. Resistance rates were generally similar to those reported recently from the USA and Germany. A selection of resistant isolates proved to be predominantly genotypically distinct by XbaI DNA macrorestriction but six pairs from three centres had similar genotypes. Conclusions: The level of resistance to front line antipseudomonal agents, with the exception of colistin, is disturbingly high. The prudent use of antimicrobial drugs and closer monitoring of accumulation of resistant strain populations should be actively considered.
Use of Remote Sensing in Wildfire Management

Wildfire is the one of the prominent disturbance factor in most vegetation zones throughout the world, like forests and grasslands. Wildfires present a challenge for ecosystem management, because they have the potential to be at once beneficial and harmful. On the one hand, wildfires are a natural part of several ecosystems for maintaining their health and diversity in numerous ways, such as regulating plant succession and fuel accumulations, controlling age, structure and species composition of vegetation, affecting insect and disease populations, influencing nutrient cycles and energy flows, regulating biotic productivity, diversity and stability and determining habitats for wildlife.