Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Testing game theory without the social preference confound

We propose an experimental method whose purpose is to induce selfish behavior in games for a broad class of social preferences. It provides a theoretical framework for testing game theoretical predictions by confronting subjects with a commonly known payoff matrix actually representing their preferences. The paper describes the empirical tests of this method based on the comparison of results from several popular experimental games played with and without our methodology. Apart from it being a test of validity of the method, our experiment helps answer the question of how useful social preferences could be in explaining commonly observed deviations from selfish rationality. Results suggest that our method does induce more selfish behaviors: a substantial part of the difference between predictions based on selfishness and observed behaviors seems indeed driven by such preferences. But they also indicate that a considerable share is left untouched, perhaps giving weight to alternative explanations.
Molecular studies of the Brazilian infectious bronchitis virus isolates

Avian infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) isolates have been widely characterized by reverse transcription followed by polymerase chain reaction and DNA sequencing. In present study, these techniques were applied to three viral genomic regions comprising the complete and/or a partial S1 segment, S2 and nucleocapsid genes. DNA sequences from viral isolates obtained from 1972 to 1989 and from 2006 to 2008 were compared. High similarity (>90%) was observed among some of the genomic segments, including S1 hypervariable region, which could suggest a common origin or ancestry. DNA sequences from S2 and N protein genes obtained from different infected tissues of the same flock were analyzed, and a clear segregation between respiratory and intestinal tract was observed. Therefore, these data suggest cocirculation of more than one viral strain in the same flock. 57.1% of DNA sequences from the S1 complete segment samples, 53.3% from the S2 fragment and 62.5% from the partial N gene were found to be different from analyzed sequences from reference strains leading to the conclusion that parte of viral isolates included in this study may be considered region specific. Considering the simultaneous analysis of the three genes, a large IBV genetic profile was observed in both old and recent isolates groups. However, most prominent diversity between viral isolates was obtained in the period from 1972 and 1989, showing the presence of a large number of variants in the state of Minas Gerais before the official approval of vaccination (1980).
Manipulating larval supply in the field: a controlled study of marine invasibility

In order to gather experimental data to test theories of invasion biology, ecologists have recently adopted a rigorous experimental approach in which community traits and propagule supply are manipulated independently. However, these studies have been limited to terrestrial systems and their generality is not well understood. We conducted a manipulative field experiment to test the rela- tionship between common human disturbances and invasibility in hard-substrate marine epifaunal communities. A larval dosing technique was developed to allow marine experimental units to be dosed with a controlled supply of propagules under field conditions. Six month old assemblages were exposed to 3 fully crossed factors of (1) physical disturbance, (2) chemical disturbance, and (3) timing of larval dose relative to the disturbances. Physical disturbance was shown to increase the invasion success of the introduced species, Bugula neritina, up to 30 d following the disturbance. This was mainly through an increase of recruitment onto primary space, however physical impacts with an antifoulant surface also led to increased recruitment on secondary space. After 15 d, B. neritina recruits on primary space were found to be larger than recruits on secondary space, suggesting an elevated threat of invasion through primary recruitment. Natural recruitment of barnacles, ascidians, and sedentary polychaetes was also increased by physical disturbance, although these effects were weaker and varied between taxa and sampling times. This study supports the theory that distur- bance facilitates invasions in marine epifaunal communities, and contributes a new technique of manipulating propagule supply in the marine environment.
Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) as a Means of Creating Employment and Poverty Reduction in Fort Beaufort, Eastern Cape Province of South Africa

Abstract The establishment and contributions of various SMEs in improving socio-economic development in the developed countries include creation of employment, improving the standard of living and increasing household incomes. Hence, this study establishes a base level of understanding of the operational core values of SMEs in creating employment and poverty reduction in Fort Beaufort in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Simple random sampling techniques were used to select the participants. Data was collected through self-administered questionnaires. It was analyzed using descriptive statistics of frequency and percentage. The findings revealed, among others, that SMEs plays a major role in creating employment and reducing poverty. It was also revealed that there are constraints and challenges such as lack of finance and lack of managerial skills as well as training faced in the operations of SMEs in most of African countries. The study concludes that unless the limitations are resolved, SMEs in the developing nations will continue to experience those challenges.
Identification of Ion Accumulation and Distribution Mechanisms in Watermelon Seedlings ((Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Mansf.) Grown under Salt Stress

Tuza hassas Golden crown F ve tolerant yerel Midyat genotipine ait karpuz (Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Mansf. ) fideleri Hoagland besin cozeltisi icerisinde buyutulmustur. Bitkiler 3-4 gercek yapraga sahip iken 100 mM NaCl uygulanmistir. 14 gun sureyle tuz stresi uygulanan bitkilerin yesil aksam agirliklarina, kok, govde ve yapraklarindaki Na, K, Ca iyon dagilimlarina bakilmistir. Calismadaki amac karpuzda iyon birikim ve dagilim mekanizmasini belirlemektir. Tuza toleransli olan Midyat genotipinin yesil aksam yas agirligi, hassas olan Golden crown F cesidine gore daha yuksek cikmistir. Ayrica Golden crown F cesidinin bitkilerinin koklerindeki iyon birikimleri (Na, K, Ca) Midyat genotipinden daha yuksek bulunmustur. Fakat Golden crown F cesidinin govde kisminda biriktirdigi Na iyonu yuksek cikarken, K+ , Ca +2 iyonlari bakimindan genotipler arasinda fark bulunmamistir. Yapraklarda ise Na+ iyonu yine hassas olan cesitte yuksek, toleransli Midyat genotipinde dusuk bulunmus, Midyat genotipinde K + ve Ca iyonlari birikimi daha yuksek cikmistir. Sonuc olarak bu calismada gozlemlenen, karpuzda tuzdan sakinim mekanizmasinin calistigidir. Ayrica, karpuzun iyon aliminda secici davrandigini, K ile Na arasinda alinim bakimindan bir rekabetin oldugunu ve tolerant genotiplerin yuksek oranda K tutma kapasitesine sahip olduklarini gosterdigi gibi, tuz stresi uygulanmis bitkilerin K birikimlerinde artisin oldugu gorulmustur. Organlara gore iyon dagiliminda, Na iyonu ile K iyonu zit iliski gostermistir. Na iyonunun arttigi organda K azalirken, Na’nin az biriktigi organda K iyonu artmistir. Ca iyonun bitkinin koklerinden yapraklarina dogru birikimi artmistir.
Topographic characterization of lunar complex craters

We use Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter topography data to revisit the depth (d)‐diameter (D), and central peak height (hcp)‐diameter relationships for fresh complex lunar craters. We assembled a data set of young craters with D ≥ 15 km and ensured the craters were unmodified and fresh using Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Wide‐Angle Camera images. We used Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter gridded data to determine the rim‐to‐floor crater depths, as well as the height of the central peak above the crater floor. We established power‐law d‐D and hcp‐D relationships for complex craters on mare and highlands terrain. Our results indicate that craters on highland terrain are, on average, deeper and have higher central peaks than craters on mare terrain. Furthermore, we find that the crater depths for both mare and highlands craters are significantly deeper than previously reported. This likely reflects the inclusion of transitional craters and/or older and/or modified craters in previous work, as well as the limitations of the stereophotogrammetric and shadow‐length data sets used in those studies. There is substantial variability in the depths and the central peak heights for craters in a given diameter range. We suggest that the differences in mean d and hcp as a function of crater diameter for highlands and mare craters result from differences in bulk physical properties of the terrain types, whereas the variability in d and hcp at a given diameter may reflect variations in impactor properties and impact parameters.
A comparative study of insulin resistance in acne vulgaris

Background: Acne is common skin problem among adolescents and young adults. Recently the role of insulin resistance in acne is being widely researched. The o bjectives of the study were to evaluate insulin resistance in acne, to compare the insulin resistance among cases and controls using homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance Methods: 45 cases and 45 controls were recruited. Acne severity was graded using the global acne grading system(GAGS). Fasting glucose, fasting insulin levels were done and insulin resistance was assessed using homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) . Results: We did not find any statistically significant difference in fasting insulin levels between cases and controls. However, a weak positive correlation between acne severity and fasting insulin levels (r =0.3, p=0.04) were observed. Fasting glucose levels and HOMA-IR values observed between cases and controls were not statistically significant (p=0.05, p=0.59 respectively). Conclusions: Our study did not suggest a major role of insulin resistance in acne.
An End to End Process Development for UAV-SfM Based Forest Monitoring: Individual Tree Detection, Species Classification and Carbon Dynamics Simulation

To promote Bio-Energy with Carbon dioxide Capture and Storage (BECCS), which aims to replace fossil fuels with bio energy and store carbon underground, and Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+), which aims to reduce the carbon emissions produced by forest degradation, it is important to build forest management plans based on the scientific prediction of forest dynamics. For Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) at an individual tree level, it is expected that techniques will be developed to support forest management via the effective monitoring of changes to individual trees. In this study, an end-to-end process was developed: (1) detecting individual trees from Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) derived digital images; (2) estimating the stand structure from crown images; (3) visualizing future carbon dynamics using a forest ecosystem process model. This process could detect 93.4% of individual trees, successfully classified two species using Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) with 83.6% accuracy and evaluated future ecosystem carbon dynamics and the source-sink balance using individual based model FORMIND. Further ideas for improving the sub-process of the end to end process were discussed. This process is expected to contribute to activities concerned with carbon management such as designing smart utilization for biomass resources and projecting scenarios for the sustainable use of ecosystem services.
Janus particles: recent advances in the biomedical applications

Abstract Janus particles, which are named after the two-faced Roman god Janus, have two distinct sides with different surface features, structures, and compositions. This asymmetric structure enables the combination of different or even incompatible physical, chemical, and mechanical properties within a single particle. Much effort has been focused on the preparation of Janus particles with high homogeneity, tunable size and shape, combined functionalities, and scalability. With their unique features, Janus particles have attracted attention in a wide range of applications such as in optics, catalysis, and biomedicine. As a biomedical device, Janus particles offer opportunities to incorporate therapeutics, imaging, or sensing modalities in independent compartments of a single particle in a spatially controlled manner. This may result in synergistic actions of combined therapies and multi-level targeting not possible in isotropic systems. In this review, we summarize the latest advances in employing Janus particles as therapeutic delivery carriers, in vivo imaging probes, and biosensors. Challenges and future opportunities for these particles will also be discussed.
Structured reviews for data and knowledge-driven research

Motivation Hypothesis generation is a critical step in research and a cornerstone in the rare disease field. Research is most efficient when those hypotheses are based on the entirety of knowledge known to date. Systematic review articles are commonly used in biomedicine to summarize existing knowledge and contextualize experimental data. But the information contained within review articles is typically only expressed as free-text, which is difficult to use computationally. Researchers struggle to navigate, collect and remix prior knowledge as it is scattered in several silos without seamless integration and access. This lack of a structured information framework hinders research by both experimental and computational scientists. Results To better organize knowledge and data, we built a structured review article that is specifically focused on NGLY1 Deficiency, an ultra-rare genetic disease first reported in 2012. We represented this structured review as a knowledge graph, and then stored this knowledge graph in a Neo4j database to simplify dissemination, querying, and visualization of the network. Relative to free-text, this structured review better promotes the principles of findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability (FAIR). In collaboration with domain experts in NGLY1 Deficiency, we demonstrate how this resource can improve the efficiency and comprehensiveness of hypothesis generation. We also developed a read-write interface that allows domain experts to contribute FAIR structured knowledge to this community resource. In contrast to traditional free-text review articles, this structured review exists as a living knowledge graph that is curated by humans and accessible to computational analyses. Finally, we have generalized this workflow into modular and repurposable components that can be applied to other domain areas. This NGLY1 Deficiency-focused network is publicly available at http://ngly1graph.org/. Availability and implementation Source code and network data files are at: https://github.com/SuLab/ngly1-graph and https://github.com/SuLab/bioknowledge-reviewer. Contact asu@scripps.edu
Real-Time Learning, Macroeconomic Uncertainty, and the Variance Risk Premium

The variance risk premium represents the compensation paid to index option sellers for the risk of losses following upward movements in realized market return volatility. Common wisdom connects these spikes with elevated uncertainty on economic fundamentals. I incorporate this link within a single-agent general equilibrium model, embedding real-time learning on state variables and parameters. I show that infrequent, large and relatively transitory macroeconomic uncertainty shocks produce a sizable and volatile variance risk premium. These shocks coincide with major events such as the LTCM/Russian crisis, the onset of the second Gulf War, and the great financial crisis of 2008-2009. I compute macroeconomic uncertainty as the dispersion of the agent's belief about the expected growth rate of consumption. Its time-varying nature reflects in the variance risk premium, generating short-term predictability for market excess returns, consistent with the data. In addition, the model matches the higher order moments of the realized equity premium, with a reasonably low level of relative risk aversion equal to five. I finally provide evidence that parameter uncertainty may represent an extra-source of risk which is priced in equilibrium. In fact, a model with parameter learning and standard CRRA preferences, matches around half of the historical variance risk premium.
Title Trade Liberalization , Absorptive Capacity and the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights

We examine how trade liberalization a ects South’s incentive to protect intellectual property rights (IPR) in a North-South duopoly model where a low-cost North firm competes with a high-cost South firm in the South market. The North firm serves the South market through either exports or foreign direct investment (FDI). The extent of e ective cost di erence between North and South depends on South’s imitation, which in turn depends on South’s IPR protection and absorptive capacity and North firm’s location choice, all of which are endogenously determined in our model. For a given level of IPR protection, South’s absorptive capacity under exports may be greater than under FDI. Even though innovation is exogenous to the model (and hence una ected by South’s IPR policy), strengthening IPR protection in South can improve its welfare. The relationship between trade costs and the degree of IPR protection that maximizes South welfare is non-monotone. In particular, South has an incentive to protect IPR only when trade costs are moderate. When masking technology or licensing is incorporated into the model, however, some protection of IPR may be optimal for South even if the trade costs are not moderate. JEL classification numbers: F12, F13, D43
Oriental magic mirrors and the Laplacian image

The pattern embossed on the back of an oriental magic mirror appears in the patch of light projected onto a screen from its apparently featureless reflecting surface. In reality, the embossed pattern is reproduced in low relief on the front, and analysis shows that the projected image results from pre-focal ray deviation. In this interesting regime of geometrical optics, the image intensity is given simply by the Laplacian of the height function of the relief. For patterns consisting of steps, this predicts a characteristic effect, confirmed by observation: the image of each step exhibits a bright line on the low side and a dark line on the high side. Laplacian-image analysis of a magic-mirror image indicates that steps on the reflecting surface are about 400 nm high and laterally smoothed by about 0.5 mm.
Prevalence of gastrointestinal helminth parasites and identification of major nematodes of cattle in and around Bishoftu, Oromia Region, Ethiopia

Although, many studies have been conducted to estimate the prevalence of gastrointestinal tract (GIT) helminths of cattle in Ethiopia, most of them were conducted using simple fecal egg examination rather than larval identification to identify the nematodes. A cross sectional study was conducted from November 2016 to April 2017 with the aim of estimating the prevalence of GIT helminths and identifying nematode genera in cattle in and around Bishoftu, Ethiopia. Of the 300 cattle examined using standard parasitological methods, 42.33% were positive for GIT helminth egg presence. The prevalence rates of GIT helminth based on the age and sex of the cattle were 37.6, 43.9, 60 and 27.9%, in young, adult, male and female animals, respectively. Strongyle type eggs were the most prevalent among the helminthes investigated. The pooled larval culture showed that Haemonchus, Oesophagostomum and Trichostrongylus were the most common nematodes found, with Haemonchus being present in 27.8% of cases, followed by Trichostrongylus (18%) and Oesophagostomum (4.48%). Mixed infection of GIT nematodes (44.4%) is higher than single (mono) infection. Thus, it could be concluded that GIT helminths of cattle cause serious problems in livestock production in the area. Key words: Control, fecal culture, nematode, mixed infection, season.
Preliminary observations on the metal content in some milk samples from an acid geoenvironment

ALHONEN, PENTTI, MANTERE-ALHONEN, SÄDE and VUORINEN, ANTTI 1997: Preliminary observations on the metal content in some milk samples from an acid geoenvironment. Bull. Geol. Soc. Finland 69, Part 1-2, 31-41. The metal content of some milk samples was analyzed from areas of acid sulphate soils along the course of the river Kyrönjoki in western Finland. Comparative analyses were made with samples from the Artjärvi-Porlammi area. The variations of analyzed metals AI, Ba, Ca, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mo, Na, Sr and Zn are not great in both areas except that of Al, which is clearly associated with the acid environment in the Kyrönjoki valley. The portions of these elements in milk are relatively high as compared with data from literature. It is obvious that they show environmental contamination. Under acid circumstances the metals in milk may create serious geomedical problems.
Enzymatically modified isoquercitrin improves endothelial function in volunteers at risk of cardiovascular disease

Abstract A higher intake of food rich in flavonoids such as quercetin can reduce the risk of CVD. Enzymatically modified isoquercitrin (EMIQ®) has a bioavailability 17-fold higher than quercetin aglycone and has shown potential CVD moderating effects in animal studies. The present study aimed to determine whether acute ingestion of EMIQ® improves endothelial function, blood pressure (BP) and cognitive function in human volunteers at risk of CVD. Twenty-five participants (twelve males and thirteen females) with at least one CVD risk factor completed this randomised, controlled, crossover study. In a random order, participants were given EMIQ® (2 mg aglycone equivalent)/kg body weight or placebo alongside a standard breakfast meal. Endothelial function, assessed by flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) of the brachial artery was measured before and 1·5 h after intervention. BP, arterial stiffness, cognitive function, BP during cognitive stress and measures of quercetin metabolites, oxidative stress and markers of nitric oxide (NO) production were assessed post-intervention. After adjustment for pre-treatment measurements and treatment order, EMIQ® treatment resulted in a significantly higher FMD response compared with the placebo (1·80 (95 % CI 0·23, 3·37) %; P = 0·025). Plasma concentrations of quercetin metabolites were significantly higher (P < 0·001) after EMIQ® treatment compared with the placebo. No changes in BP, arterial stiffness, cognitive function or biochemical parameters were observed. In this human intervention study, the acute administration of EMIQ® significantly increased circulating quercetin metabolites and improved endothelial function. Further clinical trials are required to assess whether health benefits are associated with long-term EMIQ® consumption.