Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ecological and evolutionary consequences of size‐selective harvesting: how much do we know?

Size‐selective harvesting, where the large individuals of a particular species are preferentially taken, is common in both marine and terrestrial habitats. Preferential removal of larger individuals of a species has been shown to have a negative effect on its demography, life history and ecology, and empirical studies are increasingly documenting such impacts. But determining whether the observed changes represent evolutionary response or phenotypic plasticity remains a challenge. In addition, the problem is not recognized in most management plans for fish and marine invertebrates that still mandate a minimum size restriction. We use examples from both aquatic and terrestrial habitats to illustrate some of the biological consequences of size‐selective harvesting and discuss possible future directions of research as well as changes in management policy needed to mitigate its negative biological impacts.
The study of slums as social and physical constructs: challenges and emerging research opportunities

Abstract Over 1 billion people currently live in slums, with the number of slum dwellers only expected to grow in the coming decades. The vast majority of slums are located in and around urban centres in the less economically developed countries, which are also experiencing greater rates of urbanization compared with more developed countries. This rapid rate of urbanization is cause for significant concern given that many of these countries often lack the ability to provide the infrastructure (e.g., roads and affordable housing) and basic services (e.g., water and sanitation) to provide adequately for the increasing influx of people into cities. While research on slums has been ongoing, such work has mainly focused on one of three constructs: exploring the socio-economic and policy issues; exploring the physical characteristics; and, lastly, those modelling slums. This paper reviews these lines of research and argues that while each is valuable, there is a need for a more holistic approach for studying slums to truly understand them. By synthesizing the social and physical constructs, this paper provides a more holistic synthesis of the problem, which can potentially lead to a deeper understanding and, consequently, better approaches for tackling the challenge of slums at the local, national and regional scales.
Factor Structure of the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS) in Japanese Workers

Different models of factor structure were proposed for the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS) as a measure of coping style. This study confirmed psychometric properties and stability of the factor structure and differences among models for various age groups. The CISS of the Japanese version and the Hopkins Symptom Checklist (HSCL) were administered to a sample of 781 Japanese workers. Using factor analysis, three-, four-, and five-factor models were examined. Simultaneous multiple-group analysis was conducted using samples of 568 workers and 507 students. The five-factor model was more robust than the original three- and four-factor models. Reliabilities and applicability for a wide age range were confirmed. In terms of predictive validity, symptoms of somatization, obsessive-compulsiveness, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, and anxiety were positively related with Rumination coping.
The Pecking Order and Financing Decisions : Evidence from Financial Reporting Regulation

We use the staggered introduction of a major financial reporting regulation worldwide as an exogenous shock to the information environment of individual companies and study whether treated firms change financing decisions consistent with the pecking-order theory. Exploiting within country-year variation in firms’ financing frictions, we document that financially constrained firms increase the issuance of external financing and investment after the introduction of the new regime. Further, firms make different financing decisions (debt vs. equity) around the new regulation depending on their ex-ante debt capacity, allowing them to adjust their capital structure. Our findings highlight the importance of the pecking-order theory in explaining financing as well as investment policies. Current draft: September 2017 _______________ * Corresponding author contact information: 100 Main Street, Cambridge, MA 02142; Phone: (617) 253-2956; Email: rverdi@mit.edu. We thank Manuel Adelino, Joshua Anderson, Mark Bradshaw, John Core, Xavier Giroud, João Granja, Nick Guest, Michelle Hanlon, Amy Hutton, Christian Leuz, Gustavo Manso, Stewart Myers, Jeff Ng, Scott Richardson, Michael Roberts, Antoinette Schoar, Nemit Shroff, Eric So, Jerry Zimmerman, and workshop participants at University of Arizona, Boston College, University of British Columbia, Catholic-Lisbon University, Harvard, INSEAD, LBS, MIT, Penn State, Rice University, UCLA, and the University of Sao Paulo for helpful comments. The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from the MIT Sloan School of Management, Rice University and UCLA. Patricia Naranjo and Daniel Saavedra are also grateful for financial support from the Deloitte Foundation.
Particle uptake by Peyer’s patches: a pathway for drug and vaccine delivery

Particle uptake by Peyer’s patches offers the possibility of tailoring vaccines that can be delivered orally. However, particle uptake by the follicle-associated epithelium in the gastrointestinal tract depends on several different factors that are the physicochemical properties of the particles, the physiopathological state of the animal, the analytical method used to evaluate the uptake and finally the experimental model. These parameters do not allow a clear idea about the optimal conditions to target the Peyer’s patches. The goal of this review is to clarify the role of each factor in this uptake.
Current status of lithium therapy in affective disorders.

Lithium was introduced into medicine more than one hundred years ago and into psychiatry 25 years ago. In spite of this long history, it is only within the last 5-10 years that the unique properties and particular advan­tages of lithium as a drug have become recognized. Its usage is now sprea­ding rapidly, and almost every month we hear of new uses being claimed for lithium. I want to emphasize, however, that at the present time only two uses of lithium are fully established: the therapeutic use in mania, and the prophylactic use in recurrent endogenous affective disorders. All other uses are based on evidence which is not yet fully conclusive even though in some instances it is quite strong. Systematic trials are required fox further substantiation. We must keep our minds open to new developments in the field, for there is presumably still much to be learned about this deceptively simple and yet so enigmatic drug, the lithium ion. This paper deals with indications for lithium treatment, the proven, the tentative, and the disproven. Another paper (Schou, 1975) describes the practical problems of lithium treatment. Lithium medication should be continued until the time when spontaneous remission of the manic episode could be expected. In patients with previous manic episodes, the history may yield information as to the length of this time period; in patients with a first manic episode, lithium administration for 1-2 months may be appropriate in most cases. For patients with frequent previous manic or depressive episodes or both, prophylactic lithium treatment should be considered; this may then be administered as a continuation of the antimanic lithium treatment.
Full-field characterization of surface vibrations in microacoustic components by supercontinuum laser stroboscopic white-light interferometry

We present phase-sensitive absolute amplitude measurements of surface vibrations in microacoustic devices using a supercontinuum based stroboscopic white-light interferometer. The setup enables full-field characterization of out-of-plane vibration fields down to sub-100 pm amplitudes and up to GHz range, the highest detectable frequency limited only by the duration of the 300 ps light pulses. The capabilities of the system are demonstrated by measuring a vibration field in a square-plate silicon MEMS resonator at a 3.4 MHz resonance. The maximum vibration amplitude was measured to be 40 nm, and a minimum detectable amplitude limit of less than 100 pm was obtained.
Studies on Oxyspirura mansoni, the tropical eyeworm of poultry. III. Preliminary observations on eyeworm pathogenicity.

THIS PAPER, the second in a series, presents the results of a study made in Hawaii of the life history of Oxyspirura mansoni, the tropical eyeworm of poultry. This nematode has been shown by previous investigators to possess a digenetic life cycle in which it utilizes as the definitive host many species of domestic and wild birds and, as the secondary host, a single spe.cies of. burrowing cockroach, Pycnoscelus sartnamensts. The parasite is widely distributed in the warmer parts of the world . It . has been reported from Brazil (de Magalhaes, 1888; Almeida, i933), China (Cobbold, 1880), Indo-China (Fielding, 1928b), Mauritius (Emmerez and Megnin, 1901), Reunion (Ozoux, 1910), British West Indies (Hutson, 1943), Formosa (Kobayashi, 1927), British and Dutch East Indies (Picard, 1929; Fielding, 1928b), Florida and J amaica (Ransom, 1904), Hawaii (Wilcox and McClelland, 1913), Guam (Fielding, 1928b ), and Samoa (Alicata, personal communication). Its near relative (or synonym), Oxyspirura parvovum, has been reported from Australia by Dodd (1909) . Apparently Manson's eyeworm has approximately the same circumtropical distribution as its intermediate host (reviewed in Schwabe, 1949). Neither parasite nor host is known to exist in Hawaii at altitudes exceeding 3,000 feet.
Role development and career stages in addiction nursing: an exploratory study.

AIM This paper reports a study to explore factors influencing recruitment and retention in addiction nursing, and the stages and features of role acquisition and personal qualities important to that role. BACKGROUND Specialist addiction nurses engage in a number of roles in the care of individuals with problematic use of psychoactive substances. These include assessment, outreach, prescribing, counselling, and harm reduction. In a climate of increasing demand for specialist substance misuse workers, and a trend to identify key occupational competencies, there is a need for a framework in which career progression can be supported. Studies exploring the roles of addiction nurses are minimal, and there is less comment on how these roles are developed in the context of career stages. METHOD A qualitative study using focus groups was undertaken with specialist addiction nurses between March and June 2004. The data were transcribed verbatim and analysed using Burnard's six content analysis stages. FINDINGS Positive factors identified as influencing recruitment and retention included: prior knowledge of the working environment (as a nursing student), opportunities for autonomous practice, the client profile, and associated treatment philosophy and care approach. There was consensus that nurses choosing to work in the field of addiction needed, in addition to being non-judgmental, personal qualities including hardiness, patience and tolerance. Five role development stages, with a set of descriptors, were identified: encounter, engagement, stabilization, competency and mastery. CONCLUSION Identification of these five role development stages for addiction nurses offers employers, nurse managers, educators and addiction nurses a starting point from which specific occupational competencies can be further explored. In addition, continuing professional development needs can be mapped to specific role development stages. Employers and nurse managers may wish to offer increased learning opportunities to student nurses to gain work experience within specialist addiction units.
N-(4-Chloro-3-nitrophenyl)maleamic acid

In the molecule of the title compound, C10H7ClN2O5, the acyclic C=C double bond is cis configured. The C=O and O—H bonds of the acid group are in a relatively rare anti position to each other, due to the donation of intramolecular hydrogen bond to the amide by the carboxyl group. The nitro group is significantly twisted [dihedral angle = 66.9 (3)°] out of the plane of the remaining atoms, which are almost coplanar (r.m.s. deviation for non-H atoms except the nitro group = 0.202 Å). In the crystal, N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds link the molecules into zigzag chains running along the b axis.
Prevalence of Traumatic Brain Injury in Early Versus Late-Onset Alzheimer's Disease.

BACKGROUND Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the most established environmental risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD), but it is unclear if TBI is specifically associated with early-onset AD (EOAD). OBJECTIVE To evaluate the relationship between TBI and EOAD (<65 years). METHODS We identified 1,449 EOAD, 4,337 late-onset AD (LOAD), and corresponding EOAD-matched and LOAD-matched normal controls (NC) in the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center Uniform (NACC) database and compared the prevalence of any history of TBI as well as measures of cognition, function, behavior, and neuropathology. For validation, we determined TBI prevalence among 115 well-characterized clinic patients with EOAD. RESULTS Part A: The prevalence of any TBI in the NACC-database EOAD participants (13.3%) was comparable to that observed in the clinic EOAD patients (13.9%) but significantly higher than in the NACC-database LOAD participants (7.7% ; p < 0.0001) and trended to higher compared to EOAD-matched NC (11.1% ; logistic regression p = 0.053). Part B: When we compared EOAD patients with documented non-acute and non-residually impairing TBI to EOAD without a documented history of prior TBI, those with TBI had significantly more disinhibition. Part C: Autopsies did not reveal differences in AD neuropathology based on a history of TBI. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest, but do not establish, that TBI is a specific risk factor for EOAD and may lead to disinhibition, a feature that often results from the frontal effects of head injury. This study recommends further research on the effects of TBI in EOAD in larger numbers of participants.
Communications of the Association for Information Systems Communications of the Association for Information Systems

: The scholarly information systems (IS) field has a dual role. As an explanatory and predictive science, the field contributes to explaining the pervasive IS that shape the digital age and sometimes also makes predictions about those phenomena. As a prescriptive science, it participates in creating IS-related innovations by identifying means-ends relationships. The two can beneficially interact, such as when explanatory theory provides the basis for generating prescriptions or when applicable knowledge produces explanatory insights. In this commentary, we contribute to integrating these two roles by proposing a framework to help IS researchers navigate the field’s duality to extend the cumulative scholarly knowledge that it creates in terms of justified explanations and predictions and justified prescriptions. The process we describe builds on ongoing, dynamic, iterative, and interrelated research cycles. We identify a set of integrative research practices that occur at the interface between explanatory and predictive science and prescriptive science—the explanation-prescription nexus. We derive guidelines for IS research.
Human herpesvirus 6B origin: sequence diversity, requirement for two binding sites for origin-binding protein, and enhanced replication from origin multimers

A previously identified human herpesvirus 6B (HHV-6B) origin of DNA replication contains two binding sites for the origin-binding protein (OBPH6B). We have investigated the functional significance of these sites by determining the replication efficiencies of mutated origin sequences, using a transient replication assay. The results indicate that both sites are required for DNA replication. In addition, we have tested the functional consequences of linear sequence amplifications in the origin. The data show that tandemized origin elements are more efficiently replicated than single-copy origins. Finally, we have determined the extent of interstrain origin sequence variation that exists among HHV-6 isolates by cloning, sequencing, and analyzing origins from a number of virus isolates, including examples of both HHV-6A and HHV-6B.
Outcomes in treatment for primary spinal anaplastic ependymomas: a retrospective series of 20 patients.

OBJECT Little is known regarding the anaplastic variant of primary ependymomas that involve the spinal cord. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes of primary spinal anaplastic ependymomas (PSAEs). METHODS Medical records were reviewed in 20 patients with pathologically proven PSAEs who underwent surgical treatment at the Department of Neurosurgery in Huashan Hospital between 1999 and 2008. RESULTS This series included 7 women and 13 men between the ages of 2 and 67 years (mean 31.9 years). The mean preoperative course was 9.3 months (range 20 days to 48 months). The most common PSAE locations were the cervical and thoracic spinal cords. The most common presenting symptom was weakness, followed by numbness, bowel or bladder dysfunction, and pain. Gross-total resection (GTR) was achieved in 17 patients, and a subtotal removal was performed in 3 patients. Nine patients received radiation therapy and/or chemotherapy. The mean follow-up duration was 83.5 months. Functional assessment of the 10 patients available at the latest follow-up evaluation showed that 2 had worsened and 8 remained unchanged from their preoperative status. There were 2 local recurrences and 1 lung metastasis. CONCLUSIONS Patients with PSAEs presented with a much shorter preoperative course than patients with Grade II ependymomas in previous studies. Patients with tumors that involved the cervical spinal cord experienced a worse outcome. Surgical removal of PSAEs, with the goal of GTR, is beneficial to patients. The role of radiation therapy and chemotherapy in PSAEs remains to be determined in further studies.
Defibrillators are superior to antiarrhythmic drugs in the treatment of ventricular tachyarrhythmias.

Sudden cardiac death accounts for approximately 50%of all cardiovascular deaths, making the developmentof treatment strategies a high medical priority. Non-pharmacological measures, such as map-guided anti-tachycardia surgery or catheter ablation are onlyapplicable to a minority of patients with ventriculartachyarrhythmias, whereas antiarrhythmic drug therapyand implantation of automatic cardioverter-defibrillators could possibly be applied to a greatmajority of patients.The dilemma for the physician is now to choosethe best therapy for any given patient at a time whenresults from randomized comparisons of implantabledefibrillators and antiarrhythmic drugs will only beavailable in years hence. Therefore, the purpose of thispaper is to portray the evidence currently available forthe superiority of implantable cardioverter-defibrillatortherapy over antiarrhythmic drugs.
Civil Unions in Vermont

ABSTRACT In 2000, Vermont passed civil union legislation that granted same-sex couples the same legal rights as traditionally married opposite sex couples. This study examined the influence that sexual prejudice, religious fundamentalism, social dominance orientation, and support for civil unions had on voters' choice for governor in the subsequent election. Results showed that support for civil unions was a primary motivator for many voters in the election, and that sexual prejudice, religious fundamentalism, and social dominance orientation were unique predictors of voters' choices. These results show that prejudice can be a key factor in determining whom voters elect to represent them in government.
VS Crustal Models and Spectral Amplification Effects in the L’Aquila Basin (Italy)

On April 6, 2009 a strong earthquake (ML 5.9, MW 6.3), hereafter called main shock, struck the Aterno Valley in the Abruzzo region (central Italy) causing heavy damage in L’Aquila and in several nearby villages and killing more than 300 people. The event had a pure normal faulting mechanism, with a rupturing fault plane NW striking and 45°SW dipping; hypocentral location was at 9.5 km depth and epicenter at a distance of about 2 km WSW from L’Aquila center [1]. Few days later, the aftershock activity involved also the area NE of L’Aquila toward Arischia and Campotosto. The overall distribution of the aftershocks defined a complex, 40 km long and 10-12 km wide, NW trending extensional structure. The largest damage was mainly distributed in a NW-SE direction [2], according to the orientation of the Aterno river valley. The area has a high seismic hazard level in Italy [3] and has experienced in the past destructive earthquakes such as the 1349, I=IX–X; the 1461, l'Aquila, I=X and the 1703, I=X [4]. Many active faults are recognized in the area and several of them are indicated as potential sources for future moderate and large earthquakes by several authors (see for a review [5]).
Physiological Effects Of Melatonin on Leptin, Testosterone and Biochemical Parameters in Albino Rats

The Objective For The Present Study Is To Investigate Of The Effects Of Melatonin (Mel) On Serum Leptin, Testosterone, Liver Function Test Parameters In Control And Pinealectomized (Pinx) Rats. Thirty Seven Adult Male Rats Were Used In This Study. The Experimental Rats Were Divided Into Six Groups, And The Treatments Were Continued For Six Weeks As The Following: Group 1: Control Rats. Group 2: Sham-Operated Surgery Rats. Group 3: (Pinx) Rats. Group 4: Pinx Rats + Melatonin (60 Mg / Kg Diet). Group 5: Melatonin (60 Mg / Kg Diet). Group 6: Melatonin (120 Mg / Kg Diet). Reduction In Mel Secretion Was Induced By Removing Of Pineal Gland (Pinealectomy). Results Showed That Pinealectomy And Mel Treatment At High Dose In Control Rats Significantly Reduced Serum Leptin Concentration, But Mel At Low Dose Administration In Pinx And Control Rats Significantly Elevated Serum Leptin Concentration. On The Other Hand, Both Doses Of Mel Significantly Decreased Serum Testosterone Concentration. Serum Alanine Aminotransferase (Alt) And Aspartate Aminotransferase (Ast) Activity And Malenaldehyde (Mda) Levels Increased In Pinx Rats. On The Other Hand, Mel (60 Mg / Kg Diet) Administration Decreased Serum Transaminases Activity And Mda Level Toward Normal Activity In Pinx Rats. In Conclusion: Melatonin Has Important Roles In The Control Of Leptin Production And The Regulation Of Reproductive System (By Decreasing Testosterone Concentration) ,Also ,It Decreased Serum Transaminases In Pinx Rats And This Suggests That Melatonin Has A Hepatoprotective Role