Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Gastrointestinal helminths of pipistrelle bats (Pipistrellus pipistrellus/Pipistrellus pygmaeus) (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) of England

SUMMARY Although bats are one of the most successful and diverse of mammalian orders, studies that focus upon bat endoparasites are limited. To further knowledge of bat parasitology, pipistrelle bats (Pipistrellus pipistrellus and P. pygmaeus) were acquired from across the Greater Manchester and Lancashire region of England and examined for gastrointestinal helminths using morphological and molecular analyses†. Sixty-eight of 90 adult/juvenile bats (76% prevalence) were infected with at least 1 species of helminth and mean helminth abundance was 48·2 (+/−7·0). All helminths were digenean trematodes and the following species were identified in 51 P. pipistrellus specimens (prevalence in parentheses): Lecithodendrium linstowi (80·4%), L. spathulatum (19·6%), Prosthodendrium sp. (35·3%), Plagiorchis koreanus (29·4%) and Pycnoporus heteroporus (9·8%). Statistical analyses, incorporating multifactorial models, showed that male bats exhibited a significantly more aggregated helminth distribution and lower abundance than females. Positive associations were observed between L. linstowi and L. spathulatum, Prosthodendrium sp. and P. heteroporus and between L. spathulatum and P. koreanus. A revised phylogeny of bat-associated Lecithodendriidae, incorporating novel L. spathulatum and Prosthodendrium sp. 28S rRNA sequences, separated the controversial clade formed by L. linstowi and P. hurkovaae. Further studies are likely to assist the understanding of bat-parasite/pathogen relationships, helminth infracommunity structures and phylogenetics.
Explaining the micro dynamics of the populist cleavage in the ‘new Turkey’

ABSTRACT Over the last decade, the literature on populism has flourished as it has sought to account for the causes, definitions, and consequences of the significant support and prolonged political success of populist leaders and parties. However, the political and emotional reception of populist performance is still an under-researched subject and research on populism mostly remains at the macro level focusing on the policies and discourses of the populist leaders/parties. In this article, by focusing on Turkey, we shift our emphasis to how populism is received, reproduced, and reflected in the political framework of the diverse electorate and how the impact of certain events, leaders, and crises is magnified by their emotional content. Based on 71 in-depth interviews conducted in Istanbul, Turkey, this article argues that populism creates diverging emotional maps that overlap with political polarization among the populist-leaning constituents and detractors of populism. Taking Turkey’s 15 July failed coup attempt as a ‘crisis’, we study how crisis situations strengthen populist leaders.
The role of ecological opportunity in shaping disparate diversification trajectories in a bicontinental primate radiation

Exceptional species and phenotypic diversity commonly are attributed to ecological opportunity (EO). The conventional EO model predicts that rates of lineage diversification and phenotypic evolution are elevated early in a radiation only to decline later in response to niche availability. Foregut fermentation is hypothesized to be a key innovation that allowed colobine monkeys (subfamily Colobinae), the only primates with this trait, to successfully colonize folivore adaptive zones unavailable to other herbivorous species. Therefore, diversification rates also are expected to be strongly linked with the evolution of traits related to folivory in these monkeys. Using dated molecular phylogenies and a dataset of feeding morphology, I test predictions of the EO model to evaluate the role of EO conferred by foregut fermentation in shaping the African and Asian colobine radiations. Findings from diversification methods coupled with colobine biogeographic history provide compelling evidence that decreasing availability of new adaptive zones during colonization of Asia together with constraints presented by dietary specialization underlie temporal changes in diversification in the Asian but not African clade. Additionally, departures from the EO model likely reflect iterative diversification events in Asia.
Prenatal ethanol exposure increases ethanol reinforcement in neonatal rats.

BACKGROUND Recent experimental findings indicate that newborn rats are quite susceptible to the reinforcing properties of ethanol (EtOH). The basis seems to be more pharmacological than gustatory, olfactory, or caloric as a single pairing of a surrogate nipple providing water with an intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of EtOH results in conditioned attachment to an empty surrogate nipple. The present study tested whether prenatal exposure to moderate EtOH during late gestation would alter the neonatal rat's susceptibility to this source of EtOH reinforcement and/or EtOH metabolism. METHODS Pregnant females were given 1 g/kg EtOH or water intragastrically on gestational days (GD) 17 to 20 or were untreated. Rat pups delivered by cesarean section on GD 21 were exposed 3 to 4 hours later to a surrogate nipple providing water, either immediately following or 10 minutes before an i.p. injection of 0.0 (saline), 0.25, 0.5, or 0.75 g/kg EtOH (12.6%, v/v). Ethanol reinforcement was indicated by a significant increase in time attached to an empty surrogate nipple compared with unpaired and saline controls. Testing was conducted 90 minutes after conditioning took place. Blood ethanol levels (BELs) were also taken from subjects injected with identical doses of i.p. EtOH at 5 or 95 minutes after injection. RESULTS Initial response to a surrogate nipple with water did not differ between groups. For neonates prenatally exposed to EtOH, significant reinforcement by all 3 doses of i.p. EtOH (0.25, 0.5, and 0.75) was found, whereas only the dose of 0.5 g/kg EtOH was reinforcing for neonates in the prenatal water condition and only 0.25 g/kg was reinforcing for pups from untreated dams. Blood ethanol levels after conditioning also differed as a function of prenatal treatment. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that prenatal EtOH exposure increases the range of EtOH doses capable of reinforcing effects. Intubations with water, however, eliminated the reinforcing strength of the lowest dose (0.25 g/kg) and shifted the dose-response curve to the right. This effect may be due to the stress of the intubation procedure. Ethanol metabolism was also affected by prenatal EtOH exposure. Pups derived from EtOH-treated dams had slower elimination of EtOH from the blood than all other groups at both the 0.5 and 0.75 g/kg i.p. doses.
Comparing the teaching and learning of Ohm's law in Grade 10 Physical Sciences in resourced and underresourced schools

The research study was conducted in two rural schools in the same district that served as the sample . One school is a wellresourced Dinaledi school and the other one is an underresourced school. According to the National Diagnostic reports of the last few years, the performance of learners in the National Senior Certificate examination in Physical Sciences was poor especially in those questions that require learners’ higher order thinking skills. It appeared that educators found it difficult to teach some of the topics that were based on practical work because the majority of the rural schools were underresourced. Due to the disparities and poor performance in the achievement of learners in the districts, the researcher decided to conduct this research study in an attempt to compare the teaching and learning of Ohm’s law in Physical Sciences in resourced and under-resourced schools in the district. The theoretical framework that underpins this research is constructivism, as the focus is on constructing meaning and knowledge gained by the learners using apparatus such as electric circuit boards. Two classes of Grade 10 learners, one each from a resourced school and under-resourced school, were selected purposively. The classes were observed whilst being taught Ohm’s law. All the learners wrote the same test and their performance was compared. The two Physical Sciences educators who taught the classes were interviewed after the lessons. The study found that in the resourced school learners were exposed to hands-on activities as part of a practical-oriented class. Their interaction with the apparatus while learning about Ohm’s law put them in a much better position to answer questions, especially higher order questions. On the other hand in the under-resourced school learners were exposed to a theoretical-based teaching method which placed them at a severe disadvantage in answering questions during assessments. This study has implications for fellow science teachers, curriculum advisors and other education department officials as it describes actual practices of educators in two schools and examines the influence that resources have on learners’ performances.
MECHANISM-BASED INACTIVATION OF CYP2D6 BY METHYLENEDIOXYMETHAMPHETAMINE

The potency of methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) as a mechanism-based inhibitor of CYP2D6 has been defined using microsomes prepared from yeast expressing the enzyme and from three human livers. The inhibitory effect was increased by preincubation through formation of a metabolic intermediate complex. Inactivation parameters (kinact and KI), defined with respect to the O-demethylation of dextromethorphan, were 0.29 ± 0.03 (S.E.) min-1 and 12.9 ± 3.6 (S.E.) μM for yeast-expressed CYP2D6, and 0.26 ± 0.02 min-1 and 14.4 ± 2.5 μM, 0.15 ± 0.01 min-1 and 8.8 ± 2.6 μM, and 0.12 ± 0.05 min-1 and 45.3 ± 32.1 μM for the liver microsomal preparations. The rate of inactivation of CYP2D6 by MDMA decreased when quinidine, a competitive inhibitor of CYP2D6, was added to the primary incubation mixture. However, inactivation was unaffected by the addition of glutathione. The results indicate that MDMA is a potent mechanism-based inhibitor of CYP2D6, with implications for understanding its in vivo disposition and drug interaction potential.
Research, and Creative Work at Bryn Mawr College

We investigate the state change behavior of one-dimensional cellular automata during the solution of the binary density-classiﬂcation task. Update rules of high, low and unknown ﬂtness are applied to cellular automata, thereby providing examples of high and low rates of successful classiﬂcation. A spread factor, ! , is introduced and investigated as a numerical marker of state change behavior. The nature of ! describes complex or particle-like behavior on the part of the cellular automata over the middle region of initial conﬂguration density-distribution, but breaks down at the ends. Because of the limitation on ! , a related jump-out term, jot , is selected for incorporation into the ﬂness function for genetic algorithm evolution of update rules. The inclusion of jot in the ﬂtness function signiﬂcantly reduces the number of generations required to reach high rates of successful classiﬂcation ( ‚ 90%).
The Economic Consequences of Corporate Tax Rates Reductions in the EU: Evidence Using a Computable General Equilibrium Model

In a globalised world, governments are eager to attract foreign investors by lowering corporate tax rates. Recent trends point towards a revival of a race to the bottom in corporate income tax (CIT) rates in developed economies. EU countries have been active in this respect. A generalised fall in CIT rate could prove detrimental to tax revenues and trigger increase in other taxes to meet fiscal policy objectives. However, it could also spur investment and growth and prove to be a good fiscal policy strategy if, as a result, the corporate tax base increases. The final economic and fiscal impact of a reduction in CIT rates is therefore unclear. Using a CGE model, we find that uncoordinated tax reforms significantly impact national economies and third‐country effects can be significant when large countries implement CIT rate cuts. Small countries are better off unilaterally reducing their CIT rate at the expense of other EU countries. We find that negative spillovers are mitigated when the country reducing its CIT rate restores its budget balance by cutting either public expenditures or social transfers. A larger degree of non‐EU capital mobility also tends to reduce the negative spillover effects of unilateral CIT rate reductions.
The TLR3 ligand polyI:C downregulates connexin 43 expression and function in astrocytes by a mechanism involving the NF‐κB and PI3 kinase pathways

Toll‐like receptor 3 (TLR3) is a component of the innate immune response that responds to dsRNA viruses and virus replication intermediates. In this study we show that activation of astrocytes with the dsRNA mimetic polyinosinic‐cytidylic acid (pI:C) results in loss of expression of connexin43 (Cx43) mRNA and protein while upregulating the expression of the ionotropic P2 receptor P2X4R. Analysis of the signaling pathways involved failed to demonstrate a role for the p38 MAP kinase, ERK, or JNK signaling pathways whereas an inhibitor of the PI3 kinase/Akt pathway effectively blocked the action of pI:C. Using adenoviral vectors containing a super‐repressor of NF‐κB (NF‐κB SR) construct or a dominant negative interferon regulatory factor 3 (dnIRF3) construct showed that inhibition of both transcription factors also blocked the effects of pI:C. To explore the functional consequences of pI:C activation we used a pore‐forming assay for P2X4R activity and a scrape loading assay for gap junction intercellular communication (GJIC). No pore‐forming activity consistent with functional P2X4R expression was detected in either control or activated astrocytes. In contrast, robust Lucifer yellow transfer indicative of GJIC was detected in resting cells that was lost following pI:C activation. The dnIRF3 construct failed to restore GJIC whereas the NF‐κB SR or the NF‐κB inhibitor BAY11‐7082 and the PI3K inhibitor LY294002 all significantly reversed the effect of pI:C on GJ connectivity. We conclude that activation of the innate immune response in astrocytes is associated with functional loss of GJIC through a pathway involving NF‐κB and PI3 kinase. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The effectiveness of Qard-al-Hasan (interest free loan) as a tool of monetary policy

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the macroeconomic effects of Qard-al-Hasan (QH) as a tool of monetary policy (MP) and its effectiveness in achieving full employment and price stability in the economy. Design/methodology/approach QH-based MP and its effects on major macroeconomic variables are examined on theoretical ground by using the standard aggregate output and aggregate expenditure model within the framework of Islamic economic principles. Findings QH-based MP positively influences real sectors of the economy and increases output, and the economy returns to full employment. QH provides the lowest possible borrowing costs across the economy and thus triggers rightward shift in aggregate supply curve and thus increases output and lowers price level. In addition, increase in output eliminates excess demand or shortages and thus maintains price stability. Furthermore, QH-based MP also increases exportable surplus and exports, decreases imports as well as increases inflow of funds and foreign currency reserves with the Central Bank and thus makes MP more effective. Research limitations/implications QH-based MP is usually expansionary MP, and as such, it can be argued that there is a probability that QH-based MP may lead to higher inflation rate. However, in this study, it has been shown with real world data in Table II, that 23 countries in Group 1 have pursued zero or negative interest rate policy and their experiences mitigate such probability. Originality/value This is, perhaps, the first paper that presents a complete model of QH as a tool of MP with fully explained transmission mechanism. This is new contribution in the literature of Islamic finance where theoretical model on QH is systematically developed and applied as an effective tool of MP in attaining full employment and price stability. This model of QH-based MP can unfold a new horizon of uninterrupted economic growth, full employment and price stability by increasing output and employment, as well as by eliminating excess demand or shortages.
A Very Long Embargo: Journal Choice Reveals Active Non-Compliance with Funder Open Access Policies by Australian and Canadian Neuroscientists

Research funders around the world have implemented open access policies that require funded research to be made open access, usually by self-archiving, within 12 months of publication. Elsevier is unique among major science publishers because it produces several journals with non-compliant self-archiving embargoes of more than 12 months. We used Elsevier’s Scopus database to study the rate at which Australian and Canadian neuroscientists publish in Elsevier’s non-compliant (embargoes > 12 months) and compliant journals (embargoes ≤ 12 months). We also examined publications in immediate open access neuroscience journals that had the DOAJ Seal and neuroscience publications in open access mega-journals. We found that the implementation of Australian and Canadian funder open access policies in 2012/2013 and 2015 did not reduce the number of publications in non-compliant journals. Instead, scientific output in all publication types increased with the greatest growth in immediate open access journals. This data suggests that funder open access policies that are similar to the Australian and Canadian policies are likely to have little effect beyond an association with a general cultural trend towards open access.
A two-stage DEA approach to analyse the efficiency of the hospitality sector

This article explores the performance of the hospitality sector in Sardinia (Italy) using empirical data collected from company balance sheets (from 2004 to 2013). A standard data envelopment analysis (DEA) is run using sales revenue as an output and the monetary value of all tangible and intangible assets as well as labour costs as inputs. Following the Simar–Wilson approach, a post-DEA is also carried out to investigate the factors that influence hotels’ economic efficiency. The empirical results show that business default and the cost of money negatively influence hotels’ performance and that firms located in highly specialized areas with a strong seasonality are relatively inefficient. Furthermore, the short-run debt index and the long-term debt index positively impact efficiency.
Towards a prospective transition framework. A co-evolutionary model of socio- technical transitions and an application to car sharing in The Netherlands

This paper develops a new, prospective framework of socio-technical transitions based on Nelson's model of the co-evolution of technology, industry structure and supporting institutions. This model is refined by integrating more specific theories about increasing returns, Schumpeterian competition and institutional work. As a case study, the framework is applied to car sharing in The Netherlands. It is concluded that car sharing may well become a new mobility regime, even if it is unlikely to replace private car ownership altogether.
Challenging Criminal Disenfranchisement Under the Voting Rights Act: A New Strategy

Just a few decades after the Civil War, Southern conservatives gathered at state constitutional conventions and codified a growing white backlash against Reconstruction generally and black suffrage in particular. ' Racial animus was rarely masked: "Discrimination! " one Virginia delegate exclaimed. "[T]hat, exactly, is what this Convention was elected for. , with a view to the elimination of every negro voter . 2 The conventions adopted a panoply of voting barriers, including literacy and property tests,3 poll taxes,4 understanding clauses,5 and grandfather clauses.6 The purpose of these voting
Effects of high‐dose methamphetamine on monoamine uptake sites in rat brain measured by quantitative autoradiography

The neurotoxicity of methamphetamine to monoaminergic neurons was examined. Neurotoxicity was assessed by quantitative autoradiography using radioligands specific for binding to norepinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin uptake sites. High‐dose administration of methamphetamine led to decreases in binding to uptake sites for the three monoamines. Norepinephrine binding sites were decreased in certain amygdaloid nuclei and in the dorsomedial hypothalamic nucleus. Serotonin binding sites were reduced in widespread brain areas, while dopamine binding sites were reduced in the caudate putamen, olfactory tubercle, and nucleus accumbens. The decreases in binding site density for the three monoamines are limited to terminal field areas; cell body areas are not affected. Our results indicate that methamphetamine is neurotoxic to serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine neurons. The neurotoxicity to norepinephrine neurons is in selected brain areas. © Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Radical right framing of social policy in Hungary: between nationalism and populism

ABSTRACT The populist radical right (PRR) is increasingly associated with welfare chauvinism, but the literature mainly focuses on Western and Northern European cases. Turning attention to Central Eastern Europe, this article investigates how PRR parties in Hungary frame welfare issues in five social policy areas from 2010 to 2016. This is done through a critical frame analysis applied to party manifestos and State of the Nation speeches by the Fidesz and Jobbik parties. Special care is taken to delineate the interlocking but not interchangeable concepts of nationalism and populism, as recent research asserts this distinction is often overlooked. The main findings are threefold: First, these parties articulate their positions chiefly through nationalist rather than populist framing; Second, while Hungary's PRR exhibits welfare chauvinist framing similar to Western and Northern Europe, a main difference detected was the role of the communist legacy; Third, beyond the article's original goals, the findings revealed a strong connection between nationalist framing and the role of gender, suggesting that the two are not mutually exclusive.
Activation of Cannabinoid Receptor 2 Ameliorates DSS-Induced Colitis through Inhibiting NLRP3 Inflammasome in Macrophages

Activation of cannabinoid receptor 2 (CB2R) ameliorates inflammation, but the underlying mechanism remains unclear. In the present study, we examined whether activation of CB2R could suppress the nucleotide-binding domain and leucine-rich repeat protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome. In peritoneal macrophages isolated from C57BL/6 mice, LPS/DSS challenge for 24 h increased the expression of the components of NLRP3 inflammasome NLRP3, Casp-1 p20/Casp-1 p45 ratio, proIL-1β and IL-1β and also enhanced autophagy (LC3-II/LC3-I ratio, Beclin-1 and SQSTM1). Pretreatment of peritoneal macrophages with HU 308, a selective CB2R agonist, attenuated LPS/DSS-induced NLRP3 inflammasome activation, but further enhanced autophagy. In comparison with wild-type (WT) control, peritoneal macrophages from CB2R knockout (KO) mice had more robust NLRP3 inflammasome activation and attenuated autophagy upon LPS/DSS challenge. Knockdown autophagy-related gene 5 (Atg5) with a siRNA in peritoneal macrophages attenuated the inhibitory effects of HU 308 on LPS/DSS-induced NLRP3 inflammasome activation in vitro. In vivo, HU308 treatment attenuated DSS-induced colitis mice associated with reduced colon inflammation and inhibited NLRP3 inflammasome activation in wild-type mice. In CB2R KO mice, DSS-induced inflammation and NLRP3 inflammasome activation were more pronounced than those in WT control. Finally, we demonstrated that AMPK-mTOR-P70S6K signaling pathway was involved in this CB2R-mediated process. We conclude that activation of CB2R ameliorates DSS-induced colitis through enhancing autophagy that may inhibit NLRP3 inflammasome activation in macrophages.