Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A geographic mosaic of passive dispersal: population structure in the endemic Hawaiian amber snail Succinea caduca (Mighels, 1845)

We used 276 cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI, 645 bp) and a subset of 84 16S large ribosomal subunit (16S, 451 bp) sequences to evaluate geographic patterns of genetic variation in 24 populations of the endemic Hawaiian land snail Succinea caduca spanning its range on six islands. Haplotype networks, gene tree topologies, pairwise molecular divergence and FST matrices suggest substantial geographic genetic structuring and complex dispersal patterns. Low nucleotide diversity and low pairwise molecular divergence values within populations coupled with higher between population values suggest multiple founder events. High overall haplotype diversity suggests diversification involving rare interpopulation dispersal, fragmentation by historical lava flows and variation in habitat structure. Within‐island rather than between‐island population comparisons accounted for the majority of molecular variance. Although 98% of 153 COI haplotypes were private by population, a Mantel test showed no evidence for isolation by distance. Mismatch distributions and population partitioning patterns suggest that genetic fragmentation has been driven by punctuated, passive dispersal of groups of closely related haplotypes that subsequently expanded and persisted in isolation for long periods (average > 2 million years ago), and that Pleistocene island connections may have been important in enhancing gene flow. Historical availability of mesic coastal habitat, together with effective dispersal may explain the long‐term persistence and unusual multi‐island distribution of this species, contrasting with the single‐island endemism of much of the Hawaiian biota.
Battle of the Channels: The Impact of Tablets on Digital Commerce

The introduction of tablets in online retailing has created an additional touchpoint through which e-commerce firms can interact with consumers. In this paper, we seek to understand and measure the causal impact of tablets on e-commerce sales. In doing so, we examine the complementary and substitution impact of the tablet channel on the smartphone and PC channels. We rely on a unique data set from Alibaba, the largest e-commerce firm in the world, and exploit a natural experiment via the iPad app introduction to empirically identify our results. The results show that users’ adoption of tablets enhanced the overall growth of Alibaba’s e-commerce market, with an annual increase of approximately US$923.5 million. Our results demonstrate that the tablet channel acts as a substitute for the PC channel while it acts as a complement for the smartphone channel. Furthermore, the use of tablets spurs casual browsing, which leads to the purchase of more impulse products and a wider diversity of products. Cross-devic.
Effect of method of application on resistance to pyrethroid insecticides in Blattella germanica (Orthoptera: Blattellidae).

A DDT-resistant ( kdr ) strain of Blattella germanica (L.) (VPIDLS) showed broad cross-resistance to all pyrethroids when tested by topical application to the abdomen. By contrast, the strain’s cross-resistance spectrum did not extend to cypermethrin and deltamethrin (two typical Type II pyrethroids) when a surface contact method was used. To understand the cause(s) for such a difference in cross-resistance expression, different application methods and toxicity criteria were examined. Location of topical application, including the head and tibia, had little influence on the cross-resistance pattern. We concluded that, by surface contact, cypermethrin and deltamethrin act in a way atypical of DDT or other typical Type I pyrethroids.
Building Business in Post-Communist Russia, Eastern Europe, and Eurasia: Collective Goods, Selective Incentives, and Predatory States

1. Introduction 2. Collective action in adverse business environments 3. Postcommunist business representation in a comparative perspective 4. Business environment and business organization: the quantitative approach 5. What you do is what you are: business associations in action 6. Compulsory vs voluntary membership 7. Conclusions.
Credit Constraints and Investment Behavior in Mexico's Rural Economy

This paper uses two recently completed surveys of individual entrepreneurs (farmers and microentrepreneurs) and registered enterprises (agricultural and nonagricultural) operating in Mexicos rural sector to provide new evidence about the factors influencing the incidence of credit constraints and investment behavior. To measure the incidence of credit constraints, the authors use self-reported information on whether economic agents have a demand for loans, separating formal and informal markets. They define credit constraints as a situation where rural agents report an unsatisfied demand for loans (formal or informal), which originates from rural agents having projects that are too risky or from impediments hindering the ability of rural agents and lenders to reduce information asymmetries. The authors find that the self-reported demand for loans is low. Nevertheless, the incidence of credit constraints is pervasive, especially among individual entrepreneurs. The low use of loans has consequences for the amount of investments that occur in the rural economy, posing a major obstacle to Mexicos convergence towards its NAFTA partners. The empirical analysis, which includes proxies of business prospects and creditworthiness, shows that improving the availability of loans to credit constrained agents would increase the number of agents making investments and their investment to capital ratios.
Self-Efficacy for Resolving Environmental Uncertainties: Implications for Entrepreneurial Educational and Support Programs

Using a unique sample of rural Kentucky residents, we demonstrated that, in the domain of operational and competitive environmental uncertainties, self-efficacy beliefs are significantly higher among nascent entrepreneurs than among non-entrepreneurs. We employed the hierarchical logistic regression analysis to demonstrate that this result is robust across gender and marital status. Contrary to previous studies, we found that married females with high self-efficacy in the domain of financial uncertainties are less likely to start a new business than females with low self-efficacy in that domain. Based on our results, we offer suggestions for entrepreneurial educational and support programs.
European Right-of-way And Utilities Best Practices

As right-of-way acquisition and utilities coordination grow more complex, transportation agencies in the United States are under pressure to streamline the process of providing cleared right-of-way for highway projects. The Federal Highway Administration, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, and the National Cooperative Highway Research Program sponsored a scanning study of England, Germany, Norway and the Netherlands to review best practices in right-of-way and utilities services. In the countries visited, the U.S. delegation observed a philosophy of sensitivity to the needs of property owners affected by highway projects, as well as innovative techniques for compensating owners. Highway agencies emphasize coordination with utilities to minimize delays. Right-of-way professionals undergo formal education and ongoing training to develop expertise in their field. The scanning team's recommendations for U.S. application include encouraging property owner input by involving owners in the design phase and using an in-depth interview process, creating a voluntary land consolidation pilot program, developing education programs for right-of-way professionals, and promoting greater coordination and communication between State transportation departments and utilities.
QRS Score: A Composite Index of Exercise‐Induced Changes in the Q, R, and S Waves During Exercise Stress Testing in Patients with Ischemic Heart Disease

Background: To detect ischemic heart disease, the exercise‐induced ST‐segment displacement is the most frequently used ECG parameter. However, the value of this marker was proven to be limited with varying sensitivity and specificity. A new parameter, called QRS score, emerged to improve the efficacy of exercise testing.
Flavins secreted by roots of iron-deficient Beta vulgaris enable mining of ferric oxide via reductive mechanisms.

Iron (Fe) is abundant in soils but generally poorly soluble. Plants, with the exception of Graminaceae, take up Fe using an Fe(III)-chelate reductase coupled to an Fe(II) transporter. Whether or not nongraminaceous species can convert scarcely soluble Fe(III) forms into soluble Fe forms has deserved little attention so far. We have used Beta vulgaris, one among the many species whose roots secrete flavins upon Fe deficiency, to study whether or not flavins are involved in Fe acquisition. Flavins secreted by Fe-deficient plants were removed from the nutrient solution, and plants were compared with Fe-sufficient plants and Fe-deficient plants without flavin removal. Solubilization of a scarcely soluble Fe(III)-oxide was assessed in the presence or absence of flavins, NADH (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, reduced form) or plant roots, and an Fe(II) trapping agent. The removal of flavins from the nutrient solution aggravated the Fe deficiency-induced leaf chlorosis. Flavins were able to dissolve an Fe(III)-oxide in the presence of NADH. The addition of extracellular flavins enabled roots of Fe-deficient plants to reductively dissolve an Fe(III)-oxide. We concluded that root-secretion of flavins improves Fe nutrition in B. vulgaris. Flavins allow B. vulgaris roots to mine Fe from Fe(III)-oxides via reductive mechanisms.
Toll-Like Receptor 4 Mediates Methamphetamine-Induced Neuroinflammation through Caspase-11 Signaling Pathway in Astrocytes

Methamphetamine (METH) is an amphetamine-typed stimulant drug that is increasingly being abused worldwide. Previous studies have shown that METH toxicity is systemic, especially targeting dopaminergic neurons in the central nervous system (CNS). However, the role of neuroinflammation in METH neurotoxicity remains unclear. We hypothesized that Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and Caspase-11 are involved in METH-induced astrocyte-related neuroinflammation. We tested our hypothesis by examining the changes of TLR4 and Caspase-11 protein expression in primary cultured C57BL/6 mouse astrocytes and in the midbrain and striatum of mice exposed to METH with western blot and double immunofluorescence labeling. We also determined the effects of blocking Caspase-11 expression with wedelolactone (a specific inhibitor of Caspase-11) or siRNA on METH-induced neuroinflammation in astrocytes. Furthermore, we determined the effects of blocking TLR4 expression with TAK-242 (a specific inhibitor of TLR4) or siRNA on METH-induced neuroinflammation in astrocytes. METH exposure increased Caspase-11 and TLR4 expression both in vitro and in vivo, with the effects in vitro being dose-dependent. Inhibition of Caspase-11 expression with either wedelolactone or siRNAs reduced the expression of inflammasome NLRP3 and pro-inflammatory cytokines. In addition, blocking TLR4 expression inhibited METH-induced activation of NF-κB and Caspase-11 in vitro and in vivo, suggesting that TLR4-Caspase-11 pathway is involved in METH-induced neuroinflammation. These results indicate that Caspase-11 and TLR4 play an important role in METH-induced neuroinflammation and may be potential gene targets for therapeutics in METH-caused neurotoxicity.
Molecular and Antigenic Characterization of a Highly Evolved Derivative of the Type 2 Oral Poliovaccine Strain Isolated from Sewage in Israel

ABSTRACT An unusual, highly diverged derivative of the Sabin type 2 oral poliovaccine (OPV) strain was recovered from environmental samples during routine screening for wild polioviruses. Virus was cultivated in L20B cells and then passaged on BGM cells at 40°C (RCT [reproductive capacity at supraoptimal temperature]-positive marker) to select against most OPV strains. All but 1 of 25 RCT-positive OPV-derived environmental isolates were antigenically and genetically (>99.5% VP1 sequence match) similar to the respective Sabin strains. However, isolate PV2/4568-1/ISR98 (referred to below as 4568-1) escaped neutralization with Sabin 2-specific monoclonal antibodies and cross-adsorbed sera, and had multiple nucleotide substitutions (220 of 2,646; 8.3%) in the P1 capsid region. Fourteen of the 44 associated amino acid substitutions in the capsid mapped to neutralizing antigenic sites. Neutralizing titers in the sera of 50 Israeli children 15 years old were significantly lower to 4568-1 (geometric mean titer [GMT], 47) than to Sabin 2 (GMT, 162) or to the prototype wild strain, PV2/MEF-1/EGY42 (GMT, 108). Two key attenuating sites had also reverted in 4568-1 (A481 to G in the 5′ untranslated region and the VP1 amino acid I143 to T), and the isolate was highly neurovirulent for transgenic mice expressing the poliovirus receptor (PVR-Tg21 mice). The extensive genetic divergence of 4568-1 from the parental Sabin 2 strain suggested that the virus had replicated in one or more people for ∼6 years. The presence in the environment of a highly evolved, neurovirulent OPV-derived poliovirus in the absence of polio cases has important implications for strategies for the cessation of immunization with OPV following global polio eradication.
Inpatient Suicide Prevention: Promoting a Culture and System of Safety Over 30 Years of Practice

In April 2012, the Joint Commission (JC) report noted that psychiatric hospitals were the most frequent setting for a sentinel event. In 2010–12, suicide was among the top 5 causes of a sentinel event and was a more frequent cause of sentinel events than medication errors. Suicide was ranked as the 10th leading cause of death among persons 10 years of age and older, accounting for 36,891 deaths in 2009. Previous research on suicide has focused on patient evaluation, disease management, symptom assessment, and the use of risk prevention tools, but few publications have reported on system-wide integrated approaches to successful suicide prevention. In this article on inpatient suicide prevention, I present the successful strategies based on epidemiological findings that have been used in one institution to reduce inpatient suicide risk. This report covers strategies that have been used for over 32 years in the treatment of more than 60,000 patients. The successful prevention efforts described in this article involved staff training and deployment, thorough patient assessment, environmental protections, complete handouts, and patient care protocols. (Journal of Psychiatric Practice 2014;20:392–404)
Predicting Wafer-Lot Output Time With a Hybrid FCM–FBPN Approach

Output-time prediction is a critical task to a wafer fab. To further enhance the accuracy of wafer-lot output-time prediction, the concept of input classification is applied to Chen's fuzzy backpropagation network (FBPN) approach in this paper by preclassifying wafer lots with the fuzzy c-means (FCM) classifier before predicting the output times. In this way, similar wafer lots are clustered in the same category. The data of wafer lots of different categories are then learned with different FBPNs but with the same topology. After learning, these FBPNs form an FBPN ensemble that can be applied in predicting the output time of a new lot. The output of the FBPN ensemble determines the cycle/output time forecast and is obtained by aggregating the outputs of the component FBPNs. Production simulation is applied in this paper to generate test data. According to experimental results, the prediction accuracy of the hybrid FCM-FBPN approach was significantly better than those of many existing approaches.
The Relationship between High Frequency Trading and Stock Market Volatility

This paper investigates the relationship between high frequency trading (HFT) activity and stock market volatility on the Nordic stock markets. The study utilizes a unique dataset that provides a proxy of the fraction of the total market turnover in which HFT firms were involved in the time period from March 2010 to March 2012. The study finds strong evidence for a positive contemporaneous relationship between stock market volatility and the participation level of HFT firms, both on an aggregate monthly and a daily basis. One of the primary concerns regarding HFT, the suggestion that HFTs decrease their trading activity or withdraw themselves from the market in highly volatile environments, does not appear from the analysis in this paper as the participation level of HFT firms is not materially different on the most volatile days compared to less volatile days. Although the Granger-causality test finds a significant bidirectional relationship between HFT activity and stock market volatility, i.e. increased levels of volatility being preceded by higher levels of HFT activity and vice versa, the study does not provide statistical evidence regarding causality in the more common sense, i.e. HFT exacerbating volatility or higher volatility increases HFTs’ activity.
The effect of harvest date on the yield and forage quality of ensiling safflower biomass.

Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L:) usually grown as a source of oil can be also used as fodder either for hay or ensiling purposes, particularly in semiarid regions. In 2002-2003 a research project was carried out in Southern Italy to evaluate the production and forage quality of safflower biomass cv Centennial (high oleic), harvested at three different stage: May 14 (at complete appearance of primary buds, PB), May 26 (at complete appereance of secondary and tertiary buds, STB), June 11 (at 25% of flowering stage, FS). For each stage of growth, 50% of the biomass was ensiled in 4-L glass jars without and with inoculation (Lactobacillus plantarum); the other 50% was field wilted for 24 hours before ensiling. DMY ranged from 4,5 t ha (PB harvesting) to 11, 6 t ha (FS harvesting). DM content varied from 129 g kg (PB not wilted) to 630 g kg (FS wilted). The following chemical parameters have been evaluated: pH, buffering capacity (BC), lactic acid, acetic acid, NH3-N, crude protein content (CP), water soluble carbohydrates (WSC), NDF, ADF, ADL, ash and fat. The WSC concentration in the forage before ensiling without wilting ranged from 128 (PB stage) to 105 and 100 g kg DM at STB and FS stage, respectively. The wilted safflower forage showed on the average a lower WSC (95.8 g kg DM) than for forage which was not wilted (111.4 g kg DM). The high sugar substrate allowed lactic acid fermentation and a good conservation quality in all the harvesting stages. Silages quality was strongly influenced by the treatment performed. Wilting practice as averaged effect increased DM, pH and NDF contents but reduced lactic acid, acetic acid and NH3-N values. Inoculation reduced, on the average, DM, pH and NDF contents but increased lactic acid, acetic acid, CP and ash values. Wilting the forage for one day is very effective on early stage of harvesting because this practice will greatly increase DM, reducing at the same time the intensive fermentation and proteolysis processes of the silage. When harvesting is performed at the beginning of flowering stage wilting is not necessary.
Logit Models for Identifying the Factors that Influence the Adoption of Barley Production Technologies in Low Rainfall Areas

A random sample of 300 barley farmers was interviewed during the cropping season 2002/2003 to investigate the factors explaining technology adoption of barley production technologies introduced by the national program. Logit model was used to estimate the relationships of adoption decision and the socioeconomic factors of farmers. Results showed that farm size, farmers’ education, household income and availability of household labor are the most significant factors affecting the adoption of barley production technologies. Sharecropping, farmers' age and farm size have negative influence on the adoption of fertilizers, due to the increase in the operational costs. Education is the only factor with a positive effect on the adoption of fertilizers. The sharecropper farmer is more likely to adopt the seed drill than other types of land tenure. The adoption of seed drills was negatively associated with farmers’ age, land ownership, soil fertility and household size. Land ownership and family labor are both factors which negatively affect the adoption decision of herbicide application. Ecological zone, level of education, land ownership, soil depth, sharecropper farmers and percentage of hired labor were positively associated with the chances of adoption of new seed varieties, older farmers may be less willing to adopt new varieties. Agricultural policies could be used to create the conditions that would encourage farmers to adopt new technologies such as promoting proper land use planning, land consolidation, small plots lease system, providing incentives to use land according to suitability and comparative advantage, ensuring custom hiring services of machinery and provide an opportunity for extension services to inform farmers about new production technologies that increase farm productivity.
Streptococcal Diversity of Human Milk and Comparison of Different Methods for the Taxonomic Identification of Streptococci

Background: The genus Streptococcus is 1 of the dominant bacterial groups in human milk, but the taxonomic identification of some species remains difficult. Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the discriminatory ability of different methods to identify streptococcal species in order to perform an assessment of the streptococcal diversity of human milk microbiota as accurately as possible. Methods: The identification of 105 streptococcal strains from human milk was performed by 16S rRNA, tuf, and sodA gene sequencing, phylogenetic analysis, and Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization-Time of Flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry. Results: Streptococcus salivarius, Streptococcus mitis, and Streptococcus parasanguinis were the streptococcal dominant species in the human milk microbiota. Sequencing of housekeeping genes allowed the classification of 96.2% (16S rRNA), 84.8% (sodA), and 88.6% (tuf) of the isolates. Phylogenetic analysis showed 3 main streptococcal clusters corresponding with the mitis (73 isolates), salivarius (29), mutans (1)-pyogenic (2) groups, but many of the mitis group isolates (36) could not be assigned to any species. The application of the MALDI-TOF Bruker Biotyper system resulted in the identification of 56 isolates (53.33%) at the species level, but it could not discriminate between S pneumoniae and S mitis isolates, in contrast to the Vitek-MS system. Conclusion: There was a good agreement among the different methods assessed in this study to identify those isolates of the salivarius, mutans, and pyogenic groups, whereas unambiguous discrimination could not be achieved concerning some species of the mitis group (S mitis, S pneumoniae, S pseudopneumoniae, S oralis).
Business strategies and performance of ceramics manufacturing firms in Thailand

This study reports the results of research on business strategies of Thai ceramics manufacturing firms in an attempt to answer two questions. First, what overall competitive business strategies are being employed by Thai ceramics firms? Second, do these strategies contribute to performance? Porter’s concept of generic strategies is used as business strategy variables. Data were collected from 141 ceramics firms in Thailand. The data show significant relationship between business strategies and firm performance. Both low cost leadership and differentiation strategies were found to have significant relationship with firm performance. However, low cost leadership was shown to have higher profits than differentiation strategy. The paper also discusses the implications and limitations of the study.