Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mass and volume growth of an insect tracheal system within a single instar

SUMMARY Organisms must accommodate oxygen delivery to developing tissues as body mass increases during growth. In insects, the growth of the respiratory system has been assumed to occur only during molts, whereas body mass and volume increase during the larval stages between molts. This decouples whole-body growth from the growth of the oxygen supply system. This assumption is derived from the observation that the insect respiratory system is an invagination of the exoskeleton, which must be shed during molts for continued growth to occur. Here, we provide evidence that this assumption is incorrect. We found that the respiratory system increases substantially in both mass and volume within the last larval instar of Manduca sexta larvae, and that the growth of the respiratory system changes with diet quality, potentially as a consequence of shifting metabolic demands.
Location and Productivity of Knowledge- and Information-intensive Business Services

Knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS), which produce skill-intensive services used as intermediate inputs, are becoming important for the economic growth and international competitiveness of advanced countries. This study, using establishment- and company-level micro data, analyzes the productivity of knowledge- and information-intensive services in Japan, including information services, publishers, and design services. We focus on the effect of urban density on the productivity of these services. Our estimations reveal that doubling the employment density of municipalities is associated with around 5% higher labor productivity of service providers, which is larger than that found in the manufacturing industry. However, quantitatively, the economies of density vary for individual services, suggesting that the services to be promoted by small and medium cities differ from those for which large metropolitan cities such as Tokyo and Osaka have strong comparative advantages.
System Design Effects on Online Impulse Buying

Purpose – Integrating the two‐system (reflective vs. impulsive) model and the “stimulus‐organism‐response” framework, the purpose of this paper is to construct and empirically test a model that examines online impulse buying as a phenomenon triggered by system design factors.Design/methodology/approach – A laboratory experimental design with a 2×2 full factorial design involving 151 undergraduate students was used to validate the effects of system design stimuli on online impulse buying. Interactivity and vividness, two design factors, were manipulated and a fictitious VCD movie store was created, with four storefronts representing each combination of treatments.Findings – A compelling and sociable virtual experience as conceptualized with telepresence and social presence has a significant effect on buying impulses over and above traditional marketing/product stimuli. Such virtual experience can be created through the usage of interactive and vivid website features. Furthermore, cognition positively moder.
Do social advergames affect brand attitudes and advocacy?

Advergames have been used for some time as a form of branded entertainment designed to engage prospective customers in a branded activity for an extended period of time. Increasingly, advergames are imbued with social qualities related to the rise in popularity of social media, especially social networking. Despite the popularity of social advergames, little is known about the brand benefits of incorporating social features into games. Moreover, while creativity has been studied in the context of more traditional advertising, less is known about its effects on brand development in the context of advergames. Although advertising creativity, as characterized by novelty and relevance, has been shown to impact advertised brands, it is not clear how creativity interacts with advergame socialness to affect brand development. To address these gaps in the literature, this paper reports on three experimental studies that compare the brand effects of advergames that enable social interactions to advergames that are not social. The results indicate that relative to non-social advergames, social advergames result in more positive game attitudes, attitudes toward the brand sponsor, and brand advocacy, particularly when advergames are novel. Finally, this article discusses implications for managers and directions for future research.
Heat Treatment of Pre-hydrolyzed S i lane Increases Adhes ion of

silane to improve the adhesion of phosphate monomer-based (MDP) resin cement to glass ceramic. Resin and feldspathic ceramic blocks (n=48, n=6 for bond test, n=2 for microscopy) were randomly divided into 6 groups and subject to surface treatments: G1: Hydrofluoric acid (HF) 9.6% for 20 s + Silane + MDP resin cement (Panavia F); G2: HF 9.6% for 20 s + Silane + Heat Treatment (oven) + Panavia F; G3: Silane + Heat Treatment (oven) + Panavia F; G4: HF 9.6% for 20 s + Silane + Heat Treatment (hot air) + Panavia F; G5: Silane + Heat Treatment (hot air) + Panavia F; G6: Silane + Panavia F. Microtensile bond strength (MTBS) test was performed using a universal testing machine (1 mm/min). After debonding, the substrate and adherent surfaces were analyzed using stereomicroscope and scanning electron microscope (SEM) to categorize the failure types. Data were analyzed statistically using two-way test ANOVA and Tukey's test (α=0.05). Heat treatment of the silane containing MDP, with prior etching with HF (G2: 13.15±0.89a; G4: 12.58±1.03a) presented significantly higher bond strength values than the control group (G1: 9.16±0.64b). The groups without prior etching (G3: 10.47±0.70b; G5: 9.47±0.32b) showed statistically similar bond strength values between them and the control group (G1). The silane application without prior etching and heat treatment resulted in the lowest mean bond strength (G6: 8.05±0.37c). SEM analysis showed predominantly adhesive failures and EDS analysis showed common elements of spectra (Si, Na, Al, K, O, C) characterizing the microstructure of the glass-ceramic studied. Heat treatment of the pre-hydrolyzed silane containing MDP in an oven at 100 °C for 2 min or with hot air application at 50±5 oC for 1 min, was effective in increasing the bond strength values between the ceramic and resin cement containing MDP. Heat Treatment of Pre-hydrolyzed S i lane Increases Adhes ion of P h o s p h a t e M o n o m e r b a s e d Resin Cement to Glass Ceramic
Apparent recombination or gene conversion in the ribosomal ITS region of a Flammulina (Fungi, Agaricales) hybrid.

Internally transcribed spacer (ITS) regions of ribosomal DNA are widely used in reconstructing phylogenies at lower taxonomic levels (see, e.g., Vilgalys and Sun 1994; Baldwin et al. 1995). Ribosomal genes are tandemly repeated, and the paralogs are usually identical due to a poorly understood process of concerted evolution. Proposed mechanisms of concerted evolution include unequal crossing over (Schlotterer and Tautz 1994) and biased gene conversion (Hillis et al. 1991; Linares, Bowen, and Dover 1994). Within-individual diversity for the ribosomal ITS region has been observed and has in some cases been attributed to hybridization (Sang, Crawford, and Stuessy 1995; Hugall, Stanton, and Moritz 1999). This report documents an apparent natural hybridization event between two species of Flammulina (F. velutipes and F. rossica) which resulted in a homogenized ribosomal repeat containing elements of both parents. A chromosome carrying the hybrid repeat has apparently introgressed into F. velutipes and persists in nature. Flammulina velutipes is predominantly found in temperate Northern Hemisphere forests but has also been collected in Argentina and New Zealand. Flammulina rossica is a more northern species, so far identified from Alaska, northern Canada, and eastern Russia. Approximately 200 collections of Flammulina worldwide were identified to species on the basis of morphology (Redhead and Petersen 1999), mating studies (Petersen et al. 1999), and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) patterns (Methven, Hughes, and Petersen 2000). DNA was extracted from geographically diverse collections of each species. The ribosomal ITS region was amplified and sequenced on both strands using primers ITS5 and ITS3 in the forward direction and primers ITS4 and ITS2 in the reverse direction as described by Hughes et al. (1999). This combination of primers provided unambiguous sequence data on both forward and reverse strands. Forward and reverse sequences were compared and corrected manually and aligned with other Flammulina sequences using the Genetics Computer Group (1999) family of programs, and all divergent bases were rechecked against the original sequence files. Sequence alignments were deposited with TreeBASE (accession M641; Hughes et al. 1999). Two of ca. 150 natural dikaryon (diploid) worldwide collections identified morphologically as F. velu-
Rifabutin Triple Therapy is Effective in Patients With Multidrug-resistant Strains of Helicobacter pylori

Introduction: Eradicating Helicobacter pylori continues to be a challenge, and no treatment regimen is uniformly successful in all treated patients. Triple therapy with rifabutin and amoxicillin is a successful rescue therapy after consecutive treatment failures. We designed this study to test the efficacy of 12-day rifabutin-based triple therapy in patients infected with multidrug-resistant strains. Methods: Consecutive patients with dyspeptic symptoms after at least 1 antibiotic therapy course for H. pylori infection harboring triple-resistant (clarithromycin, metronidazole, levofloxacin) strains were enrolled. They received triple therapy with esomeprazole 40 mg bid, amoxicillin 1 g bid, and rifabutin 150 mg od for 12 days. Patients who failed rifabutin therapy were treated empirically on the basis of the judgment of the treating physician. Results: A total of 254 out of 756 tested patients were found to be infected with a triple-resistant H. pylori strains after at least 1 antibiotic therapy course. Overall, the infection was eradicated in 213 patients, corresponding to a cure rate of 82.9% (95% CI, 78.3-87.5) by intention-to-treat analysis and 88.7% (95% CI, 84.7-92.7) at per-protocol analysis. In multivariate analysis, no factor was identified as an independent predictor of bacterial eradication. Conclusions: There is no current standard for the growing population of patients with multidrug-resistant strains of H. pylori. The 12-day low-dose rifabutin/high-dose proton pump inhibitor regimen is a safe and reliable option for patients infected with triple-resistant strains.
Neurophysiological Effects of an Extract of Eschscholzia californica Cham. (Papaveraceae)

An aqueous alcohol extract of Eschscholzia californica (Ec) has been evaluated for benzodiazepine, neuroleptic, antidepressant, antihistaminic and analgesic properties, in order to complete the study of the sedative and anxiolytic effects previously demonstrated.
Social and environmental reporting in Fiji: A review of recent corporate annual reports

Introduction Social and environmental reporting (SER) practices in developing countries lags behind that of the more developed nations (Theo and Thong, 1984, Andrew et. al., 1989, Lynn, 1992, Shiraz, 1998, Belal, 1999). It is believed that the lack of adequate resources and qualified personnel have contributed to ad-hoc and patchy SER practices in these countries. The Pacific island nations could be classed as developing countries and thus, the disclosures of social and environmental information by corporations in these countries should have similar characteristics to other developing nations. However, there have been very few empirical studies carried out to ascertain the extent to which SER is practiced by the corporations in these countries. To date, Nandan (1992) has been the only study to provide limited evidence on the SER practice in the Pacific.
Cigarette smoking, obesity, diuretic use, and coffee consumption as risk factors for renal cell carcinoma.

One hundred sixty incident cases of renal cell carcinoma under the age of 55 years and an equal number of age-(within 5 yr), race-, and sex-matched neighborhood controls were interviewed. Cigarette smoking was a risk factor for renal cell carcinoma in males [relative risk (RR) = 2.1, one-sided P = . 02] but not in females (RR = 1.1, P = .50). Obesity was a significant risk factor in both males and females: The RR for a 4th quartile compared to a 1st quartile Quetelet's Index 10 years ago was 2.5 for males and 3.3 for females. Additional risk factors in females were diuretic use (RR = 4.5, P = .002) and daily coffee consumption (RR = 2.3, P = .06).
The Antecedents of the Market Orientation in Higher Education

ABSTRACT Colleges appear to be more eager and willing than ever to adopt a market orientation given declining enrollments and the downsizing that many are experiencing. Yet, the factors which foster and produce a market orientation have not been well defined in previous research. This study examines three antecedents of the market orientation within the context of higher education: institution size (student enrollment), source of funding (public/private), and institutional innovativeness. While the findings indicate that all three have some effect on adoption of a marketing orientation, innovativeness overwhelmingly plays the largest role. The implications for administrators as well as directions for future research are discussed.
Examining the consequences of sales management control strategies in European field sales organizations

The effective management of sales organizations is important to managers of international marketing operations spanning multiple countries, but also to managers of local operations who may question the validity of many of the prescriptions of US‐based research. Studies sales management control in companies in Austria and the UK to contribute a European perspective on behaviour‐based control compared to outcome‐based control. Focuses on the pivotal role of the field sales manager compared to prior research at the salesperson and chief sales executive levels. Confirms the robustness of the behaviour‐based control in these international contexts, and also contributes a number of new insights to the general sales management control research literature. Identifies a number of important research directions in this important area, as well as implications for managers of international selling organizations.
Characterization of the Early Events in Dengue Virus Cell Entry by Biochemical Assays and Single-Virus Tracking

ABSTRACT In this study, we investigated the cell entry characteristics of dengue virus (DENV) type 2 strain S1 on mosquito, BHK-15, and BS-C-1 cells. The concentration of virus particles measured by biochemical assays was found to be substantially higher than the number of infectious particles determined by infectivity assays, leading to an infectious unit-to-particle ratio of approximately 1:2,600 to 1:72,000, depending on the specific assays used. In order to explain this high ratio, we investigated the receptor binding and membrane fusion characteristics of single DENV particles in living cells using real-time fluorescence microscopy. For this purpose, DENV was labeled with the lipophilic fluorescent probe DiD (1,1′-dioctadecyl-3,3,3′,3′-tetramethylindodicarbocyanine, 4-chlorobenzenesulfonate salt). The surface density of the DiD dye in the viral membrane was sufficiently high to largely quench the fluorescence intensity but still allowed clear detection of single virus particles. Fusion of the viral membrane with the cell membrane was evident as fluorescence dequenching. It was observed that DENV binds very inefficiently to the cells used, explaining at least in part the high infectious unit-to-particle ratio. The particles that did bind to the cells showed different types of transport behavior leading to membrane fusion in both the periphery and perinuclear regions of the cell. Membrane fusion was observed in 1 out of 6 bound virus particles, indicating that a substantial fraction of the virus has the capacity to fuse. DiD dequenching was completely inhibited by ammonium chloride, demonstrating that fusion occurs exclusively from within acidic endosomes.
Mirk/dyrk1B Decreases the Nuclear Accumulation of Class II Histone Deacetylases during Skeletal Muscle Differentiation*

Mirk/dyrk1B is a member of the dyrk/minibrain family of serine/threonine kinases that mediate the transition from growth to differentiation in lower eukaryotes and mammals. Depletion of endogenous Mirk from C2C12 myoblasts by RNA interference blocks skeletal muscle differentiation (Deng, X., Ewton, D., Pawlikowski, B., Maimone, M., and Friedman, E. (2003) J. Biol. Chem. 278, 41347-41354). We now demonstrate that knockdown of Mirk blocks transcription of the muscle regulatory factor myogenin. Co-expression of Mirk with MEF2C, but not MyoD or Myf5, enhanced activation of the myogenin promoter in a Mirk kinase-dependent manner. Mirk activated MEF2 not through direct phosphorylation of MEF2 but by phosphorylation of its inhibitors, the class II histone deacetylases (HDACs). MEF2 is sequestered by class II HDACs such as HDAC5 and MEF2-interacting transcriptional repressor (MITR). Mirk antagonized the inhibition of MEF2C by MITR, whereas kinase-inactive Mirk was ineffective. Mirk phosphorylates class II HDACs at a conserved site within the nuclear localization region, reducing their nuclear accumulation in a dose-dependent and kinase-dependent manner. Moreover, less mutant MITR phosphomimetic at the Mirk phosphorylation site localized in the nucleus than wild-type MITR. Regulation of class II HDACs occurs by multiple mechanisms. Others have shown that calcium signaling leads to phosphorylation of HDACs at 14-3-3-binding sites, blocking their association with MEF2 within the nucleus. Mirk provides another level of regulation. Mirk is induced within the initial 24 h of myogenic differentiation and enables MEF2 to transcribe the myogenin gene by decreasing the nuclear accumulation of class II HDACs.
How do the migratory and adhesive properties of the neural crest govern ganglia formation in the avian peripheral nervous system?

The peripheral nervous system derives mainly from the neural crest both in the head and trunk. Using markers such as fibronectin (FN), neural cell‐adhesion molecule (NCAM), the nuclcolar marker for quail cells in chimaeric embryos, and NC‐1, a monoclonal antibody specific to crest cells and their neural derivatives, we have attempted to reconstruct the processes that lead to the formation of peripheral ganglia. Our observations allow us to propose a model of the formation of ganglia based on morphogenetic movements and on variations of crest cell adhesiveness. In most cases, crest cells migrate in morphologically defined and transient pathways that lead them to their final site of arrest; these pathways are always associated with FN, which appears necessary for crest cell attachment and movement in vitro. The directionality of crest cell migration is probably dictated by the cells' motile properties and population pressure in restricted areas suitable for cell movement. The disappearance of the pathways and of the substrate necessary for migration while the population is rapidly dividing may be responsible for the aggregation of crest cells in the case of the sensory ganglia. To the contrary, the aggregation of crest cells into autonomic ganglia (sympathetic, enteric, aid ciliary ganglia) does not seem to obey the same rules, no disappearance of the substratum or of the pathways being obvious; rather, their formation seems correlated with the de novo synthesis of adhesive molecules such as NCAM.
Effects of service supply chain practices on the profitability of tourism firms

The tourism industry consists of various players and tourism demands that need to be addressed by a joint effort from all these players. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of supply chain practices on the profitability of tourism firms. Data were gathered via a survey from tour operators. Results indicate that demand management, capacity and resource management, customer relationship management, supplier relationship management, order process management, service performance management, and information and technology management have an effect on the profitability of tourism firms. The findings of this study provide a useful tool for tourism firm managers to evaluate their current service supply chain (SSC) practices. Furthermore, the results confirm the IUE-SSC model in the tourism context.
Cashing in on crashes via brand placement in computer games

The practice of placing brand names, logos and products into computer games is becoming increasingly popular. Recent research has focused on movies and television, with little research considering computer game placements. This study explores the effectiveness of different banners, in terms of recall and recognition, as well as the effects of computer game experience on participants’ memories of banners. The study used a self-selected sample of 46 males and found that banners high in spatial prominence led to higher recall and recognition levels; however, subtle banners related to the actions of the players were also able to influence memory. The concept of flow was also hypothesized to impact on memory, but this was not supported.