Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cirrus cloud seeding has potential to cool climate

Cirrus clouds, thin ice clouds in the upper troposphere, have a net warming effect on Earth's climate. Consequently, a reduction in cirrus cloud amount or optical thickness would cool the climate. Recent research indicates that by seeding cirrus clouds with particles that promote ice nucleation, their lifetimes and coverage could be reduced. We have tested this hypothesis in a global climate model with a state‐of‐the‐art representation of cirrus clouds and find that cirrus cloud seeding has the potential to cancel the entire warming caused by human activity from pre‐industrial times to present day. However, the desired effect is only obtained for seeding particle concentrations that lie within an optimal range. With lower than optimal particle concentrations, a seeding exercise would have no effect. Moreover, a higher than optimal concentration results in an over‐seeding that could have the deleterious effect of prolonging cirrus lifetime and contributing to global warming.
Field study of the efficacy of halofuginone and decoquinate in the treatment of cryptosporidiosis in veal calves

Ninety, seven- to 10-day-old calves were allocated to three groups of 30 and treated daily for seven days with either 100 μg/kg halofuginone hydrobromide or 2·5 mg/kg decoquinate orally or left untreated as controls. The levels of diarrhoea and dehydration were monitored daily for 28 days from the first day of treatment (day 0) and samples of faeces were collected on days 0, 7, 14, 21 and 28, to quantify the excretion of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts. The calves were weighed on days 3 and 28. The treatments had no effect on the levels of diarrhoea or dehydration, the proportions of diarrhoeic calves or the proportions of calves shedding oocysts. However, unlike decoquinate, halofuginone significantly reduced the excretion of oocysts on day 7 (P>0·0001), and decoquinate increased the average daily weight gain of the calves (P=0·049).
The Effect of Supply Information Sharing in a Supply Chain

Information sharing is a prerequisite for coordinated supply chain operations. The research has long been focused on information sharing from demand side. In this study, a computer simulation program containing mixed-integer programming (MIP) models is built to explore the impact of supply information sharing in the operation of a three-level supply chain. The analysis of simulation output indicates that supply information sharing can reduce total cost and enhance service level of the whole supply chain.
The lingual taste buds of Gallus domesticus L.

Synopsis The so‐called “ taste buds “ of the chicken were examined. It was found that they had one or more pores and were composed of a single cell type. There was a nerve plexus at the base of the bud giving rise to fibres which entered the bud. The cells showed acetyl cholinesterase activity and were found to degenerate following denervation. Thus they closely parallel, in both structure and neural dependency, the taste buds in other vertebrates and it is concluded that they probably are true taste buds.
Mining associations between web stock news volumes and stock prices

The significant increases of web stock news volumes (WSNVs) are often associated with the significant changes of stock prices. When the WSNV for a firm increases insufficiently, the stock price movement is often placid. When the WSNV increases significantly, the stock price movement is often oscillatory. A method of determining the amplitude of worth-noting significant increase on the WSNV is presented, by automatically inflating the standard deviations with different scales for the firms of different sizes. A measure of significant changes of stock prices is defined. Based on statistics and neural networks, the associations between these measures are mined through experiments. The results of the study provide us with the new clues to the microstructure of the stock market from the vision of the Internet news.
Users' Influence on the Success of Online Communities

This paper examines how different facets of favorable user behavior drive the success of an online community by using a unique data set with surveys from 1,389 participants from the German branch of an international operating massively multiplayer online game (MMOG) community and enhancing it with the game's log files. We argue that success of the community depends on how these users contribute to the underlying success dimensions content, revenue, loyalty and growth. At this, we identify the importance and impact of overlapping online and offline social networks. Moreover, we find that satisfaction with the platform and commitment to the community have a major influence on our success variables. Interestingly, the influence of commitment on favorable user behavior is not moderated by membership tenure.
Early Biosynthetic Pathway to Abscisic Acid in Cercospora cruenta

A new biosynthetic intermediate of ABA, (2Z,4E)-γ-ionylideneacetaldehyde, was isolated from young mycelia of Cercospora cruenta. Under an 18O2 atmosphere, an oxygen atom of this endogenous aldehyde was exclusively labeled. Similarly, three 18O atoms were incorporated into the ABA molecule recovered after prolonged incubation; selectively labeled were one of the carboxyl oxygen atoms and the two on the ring portion of ABA. A feeding experiment with [1-13C]glucose proved the exclusive operation of the mevalonate pathway for the formation of both ABA and β-carotene. These results suggest that (2Z,4E)-γ-ionylideneacetaldehyde can be a key ABA biosynthetic intermediate formed by the oxidative cleavage of a carotenoid precursor.
Fully-integrated, large-time-constant, low-pass, Gm-C filter based on current conveyors

This paper describes a low-power fully integrated CMOS low-pass filter with extremely low cut-off frequency range for use in implantable biomedical applications. The filter takes advantage of system-level properties of applying indirect negative feedback on an OTA to realize a low-cut-off frequency. It also features active capacitance multiplication using a second-generation current conveyor. Both of these techniques help reduce the silicon area of the proposed low-pass filter. Based on the proposed idea, a 1st-order low-pass Gm-C filter was designed in a 0.5-μm standard CMOS process, occupying a core area of 0.0048mm2. Cut-off frequency of the filter is tunable from 0.75Hz to 9.4Hz. Operated with ±1.5V supply voltages, power consumption of the filter ranges from 50nW to 740nW.
A UTI study on the phonetic allophony of Tyrolean /R/

Moving from traditional dialectological literature and inspired by contemporary research on rhotics, in this paper we present preliminary data on the distribution and the articulation of /r/ in Tyrolean, an under-researched South Bavarian dialect. Two speakers produced a comprehensive selection of Tyrolean words containing /r/. They uttered up to five different uvular rhotics: [χ, ʁ, ʁ̞, ρ, ʀ]. We found mild tendencies in the allophonic distribution of the variants, but systematic differences in their lingual configurations: trills are produced steep lowering the tongue tip; vocalizations are markedly lowered and retracted, with the tongue dorsum flat; approximants are retracted.
Exciton localization, photoluminescence spectra, and interface roughness in thin quantum wells.

The combination of conventional photoluminescence (PL), PL-excitation (PLE), and micro-PL spectroscopies is used to study the influence of interface roughness on luminescence properties of thin GaAs/${\mathrm{Al}}_{0.3}$${\mathrm{Ga}}_{0.7}$As single quantum wells (QWs). The QWs were prepared under different growth conditions, resulting in different interface roughness. We discuss the splitting of PL spectra into two (or more) main lines, the pronounced fine structure of the micro-PL spectra and the low-energy shift of the PL lines with respect to the PLE spectrum in terms of a phenomenological interface model. For low temperatures exciton localization due to interface fluctuations with different length scales determines most of the luminescence features. One consequence is a strong suppression of the PLE signal on the low-energy side of the spectra. Therefore in this case the PLE spectrum cannot be used as a measure for the absorption strength or as an indicator for impurity bound excitons. \textcopyright{} 1996 The American Physical Society.
Managerial Discretion and Firm Fundamentals

We hypothesize and provide evidence that the economic consequences of managerial accounting discretion vary systematically with volatility in firm fundamentals. Unlike common approaches in the literature that identify managerial discretion as orthogonal to business volatility, we use a model structure that identifies both types of variation in earnings attributes and allows for a correlation structure between the two. Our results show that in the eyes of three types of capital market participants, investors, financial analysts and regulators, managerial discretion is overall viewed as enhancing information uncertainty, but the effect is attenuated with volatility in firm fundamentals. Our findings suggest that broad samples may exhibit different types of managerial discretion and that volatility in firm fundamentals is key in identifying accounting choices that reduce information uncertainty.
Y-Size Your Business: How Gen Y Employees Can Save You Money and Grow Your Business

In today's economy, maximizing the performance of every employee is critical to business survival and growth. Gen Y—sometimes called Millennials—provides an enticing opportunity for employers to increase their short-term profitability and create a long-term competitive advantage. Almost 80 million strong, Gen Y is the fastest growing segment in the US workforce—and now comprises the entire 18 to 32 demographic. Along with their ever-present cell phone and occasional backpack, Gen Y brings tremendous potential and timely skills to the workplace (just ask, they’ll tell you). However, Gen Y can be notoriously difficult to attract, retain, motivate, and develop. Gen Y's new approach to work makes them a growing challenge or strategic opportunity—depending entirely on how you choose to employ them.
Developing Salesperson Performance: The Role of Customer Encountering Competence Portfolio, Relational Capital and Service Excellent Customer Heterogeneity

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship of customer encountering competence portfolio, relational capital and service excellent customer heterogeneity to enhancing Indonesian pharmaceutical salesperson performance. The context is taken from pharmaceutical in Indonesia. The research setting was in a developing country, Indonesia, which has a promising pharmaceutical market in the global market. As a developing country that provides a large and growing market and is very potential in the global market, theories and measurements which have been conducted in the other countries need also to be done in Indonesia, as part of an effort to manage and enable the sales force to perform better in this global era. The sample of this study was tested with survey data from the detailers of the already go public pharmaceutical companies in Indonesia. The structural model analysis was employed to examine all the hypotheses. There were interesting finding in this study between customer encountering competence portfolio, relational capital and service excellent customer heterogeneityonsalesperson performance. The rejected hypothesis from the model, still leave a question over whether the customer encountering competence portfolio will enable salesperson performance. Therefore, there are many possible entry of intervening variables that could be considered to test the ability in customer encountering competence portfolio to enhancing the salesperson performance as recommendations for further research.
Nurse staffing and postsurgical adverse events: an analysis of administrative data from a sample of U.S. hospitals, 1990-1996.

OBJECTIVE To examine the impact of nurse staffing on selected adverse events hypothesized to be sensitive to nursing care between 1990 and 1996, after controlling for hospital characteristics. DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING The yearly cross-sectional samples of hospital discharges for states participating in the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) from 1990-1996 were combined to form the analytic sample. Six states were included for 1990-1992, four states were added for the period 1993-1994, and three additional states were added in 1995-1996. STUDY DESIGN The study design was cross-sectional descriptive. DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS Data for patients aged 18 years and older who were discharged between 1990 and 1996 were used to create hospital-level adverse event indicators. Hospital-level adverse event data were defined by quality indicators developed by the Health Care Utilization Project (HCUP). These data were matched to American Hospital Association (AHA) data on community hospital characteristics, including registered nurse (RN) and licensed practical/vocational nurse (LPN) staffing hours, to examine the relationship between nurse staffing and four postsurgical adverse events: venous thrombosis/pulmonary embolism, pulmonary compromise after surgery, urinary tract infection, and pneumonia. Multivariate modeling using Poisson regression techniques was used. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS An inverse relationship was found between RN hours per adjusted inpatient day and pneumonia (p < .05) for routine and emergency patient admissions. CONCLUSIONS The inverse relationship between pneumonia and nurse staffing are consistent with previous findings in the literature. The results provide additional evidence for health policy makers to consider when making decisions about required staffing levels to minimize adverse events.
Possible seasonality in large deep‐focus earthquakes

Large deep‐focus earthquakes (magnitude > 7.0, depth > 500 km) have exhibited strong seasonality in their occurrence times since the beginning of global earthquake catalogs. Of 60 such events from 1900 to the present, 42 have occurred in the middle half of each year. The seasonality appears strongest in the northwest Pacific subduction zones and weakest in the Tonga region. Taken at face value, the surplus of northern hemisphere summer events is statistically significant, but due to the ex post facto hypothesis testing, the absence of seasonality in smaller deep earthquakes, and the lack of a known physical triggering mechanism, we cannot rule out that the observed seasonality is just random chance. However, we can make a testable prediction of seasonality in future large deep‐focus earthquakes, which, given likely earthquake occurrence rates, should be verified or falsified within a few decades. If confirmed, deep earthquake seasonality would challenge our current understanding of deep earthquakes.
A 1-Megadalton Translocation Complex Containing Tic20 and Tic21 Mediates Chloroplast Protein Import at the Inner Envelope Membrane[W]

Chloroplast protein import is mediated by two hetero-oligomeric protein complexes, the Tic and Toc translocons, which are located in the inner and outer envelope membranes. At the inner membrane, many Tic components have been identified and characterized, but it remains unclear how these Tic proteins are organized to form a protein-conducting channel or whether a stable Tic core complex that binds translocating preproteins exists. Here, we report the identification of a 1-megadalton (MD) translocation complex as an intermediate during protein translocation across the inner membrane in Arabidopsis thaliana and pea (Pisum sativum). This complex can be detected by blue native PAGE using the mild detergent digitonin without any chemical cross-linkers. The preprotein arrested in the 1-MD complex can be chased into its fully translocated form after a subsequent incubation. While Tic20 and Tic21 appear to be involved in the 1-MD complex, Tic110, a well-characterized Tic component, exists as a distinct entity from the complex. Several lines of evidence suggest that the 1-MD complex functions in between the Toc and Tic110-containing complexes, most likely as a protein-conducting channel at the inner envelope.
Rapamycin Enhances Long-Term Hematopoietic Reconstitution of Ex Vivo Expanded Mouse Hematopoietic Stem Cells by Inhibiting Senescence

Background The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is an important regulator of hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) self-renewal and its overactivation contributes to HSC premature exhaustion in part via induction of HSC senescence. Inhibition of mTOR with rapamycin has the potential to promote long-term hematopoiesis of ex vivo expanded HSCs to facilitate the clinical application of HSC transplantation for various hematologic diseases. Methods A well-established ex vivo expansion system for mouse bone marrow HSCs was used to investigate whether inhibition of overactivated mTOR with rapamycin can promote long-term hematopoiesis of ex vivo expanded HSCs and to elucidate the mechanisms of action of rapamycin. Results HSC-enriched mouse bone marrow LSK cells exhibited a time-dependent activation of mTOR after ex vivo expansion in a serum-free medium supplemented with stem cell factor, thrombopoietin, and Flt3 ligand. The overactivation of mTOR was associated with induction of senescence but not apoptosis in LSK cells and a significant reduction in the ability of HSCs to produce long-term hematopoietic reconstitution. Inhibition of overactivated mTOR with rapamycin promoted ex vivo expansion and long-term hematopoietic reconstitution of HSCs. The increase in long-term hematopoiesis of expanded HSCs is likely attributable in part to rapamycin-mediated up-regulation of Bmi1 and down-regulation of p16, which prevent HSCs from undergoing senescence during ex vivo expansion. Conclusions These findings suggest that mTOR plays an important role in the regulation of HSC self-renewal in vitro and inhibition of mTOR hyperactivation with rapamycin may represent a novel approach to promote ex vivo expansion and their long-term hematopoietic reconstitution of HSCs.
Symptoms of Acute Insulin-Induced Hypoglycemia in Humans With and Without IDDM: Factor-Analysis Approach

Objective This study allocated the symptoms identified during acute hypoglycemia objectively to the autonomic or neuroglycopenic groups of symptoms by the use of factor analysis. Research Design and Methods Twenty-five nondiabetic subjects, 14 newly diagnosed insulin-dependent diabetic patients, and 16 insulin-dependent diabetic patients with diabetes > 4 yr duration were studied. Acute hypoglycemia was induced with insulin (2.5 mU·kg−1 body wt·min−1 i.v.), and symptoms of hypoglycemia were recorded with a seven-point scale at regular time points throughout the studies. Factor analysis of the symptom scores at the time of the acute autonomic reaction with principal component analysis followed by Varimax rotation was used to separate those symptoms that might belong to neuroglycopenic and autonomic groups. Results Hypoglycemia was induced to a mean ± SE plasma glucose nadir of 1.3 ± 0.1 mM in nondiabetic subjects, to 2.0 ± 0.3 mM in newly diagnosed diabetic patients, and 1.4 ± 0.2 mM in patients with diabetes of > 4 yr duration. The most frequently reported autonomic symptoms were sweating, trembling, and warmness, and the most frequently reported neuroglycopenic symptoms were inability to concentrate, weakness, and drowsiness. Neuroglycopenic symptoms were reported more commonly at the onset of hypoglycemia, which was identified by the development of symptoms. Factor analysis grouped trembling, anxiety, sweating, warmness, and nausea together, and this grouping was labeled an autonomic factor. A second factor was identified that included dizziness, confusion, tiredness, difficulty in speaking, shivering, drowsiness, and inability to concentrate, which was labeled a neuroglycopenic factor. Conclusions This study demonstrated the high frequency with which neuroglycopenic symptoms occur at the onset of hypoglycemia and the symptoms that could be used by an individual patient as a warning of the development of acute hypoglycemia, although the rapid reduction of plasma glucose is faster than experienced by the ambulant diabetic patient. Factor analysis assisted with the allocation of symptoms to either the autonomic or neuroglycopenic groupings, but the allocation of some symptoms remained undefined, and care must be taken when assessing symptoms such as hunger, weakness, blurred vision, and drowsiness when comparing the frequency of autonomic versus neuroglycopenic symptoms. To reduce the confusion resulting from the use of different symptom questionnaires in studies of hypoglycemia, a sample questionnaire is presented, the development of which was assisted by our analysis.
Extent to Which Firms Align Their Training and Development Programs to Their Business Strategies: a Survey of Large Manufacturing Companies in Nairobi

This research project sought to determine the extent to which firms align their training and development programs to their business strategies. To achieve this objective, data were collected through a survey of large manufacturing companies in Nairobi. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire with both open-ended and closed questions. Responses were received from thirty large manufacturing companies giving a response rate of 60%. The findings of the study showed that among the major factors considered by the companies when choosing training and development programs, the most important factor considered is that training and development programs are aligned to business strategy (73.33%). The study also reveals that 70% of the companies consider evaluating the effectiveness of training and development programs among the major duties of the person charged with training and development programs. Evaluating the programs ensures that they are aligned to business strategies. From the study, it was also evident that 76.67% of the firms considered improving customer service as one of the major benefits accruing from training and development programs and 73.33% of the companies consider enabling the company to achieve its business strategies as another major benefit. The study also indicated that most companies face challenges as they try to align training and development programs to business strategies including replacement of staff when attending training, lack of funds to conduct training programs and resignation of staff to rival firms after being trained. The study concluded that companies align their training and development programs to their business strategies to a large extent. It also concluded that most organizations have a systematic training and development process which lays emphasize on evaluating effectiveness of training and development programs.
The Effect of Acquisitions on Product Innovativeness, Quality, and Sales Performance: Evidence from the Console Video Game Industry (2002-2010)

Previous work has mostly looked at how acquisitions affect firm-level outcomes. This paper investigates how acquisitions affect product-level outcomes in the context of the console video game industry. We model the effect of acquisitions on video games' innovativeness, quality, and sales performance in a Structural Equation Modeling framework. We control for endogenous partner selection by implementing a two-sided matching framework. We jointly estimate these models using a Bayesian MCMC algorithm on a dataset of 5,916 video games released in the UK from 2002 to 2010. We find that video game publishers acquire developers for their product development capabilities and to secure access to hit properties. Prior alliances and geographic proximity between firms also predict acquisitions. We further find that publishers fail to leverage developers' capabilities for ongoing innovation as product innovativeness decreased post-acquisition. Lastly, acquisitions create value through enhanced inter-firm coordination resulting in higher quality products and increased sales performance.