Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The conserved transcription factor Mef2 has multiple roles in adult Drosophila musculature formation

Muscle is an established paradigm for analysing the cell differentiation programs that underpin the production of specialised tissues during development. These programs are controlled by key transcription factors, and a well-studied regulator of muscle gene expression is the conserved transcription factor Mef2. In vivo, Mef2 is essential for the development of the Drosophila larval musculature: Mef2-null embryos have no differentiated somatic muscle. By contrast, a similar phenotype has not been seen in analyses of the function of Mef2 genes in other examples of myogenesis. These include using conditional mutant mice, using morpholinos in zebrafish and using hypomorphic mutants in Drosophila adult development. However, we show here that Mef2 is absolutely required for a diverse range of Drosophila adult muscle types. These include the dorso-longitudinal muscles (DLMs), the largest flight muscles, which are produced by tissue remodelling. Furthermore, we demonstrate that Mef2 has temporally separable functions in this remodelling and in muscle maintenance. Drosophila adult muscles are multi-fibre and physiologically diverse, in common with vertebrate skeletal muscles, but in contrast to Drosophila larval muscles. These results therefore establish the importance of Mef2 in multiple roles in examples of myogenesis that have parallels in vertebrates and are distinct from that occurring in Drosophila embryogenesis.
Relationship between ICT and urban form in knowledge-based development: empirical analysis of Washington, DC metro region

This paper explores the dynamic relationship between urban form and information and communication technologies (ICT) in an intrametropolitan context of the Washington, DC region. We ask if knowledge-based developments coupled with ICT lead to new settlement forms and urban patterns. The findings of the regression analyses provide evidence of the interdependence between ICT and urban form. Contrary to the expectation that ICT would trigger centrifugal (i.e., decentralisation) forces in shaping the urban form, these findings suggest that ICT evoke centripetal (i.e., centralisation) forces around the ICT cluster. The outcome seems to be driven by the uneven distribution of ICT through the metropolitan region; a more even distribution promised by wireless technologies would probably lead to different patterns. Ultimately, we learn that geographic location still matters for ICT and related activities, despite the 'death of geography' premise.
Exchange rate volatility and foreign direct investment (FDI) behavior in Pakistan: A time series analysis with auto regressive distributed lag (ARDL) application

This empirical study is an effort to find the impact of exchange rate volatility on foreign direct investment for the Pakistan economy. A secondary time series data set is utilized over the period 1980 to 2010. The most robust and modern technique of auto regressive distributed lag (ARDL) has been applied to find the short run as well as the long run estimates of the study. Furthermore, after establishing the long run relationship multivariate vector error correction method (VECM) causality test has been applied to find the direction of causality between the aforementioned said variables. This analysis included real gross domestic product (GDP), capital account balance, trade openness, real exchange rate and volatility of exchange rate as independent variables along with the introduction of a dummy variable for the structural adjustment programme implemented during the late 1980s as explanatory variable, while foreign direct investment as dependent variable. Major findings of this study included that exchange rate volatility has negative impact on FDI inflow in short run while this impact is positive in the long run. It has found that adjustment and liberalization programme has favourable outcomes in the short run for Pakistan. Key words: Volatility of exchange rate, foreign direct investment, auto regressive distributed lag (ARDL) methodology.
Development and Validation of the Food Liking Questionnaire in a French-Canadian Population

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a questionnaire assessing food liking in a French-Canadian population. A questionnaire was developed, in which participants were asked to rate their degree of liking of 50 food items. An expert panel evaluated the content validity. For the validation study, 150 men and women completed the questionnaire twice. An Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was performed to assess the number of subscales of the questionnaire. Internal consistency and test-retest reliability of the subscales were evaluated. Concurrent validity was assessed through correlations between liking scores and self-reported frequencies of consumption. Comments from the experts led to changes in the list of foods included in the questionnaire. The EFA revealed a two-factor structure for the questionnaire (i.e., savory and sweet foods) and led to the removal of nine items, resulting in a 32-item questionnaire. The two subscales revealed good internal consistency (Cronbach alphas: 0.85 and 0.89) and test-retest reliability (p = 0.84 and 0.86). The questionnaire demonstrated adequate concurrent validity, with moderate correlations between food liking and self-reported frequency of consumption (r = 0.19–0.39, ps < 0.05). This new Food Liking Questionnaire assessing liking of a variety of savory and sweet foods demonstrated good psychometric properties in every validation step. This questionnaire will be useful to explore the role of food liking and its interactions with other factors in predicting eating behaviors and energy intake.
Mining with a ‘Vuvuzela’: reconfiguring artisanal mining in Southern Zimbabwe and its implications to rural livelihoods

Abstract The rural landscape of Zimbabwe has dramatically changed in the last decade. Zimbabwe inherited a racially biased land ownership pattern at independence in 1980 and 20 years on efforts by the state to address the colonial land imbalances have been largely unsuccessful. In 2000 the Zimbabwe government embarked on a controversial rapid land redistribution exercise that saw vast tracts of land previously owned by white commercial farmers taken over and distributed to mostly black Zimbabweans. Some authors have argued that there is no single story of the Fast Track Land Reform and Resettlement programme because of the myths and realities spread by the media. It is important to note that what happened in one province might not be similar to the other. Rural dwellers in the countryside had for years depended on agrarian livelihoods and the fact that more land had been availed by the state meant better livelihoods. However, this article argues that in spite of a widened horizon to pursue agrarian activities many people have actually drifted away from on-farm to off-farm livelihoods. This is true in the case of southern Zimbabwe where a large number of rural dwellers have chosen artisanal gold mining as a pathway in realising a livelihood. This article therefore focuses on the expansion of artisanal gold mining in southern Zimbabwe; particularly in southern Matabeleland. Using fieldwork as a method of data gathering, the article unravels the development of artisanal mining in this region and how it has been reconfigured after the hosting of the Soccer World Cup in South Africa 2010. In particular it shows how the metal detector technology (the Vuvuzela) availed by the hosting of the Soccer World Cup has found its way to the region and changed the gold panning process. Conclusions drawn from a detailed PhD study revealed that a significant number of southern Zimbabwe gold panners have adopted the metal detector technology as a way of expanding their trade.
The Analysis of Variation of mtDNA Hypervariable Region 1 Suggests That Eastern and Western Pygmies Diverged before the Bantu Expansion

The Eastern Pygmies from Zaire and Western Pygmies from Cameroon, Congo, and the Central African Republic represent the two principal groups of African Pygmies. In the “recent divergence” hypothesis in which Western Pygmies are thought to be the result of hybridization between the ancestors of Eastern Pygmies and Bantu farmers who penetrated the equatorial belt and came into contact with Pygmies around 2–3 kiloyears ago. On the basis of recent archaeological research in the tropical rain forest, we propose a “pre‐Bantu divergence” hypothesis, which posits the separation between the ancestors of Eastern and Western Pygmies earlier than 18 kiloyears ago. In order to test the two hypotheses, we analyzed the variation of the hypervariable region 1 of the mitochondrial DNA in the Mbenzele, Western Pygmies of the Central African Republic, and compared our results with those of previous mtDNA and Y chromosome studies. Distribution, sequence variation, and age of haplogroups along with genetic distances among populations, estimates of divergence times, and simulations based on the coalescent approach were found to be congruent with the pre‐Bantu divergence but failed to support the recent divergence hypothesis.
CEO overconfidence and financial policies of real estate investment trusts (REITs)

This study investigates the effects of CEO overconfidence on real estate investment trust (REIT) financial policies and performance. The unique regulatory environment facing REITs make REIT financial policies less likely affected by agency problems and tax-related reasons, and thus provide a clearer picture of the effect of CEO overconfidence. In addition, the significant amounts of tangible assets of REITs provide performance measures that are relatively unbiased by unrelated elements. We find that REITs with overconfident CEOs use more debt, and in particular, longer term debt. Overconfident CEOs also buy back more shares and pay fewer dividends. CEO overconfidence does not have significant effects on REIT cash holdings. Regarding REIT performance, CEO overconfidence is negatively related to Tobin’s q and return on assets, respectively. We also find that CEO overconfidence motivated leverage decisions and CEO overconfidence motivated share buybacks have significant negative effects on REIT performance. The results suggest that REITs with overconfident CEOs make mistakes in leverage and share buyback decisions. Lastly, we find that the effect of CEO overconfidence is non-linear. The results show that the effect of overconfidence comes mainly from the CEOs with higher levels of overconfidence. Our results also suggest that regulations do not have a moderating effect on CEO overconfidence.
Volunteer motivators for participating in HIV vaccine clinical trials in Nairobi, Kenya

Background 1.5 million Kenyans are living with HIV/AIDS as per 2015 estimates. Though there is a notable decline in new HIV infections, continued effort is still needed to develop an efficacious, accessible and affordable HIV vaccine. HIV vaccine clinical trials bear risks, hence a need to understand volunteer motivators for enrolment, retention and follow-up. Understanding the factors that motivate volunteers to participate in a clinical trial can help to strategize, refine targeting and thus increase enrolment of volunteers in future HIV vaccine clinical trials. The health belief model classifies motivators into social benefits such as ‘advancing research’ and collaboration with science, and personal benefits such as health benefits and financial interests. Method A thematic analysis was carried out on data obtained from four HIV clinical trials conducted at KAVI-Institute of Clinical Research in Nairobi Kenya from 2009 to 2015. Responses were obtained from a Questionnaire administered to the volunteers during their screening visit at the research site. Results Of the 281 healthy, HIV-uninfected volunteers participating in this study; 38% were motivated by personal benefits including, 31% motivated by health benefits and 7% motivated by possible financial gains. In addition, 62% of the volunteers were motivated by social benefits with 20% of who were seeking to help their family/society/world while 42% were interested in advancing research. Conclusion The majority of volunteers in the HIV vaccine trials at our site were motivated by social benefits, suggesting that altruism can be a major contributor to participation in HIV vaccine studies. Personal benefits were a secondary motivator for the volunteers. The motivators to volunteer in HIV clinical trials were similar across ages, education level and gender. Education on what is needed (including volunteer participation) to develop an efficacious vaccine could be the key to greater volunteer motivation to participate in HIV vaccine clinical trials.
Effective electromagnetic properties of honeycomb composites, and hollow-pyramidal and alternating-wedge absorbers

Closed-form expressions for the effective electromagnetic material properties of honeycomb composites and electromagnetic absorbers constructed in the shapes of alternating wedges and hollow pyramids are presented. These expressions can be used to efficiently calculate the interaction of electromagnetic fields with periodic structures of said geometries. The effective material properties from these expressions are compared to results obtained from a numerical solution of the actual cross-sectional geometry. Finally, we give guidance on how the expressions presented here and elsewhere can be used for other types of periodic geometries.
Rivalry within strategic groups and consequences for performance: the firm-size effects

Our study examines how, in a given industry, rivalry functions within strategic groups defined according to the size of their member firms and how this rivalry affects performance. We hypothesize that, owing to several forms of group-level effects including market power, efficiency, differentiation, and multimarket contact, strategic groups that comprise smaller firms will exhibit both increased rivalry and decreased performance compared with strategic groups that comprise larger firms. We test our hypotheses by estimating the effect of group-level strategic interactions (i.e., conjectural variations) on firm performance. Ultimately, our analysis of empirical data on loans in the Spanish banking industry demonstrates that increased rivalry and decreased performance indeed characterizes firms belonging to a strategic group that comprises smaller firms. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Multi-scale local texture descriptor for image forgery detection

In this paper, a multi-scale local texture descriptor is proposed for an image forgery detection framework. In the framework, first, an input image is decomposed into chromatic channel. Then, undecimated wavelet transform is applied to the channel to extract lower subband. Inspired by the Weber's Law, the proposed multi-scale local texture descriptor, called Weber pattern (WP), is calculated from the subband. The WP histogram is considered as the feature of the image. Support vector machine is used as a classifier in the framework. Experimental results on different image datasets show the superiority, in terms of accuracy, of the proposed method over two other contemporary methods in image forgery detection.
Assessing the Trade‐Offs of Increased Mining Activity in the Surat Basin, Queensland: Preferences of Brisbane Residents Using Nonmarket Valuation Techniques

type="main" xml:id="ajar12025-abs-0001"> The mining boom in Australia since 2003 has produced significant economic benefits for regional, State and National economies, creating new job opportunities and revenue flows. Despite the contribution of the resources sector to economic growth, questions are frequently raised about the concomitant negative social, economic and environmental impacts. The Surat Basin in southern Queensland is a traditional agricultural region with a small but growing coal mining sector and a rapidly developing liquefied natural gas industry (mainly associated with extracting coal seam gas). In this paper, the preferences of residents in Brisbane, the State capital, are explored in relation to the relative importance of social, economic and environmental impacts of the resource boom in the Surat Basin. A choice modelling experiment was conducted to assess the trade-offs Brisbane residents would make (in monetary terms) between the economic benefits and the associated costs of increased mining activity on local communities. The results identify the strength of concerns about community and environmental impacts and can potentially be used to help evaluate the net benefits of resource development.
Antibodies to Periodontal Organisms Are Associated with Decreased Kidney Function

Background/Aims: Increasing evidence suggests that clinical signs of periodontal disease are independently associated with renal impairment. However, no studies have examined the possible linkage of kidney disease with serum antibody to oral pathogens. Methods: The periodontal disease status was assessed in an older community-dwelling population (Dental Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities) to include: clinical measurements; oral biofilm microbial composition by DNA checkerboard, and serum antibody immunoglobulin-γ (IgG) titers to specific bacteria by immunocheckerboard. Baseline characteristics were used to compute estimated glomerular filtration rate defining eGFR <60 ml/min/1.73 m2 as impaired renal function in 103 of 5,032 subjects. Levels of serum IgG to specific oral bacteria were categorized by quartiles (comparing upper vs. lower three) as high titer and GFR <60 as the dependent variable in logistic regression models, adjusting for multiple comparisons (Hotelling T2) and traditional risk factors including age, race, smoking, diabetes, hypertension, body mass, waist-to-hip ratio, serum triglycerides, HDL, and LDL cholesterol. Results: High levels of serum IgG to selected periodontal pathogens including Porphyromonas gingivalis, Treponema denticola and Aggregobacter actinomycetemcomitans were associated with an increased odds for GFR <60 ml/min/1.73 m2, adjusted odds ratio ranging from 1.6 to 1.8 and p < 0.05. Conclusions: Elevated IgG to periodontal pathogens is significantly associated with impaired kidney function, independent of traditional risk factors. Prospective studies are necessary to confirm these findings.
The cash flow sensitivity of cash: evidence from Taiwan

This article examines the role of operating cash flow in firm cash policies using an unbalanced panel of 988 Taiwanese firms. The main findings are as follows: (i) Both financially constrained and unconstrained firms display positive cash flow sensitivity of cash, indicating that capital market friction is prevalent in Taiwan. The result is in sharp contrast to the US result in Almeida et al. (2004) in that only constrained firms save cash out of their operating cash flow. (ii) The estimated cash flow sensitivity of cash for financially constrained firms is significantly higher than that of financially constrained firms in the USA. Our results imply that a financially constrained firm (i.e. a firm that is younger, has a looser relation with banks, or has negative investment-dividend correlation) saves 0.246 to 0.307 dollar out of an additional dollar of operating cash flow. An unconstrained firm saves 0.024 to 0.101 less dollars. (iii) Firms that have ever issued public debt save more cash out of their operating cash flow than firms that have never issued public debt. (iv) Omitting net debt and equity issuances from the cash regression produces downward-biased cash-cash flow sensitivity estimates.
Putting Audit Approaches in Context: The Case of Business Risk Audits in Jordan

Large international audit firms are increasingly expanding their activities around the world and increasingly promoting the concept of a similar quality audit to be performed by all their worldwide offices and member firms. This strategy includes developing and using a similar audit approach globally. This study surveys the views of Jordanian auditors, mainly from audit firms with international affiliations, about how such an international approach, with emphasis on the currently popular business risk approach, is applied in practice by Jordanian audit firms and how appropriate and practical the application of such an international approach to auditing is in different contexts. The results of the study show that the business risk approach has been generally adopted by the larger Jordanian audit firms to varying extents, especially those which are full members of an international audit firm network. However, audit clients in Jordan face too many business risks, especially because of poor control systems, poor corporate governance structures, and unclear or non-existent corporate strategies and objectives. These risks have to be addressed by the business risk approach under very low audit fees. Such factors have led to the business risk approach not being applied in the way that the large international audit firms intended, and not achieving the approach's main objectives, leaving the audit profession with the question of how appropriate it is to adopt an international audit approach in different contexts.
In situ measurement of the hydraulic diffusivity of the active Chelungpu Fault, Taiwan

Hydraulic diffusivity controls fluid pressure and hence affects effective normal stress during rupture. Models suggest a particularly spectacular example of fluid pressurization during the Mw = 7.6 1999 Chichi earthquake when pressurization may have reduced high‐frequency shaking in the regions of large slip if the fault was sufficiently sealed. We investigate in situ hydraulic diffusivity which is the key parameter in such models through a cross‐hole experiment. We find a diffusivity of D = (7 ± 1) × 10−5 m2/s, which is a low value compatible with pressurization of the Chelungpu fault during the earthquake. In most poroelastic media, the hydraulic storativity S lies between 10−7 and 10−5, so that the transmissivity T along the fault zone is comprised between 10−11 m2/s and 10−9 m2/s. The corresponding permeability (10−18–10−16 m2) is at most one hundred times larger than the value obtained on core samples from the host rock. The fault zone is overpressurized by 0.06 to 6 MPa, which is between 0.2% and 20% of the lithostatic pressure.
Nitric Oxide Synthase Expression in Glial Cells: Suppression by Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors

Abstract: Rat brain glial cells have the capacity to express a calcium‐independent form of nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). To test if iNOS induction required tyrosine kinase activity, we made use of genistein, a selective inhibitor of tyrosine kinases. In both primary astrocyte cultures and C6 glioma cells, the presence of genistein prevented both lipopolysaccharide‐ and cytokine‐induced NOS activity in a dose‐dependent manner. The presence of tyrphostin‐25 (10 µM), which is highly specific for tyrosine kinases, also blocked iNOS induction. Additional characterization showed that genistein blocked iNOS induction in a dose‐dependent manner (IC50 of ∼ 40 µM), that the continuous presence of genistein was not necessary to observe inhibition, and that preincubation with genistein led to higher levels of inhibition than the simultaneous addition of genistein and inducers. The decrease in iNOS activity due to genistein was accompanied by a decrease in iNOS mRNA level as detected by a specific PCR assay. These results indicate that induction of astroglial iNOS expression requires tyrosine kinase activity.