Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Facing the Future: Effects of Short-Term Climate Extremes on Isoprene-Emitting and Nonemitting Poplar1

The ability to emit isoprene does not protect poplar trees from realistic short-term and periodic drought and heat waves under proposed future conditions. Isoprene emissions from poplar (Populus spp.) plantations can influence atmospheric chemistry and regional climate. These emissions respond strongly to temperature, [CO2], and drought, but the superimposed effect of these three climate change factors are, for the most part, unknown. Performing predicted climate change scenario simulations (periodic and chronic heat and drought spells [HDSs] applied under elevated [CO2]), we analyzed volatile organic compound emissions, photosynthetic performance, leaf growth, and overall carbon (C) gain of poplar genotypes emitting (IE) and nonemitting (NE) isoprene. We aimed (1) to evaluate the proposed beneficial effect of isoprene emission on plant stress mitigation and recovery capacity and (2) to estimate the cumulative net C gain under the projected future climate. During HDSs, the chloroplastidic electron transport rate of NE plants became impaired, while IE plants maintained high values similar to unstressed controls. During recovery from HDS episodes, IE plants reached higher daily net CO2 assimilation rates compared with NE genotypes. Irrespective of the genotype, plants undergoing chronic HDSs showed the lowest cumulative C gain. Under control conditions simulating ambient [CO2], the C gain was lower in the IE plants than in the NE plants. In summary, the data on the overall C gain and plant growth suggest that the beneficial function of isoprene emission in poplar might be of minor importance to mitigate predicted short-term climate extremes under elevated [CO2]. Moreover, we demonstrate that an analysis of the canopy-scale dynamics of isoprene emission and photosynthetic performance under multiple stresses is essential to understand the overall performance under proposed future conditions.
Complementary DNA for human T‐cell cyclophilin.

Complementary DNA encoding human cyclophilin, a specific cyclosporin A‐binding protein, has been isolated from the leukemic T‐cell line Jurkat and sequenced. Comparison of the deduced amino acid sequence with the previously determined sequence of bovine thymus cyclophilin reveals only three differences: an additional amino acid at the carboxy terminus end and two internal changes. RNA transfer blot analysis indicates an mRNA size of approximately 1 kb for human T‐cell cyclophilin. Phytohaemagglutinin and phorbol myristate acetate induction of T cells treated or not with cyclosporin A affects only marginally the level of cyclophilin mRNA. Southern blot analysis of human genomic DNA digested with different restriction enzymes strongly suggests the existence of a multigene family for cyclophilin.
Stemming the tide: dealing with the imbalance of customer relationship quality with the key contact employee versus with the firm

Purpose – Current relationship marketing literature has stressed the importance of building customer‐employee bonds. These efforts sometimes result in customer‐employee relationships that overwhelm or supersede the customer‐firm relationships. Previous studies report that such an imbalance weakens the firm's position with the customer. Very little research has investigated what factors contribute to the imbalance and its consequences for the firm's relationship with the customer. This research aims to look at customer relationship quality (RQ) imbalance, specifically the imbalance that favors the employee, and identifies six factors as important antecedents. Also studied are the customers' cognitive and emotional reactions to the termination of the customer‐employee relationship when RQ imbalance favors the employee.Design/methodology/approach – In total, 780 customer‐employee pairs from 72 service firms were surveyed using a structured questionnaire.Findings – Analyses of variance (ANOVA) revealed signif.
Diet and attrition in the Natufians.

There is a high correlation between the rate of dental attrition and the physical consistency of the diet. Hypotheses concerning types of diet and methods of food preparation in prehistoric populations may therefore be tested by comparing attrition rates in the specimens under investigation with standards derived from groups of known dietary status. For such comparisons the age factor is of paramount importance, but difficult to assess accurately in fragmentary skeletal material. The use of attrition gradients rather than mean attrition scores provides an age independent method for comparison of attrition rates. When Natufian specimens from three different sites (Kebara, El Wad and Eynan) were compared by this method, significant differences in the gradient of attrition were found at one site, Kebara. The incidences of caries and periodontal disease were also lower at this site, and taken in conjunction with the low level of attrition were considered to relate to differences in the vegetable content of the diet between the individuals recovered from Kebara and those recovered from El Wad and Eynan.
Relating switching rates between normal and persister cells to substrate and antibiotic concentrations: a mathematical modelling approach supported by experiments

We developed and compared two mathematical models of variable phenotypic switching rates between normal and persister cells that depend on substrate concentration and antibiotic presence. They could be used to simulate the formation of persisters in environments with concentration gradients such as biofilms. Our models are extensions of a previous model of the dynamics of normal and persistent cell populations developed by Balaban et al. (2004, Science 305: 1622). We calibrated the models’ parameters with experimental killing curves obtained after ciprofloxacin treatment of samples regularly harvested from planktonic batch cultures of Klebsiella pneumoniae. Our switching models accurately reproduced the dynamics of normal and persistent populations in planktonic batch cultures and under antibiotic treatment. Results showed that the models are valid for a large range of substrate concentrations and for zero or high doses of antibiotics.
Formalising the informal sector : a case study on the city of Johannesburg

Informal trading is a phenomenon prevalent throughout the world, but nowhere more visible and contributively to local economies than in the developing world. South Africa faces similar challenges as any other emerging economy, which demonstrates a duality insofar as its formal and informal arrangements are concerned. In addition, poverty and unemployment, HIV/AIDS and concomitant social problems all form part of the Country’s current socio-economic landscape. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 provides local government with a mandate to govern, provide service and to promote development within their areas of jurisdiction. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 stipulates in Section 153 that local government must structure and manage its administration, budgeting and planning processes to give priority to the needs of the community and promote the social and economic development of the community. The concept of developmental local government is extensively elaborated upon in policy documents and legislation, which impress the obligation of local government to apply technologies to further its developmental objectives. The Metropolitan Trading Company (MTC) in the City of Johannesburg is mandated to manage trading within the area of its jurisdiction by acting as a conduit and facilitator to economic activities associated with bottom end trading. This function poses significant challenges, especially if taken into account the extent of poverty and different forms of disenfranchisement, which traders currently experience. Location in terms of finding appropriate trading venues, abiding with the regulatory framework imposed by the authorities (especially the municipal
Bradycardia seen in children with Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever.

INTRODUCTION Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a zoonotic viral disease with a high mortality rate. In clinical practice, we observed bradycardia in some pediatric patients with CCHF during the clinical course. So we aimed to report CCHF cases that presented bradycardia during the clinical course and the relation of bradycardia with the clinical findings and ribavirin therapy. METHODS Charts of all hospitalized pediatric CCHF patients were reviewed with respect to age, sex, history of tick bite or history of removing a tick, other risk factors for CCHF transmission, and interval between the tick bite and the onset of symptoms. Outcomes and clinical and laboratory findings and medications were recorded for each patient. We searched the patient records for information regarding the existence of bradycardia. Bradycardia was accepted as the heart rate 2 standard deviations (SD) lower than the suspected heart rate based on age. RESULTS Fifty-two patients (mean age 11.2 ± 4.4 years, 31 female) were enrolled into the study. Bradycardia was seen in seven patients. Six patients with bradycardia were male and only one was female, and the mean age was 13.1 ± 1.6 years. It was observed that male gender is frequent among patients with bradycardia, as compared with those without bradycardia (p=0.01). Bleeding was found to be more frequent in patients with bradycardia (p=0.02). There were significant differences between the bradycardia and nonbradycardia groups with regard to the requirements for fresh frozen plasma transfusion, the number of platelet suspension given, requirement for intravenous immune globulin (IVIG) and in the days of stay in hospital (p=0.01, p=0.03, p=0.03, p=0.04, respectively). CONCLUSION Reversible bradycardia might be seen in the clinical course of pediatric CCHF patients, and the clinicians must be aware of this finding. The possibility that ribavirin may potentiate bradycardia cannot be assessed without a placebo-control study. So further studies may help to reveal the cause of the bradycardia, the disease itself, or the ribavirin therapy. Hence this study supports the need for a randomized, placebo-controlled study to assess intravenous ribavirin in treating CCHF and to support approval of the drug.
Implementing environmental management in SMEs

Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) face enormous pressure on the management of their resources. Lack of awareness and expertise are often major obstacles in achieving a better business strategy. Increasing customer pressure and the need to comply with regulations are also very strong drivers for the adoption of environmentally friendly procedures for the disposal of their wastes. The purpose of this paper is to describe and analyse the parameters that interact in the implementation of environmental management tools taking into account the characteristics of SMEs. Particular attention is given to the management of packaging waste. General conclusions and further research are also mentioned. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and ERP Environment
Green supply chain practices and company performance: the case of 3PLs in Italy

Purpose – The pressure on logistics companies to embrace green processes has increased significantly in the last few years. Within the broad concept of green supply chain management, a review of the existing literature has highlighted a need to understand how green supply chain practices (GSCP) can contribute to improving company performance from an environmental point of view, as well as economic and operational. This paper aims to investigate the GSCP adopted by third party logistics (3PLs) in Italy in terms of specific practices implemented and level of adoption of each practice, and to explore how this adoption can affect the company performance.Design/methodology/approach – Multi‐case study research involving 15 3PLs operating in Italy, with data collected through face‐to‐face semi‐structured interviews with senior representatives from each company.Findings – Even if findings reveal an overall increasing interest towards environmental issues, the current level of adoption of GSCP is still limited amo.
THE DETERMINANTS OF FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT IN THE GREEK REGIONS

This study investigates the determinants of FDI in the Greek regions. The aim of the study is to understand whether and to what extent the presence of localization economies in the Greek regions, has an impact on FDI locational decisions. We use a pooled cross-section dataset of FDI stock and we study the effect of localization economies and of other basic determinants, on the attraction of FDI. We find the most significant influences to be market size, human capital, geographic position and the presence of localization economies.
Challenges in recruitment and retention of clinical trial subjects

Background: Successful recruitment of patients is known to be one of the most challenging aspects in conduct of randomized controlled trials. Inadequate patient retention during conduct of trial affects conclusive results. Objective: To assess the level of challenges faced by Indian investigators in recruitment and retention of trial subjects. Methods: We developed a survey questionnaire on challenges encountered by investigators in subject recruitment and retention which was hosted on a web portal. Results: Seventy-three investigators from India participated in the survey. The frequently encountered challenges in subject recruitment were complexity of study protocol (38%), lack of awareness about clinical trials in patients (37%), and sociocultural issues related to trial participation (37%). About 63% of participants strongly agreed that creating a positive awareness about clinical trials among people through press and media, having a dedicated clinical research coordinator for trial (50.7%), and designing a recruitment strategy prior to study initiation (46.6%) would enhance recruitment. Almost 50.7% of participants agreed that interacting with medical community in vicinity of the study site and educating patients about clinical trials during routine outpatient department visits (46.6%) would enhance recruitment. Experiencing a serious adverse event, subject′s fear for study procedures (47%) and side effects (44%) were thought to have a moderate effect on subject retention. Conclusion: Our survey has put forth factors related to negative publicity by media, lack of patient education about clinical trials; complex study designs are barriers to clinical trial recruitment in India. It is essential to devise innovative and effective strategies focusing on education of public and mass media about clinical research in India.
Redshirting in Kindergarten The Extent , Patterns , and Implications of Kindergarten “ Redshirting ”

Kindergarten ―redshirting‖—the decision to delay a child‘s kindergarten entry—may have consequences both for the redshirted child and for other children whose grade cohort will be affected. We use longitudinal data from a nationally-representative sample of children born in 2001 to estimate the prevalence of redshirting, its relationship to family and child characteristics, and its impact on the composition of kindergarten cohorts. We find that only 4% of children delay kindergarten entry, a lower number than reported in other studies and the media. Boys, white children, and children from homes with higher socioeconomic status are substantially more likely to delay kindergarten entry than their peers. However, delayed entry is not related to children‘s social or cognitive skills prior to school entry. Given the small number of students who delay entry nationwide, redshirting has only modest effects on the composition of kindergarten cohorts and the magnitude of kindergarten achievement gaps.
Working Capital Management and Profitability: A Study on Textiles Industry

Textiles Industry plays a vital role in the socio-economic development of Bangladesh. But the profitability of this industry is not satisfactory. This study is designed to show the Profitability and Working Capital position of Textiles Industries, correlation between them and whether the profitability is affected by Working Capital Management. Ratio Analysis, Correlation Matrix and Regression Analysis have been used to show Profitability, Working Capital position, correlation between them and the impact of Working Capital on Profitability respectively. For the source of data the author mainly relied on Annual Reports and official records as well as primary data collected through questionnaire. It is observed from the study that profitability and Working Capital Management position of the Textiles Industry are not satisfactory. The study reveals that correlation exists between Working Capital Management and Profitability. The study also brings to fore that Working Capital Management has a positive impact on Profitability.
Flow cytometry to characterize microbubbles

Experiments were performed to size, count, and obtain shell parameters for individual ultrasound contrast microbubbles using a modified flow cytometer. Light scattering was modeled with Mie theory and applied to calibration beads to calibrate the system. The size distribution and population were measured directly from the flow cytometer. The shell parameters (shear modulus and shear viscosity) were quantified at different acoustic pressures by fitting microbubble response data to a bubble dynamics model. The size distribution of the contrast agent microbubbles is consistent with manufacturer specifications. The shell shear viscosity increases with increasing equilibrium microbubble size, and decreases with increasing shear rate. The observed trends are independent of driving pressure amplitude. The shell elasticity does not vary with microbubble size. The results suggest that a modified flow cytometer can be an effective tool to characterize the physical properties of microbubbles, including size distribution, population, and shell parameters.
Improving Random Test Sets Using a Locally Spreading Approach

Labeling test cases is expensive. Given a limited number of test cases to be labeled, more evenly spreading test cases over the input domain has a better chance to hit the nonpoint failure patterns. In this paper, we propose a spreading points (test cases) algorithm based on local layout of points (the locally spreading approach is referred to as LS). The LS repositions the initial test set and evolves it to improve the minimum distance among points. During the locally spreading process, for every point, a feasible direction of movement is solved according to its nearest neighbors, and along this direction the point can increase the shortest pairwise distance between it and other points. We investigate the effective of the LS approach, considering it as an add-on to the Adaptive Random Testing (ART) technique. The simulation results show that the LS can improve effectiveness (P-measure) of the ART.
Wine Tourism in New Zealand — Maybe The Industry Has Got It Right

The arguments for increased focus by vineyards on the development of wine tourism activities have received increased attention in the last five years. Wineries have often been criticised for not focusing enough attention on developing networks with tourist organisations, local governments, and cellar door activity in general. This approach ignores both the wider market context within which New Zealand wineries operate and the associated opportunity costs of developing wine tourism facilities. This research seeks to place wine tourism within the general market context in New Zealand. We present the results of qualitative interviews with key industry players and argue that wine tourism facilities may be under‐developed precisely because wineries are having more success in export markets which provide greater returns than cellar door sales.
Effects of background color and symbol arrangement cues on construction of multi-symbol messages by young children without disabilities: implications for aided AAC design

Abstract Children whose speech does not meet their communication needs often benefit from augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). The design of an AAC display may influence the child’s ability to communicate effectively. The current study examined how symbol background color cues and symbol arrangement affected construction of multi-symbol messages using line-drawing symbols, by young children with typical development. Participants (N = 52) heard a spoken phrase matching a photograph and selected line drawings within a 4 × 4 array. Friedman two-way ANOVAs evaluated speed and accuracy of multi-symbol message construction under four conditions in which the background color and arrangement of symbols was manipulated. Participants demonstrated significantly faster response times when symbols were arranged by word-class category compared to no symbol arrangement. The majority of children responded faster when symbols had white backgrounds, but this effect failed to reach statistical significance. This study provides preliminary evidence suggesting the importance of symbol arrangement for young children. The findings highlight the need for caution when incorporating background color on displays for young children. Future research is needed to examine the effect of visual cues on children who use AAC and consider additional factors that could influence efficacy of symbol arrangement and background color use.
An Empirical Assessment of Private Sector Participation in Electricity and Water Distribution in Developing and Transition Countries 1

We analyze a panel of 302 utilities with private sector participation (PSP) and 928 utilities without PSP in 71 developing and transition countries in order to evaluate the impact of PSP on firm performance in electricity distribution and water and sanitation services. We compare the change over time in a number of output variables for both groups of utilities and isolate the effect of PSP from time trends and firm-specific characteristics by using a series of econometric tools. We account for ex-ante differences between state-owned enterprises (SOEs) that were selected for PSP and those that were not, and correct for possible bias in the estimations induced by such differences. We distinguish between divestitures, concessions, and lease and management contracts in an attempt to evaluate the impact of different kinds of PSP. We find robust evidence in the global sample that PSP has a strong impact on the efficiency of utility operations; at the same time, the evidence suggests a decrease in employment due to PSP. PSP is associated with output increases in electricity, and connection increases in water and sanitation, an improvement in bill collection ratios and improvements in the quality of service in both sectors, the latter expressed as a reduction in distributional losses in electricity and an increase in hours of daily service in water. We also find a link between the form of PSP and the estimated performance impact, with the strongest effects in the electricity sector realized by utilities whose assets were divested to the private party, and by utilities managed under concession contracts in the water sector. The differentiation of results according to contract type is expected, as different kinds of PSP will respond to different contractual obligations and incentives. Two broader policy issues emerge: the lack of evidence for an increase in investment following PSP for any contract type except divestitures in electricity. This points to a lack of maintenance and expansion investment in the distribution networks even if PSP leads to an increase in operational efficiency. Moreover, there is no conclusive evidence for a change in prices as a result of PSP. This highlights the economic and political difficulties to align prices with costs in a large number of developing countries.