Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Inheritance of Resistance to the Soybean Aphid in Soybean PI 200538

The soybean aphid (Aphis glycines Matsumura) is a major soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr. ) insect pest. Soybean plant introduction (PI) 200538 has strong resistance to the aphid. The objectives of our research were to determine the inheritance of resistance and to map gene(s) controlling resis- tance in PI 200538. F 2 populations developed from crosses between PI 200538 and three sus- ceptible genotypes were tested for resistance and with DNA markers. F 2 plants from the cross 'Ina' × PI 200538 segregated 114 resistant to 37 susceptible and F 2 plants from the cross 'Wil- liams 82' × PI 200538 segregated 203 resistant to 65 susceptible when tested for resistance to soybean aphid biotype 1. F 2 plants from the cross LD02-4485 × PI 200538 segregated 167 resistant to 62 susceptible when tested for resistance to biotype 2. These populations fi t a 3:1 genetic ratio (P = 0.89, 0.78, and 0.52, respectively) with resistance dominant over sus- ceptibility. Segregation among F 2:3 families from the crosses supported the dominant resistance gene hypothesis. The gene mapped to soybean linkage group F, fl anked by the simple sequence repeat marker loci Satt510, Soyhsp176, Satt114, and Sct_033, located in the same region as the aphid resistance gene Rag2. Since the resis- tance gene in PI 200538 also gave resistance to soybean aphid biotypes 1 and 2, it is pos- sible that the gene is Rag2 and not a new aphid resistance gene. Therefore, PI 200538 may be an additional source of Rag2.
Stable isotopes in river ice: identifying primary over‐winter streamflow signals and their hydrological significance

The process of isotopic fractionation during freezing in the riverine environment is discussed with reference to a multi‐year isotope sampling survey conducted in the Liard–Mackenzie River Basins, northwestern Canada. Systematic isotopic patterns are evident in cores of congelation ice (black ice) obtained from rivers and from numerous tributaries that are recognized as primary streamflow signals but with isotope offsets close to the equilibrium ice–water fractionation. The results, including comparisons with the isotopic composition of fall and spring streamflow measured directly in water samples, suggest that isotopic shifts during ice‐on occur due to gradual changes in the fraction of flow derived from groundwater, surface water and precipitation sources during the fall to winter recession. Low flow isotopic signatures during ice‐on suggest a predominantly groundwater‐fed regime during late winter, whereas low flow isotopic signatures during ice‐off reflect a mixed groundwater‐, surface water‐ and precipitation‐fed regime during late fall. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Chapter 2 Cognitive Determinants of Health Behavior

The prevalence of health behaviors varies across social groups. For example, in the Western World smoking is generally more prevalent among those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. This might suggest such sociodemographic factors as the focus of interventions to change health behaviors. However, such factors are frequently impossible to change or require political intervention at national or international levels (e.g., change in income distribution). This is one reason why a considerable body of research has focused on more modifiable factors assumed to mediate the relationship between socio-demographic factors and health-related behaviors. One important set of such factors is the thoughts and feelings the individual associates with the particular healthrelated behavior. These are often referred to as health cognitions and are the focus of this chapter. Although research does examine the role of individual health cognitions (e.g., outcome expectancies), most of the research in this area uses models that include sets of health cognitions that are assumed to combine in different ways to determine behavior. These models are collectively known as social cognition models (SCMs; Conner and Norman, 2005). They prominently
Trade and Frictional Unemployment in the Global Economy

We develop a multi-country, multi-sector trade model with labor market frictions and structural equilibrium unemployment. Trade opening leads to a reduction in unemployment if it raises real wages and reallocates labor towards sectors with lower-than-average labor market frictions. We estimate sector-specific labor market frictions from 25 OECD countries and the trade parameters of the model using worldwide trade data. We then quantify the potential unemployment and real wage effects of implementing the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) or the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), and of eliminating trade imbalances worldwide. The unemployment and real wage effects sometimes work in opposite directions for some countries, such as the US under TTIP. We introduce a welfare criterion that accounts for both effects and splits such ties. Accordingly, US welfare is predicted to decrease under TTIP.
Globalization, Urbanization and Municipal Solid Waste Management in Africa

Introduction Globalization, which according to Horst et al. (2001), implies a strong cultural, technological and especially economic interconnection between people and countries, has been widely promoted as a process, which will improve the well being of both the developed and developing worlds. For the developing world in particular, globalization is seen as an economic transformation, a break through to poverty alleviation, and inflation reduction thus expected to help narrow the gap between the two worlds as well as between and within individual nations. It is rightfully argued that globalization brings opportunities for many cities, especially those that can be key centres for production, distribution and services for liberalizing economies. However, increasing evidence suggests that globalization is also creating an increasingly unequal world in terms of distribution of incomes, assets and economic power. While some few countries and their cities are incorporated into it, others are bypassed or excluded. Some are incorporated but at huge social costs. Globalization has raised some troubling concerns for the developing world, including Africa. One such concern is its impact on urbanization and the ramifications that go with it. Cities are traditionally engines of social modernization and economic growth and at the same time the theatres in which globalization stages its actions. For Africa this has meant fueling the already unprecedented urban growth phenomenon and increasing the challenges that go with it. One key challenge is the management of municipal solid waste. Globalization has been identified as playing a negative role in solid waste management in African cities. Impacts include the transfer of globalized or internationalized waste management methods and ideologies together with an increased volume and variety of waste, resulting from increased flows of goods and services, and changed life style and consumption patterns; conflicting involvement of multi-national companies with local initiative groups, city and national government in waste management matters and other issues which directly or indirectly affect the waste sector. The paper attempts to examine how globalization and increasing urbanization have impacted on the management of municipal solid waste sector in Africa and more particularly in Cameroon using the cases of Bamenda and Yaounde cities. After defining globalization and situating Africa in the global scene, the urbanization process is reviewed as the theatre of globalization. The globalized African cities and waste management are then examined, trailing the stages of waste management. In conclusion, the paper suggests some solutions to current waste management problems.
Improved Radiation And Combustion Routines For A Large Eddy Simulation Fire Model

Improvements have been made to the combustion and radiation routines of a large eddy simulation fire model maintained by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The combustion is based on a single transport equation for the mixture fraction with state relations that reflect the basic stoichiometry of the reaction. The radiation transport equation is solved using the Finite Volume Method, usually with the gray gas assumption for large scale simulations for which soot is the dominant emitter and absorber. To make the model work for practical fire protection engineering problems, some approximations were made within the new algorithms. These approximations will be discussed and sample calculations presented.
Ownership Structure and Non-Performing Loans: Evidence from Pakistan

The main aim of this paper is to investigate the impact of ownership structure on the bank riskiness as measured by NPLs, by using traditional view that that concentrated ownership results in enhanced banking performance by reducing the bank riskiness, whereas dispersed ownership results in the reduced banking performance and increased bank riskiness against the opposite view that ownership concentration does not have impact on the bank riskiness. By using the data from Pakistani banking sector results suggested the validity of traditional view that publically owned banks (dispersed ownership) reduces the banks performance and enhance the banks riskiness (NPLs), whereas rejected the view that concentrated ownership (privately owned banks and foreign banks) enhances bank performance and erodes the bank riskiness.
The nature of healthcare costs and financial risk in commissioning

The health insurance industry in the USA has noted a cycle of underwriting gains and losses which appeared to commence in the early to mid 1960s. After adjusting for inflation, unexplained step-like increases in total cost of approximately 6% appear to have occurred somewhere around 1962, 1966, 1974, 1979, 1986, 1990, 1998 and 2002. A similar pattern relating to medical emergency admissions has operated in the UK for at least 20 years. The implications of this behaviour tothe financial risk inherent in commissioning in England are discussed in this article. Data fromthe USA and Canada is used to complement the previous studies from the UK to explore causes for this behaviour.
Fungi and fi re in Australian ecosystems : a review of current knowledge , management implications and future directions

Fungi are essential components of all ecosystems in roles including symbiotic partners, decomposers and nutrient cyclers and as a source of food for vertebrates and invertebrates. Fire changes the environment inwhich fungi live by affecting soil structure, nutrient availability, organic and inorganic substrates and other biotic components with which fungi interact, particularly mycophagous animals. We review the literature on fire and fungi in Australia, collating studies that include sites with different time since fire or different fire regimes. The studies used a variety of methods for survey and identification of fungi and focussed ondifferent groups of fungi,with an emphasis on fruit-bodies of epigealmacrofungi and a lack of studies on microfungi in soil or plant tissues. There was a lack of replication of fire treatment effects in some studies. Nevertheless, most studies reported some consequence of fire on the fungal community. Studies on fire and fungi were concentrated in eucalypt forest in south-west and south-easternAustralia, andwere lacking for ecosystems such as grasslands and tropical savannahs. The effects of fire on fungi are highly variable and depend on factors such as soil and vegetation type and variation infire intensity andhistory, including the length of time betweenfires. There is a post-fireflushof fruit-bodies of pyrophilous macrofungi, but there are also fungi that prefer long unburnt vegetation. The few studies that tested the effect of fire regimes in relation to the intervals between burns did not yield consistent results. The functional roles of fungi in ecosystems and the interactions of fire with these functions are explained and discussed. Responses of fungi to fire are reviewed for each fungal trophic group, and also in relation to interactions between fungi and vertebrates and invertebrates. Recommendations aremade to includemonitoring of fungi in large-scalefiremanagement research programs and to integrate the use of morphological and molecular methods of identification. Preliminary results suggest that fire mosaics promote heterogeneity in the fungal community.Management of substrates could assist in preserving fungal diversity in the absenceof specific information on fungi.
Roles of C-Reactive Protein and Procalcitonin in Empirical Treatment Approach to the Bacterial Sepsis Agent

Although the incidence of blood circulation infections such as bacteremia and sepsis can be reduced with appropriate antibiotic treatment when detected at an early stage (1), such infections are one of the most important causes of morbidity and mortality in hospitalized patients (2, 3). Rapid diagnosis of bloodstream infections is often difficult because traditional blood culture procedures are slow and time consuming, and the isolation of the pathogen through the antibiogram takes at least 48 hours after blood culture (4). Alternative laboratory tests such as erythrocyte sedimentation rate, serum C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, white blood cell count or percentage of neutrophils, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) are used to detect bacteremia but are slow and tedious and lack sensitivity and specificity (1). Therefore, it is difficult to distinguish bloodstream infections from other diseases with these tests (5, 6). In fact, except for PCR, none of the other tests can on their own confirm the diagnosis of bacteremia (7, 8).
Effects of Comprehensive‐Income Characteristics on Nonprofessional Investors' Judgments: The Role of Financial‐Statement Presentation Format

Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS) No. 130 requires companies to report comprehensive income in a primary financial statement, but allows its presentation in either a statement of comprehensive income or a statement of stockholders' equity (Financial Accounting Standards Board [FASB] 1997). In an experiment, we examine whether and how alternative presentation formats affect nonprofessional investors' processing of comprehensive‐income information, specifically, information disclosing the volatility of unrealized gains on available‐for‐sale marketable securities. The results show that nonprofessional investors' judgments of corporate and management performance reflect the volatility of comprehensive income only when it is presented in a statement of comprehensive income. We provide evidence consistent with our psychology‐based framework that these findings occur because format affects how nonprofessional investors weight comprehensive‐income information and not whether they acquire this inf.
Effect of Foreign Direct Investment on Economic Growth in Nigeria

There have been controversies regarding the effect of foreign direct investment on the growth of the host country’s economy. While some researchers suggest a positive effect, others found a negative effect. It is against this backdrop that this study examined the effect of foreign direct investment on economic growth in Nigeria. The study covered the period 1981 to 2015. The study used secondary data derived from the Central Bank of Nigeria statistical bulletin and publications of the National Bureau of Statistics. The study employed multiple regression technique and Gretl 1.9. 8 econometric software was used for the analysis. The results showed that foreign direct investment has a positive and significant effect on gross domestic product. It was also found that exchange rate has a positive but not significant effect on gross domestic product. Thus, the study concluded that foreign direct investment has a positive effect on economic growth in Nigeria as opposed to the findings and belief of some researchers and other stakeholders that foreign direct investment has a negative effect on the growth of the economy. It was recommended that government should improve the state of infrastructures in the country in order to encourage meaningful investments in the economy. Also, the Central Bank of Nigeria should come-up with policies that will help to stabilize the Naira exchange rate vis-a-vis the major currencies of the world, like the United States Dollar. This will boost the investors’ confidence in the economy.
Deep learning in melanoma screening = Aprendizado profundo em triagem de melanoma

From all skin cancers, melanoma represents just 1% of cases, but 75% of deaths1. Melanoma’s prognosis is good when detected early, but deteriorates fast as the disease progresses. Automated tools may play an essential role in providing timely screening, helping doctors focus on patients or lesions at risk. However, due to the disease’s characteristics — rarity, lethality, fast progression, and diagnosis subtlety — automated screening for melanoma is particularly challenging. The objective of this work is to understand better how can we use Deep Learning — more precisely, Convolutional Neural Networks — to correctly classify images of skin lesions. This work is divided into two lines of investigation to achieve the objective. First, the study is focused on the transferability of features from pretrained CNN networks. The primary objective of that thread is to study how the transferred features behave in different schemas, aiming at generating better features to the classifier layer. Second, this study will also improve the classification metrics, which is the overall objective of this line of research. On the transferability of features, we performed experiments to analyze how different transfer schemas would impact the overall Area Under the ROC Curve (AUC) training a CNN from scratch; transferring from pretrained CNN on general and specific image databases; performing a double transfer, in a sequence from general to specific and finally melanoma databases. From those experiments, we learned that transfer learning is a good practice, as is fine tuning. The results also suggest that deeper models lead to better results. We expected that transfer learning from a related task (in the case, from a retinopathy image database) would lead to better outcomes, but results showed the opposite, suggesting that adaptation from particular tasks poses specific challenges. On the improvement of metrics, we discussed the winner pipeline used in the International Skin Imaging Collaboration (ISIC) Challenge 2017, reaching state-of-theart results on melanoma classification with 87.4% AUC. The solution is based on the stacking/meta-learning from Inception v4 and Resnet101 models, fine tuning them while performing data augmentation on the train and test sets. Also, we compare different segmentation techniques elementwise multiplication of the skin lesion image and its mask, and input the segmentation mask as a fourth channel with a network trained without segmentation. The network with no segmentation is the one who performs better (96.0% AUC) against segmentation mask as a fourth channel (94.5% AUC). We made available a reproducible reference implementation with all developed 1 American Cancer Society: cancer.org source code for the contributions of this thesis.2,3
Corporate governance compliance and discretionary accruals: New Zealand evidence

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of better compliance with corporate governance regulation on managerial accruals (discretionary accruals) in New Zealand listed companies. Unlike previous research of earnings management, Jones model ( Jones 1991), Modified Jones model (Dechow, Sloan, & Sweeney, 1995) and Performance Matched Accruals Model (Kothari, Leone, & Wasley, 2005) this research focuses on free cash flow as a measure of discretionary accruals instead of cash flow from operating activities. Univariate and multivariate regression analysis was done on 70 New Zealand listed firms over the period of 2000 2007 (inclusive). Results found that better compliance with corporate governance reduces discretionary accruals implying lower managerial opportunistic behaviour. Consistent with existing theories and models of discretionary accruals, this research documents that free cash flow increase managerial discretion by comparing with commonly used accruals model such as Jones Model, Modified Jones Model and Performance Matched Accruals Model. This study provides insights to regulators in developing corporate governance and financial reporting guidelines. It suggests that ‘Comply or Explain’ form of soft regulation reduces managerial discretion with stock exchange listing. This research uses a comparative analysis of traditional discretionary accrual measure with free cash flow approach of discretionary accruals. Moreover, an integration approach of discretionary accrual measure was never done in New Zealand.
Advanced Assay Development Guidelines for Image-Based High Content Screening and Analysis

Automated microscopes are now widespread in biological research. They enable the unprecedented collection of images at a rate which outpaces researchers’ ability to visually inspect them. Whether interrogating hundreds of thousands of individual fixed samples or fewer samples collected over time, automated image analysis has become necessary to identify interesting samples and extract quantitative information by microscopy. This chapter builds on the material presented in the introductory HCS section. 1 Experimental design for HCS 1.1 Controls Whenever possible, positive and negative controls should be included in an assay. Using controls is required to calculate a performance envelope for measuring the assay quality and phenotype feature space (see "Assay Quality and Acceptance Criteria for HCS" section below). However, positive controls may not be readily available. In these situations, an assay measuring a real biological process may still show a phenotype of interest under some conditions that can be observed and measured even if positive controls that induce high levels of cells with the phenotype do not exist. Once a condition is identified and demonstrates such a measurable change, then it can serve as a positive control going forward. For profiling assays, in which a large variety of cellular features are measured to identify similarities among samples, and hence designed to have multiple readouts, several different positive controls for each desired class of outcomes may be necessary. However, these may not be known in advance. Long running assays will typically accumulate positive controls over time and may even change the perceived limits or dynamic range of the assay. Ideally, a positive control is of the same type as the reagents to be screened (e.g. a small molecule control for a small molecule screen, and an RNAi-based control for an RNAi screen). However, any reagent that induces the phenotypic change of interest can serve as a Asay G uance M aual