Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Conspecific negative density‐dependent mortality and the structure of temperate forests

Factors that control tree seedling dynamics are critical determinants of forest diversity. We examined the role of density-dependent mortality and abiotic factors in the differential establishment and survival of tree seedlings at three, large, mapped forest plots in Indiana, Virginia, and Wisconsin, USA. We tested whether seedling densities and seedling survival are related to local biotic and abiotic factors with generalized linear mixed models. Spatial point pattern analyses were utilized to determine if the distribution patterns of seedlings and saplings are consistent with a pattern generated by negative density-dependent mortality with respect to conspecific trees. Initial sampled seedling density for nearly a third of species showed a positive correlation with increasing conspecific basal area, indicating dispersal limitation, but few had any association with abiotic variables. By contrast, survival of seedlings over one year significantly declined with increasing conspecific basal area. Point pattern analyses indicated that nearly one-third of tree species had significantly over-dispersed point patterns of conspecific seedlings and saplings relative to adult densities; the majority of other species exhibited random spatial arrangements. Our results demonstrate that negative conspecific density-dependent mortality of seedlings could generate the spatial patterns observed at later life stages. By differentially favoring seedlings of other species, this process may contribute to the maintenance of tree diversity in temperate forests, just as others have demonstrated for tropical forests.
WORLD METEOROLOGICAL ORGANIZATION Weather Research in Europe A THORPEX European Plan

Maarten Ambaum, Neil Bowler, Jim Caughey, Andrew Challinor, Andrew Charlton, Rosalind Cornforth, Helen Dacre, Sarah Dance, Huw Davies, Andreas Dörnbrack, John Eyre, Evan Fraser, Alan Gadian, Ricardo García Herrera, Jose Antonio Garcia–Moya, Luis Gimeno, Stuart Goldstraw, Andy Gouldson, Suzanne Gray, Robin Hogan, Klaus-Peter Hoinka, Anthony Illingworth, Thomas Jung, Detlev Majewski, John Marsham, Brian Mills, Thor-Erik Nordeng, Doug Parker, Robert Plant, Ricardo M. Trigo, Mathias Rotach, Conny Schwierz, Mel Shapiro, Lenny Smith, Olivier Talagrand, Emma Tompkins, Hans Volkert, Martin Weissmann, Volker Wulfmeyer, Günther Zängl and Michal Ziemianski
CSEM WP 195 To What Electricity Price Do Consumers Respond? Residential Demand Elasticity Under Increasing-Block Pricing

It is straightforward to evaluate how a perfectly-optimizing, perfectly-informed customer will respond to a non-linear price schedule, but such a customer is rare. In the common case of increasing-block pricing of water and electricity, consumers do not know what marginal price they face during a billing period, because they do not know what demand shocks will occur during the period. If consumers instead set optimal behavioral rules based on the distribution of possible marginal prices they will face (e.g., turn off lights in unused rooms, set the A/C to 74 degrees, replace incandescent lights with CFLs), their consumption will not exhibit discrete responses to the discrete jumps in the price schedule. Using data from a large electricity utility, I show that the empirical distribution of consumption quantities is not consistent with consumers accurately knowing and responding to the marginal price they will face. I then estimate the price elasticity of demand using a panel of household observations at two-year intervals, identifying elasticity from the changes in the increasing-block price schedule. The results suggest that most consumers are probably responding to the expected marginal price or even less precise information about what marginal price they will face. The results are difficult to reconcile with the common approach of estimating demand elasticity as a function of the ex post marginal price that the consumer faces along an increasing-block price structure. 1 Director, University of California Energy Institute (www.ucei.org); E.T. Grether Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy, Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley (faculty.haas.berkeley.edu/borenste); and Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research (www.nber.org). Email: borenste@haas.berkeley.edu. I am grateful to Koichiro Ito for excellent research assistance and very helpful comments, and to Lucas Davis, Joe Farrell, Stephen Holland, Matt Kahn, Sheila Olmstead and seminar participants at MIT, UC Santa Cruz, the UC Energy Institute, Yale and Berkeley-Stanford IOfest ’08 for very helpful comments and discussions.
Monetary and Fiscal Policies in Times of Large Debt: Unity is Strength

The Covid-19 pandemic found policymakers facing constraints on their ability to react to an exceptionally large negative shock. The current low interest rate environment limits the tools the central bank can use to stabilize the economy, while the large public debt curtails the efficacy of fiscal interventions by inducing expectations of costly fiscal adjustments. Against this background, we study the implications of a coordinated fiscal and monetary strategy aimed at creating a controlled rise of inflation to wear away a targeted fraction of debt. Under this coordinated strategy, the fiscal authority introduces an emergency budget with no provisions on how it will be balanced, while the monetary authority tolerates a temporary increase in inflation to accommodate the emergency budget. In our model, the coordinated strategy enhances the efficacy of the fiscal stimulus planned in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and allows the Federal Reserve to correct a prolonged period of below-target inflation. The strategy results in only moderate levels of inflation by separating long-run fiscal sustainability from a short-run policy intervention.
The Impact of Tourism on Poverty Alleviation and Income Distribution: Evidence from Indonesia

Tourism has important contribution towards Indonesia’s economy and the role tends to increase thorugh time. However, this study aims to delve deeper into how tourism can impact on poverty reduction and equal income distribution. The study employs Miyazawa’s input-output, econometrics, and micro simulation models. The results of the simulation show that without tourism activity, Indonesia’s poverty rate in 2014, 2015, and 2016 is expected to be 4% higher than the actuality. Tourism also contributes to reducing the depth of poverty from 2.04 to 1.21, as well as lessening the severity of poverty from 0.37 to 0.29 in 2016. This result is supported by econometric analysis showing that regions with tourism as a main economic activity have 1.5% to 3.4% lower poverty rate than those without. Further, domestic tourism activity offers a bigger contribution towards the lower income group when compared to their international counterparts. The implication of the findings towards policy making and tourism businesses is discussed.
Business Model Innovation Towards Services: Insights From Dubai’s Economic Development

This article presents a conceptual framework with recommendations for enhancing the success rates of services innovation, technology planning and new business models. This is a conceptual article, which builds on recent trends in management research and practice. It analyzes the economic development of the emirate of Dubai in the United Arabian Emirates (UAE) as an example of business model innovation and planning with a focus on new services, intell igent transportation systems and logistics, digital transformation, artificial intell igence and drone taxi services. Services innovation has become critical for firms from many manufacturing sectors, such as automotive, machinery, energy and electronics, because many of their products are commoditized. Thus, business model transformation with an emphasis on services is an important means to stay competitive, to grow, and to enhance profitability based on strong absorptive and desorptive capacity. In this respect, the economic development of Dubai provides interesting insights into innovating a manufacturing firm’s business models. This article presents a conceptual framework with five key factors that have been gained from a detailed analysis of the economic development of Dubai, which has successfully transformed its business model throughout the past decades to a leading place of commerce with major plans for intell igent transportation systems in l ight of the Expo 2020. The article further compares the key drivers of this development with the management l iterature about services innovation and business model innovation.
THE GEOMETRY OF C1,α FLAT ISOMETRIC IMMERSIONS

We show that any isometric immersion of a flat plane domain into R is developable provided it enjoys C loc Hölder regularity for some α > 2/3. The proof is based on showing the existence of a weak notion of second fundamental form for such immersions, the analysis of the Gauss-Codazzi-Mainardi equations in this weak setting, and a parallel result on the very weak solutions to the Monge-Ampère equation which appeared in [43].
Publicly Funded Health Insurance Schemes (PFHIS): A Systematic and Interpretive Review of Studies Does Gender Equity Matter?

With the announcement of the National Health Protection Scheme in February 2018 by the Indian Government, the policy direction based on an insurance-based model of health financing as a panacea for all ill-health has become even more evident than in the past. This is surprising, given that the evidence on the positive impact of a publicly funded health insurance scheme (PFHIS) is equivocal. There are only a handful of reviews of studies on national and state level PFHIS on equity dimensions, and none of them have applied a gender lens.
THE CHEMICAL FORM OF DISSOLVED SI TAKEN UP BY MARINE DIATOMS

Results of past studies of the pH‐dependent Si uptake kinetics of Phaeodactylum tricornutum Bohlin suggested that the anion SiO(OH) is the chemical form of dissolved Si taken up by marine diatoms. We determined the chemical form of Si taken up by three other marine diatom species and P. tricornutum by examining the kinetics of Si use under two dramatically different SiO(OH):Si(OH)4 ratios in seawater by varying pH from ≈8 to ≈9.6. Uptake rates were determined using a precise and sensitive 32Si tracer methodology. The pH‐dependent uptake kinetics obtained for all species except P. tricornutum suggest that marine diatoms transport Si(OH)4. The half‐saturation constant (Km) varies strongly as a function of pH for all species when the substrate of transport is assumed to be SiO(OH). Kinetic curves for Thalassiosira pseudonana (Hustedt) Hasle et Heimdal, Thalassiosira weissflogii (Grunow) G. Fryxell et Hasle, and Cylindrotheca fusiformis Reimann et Lewin have statistically identical values of Km at each pH when the substrate for transport is assumed to be Si(OH)4 (T. pseudonana and T. weissflogii) or total dissolved silicon (C. fusiformis). In contrast, P. tricornutum exhibits unusual biphasic uptake kinetics: uptake conforms to Michaelis–Menten kinetics up to 15 to 25 μM, above which uptake increases linearly. This enigmatic response may have biased conclusions drawn from past experiments using this species. However, based on the consistency of the results for the three other species, a new model of Si transport in marine diatoms is proposed on the basis of the direct formation of a complex between the Si‐transport protein and Si(OH)4.
The phylogeny of a remarkable new genus and species of gymnusine staphylinid (Coleoptera) from the Auckland Islands

A new genus and species, Stylogymnusa subantarctica of Gymnusini (Staphylinidae Aleocharinae), is described from the Auckland Islands. The morphological peculiarities, including vestigial eyes and remarkable mouth-parts, of the new species are discussed in relation to its possible habits. The phylogenetic relationships of the new genus are explored, leading to a discussion of the taxonomy and phylogeny of the Gymnusini and other groups of Aleocharinae. The tribes Gymnusini, to include Gymnusa and Stylogymnusa, and Deinopsini, to include Deinopsis and Adinopsis, are redefined, Adinopsini falling as a synonym of Deinopsini. Two species currently included in Deinopsis are transferred to other genera. The subfamily Aleocharinae is briefly characterised and considered to include several groups currently placed in other subfamilies.
Genomic prediction and QTL discovery in a cassava training population constructed from multiple breeding stages

This article has been accepted for publication and undergone full peer review but has not been through the copyediting, typesetting, pagination and proofreading process, which may lead to differences between this version and the Version of Record. Please cite this article as doi: 10.1002/csc2.20003. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. Page 1 of 42 Running Title Candidates for training populations and implication on accuracy Title Genomic prediction and QTL discovery in a cassava training population constructed from multiple breeding stages
Saudi Board-Western Region-Anesthesia Residents’ Self-Reported Confidencetoward Regional Anesthesia in a Joint Program: Cross Sectional Survey

Citation: Yaser Mandora. , et al. “Saudi Board-Western Region-Anesthesia Residents’ Self-Reported Confidence toward Regional Anesthesia in a Joint Program: Cross Sectional Survey”. EC Anaesthesia 6.5 (2020): 13-18. Abstract Background: Regional anesthesia recently took the advantage over general anesthesia in a way that meets patients’ satisfactions and decreases the overall complications of general anesthesia. However, there is no sufficient data to evaluate the level of confidence in the practice of regional anesthesia in Saudi Arabia, so the progress of the skills required to perform these techniques cannot be determined in the near future among the anesthesia residents in Saudi Arabia. In this survey, we assessed the level of confidence in regional anesthesia performance among anesthesia residents in the Saudi residency training program in the western region.
First record of marbled stingray, Dasyatis marmorata (Elasmobranchii: Myliobatiformes: Dasyatidae), on the coast of Turkey, north-eastern Mediterranean

Two specimens of marbled stingray, Dasyatis marmorata (Steindachner, 1892), were captured for the first time on 24–25 October 2013 in the Iskenderun Bay, located in the north-eastern Mediterranean coast of Turkey. This is the first record of D. marmorata in Turkish coastal waters and the seventh dasyatid species reported to date from the area.
Flatness-based Trajectory Generation and Tracking for a DC motor drives using MPC

This paper proposes the speed control of a separately excited dc motor by varying armature voltage. The novelty of this paper lies in the application of Flatness(trajectory generation) and Model predictive control(MPC) for tracking the desired speed reference. The dynamic system of DC motor is shown to be differentially flat viewed from the angular velocity, which is a flat output. It is thus possible to exploit the flat property of the system in which flat output provides a framework for generating a smooth reference trajectory for the angular velocity. The rotor speed of the dc motor can be made to follow this selected trajectory. The purpose is to achieve accurate trajectory control of the speed. In order to achieve high performance speed tracking, linear MPC is designed to track the reference speed without overshoot. The aim of the proposed scheme is to improve tracking performance of DC motor. With the proposed control scheme, the system possesses the advantages of good speed tracking performance and the simulation results have proved the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy.
First Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study to Show Telomere Lengthening in Humans

TA-65 is a dietary supplement based on an improved formulation of a small molecule telomerase activator that was discovered in a systematic screening of natural product extracts from traditional Chinese medicines. This study summarizes the findings on telomere length (TL) changes from a randomized, double blind, placebo controlled study of TA-65 over a 1 year period. The study was conducted on 117 relatively healthy cytomegalovirus-positive subjects aged 53–87 years old. Subjects taking the low dose of TA-65 (250U) significantly increased TL over the 12 months period (530– 180 bp; p = 0.005), whereas subjects in the placebo group significantly lost TL (290– 100 bp; p = 0.01). The high dose of TA-65 (1000U) showed a trend of improvements in TL compared with that of the placebo group; however, the improvements did not reach statistical significance. TL changes in the low-dose group were similar for both median and 20th percentile TLs. The findings suggest that TA-65 can lengthen telomeres in a statistically and possibly clinically significant manner.
Evaluation of the Phenolic Content, Antiradical, Antioxidant, and Antimicrobial Activity of Different Floral Sources of Honey

Thirty-five honeys were evaluated for total phenolic content by Folin-Ciocalteu method, for potential antioxidant activity using phosphomolibdenum assay and by the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl method for antiradical activity. The antimicrobial activity was studied by the agar diffusion method, using 12 bacteria and 2 yeasts. The means of the total phenolic contents of chestnut, honeydew, multifloral, thyme, and astragalus were 47 ± 18, 24.2 ± 0.6, 14 ± 11, 11 ± 6, and 9 ± 7 mg/100 g honey as gallic acid equivalent, respectively. The lowest antioxidant activity was observed in honeydew 70 ± 5 mg ascorbic acid equivalent/g honey while the highest content was observed in astragalus honey 86 ± 16 mg ascorbic acid equivalent/g honey. Correlation between the phenolic content and antioxidant activity were found to be statistically significant. Chestnut honeys (n = 5) exhibited maximum free radical scavenging activity with an average 68 ± 9%. The honey samples showed the highest antimicrobial activity against some microorganisms, especially Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella typhimurium, Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, and Proteus mirabilis. On the other side, Aeromonas hydrophila, Bacillus subtilis, and E. coli were the most resistant microorganisms. The results revealed that the Turkish honeys studied proved to be a good source of antioxidant and antimicrobial agents that might serve to protect human health.
Algorithmic Bias

Artificial intelligence plays an increasingly pervasive role in society: it determines credit scores, whether an individual receives a loan, how many police officers patrol a neighborhood, and much more. A central component of an artificial intelligence system is the algorithm, a step-bystep procedure that enables a computer to perform calculation, data processing, and automated reasoning tasks. Today, most applications of artificial intelligence are based on deep learning algorithms, with which computers can find and amplify patterns from vast amounts of data and produce predictions that inform future algorithmic decisions.
Are there latitudinal and altidudinal Rapoport effects in the geographic ranges of Andean passerine birds

We analysed the range-sizes of 835 Andean passerine species (including 414 endemics and 421 non-endemics) to test for latitudinal and altitudinal Rapoport effects (LRE and ARE). We tested for positive range-size: latitude/altitude correlations using three different methods: (i) Rohde's mid-point method, (ii) species sorted out by altitude, and (iii) a phylogenetic comparative method (CAIC). Using Rohde's mid-point method, the mean latitudinal extent of species does not follow a Rapoport pattern, but the mean latitudinal occupancy of all passerines and non-endemics do increase with latitude. The latitudinal ranges of endemics sorted out by altitude follow a reverse Rapoport effect, but non-endemics support the pattern. CAIC confirms the latitudinal increase in the occupancy of non-endemics, but regressions have low coefficients of determination. The ARE is supported by the mean altitudinal extent of species, but the trend vanishes when controlling for geometric effects. Low-altitude species occupy about the same proportion of the available altitudinal space as do high-altitude ones. Our analyses suggest that latitude and altitude have low explanatory power for understanding the spatial variation in range-sizes at a continental scale. We show how different patterns can emerge from applying different criteria to the analysis of data.
POPULISM IN THE FOREIGN POLICY OF CENTRAL EUROPEAN STATES

The article explores the populist take on international relations via states’ foreign policy. It focuses on Central European EU member states where populists have become a major political force. The article builds on a government-preferences-based approach by combining the international system level with the party competition perspective. Mapping of populist types via their positioning on selected foreign policy issues and impact of the party programme on election results shows growing polarisation within the group of populists and their limited success outside of migration policy area. While confirming the existing literature on systemic constraints and business-as-usual politics, the results also reveal the rising impact of systemic factors, such as growing instability and crises in the external environment on populist parties’ polarization and election suc-
Risk Factors Affecting Ischemic Stroke: A Potential Side Effect of Antihypertensive Drugs

Background: Stroke is a worldwide health problem, the world’s second-leading cause of death and third-leading cause of disability. Currently, the majority of stroke patients are ischemic stroke patients. It is necessary to evaluate risk factors to prevent ischemic stroke. Data and Methods: The risk factors for stroke in the previous fiscal year were analyzed. They were divided into nonmodifiable and modifiable factors. The probit and ordered probit models were used in the study, with 59341 and 50542 observations used in the estimation of the models, respectively. Results: Among the nonmodifiable factors, age, gender and cerebrovascular disease history are important risk factors. The history of cerebrovascular diseases is considered to be an especially important factor. Among the modifiable factors, taking antihypertensive drugs and recent large weight change are negative risk factors; however, sleeping well significantly reduces the probability of ischemic stroke. Conclusion: It is very important to ensure that medical personnel know a patient’s history of cerebrovascular diseases for proper treatments. Ischemic stroke might be considered an important side effect of antihypertensive drugs. Limitations: The dataset was observatory. There are various types of antihypertension drugs, and their effects are not analyzed.
Clinical evaluation of children with celiac disease: A single-center experience

Background and objectives: The clinical findings of Celiac Disease (CD) change over time. Instead of classical symptoms such as diarrhea, growth retardation, abdominal bloating, atypical symptoms such as chronic constipation and abdominal pain may be the only sign of CD. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the clinical features of our patients with CD. Material and methods: This retrospective study was conducted between March 2017 and January 2019. 61 children with CD were included in the study. Local Ethics Committee approval was received. As an initial diagnostic test, tissue transglutaminase antibody (tTG) IgA test and total IgA test were analysed in all patients. Endomysial antibody (EMA) IgA test was analysed in patients with positive tTG IgA. If both celiac tests are detected as positive, gastroduodenoscopy was performed for definitive diagnosis of CD.