Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Modern pollen spectra from the western interior of Canada and the interpretation of late quaternary vegetation development

SUMMARY The pollen spectra obtained from 127 lake sediment surface samples from the western interior of Canada are examined. Principal components biplots and discriminant analysis are used to investigate the correspondence between modern pollen rain and major vegetation zones in the study area. It is demonstrated that the major vegetation zones in the western interior of Canada can be distinguished on the basis of their modern pollen rain. Principal components biplots and discriminant analysis are also used to compare late Quaternary fossil pollen assemblages from lakes located near the southern and northern periphery of the modern boreal forest with the modern pollen spectra. The results suggest that the late Pleistocene and early Holocene pollen spectra from the southern and northern periphery of the boreal forest lack modern analogues in the western interior of Canada. The northern and southern boundaries of the boreal forest were located north of their modern positions during the mid Holocene. Vegetation developed and responded to mid Holocene climatic change at different rates at the two sites. Modern vegetation conditions were established at both sites between 5000 B.P. to 3000 B.P. Vegetation has remained relatively stable during the last three thousand years.
The biology of heterostyly

Abstract Heterostyly is a genetically controlled floral polymorphism that is known to occur in 24 families of flowering plants. The floral morphs differ reciprocally in stamen and style lengths. They often differ in pollen grain size and production, and may differ in pollen exine sculpturing, pollen colour, presence of starch in pollen, stigmatic papillae, or corolla size or morphology. There are two morphs in distylous plants and three morphs in tristylous plants. Distyly is much more common than tristyly. Tristyly is known to occur only in the Lythraceae, Oxalidaceae, and Pontederiaceae, although there are unconfirmed reports in the Connaraceae and in Hugonia of the Linaceae. In distylous plants the supergene determining floral morphology also controls a diallelic sporophytic self-incompatibility system, so that only pollinations between morphs are compatible. Tristylous plants usually possess a two-locus diallelic sporophytic self-incompati-bility system associated with the floral trimorphism, but whet.
The Intersection of Medicine and Urology

a Department of Family Medicine and Urology, The Men’s Health Center, The Miriam Hospital, The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, 164 Summitt Avenue, Providence, RI 02906, USA; b Departments of Family Medicine and Urology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA; c Departments of Internal Medicine and Urology, Men’s Health Center, The Miriam Hospital, The Warren Alpert School of Medicine, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA; d Division of Urology, Cooper University Hospital, Cooper Medical School of Rowan University, Camden, NJ, USA; e Division of Urology, Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale, AZ, USA; f Benign Urologic Diseases and The Men’s Health Program, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Mount Sinai Health System, New York, NY, USA * Corresponding author. E-mail address: Martin_Miner@Brown.edu
Clinical Features, Prognosis, and Outcome of Patients with Pure Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Prostate

Background: Pure squamous cell carcinoma of the prostate is a rare entity. Data regarding clinical features, management, and treatment outcomes are limited. As such, management of this cancer has been variable throughout the reported literature, and with limited success. Methods: A systematic review of the literature and secondary data analysis was performed to characterize clinical features, management, and survival outcomes. Results: In total 47 cases of histological confirmed pure squamous cell carcinoma of the prostate were included in analysis. Pure squamous cell carcinoma of the prostate is a disease of older males with mean age at diagnosis of 68.5 years (range 42-85). Urinary obstruction was reported as a presenting symptom in 60% of cases. PSA was usually normal with a mean value of 1.6 (n=11). The disease was metastatic at diagnosis in 32% of patients among cases that stage was reported (n=31). In terms of management, chemotherapy was attempted in 28% of cases, radiation in 30%, and surgery (excluding transurethral resection of the prostate TURP) in 25.5%. Hormone therapy was rarely attempted (4%). Metastatic disease was associated with a significant decrease in survival when compared to localized disease, p=0.006. Surgical management was associated with significantly increased survival, p=0.041. Overall 1-year survival was 32%, while 3-year survival was 9%. Conclusions: Squamous cell carcinoma of the prostate has an aggressive clinical course and is associated with poor prognosis. There is urgent need for early detection and the development of novel treatment options. Keywords: squamous cell carcinoma of prostate, prostate-specific antigen, chemotherapy, prostatectomy, transurethral resection of the prostate, radiotherapy, multimodal therapy, prognosis, survival
Willingness to Pay for Better Air Quality: The case of China

Air pollution is a big threat to human beings and has attract worldwide attention from governments and scholars. Based on the survey of happiness in China, this paper attempts to analyze the impact of local air quality on the happiness of individuals, and to evaluate the monetary value of mitigating air pollution. Through merging individual happiness data in a nationally representative survey with daily air quality index (AQI) according to the date and location of each respondent, it calculates the marginal rate of substitution (MRS) between air quality and income, and then estimates respondents’ willingness to pay (WTP) for better air quality. Moreover, it has further explored the differences of WTPs among groups. This study reaches the conclusion that happiness is positively associated with income but negatively correlated with air pollution. Besides, individual happiness is heavily influenced by income, age, gender, health condition, marital status and other variables. Furthermore, WTPs differ greatly among groups and the estimated average WTP of whole sample is 549.36RMB(or 0.90% of annual household income) per year per family for one unit reduction in AQI.
A Freshwater Pond in Zew Zealand

A year's survey of the fauna and flora present in a freshwater pond provides the first work of its kind recorded in New Zealand. Attention was given to the effect of the recorded chemical and physical factors on the fluctuations in number of the zooplankton. A comparison of the local phytoplankton and zooplankton with those from similar studies in North America, Europe, and Asia shows the cosmopolitan nature of the inhabitants of freshwater.
International Tax Competition, Capital Mobility, and Inequality: Evidence from Asia-Pacific Economies

Foreign direct investment (FDI) is one of the main driving forces for domestic economic development. Therefore, attracting FDI inflows has been a core mission for national leaders over the world especially for the policymakers. Given the highly mobile nature of capital, countries have to give enough incentives to bring and retain capital within their territory. The tax incentives and reduction in corporate tax rates are likely to be the policy means. Therefore, tax competition becomes unavoidable. The present study aimed to investigate how the statutory corporate tax rate influenced FDI inflows, how FDI inflows influenced economic growth of Asia-Pacific economies, and whether inward FDI generated some undesired outcomes within these economies. Initially, we used Singapore’s case study to understand the relationships between taxation, FDI, economic growth and income gap. Then we used panel data from 29 Asia-Pacific economies to examine our hypotheses. Results from system GMM estimation show that a country’s competitive tax rate strategy could have a positive influence on the FDI inflows (i.e., the corporate tax rate is negatively associated with FDI). In addition, inward FDI shows a positive impact on domestic economic development. However, FDI net inflows is also positively related to income inequality. The theoretical and policy implications are discussed.
The impact of corporate governance on cost of capital: an application on the firms in the manufacturing industry in Borsa Istanbul

Corporate governance has become an important issue in the aftermath of international financial crises, corruption and corporate scandals since the 1980s. Corporate governance is a broad term and it defines the methods, structure and the processes of a company. In this context, the term corporate governance plays a significant role in ensuring that the firm moves optimally in the right direction. In this study, the effect of corporate governance practices on the cost of capital is investigated empirically in 76 manufacturing industry companies listed on Borsa Istanbul (BIST) between 2008 and 2017. In this context, the system Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) estimator developed by Arellano-Bover (1995), one of the dynamic panel estimation methods, was used. The results showed that the increase in the number of members of the board of directors and the ratio of women in the board of directors, which are the corporate governance mechanisms, have an increasing effect on the cost of capital. We also found that the variables of CEO duality and institutional ownership did not affect the cost of capital.
THE ROLE OF ADENOSINE IN REGULATING URINARY BLADDER FUNCTION AND A1AR-MEDIATED MEMBRANE TRAFFICKING IN UMBRELLA CELLS

The uroepithelium lines the urinary bladder, urethra and the lower renal pelvis. It provides a tight blood-urine barrier that prevents the unregulated movement of solutes, ions and metabolites present in the urine. Apart from forming a robust barrier, a growing body of evidence supports the role of the uroepithelium as a sensory transducer that is sensitive to extracellular biochemical and mechanical stimuli. One of the mediators that is released from the uroepithelium and impacts bladder activity is adenosine. Adenosine is a well-known stress relieving hormone in other organ systems and the bladder lumen is a region of constant stress due to cyclical filling and voiding of urine, therefore I hypothesized that adenosine has an impact on urinary bladder function under stress. First I assessed the mechanism of adenosine turnover and how luminal adenosine affects bladder function. I report that adenosine is released from the mucosal and serosal surfaces of the uroepithelium when the tissue is maximally stretched. The released adenosine it actively turned over by distinct pathways at either surfaces of the uroepithelium. Further, enriching the luminal adenosine concentration by blocking its routes of turnover or by specific activation of apically localized A1AR by using CCPA, bladder function was modulated by decreasing the threshold pressure of bladder voiding. In the second study, I looked at the impact of adenosine on exocytosis and membrane trafficking in umbrella cells. I report that activation of A1AR at the apical surface of umbrella cells increased apical exocytosis in umbrella cells. The apical exocytosis was similar to late phase stress-mediated exocytosis and required transactivation of EGFR. The pathway involved Gi-Gβγ-PLC-PKC and ADAM17 which in-turn cleaved and released HB-EGF leading to EGFR transactivation and downstream ERK1/2 MAPK. Further, Ser811 in the cytoplasmic tail of ADAM17 was important for A1AR-mediated activation of the protein. Finally, ADAM17 was also involved in late-phase stretch-mediated apical exocytosis in rats but not in rabbits. In conclusion, my studies show that adenosine plays a protective role in the bladder both at the organ and cellular level. At the organ level, adenosine alleviates luminal stress by reducing the threshold pressure for voiding and at the cellular level, it triggers apical exocytosis and increase in membrane surface area of umbrella cells thus mitigating the stress induced by mechanical stretching associated with bladder filling.
British press coverage of the sexual murder of women

Despite research to the contrary, a recent British Home Offi ce report by Kelly et al. (2005) notes that in public consciousness a ‘real rape’ is perceived to occur in a public place, is perpetrated by a stranger and involves aggravating violence. Further, it notes that such skewed perceptions are implicated in the high attrition rate that this offence attracts in the United Kingdom. This paper suggests that a signifi cant factor in the reinforcing of this skewed perception is the reporting of violence against women in the print media. It is argued that murders of women are regularly sexualized by journalists and conversely that sexual assaults of women are framed within a discourse of murder. Through a discourse analysis of six case studies of rape and/or murder of women by men between 2003 and 2004, this research contends that the habitual linking of the concepts of sex and death in such reporting, which in some contexts effectively produces a confl ation of the offences of rape and murder, contributes to the way in which rape is received by criminal justice professionals, victims and the wider public. K E Y W O R D S criminal justice discourse murder public opinion rape sex crime women Context: sexed crime, public opinion and the media Statistics tell us that most rape assaults in the United Kingdom do not end in the death of the victim and that the vast majority are committed by friends or acquaintances (Harris and Grace, 1999; Karlberg and Hackett, 1996; Kelly et al., 2005). However, a perception still persists in the public consciousness that a ‘real’ rape occurs in a public place, is committed by a stranger and involves aggravating violence. The latest British governmental research published by the Home Offi ce (Kelly et al., 2005) suggests that these skewed perceptions of the
Towards a basic understanding of the properties of camel blood in response to exercise.

The objective of the study was to investigate changes in blood fluidity in camels in response to exercise. 11 camels (9 male, 2 female) performed a 30 minutes run. Blood lactate changes indicated mild aerobic exercise. HCT and PCV remained essentially unchanged while plasma protein concentration decreased mildly suggesting a gain in blood volume of 1-2 L. Whole blood viscosity (WBV) did not change significantly at any shear rate (flow curves at logarithmic shear rate (SR) ramp, 37Â°C:11.6-500 s-1), and viscosity ratio (WBV500s-1/ WBV11.6s-1) was maintained as well. RBC aggregation indices M0 and M1 did not change significantly either. The theoretical optimal HCT, i.e. the range of the HCT at which the O2-transport capacity (HCT/WBV) is highest, was estimated by measuring WBV of RBC dilutions in autologous plasma. The RBC concentrations were measured as PCV and thus PCV/WBV plotted against PCV (2nd degree polynom). At 11.6 s-1 the “optimal HCT” was at a PCV of 49.2%, and decreased to 34.8% at 500 s-1. In arteries and arterioles (high SR), the actual PCV observed may be regarded “optimal”, whereas in venules and veins (low SR), the actual PCV observed was lower than its theoretical “optimal” value. This indicates that a possible increase in PCV might provide a sizable reserve in performance capacity. During a more strenuous exercise or at arid environments this would optimize O2 transport at low shear areas by eventually preventing blood from becoming sluggish.
Firm-sponsored Work-Related Training in Frictional Labour Markets An empirical analysis for Switzerland

Work-related training is considered to be very important for providing the workforce with the necessary skills for maintaining and enhancing the competitiveness of the firms and the economy. According to the classical human capital theory general training is entirely financed by workers. This prediction is at odds with the empirical evidence. This observation inspired new theoretical models with frictional labour markets aiming at explaining the empirical evidence. These frictions create incentives for firms to invest in general training. Most important from a policy point of view is that the amount of training in this frictional world is below the optimal first-best solution achieved in the classical human capital model. Instruments to increase investment in training depend on the dominating kind of friction. This paper tries to identify the sources of frictions in the Swiss labour market. The results indicate that internal wage guarantees (minimum wages set in labour contracts) may play an important role.
What's going on in evolution? A brief guide to some new ideas in evolutionary theory

Evolutionary theory is currently undergoing a healthy period of controversy and reexamination. Many issues are discussed by a relatively small number of specialists in particular fields. This paper attempts a brief outline of some of the major areas of contention, and indicates some current researchers, including a good number in Canadian institutions, who are contributing to the growing body of literature. The most contentious fields are (1) systematics, (2) biogeography, (3) paleontology, (4) community ecology, (5) molecular genetics, (6) development biology, (7) nonequilibrium thermodynamics, and (8) philosophy. Such widespread dissatisfaction with the current paradigm may presage the emergence of a new unified theory of evolution.
Variation in inflorescence architecture associated with yield components in a sorghum germplasm

This study was undertaken to analyse the variation in panicle-related traits of 206 sorghum accessions collected from 27 Asian and African countries. Significant differences among the accessions were observed for 18 measured traits. First, we found that the patterns of the observed panicle-related traits reflected the distribution of the accessions of different origins. Second, the distribution of several components of inflorescence architecture in sorghum accessions influenced their yield components. Principal component analysis of the data showed a wide range of variations across the 206 sorghum accessions. Despite their geographical isolation, no distinct separation between the Asian and African accessions was observed. Correlation coefficient and path coefficient analysis indicated that panicle length (PanL), the total number of branches, rachis length (Rac) and panicle width had a positive direct effect on grain yield. Finally, we showed that the variation in the inflorescence architecture of sorghum accessions was dependent not only on the PanL, but also on the total number of branches, the maximum length of primary branches, Rac, panicle diameter and panicle width. Thus, there are major panicle determinants that are strongly associated with grain yield which should be considered in breeding programmes. These results will serve as a starting point for further evaluation of sorghum germplasm via quantitative trait loci analysis and may be useful for improving yield based on careful consideration of trait selection and inflorescence morphology.
DIEL PATTERNS OF CARBOHYDRATE METABOLISM IN LEAF BLADES AND LEAF SHEATHS OF POA ANNUA L. AND POA×JEMTLANDICA (ALMQ.) RICHT.

Summary A study was made of diel changes in carbohydrate content, net gas exchange and export from leaf blades and leaf sheaths in Poa annua L. (a ruderal) and Poa×jemtlandica (Almq.) Richt. (a sub-arctic grass). Sucrose was the most abundant form of carbohydrate in the leaf blades with lesser amounts of starch and fructans also present. The proportions of fixed carbon allocated to export, storage and respiration in leaf blades were similar, and carbohydrates showed broadly similar patterns of diel fluctuation, in both species. However, the relative rates of sucrose and starch accumulation and depletion and the diel patterns of export in the leaf blades were different in the two species. Starch was the predominant form of carbohydrate in the sheath, with soluble sugars and fructans also present. Starch and soluble sugars showed diel accumulation and depletion in the sheaths of Poa annua but not in Poa×jemtlandica. The effects of extended darkness suggest that factors controlling carbohydrate metabolism in the sheath may be different to those operating in the leaf blade. The large fluxes of carbohydrate through the sheath suggest that it serves mainly as a thoroughfare for carbohydrates.
Diet, prey selection, and growth of larval and juvenile burbot Lota lota (L.)

The diet, prey selection, and growth of larval and juvenile Oneida Lake burbot, Lota lota(L.), was investigated from the time of first hatch in mid-April until their disappearance from the pelagic zone at the beginning of June. Mean length increased exponentially from 3–20 mm on 18 April to 15–00 mm on 29 May. The number and size of prey in burbot stomachs, and the prey size most selected by burbot increased as they grew. Prey width, not prey length, limited the size of prey ingested. The smallest burbot ate and selected highly for the largest prey they could ingest, but older burbot did not. As burbot grew, prey selection was highest first for the rotifer Asplanchna, followed by copepod nauplii, then cyclopoid copepods. Daphnia and calanoid copepods and cyclopoid copepods were selected to similar degrees by 29 May. For a given size, however, cyciopoid copepods were selected more strongly than any other prey type from 18 to 29 May. There were no significant differences in prey selection among offshore, nearshore, and onshore habitats, nor among depths in the offshore habitat.
Genetic diversity and relationships detected by FAME and RAPD analysis among Thymus species growing in eastern Anatolia region of Turkey

In this study, we examined phenotypic and genetic relationships between 15 Thymus species including T. canoviridis, T. haussknechtii, T. fallax, T. leucotrichus, T. pubescens, T. pseudopulegioides, T. sipyleus, T. convolutus, T. spathulifolius, T. cappadocicus, T. brachychilus, , T. kotschyanus, T. fedtschenkoi, T. migricus, T. transcaucasicus wildly growing in Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey by using Fatty acid (FAMEs) and RAPD profiles. According to the gas chromatography results, 16:0, 19:1:ω9t fatty acids were found in almost all an alyzed thymus species. Also, C9 Dicarboxylic acid was observed in all species except for T. transcaucasicus, T. pubescens T. haussknechtii, T. convolutus, T. fallax. Moreover some fatty acids like 15:0 iso, C20 N alcohol, and C25 N alcohol were only observed in T. leucotrichus, T. haussknechtii, T. haussknechtii respectively (38, 28; 37, 40; 14, 78). On the other hand, RAPD analysis was carried out in 15 Thymus species. Twenty oligonucleotide primers were scr eened on Thymus, and among them, 7 primers showed clear polymorphic patterns. Cluster analysis of Thymus species was performed based on data from polymorphic RAPD bands, by using Jaccard's similarity coefficient. A similarity matrix showed that the highest genetic similarity (0.077) was between T. canoviridis and T. haussknechtii and the least (0.867) was between T. convolutus and T. transcaucasicus. In addition to this, three genetically distinct groups were determined between Thymus species.