Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Global Value Chains and Deep Preferential Trade Agreements: Promoting Trade at the Cost of Domestic Policy Autonomy?

This paper evaluates the role of preferential trade agreements (PTAs) in the context of global value chains. Given the interconnectedness of trade and investment, preferential trade agreements not only contribute to participation and value capture by eliminating traditional trade barriers, they also provide a framework for economic governance regulating behind-the-border policies. While this is an important device for ensuring commitment to creating a reliable business environment, deep trade agreements also tend to restrict policy autonomy. Governing global value chains by means of deep trade agreements is thus a double-edged sword.Against this background, developing countries should carefully assess the pros and cons associated with PTA membership. In order to successfully reap the benefits, PTAs should be geared towards developing country needs by maintaining the flexibility necessary for developmental purposes. This will require negotiation skills on the part of developing countries as well as technical assistance for implementation on the part of developed countries. Moreover, given the increasingly global character of value chains, both developed and developing countries should pursue negotiations at the multilateral level in order to make optimal use of the opportunities created by global value chain trade.By looking at deep PTAs, this paper combines the literature on regional integration with the new strand of global value chain research – without neglecting the traditional view on global value chains and development which stresses the role for complementary policies. The paper concludes by translating the findings into policy recommendations and pointing out gaps in the literature that should be addressed to better inform policy-makers.
The Dark Side of Stakeholder Reactions to Corporate Social Responsibility: Tensions and Micro‐Level Undesirable Outcomes

With a review of literature on corporate social responsibility (CSR) and its micro‐level impacts, this paper proposes an integrative framework to map undesirable relational outcomes of CSR activities on internal (employees) and external (customers) stakeholders. By adopting a paradox‐based perspective, the authors determine that unexpected, adverse stakeholder reactions to CSR are driven primarily by either performing or belonging tensions, related to exchange‐ and identity‐based stakeholder concerns, respectively. Specifically, contextual and personal influences can trigger and explain undesirable relational outcomes of CSR. On this basis, this paper offers a research agenda for developing a more refined understanding of CSR‐related tensions and a more nuanced perspective on the business case for CSR.
Simple Method for Detection of Clostridium botulinum Type A to F Neurotoxin Genes by Ploymerase Chain Reaction

A polymerase chain reaction (PCR)‐based method was established to detect each type of neurotoxin genes of Clostridium botulinum types A to F by employing the oligonucleotide primer sets corresponding to special regions of the light chains of the neurotoxins. In this procedure, the PCR products were easily confirmed by restriction enzyme digestion profiles, and as little as 2.5 pg of template DNAs from toxigenic strains could be detected. The specific PCR products were obtained from toxigenic C. botulinum types A to F, a type E toxin‐producing C. butyricum strain, and a type F toxin‐producing C. baratii strain, but no PCR product was detected in nontoxigenic strains of C. botulinum and other clostridial species. The neurotoxin genes were also detected in food products of a seasoned dry salmon and a fermented fish (Izushi) which had caused type E outbreaks of botulism. Therefore, it is concluded that this PCR‐based detection method can be used for the rapid diagnosis of botulism.
Morphological Aspects of Oral Denticles in the Sharpnose Shark Rhizoprionodon lalandii (Müller and Henle, 1839) (Elasmobranchii, Carcharhinidae)

The oral denticles of some elasmobranchs are found on the surface of the oral cavity and are homologous to those on the body surface, being well developed, independent and non‐growing, with varying morphology and distribution depending on the species. The structural and three‐dimensional characteristics of oral denticles from the rostro‐ventral surface of the sharpnose shark Rhizoprionodon lalandii were described following imaging by both light and scanning electron microscopy. The light microscopy results showed that the triangular shape of the denticles consisted of a base and an apex. Picrosirius staining showed the arrangement of collagen fibres and oral denticles, and a predominance of type‐I collagen was found in both structures under polarized light. There was a broad homogeneous distribution of denticles on the ventral surface, forming a leaf‐like shape with the cusp facing the caudal region. Interlocking, hexagonal, geometric structures on its rostral side and ridges on the rostral side of the oral denticles were observed under increased magnification. We concluded that the denticle morphology found in R. lalandii differ of others analysed species, and the descriptions of these structures therefore provide important information for the classification of the species. In this species, the main functions can be assigned to help reduce hydrodynamic drag, particularly by this being a species that uses ram ventilation, and to protect the epithelium of the oropharynx of abrasion and parasites.
Loss of Catabolic Function in Streptococcus agalactiae Strains and Its Association with Neonatal Meningitis

ABSTRACT The abilities of 151 Streptococcus agalactiae strains to oxidize 95 carbon sources were studied using the Biolog system. Two populations were constituted: one with a high risk of causing meningitis (HR group; 63 strains), and the other with a lower risk of causing meningitis (LR group; 46 strains). Strains belonging to the HR group were significantly less able to use four carbon sources, i.e., α-d-glucose-1-phosphate, d-ribose, β-methyl-d-glucoside, and d,l-α-glycerol phosphate, than strains from the LR group (P ≤ 0.004). Moreover, strains in the HR group significantly more frequently possessed one of several mobile genetic elements or genome deletions previously shown to be associated with strains responsible for neonatal meningitis than strains in the LR group (P < 0.001). These findings suggest that genetic disruption might have occurred in virulent clones of S. agalactiae. Fifteen biotypes (B1 to B15) were identified from the results of oxidation of the four carbon sources, of which six (B1 to B6) included 92% of the isolates belonging to the HR group. Strains of biotypes B1 to B6 are thus 13 times more likely to be able to invade the central nervous system of neonates than strains of biotypes B7 to B15. In addition, 86% of strains recently associated with neonatal meningitis (42 strains studied) were identified as being of biotypes B1 to B6. Identification of particular S. agalactiae biotypes may therefore be one of the criteria to assist clinicians in assessing the level of risk of neonatal meningitis when a mother and/or her neonate is colonized with S. agalactiae.
Evaluation of cotton stalk hydrolysate for xylitol production

ABSTRACT Cotton stalk is a widely distributed and abundant lignocellulosic waste found in Turkey. Because of its rich xylose content, it can be a promising source for the production of xylitol. Xylitol can be produced by chemical or biotechnological methods. Because the biotechnological method is a simple process with great substrate specificity and low energy requirements, it is more of an economic alternative for the xylitol production. This study aimed to use cotton stalk for the production of xylitol with Candida tropicalis Kuen 1022. For this purpose, the combined effects of different oxygen concentration, inoculum level and substrate concentration were investigated to obtain high xylitol yield and volumetric xylitol production rate. Candida tropicalis Kuen 1022 afforded different concentrations of xylitol depending on xylose concentration, inoculum level, and oxygen concentration. The optimum xylose, yeast concentration, and airflow rate for cotton stalk hydrolysate were found as 10.41 g L−1, 0.99 g L−1, and 1.02 vvm, respectively, and under these conditions, xylitol yield and volumetric xylitol production rate were obtained as 36% and 0.06 g L−1 hr−1, respectively. The results of this study show that cotton stalk can serve as a potential renewable source for the production of xylitol.
Analysis of the Vertical Electromagnetic Bandgap Structures in the Power Distribution Network for the Multi-layer Printed Circuit Board

In this paper, we demonstrate the suppression of the power distribution network (PDN) impedance in multi-layer Printed Circuit Board (PCB) using Electromagnetic Bandgap (EBG) structure. We, first, analyze the resonances for measured PDN impedance from 8-pairs of power/ground planes by correlation to the 2.5-dimensional field simulation results. Then, we demonstrate and discuss the effect of the EBG structures which are vertically located between the power and ground planes to provide the low impedance within the designed stopband. By comparing the measurement result of the test vehicle with vertical EBG structure to that of the test vehicle without vertical EBG structure, it is shown that, within the EBG stopband, from 11 GHz to 21 GHz, the PDN self impedance, Zl1 of the multi-layer power/ground planes is successfully suppressed.
Comparative characterization of the cephamycinase blaCMY-1 gene and its relationship with other beta-lactamase genes

A plasmidic beta-lactamase which hydrolyzed cephamycins was first detected and reported in 1989. At that time its description was restricted to phenotypic characteristics. We analyzed nucleotide sequence of its gene and explored it genetic relationship with other bla genes. The deduced amino acid sequence of the blaCMY-1 product was compared with those of other known plasmidic cephamycinases and of chromosomal AmpC beta-lactamases. The results indicate that the relationship of CMY-1 is closest to MOX-1 among the plasmidic cephamycinases and to AmpC of Pseudomonas aeruginosa among the chromosomal cephalosporinases. We conclude that the plasmidic cephamycinases described up to now may be classified into three families, as follows: CMY-1, MOX-1, and FOX-1 with AmpC of P. aeruginosa; CMY-2, BIL-1 and LAT-1 with AmpC of Citrobacter freundii; and MIR-1 with AmpC of Enterobacter cloacae. Plasmidic cephamycinases are now recognized as clinically relevant class C beta-lactamases.
Perception of English codas in various phonological and morphological contexts by Mandarin learners of English

The present study aims to explore how phonological, morphological and prosodic features of an utterance affect perception of English codas by Mandarin listeners. A phoneme detection task was conducted with the word-final target phoneme /s/ appearing utterance-medially or finally in various phonological (consonant cluster vs. singleton) and morphological (plural morpheme vs. coda of a stem word) contexts. The results indicate that the patterns of second language (L2) perception of /s/ are influenced by the utterance position and phonological complexity of the coda and cannot be explained exclusively by presence or absence of plurality in Mandarin.
Financial Inclusion in Selected Asian Countries: Evidence Using Dynamic Panel Data Analysis

The paper examines the determinants of financial inclusion across 26 Asian countries using GMM dynamic panel data analysis. The GMM dynamic panel estimators utilized are specifically designed to deal with the problems plaguing past studies of determinants of financial inclusion, namely, simultaneity bias and unobserved country specific effects. Our model shows that financial inclusion is significantly and positively related to its lagged value, GDP per capita and mobile infrastructure, and negatively but not significantly related to government borrowing and the percentage of rural population (a proxy for remoteness). The positive relationship between financial inclusion and mobile penetration has important policy implications in supporting technological initiatives to achieve financial inclusion.
Diverging functions among calreticulin isoforms in higher plants

The ER chaperone calreticulin plays vital roles in numerous cellular processes, including Ca2+-homeostasis, apoptosis, and cell adhesion, in animal cells. Although calreticulin has been systematically characterized in animal cells, the focus has been on one of the isoforms. However, recent advances in the plant calreticulin field have revealed functional divergence of calreticulin isoforms. While two of the plant isoforms appear to work within a general ER chaperone framework, the third isoform is associated with folding of receptors for brassinosteroids and bacterial peptides. Hence, the discovery of functional specialization of plant calreticulins opens up new vistas for calreticulins also in the animal field.
Olfactory sensory neuron‐specific and sexually dimorphic expression of protocadherin 20

Olfactory sensory axons navigate from the nasal cavity to the olfactory bulb and sort from among 1,000 different odorant receptor‐expressing types to converge upon the same two or three glomeruli. To achieve this task during development, it is likely that multiple classes of regulatory molecules, including cell adhesion molecules, are involved. Cell adhesion molecules have been shown to be important in controlling axon guidance, fasciculation, and synapse formation. To gain further understanding of the involvement of adhesion molecules in olfactory circuitry development, we examined the dynamic and cell type specific expression of a novel protocadherin, PCDH20, in the olfactory system. PCDH20 is specifically expressed in newly differentiated olfactory sensory neurons and their axons during development. PCDH20 expression is down‐regulated in the adult olfactory system, except in a small olfactory sensory neuron population. These small, discrete numbers of PCDH20‐positive glomeruli in the adult olfactory bulb are consistently clustered in the ventral‐caudal region in both male and female mice. However, adult males have higher numbers of PCDH20‐positive glomeruli with a broader distribution, whereas adult females have fewer PCDH20‐positive glomeruli with a more restricted distribution. The gender difference in PCDH20 expression may reflect olfactory receptor expression differences for gender‐specific social discrimination. J. Comp. Neurol. 507:1076–1086, 2008. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Analyzing the Indirect Production Function for U. S. Manufacturing

In recent years there has been considerable research conducted in applied production economics to estimate the firm's structure of technology and its production characteristics. The main concept used in this research is the duality principle relating production and cost (or profit) together with the use of flexible-form econometric specifications for estimating production technologies. Under the assumption of cost minimization (or proft maximization), duality implies that for any production function, there exists a cost (or profit) function that provides an equivalent description of the technology. What is less well known, however, is that the firm's technology can be equally well described by the indirect production function, a production analog of the indirect utility function in consumer theory [5; 8; 9]. The indirect production function is based on the firm's output maximization subject to a budget constraint on input costs. Of course, it is evident enough that a firm choosing inputs to maximize output for a given input cost produces that output at the minimum cost. By implication, the indirect production and cost functions are equivalent ways of characterizing the firm's technology and, as will be seen, there exists a unique correspondence between the two functions. In empirical application, however, the choice between the two functions hinges on the exogeneity or endogeneity of output. For the indirect production function, the level of output is an endogenous variable. In the case of the cost function, on the other hand, output is exogenously given. In most situations, it is the indirect production function, not the cost function, that is more compatible with observed behavior of firms and industries. While numerous studies have been conducted recently to estimate the cost (or profit) function in a variety of firms and industries [1; 2; 3; 6], no attempts have been made to employ the indirect production function as a working tool in applied production analysis. This paper attempts to provide empirical evidence from analyzing the indirect production function within the context of an application of the duality principle. Using the well known data set utilized by Berndt and Wood [3] and Berndt and Khaled [2], it reexamines the production structure of U.S. manufacturing, based on a translog specification of the indirect production function for the underlying technology. An important question is how the choice of a model-the indirect production or cost function-
Determinants of labour market gender inequalities in Cameroon, Senegal and Mali: the role of human capital and fertility burden

ABSTRACT This study aims to measure the impact of human capital and fertility on labour market inequalities between men and women, in particular regarding access to the highest-paid jobs, in Cameroon, Mali and Senegal. The findings show that women's chances of attaining the top job segment are worse than men's, even with the same education level. Raising a large family (the “fertility burden”) has a direct negative impact in Mali and Senegal, and an indirect negative impact in Cameroon and Senegal, via its interaction with the education levels (the more children a woman has, the lower her marginal return to education).
Discussion of an Experimental Investigation of Auditor-Auditee Interaction Under Ambiguity

Experimental economics studies in auditing typically test for economic forces in multiperson settings and ignore psychological considerations. Behavioral studies in auditing typically test for psychological forces in single-person settings and ignore economic forces. Zimbelman and Waller [1999] (hereafter ZW) manipulate and test for both economic and psychological forces in a multiperson setting. The authors construct an experiment that places auditors in a strategic setting that also subjects them to the psychological force of ambiguity (uncertainty regarding a probability distribution). The auditors respond both to auditees' economic incentives and to ambiguity; auditees also appear to respond to the ambiguity faced by the auditors, although evidence of this effect is weaker. These results show how psychological responses to ambiguity can percolate through a strategic setting, from the auditors (who face ambiguity directly) to the managers (who face the auditors who face ambiguity). The audit setting is a natural one in which to integrate psychological and economic theory. The typical audit environment contains significant ambiguity, and the natural response to such ambiguity (to collect more data than would be predicted by traditional expected-utility theory) has important economic ramifications. The single-person environment of most behavioral studies would fail to capture the complete effects of ambiguity on audit behavior and outcomes, because the likelihood of
Use of the Kullback-Leibler divergence in estimating clutter distributions

This paper investigates the application of the Kullback-Leibler divergence (KLD) to quantify the loss in detection performance associated with misestimating clutter distributions. The problem of detecting targets in long-tailed clutter is presented. The significance of the KLD as an information theoretic measure to enhance the accuracy of threshold setting is discussed. The behaviour of the KLD is shown by comparing K-distributions with different shape parameters, since this distribution is known to be a good fit to clutter, particularly to sea clutter. The KLD is compared with the difference in Probability of False Alarm, threshold and other ad hoc measures of the accuracy of the fit. The KLD is then used to analyse the quality of the fit to the K-distribution of the statistics in different Doppler bins of a coherent sea clutter spectrum. The paper concludes that the KLD is better than the ad-hoc measures for determining the cost of misestimating the distributions, although some ad-hoc measures can give results that are close to it.
Widespread roles of microRNAs during zebrafish development and beyond

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small RNAs that are approximately 22 nucleotides in length. Hundreds of miRNA genes are encoded in the animal genome, and each miRNA potentially regulates tens to hundreds of protein‐coding transcripts post‐transcriptionally. Experimental and bioinformatic approaches have shown widespread regulatory roles for miRNAs in metazoa including roles in cellular homeostasis and human diseases. Since the discoveries of let‐7 and lin‐4 miRNAs as regulators of developmental timing in Caenorhabditis elegans, functions of miRNAs in the context of animal development have been studied in many model organisms. Although miRNAs are essential to achieve complex developmental processes, the vast majority of animal miRNA functions have yet to be determined. The identification of miRNA‐target interactions and the interpretation of their biological significance are often difficult due to the divergent functions of miRNAs in intricate gene regulatory networks. This review summarizes our current knowledge on miRNA functions in vertebrate development by focusing on the progress made in the vertebrate model organism zebrafish (Danio rerio). Studies of miRNA functions in this small teleost highlight several common principles underlying the functions of animal miRNAs.
Permanent Draft Genome Sequence of Frankia sp. Strain ACN1ag, a Nitrogen-Fixing Actinobacterium Isolated from the Root Nodules of Alnus glutinosa

ABSTRACT Frankia strain ACN1ag is a member of Frankia lineage Ia, which are able to re-infect plants of the Betulaceae and Myricaceae families. Here, we report a 7.5-Mbp draft genome sequence with a G+C content of 72.35% and 5,687 candidate protein-encoding genes.
Epithelial Na+ channel subunits in rat taste cells: Localization and regulation by aldosterone

Amiloride‐sensitive Na+ channels play an important role in transducing Na+ salt taste. Previous studies revealed that in rodent taste cells, the channel shares electrophysiological and pharmacological properties with the epithelial Na+ channel, ENaC. Using subunit‐specific antibodies directed against α, β, and γ subunits of rat ENaC (rENaC), we observed cytoplasmic immunoreactivity for all three subunits in nearly all taste cells of fungiform papillae, and in about half of the taste cells in foliate and vallate papillae. The intensity of labeling in cells of vallate papillae was significantly lower than that of fungiform papillae, especially for β and γ subunits. Dual localization experiments showed that immunoreactivity for the taste cell‐specific G protein, gustducin, occurs in a subset of rENaC positive taste cells.