Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hairy Woodpecker Winter Ecology in Ponderosa Pine Forests Representing Different Ages Since Wildfire

Abstract We investigated how changes in vegetation structure and prey resources following wildfire affected the winter ecology of hairy woodpeckers (Picoides villosus) in ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forests of northern Arizona, USA. Using point-counts, radiotelemetry, and focal bird observation, we assessed the relative abundance, home range size and composition, and habitat use by foraging hairy woodpeckers in 3 stands that had experienced wildfire in 1996, 2000, or 2002. Because we conducted the study over 2 years, we used the 1996 fire to represent 6 and 7 years after fire, while we used the 2000 fire to represent 2 and 3 years after fire in a space-for-time substitution chronosequence analysis. We also assessed bark beetle and woodborer density by x-raying bark samples collected from a subset of trees within burned areas. We detected significantly greater hairy woodpecker relative abundance in burned forests representing 1 and 2 years after fire, and bark beetle and woodborer density was highest in these stands as well. Woodpecker home range size increased across stands representing increasing time since fire. Within a burn, hairy woodpeckers used high-severity burned areas more than moderate-severity burned areas representing 2 and 3 years after fire, but not in areas representing 6 and 7 years after fire. Bark beetle and woodborer densities were also higher in high-severity burned stands representing 2 and 3 years after fire. Hairy woodpeckers used edges of high-severity burned areas more than the interior. We hypothesize that an initial increase in bark beetle and woodborer density following fire allowed for higher woodpecker abundance and smaller home ranges, but as burned forests aged, bark beetle and woodborer density within trees decreased, killed trees fell, and, in response, hairy woodpecker relative abundance decreased and home range size increased. These patterns suggest that high-severity burned areas provide important but ephemeral resources to this dominant primary cavity-nester. The higher bark beetle and woodborer densities and greater use of edges of high-severity burned areas by woodpeckers suggests that salvage logging of these areas could remove potential prey and preferred foraging areas for hairy woodpeckers, especially when trees are removed along severely burned edges.
Identifying the Field of Health Communication

This empirical investigation addresses four paradigmatically framed research questions to illuminate the epistemological status of the field of health communication, systematically addressing the limitations of existing disciplinary introspections. A content analysis of published health communication research indicated that the millennium marked a new stage of health communication research with a visible shift onto macro-level communication of health information among nonhealth professionals. The analysis also revealed the emergence of a paradigm around this particular topic area, with its contributing scholars predominantly sharing postpositivistic thought traditions and cross-sectional survey-analytic methodologies. More interdisciplinary collaborations and meta-theoretical assessments are needed to facilitate a continued growth of this evolving paradigm, which may advance health communication scholars in their search for a disciplinary identity.
Marketing strategies used in crisis - study case

The economic and financial crisis affected all the economic sectors, spreading all over the world. The retail sector had to adapt to their customers ´preferences and needs, which according to Ang, Leong & Kotler (2000) change in times of financial crisis. The purpose of this paper was to examine how Romanian retailers adapt their marketing strategies to the changing consumer buying behavior during the financial crisis.A qualitative method was chosen for this research, and the empirical data was gathered from two companies in the Romanian retail sector: Real Hypermarket and Carrefour. Primary data was collected through annual information from their websites, annual reports and different articles. Both companies observed some changes in the behavior and preferences of their customers, so they implemented some marketing strategies during the crisis. The research is useful for companies being in a similar situation, in order to see how the crisis can be managed.
Crowdfunding: Fleecing the American Masses

As our economy continues to sputter along like a beat-up station wagon, politicians in Washington are searching for new ways to boost its prospects. Many, including President Barack Obama, are looking to spur small business growth as a solution to our economic woes. However, such growth is stymied by the lack of capital available to small businesses. As Representative McHenry stated, “lending to job creators and entrepreneurs remains dismal, [and] we must find new and modern means for capital formation to ignite our sputtering economy. ” Such “ignition” will come from crowdfunding, or at least politicians seem to think so. Crowdfunding is a means of capital formation that connects entrepreneurs with investors over the Internet. Entrepreneurs can post their business plans on crowdfunding websites, and anybody connected to the Internet can contribute, or invest, in these companies. However, there is catch; investors are limited in the types of returns they can receive from their capital contributions. Currently, investors cannot receive any form of security, because “crowdfunding does not mesh with federal securities regulation[s]. ” The Securities Act of 1933 makes it illegal to offer or sell any security unless the issuer has complied with the registration requirements under section 5 of the Act or has met a registration exemption. “Entrepreneurs seeking debt or equity financing through crowdfunding will often be selling [unregistered] securities,” as compliance with the registration process is too expensive for most entrepreneurs and the Act’s exemptions do not fit with the crowdfunding model. As such, there is a tremendous push in Washington to create a new exemption for securities issued through crowdfunding. Unfortunately, the movement to exempt crowdfunded securities overlooks the devastating consequences of such an exemption. This article discusses why securities offerings using crowdfunding should not be exempted from the registration requirements of the federal securities laws. First, the article introduces the concept of crowdfunding and the five different categories of crowdfunding. Then it discusses the registration requirements under the Securities Act of 1933, why registration is not feasible for most crowdfunded ventures, and the conflicts between crowdfunding and the current registration exemptions. Finally, the article discusses why crowdfunding should not be exempted from the registration requirements, specifically focusing on how such an exemption would severely weaken investor protections and open the door for fraud to permeate the market.
A novel triple immunoenzyme staining enables simultaneous identification of all muscle fiber types on a single skeletal muscle cryosection from normal, denervated or reinnervated rats

Triple immunofluorescence staining has recently been developed to simultaneously identify all muscle fibers on a single cryosection which is helpful for clinical and basic research, but it has disadvantages such as fast photobleaching and unclear outlines of muscle fibers. Triple immunoenzyme staining (TIE) is likely to avoid these disadvantages. In this study, we aimed to establish a sensitive and specific TIE technique to identify fiber types in normal, denervated, and reinnervated rat muscles, and to develop a systematic sampling method for muscle fiber quantification. Tibialis anterior and soleus from normal, denervated, and reinnervated Lewis rat hind limbs were used. Five consecutive cryosections were cut from each muscle, including one for TIE and four for single immunoenzyme staining (SIE). The TIE was performed using the polymerized reporter enzyme staining system for the first two antigens (A4.74 for MyHC-IIA, BA-F8 for MyHC-I) and alkaline phosphatase staining system for the third antigen (BF-F3 for MyHC-IIB), followed by corresponding detective systems and respective chromogens. The type of muscle fibers was quantified by systematic sampling at 12.5%, 25%, 33% and 50% of all muscle fibers, and was compared with that acquired from counting all the fibers (100%). All muscle fiber phenotypes, including pure and hybrid, could be simultaneously identified on a single TIE cryosection with clear outlines. The fiber types on TIE slides matched well with their respective counterpart on the consecutive SIE slides with a 95% match rate. Systematic sampling of 12.5% fibers could represent the true fiber type distribution of the entire muscle section. Our results suggest that novel TIE can effectively visualize fiber types in normal, denervated or reinnervated rat muscles.
Essential Role of the Zinc Finger Transcription Factor Casz1 for Mammalian Cardiac Morphogenesis and Development*

Background: The CASZ1 (castor zinc finger 1) gene localizes to chromosome 1p36, and 1p36 deletion syndrome is related to congenital heart disease (CHD). Results: Casz1 knock-out mice exhibited abnormal heart development and phenocopies aspects of 1p36 deletion syndrome related CHD. Conclusion: CASZ1 is critical for mammalian heart development. Significance: CASZ1 may be a novel CHD gene, and this finding opens new avenues for human heart disease diagnosis and treatment. Chromosome 1p36 deletion syndrome is one of the most common terminal deletions observed in humans and is related to congenital heart disease (CHD). However, the 1p36 genes that contribute to heart disease have not been clearly delineated. Human CASZ1 gene localizes to 1p36 and encodes a zinc finger transcription factor. Casz1 is required for Xenopus heart ventral midline progenitor cell differentiation. Whether Casz1 plays a role during mammalian heart development is unknown. Our aim is to determine 1p36 gene CASZ1 function at regulating heart development in mammals. We generated a Casz1 knock-out mouse using Casz1-trapped embryonic stem cells. Casz1 deletion in mice resulted in abnormal heart development including hypoplasia of myocardium, ventricular septal defect, and disorganized morphology. Hypoplasia of myocardium was caused by decreased cardiomyocyte proliferation. Comparative genome-wide RNA transcriptome analysis of Casz1 depleted embryonic hearts identifies abnormal expression of genes that are critical for muscular system development and function, such as muscle contraction genes TNNI2, TNNT1, and CKM; contractile fiber gene ACTA1; and cardiac arrhythmia associated ion channel coding genes ABCC9 and CACNA1D. The transcriptional regulation of some of these genes by Casz1 was also found in cellular models. Our results showed that loss of Casz1 during mouse development led to heart defect including cardiac noncompaction and ventricular septal defect, which phenocopies 1p36 deletion syndrome related CHD. This suggests that CASZ1 is a novel 1p36 CHD gene and that the abnormal expression of cardiac morphogenesis and contraction genes induced by loss of Casz1 contributes to the heart defect.
A conceptual framework of serious games for higher education: Conceptual framework of the game INNOV8 to train students in business process modelling

Educational computer games also known as serious games are a new method to teach students. Serious games are considered to be motivation in themselves especially for younger people and seem to be a suitable method to teach students in higher education. The authors of this paper present a conceptual framework of the computer game Innov8 — a business process modelling game to learn the notation BPMN and also how to model business processes. The purpose of the proposed framework is to measure the effectiveness of some aspects of the learning subject business process modelling. Therefore the authors describe the classification of serious games and give a summary about conducted studies in this area of research. After that they describe the framework itself. The paper concludes with a description of further steps of research in the context of a computer course at university.
A Physiological Evaluation of Immersive Experience of a View Control Method using Eyelid EMG

This paper describes that the number of blood-volume pulses (BVP) and the level of skin conductance (SC) increased more with increasing immersive impression with a view control method using eyelid electromyography in virtual environment (VE) than those with a mouse control method. We have developed the view control method and the visual feedback associated with electromyography (EMG) signals of movements of user’s eyelids. The method provides a user with more immersive experiences in a virtual environment because of strong relationship between eyelid movement and visual feedback. This paper reports a physiological evaluation experiment to compare it with a common mouse input method by measuring subjects’ physiological data of their fear of an open high place in a virtual environment. Based on the results, we find the eyelid-movement input method improves the user’s immersive impression more significantly than the mouse input method.
Asbestos-related diseases.

Asbestosis is defined as diffused interstitial fibrosis of the lung, as a consequence of exposure to asbestos fibres, often associated with pleural plaques. Diagnosis of asbestosis, according to the American Thoracic Society (2004) is based on the following criteria: 1. hystopathological or imaging demonstration of structural alterations compatible with asbestos-related disease; 2. previous asbestos exposure demonstrated by occupational or environmental anamnestic data, or by specific markers like pleural plaques or thickenings; 3. exclusion of other causes; 4. documented impairment of lung function. In some cases, moderate fibrosis can be present together with major respiratory impairment. Some cohort studies have shown asbestosis to be the cause of 12-20% of observed deaths, or even more (Lemen, 2005).
II. Survey Quality

In mono-cultural surveys, assessing the quality of survey data requires adequate documentation of the entire survey lifecycle and an understanding of protocols used to assure quality. In such surveys, there may be challenges to overcoming methodological, organizational, and operational barriers to ensuring quality. For example, a country may not have the infrastructure or an organization may not have the means to implement a study entirely according to survey best practices.
An 80 MHz 80 mW 8 b CMOS folding A/D converter with distributed T/H preprocessing

Successful implementation of folding and interpolation techniques in high-speed A/D converters has been demonstrated in both bipolar and, more recently, CMOS technology. The folding architecture can be considered as a time-continuous two-step architecture. This means that a sample-and-hold amplifier is not necessary in this type of A/D converter. However, due to the folding operation, the internal frequency in the analog folding preprocessing will be a multiple of the input signal frequency. The result is a limited analog input signal frequency, less than full flash A/D converters achieve. This paper describes an A/D converter architecture in 0.5 /spl mu/m CMOS technology, incorporating a distributed track-and-hold (T/H) operation in the analog folding preprocessing, overcoming the previously-mentioned limitation, Maximum clock frequency is 80 MHz at a power dissipation of 80 mW from a 3.3 V supply voltage. The analog preprocessing reduces the requirements for the differential T/H amplifiers equal to the number of reference operations compared to a single T/H amplifier in front of the A/D converter.
Corruption Risk in the Defence Industry: Drivers and Stock Market Effects

Anecdotal evidence indicates that corruption is rampant in the defence sector globally. Using a unique database on firm level corruption risk in the defence industry, we examine the drivers. Our empirical results indicate that at the firm level, factors such as visibility, governance and shareholding play a significant role in affecting a firm’s corruption risk. These results hold even after controlling for country level drivers such as institutional quality, cultural and economic factors. The results of our study also show that the disclosure of corruption risk is associated with the mitigation of information asymmetry and consequent increase in firm level market liquidity.
Operation of a Stark decelerator with optimum acceptance

With a Stark decelerator, beams of neutral polar molecules can be accelerated, guided at a constant velocity, or decelerated. The effectiveness of this process is determined by the six-dimensional 6D volume in phase space from which molecules are accepted by the Stark decelerator. Couplings between the longitudinal and transverse motion of the molecules in the decelerator can reduce this acceptance. These couplings are nearly absent when the decelerator operates such that only every third electric-field stage is used for deceleration, while extra transverse focusing is provided by the intermediate stages. For many applications, the acceptance of a Stark decelerator in this so-called s=3 mode significantly exceeds that of a decelerator in the conventionally used s=1 mode. This has been experimentally verified by passing a beam of OH radicals through a 2.6-m-long Stark decelerator. The experiments are in quantitative agreement with the results of trajectory calculations, and can qualitatively be explained with a simple model for the 6D acceptance. These results imply that the 6D acceptance of a Stark decelerator in the s=3 mode of operation approaches the optimum value, i.e., the value that is obtained when any couplings are neglected.
No . 7 F TIME-COURSE OF RELEASE OF CATECHOLAMINES FROM INDIVIDUAL VESICLES DURING EXOCYTOSIS AT ADRENAL MEDULLARY CELLS

The time codrse of extrusion of the vesicular contents during exocytosis has been examined at adrenal medullary cells with carbon-fiber microelectrodes. Two electrochemical techniques were employed: cyclic voltammetry and amperometry. Spikes obtained by amperometry had a faster time course than those measured by cyclic voltammetry, consistent with the different concentration profiles established by each technique. However, the experimental data obtained with both techniques were temporally broadened with respect to dispersion of an instantaneous point-source by diffusion. Measurements with the electrode firmly pressed against the cell surface established that the temporal broadening is a result of a rate-limiting kinetic step associated with extrusion of the vesicular contents at the cell surface. The data do not support a rate-limiting process due to restricted efflux from a small pore. When combined with previous results, the data suggest that the rate-limiting step for chemical secretion from adrenal medullary cells during exocytosis is the dissociation of catecholamines from the vesicular matrix at the surface of the cell.
Unsupervised Text Annotation

We introduce the unsupervised text annotation model UTA, which iteratively populates a document-specific database containing the related symbolic content description. The model identifies the most related documents using the text of documents and the symbolic content description. UTA extends the database of one document with data from related documents without ignoring the precision.
PROSPECTS OF IMPROVING THE COMPETITIVENESS OF SERBIAN AGRICULTURE IN (RE)INDUSTRIALIZATION PROCESS

Competitiveness in the international business environment is a key instrument of success and evaluation of created value of all participants in the value chain. It can be assessed using a variety of indicators, taking into account many factors affecting its complex structure. Hence, it is a framework affirming the competitive advantages/disadvantages on the macro and micro-level as well as on the level of companies and their product offer. Competitiveness can be analyzed at the levels of national economy, industrial sectors, as well as individual products level. The most common approach to the comparison of achieved competitiveness level relates to product costs and/or market price compared to quality (value) aspects of the product/service. Prices and the quality of inputs feature as the starting points for competitiveness of the national economy. Efficiency of operations recognizes the impact of all inputs, especially those whose relative share in the total production cost is high. In contrast to the highly automated production processes, agriculture remains a labour-intensive activity, despite the increase in the level of automation. It is an exception compared to other industries due to the high impact of the effects of climate and other natural factors productivity. At the same time, agriculture is a very important economic and social field of activity, and different concepts of macroeconomic measures are developed in different national economies to stimulate the balanced regional development of agricultural production. Macroeconomic factors that determine overall business environment for the development and competitiveness of agriculture have a very high level of impact on the competitiveness of agricultural products in the Republic of Serbia.
Ship Recognition Based on Improved Forwards-Backwards Algorithm

Classical Forwards-Backwards (FB) algorithm can only be used to compute the input evidences with a single state. In order to break through its limitation, we presented a kind of improved FB algorithm to compute evidences with a single or more states, which generalized classical FB algorithm. First, we deduced the improved FB algorithm, then constructed fuzzy discrete dynamic Bayesian network model for ship recognition. This algorithm is very useful for effectively combining feature information to infer the type of the target accurately, which is proved by the simulation results. In addition, we can use the improved forwards algorithm to perform online reference, and the improved FB algorithm to perform offline reference and analysis, the accuracy of the target recognition can be ensured.
Ownership Structure and Growth Opportunities as Determinants of Bank Debt: Evidence from Chilean Companies

Our aim is to analyze the type of lender and the debt maturity of Chilean firms as a function of their ownership structure and their growth opportunities. We perform the empirical analysis using an unbalanced panel data of 169 firms from 1990 to 2001. Our results show that Chilean firms with growth opportunities, ownership concentration, and a need for external funds issue short‐term bank debt to finance their new investments. This financing source is an efficient mechanism in Chile to alleviate agency and asymmetric information problems. The Chilean institutional environment influences firms’ decisions on banking debt.
The impact of advertising, trustworthiness, and valence on the effectiveness of blogs

Blogs have seen explosive growth over the last five years. Given this growth, it is important for marketers to understand how they can effectively use blogs to reach their target audiences. We examine the impact of the presence of advertising, blogger trustworthiness, and message valence on the effectiveness of blogs. Our research demonstrates that the effectiveness of a blog is higher when the blogger is perceived to be trustworthy, while the presence of advertising on a blog decreases its effectiveness. Our research also suggests that negative blog posts with no advertisements will be more effective than any other type of blog. Although blogs are a new and unique medium for marketers, our research suggests that the fundamental theories developed in marketing apply to this medium as well. In the absence of blog specific research, marketing managers may be able to extend their current knowledge of the effectiveness of traditional media to blogs as well.