Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The intrinsic rate of natural increase of an insect population

The intrinsic rate of increase is a basic parameter which an ecologist may wish to establish for an insect population. We define it as the rate of increase per head under specified physical conditions, in an unlimited environment where the effects of increasing density do not need to be considered. The growth of such a population is by definition exponential. Many authors, including Malthus and Darwin, have been concerned with this and related concepts, but there has been no general agreement in recent times on definitions. Chapman (I93i) referred to it as 'biotic potential', and although he does state in one place that biotic potential should in some way combine fecundity rate, sex ratio and survival rate, he never precisely defined this expression. Stanley (I 946) discussed a somewhat similar concept which he called the 'environmental index'. This gives a measure of the relative suitability of different environments, but it does not give the actual rate of increase of the insect under these different conditions. An index for the possible rate of increase under different physical conditions would at the same time provide a measure of the relative suitability of different environments. Birch (I 945c) attempted to provide this in an index comnbining the total number of eggs laid, the survival rate of immature stages, the rate of development and the sex ratio. This was done when the author was unaware of the relevance of cognate studies in human demography. A sounder approach to insect populations based on demographic procedures is now suggested in this paper. The development of this branch of population mathematics is principally due to A. J. Lotka. From the point of view of the biologist, convenient summaries of his fundamental contributions to this subject will be found in Lotka (I925, Chapter 9; I939 and I945). A numerical example of the application of Lotka's methods in the case of a human population will be found in Dublin & Lotka (I925). The parameter which Lotka has developed for human populations, and which he has variously called the 'true' or 'inherent' or 'intrinsic' rate of natural increase, has obvious application to populations of animals besides the human species. The first determination of the intrinsic rate of increase of an animal other than man was made by Leslie & Ranson (I940). They calculated the 'true rate of natural increase' of the vole, Microtus agrestis, from agespecific rates of fecundity and mortality determined under laboratory conditions. With the use of matrices Leslie has extended these methods and, as an example, calculated the true rate of natural increase of the brown rat, Rattus norvegicus (Leslie, 1945). The author is much indebted to Mr Leslie for having drawn his attention to the possible application of actuarial procedures to insect populations. He has been completely dependent upon him for the methods of calculation used in this paper. Before proceeding to discuss the reasons for the particular terminology adopted in this paper, it is necessary first to consider the true nature of the parameter with which we are concerned.
DETECTING AND REDUCING VAT FRAUD IN GHANA

ABSTRACT This paper explores the various schemes used by taxable persons and VAT officers to perpetrate frauds that lead to loss of tax revenue and makes recommendations for reducing the opportunities for VAT fraud. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with VAT Administrators and taxable persons to ascertain their views on the common avenues that are used to perpetrate VAT fraud. The paper ascertained that the common means used by taxable persons and tax officers to perpetrate VAT fraud include falsification of records in order to file understated VAT returns, under-invoicing, misclassification of goods, fraudulent collaboration between VAT officers and taxable persons and smuggling. The paper also found out that Ghana Revenue Authority does not have efficient system to detect most of the VAT frauds and that the few defaulters who are caught offer bribes to the Tax inspectors to stop them from reporting them for appropriate penalties to be charged on them. The paper makes recommendations that could be implemented to reduce the incidence of VAT Fraud in Ghana. These include the establishment of tax tribunal to facilitate enforcement of penalties against defaulters; establishment of an efficient verification and audit system, making policy changes to limit cash transactions and establishing efficient border controls to reduce the incidence of under-invoicing and smuggling
Polyhedra Fabrication Through Mesh Convexification: A Study of Foldability of Nearly Convex Shapes

A polyhedron can be unfolded to a net, i.e., an unfolding without overlapping, by carefully cutting along the surface. If the cuts are restricted only on the edges of the polyhedron, where should the cuts be? This is called an edge-unfolding problem, which has been extensively studied in the literature for centuries. Although several promising properties have been discovered, several recent preliminary works show that no valid net exists even for certain simple non-convex polyhedra. Therefore, we propose to convexify the input polyhedron before unfolding. More specifically, we remove local concave surface features via inflation simulation. We then eliminate global concave structure features by segmenting the polyhedron to a small number of part-aware and nearly convex components. Then the net for each nearly convex component can be obtained. We further show that convexified shapes can be continuously folded and can be easily realized by a physical self-folding machine Our experimental results show that the proposed convexification approaches can reduce the computation time by several folds.
Serine 727 phosphorylation of STAT3: An early change in mouse hepatocarcinogenesis induced by neonatal treatment with diethylnitrosamine

STAT3 activation is involved in development and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We investigated STAT3 activation during hepatocarcinogenesis induced by neonatal diethylnitrosamine (DEN) treatment in mice. Nuclear accumulation and phosphorylation of STAT3 were detected in altered hepatocyte foci in the early stages as well as adenomas and HCCs in the late stages. Although total STAT3 levels were the same between the hepatic lesions and normal livers, S727‐phosphorylated STAT3 was enhanced in adenomas and HCCs, whereas Y705‐phosphorylated STAT3 was detected mainly in HCCs. In mouse HCC cell lines, although both S727 and Y705 remained un‐ or hypophosphorylated under serum‐free conditions, fetal bovine serum (FBS) induced strong S727/weak Y705 phosphorylation, STAT3 nuclear accumulation and cell proliferation, whereas IL‐6 treatment without FBS caused Y705 phosphorylation without S727 phosphorylation, STAT3 nuclear accumulation or cell proliferation. When HCCs were simultaneously treated with FBS/IL‐6, selective suppression of S727 phosphorylation by an MEK inhibitor prevented STAT3 nuclear accumulation and cell proliferation. Furthermore, an S727 phosphorylation‐deficient STAT3 mutant (S727A) had a diminished capacity to accumulate in the nucleus when compared with wild‐type (WT) or the phosphorylation‐mimic mutant (S727D) following treatment with FBS/IL‐6. After treatment with FBS/IL‐6, the cells expressing the S727A mutant proliferated more slowly than those expressing WT or S727D mutant. In contrast, suppression of Y705 phosphorylation by a JAK inhibitor in the FBS/IL‐6 treated cells did not affect STAT3 nuclear accumulation or cell proliferation. Taken together, these data demonstrate that STAT3 activation, mainly through S727 phosphorylation, contributes to the DEN‐induced hepatocarcinogenesis at the earliest stages. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Heat conduction in microstructured materials

The phonon Boltzmann equation is solved numerically in order to study the phonon thermal conductivity of micro/nanostructured thin films with open holes in a host material. We focused on the size effect of embedded pores and film thickness on the decrease in thermal conductivity of the film. Simulations have revealed that the temperature profiles in the micro/nanostructured materials are very different from those in their bulk counterparts, due to the ballistic nature of the microscale phonon transport. These simulations clearly demonstrate that the conventional Fourier heat conduction equation cannot be applied to study heat conduction in solids at microscale. The effective thermal conductivity of thin films with micro/nanoholes is calculated from the applied temperature difference and the heat flux. In the present paper, the effective thermal conductivity is shown as a function of the size of the micro/nanoholes and the film thickness. For example, when the size of the hole becomes approximately 1/20th the phonon mean free path in a film, the thickness is 1/10th the mean free path of phonons and the effective thermal conductivity decreases to as low as 6% of the bulk value. The distribution of holes also affects the reduction in the effective thermal conductivity. Thin films embedded with staggered-hole arrays have slightly lower effective thermal conductivities than films with aligned-hole arrays. The cross-sectional area in the thermal transport direction is a significant parameter with respect to the reduction of thermal conductivity. The results of the present study may prove useful in the development of artificial micro/nanostructured materials, including thermoelectrics and low-k dielectrics.
Incidence, treatment, and outcome of recurrent focal segmental glomerulosclerosis posttransplantation in 42 allografts in children--a single-center experience.

Steroid-resistant FSGS and its recurrence posttransplantation are predominantly seen in children. We report on the largest pediatric transplant population for FSGS with similar numbers of azathioprine- and cyclosporine-treated patients analyzed for recurrence. Of 70 patients with idiopathic FSGS identified over the years 1974-1989, 49 progressed to end-stage renal disease and 28 received 42 transplants (17 live-related donors, 25 cadaveric). Seventeen patients each received one transplant, 9 patients each received two transplants, and one patient each received three and four transplants. The mean age at diagnosis of FSGS was 9.1 +/- 4.2 years, the mean duration of FSGS prior to reaching ESRD was 2.2 +/- 1.3 years, and the mean duration on dialysis prior to transplantation was 9.7 +/- 6.3 months. Primary nonfunction was observed in 2 transplants; in the remaining 40 transplants, 6 recurrences were noted (15%). Recurrences were noted in four AZA and prednisone (n = 22) and two CsA and prednisone (n = 18) recipients. Risk factors analyzed for recurrence included race, age at FSGS, histological and clinical severity of FSGS, classification of FSGS, duration of disease, interval on dialysis, multiple transplants, and HLA matching. Only age at onset of FSGS was predictive of recurrence. The incidence of recurrence was higher in children less than or equal to 6 years of age compared with those over 6 years (P less than .05). All 4 patients receiving AZA and prednisone went on to lose their grafts due to recurrence. Recurrent proteinuria in the 2 CsA and prednisone recipients was controlled by gradually increasing the CsA dose from 15 mg/kg/day to 27 and 35 mg/kg/day. Remission of the nephrotic syndrome was induced within 60 days in both patients. Presently, both grafts are functioning 24 and 16 months posttransplant with serum creatinines of 0.9 and 0.5 mg/dl, respectively. We conclude that recurrence is predominantly seen in very young children and occurs even under CsA immunosuppression. High-dose CsA may control the recurrent proteinuria--however, the long-term outcome of such intense therapy is not known.
Three essays on corporate finance

To assess the importance of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in creating value and encouraging cooperative behavior among stakeholders, we examine the valuation effects of merger announcements on acquirers’ various stakeholders and on their behavior in related to proposed merger deals. We find that shareholders, bondholders, suppliers, and major customers of high CSR acquirers as well as target shareholders of these acquirers in stock-swap mergers realize higher merger announcement returns than those of low CSR acquirers. Compared to low CSR acquirers, high CSR acquirers also realize higher announcement returns of the valueweighted portfolio of the acquirer and the target, larger increases in post-merger stock return and operating performance, greater reductions in post-merger cost of capital, and smaller reductions in post-merger number of employees. We also find that mergers by high CSR acquirers take less time to complete, are less likely to fail, and are less likely to be challenged by antitrust authorities than those by low CSR acquirers. These results suggest that CSR benefits both a firm’s shareholders and its other relevant stakeholders and support the stakeholder value maximization view of stakeholder theory.
Direct evidence that p40x of human T‐cell leukemia virus type I is a trans‐acting transcriptional activator.

Human T‐cell leukemia virus type I has a unique sequence, pX, between the env gene and the 3′LTR (long terminal repeat). This sequence codes for p40x, which was proposed to trans‐activate transcription from the LTR. Recently, we identified novel pX proteins coded by frame III, which mostly overlaps frame IV (x‐lor, coding for p40x), in a region also overlapped by frame II. To determine which product is responsible for the trans‐acting function, we constructed an active provirus clone, pMTPX, that contained a genomic fragment of the env, pX and 3′LTR, and introduced site‐directed mutations into the active site. The effects of various deletions and point mutations that distinguished each of the overlapping open reading frames (ORFs), II, III and IV, on trans‐activation of pLTR‐CAT were treated by co‐transfection assays. The results showed that only mutations which affected p40x expression resulted in loss of activity for transcriptional activation. These findings clearly indicate that p40x coded by frame IV is responsible for the transcriptional activation of the LTR. This conclusion was confirmed by studies on expression of cDNA of pX mRNA.
Accuracy of point predictions in survival analysis

Survival time prediction is important in many applications, particularly for patients diagnosed with terminal diseases. A measure of prediction error taken from the medical literature is advocated as a practicable method of quantifying reliability of point predictions. Optimum predictions are derived for familiar survival models and the accuracy of these predictions is investigated. We argue that poor predictive capability is inherent to standard survival models with realistic parameter values. A lung cancer example is used to illustrate difficulties in prediction in practice. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Digital Interpolating Phase Modulator for Wideband Outphasing Transmitters

Radio transmitters are evolving towards digital-intensive solutions to exploit reconfigurability and benefit from CMOS process scaling. Outphasing has been identified as a suitable candidate for digital wideband transmitters. However, with recent digital-intensive outphasing transmitters the achieved performance in terms of adjacent channel leakage ratio (ACLR) has been limited. This paper identifies the sampling images of the modulating phase signal as the main factor limiting the ACLR of digital outphasing transmitters. We present a new digital interpolating phase modulator architecture, capable of providing significantly better sampling image attenuation. When evaluated in outphasing configuration with a 100 MHz OFDM signal at the carrier frequency of 2.46 GHz, and 10-bit phase resolution, the proposed solution achieves an ACLR of -59 dBc, compared to -43 dBc achievable with the phase modulator architecture utilized in state-of-the-art digital outphasing transmitters. The proposed digital interpolating phase modulator is also capable of custom carrier generation, a straightforward method for generating an arbitrary carrier frequency up to 1.25 times the phase modulator sampling rate.
Creating a Positive Attitude towards e-learning at Work Posts

Establishing e-learning in an organization represents a challenge, especially if most members do not have much knowledge about e-learning. The project should be carefully planned and run in order to create a positive attitude towards e-learning. As the objective of e-learning in the workplace is qualifying employees, focus should be made on the learnersâ? satisfaction and learning results. These can be achieved with appropriate use of web 2.0 technologies, usable e-learning system and constructivist approaches in e-learning, where efficient e-course and well-skilled mentors have an important role. This article describes the model of introducing e-learning in an organization, and its realization in praxis.
Anticancer activity of a quercetin-based polymer towards HeLa cancer cells.

BACKGROUND Quercetin is one of the most potent antioxidants showing anti-inflammatory, antiproliferative and antitumoral effects; however its short half-life in buffered solution (e.g. body fluids) has so far hampered its introduction into clinical practice. AIM To overcome this inconvenience, quercetin was covalently conjugated into a polymethacrylic acid backbone and the conjugate was tested on HeLa cancer cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS FT-IR, UV-Vis, Gel Permeation Chromatography analyses and the Folin-Ciocalteu test were performed to characterize the conjugate. Antioxidant properties were assessed by the DPPH test and the viability experiments by trypan blue exclusion assay. RESULTS The conjugate showed a functionalization degree of 2.01 mg of Q per g, an IC(50) of 2.62 mg ml(-1) in the DPPH assay and was able to induce a 90% cell death after one day treatment, while the value for free Quercetin was 40% after three days. CONCLUSION Polymer conjugation significantly increases quercetin stability, leading to a sustained activity of the flavonoid.
Do patients with chronic pain show autonomic arousal when confronted with feared movements? An experimental investigation of the fear–avoidance model

Abstract The relevance of a phobia-based conceptualization of fear for individuals with chronic pain has been much debated in the literature. This study investigated whether patients with highly fearful chronic low back pain show distinct physiological reaction patterns compared with less fearful patients when anticipating aversive back pain-related movements. We used an idiosyncratic fear induction paradigm and collected 2 different measures of autonomic nervous system activation and muscle tension in the lower back. We identified 2 distinct psychophysiological response patterns. One pattern was characterized by a moderate increase in skin conductance, interbeat interval (IBI) increase, and muscle tension increase in the lower back. This response was interpreted as an attention reaction to a moderately stressful event. The other pattern, found in 58% of the participants, was characterized by a higher skin conductance response, IBI decrease, and muscle tension increase in the lower back. According to Bradley and Lang defense cascade model, this response is typical of a fear reaction. Participants showing the psychophysiological pattern typical of fear also had elevated scores on some self-report measures of components of the fear–avoidance model, relative to participants showing the reaction pattern characteristic of attention. This study is the first to provide psychophysiological evidence for the fear–avoidance model of chronic pain.
Sample length affects the reliability of language sample measures in 3-year-olds: evidence from parent-elicited conversational samples.

PURPOSE The goal of this study was to investigate the extent to which sample length affected the reliability of total number of words (TNW), number of different words (NDW), and mean length of C-units in morphemes (MLCUm) in parent-elicited conversational samples for 3-year-olds. METHOD Participants were sixty 3-year-olds. A 22-min language sample was collected from each child during free play with the parent in the laboratory. Samples of 1, 3, 7, and 10 min were extracted from the 22-min samples. TNW, NDW, and MLCUm were computed from each shorter sample and the 22-min sample. TNW and NDW were adjusted by number of minutes for comparisons. The differences and correlations between each shorter sample cut and the 22-min sample on MLCUm and adjusted TNW and NDW were computed. RESULTS The shorter samples and the 22-min samples significantly differed in adjusted TNW and NDW, but not in MLCUm. TNW reached an acceptable reliability level (i.e., r = .90) in 7-min samples. NDW and MLCUm approached the acceptable reliability level (rs = .88) in 7-min samples and reached it in 10-min samples. CONCLUSION For conversational language samples with similar collection procedures, samples of 7 to 10 min are desirable for calculating TNW, NDW, and MLCUm in 3-year-olds.
Stabilization of a power system with a distributed generator by a Virtual Synchronous Generator function

The power capacity of distributed generators such as photovoltaic and wind turbine is growing, many of distributed generators are connected to a grid by inverters. The inverters are controlled by a PLL (Phase Locked Loop) in order to be synchronized with power system frequency. Power system will become unstable, if the capacity of inverter-connected-type distributed generators becomes larger and larger, because inverter frequency is controlled to follow the grid frequency. The concept of “Virtual Synchronous Generator” (VSG), which is to control inverters to behave like a synchronous generator, has been proposed. VSG has virtual inertia which is realized by an energy storage device to pretend rotor's inertia. In this paper, the control scheme of VSG is investigated which is based on the swing equation of a synchronous generator. Numerical simulation results show both ride-through capability of voltage dip and enhancement ability of grid stability.
Strategy, Planning and Innovation in SMEs: Drivers of Growth and Performance

Small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) comprise the majority of firms in most economies and have been recognised as important sources of innovation. Yet, theory on how leaders of entrepreneurial firms manage growth is lacking. This paper contributes to this gap using a strategy framework for small firms developed by Mazzarol (2005) to evaluate five case studies of entrepreneurial SMEs. The analysis includes entrepreneurship (as measured by the firm’s leaders), innovation, strategic networking, the product-market growth vector, opportunity recognition, and management of the strategic triangle (strategy, structure, resources). Findings include insights on the role of entrepreneurial leaders including willingness to embrace innovation, take calculated risks and leverage their strategic networks to follow a growth strategy best described as emergent rather than deliberate in nature. The importance of being able to successfully match product to customer needs, and manage limited resources to exploit opportunities was demonstrated.
Decentralized Fuzzy Hinfty Filtering for Nonlinear Interconnected Systems With Multiple Time Delays

In general, due to the interaction among subsystems, it is difficult to design an Hinfinity filter for nonlinear interconnected systems. This paper introduces a decentralized Hinfinity fuzzy filter design for nonlinear interconnected systems with multiple time delays via T-S fuzzy models. The T-S fuzzy model consists of N time-delay T-S fuzzy subsystems. The decentralized Hinfinity filter is designed based on this model, which the asymptotic stability and a prescribed Hinfinity performance index are guaranteed for the overall filtering error system. A sufficient condition for the existence of such a filter is established by using linear matrix inequalities that are numerically feasible. A simulation example is given to show the effectiveness of this approach.