Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A novel indirect sweet defence in Brassicaceae: Structure and function of extrafloral nectaries in Brassica juncea

While nectaries are commonly found in flowers, some plants also form extrafloral nectaries on stems or leaves. Here we report, for the first time in the family Brassicaceae, extrafloral nectaries in Brassica juncea . The extrafloral nectar (EFN) was secreted from previously amorphic sites on stems, flowering stalks and leaf axils from the onset of flowering until silique formation. Transverse sections at the point of nectar secretion revealed a pocket-like structure whose opening was surrounded by modified stomatal guard cells. The EFN droplets were viscous and up to 50% of the total weight was sugars, 97% of which was sucrose in the five varieties of B. juncea examined. Threonine, glutamine, arginine and glutamate were the most abundant amino acids. EFN droplets also contained glucosinolates, mainly gluconapin and sinigrin. Nectar secretion was increased when the plants were damaged by chewing above-and belowground herbivores and sap-sucking aphids. Parasitoids of each herbivore species were tested for their preference, of which three parasitoids preferred EFN and sucrose solutions over water. Moreover, the survival and fecundity of parasitoids were positively affected by feeding on EFN. We conclude that EFN production in B. juncea may contribute to the indirect defence of this plant species.
All-optical logic gates using semiconductor optical amplifier based devices and their applications

By using two main e? ects of cross-gain modulation and cross-phase modulation in semiconductor optical ampli? er-based devices, many logic functions of logic AND, OR, XOR, NOR and XNOR are successfully demonstrated. Also, complex systems including all-optical half and full adders in a combination of m.
Active Control for an Offshore Crane Using Prediction of the Vessel’s Motion

During offshore installations in harsh sea conditions, the involved crane system must satisfy rigorous requirements in terms of safety and efficiency. The forces resulting from the vertical motion of the vessel have an extensive effect on the overall crane structure and its lifetime. Moreover, vessel motion handicaps the operator during fine positioning of the payload. Hence, an active compensation system for the vertical vessel motion is proposed. An important point to consider for such systems is the time delay between the sensors and actuators, which diminishes performance. To compensate the dead times in the system, a prediction algorithm for the vertical motion of the vessel is proposed in the first part. In the second part, an inversion-based control strategy for the hydraulic-driven winch is formulated that considers the dynamic behavior of the drive system. A feedforward controller compensates the vertical-motion disturbance using the predicted motion. The proposed controller together with the prediction algorithm decouple the motion of the rope-suspended payload from the vessel's motion. The active compensation approach is evaluated with simulation and measurement results.
On Option Pricing Bounds

The purpose of this article is to compare the Perrakis and Ryan bounds of option prices in a single-period model with option bounds derived using linear programming. It is shown that the upper bounds are identical but that the lower bounds are different. A comparison of these bounds, together with Merton's bounds and the Black-Scholes prices in a lognormal securities market, is presented. THE BLACK-SCHOLES [1] OPTION pricing model is preference-free. Its simplicity derives from the continuous-trading assumption which enables a portfolio of stock and bonds to be constructed so as to replicate the payouts of the option. In an incomplete market with only finite opportunities to revise portfolios, no preference-free option price can be constructed [3, 6]. For this case, preferencedependent prices can be established. Rather than place restrictive assumptions on preferences, Perrakis and Ryan (PR) [5] have recently derived upper and lower bounds for a single- (and multiple-) period call option price. The development of these bounds is based on the single price law and arbitrage arguments and requires modest assumptions on preferences. The bounds exist as equilibrium values given a consensus on stock price distributions. In this article, we shall develop bounds for option prices based on primitive prices in incomplete markets and compare these bounds to the single-period bounds derived by Perrakis and Ryan. Towards this goal, we first review the pricing approach for primitive securities and proceed to re-express the PR bounds as derived from their arbitrage portfolios. Then, using linear programming, bounds on option prices are derived. Linear programming approaches for obtaining relationships among option prices have been investigated. Garman [2], for example, established an algebra for evaluating hedge portfolios. Using this algebra, a one-period linear program can be established that provides a way to search for arbitrage opportunities over an infinite number of portfolio strategies. One of the features of the algebra is that only one linear program need be solved to determine if riskless arbitrage strategies can be established. By investigating the dual of the linear program, Garman obtained necessary and sufficient conditions for rational option pricing in a one-period setting. These bounds were shown to be consistent with the bounds determined by Merton [4]. Unlike Garman's approach, the linear programming approach presented here places constraints on time preferences, risk aversion, and state probabilities. Under specific sets of assumptions, linear programs are formulated where the objective function to be optimized is the call price. Minimization and maximi
Accounting research in Italy: second half of the 20th century

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to offer a concise survey and comparison of Italian accounting research and academic publications during the second half of the 20th century. Design/methodology/approach - The paper discusses the special relation between Findings - The paper reveals the changing international position of Italian accounting research. Research limitations/implications - The paper is limited by selecting the most prominent and relevant contributions among a host of pertinent publications. Originality/value - In contrast to previous research, the paper offers an integrated survey of major Italian accounting publications of the entire second half of the 20th century.
The changing role of staff development for teachers and trainers in vocational education and training

This study explored the changing role of staff development for vocational education and training (VET) teachers and trainers in Australian public and private registered training organisations. Substantial reforms in the VET sector over the past decade have had considerable impact on the work of teachers and trainers. In this context of rapid change, the nature, direction, delivery, access and funding responsibility of staff development are undergoing transformation. The purpose of this research, therefore, was to examine current staff development provision, research a range of issues relating to the staff development of VET teachers and trainers, and make recommendations in the light of the new education and training environment.
Hypertext for Information Management

The majority of hypertext consists of blocks of text through which the reader can browse using either links created by an author or by searching for key words (McKnight, Dillon and Richardson, 199 1). Individually authored links can work well if the document is small and well structured, such as a software help system, but for a large and continually changing body of data the resources to create the links manually would be prohibitive, and although a keyword search will produce the desired information. it will be hidden in a mass of related but unwanted text.
China's Penetration of the Korean Market: Stylized Facts and Welfare Effect

China's penetration of the world market has been impressive. This paper uses highly disaggregated Korean import data (from 1992 to 2008) to examine China's penetration of the Korean market in the context of the composition of value (the extensive and intensive margins) and the product type (homogeneous and differentiated) in trade. The increase in Chinese imports has been attributed to the rapid increase in the import of new products (the extensive margin) and of existing products (the intensive margin). However, the growth rate of new products decelerated in the 2000s. The growth in the intensive margin was due to quantity, not price. Chinese imports to Korea did not improve over the period in terms of quality. Although Chinese products became cheaper, they were more differentiated over time. Welfare gains were realized through the expanded introduction of new products from China. However, much of the gains from Korea's Chinese product import boom were realized in earlier years (1992–2000) because even though imported products became more differentiated, the increase in the extensive margin was lower in more recent years (2001–2008).
The perils of Alzheimer's drug development.

The present commentary is based on the thoughtful commentary by Becker and Greig (2008) in the August issue of Current Alzheimer Research, who describe a broken Alzheimer's disease drug development system. Their theme is that it is not the drugs that fail clinical trials but potentially sponsors and investigators who fail the drugs. They argue that “many current problems encountered in Alzheimer's disease drug development can be avoided by changing practices associated with drug development. ” According to the authors, we fail to give candidate drugs a fair shake by not finding the right dose, not evaluating patients properly, not using quality controls over our data, not effectively modeling the disease, and not using effective research designs. They say sponsors and investigators fail drugs every which way. It is hard to argue that mistakes are uncommon in AD drug development and easy for us to cherry pick and choose favorite miscues. Becker and Greig with the help of a colleague at the investment firm Rodman and Renshaw identified 100 failed AD drug programs within which according to their analysis 30 compounds possibly showing initial efficacy failed in phase 3. They imply that some of these compounds could possibly have succeeded in phase 3 and been marketed. Given the various errors in development they express concerns that we can not know with adequate certainty whether drugs are failing or investigators are failing drugs. This broad indictment is hard to counter because there are examples for the truth of every point Becker and Greig raise. One or another drug development program has fallen short on one or more of the authors’ critical points (Schneider 2008a). In particular, they example the development programs for two drugs - metrifonate and phenserine – that they knew well as researchers, consultants or original inventors. Metrifonate was developed by the large pharmaceutical company Bayer, and phenserine by a defunct boutique biotech, Axonyx.
Estimation of the molecular weights of proteins by Sephadex gel-filtration.

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Profiting from evidence‐based management

Purpose – This article advocates for evidenced‐based management and aims to demonstrate how it works.Design/methodology/approach – The article identifies seven implementation principles to help people and companies that are committed to doing what it takes to profit from evidence‐based management.Findings – The seven principles are: treat your organization as an unfinished prototype; no brag, just facts; see yourself and your organization as outsiders do; evidence‐based management is not just for senior executives; like everything else, you still need to sell evidenced‐based management; if all else fails, slow the spread of bad practices; and the best diagnostic question: what happens when people fail? Research limitations/implications – A follow‐up article needs to show results when firms institute evidence‐based management.Practical implications – A key underpinning of evidence‐based management are three truths: that most so‐called breakthrough ideas are either old, wrong, or both; that effective compani.
Managing Returns in E-Business

ABSTRACT This paper is a discussion of managing returned goods in e-business. After a discussion of literature on reverse logistics management issues it discusses some preliminary findings of a research project undertaken with the Australian e-business organisations. Research findings discussed in this paper indicate that a good return management process supports customer relationship management and enables capturing value by reselling, and redistributing returned products. It also highlights that effectively managing returns in e-business allows recapturing value from products. It is concluded from this research that reverse logistics is an important business process in e-business.
Phase I study of stealth liposomal doxorubicin in combination with gemcitabine in the treatment of patients with metastatic breast cancer.

PURPOSE We conducted a single-institution phase I clinical trial to determine the maximum-tolerated dose (MTD) and define the toxic effects of stealth liposomal doxorubicin in combination with gemcitabine in patients with metastatic breast cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS Patients were eligible if they had disease progression with no limit on prior number of chemotherapy regimens. Prior treatment with liposomal doxorubicin and/or gemcitabine was not allowed. The starting dose of liposomal doxorubicin was 20 mg/m(2) on day 1 only with a 20% dose escalation of the previous mg/m(2) dose until MTD was reached. Gemcitabine was given as a fixed dose of 800 mg/m(2) on days 1 and 8 every 3 weeks. RESULTS We treated 27 patients of whom six had never received chemotherapy for their disease. Most had had visceral involvement as their dominant site of disease. The dose-limiting toxicity was myelosuppression, which included neutropenia and thrombocytopenia. However, neither neutropenic fever nor episodes of bleeding were major occurrences. Significant antitumor activity was also observed with a total of two complete and seven partial responses. The recommended phase II dose is liposomal doxorubicin 24 mg/m(2) on day 1 and gemcitabine 800 mg/m(2) on days 1 and 8 every 21 days. CONCLUSION The combination of liposomal doxorubicin and gemcitabine is an active and well tolerated regimen when administered on a 21-day schedule. Myelosuppression limited further dose escalation, however, it did not increase the incidence of neutropenic fever. Significant antitumor activity seen in heavily and minimally pretreated patients warrants further evaluation of this combination.
Does unemployment leave persistent scars on earnings? Evidence from the Swedish twin registry

Does unemployment leave persistent scars on earnings? The European debt crisis has pushed unemployment rates to extraordinary levels in various parts of Europe. This raises important questions about the long term consequences of the crises. Previous research conducted in the USA, Great Britain and Sweden has provided strong evidence for lasting scars inflicted on unemployed workers wages. This paper estimates the long term impact of unemployment on earnings using high quality data on 17,184 twins. A control for twin pair specific heterogeneity is introduced by exploiting the twin dimension through the fixed effects estimator. An additional year of unemployment was found to decrease annual earnings by approximately 5%. These results are consistent with those obtained in previous studies conducted in the USA, Great Britain and Sweden.
Cerebral glioma: evaluation with methionine PET.

The authors examined 50 patients with cerebral glioma with use of positron emission tomography (PET) and L-[methyl]-[11C]methionine to assess the grade of malignancy and the extent of cerebral glioma. Carbon-11 methionine was highly accumulated in the lesion in 31 of 32 patients with high-grade glioma and 11 of 18 patients with low-grade glioma. The rate of uptake of C-11 methionine in high-grade glioma was significantly higher than in low-grade glioma (P < .001). However, in individual cases it was difficult to evaluate the grade of malignancy only from the degree of C-11 methionine accumulation. In most cases, the area of increased accumulation of C-11 methionine did not correspond to the abnormalities seen at computed tomography (CT). Surgical intervention confirmed that methionine PET delineated the extent of cerebral glioma more clearly than did CT. The authors concluded that methionine PET has greater utility in assessing the extent rather than the grade of malignancy of cerebral glioma.
Varactor-Loaded Complementary Split Ring Resonators (VLCSRR) and Their Application to Tunable Metamaterial Transmission Lines

In this letter, the varactor-loaded complementary split ring resonator (VLCSRR) is presented for the first time. This particle is the dual counterpart of the varactor-loaded split ring resonator (VLSRR), which was introduced previously by some of the authors. Thanks to the presence of the varactor diodes, the electrical characteristics of the particle can be electronically tuned. Thus, by loading a microstrip line with VLCSRRs, the structure exhibits a tunable rejection band which is attributed to the negative effective permittivity provided by the particle. It is also shown in this letter that by adding a gap to the structure, the rejection band is switched to a tunable pass band with left handed wave propagation. Due to the topology of the complementary split rings resonators, the insertion and polarization of the diode varactors is not straightforward. These aspects are discussed in the letter. A circuit model for the VLCSRR is proposed. From parameter extraction and comparison between simulation of the circuit model and experiment good agreement is obtained.
Influence of website attributes on consumer acceptance of cross-border electronic commerce

Cross-border electronic commerce has additional complexities when compared with domestic electronic commerce, both from the vendor and the consumer point-of-view. The situation of buying from foreign websites brings into play different issues that could affect the purchase intention of the consumer. This research (currently in progress) will attempt to establish the differences in purchase intention when the consumer is faced with a foreign website. A survey will be conducted among Japanese respondents, using mock websites with attributes in a 2×2 combination: language (English or Japanese) and import duties information disclosure (no details or detailed information). With this study we hope to contribute to the understanding of consumer behavior with respect to the specific characteristics of cross-border electronic commerce, for the benefit of internationalization efforts in online shopping.
SNR estimation for power control of cdma2000 forward fundamental channels

The estimation of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for power control of the cdma2000 forward fundamental channel is investigated. Power estimation of the signal component is based on the power control (PC) subchannel symbol whose power is independent of the vocoder frame rate which can vary. An effective method of removing PC bit modulation and equalizing channel variation is proposed to coherently combine PC symbols. Power estimation of the noise component is accomplished by a differential approach to reduce the effect of errors introduced by fading and by increasing the noise sample size. Performance of the estimation algorithm is verified through computer simulations. Results show that the long term average frame error rate (FER) performance of the proposed algorithm is less than 1.5 dB from that of perfect SNR estimation.
Molecular cloning and expression of an inwardly rectifying K(+) channel from bovine corneal endothelial cells.

PURPOSE To determine the presence of a putative inwardly rectifying K(+) channel in bovine corneal endothelial (BCE) cells and to characterize its molecular and electrophysiological properties. METHODS An RT-PCR strategy was used to clone an IRK1 channel sequence from BCE mRNA. Northern blot analysis was used to confirm expression of this sequence in cultured BCE cells. Two-electrode voltage-clamp and whole-cell patch-clamp recordings were used to characterize the cloned channel expressed in Xenopus oocytes and the native channels in cultured BCE cells, respectively. RESULTS A full-length (1284 bp) coding sequence that shares 99.7% nucleotide sequence and 100% amino acid sequence identity to bovine lens IRK1 (Kir2.1) was cloned. The authors designate this sequence BCE IRK1 or BCIRK1. Northern blot analysis indicated that BCIRK1 mRNA is expressed in cultured BCE cells with two major transcripts of 7.5 and 5.5 kb. BCIRK1 cDNA was subcloned into the vector, pcDNA3.1(-), and cRNA transcribed from the BCIRK1 cDNA clone was injected into Xenopus oocytes. Two-electrode voltage-clamp recordings from injected oocytes revealed inwardly rectifying K(+) currents that were blocked by external Ba(2+) and Cs(+) in a concentration- and voltage-dependent manner. Whole-cell patch-clamp recordings from dissociated cultured BCE cells revealed strongly inwardly rectifying K(+) currents with similar properties. CONCLUSIONS Corneal endothelial cells express IRK1 (Kir2.1) inwardly rectifying K(+) channels. Consistent with the properties of IRK1 channels, BCIRK1 is likely involved in regulating membrane potential and possibly other cellular functions in corneal endothelial cells.