Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Spatiotemporal variation in phyllostomid bat assemblages over a successional gradient in a tropical dry forest in southeastern Brazil

Abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate the spatiotemporal variation in richness, abundance, structure and composition of phyllostomid bats over a successional gradient in a tropical dry forest in south-eastern Brazil. Four successional stages (pasture, early, intermediate and late) were sampled in the northern part of the state of Minas Gerais. Bats were sampled using mist nets at three sites for each of the four successional stages (12 sites in total) during eight periods between 2007 and 2009. A total of 537 individuals were captured (29 recaptured), distributed among four families and 22 species. Bat abundance and richness varied in space, being higher in the late-successional stage, and over time, being significantly lower during the dry season. When compared between guilds, only the abundance of omnivores varied significantly during the sampled months. Our results demonstrate that areas of late-successional stages showed higher bat richness and abundance in comparison with areas undergoing secondary succession. Our results also suggest the use of early-successional areas as flying routes by bats can lead to failure to detect differences in bat composition within successional gradients. We suggest future studies should assimilate landscape-level analyses into their studies to better evaluate the effects of successional gradients on bat assemblages.
SEASONAL VARIATION IN WOOD FORMATION OF CEDRELA FISSILIS (MELIACEAE)

Cambial activity and periodicity of secondary xylem formation in Cedrela fissilis, a semi-ring-porous species, were studied. Wood samples were collected periodically from 1996 to 2000. The phenology was related to climate data of the region. The cambium has one active and one dormant period per year. The active period coincides with the wet season when trees leaf-out. The dormant period coincides with the dry season when trees lose their leaves. Growth rings are marked by parenchyma bands that begin to be formed, together with the small latewood vessels, just before the cambium becomes dormant at the beginning of the dry season. These bands are added to when the cambium reactivates in the wet season. At this time, the large earlywood vessels of the growth rings are also formed. As these bands consist of both terminal and initial parenchyma, we suggest the general term marginal bands be used to describe them. The growth layers vary in width among and within the trees.
XVIII.—The Godman-Thomas expedition to Peru.—III. On mammals collected by Mr. R. W. Hendee in the Chachapoyas region of North Peru

(1926). XVIII. —The Godman-Thomas expedition to Peru. —III. On mammals collected by Mr. R. W. Hendee in the Chachapoyas region of North Peru. Annals and Magazine of Natural History: Vol. 18, No. 103, pp. 156-167.
The Effects of Fixed-Term Contracts on Workers in Colombia

This paper studies the effects of fixed-term contracts on workers. Specifically, the paper analyzes their impact on wages and on satisfaction levels. Regulations governing fixed-term and indefinite contracts in Colombia and the main labor reforms related to these two types of contract are analyzed. Women, young and low-educated workers, who work in small firms, in the private sector and in construction or manufacturing are most likely to have fixed-term contracts. In terms of wages, we found a significant raw and adjusted wage gap against workers with fixed-term contracts. Finally, we found, as expected, evidence that fixed-term contracts reduce the level of worker satisfaction.
Antiviral activity of a sulfoquinovosyldiacylglycerol (SQDG) compound isolated from the green alga Caulerpa racemosa

Abstract An invasive green alga, Caulerpa racemosa, collected from the South China Sea was tested for its antiviral properties. Hot water extracts and the n-butanol fraction obtained showed potent inhibition of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and Coxsackie virus B3 (Cox B3). A sulfoquinovosyldiacylglycerol (SQDG) compound was isolated and purified from the n-butanol fraction following further antiviral-guided fractionation. The SQDG compound exhibited an excellent antiviral effect against HSV-2, with a 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 15.6 μg ml-1 against both standard and clinical strains of HSV-2, but showed only moderate antiviral effects against HSV-1 and Cox B3. The SQDG compound was chemically characterized using spectroscopic methods as (2S)-1,2-di-O-palmitoyl-3-O-(6′-sulfo-α-D-quinovopyranosyl) glycerol. This is the first isolation from C. racemosa of this SQDG compound with notable selective antiviral activity against HSV-2.
Changes in the activity of enzymes involved in purine “salvage” and nucleic acid degradation during the growth of Catharanthus roseus cells in suspension culture

Changes during growth in the activity of several enzymes involved in purine “salvage”, adenine phosphoribosyltransferase (EC 2.4.2.7), guanine phosphoribosyl-transferase (EC 2.4.2.8), hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase (EC 2.4.2.8) and adenosine kinase (EC 2.7.1.20), the enzymes which catalyze the conversion of nucleoside monophosphate to triphosphate, nucleoside monophosphate kinase (EC 2.7.4.4) and nucleoside diphosphate kinase (EC 2.7.4.6), and several degradation enzymes, deoxyribonucleae(s), ribonuclease(s). phosphatase(s), nucleosidase (EC 3.2.2.1), 3′-nucleotidase (EC 3.1.3.6) and 5′-nucleotidase (EC 3.1.3.5) were examined in cells of Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don cultured in suspension. In addition, the incorporation of [8-14C] adenine, [8-14C] adenine, [8-14C]hypoxanthine. [8-14C] adenosine and [8-14C]inosine into nucleotides and nucleic acids was also determined using intact cells. The activities of all purine “salvage” enzymes examined and those of nucleoside monophosphate and diphosphate kinases increased rapidly during the lag phase and decreased during the following cell division and cell expansion phases. The rate of incorporation of adenine, guanine, hypoxanthine, and adenosine into nucleotides and nucleic acids was higher in the lag phase cells than during the following three phases. The highest rate of [8-14C]inosine incorporation was observed in the stationary phase cells. The activity of all degradation enzymes examined decreased when the stationary phase cells were transferred to a new medium. These results indicated that the increased activity of purine “salvage” enzymes observed in the lag phase cells may contribute to an active purine “salvage” which is required to initiate a subsequent cell division.
Uncertainty Traps

We develop a theory of endogenous uncertainty and business cycles in which short-lived shocks can generate long-lasting recessions. In the model, higher uncertainty about fundamentals discourages investment. Since agents learn from the actions of others, information flows slowly in times of low activity and uncertainty remains high, further discouraging investment. The economy displays uncertainty traps: self-reinforcing episodes of high uncertainty and low activity. While the economy recovers quickly after small shocks, large temporary shocks may have long-lasting effects on the level of activity. The economy is subject to an information externality but uncertainty traps may remain in the efficient allocation. Embedding the mechanism in a standard business cycle framework, we find that endogenous uncertainty increases the persistence of large recessions and improves the performance of the model in accounting for the Great Recession.
Index Theory for Strategic-Form Games With an Application to Extensive-Form Games

Whenever equivalent mixed strategies of a player are identiﬁed (topologically) in a normal-form game, the resulting space may not be a simplex anymore but is a general polytope. We show that an index/degree theory of equilibria can be developed in full generality for games in which the strategy sets of the players are general polytopes and their payoff functions are multiaffine. Index and degree theories work as a tool that helps identify equilibria that are robust to payoff perturbations of the game. Because the strategy set of each player is the result of the identiﬁcation of equivalent mixed strategies, the resulting polytope is of lower dimension than the original mixed strategy simplices. This, together with an index theory, has algorithmic applications for checking for robustness of equilibria as well as ﬁnding equilibria in extensive-form games.
Discretion and Dilemma of Street-Level Bureaucrats in Public Services: Home Cara Dottorotta

This article aims to describe the discretion and dilemma faced by street-level bureaucrats (SLBs) in the implementation of dottorotta home care programs in Makassar City, Indonesia. This study used a qualitative descriptive approach with data collection techniques in-depth interviews, observation, and analysis of documents relevant to the research. The results showed that in implementing the dottorotta home care program, SLBs were often faced with scarcity of resources, both human and financial, and limited service time. To deal with the scarcity of these resources, SLBs use their discretionary authority, but in reality they are often faced with ethical dilemmas and psychological dilemmas. In this situation, SLBs use their experience and expertise so that the decisions taken do not harm the organization and the community it serves.
Prospect Theory, Fairness, and the Escalation of Conflict at Negotiation Impasse

We study a bilateral negotiation conflict setup where at bargaining impasse the disadvantaged party chooses whether to escalate conflict or not. Escalation is costly for both parties and it results in a random draw of the winner of the escalated conflict. We derive the behavioral predictions of a simple social utility function which is convex in disadvantageous inequality thus connecting the utility specifications of two celebrated behavioral models: inequity aversion and prospect theory. The model predicts that more equality and more variance in escalation outcomes increases the escalation rate, thus predicting that escalation rates are highest when escalation outcomes are riskier and more equal and lowest when they are certain and unequal. We embed the social utility model into a logit quantal response equilibrium framework. Our causal laboratory evidence is to a large extent consistent with the predicted comparative statics effects, and the maximum likelihood parameters of the QRE-model are consistent with these comparative statics. In particular, the inequity-as-loss model and QRE jointly predict that the disagreement rate is lower when the cost of escalating the conflict (to both parties) is exogenously increased. The subgame perfect equilibrium fails to organize the effects, both under self-interested and other-regarding preferences.
Warm currents affecting the spring and winter distributions of living coccolithophores in the Yellow Sea, China

Spring and winter distributions of living coccolithophores in the Yellow Sea were studied using a polarizing microscope based on two surveys in April 2010 and January 2011. Nine species were recorded, including Emiliania huxleyi and Gephyrocapsa oceanica as the predominant forms. The cell abundance of all coccolithophores in the spring was significantly higher than in the winter (p<0.01), with means of 15 387 and 2470 cells l-1, respectively. Notably, we observed a habitat selection of coccolithophores in the southeastern Yellow Sea (32–35°N, 123–125°E). This habitat was characterized by sharp temperature gradients during both seasons caused by water exchange between the shelf waters and the Yellow Sea Warm Current. Moreover, the cell abundance, standing crop and estimated fluxes of coccolithophores were abnormally high compared to other regions. The habitat preference of coccolithophores in the Yellow Sea was directly related to the hydrodynamic conditions. The unfavorable light conditions caused by the intense convective mixing were responsible for the low biomass of coccolithophores during the winter. However, the increasing temperature influenced by the warm current, in combination with water column stability, triggered the spring bloom of coccolithophores in the southern Yellow Sea.
Managerial Incentives and Its Credibility for Voluntary Announcements

In this research I find that stock market participants react differently to firms’ voluntary announcements depending on the credibility they lend to the announcing managers. Using a sample of 762 earnings forecasts for the period of 2002-2010 I study intraday trading behavior around the forecast announcements. The results indicate that investors take into account the term-structure of managerial incentives when they trade on the announced forecasts. In particular, I find that positive forecast surprises by the managers with larger short-term equity-based compensation are treated as less credible by investors and they sell. Furthermore, the results also show that the biggest source of market’s mistrust comes from short-term option grants. The opposite is true for the announcements by the CEOs with larger long-term equity-based compensation i.e. investors buy abnormally more following positive earnings forecasts, specifically when the announcing CEO incentives contain larger long-term stock grants.
Cytological studies of early stages of powdery mildew in barley and wheat. V. Effects of calcium on the infection of coleoptiles of barley by Erysiphe graminis hordei

Some effects of calcium salts on the infection process of Erysiphe graminis hordei in coleoptiles of barley were investigated. Calcium chloride enhanced the incidence of haustoria but depressed that of papillae. Calcium bromide and calcium nitrate likewise enhanced the incidence of haustoria. Calcium chloride treatment at varied times and with varied durations during incubation after inoculation showed that events occurring in coleoptiles between 9 and 13 h after inoculation were most affected by the treatment. This period included the times that appressoria matured, cytoplasm aggregated, papillae were produced, and haustoria were formed, and the effect of calcium might be associated with one or more of these events.
Role of GABA during the multiple consolidation of memory

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of senile dementia and it is a neurodegenerative disorder associated with a progressive deterioration of memory and cognitive capacity. Although one of the most characteristic abnormalities in AD patients is the reduced cholinergic input to the cortex, AD is a disorder that affects different neuronal populations in the brain, including the GABAergic neurons. The data regarding the participation of the central GABAergic system on memory indicate that: (1) drugs that facilitate GABA‐A and GABA‐B neurotransmission impair memory in experimental animals and in humans; (2) drugs that reduce GABA‐A neurotransmission facilitate memory in rodents; (3) the facilitatory effect of thee drugs has not been corroborated at the clinical level, as they show a small therapeutic window, but new drugs are presently being evaluated in clinical studies; (4) the cognitive effects of the GABAergic agents are dose‐ and time‐related, and cannot be explained by state‐dependency; (5) the effects of the GABAergic antagonists are centrally mediated, as peripherally acting drugs are ineffective in memory tests; (6) GABA and endogenous benzodiazepines are released in different brain areas during learning of different tasks and after the induction of long‐term potentiation (LTP); (7) GABA‐A antagonists facilitate LTP while diazepam blocks LTP in hippocampal slices; and (8) the amygdala, the basal forebrain, the septo‐hippocampal pathway, the trisynaptic circuit and the entorhinal cortex are likely candidate regions for the central actions of GABAergic drugs. The consolidation process of memory storage can be presently envisioned as multiple consolidation process that takes place in different brain circuits and at different times after the learning experience. The anatomical evidence on the presence of GABAergic neurons in brain areas relevant to memory (and affected in Alzheimer's patients) like the cortex, amygdala, septum, hippocampus and NBM, together with the electrophysiological and biochemical changes induced by the learning experience, suggest that the GABAergic neurons can critically modulate the electrical activity of these brain areas during the “multiple consolidation” process of memory storage. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The role of the log transformation in forecasting economic variables

For forecasting and economic analysis many variables are used in logarithms (logs). In time series analysis, this transformation is often considered to stabilize the variance of a series. We investigate under which conditions taking logs is beneficial for forecasting. Forecasts based on the original series are compared to forecasts based on logs. For a range of economic variables, substantial forecasting improvements from taking logs are found if the log transformation actually stabilizes the variance of the underlying series. Using logs can be damaging for the forecast precision if a stable variance is not achieved.
Optimal Contracts, Aggregate Risk and the Financial Accelerator

This paper derives the optimal lending contract in the financial accelerator model of Bernanke, Gertler and Gilchrist (BGG). The optimal contract includes indexation to the aggregate return on capital, household consumption, and the return to internal funds. This triple indexation results in a dampening of fluctuations in leverage and the risk premium. Hence, compared to the contract originally imposed by BGG, the privately optimal contract implies essentially no financial accelerator.
A Comparative Research on Third Sector Governance in Asia (Part 1): Its Qualitative Research Method

A comparative research work was undertaken on ‘Asia’s Third Sector: Governance for Accountability and Performance’ with the involvement of at least two dozen researchers in six participating countries. It resulted in a book (Comparative Third Sector Governance in Asia, Springer, 2008) comprising eleven comparative chapters, and six country chapters. This is a two-part discussion of the Guide and the research methodology. Part 2 of the discussion, ‘A Comparative Research on Third Sector Governance in Asia (Part 2): The Organizational Survey Protocol’ (available on SSRN) discusses the organizational data collection protocol. This piece (Part 1), discusses the literature search, content analyses, and the survey of ‘legal experts’ and ‘key informants’. It is divided in six sections: Project overview and context; Research Design; Research Practicalities; Method in Action; Practical Lessons Learned; and Conclusions. The ‘protocol’ is added in the discussion so any interested researcher may use it to create new knowledge about governance of the third sector organizations in any other country to compare it to the original analyses as available in the book (Samiul Hasan and Jenny Onyx, eds. Comparative Third Sector Governance in Asia, Springer, 2008).
The additivity of the digestible energy and apparent ileal digestible amino acid supply in barley, wheat and canola meal or soybean meal diets for growing pigs

Zusammenfassung Die additive Bestimmung der verdaulichen Energie und scheinbaren ilealen Verdaulichkeit von Aminosauren aus Gerste, Weizen, Raps- und Sojamehl bei wachsenden Schweinen Sechs Kastraten mit einem anfanglichen Korpergewicht von 35 kg wurden mit 6 verschiedenen Rationen nach einem 6times6 Lateinischen Quadrat gefuttert. Die Rationen 1 und 2 enthielten 94% Gerste oder Weizen. Die Rationen 3 und 4 bestanden aus Maisstarke und enthielten 17% Rohprotein aus Raps- oder Sojamehl. Die Rationen 5 und 6 enthielten 17% Rohprotein aus einem Gemisch von Gerste, Weizen und Rapsmehl bzw. von Gerste, Weizen und Sojamehl. Die Schweine wurden zweimal taglich um 8.00 und 20.00 Uhr mit 900 g Futter versorgt. Jeder Versuch dauerte 9 Tage. Der Kot wurde von Tag 6 bis Tag 8 uber 48 h gesammelt. Proben aus dem Ileum wurden uber 24 h von 8.00 Uhr am Tag 7 bis 8.00 Uhr am Tag 9 gezogen. Als Marker zur Verdaulichkeitsbestimmung wurde Chromoxid eingesetzt. Die direkt bestimmten Verdaulichkeiten der Energie und Aminosauren in den Rationen 5 und 6 wurden mit denen aus den Rationen 1 bis 4 mit den einzelnen Komponenten verglichen. Mit Ausnahme von Glycin in der Ration 6 (Gerste, Weizen oder Soja) konnten keine Unterschiede (p > 0,05) zwischen der direkten Bestimmung und den kalkulierten Verdaulichkeit von Energie und Aminosauren beobachtet werden. Daraus last sich schliesn, das die Gehalte an verdaulicher Energie und an den verdaulichen Aminosauren aus der Bestimmung in Einzelkomponenten additiv abgeleitet werden konnen.
Relationship of metabolic rate to body size in Orthoptera

Abstract Metabolic rate determines an individual's rate of resource acquisition, assimilation, growth, survival and reproduction. Studies involving a broad range of taxa and body sizes typically result in whole-organism metabolic rate scaling to the ¾ power of body mass. Competing models have been proposed to explain this allometric relationship. The nutrient supply network model of West et al. (1997) proposes that the ¾ power relationship results from the fractal nature of space-filling nutrient supply networks. The model of Kozlowski et al. (2003) proposes that the scaling of metabolic rate with body mass will vary from 2/3 to 1 among different taxa, depending on the degree to which increasing body size depends on increasing cell size or number. The present study measured resting metabolic rates across a broad range of body sizes in nymphs of Melanoplus sanguinipes F. and also analyzed published reports of metabolic rates in adult Orthoptera. The two sets of data were in close agreement: the scaling exponent for the ontogenetic series of M. sanguinipes was 0.92, and for the interspecific, phylogenetically corrected regression with adult Orthoptera, was 1.06. Both scaling exponents were significantly greater than the 0.75 predicted by the nutrient supply network model.
How Does Liquidity Constraint Affect Employment and Wages? Evidence from Danish Mortgage ReformCorresponding author: ahe@rhsmith.umd.edu. We thank Søren Leth-Petersen for sharing his data. We thank Daron Acemoglu, David Autor and David Thesmar for helpful suggestions

This paper studies the effects of liquidity constraints on employment and earnings by exploiting a mortgage reform in Denmark in 1992, which for the first time allowed homeowners to borrow against housing equity for non-housing purposes. We find that liquidity-constrained homeowners extracted housing equity, increased debt levels and experienced higher earnings growth after the reform. In contrast, the reform had little impact on employment and earnings of homeowners with high liquid asset holdings. Consistent with models of job search with risk aversion, the option to borrow against housing equity allows individuals to seek jobs that have higher earnings growth but higher unemployment risks. This effect is larger for low-income and older individuals. The results imply that relaxing liquidity constraints can increase output, and policies restricting mortgage refinancing during economic distress may backfire in recessions. JEL codes: G21; E44; E24; J60; D14; R20 ∗Corresponding author: ahe@rhsmith.umd. edu. We thank Søren Leth-Petersen for sharing his data. We thank Daron Acemoglu, David Autor and David Thesmar for helpful suggestions. Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3481279