Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Japan’s bubble: Monetary stability and structural economic reform

In the context of a small monetary DSGE model of the business cycle, this paper investigates the interrelationship between structural economic reform (modeled as the introduction of greater competition in the goods market) and monetary stability (captured by the dynamic stability of the resulting macroeconomic system). After making minor but plausible adjustments to the standard New Keynesian macroeconomic framework, the paper demonstrates that a conventional monetary policy framework, defined by adherence to the so-called Taylor principle, may — contrary to the received wisdom — fail to maintain macroeconomic and monetary stability. The likelihood of such failure increases as structural economic reform is introduced for two reasons: first, greater goods market competition narrows equilibrium mark-ups and thus the leverage monetary policy exerts over cyclical inflation developments; and, second, private sector expectations are subject to non-fundamental shocks that arise from the uncertainty surrounding the effectiveness of structural reform. JEL classification: E42, E52, E58
Water extraction process of anthocyanins from“Ziyan”tea and the antitumor activity of its extracts

In this study, taken “Ziyan” tea as the raw material, on the basis of single factor test, L9(3) orthogonal test was used to optimize water extraction process of the tea with the aim of reaching the highest anthocyanin content. And under this condition, the anti-cancer activities of water extracts against liver cancer, breast cancer, and colon cancer cells were compared with “Tianqing” tea, which contains no anthocyanin but comparable catechin content. The results showed that the anthocyanin content in the water extract of “Ziyan” tea was the highest under the conditions of 80 °C, extraction for 20 min, at the ratio of material to liquid 1:45; it was further optimized under orthogonal test (70 °C, 20 min, 1:50) , and the anthocyanin content was (2.290±0.122) mg·g. On the other hand, anti-cancer activity results showed that when the concentration was 400 μg·mL, the inhibition rate of “Ziyan” tea extracts against liver cancer cell SMMC-7721 was (100±0.16) %. At the concentrations of 200, 300 and 400 μg·mL, the inhibition rates against breast cancer cell MCF-7 and colon cancer cell SW480 were 78%-93%. In general, the inhibitory of “Ziyan”tea to the three types of carcinoma cells was better than “Tianqing” tea. The results would lay a foundation for the development of the instant tea product rich in anthocyanins.
Morphometric Sex Determination of After-hatch-year Bald Eagles in Louisiana

Determinacion Morfometrica Del Sexo de Pollos Del Primer Ano de Haliaeetus leucocephalus En Luisiana Haliaeetus leucocephalus es una especie con plumaje monomorfico pero sexualmente dimorfica en cuanto al tamano, siendo las hembras tipicamente de mayor tamano que los machos. Debido a esto, el sexo juega un papel importante al considerar las variaciones en los movimientos, las areas de campeo y el uso del habitat. Bortolloti (1984, Journal of Wildlife Management 48:72–81) desarrollo una formula morfometrica para la determinacion del sexo de los pollos del primer ano de H. leucocephalus. Sin embargo, esta formula fue desarrollada en aves nortenas, las cuales son relativamente mas grandes que los individuos surenos de H. leucocephalus. Por ello, evaluamos la precision de la formula de Bortolloti en 28 pollos del primer ano de H. leucocephalus provenientes de Luisiana y, tras documentar numerosas clasificaciones erroneas (21.4%), utilizamos un analisis discriminante para desarrollar una nueva formula aplicabl.
Phylogeography of an alpine species Primuld secundiflora inferred from the chloroplast DNA sequence variation

The Hengduan Mountains (HM) and adjacent regions have been suggested as the important refugia of the temperate plants during the glacial stages. However, it remains unknown how the HM endemic species can respond to the climatic oscillations. In this study, we examined the chloroplast trnL-trnF and rps16 sequence variation of Primula secundiflora, a relatively common alpine perennial endemic to this region. Sequence data were obtained from 109 individuals of 11 populations covering the entire distribution range of the species. A total of 15 haplotypes were recovered and only one of them is commonly shared by three populations while the others are respectively fixed in the single population. The total diversity (HT=0.966) is high while the within-population diversity (HS=0.178) is low. Despite the high uniformity of the intraspecific morphology, an analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) revealed a high level of genetic differentiation (97.65%) among populations. The higher NST (0.982) than GST (0.816) (P<0.05) suggested a distinctly phylogeographical pattern. Phylogenetic analyses of haplotypes identified four major clusters of the recovered haplotypes: three clades in the north, and the other one in the south. The isolated distribution of clades suggested multiple refugia of this species during the glacial stages. We failed to detect the interglacial or postglacial range expansion of this species as revealed for the other temper- ate plants. However, the low intra-population diversity suggested that most of the populations should have ex- perienced the in situ shrink-expansion cycles during the climatic oscillations. This inference was further supported by the nested clade analysis, which indicated that restricted gene flow with isolation by distance and allopatric fragmentation were likely the major processes that shaped the present-day spatial distribution of haplotypes in this species. Such a special phylogeographic pattern may have resulted from a combination of both climatic oscillation and complex topology of HM.
Natural diet and predation impacts of Pelagia noctiluca on fish eggs and larvae in the NW Mediterranean

Jellyfish are important predators of fish eggs and larvae and predation is believed to be the main factor determining fish recruitment. The diet of different life stages of Pelagia noctiluca and their potential predation impact on ichthyoplankton were investigated in the NW Mediterranean Sea. In June, the spatial distribution of jellyfish and fish larvae, particularly those of anchovy, overlapped in the study area. Gut content analyses showed relatively high abundance of ichthyoplankton in large medusae, while siphonophores were the most numerous prey of ephyrae. Gut contents, digestion times (DT), and prey and predator abundances were used to estimate predation effects (% of standing stock consumed time) of P. noctiluca. Medusae consumed 0.1–0.9% h of the anchovy larvae, while ephyrae consumed 1.5–2.7% h of all fish larvae and 1.5–10.4% h of anchovy larvae. We estimate that medusae and ephyrae consumed 0.02–3.2% h and 0.4–7.1% h of fish eggs, respectively. P. noctiluca can reach extremely high numbers and in a bloom situation it can be an important predator of fish larvae, in particular anchovy. Hence it may play an important role in the planktonic food web with a possible impact on anchovy populations.
Using automatically triggered cameras to individually identify bobcats

This study evaluated whether bobcats (Lynx rufus) could be photographed effectively using automatically triggered cameras and whether adult bobcats could be individually identi- fied by their natural markings. Active, infrared-triggered cameras were placed randomly along improved and unimproved ranch roads in south Texas at a density of 1/130 ha. We obtained 76 photographs of bobcats, of which 88% contributed to individual identifica- tion. The ability to identify bobcats was influenced by the position in which they were photographed. The most common positions enabled the identification of unique pelt and facial markings. Though not symmetrically marked, bobcats were identified using body characteristics and natural markings. The ability to identify bobcats by natural markings can provide an alternative to physical capture for mark-recapture experiments.
On the Monophyly of the Agamid Genus Gonocephalus Kaup, 1825 (Reptilia: Squamata)

We karyotyped five species of the agamid genus Gonocephalus, G. chamaeleontinus, G. liogaster, G. bellii, G. grandis (from Peninsular Malaysia), and G. robinsonii. Of these, karyotypes of the first four species had several chromosomal characteristics exclusively shared with the previously reported karyotypes of G. miotympanum and G. grandis (from Borneo), such as the diploid chromosome number (42) and the presence of 22 biarmed macrochromosomes. This seems to support the monophyly of those four species and G. miotympanum, probably along with some other species of the genus not yet karyotyped. This hypothesis is premised on our finding of distinct chromosomal characteristics that are indicative of highly derived states in the agamid karyotypes. The karyotype of G. robinsonii, while remarkably different from other congeneric karyotypes in exhibiting much smaller diploid (32) and biarmed macrochromosome numbers (12), share these and other chromosomal characteristics with several Australian species. It seems unlikely for the karyotype of G. robinsonii to directly emerge from other congeneric karyotypes or vice versa. We conclude that the inclusion of this species in Gonocephalus would render the genus paraphyletic.
Long-Term Effects of Fertilization on Stem Form, Growth Relations, and Yield Estimates of Slash Pine

L'effet a long terme de la fertilisation phosphorique a la plantation sur la forme du tronc, la densite, les relations de croissance, sur les processus de formation du tronc et l'effet des differences de formes induites sur l'estimation du rendement ont ete etudies sur des plantations de Pinus elliottii âgees de 25 ans du nord de la Floride. Les coefficients de forme cylindrique et conique, le volume et la biomasse ont ete compares entre les differents traitements
Valid historical data for probabilistic risk analysis in natural disasters

ABSTRACT With the changes in the nature and the society, risks will inevitably change. It implies that, with the passage of time, some historical data would be invalid for probabilistic risk analysis. In this paper, a model to acquire the valid data is suggested, which is based on the Mann- Kendall test to detect abrupt change-point on time series data. What's more, the typhoon risk analysis in Guangdong Province, China is used as a case study to show how to apply the model. The valid data of the intensities of typhoons and the related losses in the province for the probabilistic risk analysis is obtained from the data during the time from 1984 to 2012. Comparing with the results based on the set of invalid data and the set of all collected data, the assessed risk based on the valid data is more reliable, which could reflect the dynamics of the typhoon risk.
Immunohistopathological Studies on Rats Injected with CCl4 and Treated with Propolis and Honey Bee

Background: The liver and kidneys play apivotal role in the metabolism of nutrients, drugs, hormones, metabolic waste products and thereby maintaining body homeostasis. The present study was planned to demonstrate the favorable hepatonephroprotective effect of honey or propolis against CCl4 histopathological, histochemical and immunohistochemistry. Material and methods: Rats were randomly divided into 4 groups: The first group of 10 rats serves as control. The second were maintained as CCl4, then third and fourth maintained as honey and propolis respectively for period of experiment (6 weeks). Pieces of liver and kidney were subjected to histopathological and immunohistochemistry procdures and the obtained sections (5 μm thick) were stained with H&E also with silver nitrate stain and anti laminin antibody for immuno- histochemistry. Result: Marked histopathological alteration were observed in the studied sections under the influence of CCl4, the most common changes were cloudy swelling of hepatocytes, fatty changes, clear vacuolation of renal cells and congested blood vessels. After treated with honey and propolis showed improvement of hepatocytes and renal tissues. Conclusion: This study indicated that CCl4 has a toxic effect on liver and kidney. Honey and propolis improve the structural integrity of the cell membrane and ameliorates histopathological, histochemical and immunohistochemistry changes.
Homology Modeling of Bifunctional Enzyme Alanine Racemase from Taibaiella Chishuiensis

Alanine Racemase from Taibaiella chishuiensis bacteria is one of the bifunctional enzymes that catalyze the Land D-alanine racemization of peptidoglycan biosynthesis in bacteria and ligation (UDP-N-acetylmuramoyl-Tripeptide-D-alanyl-D-alanine ligase). It had two EC numbers 5.1.1. 1 and 6.3. 2.10 respectively. This enzyme is an important target for antimicrobial drug productions or inhibitor design. However, the 3D structure of Alanine Racemase from Taibaiella or UDP-N-acetylmuramoyl-tripeptide-D-alanyl-D-alanine ligase/ alanine racemase has remained unknown. Thus, this study modeled and validated the 3D structure of the enzyme in the query. The bioinformatics tools/databases and software such as BRENDA, NCBI, Uni Prot, Clustal Omega, Prot Param, Swiss model, Phyre2, GOR, PROCHECK, and PyMOL were used for modeling, validation, and structural comparison. From the sequence and 3D structure analysis, it is indicated that Alanine racemase from Taibaiella had the same active and binding sites with the reference enzymes. Thus, we were able to study the similarities and differences in the sequence and structural properties of alanine racemase in two different bacteria. Finally, it was found that our enzyme has two parts for two different functions (racemization and ligation). The predicted model of alanine racemase of T. chishuiensis from this study could serve as a useful model for further study regarding the other bifunctional enzymes structure and function as well as drug design projects.
Human and murine IL2 receptors differentially respond to the human-IL2 component of immunocytokines

ABSTRACT The humanized immunocytokine, hu14.18-IL2 (ICp), leads to the immune cell-mediated destruction of GD2-expressing tumors in mouse models, resulting in potent antitumor effects with negligible IL2-related toxicity. In contrast, when ICp is used clinically, antitumor activity is accompanied by dose-limiting IL2-related toxicities. These species-specific differences in ICp toxicity may be linked to differential binding to mouse vs. human IL2 receptors (IL2Rs). We evaluated immunocytokines genetically engineered to preferentially bind either high-affinity αβγ-IL2Rs or intermediate-affinity βγ-IL2Rs. These ICs have the IL2 fused to the C-terminus of the IgG light chains rather than the heavy chains. We found that IC35, containing intact huIL2, maintained activation of human and mouse αβγ-IL2Rs but exhibited a 20-fold reduction in the ability to stimulate human βγ-IL2Rs, with no activation of mouse βγ-IL2Rs at the concentrations tested. The reduced ability of IC35 to stimulate human βγ-IL2Rs (associated with IL2-toxicities) makes it a potential candidate for clinical trials where higher clinical IC doses might enable better tumor targeting and increased antitumor effects with less toxicity. Contrastingly, ICSK (IC with an IL2 mutein that has enhanced binding to the IL2R β-chain) showed increased activation over ICp on mouse βγ-IL2Rs, with a dose-response curve similar to that seen with IC35 on human βγ-IL2Rs. Our data suggest that ICSK might be used in mouse models to simulate the anticipated effects of IC35 in clinical testing. Understanding the differences in species-dependent IL2R activation should facilitate the design of reagents and mouse models that better simulate the potential activity of IL2-based immunotherapy in patients.
University of Birmingham Initial semantics for reduction rules

We give an algebraic characterization of the syntax and operational semantics of a class of simply–typed languages, such as the language PCF : we characterize simply– typed syntax with variable binding and equipped with reduction rules via a universal property, namely as the initial object of some category of models. For this purpose, we employ techniques developed in two previous works: in the ﬁrst work we model syntactic translations between languages over diﬀerent sets of types as initial morphisms in a category of models. In the second work we characterize untyped syntax with reduction rules as initial object in a category of models. In the present work, we combine the techniques used earlier in order to characterize simply–typed syntax with reduction rules as initial object in a category. The universal property yields an operator which allows to specify translations— that are semantically faithful by construction—between languages over possibly diﬀerent sets of types. As an example, we upgrade a translation from PCF to the untyped lambda calculus, given in previous work, to account for reduction in the source and target. Speciﬁcally, we specify a reduction semantics in the source and target language through suitable rules. By equipping the untyped lambda calculus with the structure of a model of PCF , initiality yields a translation from PCF to the lambda calculus, that is faithful with respect to the reduction semantics speciﬁed by the rules. This paper is an extended version of an article published in the proceedings of WoLLIC 2012.
Preservation of black sharkminnow, Labeo chrysophekadion (Bleeker, 1849) spermatozoa

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of extenders and storage time on motility, viability and fertilization of preserved black sharkminnow, Labeo chrysophekadion spermatozoa. Sperm were diluted 1:3 in one of five extenders: modified Cortland solution (MC); Hanks' balanced salt solution (HBSS); 0.9% sodium chloride (NaCl); Kurokura solution (KU); and modified extender, and undiluted sperm samples were used as control and stored at 4°C for 5 days. Motility, viability and fertilization rates were evaluated every day. After a storage time of three days, the highest motility, viability and fertilization rates (61.27 ± 2.26%, 58.60 ± 2.29% and 40.58 ± 0.57, respectively) were achieved with sperm diluted with modified extender. Motility, viability and fertilization rates decreased significantly (P < 0.05) with increasing storage time in all treatments. In addition, this study found that motility, viability and fertilization had a positive significant correlation (P < 0.01). The results indicate that isotonic extender is suitable for the short-term preservation of black sharkminnow spermatozoa.
Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy and Physiotherapy in Patients With Moderate Knee Osteoarthritis

ObjectivesExtracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) has recently been evaluated for knee osteoarthritis (KOA) treatment. The present study aimed to investigate the therapeutic effects of ESWT for the treatment of patients with moderate KOA compared with conventional physiotherapy (PT). Materials and MethodsIn this randomized controlled clinical trial, a total of 75 adult patients (70 females and 5 males) with moderate KOA were randomly assigned to ESWT with exercise, PT with exercise, and exercise-only groups. Finally, patients were evaluated using the visual analogue scale (VAS), Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), knee range of motion (ROM), Timed Up and Go (TUG) test, and high sensitivity C-reactive protein.ResultsIn either treatment group, VAS, WOMAC, and TUG significantly improved toward 3 weeks and this improvement sustained until the 7-week follow-up session. In addition, patients’ knee ROM significantly improved in the ESWT group throughout the course of the study. Based on the results, no significant difference was observed between the ESWT and PT after 3 weeks and both were superior to exercise alone. In the 7-week evaluation, patients in the ESWT group reported lower pain (50.42% improvement in VAS compared to 30.31%; P<0.001 and 28.26%; P=0.008 in PT and exercise groups, respectively) and better improvement in knee extension ROM (P=0.004 and <0.001, respectively). ConclusionsIn general, although PT and ESWT seem to be more effective than exercise alone in the short-term treatment of patients suffering from KOA, medium intensity ESWT is better than PT and exercise in the medium-term rehabilitation of these patients resulting in better pain-relieving and knee ROM improvements.
Long-term data indicates that supplementary food enhances the number of breeding pairs in a Cape Vulture Gyps coprotheres colony

Summary The number of vultures is declining in many parts of the world due to numerous threats, such as poisoning and collisions with power-lines as well as the lack of adequate food sources. Vulture restaurants, i.e. supplementary feeding stations, have become a widespread conservation tool aimed at supporting vulture colonies. However, it is poorly understood how vulture restaurants influence population dynamics and whether they affect breeding success of vulture populations. We used a 12-year dataset from a breeding colony of the Cape Vulture Gyps coprotheres and a nearby vulture restaurant in South Africa to investigate the effect of supplementary food on population dynamics and breeding success. We found a significantly positive effect of supplementary food during the nest-building stage on the number of breeding pairs. However, breeding success, i.e. the proportion of successful nests, did not depend on supplementary food during the incubation and rearing stage. Especially during the critical rearing stage, the amount of food supplied might not have been sufficient to meet food demands of the colony. Still, our results indicate that carefully managed vulture restaurants might stabilise vulture colonies and can therefore aid vulture conservation.
Seasonal niche partitioning and coexistence of amphimictic and parthenogenetic lineages of Heterocypris barbara (Crustacea: Ostracoda)

Sympatry of amphimictic and parthenogenetic lineages in species with mixed reproductive systems is rarely observed in nature. On Lampedusa Island (Pelagie Islands, Italy), amphimictic and parthenogenetic lineages of Heterocypris barbara (Gauthier and Brehm, 1928) co-occur in a temporary pond. Their sympatric persistence calls for an ecological differentiation. We investigated the role of seasonal variation of temperature and photoperiod conditions by two different approaches: microcosms set up by inundation of dry sediments from the temporary pond and life-table experiments. Microcosms recreate conditions similar to the field and in their sediments random samples of resting eggs of both amphimictic and parthenogenetic females are stored. Life-table experiments supplied individual-based estimates of survivorship, adult life span, fecundity, and sex ratio in the progeny. We carried out the experiments at 24 °C and a photoperiod of 12 h light (L) : 12 h dark (D) (simulating fall conditions) and at 16 °C and .
Observation and simulation of mountain wave trains in a tropical cyclone situation

This paper documents the observations by radar of wave trains downstream of mountains in a tropical cyclone situation. The wind disturbances associated with the wave trains together with the background strong southeasterly flow result in the occurrence of low-level wind shear as detected by the radar. So the case is not just scientifically interesting, but it also has practical application value. The wave trains can be simulated by using a computational fluid dynamics model initialized homogeneously by the upper air ascent data at the time close to that the occurrence of the wave trains. This points to the potential of using such a model in simple setup to forecast the occurrence of low-level wind shear.