Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
O nly A Cu / Zn Superoxide Dismutase Gene From Saussurea involucrata Kar . et Kir . , SiCSD , Enhances Drought , Cold and Oxidative Stress in Transgenic Tobacco

Superoxide dismutase (SOD) plays an important role in stress-tolerance in higher plants. In the present study, a novel CuZn superoxide dismutase gene, named as SiCSD (accession no. KC912564) was cloned from Saussurea involucrata Kar. et Kir. The deduced amino acid sequence shared 85% identity with CuZn-SOD of Solanum tuberosum and Solanum lycopersicum. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) showed that SiCSD was upregulated by treatments with cold, drought and oxidative stresses. SiCSD transgenic tobacco plants improved tolerance to drought, freezing and oxidative stresses and exhibited a higher survival rate, relative water content (RWC), photosynthesis efficiency, and higher activities of superoxide dismutases (SOD), catalases (CAT) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX), but lower ion leakage (IL) and malondialdehyde (MDA) contents compared with wild type. These data demonstrate that SiCSD may act as a positive regulator in drought and cold stress by reducing oxidant injury.
PRE- AND POST-MERGER PERFORMANCES OF SHINKIN BANKS IN JAPAN

How to cite this paper: Harada, K. (2018). Preand post-merger performances of Shinkin banks in Japan. Corporate Governance and Sustainability Review, 2(2), 13-29. http://doi.org/10.22495/cgsrv2i2p2 Copyright © 2018 The Authors This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/bync/4.0/ ISSN Online: 2519-898X ISSN Print: 2519-8971 Received: 21.05. 2018 Accepted: 06.08. 2018 JEL Classification: G21, G34, R11 DOI: 10.22495/cgsrv2i2p2 The purpose of this paper is to describe the performances and consequences of Cooperative (Shinkin) bank merger activities that took place from 1994 through 2003 in Japan. Not only were there a large number of mergers, but these bank mergers were complicated during the sample period compared to another type of banking institutions. Banks are classified into three groups; "the surviving bank" (which takes control of another Shinkin bank), "the absorbed bank" (that has been consumed by a surviving one) and "the control bank" (that has not been related to any merger activities in the same region and during the sample period). Financial indicators such as profitability, soundness and efficiency, related to these three classes are analyzed by the difference-in-difference method and panel estimation. Profitability of the surviving banks plummeted immediately after a merger, only to find it improving after a few years. The efficiency of surviving banks improved in terms of cost reduction, especially by reducing labor cost. Soundness of surviving banks which was lower than that of control banks became worse after merging with the absorbed bank. However, their soundness returned to an average level within a few years. Our findings suggest that the consolidation of banks could be an effective measure as a strategy to exist.
LES-DFSD modelling of turbulent premixed flames past repeated obstacles

This paper presents simulations of propagating turbulent premixed deflagrating flames past built-in solid obstructions in a small-scale combustion chamber. The design of the chamber allows for up to three baffle plates and a central square obstacle to be positioned in the path of the propagating flames in order to generate turbulence and increase the flame propagating speed. The test case considered in this paper uses a stagnant, stoichiometric propane-air mixture in the configuration of three baffles and one central obstacle. Simulations have been carried out with the Large Eddy Simulation (LES) technique. The filtered reaction rate in LES is accounted for using a novel dynamic flame surface density (DFSD) model. Both numerical and experimental results show that the flame is initially laminar and becomes fully turbulent after continuous interaction with the obstacles downstream. Satisfactory agreement made between the LES calculations and the experimental data confirms the capability of the DFSD model in reproducing essential flame characteristic parameters including the maximum overpressure and flame front speed. The interaction between obstacle-generated turbulence and the flame front is quantified using the sub-grid-scale (SGS) wrinkling factor. Various stages of flame propagation and the dynamic behaviours of the flame are also examined based on the evolution and spatial distribution of the wrinkling factor.
From Mantle Source to an Unusual Late-stage Mineral Wealth in Highest Crustal Levels: A Case Study from the Alkaline- peralkaline Mont Saint-hilaire Complex, Quebec, Canada

Summary We present details of a field-based study on the evolution of alkaline to peralkaline rocks from the Mont Saint-Hiliaire complex, Quebec, Canada. The progressive magmatic evolution of the complex is represented by three melt batches: (1) primitive gabbroic rocks (XFe cpx = 0.17-0.27, where XFe cpx = molar Fetot/(Fetot+Mg)), (2) a dioritic/monzonitic rock suite (XFe cpx = 0.17-0.41) and (3) highly evolved peralkaline foid syenites (XFe cpx = 0.28-1). Nd and oxygen isotope data as well as major and trace element analyses of mineral separates indicate that all rock units derive from a single mantle source presumably by fractional crystallization processes from one parental melt. Solidification in the orthomagmatic stage probably occured under closed-system conditions. In the highly evolved peralkaline foid syenites, a wealth of minerals is found in the Poudrette quarry, which made Mont Saint-Hilaire a world-famous mineral locality. The late-stage evolution and formation of these partly exotic and rare minerals was reconstructed using a combination of stable isotopes of late-stage carbonates and comprehensive fluid inclusion studies. To explain the wealth of different minerals, at least two sources are necessary: (1) a mantle-derived and fractionated melt of alkaline character. Such magmas are strongly enriched in incompatible elements such as HFSE and LILE. (2) External fluids, probably in equilibrium with surrounding sedimentary rocks. The influence of this external fluid source is detected by the late-stage carbonate minerals’ O and C stable isotope composition, which displays a mixing trend between typical mantle values and sedimentary host rock limestone. Therefore, mixing of these external fluids with the restitic magma and/or its exsolved fluids caused dissolution and re-precipitation processes, resulting in the formation of a large number of rare and exotic minerals.
VERIFICATION OF FLEXRAY START-UP MECHANISM BY TIMED AUTOMATA

This contribution deals with the modelling of a select ed part of a new automotive communication standard called FlexRay. In particular, it focuses on the mechanism en suring the start-up of a FlexRay network. The model has been created with the use of timed automata and verifi ed. For this purpose the UPPAAL software tool has been used that allows the modelling of discrete event syste ms with the use of timed automata, and subsequently the verification of the model with the use of suitable que ries compiled in the so called computation tree logic. This model can be used to look for incorrect settings of ti me parameters of communication nodes in the network that prevent network start-up and subsequently the start of the car. The existenc e of this model also opens the way for finding possible errors in the standard. On the basis of the model, the work gives a case study of the start-up mechanism behaviour verification in a FlexRay network consisting of three communication nodes.
The Incentive Effects of Conditional and Unconditional Transfers on Local Own Revenue Generation: Empirical Evidence from Moroccan Municipalities

The fiscal incentives literature emphasizes how the design of transfer systems has a significant implication on the behavior of local governments within decentralized systems. The empirical findings on the relationship between intergovernmental transfers and the incentives they create for local revenue generation are inconclusive and differ from country to country. Given the lack of data on local public finances, this type of study rarely involves developing countries. Using a unique and rich socio-economic and public finance data covering a large set of Moroccan municipalities over the period 2005 to 2009, this paper contributes to the new generation of fiscal federalism literature by assessing the fiscal incentive effects of two types of transfers: general purpose transfers (unconditional) defined by a formula and specific purpose transfers (conditional) allocated on an ad-hoc basis. After correcting for the endogeneity problem, our findings support the existence of a significant incentive effect of unconditional transfers and a less robust effect of conditional transfers. Suggesting that transfers from the central government complement local own revenues by encouraging Moroccan municipalities to collect more revenues.
Similarity and Geographical Issues in Evaluating the Impact of R&D Spillovers at Firm Level: Evidence from Italy

This paper assesses the impact of R&D spillovers on production for a balanced panel of 1203 Italian manufacturing firms over the period 1998-2003. Estimations are based on a translog production function augmented by a measure of R&D spillovers that combines the geographical distance and the technological similarity within each pair of firms. We find three key results. Firstly, we show that the translog production function is more suitable than the Cobb-Douglas to model firm behaviour. Secondly, we argue that the external stock of technology exerts a significant impact on production output. This impact is high, whatever way we choose to weight the innovation flows, and is very sensitive to the geographical diffusion of technology. Lastly, it emerges that R&D spillovers are Morishima complements to physical and R&D own-capital and Morishima substitute for labour.
A novel role symmetric encryption algorithm for authorized deduplication in cloud

The explosive growth of multimedia data promotes us to enter the era of big data. To improve the storage efficiency and reduce the management expenditure of these massive data, deduplication is a promising technology to meet these requirements. However, it arises serious privacy concerns and poses new security challenges, such as privacy leakage and unauthorized access. To tackle these problems, in this paper, we propose a novel role symmetric encryption (RSE) algorithm and construct an authorized deduplication scheme (RSEDup) based on the role symmetric encryption to achieve the authorized deduplication in cloud. The RSEDup scheme is the first solution to prevent privacy leakage and achieve the authorized deduplication effectively. Performance evaluation shows the efficiency of the proposed scheme.
Design and Characterization of Quantization Control of Doped Negative Metamaterials

Tianming Chen, Hongxin Zhang, 2 Yinghua Lu, Haixia Wang, and Yongfang Bao School of Electronic Engineering Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Beijing 100876, China State Key Laboratory of Information Security (Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Sciences), Beijing 100049, China University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, China (Received September 8, 2007)
BALANCING ZERO-ADMIN AND INCREMENTAL INTEGRATION IN UBICOMP ENVIRONMENTS

A high security data storage and retrieval system is disclosed which includes a novel low-cost laser-etched data card which can be read from and written to using a capacitively-coupled interface. The card includes a plurality of first and second electrodes arranged in a checkerboard pattern on a non-conductive substrate. A plurality of conductive links are interconnected between adjacent first and second electrodes of the card. The checkerboard pattern of electrodes on the cards permits each first electrode to be connected to as many as three or more second electrodes. An interface module is provided which can selectively address each first electrode and any adjacent second electrode. By this arrangement, the subject system is capable of storing a greater amount of information on a card. This increase in stored information is useable to provide a high level of protection against counterfeit card production.
Natural hybridization between genetically differentiated populations of Crassostrea gigas and C-angulata highlighted by sequence variation in flanking regions of a microsatellite locus

The marine environment is of special interest for studying hybridization between closely related taxa because of the high dispersal potential of planktonic larvae, such as those of most bivalve species. The oysters Crassostrea angulata and C. gigas are known to be very close genetically and entirely inter-fertile under controlled conditions. However, hybridization in the wild had not been investigated, mainly due to the lack of nuclear diagnostic markers. In the present paper, we first estimated genetic differentiation between these 2 closely related taxa using 8 microsatellite markers. Interestingly, 5 markers displayed significant differences of allele size between taxa. The subsequent sequencing of alleles of one of these microsatellites showed several mutational events, which suggested null alleles and homoplasy. The presence of 1 insertion/deletion event in its 5' flanking sequence enabled us to design a new bi-allelic ('C' and 'NC') nuclear PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (-RFLP) marker (CG44R). This, together with a mitochondrial DNA marker, was used to analyze populations of C. angulata and C. gigas. The CG44R allele frequencies were very different between C. angulata (f[C] = 0.91) and C. gigas (f[NC] = 0.92) populations. This analysis also provided evidence for hybridization between C. angulata and C. gigas in a wild Portuguese population where the 2 taxa are in contact due to recent transportation of C. gigas stocks for aquacultural production. Our results represent the first indication of hybridization between these 2 taxa in the natural environment, and contribute to knowledge of the evolutionary history of the Crassostrea genus.
Sticking to Syntax: The Reflection of Story Grammar in Children's and Adult's Recall of Radio and Television Shows

Two studies were conducted to determine how well Mandler's (1983) story grammar, which was generated for oral or written discourse, predicts recall of televised stories. The studies also examined (a) whether the grammar could ac count for recall of both narrative and non-narrative stories, and (b) whether de velopmental differences exist in nodal recall for either television or radio. In Ex periment 1, preschoolers viewed a televised story from "Sesame Street" that was non-narrative in nature. In Experiment 2, preschoolers and adults were ad ministered a narrative via television or radio. In both studies, over two-thirds of subjects' retention reflected recall of nodal information, regardless of the me dium of input. For all subjects, recall of setting, and outcome information sur passed that of reaction, ending, or beginning events.
The Redistributive Role of Non-profit Organizations

By starting from the consideration that non-profit organizations cover a significant redistributive function beside that of governmental agencies, the paper questions why government prefers to finance via transfers private entities (lucrative and non-lucrative) rather than produce these goods directly. By generalizing the Hansmann (1986) theory we propose a imake or buyi approach in which the choice among three different ownership regimes (governmental, non- profit and for-profit) providing services in public benefit-oriented sectors is affected not only by costs reduction (X-efficiency) but also by the level of transfers (degree of iuniversalismi) decided at a political level.
Does the Use of Motivational Text Messages and a Smoking Cessation Quitline Influence Smoking Behaviors in Pregnant Women in Tennessee

Background: Approximately 15% of women in Tennessee continue to smoke during pregnancy knowing the health risks to themselves and their unborn babies. The use of evidence based interventions is essential to assist pregnant women who smoke in their cessation attempts and in the reduction of adverse effects of smoking during pregnancy. Objective: This scholarly project aims to determine if the use of motivational text messages and a reactive smoking cessation quitline influence smoking behaviors (motivation to quit, dependence on nicotine and the number of cigarettes smoked per day) in a group of pregnant women who smoke in Tennessee. Methods: The study sample consisted of pregnant women in Tennessee who self-reported smoking. Participants were enrolled to receive motivational text messages from Smoke-Free Mom, and were given the contact information for the Tennessee Tobacco Quitline. Baseline motivation to quit was obtained with the Motivation to Stop Scale, dependence on nicotine was measured with the Autonomy over Smoking Scale, and self-reported cigarettes smoked per day were obtained. Utilization of the interventions was assessed during the study, and post-intervention, motivation to quit score, dependence on nicotine score, and self-reported cigarettes smoked per day were obtained. Results: 43 participants (87%) completed post-test questionnaires. 43 participants (87%) completed post-test questionnaires. Wilcoxan Signed Ranks test demonstrated an overall increase in self-reported motivation to quit, decrease in dependence, and cigarettes smoked per day. Linear regression demonstrated a correlation between utilization of the text messages and decrease in dependence, however, the effect was small. No significant relationship was found between utilization of text messages and motivation to quit or cigarettes smoked per day. This study provided inconclusive results supporting the benefit of motivational text messages and a reactive quitline in pregnant women who smoke. The Wilcoxan Signed Ranks test demonstrated an overall increase in self-reported motivation to quit, decrease in dependence, and cigarettes smoked per day. Linear regression demonstrated a correlation between utilization of the text messages and decrease in dependence, however, the effect was small. No significant relationship was found between utilization of text messages and motivation to quit or cigarettes smoked per day. This study provided inconclusive results supporting the benefit of motivational text messages and a reactive quitline in pregnant women who smoke. Conclusion: High levels of intrinsic motivation present in pregnancy can influence changes in health behaviors irrespective of intervention. Health care providers are encouraged to assess smoking status in all pregnant patients, and to provide smoking cessation counseling to all patients who self-report as a smoker. Further studies are warranted to determine efficacy of motivational text messages and smoking cessation quitlines in pregnant women.
Internet traffic and packet round trip delay self-similarity

Statistical analysis was carried out on the Internet traffic data grabbed at Internet Service Provider gateway. The analysis reveals the "bursty" nature, which was explained through SelfSimilarity and Long Range Dependence(LRD). In this work, it has been shown that the Internet traffic and Packet Round Trip Delay visuaiized as a time series are statistically selfsimilar. The autocorrelation function decays reveals the data under investigation exhibits Long Memory or Long Range Dependence. The degree of self similarity of Packet Round Trip Delay as measured by Hurst Parameter is presented and was found that it is directly related to network traffic load. Key words : Self Similarity, LRD, Internet Traffic, Internet Packet Round Trip Delay.
Combining interventions: improved chimney stoves, kitchen sinks and solar disinfection of drinking water and kitchen clothes to improve home hygiene in rural Peru

Home based interventions are advocated in rural areas against a variety of diseases. The combination of different interventions might have synergistic effects in terms of health improvement and cost effectiveness. However, it is crucial to ensure cultural acceptance. The aim of the study was to develop an effective and culturally accepted home-based intervention package to reduce diarrhoea and lower respiratory illnesses in children. In two rural Peruvian communities we evaluated the performance and acceptance of cooking devices, household water treatments (HWT) and home- hygiene interventions, with qualitative and quantitative methods. New ventilated stove designs reduced wood consumption by 16%. The majority of participants selected solar water disinfection as HWT in a blind tasting. In-depth interviews on hygiene improvement further revealed a high demand for kitchen sinks. After one year of installation the improved chimney stoves and kitchen sinks were all in use. The intervention package was successfully adapted to local customs, kitchen-, home- and hygiene management. High user satisfaction was primarily driven by convenience gains due to the technical improvements and only secondarily by perceived health benefits.
Religion and Politics in Contemporary Turkey : Attitudes of Atheists

As contemporary societies tend to experience a more heterogeneous religious landscape, it becomes more difficult for governments to accommodate religious differences, various beliefs and non-religion within the realm of politics. By drawing upon semi-structured interviews with 12 self-identified atheists from different backgrounds in Turkey, this paper explores the attitudes of atheists towards the intersection of religion and politics in contemporary Turkey. In this paper, the concept of hegemony by Antonio Gramsci is used in order to analyze the hegemonic position of Islam within the realm of politics in contemporary Turkish society. Rather than a Marxist view of a clear-cut dichotomy of classes as ruling and ruled, a Bourdieuan approach, where society is thought to be consisting of many “fields,” including religion and many groups that strive to gain more power within these fields, was adopted. The results indicated that atheists perceive religion and politics as closely intertwined, as politics are perceived as being strongly influenced by religion. The close connection between politics and religion is then seen as leading to an increase in religiosity in society, as well as to increasing pressure on atheists both by the state and the public.
What determines ABC success in mature sites

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine ABC success determinants in mature ABC sites.Design/methodology/approach – The study surveys 65 managers of service and manufacturing organizations using ABC.Findings – The stepwise regression results indicate that top management support is the key determinant of ABC success in mature ABC sites.Research limitations/implications – This research shows that top management support continues to be critical to ongoing ABC success. Past research has shown that top management support is critical in the early stages of ABC adoption and if withdrawn is a major cause of ABC implementation failure. Despite the technical benefits of ABC adoption the extent of change, the resource commitment and the management of conflict and power means that careful consideration of the determinants of success is crucial. Many researchers have examined this at initial implementation or have confounded their results by not distinguishing the stage of adoption. Very few have researched b.