Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
LABORATORY SYNTHESIS OF A PSEUDOGAMOUS TRIPLOID “SPECIES” OF THE GENUS MUELLERIANELLA (HOMOPTERA, DELPHACIDAE)

BUNGAARD, j., AND F. B. CHRISTIANSEN. 1972. Dynamics of polymorphisms: I. Selection components in an experimental population of Drosophila melanogaster. Genetics 71:439-460. DEBENEDICTIS, P. A. 1977a. Meaning and measurement of frequency-dependent competition. Ecology 58:158-166. ---. 1977b. Frequency-dependent choice, minority advantages, and frequency-dependent natural selection. Evolution 31 :666-673. ---. 1977c. Studies in the dynamics of genetically variable systems. II. Growth of experimental populations of Drosophila melanogaster experiencing intense natural selection. Biological Bulletin 153:265-281. ---. 1978. Are populations characterized by their genes or by their genotypes? Amer. Natur. 112:155-175.
THE EFFECT OF WOLBACHIA VERSUS GENETIC INCOMPATIBILITIES ON REINFORCEMENT AND SPECIATION

Abstract Wolbachia is a widespread group of intracellular bacteria commonly found in arthropods. In many insect species, Wolbachia induce a cytoplasmic mating incompatibility (CI). If different Wolbachia infections occur in the same host species, bidirectional CI is often induced. Bidirectional CI acts as a postzygotic isolation mechanism if parapatric host populations are infected with different Wolbachia strains. Therefore, it has been suggested that Wolbachia could promote speciation in their hosts. In this article we investigate theoretically whether Wolbachia-induced bidirectional CI selects for premating isolation and therefore reinforces genetic divergence between parapatric host populations. To achieve this we combined models for Wolbachia dynamics with a well-studied reinforcement model. This new model allows us to compare the effect of bidirectional CI on the evolution of female mating preferences with a situation in which postzygotic isolation is caused by nuclear genetic incompatibilities (NI). We distinguish between nuclear incompatibilities caused by two loci with epistatic interactions, and a single locus with incompatibility among heterozygotes in the diploid phase. Our main findings are: (1) bidirectional CI and single locus NI select for premating isolation with a higher speed and for a wider parameter range than epistatic NI; (2) under certain parameter values, runaway sexual selection leads to the increase of an introduced female preference allele and fixation of its preferred male trait allele in both populations, whereas under others it leads to divergence in the two populations in preference and trait alleles; and (3) bidirectional CI and single locus NI can stably persist up to migration rates that are two times higher than seen for epistatic NI. The latter finding is important because the speed with which mutants at the preference locus spread increases exponentially with the migration rate. In summary, our results show that bidirectional CI selects for rapid premating isolation and so generally support the view that Wolbachia can promote speciation in their hosts.
A combined optimization method for solving the inverse kinematics problems of mechanical manipulators

A new method for computing numerical solutions to the inverse kinematics problem of robotic manipulators is developed. The method is based on a combination of two nonlinear programming techniques and the forward recursion formulas, with the joint limitations of the robot being handled implicitly as simple boundary constraints. This method is numerically stable since it converges to the correct answer with virtually any initial approximation, and it is not sensitive to the singular configuration of the manipulator. In addition, this method is computationally efficient and can be applied to serial manipulators having any number of degrees of freedom. >
Do Panels Help Solve the Purchasing Power Parity Puzzle?

Although Rogoff described the “remarkable consensus” of 3- to 5-year half-lives of purchasing power parity (PPP) deviations among studies using long-horizon data, recent works using panel methods with post-1973 data report shorter half-lives of 2 to 2.5 years. But these studies do not use appropriate techniques to measure persistence. We extend median-unbiased estimation methods to the panel context, calculate both point estimates and confidence intervals, and provide strong evidence confirming Rogoff's original claim. Although panel regressions provide more information on the persistence of real exchange rate shocks than univariate regressions, they do not help solve the PPP puzzle.
Corporate responses to the CDM: the Indian pulp and paper industry

In the context of a rapidly evolving Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) market and increasing debate about the design of a future global climate regime, it is essential to understand which types of projects are undertaken along industrial value chains, and also the influence of company characteristics (e.g. size, raw material base, product type, ownership and location) on firms' CDM participation and choice of project type. The Indian pulp and paper industry was examined for its energy intensity and its diversity in terms of both mitigation opportunities and company characteristics. Large firms were found to be more likely than small firms to participate in CDM. Although CDM projects in large and small firms generate similar amounts of certified emission reductions (CERs), the type of technology implemented in those projects varies strongly with company size due to differing levels of capabilities and capital. Mill size and raw material base also affect participation and choice of project type. A structured approach is suggested for analysing how to engage different subsectors of an industry in mitigation efforts based on transnational sectoral approaches, domestic sectoral approaches, and programmatic CDM. Preliminary policy recommendations are offered for the Indian pulp and paper industry, as well as insights that are transferable to other countries. A one-size-fits-all sectoral approach is difficult to implement and a strategy for differentiated treatment based on company characteristics is required to reflect local development priorities.
A Quantitative Glycomics and Proteomics Combined Purification Strategy

There is a growing desire in the biological and clinical sciences to integrate and correlate multiple classes of biomolecules to unravel biology, define pathways, improve treatment, understand disease, and aid biomarker discovery. N-linked glycosylation is one of the most important and robust post-translational modifications on proteins and regulates critical cell functions such as signaling, adhesion, and enzymatic function. Analytical techniques to purify and analyze N-glycans have remained relatively static over the last decade. While accurate and effective, they commonly require significant expertise and resources. Though some high-throughput purification schemes have been developed, they have yet to find widespread adoption and often rely on the enrichment of glycopeptides. One promising method, developed by Thomas-Oates et al., filter aided N-glycan separation (FANGS), was qualitatively demonstrated on tissues. Herein, we adapted FANGS to plasma and coupled it to the individuality normalization when labeling with glycan hydrazide tags strategy in order to achieve accurate relative quantification by liquid chromatography mass spectrometry and enhanced electrospray ionization. Furthermore, we designed new functionality to the protocol by achieving tandem, shotgun proteomics and glycosylation site analysis on hen plasma. We showed that N-glycans purified on filter and derivatized by hydrophobic hydrazide tags were comparable in terms of abundance and class to those by solid phase extraction (SPE); the latter is considered a gold standard in the field. Importantly, the variability in the two protocols was not statistically different. Proteomic data that was collected in-line with glycomic data had the same depth compared to a standard trypsin digest. Peptide deamidation is minimized in the protocol, limiting non-specific deamidation detected at glycosylation motifs. This allowed for direct glycosylation site analysis, though the protocol can accommodate 18O site labeling as well. Overall, we demonstrated a new in-line high-throughput, unbiased, filter based protocol for quantitative glycomics and proteomics analysis.
Antecedents and outcomes of manufacturability in integrated product development

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a model linking the role of design engineers to shared team knowledge, enhanced manufacturability, and product development outcomes. New product manufacturability is a quality of the product design that indicates the ease and reliability by which an organization develops products by using its manufacturing and supply chain resources.Design/methodology/approach – The model is tested using a sample of 205 product development projects from firms in the USA and Canada.Findings – The findings of the large‐scale empirical study suggest that by facilitating informing practices among functional specialists, design engineers help translate a functional portrayal of the product in terms of customer attributes, to a form description in terms of engineering characteristics, and then to a fabrication view in terms of manufacturing processes.Practical implications – New product manufacturability can be a distinctive competency that provides competitive advantage by lowe.
Extrusion of Ca2+ from mouse motor terminal mitochondria via a Na+–Ca2+ exchanger increases post‐tetanic evoked release

Mitochondria sequester much of the Ca2+ that enters motor nerve terminals during repetitive stimulation at frequencies exceeding 10–20 Hz. We studied the post‐stimulation extrusion of Ca2+ from mitochondria by measuring changes in matrix [Ca2+] with fluorescent indicators loaded into motor terminal mitochondria in the mouse levator auris longus muscle. Trains of action potentials at 50 Hz produced a rapid increase in mitochondrial [Ca2+] followed by a plateau, which was usually maintained after the end of the stimulus train and then slowly decayed back to baseline. Increasing the Ca2+ load delivered to the terminal by increasing the number of stimuli (from 500 to 2000) or the stimulation frequency (from 50 to 100 Hz), by increasing bath [Ca2+], or by prolonging the action potential with 3,4‐diaminopyridine (100 μm) prolonged the post‐stimulation decay of mitochondrial [Ca2+] without increasing the amplitude of the plateau during stimulation. Inhibiting the opening of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore with cyclosporin A (5 μm) had no significant effect on the decay of mitochondrial [Ca2+]. Inhibition of the mitochondrial Na+–Ca2+ exchanger with CGP‐37157 (50 μm) dramatically prolonged the post‐stimulation decay of mitochondrial [Ca2+], reduced post‐stimulation residual cytosolic [Ca2+], and reduced the amplitude of endplate potentials evoked after the end of a stimulus train in the presence of both low and normal bath [Ca2+]. These findings suggest that Ca2+ extrusion from motor terminal mitochondria occurs primarily via the mitochondrial Na+–Ca2+ exchanger and helps to sustain post‐tetanic transmitter release at mouse neuromuscular junctions.
Analysis of Communication and Dissemination Channels Influencing the Adoption of Integrated Soil Fertility Management in Western Kenya

Abstract Purpose: The following study was carried out to evaluate the socio-economic factors influencing access to Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM) information and knowledge among farmers in western Kenya, and subsequent ISFM uptake with a view to assessing communication gaps. Design/Methodology/Approach: Structured questionnaires were administered to 120 farmers from Vihiga and Siaya districts. In Vihiga, farmers were sampled in a systematic random manner from farmer groups lists, whereas in Siaya, farmers were selected based on randomly selected diagnostic trial sites of the Africa Soil Information Service (AfSIS) project. Findings: Community-based and mass media channels were found to be significantly advantageous to farmers. Farmers’ preferred information sources and channels included own experiences, farmer field days and farmer groups, respectively. A probit regression model indicated that off-farm income, education level, distance from nearest information centre, livestock value, and district of residence were the socio-economic variables that significantly influenced farmer access to ISFM information and knowledge, and subsequent uptake. In conclusion, farmer field days and farmer groups should be promoted as vehicles for agricultural information communication and dissemination. Practical Implications: The study has practical implications for dissemination of agricultural technologies, especially in small-holder farming regions, characterized by high poverty and poor infrastructure. Originality/Value: The study is original because channels for communication and dissemination of ISFM technologies are poorly documented or non-existent in western Kenya, and in most small-holder farming systems in Africa. The adoption behaviour of ISFM technologies in relation to socio-economic factors by farmers is still poorly understood.
Towards a trusted national identities framework

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to present a qualitative study on implementation of trusted identity management systems. Identity management and assurances in developing countries generates a lot of controversy and challenges for society and this study was set out to design model for trusted identities framework.Design/methodology/approach – Trusted identities framework from a societal perspective is a multi‐stakeholder issue and hence a qualitative research method was deemed appropriate given that it provides opportunities for engagement of stakeholders from different avenues. The use of a stakeholder forum offered a good opportunity for interested parties to raise their issues and get responses. The interviews were also a means of getting clarifications and also offered those not comfortable in public speaking to make their point.Findings – The study made the following interesting findings: that trusted identities depend on institutional collaboration, user empowerment, system quality, information qu.
SRISK: A Conditional Capital Shortfall Measure of Systemic Risk

We introduce SRISK to measure the systemic risk contribution of a financial firm. SRISK measures the capital shortfall of a firm conditional on a severe market decline, and is a function of its size, leverage and risk. We use the measure to study top financial institutions in the recent financial crisis. SRISK delivers useful rankings of systemic institutions at various stages of the crisis and identifies Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Morgan Stanley, Bear Stearns, and Lehman Brothers as top contributors as early as 2005-Q1. Moreover, aggregate SRISK provides early warning signals of distress in indicators of real activity.Received June 7, 2011; accepted April 18, 2016 by Editor Geert Bekaert.
New Product Team Learning: Developing and Profiting from Your Knowledge Capital

Continuous improvement has been credited with helping companies in decreasing manufacturing costs, reducing inventory, compressing cycle time, improving quality, speeding distribution, and increasing customer satisfaction. But what is at the heart of continuous improvement? What allows a company to get better over time? Learning -- or more accurately, organizational learning. How effectively an organization learns can dictate whether it will improve, and how fast, or if it is destined to lose ground to competitors who can and do learn.Nowhere is organizational learning more critical than in new product development -- where one technological platform can lead to families of products, and learning must be transferred from one team to the next. Some companies excel at transporting knowledge between teams and then capitalizing on it, while others do not. Motorola built on its portable pager business to develop portable cellular telephones, Searle built on its technical core competency in drug research to develop NutraSweet, and Corning used its expertise in glass technology to develop optical fibers.1 Xerox, however, failed to apply its copier technology to the personal copier market until competitors were firmly entrenched, Firestone and Goodyear resisted the shift to radial tires, and Seagate waited to develop 3.5" computer disk-drives until other companies had secured an insurmountable lead.Why are some companies able to build competitive advantages by using their storehouse oforganizational knowledge while others are not? What programs can companies institute that wouldenable them to create and profit from the knowledge that they have labored to acquire? How canorganizations establish policies enabling their new product teams to draw on the firm's knowledge base augment it, and then develop the kind of technological breakthroughs that create entirely new industries? By studying a progression of new product projects that included the Apple II, IIe, III, Lisa, Mac and Mac ; the Hewlett Packard 85, 125, 150 and Vectra; and the IBM DataMaster, PC and PCjr. , we learned how teams learn.3 The insights came after completing a total of 85 3/4 hours of interviews (80 hours on tape) with 70 team members: 19 IBM team members; 25 HP team members; and 26 Apple team members. Interviewees included senior company executives such as Apple's co-founder, Steve Wozniak; HP's Executive Vice President, Dick Hackborn; HP's Personal Computer Office Division General Manger, Bob Puette; and IBM's initial PC project leader, Bill Lowe in addition to managers and individual team members in manufacturing, marketing, planning and engineering (hardware, software and firmware).
Creative strategic thinking and the analytical process: critical factors for strategic success

This article looks at the Interrelationship of analysis and creative thinking, which are two of the five factors previously identified as critical for strategic success. Shows how a deficiency of either factor can lead to defective strategies. Suggests that analysis is not always objective, and that it can be heavily influenced by behavioural considerations. Examines other issues in analysis and the role of techniques. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Casein Kinase 2 Interacts with Cyclin-dependent Kinase 11 (CDK11) in Vivo and Phosphorylates Both the RNA Polymerase II Carboxyl-terminal Domain and CDK11 in Vitro *

The PITSLRE protein kinases, hereafter referred to as cyclin-dependent kinase 11 (CDK11) due to their association with cyclin L, are part of large molecular weight protein complexes that contain RNA polymerase II (RNAP II) as well as numerous transcription and RNA processing factors. Data presented here demonstrate that the influence of CDK11p110 on transcription and splicing does not involve phosphorylation of the RNAP II carboxyl-terminal domain by CDK11p110. We have isolated a DRB- and heparin-sensitive protein kinase activity that co-purifies with CDK11p110 after ion exchange and affinity purification chromatography. This protein kinase was identified as casein kinase 2 (CK2) by immunoblot and mass spectrometry analyses. In addition to the RNAP II carboxyl-terminal domain, CK2 phosphorylates the CDK11p110 amino-terminal domain. These data suggest that CDK11p110 isoforms participate in signaling pathways that include CK2 and that its function may help to coordinate the regulation of RNA transcription and processing events. Future experiments will determine how phosphorylation of CDK11p110 by CK2 specifically affects RNA transcription and/or processing events.
Activity of polymorphonuclear leukocytes in the presence of sulfide

Polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) isolated from human blood were exposed to various levels of hydrogen sulfide. The effect on respiratory burst, myeloperoxidase activity, and capacity to phagocytose and kill bacteria were studied. A 1-h exposure of the PMN to 1 mM sulfide did not decrease their myeloperoxidase activity or their capacity to initiate a respiratory burst. Actually the products of the respiratory burst rapidly oxidized sulfide. The phagocytosis and killing of bacteria in the presence of 1 mM sulfide was only decreased to a minor extent. Myeloperoxidase in cell extract was, however, almost completely inhibited by 1 microM sulfide. These results indicate that hydrogen sulfide does not easily permeate PMN. PMN may be able to function in infected sites with high sulfide levels such as in the gingival pockets of periodontal disease. In the oxygenated areas of these sites the PMN may actually help in the detoxification of sulfide.
Managing the Implementation of Public–Private Partnerships

This article examines ‘boundary-spanning’ behaviour within the context of the implementation stage of seven different public—private partnerships (PPPs) in the UK and Australia. It analyses the role of boundary spanners who use informal and flexible personal-level agreements to progress PPPs. The process (‘maintaining synergetic momentum’) is a response to the unusual managerial environment that characterizes the implementation stage of a PPP. The authors offer important lessons for boundary spanners and their managers and suggest further areas for research.
Forecasting Heavy‐Tailed Densities with Positive Edgeworth and Gram‐Charlier Expansions

This article presents a new semi-nonparametric (SNP) density function, named Positive Edgeworth-Sargan (PES). We show that this distribution belongs to the family of (positive) Gram-Charlier (GC) densities and thus it preserves all the good properties of this type of SNP distributions but with a much simpler structure. The in- and out-of-sample performance of the PES is compared with symmetric and skewed GC distributions and other widely used densities in economics and finance. The results confirm the PES as a good alternative to approximate financial returns distribution, specially when skewness is not severe.