Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Host-Parasite Coexistence: The Role of Spatial Refuges in Stabilizing Bacteria-Phage Interactions

We manipulated a bacteria-phage model system to investigate empirical and theoretical conditions allowing for the coexistence of an Escherichia coli host with each of two virulent phage species, a T1-like phage (T1X) and λvir. In minimal medium in the laboratory, bacteria coexisted with each phage species in continuous (chemostat) culture; however, in serial culture, T1X rapidly became extinct in all cases and λvir became extinct in most cases. When we refined a previously developed mechanistic model of bacteria-phage interactions in continuous culture, this model failed to predict our laboratory observations of long-term stability of bacteria and phage in chemostats. A serial transfer version of this model, however, came much closer to predicting bacteria-phage dynamics. To investigate why models of continuous culture failed, we tested hypotheses for phage persistence by manipulating experimental culture conditions. We found that wall populations of bacteria strongly influenced the stability of both phage species. When wall populations were not allowed to develop in chemostats, both phage species became extinct rapidly; conversely, when wall populations were allowed to develop in serial transfer, both phage species showed evidence of long-term persistence. The final percentage of sensitive bacteria was significantly higher in walls than in liquid populations, suggesting that glass surfaces did indeed act as a spatial refuge for sensitive bacteria. In addition, serial transfer of bacteria and phage on agar surfaces produced more stable interactions than in liquid. We discuss these results in light of previous observations of bacteria-phage interactions and in the broader context of parasite-host and predator-prey coexistence conditions.
Corporate Governance: Impacts on the Value of Brazilian Public Corporations

In this article we share the results of our research, which sought to verify whether the improvement in corporate governance practices has already had an impact on the value of corporations, measured by the Tobin’s Q. To achieve this objective, a conceptual model was drawn up containing the variables which affect the value of corporations, in order to provide a framework for this study. The investigation examined a non-probabilistic sample of public corporations, whose shares have liquidity and volatility different from zero. The research adopted the multiple linear regression method, which was applied to a secondary data base, thus enabling us to define the variables tested in our model. The data in question were taken from corporations’ financial statements, obtained from the Economatica data base. We also used dummy variables for American Depositary Receipts (ADR) programs, ADR levels 2 and 3 (ADR23), corporations’ listed in the Bovespa’s Differentiated Levels of Corporate Governance (henceforth referred to as DLCG) and the New Market (NM), in order to represent the different levels of corporate governance achieved. The research obtained highly significant statistical results for dummy variables ADR and NM in relation to Tobin’s Q, suggesting that the improvement in corporate governance practices has already had an impact on the value of public corporations whose shares have significant levels of liquidity and price volatility.
Revisiting Non-Linear Dividend Yield Dynamics and Returns Predictability: Evidence from a Time-Varying ESTR Model

Since the bubble of the late 1990's the dividend yield appears non-stationary indicating the breakdown of the equilibrium relationship between prices and dividends. Two lines of research have developed in order to explain this apparent breakdown. First, that the dividend yield is better characterised as a non-linear process and second, that it is subject to mean level shifts. This paper jointly models both of these characteristics by allowing non-linear reversion to a changing mean level. Results support stationarity of this model for eight international dividend yield series. This model is than applied to the forecast of monthly stock returns. Evidence supports our time-varying non-linear model over linear alternatives, particularly so on the basis of an out-of-sample R-squared measure and a trading rule exercise. More detailed examination of the trading rule measure suggests that investors could obtain positive returns, as the model forecasts do not imply excessive trading such that costs would not outweigh returns. Finally, the superior performance of the non-linear model largely arises from its ability to forecast negative returns, whereas linear models are unable to do.
Effect of Trunk Strangulation Degrees in Late Season on Return Bloom, Fruit Quality and Yield of Pummelo Trees Grown in a Plastic House

Seven-year-old 'Tosa Buntan' pummelo (Citrus grandis (L.) Osbeck) trees on trifoliate orange rootstocks grown in a plastic house were used in this study. The trunks were strangulated using 1.6, 2.0 or 2.6 mm steel wires at a depth of wire diameter in midNovember 1991. The wire was removed 3 months later. The enlargement of the trunk girth in the treated trees, especially in the 2.6 mm treatment, was smaller than that in the control. Specific leaf weight (SLW) of the previous year's leaves increased by treatment with 1.6 and 2.0 mm wires, but it occurred later in 2.6 mm treatment. Net photosynthetic rates (Pn) of the leaves, especially in the 2.6 mm treatment, decreased on treated trees. The numbers of inflorescences and flower buds on treated trees were much larger but shoot growth was reduced compared to control trees in 1992. Conversely, treated trees produced fewer flowers in 1993. The percentage of fruit set on treated trees ranged from 2.4 to 3.1% in 1992; no significant difference was noted among treatments. Fruits, harvested in February 1993, from the treated trees weighted less, had thinner peel, and higher contents of sucrose and citric acid in the juice than those in the control trees, but the yield and the number of fruits at harvest were, respectively, 1.4 to 1.6 times and 1.6 to 2.3 times larger in the treated trees than those obtained from control trees. The 2.6 mm treatment resulted in significant reduction in yield in 1994, whereas, the other treatments yielded as well as the control trees, the percent return bloom was significantly reduced. The wire sizes of 1.6 mm and 2.0 mm in diameter were suitable to strangulate the trunks of 7-year-old 'Tosa Buntan' pummelo trees.
Load Frequency Control of Two Area Network, Using Fuzzy Logic

A fuzzy logic based load frequency controller model for power systems is developed and simulated in this paper. The proposed simulation model is compared with the classical regulating systems in order to verify and show the advantages of the model and controller developed. The design process of the proposed fuzzy logic controller is given in detail step by step to show a direct and simple approach for designing fuzzy logic controllers in power systems. After the simulation it was observed that the fuzzy logic control came back to normality and continued stable after 20sec unlike the normal approach which didn’t come back to stability though continued at a steady state after about 15sec. Both were distorted after 10secs.
THE EVOLUTION OF LANGUAGE IN THE LATE PLEISTOCENE

In this paper I shall first address the question of when language evolved, basing my answer on three assumptions. I shall then attempt the question of how language evolved, appealing to a principle of intensity differentiation of call endings and describing how this may have resulted in first modifiers, then commands, and then nouns and names. I shall then insist that this development is roughly correlated with the hastening sequence of archeological artifacts from the Acheulean to Neolithic times. Finally, since such a view demands an exceedingly swift evolution, I shall close with several possibilities of how this ''leveraged'' evolution, as 1 shall call it, could have occurred.
An Economic Analysis of Rebates Conditional on Positive Reviews

In the prevailing e-commerce environment, conditional rebates have emerged as a common business practice on leading online platforms such as Taobao. Because rebates are only offered to purchasing consumers who post positive online reviews, a key concern is that it can easily induce fake reviews that might harm consumers. We theoretically analyze the seller’s optimal conditional-rebate strategies based on heterogeneous consumers’ online-review-posting behavior and derive three practically important findings. First, it is not always profitable for strategic sellers to pursue the conditional-rebate strategy. Blindly offering incentives may not help achieve the goal of review manipulation. Second, the conditional-rebate strategy does not necessarily result in fake reviews. Fake reviews occur only if consumers’ moral cost is low and the review-posting cost is not too high. Third, under certain conditions, offering conditional rebates can even increase consumer surplus and social welfare. Platform owners or policy designers can help reduce social losses by offering transparent sales information and by appropriately controlling the platform review-posting cost to induce quality reviews. Our study offers new insights into the fake-review phenomenon induced by conditional rebates and sheds new light on the policy debate about whether platforms should completely ban incentivized reviews.
Does Institutional Ownership Exacerbate Debt-Equity Conflicts? Evidence from the Auditor Certificate of Debt Covenant Compliance

We study the effect of borrowing firms’ institutional ownership on lenders’ monitoring demand. Using the data on a covenant-monitoring mechanism known as auditor’s certificate of covenant compliance (ACC), we show that the likelihood that a loan contract includes the ACC provision increases with a borrower’s institutional ownership. Consistent with the debt-equity conflict hypothesis, this result is driven by indexed and transient institutions, which are either ineffective or unmotivated in monitoring portfolio firms. The effect is more pronounced among the borrowers with poorer accounting quality, suggesting that firms’ accounting discretion is the key mechanism in play. We further support the causal interpretation by exploiting Russell index reconstitutions. Our evidence suggests that lenders expect borrowers’ earnings-management incentive to grow with indexed and transient ownership and thus take a preemptive action to ensure the effectiveness of covenants as the control-allocation rule.
Corporate Governance, Employment, and Financial Performance of Japanese Firms: A Cross-Country Analysis

This study examines whether the sustained lower profitability and market valuation of Japanese firms compared to global peer firms can be explained by the structure of insider dominate board of directors and the employment system which hinders flexible employment adjustments by using cross-country data. Firstly we show that level of outside director ratio and flexibility of employment adjustment both differ consistently across 27 countries in the analyzed period. We show that these two factors significantly explain observed variation of financial performance across countries significantly. In addition, we show that not only do these two factors have significant explanation power over the relatively poor performance of Japanese firms, but also over the better financial performance and growth rate of US firms.
The Relationship between Numerical Aberrations of Chromosome 17 and Nuclear DNA Content in Colorectal Carcinoma Detected by Fluorescent In Situ Hybridization (FISH) and Cytofluorometry Using Auto-scanning Stage

Recently, interphase cytogenetics using fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) was performed on various kinds of solid tumor, and their inherent karyotypic heterogeneities were revealed. Concerning this heterogeneity, we evaluated both the exhibiting number of chromosome 17 and nuclear DNA content on an identical nucleus by means of computer-controlled auto-scanning stage in order to demonstrate the alteration in number of chromosome 17 among cytofluorometrically distinct subpopulations.We investigated 8 lesions of surgically resected colorectal carcinomas, which were classified as aneuploid in quantitative DNA analysis and also exhibited an increase of 17-aneusomy nuclei. We used paraffin-embedded archival blocks. First, we prepared isolated cell specimens, and memorized the position of the cells on a glass slide using computer-controlled auto-scanning stage. Next, the specimens were stained with propidium iodide, and the fluorescent intensity was evaluated as nuclear DNA content in the order of cell position data. And lastly, FISH was performed with (peri) centromerespecific DNA probes for chromosome 17, and we enumerated the number of signals in a nucleus also according to cell position data. Then, we compared the distribution of number of chromosome 17 among cytofluorometrically distinct subpopulations. Three of 8 lesions showed a single GO+G1 peak, and the rest exhibited plural GO+G1 peaks in DNA profile. And 4 of 5 lesions, which showed plural GO+G1 peaks, presented a peak at the DNA value of (near) 2c. We could detect an alteration in the distribution of number of chromosome 17 between diploid peak and aneuploid peaks in 4 of 4 lesions which presented a peak at the DNA value of (near) 2c. However, we could ot find a difference in the distribution of number of chromosome 17 between GO+G1 peak and G2+M peak. These observations indicate that the distribution of number of chromosome 17 reflects an endoreduplication of genome content, yet, it does not alter in accordance with the phase of cell cycle. It is necessary to evaluate nuclear DNA content simultaneously in order to assess an essential cytogenetic change.
Social Media Marketing Strategies and Organisational Efficiency

The study examined the effect of social media marketing strategies on organisational efficiency. The study reviewed relevant literature and empirically analyzed the data collected for the study by using statistical tools. Data were collected from a random sample of Nigeria industrial marketing companies in Port Harcourt drawn from a Nigeria contact information database. A total of 495 completed copies of questionnaire were received, all representing different companies. The study revealed that two most important objectives of social media marketing are: creating awareness and enhancing brand image. The study revealed that industrial marketing organisations strategically deploy Twitter, Blog and Facebook to implement their social media marketing strategies. Marketers are increasingly held accountable for their actions, yet most marketers struggle in their attempts to optimize marketing performance. The study found that all the three independent variables (Facebook, Twitter and blog) were significant predictors of organisational efficiency. The study therefore, recommends that industrial marketing companies should invest in acquiring human resources with the capability to utilize social media marketing tools.
Control of Vespula germanica (Hym. Vespidae) populations using toxic baits: bait attractiveness and pesticide efficacy

Abstract: Our aim was to test a set of baits and pesticides for the control of yellowjacket populations in NW Patagonia (Argentina), through field trials. We tested the attractiveness of protein (fresh and freeze‐dried beef) and carbohydrate (corn syrup and honey) baits (alone and mixed) and three pesticides commonly employed to control terrestrial domestic arthropods (hydramethylnon 2%, permethrin 0.3% and chlorpyrifos 0.25%). Our results show that beef proved to be the most attractive bait tested, for Vespula germanica wasps in NW Patagonia. Honey and corn syrup alone or mixed with beef did not attract foraging wasps as did beef‐only baits throughout the wasp season. Additionally, we show that the attractiveness of lyophilized beef baits is similar to that of fresh beef. The efficacy of the insecticides tested was limited. In fact, only baiting with hydramethylnon 2% reduced wasp populations (54%) and this occurred after 72 h since poisoning. However, given the potential of insects to develop resistance to a consistent use of a single product (e.g. fipronil 0.1%), the use of hydramethylnon may allow the alternating of insecticides in specific situations. The information provided here contributes to the existent knowledge on baits and insecticides for the control of yellowjackets using toxic baits.
Isolation and characterization of starch from bamboo culm (Guadua flabellata)

Starch was isolated from bamboo culm in 8.5% yield. The starch was characterized by poligonal granules ranging in size from 1 to 12 μm and an amylose content of 24%. The granules were compact, with a density of 1.531 g/cm3. This, probably, reflected in low swelling power and solubility in water and poor solubility in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). Brabender amylogram indicated an initial pasting temperature of 75°C and a high susceptibility to breakdown by thermal and/or mechanical shear. Isolierung und Charakterisierung der Starke aus Bambusstengeln (Guadua flabellata). Am Bambusstengeln wurde die Starke in 8,5%iger Ausbeute isoliert. Die Starke war durch polygonale Kornchen charakterisiert, deren Grose zwischen 1 und 12 μm lag und deren Amylosegehalt 24% betrug. Bei einer Dichte von 1,531 g/cm3 waren die Korner sehr kompakt. Dies zeigte sich offensichtlich in niedrigem Quellvermogen und niedriger Loslichkeit in Wasser sowie in geringer Loslichkeit in Dimethylsulfoxid (DMSO). Das Brabender-Amylogramm zeigte eine Anfangs-Verkleisterungstemperatur von 75°C sowie eine hohe Empfindlichkeit hinsichtlich des Abbaues durch thermische und/oder mechanische Scherbeanspruchung.
Women Empowerment Index: Construction of a Tool to Measure Rural Women Empowerment Level in India

Poverty ignites the societal gap between men and women, while economic development narrows it down through its gender promotional activities. There is bidirectional relationship between economic development and empowerment of women. Women empowerment, being dependent on complex sociological and economic issues, needs to be measured in terms of specific parameters like ‘access to resources’, ‘decision making capability’ and ‘ability to take a stand’. This particular study develops an Index based on few sector-specific parameters to measure empowerment level of women engaged in Self Help Groups. Both ‘individual empowerment index’ and ‘group empowerment indices’ have been constructed, where ‘financial liberty’, ‘ability to take decisions’, ‘heath condition of the women' and ‘ability to stand up against the evils of the society’ have been considered as her empowerment parameters. The index was applied on 300 SHG Group members of rural West Bengal, which provided us an idea about the existing level of rural women empowerment in West Bengal.
Musculoskeletal Disorders and Psychosocial Factors at Work

This report presents the current state of scientific knowledge on the ways in which psychosocial factors influence musculoskelatal disorders (MSDs), and their impact on work capacity and quality. Almost 40m workers in Europe suffer from MSDs of the limbs and back and are the most common occupational disease in the EU. The aim of the paper is influence intervention efforts and provide scientifically-grounded recommendations to improve the health of Europe’s workers.
Epithelial Development and Differentiation in the Mammary Gland Is Not Dependent on α3 or α6 Integrin Subunits

Abstract In the mammary gland, both laminin and integrins have been shown to be required for normal ductal morphogenesis during development in vivo, and for functional differentiation in culture models. Major integrin receptors for laminins in the mammary gland are α3β1, α6β1, and α6β4. However, the specific subunits that contribute to laminin-mediated mammary cell function and development have not been identified. In this study, we use a genetic approach to test the hypothesis that laminin-binding integrins are required for the function of the mammary gland in vivo. Rudiments of embryonic mammary gland were shown to develop in the absence of these integrin subunits. Postnatal development of the mammary gland was studied in integrin null tissue that had been transplanted into the mammary fat pads of syngeneic hosts. In mammary epithelium lacking α6 integrin, the β4 subunit was not apparent and hemidesmosome formation was only rudimentary. However, despite this deficiency, normal ductal morphogenesis and branching of the mammary gland occurred and myoepithelial cells were distributed normally with respect to luminal cells. Mammary alveoli devoid of α3 or α6 integrin formed in pregnancy and were histologically and functionally identical to those in wild-type mammary gland. The tissue underwent full morphological differentiation, and the epithelial cells retained the ability to synthesize β-casein. This work demonstrates that mammary tissue genetically lacking major laminin-binding integrin receptors is still able to develop and function.
Is Obesity Contagious? Social Networks vs. Environmental Factors in the Obesity Epidemic

This note's aim is to investigate the sensitivity of Christakis and Fowler's claim [Christakis, N. , Fowler, J., 2007. The spread of obesity in a large social network over 32 years. The New England Journal of Medicine 357, 370-379] that obesity has spread through social networks. It is well known in the economics literature that failure to include contextual effects can lead to spurious inference on "social network effects. " We replicate the NEJM results using their specification and a complementary dataset. We find that point estimates of the "social network effect" are reduced and become statistically indistinguishable from zero once standard econometric techniques are implemented. We further note the presence of estimation bias resulting from use of an incorrectly specified dynamic model.
Toward a Liberal Analysis of the Law

This paper looks to explore the effects of James Buchanan's book Cost and Choice since its publication. I discuss how Cost and Choice has had a limited impact on the treatment of welfare economics within Law &amp; Economics. I then elaborate on Buchanan's discussion to highlight other issues within the field and how they provide some insight into Buchanan's conception of the rule of law. This paper also discusses some implications for Law &amp; Economics analysis moving forward. <br><br>
High Frequency Traders and Market Structure

The arrival of high-frequency traders (HFTs) coincided with the entry of new markets and, subsequently, strong fragmentation of the order flow. These trends might be related as new markets serve HFTs who seek low fees and high speed. New markets only thrive on competitive price quotes which well-connected HFTs can deliver as they can offload any nonzero position in any market they are connected to. HFTs may benefit or hurt market quality through adverse selection on price quotes, a technology arms race, or high-risk trading strategies.
On the persistence of sectoral electricity consumption in Iran: a GARCH-based unit root approach

ABSTRACT This paper examines the stationary properties of the electricity consumption of five main sectors (residential, public services, industrial, agricultural, and street lighting) in Iran over the period 1967–2017. To analyze the data, we apply the Lagrange Multiplier (LM) and GARCH-based unit root tests with structural breaks. The results of our study provide strong evidence that electricity consumption is stationary in the industrial, residential and street lighting sectors; thus, sharp shocks have transitory effects on electricity consumption, implying that consumption trends in these sectors will ultimately return to their long-run equilibrium. However, the time series of electricity consumption for the agricultural and public services sectors contain a unit root, and thus shocks to their electricity consumption are permanent. The foregoing findings can help policymakers in each sector to design efficient electricity management policies.