Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Analysis of cyclical behaviour of investment expenditures for the Turkish economy

This article aims to analyse the cyclical behaviour of fixed investments in Turkey and then construct a Composite Leading Indicators Index (CLI) to forecast the turning points of investment. The cycles of investment and selected leading indicators are identified following the growth cycle approach. The series are detrended using the Hodrick–Prescott (HP) detrending filter. After identification of the cycles and turning points of the selected leading indicators, they are combined into a single composite index. Then a probit model is estimated to evaluate the forecast performance of the composite index. The results show that the constructed CLI is considered to be helpful in monitoring and predicting investment expenditures.
Alarm calls of wintering great tits Parus major: warning of mate, reciprocal altruism or a message to the predator?

When a predator is not an immediate threat, a prey may produce relatively loud alarm calls because the risk is low. Since such calls could nevertheless attract acoustically oriented predators, the cost of predator attraction must be outweighed by factors beneficial to the caller. In this field study we elicited low-risk alarm calls by temporarily catching wintering adult male great tits Parus major at feeders both within and outside their territories. We tested whether the alarm calls of dominant males can be explained in terms of mate warning, reciprocal altruism or notifying the predator of detection. If alarms are intended to warn mates, males accompanied by their mates should give alarm calls both within and outside home range, even if other permanent flock members are absent. If alarms are to be explained by reciprocal altruism, male great tits should give low-risk alarm calls when accompanied by permanent flock members other than mate within and not outside of the home-range. If alarm calling is a message to a predator, males should call when foraging alone. We found that male great tits gave low-risk alarm calls when accompanied by their mates, independent of feeder location. They also gave low-risk alarm calls within home ranges in the presence of other permanent flock members when mates were absent. In contrast, only a few males gave calls when foraging alone within their home ranges, or when in the company of unfamiliar great tits outside their usual home-range. The results suggest that the utterance of alarm calls may be explained as mate protection and reciprocal altruism among familiar individuals.
A square root interest rate model fitting discrete initial term structure data

This paper presents one-factor and multifactor versions of a term structure model in which the factor dynamics are given by Cox/Ingersoll/Ross (CIR) type ‘square root’ diffusions with piece wise constant parameters. The model is fitted to initial term structures given by a finite number of data points, interpolating endogenously. Closed form and near closed form solutions for a large class of fixed income derivatives are derived in terms of a compound noncentral chi-square distribution. An implementation of the model is discussed where the initial term structure of volatility is fitted via cap prices.
The repeat travel market for Taiwan: A multi-stage segmentation approach

Despite the importance of market segmentation, the growth of the travel and tourism industry in Taiwan, and the repeat travel phenomenon in tourism, relatively few studies have examined the behavior of repeat travelers in the East Asia region. The present study was designed to fill this gap. This exploratory study applied multistage segmentation in the context of repeat travel behavior to Taiwan. It examined the socio-demographic profile, trip characteristics and expenditures of Taiwan inbound repeat travelers. The results indicated that nationality, income, type of travel arrangements and information search behavior significantly affected repeat travel behavior. In terms of travel expenditures, males spent significantly more than females. Those travelers between 40 and 60 years old tended to spend the most when they visited Taiwan compared to other groups. Chinese travelers were most likely to have traveled to Taiwan more than once among all nationalities compared in this study. Those from Korea and Japan spent the most money among all nationality groups. This study provided several significant implications for the marketers of tourism in Taiwan.
Germination and emergence of Sorghum bicolor. genotypic and environmentally induced variation in the response to temperature and depth of sowing

Abstract The germination of Sorghum bicolor seeds of 9 genotypes was tested at temperatures between 8°C and 48°C on a thermal gradient plate. Samples were tested from three regions of the panicle expected to differ in temperature during grain filling. Seeds of a tenth genotype, SPV 354, produced in controlled-environment glasshouses at different panicle temperatures, were tested similarly. In addition, the emergence of SPV 354 was measured from planting depths of 2 and 5 cm at mean soil temperatures of 15, 20 and 25°C. Four methods of calculating mean germination rate for the nine genotypes were compared. Germination characters like base, optimum and maximum temperature (Tb, To, Tm), thermal time (θ)and the germination rate at To(Rmax showed only small differences between methods. There was a range of genotypic variation in all characters: Tb 8.5–11.9°C; To, 33.2–37.5°C; Tm, 46.8–49.2°C; θ, 23.4–38.0°Cd; Rmax, 0.69–1.14-d-1. In contrast, mean germinability (G) was between 90% and 100% over the temperature range 13–40°C. Panicle temperature had no effect on any germination character in SPV 354. However, deeper burial increased θ for emergence and decreased G, irrespective of soil temperature except at 5 cm. Increasing panicle temperature, by reducing seed size, reduced G and increased θ by about 10% only at 15°C and 5 cm depth.
Modeling terrestrial ecosystems in the global carbon cycle with shifts in carbon storage capacity by land-use change

A five-compartment model for carbon cycling in the world's terrestrial ecosystems, which includes a concise treatment of the releases of carbon and shifts in carbon storage due to forest clearing, is presented. The dynamics of the less abundant isotopes, /sup 13/C and /sup 14/C, are included in the model to allow interpretation of available isotopic time series. The sensitivity of the net carbon flux between the terrestrial component of the model and atmosphere to 10% variability in terrestrial rate coefficients and growth parameters is examined; for the particular case considered here, the variability in model response is approx. = 10%. Response of the model agrees reasonably well with observations of historical changes in the specific activity of /sup 14/C in the atmosphere. The model-calculated Suess effect in 1952 is 2%, and the time constant of the exponential decrease in atmospheric /sup 14/C following the weapons test ban is 14 yr. By adjusting the releases of carbon due to forest clearing, a fit of model response to /sup 13/C//sup 12/C tree-ring time series is derived. The resulting forest-clearing carbon release function rises to 2.5 Pg/yr by 1910 and remains constant to the present. Due to establishment of ground vegetation following clearing,more » the net carbon flux from the terrestrial biotic system to the atmosphere is less than the release due to clearing in some instances. To accommodate this net input to the atmosphere in addition to that due to fossil fuel combustion, the pre-industrial CO/sup 2/ concentration must be assumed to have been lower than is implied by extrapolating the modern instrument records backward in time. 50 references, 5 figures, 2 tables. « less
Temperament in nonhuman primates

Formerly applied to studies of responsivity in children, in more recent years the concept of temperament has been applied to nonhuman primates at the individual, species, and now population levels. While the concepts of temperament and personality have been less distinguished in nonhuman primate studies than in the human literature, temperamental and personality differences have now been identified among individual primates and among primate species in a number of studies. At the individual level, certain temperamental characteristics have been associated with age, sex, and most frequently rank. At the species level, temperamental profiles have been linked to intraspecific differences in social systems, sociodemographics, and features of life history and ecology. In this report we discuss the application of the temperament concept to nonhuman primates and review findings from studies of primate temperament at the individual, population, and species level. We also cite evidence for genetic and experiential influences on temperament in primates, outline concepts related to possible evolutionary influences on temperament, and discuss the possible relation of temperamental characteristics to social behavior and ecology in selected species. © 1995 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The relationship between capital investment and R&D spending: a panel cointegration analysis

Previous research has shown inconsistent results pertaining to the relationship between capital investment in property, plant and equity and research and development spending (R&D). This study re-examines that relationship between capital investment and R&D in a panel of 36 pharmaceutical firms. This study uses short- and long-run causality methods to capture the connection between the two variables. The short-run causality evidence confirms the research by Mairesse and Siu (1984) documenting that capital investment does not Granger-cause R&D and vice versa. On the other hand, the long-run causality test suggest that R&D and capital investment are cointegrated and the causality runs in both directions. These results imply that capital investment depends on the success of the R&D effort over time. The implementation of breakthroughs created by R&D may require additional capital investment, e.g. facilities and equipment. Moreover, thriving investment activity in one period may stimulate R&D efforts the next period, in order to extend the success of the current products.
Stubborn and Dead-Zone Redesign for Nonlinear Observers and Filters

We propose a redesign paradigm for stable estimators by introducing a saturation or a dead-zone nonlinearity with adaptive thresholds on the output injection term. Such nonlinearities allow improving the sensitivity to measurement noise in different scenarios (impulsive disturbances or persistent noise such as sensor bias), while preserving the asymptotic convergence properties of the original observer. These redesigns apply to a broad class of state estimators, including linear observers, observers for input-affine systems, observers for Lipschitz systems, observers based on the circle criterion, high-gain observers, standard and extended Kalman filters. Simulation results confirm the effectiveness of both the stubborn and dead-zone redesigns.
Entry of Animal Viruses into Cells

In the majority of cases, viruses are transmitted from cell to cell as free particles. For transmission to occur, the viral genome must be packaged, released from the infected cell, delivered to an uninfected cell and unpacked. The packing process results in the viral RNA or DNA being coated either by a protein shell or by a lipoprotein membrane. The coat has two principal functions. The first is to protect the viral genome, and the second is to endow the virion with the molecular machinery to enter a target cell. To protect the viral nucleic acid, the integrity of the coat must be maintained throughout the cell-free stages of the viral life cycle but, when the virion encounters an appropriate host cell, the coat must be removed and the genome delivered to the cytosol and/or nucleus for subsequent replication. Throughout these processes the virus must maintain the integrity of the cell's plasma membrane and ensure the continued viability of the cell. Virus entry comprises a series of steps and the virus must successfully complete each to establish a productive infection. First, virions must bind to the surface of the target cell. They must then penetrate the membrane of that cell, and finally the viral nucleic acid must be uncoated and replicated. In some cases these events are coupled, e.g. binding may facilitate penetration, or penetration may accomplish both membrane translocation and uncoating. This article will consider some recent insights into these processes and will focus primarily on enveloped viruses.
Viscous Damping in Legged Locomotion

Damping likely plays an essential role in legged animal locomotion, but remains an insufficiently understood mechanism. Intrinsic damping muscle forces can potentially add to the joint torque output during unexpected impacts, stabilise movements, convert the system’s energy, and reject unexpected perturbations [1, 2]. Recent legged robots exploit virtual damping as part of a virtual compliance controller [3]: actively produced and sensor-controlled negative actuator work. Virtual damping requires high-frequency force control loops, and precise timing to identify loading conditions during touch-down and takeoff events. Virtual damping systems must feature high-power actuators mechanically and electrically capable of producing negative power, and absorbing negative power peaks. Mechanical damper leg configurations can act instantaneously and without the need for sensing and control feedback, similar to springs [4] (Fig. 1A). Dampers can also share impact loads with leg designs featuring parallel actuator and spring configurations [5]. However, only a few implementations of mechanical damped-systems exist in robotic legged locomotion [6]. The requirements for mechanical dampers are not yet defined, and it remains unknown how the expected benefits from mechanical damping transfer into practice. Real-world effects such as unsprung mass impact dynamics and nonlinear effects of segmented leg designs shape the stance-phase locomotion dynamics and might interfere with mechanical damper implementations. We want to understand how physical damping can be exploited for locomotion tasks [7]. We study the effect of mechanical damping on the total energy of the leg-system and quantify the dissipated energy within one drop cycle— from touch-down to lift-off—for different drop heights and at different damping rates. The simplified drop experiment captures the core aspects of the more complex legged locomotion task: negotiating ground contact, including uncertainties. With a wide parameter space to explore, we combine insights both from numerical simulations and hardware experiments. In a numerical simulation, we implemented a 2-segment leg model with a passive spring-damper element at the knee-joint (Fig. 1A). We characterised this system under different drop conditions: drop height, damping rate, and damping strategy. The simulation results indicate that an adjustable and viscous damper is desired to reject perturbations of the system’s total energy due to variations in the drop height. We examined how our predictions from the numerical simulation relate to hardware experiments (Fig. 1C). We sepFig. 1: (A) 2-segment leg model with parallel spring-damper element mounted at the knee joint. (B) Example of work loop for different damping settings – data from hardware experiments. (C) High-speed snapshots of the hardware set-up, dropped onto force sensor.
Polymorphisms of the TGF-β1 Promoter in Tight Skin (TSK) Mice

TGF-β1 plays a major role in fibrotic diseases including scleroderma. Human fibroblasts from sclerotic lesions display an increased sensitivity to TGF-β1. Similarly, fibroblasts from TSK mice which develop a scleroderma-like syndrome are hyperresponsive to TGF-β. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the TGF-β hypersensitivity demonstrated by TSK/+ fibroblasts is associated with polymorphisms of the TGF-β1 promoter. Sequence analysis revealed one polymorphism (a G → T at -1133 bp) unique to the TSK/+ mouse. Transfection of fibroblasts with a 1.8 kb fragment of the TGF-β1 promoter containing the -1133 polymorphism exhibited increased basal TGF-β1 promoter activity which was enhanced upon incubation with TGF-β1. This may be related to the loss of a negative regulatory site in the TSK/+ TGF-β1 promoter.
Metabolic engineering of an acid-tolerant yeast strain Pichia kudriavzevii for itaconic acid production

Itaconic acid (IA), or 2-methylenesuccinic acid, has a broad spectrum of applications in the biopolymer industry owing to the presence of one vinyl bond and two acid groups in the structure. Its polymerization can follow a similar mechanism as acrylic acid but additional functionality can be incorporated into the extra beta acid group. Currently, the bio-based production of IA in industry relies on the fermentation of the filamentous fungus Aspergillus terreus. However, the difficulties associated with the fermentation undertaken by filamentous fungi together with the pathogenic potential of A. terreus pose a serious challenge for industrial-scale production. In recent years, there has been increasing interest in developing alternative production hosts for fermentation processes that are more homogenous in the production of organic acids. Pichia kudriavzevii is a non-conventional yeast with high acid tolerance to organic acids at low pH, which is a highly desirable trait by easing downstream processing. We introduced cis-aconitic acid decarboxylase gene (cad) from A. terreus (designated At_cad) into this yeast and established the initial titer of IA at 135 ± 5 mg/L. Subsequent overexpression of a native mitochondrial tricarboxylate transporter (herein designated Pk_mttA) presumably delivered cis-aconitate efficiently to the cytosol and doubled the IA production. By introducing the newly invented CRISPR-Cas9 system into P. kudriavzevii, we successfully knocked out both copies of the gene encoding isocitrate dehydrogenase (ICD), aiming to increase the availability of cis-aconitate. The resulting P. kudriavzevii strain, devoid of ICD and overexpressing Pk_mttA and At_cad on its genome produced IA at 505 ± 17.7 mg/L in shake flasks, and 1232 ± 64 mg/L in fed-batch fermentation. Because the usage of an acid-tolerant species does not require pH adjustment during fermentation, this work demonstrates the great potential of engineering P. kudriavzevii as an industrial chassis for the production of organic acid.
Nucleus DJ-1/Park7 acts as a favorable prognostic factor and involves mucin secretion in invasive breast carcinoma in Chinese population

Background: DJ-1/Park7 is a cancerand Parkinson’s disease-associated protein which has been implicated in various aspects of malignant transformation in human tumors. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between nuclear DJ-1/Park7 expression by immunohistochemistry and clinicopathologic parameters in invasive breast carcinomas in Chinese population. Methods: We assessed 258 cases of invasive breast carcinomas using formalin fixed, paraffin embedded tissues, including invasive ductal carcinoma-not otherwise specified (IDCNOS) and special types. Results: We found that nuclear DJ-1/Park7 expression in various invasive breast carcinomas were obviously down-regulated than that in normal mammary gland, only except that in mucinous carcinoma. Increased nuclear expression of DJ-1/Park7 was correlated with some clinicopathologic parameters which were indicators of better prognosis, such as better histological grade, lower Ki-67 index, higher ER/PR expression while decreased nuclear location was associated with triple and HER2 negativity. Furthermore, we expanded to mucinous adenocarcinoma and signet-ring cell carcinoma from stomach, colorectum and lung. Interestingly, nuclear expression of DJ-1/Park7 in mucinous carcinoma from different organs had a similar fold higher than that in adjacent normal gland and the nuclear expression level in signet-ring cell carcinoma were intermediate between corresponding normal gland and mucinous carcinoma. Conclusions: We hypothesized that nuclear location of DJ-1/Park7 might indicate favorable prognosis for patients with invasive breast carcinoma and play a potential role in mucin secretion in adenocarcinomas.
Soil temperature and drying cycle effects on water relations of Pinus radiata

The influence of edaphic and atmospheric conditions on the development of plant water stress, water absorption by roots, and transpiration was studied with 2-year-old seedlings of Monterey pine (Pinus radiata D. Don). The slope of the relationship of xylem pressure potential to transpirational flux density was influenced by root temperature. Increased root resistances (separated from viscosity changes of water) occurred at root temperatures of 12 to 13 °C and became more limiting for water absorption at lower temperatures. Transpirational flux density was not affected by root temperature because xylem pressure potentials were not sufficiently low to close stomata. However, at the end of 9- and 12-day drying cycles, transpiration was lower than in well watered controls as a result of stomatal closure. The relationship between xylem pressure potential and transpiration exhibited hysteresis after 9 days of drying, but hysteresis was minimal upon rewatering or in unstressed control plants.
Asia-Pacific Research and Training Network on Trade

Trade facilitation has been a key part in the opening up process of China. This paper aims to investigate the linkage between trade facilitation and poverty reduction in China. It discusses the impact of the trade facilitation practises in China and the ChinaASEAN cooperation on trade between China and ASEAN countries. A provincial panel data set for China from 2000 to 2008 is employed to quantify the impact of agricultural imports, agricultural exports and trade facilitation on poverty. The results show that a 1 per cent increase in port efficiency results in a 1.051 per cent decrease in the poverty index. JEL Classification: F15, I3, O24
Ordering the World of Goods: Consumer Revolution and the Classification of Objects in Eighteenth-Century France

This article explores the cultural transformations that accompanied the rise of consumption in eighteenth-century western Europe by examining how defenders of luxury, notably George Marie ButelDumont, created new taxonomies to order an expanding world of goods. Building on the work of earlier luxury apologists such as Bernard Mandeville, Voltaire, and David Hume, Dumont reclassi ed objects of necessity, luxury, and ostentation to redeem the category of luxury and thereby legitimate increased consumption. / Representations 82. Spring 2003 q The Regents of the University of California. i s sn 07346018 pages 87–116. All rights reserved. Send requests for permission to reprint to Rights and Permissions, University of California Press, Journals Division, 2000 Center St., Ste. 303, Berkeley, CA 94704-1223. D ow naded rom http://online.ucpress. edu/reprele-pdf/82/1/87/328027/rep_2003_82_1_87. pdf by gest on 14 M ay 2020
Aflatoxin in maize

Abstract Aflatoxin B1 is a potent hepatacarcinogen that occurs in corn worldwide. The aflatoxin‐producing fungus Aspergillus flavus can grow and produce aflatoxin on corn preharvest and in storage. Within the U.S., aflatoxin contamination of preharvest corn has been reported in 23 states, and contamination is chronic in the southeastern U.S. where hot, drought conditions often favor the fungus and the production of aflatoxin. Management practices have been developed to reduce aflatoxin contamination, but in years when environmental conditions are extremely favorable for the fungus, no control strategy is effective. Resistance to aflatoxin accumulation appears to be heritable, but no commercial hybrids are available with adequate resistance. This review covers the epidemiology of A. flavus in preharvest corn from the infection process to the factors that influence aflatoxin formation. Also discussed are the problems associated with the development of resistant varieties and new strategies that are being de.