Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The evolution of morphological diversity in continental assemblages of passerine birds

Understanding geographic variation in the species richness and lineage composition of regional biotas is a long‐standing goal in ecology. Why do some evolutionary lineages proliferate while others do not, and how do new colonists fit into an established fauna? Here, we analyze the morphological structure of assemblages of passerine birds in four biogeographic regions to examine the relative influence of colonization history and niche‐based processes on continental communities of passerine birds. Using morphological traits related to habitat choice, foraging technique, and movement, we quantify the morphological spaces occupied by different groups of passerine birds. We further quantify morphological overlap between groups by multivariate discriminant analysis and null model analyses of trait dispersion. Finally, we use subclade disparity through time to assess the temporal component of morphological evolution. We find mixed support for the prediction, based on priority, that first colonizers constrain subsequent colonizers. Indeed, our results show that the assembly of continental communities is idiosyncratic with regards to the diversification of new clades and the filling of morphospace.
International Real Estate Review

We examine a unique Korean data set, the Kookmin Bank apartment price index, which is based on broker appraisals, in order to shed light on how brokers determine valuation over real estate cycles. We build a repeat sales apartment price index as well as a hedonic apartment price index by using the transaction data, which have become available in the public domain since 2006, and compare them with the Kookmin Bank apartment price index. By examining the volatility in the broker appraisals as well as the partial adjustment models of broker appraisals, we find that the appraisals are smoothed. Furthermore, the smoothing is asymmetrical and greater during down markets than up markets. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that brokers impound new transaction prices by using the quality of information as weight. The extent of smoothing and asymmetry in smoothing broker appraisals persist over two subsequent cycles contrary to the expectation that they would become more sensitive to transaction prices as transaction prices become more widely spread.
Hydrogen in the extended Venus exosphere

The nearly absence of water in the atmosphere of Venus is a major difference to the situation at Earth. The actual content of hydrogen in the exosphere is still an open issue, since no in situ measurements are available yet. A different method uses the presence of proton cyclotron waves as an early tracer of ionized planetary hydrogen picked‐up by the solar wind, especially in the region upstream of the bow shock. Here, we report long‐term observations over two full Venus‐years of upstream proton cyclotron waves by the magnetometer on the Venus Express spacecraft, which indicate permanent ionization and pick‐up of hydrogen by the solar wind upstream of the planetary bow shock up to high altitudes. The pick‐up protons are shown to be of planetary origin, whereas other sources of neutral hydrogen have only negligible contribution. Therefore, the observation of upstream proton cyclotron waves in the solar wind is a clear indication for the existence of an extended neutral hydrogen corona at Venus, with significant local number densities up to an altitude of eight planetary radii. Recent observations of the exospheric Lyman‐α emission also indicate hot neutral hydrogen densities which are higher than expected.
Establishing Priorities for WCM Investment Alternatives

As widely recognized in the literature, information technology (IT) investments have several special characteristics that make assessing their costs, benefits and risks complex. Apparently, the existing assessment methods have failed to take these special characteristics into account, since formal evaluation methods are not widely applied in organizations. In this paper, we draw from literature and develop a conceptual framework for evaluating strategic IT investments and, based on that, we propose a comprehensive assessment methodology for strategic IT investments. As a descriptive case, we apply the methodology to evaluate the investment alternatives for a Web Content Management (WCM) System in a large multinational company in financial industry.
Digital rate MEMS vibratory gyroscope modeling, tuning and simulation results

This paper is dealing with modeling, tuning and simulation of standing wave control and information processing algorithm for rate MEMS ring-type vibratory gyroscope. Standing wave control algorithm is presented in the form allowing transition from rate to rate integrating and to differential modes of MEMS gyro operation by simple switching command. It enables to implement triple mode MEMS gyro. Block diagrams of the standing wave control algorithm and resonance frequency tracking subsystem are presented. Drive and compensation signal phases tuning are described. Detailed explanations to the main operations which are used in information processing algorithm are given. Also, simulation results in case of measurement of a constant and variable angle rates are presented.
Impact of large-scale PV penetration on power system oscillatory stability

This paper presents the impact of large-scale photovoltaic (PV) generation on power system oscillatory instability. Two models of PV generation systems, namely detailed dynamic and simplified models, have been studied in IEEE-14 bus test system typically used for power system oscillatory instability studies. Influence of radiation pattern, and size and location of PV generating system on the power system stability issue is thoroughly investigated. In PV generation penetration, two scenarios, namely concentrated and scattered are examined. Simulation shows that the increased penetration of PV system enhances power system oscillatory stability.
The Efficacy of an Injection of Steroids for Medial Epicondylitis. A Prospective Study of Sixty Elbows*

We report the details of a prospective, randomized, double-blind study that was undertaken to analyze the short-term and long-term effects of the local injection of methylprednisolone to treat medial epicondylitis. Fifty-eight patients (sixty elbows) were assigned to receive a single injection of 1 per cent lidocaine with either forty milligrams of methylprednisolone (experimental group) or saline solution (control group); both groups were also managed with physical therapy and the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. The two groups were not significantly different with regard to the age and gender of the patients, the duration of the symptoms, the degree of pain before the injection, or the number of dominant upper limbs involved. Six weeks after the injection, the experimental group had significantly less pain than the control group (p < 0.03), as determined with a modification of the grading system of Nirschl and Pettrone. However, the groups did not differ with regard to pain at three months and at one year. The intensity of pain, as measured on a visual-analog scale, did not differ between the two groups six weeks and one year after the injection. We believe that the improvement observed in both groups primarily reflects the natural history of the disorder, and we conclude that the local injection of steroids provides only short-term benefits in the treatment of medial epicondylitis.
β- and γ-cytoplasmic actins display distinct distribution and functional diversity

Using newly generated monoclonal antibodies, we have compared the distribution of β- and γ-cytoplasmic actin in fibroblastic and epithelial cells, in which they play crucial roles during various key cellular processes. Whereas β-actin is preferentially localized in stress fibers, circular bundles and at cell-cell contacts, suggesting a role in cell attachment and contraction, γ-actin displays a more versatile organization, according to cell activities. In moving cells, γ-actin is mainly organized as a meshwork in cortical and lamellipodial structures, suggesting a role in cell motility; in stationary cells, γ-actin is also recruited into stress fibers. β-actin-depleted cells become highly spread, display broad protrusions and reduce their stress-fiber content; by contrast, γ-actin-depleted cells acquire a contractile phenotype with thick actin bundles and shrinked lamellar and lamellipodial structures. Moreover, β- and γ-actin depleted fibroblasts exhibit distinct changes in motility compared with their controls, suggesting a specific role for each isoform in cell locomotion. Our results reveal new aspects of β- and γ-actin organization that support their functional diversity.
CheZ-Mediated Dephosphorylation of the Escherichia coli Chemotaxis Response Regulator CheY: Role for CheY Glutamate 89

ABSTRACT The swimming behavior of Escherichia coli at any moment is dictated by the intracellular concentration of the phosphorylated form of the chemotaxis response regulator CheY, which binds to the base of the flagellar motor. CheY is phosphorylated on Asp57 by the sensor kinase CheA and dephosphorylated by CheZ. Previous work (Silversmith et al., J. Biol. Chem. 276:18478, 2001) demonstrated that replacement of CheY Asn59 with arginine resulted in extreme resistance to dephosphorylation by CheZ despite proficient binding to CheZ. Here we present the X-ray crystal structure of CheYN59R in a complex with Mn2+ and the stable phosphoryl analogue BeF3−. The overall folding and active site architecture are nearly identical to those of the analogous complex containing wild-type CheY. The notable exception is the introduction of a salt bridge between Arg59 (on the β3α3 loop) and Glu89 (on the β4α4 loop). Modeling this structure into the (CheY-BeF3−-Mg2+)2CheZ2 structure demonstrated that the conformation of Arg59 should not obstruct entry of the CheZ catalytic residue Gln147 into the active site of CheY, eliminating steric interference as a mechanism for CheZ resistance. However, both CheYE89A and CheYE89Q, like CheYN59R, conferred clockwise flagellar rotation phenotypes in strains which lacked wild-type CheY and displayed considerable (≈40-fold) resistance to dephosphorylation by CheZ. CheYE89A and CheYE89Q had autophosphorylation and autodephosphorylation properties similar to those of wild-type CheY and could bind to CheZ with wild-type affinity. Therefore, removal of Glu89 resulted specifically in CheZ resistance, suggesting that CheY Glu89 plays a role in CheZ-mediated dephosphorylation. The CheZ resistance of CheYN59R can thus be largely explained by the formation of the salt bridge between Arg59 and Glu89, which prevents Glu89 from executing its role in catalysis.
Sustainable green urban planning: the workbench spatial quality method

Purpose – Amersfoort Local Municipality implemented the workbench spatial quality method (referred to as workbench method) to enhance participation in green‐planning processes.Design/methodology/approach – As part of the Valuing Attractive Landscapes in the Urban Economy project (made possible by INTERREG IVB North West Europe, European Regional Development Fund, European Territorial Cooperation, 2007‐2013), the method was evaluated based on its contribution to three core issues: understanding the value of green spaces; identifying these values; and planning for the enhancement of thereof.Findings – Based on case studies conducted in Amersfoort, The Netherlands, this interactive method invites people to think about the use and experience values of spatial aspects and rate them according to importance and vulnerability. The method focuses on participatory planning and quality identification.Research limitations/implications – Assessment of the value of green space will differ between users, experts and bet.
Scaling up treatment--why we can't wait.

Many arguments have been raised over the years to justify not moving rapidly forward with antiretroviral treatment programs for people living with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and AIDS in settings with limited resources. The standard litany included the price of therapy as compared with the poverty of the patient, the complexity of the intervention, the lack of infrastructure for laboratory monitoring, and the staggering lack of trained health care providers. Narrow cost-effectiveness arguments have been commonplace. False dichotomies — prevention or treatment, rather than both — have too often gone unchallenged. Perhaps of greatest concern several years ago was .
Happy Together? How Using Nonstandard Workers Affects Exit, Voice, and Loyalty Among Standard Employees

We examined how a blended workforce (one with “standard” and “nonstandard” workers in the same jobs) affected exit, “voice,” and loyalty among standard employees. We found that workforce blending worsened relations between managers and employees, decreased standard employees' loyalty, and increased their interest both in leaving their organizations and in exercising voice through unionization. However, these effects were contingent on whether the nonstandard workers were temporary or contract and on the salary and responsibilities of the standard employees.
HOW DO NEW VENTURES EVOLVE? THE PROCESS OF CHARTER CHANGE IN TECHNOLOGY VENTURES.

This article presents research in the field of entrepreneurship, with particular focus on the process of charter change in new technology ventures and the limitations on existing models of new venture growth. The author focuses particularly on the interaction between venture management and stakeholders and how ventures experience a lack of alignment in their evolution. An overview of the data collection and analysis methods is presented and discussed. Implications for the research are also addressed. A chart is included which illustrates an overview of the evolution of four particular ventures.
Why Facebook is flying up high and Twitter can't fly away

Facebook, founded by Mark Zuckerberg in 2004, has 1.18 billion monthly active users, employs 10,000 people, and reported almost US$3 billion profits in 2014 (Figure 1). Twitter, founded by Jack Dorsey and three other people in 2006, has 316 million monthly users, employs 3900 people and reported a net loss of US$ 600 million last year. Listed on the US stock exchange in 2012, Facebook’s market capitalization reaches US$265 billion in 2015 more than 13 times the market value of Twitter, which went public one year and a half later. The evolution of the share prices reflects the investors’ sentiment about the two companies (Figure 2). There are surely many factors explaining why Twitter is lagging behind Facebook. One of them may deserve more scrutiny: what business is Twitter in?
Prediction of liver fibrosis in patients with features of the metabolic syndrome regardless of alcohol consumption

The aim of this study was to determine noninvasive predictive factors of significant liver fibrosis in patients with increased serum aminotransferases associated with features of metabolic syndrome (abdominal obesity, systemic hypertension, fasting hyperglycemia, and dyslipidemia). One hundred seventy‐three patients were prospectively examined, regardless of alcohol consumption. Biometric, metabolic, and hepatic biochemical variables were tested for association with fibrosis assessed on liver biopsy according to the Metavir score system. Significant fibrosis, defined as Metavir scores F2, F3, or F4, was observed in 42 of 173 patients (24%). A logistic regression model and receiver operating characteristic curve were used to construct a simple index predictive of significant fibrosis. None of the patients with serum hyaluronate levels of 35 μg/L or less had significant fibrosis. In patients with serum hyaluronate levels >35 μg/L, no case of fibrosis stage F3 or F4 was found when serum carbohydrate‐deficient transferrin/transferrin ratio was less than 0.9. In conclusion, in patients with increased serum aminotransferases associated with features of metabolic syndrome, a simple algorithm, including serum hyaluronate and serum carbohydrate‐deficient transferrin/transferrin ratio, allows the exclusion of clinically relevant hepatic fibrosis, regardless of current or past alcohol consumption. (HEPATOLOGY 2004;39:1639–1646.)
Capital Structure as a Strategic Negotiating Tool: Evidence from Shareholders’ Class Action Lawsuits

I use a negative exogenous shock to the ability to file shareholder initiated class action lawsuits, the passage of the 1995 Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, to test the effect of the probability of being sued on a firm’s capital structure. After the Act’s passage, firms with the highest ex-ante probability of being sued have the largest decline in leverage ratio. The change in leverage is inversely related to the time until the debt matures. These results suggest that managers use capital structure, specifically short-term debt, strategically as a negotiating tool in shareholder initiated class action lawsuits.
Constrained Control of Positive Discrete-Time Systems With Delays

This brief addresses the control problem of linear time-invariant discrete-time systems with delays. The control is under positivity constraint, which means that the resulting closed-loop systems are not only stable, but also positive. The contribution lies in three aspects. First, a necessary and sufficient condition is established for the existence of such controllers for discrete-time delayed systems. Second, a sufficient condition is provided under the additional constraint of bounded control, which means that the control inputs and the states of the closed-loop systems are bounded. Third, sufficient conditions are proposed for discrete-time delayed systems with uncertainties, whether or not bounded control is considered. All the results are formulated as linear programming problems, hence easy to be verified. And the controllers are explicitly constructed if existent.
Acute Regulation of Na/H Exchanger NHE3 by Adenosine A1 Receptors Is Mediated by Calcineurin Homologous Protein*

Adenosine is an autacoid that regulates renal Na+ transport. Activation of adenosine A1 receptor (A1R) by N6-cyclopentidyladenosine (CPA) inhibits the Na+/H+ exchanger 3 (NHE3) via phospholipase C/Ca2+/protein kinase C (PKC) signaling pathway. Mutation of PKC phosphorylation sites on NHE3 does not affected regulation of NHE3 by CPA, but amino acid residues 462 and 552 are essential for A1R-dependent control of NHE3 activity. One binding partner of the NHE family is calcineurin homologous protein (CHP). We tested the role of NHE3-CHP interaction in mediating CPA-induced inhibition of NHE3 in opossum kidney (OK) and Xenopus laevis uroepithelial (A6) cells. Both native and transfected NHE3 and CHP are present in the same immuno-complex by co-immunoprecipitation. CPA (10-6 M) increases CHP-NHE3 interaction by 30 - 60% (native and transfected proteins). Direct CHP-NHE3 interaction is evident by yeast two-hybrid assay (bait, NHE3C terminus; prey, CHP); the minimal interacting region is localized to the juxtamembrane region of NHE3C terminus (amino acids 462-552 of opossum NHE3). The yeast data were confirmed in OK cells where truncated NHE3 (NHE3Δ552) still shows CPA-stimulated CHP interaction. Overexpression of the polypeptide from the CHP binding region (NHE3462-552) interferes with the ability of CPA to inhibit NHE3 activity and to increase CHPNHE3Full-length interaction. Reduction of native CHP expression by small interference RNA abolishes the ability of CPA to inhibit NHE3 activity. We conclude that CHPNHE3 interaction is regulated by A1R activation and this interaction is a necessary and integral part of the signaling pathway between adenosine and NHE3.
Dynamic State Estimation Under Communication Failure Using Kriging Based Bus Load Forecasting

Dynamic state estimation (DSE) in power system combines forecasting technique with measurement data to accurately estimate system state. The current DSE techniques cannot handle the situation where communication failure occurs and measurement data are lost. In this paper, a new approach is proposed to address this problem. The proposed approach combines the extended Kalman filter (EKF) with load forecasting technique that predicts missing measurement data. A time-forward kriging model is used to forecast the missing load data from the available measurement data. The forecast load is then converted to forecast system state through power flow analysis. The EKF is used to combine the measurement data with the forecast state to obtain a more accurate filtered state. The proposed approach is tested on IEEE 14-bus system and IEEE 118-bus system using realistic load pattern from NYISO and PJM with various scenarios of measurement error and communication failure. The test results from the proposed approach are compared with traditional weighted least square (WLS) state estimation and DSE with multi-step ahead autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) load forecasting. From the case studies, we find that the proposed approach provides more accurate and faster state estimation under most scenarios.
Early stages of induction of anterior head ectodermal properties in Xenopus embryos are mediated by transcriptional cofactor ldb1

Background: Specific molecules involved in early inductive signaling from anterior neural tissue to the placodal ectoderm to establish a lens‐forming bias, as well as their regulatory factors, remain largely unknown. In this study, we sought to identify and characterize these molecules. Results: Using an expression cloning strategy to isolate genes with lens‐inducing activity, we identified the transcriptional cofactor ldb1. This, together with evidence for its nuclear dependence, suggests its role as a regulatory factor, not a direct signaling molecule. We propose that ldb1 mediates induction of early lens genes in our functional assay by transcriptional activation of lens‐inducing signals. Gain‐of‐function assays demonstrate that the inductive activity of the anterior neural plate on head ectodermal structures can be augmented by ldb1. Loss‐of‐function assays show that knockdown of ldb1 leads to decreased expression of early lens and retinal markers and subsequently to defects in eye development. Conclusions: The functional cloning, expression pattern, overexpression, and knockdown data show that an ldb1‐regulated mechanism acts as an early signal for Xenopus lens induction. Developmental Dynamics 243:1606–1618, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.