Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Editorial: Special Issue on digitalization and the actor’s perspective, VIII Actor Reality Construction Conference

About this issue This issue of Proceedings of Pragmatic Constructivism contains abstracts from the VIII Actor Reality Construction conference held from 24 October to 26 October 2018 at Scuola Superiore Sant‘Anna, Pisa, Italy. The conference was altogether very successful as it presented advancements in Pragmatic Constructivism, and it also connected studies on Pragmatic Constructivism to timely technological developments such as digitalization. The abstracts selected to this issue give indications of topics that that are currently being studied using Pragmatic Constructivism as an analytical framework. As such we are happy share these very early research contributions. Some of these streams of research as well as other contributions under discussion within the Pragmatic Constructivism community will yield full paper publications within this journal in upcoming issues. At the conference, as a practically relevant outcome, formal working groups among the participants of the conference were formed. Five groups will be working actively on the following themes: Costing & Management Accounting, Values, Language games, Methodology, and Learning. We are looking forward to follow the work from these groups and hopefully be able to publish some of their works through this journal. The rest of the editorial is organized in the following way. We focus on digitalization as a theme that relates to many interesting research topics of the Pragmatic Constructivism research community. Furthermore, we elaborate on the actor’s perspective in the digital era to specify some topics for further research. Finally, we present some conclusions on the conference discussions and avenues for further research in the Proceeding of Pragmatic Constructivism (and elsewhere).
Private Equity and Corporate Governance: Retrospect and Prospect

Manuscript Type: Review Research Question/Issue: We assess the corporate governance role and the impact of private equity. Research Findings/Results: Private equity firms are heterogeneous in their characteristics and activities. Nevertheless, a corporate governance structure with private equity involvement provides incentives to reduce agency and free cash flow problems. Additionally, private equity enhances the efficacy of the market for corporate control. Private equity investment is associated with performance gains, with such gains not simply being a result of transfers from other stakeholders. In the short term, the benefits appear clear to outgoing owners and to the new owners and management while in the longer term the benefits are less clear. While non-financial stakeholders argue that other stakeholders suffer in the short and long term, the evidence to support this view is at best mixed. Theoretical Implications: By reviewing a comprehensive selection of theoretical and empirical papers published in refereed academic journals in finance, economics, entrepreneurship, and management as well as publicly available working papers and private equity industry studies, we develop a more complete understanding of private equity investment. Agency theory has shortcomings when applied to the broad sweep of private equity-backed buyout types, as in some cases pre-ownership change agency problems were likely low (e.g., family firms), in some cases the exploitation of growth opportunities owes more to the entrepreneurial behavior of managers than to improved incentives, and in some institutional contexts outside Anglo-Saxon countries traditional agency issues are different and stakeholder interests are more important. There is a need for further theorizing on the heterogeneity of buyout and private equity types and the contexts in which they occur. Particularly useful perspectives seem to be entrepreneurial perspectives (e.g., entrepreneurial cognition, strategic entrepreneurship), stewardship theory, and institutional theory. Stakeholder governance theory (e.g., relating to employee ownership and participation) may also be useful for explaining wider distribution of gains. Practical Implications: Private equity investment is a positive feature of the corporate restructuring landscape. There is a need for managers and their advisors to be aware of the heterogeneity of the opportunities to create value and the expertise of different private equity firms. Policymakers designing mechanisms to regulate private equity need to be aware of the systematic evidence that shows a more positive impact of private equity than some have claimed, but also that there are heterogeneous effects relating to different types of buyouts and private equity firms that need to be taken into account.
Metal Ion Release of Manufactured Metal Oxide Nanoparticles Is Involved in the Allergic Response to Inhaled Ovalbumin in Mice

The aim of the present study was to establish the mechanism of the allergy aggravation effect. Our previous study showed that soluble ZnO nanoparticles caused allergy aggravation, but insoluble TiO2 and SiO2 nanoparticles did not induce an allergic response. Metal ion release is associated with the cytotoxicity of manufactured nanoparticles; however, the role of metal ion release in allergy aggravation remains to be elucidated. Therefore, we examined the allergy aggravation potential of several soluble manufactured nanoparticles (ZnO, CuO, NiO, MgO, and CaCO3). These nanoparticles were administered to mouse lungs by pharyngeal aspiration and subsequently, the mice inhaled ovalbumin (OVA). We also compared the properties of soluble NiO nanoparticles with insoluble micro-scale NiO particles. NiO nanoparticles markedly increased the levels of OVAspecific immunoglobulin (Ig) E but micro-scale NiO particles did not. Among the nanoparticles (ZnO, CuO, MgO, and CaCO3), ZnO induced increase of OVA-specific IgE level. CuO showed tendency to increase OVA-specific IgE; however, no significant difference was observed. Additionally, ZnO and NiO nanoparticles enhanced expression of a gene related to inflammation (Cxcl2), heavy metal detox (metallothionein 2), and oxidative stress (heme oxygenase-1). Gene expression of arginase1, which is enhanced by T helper 2 cytokine, was remarkably enhanced in mice administered ZnO and NiO particles. These effects were not observed in mice administered MgO and CaCO3 nanoparticles. In conclusion, the solubility and type of metal ion released from the nanoparticles influence the allergy aggravation effect. The results showed that the release of Zn2+ and Ni2+ aggravated the allergic reaction.
The Quantitative Genetics of Prescutellar Bristles in Melon Fly, ＂Bactrocera cucurbitae＂ (Coquillett)

The polymorphism of prescutellar bristles (＂prsc＂) in melon fly, ＂Bactrocera cucurbitae＂ (Coquillett), was investigated by artificial selection of phenotypes and quantitative genetic analysis. In the wild strain, generally more than 95% population have 2 ＂prsc＂ while some may have 4 ＂prsc＂. By selection, however, a group of phenotypes was appeared with the number of ＂prsc＂ reach up to 14 and more. All multiplied bristles were randomly arranged in a region of posterior half of ＂scutum＂ and between the lateral ＂vita＂. The quantitative genetic analysis was conducted by crossing two strains of different phenotypes, one from each strain. In each cross only one virgin male and one virgin female were paired, with a total of 6 pairs in each experiment, and 200-500 offsprings from each experiment were examined for their phenotypes. For each cross, only one 2-＂prsc＂ individuals (the major component of the wild population) and one 12-＂prsc＂ or 14-＂prsc＂ individuals from the selected strains were interbred, and then inbred F_1 for the F_2 progeny. The results showed that for 2-＂prsc＂ × 12-＂prsc＂, the F_1 progeny constituted a group of phenotypes with different ＂prsc＂ numbers, and the mean was 4.7 ± 0.9 which was in-between two parental phenotypes. The mean of ＂prsc＂ in F_2 is 4.7 ± 1.9. The difference between the means of F_1 and F_2 is insignificant in the t-test (P ＞ 0.05). For 2-＂prsc＂ × 14-＂prsc＂, the F_1 progeny constituted a group of phenotypes, with the mean of 5.0 ± 1.0 which was in-between their parental phenotypes. The F_2 offsprings had their mean at 5.1 ± 2.3. The t-test indicated no significant difference between the means of F_1 and F_2 (P ＞ 0.05). Moreover, as the coefficients of variation of F_2 were higher than those of F_1 (40.1% ＞ 19.5% versus 45.9% ＞ 21.7%), it suggests that more variability around the mean of F_2 than that of F_1. The extreme values in ＂prsc＂ for F_2 were extended to the range of their parental values (2-15 ＂prsc＂ and 1-17 ＂prsc＂, respectively) than did the extreme values of F_1. Results of this study were similar to that reported by Emerson & East (1913), indicating that the ＂prsc＂ of melon fly is a continuous and quantitative trait in inheritance.
The immunogenicity of Eimeria tenella sporozoite proteins and living oocyst vaccines in broilers.

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the immunity of broilers inoculated with sporulated oocysts and sporozoite proteins of Eimeria tenella against challenge with homologous infectives oocysts. Broiler chickens of Hubbard strain, females, coccidian-free, were kept in wire cages and inoculated on the third day (day 0). Three treatments were used: T1, the negative control; T2, received 500 sporulated oocysts by gavage; T3, positive control; T4, received 50 ? g of sporozoite protein with Quil A; and T5, received Quil A without sporozoite protein and PBS, the last two protocols were administered via nasal route on days 0, 7, and 21. On the 31st day, all groups, with the exception of T1, were challenged with homologous virulent strain of E. tenella at the dose of 8.0×104 oocysts. Immunogenicity was assessed by carotenoids, ELISA assay, histopathological analysis, oocysts count and lesion score. Antibody kinetics were measured weekly and showed a gradual increase in levels of immunoglobulin for treatment T2 and T4, reaching a peak on day 21. Based on the parameters evaluated, a total protecting immunological effect for the infectant oocysts vaccine (T2) and partial protection for the sporozoite protein vaccine (T4) against homologous virulent strain challenge were observed.
Wireless Charging System Using FSK for Bidirectional Communication between Input and Output Circuit

Several portable electronic devices (which include laptops, cellular phones, virtual cameras, and electric shavers) rely on rechargeable batteries and need to be robotically charged by way of the line electricity. A wireless charging technique able to handing over electromagnetic power to those transportable devices could cause them to tether unfastened and “sincerely transportable. ” Wi-Fi charging is specifically valuable for gadgets with which stressed out connections are intractable.Recently the wireless transmission of energy has been a completely energetic subject matter of research as has interest inside the electrification of small gadgets like mobile, pc charging machine wireless electricity switch (WPT) is based totally on a generation called magnetic resonance coupling. two copper coils are tuned to resonate at the same natural frequency. The coils are located some feet apart (as shown in Fig.1). One coil is hooked up to an electric powered present day, which generates a magnetic area that reasons the second one coil to resonate. This magnetic resonance outcome in the switch of electrical strength thru the air from the first coil to the receiving coil. The resonant circuits themselves need to have a excessive Q-element to allow for the excessive cutting-edge operation of the system. Wireless charging structures were advanced by way of the use of high frequency wireless planar transformers (HFWPTs), based on exceptional systems like fractal, circular and rectangular designs which may be used to price any transportable devices without any direct physical connection. HFWPT allows an electricity switch using inductive coupling, which could help to, triumph over touch failure troubles, emerge as handy, and person friendly every other gain of this layout is to help in development of mild-weight, small sized and fantastically green excessive frequency chargers for portable gadgets inclusive of mobile phones and notebook desktops.
TOWARDS SCREENING THE ENHANCE OF LUMINESCENCE PROPERTIES OF OXIDIZED TANNINS BY A FENTON-LIKE REACTION

After modifi cation of enotannins, fl avonols monomer units could be obtained with polyfunctional properties. Moreover, polyphenols are known to generate H 2 O 2 and other free radicals under alkaline conditions. Reactive oxygen species generation and catalytic infl uence of ferrous ions enhance the chemiluminescence light. Therefore, Oxidized Tannin/Tris-EDTA/Fe 2+ ions system have been used for screening luminescent properties of oxidized tannins.
EXPLORING THE SYNERGISTIC RELATIONSHIPS OF CIRCULAR BUSINESS MODEL DEVELOPMENT AND PRODUCT DESIGN

Circular economy is a key approach for promoting a sustainable society. The design of innovative circular business models is critical and potentially leads to changes in strategies during product design and development. Systemic approaches relating business models and product design should be reflected in the methodological support for circular transformation. This article investigates this synergistic relationship and, by means of literature review, discusses how circular business modelling approaches address the integration with product design. Gaps and future improvements are outlined.
Gromov–Witten Invariants of Calabi–Yau Manifolds With Two Kähler Parameters

We study the Gromov–Witten theory of $K_{{{\mathbb{P}}}^1\times{{\mathbb{P}}}^1}$ and some Calabi–Yau hypersurfaces in toric varieties. We give a direct geometric proof of the holomorphic anomaly equation for $K_{{{\mathbb{P}}}^1\times{{\mathbb{P}}}^1}$ in the form predicted by B-model physics. We also calculate the closed formula of genus one quasimap invariants of Calabi–Yau hypersurfaces in ${{\mathbb{P}}}^{m-1}\times{{\mathbb{P}}}^{n-1}$ after restricting the 2nd Kähler parameter to zero. By the wall-crossing theorem between Gromov–Witten and quasimap invariants, we thus obtain their genus one Gromov–Witten invariants.
Biological residues define the ice nucleation properties of soil dust

Abstract. Soil dust is a major driver of ice nucleation in clouds leading to precipitation. It consists largely of mineral particles with a small fraction of organic matter constituted mainly of remains of micro-organisms that participated in degrading plant debris before their own decay. Some micro-organisms have been shown to be much better ice nuclei than the most efficient soil mineral. Yet, current aerosol schemes in global climate models do not consider a difference between soil dust and mineral dust in terms of ice nucleation activity. Here, we show that particles from the clay and silt size fraction of four different soils naturally associated with 0.7 to 11.8 % organic carbon (w/w) can have up to four orders of magnitude more ice nucleation sites per unit mass active in the immersion freezing mode at −12 °C than montmorillonite, the nucleation properties of which are often used to represent those of mineral dusts in modelling studies. Most of this activity was lost after heat treatment. Removal of biological residues reduced ice nucleation activity to, or below that of montmorillonite. Desert soils, inherently low in organic content, are a large natural source of dust in the atmosphere. In contrast, agricultural land use is concentrated on fertile soils with much larger organic matter contents than found in deserts. It is currently estimated that the contribution of agricultural soils to the global dust burden is less than 20 %. Yet, these disturbed soils can contribute ice nuclei to the atmosphere of a very different and much more potent kind than mineral dusts.
State‐specific study of hydrogen desorption from Si(100)‐(2×1): Comparison of disilane and hydrogen adsorption

The desorption of hydrogen from the monohydride species on Si(100) has been studied state specifically using (2+1) resonance‐enhanced multiphoton ionization. The monohydride phase was prepared by dosing the surface with either disilane (Si2H6) or atomic hydrogen. Adsorption of disilane with subsequent desorption of H2 leads to the growth of an epitaxial silicon film, based on evidence obtained with scanning electron microscopy and low energy electron diffraction. We report that the rovibrational‐state distribution for hydrogen desorbed from Si(100) is the same after both disilane and atomic‐H adsorption. Hydrogen desorbs with low average rotational energy but with a population in the v=1 state enhanced by roughly 20 times over a thermal distribution at the temperature of the surface. The agreement between internal‐state distributions for both adsorption schemes indicates that the desorption of hydrogen during epitaxial growth of Si after Si2H6 adsorption proceeds in the same manner as that for a hydrogen‐.
Jatropha cinerea SEED OIL AS A POTENTIAL NON-CONVENTIONAL FEEDSTOCK FOR BIODIESEL PRODUCED BY AN ULTRASONIC PROCESS

This work demonstrates that Jatropha cinerea (J. cinerea) seed oil has potential as a new, non-conventional, bio-energy resource. The physical and chemical properties of J. cinerea seeds, collected from its natural habit, were evaluated. The length-, diameter- and weight- of seeds were in the ranges of 8 to 12 mm, 7.5 to 11 mm, and 0.2 to 0.7 g, respectively. Additionally, the amount of oil in the seed kernel was 65.77 wt. %, and it contained 15% saturated, 33% monounsaturated, and 51% polyunsaturated fatty acids. The major constituent (50.8 wt%) of crude J. cinerea oil was linoleic acid. Based on its content of phorbol esters (0.22 mg g 1 ), J. cinerea was considered to be a non-toxic Jatropha species. Iodine, saponification, and acid values of the J. cinerea seed oil were similar to those of the J. curcas seeds oil; therefore, it was suggested that J. cinerea oil had the quality required for biodiesel production from J. cinerea seeds oil was produced by a sonotransesterification process, evaluating the e ect of the methanol: oil molar ratio (MOR), temperature, and reaction time. The best conditions for biodiesel production were 25oC, a MOR of 4:1, and a notably short reaction time of 20 s. These conditions were very advantageous as compared to those required by conventional processes, and very promising for the development of a low cost biodiesel production process using J. cinerea seed oil as a feedstock.
Regulation of the Alternative NF-ÃÂºb Pathway and Its Role in Cancer

NF-κB is regulated by two distinct pathways namely the Classical NF-κB pathway and the recently discovered alternative NF-κB pathway. While the classical NF-κB pathway has been extensively studied for its role in cancer, our understanding of the regulation of the alternative NF-κB pathway and its role in cancer has been limiting. Nevertheless, significant progress has been made recently that revolves around the regulation of NF-κB inducing kinase and its role in cancer. These recent developments will be discussed in this editorial.
Decentralized Finite-Time Connective Control for a Class of Large-Scale Systems with Different Structural Forms

Decentralized finite-time connective control problem for a class of large-scale interconnected systems is studied in this paper. The research aims at two structural forms, namely, the interconnected structure and the one with expanding construction. A new method is proposed to design a decentralized state feedback control law for a large-scale interconnected system so that the closed-loop system is finite-time connectively bounded. The sufficient conditions for the existence of such a decentralized control law are deduced by using LMI method. Another method is presented for a large-scale interconnected system with expanding construction which can be used without changing the decentralized state feedback control law of the original system to design a controller for the newly added subsystem so that both the new subsystem and the resulting expanded system are finite-time connectively bounded. The feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method are verified by some simulation results.
Development and application of a novel multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for rapid detection of various types of staphylococci strains

In this study, a novel multiplex- polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for rapid detection of various staphylococci strains, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus, (MSSA) methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative staphylococci (MRCNS), methicillin-sensitive coagulase-negative staphylococci (MSCNS) and non-staphylococci strains, had been developed and applied. Six primers were specially designed on three target genes, which were mecA, 16S Ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA) and femA. The specific amplification generated 3 bands on agarose gel, with sizes 374 bp for mecA, 542 bp for 16S rRNA and 823 bp for femA, respectively. The PCR product showed highest levels of resolution of DNA when 250 �M of dNTP, primer concentration of mecA, 16S rRNA and femA reaching 1, 1 and 3 �M respectively. No false positive amplification was observed, indicating the high specificity of the established multiplex PCR assay. Application of this multiplex-PCR had been further performed on detection for 262 MRSA and MRCNS strains with primers pairs M1 with M2 and F1 and F2. According to the results, multiplex-PCR results showed expected products for either MRSA or MRCNS strains, demonstrating the multiplex-PCR assays established in this study to be useful and powerful methods for differentiation of MRSA, MSSA, MRCNS, MSCNS and non-staphylococci strains.
Archipelago-wide coral recovery patterns since 1998 in the Chagos Archipelago, central Indian Ocean

Patterns of coral recovery are analysed across reefs of the Chagos Archipelago, which spans 400 x 250 km in the central Indian Ocean. This archipelago mostly lacks direct human impacts and is subject only to global changes such as a rise in sea surface temperature. Following very heavy coral mortality (mostly > 90%) caused by the 1998 warming event, and despite 2 further sub-lethal bleaching events, the recovery of coral cover, colony numbers and juvenile recruitment has been good in many parts of the archipelago. There was little discrimination between atolls and depths, with a notable exception of 1 atoll where a repeat of heavy mortality had occurred in 2005. In 2006, coral cover was almost restored to pre- 1998 values at most shallow sites, but had recovered much less in deeper waters. However, in shallow water, coral cover values alone are a poor indication of recovery, because present, shallow cover mainly comes from Acropora palifera and other corals that are largely encrusting in juvenile form, in contrast to their mature condition, in which they provide a 3-dimensional 'forest' structure. Recruitment of juvenile colonies in 2006 ranged from 6 to 28 m(-2). Total juvenile density showed no significant pattern with atolls or with depth, but, taking each genus of juveniles in turn, many genera showed a marked depth preference. No shift was observed towards algal domination, or to assemblages dominated by Porites or faviids, as has been reported elsewhere. Recovery in Chagos 8 yr after massive coral and soft coral mortality is discussed in relation to an absence of other, locally manageable factors such as pollution, over-fishing and sedimentation.