Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The telecommunications industry in Taiwan

Telecommunications in Taiwan dates back more than 100 years and is provided by a government-owned organization. With the worldwide trend of liberalization and globalization of the telecom business, Taiwan cannot isolate itself from the international arena and must face the challenge of increased competition. The author first introduces the current status of the telecommunications industry in Taiwan, and then describes some technical innovations and a series of policies implemented by the government. In addition, telecom service projects and future prospects are also presented.
Molecular Epidemiological Study of HIV-1 CRF01_AE Transmission in Hong Kong

Objectives:The objective of this study was to investigate the transmission history of the HIV-1 CRF01_AE epidemics in Hong Kong between 1994 and 2007. Methods:A total of 465 HIV-1 CRF01_AE pol sequences were derived from an in-house or a commercial HIV-1 genotyping system. Phylogenies of CRF01_AE sequences were analyzed by the Bayesian coalescent method. Results:CRF01_AE patient population included 363 males (78.1%) and 102 females (21.9%), whereas 65% (314 of 465) were local Chinese. Major transmission routes were heterosexual contact (63%), followed by intravenous drug use (IDU) (19%) and men having sex with men (MSM) (17%). From phylogenetic analysis, local CRF01_AE strains were from multiple origins with 3 separate transmission clusters identified. Cluster 1 consisted mainly of Chinese male IDUs and heterosexuals. Clusters 2 and 3 included mainly local Chinese MSM and non-Chinese Asian IDUs, respectively. Chinese reference isolates available from China (Fujian, Guangxi, or Liaoning) were clonally related to our transmission clusters, demonstrating the epidemiological linkage of CRF01_AE infections between Hong Kong and China. The 3 individual local transmission clusters were estimated to have initiated since late 1980s and late 1990s, causing subsequent epidemics in the early 2000s. Conclusions:This is the first comprehensive molecular epidemiological study of HIV-1 CRF01_AE in Hong Kong. It revealed that MSM contact is becoming a major route of local CRF01_AE transmission in Hong Kong. Epidemiological linkage of CRF01_AE between Hong Kong and China observed in this study indicates the importance of regular molecular epidemiological surveillance for the HIV-1 epidemic in our region.
The Challenge of Technological Upgrading: The Development of Integrated Circuits Manufacturing in Malaysia, and Thailand

The redeployment of export-oriented production by giant Multi-National Corporations (MNCs) expanded the contribution of integrated circuits manufacturing in the economic development of Malaysia and Thailand since the 1970s and 1980s respectively. Giant integrated circuits (IC) firms and industrial component firms (e.g. disk drive and electronics components for the automotive industry) dominated MNC relocation to Malaysia and Thailand since the early 1970s and late 1990s respectively. It also offered both countries the opportunity to connect with global value chains to enable exports of high tech products. This paper seeks to analyse the extent of technological upgrading achieved in the IC industry following an increasing shift in MNC strategies to upgrade to modular production systems. The evidence shows that significant widening and deepening has taken place in both countries, especially since the MNCs began upgrading their assembly and test plants in the host countries and host-site institutions responded to upgrade the embedding high tech infrastructure. Albeit institutional change in both countries have not been effective enough to stimulate massive technological catch up and leapfrogging a la South Korea and Taiwan, the evidence shows that a combination of policy initiatives, networking between MNCs, and national firms and support organizations have spearheaded technological upgrading in the industry. However, significant efforts must be taken to strengthen the high tech infrastructure to stimulate IC firms’ participation in new product development and other frontier technological activities in both countries.
Financial Determinants of Bank Performance in Taiwan

As the consolidation of financial institutions is one of the highlights in recent financial territory, we examine whether banks being subordinated under the financial holding company (FHCs) outperform to independent banks in Taiwan, covering 15 FHCs banks and 18 independent banks in our sample for the period from 2005 to 2010. Using the CAMEL approach, we also investigate empirically further the financial determinants of banksâ€™ performance regarding FHCs banks and independent banks respectively, and examine whether the financial determinants of banksâ€™ performance differ before and after the financial crisis. Results show that ROA is strongly related to certain CAMEL ratios, such as the total capital ratio, loan loss reserve/gross loans, the burden ratio, and net interest income divided by total assets. Moreover, the positive significant capital adequacy ratio in the post-crisis period in our sample is mainly driven by subordinated banks. Finally, asset quality factor has explaining power for the pre-crisis and post-crisis periods, meaning prevention safety net built predominantly in refraining from external shocks.
A review of antibiotic resistance in Group B Streptococcus: the story so far

Abstract Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is the leading cause of neonatal disease worldwide, and invasive disease in adults is becoming more prevalent. Currently, some countries adopt an intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis regime to help prevent the transmission of GBS from mother to neonate during delivery. This precaution has reduced the incidence of GBS-associated early-onset disease; however, rates of late-onset disease and stillbirths associated with GBS infections remain unchanged. GBS is still recognized as being universally susceptible to beta-lactam antibiotics; however, there have been reports of reduced susceptibility to beta-lactams, including penicillin, in some countries. Resistance to second-line antibiotics, such as erythromycin and clindamycin, remains high amongst GBS, with several countries noting increased resistance rates in recent years. Moreover, resistance to other antibiotic classes, such as fluoroquinolones and aminoglycosides, also continues to rise. In instances where patients are allergic to penicillin and second-line antibiotics are ineffective, vancomycin is administered. While vancomycin, a last resort antibiotic, still remains largely effective, there have been two documented cases of vancomycin resistance in GBS. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of the prevalence of antibiotic resistance in GBS and outlines the specific resistance mechanisms identified in GBS isolates to date.
Global Stock Price Linkages Around the US Financial Crisis: Evidence from Indonesia

Monetary authorities in Indonesia, as well as some academicians believe the absence of a long run relation between the Indonesian stock market and developed markets prevents this emerging market from being deeply affected by the US downturn. Nevertheless, this hypothesis may not apply to the domestic financial industry as these firms are involved in cross-country financial investments. This study examines the global linkage of Indonesian Financial Sector stock prices during the US downturn using cointegration tests and vector autoregression. This study examines linkages between the Indonesian Financial Industry with the same industry in the US, UK and four developed Asian markets, i.e., Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Kuala Lumpur stock exchanges. We also conduct tests using pre-US-crisis data to show the linkage change magnitude. We find that financial sector stock prices in the Indonesian market are cointegrated with the six observed markets before and during the crisis. Nevertheless, Indonesian financial stock prices are relatively invulnerable to pressures coming from other observed markets Thus, fund managers can gain diversification benefit from a portfolio containing financial industry stocks of these markets either in the long or short run.
Stopping the Wind that Blows and the Rivers that Run: Connecticut and Rhode Island Reject the Prohibition Amendment

On January 17, 1919, the New York Times reported that "[t]he American nation was voted dry today [January 16, 1919] by Constitutional Amendment when the Legislature of Nebraska, the home of William Jennings Bryan, one of the foremost champions of prohibition, ratified the proposal. " This development was a triumph for the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, and even more so for the political lobbying group, the Anti-Saloon League. These groups had successfully guided the constitutional amendment through thirty-six states after the House of Representatives voted on December 17, 1917 by 282 to 128, and the Senate voted on December 18, 1917 by 47 to 8, to adopt a national prohibition amendment. The Acting Secretary of State Frank Polk declared that the amendment had been ratified by the requisite number of states on January 29, 1919. It was to take effect under its terms one year following the adoption. But the dry forces were not done with the ratification. There were two other states beside Nebraska that also ratified on January 16, 1919 - Wyoming and Missouri. In public statements, the proponents of the amendment confidently claimed that the number of states ratifying would rise to forty by January 17, 1919, and the remainder would follow quickly thereafter. Actually, the Drys were only partially correct: it took until 1922 for the forty-sixth state, New Jersey, to ratify, and Connecticut and Rhode Island would never do so. This Article presents the record of rejection by the two hold-out states - Connecticut and Rhode Island. It discusses the pressures on the legislators of the two states to ratify or reject the constitutional amendment as well as the outcome of the debate. The Article relates interesting political developments in each state. Connecticut's two legislative bodies split over the issue of ratification and never chose to pursue it further. Rhode Island decided to argue its position in the United States Supreme Court. In an ironic twist, discussed in this article, Connecticut's leading stand against the amendment was almost lost to history. In the end, Connecticut and Rhode Island, though initially in the minority, emerged victorious as the "noble experiment" ended with the repeal of prohibition in 1933.
A Sequence to Reverse Poverty: Institutions, State Capacity and Human Empowerment

This paper explores the fundamental or deep causes of poverty persistence, which remains a central challenge of the modern world. In theory, rising political participation in a democracy operationalises checks on state predation and cultivates development-enabling state capacity. This did not materialise in post-colonial subSaharan Africa. The theoretical foundation of this premise is further brought into question by the development achievements of strong, capable non-democracies like Singapore and Hong Kong. This study uses a dynamic panel-data model specification and General Methods of Moments for a sample of 105 countries over the period 1981 to 2015 to explore a probabilistic development hypothesis that fuses broad institutionalism with modernisation and human empowerment. In this model, regime-independent state capacity is relied on to trigger the transformational impetus associated with rising existential security, autonomy and individual agency. Ensuing shifts in societal value orientations towards emancipative mindsets then drive the progression towards prosperity and liberty. The results show that the poor-country deficit in human empowerment, represented by mind-broadening education and emancipative values, dwarfs the shortcomings in all other drivers of prosperity, including exports and investment. The findings rule against geography and democracy as fundamental causes of poverty or prosperity.
Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis Lineages in the Nasal and Skin Microbiota of Patients Planned for Arthroplasty Surgery

Staphylococcus epidermidis, ubiquitous in the human nasal and skin microbiota, is a common causative microorganism in prosthetic joint infections (PJIs). A high proportion of PJI isolates have been shown to harbor genetic traits associated with resistance to/tolerance of agents used for antimicrobial prophylaxis in joint arthroplasties. These traits were found within multidrug-resistant S. epidermidis (MDRSE) lineages of multiple genetic backgrounds. In this study, the aim was to study whether MDRSE lineages previously associated with PJIs are present in the nasal and skin microbiota of patients planned for arthroplasty surgery but before hospitalization. We cultured samples from nares, inguinal creases, and skin over the hip or knee (dependent on the planned procedure) taken two weeks (median) prior to admittance to the hospital for total joint arthroplasty from 66 patients on agar plates selecting for methicillin resistance. S. epidermidis colonies were identified and tested for the presence of mecA. Methicillin-resistant S. epidermidis (MRSE) were characterized by Illumina-based whole-genome sequencing. Using this method, we found that 30/66 (45%) of patients were colonized with MRSE at 1–3 body sites. A subset of patients, 10/66 (15%), were colonized with MDRSE lineages associated with PJIs. The qacA gene was identified in MRSE isolates from 19/30 (63%) of MRSE colonized patients, whereas genes associated with aminoglycoside resistance were less common, found in 11/30 (37%). We found that MDRSE lineages previously associated with PJIs were present in a subset of patients’ pre-admission microbiota, plausibly in low relative abundance, and may be selected for by the current prophylaxis regimen comprising whole-body cleansing with chlorhexidine-gluconate containing soap. To further lower the rate of S. epidermidis PJIs, the current prophylaxis may need to be modified, but it is important for possible perioperative MDRSE transmission events and specific risk factors for MDRSE PJIs to be investigated before reevaluating antimicrobial prophylaxis.
High-quality deepfakes currently require “many thousands” of images of training data—which is why such videos often feature celebrities and

isinformation is getting an upgrade. A primary tool of disinformation warfare has been the simple meme: an image, a video, or text shared on social media that conveys a particular thought or feeling (Sprout Social, undated). Russia used memes to target the 2016 U.S. election (DiResta et al., 2019); China used memes to target protesters in Hong Kong (Wong, Shepherd, and Liu, 2019); and those seeking to question the efficacy of vaccines for coronavirus disease 2019 used memes as a favorite tool (Wasike, 2022; Helmus et al., 2020). By many accounts, memes, as well as other common and seemingly old-fashioned disinformation tools such as fake news webpages and stories and strident Facebook posts have successfully undermined confidence in U.S. elections (Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab, 2021), sown division in the American electorate (Posard et al., 2020), and increased the adoption of conspiracy theories (Center for Countering Digital Hate, 2021; Marcellino et al., 2021). Advances in computer science and artificial intelligence (AI), however, have brought to life a new and highly compelling method for conveying disinformation: deepfakes. Deepfake videos are TODD C. HELMUS
Timing of Sexual Behaviors among Female Adolescents of Mexican-Origin: The Role of Cultural Variables

We examined the associations between Latino cultural variables and four sexual behaviors among female adolescents of Mexican origin. Participants ages 14 to 19 (N = 153; 70% born in the U.S) completed surveys about four sexual behaviors (making out, receiving and performing oral sex, and vaginal sex) and cultural variables (nativity, language use, familism, and importance of female virginity). Findings indicated that participants who were born in the U.S. were less likely to have engaged in making out and vaginal sex than participants born in Mexico. Participants reporting stronger familism were less likely to have engaged in making out and oral sex than participants reporting less familism. For all behaviors, placing a greater value on female virginity was associated with lesser odds of engaging in that behavior. This study expands our understanding of the role of nativity and Latino values in the sexual behaviors of Mexican-origin female adolescents.
Effects of Residue Cover on Infiltration Process of the Black Soil Under Rainfall Simulations

Residue cover is widely used for soil conservation after crop harvesting in the black soil region of the Northeastern China, which influences infiltration. It is necessary to optimize infiltration models for accurate predictions under bare and residue cover slope conditions. Rainfall simulation experiments were conducted to quantify the infiltration for the black soil under four rainfall intensities (30, 60, 90, and 120 mm/h), five residue coverage controls (15%, 35%, 55%, 75%, and bare slope), and two soil moisture (8% and approximately 30%) conditions. The observed data were used to fit and compare four infiltration models by Kostiakov, Mein and Larson (short for GAML, a modification of GreenAmpt model made by Mein and Larson), Horton, and Philip under the bare slope conditions. The residue cover infiltration factor (RCFi) was derived to predict the infiltration under the residue cover slopes, which was defined as the ratio of infiltration from residue-covered soil to that from bare soil. The results showed that the newly derived equation coupling the Philip model with the RCFi was the most accurate way of predicting the cumulative infiltration of black soil under various residue covers, and could be applied to the black soil region for residue cover infiltration predictions.
Why Do Autocrats Decentralize

Economic decentralization has profound effects on a country's economic performance, but not all countries pursue decentralization. Why do some countries see decentralization as a better strategy for development than others? What political conditions facilitate or inhibit economic decentralization in autocracies? Studies that focus on democracies have largely reach a consensus that politically decentralized systems tend to pursue economic decentralization policies. This dissertation contends, however, that there is an opposite relationship in autocracies. Specifically, it is the politically centralized autocracies that are more likely to pursue economic decentralization policies. I argue that this difference is because in autocracies, economic decentralization policies often result from a top-down delegation process, as opposed to a bottom-up bargaining process that often prevails in democracies. This dissertation develops a game-theoretical model to analyze the top-down economic decentralization process in autocracies. I demonstrate that political centralization can make the subnational government more willing to follow the national economic agenda and consequently make the national government more willing to decentralize economic resources. I test the theoretical model with a comparative case study of China from 1949 to 1962 and Mexico from 1917 to 1948. The Chinese case confirms that its centralized political system in the 1950s contributed to the economic decentralization policies during the Great Leap Forward. The Mexican case corroborates that its decentralized political system in the 1920s contributed to the Mexican federal government's consistent efforts to centralize economic resources at the federal level from the 1920s to the 1940s. A further test analyzes a sample of 59 countries from 1972 to 2016. The results support that political centralization reduces economic decentralization in democracies but facilitates economic decentralization in autocracies. The dissertation contributes to our understanding of the different patterns of economic decentralization and economic governance between democracies and autocracies.
New species of the genus Salganea (Blattaria, Blaberidae, Panesthiinae) from Myanmar, with molecular phylogenetic analyses and notes on social structure

A new species of the genus Salganea is described from Mount Victoria, Chin State, Myanmar under the name of Salganea matsumotoi sp. nov. Morphological investigation suggests that this species belongs to the S. nigrita species group. The inferred molecular phylogenetic tree indicates that S. matsumotoi is most closely related to the taxa S. incerta, S. taiwanensis, S. gressiti and S. esakii, distributed in Thailand, Taiwan and Japan, all of which belong to the S. nigrita species group. Social structural data suggest that this species is subsocial, and in contrast to other studied species in the genus, potentially has more than one reproductive episode.
Adjusting for HLA-DR b 1 in a genome-wide association analysis of rheumatoid arthritis and related biomarkers

Background: There is a long-established association between rheumatoid arthritis and HLADRb1. The shared epitope (SE) allele is an indicator of the presence of any of the HLA-DRb1 alleles associated with RA. Other autoantibodies are also associated with RA, specifically rheumatoid factor IgM (RFUW) and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP). Methods: Using the Genetic Analysis Workshop 16 North American Rheumatoid Arthritis Consortium genome-wide association data, we sought to find non-HLA-DRb1 genetic associations by stratifying across SE status, and using the continuous biomarker phenotypes of RFUW and antiCCP. To evaluate the binary RA phenotype, we applied the recently developed FP test and compared it to logistic regression or a genotype count-based test. We adjusted for multiple testing using the Bonferroni correction, the Q value approach, or permutation-based p-values. A case-only analysis of the biomarkers RFUW and anti-CCP used linear regression and ANOVAs. Results: The initial genome-wide association analysis using all cases and controls provides substantial evidence of an association on chromosomes 9 and 2 within the immune system-related gene UBXD2. In SE-positive subjects, many single-nucleotide polymorphisms were significant, including some on chromosome 6. Due to very few SE negative cases, we had limited power to detect associations in SE negative subjects. We were also unable to find genetic associations with either RFUW or anti-CCP. Conclusion: Our analyses have confirmed previous findings for genes PTPN22 and C5. We also identified a novel candidate gene on chromosome 2, UBXD2. Results suggest FP test may be more powerful than the genotype count-based test.