Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Accountability and Motivation: A Model of Delegated Reform Decisions with Career Concerns

Successful reform policy-making commonly involves correct policy choices followed by quality implementation. When political decision makers carry out these decisions, office-holding motives may prevent them from acting in the most appropriate way. I build a formal model to examine how a decision maker with conflicting policy and office-holding motives makes reform policies across several salient information environments. My model highlights the difficulty of fine-tuning the decision maker’s motives in a context where pandering is inevitable. I show that backing away from full transparency often helps – not by eliminating pandering, but by lending credibility to a retention rule that is pivotal on reform outcomes – to provide a high-powered incentive for implementation. Excessively stringent or lenient transparency requirements direct the decision maker’s attention to acting congruently without taking the policy consequences seriously.
Plant pathogen‐mediated rapid acclimation of a host‐specialized aphid to a non‐host plant

Abstract Polyphagous aphids often consist of host‐specialized lineages, which have greater fitness on their native hosts than on others. The underlying causes are important for understanding of the evolution of diet breadth and host shift of aphids. The cotton‐melon aphid Aphis gossypii Glover is extremely polyphagous with many strict host‐specialized lineages. Whether and how the lineage specialized on the primary host hibiscus shifts to the secondary host cucumber remains elusive. We found that the hibiscus‐specialized lineage suffered high mortality and gave birth to very few nymphs developing into yellow dwarfs on fresh cucumber leaves, and did not inflict any damage symptoms on cucumber plants. The poor performance did not improve with prolonged exposure to cucumber; however, it did significantly improve when the cucumber leaves were pre‐infected with a biotrophic phytopathogen Pseudoperonospora cubensis. More importantly, the hibiscus‐specialized lineage with two‐generation feeding experience on pre‐infected cucumber leaves performed as well as the cucumber‐specialized lineage did on fresh cucumber leaves, and inflicted typical damage symptoms on intact cucumber plants. Electrical penetration graph (EPG) indicated that the hibiscus‐specialized lineage did not ingest phloem sap from fresh cucumber leaves but succeeded in ingesting phloem sap from pre‐infected cucumber leaves, which explained the performance improvement of the hibiscus‐specialized lineage on pre‐infected cucumber leaves. This study revealed a new pathway for the hibiscus‐specialized lineage to quickly acclimate to cucumber under the assistance of the phytopathogen. We considered that the short feeding experience on pre‐infected cucumber may activate expression of effector genes that are related to specific host utilization. We suggest to identify host‐specific effectors by comparing proteomes or/and transcriptomes of the hibiscus‐specialized lineage before and after acclimating to cucumber.
Raspberry Pi nest cameras: An affordable tool for remote behavioral and conservation monitoring of bird nests

Abstract Bespoke (custom‐built) Raspberry Pi cameras are increasingly popular research tools in the fields of behavioral ecology and conservation, because of their comparative flexibility in programmable settings, ability to be paired with other sensors, and because they are typically cheaper than commercially built models. Here, we describe a novel, Raspberry Pi‐based camera system that is fully portable and yet weatherproof—especially to humidity and salt spray. The camera was paired with a passive infrared sensor, to create a movement‐triggered camera capable of recording videos over a 24‐hr period. We describe an example deployment involving “retro‐fitting” these cameras into artificial nest boxes on Praia Islet, Azores archipelago, Portugal, to monitor the behaviors and interspecific interactions of two sympatric species of storm‐petrel (Monteiro's storm‐petrel Hydrobates monteiroi and Madeiran storm‐petrel Hydrobates castro) during their respective breeding seasons. Of the 138 deployments, 70% of all deployments were deemed to be “Successful” (Successful was defined as continuous footage being recorded for more than one hour without an interruption), which equated to 87% of the individual 30‐s videos. The bespoke cameras proved to be easily portable between 54 different nests and reasonably weatherproof (~14% of deployments classed as “Partial” or “Failure” deployments were specifically due to the weather/humidity), and we make further trouble‐shooting suggestions to mitigate additional weather‐related failures. Here, we have shown that this system is fully portable and capable of coping with salt spray and humidity, and consequently, the camera‐build methods and scripts could be applied easily to many different species that also utilize cavities, burrows, and artificial nests, and can potentially be adapted for other wildlife monitoring situations to provide novel insights into species‐specific daily cycles of behaviors and interspecies interactions.
Larval fish body growth responses to simultaneous browning and warming

Abstract Organisms are facing global climate change and other anthropogenic pressures, but most research on responses to such changes only considers effects of single drivers. Observational studies and physiological experiments suggest temperature increases will lead to faster growth of small fish. Whether this effect of warming holds in more natural food web settings with concurrent changes in other drivers, such as darkening water color (“browning”) is, however, unknown. Here, we set up a pelagic mesocosm experiment with large bags in the Baltic Sea archipelago, inoculated with larval Eurasian perch (Perca fluviatilis) and zooplankton prey and varying in temperature and color, to answer the question how simultaneous warming and browning of coastal food webs impact body growth and survival of larval perch. We found that browning decreased body growth and survival of larval perch, whereas warming increased body growth but had no effect on survival. Based on daily fish body growth estimates based on otolith microstructure analysis, and size composition and abundance of available prey, we explain how these results may come about through a combination of physiological responses to warming and lower foraging efficiency in brown waters. We conclude that larval fish responses to climate change thus may depend on the relative rate and extent of both warming and browning, as they may even cancel each other out.
Natural history of a bighorn sheep pneumonia epizootic: Source of infection, course of disease, and pathogen clearance

Abstract A respiratory disease epizootic at the National Bison Range (NBR) in Montana in 2016–2017 caused an 85% decline in the bighorn sheep population, documented by observations of its unmarked but individually identifiable members, the subjects of an ongoing long‐term study. The index case was likely one of a small group of young bighorn sheep on a short‐term exploratory foray in early summer of 2016. Disease subsequently spread through the population, with peak mortality in September and October and continuing signs of respiratory disease and sporadic mortality of all age classes through early July 2017. Body condition scores and clinical signs suggested that the disease affected ewe groups before rams, although by the end of the epizootic, ram mortality (90% of 71) exceeded ewe mortality (79% of 84). Microbiological sampling 10 years to 3 months prior to the epizootic had documented no evidence of infection or exposure to Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae at NBR, but during the epizootic, a single genetic strain of M. ovipneumoniae was detected in affected animals. Retrospective screening of domestic sheep flocks near the NBR identified the same genetic strain in one flock, presumptively the source of the epizootic infection. Evidence of fatal lamb pneumonia was observed during the first two lambing seasons following the epizootic but was absent during the third season following the death of the last identified M. ovipneumoniae carrier ewe. Monitoring of life‐history traits prior to the epizootic provided no evidence that environmentally and/or demographically induced nutritional or other stress contributed to the epizootic. Furthermore, the epizootic occurred despite proactive management actions undertaken to reduce risk of disease and increase resilience in this population. This closely observed bighorn sheep epizootic uniquely illustrates the natural history of the disease including the (presumptive) source of spillover, course, severity, and eventual pathogen clearance.
ZMYM3 May Promote Cell Proliferation in Small Cell Lung Carcinoma

Zinc finger, myeloproliferative, and mental retardation-type containing 3 (ZMYM3) is a highly conserved protein among vertebrates. Although it promotes DNA repair and moderate histone acetylation, the other functions of ZMYM3 remain unclear. We herein examined the physiological functions of ZMYM3 in human lung cancer using a ZMYM3-knockdown small cell lung cancer (SCLC) cell line. ZMYM3-knockdown SCLC cells grew slowly and the Ki-67 labeling index was lower in ZMYM3-knockdown cells than in mock cells. The subcutaneous tumors that formed after xenotransplantation into immunodeficient mice were slightly smaller in the ZMYM3-knockdown group than in the mock group. Furthermore, public RNA-sequencing data analyses showed similar RNA profiles between ZMYM3 and some cell proliferation markers. These results indicate that ZMYM3 promotes cell proliferation in human lung carcinomas, particularly SCLC.
Glioblastoma cytotoxicity conferred through dual disruption of endolysosomal homeostasis by Vacquinol-1

Abstract Background Increased membrane trafficking is observed in numerous cancer types, including glioblastoma. Targeting the oncogenic driven acquired alterations in membrane trafficking by synthetic cationic amphiphilic small molecules has recently been shown to induce death of glioblastoma cells, although the molecular targets are unknown. Methods The mechanism of action of the cationic amphiphilic drug Vacquinol-1 (Vacq1)-induced cytotoxicity was investigated using cell biology, biochemistry, functional experiments, chemical biology, unbiased antibody-based post-translation modification profiling, and mass spectrometry-based chemical proteomic analysis on patient-derived glioblastoma cells. Results Vacq1 induced two types of abnormal endolysosomal vesicles, enlarged vacuoles and acidic vesicle organelles (AVOs). Mechanistically, enlarged vacuoles were formed by the impairment of lysosome reformation through the direct interaction and inhibition of calmodulin (CaM) by Vacq1, while AVO formation was induced by Vacq1 accumulation and acidification in the endosomal compartments through its activation of the v-ATPase. As a consequence of v-ATPase activation, cellular ATP consumption markedly increased, causing cellular energy shortage and cytotoxicity. This effect of Vacq1 was exacerbated by its inhibitory effects on calmodulin, causing lysosomal depletion and a failure of acidic vesicle organelle clearance. Conclusion Our study identifies the targets of Vacq1 and the mechanisms underlying its selective cytotoxicity in glioblastoma cells. The dual function of Vacq1 sets in motion a glioblastoma-specific vicious cycle of ATP consumption resulting in cellular energy crisis and cell death.
Industrial approach of a flip-chip method using the stud-bumps with a non-conductive paste

As the use of lead in electronics will not be possible any more in the coming years, research institutes and packaging industries are focusing on alternative materials for flip-chip assembly. Various conductive and non-conductive adhesives have been developed in recent years: today, they are mature enough and are excellent candidates to be implemented in a wide range of lead-free flip-chip applications. This paper describe an industrial approach to a flip-chip method using the gold stud-bumps connections with a non-conductive paste (NCP): the resulting connections are not soldered with the pads of the printed circuit boards (PCB), but are based on a pure mechanical contact. This original and low-cost technique does not require any additional operation such as underfilling once the die is flipped, and is particularly suitable for organic substrates where TCE mismatches are critical concerns. In addition, it can be applied to large production runs as well as prototyping. A test vehicle was developed to evaluate the reliability of the packages: excellent performance was observed, especially with regard to thermal and humidity tests; these results are presented in this paper. Thanks to the fact that the bumps are crushed on the pads of the PCB, they adapt their shape perfectly to the surface where the contacts are located, allowing flip-chip on flex PCB where planarity is sometimes critical. Today, these techniques are being used for a wide range of applications, such as chip-scale packages (CSP) and multi-chip modules (MCM) including high i/o count dice.
Total Quality Management and Construction Project Management in Libya

This thesis sought to explore Total quality management (TOM) implementation and barriers that need to be overcome due to differences between societal cultures, which have become a subject ofintense discussion in the wake of the globalisation of the world economy. lnter-societal cultural barriers to TOM implementation were contrasted against the accepted organisational cultural barriers, which are well documented in established literature on this topic. A case study for the analysis was taken from the Libyan construction sector, where TOM is increasingly being reported as being adopted by companies keen to solve quality problems in their industry. This research explored the barriers that exist and that have acted to hinder the adoption of TOM practices using an in-depth survey of two Libyan construction companies (A&B). The findings of this research are presented as a conceptual framework upon which proactive measure may be planned to improve TOM adoption and which may also act as a guide for further research. Both qualitative and quantitative techniques were used to obtain primary and secondary data for the research and the TOM model framework was successfully used in a self assessment case study of companies (A&B) in Libya. The survey was able to identify critical barriers that were assessed in relation to other published data on inter-societal and intra-organisational barriers so as to identity a number of barriers unique to the Libyan case study. The overall results indicated that the case study companies were in the early stages of TOM initiatives and that there were large areas for improvement to overcome the barriers.
Kuala Lumpur Chinatown Pre-War Shophouses (Adaptive Re-Use) and City Image

The terminology and concept of city image is very much related to good city planning and reflects strong image which, defined by Kelvin Andrew Lynch, a town-planner. He elaborates such terminology with regarding to people perception on urban space in term of city legibility and image-ability. Elizur who has classified city image as “rich” and “poor” in his study reminds of prototype and stereotype city place respectively. City image generally refers to the characteristic of a true urban image such as skylines, landmarks and panoramas. Architects, urban designers and town-planners play a crucial role in carrying out the task of shaping the city image. However, when discussion on city image which regards to economics point of view, city image could be interpreted as active use and passive use in accordance to a paper presented by some scholars. Active use means usage of the old buildings restoration and preservation which generates incomes to cover their building’s maintenance and expenses. Examples such as cafés, boutique hotels, art galleries. Conversely, passive use does not generate substantial income but contribute to and beneficial of the community. Examples such as community library, museums and other social activity buildings. Both active and passive use are portraying adaptive re-use of the old buildings. This paper unfolds the common ground which integrates adaptive re-use of pre-war shophouse buildings as architecture concept in Kuala Lumpur Chinatown (KLC) and contributing the city image under the term of conservation. The study is conducted with photographic records, on site study, observation (visual survey technique) and analysis.
In situ crude protein and starch degradation and in vitro evaluation of pea grains for ruminants

ABSTRACT Thirteen pea grain samples from different origins were used to examine the variation in in situ ruminal degradation of crude protein (CP) and starch as well as in vitro gas production (GP) kinetics. In vitro GP was used to estimate the digestibility of organic matter (dOM), metabolisable energy (ME) and utilisable CP at the duodenum (uCP). Protein fractions were also determined according to the Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein System. Degradation of CP and starch from all pea grains in the rumen was almost complete, with a high proportion of the instantly disappearing fraction. The variation in the degradation constants among pea grain variants was high, and degradation of CP and starch showed a significant initial lag phase in the rumen. The mean effective degradation (ED) calculated for a rumen outflow of k = 8%/h of CP (EDCP8) was higher than ED of starch (EDST8), averaging 77.0 and 71.5%, respectively, with low variation among variants. A correlation analysis between GP parameters and in situ degradation constants showed no clear relationship, but the rates of in vitro GP and in situ starch degradation were similar. Most of the protein in the pea grains was buffer-soluble with fast and intermediate degradation. Variation in the protein fractions among the pea grain variants was low and not suitable for predicting differences in in situ degradation characteristics. The mean in vitro uCP of pea grains was 198 g/kg dry matter (k = 8%/h) and variation was low and consistent with that of GP kinetics and in situ rumen undegradable crude protein values. The estimation of dOM and ME from 24 h GP led to very high values indicating that the existing prediction equations may not be suitable for pea grains as a single feed.
Lactate ions induce synaptic plasticity to enhance output from the central respiratory network

Lactate ion sensing has emerged as a process that regulates ventilation during metabolic challenges. Most work has focused on peripheral sensing of lactate for the control of breathing. However, lactate also rises in the central nervous system (CNS) during disturbances to blood gas homeostasis and exercise. Using an amphibian model, we recently showed that lactate ions, independently of pH and pyruvate metabolism, act directly in the brainstem to increase respiratory‐related motor outflow. This response had a long washout time and corresponded with potentiated excitatory synaptic strength of respiratory motoneurons. Thus, we tested the hypothesis that lactate ions enhance respiratory output using cellular mechanisms associated with long‐term synaptic plasticity within motoneurons. In this study, we confirm that 2 mM sodium lactate, but not sodium pyruvate, increases respiratory motor output in brainstem‐spinal cord preparations, persisting for 2 h upon the removal of lactate. Lactate also led to prolonged increases in the amplitude of AMPA‐glutamate receptor (AMPAR) currents in individual motoneurons from brainstem slices. Both motor facilitation and AMPAR potentiation by lactate required classic effectors of synaptic plasticity, L‐type Ca2+ channels and NMDA receptors, as part of the transduction process but did not correspond with increased expression of immediate‐early genes often associated with activity‐dependent neuronal plasticity. Altogether these results show that lactate ions enhance respiratory motor output by inducing conserved mechanisms of synaptic plasticity and suggest a new mechanism that may contribute to coupling ventilation to metabolic demands in vertebrates.
Identifying the Pattern of Localization Responses with a Haptic Seat Intended to Alert Drivers to the Direction of a Crash Threat

The potential safety benefits afforded by emerging automotive crash avoidance systems may be enhanced by implementing a driver vehicle interface (DVI) that effectively communicates the direction of a potential crash threat in a timely, effective, and integrated manner. An in-traffic study by the authors provided evidence that drivers could spatially map eight haptic seat vibration areas to the corresponding directions surrounding the vehicle with 86% localization accuracy (Fitch, Kiefer, Hankey, & Kleiner, 2007). This paper re-analyzed the data from this study to explore the extent to which there were any notable patterns in the observed localization errors. Results indicate there was some tendency for subjects to perceive side (i.e., left or right) seat pan vibration locations as originating somewhat further back than they actually occurred. Furthermore, the pattern of these errors suggest that a haptic seat communicating four directions of crash threat (e.g., front, right, back, and left) may further reduce the low level of localization errors observed with an eight direction haptic seat design.
Nursing students' experience of providing frontline COVID‐19 support: A qualitative study

Abstract Understanding the unique experience of nursing students providing frontline support in COVID‐19 hospital wards is crucial for the design of strategies to improve crisis management and mitigate future pandemic outbreaks. Limited research concerning this phenomenon has been published. This qualitative study aimed to understand the experience of providing support from COVID‐19 frontline nursing students' perspective. Online interviews were conducted with nine nursing students from April to May 2020; interview data were analyzed by content analysis using Burnard's method. Six main categories emerged from the data analysis: “experiencing a rapid transition from student to professional,” “fear and uncertainty of the unknown,” “resilience throughout the crisis,” “sense of belonging to a team,” “shared responsibility,” and “importance of the profession. ” Based on these findings, multicomponent strategies that function in parallel with practical contexts should be developed to enable students to diligently adapt their abilities to their new role and cope with health crises.