Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Relationship between Air-Mass Trajectories and the Abundance of Dust-Borne Prokaryotes at the SE Mediterranean Sea

Airborne prokaryotes are transported along with dust/aerosols, yet very little attention is given to their temporal variability above the oceans and the factors that govern their abundance. We analyzed the abundance of autotrophic (cyanobacteria) and heterotopic airborne microbes in 34 sampling events between 2015–2018 at a coastal site in the SE Mediterranean Sea. We show that airborne autotrophic (0.2–7.6 cells × 103 m−3) and heterotrophic (0.2–30.6 cells × 103 m−3) abundances were affected by the origin and air mass trajectory, and the concentration of dust/aerosols in the air, while seasonality was not coherent. The averaged ratio between heterotrophic and autotrophic prokaryotes in marine-dominated trajectories was ~1.7 ± 0.6, significantly lower than for terrestrial routes (6.8 ± 6.1). Airborne prokaryotic abundances were linearly and positively correlated to the concentrations of total aerosol, while negatively correlated with the aerosol’s anthropogenic fraction (using Pb/Al or Cu/Al ratios as proxies). While aerosols may play a major role in dispersing terrestrial and marine airborne microbes in the SE Mediterranean Sea, the mechanisms involved in the dispersal and diversity of airborne microorganisms remain to be studied and should include standardization in collection and analysis protocols.
Accuracy of frozen section diagnosis and factors associated with final pathological diagnosis upgrade of mucinous ovarian tumors

Objective To determine the accuracy of frozen section diagnosis and factors associated with final pathological diagnosis upgrade in patients with mucinous ovarian tumors. Methods This study included 1,032 patients with mucinous ovarian tumors who underwent frozen section diagnosis during surgery. Sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic accuracy of frozen section diagnosis was calculated. Univariate and multivariate regression analyses were performed to determine factors associated with diagnosis upgrade in the final pathology report. Results The sensitivity and specificity of frozen section diagnosis were 99.1% (95% confidence interval [CI]=98%–99.6%) and 82.2% (95% CI=77.9%–85.7%), respectively, for benign mucinous tumors; 74.6% (95% CI=69.1%–79.4%) and 96.7% (95% CI=95.2%–97.8%), respectively, for mucinous borderline ovarian tumors; and 72.5% (95% CI=62.9%–80.3%) and 98.8% (95% CI=97.9%–99.3%), respectively, for invasive mucinous carcinomas. The multivariate analysis revealed that mixed tumor histology (odds ratio [OR]=2.8; 95% CI=1.3–6.3; p=0.012), tumor size >12 cm (OR=2.5; 95% CI=1.5–4.3; p=0.001), multilocular tumor (OR=2.9; 95% CI=1.4–6.0; p=0.006), and presence of a solid component in the tumor (OR=3.1; 95% CI=1.8–5.1; p<0.001) were independent risk factors for final pathological diagnosis upgrade. Conclusions Mixed tumor histology, tumor size >12 cm, multilocular tumor, and presence of a solid component in the tumor were independent risk factors for final pathological diagnosis upgrade based on frozen section diagnosis.
Linear gyrokinetic studies with ORB5 en route to pair plasmas

The model of the global gyrokinetic particle-in-cell code ORB5 has been extended for the study of pair plasmas. This has been done by including the physics of the Debye shielding, by including the electron polarization density and by retaining the effects of the electron finite Larmor radius. This model is verified against previous numerical results for the cyclone base case tokamak scenario in deuterium plasmas, and for local pair plasma simulations. The linear dynamics of temperature-gradient driven instabilities and geodesic acoustic modes is investigated. Mass dependencies for different Debye lengths are studied.
MOLECULAR MECHANISMS OF ZEBRAFISH MOTONEURON DEVELOPMENT by LAURA ANN HALE A DISSERTATION

Original approval signatures are on file with the Graduate School and the University of Oregon Libraries. This dissertation describes research to identifY genes involved in specification, patterning and development of zebrafish primary motoneurons. We first examined the spatiotemporal expression patterns of retinoic acid and retinoid X receptor mRNAs to determine whether particular ones might be involved in motoneuron specification or patterning. Retinoic acid and retinoid X receptor mRNAs are expressed at the right time to pattern motoneurons, but the expression patterns did not suggest roles for particular receptors. In contrast, netrin mRNAs are expressed in specific motoneuron intermediate targets and knockdown experiments revealed an important role in development of YaP motoneurons. Two identified motoneurons, CaP and YaP, initially form an equivalence pair. CaPs extend long axons that innervate ventral muscle. YaPs extend short axons that stop at muscle fibers called muscle pioneers; YaPs later typically die. Previous work showed that during extension, CaP axons pause at several intermediate targets, including muscle pioneers, and that both CaP and muscle pioneers are required for YaP formation. We found that mRNAs for different Netrins are expressed in intermediate targets before CaP axon v contact: netrin fa in muscle pioneers, netrin fb in hypochord, and netrin 2 in ventral somite. We show that Netrins are unnecessary to guide CaP axons but are necessary to prevent VaP axons from extending into ventral muscle. Netrin la is necessary to stop YaP axons at muscle pioneers, Netrin la and Netrin 2 together are necessary to stop YaP axons near the hypochord, and Netrin Ib appears dispensable for CaP and YaP development. We also identitY Deleted in colorectal carcinoma as a Netrin receptor that mediates the ability of Netrin la to cause YaP axons to stop at muscle pioneers. Our results suggest Netrins refme axon morphology to ensure fmal cell-appropriate axon arborization. To learn whether Netrin proteins diffuse away from their sources of synthesis to function at a distance, we are developing N etrin antibodies. If successful, the antibodies will provide the research community at large with a new tool for understanding in vivo Netrin function. This dissertation includes both my previously published and unpublished coauthored material. (2007) Nkx6 proteins specify one zebrafish primary motoneuron subtype by regulating late islet1 expression. Development 134(9):1671-7. (2006) Lapses in a prefronta1-extrastriate preparatory attention network predict mistakes. (2006) Characterization of the retinoic acid receptor genes raraa, rarab and rarg during zebrafish development. …
Small Firms: Do They Have Better to Go Public?

This paper aims to study the factors that push companies to open its capital to the public. In particular, it examines the impact of a number of factors to explain the under valuation of stock market introduction, particularly performance, debt, liquidity and ownership structure. Our results indicate that large firms are increasingly overvalued. The indebtedness accentuates the problem of overvaluation observed after the IPO. In addition, firms whose capital is concentrated are increasingly under-valued over a long period after the IPO. Our results show that Tunisian companies do not observe the motivation of the search for a better performance after IPO.
Empirical evidence on the relationship of capital structure and market value among Mexican publicly listed companies

This paper estimates the impact of capital structure changes on the market value of a sample of 69 non-financial firms listed in the Mexican Stock Exchange, during the period 2004 to 2014. Using Pooled Ordinary Least Squares (OLS), Fixed Effects (FE) and Random Effects (RE) regressions, we confirm the extensively documented positive influence of leverage on firm value; i.e. there is a clearly positive and statistically significant relationship between changes in financial leverage (debt ratios and debt to invested capital) and changes in Tobin’s Q (our proxy variable for firm value). When the sample is distributed in sub samples of firms with low and high leverage, small and big size, low and high profitability, or low and high risk, the financial leverage coefficients vary in magnitude and, in the case of debt ratios, remain highly significant. Our main contribution consists in the analysis of the estimated parameters, contributing to a better understanding of the impact of financial leverage changes on the value of different types offirms. These findings have important implications for corporate financial strategies, as well as for portfolio managers’ investment choices.
Associations of lifetime prevalence of homelessness with risky sex, sexual victimization, depressive symptoms, and suicidality among youth in Kampala, Uganda

Homelessness poses serious health risks, and those risks may be exacerbated among slum-dwelling youth in the developing world. We administered a cross-sectional survey to youth receiving services from a community organization in Kampala, Uganda. This secondary analysis explores the relationships between homelessness and various health outcomes. We also explored possible moderating relationships between neighborhood support, homelessness, and health. Logistic regression and t-tests were used to model these relationships. Homelessness was associated with all outcomes analyzed, with youth who reported having been homeless having higher odds of reporting poor health (odds ratio [OR] = 12.4; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 6.43, 23.92), higher odds of HIV infection (OR = 1.941; 95% CI = 1.274, 2.958), and higher odds of experiencing rape (OR = 3.459; 95% CI = 2.4, 4.987). No moderation by neighborhood support was observed, though this may be due to low variability. Homelessness warrants specific investigative attention due to its strong association with a broad range of negative health outcomes among slum-dwelling youth. Interventions targeting the specific health risks faced by homeless youth in the developing world may improve social welfare service delivery.
Examining the Effect of Real Effective Exchange Rate Volatility on Economic Growth: Evidence from Ghana

This study hypothesizes that real effective exchange rate volatility is deleterious to economic growth in Ghana. To test this relationship, the study uses the Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS) econometric approach and an annual times series data spanning from 1980-2015. Our estimated regression results show that real effective exchange rate volatility has a negative and highly statistically significant effect on economic growth in Ghana. In addition, we estimated models with traditional control variables as well as a novel measure of financial market fragility and still have consistent results. The study recommends that strong policies towards building an economy that is internationally competitive should be pursued by the country. It will help promote GhanaâÂÂs exports and ease the degree of its exchange rate volatility.
Evaluating Approximations and Heuristic Measures of Integrated Information

Integrated information theory (IIT) proposes a measure of integrated information, termed Phi (Φ), to capture the level of consciousness of a physical system in a given state. Unfortunately, calculating Φ itself is currently possible only for very small model systems and far from computable for the kinds of system typically associated with consciousness (brains). Here, we considered several proposed heuristic measures and computational approximations, some of which can be applied to larger systems, and tested if they correlate well with Φ. While these measures and approximations capture intuitions underlying IIT and some have had success in practical applications, it has not been shown that they actually quantify the type of integrated information specified by the latest version of IIT and, thus, whether they can be used to test the theory. In this study, we evaluated these approximations and heuristic measures considering how well they estimated the Φ values of model systems and not on the basis of practical or clinical considerations. To do this, we simulated networks consisting of 3–6 binary linear threshold nodes randomly connected with excitatory and inhibitory connections. For each system, we then constructed the system’s state transition probability matrix (TPM) and generated observed data over time from all possible initial conditions. We then calculated Φ, approximations to Φ, and measures based on state differentiation, coalition entropy, state uniqueness, and integrated information. Our findings suggest that Φ can be approximated closely in small binary systems by using one or more of the readily available approximations (r > 0.95) but without major reductions in computational demands. Furthermore, the maximum value of Φ across states (a state-independent quantity) correlated strongly with measures of signal complexity (LZ, rs = 0.722), decoder-based integrated information (Φ*, rs = 0.816), and state differentiation (D1, rs = 0.827). These measures could allow for the efficient estimation of a system’s capacity for high Φ or function as accurate predictors of low- (but not high-)Φ systems. While it is uncertain whether the results extend to larger systems or systems with other dynamics, we stress the importance that measures aimed at being practical alternatives to Φ be, at a minimum, rigorously tested in an environment where the ground truth can be established.
2.1 Introduction

2 This chapter begins the examination of what programming is and how a programming language like Java works. In particular, it introduces the basic ideas and concepts of imperative programming, which is about writing programs using instruction sequences and updatable state. While Java is known as an object-oriented programming language it is also an imperative language and relies on the key principles introduced in this chapter. The following chapters will expand on these principles and show how they lead to the idea of object-oriented programming. To construct any computer-based system, we must use some process to translate the idea for the use of the computer into lines of source code which can be compiled and executed. This process typically includes the tasks of: requirements gathering, what we would like the system to do; analysis, finding out how the system should behave; design, deciding the structure of the system to be constructed; implementation, writing the source code; and testing, verification and validation, making sure the system does what we claim! The tasks of implementation and testing also include the task of debugging, which is the finding and removing of errors (usually called bugs, hence the term debugging) in our program. Measured in terms of the quantity of source code required for the implementation of the system, computer-based systems come in varying sizes from the very small to the very large. The term programming is usually applied to the task of constructing small-to medium-sized systems. The term information systems engineering (sometimes called software engineering) is usually applied to the activity of constructing medium-to large-sized systems. The basic process of development is essentially the same in all cases but because of the scale of the problem being addressed, information systems engineering not only subsumes programming but requires tools and techniques over and above those required for programming. It is not the purpose of this book to introduce information
Squarefree doubly primitive divisors in dynamical sequences

Abstract Let K be a number field or a function field of characteristic 0, let φ ∈ K(z) with deg(φ) ⩾ 2, and let α ∈ ℙ1(K). Let S be a finite set of places of K containing all the archimedean ones and the primes where φ has bad reduction. After excluding all the natural counterexamples, we define a subset A(φ, α) of ℤ⩾0 × ℤ>0 and show that for all but finitely many (m, n) ∈ A(φ, α) there is a prime 𝔭 ∉ S such that ord𝔭(φm+n(α)−φm(α)) = 1 and α has portrait (m, n) under the action of φ modulo 𝔭. This latter condition implies ord𝔭(φu+v(α)−φu(α)) ⩽ 0 for (u, v) ∈ ℤ⩾0 × ℤ>0 satisfying u < m or v < n. Our proof assumes a conjecture of Vojta for ℙ1 × ℙ1 in the number field case and is unconditional in the function field case thanks to a deep theorem of Yamanoi. This paper extends earlier work of Ingram–Silverman, Faber–Granville and the authors.
Gender-Based Employment Segregation

Employment segregation—the unequal distribution of female and male workers across and within jobtypes—is often at the heart of gender gaps in job quality, wage and employment trajectories. Employment segregation carries important costs for the economy, particularly in countries facing a demographic crunch, a dearth of talent among job applicants, or an increasing proportion of households in which women are the primary bread earners. Nevertheless, employment segregation appears to be resilient to economic development and market forces, and it remains present in developed and developing countries alike. This paper discusses the factors that drive employment segregation, and policy prescriptions suggested by the literature. While prescriptions are highly dependent on local context, government policies are most likely to be effective if they strategically address the supply-side and demand-side constraints that are binding for a particular context, address several constraints in parallel if they are simultaneously binding, and carefully consider general equilibrium effects.
Controlling preferential motion of chiral molecular walkers at a surface

Molecular walkers standing on two or more “feet” on an anisotropic periodic potential of a crystal surface may perform a one-dimensional Brownian motion at the surface-vacuum interface along a particular direction in which their mobility is the largest. In thermal equilibrium the molecules move with equal probabilities both ways along this direction, as expected from the detailed balance principle, well-known in chemical reactivity and in the theory of molecular motors. For molecules that possess an asymmetric potential energy surface (PES), we propose a generic method based on the application of a time-periodic external stimulus that would enable the molecules to move preferentially in a single direction thereby performing as Brownian ratchets. To illustrate this method, we consider a prototypical synthetic chiral molecular walker, the 1,3-bis(imidazol-1-ylmethyl)-5(1-phenylethyl)benzene, diﬀusing on the anisotropic Cu(110) surface along the Cu rows. As unveiled by our kinetic Monte Carlo simulations based on the rates calculated using ab initio density functional theory, this molecule moves to the nearest equivalent lattice site conformation. The consequences of these ﬁndings for molecular machines and the separation of enantiomers are also discussed.
Assessment of reliability and validity of Montenegrin version of the oral health impact profile for use among the elderly in Montenegro

Introduction/Objective. The quality of life of elderly individuals has an active function in oral health; it is of great importance to learn that elders over the age of 65 years demonstrate an increase in seeking dental services. Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHIP-14) is especially suitable for use in the elderly. The aim of this study is to examine the reliability and validity of OHIP-14 in the Montenegrin population aged 65 and over and to determine the influence of oral health on the quality of their life. Methods. The research was conducted from September to December 2016 in the central region of Montenegro, at the Medical University in Podgorica and in the nursing homes of the elderly. The study covered 170 individuals, both sexes, with an average age of 72.32 ? 6.85. The research instrument is OHIP-14 index. Standard statistical tests were used. The statistical significance level is 0.05. Results. The OHIP-14is linguistically and culturally adapted for the Montenegrin population. The value of the Cronbach Alpha Index is 0.892. The relationship between correlations for individual issues and total correlations ranges from 0.21 to 0.69. The value of OHIP-14 is 19.24 ? 7.49. Listed by domains: functional constraints 3.31 ? 1.75; physical pain 4.19 ? 1.31; psychological discomfort 2.52 ? 1.46; physical fitness 4.38 ? 1.40; mental incompetence 1.42 ? 1.23; social incapacity 1.18 ? 1.27 and handicap 2.21 ? 1.32. Conclusion. The OHIP-14 index is reliable and valid and is recommended for use in the Montenegrinspeaking area, for the elderly. There is a significant impact of oral health on the quality of life of the elderly in the central part of Montenegro.
Fungitoxic Potentials of Extracts of Plant Origin against Fugal Root Rot of Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) in Storage

Investigations were carried out on the use of the water and ethanolic extracts of Piper guineense, Ocimum graticimum, Casia alata, and Tagetes erecta in the management of postharvest deterioration of cassava root caused by Aspergillus flavus and Rhizopus stolonifer. Water and ethanolic extracts of the plant materials had significant differences (p≤0.5) in their rates of fungitoxicity on the pathogenic organisms. Water and ethanol extracts of C. alata and T. erecta respectively at 50% concentration gave the same highest radial growth inhibition of 80.20% on A. flavus in vitro followed by ethanol extracts of C. alata, O. graticimum, and P. guineense. The ethanolic extract of T. erecta at 50% concentration gave the highest inhibitory effect of 53.50% on R. stolonifer followed by ethanol extracts of C. alata, O. graticimum, and P. guineense whereas the least growth inhibition of 0.17% was recorded by aqueous extract of P. guineense on R. stolonifer. In vivo test of the plant extracts applied before and after inoculation with spore suspension (1x105 spores/ml of distilled water) of test fungi showed significant reduction in root rot incidence and severity. The lowest incidence and severity of cassava root rot of 16.5% and 1.45 respectively were recorded with T. erecta ethanol extracts applied before inoculation of A. flavus indicating that the extracts of the plant materials could be better used as protectant than eradicant in the control of post harvest fungal deterioration of cassava root. R. stolonifer showed stronger resistance to the extracts of the plant materials than A. flavus during pathogenesis in vivo.
STUDY ON STRAIN SOFTENING IN SATURATED SOFT CLAY UNDER CYCLIC LOADING

Pore pressure occurs in the soft clay under cyclic loading. This leads to the degradation of soil strength and the collapse of the structure. This paper studied the softening of a normally consolidated soil under cyclic loading by cyclic triaxial tests with stress-control. There are many factors in soil softening. These factors are the cyclic stress ratio, the overconsideration ratio (OCR), and the frequency of cyclic loading. According to test results the degradation index is redefined. A proper mathematics model reflecting strain softening is proposed. The proposed model is verified by comparison of the results of the test with that of the calculation.