Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Text entry for the blind on smartwatches: a study of Braille code input methods for a novel device

Mobile technology continues to change the way people communicate with each other. However, the arrival of smartphones with touch-sensitive screens brought new interaction challenges to a particular group of people: blind and visually impaired ones. This issue had been addressed by several pieces of research and now faces new paradigms on wristwearable devices with a small screen, the so-called smartwatches. These devices are gaining popularity on the market with a set of features comparable to smartphones. Acknowledging the variety of interaction tasks that can be studied, text entry is analyzed on this research, considering that current existing methods may be unsatisfactory or even unfeasible for a blind user, even with the support of screen readers. This thesis presents an overview of the state of technology in terms of solutions for text entry for blind people on smartwatches and proposes Braille input on this device. On the first stage of our method, different interaction strategies were explored in a preliminary study of the composition of the Braille cell. The results were compared with existing solutions such as QWERTY layout keyboards and Voice Input in an evaluation study with specialists. Speed and error rate were presented, with values comparable to those existing on studies with smartphones. Preference data was analyzed, showing approval of a pair of the Braille methods and a good reception to one of the QWERTY methods, followed by voice input. Every modality tested has its own set of good and bad aspects, which makes us believe there is room for improvement in all of them before we can argue that text entry on smartwatches is effectively accessible for blind people.
The mechanisms of GABAergic signalling in the peripheral pain pathway

Peripheral pain pathway plays a crucial role in how pain is perceived and felt. The dorsal root ganglia (DRG) which house the primary sensory neurons have become the focus of many emerging pain studies due to its potential as a functional structure in controlling pain transmission, and not only for producing proteins and providing nutrients essential for neuron survival. The major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the nervous system, GABA has been shown to play a significant role in this regard. Within the present study, the mechanism of GABA release within DRG neurons was investigated by studying the expression of vesicular GABA transporter (VGAT) in the DRG neurons. VGAT was highly expressed in the DRG neuron somata. The VGAT-positive neurons also expressed markers of subpopulations of DRG neurons, including those involved in nociception. The availability of VGAT luminal (VGAT-C) and cytoplasmic (VGAT-N) domains were utilised to investigate the mechanism of GABA release in a live DRG neuron culture. This mechanism involves the recycling process of vesicles following their exocytosis. Imaging of the internalization of VGAT-C domain during vesicle recycling indicates GABA is released via exocytosis and has both, tonic and activity-dependent components. Using the in vivo electrophysiological recordings, neuronal firing in the spinal nerve and dorsal branches of the peripheral nerve (before and after the DRG, respectively), was investigated. These data revealed existence of a ‘filter’ in the DRG that decreased the frequency of the neuronal firing passing through the DRG. This filtering effect was overcome by bicuculline, a GABAA receptor antagonist indicating the role of GABAA receptor in peripheral pain pathway. This role of GABAA receptor was also supported by the decrease in GABAA receptor activation in the presence of bicuculline in DRG neurons co-cultured with HEK293 cells. In sum, in the DRG, GABA is liberated into the interneuronal space via Ca2+-dependent vesicular exocytosis, which in turn acts on GABAA receptors. This GABAergic signalling is responsible for filtering the action potentials from the periphery to the central terminals in the spinal cord. These findings identify and further characterize peripheral ‘gate’ within the somatosensory system.
Food safety and zoonotic enteric pathogens: sources, risk factors and transmission routes of human salmonellosis and campylobacteriosis

Salmonella and Campylobacter are common causes of human gastroenteritis. Their epidemiology is complex and a multi-tiered approach to control is needed, taking into account the different reservoirs, pathways and risk factors. In this thesis, trends in human gastroenteritis and food-borne outbreak notifications in Italy were explored. Moreover, the improved sensitivity of two recently-implemented regional surveillance systems in Lombardy and Piedmont was evidenced, providing a basis for improving notification at the national level. Trends in human Salmonella serovars were explored: serovars Enteritidis and Infantis decreased, Typhimurium remained stable and 4,[5],12:i:-, Derby and Napoli increased, suggesting that sources of infection have changed over time. Attribution analysis identified pigs as the main source of human salmonellosis in Italy, accounting for 43–60% of infections, followed by Gallus gallus (18–34%). Attributions to pigs and Gallus gallus showed increasing and decreasing trends, respectively. Potential bias and sampling issues related to the use of non-local/non-recent multilocus sequence typing (MLST) data in Campylobacter jejuni/coli source attribution using the Asymmetric Island (AI) model were investigated. As MLST data become increasingly dissimilar with increasing geographical/temporal distance, attributions to sources not sampled close to human cases can be underestimated. A combined case-control and source attribution analysis was developed to investigate risk factors for human Campylobacter jejuni/coli infection of chicken, ruminant, environmental, pet and exotic origin in The Netherlands. Most infections (~87%) were attributed to chicken and cattle. Individuals infected from different reservoirs had different associated risk factors: chicken consumption increased the risk for chicken-attributed infections; animal contact, barbecuing, tripe consumption, and never/seldom chicken consumption increased that for ruminant-attributed infections; game consumption and attending swimming pools increased that for environment-attributed infections; and dog ownership increased that for environment- and pet-attributed infections. Person-to-person contacts around holiday periods were risk factors for infections with exotic strains, putatively introduced by returning travellers.
Interaction of the Hedgehog and vitamin D receptor signaling pathways in Patched associated cancers

Tumor formation can be linked to the misregulation of the developmentally important Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway. In general, Hh signaling is initiated by the secretion of Hh ligands. This is followed by the binding of Hh to the 12-pass transmembrane protein Patched (Ptch). Ptch normally represses the activity of the 7-pass transmembrane protein Smoothened (Smo). Binding of Hh to Ptch inhibits Ptch, thereby relieving the inhibition of Smo. Smo translocates into the primary cilium and mediates the activation of the members of the Glioma associated (Gli) family of transcription factors, leading to the transcription of target genes. The Smo protein harbors two domains important for its regulation by small-molecules, the seven-transmembraneous domain (7TM) and the N-terminal, extracellular cysteine-rich-domain (CRD). The mechanism by which Ptch inhibits Smo is not completely understood. A direct interaction of Ptch and Smo has been excluded and the inhibition is rather based on a catalytic mechanism involving small-molecule signal transmitters that are secreted in a Ptch-mediated manner. Indeed, recent data suggested that Ptch may secrete Smo inhibiting sterol-derivatives. Our recent data demonstrated that the secosteroid and hormonally active form of vitamin D3 (vitD3), calcitriol, inhibits Hh signaling at the level of Smo and reduces tumor growth in murine models for basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS). In the present study we aimed to enhance the calcitriol-mediated antitumoral effects on BCC with antifungal azoles. Indeed, itraconazole (ITZ) but not the well-known Smo inhibitor cyclopamine (CP) strongly enhances calcitriol-mediated antitumoral response of the murine BCC cell line ASZ001. Furthermore, the combined effects of ITZ and calcitriol were not mediated by an enhanced bio-availability of calcitriol but by a synergistic inhibition of Hh signaling. Despite these promising in vitro data, no cooperative antitumoral effects of calcitriol and ITZ were achieved in two mouse models for BCC. Based on the findings that calcitriol inhibits Hh signaling at the level of Smo we next hypothesized that calcitriol is secreted by Ptch and investigated if calcitriol plays a key role in the physiological regulation of Hh signaling. Media transfer experiments and mass spectrometric analyses show that Ptch is indispensable for calcitriol release from the cells, but not for its synthesis. Second, generation of concentration-response curves, direct-competition assays and analyses of mutant Smo variants revealed that calcitriol does neither bind to the 7TM nor the CRD of Smo. This is in line with the current opinion that Ptch-mediated inhibition of Smo is unlikely to occur at the 7TM or the CRD. Taken together, our results indicate that calcitriol could be the first physiologically-existing Smo inhibitor to be discovered.
Weight changes and growth performance in Sprague Dawley rats fed diet containing graded doses of Carica Papaya seeds

Carica papaya is not left out among plants reported to be of herbal and therapeutic importance. Hence, this study investigates the effect of ingestion of Carica papaya seeds on weight gain and growth in growing Sprague Dawley rats. The study involves 40 growing rats (95.0 ± 10.0 grams) within the ages of 7 ± 1weeks. They were divided into four groups of two stages; A (control; n = 5), B (n = 10), C (n = 10) and D (n = 10). The rats were fed varying doses of powdered Carica papaya seed (6, 8, 10grams). Animal weights were measured before and after acclimatization (2 weeks); after three weeks (acute; Stage 1); and 6 weeks (chronic; Stage 2). The data obtained were compared using the ANOVA at P ≤ 0.05 level of significance. At all stages of weight determinations, Group A, B, C and D presented body weight gain from the preceding weight. Comparatively, those of Group B, C and D were lower during the pre-treatment periods (3 weeks and 6 weeks) and presented the most retarded growth impact in a dose depended fashion. The observations suggest Carica papaya seeds may have weight reduction potentials and may induce growth retardation. Key words : Weight, growth, Carica papaya seed, Herb.
The effects of trade integration and outward foreign direct investment: a regional and industry-level empirical investigation

The global economic system has undergone fundamental changes in the last two decades due to the proliferation of free trade agreements, the deepening of the European Union (EU) integration process and increased foreign direct investments (FDI) altering the economic landscape across and within countries. This thesis aims to improve our understanding of the effects of trade and outward FDI across three dimensions. By examining the effects on the domestic industry, and by detecting the regional footprint in terms of growth and the skill composition of labour markets, the empirical findings offer a multi-faceted and multi-level analysis with evidence from South America and the EU. This thesis is structured into an introductory chapter and three analytical papers. The first paper explores the effects of import competition on the manufacturing sector in Chile following the implementation of the country’s two most important Free Trade Agreements with the USA and China. The findings reveal that increased import penetration from China and USA has highly heterogeneous effects with Chinese trade creating more pronounced substitution effects for the domestic industry than trade with USA. The analysis sheds new light on the importance of foreign investment and export intensity – in reversing the negative import substitution effect - due to the opportunities offered from the participation in Global Value Chains. The second paper examines the link between trade and economic growth across the regional income distribution in Greece, during the period after the country joined the European Monetary Union (EMU) incorporating the global economic crisis period. The aim of the analysis is to identify heterogeneous trade effects across the regional income hierarchy. Among the original contributions of this study is that contrary to the prevailing view, EU trade appears negative for the more economically advanced regions and has insignificant effects on lower income regions; while global trade and EU trade differ significantly in their respective growth returns across the income distribution. Finally, the third paper empirically investigates the association between increased outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) and the evolution of the occupational composition at the regional level for Greece, a small peripheral EU economy. The emergence of Greece as an international investor in the Balkan region constitutes an interesting setting of a peripheral EU country investing in peripheral new EU member states and reveals the strong spatial footprint on the occupational structure of home regions, offering valuable policy implications for countries in pre-EU accession phases.
Photometry and polarimetry of near-Earth asteroids (3200) Phaethon and (155140) 2005 UD

Photometric and polarimetric observations of the near-Earth asteroids (3200) Phaethon in 2017 and 2018 oppositions, and (155140) 2005 UD during its appearance in 2018 are presented. The rotation periods, color lightcurves, phase angle dependences were obtained.
The Role of Specific Tomato Volatiles in Tomato-Whitefly Interaction1[W][OA]

Bemisia tabaci (whitefly) infestations and the subsequent transfer of viruses are the cause of severe losses in crop production and horticultural practice. To improve biological control of B. tabaci, we investigated repellent properties of plant-produced semiochemicals. The mix of headspace volatiles, collected from naturally repellent wild tomato accessions, influenced B. tabaci initial choice behavior, indicating a role for plant semiochemicals in locating host plants. A collection of wild tomato accessions and introgression lines (Solanum pennellii LA716 × Solanum lycopersicum ‘Moneyberg’) were extensively screened for attractiveness to B. tabaci, and their headspace profiles were determined by means of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Correlation analysis revealed that several terpenoids were putatively involved in tomato-whitefly interactions. Several of these candidate compounds conferred repellence to otherwise attractive tomato plants when applied to the plant's branches on paper cards. The sesquiterpenes zingiberene and curcumene and the monoterpenes p-cymene, α-terpinene, and α-phellandrene had the strongest effects in free-choice bioassays. These terpenes also elicited a response of receptors on the insect's antennae as determined by electroantennography. Conversely, the monoterpene β-myrcene showed no activity in both assays. B. tabaci apparently uses, besides visual cues, specific plant volatile cues for the initial selection of a host. Altering whitefly choice behavior by manipulation of the terpenoid composition of the host headspace may therefore be feasible.
Synthetic phosphoethanolamine: the "cancer pill" and the role of users on YouTube

In 2015, the Brazilian media reported cases of patients who were fighting in court for the right to use phosphoethanolamine to treat cancer, even if the substance was not recognized as a medicine by the official health agencies. The substance was experimentally consumed at least since the 1990s when it was first produced and distributed in capsules by chemist Gilberto Chierice, a retired professor at the University of São Paulo in São Carlos. According to the researcher, the beginning of this experimental treatment would have occurred through an agreement between USP and
An Analysis of Sovereign Credit Risk Premia in the Euro Area: Are They Explained by Local or Global Factors?

We study the determinants of sovereign credit risk in the euro area in a time period that includes the financial and sovereign debt crisis, as well as the unconventional monetary policy adopted by the European Central Bank. First, we detect the presence of commonality in sovereign credit spreads of different countries, justifying the search for the common factors that drive CDS prices. Building on the work of Longstaff et al. (2011), we employ the econometric model used in Cecchetti (2017) to decompose sovereign credit default swap spreads into expected default losses and risk premia, finding evidence of a significant contribution of the latter component. We use the model to understand to what extent the variations in CDS spreads and in the two embedded components of selected euro-area countries are more linked to local or euro area economic variables. The results point to the importance of both global and local factors, which have a greater impact on the risk premium component. Finally, we estimate the contribution of the objective probability and risk premium components of redenomination risk (as measured by the ISDA basis) to the related CDS spread components, detecting some differences between countries.
Genetic variability and partial integrative revision of Platypelis frogs (Microhylidae) with red flash marks from eastern Madagascar

We studied the genetic variability of Platypelis species (Anura: Microhylidae) with red flash marks from Madagascar based on mitochondrial (16S rRNA) and nuclear (RAG1) genes. Our molecular phylogenetic results suggest that the red colour evolved independently in the Platypelis barbouri complex and P. milloti and confirm the validity of a long-known but still undescribed new species from eastern Madagascar. Platypelis ranjomena sp. nov. is distinctly coloured with dark red to purple patches at the base of the forelimbs, in the inguinal region, and on the ventral parts of the hind limbs. It differs from most other arboreal cophylines by this red colour and from its sister species P. barbouri by smooth dorsal skin texture, iris colour, bioacoustics (much longer note duration in advertisement calls), and genetics (strong differences in mitochondrial and nuclear markers). The new species is widespread at low elevations along the east coast from Marojejy in the north to Manombo in the south. However, genetic evidence indicates substantial intraspecific variability among populations, suggesting that the taxonomy of P. ranjomena and the other species in this complex is still incompletely resolved. An individual of P. barbouri from Mahasoa shared a nuclear allele with P. ranjomena, and its call was to some degree intermediate between these species, suggesting a possible case of hybridization in an area that we hypothesize could be a contact zone between the two species. Individuals from Madagascar’s northeast hitherto assigned to P. barbouri represent a lineage that is sister to the clade of P. barbouri + P. ranjomena. It is herein identified as a new candidate species (Platypelis sp. Ca11), which occurs in syntopy with P. ranjomena.
Blood–brain barrier transport of a novel µ1‐specific opioid peptide, H‐Tyr‐d‐Arg‐Phe‐β‐Ala‐OH (TAPA)

The purpose of this study was to clarify the mechanism of the blood–brain barrier (BBB) transport of H‐Tyr‐d‐Arg‐Phe‐β‐Ala‐OH (TAPA), which is a novel dermorphin analog with high affinity for the µ1‐opioid receptor. The in vivo BBB permeation influx rate of [125I]TAPA after an i.v. bolus injection (7.3 pmol/g body weight) into mice was estimated to be 0.265 ± 0. 025µL/(min · g of brain). The influx rate of [125I]TAPA was reduced 70% by the coadministration of unlabeled TAPA (33 nmol/g of brain), suggesting the existence of a specific transport system for TAPA at the BBB. In order to elucidate the BBB transport mechanism of TAPA, a conditionally immortalized mouse brain capillary endothelial cell line (TM‐BBB4) was used as an in vitro model of the BBB. The acid‐resistant binding of [125I]TAPA, which represents the internalization of the peptide into cells, was temperature‐ and concentration‐dependent with a half‐saturation constant of 10.0 ± 1.7 µm. The acid‐resistant binding of TAPA was significantly inhibited by 2,4‐dinitrophenol, dansylcadaverine (an endocytosis inhibitor) and poly‐l‐lysine and protamine (polycations). These results suggest that TAPA is transported through the BBB by adsorptive‐mediated endocytosis, which is triggered by binding of the peptide to negatively charged sites on the surface of brain capillary endothelial cells. Blood–brain barrier transport via adsorptive‐mediated endocytosis plays a key role in the expression of the potent opioid activity of TAPA in the CNS.
Revitalizing The Maluku Local Language In Multilingual Learning Model

11 of 71 languages that have been declared extinct and most of them come from Maluku, North Maluku, and Papua. To prevent the extinction of some local languages of Maluku, the general objective of this study is to revitalize one of the local languages of Maluku (Laha Language) in the multilingual learning model in Elementary School (SD). Whereas the specific objectives are 1) analyzing the needs of students in multilingual learning namely Laha, Indonesian and English, 2) exploring what methods are appropriate to be used by teachers in teaching Indonesian-English with the use of local languages, 3) designing material (Syllabus, RPP, and Course book) regional language learning in multilingual learning. This study applied a research and development (R&D) approach. In this case, the researcher employed the R&D model developed by Borg & Gall. The cycle-shaped R&D steps include: a review of research findings, developing products based on these findings, testing in the field with settings according to where the product will be applied, and revising them based on the results of field tests. This process continued to be repeated until the product being developed is by the objectives set. However, this article only focused on identifying learning and analyzing the needs of fifth-grade students who will be taught in multilingual learning. The results of this study will contribute theoretically and practically as an additional reference and information for empowering local languages in multilingual learning, which will certainly avoid this local language from the threat of extinction. The results also expected to be a reference for the researchers themselves and the following researchers to design and develop teaching models and multilingual textbooks for students in elementary schools, especially at SD Alhilal IV Laha, Ambon.
The persistence of bank fragility in Africa: GMM dynamic panel data evidence

Why is bank fragility persistent in some African countries? To address this question, the study investigates the impact of bank-level and macroeconomic variables on bank fragility using a dynamic two-step GMM panel estimator on 433 banks in 46 African countries over the period 1997–2012. It is found that both bank characteristics and macroeconomic variables are key drivers of bank fragility. In particular, the results confirm persistence: Higher levels of non-performing loans (NPLs) in the previous period are transmitted to current NPLs levels. The equity to assets ratio and the log of assets of banks are inversely associated with NPLs suggesting their potential to provide buffers to banks and to reduce bank fragility. These findings have important policy implications, in the context of Basel III capital buffers. The main policy implication of the study is that credit risk management initiatives, bank operation oversight and regulation are crucial not only during financial crises but also during economic growth episodes in the business cycle.