Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nonclassical Sex Hormone Signaling In Melanocytes And Melanoma

The primary pigment in mammalian skin and hair is melanin, which is synthesized locally by differentiated melanocytes and transferred into surrounding epidermal keratinocytes and hair shafts. Because pigmentation differences are often readily visible clinically, melanocyte function is known to correlate with changes in environment, as well as physiologic and pathologic changes in other organ systems. We utilized these clinical associations to inspire the hypothesis that sex hormones influence melanocyte biology. For over 2,000 years, it has been appreciated that pregnancy is associated with changes in skin pigmentation, but the specific processes, hormones, receptors, and downstream signaling cascades responsible have remained unknown. During this thesis work, we discovered that estrogen and progesterone reciprocally regulate melanocyte pigmentation and differentiation state. We also determined that melanocytes do not express classical nuclear estrogen or progesterone receptors, and rather, sex hormones signal through two nonclassical G proteincoupled receptors: the G protein-coupled estrogen receptor (GPER) and progestin and adipoQ receptor 7 (PAQR7). Specific activation of these receptors with selective small molecule agonists that do not activate the nuclear hormone receptors, recapitulates the entirety of the estrogen and progesterone effects in melanocytes. GPER and PAQR7 agonists may serve as new therapeutic agents for disorders of pigmentation. We then utilized the discovery that GPER signaling drives differentiation in normal melanocytes to develop a novel differentiation-based therapy for melanoma. Many lines of clinical evidence suggest that female sex and history of prior pregnancies are associated with favorable melanoma outcomes, although the mechanism for this presumed protective effect were previously unknown. We determined that GPER signaling in melanoma cells drives a durable differentiation program that slows tumor growth, and renders tumor cells more susceptible to clearance by the immune system. Systemic treatment of melanoma-bearing mice with specific GPER agonists was well tolerated, and had dramatic combinatorial effects when combined with immune checkpoint blockade, resulting in complete tumor clearance and long-term anti-tumor immunity. Thus, this work identified previously unknown mechanisms by which female sex steroids influence melanocytes, and utilized that understanding to develop a novel melanoma therapy that establishes, for the first time, the therapeutic benefit of combining differentiation drivers with cancer immunotherapy. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Cell & Molecular Biology First Advisor Todd W. Ridky
Ownership Structure and Earnings Quality Pre- and Post-IFRS: Does Investor Protection Matter?

This study investigates whether managerial and institutional ownership is associated with higher earnings quality (EQ) after the implementation of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), compared to the pre-IFRS period. It also examines the moderating effect of investor protection (INPT) on the link between ownership structure and EQ. The study used a dynamic panel data modelling on the sample of 2090 firm-year observations from 2007–2016 in Malaysia. This study applies the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) to deal with econometric problems. The results indicate that managerial ownership is essential in improving EQ before and after IFRS adoption, whereas no significant improvements were found for institutional shareholders. Similarly, the results provide evidence that managerial ownership is more efficient in monitoring earnings management in healthy INPT environment. The results highlight the significance of accounting standards and law enforcement for enhancing the monitoring role of ownership structure in improving EQ.
A melamine–adipate-bridged binuclear copper complex with supramolecular architecture: synthesis, structures, and properties of [Cu2(MA)(ad)2]·H2O and (MA)·(H2ad)·H2O

Complexes of melamine with adipic acid and Cu(CH3COO)2 · H2O, [Cu2(MA)(ad)2] · H2O (1), and (MA) · (H2ad) · H2O (2) (MA = melamine; H2ad = adipic acid) have been synthesized under hydrothermal conditions and characterized by elemental analysis, infrared, UV-Vis, and single crystal X-ray diffraction. Both crystallized in the triclinic space group P-1. In 1, MA and adipate bond to copper to construct a 3-D supramolecular framework in an unusual noninterpenetrated pseudo-primitive cubic topology constructed from a four-connected binuclear Cu(II) secondary building unit. A variety of intra- or inter-molecular hydrogen bonds exist. In 2, the 3-D supramolecular structure is formed through strong interactions among MA, adipic acid, and lattice water. Thermal analysis, photoluminescence, and calculations were also performed.
Regional Climatological Drought: An Assessment Using High-Resolution Data

Regional assessments of droughts are limited, and meticulous assessments over larger spatial scales are generally not substantial. Understanding drought variability on a regional scale is crucial for enhancing the resiliency and adaptive ability of water supply and distribution systems. Moreover, it can be essential for appraising the dynamics and projection of droughts based on regional climate across various spatial and temporal scales. This work focuses on drought analysis using a high-resolution dataset for three drought-prone regions of India between 1950 and 2016. This study also uses monthly values of the self-calibrating Palmer Drought Severity Index (scPDSI), incorporating Penman–Monteith approximation, which is physically based on potential evapotranspiration. Climate data are statistically downscaled and formulated to form a timeline for characterizing major drought events. The downscaled climate data hold a good statistical agreement with station data with correlation coefficients (R) ranging from 0.91 to 0.96. Drought analysis indicates and identifies several major incidences over the analysis time period considered in this work, which truly adheres to the droughts recorded in reports of various literatures for those regions.
"Learning Task" Attributable to Students' Stress During the Pandemic Covid-19

The pandemic Covid-19 has turned virtually all learning activities into online. Changing the learning system from face to face to an online system has caused students to be stressed. The present research aims to analyze the factors that cause the students' stress during the pandemic Covid-19. Resorting to both qualitative with phenomenological design and quantitative with descriptive analytic design, this study involved 1,131 students from several provinces in Indonesia. The data were collected from a total sample using a questionnaire in the form of open and closed questions. The data were analyzed using the Colaizzi method and frequency distribution. The analysis shows several themes and the results of its distribution, namely "Learning tasks" (70.29%), "Being bored at home" (57.8%), "Online learning processes that start to get boring" (55.8%), "Inability to meet loved ones "(40.2%), "Inabilityto take part in online learning due to poor connectivity" (37.4%), "Inability to carry out hobbies as usual", (35.8%), "Inability to carry out laboratory practice due to unavailability of tools". The results show that "learning task" was the major factor causing stress to students during the pandemic Covid-19.
Use of Biofuel Industry Wastes as Alternative Nutrient Sources for DHA-Yielding Schizochytrium limacinum Production

The simultaneous use of crude glycerol and effluent from anaerobic digestate, both wastes derived from the biofuel industry, were tested in the frame of circular economy concept, as potential low-cost nutrient sources for the cultivation of rich in docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) oil microalgae strain Schizochytrium limacinum SR21. Initially, the optimal carbon and nitrogen concentration levels for high S. limacinum biomass and lipids production were determined, in a culture media containing conventional, high cost, organic nitrogen sources (yeast extract and peptone), micronutrients and crude glycerol at varying concentrations. Then, the effect of a culture media composed of crude glycerol (as carbon source) and effluent digestate at varying proportions on biomass productivity, lipid accumulation, proximate composition, carbon assimilation and fatty acid content were determined. It was shown that the biomass and total lipid content increased considerably with varying effluent concentrations reaching 49.2 g L−1 at 48% (v/v) of effluent concentration, while the lipid yield at the same effluent concentration reached 10.15 g L−1, compared to 17.0 g L−1 dry biomass and 10.2 g L−1 lipid yield when yeast extract and peptone medium with micronutrients was used. Compared to the control treatment, the above production was obtained with 48% less inorganic salts, which are needed for the preparation of the artificial sea water. It was shown that Schizochytrium limacinum SR21 was able to remediate 40% of the total organic carbon content of the biofuel wastes, while DHA productivity remained at low levels with saturated fatty acids comprising the main fraction of total fatty acid content. The results of the present study suggest that the simultaneous use of two waste streams from the biofuel industry can serve as potential nutrient sources for the growth of Schizochytrium limacinum SR21, replacing the high cost organic nutrients and up to one half the required artificial sea water salts, but upregulation of DHA productivity through optimization of the abiotic environment is necessary for industrial application, including aqua feed production.
Prevalence of Transfusion Transmissible Infection among Healthy Blood Donors at Dongola Specialized Hospital, Sudan, 2010–2015

Background: Blood transfusion saves lives but carries the risk of transmission of infections. Screening donors for transfusion transmissible infection (TTI) is mandatory. Objectives: To study the prevalence of TTI among blood donors at Dongola Specialized hospital, Northern State, Sudan. Materials and Methods: Retrospective study performed on blood donors at the blood bank of Dongola Specialized Hospital during the period 2010–2015. Demographic data and results of screening tests for all donors in the study period were included. Data were analyzed using SPSS and results were presented in percentages. Results: The total number of donors were 6,489, of which 6,433 (99.1%) were included in the study. All donors were males and family donors. Mean age (SD) was 27.9 (6.516) years. hepatitis B virus was detected in 85 (1.3%), syphilis in 68 (1.1%), hepatitis virus in 45 (0.7%), and human immunodeficiency virus in 3 (0.05%) donors. Coinfections of hepatitis B with syphilis and hepatitis B with hepatitis C were found in 0.05% and 0.03% of the donors, respectively. Conclusion: The prevalence of TTI is low compared to national and international figures. These findings may reflect low prevalence rates of the studied infections in the community. Key words: blood donors, Northern State, Sudan, transfusion transmissible infection
Aluminium and acidity in Finnish soils

In the present study an attempt was made to study by statistical methods the proportion of Al of the exchange acidity of 298 soil samples of various kind, and to what extent the titratable nonexchangeableacidity in these soils is connected with Al, when Al soluble in Tamm’s acid oxalate was used as its indicator. Unbuffered N KCI replaced Al only from soil samples with a pH less than 5.3 in 0.01 M CaCl 2 . In this part of the material, Al corresponded, on the average, to one third of the exchange acidity of mineral soil samples, and to 16 per cent of that of organic soils. The amount of Al was usually the higher the lower the soil pH, but the correlation was close only in the group of clay soils. Titratable nonexchangeable acidity was estimated as the difference of the amount of acidity neutralized at pH 8.2 and the corresponding amount of exchange acidity replaced by unbuffered KCI. In 100 clay soil samples it was, on the average, 12.0 in 42 samples of silt and loam soils 8.8 ± 1.8 me/100 g, in 99 sandy soils 8.9 ±l.l me/ 100 g and in 57 organic soils 49.1 ± 6.8 me/100 g. There was no correlation between titratable nonexchangeable acidity and the clay content within various soil groups. In the clay soils exalate soluble Al alone explained 78.3 %, in the silt and loam soils 59.8 %, in the sandy soils 6.5 %, and in the organic soils 0.6 % of the variation in titratable nonexchangeable acidity. Taking into account the content of organic C increased the rate of explanation only to 82.1 % in clay soils, to 84.1 % in silt and loam soils, to 83,1 % in sandy soils, and to 63.7 % in the organic soils. Further, adding the soil pH increased the rate of explanation 5.8 to 9.6 per cent units in various soil groups, but considering of oxalate soluble Fe did no more distinctly
An experimental study of dispersion of an interactive tracer in chemically heterogeneous medium at a column scale

This paper aims at examining the increase of phenol adsorption breakthrough curves spreading caused by the chemical heterogeneity of granular activated carbon fixed beds. The local and the thermodynamic equilibrium assumption, as well as the nonlinear adsorption obeying to Langmuir isotherm, are considered. This study particularly tempts to link the reduced variance of phenol breakthrough curves to a measurable quantifying parameter of the chemical heterogeneity. The investigated artificial heterogeneous media are prepared by alternating layers of two types of granular activated carbon, active and non‐active ones, that have similar physical properties. On the one hand, the chemical heterogeneity is quantified by the active layer relative thickness of the column length, l1/L. On the other hand, it is quantified by the mean value of the probability distribution γ. The latter also represents the mean active grains mass ratio of the total medium mass, hence the medium mean capacity. The obtained results show an increase in the reduced variance and thus the effective global dispersion with the heterogeneity; the increase is as important as the medium capacity decreases. However, the dispersion increase achieves a limit value, even when the heterogeneity increases. The results are statistically modelled using a regression equation function of the capacity variation in terms of γ and the chemical heterogeneity in terms of l1/L. The relationship combining the medium capacity and the chemical heterogeneity is obtained. The relationship implicitly takes into account the effect of the column length.
Impact Of Regulatory Emotional Self-Efficacy On Depression, Anxiety, Stress And Well-Being

A better understanding of the mechanisms that facilitate emotional resilience and well-being among physician is needed due to their high risk for burnout. Present study investigates if perceived ability to self-regulate emotions is one of the factors that impact student’s level of negative affect (depression, anxiety, stress) and well-being and its components. A sample of 151 medicine students volunteered to fill in online questionnaires evaluating the variables: RESE - Regulatory Emotional Self-Efficacy, PERMA and DASS 21 - Depression, Anxiety and Stress. SPSS correlational and linear regression analysis has been performed in order to determine the relationship between variables. Medium to strong positive correlations were found between self-efficacy to regulate emotions and well-being (.37 to .59, p< .005) and negative ones with depressions, anxiety and stress (-.31 to -.51, p< .005). Linear regression revealed that regulatory emotional self-efficacy explains up to 43% of variations in well-being and up to 36% variations in depression, anxiety and stress. Results of present study are promising and they should be replicated on larger samples. Enhancing regulatory emotional self-efficacy reduces the risk for mood disorders and enhances well-being.
PENGARUH HARGA DAN PROMOSI TERHADAP KEPUTUSAN PEMBELIAN PRODUK PADA ELEVEN CAFE BENGKULU

This research is based on the importance of prices and promotion of purchasing decisions. The formulation of the problem is whether prices and promotions have a positive effect on purchasing decisions. This study aims to examine and analyze the influence of prices and promotion of product purchasing decisions at Eleven Cafe Bengkulu. The object of this research is Eleven Cafe Bengkulu consumers with an accidental sampling method, which the respondent explained in this study was 65 people. Data collection method using questionnaire.The results of this study can be concluded that seen from the test of multiple linear regression equation using the SPSS program, namely Y = 20.416 + - 312X1 + 185X2. The results of the analysis found that prices negatively affect purchasing decisions and promotion has a positive effect on purchasing decisions. The testing of the t test hypothesis shows that both variables have an influence on the purchase decision of Adjusted R squer's number of 0.122 indicating that 12.2 percent of purchase decisions can be explained by the two independent variables used in the regression equation, while the rest is influenced by other variables not included in this study. Keywords: Price, Promotion, Purchase Decision.
The transformation of political elites in the European Union after 2008. What is next after the constraining dissensus?

ABSTRACT The European Union has witnessed a transformation of national political elites in the last decade. In addition to local factors, this is caused by a range of broader societal and political discontinuities. By applying Higley’s model of political elite transformation to the Eurozone- and migration crises, we reveal the nature of this transformation: political elites today are more differentiated and less united than a decade ago. The analysis shows that the discontinuities brought forth newly founded political parties and strengthened those with previously little voice in decision-making. These new elites reflect the Euroscepticism of an increasing proportion of their constituency. Thus, we argue that the European political landscape has moved beyond the constraining dissensus to a post-constraining dissensus, where national elites themselves challenge European integration. As elite transformation continues, the process of European integration will have to grapple with the realities of increased elite diversity for the foreseeable future.
Charles A. Dice Center for Research in Financial Economics Dynamic Banking and the Value of Deposits

We propose a dynamic theory of banking where the role of deposits is akin to that of productive capital in the classical Q-theory of investment for non-financial firms. As a key source of leverage, deposits create value for well-capitalized banks. However, unlike productive capital of nonfinancial firms that typically has a positive marginal q, the deposit q can turn negative for undercapitalized banks. Demand deposit accounts commit banks to allow holders to withdraw or deposit funds at will, so banks cannot perfectly control leverage. Therefore, for banks with insufficient capital to buffer risk, deposit inflow destroys value through the uncertainty it brings in future leverage. This intertemporal channel complements the focus of static models on value destruction of deposit outflow and bank run. Our model predictions on bank valuation and dynamic asset-liability management are broadly consistent with the evidence. Moreover, our model lends itself to a re-evaluation of the costs and benefits of leverage regulation, offers alternative perspectives on banking in a low interest rate environment, and reveals new aspects of deposit market power that has unique implications on bank franchise value. ∗We are grateful to helpful comments from Adrien d’Avernas, Markus Brunnermeier, Jason Donaldson, Philip Dybvig, Isil Erel, Xavier Gabaix, Naveen Khanna, Bernadette Minton, Cyril Monnet (discussant), Dirk Niepelt (discussant), Monika Piazzesi, Alexi Savov (discussant), René Stulz, Anjan Thakor, Quentin Vandeweyer, Mike Weisbach, and seminar/conference participants at BI-SSE Conference on Asset Pricing & Financial Econometrics, CESifo Macro Money & International Finance, The Ohio State University, and Washington University in St. Louis Annual Corporate Finance Conference. Ye acknowledges the generous financial support from Dice Center of Financial Economics. †Columbia University, Imperial College, CEPR, and NBER. E-mail: pb2208@columbia.edu ‡The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business. E-mail: li.8935@osu.edu §Columbia Business School and NBER. E-mail: neng.wang@columbia.edu ¶Shanghai University of Finance and Economics. E-mail: yang.jinqiang@mail.sufe. edu.cn
Exploring the Mechanism of Catalysis with the Unified Reaction Valley Approach (URVA)—A Review

The unified reaction valley approach (URVA) differs from mainstream mechanistic studies, as it describes a chemical reaction via the reaction path and the surrounding reaction valley on the potential energy surface from the van der Waals region to the transition state and far out into the exit channel, where the products are located. The key feature of URVA is the focus on the curving of the reaction path. Moving along the reaction path, any electronic structure change of the reacting molecules is registered by a change in their normal vibrational modes and their coupling with the path, which recovers the curvature of the reaction path. This leads to a unique curvature profile for each chemical reaction with curvature minima reflecting minimal change and curvature maxima, the location of important chemical events such as bond breaking/forming, charge polarization and transfer, rehybridization, etc. A unique decomposition of the path curvature into internal coordinate components provides comprehensive insights into the origins of the chemical changes taking place. After presenting the theoretical background of URVA, we discuss its application to four diverse catalytic processes: (i) the Rh catalyzed methanol carbonylation—the Monsanto process; (ii) the Sharpless epoxidation of allylic alcohols—transition to heterogenous catalysis; (iii) Au(I) assisted [3,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement of allyl acetate; and (iv) the Bacillus subtilis chorismate mutase catalyzed Claisen rearrangement—and show how URVA leads to a new protocol for fine-tuning of existing catalysts and the design of new efficient and eco-friendly catalysts. At the end of this article the pURVA software is introduced. The overall goal of this article is to introduce to the chemical community a new protocol for fine-tuning existing catalytic reactions while aiding in the design of modern and environmentally friendly catalysts.
Shadow economy and economic development: a panel cointegration and causality analysis

The main objective of the research is to study the link between the indicators of GDP and shadow economy. In the article the forms of impact of the shadow economy have been analysed. Its main social, political and economic implications have been determined. The analysis results of the indicators of the average GDP growth rates in EU member states in 1960-2016, showed that the current level of economic growth in Ukraine is much lower compared to other countries. Based on the analysis of static indicators of the social and economic stability (standard deviation, coefficient of variation, maximum and minimum value), direct and feedback links between the levels of economy shadowing and GDP have been demonstrated. In this case, the results of Granger test confirm specific hypotheses and determine the vectors of their interaction at different time horizons.