Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
FOOD ASSISTANCE AND MOBILITY DURING COVID-19 LOCKDOWNS

This paper examines the effects of emergency food assistance on human mobility patterns between March and August of 2020. We study a large public-private initiative in Colombia, created to deliver food aid to one million households at risk of falling into poverty and previously not included in other assistance programs. The impact is estimated using the quasi-exogenous roll out of the food distribution within municipalities. The high-frequency data set links detailed daily deliveries with georeferenced food recipients’ location and mobility indicators measuring out-of-home events. This information is then aggregated at the urban tract level. The specification includes a rich set of fixed effects using sector, time and department-week trends. The main findings indicate that receiving food assistance delivered to the home reduced out-of-home mobility by 1.6 percent during a two-week window. The estimated coefficient after that window is imprecise, suggesting a short-term effect. The program reduced out-of-home activities by reducing visits to grocery stores. Delivering food assistance proved to be an effective intervention to reduce population movement, thus helping households in distress comply with national lockdown orders.
Distinct Cytokine Profiles in Severe COVID-19 and Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is identified as a risk factor for developing severe COVID-19. While NAFLD is associated with chronic low-grade inflammation, mechanisms leading to immune system hyperactivation remain unclear. The aim of this prospective observational study is to analyze cytokine profiles in patients with severe COVID-19 and NAFLD. A total of 94 patients with severe COVID-19 were included. Upon admission, clinical and laboratory data were collected, a liver ultrasound was performed to determine the presence of steatosis, and subsequently, 51 were diagnosed with NAFLD according to the current guidelines. There were no differences in age, sex, comorbidities, and baseline disease severity between the groups. Serum cytokine concentrations were analyzed using a multiplex bead-based assay by flow cytometry. Upon admission, the NAFLD group had higher C-reactive protein, procalcitonin, alanine aminotransferase, lactate dehydrogenase, and fibrinogen. Interleukins-6, -8, and -10 and CXCL10 were significantly higher, while IFN-γ was lower in NAFLD patients. Patients with NAFLD who progressed to critical illness had higher concentrations of IL-6, -8, -10, and IFN-β, and IL-8 and IL-10 appear to be effective prognostic biomarkers associated with time to recovery. In conclusion, NAFLD is associated with distinct cytokine profiles in COVID-19, possibly associated with disease severity and adverse outcomes.
Product development activities over technology life-cycles in different generations

This study aims to capture changes and priorities in product development activities over technology life-cycles. The product development activities are observed through the targets of performance maximising, cost reduction and customisation. Seven models of technology life-cycles are considered to keep track of technology changes over time by following patterns for product development activities. The empirical part of the study is based on analysing a high-tech infrastructure provider on four technology generations. This study depicts different trends of product development activities over technology life-cycles. Different technology generations can have positive and negative interactions which can be strategically beneficial. The managerial implications of this study include comprehensive insights of concurrent technology generations in the context of technology life-cycles which can be beneficial for companies product development planning.
Optimal Planning as Constraint Optimization

We consider the problem of optimal planning in deterministic domains and reduce it to the problem of finding an optimal solution of a corresponding constraint optimization problem incorporating a bound n on the maximum length of the plan. By solving the latter, we can conclude whether ( i ) the plan found is optimal even for bounds greater than n ; or ( ii ) we need to increase n ; or ( iii ) it is useless to increase n since the planning problem has no solution. Our approach ( i ) substantially generalizes previous approaches for optimal symbolic deterministic planning; ( ii ) allows to compute non trivial lower bounds on the cost and length of optimal plans; and ( iii ) produces an encoding linear in the size of the planning problem and the bound n .
Competitive Policy Optimization Supplementary material

A core challenge in policy optimization in competitive Markov decision processes is the design of efﬁcient optimization methods with desirable convergence and stability properties. We propose competitive policy optimization ( C O PO ), a novel policy gradient approach that exploits the game-theoretic nature of competitive games to derive policy updates. Motivated by the competitive gradient optimization method, we derive a bilinear approximation of the game objective. In contrast, off-the-shelf policy gradient methods utilize only linear approximations, and hence do not capture players’ interactions. We instantiate C O PO in two ways: ( i ) competitive policy gradient, and ( ii ) trust-region competitive policy optimization. We theoretically study these methods, and empirically investigate their behavior on a set of comprehensive, yet challenging, competitive games. We observe that they provide stable optimization, convergence to sophisticated strategies, and higher scores when played against baseline policy gradient methods.
Determination of Changes in Some Biochemical Parameters and Oxidant-Antioxidant Balance After Food Intake in Sheep #

Daily variations in the concentration of urea, glutamine, glucose, cortisone, malondialdehyde (MDA) and antioxidant potential (AOP) were evaluated in the blood of sheep fed once a day. The study was carried out on 10 Anatolian Merinos sheep, average 1.5 years old and healthy. Animals were fed once per day with 61.3 % forage and 38.7 % concentrate mixture throughout the experimental period for 15 days. The blood samples were taken from the animals at first hour before and at 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 12, 18 and 24th hours after feeding. Urea concentration decreased at first hour after feeding compared to before feeding and started augmentation after that and reached to levels before feeding at 12th hour after feeding. Glucose concentration increased at first hour after feeding compared to before feeding and started decline after that and reached to levels before feeding at 5th hour after feeding. Glutamine and cortisone concentrations decreased from at first hour to at 7th hour after feeding compared to before feeding and reached to levels before feeding at 7th hour after feeding. MDA levels decreased at first and 5th hours after feeding compared to before feeding and started increasing after 7th hour and reached significantly higher levels than before feeding in samples taken from at 12th hour to at 24th hour after feeding. While AOP increased at 3th and 9th hours after feeding, it decreased at 5, 7 and 12th hours after feeding. We concluded that the blood metabolic profiles and oxidant and antioxidant balance in sheep vary depending on time after feeding. In order to maximize the diagnostic value of these the blood metabolic profiles, the most suitable time for blood collection seems to be just before the feeding in sheep fed once a day.
High- and low energy nonthermal X-ray emission from the cluster of galaxies A 2199

We report the detection of both soft and hard excess X-ray emission in the cluster of galaxies A 2199, based upon spatially resolved spectroscopy with data from the BeppoSAX, EUVE and ROSAT missions. The excess emission is visible at radii larger than 300 kpc and increases in strength relative to the isothermal component. The total 0.1{100 keV luminosity of this component is 15 % of the cluster luminosity, but it dominates the cluster luminosity at high and low energies. We argue that the most plausible interpretation of the excess emission is an inverse Compton interaction between the cosmic microwave background and relativistic electrons in the cluster. The observed spatial distribution of the non-thermal component implies that there is a large halo of cosmic ray electrons between 0.5{1.5 Mpc surrounding the cluster core. The prominent existence of this component has cosmological implications, as it is signi(cid:12)cantly changing our picture of a clusters’s particle acceleration history, dynamics between the thermal and relativistic media, and total mass budgets.
Tropospheric transport and unresolved convection: numerical experiments with CLaMS 2.0/MESSy

Abstract. Pure Lagrangian, i.e., trajectory-based transport models, take into account only the resolved advective part of transport. That means neither mixing processes between the air parcels (APs) nor unresolved subgrid-scale advective processes like convection are included. The Chemical Lagrangian Model of the Stratosphere (CLaMS 1.0) extends this approach by including mixing between the Lagrangian APs parameterizing the small-scale isentropic mixing. To improve model representation of the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS), this approach was extended by taking into account parameterization of tropospheric mixing and unresolved convection in the recently published CLaMS 2.0 version. All three transport modes, i.e., isentropic and tropospheric mixing and the unresolved convection can be adjusted and optimized within the model. Here, we investigate the sensitivity of the model representation of tracers in the UTLS with respect to these three modes. For this reason, the CLaMS 2.0 version implemented within the Modular Earth Submodel System (MESSy), CLaMS 2.0/MESSy, is applied with meteorology based on the ERA-Interim (EI) and ERA5 (E5) reanalyses with the same horizontal resolution (1.0×1.0∘) but with 60 and 137 model levels for EI and E5, respectively. Comparisons with in situ observations are used to rate the degree of agreement between different model configurations and observations. Starting from pure advective runs as a reference and in agreement with CLaMS 1.0, we show that among the three processes considered, isentropic mixing dominates transport in the UTLS. Both the observed CO, O3, N2O, and CO2 profiles and CO–O3 correlations are clearly better reproduced in the model with isentropic mixing. The second most important transport process considered is convection which is only partially resolved in the vertical velocity fields provided by the analysis. This additional pathway of transport from the planetary boundary layer (PBL) to the main convective outflow dominates the composition of air in the lower stratosphere relative to the contribution of the resolved transport. This transport happens mainly in the tropics and sub-tropics, and significantly rejuvenates the age of air in this region. By taking into account tropospheric mixing, weakest changes in tracer distributions without any clear improvements were found.
IMPACT OF THE TILLAGE SYSTEM ON THE ENZYMATIC ACTIVITY OF TYPOLOGICALLY DIVERSE SOILS

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of the soil tillage system on soil enzymatic activity. The performed investi-gations, employing two soil tillage systems: classical (ploughing) and simplified (no-tillage), were carried out on lessives soils (Luvisols) and rusty soils (Arenosols) differing typologically, with regard to their kind and species. The activity of the following five enzymes was determined in soil samples: dehydrogenases, acid phosphatase, alkaline phosphatase, urease and protease. The applied enzymatic tests turned out to be good indicators differentiating the examined soil objects depend-ing on the employed tillage system. The employment of the simplified tillage system stimulated significantly the activity of the analysed enzymes irrespective of the soil type. This effect was particularly apparent in the top layer (0 – 10 cm) of the soil. An exceptionally wide range of activity was obtained for dehydrogenases indicating the usefulness of this group of enzymes for the evaluation of changes in the soil environment under the influence of the soil tillage system. The observed activity stimulation of the examined enzymes was accompanied by advantageous changes in soil chemical conditions.
Family and social networks, subjective well-being and loneliness among older adults in Poland

The main aim of the paper is the investigation of the relationship between family and social networks and subjective well-being and loneliness among people aged 65 years and more in Poland. For the purpose of our analysis, we used the 6 th wave of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) carried out in 2015. We employed linear regression and ordered probit models. Our results showed that unpartnered older adults, especially men, were less satisfied with life and more lonely than partnered individuals. Moreover, the quality of the relationship between partners, expressed here by the presence of a spouse in social networks (SN), seems to be important as well. Older adults who listed a spouse in SN felt less lonely than the others, and those married who did not have a partner in SN were less satisfied with life. Aged individuals having children had higher subjective well-being than the childless, although this result was insignificant. The presence of children in SN contributed to a lower life satisfaction and an increased loneliness level (especially for women). Furthermore, the association between having siblings and subjective well-being and loneliness is not clear-cut.
On Solving Sparse Polynomial Factorization Related Problems

In a recent result of Bhargava, Saraf and Volkovich [FOCS’18; JACM’20], the first factor sparsity bound for constant individual degree polynomials was shown. In particular, it was shown that any factor of a polynomial with at most s terms and individual degree bounded by d can itself have at most s O ( d 2 log n ) terms. It is conjectured, though, that the “true” sparsity bound should be polynomial (i.e. s poly( d ) ). In this paper we provide supporting evidence for this conjecture by presenting polynomial-time algorithms for several problems that would be implied by a polynomial-size sparsity bound. In particular, we give efficient (deterministic) algorithms for identity testing of Σ [2] ΠΣΠ [ ind - deg d ] circuits and testing if a sparse polynomial is an exact power. Hence, our algorithms rely on different techniques.
Effectively handling Non-Fluents and Actions (ENFA) in Generalized Neural Policies for RDDL Relational MDPs

Relational MDPs (RMDPs) compactly represent an infinite set of MDPs with an unbounded number of objects. Solving an RMDP requires a generalized policy that applies to all instances of a domain. Recently, Garg et al. proposed SymNet for this task – it constructs a graph neural network that shares parameters across all instances in a domain, thus making it applicable to any instance in a zero-shot manner. Our analysis of SymNet reveals that it performs no better than random on 1/4th of planning competition domains. The key reasons are its design choices: it misses important information during graph construction, leading to (1) poor generalizability, and (2) potential non-identifiability of different actions. In response, our solution, ENFANet, substantially augments SymNet’s graph construction approach by introducing additional nodes and edges which allow a better transfer of important information about a domain. It also improves SymNet’s action decoders with relevant information from objects to make different actions identifiable during scoring. Extensive experiments on twelve competition domains, where we use imitation learning over data generated from the PROST planner, demonstrate that ENFANet performs vastly better than SymNet. Interestingly, even though ENFANet is trained over data from PROST, it outperforms the planner on several test instances due to former’s ability to scale to large instances in a zero-shot manner.
Can state-of-the-art infrared satellite sounders and reanalyses detect moisture inversions in the Arctic?

Moisture inversions, i.e. layers in the troposphere where specific humidity increases with height, are extremely frequent in the Arctic. They are strongly intertwined with cloud processes, as well as the energy budget, by affecting the downward longwave radiation. In this study, the capability of two benchmark satellite sounders, the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) and the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS), to detect moisture inversions is systematically assessed based on radiosonde data from the Arctic site Ny-Ålesund. In particular for IASI, such an analysis has not been 5 done before. The frequency of occurrence of moisture inversions at Ny-Ålesund based on radiosoundings is above 95 % in all seasons, with multiple inversions in the same profile occurring most of the time (in 82 % of the profiles). We first performed a sensitivity analysis which revealed that the chosen vertical grid of the specific humidity profiles has a distinct impact on the inversion frequency: in general, the lower the grid resolution, the lower also the detected inversion frequency. However, even when reducing the vertical resolution of the radiosonde profiles used in the comparison to match that of the IASI and AIRS 10 retrievals, a large underestimation in both inversion frequency and inversion strength can be found in the satellite products. While observed inversion frequency in any 100-hPa-deep layer between 1000 and 400 hPa is typically between 10 and 20 % (50 and 80 %) in the regridded (original) radiosonde data, inversion frequency in satellite data is in most cases below 10 %. A better agreement has been found for IASI below the 900-hPa level and in particular for winter, while AIRS does not detect any inversions below the 700-hPa level in this season. In addition to satellite data, reanalysis data also have the potential to 15 provide an Arctic-wide view on moisture inversion characteristics. Here, we thus also assessed the capability of the latest reanalysis developed by ECMWF, ERA5, to detect moisture inversions at Ny-Ålesund, by performing a similar comparison with radiosoundings. We found that ERA5 represents Arctic moisture inversion characteristics very well, if the radiosonde profile resolution is reduced to that of the reanalysis.
Observing system simulation experiments reveal that subsurface temperature observations improve estimates of circulation and heat content in a dynamic western boundary current

Abstract. Western boundary currents (WBCs) form the narrow, fast-flowing poleward return flows of the great subtropical ocean gyres and are sources of rapidly varying mesoscale eddies. Accurate simulation of the vertical structure, separation latitude, and ocean heat content of WBCs is important for understanding the poleward transport of heat in the global ocean. However, state estimation and forecasting in WBC regions, such as the East Australian Current (EAC), the WBC of the South Pacific subtropical gyre, is challenging due to their dynamic nature and lack of observations at depth. Here we use observing system simulation experiments to show that subsurface temperature observations in a high eddy kinetic energy region yield large improvement in representation of key EAC circulation features, both downstream and ∼ 600 km upstream of the observing location. These subsurface temperature observations (in concert with sea surface temperature and height measurements) are also critical for correctly representing ocean heat content along the length of the EAC. Furthermore, we find that a more poleward separation latitude leads to an EAC and eddy field that is represented with far reduced error, compared to when the EAC separates closer to the Equator. Our results demonstrate the importance of subsurface observations for accurate state estimation of the EAC and ocean heat content that can lead to marine heatwaves. These results provide useful suggestions for observing system design under different oceanographic regimes, for example, adaptive sampling to target high energy states with more observations and low energy states with fewer observations.
University of Birmingham Avian Sensor Packages for Meteorological Measurements

Two trained eagle species flew in a Scottish glen with microsensor packages to investigate the finescale variability of meteorological variables for potential use in urban areas. he paucity of meteorological data in the urban boundary layer (UBL) region above and close to building height hampers improve-ments in the urban component of meteorology and numerical weather prediction models. the need for more measurements above the urban surface
Molecular Identification of a Bacillus mojavensis UMF29 Producing a Novel Raw-starch Degrading Alpha-amylase

Microbial alpha-amylases demonstrate more compatibility with industrial demands. These industrial enzymes have potential applications in various industrial parts, e.g., starch processing, brewing, baking bread, pharmaceuticals, and detergents. In this study, a mesophyll bacterium, Bacillus mojavensis strain UMF29, has been identified based on the 16S rDNA sequence and phylogenetic tree. After 72 h of incubation at 37 °C, the plates were inoculated with Lugol’s iodine, and the alpha-amylase-producing isolates were distinguished by clear zones in the blue background of starch agar plate around the colonies. Biochemical characterization of this enzyme was also investigated. Results showed that the optimal activity of this enzyme was at 50 °C, and pH of 7.0. In addition, the alpha-amylase exhibited optimum stability at 40 °C, and pH of 7.0. Some metal ions including Mn 2+ , Cu 2+ , Ca 2+ , Fe 2+ , Zn 2+ , Hg 2+ , and Mg 2+ stimulated the alpha-amylase activity by about 122, 105, 61, 47, 46, 23 and 16%, respectively. The best activity of this enzyme was achieved in 0.5 M of KCl (81% enhancement), and 1.5 M of NaCl (9% enhancement). This alpha-amylase hydrolyzed a wide range of raw-starch granules (1.0 %, w/v) including potato, corn, grain, rice, and wheat and optimally was effective on wheat starch (16%, w/v) at 45 °C for 6 h with relative hydrolyses of ~10 U/ml. To our knowledge, it was also found that the alpha-amylase was a Ca 2+ -dependent enzyme for hydrolyzing higher concentrations of raw wheat starch (90-180 mg/ml) after 6 h of incubation at 45 ℃ . Finally, these results indicated that UMF29 alpha-amylase showed high capacity in the degradation of the raw starch.
Reply on CC1

REPLY: We erased the term “full” in the sentence, which was probably leading to confusion (also brought by reviewer 2). In the first sentence we want to express that 1) sunlight drives the transformation of the DOM pool, and 2) part of this DOM pool ends up mineralized to CO2. In the following sentence, we are entering into treatment descriptions. We simply start by expressing that 18% of the initial DOC disappeared in the light treatments. We hope this is now sufficiently clarified.