Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The COVID-19 Pandemic and Sovereign Credit Risk

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on sovereign credit default swap (CDS) spreads using a large sample of countries.Design/methodology/approachIn this paper, the authors use a wide set of the sovereign CDS data of 78 countries. To measure the magnitude of the COVID-19 pandemic, the authors use the daily change of confirmed cases collected from Our World in Data. They use panel regressions to estimate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sovereign credit risk.FindingsThe authors show how sovereign CDS spreads have widened significantly in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the most conservative estimate, a 1% increase in COVID-19 infections leads to a 0.17% increase in sovereign CDS spreads. Furthermore, this effect is stronger for developing countries and countries with worse healthcare systems. Government policies partially offset the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, although these same policies also lead to widening sovereign CDS spreads. Sovereign CDS spreads narrow dramatically several months after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, the results suggest that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has been a massive shock to the global financial stability.Originality/valueThis paper provides new evidence that COVID-19 widens sovereign CDS spreads. The authors further show that this widening effect is felt most strongly in developing economies.
Is AMF inoculation an alternative to maximize the in vitro antibacterial activity of Libidibia ferrea extracts?

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are known to provide plant species with several benefits, such as an increased production of bioactive compounds. However, it is yet to be defined whether extracts of mycorrhizal plants are more efficient in vitro antibacterial actions when compared to non-mycorrhizal plants. We tested the hypothesis of whether or not, methanolic extracts of Libidibia ferrea fruits, from plants established in the field and inoculated with AMF, have higher antibacterial action when inoculated with Acaulospora longula, Claroideoglomus etunicatum or Gigaspora albida. In addition, native L. ferrea fruits collected from the Caatinga area were also tested. The extracts of L. ferrea fruits inoculated with A. longula had higher in vitro antibacterial action in relation to the extracts of fruits from non-inoculated plants (p <0.05) thus characterizing the first record of different antibacterial actions of plant extracts due to inoculation with AMF. The extracts of L. ferrea fruits inoculated with A. longula were more efficient in inhibiting growth of Gram-negative bacteria. The zone diameters of inhibition ranged from 2.48 % to 7.56 % larger than the zones of the non-inoculated L. ferrea fruit extracts. The inoculation of L. ferrea with AMF may represent an alternative way of producing fruits with different antibacterial activity.
Study the Role of Ph in Curli Biogenesis Gene Expression in Enterobacter Cloacae Local Isolates

Enterobacter cloacae is the most common pathogenic species of the genus Enterobacter, identified inhospitalized and enfeebled patients as the etiologic agent of many infections and considered as a significantbacterial pathogen in recent years. E. Cloacae are typical gram negative opportunistic forms of bacteria thatcause illness after another infection or injury has influenced the host immune system and are related withnosocomial infections. The infection may be caused by GIT, UTI or cross contamination of the blood. Thepresent study focused on the existence of the main curli biogenesis gene (csgA) and the role of pH as anenvironmental factor in the gene expression (csgA) for curli biogenesis. In this study, urine samples from75 patients.In Baghdad city clinically diagnosed with urinary tract infection,for gram staining, Api20Systemand gene expression (csgA) gene in Standardized pH7 and acid pH4 RT-PCR was performed with specificprimers. Conventional gram staining techniques, agricultural methods and System API 20E showed goodresults for E. Cloacae. For the 75 patients, 10 (13.3%) the findings find the highest gene expression foldvalues for the (csgA)gene in pH7 while the lowest fold value for (csgA) at acid pH4 (0.1577) thus themodify conditions growth such as pH of bacteria E. Cloacae triggers gene expression changes for biogenesisprocess. the findings of rpoB gene expression, which was used as a control gene, indicated that this gene wasgood as a housekeeping gene.
Evaluation of Concrete with Partial Replacement of Cement by Waste Marble Powder

This study aims to evaluate concrete having Waste Marble Powder (WMP) as partial replacement of cement. Marble is the metamorphic form of limestone (CaCO 3 ) and WMP was chosen as substitute of cement on account of its high calcium oxide content. WMP is by-product of marble industry and is an environmental burden. The manufacturing of cement is also environmentally hazardous owing to emission of greenhouse gases. Thus, the recycling of WMP in place of cement in concrete offers two ecological advantages. Thirdly, WMP has a specific gravity of 2.6 against that of 3.15 for cement, which reduces the weight of the finished products. Based on the previous studies, five different concrete mixes were prepared having 0, 5, 10, 15 and 15% replacement levels. The samples were evaluated both through destructive and non-destructive tests. Destructive tests included compressive, tensile and flexural strengths, whereas non-destructive tests comprised of ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) and rebound hammer. It was observed that the workability decreases with WMP inclusion owing to its higher water absorption, which inhibits lubrication of cement particles. The concrete strength improves up to a replacement level of 10% by mass of cement on account of densification created by the finer WMP and un-hydrated cement particles, which act as hard inclusions. Beyond 10%, the concrete strength starts declining due to insufficient quantity of cement matrix, binding the WMP particles. Schmidt rebound numbers authenticate the compressive strength results: The number increases up to 10% replacement level and beyond 10% it decreases. The results of UPV indicate that the velocity increases with increase in WMP content: The increase is attributed to compactness of the composite with finer WMP particles. Doi: 10.28991/cej-2021-03091637 Full Text: PDF
Toluene-styrene secondary acclimation improved the styrene removal ability of biotrickling filter

Abstract In this work, ceramic pellets were used as packing material to establish a biotrickling filter (BTF) with acclimated sludge being inoculated on the surface of the packing to purify waste gas containing styrene. A method of toluene-styrene secondary acclimation was applied to achieve rapid formation of biological films. Results showed that the total time of start-up was 48 days and the removal efficiency (RE) of styrene reached up to 95%. The suitable empty bed residence time (EBRT) was obtained that is 57 s for higher RE of styrene with the inlet loading rates of 6.7–271.6 g/m3/h. The pH and moisture content showed small effect on styrene removal indicating that the operation of BTF was stable. Biomass accumulation was normal and its rising velocity under the condition of short EBRT was faster than that of long EBRT.
The Prediction of Urine pH Using Dietary Cations and Anions in Cats Fed Dry and Wet Foods

The objective of these studies was to determine if urine pH can be predicted using the nutrient components of feline foods. One hundred fifty foods (90 dry foods and 60 wet foods) were fed to groups of 10 adult cats (mean, 8.5 years of age) to determine the urine pH of cats fed each food. The food was fed for a period of 7 days, and pH was determined on freshly voided urine on Days 5 to 7 of the test. Through stepwise regression it was determined which cations, anions, and sulfur-containing amino acids were of importance for urine pH prediction. Three models were developed for urine pH prediction. These models included: 1) wet and dry foods; 2) wet only foods; and 3) dry only foods. The cations included in all models were sodium, potassium, and magnesium. Calcium was excluded from the wet only model. The anions for all models were chloride, sulfur, and phosphorus. Including sulfur in the model allowed for the exclusion of methionine and cysteine from the dry model. Urine pH of adult cats can be predicted from the nutrient components of the food, thus reducing the number of animal studies in order to optimize urine pH (for struvite and/or oxalate prevention) for
Thresholds for effective internal gettering in silicon wafers

The gettering of transition metals by Internal Gettering (IG) is an important tool for the management of metal contamination in IC processing. But unlike most external gettering systems, IG systems must be set up in a silicon wafer via a controlled precipitation of dissolved interstitial oxygen in the wafer during heat treatments. This paper addresses the question of the threshold to effective IG as the oxygen in the system goes from an essentially fully dissolved state to varying degrees of precipitation. The central step in the transition to an efficient gettering system is a morphological transformation of a growing oxygen cluster from an unstrained state to a strained platelet. Experimental data of the transformation rates as a function of nuclei site density and oxygen concentration are given. The dependence of the transformation rate has been successfully modeled and the time to create efficient IG systems as a function of site density, temperature and oxygen concentration is calculated.
Effects of graphene oxide on the geopolymerization mechanism determined by quenching the reaction at intermediate states

The effects of graphene oxide on the geopolymerization reaction products at different times were investigated by quenching the reaction. The phase composition and valence bond structure evolution were investigated systematically. The results show that the ethanol/acetone mixture helps isolate reaction products early in the process (0–24 h). RGO bonded well with the geopolymer matrix during the geopolymerization. The degree of densification increased and the amorphous nature of the material decreased with reaction time. The addition of rGO accelerated the conversion of five and six coordinate Al–O sites into four coordinates and Si atoms forming Q4(3Al) network structure.
Attentional shifts and preference reversals: An eye-tracking study

The classic preference reversal phenomenon, where monetary evaluations contradict risky choices, has been argued to arise due to a focus on outcomes during the evaluation of alternatives, leading to overpricing of long-shot options. Such an explanation makes the implicit assumption that attentional shifts drive the phenomenon. We conducted an eye-tracking study to causally test this hypothesis by comparing a treatment based on cardinal, monetary evaluations with a different treatment avoiding a monetary frame. We find a significant treatment effect in the form of a shift in attention toward outcomes (relative to probabilities) when evaluations are monetary. Our evidence suggests that attentional shifts resulting from the monetary frame of evaluations are a driver of preference reversals.
Correlation between phenotypic characteristics of chemical composition and rennet coagulation of sheep milk

The aim of the present study was to establish a correlation between phenotypic characteristics of chemical composition, somatic cell count and rennet coagulation of sheep milk during different stages of lactation. The experimental milk samples were taken from Bulgarian autochthonous sheep breed-Local Stara Zagora sheep, newly developed breed-Bulgarian dairy synthetic population (BDSP), and Lacaune sheep breed. From the data obtained about the chemical composition of sheep milk, it was established that Bulgarian dairy synthetic population sheep breed had the highest fat value – 9.50%, whereas for the other breeds the fat value was approximately 8.30%. A slight variation in values for protein, lactose, solids-non-fat (SNF) and density was observed in the individual milk samples. The determined somatic cell count in the experimental samples ranged from 11 400 to 9 560 866 cells/ml, as the average value for the whole lactation period was 643 259 cells/ml. Strong negative correlation between somatic cell count value and parameters of milk coagulation ability was also established – SSC:RCT (-0.170); SCC:K20 (-0.142) and SCC:A30 (-0.254). The collected data showed undeniably that in order to improve rennet coagulation of sheep milk, conduction of thorough research, analysis and evaluation of milk productivity was needed, as well as application of selective breeding approaches and reduction of somatic cell count in milk.
Anthocyanin profile of red fruits and black carrot juices, purees and concentrates by HPLC-DAD-ESI/MS-QTOF

Summary A fast and reliable method for anthocyanin extraction and identification by HPLC-DAD-ESI/MS-QTOF was used to analyse the anthocyanin composition of commercial red fruit juices (blackberry, redcurrant and pomegranate), purees (strawberry, cherry and raspberry) and concentrates (elderberry, blueberry and red grape). The anthocyanin profile of black carrot juice is also reported. The extraction and analysis method allowed us to detect and quantify a wide range of individual anthocyanins in a simple and rapid way. Pelargonidin-3-glucoside was detected in redcurrant for the first time and petunidin-3-galactoside quantified for the first time in blueberries. Considering the health benefits that have been associated with anthocyanin consumption, all these fruit and vegetables processed products could appear as a good source of this group of phytochemical compounds for their direct consumption or their use as ingredients for the design of new food product or food supplements.
The influence of raw material stabilization on the quality of celery (Apium graveolens L.) leaves.

Celery (Apium graveolens L.) is a perennial vegetable plant. Due to its taste, odour and dietetic values, leaves and roots have been used in Polish cuisine for a long time. Lately, owing to a growth of popularity of green spices, high attention is paid to above-ground celery organs. The objects of the presented investigations were leaves from two cultivar varieties of celery: 'Safir' - a leaf variety and 'Jablkowy' - a celeriac variety. Leaves were collected in two terms: at the beginning of August and the end of September. Fresh leaves contained on average: 6.67 mg·g -1 chlorophyll, 2.60 mg·100 g -1 carotenoids, 104.90 mg% vitamin C, 0.015% polyphenolic acids, 0.085% flavonoids and 0.49 ml·100 g -1 essential oil. Freezing and drying caused decreasing content of both assimilation pigments and vitamin C in investigated raw material, and increasing content of polyphenolic acids. Freezing decreased the content of essential oil and flavonoids while drying increased the content of these compounds in comparison with fresh raw material.
Personalized Recommendation of Tumblr Posts Using Graph Convolutional Networks with Preference-aware Multimodal Features

Tumblr is a popular micro-blogging service on which users can share posts comprising text and images. This paper presents a method for personalizing post recommendations for each user from a large number of posts. Speciﬁcally, we develop a supervised multi-variational auto encoder considering user preference (SMVAE-UP). SMVAE-UP can extract relationships between text and image features by considering class information representing a user’s preference for each post; thus, preference-aware multimodal features can be calculated. Furthermore, for each target user, a network that enables comparison between a user and posts in the same feature space is constructed using the preference-aware multimodal features and metadata on posts. By applying graph convolutional networks (GCNs) to the network constructed for each target user, an accurate recommendation matching each user’s preferred posts becomes feasible. Experimental results for real-world datasets including six users and 99 , 844 posts show the e ﬀ ectiveness of our method.
Impact of pre-harvest fruit bagging on fruit yield and biochemical properties of pomegranate cv. Phule Bhagwa super

Field experiment was carried out to study the effect of pre-harvest fruit bagging on fruit weight, fruit yield and biochemical properties of pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) cv. Phule Bhagwa Super during 2019-2020 in Randomized Block Design with six treatments replicated four times. The bagging treatments were Butter paper bag (T1), Brown paper bag (T2), Parchment bag (T3), English newspaper bag (60 gsm) (T4), Marathi newspaper bag (35 gsm) (T5) and Control (without bagging) (T6). Pomegranate fruits were covered with bags 30 days after fruit set. Bagging treatments influenced the yield and biochemical parameter of the pomegranate fruit. The highest fruit weight and fruit yield per plant was recorded by the bagging treatment Parchment bag (T3) which was 316.44 g and 25.68 kg plant-1, respectively. In general decreasing trend for values of biochemical characters was observed. Maximum TSS, total sugars, non-reducing sugars and reducing sugars whereas lowest acidity was recorded in control (T6) i.e. unbagged fruits. Among the bagging treatment, the bagging treatment Parchment bag (T3) recorded maximum values for TSS, total sugars, non-reducing sugars and reducing sugars and lowest for acidity.
Localized probiotic-guided pocket recolonization in the treatment of chronic periodontitis: a randomized controlled clinical trial

Purpose This randomized clinical placebo-controlled trial was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of Lactobacillus reuteri as a probiotic in guided pocket recolonization (GPR) for the treatment of chronic periodontitis (CP) adjunctive to scaling and root planing (SRP). Methods Forty-eight CP patients were randomly assigned to 3 treatment groups: group 1 (SRP+placebo), group 2 (SRP+single application of probiotic), and group 3 (SRP+incremental application of probiotic). Clinical parameters were evaluated at baseline and at 8, 12, and 24 weeks, whereas biochemical parameters were measured at baseline and 12 weeks. Results At 24 weeks, the probing pocket depth and clinical attachment level improved in all 3 groups from baseline with no significant intergroup differences; however, a statistically significant difference was observed in localized plaque and gingival scores between groups 1 and 3 (P<0.05). At 12 weeks, matrix metalloproteinase-8 (MMP-8), nitric oxide (NO), and gingipains-R (Rgps) levels improved in all 3 groups, with statistically significant differences between groups 1 and 3 for MMP-8 and NO (P<0.05), but no difference for Rgps levels. Conclusions Within its limitations, the results of this study show that incremental 3-time application of L. reuteri as a probiotic led to improvements in clinical and biochemical parameters. This protocol can be a useful adjunct to SRP in the non-surgical management of CP. Trial Registration Clinical Trials Registry - India Identifier: CTRI/2017/03/008231
Synthesis of novel conjugated polymers comprising modified cyclopentadithiophene units in the main chain

We have synthesized novel copolymers P1–P3 comprising fluorene units alternating with cyclopentadithiophene fragments modified at the bridge positions with cyanovinyl or imine groups. Optoelectronic properties of the polymers were investigated in solution and in solid films. A potential of using these materials in organic electronics was considered.
NEW 40Ar/39Ar DATING OF ALUNITE FROM THE CERRO QUEMA Au-Cu DEPOSIT, AZUERO PENINSULA, PANAMA

Cerro Quema is a high-sulfidation epithermal Au-Cu deposit located in the Azuero Peninsula, southwestern Panama. It is hosted by a dacite dome complex of the Río Quema Formation, a volcano-sedimentary sequence of the Panamanian Cretaceous-Paleogene magmatic arc. Cerro Quema has oxide resources of 24.60 Mt at 0.71 g/t Au and 0.04% Cu, and sulfide resources of 11.38 Mt at 0.41 g/t Au and 0.31% Cu. Alunite 40Ar/39Ar dating of a sample from Cerro Quema yielded a final age of 48.8 ± 2.2 Ma (weighted average of plateau age) and 49.2 ± 3.3 Ma (weighted average of total gas age). This age is interpreted to represent the formational age of the Cerro Quema deposit at ~49 Ma, linking it to the Valle Rico batholith intrusive event. Based on the new alunite 40Ar/39Ar data and a reexamination of published geochronological data, magmatic-hydrothermal deposits such as the Río Pito porphyry copper and the Cerro Quema high-sulfidation epithermal deposit formed during the early arc stage (68–40 Ma) in the Chagres-Bayano arc (eastern Panama) and the Soná-Azuero arc (western Panama), respectively. They formed in a similar geodynamic setting at ~49 Ma, when diorites and quartz-diorites intruded Cretaceous volcano-sedimentary sequences. Cerro Quema and Río Pito provide evidence for the exploration potential of Cretaceous-Paleogene arc segments. Exploration should focus on Cretaceous volcanic and volcano-sedimentary sequences intruded by Paleogene batholiths of intermediate to felsic composition.
Resistive Random Access Memory Filament Visualization and Characterization Using Photon Emission Microscopy

Near InfraRed (NIR) photon emission is observed from filaments in HfO<sub>2</sub> Resistive Random Access Memories (ReRAMs). This technique is non-destructive and offers rapid localization of filaments, enabling statistical analysis of their spatial distribution. We show that the emission is electric-field driven. We also report direct experimental evidence of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${i}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) completely random spatial distribution of filaments across multiple devices and <italic>ii</italic>) formation of multiple filaments inside a single large device.
Two Classes of Z-Complementary Code Sets With Good Cross-Correlation Subsets via Paraunitary Matrices

Z-complementary code sets (ZCCSs), extended from complete complementary codes (CCCs), have ideal correlations within a zone around the in-phase position named zero correlation zone (ZCZ). In this article, two classes of aperiodic ZCCSs with good cross-correlation subsets are investigated. They are multiple CCCs with inter-set zero cross-correlation zone (ZCCZ) property and multiple aperiodic ZCCSs with ideal inter-set aperiodic cross-correlation property respectively, the latter is referred to as an aperiodic inter-group complementary (IGC) code set and each ZCCS is called a group. First of all, based on polyphase paraunitary (PU) matrices and special permutation matrices, a construction of multiple polyphase CCCs with an inter-set ZCCZ is proposed. The obtained multiple CCCs have potential applications in interference-free multi-cell environments to support a large number of users. In addition, a construction of aperiodic polyphase IGC code sets is presented from polyphase PU matrices. We remark that different groups of the derived IGC code sets yield different constituent sequence lengths, thus they could provide a variety of quality of service (QoS) in quasi-synchronous multi-cell multi-rate communication systems. To the best of our knowledge, the aforementioned constructions of ZCCSs with good cross-correlation subsets based on PU matrices have not been reported in the literature.