Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The impact of economic freedom on foreign portfolio investments

The present phenomena of globalization and market liberalization have attracted considerable attention from foreign investors. Several member states of the Caricom Single Market and Economy are becoming heavily dependent on foreign investments. Consequently, this study intends to investigate the effect of economic freedom on foreign portfolio investments in the case of the Caricom Single Market and Economy. For this purpose, this study has used data from 2012 to 2016. The results of the stationarity test showed that data of all variables considered in the study are stationary at level. Moreover, the fixed-effect model better modeled the data as suggested by the results of the Hausman test. Based on the results of the fixed effect models, economic freedom has a significant and positive effect on the total foreign portfolio investments. Therefore, an increase in economic freedom among the Caricom Single Market and Economy member countries will attract more investors to invest in their country stocks and debt instruments. Furthermore, for the robustness of the results, the study has also estimated a separate regression model for foreign debt portfolio investments and foreign equity portfolio investments which also support the baseline regression results and showed a significant and positive effect of economic freedom on both foreign debt and foreign equity portfolio investments. This study suggests that the member countries of the Caricom Single Market and Economy improve their economic freedom which will attract foreign investors to invest in their countries. © 2020 by the authors. Licensee BSC International Publishing, Istanbul, Turkey. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Conservative Management of Major Anastomotic Leaks Occurring after Primary Repair in Esophageal Atresia with Fistula: Role of Extrapleural Approach

Aims: We are reporting single-institution's experience regarding the role of conservative management in 38 cases of minor and major anastomotic leaks [AL] occurring after primary surgery of esophageal atresia [EA] with tracheo-esophageal fistula [TEF] during last 17 years between 2000 and 2017. In this retrospective review, we are sharing our experience and protocol of management of AL with more emphasis to evaluate: (a) role of conservative treatment in major AL (b) role of extra-pleural approach in enhancing the success rate in conservative treatment in major AL (c) to define the criteria for major & minor leaks and (d) to evaluate the role of ventilation in primary EA surgery to control AL. Methods: All these cases were operated through extra-pleural approach and out of total 203 cases, 38[18.7%] developed anastomotic leaks. In 29 of the 38 cases [14.3%], leak was minor and in 9 cases [4.4%] the leak was a major one. All these cases of leaks were managed conservatively. Results: All cases of major and minor leaks showed spontaneous healing except one case of minor leak that died before healing due to major cardiac anomaly. For minor leaks, average healing time was 9.5 days while for major leaks it was 17.4 days. Overall mortality was 14.8% and there was no mortality directly attributable to major or minor leak. During follow up, the incidence of stricture was 40% in cases having anastomotic leaks, while in cases without a leak, the incidence of stricture was 23.3%. These all cases of stricture responded to regular dilatations. Conclusion: We believe in cases of major AL, where primary repair is done by EP approach, a conservative treatment should be the treatment of choice. With this conservative approach of management of major AL, we not only save the native esophagus, the best conduit, but there is also less morbidity and mortality.
Effect of freezing rate on acrosome and chromatin integrity in ram semen.

Bu calisma, farkli dondurma hizlarinin, eritme sonrasi motilite, akrozom butunlugu, kromatin yapisi ve apoptozis uzerine olan etkilerini arastirmak amaciyla gerceklestirildi. Toplanan sperma ornekleri 30oC’de 1/5 oraninda (sperma/sulandirici) Bioxel® (IMV, Fransa) ile sulandirildi ve 1 saatte +5oC’ye dusurulerek 2 saat sure ile ekilibrasyona birakildi. Ekilibre edilen sperma 0.25 ml’lik payetlere cekilerek iki farkli sogutma hizinda (yavas: +5°C’tan -20°C’a 0.5°C/dak ve hizli: +5°C’tan -20°C’a 5°C/dak) donduruldu. Her iki grup -20°C’tan -120°C’a 25°C/dak hizla donduruldu. Eritme sonrasi (37°C/30 dak) asamada; akrozom bozuklugu Pisum sativum agglutinin fluorescein conjugate ( FITC PSA) ile kromatin yapisi Acridin Orange (AO) ile ve apoptozis ise terminaldeoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling teknigi (TUNEL) kullanarak belirlendi. Motilite muayeneleri isitma tablali faz kontrast mikroskop ile gerceklestirildi. Eritme sonrasi motilite, akrozom bozuklugu, AO ve TUNEL degerleri sirasiyla yavas dondurma icin %42.8±8.8, %31.6±12.9, %2.9±2.4 ve 2.8±1.6 hizli dondurma icin ise %36.5±9.9, %24.7±11.1, %3.3±2.2 ve %6.3±3.4 olarak saptandi. Spermanin eritme sonrasi bulgularinin degerlendirilmesinde akrozom bozuklugu ve sperma kromatin yapisi (AO) yonunden iki sogutma hizi arasinda fark bulunmazken, eritme sonrasi motilitede gruplar arasinda istatistiksel fark bulundu (P<0.05). Sonuc olarak, koc spermasinda yavas sogutma proseduru ile dondurma, eritme sonrasi motiliteyi iyilestirirken, akrozom ve kromatin butunlugunu ve apoptotik indeksi sogutma oranlari arasinda onemli bir fark gostermemistir
Biological Aspects of Juveniles of the Common Stingray, Dasyatis pastinaca (Linnaeus, 1758) (Elasmobranchii, Dasyatidae), from the Central Mediterranean Sea

Data on the biology of Dasyatis pastinaca are absent from the Ionian Sea and only a few studies were conducted in the Mediterranean Sea. Some biological and ecological aspects of D. pastinaca were investigated between November 2019 and February 2020 in the central Mediterranean Sea. In particular, we investigated several morphologic, population and ecological aspects of the species. The analysis of the stomach contents showed that D. pastinaca is a generalist carnivorous, mainly feeding on small crustaceans and polychaetes. The Levin’s index value (Bi) was 0.85. The sex ratio showed no significant differences from 1:1 ratio. Females were larger than males, but no statistical differences were found in disc width-weight and total length-disc width relationships between sexes. Most of the specimens caught were juveniles and inhabit shallow sandy bottoms.
Genetic data and climate niche suitability models highlight the vulnerability of a functionally important plant species from south‐eastern Australia

Habitat fragmentation imperils the persistence of many functionally important species, with climate change a new threat to local persistence due to climate niche mismatching. Predicting the evolutionary trajectory of species essential to ecosystem function under future climates is challenging but necessary for prioritizing conservation investments. We use a combination of population genetics and niche suitability models to assess the trajectory of a functionally important, but highly fragmented, plant species from south‐eastern Australia (Banksia marginata, Proteaceae). We demonstrate significant genetic structuring among, and high level of relatedness within, fragmented remnant populations, highlighting imminent risks of inbreeding. Population simulations, controlling for effective population size (Ne), suggest that many remnant populations will suffer rapid declines in genetic diversity due to drift in the absence of intervention. Simulations were used to demonstrate how inbreeding and drift processes might be suppressed by assisted migration and population mixing approaches that enhance the size and connectivity of remnant populations. These analyses were complemented by niche suitability models that predicted substantial reductions of suitable habitat by 2080; ~30% of the current distribution of the species climate niche overlaps with the projected distribution of the species climate niche in the geographic region by the 2080s. Our study highlights the importance of conserving remnant populations and establishing new populations in areas likely to support B. marginata in the future, and adopting seed sourcing strategies that can help populations overcome the risks of inbreeding and maladaptation. We also argue that ecological replacement of B. marginata using climatically suited plant species might be needed in the future to maintain ecosystem processes where B. marginata cannot persist. We recommend the need for progressive revegetation policies and practices to prevent further deterioration of species such as B. marginata and the ecosystems they support.
Spatio-Temporal and Geometry Constrained Network for Automobile Visual Odometry

Visual odometry (VO) is an essence of vision-based localization and mapping system where existing learning-based approaches utilize CNN and RNN to model camera motion and gain promising results. However, these methods lack full use of the relationship between spatial characteristics and temporal clues, as well as geometry constraints in VO. To overcome these deficiencies, an end-to-end framework that leverages spatio-temporal relevance and geometrical knowledge is proposed. In particular, a spatial response module (SRM) is designed to extract the visual motion features by emphasizing the most interconnected regions while suppressing the irrelevant areas. A module named temporal response module (TRM) is used to regress the camera motion via adopting the optimal motion features. Moreover, a geometry constrained (GC) loss that minimizes the estimated inter-frame pose errors and the accumulated pose errors within a local period is introduced. Actually, the GC loss utilizes adaptive learnable balance factors for balancing losses. Experimental results on KITTI and Malaga datasets demonstrate that the proposed model outperforms state-of-the-art monocular methods.
Effect of artificial diet containing seeds of five corn hybrids on nutritional performance of Helicoverpa armigera (Lep.: Noctuidae)

Nutritional indices of Helicoverpa armigera (Hubner) larvae, an economic insect pest of agricultural crops in the world, were studied on five corn hybrids (SC700, SC704, SC500, DC370 and SC260) when incorporated into artificial diets under laboratory conditions at 25 ± 1 °C, relative humidity of 65 ± 5% and a photoperiod of 16:8 (L: D) h. The highest values of consumption index (CI) and relative growth rate (RGR) for the fourth instars were on SC500 (37.21 ± 3.34 and 0.43 ± 0.07 mg/mg/day, respectively) and lowest values of these indices were on SC704 (21.44 ± 2.83 and 0.18 ± 0.04, respectively). Among the five corn hybrids tested, efficiency of conversion of ingested food (ECI) of fifth instars was the highest on SC260 (6.92 ± 0.5%) and the highest value of efficiency of conversion of digested food (ECD) was on SC704 (10.71 ± 3%) while the larvae fed on SC700 had the lowest values of ECI and ECD (3.57 ± 0.3 and 4.39 ± 0.4%, respectively). For the sixth instar larvae, although the lowest CI and approximate digestibility (AD) values were observed on SC260 (3.49 ± 0.17 and 53.89 ± 3.70%, respectively) the highest value of ECI and ECD was on SC260 (9.11 ± 0.6 and 16.54 ± 1.5%, respectively). For all instars (fourth to sixth instars), ECD value of H. armigera was the highest on SC260 (10.15 ± 1.08%) and lowest on SC700 (6.32 ± 0.47%). The result of this study pointed out higher nutritional performance of the larvae H. armigera reared on SC704 and SC260 and lower performance on SC700 and SC500.
Plasticity in Second Language Learning: The Case of Mandarin Tones

ABSTRACT Adults typically struggle to perceive non-native sound contrasts, especially those that conflict with their first language. Do the same challenges persist when the sound contrasts overlap but do not conflict? To address this question, we explored the acquisition of lexical tones. While tonal variations are present in many languages, they are only used contrastively in tonal languages. We investigated the perception of Mandarin tones by adults with differing experience with Mandarin, including naïve listeners, classroom learners, and native speakers. Naïve listeners discriminated Mandarin tones at above-chance levels, and performance significantly improved after just one month of classroom exposure. Additional evidence for plasticity came from advanced classroom learners, whose tonemic perception was indistinguishable from that of native speakers. The results suggest that unlike many other non-native contrasts, adults studying a language in the classroom can readily acquire the perceptual skills needed to discriminate Mandarin tones.
Fluorescence‐Based Quantification of Messenger RNA and Plasmid DNA Decay Kinetics in Extracellular Biological Fluids and Cell Extracts

Extracellular and intracellular degradation of nucleic acids remains an issue in non‐viral gene therapy. Understanding biodegradation is critical for the rational design of gene therapeutics in order to maintain stability and functionality at the target site. However, there are only limited methods available that allow determining the stability of genetic materials in biological environments. In this context, the decay kinetics of fluorescently labeled plasmid DNA (pDNA) and messenger RNA (mRNA) in undiluted biological samples (i.e., human serum, human ascites, bovine vitreous) and cell extracts is studied using fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) and single particle tracking (SPT). It is demonstrated that FCS is suitable to follow mRNA degradation, while SPT is better suited to investigate pDNA integrity. The half‐life of mRNA and pDNA is ≈1–2 min and 1–4 h in biological samples, respectively. The resistance against biodegradation drastically improves by complexation with lipid‐based carriers. Taken together, FCS and SPT are able to quantify the integrity of mRNA and pDNA, respectively, as a function of time, both in the extracellular biological fluids and cell extracts. This in turn allows to focus on the important but less understood issue of nucleic acids degradation in more detail and to rationally optimize gene delivery system as therapeutics.
A general integrative framework for modelling woody biomass production and carbon sequestration rates in forests

1. Forests are an important, yet poorly understood, component of the global carbon cycle. We develop a general integrative framework for modelling the influences of stand age, environmental conditions, climate change and disturbance on woody biomass production and carbon sequestration. We use this framework to explore drivers of carbon cycling in New Zealand mountain beech forests, using a 30‐year sequence of data from 246 permanent inventory plots.
Bees of xerothermic swards in the lower Vistula valley: diversity and zoogeographic analyses (Hymenoptera:Apoidea:Apiformes)

ABSTRACT. In xerothermic swards and thickets at 17 research sites in the lower Vistula valley (N Poland), 253 species of bees (Apiformes) were recorded. Southern and southeastern species (Ponto-Mediterranean, Pontic and Mediterranean) accounted for 20% of all recorded species. Substantial differences in species composition, diversity, and dominance structure were found between research sites and also between small plots (about 3 ha each) within one reserve. A discussion of the origin of the fauna of the study area suggests that the migratory route along the Vistula river from the Podolye refuge (W Ukraine) probably played a major role, beside two other routes: along the Torun-Eberswalde Proglacial Valley from Germany and across the Moravian Gate from the south. A northward decrease in diversity of southern and southeastern species was confirmed.
Solvent treatment inducing ultralong cycle stability poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonic acid) fibers as binding‐free electrodes for supercapacitors

As one kind of conducting polymer composite, poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonic acid) (PEDOT:PSS) has been widely used as an electrode for energy storage and conversion devices because of its optical transmittance, flexibility, and high electrical conductivity etc. Here, we prepared binding‐free PEDOT:PSS fibers (PFs) electrodes with high capacitive performance for supercapacitors via a facile method followed by various solvent treatments. Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)‐treated electrodes displayed a better specific capacitance (Cs) of 202 F/g at 0.5 A/g with higher elongation at break, flexibility, and conductivity of 140.7 S/cm, compared to those of pristine PEDOT:PSS materials. More importantly, the DMSO‐treated fibers possessed improved stability, which retained 105% of the initial Cs after 22 000 long cycles at 10 A/g. It is believed that the fabricated PFs will be promising organic electrodes for portable supercapacitors and other flexible electronic devices in the near future.
Spectrum of pediatric malignancy- A cancer hospital-based study

Objective: Childhood malignancy being a significant cause of mortality among children. The aim of the study is to find out the epidemiology of tumours in children in our region below <14 years age who presented to tertiary care Cancer hospital, Bhopal, M.P. for period of four years (2015- 2018). Methodology: All children with cancer, aged 1-14 years diagnosed by mean of histological and cytological examination during a period of 4 years were reviewed. Results: During the period of four years 275 patients were diagnosed as having paediatric malignancies. According to year wise distribution highest incidence of cases were found in 2016 (32.72%). The highest number of cases, 96(35%) were in 10-14 years of age group and mean age was 7.43 with SD 4.0. Male were affected more than females with ratio of 2.66:1. It was observed that haematological malignancies were more common 172(62.54%) than the non haematological malignancies 103(37.45%). Leukemia 150 (54.54%) is most common pediatric cancer amongst which Acute lymphoblastic leukemia is most common haematological malignancy. Overall, it was found that most common cancer group in the present study were leukemia (54%) followed by lymphoma (8.36%), Brain tumours (7.27%) and Sarcoma (7.27%). Conclusion: Although the exact incidence rate cannot be provided by this hospital-based study, the information is useful in showing distribution patterns of childhood malignancy in this region.
Alteration of muscle synergy structure while walking under increased postural constraints

It is hypothesised that specific groups of muscles aka muscle synergies (MSs) are combined by the central nervous system to control a wide repertoire of movements and also simplify motor control. Therefore, studying MSs during human locomotion is of significance, as it may reveal neuromuscular strategies for postural stability. In this study, the authors aimed to use the hypothesis of MSs to identify specific muscle co-activations during overground walking and slacklining where postural perturbations were generated by the participants rather than being externally controlled. Nine participants were asked to walk overground and on a slackline while they recorded myoelectric activity of their leg muscles. They extracted synergies from the electromyography signals in the two tasks using factor analysis. The results showed adaptation in the shared MSs structure during walking on the slackline and these shared MSs across participants were recruited flexibly to meet the demand for stability. The modulation of synergies suggests adaptive neuromuscular strategies for stability while walking on a slackline. Specifically, higher activation of quadriceps during slacklining suggests a crouched gait to facilitate balance. During overground walking, lower leg muscles revealed higher activation compared to slacklining to support a more consistent toe-off during the stance phase.
Religious Struggle and Psychological Well-Being: The Mediating Role of Religious Support and Meaning Making

Although a variety of studies have found robust links between religious/spiritual (r/s) struggle and poorer well-being, only a few have examined the means by which r/s struggle affects mental well-being. The present paper aims to examine religious support and meaning making as mediators of the relationship between r/s struggle and well-being. The study included 226 adults, 108 women and 118 men, aged between 17 and 78 years. We applied the Religious and Spiritual Struggle Scale, Religious Support Scale, Meaning Making Scale, and Psychological Well-Being Scale. The results demonstrated that both religious support and meaning making were mediators in the relationship between r/s struggles and well-being. During moral or demonic struggles, many people reportedly feel supported by their religion, make meaning based on these positive religious experiences, and in turn experience greater well-being. Conversely, during divine, ultimate meaning, and interpersonal struggles people may feel like God does not support them, which may lead to difficulties reframing their religious experience, and adversely influence well-being. The findings from this study underscore the multifaceted character of r/s struggle: during different types of r/s struggle people may feel that religion is a source of support for them or, by contrast, they may feel deprived of religious support, which can lead to an increase or decrease of well-being, respectively.
A pheromone lure for catching fall armyworm males (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in Mexico

Moth sex pheromones can be used for monitoring or for control (e.g., mass trapping or mating disruption) of agricultural pests. However, pheromone application in field conditions requires that all crucial pheromonal components are included and optimized in a pheromone lure. In this study, we optimized a sex pheromone lure for monitoring Mexican populations from the fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda Smith. In corn fields, we evaluated the activity of single compounds, three binary blends, and one tertiary blend of ( Z )-7-dodecenyl acetate ( Z 7-12:OAc), ( Z )-9-tetradecenyl acetate ( Z 9-14:OAc), and ( Z )-11-hexadecenyl acetate ( Z 11-16:OAc). The results showed that the traps baited with a binary blend of Z 7-12:Ac + Z 9-14:Ac captured significantly more S . frugiperda males than single compounds, other binary blends or the tertiary blend. The absence of Z 11-16:OAc in the blends did not significantly affect the capture of males, indicating that this compound is non-essential for male attraction in the field. We demonstrated that the dose of the binary blend of Z 7-12:OAc and Z 9-14:OAc influenced the catch rate of FAW males. The pheromone lure optimized in this study can be useful for capturing S . frugiperda in Mexico.
Adaptation and Learning in Multi-Task Decision Systems

Adaptation and learning over multi-agent networks is a topic of great relevance with important implications. Elaborating on previous works on single-task networks engaged in decision problems, here we consider the multi-task version in the challenging scenario where the state of nature may change arbitrarily. We propose a data diffusion scheme for tracking these changes in real time, and investigate by numerical simulations the corresponding steady-state decision performance. For the slow-adaptation regime, the complete analytical characterization of the agents’ status is provided, under the simplifying assumption that the network connection matrix is correctly estimated.