Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The importance of non-stationary multiannual periodicities in the North Atlantic Oscillation index for forecasting water resource drought

Abstract. Drought forecasting and early warning systems for water resource extremes are increasingly important tools in water resource management in Europe where increased population density and climate change are expected to place greater pressures on water supply. In this context, the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) is often used to indicate future water resource behaviours (including droughts) over Europe, given its dominant control on winter rainfall totals in the North Atlantic region. Recent hydroclimate research has focused on the role of multiannual periodicities in the NAO in driving low frequency behaviours in some water resources, suggesting that notable improvements to lead-times in forecasting may be possible by incorporating these multiannual relationships. However, the importance of multiannual NAO periodicities for driving water resource behaviour, and the feasibility of this relationship for indicating future droughts, has yet to be assessed in the context of known non-stationarities that are internal to the NAO and its influence on European meteorological processes. Here we quantify the time–frequency relationship between the NAO and a large dataset of water resources records to identify key non-stationarities that have dominated multiannual behaviour of water resource extremes over recent decades. The most dominant of these is a 7.5-year periodicity in water resource extremes since approximately 1970 but which has been diminishing since 2005. Furthermore, we show that the non-stationary relationship between the NAO and European rainfall is clearly expressed at multiannual periodicities in the water resource records assessed. These multiannual behaviours are found to have modulated historical water resource anomalies to an extent that is comparable to the projected effects of a worst-case climate change scenario. Furthermore, there is limited systematic understanding in existing atmospheric research for non-stationarities in these periodic behaviours which poses considerable implications to existing water resource forecasting and projection systems, as well as the use of these periodic behaviours as an indicator of future water resource drought.
It Seems Italian, Doesn’t It? An Exploratory Analysis of English and Spanish Consumers about Italian Appearance Food Products

The Italian export of agri-food products has been increasingly threatened by the unfair use of misleading Italian symbols (such as the national flag or the green-white-red colors) by non-Italian producers. This research paper investigated what English and Spanish consumers know about “Made in Italy” food, and their attitude towards Italian appearance food products. Primary data were collected in Spain and England, and a probit model was used to identify the determinants of consumers’ vulnerability to misleading Italian symbols. We found that merely having Italian symbols on the package might lead almost half of the consumers in the sample to consider food as Made in Italy, regardless of the actual origin. This result confirms the severity of the problem. The econometric model provides suggestions for public actions to mitigate the issue.
Influence Mechanism of Implementation Intentions from the Perspective of Time and Space in Mobile Shopping

Abstract The emerging e-commerce is increasingly influenced by consumers’ sense of mobile shopping presence. Understanding correlation and match rules across spatial and temporal scene cues, as well as corresponding behavioral responses from mobile shopping, has become a new hot topic in the behavioral implementation intention theory. This study proposes a model incorporating time submissiveness, perceived visual-spatial crowding, psychological cost, and satisfaction to investigate the influencing mechanism and configuration paths of consumers’ mobile shopping implementation intention. To test the relations, we used a structural equation model (SEM) and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). The SEM model showed that both psychological cost and satisfaction exerted a positive impact on mobile shopping implementation intention. Time submissiveness and perceived visual-spatial crowding exerted a significant impact on mobile shopping implementation intention through the mediation of psychological cost and satisfaction. The fsQCA method examined the antecedents resulting in high and non-high implementation intention. This study better provides theoretical and practical inspiration for mobile consumers’ psychological characteristics and presence experience exploration.
Biological Compositions of Canine Amniotic Membrane and Its Extracts and the Investigation of Corneal Wound Healing Efficacy In Vitro

The usage of canine amniotic membrane (cAM) is mainly of interest in veterinary ophthalmology. Topical formulations of cAM could deliver the beneficial properties of cAM without the need for surgical intervention. The present study aimed to investigate biological compositions of cAM and its extracts, including their corneal wound healing efficacy. In this study, canine amniotic membrane extract (cAME) and lyophilized canine amniotic membrane extract (cAMX) were developed. Bioactive molecules related to corneal wound healing, including hepatocyte growth factor, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 and -2, Thrombospondin-1 and Interleukin-1 receptor antagonist were studied at both gene and protein expression levels. Cell viability and wound healing assays were investigated for the possibility of cAME and cAMX as topical applications. The results demonstrated that all of the relevant genes and proteins were detected in cAM, cAME and cAMX. Both cAME and cAMX showed wound healing properties in vitro and cAME at 1.0 mg/mL concentration appeared to have the best healing efficacy. In conclusion, cAME and cAMX generated for topical use provided promising results in the healing of corneal defects.
EpiBuilder: A Tool for Assembling, Searching, and Classifying B-Cell Epitopes

Epitopes are portions of a protein that are recognized by antibodies. These small amino acid sequences represent a significant breakthrough in a branch of bioinformatics called immunoinformatics. Various software are available for linear B-cell epitope (BCE) prediction such as ABCPred, SVMTrip, EpiDope, and EpitopeVec; a well-known BCE predictor is BepiPred-2.0. However, despite the prediction, there are several essential steps, such as epitope assembly, evaluation, and searching for epitopes in other proteomes. Here, we present EpiBuilder (https://epibuilder.sourceforge.io), a user friendly software that assists in epitope assembly, classifying and searching using input results of BepiPred-2.0. EpiBuilder generates several output results from these data and supports a proteome-wide processing approach. In addition, this software provides the following features: Chou & Fasman beta-turn prediction, Emini surface accessibility prediction, Karplus and Schulz flexibility prediction, Kolaskar and Tongaonkar antigenicity, Parker hydrophilicity prediction, N-glycosylation domains, and hydropathy. These information generate a unique topology for each epitope, visually demonstrating its characteristics. The software can search the entire epitope sequence in various FASTA files, and it allows to use BLASTP to identify epitopes that eventually have sequence variations. As an EpiBuilder application, we developed a epitope dataset from the protozoan Trypanosoma brucei gambiense, the gram-positive bacterium Clostridioides difficile, and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).
Ontario Outdoor Integrated Curriculum Programs: More than "just a fun semester"

Integrated curriculum programs (ICPs) in Ontario consist of two to four secondary course credits taught by a single instructor to a cohort of students for a semester. ICPs often have a focus on outdoor and environmental education, and emphasize experiential and integrated learning. Despite challenges that such programs face (such as instructor burnout and limited administrative support), their prevalence has grown, with about 100 programs as of 2015 compared to 30 in 2000. While research provides evidence to suggest positive outcomes of outdoor ICPs with regard to the student experience, it has primarily focused on current students. Research investigating the long-term impacts of ICP experiences, and across multiple programs, is limited. Thus the purpose of this study is to explore further the long-term influence of a variety of outdoor ICPs on students’ lives. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight former Ontario ICP students (4 to 13 years post-program) representing six different programs. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed thematically using an inductive approach. The findings suggest that former students representing a variety of outdoor ICPs recall their experiences positively, even years later. During their programs, former students valued the sense of community they experienced, the educational approach, their personal growth throughout the semester, and the instructor. Outdoor ICPs also resonated with participants beyond their respective semesters, leaving them with a lasting connection to the program, influencing their academic and career goals, and driving them to enact environmental consciousness.
Digital Comprehensive Summaries of Uppsala Dissertations from the Faculty of Science and Technology 1519 On the Low Frequency Noise in Ion Sensing

Zhang, D. 2017. On the Low Frequency Noise in Ion Sensing. Digital Comprehensive Summaries of Uppsala Dissertations from the Faculty of Science and Technology 1519. 73 pp. Uppsala: Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis. ISBN 978-91-554-9919-8. Ion sensing represents a grand research challenge. It finds a vast variety of applications in, e.g., gas sensing for domestic gases and ion detection in electrolytes for chemical-biological-medical monitoring. Semiconductor genome sequencing exemplifies a revolutionary application of the latter. For such sensing applications, the signal mostly spans in the low frequency regime. Therefore, low-frequency noise (LFN) present in the same frequency domain places a limit on the minimum detectable variation of the sensing signal and constitutes a major research and development objective of ion sensing devices. This thesis focuses on understanding LFN in ion sensing based on both experimental and theoretical studies. The thesis starts with demonstrating a novel device concept, i.e., ion-gated bipolar amplifier (IGBA), aiming at boosting the signal for mitigating the interference by external noise. An IGBA device consists of a modified ion-sensitive field-effect transistors (ISFET) intimately integrated with a bipolar junction transistor as the internal current amplifier with an achieved internal amplification of 70. The efficacy of IGBA in suppressing the external interference is clearly demonstrated by comparing its noise performance to that of the ISFET counterpart. Among the various noise sources of an ISFET, the solid/liquid interfacial noise is poorly studied. A differential microelectrode cell is developed for characterizing this noise component by employing potentiometry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. With the cell, the measured noise of the TiN/electrolyte interface is found to be of thermal nature. The interfacial noise is further found to be comparable or larger than that of the state-of-the-art MOSFETs. Therefore, its influence cannot be overlooked for design of future ion sensors. To understand the solid/liquid interfacial noise, an electrochemical impedance model is developed based on the dynamic site-binding reactions of surface hydrogen ions with surface OH groups. The model incorporates both thermodynamic and kinetic properties of the binding reactions. By considering the distributed nature of the reaction energy barriers, the model can interpret the interfacial impedance with a constant-phase-element behavior. Since the model directly correlates the interfacial noise to the properties of the sensing surface, the dependencies of noise on the reaction rate constants and binding site density are systematically investigated.
Society and social changes through the prism of childhood: Editorial

ABSTRACT This editorial argues, that while several children’s geographers and other childhood researchers have already succeed to draw on research about children’s lives and the spatiality of childhood in order to speak to broader debates, much more could be done. Hereafter, the notion of childhood prism research is briefly explained, followed by a presentation of the aim of a special issue on ‘Society and social changes through the prism of childhood’, namely to bring the field one step further towards significant and distinct contributions to the wider scholarly field. Finally, the editorial presents each of the articles in the special issue, explaining their contribution to this mission.
Remodeling Osteoarthritic Articular Cartilage under Hypoxic Conditions

Osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the leading joint diseases induced by abnormalities or inflammation in the synovial membrane and articular cartilage, causing severe pain and disability. Along with the cartilage malfunction, imbalanced oxygen uptake occurs, changing chondrocytes into type I collagen- and type X collagen-producing dedifferentiated cells, contributing to OA progression. However, mounting evidence suggests treating OA by inducing a hypoxic environment in the articular cartilage, targeting the inhibition of several OA-related pathways to bring chondrocytes into a normal state. This review discusses the implications of OA-diseased articular cartilage on chondrocyte phenotypes and turnover and debates the hypoxic mechanism of action. Furthermore, this review highlights the new understanding of OA, provided by tissue engineering and a regenerative medicine experimental design, modeling the disease into diverse 2D and 3D structures and investigating hypoxia and hypoxia-inducing biomolecules and potential cell therapies. This review also reports the mechanism of hypoxic regulation and highlights the importance of activating and stabilizing the hypoxia-inducible factor and related molecules to protect chondrocytes from mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis occurring under the influence of OA.
Ambidextrous Leadership and Service Recovery Performance Under B2B Selling Context: An Examination Through Service Innovation Capability

In order to build consistent service quality, managers should encourage salespeople to deal with customers and improve service errors for their overall benefit. Our study seeks to understand the role of ambidextrous leadership in promoting service innovation capability and service recovery performance (SRP) under a business-to-business (B2B) selling environment. The study evaluates 286 responses from pharmaceutical salespeople by using structural equation modeling. The results report a significant association between opening leader behavior and service recovery performance, whereas closing leader behavior is not significantly related to service recovery performance. In addition, opening and closing leader behaviors have a positive and significant impact on service innovation capability. Consequently, service innovation capability is positively and significantly related to value-based selling, adaptive selling, and service recovery performance. Finally, our results contribute to the previous research that has explored the significant mediation effect of service innovation capability between opening leader behavior and service recovery performance linkage.
Antimicrobial Biomaterial on Sutures, Bandages and Face Masks with Potential for Infection Control

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a challenge for the survival of the human race. The steady rise of resistant microorganisms against the common antimicrobials results in increased morbidity and mortality rates. Iodine and a plethora of plant secondary metabolites inhibit microbial proliferation. Antiseptic iodophors and many phytochemicals are unaffected by AMR. Surgical site and wound infections can be prevented or treated by utilizing such compounds on sutures and bandages. Coating surgical face masks with these antimicrobials can reduce microbial infections and attenuate their burden on the environment by re-use. The facile combination of Aloe Vera Barbadensis Miller (AV), Trans-cinnamic acid (TCA) and Iodine (I2) encapsulated in a polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) matrix seems a promising alternative to common antimicrobials. The AV-PVP-TCA-I2 formulation was impregnated into sterile discs, medical gauze bandages, surgical sutures and face masks. Morphology, purity and composition were confirmed by several analytical methods. Antimicrobial activity of AV-PVP-TCA-I2 was investigated by disc diffusion methods against ten microbial strains in comparison to gentamycin and nystatin. AV-PVP-TCA-I2 showed excellent antifungal and strong to intermediate antibacterial activities against most of the selected pathogens, especially in bandages and face masks. The title compound has potential use for prevention or treatment of surgical site and wound infections. Coating disposable face masks with AV-PVP-TCA-I2 may be a sustainable solution for their re-use and waste management.
Why patients go to private health care facilities? Perspectives from Qassim, Saudi Arabia

Saudi government provides free health care to the population, however still a large number of people visit private health care facilities. This study aimed to measure patients’ satisfaction with and reasons for visiting private health care facilities in Qassim, Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among patients who visited private health facilities in the month of August and September 2019. Data was collected through an online questionnaire with variables on various aspects of care and services and reasons for choosing the facilities. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 21. A total of 1220 respondents participated in this study. The mean score of the overall patients’ satisfaction was 3.08 (±1.29). About 525 (43.1%) of respondents were satisfied. About 78.1% of respondents were satisfied with the private health facilities’ working hours. Highly satisfied domains were; working hours, the respect and help from the staff. The patients’ age, educational level, nationality, residence, monthly income and occupation were associated with the overall satisfaction in a private health facility (p < 0.05). The main reasons for choosing the private health facilities were delayed appointment in governmental hospitals and less waiting time in private hospitals. Service redesign is required to improve appointment management systems and patients’ satisfaction in public sector health facilities. Key words: Satisfaction; Private health facility; quality in healthcare; Qassim; Saudi Arabia
Representation of hydrological processes in a rural lowland catchment in Northern Germany using SWAT and SWAT+

The latest version of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT+) features several improvements compared with previous versions of the model, for example, the definition of landscape units that allow for a better representation of spatio‐temporal dynamics. To evaluate the new model capabilities in lowland catchments characterized by near‐surface groundwater tables and extensive tile drainage, we assess the performance of two SWAT+ model setups in comparison to a setup based on a previous SWAT model version (SWAT3S with a modified three groundwater storage model) in the Kielstau catchment in Northern Germany. The Kielstau catchment has an area of about 50 km2, is dominated by agricultural land use, and has been thoroughly monitored since 2005. In both SWAT+ setups, the catchment is divided into upland areas and floodplains, but in the first SWAT+ model setup, runoff from the hydrologic response units is summed up at landscape unit level and added directly to the stream. In the second SWAT+ model setup, runoff is routed across the landscape before it reaches the streams. Model results are compared with regard to (i) model performance for stream flow at the outlet of the catchment and (ii) aggregated as well as temporally and spatially distributed water balance components. All three model setups show a very good performance at the catchment outlet. In comparison to a previous version of the SWAT model that produced more groundwater flow, the SWAT+ model produced more tile drainage flow and surface runoff. Results from the new SWAT+ model confirm that the representation of routing processes from uplands to floodplains in the model further improved the representation of hydrological processes. Particularly, the stronger spatial heterogeneity that can be related to characteristics of the landscape, is very promising for a better understanding and model representation of hydrological fluxes in lowland areas. The outcomes of this study are expected to further prove the applicability of SWAT+ and provide useful information for future model development.
A Model of Business School Students' Acceptance of a Web-Based Course

As business schools increasingly seek to incorporate Web-based information and communication technologies into the instructional process, there is a need for rigorous research into the factors affecting the successful integration of these technologies into management education. A key factor identified in prior management education research as critical to the successful implementation of such instructional technologies is student acceptance. We use the literatures on management education, technology acceptance, and change implementation to develop and test a model predicting business school students' acceptance of a Web-based course management system. Arguing that such a system which transitions traditional course-management processes to the Web constitutes an instance of a process change, we examine the role played by various change-enabling factors as well as change-motivating factors in students' acceptance of the system. We find that perceived incentive to use the system, perceived faculty encouragement to use the system, and peer encouragement to use the system are positively related to perceived usefulness of the system, which in turn is positively related to student acceptance of the system. We also find that awareness of the capabilities of the system, perceived availability of technical support, and prior experience with computer and Web use are positively related to perceived ease of use of the system, which in turn is positively related to student acceptance of the system. Implications for management education research and practice are discussed.
Insights into Positive Approaches to Parent Partnership Working in UK Nursery Schools

In this article, we share interviews with Maintained Nursery School (MNS) leaders in deprived areas of the West Midlands of England. This constructivist research was carried out to better understand the 'why' and 'how' of parent partnership in early years settings. During our conversations with leaders, they explained how they establish and maintain positive relationships with parents, and in this article, we highlight examples of tangible benefits to the lives of children and families resulting from their partnerships. Our data identify a moral imperative felt by practitioners to 'fill the gap', resulting from the demise of public services in the area. Our interviews reveal the intrinsic satisfaction these leaders experience in 'making a difference'; but we question a system which relies upon goodwill, and represents a largely invisible and unrecognised public service, attempting to mitigate the impacts of growing deprivation and adversity.