Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Statistical approaches to assimilate ASCAT soil moisture information—I. Methodologies and first assessment

Land surfaces are characterised by strong heterogeneities of soil texture, orography, land cover, soil moisture, snow, and other variables. The complexity of the surface properties is very challenging to represent accurately in radiative transfer models, which have a limited reliability over land, especially for observations such as given. This has resulted in difficulties in assimilating land‐surface related satellite observations in numerical weather prediction models. Simple statistical relationships between satellite observations and surface variables have therefore been considered in the last 20 years. In this study, we propose to compare two such approaches: cumulative distribution function (CDF)‐matching (used as a normalisation and an inversion technique) and neural network (NN) methods. CDF‐matching finds a simple monovariate relationship at the local scale and is very dependent on the land‐surface model (LSM) on which it is calibrated. NNs are global multivariate models able to exploit auxiliary information and the synergy of multiple instruments, but the solution is global and no local characteristics constrain the solution. One of these two methods will be better suited, depending on the application—in particular the simplicity of the satellite/variable relationship. We illustrate these concepts here using Advanced SCATerometer (ASCAT) observations for soil moisture (SM) retrieval in an assimilation context. The two approaches are compared and combined. We also compare the more traditional inversion scheme and forward modelling, which could be attractive for assimilation purposes. We show that, in the context of ASCAT, the inversion approach seems better suited than the forward modelling. We also show that it is possible to combine the global model obtained using the NN and the localised information of the LSM offered by CDF‐matching.
An Assessment of Forest Cover Change and Its Driving Forces in the Syrian Coastal Region during a Period of Conflict, 2010 to 2020

In Syria, 76% of the forests are located in the Syrian coast region. This region is witnessing a rapid depletion of forest cover during the conflict that broke out in mid-2011. To date, there have been no studies providing accurate, reliable, and comprehensive data on the qualitative and quantitative aspects of forest change dynamics and the underlying drivers behind this change. In this study, changes in the dynamics of forest cover and its density between 2010 and 2020 were detected and analyzed using multi-temporal Landsat images. This study also analyzed the relationship between changes in forest cover and selected physical and socio-demographic variables associated with the drivers of change. The results revealed that the study area witnessed a significant decrease in the total forest area (31,116.0 ha, 24.3%) accompanied by a considerable decrease in density, as the area of dense forests decreased by 11,778.0 ha (9.2%) between 2010 and 2020. The change in forest cover was driven by a variety of different factors related to the conflict. The main drivers were changes in economic and social activities, extensive exploitation of forest resources, frequent forest fires, and weakness of state institutions in managing natural resources and environmental development. Forest loss was also linked to the expansion of cultivated area, increase in population and urban area. Fluctuating climatic conditions are not a major driver of forest cover dynamics in the study area. This decrease in forest area and density reflects sharp shifts in the natural environment during the study period. In the foreseeable future, it is not possible to determine whether the changes in forest cover and its density will be permanent or temporary. Monitoring changes in forest cover and understanding the driving forces behind this change provides quantitative and qualitative information to improve planning and decision-making. The results of this study may draw the attention of decision-makers to take immediate actions and identify areas of initial intervention to protect current the forests of the Syrian coast region from loss and degradation, as well as develop policies for the sustainable management of forest resources in the long term.
Effects of Pulsed Electric Field(PEF) on Activativity and Conformation Changes of Lipoxygenase(LOX)

Lipoxygenases(LOX)(EC 1.13.11.12) are widely distributed in nature.The presence of LOX activity in many foodstuffs can affect their properties,particularly during long-term storage,in both desirable and undesirable ways.So inactivation of LOX is a significant working procedure of processing,especially for shelf stable fruit juice.Inactivation of LOX by pulsed electric field(PEF) has been investigated in the present investigation.Circular dichroism(CD) and fluorescence analysis have been used to study the conformation change of the protein.The experimental results show that activity of LOX can be 88.26 % reduced after a PEF treatment at 24 kV/cm for 962 μs. At the same tine,inactivation effect of LOX increases with the increase of the applied electric strength and treatment time.The circular dichroism(CD) analysis proved that a-helical and β-sheet simultaneously presented in the second conformation of LOX.In addition,pulsed electric field(PEF) treatment of LOX caused a loss of α-helix and increase of β-sheet content,indicating that conformation changes occurred in the secondary structure of LOX enzyme.The fluorescence intensity of LOX increased after PEF treatment,at the same time,increase the applied electric field increased the fluorescence intensity emitted.These results prove local tertiary structure changes of LOX protein.
Guilt and Prosocial Behavior: Lab-in-the-Field Evidence from Bangladesh

The goal of this study is to examine the relevance of guilt aversion preference in financial decisions. Using data from a lab-in-the-field experiment in rural Bangladesh, this study elicits villagers’ unwillingness to fall short of others’ expectations—that is, guilt sensitivity—and examines its association with their financial decisions in the field. The experimental result demonstrates a consistent pattern with guilt aversion. It also shows that guilt-sensitive villagers are more likely to repay loans and have better access to credit. These findings could make an important contribution to our understanding of how villagers address moral hazard and limited enforcement problems.
Factors Affecting Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty in Online Food Delivery Service during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Its Relation with Open Innovation

Online food delivery service (OFDS) has been widely utilized during the new normal of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in a developing country such as Indonesia. The purpose of this study was to determine factors influencing customer satisfaction and loyalty in OFDS during the new normal of the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia by utilizing the extended theory of planned behavior (TPB) approach. A total of 253 respondents voluntarily participated and answered 65 questions. Structural equation modeling (SEM) indicated that hedonic motivation (HM) was found to have the highest effect on customer satisfaction, followed by price (P), information quality (IQ), and promotion (PRO). Interestingly, this study found out that usability factors, such as navigational design (ND) and perceived ease of use (PEOU) were not significant to customer satisfaction and loyalty in OFDS during the new normal of COVID-19. This study can be the theoretical foundation that could be very beneficial for OFDS investors, IT engineers, and even academicians. Finally, this study can be applied and extended to determine factors influencing customer satisfaction and loyalty in OFDS during the new normal of COVID-19 in other countries.
Positive Impacts of Covid-19 Pandemic on Various Aspects

During the year 2020, our globe has faced a disastrous monster in the form of a microscopic virus. Innumerable lives have suffered across various countries and the loss is indeterminable. Sadness, grief, fear and anxiety has taken over all families of those suffering from the deadly virus. The virus has changed the outlook to most aspects. Even in the past, pandemics and infectious diseases as such have put humans in a position to initiate their world anew. The corona pandemic seems to have similar consequences. Apart from the boredom, helplessness, uncertainty of the future, nations also battle against various other issues like economic crises and climatic changes. Living through the pandemic, even though our worlds have shrunk to our house mates and our laptops, but the entire globe stands in it together fighting the common enemy. And more importantly, the pandemic has also brought in some positive changes into the lives of the people as well as on different nations as a whole. The objective of this article is to draw your attention towards the positive impacts of the Covid 19 pandemic. Despite the various drawbacks of the global pandemic, it has also helped our nation and the whole world in various ways.
The Effect of Multiple Large Shareholders on Banks’ Profitability and Risk

The wide-ranging academic literature on corporate governance in the banking sector includes only a few studies on bank ownership and, specifically, on the comparative power of shareholders within the corporate structure. This paper reports an investigation into the presence of multiple large shareholders and their influence on profitability and risk in the long-term, considering a sample of 697 U.S. and European listed commercial banks from 2008 to 2018. It was found that the number of large and institutional shareholders has a positive impact on profitability, but no effect on risk. However, long-term ownership by multiple large shareholders contributes to decreasing risk in banks.
Geographic diversification and bank lending during crises

Abstract We classify a large sample of banks according to the geographic diversification of their international syndicated loan portfolio. We show that diversified banks maintain higher loan supply during banking crises in borrower countries. Positive loan supply effects lead to higher firm investment and employment growth. Diversified banks are stabilizing due to their ability to raise additional funding during times of distress. Distinguishing banks by nationality reveals that diversified domestic banks are a stable source of funding, while foreign banks with little diversification are fickle. Findings suggest that declining financial integration makes countries more vulnerable to local financial shocks.
The scarlet letter: impacts of moral emotions and attribution type on athlete stigmatization

ABSTRACT Research question News about celebrity athlete transgressions is nearly an everyday occurrence in today’s media channels. Whether the public stigmatizes these individuals as a result of these indiscretions and how this process is enacted is not yet evident in the literature. This paper seeks to answer the question of whether and how the psychological process of stigma formation occurs with regard to celebrity athletes who transgress. Further, the paper also seeks to clarify the impact of this stigmatization in the context of sponsorship and celebrity endorsement. Research methods A total of 219 US residents who were recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk participated in this experimental study. We employed structural equation modeling to test our hypotheses. Results and findings The results show that the impact of negative moral emotions on stigma formation for transgressed athletes is partially mediated by internal attribution. Moreover, negative moral emotions and stigmas have a direct positive (negative) impact on moral coupling (moral decoupling and rationalization), and ultimately influence the attitude toward the transgressed athlete and sponsored brand. Implications The findings suggest that brand managers should consider the transgression history as a key determinant for endorsement decisions because sport consumers may have already formed a strong perception of stigma toward those athletes and those perceptions in turn determine the overall evaluations of endorsed athletes and sponsored brands.
Consecuencias de los conflictos armados en la salud mental de niños y adolescentes: revisión de revisiones de la literatura

Resumen Introducción. Los conflictos armados dejan consecuencias evidentes en la salud mental de la población infantil y adolescente. En ese marco, se ha documentado una serie de situaciones que tienen como factor común la vulnerabilidad de esta población y las afectaciones biopsicosociales significativas. Objetivo. Determinar y sintetizar las diferentes consecuencias de los conflictos armados en la salud mental de la población infantil y adolescente. Materiales y métodos. Se realizó una búsqueda sistemática exhaustiva de revisiones bibliográficas hasta julio de 2019 en las bases de datos MEDLINE (Ovid), EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, LILACS y otras. Se seleccionaron los artículos y se analizaron de forma narrativa sus características, objetivos y consecuencias en salud mental en tres momentos: antes del conflicto, durante el conflicto y en el posconflicto. Resultados. De un total de 587 artículos potencialmente relevantes, se seleccionaron 72. En los estudios sobre el periodo anterior al conflicto, se detallaron experiencias psicológicas y síntomas somáticos anticipatorios. Durante el conflicto, se evidenciaron síntomas regresivos, conductuales y cognitivos, como enuresis, miedo, tristeza, agresión, hiperactividad e inatención, entre otros. Además, se establecieron consecuencias directas, como trastornos de adaptación, depresión, ansiedad y, en mayor medida, estrés postraumático. Por último, en el posconflicto, se recopiló la información sobre los procesos de transmisión de las consecuencias y la resiliencia. Por otro lado, se profundizó en las consecuencias potenciales en el desarrollo biopsicosocial, la moralidad, la identidad, el contexto, la cultura, la educación y la sociedad. Conclusiones. Las consecuencias de los conflictos armados en la salud mental se inscriben en un proceso complejo que se expresa en función de la etapa evolutiva de la exposición, del tiempo del conflicto armado y de los factores contextuales.
Encouraging Citizen Adoption of E-Governance – A Way to Reduce Corruption

—The transformation of modern public administration is based on the introduction of transparent, with wide public participation management practices. Innovative technologies imply new forms of citizen participation in government. This applies to all areas even the rulemaking sphere. Modern technologies in general, and the “electronic participation” of citizens in managing the affairs of the state and regions in particular, contribute to the openness of state power, its legitimization, and the reduction of corruption. The involvement of citizens in management issues can be considered one of the factors to reduce corruption. The maturity of e-government significantly contributes to the fight against corruption. The functioning of new services is based on the principles of transparency, simplicity, wide participation of citizens in the affairs of a region / territory / country. E-government is an effective anti-corruption instrument. Services provided by the state mainly in electronic form are interconnected with anti-corruption indicators and positively affect the transparency of state power and trust in the government. The same effect has platforms for communicating with citizens and identifying their opinions and problems, the presence of state bodies in social networks.
Grape juice obtained using steam extraction and other small‐scale extraction methods: phenolic content, antioxidant capacity and stability during storage

Summary Grape juices made using small-scale production techniques are widely consumed. The extraction procedures employed to produce them, however, can affect bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity in the final product. In this study, juices prepared using four extraction methods (steam, extractor, juicer and blender) were evaluated for soluble and hydrolysable polyphenol content, total anthocyanin content, antioxidant capacity, physicochemical characteristics and colour. Acceptance of steam-extracted juices and their stability during storage were also evaluated. Steam extraction resulted in a higher soluble phenolic (1073 ± 58 mg gallic acid L−1) and anthocyanin content (138 ± 22 mg cyanidin L−1), as well as a higher antioxidant capacity when compared to juices prepared using other methods. Although steam-extracted juice remained microbiologically stable during 24 months of storage, changes in phytochemical compounds and antioxidant capacity did occur. Our results indicate that steam-extracted grape juices have high commercial potential.
Cervical expression of elafin and secretory leukocyte peptidase inhibitor does not predict preterm delivery in twin pregnancy – results from a pilot study

Background. Elafin and secretory leukocyte peptidase inhibitor may serve as the predictors of cervical shortening and preterm delivery in twin gestation. Material and Methods. A prospective observational study was conducted between September 2016 and March 2017. Cervicovaginal swabs collected from 40 women with twin gestation were analysed and the mRNA expression of elafin and secretory leukocyte peptidase inhibitor (SLPI) correlated with preterm delivery. Results. The mean gestational age at delivery was 35.6 ± 5.8 weeks, with 23 women delivering before 37 weeks (57.5%), 7 before 34 weeks (17.5%) and 3 before 32 weeks of gestation (7.5%). The mRNA expression of elafin and SLPI was not dependent on chorionicity and did not correlate with gestational age at delivery. Conclusions. Elafin and SLPI are not appropriate predictors of preterm delivery in twins.
An Analytic Cognitive Style Negatively Predicts a More Literal but Not a More Symbolic Religiosity Type

ABSTRACT The idea that a more analytic cognitive style is associated with lower religiosity is a theoretical prediction that has been challenged by some empirical findings. We conducted three studies with Argentine participants (N = 719) to clarify this issue. In Study 1, we replicated the negative correlation between analytic cognitive style, measured with the Cognitive Reflection Test, and Belief in Supernatural Agents, Intrinsic, and Intuitive Religiosity. In Studies 2 and 3, participants responded to the Post-Critical Beliefs Scale which measures both the presence of a transcendent dimension in beliefs and the extent to which literal-vs.-symbolic beliefs are endorsed, and we also tested for individual differences in Need for Cognitive Closure. Results showed that a more analytic cognitive style negatively predicted both inclusion of transcendence and a literal interpretation of religious ideas. Moreoever, an analytic cognitive style was negatively associated with a literal but not with a symbolic inclusion of transcendence in beliefs. In turn, higher scores of closed-mindedness were positively associated with a more literal interpretation of religion. We conclude that present data support the hypothesis that religiosity may be negatively associated with an analytic cognitive style, but individuals who experience religion more symbolically do not accommodate to that pattern.
THE SALTY TASTE THRESHOLD AND TONGUE CLEANING HABITS IN HEALTHY YOUNG ADULT MALE SMOKERS

Introduction: Smoking has adverse effects on the body such as various types of cancer, coronary heart diseases, stroke, peripheral vascular diseases, and oral changes including decreased taste sensation. There have been many studies on the effects of smoking on taste threshold, but specific studies in a group of young adult males and data on the frequency of tongue cleaning habits have not been reported. This study aims to determine the salty taste threshold and tongue cleaning habits in healthy young adult male smokers. Methods: This study was a descriptive cross-sectional study, and the subjects were taken by consecutive sampling. The criteria for the subjects were healthy males, aged 18-24 years old, who had a habit of smoking 10 cigarettes or more per day and had smoked for more than 1 year. A questionnaire was conducted including data on tongue cleaning habits before measuring the salt taste threshold using various concentrations of sodium chloride solution which are 0,012M, 0,014M, and 0,016M. Introduction: Smoking has adverse effects on the body such as various types of cancer, coronary heart diseases, stroke, peripheral vascular diseases, and oral changes including decreased taste sensation. There have been many studies on the effects of smoking on taste threshold, but specific studies in a group of young adult males and data on the frequency of tongue cleaning habits have not been reported. This study aims to determine the salty taste threshold and tongue cleaning habits in healthy young adult male smokers. Methods: This study was a descriptive cross-sectional study, and the subjects were taken by consecutive sampling. The criteria for the subjects were healthy males, aged 18-24 years old, who had a habit of smoking 10 cigarettes or more per day and had smoked for more than 1 year. A questionnaire was conducted including data on tongue cleaning habits before measuring the salt taste threshold using various concentrations of sodium chloride solution which are 0,012M, 0,014M, and 0,016M.
Diversifying Estimation Errors: An Efficient Averaging Rule for Portfolio Optimization

We propose an averaging rule that combines established minimum-variance strategies to minimize the expected out-of-sample variance. Our rule overcomes the problem of selecting the “best” strategy ex-ante and diversifies remaining estimation errors of the single strategies included in the averaging. Extensive simulations show that the contributions of estimation errors to the out-of-sample variances are uncorrelated between the considered strategies. This implies that averaging over multiple strategies o˙ers sizable diversification benefits. Our rule leverages these benefits and compares favorably to eleven strategies in terms of out-of-sample variance on both simulated and empirical data sets. The Sharpe ratio is across all data sets at least 25% higher than for the 1/N portfolio.