Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reproduction and population dynamics of cave-dwelling bats in Costa of Oaxaca, México

Introduction: Reproduction is a critical phase for most living organisms and in bats the reproductive strategies exhibit considerable complexity and variability. Objective: To describe the reproductive patterns and population dynamics of seven bat species (Artibeus toltecus, Carollia perspicillata, Glossophaga soricina, Mormoops megalophylla, Pteronotus fulvus, Pteronotus mesoamericanus and Natalus mexicanus) that roost in one mine (La Mina) and two caves (El Apanguito and Cerro Huatulco) in the State of Oaxaca, in Southeastern México. Methods: Sampling was conducted monthly from July 2016 to June 2017. Bats were captured using a harp trap, which was placed at the entrance of the roosts. The captured bats were identified using taxonomic keys, marked with an aluminum ring, sex and age class were also determined. Reproductive activity was modeled through 63 GLMs for each species (504 in total). The best model was selected according to the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC). Results: A total of 5 836 bats were captured and marked, classified into 14 species, 10 genera, and five families. The most abundant species were: P. fulvus and P. mesoamericanus, representing 41 % and 32.3 % of the captures, respectively. The mormopids M. megalophylla, P. fulvus, P. mesoamericanus, together with N. mexicanus showed a restricted seasonal monoestrous pattern, while the phyllostomids A. toltecus, C. perspicillata, and G. soricina showed a seasonal bimodal polyoestry pattern. The monthly abundance of species fluctuated significantly (H= 13, df= 11, P= 0.044) in the three roosts throughout the entire study period and the best supported GLM that included the seven species showed that the six chosen variables (season, sex, roost, temperature, precipitation and humidity) were positively associated with reproductive activity. Conclusions: The reproductive activity of each species seems to be synchronized with the end of the dry season and the beginning of the rainy season, as well as influenced by factors such as temperature, humidity and roost site.
Spatial-temporal mapping of hand, foot and mouth disease in relation to climate factors in Xinjiang, China from 2008 to 2016

[Objectives]: The study mainly aims to depict the epidemiological characteristics of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) in Xinjiang, China and to evaluate the effects of meteorological factors on the incidence of HFMD and the spatial-temporal heterogeneity of HFMD in Xinjiang under the influence of meteorological factors. [Methods]: With the data from the national surveillance data of HFMD and meteorological parameters in the study area from 2008 to 2016. We first employed GeoDetector Model to examine the effects of meteorological factors on HFMD incidence in Xinjiang, China and to test the spatial-temporal heterogeneity of HFMD risk, and then the spatial autocorrelation was applied to examine the temporal-spatial pattern of HFMD. [Results]: From 2008 to 2016, the HFMD distribution showed a distinct seasonal pattern and HFMD cases typically occurred between May and July, peaking in June, in Xinjiang. The relative humidity, precipitation, air pressure and temperature had more influence than other risk factors on HFMD incidence with explanatory powers of 0.30, 0.29, 0.29 and 0.21(p<0.000), respectively. The interactive effect of any two risk factors would enhance the risk of HFMD and there was a nonlinear enhancement between any two risk factors interactive effect. The spatial relative risks in Northern Xinjiang were higher than in Southern Xinjiang. Global spatial autocorrelation analysis showed a fluctuating trend over the years, the spatial dependency on the incidence of HFMD in 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2015, the negative spatial autocorrelation in 2009 and a random distribution pattern in 2011, 2013 and 2016. [Conclusion]: Our findings show that the risk of HFMD in Xinjiang showed signiﬁcant spatiotemporal heterogeneity. The monthly average relative humidity, monthly average precipitation, monthly average air pressure and monthly average temperature factors might have stronger relationships on the HFMD incidence in Xinjiang, China, compared with other factors. The differences in climate and latitude between Southern and Northern Xinjiang and their arid and semi-arid geographical environment are part of the reasons why the distribution of HFMD in Xinjiang is different from other temperate continental climatic zones. These associations draw attention to climate-related health issues and will help in establishing accurate spatiotemporal prevention of HFMD in Xinjiang, China.
Unemployment rate and wage growth in Brazil: evidence from a Markov-switching model

This paper has the purpose to investigate the relationship between unemployment rate and wage growth for the Brazilian economy from 2000to 2016, by means of a Markov-switching regression model. The empirical approach is based on the New-Keynesian Phillips Curve developed by Gali (2011). The estimation results suggest the existence of two well definedregimes, one characterized by the non-validation of the Phillips Curve, while in the other the trade-off between unemployment and wageinflation is validated, with the economic cycle being a key factor in regime switching.
Inactivated Platelet Lysate Supports Proliferation and Immunomodulant Characteristics Of Mesenchymal Stromal Cells in GMP Culture Condition

For their clinical use Mesenchymal Stromal Cells (MSCs), isolated from bone marrow (BM-MSCs) are considered Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMP) and need to be produced according to Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP). Human platelet lysate (HPL) represents a good GMP-compliant alternative to animal serum and after pathogen inactivation with Psoralen was more efficient and safer to produce MSCs in GMP. In this study MSCs cultivated in FBS (FBS-MSC) or inactivated HPL (iHPL-MSC), were compared for their immunomodulant properties. In particular, the effects of MSCs on: 1)proliferation of total Lymphocytes (Ly) and on naïve T Ly subsets induced to differentiate versus Th1 and Th2 Ly; 2) the immunophenotype of different T cell subsets; 3)the cytokine release to verify Th1, Th2 and Th17 polarization were analyzed by using in vitro co-culture system. We observed that iHPL-MSCs showed the same immunomodulant properties observed in the FBS-MSCs co-cultures. Although, a more efficient effect on the increase of naïve T cells and, in the Th1 cytokine release related to iHPL was observed. This study confirms that iHPL, used as medium supplement, may be considered a good alternative to FBS for a GMP-compliant MSC expansion to preserve their immunomodulant proprieties.
Covered Interest Parity in long-dated securities

This paper investigates the validity of Covered Interest Rate Parity (CIP) in long-dated fixed income securities. I show that common measures of CIP in securities of longer maturities rely on trading strategies subject to rollover risk and credit risk, or fail to fully account for the trading costs. Hence, round-trip CIP profit is generally not possible to reap when the trade is risk-free and all costs are taken into account. In particular, short-selling costs (haircuts and lending fees) and differences in funding spreads across currencies allow for substantial deviations from CIP without implying arbitrage opportunities. In contrast to recent research, my results suggest that CIP holds well and lend little support to the view that stricter banking regulations have led to persistent arbitrage opportunities in long-dated fixed income and currency markets.
Impact of sublethal pyrethroid exposure on resistant Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes’ fitness

Background: There is increasing evidence of insecticide resistance spreading among wild mosquito populations, which is widely believed to compromise vector control once it reaches a threshold that enables mosquitoes to survive exposure to long lasting treated bed-net (LLIN) or indoor residual spraying (IRS). However, very little is known about the long-term impact of insecticide resistance on malaria transmission, which makes the consequence of insecticide resistance spreading difficult to predict. Methods: To gain more clarity, we have assessed four life-history traits of a resistant Anopheles gambiae laboratory strain that was repeatedly exposed to a LLIN and compared with individuals issued from the same strain but exposed to an untreated bed-net. Results: The non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis test did not show any significant impact of gonotrophic cycle on the five traits. However, the Kolmogorov-Smirnov non-parametric test revealed a significant (i) drop in blood feeding mean rates (D = 0.800; P< 0.0001), (ii) increase in 24-hours post-exposure (D = 0.600; P< 0.001) and (iii) end of gonotrophic cycle mortality (D = 0.611; P <0.006), and (iv) drop in egg laying rate (D = 0.730, P< 0.0001) when mosquitoes were exposed. Surprisingly, there was rather an upward trend in the number of L3 larvae/female mosquito for the exposed group comparing to the unexposed one, although the difference was not significant (D = 0.417, P> 0.05). Conclusion: Our study shows that in a context of widespread of resistance to insecticides, current pyrethroid-based vector control tools can still confer protection against malaria.
Differences in clinical features of HIV/HCV co-infected individuals compared with HCV mono-infected individuals in Southern Thailand

Objectives HIV/HCV co-infection is associated with more aggressive liver than HCV mono-infection. However, there are limited data in Thailand. This study was done to compare demographic data, basic laboratory results and hepatic fibrosis between HIV/HCV co-infected patients and HCV mono-infected patients in a major tertiary care center in Southern Thailand. Methods This was a cross-sectional single center 2-year retrospective study of HCV-treatment-naïve HIV/HCV co-infected patients and HCV mono-infected patients in Songklanagarind Hospital in Southern Thailand. The records of demographic data, basic laboratory results and hepatic fibrosis information were noted from all eligible patients. Results Data from 151 treatment-naïve HCV infected patients during the years 2018-2019 were collected. 51(34%) patients had HIV/HCV co-infections. Genotype 3a was predominant in HCV mono-infected patients(51%), while genotype 1a was predominant in HIV/HCV co-infected patients(35%). The median BMI in HCV mono-infected patients was higher than in HIV-HCV co-infected patients(23.1, IQR 20.3-24.8 vs 20.7, IQR 18.9-22.1, p<0.001). In multivariate analysis, HIV/HCV co-infected patients had higher alcohol consumption(AOR 24.9, p< 0.001), higher rates of unsafe sex(AOR 18.6, p=0.004) and MSM (AOR 8.48, p=0.006), and higher percents of genotype 1a(AOR 8.48, p=0.006) and HCV-RNA(AOR 2.3, p=0.035), while HIV/HCV co-infected individuals were less likely to be married (AOR 0.02, p<0.001), had higher median BMI(AOR 0.82, p=0.02), a higher rate of hepatic steatosis as assessed by controlled attenuation parameter (CAP)(AOR 0.98, p=0.02) and hepatic fibrosis as assessed by FibroScan 502(AOR 0.91, p<0.001) than HCV mono-infected patients. In HIV/HCV co-infected individuals, hepatic fibrosis as evaluated by liver stiffness measurement was not correlated with level of CD4 in our study. Conclusions HIV/HCV co-infected individuals were associated with genotype 1a, unsafe sex, single status and low BMI, while HCV mono-infected individuals were associated with high CAP and high hepatic fibrosis. Large-scale cohort studies are needed to confirm these results, especially hepatic fibrosis in this era of high-fat food consumption.
Iron and Aluminum Hydroxy (Oxide) Coated Filter Media for Low‐Concentration Phosphorus Removal

The presence of phosphates in water and wastewater negatively affects the aquatic environment. Several processes have been used for the removal of phosphorus from water and wastewater; however, most failed in attaining removal levels that will alleviate the problems associated with its presence. In this study, laboratory experiments were conducted to determine the efficacy of iron aluminum hydroxy (oxide) coated filter media in removing low concentrations of phosphates. Two media (silica sand and olivine) were used in the experiments, and tests were conducted on distilled water, artificial groundwater, tap water, and treated wastewater. The effect of flowrates, ranging from 10 to 80 mL/min (3.4 to 27.2 m3/m2·h), on phosphate removal efficiencies was evaluated for distilled water. Results indicate that the process was very effective in phosphate removal (more than 90%) present in low concentrations (approximately 0.5 mg/L) when applied to distilled water and artificial groundwater and with less success when applied to tap water (less than 80%) and treated wastewater effluent (less than 70%). This reduced removal may be attributed to the presence of competing species and, in this case, in the form of sulfates. The results also show that, for distilled water, the treated pore volumes before breakthrough (set at 0.1 mg/L) ranged from 137 to 348 pore volumes (51 to 129 bed volumes) for sand and 245 to 370 pore volumes (100 to 152 bed volumes) for olivine, depending on the flowrates. The results for distilled water further indicated that the flowrates used in the experiments had negligible effect on the removal efficiency of the process, and operating rates of 27 m3/m2·h could be applied to distilled water with negligible negative effects.
Integrative Application of an Educational Wiki and Flipped Classrooms: Student Learning Outcomes and Impacts on Doing Academic Group-Works

Background: Active participation in group works is an invaluable way to realize collaborative learning; however, there are several challenges attributed to the traditional way of doing group works. This study explores the synergistic effects of flipped classrooms and a wiki-authoring group activity on students’ learning outcomes and the quality and quantity of their group-work.Methods: In this action research, 205 master students of a medical school were involved in a course blended with flipped classrooms. While learning from online and in-class activities, students did their group work on an educational wiki or in a conventional way. Using SPSS 21.0 and employing independent samples t or Mann –Whitney U tests, the educational impacts of the course were compared in two groups.Results: Students in the wiki-group were more satisfied with the course. Both quantity and quality of the group work among students in the wiki group was outweighed those among the students in the non-wiki group. Univariate linear regression analysis of the models between students' satisfaction with flipped classrooms and the quality of their participation in doing their group as well as their attitude towards the group work showed that the changes in the quality of the wiki students' group work and their attitude were dependent on the changes of their satisfaction with flipped classrooms.Conclusions: This study provides evidence that a wiki-authoring group work is effective in achieving student learning outcomes and integrating a wiki with flipped classrooms increases wiki accomplishment. Collaborating on a wiki activity improves both quality and quantity of group works among students.
Bivariate models for the analysis of internal nitrogen use efficiency: mixture models as an exploratory tool.

Ratios are commonly used among plant and soil scientists, in particular to express the plant nutrient utilisation efficiency of macroand micro-nutrients. The internal nutrient efficiency can be understood in terms of maximising yield per a unit of nutrient in the plant. At present, IEN data are usually collected from designed field trials where different treatments are applied (e.g. fertiliser treatments) and analysed by univariate linear mixed models. However, univariate linear models on the ratio do not maintain information on the original traits, including their correlation, which presents a challenge when interpreting the effect of agronomic practices or environmental conditions on the process of nutrient conversion into grain. Moreover, the distributional properties of ratios do not comply with the assumptions of these linear models favoured in the area of soil and plant science research. A more suitable approach is to collect the traits of interest and to use bivariate analyses. These analyses preserve the information on the original traits and avoid issues associated with the ratio distributional properties. If the data comes from field studies, different experimental and environmental conditions may lead to the presence of patterns (groups) in the data in addition or concurrently with designed treatments. Researchers in plant and soil sciences may be interested in identifying those conditions, for example to understand the nature of genotype-by-environment interactions. The inspection of the groups may reveal the factors defining them, thus gaining insight into the experimental or environmental drivers of the biological traits. Among bivariate analyses, bivariate mixture models of Gaussian distributions are an appropriate methodology for identifying clusters in the nutrient efficiency data, assuming that the traits are jointly normal. Studying this methodology for the analysis of the internal nitrogen use efficiency traits is the focus
Protein Structural Features in Winter Wheat: Benchmarking Diversity in Ontario Hard and Soft Winter Wheat

A set of 32 winter wheat lines and varieties was selected to benchmark Ontario winter wheat as a first step toward improving quality. Protein secondary structure, total and accessible thiols, rheological properties, gluten aggregation kinetics, and network forming capabilities of different polymers were determined for each wheat line. Results revealed that there were statistically significant differences among the lines selected (P < 0.05). The differences between hard and soft wheat classes were not as large as would be expected, however, despite the range of quality parameters measured. Benchmarks revealed that several soft wheat lines outperformed hard wheat lines in standard breadmaking quality measures. Protein conformation changed significantly as the moisture content of the samples increased to mimic different model product systems: flour, dough, and batter. The conformation of the flour samples exhibited different patterns between hard and soft wheat classes, although these differences became narr.
Identification of pyrite valence band contributions using synchrotron-excited X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

Abstract The major contributions to the pyrite valence band have been identified experimentally by monitoring XPS valence band signal intensity as a function of photon (X-ray source) energy. The S-S σ and σ* orbitals are located at about 13 and 16 eV binding energy and are almost exclusively derived from S 3s-S 3s mixing; there is no experimental evidence for a S 3p contribution to these molecular orbital (molecular orbital) values as required for sp3 hybridization. Fe-S σ (Fe 3deg-S 3pz derived) and Fe-S π and π* (Fe 3dt2g-S 3px,y derived) molecular orbitals are identified at Binding Energies (B.E.) less than 8 eV, and are consistent with energies calculated by Eyert et al. (1998). Fe-S π molecular orbital contributions are located in the valence band between about 1.8 and 3 eV and Fe-S π* molecular orbitals contribute between about 0.7 to 1.5 eV binding energy. Contributions observed at the top of the valence band and concentrated between the Fermi level and about 0.6 eV B.E. may be derived from Fe 3deg (non-bonding) orbitals. The experimental data are consistent with these non-bonding contributions being derived from surface Fe species (Fe electronic surface states), and perhaps represent the Fe 3deg “dangling bonds” produced by rupture of Fe-S σ bonds during fracture. The conformity of spectral assignments based on experimental data with band theoretical calculations (of Eyert et al. 1998, using a basis set appropriate to pyrite) indicates that the essential aspects of the pyrite valence band are understood and energetically quantified. Additional study is required to identify positively.
Reaction mechanism and kinetics for hydrolytic dehydrogenation of ammonia borane on a Pt/CNT catalyst

A reaction mechanism is proposed for hydrolytic dehydrogenation of ammonia borane on a Pt/CNT catalyst. A combination of thermodynamic analysis and FTIR measurement reveals that B-containing byproducts are mainly in the form of an NH4B(OH)4-B(OH)3 mixture rather than NH4BO2 reported previously. The revised main reaction is NH3BH3+4H2O→NH4++B(OH)4−+3H2↑, involving the B–H, B–N, and O–H bond cleavages. Isotopic experiments using D2O instead of H2O as reactant or introducing D2 into the reaction atmosphere suggest the O–H bond cleavage being in the rate-determining step, and an unfavorable occurrence of the chemisorbed H2O dissociation (i.e., the direct O–H bond cleavage), respectively. Different reaction pathways with indirect O–H bond cleavages are analyzed, and then NH3BH2*+H2O*→NH3BH2(OH)*+H* is suggested as the rate-determining step. Subsequently, a Langmuir–Hinshelwood kinetic model is developed, which fits well with the experimental data. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 63: 60–65, 2017
Pathological Signature and Therapeutic Status of NSCLC Patients with Common or Rare Driver Gene Alterations in North China：A real world retrospective study

Background: Although guidelines recommended to test EGFR/ALK/ROS-1 gene alterations in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients before treatment, there is now growing evidence that rare driver genes and mutations also can inform targeted therapy and improve outcomes for this traditionally underrepresented population. This study aimed to describe mutational patterns and linked clinical parameters in a Chinese population-based NSCLC cohort.Methods: This study included patients with pathologically confirmed NSCLC, who were routinely screened for EGFR, KRAS, BRAF, ALK, ROS1, RET, MET, HER2, and PIK3CA mutations by the NMPA approved multi-gene detection kit. The demographic and clinicopathological data, treatment information, clinical outcomes after first-line treatment, as well as nine driver gene mutation statuses and PD-L1 expression level of these patients were retrospectively collected.Results: Finally, 431 patients were enrolled, most patients were male (55.9%), with adenocarcinoma or adenosquamous carcinoma (80.7%) and in stage IV (50.6%). Among all the 431 patients, 61.5% patients were identified with gene mutation including 101 with rare mutation, 164 with 19del or with L858R mutation. Adenocarcinoma patients have a higher mutation rate (73.6%), and the mutations mainly occur in EGFR, KRAS, ALK and HER2. While, the gene mutation characteristics in squamous cell carcinoma patients with were relatively simple, only 2 patients with EGFR 19del and 2 patients with PIK3CA mutation. More PD-L1 expression could detected in patients with rare mutation. The median PFS1 of patients with common mutation (13 months, 95% CI: 9.9-16) was longer than the patients with rare mutation (5 months, 95 % CI: 0-10.5). Conclusions: The clinicopathologic features and clinical treatment status among NSCLC patients with common or rare driver gene mutations were different. The survival of patients with rare mutation was worse than that of patients with common mutation. Therefore, more attention should be paid to the treatment strategy and survival status of patients with rare mutations in clinical practice.