Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Disclosing the truth: Are models better than observations?

The aphorism, ‘All models are wrong, but some models are useful’, originally referred to statistical models, but is now used for scientific models in general. When presenting results from a marine simulation model, this statement effectively stops discussions about the quality of the model, as there is always another observation to mismatch, and thereby another confirmation why the model cannot be trusted. It is common that observations are less challenged and are often viewed as a ‘gold standard’ for judging models, whereas proper interpretations and the true value of models are often overlooked. Models are not perfect, and there are many examples where models are used improperly to provide misleading answers with great confidence, but to what extent does an observation represent the truth? The precision of the observational gear may be high, but what about representativeness? The interpretation of observations is simply another model, but this time not coded in a computer language but rather formed by the individual observer. We submit that it would be more productive to initiate a process where the norm is that models and observations are joined to strengthen both. In the end, neither method is the goal, but both are useful tools for disclosing the truth. Biased views on either observational or modeling approaches would limit us from achieving this goal.
THE EFFECTS OF PUBLIC R&D SUBSIDIZED LOANS ON FIRMS’ R&D OUTPUTS: EVIDENCE FROM CHINA

R&D subsidized loans (tiexi daikuan) is an effective market-driven solution to promote firms’ R&D outputs, including patent applications and new product sales, in China. However, empirical examination on the effects of subsidized loans is insufficient. Using a panel data of manufacturing firms of Jiangsu Province from 2010 to 2014, the study investigates the effects of R&D subsidized loans on firms’ R&D outputs in comparison to that of the direct R&D grants. The results show that R&D subsidized loan recipients significantly outperform those who only receive direct grants in terms of new product sales. Meanwhile, subsidized loans inhibit the recipients’ exploratory patent applications and discourage R&D activities with higher risks. This study contributes to R&D subsidy literature and extends the knowledge in the roles of different types of public sponsorships on firms’ innovation.
Hyperparameter estimation for uncertainty quantification in mesoscale carbon dioxide inversions

Uncertainty quantification is critical in the inversion of CO2 surface fluxes from atmospheric concentration measurements. Here, we estimate the main hyperparameters of the error covariance matrices for a priori fluxes and CO2 concentrations, that is, the variances and the correlation lengths, using real, continuous hourly CO2 concentration data in the context of the Ring 2 experiment of the North American Carbon Program Mid Continent Intensive. Several criteria, namely maximum likelihood (ML), general cross-validation (GCV) and χ 2 test are compared for the first time under a realistic setting in a mesoscale CO2 inversion. It is shown that the optimal hyperparameters under the ML criterion assure perfect χ 2 consistency of the inverted fluxes. Inversions using the ML error variances estimates rather than the prescribed default values are less weighted by the observations, because the default values underestimate the model-data mismatch error, which is assumed to be dominated by the atmospheric transport error. As for the spatial correlation length in prior flux errors, the Ring 2 network is sparse for GCV, and this method fails to reach an optimum. In contrast, the ML estimate (e.g. an optimum of 20 km for the first week of June 2007) does not support long spatial correlations that are usually assumed in the default values.
Prediction of kinetics and yields of nucleoside phosphorylase reactions and derived enzymatic reaction cascades

Reactions catalyzed by nucleoside phosphorylases are attractive routes towards the production of pharmaceutically interesting nucleoside compounds. Many different nucleoside phosphorylases were studied and applied for the production of nucleoside derivatives. Due to their broad substrate scope, the conversions of very different nucleoside and nucleobase compounds into each other were reported. However, the relationship between enzyme, compounds and reaction conditions in regard to the yield of reaction remained unclear so far. The aim of this work is to understand this complex relationship. To achieve this, a high-throughput compatible UV/Vis assay for monitoring the nucleoside/nucleobase conversion was developed, and exhaustive experimental data was generated. From this data, a dynamic model of the kinetics of a pyrimidine nucleoside phosphorylasecatalyzed conversion of thymidine towards deoxyribose-1-phosphate was set up. The generated model indicated a fully reversible reaction, and thus the equilibrium state of this reaction was further investigated. It was found that the reactions catalyzed by nucleoside phosphorylases behave strictly as reversible reactions. This means that the level of conversion in equilibrium state depends solely on intrinsic physical parameters, most importantly on the equilibrium constant. To be able to predict the yield of given reactions, the equilibrium constants for the phosphorolysis of 24 nucleoside compounds were determined. It was found that the Gibbs free energy of reaction from nucleosides towards pentose-1-phosphates is strictly positive in biologically relevant conditions. Furthermore, the Gibbs free energy of reaction which has to be overcome for production of pentose-1-phosphates is larger when starting from purine nucleosides, compared to pyrimidine nucleosides, though the transition between them is much smoother than expected. Varying the carbohydrate moiety between ribose and 2-deoxyribose did not influence the Gibbs free energy of reaction significantly. The perception of nucleoside phosphorylase-catalyzed reactions as reversible reactions proceeding towards a pre-determined equilibrium conversion is elementary to the field. This understanding of thermodynamic reaction control will allow for the first time to conduct knowledge-driven reaction engineering on nucleoside phosphorylase-catalyzed reactions.
14—On the Technique of Measuring Orientation in Cotton by X-Rays

AbstractThe degree of crystallite orientation has been measured for 14 cottons by X-rays and has been expressed in three ways. First, by the angular displacement from the point of maximum blackening on the (002) diffraction arc to the point where the absorption is 40 per cent, of the maximum; this was first used by berkley and Woodyard and is standard practice in America. Corrections have to be applied for those experimental conditions which cannot be held constant.A second method, developed by the author, employs a calibration strip on each film, which allows transmitted intensity readings to be converted directly into the corresponding X-ray intensities, independent of the opacity of the film or of the particular characteristics of the microphotometer used.The third method gives the average angle of inclination to the fibre axis of the chain molecules in the crystalline regions; it has been used by Hermans et al mainly for viscose rayon, and takes into account the distribution of X-ray intensity around .
Growth of ZnO Nanorod Arrays on Flexible Substrates: Effect of Precursor Solution Concentration

We report a low-temperature aqueous solution growth of uniformly aligned ZnO nanorod arrays on flexible substrates. The substrate is Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) film coated on polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Solutions with five different concentrations of the precursors with equimolar Zinc Nitrate and Hexamethylenetetramine (HMT) in distilled water were prepared to systematically study the effect of precursor solution concentration on the structural and optical properties of ZnO nanorods. It was concluded that the precursor concentration have great influence on the morphology, crystal quality, and optical property of ZnO nanorods. The diameter, density, and orientation of the nanorods are dependent on the precursor solution concentration. X-ray diffraction and micro-Raman spectroscopy showed that the ZnO nanorods with the highest concentration of 50 mM were highly aligned and have the highest level of surface coverage. It was also found that the diameter and length of the nanorods increases upon increasing precursor solution concentration. This is the first systematic investigation of studying the effect of precursor solution concentration on the quality of ZnO nanorods grown on ITO/PET substrates by low-temperature solution method. We believe that our work will contribute to the realization of flexible organic-inorganic hybrid solar cell based on ZnO nanorods and conjugated polymer.
Wealth inequality and CO2 emissions in emerging economies: The case of BRICS

As the world battles with the triple problems of social, economic, and environmental challenges, it has become important to focus both policy and research efforts on these. Therefore, this study examines the effect of wealth inequality on CO2 emissions in five emerging economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The top decile of wealth share was used as a measure of wealth inequality, while CO2 emissions per capita were used as a measure of CO2 emissions. GDP per capita, population, and financial development (domestic credit to the private sector) were included as control variables. A balanced panel dataset of annual observations from 2000 to 2014 for these countries was used. Both fixed and random effects panel models were estimated, but the Hausman test favoured the use of the fixed effects model. The results based on the fixed effects panel regression model show that wealth inequality, GDP per capita, and population have positive effects on CO2 emissions, while financial development has a negative effect.
Short Term Storage of Asian Walking Catfish (Clarias batrachus Linnaeus, 1758) Gametes

| The present study was carried out to investigate the viability of gametes from Asian walking catfish (Clarias batrachus) following short-time storage under hatchery condition at room temperature (26–28°C) and at chilled temperature (2–4oC) using a household refrigerator. Eggs stored at refrigeration for 5 min resulted in a drastic reduction of fertilization success (36%) in comparison with those stored at room temperature (86%). Eggs without water have had significantly higher successes of fertilization than those stored with water in both storage conditions. On the other hand, prolonged potency was observed for sperm stored in refrigerator than those kept outside at room temperature. Sperm kept in refrigerator with both water and dextrose solutions were consistently viable for at least 48 hours. At room temperature, however, sperm diluted with dextrose showed comparatively higher fertilization (up to 50 min, 27–98%) than sperm diluted with water (up to 10 min, 25–87%). Similar results were obtained when the whole testis was stored. Sperm–egg contact time experiment showed a quick fusion and it required only a minute to achieve 100% fertilization. The results of this study provide evidence on the short-time storage of catfish sperm that might be of relevance to hatchery operators including, for example, production of quality seeds by sacrificing less numbers of male individuals.
An Exploration of the Long Run Tradeoff between Inflation and Unemployment in México in the Last Fifteen Years

This paper sets a partial equilibrium model of the determination of price inflation and that of wages. When there is an incomplete nominal adjustment of these variables, a long run tradeoff between inflation and unemployment arises. An ARDL version of the proposed model is estimated for the case of México. The estimation strongly rejects complete nominal adjustment of price inflation and that of wages to foreign inflation and the rate of growth of the minimum wage. We found a long run tradeoff between inflation and unemployment and also a similar relation between the rate of growth of the real wage and unemployment. These tradeoffs survive even in the hypothetical case where the rate of growth of the nominal wage and foreign inflation are perfectly indexed to both of the endogenous types of inflation described. The Phillips curve in prices is almost horizontal, a modest increase in inflation reduces unemployment considerably.
Cross-Sectional Area Dependence of Tunnel Magnetoresistance, Thermal Stability, and Critical Current Density in MTJ

Tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR), thermal stability, and critical switching current are important metrics of a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ). In this work, a detailed study of these metrics is conducted for the down-scaling of the transverse dimensions of the MTJ. The quantum transport and the magnetization dynamics simulations are performed using non-equilibrium Green’s function in the mode-space approach and object-oriented micromagnetic framework (OOMMF), respectively. The study of areal size quantization effects on the TMR shows that most of the contribution to the TMR comes from lower energy sub-bands and that the TMR saturates for dimensions above 50 nm. An anomalous behavior is observed in the bias dependence of TMR for the lower energy sub-bands and is explained in terms of the modified Slonczewski’s analytical model for conductance around zero bias. The study of TMR scaling is extended to consider non-idealities by introducing elastic dephasing into our simulations. It is shown that with down-scaling of diameters, dephasing affects the zero bias TMR predominantly below 20 nm. Furthermore, TMR is also studied in terms of sensitivity to the variations in the interface layer and the asymmetric reduction of TMR with bias and its reversal at higher bias is observed. OOMMF simulations of the larger stack, including the free layer, are carried out to understand the qualitative link between magnet switching behavior, thermal stability, and critical current density with area scaling. It is shown that the area dependence of thermal stability and critical current follows each other qualitatively and the scaling of both these metrics is correlated with different regimes of magnetization switching, such as macrospin behavior or formation of metastable complex textures. The implications of scaling, on the various MTJ metrics, are discussed in terms of the application domain.
Fast pyrolysis of stored biomass feedstocks

Biomass pyrolysis oils were produced from stored biomass feedstocks by rapid pyrolysis in a fluidized bed reactor. The feedstocks used for these studies were switchgrass, corn stover, and hybrid poplar. The woody and herbaceous feedstocks were stored in chip piles and bales, respectively, unprotected in an open field for 6 months. At the end of the storage period, biomass samples were taken from the interior of bales and the centers of chip piles for pyrolysis studies. The materials were ground to pass -20/+80 mesh and dried to less than 10% moisture content before pyrolyzing in the fluidized bed reactor. Pyrolysis was conducted at 500 °C and with less than 0.4 s apparent vapor residence time. Total liquid yields were as high as 66% for the hybrid poplar and as low as 58% for the corn stover. Moisture content of the oils was between 10 and 13%. Gas and char/ash yields were 10-15% and 12-22%, respectively. The char/ash yields were feedstock dependent, but storage influence was significant for only the corn stover feedstock. Gas and liquid yields were not influenced by storage time. The oils were highly oxygenated and had higher heating values (HHV) of 23-24 MJ/kg that decreased slightly with storage time for all the feedstocks except the switchgrass. The oils, as currently produced, are high in ash and alkali metals. Ultimately, they may be upgraded and used as boiler and turbine fuels.
The histopathological results of vestibulectomy specimens in localized provoked vulvodynia in Turkey

Introduction Localized Provoked Vulvodynia (LPV) is a gynecological disease that is difficult to manage. Despite the wide spectrum of pathophysiological mechanisms and treatment modalities, there is limited success in the management of this disease. Surgical treatment is usually performed as the last resort. We aimed to investigate the histopathological results of 38 women with LPV who underwent surgical vestibulectomy. Methods of the 55 women that were diagnosed with LPV and underwent vulvar vestibulectomy, 38 patients with complete histopathological results were included in this retrospective study. Results in 14 patients, the pathological reports revealed Low-Grade Squamous Intraepithelial Lesions (LGSIL) (36.8%) whereas for 21 cases (55.2%), the findings were concordant with vestibulitis. The remaining three patients (7.8%) were diagnosed with lichen simplex chronicus. Conclusion the presence of LGSIL in the surgical specimens of LPV cases is noteworthy. In this group of patients, surgical excision may contribute to the prevention of progression into high-grade lesions. The relationship between Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) infections and LPV should be further investigated.
Characteristics and Stability of a Flexible Arrayed Uric Acid Biosensor Based on NiO Film Modified by Graphene and Magnetic Beads

In this study, the characteristics and stability of the nickel oxide (NiO) based uric acid biosensors modified with graphene and magnetic beads (MBs) were investigated. The sensitivity and linearity of the different membranes were compared by using the voltage-time (V-T) measurement system. Then, the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was used to prove that adding the modification could reduce the impedance of the thin films and improve the electron transfer feature. Furthermore, we successfully fabricated the MBs-uricase/rGO/NiO films as a sensing membrane for the NiO based biosensor, which was suitable for measuring the uric acid in this study. Thus, the NiO based uric acid biosensor showed the relatively higher average sensitivity and linearity of 38.279 mV/(mg/dL) and 0.966, respectively. Finally, in terms of stability, an investigated into both the interference effect and lifetime of the uric acid biosensor was conducted, and the satisfying stability in this regard was also shown.
ONSET OF DOUBLE-DIFFUSIVE CONVECTION IN A HORIZONTAL BRINKMAN CAVITY

This investigation reports on a linear stability analysis of the quiescent state within a horizontal porous cavity subject to vertical gradients of temperature and solute. The fluid motion is modeled using the Brinkman extension of Darcy's law, coupled with energy and species conservation equations. The horizontal boundaries are considered rigid-rigid, rigid-free, or free-free. Mixed thermal and solutal boundary conditions, of Dirichlet and Neumann types, are considered. The thresholds for monotonic and oscillatory convection instabilities are determined explicitly in terms of the governing parameters of the problem. The results for a viscous fluid and the Darcy porous medium emerge from the present analysis as limiting cases.
The protective effect of Thai Herbal Sahatsatara formula against white matter injury after chronic cerebral hypoperfusion in middle-aged rats

Permanent bilateral common carotid artery occlusion (2VO) in rodents induces chronic cerebral hypoperfusion, mimicking vascular dementia in elderly people. It causes inflammation and oxidative stress, leading to neuronal loss in the hippocampus, white matter injuries and impairments of spatial learning and memory. Thai Herbal Sahatsatara formula (STF) has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant actions which might protect neurons and white matter. This experiment was to investigate the possible protective effects of STF. Twenty-eight middle-aged male Wistar rats (12 months old) were divided into 4 groups: Sham+sterile water (SW), 2VO+SW, 2VO+STF300 and 2VO+STF1000. All animals daily received either SW, STF 300 mg/kg or STF 1000 mg/kg orally after 2VO induction until the end of the experiment. Spatial learning and memory test were examined after 2VO induction for 60 days whereas the numbers of hippocampal neurons and white matter changes in the corpus callosum were investigated after the end of the behavioral test. Chronic cerebral hypoperfusion significantly caused spatial learning and memory deficits and white matter injuries in the corpus callosum while the numbers of hippocampal neurons were not significantly affected. STF (1000 mg/kg) attenuated the impairments of spatial learning and learning flexibility and white matter injuries. This is the first study to demonstrate the ability of Sahatsatara formula to attenuate spatial learning and learning flexibility impairments after chronic cerebral hypoperfusion by protecting the white matter in the corpus callosum. The results support the potential application of Sahatsatara formula against chronic cerebral hypoperfusion.
A Pilot Program of Pre-Exposure and Post-Exposure Prophylaxis Promotion among Men Who Have Sex with Men — 7 Study Sites, China, 2018–2019

What is already known on this topic? Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) had been proved to be effective in HIV prevention among men who have sex with men (MSM) internationally. Use of either PrEP or PEP was found to be limited among Chinese MSM. Relatively little data was reported in China. What is added by this report? Our program indicated that PEP was more acceptable than PrEP among MSM in China. Drugs of lower cost and related knowledge dissemination could increase PrEP and PEP uptake among MSM in China. What are the implications for public health practice? PrEP and PEP are likely to contribute significantly to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention in China.
HIV-free survival among breastfed infants born to HIV-positive women in northern Uganda: a facility-based retrospective study

Introduction the HIV-free survival rate is the gold-standard measure of the effectiveness of interventions towards prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV in any setting. However, data on HIV-free survival among the HIV-exposed infants followed up in most low-resource settings are lacking. We determined the HIV-free survival among breastfed infants in two tertiary facilities in a resource-poor setting in northern Uganda. Methods we conducted a retrospective cohort study in May 2019 and retrospectively reviewed records of HIV-exposed infants registered in 2014 through 2016 at two tertiary facilities in northern Uganda. We analyzed data using SPSS v16 software package. The chi-square and Student t-tests were used to compare factors among infant groups. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to determine factors independently associated with HIV-free survival. P-value <0.05 was considered for statistical significance. Results majority of the infants were males 55.6% (203/365) and 98.6% (360/365) received nevirapine prophylaxis. A total of 345 (94.5%) infants were exclusively breastfed, only 100/345 (29.0%) of whom were exclusively breastfed for at least 6 months, while the breastfeeding status of 44/345 (12.8 %) infants could not be ascertained. The overall HIV-free survival rate was 93.7% (342/365), while 2.7% (10/365) were HIV-infected and 3.6% (13/365) died. Infants´ age at enrolment in care (aOR 5.20, p=0.008) and treatment facility (aOR 3.76, p=0.027) were the independent determinants of HIV-free survival. Conclusion the HIV-free survival rate among the breastfed infants in the study setting marginally falls short of the recommended standard, thus calling for more efforts to improve survival.