Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Feeding and Amines Stimulate the Growth of the Salivary Gland following Short-Term Starvation in the Black Field Cricket, Teleogryllus commodus

Simple Summary Biting and chewing insects, such as crickets, may not have regular meals. They have a foregut with a crop that permits food to be stored, and also for further processing of previously ingested food if they cannot find food. Does this short period of starvation cause any further changes in other parts of the digestive system? We found that the salivary glands of crickets decreased in size as a result of a decrease in the size of one type of salivary cell, the zymogen cell. Amines (serotonin and dopamine) that stimulate gland secretion appeared to be stored with those cells, rather than in the parietal cells that are involved in salivation. Upon feeding, the glands immediately increase in size and the amines are then found in the parietal cells. This work appears to show that feeding and starving can affect parts of the digestive system as shown in animals such as snakes that can go long periods without feeding. The salivary glands of insects may have several different control mechanisms that require further work. Abstract The salivary gland of the black field cricket, Teleogryllus commodus Walker changed size between being starved and fed. Crickets without access to food for 72 h showed a reduction in both wet and dry mass of the glands compared with the glands from continuously fed animals at 72 h. Glands returned to size following ingestion within 10 min. Salivary glands of starved crickets (72 h) were incubated in saline containing either serotonin (5-HT) or dopamine (DA). Glands increased to pre-starvation size after 1 h incubation in situ with either 10−4 moles L−1 5-HT or 10−4 moles L−1 DA, although lower concentrations (10−5 moles L−1) did not affect gland size. From immunohistochemistry, amines appeared to shift from zymogen cells during starvation to parietal cells following feeding. High-performance liquid chromatography showed that serotonin concentration is higher than dopamine in the salivary gland removed from starved and fed crickets, but the quantity of these compounds was not dependent upon feeding state; the amine quantities increased as gland size increased. Further work is necessary to determine what might be the stimulus for gland growth and if dopamine and serotonin play a role in the stimulation of salivary gland growth after a period of starvation.
Systematic Errors in Radar Wind Estimation: Implications for Comparative Measurements

SA, IDI, and DBS horizontal wind estimators are examined and demonstrated to share common biases under inhomogeneous flow field conditions. The biases can reach magnitudes of several tens of meters per second at mesospheric heights, contaminate gravity wave flow field measurements, cause distortions in measured flow field spectra, and possibly account for large wind measurement errors evidenced in recent experimental studies including the AIDA'89 effort. However, being a linear response to gravity wave flow field fluctuations, the biases are expected to cancel out in long-term wind and tidal statistics compiled with radar wind data.
Compact extreme ultraviolet source at megahertz pulse repetition rate with a low-noise ultrafast thin-disk laser oscillator

We present a compact extreme ultraviolet (XUV) source based on high-harmonic generation (HHG) at 2.4 MHz pulse repetition rate driven from the compressed output of a mode-locked thin-disk laser (TDL) oscillator. The system generates very high peak intensities, which enable highly nonlinear frequency conversion reaching VUV/XUV energies. These sources significantly increase the signal-to-noise ratio and reduce measurement durations in many fields such as condensed matter physics. The pulse repetition rate is increased from kilohertz to megahertz with high average photon flux, while keeping the pulse energy sufficiently low to avoid space charge effects. The system uses a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror mode-locked Yb:YAG TDL delivering an average power of up to 70 W with subpicosecond pulses, which are efficiently compressed to sub-100 fs in a simple, single-stage compressor based on a Kagome-type hollow-core photonic crystal fiber. Focusing into a high-pressure xenon gas jet, we generate XUV radiation with up to >5×107 photons/s on the 19th harmonic (23 eV). This HHG system is very compact, has low-noise performance comparable to standard ultrafast low-power laser oscillators, and provides a new tool for the study of attosecond dynamics in condensed matter physics.
A Behavioral Interpretation of Volatility Patterns in Brazilian Stock Market: Analysis of Pre and Post-COVID-19 Periods from 2019 to 2021

There has recently been an increasing number of new investors in the Brazilian stock markets, providing new asset allocation opportunities as well as challenges in terms of individual judgment and decision-making. The departure point of this paper is the conjecture that the Ibovespa (Brazilian stock exchange index) might reveal asymmetric volatility patterns during the January 2019 to February 2021 period that call for behavioral financial explanations. More specifically, this paper aims to subject this bold conjecture to an empirical test. It draws on a threshold autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (TARCH) model to investigate the existence of asymmetric reactions in the period under study. Our findings suggest that the traditional approach to finance fails to explain volatility patterns in the Brazilian stock market behavior, since they do not fit well with predictions based on the efficient market hypothesis. Inspired by Vasileiou’s (2021) account of what occurred with the New York Stock Exchange during COVID-19, we then embark on a brief survey of the vast literature on applied behavioral economics and finance to provide an interpretation of the heuristics and biases that may be non-negligible mental mechanisms underlying the Ibovespa’s detected asymmetric responses.
Physical and Mathematical Models of Two Types of Biosensors

In previous investigations the idea of development of two types of neuro-like biosensors - detectors of chemical substances in environment were grounded. In present article we have developed this idea deeply and substantiated the differences between two types of biosensors: biosensors and detectors with elements - artificially elaborated selective membranes. In this paper we described briefly both types of detectors as well. Further some their similar characteristics as well as mathematical description of physical phenomena at the surfaces of detectors was suggested. Such detectors were able to register hazardous chemical substances in the Nature. They included sensor elements covered with chemo-sensitive specific coatings – layers of organic and/or inorganic compounds. The purpose of present article was to demonstrate mathematical description of physical phenomena at the surface of biosensor that were similar to both types of detectors.
Comparative Analysis of Hematological and Immunological Parameters in Patients with Primary Sjögren’s Syndrome and Peripheral Neuropathy

Background: Primary Sjögren syndrome (pSS) is a multisystem disorder of autoimmune etiology, frequently involving peripheral nerves. Early detection of peripheral neuropathy (PN) manifestations might improve prognosis and disease control. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the predictive potential of hematological and immunological parameters associated with PN development in pSS patients. Methods: This single-center retrospective study included patients with pSS who were divided into two groups, according to the occurrence of neurological manifestations throughout the follow-up period. Results: From the total of 121 pSS patients included in the study, 31 (25.61%) developed neurological manifestations (PN+ group) during the follow-up period. At the moment of pSS diagnosis, 80.64% of PN+ patients exhibited increased disease activity, with ESSDAI scores above 14 (p = 0.001), and significantly higher values for VASp score (p = 0.001), with a mean value of 4.90 ± 2.45, compared to 1.27 ± 1.32 in the PN- group. The hematological assessment at the moment of pSS diagnosis revealed that neutrophils and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) were significantly higher in the PN+ group (p = 0.001), while lymphocytes, monocytes and monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR) were significantly lower (p = 0.025, p = 0.13 and p = 0.003, respectively). Immuno-inflammatory parameters—gammaglobulins, complement fractions C3, C4, total proteins and vitamin D were significantly lower in the PN+ patients’ group. In multivariate analysis, the independent predictive character for PN development in pSS patients was confirmed for NLR (95% CI 0.033 to 0.263, p = 0.012), MLR (95% CI −1.289 to −0.194, p = 0.008), gammaglobulins (95% CI −0.426 to −0.088, p < 0.003), complement fraction C4 (95% CI −0.018 to −0.001, p < 0.030) and vitamin D (95% CI −0.017 to −0.003, p < 0.009). Conclusions: Readily available and frequently used hematological and immunological markers, such as NLR, MLR, gammaglobulins, C4 and vitamin D could be helpful in predicting the neurological involvement in pSS patients. These biological parameters might become useful tools for clinicians to monitor disease progression and identify potentially severe extraglandular manifestations in pSS patients.
Detection of Angiogenic T Cells and Endothelial Progenitor Cells in Behçet Disease and Determination of Their Relationship with Disease Activity

Angiogenic T (Tang) cells and endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) play a role in maintaining vascular integrity and repair. This study considers the association between them and Behçet disease (BD) and disease activity. Fifty patients with BD and forty-five age- and gender-matched healthy controls were included in the study. The participants’ demographic, clinical, and laboratory characteristics were recorded, and their blood Tang cell and EPC counts were determined. Fifty patients were diagnosed with BD, consisting of 24 females and 26 males. The blood Tang cell (3.5 ± 1.2 cells/μL in patients, 4 ± 0.9 cells/μL in controls, p = 0.046)) and EPC (2.9 ± 0.9 cells/μL in patients, 3.7 ± 1 cells/μL in controls, p = 0.001) counts were significantly lower for the patient group with BD than for the control group. The blood Tang cell (42.5 ± 4.9% in active patients, 48.9 ± 7.9% in inactive patients, p = 0.001) and EPC (35.5 ± 6.4% in active patients, 41.2 ± 6.3% in inactive patients, p = 0.004) levels were lower for the patient group with active BD than for the inactive patient group. A weak positive correlation was present between the blood Tang cell and EPC percentage values in BD (r: 0.318, p = 0.002). It was determined that Tang cell and EPC counts are lower in BD, and these reductions become more profound with increasing disease activity. This situation may prevent the development of a sufficient immune response against a disease with a course of chronic inflammation or may trigger the formation of autoreactive immunity. A reduction in Tang cells and EPCs may serve as a marker or predictor of vascular damage in BD patients and represents the progression of vascular injury.
New records of rare wood-inhabiting fungi from the Ukrainian Carpathians.

The Ukrainian Carpathians provide an important refuge for rare lignicolous fungi due to one of the largest areas of old-growth forests in Europe. During 2019–2022, new localities of 13 noteworthy species of lignicolous fungi were revealed on the northeastern macroslope of the Ukrainian Carpathians (Gorgany Nature Reserve, vicinities of the towns of Nadvirna and Yavoriv). Of these, Sistotrema alboluteum is a new species for Ukraine. In addition, we report two rare species restricted to natural forests, Amylocystis lapponica and Crustoderma dryinum , which had not been recorded in the country for over 80 years. Locality data and habitat types for all reported species as well as detailed descriptions and illustrations of the most interesting finds are provided. Ecology and distribution of some species are briefly summarised.
Model of a GaAs Quantum Dot in a Direct Band Gap AlGaAs Wurtzite Nanowire

We present a study with a numerical model based on k→·p→, including electromechanical fields, to evaluate the electromechanical and optoelectronic properties of single GaAs quantum dots embedded in direct band gap AlGaAs nanowires. The geometry and the dimensions of the quantum dots, in particular the thickness, are obtained from experimental data measured by our group. We also present a comparison between the experimental and numerically calculated spectra to support the validity of our model.
Geometric Ergodicity of a Class of Markov Chains with Applications to Time Series Models

We set up general conditions for a general non-linear Markov model to be geometrically ergodic (which implies beta-mixing of the stationary solution) and existence of certain moments. The conditions are fairly general and can be applied to most known time series models. We demonstrate the usefulness of our general result by applying it to various popular time series models. For each model, we give conditions for beta-mixing and existence of certain moments. In many cases, our conditions are weaker than those found elsewhere in the literature. In particular, we derive sufficient conditions for a class of univariate GARCH models to be geometrically ergodic without having a 2nd moment. In certain cases, the conditions are also sufficient. We also consider multivariate GARCH models and give conditions for stationarity with finite 2nd moment.
Associations between Personality Traits and Areas of Job Satisfaction: Pay, Work Itself, Security, and Hours Worked

Although studies have widely explored the connections between personality traits and job satisfaction, less is known about how personality relates to aspects of job satisfaction. The objective of this study was to explore the relationships between personality traits and various areas of job satisfaction, including pay, work, security, and hours worked. This study used ordinal regressions to analyze data from 6962 working individuals from the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS). The results showed that Neuroticism consistently has a negative association with all aspects of job satisfaction, whereas Agreeableness and Conscientiousness have positive associations with job satisfaction. Extraversion had a weak negative association with satisfaction with total pay. These findings imply that personality may play a crucial role in shaping areas of job satisfaction.
Automatic Context-Aware Inference of Engagement in HMI: A Survey

—An integral part of seamless human-human communication is engagement, the process by which two or more participants establish, maintain, and end their perceived connection. Therefore, to develop successful human-centered human-machine interaction applications, automatic engagement inference is one of the tasks required to achieve engaging interactions between humans and machines, and to make machines attuned to their users, hence enhancing user satisfaction and technology acceptance. Several factors contribute to engagement state inference, which include the interaction context and interactants’ behaviours and identity. Indeed, engagement is a multi-faceted and multi-modal construct that requires high accuracy in the analysis and interpretation of contextual, verbal and non-verbal cues. Thus, the development of an automated and intelligent system that accomplishes this task has been proven to be challenging so far. This paper presents a comprehensive survey on previous work in engagement inference for human-machine interaction, entailing interdisciplinary deﬁnition, engagement components and factors, publicly available datasets, ground truth assessment, and most commonly used features and methods, serving as a guide for the development of future human-machine interaction interfaces with reliable context-aware engagement inference capability. An in-depth review across embodied and disembodied interaction modes, and an emphasis on the interaction context of which engagement perception modules are integrated sets apart the presented survey from existing surveys.
Stability of queueing networks

Queueing networks constitute a large family of stochastic models, involving jobs that enter a network, compete for service, and eventually leave the network upon completion of service. Since the early 1990s, substantial attention has been devoted to the question of when such networks are stable. This monograph presents a summary of such work. Emphasis is placed on the use of fluid models in showing stability, and on examples of queueing networks that are unstable even when the arrival rate is less than the service rate. The material of this volume is based on a series of nine lectures given at the Saint-Flour Probability Summer School 2006, and is also being published in the Springer Lecture Notes series.
A family of Three-point Methods of Eighth-order for Finding Multiple Roots of Nonlinear Equations

In this paper, two new three-point eighth-order iterative methods for solving nonlinear equations are constructed. � It is proved that these methods have the convergence order of eight requiring only four function evaluations per iteration. � In fact, we have obtained the optimal order of convergence which supports the Kung and Traub conjecture. Kung and Traub conjectured that the multipoint iteration methods, without memory based on \(n\) evaluations, could achieve optimal convergence order \(2^{n-1}\). � Thus, we present new iterative methods which agree with the Kung and Traub conjecture for \(n=4\) Numerical comparisons are included to demonstrate exceptional convergence speed of the proposed methods using only a few function evaluations.
Exploring Students’ Experiences of an Internationalized University Through a Person-in-Context Lens

The aim of this article is to provide better understanding around the challenges facing university internationalization by exploring students’ experiences of an internationalized university through a Person-in-Context lens. The article reports on a study that took place at a metropolitan university in Australia and which utilized both a quantitative questionnaire and qualitative individual interviews to explore students’ expectations, experiences, and perceptions of their internationalized university. Main findings have been applied to Volet’s person-in-context adaptation of Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model of human development in order to address the research question, “What influences students’ experiences of an internationalized university? ” This article presents the application of findings to the person-in-context model and discusses implications that can be drawn about the student experience of internationalized universities.
Finite element approximation of flow of fluids with shear-rate- and pressure-dependent viscosity

We consider a class of incompressible viscous fluids, with the viscosity dependent on shear rate and pressure. We deal with the isothermal steady flow and analyze the Galerkin discretization of the corresponding equations. We discuss the existence and uniqueness of discrete solutions, and their convergence to the solution to the original problem. In particular, we derive a priori error estimates which provide optimal rates of convergence with respect to the expected regularity of the solution. Finally, we demonstrate the achieved results by numerical experiments. The fluid models under consideration appear in many practical problems, for instance in elasto-hydrodynamic lubrication, where very high pressures occur. Here, we consider shear-thinning fluid models, similar to the power-law/Carreau model. A restricted sublinear dependence of the viscosity on the pressure is allowed. The mathematical theory concerned with the self-consistency of the governing equations has emerged only recently. We adopt the established theory in the context of discrete approximations. To our knowledge, this is the first analysis of the finite element method for fluids with pressuredependent viscosity. The derived estimates coincide with the optimal error estimates established recently for Carreau-type models, which are covered as a special case.
The relationship between the level of debt specialization and financial constraint of Brazilian firms over the time

ABSTRACT This article sought to analyze the historical evolution, the composition, and the determinants of debt specialization of Brazilian firms traded on Brasil, Bolsa, Balcão (B3) from 2004 to 2019 in aggregate terms and in accordance with their financial constraints. This paper differs from the few studies on this topic carried out in Brazil and in other countries by promoting a discussion on the specialization of the debt structure in a context of financial constraints, as they are a relevant idiosyncrasy of emerging markets, such as in Brazil. The relevance of the study is to identify that debt specialization is a feature of only of financially constrained firms and not of the financially unconstrained ones. The impact of the study lies in a better understanding of why Brazilian firms are reducing their debt specialization, unlike other international evidences, such as the U.S. Descriptive statistics and regressions were estimated using the probit and tobit methods for 246 Brazilian firms between 2004 and 2019. The main result is that financial constrained firms are more likely to specialize their debt structure. Despite this propensity, these companies were the ones that most decreased their debt specialization between 2004 and 2019 (-27.77%), compared to the general sample (-27.5%) and unconstrained firms (-19.48%), revealing a behavior contrary to the U.S. scenario in which companies are increasingly specialists.
The Growth Characteristics and the Active Compounds of Cudrania tricuspidata Fruits in Different Cultivation Environments in South Korea

Cudrania tricuspidata is a traditional medicinal herb in East Asia. The compounds of plants vary depending on environmental factors, such as soil, temperature, drainage, and so on. However, few to no studies have been done on the correlation among environment, growth, and compounds in C. tricuspidata. Thus, we aimed to investigate their relationship. Samples of C. tricuspidata fruit and cultivation soil were collected from 28 cultivation sites in October 2021. Six growth characteristics, eleven soil physicochemical properties, seven meteorological data points, and three active compounds were investigated in this study. We developed and validated an optimized method for quantifying active compounds using UPLC and performed correlation analysis of the environment, growth characteristics, and active compounds. The UPLC-UV method for determining active compounds was validated by measuring the linearity, LOD, LOQ, precision, and accuracy using UPLC. The LOD and LOQ were 0.01–0.03 µg/mL and 0.04–0.09 µg/mL, respectively. The precision was acceptable with RSD% values less than 2%. The recoveries ranged from 97.25 to 104.98% with RSD values <2%, within the acceptable limits. The active compounds were negatively correlated with the size of the fruit, and the growth characteristics were negatively correlated with some environmental factors. The results of this study can be used as basic data for the standard cultural practices and quality control of C. tricuspidata fruits.