Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Regression Composite Estimation for the Canadian Labour Force Survey: Evaluation and Implementation

The Canadian Labour Force Survey (LFS) is a monthly survey with a complex rotating panel design. After extensive studies, including the investigation of a number of alternative methods for exploiting the sample overlap to improve the quality of estimates, the LFS has chosen a composite estimation method which achieves this goal while satisfying practical constraints. In addition, for variables where there is a substantial gain in efficiency, the new time series tend to make more sense from a subject­matter perspective. This makes it easier to explain LFS estimates to users and the media. Because of the reduced variance under composite estimation, for some variables it is now possible to publish monthly estimates where only three­month moving averages were published in the past. In addition, a greater number of series can be successfully seasonally adjusted.
EVOLUTION IN FLUCTUATING ENVIRONMENTS: DECOMPOSING SELECTION INTO ADDITIVE COMPONENTS OF THE ROBERTSON–PRICE EQUATION

We analyze the stochastic components of the Robertson–Price equation for the evolution of quantitative characters that enables decomposition of the selection differential into components due to demographic and environmental stochasticity. We show how these two types of stochasticity affect the evolution of multivariate quantitative characters by defining demographic and environmental variances as components of individual fitness. The exact covariance formula for selection is decomposed into three components, the deterministic mean value, as well as stochastic demographic and environmental components. We show that demographic and environmental stochasticity generate random genetic drift and fluctuating selection, respectively. This provides a common theoretical framework for linking ecological and evolutionary processes. Demographic stochasticity can cause random variation in selection differentials independent of fluctuating selection caused by environmental variation. We use this model of selection to illustrate that the effect on the expected selection differential of random variation in individual fitness is dependent on population size, and that the strength of fluctuating selection is affected by how environmental variation affects the covariance in Malthusian fitness between individuals with different phenotypes. Thus, our approach enables us to partition out the effects of fluctuating selection from the effects of selection due to random variation in individual fitness caused by demographic stochasticity.
Identifying mitotane-induced mitochondria-associated membranes dysfunctions: metabolomic and lipidomic approaches

Mitotane (o,p’DDD), the most effective drug in adrenocortical carcinoma, concentrates into the mitochondria and impacts mitochondrial functions. To address the molecular mechanisms of mitotane action and to identify its potential target, metabolomic and lipidomic approaches as well as imaging analyses were employed in human adrenocortical H295R cells allowing identification of Mitochondria-Associated Membranes dysfunction as a critical impact of mitotane. Study of intracellular energetic metabolites by NMR spectroscopy showed that mitotane significantly decreased aspartate while concomitantly increased glutamate content in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. Such alterations were very likely linked to the previously described, mitotane-induced respiratory chain defect. Lipidomic studies of intracellular and intramitochondrial phospholipids revealed that mitotane exposure markedly reduced the phosphatidylserine/phosphatidylethanolamine ratio, indicative of a dysfunction of phosphatidylserine decarboxylase located in Mitochondria-Associated Membranes. Expression levels of Mitochondria-Associated Membranes proteins phosphatidylserine decarboxylase, DRP1, ATAD3A or TSPO were greatly reduced by mitotane as assessed by western blot analyses. Mitotane exposure markedly altered endogenous Mitochondria-Associated Membranes integrity and reduced the magnitude of mitochondria and the endoplasmic reticulum interactions as demonstrated by high resolution deconvolution microscopy and quantification. Finally, we showed that PK11195, a pharmacological inhibitor of the cholesterol translocator TSPO, embedded in Mitochondria-Associated Membranes, exerts a synergetic effect with mitotane in inducing Mitochondria-Associated Membranes disruption, apoptosis and in inhibiting steroid secretion. Altogether, our results demonstrate Mitochondria-Associated Membranes dysfunction in H295R cells treated with mitotane and that TSPO inhibition significantly potentiates mitotane antitumoral and antisecretory actions in vitro. This constitutes a potential and promising pharmacological strategy for patients with adrenocortical carcinoma.
The Negative Effects of KPN00353 on Glycerol Kinase and Microaerobic 1,3-Propanediol Production in Klebsiella pneumoniae

1,3-Propanediol (1,3-PD) is a valuable chemical intermediate in the synthesis of polyesters, polyethers, and polyurethanes, which have applications in various products such as cloth, bottles, films, tarpaulins, canoes, foam seals, high-resilience foam seating, and surface coatings. Klebsiella pneumoniae can produce 1,3-PD from glycerol. In this study, KPN00353, an EIIA homologue in the phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP):carbohydrate phosphotransferase system (PTS), was found to play a negative regulatory role in 1,3-PD production under microaerobic conditions via binding to glycerol kinase (GlpK). The primary sequence of KPN00353 is similar to those of the fructose-mannitol EIIA (EIIFru and EIIAMtl) family. The interaction between KPN00353 and GlpK resulted in inhibition of the synthesis of glycerol-3-phosphate (G3P) and correlated with reductions in glycerol uptake and the production of 1,3-PD. Based on structure modeling, we conclude that residue H65 of KPN00353 plays an important role in the interaction with GlpK. We mutated this histidine residue to aspartate, glutamate, arginine and glutamine to assess the effects of each KPN00353 variant on the interaction with GlpK, on the synthesis of G3P and on the production of 1,3-PD. Our results illuminate the role of KPN00353 in 1,3-PD production by K. pneumoniae under microaerobic conditions.
How relationship marketing, switching costs, and service quality impact customer satisfaction and loyalty in Taiwan’s airfreight forwarding industry?

ABSTRACT This study applies the service quality–satisfaction–loyalty framework to examine the impact of relationship marketing on customer loyalty with switching cost as a moderating variable in the context of airfreight forwarders. Data were collected from a questionnaire survey and two-step structural equation modeling was subsequently performed to test the research hypotheses. The results indicate that relationship marketing, switching costs, and customer satisfaction significantly increase shippers’ loyalty to airfreight forwarders. Relationship marketing is also found to have a positive impact on service quality. Moreover, the moderating effect of switching costs on the relationship between relationship marketing and customer loyalty is significant when the customer-perceived switching costs are low. Specifically, most perceived low switching cost firms are non-manufacturers, having a small size and producing machinery and metal goods. In conclusion, this study highlights the importance of relationship marketing and switching costs for customer loyalty in the airfreight forwarding industry.
Postprandial Augmentation of Bradycardia‐Dependent ST Elevation in Patients with Brugada Syndrome

Introduction : In patients with Brugada syndrome, the circadian variation of ST elevation could be modulated by the autonomic nervous activity and RR interval. Recently, glucose‐induced insulin secretion was also reported to contribute to fluctuation of ST elevation. Therefore, we assessed the effects of taking meals on the ST‐RR relationship in the daily life of patients with Brugada syndrome.
The Dynamics of Embodied Cognition

Historically cognition was understood as the result of processes occurring solely in the brain. Recently, however, cognitive scientists and philosophers studying "embodied" or "situated" cognition have begun emphasizing the role of the body and environment in which brains are situated, i.e. they view the brain as an "open system". However, these theorists frequently rely on dynamical systems which are traditionally viewed as closed systems. We address this tension by extending the framework of dynamical systems theory. We show how structures which appear in the state space of an embodied agent differ from those that appear in closed systems, and we show how these structures can be used to model representational processes in embodied agents. We focus on neural networks as models of embodied cognition.
Warning coloration can be disruptive: aposematic marginal wing patterning in the wood tiger moth

Abstract Warning (aposematic) and cryptic colorations appear to be mutually incompatible because the primary function of the former is to increase detectability, whereas the function of the latter is to decrease it. Disruptive coloration is a type of crypsis in which the color pattern breaks up the outline of the prey, thus hindering its detection. This delusion can work even when the prey's pattern elements are highly contrasting; thus, it is possible for an animal's coloration to combine both warning and disruptive functions. The coloration of the wood tiger moth (Parasemia plantaginis) is such that the moth is conspicuous when it rests on vegetation, but when it feigns death and drops to the grass‐ and litter‐covered ground, it is hard to detect. This death‐feigning behavior therefore immediately switches the function of its coloration from signaling to camouflage. We experimentally tested whether the forewing patterning of wood tiger moths could function as disruptive coloration against certain backgrounds. Using actual forewing patterns of wood tiger moths, we crafted artificial paper moths and placed them on a background image resembling a natural litter and grass background. We manipulated the disruptiveness of the wing pattern so that all (marginal pattern) or none (nonmarginal pattern) of the markings extended to the edge of the wing. Paper moths, each with a hidden palatable food item, were offered to great tits (Parus major) in a large aviary where the birds could search for and attack the “moths” according to their detectability. The results showed that prey items with the disruptive marginal pattern were attacked less often than prey without it. However, the disruptive function was apparent only when the prey was brighter than the background. These results suggest that warning coloration and disruptive coloration can work in concert and that the moth, by feigning death, can switch the function of its coloration from warning to disruptive.
An unsupervised evidential conflict resolution method for data fusion in IoT

Internet of Things (IoT) has gained substantial attention recently and plays a significant role in multiple real-world application deployments. A wide spectrum of such applications strongly depend on data fusion capabilities in the cloud from diverse information sources. In fact, various information sources often provide conflicting and contradictory for the same object, and thus it is important to fuse and resolve any possible information conflict before taking crucial decisions. For this reason, the primary aim of this paper is to provide a new evidential conflict resolution method that is able to automatically solve the problem of contradictory information provided by different sources in IoT applications. This method is based on the belief functions theory which is a powerful mathematical theory that can represent and manipulate various types if information imperfection. The performance of the proposed method was evaluated through simulation experiments. The results from these simulations demonstrated that our method outperforms the state-of-art methods in terms of effectiveness.
Inhibition of Return Biases Orienting During the Search of Complex Scenes

In Klein and MacInnes[1], observers searched a complex scene for a camouflaged target. Reflecting Inhibition of Return (IOR) observers were slower to detect and saccade to uncamouflaged probes that interrupted active search when these were placed in the vicinity of a recent fixation. To explore the generality of this finding of IOR during search, we changed the mental state of the observer at the time of the probes by instructing observers to inspect the scene until they found something interesting and stop there. After this voluntary cessation of search, we presented an uncamouflaged probe that observers were required to foveate. Extending our previous demonstration, we observed a relative increase in the time required to locate these probes when they were in the general region of a previous fixation so long as the scene was maintained. When the scene was removed, probe reaction time was unaffected by distance from the last fixation. The pattern of results supports the proposal that IOR biases overt orienting during search.
A wearable action recognition system based on acceleration and attitude angles using real-time detection algorithm

Falls are a main cause of trauma and death. The purpose of this study is to adopt unique resultant acceleration and attitude angles to distinguish falls from activities of daily life before impact. In this study, we developed a wearable action recognition system to acquire action data. The moving average filter was employed to deal with raw data, and then complementary filter was adopted to compromise sensor data for attitude angles. The real-time detection algorithm embedded in this device was applied to recognize six actions based on processed data. Eight subjects (five males, three females) participated in the experiment. The optimal features and related thresholds were extracted. In addition, the real-time action detection results indicated that the real-time action recognition model reached an accuracy of 96.25%, with 98% for male and 93.3% for female. Thus, our device potentially achieves a high sensitivity of fall-related actions recognition.
Stroma Cell-Derived Factor 1α Mediates Desensitization of Human Neutrophil Respiratory Burst in Synovial Fluid from Rheumatoid Arthritic Patients1

Classical chemoattractants such as fMLP or the complement factor C5a use G protein (Gi)-coupled receptors to stimulate both chemotaxis and production of reactive oxygen species (respiratory burst, RB) by polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN). The chemokine stroma cell-derived factor 1α (SDF1α) and its Gi-coupled receptor, CXCR4, regulate leukocyte trafficking and recruitment to the synovial fluid of rheumatoid arthritic patients (RA-SF). However, the role of SDF1α in the RB is unknown and was studied in this work in vitro with healthy PMN in the absence and presence of RA-SF. In healthy PMN, SDF1α failed to stimulate the RB, even though the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase was activated to a similar level as in fMLP-stimulated PMN. In contrast, the SDF1α-mediated calcium transients and activation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt were partially deficient, while p44/42 mitogen-activated protein kinases were not activated. SDF1α actually desensitized weakly the fMLP-mediated RB of healthy PMN. This cross-inhibitory effect was amplified in PMN treated with RA-SF, providing a protection against the exacerbation of RB induced by C5a or fMLP. This SDF1α beneficial effect, which was prevented by the CXCR4 antagonist AMD3100, was associated with impairment of C5a- and fMLP-mediated early signaling events. Thus, although SDF1α promotes leukocyte emigration into rheumatoid synovium, our data suggest it cross-desensitizes the production of oxidant by primed PMN, a property that may be beneficial in the context of arthritis.
Hexaaquazinc(II) bis[tris(3-carboxypyridine-2-carboxylato)zincate(II)]

The title compound, [Zn(H2O)6][Zn(C7H4NO4)3]2, consists of two [Zn(py-2,3-dcH)3]− anions (py-2,3-dcH is 3-carboxypyridine-2-carboxylate) and one [Zn(H2O)6]2+ cation. The anion is a six-coordinate complex located on a threefold rotation axis with a slightly distorted octahedral geometry around Zn2+ ion. The cation is also six-coordinate with an octahedral geometry around the Zn atom, located at a axis. Non-covalent interactions such as π–π stacking [centroid–centroid distance = 3.828 (4)Å] and O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds play important roles in stabilizing the supramolecular structure.
Liberalism's Global Mirror: Worldwide Contracting and ‘No Alternative’?

This short essay introduces a set of timely critiques of the power shifts in global contracting. The chapters range from investment disputes and carbon trading, commercial arbitration and private military companies to cotton trading and global value chains. In a global context of a ‘turn to market’ through large-scale privatizing of former state-controlled services, outsourcing government functions to private providers and the growing hunger to finance new initiatives through foreign direct investment, contracting has been consolidated as the dominant governance mechanism. Contracts govern investment flows, supply chains, land acquisition, infrastructure development and environmental governance, military activities and commercial arbitration. The triumphant rise of contract prompts urgent questions into the institutional and procedural framework in which the new world of ‘transnational private regulatory governance’ is embedded. Indeed, its promise of a brave new world ‘after the state’ sounds hollow. But, what guidance can we hope to gain from principles such as the Rule of Law or from nation-state bound experiences with ‘deliberative democracy’? As the aftershocks of Brexit continue to rock European political establishments, it becomes quite obvious how the ‘contracting of everything’ might have gone just too far – as long as a critical democratic-political discourse fails to reach out, integrate and empower and as long as today’s political institutional infrastructures continue to grow further and further apart from those under their care and who have suffered the most from the turn to market.
Production and detection of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in cancers.

Reactive oxygen species include a number of molecules that damage DNA and RNA and oxidize proteins and lipids (lipid peroxydation). These reactive molecules contain an oxygen and include H(2;)O(2;) (hydrogen peroxide), NO (nitric oxide), O(2;)(-) (oxide anion), peroxynitrite (ONOO(-)), hydrochlorous acid (HOCl), and hydroxyl radical (OH(-)). Oxidative species are produced not only under pathological situations (cancers, ischemic/reperfusion, neurologic and cardiovascular pathologies, infectious diseases, inflammatory diseases, autoimmune diseases , etc…) but also during physiological (non-pathological) situations such as cellular metabolism. Indeed, ROS play important roles in many cellular signaling pathways (proliferation, cell activation, migration etc.). ROS can be detrimental (it is then referred to as "oxidative and nitrosative stress") when produced in high amounts in the intracellular compartments and cells generally respond to ROS by upregulating antioxidants such as superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and glutathione (GSH) that protects them by converting dangerous free radicals to harmless molecules (i.e. water). Vitamins C and E have also been described as ROS scavengers (antioxidants). Free radicals are beneficial in low amounts. Macrophage and neutrophils-mediated immune responses involve the production and release of NO, which inhibits viruses, pathogens and tumor proliferation. NO also reacts with other ROS and thus, also has a role as a detoxifier (ROS scavenger). Finally NO acts on vessels to regulate blood flow which is important for the adaptation of muscle to prolonged exercise. Several publications have also demonstrated that ROS are involved in insulin sensitivity. Numerous methods to evaluate ROS production are available. In this article we propose several simple, fast, and affordable assays; these assays have been validated by many publications and are routinely used to detect ROS or its effects in mammalian cells. While some of these assays detect multiple ROS, others detect only a single ROS.
Are Trump and Bitcoin Good Partners

During times of extreme market turmoil, it is acknowledged that there is a tendency towards "flight to safety". A strong (weak) safe haven is defined as an asset that has a significant positive (negative) return in periods where another asset is in distress, while hedge has to be negatively correlated (uncorrelated) on average. The Bitcoin's surge alongside the aftermath of Trump's win in the 2016 U.S. presidential elections has strengthened its status as the modern safe haven. This paper uses a truly noise-assisted data analysis method, termed as Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition-based approach, to examine whether Bitcoin can act as a hedge and safe haven for U.S. stock price index. The results document that the Bitcoin's safe-haven property is time-varying and that it has primarily been a weak safe haven in the short term and the long-term. We also demonstrate that precious metals lost their safe haven properties over time as the correlation between gold/silver and U.S. stock price declines from short-to long-run horizons.
The influence of family structure, the TPH2 G-703T and the 5-HTTLPR serotonergic genes upon affective problems in children aged 10-14 years.

BACKGROUND Both genetic and psychosocial risk factors influence the risk for depression in development. While the impacts of family structure and of serotonergic polymorphisms upon individual differences for affective problems have been investigated separately, they have never been considered together in a gene-environment interplay perspective. METHODS We examined the effects of family structure and two serotonergic polymorphisms (the TPH2 G-703T and the 5-HTTLPR) upon depressive symptoms assessed by the new CBCL/6-18 DSM-oriented Affective Problems scale in a general population sample of 607 Italian children aged 10-14 years. RESULTS Belonging to 'one-parent' families, the TPH2 G-703T 'G variant', and the 5-HTTLPR 'short' alleles were associated - both alone and in apparent gene-by-environment interaction - with higher Affective Problems scores. As predicted by quantitative genetics theory, both polymorphisms contributed with a small effect size, while 'family structure' had a moderate effect size. CONCLUSIONS A putative hazard factor impinging on individual risk at the family-wide level, namely family structure, appears to act interactively with two pivotal serotonergic genes in heightening risk for Affective Problems. Although it remains to be demonstrated that belonging to a one- rather than a two-parent family has true environmental causal effects on Affective Problems, these data may contribute to identify/prevent risk for depression in childhood.