Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
COVID-19: effective policymaking depends on trust in experts, politicians, and the public

Abstract In a crisis, almost-instant choices about who to trust or distrust could make a difference between life and death. Trust is necessary for cooperation, coordination, social order, and to reduce the need for coercive state imposition. During a pandemic, people need to trust experts to help them understand and respond to the problem, governments to coordinate policy instruments and make choices about levels of coercion, and citizens as they cooperate to minimize infection. We compare these general requirements with specific developments in the UK and US, identifying: the variable reliance by elected politicians on scientific experts, worrying levels of distrust in elected leaders, and a shift from a trust-based to more impositional forms of government action (with more variation in responses in the US). While trust is difficult to define and measure, these examples show that people miss it when it is gone.
Quadrature properties of high harmonics emitted by two-level atom.

We analyse the quadrature mean values and variances of high harmonic photons, emitted by a classically driven elementary quantum source of radiation. This fundamental system is modelled with a two-level atom. The quadrature mean values and variances are calculated for harmonic modes in the near-field. Numerical results imply the presence of weak squeezing in each harmonic mode, more pronounced in even harmonics. Approximate time-evolution of the collective electromagnetic field is calculated, and the electric field-variance of the scattered pulse-train is given.
Ideas in Genomic Selection that Transformed Plant Molecular Breeding: A Review

Estimation of breeding values through Best Linear Unbiased Prediction (BLUP) using pedigree-based kinship and Marker-Assisted Selection (MAS) are the two fundamental breeding methods used before and after the introduction of genetic markers, respectively. The emergence of high-density genome-wide markers has led to the development of two parallel series of approaches inspired by BLUP and MAS, which are collectively referred to as Genomic Selection (GS). The first series of GS methods alters pedigree-based BLUP by replacing pedigree-based kinship with marker-based kinship in a variety of ways, including weighting markers by their effects in genome-wide association study (GWAS), joining both pedigree and marker-based kinship together in a single-step BLUP, and substituting individuals with groups in a compressed BLUP. The second series of GS methods estimates the effects for all genetic markers simultaneously. For the second series methods, the marker effects are summed together regardless of their individual significance. Instead of fitting individuals as random effects like in the BLUP series, the second series fits markers as random effects. Differing assumptions regarding the underlying distribution of these marker effects have resulted in the development of many Bayesian-based GS methods. This review highlights critical concept developments for both of these series and explores ongoing GS developments in machine learning, multiple trait selection, and adaptation for hybrid breeding. Furthermore, considering the increasing use and variety of GS methods in plant breeding programs, this review addresses important concerns for future GS development and application, such as the use of GWAS-assisted GS, the long-term effectiveness of GS methods, and the valid assessment of prediction accuracy.
Plant behaviour: a mathematical approach for understanding intra-plant communication

Plants are far from being passive organisms being able to exhibit complex behaviours in response to environmental stimuli. How these stimuli are combined, triggered and managed is still an open and complex issue in biology. Mathematical models have helped in understanding some of the pieces in the complexity of intra-plant communication, but a larger and brighter view, setting together multiple key processes, is still missing. This paper proposes a fully coupled system of nonlinear, non-autonomous, discontinuous, ordinary differential equations to describe with accuracy the adapting behaviour and growth of a single plant, by deeply analysing the main stimuli affecting plant behaviour. The proposed model was developed, and here sustained, with the knowledge at the state of the art; and validated with a comparison among numerical results and a wide number of biological data collected from the literature, demonstrating its robustness and reliability. From the proposed analysis it is also shown an emerging self-optimisation of internal resources and feedback stimuli, without the need for defining an optimisation function for the wellness of the plant. The model is ultimately able to highlight the stimulus-signal of the intra-communication in plant, and it can be expanded and adopted as useful tool at the crossroads of disciplines as mathematics, robotics, biology, for instance for validation of biological hypothesis, translation of biological principles into control strategies or resolution of combinatorial problems. Author summary Plants are able to adapt themselves to a wide range of conditions. The complexity and efficiency of this behaviour suggest a richness of signals exchanged that allowed scientists to talk about communication. Understanding this network of stimuli is an important challenge to increase biological knowledge as well as to adapt plant mechanisms to different research fields. To address this quest we developed a mathematical model able to describe what cues are fundamental in plant communication and how they interact each other.
Association of hearing loss in the patients with treated with lamivudine: a systematic review protocol

Background: Hearing loss has been reported with lamivudine therapy. The World Health Organization (WHO) international database of suspected adverse drug reactions (Vigibase) prioritised clinical review of lamivudine and hearing loss in 2015. This manuscript provides the details of research protocol for a systematic review of association of lamivudine with hearing loss. Methods: English-language publications that assess hearing loss within patients who are receiving lamivudine therapy will be included. All study types like clinical trial designs, case-control study, cohort study, retrospective study, case-series or a case report will be included. Preclinical studies, studies enrolling patients with known differential diagnosis such as presbycusis etc will be excluded. Electronic databases (PubMed, Cochrane reviews, Embase and Google scholar), international clinical trials registry, clinicaltrials.gov and pharmaceutical company clinical study registries will be searched for key words related to lamivudine and hearing loss. After a thorough electronic/manual search of manuscript they will undergo a screening process and selected articles will be assessed for risk of bias using online ROBINS-I tool. We will explore outcomes as an observational systematic review. Conclusions: This review will provide detailed benefit-risk analysis of lamivudine with respect to hearing loss in patients with chronic conditions such as Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Trial Registration: PROSPERO registration number is CRD42018112205.0. 001.
NMPC-Based Workflow for Simultaneous Process and Model Development Applied to a Fed-Batch Process for Recombinant C. glutamicum

For the fast and improved development of bioprocesses, new strategies are required where both strain and process development are performed in parallel. Here, a workflow based on a Nonlinear Model Predictive Control (NMPC) algorithm is described for the model-assisted development of biotechnological processes. By using the NMPC algorithm, the process is designed with respect to a target function (product yield, biomass concentration) with a drastically decreased number of experiments. A workflow for the usage of the NMPC algorithm as a process development tool is outlined. The NMPC algorithm is capable of improving various process states, such as product yield and biomass concentration. It uses on-line and at-line data and controls and optimizes the process by model-based process extrapolation. In this study, the algorithm is applied to a Corynebacterium glutamicum process. In conclusion, the potency of the NMPC algorithm as a powerful tool for process development is demonstrated. In particular, the benefits of the system regarding the characterization and optimization of a fed-batch process are outlined. With the NMPC algorithm, process development can be run simultaneously to strain development, resulting in a shortened time to market for novel products.
Mechanisms involved in follistatin‐induced hypertrophy and increased insulin action in skeletal muscle

Background Skeletal muscle wasting is often associated with insulin resistance. A major regulator of muscle mass is the transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) superfamily, including activin A, which causes atrophy. TGF-β superfamily ligands also negatively regulate insulin-sensitive proteins, but whether this pathway contributes to insulin action remains to be determined. Methods To elucidate if TGF-β superfamily ligands regulate insulin action we used an adeno-associated virus gene editing approach to overexpress the activin A inhibitor, follistatin (Fst288) in mouse muscle of lean and diet-induced obese mice. We determined basal and insulin-stimulated 2 deoxy-glucose uptake using isotopic tracers in vivo. Furthermore, to evaluate whether circulating Fst and activin A concentrations are associated with obesity, insulin resistance, and weight loss in humans we analysed serum from morbidly obese subjects before, 1 week, and 1 year after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB). Results Fst288 muscle overexpression markedly increased in vivo insulin-stimulated (but not basal) glucose uptake (+75%, p<0.05) and increased protein expression and intracellular insulin signalling of AKT, TBC1D4, PAK1, PDH-E1α, and p70S6K (p<0.05). No correlation was observed between the Fst288-driven hypertrophy and the increase in insulin-stimulated glucose uptake but Fst288 increased basal and insulin-stimulated protein synthesis. Importantly, Fst288 completely normalized muscle glucose uptake in insulin-resistant diet-induced obese mice. RYGB surgery doubled circulating Fst and reduced Activin A (−24%, p<0.05) concentration 1 week after surgery before any significant weight loss in morbidly obese normoglycemic patients, while major weight loss after 1 year did not further change the concentrations. Conclusions We here present evidence that Fst is a potent regulator of insulin action in muscle and in addition to AKT and p70S6K, we identify TBC1D1, TBC1D4 and PAK1 as Fst targets. A possible role for Fst in regulating glycemic control is suggested because circulating Fst more than doubled post RYGB surgery, a treatment that markedly improved insulin sensitivity. These findings demonstrate the therapeutic potential of inhibiting TGF-β superfamily ligands to improve insulin action and Fst’s relevance to muscle wasting associated insulin resistant conditions in mice and humans.
Increasing plant water stress and decreasing summer streamflow in response to a warmer and wetter climate in seasonally snow‐covered forests

Warming temperatures and precipitation changes are expected to alter water availability and increase drought stress in western North America, yet uncertainties remain in how concurrent changes in the amount and seasonality of precipitation interact with warming to affect hydrologic partitioning. We combined over a century of streamflow (Q) and climate observations with two decades of tree growth data and remotely sensed vegetation activity to quantify how temperature and precipitation interact to control hydrologic partitioning in the Front Range of Colorado, Boulder Creek Watershed. Temperature and precipitation significantly increased over the last five decades, with precipitation increasing primarily in winter (11.2 mm decade−1) and temperature increasing primarily during the growing season (0.12°C decade−1). In response to wetter winters and warmer summers, streamflow decreased −9.8 mm decade−1, with largest declines occurring during summer and autumn baseflow (−8.4 mm decade−1). Spring warming was associated with increases in episodic, short spring melt events, earlier and slower snowmelt and an increase in fraction of precipitation available to plants (catchment wetting or W). Warming during the growing season resulted in an increase in the fraction of W lost as evapotranspiration (ET), earlier and lower peaks in remotely sensed normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and lower tree ring width index (RWI). These analyses highlight that vegetation is becoming increasingly water limited even as increases in precipitation and slower melt increase plant water availability. Further, catchment‐derived metrics like the Horton Index (ET/W) provide insight in to how simultaneous changes in temperature, precipitation and melt impact vegetation across complex watersheds.
Framing the Trump Administration’s “Zero Tolerance” Policy: A Quantitative Content Analysis of News Stories and Visuals in US News Websites

ABSTRACT A quantitative content analysis was employed to study how websites of newspapers (The New York Times, Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal) and cable news (CNN, MSNBC, Fox News) framed the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy in stories (N = 477) and visuals (N = 501). Overall, Attribution of responsibility was the most used frame and the news content was much more thematic then episodic, with the exception of the Human interest frame. The New York Times and the Washington Post used more frequently the Morality frame, while CNN and MSNBC had more Human interest stories and The Wall Street Journal focus more on the Economic frame. Crime was prominent only on Fox News. The visuals predominantly focused on immigrants in shelters and children stopped at the border, and they portrayed more negative than positive emotions. Fox News was the only news outlet to publish images of immigrants trying to force the border and to release more visuals of men alone. CNN and MSNBC used more frequently images of immigrants looking directly at the camera. Surprisingly, The New York Times, whose stories criticized the policy, published the lowest number of images portraying children behind bars.
Quasi-Equilibrium and Weak Temperature Gradient Balances in an Equatorial Beta-Plane Model

Convective quasi-equilibrium (QE) and weak temperature gradient (WTG) balances are frequently employed to study the tropical atmosphere. This study uses linearized equatorial beta-plane solutions to examine the relevant regimes for these balances. Wave solutions are characterized by moisture–temperature ratio (q–T ratio) and dominant thermodynamic balances. An empirically constrained precipitation closure assigns different sensitivities of convection to temperature (εt) and moisture (εq). Longwave equatorial Kelvin and Rossby waves tend toward the QE balance with q–T ratios of εt:εq that can be ~1–3. Departures from strict QE, essential to both precipitation and wave dynamics, grow with wavenumber. The propagating QE modes have reduced phase speeds because of the effective gross moist stability meff, with a further reduction when εt > 0. Moisture modes obeying the WTG balance and with large q–T ratios (>10) emerge in the shortwave regime; these modes exist with both Kelvin and Rossby wave meridional structures. In the υ = 0 case, long propagating gravity waves are absent and only emerge beyond a cutoff wavenumber. Two bifurcations in the wave solutions are identified and used to locate the spatial scales for QE–WTG transition and gravity wave emergence. These scales are governed by the competition between the convection and gravity wave adjustment times and are modulated by meff. Near-zero values of meff shift the QE–WTG transition wavenumber toward zero. Continuous transitions replace the bifurcations when meff < 0 or moisture advection/WISHE mechanisms are included, but the wavenumber-dependent QE and WTG balances remain qualitatively unaltered. Rapidly decaying convective/gravity wave modes adjust to the slowly evolving QE/WTG state in the longwave/shortwave regimes, respectively.
Identification of Tropical Cyclones’ Critical Positions Associated with Extreme Precipitation Events in Central America

<p>Tropical cyclones are one of the most important causes of disasters in Central America. Using historical (1970&#8211;2010) tracks of cyclones in the Caribbean and Pacific basin, we identify critical path locations where these low-pressure systems cause the highest number of floods in a set of 88 precipitation stations in the region. Results show that tropical cyclones from the Caribbean and Pacific basin produce a large number of indirect impacts on the Pacific slope of the Central American isthmus. Although the direct impact of a tropical cyclone usually results in devastation in the affected region, the indirect effects are more common and sometimes equally severe. In fact, the storm does not need to be an intense hurricane to cause considerable impacts and damage. The location of even a lower intensity storm in critical positions of the oceanic basin can result in destructive indirect impacts in Central America. The identification of critical positions can be used for emergency agencies in the region to issue alerts of possible flooding and catastrophic events. </p>
Yellow passion fruit reaction to Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. passiflorae and to Cowpea aphid-borne mosaic virus

Yellow passion fruit (Passiflora edulis Sims) yield and longevity have been drastically reduced by bacterial spot (Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. passiflorae - Xap) and passion fruit woodiness disease (PWD) (Cowpea aphid-borne mosaic virus - CABMV). This study was aimed at evaluating the reaction of 11 genotypes of yellow passion fruit, based on the reaction of their progenies, to both mechanically inoculated Xap and CABMV, under greenhouse conditions. There was a progressive increase in bacterial spot and PWD severity with time. BRS Gigante Amarelo, MAR20#12, and MAR20#34 were selected as the progenies with lowest bacterial spot severity and disease progress over time. MAR20#2005, EC-L-7, UnB2015-1, and EC-3-0 presented the lowest PWD severity and disease progress over time. These progenies, along with individual plants from other progenies in which disease severity was significantly low until the last evaluation, will be cloned and tested again for Xap and CABMV, including other isolates.
Post-processing for spatial accuracy-enhancement of pure Lagrange–Galerkin schemes applied to convection-diffusion equations

We analyze a technique to improve the spatial accuracy, by the single application at the end of the simulation of a local post-processing, for pure Lagrange–Galerkin (PLG) methods applied to evolutionary convection-diffusion (possibly pure convection/diffusion) equations with time-dependent domains. The post-processing technique is based on a simple convolution that extracts the ‘hidden accuracy’ of Galerkin schemes, and it is used and rigorously analyzed in a fully discrete context. We prove that, when applied to the numerical solution of PLG schemes, it improves the spatial accuracy in the $l^{\infty }(L^2(\varOmega ^0))$-norm from order $k+1$ to at least order $2k$, where $k$ is the degree of the polynomials defining the finite element space and $\varOmega ^0$ any interior region of the computational domain meshed with translation-invariant meshes. For pure convection, a spatial accuracy enhancement in the $l^{\infty }(L^2(\varOmega ^0))$-norm from order $k+1$ to order $2k+2$ is obtained by post-processing the numerical solution of PLG schemes. Numerical tests are presented that confirm these theoretical results.
Warmer and Drier Fire Seasons Contribute to Increases in Area Burned at High Severity in Western US Forests From 1985 to 2017

Increases in burned area across the western United States (US) since the mid‐1980s have been widely documented and linked partially to climate factors, yet evaluations of trends in fire severity are lacking. Here we evaluate fire severity trends and their interannual relationships to climate for western US forests from 1985 to 2017. Significant increases in annual area burned at high severity (AABhs) were observed across most ecoregions, with an overall eightfold increase in AABhs across western US forests. The relationships we identified between the annual fire severity metrics and climate, as well as the observed and projected trend toward warmer and drier fire seasons, suggest that climate change will contribute to increased fire severity in future decades where fuels remain abundant. The growing prevalence of high‐severity fire in western US forests has important implications to forest ecosystems, including an increased probability of fire‐catalyzed conversions from forest to alternative vegetation types.
How do resilience and self-efficacy relate to entrepreneurial intentions in countries with varying degrees of fragility? A six-country study

Conflict, poverty and weak institutions create hardships for people, societies and economies on a global basis. We investigate macro-societal state fragility and stability. Within this context, and from a microfoundations perspective, we analyse individual-level constructs and particularly, the importance of entrepreneurial self-efficacy and individual resilience in forming the intent to start a business. With primary data from Afghanistan, Iraq, Peru, Tajikistan, the United States and Finland, we find that under stable conditions, a belief in one’s entrepreneurial ability – entrepreneurial self-efficacy – is critical. Conversely, under adverse conditions, as evident in fragile states, the ability to grow from adversity – individual resilience – is the more meaningful resource.
A Review—On Molluscs as an Agricultural Pest and Their Control

Snails and slugs are very harmful pests for crops, vegetables, fruit, ornamental plants, and ecosystem. These creatures are known for destructive nature on cultivated plants. Several species of molluscs such as Achatina fulicva, Laevicaulisalte, Helix aspersa, Theba pisana, Arianta arbustorum, Deroceras, Tandonia, Milax, Arion, Limax, Argiolimax metriculatus, Lehmanniopoirieri, Limacusflavus, Milaxgagates, etc., are the pest which have distractive nature and cause impact on agricultural industries. Therefore, the need for sustainable approaches to control molluscs will become ever-more important. Molluscs’ damages are characterizing by holes and slimy on damage part of the crops and vegetables. Snails and slugs both have similar biologies. They lay eggs during mid-autumn to mid-winter, when favorable moist conditions return after summer. After mating, these lay eggs within two to four week, spherical pearl-white eggs at moist place. After eggs laying its hatch in two to four weeks, but young snails and slugs usually become sexually mature after one year. However, population of molluscs increases accordingly climatic conditions and damage the crops. Populations of the molluscs can be control by uses of different tools and technique such as physical control, chemical control, biological control, bait formulations and by help of different plant derived molluscicides. This review of literatures tries to integrated information on various agricultural pests (molluscs) and their control.