Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Use of Public Health Indicators to Assess Individual Happiness in Post-Disaster Recovery

Purpose: Very few studies have examined the influential factors of survivors’ feelings of happiness in the context of nuclear accidents. This paper aims to fill this gap with reference to the recovery process in Fukushima City following the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake Tsunami in Japan. Methods: Open access data were sourced from the 2015 Social Survey on Living and Disaster Recovery (SSLDR) (N = 1439) of Fukushima citizens. Pearson’s Chi-square Test and the t-test were employed to examine gender differences with regard to happiness and exploratory variables. Following this, a multiple linear regression analysis was conducted to investigate the determinants of happiness. Results: The results showed that, compared to females, male respondents were unhappier and reported more property loss and less neighborhood connectedness. Individuals’ mental and physical health and neighborhood connectedness were found to be significantly correlated with their happiness. However, the disaster-related variables of people’s evaluation of recovery achievement, concerns around the health impacts of radiation, property loss in the disaster, and experiences of casualty, had no effects on happiness. Conclusion: These findings indicate that policies and countermeasures dealing with disaster recovery over the long term should continuously focus on health issues and social relationships.
Quercetin Synergistically Inhibit EBV-Associated Gastric Carcinoma with Ganoderma lucidum Extracts

Mycotherapy has been shown to improve the overall response rate during cancer treatment and reduce some chemotherapy-related adverse events. Ganoderma lucidum is a traditional mushroom used for pharmaceutical purposes. G. lucidum extracts (GLE) showed potential antitumor activities against several cancers. These tumor inhibitory effects of GLE were attributed to the suppression of the proliferation and metastasis of cancer cells. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-associated gastric carcinoma (EBVaGC) is defined as the monoclonal proliferation of carcinoma cells with latent EBV infection. The inhibitory effects of GLE against EBVaGC are questionable. The aim of this study was to investigate GLE as potential antitumor agents and a counterpart of quercetin (QCT) for the cotreatment in suppressing EBVaGC development. Therefore, this study conducted antitumor assays using a EBVaGC xenograft mice model and found that GLE could suppress tumor development. These inhibitory effects were significantly augmented by the low concentration of the quercetin (QCT) cotreatment in the xenograft mice. The addition of GLE in low concentrations synergistically reinforced QCT-induced apoptosis and EBV lytic reactivation. GLE contains various polysaccharides and triterpenes, such as ganoderic acid. Interestingly, the addition of ganoderic acid A (GAA) could produce similar bioactive effects like GLE in QCT-mediated antitumor activity. The GAA addition in low concentrations synergistically reinforced QCT-induced apoptosis and EBV lytic reactivation. GAA was sufficiently effective as much as GLE. Therefore, our results suggested that QCT-supplemented GLE could be a potential food adjunct for the prevention of EBVaGC development.
The PHIST protein GEXP02 targets the host cytoskeleton during sexual development of Plasmodium falciparum

A hallmark of the biology of Plasmodium falciparum blood stage parasites is their extensive host cell remodelling, facilitated by parasite proteins that are exported into the erythrocyte. Although this area has received extensive attention, only a few exported parasite proteins have been analysed in detail, and much of this remodelling process remains unknown, particularly for gametocyte development. Recent advances to induce high rates of sexual commitment enable the production of large numbers of gametocytes. We used this approach to study the Plasmodium helical interspersed subtelomeric (PHIST) protein GEXP02, which is expressed during sexual development. We show by immunofluorescence that GEXP02 is exported to the gametocyte‐infected host cell periphery. Co‐immunoprecipitation revealed potential interactions between GEXP02 and components of the erythrocyte cytoskeleton as well as other exported parasite proteins. This indicates that GEXP02 targets the erythrocyte cytoskeleton and is likely involved in its remodelling. GEXP02 knock‐out parasites show no obvious phenotype during gametocyte maturation, transmission through mosquitoes, and hepatocyte infection, suggesting auxiliary or redundant functions for this protein. In summary, we performed a detailed cellular and biochemical analysis of a sexual stage‐specific exported parasite protein using a novel experimental approach that is broadly applicable to study the biology of P. falciparum gametocytes.
A Chemosensory GPCR as a Potential Target to Control the Root-Knot Nematode Meloidogyne incognita Parasitism in Plants

Root-knot nematodes (RKN), from the Meloidogyne genus, have a worldwide distribution and cause severe economic damage to many life-sustaining crops. Because of their lack of specificity and danger to the environment, most chemical nematicides have been banned from use. Thus, there is a great need for new and safe compounds to control RKN. Such research involves identifying beforehand the nematode proteins essential to the invasion. Since G protein-coupled receptors GPCRs are the target of a large number of drugs, we have focused our research on the identification of putative nematode GPCRs such as those capable of controlling the movement of the parasite towards (or within) its host. A datamining procedure applied to the genome of Meloidogyne incognita allowed us to identify a GPCR, belonging to the neuropeptide GPCR family that can serve as a target to carry out a virtual screening campaign. We reconstructed a 3D model of this receptor by homology modeling and validated it through extensive molecular dynamics simulations. This model was used for large scale molecular dockings which produced a filtered limited set of putative antagonists for this GPCR. Preliminary experiments using these selected molecules allowed the identification of an active compound, namely C260-2124, from the ChemDiv provider, which can serve as a starting point for further investigations.
Casting a Wider Net: Differentiating between Inner Nuclear Envelope and Outer Nuclear Envelope Transmembrane Proteins

The nuclear envelope (NE) surrounds the nucleus with a double membrane in eukaryotic cells. The double membranes are embedded with proteins that are synthesized on the endoplasmic reticulum and often destined specifically for either the outer nuclear membrane (ONM) or the inner nuclear membrane (INM). These nuclear envelope transmembrane proteins (NETs) play important roles in cellular function and participate in transcription, epigenetics, splicing, DNA replication, genome architecture, nuclear structure, nuclear stability, nuclear organization, and nuclear positioning. These vital functions are dependent upon both the correct localization and relative concentrations of NETs on the appropriate membrane of the NE. It is, therefore, important to understand the distribution and abundance of NETs on the NE. This review will evaluate the current tools and methodologies available to address this important topic.
Temporal interpolation of land surface fluxes derived from remote sensing – results with an unmanned aerial system

Abstract. Remote sensing imagery can provide snapshots of rapidly changing land surface variables, e.g. evapotranspiration (ET), land surface temperature (Ts), net radiation (Rn), soil moisture (θ), and gross primary productivity (GPP), for the time of sensor overpass. However, discontinuous data acquisitions limit the applicability of remote sensing for water resources and ecosystem management. Methods to interpolate between remote sensing snapshot data and to upscale them from an instantaneous to a daily timescale are needed. We developed a dynamic soil–vegetation–atmosphere transfer model to interpolate land surface state variables that change rapidly between remote sensing observations. The “Soil–Vegetation, Energy, water, and CO2 traNsfer” (SVEN) model, which combines the snapshot version of the remote sensing Priestley–Taylor Jet Propulsion Laboratory ET model and light use efficiency GPP models, now incorporates a dynamic component for the ground heat flux based on the “force-restore” method and a water balance “bucket” model to estimate θ and canopy wetness at a half-hourly time step. A case study was conducted to demonstrate the method using optical and thermal data from an unmanned aerial system at a willow plantation flux site (Risoe, Denmark). Based on model parameter calibration with the snapshots of land surface variables at the time of flight, SVEN interpolated UAS-based snapshots to continuous records of Ts, Rn, θ, ET, and GPP for the 2016 growing season with forcing from continuous climatic data and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). Validation with eddy covariance and other in situ observations indicates that SVEN can estimate daily land surface fluxes between remote sensing acquisitions with normalized root mean square deviations of the simulated daily Ts, Rn, θ, LE, and GPP of 11.77 %, 6.65 %, 19.53 %, 14.77 %, and 12.97 % respectively. In this deciduous tree plantation, this study demonstrates that temporally sparse optical and thermal remote sensing observations can be used to calibrate soil and vegetation parameters of a simple land surface modelling scheme to estimate “low-persistence” or rapidly changing land surface variables with the use of few forcing variables. This approach can also be applied with remotely-sensed data from other platforms to fill temporal gaps, e.g. cloud-induced data gaps in satellite observations.
Testing soil water repellency in a Sicilian area two years after a fire

The water drop penetration time (WDPT) technique was applied in 2018 to check persistence of soil water repellency (SWR) in a Sicilian mountain area affected by a wildfire on June 2016. A total of four sites, that were severely water repellent immediately after burning, were sampled. Depending on the site, wettable soil conditions, less SWR and maintenance of a noticeable SWR were detected two years later. At the site showing a near-constant SWR, WDPTs were particularly high in the top soil layer (0-0.03 m) and they appreciably decreased more in depth. Signs of decreasing SWR in drier soil conditions and in association with coarser soil particles were also detected at this site. High gradients of the WDPT can occur at very small vertical distances and a depth increment of approximately 0.01 m should be appropriate to capture small-scale vertical changes in SWR, especially close to the soil surface. Occurrence of SWR phenomena is easily perceivable and explainable if an inverse relationship between WDPTs and antecedent soil water content is obtained. A direct relationship between these two variables is more difficult to interpret because infiltration times that increase in wetter soil are expected according to the classical infiltration theory. A hypothesis that should be tested in the future is to verify if WDPTs that decrease in drier soil conditions signal less SWR as a consequence of a reduced biological activity of the soil. Finally, long-term monitoring projects on longevity of fire effects on SWR should be developed, even because an in depth knowledge of the involved processes is relevant for the civil protection system.
Genetic variation in wild populations and farmed stocks of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) in Madagascar

Quatre stocks issus de piscicultures et quatre populations sauvages de tilapias du Nil (Oreochromis niloticus), espèce qui a été introduite initialement à Madagascar il y a soixante ans, ont été évalués pour leurs variations génétiques à partir de l’analyse de neuf locus microsatellites pour déterminer les niveaux de variabilité génétique au sein des populations et les relations génétiques entre ces populations. La diversité allélique recoupait celle qui a été rapportée dans d’autres populations africaines. Il n’y avait ni évidence d’écart dans les fréquences alléliques attendues dans les conditions d’équilibre de Hardy-Weinberg ni de consanguinité dans les populations étudiées. Trois groupes génotypiques distincts ont montré trois introductions séparées (à partir d’Egypte et de l’île Maurice en 1956, et du Japon en 2011) et la présence de génotypes issus de plus d’un groupe dans une même population a fourni la preuve de mélanges. Il y avait des différences significatives entre les populations qui ne provenaient pas du même milieu (sauvage ou d’élevage) ou qui n’étaient pas géographiquement reliées. De par leur diversité génétique, les populations sauvages pourraient être des ressources intéressantes dans la perspective d’un développement de la pisciculture du tilapia du Nil à Madagascar.
THE INTERVAL LATTICE BOLTZMANN METHOD FOR TRANSIENT HEAT TRANSFER IN A SILICON THIN FILM

In this paper the numerical modelling of heat transfer in a two-dimensional crystalline solid is considered. It is assumed that some parameters (the relaxation time and the boundary conditions) appearing in the mathematical model of the problem analyzed are given as interval numbers. The problem discussed has been solved using the interval form of the lattice Boltzmann method using the rules of the directed interval arithmetic [2].
The concept of business clusters and its impact on tourism business improvement

Increasing competition in the tourism market leads to the justified need for forming tourism clusters. Joining in clusters has numerous benefits for cluster members. Clustering leads to increased competitiveness of cluster members, because of the improved productivity and efficiency of work, adopted innovations, development of new technologies and introduction of the new quality standards and better market access. The purpose of this paper was to analyze tourism clusters models and to introduce the most suitable tourism cluster model for Serbia, based on the examples of good practice. Authors conducted a comprehensive literature review and proposed a new definition for cluster and accordingly determined new tourism cluster definition. Context of research is mostly related to cluster members. This paper contributes to research and development of clusters with a particular review of tourism clusters and suggests decision-makers in tourism what is the most suitable tourism cluster model they should consider.
The link between CSR and the board’s role: A theoretical framework on non-financial disclosure

This study aims to review the main organisational theories identifying the significant roles of the board of directors in order to analyse how the board composition influences both CSR activity and disclosure. We present a literature review of the main organisational theories in order to identify their implications for non-financial information disclosure and disclosure of diversity information. The non-financial information is a tool for organisations to discharge their accountability to various stakeholder groups, allowing the organisation to legitimise its performance and manage the perception of its stakeholders and thus preserving its image and the status of legitimacy in society. Moreover, it seems that disclosing the board composition has a positive effect on corporate performance by enhancing transparency, reducing information asymmetry, discharging accountability, signalling legitimacy, and achieving excellence. The main limitation of the study is that the findings could be generalised by applying quantitative research methods, such as a multiple case study approach, which is useful to explore the dissemination of a new phenomenon. In order to define a theoretical framework, for each theory we highlighted its implications for non-financial information disclosure and disclosure of board diversity information. The study aims to contribute to the debate on CSR by providing insights for future research
Computation of the Control Group Size in Randomized Controlled Trials

In this paper the size needed for the control group in a randomized controlled trial is investigated. This is done by studying the fundamental Bayesian statistics that are significant for correctly claiming causal inference and by looking into how and when historical information can be used, it is possible that the historical data needs to be adjusted for covariates before it can be of use. Historic borrowing methods are compared by their mean square error (MSE), type I error, and power. A computation of the optimal number of patients needed for the current control group and a ratio including the effective sample size are included. When historical data is available on sufficiently similar previous studies, the current control group size can be reduced accordingly.
Phytosomes: A Modernistic Approach for Novel Herbal Drug Delivery - Enhancing Bioavailability and Revealing Endless Frontier ofPhytopharmaceuticals

Phytopharmaceuticals are healing the world from millions and billions of years even though their clinical validation is questioned by virtue of their impediments like low lipid solubility, poor stability, large size moiety and needless metabolism in gut. Phytosome technology has emerged as committed and promising targeting novel drug delivery with improved efficacy, quality and target ability of active plant constituents. Novel herbal formulation techniques have assured the researchers to deliver the plant based secondary metabolites to their systemic targets. This review highlights the unique properties of phytophospholipid complex along with their application in the novel natural drug delivery. Various methods employed in phytosomal preparation and characterization along with the phytosomal advantages over conventional herbal extracts is described in the present review. The prospectus of phytosome technique can suggest new directions and endless frontier as novel drug regimen.
One Step Mechanosynthesis of Graphene Oxide Directly from Graphite

Graphene oxide was synthesized by a one-step environmentally friendly mechanochemistry process directly from graphite and characterized by Raman, FT-IR and UV/vis spectroscopies, Atomic Force Microscopy, X-ray Diffraction, Scanning Electron Microscopy, Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy and Thermogravimetric Analysis. Spectroscopic analysis shows that the functional groups and oxygen content of the synthesized material are comparable with those of graphene oxide synthesized by other previously reported methods (Hummers). Thermogravimetric analysis reveals thermal stability up to 400 °C.
Exit and survival in a concentrating industry: The case of daily newspapers in the Netherlands

This paper studies the effects of aggregate, industry-, and firm-specific factors on the exit hazard rates in the market for daily newspapers in the Netherlands from 1950 to 1996. We present a brief overview of the exit literature. On the basis of the existing empirical evidence, we decided to specify and estimate exponential and piecewise constant hazard rate models. We find that exit hazard rates of daily newspapers depend on the circulation size, ownership, and number of incumbents. Moreover, the effects are time-dependent. We do not find any significant effect of macroeconomic factors.
Eye Movements Reveal Delayed Use of Construction-Based Pragmatic Information During Online Sentence Reading: A Case of Chinese Lian…dou Construction

An event-related potential (ERP) study demonstrated that construction-based pragmatic constraints in Chinese (e.g., lian…dou that constrains a low-likelihood event and is similar to even in English) can rapidly influence sentence comprehension and the mismatch of such constraints would lead to increased neural activity on the mismatching word. Here we examine to what extent readers’ eye movements can instantly reveal the difficulties of mismatching constraints when participants read sentences with the structure lian + determiner phrase + object noun + subject noun + dou + verb phrase (VP) + final commenting clause. By embedding high-likelihood or neutral events in the construction, we created incongruent and underspecified sentences and compared such sentences with congruent ones describing events of low expectedness. Relative to congruent sentences, the VP region of incongruent sentences showed no significant differences on first-pass reading time measures, but the total fixation duration was reliably longer. Moreover, readers made more regressions from the VP and the sentence-final region to previous regions in the incongruent than the congruent condition. These findings suggest that the effect of pragmatic constraints is observable during naturalistic sentence reading, reflecting the activation of the construction-based pragmatic information for the late integration of linguistic and extra-linguistic information at sentential level.
The Effect of Audit Partner and Firm Tenure on Audit Quality

In 2016 new regulation on mandatory auditor rotation is introduced to reform the European audit market after the financial crisis, accounting scandals and a loss of trust in the auditing profession. This thesis studies if the alleged threat of long-lasting client-auditor relationships is true and audit tenure negatively impacts audit quality, as proponents of mandatory auditor rotation claim. According to theory, auditor tenure can affect audit quality both negatively through a lower level of independence as positive through a lack of knowledge. Where prior research is mixed in methods and results, this thesis finds evidence for a negative association between tenure at level of the partner and audit quality. It also finds a non-linear relationship between audit tenure at the firmlevel and audit quality that starts of positive, while it becomes negative as tenure increases. Audit quality is measured as discretionary accruals estimated by two versions of the Jones model. The results indicate that the effect through independence takes place at both the level of the partneras firm-level, while the knowledge effect only appears at tenure at the level of the audit firm. These results are supportive towards mandatory auditor rotation, while the terms might need to be reconsidered. Radboud University
What Makes a Review helpful? Predicting the Helpfulness of Italian TripAdvisor Reviews

In this paper we introduce a classification system devoted to predict the helpfulness of Italian online reviews. It is based on a wide set of features reflecting the different factors involved and tested on different categories of TripAdvisor reviews. For this purpose, we collected the first Italian corpus of online reviews enriched with metadata related to their helpfulness and we carried out an in-depth analysis of the most predictive features.1
THE NEW MEASUREMENT OF POLITICAL TRUST RHETORIC DIMENSIONS IN POLITICAL MARKETING COMMUNICATION: THE YOUNG PEOPLE PERSPECTIVE

Purpose: The article conducts the new measurement of political trust rhetoric dimensions in political marketing communication: the young people's perspective. Methodology: This research used survey method. The survey was conducted to 189 respondents, 110 male respondents (58.2%) and 79 female respondents (41.8) using a convenience sampling technique. Respondents in this study are young voters who live in Surakarta and originally from various cities in Indonesia including Java, Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, and Papua. Result: The research shows that the rhetoric dimension can be measured by specific indicators for logos, ethos, and pathos. The research’s findings also indicated that the importance of political trust based on the rhetoric dimensions has different level, particularly from young voter perspective. Applications: This research can be used for the universities, teachers and education students. Novelty/Originality: In this research, the model of the subject-subject model in the conditions of mixed learning is presented in a comprehensive and complete manner.