Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Female Innovative Entrepreneurship and Maternity Risk

I investigate how female innovative entrepreneurship responds to shocks to maternity risk, defined as the possibility of unexpected pregnancies. Exploiting the liberalization of an emergency contraception pill in Italy, combined with cross-sectional variation in access to abortion, I find that lower maternity risk leads to an increase in equity holdings, initial investments, and probability of being executive of younger female founders. Firms with more female-held equity also become riskier but more likely to attract venture capital in their early stages. Therefore, decreasing maternity risk reduces the gender gap in entrepreneurship, and it allows women to select into riskier ventures.
Analysis of a SEIR model with social distancing considerations in the paradigm of COVID-19 outbreak in India

A novel approach of adapting social distancing consideration into a SEIR model is presented, where susceptible, exposed and unidentified compartments are collated under the umbrella of the social-distanced compartment. Another key characteristic of the model is the inclusion of the nature of social distancing to be contingent on the rate of change of the active cases. The methodology and the results exhibiting an excellent fit to the data (upto 3rd March 2021) are presented, in case of the COVID-19 outbreak in India. The model attributed the apparently extensive social distancing, to the socio-geographical factors, unique to India. Also the data exhibited greater rate of infection from a diagnosed case as compared to undetected infection. Finally, it is demonstrated that a very conservative estimate of undiagnosed cases is at least $75\%$ of the total number of cases.
Learning Part-Based Abstractions for Visual Object Concepts

The ability to represent semantic structure in the environment — objects, parts, and relations — is a core aspect of human visual perception and cognition. Here we leverage recent advances in program synthesis to develop an algorithm for learning the part-based structure of drawings as represented by graphics programs. This algorithm iteratively learns a library of abstract subroutines that can be used to more compactly represent a set of drawings by capturing common structural elements. Our experiments explore how this algorithm exploits statistical regularities across drawings to learn new subroutines. Together, these ﬁndings highlight the potential for understanding human visual concept learning via program-like abstractions.
A structural analysis of the decline of home-cooked food * Preliminary and incomplete*

The share of home-cooked food in the diet of households has declined considerably over the past few decades across the developed world. We develop and estimate a structural model of food consumption and time use in the UK to understand the key driving forces. We show that the market price of ingredients for home cooking has declined relative to the price of ready-to-eat foods. However, once we account for the fact that cooking takes time we find that the opposite is true the shadow price of home-cooked food has risen relative to ready-to-eat food. This is because there has been an the increase in the market value of time of secondary earners. We show that increased taxes alone would not be sufficient to incentivise households to shift back to home-cooked food, and decrease their consumption of ready to eat food.
Impact of enterprise resource planning systems on management control systems and firm performance

The aim of this study is to provide empirical evidence of the mediating effect of Supply Chain Management (SCM) on the relationship between enterprise resources planning (ERP) and financial performance. The empirical analysis in this study is based on primary data obtained from a survey of 300 agricultural sector companies with 220 respondents or with a response rate of 73%. This research was conducted with a Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) approach with a test tool using Partial Least Square (PLS). Overall, the findings in this study indicate that Supply Chain Management (SCM) mediates in part the effects of enterprise resources planning (ERP) on financial performance. The results of this study indicate that the implementation of enterprise resources planning (ERP) results in increased financial performance in the long term and Supply Chain Management (SCM) helps companies achieve increased financial performance in the future.
Flexible Pavement maintenance Based on Calibrated Performance Curve.(Dept.C)

In this paper, a performance curve is used to optimize flexible pavement maintenance. The main aim of this study is to develop a performance model based on Benkelman Beam (BB) results by using prediction models derived from the data for Pavement Condition Index (PCI) that was obtained from three districts belonging to the General Authority for Roads, Bridges and Land Transport (GARBLT) which consist of about Central district (26sections), Middle-Delta (22 sections), and East-Delta (14 sections) with a total length of 124 Kilometers. The proposed model was validated by comparing the predicted values with actual (PCI) with a coefficient of determination R^2 () equals 0.87. Structural evaluation of in-service pavements is a key activity for both the project and network-level pavement management systems. Benkelman Beam was used for measuring the deflection. Test points were taken at a distance of 1.5 m from the edge of the pavement. Since the deflections measured by the Benkelman Beam are influenced by the pavement temperature and seasonal variations in climate, therefore, pavement was recorded temperature for making subsequent corrections to the deflection values. Since the Structure Number (SN) evaluation of in-service pavements is a key component for both the Structural Condition Index (SCI), the resulting deflections from (BB) were converted to structural number (SN) using a model and the validity has been checked by taking samples from the pavement layers, which revealed a strong correlation between them with a coefficient of determination (R^2) of 0.62. The structure number in 2018 is predicted from the proposed model and then compared with actual field measurements for the same year. A conclusion is made regarding the validity of the proposed prediction model with a coefficient of determination (R^2) equals 0.91. Since (BB) reading is important to determine Pavement Condition Index (PCI) value.
Environmental, Health and Safety Intricacies of Artisanal Mining in the Gold-rich Landscapes of Karamoja, North-Eastern Uganda

Artisanal small-scale gold mining presents numerous opportunities for Uganda's rural poor. However, it also poses serious environmental, health and safety challenges. A suite of data collection methods including interviews, focus groups discussions, water and soils sampling were used to examine the perceptions of miners on the status, prevalence and extent of mercury use in artisanal gold mining, mercury transit routes and toxicity levels of soils and water in Karamoja sub-region. It also explores the health, safety and environmental implications of artisanal small-scale gold mining in the sub-region. The findings show that trade and access to mercury is widespread; although trade in, access to and its use is highly secretive. Traders access mercury through a number of ways including smuggling across the porous borderline and formal, but covert, importation. Miners then discreetly access it through undercover sales in jewellery shops and in affluent gated communities in Uganda's capital, Kampala. Soil and water samples showed mercury levels that exceeded the minimum acceptable limits of 0.03mg/kg and 0.006mg/l respectively. Further, artisanal small-scale gold mining is associated with massive land clearances and landscape deformations. It has invariably scarred the countryside with piles of waste and uncovered pits that are a source of accidents and ideal breeding grounds for vectors.
Taxonomy at Face Value: An assessment of entomological postage stamps as effective teaching aids for science educators

Entomological postage stamps are unique means of communication of science with the public and have been suggested as effective teaching tools in primary and secondary education. A survey of the taxonomic and other information contained on insectand arachnid-themed stamps issued globally from 1891 to 2020 reveals that 30% of these stamps contain various errors and are scientifically unreliable. In addition, representations of insects are highly biased towards only two orders (Lepidoptera and Odonata), while other mega-diverse orders (e.g. Coleoptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera) are poorly represented or not represented at all. This phenomenon can negatively affect public perception of priorities in biodiversity and conservation. Standardization of taxonomic information on entomological stamps and implementation of rigorous quality control measures are encouraged to assure dissemination of accurate scientific information.
Nanofabrics — The Smart Textile Nida

Nanotechnology is tied in with improving and carrying the up and coming brilliant answers for nanoscale-level merchandise. It is tied in with organizing the particles to change measurements and improvement attributes, for example, brilliant texture. These textures can help makers with the additional significance of expectations for everyday comforts, visual intrigue, and framework needed innovative creations. Particles of nano size may uncover unexpected qualities unlike the mass material. Nanotechnology has multifunctional highlights in the production of textures in the advancement of resistance stain and wrinkles, fire resistant, antimicrobial and antistatic properties, dampness guideline, bright security and discharge attributes. Inside the texture the nanomaterials could impact various characteristics, including decrease electrical conductivity, combustibility and quality. In addition, application of nanotechnology in textile can economically extend not only the properties but also the value of textile processing and manufacturing of nanoproducts.There are variety of methods for the production of nanoengineered textile i.e., smart textiles for example nanoparticle applied as coatings on the exterior of finished product.
Detection of mycotoxins from some micro and macro endophytic ascomycetes fungi

The immense importance of endophytic fungi in industries has attracted the attention of researchers for their chemical and biochemical properties. Some of ascomycetes fungal species like Penicillium, Aspergillus, Neurospora are the novel source of secondary metabolites such as mycotoxins, tannins, alkaloids, terpenoids, etc. Some of the fungal secondary metabolites are useful in pharmaceutical industries for drugs production whereas some mycotoxins are screened to be harmful in most of the cases; hence, it becomes imperative to know the biochemical aspects of wild fungi regarding their usage. This study involves screening of mycotoxins from some endophytic micro ascomycetes fungi e.g. Fusarium solani, Penicillium chrysogenum, Geotrichum candidum (micro fungi) and macro ascomycetes fungi e.g. Xylaria hypoxylon and Daldinia concentrica (macro fungi) through Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) technique which is a simple physicochemical laboratory procedure and conventional analytical method for quantifying the actual amounts of toxins. In TLC, different solvent systems were used for extrication of compounds/mycotoxins based on their colours. The identification of mycotoxins was done by toning the colours on the TLC plates as per available standard methods and protocols in laboratory. The probable detected and tentatively identified mycotoxins on Thin Layer Chromatographic plates that appeared in different colours were Zearlenone (faint blue), Citrinin (yellow or bright yellow), Aspertoxin (pink), Nivalenon acetate (orange) and Diacetoxiscipenol & Beauvericin (light brown to brown). This kind of studies can be helpful in categorizing any wild fungal species as toxigenic or non-toxigenic based on their natural occurrence and either edible or inedible in nature. There are also some mycotoxins that possess medicinal properties and some are harmful, thus, this detection can open new outlooks and prospects of new wild fungal source/s of medicinally important compounds/mycotoxins. The future proposal of this study is to further identify the particular mycotoxin/s available in target fungal species by standardizing the isolation and identification through some advance techniques. Keywords— Daldinia concentrica, Fusarium solani, Geotrichum candidum, Penicillium chrysogenum, Thin Layer Chromatography, Xylaria hypoxylon.
Old questions, new challenges and possible solutions

The growing popularity of international large-scale assessments and surveys, as well as the move from paperto digital-based administration and data collection modes, has led to new challenges and generated demand for new methodological and statistical solutions (Khorramdel, Pokropek, & van Rijn, 2020; Davidov et al., 2014; von Davier et al., 2019). When the number of groups to be analyzed is counted in the hundreds, not tens, and when new types of data like response times (Shin et al. 2020), process data, such as action sequences (von Davier et al., 2019), or text responses (Zehner et al. 2020) are collected and analyzed, new approaches are inevitable. The statistical and methodological community reacted promptly and, in the last two decades, has witnessed an unprecedented growth in models that directly address these new challenges, which have provided new insight and implications for issues of measurement invariance (MI) and the comparability of data, test scores, and measured constructs.
Core Guide: Pilot and Feasibility Studies

 Time commitment needed by interventionists and study participants  Willingness of participants to be randomized  Willingness of clinicians to recruit participants  Number of eligible patients, caretakers or other appropriate participants  Characteristics of the proposed outcome measure (in some cases feasibility studies might involve designing a suitable outcome measure)  Follow-up rates, response rates to questionnaires, adherence/compliance rates  Availability of data needed or the usefulness and limitations of a particular database  Ability to validly and precisely measure variables of interest  Time needed to collect and analyze data
Study on the distribution of SAR and temperature in human brain during radio-frequency cosmetic treatment

This paper established a radio-frequency electrode model and human headmodel used in RF cosmetic instruments. The distribution of electric field strength, a specific absorption rate (SAR), and temperature distribution in the human brain at 1 MHz and 6 MHz were studied and the results compared with the International Commission on Nonionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) guidelines. The results showed that under those two frequencies the maximum value of electric field strength in the human brain was 1.52 V/m and it was about 5.4% of the ICNIRP basic restrictions, the maximum SAR in human brain was about 2.21× 10−3 W/kg, which was far less than 2 W/kg of ICNIRP basic restrictions, themaximum temperature of the human brain was 37.6◦ located in the wounded skin, which was the same as the normal temperature 37◦. Since all the results were within the ICNIRP basic restrictions, the electromagnetic exposure generated by the RF cosmetic electrode will not pose a threat to the human health.
Characteristics and Outcomes of COVID-19 Patients Admitted to Intensive Care Units in a Large Health System in Western Pennsylvania

Importance Despite growing literature, there is still limited understanding of factors that can predict outcomes in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients who require intensive care. Objective To evaluate the characteristics of COVID-19 patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) and identify their associations with outcomes. Background There are limited data on the outcomes in COVID-19 patients in Pennsylvania. Design Retrospective study Setting Intensive care units in an academic health system in Western Pennsylvania. Participants Patients with reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)-confirmed COVID-19 admitted to ICUs as direct admission or transfers from regular floors between March 1, 2020, and April 30, 2020. Main outcome(s) and measure(s) The primary outcome was inpatient mortality. Secondary outcomes included complications during ICU stay, hospital length of stay, discharge disposition, and the need for oxygen at discharge. Categorical variables are described as frequencies and continuous variables as median with interquartile range (IQR). Regression modeling was used to identify the predictors of inpatient mortality in these patients. P-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Analysis was performed using Stata version 15.1 (StataCorp, College Station, Texas). Results The cohort included 58 consecutive patients, with a median age of 62 years (IQR 54-73), 63.8% of which were male. On presentation, constitutional symptoms were the most common (91.4%), followed by lower respiratory tract symptoms (87.9%). Tachypnea (65.5%) and hypoxia (67.2%) were the most common abnormal vital signs at presentation. Common comorbidities were cardiovascular disease (74.1%), obesity (53.5%), and diabetes (39.7%). The median Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) score on admission to ICU was 11 (IQR 8.5-17.5). The major complications included acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) 50.0%, shock 41.4%, and acute kidney injury 41.4%. The proportion of patients who underwent mechanical ventilation, required vasopressors, or were on renal replacement therapy were 58.6%, 41.4%, and 10.3%, respectively. Overall mortality was 32.8%. Age, Charlson-comorbidity index, tachypnea, lymphopenia at presentation, high APACHE score, shock, ARDS, mechanical ventilation, and steroid use were significantly associated with mortality. Of the patients who survived their ICU stay, 63.2% were discharged home and 44.7% had a new oxygen requirement at discharge. Conclusion and relevance Our study reports high mortality in COVID-19 patients requiring ICU care in Western Pennsylvania. Identifying factors associated with poor prognosis could help risk-stratify these patients. Prospective studies are needed to assess whether early risk stratification and triaging result in improved outcomes.
Estimating Bioturbation From Replicated Small‐Sample Radiocarbon Ages

Marine sedimentary records are a key archive when reconstructing past climate; however, mixing at the seabed (bioturbation) can strongly influence climate records, especially when sedimentation rates are low. By commingling the climate signal from different time periods, bioturbation both smooths climate records, by damping fast climate variations, and creates noise when measurements are made on samples containing small numbers of individual proxy carriers, such as foraminifera. Bioturbation also influences radiocarbon‐based age‐depth models, as sample ages may not represent the true ages of the sediment layers from which they were picked. While these effects were first described several decades ago, the advent of ultra‐small‐sample 14C dating now allows samples containing very small numbers of foraminifera to be measured, thus enabling us to directly measure the age‐heterogeneity of sediment for the first time. Here, we use radiocarbon dates measured on replicated samples of 3–30 foraminifera to estimate age‐heterogeneity for five marine sediment cores with sedimentation rates ranging from 2 to 30 cm kyr−1. From their age‐heterogeneities and sedimentation rates we infer mixing depths of 10–20 cm for our core sites. Our results show that when accounting for age‐heterogeneity, the true error of radiocarbon dating can be several times larger than the reported measurement. We present estimates of this uncertainty as a function of sedimentation rate and the number of individuals per radiocarbon date. A better understanding of this uncertainty will help us to optimize radiocarbon measurements, construct age models with appropriate uncertainties and better interpret marine paleo records.
Identification of potential key genes associated with termination phase of rat liver regeneration through microarray analysis

Background and objective: Liver regeneration (LR) is a complex process influenced by various genes and pathways, the majority of the of research on LR focus on the initiation and proliferation phase while studies on termination phase is lacking. We aimed to identify potential genes and reveal the underlying the molecular mechanisms involved in the precise regulation of liver size during the termination phase of LR. Materials and methods: We obtained the rat liver tissue gene datasets (GSE63742) collected following partial hepatectomy (PH) from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) of the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), from which, this study screened the late stage LR samples (7 days post-PH) using the R/Bioconductor packages for the identification of differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Afterwards, we performed enrichment analysis using the database for annotation visualization and integrated discovery (DAVID) online tool. Moreover, the Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting proteins (STRING) database was employed to construct proteinprotein interaction (PPI) networks based on those identified DEGs; the PPI network was then used by Cytoscape software to predict hub genes and nodes. Animal experimentation (Rat PH model) was performed to acquire liver tissues which were then used for western blot analysis to verify our results. Results: The present study identified together 74 significant DEGs, among which, 51 showed up-regulation while 23 presented as down-regulated. As revealed by KEGG pathway enrichment analysis, DEGs were mostly related to pathways such as retinol metabolism, steroid hormone synthesis, transforming growth factor-β (TGFβ) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling. In addition, as suggested by GO enrichment analysis, DEGs were mostly related to the cyclooxygenase P450 pathway, negative regulation of Notch signaling pathway, aromatase activity, steroid hydroxylase activity, exosomes, and extracellular domain. Analyses based on STRING database and Cytoscape software identified genes like Ste2 and Btg2 as the hub genes in the termination stage LR. The obtained results were confirmed by Western blot analysis. Conclusions: Taken together, the microarray analysis in this study suggests that DEGs such as Ste2 and Btg2 are the hub genes, which are associated with the regulation of termination stage LR, while themolecular mechanisms are possibly related to the MAPK and TGF-β signal transduction pathways.