Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
PALEOECOLOGY OF THE SOUTHERN CHILEAN LAKE DISTRICTÐISLA GRANDE DE CHILO DURING MIDDLEÐLATE

Subantarctic Parkland and SubantarcticÐNorth Patagonian Evergreen Forest, embracing >40,000 14C years of middle and late Llanquihue glaciation, are reconstructed from pollen contained in multiple interdrift deposits and cores of lake sediments. The subantarctic plant communities at low elevations have since been replaced by temperate Valdivian Evergreen Forest. Data in support of the vegetation reconstruction derive from close-interval sampling (>1400 pollen analysed stratigraphic levels) and high-resolution chronology (>200 AMS and conventional radiocarbon-dated horizons). Pollen sequences are from 15 sites, eight of which are exposures and seven mires, located in relation to lobes of piedmont glaciers that occupied Lago Llanquihue, Seno Reloncav, Golfo de Ancud, and the east-central sector of Isla Grande de Chilo at the northern limit of the Golfo Cor-
Performance analysis considering the technical-tactical variables in female judo athletes at different sport skill levels: optimization of predictors

Performance evaluation of female judokas during judo bouts is crucial for their training. The aim of this study was to 1) Compare level of achievement to relevant technical-tactical variables based on the indices of the course of fight and time spent between grip contact and technique application in senior Polish female judo athletes 2) Try to optimize sport skill level predictors using Probabilistic Neural Network (PNN). The sample of 87 Polish senior female judo athletes from all weight categories was divided into Group 1 (n=29) and Group 2 (n=58) using Polish Judo Association ranking places 1-5 and 6-23 respectively. The fights were recorded during 4 national judo tournaments. Group 1 was characterized by significantly better results expressed in indices of activity in attack, efficiency of attacks, efficiency of defense, effectiveness of attacks, and effectiveness of defense, than Group 2 (p<0.05). Moreover, Group 1 significantly predominated over Group 2 (p<0.05) in number of attacks performed in all analyzed ranges of time (1-3s, 4-8s, over 8s), measured from grip contact to technique application. The optimized PNN model of fight using patterns from effectiveness of defense, efficiency of attacks, efficiency of defense, grip time to throw 4-8s showed overall accuracy prediction of 79.3% and accuracy classification for Group 1 and Group 2 of 82.3% and 77.6% respectively. The analyzed variables were able to discriminate between higher and lower performance in elite female judo athletes. Specifically, we found significant differences in analyzed variables of attack and defense actions, and time spent from grip contact to throw action according to sport skill level. These results can be useful in setting standards that should be gradually met during training for competition.
Identification and in-vitro assessment of a glycoprotein elicitor isolated from Colletotrichum falcatum: the causal agent of red rot in sugarcane

The fungal pathogen Colletotrichum falcatum, the causal agent of red rot disease, is one of the most damaging pathogens of sugarcane (Saccharum spp.). The identification of elicitors that initiate defense mechanism in plants against pathogen has become an area of considerable interest in the era where scientists are aiming to reduce the use of fungicides. In this study Colletotrichum falcatum spores were isolated from infected stalk pieces of sugarcane and grown on Czapek Dox agar medium to obtain pure culture. Then spores were obtained from pure culture and grown in Czapek Dox liquid medium for isolation of cell wall elicitor from two week old mycelial mat of Colletotrichum falcatum. Crude elicitor was purified by gel filtration using Sephadex G-200 column. Twenty three fractions were collected and analyzed for the presence of sugars and proteins for further identification of elicitor molecule. Sugarcane callus was prepared from explants of red rot resistant genotype HSF-240 on agar solidified MS basal medium augmented with 3-4 mg L 2,4-D (2,4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid). Suspension cultured cells were prepared after formation of white friable callus which was used for further studies. The third fraction (F3) induced the highest PAL activity (2.181 mol g f. wt. h) and phenolic contents (0.196 mg ml) 6 h after treatment in sugarcane suspension-cultured cells of the resistant genotype, HSF-240, and was considered to have the active elicitor molecules. Moreover, this fraction itself had higher soluble proteins (0.999 mg ml) and sugars (1.87 g ml) which confirmed that the elicitor molecules were glyco-protein in nature. The molecular weight of the elicitor molecule was calculated by drawing a regression plot from the regression equation (y = -66658x + 3) and estimated to be approximately 2133.446 kDa.
Landslides as geological hotspots of CO2 emission: clues from the instrumented Séchilienne landslide, western European Alps

Abstract. This study makes use of a highly instrumented active landslide observatory (9 years of data) in the French Alps, the Sechilienne slope. Here, we use a combination of major element chemistry and isotopes ratios ( 87 Sr / 86 Sr, δ34 S) measured in different water types of the stable and unstable part of the Sechilienne instability to assess the contribution of the different lithologies of the slope and the chemical weathering mechanisms. Chemical and isotopic ratios are used to characterize weathering processes and the origin of waters and their flow paths through the massif. A mixing model allows us to allocate the different major elements to different sources, to identify secondary carbonate formation as a major process affecting solutes in the subsurface waters of the instability, and to quantify the involvement of sulfuric and carbonic acids as a source of protons. We show that the instability creates favorable and sustained conditions for the production of sulfuric acid by pyrite oxidation, by opening new fractures and supplying fresh reactive surfaces. We clearly identify the contribution of the dissolution of each mineral phase to the chemistry of the waters, with a clear role of remote gypsum dissolution to the sulfate budget in the sampled waters. We are also able to refine the preexisting hydrogeological views on the local water circulation and water flow paths in the instability by showing the hydrological connectivity of the different zones. Overall, our results show that the Sechilienne landslide, despite its role in accelerating rock chemical and physical weathering, acts as a geological source of CO 2 to the atmosphere. If generalizable to other large instabilities in mountain ranges, this study illustrates the complex coupling between physical and chemical erosion and their impact on the carbon cycle and global climate. The study also highlights the importance of distinguishing between sulfite oxidation and gypsum dissolution as a source of sulfate ions to rivers, particularly in mountain ranges.
Adaptive Linear Contextual Bandits for Online Recommendations

Contextual bandit algorithms have been successfully applied to online recommender systems by dynamically optimizing a trade-off between exploration and exploitation. However, most existing approaches recommend items to a user based on the user’s all previous preferences, which neglects specific characteristics of various items in online recommendations, especially for those with a variety of preferences. To tackle this problem, in this paper, we propose an adaptive user preference filtering mechanism for online recommendations. Specifically, we develop an adaptive linear upper confidence bound algorithm, i.e., AdaLinUCB , to serve users with contextual bandits. We propose a preference filtering matrix that varies with user preferences. By filtering user preferences according to various items, we recommend the item with highest score to the user adaptively. We propose a coordinate descent method to optimize the bandit parameters with an online sliding window model. Extensive experiments conducted on two benchmark datasets verify the significant improvement of AdaLinUCB against state-of-the-art baselines. In addition, we find such preference filtering matrix has explainable clustering characteristics, which helps to visualize and interpret recommendation results.
Design and Characterization of Optimized Progressive Stacked Electromagnetic Band Gap ( PSEBG ) ground for low profile patch antennas

In this paper, two new Electromagnetic Band Gap structures arranged in stacked configuration are proposed. Named as Stacked Electromagnetic Band Gap (SEBG) and Progressive Stacked Electromagnetic Band Gap (PSEBG) structures. Its surface properties such as Artificial Magnetic Conductor (AMC) and Forbidden band gap (FBG) are determined by using Finite element method (FEM) based 3D electromagnetic (EM) simulator and obtained results are compared with classical mushroom type electromagnetic band gap (MEBG) structure. The proposed unit cell of SEBG and PSEBG structures consist of two layers above the conducting ground plane; a lower layer, contains array of MEBGs with small square patches and an upper layer contains planar MEBG structure. These structures are used as ground plane for low profile microstrip patch antennas. A comparative study is performed to optimize the best electromagnetic band gap reflecting ground, which can enhance the radiation characteristics of operating antenna lying over its surface and exhibit compact ground structure with less wastage in back side. In order to complete the study, return loss and radiation pattern of a rectangular microstrip patch antenna placed above the proposed SEBG and PSEBG as well as reference MEBG ground surfaces are analyzed and compared.
Hola ! Nice to meet you : language mixing and biographical in-2 formation processing 3

In bilingual communities, social interactions take place in both singleand mixed-lan10 guage contexts. Some of the information shared in multilingual conversations is often required in 11 consequent social encounters, like interlocutors’ personal information. In this study we explored 12 whether the autobiographical information provided in a single-language context is better remem13 bered than in an equivalent mixed-language situation. More than 400 Basque-Spanish bilingual 14 (pre-)teenagers were presented with new persons who introduced themselves by either using only 15 Spanish or only Basque, or by inter-sententially mixing both languages. Different memory measures 16 were collected immediately after the initial exposure to the new pieces of information (immediate 17 recall and recognition) and on the day after (delayed recall and recognition). In none of the time 18 points was the information provided in a mixed-language fashion worse remembered than that 19 provided in a strict one-language context. Interestingly, the variability across participants in their 20 sociodemographic and linguistic variables had a negligible impact on the effects. These results are 21 discussed considering their social and educational implications for bilingual communities. 22
HIPPO PATHWAY IN HEMATOPOIETIC STEM CELLS

5 TABLE OF CONTENTS . 7 ARTICLES INCLUDED IN THE THESIS . 9 ABBREVIATIONS . 10 BACKGROUND . 13 Stem cells . 13 Definition and concepts . 13 Pluripotency Embryonic stem cells . 14 Multipotency Adult stem cells . 17 Cues governing stem cells – the niche . 19 Stem cell fitness and competition . 20 Hematopoietic stem cells . 22 Hematopoiesis . 22 The function of the blood and immune system . 22 Discovery of the hematopoietic stem cell . 23 The hematopoietic hierarchy . 24 Hematopoiesis during development . 26 The hematopoietic stem cell niche . 27 Regulation of hematopoietic stem cells . 29 Functional assays for HSCs . 30 The Hippo pathway . 32 Discovery of the Hippo pathway . 32 The Hippo signaling cascade . 32 Hippo signaling redundancy Wwtr1 . 35
Drug Repurposing of potential drug targets for treatment of COVID-19

Drug repurposing has the potential to bring existing de-risked drugs for effective intervention in an ongoing pandemic-COVID-19 that has infected over 131 million, with 2.8 million people succumbing to the illness globally (as of April 04, 2021). We have used a novel `gene signature'-based drug repositioning strategy by applying widely accepted gene ranking algorithms to prioritize the FDA approved or under trial drugs. We mined publically available RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) data using CLC Genomics Workbench 20 (QIAGEN) and identified 283 differentially expressed genes (FDR<0.05, log2FC>1) after a meta-analysis of three independent studies which were based on severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in primary human airway epithelial cells. Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) revealed that SARS-CoV-2 activated key canonical pathways and gene networks that intricately regulate general anti-viral as well as specific inflammatory pathways. Drug database, extracted from the Metacore and IPA, identified 15 drug targets (with information on COVID-19 pathogenesis) with 46 existing drugs as potential-novel candidates for repurposing for COVID-19 treatment. We found 35 novel drugs that inhibit targets (ALPL, CXCL8, and IL6) already in clinical trials for COVID-19. Also, we found 6 existing drugs against 4 potential anti-COVID-19 targets (CCL20, CSF3, CXCL1, CXCL10) that might have novel anti-COVID-19 indications. Finally, these drug targets were computationally prioritized based on gene ranking algorithms, which revealed CXCL10 as the common and strongest candidate with 2 existing drugs. Furthermore, the list of 283 SARS-CoV-2-associated proteins could be valuable not only as anti-COVID-19 targets but also useful for COVID-19 biomarker development.
A Meta-Analysis of Mental Health among Latino Adults: Elucidating Disparities from Differences

Latinos continue to experience acute disparities in access to treatment for mental health, and these differences appear to be worsening with time. However, comparisons between Latinos and non-Latino Whites are of limited utility, because of the heterogeneity of the Latino population with respect to country of origin, migration history, and reception in the United States. This meta-analysis of the recent literature on the heterogeneity of mental health disparities among Latinos by making 3 important comparisons (1) Studies with Comparison across Latino Origin Groups, (2) Studies with Comparison Across Immigration-related Characteristics, and (3) Studies with Comparison with non-Latino Groups.
‘We felt like part of a production system’: A qualitative study on women’s experiences of mistreatment during childbirth in Switzerland

Introduction Mistreatment during childbirth is an issue of global magnitude that not only violates fundamental human rights but also seriously impacts women's well-being. The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of the phenomenon by exploring the individual experiences of women who reported mistreatment during childbirth in Switzerland. Materials and Methods This project used a mixed methods approach to investigate women's experiences of mistreatment during childbirth in general and informal coercion specifically: the present qualitative study expands on the findings from a nationwide online survey on childbirth experience. It combines inductive with theory-guided thematic analysis to study the 7753 comments women wrote in the survey and the subsequent interviews with 11 women who reported being mistreated during childbirth. Results The women described a wide range of experiences of mistreatment during childbirth in both the survey comments and the interviews. Out of all survey participants who wrote at least one comment (n = 3547), 28% described one or more experiences of mistreatment. Six of the seven types of mistreatment listed in Bohren and colleagues' typology of mistreatment during childbirth were found, the most frequent of which were ineffective communication and lack of informed consent. Five further themes were identified in the interviews: informal coercion, risk factors for mistreatment, consequences of mistreatment, examples of good care, and what's needed to improve maternity care. Conclusion The findings from this study show that experiences of mistreatment are a reality in Swiss maternity care and give insight into women's individual experiences as well as how these affect them during and after childbirth. This study emphasises the need to respect women's autonomy in order to prevent mistreatment and empower women to actively participate in decisions. Both individual and systemic efforts are required to prevent mistreatment and guarantee respectful, dignified, and high-quality maternity care for all.
CoPc- and CoPcF16-Modified Ag Nanoparticles as Novel Catalysts with Tunable Oxygen Reduction Activity in Alkaline Media

A new class of non-Pt “hybrid” catalysts is reported that is intended as a lower cost alternative that meets the performance and durability requirements of the oxygen cathode in fuel cells with alkaline electrolytes. These novel hybrid catalysts are cobalt (Co) phthalocyanine on silver (Ag) nanoparticles on a carbon (C) support. For O2 reduction, a catalyst with cobalt phthalocyanine (CoPc) on Ag nanoparticles on carbon (CoPc@Ag/C) or the fully fluorinated cobalt phthalocyanine (CoPcF16) on Ag nanoparticles on carbon (CoPcF16@Ag/C) showed lower overpotentials and higher rate constants at a given potential than did CoPc and CoPcF16 on carbon (CoPc/C and CoPcF16/C) and Ag nanoparticles on carbon (Ag/C). The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity of the cobalt-phthalocyanine-modified Ag nanocatalysts is tuned by adjusting the composition of the metalated phthalocyanine molecules adsorbed on Ag. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and electrochemical characterizations indicate that the ORR on these new c.
Putative Risk Factors of Prostate Cancer in Unscreened Ghanaian Men

African countries with weak health systems and infrastructure are at risk of high incidence and mortality of prostate cancer. The absence of specific causative agents for prostate cancer calls for early detection strategies and the identification of susceptible factors. We undertook a community-based prostate-specific antigen screening of Ghanaian men to ascertain the association between putative risk factors and prostate cancer. Using an adjusted PSA cut-off we found a prostate cancer prevalence of 12.5% with most men diagnosed between 62–77 years (Mean; 69.50 ± 8.46). We found no statitsically significant association between putative risk factors such as obesity, hypertension, intake of alcohol, and smoking with prostate cancer. However, we observed a significant association between age and occupation, and prostate cancer. Prostate cancer is a growing challenge in Ghanaian men. Detection with PSA offers diagnostic significance and may help in reducing the burden in men. Differences in genetic and environmental differences between populations call for a population-specific assessment of risk factors.
IoT Based Irrigation System Powered by Solar Energy

Irrigation of the agricultural sector is a major problem facing most farmers now a days. The problems associated with irriagation are over-irrigation, under-irrigation and manual labour. This paper presents a solar powered IoT(Internet od Things) based irrigation system for paddy fields to have an insightful approach for overcoming labour-intensive work and also to track the water management system. The mian aim is to diminish conventional methods of irrigation and support an intelligent way of watering the paddy fileds to conserve water and limit the over or under irriagation. The system is designed to be powered by a photovoltaic panel that enables smooth operation even during power cuts. The microcontroller is the heart of the device. Two microcontrollers are used to process the data, one of which is integrated with a humidity sensor, a temperature sensor and a humidity sensor. The inputs from these sensors are fed to the first microcontroller and these values are used to activate a solenoid valve that starts irrigation on the basis of soil moisture requirements. The output of the fisrt microcontroller is also fed to the second microcontroller unit, and the data is fed to the ThingSpeak platform, a cloud server powered by Mathworks. Thus, the irrigation cycle takes place without human intervention and can be tracked remotely from any part of the world.
CEO's Overconfidence, Cost stickiness, and Value Relevance of Accounting Information

CEO's overconfidence is one of the essential indices that influences financial policies. When sales decline, overconfident CEOs have overconfidence in their ability to bring sales back to the previous level and tend to overestimate sales, thereby increasing cost stickiness. Further, cost stickiness by manipulating the natural and expected costs process can affect accounting information content. Therefore, the CEO's overconfidence by influencing cost stickiness can also affect the value relevance. This paper shows that there is a positive and significant relationship between overconfidence and cost stickiness. There is also a negative and significant relationship between overconfidence and value relevance. Nevertheless, the effect of overconfidence through cost stickiness on value relevance is not confirmed.
Welfare Effects of Property Taxation Welfare Effects of Property Taxation

We analyze the welfare implications of property taxation. Using a sufficient statistics approach, we show that the tax incidence depends on how housing prices, labor and other types of incomes as well as public services respond to property tax changes. Empirically, we exploit the German institutional setting with 5,200 municipal tax reforms for identification. We find that higher taxes are fully passed on to rental prices after three years. The pass-through is lower when housing supply is inelastic. Combining reduced form estimates with our theoretical framework, we simulate the welfare effects of property taxes and show that they are regressive.