Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Defaults are not a panacea: distinguishing between default effects on choices and on outcomes

Recently, defaults have become celebrated as a low-cost and easy-to-implement nudge for promoting positive outcomes, both at an individual and societal level. In the present research, we conducted a large-scale field experiment (N = 32,508) in an educational context to test the effectiveness of a default intervention in promoting participation in a potentially beneficial achievement test. We found that a default manipulation increased the rate at which high school students registered to take the test but failed to produce a significant change in students’ actual rate of test-taking. These results join past literature documenting robust effects of default framings on initial choice but marked variability in the extent to which those choices ultimately translate to real-world outcomes. We suggest that this variability is attributable to differences in choice-to-outcome pathways – the extent to which the initial choice is causally determinative of the outcome.
The use of modified mRNA encoding platelet-derived growth factor-BB as an innovation in periodontal regeneration

Since the�mRNA platform has been recently introduced to several fields in medicine and the achievement of periodontal regeneration is currently unpredictable, therefore, the use of mRNA technology is a promising approach to pursue the complete periodontal regeneration. The aims of this study are to learn if mRNA encoding platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB) induces PDGF production in human periodontal ligament cells (PDLCs) and to investigate the effect of secreted PDGF on PDLC proliferation and promoting endothelial cell tube formation. PDLCs were obtained from extracted teeth of healthy periodontal patients. The�N1-methylpseudouridine modified mRNA encoding PDGF-BB were transfected into PDLCs. The supernatants were collected from 24-, 48- and 72 h and measured the protein production using ELISA assay. PDLCs were also tested for cell viability. In addition, the supernatants collected at 48 h and 72 h�were used�for proliferation assay and induction of endothelial cell tube formation, respectively. The results showed that PDLCs transfected with mRNA encoding PDGF-BB, produced higher level of intracellular PDGF-BB than the control at 24 h. PDGF-BB was detected in the supernatants started from 24 h and constantly secreted up to 72 h. The transfection of PDLCs by mRNA had no effect on the cell viability. The supernatants containing secreted PDGF-BB were able to promote PDLC proliferation and endothelial cell tube formation. In conclusion, modified mRNA encoding PDGF-BB promotes PDGF-BB production both intra- and extracellularly. Moreover, the supernatants containing PDGF-BB induce PDLC proliferation and endothelial cell tube formation. Thus, mRNA platform technology is possibly applicable for periodontal tissue regeneration.
DEAE-Dextran Coated AgNPs: A Highly Blendable Nanofiller Enhances Compressive Strength of Dental Resin Composites

Micro-crack formation and resultant bacterial infiltration are major causes of secondary caries formation in dental resin-based composite restorations. Improving dental resin composites’ mechanical and biological properties using highly bendable nanoparticles (NPs) can resolve this issue. This study aims to develop novel Diethylaminoethyl (DEAE)-Dextran silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and subsequently modify composite resins with these NPs to enhance their mechanical and antibacterial properties. DEAE-Dextran AgNPs were successfully synthesized using a chemical reduction method that was confirmed with the help of ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Zeta potential, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). Antibacterial activity of a composite disc with DEAE-Dextran AgNPs was tested against Streptococcus mutans, Enterococcus faecalis, and oral microcosm. The composite discs prepared with DEAE-Dextran AgNPs exhibited excellent antibacterial activity compared with composite resin reinforced by simple AgNPs (p < 0.05). Mechanical properties were significantly enhanced by adding DEAE-Dextran into composite resin (p < 0.05). Moreover, unlike AgNPs, DEAE-Dextran AgNPs were found to be less hemolytic. The results establish strong ground applications for DEAE-Dextran-modified dental composite resins in restorative dental applications.
ON THE THEORY OF PARTICLES WITH HIGHER SPINS

An algebraic method for investigating the relativistically invariant equations for particles with higher spins is proposed. The direct product of the generalized Dirac algebras underlies the analysis. The method permits one to determine in an explicit form the matrices of an infinitesimally small rotation, spin, metric, and reflection and also to restrict the number of representations under consideration. The equations can be investigated directly either in the tensor or spin-tensor form. Commutation relations in a parametric form are obtained automatically. (tr-auth)
Rewiring of Glucose and Lipid Metabolism Induced by G Protein-Coupled Receptor 17 Silencing Enables the Transition of Oligodendrocyte Progenitors to Myelinating Cells

In the mature central nervous system (CNS), oligodendrocytes (OLs) provide support and insulation to axons thanks to the production of a myelin sheath. During their maturation to myelinating cells, OLs require energy and building blocks for lipids, which implies a great investment of energy fuels and molecular sources of carbon. The oligodendroglial G protein-coupled receptor 17 (GPR17) has emerged as a key player in OL maturation; it reaches maximal expression in pre-OLs, but then it has to be internalized to allow terminal maturation. In this study, we aim at elucidating the role of physiological GPR17 downregulation in OL metabolism by applying transcriptomics, metabolomics and lipidomics on differentiating OLs. After GPR17 silencing, we found a significant increase in mature OL markers and alteration of several genes involved in glucose metabolism and lipid biosynthesis. We also observed an increased release of lactate, which is partially responsible for the maturation boost induced by GPR17 downregulation. Concomitantly, GPR17 depletion also changed the kinetics of specific myelin lipid classes. Globally, this study unveils a functional link between GPR17 expression, lactate release and myelin composition, and suggests that innovative interventions targeting GPR17 may help to foster endogenous myelination in demyelinating diseases.
Phases at complex temperature : spiral correlation functions and regions of Fisher zeros for Ising models

In this thesis we analyse the Fisher zeros for various Ising models. We show that there is long-range spiral order on the contours of zeros for classical one-dimensional Ising chains and that there is an imaginary “latent heat” associated with crossing those contours. Then we can see how areas of Fisher zeros fill in as we turn the Ising chain into Ising ladders of di↵erent widths, which seems to contradict the standard analysis presented in the literature and can be attributed to a di↵erent approach to the thermodynamic limit. Finally, we report results on frustrated two-dimensional classical Ising lattices, in particular the triangular and the kagomé lattice, and the quantum Ising problem.
The role of family planning counselling during maternal and child health services in postpartum modern contraceptive uptake in Ethiopia: A national longitudinal study

Family planning counselling can help improve the postpartum modern contraceptive uptake. However, studies in Ethiopia indicate inconsistent effects of integrated family planning counselling on postpartum modern contraceptive uptake. This study aimed to determine the extent of family planning counselling and its role in improving postpartum contraceptive uptake among women in Ethiopia. We used the Performance Monitoring for Action (PMA) Ethiopia panel survey data, a community-based prospective cohort study. Randomly selected pregnant women were recruited at the baseline interview and followed by six weeks and six months postpartum. A weighted generalised linear model fitted with a Poisson distribution and a log link function was used to estimate the adjusted relative risk (aRR) and 95% Confidence Interval (CI) of modern contraceptive uptake. The coverages of family planning counselling provision during ANC, prior to discharge and child immunisation were 20%, 27% and 23%, respectively. The modern contraceptive uptakes by six weeks and six months postpartum were 18% and 36%, respectively. Family planning counselling prior to discharge from the facility was associated with increased modern contraceptive uptake by six weeks (aRR 1.25; 95% CI 0.94, 1.65) and six months postpartum periods (aRR 1.07; 95% CI 0.90, 1.27). Moreover, women who received family planning counselling during child immunisation were 35% more likely to use modern contraceptives by six months postpartum (aRR 1.35;95% CI 1.12, 1.62). However, counselling during ANC visits was not associated with modern contraceptive uptake by either six weeks or six months postpartum. A significant proportion of women had missed the opportunity, and the postpartum modern contraceptive uptake was low. Despite these, family planning counselling prior to discharge from the facility and during child immunisation improved the postpartum modern contraceptive uptake. However, our finding revealed insufficient evidence that family planning counselling during ANC is associated with postpartum modern contraceptive uptake.
Realizable reduction of passive networks

Model order reduction (MOR) of electrical networks describing interconnect in integrated circuits has been an area of active research since the early 1990's. The MOR methods studied in this thesis are based on an analogy to Gaussian elimination; however, elimination is applied to differential equations, not algebraic ones, and is applied selectively. Only those variables are eliminated that limit fill-in and that satisfy criteria that ensure the equations after elimination can be worked back into the form of a circuit composed of resistors, capacitors, inductors, and mutual inductances (an RLCM network). We call such techniques Realizable Reduction Methods, a term which highlights a key advantage of our approach: these methods maintain an invariance of form, in the sense that the output is a circuit built out of the same vocabulary of circuit elements as the input. Krylov subspace projection methods (like PVL and PRIMA) don't share this property: their output is a set of differential equations in descriptor form that can only be interpreted as an circuit using an enlarged set of element types including controlled sources. Advantages that realizable methods have over their Krylov competitors are: easy implementation (they don't require, for instance, sparse-matrix solvers or eigen-solvers); great efficiency, due to the O(n) run time associated with local operations on a sparse graph; simple, intuitive error control; the ability to handle very large networks, networks with relatively few elements, and networks with many ports; peace-of-mind robustness; preservation of sparsity; RLCM form as output. Contributions of this thesis include: the idea of integrating by parts the convolution integral; the TICER algorithm, with its central concept of 'nodal time constant'; a theory for simultaneous elimination of nodes from an RC network; Branch Merge Reduction (BMR) for reducing RLCM networks; a careful proof of the sufficiency of τRC and τ LC bounds as criteria in BMR; clarification of why eliminating nodes with more than two incident resistor-inductor branches is problematic; extension of BMR to circuits modeling skin effect; several simple Foster pair synthesis procedures; an version of BMR that handles networks with frequency dependence modeled by Foster-pairs.
Do Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures? The Effect of Crises on Performance Appraisals

ABSTRACT Performance appraisals can have a large impact on organizations and individuals during crises, but they may also be biased by shortcomings in raters’ cognitive processes. Despite the importance of performance appraisals during such periods, only scant research has examined how crises affect cognitive processes in performance ratings. We address this by extending the reflective-impulsive model to develop and test a theoretical model that shows how people assess performance during a crisis. Because crises deplete people’s cognitive resources, we hypothesize that raters will form less accurate impressions of ratees’ task abilities during crises and reduce the weight they assign to ratees’ task abilities in performance ratings. We also hypothesize that raters will positively weight ratees’ team satisfaction more heavily in performance ratings during a crisis, because raters tend to use interpersonal affect as a heuristic during a crisis and feel more positive interpersonal affect toward members who are higher on team satisfaction. Data on members of in-person and virtual teams from before and during the COVID-19 crisis largely support our hypotheses. Our findings respond to calls in the performance appraisal literature to investigate environmental factors; we do so by examining the effect of a critically important environmental factor: a crisis.
Simultaneous Extraction of Four Antibiotic Compounds from Soil and Water Matrices

The incidence of antibiotic resistance is on the rise and becoming a major health concern. Analyzing the presence of antibiotic compounds in the environment is critical for determining the potential health effects for humans, animals, and ecosystems. For this study, methods were developed to simultaneously isolate and quantify four antibiotics important in human medicine (sulfamethoxazole—SMX, trimethoprim—TMP, lincomycin—LIN, and ofloxacin—OFL) in water and soil matrices. For water analysis, different solid phase extraction (SPE) cartridges (Oasis HLB plus and Phenomenex Strata-X) were compared. The Oasis HLB Plus SPE cartridge provided the highest and most consistent recoveries with 118 ± 5%, 86 ± 4%, 83 ± 5%, and 75 ± 1% for SMX, TMP, LIN, and OFL, respectively. For soil analysis, different pre-treatments (grinding and freeze-drying) and soil extraction methodologies (liquid-solid extraction and accelerated solvent extraction (ASE)) were compared. The ASE system resulted in the highest overall recoveries of SMX, TMP, LIN, and OFL with an optimal extracting solution of acetonitrile/water (v/v, 50:50, pH 2.8). When the soil was ground and freeze-dried, trimethoprim recovery increased and when soil was ground, but not freeze-dried, LIN and OFL recoveries increased, while sulfamethoxazole recoveries decreased when soil was ground and freeze-dried. Based on this research, matrix characteristics, especially pH, as well as the pKa’s and functional groups of the antibiotics need to be carefully considered when attempting to extract antibiotic compounds from a water or soil environment.
Individual Evaluation of the Common Extensor Tendon and Lateral Collateral Ligament Improves the Severity Diagnostic Accuracy of Magnetic Resonance Imaging for Lateral Epicondylitis

The effectiveness of magnetic resonance imaging for diagnosing lateral epicondylitis severity is controversial. We aimed to verify whether individual evaluations of the common extensor tendon and lateral collateral ligament would improve the severity diagnostic accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging for lateral epicondylitis. We obtained coronal images of the lateral elbow in three groups: healthy, clinically mild, and clinically severe. We used our scoring system for evaluation using combined and individual methods. We developed the receiver operating characteristic curve for diagnosis using the scores of the healthy and mild groups and that for severity diagnosis using the scores of the mild and severe groups. The scores, in decreasing value, were those of the severe, mild, and healthy groups, with a significant difference in both methods. The curve for diagnosis showed an area under the curve of 0.85 for the combined evaluation and 0.89 for the individual evaluation, without a significant difference between the methods (p = 0.23). The curve for severity diagnosis showed an area under the curve of 0.69 for combined and 0.81 for individual evaluation, with a significant difference between the methods (p = 0.046). Individual evaluation of the common extensor tendon and lateral collateral ligament improved the severity diagnostic accuracy of lateral epicondylitis.
IRC+10216 Unveils Her Heart: A Companion in 2011 Seen By Hubble

For the nearest carbon-rich star IRC+10216 with a very high mass loss rate, there have been observational, indirect indications pointing to the existence of a binary companion, such as a bipolar nebula and a spiral-like circumstellar pattern. However, to date, no companion has been reported. Here, we report that the latest Hubble Space Telescope image at an epoch of 2011 exhibits a dramatic change of its innermost region from at the earlier epochs, revealing a faint point-like object at about 0.5 arcsec from the brightness peak. We interpret the sudden core appearance as due to dissipation of intervening circumstellar dust, in coherence with the brightening trend of the recently released Catalina survey photometric database. We interpret the faint point-like source as the companion and discuss the implications of this discovery, which reinforces the binary-induced mass loss scenarios. IRC+10216 and her orbiting companion deserve careful but confidential monitoring.
Nonlinear spin transport in a rectifying ferromagnet/semiconductor Schottky contact

The electrical creation and detection of spin accumulation in ferromagnet/semiconductor Schottky contacts that exhibit highly nonlinear and rectifying electrical transport is evaluated. If the spin accumulation in the semiconductor is small, the expression for the spin voltage is identical to that of linear transport. However, if the spin accumulation is comparable to the characteristic energy scale that governs the degree of nonlinearity, the spin detection sensitivity and the spin voltage are notably reduced. Moreover, the nonlinearity enhances the backflow of spins into the ferromagnet and its detrimental effect on the injected spin current, and the contact resistance required to avoid backflow is larger than for linear transport. It is also shown that by virtue of the nonlinearity, a nonmagnetic metal contact can be used to electrically detect spin accumulation in a semiconductor.
Soil Erosion Assessment Using the RUSLE Model, Remote Sensing, and GIS in the Shatt Al-Arab Basin (Iraq-Iran)

In the Shatt Al-Arab basin, soil erosion is a major problem due to the steepness of the terrain and the significant difference in altitude between the upstream and downstream parts of the basin. Vast quantities of soil are moved annually, resulting in massive repercussions including soil degradation, structural damage, biodiversity loss, and productivity reduction in the catchment area, huge sediment load, and the pollution of streams and rivers. Consequently, the assessment of soil erosion risk and geographical distribution is essential for constructing a database for developing effective control strategies. Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) was combined with Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information System (GIS) in the current work to define the soil erosion hazard map in the Shatt Al-Arab basin. The RUSLE model included various characteristics for soil erosion zonation including rainfall erosivity, soil erodibility, slope length and steepness, land cover and management, and conservation support practices. Annual erosion rates in this study in tons per hectare were: extremely high (more than 50); very high (50 to 16.5); high (16.5 to 2.2); medium (2.2 to 1); and low (1 to 0) ton ha−1year−1 representing 16, 4, 13, 7, and 60 % of the basin’s area, respectively. The high soil loss rates are associated with heavy rainfall, loamy soil predominance, elevated terrains/plateau borders with a steep side slope, and intensive farming. Managers and policymakers may use the results of this study to implement adequate conservation programs to prevent soil erosion or recommend soil conservation acts if development projects are to proceed in places with a high soil erosion risk.
Decrease in Erosion‐Induced Soil Organic Carbon as a Result of Vegetation Restoration in the Loess Plateau, China

Soil organic carbon (SOC) detachment and transport, especially in the eroded areas, has a profound influence on the global carbon cycling and climate. However, soil organic carbon erosion still has a high uncertainty on land C balance components for lack of a detailed capture of local topography and quantitative factors. Here, aimed at the Loess Plateau (LP) area with undulating terrain, we presented an unprecedentedly high resolution (90 × 90 m) soil erosion model, Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation and the contributions of vegetation to SOC erosion changes were quantified through factorial simulation. Our findings demonstrate soil organic carbon which induced a substantial lateral redistribution by soil erosion was 10.46 Tg C yr−1 over the period 2000–2017, which was a decrease of 21% compared with that before 2000. In the fixed‐NDVI scenario, after 2000, SOC erosion increased by around 7% compared with that before 2000. Agriculture and shrub are the primary source of regional soil erosion and SOC erosion. These findings highlight the importance of lateral transport of SOC as an important process in soil and carbon cycles for future regional carbon cycle assessment.
Investigating the role of snow water equivalent on streamflow predictability during drought

Snowpack provides the majority of predictive information for water supply forecasts (WSFs) in snow-dominated basins across the western US. Drought conditions typically accompany decreased snowpack and lowered runoff efficiency, negatively impacting WSFs. Here, we investigate the relationship between snow water equivalent (SWE) and April-July streamflow volume (AMJJ-V) during drought in small headwater catchments, using observations from 31 USGS streamflow gages and 54 SNOTEL stations. A linear regression approach is used to evaluate forecast skill under different historical climatologies used for model fitting, as well as with different forecast dates. Experiments are constructed in which extreme hydrological drought years are withheld from model training, i.e., years with AMJJ-V below the 15th percentile. Subsets of the remaining years are used for model fitting to understand how the climatology of different training subsets impacts forecasts of extreme drought years. We generally report overprediction in drought years. However, training the forecast model on drier years, i.e., below-median years (P15, P57.5]), minimizes residuals by an average of 10% in drought year forecasts, relative to a baseline case, with the highest median skill obtained in mid to late April for colder regions. We report similar findings using a modified NRCS procedure in nine large UCRB basins, highlighting the importance of the snowpack-streamflow relationship in streamflow predictability. We propose an ‘adaptive sampling’ approach of dynamically selecting training years based on antecedent SWE conditions, showing error reductions of upto 20% in historical drought years relative to the period of record. These alternate training protocols provide opportunities for addressing the challenges of future drought risk to water supply planning.