Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effectiveness of government environmental auditing in the industrial manufacturing structure upgradation

This paper is based on “Opinion of the Audit-Commission on Strengthening Resource and Environmental Auditing” issued by the Audit Commission in 2009. The commission suggested studies on the impact of industrial structure upgradation in the manufacturing enterprises in China, based on 2006 to 2008 stocks of the listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen. Propensity Score Matching (PSM) and Differences-in-Differences (DID) were used to test the induced effect of the policy on industrial structure upgradation by comparing the experimental and control groups before and after policy implementation. The study found that government environmental auditing (GEA) upgrades the structure of the manufacturing industry. The data also reveals that the positive impact of GEA on the upgradation of industrial structure was significantly manifested in state-owned enterprises (SOEs). The findings validate the governance effect of GEA, expand the perspective of industrial structure upgradation in manufacturing enterprises, and provide suggestions on the regulatory effect in the industrial transformation of enterprises.
Comparing university organizational units and scientific co-authorship communities

A co-authorship network of scientists at a university is an archetypical example of a complex evolving network. Collaborative R&D networks are self-organized products of partner choice between scientists. Modern science is, due to the immanent imperative of newness, strongly interdisciplinary. Crossovers between the different scientific disciplines and organizational units are observable on a daily basis. Since collaborative research has become the dominant and most promising way to produce high-quality output, collaboration structures are also a target for research and management design. We study co-authorship covered by the Citation Index within University College Dublin, a large Irish university. We focus especially on collaborations between organizational units, such as schools or colleges. We compare the centrality of the brokerage individuals within their organizational units. The network of co-authorship is analyzed with standard network measures, with typical features for complex networks observed. We use the bipartite network of authors and papers for the identification of communities of collaborators and clusters of papers. The observed communities are compared to the formal organizational units of the university.
Genetic diversity of Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus in cattle in France between 2018 and 2020

Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus (BVDV) is one of the main pathogens that affects ruminants worldwide, generating significant economic losses. Like other RNA viruses, BVDV is characterized by a high genetic variability, generating the emergence of new variants, and increasing the risk of new outbreaks. The last report on BVDV genotypes in France was in 2008, since which there have been no new information. The goal of this study is to determine the genetic diversity of BVDV strains currently circulating in France. To this aim, samples of cattle were taken from different departments that are part of the main areas of livestock production during the years 2018 to 2020. Using the partial sequence of the 5'UTR region of the viral genome, we identified and classified 145 samples corresponding to Pestivirus A and one sample corresponding to Pestivirus D. For the Pestivirus A samples, the 1e, 1b, 1d, and 1l genotypes, previously described in France, were identified. Next, the 1r and 1s genotypes, not previously described in the country, were detected. In addition, a new genotype was identified and was tentatively assigned as 1x genotype. These results indicate an increase in the genetic diversity of BVDV in France.
The moderating role of transformational leadership on the relationship between deviant workplace behaviors and employee turnover intentions in China

This study aimed to analyze the effect of deviant workplace behaviors, such as mistreatment, bullying, and incivility on employee turnover intention and identify the transformational leadership role as a moderator. The data was collected through a survey questionnaire with the help of a purposive sampling technique. A total of 318 respondents’ data was gathered from university academic and general staff in China. The results were analyzed through SPSS and structural equation modeling structural equation modeling (SEM) software. The findings indicate that deviant workplace behavior, i.e., mistreatment, bullying, and incivility, significantly affect employee turnover intention. Moreover, a result shows that transformational leadership has a significant moderating role on the relationship between turnover intention and workplace bullying and incivility but was insignificant between turnover intention and workplace mistreatment. Lastly, implications and limitations were also discussed in this article.
Narcissistic traits and compassion: Embracing oneself while devoiding others

Grandiose narcissistic traits refer to exploitative and arrogant attitudes, while vulnerable narcissistic traits entail hypersensitivity to judgment and low self-esteem. Little is known about how individuals with narcissistic traits can improve their attitudes toward themselves and others. The current research puts self- and other compassion forward as possible targets to alleviate some of destructive patterns of narcissism. Generally, self-compassion (SC) has previously been associated with beneficial effects on psychological wellbeing, while other compassion (OC) is advantageous for interpersonal relationships. This study explored the relationship between narcissistic traits and the efficacy of experimental compassion inductions. Student and community participants (N = 230, Mage = 27.41, 65.2% female) completed grandiose and vulnerable narcissistic trait, SC and OC state questionnaires, and either an SC or OC induction. It was expected that individuals with higher narcissistic traits (particularly grandiose traits) would benefit from the inductions and show higher SC after but would have greater difficulty showing meaningful increases in OC (especially OC directed at the general population). The results indicated that individual differences in grandiose and vulnerable narcissistic traits are related to the magnitude of improvements following the inductions: the theorized lack of SC in individuals with vulnerable oversensitivity to judgment traits seems possible to be counteracted through different types of compassion exercises. Moreover, higher grandiose exploitativeness–entitlement and global vulnerable narcissistic traits related to less increases than others. However, directly inducing OC in individuals with these traits was linked to greater OC improvements than improvements after inducing SC. Overall, the present findings suggest that self-compassionate behavior can be improved in individuals with high oversensitivity and that other compassionate behavior could potentially be increased if, specifically, other compassion exercises are utilized when higher levels of certain narcissistic traits are present.
Oligochitosan fortifies antioxidative and photosynthetic metabolism and enhances secondary metabolite accumulation in arsenic-stressed peppermint

The current study was designed to investigate whether application of irradiated chitosan (ICn), a recently established plant growth promoter, can prove effective in alleviating arsenic (As) stress in peppermint, a medicinally important plant. This study investigated how foliar application of ICn alleviated As toxicity in peppermint (Mentha piperita L.). Peppermint plants were treated with ICn (80 mg L−1) alone or in combination with As (10, 20, or 40 mg kg−1 of soil, as Na2HAsO4·7H2O) 40 days after transplantation (DAT), and effects on the growth, photosynthesis, and antioxidants were assessed at 150 DAT as stress severely decreases plant growth, affects photosynthesis, and alters enzymatic (ascorbate peroxidase, superoxide dismutase) and non-enzymatic (glutathione) antioxidants. When applied at 40 mg kg−1, ICn significantly decreased the content of essential oil (EO) and total phenols in peppermint by 13.8 and 16.0%, respectively, and decreased phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) and deoxy-D-xylulose-5-phosphate reductoisomerase (DXR) activities by 12.8 and 14.6%, respectively. Application of ICn mitigated the disadvantageous effects caused by As toxicity in peppermint by enhancing activities of antioxidative enzymes and photosynthesis and increased accretion of secondary metabolism products (EOs and phenols). An enhancement of total phenols (increased by 17.3%) and EOs (36.4%) is endorsed to ICn-stimulated enhancement in the activities of PAL and DXR (65.9 and 28.9%, respectively) in comparison to the control. To conclude, this study demonstrated that foliar application of ICn (80 mgL−1) effectively promoted the growth and physiology of peppermint and eliminated As-induced toxicity to achieve high production of EO-containing crops grown in metal-contaminated soils.
The value of plasma insulin-like growth factor 1 and interleukin-18 in the diagnosis of bronchopulmonary dysplasia in premature infants

Objective To explore the diagnostic value of IGF-1 and IL-18 in premature infants with BPD. Methods Through a prospective observational study, the serum samples of infants in the BPD group and the non-BPD group were collected at different targeted time points, and the serum IGF-1 and IL-18 concentrations were dynamically monitored by ELISA. The Student t-test and one-way analysis of variance were adopted to analyze data, and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to test the diagnostic value. Result A total of 90 VLBW premature infants admitted to NICU between January 2020 and 2021 were finally included. Compared with the non-BPD group, infants diagnosed with BPD had a significantly lower serum concentration of IGF-1 (P < 0.05) but a higher level of IL-18 (P < 0.05) on days 1, 7, 14, and 28 after birth. With the ROC curve analysis, the serum concentration IGF-1 on day 14 and IL-18 on day 28 reported high sensitivity and specificity to predict the risk of BPD (IGF-1: sensitivity: 89.29%, specificity: 77.78%, AUC: 0.8710; IL-18: sensitivity: 53.57%, specificity: 83.33%, AUC: 0.7887). And more substantial predictive power was found in combined analysis of IGF-1 and serum IL-18 on day 14: the sensitivity was 91.07% and the specificity was 83.33%, with the AUC of 0.9142. Conclusion IGF-1 and IL-18 might be closely involved in the occurrence and development of BPD. The serum concentration of IGF-1 combined with IL-18 could be potentially sensitive markers for the early diagnosis and severity of BPD.
The consistent second-order theory of wave/structure interaction

Abstract : The consistent second-order theory of the interaction of regular gravity waves with a fixed object in water of finite depth is developed. The theory is carried out for the most general case of a body of arbitrary shape which may extend through the free-surface or be completely immersed. The incident wave evolves in the development as a second-order Stokes' wave. Boundary-value problems are established for both the first- and second-order velocity potentials and a numerical method based on the Green's function is outlined. The determination of forces exerted by gravity waves on large structures immersed in the sea has become of great practical interest in recent years. for example, in the design of bottom-mounted oil storage facilities or large ocean caissons, the wave-induced horizontal and up-lift forces and overturning moments are factors of primary importance. The effect of large amplitude waves in particular is of importance in the determination of the permanence of an ocean structure and, therefore, a higher-order theory appears to have significant practical value. For example, Apelt and Macknight (1976) found measured forces on a ocean caisson model in fairly large-amplitude shallow-water waves to be considerably in excess of calculations based on linear diffraction theory.
Multiple migrations from East Asia led to linguistic transformation in NorthEast India and mainland Southeast Asia

NorthEast India, with its unique geographic location in the midst of the Himalayas and Bay of Bengal, has served as a passage for the movement of modern humans across the Indian subcontinent and East/Southeast Asia. In this study we look into the population genetics of a unique population called the Khasi, speaking a language (also known as the Khasi language) belonging to the Austroasiatic language family and residing amidst the Tibeto-Burman speakers as an isolated population. The Khasi language belongs to one of the three major broad classifications or phyla of the Austroasiatic language and the speakers of the three sub-groups are separated from each other by large geographical distances. The Khasi speakers are separated from their nearest Austroasiatic language-speaking sub-groups: the “Mundari” sub-family from East and peninsular India and the “Mon-Khmers” in Mainland Southeast Asia. We found the Khasi population to be genetically distinct from other Austroasiatic speakers, i.e. Mundaris and Mon-Khmers, but relatively similar to the geographically proximal Tibeto Burmans. The possible reasons for this genetic-linguistic discordance lie in the admixture history of different migration events that originated from East Asia and proceeded possibly towards Southeast Asia. We found at least two distinct migration events from East Asia. While the ancestors of today’s Tibeto-Burman speakers were affected by both, the ancestors of Khasis were insulated from the second migration event. Correlating the linguistic similarity of Tibeto-Burman and Sino-Tibetan languages of today’s East Asians, we infer that the second wave of migration resulted in a linguistic transition while the Khasis could preserve their linguistic identity.
Lessons learned from immunological characterization of nanomaterials at the Nanotechnology Characterization Laboratory

Nanotechnology carriers have become common in pharmaceutical products because of their benefits to drug delivery, including reduced toxicities and improved efficacy of active pharmaceutical ingredients due to targeted delivery, prolonged circulation time, and controlled payload release. While available examples of reduced drug toxicity through formulation using a nanocarrier are encouraging, current data also demonstrate that nanoparticles may change a drug’s biodistribution and alter its toxicity profile. Moreover, individual components of nanoparticles and excipients commonly used in formulations are often not immunologically inert and contribute to the overall immune responses to nanotechnology-formulated products. Said immune responses may be beneficial or adverse depending on the indication, dose, dose regimen, and route of administration. Therefore, comprehensive toxicology studies are of paramount importance even when previously known drugs, components, and excipients are used in nanoformulations. Recent data also suggest that, despite decades of research directed at hiding nanocarriers from the immune recognition, the immune system’s inherent property of clearing particulate materials can be leveraged to improve the therapeutic efficacy of drugs formulated using nanoparticles. Herein, I review current knowledge about nanoparticles’ interaction with the immune system and how these interactions contribute to nanotechnology-formulated drug products’ safety and efficacy through the lens of over a decade of nanoparticle characterization at the Nanotechnology Characterization Laboratory.
Fast iterative method for seismic wave travel time calculation under undulating surface conditions

Seismic wave travel time is an important seismic attribute information and is widely used in various seismic forward and inversion methods, including seismic migration imaging, seismic tomography, seismic wave forward modeling and other core seismic data processing methods. The accuracy and efficiency of the travel time algorithm are important for the above methods. In the practical application of seismic exploration, it is often carried out under the condition of undulating surface, which has a significant impact on the travel time calculation. Therefore, it is of great significance to study an efficient and high-precision travel time calculation method that can adapt to undulating surface condition. In this paper, Fast iterative method (FIM) is modified to a topography travel time calculation method. The method employs an iterative method to solve the equation of function to obtain seismic wave travel time by maintaining a narrow band called the active list, and the algorithm can update all grid nodes in the active list at a time. We will verify the travel time computing power of the FIM method through several different velocity models.
Genetic and morpho-physiological analyses of the tolerance and recovery mechanisms in seedling stage spring wheat under drought stress

Drought is one of the complex abiotic stresses that affect the growth and production of wheat in arid and semiarid countries. In this study, a set of 172 diverse spring wheat genotypes from 20 different countries were assessed under drought stress at the seedling stage. Besides seedling length, two types of traits were recorded, namely: tolerance traits (days to wilting, leaf wilting, and the sum of leaf wilting), and recovery traits (days to regrowth, regrowth biomass, and drought survival rate). In addition, tolerance index, recovery index, and drought tolerance index (DTI) were estimated to select the most drought tolerant genotypes. Moreover, leaf protein content (P), amino acid (AM), proline content (PRO), glucose (G), fructose (F), and total soluble carbohydrates (TSC) were measured under control and drought conditions to study the changes in each physiological trait due to drought stress. All genotypes showed a high significant genetic variation in all the physio-morphological traits scored under drought stress. High phenotypic and genotypic correlations were found among all seedling morphological traits. Among the studied indices, the drought tolerance index (DTI) had the highest phenotypic and genotypic correlations with all tolerance and recovery traits. The broad-sense heritability (H2) estimates were high for morphological traits (83.85–92.27), while the physiological traits ranged from 96.41 to 98.68 under the control conditions and from 97.13 to 99.99 under drought stress. The averages of the physiological traits (proteins, amino acids, proline, glucose, fructose, and total soluble carbohydrates) denoted under drought stress were higher than those recorded under well-watered conditions except for proteins. In this regard, amino acids, glucose, and total soluble carbohydrates had a significant correlation with all morphological traits. The selection for drought tolerance revealed 10 tolerant genotypes from different countries (8 genotypes from Egypt, one from Morocco, and one from the United States). These selected genotypes were screened for the presence of nine specific TaDREB1 alleles. Six primers were polymorphic among the selected genotypes. Genetic diversity among the selected genotypes was investigated using 21,450 SNP markers. The results of the study shed light on the different mechanisms for drought tolerance that wheat plants use to tolerate and survive under drought stress. The genetic analysis performed in this study suggested the most suitable genotypes for selective breeding at the seedling stage under water deficit.
A systematic review on the role of melatonin and its mechanisms on diabetes-related reproductive impairment in non-clinical studies

Background Diabetes-induced reproductive complications can lead to subfertility and infertility, raising the need to protect reproductive organs. There are limited medications used to improve reproductive health in diabetic patients. Melatonin, mainly produced by the pineal gland, may improve diabetes-associated reproductive complications through various mechanisms and may be a preferred candidate to protect the reproductive system. The present review aims to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of melatonin’s effect on the reproductive system adversely affected by diabetes mellitus (DM). Methods A comprehensive systematic literature electronic search was done using the PRISMA guidelines. Web of Science, PubMed, Embase, and Scopus were searched for publications up to June 2022. Search terms were selected based on the study purpose and were explored in titles and abstracts. After screening, out of a total of 169 articles, 14 pertinent articles were included based on our inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results The results of studies using rats and mice suggest that DM adversely affects reproductive tissues, including testes and epididymis, prostate, corpus cavernosum, and ovary leading to alterations in histological and biochemical parameters compared to the normal groups. Treatment with melatonin improves oxidative stress, blocks apoptosis induced by endoplasmic reticulum stress and caspase activation, reduces pro-inflammation cytokines, and enhances steroidogenesis. Conclusion Melatonin exerted a protective action on the impaired reproductive system in in-vivo and in-vitro models of DM. The topic has to be followed up in human pregnancy cases that will need more time to be collected and approved.
ATF6α contributes to rheumatoid arthritis by inducing inflammatory cytokine production and apoptosis resistance

Objective The contribution of activating transcription factor 6α (ATF6α) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) pathogenesis, especially on fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLSs), has been suggested by its sensitivity to inflammatory stimulus. However, the exact role and therapeutic potential of ATF6α in RA remains to be fully elucidated. Methods ATF6α expression was determined in joint tissues and FLS, and gain-of-function and loss-of-function analyses were applied to evaluate the biological roles of ATF6α in RA FLSs. A murine collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) model, combining both gene deletion of ATF6α and treatment with the ATF6α inhibitor Ceapin-A7, was employed. Joint inflammation, tissue destruction, circulating levels of inflammatory cytokines were assessed in CIA mice. Transcriptome sequencing analysis (RNASeq), molecular biology, and biochemical approaches were performed to identify target genes of ATF6α. Results ATF6α expression was significantly increased in synovium of RA patients and in synovium of mice subjected to CIA. ATF6α silencing or inhibition repressed RA FLSs viability and cytokine production but induced the apoptosis. CIA-model mice with ATF6α deficiency displayed decreased arthritic progression, leading to profound reductions in clinical and proinflammatory markers in the joints. Pharmacological treatment of mice with Ceapin-A7 reduced arthritis severity in CIA models. RNA-sequencing of wild-type and knockdown of ATF6α in RA FLSs revealed a transcriptional program that promotes inflammation and suppresses apoptosis, and subsequent experiments identified Baculoviral IAP Repeat Containing 3 (BIRC3) as the direct target for ATF6α. Conclusion This study highlights the pathogenic role of ATF6α-BIRC3 axis in RA and identifies a novel pathway for new therapies against RA.