Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Taxonomic reassessment of Helicopsis austriaca Gittenberger, 1969 and its relationships to H. striata (O.F. Müller, 1774) and H. hungarica (Soos & H. Wagner, 1935) (Eupulmonata: Helicoidea)

The taxonomic status of the Austrian endemic Helicopsis austriaca has changed several times since its first description. Originally described at species level, it was later treated as a subspecies of H. striata or more usually as a junior synonym of the latter species. The same applies to H. hungarica. Despite the unclear taxonomy of these taxa, H. austriaca is listed in the Annex II of the European Union Habitats Directive as a species of ‘community interest’. To clarify the taxonomic status of these taxa, an integrative study was conducted comparing the molecular systematics, morphology and biogeography of Helicopsis populations in eastern Austria and adjacent areas. Mitochondrial sequences confirmed H. austriaca, H. hungarica and H. striata as distinct clades. The nuclear histone 4 gene sequences provided a less clear picture. Shell measurements allowed an unambiguous separation of H. austriaca from H. hungarica, but only a partial separation of either taxon from H. striata. While some individuals of H. austriaca have a more globular external shape of the penis than in the other two taxa, detailed sections of the penis revealed an unambiguous separation of the three taxa. On the basis of these data we confirm the species-level status of H. austriaca and H. hungarica. Helicopsis austriaca was confirmed to be an endemic of Lower Austria and a hitherto unknown differentiation of this species into two geographic groups was detected. One group comprises specimens from the type locality and other dry grassland localities (predominately edaphic steppe) in the Viennese Basin; the shells are smaller and can easily be separated from H. striata and H. hungarica without dissection. The other group lives in patches of treeless rock steppe within the primary pine forests of the Northern Limestone Alps and shows some overlap with H. striata in shell dimensions. Helicopsis hungarica is an eastern sandsteppe dweller with a patchy and poorly known distribution, broadly sympatric with H. striata. Helicopsis hungarica is currently known from Hungary, one locality in Austria and probably at one locality in western Russia. Helicopsis striata, on the other hand, is a more northerly distributed taxon, which probably colonized the study area from the north, dispersing southwards along the River Morava to northern Burgenland, southern Slovakia and northwestern Hungary. Study of published sequence data from the eastern parts of the ranges of H. striata and H. hungarica suggest that both require more comprehensive and integrative research.
Digital turbulence compensation of free space optical link with multimode optical amplifier

We demonstrate digital turbulence compensation using a 12-spatial mode digital coherent receiver with a multimode preamplifier that provides a 6-dB sensitivity improvement. This combination acts similarly to ideal lossless adaptive optics. Coherent superposition of 12 spatial-modes reduced median BER from 0.1 to 1×10-5 compared to traditional single-mode detection.
Residents’ views on cruise tourism in Naples Profiles and insights from a Mediterranean home-port destination

This study aims at profiling a quota sample of 600 residents in Naples, a home port in the Campania Region (Southern Italy), based on their perceptions and attitudes toward the development of cruise tourism, and their willingness to support different tourism types. To achieve this aim, a factor-cluster analysis was applied and five clusters were identified, namely ‘indifferent’, ‘moderate lovers’, ‘moderate critics’, and ‘cautious’. Significant differences emerged between the identified groups based on their prior experience with cruise vacation and their relatives’ economic reliance on cruise activity. On the contrary, no significant differences exist based on gender, age, employment status, economic reliance on cruise tourism, education level, length of residence, geographical proximity to cruise port area. Furthermore, no significant differences between clusters were found based on residents’ attitude towards cruise tourism and their support to its further development. Hence, theoretical contributions and managerial implications are addressed, including recommendations for future research.
DESIGN, SYNTHESIS AND BIOLOGICAL EVALUATION OF NOVEL SELECTIVE CANNABINOID RECEPTOR 2 (CB2) LIGANDS WITH THERAPEUTIC POTENTIALS

Cannabinoid receptors 1 and 2 (CB1 and CB2) belong to the rhodopsin-like family of the G-Protein Coupled Receptors (GPCRs). CB1 receptors are highly expressed in the central nervous system, while CB2 receptors are expressed mainly in the immune cells and the periphery. Targeting the CB2 receptors is believed to avoid the psychoactive side effects associated with CB1 receptors. CB2 receptors have been shown to be involved in several physiological functions as well as diseases, such as pain, multiple sclerosis, osteoporosis, and cancer demonstrating the importance of the CB2 receptors. In the present study, we employed chemistry design and discovery to identify novel CB2 ligands, carried out in-vitro functional studies, and evaluated the therapeutic potentials. Several chemical scaffolds were discovered and evaluated. The di-amide scaffold was discovered utilizing pharmacophore drug discovery and molecular docking studies. Several derivatives of the di-amide scaffold demonstrated potent and highly selective CB2 inverse agonists as well as potent anti-osteoclast formation capabilities. The di-amide derivatives suffered from weak anti-multiple myeloma (MM) properties and poor pharmacokinetic properties. A new scaffold was identified utilizing scaffold hopping and molecular docking studies. However, the 2-(sulfonylamino)-2-phenylacetamide scaffold demonstrated weak CB2 binding affinity. Due to the limitation of the two previous scaffolds, virtual high-throughput screening as well as structure-based drug design were utilized for scaffold hopping in order to identify new CB2 scaffolds. A new lead compound was identified and structure activity relationship (SAR) studies were conducted on the scaffold 4-(aminomethyl)-N,N-diethylaniline. Several novel compounds were discovered with high potency and selectivity. Functional experiments showed different functionality (agonist and inverse agonist) of these compounds. Nevertheless, therapeutic studies showed that inverse agonism is essential for the OCL inhibition effects while anti-MM experiments showed that CB2 agonists are more effective than inverse agonists.
CONTROLE ROBUSTO H00/H2 DE SISTEMAS INCERTOS EM TEMPO DISCRETO COM DEPENDˆENCIA POLINOMIAL DE PARÂMETROS

Este trabalho trata da sintese de controle robusto Hinf/H2 para sistemas lineares invariantes no tempo, em tempo discreto, com dependencia polinomial de parâmetros. O problema de controle robusto requer Garantir a estabilidade robusta do sistema e otimizar o desempenho para um numero infinitos de sistemas, o que resulta em um problema de otimizacao semi-infinita de dificil solucao. Em trabalhos anteriores, foi proposta a solucao do problema de controle robusto Hinf/H2 atraves de um procedimento de dois passos, sintese e analise, implementados pelos algoritmo Cone-Elipsoidal e metodo Branch-and-Bound. Posteriormente foi proposto aplicar o metodo Evolucao Diferencial para ambos os passos do procedimento. Considerando sistemas com incertezas parametricas, e possivel obter uma reducao consideravel no custo computacional da etapa de analise substituindo o modelo poli topico por um modelo dependente de parâmetros. Este trabalho apresenta uma nova implementacao do procedimento de sintese de dois passos para considerar modelos com dependencia polinomial de parâmetros que permite a sua utilizacao para problemas mais complexos com menor custo computacional. ´E apresentado um exemplo ilustrativo para demonstrar a capacidade da nova implementacao.
Antioxidative Capacities of Phytochemicals in Selected Fruit Peels

Fruit by-products in the form of peels are generally considered as wastes but they may contain significant amounts of antioxidants which can serve as basis for the alternative uses. The peels of a total of 36 kinds of fruits were subjected to rapid screening for their antioxidative capacities using a revised version of the thiocyanate method. From the results of the rapid screening, the 10 best performing kinds of fruits were selected for further assay of their peels using different extraction solvents (methanol or diethyl ether) and different peel conditions (fresh or dry). The antioxidative capacities are expressed in terms of the Oxidation Protection Efficiency (OPE). The extracts with methanol showed superior OPEs, in general, compared to those with ether indicating the dominant chemical nature of the antioxidants. Drying, on the other hand, generally led to decreases in the OPEs. Topping the list with their very high OPEs are: Garcinia mangostana (mangosteen), Nephelium lappaceum (rambutan), Diospyros blancoi (mabolo), Mangifera indica (mango), and Ananas comosus (pineapple). Their OPEs ranged from almost 100% down to 80%.
Prise en charge de l’ostéoporose après fracture sévère par le médecin généraliste chez la patiente âgée : une étude descriptive

Contexte et objectif : l’osteoporose fracturaire, qui est associee a une augmentation de la morbi-mortalite, est un probleme majeur de sante publique. Elle concerne particulierement les sujets âges. A la suite des recommandations du GRIO de 2012, permettant de sursoir a la realisation d’une osteodensitometrie et de traiter d’emblee apres une fracture severe, notre objectif etait d’evaluer la prise en charge post-fracturaire des medecins generalistes a un an. Methode : nous avons recrute toutes les patientes de plus de 75 ans hospitalisees a l’hopital de Pau pour fracture osteoporotique severe, non traitees par un traitement anti osteoporotique specifique, sur une periode de 6 mois en 2015. Le recueil de donnees s’est fait par l’envoi d’un courrier au medecin traitant et par la lecture des courriers de sortie d’hospitalisation. Le critere principal de jugement etait la prescription a un an d’un traitement anti osteoporotique et/ou l’avis d‘un specialiste. Resultats : 129 patientes ont ete incluses, nous avons eu une reponse pour 47 % d’entre elles. 31 % avaient eu une prise en charge adequate a un an et 83% recevaient une supplementation vitaminique. La prescription d’un traitement etait plus souvent observee chez les medecins femmes (p< 0,05). La suggestion ou la prescription d’un traitement en sortie d’hospitalisation concernait 30% des patientes recrutees. Conclusion : l’osteoporose fracturaire reste insuffisamment prise en charge chez le sujet âge, tant en ambulatoire qu’en intra hospitalier.
Thermal and Morphological Properties of Polyvinyl Alcohol-based Hydrogel Containing Microcrystal Cellulose

: In this work, the PVA-based hydrogels containing various loading of microcrystal cellulose (MCC: 0; 0.2; 0.4; 0.6 and 0.8) g were prepared in a bench-scale reflux-reactor using water as a solvent in an optimized condition. Other constituents added, i.e. acrylic acid (AA) and N’N-Methylene bisacrylamide (MBA) as comonomers as well as ammonium persulphate ((NH4)2S2O8) as initiator was keeping their composition ratio constant. Products of the interpenetrating-hydrogels were cast in plastic mold and cooled, and then characterized. First of all, their absorption properties and were measured using swelling test to know optimum conditions and the next will be characterized with FTIR, DSC, and SEM. Results showed that the optimum composition ratio of PVA/AA/MCC/MBA/APS = 0.4/4/0.6/0.06/0.2 enhanced the water absorption. FTIR analysis of the film specimen after exhaustive extraction in n-hexane still contained stable AA-carbonyl (C=O) absorption peak at 1713 cm -1 of hydrogel 1 and 1707 cm -1 of hydrogel 4. The thermal properties of the optimized composition of the hydrogel 1 showed its stable decomposition temperature (thermal stability of 482.28 o C). Morphological properties of the interpenetrating-hydrogel micro composites also showed finely distributed of the micro filler, which is responsible for its improved mechanical and thermal properties.
La gestione della relazione terapeutica in un'ottica cognitivo-costruttivista ed evolutiva

Nel presente articolo la relazione psicoterapeutica e considerata in una prospettiva costruttivista, evolutiva e interpersonale. Si propone un modello a tre assi del funzionamento umano, che rende conto delle diverse possibili organizzazioni del se e delle loro possibili declinazioni su livelli diversi di funzionamento metacognitivo. Per ogni asse vengono quindi descritti i diversi possibili criteri di osservazione e di utilizzo clinico della relazione terapeutica. Su un primo asse viene valorizzata la consapevolezza nel terapeuta riguardo allo stile di regolazione emotiva e alla organizzazione dei sistemi di memoria proprio e del paziente in vista di una loro adeguata sintonizzazione e complementarieta nelle diverse fasi del processo psicoterapeutico. Sul secondo asse, si sottolinea come il lavoro di riparazione delle inevitabili rotture dell’alleanza di lavoro vada costantemente riportato agli specifici temi dolorosi e ai significati personali caratteristici del paziente da un lato e del terapeuta dall’altro. Sul terzo asse, vengono evidenziati i caratteristici modelli interpersonali dei pazienti con forti limitazioni nelle funzioni metacognitive insieme ad alcune attenzioni da porre nella gestione dei relativi cicli interpersonali.
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE, KOMITE AUDIT, KUALITAS AUDIT, DAN MANAJEMEN PAJAK (Studi Empiris Pada Perusahaan Yang Terdaftar di Indeks LQ45 Periode 2014-2018)

The aim of this study is to examine the influence of corporate governance, audit committee and audit quality on tax management of the company. Independent variable used in this study are corporate governance which is measured by proxies of number of commissioners, percentage of independent commissioner, compensation of board of commissioner and board of directors, audit committee is measured by proxies of number of audit committee of the company while audit quality is proxied by size of public accountant firm. Dependent variable is tax management which is measured by effective tax rate (ETR) The population used in this study consist of firms that listed on LQ45 index on Indonesia Stock Exchange in 2014-2018. The sampling method used in this study is purposive sampling and obtained 23 companies every year. This study uses multiple regression analysis for hypotheses testing. The results of this study showed that number of commissioner has no effect on tax management measured by tax expense and by cash tax paid, percentage of independent commissioner has negative effect on tax management measured by tax expense but has no effect on tax management measured by cash paid, compensation of board commissioner and directors has negative effect on tax management measured by tax expense and by cash paid, audit committee has no effect on tax management measured by tax expense but has negative effect on tax management measured by cash paid, audit quality has negative effect on tax management measured by tax expense and has no effect on tax management measured by cash paid.
15-Deoxy-Δ12,14-Prostaglandin J2 (15d-PGJ2) Signals Through Retinoic Acid Receptor–Related Orphan Receptor-α but Not Peroxisome Proliferator–Activated Receptor-γ in Human Vascular Endothelial Cells

Objective— 15-Deoxy-Δ12,14-prostaglandin J2 (15d-PGJ2), a natural ligand of the peroxisome proliferator–activated receptor-γ (PPARγ), has been shown to inhibit proinflammatory gene expression, but the signaling mechanisms involved remain unclear. Because retinoic acid receptor–related orphan receptor-α (RORα) has been reported to suppress tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)–induced expression of proinflammatory genes, we hypothesized that 15d-PGJ2 may induce RORα expression resulting in inhibition of proinflammatory gene expression. Methods and Results— We demonstrate that 15d-PGJ2 induced RORα1 and RORα4 expression and inhibited TNF-α–induced vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) expression in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). In contrast, the synthetic PPARγ ligand pioglitazone weakly induced RORα4 expression but did not affect RORα1 expression or TNF-α–induced gene expression. Biphenol A diglycidyl ether, a PPARγ antagonist, did not block t.
Factors that influence the quality of relationship between exporters and foreign intermediaries in relation to SMEs’ export performance

This study aims to investigate factors that influence the relationship quality between Malaysia SMEs exporter and foreign intermediaries. This paper draws insights from two integrating theories such as social capital theory (SCT) and internationalization process (IP) theory to evaluate the synergistic consequences of several constructs such as cultural similarity, effective communication, knowledge sharing and trust on export performance. The model is tested using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) via Smart PLS on a sample of 203 SME exporters in Malaysia. The findings revealed that all hypotheses are supported. The research highlights that cultural similarity is a catalyst in internationalization process and show the mechanism on how cultural similarity can influence effective communication and knowledge sharing thus impetus trust which finally reflect the performance outcomes. The findings extended the application of the underpinning theories and their tenets in explaining the Malaysian SMEs’ export performance use foreign intermediaries.
Handbook of Solid State Batteries and Capacitors

Mathematical Modelling of Solid State Power Sources (J-Y Chern) Silver Ion Conducting Electrolytes (T Takahashi) Copper Ion Conducting Electrolytes (R Linford) Reliability and Clinical Assessment of Pacemaker Power Sources (J Lin & E Schroeppel) Electrochemistry of Conducting Polymers (W H Smyrl) Polymer Synthesis, Properties and Performance of Solid State Polymer Electrode Cells (B Scrosati) Synthesis and Properties of Novel Ion Conducting Polymers (A G Einset & G Wnek) Spectroscopic Studies of Ion Conducting Polymers (L M Torell) Status of Polymer Electrolyte Battery Development in North America (D Fauteux) Plasticized Ambient Temperature Polymer Electrolyte Batteries (S Yde-Andersen) Solid Redox Polymerization Electrodes (S Visco). (Part contents).
The AI Driving Olympics: An Accessible Robot Learning Benchmark

Despite recent breakthroughs, the ability of deep learning and reinforcement learning to outperform traditional approaches to control physically embodied robotic agents remains largely unproven. To help bridge this gap, we have developed the “AI Driving Olympics” (AI-DO), a competition with the objective of evaluating the state-of-the-art in machine learning and artiﬁcial intelligence for mobile robotics. Based on the simple and well speciﬁed autonomous driving and navigation environment called “Duckietown,” AI-DO includes a series of tasks of increasing complexity—from simple lane-following to ﬂeet management. For each task, we provide tools for competitors to use in the form of simulators, data logs, code templates, baseline implementations, and low-cost access to robotic hardware. We evaluate submissions in simulation online, on standardized hardware environments, and ﬁnally at the competition events. We have held successful AI-DO competitions at NeurIPS 2018 and ICRA 2019, and will be holding AI-DO 3 at NeurIPS 2020. Together, these competitions highlight the need for better benchmarks, which are lacking in robotics, as well as improved mechanisms to bridge the gap between simulation and reality.
Impacts of Deep-Sea Mining on Microbial Ecosystem Services

Interest in extracting mineral resources from the seafloor through deep-sea mining has accelerated substantially in the past decade, driven by increasing consumer demand for various metals like copper, zinc, manganese, cobalt and rare earth elements. While there are many on-going discussions and studies evaluating potential environmental impacts of deep-sea mining activities, these focus primarily on impacts to animal biodiversity. The microscopic spectrum of life on the seafloor and the services that this microbial realm provides in the deep sea are rarely considered explicitly. In April 2018, a community of scientists met to define the microbial ecosystem services that should be considered when assessing potential impacts of deep-sea mining, and to provide recommendations for how to evaluate these services. Here we show that the potential impacts of mining on microbial ecosystem services in the deep sea vary substantially, from minimal expected impact to complete loss of services that cannot be remedied by protected area offsets. We conclude by recommending that certain types of ecosystems should be “off limits” until initial characterizations can be performed, and that baseline assessments of microbial diversity, biomass, and biogeochemical function need to be considered in environmental impact assessments of all potential instances of deep-sea mining.
Preparation and Characterization of Tungsten Trioxide (WO3) Particles and Their Photocatalytic Performances for Methylene Blue Degradation

: Tungsten trioxide (WO 3 ) nanoparticles were successfully synthesized using sodium tungstate dihydrate (Na 2 WO 4 .2H 2 O, as WO 3 source) via facile sol-gel method. This study aims to synthesize WO 3 and to investigate the effects of Na 2 WO 4 precursor concentration on the particle morphology, crystallinity, and photocatalytic performance. The prepared particle can be activated under UV irradiation and showed good photocatalytic efficiency for methylene blue (MB) degradation. The results showed WO 3 dose-dependent photocatalytic performance toward 10 mg/L MB degradation. The adsorption kinetics of MB to the WO 3 catalyst surface can be evaluated and fit by using the pseudo-first-order kinetic adsorption model. The photodegradation test showed that the concentration (C t /C o ) of 180 ml of MB decreases rapidly up to 88% with 110 mg of WO 3 for 2h irradiation.
Shorter fixation durations for up-directed saccades during saccadic exploration: A meta-analysis

Utilizing 23 datasets, we report a meta-analysis of an asymmetry in presaccadic fixation durations for saccades directed above and below eye fixation during saccadic exploration. For inclusion in the meta-analysis, saccadic exploration of complex visual displays had to have been made without gaze-contingent manipulations. Effect sizes for the asymmetry were quantified as Hedge’s g. Pooled effect sizes indicated significant asymmetries such that during saccadic exploration in a variety of tasks, presaccadic fixation durations for saccades directed into the upper visual field were reliably shorter than presaccadic fixation durations for saccades into the lower visual field. It is contended that the asymmetry is robust and important for efforts aimed at modelling when a saccade is initiated as a function of ensuing saccade direction.