Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Educational expansion and declining religiosity in Italy: a pathway to support for gender egalitarianism among men and women?

In the last decades, cultural norms connected to the role of women in society have been changing in many countries. Support for gender egalitarianism has been on the rise throughout the Western world in countries such as the US (Cotter et al., 2011), Australia (van Egmond et al., 2010), Italy (Lomazzi, 2017) and it has been reported also from cross-national studies (Inglehart, Norris, 2003; Seguino, 2007). Is this observed shift in values due to changes in the composition of the population, or due to changes in individuals’ opinions due to change-inducing factors? Previous research that has compared levels of support for gender egalitarianism over time and across different birth cohorts (Brewster, Padavic, 2000; Cotter et al., 2011) has found mostly period effects, “but the impetus for change continues to be unclear” (Davis, Greenstein, 2009, 91). Over the past three decades, the average Italian has become more likely to endorse gender egalitarianism (Lomazzi, 2017). The shift from norms emphasizing traditional gender roles to norms supporting gender equality is often explained by structural and cultural developments such as rising levels of educational attainment and declining religiosity (Inglehart, 1997). However, these theoretical expectations are seldom tested empirically. Since the 1950s Italian education expanded rapidly. While in the 1940s the number of enrolled students in Italian universities has been below 0.5 million, it has become about 2 million in the 1990s (Triventi, Trivellato, 2009). Religiosity, on the other hand, is declining in Italy, as documented by Pisati (2000) and more recently by Vezzoni et al. (2015) showing that attendance at Mass in Italy has decreased since the 1960s, despite a period of stability in the 1980s. This article contributes to the literature by empirically investigating the question of to what extent the processes of educational expansion in terms of university graduates and declining religiosity have affected views on the societal roles of men and women in Italy. The analysis also sheds light on the extent to which these processes have differential effects among men and women. This is not to say that education and religiosity are the only factors affecting attitudes to gender egalitarianism and I do not deny the role of other factors such as,
User-Side Indoor Localization Using CSI Fingerprinting

We consider a scalable User Equipment (UE)-side indoor localization framework that processes Channel State Information (CSI) from multiple Access Points (APs). We use CSI features that are resilient to synchronization errors and other hardware impairments. As a consequence our method does not require accurate network synchronization among APs. Increasing the number of APs considered by a UE profoundly improves fingerprint positioning, with the cost of increasing complexity and channel estimation time. In order to improve scalability of the framework to large networks consisting of multiple APs in many rooms, we train a multi-layer neural network that combines CSI features and unique AP identifiers of a subset of APs in range of a UE. We simulate UE-side localization using CSI obtained from a commercial raytracer. The considered method processing frequency selective CSI achieves an average positioning error of 60cm, outperforming methods that process received signal strength information only. The mean localization accuracy loss compared to a non-scalable approach with perfect synchronization and CSI is 20cm.
Quasi-Consensus of Disturbed Nonlinear Multiagent Systems with Event-Triggered Impulsive Control

Considering the external disturbances, in this paper, the quasi-consensus of multiagent systems is studied via event-triggered impulsive control. By designing a novel event-triggered mechanism (ETM), sufficient conditions to realize leader-following quasi-consensus are derived with event-triggered impulsive control. Additionally, Zeno behavior is also excluded. It is shown that the event-triggered frequency is closely related to the parameters selected in the designed ETM, and less conservative results can be obtained compared with the existing results. Finally, a simulation example is given to demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed results.
Citicoline Modifies the Expression of Specific miRNAs Related to Cardioprotection in Patients with ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction Subjected to Coronary Angioplasty

Extracellular vesicles are recognized as signaling mediators between cells both in physiological and pathological communication. In this work, we explored the potential effect of citicoline to modify relevant proteins or miRNAs for cardioprotection in the smallest population of such microvesicles; i.e., in exosomes from patients diagnosed with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) undergoing coronary angioplasty. The plasma-exosome-enriched fraction from these patients was characterized. Their cellular origin was assessed by flow cytometry and Western blot, whereas miRNA expression was evaluated by real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The content of caveolin-1, caveolin-3, and hnRNPA2B1, which play a relevant role in selective transport of miRNAs into microvesicles, along with the effect on cell viability of the exosomes obtained from citicoline-treated and untreated groups were also analyzed. Our results showed that hypoxic stress increases exosome release into the circulation. Moreover, we found that CD146+ increased in exosomes from citicoline-treated patients, while CD142+ decreased in these patients compared to the placebo group. No changes were detected in the protein levels of caveolin-1, caveolin-3, and hnRNPA2B1. Citicoline administration modified the expression of miR233-3p, miR92, and miR21-5p in exosomes. Cell viability decreased in the presence of exosomes from infarcted patients, while incubation of H9c2 cells with exosomes from patients reperfused with citicoline did not affect cell viability. In conclusion, citicoline administration modifies the expression of specific miRNAs related to cardioprotection in exosomes.
Synthesis of poly(styrene-N-hydroxymethyl acrylamide) microspheres and their application in patterned photonic crystals

In order to achieve bright and durable structural colors, the poly(styrene-N-hydroxymethyl acrylamide) nanospheres with self-crosslinking property were used as structural units to construct patterned photonic crystals. In this article, we thoroughly explore the effect of synthesis factors on particle sizes and monodispersity of poly(styrene-N-hydroxymethyl acrylamide) nanospheres, with the characterization of the performance of prepared poly(styrene-N-hydroxymethyl acrylamide) nanospheres. Then the color effects and durability of structural colors produced from poly(styrene-N-hydroxymethyl acrylamide) photonic crystals were characterized and evaluated. The results showed that the monodisperse poly(styrene-N-hydroxymethyl acrylamide) nanospheres with particle sizes ranging between about 200∼320 nm could be synthesized. The prepared poly(styrene-N-hydroxymethyl acrylamide) nanospheres exhibit typical core-shell structure, in which the hydrophobic polystyrene domain is mainly located on the core, and there is a thin shell mainly rich in hydrophilic Poly(N-hydroxymethyl acrylamide) covering the polystyrene core. Moreover, the poly(styrene-N-hydroxymethyl acrylamide) nanospheres have self-crosslinking properties, which could be confirmed by the thermogravimetric curve. Furthermore, the photonic crystals constructed by prepared poly(styrene-N-hydroxymethyl acrylamide) nanospheres still present vivid and durable structural colors after friction, bending, washing and soaking tests. Specifically, the patterned photonic crystals can be constructed on photo paper, plastic board and fabrics, and the resultant structural colors present significantly iridescent effects. The research results can provide strategic support for the practical application of photonic crystals with structural colors.
Overexpression of Heat Shock Protein 70 Ameliorates Meat Quality of Broilers Subjected to Pre-Slaughter Transport at High Ambient Temperatures by Improving Energy Status of Pectoralis Major Muscle and Antioxidant Capacity

The induction of heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) potentially mediates meat-quality development under stress conditions. To investigate the effects and mechanism of HSP70 on the meat quality of the pectoralis major (PM) muscles of broilers exposed to pre-slaughter transport, a total of 168 broilers were intraperitoneally injected with L-glutamine (Gln) or saline. Twenty-four hours later, broilers were subjected to transport or held under normal living conditions. The results indicated that acute Gln supplementation significantly increased HSP70 expression in the PM of transported broilers (p < 0.05). The overexpression of HSP70 significantly alleviated the decreases in muscle pH and water-holding capacity and improved the shrinking of muscle fibers induced by transport (p < 0.05). HSP70 induction increased ATP content, decreased the activities of glycolytic enzymes, and lowered the phosphorylation level of AMP-activated protein kinase in transported broilers (p < 0.05). In addition, the overexpression of HSP70 greatly increased total superoxide dismutase and the total antioxidant capability and decreased the levels of reactive oxygen species, malonaldehyde, and carbonyls in the PM of transported broilers (p < 0.05). Overall, this work indicated that HSP70 could effectively improve the meat quality of transported broilers by improving the energy status, inhibiting glycolytic influx, and restoring redox homeostasis.
An Adapted Frame on Indicatrix Bundle of a Finsler Manifold and its Geometric Properties

In this paper, a frame is introduced on tangent bundle of a Finsler manifold in a manner that it makes some simplicity to study the properties of the natural foliations in tangent bundle. Moreover, we show that the indicatrix bundle of a Finsler manifold with lifted sasaki metric and natural almost complex structure on tangent bundle cannot be a sasakian manifold.
Intensity-Modulated Fiber-Optic Sensor: A Novel Grid Measurement Unit

This article presents a novel approach to physical-displacement-based power grid measuring via an intensity-modulated fiber-optic sensor (IMFOS). An IMFOS utilizes one fiber to transmit the intensity modulated light from its electro-optic controller to a fiber-optic probe. The power grid voltage and current can induce physical displacements in transducers via the piezoelectric effect and the Lorentz law, respectively, which then result in a distance change between the optical probe and the reflective surface of the transducers. In parallel, multiple fibers are used to collect the reflective light for electro-optic conversion. A National-Instruments-based characterization platform is set up for performance evaluation. The testing result demonstrates that the IMFOS is immune to the inherent dc and low-frequency saturation issues prevalent in conventional potential and current transformers. Finally, the IMFOS is implemented in a universal grid analyzer to illustrate its applicability for phasor estimation in actual power grids.
Corynoline Alleviates Osteoarthritis Development via the Nrf2/NF-κB Pathway

Purpose OA is a multifactorial joint disease in which inflammation plays a substantial role in the destruction of joints. Corynoline (COR), a component of Corydalis bungeana Turcz. , has anti-inflammatory effects. Materials and Methods We evaluated the significance and potential mechanisms of COR in OA development. The viabilities of chondrocytic cells upon COR exposure were assessed by CCK-8 assays. Western blot, qPCR, and ELISA were used to assess extracellular matrix (ECM) degeneration and inflammation. The NF-κB pathway was evaluated by western blot and immunofluorescence (IF). Prediction of the interacting proteins of COR was done by molecular docking, while Nrf2 knockdown by siRNAs was performed to ascertain its significance. Micro-CT, H&E, Safranin O-Fast Green (S-O), toluidine blue staining, and immunohistochemical examination were conducted to assess the therapeutic effects of COR on OA in destabilization of medial meniscus (DMM) models. Results COR inhibited ECM degeneration and proinflammatory factor levels and modulated the NF-κB pathway in IL-1β-treated chondrocytes. Mechanistically, COR bound Nrf2 to downregulate the NF-κB pathway. Moreover, COR ameliorated the OA process in DMM models. Conclusion We suggest that COR ameliorates OA progress through the Nrf2/NF-κB axis, indicating COR may have a therapeutic potential for OA.
Aging Analysis Framework of Windows-Based Systems through Differential-Analysis of System Snapshots

: When a Windows-based system is used for an exceedingly long time, its performance degrades, and the error occurrence rate tends to increase. This is generally called system aging. To investigate the reasons for system aging, various studies have been conducted within the range of the operating system kernel to the user application. However, finding an accurate reason for system performance degradation remains challenging research topic. In this study, system monitoring was conducted by dividing a system into ‘before software installation,’ ‘after software installation,’ and ‘after software removal. ’ We confirmed that when a software installed in a system is removed, various system elements, such as storage and memory, are not restored to the level prior to the software installation. Consequently, we established a hypothesis regarding the performance degradation of a computer system owing to repeated software installation/removal operations, investigated the correlation between system aging and repeated software installation/removal operations, and proposed a system aging analysis framework for analyzing the reason behind system aging. In the proposed system aging analysis framework, we aim to forcibly age a Windows-based system by repeating the software installation/removal operation by utilizing the system forced aging module. The framework identifies the elements affecting system performance through a differential data analysis of the system time-series data extracted by the system performance extraction and system component snapshot modules. Consequently, the aging analysis framework presented in this study is expected to be effectively utilized as an index for studying
The Effects of Increasing Fruit and Vegetable Intake in Children with Asthma on the Modulation of Innate Immune Responses

Children with asthma are at risk of acute exacerbations triggered mainly by viral infections. A diet high in fruit and vegetables (F&V), a rich source of carotenoids, may improve innate immune responses in children with asthma. Children with asthma (3–11 years) with a history of exacerbations and low F&V intake (≤3 serves/d) were randomly assigned to a high F&V diet or control (usual diet) for 6 months. Outcomes included respiratory-related adverse events and in-vitro cytokine production in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), treated with rhinovirus-1B (RV1B), house dust mite (HDM) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS). During the trial, there were fewer subjects with ≥2 asthma exacerbations in the high F&V diet group (n = 22) compared to the control group (n = 25) (63.6% vs. 88.0%, p = 0.049). Duration and severity of exacerbations were similar between groups. LPS-induced interferon (IFN)-γ and IFN-λ production showed a small but significant increase in the high F&V group after 3 months compared to baseline (p < 0.05). Additionally, RV1B-induced IFN-λ production in PBMCs was positively associated with the change in plasma lycopene at 6 months (rs = 0.35, p = 0.015). A high F&V diet reduced asthma-related illness and modulated in vitro PBMC cytokine production in young children with asthma. Improving diet quality by increasing F&V intake could be an effective non-pharmacological strategy for preventing asthma-related illness by enhancing children’s innate immune responses.
How Can Service-Learning Shape the Political Perspectives of Pre-Service Teachers? A Program in the Field of Physical Education

Active and democratic citizenship promotion has become a critical challenge for higher education, and civic engagement is a fundamental axis not only in education but also in fostering democratic systems. Consequently, teacher educators held a prominent role through their own teaching practices to generate contexts promoting critical thinking, skills and attitudes. The aim of this study was to analyze the learning related to the political dimension developed by pre-service teachers (n = 123) after participating in a Service-Learning program through physical education with children at risk or/and student with educational needs. This research followed a qualitative research approach and we based the analysis of reflective diaries on Gorham’s (2005) categories regarding political learning: Critical political thinking, Interest in politics, Deliberation and Political judgment. The findings show a development in learning such as civic attitudes, critical political thinking, awareness of social justice problems, increased civic compromise and responsibility. The Service-Learning program, therefore, may have been an adequate option to develop pre-service teachers’ learning related to a political perspective. Therefore, these findings let us understand how Service-Learning may foster equity and social justice among future teachers.
An algorithm for node clustering targeting swarm of cyberphysical systems

The increased number of nodes found in next-generation systems, such as the swarm of CyberPhysical nodes, impose new challenges related to their organization. Throughout this paper a novel algorithm aiming to address this problem, is introduced. The proposed solution relies on a public-available genetic algorithm. Experimental results highlight the superiority of introduced solution, as it achieves superior performance as compared to well-established relevant algorithms.
Orbital Angular Momentum Modes (De)Multiplexer Without Mode Conversion Based on Strongly Guiding Coupled Ring-Core Fibers

The mode-matching/finite-element (MM/FE) method based on complex power matching is applied for the design of strongly guiding coupled ring-core fibers (RCFs) to modulate orbital angular momentum (OAM) beams. The evolutions of polarization and OAM states of light in the coupler are investigated. Due to the effects of linear birefringence and spin-orbit interaction (SOI), the OAM beam with opposite polarization and topological charge (TC) is observed at a certain distance to the end of the coupler after the coupling region in the form of complex supermodes. The impacts of separation distance and wavelength on the maximum coupling efficiency and inter-modal crosstalk are investigated to achieve the optimum trade-off between the crosstalk and the coupling length. Two types of OAM couplers with separated OAM modes of TC <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\boldsymbol{l} = \pm\mathbf{1}$</tex-math></inline-formula> are proposed, both of which can achieve high coupling efficiency (<inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\bf >\! \! \text{99}\% }$</tex-math></inline-formula>) and low crosstalk (<inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\bf < \! \! - \text{21}\;\mathbf{dB}$</tex-math></inline-formula>) at 1550 nm wavelength without mode conversion. The proposed design approach has great potential in the (de)multiplexing of OAMs since it leads to a novel mechanism for sorting OAM modes in waveguides without destroying the integrity of OAM modes.
A machine learning-based approach for generating high-resolution soil moisture from SMAP products

Abstract The coarse resolutions of passive microwave surface soil moisture (SSM) products often hamper the applications of such products in regional or local studies. This study developed a machine learning-based approach for the downscaling of Soil Moisture Active and Passive (SMAP) SSM products at both ascending and descending passes based on the relationships between SSM and environmental variables, such as the land surface temperature (LST), enhanced vegetation index (EVI), surface albedo, cumulative precipitation, digital elevation model (DEM), and soil texture. Two machine learning algorithms—random forest (RF) and long short-term memory network (LSTM)—were applied to downscale the SMAP product from a coarse resolution (36 km) to a fine resolution (1 km). The downscaled SSM results were validated against ground observations. The contributions of environmental variables to the established model were also discussed. The results showed that both RF and LSTM models demonstrated satisfactory performance in SMAP SSM prediction, indicating that the downscaling models were able to learn the relationships between the environmental variables and SMAP SSM well at coarse resolution. The RF and LSTM-based downscaled SSM maps not only realized full spatial coverage but also reasonably maintained the spatiotemporal evolution trends of the original SMAP SSM products. Both downscaled results correlated well with the ground observations and indicated good temporal consistency with the daily precipitation. In addition, the variable importance analysis reveals that the DEM, precipitation, EVI, and surface albedo were dominant to establishing SSM regression models, particularly for DEM in regions with large height differences. Overall, RF and LSTM-based models are promising downscaling approaches for generating full spatial coverage and fine-resolution SSM data from passive microwave SSM.
Non-Invasive Evaluation of Polymeric Protective Coatings for Metal Surfaces of Cultural Heritage Objects: Comparison of Optical and Electromagnetic Methods

The application of protective coatings is an effective preventive strategy to avoid metal corrosion. Constant monitoring of the coating’s quality is fundamental for the successful preservation of the metallic objects by reducing their interaction with corroding agents. Their evaluation over time helps to identify failure at early stages and promote their removal and substitution. Several methods have been employed for coating evaluation (i.e., chemical analysis, thickness and homogeneity investigation). In this paper, we compare three methods—Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT), Confocal Raman Microspectroscopy (CRM), and Eddy Currents (ECs)—to evaluate thickness values and coating integrity. The results from the two optical techniques (CRM and OCT) agree, being able to detect the inhomogeneity of the layer on a micron scale but requiring correction to account for the refraction phenomenon. The Eddy Current is a fast and efficient method for thickness estimation, providing data with millimetric lateral resolution.
Finite Ordered Sets: Concepts, Results and Uses

Ordered sets are ubiquitous in mathematics and have significant applications in computer science, statistics, biology and the social sciences. We present the first book to dealing exclusively with finite ordered sets. Five chapters are devoted to definitions of key concepts and fundamental results (ranked orders, Dilworth's and Sperner's theorem, Galois connection and residuation, duality between orders and distributive lattices, coding and dimension theory). The last - and larger - chapter presents uses of these structures in fields such as preference modelling and aggregation, operational research and management, cluster and concept analysis, and data mining. Exercises are included at the end of each chapter with helpful hints or references provided for the most difficult ones. We also point to further topics of ongoing research. At last there are appendices devoted to algorithmic complexity, documentation marks, types and numbers of ordered sets, about 500 references, a list of symbols and a (substantial) index.