Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Gender equality in academic governance: Organizational approaches and collective attitudes

In Latin America and the Caribbean region, female presence at governance boards accounts for only thirteen (12.7) percent (Credit Suisse Research Institute, 2021). This dissertation focuses on Colombian public universities, because they have one of the lowest female representations at boards despite being listed as organizations regulated by the national gender quota. Not to mention the notorious mismatch in terms of compliance between official and empirical data. Thus, further assessments were needed to determine the actual state of affairs among these organizations. Also, to inform future organizational practices, the analysis concentrates on cases that have already achieved gender parity. Main Findings • The recurrent designation of women in directive positions that entail supportive rather than leading function reflects an underlying gendered ideology emanating from critical actors in charge of the direct appointment of directive staff. These figures of authority are usually represented by men in U1 as opposed to the state of affairs in U2, which has been historically led by women. • The extended academic and administrative communities of both cases support both policies and non-compulsory gender equality initiatives and actions, but among interviewees (staff members at the directive level) the enactment of equality policies was mainly supported by women. • Findings are a combination of the historical background of the universities, the unintended effects of specific requirements to obtain tenure, potentially biased perceptions of critical actors at the directive level towards female aspirants to directive roles and towards organizational gender policies directive roles. • Gender-differentiated divisions of work and functions persist even inside organizations with high female representation at governance boards. • Women in selected cases do not self-exclude from high responsibility roles, in fact, most of them described a deliberately pursuit of directive roles even at the expense of their household responsibilities. Still, their professional trajectories appear to be more entangled than the trajectories described by the male participants. • In the two observed cases, women’s scarcity at the top of the hierarchy is not truly a matter of inadequacy or lack of interest from female staff members, nor is it a matter of collective rejection towards female leaders – for positions involving public polls. In this sense, the enactment of an organizational gender quota with strong enforcement mechanism, would be an excellent way to make sure that during the next appointment of directive staff, the distribution is more balanced between men and women. But the outcomes would be ever better when combined with other approaches to equality focused exclusively on gender.
Surveillance Creep in Times of Crisis: The Alipay Health Code and Implications for Privacy, Civil Liberties, and Social Control

Covid-19. To obtain the code, users must complete a health declaration questionnaire through the Alipay app, sharing details about their travel history, current health condition, and potential exposure to the Abstract: This paper illustrates the ways in which governments can infringe upon civil liberties and expand surveillance measures in response to a crisis, through employing technological determinism as a vehicle to examine the Alipay Health Code system. The system was developed by Alipay and introduced in China in 2020 in response to the Covid-19 crisis to help monitor and control the spread of the virus, but was heavily criticized on social media by many Chinese people and was eventually scrapped in December 2022. It argues that surveillance technologies are inherently deterministic as they shape societal structures and power dynamics, often reinforcing existing hierarchies and inequalities. While social constructivism could be employed to analyze surveillance technologies, many stakeholders are not able to actively participate in shaping the discourse, utilization, and governance of these technologies due to limited access to information and power differentials, and the technological “black box” makes it challenging for citizens to fully understand and influence the decision-making processes and algorithms that govern their lives. It further argues that it is inevitable that the government will use another crisis to implement a surveillance system that expands its monitoring capabilities and further encroaches on individual privacy in the future. As a society, we must decide how to balance the need for public safety with the protection of civil liberties, ensuring transparency, accountability, and citizen participation in shaping the deployment and governance of such systems so that the deterministic nature of these technologies is tempered by ethical considerations and safeguards to prevent abuses of power.
LIFE ON THE EDGE OF SPACE: CHARACTERIZING MICROBIAL DIVERSITY AND SURVIVAL IN THE STRATOSPHERE THROUGH HIGH ALTITUDE SAMPLING AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHAMBER EXPERIMENTS

Department of Biology, University of Washington, 24 Kincaid Hall, Box 351800, Seattle, WA 98195; djsone@uw.edu and argo@uw.edu, 2 Department of Plant Pathology, University of Florida, Bldg. M6-1025, Kennedy Space Center, FL 32899; schuerg@ufl.edu, 3 United States Geological Survey, Florida Integrated Science Cntr. , Tallahassee, FL 32303; dgriffin@usgs.gov, 4 NASA Goddard, Laboratory for Atmospheres, Greenbelt, MD 20771; richard.d. mcpeters@nasa.gov.
Hippocampal subfield volumes in treatment resistant depression and serial ketamine treatment

Introduction Subanesthetic ketamine is a rapidly acting antidepressant that has also been found to improve neurocognitive performance in adult patients with treatment resistant depression (TRD). Provisional evidence suggests that ketamine may induce change in hippocampal volume and that larger pre-treatment volumes might be related to positive clinical outcomes. Here, we examine the effects of serial ketamine treatment on hippocampal subfield volumes and relationships between pre-treatment subfield volumes and changes in depressive symptoms and neurocognitive performance. Methods Patients with TRD (N = 66; 31M/35F; age = 39.5 ± 11.1 years) received four ketamine infusions (0.5 mg/kg) over 2 weeks. Structural MRI scans, the National Institutes of Health Toolbox (NIHT) Cognition Battery, and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) were collected at baseline, 24 h after the first and fourth ketamine infusion, and 5 weeks post-treatment. The same data was collected for 32 age and sex matched healthy controls (HC; 17M/15F; age = 35.03 ± 12.2 years) at one timepoint. Subfield (CA1/CA3/CA4/subiculum/molecular layer/GC-ML-DG) volumes corrected for whole hippocampal volume were compared across time, between treatment remitters/non-remitters, and patients and HCs using linear regression models. Relationships between pre-treatment subfield volumes and clinical and cognitive outcomes were also tested. All analyses included Bonferroni correction. Results Patients had smaller pre-treatment left CA4 (p = 0.004) and GC.ML. DG (p = 0.004) volumes compared to HC, but subfield volumes remained stable following ketamine treatment (all p > 0.05). Pre-treatment or change in hippocampal subfield volumes over time showed no variation by remission status nor correlated with depressive symptoms (p > 0.05). Pre-treatment left CA4 was negatively correlated with improved processing speed after single (p = 0.0003) and serial ketamine infusion (p = 0.005). Left GC.ML. DG also negatively correlated with improved processing speed after single infusion (p = 0.001). Right pre-treatment CA3 positively correlated with changes in list sorting working memory at follow-up (p = 0.0007). Discussion These results provide new evidence to suggest that hippocampal subfield volumes at baseline may present a biomarker for neurocognitive improvement following ketamine treatment in TRD. In contrast, pre-treatment subfield volumes and changes in subfield volumes showed negligible relationships with ketamine-related improvements in depressive symptoms.
Trusted Inertial Terrain-Aided Navigation (TITAN)

The vertical synthetic aperture radar (VSAR) is proposed as a navigation sensor, and a companion navigation algorithm – Trusted Inertial Terrain-Aided Navigation (TITAN) – is introduced. The TITAN algorithm consumes vector range-Doppler measurements produced by a VSAR and correlates them against a local digital terrain elevation map with an extended Kalman filter, enabling accurate navigation without the need for GPS. The navigation accuracy of the VSAR/TITAN combination is quantified with post-processed flight data, and shown to be within 15 meters
An additively manufactured model for preclinical testing of cervical devices

Abstract Purpose Composite models have become commonplace for the assessment of fixation and stability of total joint replacements; however, there are no comparable models for the cervical spine to evaluate fixation. The goal of this study was to create the framework for a tunable non‐homogeneous model of cervical vertebral body by identifying the relationships between strength, in‐fill density, and lattice structure and creating a final architectural framework for specific strengths to be applied to the model. Methods The range of material properties for cervical spine were identified from literature. Using additive manufacturing software, rectangular prints with three lattice structures, gyroid, triangle, zig‐zag, and a range of in‐fill densities were 3D‐printed. The compressive and shear strengths for all combinations were calculated in the axial and coronal planes. Eleven unique vertebral regions were selected to represent the distribution of density. Each bone density was converted to strength and subsequently correlated to the lattice structure and in‐fill density with the desired material properties. Finally, a complete cervical vertebra model was 3D‐printed to ensure sufficient print quality. Results Materials testing identified a relationship between in‐fill densities and strength for all lattice structures. The axial compressive strength of the gyroid specimens ranged from 1.5 MPa at 10% infill to 31.3 MPa at 100% infill and the triangle structure ranged from 2.7 MPa at 10% infill to 58.4 MPa at 100% infill. Based on these results, a cervical vertebra model was created utilizing cervical cancellous strength values and the corresponding in‐fill density and lattice structure combination. This model was then printed with 11 different in‐fill densities ranging from 33% gyroid to 84% triangle to ensure successful integration of the non‐homogeneous in‐fill densities and lattice structures. Conclusions The findings from this study introduced a framework for using additive manufacturing to create a tunable, customizable biomimetic model of a cervical vertebra.
The Martian annual atmospheric pressure cycle: Years without great dust storms

A model of the annual cycle of pressure on Mars has been developed for a 2-year period chosen to include 1 year at Lander 2 and to minimize the effect of great dust storms at the 22°N Lander 1 site. The model was developed by weighted least squares fitting of the Viking Lander pressure measurements to an annual mean, and fundamental and the first four harmonics of the annual cycle. The very close agreement between the two years suggests that an accurate representation of the annual CO2 condensation-sublimation cycle can be established for such years. The two annual mean pressures are identical to 0.006 mbar out of 7.9 mbar, and the differences in amplitudes for the first five periodic components between the two years range from 0.017 to 0.001 mbar. The phase angles, primarily dependent on solar insolation determined orbital dynamics, differ by −3.0° Ls for the second harmonic (year 1 minus year 2), and drop to ≤ 0.7° for the fundamental and fourth harmonic. Although the slight year-to-year differences appear to be real, this model is proposed as a “nominal” Martian annual pressure cycle and applications are suggested. By analogy, the corresponding first year's representation at Lander 2 is also proposed as the “nominal” cycle, although it has not been verified by data from a subsequent year. These models provide a method of removing low frequencies from the annual pressure cycle for spectral analyses of baroclinic, tidal, and normal mode oscillations, and for comparisons of the interannual variability.
Factores que afectan la edad al primer parto en vacas Jersey de lechería especializada en Costa Rica

A retrospective study was performed on 28,367 purebred Jersey cows of specialized dairy farms from different ecological areas of Costa Rica, during the period between 2000 and 2010, to evaluate the effect of the place, time, and animal variables on age at first calving (AFC). The variables included were ecological zone, calving season, year of parturition, inbreeding index, number of lactations of the dam, and parturition type. The study included the data recorded in the VAMPP Bovino 3.0 software from the Regional Information Technologies Center for the Sustainable Animal Production, from the School of Veterinary Medicine at Universidad Nacional of Costa Rica. Data was analyzed in two phases: 1) descriptive statistics, 2) for each independent variable the mean of the AFC was calculated to each stratum, which was compared using 95% confidence intervals. Average AFC for the studied population was 29.35 months (SD: 6.77; 95% CI: 29.27 – 29.42). AFC had the tendency to increase over the years. This study demonstrated a plausible effect of the ecological zone, with a significant increase in the premontane moist forest (Bh-P), premontane rain forest (Bp-P), and premontane very humid forest (Bmh-P) (P<0,01). In addition, an effect was observed in the inbreeding index, parturition type, and calving season on the AFC value. The year of parturition and number of lactations of the dam variables did not affect the AFC.
Drought and Regional Hydrologic Variation in the United States: Associations with the El Niño-Southern Oscillation

Using 94 years of monthly Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) data for 344 climate divisions, this study investigates the hydroclimatic response in the United States to the extreme phases of the Southern Oscillation (El Nino and La Nina). Several regions of coherent response to El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) are identified. The strongest relationship between El Nino and extreme drought years is found in the Pacific Northwest. A strong relationship is also noticed in the southern United States, where dry conditions occur consistently during La Nina events. Next, the conditional response in PDSI is evaluated based on the extreme phases of the Southern Oscillation. The PDSI results were compared to similar analyses on 41 years of station temperature, precipitation, and streamflow data. A consistent response is seen in the other hydroclimatic variables, though the most filtered response is seen in PDSI data and streamflow data. The major contribution to the understanding of the ENSO–United States climate relationship is the evaluation of the general form of drought )nd comparison of these results to the fundamental hydrologic processes (precipitation, temperature, and streamflow).
Analysis of aerosol characteristics over the China Sea by MODIS data

MODIS Collection005 aerosol product is validated by a new method over the China Sea. We use aerosol optical at 550nm(AOT550) and fine mode fraction(FMF) in its aerosol product to analyze the spatial distribution and season variation of aerosol over the China Sea. Then meteorological data will be used to discuss the reason of aerosol characteristics. The results show that firstly MODIS Collection005 aerosol product has a good quality over the China Sea and it is better than MODIS Collection004 data over the China Sea. Secondly, AOT550 and FMF have a notable season variation influenced by the meteorological condition and the transport from continental source. AOT550 reaches the largest value in spring and winter, and it reaches the least value in summer and fall; oppositely, FMF reaches the largest value in summer and fall, and it reaches the least value in spring and winter. In the third, AOT550 and FMF have marked longitudinal variation. AOT550 appear the maximum value between 30°N-40°N and decrease towards to north and south. Meanwhile, FMF increase from south to north and the tendency of the increase became slow at 30°N. And they have an obvious meridional variation. AOT550 and FMF both decrease with the increase of longitude, which suggest that anthropogenic aerosol have an important role over the China Sea. Finally, based on seven years meteorological data, the reason of the aerosol characteristics over the China Sea are discussed. Wind and rainfall are the two important factors.
Coalfield closure and the water environment in Europe

Abstract Some of the negative consequences that coalfield closure can have for the water environment are now well documented in Western Europe, providing a useful check-list for possible eventualities during the restructuring of the coal industry in Eastern Europe. As individual mines have closed over the years the burden of dewatering has been passed on to ever fewer remaining collieries, until the last working mines in a coalfield may have to carry economically insupportable pumping rates - approaching 15 t of water pumped from the workings for every tonne of coal raised. The final closure of an entire coalfield is usually accompanied by the termination of decades (or even centuries) of regional-scale dewatering, which can have diverse consequences, including: (i) relief from some of the negative side-effects of dewatering, such as where the dewatering effluents were too saline for costeffective treatment prior to disposal; (ii) loss of some former benefits of dewatering, such as the dilution of other surface water pollutants by mixing with less contaminated dewatering effluents; (iii) flooding of the mine workings and surrounding strata, possibly causing geotechnical problems, such as accelerated mine gas emissions and/or renewed subsidence; and (iv) discharge of water from the flooded workings to adjoining surface and subsurface water bodies, which can cause localized surface flooding and (if the mine water is of poor quality) aquatic pollution. As more and more European coalfields are closing European Commission research projects are now addressing some of the more pressing of the above issues, such as the need to develop long-term, low-cost methods for the remediation of mine-water pollution (see www.piramid.org) and the development of environmental regulation strategies for mine waters that take full cognizance of the social and economic needs of both EU member states and accession countries (see www.minewater.net/ermite).
Effective connectivity between deep brain stimulation targets in individuals with treatment-resistant depression

Abstract The therapeutic effect of deep brain stimulation on patients with treatment-resistant depression is strongly dependent on the connectivity of the stimulation region with other regions associated with depression. The aims of this study are to characterize the effective connectivity between the brain regions playing important roles in depression and further investigate the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms of treatment-resistant depression and the mechanisms involving deep brain stimulation. Thirty-three individuals with treatment-resistant depression and 29 healthy control subjects were examined. All subjects underwent resting-state functional MRI scanning. The coupling parameters reflecting the causal interactions among deep brain stimulation targets and medial prefrontal cortex were estimated using spectral dynamic causal modelling. Our results showed that compared to the healthy control subjects, in the left hemisphere of treatment-resistant depression patients, the nucleus accumbens was inhibited by the inferior thalamic peduncle and excited the ventral caudate and the subcallosal cingulate gyrus, which in turn excited the lateral habenula. In the right hemisphere, the lateral habenula inhibited the ventral caudate and the nucleus accumbens, both of which inhibited the inferior thalamic peduncle, which in turn inhibited the cingulate gyrus. The ventral caudate excited the lateral habenula and the cingulate gyrus, which excited the medial prefrontal cortex. Furthermore, these effective connectivity links varied between males and females, and the left and right hemispheres. Our findings suggest that intrinsic excitatory/inhibitory connections between deep brain stimulation targets are impaired in treatment-resistant depression patients, and that these connections are sex dependent and hemispherically lateralized. This knowledge can help to better understand the underlying mechanisms of treatment-resistant depression, and along with tractography, structural imaging, and other relevant clinical information, may assist to determine the appropriate region for deep brain stimulation therapy in each treatment-resistant depression patient.
Structural evolution of the sedimentary accretionary wedge of the alpine system in Eastern Sicily: Thermal and thermochronological constraints

Temperature-dependent clay-mineral assemblages, vitrinite reflectance, and apatite fission-track data have been used to investigate levels of diagenesis and time of exhumation of the double-verging Sicilide-Antisicilide accretion-ary wedge in Eastern Sicily. The integration of organic and inorganic thermal indicators allowed us to distinguish parts of the accre-tionary wedge with different thermal signature and evolution. We recognize a warmer core made up of the Mount Soro and Troina units and two colder rims (Antisicilide and far-traveled Sicilide units). The Antisicilide unit was thrust back toward the hinterland, and the far-traveled Sicilide units were gravity-driven toward the Hyblean Plateau. In detail, the highest percentages of vitrinite reflectance (VR o ) values (0.60%–0.96%) and percentages of illite layers in illite-smectite (I-S; 60%–85%) are found in the Mount Soro and Troina units. Apatite fission-track data, together with the paleotemperature estimates from vitrinite-reflectance data and clay-mineral–based geothermometers, indicate that fission tracks were partially to totally annealed during wedge accretion and that the subsequent exhumation occurred mainly in Burdigalian times. Low VR o values (0.35%–0.50%) and percentages of illite layers in I-S (30%–60%) occur in early thrust-top deposits (Reitano Flysch) that unconformably overlie the Sicilide Complex, as well as the far-traveled Sicilide and Antisicilide units. Apatite fission-track data for the Antisicilide unit confirm low paleo-temperature values. Thus the far-traveled Sicilide and Antisicilide units were probably at higher structural levels in the original accretionary prism and were remobilized since late Aquitanian–Burdigalian times.