Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Free will and the obesity epidemic

Abstract The increase in body weight in the USA over the past several decades is now commonly referred to as the ‘obesity epidemic’. An empirical analysis of the literature suggests that the increased weight can be accounted for by an increase in food intake. The solution to the obesity epidemic, therefore, must centre on a reduction in food consumption, a position well accepted by the American population who think that they, as individuals, are responsible for their adiposity by holding the belief that the decision as to what and how much to eat is determined by their own free will. The evidence demonstrates, however, that this is not true. Variables such as portion size, variety of foods offered, fat content of the diet, the number of people eating, the location where eating occurs and even watching food advertisements act as ‘food primes’ causing individuals to increase their energy intake. Despite the plethora of diets, weight-loss clubs, drugs and mechanical devices available to facilitate weight loss, once treatment is terminated and people return to the ‘free’ environment, their weight returns to pre-treatment levels. Only when individuals are protected from environmental variables by gastric surgery or limited to consume only portion-controlled meals can they successfully maintain a reduced weight. Combining the technique of daily weight monitoring with accepting that our eating behaviour is not determined totally by our free choice, we may be able to curb the obesity epidemic.
FA ] 2 8 A pr 2 00 6 Unitary systems and wavelet sets

A wavelet is a special case of a vector in a separable Hilbert space that generates a basis under the action of a system of unitary operators defined in terms of translation and dilation operations. We will describe an operator-interpolation approach to wavelet theory using the local commutant of a unitary system. This is an application of the theory of operator algebras to wavelet theory. The concrete applications to wavelet theory include results obtained using specially constructed families of wavelet sets. The main section of this paper is section 5, in which we introduce the interpolation map σ induced by a pair of wavelet sets, and give an exposition of its properties and its utility in constructing new wavelets from old. The earlier sections build up to this, establishing terminology and giving examples. The main theoretical result is the Coefficient Criterion, which is described in Section 5.2. 2, and which gives a matrix valued function criterion specificing precisely when a function with frequency support contained in the union of an interpolation family of wavelet sets is in fact a wavelet. This can be used to derive Meyer’s famous class of wavelets using an interpolation pair of Shannon-type wavelet sets as a starting point. Section 5.3 contains a new result on interpolation pairs of wavelet sets: a proof that every pair of sets in the generalized Journe family of wavelet sets is an interpolation pair. We will discuss some results that are due to this speaker and his former and current students. And we finish in section 6 with a discussion of some open problems on wavelets and frame-wavelets. Mathematics Subject Classification (2000). Primary 46L99; Secondary 42C15, 46H25.
The role of IDH1 mutated tumour cells in secondary glioblastomas: an evolutionary game theoretical view

Recent advances in clinical medicine have elucidated two significantly different subtypes of glioblastoma which carry very different prognoses, both defined by mutations in isocitrate dehydrogenase-1 (IDH-1). The mechanistic consequences of this mutation have not yet been fully clarified, with conflicting opinions existing in the literature; however, IDH-1 mutation may be used as a surrogate marker to distinguish between primary and secondary glioblastoma multiforme (sGBM) from malignant progression of a lower grade glioma. We develop a mathematical model of IDH-1 mutated secondary glioblastoma using evolutionary game theory to investigate the interactions between four different phenotypic populations within the tumor: autonomous growth, invasive, glycolytic, and the hybrid invasive/glycolytic cells. Our model recapitulates glioblastoma behavior well and is able to reproduce two recent experimental findings, as well as make novel predictions concerning the rate of invasive growth as a function of vascularity, and fluctuations in the proportions of phenotypic populations that a glioblastoma will experience under different microenvironmental constraints.
Social Stress Increases Cortisol and Hampers Attention in Adolescents with Excess Weight

Objective To experimentally examine if adolescents with excess weight are more sensitive to social stress and hence more sensitive to harmful effects of stress in cognition. Design and Methods We conducted an experimental study in 84 adolescents aged 12 to 18 years old classified in two groups based on age adjusted Body Mass Index percentile: Normal weight (n=42) and Excess weight (n=42). Both groups were exposed to social stress as induced by the virtual reality version of the Trier Social Stress Task --participants were requested to give a public speech about positive and negative aspects of their personalities in front of a virtual audience. The outcome measures were salivary cortisol levels and performance in cognitive tests before and after the social stressor. Cognitive tests included the CANTAB Rapid Visual Processing Test (measuring attention response latency and discriminability) and the Iowa Gambling Task (measuring decision-making). Results Adolescents with excess weight compared to healthy weight controls displayed increased cortisol response and less improvement of attentional performance after the social stressor. Decision-making performance decreased after the social stressor in both groups. Conclusion Adolescents who are overweight or obese have increased sensitivity to social stress, which detrimentally impacts attentional skills.
Ecdysteroids during ovarian development and embryogenesis in solitary and gregarious schistocerca gregaria

Maternal ecdysteroids identified in the vitellogenic oocytes of Schistocerca gregaria included more than 80% polar conjugates, up to 5% free ecdysteroids, and up to 15% non-hydrolyzable polar metabolites. The representations of ecdysone (E), 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E), and 2-deoxyecdysone (2dE) in the conjugates was about 16:3:1, and in the free ecdysteroids about 3:1:1. The quantity of ecdysteroids in the ovaries before egg-laying reached 2.3 ng 20E equiv. per mg tissue in the solitary, and 8.9 ng/mg in the gregarious females. Newly laid eggs contained 14 ng and 89 ng, respectively, of 20E equiv. per egg. Nearly all egg ecdysteroids were in form of conjugates and their content declined during the first half of embryonic development. The amount of ecdysteroids sharply increased to over 70 ng 20E equiv. /egg in the solitary, and to nearly 400 ng/egg in the gregarious phase. In the second half of embryonic development, the representation of conjugates in total ecdysteroids was reduced to 45-55%, whereas that of free E + 20E rose to 30-40%. Free 2dE remained low but, in the gregarious embryos, free 26E increased to 10% of all ecdysteroids. The conjugates of solitary embryos contained nearly exclusively E and 20E (in ratio 2:1), whereas those of the gregarious embryos included E, 20E, 2dE, and 26E (in ratio 12:7:4:1). Towards the end of embryonic development, the amounts of conjugates and of free ecdysteroids decreased, while that of polar metabolites rose. A sharp drop in ecdysteroid content was associated with hatching but the more than five times higher ecdysteroid level in the gregarious than in the solitary phase was maintained in the newly hatched larvae. Arch. Copyright 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
HPTLC Analysis, Antioxidant and Antigout Activity of Indian Plants

The HPTLC analysis, antioxidant, and antigout activity of Asparagus racemosus, Withania somnifera, Vitex negundo, Plumbago zeylanica, Butea monosperma and Tephrosia purpurea extracts were investigated. The chemical fingerprinting were carried out by high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC), antioxidant activity by ABTS, DPPH, FRAP radical scavenging assays, and antiogout activity by cow milk xanthine oxidase. The HPTLC fingerprint qualitatively revealed predominant amount of flavonoids. The TEAC values ranged from 45.80 to 140 µM trolox/100 g dry weight for ABTS, from 85 to 430 µM trolox/ 100 g dw DPPH, and 185 to 560 µM trolox/100 g dw for FRAP respectively. Plants used in this study was found to inhibit the toxicity, as seen from the decreased LPO and increased GSH, SOD and CAT levels. The total phenolic and flavonoid content ranged from 10.21 to 28.17 and 5.80 to 10.1 mg of gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/100 gdw respectively. The plant extracts demonstrated significant xanthine oxidase inhibitory activity at 100 g/mL and revealed an inhibition greater than 50 % and IC50 values below the standard. This effect was almost similar to the activity of allopurinol (Standard drug) against xanthine oxidase (90.2 ± 0.4 %). These plant root extract will be subjected for further extensive studies to isolate and identify their active constituents which are useful for against inflammation and gout.
Battered Women in Shelters: Internal Resources, Well-Being, and Integration

This study examines changes in internal resources (empowerment and self-esteem), well-being (life satisfaction and hope), and integration in the shelter (participation and commitment) experienced by women at domestic violence shelters in Israel. The participants were compared at two points in time—1 week and 3 months after their arrival at the shelter. Small but significant differences were found in all measures, except those concerning participation in and commitment to the shelter and one of the empowerment components—the ability to accept help and take advantage of professional services.
Total antioxidant status in plasma of breast cancer patients in relation to ERβ expression

Aim of the study The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate the plasma total antioxidant capacity (TAS) in breast cancer patients in relation to ERβ expression. Material and methods The study group consisted of newly diagnosed consecutive female breast cancer patients (n = 41) and controls (n = 28) randomly selected from women with benign breast disease. TAS was determined with the ABTS reagent. Immunostaining for ERβ was performed using polyclonal antibodies. ERα, PgR and HER-2 were measured routinely (immunostaining for ERα and PgR with monoclonal antibodies and EnVision detection system; immunohistochemical method/FISH for HER-2 expression). Results The plasma TAS was significantly decreased in the breast cancer patients in comparison to the controls independently of hormonal and lymph node status. The TAS level was not significantly different between breast cancer subgroups either in relation to the ERβ expression (ERβ+ vs. ERβ–) or considering the steroid receptor status (ERα+, ERβ+, Pg+ vs. ERα+, ERβ–, Pg+) even in the selected lymph node negative subgroup. Similarly, HER-2 expression did not significantly affect the TAS concentration. A tendency towards higher TAS level in all ERβ negative breast cancer subgroups was observed. Conclusions The results might confirm enhanced consumption of plasma antioxidants in breast cancer patients. The determination of ERβ isoforms along with parameters of redox status might enable better understanding of their mutual influence.
Dynamic Evolution of Toll-Like Receptor Multigene Families in Echinoderms

The genome sequence of the purple sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus, a large and long-lived invertebrate, provides a new perspective on animal immunity. Analysis of this genome uncovered a highly complex immune system in which the gene families that encode homologs of the pattern recognition receptors that form the core of vertebrate innate immunity are encoded in large multigene families. The sea urchin genome contains 253 Toll-like receptor (TLR) sequences, more than 200 Nod-like receptors and 1095 scavenger receptor cysteine-rich domains, a 10-fold expansion relative to vertebrates. Given their stereotypic protein structure and simple intron-exon architecture, the TLRs are the most tractable of these families for more detailed analysis. A role for these receptors in immune defense is suggested by their similarity to TLRs in other organisms, sequence diversity, and expression in immunologically active tissues, including phagocytes. The complexity of the sea urchin TLR multigene families is largely derived from expansions independent of those in vertebrates and protostomes, although a small family of TLRs with structure similar to that of Drosophila Toll can be traced to an ancient eumetazoan ancestor. Several other echinoderm sequences are now available, including Lytechinus variegatus, as well as partial sequences from two other sea urchin species. Here, we present an analysis of the invertebrate deuterostome TLRs with emphasis on the echinoderms. Representatives of most of the S. purpuratus TLR subfamilies and homologs of the mccTLR sequences are found in L. variegatus, although the L. variegatus TLR gene family is notably smaller (68 TLR sequences). The phylogeny of these genes within sea urchins highlights lineage-specific expansions at higher resolution than is evident at the phylum level. These analyses identify quickly evolving TLR subfamilies that are likely to have novel immune recognition functions and other, more stable, subfamilies that may function more similarly to those of vertebrates.
Neural representations used by brain regions underlying speech production

Speech utterances are phoneme sequences but may not always be represented as such in the brain. For instance, electropalatography evidence indicates that as speaking rate increases, gestures within syllables are manipulated separately but those within consonant clusters act as one motor unit. Moreover, speech error data suggest that a syllable’s phonological content is, at some stage, represented separately from its syllabic frame structure. These observations indicate that speech is neurally represented in
How Spatial Patterns of Soil Moisture Dynamics Can Explain Field‐Scale Soil Moisture Variability: Observations From a Sodic Landscape

Root‐zone soil moisture (0–110 cm) was monitored at 21 sites within a cold‐region semiarid prairie grazing pasture over multiple growing seasons. There were large differences in the moisture dynamics for different sites, which was related to local‐scale impacts of sodium‐induced clay dispersion. Sites with high exchangeable sodium percentages, indicative of sodic soils, were characterized by small changes in soil moisture storage. The sites with the largest soil moisture changes had negligible exchangeable sodium percentage. We used this difference to divide the area into sites that participate in the field‐scale water balance and those that do not. As a result of this heterogeneity, a unique soil moisture variability‐mean relationship was observed; the spatial variability of root‐zone soil moisture was lowest during intermediate wetness conditions and highest for wet and dry conditions. Furthermore, the shape of the variability‐mean relationship depended on the depth over which soil moisture was integrated. The persistent differences in soil moisture dynamics were also responsible for the presence of two distinct spatial patterns of root‐zone soil moisture, representing early and late growing season (i.e., wet and dry conditions). The participating versus nonparticipating framework may be applicable broadly to sodic soils and to other soil types and has practical implications for parameterizing the water balance in hydrological models and for designing representative soil moisture monitoring networks in such environments.
Mixotrophs combine resource use to outcompete specialists: Implications for aquatic food webs

The majority of organisms can be grouped into those relying solely on photosynthesis (phototrophy) or those relying solely on the assimilation of organic substances (heterotrophy) to meet their requirements for energy and carbon. However, a special life history trait exists in which organisms combine both phototrophy and heterotrophy. Such “mixotrophy” is a widespread phenomenon in aquatic habitats and is observed in many protozoan and metazoan organisms. The strategy requires investment in both photosynthetic and heterotrophic cellular apparatus, and the benefits must outweigh these costs. In accordance with mechanistic resource competition theory, laboratory experiments revealed that pigmented mixotrophs combined light, mineral nutrients, and prey as substitutable resources. Thereby, they reduced prey abundance below the critical food concentration of competing specialist grazers [Rothhaupt, K. O. (1996) Ecology 77, 716–724]. Here, we demonstrate the important consequences of this strategy for an aquatic community. In the illuminated surface strata of a lake, mixotrophs reduced prey abundance steeply. The data suggest that, as a consequence, grazers from higher trophic levels, consuming both the mixotrophs and their prey, could not persist. Thus, the mixotrophs escaped from competition with and losses to higher grazers. Furthermore, the mixotrophs structured prey abundance along the vertical light gradient, creating low densities near the surface and a pronounced maximum of their algal prey at depth. Such deep algal accumulations are typical features of nutrient-poor aquatic habitats, previously explained by resource availability. We hypothesize instead that the mixotrophic grazing strategy is responsible for deep algal accumulations in many aquatic environments.
The THES university rankings: are they really world class? / Richard Holmes

The Times Higher Education Supplement (THES) international ranking of universities, published in 2004 and 2005, has received a great deal of attention throughout the world, nowhere more so than in East and Southeast Asia. This paper looks at the rankings and concludes that they are deficient in several respects. The sampling procedure is not explained and is very probably seriously biased, the weighting of the various components is not justified, inappropriate measures of teaching quality are used, the assessment of research achievement is biased against the humanities and social sciences, the classification of institutions is inconsistent, there are striking and implausible changes in the rankings between 2004 and 2005 and they are based in one crucial respect on regional rather than international comparisons. It is recommended that these rankings should not be the basis for the development and assessment of national and institutional policies.
Independent contribution of dairy products and calcium intake to blood pressure variations at a population level

Purpose Previous studies have shown a potential inverse relationship between blood pressure and daily calcium intake. The aim of the study was to assess the independent contribution of dairy product and calcium intake to blood pressure variations at a population level. Methods A sample of 912 men aged 45–64 years was randomly selected from the general population, as part of the French MONICA cross-sectional survey on cardiovascular risk factors (1995–1996). Extensive questionnaires on risk factors were filled out and each participant completed a three-consecutive-day food record. Two blood pressure measurements were performed at rest. In statistical analyses subjects were grouped according to quintiles of dairy product or calcium intakes. Results Systolic and diastolic blood pressures significantly decreased from the lowest [145.4 (standard error (SE) 1.55) and 89.0 (SE 0.94) mmHg respectively] to the highest quintile [135.6 (SE 1.26) and 85.3 (SE 0.84) mmHg respectively] of dairy product intakes in bivariate analysis. After multivariate linear regression analysis adjusted for confounders [centre, age, daily sodium, magnesium, calcium and alcohol intake, daily energy intake without alcohol, dieting, physical activity, body mass index (BMI), smoking, and use of antihypertensive or lipid-lowering drugs], the difference in systolic blood pressure remained significant. Results were similar when calcium intake was considered. After adjustment for confounders, the association between calcium–dairy product combination and blood pressure was the most significant when intakes of dairy products and calcium were both higher than the median. Conclusion Dairy products and dietary calcium are both significantly and independently associated with low levels of systolic blood pressure.
Dietary Available Phosphorus Affected Growth Performance, Body Composition, and Hepatic Antioxidant Property of Juvenile Yellow Catfish Pelteobagrus fulvidraco

An 8-week feeding trial was carried out with juvenile yellow catfish to study the effects of dietary available phosphorus (P) on growth performance, body composition, and hepatic antioxidant property. Six pellet diets were formulated to contain graded available P levels at 0.33, 0.56, 0.81, 1.15, 1.31, and 1.57% of dry matter, respectively. Triplicate tanks with each tank containing 60 juveniles (3.09 ± 0.03 g) were fed one of the six experimental diets for 8 weeks. Specific growth rate, feeding rate, and protein efficiency ratio were significantly higher at 0.81% dietary available P. Efficiency of P utilization distinctly decreased with increasing P level. Body lipid content significantly decreased while body ash and feces P content significantly increased with increasing P level. Quadratic regression analysis indicated that vertebrae P content was maximized at 1.21% dietary available P. Fish fed 1.57% dietary available P had highest activity of hepatic superoxide dismutase and catalase and malonaldehyde content. In conclusion, decreasing dietary available P increased P utilization efficiency and body lipid content while decreased vertebrae P content. Juvenile yellow catfish were subjected to oxidative damage under the condition of high dietary P content (1.57%), and the damage could not be eradicated by their own antioxidant defense system.
A Choice Prediction Competition for Social Preferences in Simple Extensive Form Games: An Introduction

Two independent, but related, choice prediction competitions are organized that focus on behavior in simple two-person extensive form games (http://sites.google.com/site/extformpredcomp/): one focuses on predicting the choices of the first mover and the other on predicting the choices of the second mover. The competitions are based on an estimation experiment and a competition experiment. The two experiments use the same methods and subject pool, and examine games randomly selected from the same distribution. The current introductory paper presents the results of the estimation experiment, and clarifies the descriptive value of some baseline models. The best baseline model assumes that each choice is made based on one of several rules. The rules include: rational choice, level-1 reasoning, an attempt to maximize joint payoff, and an attempt to increase fairness. The probability of using the different rules is assumed to be stable over games. The estimated parameters imply that the most popular rule is rational choice; it is used in about half the cases. To participate in the competitions, researchers are asked to email the organizers models (implemented in computer programs) that read the incentive structure as input, and derive the predicted behavior as an output. The submission deadline is 1 December 2011, the results of the competition experiment will not be revealed until that date. The submitted models will be ranked based on their prediction error. The winners of the competitions will be invited to write a paper that describes their model.