Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Snacking patterns influence energy and nutrient intakes but not body mass index.

OBJECTIVE To study dietary intake and body mass index (BMI) patterns among US adults, stratified by snacking patterns. DESIGN The 1994-1996 Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals (CSFII) provided the study sample. Snacking episodes were defined as a 'food and/or beverage break', and subjects were classified as morning, afternoon, evening, multiple or never snackers. SUBJECTS/SETTING Our study included data from 1756 men and 1511 women who provided two nonconsecutive, multiple-pass 24-h dietary recalls. STATISTICAL ANALYSES Mean values of each subject's two 24-h recalls were used for analyses, and data were analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) for Windows and SUDAAN. RESULTS Compared with women, men were more likely to be evening, multiple or never snackers. Male multiple snackers had significantly higher energy intakes than did afternoon and never snackers, whereas female multiple snackers had higher energy intakes than did morning, evening and never snackers. At the same time, male and female multiple snackers had more prudent energy-adjusted intakes of protein, cholesterol, calcium and sodium. Coffee, cola, milk, ice cream and fruits were among the most frequently consumed snacks by men and women. The BMI did not differ significantly across snacker categories. CONCLUSIONS These data indicate that snacking patterns have some effects on energy and nutrient intakes but not on BMI. Snack food choices remain a concern, especially beverages, including those that are sweetened. Vegetables and fruits as snacks should be encouraged.
Intracerebral Error-Related Negativity in a Simple Go/NoGo Task

Abstract: Performance monitoring represents a critical executive function of the human brain. In an effort to identify its anatomical and physiological aspects, a negative component of event-related potentials (ERPs), which occurs only on incorrect trials, has been used in the extensive investigation of error processing. This component has been termed “error-negativity” (Ne) or error-related negativity (ERN) and has been interpreted as a correlate of error detection. The aim of the present intracerebral ERP study was to contribute knowledge of the sources of the Ne/ERN, with a particular focus on the involvement of a frontomedian wall (FMW) in the genesis of this negativity. Seven patients with intractable epilepsy participated in the study. Depth electrodes were implanted to localize the seizure origin prior to surgical treatment. A total of 574 sites in the frontal, temporal, and parietal lobes were investigated. A simple Go/NoGo task was performed and EEG epochs with correct and erroneous motor respons.
Production traits of artificially and naturally hatched geese in intensive and free-range systems – II: slaughter, carcass and meat quality traits

ABSTRACT 1. This study investigates the slaughter, carcass and meat quality traits of artificially and naturally hatched geese in intensive and free-range production systems. 2. The study was conducted with 114 naturally hatched and 102 artificially hatched geese. From each replicate of the intensive and free-range systems, one female and one male goose were slaughtered at the ages of 14, 16 and 18 weeks (a total of 32 geese per slaughter week). 3. Artificially hatched geese had higher slaughter weights (5280 vs. 4404 g), carcass weights (3520 vs. 2863), dressing percentages (66.6–65.2% vs. 65.0–63.6%) and carcass part, feather and edible inner organ weights. The ratio of both edible inner organs and abdominal fat was higher in naturally hatched geese. Breast meat L*, a* and pH values and thigh meat dry matter values were higher in artificially hatched geese, whereas thigh meat b* and pH values were higher in naturally hatched geese. 4. Intensively reared geese had higher slaughter weights (4900 vs. 4783 g), carcass weights (3253 vs. 3130 g) and abdominal fat weights (280 vs. 250 g), as well as higher dressing percentages (66.3–64.9% vs. 65.3–63.9%). Breast meat b* and thigh meat L* values were higher in the intensive system, while breast and thigh pH values, dripping loss and cooking loss were higher in the free-range system. Water-holding capacity was higher in the intensive system. 5. In conclusion, artificially hatched, intensively reared geese had the highest slaughter weights; however, both artificially and naturally hatched geese raised in a free-range system reached acceptable slaughter weights and can thus be recommended for use with this type of production system.
Rules for social relationships in four cultures

Abstract A British study of the rules for 22 social relationships was replicated in Hong Kong, Italy and Japan, and a number of cross-cultural hypotheses tested. It was found that there were rules for all relationships and that for each relationship certain rules were endorsed in all four cultures. In Hong Kong, Italy and Japan the relationships formed three clusters, in terms of similar rules. However in Britain only two clusters were found. In the Eastern cultures, especially in Japan, there were more rules about obedience, avoiding loss of face, maintaining harmonious relations in groups, and restraining emotional expression. In Japan there were more rules for hierarchical work relations, fewer for family. In Hong Kong rules about respect for parents were important. In Italy there was more endorsement of rules prescribing emotional expression, and for keeping up intimacy in intimate relations; sex was endorsed as permissible in a wide range of relationships. It is acknowledged that a more emic approach.
Group conflict and faculty engagement: is there a moderating effect of group trust?

In educational settings, substantial scholarly interest has focused on student engagement as an antecedent for educational development and positive school outcomes. Very limited research, however, has focused on the engagement of academic staff members. This may be a crucial oversight because engagement has been argued to lead to more satisfied, more productive and healthier staff. In this study, based on a sample consisting of 489 members of multicultural university departments, we set out to investigate the relationship between trust, conflict and academic staff engagement. More specifically we assessed the effect of group trust, group relational conflict and group task conflict on indicators of behavioural, cognitive and emotional engagement. Our findings show a strong positive association between group trust and all academic staff engagement variables as well as a strong negative association between group relational conflict and all staff engagement variables. Task conflict was negatively associated with indicators of staff cognitive engagement. However, surprisingly, group trust did not have any moderating effect. Implications for educational organisation managers and policy makers are discussed in detail.
High diversity of West African bat malaria parasites and a tight link with rodent Plasmodium taxa

Significance Understanding the evolution of malaria parasites and their phylogenetic context is key to understanding this important human disease. We report an unexpected high diversity of malaria parasite genera in bats from West African forest ecosystems. Two lineages are closely related to Plasmodium parasites from rodents, which are common laboratory model systems, and the results are consistent with switches between these hosts over their evolutionary history. Bats are considered important reservoir hosts for many pathogens, particularly viruses, and have unusually high immunological tolerances. The abundant malaria parasite infections are consistent with this exceptional immunology and suggest that in bats the parasites repeatedly evolved life cycles away from disease-causing replication in red blood cells to less pathogenic propagation in liver tissue. As the only volant mammals, bats are captivating for their high taxonomic diversity, for their vital roles in ecosystems—particularly as pollinators and insectivores—and, more recently, for their important roles in the maintenance and transmission of zoonotic viral diseases. Genome sequences have identified evidence for a striking expansion of and positive selection in gene families associated with immunity. Bats have also been known to be hosts of malaria parasites for over a century, and as hosts, they possess perhaps the most phylogenetically diverse set of hemosporidian genera and species. To provide a molecular framework for the study of these parasites, we surveyed bats in three remote areas of the Upper Guinean forest ecosystem. We detected four distinct genera of hemosporidian parasites: Plasmodium, Polychromophilus, Nycteria, and Hepatocystis. Intriguingly, the two species of Plasmodium in bats fall within the clade of rodent malaria parasites, indicative of multiple host switches across mammalian orders. We show that Nycteria species form a very distinct phylogenetic group and that Hepatocystis parasites display an unusually high diversity and prevalence in epauletted fruit bats. The diversity and high prevalence of novel lineages of chiropteran hemosporidians underscore the exceptional position of bats among all other mammalian hosts of hemosporidian parasites and support hypotheses of pathogen tolerance consistent with the exceptional immunology of bats.
Effects of Soft-Money Issue Advertisements on Candidate Evaluation and Voting Preference: An Exploration

This empirical study assessed the effects of negative issue advertisements sponsored by both political candidates and soft-money political organizations. An experiment was conducted to see how negative issue advertisements sponsored by different political entities affect people's assessment of the political candidates and voting decisions. Results provide strong support for the hypothesis that negative advertisements significantly lowered assessments of the target candidate and backfired against the sponsoring candidate. However, the backlash effects were minimal when negative advertisements were sponsored by soft-money political organizations. These results suggest that even in the absence of express advocacy to vote for or against political candidates, soft-money negative issue advertisements could produce the intended detrimental impact while avoiding boomerang effects.
Implication of Music and Brain Research

In recent years, we have witnessed an explosion of information about the brain. New imaging techniques have given neuroscientists the tools to peer into the brain in ways unimaginable just a few years ago. What they are learning is revolutionizing our understanding of this incredible neural machinery, and now they are able to ask--and answer--questions that will eventually unravel many mysteries of the mind. Among these mysteries is music. Why are human beings musical? How does music processing take place in the brain? Are there strategies we could uncover that would allow people to learn music more efficiently? Is there an optimal time for learning music? How is it that some cognitively impaired individuals can be so musically proficient? On and on go the questions we would like to have answered. For many music educators, obtaining information about recent discoveries involving music and the brain may be difficult. This is so because the reporting of neuromusical research is often polarized: either it appears in scientific journals in language that is too difficult for nonscientists to easily read and understand, or it appears in the popular press in such a watered-down fashion that actual facts may be distorted or obscured. The intent of this special focus issue of the Music Educators Journal is to provide current neuromusical information in a way that is at once accurate and accessible to music educators.
Bone metabolism, osteoprotegerin, receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand and selected adipose tissue hormones in girls with anorexia nervosa.

INTRODUCTION The aim of this study was to determine whether girls with anorexia nervosa (AN) exhibited any relationships between serum levels of LP, ADIPO, RES, VISF, APE-36, APE-12, and bone markers, OPG and sRANKL. MATERIAL AND METHODS Serum levels of selected adipose tissue hormones, OC, CTx, OPG and sRANKL were assessed using ELISA in 86 study participants suffering from AN and 21 healthy controls, all aged 13 to 18 years. RESULTS Girls with AN showed a significant reduction in body mass, BMI, serum concentrations of LP, RES, VISF, APE-36, APE-12, OC, CTx and increased ADIPO concentration. These changes were associated with significant increases in OPG and sRANKL and a decrease in the OPG/sRANKL ratio. Significant positive correlations were revealed between BMI and LP, APE-36, CTx, OPG/sRANKL ratio; OC and VISF; OPG and ADIPO; OPG/sRANKL ratio and LP, APE-36, APE-12. Significant negative correlations were revealed between CTx, sRANKL and RES, APE-36; OPG and APE-36, APE-12; OPG/sRANKL ratio and ADIPO. VISF was shown to be an independent predictor of OC. APE-36 and RES turned out to be independent predictors of CTx, and sRANKL, APE-36 and ADIPO were independent predictors of OPG while APE-36, LP and ADIPO were independent predictors of the OPG/sRANKL ratio. CONCLUSIONS Changes in bone markers, OPG, sRANKL and/or the OPG/sRANKL ratio exhibited by girls with AN have been found to be associated with changes in the levels of the selected adipose tissue hormones. Abnormal relationships between bone metabolism and LP, ADIPO, RES, VISF and APE might adversely affect the balance of the OPG/sRANKL system and thus potentially compromise the mechanism which compensates for bone remodelling disturbances.
Characteristics of Ca2+- and Mg2+-induced tension development in chemically skinned smooth muscle fibers

Chemically skinned fibers from guinea pig taenia caecum were prepared by saponin treatment to study the smooth muscle contractile system in a state as close to the living state as posible. The skinned fibers showed tension development with an increase of Ca2+ in the solution, the threshold tension occurring as 5 X 10(-7) M Ca2+. The maximal tension induced with 10(-4) M Ca2+ was as large and rapid as the potassium-induced contracture in the intact fibers. The slope of the pCa tension curve was less steep than that of skeletal muscle fibers and shifted in the direction of lower pCa with an increase of MgATP. The presence of greater than 1 mM Mg2+ was required for Ca2+-induced contraction in the skinned fibers as well as for the activation of ATPase and superprecipitation in smooth muscle myosin B. Mg2+ above 2 mM caused a slow tension development by itself in the absence of Ca2+. Such a Mg2+-induced tension showed a linear relation to concentrations up to 8 mM in the presence of MgATP. Increase of MgATP concentration revealed a monophasic response without inhibition of Ca2+-induced tension development, unlike the biphasic response in striated muscle. When MgATP was removed from the relaxing solution, the tension developed slowly and slightly, even though the Mg2+ concentrations was fixed at 2 mM. These results suggest a substantial difference in the mode of actin-myosin interaction between smooth and skeletal muscle.
Vitamin D Status and Cause-Specific Mortality: A General Population Study

Background Vitamin D deficiency is associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality in observational studies. The specific causes of death underlying this association lack clarity. We investigated the association between vitamin D status and cause-specific mortality. Methods We included a total of 9,146 individuals from the two population-based studies, Monica10 and Inter99, conducted in 1993–94 and 1999–2001, respectively. Vitamin D status was assessed as serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D. Information on causes of death was obtained from The Danish Register of Causes of Death until 31 December 2009. There were a total of 832 deaths (median follow-up 10.3 years). Results Multivariable Cox regression analyses with age as underlying time axis and vitamin D quartiles showed significant associations between vitamin D status and death caused by diseases of the respiratory system, the digestive system, and endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases with hazard ratios (HRs) 0.26 (ptrend = 0.0042), 0.28 (ptrend = 0.0040), and 0.21 (ptrend = 0.035), respectively, for the fourth vitamin D quartile compared to the first. We found non-significantly lower HRs for death caused by mental and behavioural diseases and diseases of the nervous system, but no association between vitamin D status and death caused by neoplasms or diseases of the circulatory system. Conclusion The associations of vitamin D status and cause-specific mortality suggest that we also look elsewhere (than to cardiovascular disease and cancer) to explain the inverse association between vitamin D status and mortality.
Emotional recognition skills of sex offenders

The emotional recognition accuracy of sex offenders and various other groups was examined in two studies. Somewhat surprisingly, in Study 1 the violent nonsex offenders were the most emotionally sensitive and the most accurate at identifying the emotional state of others. In line with our hypotheses, however, both studies revealed relative deficits in emotional recognition among sex offenders. Contrary to expectations, the child molesters in Study 2 did not display greater deficits in judging the emotions of children relative to their judgments of adults, but they did poorly in judging both groups compared with community controls. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for future research and clinical practice.
Comparative Efficacy of Hemagglutinin, Nucleoprotein, and Matrix 2 Protein Gene-Based Vaccination against H5N1 Influenza in Mouse and Ferret

Efforts to develop a broadly protective vaccine against the highly pathogenic avian influenza A (HPAI) H5N1 virus have focused on highly conserved influenza gene products. The viral nucleoprotein (NP) and ion channel matrix protein (M2) are highly conserved among different strains and various influenza A subtypes. Here, we investigate the relative efficacy of NP and M2 compared to HA in protecting against HPAI H5N1 virus. In mice, previous studies have shown that vaccination with NP and M2 in recombinant DNA and/or adenovirus vectors or with adjuvants confers protection against lethal challenge in the absence of HA. However, we find that the protective efficacy of NP and M2 diminishes as the virulence and dose of the challenge virus are increased. To explore this question in a model relevant to human disease, ferrets were immunized with DNA/rAd5 vaccines encoding NP, M2, HA, NP+M2 or HA+NP+M2. Only HA or HA+NP+M2 vaccination conferred protection against a stringent virus challenge. Therefore, while gene-based vaccination with NP and M2 may provide moderate levels of protection against low challenge doses, it is insufficient to confer protective immunity against high challenge doses of H5N1 in ferrets. These immunogens may require combinatorial vaccination with HA, which confers protection even against very high doses of lethal viral challenge.
Advantages of calculating shear-wave velocity from surface waves with higher modes

Summary The Rayleigh-wave phase velocity of a layered earth model is a function of frequency and four groups of earth parameters: compressional (P)-wave velocity, shear (S)-wave velocity, density, and thickness of layers. For the fundamental mode of Rayleigh waves, analysis of the Jacobian matrix for high frequencies (5-40 Hz) provides a measure of dispersion curve sensitivity to earth model parameters. S-wave velocities are the dominant influence of the four earth model parameters. With the lack of sensitivity of the Rayleigh wave to P-wave velocities and densities, estimations of these parameters can be made for a layered earth model such that dispersive data vary predominantly with S-wave velocities (Xia et al., 1999a). This thesis is valid for higher modes of Rayleigh waves as well. Experimental analysis indicates that energy of higher modes tends to become more dominant as the source distance becomes larger (Park et al., 1999a). In some cases, higher mode data are necessary since shorter wavelength components of fundamental mode Rayleigh waves are obscured by these higher frequency data where higher modes of Rayleigh waves dominate. As well, our modeling results demonstrate at least two quite exciting higher mode properties. First, for fundamental and higher mode Rayleigh wave data with the same wavelength, higher modes can “see” deeper (longer than the wavelength) than fundamental modes (normally shorter than the wavelength). Second, higher mode data can increase the resolution of the inverted S-wave velocities. A much better S-wave velocity picture can be produced from inversion of surface wave data if higher-mode data are included. Real world examples show how resolution can be improved.
American Muslim Marital Quality: A Preliminary Investigation

This paper describes the results of an exploratory investigation into American Muslims’ marital quality. Respondents were 296 young, welleducated, longterm North American residents, most of whom lived near a major metropolitan hub. They reported generally healthy and satisfying marriages, though women reported lower marital quality than men. Marital problems most commonly included issues with inlaws, family or friends, finances, differing interests, and conflicting attitudes concerning sex. Women were more likely than men to identify inlaws as a source of conflict in the marriage; further research should investigate the nature of this conflict. This information may aid in the development of therapeutic interventions for distressed American Muslim couples that account for unique stressors 2 Aliya R. Chapman and Lauren B. Cattaneo that affect this community, such as the role of extended family and the effect of a communitywide emphasis on intact marriages.
Attitudinal Ambivalence and the Conflict between Group and System Justification Motives in Low Status Groups

It is argued that members of low status groups are faced with a psychological conflict between group justification tendencies to evaluate members of one’s own group favorably and system justification tendencies to endorse the superiority of higher status out-groups. In Study 1, members of low status groups exhibited less ingroup favoritism and more ingroup ambivalence than did members of high status groups. Perceptions that the status differences were legitimate increased outgroup favoritism and ambivalence among low status groups, and they increased ingroup favoritism and decreased ambivalence among high status groups. In Study 2, the belief in a just world and social dominance orientation increased ambivalence on the part of women toward female victims of gender discrimination, but they decreased ambivalence on the part of men. Evidence here indicates that system-justifying variables increase ingroup ambivalence among low status group members and decrease ambivalence among high status group members.