Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Predisposition to insulin resistance and obesity due to staple consumption of rice: Amylose content versus germination status

Type 2 diabetes is a metabolic disorder with established, well-defined precursors. Obesity and insulin resistance are amongst most important factors in predisposition to diabetes. Rice is a staple for about half the global population and its consumption has been strongly linked with diabetogenesis. We assert that tackling the prevalence of predisposing factors by modifying certain rice cultivars could reduce the global burden of obesity and insulin resistance, and by extension type 2 diabetes. Several rice cultivars with various properties were fed to nulliparous rats (five weeks old at the start of the experiment) for 90 days. They were then returned to a diet of standard pellets and mated with males raised on a standard diet. The resulting pups and dams were investigated for obesity and insulin resistance markers. We found that germination did more to reduce predisposition to obesity and insulin resistance than high amylose content. The combined reducing effect of germination and high amylose content on predisposition to obesity and insulin resistance was greater than the sum of their independent effects. Polished (white) rice with a low amylose content predisposed dams on a high-fat diet to markers of insulin resistance and obesity and this predisposition was inherited (in biochemical terms) by their F1 offspring. Overall, the results suggest that harnessing the beneficial properties of germination and amylose in rice would reduce the burden of obesity and insulin resistance, which are known to be key risk factors for development of type 2 diabetes.
Handling time promotes the coevolution of aggregation in predator–prey systems

Predators often have type II functional responses and live in environments where their life history traits as well as those of their prey vary from patch to patch. To understand how spatial heterogeneity and predator handling times influence the coevolution of patch preferences and ecological stability, we perform an ecological and evolutionary analysis of a Nicholson–Bailey type model. We prove that coevolutionarily stable prey and searching predators prefer patches that in isolation support higher prey and searching predator densities, respectively. Using this fact, we determine how environmental variation and predator handling times influence the spatial patterns of patch preferences, population abundances and per-capita predation rates. In particular, long predator handling times are shown to result in the coevolution of predator and prey aggregation. An analytic expression characterizing ecological stability of the coevolved populations is derived. This expression implies that contrary to traditional theoretical expectations, predator handling time can stabilize predator–prey interactions through its coevolutionary influence on patch preferences. These results are shown to have important implications for classical biological control.
Principles of Fungicidal Action

presses sporangiophore growth, and of the morphologic aspects of nuclear RNA. This latter paper, by a group from the University of Chicago, includes unusually clear electron photomicrographic evidence in support of the authors' claims. The structure of plant cilia and their similarity to those of animals (Manton) and a study of nucleo-cytoplasmic interactions and morphogenesis in Stentor (Tartar) are the contributions concluding this section. A greater degree of unity can be detected in the second part, which is comprised of papers dealing with intercellular events. The reciprocal effects of humoral, neural, and other agents in neurogenesis are discussed by Hamburger, while Niu contributes a description of his technique of embryonic induction via diffusible substances. The Lederbergs deal with problems of transduction and consider some of the broader implications of bacterial genetics. The interactions of slime-mold cells in development (the Sussmans), an analysis of plant shoot growth (Wetmore), the induction of heterologous tolerance (Billingham), and a description of the differentiation of the myelin sheath (Geren) rounds out part two. Altogether, the collection of Growth Symposium volumes represents an impressive indication of the progress being made in this difficult field.
Experimental heating reveals nest temperature affects nestling condition in tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor)

Investment in one life-history stage can have delayed effects on subsequent life-history stages within a single reproductive bout. We experimentally heated tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) nests during incubation to test for effects on parental and nestling conditions. Females incubating in heated boxes maintained higher body condition and fed nestlings at higher rates. We cross-fostered nestlings and found that young nestlings (4–7 days old) incubated in heated nests had higher body condition and body mass, regardless of treatment status of their rearing parent. However, older nestlings which were fed by heated females maintained higher condition and body mass regardless of treatment status of their incubating parent. These results indicate that investment in one life-history stage can have multiple pathways of carry-over effects on future life-history stages.
An outer bound for multisource multisink network coding with minimum cost consideration

The max-flow min-cut bound is a fundamental result in the theory of communication networks, which characterizes the optimal throughput for a point-to-point communication network. The recentwork of Ahlswede et al. extended it to single-source multisink multicast networks and Li et al. proved that this bound can be achieved by linear codes. Following this line, Erez and Feder as well as Ngai and Yeung proved that the max-flow min-cut bound remains tight in single-source two-sink nonmulticast networks. But the max-flow min-cut bound is in general quite loose (see Yeung, 2002). On the other hand, the admissible rate region of communication networks has been studied by Yeung and Zhang as well as Song and Yeung, but the bounds obtained by these authors are not explicit. In this work, we prove a new explicit outer bound for arbitrary multisource multisink networks and demonstrate its relation with the minimum cost network coding problem. We also determine the capacity region for a special class of three-layer networks.
Factors affecting the perception of noise-vocoded speech: stimulus properties and listener variability.

This thesis presents an investigation of two general factors affecting speech perception in normal-hearing adults. Two sets of experiments are described, in which speakers of English are presented with degraded (noise-vocoded) speech. The first set of studies investigates the importance of linguistic rhythm as a cue for perceptual adaptation to noise-vocoded sentences. Results indicate that the presence of native English rhythmic patterns benefits speech recognition and adaptation, but not when higher-level linguistic information is absent (i.e. when the sentences are in a foreign language). It is proposed that rhythm may help in the perceptual encoding of degraded speech in phonological working memory. Experiments in this strand also present evidence against a critical role for indexical characteristics of the speaker in the adaptation process. The second set of studies concerns the issue of individual differences in speech perception. A psychometric curve-fitting approach is selected as the preferred method of quantifying variability in noise-vocoded sentence recognition. Measures of working memory and verbal IQ are identified as candidate correlates of performance with noise-vocoded sentences. When the listener is exposed to noise-vocoded stimuli from different linguistic categories (consonants and vowels, isolated words, sentences), there is evidence for the interplay of two initial listening 'modes' in response to the degraded speech signal, representing 'top-down' cognitive-linguistic processing and 'bottom-up' acoustic-phonetic analysis. Detailed analysis of segment recognition presents a perceptual role for temporal information across all the linguistic categories, and suggests that performance could be improved through training regimes that direct attention to the most informative acoustic properties of the stimulus. Across several experiments, the results also demonstrate long-term aspects of perceptual learning. In sum, this thesis demonstrates that consideration of both stimulus-based and listener-based factors forms a promising approach to the characterization of speech perception processes in the healthy adult listener.
Children's Phobias: A Behavioural Perspective

PHENOMENOLOGY, AETIOLOGY AND ASSESSMENT Childhood Fears and Phobias Aetiology of Children's Phobias Behavioural Assessment of Children's Phobias TREATMENT PRINCIPLES AND PROCEDURES Systematic Desensitization, Emotive Imagery, Flooding and Implosion Contingency Management, Modelling, Cognitive Procedures and Self-Control School Phobia CONCEPTUAL ISSUES Prevention of Children's Phobias and Negative Reactions to Stressful Events Integrative Issues References Subject Index.
Predicting Transformational Leadership: Self-Other Agreement in Multi-Source Feedback

PREDICTING TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP: SELF-OTHER AGREEMENT IN MULTI-SOURCE FEEDBACK Ryan H. Shatzer Department of Psychology Master of Science Multi-Source Feedback (MSF) has become an important tool for leadership development programs. Previous research has examined how self-other agreement in MSF relates to leadership effectiveness. Discrepancies exist in the literature between how to measure self-other agreement and which method best depicts self-awareness. The current study examined the relationship between various measurements of self-other agreement, self-awareness and transformational leadership. MSF data were collected from target leaders (n = 31), and their respective direct report, peer and supervisor raters (n = 233). Raters also evaluated their leaders‟ self-awareness and leadership behavior. Self-other agreement was measured using a reliability coefficient, self-other agreement r, and a difference squared score, self-other agreement D 2 . These measures of self-other agreement as well as the direct measure of self-other awareness were used to predict transformational leadership. Results indicated that self-other agreement r did not significantly predict transformational leadership, while self-other agreement D 2 did significantly predict some of the dimensions of transformational leadership. However, the direct measure of self-awareness was the strongest predictor of transformational leadership. The two methods of calculating self-other agreement did not have a significant correlation, indicating that they may be measuring different constructs. The direct measure of self-awareness also did not correlate significantly with self-other agreement, suggesting that there is a conceptual gap between these two constructs and complexities may arise when researchers operationalize selfother agreement as self-awareness. The issues surrounding the various methods of measuring self-other agreement, as well as the possible confounding effects of the direct measure of selfawareness and difference scores are discussed. Implications for interpreting self-other agreement in MSF processes are also discussed.
Channel-based physical layer authentication

In this paper, we study channel-based authentication, where the receiver can identify and authenticate the senders through channel vectors estimated from their frames. The authentication process is formulated as a sequence of hypothesis test problems. In order to improve the detection probability and reduce the false alarm probability, two schemes are proposed based on different classification algorithms in machine learning. Specifically, support vector machine (SVM) based authentication schemes and the linear Fisher discriminant analysis (LFDA) based authentication scheme are proposed by exploiting three channel features, including the time-of-arrivals, received signal strengths, and cyclic-features of the channels. In SVM based schemes, the linear and nonlinear SVMs are used to generate classifiers to solve the hypothesis test problems. In LFDA based scheme, a linear combination of these three channel features is used as the test statistic, which is compared with a threshold to perform authentication. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed schemes perform better in terms of the misdetection probability and the false alarm probability than several existing typical channel-based authentication schemes. Moreover, the time complexity and space complexity of the proposed schemes are analyzed, and the LFDA based scheme performs the best.
Modulation of the Proteostasis Machinery to Overcome Stress Caused by Diminished Levels of t6A-Modified tRNAs in Drosophila

Transfer RNAs (tRNAs) harbor a subset of post-transcriptional modifications required for structural stability or decoding function. N6-threonylcarbamoyladenosine (t6A) is a universally conserved modification found at position 37 in tRNA that pair A-starting codons (ANN) and is required for proper translation initiation and to prevent frame shift during elongation. In its absence, the synthesis of aberrant proteins is likely, evidenced by the formation of protein aggregates. In this work, our aim was to study the relationship between t6A-modified tRNAs and protein synthesis homeostasis machinery using Drosophila melanogaster. We used the Gal4/UAS system to knockdown genes required for t6A synthesis in a tissue and time specific manner and in vivo reporters of unfolded protein response (UPR) activation. Our results suggest that t6A-modified tRNAs, synthetized by the threonyl-carbamoyl transferase complex (TCTC), are required for organismal growth and imaginal cell survival, and is most likely to support proper protein synthesis.
The path chosen by female bodybuilders: a tentative interpretation.

This paper suggests that the process of marginalization of women bodybuilders can be analyzed according to two theoretical frameworks. The first is essentially a pessimistic interpretation based on critical sociology and the concept of alienation, which discusses the limits of applying this concept to an empirical reality (in this case, female bodybuilders). The second considers the future of female bodybuilders as being constructed through the muscle cult. Our interpretation is comprehensive. The study stresses self-realization and self-fulfillment in female bodybuilders and discusses their attachment to the bodybuilding subculture.
Battlefields of knowledge : the interlocking of theory and practice in social research and development

Part 1 An actor-oriented paradigm: introduction, Norman Long from paradigm lost to paradism regained? the case for an actor-oriented sociology of development, Norman Long. Part 2 The research process: a research journey on actors, concepts and the text, Pieter de Vries plunging into the garlic methodological issues and challenges, Gabriel Torres the engagement of researcher and local actors in the construction of case studies and research themes - exploring methods of restudy, Van Seur. Part 3 New perspectives on old problems: goods, knowledge and beer - the methodological significance of situational analysis and discourse, Andrew Long identity, networks and space - new dimensions in the study of small-scale enterprise and commoditization, Gerard Verschoor local organization as organizing practices - the Mexican "ejido" revisited, Monique Nuijten. Part 4 Theoretical windows on development intervention the dynamics of knowledge interfaces between bureaucrats and peasants, Alberto Arce and Norman Long the poverty of practice - gender, power and intervention from an actor-oriented perspective, Magdalena Villarreal conclusion, Norman Long.
Transfer of noncoding DNA drives regulatory rewiring in bacteria

Significance The rapid pace of evolution in bacteria is widely attributed to the promiscuous horizontal transfer and recombination of protein-coding genes. However, it has not been investigated if the same forces also drive the evolution of noncoding regulatory regions. Here, we establish that regulatory regions can “switch” between nonhomologous alternatives and that switching is ubiquitous, occurring across the bacterial domain. We show that regulatory switching has a strong impact on promoter architecture and expression divergence. Further, we demonstrate that regulatory transfer facilitates rapid phenotypic diversification of a human pathogen. This regulatory mobility enables bacterial genes to access a vast pool of potential regulatory elements, facilitating efficient exploration of the regulatory landscape. Understanding the mechanisms that generate variation is a common pursuit unifying the life sciences. Bacteria represent an especially striking puzzle, because closely related strains possess radically different metabolic and ecological capabilities. Differences in protein repertoire arising from gene transfer are currently considered the primary mechanism underlying phenotypic plasticity in bacteria. Although bacterial coding plasticity has been extensively studied in previous decades, little is known about the role that regulatory plasticity plays in bacterial evolution. Here, we show that bacterial genes can rapidly shift between multiple regulatory modes by acquiring functionally divergent nonhomologous promoter regions. Through analysis of 270,000 regulatory regions across 247 genomes, we demonstrate that regulatory “switching” to nonhomologous alternatives is ubiquitous, occurring across the bacterial domain. Using comparative transcriptomics, we show that at least 16% of the expression divergence between Escherichia coli strains can be explained by this regulatory switching. Further, using an oligonucleotide regulatory library, we establish that switching affects bacterial promoter architecture. We provide evidence that regulatory switching can occur through horizontal regulatory transfer, which allows regulatory regions to move across strains, and even genera, independently from the genes they regulate. Finally, by experimentally characterizing the fitness effect of a regulatory transfer on a pathogenic E. coli strain, we demonstrate that regulatory switching elicits important phenotypic consequences. Taken together, our findings expose previously unappreciated regulatory plasticity in bacteria and provide a gateway for understanding bacterial phenotypic variation and adaptation.
An evaluation of early medication use for COPD: a population-based cohort study

Purpose The aim of this study was to evaluate the first initiation, sequence of addition, and appropriate prescribing of COPD medications in Manitoba, Canada. Patients and methods A population-based cohort study of COPD medication use was conducted using administrative health care data (1997–2012). Those aged ≥35 years with COPD based on three or more COPD-related outpatient visits over a rolling 24-month window or at least one COPD-related hospitalization were included. The first medication(s) dispensed on or after the date of COPD diagnosis were determined based on pharmacy claims. The next medication(s) in sequence were determined to be additions or switches to the previous regimen. Evaluation of guideline-based appropriateness to receive inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) was based on exacerbation history and past medication use. Results Of 13,369 patients dispensed COPD medications after diagnosis, 66.0% were dispensed short-acting bronchodilators as first medications. Although long-acting bronchodilators alone were uncommonly used as first or subsequent medications, ICS were dispensed as first medications in 28.2% of patients. Over the study period, use of short-acting bronchodilators as first medications declined from 70.6% to 59.4% (P<0.0001), whereas the use of ICS as a first medication increased from 23.5% to 34.4% (P<0.0001). Dispensation of an ICS plus a long-acting β-agonist increased dramatically from 1.2% to 27.3% (P<0.0001). By the end of the study period, the majority of patients (53.3%) were being initiated on two or more medications. Of 5,823 patients dispensed an ICS, 52.4% met Canadian guideline criteria for initiating an ICS, whereas 0.3% met Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease guideline criteria. Conclusion The use of first-line medications has declined over time, replaced primarily by combination inhalers prescribed early without prior trials of appropriate next step medications. This, along with an increasingly predominant use of multiple first medications, indicates a significant degree of medication burden in this already complex patient population.
Improved clinical outcome after intracoronary administration of bone marrow-derived progenitor cells in acute myocardial infarction: final 1-year results of the REPAIR-AMI trial.

We read with great interest the recent article by Schachinger et al. 1 showing improved 1 year clinical outcomes in patients with acute myocardial infarction receiving intracoronary administration of bone marrow-derived progenitors cells (BMCs) after successful reperfusion therapy. The authors attribute the improved clinical outcomes in the treatment group to the recovery of global left ventricular contractile function within 4 months, as recently reported in the same patient population.2 However, we believe that factors other than administration of BMCs may have influenced left …
Decreased cardiac Ang-(1-7) is associated with salt-induced cardiac remodeling and dysfunction

Objective: Angiotensin II has a critical role in the regulation of blood pressure and cell growth and excess activity of the peptide is implicated in the pathogenesis of salt-induced cardiovascular injury. On the other hand, the role of counteracting angiotensin-(1-7) in cardiac structural and functional responses to high salt diet has not been elucidated. Therefore, the present study examined the changes in cardiac angiotensin-(1-7), its forming enzyme angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and receptor mas in response to a high salt diet in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Methods: Eight-week-old male spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) were given an 8% salt diet for 5 weeks (n = 8). Age- and gender-matched controls received standard chow (n = 6). Results: Salt excess increased arterial pressure (p < 0.05) and plasma renin and angiotensin II concentrations (p < 0.05). Salt-induced left ventricular remodeling and diastolic dysfunction were associated with diminished levels of angiotensin-(1-7) in the heart (p < 0.05) and no changes in cardiac angiotensin II levels. Exposure to high salt intake decreased cardiac ACE2 mRNA and protein level (p < 0.05). There was no difference in the protein levels of angiotensin II type 1 and mas receptors between the two experimental groups. Conclusion: The adverse cardiac effects of excessive salt intake may result not only from the undesirable action of angiotensin II but may also be a consequence of diminished protective effects of the angiotensin-(1-7).
The Comparative Linguistics of Knowledge Representation

We develop a methodology for comparing knowledge representation formalisms in terms of their "representational succinctness," that is, their ability to express knowledge situations relatively efficiently. We use this framework for comparing many important formalisms for knowledge base representation: propositional logic, default logic, circumscription, and model preference defaults; and, at a lower level, Horn formulas, characteristic models, decision trees, disjunctive normal form, and conjunctive normal form. We also show that adding new variables improves the effective expressibility of certain knowledge representation formalisms.