Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Predicting the effects of body fatness on food intake and performance of sheep

Adipose tissue produces signals that can have a profound effect on many physiological functions, including energy expenditure and food intake. The hypothesis that variation in food intake of sheep resulting from differences in animal fatness can be predicted from effects of animal fatness on energetic efficiency was subjected to three tests. First, an existing food intake model was adapted to account for effects of animal fatness, as estimated by condition score, on food intake. Parameter values were derived from data obtained with two of five treatment groups of an experiment where ewe lambs were fed either chopped hay or pelleted concentrates. The model predicted the intake of the remaining three treatment groups satisfactorily. The energy intake model was subsequently extended with a protein module based upon a Gompertz curve to simulate changes in body weight and condition score. The model predicted these changes satisfactorily for most treatment groups during the experimental period of 50 weeks. In a last test, the final body weights and body lipid contents of animals fed either hay or concentrates for a period of 3 years were predicted. The predictions for final body weight (77 or 118 kg) and lipid content in the empty body (26 or 58 %) were within the range of expectations for sheep with access to hay or concentrates, respectively. The biological implications of the hypothesis that body fatness acts upon voluntary intake via its effects on energetic efficiency are discussed.
The Levator Aponeurosis Contains Smooth Muscle Fibers: New Findings in Caucasians

Purpose: To examine the microscopic structure of the upper eyelid of Caucasians, in particular looking for evidence of the presence of smooth muscle fibers and the microscopic nature of the levator aponeurosis. Methods: Full-thickness sagittal sections of central upper eyelids from 11 postmortem upper eyelids of 7 Caucasians (age range 78–101 years at death; mean age 87.7 years) were examined. The samples were stained with Masson trichrome and were microscopically examined for the presence of smooth muscle fibers and to determine whether the levator aponeurosis comprised one or more layers. Results: All of the samples contained smooth muscle fibers, which were located posteriorly. Evidence of a clear double-layer structure was found in only 1 sample; the other 10 samples demonstrated a single monolayer, which was not reflected to the orbital septum but continued distally. Conclusions: In this series of upper eyelid specimens of Caucasians, all aponeuroses contained smooth muscle fibers, the distribution of which was more concentrated posteriorly, identical to previous findings in Asian eyelids and suggestive of a possible common mechanism of eyelid tension regulation between races. Most of the levator aponeuroses examined had evidence of a single monolayer only; this represents a further absolute difference in the microanatomical structure of the upper eyelids between Caucasians and Asians.
Systemic immune mechanisms in atopic dermatitis and psoriasis with implications for treatment

Atopic dermatitis (AD) and psoriasis are inflammatory skin diseases that negatively affect patients’ quality of life. Although distinctions exist between these diseases, both are characterized by erythematous, thickened epidermal lesions that vary in intensity and affected body surface area. Early models of aetiology attributed symptoms of both diseases to cutaneous inflammation at lesion sites, but recent studies have established that activated immune mediators in the circulation drive disease severity. Activation of T helper 2 (Th2) and Th22 cells in the circulation appears to be the principal initiator of acute AD pathology, with the emergence of Th1 and Th17/interleukin (IL)‐23 pathway activation marking the transition to a chronic state. The Th17/IL‐23 pathway also has an important role in psoriasis. The role of systemic inflammation in AD and psoriasis is supported by the occurrence of non‐cutaneous comorbidities that affect patients, most of which intensify morbidity and disability associated with lesional skin. Atopic dermatitis is associated with allergic disorders consisting of the “atopic march,” whereas psoriasis is frequently accompanied by psoriatic arthritis. Patients with both disorders are at significantly higher risk of obesity, metabolic disorders, and cardiovascular diseases, all of which feature inflammatory components in their pathology models. These insights have led to novel therapeutics aimed at addressing psoriasis by targeting tumor necrosis factor‐ and Th17‐related cytokine pathways. The success of these agents in psoriasis management is driving new therapeutic approaches for moderate‐to‐severe AD, including agents targeting the Th2 and Th17/Th22 cytokine pathways.
Textile-Based, Interdigital, Capacitive, Soft-Strain Sensor for Wearable Applications

The electronic textile area has gained considerable attention due to its implementation of wearable devices, and soft sensors are the main components of these systems. In this paper, a new sensor design is presented to create stretchable, capacitance-based strain sensors for human motion tracking. This involves the use of stretchable, conductive-knit fabric within the silicone elastomer matrix, as interdigitated electrodes. While conductive fabric creates a secure conductive network for electrodes, a silicone-based matrix provides encapsulation and dimensional-stability to the structure. During the benchtop characterization, sensors show linear output, i.e., R2 = 0.997, with high response time, i.e., 50 ms, and high resolution, i.e., 1.36%. Finally, movement of the knee joint during the different scenarios was successfully recorded.
Writing fluency in patients with low‐grade glioma before and after surgery

Abstract Background Low‐grade glioma (LGG) is a type of brain tumour often situated in or near areas involved in language, sensory or motor functions. Depending on localization and tumour characteristics, language or cognitive impairments due to tumour growth and/or surgical resection are obvious risks. One task that may be at risk is writing, both because it requires intact language and memory function and because it is a very complex and cognitively demanding task. The most commonly reported language deficit in LGG patients is oral lexical‐retrieval difficulties, and poor lexical retrieval would be expected to affect writing fluency. Aims To explore whether writing fluency is affected in LGG patients before and after surgery and whether it is related to performance on tasks of oral lexical retrieval. Methods & Procedures Twenty consecutive patients with presumed LGG wrote a narrative and performed a copy task before undergoing surgery and at 3‐month follow‐up using keystroke‐logging software. The same tasks were performed by a reference group (N = 31). The patients were also tested using the Boston Naming Test (BNT) and word‐fluency tests before and after surgery. Writing fluency was compared between the patients and the reference group, and between the patients before and after surgery. Relationships between performance on tests of oral lexical retrieval and writing fluency were investigated both before and after surgery. Outcome & Results Different aspects of writing fluency were affected in the LGG patients both before and after surgery. However, when controlling for the effect of typing speed, the LGG group differed significantly from the reference group only in the proportion of pauses within words. After surgery, a significant decline was seen in production rate and typing speed in the narrative task, and a significant increase was seen in pauses before words. Strong positive relationships were found between oral lexical retrieval and writing fluency both before and after surgery. Conclusions & Implications Although aspects of writing fluency were affected both before and after surgery, the results indicate that typing speed is an important factor behind the pre‐surgery differences. However, the decline in overall productivity and the increase in pauses before words after surgery could be related to a lexical deficit. This is supported by the finding that oral lexical‐retrieval scores were strongly correlated with writing fluency. However, further exploration is needed to identify the language and cognitive abilities affecting writing processes in LGG patients.
Cat Ownership Perception and Caretaking Explored in an Internet Survey of People Associated with Cats

People who feed cats that they do not perceive they own (sometimes called semi-owners) are thought to make a considerable contribution to unwanted cat numbers because the cats they support are generally not sterilized. Understanding people’s perception of cat ownership and the psychology underlying cat semi-ownership could inform approaches to mitigate the negative effects of cat semi-ownership. The primary aims of this study were to investigate cat ownership perception and to examine its association with human-cat interactions and caretaking behaviours. A secondary aim was to evaluate a definition of cat semi-ownership (including an association time of ≥1 month and frequent feeding), revised from a previous definition proposed in the literature to distinguish cat semi-ownership from casual interactions with unowned cats. Cat owners and semi-owners displayed similar types of interactions and caretaking behaviours. Nevertheless, caretaking behaviours were more commonly displayed towards owned cats than semi-owned cats, and semi-owned cats were more likely to have produced kittens (p<0.01). All interactions and caretaking behaviours were more likely to be displayed towards cats in semi-ownership relationships compared to casual interaction relationships. Determinants of cat ownership perception were identified (p<0.05) and included association time, attachment, perceived cat friendliness and health, and feelings about unowned cats, including the acceptability of feeding unowned cats. Encouraging semi-owners to have the cats they care for sterilized may assist in reducing the number of unwanted kittens and could be a valuable alternative to trying to prevent semi-ownership entirely. Highly accessible semi-owner “gatekeepers” could help to deliver education messages and facilitate the provision of cat sterilization services to semi-owners. This research enabled semi-ownership to be distinguished from casual interaction relationships and can assist welfare and government agencies to identify cat semi-owners in order to develop strategies to address this source of unwanted cats.
The largely unacknowledged impact of climate change on mental health

ABSTRACT In all of the coverage of climate change in the popular press, relatively little attention has been paid to one aspect: mental health. Rising seawaters, increasingly strong storms, and more ferocious droughts caused by climate change are not only devastating to physical infrastructure but also affect human beings in other ways as well: people lose their homes, their jobs, their family members, and their communities. Researchers have found that climate change can cause not only posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from the trauma of displacement from extreme weather events such as Hurricane Katrina but also “pre-traumatic” stress disorder, or, moderate to extreme anxiety about a looming crisis. This paper describes some of these effects, who is most vulnerable to them, some of the social factors involved, and offers some suggestions for possible solutions.
Equilibrium large deviations for mean-field systems with translation invariance

We consider particle systems with mean-field interactions whose distribution is invariant by translations. Under the assumption that the system seen from its centre of mass be reversible with respect to a Gibbs measure, we establish large deviation principles for its empirical measure at equilibrium. Our study covers the cases of McKean-Vlasov particle systems without external potential, and systems of rank-based interacting diffusions. Depending on the strength of the interaction, the large deviation principles are stated in the space of centered probability measures endowed with the Wasserstein topology of appropriate order, or in the orbit space of the action of translations on probability measures. An application to the study of atypical capital distribution is detailed.
Predicting Impacts of Future Climate Change on the Distribution of the Widespread Conifer Platycladus orientalis

Chinese thuja (Platycladus orientalis) has a wide but fragmented distribution in China. It is an important conifer tree in reforestation and plays important roles in ecological restoration in the arid mountains of northern China. Based on high-resolution environmental data for current and future scenarios, we modeled the present and future suitable habitat for P. orientalis, evaluated the importance of environmental factors in shaping the species´ distribution, and identified regions of high risk under climate change scenarios. The niche models showed that P. orientalis has suitable habitat of ca. 4.2×106 km2 across most of eastern China and identified annual temperature, monthly minimum and maximum ultraviolet-B radiation and wet-day frequency as the critical factors shaping habitat availability for P. orientalis. Under the low concentration greenhouse gas emissions scenario, the range of the species may increase as global warming intensifies; however, under the higher concentrations of emissions scenario, we predicted a slight expansion followed by contraction in distribution. Overall, the range shift to higher latitudes and elevations would become gradually more significant. The information gained from this study should be an useful reference for implementing long-term conservation and management strategies for the species.
The Research on Strategies of College English Teachers Classroom Questioning

Questioning is one of the most frequently used strategies in classroom teaching, as well as the most influential teaching skill. It is a useful way for teachers to output information, to convey information and to obtain feedback from students. Teachers can also use it to communicate with their students. Effective questioning in class can encourage students to give relative and complete answers. It can activate students’ thought, develop their recognition and organize the class as well. However, there is little research in teachers’ questioning, especially in which teachers’ questioning and students’ expectations are combined. This study aims to explore the teachers’ questioning characteristics from the following aspects: the types of questions, the ways of answering questions, questioning strategies, the distribution of questions, wait time and feedback in college EFL class. The results may contribute to the teachers’ questioning and the second language acquisition in EFL classrooms; meanwhile it may train students’ language competence and improve the efficiency of teaching quality.
Effects of first feed intake time on growth performance, nutrient apparent metabolic rate and intestinal digestive enzyme activities in broilers

Objective This experiment studied the effects of first feed intake time post-hatch on growth performance, nutrient apparent metabolic rate and intestinal digestive enzyme activities in broilers. Methods Two thousand five hundred and twenty LingNan Yellow broilers were randomly allotted to seven treatments with six replicates of 60 each. The only experimental factor was the first feed intake time which was 18, 24, 30, 36, 42, 48, and 54 hours after hatching. The whole experiment lasted for 21 days. Results During the whole period, the 30 h treatment had the best body weight and average daily gain (p<0.05), followed by the 24 h group performance optimization. Also, the 30 h group was observed to have the best apparent metabolic rate for ether extract (p<0.05) and crude protein (p<0.05) and the highest activities of amylase, lipase and trypsin in small intestine. And the 24 h group was second only to the 30 h group in terms of the above two measures. Conclusion These results indicated that the appropriate first feeding time of LingNan Yellow broilers was 24 to 30 hours after hatching.
Estimating Productivity of Public Infrastructure Investment Guiying

The productivity e¤ect of public infrastructure investment is controversial in the traditional literature using aggregate production function estimation, mainly due to reverse causality. This paper develops a new approach, using a model of endogenous productivity in a rm-level production function, and matching Chinese rm-level production data with province-level infrastructure data. The estimated rates of return are about 6% averaged from 1999 to 2007. The returns triple if national-level spillover e¤ects are taken into account. Controlling the demand e¤ect of public expenditure leads to lower but still positive returns. Firmlevel evidences are consistent with a mechanism in which public infrastructure investment facilitates resource reallocation from less to more productive rms. JEL Classi cation: C23, D24, E22, H54, O40
Mechanical Endonasal Dacryocystorhinostomy Versus External Dacryocystorhinostomy

Purpose To compare the success rates of a new mechanical endonasal dacryocystorhinostomy (MENDCR) technique and the conventional external dacryocystorhinostomy technique (Ext-DCR). Methods A prospective, nonrandomized interventional comparative case series of 31 consecutive MENDCRs and 24 Ext-DCRs performed from January 1999 to December 2000. Patients with anatomic nasolacrimal duct obstruction were included in the study; previous lacrimal surgery and functional nasolacrimal and canalicular obstruction were exclusion criteria. Two surgeons performed the MENDCRs, using a standardized operative technique, which involved creation of a large bony ostium and mucosal flaps between the lacrimal sac mucosa and nasal mucosa. One surgeon performed all Ext-DCRs. Results Twenty-seven patients (8 men, 19 women) underwent 31 MENDCRs. The average age of the patients was 62.9 years (range, 15 to 86 years; SD, 19.1 years). In 11 cases (35.4%), a septoplasty was required at the time of surgery, and in 6 cases (19%), further endoscopic sinus surgery was performed. In the Ext-DCR group, 23 patients (7 men, 16 women) underwent 24 DCRs. The average age was 59.6 years (range, 22 to 86 years; SD, 18.5 years). No other nasal procedures were performed at the time of surgery in this group. The average follow-up time was 13 months for the MENDCR group and 12.4 months for the Ext-DCR group. Success was defined as relief of symptoms and by anatomic patency, which was assessed by history, fluorescein flow on nasal endoscopy, and lacrimal syringing. In the MENDCR group, surgery was successful in 29 of 31 DCRs (93.5%); 1 of 2 failed cases was anatomically patent but symptomatic, yielding an anatomic patency rate of 96.8%. In the Ext-DCR group, the success rate was 95.8% (23/24 DCRs); the failed case was anatomically patent but symptomatic, giving an anatomic patency rate of 100%. The differences in overall success and anatomic patency were not statistically significant (P = 0.6 and P = 0.56, 1-tailed Fisher exact test). Conclusions The success rate of MENDCR (93.5%) compares favorably with that of standard external DCR (95.8% in this study). MENDCR relies on the creation of a large ostium and mucosal flap apposition. A larger, randomized prospective trial is needed to fully assess the efficacy of this new technique.
Intelligent negotiation model for ubiquitous group decision scenarios

Supporting group decision-making in ubiquitous contexts is a complex task that must deal with a large amount of factors to succeed. Here we propose an approach for an intelligent negotiation model to support the group decision-making process specifically designed for ubiquitous contexts. Our approach can be used by researchers that intend to include arguments, complex algorithms, and agents’ modeling in a negotiation model. It uses a social networking logic due to the type of communication employed by the agents and it intends to support the ubiquitous group decision-making process in a similar way to the real process, which simultaneously preserves the amount and quality of intelligence generated in face-to-face meetings. We propose a new look into this problem by considering and defining strategies to deal with important points such as the type of attributes in the multicriterion problems, agents’ reasoning, and intelligent dialogues.
Recurrent Pneumonia due to Fibrosing Mediastinitis in a Teenage Girl: A Case Report with Long-Term Follow-Up

A teenage girl was evaluated for recurrent right pneumonia. The evaluation revealed a calcified mediastinal mass that compressed the right intermediate and middle lobar bronchi, as well as the right pulmonary artery and veins. The clinical picture together with imaging studies and borderline positive serology testing suggested a diagnosis of fibrosing mediastinitis associated with histoplasmosis. This rare condition is characterized by the local proliferation of invasive fibrous tissue within the mediastinum due to a hyperimmune reaction to Histoplasma capsulatum. Antifungal and anti-inflammatory therapies are usually ineffective, and surgical intervention contains a high morbidity risk. Palliative surgery and stenting of the compressed airway have been suggested. In the past, the prognosis was thought to be poor, but recent studies demonstrate a more positive outcome. Our patient had been radiologically and functionally stable under follow-up for over thirteen years and has married and delivered two healthy children, both following an uneventful pregnancy.
A systems biological view of intracellular pathogens

Summary: As biomedical research becomes increasingly data‐intensive, it is increasingly essential to integrate genomic‐scale datasets, so as to generate a more holistic picture of complex biological processes. The systems biology paradigm may differ in strategy from traditional reductionist scientific methods, but the goal remains the same: to generate tenable hypotheses driving the experimental elucidation of biological mechanisms. Intracellular pathogens provide an excellent opportunity for systems analysis, as many of these organisms are amenable to genetic manipulation, allowing their biology to be played off against that of the host. Moreover, many of the most fundamental biological properties of these microbes (host cell invasion, immune evasion, intracellular replication, long‐term persistence) are directly linked to pathogenesis and readily quantifiable using genomic‐scale technologies. In this review, we summarize and discuss some of the available and foreseeable functional genomics datasets pertaining to host–pathogen interactions and suggest that the host–pathogen interface represents a promising, tractable challenge for systems biological analysis. Success will require developing and leveraging new technologies, expanding data acquisition, and increasing public access to comprehensive datasets, to assemble quantitative and testable models of the host–pathogen relationship.