Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of a T'ai Chi-Based Health Promotion Program on Metabolic Syndrome Markers, Health Behaviors, and Quality of Life in Middle-Aged Male Office Workers: A Randomized Trial.

OBJECTIVES To determine the effects of a t'ai chi-applied worksite health promotion program on metabolic syndrome markers, health behaviors, and quality of life in middle-aged male office workers at a high risk of metabolic syndrome. DESIGN A prospective randomized controlled study. SETTING Health center of a government office building in Korea. SUBJECTS Forty-three male office workers with two or more metabolic syndrome markers. INTERVENTIONS The office workers were randomly assigned either to an experimental group that received t'ai chi combined with health education twice weekly for 12 weeks, or to a control group that received health education only. OUTCOME MEASURES Blood sampling for metabolic syndrome markers and structured questionnaires for health behaviors and quality of life. RESULTS The experimental group showed significant reductions in systolic (t = -3.103, p = 0.003) and diastolic (t = -2.159, p = 0.037) blood pressures and the triglyceride level (t = -2.451, p = 0.019) compared with the control group. Those in the experimental group also performed health behaviors more frequently (t = 4.047, p < 0.001) and reported a significantly better quality of life (t = 3.193, p = 0.003) than those in the control group. CONCLUSION The study findings show that t'ai chi was an effective adjunctive intervention in a worksite health promotion program for middle-aged office workers at a high risk of metabolic syndrome. Future studies should examine the long-term effects of t'ai chi-applied worksite health promotion programs in individuals with confirmed metabolic syndrome.
Can Computers Deliberately Deceive? A Simulation Tool and Its Application to Turing's Imitation Game

In this paper, we describe how agents can deceive within a probabilistic framework for representing their mental state: in doing so, we challenge the so‐called sincerity assumption in Human–Computer interaction (HCI) and multi‐agent systems (MAS). We distinguish deception from its special case of lie and characterize different forms of deception, by identifying several criteria for distinguishing among them. In particular, we propose a model of information impact on the Receiver's mind. As the message Sender must plan its strategy by considering the Receiver's criteria for believing, we also discuss some of these criteria, like content plausibility, source informativity, and information safety. We apply this model to a simplified version of Turing's Imitation Game and describe how we implemented a Simulator of deceptive strategies that we called Mouth of Truth. We conclude the paper by describing an evaluation study that enabled us to verify the validity of our method and to revise it in part.
The nature of floral signals in Arabidopsis. II. Roles for FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) and gibberellin

Signals produced in leaves are transported to the shoot apex where they cause flowering. Protein of the gene FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) is probably a long day (LD) signal in Arabidopsis. In the companion paper, rapid LD increases in FT expression associated with flowering driven photosynthetically in red light were documented. In a far red (FR)-rich LD, along with FT there was a potential role for gibberellin (GA). Here, with the GA biosynthesis dwarf mutant ga1-3, GA4-treated plants flowered after 26 d in short days (SD) but untreated plants were still vegetative after 6 months. Not only was FT expression low in SD but applied GA bypassed some of the block to flowering in ft-1. On transfer to LD, ga1-3 only flowered when treated simultaneously with GA, and FT expression increased rapidly (<19.5 h) and dramatically (15-fold). In contrast, in the wild type in LD there was little requirement for GA for FT increase and flowering so its endogenous GA content was near to saturating. Despite this permissive role for endogenous GA in Columbia, RNA interference (RNAi) silencing of the GA biosynthesis gene, GA 20-OXIDASE2, revealed an additional, direct role for GA in LD. Flowering took twice as long after silencing the LD-regulated gene, GA 20-OXIDASE2. Such independent LD input by FT and GA reflects their non-sympatric expression (FT in the leaf blade and GA 20-OXIDASE2 in the petiole). Overall, FT acts as the main LD floral signal in Columbia and GA acts on flowering both via and independently of FT.
Long-term results of the Kumamoto Study on optimal diabetes control in type 2 diabetic patients.

OBJECTIVE To examine whether intensive glycemic control could decrease the frequency or severity of diabetic microvascular complications, an 8-year prospective study of Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes was performed. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A total of 110 patients with type 2 diabetes (55 with no retinopathy [the primary prevention cohort] and 55 with simple retinopathy [the secondary intervention cohort]) were randomly assigned to multiple insulin injection therapy (MIT) groups and administered three or more daily insulin injections or assigned to conventional insulin injection therapy (CIT) groups and administered one or two daily intermediate-acting insulin injections. Worsening of microvascular complications was regularly assessed during 8 years. Two or more steps up in the 19 stages of the modified Early Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy Study classification in retinopathy and one or more stages up among three stages in nephropathy (normoalbuminuria, microalbuminuria, and albuminuria) were defined as worsening of complications. RESULTS In both primary prevention and secondary intervention cohorts, the cumulative percentages of worsening in retinopathy and nephropathy were significantly lower (P < 0.05) in the MIT group than in the CIT group. In neurological tests after 8 years, the MIT group showed significant improvement (P < 0.05) in the median nerve conduction velocities (motor and sensory nerves), whereas the CIT group showed significant deterioration (P < 0.05) in the nerve conduction velocities and vibration threshold. From this study, the glycemic threshold to prevent the onset and progression of diabetic microvascular complications was as follows: HbA1c < 6.5%, fasting blood glucose concentration < 110 mg/dl, and 2-h postprandial blood glucose concentration < 180 mg/dl. CONCLUSIONS Intensive glycemic control can delay the onset and progression of the early stages of diabetic microvascular complications in Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes.
The Acquisition of Ontological Categories : the Mass Nouns Issue

This paper explores the properties of mass and count nouns in child language. Results from experimental research with English speaking children are compared with an analysis of the spontaneous speech production of Italian-speaking children. It is argued that children exposed to Italian and English as young as two know that the target grammar distinguishes between count and mass nouns. Their knowledge however is not fully adultlike: nouns still have to be classified as mass or count. In the classification process, distribution plays a major role. Syntactic properties guide the child in classifying nouns as mass or count. Semantic and perceptual properties play a minor role but can be used by the child in absence of distributional evidence. Introduction This paper is concerned with the distinction between mass and count nouns in child language. First we describe the main properties of mass nouns, then we briefly outline Chierchia’s theory. The third and the fourth section investigate how the distinction is acquired: we will comment on the spontaneous speech of three Italian children and the experiments and the analysis conducted by Gordon (1982, 1985, 1988) and Gathercole (1986). The last section provides the conclusions. 1 Empirical Properties of Count and Mass Nouns Let us list the most important properties of mass nouns. Mass and count nouns show different syntactic and semantic properties. We begin with the major distributional properties. The first property we need to consider is plural morphology: count nouns have a singular and a plural form, while mass nouns have only one morphological form. (1) a. I want sandwiches. b. *I want waters. The second property is related to determiners. Consider the following examples: 1 On this topic see Pelletier (1979) and Pelletier and Schubert (1987). 2 Obviously, we do not mean that mass nouns do not have a different morphological form. What is important is that they cannot occur in plural contexts, for example as subjects of plural verbs. Even if this is the most clear difference between count and mass nouns, a caveat is necessary: plural forms of mass nouns are not ungrammatical. As the universal grinder described by Pelletier (1977) shows, it is always possible to use a mass noun as count and vice versa, but such uses are special or marked; nouns can occur in any grammatical context, but they prefer one context over the other.
Complexity in bacterial cell–cell communication: Quorum signal integration and subpopulation signaling in the Bacillus subtilis phosphorelay

A common form of quorum sensing in Gram-positive bacteria is mediated by peptides that act as phosphatase regulators (Phr) of receptor aspartyl phosphatases (Raps). In Bacillus subtilis, several Phr signals are integrated in sporulation phosphorelay signal transduction. We theoretically demonstrate that the phosphorelay can act as a computational machine performing a sensitive division operation of kinase-encoded signals by quorum-modulated Rap signals, indicative of cells computing a “food per cell” estimate to decide whether to enter sporulation. We predict expression from the rapA-phrA operon to bifurcate as relative environmental signals change in a developing population. We experimentally observe that the rapA-phrA operon is heterogeneously induced in sporulating microcolonies. Uninduced cells sporulate rather synchronously early on, whereas the RapA/PhrA subpopulation sporulates less synchronously throughout later stationary phase. Moreover, we show that cells sustain PhrA expression during periods of active growth. Together with the model, these findings suggest that the phosphorelay may normalize environmental signals by the size of the (sub)population actively competing for nutrients (as signaled by PhrA). Generalizing this concept, the various Phrs could facilitate subpopulation communication in dense isogenic communities to control the physiological strategies followed by differentiated subpopulations by interpreting (environmental) signals based on the spatiotemporal community structure.
An extension of disjunctive programming and its impact for compact tree formulations

In the 1970’s, Balas [2, 4] introduced the concept of disjunctive programming, which is optimization over unions of polyhedra. One main result of his theory is that, given linear descriptions for each of the polyhedra to be taken in the union, one can easily derive an extended formulation of the convex hull of the union of these polyhedra. In this paper, we give a generalization of this result by extending the polyhedral structure of the variables coupling the polyhedra taken in the union. Using this generalized concept, we derive polynomial size linear programming formulations (compact formulations) of a well- known spanning tree approximation of Steiner trees and flow equivalent trees for node- as well as edge- capacitated undirected networks. We also present a compact formulation for Gomory-Hu trees, and, as a consequence, of the minimum T-cut problem (but not for the associated T-cut polyhedron). Recently, Kaibel and Loos [10] introduced a more involved framework called polyhedral branching systems to derive extended formulations. The most of our model can be expressed in terms of their framework. The value of our model can be seen in the fact that it completes their framework with an interesting algorithmic aspect.
Laparoscopic Appendectomy: a Junior Trainee's Learning Curve

Background: Appendicectomy has traditionally been a training operation for junior surgical trainees. With the increased incidence of laparoscopic appendicectomy, concern has increased about the safety of this far more technically demanding procedure in the hands of junior surgical trainees. The learning curve of a junior surgeon is presented. Methods: Consecutive patients having laparoscopic appendicectomy were studied. A 3-port Hasson technique was used. Patient demographics, conversion rate and reason for conversion, operation times, number of complicated cases (retrocecal position, dense adhesions, perforated/gangrenous/abscess associated appendicitis), and postoperative complications were recorded. The moving average and cumulative sum (CUSUM) methods were used to delineate the learning curve. Results: Forty patients were studied. Median age was 24 (IQR: 18, 40). Twenty-nine (72.5%) patients were female. Data were not available for 3 patients (6%); the remaining patients form the basis of this study. A statistically significant improvement occurred in operating time between group 2 and group 3, P<0.0001 (95% CI, 21.23 to 47.99). The CUSUM plot demonstrates that the learning curve was surmounted by 20 cases performed. Conclusions: Laparoscopic appendicectomy is a safe procedure for junior trainees, and the learning curve stabilizes by 20 cases performed.
Reputation offsets trust judgments based on social biases among Airbnb users

Significance We investigate the extent to which artificial features engineered by sharing-economy platforms, such as reputation systems, can be used to override people’s tendency to base judgments of trustworthiness on social biases, such as to trust others who are similar (i.e., homophily). To this end, we engaged 8,906 users of Airbnb as volunteers in an online experiment. We demonstrate that homophily based on several demographic characteristics is a relatively weak driver of trust. In fact, having high reputation is enough to counteract homophily. Using Airbnb data, we present evidence that the effects we found experimentally are at work in the actual platform. Lastly, we found an inverse relationship between risk aversion and trust in those with positive reputations. To provide social exchange on a global level, sharing-economy companies leverage interpersonal trust between their members on a scale unimaginable even a few years ago. A challenge to this mission is the presence of social biases among a large heterogeneous and independent population of users, a factor that hinders the growth of these services. We investigate whether and to what extent a sharing-economy platform can design artificially engineered features, such as reputation systems, to override people’s natural tendency to base judgments of trustworthiness on social biases. We focus on the common tendency to trust others who are similar (i.e., homophily) as a source of bias. We test this argument through an online experiment with 8,906 users of Airbnb, a leading hospitality company in the sharing economy. The experiment is based on an interpersonal investment game, in which we vary the characteristics of recipients to study trust through the interplay between homophily and reputation. Our findings show that reputation systems can significantly increase the trust between dissimilar users and that risk aversion has an inverse relationship with trust given high reputation. We also present evidence that our experimental findings are confirmed by analyses of 1 million actual hospitality interactions among users of Airbnb.
Child consumption of fruit and vegetables: the roles of child cognitions and parental feeding practices

Abstract Objective To examine the roles of child cognitions and parental feeding practices in explaining child intentions and behaviour regarding fruit and vegetable consumption. Design Cross-sectional surveys among pre-adolescent children and their parents. Setting The child questionnaire included measures of fruit and vegetable consumption and cognitions regarding fruit and vegetable consumption as postulated by the Attitude–Social Influence–Self-Efficacy (ASE) model. The parent questionnaire included measures of parental feeding practices derived from the Comprehensive Feeding Practices Questionnaire (CFPQ). Subjects In total, 963 parents and 796 students in grades 5 and 6 from eighteen schools in the south-western part of Norway participated. Results A large portion of child intention to eat fruit and child fruit consumption was explained by child cognitions (29 % and 25 %, respectively). This also applied to child intention to eat vegetables and child vegetable consumption (42 % and 27 %, respectively). Parent-reported feeding practices added another 3 % to the variance explained for child intention to eat fruit and 4 % to the variance explained for child vegetable consumption. Conclusions The results from the present study supported the application of the ASE model for explaining the variance in child intentions to eat fruit and vegetables and in child consumption of fruit and vegetables. Furthermore, our findings indicated that some parental feeding practices do have an influence on child intentions and behaviour regarding fruit and vegetable consumption. However, the role of parental feeding practices, and the pathways between feeding practices and child eating intentions and behaviour, needs to be further investigated.
Parsing Coordinations

The present paper is concerned with statistical parsing of constituent structures in German. The paper presents four experiments that aim at improving parsing performance of coordinate structure: 1) reranking the n-best parses of a PCFG parser, 2) enriching the input to a PCFG parser by gold scopes for any conjunct, 3) reranking the parser output for all possible scopes for conjuncts that are permissible with regard to clause structure. Experiment 4 reranks a combination of parses from experiments 1 and 3. The experiments presented show that n-best parsing combined with reranking improves results by a large margin. Providing the parser with different scope possibilities and reranking the resulting parses results in an increase in F-score from 69.76 for the baseline to 74.69. While the F-score is similar to the one of the first experiment (n-best parsing and reranking), the first experiment results in higher recall (75.48% vs. 73.69%) and the third one in higher precision (75.43% vs. 73.26%). Combining the two methods results in the best result with an F-score of 76.69.
Nanotechnology in Meat Processing and Packaging: Potential Applications — A Review

Growing demand for sustainable production, increasing competition and consideration of health concerns have led the meat industries on a path to innovation. Meat industries across the world are focusing on the development of novel meat products and processes to meet consumer demand. Hence, a process innovation, like nanotechnology, can have a significant impact on the meat processing industry through the development of not only novel functional meat products, but also novel packaging for the products. The potential benefits of utilizing nanomaterials in food are improved bioavailability, antimicrobial effects, enhanced sensory acceptance and targeted delivery of bioactive compounds. However, challenges exist in the application of nanomaterials due to knowledge gaps in the production of ingredients such as nanopowders, stability of delivery systems in meat products and health risks caused by the same properties which also offer the benefits. For the success of nanotechnology in meat products, challenges in public acceptance, economics and the regulation of food processed with nanomaterials which may have the potential to persist, accumulate and lead to toxicity need to be addressed. So far, the most promising area for nanotechnology application seems to be in meat packaging, but the long term effects on human health and environment due to migration of the nanomaterials from the packaging needs to be studied further. The future of nanotechnology in meat products depends on the roles played by governments, regulatory agencies and manufacturers in addressing the challenges related to the application of nanomaterials in food.
Relationships between cellular immune responses and treatment outcomes with interferon and ribavirin in HIV/hepatitis C virus co-infection

Objective:To test the hypothesis that hepatitis C virus (HCV)-specific interferon (IFN)γ immune responses are correlated with HCV virological response following treatment in subjects with HIV-1 and HCV co-infection. Design:Immune responses were studied in a treatment trial comparing standard interferon alfa (IFN) to pegylated interferon alfa (PEG-IFN), each with ribavirin (R). Methods:Using HCV antigens core, NS3 and NS5, and Candida, enzyme-linked immunosorbent spots on peripheral blood mononuclear cells measured IFNγ and interleukin (IL)-10 production. Immunologic, virologic and clinical variables were modeled using recursive partitioning (CART) to identify factors associated with HCV virological response at week 24 (VR) and week 72 (SVR) in 108 patients. Results:There were no significant differences in baseline IFNγ immune responses and higher IL-10 to NS3 in subjects with VR versus non-responders. Subjects who had significant decreases in IL-10 responses at week 24 compared to baseline for NS3, NS5, or summed HCV responses were more likely to be VR. Using baseline immunological responses and clinical data in CART models, patients who were randomized to PEG-IFN/R and had high IL-10 responses to summed HCV proteins were more likely to be VR (73%), whereas those on IFN/R who had low IFNγ responses to Candida were less likely to be VR (5%). The main correlate of SVR for genotype-1 subjects was maintenance of HCV-specific IFNγ responses from baseline to week 72. Conclusions:In this cohort of subjects with HIV and HCV, a decrease in HCV-specific IL-10 responses and maintenance of IFNγ responses during treatment with IFN were associated with week 24 or 72 virological response.
Actomyosin motility detection using quartz crystal microbalance

A 5 MHz Quartz Crystal Microbalance was used to investigate changes in resonant frequency and motional resistance of the protein film during in vitro actomyosin motility on a poly (tert-butyl methacrylate) surface. QCM crystal frequency was found to decrease with adsorption of heavy meromyosin (HMM) to the crystal surface, and with binding of additional protein during the standard BSA blocking step. The frequency and resistance signals after binding of dead HMM heads in actin rigor complexes were consistent with those expected for a film becoming more rigid, but suggested that little mass was added during this step. Addiion of the low concentration of actin used for motility did not cause a significant signal response, but addition of ATP to initiate actin filament movement caused both frequency and resistance signals to increase slightly, consistent with a less rigid protein film of lower apparent mass, suggesting that moving filaments are felt with a lower effective mass than strongly bound static filaments. The frequency signal also fluctuated significantly during motility, consistent with a dynamic process occurring on the crystal surface.