Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Body fat and dairy product intake in lactase persistent and non-persistent children and adolescents

Background Lactase non-persistent (LNP) individuals may be lactose intolerant and therefore on a more restricted diet concerning milk and milk products compared to lactase persistent (LP) individuals. This may have an impact on body fat mass. Objective This study examines if LP and LNP children and adolescents, defined by genotyping for the LCT-13910 C > T polymorphism, differ from each other with regard to milk and milk product intake, and measures of body fat mass. Design Children (n=298, mean age 9.6 years) and adolescents (n=386, mean age 15.6 years), belonging to the Swedish part of the European Youth Heart Study, were genotyped for the LCT-13910 C > T polymorphism. Dietary intakes of reduced and full-fat dairy varieties were determined. Results LNP (CC genotype) subjects consumed less milk, soured milk and yoghurt compared to LP (CT/TT genotype) subjects (p<0.001). Subsequent partitioning for age group attenuated this observation (p=0.002 for children and p=0.023 in adolescents). Six subjects were reported by parents to be ‘lactose intolerant’, none of whom were LNP. LNP children and adolescents consumed significantly less reduced fat milk and milk products than LP children and adolescents (p=0.009 for children and p=0.001 for adolescents). Conclusions We conclude that LP is linked to an overall higher milk and dairy intake, but is not linked to higher body fat mass in children and adolescents.
The Association between Health Behaviours and Academic Performance in Canadian Elementary School Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Establishing early healthy eating and physical activity behaviours is critical in supporting children’s long-term health and well-being. The objective of the current paper was to examine the association between health behaviours and academic performance in elementary school students in a school board in Nova Scotia, Canada. Methods: Our population-based study included students in grades 4–6 across 18 schools in a rural school board. Diet and physical activity were assessed through validated instruments. Academic performance measures were obtained from the school board for Mathematics and English Language Arts (ELA). Associations between health behaviours and academic performance were assessed using multilevel logistic regression. Results: Students with unhealthy lifestyle behaviours were more likely to have poor academic performance for both ELA and Mathematics compared to students with healthy lifestyle behaviours; associations were statistically significant for diet quality, physical activity, sugar-sweetened beverage consumption for ELA; and breakfast skipping, not being physically active at morning recess, and not being physically active after school for Mathematics. The effects of diet and physical activity were independent of each other and there was no interaction between the two exposures. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that support for healthy behaviours may help to improve academic outcomes of students.
A feature set for streams and an application to high-frequency financial tick data

We propose a set of features to study the effects of data streams on complex systems. This feature set is called the the signature representation of a stream. It has its origin in pure mathematics and relies on a relationship between non-commutative polynomials and paths. This representation had already signifcant impact on algebraic topology, control theory, numerics for PDEs, stochastic analysis and the theory of rough paths; more recently first steps have been taken to apply such methods to the study of big data streams. We show that the signature representation can provide an efficient summary of a stream and its effects. We then show that it can be combined with standard tools from machine learning. After introducing the signature for streams and some theoretical background, we apply this approach to a challenging real-world example: high-frequency financial data streams. In this context, the streams are tick-by-tick market data of a stock traded at the New York stock exchange NYSE and the effect of the stream is the profit and loss of complex investment strategies (i.e. a nonlinear functional of the stream). Our numerical results (applied to Thomson--Reuters tick data of several full trading days for IBM stocks) show that the signature of the price stream efficiently captures the necessary information to learn the return of an investment strategy. However, we emphasize that the underlying ideas are not limited to financial data streams and have the potential to be applied to many other areas in data mining where the non-commutative nature of streams is of importance, like text mining, bioinformatics or click history.
Modeling time-varying topologies of duty-cycled wireless sensor networks

Transceiver duty-cycling (DC) is a popular technique to conserve energy in a wireless sensor network (WSN). We therefore focus on studying the performance of a DC-WSN with respect to its throughput. We assume a deterministic DC behavior. Our elementary notion of traffic is that of a traffic flow, routed via multiple hops from a source to a destination node. Since DC results in different network "links" to be present at different points in time (a "link" exists only if both adjacent nodes are ON at the same time), the topology of the network varies over time. In this paper, we propose a general approach of modeling time-varying topologies of duty-cycled networks via node phases by dividing node cycles into unchanged-topology stages, in which the rates allocated to multi-hop flows can be expressed as solution of a max-min problem (assuming predetermined routing) and the rates computed via the max-min programming (MP) algorithm.
De novo mutations in PURA are associated with hypotonia and developmental delay

PURA is the leading candidate gene responsible for the developmental phenotype in the 5q31.3 microdeletion syndrome. De novo mutations in PURA were recently reported in 15 individuals with developmental features similar to the 5q31.3 microdeletion syndrome. Here we describe six unrelated children who were identified by clinical whole-exome sequencing (WES) to have novel de novo variants in PURA with a similar phenotype of hypotonia and developmental delay and frequently associated with seizures. The protein Purα (encoded by PURA) is involved in neuronal proliferation, dendrite maturation, and the transport of mRNA to translation sites during neuronal development. Mutations in PURA may alter normal brain development and impair neuronal function, leading to developmental delay and the seizures observed in patients with mutations in PURA.
Multiresolution Ensemble Forecasts of an Observed Tornadic Thunderstorm System. Part I: Comparsion of Coarse- and Fine-Grid Experiments

Abstract Using a nonhydrostatic numerical model with horizontal grid spacing of 24 km and nested grids of 6- and 3-km spacing, the authors employ the scaled lagged average forecasting (SLAF) technique, developed originally for global and synoptic-scale prediction, to generate ensemble forecasts of a tornadic thunderstorm complex that occurred in north-central Texas on 28–29 March 2000. This is the first attempt, to their knowledge, in applying ensemble techniques to a cloud-resolving model using radar and other observations assimilated within nonhorizontally uniform initial conditions and full model physics. The principal goal of this study is to investigate the viability of ensemble forecasting in the context of explicitly resolved deep convective storms, with particular emphasis on the potential value added by fine grid spacing and probabilistic versus deterministic forecasts. Further, the authors focus on the structure and growth of errors as well as the application of suitable quantitative metrics to .
7 Extensions 7.1 Presuppositions

among others). In both cases, disjunction and existentials are taken to introduce sets of alternatives. In the case of alternative semantics, this treatment is motivated by a number of empirical phenomena, including free choice inferences, exclusivity implicatures, and conditionals with disjunc-tive antecedents. The analysis of disjunction and existentials as introducing sets of alternatives has made it possible to develop new accounts of these phenomena which improve considerably on previous accounts. However, alternative semantics does not provide any motivation for the alternative treatment of disjunction and indefinites independently of the linguistic phenomena at hand. Moreover, the treatment of disjunction in alternative semantics has been presented as a real alternative for the classical treatment of disjunction as a join operator. Thus, it appears that adopting the alternative treatment of disjunction forces one to give up the classical account. The algebraically motivated inquisitive semantics presented here sheds new light on these two issues. First, it shows that, once inquisitive content is taken into consideration besides informative content, general algebraic considerations lead essentially to the treatment of disjunction that was proposed in alternative semantics, thus providing exactly the independent motivation that has so far been missing. Moreover, it shows that the 'alternative' treatment of disjunction is actually a natural generalization of the classical treatment: disjunction is still taken to behave semantically as a join operator, only now the meanings that this join operator applies to are more fine-grained in order to capture both informative and inquisitive content. Thus, we can have our cake and eat it: we can adopt a treatment of disjunction as introducing sets of alternatives, and still characterize it as a join operator. So far, we have discussed the general philosophical underpinnings of inquisitive semantics and explored in more detail the system InqB, which we consider to be the most basic implementation of the framework. In the present section, we discuss some extensions of InqB. In the extended systems, the notion of meaning is further enriched, in order to capture differences in meaning 45 that go beyond informative and inquisitive content, and can therefore not be captured in InqB. The extensions that we will discuss are modular. Thus, depending on the type of linguistic phenomenon under consideration, certain extensions may be adopted and others may be left out, in order to obtain a system that is just rich enough to deal with the phenomenon at hand. We must note up front …
The political economy dimensions of macroeconomic management of aid in Ghana

This paper contributes to the debate on aid effectiveness by looking at the ‘how’ of aid effectiveness. In other words it provides an assessment of whether aid only filled a financing gap or whether it, in addition, helped influence the political economy in a way that engendered growth. Ghana provides a good case for an assessment of this question as it saw significant aid inflows over the last two and a half decades and also recorded significant growth and poverty reduction. The paper asserts that aid has impacted positively on growth, in part through the creation of an enabling environment for private sector-led growth. It also argues that aid has helped shape macroeconomic management in Ghana, identifying three channels through which aid has supported macroeconomic management. First, aid has supported both physical and social infrastructure and therefore growth. Second, aid has helped reduce fiscal instability by limiting domestic borrowing. Third, it helped shape the general policy direction in Ghana. It concludes by arguing that the aid-induced policy has helped in the operation of a more effective and efficient market system in Ghana today.
Social discourse and normative influences

In the national survey “Analyse des Comportements Sexuels en France” (ACSF, N=20.000), we have designed a module allowing to describe up to three relation of confidence about sexual and emotional affairs (sub sample N=2340). That chapter presents the size and the composition of confidence networks in various categories of population, showing noticeably the important proportions of peoples who speak to no one of their sexual affairs (the steady sexual partner could not be cited). We suppose that it impedes the adaptation and adoption of campaign messages (it prevents the “two step flow”). The last part shows how interviewees perceive the sexual behaviour of their confident (that we define as practical norms). The younger you are, the higher status you have, the more seemingly your are to have an heterogeneous network composed of confidents who sexually behave and who react to AIDS differently from each others.
Investigating Empathy-Like Responding to Conspecifics’ Distress in Pet Dogs

Empathy covers a wide range of phenomena varying according to the degree of cognitive complexity involved; ranging from emotional contagion, defined as the sharing of others’ emotional states, to sympathetic concern requiring animals to have an appraisal of the others’ situation and showing concern-like behaviors. While most studies have investigated how animals reacted in response to conspecifics’ distress, dogs so far have mainly been targeted to examine cross-species empathic responses. To investigate whether dogs would respond with empathy-like behavior also to conspecifics, we adopted a playback method using conspecifics’ vocalizations (whines) recorded during a distressful event as well as control sounds. Our subjects were first exposed to a playback phase where they were subjected either to a control sound, a familiar whine (from their familiar partner) or a stranger whine stimulus (from a stranger dog), and then a reunion phase where the familiar partner entered the room. When exposed to whines, dogs showed a higher behavioral alertness and exhibited more stress-related behaviors compared to when exposed to acoustically similar control sounds. Moreover, they demonstrated more comfort-offering behaviors toward their familiar partners following whine playbacks than after control stimuli. Furthermore, when looking at the first session, this comfort offering was biased towards the familiar partner when subjects were previously exposed to the familiar compared to the stranger whines. Finally, familiar whine stimuli tended to maintain higher cortisol levels while stranger whines did not. To our knowledge, these results are the first to suggest that dogs can experience and demonstrate “empathic-like” responses to conspecifics’ distress-calls.
The Preparation and Execution of Self-Initiated and Externally-Triggered Movement: A Study of Event-Related fMRI

Studies of functional brain imaging in humans and single cell recordings in monkeys have generally shown preferential involvement of the medially located supplementary motor area (SMA) in self-initiated movement and the lateral premotor cortex in externally cued movement. Studies of event-related cortical potentials recorded during movement preparation, however, generally show increased cortical activity prior to self-initiated movements but little activity at early stages prior to movements that are externally cued at unpredictable times. In this study, the spatial location and relative timing of activation for self-initiated and externally triggered movements were examined using rapid event-related functional MRI. Twelve healthy right-handed subjects were imaged while performing a brief finger sequence movement (three rapid alternating button presses: index-middle-index finger) made either in response to an unpredictably timed auditory cue (between 8 to 24 s after the previous movement) or at self-paced irregular intervals. Both movement conditions involved similar strong activation of medial motor areas including the pre-SMA, SMA proper, and rostral cingulate cortex, as well as activation within contralateral primary motor, superior parietal, and insula cortex. Activation within the basal ganglia was found for self-initiated movements only, while externally triggered movements involved additional bilateral activation of primary auditory cortex. Although the level of SMA and cingulate cortex activation did not differ significantly between movement conditions, the timing of the hemodynamic response within the pre-SMA was significantly earlier for self-initiated compared with externally triggered movements. This clearly reflects involvement of the pre-SMA in early processes associated with the preparation for voluntary movement.
Which Way Is Down? Positional Distortion in the Tilt Illusion

Contextual information can have a huge impact on our sensory experience. The tilt illusion is a classic example of contextual influence exerted by an oriented surround on a target's perceived orientation. Traditionally, the tilt illusion has been described as the outcome of inhibition between cortical neurons with adjacent receptive fields and a similar preference for orientation. An alternative explanation is that tilted contexts could produce a re-calibration of the subjective frame of reference. Although the distinction is subtle, only the latter model makes clear predictions for unoriented stimuli. In the present study, we tested one such prediction by asking four naive subjects to estimate three positions (4, 6, and 8 o'clock) on an imaginary clock face within a tilted surround. To indicate their estimates, they used either an unoriented dot or a line segment, with one endpoint at fixation in the middle of the surround. The surround's tilt was randomly chosen from a set of orientations (±75°, ±65°, ±55°, ±45°, ±35°, ±25°, ±15°, ±5° with respect to vertical) across trials. Our results showed systematic biases consistent with the tilt illusion in both conditions. Biases were largest when observers attempted to estimate the 4 and 8 o'clock positions, but there was no significant difference between data gathered with the dot and data gathered with the line segment. A control experiment confirmed that biases were better accounted for by a local coordinate shift than to torsional eye movements induced by the tilted context. This finding supports the idea that tilted contexts distort perceived positions as well as perceived orientations and cannot be readily explained by lateral interactions between orientation selective cells in V1.
Turning Body and Self Inside Out

Prominent theories highlight the importance of bodily perception for self-consciousness, but it is currently not known whether bodily perception is based on interoceptive or exteroceptive signals or on integrated signals from these anatomically distinct systems. In the research reported here, we combined both types of signals by surreptitiously providing participants with visual exteroceptive information about their heartbeat: A real-time video image of a periodically illuminated silhouette outlined participants’ (projected, “virtual”) bodies and flashed in synchrony with their heartbeats. We investigated whether these “cardio-visual” signals could modulate bodily self-consciousness and tactile perception. We report two main findings. First, synchronous cardio-visual signals increased self-identification with and self-location toward the virtual body, and second, they altered the perception of tactile stimuli applied to participants’ backs so that touch was mislocalized toward the virtual body. We argue that the integration of signals from the inside and the outside of the human body is a fundamental neurobiological process underlying self-consciousness.
Localization of laminin B1 mRNA in retinal ganglion cells by in situ hybridization

In the nervous system, neuronal migration and axonal growth are dependent on specific interactions with extracellular matrix proteins. During development of the vertebrate retina, ganglion cell axons extend along the internal limiting (basement) membrane and form the optic nerve. Laminin, a major component of basement membranes, is known to be present in the internal limiting membrane, and might be involved in the growth of ganglion cell axons. The identity of the cells that produce retinal laminin, however, has not been established. In the present study, we have used in situ hybridization to localize the sites of laminin B1 mRNA synthesis in the developing mouse retina. Our results show that there are at least two principal sites of laminin B1 mRNA synthesis: (a) the hyaloid vessels and the lens during the period of major axonal outgrowth, and (b) the retinal ganglion cells at later development stages. Muller (glial) cells, the major class of nonneuronal cells in the retina, do not appear to express laminin B1 mRNA either during development or in the adult retina. In Northern blots, we found a single transcript of approximately 6-kb size that encodes the laminin B1 chain in the retina. Moreover, laminin B1 mRNA level was four- to fivefold higher in the postnatal retina compared to that in the adult. Our results show that in addition to nonneuronal cells, retinal ganglion cells also synthesize laminin. The function of laminin in postnatal retinas, however, remains to be elucidated. Nevertheless, our findings raise the possibility that neurons in other parts of the nervous system might also synthesize extracellular matrix proteins.
Knowledge based reconstruction of buildings

This paper presents a knowledge-based approach for automatic 3D building reconstruction. By combining the aerial image analysis with information from GIS maps and domain-specific knowledge, the complexity of the building reconstruction process can be greatly reduced. The building reconstruction process is described as a tree search in the space of possible building hypotheses. To guide the search of the tree an evaluation function based on mutual information is defined. This evaluation function allows comparison of different building hypotheses obtained by applying a fitting algorithm. The performance of the 3D reconstruction is improved by incorporating geometric constraints.
Gas Cooling Through Galaxy Formations

Gas cooling was studied in two different boxes of sizes and by simulation at same redshifts. The gas cooling is shown in four different redshifts (z=1.15, 0.5, 0.1 and 0). In the simulation the positions of the clumps of cooled gas were studied with slices of the two volumes and also the density of cooled gas of the two volumes shown in the simulation. From the process of gas cooling it is clear that this process gives different results in the two cases. Index TermGas Cooling, S imulation, galaxy Formation.