Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Vitamin A Supplementation Programs and Country-Level Evidence of Vitamin A Deficiency

Vitamin A supplementation (VAS) programs targeted at children aged 6–59 months are implemented in many countries. By improving immune function, vitamin A (VA) reduces mortality associated with measles, diarrhea, and other illnesses. There is currently a debate regarding the relevance of VAS, but amidst the debate, researchers acknowledge that the majority of nationally-representative data on VA status is outdated. To address this data gap and contribute to the debate, we examined data from 82 countries implementing VAS programs, identified other VA programs, and assessed the recentness of national VA deficiency (VAD) data. We found that two-thirds of the countries explored either have no VAD data or data that were >10 years old (i.e., measured before 2006), which included twenty countries with VAS coverage ≥70%. Fifty-one VAS programs were implemented in parallel with at least one other VA intervention, and of these, 27 countries either had no VAD data or data collected in 2005 or earlier. To fill these gaps in VAD data, countries implementing VAS and other VA interventions should measure VA status in children at least every 10 years. At the same time, the coverage of VA interventions can also be measured. We identified three countries that have scaled down VAS, but given the lack of VA deficiency data, this would be a premature undertaking in most countries without appropriate status assessment. While the global debate about VAS is important, more attention should be directed towards individual countries where programmatic decisions are made.
Children and Adolescents and Digital Media

Today’s children and adolescents are immersed in both traditional and new forms of digital media. Research on traditional media, such as television, has identified health concerns and negative outcomes that correlate with the duration and content of viewing. Over the past decade, the use of digital media, including interactive and social media, has grown, and research evidence suggests that these newer media offer both benefits and risks to the health of children and teenagers. Evidence-based benefits identified from the use of digital and social media include early learning, exposure to new ideas and knowledge, increased opportunities for social contact and support, and new opportunities to access health promotion messages and information. Risks of such media include negative health effects on sleep, attention, and learning; a higher incidence of obesity and depression; exposure to inaccurate, inappropriate, or unsafe content and contacts; and compromised privacy and confidentiality. This technical report reviews the literature regarding these opportunities and risks, framed around clinical questions, for children from birth to adulthood. To promote health and wellness in children and adolescents, it is important to maintain adequate physical activity, healthy nutrition, good sleep hygiene, and a nurturing social environment. A healthy Family Media Use Plan (www.healthychildren.org/MediaUsePlan) that is individualized for a specific child, teenager, or family can identify an appropriate balance between screen time/online time and other activities, set boundaries for accessing content, guide displays of personal information, encourage age-appropriate critical thinking and digital literacy, and support open family communication and implementation of consistent rules about media use.
Partial resampling to approximate covering integer programs †

We consider column‐sparse covering integer programs, a generalization of set cover. We develop a new rounding scheme based on the partial resampling variant of the Lovász Local Lemma developed by Harris and Srinivasan. This achieves an approximation ratio of 1+ln(Δ1+1)amin+O(log(1+log(Δ1+1)amin)) , where amin is the minimum covering constraint and Δ1 is the maximum ℓ1‐norm of any column of the covering matrix A (whose entries are scaled to lie in [0, 1]). With additional constraints on the variable sizes, we get an approximation ratio of lnΔ0+O(loglogΔ0) (where Δ0 is the maximum number of nonzero entries in any column of A). These results improve asymptotically over results of Srinivasan and results of Kolliopoulos and Young. We show nearly‐matching lower bounds. We also show that the rounding process leads to negative correlation among the variables.
Benefits and pitfalls of GRACE data assimilation: A case study of terrestrial water storage depletion in India

This study investigates some of the benefits and drawbacks of assimilating terrestrial water storage (TWS) observations from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) into a land surface model over India. GRACE observes TWS depletion associated with anthropogenic groundwater extraction in northwest India. The model, however, does not represent anthropogenic groundwater withdrawals and is not skillful in reproducing the interannual variability of groundwater. Assimilation of GRACE TWS introduces long‐term trends and improves the interannual variability in groundwater. But the assimilation also introduces a negative trend in simulated evapotranspiration, whereas in reality evapotranspiration is likely enhanced by irrigation, which is also unmodeled. Moreover, in situ measurements of shallow groundwater show no trend, suggesting that the trends are erroneously introduced by the assimilation into the modeled shallow groundwater, when in reality the groundwater is depleted in deeper aquifers. The results emphasize the importance of representing anthropogenic processes in land surface modeling and data assimilation systems.
Multi-optional hybrid effectiveness functions optimality doctrine for maintenance purposes

It is made an attempt to show the advantages of some new method for the maintenance optimal periodicity determination, obtained on a non-probabilistic doctrine concept, with the help of specifically introduced hybrid-optional functions entropy extremization. The prototypie approach is the use of alternatives individual preferences optimal distributions and the preferences subjective entropy maximum principle. It is discovered the multi-optional functional value whose optimum is delivered by the hybrid-optional functions, in parallel, ensuring the optimal maintenance periodicity. Theoretical speculations are illustrated with the example calculation experiments. The necessary diagrams are plotted.
Dietary sources and sociodemographic and lifestyle factors affecting vitamin D and calcium intakes in European adolescents: the Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence (HELENA) Study

Abstract Objective To investigate dietary sources of Ca and vitamin D (VitD) intakes, and the associated sociodemographic and lifestyle factors, among European adolescents. Design Linear regression mixed models were used to examine sex-specific associations of Ca and VitD intakes with parental education, family affluence (FAS), physical activity and television (TV) watching while controlling for age, Tanner stage, energy intake and diet quality. Setting The Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence (HELENA)Cross-Sectional Study. Subjects Adolescents aged 12·5–17·5 years (n 1804). Results Milk and cheese were the main sources of Ca (23 and 19 % contribution to overall Ca intake, respectively). Fish products were the main VitD source (30 % contribution to overall VitD intake). Ca intake was positively associated with maternal education (β=56·41; 95 % CI 1·98, 110·82) and negatively associated with TV viewing in boys (β=–0·43; 95 % CI −0·79, −0·07); however, the significance of these associations disappeared when adjusting for diet quality. In girls, Ca intake was positively associated with mother’s (β=73·08; 95 % CI 34·41, 111·74) and father’s education (β=43·29; 95 % CI 5·44, 81·14) and FAS (β=37·45; 95 % CI 2·25, 72·65). This association between Ca intake and mother’s education remained significant after further adjustment for diet quality (β=41·66; 95 % CI 0·94, 82·38). Girls with high-educated mothers had higher Ca intake. Conclusions Low-educated families with poor diet quality may be targeted when strategizing health promotion programmes to enhance dietary Ca.
Evaluation of performance, emission and combustion characteristics of diesel engine fueled with castor biodiesel

ABSTRACT In this experimental study, castor biodiesel was prepared by a transesterification process using potassium hydroxide as a catalyst. This extracted biodiesel was used to conduct a series of tests on unmodified direct-injection (DI) four-stroke diesel engines in order to investigate the performance parameters, exhaust emission and combustion characteristics. Neat biodiesel and biodiesel blended with mineral diesel were compared with the baseline operation of the engine. It was concluded that the lower blends of biodiesel have higher thermal efficiency and reduced fuel consumption. The use of biodiesel in conventional diesel engines resulted in the substantial reduction in emission of unburned hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and particulates with an increase in engine loading condition. Lower blend shows a delay in heat release as compared to higher blends. The results prove that the use of castor as biodiesel in CI engine is a reliable alternative to diesel.
Semicontinuous sophorolipid fermentation using a novel bioreactor with dual ventilation pipes and dual sieve‐plates coupled with a novel separation system

Sophorolipids (SLs) are biosurfactants with widespread applications. The yield and purity of SLs are two important factors to be considered during their commercial large‐scale production. Notably, SL accumulation causes an increase in viscosity, decrease in dissolved oxygen and product inhibition in the fermentation medium. This inhibits the further production and purification of SLs. This describes the development of a novel integrated system for SL production using Candida albicans O‐13‐1. Semicontinuous fermentation was performed using a novel bioreactor with dual ventilation pipes and dual sieve‐plates (DVDSB). SLs were separated and recovered using a newly designed two‐stage separation system. After SL recovery, the fermentation broth containing residual glucose and oleic acid was recycled back into the bioreactor. This novel approach considerably alleviated the problem of product inhibition and accelerated the rate of substrate utilization. Production of SLs achieved was 477 g l−1, while their productivity was 1.59 g l−1 h−1. Purity of SLs improved by 23.3%, from 60% to 74%, using DVDSB with the separation system. The conversion rate of carbon source increased from 0.5 g g−1 (in the batch fermentation) to 0.6 g g−1. These results indicated that the integrated system could improve the efficiency of production and purity of SLs.
New criteria for gestational diabetes mellitus - do they impact the outcome?

OBJECTIVE The aim of the study was to compare the perinatal outcome of pregnancies in mothers who were diagnosed with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) with previous versus current Polish Gynecological Society (PTG) criteria. METHODS 475 patients were divided into three groups. In group A, the patients only met the previous PTG criteria for a GDM diagnosis, i.e., those with a blood glucose level of 140-152 mg/dl 2 hours after administration, a fasting glucose level <92 mg/dl, and a blood glucose level <180 mg/dl 1 hour after administration. Group B included patients complying with both the previous and current PTG criteria for a GDM diagnosis. Group C included patients who only met the current PTG criteria for a GDM diagnosis, i.e., those with a fasting blood glucose level of 92-99 mg/dl, a blood glucose level <180 mg/dl 1 hour and <140 mg/dl 2 hours after administration, respectively. RESULTS Women from group C were characterized by the highest fasting glycaemia in the first trimester of pregnancy (93.0 mg/dL vs. 88.0 mg/dL vs. 83.5 mg/dL, p=0.012) and during the OGTT (p=0.001). Gestational diabetes was diagnosed significantly earlier in patients from group C (23 vs. 26 vs. 26 weeks, p=0.005). The patients from group A significantly less frequently required insulin therapy for proper glycemic control (p=0.035). Women from group A were characterized by lower pre-pregnancy BMI (p=0.001). CONCLUSIONS Current PTG criteria for diagnosing GDM according to the IADPSG allow for identification of women who often require insulin therapy to achieve proper glycemic control.
Ploidy-dependent changes in the epigenome of symbiotic cells correlate with specific patterns of gene expression

Significance Polyploidization of somatic cells is common in angiosperms. The characteristic and inherited developmental pattern of polyploidy in various organs and cell types suggests a role for endoreduplication in differentiation and specialized cell functioning. Rhizobium-infected nodule cells provide a unique opportunity to study specific developmental-stage changes in gene expression and in the epigenome during differentiation and at growing ploidy levels. We show that transcriptional reprogramming of hundreds of nodule-specific genes in successive waves correlates with the ploidy levels. Moreover, the dynamic changes observed in the epigenome suggest that chromatin accessibility together with histone tail modifications regulate the transcriptionally active or inert state of the genes. The formation of symbiotic nodule cells in Medicago truncatula is driven by successive endoreduplication cycles and transcriptional reprogramming in different temporal waves including the activation of more than 600 cysteine-rich NCR genes expressed only in nodules. We show here that the transcriptional waves correlate with growing ploidy levels and have investigated how the epigenome changes during endoreduplication cycles. Differential DNA methylation was found in only a small subset of symbiotic nodule-specific genes, including more than half of the NCR genes, whereas in most genes DNA methylation was unaffected by the ploidy levels and was independent of the genes’ active or repressed state. On the other hand, expression of nodule-specific genes correlated with ploidy-dependent opening of the chromatin as well as, in a subset of tested genes, with reduced H3K27me3 levels combined with enhanced H3K9ac levels. Our results suggest that endoreduplication-dependent epigenetic changes contribute to transcriptional reprogramming in the differentiation of symbiotic cells.
The Role of Medial Temporal Lobe Regions in Incidental and Intentional Retrieval of Item and Relational Information in Aging

Considerable neuropsychological and neuroimaging work indicates that the medial temporal lobes are critical for both item and relational memory retrieval. However, there remain outstanding issues in the literature, namely the extent to which medial temporal lobe regions are differentially recruited during incidental and intentional retrieval of item and relational information, and the extent to which aging may affect these neural substrates. The current fMRI study sought to address these questions; participants incidentally encoded word pairs embedded in sentences and incidental item and relational retrieval were assessed through speeded reading of intact, rearranged, and new word‐pair sentences, while intentional item and relational retrieval were assessed through old/new associative recognition of a separate set of intact, rearranged, and new word pairs. Results indicated that, in both younger and older adults, anterior hippocampus and perirhinal cortex indexed incidental and intentional item retrieval in the same manner. In contrast, posterior hippocampus supported incidental and intentional relational retrieval in both age groups and an adjacent cluster in posterior hippocampus was recruited during both forms of relational retrieval for older, but not younger, adults. Our findings suggest that while medial temporal lobe regions do not differentiate between incidental and intentional forms of retrieval, there are distinct roles for anterior and posterior medial temporal lobe regions during retrieval of item and relational information, respectively, and further indicate that posterior regions may, under certain conditions, be over‐recruited in healthy aging. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Rheological characterization of thickened protein-based beverages under different food thickeners and setting times.

The effects of different setting times (15-120 min) on the rheological properties of cold thickened protein-based beverage (PBB) samples prepared with different xanthan gum (XG)-based food thickeners were examined. In this study, four commercial XG-based food thickeners (coded A-D) and three commercial PBB products (whole milk, skim milk, and soybean milk) were used to prepare thickened PBB samples at a 3% thickener concentration. The fastest increases in ηa,50 values of thickened PBB samples were observed at 15 min, and at longer time periods their ηa,50 values gradually increased or remained constant with an increase in setting time (15-120 min). The magnitudes of the rheological parameters (ηa,50 , K, G', and G″) of thickened PBB samples with thickener A were significantly higher compared with those with other thickeners (coded B, C, and D). The flow and dynamic rheological properties of thickened PBB samples prepared with different XG-based thickeners were significantly different (p < .05), demonstrating that their rheological properties were greatly affected by the type of PBB and thickener as well as the setting time. PRACTICAL STATEMENTS Food thickeners have been commonly used in the preparation of various thickened fluids with desirable rheological properties for dysphagic patients to elicit an optimal swallow response. However, among various thickened fluids, there is limited rheological information on cold thickened protein-based beverage (PBB) (e.g., whole milk, skim milk, and soybean milk) prepared with various xanthan gum (XG)-based thickeners. Our flow and dynamic rheological results showed that the flow and viscoelastic properties of the thickened PBB samples prepared with different food thickeners were dependent on the PBB type, thickener type, and setting time. These rheological results presented in this study will provide both thickener manufacturers and clinicians with valuable information for thickened PBB products with desirable rheological properties for safe and easy swallowing. New knowledge of the different rheological characterizations of thickened PBB can be practically applied to develop the commercial dysphagia thickeners suitable for PBB in food industry.
The Effects of Mirror Feedback during Target Directed Movements on Ipsilateral Corticospinal Excitability

Mirror visual feedback (MVF) training is a promising technique to promote activation in the lesioned hemisphere following stroke, and aid recovery. However, current outcomes of MVF training are mixed, in part, due to variability in the task undertaken during MVF. The present study investigated the hypothesis that movements directed toward visual targets may enhance MVF modulation of motor cortex (M1) excitability ipsilateral to the trained hand compared to movements without visual targets. Ten healthy subjects participated in a 2 × 2 factorial design in which feedback (veridical, mirror) and presence of a visual target (target present, target absent) for a right index-finger flexion task were systematically manipulated in a virtual environment. To measure M1 excitability, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was applied to the hemisphere ipsilateral to the trained hand to elicit motor evoked potentials (MEPs) in the untrained first dorsal interosseous (FDI) and abductor digiti minimi (ADM) muscles at rest prior to and following each of four 2-min blocks of 30 movements (B1–B4). Targeted movement kinematics without visual feedback was measured before and after training to assess learning and transfer. FDI MEPs were decreased in B1 and B2 when movements were made with veridical feedback and visual targets were absent. FDI MEPs were decreased in B2 and B3 when movements were made with mirror feedback and visual targets were absent. FDI MEPs were increased in B3 when movements were made with mirror feedback and visual targets were present. Significant MEP changes were not present for the uninvolved ADM, suggesting a task-specific effect. Analysis of kinematics revealed learning occurred in visual target-directed conditions, but transfer was not sensitive to mirror feedback. Results are discussed with respect to current theoretical mechanisms underlying MVF-induced changes in ipsilateral excitability.
On the Analysis of Human and Automatic Summaries of Source Code

Within the software engineering eld, researchers have investigated whether it is possible and useful to summarize software artifacts, in order to provide developers with concise representations of the content of the original artifacts. As an initial step towards automatic summarization of source code, we conducted an empirical study where a group of Java developers provided manually written summaries for a variety of source code elements. Such summaries were analyzed and used to evaluate some summarization techniques based on Text Retrieval. This paper describes what are the main features of the summaries written by developers, what kind of information should be (ideally) included in automatically generated summaries, and the internal quality of the summaries generated by some automatic methods.
Is Erythrocyte Protoporphyrin a Better Single Screening Test for Iron Deficiency Compared to Hemoglobin or Mean Cell Volume in Children and Women?

Hemoglobin (Hb), mean cell volume (MCV), and erythrocyte protoporphyrin (EP) are commonly used to screen for iron deficiency (ID), but systematic evaluation of the sensitivity and specificity of these tests is limited. The objective of this study is to determine the sensitivity and specificity of Hb, MCV, and EP measurements in screening for ID in preschool children, non-pregnant women 15–49 years of age, and pregnant women. Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) (NHANES 2003–2006: n = 861, children three to five years of age; n = 3112, non-pregnant women 15 to 49 years of age. NHANES 1999–2006: n = 1150, pregnant women) were examined for this purpose. Children or women with blood lead ≥10 µg/dL or C-reactive protein (CRP) >5.0 mg/L were excluded. ID was defined as total body iron stores <0 mg/kg body weight, calculated from the ratio of soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR) to serum ferritin (SF). The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to characterize the sensitivity and specificity of Hb, MCV, and EP measurements in screening for ID. In detecting ID in children three to five years of age, EP (Area under the Curve (AUC) 0.80) was superior to Hb (AUC 0.62) (p < 0.01) but not statistically different from MCV (AUC 0.73). In women, EP and Hb were comparable (non-pregnant AUC 0.86 and 0.84, respectively; pregnant 0.77 and 0.74, respectively), and both were better than MCV (non-pregnant AUC 0.80; pregnant 0.70) (p < 0.01). We concluded that the sensitivity and specificity of EP in screening for ID were consistently superior to or at least as effective as those of Hb and MCV in each population examined. For children three to five years of age, EP screening for ID was significantly better than Hb and similar to MCV. For both non-pregnant and pregnant women, the performance of EP and Hb were comparable; both were significantly superior to MCV.