Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Influence of high-altitude grazing on bone metabolism of growing sheep.

The objective of this study was to identify the effect of high alpine grazing, associated with varying pasture grass qualities and more pronounced exercise on typically steep slopes, on bone metabolism by improving bone density and enhancing bone turnover in growing sheep. Twenty-four 5-month-old sheep were randomly assigned to two groups. One group was kept at high altitude (HA; 2000-2200 m a.s.l.) for 3 months, and the other group (C; control) remained in the lowlands (400 m a.s.l.). Both groups were kept in grazing pastures with access to good-quality swards. Before the start of the experiment, blood samples were taken, the sheep were weighed, and the left metatarsus of each animal was analysed by quantitative computer tomography. After 1 month, blood samples were taken and body weight was measured, followed by biweekly sampling. Finally, the animals were slaughtered, and the bones were collected for analysis of various bone parameters. Body weight development did not differ between the groups. Concentrations of 25-OH-Vitamin D, carboxy-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen and activities of bone-specific alkaline phosphatase were always higher in the HA group than in the C group, except on the last two sampling dates. Bone mineral content and density increased in both groups during the experiment, but more intensively in the HA group. In addition, the cortical thickness of the HA group increased. The present study demonstrates an increase in bone turnover and mineral content of the bones of the growing sheep grazing in high alpine pastures. The factors associated with HA grazing, therefore, clearly seem to improve bone composition.
Chaskey: a MAC Algorithm for Microcontrollers - Status Update and Proposal of Chaskey-12 -

The Chaskey MAC algorithm was presented by Mouha et al. at SAC 2014. It is designed for real-world applications where 128-bit keys are required, but standard cryptographic algorithms cannot be implemented because of stringent requirements on speed, energy consumption, or code size. Shortly after its publication, Chaskey was considered for standardization by ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 27/WG 2. At the October 2015 meeting, the ISO/IEC committee decided to terminate the study period on Chaskey, and to circulate a first working draft. Since Chaskey was introduced, many follow-up results were published, including improved cryptanalysis results, new security proofs and more efficient implementations. This paper gives a comprehensive overview of those results, and introduces a twelve-round variant of Chaskey: Chaskey-12. Although the original eight-round Chaskey remains unbroken, Chaskey-12 has a much more conservative design, while reducing the performance by only 15% to 30%, depending on the platform.
Staff training using positive behavioural support: the effects of a one-day training on the attributions and attitudes of care staff who work with people with an intellectual disability and challenging behaviour

Abstract There is little research on brief training for care staff who work with people with an intellectual disability who display challenging behaviour. Existing research has demonstrated mixed evidence for attributional change and little evidence in relation to attitude change. A one-day challenging behaviour training taking a Positive Behavioural Support (PBS) approach was investigated. Staff attributions and attitudes were measured at four time points (1 week before training, immediately before and after training and at 2-month follow-up). Following training, statistically significant changes in staff attributions and attitudes were recorded. These results suggest that brief training using PBS may be sufficient to change the attributions and attitudes of care staff towards clients with challenging behaviour so that they are able to offer more effective support.
The Effect of Music on the Human Stress Response

Background Music listening has been suggested to beneficially impact health via stress-reducing effects. However, the existing literature presents itself with a limited number of investigations and with discrepancies in reported findings that may result from methodological shortcomings (e.g. small sample size, no valid stressor). It was the aim of the current study to address this gap in knowledge and overcome previous shortcomings by thoroughly examining music effects across endocrine, autonomic, cognitive, and emotional domains of the human stress response. Methods Sixty healthy female volunteers (mean age = 25 years) were exposed to a standardized psychosocial stress test after having been randomly assigned to one of three different conditions prior to the stress test: 1) relaxing music (‘Miserere’, Allegri) (RM), 2) sound of rippling water (SW), and 3) rest without acoustic stimulation (R). Salivary cortisol and salivary alpha-amylase (sAA), heart rate (HR), respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), subjective stress perception and anxiety were repeatedly assessed in all subjects. We hypothesized that listening to RM prior to the stress test, compared to SW or R would result in a decreased stress response across all measured parameters. Results The three conditions significantly differed regarding cortisol response (p = 0.025) to the stressor, with highest concentrations in the RM and lowest in the SW condition. After the stressor, sAA (p=0.026) baseline values were reached considerably faster in the RM group than in the R group. HR and psychological measures did not significantly differ between groups. Conclusion Our findings indicate that music listening impacted the psychobiological stress system. Listening to music prior to a standardized stressor predominantly affected the autonomic nervous system (in terms of a faster recovery), and to a lesser degree the endocrine and psychological stress response. These findings may help better understanding the beneficial effects of music on the human body.
Do they like me? Using video cues to predict desires during speed-dates

In this paper we introduce video features which are used to predict if people want to exchange contact information with the other in a speed-date, we also use these features to predict how physically attractive participants found their dates. Previous work on predicting and interpreting speed-dates has focused mainly on the audio channel. We use automatically extracted features related to position, proximity and motion. This paper shows that these features can be used to significantly outperform the baseline and have comparable performance to audio-only systems. The data used has been gathered from a real speed-date event, involving 16 participants. Experiments were carried out on 64 speed-dates lasting 5 minutes. The best performance on prediction exchanging contact information was 72% and 70% accuracy for males and females respectively, and 70% for both genders when predicting physical attraction.
Retinal Pigmentation, Illusion Susceptibility and Space Perception

Abstract L'auteur tente de generaliser l'hypothese que fait Pollack d'une liaison entre pigmentation retinienne et sensibilite aux illusions optico-geometriques, pour rendie compte des difficultes que rencontrent les Africains dans la perception de l'espace. Dans ce but, il a concu une epreuve spatiale de type geographique qui implique l'appariement d'estompages allant du rouge au jaune et du bleu au violet avec des courbes de niveau pour les reliefs terrestre et sous-marin; une version en bleu et rouge de l'illusion de Muller-Lyer est egalement soumise aux sujets. L'hypothese selon laquelle: 1) les Africains auraient plus de difficulte que les Ecossais a apparier les estompages bleus avec les courbes de niveau et 2) seraient moins sensibles qu'eux a l'illusion de Muller-Lyer dans sa version bleue, est confirmee sur 24 Malawi et 24 Ecossais, tous etudiants en geographic. L'auteur discute des implications theoriques et pratiques de ces resultats.
Molybdenum Incorporation in Tungsten Aldehyde Oxidoreductase Enzymes from Pyrococcus furiosus

ABSTRACT The hyperthermophilic archaeon Pyrococcus furiosus expresses five aldehyde oxidoreductase (AOR) enzymes, all containing a tungsto-bispterin cofactor. The growth of this organism is fully dependent on the presence of tungsten in the growth medium. Previous studies have suggested that molybdenum is not incorporated in the active site of these enzymes. Application of the radioisotope 99Mo in metal isotope native radioautography in gel electrophoresis (MIRAGE) technology to P. furiosus shows that molybdenum can in fact be incorporated in all five AOR enzymes. Mo(V) signals characteristic for molybdopterin were observed in formaldehyde oxidoreductase (FOR) in electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR)-monitored redox titrations. Our finding that the aldehyde oxidation activity of FOR and WOR5 (W-containing oxidoreductase 5) correlates only with the residual tungsten content suggests that the Mo-containing AORs are most likely inactive. An observed W/Mo antagonism is indicative of tungstate-dependent negative feedback of the expression of the tungstate/molybdate ABC transporter. An intracellular selection mechanism for tungstate and molybdate processing has to be present, since tungsten was found to be preferentially incorporated into the AORs even under conditions with comparable intracellular concentrations of tungstate and molybdate. Under the employed growth conditions of starch as the main carbon source in a rich medium, no tungsten- and/or molybdenum-associated proteins are detected in P. furiosus other than the high-affinity transporter, the proteins of the metallopterin insertion machinery, and the five W-AORs.
BOOSTING FUZZY RULES FOR NONLINEAR SYSTEM IDENTIFICATION THROUGH UNSCENTED KALMAN FILTER

p Abstract—This paper presents a new hybrid methodology for learning Sugeno-type fuzzy models via subtractive clustering, Adaptive Boosting Regression (AdaBoostR) and Unscented Kalman Filter (UKF). The generated fuzzy models are used for modeling nonlinear benchmark processes. In the proposed procedure, first one fuzzy rule is generated by subtractive clustering algorithm from available data of a given nonlinear process. Then this fuzzy rule is considered as a base model and AdaBoostR is employed in order to combine some of the weak learners (i.e. rules). Parameters of a rule are coded as the state vector in UKF and then UKF is used for fine tuning of these parameters. Moreover, as the second proposed method, Linear Kalman Filter (LKF) is utilized for adjusting only the output membership functions parameters (first order sugeno's parameters) of base models (i.e. rules). Three case studies are considered for illustrating the applicability of our proposed boosting methods. Results apparently show the obtained fuzzy models are superior to Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) in terms of both modeling accuracy and computational requirements. Also the comparison results confirm that the obtained fuzzy models are well comparable with those of achieved by one of the powerful and recently developed fuzzy identification methods.
TRRAP and GCN5 are used by c-Myc to activate RNA polymerase III transcription

Activation of RNA polymerase (pol) II transcription by c-Myc generally involves recruitment of histone acetyltransferases and acetylation of histones H3 and H4. Here, we describe the mechanism used by c-Myc to activate pol III transcription of tRNA and 5S rRNA genes. Within 2 h of its induction, c-Myc appears at these genes along with the histone acetyltransferase GCN5 and the cofactor TRRAP. At the same time, occupancy of the pol III-specific factor TFIIIB increases and histone H3 becomes hyperacetylated, but increased histone H4 acetylation is not detected at these genes. The rapid acetylation of histone H3 and promoter assembly of TFIIIB, c-Myc, GCN5, and TRRAP are followed by recruitment of pol III and transcriptional induction. The selective acetylation of histone H3 distinguishes pol III activation by c-Myc from mechanisms observed in other systems.
Answers for questions to come: reflective dialogue as an enabler of strategic innovation

Purpose – To conceptualize and theorize dialogue's diagnostic as well as generative functions for strategic innovation and organizational change.Design/methodology/approach – Conceptual development with case illustration.Findings – Strategic innovation requires shifts in existing mental models of organizational actors that underlie the overall strategy paradigm of a firm. Dialogue as a form of reflective conversation enables actors to alter managers' mental models through conscious, critical exploration.Research limitations/implications – Conceptual framework introduces reflective dialogue, as a crucial processual element for encouraging shifts in mental maps and as a necessary, but not sufficient condition for strategy innovation; provides an analytical framework for enhancing understanding of the emergent processes of strategic innovation, and for studying shifts in organizational actors' mental models.Practical implications – Provides organizational change agents and strategists with perspectives and f.
On the disintegration of (proto-)languages

Abstract Do languages split into dialects and subsequently into new languages at regular rates? Does such a regular splitting rate also apply to speech communities ancestral to the world's current language families? Do linguistic phylogenies exhibit intermediate levels (“genera”) which are somehow objectively identifiable? These questions are rarely raised, much less answered. In this article we present a simple method that provides insights into all the questions, drawing upon data from a world-wide sample of languages. It will be shown that splitting rates are approximately regular even if the languages studied are proto-languages spoken at very different points in prehistory and different places in the world. Ancestors of the world's linguistic families tend to have similar life-times. An intermediate transitional level corresponding to the point where genera appear can be objectively inferred from differences among descendant languages even without previously having established the structure of the phylogenetic tree.
Sovereign power, spectacle and punishment: a critical analysis of the use of the seclusion room

The purpose of this paper is to engage with the reader in a theoretical reflection regarding the use of the seclusion room as a punitive nursing intervention (behaviour modification technique for instance). To set the stage, we explore the internal structure and functioning (culture) of the psychiatric institution – as total institution – from a Goffmanian perspective. Then, drawing on the work of the late French philosopher Michel Foucault, we introduce the concept of sovereign power and explore how various forms of punishment (as manifestations of power) came into play at different moments in history. Through an exploration of seclusion and its use in the psychiatric domain, we critically examine this practice when used as a behaviour modification technique. Finally, the use of seclusion is discussed in terms of the concept of sovereign power with the purpose of highlighting the political forces surrounding such a coercive practice in psychiatric nursing.
Association of Uric Acid Genetic Risk Score With Blood Pressure: The Rotterdam Study

High levels of serum uric acid are associated with hypertension in observational studies. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of uric acid gene variants with blood pressure. We studied 5791 participants aged ≥55 years from the Rotterdam Study. Thirty gene variants identified for serum uric acid level were used to compile genetic risk score (GRS). We used linear regression models to investigate the association of the uric acid GRS with systolic and diastolic blood pressure in the whole study population and separately in participants with and without comorbidities and medication use. In the age- and sex-adjusted model, each SD increase in uric acid GRS was associated with 0.75 mm Hg lower systolic blood pressure (95% confidence interval, −1.31 to −0.19) and 0.42 mm Hg lower diastolic blood pressure (95% confidence interval, −0.72 to −0.13). The association did not attenuate after further adjustment for antihypertensive medication use and conventional cardiovascular risk factors. In subgroup analysis, the association of uric acid GRS with systolic blood pressure was significantly stronger in participants (n=885) on diuretic treatment (P for interaction, 0.007). In conclusion, we found that higher uric acid GRS is associated with lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Diuretics treatment may modify the association of uric acid genetic risk score and systolic blood pressure. Our study suggests that genome wide association study’s findings can be associated with an intermediate factor or have a pleiotropic role and, therefore, should be applied for Mendelian Randomization with caution.
The importance of the rat hippocampus for learning the structure of visual arrays

It has been assumed that the integrity of the rodent hippocampus is required for learning the spatial distribution of visual elements in an array. Formally assessing this assumption is, however, far from straightforward as standard tests are amenable to alternative strategies. In order to provide a stringent test of this ability rats were trained on three concurrent visual discriminations in a water tank in which the stimuli in each pair of discriminations contained exactly the same elements but they differed in their spatial arrangement e.g. A|B vs. its mirror image B|A. Such ‘structural’ discriminations are a specific subtype of ‘configural’ or ‘nonlinear’ tasks. Following acquisition half of the rats received hippocampal lesions and all rats were retrained on the structural discriminations. Hippocampal lesions impaired the ability to relearn these ‘structural’ discriminations. In contrast, two other groups of rats with similar hippocampal lesions showed no impairment on relearning two non‐structural, configural discriminations: transverse patterning and biconditional learning. All three tasks used the same apparatus, the same stimulus elements, and similar training regimes. Superior performance by the rats with hippocampal lesions during a generalization decrement probe showed that hippocampal lesions had diminished sensitivity to ‘structural’ features on the biconditional task. While the rat hippocampus need not be required for all configural learning, it is important for the special case when the spatial arrangements of the elements are critical. This ability may be a prerequisite for the creation of mental snapshots, which underlie episodic memory.
Self-sufficient Arguments in Political Rhetoric: Constructing Reconciliation and Apologizing to the Stolen Generations

This article focuses on the rhetorical and argumentative organization of a major political address by the Prime Minister of Australia on the topics of reconciliation and apologizing to the Stolen Generations of Indigenous peoples. The analysis documents the interpretative repertoires that were mobilized to argue around these sensitive, controversial issues in a public forum, in particular the deployment of discursive formulations of `togetherness', of `culture' and of `nation'. The analysis also demonstrates the ways in which a limited number of rhetorically self-sufficient arguments, identified in recent studies of the language of contemporary racism, was mobilized in this important public speech. We argue that the flexible use of such rhetorically self-sufficient arguments concerning practicality, equality, justice and progress worked to build up a particular version of reconciliation which functions to sustain and legitimate existing inequalities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Australia.
The Cortical Ancestry of Oligodendrocytes: Common Principles and Novel Features

Studies on the development of cortical oligodendrocytes indicate that although general principles that apply to other parts of the CNS are applicable, there are important differences that appear to be critical to the analysis of this lineage in the cortex. Herein, we review previous studies demonstrating that oligodendrocyte-type-2 astrocyte progenitor cells (or oligodendrocyte precursor cells; aka O-2A/OPCs) of the developing postnatal cortex exhibit a striking cell-intrinsic bias towards undergoing prolonged self-renewal in the relative absence of oligodendrocyte generation [Power et al., Dev Biol 2002;245: 362–375]. This phenotype is quite distinct from that observed in comparable cells isolated from the optic tract. This predilection for self-renewal is associated with a lessened response to inducers of oligodendrocyte generation and of possible mechanistic importance in regards to these other properties. We also review studies on stem/progenitor cells isolated from the embryonic cortex that are able to generate oligodendrocytes. As for the studies on O-2A/OPCs, important differences also distinguish these early cells from those studied in other CNS regions in their response to signaling molecules and expression of the Dlx family of transcriptional regulators [He et al., J Neurosci 2001;21:8854–8862; Yung et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2002;99:16273–16278]. We also present new data on clonal analysis of A2B5+ precursor cells isolated from the E13.5 cortex, demonstrating that this tissue appears to contain a cell similar in properties to the tripotential glial-restricted precursor cell that has been isolated from embryonic spinal cord [Rao et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 1998;95:3996–4001]. Moreover, the A2B5+ precursor cells isolated from embryonic cortex are much more heterogeneous than is seen in the spinal cord at this age, even to the point of including an A2B5/PSA-NCAM double-positive cell that can generate neurons.
Increased Sucrose in the Hypocotyls of Radish Sprouts Contributes to Nitrogen Deficiency-Induced Anthocyanin Accumulation

Effects of nitrogen (N) deficiency and sucrose (Suc) addition on regulation of anthocyanin biosynthesis and their relationship were investigated in this study. Radish sprouts subjected to N deficiency had 50% higher anthocyanin accumulation than when grown in Hoagland solution (a nutrient medium with all macronutrients). The contents of endogenous soluble sugars (Suc, fructose, and glucose) in the hypocotyls were also markedly increased by N limitation, with Suc showing the highest increase. Inhibition of carbohydrate biosynthesis by addition of 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea (DCMU) also eliminated N deficiency-induced anthocyanin accumulation. The latter was further supported by the expression of anthocyanin biosynthesis related genes and decreased activities of nitrate reductase in the presence of Suc. Together our results indicate that N deficiency-induced anthocyanin accumulation was, at least partly, dependent on the increase of the soluble sugar, especially Suc. This work is the first comprehensive study on relationship between N deficiency and sugar content on anthocyanin accumulation in the hypocotyls of radish sprouts.
The antecedents and consequents of relationship quality in internet shopping

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to highlight the significance of relationship quality factors (customer satisfaction, e‐trust, and e‐commitment) on positive word of mouth (WOM) in online retailing.Design/methodology/approach – The relative importance of site characteristics in online retailing on customer satisfaction was examined and the relationship among customer satisfaction, trust, and commitment in offline was identified. This paper then proposes a conceptual model of the relationship among site characteristics, relationship quality, and WOM in online retailing. AMOS 5.0 was used to test for the hypothesized relationships.Findings – All of site characteristics in online retailing have a positive influence on customer satisfaction. Communication of site characteristics has a positive effect on customer satisfaction more than the other factors (shopping convenience, site design, informativeness, and security). Customer satisfaction affects positively e‐commitment more than it does e‐trust. E‐co.