Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effecting dietary change

A world epidemic of diet-related chronic disease is currently being faced. In the UK incidence of obesity alone has tripled in the last 20 years and this trend is predicted to continue. Consensus exists for the urgent need for a change in diet and other lifestyle factors and for the direction and targets for this change. The evidence for how this change can be achieved is less certain. It has been established that disease processes begin in childhood. Recent evidence indicates that dietary habits too are established in childhood but that these habits are amenable to change. While establishing a healthy lifestyle in childhood is paramount, interventions have the potential to promote positive change throughout the life course. Success in reversing current trends in diet-related disease will depend on commitment from legislators, health professionals, industry and individuals, and this collaboration must seek to address not only the food choices of the individual but also the environment that influences such choices. Recent public health policy development in England, if fully supported and implemented, is a positive move towards this goal. Evidence for effective strategies to promote dietary change at the individual level is emerging and three reviews of this evidence are discussed. In addition, three recent dietary intervention studies, in three different settings and with different methods and aims, are presented to illustrate methods of effecting dietary change. Further work is required on what factors influence the eating behaviour and physical activity of individuals. There is a need for further theory-based research on which to develop more effective strategies to enable individuals to adopt healthier lifestyles.
Hope for success: Effects of an academic intervention for at-risk college students

Hope theory provides a framework for understanding individual differences in human motivation and ultimately, academic achievement. However, research on the short-term and long-term effects of educational hope interventions is limited. This multi-pronged quantitative analysis of a hope-based intervention demonstrates the combined value of hope, selfdetermination, and goal orientation theories as guiding frameworks for teaching college students considered at-risk for failure in the context of a study skills course. Results of pre/post questionnaire data suggest the intervention is successful in enhancing constructs related to hope and well-being such as positive affect, optimism, and adaptive coping styles. Content analysis of regular goals set by students as part of their participation in the intervention suggested mechanisms by which positive changes occur. Finally, evidence from longitudinal data analysis including student performance after course completion suggests the intervention may have positive lasting effects that could alter students’ academic trajectories. Taken together, results from the three sets of data provide evidence that the intervention helps students learn strategies useful for reaching their goals. The hope—goal orientation—self-determination theory triad seems to provide a useful framework for higher education practitioners and decision-makers to discuss practical means of increasing retention and graduation rates, especially among specific populations considered at risk for failure and/or drop-out.
Psychiatric disorders prior to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

It is recognized that neuropsychiatric conditions are overrepresented in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patient kindreds and psychiatric symptoms may precede the onset of motor symptoms. Using a hospital record linkage database, hospitalization with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, or anxiety was significantly associated with a first diagnosis of ALS within the following year. This is likely to specifically reflect the clinicopathological overlap of ALS with frontotemporal dementia. A diagnosis of depression was significantly associated with a first record of ALS ≥5 years later, in keeping with growing evidence for major depressive disorder as an early marker of cerebral neurodegeneration. Ann Neurol 2016;80:935–938
Grobner Basis Techniques for Computing Actions of K-Categories

This paper involves categories and computer science. The paper is motivated by a question which arises from two pieces of research. Firstly, the work of Brown and Heyworth which extends rewriting techniques to enable the computation of left Kan extensions over the category of sets. It is well known that left Kan extensions can be defined over categories other than Sets. Secondly, the `folklore' that rewriting theory is a special case of noncommutative Groebner basis theory. It is therefore natural to ask whether Groebner bases can provide a method for computing Kan extensions beyond the special case of rewriting. To answer this question completely, fully exploiting the computational power of Groebner basis techniques relating to Kan extensions is the ultimate aim. This paper provides a first step by showing how standard noncommutative Groebner basis procedures can be used to calculate left Kan extensions of K-category actions. In the final section of the paper a number of interesting problems arising from the work are identified.
Assessing undergraduate experience of continuous integration and test-driven development

A number of agile practices are included in software engineering curricula, including test-driven development. Continuous integration often is not included, despite it becoming increasingly common in industry to code, test, and integrate at the same time. This paper describes a study whereby software engineering undergraduates were given a short intensive experience of test-driven development with continuous integration using an environment that imitated a typical industrial circumstance. Assessment was made of students' agile experience rather than of project deliverables, using a novel set of process measures that examined students' participation and performance in agile testing. Results showed good participation by student pairs, and clear understanding of agile processes and configuration management. Future work will investigate automation of the assessment of continuous integration and configuration management server data.
Male Bias in the Song Control System despite Female Bias in Song Rate in Streak-Backed Orioles (Icterus pustulatus)

The song control system is a group of discrete interconnected nuclei found in the brains of all songbirds (suborder Passeri). Previous studies have reported a positive relationship between sex differences in song nucleus volumes and sex differences in song behavior across numerous songbird species, with species exhibiting greater sex differences in behavior also exhibiting greater sex differences in the brain. This body of comparative research, however, has failed to incorporate data from a bird species in which females sing more than males. In this study, we examine song nucleus volumes in both sexes of the streak-backed oriole (Icterus pustulatus), a New World blackbird with a female bias in song rate and similar song complexity between the sexes. Results from this neuroanatomical analysis are contrary to what was to be expected from previous research: despite the female bias in song rate, males have a significantly larger HVC and area X song nucleus volumes. Specifically, male HVC was 75% larger than that of females, and male area X was 64% larger than that of females. There was no significant sex difference in the size of the nucleus robustus arcopallialis. The lack of a positive relationship between song nuclei and singing behavior in these orioles demonstrates that our current understanding of song modulation via the song control system may be overly reliant on basic measures such as total volumes.
Dynamical feedback between circadian clock and sucrose availability explains adaptive response of starch metabolism to various photoperiods

Plants deal with resource management during all their life. During the day they feed on photosynthetic carbon, sucrose, while storing a part into starch for night use. Careful control of carbon partitioning, starch degradation, and sucrose export rates is crucial to avoid carbon starvation, insuring optimal growth whatever the photoperiod. Efficient regulation of these key metabolic rates can give an evolutionary advantage to plants. Here we propose a model of adaptive starch metabolism in response to various photoperiods. We assume the three key metabolic rates to be circadian regulated in leaves and that their phases of oscillations are shifted in response to sucrose starvation. We performed gradient descents for various photoperiod conditions to find the corresponding optimal sets of phase shifts that minimize starvation. Results at convergence were all consistent with experimental data: (1) diurnal starch profile showed linear increase during the day and linear decrease at night; (2) shorter photoperiod tended to increase starch synthesis speed while decreasing its degradation speed during the longer night; (3) sudden early dusk showed slower starch degradation during the longer night. Profiles that best explained observations corresponded to circadian regulation of all rates. This theoretical study would establish a framework for future research on feedback between starch metabolism and circadian clock as well as plant productivity.
Genre theory, engineering education, and circumventing internet bandwidth problems

A growing body of empirical research has implied that media seem to make little difference in education. In contrast, in the article "Distance Education Horror Stories Worthy of Halloween", David Hailey et al. (2001) argue that Internet-based education can be dangerous to the point that it can "sometimes threaten a teacher's career". Although this might seem troublesome for researchers who maintain that media makes no difference, we believe that it points to a different issue. The problems we found stem from genre rather than media choices. The point in this paper is that while media choices may matter little, genre choices are critical-substituting an essay for a lecture or an instruction set for a demonstration can have pedagogical consequences that can improve or disrupt learning. We further argue that the key to effectively converting traditional instruction to digital instruction is to have access to sufficient bandwidth. While it is possible in some cases to stream sound and video over the Internet, resolution is low and results are unpredictable. Distributing removable hard drives, however, permits an alternative. External drives, ranging from 10 GB to 150 GB, make it possible to provide students with all 48 hours of "chalk talk" typically found in a 16 week course in 640/spl times/480 or higher resolution video, plus additional hours of demonstration video, 3-D game technologies, 3-D animation, interactive testing, and record keeping. In this environment, the Internet is used for interactive communication and for file transfer, while the drives are used for distributing high bandwidth content. We have tested new educational processes employing these technologies at Utah State University and the University of Texas at Tyler and have found them to effectively solve the most important problems engineering educators face when attempting to teach over a distance.
Heterologous expression of the Monilinia fructicola CYP51 (MfCYP51) gene in Pichia pastoris confirms the mode of action of the novel fungicide, SYP-Z048

The novel agricultural fungicide 3-[5-(4-chlorophenyl)-2,3-dimethyl-3-isoxazolidinyl] pyridine (SYP-Z048) developed by China Shenyang Research Institute of Chemical Industry has been confirmed to be an ergosterol biosynthesis inhibitor (EBI). Previous studies have shown that EBIs target the proteins from a range of genes, including CYP51, ERG2 and/or ERG24, and ERG27, which are involved in the ergosterol biosynthesis pathway. In the current study the ERG2, ERG24, and ERG27 genes were cloned from wild type and resistant mutants of Monilinia fructicola in an attempt to clarify the target site of SYP-Z048. Comparative analysis of the deduced aa sequence of these genes, as well as CYP51, revealed several point mutations that resulted in amino acid variation among the sensitive and resistant isolates. However, sensitivity assays indicated that only one, the substitution of phenylalanine (F) for the tyrosine (Y) at 136 in CYP51, was correlated with reduced sensitivity to SYP-Z048. Heterologous expression of MfCYP51-136Y (MfCYP136Y) and MfCYP51-136F (MfCYP136F) in Pichia pastoris revealed that MfCYP136F significantly reduced sensitivity to SYP-Z048, increasing the average EC50 of the transformants 11-fold relative to those carrying MfCYP136Y. However, neither the additional copy of MfCYP136Y nor multiple copies of MfCYP136F were found to reduce sensitivity relative to the empty vector control or single copy transformants, respectively. Molecular docking experiments using SYP-Z048 with HsCYP145Y and the mutated version HsCYP145F as substitutes for MfCYP136Y and MfCYP136F, respectively, indicated that the reduced affinity of HsCYP145F for SYP-Z048 resulted from the loss of a hydrogen bond between the fungicide and the active site. Taken together these results indicate that MfCYP51 is the major target site of SYP-Z048 in M. fructicola, which has important implications for the resistance management of this fungicide in the field.
Interleukin-1 Receptor Antagonist Reduces Neonatal Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Long-Lasting Neurobehavioral Deficits and Dopaminergic Neuronal Injury in Adult Rats

Our previous study showed that a single lipopolysaccharide (LPS) treatment to neonatal rats could induce a long-lasting neuroinflammatory response and dopaminergic system injury late in life. This is evidenced by a sustained activation of microglia and elevated interleukin-1β (IL-1β) levels, as well as reduced tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) expression in the substantia nigra (SN) of P70 rat brain. The object of the current study was to test whether co-administration of IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) protects against LPS-induced neurological dysfunction later in life. LPS (1 mg/kg) with or without IL-1ra (0.1 mg/kg), or sterile saline was injected intracerebrally into postnatal day 5 (P5) Sprague-Dawley male rat pups. Motor behavioral tests were carried out from P7 to P70 with subsequent examination of brain injury. Our results showed that neonatal administration of IL-1ra significantly attenuated LPS-induced motor behavioral deficits, loss of TH immunoreactive neurons, as well as microglia activation in the SN of P70 rats. These data suggest that IL-1β may play a pivotal role in mediating a chronic neuroinflammation status by a single LPS exposure in early postnatal life, and blockading IL-1β might be a novel approach to protect the dopaminergic system against perinatal infection/inflammation exposure.
Blind and semi-blind equalization for generalized space-time block codes

This paper presents a general framework for space-time codes (STCs) that encompasses a number of previously proposed STC schemes as special cases. The STCs considered are block codes that employ arbitrary redundant linear precoding of a given data sequence together with embedded training symbols, if any. The redundancy introduced by the linear precoding imposes structure on the received data that under certain conditions can be exploited for blind or semi-blind estimation of the transmitted sequence, a linear receiver that recovers the sequence, or both simultaneously. Algorithms based on this observation are developed for the single-user flat-fading case and then extended to handle multiple users, frequency-selective fading, as well as situations where the channel is rank deficient, or there are fewer receive than transmit antennas.
Cognitive Offloading Does Not Prevent but Rather Promotes Cognitive Development

We investigate the relation between the development of reactive and cognitive capabilities. In particular we investigate whether the development of reactive capabilities prevents or promotes the development of cognitive capabilities in a population of evolving robots that have to solve a time-delay navigation task in a double T-Maze environment. Analysis of the experiments reveals that the evolving robots always select reactive strategies that rely on cognitive offloading, i.e., the possibility of acting so as to encode onto the relation between the agent and the environment the states that can be used later to regulate the agent’s behavior. The discovery of these strategies does not prevent, but rather facilitates, the development of cognitive strategies that also rely on the extraction and use of internal states. Detailed analysis of the results obtained in the different experimental conditions provides evidence that helps clarify why, contrary to expectations, reactive and cognitive strategies tend to have synergetic relationships.
Host galaxies of bright high redshift quasars: luminosities and colours

We present the results of a near-infrared imaging study of high redshift ($z\sim 3$) quasars using the ESO-VLT. Our targets were selected to have luminosities among the highest known (absolute magnitude $M_B\la -28$). We searched for resolved structures underlying the bright point-source nuclei by comparing the QSO images with stars located in the same fields. Two QSOs (HE 2348-1444 at $z=2.904$ and HE 2355-5457 at $z=2.933$) are clearly resolved in K s , and with somewhat lower significance also in H ; one object is resolved only in K s . At these redshifts, H and K s correspond almost exactly to rest-frame B and V , respectively, with virtually no K -correction. We also report the non-detection of some additional QSOs. The detected host galaxies are extremely luminous with $M_V \sim -25$. Their rest-frame $B-V$ colours, however, are close to zero in the Vega system, indicating substantial contributions from young stars and a stellar mass-to-light ratio below 1 (in solar units). Tentatively converting M V and $B-V$ into rough estimates of stellar mass, we obtain values of $M_\star$ in the range of several $10^{11}\:M_\odot$, placing them within the high-mass range of recent high-redshift galaxy surveys. We present optical spectra and use $\ion{C}{iv}$ line width measurements to predict virial black hole masses, obtaining typical values of $ M_{\rm BH}\sim 5\times10^{9}\,M_{\odot} $. With respect to the known correlation between host galaxy luminosity $L_{V,{\rm host}}$ and M BH , our measurements reach higher luminosities and redshifts than previous studies, but are consistent with them. Comparing our objects with the local ($z\simeq 0$) M BH – M bulge relation and taking also the low stellar mass-to-light ratios into account, we find tentative evidence for an excess in the $M_{\rm BH}/M_{\rm bulge}$ mass ratio at $z\sim 3$.
Barreras en la transferencia de la tecnología: Un estudio cualitativo de las intervenciones breves y los centros de atención a las adicciones

Introduction. The transfer and translation of programs with scientific evidence to clinical scenarios is often limited by a number of barriers for their implementation, making it difficult to provide benefits for a society that requires effective services. Objective. The aim of this study was to identify the barriers for the adoption of brief intervention programs for the treatment of alcohol and other drugs abuse at addiction treatment centers in Mexico. Methods. This is a qualitative study with a purposive sample consisting of 16 experts on transfer processes. Focused interviews were conducted and transcribed, and the data were subjected to content analysis. Results. The results reported several barriers for the adoption of programs in clinical scenarios. These include the following: bureaucratic procedures and institutional policies, lack of knowledge of the theoretical bases of the program and the diversity of users demanding the service. Discussion and conclusion. The study discusses the fact that the technology transfer process requires a deliberate, combined effort to ensure the implementation of programs in clinical scenarios. The barriers identified by the actors involved in the process should be considered in the development of strategies to disseminate brief intervention programs.
Tackling the Plurilingual Student/Monolingual Classroom Phenomenon

This article argues for incorporating translation into the additional language (AL) classroom by drawing on the approach translation in other learning contexts (TOLC) (Gonz alez Davies, 2014). Here we present translation-based classroom practices carried out ecologically (i.e., integrated in the AL syllabus) in secondary education, taking examples from an ongoing research project. Drawing from research on plurilingual language teaching, the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (Council of Europe, 2001, p. 13) claims that, when an individual’s linguistic repertoire grows, they do “not keep these languages and cultures in strictly separated mental compartments, but rather build up a communicative competence to which all knowledge and experience of language contributes and in which languages interact. ” Plurilingual competence, therefore, can be defined as an individual’s ability to move between these languages strategically, “negotiating meaning, carrying content messages, giving information about the speaker, his social and cultural identity, the place he occupies in the conversation, or the nature of the exchange” (Coste, Moore, & Zarate, 2009, p. 19).
Extra Forces Evoked during Electrical Stimulation of the Muscle or Its Nerve Are Generated and Modulated by a Length-Dependent Intrinsic Property of Muscle in Humans and Cats

Extra forces or torques are defined as forces or torques that are larger than would be expected from the input or stimuli, which can be mediated by properties intrinsic to motoneurons and/or to the muscle. The purpose of this study was to determine whether extra forces/torques evoked during electrical stimulation of the muscle or its nerve with variable frequency stimulation are modulated by muscle length/joint angle. A secondary aim was to determine whether extra forces/torques are generated by an intrinsic neuronal or muscle property. Experiments were conducted in 14 able-bodied human subjects and in eight adult decerebrate cats. Torque and force were measured in human and cat experiments, respectively. Extra forces/torques were evoked by stimulating muscles with surface electrodes (human experiments) or by stimulating the nerve with cuff electrodes (cat experiments). In humans and cats, extra forces/torques were larger at short muscle lengths, indicating that a similar regulatory mechanism is involved. In decerebrate cats, extra forces and length-dependent modulation were unaffected by intrathecal methoxamine injections, despite evidence of increased spinal excitability, and by transecting the sciatic nerve proximal to the nerve stimulations. Anesthetic nerve block experiments in two human subjects also failed to abolish extra torques and the length-dependent modulation. Therefore, these data indicate that extra forces/torques evoked during electrical stimulation of the muscle or nerve are muscle length-dependent and primarily mediated by an intrinsic muscle property.