Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A comparison of cognitive restructuring and cognitive defusion as strategies for resisting a craved food

The present study investigated the effectiveness of two cognitive strategies for resisting a craved food. One-hundred-and-ten self-identified chocolate cravers were randomised to a waiting list control condition or to receive a 60-minute standardised group intervention on cognitive restructuring (CR) or cognitive defusion (CD). All participants were provided with a bag of chocolates which they were instructed to carry with them for seven days and try to resist eating; uneaten chocolates were returned at the end of the study period. Measures included chocolate consumption and other behavioural, cognitive and evaluative self-reported outcomes. Overall, the odds of abstinence from chocolate were 3.26 times higher for participants in the CD than the CR condition. The effect of the interventions depended on baseline cognitive distress levels; for individuals at high levels of cognitive distress the CD condition led to significantly more restraint from chocolate than both the CR and control conditions. In addition, CD led to greater self-reported improvements in eating behaviours during the study period and was rated significantly easier to use and apply than CR. CD is discussed as a simple and efficient approach to manage food cravings and, potentially, other behavioural contributors to obesity.
Nonadiabatic transitions in electrostatically trapped ammonia molecules

Nonadiabatic transitions are known to be major loss channels for atoms in magnetic traps but have thus far not been experimentally reported upon for trapped molecules. We have observed and quantified losses due to nonadiabatic transitions for three isotopologues of ammonia in electrostatic traps by comparing the trapping times in traps with a zero and a nonzero electric field at the center. Nonadiabatic transitions are seen to dominate the overall loss rate even for the present samples that are at relatively high temperatures of 30 mK. It is anticipated that losses due to nonadiabatic transitions in electric fields are omnipresent in ongoing experiments on cold molecules.
Dickkopf-3 Acts as a Modulator of B Cell Fate and Function

The mechanisms responsible for the generation of a mature B1 and B2 cell compartment are still poorly understood. In this study, we demonstrated that absence of Dickkopf-3 (DKK3) led to changes in the composition of the B cell compartment, which were due to an altered development and maintenance program of B cells. Development of B2 cells was impaired at the pre- and immature B cell stage, resulting in decreased numbers of follicular B cells in adult DKK3-deficient mice. Furthermore, DKK3 limited B1 cell self-maintenance in the periphery, by decreasing the survival and proliferation behavior of B1 cells. DKK3 may act via the BCR signaling pathway, as Ca2+ influx upon BCR stimulation was increased and SiglecG, a molecule shown to inhibit Calcium signaling, was downregulated in the absence of DKK3. DKK3-deficient mice exhibited altered Ab responses and an increased secretion of the cytokine IL-10. Additionally, DKK3 limited autoimmunity in a model of systemic lupus erythematosus. In summary, we identified DKK3 as a novel modulator interfering with B cell fate as well as the maintenance program of B cells, leading to changes in B cell immune responses.
On the nature of medial temporal lobe contributions to the constructive simulation of future events

A rapidly growing number of studies indicate that imagining or simulating possible future events depends on much of the same neural machinery as does remembering past events. One especially striking finding is that the medial temporal lobe (MTL), which has long been linked to memory function, appears to be similarly engaged during future event simulation. This paper focuses on the role of two MTL regions—the hippocampus and parahippocampal cortex—in thinking about the future and building mental simulations.
Direct deconvolution algorithms based on Laplace transforms in nuclear medicine applications

A set of algorithms is presented for direct deconvolution of the residue signal of an organ with the input signal to the organ. The deconvolution process yields the residual impulse response from which the distribution of transit times and the important mean transit time can be readily determined. The deconvolution method is based on the Laplace transform and it requires that the input signal can be fitted with an expression consisting of one, two or three exponentials with or without a bolus term at zero time or a constant term. These types of exponential expressions for the input signal cover a wide range of the input signals encountered in nuclear medicine applications. Simulation studies of the residue signal by convolution of various input signals with a number of residual impulse response models yielded an excellent accuracy of the deconvoluted residual impulse response for a suitably small sampling time. The simulations provide an opportunity to understand further the shapes of the residue curves depending on the shape of the input signal and the distribution of transit times. Simulations with Gaussian-distributed noise and noise spikes superimposed on the residue signal were also made to investigate the robustness of the direct deconvolution algorithm using apparently real-life data.
Optimized Measurement Allocation for Power Distribution Systems Using Mixed Integer SDP

This paper presents a method for placement of metering systems in distribution grids taking into account the aspects of observability and state estimation accuracy. The measurement placement problem is conceptualized as the optimized allocation of a prespecified number of measurements in order to minimize the error variances of the state estimates either for observable or nonobservable networks. The proposed approach exploits the M-optimal experimental design technique to formulate the problem as a mixed integer semidefinite programming model. We demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed approach in terms of optimality and convergence speed through simulations on a 95-bus distribution grid.
Momentum Flux and Flux Divergence of Gravity Waves in Directional Shear Flows over Three-Dimensional Mountains

Linear mountain wave theory is used to derive the general formulas of the gravity wave momentum flux (WMF) and its vertical divergence that develop in directionally sheared flows with constant vertical shear. Height variations of the WMF and its vertical divergence are studied for a circular bell-shaped mountain. The results show that the magnitude of the WMF decreases with height owing to variable critical-level height for different wave components. This leads to continuous—rather than abrupt—absorption of surface-forced gravitywaves,andtherateofabsorptionislargelydeterminedby themaximumturningangleofthewindwith height. For flows turning substantially with height, the wave momentum is primarily trapped in the lower atmosphere. Otherwise, it can be transported to the upper levels. The vertical divergence of WMF is oriented perpendicularly to the right (left) of the mean flow that veers (backs) with height except at the surface, where it vanishes. First, the magnitude of the WMF divergence increases with height until reaching its peak value. Then, it decreases towardzero above thatheight. Thealtitude of peakWMF divergence is proportionalto the surface wind speed and inversely proportional to the vertical wind shear magnitude, increasing as the maximum wind turning angle increases. The magnitude of the peak WMF divergence also increases with the maximum wind turning angle, but it in general decreases as the ambient flow Richardson number increases. Implications of the findings for treating mountain gravity waves in numerical models are discussed.
Thioredoxin-dependent Hydroperoxide Peroxidase Activity of Bacterioferritin Comigratory Protein (BCP) as a New Member of the Thiol-specific Antioxidant Protein (TSA)/Alkyl Hydroperoxide Peroxidase C (AhpC) Family*

Escherichia coli bacterioferritin comigratory protein (BCP), a putative bacterial member of the TSA/AhpC family, was characterized as a thiol peroxidase. BCP showed a thioredoxin-dependent thiol peroxidase activity. BCP preferentially reduced linoleic acid hydroperoxide rather than H2O2 and t-butyl hydroperoxide with the use of thioredoxin as an in vivo immediate electron donor. The value of V max/K m of BCP for linoleic acid hydroperoxide was calculated to be 5-fold higher than that for H2O2, implying that BCP has a selective capability to reduce linoleic acid hydroperoxide. Replacement of Cys-45 with serine resulted in the complete loss of thiol peroxidase activity, suggesting that BCP is a new bacterial member of TSA/AhpC family having a conserved cysteine as the primary site of catalysis. BCP exists as a monomer, and its functional Cys-45 appeared to exist as cysteine sulfenic acid. The expression level of BCP gradually elevated during exponential growth until mid-log phase growth, beyond which the expression level was decreased. BCP was induced 3-fold by the oxidative stress given by changing the growth conditions from the anaerobic to aerobic culture. Bcp null mutant grew more slowly than its wild type in aerobic culture and showed the hypersensitivity toward various oxidants such as H2O2, t-butyl hydroperoxide, and linoleic acid hydroperoxide. The peroxide hypersensitivity of the null mutant could be complemented by the expression of bcp gene. Taken together, these data suggest that BCP is a new member of thioredoxin-dependent TSA/AhpC family, acting as a general hydroperoxide peroxidase.
Food type and concentration affect chlorophyll and carotenoid destruction during copepod feeding

To evaluate the use of pigments as tracers for determining copepod grazing rates and selectivity, we examined the stability of several biomarker pigments during copepod feeding incubations. During these incubations, we measured changes in phytoplankton‐derived chlorophylls and carotenoids in the particulate and dissolved pools. Budgets were calculated to determine changes in pigment concentrations in the food, copepod fecal pellets, copepod guts, and dissolved/colloidal fraction. For each of six algal diets, adult female Acartia tonsa copepods were fed limiting and saturating food concentrations, approximately 100 and 500 µg C L−1 , respectively. Thalassiosira weissflogii, Rhodomonas lens, Chroomonas salina, Dunaliella tertiolecta, and two Tetraselmis strains were used in the feeding experiments to investigate the fate of fucoxanthin, alloxanthin, lutein, chlorophyll (Chl) b, and Chl a. In all experiments using saturating food concentrations, the dissolved/colloidal pool contained no more than 3% (usually less than 1%) of any pigment, whereas in experiments using limiting food conditions, pigments were undetectable in the dissolved/colloidal pool. Pheopigments were present in fecal pellets and copepod guts in most of the experiments. Chl a destruction (conversion to colorless products) was variable among the different experiments, depending on algal species and food concentration and, in most cases, Chl a was destroyed to a greater extent than the carotenoids. In all cases, pigment destruction was higher when copepods were fed limiting rather than saturating food concentrations. These data attribute the variability in pigment destruction to algal species and concentration, and suggest caution when pigments are used as tracers of herbivory. In such studies, assumptions about conservative behavior, even for the carotenoids, would need to be verified for each set of experimental conditions and grazers.
Social and spatial structure and range use by Kaimanawa wild horses (Equus caballus: Equidae).

We measured horse density, social structure, habitat use, home ranges and altitudinal micro-climates in the south-western Kaimanawa ranges east of Waiouru, New Zealand. Horse density in the Auahitotara ecological sector averaged 3.6 horses.km -2 and ranged from 0.9 to 5.2 horses.km -2 within different zones. The population's social structure was like that of other feral horse populations with an even adult sex ratio, year round breeding groups (bands) with stable adult membership consisting of 1 to 11 mares, 1 to 4 stallions, and their pre- dispersal offspring, and bachelor groups with unstable membership. Bands and bachelor males were loyal to undefended home ranges with central core use areas. Band home range sizes varied positively with adult band size. Home ranges overlapped entirely with other home ranges. Horses were more likely to occupy north facing aspects, short tussock vegetation and flush zones and avoid high altitudes, southern aspects, steeper slopes, bare ground and forest remnants. Horses were more likely to be on north facing aspects, steeper slopes, in exotic and red tussock grasslands and flush zones during winter and at lower altitudes and on gentler slopes in spring and summer. Seasonal shifts by bands to river basin and stream valley floors in spring and higher altitudes in autumn and winter are attributed to the beginning of foaling and mating in spring and formation of frost inversion layers in winter. Given horse habitat selectivity and the presence of other ungulate herbivores, results from present exclosures are likely to exaggerate the size of horse impacts on range vegetation. Proposals to manage the population by relocation and confinement are likely to modify current social structure and range use behaviour and may lead to the need for more intensive management in the longer term.
Evaluation of the management of heart failure in primary care.

BACKGROUND The extent to which guidelines for the treatment of heart failure are currently followed in primary care in the UK is unclear. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the prevalence of heart failure and the pharmacological management of heart failure in relation to European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidelines. METHODS Retrospective cohort study using routinely collected data from 163 general practices across Great Britain contributing data to the Doctors Independent Network (DIN-LINK) database over a 5-year period until December 31, 2006. RESULTS From a patient population of nearly 1.43 million, 9311 patients with heart failure were identified [mean age 78 years (SD 12)], giving an estimated prevalence of 0.7%. Of these, 7410 (79.6%) were prescribed a loop diuretic, 6620 (71.1%) were prescribed an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or ARB, 3403 (36.6%) were prescribed beta-blockers but only 2732 (29.3%) were prescribed an ACE inhibitor or ARB and a beta-blocker in combination. Thirty-five per cent of patients prescribed ACE inhibitor and 11.5% of those prescribed beta-blockers met ESC guideline target doses. Age, gender and comorbidity predicted whether patients received beta-blocker or ACE inhibitor with younger males being more likely to receive maximal therapy. CONCLUSIONS These data suggest that while most patients with heart failure receive an ACE inhibitor/ARB in primary care, few are titrated to target dose and many do not receive a beta-blocker. Optimum treatment appears to be most likely for young men. New strategies are required to ensure equitable and optimal treatment for all.
Emotion and Time Perception: Effects of Film-Induced Mood

Previous research into emotion and time perception has been designed to study the time perception of emotional events themselves (e.g., facial expression). Our aim was to investigate the effect of emotions per se on the subsequent time judgment of a neutral, non-affective event. In the present study, the participants were presented with films inducing a specific mood and were subsequently given a temporal bisection task. More precisely, the participants were given two temporal bisection tasks, one before and the other after viewing the emotional film. Three emotional films were tested: one eliciting fear, another sadness, and a neutral control film. In addition, the direct mood experience was assessed using the Brief Mood Introspective Scale that was administered to the participants at the beginning and the end of the session. The results showed that the perception of time did not change after viewing either the neutral control films or the sad films although the participants reported being sadder and less aroused after than before watching the sad film clips. In contrast, the stimulus durations were judged longer after than before viewing the frightening films that were judged to increase the emotion of fear and arousal level. In combination with findings from previous studies, our data suggest that the selective lengthening effect after watching frightening films was mediated by an effect of arousal on the speed of the internal clock system.
Novel Blood Biomarkers Are Associated with White Matter Lesions in Fragile X- Associated Tremor/Ataxia Syndrome

Background: The need for accessible cellular biomarkers of neurodegeneration in carriers of the fragile X mental retardation 1 (FMR1) premutation (PM) alleles. Objective: To assess the mitochondrial status and respiration in blood lymphoblasts from PM carriers manifesting the fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS) and non-FXTAS carriers, and their relationship with the brain white matter lesions. Methods: Oxygen consumption rates (OCR) and ATP synthesis using a Seahorse XFe24 Extracellular Flux Analyser, and steady-state parameters of mitochondrial function were assessed in cultured lymphoblasts from 16 PM males (including 11 FXTAS patients) and 9 matched controls. The regional white matter hyperintensity (WMH) scores were obtained from MRI. Results: Mitochondrial respiratory activity was significantly elevated in lymphoblasts from PM carriers compared with controls, with a 2- to 3-fold increase in basal and maximum OCR attributable to complex I activity, and ATP synthesis, accompanied by unaltered mitochondrial mass and membrane potential. The changes, which were more advanced in FXTAS patients, were significantly associated with the WMH scores in the supratentorial regions. Conclusion: The dramatic increase in mitochondrial activity in lymphoblasts from PM carriers may represent either the early stages of disease (specific alterations in short-lived blood cells) or an activation of the lymphocytes under pathological situations. These changes may provide early, convenient blood biomarkers of clinical involvements.
Pharmacogenomics of preterm birth prevention and treatment

Pharmacogenomics and personalised medicine incorporate genetic factors, historical data, and environmental exposures to predict individual variation in response to medications. The study of pharmacology and pharmacogenomics is challenging in obstetrics, and our knowledge in this area lags behind other disciplines of medicine. Some preliminary data, however, suggest that some of the interindividual variation seen in response to medications given for the prevention (progesterone) and the treatment (nifedipine, terbutaline, and others) of preterm labour may be caused by pharmacogenomic effects. A comprehensive approach, integrating clinical data, environmental factors, including concomitant medications and genotype, to optimise the prevention and treatment strategies for preterm birth, is urgently needed.
Temporal Experience and the Temporal Structure of Experience

The experience of time passing, a central part of human experience of the world, has a number of philosophically puzzling features. Perhaps the most salient is the way that our point of view seems to glide seamlessly from one moment to the next, somehow caught at the cusp of the present as it moves ever forwards. How do we account for this sense of motion through time? But in addition to this elusive experience of time passing, we have temporal experience in a less mysterious sense: conscious experience is directed on temporal phenomena, such as the duration of sounds, or the temporal order of visually perceived occurrences. We perceive events playing out in time in just the same sense in which we perceive their more static features, such as shape, texture, color and illumination. Temporal experience in this latter sense is also philosophically problematic, and will be the subject of this paper.
International shipping of fumonisins from maize extracts on C18 sorbent

Fumonisins are mycotoxins found in maize. In developing countries, the resources required for analysis are often lacking, and the shipping of maize between countries can be difficult since the importation of plant materials requires permits/inspection to prevent the entry of pests that frequently infest maize. A simple, safe and legal method for shipping maize extracts to the USA was needed to conduct a survey of fumonisins in Central America. The objective was to develop a method for isolating and shipping maize extracts for fumonisin analysis so as to facilitate a survey of fumonisin exposure. The results indicate that fumonisins in acetonitrile:water extracts of maize can be isolated on C18 cartridges, held for at least 3 days at 22°C and then an additional 4 days at 4°C before elution and analysis with no losses. This method allows the importation and analysis of maize samples from foreign locations without complications from international safety concerns.
An activated sympathetic nervous system affects white adipocyte differentiation and lipolysis in a rat model of Parkinson's disease

Weight loss is an important nonmotor symptom associated with Parkinson's disease (PD). However, the cellular factors responsible for PD‐induced weight loss remain unclear. Because the sympathetic nervous system plays an important role in lipid metabolism and fat cell differentiation, this study investigates whether PD‐induced changes to this system are associated with weight loss in a rat model of PD. Body weight and food intake were measured in control and PD‐model rats. After 10 weeks, retroperitoneal white adipose tissues (RWAT) were removed and weighed. Markers of the sympathetic nervous system were measured in the brainstem dorsal medulla and RWAT. Free fat acids (FFA), triglycerides (TG), adipocyte differentiation‐related genes, and lipolysis‐related molecules in the RWAT and serum were analyzed. Differences in body weight and food intake were insignificant in PD‐model rats and control rats; however, relative RWAT weight and adipocyte surface area were significantly reduced in the PD group. Changes in markers of the sympathetic nervous system were observed in the brainstem dorsal medulla and RWAT of PD rats. Decreased mRNA expression levels of genes involved in adipocyte differentiation, decreased TG levels in RWAT, increased FFA in RWAT, and increased lipolysis‐related molecules in RWAT and serum FFA were observed in PD rats. This study demonstrates that degenerated dopaminergic neurons in the nigrostriatal system correlate with increases in sympathetic nervous system function, resulting in lipolysis and inhibition of fat cell differentiation. These factors ultimately result in the decrease of RWAT in PD‐model rats. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.