Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
How innate is locomotion in precocial animals? A study on the early development of spatio-temporal gait variables and gait symmetry in piglets

ABSTRACT Locomotion is one of the most important ecological functions in animals. Precocial animals, such as pigs, are capable of independent locomotion shortly after birth. This raises the question whether coordinated movement patterns and the underlying muscular control in these animals is fully innate or whether there still exists a rapid maturation. We addressed this question by studying gait development in neonatal pigs through the analysis of spatio-temporal gait characteristics during locomotion at self-selected speed. To this end, we made video recordings of piglets walking along a corridor at several time points (from 0 h to 96 h). After digitization of the footfalls, we analysed self-selected speed and spatio-temporal characteristics (e.g. stride and step lengths, stride frequency and duty factor) to study dynamic similarity, intralimb coordination and interlimb coordination. To assess the variability of the gait pattern, left–right asymmetry was studied. To distinguish neuromotor maturation from effects caused by growth, both absolute and normalized data (according to the dynamic similarity concept) were included in the analysis. All normalized spatio-temporal variables reached stable values within 4 h of birth, with most of them showing little change after the age of 2 h. Most asymmetry indices showed stable values, hovering around 10%, within 8 h of birth. These results indicate that coordinated movement patterns are not entirely innate, but that a rapid neuromotor maturation, potentially also the result of the rearrangement or recombination of existing motor modules, takes place in these precocial animals. Highlighted Article: Coordinated movement patterns in piglets are not entirely innate; instead, rapid neuromotor maturation also takes place in these precocial animals.
Violence and the Outlaw Status of (Street) Prostitution in Canada

This article constructs a profile of murders of sex workers in British Columbia from 1964 to 1998. The analysis reveals the relationships among media, law, political hypocrisy, and violence against street prostitutes. In particular, the article examines how the “discourse of disposal”—that is, media descriptions of the ongoing attempts of politicians, police, and residents' groups to get rid of street prostitution from residential areas—contributed to a sharp increase in murders of street prostitutes in British Columbia after 1980.
Estimation of distance and electric impedance of capacitive objects in the weakly electric fish Gnathonemus petersii

ABSTRACT During active electrolocation, the weakly electric fish Gnathonemus petersii judges the distance and impedance of nearby objects. Capacitive objects, which modulate local amplitude and waveform of the fish's electric probing signals, cast amplitude and waveform images onto the fish's electroreceptive skin. For an unambiguous estimation of the impedance and distance of an object, the animal has to deal with multiple dependencies of object and image parameters. Based on experimentally recorded amplitude and waveform images, we investigated possible strategies of the fish to unequivocally determine both the distance and the impedance of capacitive objects. We show that the relative slope in amplitude images, but not in waveform images, is independent of object impedance and is a measure of object distance. Distance-invariant impedance estimators were obtained by two different analytical strategies. The peak modulations of both image types were ‘calibrated’ with the relative slope of the amplitude image. Impedance estimators were obtained whenever these pairs of image features (peak and relative slope) were related dynamically over two consecutive distances. A static impedance estimator termed ‘electric colour’ is postulated to arise from the relationship of an amplitude and waveform image. Our results confirm that electric colour is indeed unaffected by object distance. For electric colour estimation we suggest a minimalistic approach of just relating the peak modulations of both image types to the basal amplitude and waveform condition. Our results are discussed with regard to the anatomical and physiological organization of the fish's electrosensory neuronal pathways and behavioural strategies of electrolocating fish. Summary: Electrosensory strategies of electric fish for unequivocal estimation of object distance and impedance indicate the use of static image parameters and motion-related cues.
Trace-based just-in-time type specialization for dynamic languages

Dynamic languages such as JavaScript are more difficult to compile than statically typed ones. Since no concrete type information is available, traditional compilers need to emit generic code that can handle all possible type combinations at runtime. We present an alternative compilation technique for dynamically-typed languages that identifies frequently executed loop traces at run-time and then generates machine code on the fly that is specialized for the actual dynamic types occurring on each path through the loop. Our method provides cheap inter-procedural type specialization, and an elegant and efficient way of incrementally compiling lazily discovered alternative paths through nested loops. We have implemented a dynamic compiler for JavaScript based on our technique and we have measured speedups of 10x and more for certain benchmark programs.
Apparent changes in body insulation of juvenile king penguins suggest an energetic challenge during their early life at sea

ABSTRACT Little is known about the early life at sea of marine top predators, like deep-diving king penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus), although this dispersal phase is probably a critical phase in their life. Apart from finding favourable foraging sites, they have to develop effective prey search patterns as well as physiological capacities that enable them to capture sufficient prey to meet their energetic needs. To investigate the ontogeny of their thermoregulatory responses at sea, we implanted 30 juvenile king penguins and 8 adult breeders with a small data logger that recorded pressure and subcutaneous temperature continuously for up to 2.5 years. We found important changes in the development of peripheral temperature patterns of foraging juvenile king penguins throughout their first year at sea. Peripheral temperature during foraging bouts fell to increasingly lower levels during the first 6 months at sea, after which it stabilized. Most importantly, these changes re-occurred during their second year at sea, after birds had fasted for ∼4 weeks on land during their second moult. Furthermore, similar peripheral temperature patterns were also present in adult birds during foraging trips throughout their breeding cycle. We suggest that rather than being a simple consequence of concurrent changes in dive effort or an indication of a physiological maturation process, these seasonal temperature changes mainly reflect differences in thermal insulation. Heat loss estimates for juveniles at sea were initially high but declined to approximately half after ∼6 months at sea, suggesting that juvenile king penguins face a strong energetic challenge during their early oceanic existence. Summary: Important changes in peripheral temperature patterns during foraging occur in juvenile king penguins throughout their first year at sea, probably reflecting changes in body insulation that suggest an energetic challenge.
α-Adrenergic Blockade Improves Glucose-Potentiated Insulin Secretion in Non-Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus

The impairment of glucose-potentiated insulin secretion present in non-insulin-dependent diabetes mel I it us (NIDDM) can be approximated in normal subjects by an epinephrine infusion. Therefore, we sought to determine the role of the endogenous sympathetic nervous system in glucose-potentiated insulin secretion in both NIDDM (n = 6) and normal (n = 6) subjects. Glucose-potentiated insulin secretion was calculated as the slope of the curve relating increasing ambient glucose levels to the acute insulin response to an intravenous pulse of 5 g of L-arginine. Glucose-potentiated insulin secretion was determined on separate days during α-, β-, and combined α- plus β-adrenergic blockade and compared with a saline control. In. normal subjects, there was no effect of α-, β-, or α- plus β-blockade on the slope of glucose potentiation. In NIDDM, the initially decreased slope of glucose potentiation (0.25 ± 0.06 μU · ml−1 · mg−1 · dl, mean ± SE; P < .01) was not affected by β-blockade but increased during α-blockade (0.91 ± 0.22 μU · ml−1 · mg−1 · dl; P < .05). However, this improvement was abolished by combined α- plus β-blockade (0.32 ± 0.07 μU · ml−1 · mg−1 dl). Plasma norepinephrine was increased above basal levels in both normal (+ 260 ± 89 pg/ml) and NIDDM (+ 438 ± 162 pg/ml) subjects during α-blockade (P < .05 for both). This increase in plasma norepinephrine strongly suggests that there is an increase in synaptic cleft norepinephrine concentration. These results suggest that the increase in glucose-potentiated insulin secretion during α-adrenergic blockade was a result of both a decrease in an endogenous overactive α-adrenergic stimulation and an increase in synaptic cleft norepinephrine levels, which resulted in an increase in islet β-adrenergic stimulation. We suggest that a chronic decrease in islet α-adrenergic stimulation may prove to be a useful adjunct to NIDDM management.
Substance-misusing Patients in Primary Care: incidence, services provided and problems. A survey of general practitioners in Wiltshire

This research aimed to discover the monthly incidence of patients misusing illicit drugs or alcohol seen by general practitioners; services provided; difficulties encountered; and general practitioner willingness. The total population of general practitioners (n = 210) in the Health Commission for Wiltshire was sent a postal questionnaire: 49% responded (n = 103), and 10% of respondents were interviewed. The number of alcohol-misusing patients seen per month was much higher than illicit drug-misusing patients: 46% of respondents saw fewer than one patient for prescribed opiates, and 71% saw fewer than one solvent misuser, per month; in contrast, only 7% of respondents saw fewer than one alcohol-misusing patient per month. Ninety-two per cent of general practitioners provided general medical services for alcohol misusers, and 86% for illicit drug misusers. Fifty-four per cent of respondents provided substitute medication for illicit drugs, while 42% provided detoxification medication for illicit drugs. Sixty-five per cent provided medication for alcohol detoxification. Difficulties encountered included missed appointments, time-wasting, aggressive behaviour, communication difficulties and upset to other patients. Twelve per cent of general practitioners were willing to provide more services for illicit drug users, compared with 27% for alcohol users. The greater unwillingness to work with illicit drug users appeared disproportionate to the number previously encountered. Interventions to improve the situation for general practitioners and substance-misusing patients are discussed.
Investigating the differential effects of social networking site addiction and Internet gaming disorder on psychological health

Background and aims Previous studies focused on examining the interrelationships between social networking site (SNS) addiction and Internet gaming disorder (IGD) in isolation. Moreover, little is known about the potential simultaneous differential effects of SNS addiction and IGD on psychological health. This study investigated the interplay between these two technological addictions and ascertained how they can uniquely and distinctively contribute to increasing psychiatric distress when accounting for potential effects stemming from sociodemographic and technology-related variables. Methods A sample of 509 adolescents (53.5% males) aged 10–18 years (mean = 13.02, SD = 1.64) were recruited. Results It was found that key demographic variables can play a distinct role in explaining SNS addiction and IGD. Furthermore, it was found that SNS addiction and IGD can augment the symptoms of each other, and simultaneously contribute to deterioration of overall psychological health in a similar fashion, further highlighting potentially common etiological and clinical course between these two phenomena. Finally, the detrimental effects of IGD on psychological health were found to be slightly more pronounced than those produced by SNS addiction, a finding that warrants additional scientific scrutiny. Discussion and conclusion The implications of these results are further discussed in light of the existing evidence and debates regarding the status of technological addictions as primary and secondary disorders.
Promoting educational, classification, treatment, and policy initiatives

The letter by Kraus et al. (2018) published recently in World Psychiatry presents diagnostic criteria for compulsive sexual behaviors (CSBs). Here, we discuss the potential impact of including CSB disorder in ICD-11 for four areas: educational efforts related to CSB (for both clinicians and patients), investigation of underlying mechanisms and subtypes, development of personalized treatment frameworks, and answering socially important questions and advancing important prevention efforts and effective policies. Each of these four areas has their own challenges that should be addressed, and we briefly describe and discuss them. We hope that this information will help continue a dialog and provide a framework for moving forward in this area.
VESTPD as a measure of ventilatory acclimatization to hypobaric hypoxia.

This study compared the ventilation response to an incremental ergometer exercise at two altitudes: 633 mmHg (resident altitude = 1,600 m) and following acute decompression to 455 mmHg (≈4,350 m altitude) in eight male cyclists and runners. At 455 mmHg, the VESTPD at RER <1.0 was significantly lower and the VEBTPS was higher because of higher breathing frequency; at VO2max, both VESTPD and VEBTPS were not significantly different. As percent of VO2max, the VEBTPS was nearly identical and VESTPD was 30% lower throughout the exercise at 455 mmHg. The lower VESTPD at lower pressure differs from two classical studies of acclimatized subjects (Silver Hut and OEII), where VESTPD at submaximal workloads was maintained or increased above that at sea level. The lower VESTPD at 455 mmHg in unacclimatized subjects at submaximal workloads results from acute respiratory alkalosis due to the initial fall in HbO2 (≈0.17 pHa units), reduction in PACO2 (≈5 mmHg) and higher PAO2 throughout the exercise, which are partially pre-established during acclimatization. Regression equations from these studies predict VESTPD from VO2 and PB in unacclimatized and acclimatized subjects. The attainment of ventilatory acclimatization to altitude can be estimated from the measured vs. predicted difference in VESTPD at low workloads after arrival at altitude.
Redox regulation of mitochondrial functional activity by quinones.

Quinones are among the rare compounds successfully used as therapeutic agents to correct mitochondrial diseases and as specific regulators of mitochondrial function within cells. The aim of the present study was to elucidate the redox-dependent effects of quinones on mitochondrial function. The functional parameters [respiratory activity, membrane potential, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation] of isolated rat liver mitochondria and mitochondria in intact cells were measured in the presence of eight exogenously applied quinones that differ in lipophilicity and one-electron reduction potential. The quinones affected the respiratory parameters of mitochondria, and dissipated the mitochondrial membrane potential as well as influenced (either decreased or enhanced) ROS generation, and restored the electron flow during electron transport chain inhibition. The stimulation of ROS production by juglone and 2,5-di-tert-butyl-1,4-benzoquinone was accompanied by a decrease in the acceptor control and respiration control ratios, dissipation of the mitochondrial membrane potential and induction of the reverse electron flow under succinate oxidation in isolated mitochondria. Menadione and 2,3,5-trimethyl-1,4-benzoquinone, which decreased the mitochondrial ROS generation, did not affect the mitochondrial potential and, vice versa, were capable of restoring electron transport during Complex I inhibition. In intact C6 cells, all the quinones, except for coenzyme Q10, decreased the mitochondrial membrane potential. Juglone, 1,4-benzoquinone, and menadione showed the most pronounced effects. These findings indicate that quinones with the reduction potential values E1/2 in the range from -99 to -260 mV were effective redox regulators of mitochondrial electron transport.
Group lasso with overlap and graph lasso

We propose a new penalty function which, when used as regularization for empirical risk minimization procedures, leads to sparse estimators. The support of the sparse vector is typically a union of potentially overlapping groups of co-variates defined a priori, or a set of covariates which tend to be connected to each other when a graph of covariates is given. We study theoretical properties of the estimator, and illustrate its behavior on simulated and breast cancer gene expression data.
A novel, bounding gait in swimming turtles: implications for aquatic locomotor diversity

ABSTRACT Turtles are an iconic lineage in studies of animal locomotion, typifying the use of slow, alternating footfalls during walking. Alternating movements of contralateral limbs are also typical during swimming gaits for most freshwater turtles. Here, we report a novel gait in turtles, in which the pleurodire Emydura subglobosa swims using a bounding gait that coordinates bilateral protraction of both forelimbs with bilateral retraction of both hindlimbs. Use of this bounding gait is correlated with increased limb excursion and decreased stride frequency, but not increased velocity when compared with standard swimming strokes. Bounding by E. subglobosa provides a second example of a non-mammalian lineage that can use bounding gaits, and may give insight into the evolution of aquatic flapping. Parallels in limb muscle fascicle properties between bounding turtles and crocodylids suggest a possible musculoskeletal mechanism underlying the use of bounding gaits in particular lineages. Summary: The pleurodire turtle Emydura subglobosa can swim using a bounding gait, potentially facilitated by longer muscle fascicle lengths than in other species, and this may have implications for the locomotor evolution of the lineage.
Cognitive dysfunction associated with chemotherapy for breast cancer

Cognitive dysfunction occurs in at least one-fifth (and by some reports, more than four-fifths) of breast-cancer patients who previously underwent adjuvant therapy with cytotoxic pharmacologic regimens. The main purpose of this report is to define the scope of the cognitive problems suffered by cancer patients who were previously exposed to cytotoxic chemotherapy, which have come to be grouped under the conceptual umbrella of 'chemobrain'. Second, we aim to spotlight the present inadequacy of clinical care in dealing with chemobrain-related issues – with respect both to the sins of omission of oncologists in obtaining informed consent for the cytotoxic therapies they are planning to prescribe, as well as to the subsequent failure of healthcare providers to address chemobrain-related problems experienced by a substantial proportion of their patients. Finally, we will examine how current investigations employing the tools of neuropsychologic and neuroimaging instruments are figuratively and literally sheddi.
Radiation dose estimates for radiopharmaceuticals

Tables of radiation dose estimates based on the Cristy-Eckerman adult male phantom are provided for a number of radiopharmaceuticals commonly used in nuclear medicine. Radiation dose estimates are listed for all major source organs, and several other organs of interest. The dose estimates were calculated using the MIRD Technique as implemented in the MIRDOSE3 computer code, developed by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, Radiation Internal Dose Information Center. In this code, residence times for source organs are used with decay data from the MIRD Radionuclide Data and Decay Schemes to produce estimates of radiation dose to organs of standardized phantoms representing individuals of different ages. The adult male phantom of the Cristy-Eckerman phantom series is different from the MIRD 5, or Reference Man phantom in several aspects, the most important of which is the difference in the masses and absorbed fractions for the active (red) marrow. The absorbed fractions for flow energy photons striking the marrow are also different. Other minor differences exist, but are not likely to significantly affect dose estimates calculated with the two phantoms. Assumptions which support each of the dose estimates appears at the bottom of the table of estimates for a given radiopharmaceutical. In most cases, the model kinetics or organ residence times are explicitly given. The results presented here can easily be extended to include other radiopharmaceuticals or phantoms.
Meme-tracking and the dynamics of the news cycle

Tracking new topics, ideas, and "memes" across the Web has been an issue of considerable interest. Recent work has developed methods for tracking topic shifts over long time scales, as well as abrupt spikes in the appearance of particular named entities. However, these approaches are less well suited to the identification of content that spreads widely and then fades over time scales on the order of days - the time scale at which we perceive news and events. We develop a framework for tracking short, distinctive phrases that travel relatively intact through on-line text; developing scalable algorithms for clustering textual variants of such phrases, we identify a broad class of memes that exhibit wide spread and rich variation on a daily basis. As our principal domain of study, we show how such a meme-tracking approach can provide a coherent representation of the news cycle - the daily rhythms in the news media that have long been the subject of qualitative interpretation but have never been captured accurately enough to permit actual quantitative analysis. We tracked 1.6 million mainstream media sites and blogs over a period of three months with the total of 90 million articles and we find a set of novel and persistent temporal patterns in the news cycle. In particular, we observe a typical lag of 2.5 hours between the peaks of attention to a phrase in the news media and in blogs respectively, with divergent behavior around the overall peak and a "heartbeat"-like pattern in the handoff between news and blogs. We also develop and analyze a mathematical model for the kinds of temporal variation that the system exhibits.