Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Age-friendliness of city, loneliness and depression moderated by internet use during the COVID-19 pandemic

Summary The purpose of this study was to examine the association between age-friendliness of a city, loneliness and depression moderated by internet use among older people during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The survey was from ‘The 2020 Survey of Needs Assessment for a Safe Community and Age-Friendly City’ in Xinyi District, Taipei, which was conducted by face-to-face interviews with community-based older adults who were aged 65 and above from one district of Taipei City from May to June 2020 (n = 335). Partial least square structural equation modeling and the SPSS PROCESS macro were used for data analysis. Two domains of an age-friendly city (housing and community support and health services) were found to be associated with reduced loneliness, while one (respect and social inclusion) was associated with decreased depression. The age-friendliness of cities mitigates depression through moderator (internet use) and mediation (loneliness) mechanisms. Although some age-friendly domains of the city reduced loneliness and depression directly, the age-friendliness–loneliness-depression mechanism held true only for older adults who used the internet and not for nonusers. Maintaining the age-friendliness of an environment is beneficial to mental health, and internet use is a necessary condition to gain optimum benefits from age-friendly initiatives. Policy suggestions are discussed.
A Hybrid Modeling Approach to Assess the Efficacy of Control Measures on Paratuberculosis on U.S. Dairy Farms

Paratuberculosis, also known as Johne’s disease or JD, is a chronic contagious infection, caused by Mycobaterium avium paratuberculosis (MAP). This fatal disease is incurable and causes considerable economic losses to the industry. Each year, the U.S. dairy industry loses over 200 million dollars due to the infection. Using the cattle movement data of six California dairy farms and Johne’s disease transmission data, a mathematical model was developed to determine control policies that can minimize the likelihood of outbreaks and the incidence and prevalence of the infection in dairy farms. In particular, we have implemented a hybrid modeling approach that combines the between-pen cattle movements with progression of the infection in each pen to study the effect of cattle movement patterns on the spread of disease. Using the basic reproduction number, the infection risk in cattle in each pen and the entire farm was calculated. It is shown that the overall infection risk is substantially reduced when the average residence time and the population size in high risk pens are minimized. Using numerical simulations, spread of epidemic waves in dairy farms and impacts of
Human Repertoire and V Gene Replacement in the Expressed Mutation Analysis Demonstrates D-D Fusion Partitioning of Rearranged Ig Genes by

The accurate partitioning of Ig H chain V H DJ H junctions and L chain V L J L junctions is problematic. We have developed a statistical approach for the partitioning of such sequences, by analyzing the distribution of point mutations between a determined V gene segment and putative Ig regions. The establishment of objective criteria for the partitioning of sequences between V H , D, and J H gene segments has allowed us to more carefully analyze intervening putative nontemplated (N) nucleotides. An analysis of 225 IgM H chain sequences, with ﬁve or fewer V mutations, led to the alignment of 199 sequences. Only 5.0% of sequences lacked N nucleotides at the V H D junction (N1), and 10.6% at the DJ H junction (N2). Long N regions ( > 9 nt) were seen in 20.6% of N1 regions and 17.1% of N2 regions. Using a statistical analysis based upon known features of N addition, and mutation analysis, two of these N regions aligned with D gene segments, and a third aligned with an inverted D gene segment. Nine additional sequences included possible alignments with a second D segment. Four of the remaining 40 long N1 regions included 5 (cid:1) sequences having six or more matches to V gene end motifs, which may be the result of V gene replacement. Such sequences were not seen in long N2 regions. The long N regions frequently seen in the expressed repertoire of human Ig gene rearrangements can therefore only partly be explained by V gene replacement and D-D fusion. The Journal of Immunology, 2004, 172: 340–348.
University of Repository Gastroretentive microparticles for drug delivery applications

Many strategies have been proposed to explore the possibility of exploiting gastroretention for drug delivery. Such systems would be useful for local delivery, for drugs that are poorly soluble at higher pH or primarily absorbed from the proximal small intestine. Generally, the requirements of such strategies are that the vehicle maintains controlled drug release and exhibits prolonged residence time in the stomach. Despite widespread reporting of technologies, many have an inherent drawback of variability in transit times. Microparticulate systems, capable of distributing widely through the GI tract, can potentially minimize this variation. While being retained in the stomach, the drug content is released slowly at a desired rate, resulting in reduced fluctuations in drug levels. This review summarises the promising role of microencapsulation in this field, exploring both floating and mucoadhesive microparticles and their application in treatment of H. pylori , highlighting the clinical potential of eradication of this widespread infection.
Stomatopod (Gonodactylaceus falcatus) Predation of the Akoya Pearl Oyster (Pinctada fucata) in Ocean Culture

ABSTRACT Crustaceans of the family Gonodactylidae (Order Stomatopoda) are potential predators of cultured pearl oysters in ocean-culture systems, yet they have not previously been implicated in contributing to on-farm mortality of culture stock. Improved knowledge of the threat posed by stomatopods to pearl oyster survival in ocean-culture systems, as well as possible influencing factors, is necessary to determine whether stomatopod predation merits concern and for prioritizing efforts to prevent and control predator incursions. The aims of this study were, therefore, to determine if the presence of stomatopods within culture units significantly affects cultured pearl oyster survival in an ocean-culture system, and whether predator or prey size exert influencing effects. Mortality of Akoya pearl oysters (Pinctada fucata) over a 6-wk culture period ranged from zero to 33.3% among individual culture units containing a single stomatopod (Gonodactylaceus falcatus) at the study site in north Queensland, Australia. An interaction between stomatopod size and their time at liberty within culture units, as well as an interaction between stomatopod size and pearl oyster size, explained 84.1% of the variance in pearl oyster survival among culture units. Most prominently, small stomatopods (total length: 37.0 ± 0.9 mm) caused minimal mortality of culture stock (4.6% ± 1.1%), whereas large stomatopods (total length: 69.0 ± 1.1 mm) had a significantly greater impact (20.8% ± 2.1% mortality) over the 6-wk period (P < 0.05). Given the potential for a single G. falcatus to cause up to 33.3% mortality of culture stock within a culture unit, the threat from stomatopod predation during ocean culture of pearl oysters could be significant and collection of site-specific information to assess this threat is recommended.
Embryonic Development and Fecundity of the Pacific Pygmy Octopus, Paroctopus digueti

ABSTRACT The life history including embryonic development of most species of octopus is still poorly understood. This makes the identification of eggs and juveniles difficult, hampering distribution and dispersal studies. The Pacific pygmy octopus, Paroctopus digueti (Perrier & Rocheburne 1894), exhibits features, including its direct embryonic development, that make it an ideal candidate for aquaculture. This study provides detailed information on the embryonic development, the morphological characteristics of eggs, and the fecundity of wild female P. digueti maintained under laboratory conditions that replicate natural environmental conditions. The Pacific pygmy octopus showed a monocyclic spawning pattern that takes place in time-separated batches, leading to asynchronous embryonic development in the batch. Eggs are between 7 and 10 mm (8.9 ± 0.71 mm) in total length. During the embryonic development, 31 distinct stages were identified with a total duration of 38 days. The distribution of chromatophores showed a specific pattern, with dorsal chromatophores being more abundant and larger than ventral ones. An observed fecundity of 300 eggs per female was twice as high as the value previously reported for this species in Bahia Choya, Sonora. This study contributes to the better understanding of the life cycle of P. digueti. Besides being a basic reproductive aspect, fecundity is a key element for studies on the reproductive potential and population dynamics of the species.
“My Kids Will Always Be around Me, if Not Physically, Spiritually They Will Always Be around Me”: Fathers in Forensic Inpatient Care

ABSTRACT The current study aimed to increase understanding of men’s experiences of fatherhood in forensic inpatient care; a population overlooked in research and at risk of neglect in clinical practice. Eight participants recruited from forensic inpatient services were interviewed. Data was analyzed via social constructivist Grounded Theory. The central psychological concept developed was that of paternal connection, reflecting a transient sense of connection to the father-child relationship. Core categories included 1) Psychological Processes, 2) Interpersonal Relationships, and 3) Institutional Organization. Fathers in forensic inpatient care experience dynamic psychological connectivity to their paternal relationship, regardless of child contact. This multi-layered experience requires responsive intervention to support fathers in this context. Recommendations for research, practice, and policy are outlined.
Running intensity fluctuations indicate temporary performance decrement in top-class football

ABSTRACT Match analyses were performed on 473 top-class male footballers. Distances covered during peak-distance 1-, 2- and 5-min periods of a game were 98 ± 5, 135 ± 8 and 235 ± 13 m at speeds >14 km·h−1. In the 5-min period following peak-distance 1-, 2- and 5-min periods, players had a high-intensity running distance deficit (P < 0.05) of 21, 18 and 17 m, respectively, compared to average 5-min distance. High-intensity running distances covered in peak-distance 5- and 1-min periods were greater (P < 0.05) for all playing positions other than central defender. In the 5-min period following the peak-distance 5-min period, less (P < 0.05) high-intensity distance was covered for all playing positions than in the average 5-min period. Distances covered by substitutes during the last 15 min of a game at speeds >11->24 km·h−1 were greater (18–39%; P < 0.05) compared to full-game players. In 5-min period following peak-distance 1-, 2- and 5-min periods, substitutes performed 9–21% less high intensity running than on average. In conclusion, peak-distance 1-, 2- and 5-min periods in a top-class football game reduce high-intensity running distance in the following 5-min period for all playing positions in both full-game players and substitutes. Thus, these short-term periods of a game may induce temporary performance decrement in top-class football players.
Skills and global value chains: A characterisation

This study follows a job task-based approach to measure the skills of individuals. It exploits information contained in the OECD Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) and conducts an exploratory state-of-the-art factor analysis to obtain six task-based skills indicators that are comparable across 31 countries. By combining the PIAAC-based skills indicators with OECD Trade in Value Added (TiVA) data, light is shed on the way skills and their distributions (at the country-industry level) relate to industry performance and to integration into global value chains (GVCs). The results underline the importance of cognitive skills such as literacy, numeracy and problem solving for any industry to thrive in the global economy. Also, a persistent and positive association with labour productivity and participation in GVCs is observed, at the industry level, for non-cognitive skills such as managing and communication skills, ICT skills and workers’ readiness to learn and to think creatively.
Toward Data Transmission Security Based on Proxy Broadcast Re-encryption in Edge Collaboration

With the development of IoT, more and more data is offloaded from the cloud to the edge for computing, eventually forming a collaborative computing model at the edge. However, in this model, the problem of secure data transmission has not been solved. In this model, data is transmitted and forwarded in multiple messaging systems, and existing security schemes cannot achieve end-to-end security in a multi-hop, broadcast transmission model. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a new security scheme based on proxy re-encryption and broadcast encryption techniques. Moreover, the performance and security of the scheme are further enhanced by using online-offline techniques and a trusted execution environment when integrating the scheme with edge collaboration. Finally, this paper proves the security of the scheme in theory, compares the functionality of the scheme, analyzes the theoretical performance of the scheme, and finally measures the actual performance of the scheme in the edge collaboration system.
EdgeWise: Energy-efficient CNN Computation on Edge Devices under Stochastic Communication Delays

This article presents a framework to enable the energy-efficient execution of convolutional neural networks (CNNs) on edge devices. The framework consists of a pair of edge devices connected via a wireless network: a performance and energy-constrained device D as the first recipient of data and an energy-unconstrained device N as an accelerator for D. Device D decides on-the-fly how to distribute the workload with the objective of minimizing its energy consumption while accounting for the inherent uncertainty in network delay and the overheads involved in data transfer. These challenges are tackled by adopting the data-driven modeling framework of Markov Decision Processes, whereby an optimal policy is consulted by D in O(1) time to make layer-by-layer assignment decisions. As a special case, a linear-time dynamic programming algorithm is also presented for finding optimal layer assignment at once, under the assumption that the network delay is constant throughout the execution of the application. The proposed framework is demonstrated on a platform comprised of a Raspberry PI 3 as D and an NVIDIA Jetson TX2 as N. An average improvement of 31% and 23% in energy consumption is achieved compared to the alternatives of executing the CNNs entirely on D and N. Two state-of-the-art methods were also implemented and compared with the proposed methods.
Removal of the highest energy POD mode for optimal construction of subgrid-scale parameters in a SPIV-measured turbulent mixing layer flow

Large eddy simulation is based on decomposition of turbulent flow structures to large energy-containing scales and small subgrid-scale (SGS) structures. The present study analyzes the effect of removing high-energy modes of flow to find the optimal construction of SGS parameters using the a priori approach. The data belong to a shear layer flow measured by stereoscopic particle image velocimetry (SPIV). The proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) method is used to capture all energy modes of the acquired velocity field. The missing/erroneous data are reconstructed using the gappy POD method. Particularly, similarity and mixed models are used to evaluate the SGS parameters. The results of the mixed model are compared via the a priori approach, before and after removing the high-energy modes. For the present flow, it is found that removal of just the first POD mode (as a representative of the mean flow) leads to the best SGS reconstruction, and this results in one order of magnitude higher precision of the average SGS stresses.
When Agronomy Flirts with Markets, Gender, and Nutrition: A Political Ecology of the New Green Revolution for Africa and Women’s Food Security in Burkina Faso

Abstract Advocates of the Green Revolution for Africa (GR4A) argue that the best way to address malnutrition is to incorporate smallholders into the global food economy via value chains involving the use of improved inputs, production technologies, and access to markets. Moseley and Ouedraogo critically assess these tactics using a feminist political ecology lens to analyze GR4A efforts in southwestern Burkina Faso which target female rice farmers. They examine the nature of the GR4A rice value chain, the degree to which a GR4A project is impacting the nutrition of participating women, and the influence of gender roles on GR4A rice project outcomes.
Cholesterol Microdomain Enhances the Biofilm Eradication of Antibiotic Liposomes

Resistance and tolerance of biofilms to antibiotics is the greatest challenge in the treatment of bacterial infections. Therefore, developing an effective strategy against biofilms is a top priority. Liposomes are widely used as antibiotic drug carriers; however, common liposomes lack affinity for biofilms. Herein, biofilm‐targeted antibiotic liposomes are created by simply adjusting their cholesterol content. The tailored liposomes exhibit significantly enhanced bacterial inhibition and biofilm eradication effects that are positively correlated with the cholesterol content of liposomes. The experiments further demonstrate that this enhanced effect can be ascribed to the effective drug release through the pores, which are formed by the combination of cholesterol microdomains in liposomal lipid bilayers with membrane‐damaged toxins in biofilms. Consequently, liposome encapsulation with a high cholesterol concentration improves noticeably the pharmacodynamics and biocompatibility of antibiotics after pulmonary administration. This work may provide a new direction for the development of antibiofilm formulations that can be widely used for the treatment of infections caused by bacterial biofilms.
Analysis of chemical and mechanical behaviors in living cells by continuum mechanics-based FRAP

Fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) is a common technique to analyze the turnover of molecules in living cells. Numerous physicochemical models have been developed to quantitatively evaluate the rate of turnover driven by chemical reaction and diffusion that occurs in a few seconds to minutes. On the other hand, they have limitations in interpreting long-term FRAP responses where intracellular active movement inevitably provides target molecular architectures with additional effects other than chemical reaction and diffusion, namely directed transport and structural deformation. To overcome the limitations, we develop a continuum mechanics-based model that allows for decoupling FRAP response into the intrinsic turnover rate and subcellular mechanical characteristics such as displacement vector and strain tensor. Our approach was validated using fluorescently-labeled beta-actin in an actomyosin-mediated contractile apparatus called stress fibers, revealing spatially distinct patterns of the multi-physicochemical events, in which the turnover rate of beta-actin was significantly higher at the center of the cell. We also found that the turnover rate is negatively correlated with the strain rate along stress fibers but, interestingly, not with the absolute strain magnitude. Moreover, stress fibers are subjected to centripetal flow as well as both contractile and tensile strains along them. Taken together, this novel framework for long-term FRAP analysis allows for unveiling the contribution of overlooked microscopic mechanics to molecular turnover in living cells.
Combined effects of 12-week yoga warm-up on athletic performance in male high school track and field athletes

Background Practicing yoga could improve balance and flexibility, but its positive significance as a long-term warm-up for formal training was uncertain. We hypothesized that practicing yoga during warm-up might positively affect balance, flexibility, and speed performance in male high school track and field athletes. Methods Over a 12-week period, athletes in a yoga group (YG) (n=10) practiced yoga for 15 min 4 times a week during warm-up, while athletes in a dynamic stretching group (DSG) (n=10) practiced 15 min of dynamic stretching. Except for the warm-up activities, the training content of the two groups of students was the same. we tested performance indicators immediately before and after the intervention, including lower extremity flexibility test (right hip active flexion range), lower extremity balance test [using surface electromyography (sEMG) to measure right leg tibialis anterior (TA) activation during one-leg stance (OLS) with eyes closed], and speed performance test (100-meter and 800-meter tests). Results We performed between-group and within-group comparisons for indicators of two groups by using SPSS (version 26.0). Within-group comparisons showed a significant improvement in flexibility (P=0.002) and balance (P=0.003) in YG, but no significant change in DSG, after the 12-week intervention. In addition, speed performance of both YG (100m, P=0.026; 800m, P=0.045) and DSG (100m, P=0.029; 800m, P=0.006) was significantly improved. Between-group comparison showed that YG had a significant advantage in 800m (P=0.045) and flexibility (P=0.031). Conclusions These data suggested that practicing yoga as a long-term warm-up could help male high school track and field athletes improve lower body flexibility and 800m speed. In addition, yoga had a certain positive effect on balance, but it was not significant overall.
Somatosensory cortical signature of facial nociception and vibrotactile touch–induced analgesia

Pain relief by vibrotactile touch is a common human experience. Previous neurophysiological investigations in animals focused on spinal mechanisms while human studies suggested the involvement of supraspinal mechanisms. Here we asked whether and how the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) is involved in touch induced analgesia. We discovered that in mice, vibrotactile reafferent signals from self-generated whisking significantly reduce facial nociception, which is abolished by specifically blocking touch transmission from thalamus to the barrel cortex (S1B). The presence of whisking altered nociceptive signal processing in S1B neurons. Intrinsic manifold analysis of S1B population activity revealed that whisking pushes the transition of neural state induced by noxious stimuli towards the state encoding non-nocifensive actions. Thus, S1B integrates facial tactile and noxious signals to enable touch mediated analgesia. Teaser Vibrotactile signals modulate barrel cortex population dynamics during touch mediated facial analgesia