Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Are depressive symptoms linked to a reduced pupillary response to novel positive information?—An eye tracking proof-of-concept study

Introduction Depressive symptoms have been linked to difficulties in revising established negative beliefs in response to novel positive information. Recent predictive processing accounts have suggested that this bias in belief updating may be related to a blunted processing of positive prediction errors at the neural level. In this proof-of-concept study, pupil dilation in response to unexpected positive emotional information was examined as a psychophysiological marker of an attenuated processing of positive prediction errors associated with depressive symptoms. Methods Participants (N = 34) completed a modified version of the emotional Bias Against Disconfirmatory Evidence (BADE) task in which scenarios initially suggest negative interpretations that are later either confirmed or disconfirmed by additional information. Pupil dilation in response to the confirmatory and disconfirmatory information was recorded. Results Behavioral results showed that depressive symptoms were related to difficulties in revising negative interpretations despite disconfirmatory positive information. The eye tracking results pointed to a reduced pupil response to unexpected positive information among people with elevated depressive symptoms. Discussion Altogether, the present study demonstrates that the adapted emotional BADE task can be appropriate for examining psychophysiological aspects such as changes in pupil size along with behavioral responses. Furthermore, the results suggest that depression may be characterized by deviations in both behavioral (i.e., reduced updating of negative beliefs) and psychophysiological (i.e., decreased pupil dilation) responses to unexpected positive information. Future work should focus on a larger sample including clinically depressed patients to further explore these findings.
Zircon SHRIMP U-Pb dating of the Neogene coral reefs, Xisha Islands, South China Sea: implications for tectonic evolution

ABSTRACT The Xisha Block is a minor one in the South China Sea and an important tectonic unit in the northwestern part of the region. Zircon SHRIMP U-Pb ages for three volcanic intrusive core samples from Xike-1, an exploratory well penetrating the bioherms of the Xisha Islands. The core samples are from the Miocene reef carbonate bedrock and are recognized as dark-gray biotite-hornblende gabbro, gray fine-grained biotite diorite, and gray fine-grained granite, respectively. Zircon cathodoluminescence (CL) images and trace Th, U and Pb compositions of the zircons show that these rocks are of volcanic intrusive origin. Zircon SHRIMP U-Pb dating yielded six groups of ages, ranging from 2451-1857 Ma to early Cretaceous, which indicate that the formation and evolution of the Xisha Block was affected by the evolution and closure of Neotethys Ocean, probably within its eastern extension into South China Sea. Both old, deep-sourced material, including fragments from Rodina supercontinent, and recent mantle-derived magma products contributed to the emergence and formation of the Xisha block. The SHRIMP U-Pb results also proved that this process differed from that of the Kontum massif, the Hainan Block, and the South China Block, but is similar to that of the Nansha and Zhongsha blocks. The process was associated with the effects of Yanshanian magmatism induced by subduction mechanisms of the Paleo-Pacific Plate or the reworking of the multiple magmatisms since the Early to mid-Yanshanian, possibly jointly experienced by the Xisha-Zhongsha-Nansha Block.
Effects of PAK1 on Proliferation, Migration, Apoptosis and Invasion of Hepatoma Cells through PAK1/ERK Pathway

To examine the impact of p21-activated kinase 1 on the growth, migration, apoptosis and invasion of hepatocellular carcinoma cells and its related mechanism. Hep38 was selected and divided into blank group, transfection control group and transfection group. The blank group was not given any treatment, the transfection control group was transfected with universal nonsense sequence, and the transfection group was given p21-activated kinases 1 sequence. The proliferation ability of cell counting kit-8 cells was compared by cell proliferation assay at different points in time after transfection. The cell cycle and apoptosis rate were detected by flow cytometry, the ability of cell migration was detected by scratch test, the p21-activated kinases 1/extracellular signal-regulated kinase pathway-related protein expression was found using the Western blot method, and the invasiveness of the cells in each group was assessed using the Transwell invasion test. The ability of cell proliferation in the transfection group was reduced than the blank group and the transfection control group at each time point. The proportion of cells in G1 phase in transfection group was reduced than blank group and transfection control group, while the proportion of G2/M phase in transfection group was higher than blank group and transfection control group. The apoptosis rate in the transfection group was higher than the blank group and the transfection control group. After 72 h of transfection, the number of invasive cells in the transfection group was reduced than the blank group and the transfection control group. After 24 h and 48 h of transfection, the cell migration ability of the transfection group was reduced than that blank group and the transfection control group. The expression of phosphorylated-p21-activated kinases 1 and phosphorylated-extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 protein in the transfection group was reduced than the blank group and the transfection control group. Silencing the expression of the p21-activated kinases 1 gene can hinder hepatoma cell motility and invasion, decrease hepatoma cell proliferation, and cause apoptosis by causing cell arrest in the G2 shock M phase. Its suppression of the expression of proteins connected to the p21-activated kinases 1/extracellular signal-regulated kinase pathway could be the mechanism.
Simulating carbon sequestration using cellular automata and land use assessment for Karaj, Iran

Abstract. Carbon sequestration has been proposed as a means of slowing the atmospheric and marine accumulation of greenhouse gases. This study used observed and simulated land use/cover changes to investigate and predict carbon sequestration rates in the city of Karaj. Karaj, a metropolis of Iran, has undergone rapid population expansion and associated changes in recent years, and these changes make it suitable for use as a case study for rapidly expanding urban areas. In particular, high quality agricultural space, green space and gardens have rapidly transformed into industrial, residential and urban service areas. Five classes of land use/cover (residential, agricultural, rangeland, forest and barren areas) were considered in the study; vegetation and soil samples were taken from 20 randomly selected locations. The level of carbon sequestration was determined for the vegetation samples by calculating the amount of organic carbon present using the dry plant weight method, and for soil samples by using the method of Walkley and Black. For each area class, average values of carbon sequestration in vegetation and soil samples were calculated to give a carbon sequestration index. A cellular automata approach was used to simulate changes in the classes. Finally, the carbon sequestration indices were combined with simulation results to calculate changes in carbon sequestration for each class. It is predicted that, in the 15 year period from 2014 to 2029, much agricultural land will be transformed into residential land, resulting in a severe reduction in the level of carbon sequestration. Results from this study indicate that expansion of forest areas in urban counties would be an effective means of increasing the levels of carbon sequestration. Finally, future opportunities to include carbon sequestration into the simulation of land use/cover changes are outlined.
The enhanced stability of β-carotene by encapsulation into hollow mesoporous silica nanoparticles

Carotenoids are widely-distributed botanical pigments which are closely involved in photosynthesis and present multiple bioactivities in human health. β-carotene (β-car) is one of the most extensively investigated carotenoids because of its provitamin A activity and many biological activities. However, its instability and highly hydrophobicity limit its applications in food processing and decrease its bioavailability. Although many efforts had been made by encapsulating β-car into different materials to solve these problems, these systems cannot satisfy the requirements to the varied and complex application of β-car in food and medicine field. Therefore, development of alternative new carriers may provide diversified carrier systems for β-car that best fit the practical usage of β-car in different processing operations. Considering the widely-accepted advantages of hollow mesoporous silica nanoparticles (HMSN) in the drug delivery system research, this study aimed to encapsulate β-car into HMSN in order to improve its instability and poor aqueous dispersibility. HMSN with average particle size about 230 nm was successfully prepared. The BET surface area, pore volume, and average pore size were calculated as 423.3 m 2 /g, 0.456 cm 3 /g and 3.95 nm, respectively. β-car was encapsulated into HMSN via solvent impregnation method to form a nanocomposites (HMSN@β-car) which could be well dispersed in water. The drug loading rate was calculated as 17.5%. And then, the stability of β-car in HMSN@β-car and its free forms against temperature, pH and light irradiation was compared. The results showed that encapsulation of β-car in HMSN enhanced its stability against temperature, pH and light irradiation. Besides, DPPH and ABTS assays showed that HMSN@β-car reduced the loss of antioxidant activity caused by temperature. In conclusion, encapsulation of β-car into HMSN could enhance its stability, decrease the loss of its antioxidant activity, and improve its aqueous dispersivity. Our results indicated that HMSN could serve as a candidate system for β-car carrier when we choose the system that best fit the practical usage of β-car in different processing operations.
Inadequate Personal Protective Equipment Factors and Odds Related to Acute Pesticide Poisoning: A Meta-Analysis Report

Introduction: Acute pesticide poisoning (APP) continues to affect farm workers, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). The dose–response relationship between exposure and APP is well-researched, but pesticide exposure assessment in a practical environment is difficult to perform, considering various work practices and protections in place. It is well known that inadequate personal protective equipment (PPE) use is a risk factor of APP. However, it is unknown which types of inadequate PPE use, such as face or other types of general protection, are most harmful. Methods: This study aimed to identify if inadequate PPE use is an indicator of APP risk following established specifications for meta-analysis of epidemiological studies. Included studies reported an odds ratio (OR) between PPE use to APP in agricultural workers. Data extracted from selected articles included authors, publication year, country of origin, farm type, population size, method of data collection and time frame of reported symptoms, job task, type of PPE and pesticides used, adjustments made in analysis, OR for APP, and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Meta-analysis was performed using a random effects model, where ORs were pooled to assess an overall estimate for poisoning odds. Results: Our findings suggested that inadequate PPE use was associated with increased odds (OR = 1.57, 95% CI = 1.16–2.12) of having APP. Failure to use general protection and inadequate face protection increased odds of APP by 1.29 times (95% CI = 0.88–1.90) and 1.92 times (95% CI = 1.23–3.00), respectively. Conclusions: The meta-analysis results indicate that improper facial protection and general protection are not differently associated with APP odds. Our study concludes that more robust protection against inhalation and dermal contact are critical because any gaps in comprehensive full-body PPE would put workers and exposed populations at APP risk.
Photodynamic Antimicrobial Chemotherapy Reduces Bacterial Load in Live Feeds in Aquaculture

Live feeds are one of the route of entry of pathogenic bacteria in larval rearing systems in aquaculture. Current study discusses the disinfection of bacteria associated with live feed (Artemia nauplii) using photodynamic antimicrobial chemotherapy (PACT). More than 90 % of Aeromonas hydrophila in solution and total bacteria associated with live feed were killed on exposure to 5 μM of curcumin under photoexcitation for 30 minutes. The cell wall of A. hydrophila was disrupted by the reactive oxygen species generated by photoexcited curcumin. Up to 50 μM curcumin and their photoexcitation products were not toxic to Artemia nauplii. The findings of the current study propose photodynamic antimicrobial chemotherapy as a propitious tool for One Health approach and restricting the use of antibiotics in aquaculture settings. SAARC J. Agric. , 21(2): 239-250 (2023)
Secondary metabolites from the leaves of Terminalia myriocarpa and their α-glucosidase inhibitory potential

The objective of this study is to investigate the chemical composition of the leaves of Terminalia myriocarpa and to evaluate their α-glucosidase inhibitory activity aiming to be used as a safe antidiabetic. Consequently, 10 compounds were isolated using column and preparative thin-layer chromatographic techniques and identified as alphitolic acid, isovitexin, flavogallonic acid, nigaichigoside F1, quercetin, quadranoside IV, rosamultin, 19α-hydroxyasiatic acid, asiatic acid, and arjunic acid. Structure elucidation was based on chemical (acid hydrolysis) and spectroscopic (UV, 1 H, and 13C-NMR) analyses and findings were confirmed through comparison with published data. The α-glucosidase inhibitory activity of the methanol extract fractions and compounds isolated therefrom was evaluated in-vitro alongside that of acarbose (positive control). Results revealed that quercetin and flavogallonic acid were significantly active with half-maximal inhibitory concentrations (IC50) equal to 7.5 ± 0.09 and 21.0 ± 1.4 µM, respectively. Furthermore, the interaction of lavogallonic acid with α-glucosidase enzyme was verified by docking experiment. Accordingly, quercetin and flavogallonic acid could be considered safer natural alternatives to the currently availableα-glucosidase inhibitors.
Analysing Language and Multimodal Discourse by Means of the NEAR-FAR Image Schema

Analizowanie języka i dyskursu multimodalnego za pomocą schematu wyobrażeniowego „blisko – daleko”Koncentrując się na zbieżnych dowodach na pojęciową naturę metafor, których domenę źródłową stanowi schemat wyobrażeniowy blisko–daleko, takich jak: podobieństwo to bliskość, różnica to odległość, czułość/uczucie to bliskość fizyczna, dystans emocjonalny to dystans fizyczny, artykuł omawia zastosowanie schematu blisko–daleko nie tylko w praktyce badań nad językiem, ale i w badaniach multimodalnych. Jako inny rodzaj zbieżnych dowodów na psychologiczną realność omawianych metafor konwencjonalnych oraz schematu blisko–daleko przedstawione są też wyniki kilku badań eksperymentalnych. Dyskusja prowadzi do wniosku, że schemat blisko–daleko stanowi wiarygodne i użyteczne narzędzie badawcze, na którym językoznawcy kognitywni mogą polegać. W Postscriptum autorka rozważa pokrótce ramowanie pandemii Covid-19 w terminach „dystansowania społecznego” zarówno w odniesieniu do metafory dystans społeczny to dystans fizyczny, jak i czułość/uczucie to bliskość fizyczna.
The Relationship between Exclusive Breastfeeding and Clean Water with Stunting in Toddlers

Introduction: Stunting is an acute nutritional problem where a child's height does not match their age. Stunting is caused by a variety of factors. The incidence of stunting in Jambi Province is still quite high, especially in East Tanjung Jabung Regency, namely at the Simpang Pandan Community Health Center, with a prevalence of 24.58%. Objective: This research aims to determine the relationship between exclusive breastfeeding and clean water and the incidence of stunting. Method: This study aims to determine the relationship between exclusive breastfeeding and clean water and the incidence of stunting. Results and Discussion: The results of the research show that there is no relationship between exclusive breastfeeding and the incidence of stunting in toddlers, and there is a relationship between access to clean water and the incidence of stunting in toddlers in the working area of the Simpang Pandan Jambi Community Health Center. Conclusions: There is a relationship between access to clean water and the incidence of stunting in toddlers
A Global View of Coastal Low-Level Wind Jets Using an Ensemble of Reanalyses

AbstractGlobal reanalyses are powerful tools to study the recent climate. They are built by combining forecast models with observations through data assimilation, which provide complete spatial and temporal information of observable and unobservable parameters. The reanalyses constitute very valuable three-dimensional data of the atmosphere, which make it possible to investigate a panoply of atmospheric processes, such as coastal low-level jets (CLLJs). In the present study, three global reanalyses, the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) interim reanalysis (ERA-Interim), the Japanese 55-year Reanalysis (JRA-55), and the Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications, version 2 (MERRA-2), are used to build an ensemble of reanalyses for a period encompassing 1980–2016 with 6-hourly output. A detailed global climatology of CLLJs is presented based on this ensemble of reanalyses. This reanalysis ensemble makes it possible to explore the ability of reanalysis to represe.
Modeling the growth of higher plants for life support systems : lettuce leaf metabolic model considering energy conversion and central carbon metabolism

For long term space missions, higher plants are necessary to be included in life support systems. The Micro Ecological Life Support System Alternative (MELiSSA) project of European Space Agency (ESA) is based on a closed life support system where microbial and higher plant compartments support the consumer’s compartment. Plants consume the possible recycling wastes (waste water and CO2) and provide fresh food, potable water and oxygen to the crew. One of the key points for this kind of study is to maintain a system which recycles all the elements C, H, O, N, S, P, etc. That is why, the study is based on the modelling of conversion stoichiometries ; they are the results of the control parameters of the system (physical limitations of mass and energy exchanges). As a preliminary step, we have established leaf metabolic model (a sub model of the plant biochemical model) involving central carbon metabolism using metabolic techniques, elementary flux mode analysis (EFMA) and metabolic flux analysis (MFA). It is associated to an integrated approach of energetics and central metabolism. Due to data limitations, the leaf metabolic model was constructed taking the biomass composition of lettuce (Lactuca sativa) from United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and validated with the experimental data where lettuce grown in controlled Environment Systems Research Facility (CESRF) of University of Guelph (Canada). For the first approach, the model is satisfying and promising ; it can predict the biomass production connecting the physical plant growth factors (light, CO2 and water availability, etc.) along with time course growth and biomass composition. However, our results show the lack of sufficient data ; hence, various kinds of measurements required for more accurate model predictions are proposed. The future model must be able to control and manage the plant growth for human survival knowing the fluxes from other compartments of MELiSSA loop. Further, the approach described here can be used more generically in all kinds of metabolic studies and modeling, especially for studying simultaneous and/or consecutive photosynthetic and respiratory metabolisms.
The Positive Association between Grit and Mental Toughness, Enhanced by a Minimum of 75 Minutes of Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity, among US Students

Drawing from the 2015 Gucciardi et al.’s mental toughness (MT) framework, this study examines the association between grit and MT in US college students, while considering the moderating role of at least 75 min of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) based on recommendations from the American College of Sports Medicine. We administered the Grit-S Scale and the Mental Toughness Index in two samples of a total of 340 US undergraduate student-athletes and graduate students. The Quality Assessment Tool for Observational Cohort and Cross-Sectional Studies was employed to ensure internal validity, while statistical procedures including principal component analysis and regression models were utilized to analyze the collected data. A weighted component combining grit and the interaction between MVPA and grit significantly predicted MT, explaining 23% of its variability. Drawing from a specific conceptual framework, this study provides novel insights into the relationship between grit, engagement in at least 75 min of MVPA per week, and MT among US collegiate students. The findings support a positive association between grit, MVPA, and both MT and a specific component of MT, highlighting the significance of these factors in enhancing performance and suggesting potential implications for future research and practical applications in the field.
An insider-outsider's exploration of planning knowledges roles uses and construction in a post-1994 metropolitan setting : eThekwini Municipality

ii DEDICATION . iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . v LIST OF TABLES . i LIST OF FIGURES/DIAGRAMS. iii LIST OF PLATES . v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS . vi APPENDICES . vii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION . 1 1.1 Rationale . 1 1.2 Context . 3 1.3 Clarification of research concepts . 4 1.4 Research problem and conceptualisation . 6 1.5 Research gaps . 7 1.6 Research objectives . 7 1.7 Research title, main research question and research sub-questions . 8 1.7. 1 Research title . 8 1.7. 2 Main research question . 8 1.7. 3 Sub-research questions . 8 1.8 Summary of research methodology . 9 1.9 Study contributions . 9 1.10 Structure of thesis . 10 1.11 Conclusions . 11 CHAPTER TWO: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK . 12 2.