Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Emu: A Possible New Red Meat Alternative

People are making food choices based on fat, calories, and cholesterol, while demanding products that are appetizing. Due to such health issues and the convenience of alternative meat products, consumption of beef has declined among American consumers. In this study emu meat and US Select grade beef ribeye steaks were compared for palatability by a 10-member trained sensory panel. Tests for fat (ether) and moisture (vacuum dry) were performed, along with Warner-Bratzler shear tests. Emu meat was rated as more tender, juicier, and more flavorful than the beef ribeye steaks. Wamer-Bratzler shear measurements were consistent with sensory panel findings. Proximate analysis showed the emu steaks contained less fat and more moisture than the beef ribeye steaks. Emu meat is a “red meat” that may ease consumers' concerns about the consumption of red meat. Its potential as a red meat alternative is due to its tender, juicy, flavorful, and lean qualities.
Further results on latent discourse models and word embeddings

We discuss some properties of generative models for word embeddings. Namely, [Arora et al., 2016] proposed a latent discourse model implying the concentration of the partition function of the word vectors. This concentration phenomenon lead to an asymptotic linear relation between the pointwise mutual information ( PMI ) of pairs of words and the scalar product of their vectors. Here, we ﬁrst show that the concentration phenomenon is rather general, since it holds for random vectors symmetrically distributed around the origin. Second, we empirically evaluate the relation between PMI and scalar products of word vectors satisfying the concentration property. Our ﬁndings indicate that the relation PMI and scalar product fail to occur with empirical word embeddings. We deduce that either natural language does not follow the assumptions of the generative model, or the current methods do not allow the reconstruction of the hypothesized word embeddings. Finally, we provide necessary conditions for the positivity of the shifted symmetric PMI matrix in terms of local pairwise probabilities and provide evidence that it fails to be positive semideﬁnite in practice, which shows that a result by [Levy and Goldberg, 2014] does not apply to symmetric models. This implies that the linear relation between PMI and scalar product cannot hold with arbitrarily small error.
GCN5L1 promotes diastolic dysfunction by inhibiting cardiac pyruvate oxidation

Left ventricular diastolic dysfunction is a structural and functional condition that precedes the development of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). The etiology of diastolic dysfunction includes alterations in fuel substrate metabolism that negatively impact cardiac bioenergetics, and may precipitate the eventual transition to heart failure. To date, the molecular mechanisms that regulate early changes in fuel metabolism leading to diastolic dysfunction remain unclear. In this report, we use a diet-induced obesity model and quantitative acetylproteomics in aged mice to show that inhibitory lysine acetylation of the pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) complex promotes energetic deficits and diastolic dysfunction in mouse hearts. Cardiomyocyte-specific deletion of the mitochondrial lysine acetylation regulatory protein GCN5L1 prevented hyperacetylation of the PDH complex subunit PDHA1, allowing aged obese mice to continue using pyruvate as a bioenergetic substrate in the heart. Our findings suggest that changes in mitochondrial protein lysine acetylation represent a key metabolic component of diastolic dysfunction that precedes the development of heart failure.
Probabilistic planning for robotic exploration

Robotic exploration tasks involve inherent uncertainty. They typically include navigating through unknown terrain, searching for features that may or may not be present, and intelligently reacting to data from noisy sensors (for example, a search and rescue robot, believing it has detected a trapped earthquake victim, might stop to check for signs of life). Exploration domains are distinguished both by the prevalence of uncertainty and by the importance of intelligent information gathering. An exploring robot must understand what unknown information is most relevant to its goals, how to gather that information, and how to incorporate the results into its future actions. This thesis has two main components. First, we present planning algorithms that generate robot control policies for partially observable Markov decision process (POMDP) planning problems. POMDP models explicitly represent the uncertain state of the world using a probability distribution over possible states, and they allow the planner to reason about information gathering actions in a way that is decision theoretically optimal. Relative to existing POMDP planning algorithms, our algorithms can more quickly generate approximately optimal policies, taking advantage of innovations in efficient value function representation, heuristic search, and state abstraction. This improved POMDP planning is important both to exploration domains and to a wider class of decision problems. Second, we demonstrate the relevance of onboard science data analysis and POMDP planning to robotic exploration. Our experiments centered around a robot deployed to map the distribution of life in the Atacama Desert of Chile, using operational techniques similar to a Mars mission. We found that science autonomy and POMDP planning techniques significantly improved science yield for exploration tasks conducted both in simulation and onboard the robot.
ATIVIDADE PESQUEIRA E CONSTRUÇÃO DE EMBARCAÇÕES NA COLÔNIA DE PESCADORES Z-18 DO MUNICÍPIO DE UNIÃO/PI, BRASIL

Na comunidade de pescadores Z-18, do municipio de Uniao/PI, evidencia-se uma importância cultural de sobrevivencia atraves do uso dos recursos naturais locais. Dados etnobiologicos a respeito das artes e estrategias de pesca e tecnicas na construcao e reparo de canoas foram revelados apos a aplicacao de entrevistas semiestrururadas, observacao direta, registro fotografico e analise quantitativa dos dados. Homens e mulheres participam diretamente da pesca, utilizando-se de oito artefatos, destacando-se o engancho. Foram apontadas 10 especies de peixes raras e 15 especies comuns. Quanto a distribuicao do conhecimento etnozoologico por genero, nao houve diferencas significativas, por faixa etaria, apenas os jovens possuem menos conhecimento do que adultos e idosos, estes, nao diferem significativamente. Quatro especies vegetais sao utilizadas na fabricacao e reparo das canoas. Os pescadores possuem um amplo conhecimento em relacao a atividade pesqueira, sendo esta transmitida de geracao a geracao.
La culture numérique des jeunes professeurs des écoles peut-elle permettre de réduire l’écart entre natifs et immigrants du numérique ?

Le decalage entre les pratiques numeriques des eleves et celles de leurs professeurs est important et semble s’accentuer : les pratiques des jeunes tendent a etre ludiques et communicationnelles, tandis que celles des enseignants reposent sur des competences globales techniques (Baron et Bruillard, 2001). Nos resultats tendent a montrer qu’en France de futurs professeurs des ecoles ont, a l’instar de leurs futurs eleves, des pratiques personnelles construites a partir de connaissances primaires liees a leur adaptation a un environnement riche en technologies numeriques dans l’enfance. Mais a la difference de leurs eleves, nous verrons que ces futurs professeurs ont egalement developpe d’autres formes de pratiques et une culture numerique faisant appel a des connaissances secondaires.
The Perspective of DMPK on Recombinant Adeno-Associated Virus-Based Gene Therapy: Past Learning, Current Support, and Future Contribution

Given the recent success of gene therapy modalities and the growing number of cell and gene-based therapies in clinical development across many different therapeutic areas, it is evident that this evolving field holds great promise for the unmet medical needs of patients. The recent approvals of Luxturna® and Zolgensma® prove that recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV)-based gene therapy is a transformative modality that enables curative treatment for genetic disorders. Over the last decade, Takeda has accumulated significant experience with rAAV-based gene therapies, especially in the early stage of development. In this review, based on the learnings from Takeda and publicly available information, we aim to provide a guiding perspective on Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics (DMPK) substantial role in advancing therapeutic gene therapy modalities from nonclinical research to clinical development, in particular the characterization of gene therapy product biodistribution, elimination (shedding), immunogenicity assessment, multiple platform bioanalytical assays, and first-in-human (FIH) dose projection strategies. Graphical abstract
Some Unanswered Questions

There are three men basically concerned with the question before us: Heaviside, Pupin, and Campbell. Heaviside had summarized his work in his Encyclopaedia Britannica article written in June 1902. After discovering earlier the famous law that R/L equals G/C for distortionless transmission over an ideal uniform transmission line, he definitely decided that an increase in L (inductance per unit length) was needed and said in the 1902 article: "The writer invented a way of carrying out the principle other than uniformly, and recommended it for trial; viz., by the insertion of inductance coils in the main circuit at regular intervals, say one per mile, according to circumstances. The action of the coils is similar to that of small detached loads placed upon a string to give it inertia, and enable it to carry waves farther" (cf. Pupin's claim of the idea of loading based on the string analogy in 1894). Further in the same paragraph Heaviside said: "Hence experiment alone can decide how few the coils need be for telephony through a distance far exceeding that possible without the coils. Nothing particular has been done in Great Britain to carry out the writer's invention; but in America some progress has been made by Dr. Pupin, who has described an experiment supporting its practicability; the length telephoned through was increased five times by inserting the coils. " It is noteworthy that Heaviside apparently knew only of Pupin's work, and that he seemed to consider it an experiment in support of his theory. Meanwhile, Campbell was studying the same problem, probably
An Experimental Test of Fiedler's Contingency Model of Leadership Effectiveness: The Effect of Gender

The present study is an experimental test of Fiedler’s (1967) Contingency Model of Leadership Effectiveness across genders, as Fiedler’s Contingency Model has been tested largely with male participants. The model predicts group performance based on four key variables: leadership style, as indexed by the Least-Preferred Coworker (LPC) Scale, and three situational variables, leader-member relations, task structure, and position power. In situations characterized by high leader-member relations, and low position power, Fiedler predicts a negative correlation between leader’s LPC score and group performance when groups perform a structured task (Octant II), and a positive correlation when groups perform an unstructured task (Octant IV). The focus of the present paper is on the relationship between gender, leadership style, and group effectiveness across these two unique situations outlined by Fiedler (1967). Results were expected to show that the Contingency Model would accurately predict the negative correlation between LPC score and group performance in Octant II and the positive correlation in Octant IV for male-led groups. It was unknown whether the model would accurately predict these relationships for female-led groups based on previous literature. Results for both genders indicated that there was no statistically significant relationship between group performance and leader’s LPC score. Overall, these findings suggest that the Contingency Model may not accurately predict the relationship between group performance and LPC score in two octants as laid out by Fiedler (1967) in modern leadership contexts.
SA-TIED YOUNG SCHOLARS PROGRAMME

Foreign direct investment is recognized as a significant driver of economic development and growth in many economies. It can have a positive effect on a host country’s development and growth efforts. This study seeks to determine the long-run relationship between manufacturing sector foreign direct investment and economic growth in South Africa in the period 2006–18. The study incorporates trade openness, domestic investment, inflation, and exchange rate as additional variables. To test for stationarity of the data, the Augmented Dickey–Fuller and Phillips–Perron tests are used. The empirical analysis is conducted using the autoregressive distributed lag model to examine the long-run relationship between the variables. The results suggest that manufacturing sector foreign direct investment has a negative impact on economic growth in the long run. The findings of this study imply that policy measures should be put in place to ensure adequate quality of labour and infrastructure development, in order that higher growth rates can be achieved in South Africa.
Land Use Impacts of Rapid Transit Implications of Recent Experience

This r e p o r t reviews evidence o f l a n d use impacts of r e c e n t major r a p i d t r a n s i t improvements and draws conclusions concerning t h e e x t e n t and n a t u r e of such impacts and t h e c o n d i t i o n s under which they have occurred. s t improvements
Effects of COVID-19 Quarantine on patients affect of hip osteoarthritis in list for joint replacement

Background: The emergency caused by COVID-19 Pandemia has resulted in a complete suspension and consequent delay of common planned surgery such total hip replacement in patients affect by osteoarthritis. At the same time, the issue of the quarantine imposed changes to the normal lifestyle of these patients. The purpose of our study is to evaluate how the presence of these two factors affect the quality of live of patients living in the Italian red zone. Methods: From outpatient pre-operative assessment we collect data about: demographic data, WOMAC score, NRS (Numeric rating scale 0-10), PCS SF12 and MCS SF12 score. Selected patients were therefore contacted by telephone call and re-assess using the same score. In addition, patients were asked if they intended to undergo the planned surgery again despite the current emergency. Results: 14 patient have been recruited for the study. Male/female ration was 10/4, mean age was 70 years. Pre operative outpatient assessment mean WOMAC score was 44,86 (SD ± 8,52) , mean NRS was 8,07 (SD ± 1,33), PCS SF12 was 30,33 (SD ± 5,0) and MCS SF12 was 40,95 (SD ± 3,51). At re-evalutation the mean WOMAC score was 32,86 (SD ± 17,88) , mean NRS was 5,79 (SD ± 3,66), PCS SF12 was 39,9 (SD ± 3,70) and MCS SF12 was 50,14 (SD ± 6,86). Conclusion: The exceptionale pandemic from Covid-19 has profoundly changed our lifestyle, impacting normal daily activities but also on regular surgical activity in patients affected by osteoarthritis. Our study suggested that the lifestyle changes imposed by the situation led to an improvement of clinical score. This shows how an exceptional event can affect many aspects of daily life.
Coccidiosis: Recent Progress in Host Immunity and Alternatives to Antibiotic Strategies

Coccidiosis is an avian intestinal disease caused by several distinct species of Eimeria parasites that damage the host’s intestinal system, resulting in poor nutrition absorption, reduced growth, and often death. Increasing evidence from recent studies indicates that immune-based strategies such as the use of recombinant vaccines and various dietary immunomodulating feed additives can improve host defense against intracellular parasitism and reduce intestinal damage due to inflammatory responses induced by parasites. Therefore, a comprehensive understanding of the complex interactions between the host immune system, gut microbiota, enteroendocrine system, and parasites that contribute to the outcome of coccidiosis is necessary to develop logical strategies to control coccidiosis in the post-antibiotic era. Most important for vaccine development is the need to understand the protective role of the local intestinal immune response and the identification of various effector molecules which mediate anti-coccidial activity against intracellular parasites. This review summarizes the current understanding of the host immune response to coccidiosis in poultry and discusses various non-antibiotic strategies which are being developed for coccidiosis control. A better understanding of the basic immunobiology of pertinent host–parasite interactions in avian coccidiosis will facilitate the development of effective anti-Eimeria strategies to mitigate the negative effects of coccidiosis.
The diagnostic value of total leucocytes count, C-reactive protein and total bilirubin in acute appendicitis: a prospective study

Background: The diagnostic like history, clinical examination and prejudiced role of white cell count and C-reactive protein (CRP) in acute appendicitis has been studied widely but still remains controversial. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic value of CRP, Total leucocytes count, bilirubin levels individually in cases of acute appendicitis and its complications. Methods: This randomized prospective study was conducted in department of Surgery and our surgical hospital, Palanpur Gujarat. Total included 50 cases of clinically and radiologically diagnosed of acute appendicitis. The diagnostic value of these markers was predicted for the all groups in terms of sensitivity, specificity, PPVs and NPVs using sensitivity analysis and the diagnostic accuracy assessed. Results: Acute appendicitis is the most common in female predominance with age group of 20-29 years and <20 years. The Inflamed appendix was diagnosed in 35 (70%) patients, Gangrenous appendix in 5 (10%) patients and Perforated appendix 4 (8%) patients. Patients with Perforated appendicitis had higher total bilirubin, TLC and CRP levels as compared to patients with normal and inflamed appendix (p<0.001) or a normal appendix (p<0.001). The CRP has highest sensitivity and specificity (74%, 52%) followed by bilirubin (65%, 70%), WBC count (60.2%, 89.5%). Conclusions: TLC, CPR and bilirubin can be helpful in the diagnosis and decision-making of patients with suspected acute appendicitis.
Varying-scale shale gas flow: Discrete fracture networks (DFN) based numerical simulation

ABSTRACT The development of unconventional gas reservoirs represents totally distinctive characteristics as compared with its conventional counterparts. The prevailing commercial strategy of stimulating fractures to connect the matrix to wellbores results in an even more complicated shale gas flow behavior, in which matrix flow is fairly coupled with fracture flow. Numerous works have been contributed to unveil the underground shale gas production mechanisms. And some impressive progresses have been made in describing the complex subterranean shale gas flow, such as the introduction of discrete fracture network (DFN) from National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL). However, none of them captures the varying-scale nature of the in-place gas flow in shale sediments. In this work, we try to fill this gap. Following the concept of DFN, we set up mathematical models for shale gas flow in matrix and fracture networks, and also for their mass transfer in between without neglecting its varying-scale nature. In addition, we also investigate comprehensively the impact of various effects and phenomena occurred in pore spaces during production course, such as adsorption and desorption on rock surfaces, gas slippage and Knudsen diffusion, and diffusion in bulk kerogen, on the overall shale gas production using our new model for a specific shale gas reservoir case study.
Teaching Sustainable Development Goals to University Students: A Cross-Country Case-Based Study

With the purpose of analysing if case-based teaching methodology could improve higher education students’ knowledge about sustainable development, a quasi-experimental study was conducted in an international project (PASSION—Partnership for Sustainable Development and Social Innovation) and in five countries (Greece, Poland, Portugal and Sweden). Cases were interdisciplinary and focused on sustainable development goals aligned with common worldwide dilemmas like, for example, food consumption, organic farm or nature protection. Our sample consisted of 104 university students aged between 18 and 58 years, where 53% were female. Standardized pre- and post-tests were administered, and a significant improvement in sustainable development knowledge was observed considering three main questions in the pooled dataset (t103 = −7.324; p = 0.000). Regarding the four cases applications where results were more significant, an in-depth analysis was conducted, allowing the project team to better understand participants answers to multiple-choice and open questions which are analysed and discussed individually. Our results demonstrate that the case-based teaching improved the knowledge of sustainable development goals, which is expected to induce positive changes in pro-environmental behaviours. We also point out the potential of case-based teaching applied in a cross-country manner. The scheme is particularly valuable in dealing with complex sustainability dilemmas that show better their global perspectives.
Clinico-epidemiological profile and socio-demographic characteristics of COVID-19 patients admitted in a tertiary care teaching hospital in Tamil Nadu: a descriptive longitudinal study

Background: The World Health Organization (WHO), on 11th March 2020 declared severe acute respiratory syndrome by SARS-CoV-2 virus as pandemic disease and renamed it as COVID-19. The case fatality rate ranges from 1.4 to 2%. Amidst several measures to contain the spread and mortalities it is been increasing from the date of its declaration as Public Health Emergency of Global Importance (PHEGI). Our study was aimed to describe the clinical, epidemiological features and socio-demographic characteristics and their associations among the COVID-19 patients admitted in our corona care centres.Methods: A descriptive longitudinal study was done on the laboratory confirmed COVID-19 patients treated in our tertiary care hospital’s corona care centres. Socio-demographic characteristics, co-morbidities, exposure history, PPE use were asked. Symptoms, signs, lab findings, treatments and outcomes were followed-up until discharge or death. The frequencies and statistical associations of variables were analysed using computer software.Results: Out of 145 majority were 21-40 years of age (49.7%) with mean of 40±15.3 years. Majority urban dwellers (76.6%). Smokers and Alcoholics were few (6.9% and 12.4%). 21.4% had health insurance. Mean IP was -7±3.6days. Travel history within 14 days of IP 4.1%. Fever was dominant (82.6%). Prevalence of co-morbidities 50%. Mean duration of hospital stay was 9±3 days. Average gap between diagnosis to negative RT-PCR was 12days. Majority had category 2 treatments (65.5%). Three inpatients died (2.1%). Sex, symptom to RT-PCR test gap, Altered WBC and coagulation profile were showing statistical association with severity.Conclusions: COVID-19 pandemic currently shows low case fatality rate. Clear transmission dynamics and host factors needed for better prevention and control.