Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Indexing of Fatty Acids in Poultry Meat for Its Characterization in Healthy Human Nutrition: A Comprehensive Application of the Scientific Literature and New Proposals

Chicken meat is becoming the most consumed in the world for both economic and nutritional reasons; regarding the latter, the lipid profile may play positive or negative roles in the prevention and treatment of diseases. In this study, we define the state of the art of lipid-based nutritional indexes and used the lipid content and fatty acid profile (both qualitative and quantitative) of breast meat of two poultry genotypes with different growth rates and meat traits. Further, we summarize and review the definitions, implications, and applications of nutritional indexes used in recent years and others of our own design to provide a useful tool to researchers working in the field of meat quality (not only in poultry) to select the most appropriate index for their own scientific purposes. All indexes show advantages and disadvantages; hence, a rational choice should be applied to consider the nutritional effect of meat on human health and for a possible assessment of the most suitable rearing systems (genotype, feeding, farming system or postmortem handling).
Clinical Evidence of Acetyl-L-Carnitine Efficacy in the Treatment of Acute Ischemic Stroke: A Pilot Clinical Trial

Background This study was undertaken to evaluate the influence of oral Acetyl-L-carnitine (ALC) in patients with acute ischemic stroke. Methods Sixty-nine cases with acute ischemic stroke with the onset of symptoms less than 24 hours not candidates for reperfusion therapy were randomly assigned to either the ALC group (1000 mg three times per day for three consecutive days) or the matching placebo group. The study outcomes based on intention-to-treat criteria included the change in the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) and National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score from baseline to day 90, as well as the change in serum levels of the inflammatory and oxidative stress biomarkers over the 3-day treatment protocol. Results The NIHSS score and mRS score on day 90 were improved by 5.82 and 0.94 scores, respectively, in the ALC-treated group compared to 2.83 and 0.11 scores, respectively, in the placebo-treated group, which demonstrated the superiority of ALC relative to placebo. By using the multivariable analysis after adjusting for other variables in the model, compared to the group treated with placebo, patients in the ALC group had lower NIHSS score (β: -2.40, 95% CI: -0.69, -4.10 (p = 0.007)) and mRS score (β: -1.18, 95% CI: -0.52, -1.84 (p = 0.001)) 90 days after the intervention. The percentage of patients with a favourable functional outcome at day 90, defined as mRS scores of 0 or 1, was significantly higher in the ALC group in comparison to the placebo group (52.9% versus 28.6%). Further, over the 3-day treatment protocol, in the patients receiving ALC, the serum levels of proinflammatory biomarkers, including soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1), interleukin 6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and neuron-specific enolase (NSE), showed a significant decrease, while the serum levels of antioxidant biomarkers, including glutathione peroxidase (GPx), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and total antioxidant capacity (TAC), as well as the total L-carnitine's level showed a significant increase compared to those in patients receiving placebo indicating significant alteration. Conclusions Although preliminary, these results suggested that ALC administration during the acute phase of ischemic stroke might be helpful in improving functional and neurological outcomes that are probably linked to its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Trial Registration. This trial is registered with IRCT20150629022965N17 at Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (registration date: 25/07/2018).
Integrable discretizations of the Bogoyavlensky lattices

Discretizations of the Bogoyavlensky lattices are introduced, belonging to the same hierarchies as the continuous‐time systems. The construction exemplifies the general scheme for integrable discretization of systems on Lie algebras with r‐matrix Poisson brackets. An initial value problem for the difference equations is solved in terms of a factorization problem in a group. Interpolating Hamiltonian flows are found.
Bonus-Malus Scale models: creating artificial past claims history

Abstract In recent papers, Bonus-Malus Scales (BMS) estimated using data have been considered as an alternative to longitudinal data and hierarchical data approaches to model the dependence between different contracts for the same insured. Those papers, however, did not discuss in detail how to construct and understand BMS models, and many of the BMS’s basic properties were not discussed. The first objective of this paper is to correct this situation by explaining the logic behind BMS models and by describing those properties. More particularly, we will explain how BMS models are linked with simple count regression models that have covariates associated with the past claims experience. This study could help actuaries to understand how and why they should use BMS models for experience rating. The second objective of this paper is to create artificial past claims history for each insured. This is done by combining recent panel data theory with BMS models. We show that this addition significantly improves the prediction capacity of the BMS and provides a temporary solution for insurers who do not have enough historical data. We apply the BMS model to real data from a major Canadian insurance company. Results are analysed deeply to identify specific aspects of the BMS model.
Predicting Factors of Surgical Mortality in Children and Adolescents Undergoing Correction of Tetralogy of Fallot

Background: In tetralogy of Fallot, correction surgery is a priority choice, seeing that it is desirable to minimize pulmonary hypoflow and severe hypoxemia, which result in hypoxemic crises, with sudden worsening of cyanosis, tachypnea, and, in some cases, loss of consciousness, seizures, and even death. Objective: To evaluate the predicting factors of surgical mortality in children and adolescents undergoing correction of tetralogy of Fallot. Methods: Retrospective cross-sectional study carried out by consulting all surgical records of the Child and Adolescent Cardiology Service of the Brazilian National Institute of Cardiology , during the period from 2007 to 2010. Results with p values < 0.05 were considered significant . Results: The study evaluated 93 medical records. In relation to the characteristics of the population at the time of surgery, the median age was 3.69 (2.13 to 5.79) years, and 58.06% (n = 54) were male. White was the most common skin color, accounting for 55.43% (n = 51) of cases. In relation to assessment of nutritional status, median weight was 13.25 (10.10 to 17.60) kg, and body mass index was 14.49 (13.44 to 16.28) kg/m2. Down syndrome was present in 11.83% (n = 11) of the patients. All patients underwent correction surgery (n = 93, 100%). Prior cyanotic crisis was found in 53.85% (n = 49) with p = 0.013; surgical procedure duration was 218.83 ± 60.63 minutes, with p = 0.003, and lactate was 1.88 ± 1.33 mg/dL during the immediate postoperative period, with p = 0.009. Regarding the outcome of surgical death, it was found in 15.05% (n = 14) of patients. Mean follow-up lasted 5.68 ± 3.76 years. Conclusions: According to the factors analyzed, the duration of the surgical procedure, prior cyanotic crisis, and blood lactate level may be relevant to surgical mortality.
Protective Effect of Curcuma Extract in an Ex Vivo Model of Retinal Degeneration via Antioxidant Activity and Targeting the SUMOylation

Retinal degeneration is the major and principal cause behind many incurable blindness diseases. Several studies indicated the neuroprotective effect of Curcuma longa in eye pathologies, specifically retinopathy. However, the molecular mechanism behind its effect has not been completely elucidated. Using an ex vivo model of retinal degeneration obtained from an ex vivo optic nerve cut (ONC), we demonstrated that Curcuma extract (Cur) exerted a neuroprotective effect. Importantly, Cur was able to modulate apoptosis and MAPK signaling pathway activation and prevent retinal ganglion cell (RGC) loss. Other well-known neuroprotective pharmacological tools, including memantine (Mem), citicoline (Cit), and ginkgolic acid (GA), were used to compare the potential mechanisms of Cur. The antioxidant activity of retinas treated with Cur following optic nerve cut was significantly higher than control, but Cur failed to change the retina glutamate content. Considering the antioxidant effect of Cur and taking advantage of our recent findings on the crosstalk between oxidative stress and post-translational protein modifiers, in particular, small ubiquitin-related modifier (SUMO), we were interested in exploring the effect of Cur on SUMOylation. We found that Cur significantly prevented the increase of protein SUMOylation, confirming our previous in vitro data indicating the cytoprotective effect of curcumin through modulating the oxidative stress and SUMO-JNK axis. Altogether, these results suggest that Curcuma protects the retina from degeneration via antioxidant activity and targets SUMOylation. Therefore, it might be considered for the combination therapy with other neuroprotective agents with different mechanisms in preclinical studies on retinal degeneration.
The effectiveness of virtual interactive video in comparison with online classroom in the stroke topic of theoretical neurology in COVID-19 pandemic

BACKGROUND: Sufficient interaction between the trainers and the trainees in medical education is always one of the biggest challenges for an educational system. This study was designed to evaluate the effect of virtual interactions within the educational content of stroke on the effectiveness of teaching for general medicine students during COVID-19 crisis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eight medical students applying for stroke education were divided into two groups by simple random sampling (Rafsanjan Medical School, 2020). The first group participated in an online classroom via the Adobe Connect platform without virtual interaction. The second group used a video presentation containing interaction scenarios. The effectiveness evaluation of each type of educational content was done by comparison of the final exam scores and the results of an electronic satisfaction questionnaire in each group. Finally, using SPSS software version 18, the data were analyzed with independent samples t-test. RESULTS: This study showed that the mean of the examination scores of the interactive virtual content group (6.14 ± 1.46) was significantly higher than the online class group (4.50 ± 1.50) (P < 0.001), and also the results of satisfaction assessment showed that this group was more satisfied with their educational content (P = 0.005). CONCLUSION: Evaluation of the virtual stroke training effectiveness for general medical students shows that the educational approach of video with virtual interactions is an effective learning method in medical topics and can be considered as an efficacious educational model in online teaching.
The impact of climate change on the distribution of rare and endangered tree Firmiana kwangsiensis using the Maxent modeling

Abstract The upsurge in anthropogenic climate change has accelerated the habitat loss and fragmentation of wild animals and plants. The rare and endangered plants are important biodiversity elements. However, the lack of comprehensive and reliable information on the spatial distribution of these organisms has hampered holistic and efficient conservation management measures. We explored the consequences of climate change on the geographical distribution of Firmiana kwangsiensis (Malvaceae), an endangered species, to provide a reference for conservation, introduction, and cultivation of this species in new ecological zones. Modeling of the potential distribution of F. kwangsiensis under the current and two future climate scenarios in maximum entropy was performed based on 30 occurrence records and 27 environmental variables of the plant. We found that precipitation‐associated and temperature‐associated variables limited the potentially suitable habitats for F. kwangsiensis. Our model predicted 259,504 km2 of F. kwangsiensis habitat based on 25 percentile thresholds. However, the high suitable habitat for F. kwangsiensis is only about 41,027 km2. F. kwangsiensis is most distributed in Guangxi's protected areas. However, the existing reserves are only 2.7% of the total suitable habitat and 4.2% of the high suitable habitat for the plant, lower than the average protection area in Guangxi (7.2%). This means the current protected areas network is insufficient, underlining the need for alternative conservation mechanisms to protect the plant habitat. Our findings will help identify additional F. kwangsiensis localities and potential habitats and inform the development and implementation of conservation, management, and cultivation practices of such rare tree species.
The Computational Power of Non-interacting Particles

Shortened abstract: In this thesis, I study two restricted models of quantum computing related to free identical particles. Free fermions correspond to a set of two-qubit gates known as matchgates. Matchgates are classically simulable when acting on nearest neighbors on a path, but universal for quantum computing when acting on distant qubits or when SWAP gates are available. I generalize these results in two ways. First, I show that SWAP is only one in a large family of gates that uplift matchgates to quantum universality. In fact, I show that the set of all matchgates plus any nonmatchgate parity-preserving two-qubit gate is universal, and interpret this fact in terms of local invariants of two-qubit gates. Second, I investigate the power of matchgates in arbitrary connectivity graphs, showing they are universal on any connected graph other than a path or a cycle, and classically simulable on a cycle. I also prove the same dichotomy for the XY interaction. Free bosons give rise to a model known as BosonSampling. BosonSampling consists of (i) preparing a Fock state of n photons, (ii) interfering these photons in an m-mode linear interferometer, and (iii) measuring the output in the Fock basis. Sampling approximately from the resulting distribution should be classically hard, under reasonable complexity assumptions. Here I show that exact BosonSampling remains hard even if the linear-optical circuit has constant depth. I also report several experiments where three-photon interference was observed in integrated interferometers of various sizes, providing some of the first implementations of BosonSampling in this regime. The experiments also focus on the bosonic bunching behavior and on validation of BosonSampling devices. This thesis contains descriptions of the numerical analyses done on the experimental data, omitted from the corresponding publications.
The Impact Factors of Industry 4.0 on ESG in the Energy Sector

Digital transformation refers to highly thought-out social, manufacturing, and organizational transitions driven by digital revolutions and emerging technologies. On the other hand, energy is a critical pillar of the economic growth of the country. Meanwhile, global interest in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investment is growing. The conventional investment paradigm is being phased out in favor of investments that prioritize environmental, social, and corporate responsibility. The energy sector is one of the most significantly affected. Presently, the field of digital transformation is limited in its analysis about the sustainability factors and is still controversial, especially in the energy business. This paper identifies an in-corporation factor in Industry 4.0, taking into account the effect on ESG. The research papers and the World Economic Forum reports were investigated and identified the correlation factor using machine learning to analyze their contents. We spotlighted the documents relevant to the energy industry and sustainable development. To quantify the model, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) is proposed to generate a valid model, followed by path analysis with latent variables to evaluate the structural equation modeling (SEM). The result provides the conceptual model with impact factors and their correlations. The goodness of fit value is acceptable for the agreed-upon condition, as well as a descriptive that incorporates Industry 4.0 and ESG in terms of business, industry, and ESG in relation to the energy sector’s key issues.
On the impact of low interest rates on common withdrawal rules in old age

Ensuring a desired standard of living in retirement has been strongly challenged by increasing life expectancy, and simultaneously by the current and possibly long-lasting low interest environment. In contrast to literature in this field which claims annuitization of wealth being a vital part of retirement planning, many people manage their retirement savings and withdrawal policy during the retirement period independently. To this end, several easily applicable self-managed withdrawal rules are commonly recommended by financial advisors. We cast doubt on the viability of these self-managed withdrawal rules, particularly in an environment with increasing life expectancies and low interest rates. Further, we show that a mixed rule which combines the fixed percentage and the remaining lifetime rule can significantly improve retirees' welfare in an expected utility framework compared to other simple self-managed withdrawal rules. The results provide important insights for revising common recommendations by financial advisors, designing retirement products, and regulation.
Geometry of cohomology support loci for local systems I

Let X be a Zariski open subset of a compact Kaehler manifold. In this paper, we study the set $\Sigma^k(X)$ of one dimensional local systems on X with nonvanishing kth cohomology. We show that under certain conditions (X compact, X has a smooth compactification with trivial first Betti number, or k=1) $\Sigma^k(X)$ is a union of translates of sets of the form $f^*H^1(T,C^*)$, where $f:X \to T$ is a holomorphic map to a complex Lie group which is an extension of a compact complex torus by a product of C^*'s (these correspond to semiabelian varieties in the algebraic category). This generalizes earlier work of Beauville, Green, Lazarsfeld, Simpson and the author in the compact case. The main novelty lies in the proofs which involve consideration of Higgs fields with logarithmic poles. While a completely satifactory theory of such objects is still lacking, we are able to work out what we need in the rank one case by borrowing ideas from mixed Hodge theory. This will appear in the Journal of Algebraic Geometry.
Flexible Average Inflation Targeting: How Much is U.S. Monetary Policy Changing?

One major outcome of the Federal Reserve’s 2019–20 framework review was the adoption of a Flexible Average Inflation Targeting (FAIT) strategy in August 2020. Using synthetic control methods, we document that U.S. inflation rose post-FAIT considerably more than predicted had the strategy not changed (an average of 1.18 percentage points during 2020:M8–2022:M2). To explore the extent to which targeting average inflation delayed the Fed’s response and contributed to post-FAIT inflation, we adopt a version of the open-economy New Keynesian model in Martínez-García (2021) and document the economic consequences of adopting alternative measures of average inflation as policy objectives. We document three additional major findings using this general equilibrium setup: First, depending on how far back and how much weight is assigned to past inflation misses, the policy outcomes under FAIT are similar to those under the pre-FAIT regime. Secondly, we find that the implementation of FAIT can have large effects over short periods of time as it tends to delay action. However, over longer periods of time—such as the 1984:Q1–2019:Q4 pre-FAIT period—its effects wash out and appear negligible. Finally, we find that di˙erent average inflation measures explain an average of 0.5 percentage points per quarter of the post-FAIT inflation surge, indicating that targeting average inflation by itself can only explain part of the inflation spike since August 2020.
ROBUST MULTI-MODE CONTROL OF HIGH PERFORMANCE AERO-ENGINES

This thesis describes the application of H∞ design techniques to the control of high performance aero-engines. The design study presented is practical and realistic, the work being motivated by problems that arise naturally in real engineering situations. The aero-engine is multivariable and highly nonlinear: the dynamics vary considerably with the thrust being produced, and with the altitude and forward speed of the aircraft. Moreover, there are operational constraints that must never be violated for reasons of safety: certain engine variables should always be limited to safe vales. Furthermore, not all the engine parameters to be controlled are directly measurable; instead a number of related measurements are available. A methodology is presented to choose from the available measurements, those that are preferable for feedback control. Different techniques of model reduction using balanced realizations are considered. Two illustrative examples are presented, and the methods compared in detail. Explicit state-space formulae for an H∞-based two degrees-of-freedom robust controller are derived in discrete time. The controller provides robust stability with respect to coprime factor perturbations, and a degree of robust performance in the sense of making the closed-loop system match an ideal reference model. Special attention is paid to the structure of the controller. It is shown that the controller consists of a plant observer, the reference model, and a generalized state feedback law associated with the plant and model states. Multi-mode control logic is developed to ensure that safety limits are never violated. Actual engine test results are presented for sea-level static conditions. All the different modes of operation are tested. Full flight envelope evaluation of the controller is carried out using a nonlinear engine simulation. The robust performance of the controller is demonstrated and comparisons made with existing engine control systems.
Size and Quality of Drawings Made by Adults Under Visual and Haptic Control.

The aim of this study was twofold. First, our objective was to test the influence of an object's actual size (size rank) on the drawn size of the depicted object. We tested the canonical size effect (i.e., drawing objects larger in the physical world as larger) in four drawing conditions - two perceptual conditions (blindfolded or sighted) crossed with two materials (paper or special foil for producing embossed drawings). Second, we investigated whether drawing quality (we analysed both the local and global criteria of quality) depends on drawing conditions. We predicted that drawing quality, unlike drawing size, would vary according to drawing conditions - namely, being higher when foil than paper was used for drawing production in the blindfolded condition. We tested these hypotheses with young adults who repeatedly drew eight different familiar objects (differentiated by size in the real world) in four drawing conditions. As expected, drawn size increased linearly with increasing size rank, whatever the drawing condition, thus replicating the canonical size effect and showing that this effect was not dependent on drawing conditions. In line with our hypothesis, in the blindfolded condition drawing quality was better when foil rather than paper was used, suggesting a benefit from haptic feedback on the trace produced. Besides, the quality of drawings produced was still higher in the sighted than the blindfolded condition. In conclusion, canonical size is present under different drawing conditions regardless of whether sight is involved or not, while perceptual control increases drawing quality in adults.