Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Diet composition as a candidate mechanism underlying the depression-to-obesity association: the CARDIA study

Author: Vrany, Elizabeth A. PhD Institution: Purdue University Degree Received: August 2018 Title: Diet Composition as a Candidate Mechanism Underlying the Depression-to-Obesity Association: The CARDIA Study Major Professor: Jesse C. Stewart People with depression are at elevated risk for future obesity; however, little is known about the potential mechanistic role of diet composition in this association. The aims of the present study were: (1) to examine depressive symptom severity as a predictor of 13-year change in seven diet composition factors over time, (2) to test 13-year change in diet composition factors as mediators of the association between depressive symptom severity and 13-year change in adiposity, and (3) to explore whether the Aim 2 mediation models are moderated by sex and race. Participants were 2,449 non-Hispanic Black and White adults who participated in the 1990, 1992, and 2005 years of the CARDIA study (mean baseline age = 35 years, 54% women, 56% non-Hispanic Black, mean baseline waist circumference = 84.0 cm, mean change in waist circumference = 8.3 cm). Depressive symptoms were assessed in 1990 using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D). Waist circumference and seven diet composition factors were assessed in 1992 and 2005. Diet composition factors included intake of total energy, saturated fatty acid, monounsaturated fatty acid, polyunsaturated fatty acid, fiber, sugar, and protein. PROCESS bootstrapping analyses were used to test for mediation and moderated mediation (see Figure 1 for the conceptual model). All models included adjustment for age; sex; race; education; prevalent and incident cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer; incident pregnancy; and 13-year change in physical activity.
Management of finger millet blast through new fungicides

The field experiment was conducted at Agricultural Research Station, Vizianagaram against finger millet blast caused by Pyricularia grisea using different fungicides. The per cent disease intensity of leaf blast ranged from 1.7 to 3.3, neck blast ranged from 7.7 to 80 and finger blast ranged from 7.0 to 80. Among all the treatments T6 ie. , propiconazole was proved to be best with least incidence of leaf (1.7), neck (7.7) and finger blast (7.0) and also recorded highest grain and fodder yield. Treatments Tebuconazole+ Trifloxystrobin, Tricyclazole, Tricyclazole+ Mancozeb, Isprothiolane, Azoxystrobin + Difenconazole, Carbendazim + Mancozeb, Carbendazim were also found superior over control in controlling finger millet blast.
Standardization of protocol for genomic DNA isolation in Melia composita Benth. (S. M. dubia Cav.)

A simple, rapid and efficient method for extraction of genomic DNA from young leaves of Melia composita Benth. (Syn. M dubia Cav.) was optimized for obtaining fine quality DNA. The yield of extracted DNA ranged from 118.40 to 3192.40 µg /500 mg of tissue with absorbance ratio (A 260 /A 280 ) ranging from 1.41 to 1.96. The quality of extracted DNA was also evaluated by agarose gel electrophoresis which showed a single intact band. The isolated DNA was free of any contaminating proteins, polysaccharides and coloured pigments and successfully amplify inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) and simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers.
Interpretive Scholarship in Contemporary International Relations

Interpretive International Relations (IR) has become a robust and diverse research programme, consolidating across various subfields of the discipline. However, this is a recent phenomenon. While early classical realists and English School scholars clearly drew on interpretive thought, these contributions did not coalesce into a welldefined and specifically interpretive research agenda. The ‘interpretive turn’ in social sciences and humanities in the 1970s and epistemological pluralisation of political science and IR in the 1990s slowly made space for interpretive theory and research. This paper reconstructs, first, what makes interpretive IR distinct, and, second, what it means to engage in interpretive inquiry in this field, conceptually and substantively. It discusses in particular the implications of the monist ontological position that interpretivists tend to occupy and the conditions of knowledge production within the hermeneutical circle. These reject the possibility of transcending the context and bring to bear the researcher’s involvement in knowledge production as inevitable but generative. The paper also explicates the still poorly understood concept of ‘intersubjectivity’ as being defining for the interpretivist sensibility and one which directly contests positivist ideals. Interpretive IR scholarship serves as a veritable showcase for interpretive research practice, and points to the growing significance and volume of such scholarship.
Recent developments in statistical methods for GWAS and high-throughput sequencing association studies of complex traits

ABSTRACT The advent of large-scale genetic studies has helped bring a new era of biomedical research on dissecting the genetic architecture of complex human disease. Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) and next-generation sequencing studies are two popular tools for identifying genetic variants that are associated with complex traits. This article overviews some of the most important statistical tools for analyzing data from these two types of studies, with an emphasis on single-SNP tests for common variants and region-based tests for rare variants. We compare various statistical methods for common and rare variants in humans, and describe some critical considerations to guide the choice of an analysis method. Also discussed are the related topics of sample ascertainment, missing heritability, and multiple testing correction, as well as some remaining analytical challenges presented by complex trait association mapping using genomic data obtained via high-throughput technologies.
Modelling the Fluxgate Sensors with Magnetic Field Concentrators

This paper presents the efficiency analysis of magnetic flux concentrator attached to the core of fluxgate sensor made of amorphous alloy ribbon. Simulations were carried out using open-source software toolchain covering Netgen, Elmer FEM, and ParaView. The results indicate that the increase of the length of the core significantly reduces the demagnetization factor, which increases the sensitivity of fluxgate sensor. However, the use of magnetic flux concentrator does not lead to significant increase of sensitivity of fluxgate sensor with core made of thin layer magnetic material.
Estimation of triceps muscle strength based on Mechanomyography

The aim of this study is to establish a reliable and widely applicable muscle strength (MS) estimation model based on the Mechanomyography (MMG). Seven healthy male volunteers were recruited to collect MMG and MS during the isometric contraction of their triceps. For MMG, 18 features were extracted. For the extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) model and the quadratic polynomial (QP) model, the feature combination with the best estimation result was selected. The MS estimation performance of the XGBoost model and the QP model were compared. The performance of the QP model on the estimation of MS in different frequencies, different fatigue states and time periods was evaluated by using t-test. The results showed that when the number of features exceeds three, the model estimation accuracy has not improved significantly; and there was no significant difference in the estimation result of MS between the two models (p < 0.05), though the QP model was slightly better. The normalized root mean square error (NRMSE) and goodness of fit R of the MS estimation by the QP model were: 0.1343 ± 0.0296 and 0.8273 ± 0.0376. There was no significant difference in the MS estimation results in different conditions (p < 0.05).
High concentration chlorophyll a rings associated with the formation of intrathermocline eddies

High concentration chlorophyll a (Chl a) rings formed around anticyclones have been observed frequently in the Japan/East Sea. To study their formation, an anticyclone to intrathermocline eddy (ITE) transformation is examined using hydrographic observations, remotely sensed Chl a, sea level anomaly fields, and sea surface temperature images in the Japan/East Sea. Due to the winter cooling up to March, a cold homogeneous layer forms inside the anticyclone. In April, the East Korean Warm Current from the south merges with the anticyclone and encircles the clockwise‐rotating anticyclone. The wrapping warm current generates a geostrophic flow opposite to the clockwise direction of the anticyclone and effectively decelerates it. The geostrophic flow weakens along the periphery of the eddy as the warm current gradually cools down through horizontal mixing, resulting in an accelerating anticyclonic current around the transformed ITE. A high Chl a concentration area in the form of a ring forms around the ITE along the accelerating, thus horizontally divergent surface flow. The divergence around the ITE continues throughout the summer above the submerged homogeneous lens under the stratified surface layer. Based on observations, it is shown that the accelerating surface flow induced through the anticyclone‐to‐ITE transformation process causes an upward transport of nutrients, enhancing the Chl a concentration around the ITE.
How Policies Affect Economic Growth of SMEs- Zimbabwean Script 2016-2020

The Research investigates how policies affect economic growth in Zimbabwe after the dollarization of the economy, using primary data obtained from the employees of companies operating in Zimbabwe as well as the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Enterprise Development and Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce staff members. Data collected was presented quantitatively using tables and other quantitative presentations. A total sample size of 224 respondents purposively selected to give their honesty opinion on the topic under study. This study used the Logistics (Logit) model to quantify the impact on economic growth caused by Non-tariff barriers (NTBs) to trade in general, particularly the aforementioned SI 64 of 2016.The results of the study revealed that Anti-dumping Laws and, Intellectual property rights, import licenses and customs valuations are respectively 0.9 times and 0.7 times less likely to yield economic growth in the Zimbabwean context. The findings also suggested that positive improvements in export measures are more than 2 times more likely to ignite economic growth and development and more importantly, a positive strust in implementation of the the Statutory Instrument 64 of 2016 is approximately 1.13 times more likely to yield significant economic growth in general particularly in the Zimbabwean context. Those economic agents who understood the concept were very receptive and supportive. However, some who felt that their value chain had been interrupted perceived the Statutory Instrument to have done more harm than good since its inception in 2016. Proponents of a negative impact of SI 64 of 2016 on the Zimbabwean economy include; informal cross-border traders and most small to medium local companies (SMEs) who survived on imports for their business.
Study of Relationship between Health, Integrity and Depression in the Elderly Population: A Salutogenic Approach

Background: The salutogenesis is very relevant concept in today’s era when we are shifting focus from tertiary to primordial prevention where it can show us a way to remain healthy and act as a concept of pre-primordial prevention.These apparent links between the sense of coherence which defines the integrity of an individual, depression which is a consequence of changed demands of life and its implications on the health of an individual will provide a conceptual framework to this study. Subjects and Methods: This is a cross sectional community based study done on above 60 years of age from an urban area which is a field practice area of the institution taken as study group A and elderly residing in the old age homes of the city taken as study group B. They were explained about the details of filling the questionnaires in advance and their identity were kept confidential and the participation was voluntary.Orientation to life questionnaire i.e. OLQ-13 version was used to estimate sense of coherence scores of the individual.GDS or geriatric depression scale is an appropriate questionnaire used for measuring the depressional status of an elderly person in their respective life stressful conditions.Results: Our study showed that the 61.7%oftotalpopulationofstudygroupAweremalesand38.33%werefemales.15%ofthetotalelderlyofstudygroupAhavehighsoc,84.17%havemediumsocand1%have lowsoc.13. 33% of the elderly in study group B have high SOC whereas 87% have medium SOC.Conclusion: We concluded that SOC and BMI are directly proportional to each other; GDS and education were in direct correlation to each other; SOC was found to be directly proportional to the educational status of theperson.
Beta diversity and oligarchic dominance in the tropical forests of Southern Costa Rica

Recent studies have reported a consistent pattern of strong dominance of a small subset of tree species in neotropical forests. These species have been called “hyperdominant” at large geographical scales and “oligarchs” at regional‐landscape scales when being abundant and frequent. Forest community assembly is shaped by environmental factors and stochastic processes, but so far the contribution of oligarchic species to the variation of community composition (i.e., beta diversity) remains poorly known. To that end, we established 20.1‐ha plots, that is, five sites with four forest types (ridge, slope and ravine primary forest, and secondary forest) per site, in humid lowland tropical forests of southwestern Costa Rica to (a) investigate how community composition responds to differences in topography, successional stage, and distance among plots for different groups of species (all, oligarch, common and rare/very rare species) and (b) identify oligarch species characterizing changes in community composition among forest types. From a total of 485 species of trees, lianas and palms recorded in this study only 27 species (i.e., 6%) were nominated as oligarch species. Oligarch species accounted for 37% of all recorded individuals and were present in at least half of the plots. Plant community composition significantly differed among forest types, thus contributing to beta diversity at the landscape scale. Oligarch species was the component best explained by geographical and topographic variables, allowing a confident characterization of the beta diversity among tropical lowland forest stands.
Power Quality Improvement of Distribution Network Using BESS and Capacitor Bank

The power demand around the world is increasing rapidly. The aging distribution network architectures are used by the existing utility companies to deliver power to the consumers, which significantly affects the reliability, stability and quality of the delivered power. Different techniques such as compensation devices have been used by power system engineers and researchers to maintain the quality of power transmitted to end users. In this paper, wattage and volt-amp reactive (VAR) planning scheme has been proposed by using the combination of battery energy storage systems and compensators to deal with the vulnerability of networks to voltage drop and system inefficiency. The cost-effective combination of battery energy storage system (BESS) and shunt capacitor bank will then be analyzed to indicate the benefit of the proposed scheme.
Membrane Interactome of a Recombinant Fragment of Human Surfactant Protein D Reveals GRP78 as a Novel Binding Partner in PC3, a Metastatic Prostate Cancer Cell Line

Surfactant protein-D (SP-D), a member of the collectin family has been shown to induce apoptosis in cancer cells. SP-D is composed of an N-terminal collagen-like domain and a calcium-dependent carbohydrate recognition domain (CRD). Recently, we reported that a recombinant fragment of human SP-D (rfhSP-D), composed of homotrimeric CRD region, induced intrinsic apoptotic pathway in prostate cancer cells. Here, we analyzed the membrane interactome of rfhSP-D in an androgen-independent prostate cancer cell line, PC3, by high resolution mass spectrometry and identified 347 proteins. Computational analysis of PPI network of this interactome in the context of prostate cancer metastasis and apoptosis revealed Glucose Regulated Protein of 78 kDa (GRP78) as an important binding partner of rfhSP-D. Docking studies suggested that rfhSP-D (CRD) bound to the substrate-binding domain of glycosylated GRP78. This was further supported by the observations that human recombinant GRP78 interfered with the binding of rfhSP-D to anti-SP-D polyclonal antibodies; GRP78 also significantly inhibited the binding of recombinant full-length human SP-D with a monoclonal antibody specific to the CRD in a dose-dependent manner. We conclude that the interaction with rfhSP-D is likely to interfere with the pro-survival signaling of GRP78.
Models of thermal conduction and non-local transport of relevance to space physics with insights from laser–plasma theory

Models of solar and space plasmas require an accurate model for thermal transport. The simplest such model is to assume that the fluid approach is valid and that local transport models can be used. These local transport coefficients are derived under the assumption that the electron mean-free path is “small” compared to the temperature scale length. When this approximation breaks down, non-local transport models or thermal flux limiters must be used to maintain a physically realistic model. This article will review the background theory of how small is “small” for the mean-free path and what options there are for including non-local transport within the fluid framework. Much of this recent work has been motivated by laser–plasma theory, where mean-free paths can be large and the Spitzer–Harm approach is never used.
Total Recall: Intestinal TRM Cells in Health and Disease

Tissue-resident memory T cells (TRM cells) have crucial functions in host defense in mucosal tissues. They provide local adaptive immune surveillance and allow the fast initiation of targeted adaptive immune responses in case of antigen re-exposure. Recently, an aberrant activation in the case of immunologically mediated diseases has been increasingly acknowledged. As the organ with the largest interface to the environment, the gastrointestinal tract faces billions of antigens every day. Tightly balanced processes are necessary to ensure tolerance towards non-hazardous antigens, but to set up a powerful immune response against potentially dangerous ones. In this complex nexus of immune cells and their mediators, TRM cells play a central role and have been shown to promote both physiological and pathological events. In this review, we will summarize the current knowledge on the homeostatic functions of TRM cells and delineate their implication in infection control in the gut. Moreover, we will outline their commitment in immune dysregulation in gastrointestinal chronic inflammatory conditions and shed light on TRM cells as current and potential future therapeutic targets.
Determination of leaf status of soybean varieties on shading : chlorophyll and chloroplast

Abstract. Mawarni L, Nisa TC, Napitupulu JA, Karyudi. 2019. Determination of leaf status of soybean varieties on shading. Biodiversitas 20: 615-620. The shading tolerant soybean varieties could be identified through the character growth such as leaf status. This study was aimed to obtain the shading tolerant of soybean variety based on their seed size and on the leaf status. Design of experiments was a split-plot design with three replications. The level of shading as the main plot with four levels of treatment was without shading, 30%, 50%, and 70% shading. Soybean varieties as the subplot had 4 genotypes namely Anjasmoro, Pangrango, Tanggamus, and Nanti wherein one variety comes with large seed; two come with medium seeds and the other one comes with small seed. The leaf status for determination was the greenness of leaves, the sum of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll a and b, the forms of chloroplasts and leaf area. The soybean varieties with different seed sizes showed the differences only on the leaf area but not on leaf greenness or on the sum of chlorophyll. Nanti variety, having small seed, turns out to have the largest leaf area but is not shade tolerant. The large leaf area may be due to the forming of tetra foliate leaves on Nanti variety. The form of chloroplast of Anjasmoro variety in 70% shading is better than other varieties. Therefore, determining leaf status can identify shading tolerant of soybeans.
Tuneable liquid crystal asymmetric dual-core photonic crystal fiber mode converter

In this work, a novel and compact mode selective coupler based on an asymmetric dual core photonic crystal fiber with a thermo-responsive core is proposed and numerically studied. Simulation results show that high conversion efficiencies are achieved between LP01 and LP11 modes in the O-band with a wide bandwidth of 24.55 nm and a mode conversion efficiency over 60% when it has a total length of 3.15 mm and the operating wavelength is 1310 nm. In addition, the thermally tuneability was evaluated when this device was submitted to thermal changes from 15°C to 35°C. The results evidence that thermal effect allows to control the operating wavelength and the mode coupling efficiency of the mode converter when it is used to couple energy from the LP01 mode to the LP11 mode. Therefore, the proposed device could be useful in high-bandwidth mode division multiplexed communication systems.
The Impact of Foreign Aid on the Economic Growth of Nigeria

The importance of aid to stimulate growth has been an issue in the research literature and largely unsettled. This paper examines the impact of aid on economic growth and builds on existing literature relative to the effect of aid proxies such as foreign aid, foreign direct investment and also domestic investment for a period of 57 years i.e. 1960 to 2016. It conducts an error correction method of analysis and observe that foreign aid was statistically significant to economic growth. This study affirms that the more aid the country gets, the more she is able to impact growth of the populace. The research does not have evidence to support the postulation as regards the absorptive capacity because the coefficient was negative though significant while that of aid was positive and equally significant. The paper also observes that Domestic Investment and Foreign Direct Investment were also positive and significant to economic growth of Nigeria. This implies that the more the investments from within and outside Nigeria, the more the GDP increases, the increase in GDP also leads to an increase in the growth rate of GDP (GRGDP).
Feature Aware Dynamic Mesh Approximation with Local Area and Deformation Control

In computer animation applications, simplifying the mesh is an important technique to reduce the workload of visualization processing. In this paper, we propose a new method to simplify the dynamic model using local area and deformation information control. Our method uses an improved quadratic error metric with the local distortion measurement as the basic level. In addition, the deformation parameters are defined to be embedded in the summarized quadratic error, so that the regions with large deformations during the animation can be successfully retained. The new method is efficient and easy to implement, and in average can generate high-quality animated models with well-preserved local and deformation features on eacn frame.