Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Predicting Perturbed Human Arm Movements in a Neuro-Musculoskeletal Model to Investigate the Muscular Force Response

Human movement is generated by a dynamic interplay between the nervous system, the biomechanical structures, and the environment. To investigate this interaction, we propose a neuro-musculoskeletal model of human goal-directed arm movements. Using this model, we simulated static perturbations of the inertia and damping properties of the arm, as well as dynamic torque perturbations for one-degree-of freedom movements around the elbow joint. The controller consists of a feed-forward motor command and feedback based on muscle fiber length and contraction velocity representing short-latency (25 ms) or long-latency (50 ms) stretch reflexes as the first neuronal responses elicited by an external perturbation. To determine the open-loop control signal, we parameterized the control signal resulting in a piecewise constant stimulation over time for each muscle. Interestingly, such an intermittent open-loop signal results in a smooth movement that is close to experimental observations. So, our model can generate the unperturbed point-to-point movement solely by the feed-forward command. The feedback only contributed to the stimulation in perturbed movements. We found that the relative contribution of this feedback is small compared to the feed-forward control and that the characteristics of the musculoskeletal system create an immediate and beneficial reaction to the investigated perturbations. The novelty of these findings is (1) the reproduction of static as well as dynamic perturbation experiments in one neuro-musculoskeletal model with only one set of basic parameters. This allows to investigate the model's neuro-muscular response to the perturbations that—at least to some degree—represent stereotypical interactions with the environment; (2) the demonstration that in feed-forward driven movements the muscle characteristics generate a mechanical response with zero-time delay which helps to compensate for the perturbations; (3) that this model provides enough biomechanical detail to allow for the prediction of internal forces, including joint loads and muscle-bone contact forces which are relevant in ergonomics and for the development of assistive devices but cannot be observed in experiments.
Male-Biased Partial Migration in a Giraffe Population

Partial migration is a common movement phenomenon in ungulates, wherein part of the population remains resident while another portion of the population transitions to spatially or ecologically distinct seasonal ranges. Although widely documented, the causes of variation in movement strategies and their potential demographic consequences are not well-understood. Here, we used GPS telemetry data and individual-based photographic surveys to describe evidence for the partial migration of giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) in the tropical savanna habitat of Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda. Seasonal movements in giraffe have been described but have not been systematically investigated within the framework of partial migration. We characterized movement behaviors of eight female GPS tracked giraffe across one full year using a model-driven approach of net-squared displacement metrics. To further evaluate these space use patterns at the population-level, we used closed robust design multi-state capture recapture models derived from individually based photographic surveys collected seasonally over three years. We also characterized environmental conditions associated with seasonal space use by conducting ground-based vegetation surveys and analyzing remotely sensed phenology data. Our results from both individually based telemetry models and population-level multi-state models suggest intra-population variation in seasonal space use strategies with three dominant movement classes: (1) Residents in deciduous savanna characterized by Acacia sieberiana, Acacia senegal, Harrisonia abyssinica, and Crateva adansonii in the far western end of the park. (2) Residents in the broadleaf savannas characterized by Pseudocedrela kotschyi, Stereospermum kunthianum, Termalia spp. , and Combretum spp. in the central sector of the park (3) Male-biased migrants that transitioned seasonally between the acacia savanna in the wet seasons and the broadleaf savanna in the dry seasons. Our results offer insights into how giraffe navigate spatiotemporally dynamic environments at both individual and population levels, providing ecological mechanisms for the emergent population dynamics of these large-bodied topical browsers.
Smaller Feedback-Related Negativity (FRN) Reflects the Risky Decision-Making Deficits of Methamphetamine Dependent Individuals

Methamphetamine (MA) chronic users show risky decision-making deficits. However, the neural mechanisms underlying these deficits remain unclear. A case-control study was conducted to understand how MA users and healthy controls differ in electrophysiological responses associated with series decision-making. Electroencephalography of 31 MA users and 27 healthy controls was recorded when they performed the Balloon Analogue Risk Task involving risky decision-making with uncertain gain or loss. Feedback-related negativity (FRN) was measured and their association with their risky decision-making and impulsivity were examined. Compared to healthy controls, MA users showed smaller peak FRN amplitudes in fronto-central electrodes (F (1, 56) =4.559, p=0.037), and the attenuated peak FRN amplitudes correlated with more risk-taking behavior (r=0.48, p=0.012). Besides, MA users exhibited later FRN (F (1, 56) = 7.561, p=0.008) and earlier P300 (F (1, 56) = 3.582, p = 0.041) compared to healthy controls in fronto-central electrodes, which were correlated with higher score of impulsivity. These findings provided further evidence that MA users showed insensitivity to negative feedback in risky decision-making. FRN might be a promising biomarker of dependence.
Social-Ecological Processes and Impacts Affect Individual and Social Well-Being in a Rural Western U.S. Landscape

To achieve agroecosystem conservation strategies while balancing the needs of people who live and work across rural landscapes, it is critical to understand what people need to improve and sustain their quality of life and well-being. Research that is designed to connect social-ecological dynamics, landscape change, and human impacts to human well-being and ecosystem health is well-suited to inform land management strategies and decision-making for agricultural production policies. We asked livestock producers, public land and resource managers, recreation users, conservationists, and wilderness advocates who live and work among rural communities in southwestern Idaho to describe social-ecological conditions that support and degrade their well-being. Using grounded theory methodology, we analyzed semi-structured interviews to discover meanings of well-being and to understand how people experience changes to their quality of life in an arid rangelands context. Our findings support previous research that suggests well-being is experienced at both individual and community scales, with sense of well-being influenced by ecological, economic, and socio-cultural processes. Specifically, our findings illuminate the role of social interactions as processes that support agroecosystem conditions and functions to the benefit or detriment of human well-being and ecosystem health. Community is not just a geographic territory; it is a process of social interactions through which people build, improve, or damage relationships that support or degrade well-being. By integrating scholarship on social change processes, ecosystem services, and impacts to human well-being, we contribute an integrated framework with a comprehensive set of social-ecological concepts to be used as a common language and synthesis guide for agroecosystem researchers and practitioners. We discuss our findings in the context of the USDA Agricultural Research Service's national network for Long-Term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR). The LTAR network is charged with identifying strategies for sustainable intensification that support agricultural productivity, environmental quality, and rural well-being. Our research sheds light on the functions of agroecosystem stakeholders and rural communities beyond their adoption (or not) of new technologies and management practices. Future assessments of environmental change and impacts must adequately address social processes that, alongside ecological processes, affect well-being for rural communities and landscapes.
Saccharomyces cerevisiae-Based Probiotics as Novel Antimicrobial Agents to Prevent and Treat Vaginal Infections

Vaginal infections affect 70% of women during their lifetimes and account for millions of annual doctors’ visits. These infections are predominantly represented by vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) and bacterial vaginosis (BV). Although standard antimicrobial agents remain the major strategy for the prevention and treatment of vaginal infections, both VVC and BV are difficult to treat due to high rates of resistance and recurrence, high probability of complications, and negative effects on the vaginal microbiota. This review focuses on a new approach of yeast-based probiotics for the prevention and/or treatment of these common vaginal infections.
The Effect of User Psychology on the Content of Social Media Posts: Originality and Transitions Matter

Multiple studies suggest that frequencies of affective words in social media text are associated with the user's personality and mental health. In this study, we re-examine these associations by looking at the transition patterns of affect. We analyzed the content originality and affect polarity of 4,086 posts from 70 adult Facebook users contributed over 2 months. We studied posting behavior, including silent periods when the user does not post any content. Our results show that more extroverted participants tend to post positive content continuously and that more agreeable participants tend to avoid posting negative content. We also observe that participants with stronger depression symptoms posted more non-original content. We recommend that transitions of affect pattern derived from social media text and content originality should be considered in further studies on mental health, personality, and social media.
DivIVA Controls Progeny Morphology and Diverse ParA Proteins Regulate Cell Division or Gliding Motility in Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus

The predatory bacterium B. bacteriovorus grows and divides inside the periplasm of Gram-negative bacteria, forming a structure known as a bdelloplast. Cell division of predators inside the dead prey cell is not by binary fission but instead by synchronous division of a single elongated filamentous cell into odd or even numbers of progeny cells. Bdellovibrio replication and cell division processes are dependent on the finite level of nutrients available from inside the prey bacterium. The filamentous growth and division process of the predator maximizes the number of progeny produced by the finite nutrients in a way that binary fission could not. To learn more about such an unusual growth profile, we studied the role of DivIVA in the growing Bdellovibrio cell. This protein is well known for its link to polar cell growth and spore formation in Gram-positive bacteria, but little is known about its function in a predatory growth context. We show that DivIVA is expressed in the growing B. bacteriovorus cell and controls cell morphology during filamentous cell division, but not the number of progeny produced. Bacterial Two Hybrid (BTH) analysis shows DivIVA may interact with proteins that respond to metabolic indicators of amino-acid biosynthesis or changes in redox state. Such changes may be relevant signals to the predator, indicating the consumption of prey nutrients within the sealed bdelloplast environment. ParA, a chromosome segregation protein, also contributes to bacterial septation in many species. The B. bacteriovorus genome contains three ParA homologs; we identify a canonical ParAB pair required for predatory cell division and show a BTH interaction between a gene product encoded from the same operon as DivIVA with the canonical ParA. The remaining ParA proteins are both expressed in Bdellovibrio but are not required for predator cell division. Instead, one of these ParA proteins coordinates gliding motility, changing the frequency at which the cells reverse direction. Our work will prime further studies into how one bacterium can co-ordinate its cell division with the destruction of another bacterium that it dwells within.
Altered Sexual Behavior in Dopamine Transporter (DAT) Knockout Male Rats: A Behavioral, Neurochemical and Intracerebral Microdialysis Study

Central dopamine plays a key role in sexual behavior. Recently, a Dopamine Transporter knockout (DAT KO) rat has been developed, which displays several behavioral dysfunctions that have been related to increased extracellular dopamine levels and altered dopamine turnover secondary to DAT gene silencing. This prompted us to characterize the sexual behavior of these DAT KO rats and their heterozygote (HET) and wild type (WT) counterparts in classical copulatory tests with a sexually receptive female rat and to verify if and how the acquisition of sexual experience changes along five copulatory tests in these rat lines. Extracellular dopamine and glutamic acid concentrations were also measured in the dialysate obtained by intracerebral microdialysis from the nucleus accumbens (Acb) shell of DAT KO, HET and WT rats, which underwent five copulatory tests, when put in the presence of an inaccessible sexually receptive female rat and when copulation was allowed. Markers of neurotropism (BDNF, trkB), neural activation (Δ-FosB), functional (Arc and PSA-NCAM) and structural synaptic plasticity (synaptophysin, syntaxin-3, PSD-95) were also measured in the ventral tegmental area (VTA), Acb (shell and core) and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) by Western Blot assays. The results indicate that the sexual behavior of DAT KO vs. HET and WT rats shows peculiar differences, mainly due to a more rapid acquisition of stable sexual activity levels and to higher levels of sexual motivation and activity. These differences occurred with differential changes in dopamine and glutamic acid concentrations in Acb dialysates during sexual behavior, with lower increases of dopamine and glutamic acid in DAT KO vs. WT and HET rats, and a lower expression of the markers investigated, mainly in the mPFC, in DAT KO vs. WT rats. Together these findings confirm a key role of dopamine in sexual behavior and provide evidence that the permanently high levels of dopamine triggered by DAT gene silencing cause alterations in both the frontocortical glutamatergic neurons projecting to the Acb and VTA and in the mesolimbic dopaminergic neurons, leading to specific brain regional changes in trophic support and neuroplastic processes, which may have a role in the sexual behavior differences found among the three rat genotypes.
‘We’re the First Port of Call’ – Perspectives of Ambulance Staff on Responding to Deaths by Suicide: A Qualitative Study

Introduction Exposure to suicide is a known risk factor for suicide. Ambulance staff are exposed to work-related stressors including attending suicides, which may elevate their risk for mental health problems/suicide. Little is known about ambulance staff’s perspectives on how they experience these events and whether they feel equipped to respond to bereaved families at the scene of death. This study explores the perspectives of ambulance staff about responding to deaths by suicide. Materials and Methods A convenience sample of ambulance staff recruited from one ambulance service in England. In-depth, qualitative, semi-structured face-to-face interviews conducted with nine ambulance staff (six male, three female) to explore experiences of responding to suicide. Data analyzed using thematic analysis. Results Participants reported the experience of job-related strain including exposure to the suicide/suicidal ideation of colleagues; they described suppressing their distress despite significant emotional impact. All participants had been personally bereaved by suicide and responding to suicide was a common part of their job. They were often the first professionals at the scene, and undertook varied and often conflicting roles: negotiating with patients in crisis; informing individuals of the death of a loved one; preserving the body/potential crime scene; dealing with the intense emotional reactions of bereaved individuals. Participants reported long-term, salient memories of these events; however, there was a reported lack of acknowledgment in the workplace that suicides may be traumatic and no guidance for staff on how to cope. Opportunities to debrief were reportedly rare, and there was reluctance to access work-based liaison services. Training in how to respond to individuals bereaved by suicide was also lacking. Discussion The study is the first to reveal the complex challenges faced by ambulance staff in responding to suicide without adequate training and support. It demonstrates the potential impact that responding to suicide can have personally and professionally on staff, and emphasizes the need for employers to support staff wellbeing in better ways. Training and postvention support could enable better coping among staff, more effective support for bereaved individuals and reduce the risk of death by suicide both in those bereaved by suicide and in ambulance staff.
Pediatric Nature of Enteric Fever with Emerging Antibiogram: A Cross Sectional Study

Introduction: Typhoid fever is a life-threatening systemic infection occurring in developing countries like India. The presenting signs and symptoms of typhoid fever in children differ from adults. Some studies indicate reemergence of sensitivity of Salmonella with chloramphenicol. Method: 164 children between 1-12 years of age with suspected enteric fever were enrolled in the study. Out of these, 73 patients were diagnosed as enteric fever and clinical features were compared among different age groups. Antibiotic sensitivity profile was also studied in blood culture positive patients. Results: Abdominal distension were significantly more commonly seen in children less than 5 years while nausea, constipation and blood in stool were completely absent in this age group. Abdominal pain and headache were significantly more in children more 5 years than compared to it younger group. The sensitivity for classical drugs Chloramphenicol, Ampicillin and Cotrimoxazole was found to be 70%, 80% and 47.5%, respectively. Conclusion: Clinical profile of enteric fever in children differ with age. There is re-emergence of sensitivity of Salmonella typhi for chloramphenicol, ampicillin and Cotrimoxazole in blood culture.
Quality of life in patients with alopecia areata attending dermatology department in a tertiary care centre - A cross-sectional study

Objective To assess the quality of life in patients with alopecia areata and its relationship with severity of alopecia areata. Methods This was a hospital-based cross-sectional study of 60 patients with clinically diagnosed cases of alopecia areata, over a period of 1 year. Quality of life and psychiatric morbidity were assessed using Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) questionnaire and General Health Questionnaire – 28 (GHQ – 28), respectively. Results Quality of life based on DLQI score was affected in 70% of cases. Assessment of quality of life in four subscales of general health questionnaire-28 individually showed involvement of social dysfunction subscale most commonly. It was found that, there was positive relationship between severity of alopecia areata and psychiatric morbidity based on GHQ-28. There was significant statistical association between quality of life based on GHQ-28 and DLQI. Conclusion Quality of life based on DLQI score was impaired in 70% of cases where as psychiatric morbidity was noticed in 48.3% of patients. With regards to the pattern of alopecia areata, very large effect was noticed in patients with alopecia areata other than patchy type.
USE NANOTECHNOLOGY IN CAPSULATION OMEGA-3 FATTY ACID TO IMPROVE ITS THERMAL STABILITY AND USE IT TO ENRICH PASTEURIZED MILK

The study involved the encapsulation of Alpha-Linolenic Acid (ALA) to increasing its thermal stability and making it more resistant to oxidation and lipolysis and use it to enrich pasteurized milk. The Nano Capsules of AlphaLinolenic Acid (NC-ALA) were prepared using the emulsion-diffusion method, by adding acetone organic solvent containing Poly Lactic Acid (PLA) and ALA to the water phase containing the stabilizer Twain 20. NC-ALA was produced in irregular colloids shapes and nanoparticles ranging from 68.4 to 302.6 nanometers (nm) and the highest ratio was in the suspension at 143.9 nm and its zeta potential was -38.67 mV. Concentrates 5, 10 and 30 mg of NCALA and Non-Capsulated ALA (Non-C-ALA) were used to enrich 1 kg of raw milk to prepare pasteurized milk treatments M1, M2, M3, M4, M5 and M6. Mc treatments was left without addition. The results showed that the treatments supplemented with NC-ALA were less developed in the ratio of titration acidity and Peroxide Values (POV) from Non-C-ALA treatments. The PLA coat had a significant role in the protection of ALA against lipolysis by formation of a protective layer protects the ALA from the activity of lipases enzymes, and the addition of ALA to milk was determined the growth of microbial in it. The results of the sensory evaluation showed that M1 and M2 supplemented with 5 and 10 mg of NC-ALA respectively maintained their sensory characteristics during the storage period, with a total grade of 20 of 24 at the end of the storage period which was 7 days at temperature 6±1 oC, indicating that the capsulated of ALA and its addition to pasteurized milk before the pasteurization process helped preserve it for a longer period without affecting in its various qualities.
SENSES OF PLACE: understanding urban location as an organisation of places

One of the dominant surmises in urban studies is that the organization of economic activities and the way it leads to a distribution in space follows a strict logic of economy. Only quite recently, after which the (neo) classic economy and location-theory begin to lose their hegemony (Thrift & Amin, 2004), that we come to realise economic logic alone fails to provide a compelling account on the problem of location. Similarly, we fail to understand the ‘cohesion’ in contemporary urban form on the basis of pure economic arguments alone; an opinion which is also shared by a number of renowned economic geographers (Peck, 2005). The relation between movement network as generator of place-quality and urban functions taking place in this movement-generated landscape as an effect of topological differentials can be considered a ‘classic’ approach in Space-Syntax research. This study is based on Hillier’s (1996) assertion that ‘cities are movement-economies’ and the hypothesis of organization of place as a construct in human perception reflective to the process of active and ‘mobile inhabitation’ (Budiarto & Read, 2003). The paper will explore issue of location by recasting it through a Heideggerian perspective on ‘location’. The way shifting between places occur as part of our everyday experience in the city and how it may effect on the distribution of urban functions is then explored and illustrated by way of taking an empirical study on the city of Amsterdam. Analysing the city using a series of maps, the focus is given on presenting Amsterdam’s urban form in terms of continuous formation and transformation of places, from the history to the contemporary city. By taking both ‘fixity’ and ‘changes’ in the pattern of urban functions into account, it is proposed that the historical development of form, i.e. urban formation, needs to be understood as a continuous development of form, rather than a series of breaks from medieval to modern and postmodern city. The implication of such a view is that we need to revise the way we mould a model to understand ‘city’.