Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Maternal cafeteria diet consumption and the programming of food preferences in the offspring: the role of the mu-opioid receptor.

11 DECLARATION . 13 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . 14 ABBREVIATIONS . 15 PUBLICATIONS ARISING FROM THIS THESIS . 17 Chapter 1: GENERAL INTRODUCTION . 19 1.1 Obesity . 19 1.1.1 Maternal overnutrition and offspring obesity . 20 1.1.2 Maternal overnutrition and offspring appetite regulation . 21 1.1.3 Maternal high-fat diet and offspring food preferences . 21 1.1.4 Summary . 23 1.2 Mesolimbic reward circuitry . 23 1.2.1 Endogenous opioids . 24 1.2.2 Dopamine . 26 1.2.3 Mesolimbic reward pathway and drug addiction . 26 1.2.4 Mesolimbic reward pathway and palatable food intake . 28 1.2. 5 Summary . 28 1.3 Reward pathway development . 29 1.3. 1 Opioids-animal models . 29 1.3. 2 Opioid-human . 31 1.3. 3Dopamine-animal models . 31 1.3. 4 Dopamine-human . 32 1.3. 5 Summary . 32 1.4 The effect of cafeteria diet exposure on reward pathway development and food preferences . 33 1.4. 1 Before birth . 34 1.4. 2 Pre-weaning . 34 3 1.4. 3 Immediately post-weaning . 35 1.4. 4 Summary . 36 1.5 Mechanisms for the programming of food preferences . 36 1.5. 1 Endogenous opioids . 37 1.5. 2 Leptin . 38 1.5. 3 Insulin . 38 1.5. 4 Transmission of flavour . 39 1.5. 5 Summary . 40 1.6 Sex differences . 40 1.6. 1 Sex differences in drug addiction . 40 1.6. 2 Sex differences in fat consumption . 41 1.6. 3 Sex differences in the programming of obesity and food preferences . 42 1.6. 4 Summary . 43 1.7 Research focus . 44 Chapter 2: THE EFFECTS OF PRENATAL EXPOSURE TO A ‘JUNK FOOD’ DIET ON OFFSPRING FOOD PREFERENCES AND FAT DEPOSITION CAN BE MITIGATED BY IMPROVED NUTRITION DURING LACTATION . 49 2.1 Abstract . 49 2.2 Introduction . 49 2.3 Methods . 51 2.3. 1 Animals and feeding regime . 51 2.3. 2 Cross-fostering . 52 2.3. 3 Determination of food preferences . 52 2.3. 4 Post-mortem and tissue collection . 52 2.3. 5 Determination of hormone and metabolite concentrations . 54 2.3. 6 Statistical analysis . 54 2.4 Results . 55 2.4. 1 Body weight and macronutrient intake of dams during pregnancy and lactation . 55 2.4. 2 Effect of cross-fostering on birth outcomes and pup growth . 55 2.4. 3 Offspring growth and food intake during the post-weaning period . 55 2.4. 4 Effect of prenatal and postnatal maternal diet on offspring body composition at 12 and 16 weeks of age . 57
Plasma immersion ion implantation and shot peening influence on the fatigue strength of AA 7050-T7451 aluminum alloy

The 7xxx aluminum alloy series is applied in aircraft components that demand high specific mechanical strength and fatigue resistance. The corrosive environment and friction forces imposed on those components reduce the service life. Therefore, anodizing is frequently used to enhance resistance against corrosion and wear. However, anodizing decreases the fatigue life of aluminum alloys. Plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) is an alternative surface treatment that has been used to improve surface hardness, corrosion resistance and reduce wear damage. The PIII treatment consists of accelerating positive ions towards a sample by applying negative high voltage pulses in plasma. The shot peening (SP) process is a surface treatment that can be used with other surface treatments to improve the fatigue strength. The present work aimed at investigating the fatigue behavior of AA 7050-T451 aluminum alloy treated with SP, PIII, and a combination of both SP and PIII surface treatments. The combination of SP and PIII treatments (SP + PIII) improved the fatigue performance with respect to the base material and was more efficient than PIII in improving the fatigue strength for high-cycle fatigue regime. The fatigue strength improvement is related to the induced compressive residual stresses at the surface layers, which was responsible for delaying the nucleation and early fatigue crack propagation periods. The residual stress at the surface changed from −62 MPa to −130 MPa and −210 MPa for the SP and SP + PIII conditions, respectively. Compared to chromic anodizing, the SP + PIII condition increased the fatigue life in about 4 times at a maximum stress level of 281 MPa. The combination of SP and PIII treatments tested in this work is more advantageous regarding fatigue behavior than chromic anodizing, which reduces the fatigue strength of the material.
Ulcerative pododermatitis and disseminated erosive lesions associated with cowpox virus infection in a domestic cat

The authors report on a case of feline cowpox virus infection associated with severe ulcerative dermatitis of a paw and disseminated erosive lesions. While the anamnesis of the cat being a known rodent-hunter, a typical seasonality of infection and the progression of clinical signs from a primary anterior lesion (forelimb) indicated a possible cowpox virus infection, the differential diagnosis was complicated by the resemblance of clinical signs to those induced by feline herpesvirus-dermatitis or feline calicivirus infection. These differential diagnoses were excluded by means of immunostaining and PCR, respectively. Detection of eosinophilic intracytoplasmic inclusion bodies in cells from biopsy material and positive PCR and sequencing results confirmed the diagnosis of cowpox virus infection. Genetic characterisation of the isolate, based on the highly diverse haemagglutinin gene, showed that the strain (Liege 2015; GenBank accession number: KU726584) clustered with other European isolates, mostly from exotic zoo animals.
Early disclosure law reduces duplication in the US and European patent systems

Much research assumes or theorizes that competition in innovation elicits duplication of research and that disclosure decreases such duplication. We validate this empirically using the American Inventors Protection Act (AIPA), three complementary identification strategies, and a new measure of blocked future patent applications. We show that AIPA -intended to reduce duplication, through default disclosure of patent applications 18 months after filing – reduced duplication in the US and European patent systems. Use of blocked future applications, rather than the oft-used measure of future prior art citations, affords greater nuance in empirical investigation of positive and negative externalities of innovation. JEL-Classification: O31, O33
Thiamine pyrophosphate riboswitches in Bacteroides species regulate transcription or translation of thiamine transport and biosynthesis genes

Thiamine (vitamin B1) and its phosphorylated precursors are necessary for decarboxylation reactions required in carbohydrate and branched chain amino acid metabolism. Due to its critical roles in central metabolism, thiamine is essential for human and animal hosts and their resident gut microbes. However, little is known about how thiamine availability shapes the composition of gut microbial communities and the physiology of individual species within those communities. Our previous work has implicated both thiamine biosynthesis and transport activities in the fitness of Bacteroides species. To better understand thiamine-dependent gene regulation in Bacteroides, we examined thiamine biosynthesis and transport genes in three representative species: Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, Bacteroides uniformis, and Bacteroides vulgatus. All three species possess thiamine biosynthetic operons controlled by highly conserved cis-acting thiamine pyrophosphate (TPP) riboswitches. B. thetaiotaomicron and B. uniformis have additional TPP riboswitch-controlled operons encoding thiamine transport functions. Transcriptome analyses showed that each Bacteroides species had a distinct transcriptional response to exogenous thiamine. Analysis of transcript levels and translational fusions demonstrated that in B. thetaiotaomicron, the TPP riboswitch upstream of biosynthesis genes acts at the level of transcription, while TPP riboswitches upstream of transport operons work at the level of translation. In B. uniformis and B. vulgatus, TPP riboswitches work at the transcriptional level to control downstream operons. The varying responses to exogenous thiamine and use of varied regulatory mechanisms may play an important role in niche establishment by the Bacteroidetes in the complex and constantly shifting gut environment. Importance Bacteroides species are important and abundant members of human gut microbiome communities. Their activities in the gut are influenced by constant changes in nutrient availability. In this study, we investigated the genetic basis of thiamine (Vitamin B1) uptake and biosynthesis in three representative Bacteroides species. We found species-specific differences in the response to exogenous thiamine, and distinct mechanisms for regulation of uptake and biosynthesis gene expression. Our work implies that gut Bacteroides have evolved distinct strategies for making or acquiring an essential nutrient. These mechanisms may play an important role in the success of Bacteroides in establishing a niche within complex gut microbiome communities.
Analyzing Markov chain Monte Carlo output

Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) is a sampling‐based method for estimating features of probability distributions. MCMC methods produce a serially correlated, yet representative, sample from the desired distribution. As such it can be difficult to assess when the MCMC method is producing reliable results. We present some fundamental methods for ensuring a reliable simulation experiment. In particular, we present a workflow for output analysis in MCMC providing estimators, approximate sampling distributions, stopping rules, and visualization tools.
Digital and traditional resources for the second edition of the Deutsches Wörterbuch

The paper gives a short overview of the selection of sources for the first and second editions of the Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob Grimm und Wilhelm Grimm, from which the quotations for the dictionary entries are drawn. We will introduce the 2DWB quotation archive, which forms the basis of the lexicographical work on the second edition of the Deutsches Wörterbuch (2DWB) and which today is complemented by digital resources. We will assess a number of freely available digital collections of text according to their suitability for diachronic lexicography. We will look at size, selection of texts, verifiability of search results, quality of full texts and scans, presentation of search results and search functions. It will turn out that none of the resources can (yet) substitute 2DWB archive. We will further suggest that from the point of view of diachronic lexicography in some areas the examples from the “intelligent” quotation archive are superior to automatically retrieved examples from digital corpora.
THE EFFECT OF WORKING CAPITAL MANAGEMENT ON FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE AND OPERATIONAL CASH FLOWS OF COMPANIES ACCEPTED IN TEHRAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE

Purposes: Working capital management can have a huge impact on financial performance and operational cash flows. In this research, the effect of working capital management components on financial performance and operating cash flows have been investigated. Methodology: The data used in this study are financial statements of companies listed in Tehran securities exchange for the period 2007 to 2011. Results: The difference between sales and operating profit as a benchmark for measuring performance and the difference between operating cash flow and operating profit as a measure of operating cash flow has been used. Regression results show that there is no meaningful relationship between the components of working capital management with financial performance and operating cash flow. Implications/Applications: Net income represents the change in a business's financial circumstances incurred through that business choosing to run its revenue-producing operations for one specific time period. Because the business cannot choose to run its revenue-producing operations without incurring expenses while doing so, net income is equal to revenues minus expenses. Expenses are often divided up into additional categories for ease of comprehension. Revenues minus cost of sales is equal to gross profit; gross profit minus operating expenses is equal to operating profit. Novelty/Originality: The novelty of this study is a balance between current assets and current liabilities, as well as maintaining a balance between profitability and liquidity which can serve a great purpose in the economy.
Leukocyte count and C reactive protein as diagnostic factors in febrile convulsion

Background : Febrile convulsion (FC) is the most common seizure disorder in childhood. White blood cell (WBC) and C reactive protein (CRP) are commonly measured in FC. Add a paragraph on Aims and Objectives of the study. Aims and Objectives: To compare WBC and CRP in febrile children, aged 6 months to five years, with and without FC, in order to determine whether leukocytosis and elevated CRP can be used as diagnostic tool for febrile seizure. Materials and Methods: In this cross sectional study 214 children (112 with FC), aged 6 months to 5 years, admitted to in the first 48 hours of their febrile disease, either with or without seizure, were evaluated over a 12 months period. Age, sex, temperature; WBC, CRP and hemoglobin were recorded in all children. There was a significant increase of WBC (P<0.001) in children with FC so we can deduct that leukocytosis encountered in children with FC can be due to convulsion in itself. Results : When comparing FC and non-FC children, we encountered a significant increase of WBC (P =0.0005) in children with FC, measured at the time of admission to pediatric medicine ward. There was no significant difference regarding CRP between the two groups. In fact, elevated CRP is a result of underlying pathology. Conclusion: In stable patients, if there’s no reason to suspect a bacterial infection or who don’t have any indication of lumbar puncture, there’s no need to assess WBC as an indicator of underlying infection. Any child with febrile seizure with a high CRP value should be evaluated for infection.
Beam finite spot size effect on angle-tolerant optical filters

Theoretical performance analysis of optical filters is usually done assuming an incident plane wave. This may be a good indicator of the device performance when the spot size of the incident beam is much greater than the operating wavelength. However, in practice the incident beam is usually focused on a very small spot to fit the device footprint. Such focused beams contain a range of incident angles, i.e., a set of different plane waves. Thus, a degradation is expected in the filter spectral transmission behavior when compared to that theoretically determined by using a plane wave model. Angle tolerant filters are filters that preserve their spectral properties under a wide range of angles. This work aims at studying the effect of an inclined Gaussian beam finite spot size on the transmission performance of a five-layer angle-tolerant hybrid plasmonic multilayer filter structure by applying beam expansion method analysis. For spot sizes of 10 micrometers, the filter transmission preserves its shape for different angles of incidence. As the spot size narrows to 0.1 micrometers, transmission preserves its shape but loses around 8% compared to plane wave case. Further deterioration is observed for the same spot size at an angle of incidence of 50 degrees. The behavior is found to be limited by the filter’s field of view (FOV). The FOV of the filter we used in the study is around 50 degrees. Hence, with narrower beams, a larger angular divergence is present which cannot be compensated by the angle tolerance of the filter. To the best of our knowledge, similar work has not been studied in existing literature.
Agrobiological evaluation of Allium ampeloprasum L. variety samples in comparison with Allium sativum L. cultivars

The purpose of investigation is to study the biological and morphological features, to establish the economic and valuable characteristics of the introduced and local forms of Allium ampeloprasum L. in comparison with Allium sativum L. and to study the effect of removal of the scape in the yield. The studies used field, statistical, settlement and analytical methods. The weight of the bulb without removing the inflorescence shoot of the cultivar Sofiivskyi was 28.4– 53.3 g smaller than the variety samples No. 2 and No. 3 respectively. With removing the scape the difference increased by 60.5–68.6 g. The yield of No. 2 variety sample Allium ampeloprasum L. without removing the scape was lower than the standard by 1.7 t ha while the variety sample No. 3 exceeded the standard by 1.1 t ha. With the removal of inflorescence shoot the yields of variety samples No. 2 and No. 3 exceeded the cultivar Sofiivskyi by 1.6 and 2.2 t ha. It has been established according to the researches that introduced forms of Allium ampeloprasum L. have high indicators of economic and valuable characteristics, but they are limited in the first years of cultivation, by the period of adaptation to the new soil and climatic conditions.
Cd(Zn, S)Se quaternary thin films for electrochemical photovoltaic cell application

In this study, Cd1−xZnxSySe1−y (0 ≤ x = y ≤ 0.35) photoelectrodes are deposited via inexpensive facile chemical bath deposition. The effects of Zn and S doping on the compositional, microstructural, electrical, and optical properties of thin films were analysed. The electrochemical photovoltaic (EPV) cell of configuration Cd1−xZnxSySe1−y/0.25M sulfide/polysulfide/C was assembled to examine the different performance parameters in light and in dark conditions. An EPV cell fabricated with the Cd1−xZnxSySe1−y (0 ≤ x = y ≤ 0.075) photoelectrode exhibited a maximum photoconversion efficiency of 3.18%. This performance can be attributed primarily to the enhanced light‐absorption ability of the material because of the enhanced rough microstructure and low recombination of photo‐injected electrons with the electrolyte. The photovoltaic (PV) performance is significantly enhanced after doping CdSe with Zn and S.
Analysis On Written Mathematical Communication Skills At System Of Linear Equations In Two Variables (SLETV) Material Viewed From Student Learning Styles

This research was to describe students’ mathematical communication skills based on their learning styles. This research was a descriptive research with qualitative approach. Data was obtained in three steps, namely written test on SLETV material, questionnaire on learning styles, and interviews. Research subject was eighth grade students. The procedure in this research began with the pre-field stage. At this stage, the research was designed, starting from observation and interviews with the teacher, as well as discussion with the supervisor. The second was the field stage, which was the stage for conducting research. The final stage was writing the report, which was the stage where researchers have conducted the research, processed and analyzed data that has been obtained from the research. Data collection techniques in this research were distributing questionnaire, giving test questions about SLETV, and conducting interviews to find out the students’ mathematical communication skills more specifically. The instruments in this study were questionnaire on learning styles, test questions about SLETV, and interview guide sheets. Data analysis techniques in this research aimed to achieve data reduction by sorting out important answers from student results in the form of questionnaire, test, and interviews. Data presentation was in the form of narrative texts. Interviews were aligned with the test questions about SLETV. Finally, conclusions were formulated by describing each student’s written mathematical skill based on the 4 student learning styles. Based on the results, students with interpersonal learning style had the ability to learn better through friendship, students with self-expressive learning style had the ability to learn by paying more attention to the final results and tended to use unusual ways to find the best results, students with understanding learning style had the ability to see facts and remember large amounts of knowledge, ideas, theories, or concepts, while students with mastery learning style were able to write to the point and focus more on results.
Fault Detection Filter and Controller Co-Design for Unmanned Surface Vehicles Under DoS Attacks

This paper addresses the co-design problem of a fault detection filter and controller for a networked-based unmanned surface vehicle (USV) system subject to communication delays, external disturbance, faults, and aperiodic denial-of-service (DoS) jamming attacks. First, an event-triggering communication scheme is proposed to enhance the efficiency of network resource utilization while counteracting the impact of aperiodic DoS attacks on the USV control system performance. Second, an event-based switched USV control system is presented to account for the simultaneous presence of communication delays, disturbance, faults, and DoS jamming attacks. Third, by using the piecewise Lyapunov functional (PLF) approach, criteria for exponential stability analysis and co-design of a desired observer-based fault detection filter and an event-triggered controller are derived and expressed in terms of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). Finally, the simulation results verify the effectiveness of the proposed co-design method. The results show that this method not only ensures the safe and stable operation of the USV but also reduces the amount of data transmissions.
Öğretmen Yetiştirme Programlarında Eleştirel Düşünme Becerilerinin Kazandırılması İhtiyacı

Today, the learning and teaching of certain skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, learning how to learn, effective communication, entrepreneurship, etc. has been a compulsory practice as these skills are characterized as the 21st century skills that also facilitate the adaptation of individuals to deeply influence, extensively change, and develop the world. Critical thinking has gained a prominent significance within the 21st century qualified education perspective. It is of vital significance in terms of whether individuals can gain achievements in various life aspects, develop an awareness and a unique perspective towards daily problems, and actively participate in solutions. In this study, critical thinking education is examined and assessed in terms of its national and international dimensions for both the individual and society, and especially its necessity in teacher education programs.
Productive bacterial communities exclude invaders

Experiments with artificial microbial communities indicate that certain community compositions are more resistant to microbial invasion than others. However, few invasion experiments have used natural microbial communities to investigate how the effect of community composition on invasion resistance relates to different aspects of community growth. We conducted experimental invasions of two bacterial species (Pseudomonas fluorescens and Pseudomonas putida) into 678 bacterial communities, comparing composition to several aspects of community growth prior to invasion to see how well they predicted invasion. We show that even in these complex microbial assemblages, the effects of resident community composition and growth are largely overlapping - with parameters associated with the productivity of the community (cell yield, community respiration) emerging as the main limiting factors for invasion success. Despite their complexity, these communities can be classified into a few compositional groups that are associated with the main differences in community growth, and thereby invasion resistance.