Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Preliminary observations of necrophagous dipteran activities and a new host record of parasitoids on a high-rise building

Abstract A preliminary study on the ecological activities of necrophagous Diptera on a highrise building in Malaysia was conducted from April to August 2010. Fresh chicken livers (approximately 500 g) serving as bait were placed on the rooftop (101.6 m from the ground). Three replicates were carried out, each replicate lasting 30 days with daily observations and fly sampling. Maggots found in the bait were collected at random: some were preserved in 70% ethanol while the others were reared to the adult stage. Results showed that the flies arrived on the bait between 8 hours and 3 days after placement. The oriental latrine blow fly Chrysomya megacephala (Diptera: Calliphoridae) was the first to reach this altitude, followed by the scuttle fly Megaselia scalaris (Diptera: Phoridae) and the flesh fly Liopygia ruficornis (Diptera: Sarcophagidae). The larvae of Chrysomya megacephala were first recovered from the bait. However, they were succeeded by sarcophagid larvae. The predominant sarcophagid larvae were then raised to the adult stage and the resulting adults were identified as Parasarcophaga dux. The other sarcophagid pupae were either parasitized by hymenopteran parasitoids or dead. We recorded two species of parasitoids emerging from Liopygia ruficornis pupae: Exoristobia philippinensis (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) and Dirhinus himalayanus (Hymenoptera: Chalcididae). Liopygia ruficornis is recorded as a new host for these parasitoids for the first time.
Complete mitogenome of Hainan medaka Oryzias curvinotus (Teleostei: Beloniformes) and transcriptional differences between male and female liver

Abstract In this study, combining the liver transcripts from both sexes by RNA-Seq with DNA sequences by conventional PCRs, we have determined the complete mitogenome of Hainan medaka Oryzias curvinotus collected from the mangrove seawater of the Leizhou Peninsula in tropical South China (Accession no.: KY364884). The mitochondrial genome is 16,676 bp, and its content and structure are highly homologous to those of other teleostean fishes, including 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 2 rRNAs, 22 tRNA and 1 control region. Among the PCGs, ATG is used as the initiation codon, except for GTG in COI gene. There are 7 overlapping genes with overlap lengths ranging from 1 to 10 nucleotides (nt), while ten intergenic regions with a total of 66 nt and a maximum interval of 37 nt between tRNAAsn and tRNACys. Moreover, the data from RNA-Seq shows that the significant differences exist in the expression patterns of mitogenomes between male and female.
Loss- and gain-of-function analyses of the role of MAP kinase signalling in testis determination

Sexual differentiation is the process by which an organism develops as either male or female. In mammals, this process is governed chromosomally, principally by the presence or absence of the Y chromosome. In the mouse, sex determination occurs at 11.5 days post coitum (dpc), when expression of Sry in the XY gonad kick-starts testis determination. SRY drives the subsequent expression of genes that both promote testis differentiation and inhibit ovarian differentiation, leading to specification of the testis. In cases where sex determination is disrupted, disorders of sexual development (DSD) can occur. Many genes have been described that are required for testis determination. However, we still know relatively little about how Sry itself is regulated. MAP kinase (MAPK) signalling is involved in testis determination in mice and humans. MAP3K4 is required for testis determination in the mouse: loss of MAP3K4 is associated with male-to-female sex reversal in embryos and insufficient expression of Sry at 11.5 dpc. Likewise, loss of function of a protein known to interact with MAP3K4, GADD45γ, also leads to sex reversal. In humans, mutations in the gene encoding the related kinase, MAP3K1, have been identified as a key cause of DSD. Thus, MAPK signalling appears to play a key role in testis determination both in humans and mice. This thesis describes experiments designed to further elucidate the role of MAPK-related signalling in testis determination. Firstly, an attempt was made to generate mice bearing a human sex-reversing mutation in Map3k1 , however this was not successful. Additionally, RNA-seq was employed to investigate transcriptional targets of GADD45γ. Finally, the role of MAP3K4 as a dose-dependent modifier of sensitivity to sex reversal in mice is described, utilising a Map3k4 transgene to rescue sex reversal in B6 mice harbouring a Y chromosome from the Mus poschiavinus strain. These mice undergo sex reversal in the absence of the Map3k4 transgene, and also exhibit delayed Sry expression. By utilising this genetic tool, this thesis investigates the mechanism of sex reversal in these mice, with particular focus on the role pf Map3k4 in Sry expression.
Feeding Selection on Mollusk by the Indochinese Molluscivorous Catfish (Helicophagus leptorhynchus Ng & Kottelat, 2000) in the Mun River, Thailand

The gut contents of the Indochinese molluscivorous catfish, Helicophagus leptorhynchus were investigated. The fish were collected from the Mun River, the largest Mekong tributary in Thailand, between February 2008 and February 2009. Two sampling sites with different geographical characteristics, i.e. Tha Ngoi and Khong Chiam, were selected. The first site has a muddy and sandy bottom and the other site has rapids with deep pools. Food items were dominated by mollusks with some other food types occasionally found. Twenty species of mollusks, both gastropods and bivalves, were observed, namely Corbicula moreletiana, Pachydrobia zilchi reducta, Melanoides tuberculata, Lacunopsis munensis and Limnoperna siamensis. The finding is contrary to previous reports on the feeding habits of H. leptorhynchus which said that this fish species feeds exclusively on bivalves. This study showed that food items were manipulated by space and time as well as life stage of the fish. Results also showed that the larger the fish grows, the bigger the mollusks that are being chosen as food.
Position of the working group sports nutrition of the German Nutrition Society (DGE): energy needs in sports

Athletes have special dietary needs. In a consensus statement on sports nutrition, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) stated that diet inf luences performance capacity and advised athletes to apply dietary strategies adapted to individual needs during and after training and competitions to maximize their physical and mental performance (19). It should be kept in mind that athletes are not a homogeneous group; there are in fact numerous factors that inf luence energy and nutrient needs (e.g. body weight, size, body composition, training program, duration, intensity). It must also be considered that, depending on the training and competition phase within the annual cycle and even within any given week, athletes plan the intensity and duration of their training sessions in very different ways (17, 36, 37). Hans Braun Deutsche Sporthochschule Köln Institut für Biochemie Am Sportpark Müngersdorf 6 50859 Köln, Germany : h.braun@dshs-koeln.de SCHLÜSSELWÖRTER: Athleten, Kalorimetrie, Energieverfügbarkeit, Ruheenergieumsatz, metabolisches Äquivalent
A STUDY ON HANDWRITTEN DEVANAGARI DIGITS RECOGNITION USING RESIDUAL NEURAL NETWORK

A BSTRACT . Handwritten digit recognition is a profoundly advanced exploration area of pattern recognition. It is used to classify pre-segmented handwritten digits. The Devanagari script is one of the writing systems of various Indian languages including Sanskrit and Hindi. In this paper, an efﬁcient Handwritten Devanagari numeral digit recognition using ResNet is proposed. Deep learning is a modern research trend in this ﬁeld. ResNet is a deep learning architecture that is computationally expensive and provide high accuracy in classiﬁcation problems. We assessed our scheme on 16000 Devanagari samples from the UCI database and accomplished 99.40% recognition rate.
Host‐associated differentiation in a pecan and water hickory Aphidomorpha community

Host‐associated differentiation (HAD) is the formation of genetically distinct, host‐associated populations created and maintained by ecologically mediated reproductive isolation. HAD potentially accounts for species origins in parasites, including herbivorous insects. Although case studies testing the occurrence of HAD are accumulating, it is still unclear how common HAD is and which specific ecological traits explain its occurrence. To address these issues, studies are needed that include negative results (i.e., instances in which parasite populations do not exhibit HAD) and test for HAD across communities (i.e., several parasite species on the same set of host species). In this study, HAD was tested in a community of six species of Aphidomorpha (Hemiptera) that share a host‐plant pair: pecan [Carya illinoinensis (Wangenh.) K.Koch] and water hickory [Carya aquatica (F.Michx) Nutt. , both Juglandaceae] trees. All six species are parthenogenetic and three species are endophagous, traits that can exacerbate host‐specific selection. AFLP markers were employed to detect the presence of genetically distinct, host‐associated populations for each insect species. Strict HAD (i.e., the occurrence of genetically distinct pecan‐associated and water hickory‐associated genotypes) was found in Phylloxera notabilis Pergande (Phylloxeridae), Phylloxera devastatrix Pergande, and Monelliopsis pecanis Bissel (Aphididae). Monellia caryella Fitch (Aphididae) displayed a pattern of partial HAD (i.e., the occurrence of only a genetically distinct pecan‐associated genotype). No HAD was found in Melanocallis caryaefoliae Davis (Aphididae) or Phylloxera texana Stoetzel. The pattern of HAD occurrence in the pecan and water hickory Aphidomorpha community indicated that neither parthenogenesis nor endophagy sufficiently explain the occurrence of HAD in this system.
Leveraging Structured Metadata for Improving Question Answering on the Web

We show that leveraging metadata information from web pages can improve the performance of models for answer passage selection/reranking. We propose a neural passage selection model that leverages metadata information with a fine-grained encoding strategy, which learns the representation for metadata predicates in a hierarchical way. The models are evaluated on the MS MARCO (Nguyen et al., 2016) and Recipe-MARCO datasets. Results show that our models significantly outperform baseline models, which do not incorporate metadata. We also show that the fine-grained encoding’s advantage over other strategies for encoding the metadata.
New combinations, sex association, behavioural notes and potential host record for two Neotropical species of Pseudomethoca Ashmead, 1896 (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae)

The present paper transfers Mutilla pumila Burmeister, 1854 and Mutilla pergrata Cresson, 1902 to the genus Pseudomethoca Ashmead, and a lectotype is designated for Mutilla pumila. The male of this species, previously known only from the female sex, is described and the female is redescribed and illustrated for the first time. Sex association was based on laboratory mating trials. Field observations in a montane Atlantic forest site in southern Brazil provided us behavioural notes on attempts of parasitism in nests of the halictine bee Dialictus seabrai (Moure, 1956).
Impact of Clinical Pharmacy Services on Health-Related Quality of Life in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients

International Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences Review and Research International Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences Review and Research Available online at www.globalresearchonline. net ©Copyright protected. Unauthorised republication, reproduction, distribution, dissemination and copying of this document in whole or in part is strictly prohibited. Available online at www.globalresearchonline. net 212 S. Kumaravel, K. Jayaprakash, Jincy John, Jiya Shaji, S. Karthika, K. Suvedha, Vandhana. A 1Vivekanandha Medical Care Hospital, Tiruchengode, Tamil Nadu, India. 2Swamy Vivekanandha College of Pharmacy, Tiruchengode, Tamil Nadu, India. *Corresponding author’s E-mail: shakthivelkumaravel@gmail.com
Nature Enhanced Meditation: Effects on Mindfulness, Connectedness to Nature, and Pro-Environmental Behavior

Previous research suggests that meditation, a mindfulness exercise, could result in increased connectedness to nature and pro-environmental behavior. Exposure to nature also is associated with these outcomes. It was hypothesized that meditation alongside stimuli reminiscent of the natural environment would produce enhanced effects. Participants (N = 97) were randomly assigned to complete a 4-week online meditation program consisting of a guided meditation paired with either nature sounds (“nature group”) or spa-like sounds (“control group”). Mindfulness, connectedness to nature, and pro-environmental behavior were assessed before and after the program. Meditation, in general, produced increases in mindfulness, connectedness to nature, and pro-environmental behavior. Additionally, the nature group had a greater rate of change in connectedness to nature when compared to the control group. The results extend previous cross-sectional research by demonstrating the beneficial effects of meditation on pro-environmental behavior and its theorized mechanisms, which may be informative for future research and interventions.
A longitudinal study on parotid and submandibular gland changes assessed by magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasonography in post-radiotherapy nasopharyngeal cancer patients

Objectives: With regard to the intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients, this longitudinal study evaluated the radiation-induced changes in the parotid and submandibular glands in terms of gland size, echogenicity and haemodynamic parameters. Methods: 21 NPC patients treated by IMRT underwent MRI and ultrasound scans before radiotherapy, and at 6, 12, 18 and 24 months after treatment. Parotid and submandibular gland volumes were measured from the MRI images, whereas the parotid echogenicity and haemodynamic parameters including the resistive index, pulsatility index, peak systolic velocity and end diastolic velocity were evaluated by ultrasonography. Trend lines were plotted to show the pattern of changes. The correlations of gland doses and the post-RT changes were also studied. Results: The volume of the parotid and submandibular glands demonstrated a significant drop from pre-RT to 6 months post-RT. The parotid gland changed from hyperechoic before RT to either isoechoic or hypoechoic after treatment. The resistive index and pulsatility index decreased from pre-RT to 6 month post-RT, then started to increase at 12 month time interval. Both peak systolic velocity and end diastolic velocity increased after 6 months post-RT then followed a decreasing trend up to 24 months post-RT. There was mild correlation between post-RT gland dose and gland volume, but not with haemodynamic changes. Conclusions: Radiation from IMRT caused shrinkage of parotid and submandibular glands in NPC patients. It also changed the echogenicity and vascular condition of the parotid gland. The most significant changes were observed at 6 months after radiotherapy. Advances in knowledge: It is the first paper that reports on the longitudinal changes of salivary gland volume, echogenicity and haemodynamic parameters altogether in NPC patients after radiotherapy. The results are useful for the prediction of glandular changes that is associated with xerostomia, which help to provide timely management of the complication when the patients attend follow-up visits.
GC-MS ANALYSIS AND ANTIULCER ACTIVITY OF ETHANOL EXTRACT OF TUBERS OF MOMORDICA TUBEROSA COGN. (CUCURBITACEAE) IN RATS

70% ethanol extract of tubers of Momordica tuberosa (TMT) showed the presence of saponins and triterpenoids. GC-MS analysis of the extract showed presence of 42 compounds with Isopulegol, a monoterpene and a steroid, Androstane as main constituents. Many fatty acid derivatives like myristic acid, margaric acid, oleic acid etc. were also present. The extract was then tested for its antiulcer activity using three different experimental models of ulcers in rats viz., aspirin, ethanol and pyloric ligation induced ulcers in rats. The LD50 in rat was 200mg/kg. One fifth and one tenth of maximum dose i.e.40 and 20mg/kg were used to assess the antiulcer activity. In pylorus ligation model, parameters like ulcer index, volume of gastric juice, free acidity, total acidity and pH were measured. The extract showed antiulcer activity in a dose dependant manner. The 40mg/kg dose reduced ulcer to an extent of 95% in aspirin model and 82% in pyloric ligation method. The results suggest the anti-ulcer activity of tubers of Momordica tuberosa, probably due to its antioxidant nature.
Police as knowledge brokers and keepers of the peace: perceptions of community policing in Tuvalu

ABSTRACT Pacific Island Countries (PICs) face externally driven changes, including an international human rights agenda. Tuvalu was the first PIC to develop a National Action Plan on human rights, with a focus on improving the circumstances for women, children, and people with disabilities. Achieving these objectives requires a whole-of-government approach and a comprehensive process of community consultation. This study, undertaken at the request of the Tuvalu Police Service as part of a community consultation process, aimed to explore perceptions of policing. Interview participants (N = 79) included community members (n = 63) and police officers (n = 16). English translations of interview transcripts were systematically coded and analysed thematically. Alcohol misuse was identified as a central cause for concern associated with disharmony in families and communities. Community members recognised various resourcing constraints, but nevertheless expected a high standard of police service delivery. Reflecting a community policing ethos, both groups endorsed roles for police officers as knowledge brokers and keepers of the peace. Participants emphasised the need for police to work together with community leaders to find ways to bridge the gaps between the traditional and formal justice systems. Future research is needed to explore ways to better align the formal and traditional systems that contribute to progress on human rights.
Short Communication: Mitochondrial DNA D-loop sequence diversity and origin of Chinese pony breeds (Equus caballus)

Yang, S. -l. , Li, A. -P., Xu, L. -x. and Yang, H. 2013. Short Communication: Mitochondrial DNA D-loop sequence diversity and origin of Chinese pony breeds ( Equus caballus ). Can. J. Anim. Sci. 93: 313-319. Previous studies based on mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) data have shown that Chinese horses have high genetic diversity. However, little is known about the genetic diversity of mtDNA D-loop sequences and maternal origin of five Chinese pony breeds. In the present study, genetic diversity of 343-bp D-loop sequences for136 individuals representing five Chinese pony breeds was analyzed. To address the question of the single and multiple maternal origin of Chinese pony populations, 13 partial mtDNA D-loop reference sequences from GenBank representing eight ancient and modern horse breeds (Connemara, Garrano, Sorraia, Pottok, Losino, Cheju, Tuva and a Swedish horse) were added to conduct the phylogenetic analyses. A total of 59 haplotypes and 50 polymorphic loci were detected, the haplotype diversity (h) ranged from 0.894 to 0.947 and nucleotide diversity (p) ranged from 0.0184 to 0.0229, suggesting relatively abundant genetic diversity in the Debao, Yunnan and the Guizhou breeds. The phylogenetic tree and median-joining network show multiple maternal origins of the five Chinese pony breeds.
FoodEstNet: Estimating True Food Consumption with Machine Learning

We developed a Machine Learning/Artificial Intelligence model that estimates how much of a food type a person truly consumes. People tend to underestimate how much they consume which makes the work of nutritionists and dietitians difficult since they rely on food estimates for food portion size control and nutritional management of diseases. We trained an XGBoost model to estimate how much a patient truly consumes based on Age, Sex, BMI, socioeconomic status and perceived consumption.
The Effect of List Price on Channel Performance with Consignment

Motivated by the newest contract offered by Amazon.com, called the Advantage Program, we study a supply chain where a retailer offers a vendor‐managed inventory with consignment contract to n suppliers for selling their products. A key parameter in the contract is the product list price that the retailer allows each supplier to choose for its own product. The retailer then sets the retail price of each product at or below its list price for selling it to the market and remits its supplier an amount equal to a prespecified percentage of its list price on each unit sold. Two alternative consignment contracts are also considered with only one deviation where the retailer chooses the retail price of each product freely, or the retailer sets the retail price of each product at or above its list price. We show that the supplier’s list price plays a major role in determining firms’ decisions and performance in equilibrium. In particular, we find that by committing the retail price of each product to not exceeding the list price set by its supplier, the retailer can improve its own performance and the channel performance without hurting each supplier.
Implementing remote supervision to improve HIV service delivery in rural Malawi

# Background Viral load (VL) testing is critical to monitor response to ART and optimize HIV treatment and care outcomes. Unfortunately, VL testing coverage remains suboptimal in much of sub-Saharan Africa. With the COVID-19 pandemic significantly curtailing in-person supervision of HIV services delivery, low-cost and scalable ways of conducting remote supervision are needed. We evaluated the effects of remote supervision utilizing the WhatsApp platform, a form of supervision highly applicable in the times of COVID-19, on VL testing coverage in rural Malawi. # Methods Remote supervision via WhatsApp was introduced at all 36 health facilities in Mangochi district in three phases from December 2018, starting with sites with the lowest VL coverage and high client volumes. Data were collected from VL testing registers over 35 weeks (pre-intervention=17 weeks; post-intervention=18 weeks). VL coverage was defined as the proportion of VL samples collected compared to the Ministry of Health’s target estimate of the number of VL samples that should be collected in that period. We used single-group interrupted time series design to analyze the effects of WhatsApp supervision and determined whether the effects varied by facility type and ownership. All regressions incorporated Newey-West standard errors to handle problems of heteroscedasticity and autocorrelation. # Results A total of 23,754 VL samples were collected during the study period with nearly two-thirds (15,788) collected post-intervention. Post-intervention, average weekly VL coverage was 123% compared with 74% pre-intervention, an increase of 49 percentage points (t=13.5, p<0.001). There was an immediate step increase of 58 percentage points (95% CI: 48-68, p<0.001) from 58% to 116% following the intervention, which was followed by an increasing and sustained post-intervention trend in VL coverage of 2.5 percentage points per week (95% CI: 1.36, 3.67, p<0.001). Of the 15,788 VL samples collected post-intervention, 6,179 (or 40%) samples were deemed attributable to the intervention. # Conclusions Remote supervision via WhatsApp may offer a simple, scalable, low-cost means of optimizing HIV service delivery in rural resource-limited settings to help to achieve national and regional goals in HIV treatment and care, particularly in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic where in-person supervision has been significantly curtailed.