Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A combined health action process approach and mHealth intervention to reduce workplace sitting time in office-working adults: a secondary analysis examining health-related quality of life and work performance outcomes

Abstract Objective This secondary analysis study examined the effects of a 6-week theory-based planning and mHealth text message intervention targeting workplace sitting time on health-related quality of life and work performance in office workers. Design Office-working adults (M age=45.18 ± 11.33 years) were randomised into either a planning + text message intervention (n = 29) or control (n = 31) condition. Outcome Measures Workplace sitting time, time spent in specific non-sedentary behaviours (e.g. standing), health-related outcomes (i.e. emotional well-being, energy/fatigue, perceived role limitations), and work performance were assessed at baseline and week 6. Results Significant group by time interaction effects, that favoured the intervention group, were found for perceived role limitations due to emotional health problems and emotional well-being. No significant interaction effects emerged for energy/fatigue, role limitations due to physical health problems or work performance. Significant correlations in the expected direction were found between sedentary/non-sedentary behaviours and health-related outcomes. No significant mediation effects were found to suggest the intervention affected health-related outcomes through reductions in sedentary behaviour. Conclusion Reducing workplace sitting improves emotional well-being and contributes to fewer perceived role limitations due to emotional health problems among office workers.
Naked mole‐rats are extremely resistant to post‐traumatic osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most prevalent disabling disease, affecting quality of life and contributing to morbidity, particularly during aging. Current treatments for OA are limited to palliation: pain management and surgery for end‐stage disease. Innovative approaches and animal models are needed to develop curative treatments for OA. Here, we investigated the naked mole‐rat (NMR) as a potential model of OA resistance. NMR is a small rodent with the maximum lifespan of over 30 years, resistant to a wide range of age‐related diseases. NMR tissues accumulate large quantities of unique, very high molecular weight, hyaluronan (HA). HA is a major component of cartilage and synovial fluid. Importantly, both HA molecular weight and cartilage stiffness decline with age and progression of OA. As increased polymer length is known to result in stiffer material, we hypothesized that NMR high molecular weight HA contributes to stiffer cartilage. Our analysis of biomechanical properties of NMR cartilage revealed that it is significantly stiffer than mouse cartilage. Furthermore, NMR chondrocytes were highly resistant to traumatic damage. In vivo experiments using an injury‐induced model of OA revealed that NMRs were highly resistant to OA. While similarly treated mice developed severe cartilage degeneration, NMRs did not show any signs of OA. Our study shows that NMRs are remarkably resistant to OA, and this resistance is likely conferred by high molecular weight HA. This work suggests that NMR is a useful model to study OA resistance and NMR high molecular weight HA may hold therapeutic potential for OA treatment.
The importance of scattered trees for biodiversity conservation: a global meta-analysis

Summary 1.Scattered trees are thought to be keystone structures for biodiversity in landscapes worldwide. However, such trees have been largely neglected by researchers and their importance for biodiversity remains unclear. 2.We completed a global meta-analysis to quantify relationships between scattered trees and the species richness, abundance and composition of vertebrates, arthropods and plants. First, we tested whether areas near scattered trees support higher levels of species richness and abundance than nearby open areas. Second, we compared levels of species richness and abundance in matrix areas with scattered trees and areas embedded within nearby habitat patches. We also compared the composition of biological communities inhabiting habitat patches, open areas and areas with scattered trees. 3.A total of 62 studies contained suitable data for our quantitative analyses. The local abundance of arthropods, vertebrates and woody plants was 60–430% greater and overall species richness was 50–100% higher in areas with scattered trees than in open areas. Conversely, for herbaceous plants, there was no consistent relationship between species abundance and the occurrence of scattered trees, although species richness was, on average, 43% lower. 4.The abundance and richness of all taxonomic groups was similar in matrix areas supporting scattered trees and habitat patches, although the species richness of epiphytes was, on average, 50% higher in habitat patches. Communities inhabiting habitat patches were more similar in composition to the communities inhabiting areas with scattered trees, and less similar to the communities of open areas. 5.Synthesis and applications. Areas with scattered trees support greater levels of biodiversity than open areas, as well as communities that are more similar to those inhabiting habitat patches. Scattered trees can be regarded as keystone structures for vertebrates, arthropods and terrestrial plants in landscapes worldwide. The maintenance of scattered trees may be compatible with livestock grazing in some agricultural landscapes. Greater management effort and targeted, long-term policies are needed to retain or re-establish scattered trees in many farming landscapes in both forest and non-forest biomes around the world. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
The floral repressors TEMPRANILLO1 and 2 modulate salt tolerance by regulating hormonal components and photo-protection in Arabidopsis.

Members of the plant specific RAV family of transcription factors regulate several developmental and physiological processes. In the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, the RAV TEMPRANILLO 1 (TEM1) and TEM2 control important phase changes such as the juvenile to adult and the vegetative to reproductive transitions. Besides their known regulatory function in plant development, a transcriptomics analysis of transgenic plants overexpressing TEM1 also revealed over-representation of GO categories related to abiotic stress response. Therefore, to investigate the biological relevance of these TEM-dependent transcriptomic changes and elucidate whether TEM contribute to the modulation of plant growth in response to salinity, we analysed the behavior of TEM gain and loss of function mutants subjected to mild and high salt stresses at different development stages. With respect to increasing salinity, TEM over-expressing plants were hypersensitive whereas the tem1 tem2 double mutants were more tolerant. Precisely, tem1 tem2 mutants germinated and flowered faster than the wild type plants under salt stress conditions. Also, tem1 tem2 plants showed a delay in salt-induced leaf senescence, possibly as a consequence of down-regulation of Jasmonic Acid (JA) biosynthetic genes. Besides a shorter life cycle and delayed senescence, tem1 tem2 mutants appeared to be better suited to withstand oxidative stress as they accumulated higher levels of a-tocopherol (an important antioxidant metabolite) and displayed a slower degradation of photosynthetic pigments. Taken together, our studies suggest novel and crucial roles for TEM in adaptive growth as they modulate plant development in response to environmental changes such as increasing soil salinity.
Multicenter Comparison of Molecular Tumor Boards in The Netherlands: Definition, Composition, Methods, and Targeted Therapy Recommendations

Abstract Background Molecular tumor boards (MTBs) provide rational, genomics‐driven, patient‐tailored treatment recommendations. Worldwide, MTBs differ in terms of scope, composition, methods, and recommendations. This study aimed to assess differences in methods and agreement in treatment recommendations among MTBs from tertiary cancer referral centers in The Netherlands. Materials and Methods MTBs from all tertiary cancer referral centers in The Netherlands were invited to participate. A survey assessing scope, value, logistics, composition, decision‐making method, reporting, and registration of the MTBs was completed through on‐site interviews with members from each MTB. Targeted therapy recommendations were compared using 10 anonymized cases. Participating MTBs were asked to provide a treatment recommendation in accordance with their own methods. Agreement was based on which molecular alteration(s) was considered actionable with the next line of targeted therapy. Results Interviews with 24 members of eight MTBs revealed that all participating MTBs focused on rare or complex mutational cancer profiles, operated independently of cancer type–specific multidisciplinary teams, and consisted of at least (thoracic and/or medical) oncologists, pathologists, and clinical scientists in molecular pathology. Differences were the types of cancer discussed and the methods used to achieve a recommendation. Nevertheless, agreement among MTB recommendations, based on identified actionable molecular alteration(s), was high for the 10 evaluated cases (86%). Conclusion MTBs associated with tertiary cancer referral centers in The Netherlands are similar in setup and reach a high agreement in recommendations for rare or complex mutational cancer profiles. We propose a “Dutch MTB model” for an optimal, collaborative, and nationally aligned MTB workflow. Implications for Practice Interpretation of genomic analyses for optimal choice of target therapy for patients with cancer is becoming increasingly complex. A molecular tumor board (MTB) supports oncologists in rationalizing therapy options. However, there is no consensus on the most optimal setup for an MTB, which can affect the quality of recommendations. This study reveals that the eight MTBs associated with tertiary cancer referral centers in The Netherlands are similar in setup and reach a high agreement in recommendations for rare or complex mutational profiles. The Dutch MTB model is based on a collaborative and nationally aligned workflow with interinstitutional collaboration and data sharing.
Enhanced Group Sparse Regularized Nonconvex Regression for Face Recognition

Regression analysis based methods have shown strong robustness and achieved great success in face recognition. In these methods, convex <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$l_1$</tex-math><alternatives><mml:math><mml:msub><mml:mi>l</mml:mi><mml:mn>1</mml:mn></mml:msub></mml:math><inline-graphic xlink:href="li-ieq1-3033994.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula>-norm and nuclear norm are usually utilized to approximate the <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$l_0$</tex-math><alternatives><mml:math><mml:msub><mml:mi>l</mml:mi><mml:mn>0</mml:mn></mml:msub></mml:math><inline-graphic xlink:href="li-ieq2-3033994.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula>-norm and rank function. However, such convex relaxations may introduce a bias and lead to a suboptimal solution. In this paper, we propose a novel Enhanced Group Sparse regularized Nonconvex Regression (EGSNR) method for robust face recognition. An upper bounded nonconvex function is introduced to replace <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$l_1$</tex-math><alternatives><mml:math><mml:msub><mml:mi>l</mml:mi><mml:mn>1</mml:mn></mml:msub></mml:math><inline-graphic xlink:href="li-ieq3-3033994.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula>-norm for sparsity, which alleviates the bias problem and adverse effects caused by outliers. To capture the characteristics of complex errors, we propose a mixed model by combining <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\gamma$</tex-math><alternatives><mml:math><mml:mi>γ</mml:mi></mml:math><inline-graphic xlink:href="li-ieq4-3033994.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula>-norm and matrix <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\gamma$</tex-math><alternatives><mml:math><mml:mi>γ</mml:mi></mml:math><inline-graphic xlink:href="li-ieq5-3033994.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula>-norm induced from the nonconvex function. Furthermore, an <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$l_{2,\gamma }$</tex-math><alternatives><mml:math><mml:msub><mml:mi>l</mml:mi><mml:mrow><mml:mn>2</mml:mn><mml:mo>,</mml:mo><mml:mi>γ</mml:mi></mml:mrow></mml:msub></mml:math><inline-graphic xlink:href="li-ieq6-3033994.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula>-norm based regularizer is designed to directly seek the interclass sparsity or group sparsity instead of traditional <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$l_{2,1}$</tex-math><alternatives><mml:math><mml:msub><mml:mi>l</mml:mi><mml:mrow><mml:mn>2</mml:mn><mml:mo>,</mml:mo><mml:mn>1</mml:mn></mml:mrow></mml:msub></mml:math><inline-graphic xlink:href="li-ieq7-3033994.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula>-norm. The locality of data, i.e., the distance between the query sample and multi-subspaces, is also taken into consideration. This enhanced group sparse regularizer enables EGSNR to learn more discriminative representation coefficients. Comprehensive experiments on several popular face datasets demonstrate that the proposed EGSNR outperforms the state-of-the-art regression based methods for robust face recognition.
Virulence factors in fecal Escherichia coli from humans and animals

VIRULENCE FACTORS IN FECAL ESCHERICHIA COLI FROM HUMANS AND ANIMALS Stephen Hill University of Guelph, 2012 Advisors: Professor Jack Trevors Dr. Thomas Edge Professor Hung Lee A DNA microarray capable of detecting 445 virulence factors (VFs) and antibiotic resistance genes was used to assess human and animal fecal E. coli isolates for pathogenic potential and host specificity. The only enteric pathotype detected was atypical EPEC, which was found in 3.7% of all isolates. 17% of human isolates were extraintestinal pathotypes, with the majority of these being uropathogenic. Isolates from humans and chickens were the most likely to have resistance to at least one class of antibiotic. VFs that were found almost exclusively in human isolates, when compared to one other group, included sat (10% of human isolates and no animal isolates), iucD and iut (24% of human, <1% mammal) and iha (16% human, <1% wild avian). Decision trees utilizing multiple probes to identify the source of an E. coli isolate were able to correctly identify the source of 79% of validation isolates in a human vs. animal comparison.
Investigation of treatment-time differences in colistin-induced nephrotoxicity in Wistar rats

ABSTRACT Colistin-induced nephrotoxicity (CIN) occurs in up to 60% of patients, and this has restricted its clinical use. In view of its efficacy amidst the rising challenge of infections caused by multidrug-resistant bacteria, current studies are focusing on ways to ameliorate colistin-induced nephrotoxicity. This study investigated treatment-time differences in colistin-induced nephrotoxicity in Wistar rats. A dose of 600,000 IU/Kg/day of colistimethate sodium (CMS) was administered to male Wistar rats to induce nephrotoxicity; the rats tolerated the higher dose for the treatment duration with higher mean values of serum creatinine, urea, and malondialdehyde compared to the group that received 450,000 IU/Kg/day CMS (p ≤ 0.05). Four groups (n = 8/group) of rats received intraperitoneal (i.p.) injections of 600,000 IU/Kg/day CMS each at four equally spaced circadian times (00:00, 06:00, 12:00, and 18:00 h) to determine the time of administration with least renal toxicity. Biomarkers of oxidative stress and renal toxicity were measured and kidney histology studied after the treatments. The results showed a 24-h pattern in nephrotoxicity from CIN, and that treatment during the activity time period (dark phase) caused lowest CIN. Histological findings supported this finding, with photomicrographs consistently showing more pronounced features of CIN in the groups treated during time frame that coincided with the rest phase in rats (12:00 and 18:00).
Analyse du métabolisme de l'acétate chez Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

Tous les documents placés en accès ouvert sur le site le site MatheO sont protégés par le droit d'auteur. Conformément aux principes énoncés par la "Budapest Open Access Initiative"(BOAI, 2002), l'utilisateur du site peut lire, télécharger, copier, transmettre, imprimer, chercher ou faire un lien vers le texte intégral de ces documents, les disséquer pour les indexer, s'en servir de données pour un logiciel, ou s'en servir à toute autre fin légale (ou prévue par la réglementation relative au droit d'auteur). Toute utilisation du document à des fins commerciales est strictement interdite.
Health risk behaviours among migrants by duration of residence: protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis

Introduction International migrants’ health has often been found to deteriorate in new countries, partly due to changes in health risk behaviours such as alcohol consumption, tobacco use, physical inactivity, and poor dietary habits. However, limited efforts have been made to comprehensively evaluate the extent to which migrants adopt unhealthy risk behaviours with longer duration of residence. This systematic review and meta-analysis will summarise evidence on international migrants’ behavioural patterns by duration of residence in multiple country contexts. Methods and analysis PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science and ProQuest databases will be searched for quantitative or mixed-method observational studies published in peer-reviewed scientific journals between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2019. Studies comparing foreign-born individuals by duration of residence will be included. Information on study characteristics, descriptive statistics and measures of effect will be extracted. All included studies will be quality assessed using a modified Newcastle-Ottawa scale. The review will include narrative synthesis and, if sufficient and comparable data are available, random effects meta-analyses. The review will be conducted in compliance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval is not required since previously published information from peer-reviewed studies will be assessed. The results of this review will be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at scientific conferences. Other forms of dissemination will include communication to broader audiences using well-established channels, including through university-based press releases. Progress will be regularly updated on the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews to ensure full transparency. PROSPERO registration number CRD42018108881
Upper Esophageal Sphincter Response to Laryngeal Adductor Reflex Elicitation in Humans

The laryngeal adductor reflex (LAR) is an important mechanism to secure the airways from potential foreign body aspiration. An involvement of the upper esophageal sphincter (UES) in terms of a laryngo‐UES contractile reflex has been identified after laryngeal mucosa stimulation. However, the LAR–UES relationship has not yet been fully explained. This study aimed to determine the magnitude, latency, and occurrence rate of the UES pressure response when the LAR is triggered in order to elucidate the functional relationship between the larynx and the UES.
Sooty Falcon Falco concolor reproduction and population dynamics on the islands in the Sea of Oman

Knowledge of demographic parameters affecting population dynamics is critical to the formulation of effective conservation strategies. Sooty Falcon Falco concolor is a little-studied, Near-threatened species; estimates of global population size and trend for this species are uncertain. They lay eggs during mid-summer and sometimes nest in colonies. This unusual breeding ecology suggests that demographic parameters driving their population growth rate may differ from those of most other falcons. We studied Sooty Falcon reproduction at breeding aggregations on Fahal Island and the Daymaniyat islands in the Sea of Oman during 2007-2014, modelled population growth and identified important life history parameters using elasticity analysis. The mean (±SE) clutch and brood size was 2.83 ±0.06 and 2.11 ±0.07, respectively. Overall, 11.7% of nests failed between the egg and nestling stages, and the failure rate differed significantly between Fahal and the Daymaniyats, and across years. The mean proportion of eggs that hatched annually was 0.66 ±0.02, and broods were significantly smaller on the Daymaniyats than on Fahal. Falcons on Fahal Island had a higher rate of hatching, a higher rate of nests that produced at least one chick, and produced more chicks per nest than on the Daymaniyats. We suggest that Fahal's proximity to the mainland gives breeding Sooty Falcons access to a more plentiful and stable source of food, especially during the period between arrival from the wintering grounds and the onset of the autumn migration of prey birds, resulting in the better reproductive rates for falcons on Fahal Island, relative to those on the Daymaniyat Islands. The annual asymptotic population growth rate (λ) was 0.87 (95% CI: 0.75 - 0.99), suggesting a declining population, though Sooty Falcons on Fahal enjoyed a slightly higher population growth rate than on the Daymaniyats. Because our study population is on the edge of the breeding range and isolated from other breeding areas, measures to improve reproductive success of Sooty Falcons breeding on the islands in the Sea of Oman could be important for conservation of Sooty Falcons in Oman. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Phylogenetic differentiation between Awassi and Hamdani sheep using the mitochondrial 12S rRNA

Abstract This study was conducted to assess the role of the mitochondrial 12S rRNA variations in the phylogenetic discrimination between two Iraqi breeds of sheep that differ in geographical distribution. A total of 122 animals (68 Awassi and 54 Hamdani) were included in the study. Direct sequencing of amplicons followed by the construction of a median-joining network and several trees were performed to identify the possible phylogenetic differences between both involved breeds. Genetic diversity, relative frequencies, and analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) were performed to assess the genetic correlation between both populations. The median-joining network and minimized tree values showed that all observed haplotypes were separated into two groups according to their breed. Comprehensive phylogenetic data revealed only one Asian ancestor for all observed haplotypes. As indicated by AMOVA, the observed diversity was mostly due to between-population variation (1.24836%), while within-population variation (0.91221%) accounted for much less. The currently investigated rRNA amplicons exhibited different mitochondrial manifestations between Awassi and Hamdani breeds. Due to the ability of these 12S rRNA amplicons to mimic the geographical diversity for the currently investigated breeds, it is highly recommended to be used as potent mitochondrial genetic markers among broader ovine sequences.