Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dietary Patterns, Skeletal Muscle Health, and Sarcopenia in Older Adults

In recent decades, the significance of diet and dietary patterns (DPs) for skeletal muscle health has been gaining attention in ageing and nutritional research. Sarcopenia, a muscle disease characterised by low muscle strength, mass, and function is associated with an increased risk of functional decline, frailty, hospitalization, and death. The prevalence of sarcopenia increases with age and leads to high personal, social, and economic costs. Finding adequate nutritional measures to maintain muscle health, preserve function, and independence for the growing population of older adults would have important scientific and societal implications. Two main approaches have been employed to study the role of diet/DPs as a modifiable lifestyle factor in sarcopenia. An a priori or hypothesis-driven approach examines the adherence to pre-defined dietary indices such as the Mediterranean diet (MED) and Healthy Eating Index (HEI)—measures of diet quality—in relation to muscle health outcomes. A posteriori or data-driven approaches have used statistical tools—dimension reduction methods or clustering—to study DP-muscle health relationships. Both approaches recognise the importance of the whole diet and potential cumulative, synergistic, and antagonistic effects of foods and nutrients on ageing muscle. In this review, we have aimed to (i) summarise nutritional epidemiology evidence from four recent systematic reviews with updates from new primary studies about the role of DPs in muscle health, sarcopenia, and its components; (ii) hypothesise about the potential mechanisms of ‘myoprotective’ diets, with the MED as an example, and (iii) discuss the challenges facing nutritional epidemiology to produce the higher level evidence needed to understand the relationships between whole diets and healthy muscle ageing.
Getting older, getting smarter: ontogeny of foraging behaviour in the tropical social wasp Ropalidia marginata

ABSTRACT Desert ants and honey bees start foraging when they are a few days old, and subsequently increase their foraging effort and the amount of foraged food. This could be an optimal strategy for scavenger/gatherer animals inhabiting landscapes with fewer features. However, animals inhabiting cluttered landscapes, especially predatory animals, may require substantial familiarity with foraging landscapes to forage efficiently. They may acquire such spatial familiarity with increasing age/experience, and eventually reduce their foraging effort without compromising on foraging success/efficiency. To check whether this holds for the individually foraging predatory tropical paper-wasp Ropalidia marginata, we recorded the number and duration of all foraging trips, the identity of foraged materials, and the directions of outbound and inbound flights (with respect to the nest) of known-age wasps for three consecutive days from three naturally occurring colonies; thus, we measured behavioural profiles of wasps of various ages, and not from the same wasp throughout its lifespan. Wasps increased their foraging duration rapidly until about 4 weeks of age, during which they rarely brought food, although some wasps brought building material and water. Thereafter, their foraging duration started decreasing. Nevertheless, their foraging success/efficiency in bringing food kept on increasing. With age, wasps developed individual directional preferences for outbound and inbound flights, indicating the development of spatial memory for rewarding sites. Also, the angular difference between their outbound and subsequent inbound flights gradually increased, indicating older wasps may have followed tortuous foraging routes. High investment in early life to acquire familiarity with foraging landscapes and using that later to perform efficient foraging could be an optimal strategy for individually foraging animals inhabiting feature-rich landscapes. Highlighted Article: Unlike insects inhabiting less-complex landscapes, paper wasps invest more time in familiarising themselves with the landscape before they begin foraging for food, enabling them to increase foraging gain with reduced effort.
Combining Monophosphoryl Lipid A (MPL), CpG Oligodeoxynucleotide (ODN), and QS-21 Adjuvants Induces Strong and Persistent Functional Antibodies and T Cell Responses against Cell-Traversal Protein for Ookinetes and Sporozoites (CelTOS) of Plasmodium falciparum in BALB/c Mice

Plasmodium falciparum cell-traversal protein for ookinetes and sporozoites (PfCelTOS) is an advanced vaccine candidate that has a crucial role in the traversal of the malaria parasite in both mosquito and mammalian hosts. As recombinant purified proteins are normally poor immunogens, they require to be admixed with an adjuvant(s); therefore, the objective of the present study was to evaluate the capacity of different vaccine adjuvants, monophosphoryl lipid A (MPL), CpG, and Quillaja saponaria Molina fraction 21 (QS-21), alone or in combination (MCQ [MPL/CpG/QS-21]), to enhance the immunogenicity of Escherichia coli-expressed PfCelTOS in BALB/c mice. ABSTRACT Plasmodium falciparum cell-traversal protein for ookinetes and sporozoites (PfCelTOS) is an advanced vaccine candidate that has a crucial role in the traversal of the malaria parasite in both mosquito and mammalian hosts. As recombinant purified proteins are normally poor immunogens, they require to be admixed with an adjuvant(s); therefore, the objective of the present study was to evaluate the capacity of different vaccine adjuvants, monophosphoryl lipid A (MPL), CpG, and Quillaja saponaria Molina fraction 21 (QS-21), alone or in combination (MCQ [MPL/CpG/QS-21]), to enhance the immunogenicity of Escherichia coli-expressed PfCelTOS in BALB/c mice. This goal was achieved by the assessment of anti-PfCelTOS IgG antibodies (level, titer, IgG isotype profile, avidity, and persistence) and extracellular Th1 cytokines using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) on postimmunized BALB/c mouse sera and PfCelTOS-stimulated splenocytes, respectively. Also, an assessment of the transmission-reducing activity (TRA) of anti-PfCelTOS obtained from different vaccine groups was carried out in female Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes by using a standard membrane feeding assay (SMFA). In comparison to PfCelTOS alone, administration of PfCelTOS with three distinct potent Th1 adjuvants in vaccine mouse groups showed enhancement and improvement of PfCelTOS immunogenicity that generated more bias toward a Th1 response with significantly enhanced titers and avidity of the anti-PfCelTOS responses that could impair ookinete development in A. stephensi. However, immunization of mice with PfCelTOS with MCQ mixture adjuvants resulted in the highest levels of induction of antibody titers, avidity, and inhibitory antibodies in oocyst development (88%/26.7% reductions in intensity/prevalence) in A. stephensi. It could be suggested that adjuvant combinations with different mechanisms stimulate better functional antibody responses than adjuvants individually against challenging diseases such as malaria.
Wi-PoS: A Low-Cost, Open Source Ultra-Wideband (UWB) Hardware Platform with Long Range Sub-GHz Backbone

Ultra-wideband (UWB) localization is one of the most promising approaches for indoor localization due to its accurate positioning capabilities, immunity against multipath fading, and excellent resilience against narrowband interference. However, UWB researchers are currently limited by the small amount of feasible open source hardware that is publicly available. We developed a new open source hardware platform, Wi-PoS, for precise UWB localization based on Decawave’s DW1000 UWB transceiver with several unique features: support of both long-range sub-GHz and 2.4 GHz back-end communication between nodes, flexible interfacing with external UWB antennas, and an easy implementation of the MAC layer with the Time-Annotated Instruction Set Computer (TAISC) framework. Both hardware and software are open source and all parameters of the UWB ranging can be adjusted, calibrated, and analyzed. This paper explains the main specifications of the hardware platform, illustrates design decisions, and evaluates the performance of the board in terms of range, accuracy, and energy consumption. The accuracy of the ranging system was below 10 cm in an indoor lab environment at distances up to 5 m, and accuracy smaller than 5 cm was obtained at 50 and 75 m in an outdoor environment. A theoretical model was derived for predicting the path loss and the influence of the most important ground reflection. At the same time, the average energy consumption of the hardware was very low with only 81 mA for a tag node and 63 mA for the active anchor nodes, permitting the system to run for several days on a mobile battery pack and allowing easy and fast deployment on sites without an accessible power supply or backbone network. The UWB hardware platform demonstrated flexibility, easy installation, and low power consumption.
Teacher Authority in Long-Lasting Cases of Bullying: A Qualitative Study from Norway and Ireland

A growing body of research shows a correlation between an authoritative school climate and lower levels of bullying. One objective of this study is to conceptualize authoritative intervention in bullying cases. A second goal is to explore whether, and how, the pupils, having experienced traditional and/or cyber victimization, perceive that the class teacher is demonstrating authoritative leadership when intervening in long-lasting cases of bullying. Class teacher refers to the teacher that has a special responsibility for the class. The article presents the findings from nine semi-structured interviews with four Irish and five Norwegian pupils. The informants were between 12 to 18 years of age and had experienced either traditional victimization or both traditional and cyber victimization for 1 to 7 years. The informants were selected because their cases had been reported as resolved. The findings showed no descriptions of the class teacher that appeared to fit with the authoritative style of leadership, both high on warmth and control. The possible practical implications of these findings are discussed.
Enhancement of tidal generators by superconducting energy storage and Jaya‐based sliding‐mode controller

This article presents a novel control technique of Jaya‐based super‐sliding controller that is applied on superconducting magnetic energy storage system (SCMES). The SCMES will be integrated to operate with tidal turbine generators (TTGs). The penetration of TTGs has recently grown due to distributed generation contributions to the energy sector. To alleviate the potential system instability due to TTG dynamic performance, SCMES is connected to TTG to support the dynamic operational conditions. SCMES is implemented to act quickly during both cases of power generation and absorption, so it can realize any required mismatch between the supply and load power at dynamic transient periods. To enhance such capability, this article proposes the application of Jaya‐based super‐sliding control technique to control and tune the system dynamic gains. The proposed technique implements incorporated co‐operative algorithms using enhanced Jaya competitive algorithm and super‐sliding method to facilitate the exchange of energy between the SCMES, the TTG, and the power network. It allows smooth dynamic performance, power quality enhancement, and robust dynamic reference tracking. Jaya‐based super‐sliding controller is developed and proposed for accurate and reliable control and tunning of system parameters. The proposed controller ensures the superb performance of the synergy of SCMESs and TTGs. Digital simulations have validated the effectiveness of the proposed system with the optimal dynamic parameters and minimization of the global control error.
Dynamics of COVID-19 in India: A review of different phases of lockdown

Dear Editor, WHO declared COVID-19 as a pandemic on 11 March 2020 due to its large-scale spread across the globe1. At present, there are 213 countries affected by this pandemic with a total of 7410510 confirmed cases and 418294 deaths with the majority of countries in community transmission stage2. India has become the third worst affected country in terms of the number of COVID-19 cases after the USA and Brazil3. The first case in India was detected on 27 January 20204. The majority of the patients initially identified had a traveling history and constituted the primary cases that infected others5,6. India being the second-most populous country with a highly dense population is more vulnerable to the outbreak of any infectious disease. India has increased its testing capacity significantly, which has also resulted in a surge in the number of confirmed cases. India already has an overstretched public health system, which creates more challenges to address the health needs due to COVID-197. The government of India implemented a nationwide lockdown in different phases to curb the spread of the infection: Phase 1 (25 March to 14 April), Phase 2 (15 April to 3 May), Phase 3 (4 to 17 May), and Phase 4 (18 to 31 May). The government lifted the lockdown from 1 June 2020 with restrictions to containment zones identified by public health authorities. The government has also issued SOP (Standard Operating Procedures) to all sectors in order to ensure physical distancing and contain the spread of the virus8. With the easing of the lockdown to restart economic activities, an increase is expected in the number of COVID-19 cases in the coming days. India needs to be prepared in terms of hospitalization needs and ICUs in public health facilities. The positivity rate (confirmed cases/tests) in India has increased
Redefining the medicago sativa alphapartitivirus genome sequences

In alfalfa samples analyzed by hightroughput sequencing, four de novo assembled contigs encoding gene products showing identities to alphapartitiviruses proteins were found based on BlastX analysis. The predicted amino acid (aa) sequences of two contigs presented 99-100% identity to the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) and the capsid protein (CP) of the recently reported medicago sativa alphapartitivirus 1 (MsAPV1). In addition, the remaining two contigs shared only 56% (CP) and 70% (RdRp) pairwise aa identity with the proteins of MsAPV1, suggesting that these samples presented also a novel Alphapartitivirus species. Further analyses based on complete genome segments termini and the presence/absence of alphapartitivirus RNA in several samples and public alfalfa RNA datasets corroborated the identification of two different alphapartitivirus members. Our results also likely indicate that the reported MsAPV1 genome was previously reconstructed with genome segments of two different alphapartitiviruses. Overall, we not only revisited the MsAPV1 genome sequence but also report a new tentative alphapartitivirus species, which we propose the name medicago sativa alphapartitivirus 2. In addition, the RT-PCR detection of both MsAPV1 and MsAPV2 in several alfalfa cultivars suggests a broad distribution of both viruses.
A Qualitative Exploration of Fijian Perceptions of Diabetes: Identifying Opportunities for Prevention and Management

Rates of diabetes are high in many communities of Pacific Island peoples, including people from Fiji. This qualitative study explores knowledge and attitudes towards diabetes among i-Taukei Fijians to facilitate the cultural tailoring of diabetes prevention and management programs for this community. Fijians aged 26 to 71 years (n = 15), residing in Australia, participated in semi-structured interviews; 53% (n = 8) were male. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, then thematically analyzed. Diabetes is recognized as an important and increasing health problem requiring action in the i-Taukei Fijian community. Widespread support for culturally appropriate lifestyle interventions utilizing existing societal structures, like family networks and church groups, was apparent. These structures were also seen as a crucial motivator for health action. Intervention content suggestions included diabetes risk awareness and education, as well as skills development to improve lifestyle behaviors. Leveraging existing social structures and both faith and family experiences of diabetes within the Fijian community may help convert increased awareness and understanding into lifestyle change. Ongoing in-community support to prevent and manage diabetes was also regarded as important. We recommend building upon experience from prior community-based interventions in other high-risk populations, alongside our findings, to assist in developing tailored diabetes programs for Fijians.
Desmoplakin is required for epidermal integrity and morphogenesis in the Xenopus laevis embryo

Desmoplakin (Dsp) is a unique and critical desmosomal protein, however, it is unclear whether this protein and desmosomes themselves are required for epidermal morphogenesis. Using morpholinos or Crispr/Cas9 mutagenesis we decreased the function of Dsp in frog embryos to better understand its role during epidermal development. Dsp morphant and mutant embryos had developmental defects that mimicked what has been reported in mammals. Such defects included epidermal fragility which correlated with reduction in cortical keratin and junctional e-cadherin in the developing epidermis. Dsp protein sequence and expression are also highly similar with mammals and suggest shared function across vertebrates. Most importantly, we also uncovered a novel function for Dsp in the morphogenesis of the epidermis in X. laevis. Specifically, Dsp is required during the process of radial intercalation where basally located cells move into the outer epidermal layer. Once inserted these newly intercalated cells expand their apical surface and then they differentiate into specific epidermal cell types. Decreased levels of Dsp resulted in the failure of the radially intercalating cells to expand their apical surface, thereby reducing the number of differentiated multiciliated and secretory cells. Dsp is also required in the development of other ectodermally derived structures such as the mouth, eye and fin that utilize intercalating-like cell movements. We have developed a novel system, in the frog, to demonstrate for the first time that desmosomes not only protect against mechanical stress but are also critical for epidermal morphogenesis. Summary Statement Critical desmosomal protein, desmoplakin, is required for proper distribution and levels of cytoskeletal elements and e-cadherin. Thus embryos with decreased desmoplakin have defects in epidermal integrity and morphogenesis.
Predicting Car Availability in Free Floating Car Sharing Systems: Leveraging Machine Learning in Challenging Contexts

Free-Floating Car Sharing (FFCS) services are currently available in tens of cities and countries spread all over the worlds. Depending on citizens’ habits, service policies, and road conditions, car usage profiles are rather variable and often hardly predictable. Even within the same city, different usage trends emerge in different districts and in various time slots and weekdays. Therefore, modeling car availability in FFCS systems is particularly challenging. For these reasons, the research community has started to investigate the applicability of Machine Learning models to analyze FFCS usage data. This paper addresses the problem of predicting the short-term level of availability of the FFCS service in the short term. Specifically, it investigates the applicability of Machine Learning models to forecast the number of available car within a restricted urban area. It seeks the spatial and temporal contexts in which nonlinear ML models, trained on past usage data, are necessary to accurately predict car availability. Leveraging ML has shown to be particularly effective while considering highly dynamic urban contexts, where FFCS service usage is likely to suddenly and unexpectedly change. To tailor predictive models to the real FFCS data, we study also the influence of ML algorithm, prediction horizon, and characteristics of the neighborhood of the target area. The empirical outcomes allow us to provide system managers with practical guidelines to setup and tune ML models.
MoMCP1, a Cytochrome P450 Gene, Is Required for Alleviating Manganese Toxin Revealed by Transcriptomics Analysis in Magnaporthe oryzae

Manganese, as an essential trace element, participates in many physiological reactions by regulating Mn associated enzymes. Magnaporthe oryzae is a serious pathogen and causes destructive losses for rice production. We identified a cytochrome P450 gene, MoMCP1, involving the alleviation of manganese toxin and pathogenicity. To identify the underlying mechanisms, transcriptomics were performed. The results indicated that many pathogenicity related genes were regulated, especially hydrophobin related genes in ∆Momcp1. Furthermore, the Mn2+ toxicity decreased the expressions of genes involved in the oxidative phosphorylation and energy production, and increased the reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, which might impair the functions of mitochondrion and vacuole, compromising the pathogenicity and development in ∆Momcp1. Additionally, our results provided further information about Mn associated the gene network for Mn metabolism in cells.
Design and Fabrication of an Artificial Compound Eye for Multi-Spectral Imaging

The artificial compound eye (ACE) structure is a new type of miniaturized, lightweight and intelligent imaging system. This paper has proposed to design a multi-spectral ACE structure to enable the structure to achieve multi-spectral information on the basis of imaging. The sub-eyes in the compound eye structure have been designed as diffractive beam splitting lenses with the same focal length of 20 mm, but with the different designed center wavelengths of 650 nm, 532 nm, and 445 nm, respectively. The proximity exposure lithography and reactive ion etching process were used to prepare the designed multi-spectral ACE structure, and the spectral splitting and multi-spectral imaging experiments were carried out to verify the multi-spectral imaging function of the structure without axial movement. Furthermore, the structure can be designed according to actual requirements, which can be applied to covert reconnaissance, camouflage identification, gas leakage or other fields.
Anxiety & inhibition: dissociating the involvement of state and trait anxiety in inhibitory control deficits observed on the anti-saccade task

ABSTRACT The existence of a relationship between heightened anxiety and impaired inhibitory control is well established. However, it remains unknown whether such reduced inhibitory control is a stable characteristic of elevated trait anxiety, is driven by elevated state anxiety, or is a joint function of both trait and state anxiety. The present study sought to resolve this issue, by having high and low trait anxious participants complete an anti-saccade task, following a manipulation of state anxiety level using a video-based state anxiety induction procedure. We found that impaired inhibitory control was interactively determined by trait and state anxiety. Specifically, in high but not low trait anxious participants, the induction of heightened state anxiety served to impair inhibitory control. In addition to shedding light on how inhibitory control may potentially contribute to dispositional anxiety, these findings suggest that the anxiolytic benefits of inhibitory control training procedures may be greatest when delivered to high trait anxious individuals during periods of elevated state anxiety.