Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Does the Protective Effect of Zinc on Telomere Length Depend on the Presence of Hypertension or Type 2 Diabetes? Results from the Iwaki Health Promotion Project, Japan

Telomeres, repeated TTAGGG sequences at chromosomal ends, shorten with age and indicate cellular lifespan. Zinc can protect against telomere damage through its anti-oxidative effect. Meanwhile, telomere shortening was correlated with metabolic diseases of hypertension and type 2 diabetes. The objective of this study was to investigate whether the association between zinc and telomere length differs by the presence or absence of hypertension/type 2 diabetes. This is a cross-sectional study with 1064 participants of the Iwaki area, Japan. Multiple linear regression models were performed to test the hypothesis. A higher serum zinc concentration was significantly associated with a longer G-tail length (β = 48.11, 95% confidence intervals [CI]: 25.69, 70.54, p < 0.001). By multivariate linear regression analysis, there was a significant positive association between zinc and G-tail length in both hypertensive (β = 46.84, 95%CI: 9.69, 84.0, p = 0.014) and non-hypertensive groups (β = 49.47, 95%CI: 20.75, 78.18, p = 0.001), while the association was significant only in the non-diabetes group (β = 50.82, 95%CI: 27.54, 74.11, p < 0.001). In conclusion, higher zinc concentration was significantly associated with longer G-tail length. The protective effect of zinc on G-tail did not differ by hypertension status; however, it disappeared in individuals with type 2 diabetes.
Rock Abrasion Tool: Mars Exploration Rover mission

[1] The Rock Abrasion Tool (RAT) is an integral part of the Athena Science payload. Serving primarily as the geologist's rock hammer, the RAT will expose fresh surfaces of Martian rocks to other instruments on the payload. The RAT also brushes dust and debris from an excavated hole or unaltered rocks. To accomplish these tasks autonomously, the RAT, a sophisticated 3-axis precision-controlled device, was designed. Data products derived from RAT telemetry enable the RAT to also act as an important rock physical properties science instrument. The returned RAT grinding and penetration rate data will be inverted and compared to a rock library on the Earth. The design is also very compact and lightweight: the RAT is contained within a cylinder 128 mm long and 85 mm in diameter and has a mass of 687 g.
Validation of a multicriteria methodology to evaluate the urban development impacts on the water resources Validation d'une méthodologie multicritères pour évaluer les impacts du développement urbain sur les ressources en eau

The urban development and its hydraulic structures, concerning stormwater, water supply, collection and wastewater systems, can cause important modifications on the water resources. The present paper presents the systematic used to validate and consolidate a proposed multicriteria methodology, based on indicators, to evaluate the sustainability of the urban development and its interferences with water resources. The applied systematic was based on case studies, comparison with actual methodologies and on a large specialist analysis. The validation process was found successful as it showed that can be applied in other indicators studies and its results were important to proceed the necessary adjusts on the indicators, to make them useful, subsidizing the current procedures of the state water management Brazilians institutions.
An Investigation of Neural Dynamics of the Prefrontal Cortex in Decision-Making Under Uncertainty

Decision-making under uncertainty often requires arbitrating between exploiting the current behavioral strategy with some possible adjustments versus exploring new behavioral strategies instead. This «exploitation-exploration» dilemma is critical for efficient adaptive behaviour in an open-ended and changing everyday environment and is assumed to be fundamental for executive control and decision-making processes. In the later publications on the computational model of human reasoning (PROBE model), the exact neural mechanisms of the vmPFC-dmPFC track were shown, revealing that predictive coding mechanism is used for the reward prediction. However, both the causal role and the neural mechanisms for the second track involving the frontopolar cortex in processing and storing information about alternative strategies and efficacy of their retrieval remain poorly understood. We have conducted a transcranial direct current stimulation study to test the causal role of the frontopolar cortex. Although the stimulation did not significantly affect the total number of correct answers, the medium learning effect was found for the second day (t(41) = −3.31, p = 0.002; Cohen's d = −0.55).
The Role of Organic Nutrients on Growth and Nutrient Uptake of Indigofera tinctoria L. in Agroforestry Systems

Indigofera tinctoria contains secondary metabolites, namely indican, as a precursor for natural blue dye. Indican growth and precursors are highly dependent on environmental conditions, namely light intensity and nutrition. This study aims to examine the role of organic fertilizers on the growth and uptake of Indigofera tinctoria nutrients in agroforestry systems. The study was conducted using a completely randomized block design with a two-factor nested pattern. Shade trees as a nesting factor with three levels of sengon, durian and mixed trees (sengon, suren and teak). Type of organic fertilizer as a nested factor with 4 levels, namely without fertilizer, cow manure, goat manure and chicken manure. Repeat 3 times. The light intensity received by the plants under the sengon trees was 47308.33 lux, durian 10250 lux, mixed trees 21491.67 lux. Nested shade trees affect growth and nutrient uptake and nitrate reductase. The highest root biomass and nitrate reductase were under the sengon trees. The type of organic fertilizer nested in shade tree species affects growth and nitrogen nutrient uptake. Chicken organic fertilizer showed the highest number of leaves, plant biomass and nitrate reductase. Efforts to optimize the yield and production of nutrient uptake are planting in low light intensity around 10250 lux with fertilization.
Spatio-Temporal Pattern of Primary Production in a Tropical Coastal Wetland (Kodungallur-Azhikode Estuary), South West Coast of India

The Kodungallur-Azhikode Estuary (KAE) is part of the Vembanad wetland ecosystem in south-west coast of India that has recently been designated as the Ramsar site. Modern aquaculture, agriculture and other human activities in the catchment area export huge amounts of organic and inorganic wastes into the KAE. In this perspective, influences of anthropogenic activities on water quality and phytoplankton production in the KAE were studied at multiple sites from July 2009 to June 2010. The linear correlation with salinity (r2=0.179, P<0.01), pH (r2=0.195, P<0.01,) and redox potential (Eh) (r2=0.188, P<0.01) was found to be significant with Chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) and negative correlation with turbidity (r2=-0.212, P<0.01, N=168), nitrate (r2=-0.297, P <0.01, N=168), and total dissolved solids (TDS) (r2=-0.266, P<0.01, N=168). The present study showed annual average gross primary productivity (gross PP) of 1580 ± 388 mgC m-3d-1 and net primary productivity (net PP) 790 ± 472 mgC m-3d-1, with significant monthly variation. The mean Chl-a content in the estuary also showed moderately high values (6.42 ± 3.91 mg m-3). In spatial scale, it varied from 5.07 ± 4.03 mg m-3 at Station II to 7.80 ± 6.07 mg m-3 at Station V. Primary productivity in the estuary was nitrogen limited during pre monsoon period, however average N: P ratio in the water column was well above the Redfield ratio during south west monsoon period (27.9 ± 14.2). Trophic Index (TRIX) analysis in the KAE also showed that estuary experiencing high productivity by the effect of eutrophication.
Low-Voltage Ride-Through Operation of the SDBC Based STATCOM Integrated With One Single-Phase Converter Through Medium-Frequency Transformer

Even though the modular multilevel cascaded converter with single-delta bridge-cell (MMCC-SDBC or SDBC) has been widely discussed for static synchronous compensators (STATCOM), it is basically for the reactive power compensation. In order to simultaneously compensate for the reactive power and regulate the active power, this article integrates the SDBC based STATCOM with one single-phase converter through one medium-frequency transformer operating at three times the fundamental frequency. This article especially focuses on the operation of the developed system under unbalanced grid conditions because it is relatively critical compared with the SDBC based STATCOM. Generally, the circulating current is controlled within the SDBC to address the unbalanced operation, but the considerable magnetizing inductance makes the developed system almost impossible to fulfill this control requirement. In this article, however, it is fortunately found that the task of circulating current control can be shifted to the single-phase converter so that the influence of the medium-frequency transformer is greatly reduced. Experimental results are provided to confirm the effectiveness of the proposed control method and the feasibility of the developed system under unbalanced grid conditions, namely, the low-voltage ride-through (LVRT) operation.
A Dataset for Autonomous Aircraft Refueling on the Ground (AGR)

Automatic aircraft ground refueling (AAGR) can improve the safety, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness of aircraft ground refueling (AGR), a critical and frequent operation on almost all aircraft. Recent AAGR relies on machine vision, artificial intelligence, and robotics to implement automation. An essential step for automation is AGR scene recognition, which can support further component detection, tracking, process monitoring, and environmental awareness. As in many practical and commercial applications, aircraft refueling data is usually confidential, and no standardized workflow or definition is available. These are the prerequisites and critical challenges to deploying and benefitting advanced data-driven AGR. This study presents a dataset (the AGR Dataset) for AGR scene recognition using image crawling, augmentation, and classification, which has been made available to the community. The AGR dataset crawled over 3k images from 13 databases (over 26k images after augmentation), and different aircraft, illumination, and environmental conditions were included. The ground-truth labeling is conducted manually using a proposed tree-formed decision workflow and six specific AGR tags. Various professionals have independently reviewed the AGR dataset to keep it no-bias. This study proposes the first aircraft refueling image dataset, and an image labeling software with a UI to automate the labeling workflow.
Lactation physiokinetics—using advances in technology for a fresh perspective on human milk transfer

Introduction Though the nature of breastfeeding is critical, scant information is available on how the action of the milk transfer from mother to infant is regulated in humans, where the points of dysfunction are, and what can be done to optimize breastfeeding outcomes. While better therapeutic strategies are needed, before they can be devised, a basic scientific understanding of the biomechanical mechanisms that regulate human milk transfer from breast to stomach must first be identified, defined, and understood. Methods Combining systems biology and systems medicine into a conceptual framework, using engineering design principles, this work investigates the use of biosensors to characterize human milk flow from the breast to the infant's stomach to identify points of regulation. This exploratory study used this framework to characterize Maternal/Infant Lactation physioKinetics (MILK) utilizing a Biosensor ARray (BAR) as a data collection method. Results Participants tolerated the MILKBAR well during data collection. Changes in breast turgor and temperature were significant and related to the volume of milk transferred from the breast. The total milk volume transferred was evaluated in relation to contact force, oral pressure, and jaw movement. Contact force was correlated with milk flow. Oral pressure appears to be a redundant measure and reflective of jaw movements. Discussion Nipple and breast turgor, jaw movement, and swallowing were associated with the mass of milk transferred to the infant's stomach. More investigation is needed to better quantify the mass of milk transferred in relation to each variable and understand how each variable regulates milk transfer.
Exploration of Microbial Community Diversity and Bioactive Substances during Fermentation of Mulberry Jiaosu, an Edible Naturally Fermented Mulberry Product

Mulberry Jiaosu, derived from natural fermentation using fresh mulberry fruit as a raw material, refers to an edible product containing specific bioactive substances. However, the dynamic changes in the bioactive substances of organic acids, amino acids and polyphenols as well as the species and function of microorganisms in mulberry Jiaosu are still not clear. Herein, the whole fermentation process of mulberry Jiaosu was comprehensively researched by analyzing the microbial community structure and bioactive substances. The results showed that the change in physicochemical parameters mainly happened within 30 days of fermentation. The total organic acids and total polyphenols presented upward trends. Total amino acids were partly consumed during the fermentation. A total of 173 fungal genera and 295 bacterial genera were detected in mulberry Jiaosu, mainly including Torulaspora, Zygosaccharomyces and Lactobacillus, whose abundance can be influenced by changes in the fermentation environment. During the fermentation of mulberry Jiaosu, 8 organic acids, 17 amino acids and 9 polyphenols were observed, which could be regulated by the metabolism of microorganisms. Zygosaccharomyces exhibited positive correlations with the majority of the organic acids, amino acids and polyphenols, presenting a great influence on the formation of bioactive substances. Compared with fungi, bacteria contributed more to the synthesis of organic acids, free amino acids and polyphenols. This study revealed the bioactive substances and microbial diversity during the fermentation of mulberry Jiaosu, which are findings that will contribute to the precise regulation of the fermentation process and improvement of the product quality.
Learning to Find the Optimal Correspondence Between SAR and Optical Image Patches

This study addresses the problem of finding the optimal correspondence for a given synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image patch from a large collection of optical reference patches, which is crucial for various applications, including remote sensing, place recognition, and aircraft navigation. However, achieving one-to-one SAR-Optical patch correspondence is challenging due to the distinct modal discrepancy and the poor discriminability of the target instances. To address these challenges, we propose a cross-modal patch correspondence scheme that consists of two modules: A retrieval-based coarse search module and a correspondence refinement module. Specifically, to explicitly represent the modal discrepancy, we first introduce a cross-modal adversarial learning strategy in the coarse search module and learn the modal-invariant feature embedding for retrieval. Furthermore, to improve the instance discriminability of retrieved candidates, we propose a graph representation in the refinement module to integrate the visual and spatial information, which is finally fed to an attention graph network to estimate the optimal correspondence. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme, we also propose three new SAR-Optical patch correspondence datasets. Comprehensive experiments show that our approach significantly outperforms the competitors on all three datasets.
Reindeer champions: culture, rituals and training race reindeer

ABSTRACT Reindeer racing is a sport that is unique to the Scandinavian and Russian Arctic countries. The paper is based on fieldwork carried out in Finnish Lapland in which the process of training race reindeer and the reindeer race competition is examined. It gives some insight into the cultural practices that are used by Finnish reindeer herders in Lapland to train reindeer to race and the relationship that is nurtured between the race reindeer and the trainer. This paper focuses primarily on two key ethnographic interviews from the field and uses additional fieldwork data to support the points of discussion. It gives insight into the concept of ownership and what is considered to be a ‘good’ race reindeer. The reindeer trainer's understanding of the semi-domesticated reindeer challenges the concept of what it means to be ‘wild. ’ This is taken into consideration in an examination of the process of the further domestication and training of the reindeer to race. The research explored the nature of the racing environment, the uniqueness of the reindeer racing event and aspects that makes it traditional and appealing for both international tourists and spectators from the north.
Ecotoxicology of Nanocomposite Materials

Nanocomposites are hetero materials made up of at least one nanoscale phase called a "nanofiller" that is spread in a second phase called a "matrix" to combine the unique features of its ingredients. Contemporary uses for nanocomposites are expanding constantly, and they are being used in many different industries. Nanocomposites are used in a variety of products, such as solid polymer electrolytes for batteries, impellers and blades, oxygen and gas barriers, food packaging, thin-film capacitors for computer chips, and fuel tanks and engine parts. As drug - delivery techniques, anti-corrosion shield coatings, UV protection gels, oils, scratch-free paint, new scrape resist materials, new fire-retardant materials, superior fibres and films, etc., they also find extensive application. Extensive use of these composites led to the discloses of these stuffs into the environment and properties of these materials are greatly influenced by the presence of pollution. The physico-chemical properties of these nanocomposites are very important for predicting their fortune and behavior in the environment and their toxicity to living organisms. Limited data on the ecotoxicity of these materials are available and even those are confined to a few organisms like bacteria, algae, invertebrates, fishes and mammals. Detailed studies on the adsorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion on higher organisms is the need of the hour. Presently the environmental risk assessment of nanomaterials is being performed using the existing methodologies and modification of the methodologies are required. This review summarizes the toxicity of nanocomposites and the current toxicological tests carried out.
Pillow‐beds: a new type of seismites? An example from an Oligocene turbidite fan complex, Alicante, Spain

A new type of soft sediment deformed beds, termed ‘pillow-beds’, originally a packet of calcarenitic turbidites, show sand-in-sand loading with plane lower and upper surfaces. The pillow-beds have some resemblance to ball and pillow structures and they are considered to have formed as a result of dewatering. The pillow-beds are Oligocene in age and are part of turbidite lobes in a submarine fan system, which was fed through a canyon along the southern border of the ancient Iberian continent. Three hypotheses may explain their occurrence: overloading, sliding or seismic shock. A seismic origin is preferrred on the basis of the flat, undeformed lower surface of the pillow-beds, excluding dewatering of—and loading into—the previously deposited beds. Furthermore, the pillow-bed structures are related to grain size and may show repetitions, thus excluding sliding. The scale and nature of the pillow-beds suggest they could be the result of an earthquake with a magnitude of 6–7 on the Richter scale.
Conservation and human rights— Conservation and human rights— the case of the ‡Khomani San (bushmen) and the the case of the ‡Khomani San (bushmen) and the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa

This paper outlines the dispossession of the southern Kalahari San of their an- cestral lands, due to colonisation, the development of the conservation estate, and South Africa's apartheid policies. The San (or Bushmen as they more usually call themselves) are the first peoples of southern Africa and there is evidence of their widespread distri- bution over the sub-continent, dating back at least 30 000 years. With the establishment of the Kalahari Gemsbok Park in 1931, people's rights to live and hunt on the land were gradually eroded until their final eviction from the park in the mid 1970s. Under the new democratic government, the ‡Khomani San Community submitted a land claim for 400 000 ha in the park, which was vindicated and formally settled with major modifications in March 1999. The paper considers whether progress has been made since then, if in fact the rights of the San have been fully restored to them, and what factors are driving such outcomes.
Bioinformatic Analysis Reveals the Role of Translation Elongation Efficiency Optimisation in the Evolution of Ralstonia Genus

Simple Summary Bacteria belonging to the Ralstonia genus are of great interest for study since this genus includes both phytopathogenic species and soil opportunistic human pathogens, forming two phylogenetic branches. The difference in phenotype of related species is formed by differences in how proteins and other molecules bacteria synthesize, as well as the level of their synthesis. In this study, we investigate the evolution of the Ralstonia genus, focusing on characteristics of a particular stage of protein synthesis. This is a stage at which the protein sequence is synthesized, named translation elongation. The efficiency of this stage plays a role in the modulating of gene expression, while characteristics of this stage considered being more conservative allow us to use it for comparison at the genus level. We calculated the elongation efficiency based on genomic data and found that characteristics of translation elongation efficiency optimization diverge in accordance with the phylogeny of Ralstonia. Differences in these characteristics of genomes as a whole are also reflected in differences in the efficiency of translation elongation of individual genes, resulting in differences in sets of potentially highly expressed genes in soil and phytopathogenic bacteria. These results are valuable for understanding the evolution and adaptation of bacteria in different environments. Abstract Translation efficiency modulates gene expression in prokaryotes. The comparative analysis of translation elongation efficiency characteristics of Ralstonia genus bacteria genomes revealed that these characteristics diverge in accordance with the phylogeny of Ralstonia. The first branch of this genus is a group of bacteria commonly found in moist environments such as soil and water that includes the species R. mannitolilytica, R. insidiosa, and R. pickettii, which are also described as nosocomial infection pathogens. In contrast, the second branch is plant pathogenic bacteria consisting of R. solanacearum, R. pseudosolanacearum, and R. syzygii. We found that the soil Ralstonia have a significantly lower number and energy of potential secondary structures in mRNA and an increased role of codon usage bias in the optimization of highly expressed genes’ translation elongation efficiency, not only compared to phytopathogenic Ralstonia but also to Cupriavidus necator, which is closely related to the Ralstonia genus. The observed alterations in translation elongation efficiency of orthologous genes are also reflected in the difference of potentially highly expressed gene’ sets’ content among Ralstonia branches with different lifestyles. Analysis of translation elongation efficiency characteristics can be considered a promising approach for studying complex mechanisms that determine the evolution and adaptation of bacteria in various environments.