Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Relationships between child, parent and community characteristics and weight status among young children.

OBJECTIVE To examine the relationship between weight status and child, parent and community characteristics among young boys and girls. METHODS Cross-sectional data were collected from 1 299 5-7-year-old children and their parents from 20 government primary schools in New South Wales, Australia. Measures included parental report of time spent in physical and sedentary activities, time spent with parents, parental working hours, parental perceptions of their child's physical competence and children's actual physical competence. RESULTS Overweight boys spent more time watching television (p = 0.001 for weekday) and in quiet play (p = 0.007 for weekdays and p = 0.006 for weekends) and less time away from their parents (p = 0.01) than their lean counterparts. Parents of overweight boys perceived them to be less competent in the skill of running than parents of non-overweight boys (p = 0.001). Overweight girls spent more time watching television on weekends compared with their non-overweight peers (p = 0.008), and were less proficient in overall actual competence (p = 0.008), particularly overall locomotor skill proficiency (p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS Several modifiable relationships between weight status and child, parental and community characteristics were identified. Importantly these relationships differed between boys and girls. We suggest that early school years may be an appropriate time to intervene through targeting the identified characteristics.
LTP in the rat basal amygdala induced by perirhinal cortex stimulation in vivo

The present study examined the effects of ventral perirhinal cortex (vPRC) stimulation on evoked field potentials (EPs) in the basal amygdala (BN), using extracellular recording techniques. Single pulse stimulation of the vPRC reliably evoked a negative field potential in the BN that was missing in the lateral nucleus. Paired-pulses delivered to the vPRC induced a short-lasting facilitation at intervals between 15 and 120 ms. Application of brief theta burst stimulation to the vPRC produced an enduring long-term potentiation (LTP) that reached 150% of control values. The induction of LTP was not accompanied by a decrease in paired-pulse facilitation. These results suggest that emotional learning involving complex stimulus representations may be mediated by cortico-amygdalar projections amenable to LTP.
Nicaragua: evolución de la pobreza multidimensional, 2001-2009

En el presente trabajo se estima la pobreza multidimensional en Nicaragua entre 2001 y 2009 con los datos de las ultimas tres encuestas disponibles de medicion del nivel de vida (2001, 2005 y 2009) y siguiendo, principalmente, la metodologia propuesta por Alkire y Foster (2007 y 2011). Para ello, se utilizan diez dimensiones y tres sistemas de ponderaciones: el sistema de ponderaciones iguales y dos sistemas de ponderaciones desde los propios datos, uno a partir de las puntuaciones del primer componente principal y otro a partir de las frecuencias relativas de las privaciones dimensionales (ambos sistemas resultan novedosos para el caso de Nicaragua). En general, los resultados revelan que la incidencia, intensidad y severidad de la pobreza multidimensional en Nicaragua se redujeron entre 2001 y 2009, con un mayor descenso entre 2001 y 2005.
A genetically validated approach to detect inorganic polyphosphates in plants

Inorganic polyphosphates (polyPs) are linear polymers of orthophosphate units linked by phosphoanhydride bonds. PolyPs represent important stores of phosphate and energy, and are abundantly found in many pro- and eukaryotic organisms. In plants, the existence of polyPs has been established using microscopy and biochemical extraction methods that are now known to produce artifacts. Here we use a polyP-specific dye and a polyP binding domain to detect polyPs in plant and algal cells. To develop the staining protocol, we induced polyP granules in Nicotiana benthamiana and Arabiopsis cells by heterologous expression of E. coli polyphosphate kinase 1 (PPK1). Over-expression of PPK1 but not of a catalytically impaired version of the enzyme lead to severe growth phenotypes, suggesting that ATP-dependent synthesis and accumulation of polyPs in the plant cytosol is toxic. We next crossed stable PPK1 expressing Arabidopsis lines with plants expressing the polyP-binding domain of E. coli exopolyphosphatase (PPX1c), which co-localized with PPK1-generated polyP granules. These granules were stained by the polyP-specific dye JC-D7 and appeared as electron dense structures in transmission electron microscopy (TEM) sections. Using the polyP staining protocol derived from these experiments, we screened for polyP stores in different organs and tissues of both mono- and dicotyledonous plants. While we could not detect polyP granules in higher plants, we could visualize the polyP-rich acidocalicisomes in the green algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Together, our experiments suggest that higher plants may not contain large polyPs stores. Significance Statement A chemical dye and an inorganic polyphosphate binding domain are shown to specifically label inorganic polyphosphate granules in transgenic Arabidopsis lines and Chlamydomonas acidocalcisomes. Using these tools, we show that in contrast to many prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms, higher plants do not seem to contain large inorganic polyphosphate stores.
Chromatin Remodelling by WSTF-ISWI at the Replication Site: Opening a Window of Opportunity for Epigenetic Inheritance?

During DNA replication, chromatin states have to be accurately transmitted from the parental to the daughter strands for faithful epigenetic inheritance. Chromatin remodelling factors at the replication site are thought to be involved in this process. Recent work adds ATP-dependent nucleosome remodelling factors to this category of enzymes. The WICH complex, consisting of the ISWI-type ATPase SNF2H and the Williams Syndrome Transcription Factor (WSTF), binds to replication foci using PCNA, a key factor in DNA- and chromatin replication and DNA repair, as an interaction platform. Depletion of WSTF results in decreased chromatin accessibility, which is evident already in newly replicated DNA. This leads to heterochromatin formation on a global scale and a decrease in overall transcriptional activity. Here, we propose that WICH, by keeping nucleosomes mobile, provides access to the newly replicated DNA and may thereby create a window of opportunity after DNA replication for rebinding of factors that maintain the epigenetic state, and thus prevents aberrant heterochromatin formation. Our model may provide an explanation for the long-standing observation of a delay in chromatin “maturation” on newly replicated DNA, by connecting this delay with the action of PCNA-bound WSTF-ISWI, and highlights chromatin remodeling shortly after DNA replication as a critical point for regulation.
Discharge patterns of hippocampal theta-related cells in the caudal diencephalon of the urethan-anesthetized rat.

1. Single-unit discharge patterns of cells in specific nuclei of the caudal diencephalon were characterized in relation to simultaneously recorded field activity from the stratum moleculare of the dentate gyrus according to the criteria that have been used previously to classify cells in the hippocampal formation (including entorhinal cortex), medial septum, and cingulate cortex. Theta (theta)-related cells were classified as 1) tonic theta-ON, if they discharged nonrhythmically and increased their discharge rates during hippocampal theta relative to large, irregular hippocampal field activity (LIA); 2) tonic theta-OFF, if they discharged nonrhythmically and decreased their discharge rates during theta relative to LIA; or 3) phasic theta-ON, if they discharged rhythmically and in phase with ongoing theta, but nonrhythmically during LIA. Cells not meeting any of the above criteria were classified as nonrelated. 2. Recordings were obtained in a total of 127 cells from the caudal diencephalon. Recordings were made in 54 cells from the posterior hypothalamic nucleus (PH), 16 from the supramammillary nucleus (SuM), 20 from the PH/SuM border, and 23 from the medial mammillary nucleus (MM). Recordings were also made from nine cells from the central medial nucleus of the thalamus (CM) and five from the dorsomedial hypothalamic nucleus (DMH). 3. Of the 54 PH cells, 43 (80%) were classified as tonic theta-ON and 11 (20%) as nonrelated. Tonic theta-ON cells in the PH discharged at significantly higher rates during theta, either occurring spontaneously (9.6 +/- 1.7 Hz, mean +/- SE) or elicited with a tail pinch (TP theta; 10.6 +/- 1.9 Hz), than during LIA (3.6 +/- 1.4 Hz). Of the nine CM cells, seven (78%) were tonic theta-ON and two (22%) were nonrelated. Tonic theta-ON cells discharged at significantly higher rates during theta (17.5 +/- 7.8 Hz) or TP theta (18.0 +/- 7.1 Hz) than during LIA (7.3 +/- 4.8 Hz). All DMH cells were nonrelated. 4. Of the 20 PH/SuM border cells, 15 (75%) were classified as tonic theta-OFF and discharged at significantly higher rates during LIA (5.3 +/- 1.5 Hz) than during theta (0.8 +/- 0.4 Hz) or TP theta (0.4 +/- 0.3 Hz). Five (25%) cells in the PH/SuM border were nonrelated. 5. All of the 16 cells (100%) recorded from the body of the SuM were phasic theta-ON. The discharge rates of these cells did not change significantly across hippocampal field states (LIA = 8.3 +/- 1.6; theta = 7.3 +/- 1.6; TP theta = 8.6 +/- 1.7 Hz). (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
An implementation of Efficient Graph-Based Image Segmentation

This report documents an implementation of the paper “Effective Graph-Based Image Segmentation”. The method discussed here defines a metric for measuring the evidence of a boundary between two regions using a graph-based representation of the image. Based on the proposed metric, an efficient image segmentation algorithm is developed. Although this algorithm is a greedy algorithm, it respects some global properties of the image. Some important features of the proposed algorithm are that it runs in linear time and that it has the capability to adapt its behavior differently between regions of high-variability and low-variability. In particular, we demonstrate that it ignores details in high-variability regions.
Initial lignin content as an indicator for predicting leaf litter decomposition and the mixed effects of two perennial gramineous plants in a desert steppe: A 5‐year long‐term study

Leaf is the main component of litter that often exists in mixed forms in nature. However, the mixed effects of leaf litter decomposition in desert ecosystems remain unclear. To reveal the mixed effects and the influence of litter quality on leaf litter decomposition in desert ecosystems, a 5‐year long‐term study was conducted to compare the observed and expected leaf litter mass loss in single‐species and mixed (equal proportions and natural proportions) litters of two typical perennial gramineous plants (Stipa klemenzii and Achnatherum splendens) in a desert steppe in Northern China. The relationship between litter mass loss and litter qualities was also analysed. The results showed that (a) after 5 years of decomposition, the mass losses of mixed litter in natural proportions and S. klemenzii litter were significantly higher than those of mixed litter in equal proportions and A. splendens litter; (b) the mixed effects of two litters in different ratios varied with time, and the synergistic effect only appeared in the second year when an easily decomposed litter (S. klemenzii) was mixed with a slowly decomposing litter (A. splendens); and (c) litter mass loss was not correlated with the initial carbon or nitrogen content but was negatively correlated with the initial lignin content, and the initial lignin content also had a significant effect on litter mixed effects of these two perennial gramineous plant litters. These results can suggest that the initial lignin content is an indicator of predicting decomposition and mixed effects of litter with low nitrogen content.
The independence of our genome assemblies

The characterization, analysis, and conclusions of Waterston et al. (1) with regard to our published work (2, 3) are incorrect. Celera was founded with the goal of applying the whole genome shotgun (WGS) strategy to assemble the sequence of the human genome as rapidly as possible to advance the field of genomics (4). Despite our previous arguments to the contrary (3), Waterston et al. (1) persist in their claims that Celera's assembly of the human genome, reported in 2001 (2), was simply a “refinement built upon the [Human Genome Sequencing Consortium (HGSC)] assemblies. ” In fact, the Celera assemblies were constructed on the basis of mate-pair information from Celera sequence data, and the HGSC contribution to the structure and content was minimal.
Chambres calorimétriques pour l’homme et analyse de gaz

Les chambres calorimetriques du plateau technique “Calorimetrie Indirecte” de Clermont ‑ Ferrand permettent d’evaluer, avec precision, la depense energetique et l’utilisation des substrats energetiques (proteines, lipides, glucides) d’un individu vivant dans des conditions qui autorisent un controle precis de son activite physique et de son alimentation. Elles fonctionnent sur le principe de la calorimetrie indirecte en circuit ouvert (mesure des echanges gazeux respiratoires : consommation d’oxygene et production de CO2). Leur confort et leurs equipements permettent d’effectuer des mesures de depense energetique, de frequence cardiaque et d’actimetrie, sur une duree allant de 24 h a plusieurs jours. Ces equipements rares ont permis de mettre en evidence des resultats inedits concernant les depenses energetiques lors du sommeil grâce a la participation de personnes volontaires. Leur mise en œuvre et leur utilisation requierent des competences dans les domaines de l’instrumentation, des capteurs, de l’informatique et de la physique des gaz. Lors de la phase de conception, il faut tenir compte de contraintes parfois contradictoires entre elles, afin de faire des choix judicieux quant aux appareils et a l’instrumentation a utiliser. C’est notamment le cas du volume de la chambre, qui doit etre suffisant pour le confort des volontaires, mais limite pour eviter une trop grande dilution des echanges respiratoires imposant une contrainte trop importante quant au choix des analyseurs d’O2 et de CO2. La validation de l’ensemble de l’installation et le temps de reponse sont des elements a prendre en compte lors du calcul des volumes des echanges respiratoires
PHYSIOLOGY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY OF SALINITY STRESS TOLERANCE IN PLANTS

- ions and to some extent Cl - and SO 4 2 - of Mg 2+ and nutrient imbalance caused by excess of Na + and Cl - ions. Salinity stress response is multigenic, as a number of processes i n- volved in the tolerance mechanism are affected, such as var ious compatible solutes/osmolytes, polyamines, reactive oxygen species and antioxidant defence mecha- nism, ion transport and compartmentalization of inj u- rious ions. Various genes/cDNAs encoding proteins involved in the above-mentioned processes have been identified and isolated. The role of genes/cDNAs e n- coding proteins involved in regulating other genes/ pro- teins, signal transduction process involving hormones like ABA, JA and polyamines, and strategies to i mprove salinity stress tolerance have also been di scussed. EXCESS amount of salt in the soil adversely affects plant growth and development. Nearly 20% of the world's cul- tivated area and nearly half of the world's i rrigated lands are affected by salinity 1
Generation of thrust and lift with airfoils in plunging and pitching motion

We present fully resolved Direct Numerical Simulations of 2D flow over a moving airfoil, using an in-house code that solves the Navier-Stokes equations of the incompressible flow with an Immersed Boundary Method. A combination of sinusoidal plunging and pitching motions is imposed to the airfoil. Starting from a thrust producing case (Reynolds number, Re = 1000, reduced frequency, k = 1.41, plunging amplitude h0/c = 1, pitching amplitude θ0 = 30°, phase shift ϕ = 90°), we increase the mean pitching angle (in order to produce lift) and vary the phase shift between pitching and plunging (to optimize the direction and magnitude of the net force on the airfoil). These cases are discussed in terms of their lift coefficient, thrust coefficient and propulsive efficiency.
Effects of cooling and warming on 5‐hydroxytryptamine‐ and acetylcholine‐induced contractions of human umbilical vessels: role of nitric oxide

The effects of cooling (to 28 °C) and warming (to 41 °C) on the vasoconstrictions induced by 5‐hydroxytryptamine (5‐HT) and acetylcholine (ACh) and the role of nitric oxide in these effects were analyzed in human umbilical artery and vein. 5‐HT (10−9–10−4 m) and ACh (10−9–10−4 m) induced concentration‐dependent contractions at 37, 28 and 41 °C. During cooling, the sensitivity, but not the maximal response, of 5‐HT and ACh was significantly higher than at 37 °C; and during warming, again the sensitivity, but not the maximal response, of both contractile agents was significantly lower than at 37 °C. Neither cooling to 28 °C nor warming to 41 °C, after treatment with NG‐nitro‐l‐arginine methyl esther (l‐NAME, 10−4 m), modify the effect of temperature in both vessels. These results suggest that cooling‐ and warming‐induced responses in human umbilical artery and vein are independent of nitric oxide.
Harmonic distortion free distance estimation in ToF camera

A Time-of-Flight (ToF) camera uses a near infrared (NIR) to obtain the distance from the camera to an object. The distance is calculated from the amount of time shift between the emitted and reflected NIR. ToF cameras generally modulate NIR with a square wave rather than a sinusoidal wave due to its difficulty in hardware implementation. The previous method using simple trigonometric function estimates the time shift with the difference of electrons generated by the reflected square wave. Thus the estimated time shift includes a harmonic distortion caused by the nonlinearity of trigonometric function. In this paper, we propose a new linear estimation method to reduce the harmonic distortion. For quantitative evaluation, the proposed method is compared to the previous method using our prototype ToF depth camera. Experimental results show that the distance obtained by the proposed method is more accurate than that by the previous method.
Monitoring and Mapping of Rice Cropping Pattern in Flooding Area in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta Using Sentinel-1A Data: A Case of An Giang Province

Cropping intensity is one of the most important decisions made independently by farmers in Vietnam. It is a crucial variable of various economic and process-based models. Rice is grown under irrigated triple- and double-rice cropping systems and a rainfed single-rice cropping system in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta (VMD). These rice cropping systems are adopted according to the geographical location and water infrastructure. However, little work has been done to map triple-cropping of rice using Sentinel-1 along with the effects of water infrastructure on the rice cropping intensity decision. This study is focused on monitoring rice cropping patterns in the An Giang province of the VMD from March 2017 to March 2018. The fieldwork was carried out on the dates close to the Sentinel-1A acquisition. The results of dual-polarized (VV and VH) Sentinel-1A data show a strong correlation with the spatial patterns of various rice growth stages and their association with the water infrastructure. The VH backscatter (σ°) is strongly correlated with the three rice growth stages, especially the reproductive stage when the backscatter is less affected by soil moisture and water in the rice fields. In all three cropping patterns, σ°VV and σ°VH show the highest value in the maturity stage, often appearing 10 to 12 days before the harvesting of the rice. A rice cropping pattern map was generated using the Support Vector Machine (SVM) classification of Sentinel-1A data. The overall accuracy of the classification was 80.7% with a 0.78 Kappa coefficient. Therefore, Sentinel-1A can be used to understand rice phenological changes as well as rice cropping systems using radar backscattering.
Accuracy of auditory distance and azimuth perception by a passerine bird in natural habitat

Small birds should localize sound poorly because small head size limits azimuth resolution and because the loose correlation of acoustic degradation with distance limits accurate estimation of auditory distance. We determined the accuracy of sound localization by a passerine bird in the field using an open-loop phonotaxis experiment. After hearing a playback of a conspecific contact call, eastern towhees, Pipilo erythrophthalmus, approached the silenced source. Mean auditory distance resolution was 7% of total speaker distance and mean azimuth resolution was +/-5 degrees. In a second experiment, we played birds the same calls rerecorded previously over the 10- or 20-m distance beyond each playback location. In 13 of 30 trials, the birds over-flew the speaker by a distance propotional to rerecording; but in 15 trials, approach distances were comparable to speaker distance despite the addition of distance simulated by attenuating and rerecording the calls. Signal-specific and location-specific distance cues are derived to explain the bimodal distribution of flight distances we observed. Copyright 1998 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour
Effect of 27-hydroxycholesterol on survival and death of human macrophages and vascular smooth muscle cells

The objective was to compare the effect of a LXR synthetic ligand (T0901317) on cell viability and lysosomal membrane destabilization in human U937 macrophage and aortic smooth muscle cell (HASMC) incubated in the presence of cholesterol or 27-OH and to verify whether the Akt signalling pathway is involved. In U937 macrophages, cholesterol triggered cell survival while 27-OH triggered either survival (low concentration) or a lysosomal independent apoptosis (high concentration). Despite a strong effect of T0901317 on macrophage survival, its effect on cell viability is hampered in cells incubated in the presence of cholesterol or 27-OH. In these cells, cholesterol triggers the phosphorylation of Akt on the Thr308 residue. In HASMC, cholesterol induced apoptosis but no additionnal effect of T0901317 prevented apoptosis. All together, cell survival triggered by LXRs is impaired in the presence of cholesterol or high concentrations of 27-OH in human U937 macrophages and is not effective in HASMC.
A Fuzzy AHP Approach for Prioritizing Indicators and Sub-Indicators for Greenhouse Locating

The greenhouse locating has become one of the most important problems for investors; it is a complicated problem and a decision under a variety of factors. This study aims at prioritize indicators and sub-indicators that effective in greenhouse locating. Analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is applied to formulate and prioritize the indicators and sub-indicators, most of the indicators are basically qualitative. Using fuzzy set theory we incorporate qualitative and partially known information into the decision model. A fuzzy approach is integrated with AHP method to make up the vagueness about the degree of importance of decision-makers on judgment.