Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The effect of ghrelin isoforms on skeletal muscle fatty acid metabolism

THE EFFECT OF GHRELIN ISOFORMS ON SKELETAL MUSCLE Emily Nicole Kraft Advisor: University of Guelph, 2018 Professor David Dyck Ghrelin is classically known as a central appetite-stimulating hormone, but has recently been recognized to have a significant role in peripheral tissue energy metabolism. Skeletal muscle is a major site for glucose and lipid disposal. However, the direct effects of ghrelin on this tissue remain understudied. We found that the two major ghrelin isoforms, acylated and unacylated ghrelin, were able to significantly increase skeletal muscle fatty acid oxidation while incorporation of fatty acids into major lipid pools remained unchanged. The increase in fatty acid oxidation was not accompanied by increases in AMP-activated protein kinase or acetyl-CoA carboxylase phosphorylation. Ghrelin isoforms significantly blunted epinephrine-stimulated lipolysis, but had no effect on lipolysis alone. This blunting effect did not appear to be due to decreased HSL phosphorylation. Taken together, these findings suggest that ghrelin isoforms have a direct, acute effect on fatty acid oxidation and lipolysis.
Information design and multimodality

Despite a long association between information design and semiotics, connections remain limited in many respects. This contribution argues that one reason for this is the traditionally weak connection between semiotics and empirical methods. To counter this, a model of multimodal communication is introduced in which theoretical description and empirical research are tightly bound methodologically. Several illustrations of the relevance of the model for information design are offered.
Credit card fraud detection using machine learning with integration of contextual knowledge. (Détection de fraude par carte de crédit à l'aide de l'apprentissage automatique avec intégration des connaissances contextuelles)

The detection of credit card fraud has several features that make it a difficult task. First, attributes describing a transaction ignore sequential information. Secondly, purchasing behavior and fraud strategies can change over time, gradually making a decision function learned by an irrelevant classifier. We performed an exploratory analysis to quantify the day-by-day shift dataset and identified calendar periods that have different properties within the dataset. The main strategy for integrating sequential information is to create a set of attributes that are descriptive statistics obtained by aggregating cardholder transaction sequences. We used this method as a reference method for detecting credit card fraud. We have proposed a strategy for creating attributes based on Hidden Markov Models (HMMs) characterizing the transaction from different viewpoints in order to integrate a broad spectrum of sequential information within transactions. In fact, we model the authentic and fraudulent behaviors of merchants and cardholders according to two univariate characteristics: the date and the amount of transactions. Our multi-perspective approach based on HMM allows automated preprocessing of data to model temporal correlations. Experiments conducted on a large set of data from real-world credit card transactions (46 million transactions carried out by Belgian cardholders between March and May 2015) have shown that the proposed strategy for pre-processing data based on HMMs can detect more fraudulent transactions when combined with the Aggregate Data Pre-Processing strategy.
The effects of tariff hikes in a world of global value chains

The expansion of global value chains (GVCs) over the past decades has influenced how trade tariffs affect economic activity. Global sourcing activities of firms imply that a tariff, usually imposed to protect a domestic industry, can entail higher input costs for other industries. The empirical evidence presented here corroborates this point: tariffs that raise input costs are found to negatively affect the output of industries relying on foreign sourcing. The analysis further suggests that the sensitivity of trade to tariffs is higher for production stages further downstream in global supply chains. In the context of the current trade dispute between the United States and China, this evidence may be of relevance, since the US tariffs against China affected a large number of intermediate goods and Chinese exports to the United States – in part – relate to downstream production stages of GVCs. JEL Classification: F14, F15, E23
cis-Di­chloro­bis­(diethyl 2-pyridyl­methyl­phospho­nate-κN)­platinum(II) hemihydrate, cis-[PtCl2(2-pmpe)2]·0.5H2O

In the title complex, [PtCl2(C10H16NO3P)2]·0.5H2O, two diethyl 2-pyridyl­methyl­phospho­nate (pmpe) ligands are coordinated to the Pt atom via their pyridyl N atoms. Two cis-chloro ligands complete the distorted square-planar Pt coordination environment. The two pmpe ligands exhibit significantly different conformations. Some atoms in ethoxy groups are positionally disordered. In the crystal structure, a water molecule is found with half-occupancy. Apart from typical hydrogen-bond O(water)—H⋯O interactions, weak C—H⋯O and C—H⋯Cl contacts are also observed.
An Intelligent Spatial-Based Queue Management System

Queuing for a long time to be served is an issue facing almost everyone in daily basis in many places such as hospitals, banks and restaurants. Most people get frustrated because their valuable time being wasted in waiting to be served. Moreover, service agents feel stress which may result in poor service. The goal of this paper is to suggest an intelligent system, to manage effectively queuing of customers until getting the service. The suggested solution provides A mobile application that managing the client requests as well as a web-based application to manages queues in the service organization. The system utilized a spatial information and Global Positioning System (GPS) features to manage the queuing of each customer in real-time.
Engaging and empowering students through inter- and intra-module continuity

: This study reflects on an integrative assessment approach designed to achieve inter-and intra-module continuity to improve student engagement and empowerment, and ultimately performance. It builds upon a previous study that utilised a shared context for one assessment element on an informatics module delivered to marketing students, and extends this to provide a constant point of marketing focus to explore quantitative theories and information management principles within an informatics module. Guided by Bigg’s theory of Constructive Alignment, this approach provided both inter-module continuity, utilising a common language and context to enable students to make bi-directional links between the modules, along with intra-module continuity within the informatics module by using the same assessment context across the statistical and information management content areas. The resulting strategy demonstrated improvements in both performance, evaluation and satisfaction metrics, particularly those related to assessment and learning.
Quantifying the mechanics and growth of cells and tissues in 3D using high resolution computational models

Mathematical models are increasingly designed to guide experiments in biology, biotechnology, as well as to assist in medical decision making. They are in particular important to understand emergent collective cell behavior. For this purpose, the models, despite still abstractions of reality, need to be quantitative in all aspects relevant for the question of interest. The focus in this paper is to study the regeneration of liver after drug-induced depletion of hepatocytes, in which surviving dividing and migrating hepatocytes must squeeze through a blood vessel network to fill the emerged lesions. Here, the cells’ response to mechanical stress might significantly impact on the regeneration process. We present a 3D high-resolution cell-based model integrating information from measurements in order to obtain a refined quantitative understanding of the cell-biomechanical impact on the closure of drug-induced lesions in liver. Our model represents each cell individually, constructed as a physically scalable network of viscoelastic elements, capable of mimicking realistic cell deformation and supplying information at subcellular scales. The cells have the capability to migrate, grow and divide, and infer the nature of their mechanical elements and their parameters from comparisons with optical stretcher experiments. Due to triangulation of the cell surface, interactions of cells with arbitrarily shaped (triangulated) structures such as blood vessels can be captured naturally. Comparing our simulations with those of so-called center-based models, in which cells have a rigid shape and forces are exerted between cell centers, we find that the migration forces a cell needs to exert on its environment to close a tissue lesion, is much smaller than predicted by center-based models. This effect is expected to be even more present in chronic liver disease, where tissue stiffens and excess collagen narrows pores for cells to squeeze through.
X-ray microtomography in herpetological research: a review

Herpetological research, like any other (palaeo)biological science, relies heavily on accurate data collection, particularly visualisation and quantification of anatomical features. While several high-resolution imaging methods are currently available, one technique in particular, x-ray microtomography or micro-computed tomography, is on the verge of revolutionising our understanding of the morphology of amphibians and reptiles. Here, we present a review on the prevalence and trends of x-ray microtomography in herpetological studies carried out over the last two decades. We describe its current use, provide practical guidelines for future research that focusses on the morphological study of reptiles and amphibians, and highlight emerging trends including soft-tissue and in vivo scanning. Furthermore, while x-ray microtomography is a rapidly evolving field with great potential, various important drawbacks are associated with its use, including sample size effect and measurement errors resulting from differences in spatial resolution and preparation techniques. By providing recommendations to overcome these hurdles, we ultimately aim to maximise the benefits of x-ray microtomography to herpetological research.
Numerical simulations for phase-contrast magnetic resonance imaging

Hemodynamics (blood flow dynamics) is now recognized as a key marker in the onset and evolution of many cardiovascular disorders such as aneurysms, stenoses, or blood clot formation. As it provides a comprehensive access to blood flows in-vivo, time-resolved 3D phase-contrast magnetic resonance imaging (or 4D Flow MRI) has gained an increasing interest over the last years and stands out as a highly relevant tool for diagnosis, patient follow-up and research in cardiovascular diseases. On top of providing a non-invasive access to the 3D velocity field in-vivo, this technique allows retrospective quantification of velocity-derived hemodynamic biomarkers such as relative pressure or shear stress, which are pertinent for medical diagnosis but difficult to measure in practice. However, several acquisition parameters (spatio-temporal resolution, encoding velocity, imaging artifacts) might limit the expected accuracy of the measurements and potentially lead to erroneous diagnosis. Moreover, the intrinsic complexities of the MRI acquisition process make it generally difficult to localize the sources of measurement errors.This thesis aims at developing a methodology for the assessment of 4D Flow MRI measurements in complex flow configuration. A well-controlled experiment gathering an idealized in-vitro flow phantom generating flow structures typical of that observed in the cardiovascular system is designed. The flow is simultaneously predicted by means of a high-order Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) solver and measured with 4D flow MRI. By evaluating the differences between the two modalities, it is first shown that the numerical solution can be considered very close to the ground truth velocity field. The analysis also reveals the typical errors present in 4D flow MRI images, whether relevant to the velocity field itself or to classical derived quantities (relative pressure, wall shear stress). Finally, a 4D Flow MRI simulation framework is developed and coupled with CFD to reconstruct the synthetic MR images of the reference flow that correspond to the acquisition protocol, but exempted from experimental measurement errors. Thanks to this new capability, the sources of the potential errors in 4D Flow MRI (hardware, software, sequence) can be identified.
Evaluating the accuracy of morphological identification of insect pests of rice crops using DNA barcoding

Abstract Accurate identification of agricultural pests is key requirement for the successful integrated pest management (IPM) program. However, due to limitations of conventional morphological methods, other molecular method like DNA barcoding is used. The current study was designed to evaluate the accuracy of morphological identification of insect pests using DNA barcoding. Morphologically, a total of 247 insect pests, representing 10 families, 18 genera, 22 species were identified. However, molecular identifications confirmed the presence of 11 families, 16 genera, and 20 species of agricultural pests. A total of 59 specimens were processed for DNA barcoding but genomic sequences of mt COI gene up to 600 bp were revived from 48 samples. Specimens that were misidentified through morphological studies were placed to their appropriate taxon, using this molecular approach. Results revealed the existence of clear barcode gap for different pest species. Moreover, the values of distance with the nearest neighbour recorded were higher than the maximum intra-sequence divergences for all species. It is concluded that DNA barcoding is a reliable technique for identification of agricultural pests, especially for immature stages when morphometric studies are ambiguous and will be helpful in the development of more effective pest management options for regulating pest species.
L’influence réelle du contexte local d'une unité affiliée sur la politique environnementale globale dans un groupe hôtelier multinational aussi diversifié qu’Accor

A partir de l’etude approfondie du cas du groupe Accor, l’objet de ce travail de recherche est de comprendre quels facteurs peuvent influencer la prise en compte, par les hotels affiles a un groupe multinational, de la politique environnementale globale definie par leur maison-mere.La maison-mere deploie une politique environnementale identique dans le monde entier, mais les hotels affilies ne repondent pas tous de la meme facon a ses directives ; les comportements environnementaux different non seulement entre les differents pays ou ces etablissements se situent, mais egalement dans le meme pays. Les particularites du contexte local dans lequel s’implantent les hotels affilies peuvent partiellement expliquer cette heterogeneite. En outre, parallelement aux facteurs institutionnels – qu'ils soient corporatifs ou issus du contexte local–, les caracteristiques specifiques a chaque hotel sont egalement susceptibles d’influencer son comportement environnemental.
Opsin Evolution and Sensory Physiology of the Compound Eye in Heliconius Butterflies

Author(s): McCulloch, Kyle Joseph | Advisor(s): Briscoe, Adriana D. | Abstract: Gene duplications sometimes result in large evolutionary shifts in adaptation, but often no phenotypic change occurs after duplication. In animals, molecular genetic changes, including duplications in opsin genes have resulted in highly diverse visual phenotypes. Unlike the diversity of vision-related phenotypes among orders and families, visual systems are mostly conserved among closely related species, and evidence is limited as to how visual traits initially diverge. The neotropical butterfly genus, Heliconius, is a good system for addressing these questions. Heliconius has duplicated UV opsin genes (UVRh1 and UVRh2) coincident with a UV-yellow wing pigment, a known sexual visual cue. I hypothesized that the Heliconius-specific opsin duplication has led to photoreceptor neofunctionalization in the genus, which might affect visual system evolution and divergence in the genus due to the importance of UV signals in Heliconius. To understand the phenotypic effects of UV gene duplication in H. erato, I developed an intracellular recording technique in the lab that measures photoreceptor spectral sensitivities. I also compared differences in opsin expression and retinal mosaics across 23 species in the genus, using immunohistochemistry and RNA-Sequencing. Combining this data in a phylogenetic context, I analyzed the evolutionary history of the opsins and their expression patterns in Heliconius. Intracellular recordings confirm two distinct female-specific UV-sensitive cells in H. erato females, but males lack the UVRh1 cell. Unlike other groups with conserved eye design among closely-related species, I discovered a high diversity of both sex- and clade-specific retinal mosaics within the genus. I found three unique forms of sexual dimorphism, multiple independent pseudogenizations of UVRh2, and the independent evolution of a retinal mosaic in separate clades. The proportions of ommatidial types are tightly regulated within each species and sex. These patterns indicate that Heliconius species with only one UV cell subtype have higher proportions of blue cells, perhaps as a secondary method for detecting the genus-specific UV-yellow wing pigment. The spectacular diversity in opsin expression represents the rarely-seen incipient stages of visual system divergence. Novel UV photoreceptor subtypes evolved in Heliconius via opsin gene duplication, and subsequent varying selection pressures have likely caused the increased diversity of retinal mosaics in Heliconius.
Reaction Mechanisms in Solid-State Anaerobic Digestion: II. The Significance of Seeding

The reaction front hypothesis in solid-state anaerobic digestion could have major implications for the seeding of both landfills and packed-bed digesters. Firstly, the formation of reaction fronts would require seed bodies of a size that might be rare in wastes. Secondly, as seed bodies of viable size are likely to be effectively immobile, their initial distribution pattern would determine the process kinetics. In the light of these possibilities, the conclusions drawn from many laboratory and site-scale studies require reconsideration. Moreover, even the best current seeding practice might be sub-optimal. Packed-bed digesters are usually well seeded but optimized seeding might allow the use of cheaper plant. Landfills, however, are very rarely seeded. Optimized seeding is expected to initiate a predictable and relatively quick process at little or no cost, with an acceptably low seeding rate, a shorter lag phase and a constant-rate output of biogas throughout the period of stabilization.
Effects of Macroeconomic Variables, World Gold Prices, World Oil Prices, and Dow Jones Index on Japanese Stock Index Nikkei 225

Japan is the second-largest foreign investor in Indonesia and has a Nikkei 225 stock index, which is the oldest stock index in Asia. This study aims to determine the effect of inflation, interest rates, GDP, exchange rates, world gold prices, world oil prices, and Dow Jones index on the Nikkei 225 index. This type of quantitative research with a saturated sampling method (census) is using all data. The research object for the monthly Nikkei 225 index closing price 2006-2016. Data is obtained from the Yahoo Finance website, totaling 132 months. The data analysis technique uses multiple linear regression with IBM SPSS version 23. The results of the study, inflation has no effect because the inflation experienced by Japan is below 2%, Japan's benchmark interest rate has no effect because it only changes four times, the Japanese Yen exchange rate has no effect because investors prefer to invest in Japanese Yen-based investments, Japan's GDP is influential because Japan has experienced an economic recession, world gold prices have no effect because gold as a security asset in investing stocks, world oil prices have no effect because Japan is switching to gas energy, Dow Jones index is influential because America is one of the 5 largest economic cooperation countries with Japan.
Dynamics, global and local rheology of vesicles and red blood cells in microcirculation

The rheology and dynamics of red blood cells (RBCs) under confined flows (simple shear and Poiseuille flows), are studied in the Stokes limit. We numerically investigated the rheology of a suspension of RBCs under shear flow in a confined geometry using bounday integral method. We show that the suspension can exhibit both shear-thinning and shear-thickening behavior depending on viscosity contrast between the encapsulated fluid and the suspending one. We provide an appealing interpretation of these behaviors providing a link between microdynamics and global rheology. In the second study, we found that, by increasing the internal viscosity of the suspended entity, the final position can be off-centered, a solution that may either coexist (saddle node bifurcation) or not (pitchfork bifurcation) with the centered solution. These results are somewhat surprising given the general belief that flexible particles tend to migrate away from solid boundaries in shear flow. This novel scenario strongly affects rheological properties of dilute as well as concentrated RBC suspensions.In the last part of this thesis, we focused on the local rheology of RBC suspension. A universal law is discovered: the local viscosity and the relation between stress and strain rate can be well described as a function of the local concentration only, independently of the channel's width within which the suspension flow takes place or the global concentration of the suspension.
Social Affinity Flow Theory

This article presents a new theoretical construct, Social Affinity Flow Theory (SAFT), which both describes and predicts fl ow phenomena across a diversity of human social systems and is founded upon constructal law. Constructal law and its associated s-curves describe many phenomena, both in nature and in human societies. Extrapolated from the work of Bejan and Zane and integrating social science research, it provides a foundational explanation of social rifts prevalent in many societies today as well as constructive efforts of social change, whether secular or religiously based. A primary example of constructive change explained by SAFT is the community-building work of the Baha’i Faith, as reflected in both its teachings and its training institute process.
Commentary: Synergistic tumoricidal effect of combined hPD-L1 vaccine and HER2 gene vaccine

Breast cancer is the most frequent tumor worldwide and 252,710 women have developed the disease in the United States in 20171. Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease and is clinically classified based on presence of hormonal receptors for estrogen and progesterone, and the expression/amplification status of the HER2 (human epidermal growth factor receptor 2)-protein/oncogene[2]. HER2 is a tumor associated antigen which is over-expressed in a subset of patients with breast cancer (20–30%)2. There is abundant evidence that HER2 is a predictive target of clinical benefit to passive immune therapy with HER2-directed monoclonal antibodies (i.e., trastuzumab, pertuzumab, and TDM-1) alone or in combination with chemotherapy for the treatment of HER2 positive breast cancer3-5.