Rate Of Appearance Research Articles

Dipeptidyl-Peptidase-IV Inhibitors, Imigliptin and Alogliptin, Improve Beta-Cell Function in Type 2 Diabetes

ObjectsImigliptin is a novel dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate the effects of imigliptin and alogliptin on insulin resistance and beta-cell function in Chinese patients with type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).MethodsA total of 37 Chinese T2DM patients were randomized to receive 25 mg imigliptin, 50 mg imigliptin, placebo, and 25 mg alogliptin (positive drug) for 13 days. Oral glucose tolerance tests were conducted at baseline and on day 13, followed by the oral minimal model (OMM).ResultsImigliptin or alogliptin treatment, compared with their baseline or placebo, was associated with higher beta-cell function parameters (φ s and φ tot) and lower glucose area under the curve (AUC) and postprandial glucose levels. The changes in the AUC for the glucose appearance rate between 0 and 120 min also showed a decrease in imigliptin or alogliptin groups. However, the insulin resistance parameter, fasting glucose, was not changed. For the homeostatic model assessment (HOMA-β and HOMA-IR) parameters or secretory units of islets in transplantation index (SUIT), no statistically significant changes were found both within treatments and between treatments.ConclusionsAfter 13 days of treatment, imigliptin and alogliptin could decrease glycemic levels by improving beta-cell function. By comparing OMM with HOMA or SUIT results, glucose stimulation might be more sensitive for detecting changes in beta-cell function.

153 THE CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF INCOMPLETE BOLUS CLEARANCE IN PATIENTS WITH DYSPHAGIA

Abstract The primary function of the esophagus is to facilitate bolus transport to the stomach. High-resolution manometry assesses the functions of esophageal motility, but not the clearance of bolus transit through the esophagus. The development of combined multichannel intraluminal impedance and manometry (MII-EM) has enabled simultaneous measurement of bolus transport and manometry. This study investigated the effects of bolus transit on esophageal motility disorders and its effect on the quality of life of patients with dysphagia. Methods A total of 810 wet swallows were reviewed and analyzed in 81 patients with dysphagia who underwent MII-EM. Incomplete bolus clearance (IBC) was defined based on impedance measurement. IBC was classified into four types (A: normal, B: incomplete clearance in the upper esophagus, C: incomplete clearance in the lower esophagus, D: incomplete clearance of the whole esophagus), and was also evaluated according to the appearance rate of complete bolus transit. Then, the clinical significance of IBC was determined by our previously validated dysphagia symptom score and the SF8 quality of life instrument (physical component summary and mental component summary). Results There were 16 cases of esophageal achalasia (Ach), 9 of esophagogastric junction outflow obstruction (EGJOO), 8 of distal esophageal spasm (DES), 7 of Jackhammer esophagus (JE), 2 of absent contractility (AC), 10 of ineffective esophageal motility (IEM) and 29 normal cases. The figure shows the breakdown of IBC for each disorder. Complete bolus transit was found in 27.8% in EGJOO, 52.5% in DES, 14.2% in JE, 4.0% in IEM, and 83.3% in normal; no CBT was found in Ach and AC. Patients with IBC had significantly higher dysphagia symptom scores (p < 0.05) and lower mental component summaries (p < 0.05) than those without. Conclusion Patients with dysphagia with esophageal dysmotility were classified into two groups: those with and without IBC. Assessment of bolus transport is an important clinical marker for patients with dysphagia, because those with IBC had a significantly higher dysphagia symptom scores and impaired quality of life.

Facing up to bias in healthcare: The influence of familiarity appearance on hiring decisions

AbstractAssociations between facial appearance and hiring decisions are well‐documented within job literature as a source of decision misjudgment with economic and human costs. Notwithstanding, this aspect is yet to be investigated in healthcare. We collected 90 pictures of new‐graduates nurses faces to be judged on different facial appearance‐based traits by an independent sample. Six months after graduation, the same new‐graduates were interviewed about their job situation. Binomial logistic regression was conducted to examine whether facial appearance ratings would predict the probability to be hired as nurse. Results showed that applicants with a face conveying a feeling of familiarity were more likely to be hired. Considering that people might be inclined to these biases during societal crises and the exceptional need to quickly recruit health professionals during COVID‐19 pandemic, our study recommends special attention to prevent the influence of facial appearance‐based evaluations not reflecting real skills to limit potentially adverse consequences.

Corneal endothelial cell density and morphology in ophthalmologically healthy young individuals in Japan: An observational study of 16842 eyes

We aimed to investigate the cell density and morphology of the corneal endothelium in ophthalmologically healthy young Japanese, given the lack of normative data in literature. This observational study included eyes without ophthalmologic diseases, besides refractive errors, examined between 1996 and 2015 at Miyata Eye Hospital. Eyes with a history of ophthalmologic diseases or contact lens usage were excluded. Correlation of corneal endothelial cell density (ECD), coefficient of variation (CV), appearance rate of hexagonal cells (6A), and cell area with age were examined. Multivariate linear regression analysis was performed to determine the predictors of corneal parameters. We included 16842 eyes of 8421 individuals (19.6 ± 8.7 years). ECD was 3109.0 ± 303.7 cells/mm2 and significantly reduced with age (p < 0.001). The ECD reduction rate was 0.42%/year in the total population. On multivariate analysis, age and sex were significantly correlated with ECD, CV, 6A, and cell area (all p < 0.001). ECD, 6A, CV, and cell area are significantly associated with age in healthy young Japanese individuals. Monitoring their corneal endothelium is essential to assess the risk of endothelial damage.

Numerical model of the spatio-temporal dynamics in a water strider group

The water strider group demonstrates a very complex dynamics consisting of competition for the food items, territoriality and aggression to the conspecific individuals, escaping from the predators, etc. The situation is even more complex due to the presence of different instars, which in most water strider species live in the same habitat and occupy the same niche. The presented swarm model of water striders demonstrates the realistic population dynamics. For the swarm formation in the model, attraction and repulsion forces were used. Animal motion in the model takes into account inertia and kinetic energy dissipation effects. The model includes three different rates related to the growth of individuals: food appearance rate, food assimilation rate, and stored energy loss rate. The results of our modeling show that the size distribution of individuals seems to be an adequate measure for population status, and it has a characteristic shape for different model parameter combinations. Distribution of the distances between nearest neighbors is other important measure of the population density and its dynamics. Parameters of the model can be tuned in such a way, that the shape of both distributions in a steady phase coincides with that shape observed in a natural population, which helps to understand the factors leading to particular momentary distribution of both parameters (size and distance) in the population. From this point of view, the model can predict how both distributions can further develop from certain state depending on particular combination of factors.

Measuring Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease Induction and Lesion Progression Within Two Intermediately Susceptible Species, Montastraea cavernosa and Orbicella faveolata

During the last several decades, Florida’s Coral Reef (FCR) has been impacted by both global and local stressors that have devastated much of its living coral cover. Additionally, since 2014 FCR has experienced a lethal disease outbreak termed stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD). Here, we examined SCTLD spreading dynamics within and among fragmented coral colonies and quantified lesion progression rate of two intermediately susceptible species—Montastraea cavernosaandOrbicella faveolata—through induction experiments conducted in laboratory aquaria.M. cavernosacolonies showing subacute tissue loss were sequentially fragmented parallel to the lesion edge to determine whether isolated tissue that showed no tissue-loss signs, referred to as isolated apparently healthy (AH) donor fragments, would subsequently exhibit tissue loss. Additionally, AHM. cavernosaandO. faveolatafragments, referred to as recipient fragments, were placed in direct contact with theM. cavernosadonor fragments to assess incidence of new tissue-loss lesions. Finally, AHM. cavernosadonor fragments were placed in direct contact with recipientM. cavernosaandO. faveolatafragments to account for aggression from direct contact. Samples were collected for histopathology of the corals through time. Many isolated AH donor fragments developed tissue-loss lesions during the 60-day study, suggesting SCTLD may be systemic within small-sized colonies. Our results confirmed that physical contact between recipient fragments and subacute SCTLD-lesioned tissue often led to tissue loss in recipient fragments. None of the control recipient or donor fragments experienced tissue loss. Grossly, multifocal lesions started on or adjacent to the septal and costal basal body walls with tissue loss progressing across the polyp septa and coenenchyme, respectively, in both species. Histologically, initial tissue-loss lesions in both species exhibited characteristic lytic necrosis (LN) at the basal body wall of the gastrodermis.O. faveolataexhibited higher rates of lesion appearance and subsequent mortality compared toM. cavernosa, but once a lesion appeared,M. cavernosalost tissue faster thanO. faveolata.This work contributes to the growing knowledge of SCTLD dynamics and highlights the differences in lesion progression within susceptible species.

DMN Activity Pattern Under General Anesthesia Induced by Isoflurane is Dose-Dependent in Rats Brain

For the rational design of antibody, it is important to clarify the characteristics of the interaction between antigen and antibody. In this study, we evaluated a contribution of the respective complementarity determining region (CDR) loops on the antibody recognition of antigen by performing molecular dynamics simulations for 20 kinds of antigen-antibody complexes. Ser and Tyr showed high appearance rates at CDR loops and the sum of averaged appearance rates of Ser and Tyr was about 20⿿30% at all the loops. For example, Ser and Tyr occupied 23.9% at the light chain first loop (L1) and 23.6% at the heavy chain third loop (H3). The direct hydrogen bonds between antigen and antibody were not equally distributed over heavy and light chains. That is, about 70% of the hydrogen bonds were observed at CDRs of the heavy chain and also the direct hydrogen bond with the shortest distance mainly existed at the loops of the heavy chain for all the complexes. It was revealed from the comparison in contribution to the binding free energy among CDR loops that the heavy chain (especially at H2 and H3) had significant influence on the binding between antigen and antibody because three CDR loops of the heavy chain showed the lowest binding free energy (οGbind) in 19 complexes out of 20. Tyr in heavy chain (especially in H2 and H3) largely contributed to οGbind whereas Ser hardly contributed to οGbind even if the number of the direct hydrogen bond with Ser was the fourth largest and also the appearance rate at CDR was the highest among 20 kinds of amino acid residues. The contributions ofTrp and Phe, which bear aromatic ring in the side chain, were often observed in the heavy chain although the energetic contribution of these residues was not so high as Tyr. The present computational analysis suggests that Tyr plays an outstanding role for the antigen-antibody interaction and the CDR loops of the heavy chain is critically important for antibody recognition of antigen.

REUTILIZAÇÃO DA ÁGUA RESIDUÁRIA DA ORDENHA NA PALMA SOB DIFERENTES FREQUÊNCIAS DE IRRIGAÇÃO E ADUBAÇÃO

Objetivou–se avaliar o desempenho da palma miúda (Nopalea cochenillifera Salm Dyck), em cultivo adensado sob diferentes frequências de fertilização e irrigação com água de reuso no semiárido sergipano. O delineamento foi em parcelas subdivididas, com três repetições de quatro parcelas de irrigação (7, 14, 21 e 28) e um controle (sem irrigação) e quatro níveis de fertilização: adubação orgânica 1 (35t esterco bovino ha-1), adubação orgânica 2 (35t esterco ovino ha-1), química (150 kg de N ha-1) e fertirrigação (água residuária). Onde as variáveis de crescimento (Altura, TCV-Taxa de Crescimento Vertical; TCH-Taxa de Crescimento Horizontal; TApC-Taxa de Aparecimento de Cladódio) não demonstraram diferenças em relação a frequencia de irrigação com o controle; os NCT-Números de Cladódios Totais, o CC-Comprimento do Cladódio, EC- Espessura do Cladódio, VT- Volume Total e a EUA- Eficiência de Uso da Água, foram semelhantes entre os tratamentos e a LC-Largura do cladódio foi inversamente proporcional; frequências de irrigação de 7 e 14 dias foram semelhantes e maiores que 21 e 28 dias. No tratamento controle (sequeiro) obteve - se produtividade de 23,84 t MS ha-1, sendo a menor obtida quando comparada a maior produtividade da frequência de irrigação de 14 dias, que foi de 30,11 t MS ha-1. A frequência de irrigação de 7 dias promoveu melhores resultados morfológicos na palma. Podendo inferir que, aos 18 meses de idade, se o fator água não for limitante, a palma miúda pode atingir o ponto máximo de crescimento, sendo este, quando atingida a 5ª ordem de aparecimento de cladódios.

Abstract P196: Exacerbation Of Postural Tachycardia Syndrome After An Oral Glucose Challenge: Role Of Incretins

Postural Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) is characterized by excessive upright tachycardia and disabling pre-syncopal symptoms, which are exacerbated after consuming a high-carbohydrate meal. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of oral glucose on orthostatic hemodynamic changes and gastrointestinal hormone secretion in POTS. We studied 12 women with POTS and 13 age-matched controls, all subjects received 75-gr oral glucose and 20 mg/kg acetaminophen for nutrient absorption measurement. Hemodynamic, GI hormone secretion and acetaminophen levels were measured at different time-points up to 120-min post-ingestion and while supine and standing. POTS patients had significant upright tachycardia ( delta HR: 48.7 ± 11.2 vs. 23.3 ± 8.1 bpm, P=0.012) and norepinephrine levels (835.2 ± 368.4 vs. 356.9 ± 156.7 pg/mL, P= 0.004). After oral glucose, upright HR significantly increased in POTS (92±15.5 vs. 112± 26 bpm, P=0.002) with a concomitant decline in upright stroke volume (P=0.027); total peripheral resistance, blood pressure and cardiac output remained unaltered. Acetaminophen rate of appearance was similar between groups (P=0.707). POTS patients had increased secretion of C-peptide (P=0.001), Glucose Dependent Insulinotropic Peptide (GIP) (P=0.001), peptide YY (P=0.016) and pancreatic polypeptide (P=0.04), but not GLP-1 (p=0.658) or Glucagon (P=0.836). Only GIP had a time-dependent association with the worsening upright tachycardia and SV fall, figure. Conclusions: Oral glucose exacerbated upright tachycardia in POTS, which was associated with a decline in SV; these changes occurred while GIP, a splanchnic vasodilator, is being maximally secreted.

Blocking endogenous IL-6 impairs mobilization of free fatty acids during rest and exercise in lean and obese men

SummaryLack of interleukin-6 (IL-6) leads to expansion of adipose tissue mass in rodents and humans. The exact underlying mechanisms have not been identified. In this placebo-controlled, non-randomized, participant-blinded crossover study, we use the IL-6 receptor antibody tocilizumab to investigate the role of endogenous IL-6 in regulating systemic energy metabolism at rest and during exercise and recovery in lean and obese men using tracer dilution methodology. Tocilizumab reduces fatty acid appearance in the circulation under all conditions in lean and obese individuals, whereas lipolysis (the rate of glycerol appearance into the circulation) is mostly unaffected. The fact that fatty acid oxidation is unaffected by IL-6 receptor blockade suggests increased re-esterification of fatty acids. Glucose kinetics are unaffected. We find that blocking endogenous IL-6 signaling with tocilizumab impairs fat mobilization, which may contribute to expansion of adipose tissue mass and, thus, affect the health of individuals undergoing anti-IL-6 therapy (Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT03967691).

Word association analysis of children with disabilities

Purpose: This study aimed to compare the types of response words for stimuli in children with language impairment and normal children through the word association task.Methods: For this study, 60 children with language impairment aged 9-11 years old and 60 normal children of the same language age as them were selected. The list of stimulus words for the word association task consisted of 25 nouns, 6 verbs and 6 adjectives.Results: The research results were as follows. First, it was found that the appearance rate of association words in the form and syntax among the intra-linguistic association was higher in the children with language impairment than in the normal children, and the appearance rate of association words in the meaning and pragmatics was lower than that of the normal children. Second, in children with language impairment, the appearance rate of verb response words was high in the noun stimulus words, and the noun response words appeared high in the verb and adjective stimulus words.Conclusions: In conclusion, compared to the normal children, the form and syntax-oriented syntagmatic associative responses were higher than the semantic-oriented paradigmatic associative responses, indicating that the stimulus and response words were used side by side in sentences.

A temporal-based SVM approach for the detection and identification of pollutant gases in a gas mixture

Air toxicity and pollution phenomena are on the rise across the planet. Thus, the detection and control of gas pollution are nowadays major economic and environmental challenges. There exists a wide variety of sensors that can detect gas pollution events. However, they are either gas-specific or weak in the presence of gas mixtures. This paper handles this issue by presenting method based on a Temporal-based Support Vector Machine for for the detection and identification of several toxic gases in a gas mixture. The considered gases are carbon monoxide (CO), ozone (O3) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). Furthermore, an incremental algorithm is proposed in this paper for the selection of the best performing kernel function in terms of accuracy and simplicity of implementation. Then, a decision-making algorithm based on the rate of appearance of a class on a moving window is proposed to improve decision making in presence of uncertainties. This algorithm allows the user to master the false-alarms and no-detection dilemma, and quantify the level of confidence attributed to the decision. Experimental results, obtained with different gas mixtures, show the effectiveness of the proposed approach with 100% of accuracy in the learning and testing stages.

Modulation of tongue motion and tongue pressure during liquid swallowing with different bolus volumes.

The tongue functions by modulating according to bolus volume when swallowing; however, associated tongue dynamics are unclear. We aimed to clarify how tongue motion and tongue pressure change with bolus volume during swallowing. Sixteen healthy volunteers (age 29.5±3.8years; 12males, 4 females) were recruited. Two electromagnetic articulography markers were attached, one each on the anterior and posterior parts of the tongue, to measure motion. A sensor sheet, with five pressure-sensitive points, was attached to the hard palate to measure tongue pressure. Participants were asked to swallow 3ml and 10ml of water. Motion trajectory, maximum velocity, vertical displacement just before contact with the hard palate, and maximum magnitude and duration of tongue pressure were analysed. Tongue rotation was observed in the sagittal plane; its rate of appearance was significantly higher when swallowing 3ml of water than when swallowing 10ml, and the rate of rotation at posterior part was significantly higher than at the anterior part. The maximum velocity and vertical displacement were significantly greater when swallowing 10ml of water than those when swallowing 3ml of water. There was no significant difference in either the maximum magnitude of tongue pressure or maximum duration of tongue pressure between 3ml and 10ml. Bolus volume influenced the pattern of tongue motion; however, there was no difference in tongue pressure.

Causes and Consequences of Purifying Selection on SARS-CoV-2.

Owing to a lag between a deleterious mutation’s appearance and its selective removal, gold-standard methods for mutation rate estimation assume no meaningful loss of mutations between parents and offspring. Indeed, from analysis of closely related lineages, in SARS-CoV-2, the Ka/Ks ratio was previously estimated as 1.008, suggesting no within-host selection. By contrast, we find a higher number of observed SNPs at 4-fold degenerate sites than elsewhere and, allowing for the virus’s complex mutational and compositional biases, estimate that the mutation rate is at least 49–67% higher than would be estimated based on the rate of appearance of variants in sampled genomes. Given the high Ka/Ks one might assume that the majority of such intrahost selection is the purging of nonsense mutations. However, we estimate that selection against nonsense mutations accounts for only ∼10% of all the “missing” mutations. Instead, classical protein-level selective filters (against chemically disparate amino acids and those predicted to disrupt protein functionality) account for many missing mutations. It is less obvious why for an intracellular parasite, amino acid cost parameters, notably amino acid decay rate, is also significant. Perhaps most surprisingly, we also find evidence for real-time selection against synonymous mutations that move codon usage away from that of humans. We conclude that there is common intrahost selection on SARS-CoV-2 that acts on nonsense, missense, and possibly synonymous mutations. This has implications for methods of mutation rate estimation, for determining times to common ancestry and the potential for intrahost evolution including vaccine escape.

Memory colors and the assessment of color quality in lighting applications

Due to their potential use as an internal reference, memory colors may provide an excellent approach for the color rendition evaluation of white light sources in terms of predicting visual appreciation. Because of certain limitations in the design of existing memory-related color quality measures, a new metric based on the outcome of a series of recently conducted memory color appearance rating experiments is proposed in this work. In order to validate its predictive performance, a meta-correlation analysis on a comprehensive set of preference rating data collected from literature is performed. Results indicate that the new metric proposal outperforms established color quality measures and is capable of correctly predicting the rank order of light sources in different lighting scenarios. The future inclusion of this new metric into a comprehensive lighting quality model may serve as a valuable tool for the lighting designer to create optimally lit environments for humans that do not only support the visual task fulfillment but also increase the users' well-being and emotional comfort by rendering the perceived space in such a way that it complies with the people's inherent memory references.

An abnormal event detection method based on the Riemannian manifold and LSTM network

In this paper, we propose an abnormal event detection method based on the combination of Riemannian manifold and LSTM network. We divide the video into a series of non overlapping regions, and extract HOG and HOF as original appearance and motion features. Because the existing abnormal event detection methods pay little attention to the changes rate of appearance and motion, we propose a new feature called Riemannian manifold distance feature that can represent the topological relationship of features at different moment in the same position and capture the change rate of the current feature. Once the change rate of the current features changes, the topological relationship of features will change. We use ISOMAP algorithm to embed manifold into low dimensional Euclidean space. In the training phase, the dimension-reduced features of the same position at different historical moment are used as the input of each time step of the LSTM network, and the dimension-reduced feature of the current moment is used as expected output. And in this stage, we only use the normal video, so the LSTM will learn the changing rules of the features contained in normal events. In the testing phase, we use LSTM network to predict current dimension-reduced HOG and HOF features. After that, we can obtain the Riemannian manifold distance feature of actual dimension-reduced feature and predicted dimension-reduced feature. In order to detect abnormal events, we propose an abnormal score, which is used to measure whether the appearance/ movement and the change rate of them are close to the expectation. The abnormal score can detect the abnormal event according to dimension-reduced appearance feature, dimension-reduced motion feature, appearance Riemannian manifold distance feature and motion Riemannian manifold distance feature. Experiments on four benchmark datasets show the competitive performance of our method with the state-of-the-art methods.

Human intestinal lipid storage through sequential meals reveals faster dinner appearance is associated with hyperlipidemia.

BackgroundIt is increasingly recognized that intestinal cells can store lipids after a meal, yet the effect of this phenomenon on lipid absorption patterns in insulin resistance remains unknown.MethodsThe kinetics of meal fat appearance were measured in insulin-sensitive (IS, n = 8) and insulin-resistant (IR, n = 8) subjects after sequential, isotopically labeled lunch and dinner meals. Plasma dynamics on triacylglycerol-rich (TAG-rich) lipoproteins and plasma hormones were analyzed using a nonlinear, non–steady state kinetic model.ResultsAt the onset of dinner, IS subjects showed an abrupt plasma appearance of lunch lipid consistent with the “second-meal effect,” followed by slower appearance of dinner fat in plasma, resulting in reduced accumulation of dinner TAG of 48% compared with lunch. By contrast, IR subjects exhibited faster meal TAG appearance rates after both lunch and dinner. This effect of lower enterocyte storage between meals was associated with greater nocturnal and next-morning hyperlipidemia. The biochemical data and the kinetic analysis of second-meal effect dynamics are consistent with rapid secretion of stored TAG bypassing lipolysis and resynthesis. In addition, the data are consistent with a role for the diurnal pattern of plasma leptin in regulating the processing of dietary lipid.ConclusionThese data support the concept that intestinal lipid storage may be physiologically beneficial in IS subjects.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT02020343.FundingThis study was supported by a grant from the American Diabetes Association (grant 1-13-TS-12).

Memes Online: Extracted, Subtracted, Injected, and Recollected

Social media is playing an increasingly vital role in information dissemination. But with dissemination being more distributed, content often makes multiple hops, and consequently has opportunity to change. In this paper we focus on content that should be changing the least, namely quoted text. We find changes to be frequent, with their likelihood depending on the authority of the copied source and the type of site that is copying. We uncover patterns in the rate of appearance of new variants, their length, and popularity, and develop a simple model that is able to capture them. These patterns are distinct from ones produced when all copies are made from the same source, suggesting that information is evolving as it is being processed collectively in online social media.

Toxic TikTok Trends

With the rise of social media, body image dissatisfaction has increased among young females and has led to a variety of negative consequences such as eating disorders. The TikTok app is the newest form of social media where users are encouraged to post creative videos and provide commentary. TikTok’s ForYouPage, an algorithm that creates a symbiotic relationship between user interest in trends and a means to satisfy these interests, has promoted the long-standing theme of body image dissatisfaction on social media apps. The more users continue to express interest in toxic body trends, the more the app pushes this same content. My research will dive into the specific trends that appear on a TikTok ForYouPage, with the goal to determine the most toxic criteria prevalent on the TikTok body image atmosphere. For the purpose of my study, I created two separate equations: total measured toxicity (TMT) derived from a content analysis, and a total surveyed toxicity (TST) derived from a focus group survey. I concluded from the two equations that the act of giving or receiving qualitative or quantitative appearance rates is the most toxic criteria prevalent on TikTok’s body image atmosphere. The results of this study give insight to how the app should take action to eliminate toxic body trends and prioritize restricting the most toxic criteria, as determined by my study.

Accelerated Shelf-life Testing to Predict Quality Loss in Romaine-type Lettuce

The postharvest life of lettuce (Lactuca sativa) is variable and negatively affected by mechanical injury, incomplete cooling, and poor genetic quality. Lettuce breeders are developing cultivars with a longer shelf life and rely on subjective, destructive, and time-consuming methods for quality analysis. One method of accelerating quality evaluations is known as accelerated shelf-life testing (ASLT), which has the potential to assist breeders in assessing lettuce quality and shelf life. The objective of this research was to determine the quality traits that significantly affect shelf life to develop an ASLT procedure to rapidly assess the postharvest quality of lettuce accessions in breeding programs. In Test 1, Romaine lettuce quality was evaluated using one subjective and five objective parameters during storage at 5, 10, 15, or 20 °C. Results determined that weight loss, lightness*, and hue* angle were best correlated with the overall appearance rating, whereas storage at 10 or 15 °C differentiated the shelf-life potential quickly and without excessive deterioration. In Test 2, these objective characteristics and storage temperatures were used to study rates of quality deterioration of a commercial Romaine cultivar (Okeechobee) and a breeding line (60182), both with long shelf lives, and a Batavia lettuce cultivar (La Brillante) with a short shelf life. Lettuce was evaluated during storage at 10 °C (winter and spring seasons) or at 15 °C (winter season). Weight loss was the most appropriate quality index for lettuce at these storage temperatures for a single harvest, whereas lightness* and hue* angle were the most appropriate indices for comparing quality between harvests. To apply ASLT to postharvest assessments of lettuce, breeders and other researchers should include two controls with good and poor shelf life (similar to ‘Okeechobee’ and ‘La Brillante’, respectively) as standard baseline cultivars during storage at either 10 or 15 °C.