Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Glutamate AMPA/kainate receptors, not GABAA receptors, mediate estradiol‐induced sex differences in the hypothalamus

Sex differences in brain morphology underlie physiological and behavioral differences between males and females. During the critical perinatal period for sexual differentiation in the rat, gonadal steroids act in a regionally specific manner to alter neuronal morphology. Using Golgi‐Cox impregnation, we examined several parameters of neuronal morphology in postnatal day 2 (PN2) rats. We found that in the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus (VMN) and in areas just dorsal and just lateral to the VMN that there was a sex difference in total dendritic spine number (males greater) that was abolished by treating female neonates with exogenous testosterone. Dendritic branching was similarly sexually differentiated and hormonally modulated in the VMN and dorsal to the VMN. We then used spinophilin, a protein that positively correlates with the amount of dendritic spines, to investigate the mechanisms underlying these sex differences. Estradiol, which mediates most aspects of masculinization and is the aromatized product of testosterone, increased spinophilin levels in female PN2 rats to that of males. Muscimol, an agonist at GABAA receptors, did not affect spinophilin protein levels in either male or female neonates. Kainic acid, an agonist at glutamatergic AMPA/kainate receptors, mimicked the effect of estradiol in females. Antagonizing AMPA/kainate receptors with NBQX prevented the estradiol‐induced increase in spinophilin in females but did not affect spinophilin level in males. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol, 2007
An Affine Projection Sign Algorithm Robust Against Impulsive Interferences

A new affine projection sign algorithm (APSA) is proposed, which is robust against non-Gaussian impulsive interferences and has fast convergence. The conventional affine projection algorithm (APA) converges fast at a high cost in terms of computational complexity and it also suffers performance degradation in the presence of impulsive interferences. The family of sign algorithms (SAs) stands out due to its low complexity and robustness against impulsive noise. The proposed APSA combines the benefits of the APA and SA by updating its weight vector according to the L 1-norm optimization criterion while using multiple projections. The features of the APA and the L 1-norm minimization guarantee the APSA an excellent candidate for combatting impulsive interference and speeding up the convergence rate for colored inputs at a low computational complexity. Simulations in a system identification context show that the proposed APSA outperforms the normalized least-mean-square (NLMS) algorithm, APA, and normalized sign algorithm (NSA) in terms of convergence rate and steady-state error. The robustness of the APSA against impulsive interference is also demonstrated.
Research documentary: "Glasgow's Turnaround"

"Glasgow's Turnaround" is the first part of a two part research documentary. It studies the history of Glasgow's planning strategies following on from the city's industrial heyday of shipbuilding in the 1930s, its industrial decline, population shrinkage (some of which was actively encouraged by city and government policies), to today's current regeneration strategies and their outcomes.
The Relationship between Boards of Directors and Initial Public Offerings in the Biotechnology Industry

Utilizing the entire population of public biotechnology firms from 1980-1994, three models were tested to determine If a relationship exists between the size and composition of the board of directors and performance. Results indicate significant positive relationships between director expertise and the size of a firm's initial public offering. Going public during hot markets and larger firms were also related to larger Initial public offerings. These findings will benefit practitioners in the formation of boards within the biotechnology Industry. Managers of firms within the biotechnology industry who are contemplating a public offering will be able to proactively address the composition of their boards.
Effects of dietary cholesterol and hypothyroidism on rat apolipoprotein mRNA metabolism.

The effects of dietary cholesterol and hypothyroidism on the mRNA levels of rat apolipoproteins A-I, A-IV, and E were measured in extracts of rat liver and rat intestine by hybridization to specific cDNA. Four groups, each comprised of six rats, were fed diets consisting of normal laboratory rat chow and either no supplements (control); 5% lard, 1% cholesterol, and 0.3% taurocholic acid (CF); 5% lard, 1% cholesterol, 0.3% taurocholic acid, and 0.1% propylthiouracil (CF-PTU); or 0.1% propylthiouracil (PTU) for 32 days. At the conclusion of the diets, serum cholesterol, triiodothyronine, and thyroxine levels were measured. The average serum cholesterol concentrations for the four groups were 50.4 +/- 3.7, 75.6 +/- 15.3, 135.3 +/- 41.5, and 73.3 +/- 16.4 mg/dl, respectively. The presence of propylthiouracil in the diets significantly lowered triiodothyronine and thyroxine levels in the serum. The mRNA levels for apolipoproteins A-I and A-IV in rat liver decreased significantly after the feeding of the CF-PTU diet (31 +/- 4% and 32 +/- 3% of normal, respectively) and the PTU diet (34 +/- 8% and 43 +/- 12% of normal, respectively), but showed little change after the CF diet (88 +/- 16% and 108 +/- 15% of normal, respectively). The effects of dietary propylthiouracil on the hepatic mRNA levels for apolipoproteins A-I and A-IV imply a role for thyroid hormones in regulating the mRNA levels for these apolipoproteins in rat liver. ApoE mRNA levels in the rat liver decreased slightly after the CF-PTU diet (74 +/- 12% of normal) and after the PTU diet (73 +/- 10% of normal). (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
ADSORPTION EFFICIENCY OF LOW-COST MATERIALS IN THE REMOVAL OF Zn ( II ) IONS FROM PRINTING DEVELOPER

The research objective in this study is to find solutions for immobilization of Zn(II) ions from spent printing developer in the printing industry by adsorption on natural, low-cost adsorbents: activated carbon (AC, Norit Row 0.8 Supra), natural zeolite (NZ, clinoptilolite) and their mixtures (AC+NZ); by doing this, environmentally-harmful metal Zn(II) would be eliminated. Because of the complexity of printing wastewater we studied the adsorption onto various adsorbents, to gain an insight into the influence of heavy metal Zn(II) on the sorption behavior of these adsorbents, the effect of their nature and optimal concentration, and determine the adsorption capacity and the appropriate contact time. Therefore, these adsorbents of the defined pore size and structure were applied to examine their adsorption efficiency in the removal of Zn (II) ions from the spent printing developer sample. Concentrations of Zn(II) ions in fresh and spent printing developers before and after the adsorption were determined by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS), using a PerkinElmer Elan 5000 mass spectrometer. The adsorption of Zn(II) ions onto activated carbon, clinoptilolite and there mixture was studied in laboratory batch mode. The adsorption equilibrium data for Zn(II) ions on AC, NZ and (AC+NZ) were analyzed in terms of the Freundlich isotherm model. The results provided strong support for the Zn(II) ions adsorption onto these adsorbents, and all the data fitted well to the Freundlich isotherm (R≥0.988). The lowest correlation coefficient for Zn(II) ions was obtained using the mixtures of activated carbon and clinoptilolite. The adsorption capacities of Zn(II) ions decreased in the order: AC>NZ>AC+NZ.
Three dimensional urban characterization by IFSAR measurements

In this paper a machine vision approach is applied to IFSAR data to extract the most relevant built structures in a dense urban environment. The algorithm tries to cluster primitives (line segments) into more complex surfaces (planes) to approximate the 3D shape of these objects. Very interesting results starting from TOPSAR data recorded over S. Monica are presented.
Efficient Spectral Estimation by MUSIC and ESPRIT with Application to Sparse FFT

In spectral estimation, one has to determine all parameters of an exponential sum for finitely many (noisy) sampled data of this exponential sum. Frequently used methods for spectral estimation are MUSIC (MUltiple SIgnal Classification) and ESPRIT (Estimation of Signal Parameters via Rotational Invariance Technique). For a trigonometric polynomial of large sparsity, we present a new sparse fast Fourier transform by shifted sampling and using MUSIC resp. ESPRIT, where the ESPRIT based method has lower computational cost. Later this technique is extended to a new reconstruction of a multivariate trigonometric polynomial of large sparsity for given (noisy) values sampled on a reconstructing rank-1 lattice. Numerical experiments illustrate the high performance of these procedures.
Allosteric collaboration between elongation factor G and the ribosomal L1 stalk directs tRNA movements during translation

Determining the mechanism by which tRNAs rapidly and precisely transit through the ribosomal A, P, and E sites during translation remains a major goal in the study of protein synthesis. Here, we report the real-time dynamics of the L1 stalk, a structural element of the large ribosomal subunit that is implicated in directing tRNA movements during translation. Within pretranslocation ribosomal complexes, the L1 stalk exists in a dynamic equilibrium between open and closed conformations. Binding of elongation factor G (EF-G) shifts this equilibrium toward the closed conformation through one of at least two distinct kinetic mechanisms, where the identity of the P-site tRNA dictates the kinetic route that is taken. Within posttranslocation complexes, L1 stalk dynamics are dependent on the presence and identity of the E-site tRNA. Collectively, our data demonstrate that EF-G and the L1 stalk allosterically collaborate to direct tRNA translocation from the P to the E sites, and suggest a model for the release of E-site tRNA.
The physiologic development of speech motor control: lip and jaw coordination.

This investigation was designed to describe the development of lip and jaw coordination during speech and to evaluate the potential influence of speech motor development on phonologic development. Productions of syllables containing bilabial consonants were observed from speakers in four age groups (i.e., 1-year-olds, 2-year-olds, 6-year-olds, and young adults). A video-based movement tracking system was used to transduce movement of the upper lip, lower lip, and jaw. The coordinative organization of these articulatory gestures was shown to change dramatically during the first several years of life and to continue to undergo refinement past age 6. The present results are consistent with three primary phases in the development of lip and jaw coordination for speech: integration, differentiation, and refinement. Each of these developmental processes entails the existence of distinct coordinative constraints on early articulatory movement. It is suggested that these constraints will have predictable consequences for the sequence of phonologic development.
The influence of macrofouling on the corrosion behaviour of API 5L X65 carbon steel

Abstract Seawater is a complex corrosive system, and biofouling is one of the factors that influences corrosion processes. The behaviour of corrosion associated with the development of macrofouling was investigated during the first 6 months of the successional process. Three treatments were compared: the ‘Control’ treatment (absence of macrofouling); ‘Community’ treatment, and ‘Barnacle’ treatment, where other macroorganisms were excluded. In the Community treatment, the dominant organisms were filamentous macroalgae (23.73%), barnacles (17.51%), hydroids (16.96%) and encrusting bryozoans (9.58%). In the Barnacle treatment, the cover varied between 39.38% and 62.50%. The corrosion potential ranged from −665.75 to −517.50 mV(Ag/AgC l(KCl)) and could not be associated with fouling development. The highest corrosion rate in the control suggests that macrofouling provides a protection against mass loss. The highest percentage of localised attacks was found in the Community treatment. This may indicate that not only barnacles, but also other organisms induce localised corrosion.
Propagation of partial discharge signals and the location of partial discharge occurrences

The location of the partial discharge source in transformer insulation was analysed by simulation studies. The partial discharge source was modelled such that it radiates the Ultra High Frequency (UHF) signal. It was observed that there exists a time difference of arrival of the UHF signal at the sensors based on its distance from the location of the partial discharge source. Also the magnitudes of the signal at the sensors also vary with respect to its distance from the location of the partial discharge source. The UHF signal gets attenuated in the presence of a barrier. It was also observed that the attenuation of the signal increases with the increase in the barrier thickness. The location of the partial discharge source was analysed based on the time difference of arrival calculated by first peak method and cumulative energy method. The first peak method was found to be more accurate compared to the cumulative energy method.
Pedagogical Urbanism: Creating Citizen Space in Bogota, Colombia

In this article I examine the rise of public space as a planning ideal in Bogota, Colombia, where public space was viewed as a totalizing solution uniquely suited to Bogota’s complex set of problems. Bogota’s public space represents a crucible of hopes and desires for transforming the city and citizenship. I call this process pedagogical urbanism, a mode of planning focused on education and reform. Pedagogical urbanism merges social and spatial planning traditions to produce new social and cultural norms leading, in Bogota’s case, to the (re)formation of civil society through an expansion of the right to the city while creating the conditions for the reproduction of citizens. Citizen monitoring and behavior modification in public space, however, constrain this expansion. This article explores the paradox of expanding the right to the city while creating programs to scrutinize and direct citizens’ actions in public space.
Identification of Visual Stimuli is Improved by Accompanying Auditory Stimuli: The Role of Eye Movements and Sound Location

Can auditory signals influence the processing of visual information? The present study examined the effects of simple auditory signals (clicks and noise bursts) whose onset was simultaneous with that of the visual target, but which provided no information about the target. It was found that such a signal enhances performance in the visual task: the accessory sound reduced response times for target identification with no cost to accuracy. The spatial location of the sound (whether central to the display or at the target location) did not modify this facilitation. Furthermore, the same pattern of facilitation was evident whether the observer fixated centrally or moved their eyes to the target. The results were not altered by changes in the contrast (and therefore visibility) of the visual stimulus or by the perceived utility of the spatial location of the sound. We speculate that the auditory signal may promote attentional ‘disengagement’ and that, as a result, observers are able to process the visual target sooner when sound accompanies the display relative to when visual information is presented alone.
Does erythropoietin slow progression of chronic kidney disease?

Implication for health policy/practice/research/medical education:The initiation of erythropoietin therapy for the purpose of renoprotection may need to be sooner than that for erythropoiesis, because erythropoietin may attenuate renal fibrosis through macrophage adjustment and endothelial cell protection by other uncertain mechanisms. Although, agents re-establishing the initial function of renal erythropoietin-producing cells could defer kidney fibrosis, however more studies should be carried out to determine the cellular target of erythropoietin in kidney and developinga new erythropoietin derivative for renal care.
Laplace-transforms and fast-repair approximations for multiple availability and its generalizations

Stochastic models, describing multiple availability, are analyzed for a system with periods of operation and repair that form an alternating renewal process with exponential times to failure and repair. For the simplest case multiple availability is defined as the probability that the system is available in the interval [0, t) at each moment of demand. Instants of demand form a homogeneous Poisson process. This setting is generalized to considering a possibility of one or more points of unavailability in [0, t) as well as time redundancy. The corresponding integral equations are derived and solved (wherever possible) via the Laplace transform. A fast repair approach is also applied to each case under consideration and simple approximate relations for multiple availability are obtained. The fast repair approximation makes it possible to derive approximate solutions for problems that cannot be solved by the first approach. The accuracies of the fast repair approximations are analyzed. Generalizations to arbitrary failure and repair distributions are also discussed.
A comprehensive study of the association between hepatitis C virus and glomerulopathy.

BACKGROUND Hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related infection is commonly associated with a wide range of glomerulonephritides (GN) including membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (MPGN). The causal link between HCV infection and renal disease has been postulated through the induction of cryoglobulinaemia and secondary GN. However, the detection of viral particles or genomes within the kidneys of HCV-infected patients has proved to be difficult. With that in mind, we have studied a population of Egyptian HCV-positive patients with associated GN in an attempt to detect viral particles, antigens or RNA within their kidneys. METHODS Fifty patients were found to be HCV positive out of 303 who presented with a glomerulopathy between 1998 and 1999 at the Mansoura Urology and Nephrology Center, Egypt. Comprehensive investigations of these 50 patients were undertaken including an evaluation of their clinical, biochemical, histological, virological and immunological parameters. In addition, their kidney biopsy material was analysed by electron microscopy (EM) to detect viral particles, by immunohistochemistry to detect a viral core antigen and by RT-PCR to detect RNA. This was compared with 50 HCV-negative controls. RESULTS Positivity for HCV antibodies was higher among patients with GN (38%) compared with healthy blood donors (16%). Genotype 4 was sequenced in 70% of the HCV-positive samples examined. MPGN was the most common type of GN accounting for 54% of patients. Extrarenal manifestations were absent in the majority (80%) of patients even though 54% had cryoglobulinaemia. EM revealed virus-like particles in 50% of biopsies. Immunohistochemistry failed to reveal HCV-related antigens in kidney sections. HCV RNA was detected in the cryoprecipitates in 66% of patients and 22% of frozen renal sections. Control sections were negative. CONCLUSION Our findings suggest a causal link between HCV and GN based on the observation of virus-like particles as well as viral RNA within the kidney sections of patients with HCV-associated glomerulopathies.
AN EVALUATION OF THE HYBRID SPECIATION HYPOTHESIS FOR XIPHOPHORUS CLEMENCIAE BASED ON WHOLE GENOME SEQUENCES

Once thought rare in animal taxa, hybridization has been increasingly recognized as an important and common force in animal evolution. In the past decade, a number of studies have suggested that hybridization has driven speciation in some animal groups. We investigate the signature of hybridization in the genome of a putative hybrid species, Xiphophorus clemenciae, through whole genome sequencing of this species and its hypothesized progenitors. Based on analysis of this data, we find that X. clemenciae is unlikely to have been derived from admixture between its proposed parental species. However, we find significant evidence for recent gene flow between Xiphophorus species. Although we detect genetic exchange in two pairs of species analyzed, the proportion of genomic regions that can be attributed to hybrid origin is small, suggesting that strong behavioral premating isolation prevents frequent hybridization in Xiphophorus. The direction of gene flow between species is potentially consistent with a role for sexual selection in mediating hybridization.
Occurrence and Abundance of Thrips ( Thysanoptera ) Associated with Rice Crops from Meghalaya

Studies were conducted during the month of June to November in the year 2009 to 2011 to determine the occurrence and abundance of thrips in rice field from Meghalaya. Specimens were collected from leaf blades from early nurseries to seedling and panicle stages. Sampling were done from four sites viz., Mawlai (25o 60’ N 91o 90’ E), Mylliem (25o 48’ N 91o 82’ E) (East Khasi Hills District), Nongjri (25o 74’ N 91o 90’ E) (Ri-Bhoi district) and Nongbah (25o 73’ N 91o 88’ E) (Jaintia Hills District). A total of five species of thrips belonging to 2 families (Thripidae and Phlaeothripidae) were recorded. Stencheatothrips biformis Bagnall was the dominant species accounting for 68% in abundance. This was followed by Anaphothrips sudanensis Tryborn comprising 17%. The other species include Haplothrips ceylonicus Schmutz, Haplothrips tenuipennis Bagnall and Bolacothrips indicus Ananthakrishnan which comprised of 10%, 3% and 2% respectively. The mean abundance of thrips was highest in the month of July and lowest in the month of November during each sampling period.
An experimental study of several cooperative register allocation and instruction scheduling strategies

The M-Machine is an experimental multicomputer being developed to test architectural concepts motivated by the constraints of modern semiconductor technology and the demands of programming systems. The M-Machine computing nodes are connected with a 3-D mesh network; each node is a multithreaded processor incorporating 12 function units, on-chip cache, and local memory. The multiple function units are used to exploit both instruction-level and thread-level parallelism. A user accessible message passing system yields fast communication and synchronization between nodes. Rapid access to remote memory is provided transparently to the user with a combination of hardware and software mechanisms. This paper presents the architecture of the M-Machine and describes how its mechanisms attempt to maximize both single thread performance and overall system throughput. The architecture is complete and the MAP chip, which will serve as the M-Machine processing node, is currently being implemented.
The Relation Between Attention and Tic Generation in Tourette Syndrome

Objective: Many neuropsychiatric disorders involve abnormal attentional processing. Systematic investigations of how attention may affect tic frequency in Tourette syndrome are lacking. Method: Patients performed rhythmic finger movements, approximately once every 2 s. Each movement triggered a unique visual color stimulus. Patients were asked to monitor and remember their finger actions, the external colors caused by their actions, or their tics. Sixteen adult Tourette syndrome patients performed each task twice: once while inhibiting tics, and once without inhibiting tics. Results: During the “freely tic” condition, patients had significantly fewer tics when attending to finger movements, or to the ensuing colors, compared with when attending to their tics. Attention to fingers produced the fewest tics overall. During tic suppression, tic frequency was reduced to an equal level in all conditions. Conclusions: Focusing attention away from tics significantly reduces tic frequency. This attentional process may operate by regulating motor noise.