Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The neurotransmitters glycine and GABA stimulate glucagon‐like peptide‐1 release from the GLUTag cell line

The incretin hormone, glucagon‐like peptide‐1 (GLP‐1) is released from intestinal L‐cells following food ingestion. Its secretion is triggered by a range of nutrients, including fats, carbohydrates and proteins. We reported previously that Na+‐dependent glutamine uptake triggered electrical activity and GLP‐1 release from the L‐cell model line GLUTag. However, whereas alanine also triggered membrane depolarization and GLP‐1 secretion, the response was Na+ independent. A range of alanine analogues, including d‐alanine, β‐alanine, glycine and l‐serine, but not d‐serine, triggered similar depolarizing currents and elevation of intracellular [Ca2+], a sensitivity profile suggesting the involvement of glycine receptors. In support of this idea, glycine‐induced currents and GLP‐1 release were blocked by strychnine, and currents showed a 58.5 mV shift in reversal potential per 10‐fold change in [Cl−], consistent with the activation of a Cl−‐selective current. GABA, an agonist of related Cl− channels, also triggered Cl− currents and secretion, which were sensitive to picrotoxin. GABA‐triggered [Ca2+]i increments were abolished by bicuculline and partially impaired by (1,2,5,6‐tetrahydropyridine‐4‐yl)methylphosphinic acid (TPMPA), suggesting the involvement of both GABAA and GABAC receptors. Expression of GABAA, GABAC and glycine receptor subunits was confirmed by RT‐PCR. Glycine‐triggered GLP‐1 secretion was impaired by bumetanide but not bendrofluazide, suggesting that a high intracellular [Cl−] maintained by Na+–K+–2Cl− cotransporters is necessary for the depolarizing response to glycine receptor ligands. Our results suggest that GABA and glycine stimulate electrical activity and GLP‐1 release from GLUTag cells by ligand‐gated ion channel activation, a mechanism that might be important in responses to endogenous ligands from the enteric nervous system or dietary sources.
Real Time Foreground-Background Segmentation Using a Modified Codebook Model

Real time segmentation of scene into objects and background is really important and represents an initial step of object tracking. Starting from the codebook method [4] we propose some modifications which show significant improvements in most of the normal and also difficult conditions. We include parameter of frequency for accessing, deleting, matching and adding codewords in codebook or to move cache codewords into codebook. We also propose an evaluation method in order to objectively compare several segmentation techniques, based on receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis and on precision and recall method. We propose to summarize the quality factor of a method by a single value based on a weighted Euclidean distance or on a harmonic mean between two related characteristics.
Differential expression of an hsp70 gene during transition from the mycelial to the infective yeast form of the human pathogenic fungus Paracoccidioides brasiliensis

We have isolated and characterized cDNA and genomic clones that encode a 70 kDa heat shock protein (Hsp70) from the dimorphic human pathogenic fungus Paracoccidioides brasiliensis. The gene encodes a 649‐amino‐acid protein showing high identity with other members of the hsp70 gene family. The hsp70 gene is induced during both heat shock of yeast cells at 42°C and the mycelial to yeast transition. A differential expression of this gene can be observed between mycelial and yeast forms, with a much higher level of expression in the yeast. We found two introns of 178 and 72 nucleotides in the P. brasiliensis hsp70 gene. Splicing of these introns is regulated during the heat shock process and possibly during infection. In order to analyse the differential accumulation of unspliced mRNA following cellular differentiation and/or heat shock, reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction (RT–PCR) experiments were carried out. The temperature‐induced mycelial to yeast transition results in the transient accumulation of unspliced hsp70 mRNA transcripts. Yeast cells, after adaptation at 36°C, seem to be more proficient at splicing, at least with respect to hsp70 mRNA because, during a severe heat shock (42°C), the unspliced form of this mRNA does not accumulate. The mycelial to yeast differentiation will have the adaptational effect of increasing the resistance of the organism to environmental stress, which may be necessary for parasite survival in the mammalian host.
A low-complexity iterative multiuser receiver for turbo-coded MC-CDMA system

A low-complexity iterative multiuser receiver is proposed using groupwise maximum likelihood sequence estimation (MLSE) combined with a modified interference cancellation scheme in a turbo coded MC-CDMA system. It is based on grouping the active users according to their signal strengths and computing the log-likelihood ratios by MLSE among each group of users at the first iteration. For subsequent iterations, a modified interference cancellation scheme that can benefit from code extrinsic information available through decoding is used, for lower complexity. Simulation results are presented in a Rayleigh multipath fading environment for a typical data transmission scheme. Comparisons are made with iterative receivers using the maximum a posteriori (MAP) criterion and soft interference cancellation. Performance very close to that of a MAP based iterative receiver is achieved by this novel scheme within a few iterations, with much lower computational cost. This approach also performs significantly well under near-far conditions.
Effect of Chronic Exposure of Sawdust in Workers Employed in Sawmills: A Cross-Sectional Study

Increase in industrialization as well as sophisticated life style is leading to increased indoor air pollution causing major health problems in our developing country, India. Chronic exposure to saw dust affects the worker's lung functions and stimulates allergic responses. Present study is designed to investigate the effects of saw dust on the lung functions as it puts the workers' health into jeopardy. Spirometry is a readily available tool to detect lung function abnormalities at an early stage. The aim was to study and compare the effects of saw dust on pulmonary functions of nonsmoking male saw mill workers with those of healthy subjects unexposed to saw dust. 50 adult non-smoking male workers from saw mills were selected for our study. 50 age and sex matched healthy subjects unexposed to such an occupational hazard were taken as controls. Forced expiratory spirograms were recorded by RMS medspiror. Parameters such as forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1st second (FEV1), the ratio of FEV1/FVC, forced expiratory flow in the middle half of FVC (FEF25-75%), peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) and maximum voluntary ventilation (MVV) were assessed in both cases and controls. The results were analyzed by using the student's unpaired t- test. Saw mill workers showed greater decline in FVC, FEV1, FEF25-75%, PEFR, MVV and FEV1/FVC ratio which is
Does Bradford-Zipf apply to business and management journals in the 2001 Research Assessment Exercise?

As part of research on journal submissions to the UK Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), data was compiled for a longitudinal analysis for Unit of Assessment (UoA) 43, Business and Management Studies (BMS). Data on the 1996 RAE submissions for this UoA was considered. For the 2001 RAE, academic Departments in the UK wishing to submit to the RAE were asked to nominate up to four items of published output per member of staff being submitted that represented the best work those individuals had published in the period. There was no obligation to just use journal articles, as all types of publication were acceptable, but in practice the majority of items returned (69.7% in 2001) were journal articles. The remainder comprised reports, conference proceedings and similar outputs. Journal submission data obtained from the publicly available database (http://www.hero.ac.uk) following the 2001 exercise was checked, tabulated and analysed. This showed that for 2001, 7941 journal articles were submitted to 1489 journal titles . This sample of journal titles could be said to represent the best UK BMS research for the period 1996-2001 (the period under consideration in the 2001 RAE). The question arises whether journals in which articles for the RAE are submitted represent the “core” journals for that subject. One way of approaching this question is to subject the data to a Bradford-Zipf analysis. If the material shows a classic Bradford-Zipf distribution, it could be argued perhaps that the core journals in the field can indeed be identified using this method. In order to address this issue and as part of the on-going research, the group of 1489 titles was used to test for a Bradford-Zipf distribution.
Spacecraft tracking using sampled-data Kalman filters

The goal of this article is to illustrate and compare two algorithms for nonlinear sampled-data state estimation. Under idealized assumptions on the astrodynamics of bodies orbiting the Earth, we apply SDEKF and SDUKF for range-only as well as range and angle observations provided by a constellation of six LEO satellites in circular, equatorial orbits. We study the ability of the filters to acquire and track a target satellite in geosynchronous orbit as a function of the sample interval, initial uncertainty, and type of available measurements. For target acquisition, SDUKF yields more accurate position and velocity estimates than SDEKF. Moreover, the convergence of SDEKF is sensitive to the initialization of the error covariance; in fact, a nondiagonal initial covariance is found to be more effective than a diagonal initial covariance. Like SDUKF, by properly setting a nondiagonal initial error covariance, SDEKF also exhibits global convergence, that is, convergence is attained for all initial true-anomaly errors.
Polymorphisms in the yeast galactose sensor underlie a natural continuum of nutrient-decision phenotypes

In nature, microbes often need to “decide” which of several available nutrients to utilize, a choice that depends on a cell’s inherent preference and external nutrient levels. While natural environments can have mixtures of different nutrients, phenotypic variation in microbes’ decisions of which nutrient to utilize is poorly studied. Here, we quantified differences in the concentration of glucose and galactose required to induce galactose-responsive (GAL) genes across 36 wild S. cerevisiae strains. Using bulk segregant analysis, we found that a locus containing the galactose sensor GAL3 was associated with differences in GAL signaling in eight different crosses. Using allele replacements, we confirmed that GAL3 is the major driver of GAL induction variation, and that GAL3 allelic variation alone can explain as much as 90% of the variation in GAL induction in a cross. The GAL3 variants we found modulate the diauxic lag, a selectable trait. These results suggest that ecological constraints on the galactose pathway may have led to variation in a single protein, allowing cells to quantitatively tune their response to nutrient changes in the environment. Author summary In nature, microbes often need to decide which of many potential nutrients to consume. This decision making process is complex, involving both intracellular constraints and the organism’s perception of the environment. To begin to mimic the complexity of natural environments, we grew cells in mixtures of two sugars, glucose and galactose. We find that in mixed environments, the sugar concentration at which cells decides to induce galactose-utilizing (GAL) genes is highly variable in natural isolates of yeast. By analyzing crosses of phenotypically different strains, we identified a locus containing the galactose sensor, a gene that in theory could allow cells to tune their perception of the environment. We confirmed that the galactose sensor can explain upwards of 90% of the variation in the decision to induce GAL genes. Finally, we show that the variation in the galactose sensor can modulate the time required for cells to switch from utilizing glucose to galactose. Our results suggest that signaling pathways can be highly variable across strains and thereby might allow for rapid adaption in fluctuating environments.
Adaptive equalization

Bandwidth-efficient data transmission over telephone and radio channels is made possible by the use of adaptive equalization to compensate for the time dispersion introduced by the channel Spurred by practical applications, a steady research effort over the last two decades has produced a rich body of literature in adaptive equalization and the related more general fields of reception of digital signals, adaptive filtering, and system identification. This tutorial paper gives an overview of the current state of the art in adaptive equalization. In the first part of the paper, the problem of intersymbol interference (ISI) and the basic concept of transversal equalizers are introduced followed by a simplified description of some practical adaptive equalizer structures and their properties. Related applications of adaptive filters and implementation approaches are discussed. Linear and nonlinear receiver structures, their steady-state performance and sensitivity to timing phase are presented in some depth in the next part. It is shown that a fractionally spaced equalizer can serve as the optimum receive filter for any receiver. Decision-feedback equalization, decision-aided ISI cancellation, and adaptive filtering for maximum-likelihood sequence estimation are presented in a common framework. The next two parts of the paper are devoted to a discussion of the convergence and steady-state properties of least mean-square (LMS) adaptation algorithms, including digital precision considerations, and three classes of rapidly converging adaptive equalization algorithms: namely, orthogonalized LMS, periodic or cyclic, and recursive least squares algorithms. An attempt is made throughout the paper to describe important principles and results in a heuristic manner, without formal proofs, using simple mathematical notation where possible.
Differential effects of enalapril and atenolol on proteinuria and renal haemodynamics in non-diabetic renal disease.

OBJECTIVE--To compare the antihypertensive, renal haemodynamic and antiproteinuric effect of enalapril and atenolol in patients with proteinuria of non-diabetic origin. DESIGN--Prospective, double blind, randomised 16 week study after a pretreatment period of at least three weeks. SETTING--Outpatient nephrology and hypertension unit. PATIENTS--27 patients with proteinuria (greater than 300 mg protein/day) of non-diabetic origin, moderately impaired renal function (creatinine clearance 30-90 ml/min), and a pretreatment diastolic blood pressure of greater than 80 mm Hg. INTERVENTIONS--Treatment with enalapril (10 mg/day, adjusted between 5 and 40 mg, if necessary) or atenolol (50 mg/day, adjusted between 25 and 100 mg if necessary) titrated against a target fall in diastolic blood pressure to less than 95 mm Hg or of greater than 10 mm Hg, or both. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES--Blood pressure, renal haemodynamics, and urinary protein excretion. RESULTS--No differences were detected between the two groups before treatment. The falls in systolic and diastolic blood pressures during treatment were not significantly different between both groups. Proteinuria fell slightly with atenolol but significantly more with enalapril (mean change -0.38 (95% confidence interval -0.78 to 0.03) v -1.2 (-1.70 to -0.69) g/day respectively, p less than 0.02) as did filtration fraction (mean change -1.8 (-2.9 to -0.7) v -3.8 (-4.9 to -2.8)% respectively. Serum potassium concentration increased with enalapril (mean change 0.63 (SD 0.51) v 0.19 (0.47) mmol/l, p less than 0.05). CONCLUSIONS--Enalapril lowers proteinuria more than atenolol in patients with non-diabetic renal disease despite a similar blood pressure lowering effect of both drugs, and its antiproteinuric effect seems to be associated with the characteristic renal haemodynamic effect of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors.
Darwinian Selection, Symbolic Variation, and the Evolution of Culture [and Comments and Reply]

Most contemporary models of cultural change are derived from pre-Darwinian, especially Spencerian, sources and are conditioned by such unstated assumptions as typological thinking and a belief in directed, adaptive variation. This paper defends a Darwinian selectionist approach to cultural evolution. Darwinian selectionism requires undirected, heritable variation. Selection acts upon variants that are not preferentially oriented to or generated with respect to selection; evolution is the result of the selection of "randomly" generated variants. The symbolic aspects of human culture provide the type of variation required for a Darwinian cultural evolution; this system is not analogous but functionally equivalent to the genotype. Two interacting facets of cultural selection, demic and internal, are proposed. Finally, it is suggested that the genetic capacity for culture evolved by "dragging down" the fitness of noncultural forms of behavior determination.
rwg: An assessment of within-group interrater agreement.

Schmidt and Hunter (1989) critiqued the within-group interrater reliability statistic (r wg ) described by James, Demaree, and Wolf (1984). Kozlowski and Hattrup (1992) responded to the Schmidt and Hunter critique and argued that r wg is a suitable index of interrater agreement. This article focuses on the interpretation of r wg as a measure of agreement among judges' ratings of a single target. A new derivation of r wg is given that underscores this interpretation
Analysis of Settlement Expansion and Urban Growth Modelling Using Geoinformation for Assessing Potential Impacts of Urbanization on Climate in Abuja City, Nigeria

This study analyzed the spatiotemporal pattern of settlement expansion in Abuja, Nigeria, one of West Africa’s fastest developing cities, using geoinformation and ancillary datasets. Three epochs of Land-use Land-cover (LULC) maps for 1986, 2001 and 2014 were derived from Landsat images using support vector machines (SVM). Accuracy assessment (AA) of the LULC maps based on the pixel count resulted in overall accuracy of 82%, 92% and 92%, while the AA derived from the error adjusted area (EAA) method stood at 69%, 91% and 91% for 1986, 2001 and 2014, respectively. Two major techniques for detecting changes in the LULC epochs involved the use of binary maps as well as a post-classification comparison approach. Quantitative spatiotemporal analysis was conducted to detect LULC changes with specific focus on the settlement development pattern of Abuja, the federal capital city (FCC) of Nigeria. Logical transitions to the urban category were modelled for predicting future scenarios for the year 2050 using the embedded land change modeler (LCM) in the IDRISI package. Based on the EAA, the result showed that urban areas increased by more than 11% between 1986 and 2001. In contrast, this value rose to 17% between 2001 and 2014. The LCM model projected LULC changes that showed a growing trend in settlement expansion, which might take over allotted spaces for green areas and agricultural land if stringent development policies and enforcement measures are not implemented. In conclusion, integrating geospatial technologies with ancillary datasets offered improved understanding of how urbanization processes such as increased imperviousness of such a magnitude could influence the urban microclimate through the alteration of natural land surface temperature. Urban expansion could also lead to increased surface runoff as well as changes in drainage geography leading to urban floods.
Seasonal Performance of an Outdoor Constructed Wetland for Graywater Treatment in a Temperate Climate

The seasonal treatment efficiency of a pilot‐scale constructed wetland system located outdoors in a semi‐arid, temperate climate was evaluated for graywater in a comprehensive, 1‐year study. The system consisted of two wetland beds in series—a free water surface bed followed by a subsurface flow bed. Water quality monitoring evaluated organics, solids, nutrients, microbials, and surfactants. The results showed that the wetland substantially reduced graywater constituents during fall, spring, and summer, including biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) (92%), total nitrogen (85%), total phosphorus (78%), total suspended solids (TSS) (73%), linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS) surfactants (94%), and E. coli (1.7 orders of magnitude). Except for TSS, lower removals of graywater constituents were noted in winter—BOD (78%), total nitrogen (64%), total phosphorus (65%), LAS (87%), and E. coli (1.0 order), indicating that, although wetland treatment slowed during the winter, the system remained active, even when the average water temperature was 5.2 ± 4.5°C.
A massively connected subthalamic nucleus leads to the generation of widespread pulses

A composite model of the subthalamic nucleus is developed from physiological and anatomical considerations. First, study of a geometric model of the anatomical arrangements of projection neurons within the nucleus indicates that they form a massively connected network. Second, given the excitatory nature of these neurons, their threshold and peak firing rates, a simple model of neuron responses reveals that large regions of this highly interconnected nucleus can respond to excitatory input in the form of a widespread uniform pulse. Such widespread pulses of activity may act as a braking signal that resets the major basal ganglia output nuclei.
Exploring M-Banking for Rural SMEs from the Bank's Perspective: A Focus Group Study in Bangladesh

There is relatively little known about the m-banking use by the rural small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Bangladesh. This research fills the gap by presenting the key advantages of using mbanking by the rural SMEs that a bank can offer in Bangladesh. The research also reports on the critical country level-factors, organizational success factors and obstacles in m-banking adoption for rural SMEs. A focus group was interviewed and the data were analysed using NVivo9.The findings indicate that improved banking facility, an opportunity to create employment in rural area, easy settlement of trade between SMEs, better cash management are some important advantages of mbanking for the rural SMEs. Technology and human resource capabilities of the banks together with the development of mobile infrastructure are some influential factors in m-banking development in Bangladesh. This paper also identifies engagement with the SMEs as an important organizational factor in m-banking diffusion for rural SME that have been rarely identified in prior literature. However, the major constraints are the operational constraints such as cash management, policy and regulation and administrative obstacles. Recommendation for a business version m-banking, joint advertisement by the banks and mobile telecom organisations and a regional m-banking platform are also new knowledge in m-banking research. This is one of the few papers from the perspective of a bank, since most of the literature approaches the matter from the consumer standpoint. The outcomes and results of this research will be of potential value to the government, banks and mobile telecommunications in accelerating the development of m-banking in Bangladesh and in other developing countries.