Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Spatial Reversal Learning in Chronically Sensitized Rats and in Undrugged Sensitized Rats with Dopamine D2-Like Receptor Agonist Quinpirole

Dopamine plays a role in generating flexible adaptive responses in changing environments. Chronic administration of D2-like agonist quinpirole (QNP) induces behavioral sensitization and stereotypical behaviors reminiscent of obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). Some of these symptoms persist even after QNP discontinuation. In QNP-sensitization, perseverative behavior has often been implicated. To test the effect of QNP-sensitization on reversal learning and its association with perseveration we selected an aversively motivated hippocampus-dependent task, active place avoidance on a Carousel. Performance was measured as the number of entrances into a to-be-avoided sector (errors). We tested separately QNP-sensitized rats in QNP-drugged and QNP-undrugged state in acquisition and reversal tasks on the Carousel. In acquisition learning there were no significant differences between groups and their respective controls. In reversal, QNP-sensitized drugged rats showed a robust but transient increase in number of errors compared to controls. QNP-sensitized rats in an undrugged state were not overtly different from the control animals but displayed an altered learning manifested by more errors at the beginning compensated by quicker learning in the second session compared to control animals. Importantly, performance was not associated with perseveration in neither QNP-sensitized drugged nor QNP-sensitized undrugged animals. The present results show that chronic QNP treatment induces robust reversal learning deficit only when the substance is continuously administered, and suggest that QNP animal model of OCD is also feasible model of cognitive alterations in this disorder.
Intramuscular Contributions to Low-Frequency Force Potentiation Induced by a High-Frequency Conditioning Stimulation

Electrically-evoked low-frequency (submaximal) force is increased immediately following high-frequency stimulation in human skeletal muscle. Although central mechanisms have been suggested to be the major cause of this low-frequency force potentiation, intramuscular factors might contribute. Thus, we hypothesized that two intramuscular Ca2+-dependent mechanisms can contribute to the low-frequency force potentiation: increased sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ release and increased myofibrillar Ca2+ sensitivity. Experiments in humans were performed on the plantar flexor muscles at a shortened, intermediate, and long muscle length and electrically evoked contractile force and membrane excitability (i.e., M-wave amplitude) were recorded during a stimulation protocol. Low-frequency force potentiation was assessed by stimulating with a low-frequency tetanus (25 Hz, 2 s duration), followed by a high-frequency tetanus (100 Hz, 2 s duration), and finally followed by another low-frequency (25 Hz, 2 s duration) tetanus. Similar stimulation protocols were performed on intact mouse single fibers from flexor digitorum brevis muscle, whereby force and myoplasmic free [Ca2+] ([Ca2+]i) were assessed. Our data show a low-frequency force potentiation that was not muscle length-dependent in human muscle and it was not accompanied by any increase in M-wave amplitude. A length-independent low-frequency force potentiation could be replicated in mouse single fibers, supporting an intramuscular mechanism. We show that at physiological temperature (31°C) this low-frequency force potentiation in mouse fibers corresponded with an increase in sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+ release. When mimicking the slower contractile properties of human muscle by cooling mouse single fibers to 18°C, the low-frequency force potentiation was accompanied by minimally increased SR Ca2+ release and hence it could be explained by increased myofibrillar Ca2+ sensitivity. Finally, introducing a brief 200 ms pause between the high- and low-frequency tetanus in human and mouse muscle revealed that the low-frequency force potentiation is abolished, arguing that increased myofibrillar Ca2+ sensitivity is the main intramuscular mechanism underlying the low-frequency force potentiation in humans.
Novel heat durable electromechanical film: processing for electromechanical and electret applications

New ferroelectrets were developed on the basis of foams from cyclo-olefin polymers and copolymers. The results obtained on the cyclo-olefin polymer foam demonstrate a significant improvement of the service temperature for ferroelectret transducer materials. Suitable compounding and preparation led to cyclo-olefin ferroelectrets with an electromechanical activity of around 15 pC/N, which is thermally stable at least up to 110degC. The properties in sensor and actuator applications are strongly dependent on the processing parameters related to film-making, sensor and actuator preparation, gas content and electric charging. The processing window for the film stretching was very narrow compared to the earlier developed polypropylene ferroelectrets. The film porosity, softness and thus the electromechanical activity are adjusted by gas-diffusion expansion. The activity of the electromechanically operating sensors and actuators was increased by stacking several layers of cellular cyclo-olefin film. For applications such as flat loudspeakers, the foamed films are tuned by tensioning them on a support frame. Correct tensioning was essential also for reducing the distortion levels
Potentiation by Kainate of Excitatory Amino Acid Release in Striatum: Complementary In Vivo and In Vitro Experiments

The effect of kainate on extracellular levels of amino acids in corpus striatum was investigated in vitro and in vivo, to elucidate the mechanism underlying its neurotoxicity. Kainate increased extracellular glutamate and aspartate in both striatal slices in vitro and intact striatum in vivo, as previously reported. Both in vitro and in vivo, DL‐threo‐3‐hydroxyaspartate increased extracellular glutamate and aspartate levels (to between 150 and 200% of basal), and also enhanced their kainate‐evoked release. The action of kainate in vivo was reduced by prior frontal decortication, whereas in vitro the kainate‐evoked responses were only slightly reduced by tetrodotoxin. and remained above control values. These results confirm that kainate increases extracellular glutamate and aspartate. and provide evidence that this is due to synaptic release evoked by an action on receptors on glutamatergic neurone terminals. These findings may be relevant to the understanding of epilepsy.
Choosing Poles So That the Single-Input Pole Placement Problem Is Well Conditioned

We discuss the single-input pole placement problem (SIPP) and analyze how the conditioning of the problem can be estimated and improved if the poles are allowed to vary in specific regions in the complex plane. Under certain assumptions we give formulas as well as bounds for the norm of the feedback gain and the condition number of the closed loop matrix. Via several numerical examples we demonstrate how these results can be used to estimate the condition number of a given SIPP problem and also demonstrate how to select the poles to improve the conditioning.
AIDS and the African American Woman: The Triple Burden of Race, Class, and Gender

The disproportionate impact of human immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV) disease on African American women is devastating to their lives, their families, their communities, and our society. Among AIDS cases in women, 52.5% are black. African American women with HIV disease constitute one of the least powerful and most burdened segments of society. The African American woman whose behavior places her at risk for HIV infection must be the focus of increased prevention and treatment efforts. This article will describe risk factors for HIV infection and AIDS educational needs of women at risk. The interaction of race, gender, and social class will be explored. The controversy over medical manifestations of HIV will be addressed within the context of the social reality of African American women at risk. Reproductive rights and public policy issues will be discussed. Health educators must overcome their fear, class prejudice, and racial bias in order to form the interracial coalition necessary to lead our nation in the struggle to stop the devastation of AIDS among African American women and children.
The Effectiveness of Adult Day Services for Older Adults

Adult Day Service (ADS) centers offer a variety of services to meet the needs of older adults and their caregivers. During the last decade, ADS has received increased attention due to shifts in policy toward home and community-based services for an aging population. This article reviews the effectiveness of ADS from 2000 to the present, with particular attention given to caregiver and participant outcomes, health care utilization, and future directions in ADS research. Multiple databases were searched to identify relevant research and 61 articles were selected for review based on inclusion criteria. The results of this review emphasize the need to implement and test more specific interventions targeting the needs of the ADS population.
Distributed under Creative Commons Cc-by 4.0 H 2 -saturation of High Affinity H 2 -oxidizing Bacteria Alters the Ecological Niche of Soil Microorganisms Unevenly among Taxonomic Groups

Soil microbial communities are continuously exposed to H 2 diffusing into the soil from the atmosphere. N 2-fixing nodules represent a peculiar microniche in soil where H 2 can reach concentrations up to 20,000 fold higher than in the global atmosphere (0.530 ppmv). In this study, we investigated the impact of H 2 exposure on soil bacterial community structure using dynamic microcosm chambers simulating soil H 2 exposure from the atmosphere and N 2-fixing nodules. Biphasic kinetic parameters governing H 2 oxidation activity in soil changed drastically upon elevated H 2 exposure, corresponding to a slight but significant decay of high affinity H 2-oxidizing bacteria population, accompanied by an enrichment or activation of microorganisms displaying low-affinity for H 2. In contrast to previous studies that unveiled limited response by a few species, the relative abundance of 958 bacterial ribotypes distributed among various taxonomic groups, rather than a few distinct taxa, was influenced by H 2 exposure. Furthermore, correlation networks showed important alterations of ribotype covariation in response to H 2 exposure, suggesting that H 2 affects microbe-microbe interactions in soil. Taken together, our results demonstrate that H 2-rich environments exert a direct influence on soil H 2-oxidizing bacteria in addition to indirect effects on other members of the bacterial communities.
Extent and determinants of discrepancy between self-evaluations of weight status and clinical standards

AbstractOBJECTIVES: To examine the extent and type of discordance between personal and medical classifications of weight status, and to examine the influence of sociodemographic factors on the misclassification of weight status. DESIGN/SETTING: The 1991 Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Supplement of the National Health Interview Survey, a nationally representative, cross-sectional survey of the U.S. population. PARTICIPANTS: Adults 18 years and older (N=41,676). MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Respondents’ self-evaluations of weight status were compared to classification of their body mass index (BMI) by medical standards. Twenty-nine percent of respondents incorrectly classified their weight status relative to medical standards, and the nature of this error was variable. While 27.4% of overweight persons judged their weight to be “just about right,” of those who did judge themselves to be overweight, 23.9% were in fact normal or underweight according to their BMI. Overall, 16.6% of persons underassessed their weight category, and 12.4% overassessed their weight category. Multivariate analysis revealed that sex, age, race, income, education, and occupation influenced the misclassification of weight status. CONCLUSIONS: A substantial proportion of Americans deviate from medical standards in their self-evaluations of weight appropriateness, and this lack of correspondence may reflect the normative judgments of various population subgroups. Clinical and public health programs that employ a uniform strategy or approach to the population may not be efficacious.
Role of prostate magnetic resonance imaging in active surveillance

Active surveillance (AS) has emerged as a beneficial strategy for management of low risk prostate cancer (PCa) and prevention of overtreatment of indolent disease. However, selection of patients for AS using traditional 12-core transrectal prostate biopsy is prone to sampling error and presents a challenge for accurate risk stratification. In fact, around a third of men are upgraded on repeat biopsy which disqualifies them as appropriate AS candidates. This uncertainty affects adoption of AS among patients and physicians, leading to current AS protocols involving repetitive prostate biopsies and unclear triggers for progression to definitive treatment. Prostate magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has the potential to overcome some of these limitations through localization of significant tumors in the prostate. In conjunction with MRI-targeted prostate biopsy, improved sampling and detection of clinically significant PCa can help streamline the process of selecting suitable men for AS and early exclusion of men who require definitive treatment. MRI can also help minimize the invasive nature of monitoring for disease progression while on AS. Men with stable MRI findings have high negative predictive value for Gleason upgrade on subsequently biopsy, suggesting that men may potentially be monitored by serial MRI examinations with biopsy reserved for significant changes on imaging. Targeted biopsy on AS also allows for specific sampling of concerning lesions, although further data is necessary to evaluate the relative contribution of systematic and targeted biopsy in detecting the 25–30% of men who progress on AS. Further research is also warranted to better understand the nature of clinically significant cancers that are missed on MRI and why certain men have progression of disease that is not visible on prostate MRI. Consensus is also needed over what constitutes progression on MRI, when prostate biopsy can be safely avoided, and how to best utilize this additional information in current AS protocols. Despite these challenges, prostate MRI, either alone or in conjunction with MRI-targeted prostate biopsy, has the potential to significantly improve our current AS paradigm and rates of AS adoption among patients moving forward.
TAPBPR alters MHC class I peptide presentation by functioning as a peptide exchange catalyst

Our understanding of the antigen presentation pathway has recently been enhanced with the identification that the tapasin-related protein TAPBPR is a second major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I-specific chaperone. We sought to determine whether, like tapasin, TAPBPR can also influence MHC class I peptide selection by functioning as a peptide exchange catalyst. We show that TAPBPR can catalyse the dissociation of peptides from peptide-MHC I complexes, enhance the loading of peptide-receptive MHC I molecules, and discriminate between peptides based on affinity in vitro. In cells, the depletion of TAPBPR increased the diversity of peptides presented on MHC I molecules, suggesting that TAPBPR is involved in restricting peptide presentation. Our results suggest TAPBPR binds to MHC I in a peptide-receptive state and, like tapasin, works to enhance peptide optimisation. It is now clear there are two MHC class I specific peptide editors, tapasin and TAPBPR, intimately involved in controlling peptide presentation to the immune system. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.7554/eLife.09617. 001
Seasonal Variation of Colored Dissolved Organic Matter in Barataria Bay, Louisiana, Using Combined Landsat and Field Data

Coastal bays, such as Barataria Bay, are important transition zones between the terrigenous and marine environments that are also optically complex due to elevated amounts of particulate and dissolved constituents. Monthly field data collected over a period of 15 months in 2010 and 2011 in Barataria Bay were used to develop an empirical band ratio algorithm for the Landsat-5 TM that showed a good correlation with the Colored Dissolved Organic Matter (CDOM) absorption coefficient at 355 nm (ag355) (R2 = 0.74). Landsat-derived CDOM maps generally captured the major details of CDOM distribution and seasonal influences, suggesting the potential use of Landsat imagery to monitor biogeochemistry in coastal water environments. An investigation of the seasonal variation in ag355 conducted using Landsat-derived ag355 as well as field data suggested the strong influence of seasonality in the different regions of the bay with the marine end members (lower bay) experiencing generally low but highly variable ag355 and the freshwater end members (upper bay) experiencing high ag355 with low variability. Barataria Bay experienced a significant increase in ag355 during the freshwater release at the Davis Pond Freshwater Diversion (DPFD) following the Deep Water Horizon oil spill in 2010 and following the Mississippi River (MR) flood conditions in 2011, resulting in a weak linkage to salinity in comparison to the other seasons. Tree based statistical analysis showed the influence of high river flow conditions, high- and low-pressure systems that appeared to control ag355 by ~28%, 29% and 43% of the time duration over the study period at the marine end member just outside the bay. An analysis of CDOM variability in 2010 revealed the strong influence of the MR in controlling CDOM abundance in the lower bay during the high flow conditions, while strong winds associated with cold fronts significantly increase CDOM abundance in the upper bay, thus revealing the important role these events play in the CDOM dynamics of the bay.
EFFECT OF VENIPUNCTURE SITE ON HEMATOLOGIC AND SERUM BIOCHEMICAL PARAMETERS IN MARGINATED TORTOISE (TESTUDO MARGINATA)

Blood samples were obtained from the dorsal coccygeal vein and the brachial vein of five adult (four females and one male) and two subadult males of marginated tortoise (Testudo marginata) and hematologic and biochemical parameters were compared. Significant differences were found for red blood cell count, hematocrit, hemoglobin concentration, total proteins, uric acid, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, lactate dehydrogenase, alkaline phosphatase, calcium, and phosphorus, which were greater in the brachial vein samples. Hemodilution due to lymph was observed when collecting blood from the dorsal coccygeal vein, and it is thought to be the cause of the differences found. This research documented that the brachial vein is a more reliable and consistent venipuncture site than dorsal coccygeal vein in marginated tortoise.
Privacy, accuracy, and consistency too: a holistic solution to contingency table release

The contingency table is a work horse of official statistics, the format of reported data for the US Census, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the Internal Revenue Service. In many settings such as these privacy is not only ethically mandated, but frequently legally as well. Consequently there is an extensive and diverse literature dedicated to the problems of statistical disclosure control in contingency table release. However, all current techniques for reporting contingency tables fall short on at leas one of privacy, accuracy, and consistency (among multiple released tables). We propose a solution that provides strong guarantees for all three desiderata simultaneously. Our approach can be viewed as a special case of a more general approach for producing synthetic data: Any privacy-preserving mechanism for contingency table release begins with raw data and produces a (possibly inconsistent) privacy-preserving set of marginals. From these tables alone-and hence without weakening privacy--we will find and output the "nearest" consistent set of marginals. Interestingly, this set is no farther than the tables of the raw data, and consequently the additional error introduced by the imposition of consistency is no more than the error introduced by the privacy mechanism itself. The privacy mechanism of [20] gives the strongest known privacy guarantees, with very little error. Combined with the techniques of the current paper, we therefore obtain excellent privacy, accuracy, and consistency among the tables. Moreover, our techniques are surprisingly efficient. Our techniques apply equally well to the logical cousin of the contingency table, the OLAP cube.
Disease phenotype in sheep after infection with cloned murine scrapie strains

Prion diseases exhibit different disease phenotypes in their natural hosts and when transmitted to rodents, and this variability is regarded as indicative of prion strain diversity. Phenotypic characterization of scrapie strains in sheep can be attempted by histological, immunohistochemical and biochemical approaches, but it is widely considered that strain confirmation and characterization requires rodent bioassay. Examples of scrapie strains obtained from original sheep isolates by serial passage in mice include ME7, 79A, 22A and 87V. In order to address aspects of prion strain stability across the species barrier, we transmitted the above murine strains to sheep of different breeds and susceptible Prnp genotypes. The experiment included 40 sheep dosed by the oral route alone and 36 sheep challenged by combined subcutaneous and intracerebral routes. Overall, the combined route produced higher attack rates (~100%) than the oral route (~50%) and 2–4 times shorter incubation periods. Uniquely, 87V given orally was unable to infect any sheep. Overall, scrapie strains adapted and cloned in mice produce distinct but variable disease phenotypes in sheep depending on breed or Prnp genotype. Further re-isolation experiments in mice are in progress in order to determine whether the original cloned murine disease phenotype will reemerge.
Optimization of the power quality monitor number in Smart Grid

One of the most important features in smart grid is power system self-healing and power quality improvement. Power quality monitoring is essential to realize this feature. Installing power quality monitors (PQM) in every component of the power network is not feasible due to economic reasons. So how to find the optimal number and locations of power quality monitors while maintaining system observability becomes an important problem. The major contribution of this paper includes providing the model for PQM optimization problem considering both system observability and fault location constraints. The model is then formulized as an integer linear problem and reduced to a group of k-median decision problems. A local search algorithm is proposed to solve the problem. The IEEE 14 bus network is utilized as a case study. Algorithm efficiency is evaluated using Matlab tools and compared with an existing branch and bound algorithm. Experimental results show that proposed algorithm is more than an order of magnitude faster than current algorithm while maintain the accuracy of results.