Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ca2+ Dynamics along Identified Synaptic Terminals in Drosophila Larvae

Changes in intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) play an important role in the function and plasticity of synapses. We characterized the changes in [Ca2+]i produced by action potentials (APs) along two identified motor terminals found on separate muscle fibers in Drosophila larvae and examined factors that influence the amplitude and duration of the residual Ca2+ signal. We were able to measure Ca2+ transients produced along terminals by both single APs and AP trains using Oregon Green 488 BAPTA-1 and streaming images at 20–50 Hz. The decay of [Ca2+]i after single APs or AP trains was well fit by a single exponential. For single APs, the Ca2+ transient amplitude and decay rate were similar at boutons and bottleneck regions and much smaller at the axon. Also, the amplitude of single-AP Ca2+ transients was inversely correlated with bouton width. During AP trains, the increase in [Ca2+]i became more uniform: the difference in boutons and axons was reduced, and the increase in [Ca2+]i was not correlated with bouton width. The [Ca2+]i decay τ was directly correlated with bouton width for both single APs and AP trains. For one terminal, distal boutons had larger single-AP Ca2+ transients than proximal ones, probably attributable to greater Ca2+ influx for distal boutons. Pharmacological studies showed that Ca2+ clearance from these synaptic terminals after single APs and AP trains was primarily attributable to Ca2+ extrusion by the plasma membrane Ca2+ ATPase (PMCA). Immunostaining of larval muscle fibers showed high levels of the PMCA at the neuromuscular junction.
Isn’t that for Sorority Girls?: Narratives of College Men in Service-Learning

The purpose of this study was to examine how gender structured and informed the ways in which 10 undergraduate men experienced service-learning courses. Participant narratives underscore a perceived tension between dominant expectations of masculinity among men on campus and service-learning. In particular, service was largely understood as a feminine endeavor with little utility to men beyond high school. These expectations were often reinforced by other men and service site supervisors.
Impact of Diabetes Status and Medication on Presentation, Treatment, and Outcome of Stage II Colon Cancer Patients

Diabetes is a risk factor for colorectal cancer and several reports suggest worse cancer-specific outcomes in diabetes patients. Recent studies in multiple tumour types indicate metformin may positively impact on cancer-specific and overall survival. A population-based series of stage II colorectal cancer patients treated and followed from 2000 to 2013 were analysed for baseline characteristics, treatment, and outcomes. 1116 patients with stage II colon cancer were identified, 55.5% were male and median age was 70.9 years (range 20.5–101.2). The diabetes patients (21.6%, n = 241) were older than nondiabetes patients (median 74.0 versus 69.6, p = 0.0001). There was no impact of diabetes on cancer presentation or pathology. Diabetes patients were less likely to receive adjuvant treatment (13.7 versus 24.8%, p = 0.002) but were equally likely to complete treatment (69.7 versus 67.7%, p = 1.00). Diabetes did not significantly impact cancer recurrence (HR = 1.07, 95% CI 0.71–1.63) or overall survival (HR = 1.23, 95% CI 0.88–1.72), adjusted for age. Diabetes medication did not impact cancer recurrence or survival. Cancer presentation and outcomes in diabetes patients are comparable to those of nondiabetes patients in those with stage II colon cancer. The effect of metformin merits further evaluation in patients with colon cancer.
Blockade of microglial K ATP-channel abrogates suppression of inflammatory-mediated inhibition of neural precursor cells

(2014) " Blockade of microglial KATP-channel abrogates suppression of inflammatory-mediated inhibition of neural precursor cells " , GLIA, 62 2: 247-258, which has been published in final form at Abstract Microglia positively affect neural progenitor cell physiology through the release of inflammatory mediators or trophic factors. We previously demonstrated that reactive microglia foster K ATP-channel expression, and that blocking this channel using glibenclamide administration enhances striatal neurogenesis after stroke. In the present study, we investigated whether the microglial K ATP-channel directly influences the activation of neural precursor cells from the subventricular zone by using transgenic Csf1r-GFP mice. In vitro exposure of neural precursor cells to lipopolysaccharide and interferon-gamma resulted in a significant decrease in precursor cell number. The complete removal of microglia from the culture or exposure to enriched microglia culture also decreased the precursor cell number. The addition of glibenclamide rescued the negative effects of enriched microglia on neurosphere formation, and promoted a ~20% improvement in precursor cell number. Similar results were found using microglial-conditioned media from isolated microglia. Using primary mixed glial and pure microglial cultures glibenclamide specifically targeted reactive microglia to restore neurogenesis and increased the microglial production of the chemokine monocyte chemoattractant protein-1. These findings provide the first direct evidence that the microglial K ATP-channel is a regulator of the proliferation of neural precursor cells under inflammatory conditions.
Telomere Length in Relation to Immunological Parameters in Patients with Renal Cell Carcinoma

Over the last decade, telomere length (TL) has gained attention as a potential biomarker in cancer disease. We previously reported that long blood TL was associated with a poorer outcome in patients with breast cancer and renal cell carcinoma. Based on these findings, we hypothesized that certain immunological components may have an impact on TL dynamics in cancer patients. One aim of the present study was to investigate a possible association between serum cytokines and TL of peripheral blood cells, tumors and corresponding kidney cortex, in patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma. For this purpose, a multiplex cytokine assay was used. Correlation analysis revealed significant positive correlations between tumor TL and peripheral levels of three cytokines (IL-7, IL-8 and IL-10). In a parallel patient group with various kidney tumors, TL was investigated in whole blood and in immune cell subsets in relation to peripheral levels of regulatory T cells (Tregs). A significant positive association was found between whole blood TL and Treg levels. However, the strongest correlation was found between Tregs and TL of the T lymphocyte fraction. Thus, patients with higher Treg levels displayed longer T cell telomeres, which might reflect a suppressed immune system with fewer cell divisions and hence less telomere shortening. These results are in line with our earlier observation that long blood TL is an unfavorable prognostic factor for cancer-specific survival. In summary, we here show that immunological components are associated with TL in patients with renal cell carcinoma, providing further insight into the field of telomere biology in cancer.
Multiscale analysis of potential fields by Generalized Continuous Wavelet Transform

The multiscale analysis of potential fields is a valid tool to study the source properties. Among multiscale methods, the Continuous Wavelet Transform (CWT) is well established due to its natural filtering properties. From the beginning the choice of the analyzing wavelet has been the set belonging to the Poisson kernel: within this framework the CWT can be easily performed by upward continuing the k horizontal derivative of the field, some constant apart. We here use a recent development of CWT, called Generalized Continuous Wavelet Transform (GCWT) allowing any wavelet to be used (Fedi and Cascone, 2008) and apply it to the study of the magnetic field due to salt domes.
Adaptive robust motion control of linear motors for precision manufacturing

Linear motors offer several advantages over their rotary counterparts in many precision manufacturing applications requiring linear motion; linear motors can achieve a much higher speed and have the potential of gaining a higher load positioning accuracy due to the elimination of mechanical transmission mechanisms. However, these advantages are obtained at the expense of added difficulties in controlling such a system. Specifically, linear motors are more sensitive to disturbances and parameter variations. Furthermore, certain types of linear motors such as the iron core are subject to significant nonlinear effects due to periodic cogging force and force ripple. To address all these issues, the recently proposed adaptive robust control (ARC) strategy is applied and a discontinuous projection-based ARC controller is constructed. In particular, based on the special structures of various periodic nonlinear forces, design models consisting of known basis functions with unknown weights are used to approximate those unknown nonlinear forces. On-line parameter adaptation is then utilized to reduce the effect of various parametric uncertainties such as unknown weights, inertia, and motor parameters while certain robust control laws are used to handle the uncompensated uncertain nonlinearities effectively for high performance. The resulting ARC controller achieves a guaranteed transient performance and a guaranteed final tracking accuracy in the presence of both parametric uncertainties and uncertain nonlinearities. In addition, in the presence of parametric uncertainties, the controller achieves asymptotic output tracking. Extensive simulation results are shown to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
The Dynamics of Knowledge Diversity and Economic Growth

How is long run economic growth related to the endogenous diversity of knowledge? We formulate and study a microeconomic model of knowledge creation, through the interactions among a group of heterogeneous research and development (R&D) workers, embedded in a growth model to address this question. The composition of the research work force in terms of knowledge heterogeneity, in addition to its size, matters in determining the production of new knowledge. Moreover, the heterogeneity of the work force is endogenous. Income to these workers accrues as patent income, whereas transmission of newly created knowledge to all such workers occurs due to public transmission of patent information. Whether or not the system reaches the most productive state depends on the strength of the public knowledge transmission technology. Long run economic growth is positively related to both the effectiveness of pairwise R&D worker interaction and to the effectiveness of public knowledge transmission.
Neural mechanism of optimal limb coordination in crustacean swimming

Significance Despite the general belief that neural circuits have evolved to optimize behavior, few studies have clearly identified the neural mechanisms underlying optimal behavior. The distinct limb coordination in crustacean swimming and the relative simplicity of the neural coordinating circuit have allowed us to show that the interlimb coordination in crustacean swimming is biomechanically optimal and how the structure of underlying neural circuit robustly gives rise to this coordination. Thus, we provide a concrete example of how an optimal behavior arises from the anatomical structure of a neural circuit. Furthermore, our results suggest that the connectivity of the neural circuit underlying limb coordination during crustacean swimming may be a consequence of natural selection in favor of more effective and efficient swimming. A fundamental challenge in neuroscience is to understand how biologically salient motor behaviors emerge from properties of the underlying neural circuits. Crayfish, krill, prawns, lobsters, and other long-tailed crustaceans swim by rhythmically moving limbs called swimmerets. Over the entire biological range of animal size and paddling frequency, movements of adjacent swimmerets maintain an approximate quarter-period phase difference with the more posterior limbs leading the cycle. We use a computational fluid dynamics model to show that this frequency-invariant stroke pattern is the most effective and mechanically efficient paddling rhythm across the full range of biologically relevant Reynolds numbers in crustacean swimming. We then show that the organization of the neural circuit underlying swimmeret coordination provides a robust mechanism for generating this stroke pattern. Specifically, the wave-like limb coordination emerges robustly from a combination of the half-center structure of the local central pattern generating circuits (CPGs) that drive the movements of each limb, the asymmetric network topology of the connections between local CPGs, and the phase response properties of the local CPGs, which we measure experimentally. Thus, the crustacean swimmeret system serves as a concrete example in which the architecture of a neural circuit leads to optimal behavior in a robust manner. Furthermore, we consider all possible connection topologies between local CPGs and show that the natural connectivity pattern generates the biomechanically optimal stroke pattern most robustly. Given the high metabolic cost of crustacean swimming, our results suggest that natural selection has pushed the swimmeret neural circuit toward a connection topology that produces optimal behavior.
Beyond the mere word. Exploring the language of Drama through text- and performance-based approaches for developing L2 oral skills

This study explores the effectiveness of drama by using contemporary plays both as self-standing extracts and as a full-scale performance for developing learners’ oral skills in terms of complexity, accuracy and fluency and their positive attitudes towards foreign language learning within a high school compulsory curriculum in an Italian context. The rationale for undertaking this investigation lies in the heartening results obtained when dramatic approaches were implemented predominantly within a university context or as an extracurricular activity in the language classroom. A class of final year high school Italian students with a lower-intermediate to upper-intermediate level of language was exposed longitudinally to a text-based approach followed by a performance-based approach conducted over a term each for a total of 20 lessons. A control group was taught through a communicative traditional approach. Quantitative data were collected through an oral pre-test, a mid-test and a post-test by using three tasks, both monologic and dialogic: oral proficiency interview, story-retelling and guided role-play. To elicit learners’ attitudes questionnaires and follow-up interviews were used, thus affording me deeper insights into learners’ preferences, reasons for enjoyment, their usefulness for developing language skills, problems and difficulties encountered. The results show that drama-based approaches improved significantly learners’ pronunciation accuracy, speed-fluency, breakdown-fluency, repairs-fluency, MLR, phonation time ratio, and syntactic complexity. There was no significant statistical result on accuracy between the two groups. When comparing the two types of approaches, findings revealed that the text-based approach led to a higher syntactic complexity, breakdown fluency and phonation time ratio whilst the performance-based approach led to a higher level of accuracy both on the global scale and pronunciation accuracy, and speed fluency. Neither of the two drama-based approaches led to a significant score on the MLAS, MLR and repairs fluency. The qualitative findings display mixed but fundamentally greatly favourable attitudes towards the employment of drama approaches.
Pheromones enhance somatosensory processing in newt brains through a vasotocin-dependent mechanism

We tested whether the sex pheromones that stimulate courtship clasping in male roughskin newts do so, at least in part, by amplifying the somatosensory signals that directly trigger the motor pattern associated with clasping and, if so, whether that amplification is dependent on endogenous vasotocin (VT). Female olfactory stimuli increased the number of action potentials recorded in the medulla of males in response to tactile stimulation of the cloaca, which triggers the clasp motor reflex, as well as to tactile stimulation of the snout and hindlimb. That enhancement was blocked by exposing the medulla to a V1a receptor antagonist before pheromone exposure. However, the antagonist did not affect medullary responses to tactile stimuli in the absence of pheromone exposure, suggesting that pheromones amplify somatosensory signals by inducing endogenous VT release. The ability of VT to couple sensory systems together in response to social stimulation could allow this peptide to induce variable behavioural outcomes, depending on the immediate context of the social interaction and thus on the nature of the associated stimuli that are amplified. If widespread in vertebrates, this mechanism could account for some of the behavioural variability associated with this and related peptides both within and across species.
Exercise-induced bronchoconstriction – the effect of inhaled ß₂-agonists on athletic performance in humans

ii Lay summary . iv Preface . v Table of contents . viii List of tables.x List of figures . xi List of symbols . xii List of abbreviations . xiii Acknowledgements . xv Dedication . xviii Chapter 1: Introduction.1 1.1 Literature review . 1 1.2 Purpose, research questions, and hypotheses . 17 Chapter 2: Effects of inhaled bronchodilators on lung function and cycling performance in female athletes with and without exercise-induced bronchoconstriction.20 2.
A unifying perspective on personality pathology across the life span: Developmental considerations for the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

Abstract Proposed changes in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) include replacing current personality disorder (PD) categories on Axis II with a taxonomy of dimensional maladaptive personality traits. Most of the work on dimensional models of personality pathology, and on personality disorders per se, has been conducted on young and middle-aged adult populations. Numerous questions remain regarding the applicability and limitations of applying various PD models to early and later life. In the present paper, we provide an overview of such dimensional models and review current proposals for conceptualizing PDs in DSM-V. Next, we extensively review existing evidence on the development, measurement, and manifestation of personality pathology in early and later life focusing on those issues deemed most relevant for informing DSM-V. Finally, we present overall conclusions regarding the need to incorporate developmental issues in conceptualizing PDs in DSM-V and highlight the advantages of a dimensional model in unifying PD perspectives across the life span.
Does New Teacher Induction Really Improve Retention?

Policymakers have increasingly worked to combat teacher turnover by implementing induction programs for early-career teachers. Yet the existing evidence for the effects of induction on turnover is mixed. Drawing on data from the three most recent administrations of the Schools and Staffing and Teacher Follow-Up Surveys, as well as the Beginning Teacher Longitudinal Study, this study investigates whether different kinds of induction supports predict teacher turnover among nationally representative samples of first-year teachers. We find that receiving induction supports in the first year predicts less teacher migration and attrition, suggesting that using induction to reduce new teacher turnover is a promising policy trend. We also find that levels of induction support are fairly constant for different kinds of teachers and teachers in different kinds of schools. The exceptions are that teachers who are Black and who work in schools with more students who speak English as a second language report higher levels of induction supports.
Control and prediction in hierarchical wireless networks

Directional wireless networks (DWNs) using free space optical (FSO) and RF transmissions provide wireless backbone support for mobile communications in dynamic environments. The heterogeneous and dynamic nature of such networks challenges their robustness and requires self-organization mechanisms to assure end-to-end broadband connectivity. We have developed a framework to provide prediction and control strategies for assured network operation. We draw an analogy between a set of interconnected communication nodes and a molecule in which the bonds between atoms are representative of the links in the equivalent network. The dynamics of the network, and its optimization, can be analyzed by the methods of molecular dynamics. Links are modeled as bonds described by potential energy functions, such as the Morse potential, and a global description of the stability of the network can be obtained by a normal mode analysis (NMA). Effective “forces” act on nodes, which include the effects of power control, link length, and channel characteristics. A molecular re-arrangement or fragmentation occurs because this reduces the potential energy. In the same way a network can undergo topological reconfiguration, and an adaptive control strategy can be used to release, retain or reconfigure communication links for network performance optimization. Simulation results show the effectiveness of our self-organized control mechanism, where the physical topology reorganizes to maximize the number of source to destination communicating pairs. NMA of a network suffering degradation shows a correlation between anomalous eigenvalue behavior of the Hessian matrix describing the network and the improvement of network performance that can be achieved by topology change.
Effect of Women's Decision-Making Autonomy on Infant's Birth Weight in Rural Bangladesh

Background. Low birth weight (LBW), an outcome of maternal undernutrition, is a major public health concern in Bangladesh where the problem is most prominent. Women's decision-making autonomy is likely an important factor influencing maternal and child health outcomes. The aim of the study was to assess the effect of women's decision-making autonomy on infant's birth weight (BW). Methods. The study included data of 2175 enrolled women (14–45 years of age) from the Maternal and Infant Nutritional Intervention in Matlab (MINIMat-study) in Bangladesh. Pearson's chi-square test, analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), and logistic regression analysis were applied at the collected data. Results. Women with lowest decision-making autonomy were significantly more likely to have a low birth weight (LBW) child, after controlling for maternal age, education (woman's and her husband's), socioeconomic status (SES) (odds ratio (OR) = 1.4; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.0, 1.8). BW was decreased significantly among women with lowest decision making autonomy after adjusting for all confounders. Conclusion. Women's decision-making autonomy has an independent effect on BW and LBW outcome. In addition, there is a need for further exploration to identify sociocultural attributes and gender related determinants of women decision-making autonomy in this study setting.
Fundamental Movement Skills and Moods as Predictors of Games Performance in Primary School Students

The purpose of this study was to determine how far FMS and mood contribute toward games performance on elementray school student through invasion games activities (modified soccer and handball games). This research uses a correlational explanatory and regression . Third grade elementary school students (n=40) were enrolled in this study consisting of 21 male students and 19 female students. To determine the games perfromance using The Games Performance Assessment Instrument (GPAI) and Brief Mood Introspection Scale (BMIS) to measure the mood of the students. The result showed that FMS and positive moods contributed toward games performance on both games.