Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Inverse Relationship between Tumor Proliferation Markers and Connexin Expression in a Malignant Cardiac Tumor Originating from Mesenchymal Stem Cell Engineered Tissue in a Rat in vivo Model

Background: Recently, we demonstrated the beneficial effects of engineered heart tissues for the treatment of dilated cardiomyopathy in rats. For further development of this technique we started to produce engineered tissue (ET) from mesenchymal stem cells. Interestingly, we observed a malignant tumor invading the heart with an inverse relationship between proliferation markers and connexin expression. Methods: Commercial CD54+/CD90+/CD34−/CD45− bone marrow derived mesenchymal rat stem cells (cBM-MSC), characterized were used for production of mesenchymal stem-cell-ET (MSC-ET) by suspending them in a collagen I, matrigel-mixture and cultivating for 14 days with electrical stimulation. Three MSC-ET were implanted around the beating heart of adult rats for days. Another three MSC-ET were produced from freshly isolated rat bone marrow derived stem cells (sBM-MSC). Results: Three weeks after implantation of the MSC-ETs the hearts were surgically excised. While in 5/6 cases the ET was clearly distinguishable and was found as a ring containing mostly connective tissue around the heart, in 1/6 the heart was completely surrounded by a huge, undifferentiated, pleomorphic tumor originating from the cMSC-ET (cBM-MSC), classified as a high grade malignant sarcoma. Quantitatively we found a clear inverse relationship between cardiac connexin expression (Cx43, Cx40, or Cx45) and increased Ki-67 expression (Cx43: p < 0.0001, Cx45: p < 0.03, Cx40: p < 0.014). At the tumor-heart border there were significantly more Ki-67 positive cells (p = 0.001), and only 2% Cx45 and Ki-67-expressing cells, while the other connexins were nearly completely absent (p < 0.0001). Conclusion and Hypothesis: These observations strongly suggest the hypothesis, that invasive tumor growth is accompanied by reduction in connexins. This implicates that gap junction communication between tumor and normal tissue is reduced or absent, which could mean that growth and differentiation signals can not be exchanged.
Dissociable functional roles of the human action-observation network (Commentary on E. S. Cross et al.)

When we observe other people executing an action we are able to estimate what the underlying intentions of the person performing the action are. However, little is known about the neural mechanisms underlying this ability. Many believe that this ability is made possible by responses in a network of brain areas that are consistently reported to be active when observing actions. This action-observation network (AON) consists of three bilateral cortical areas that are reciprocally connected, the ventral premotor cortex, inferior parietal lobule and superior temporal sulcus. (As some of the areas of the AON contain mirror neurons (Rizzolatti & Craighero, 2004; Chong et al., 2008; Kilner et al., 2009) this network is sometimes referred to as the mirror neuron system). Despite over a decade of neuroimaging research on the AON little is known about the functional role of each of these areas of the AON when observing actions.
An extremely low frequency magnetic field attenuates insulin secretion from the insulinoma cell line, RIN‐m

In this study, we investigated the effects of exposure to an extremely low frequency magnetic field (ELFMF) on hormone secretion from an islet derived insulinoma cell line, RIN‐m. We stimulated RIN‐m cells to secrete insulin under exposure to an ELFMF, using our established system for the exposure of cultured cells to an ELFMF at 5 mT and 60 Hz, or under sham exposure conditions for 1 h and observed the effects. In the presence of a depolarizing concentration of potassium (45 mM KCl), exposure to ELFMF significantly attenuated insulin release from RIN‐m cells, compared to sham exposed cells. Treatment with nifedipine reduced the difference in insulin secretion between cells exposed to an ELFMF and sham exposed cells. The expression of mRNA encoding synaptosomal associated protein of 25 kDa (SNAP‐25) and synaptotagmin 1, which play a role in exocytosis in hormone secretion and influx of calcium ions, decreased with exposure to an ELFMF in the presence of 45 mM KCl. These results suggest that exposure to ELFMF attenuates insulin secretion from RIN‐m cells by affecting calcium influx through calcium channels. Bioelectromagnetics 25:160–166, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Nonlinear Analysis of Sensory Organization Test for Subjects with Unilateral Vestibular Dysfunction

Vestibular disorder is the cause of approximately 50% of dizziness in older people. The vestibular system is a critical postural control mechanism, and posturography analysis is helpful for diagnosing vestibular disorder. In clinical practice, the sensory organization test (SOT) is used to quantify postural control in an upright stance under different test conditions. However, both aging and vestibular disorder cause declines of postural control mechanisms. The aim of this study was to enhance the performance of the SOT using a nonlinear algorithm of empirical mode decomposition (EMD) and to verify the differences of effects caused by aging and/or illnesses benefits to clinical diagnosis. A total of 51 subjects belonging to 3 groups—healthy-young, healthy-elderly and dizzy—were recruited for this study. New dynamic parameters of the SOT were derived from the center of pressure (COP) signals. EMD served as an adaptive filter bank to derive the low- and high-frequency components of the COP. The effects on four ratios of sensory analysis caused by aging and vestibular disorder can be investigated for the specific frequency bands. According to our findings, new SOT parameters derived from the component with the specific frequency band more sensitively reflect the functional condition of vestibular dysfunction. Furthermore, both aging and vestibular dysfunction caused an increase in magnitude for the low-frequency component of the AP-direction COP time series. In summary, the low-frequency fluctuation reflects the stability of postural control, while the high-frequency fluctuation is sensitive to the functional condition of the sensory system. EMD successfully improved the accuracy of SOT measurements in this investigation.
Modern contact investigation methods for enhancing tuberculosis control in Aboriginal communities

The Aboriginal communities in Canada are challenged by a disproportionate burden of TB infection and disease. Contact investigation (CI) guidelines exist but these strategies do not take into account the unique social structure of different populations. Because of the limitations of traditional CI, new approaches are under investigation and include the use of social network analysis, geographic information systems and genomics, in addition to the widespread use of genotyping to better understand TB transmission. Guidelines for the routine use of network methods and other novel methodologies for TB CI and outbreak investigation do not exist despite the gathering evidence that these approaches can positively impact TB control efforts, even in Aboriginal communities. The feasibility and efficacy of these novel approaches to CI in Aboriginal communities requires further investigation. The successful integration of these novel methodologies will require community involvement, capacity building and ongoing support at every level. The outcome will not only be the systematic collection, analysis, and interpretation of CI data in high-burden communities to assess transmission but the prioritization of contacts who are candidates for treatment of LTBI which will break the cycle of transmission. Ultimately, the measure of success will be a clear and sustained decline in TB incidence in Aboriginal communities.
PLASTICITY OF JAW AND SKULL MORPHOLOGY IN THE NEOTROPICAL CICHLIDS GEOPHAGUS BRASILIENSIS AND G. STEINDACHNERI

I examined plasticity of jaw and skull morphology induced by feeding different diets in two species of the neotropical cichlid genus Geophagus. The two species possess different modes of development, which affect the size at which young begin feeding. I hypothesized that the difference in size at first feeding could lead to a difference in the amount of change inducible in the two species. The young of the substrate‐spawning species, G. brasiliensis, which begin feeding at a smaller size, were predicted to be more plastic than those of the mouthbrooding species, G. steindachneri. The two diets used to induce differences were brine shrimp nauplii and chironomid larvae. Numerous measures of the jaw and skull differed significantly between groups fed the two diets but the amount of plasticity induced was small and would not present a problem for taxonomists. Contrary to my prediction, both the magnitude and pattern of plasticity induced in the two species was similar. Thus, mode of parental care and the size at which young begin feeding do not affect the degree of plasticity. Fish fed brine shrimp nauplii were longer in oral jaw region, but were shorter and shallower in the area behind the oral jaws. An additional group of G. brasiliensis was fed flake food to compare the results of this study to other studies. The differences in measures between fish fed brine shrimp diets and flake food diets were greater than those between fish fed brine shrimp and chironomid larvae. A possible role of plasticity for enhancing rather than retarding morphological evolution is discussed.
Input Impedance of the Arterial System Using Parametric Models

In this work, we propose to use parametric models for the estimation of arterial tree input impedance. The results of this new method are compared with those of the standard method based on the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). The comparison is first made with pressure and flow measurements on a calf, then with human blood pressure measurements completed by blood flow data simulated from a soliton+windkessel model. The input impedance is calculated both at aorta and finger. As illustrated by the numerical results, the advantage of the proposed parametric method is its smooth impedance estimations, whereas the standard FFT method yields more disturbed results.
(Re-)Evaluating User Interface Aspects in ERP Systems -- An Empirical User Study

In recent years, several user studies have examined specific usability problems in the field of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). These studies focused on different branches, various usability aspects, and several user groups. In spite of this diversification, some common and essential usability problems have become apparent, which are related to system complexity and difficulties in finding required information. Although these results revealed essential shortcomings in ERP usability, they date back up to 2005 and comprised only individual ERP systems in specific branches with small user groups. Therefore, this paper first addresses the question of whether the identified usability problems are still present today. Second, it extends the research focus to additional considerations, such as the role of menu type, uncertainty in system usage or the support in problem situations. The results are based upon a broad survey sample of 184 ERP users from small and medium-sized enterprises.
Introduction to the Special Issue: Gender and Children's Friendships: Do Girls' and Boys' Friendships Constitute Different Peer Cultures, and What Are the Trade-Offs for Development?

Two theoretical perspectives are introduced as frameworks for organizing these essays on gender and friendship. The two cultures perspective (Maccoby, 1998) logically begins with the robust phenomenon of gender segregation from the preschool years through middle childhood and proposes that girls' and boys' groups develop different peer cultures and socialize one another in different ways. The second approach extends the two cultures theory by proposing that distinctive features of girls' and boys' peer relationships confer particular developmental advantages but also vulnerabilities for each group (Rose & Rudolph, 2006). This introduction outlines how the results of the six empirical studies in this special issue might inform the two cultures and emotional trade-offs perspectives.
Responsibility in Relation to Respectability

Summary The present study tested the cross-cultural replicability of Jones and Aronson's finding that the victim of a rape is held more responsible for the crime if she is more respectable. Ss were 300 male and female graduate students of the University of Bombay. The experimental variables were manipulated through variations in the case accounts of a rape, with victim's status (unmarried virgin, married woman, widow, divorcee, and prostitute) as the first variable, actuality of the rape (completed versus merely attempted) as the second, and S's sex as the third. There were no differences in the responsibility attributed to the victim as a function of her respectability. Greater responsibility was attributed to the victim by male Ss than by female Ss (p < .05). More severe punishment was recommended to the accused for actual rape than for attempted rape (p < .001), this being especially true in the case of a married victim.
A pixelated MIMO wireless optical communication system

This paper introduces the pixelated wireless optical channel, which transmits data at high rates using a series of coded time-varying images. This multiple-input/multiple-output point-to-point wireless optical channel uses arrays of optical intensity transmitters and detectors to exploit the inherent spatial degrees of freedom and to realize significant gains in spectral efficiency over single-element systems. Spatial discrete multitone modulation is introduced as a means to combat low-pass spatial distortion and to alleviate spatial alignment problems of previous systems. The capacity of pixelated wireless optical channels is estimated by way of a water-pouring spectrum. A proof-of-concept experimental prototype is constructed using a 512times512 pixel liquid crystal display panel and 154times154 pixels of a charge-coupled device camera. A channel model is developed and the capacity estimated to be 22.4 kb/frame. An unoptimized multilevel code and multistage decoder is applied over the spatial frequency bins and shown to yield spectral efficiencies of approximately 1.7 kb/s/Hz over a range of 2 m
Violent Incidents in Greek Basketball. Referees' Perspective on the Theoretical Models of Violence

Violent Incidents in Greek Basketball. Referees' Perspective on the Theoretical Models of Violence During the last 30 years a significant body of knowledge has been accumulated around the issue of hooliganism in professional soccer. However, very little has been said about violence in basketball, a sport that has the most incidents of violence after soccer and perhaps handball in Europe. Although an increasing number of violent incidents in basketball are reported in the mass media, research is limited. The sample consisted of 16 top Greek basketball referees, several of whom were distinguished even at an international level. The top referees were interviewed in a hotel prior to matches. The criteria for the choice of leading referees was based on their top refereeing experience (A1 division). Officials provide support for the notion that basketball is hostage to personal interests and is used as a means of pressure for the service of other aims. The theory for the social roots of hooliganism as well as the theory of frustration - aggression provide sufficient explanations for the interpretation of violence in basketball. Under work and family pressures young people become more aggressive and unload their disappointment in the sports ground, which they consider to be a suitable outlet.
A catalogue of RR Lyrae stars from the Northern Sky Variability Survey

A search for RR Lyrae stars has been conducted in the publicly available data of the Northern Sky Variability Survey. Candidates have been selected by the statistical properties of their variation; the standard deviation, skewness and kurtosis with appropriate limits determined from a sample 314 known RRab and RRc stars listed in the General Catalogue of Variable Stars. From the period analysis and light-curve shape of over 3000 candidates 785 RR Lyrae have been identified of which 188 are previously unknown. The light curves were examined for the Blazhko effect and several new stars showing this were found. Six double-mode RR Lyrae stars were also found of which two are new discoveries. Some previously known variables have been reclassified as RR Lyrae stars and similarly some RR Lyrae stars have been found to be other types of variable, or not variable at all.
Inflection and derivation in native and non-native language processing: Masked priming experiments on Turkish

Much previous experimental research on morphological processing has focused on surface and meaning-level properties of morphologically complex words, without paying much attention to the morphological differences between inflectional and derivational processes. Realization-based theories of morphology, for example, assume specific morpholexical representations for derived words that distinguish them from the products of inflectional or paradigmatic processes. The present study reports results from a series of masked priming experiments investigating the processing of inflectional and derivational phenomena in native (L1) and non-native (L2) speakers in a non-Indo-European language, Turkish. We specifically compared regular (Aorist) verb inflection with deadjectival nominalization, both of which are highly frequent, productive and transparent in Turkish. The experiments demonstrated different priming patterns for inflection and derivation, specifically within the L2 group. Implications of these findings are discussed both for accounts of L2 morphological processing and for the controversial linguistic distinction between inflection and derivation.
Consequences of Pragmatic Conceptualism: On the Methodology Problem in Jurisprudence

The purpose of this paper is to address some of the main issues of contemporary jurisprudential methodology by considering the contribution of Jules Coleman to this subject. After a description of Coleman's methodological approach and a clarification of its philosophical background, the paper focuses on some related problems, such as the relation between linguistic meaning and conceptual content, the nature of legal concepts, the different aspects of the normativity of content, and the revisability of conceptual truths.
Promoting awareness of sounds in speech: An initial report of an early intervention program for children with speech and language impairments

The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the efficacy of the rhyming portion of the Promoting Awareness of Sounds in Speech (PASS) program, a comprehensive and explicit phonological awareness intervention curriculum that was designed specifically for preschool children with speech and language impairments. A single-subject research design was used to examine treatment effects among children with varying levels of communicative competence, to permit flexibility while piloting the intervention program, and to provide experimental control. The PASS rhyming module was implemented with eight children with speech and/or language impairments, following the establishment of a stable pretreatment baseline on a series of phonological awareness probes. After instruction, all of the children demonstrated substantial improvement in their rhyming ability, which generally appeared to be attributable to the intervention rather than environmental or maturational factors. These findings suggest that PASS rhyming training was an effective approach to phonological awareness instruction for the preschoolers with disabilities who comprised our sample. Thus, it appears that explicit instruction in phonological awareness skills is beneficial for children at a point earlier than is typically judged to be therapeutically appropriate.
“Together we can make it better”: Collective action and governance in a girls’ ice hockey association

This paper, drawing on collective action literature and situated within the women’s sport movement, offers a case study of a separate girls’ minor hockey association that formed in Ontario in the mid-1990s. The analysis explores the process of establishing a girls’ hockey association that is separate from the boys’ minor hockey umbrella. Two fundamental collective action themes emerged from the data. First, the data revealed the founders of the separate association acted according to both affective and rational motives. Second, the founders utilized different strategies, namely advocacy and social action, to form the association. These findings support an integrated perspective towards community change as it pertains to female hockey governance, and introduces a novel stream of inquiry into this area of female sport – one that connects collective action, governance, and organizational dynamics.
Theory and modelling of wavelength tunable laser transmitters with enhanced tuning range and their modulation performance

The research that is described in detail in this thesis investigates key characteristics of the operation of Tunable Laser Diodes (TLDs), such as Continuous Wave (CW) operation, discontinuous, continuous and quasicontinuous wavelength tuning and direct Intensity Modulation (IM) (small-signal analysis). Two software simulation tools were used to model the TLDs and investigate their operation, Crosslight PICS3D and VPI (Virtual Photonics Incorporated). Two different Free-Carrier (FC) contributions to the refractive index change of the TLD during FC tuning were investigated, the FC plasma effect and the band-filling effect which uses the Kramers-Kronig (KK) relations (KK effect). It was found that the band-filling effect is heavily underestimated due to the lack of its investigation in published literature as it is the main contributor to the refractive index change instead of the plasma effect. Investigation on different types of wavelength tuning also took place. It was found that with careful design of the passive sections, such as the κL product, grating composition, section length and passive waveguide thickness the discontinuous, continuous and quasicontinuous tuning range can be enhanced greatly. The issue of output power decrease during discontinuous tuning in bulk and Multiple Quantum Well (MQW) TLDs was also addressed and it was found that the power drop can be delayed at latter stages of the tuning range by carefully selecting the Lorentzian lineshape of the gain spectrum. A power stabilisation was realised with continuous tuning. A small-signal analysis of directly intensity modulated TLDs during discontinuous tuning was also made and was found that the increase of the resonance frequency depends mainly on the increase of the differential gain with the wavelength change.
Effects of Feedback Accountability and Self-Rating Information on Employee Appraisals: A Replication and Extension

The influence of feedback accountability and self-rating information on employee performance appraisals was examined. Undergraduate business student participants assumed the role of “supervisor” and evaluated a fictitious “subordinate” whose performance on a clerical task was either moderately poor or very good. Participants were either given fictitious self-rating information, or no self-rating information, and were told they were expected to provide performance feedback to their ratee, or there was no feedback expectation. As expected, in Study 1 both self-rating information and expected feedback-sharing independently resulted in lenient ratings for poor performance, and the combined effects resulted in the highest ratings. By contrast, results for good performance (Study 2) were not significant. Implications of the findings for human resource management practice and research were discussed.