Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Regulation ofd-Aspartate Release and Uptake in Adult Brain Stem Auditory Nuclei after Unilateral Middle Ear Ossicle Removal and Cochlear Ablation

In young adult guinea pigs, the effects of unilateral ossicle removal and cochlear ablation were determined on transmitter release from glutamatergic presynaptic endings and glutamate inactivation via uptake. (i) D-[3H]Aspartate release and uptake were measured in subdivisions of the cochlear nucleus (CN) and in nuclei of the superior olive (SOC) and auditory midbrain (MB) up to 145 days after placing the lesions. Activities were compared to those from age-matched unlesioned controls. Fiber degeneration was visualized histologically. (ii) In the ipsilateral CN, changes in release and uptake were governed by the type of lesion. Ossicle removal produced sparse pruning of fibers only after 112 days and decreased release and uptake at 145 days, consistent with regulatory weakening of excitatory glutamatergic transmission. Cochlear ablation deafferented the CN, producing deficient release and uptake at 2 days and abundant fiber degeneration at 7 days. Subsequently, the residual release and uptake increased in magnitude, consistent with strengthening of excitatory glutamatergic transmission. (iii) In the contralateral CN, after either lesion, changes in release and uptake usually matched those in the ipsilateral CN. Thus, the auditory pathway associated with the lesioned ear probably provided cues for the regulation of synaptic strength in the contralateral CN. (iv) Both lesions increased release in the SOC and MB, and uptake in the SOC, consistent with strengthening of excitatory glutamatergic transmission. Sparse fiber degeneration, suggesting axonal pruning, appeared in the SOC and MB after cochlear ablation. (v) The strengthening of excitatory glutamatergic transmission may facilitate and maintain symptoms such as loudness recruitment and tinnitus which often accompany hearing loss.
A Critical Study of the Mechanical and Electrical Properties of the PHANToM Haptic Interface and Improvements for Highperformance Control

This paper presents a critical study of the mechanical and electrical properties of the PHANToM haptic interface and improvements to overcome its limitations for applications requiring high-performance control. Target applications share the common requirements of low-noise/granularity/latency measurements, an accurate system model, high bandwidth, the need for an open architecture, and the ability to operate for long periods without interruption while exerting significant forces. To satisfy these requirements, the kinematics, dynamics, high-frequency dynamic response, and velocity estimation of the PHANToM system are studied. Furthermore, this paper presents the details of how the unknown subsystems of the stock PHANToM can be replaced with known, high-performance systems and how additional measurement electronics can be interfaced to compensate for some of the PHANToM's shortcomings. With these modifications, it is possible to increase the maximum achievable virtual wall stiffness by 35, active viscous damping by 120, and teleoperation loop gain by 50 over the original system. With the modified system, it is also possible to maintain higher forces for longer periods without causing motor overheating.
Peer mentorship and positive effects on student mentor and mentee retention and academic success

This study examined how the introduction of peer mentorship in an undergraduate health and social welfare programme at a large northern university affected student learning. Using an ethnographic case study approach, the study draws upon data collected from a small group of mentors and their mentees over a period of one academic year using interviews, reflective journals, assessment and course evaluation data. Analysis of the data collected identified a number of key findings: peer mentorship improves assessment performance for both mentee and mentor; reduces stress and anxiety, enhances participation and engagement in the academic community, and adds value to student outcomes.
Host Specificity for Bacterial, Archaeal and Fungal Communities Determined for High- and Low-Microbial Abundance Sponge Species in Two Genera

Sponges are engaged in intimate symbioses with a diversity of microorganisms from all three domains of life, namely Bacteria, Archaea and Eukarya. Sponges have been well studied and categorized for their bacterial communities, some displaying a high microbial abundance (HMA), while others show low microbial abundance (LMA). However, the associated Archaea and Eukarya have remained relatively understudied. We assessed the bacterial, archaeal and eukaryotic diversities in the LMA sponge species Dysidea avara and Dysidea etheria by deep amplicon sequencing, and compared the results to those in the HMA sponges Aplysina aerophoba and Aplysina cauliformis. D. avara and A. aerophoba are sympatric in the Mediterranean Sea, while D. etheria and A. cauliformis are sympatric in the Caribbean Sea. The bacterial communities followed a host-specific pattern, with host species identity explaining most of the variation among samples. We identified OTUs shared by the Aplysina species that support a more ancient association of these microbes, before the split of the two species studied here. These shared OTUs are suitable targets for future studies of the microbial traits that mediate interactions with their hosts. Even though the archaeal communities were not as rich as the bacterial ones, we found a remarkable diversification and specificity of OTUs of the family Cenarchaeaceae and the genus Nitrosopumilus in all four sponge species studied. Similarly, the differences in fungal communities were driven by sponge identity. The structures of the communities of small eukaryotes such as dinophytes and ciliophores (alveolates), and stramenopiles, could not be explained by either sponge host, sponge genus or geographic location. Our analyses suggest that the host specificity that was previously described for sponge bacterial communities also extends to the archaeal and fungal communities, but not to other microbial eukaryotes.
Shiga Toxin Glycosphingolipid Receptors in Human Caco-2 and HCT-8 Colon Epithelial Cell Lines

Shiga toxins (Stxs) released by enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) into the human colon are the causative agents for fatal outcome of EHEC infections. Colon epithelial Caco-2 and HCT-8 cells are widely used for investigating Stx-mediated intestinal cytotoxicity. Only limited data are available regarding precise structures of their Stx receptor glycosphingolipids (GSLs) globotriaosylceramide (Gb3Cer) and globotetraosylceramide (Gb4Cer), and lipid raft association. In this study we identified Gb3Cer and Gb4Cer lipoforms of serum-free cultivated Caco-2 and HCT-8 cells, chiefly harboring ceramide moieties composed of sphingosine (d18:1) and C16:0, C22:0 or C24:0/C24:1 fatty acid. The most significant difference between the two cell lines was the prevalence of Gb3Cer with C16 fatty acid in HCT-8 and Gb4Cer with C22–C24 fatty acids in Caco-2 cells. Lipid compositional analysis of detergent-resistant membranes (DRMs), which were used as lipid raft-equivalents, indicated slightly higher relative content of Stx receptor Gb3Cer in DRMs of HCT-8 cells when compared to Caco-2 cells. Cytotoxicity assays revealed substantial sensitivity towards Stx2a for both cell lines, evidencing little higher susceptibility of Caco-2 cells versus HCT-8 cells. Collectively, Caco-2 and HCT-8 cells express a plethora of different receptor lipoforms and are susceptible towards Stx2a exhibiting somewhat lower sensitivity when compared to Vero cells.
How Do Discrepancies between Victimization and Rejection Expectations in Gay and Bisexual Men Relate to Mental Health Problems?

Introduction: Victimization and rejection expectations predict mental health problems in gay and bisexual men. Furthermore, it was shown that victimization predicts rejection expectations. Nevertheless, the levels of these two variables do not necessarily correspond as indicated by low inter-correlations, resulting in the question “How do discrepancies in the two variables relate to mental health problems? ” This study tests if non-corresponding levels of victimization and rejection expectations in gay and bisexual men relate to mental health problems differently than corresponding levels of victimization and rejection expectations. It furthermore tests for linear and curvilinear relationships between victimization, rejection expectations, and mental health problems. Methods: Data from N = 1423 gay and bisexual men were obtained online. Victimization and rejection expectations were tested for discrepant values (differing 0.5 SD or more) and those that were in agreement (differing less than 0.5): 33.7% of participants were in agreement, 33.0% reported higher rejection expectations than victimization, and 33.3% v.v. Then, a polynomial regression and a surface analysis were conducted. Results: Discrepant values in victimization and rejection expectations or the direction of the discrepancy did not relevantly predict mental health problems. Findings indicate that victimization and rejection expectations predict mental health problems linearly as well as convexly (upward curving) in gay and bisexual men. Discussion: This study replicates findings that gay and bisexual men with more experiences of victimization and rejection expectations demonstrated more mental health problems. Furthermore, this study is the first one to find a convex relationship between these predictors and mental health problems, implicating that disproportionally high mental health problems exist in those gay and bisexual men with high levels of victimization and rejection expectations. On the other hand, discrepancies between these two variables do not predict mental health problems. Future studies are needed to test for replication of our findings.
Attachment relationships and physical activity motivation of college students

This study was designed to assess the link of attachment relationships with physical activity motivation. Potential mediators of this link were examined in a cross-sectional study targeting college student physical activity motivation and behaviour. Participants completed self-reports of attachment relationships (with mother, father and best friend), self-determined motivation for physical activity, physical activity behaviour and the hypothesised mediator variables of perceived competence, autonomy and relatedness. The results provide support for the mediating role of these variables in the association of father attachment with self-determined motivation. Meaningful variance in self-determined motivation for physical activity and physical activity behaviour was explained. Overall, attachment relationships appear to be relevant, albeit modestly, to physical activity motivation of college students. The findings support continued efforts to integrate attachment and motivational perspectives in the study of college student health behaviour.
The combination of duloxetine and bupropion for treatment‐resistant major depressive disorder

Our objective was to assess the effectiveness and safety of the combination of duloxetine and bupropion for treatment‐resistant major depressive disorder (TRD). A retrospective chart review was conducted to identify patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) who had not experienced full remission of symptoms following an adequate trial of either duloxetine (n=3) or bupropion (n=7), and who then received the combination of these two antidepressants for TRD. Ten patients [37.2±11.3 years of age, five women, baseline Clinical Global Impressions (CGI) scale score 4.4±1.1], seven of whom had not remitted following treatment with bupropion (330±67 mg, 20.5±12.2 weeks), and three of whom had not remitted following treatment with duloxetine (90±30 mg, 18±2 weeks) received at least 4 weeks of combination treatment. The CGI was administered when the combination was first prescribed, and following 8.8±4.0 (range, 4–16) weeks of treatment. There was a significant decrease in CGI‐S (Severity) scores (4.4±1.1 to 2.1±0.9, P <.0001) following combination treatment. Three (30%) patients were remitters at follow‐up, and six (60%) were responders who did not achieve full symptom remission. The mean maximum adjunctive duloxetine and bupropion doses were 60.0±17.3 mg and 175.0±114.5 mg, respectively. Side effects reported during combination treatment were nausea (n=2), dry mouth (n=2), jitteriness/agitation (n=2), fatigue/drowsiness (n=2), increased blood pressure (n=1), increased sweating (n=1), insomnia (n=1), pruritus (n=1), headache (n=1), sexual dysfunction (n=1), and weight gain (n=1). Although preliminary, these results suggest a possible role for the combination of duloxetine and bupropion for TRD. Depression and Anxiety 23:178–181, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Effect of Si3N4‐Mediated Inversion Layer on the Electroluminescence Properties of Silicon Nanocrystal Superlattices

The achievement of an efficient all‐Si electrically‐pumped light emitter is a major milestone in present optoelectronics still to be fulfilled. Silicon nanocrystals (Si NCs) are an attractive material which, by means of the quantum confinement effect, allow attaining engineered bandgap visible emission from Si by controlling the NC size. In this work, SiO2‐embedded Si NCs are employed as an active layer within a light‐emitting device structure. It is demonstrated that the use of an additional thin Si3N4 interlayer within the metal–insulator–semiconductor device design induces an enhanced minority carrier injection from the substrate, which in turn increases the efficiency of sequential carrier injection under pulsed electrical excitation. This results in a substantial increase in the electroluminescence efficiency of the device. Here, the effect of this Si3N4 interlayer on the structural, optical, electrical, and electro‐optical properties of a Si NC‐based light emitter is reported, and the physics underlying these results is discussed.
PARASITES OF WATERFOWL FROM SOUTHWEST TEXAS: III. THE GREEN-WINGED TEAL, Anas crecca

Seventy of 72 green-winged teal, Anas crecca, from southwest Texas were infected with parasites. Seventeen species of endoparasities were recorded: Notocotylus attenuatus, Zygocotyle lunata, Typhlocoelum sisowi, Echinostoma revolutum, Hypoderaeum conoideum, Dendritobilharzia pulverulenta, Cloacotaenia megalops, Sobolevicanthus gracilis, Sobolevicanthus krabbeella, Gastrotaenia cygni, Amidostomum acutum, Amidostomum anseris, Tetrameres crami, Echinuria uncinata, Corynosoma constrictum, Polymorphus minutus. Also recorded were five species of ectoparasities: Trinoton querquedulae, Anaticola crassicornis, Anatoecous icterodes, Holomenopon setigerum and Epidermoptes sp. and the sarcosporidian, Sarcocystis rileyi. Anatoecous icterodes is a new host record for A. crecca. Sobolevicanthus gracilis, S. krabbeella, T. sisowi, and D. pulverulenta are new records for A. crecca in North America. Sobolevicanthus krabbeella is also a new record for North America. Fall juveniles had greater mean parasite intensity (29) than fall (19) and spring adults (19). Juveniles were infected with fewer species of parasites (17) than adults (20). Simpson's index was very low (0.11) indicating a diverse parasite fauna. Sorenson's index of similarity indicated that the parasite fauna for green-winged teal from southwest Texas was more similar to the shoveler's, Anas clypeata, parasites reported from southwest Texas (55%) than to green-winged teal parasites reported from eastern Canada (41%) and New Brunswick, Canada (21%).
DI-GRUBER: A Distributed Approach to Grid Resource Brokering

Managing usage service level agreements (USLAs) within environments that integrate participants and resources spanning multiple physical institutions is a challenging problem. Maintaining a single unified USLA management decision point over hundreds to thousands of jobs and sites can become a bottleneck in terms of reliability as well as performance. DIGRUBER, an extension to our GRUBER brokering framework, was developed as a distributed grid USLAbased resource broker that allows multiple decision points to coexist and cooperate in real-time. DIGRUBER addresses issues regarding how USLAs can be stored, retrieved, and disseminated efficiently in a large distributed environment. The key question this paper addresses is the scalability and performance of DI-GRUBER in large Grid environments. We conclude that as little as three to five decision points can be sufficient in an environment with 300 sites and 60 VOs, an environment ten times larger than today’s Open Science Grid.
COMB: a portable benchmark suite for assessing MPI overlap

This paper describes a portable benchmark suite that assesses the ability of cluster networking hardware and software to overlap MPI communication and computation. The Communication Offload MPI-based Benchmark, or COMB, uses two methods to characterize the ability of messages to make progress concurrently, with computational processing on the host processor(s). COMB measures the relationship between MPI communication bandwidth and host CPU availability.
Numerical Univariate Polynomial GCD

We formalize the notion of approximate GCD for univariate poly-nomials given with limited accuracy and then address the problem of its computation. Algebraic concepts are applied in order to provide a solid foundation for a numerical approach. We exhibit the limitations of the euclidean algorithm through experiments, show that existing methods only solve part of the problem and assert its worst-case complexity. A rigorous geometrical point of view is given in the parameter space of all input polynomials and SVD computations on subresultants are applied in order to derive upper bounds on the degree of the approximate GCD. Then, we establish a certiication theorem and state the conditions under which it determines the precise GCD degree.
Clinical Pharmacogenetic Testing and Application: Laboratory Medicine Clinical Practice Guidelines

Pharmacogenetic testing for clinical applications is steadily increasing. Correct and adequate use of pharmacogenetic tests is important to reduce unnecessary medical costs and adverse patient outcomes. This document contains recommended pharmacogenetic testing guidelines for clinical application, interpretation, and result reporting through a literature review and evidence-based expert opinions for the clinical pharmacogenetic testing covered by public medical insurance in Korea. This document aims to improve the utility of pharmacogenetic testing in routine clinical settings.
Ion Exchange Membrane Cathodes for Scalable Microbial Fuel Cells

One of the main challenges for using microbial fuel cells (MFCs) is developing materials and architectures that are economical and generate high power densities. The performance of two cathodes constructed from two low-cost anion (AEM) and cation (CEM) exchange membranes was compared to that achieved using an ultrafiltration (UF) cathode, when the membranes were made electrically conductive using graphite paint and a nonprecious metal catalyst (CoTMPP). The best performance in single-chamber MFCs using graphite fiber brush anodes was achieved using an AEM cathode with the conductive coating facing the solution, at a catalyst loading of 0.5 mg/cm2 CoTMPP. The maximum power density was 449 mW/ m2 (normalized to the projected cathode surface area) or 13.1 W/m3 (total reactor volume), with a Coulombic efficiency up to 70% in a 50 mM phosphate buffer solution (PBS) using acetate. Decreasing the CoTMPP loading by 40-80% reduced power by 28-56%, with only 16% of the power (72 mW/m2) generated using an AEM cathode lacking a catalyst. Using a current collector (a stainless steel mesh) pressed against the inside surface of the AEM cathode and 200 mM PBS, the maximum power produced was further increased to 728 mW/m2 (21.2 W/m3). The use of AEM cathodes and brush anodes provides comparable performance to similar systems that use materials costing nearly an order of magnitude more (carbon paper electrodes) and thus represent more useful materials for reducing the costs of MFCs for wastewater treatment applications.
Evaluation of Compression in Intramedullary Hindfoot Arthrodesis

Compression was evaluated in an intramedullary hindfoot arthrodesis cadaver model using an external fixator and a “second generation” intramedullary compression nail. Four cadaver specimens were used. Four trials were done with each specimen. Trial 1: manual compression with the 1st generation nail. Trial 2: external fixator for compression with the 1st generation nail. Trial 3: external fixator for compression with the 2nd generation nail. Trial 4: nail-mounted compression device with the 2nd generation nail. In Trial 1 it was not possible to obtain or maintain compression. In Trial 2 large values of compression were obtained with the external fixator, however compression was not maintained after the first generation nails were locked and the fixator was removed. In Trial 3 large values of compression were obtained with the external fixator, but minimal compression was maintained after the second-generation nails were locked and the fixator was removed. In Trial 4 large values of compression were obtained with the compression device and greater than 60% of the compression was maintained after the nail was locked and the compression device was released. The study revealed that both the external fixator and the compression device could produce compression. The external fixator is useful as an aid in the O.R. However, in this study significant compression was maintained only with utilization of the compression device.
Effect of spherical Au nanoparticles on nanofriction and wear reduction in dry and liquid environments

Nano-object additives are used in tribological applications as well as in various applications in liquids requiring controlled manipulation and targeting. On the macroscale, nanoparticles in solids and liquids have been shown to reduce friction and wear. On the nanoscale, atomic force microscopy (AFM) studies have been performed in single- and multiple-nanoparticle contact, in dry environments, to characterize friction forces and wear. However, limited studies in submerged liquid environments have been performed and further studies are needed. In this paper, spherical Au nanoparticles were studied for their effect on friction and wear under dry conditions and submerged in water. In single-nanoparticle contact, individual nanoparticles, deposited on silicon, were manipulated with a sharp tip and the friction force was determined. Multiple-nanoparticle contact sliding experiments were performed on nanoparticle-coated silicon with a glass sphere. Wear tests were performed on the nanoscale with AFM as well as on the macroscale by using a ball-on-flat tribometer to relate friction and wear reduction on the nanoscale and macroscale. Results indicate that the addition of Au nanoparticles reduces friction and wear.