Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Gastric emptying and the symptoms of vection-induced nausea.

OBJECTIVES To examine the hypothesis that nausea during vection arises directly from an underlying alteration in gastric motility. DESIGN The simultaneous application of vection and assessment of gastric emptying of a liquid, non-nutrient test meal allowed the examination of the interaction between changes in gastric motility and symptoms. METHODS Studies were conducted in 14 volunteers. Vection was induced by seating the subject inside a rotating circular drum, which was painted with vertical black and white stripes. In the control study (n = 8) the drum was not rotated. Gastric emptying was measured by gamma scintigraphy of a radiolabelled isosmotic saline test meal. RESULTS Vection induced upper abdominal sensations (epigastric awareness) in 10 subjects, eight of whom subsequently reported nausea; autonomic symptoms of sweating and pallor were experienced by 12 subjects. Two subjects remained completely asymptomatic during vection. None of the subjects experienced any sensations during the control study. Gastric emptying was significantly delayed during vection (P < 0.01). There was a highly significant correlation between gastric emptying and the intensity of nausea. However, examination of the gastric emptying profiles did not support any direct association between altered gastrointestinal motor activity and symptoms. Two subjects with slowing of gastric emptying exhibited no nausea or upper abdominal symptoms, while another two experienced nausea when the underlying rate of gastric emptying was similar to that of the control period. CONCLUSIONS The delay in gastric emptying of a liquid test meal induced by vection appears to be a variable epiphenomenon of nausea. A cause and effect relationship between gastric emptying and nausea therefore appears unlikely.
Polydextrose studies in animals , human and in vitro : Contribution of polydextrose in lipid metabolism

Dietary fiber include fibers from natural sources (such as fruits, vegetables, and wholegrain cereals), fibers that are extracted or obtained by other means from food material, and synthetic carbohydrate polymers, that have been shown to possess physiological health benefits [1, 2]. Dietary fiber can be classified analytically as soluble and insoluble based on their solubility in water, but can also be characterized as viscous or non-viscous and fermentable or non-fermentable depending upon the physiological characteristics the fiber might have [2]. Insoluble dietary fiber includes cellulose, part of hemicellulose, and lignin, whereas soluble fibers include components such as pectin, some hemicelluloses, lignin, gums and mucilage [2, 3]. Whilst there have been difficulties in achieving a global definition for dietary fiber, it is now generally accepted that dietary fiber can be defined as carbohydrate polymers with a degree of polymerization of 3 or more monomeric units which are not hydrolysed in the small intestine by the endogenous enzymes [4]. As fiber is resistant to digestion and absorption in the human small intestine, it enters the colon where it can be partially or completely fermented [5].
Decision and Response in Dual-Task Interference

Experiments with two stimuli (S1 and S2) and two responses suggest the existence of a stage of processing that cannot be shared between two concurrent tasks. Widespread support has been found for the hypothesis that response selection for Task2 is postponed when the S1 to S2 stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) is short (Pashler, 1994a). At short SOAs, manipulations which impact Task2 processing prior to response selection (e.g., degradation of stimulus quality) have little effect on Task2 response times (RTs). On the other hand, manipulations which are thought to impact response selection or execution (e.g., Stroop interference) always impact Task2 RTs. There is, however, one particularly compelling demonstration that appears to be inconsistent with the response selection bottleneck hypothesis: Karlin and Kestenbaum (1968) report that the RT difference between detection (i.e., 1-choice) and 2-choice discrimination dramatically decreases with decreasing SOA. Given that the primary difference between detection and discrimination is believed to be at response selection, their result may indicate a processing bottleneck at response execution (Keele, 1973). We fail to replicate the Karlin and Kestenbaum result in two substantive replications of Karlin and Kestenbaum's tasks and procedures. In the single experiment in which Karlin and Kestenbaum's result is replicated, a simple response execution bottleneck account is ruled out by the stability of the difference between 2-choice and 3-choice discrimination times across SOA. Two additional experiments demonstrate that response preparation and task strategy do not substantially contribute to the attenuation of response selection-level effects with decreasing SOA.
Tribological behavior of short-cut aramid fiber reinforced SBR elastomers: the effect of fiber orientation

Elastomeric materials are widely used in daily applications, such as conveyor belts and wiper. Generally, elastomeric materials show poor tribological behavior. Adding fibers to an elastomer is a way to solve this problem. The orientation of the fibers influences the mechanical and tribological behavior of the elastomers. In the present study, the effect of short-cut aramid fiber orientation on the tribological behavior for a Styrene-Butadiene Rubber (SBR) was examined. Three types of compounds which have different fiber orientations were prepared, resulting in normal, transverse and longitudinal orientation to the sliding direction. A contact model of the viscoelastic-anisotropic behaving elastomer was used to calculate the contact area. The friction and wear of the compounds were evaluated using a pin-on-disc tribometer. The results show that the frictional shear stresses of all compounds are nearly the same due to the presence of fibers on the wear track. The normal orientation of fibers shows the most effective way to increase the wear resistance compared to the longitudinal and transverse orientation of the fibers.
Matrix extracellular phosphoglycoprotein causes phosphaturia in rats by inhibiting tubular phosphate reabsorption.

BACKGROUND Matrix extracellular phosphoglycoprotein (MEPE), first isolated from tumour-derived tissue from a patient with oncogenic hypophosphataemia, is a putative phosphatonin that has received much less attention than fibroblast growth factor-23. To date, its effect on renal tubular phosphate reabsorption remains undefined. METHODS A renal clearance study was performed in anaesthetized rats infused intravenously with a range of doses of MEPE. RESULTS MEPE had no effect on glomerular filtration rate (inulin clearance) but caused rapid, dose-dependent increases in absolute and fractional phosphate excretion, wholly attributable to reduced phosphate reabsorption. At a maximal dose, MEPE increased fractional phosphate excretion more than 2-fold, whereas no change was observed in time controls. CONCLUSION The results lend support to the hypothesis that MEPE contributes to the phosphaturia of oncogenic hypophosphataemia and of hypophosphataemic rickets.
Short-term Stimulation of the Renal Na-K-Cl Cotransporter (NKCC2) by Vasopressin Involves Phosphorylation and Membrane Translocation of the Protein*

Na-K-Cl cotransporter (NKCC2)-mediated sodium chloride reabsorption in the thick ascending limb is stimulated by the antidiuretic hormone vasopressin. We investigate the mechanisms underlying the short term activation of NKCC2 by vasopressin in vivo, finding that administration of a vasopressin analogue (deamino-Cys-d-Arg vasopressin) causes a 2-fold increase in mouse kidney NKCC2 phosphorylation, as detected with a phosphospecific antibody, R5. The subtissue localization of the activation is defined by immunofluorescence. In vasopressin-treated animals, a dramatic increase in R5 immunostaining is observed in the initial segment of the thick ascending limb located in the inner stripe of the outer medulla, the region with a higher sensitivity to vasopressin. Although a pool of NKCC2 is present in cytoplasmic vesicles, the distribution of the phosphorylated cotransporter seems to be restricted to the cell membrane compartment; morphometric analysis of electron microscope images demonstrates a 55% increase in NKCC2 molecules at the apical membrane, suggesting the administration of vasopressin induces trafficking of the cotransporter. Thus, the short term actions of vasopressin on the thick ascending limb cotransporter are mediated by both an effect on the translocation of the protein and an increase in phosphorylation of regulatory threonines in the amino terminus of NKCC2.
A Cross Entropy-Genetic Algorithm for m-Machines No-Wait Job-ShopScheduling Problem

No-wait job-shop scheduling (NWJSS) problem is one of the classical scheduling problems that exist on many kinds of industry with no-wait constraint, such as metal working, plastic, chemical, and food industries. Several methods have been proposed to solve this problem, both exact (i.e. integer programming) and metaheuristic methods. Cross entropy (CE), as a new metaheuristic, can be an alternative method to solve NWJSS problem. This method has been used in combinatorial optimization, as well as multi-external optimization and rare-event simulation. On these problems, CE implementation results an optimal value with less computational time in average. However, using original CE to solve large scale NWJSS requires high computational time. Considering this shortcoming, this paper proposed a hybrid of cross entropy with genetic algorithm (GA), called CEGA, on m-machines NWJSS. The results are compared with other metaheuritics: Genetic Algorithm-Simulated Annealing (GASA) and hybrid tabu search. The results showed that CEGA providing better or at least equal makespans in comparison with the other two methods.
Combining Low-level Features for Improved Classification and Retrieval of Histology Images

Feature combination for image classification and indexing is an important design aspect in modern image retrieval systems. It is particularly valuable in medical applications and specially in histology applications in which different features are extracted to estimate tissue composition and architecture. This paper presents an experimental evaluation of textural features combination for histology image classification and retrieval, following a late-fusion scheme. The main focus of this evaluation is oriented to feature normalization to guarantee fair conditions for feature comparison and integration. The experimental evaluation was carried out on a collection of histology images to evaluate the feature combination strategy. Experimental results show that it is possible to improve the system performance by appropriately considering the structure and distribution of visual features. Also, it is shown that feature combination may lead to a decreased performance due to fundamental differences between image descriptors.
Scraped Data and Sticky Prices

Abstract I use daily prices collected from online retailers in five countries to study the impact of measurement bias on three common price stickiness statistics. Relative to previous results, I find that online prices have longer durations, with fewer price changes close to 0, and hazard functions that initially increase over time. I show that time-averaging and imputed prices in scanner and CPI data can fully explain the differences with the literature. I then report summary statistics for the duration and size of price changes using scraped data collected from 181 retailers in 31 countries.
Oxidation of Isoeugenol by Salen Complexes with Bulky Substituents

The catalytic properties of bulky water-soluble salen complexes in the oxidation of isoeugenol (2-methoxy-4-(1-propenyl) phenol) have been investigated in aqueous ethanol solutions in order to obtain a mixture of polymeric compounds through dehydrogenative polymerization. The average molecular weight of dehydrogenated polymers (DHPs) was monitored by GPC and correlated to reaction conditions such as time, concentration of substrate, concentration of catalyst, type of oxidation agent, etc. The DHP synthesized by adopting the best reaction conditions was characterized by different analytical techniques (GPC, 13C-NMR, 31P-NMR and LC-MS) to elucidate its structure. The lignin-like polymer resulting from isoeugenol radical coupling possesses valuable biological activity and finds applications in a variety of fields, such as packaging industry and cultural heritage conservation.
Heterogeneity of type-specific and cross-reactive antigenic determinants within a single M protein of group A streptococci

The heterogeneity of a pepsin extract of type-24 M protein (pep M24) was demonstrated by absorption of type-specific and cross-reactive human antisera with M protein fragments and heterologous serotypes of M proteins, pepsin extract of type-5 M protein (pep M5) and pepsin extract of type-6 M protein (pep M6). 2 of 12 individuals immunized with pep M24 developed significant rises in antibody titers against pep M5 and pep M6, as measured by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The sam individuals also developed opsonic antibodies against type-6, but not type-5, streptococci, which suggested the development of cross- protective immunity. Inhibition studies of one of these sera with the heterologous pep M proteins showed that the cross-reactive antibodies against pep M6 could not be blocked by high concentrations of pep M24, the immunizing antigen; these antibodies could be blocked, however, by cyanogen bromide-derived peptide fragments of pep M24, which suggested that the cross-reactive antibody was raised against an inaccessible site(s) in the pep M24 molecule. Inhibition studies of type-specific immune sera with pep M24 and peptides derived therefrom indicated that the M protein molecule contained multiple distinct as well as identical type-specific antigenic determinants that are unequally distributed among the seven derived peptide fragments.
Growth Cone Collapse through Coincident Loss of Actin Bundles and Leading Edge Actin without Actin Depolymerization

Repulsive guidance cues can either collapse the whole growth cone to arrest neurite outgrowth or cause asymmetric collapse leading to growth cone turning. How signals from repulsive cues are translated by growth cones into this morphological change through rearranging the cytoskeleton is unclear. We examined three factors that are able to induce the collapse of extending Helisoma growth cones in conditioned medium, including serotonin, myosin light chain kinase inhibitor, and phorbol ester. To study the cytoskeletal events contributing to collapse, we cultured Helisoma growth cones on polylysine in which lamellipodial collapse was prevented by substrate adhesion. We found that all three factors that induced collapse of extending growth cones also caused actin bundle loss in polylysine-attached growth cones without loss of actin meshwork. In addition, actin bundle loss correlated with specific filamentous actin redistribution away from the leading edge that is characteristic of repulsive factors. Finally, we provide direct evidence using time-lapse studies of extending growth cones that actin bundle loss paralleled collapse. Taken together, these results suggest that actin bundles could be a common cytoskeletal target of various collapsing factors, which may use different signaling pathways that converge to induce growth cone collapse.
Precautionary Hoarding of Liquidity and Inter-Bank Markets: Evidence from the Sub-Prime Crisis

We study the liquidity demand of large settlement banks in the UK and its effect on the Sterling Money Markets before and during the sub-prime crisis of 2007-08. Liquidity holdings of large settlement banks experienced on average a 30% increase in the period immediately following 9th August, 2007, the day when money markets froze, igniting the crisis. Following this structural break, settlement bank liquidity had a precautionary nature in that it rose on calendar days with a large amount of payment activity and more so for weaker banks. We establish that the liquidity demand by settlement banks caused overnight inter-bank rates to rise, an effect virtually absent in the pre-crisis period. This liquidity effect on inter-bank rates occurred in both unsecured borrowing as well as borrowing secured by UK government bonds. Further, the effect was experienced by all settlement banks, regardless of their credit risk, suggestive of an interest-rate contagion from weaker to stronger banks operating through the inter-bank markets.
The dynamical role of the circumplanetary disc in planetary migration

Context. Numerical simulations of planets embedded in protoplanetary gaseous discs are a precious tool for studying the planetary migration; however, some approximations have to be made. Most often, the selfgravity of the gas is neglected. In that case, it is not clear in the literature how the material inside the Roche lobe of the planet should be taken into account. Aims. Here, we want to address this issue by studying the influence of various methods so far used by different authors on the migration rate. Methods. We performed high-resolution numerical simulations of giant planets embedded in discs. We compared the migration rates with and without gas selfgravity, testing various ways of taking the circum-planetary disc (CPD) into account. Results. Different methods lead to significantly different migration rates. Adding the mass of the CPD to the perturbing mass of the planet accelerates the migration. Excluding a part of the Hill sphere is a very touchy parameter that may lead to an artificial suppression of the type III, runaway migration. In fact, the CPD is smaller than the Hill sphere. We recommend excluding no more than a 0.6 Hill radius and using a smooth filter. Alternatively, the CPD can be given the acceleration felt by the planet from the rest of the protoplanetary disc. Conclusions. The gas inside the Roche lobe of the planet should be very carefully taken into account in numerical simulations without any selfgravity of the gas. The entire Hill sphere should not be excluded. The method used should be explicitly given. However, no method is equivalent to computing the full selfgravity of the gas.
A fast Fourier transform approach to dislocation-based polycrystal plasticity

Polycrystalline materials serve as a basis for much of our current technology and will undoubtedly continue to serve a similar role in the future. Their mechanical properties depend not only on intragranular interactions between various defects, including the distribution of sizes and orientations of the grains, but also interactions with the grain boundaries. Modeling the mechanical behavior of polycrystals has become a standard part of the multiscale treatment of deformation. Currently, polycrystalline simulations are done through crystal plasticity methods, which are often informed through elastically isotropic single-crystal dislocation dynamics studies. These single-crystal studies, however, miss out on crucial effects due to the presence of grain boundaries, and as such, a corrective factor has to be taken when applying the output to higher-scale methods. In addition, these studies are generally done under an assumption of isotropic elasticity, due to the computational expense incurred when including anisotropic calculations. I have developed a Fourier transform-based spectral method that allows for the simulation of the evolution defects, such as dislocations, in heterogeneous systems. This method allows for a more accurate understanding of the interplay between defects and their environment, and will have the capability to determine more accurate constitutive laws for the deformation of polycrystals, to be fed into crystal plasticity models.
Identification of CD44 as a Surface Biomarker for Drug Resistance by Surface Proteome Signature Technology

We developed surface proteome signatures (SPS) for identification of new biomarkers playing a role in cancer drug resistance. SPS compares surface antigen expression of different cell lines by immunocytochemistry of a phage display antibody library directed to surface antigens of HT1080 fibrosarcoma cells. We applied SPS to compare the surface proteomes of two epithelial derived cancer cell lines, MCF7 and NCI/ADR-RES, which is drug resistant because of overexpression of the P-glycoprotein (P-gp) drug efflux pump. Surface proteomic profiling identified CD44 as an additional biomarker that distinguishes between these two cell lines. CD44 immunohistochemistry can distinguish between tumors derived from these lines and predict tumor response to doxorubicin in vivo. We further show that CD44 plays a role in drug resistance, independently of P-gp, in NCI/ADR-RES cells and increases expression of the antiapoptotic protein Bcl-xL. Our findings illustrate the utility of SPS to distinguish between cancer cell lines and their derived tumors and identify novel biomarkers involved in drug resistance. Mol Cancer Res; 9(5); 637–47. ©2011 AACR.
On local features for GMM based face verification

It has been recently shown that local feature approaches to face verification are considerably more robust than holistic approaches, in terms of translations (caused by automatic face localization) and pose variations. In this paper, we first investigate whether features based on local principal component analysis (LPCA) are more discriminative than features based on the 2D discrete cosine transform (2D DCT). We also investigate several methods for modifying the two feature extraction techniques in order to counteract the effects of linear and non-linear illumination changes, without losing discriminative information. Results on the XM2VTS database show that when using a Bayesian classifier based on Gaussian mixture models (GMMs), the performances of 2D DCT and LPCA techniques are quite similar, suggesting that the 2D DCT technique is preferable due to its lower computational complexity. When using 8/spl times/8 blocks, modifying the 2D DCT and LPCA techniques by removing the first coefficient, which is the most affected by illumination changes, enhances robustness with little change in discrimination ability; removing further coefficients causes a noticeable reduction in performance on clean images and provides little gain in robustness. When using the 2D DCT with 16/spl times/16 blocks, the first three coefficients need to be removed in order to achieve good robustness. It is further shown that contrary to previously published results, the use of deltas of low-order coefficients (to alleviate performance losses caused by removing coefficients) can adversely affect robustness.
Nurses’ Perceptions of Implementing Fall Prevention Interventions to Mitigate Patient-Specific Fall Risk Factors

Evidence-based (EB) fall prevention interventions to mitigate patient-specific fall risk factors are readily available but not routinely used in practice. Few studies have examined nurses’ perceptions about both the use of these EB interventions and implementation strategies designed to promote their adoption. This article reports qualitative findings of nurses’ perceptions about use of EB fall prevention interventions to mitigate patient-specific fall risks, and implementation strategies to promote use of these interventions. The findings revealed five major themes: before-study fall prevention practices, use of EB fall prevention interventions tailored to patient-specific fall risk factors, beneficial implementation strategies, overall impact on approach to fall prevention, and challenges. These findings are useful to guide nurses’ engagement and use of EB fall prevention practices tailored to patient-specific fall risk factors.