Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Increased O 2 · Production and Upregulation of ETB Receptors by Sympathetic Neurons in DOCA-Salt Hypertensive Rats

Superoxide anion (O2 · ) production is elevated in the vasculature of hypertensive animals but it is not known if O2 · production is also elevated in the sympathetic nervous system. We measured O2 · levels in prevertebral sympathetic ganglia of deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA)-salt hypertensive rats using the dihydroethidine (DHE) fluorescence method. O2 · was elevated in ganglia from DOCA-salt rats compared with normotensive sham rats. Treatment of ganglia with endothelin (ET)-1 (3 10 8 mol/L) resulted in a 200% increase in fluorescence intensity in neurons, which was attenuated by the ETB receptor antagonist BQ788 (10 7 mol/L). ET-1 also increased the O2 · induced fluorescence in dissociated sympathetic neurons and PC-12 cells via activation of ETB receptors, but not ETA receptors. To evaluate whether elevated ET-1 levels in the ganglia might contribute to the elevated O2 · found in ganglia we measured the amount of ET-1 using an ELISA assay. ET-1 levels in sham rat celiac ganglia were 695.6 40.9 picogram per gram; they were not different than ET-1 levels in ganglia from DOCA-salt rats. We then compared ETB receptor levels in ganglia from sham and DOCA-salt animals. ETB receptor mRNA levels were 32% higher and ETB receptor protein levels were 20% higher in celiac ganglia from DOCA-salt rats than from sham rats separately. In conclusion, O2 · is elevated in prevertebral sympathetic ganglia in DOCA-salt hypertension, and ET-1 is a potent stimulus for the elevation of O2 · levels in sympathetic ganglia, an effect that may be mediated by the upregulation of ETB receptors. (Hypertension. 2004;43:1048-1054.)
Tag-switching architecture: overview

Tag switching is based on two key ideas: (1) single forwarding algorithm based on label (tag) swapping, and (2) support for a wide range of forwarding granularities that could be associated with a single tag. Combination of these two ideas facilitates the development of a routing system that is functionally rich, scalable, suitable for high forwarding performance, and is capable of graceful evolution to address new and emerging requirements in a timely fashion.
Impact of parent‐child relationship on the career development process of high school students in Ibadan, Nigeria

Purpose – The purpose of this paper was to investigate the relationships of parental attachment and psychological separation to the career development process of secondary school adolescents.Design/methodology/approach – An ex post facto survey research design was adopted. The sample comprised 242 (males=121, females=121) senior secondary school II students randomly selected. Parental attachment, psychological separation, and career development scales were administered on the students. The data collected were analysed using hierarchical multiple regression analysis treating parental attachment and psychological separation as predictors and career development as a criterion variable. Parental attachment and psychological separation (mother scales) separately and significantly predicted career information‐seeking behaviour of participants. However, combined attachment and separation (father scale) could not significantly predict any of the career development variables.Research limitations/implications – The.
Ensemble of classifiers applied to motor imagery task classification for BCI applications

Brain Computer Interfaces allow the interaction between a person and their environment using signals extracted directly from the brain. One of the most common non-invasive methods of brain signal acquisition is the electroencephalography (EEG). An EEG based BCI system generally involves four steps: preprocessing, feature extraction, feature selection, and classification. In order to design a real applicable BCI system, it is important to provide: good classification performance, adequate computational cost, robustness to variations of the signal between trials and between subjects, and a classifiers model that cope with highly dimensional data. Ensemble of classifiers is a learning model that, with a proper design, can satisfy those conditions, which make them a good match for a BCI application. In this paper, some ensemble of classifiers designs are evaluated and compared with other BCI approaches on three different subjects. In the proposed model, Genetic Algorithm is employed as feature selection method and Wavelet Packet Decomposition as preprocessing procedure. Four fusion methods were applied in the ensembles design, including: Majority Voting, Weighted Majority Voting, Genetic Algorithm for classifier selection and Genetic Algorithm to compute the weights for the Weighted Majority fusion method. The best results were obtained with the Weighted Majority Voting fusion method based on Genetic Algorithm.
Have you been appraised? A survey of the university administrative staff

Little has been reported in the literature on the perception and understanding of administrative staff regarding the processes involved in performance appraisal within the higher educational establishments. At the University of Bradford appraisal for this cadre of employees has hitherto taken a voluntary form. In response to this vacuum, an empirical survey has been carried out in four departments in order to explore the perception, views and preferences of the administrative staff of the entire process and its related issues. The results indicated that lack of provision for formal appraisal has often resulted in inconsistencies, little or no provision for establishing formal dialogue between management and the staff concerning their performance expectations, misplacement of personal goals, and realistic opportunities for personal and career development. Therefore concludes that there is an urgent need for the university to disseminate its policies widely and maintain uniformity of practice throughout its departments. Moreover, attention ought to be paid to the effective training and the role and responsibilities of line managers.
Musashi-1 regulates AKT-derived IL-6 autocrinal/paracrinal malignancy and chemoresistance in glioblastoma

Glioblastoma multiform (GBM) is one of the most lethal human malignant brain tumors with high risks of recurrence and poor treatment outcomes. The RNA-binding protein Musashi-1 (MSI1) is a marker of neural stem/progenitor cells. Recent study showed that high expression level of MSI1 positively correlates with advanced grade of GBM, where MSI1 increases the growth of GBM. Herein, we explore the roles of MSI1 as well as the underlying mechanisms in the regulation of drug resistance and tumorigenesis of GBM cells. Our results demonstrated that overexpression of MSI1 effectively protected GBM cells from drug-induced apoptosis through down-regulating pro-apoptotic genes; whereas inhibition of AKT withdrew the MSI1-induced anti-apoptosis and cell survival. We further showed that MSI1 robustly promoted the secretion of the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-6, which was governed by AKT activity. Autonomously, the secreted IL-6 enhanced AKT activity in an autocrine/paracrine manner, forming a positive feedback regulatory loop with the MSI1-AKT pathway. Our results conclusively demonstrated a novel drug resistance mechanism in GBM cells that MSI1 inhibits drug-induced apoptosis through AKT/IL6 regulatory circuit. MSI1 regulates both cellular signaling and tumor-microenvironmental cytokine secretion to create an intra- and intercellular niche for GBM to survive from chemo-drug attack.
Contingent Effects of Anxiety on Message Elaboration and Persuasion

This research examined the effects of anxiety on subsequent message processing. Experiment 1, conducted just before the hand-over of Hong Kong to China in 1997, manipulated anxiety by presenting Hong Kong participants with negative or positive potential consequences of the handover. Consistent with research documenting the cognitive deficits produced by anxiety, lower levels of message elaboration were obtained under high (vs. low) anxiety for an anxiety-unrelated message. However, for an anxiety-related message (e.g., a message about the upcoming hand-over ceremony), anxiety did not lower message elaboration, presumably because increased processing motivation compensated for cognitive deficits. Experiment 2 then revealed that, even for a motivating anxiety-related message (regarding job prospects), high anxiety results in a different type of processing compared to low anxiety. Specifically, capacity pressures caused heuristic cues in the message to bias the nature of systematic processing under high-anxiety conditions.
Disembodying cognition

Abstract The idea that concepts are embodied by our motor and sensory systems is popular in current theorizing about cognition. Embodied cognition accounts come in different versions and are often contrasted with a purely symbolic amodal view of cognition. Simulation, or the hypothesis that concepts simulate the sensory and motor experience of real world encounters with instances of those concepts, has been prominent in psychology and cognitive neuroscience. Here, with a focus on spatial thought and language, I review some of the evidence cited in support of simulation versions of embodied cognition accounts. While these data are extremely interesting and many of the experiments are elegant, knowing how to best interpret the results is often far from clear. I point out that a quick acceptance of embodied accounts runs the danger of ignoring alternate hypotheses and not scrutinizing neuroscience data critically. I also review recent work from my lab that raises questions about the nature of sensory motor grounding in spatial thought and language. In my view, the question of whether or not cognition is grounded is more fruitfully replaced by questions about gradations in this grounding. A focus on disembodying cognition, or on graded grounding, opens the way to think about how humans abstract. Within neuroscience, I propose that three functional anatomic axes help frame questions about the graded nature of grounded cognition. First, are questions of laterality differences. Do association cortices in both hemispheres instantiate the same kind of sensory or motor information? Second, are questions about ventral dorsal axes. Do neuronal ensembles along this axis shift from conceptual representations of objects to the relationships between objects? Third, are questions about gradients centripetally from sensory and motor cortices towards and within perisylvian cortices. How does sensory and perceptual information become more language-like and then get transformed into language proper?
Notch3 Is Critical for Proper Angiogenesis and Mural Cell Investment

Rationale: The heterotypic interactions of endothelial cells and mural cells (smooth muscle cells or pericytes) are crucial for assembly, maturation, and subsequent function of blood vessels. Yet, the molecular mechanisms underlying their association have not been fully defined. Objective: Our previous in vitro studies indicated that Notch3, which is expressed in mural cells, mediates these cell–cell interactions. To assess the significance of Notch3 on blood vessel formation in vivo, we investigated its role in retinal angiogenesis. Methods and Results: We show that Notch3-deficient mice exhibit reduced retinal vascularization, with diminished sprouting and vascular branching. Moreover, Notch3 deletion impairs mural cell investment, resulting in progressive loss of vessel coverage. In an oxygen-induced retinopathy model, we demonstrate that Notch3 is induced in hypoxia and interestingly, pathological neovascularization is decreased in retinas of Notch3-null mice. Analysis of oxygen-induced retinopathy mediators revealed that angiopoietin-2 expression is significantly reduced in the absence of Notch3. Furthermore, in vitro experiments showed that Notch3 is sufficient for angiopoietin-2 induction, and this expression is additionally enhanced in the presence of hypoxia-inducible factor 1&agr;. Conclusions: These results provide compelling evidence that Notch3 is important for the investment of mural cells and is a critical regulator of developmental and pathological blood vessel formation.
Interventions among male clients of female sex workers in Benin, West Africa: an essential component of targeted HIV preventive interventions

Objectives: To assess the impact of interventions targeted towards female sex workers (FSWs) and their male clients on client HIV/STI prevalence and sexual behaviour. Methods: From 1993 to 2006, an HIV/STI preventive intervention focusing on condom promotion and STI care was implemented among FSWs in Cotonou, Benin, and then expanded to cover their male sexual partners in 2000. The interventions were scaled up to five other cities of Benin in 2001–2002. Serial cross-sectional surveys of HIV/STI prevalence and sexual behaviour were carried out among clients in Cotonou in 1998, 2002 and 2005; and in the five other cities (O/Cotonou) in 2002 and 2005. Results: Significant declines in gonorrhoea prevalence among clients of FSWs: Cotonou, from 5.4% in 1998 to 1.6% in 2005; O/Cotonou: from 3.5% in 2002 to 0.59% in 2005. Chlamydia prevalence also declined O/Cotonou, from 4.8% to 1.8%, while HIV prevalence remained stable. Reported condom use by clients with both FSWs and casual non-FSW partners, but not regular partners, increased significantly. While condom use at last sex with an FSW was similar in Cotonou to O/Cotonou around the time of implementation of the interventions (56% in 1998 vs 49% in 2002, respectively), it had risen to similar levels by 2005 (95% and 96%, respectively). Conclusions: These results demonstrate that it is possible to implement preventive and clinical services for clients of FSWs, and suggest that such interventions, integrated with those targeted towards FSWs, can have a significant effect on sexual behaviour and STI prevalence (particularly gonorrhoea) among this population.
Image Fusion for Mars Data Using Mix of Robust PCA

Multi-sensor image fusion is the process of combining relevant information from high spatial resolution image and high spectral resolution image. This paper proposes a pansharpening method for the fusion of Mars images obtained by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter satellite (PAN) and Mars Odyssey satellite (THEMIS MS). The method is based on some mix of Intensity, Hue, Saturation (IHS) and robust principal component analysis (RPCA) combined with the discrete wavelet transformation (DWT). Meanwhile, the results obtained with that of the other fusion techniques are compared, and a relatively objective comprehensive evaluation for fused image is used. Experiments show that the proposed algorithm has a significant suppression of artificial textures and less spectral distortion, and its running time is acceptable.
Relationships between everyday knowledge and scientific knowledge: understanding how matter changes

This paper analyses the representations held by adolescents and university students in relation to the mechanism for explaining changes in matter (changes of state, dissolutions, expansions and chemical reactions) in terms of the kinetic theory. The answers to a questionnaire were analysed by considering the proportion of correct answers and the use of alternative conceptions. The results show that understanding of explanatory mechanisms of changes in matter is affected by age and instruction level and content of the problem. The main conception that competes with the kinetic model is the attribution to the particles of the changes observed, at a macroscopic level. This is more evident in changes of state and expansions than in other changes. This confusion results from a failure to differentiate properly between the represented reality and the model that represents it. In conclusion, analysis has shown once more students' difficulties in going beyond apparent reality or integrating the data obtained from it into the scientific models they learn at school.
Reducing White Juror Bias: The Role of Race Salience and Racial Attitudes

Both Black and White jurors exhibit a racial bias by being more likely to find defendants of a different race guilty than defendants who are of the same race. Sommers & Ellsworth (2000, 2001) found that salient racial issues in a trial reduced White juror racial bias toward a Black defendant. We examined if race salience could reduce White juror racial bias, even for individuals who reported high levels of racism. Making race salient reduced White juror racial bias toward a Black defendant. Jurors’ racist beliefs were only associated with the verdict when the defendant’s race was not made salient. This finding suggests that the effects of individual prejudice toward a Black defendant can be reduced by making the defendant’s race salient. jasp_511 1953.1973
The experiences of female youth apprentices in Canada: just passing through?

This paper provides a view of the experiences of former high school apprentices in Canada. Conceptually, we draw on the work of Bourdieu with particular attention to vocational habitus, as well as feminist writers who discuss the gendered construction of skill and gender relations in the workplace and family. Empirically, we present our analysis of survey data from 173 male and female apprentices in two provinces and interviews with female apprentices in Alberta. Our data provide insights into youths’ school experiences as well as their subsequent trajectories and plans for the future. Findings suggest that female youth relied more than young men on the support of families and external influences in choosing a trade. Young women in female-dominated trades faced different but no less significant challenges than those in male-dominated trades. Women who succeeded in completing apprenticeship training did so because of their family habitus and expansive training experiences.
Attachment Disruptions, IQ, and PTSD in African American Adolescents: A Traumatology Perspective

Attachment disruptions, other traumas, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and intelligence quotient (IQ) were measured in a sample of 181 African American adolescents. Path analysis was utilized to test the effects of different types of attachment disruptions on IQ and PTSD. Findings supported that mother and father abandonments and being in foster care are associated with decreased perceptual reasoning, processing speed, and working memory, and increased discrepancy between perceptual and verbal toward decreased perceptual reasoning. Such suppression and discrepancy contribute to poor academic achievement. Results validated the traumatology perspective on attachment disruptions as traumas that are associated with PTSD, suppression of most IQ potentials, and with potential brain hemispheric desynchronization. The ramifications of these results for helping African American adolescents are discussed.
Effect of electrical stimulation pattern on the force responses of paralyzed human quadriceps muscles

Most studies examining the effect of electrical stimulation pattern on the force response of muscle have been done in able‐bodied persons. The purpose of this study was to examine the electrically elicited force responses of the paralyzed quadriceps femoris muscles of persons with spinal cord injuries (SCI) to see whether stimulation patterns that increase the force response in non‐paralyzed muscle will do so in paralyzed muscle. Thirteen subjects ranging in age from 11 to 24 years old with motor‐complete SCI were studied. Isometric muscle performance was tested using 6‐pulse constant‐frequency trains (CFTs), variable‐frequency trains (VFTs), and doublet‐frequency trains (DFTs) delivered at mean frequencies of 10, 20, 33, 50, and 100 HZ. In the non‐fatigued and fatigued condition, the VFT and DFT peak forces were greater than the CFT peak forces at 10 HZ. In addition, in the fatigued condition the 20‐HZ VFT peak forces were greater than the CFT peak forces, and there was a trend for the DFT peak forces to be greater than the CFT peak forces. In the non‐fatigued condition, the 33‐HZ and 50‐HZ DFT force–time integrals were greater than both the CFT and VFT force–time integrals. In the fatigued condition, there was no significant effect of train‐type on the force–time integrals. These results differ from those previously reported from studies using able‐bodied persons and indicate that findings from studies of the electrically elicited force responses of the muscles of able‐bodied persons do not apply to the paralyzed muscles of persons with SCI. Muscle Nerve, 2007
Characterisation of Connexin Expression and Electrophysiological Properties in Stable Clones of the HL-1 Myocyte Cell Line

Abstract The HL-1 atrial line contains cells blocked at various developmental stages. To obtain homogeneous sub-clones and correlate changes in gene expression with functional alterations, individual clones were obtained and characterised for parameters involved in conduction and excitation-contraction coupling. Northern blots for mRNAs coding for connexins 40, 43 and 45 and calcium handling proteins (sodium/calcium exchanger, L- and T-type calcium channels, ryanodine receptor 2 and sarco-endoplasmic reticulum calcium ATPase 2) were performed. Connexin expression was further characterised by western blots and immunofluorescence. Inward currents were characterised by voltage clamp and conduction velocities measured using microelectrode arrays. The HL-1 clones had similar sodium and calcium inward currents with the exception of clone 2 which had a significantly smaller calcium current density. All the clones displayed homogenous propagation of electrical activity across the monolayer correlating with the levels of connexin expression. Conduction velocities were also more sensitive to inhibition of junctional coupling by carbenoxolone (∼80%) compared to inhibition of the sodium current by lidocaine (∼20%). Electrical coupling by gap junctions was the major determinant of conduction velocities in HL-1 cell lines. In summary we have isolated homogenous and stable HL-1 clones that display characteristics distinct from the heterogeneous properties of the original cell line.
An exploratory study of backtracking strategies used by developers

Developers frequently backtrack while coding. They go back to an earlier state by removing inserted code or by restoring removed code for various reasons. However, little is known about when and how the developers backtrack, and modern IDEs do not provide much assistance for backtracking. As a first step towards gathering baseline knowledge about backtracking and designing more robust backtracking assistance tools in modern IDEs, we conducted an exploratory study with 12 professional developers and a follow-up online survey. Our study revealed several barriers they faced while backtracking. Subjects often manually commented and uncommented code, and often had difficulty finding relevant parts to backtrack. Backtracking was reported to be needed by 3/4 of the developers at least “sometimes”.
Body Awareness and Yoga Training

This study was done to investigate whether the practice of hatha yoga enhances the awareness of the normal, nonemotive bodily processes. A yoga-trained group of 17 and a control group of 19 were administered the Body Awareness Questionnaire. Analysis showed that the yoga-trained group had a significantly better body awareness than the control group.