Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ph and compartmentation of isolated perfused rat liver studied by 31p and 19f nmr

The phosphorus NMR spectra of isolated perfused rat liver displays a prominent inorganic phosphate peak at 2.76 ± 0.05 ppm relative to liver glycerolphosphocholine at 0.49 ppm. From titration curves of phosphorus‐containing compounds this corresponds to a pH of 7.4. The spectra also display a shoulder on the prominent inorganic phosphate peak at 2.22 ± 0.55 ppm corresponding to a pH of 7.0. Fructose is phosphorylated in the C1 position by the liver and the resulting fructose‐1‐phosphate is located in the cytosol. From the titration curves, this compound was at pH 7.0. When inorganic phosphate was added to the perfusate, 13 of 25 livers showed two inorganic phosphate peaks resolved in the difference spectra, one originating from the perfusate, the other at pH 7.0. When large (50 mM) fructose doses were administered to the liver, the prominent peak decreased allowing two peaks to be resolved. FCCP treatment of the liver caused the two peaks to coalesce with the final pH of both the fructose‐1‐phosphate and inorganic phosphate being the same. 19F NMR of difluoromethylalanine gave an intracellular pH of 7.4 for the isolated perfused liver. The data presented do not lend themselves to satisfactory interpretation, and call into question the correctness of the traditional assignment of liver inorganic phosphate being cytosolic in origin.
The Reconstruction of Schooling in Africa

Often regarded primarily as a lending institution, the World Bank has increasingly emphasized its role as a development adviser. Few, if any, other international institutions have a comparable concentration of development expertise and experience. Its investment in research surely exceeds that of most African countries and perhaps all of them combined. In some domains-education is a prime example-the World Bank's development advice may have as much influence on programs and policies as its loans. As it plays this role, the World Bank becomes more than a broker of relevant information. Directly and indirectly, it seeks to guide and manage the creation of knowledge and, in doing so, to set the standards for what has come to be called knowledge production. Implicit in the provision of foreign assistance to African education are several broad propositions about the relationships among research, knowledge, and public policy. Generally accepted uncritically, these propositions seem unexceptional, so obvious that they hardly require systematic presentation and supporting evidence. Embedded in these propositions is an increasingly influential conjunction of funding and research that has far-reaching consequences for African education and for African development in general. The understanding implicit in the assistance relationship begins with two related assumptions: education is essential for development, and education in Africa is currently in such disarray that it cannot fulfill its developmental role. From that starting point comes a third widely accepted proposition: foreign assistance is required to support new initiatives in education, to rehabilitate African education systems that have deteriorated in recent years, and to meet recurrent expenditures. A second set of propositions informs the determination of what sort of assistance is to be provided. Although foreign assistance is of course negotiated and thus subject to the exigencies and vagaries of politics, priorities and targets for foreign aid should be determined, it is generally assumed, on the basis of careful research on education and development. That is, reliable knowledge about education, both in general and in its role in African development,
The inhibitory effect of aspirin on lymphatic contractility

1 Spontaneous contractions and those elicited by two different methods of electrical stimulation were studied in isolated segments of bovine mesenteric lymphatic vessels. 2 The effect of aspirin (a cyclo‐oxygenase inhibitor) on spontaneous and evoked contractions of isolated lymphatic vessels was investigated. 3 Aspirin at doses of 10−6m or greater depressed both spontaneous and action potential‐dependent evoked contractions, but failed to inhibit contractions evoked by high current field stimulation. These latter contractions were rapidly depressed by the application of D600. 4 When aspirin was applied for five minute periods, inhibition never occurred within the period of drug administration but was delayed, with maximum inhibition occurring approximately 10 min after washout of the drug. 5 It is concluded that the inhibitory action of aspirin is unlikely to be a non‐specific depression of the contractile mechanism, but rather a reduction in excitability probably as a result of cyclo‐oxygenase inhibition.
Auditory cortical neurons are sensitive to static and continuously changing interaural phase cues.

1. The interaural-phase-difference (IPD) sensitivity of single neurons in the primary auditory (AI) cortex of the anesthetized cat was studied at stimulus frequencies ranging from 120 to 2,500 Hz. Best frequencies of the 43 AI cells sensitive to IPD ranged from 190 to 2,400 Hz. 2. A static IPD was produced when a pair of low-frequency tone bursts, differing from one another only in starting phase, were presented dichotically. The resulting IPD-sensitivity curves, which plot the number of discharges evoked by the binaural signal as a function of IPD, were deeply modulated circular functions. IPD functions were analyzed for their mean vector length (r) and mean interaural phase (phi). Phase sensitivity was relatively independent of best frequency (BF) but highly dependent on stimulus frequency. Regardless of BF or stimulus frequency within the excitatory response area the majority of cells fired maximally when the ipsilateral tone lagged the contralateral signal and fired least when this interaural-phase relationship was reversed. 3. Sensitivity to continuously changing IPD was studied by delivering to the two ears 3-s tones that differed slightly in frequency, resulting in a binaural beat. Approximately 26% of the cells that showed a sensitivity to static changes in IPD also showed a sensitivity to dynamically changing IPD created by this binaural tonal combination. The discharges were highly periodic and tightly synchronized to a particular phase of the binaural beat cycle. High synchrony can be attributed to the fact that cortical neurons typically respond to an excitatory stimulus with but a single spike that is often precisely timed to stimulus onset. A period histogram, binned on the binaural beat frequency (fb), produced an equivalent IPD-sensitivity function for dynamically changing interaural phase. For neurons sensitive to both static and continuously changing interaural phase there was good correspondence between their static (phi s) and dynamic (phi d) mean interaural phases. 4. All cells responding to a dynamically changing stimulus exhibited a linear relationship between mean interaural phase and beat frequency. Most cells responded equally well to binaural beats regardless of the initial direction of phase change. For a fixed duration stimulus, and at relatively low fb, the number of spikes evoked increased with increasing fb, reflecting the increasing number of effective stimulus cycles. At higher fb, AI neurons were unable to follow the rate at which the most effective phase repeated itself during the 3 s of stimulation. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Optimal Electrical Properties of Outer Hair Cells Ensure Cochlear Amplification

The organ of Corti (OC) is the auditory epithelium of the mammalian cochlea comprising sensory hair cells and supporting cells riding on the basilar membrane. The outer hair cells (OHCs) are cellular actuators that amplify small sound-induced vibrations for transmission to the inner hair cells. We developed a finite element model of the OC that incorporates the complex OC geometry and force generation by OHCs originating from active hair bundle motion due to gating of the transducer channels and somatic contractility due to the membrane protein prestin. The model also incorporates realistic OHC electrical properties. It explains the complex vibration modes of the OC and reproduces recent measurements of the phase difference between the top and the bottom surface vibrations of the OC. Simulations of an individual OHC show that the OHC somatic motility lags the hair bundle displacement by ∼90 degrees. Prestin-driven contractions of the OHCs cause the top and bottom surfaces of the OC to move in opposite directions. Combined with the OC mechanics, this results in ∼90 degrees phase difference between the OC top and bottom surface vibration. An appropriate electrical time constant for the OHC membrane is necessary to achieve the phase relationship between OC vibrations and OHC actuations. When the OHC electrical frequency characteristics are too high or too low, the OHCs do not exert force with the correct phase to the OC mechanics so that they cannot amplify. We conclude that the components of OHC forward and reverse transduction are crucial for setting the phase relations needed for amplification.
Reconstructing consumer participation in evidence-based health care: a polemic

Consumer participation in the evidence-based health-care movement is largely seen as important by those who promote evidence-based health care but is surrounded by a range of competing discourses that variously critique medicine, nursing or health-care systems; situate consumers as powerless players within systems characterized by controlling health professionals; or politicize the role of the consumer as activist and defender of patient rights. This paper explores these competing discourses and develops an argument that asserts that the social construction of the evidence-based movement has rendered previously accepted terminology regarding the user or receiver of health services relatively meaningless. The result has been the ‘politicisation’ and ‘professionalisation’ of consumer participation and the time has come to reconstruct consumer participation in evidence-based health care – from the generation of evidence to guideline development.
Effects of postimplantation systemic inflammatory response on long-term clinical outcomes after endovascular aneurysm repair of an abdominal aortic aneurysm

AbstractThe aim of this study was to determine the association between postimplantation syndrome (PIS) and long-term clinical outcomes after elective endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) of an abdominal aortic aneurysm.In this single-center, observational cohort study, a total of 204 consecutive patients undergoing EVAR were included. Primary outcome was long-term mortality from any cause; secondary outcomes included long-term mortality, systemic or implant-related complications, and secondary therapeutic procedures.The diagnosis of PIS was established in 64 patients (31.4%). PIS patients were more likely to receive woven polyester endografts and have a longer postoperative hospital stay and lower incidence of type II endoleaks. In multivariate analysis, PIS was significantly associated with a decreased risk of developing type II endoleaks (P = 0.044). During follow-up period of 44 months, clinical outcomes showed no significant differences in mortality (P = 0.876), systemic (P = 0.668), or implant-related complications (P = 0.847), although rates of secondary therapeutic procedure were significantly higher in non-PIS patients (P = 0.037). The groups had similar rates of overall survival (P = 0.761) and other clinical outcomes (P = 0.562). Patients with and without PIS had similar long-term overall survival rates and other clinical outcomes. PIS was beneficial in preventing type II endoleaks during postoperative period.
Critical and interpretive histories: insights into accounting’s present and future through its past

Accounting history has a long tradition, but in recent years it has expanded its interests and approaches. Early literature of accounting history that sought to glorify the practice of accounting and the status of accountants has been supplemented first by a more utilitarian approach viewing the past as a “database” for enhancing understanding of contemporary practice and for identifying past accounting solutions that might be relevant to current problems, and then by a more critical approach, which seeks to understand accounting’s past through the perspective of a range of social and political theories. A tension has developed between those historians whose first loyalty is to the archive and those who look primarily to theory to inform their historical investigations. As accounting history matures, open debate between practitioners of different modes of history making can only be beneficial, not only to the development of the discipline, but also towards our own self‐understandings as accountants, including the impact we have on organizational and social functioning. Suggests that accounting history without a firm archival base is likely to lose direction, but that our notion of what constitutes the archive, and our ways of communicating, explicating and interpreting the archive, should not be taken as fixed. To illustrate this, examines a number of approaches to the writing of accounting history where recent research has begun to demonstrate a critical and interpretive tendency, and suggests directions in which this research might develop as accounting and its history enters the twenty‐first century.
The Elusive Costs of Sovereign Defaults

Few would dispute that sovereign defaults entail significant economic costs, including, most notably, important output losses. However, most of the evidence supporting this conventional wisdom, based on annual observations, suffers from serious measurement and identification problems. To address these drawbacks, we examine the impact of default on growth by looking at quarterly data for emerging economies. We find that, contrary to what is typically assumed, output contractions precede defaults. Moreover, we find that the trough of the contraction coincides with the quarter of default, and that output starts to grow thereafter, indicating that default episode seems to mark the beginning of the economic recovery rather than a further decline. This suggests that, whatever negative effects a default may have on output, those effects result from anticipation of a default rather than the default itself.
Dynamic pricing model of deteriorating items based on revenue management

Based on revenue management, dynamic pricing model of deteriorating items is studied. Firstly, the feasibility of the application of revenue management in dynamic pricing of deteriorating items and the character of the time to deterioration is represented. In order to gain maximum expected revenue, dynamic pricing model of deteriorating items is proposed, which is a continuous-time revenue management model based on a set of discrete price levels. Then we show a subset of these prices which forms a concave envelope is potentially optimal, and draw the optimal solution by dynamic programming recursions. Finally, we find items deterioration is influential to the optimal solution. When the items are deteriorating, it is better to sell them in a relative low price and depend on the deteriorating rate, and the high, it should be sold as early as possible. Then a numerical example is provided.
Consumo de drogas en estudiantes universitarios de primer curso

Objetivo: Mejorar el conocimiento de algunos de los factores y actitudes que pueden influir en el consumo de drogas de los estudiantes universitarios espanoles de primer curso, en especial en lo referente al tabaco. Metodos: Estudio descriptivo mediante cuestionario anonimo y voluntario. Variables de estudio: sexo, edad, entorno familiar, consumo de tabaco, alcohol y cannabis, actitudes a favor y en contra de fumar, percepcion de peligrosidad y percepcion de las conductas de los amigos. Resultados: 2445 alumnos, 1014 hombres (42%) y 1431 mujeres (58%), edad media 19 anos. En la poblacion estudiada un mayor porcentaje de mujeres que de hombres afirma que fumar tabaco es apetecible, creen que les ayuda a estar delgadas y les hace sentir bien; los hombres afirman en mayor proporcion que facilita la relacion grupal. Los universitarios que fuman tabaco se iniciaron en el consumo de alcohol antes que los que no fuman. El 16,5% del total de la muestra consume cannabis a diario, ocasionalmente o los fines de semana. El 10,4% afirma que sus amigos han probado y consumen otras drogas. Conclusiones: En este estudio las mujeres y los hombres tienen distinta percepcion sobre el tabaco, y el porcentaje de mujeres fumadoras es mayor. El nivel de tolerancia hacia el alcohol contribuye a que los jovenes tengan una menor percepcion del riesgo. Se podria pensar que el inicio tabaquico temprano puede actuar como la puerta de entrada para el consumo de alcohol y otras drogas.
Anti‐CD3 treatment up‐regulates programmed cell death protein‐1 expression on activated effector T cells and severely impairs their inflammatory capacity

T cells play a key role in the pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes, and targeting the CD3 component of the T‐cell receptor complex provides one therapeutic approach. Anti‐CD3 treatment can reverse overt disease in spontaneously diabetic non‐obese diabetic mice, an effect proposed to, at least in part, be caused by a selective depletion of pathogenic cells. We have used a transfer model to further investigate the effects of anti‐CD3 treatment on green fluorescent protein (GFP)+ islet‐specific effector T cells in vivo. The GFP expression allowed us to isolate the known effectors at different time‐points during treatment to assess cell presence in various organs as well as gene expression and cytokine production. We find, in this model, that anti‐CD3 treatment does not preferentially deplete the transferred effector cells, but instead inhibits their metabolic function and their production of interferon‐γ. Programmed cell death protein 1 (PD‐1) expression was up‐regulated on the effector cells from anti‐CD3‐treated mice, and diabetes induced through anti‐PD‐L1 antibody could only be reversed with anti‐CD3 antibody if the anti‐CD3 treatment lasted beyond the point when the anti‐PD‐L1 antibody was washed out of the system. This suggests that PD‐1/PD‐L1 interaction plays an important role in the anti‐CD3 antibody mediated protection. Our data demonstrate an additional mechanism by which anti‐CD3 therapy can reverse diabetogenesis.
Meanings of success and successful leadership in Ontario, Canada, in neo-liberal times

The provincial government of Ontario, Canada, has committed itself to raising student achievement, closing achievement gaps, and increasing the public's confidence in public education. It has introduced many policies, including the Ontario Leadership Strategy (OLS), to support these goals. Our study examined how teachers, administrators, support staff, and parents in three elementary schools in Ontario understand and enact school success and successful school leadership within this (neo-liberal) context. Findings of a comparative analysis of Ontario policy texts and data from interviews with administrators, teachers, support staff, and parents in the schools demonstrate that the school-based participants defined success as academic learning, a positive school climate, and students' well-being. This definition differs from the definition prioritised by Ontario's government: high scores on standardised provincial and international tests. However, principals in the schools enacted leadership practices advocated by OLS to support locally defined notions of success.
Assessment of buccal bone thickness of aesthetic maxillary region: a cone-beam computed tomography study

Purpose The aim of this study was to analyze the anatomical dimensions of the buccal bone walls of the aesthetic maxillary region for immediate implant placement, based upon cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans in a sample of adult patients. Methods Two calibrated examiners analyzed a sample of 50 CBCT scans, performing morphometric analyses of both incisors and canines on the left and right sides. Subsequently, in the sagittal view, a line was traced through the major axis of the selected tooth. Then, a second line (E) was traced from the buccal to the palatal wall at the level of the observed bone ridges. The heights of the buccal and palatal bone ridges were determined at the major axis of the tooth. The buccal bone thickness was measured across five lines. The first was at the level of line E. The second was at the most apical point of the tooth, and the other three lines were equidistant between the apical and the cervical lines, and parallel to them. Statistical analysis was performed with a significance level of P≤0.05 for the bone thickness means and standard deviations per tooth and patient for the five lines at varying depths. Results The means of the buccal wall thicknesses in the central incisors, lateral incisors and canines were 1.14±0.65 mm, 0.95±0.67 mm and 1.15±0.68 mm, respectively. Additionally, only on the left side were significant differences in some measurements of buccal bone thickness observed according to age and gender. However, age and gender did not show significant differences in heights between the palatal and buccal plates. In a few cases, the buccal wall had a greater height than the palatal wall. Conclusions Less than 10% of sites showed more than a 2-mm thickness of the buccal bone wall, with the exception of the central incisor region, wherein 14.4% of cases were ≥2 mm.
International Differences in Alcohol Use According to Sexual Orientation

Most research on sexual orientation and alcohol use in the United States has found higher rates of alcohol use and abuse among gay men and lesbians. Studies from other countries have found smaller or no differences between sexual minority and heterosexual women and men. The present study used general population survey data from 14 countries to examine high-volume and risky single-occasion drinking by sexual orientation. Data from 248 gay men and lesbians and 3720 heterosexuals were analyzed in a case-control design. In several countries partnered or recently partnered gay men and lesbians had no greater risk of heavy drinking or engaging in heavy drinking than heterosexual controls. Only lesbians in North America showed higher risk for both indicators. Future general population health research should include larger samples of gays and lesbians and use more comprehensive measures of sexual orientation for investigating the prevalence of health risk factors.
Multimodal Dataset for Assessment of Quality of Experience in Immersive Multimedia

This paper presents a novel multimodal dataset for the analysis of Quality of Experience(QoE) in emerging immersive multimedia technologies. In particular, the perceived Sense of Presence (SoP) induced by one-minute long video stimuli is explored with respect to content, quality, resolution, and sound reproduction and annotated with subjective scores. Furthermore, a complementary analysis of the acquired physiological signals, such as EEG, ECG, and respiration is carried out, aiming at an alternative evaluation of human experience while consuming immersive multimedia. Presented results confirm the value of the introduced dataset and its consistency for the purposes of QoE assessment for immersive multimedia. More specifically, subjective ratings demonstrate that the created dataset enables distinction between low and high levels of immersiveness, which is also confirmed by a preliminary analysis of recorded physiological signals.