Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Presynaptic (cid:1) 1 Adrenergic Receptors Differentially Regulate Synaptic Glutamate and GABA Release to Hypothalamic Presympathetic Neurons

The hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) neurons that project to the spinal intermediolateral cell column and brainstem are important for the control of sympathetic outflow. Stimulation of (cid:1) 1 adrenergic receptors in the PVN increases sympathetic outflow, but the cellular mechanisms remain un-clear. In this study, we determined the role of (cid:1) 1 adrenergic receptors in the regulation of glutamatergic and GABAergic synaptic inputs to spinally projecting PVN neurons. Whole-cell and cell-attached patch-clamp recordings were performed on retrogradely labeled PVN-spinal neurons in rat brain slices. Bath application of 10 to 100 (cid:2) M phenylephrine, an (cid:1) 1 adrenergic receptor agonist, significantly increased the frequency of spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic currents in a concentra-tion-dependent manner. This effect was blocked by the (cid:1) 1 adrenergic receptor antagonists prazosin or corynanthine. Phenylephrine also significantly increased the frequency of miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents (mEPSCs) but not the amplitude and decay constant of mEPSCs. Furthermore, activation of (cid:1) 1 adrenergic receptors with phenylephrine or cirazoline significantly decreased the frequency of spontaneous inhibitory postsynaptic currents and miniature inhibitory postsynaptic currents, and this effect also was blocked by corynanthine. In addition, 50 (cid:2) M phenylephrine significantly increased the firing rate of 13 labeled PVN neurons from 3.16 (cid:1) 0.42 to 5.83 (cid:1) 0.65 Hz. However, phenylephrine failed to increase the firing of most labeled PVN neurons in the presence of GABA A and ionotropic glutamate receptor antagonists. Thus, these data suggest that activation of (cid:1) 1 adrenergic receptors increases the excitability of PVN presympathetic neurons pri- marily through augmentation of glutamatergic tone and atten-uation of GABAergic inputs.
Updating the UK's code for fiscal stability

The 1998 Code for Fiscal Stability sets out the framework within which UK fiscal policy is now set. While having such a code does not make it easier for a Government to meet its fiscal objectives, it may improve the economic credibility of the policy process. To date the Code has generally worked well, and in any case many of the Treasury’s practices exceed the minimum requirements of the Code. However, improvements could be made in the light of recent experiences. In particular it would be preferable for less emphasis to be placed on the precise forecasts for fiscal aggregates and greater emphasis to be placed on the magnitude of the risks to those forecasts. Using the projections contained in the March 2004 Budget, and information on the size of errors made in the past, we estimate that there is now a 60% chance that the Chancellor’s “golden rule” will be met without further tax increases or spending cuts. This compares to 74% for the forecast made by the Treasury 12 months earlier. As well as clarifying how cautious forecasts are, the uncertainty surrounding projections for fiscal aggregates also has implications for the way in which progress towards any fiscal rules should be interpreted.
The India State Hunger Index: Comparisons Of Hunger Across States

SUMMARY AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS The India State Hunger Index 2008 findings highlight the continued overall severity of the hunger situation in India, while revealing the variability in hunger across states within India. It is indeed alarming that not a single state in India is either low or moderate in terms ofger their hun index scores; most states have a “serious” hunger problem, and one state, Madhya Pradesh, has an extremely alarming hunger problem. The positions of Indian states vis‐a‐vis the Global Hunger Index 2008 show that even though there is variability in the scores, and hence the ranking of Indian states in relation to other countries, there are few states that perform well in relation to the GHI. Even the best performing Indian state, Punjab, lies below 33 other developing countries ranked by GHI. Even more alarming is the fact that the worst‐performing states in India – Bihar, Jharkhand, and Madhya Pradesh – rank most closely with countries that are precariously positioned on the GHI 2008 rankings. For instance, Bihar and Jharkhand rank lower than Zimbabwe and Haiti, while Madhya Pradesh falls between Ethiopia and Chad. Our analysis of the associations between the ISHI 2008 and state economic indicators shows that the relationship between poverty and hunger is largely as expected – greater ISHI 2008 scores are seen in poorer states, with a few exceptions. Outliers like Punjab and Orissa and Kerala perform better on the ISHI 2008 than might be expected given their poverty levels, while Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and
The Path to Dropping Out: Evidence for Intervention

Introduction and Overview The Policy Context: A Profile of the High School Dropout Problem School Dropouts: A Literature Review Examining the Relationship Between School Experiences and School Dropout: The Fall River Survey What Do the School Careers of Dropouts and Graduates Look Like? School Transitions and School Dropout: A Model for Investigating the Impact of School Transitions Grade Retention and School Dropout: Investigating the Association The Two Dropout Problems: A Framework for Dropout Prevention Policy Policy and Research Implications Appendixes Bibliography Index
A novel approach to the modeling of the indoor power line channel part I: circuit analysis and companion model

Multiconductor Transmission Line (MTL) theory is utilized here for modeling the transfer function of power cables in the indoor environment. This approach allows us to determine a circuit model that well characterizes the underlying physics of signal propagation over power-line (PL) cables and that also allows us to account for particular wiring practices common in residential and business environments. In Part II of this work, we will show how the proposed approach allows one to compute a priori and in a deterministic fashion the transfer function of any PL link by using two-port transmission matrices, as commonly done for telephone channel modeling. In this two-part work we will cross several layers of abstraction following a bottom-up approach: starting from the definition of circuit models in this paper, we will arrive at a method for the computation of the transfer function of an indoor PL link in Part II of this work. Moreover, as discussed in Part II, the approach followed here allows us to unveil some special properties of the PL channel that were never reported earlier, such as the symmetry of the transfer function.
Phenotypic Characterization of Toxic Compound Effects on Liver Spheroids Derived from iPSC Using Confocal Imaging and Three-Dimensional Image Analysis

Abstract Cell models are becoming more complex to better mimic the in vivo environment and provide greater predictivity for compound efficacy and toxicity. There is an increasing interest in exploring the use of three-dimensional (3D) spheroids for modeling developmental and tissue biology with the goal of accelerating translational research in these areas. Accordingly, the development of high-throughput quantitative assays using 3D cultures is an active area of investigation. In this study, we have developed and optimized methods for the formation of 3D liver spheroids derived from human iPS cells and used those for toxicity assessment. We used confocal imaging and 3D image analysis to characterize cellular information from a 3D matrix to enable a multi-parametric comparison of different spheroid phenotypes. The assay enables characterization of compound toxicities by spheroid size (volume) and shape, cell number and spatial distribution, nuclear characterization, number and distribution of cells expressing viability, apoptosis, mitochondrial potential, and viability marker intensities. In addition, changes in the content of live, dead, and apoptotic cells as a consequence of compound exposure were characterized. We tested 48 compounds and compared induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived hepatocytes and HepG2 cells in both two-dimensional (2D) and 3D cultures. We observed significant differences in the pharmacological effects of compounds across the two cell types and between the different culture conditions. Our results indicate that a phenotypic assay using 3D model systems formed with human iPSC-derived hepatocytes is suitable for high-throughput screening and can be used for hepatotoxicity assessment in vitro.
Micro SOA Model for Managing and Integrating Wireless Sensor Network into IP-Based Networks

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have many applications in home and industrial automation, and the management and integration of WSNs into Internet and IP-based networks is still getting tremendous interesting. This paper presents a micro SOA-model as part of a 4-layered, SOA-based architecture targeting resource-constrained devices with 48 KB of ROM and 10 KB of RAM. The key idea in this model is trying to implement SOA concepts using WSN protocols instead of trying to port the SOA protocols from IT-business world. Our micro model is based on the mIP protocol and it uses the HTTP philosophy instead of the HTTP protocol itself. The middleware layer in our architecture manages the simultaneous access to the WSN and filters the verbose information in a HTTP request to the WSN. It also manages the events and the service description of all devices in the network as well as it provides many other tasks like DNS, firewall, security, and authorization. Furthermore the paper presents a new idea for compressing XML and JSON messages based on a new concept of exchanging a common vocabulary between the networked embedded devices. Our results show that using JSON format instead of XML, or applying our zipping algorithm on them has many advantages in terms of network overhead and power consumption.
Love at First Sight or Sustained Effect? The Role of Perceived Affective Quality on Users' Cognitive Reactions to Information Technology

This research examines the impact of primitive affective reactions to information technology on subsequent cognitive reactions and behavioral intention on IT use, and the potential change of such impact over time. We ground our work in theories of psychology and information systems and propose a theoretical model in which the user’s perceptions regarding the affective quality of an IT influences cognitive reactions and behavioral intention to use IT. The model was validated by surveys in two field studies of 226 and 196 college students, respectively, who were asked to evaluate a course management system, WebCT. The first study occurred during weeks 3 and 4 of the spring 2004 semester, when subjects were getting familiar with WebCT for their classes. The second study ran during weeks 11 and 12 of the same semester, when WebCT had been used quite intensively in the classes. The theoretical model is supported by both studies, indicating that the impact of perceived affective quality persists, even when subjects’ familiarity with and use of the IT increases. Our research identifies perceived affective quality as another, more-fundamental, and sustained source of user intention of IT use that has not been widely recognized yet. From a theoretical perspective, this research breaks the conventional cognition-driven paradigm of studying user reactions to technology and calls for attention to affect and emotion in examining people’s everyday, normal interactions with IT. Practically, the research provides empirical evidence for IT designers, trainers, and stakeholders to better strategize their resources and emphases.
Political opportunity structures and right‐wing extremist party success

West European right-wing extremist parties have received a great deal of attention over the past two decades due to their electoral success. What has received less coverage, however, is the fact that these parties have not enjoyed a consistent level of electoral support across Western Europe during this period. This article puts forward an explanation of the variation in the right-wing extremist party vote across Western Europe that incorporates a wider range of factors than have been considered previously. It begins by examining the impact of socio-demographic variables on the right-wing extremist party vote. Then, it turns its attention to a whole host of structural factors that may potentially affect the extreme right party vote, including institutional, party-system and conjunctural variables. The article concludes with an assessment of which variables have the most power in explaining the uneven electoral success of right-wing extremist parties across Western Europe. The findings go some way towards challenging the conventional wisdom as to how the advance of the parties of the extreme right may be halted.
A Missing Leg of Ageing Policy Ideas: Dependency Ratios, Technology and International Organizations

3 INTRODUCTION: FROM THE ‘WORK FREE SOCIETY’ TO THE CHALLENGE OF DEMOGRAPHIC AGEING . 4 POLICY IDEAS PERSPECTIVE: POLICY STORIES AND CONCEPTUAL TOOLS. 6 THE DEMOGRAPHIC CHALLENGE: A TECHNOLOGICAL CRITIQUE OF THE OLD AGE DEPENDENCY RATIO CONCEPT 7 AGEING POLICY IDEAS OF INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS 14 UN/UNDESA: A society for all ages 14 From UN to UNECE: Into the iron cage of ageing 16 OECD: Employment and social policies past their sell-date 18 CONCLUDING DISCUSSION: A MISSING LEG OF REGIONAL AGEING POLICY IDEAS 20 ANNEX 1: CHRONOLOGY OF UN AGEING POLICY MILESTONES 23 ANNEX 2: LIST OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS 23 REFERENCES 24 DRAFT 29.06. 2009 P APER, RC-192009
Niobium Pentachloride Catalysed Ring Opening of Epoxides

Epoxide ring opening is a frequently required transformation in Organic Synthesis. In this paper we describe the application of NbCl5 for this purpose using three different substrates. Chlorohydrins, 1,2-diols, products containing solvent residues as well as rearrangement products are obtained, depending on both the substrate structure and reaction conditions. Rationalizations to account for some of the results are suggested.
Preoperative Assessment of the Axilla by Surgeon Performed Ultrasound and Cytology in Patients With Breast Cancer

Background Preoperative evaluation of the axilla, an important prognostic determinant for patients with invasive breast cancer, is achieved by non- or minimally invasive methods to avoid the potential hazards of operative intervention. The aim of this study was to determine statistical power of axillary ultrasound (US) and US-guided fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) for evaluating axillary status. Methods Axillary lymph nodes were imaged for malignant involvement by high resolution US in 93 breast cancer patients with clinically negative axilla. Cytological samples were obtained by US-guided FNAC from image-suspicious lymph nodes. Cytology-positive patients directly underwent axillary lymph node dissection (ALND). Patients with US and/or cytology-negative axilla underwent sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB). Using statistical analysis, US findings and US combined with FNAC were compared with SLNB and final pathology to measure performance. Results US was suspicious for metastasis in 38 patients (41%), of whom 16 (42%) were cytology-positive. Axilla was positive in 36/93 patients (38.7%). Sixteen patients with positive FNAC directly underwent ALND. SLNB and/or final pathology was positive in 13/55 patients (23.7%) with negative US (false negative of US) and in 7/22 patients (31.8%) with positive US but negative cytology (false negative of FNAC). SLNB and/or final pathology was negative in 15/38 patients (39.5%) with positive US (false positive of US). Sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of US alone were 63.8%, 73.6%, 69.8%, 60.5% and 76.3%, respectively, and 69.6%,100%, 81.6%, 100% and 68.1%, respectively, for US combined with FNAC. Conclusion Statistical measures of the US alone did not achieve a satisfactory value for excluding operative biopsy. US-negative and US-positive but cytology-negative cases still require SLNB for accurate evaluation of axillary status. On the other hand, US-guided positive cytology can obviate SLNB proceeding directly to ALND and avoiding frozen section of sentinel node(s).
Reconstitution of Membrane Protein Complexes Involved in Pneumococcal Septal Cell Wall Assembly

The synthesis of peptidoglycan, the major component of the bacterial cell wall, is essential to cell survival, yet its mechanism remains poorly understood. In the present work, we have isolated several membrane protein complexes consisting of the late division proteins of Streptococcus pneumoniae: DivIB, DivIC, FtsL, PBP2x and FtsW, or subsets thereof. We have co-expressed membrane proteins from S. pneumoniae in Escherichia coli. By combining two successive affinity chromatography steps, we obtained membrane protein complexes with a very good purity. These complexes are functional, as indicated by the retained activity of PBP2x to bind a fluorescent derivative of penicillin and to hydrolyze the substrate analogue S2d. Moreover, we have evidenced the stabilizing role of protein-protein interactions within each complex. This work paves the way for a complete reconstitution of peptidoglycan synthesis in vitro, which will be critical to the elucidation of its intricate regulation mechanisms.
News Media and Foreign Relations: A Multifaceted Perspective

PART I: THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES News Media and Foreign Policy: An Integrated Review, Abbas Malek and Krista E. Wiegand The Media and Foreign Policy: A Framework of Analysis, Hamid Mowlana Media Diplomacy and Foreign Policy: Toward a Theoretical Framework, Bosah Ebo Information Liberalization and the Restructuring of International Relations, Shalini Venturelli Social Identification and Media Coverage of Foreign Relations, Nancy K. Rivenburgh PART II: EMPIRICAL STUDIES The President, Congress, and the Media in Global Affairs, Dom Bonafede Appropriating the "Public Mood" of Other Nations in Press-Foreign Policy Management: A Case Study from Canadian/American Relations, Richard L. Barton The Press and Foreign Policy Dissent: The Case of the Gulf War, Robert A. Hackett Presidential Initiatives and Foreign News: The Carter Human Rights Policy and Coverage of Central and South America, Catherine Cassara Global News and Domestic Needs: Reflections and Adaptations of World Information to fit National Policies and Audience Needs, Rebecca Carrier The Impact of Media and Images on Foreign Policy: Elite U.S. Newspaper Editorial Coverage of Surviving Communist Countries in the Post-Cold War Era, Paul Grosswiler African News Media and Foreign Policy: The Case of Botswana, James J. Zaffiro New York Times' Editorial Position and U.S. Foreign Policy: The Case of Iran Revisited, Abbas Malek About the Contributors Author Index Subject Index
High-latitude dust and the 617 MHz-850 μm relation in NGC 5775

We present continuum observations of the edge-on spiral galaxy NGC 5775 at 617 MHz with the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) and at 850 μm with the Submillimetre Common-User Bolometer Array (SCUBA) on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT). We report the detection of dust at high latitudes, extending to about 5 kpc from the disc of the galaxy, and spurs of non-thermal radio emission. The 617 MHz and 850 μm distributions are compared with one another and we find a strong correlation between metre wavelength radio emission and submillimetre emission in the disc and at high latitudes. This suggests that there may be a more fundamental relationship between cold dust and synchrotron radiation other than the link via star formation.
Clinical value of routine serum squamous cell carcinoma antigen in follow-up of patients with locally advanced cervical cancer treated with radiation or chemoradiation

Objective The objective of this study was to evaluate the clinical benefits of routine squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCC-Ag) monitoring of patients with locally advanced cervical squamous cell carcinoma treated with radiation or chemoradiation. Methods A total of 53 patients with recurrent cervical squamous cell carcinoma treated with radiotherapy or chemoradiation were enrolled in this study. A retrospective review of medical records was conducted. The role of routine monitoring of serum SCC-Ag was evaluated in terms of cost effectiveness and effect on survival after diagnosis of recurrence. Results Serum SCC-Ag abnormality (≥2.5 ng/mL) was observed in 62.3% of patients when recurrent disease was diagnosed. The first indicator of relapse was abnormal serum SCC-Ag level in 21 patients (39.6%), 10 of whom had asymptomatic recurrent disease amenable to salvage therapy. Adding SCC-Ag measurement to the basic follow up protocol improved the sensitivity for detecting recurrence (The sensitivity of the basic protocol vs. addition of SCC-Ag: 49.1% vs. 88.7%, P<0.001). Twenty-three patients who were candidates for salvage therapy with curative intent showed better survival compared with those who were not candidates for therapy (5-year survival: 36.6% vs. 0%, P=0.012). Conclusion Surveillance with routine serum SCC-Ag monitoring can better detect asymptomatic recurrent disease that is potentially amenable to salvage therapy with curative intent. Early diagnosis of recurrent disease that can be treated with salvage therapy may lead to better survival.
Merging Temporal Annotations

In corpus linguistics obtaining high-quality semantically-annotated corpora is a fundamental goal. Various annotations of the same text can be obtained from automated systems, human annotators, or a combination of both. Obtaining, by manual means, a merged annotation from these, which improves the correctness of each individual annotation, is costly. We present automatic algorithms specifically for merging temporal annotations. These have been evaluated merging the annotations of three state-of-the-art systems on the gold standard corpora and the correctness of the merged annotation improved over that of individual annotations and baseline merging algorithms.
Competition, Efficiency, and Soundness in European Life Insurance Markets

This paper provides cross-country evidence on the association between soundness and competition in the life insurance industry, where competition is measured by the Boone indicator. We analyse 10 European Union (EU) life insurance markets over the post-deregulation period 1999–2011. The results indicate that competition increases the soundness of the EU life insurance markets. Since the Boone indicator measures competition based on the reallocation of profits from inefficient insurers to efficient ones, our results suggest that efficiency is the mechanism through which competition contributes to insurer solvency. The soundness-enhancing effect of competition is greater for weak insurers than for healthy ones.