Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Tension reactivation and potentiation in guinea pig atrium: the effects of isoprenaline, calcium and rate changes

The process of tension repriming and the phenomenon of tension potentiation after premature stimulation (post-extrasystolic potentiation, PESP) were studied in the adult guinea pig atrium. The following results were obtained. (i) Reducing extracellular calcium, [Ca]o, to 50% of normal did not significantly change the rate of tension repriming. However, in the presence of 5 μm isoprenaline (which greatly speeded up repriming) the same reduction in [Ca]o slowed down the repriming process. (ii) Increases in the rate of stimulation enhanced the rate of tension repriming in a control medium, but this rate-dependence was absent in the presence of isoprenaline. (iii) Isoprenaline (20 μM) abolished PESP. A reduction in [Ca]o or the addition of verapamil (still with isoprenaline) partly restored tension potentiation. In neonatal guinea pig atria, a large PESP was evident, which was only slightly reduced by isoprenaline. These results are interpreted as reflecting changes induced by isoprenaline in the degree of filling of sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) stores with calcium, and in the rate of calcium recycling between uptake and release sites within the SR network. The large PESP found in the neonate, and its relative insensitivity to isoprenaline was interpreted as reflecting a scarcity of SR. This implies that tension potentiation may also reflect changes in sarcolemmal calcium currents.
Neuroprotective Effects of Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in a Rat Model of Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy.

Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate the therapeutic effect of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (ω-3 PUFA) administration in a rat model of anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (rAION). Methods The level of blood arachidonic acid/eicosapentaenoic acid (AA/EPA) was measured to determine the suggested dosage. The rAION-induced rats were administered fish oil (1 g/day EPA) or phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) by daily gavage for 10 consecutive days to evaluate the neuroprotective effects. Results Blood fatty acid analysis showed that the AA/EPA ratio was reduced from 17.6 to ≤1.5 after 10 days of fish oil treatment. The retinal ganglion cell (RGC) densities and the P1-N2 amplitude of flash visual-evoked potentials (FVEP) were significantly higher in the ω-3 PUFA-treated group, compared with the PBS-treated group (P < 0.05). The number of apoptotic cells in the RGC layer of the ω-3 PUFA-treated rats was significantly decreased (P < 0.05) compared with that of the PBS-treated rats. Treatment with ω-3 PUFAs reduced the macrophage recruitment at the optic nerve (ON) by 3.17-fold in the rAION model. The M2 macrophage markers, which decrease inflammation, were induced in the ω-3 PUFA-treated group in contrast to the PBS-treated group. In addition, the mRNA levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-1 beta, and inducible nitric oxide synthase were significantly reduced in the ω-3 PUFA-treated group. Conclusions The administration of ω-3 PUFAs has neuroprotective effects in rAION, possibly through dual actions of the antiapoptosis of RGCs and anti-inflammation via decreasing inflammatory cell infiltration, as well as the regulation of macrophage polarization to decrease the cytokine-induced injury of the ON.
Exploring Material‐Discursive Practices

Our intent in this commentary is to support the turn to materiality in organizational research, and contribute to it by considering some differences in our approach from that proposed by Hardy and Thomas. Drawing on agential realism – which theorizes the entanglement of matter and meaning – we explore the relation between discourse and materiality in terms of the ideas of materialization and performativity as enacted in a study of hotel valuation in the hospitality industry. We offer our comments in the spirit of constructive engagement and hope that our discussion along with others in this Point-Counterpoint will generate further explorations.
Dynamics of Electrowetting Droplet Motion in Digital Microfluidics Systems: From Dynamic Saturation to Device Physics

A quantitative description of the dynamics of droplet motion has been a long-standing concern in electrowetting research. Although many static and dynamic models focusing on droplet motion induced by electrowetting-on-dielectric (EWOD) already exist, some dynamic features do not fit these models well, especially the dynamic saturation phenomenon. In this paper, a dynamic saturation model of droplet motion on the single-plate EWOD device is presented. The phenomenon that droplet velocity is limited by a dynamic saturation effect is precisely predicted. Based on this model, the relationship between droplet motion and device physics is extensively discussed. The static saturation phenomenon is treated with a double-layer capacitance electric model, and it is demonstrated as one critical factor determining the dynamics of droplet motion. This work presents the relationship between dynamics of electrowetting induced droplet motion and device physics including device structure, surface material and interface electronics, which helps to better understand electrowetting induced droplet motions and physics of digital microfluidics systems.
Lipid lowering drugs prescription and the risk of peripheral neuropathy: an exploratory case-control study using automated databases

Study objective: Although lipid lowering drugs are effective in preventing morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular events, the extent of their adverse effects is not clear. This study explored the association between prescription of lipid lowering drugs and the risk of peripheral neuropathy. Design: A population based case-control study was carried out by linkage of several automated databases. Setting: Resident population of a northern Italian Province aged 40 years or more. Participants: Cases were patients discharged for peripheral neuropathy in 1998–1999. For each case up to 20 controls were randomly selected among those eligible. Altogether 2040 case patients and 36 041 controls were included in the study. Exposure ascertainment: Prescription drug database was used to assess exposure to lipid lowering drugs at any time in the one year period preceding the index date. Analysis: Conditional logistic regression model for matched data was used to estimate the risk of peripheral neuropathy associated with exposure to statins, fibrates, and other lipid lowering drugs. Main results: Weak but significant effects of lipid lowering drugs as a whole (matched odds ratio: 1.27; 95% confidence intervals: 1.05 to 1.55), statins (1.19; 1.00 to 1.40), and fibrates (1.49; 1.03 to 2.17) were observed. Significant linear trends towards increased risk at increased exposure to both statins and fibrates were observed. Conclusions: The use of both statins and fibrates was associated with the risk of peripheral neuropathy. The primary purpose of this exploratory study is signal generation. This requires further investigations to evaluate the causal role of lipid lowering drugs on the onset of peripheral neuropathy.
The Effect of Credit Scoring on Small Business Lending in Low- and Moderate-Income Areas

This paper empirically examines the effect of the use of credit scoring by large banking organizations on small business lending in low- and moderate-income (LMI) areas. Using census tract level data for the southeastern United States, the authors estimate that credit scoring increases small business lending by $16.4 million per LMI area served. Furthermore, this effect is almost 2.5 times larger than that estimated for higher income census tracts ($6.8 million). The authors also find that credit scoring increases the probability that a large banking organization will make small business loans in a given census tract. The change in this probability is 3.8 percent for LMI areas and 1.7 percent for higher income areas. These findings suggest that credit scoring reduces asymmetric information problems for borrowers and lenders and that this is particularly important for LMI areas, which lenders may have historically bypassed because of their questionable economic health.
Experimental transmission of Actinobacillus seminis infection to rams

Nine groups of four 18- to 24-month-old rams were inoculated with Actinobacillus seminis by the following routes: intraconjunctival, intranasal, oral, intravenous, intramuscular, intraepididymal, vas deferens, intraurethral or intrapreputial. Eight similar rams were left uninoculated as controls. Systemic clinical signs were minimal and were confined primarily to the inoculation sites and the scrotal contents. Mild to severe epididymitis resulted from all the routes of inoculation except intraconjunctival and intranasal. Direct inoculation into the genital tract, especially into the cauda epididymis, was more effective. Intrapreputial and intraurethral inoculation led to ascending urethral infection, and inoculation into the vas deferens resulted primarily in descending infection of the accessory sex glands. A seminis was isolated from 11 of the 36 test rams (30·6 per cent); 26 of the 36 rams, some from each of the test groups except those inoculated intravenously, reacted serologically.
E-Learning Ecosystem (ELES) - A Holistic Approach for the Development of more Effective Learning Environment for Small-and-Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs)

As e-learning and technologies advanced significantly, practitioners and academics must find new ways to make the most of this rapid development. In the past, research development in this area was mainly focused solely on technological aspects and more recently, on e-learning and technologies for individualized learning. Much work has been done in this area to enhance e-learning systems. In this research, we proposed that an ecological and holistic approach is required for an improved learning environment. To do this, the concept of ecosystem will be explained, followed by a rationalization of this application to learning and e-learning. A definition to learning ecosystem (LES) is provided and this generalized definition is further applied to the e-learning ecosystem (ELES). Hereafter an identification and examination of the e-learning ecosystem will be presented in detail. Finally, an application of the e-learning ecosystem in small-and-medium sized organisations (SMEs) will be discussed. Prior to this, an overview on the usage of e-learning in SMEs will also be given. We conclude by highlighting the need to emphasize on the ecological and holistic approach for the development of more effective learning environments.
Hadoop Recognition of Biomedical Named Entity Using Conditional Random Fields

Processing large volumes of data has presented a challenging issue, particularly in data-redundant systems. As one of the most recognized models, the conditional random fields (CRF) model has been widely applied in biomedical named entity recognition (Bio-NER). Due to the internally sequential feature, performance improvement of the CRF model is nontrivial, which requires new parallelized solutions. By combining and parallelizing the limited-memory Broyden-Fletcher-Goldfarb-Shanno (L-BFGS) and Viterbi algorithms, we propose a parallel CRF algorithm called MapReduce CRF (MRCRF) in this paper, which contains two parallel sub-algorithms to handle two time-consuming steps of the CRF model. The MapReduce L-BFGS (MRLB) algorithm leverages the MapReduce framework to enhance the capability of estimating parameters. Furthermore, the MapReduce Viterbi (MRVtb) algorithm infers the most likely state sequence by extending the Viterbi algorithm with another MapReduce job. Experimental results show that the MRCRF algorithm outperforms other competing methods by exhibiting significant performance improvement in terms of time efficiency as well as preserving a guaranteed level of correctness.
Coworker Mistreatment in a Singaporean Chinese Firm : The Roles of Third-Party Embeddedness and Network Closure

I am grateful to Senior Editor Michael Morris and the anonymous reviewers for their highly constructive and developmental feedback, which significantly strengthened this paper. I also appreciate the helpful feedback provided by Reeshad Dalal and Don Ferrin on an earlier version of this work. Abstract This study integrates research in social networks and interpersonal counterproductive behaviors to examine the role of third-party relationships in predicting an individual's susceptibility to coworker mistreatment, and in moderating the relationship between coworker mistreatment and job performance. Third-party embeddedness and network closure are examined in the formal workflow network and the informal liking network. Results obtained from employees in a family-owned Chinese business in Singapore indicate that an individual is more likely to be mistreated by a coworker when both parties are strongly embedded in mutual third-party relationships in the workflow network, and that the individual is less likely to be mistreated when both parties are strongly embedded in the liking network. At the individual network level, network closure (i.e., the extent to which an individual's contacts are themselves connected to one another) in the workflow network increases the likelihood that the individual will be mistreated by a coworker, but closure in the liking network weakens the negative relationship between mistreatment and performance. The findings offer a network-based perspective to understanding interpersonal mistreatment and counterproductive work behaviors, particularly in the context of Confucian Asian firms, and provide practical implications for organizations and individuals to reduce counterproductive behaviors at work.
LASER-BASED FIELD MEASUREMENTS IN TREE-LEVEL FOREST DATA ACQUISITION

Remote-sensing (RS) methods, such as airborne laser scanning (ALS), are capable of acquiring tree-level forest information with high accuracy. However, these methods need more detailed reference data from sample plots than standwise mean characteristics. Field-measured treewise characteristics must be matched with ALS data on the measured position of the tree. In addition to tree position and species, diameter-at-breast height (dbh) measurements are an essential part of these reference data, since dbh at the individual tree level cannot be measured directly from the ALS data. Here we compare the accuracy in treewise field measurements with different laserbased methods in practice. The characteristics under observation include dbh, tree height and stem position. The comparable instruments used include the Terrestrial laser scanner (TLS), laser-relascope and laser-camera. The data consist of 122 trees from sample plots in Saunalahti and Nuuksio. The standard errors in dbh measurements were 8.3 mm (4.5%), 8.5 mm (4.9%) and 14.3 mm (8.3%) with the TLS, laser-camera and laser-relascope, respectively. The standard errors in positional accuracy of the tree were 0.1 m with the TLS and 0.7 m with the laserrelascope. A bias of -0.6 m (-5.2%) and standard error of 1.0 m (10.1%) were present in tree height measurements with the laser-relascope. The results of the study can be utilized e.g. in developing new cost-efficient methods for collecting ground truth data for ALS-based inventories.
Conventional Vickers and true instrumented indentation hardness determined by instrumented indentation tests

We evaluate Vickers hardness and true instrumented indentation test (IIT) hardness of 24 metals over a wide range of mechanical properties using just IIT parameters by taking into account the real contact morphology beneath the Vickers indenter. Correlating the conventional Vickers hardness, indentation contact morphology, and IIT parameters for the 24 metals reveals relationships between contact depths and apparent material properties. We report the conventional Vickers and true IIT hardnesses measured only from IIT contact depths; these agree well with directly measured hardnesses within ±6% for Vickers hardness and ±10% for true IIT hardness.
Risk, reward, and economic decision making in aging.

OBJECTIVES Older adults' decision quality is considered to be worse than that of younger adults. This age-related difference is often attributed to reductions in risk tolerance. Little is known about the circumstances that affect older adults' decisions and whether risk attitudes directly influence economic decisions. We measure the influence of risk attitudes on age-related differences in decision making in both nonsocial and social contexts. METHODS Risk attitudes and economic decision making were measured in 30 healthy older adults and 29 healthy younger adults. RESULTS Older adults report being less impulsive, sensation seeking and risk tolerant than younger adults. Age did not affect a measure of nonsocial economic decision making. Older adults were more likely to reject unfair divisions of money during an economic social-bargaining game and more likely to make equitable divisions of money during social-giving game. These age-related differences were determined in part by individuals' self-reported risk taking. DISCUSSION We conclude that age-related differences in decision making are domain specific and that some social economic decision making is influenced by risk attitudes. Older adults are more risk avoidant, but this does not alter their willingness to wait for reward in a nonsocial context. Perceiving more risk is associated with an unwillingness to accept an unfair offer in social economic contexts and ultimately leads to poorer outcomes for older adults.
Single and the City

What does the single life look like and does it have anything in common with what the media show? This question has caused much discussion on the Internet, in TV debates, in the press and on the radio. This book explores the issue of singles in big cities, their lifestyle and reasons for "flying solo. " Singles talk about their expectations towards their potential partners and their idea of a great love. They share their thoughts on relationships. They also talk about the importance of having a professional career in their life, their passions, and about the advantages and disadvantages of being single. The book presents the similarities and differences between the singles, and explains why some of them are called "all-or-nothing" while others are called "accustomed" or "romantic. "
Evidence that PrfA, the pleiotropic activator of virulence genes in Listeria monocytogenes, can be present but inactive

All virulence genes of Listeria monocytogenes identified to date are positively regulated by PrfA, a transcriptional activator belonging to the Crp-Fnr family. Low temperature and cellobiose are two environmental signals known to repress expression of virulence genes in L. monocytogenes. In the present work, we analyzed the effect of temperature and cellobiose on the expression of the PrfA protein. At low temperature, PrfA was undetected, although prfA monocistronic transcripts are present. In contrast, PrfA was fully expressed in the presence of cellobiose. These results strongly suggest that virulence gene activation depends on both the presence of PrfA and additional regulatory pathways that either modify PrfA or act synergistically with PrfA.
A survey on L2-approximation order from shift-invariant spaces

This paper aims at providing a self-contained introduction to notions and results connected with the $L_2$-approximation power of finitely generated shift-invariant spaces (FSI spaces) $S_{Phi} subset L_2(R^d)$. Here, approximation order refers to a scaling parameter and to the usual scaling of the $L_2$-projector onto $S_{Phi}$, where $Phi = {phi_1,dots,phi_n}subset L_2(R^d)$ is a given set of functions, the so-called generators of $S_{Phi}$. Special attention is given to the PSI case where the shift-invariant space is generated from the multi-integer translates of just one generator; this case is interesting enough due to its possible applications in wavelet methods. The general FSI case is considered subject to a stability condition being satisfied, and the recent results on so-called superfunctions are developed. For the case of a refinable system of generators the sum rules for the matrix mask and the zero condition for the mask symbol, as well as invariance properties of the associated subdivision and transfer operator are discussed. References to the literature and further notes are extensively given at the end of each section. In addition to this, the list of references is enlarged in order to give a rather comprehensive overview on existing literature in the field.
Initial Skill Acquisition of Handrim Wheelchair Propulsion: A New Perspective

To gain insight into cyclic motor learning processes, hand rim wheelchair propulsion is a suitable cyclic task, to be learned during early rehabilitation and novel to almost every individual. To propel in an energy efficient manner, wheelchair users must learn to control bimanually applied forces onto the rims, preserving both speed and direction of locomotion. The purpose of this study was to evaluate mechanical efficiency and propulsion technique during the initial stage of motor learning. Therefore, 70 naive able-bodied men received 12-min uninstructed wheelchair practice, consisting of three 4-min blocks separated by 2 min rest. Practice was performed on a motor-driven treadmill at a fixed belt speed and constant power output relative to body mass. Energy consumption and the kinetics of propulsion technique were continuously measured. Participants significantly increased their mechanical efficiency and changed their propulsion technique from a high frequency mode with a lot of negative work to a longer-slower movement pattern with less power losses. Furthermore a multi-level model showed propulsion technique to relate to mechanical efficiency. Finally improvers and non-improvers were identified. The non-improving group was already more efficient and had a better propulsion technique in the first block of practice (i.e., the fourth minute). These findings link propulsion technique to mechanical efficiency, support the importance of a correct propulsion technique for wheelchair users and show motor learning differences.
ApoA-I secretion from HepG2 cells: evidence for the secretion of both lipid-poor apoA-I and intracellularly assembled nascent HDL.

The goal of this study was to determine whether apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I) is lipidated before secretion by HepG2 cells. ApoA-I was extracted from microsomes after radiolabeling with [(35)S]Met/Cys. After ultracentrifugal flotation, d < 1.25 g/ml and d > 1.25 g/ml fractions were immunoprecipitated and analyzed by SDS-PAGE. Under steady state radiolabeling conditions, 20% of extracted microsomal apoA-I floated at d < 1.25 g/ml. Pulse-chase experiments demonstrated that the percentage of microsomal apoA-I associated with lipid peaked between 2 and 8 min postsynthesis. Density gradient ultracentrifugation, and nondenaturing gradient gel electrophoresis of HepG2 cell medium, indicated that 50% of secretory apoA-I existed as small HDL particles with a diameter of approximately 7.5 nm. These and additional data suggested that approximately 20% of newly secreted apoA-I is lipidated intracellularly and another 30% is secreted in lipid-free or lipid-poor form but acquires sufficient lipid to become small HDL within 1 h of secretion, with little further maturation over the time course of the incubation (2 h). These results indicate that a process exists for the presecretory intracellular assembly of apoA-I with lipid in HepG2 cells and that apoA-I is secreted in both lipid-poor and lipidated forms.