Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Inspiratory bursts in the preBötzinger complex depend on a calcium‐activated non‐specific cation current linked to glutamate receptors in neonatal mice

Inspiratory neurons of the preBötzinger complex (preBötC) form local excitatory networks and display 10–30 mV transient depolarizations, dubbed inspiratory drive potentials, with superimposed spiking. AMPA receptors are critical for rhythmogenesis under normal conditions in vitro but whether other postsynaptic mechanisms contribute to drive potential generation remains unknown. We examined synaptic and intrinsic membrane properties that generate inspiratory drive potentials in preBötC neurons using neonatal mouse medullary slice preparations that generate respiratory rhythm. We found that NMDA receptors, group I metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs), but not group II mGluRs, contributed to inspiratory drive potentials. Subtype 1 of the group I mGluR family (mGluR1) probably regulates a K+ channel, whereas mGluR5 operates via an inositol 1,4,5‐trisphosphate (IP3) receptor‐dependent mechanism to augment drive potential generation. We tested for and verified the presence of a Ca2+‐activated non‐specific cation current (ICAN) in preBötC neurons. We also found that high concentrations of intracellular BAPTA, a high‐affinity Ca2+ chelator, and the ICAN antagonist flufenamic acid (FFA) decreased the magnitude of drive potentials. We conclude that ICAN underlies robust inspiratory drive potentials in preBötC neurons, and is only fully evoked by ionotropic and metabotropic glutamatergic synaptic inputs, i.e. by network activity.
What’s wrong with fairness? How discourses in higher education literature support gender inequalities

ABSTRACT The role and influence of department heads on women in academia is understudied and weakly conceptualized. This article expounds on prior work, which identified limitations of department head literature, to put forth three problematic discourses that run through much of the department head research: the discourse of fairness, the discourse of collective good, and the training imperative. The discourse of fairness encourages an unproblematized adoption of fairness as a core criterion, ignoring the ways fairness may be conceptualized to benefit some groups over others. The discourse of collective good encourages department heads to seek out resolutions that maximize the ‘good’ for the department and its constituents but may perpetuate gender biases. The training imperative discourse places a heavy emphasis on training, regardless of whether training is or is not an effective means to address gender inequalities. Implications and directions for future work and practices are discussed in closing.
Managing eosinophilic esophagitis: challenges and solutions

Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is a chronic and progressive immune-mediated condition defined by symptoms of esophageal dysfunction and dense eosinophilic infiltration of the esophageal mucosa. Therapies consist of anti-eosinophilic medications and specialized diets aimed to decrease the progression of EoE and alleviate its symptoms, namely, dysphagia and food impaction. Assessing response to therapy remains challenging, as treatment end points are not well defined and currently consist of clinical, histologic, and endoscopic features. Newer validated measures may help standardize treatment end points. Emerging data support the use of maintenance therapy, which may reduce disease progression. Optimal dosages, delivery techniques, and duration of treatment need to be determined. When features of fibrostenosis develop, esophageal dilation is a safe and effective adjunctive strategy for improving symptoms. In EoE cases refractory to conventional treatments, newer therapies targeting inflammatory mediators and cytokines are on the horizon.
Vampire Bat Salivary Plasminogen Activator (Desmoteplase) Inhibits Tissue-Type Plasminogen Activator-Induced Potentiation of Excitotoxic Injury

Background and Purpose— In contrast to tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA), vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) salivary plasminogen activator (desmoteplase [DSPA]) does not promote excitotoxic injury when injected directly into the brain. We have compared the excitotoxic effects of intravenously delivered tPA and DSPA and determined whether DSPA can antagonize the neurotoxic and calcium enhancing effects of tPA. Methods— The brain striatal region of wild-type c57 Black 6 mice was stereotaxically injected with N-methyl-d-Aspartate (NMDA); 24 hour later, mice received an intravenous injection of tPA or DSPA (10 mg/kg) and lesion size was assessed after 24 hours. Cell death and calcium mobilization studies were performed using cultures of primary murine cortical neurons. Results— NMDA-mediated injury was increased after intravenous administration of tPA, whereas no additional toxicity was seen after administration of DSPA. Unlike DSPA, tPA enhanced NMDA-induced cell death and the NMDA-mediated increase in intracellular calcium levels in vitro. Moreover, the enhancing effects of tPA were blocked by DSPA. Conclusions— Intravenous administration of tPA promotes excitotoxic injury, raising the possibility that leakage of tPA from the vasculature into the parenchyma contributes to brain damage. The lack of such toxicity by DSPA further encourages its use as a thrombolytic agent in the treatment of ischemic stroke.
Motivation: how to tame the elephant in the classroom?

Recente berichten in de media wezen weer op het gebrek aan motivatie om te leren van Nederlandse leerlingen. Bovendien worden de leerkrachten vaak aangewezen als degenen die het onderwijs motiverend moeten maken. Veel docenten worstelen met de vraag wat ze kunnen doen om leerlingen te motiveren of gemotiveerd te houden. Dit proefschrift geeft antwoord op hun vragen. De onderzoeker heeft twee interventies, gebaseerd op theoretische inzichten, getest onder VMBO-leerkrachten. Een combinatie van het aanleren van leerstrategieen met het optimaliseren van de pedagogische relatie tussen de leerkracht en de leerling bleek een positief effect op de motivatie van de leerlingen te hebben. Wanneer leerkrachten studenten leren plannen en evalueren, maar ook met collega’s overleggen over hoe ze hun lesgeven kunnen instellen op individuele behoeftes van leerlingen, heeft dit, zelfs op lange termijn, positief effect op de motivatie van de leerlingen. Het onderzoek laat verder zien dat het veranderen van het onderwijs geen simpele opdracht is. Een enkele docent kan geen langdurige verandering teweegbrengen. Doordat in het onderwijs vanaf meerdere niveaus invloed uitgeoefend wordt op de leerkrachten, is het belangrijk dat nieuwe, succesvolle aanpakken, bijvoorbeeld om de motivatie van leerlingen te stimuleren, met stevig draagvlak onder alle betrokkenen ingevoerd worden alvorens ze op lange termijn kunnen werken. De resultaten van dit onderzoek laten zien dat indien leerkrachten samenwerken om een zo goed mogelijke pedagogische interactie met leerlingen te bewerkstelligen, en die leerkrachten daarin gesteund worden door bijvoorbeeld de schooldirectie, dit kan leiden tot langdurige positieve effecten op de motivatie van de leerlingen.
Developmental delay in children: assessment with proton MR spectroscopy.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The cause of developmental delay frequently is unknown, and clinicians and families can be frustrated by the lack of neuroimaging correlation especially when considering therapeutic options and long-term prognosis. We sought to determine if proton MR spectroscopy can depict abnormalities in patients with developmental delay who have structurally normal brain MR images. METHODS Children with developmental delay who were older than 2 years (mean age, 5.0 years; range, 3.0-10.0 years) and those aged 2 years or younger (mean age, 1.5 years; range, 0.5-2.0 years) and age-matched control subjects for each patient group underwent brain MR imaging and proton MR spectroscopy. A point-resolved spectroscopy sequence (2000/144 [TR/TE]) was used. Voxels (8 cm(3)) were placed in the subcortical white matter of the frontal and parieto-occipital lobes bilaterally. N-acetylaspartate (NAA)/creatine (Cr) and choline (Cho)/Cr ratios were assessed. RESULTS All patients had normal brain MR images. In children with developmental delay who were aged 2 years or younger, no statistically significant differences were detected in the NAA/Cr or Cho/Cr ratios compared with those of the control subjects. In children with developmental delay who were older than 2 years, decreases in the NAA/Cr ratio were observed in frontal (P <.001) and parieto-occipital (P <.017) subcortical white matter, and elevations in the Cho/Cr ratio were detected in the frontal (P <.24) and parieto-occipital (P <.002) subcortical white matter compared with age-matched control subjects. CONCLUSIONS In children with developmental delay who are older than 2 years, proton MR spectroscopy depicted abnormalities in the NAA/Cr and Cho/Cr ratios. Proton MR spectroscopy should be performed as part of the neuroimaging evaluation of developmental delay. Further studies will be needed to determine if abnormalities detected with proton MR spectroscopy can be used as a diagnostic tool and neuroimaging marker to assess long-term functional outcome.
Do DSM-5 Eating Disorder Criteria Overpathologize Normative Eating Patterns among Individuals with Obesity?

Background. DSM-5 revisions have been criticized in the popular press for overpathologizing normative eating patterns—particularly among individuals with obesity. To evaluate the evidence for this and other DSM-5 critiques, we compared the point prevalence and interrater reliability of DSM-IV versus DSM-5 eating disorders (EDs) among adults seeking weight-loss treatment. Method. Clinicians (n = 2) assigned DSM-IV and DSM-5 ED diagnoses to 100 participants via routine clinical interview. Research assessors (n = 3) independently conferred ED diagnoses via Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV and a DSM-5 checklist. Results. Research assessors diagnosed a similar proportion of participants with EDs under DSM-IV (29%) versus DSM-5 (32%). DSM-5 research diagnoses included binge eating disorder (9%), bulimia nervosa (2%), subthreshold binge eating disorder (5%), subthreshold bulimia nervosa (2%), purging disorder (1%), night eating syndrome (6%), and other (7%). Interrater reliability between clinicians and research assessors was “substantial” for both DSM-IV (κ = 0.64, 84% agreement) and DSM-5 (κ = 0.63, 83% agreement). Conclusion. DSM-5 ED criteria can be reliably applied in an obesity treatment setting and appear to yield an overall ED point prevalence comparable to DSM-IV.
Determining the relation between soil erodibility and spatial variability of erosion properties using geostatistical techniques at the Alqueva reservoir area

Soil erosion risk assessment at the watershed of Alqueva is urgently needed to conserve water resources and prevent the accelerated dam siltation. The variation of soil properties is one of the most important reasons for the spatial variability of vegetation cover and erosion. In order to achieve more and better management of rangelands around the largest reservoir of Europe, it is essential to evaluate how the soil properties as well plant cover in regard to the introduced change in distribution are estimated. Therefore, using geo-statistical techniques, this study was conducted to assess the relation of the spatial variability of soil erosion to soil properties. The statistical results showed that most variables had a normal distribution. Graphical interpretation of soil properties was performed using ordinary kriging. There were high correlation between vegetation cover, soil texture (sand and silt fraction), hydraulic conductivity and soil erodibility values. The lowest and the highest coefficient of variation were found with organic matter (2.17%) and vegetation cover (60.14%), respectively. The semi-variogram analysis showed that the effective range vary from 150m for silt to 20100m for the K of the soil, with optimal distance to determine erodibility the 1250m. The parameters of soil texture showed more spatial dependency than those of the organic matter. As a whole, the maps obtained by Kriging showed that the soil properties and spatial variability of vegetation cover did not have a random pattern and depended on the conditions of the region.
The role of transmit diversity on wireless communications-reverse link analysis with partial feedback

Transmit diversity through multiple transmit antennas is generally regarded as beneficial to the link-level performance. In this paper, we shall investigate the role of transmit diversity with respect to the link level and the system-level performance. We focus on the reverse link analysis, where mobile users are assumed to have independent fading, and they are equipped with multiple transmit antennas (n/sub T/). Each mobile station is assumed to have an average power constraint. The base station is assumed to have n/sub R/ receive antennas. We consider two levels of partial feedback, namely, scalar feedback and per-antenna vector feedback. In both cases, the transmitter does not have full knowledge of the channel matrix. Based on the information theoretical analytical model, it is shown that transmit diversity could enhance link-level performance, but is harmful to the multiuser system performance when there is insufficient feedback information.
Associations Between Time Since Event and Posttraumatic Growth Among Military Veterans

Despite efforts to understand the antecedents, correlates, and consequences of posttraumatic growth (PTG), the role of time since a traumatic event (time since event) vis-à-vis PTG is not well understood. Part of a larger project exploring experiences following emotionally distressing events among military veterans (N = 197) using Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (Mturk), in the current study, we sought to clarify associations between the time since event and PTG. We used cluster-analytic techniques and analyses of variance to (a) determine the number of clusters, and (b) assess differences in core constructs of PTG and participant characteristics across clusters. Results revealed 4 significantly different groups (i.e., clusters) characterized by differential associations between PTG and time since event. These groups also differed significantly in challenge to core beliefs, level of PTSD symptoms, intrusive and deliberate rumination, and age. The immediate moderate-growth group (Cluster 1) experienced moderate levels of PTG over shorter periods of time, severe PTSD symptoms, and was significantly younger. The low-growth group (Cluster 2) was characterized by minimal PTG, regardless of time, the least challenge to core beliefs, and low amounts of intrusive and deliberate rumination. The long-term small-growth group (Cluster 3) was primarily characterized by small amounts of PTG over longer periods of time. The high-growth group (Cluster 4) was characterized by high PTG, regardless of time, greater challenge to core beliefs, the highest amount of deliberate rumination, and the highest number of PTSD symptoms. Findings underscore heterogeneity within military veterans’ experiences of PTG over time.
Asymptotic Enumeration of Sparse Multigraphs with Given Degrees

Let $J$ and $J^*$ be subsets of $\mathbb{N}$ such that $0,1\in J$ and $0\in J^*$. For infinitely many $n$, let ${\boldsymbol{k}}=(k_1,\ldots, k_n)$ be a vector of nonnegative integers whose sum $M$ is even. We find an asymptotic expression for the number of multigraphs on the vertex set $\{1,\ldots, n\}$ with degree sequence given by ${\boldsymbol{k}}$ such that every loop has multiplicity in $J^*$ and every nonloop edge has multiplicity in $J$. Equivalently, these are symmetric integer matrices with values $J^*$ allowed on the diagonal and $J$ off the diagonal. Our expression holds when the maximum degree $k_{\mathrm{max}}$ satisfies $k_{\mathrm{max}} = o(M^{1/3})$. We prove this result using the switching method, building on an asymptotic enumeration of simple graphs with given degrees [B. D. McKay and N. C. Wormald, Combinatorica, 11 (1991), pp. 369--382]. Our application of the switching method introduces a novel way of combining several different switching operations into a single computation.
Collaboration and the growth of teachers’ knowledge

Studies of teachers working together have exposed the capricious nature of collaborative activity: sometimes it seems to work well; at other times collaboration actually works against improvement. Success in collaborative relationships is best understood through an appreciation of how teachers form and use knowledge. The teachers’ knowledge perspective is used in this paper to interpret qualitative data from two successful collaborative relationships in schools. Evidence supports the contention that personal qualities, underscored by mutual trust and respect for knowledge, form the basis for successful relationships in teaching, operating in different ways, for different purposes, for different people. Providing that teachers are approached with respect, collaboration holds promise as a slow (but powerful) path towards educational change.
Neuronal d-Serine and Glycine Release Via the Asc-1 Transporter Regulates NMDA Receptor-Dependent Synaptic Activity

d-Serine and glycine are coagonists of NMDA receptors (NMDARs), but their relative contributions for several NMDAR-dependent processes are unclear. We now report that the alanine–serine–cysteine transporter-1 (Asc-1) mediates release of both d-serine and glycine from neurons, and, in turn, this modulates NMDAR synaptic activity. Asc-1 antiporter activity is enhanced by d-isoleucine (d-Ile), which releases d-serine and glycine from Asc-1-transfected cells, primary neuronal cultures, and hippocampal slices. d-Ile has no effect on astrocytes, which do not express Asc-1. We show that d-Ile enhances the long-term potentiation (LTP) in rat and mouse hippocampal CA1 by stimulating Asc-1-mediated endogenous d-serine release. d-Ile effects on synaptic plasticity are abolished by enzymatically depleting d-serine or by using serine racemase knock-out (SR-KO) mice, confirming its specificity and supporting the notion that LTP depends mostly on d-serine release. Conversely, our data also disclose a role of glycine in activating synaptic NMDARs. Although acute enzymatic depletion of d-serine also drastically decreases the isolated NMDAR synaptic potentials, these responses are still enhanced by d-Ile. Furthermore, NMDAR synaptic potentials are preserved in SR-KO mice and are also enhanced by d-Ile, indicating that glycine overlaps with d-serine binding at synaptic NMDARs. Altogether, our results disclose a novel role of Asc-1 in regulating NMDAR-dependent synaptic activity by mediating concurrent non-vesicular release of d-serine and glycine. Our data also highlight an important role of neuron-derived d-serine and glycine, indicating that astrocytic d-serine is not solely responsible for activating synaptic NMDARs.
Ambition at work and career satisfaction: The mediating role of taking charge behavior and the moderating role of pay

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the moderating role of pay in the relationship between employee ambition and taking charge behavior, and its subsequent effects on employee career satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach A two-wave quantitative investigation was conducted among alumni of a large public university in the Netherlands. Findings The results show that taking charge behavior mediates the positive relationship between employee ambition and career satisfaction. They also show that pay positively moderates this mediation, such that the relationship between employee ambition and taking charge behavior is stronger when ambitious employees receive an increase in pay, leading to increased career satisfaction. Conversely, a decrease in pay does not moderate ambitious employees’ taking charge behavior and the impact on their career satisfaction. Research limitations/implications The study draws on self-report data collected in one country: the Netherlands. Practical implications The study highlights the importance of pay for higher job involvement, demonstrating its impact on taking charge behavior among employees with higher levels of ambition. Originality/value This is the first empirical study to examine the impact of pay on employees’ taking charge behavior and the subsequent implications for career satisfaction.
Accuracy of Partner Perception and Relationship Satisfaction: Investigating Masturbatory Habits

An individual's perceptions of various aspects of one's romantic relationship (irrespective of whether or not the perceptions align with reality) often play a critical role in romantic relationship satisfaction. Research has demonstrated that the accuracy of an individual's perception of his or her partner is generally positively related to the individual's romantic relationship satisfaction. However, when perceiving negative or conflictual messages from a partner, an individual's accuracy of perception is negatively associated with his or her romantic relationship satisfaction. Researchers have suggested that poor accuracy in perceiving negative messages might diffuse the negative intention in a way that is less impactful to the relationship. The present study was designed to investigate accuracy in the perception of sexual topics, specifically masturbatory habits. A sample of 93 married couples (186 individuals) responded to questions about (a) their own masturbatory behaviors and (b) their perception of their partners' masturbatory behaviors to determine the accuracy of each partner's perception of his or her partner. The association between accuracy and romantic and sexual relationship satisfaction was explored, along with one potential moderating variable: attitudes toward masturbation. Perceived reason for masturbating, perceived target of arousal during masturbation, and partner's actual reason for masturbating all positively predicted an individual's relationship satisfaction. Partner's actual openness about masturbatory behaviors moderated the association between accuracy of partner perception of openness about masturbation and both relationship and sexual satisfaction. When partners were more open about masturbation, accuracy was a stronger positive predictor of relationship and sexual satisfaction than when partners were less open about masturbation. Results, limitations, areas for future research, and clinical implications are discussed.
A spatiotemporal model for Mexico City ozone levels

Summary. We consider hourly readings of concentrations of ozone over Mexico City and propose a model for spatial as well as temporal interpolation and prediction. The model is based on a time‐varying regression of the observed readings on air temperature. Such a regression requires interpolated values of temperature at locations and times where readings are not available. These are obtained from a time‐varying spatiotemporal model that is coupled to the model for the ozone readings. Two location‐dependent harmonic components are added to account for the main periodicities that ozone presents during a given day and that are not explained through the covariate. The model incorporates spatial covariance structure for the observations and the parameters that define the harmonic components. Using the dynamic linear model framework, we show how to compute smoothed means and predictive values for ozone. We illustrate the methodology on data from September 1997.