Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Golli Myelin Basic Proteins Regulate Oligodendroglial Progenitor Cell Migration through Voltage-Gated Ca2+ Influx

Migration of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) from proliferative zones to their final location in the brain is an essential step in nervous system development. Golli proteins, products of the myelin basic protein gene, can modulate voltage-gated Ca2+ uptake in OPCs during process extension and retraction. Given the importance of process extension/retraction on movement, the consequences of golli expression on OPC migration were examined in vivo and in vitro using time-lapse imaging of isolated OPCs and acute brain slice preparations from golli KO and golli J37 overexpressing mice (JOE). The results indicated that golli stimulated migration, and this enhanced motility was associated with increases in the activity of voltage operated Ca2+ channels (VOCCs). Activation of VOCCs by high K+ resulted in a significant increase in the migration speed of JOE OPCs versus control cells and golli-mediated modulation of OPC migration disappeared in the presence of VOCC antagonists. During migration, OPCs generated Ca2+ oscillations that were dependent on voltage-calcium influx and both the amplitude and frequency of these Ca2+ transients correlated positively with the rate of cell movement under a variety of pharmacological treatments. The Ca2+ transient amplitude and the rate of cell movement were significantly lower in KO cells and significantly higher in JOE cells suggesting that the presence of golli promotes OPC migration by increasing the size of voltage-mediated Ca2+ oscillations. These data define a new molecule that regulates Ca2+ homeostasis in OPCs, and are the first to demonstrate that voltage-gated Ca2+ channels can regulate an OPC function, such as migration.
CARESS Working Papr 97-07 The Burglar as a Rational Economic Agent ¤

Understanding the spatial search of burglars is based upon rational choice models which were developed in environmental criminology and economics, and applied also in regional science. The objective is to see whether the behavior of burglars is rational and whether they evaluate alternative courses of action, including the location of the home, its attributes and surroundings, and the security precautions held in the target choice. Such understanding is signi ̄cant in the design of strategies for police and private security companies aimed at reducing residents' risk of becoming burglary victims. Such ̄ndings can also aid residents in selecting the most e®ective physical security precautions and the preferred behavior to minimize the probability of being victimized. Furthermore, local governments may choose to reduce their visibility and leave space for market forces to ful ̄ll some of the functions and duties that are currently considered to be police responsibility. This paper o®ers an empirical model which explains the target choice by residential burglars. The model can also be used to predict the relative e®ectiveness of various security measures in reducing burglary incidents. A logistic regression analysis was employed to estimate the probability of households being burgled as a function of the location of the home with respect to major arterial routes, as well as the attributes of the house, immediate surroundings, and the security precautions that were in use. ¤Please send all correspondence to Professor Yochanan Shachmurove, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania, 3718 Locust Walk, Philadelphia PA 19104-6297.
Changes in Behaviour of Laying Hens Following Beak Trimming at Hatch and Re-trimming at 14 Weeks

For many years beak trimming has been a controversial subject, particularly since the 1980's when the practice came under close scrutiny by animal welfare groups. In Australia it is considered an essential practice, averting losses of AUD$17.5m annually by reducing mortality from cannibalism. While mortality in flocks from cannibalism can be reduced from 25% of the flock to virtually nil, the beak trimming procedure is considered traumatic for the bird. This study examined if chronic pain in the beak was evident in birds 10, 20 and 60 weeks after being trimmed at hatch and in another group of birds, 8 and 52 weeks after being re-trimmed at 14 weeks. Chronic pain was assessed by measuring pecking behaviour and beak sensitivity responses. Pecking behaviour studies completed after beak trimming and re-trimming showed no evidence to indicate that birds were suffering severe chronic pain in the beak. Beak trimmed pullets pecked more at the cage and had more toe pecks, yet overall pecks made at the feed and the environment were no different than untrimmed controls. While the beak sensitivity studies provided evidence that the beak of birds trimmed at hatch and also re-trimmed at 14 weeks may be more sensitive there was no evidence that re-trimming resulted in a more sensitive beak than birds trimmed at hatch only. These studies have shown that birds which are beak trimmed and re-trimmed return to apparently normal feeding and pecking behaviour in the long term. However, there was limited evidence that beaks of trimmed birds have an altered threshold to potentially painful stimuli.
Dimerization between the Holin and Holin Inhibitor of Phage λ

ABSTRACT Holins are integral membrane proteins that control the access of phage-encoded muralytic enzymes, or endolysins, to the cell wall by the sudden formation of an uncharacterized homo-oligomeric lesion, or hole, in the membrane, at a precisely defined time. The timing of λ-infected cell lysis depends solely on the 107 codon Sgene, which encodes two proteins, S105 and S107, which are the holin and holin inhibitor, respectively. Here we report the results of biochemical and genetic studies on the interaction between the holin and the holin inhibitor. A unique cysteine at position 51, in the middle of the second transmembrane domain, is shown to cause the formation of disulfide-linked dimers during detergent membrane extraction. Forced oxidation of membranes containing S molecules also results in the formation of covalently linked dimers. This technique is used to demonstrate efficient dimeric interactions between S105 and S107. These results, coupled with the previous finding that the timing of lysis depends on the excess of the amount of S105 over S107, suggest a model in which the inhibitor functions by titrating out the effector in a stoichiometric fashion. This provides a basis for understanding two evolutionary advantages provided by the inhibitor system, in which the production of the inhibitor not only causes a delay in the timing of lysis, allowing the assembly of more virions, but also increases effective hole formation after triggering.
Procrastinating voltage scheduling with discrete frequency sets

This paper presents an efficient method to find the optimal intra-task voltage/frequency scheduling for single tasks in practical real-time systems using statistical workload information. Our method is analytic in nature and proved to be optimal. Simulation results verify our theoretical analysis and show significant energy savings over previous methods. In addition, in contrast to the previous techniques in which all available frequencies are used in a schedule, we find that, by carefully selecting a subset of a small number of frequencies, one can still design a reasonably good schedule while avoiding unnecessary transition overheads
Time-Series Similarity Queries Employing a Feature-Based Approach

1. SUMMARY Time-series, or time-sequence, data show the value of a parameter over time. A common query with time-series data is to find all sequences which are similar to a given sequence. The most common technique for evaluating similarity between two sequences involves calculating the Euclidean distance between them. However, many examples can be given where two similar sequences are separated by a large Euclidean distance. In this paper, instead of calculating the Euclidean distance directly between two sequences, the sequences are transformed into a feature vector and the Euclidean distance between the feature vectors is then calculated. Results show that this approach is superior for finding similar sequences.
1-Cys peroxiredoxin overexpression protects cells against phospholipid peroxidation-mediated membrane damage

1-Cys peroxiredoxin (1-cysPrx) is a novel antioxidant enzyme able to reduce phospholipid hydroperoxides in vitro by using glutathione as a reductant. This enzyme is widely expressed and is enriched in lungs. A fusion protein of green fluorescent protein with 1-cysPrx was stably expressed in a lung-derived cell line (NCI-H441) lacking endogenous enzyme. Overexpressing cells (C17 or C48) degraded H2O2 and t-butylhydroperoxide more rapidly and showed decreased sensitivity to oxidant stress as measured by 51Cr release. On exposure to •OH generated by Cu2+-ascorbate (Asc), overexpressing cells compared with H441 showed less increase in thiobarbituric acid-reactive substance and phosphatidylcholine hydroperoxide content. This effect was reversed by depletion of cellular glutathione. Diphenyl-1-pyrenoylphosphonium fluorescence, used as a real-time probe of membrane phospholipid peroxidation, increased immediately on exposure to Cu2+-Asc and was abolished by preincubation of cells with Trolox (a soluble vitamin E) or Tempol (a radical scavenger). The rate of diphenyl-1-pyrenoylphosphonium fluorescence increase with Cu2+-Asc exposure was markedly attenuated in C17 and C48 cells as compared with H441. Annexin V-Cy3 was used to detect phosphatidylserine translocation from the inner to outer leaflet of the plasma membrane. Cu2+-Asc treatment induced phosphatidylserine translocation within 2 h in H441 cells but none was observed in C48 cells up to 24 h. These results indicate that 1-cysPrx can scavenge peroxides but in addition can reduce peroxidized membrane phospholipids. Thus, the enzyme can protect cells against oxidant-induced plasma membrane damage, thereby playing an important role in cellular defense against oxidant stress.
Labelled Tableaux for Nonmonotonic Reasoning: Cumulative Consequence Relations

In this paper we present a labelled proof method for computing nonmonotonic consequence relations in a conditional logic setting. The method exploits the strong connection between these deductive relations and conditional logics, and it is based on the usual possible world semantics devised for the latter. The label formalism KEM, introduced to account for the semantics of normal modal logics, is easily adapted to the semantics of conditional logic by simply indexing labels with formulas. The basic inference rules are provided by the propositional system KE+ - a tableau-like analytic proof system devised to be used both as a refutation method and a direct method of proof - that is the classical core of KEM which is thus enlarged with suitable elimination rules for the conditional connective. The resulting algorithmic framework is able to compute cumulative consequence relations in so far as they can be expressed as conditional implications.
Effects of Resveratrol Supplementation on Bone Growth in Young Rats and Microarchitecture and Remodeling in Ageing Rats

Osteoporosis is a highly prevalent skeletal disorder in the elderly that causes serious bone fractures. Peak bone mass achieved at adolescence has been shown to predict bone mass and osteoporosis related risk fracture later in life. Resveratrol, a natural polyphenol compound, may have the potential to promote bone formation and reduce bone resorption. However, it is unclear whether it can aid bone growth and bone mass accumulation during rapid growth and modulate bone metabolism during ageing. Using rat models, the current study investigated the potential effects of resveratrol supplementation during the rapid postnatal growth period and in late adulthood (early ageing) on bone microarchitecture and metabolism. In the growth trial, 4-week-old male hooded Wistar rats on a normal chow diet were given resveratrol (2.5 mg/kg/day) or vehicle control for 5 weeks. In the ageing trial, 6-month-old male hooded Wistar rats were treated with resveratrol (20 mg/kg/day) or vehicle for 3 months. Treatment effects in the tibia were examined by μ-computer tomography (μ-CT) analysis, bone histomorphometric measurements and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) gene expression analysis. Resveratrol treatment did not affect trabecular bone volume and bone remodeling indices in the youth animal model. Resveratrol supplementation in the early ageing rats tended to decrease trabecular bone volume, Sirt1 gene expression and increased expression of adipogenesis-related genes in bone, all of which were statistically insignificant. However, it decreased osteocalcin expression (p = 0.03). Furthermore, serum levels of bone resorption marker C-terminal telopeptides type I collagen (CTX-1) were significantly elevated in the resveratrol supplementation group (p = 0.02) with no changes observed in serum levels of bone formation marker alkaline phosphatase (ALP). These results in rat models suggest that resveratrol supplementation does not significantly affect bone volume during the rapid growth phase but may potentially have negative effects on male skeleton during early ageing.
Survivability analysis under non-uniform stochastically dependent node damages

In this paper, we analyze survivability of a wireless sensor network under a non-uniform damage model. The analysis assumes statistically dependent damages or node failures. Specifically, the damage process is represented by a non homogeneous Poisson-Boolean model. Network traffic surviving the damage process is analyzed using survivability measures like expected number of surviving node pairs. Numerical results illustrate the analysis.
Wage Dispersion and Firm Productivity in Different Working Environments

This paper investigates the impact of wage dispersion on firm productivity in different working environments. More precisely, it examines the interaction with: i) the skills of the workforce, using a more appropriate indicator than the standard distinction between white- and blue collar-workers, and ii) the uncertainty of the firm economic environment, which has, to our knowledge, never been explored on an empirical basis. Using detailed LEED for Belgium, we find a hump-shaped relationship between (conditional) wage dispersion and firm productivity. This result suggests that up to (beyond) a certain level of wage dispersion, the incentive effects of “tournaments” dominate (are dominated by) “fairness” considerations. Findings also show that the intensity of the relationship is stronger for highly skilled workers and in more stable environments. This might be explained by the fact that monitoring costs and production-effort elasticity are greater for highly skilled workers and that in the presence of high uncertainty workers have less control over their effort-output relation and associate higher uncertainty with more unfair environments.
Characteristics of Walking Group Leaders as Compared With Walking Group Members in a Community-Based Study.

BACKGROUND Walking interventions delivered by lay leaders have been shown to be effective. Knowing the characteristics of individuals who volunteer to be group leaders in walking programs could facilitate more efficient and effective recruitment and training. METHODS Walking group leaders were recruited into a community-based program and formed walking groups from existing social networks. Leaders and members completed a survey, participated in physical measurements, and wore an accelerometer. Regression models (adjusting for group clustering and covariates) tested psychosocial and behavioral differences between leaders and members. RESULTS The sample included 296 adults (86% women, 66% African American). Leaders (n = 60) were similar to members (n = 236) with respect to most sociodemographic and health characteristics, but were significantly older and more likely to report arthritis and high cholesterol (P-values < .05). Although leaders and members were similar in sedentary behavior and physical activity, leaders reported higher levels of exercise self-regulation, self-efficacy, and social support (P-values < .01). Leaders also reported greater use of outdoor trails (P = .005) and other outdoor recreation areas (P = .003) for physical activity than members. CONCLUSION Although walking group leaders were no more active than members, leaders did display psychosocial characteristics and behaviors consistent with a greater readiness for change.
Accurate Anisotropic Fast Marching for Diffusion-Based Geodesic Tractography

Using geodesics for inferring white matter fibre tracts from diffusion-weighted MR data is an attractive method for at least two reasons: (i) the method optimises a global criterion, and hence is less sensitive to local perturbations such as noise or partial volume effects, and (ii) the method is fast, allowing to infer on a large number of connexions in a reasonable computational time. Here, we propose an improved fast marching algorithm to infer on geodesic paths. Specifically, this procedure is designed to achieve accurate front propagation in an anisotropic elliptic medium, such as DTI data. We evaluate the numerical performance of this approach on simulated datasets, as well as its robustness to local perturbation induced by fiber crossing. On real data, we demonstrate the feasibility of extracting geodesics to connect an extended set of brain regions.
CMOS for high-speed nanopore DNA basecalling

Nanopore-based molecular sensing affords a close coupling between DNA sequencing and semiconductor signal processing. This link, in turn, promises to greatly expand genomics applications to health-care and environmental stewardship. As discussed in this paper CMOS technology possesses the ability to process nanopore signals for the purpose of initial data estimation (basecalling) faster by three-decades than the industrial state-of-the-art and the key analog front-end and digital back-end component s of such an ASIC are described herein. In particular, the design of a 3-MHz 130-nm CMOS front-end with reduced area, 2× reduction in power, and 25% noise improvement is discussed along with a back-end capable of achieving at least a 3× improvement in signal detection accuracy.
Estimating the risk of cardiovascular disease using an obese-years metric

Objective To examine the association between obese-years and the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Study design Prospective cohort study. Setting Boston, USA. Participants 5036 participants of the Framingham Heart Study were examined. Methods Obese-years was calculated by multiplying for each participant the number of body mass index (BMI) units above 29 kg/m2 by the number of years lived at that BMI during approximately 50 years of follow-up. The association between obese-years and CVD was analysed using time-dependent Cox regression adjusted for potential confounders and compared with other models using the Akaike information criterion (AIC). The lowest AIC indicated better fit. Primary outcome CVD. Results The median cumulative obese-years was 24 (range 2–556 obese-years). During 138 918 person-years of follow-up, 2753 (55%) participants were diagnosed with CVD. The incidence rates and adjusted HR (AHR) for CVD increased with an increase in the number of obese-years. AHR for the categories 1–24.9, 25–49.9, 50–74.9 and ≥75 obese-years were, respectively, 1.31 (95% CI 1.15 to 1.48), 1.37 (95% CI 1.14 to 1.65), 1.62 (95% CI 1.32 to 1.99) and 1.80 (95% CI 1.54 to 2.10) compared with those who were never obese (ie, had zero obese-years). The effect of obese-years was stronger in males than females. For every 10 unit increase in obese-years, the AHR of CVD increased by 6% (95% CI 4% to 8%) for males and 3% (95% CI 2% to 4%) for females. The AIC was lowest for the model containing obese-years compared with models containing either the level of BMI or the duration of obesity alone. Conclusions This study demonstrates that obese-years metric conceptually captures the cumulative damage of obesity on body systems, and is found to provide slightly more precise estimation of the risk of CVD than the level or duration of obesity alone.
Nursing students' perceptions of their clinical learning environment in placements outside traditional hospital settings

Aims and objectives To explore students' opinions of the learning environment during clinical placement in settings outside traditional hospital settings. Background Clinical placement experiences may influence positively on nursing students attitudes towards the clinical setting in question. Most studies exploring the quality of clinical placements have targeted students' experience in hospital settings. The number of studies exploring students' experiences of the learning environment in healthcare settings outside of the hospital venue does not match the growing importance of such settings in the delivery of health care, nor the growing number of nurses needed in these venues. Design A survey design was used. Method The Clinical Learning Environment Inventory was administered to two cohorts of undergraduate nursing students (n = 184) after clinical placement in mental health care, home care and nursing home care. Results Nursing students' overall contentment with the learning environment was quite similar across all three placement areas. Students in mental health care had significantly higher scores on the subscale individualisation, and older students had significantly higher scores on the total scale. Compared with other studies where the Clinical Learning Environment Inventory has been used, the students' total scores in this study are similar or higher than scores in studies including students from hospital settings. Conclusion Results from this study negate the negative views on clinical placements outside the hospital setting, especially those related to placements in nursing homes and mental healthcare settings. Relevance to clinical practice Students' experience of the learning environment during placements in mental health care, home care and nursing homes indicates the relevance of clinical education in settings outside the hospital setting.
Potential Characterization of a Double SQUID Device for Quantum Computing Experiments

We report on experiments performed on a system consisting of a double SQUID (superconducting quantum interference device) built with gradiometer geometry. Two single-turn coils provide two independent control fluxes: one of these allows biasing the device and tilting the potential, while the other changes the barrier height of the potential. When the dynamics of the inner dc SQUID can be neglected, the free energy of the double SQUID, as a function of the internal magnetic flux, is just the corrugated parabola of an rf SQUID whose local minima represent metastable states for the system. Our analysis instead is substantially concerned with the interesting phenomenology generated by the static configurations of an internal two-junction interferometer and by the tunability of the internal loop inductance. Two readout systems are employed to thoroughly characterize the dynamics of our system. We investigate the dynamical response at temperatures low enough (tens of mK) to minimize the effects of thermal fluctuations concentrating the analysis on the aspects that could be relevant for macroscopic quantum coherence and computing. The results indicate that from the finite inductance of the inner loop originates a potential well generating competing processes with the tunneling between the two main wells of the rf-SQUID potential.