Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of phencyclidine and other N-methyl-D-aspartate antagonists on the schedule-controlled behavior of rats.

The behavioral effects of phencyclidine (PCP) were compared with those of several compounds known to antagonize the actions of N-methyl-D-aspartate using two patterns of schedule-controlled responding in rats. Rates of variable interval responding suppressed by punishment were increased greatly by the benzodiazepine chlorodiazepoxide and showed small increases after MK-801 [(+)-5-methyl-10,11-dihydro-5H-dibenzo[a,d]cyclohepten-5,10-imine] . However, no consistent increases in response rates were produced by PCP, by the stereoisomers of N-allylnormetazocine (NANM: SKF 10,047) or by the anti-ischemic drug, ifenprodil. Small doses of PCP did increase rates of unpublished variable interval responding, as did a low dose of MK-801. Timing behavior maintained by a differential reinforcement of low rate schedule was disrupted by all the compounds studied. Response rates were increased by at least one dose of PCP, MK-801, (+)-NANM and 3-(2-carboxypiperazine-4-yl)propyl-1-phosphonic acid. The effect of MK-801, however, was considerably greater than that of the other compounds. Ifenprodil and (-)-NANM did not increase rates of responding but, at high doses, produced decreases in reinforcement frequency indicating that efficient timing behavior had been disrupted. These results show that although PCP, MK-801 and (+)-NANM produce generally similar behavioral effects, there may also be some differences between the compounds, notably a more consistent effect of MK-801 on punished responding. These behavioral effects may be related to antagonism of N-methyl-D-aspartate but ifenprodil, which is also an N-methyl-D-aspartate antagonist, does not show a similar behavioral profile.
Random Expected Utility

We develop and analyze a model of random choice and random expected utility. A decision problem is a finite set of lotteries that describe the feasible choices. A random choice rule associates with each decision problem a probability measure over choices. A random utility function is a probability measure over von Neumann-Morgenstern utility functions. We show that a random choice rule maximizes some random utility function if and only if it is mixture continuous, monotone (the probability that a lottery is chosen does not increase when other lotteries are added to the decision problem), extreme (lotteries that are not extreme points of the decision problem are chosen with probability 0), and linear (satisfies the independence axiom). Copyright The Econometric Society 2006.
Two strategies for the acute response to cold exposure but one strategy for the response to heat stress

Abstract Purpose: The main aim of this study was to compare physiological and psychological reactions to heat stress between people who exhibited fast cooling (FC, n = 20) or slow cooling (SC; n = 20) responses to 14 °C cold water immersion. Methods: Forty healthy young men (19–25 years old) were recruited to this study based on their tolerance to cold exposure (FC versus SC). The heat stress was induced using immersion in bath water at 43–44 °C. Motor and cognitive performance, immune variables, markers of hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis activity (i.e. stress hormone concentrations), and autonomic nervous system activity were monitored. Results: In the FC group, time to warm the body from a resting rectal temperature (Tre) of 37.1 ± 0.2 °C before warming to 39.5 °C was 63.7 ± 22.4 min. In the SC group, the time to warm the body from a Tre 37.1 ± 0.3 °C before warming to 39.5 °C was 67.2 ± 13.8 min (p > 0.05 between groups). The physiological stress index (PSI) after warming was 8.0 ± 0.6 and 8.2 ± 1.0 in the FC and SC groups, respectively (p > 0.05 between groups). During warming, the changes in subjective indicators of heat stress did not differ significantly between the FC (7.4 ± 0.5) and SC (7.1 ± 1.1) groups, respectively. Conclusion: The increase in cortisol, epinephrine, norepinephrine, and corticosterone concentrations after passive body heating did not differ between the FC and SC groups. Heat stress did not change indicators of innate and specific immunity in the FC or the SC group. An interesting finding was that heat stress did not affect motor and cognitive function in either group, although central fatigue during 1-min maximal voluntary contraction increased after heat stress in both groups.
Submaximal Fatigue and Recovery in Boys and Men

We examined the effects of a sustained submaximal isometric contraction on fatigue and recovery rates in untrained prepubescent boys and men. Fifteen prepubescent boys and 15 men executed an isometric plantar flexion at 20% of their maximal voluntary contraction for 10 min. During the fatigue protocol, surface electromyogram of the soleus, medial gastrocnemius, and tibialis anterior muscles were obtained. Following the fatigue protocol, maximal voluntary contraction data were also obtained every 3 min throughout a 15-min recovery period. During the fatigue protocol, agonist and antagonist surface electromyogram increased gradually to a similar extent in both groups. Following fatigue, torque and surface electromyogram during a maximal voluntary contraction decreased compared to pre-fatigue values and recovered in a similar manner in both groups. However, boys showed faster recovery in torque and surface electromyogram during the third minute of recovery period. It is concluded that a low-intensity sustained isometric fatigue protocol induces similar fatigue levels in boys and men. However, there is evidence that boys can recover faster than men.
A Study on Breath Acetone in Diabetic Patients Using a Cavity Ringdown Breath Analyzer: Exploring Correlations of Breath Acetone With Blood Glucose and Glycohemoglobin A1C

Acetone is qualitatively known as a biomarker of diabetes; however, the quantitative information on acetone concentration in diabetic breath is incomplete, and the knowledge of correlations of breath acetone with diabetic diagnostic parameters, namely, blood glucose (BG) and glycohemoglobin A1C (A1C), are unknown. We utilized a pilot-scale breath acetone analyzer based on the cavity ringdown spectroscopy (CRDS) technique to conduct breath tests with 34 Type 1 diabetic (T1D), ten Type 2 diabetic (T2D) patients, and 15 apparently healthy individuals. Relations between breath acetone and BG, A1C, and several other bio indices, such as the type of diabetes, onset-time, gender, age, and weight were investigated. Our observations show that a linear correlation between the mean group acetone and the mean group BG level does exist (R = 0.98, P < 0.02) when all the T1D subjects tested are grouped by different BG levels, 40-100, 101-150, 151-200, and 201-419 mg/dL. Similarly, among the T1D subjects studied, when their A1C's are grouped by < 7, 7-9.9, and 10-13, a linear correlation between the mean group A1C and the mean group acetone concentration is observed (R = 0.98, P < 0.02). No strong correlations are observed when the BG and A1C numbers are not grouped. The mean breath acetone concentration in the T1D subjects studied in this work is determined to be 2.19 ppmv (parts per million by volume), which is higher than the mean breath acetone concentration, 0.48 ppmv, in the 15 healthy people tested.
Evaluation of a blood-free, charcoal-based, selective medium for the isolation of Campylobacter organisms from feces

A blood-free, charcoal-based selective medium (CSM) consisting of a Columbia agar base, activated charcoal (4 g/liter), hematin (0.032 g/liter), sodium pyruvate (0.1 g/liter), cefoperazone (32 mg/liter), vancomycin (20 mg/liter), and cycloheximide (100 mg/liter) supported the growth of Campylobacter jejuni and C. coli with colony counts equivalent to those obtained on antibiotic-free horse blood agar. CSM was compared to Skirrow medium (SKM) for the recovery of C. jejuni and C. coli from stools of patients with diarrhea, the media being incubated for 2 days under reduced oxygen tension at 43 degrees C. These campylobacters were isolated from 35 (2.9%) of 1,227 stools tested (29 on both media, 5 on CSM alone, and one on SKM alone). Whenever C. jejuni and C. coli were recovered, growth was pure on 29 CSM cultures (85%), but on only 11 SKM cultures (37%). Complete suppression of "contaminating" flora occurred in 704 CSM cultures (57%) compared with 426 SKM cultures (35%). CSM more effectively suppressed contaminating pseudomonads, gram-positive organisms, and yeasts than did SKM; both media failed to suppress members of the family Enterobacteriaceae in about a quarter of the samples. Studies on 20 representative Enterobacteriaceae contaminants showed that susceptibility to cefoperazone and growth on CSM were markedly dependent on inoculum size; 12 strains were inhibited by cefoperazone (32 mg/liter) at inoculum sizes of 5 X 10(2) and 5 X 10(4) but not 5 X 10(6) organisms, indicating that the frequency of contaminants on CSM could probably be reduced further by ensuring that stools were not inoculated too heavily on CSM. Our findings confirm that charcoal is an effective substitute for blood in media for growing campylobacters, and that CSM is a highly effective blood-free selective medium for isolating C. jejuni and C. coli from stools.
Onset and duration of action of rocuronium in children receiving chronic anticonvulsant therapy

The onset and time course of action of rocuronium in normal children and children receiving anticonvulsant drugs for prolonged periods was characterized. A single bolus dose of 0.6 mg·kg−1 rocuronium was administered i.v. to seven nonepileptic patients on no medication, and eight patients on chronic anticonvulsant therapy consisting of either phenytoin, carbamazepine, or both who were age and weight matched. Neuromuscular transmission was monitored by the evoked compound electromyography of the thenar muscles using train of four stimulation every 20 s. Recovery times of the first twitch to 10%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% of baseline values and recovery index were obtained. The onset times were 1.05±0.5 and 1.41±0.5 min for the control and anticonvulsant groups respectively and were not significantly different. Children receiving chronic anticonvulsant therapy had significantly shorter recovery index than the control group (control 10.4±5.1 min, anticonvulsant 4.8±1.7 min, P<0.05). Furthermore, the duration of recovery to 10%, 50%, 75% and 100% of baseline T1 values was less in the anticonvulsant drug group. Our data confirm resistance to rocuronium in children on chronic anticonvulsant drugs.
Female Circumcision in Somalia and Women's Motives

Two hundred and ninety Somalian women have participated in a study. They responded adequately to the questionnaire administered. One hundred percent of these women were circumcised, despite their relatively high socio‐economic status as shown by their educational level. Eighty‐eight percent of them had been circumcised with excision and infibulation, A. 5% were circumcised with clitoridectomy and the remaining 5.5% with Sunna. The majority of these women justified the practice of female circumcision with religious reasons and all were willing to circumcise their daughters. Fifty‐two percent of the respondents had been operated on by medically untrained persons, usually traditional birth attendants and the majority were operated on at home.
NBTI degradation with optimized ID-VG sweep for wafer fabrication monitoring

NBTI degradation mechanism is studied for 0. 18µm pMOSFETs. Degradation on saturation and linear mode of operations are investigated respectively. To address the controlled delay in between stress cycles which account for the recovery effect, an optimized ID-VG sweep is devised in this work. The optimized ID-VG sweep is found to be able to reduce the recovery effect and it is easily to be implemented in typical DC parametric production tester in wafer fabrication manufacturing environment.
CONFUSION PATTERNS AND RESPONSE BIAS IN SPOKEN WORD RECOGNITION OF GERMAN DISYLLABIC WORDS AND NONWORDS

The abundant research on lexical access in the last 30 years has shown that context effects such as lexical status, morphological complexity, and neighborhood density can affect word recognition. Very little research has investigated interactions between perceptual distinctiveness and context effects. This study used a spoken word recognition in noise experiment with German words and nonwords to research this interaction. Results showed a processing advantage for monomorphemic words over bimorphemic words, and that listeners are particularly sensitive to morphological information when presented with highly confusable stimuli.
The epsilon isoform of protein kinase C is involved in regulation of the LTD(4)-induced calcium signal in human intestinal epithelial cells.

We investigated the potential roles of specific isoforms of protein kinase C (PKC) in the regulation of leukotriene D(4)-induced Ca(2+) signaling in the intestinal epithelial cell line Int 407. RT-PCR and Western blot analysis revealed that these cells express the PKC isoforms alpha, betaII, delta, epsilon, zeta, and mu, but not betaI, gamma, eta, or theta;. The inflammatory mediator leukotriene D(4) (LTD(4)) caused the TPA-sensitive PKC isoforms alpha, delta, and epsilon, but not betaII, to rapidly translocate to a membrane-enriched fraction. The PKC inhibitor GF109203X at 30 microM but not 2 microM significantly impaired the LTD(4)-induced Ca(2+) signal, indicating that the response involves a novel PKC isoform, such as delta or epsilon, but not alpha. LTD(4)-induced Ca(2+) signaling was significantly suppressed in cells pretreated with TPA for 15 min and was abolished when the pretreatment was prolonged to 2 h. Immunoblot analysis revealed that the reduction in the LTD(4)-induced calcium signal coincided with a reduction in the cellular content of PKCepsilon and, to a limited extent, PKCdelta. LTD(4)-induced Ca(2+) signaling was also markedly suppressed by microinjection of antibodies against PKCepsilon but not PKCdelta. These data suggest that PKCepsilon plays a unique role in regulation of the LTD(4)-dependent Ca(2+) signal in intestinal epithelial cells.
Reflections on the HIFI trial.

Mechanical ventilators have only two functions: to provide a flux to eliminate carbon dioxide from those who will not or cannot breathe and to establish an adequate gas-exchanging volume to reduce shunting. The concept of volume recruitment to reduce shunting goes back at least to Mead and Collier in 1959,1 who showed that without periodic inflations there was a progressive fall in compliance during prolonged mechanical ventilation. Much of the subsequent history of mechanical ventilation in acute lung disease has really been the search for better methods of volume recruitment. The lung has to be inflated past the pressure at which atelectatic lung begins to open and be maintained above its closing pressure (that pressure below which alveoli and airways start to close again).
Can performance feedback during instruction boost knowledge acquisition? Contrasting criterion-based and social comparison feedback

Feedback indicating how well students are performing during a learning task can be very stimulating. In this study with a pre- and post-test design, the effects of two types of performance feedback on learning results were compared: feedback during a learning task was either stated in terms of how well the students were performing relative to other students (social comparison feedback) or relative to an absolute criterion (criterion-based feedback). Thirty-four students in secondary vocational engineering education were randomly assigned to one of two conditions. In both conditions, students worked together in small groups. All groups completed a math learning task, during which they received either social comparison feedback or criterion-based performance feedback. The findings showed that the type of feedback had a strong effect on learning outcomes: the post-test scores and gains of students in the social comparison condition were significantly higher than those of students in the criterion-based feedback condition.
Evolution of strategies for management of the patent arterial duct

Sir, I read with interest the review by Giroud and Jacobs concerning the evolution of strategies for management of the persistently patent arterial duct. They emphasize that the issue of the ‘‘silent’’ duct is controversial, and they recommend intervention in this setting. They ‘‘explain the natural history of the persistently patent arterial duct to the parents’’ when obtaining informed consent. It is my opinion that, currently, it is impossible to provide appropriate information concerning the natural history of the ‘‘silent’’ duct so as to give the necessary information. As they discuss, there are only very few anecdotal reports of endocarditis. In two of these reports of endarteritis occurring in the setting of a ‘‘silent’’ duct, both patients were treated successfully with antibiotics and had no residual findings. Thus, the ‘‘devastating effects of endocarditis’’, information presented by Giroud and Jacobs to the parents, are also questionable. Furthermore, I believe that using the accurate terminology of ‘‘endarteritis’’ when discussing this issue might reduce fear of the parents, and therefore influence their decision. It is also the case that Giroud and Jacobs are unable to provide adequate information concerning the outcome of interventional closure of the duct, as no long term studies of this procedure are yet available. In former years, surgical ligation of the duct without concomitant division left up to one-fifth of patients with a remaining very tiny residual duct, a situation akin to the ‘‘silent’’ duct. Those residual tiny ducts have been well tolerated, and further surgery has not been attempted. To the best of my knowledge, there are no reports of endarteritis in those patients. On the other hand, persistence of a small residual shunt subsequent to implantation of a device would leave the patient at high risk for endarteritis, according to the recent recommendations for prophylaxis against endocarditis provided by the American Heart Association. In our own review of the literature, we tried to compare the risks of a ‘‘silent’’ duct with the risks of interventional closure. Due to continuous change in strategies for interventional closure of the duct, and the inhomogeneous nature of the populations treated, the comparison is problematic. It seemed to us, nonetheless, that the risks of interventional closure in childhood are higher than those for the ‘‘silent’’ duct left untreated. Even if there were no complications, the procedure itself is not harmless. It is invasive, causes pain, requires exposure to x-rays and anaesthetics, and involves cost. According to my belief, and in keeping with the aphorism originating from Hippocrates ‘‘primum non nocere’’, or ‘‘first, do no harm’’, physicians advocating closure of the persistently patent arterial duct must provide indisputable proof that closure is superior to nihilism.
Using an Attribute-Based Decision Support System for User-Customized Products Online: An Experimental Investigation

In the decision support systems literature, most studies have concentrated on the direct effects of DSS use and design on decision outcomes and user performance in the workplace. Fewer DSS studies have integrated decision process variables, such as user beliefs and attitudes, in their models. In this paper, we examine the mediating role of decision process variables in the use of an online customer DSS. We do so through an experimental study of an alternative-based and an attribute-based DSS for product customization by online customers. Using cognitive fit and flow theories, we develop a theoretical model with four mediating decision process variables (perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, perceived enjoyment, and perceived control) and two of their antecedents: interface design (attribute-based versus alternative-based) and task complexity (choice set size). Our results show that the impact of DSS interface design on behavioral intentions is fully mediated by perceived usefulness and perceived enjoyment, although not by perceived control. Specifically, we verify that users of an attribute-based DSS express higher perceived usefulness and perceived enjoyment than users of an alternative-based one. In addition, we find that task complexity has an interesting relationship with usefulness and enjoyment, both of which follow an inverted U-shaped curve as choice set size increases. Finally, we find that for users of the alternative-based DSS, perceived ease of use and perceived control decrease as task complexity increases. However, the attribute-based DSS alleviates that decline for both variables. Among other contributions, our results indicate the importance of including decision process variables when studying DSS as well as the complex effect of task complexity on those variables. Our study also provides some important guidelines for online companies that provide customer DSS on their websites, especially the danger of providing too many product choice options that can overwhelm customers and harm their shopping experience.
Development of a Cell-Based Assay Probing the Specific Interaction between the Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Nucleocapsid and Psi RNA In Vivo

ABSTRACT Here, we describe a cell-based in vivo assay that probes the specific interaction between nucleocapsid (NC) protein and Psi (Ψ) RNA, the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) packaging signal. The results demonstrate for the first time a specific NC-Ψ interaction within living cells. The specificity and applicability of the assay were confirmed by mutational studies of NC and deletion-mapping analyses of Ψ-RNA as well as by testing the in vivo NC-binding effects of NC-aptamer RNAs identified previously in vitro. This assay system would facilitate further detailed studies of the NC-Ψ interaction in vivo and the screening of various anti-HIV molecules targeting NC and the specific interaction.
Gene expression and miR profiles of human corneal fibroblasts in response to dexamethasone.

PURPOSE Dexamethasone (DEX) is commonly used as a therapeutic agent for various ocular inflammatory diseases; however, its effect on resident naive cells is unknown. In this study, genome microarray and microRNA (miR) analyses were used to evaluate the global gene and miR expression of human corneal fibroblasts (HKFs) in response to treatment with DEX. METHODS Primary HKFs from three donors were treated with DEX for 16 hours. Treated and untreated cells were snap frozen for microarray and miR array analyses. Genes with a more than threefold change were classified into gene families using the DAVID web-based classification database, and six of these genes were validated using quantitative real-time PCR. Five miRs were also validated using miR-detection assays. RESULTS Of the 41,093 genes examined, 261 were upregulated and 123 were downregulated greater than threefold after DEX treatment. Real-time PCR confirmed upregulation of six genes, including oculocutaneous albinism II (OCA2), angiopoietin-like 7 (ANGPTL7), neuron navigator 2 (NAV2), neurofilament light chain polypeptide (NEFL), solute carrier family 16/member 12 (SLC16A12), and serum amyloid A1 (SAA1). Expression of several miR including miR-16, -21, and -29C were upregulated, whereas miR-100 was downregulated in fibroblasts by DEX. CONCLUSIONS DEX can greatly change the global gene and miR profile of HKFs. DEX not only downregulates inflammatory genes, but can also induce expression of angiogenic and inflammatory genes. In addition, DEX may exert posttranscriptional gene regulation through miRs. These data support a complex role for DEX-induced changes in resident cells that may have implications in the clinical management of corneal inflammation with topical glucocorticoids.