Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Activation of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors enhances a slow calcium‐dependent potassium conductance and reduces the firing of stratum oriens interneurons

A large variety of distinct locally connected GABAergic cells are present in the hippocampus. By releasing GABA into principal cells and interneurons, they exert a powerful control on neuronal excitability and are responsible for network oscillations crucial for information processing in the brain. Here, whole‐cell patch clamp recordings in current and voltage clamp mode were used to study the functional role of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) on the firing properties of stratum oriens interneurons in hippocampal slices from transgenic mice expressing enhanced green fluorescent protein in a subpopulation of GABAergic cells containing somatostatin (GIN mice). Unexpectedly, activation of nAChRs by nicotine or endogenously released acetylcholine strongly enhanced spike frequency adaptation. This effect was blocked by apamin, suggesting the involvement of small calcium‐dependent potassium channels (SK channels). Nicotine‐induced reduction in firing frequency was dependent on intracellular calcium rise through calcium‐permeable nAChRs and voltage‐dependent calcium channels activated by the depolarizing action of nicotine. Calcium imaging experiments directly showed that nicotine effects on firing rate were correlated with large increases in intracellular calcium. Furthermore, blocking ryanodine receptors with ryanodine or sarcoplasmic–endoplasmic reticulum calcium ATPase with thapsygargin or cyclopiazonic acid fully prevented the effects of nicotine, suggesting that mobilization of calcium from the internal stores contributed to the observed effects. By regulating cell firing, cholinergic signalling through nAChRs would be instrumental for fine‐tuning the output of stratum oriens interneurons and correlated activity at the network level.
Model perilaku penggunaan mobile banking di bank syariah

Penelitian ini memiliki tujuan menguji perilaku nasabah bank syariah dalam menggunakan mobile banking dengan menggunakan model Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) yang dikembangkan oleh Davis pada tahun 1989. Alasan penelitian ini dilakukan karena hampir semua perbankan baik konvensional maupun syariah telah mengembangkan produk berbasis internet yaitu mobile banking untuk memberikan kemudahan dalam melakukan berbagai transaksi perbankan tanpa harus datang langsung ke bank karena dapat diakses setiap saat. Akan tetapi kenyataannya masih banyak nasabah yang lebih memilih melakukan transaksi secara manual dengan antre di Bank maupun di ATM. Jenis penelitian yang digunakan adalah penelitian kuantitatif. Populasi dalam penelitian ini adalah nasabah perbankan syariah di Semarang yang menggunakan mobile banking dan sampel yang digunakan berjumlah 100 responden. Metode pengambilan sampel pada penelitian ini menggunakan teknik sampling purposive dan teknik analisis data yang digunakan adalah statistik data SEM (Structural Equation Modeling) dengan menggunakan software statistik warpPLS 5.0. B Hasil penelitian ini menunjukan bahwa persepsi kemudahan berpengaruh positif terhadap sikap penggunaan mobile banking, persepsi kemudahan berpengaruh positif terhadap sikap penggunaan mobile banking melalui persepsi kamanfaatan, persepsi kemanfaatan berpengaruh positif terhadap sikap penggunaan mobile banking, sikap penggunaan berpengaruh positif terhadap minat perilaku penggunaan mobile banking, persepsi kemanfaatan berpengaruh positif terhadap minat perilaku penggunaan mobile banking, minat perilaku berpengaruh positif terhadap penggunaan mobile banking dan motivasi spiritual berpengaruh positif terhadap penggunaan mobile banking. Bagi perbankan syariah, disarankan untuk terus meningkatkan kualitas layanan mobile banking, agar mampu memenuhi kebutuhan nasabah dalam bertransaksi di perbankan. Sehingga nasabah akan terus meningkatkan penggunaan layanan mobile banking. Bagi peneliti selanjutnya, disarankan dapat memperluas model Theory Acceptance Model (TAM) untuk menjelaskan perilaku penggunaan yang berkaitan dengan permasalahan yang dikaji. Bagi masyarakat, diharapkan dapat memberikan pemahaman tentang pengambilan keputusan dalam memilih dan menggunakan layanan perbankan syariah yang memberikan kemudahan dan kemanfaatan sesuai dengan kebutuhan baik secara dimensi material maupun dimensi spiritual.
Microbial Adhesion to Silicone Hydrogel Lenses: A Review

Purpose: Microbial adhesion to contact lenses is believed to be one of the initiating events in the formation of many corneal infiltrative events, including microbial keratitis, that occur during contact lens wear. The advent of silicone hydrogel lenses has not reduced the incidence of these events. This may partly be related to the ability of microbes to adhere to these lenses. The aim of this study was to review the published literature on microbial adhesion to contact lenses, focusing on adhesion to silicone hydrogel lenses. Methods: The literature on microbial adhesion to contact lenses was searched, along with associated literature on adverse events that occur during contact lens wear. Particular reference was paid to the years 1995 through 2012 because this encompasses the time when the first clinical trials of silicone hydrogel lenses were reported, and their commercial availability and the publication of epidemiology studies on adverse events were studied. Results: In vitro studies of bacterial adhesion to unworn silicone hydrogel lens have shown that generally, bacteria adhere to these lenses in greater numbers than to the hydroxyethyl methacrylate–based soft lenses. Lens wear has different effects on microbial adhesion, and this is dependent on the type of lens and microbial species/genera that is studied. Biofilms that can be formed on any lens type tend to protect the bacteria and fungi from the effects on disinfectants. Fungal hyphae can penetrate the surface of most types of lenses. Acanthamoeba adhere in greater numbers to first-generation silicone hydrogel lenses compared with the second-generation or hydroxyethyl methacrylate–based soft lenses. Conclusion: Microbial adhesion to silicone hydrogel lenses occurs and is associated with the production of corneal infiltrative events during lens wear.
Choroidal thickness in the subtypes of angle closure: an EDI-OCT study.

PURPOSE To evaluate choroidal thickness (CT) in the subtypes of angle-closure (AC) disease compared with CT in a healthy control. METHODS A total of 297 subjects (eyes) were enrolled in the study: 87 were nonglaucoma controls and 210 were AC subtype eyes (primary AC suspect [PACS], 73 eyes; acute primary AC [APAC], 46 eyes; primary AC [PAC], 35 eyes; and primary AC glaucoma [PACG], 56 eyes). Enhanced depth imaging spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (EDI-OCT) was used to measure the macular CT in the subtypes of AC disease and in healthy control subjects. The average CT was compared among the five groups. RESULTS Thinner CT was associated with older age and longer axial length (AL) (all P < 0.001). All AC groups had thicker subfoveal CT (SFCT) compared with the control eyes (all P < 0.05), even after controlling for age and the AL factor. Acute primary angle-closure eyes had the thickest SFCT and were 61.9-μm thicker than healthy eyes, while PACS, PAC, and PACG eyes were 32.9-, 30.9-, and 25.4-μm thicker than healthy eyes, respectively. No significant difference was observed among the PACS, PAC, and PACG groups. CONCLUSIONS Increased CT might be another anatomic characteristic of AC eyes. These findings may support the hypotheses that choroidal expansion is a contributing factor to the development of AC disease.
Plasma Carnitine and Breast Milk Carnitine Intake in Premature Infants

Ten premature infants with a mean gestational age of 29 weeks (range, 27–32) and a mean birth weight of 1,294 g (range, 930–2,300) and without complications at birth were studied during the first 14 days after birth. Their breast milk intake was recorded and the carnitine content determined in each daily portion. During the first week, the daily mean carnitine intake was low and increased to 6–7 μmoles/kg and day during the second week. Breast milk carnitine concentration ranged from 17 to 148 n, moles/L. Plasma carnitine and its derivatives did not change during the observation period. No relationship was found between the individual cumulative breast milk carnitine intake and total plasma carnitine levels or between carnitine and its derivatives and nonesterified fatty acids or 3-OH-butyrate. The urinary carnitine excretion, in millimoles of carnitine per mole of creatinine, was higher during the second week. In other studies, declining plasma carnitine levels have been observed in premature infants on total parenteral nutrition. The results from this study indicated that premature infants without complicating disorders were able to maintain their plasma carnitine levels.
Does Impaired Transcellular Water Transport Contribute to Net Ultrafiltration Failure during CAPD?

Objectives To assess the contribution of transcellular water transport in net ultrafiltration failure during continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). Design Retrospective. Setting Renal Unit, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam. Patients One group of 6 patients with clinical severe ultrafiltration loss and a group of 10 stable CAPD patients without ultrafiltration problems. Intervention In all patients, two peritoneal permeability tests were done within one week, using glucose 1.36% dialysate on one day and glucose 3.86% on the other day. Dextran 70 was used as a volume marker. Results The difference in net ultrafiltration between 3.86% glucose and 1.36% glucose dialysate was 569±51 mL (control) and 153±1 03 mL (poor ultrafiltration group; p < 0.005). The dialysatelplasma (DIP) concentration ratios increased in both groups with glucose 1.36%. When using 3.86% glucose, the DIP ratio decreased in the control group with a median minimum value one hour after completion of inflow. It is possible that sieving of sodium was due to transcellular water transport by crystalloid osmosis during the hypertonic dwell, as a dissociation between the transport of water and sodium is unlikely to occur in transport through the much larger intercellular pores. The DIP sodium ratio after one hour was related to the mass transfer area coefficient (MTC) of creatinine and the percentage of glucose absorption in the control group. No decrease in DIP ratio was found in the poor ultrafiltration group. This suggests impairment of transcellular water transport. No significant differences were present between both groups with regard to MTC creatinine (10.2 and 14.0 mL/min), glucose absorption (71% and 71%), effective lymphatic absorption rate (1.34 and 1.01 mL/min), and residual volume (248 and 178 mL). Only 1 patient in the ultrafiltration loss group continued with CAPD. The others had to be transferred to hemodialysis; 1 of them developed sclerosing peritonitis. Conclusion The sieving of sodium during CAPD may be caused by transcellular water transport. Deficient sieving as assessed by the absence of a decreased DIP ratio after one hour of a hypertonic dwell suggests impairment of transcellular water transport. This is asso ciated with severe ultrafiltration failure. It indicates that failure of transcellular water transport, possibly by glycosylation of specific proteins on the cell membrane, may be considered one of the causes of ultrafiltration failure during CAPD.
Prognostic factors for the efficacy of thalidomide in the treatment of multiple myeloma: A clinical study of 110 patients in China

Thalidomide (Thal) has been used for a few years as salvage treatment for patients with multiple myeloma (MM). However, the response rate in Chinese patients treated with Thal has not been determined and the prognostic factors for response rate (RR), progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) not yet well identified. This study enrolled 110 Chinese patients with MM who received either Thal alone, Thal plus dexamethasone (Thal + Dex) or Thal plus conventional chemotherapy (Thal + CC). Their laboratory and clinical parameters were retrospectively analysed. The overall RR was 63.6% (complete response rate 6.4%, partial response rate 57.3%). Patients aged < 65 years, time from diagnosis to the start of Thal treatment < 6 months or combined therapy had a significantly higher RR (p < 0.05). In univariate analysis, age < 65years predicted a longer PFS (p = 0.008). Age < 65 years, serum creatinine < 176.8 µmol L−1 and serum beta 2 microglobulin (β2M) < 3.5 mg L−1 were associated with longer OS (p = 0.028, 0.045 and 0.019, respectively). Multi-factor analysis suggested that serum β2M was the only independent prognostic factor for OS (p = 0.025).
Do physicians spend more time with non-english-speaking patients?

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether physicians at a general internal medicine clinic spend more time with non-Englishspeaking patients. DESIGN: A time-motion study comparing physician time spent with non-English-speaking patients and time spent with English-speaking patients during 5 months of observation. We also tested physicians’ perceptions of their time use with a questionnaire. SETTING: Primary care internal medicine clinic at a county hospital. PATIENTS/PARTICIPANTS: One hundred sixty-six established clinic patients, of whom 57 were non-English speaking and 109 were English speaking, and 15 attending physicians and 8 third-year resident physicians. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Outcome measures included total patient time in clinic, wait for first nurse or physician contact, time in contact with the nurse or physician, physician time spent on the visit, and physician perceptions of time use with non-English-speaking patients. After adjustment for demographic and comorbidity variables, non-English-speaking and English-speaking patients did not differ on any time-motion variables, including physician time spent on the visit (26.0 vs 25.8 minutes). A significant number of clinic physicians believed that they spent more time during a visit with non-English-speaking patients (85.7%) and needed more time to address important issues during a visit (90.4%), (both p<.01). Physicians did not perceive differences in the amount they accomplished during a visit with non-English-speaking patients. CONCLUSIONS: There were no differences in the time these physicians spent providing care to non-English-speaking patients and English-speaking patients. An important limitation of this study is that we were unable to measure quality of care provided or patients’ satisfaction with their care. Physicians may believe that they are spending more time with non-English-speaking patients because of the challenges of language and cultural barriers.
Time-dependent pretreatment with bevacuzimab increases tumor specific uptake of cetuximab in preclinical oral cavity cancer studies

Inadequate delivery of therapeutics into tumors has been suggested as a reason for poor response. We hypothesize that bevacizumab, an antibody to vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), can improve cetuximab uptake in squamous cell carcinoma tumors. Athymic nude mice were implanted with OSC19 and SCC1 human cancer lines in a subcutaneous flank model. Mice were imaged daily for 14 days after intravenous tail vein injections of the following groups: IgG-IRDye800 (Control), cetuximab-IRDye800 (CTX800 Only), bevacizumab-IRDye800 (BVZ800 Only), cetuximab-IRDye800 + bevacuzimuab-IRDye800 (Simultaneous), and unlabeled bevacizumab followed by cetuximab-IRDye800 3 days later (Neoadjuvant). Within single-agent groups, the CTX800 Only tumor-specific uptake (TSU) was significantly higher than BVZ800 Only at Day 13 (TSU 8.6 vs 2.8, P < 0.001). The Simultaneous treatment with BVZ800 and CTX800 demonstrated no increase in antibody delivery. However, administration of unlabeled bevacizumab 3 days prior to CTX800 (Neoadjuvant group) resulted in significantly higher tumor specific delivery than administration of both antibodies at the same time (11.8 vs Simultaneous 5.0, P < 0.001). This difference can be attributed to a slower decline in tumor fluorescence intensity (−6.8% vs. Simultaneous −11.5% per day, respectively). Structural changes in pericyte coverage and functional vessel changes demonstrating decreased proliferation and tumor growth corroborate these fluorescence results. Although simultaneous administration of bevacizumab with cetuximab failed to increase antibody delivery to the tumor, pretreatment with bevacizumab improved TSU reflecting an increase in tumor-specific uptake of cetuximab as a result of vessel normalization.
The influence of crop management on banana weevil, Cosmopolites sordidus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) populations and yield of highland cooking banana (cv. Atwalira) in Uganda

Abstract A field study was undertaken in Uganda using highland cooking banana (cv. Atwalira) to test the hypothesis that bananas grown under stressed conditions are more susceptible to attack by Cosmopolites sordidus (Germar). Four banana treatments were employed to create different levels of host-plant vitality: (1) high stress: intercrop with finger millet; (2) moderate stress: monoculture without soil amendments; (3) low stress: monoculture with manure; (4) high vigour: monoculture with continuous mulch and manure. Adult C. sordidus were released at the base of banana mats 11 months after planting and populations were monitored for three years using mark and recapture methods. Cosmopolites sordidus density was greatest in the mulched plots which may have reflected increased longevity and/or longer tenure time in moist soils. Lowest C. sordidus numbers were found in intercropped banana. Damage, estimated as percentage corm tissue consumed by larvae, was similar among treatments. However, the total amount of tissue consumed was greater in mulched banana than in other systems. Plants supporting the heaviest levels of C. sordidus damage displayed bunch size reductions of 40–55%. Banana yield losses ranged from 14–20% per plot with similar levels in the intercropped and mulched systems. Yield reductions, reported as t ha-1, were twice as high in the mulched system as in the intercrop. The results from this study indicate that C. sordidus problems are not confined to stressed banana systems or those with low levels of management, but that the weevil can also attain pest status in well-managed and productive banana stands.
The cryosurgical treatment of chondroblastoma of bone: Long‐term oncologic and functional results

Chondroblastoma of bone is a rare tumor that occurs most often in the epiphysis or apophysis of long bones. This benign tumor sometimes shows aggressive or malignant behaviour, and rarely metastases occur. Since wide resection often leads to growth impairment, intra‐lesional curettage followed by an adjuvant therapy is developed to decrease the negative effects on growth and function without increased recurrence rates.
Personnel and Human Resource Management in Britain

Personnel management in Britain continues to evolve with the adoption of ideas from human resource management (HRM). This has been controversial, however, due to the antagonism which many academics have for an American import which signifies (for them) an attack on the structures of collective bargaining. For personnel professionals, it has been seen as a slight on their pretensions to take a strategic approach to employment, and to threaten their exclusive claims to professional expertise. The paper attempts to separate reality from myth by reviewing the progress of HRM in terms of four criteria - commitment, flexibility, quality, and strategic integration - which are commonly associated with HRM. It concludes that strategic integration is the most important differentiating factor, but that there is more than one emerging model of HRM. Finally, it proposes employment systems and skill as two essential concepts for a strategic perspective.
A Richer Theory of Convex Constrained Optimization with Reduced Projections and Improved Rates

This paper focuses on convex constrained optimization problems, where the solution is subject to a convex inequality constraint. In particular, we aim at challenging problems for which both projection into the constrained domain and a linear optimization under the inequality constraint are time-consuming, which render both projected gradient methods and conditional gradient methods (a.k.a. the Frank-Wolfe algorithm) expensive. In this paper, we develop projection reduced optimization algorithms for both smooth and non-smooth optimization with improved convergence rates. We first present a general theory of optimization with only one projection. Its application to smooth optimization with only one projection yields $O(1/\epsilon)$ iteration complexity, which can be further reduced under strong convexity and improves over the $O(1/\epsilon^2)$ iteration complexity established before for non-smooth optimization. Then we introduce the local error bound condition and develop faster convergent algorithms for non-strongly convex optimization at the price of a logarithmic number of projections. In particular, we achieve a convergence rate of $\widetilde O(1/\epsilon^{2(1-\theta)})$ for non-smooth optimization and $\widetilde O(1/\epsilon^{1-\theta})$ for smooth optimization, where $\theta\in(0,1]$ is a constant in the local error bound condition. An experiment on solving the constrained $\ell_1$ minimization problem in compressive sensing demonstrates that the proposed algorithm achieve significant speed-up.
Quality assessment of used materials for pressure vessel design of stirling engine prototype

The aim of this paper is to analyse the quality assessment of high temperature resistance steel used for pressure vessels of innovative construction of a linear oscillatory synchronous generator designed to be used in a free-piston Stirling engine. For all testing of pressure vessel and the steel specimens the standard test procedures were used for determining the weldability and quality assessment of high strenght steel.
Malignant Lymphomas Serum interleukin-10 levels are an independent prognostic factor for patients with Hodgkin ’ s lymphoma

THEODOROS P. VASSILAKOPOULOS, GIANPAOLO NADALI,* MARIA K. ANGELOPOULOU, MARINA P. SIAKANTARIS, MARIA N. DIMOPOULOU, FLORA N. KONTOPIDOU, GEORGE Z. RASSIDAKIS,° IPATIA A. DOUSSIS-ANAGNOSTOPOULOU,° MARIA HATZIOANNOU, GEORGE VAIOPOULOS, CHRISTOS KITTAS,° ANDREAS H. SARRIS,# GIOVANNI PIZZOLO,* GERASSIMOS A. PANGALIS Hematology Section, First Department of Internal Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Laikon General Hospital, Athens, Greece; *Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Section of Hematology, University of Verona, Italy; °Department of Histology-Embryology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece; #Department of Lymphoma-Myeloma, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA Correspondence: Gerassimos A. Pangalis, M.D., Ph. D. , National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, School of Medicine, Laikon General Hospital, 16 Sevastoupoleos Str. , P.O. Box 14044, Athens 11510, Greece. Phone: international +30-1-7719744/7470632 Fax: international +30-1-6928249 E-mail: pangalis@otenet.gr