Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Multiarm spirals in a two-dimensional cardiac substrate.

A variety of chemical and biological nonlinear excitable media, including heart tissue, can support stable, self-organized waves of activity in a form of rotating single-arm spirals. In particular, heart tissue can support stationary and meandering spirals of electrical excitation, which have been shown to underlie different forms of cardiac arrhythmias. In contrast to single-arm spirals, stable multiarm spirals (multiple spiral waves that rotate in the same direction around a common organizing center) have not been demonstrated and studied yet in living excitable tissues. Here, we show that persistent multiarm spirals of electrical activity can be induced in monolayer cultures of neonatal rat heart cells by a short, rapid train of electrical point stimuli applied during single-arm-spiral activity. Stable formation is accomplished only in monolayers that show a relatively broad and steep dependence of impulse wavelength and propagation velocity on rate of excitation. The resulting multiarm spirals emit waves of electrical activity at rates faster than for single-arm spirals and exhibit two distinct behaviors, namely "arm-switching" and "tip-switching. " The phenomenon of rate acceleration due to an increase in the number of spiral arms possibly may underlie the acceleration of functional reentrant tachycardias paced by a clinician or an antitachycardia device.
Effect of Normoglycemia Before Conception on Early Pregnancy Hormone Profiles

Insulin-dependent diabetic women have been shown to have subnormal hormone levels in the first trimester of pregnancy. To determine whether these abnormalities were the result of poor diabetes control, testosterone, androstenedione, human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), and prolactin were studied longitudinally in diabetic women made normoglycemic before conception (N = 11) and normal (N = 6) control subjects beginning at the fifth week of gestation. HCG levels rose normally in all 11 diabetic and six control subjects and then declined as expected, with peak levels between 8 and 12 wk of gestation. Prolactin levels similarly rose significantly (P < 0.00001) during the period studied. Plasma androstenedione did not increase during the course of this study, but testosterone levels increased significantly (P = 0.0001). Androgen levels were consistently higher in diabetic subjects despite the normoglycemic state, although the differences reached statistical significance at only one point. This study demonstrates that when normoglycemia is achieved before conception, HCG and prolactin are normal at 5 wk after the last menstrual period. The possibility that androgen levels may be higher in insulin-requiring diabetic women, perhaps due to peripheral hyperinsulinemia, should be explored.
Acid production and conversion of konjac glucomannan during in vitro colonic fermentation affected by exogenous microorganisms and tea polyphenols

Abstract Impacts of exogenous microorganisms and tea polyphenols on acid production and conversion during in vitro colonic fermentation of konjac glucomannan (KGM) were assessed in this study. Colonic fermentation of KGM by the fecal extract of healthy adults resulted in a propionate-rich profile, as acetic, propionic, butyric and lactic acids production were 16.1, 13.0, 3.3 and 20.2 mmol/L, respectively. Inoculation of one of ten exogenous microorganisms in the fermentative systems increased acetic, propionic and butyric acids production by 50−230%, 9−190% and 110−350%, respectively, and also accelerated lactic acid conversion by 14−40%. Tea polyphenols in the fermentative systems showed clear inhibition on both acid production and conversion; however, this inhibition could be partially or mostly antagonised by the inoculated exogenous microorganisms, resulting in improved acid production and conversion. In total, Lactobacillus brevis and Sterptococcus thermophilus were more able to increase acid production, and the propionate-rich profile was not changed in all cases.
Does labour market flexibility matter for investment? A study of manufacturing in the OECD

This study examines whether a more flexible labour market – defined here in terms of the strictness of labour regulations regarding the flexibility of employers to adjust levels of employment in response to changing economic conditions – helps to promote a higher level of fixed capital formation in an economy. Theory generates ambiguous predictions concerning the sign of the relationship between investment and the labour market regulation regarding hiring and firing workers, although a positive relationship may be expected. Using an index of labour market regulation compiled from surveys of business executives in 19 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) economies, an econometric analysis is carried out to examine the effects of labour market flexibility on the level of investment in the manufacturing sector. The findings support the proposition that freeing-up regulatory constraints on employers’ use of labour helps to create a more favourable environment for investment.
Opioid Receptors in Magnesium‐Digitonin‐Solubilized Rat Brain Membranes Are Tightly Coupled to a Pertussis Toxin‐Sensitive Guanine Nucleotide‐Binding Protein

Abstract Opioid receptors solubilized in Mg2+‐digitonin (2%, wt/vol) from Mg2+‐pretreated rat brain membranes maintain, in addition to high‐affinity opioid agonist binding, the modulation by guanine nucleotides. One of the modes of expression of the latter property is an attenuation of agonist binding by guanine nucleotides in the presence of Na+. To investigate the molecular basis of this modulation and to identify the G protein(s) involved, the soluble receptors were [32P]ADP‐ribosylated by means of Bordetella pertussis toxin and subjected to molecular size exclusion chromatography. In addition, soluble extracts were chromatographed on lectin and hydrophobic affinity columns. The binding of 35S‐ and 3H‐labelled analogues of GTP was also monitored in the species separated. The oligomeric G protein‐coupled opioid receptors and the guanine nucleotide/pertussis toxin‐sensitive species showed similar chromatographic properties in all three systems. This indicates that the biochemically functional G protein‐opioid receptor complex formed in Mg2+‐pretreated membranes in the absence of an agonist is stable in digitonin solution and to chromatographic separation. Further analysis showed that the guanine nucleotide modulation of opioid receptors is via the pertussis toxin substrates with Mr of 41,000 and 39,000, which are identified as Gi and Goα subunits, respectively.
Methylation at SLC6A4 is linked to family history of child abuse: An examination of the Iowa Adoptee sample

In this letter we describe novel, preliminary work, examining a possible mechanism of the Gene-environment interactions thought to moderate the response of individuals to stressful life events. The molecular mechanisms through which this moderation may be accomplished are currently unknown but some have suggested DNA methylation (Lui and others, 1997; McGowan and others 2009). In order to test this hypothesis, we analyzed the relationship of child abuse to methylation of cytosine residues in the promoter region of the serotonin transporter gene in DNA from 96 male and 96 female subjects from the Iowa Adoptee Studies using a principal components analysis. The results from this preliminary work suggest a lasting effect of child abuse on overall methylation levels in both males and females.
An extensile method on the arbitrage pricing theory based on downside risk (D-APT)

Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to propose a new and improved version of arbitrage pricing theory (APT), namely, downside APT (D-APT) using the concepts of factors’ downside beta and semi-variance. Design/methodology/approach - – This study includes 163 stocks traded on the Malaysian stock market and uses eight macroeconomic variables as the dependent and independent variables to investigate the relationship between the adjusted returns and the downside factors’ betas over the whole period 1990-2010, and sub-periods 1990-1998 and 1999-2010. It proposes a new version of the APT, namely, the D-APT to replace two deficient measures of factor's beta and variance with more efficient measures of factors’ downside betas and semi-variance to improve and dispel the APT deficiency. Findings - – The paper finds that the pricing restrictions of the D-APT, in the context of an unrestricted linear factor model, cannot be rejected over the sample period. This means that all of the identified factors are able to price stock returns in the D-APT model. The robustness control model supports the results reported for the D-APT as well. In addition, all of the empirical tests provide support the D-APT as a new asset pricing model, especially during a crisis. Research limitations/implications - – It may be worthwhile explaining the autocorrelation limitation between variables when applying the D-APT. Practical implications - – The framework can be useful to investors, portfolio managers, and economists in predicting expected stock returns driven by macroeconomic and financial variables. Moreover, the results are important to corporate managers who undertake the cost of capital computations, fund managers who make investment decisions and, investors who assess the performance of managed funds. Originality/value - – This paper is the first study to apply the concepts of semi-variance and downside beta in the conventional APT model to propose a new model, namely, the D-APT.
The UN Millennium Development Goals, tourism and development: the tour operators' perspective

The widespread perception of tourism as a development tool in the developing world has propagated, with many seeing tourism as a means of contributing to the UN Millennium Development Goals (UN-MDGs). While this remains a credible assumption, current literature offers a rather limited set of empirical studies to support it. This paper contributes to this body of knowledge by focusing on an assessment of tour operators' awareness, which is an important actor in the implementation of policies and potential contribution to the achievement of the UN-MDGs. By using key literature on tourism and development and Namibia as a representative context, the research identified that while a number of tour operators were oblivious to the existence of the UN-MDGs, there was a general consensus on their individual role and impact in contributing especially towards the UN-MDG I – extreme poverty and hunger eradication. While in theory, all the tour operators surveyed appeared to make specific contributions towards many of the UN-MDGs, with the exception of goals IV and V; in practice, the need for clarifying their role as facilitators of development, possibly through the identification of focused initiatives and guidelines at a microlevel, became evident.
Campaigning Online: The Internet in U.S. Elections

The Internet is now a part of American democracy. A majority of Americans are online and many of them use the Internet to learn political information and to follow election campaigns. Candidates now invest heavily in Web and e-mail campaign communication tools in order to reach prospective voters, as well as to communicate with journalists, potential donors, and political activists. How are their efforts paying off? Are voters influenced by what they see on the Internet? Do they use online resources to learn about issues and candidates that mainstream media are not covering? Is the Internet empowering the shrinking electorate to return to the polls? Campaigning Online answers these questions with a close-up look at the dynamics of the 2000 election on the Internet. Examining how candidates present themselves online, and how voters respond to their efforts - including measures of whether they learn from candidates' web sites and whether their opinions are affected by what they see, the authors present the first systematic depiction of the role of campaign web sites in American elections. The authors paint a portrait of the voters' side and the candidates' side of campaigning on the Internet that has been unavailable so far. They report on a wealth of new data and evidence drawn from national and state-wide surveys, laboratory experiments, interviews with campaign staff, and analysis of web sites themselves.
Impaired glucose tolerance in obese white children and adolescents: three to five year follow-up in untreated patients.

OBJECTIVE Impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) is a predictor of type 2 diabetes in adults. However, the converting rate from IGT to diabetes is largely unknown in obese children. METHODS We analyzed all 128 obese white European children diagnosed with IGT at our institution in the years 2003-2006 (mean age 13.5 ± 2.1 years, 53% female, mean BMI 31.7 ± 6.1 kg/m²) 3.0-5.6 years (mean 3.9 ± 0.6 years) later with an oral glucose tolerance test (oGTT). RESULTS At follow-up, 20 (16%) children remained in the IGT status, 96 (75%) children converted to normal glucose metabolism, 3 (2%) children developed type 2 diabetes, and 9 (7%) children were lost to follow-up. Comparing the children according to their outcome concerning glucose metabolism at follow-up demonstrated that 2 h glucose levels in oGTT at baseline were significantly (p<0.001) higher in the children remaining IGT and highest in children developing diabetes, while the children did not differ in respect of age, gender, BMI, blood pressure, fasting glucose levels at baseline, or length of follow-up period. Apart from children developing diabetes, who increased their body weight, all the other children did not change their BMI, blood pressure, or fasting glucose levels significantly at follow-up. CONCLUSIONS Obese white children with IGT will likely convert to normal glucose metabolism in the next 3-5 years. Risk factors for developing type 2 diabetes in follow-up were higher 2 h glucose levels in oGTT at baseline and weight gain.
Neuropeptide Y in Tiger Puffer (Takifugu rubripes): Distribution, Cloning, Characterization, and mRNA Expression Responses to Prandial Condition

Neuropeptide tyrosine (NPY) is a potent orexigenic neuropeptide implicated in feeding regulation in rodents. However, the involvement of NPY in feeding behavior has not well been studied in fish. Therefore, we investigated the role of NPY in food intake using a tiger puffer (Takifugu rubripes) model. We observed the distribution of NPY-like immunoreactivity in the brain. Neuronal cell bodies containing NPY were located in the telencephalon, hypothalamus, mesencephalon, and medulla oblongata, and their nerve fibers were also found throughout the brain. We cloned two cDNAs, encoding NPYa and NPYb orthologs, respectively, from the brain, and also confirmed two genes encoding these NPYs in the Takifugu genome database. We examined the distribution of these transcripts in the brain using real-time PCR. Levels of NPYa mRNA in the telencephalon, mesencephalon and hypothalamus were much higher than in the medulla oblongata and cerebellum, whereas levels of NPYb mRNA in the medulla oblongata were higher than in other regions. We also examined prandial effects on the expression level of these transcripts in the telencephalon and hypothalamus. NPYa mRNA levels in the hypothalamus, but not in the telencephalon, obtained from fish fasted for one week were higher than those in fish that had been fed normally. The level was decreased at 2 h after feeding. Levels of NPYb mRNA were not affected by prandial conditions. These results suggest that NPY is present throughout the brain, and that NPYa, but not NPYb, in the hypothalamus is involved in the feeding regulation in the tiger puffer.
The Public Relations Handbook

The Public Relations Handbook is a comprehensive and detailed introduction to the theories and practices of the public relations industry. It traces the history and development of public relations, explores ethical issues which affect the industry, examines its relationship with politics, lobbying organisations and journalism, assesses its professionalism and regulation and advises on training and entry into the profession.
Constructing maps for mobile robot navigation based on ultrasonic range data

This paper introduces an approach to generating environmental maps based on ultrasonic range data. By means of a learning classifier ultrasonic range data are condensed yielding abstract concepts which enable a mobile robot to discern situations. As a consequence the free-space can be partitioned into situation areas which are defined as regions wherein a specific situation can be recognized. Using dead-reckoning such situation areas can be attached to graph nodes generating a map of the free-space in the form of a graph representation. How the extended Kalman filter algorithm can be applied in this context to compensate the dead-reckoning drift is also discussed.
The Family Life Cycle and Housing Choice

In the literature of housing choice and residential location the stage in the family life cycle (FLC) has been frequently cited as a significant variable in the relationship between households and their houses . In its most symmetrical form (see Lansing, 1964), this relationship describes the typical newly married couple as firstly demanding a small dwelling, in a high density neighbourhood, close to the city centre. The statistical regularities upon which this is based, however, commonly show that with age and an increase in family size the demand comes for the space of suburban living. Finally, when family size decreases as children reach adulthood and leave the parental home, there is often a return to smaller dwellings at higher densities and closer to the city centre. In some studies of the FLC and housing choice, however, the spatial element has not been identified (Beyer, 1958 ; Cullingworth, 1965), whilst in others it has been recognised that the downward adjustment in space when family size decreases is not always completed (Winnick, 1957; Needleman, 1965) . This latter amendment is, in fact, further supported by the observations, on the one hand, that older families tend to be less mobile (Rossi, 1955 ; Cullingworth, 1968) and, on the other, that few people move in order to economise on space (Foote, 1960; Donnison, 1961 ; Nationwide Building Society, 1970). Explanations for these FLC relationships have largely been based on the apparent association of changes in preferences or objective needs with changes in household structure, such that larger families are deemed to naturally need and demand larger houses, for example (Beyer, 1958 ; Donnison, 1961 ; Alonso, 1964 ; Cullingworth, 1965). However, it is possible, and Winnick (1957, p . 89)
Hepatic detoxification of ammonia in the ovine liver: possible consequences for amino acid catabolism

The effects of either low (25 μmol/min) or high (235 μmol/min) infusion of NH4Cl into the mesenteric vein for 5 d were determined on O2 consumption plus urea and amino acid transfers across the portal-drained viscera (PDV) and liver of young sheep. Kinetic transfers were followed by use of 15NH4Cl for 10 h on the fifth day with simultaneous infusion of [1-13C]lleucine to monitor amino acid oxidation. Neither PDV nor liver blood flow were affected by the additional NH3 loading, although at the higher rate there was a trend for increased liver O2 consumption. NH3-N extraction by the liver accounted for 64–70% of urea-N synthesis and at the lower infusion rate the additional N required could be more than accounted for by hepatic removal of free amino acids. At the higher rate of NH3 administration additional sources of N were apparently required to account fully for urea synthesis. Protein synthesis rates in the PDV and liver were unaffected by NH3 infusion but both whole-body (P < 0·05) and splanchnic tissue leucine oxidation were elevated at the higher rate of administration. Substantial synthesis of [15N]glutamine occurred across the liver, particularly with the greater NH3 supply, and enrichments exceeded considerably those of glutamate. The [15N]urea synthesized was predominantly as the single labelled, i.e. [14N15N], species. These various kinetic data are compatible with the action of ovine hepatic glutamate dehydrogenase (EC 1.4.1.2) in periportal hepatocytes in the direction favouring glutamate deamination. Glutamate synthesis and uptake is probably confined to the perivenous cells which do not synthesize urea. The implications of NH3 detoxification to the energy and N metabolism of the ruminant are discussed.
Preparation and characterization of a sustained release buccoadhesive system for delivery of terbutaline sulfate

Terbutaline sulfate exhibits extensive first pass metabolism and a short elimination half life which makes frequent oral administration of the drug inevitable. A novel buccoadhesive controlled delivery system of the drug can easily overcome the problem. A two-layered core tablet composed of a fast release layer made of mannitol, lactose, PEG and the drug attached to a sustained release layer composed of drug, varying ratios of HPMC, Carbomer 934 (CP), and lactose capped with a buccoadhesive cup coated with an impermeable backing layer was developed. Buccoadhesive cup initially optimized for bioadhesion strength using HPMC and CP with various ratios. Drug transport through buccal membrane indicated a high permeability coefficient (0.00105 cm/sec). All tablets were acceptable with regard to drug contents, thickness, weight variations, hardness and drug content uniformity. The CP:HPMC 2:1 mixture showed the best mucoadhesion properties and was selected as excipient for the cup layer. Swelling index was higher for formulations containing greater amount of lactose and lower percentage of polymers. Fast release layer released its entire content within 15 min while sustained release layer lasted for 12 h. Drug release controlled by a combination of diffusion and chain relaxation mechanism.
The Street‐Level Bureaucrats of Elections: Selection Methods for Local Election Officials

The 2000 presidential election and the recount battle in Florida focused attention on local election administration in the United States. The Help America Vote Act, passed by the federal government in 2002, requires wholesale changes in voting equipment and other election procedures. However, the law did not address the selection of individuals who manage elections: both state and local election officials play a great role implementing federal and state election laws. Recently, several election reform advocates have argued for shifting to nonpartisan election administrators in the United States. Others, particularly associations representing election officials, have not endorsed that position. To inform this debate, we provide data on the selection methods and party affiliations for all local election officials in the United States (more than 4,500 individuals or commissions). We find considerable variation in the methods used to select state and local election officials in the United States. Copyright 2006 by The Policy Studies Organization.
The Relationship Between the Hypnotic Induction Profile and the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale , Form C : Revisited

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