Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Social facilitation of dominant responses by the presence of an audicence and the mere presence of others.

Experiments have shown that the presence of an audience affects individual performance b y enhancing the emission o f dominant responses. A n experiment was conducted t o evaluate the proposal o f Zajonc that the mere presence of other persons is responsible for audience effects. A total o f 4 5 university students performed a pseudorecognition task; 1 5 performed the task alone, I S performed the task before a n audience o f 2 passive spectators, and 1 5 performed the task in the presence o f 2 persons who were not spectators. The task placed previously established verbal habits i n competition with each other. The presence o f a n audience enhanced the emission o f dominant responses, but the mere presence of others did not.
Glycolytic Synchronization in Yeast Cells via ATP and Other Metabolites: Mathematical Analyses by Two-Dimensional Reaction-Diffusion Models

Possibilities of synchronized oscillations in glycolysis mediated by various extracellular metabolites are investigated theoretically using two-dimensional reaction-diffusion systems, which originate from the existing seven-variable model. Our simulation results indicate the existence of alternative mediators such as ATP and 1,3-bisphosphoglycerate, in addition to already known acetaldehyde or pyruvate. Further, it is also suggested that the alternative intercellular communicator plays a more important role in the respect that these can synchronize oscillations instantaneously not only with difference phases but also with different periods. Relations between intercellular coupling and synchronization mechanisms are also analyzed and discussed by changing the values of parameters such as the diffusion coefficient and the cell density that can reflect in tercellular coupling strength.
The Effects of Amiloride and Age on Oxygen Consumption Coupled to Electrogenic Sodium Transport in the Human Sigmoid Colon

Background/Aim: Aerobic metabolism is necessary for ion transport in many transporting epithelia, including the human colonic epithelium. We assessed the effects of the epithelial sodium channel blocker, amiloride, on oxygen consumption and short-circuit current of the human sigmoid epithelium to determine whether these effects were influenced by the age of the subject. Materials and Methods: Segments of the sigmoid colon were obtained from the safety margin of resections performed in patients of 62–77 years of age. Isolated mucosa preparations were obtained and mounted in airtight Ussing chambers, fit for simultaneous measurement of short-circuit current and oxygen concentration, before and after blocking epithelial sodium channels with amiloride (0.1 mmol/L). Regression analyses were performed to assess the associations between short-circuit current, oxygen consumption, and age of the subject as well as to define the relationship between the decreases in short-circuit current and oxygen consumption after blockade. Results: Epithelial sodium channel blockade caused an 80% reduction in short-circuit current and a 26% reduction in oxygen consumption. Regression analysis indicated that both changes were significantly related (r = 0.884; P = 0.0007). Oxygen consumption decreased by 1 μmol/h/cm2 for each 25 μA/cm2 decrease in short-circuit current. Neither short-circuit current nor oxygen consumption had any significant relationship with the age of the subjects. Conclusion: The decrease in epithelial oxygen consumption caused by amiloride is proportional to the decrease in short-circuit current and independent of the age of the subject.
Six hours in the laboratory: a quantification of practice time during constraint-induced therapy (CIT)

Objective: To quantify supervised in-laboratory time and practice intensity during the signature protocol specified as 6 hours/day over 10 days for the EXtremity Constraint-Induced Therapy Evaluation (EXCITE) randomized clinical trial. Design: Retrospective analysis of constraint-induced movement therapy training documentation acquired at the University of Southern California site from EXCITE (n = 38). Training documentation was reviewed and analysed to determine average and between-subject variability of supervised in-laboratory time and actual task-specific practice time for concurrence with the specified constraint-induced movement therapy protocol. Setting: Motor Behavior and Neurorehabilitation Laboratory, Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA. Subjects: Data from 38 participants (35 met inclusion criteria) who, upon enrolment in the EXCITE trial, were between 3 and 10 months post stroke and between 47 and 81 years of age. Results: The training records revealed an average of 64 hours (SD = 2.6) supervised in-laboratory time for 35 participants across 10 days of training. More importantly, the average time on task-specific practice was 3.95 hours per day (SD = 5.7) representing 62% of the in-laboratory time. Supervised in-laboratory time for 10 training days was consistent across the sample as was total practice time for days 2—10, with a substantially lower practice time on the initial training day. Conclusions: Participants tolerated an intense task-specific practice schedule that consisted of approximately two-thirds of the specified minimum 6 hour in-laboratory time and was distributed evenly between adaptive task practice (shaping) and task practice components.
Effect of dietary energy level with probiotic and enzyme addition on performance, nutrient digestibility and carcass traits of broilers.

The present study was carried out to investigate the combined effects of feeding starter and grower diets having different metabolizable energy (ME) contents and supplemented with Avian plus, Sicozyme or their combination on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, carcass traits and blood parameters of broiler chicks. Three hundred and twenty four oneday old unsexed broiler chicks (Cobb-500), were randomly divided into nine experimental treatments, each had three equal replications. Three starter and three grower diets were formulated to have 22 and 19% crude protein (CP) for starter and grower periods, respectively, but their ME contents were 3100, 2900 and 2700 kcal/kg. A probiotic (Avian plus: at 150 g/ton diet), an enzyme preparation (Sicozyme: at 500 g/ton diet), or their combination were added; thus, nine experimental diets were formulated and used. Criteria of response were growth performance [in terms of feed intake (FI), live body weight (LBW), body weight gain (BWG), feed conversion ratio (FCR), ME intake (MEI), CP intake (CPI), efficiency of energy utilization (EEU) and efficiency of protein utilization (EPU)], economic efficiency of growth (EEG)), mortality rate, nutrient digestibility, certain carcass traits, and some blood parameters. The obtained results could be summarized as follows: Regardless of the effect of feed additives, decreasing dietary ME level in both starter and grower periods from 3100 to 2700 kcal/kg positively affected EEU and percentage of abdominal fat and had no significant effect on final LBW, BWG, FI, CPI, EEG, carcass traits or blood parameters of broiler chicks but FCR, MEI, EPU and digestibility of dry matter, organic matter, crude protein, nitrogen-free extract and ash retention were adversely affected, particularly when ME level reached 2700 kcal/kg diet. However, dietary supplementation with Avian Plus, Sicozyme or their combination had no significant effect on all criteria of response, with the exception of a slight
Dissolved organic nitrogen dominates in European bogs under increasing atmospheric N deposition

To assess the effects of increased atmospheric N input on N availability in ombrotrophic peatlands, the relative concentrations of dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) to dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) were measured in bog waters along a natural gradient of atmospheric N deposition. Six European bogs were selected, spanning a range of chronic atmospheric N inputs from 0.2 to 2.0 g m−2 yr−1. DIN as well as DON concentrations increased with N deposition, the latter increasing at a sharper incline. The increase in DIN concentrations was related to the reduced capacity of the moss layer to trap atmospheric N, which in turn was a result of N saturation of the moss layer. The enhanced DON concentrations appear to be a consequence of increased leaching of organic N compounds by Sphagnum. The importance of DON on N biogeochemistry in bogs opens new perspectives in relation to nutrient limitation and organic matter turnover.
ERK1/2 mediate wounding- and G-protein-coupled receptor ligands-induced EGFR activation via regulating ADAM17 and HB-EGF shedding.

PURPOSE Previous studies have shown that wounding of human corneal epithelial cells (HCECs) results in the release of G-protein-coupled receptor ligands such as ATP and lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), which in turn transactivate epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor (EGFR) through ectodomain shedding of heparin-binding EGF-like growth factor (HB-EGF). In the present study, the role of extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1/2 (ERK1/2) in regulating EGFR transactivation was investigated. METHODS SV40-immortalized HCECs were wounded or stimulated with ATP and LPA. EGFR and ADAM17 activation was analyzed by immunoprecipitation followed by Western blot analysis with phospho-tyrosine or phospho-serine antibodies, respectively. Phosphorylation of ERK and AKT was analyzed by Western blot analysis. HB-EGF shedding was assessed by measuring the release of alkaline phosphatase (AP) in a stably transfected human corneal epithelial (THCE) cell line expressing HB-EGF-AP. ADAM17 and ERK interaction was determined by coimmunoprecipitation. RESULTS Early, but not late, ERK1/2 phosphorylation in response to wounding, LPA, and ATP was EGFR independent, but sensitive to the inhibitors of calcium influx, protein kinase C and Src kinase. Wounding-, LPA-, and ATP-induced HB-EGF shedding and EGFR activation were attenuated by the MAPK/ERK kinase (MEK) inhibitors PD98059 and U0126, as well as by ADAM10 and -17 inhibitors. ADAM17 was found to be physically associated with active ERK and phosphorylated at serine residues in an ERK-dependent manner in wounded cells. CONCLUSIONS Taken together, our data suggest that in addition to functioning as an EGFR downstream effector, ERK1/2 also mediates ADAM-dependent HB-EGF shedding and subsequent EGFR transactivation in response to a variety of stimuli, including wounding and GPCR ligands.
Amblyopia *

AN ANALYSIS has been made of fifty consecutive cases ofamblyopia in young men presenting themselves as candidates for admission to the Royal Air Force. These subjects were all of National Service age and from various backgrounds. Some had been aware ofeye weakness from early childhood but had not responded to treatment (glasses and/or occlusion); others had not been treated at all, or their disability had been discovered at routine school medical examinations at 10 or 15 years of age, and had not improved on refraction. The purpose of this analysis was to assess whether any relationship exists between distance and near visual acuity using the distance Snellen type at 20 feet and the reduced Snellen type for near. On the R.A. F. near point rule (Neely, 1956) the distance Snellen type is reduced to one seventeenth of its size and is accurate at one-third of a metre. These findings are of practical importance in estimating the value of oneeyed personnel to the armed forces, when there is the risk of injury to the good eye and a man's life may depend on the acuity derived from the amblyopic eye. At the same time information is gained as to a man's ocular fitness for a specific trade. An arbitrary standard of reasonable near vision has been made of N 6/24 or better, which is approximately equivalent to N 12 or better. This standard ensures that the subject would be capable of reading average type (i.e. a typewritten sheet). The type of refractive error was noted and also the side on which the amblyopic eye occurred; no significant predisposition was found in this series, except that myopic cases would appear to be twice as commonly affected with amblyopia in the right than in the left eye, and that hypermetropic amblyopia is five times more common than any other type (Table).
Influence of Matrigel-overlay on constitutive and inducible expression of nine genes encoding drug-metabolizing enzymes in primary human hepatocytes

1. Previous studies reported that rat hepatocytes overlaid with extracellular matrix components (Matrigel) maintain the expression and responsiveness of drug-metabolizing enzymes. However, whether Matrigel provides similar advantages in human hepatocytes remains largely uncertain. 2. The influence of Matrigel-overlay on the constitutive and phenobarbital- and oltipraz-inducible expression of nine biotransformation enzymes, cytochrome P450s 1A1, 1A2, 2B6, 3A4, and glutathione S-transferases A1, A2, M1, T1, P1, in primary human hepatocytes was evaluated. 3. Hepatocytes from five livers were maintained on a rigid collagen substratum with or without Matrigel overlay and treated for 48 h with two doses of each inducer. Quantitative RT-PCR, and for selected genes, immunoblot and enzyme activity analyses, demonstrated that human hepatocytes overlaid with Matrigel showed consistently higher constitutive and inducible expression of biotransformation genes. 4. Phenobarbital-mediated responsiveness of cytochrome P450 2B6, a potential indicator of hepatocyte differentiation status, was markedly higher in overlaid relative to non-overlaid hepatocytes. 5. It is concluded that an Matrigel overlay facilitates the maintenance and induction of xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes in primary cultures of human hepatocytes.
The ART of App Compartmentalization: Compiler-based Library Privilege Separation on Stock Android

Third-party libraries are commonly used by app developers for alleviating the development efforts and for monetizing their apps. On Android, the host app and its third-party libraries reside in the same sandbox and share all privileges awarded to the host app by the user, putting the users' privacy at risk of intrusions by third-party libraries. In this paper, we introduce a new privilege separation approach for third-party libraries on stock Android. Our solution partitions Android applications at compile-time into isolated, privilege-separated compartments for the host app and the included third-party libraries. A particular benefit of our approach is that it leverages compiler-based instrumentation available on stock Android versions and thus abstains from modification of the SDK, the app bytecode, or the device firmware. A particular challenge for separating libraries from their host apps is the reconstruction of the communication channels and the preservation of visual fidelity between the now separated app and its libraries. We solve this challenge through new IPC-based protocols to synchronize layout and lifecycle management between different sandboxes. Finally, we demonstrate the efficiency and effectiveness of our solution by applying it to real world apps from the Google Play Store that contain advertisements.
Comparison of leukocyte populations from bronchoalveolar lavage and induced sputum in the evaluation of cellular composition and nitric oxide production in patients with bronchial asthma.

Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) or induced sputum (IS) techniques may provide leukocytes for the evaluation of airway inflammatory response in bronchial asthma. The aim of the present study was to compare features of leukocyte populations obtained by the two different methods regarding the cell types and their activity in patients with bronchial asthma. The nitric oxide (NO) level released from the cells was measured as a marker of their activity. Pulmonary leukocytes were obtained from the BAL and IS of 11 asthmatic patients in stable condition at the time of the study. The BAL and IS leukocyte populations varied in cell count and NO production. Macrophages were the predominant leukocyte population in BAL (median (Me) = 83.0%, range 67.9-88.4%), whereas sputum sediments were found to consist mainly of neutrophils (Me = 55.7%, range 29.0-64.9%). The IS leukocytes released much more NO (p = 0.0022) than the BAL leukocytes. In spite of these quantitative differences, a similar pattern of NO production was observed in BAL and in IS cells. Both BAL and IS leukocyte populations produced almost the same amounts of NO before and after lipopolysaccharide stimulation (p = 0.9063, p = 0.4801, respectively). Furthermore, a slight positive correlation Spearman's rank (RS) = 0.5578, p = 0.0594) was noticed between the neutrophil percentages and NO levels produced by BAL cells, whereas in IS a statistically significant correlation between the percentage of neutrophils and the levels of NO (RS = 0.6643, p = 0.0184) was observed. In conclusion, the BAL and IS leukocyte populations are different in cell type, their size and activity. Depending on the asthma severity and the type of cells needed in a study, either BAL or IS specimens may be chosen as a source of pulmonary leukocytes. The use of IS as a noninvasive technique is supposed to be potential value particularly in the study of the airway inflammatory response mediated mainly by neutrophils, i.e. during and/or after exacerbation of the disease. Based on our results, a possible contribution of neutrophils in the production of NO in the airways of asthmatic patients can be proposed apart from other cells such as macrophages.
Consumer Acceptance of Reduced-Fat Foods : the Effects of Product Information

The effect of product information on the acceptability of reduced-fat foods was studied in four sensory studies and in a survey. Sensory and hedonic ratings of fat spreads, sausages, yogurts and chocolate bars were measured in blind test conditions and in the presence of different types of information. Product information, which was related to the fat content or the taste of the foods, was presented either by simple texts on labels or in pictures of food packages. A total of 743 consumers took part in the studies. The effects of subjects’ age, gender, concern about food and health and involvement with the tested products on sensory and hedonic ratings were measured. Product information increased acceptance of bologna and frankfurter sausages compared to blind ratings. The acceptance increased similarly regardless of the three types of information studied: regular-fat, reduced-fat and taste-related information. Reduced-fat information increased pleasantness ratings of fat spread for those subjects who were classified as concerned about food and health. Acceptance of yogurts and chocolate bars was not affected by information on fat content or taste. Sensory properties such as fattiness, juiciness and flavour intensity were generally rated lower for foods labelled as reduced-fat compared to foods which were labelled as regular-fat. The survey showed that reduced-fat foods were best accepted by females, older subjects and by subjects who were concerned about food and health. Individual involvement with a specific food was observed to be related to differences in acceptance between regularand reduced-fat products. The results show that the role of different foods in eating habits and individual differences in foodand health-related ideas, attitudes and practices can be used to plan product information and to understand the effects of information on food acceptance.
Resting metabolic rate after endurance exercise training.

PURPOSE 1) To examine the effect of a 12-wk endurance exercise training program on RMR and 2) to provide insight into the mechanisms responsible for alterations in RMR that may occur after exercise training. METHODS Male participants (19-32 yr) in an exercise group (EX; n = 9) performed jogging and/or running 3-4 d x wk(-1), 25-40 min per session, at 60%-80% VO2max, whereas subjects in a control group (CON; n = 10) maintained their normal activity patterns. Body composition, VO2max, RMR, epinephrine, norepinephrine, total thyroxine, free thyroxine, insulin, free fatty acids, and glucose were measured before and after the intervention. RESULTS Training resulted in a significant increase in VO2max in EX (46.2 +/- 1.2 to 51.0 +/- 1.3 mL x kg(-1) x min(-1), P < 0.001). Absolute and relative values for RMR did not significantly change in EX after training. Mean values for epinephrine, norepinephrine, total thyroxine, insulin, and glucose did not significantly change in either group; however, free thyroxine decreased significantly after training in EX (P = 0.04). Training also resulted in a significant increase in free fatty acid concentration in EX (0.37 +/- 0.03 to 0.48 +/- 0.04 mmol x L(-1), P < 0.001). RMR in CON decreased significantly when expressed as an absolute value (P < 0.01) and relative to body weight (P < 0.01), fat-free mass (P < 0.01), and fat mass (P = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS The mechanism for the decrease in CON is unknown, but it may be related to seasonal variations in RMR. Training may have prevented a similar decline in RMR in EX and may be related to a training-induced increase in fat oxidation.
Altered Blood Flow Distribution in the Rat Spinal Cord under Chronic Compression

Study Design. Sham-operation–controlled animal study to assess alterations in blood flow in the spinal cord in a chronic compression model. Laboratory investigation. Objective. Cervical myelopathy is a common cause of disability in elderly patients. Hypothesis was made that ischemia subsequent to the spinal cord compression plays an important role in the pathogenesis of the spinal cord dysfunction. This study was undertaken to assess alterations in the blood flow of the spinal cord under chronic compression in a rat model. Summary of Background Data. Histologic study of spinal cord from patients with spondylotic myelopathy showed ischemic tissue changes. Experimentally, spinal cord hypoperfusion in combination with chronic spinal cord compression induced myelopathy in dogs. We previously showed that chronic compression of the spinal cord in rats produces gradual deterioration of mobility of the animals accompanied by cord tissue degeneration compatible with ischemic changes. Methods. Chronic compression of the cervical spinal cord was implemented by implantation of a thin urethane polymer sheet under the C5–C6 laminae, which expands by absorbing tissue water over 48–72 hours. The control group underwent sham operation. Twelve weeks later, blood flow to the C3–C4 and C5–C6 spinal cord segments were measured by fluorescent microsphere methods. Results. In the control group, the blood flow in the C5–C6 segment was larger than C3–C4 segment. In the compression group, the blood flow in the C5–C6 was significantly reduced compared to the C3–C4 segment. Conclusion. Under chronic focal spinal cord compression, there was a decrease of the blood flow in the compressed segment in comparison to the rostral segment. Our data are compatible with the hypothesis that alteration in the spinal cord blood flow contributes to pathogenesis of myelopathy.
Scalable software-defined networking through hybrid switching

Traditional networks rely on aggregate routing and decentralized control to achieve scalability. On the contrary, software-defined networks achieve near optimal network performance and policy-based management through per-flow routing and centralized control, which however face scalability challenge due to (1) limited TCAM and on-die memory for storing the forwarding table and (2) per-flow communication/computation overhead at the controller. This paper presents a novel hybrid switching design, which integrates traditional switching and SDN switching for the purpose of achieving both scalability and optimal performance. We show that the integration also leads to unexpected benefits of making both types of switching more efficient under the hybrid design. Numerical evaluation demonstrates the superior performance of hybrid switching when comparing with the state-of-the-art SDN design.