Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of N-methyl-D-aspartic acid and kainic acid on prolactin secretion in hyper- and hypoprolactinaemic conditions.

OBJECTIVE The stimulatory and inhibitory effects of N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) and kainic acid on prolactin (PRL) secretion have been correlated with the serum prolactin concentrations before drug administration. In the present experiments, we analysed the role of NMDA and kainic acid in PRL secretion in females with different serum concentrations of PRL. METHODS Hypoprolactinaemic females were obtained by ovariectomy or after administration of diethyldithiocarbamate (an inhibitor of dopamine-beta-hydroxylase). Chronic hyperprolactinaemia was induced by neonatal administration of testosterone or oestradiol and acute hyperprolactinaemia was induced either by administration of alpha-methyl-p-tyrosine (an inhibitor of tyrosine hydroxylase) or by ether exposure. To analyse the role of dopamine in the effects of NMDA, we measured pituitary concentrations of dopamine after NMDA treatment and the effects of pretreatment with domperidone. RESULTS (1) NMDA, but not kainic acid, stimulated PRL release in cyclic females. This effect was independent of serum PRL concentrations and was not accompanied by a decrease in pituitary concentrations of dopamine. (2) NMDA did not change PRL secretion in neonatally androgenized females, whereas NMDA and kainic acid inhibited PRL release in neonatally oestrogenized females. The inhibitory effects of NMDA and kainic acid were blocked by domperidone. (3) Kainic acid inhibited PRL secretion in prepubertal hyper- and hypoprolactinaemic rats. (4) Hyperprolactinaemia induced by ether stress was counteracted by administration of NMDA and kainic acid. CONCLUSIONS (a) NMDA has a dual effect on prolactin secretion that is independent of prior prolactin concentrations and of dopamine activity, but kainic acid is only inhibitory. (b) The stimulatory or inhibitory effects of NMDA and kainic acid on PRL secretion were not strictly related to basal PRL concentrations and necessarily involved a change in the secretion of prolactin releasing factors, as no correlations were observed between changes in pituitary concentrations of dopamine and serum PRL concentrations. (c) Females rendered hyperprolactinaemic by neonatal administration of testosterone or oestradiol responded differently after NMDA administration. (d) NMDA and kainic acid blocked the mechanisms involved in stress-induced PRL secretion.
Stability analysis and design of T-S fuzzy control system with simplified linear rule consequent

Stability and design issues of simple T-S fuzzy control system with simplified linear rule consequent (TSS) are investigated. A systematic approach to find a common matrix P for TSS fuzzy system is presented, where system matrix A/sub i/ is decomposed into proportional part A~/sub i/ and the remainder /spl Delta/A/sub i/. Hence an iterative approach to find a common matrix P for pairwise commutative A~/sub i/'s can be used. The stability of the global system is guaranteed if /spl Delta/A/sub i/ satisfies certain conditions. Qualitative instructions for TSS control system design are summarized. A physical example is given to illustrate the issues discussed throughout the paper.
Aplicacion de un nuevo metodo para la valoracion de la maduracion osea en el recien nacido

La gran cantidad de metodos existentes parala valoracion de la maduracion osea y la aparicion de otros nuevos nos hizo pensar que se trata de un problema no resuelto. Pretendemos describir un metodo que valore de forma independiente tamano y maduracion oseas asi como estandarizar y automatizar dicho metodo para obtener la valoracion de la maduracion osea de forma inmediata y objetiva. Material: constituido por una serie de 80 recien nacidos por material radiografico material de obtencion y proceso de datos y material bibliografico. Metodo: nuestro trabajo se basa en la idea de que un hueso nace siendo circular y en que los accidentes que posteriormente aparecen en su periferia son signos de maduracion. Nuestro indice de maduracion denominado por nosotros factor de areas mide la relacion que existe entre el area del hueso que crece por fuera de la forma circular (indicadores de madurez) y el area total del hueso. Hemos encontrado otros indices de maduracion como el indice de separacion del factor de forma % y el indice de separacion de la forma circular % que estan altamente correlacionados con el factor de areas pero hemos escogido a aquel por su mayor comprension y aplicabilidad. Resultados: hemos hallado correlaciones entre indicadores de tamano y de maduracion y el resultado ha sido que no existe entre estos ninguna correlacion. Asimismo hemos correlacionado peso talla y edad gestacional del recien nacido con indicadores de tamano y de maduracion obteniendo correlacion positiva con los primeros y ninguna correlacion con los segundos. Discusion: se discuten los resultados de diversos autores y se comparan con los nuestros.
Comparison of Difco ESP and Organon Teknika BacT/Alert continuous-monitoring blood culture systems

The Difco ESP and Organon Teknika BacT/Alert (BTA) systems were evaluated in a clinical study of 5,421 aerobic and 5,035 anaerobic blood cultures. Of 405 clinically significant positive cultures evaluated, 272 grew in both systems, 86 grew in ESP only, and 47 grew in BTA only (P < 0.005). Of 320 organisms detected in aerobic bottles, 208 grew in both systems, 68 grew in ESP only and 45 grew in BTA only (P < 0.05), with Staphylococcus aureus the only organism showing a statistically significant difference. The ESP anaerobic bottle also detected more anaerobes (16 of 17 versus 4 of 17, P < 0.005) and more organisms overall (57 versus 34, P < 0.05). However, with the exception of patients with anaerobic bacteremia (12 of 13 for ESP and 4 of 13 for BTA, P < 0.05), there was no statistical difference in the detection of patient episodes. Average detection time of matched aerobic bottles was 18.3 h for ESP and 22.0 h for BTA (P < 0.001). For matched pairs of anaerobic bottles, the average detection time was faster in the BTA bottles (P < 0.001), because of the growth of facultative organisms. To explore the differences in anaerobic detection more fully, 20 sets of anaerobic bottles were seeded with 12 anaerobic species mixed with human blood. ESP grew more organisms (17 of 20 versus 10 of 20, P < 0.025), and the average time to detection for the 10 paired positive cultures was 21.6 h for ESP and 50.8 h for BTA (P < 0.05). Times for loading and unloading bottles were similar for both systems.
Warum nicht fifty-fifty? Betriebliche Rahmenbedingungen der Aufteilung von Erwerbs- und Fürsorgearbeit in Paarfamilien

Wie kann Vereinbarkeit von Beruf und Familie gelingen - und zwar sowohl bei Frauen als auch bei Mannern? Ziel des Forschungsprojektes "Betriebliche Gelingensbedingungen einer partnerschaftlichen Aufteilung von Erwerbs- und Familienarbeit" war es herauszufinden, unter welchen Bedingungen sich Vater und Mutter Erwerbs- und Familienarbeit ausgewogen aufteilen. Unsere Auswertungen qualitativer und quantitativer Daten aus dem Jahr 2015 zeigen, dass sich in Deutschland Eltern kleiner Kinder - insbesondere Vater - eine egalitarere Aufteilung von Erwerbsarbeits- und Elternzeiten wunschen und die Aufteilung von Familien- und Erwerbsarbeit immer wieder neu uberdenken und an veranderte Situationen anpassen mochten. Finanzielle Moglichkeiten und betriebliche Rahmenbedingungen beschranken jedoch oftmals die Umsetzung dieser Wunsche. Eine egalitare Aufteilung von Familien- und Erwerbsarbeitszeiten ist dann eher moglich, wenn Eltern in Betrieben arbeiten, die Familienfreundlichkeit mit Gleichstellungszielen verbinden. Derzeit arbeitet rund ein Funftel der Eltern kleiner Kinder in Deutschland in solchen Betrieben. Gute Vereinbarkeit lohnt sich auch aus unternehmerischer Sicht, denn sie geht seltener mit Zeitkonflikten, dafur mit hoherer betrieblicher Verbundenheit und weniger Kundigungsabsichten einher.
Separation of Manga Line Drawings and Screentones

Screentones are unique expressions of Japanese comics (manga), which enrich their visual expression. However, such screentones have a very different visual nature from that of line drawing areas; this prevents us from applying various kinds of image processing techniques to manga. We propose a method for extracting line drawings and removing screentones. We employ Laplacians of Gaussian filters and flow-based differences of Gaussian filters, one for removing screentones and the other for preserving lines, and make a binary mask for separating line drawings from manga by merging the results of the two filters. We show that the proposed method successfully separates line drawings and is better than existing methods in comparative studies.
Rethinking Political Bargaining: Policymaking with a Single Proposer

Most political bargaining in the U.S. system has two features which are constitutionally mandated: (1) only one actor can make a formal proposal, and (2) he or she can make an indefinite number of proposals. Existing work in economics and political science ignores at least one of these features. I construct a model incorporating both of these components of political bargaining. The main finding of this article is that time preferences and the number of periods have no effect on the equilibrium policy outcomes, which are identical to those first stated by Romer and Rosenthal in a one-period model. This result suggests that impatience and time preferences may not be key features of political bargaining. This model has implications for constitutional and statutory rules regarding bargaining: it can be applied to presidential appointments, legislation, citizen initiatives, vetoes and filibusters (e.g., Krehbiel's pivotal politics model), and term limits. Copyright 2002, Oxford University Press.
A new mechanism for core device failure during CDM ESD events

A new mechanism by which core devices may fail during CDM ESD tests has been identified. When CDM test discharges are applied to pins that are directly connected to long on-chip traces, energy may couple inductively to adjacent long lines, thereby bypassing ESD protection elements at the I/O buffers, and causing failure in the non-I/O (core) circuit. Circuit simulation performed on a netlist that was extracted from layout shows that when a 500 V CDM stimulus is applied to a pin, this mechanism may generate a voltage at a transistor gate in excess of 20 V within the first 100 ps. All measured results are in agreement with this proposed mechanism, including failure analysis confirming gate oxide failures at transistors indicated as susceptible by the simulator.
M-mode and cross-sectional echocardiographic study of the left ventricular wall motions in complete left bundle-branch block.

SUMMARY M-mode and cross-sectional echocardiograms of 37 patients with complete left bundle-branch block were compared with those of 5 patients with complete atrioventricular block during right ventricular pacing, 20 patients with anteroseptal infarction, and 20 normal subjects. Of 37 patients with complete left bundle-branch block, 35 showed 3 types (A, B, and C) ofabnormal septal motion and 2 patients showed normal septal motion. In type A and B, early and abrupt posteriorly-directed motion of the septum occurred during the pre-ejection period. After this early abnormal motion, the septum moved anteriorly in type A and posteriorly in type B. Type C exhibited akinetic or dyskinetic septal motion throughout systole. The onset of posterior wall contraction was delayed in all patients with complete left bundle-branch block. These patterns of abnormal septal motion were observed in almost all portions of upper-to mid-septum that could be recorded by cross-sectional echocardiography. Abnormal septal motion of types A and B was also observed during right ventricular pacing. It is suggested that abnormal septal motion of types A and B could be explained by asynchronous contraction of the left ventricle, with delayed activation of the left side of the septum and of the left ventricular free wall. The
Building Donor Loyalty: The Antecedents and Role of Commitment in the Context of Charity Giving

ABSTRACT In both the United States and the United Kingdom donor attrition rates are an increasing cause for concern. Many organizations lose up to 60% of cash donors after their first donation. In this study we delineate the factors that drive donor commitment to a cause and subsequent loyalty. A series of nine focus groups were employed to derive study hypotheses that were then tested using the technique of structural equation modelling. We conclude the factors (1) perceived service quality, (2) shared beliefs, (3) perceived risk, (4) the existence of a personal link to the organization/cause, and (5) trust, drive commitment in this context of charity giving.
Delay and its time-derivative dependent Stability of teleoperation systems

This work presents a stability analysis for an architecture for teleoperating a laboratory crane using haptic devices. The teleoperation scheme chosen is the 2-channel force-force (FF) architecture. This scheme is modeled first by state-space equations testing that the system is Hurwitz stable for zero delay and verifying the Schur-Cohn stability of the matrix C, a necessary and sufficient stability condition for the neutral-type system. Then, by frequencial Laplace techniques, the system to be analyzed is transformed in such a way that it becomes a feedback interconnection of a linear time-invariant plant and a time-delay operator. This let us apply delay-dependent stability conditions as a function of the upper bounds on the time-varying delay magnitude and variation, that are treated in the integral quadratic constraint (IQC) framework. Final discussions are provided regarding expected tracking capabilities and agreement of the theory and simulation results, which are satisfactory.
Marathon running increases ERK1/2 and p38 MAP kinase signalling to downstream targets in human skeletal muscle

1 We tested the hypothesis that long‐distance running activates parallel mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades that involve extracellular signal regulated kinase 1 and 2 (ERK1/2) and p38 MAPK and their downstream substrates. 2 Eleven men completed a 42.2 km marathon (mean race time 4 h 1 min; range 2 h 56 min to 4 h 33 min). Vastus lateralis muscle biopsies were obtained before and after the race. Glycogen content was measured spectrophotometrically. ERK1/2 and p38 MAPK phosphorylation was determined by immunoblot analysis using phosphospecific antibodies. Activation of the downstream targets of ERK1/2 and p38 MAPK, MAPK‐activated protein kinase‐1 (MAPKAP‐K1; also called p90 ribosomal S6 kinase, p90rsk), MAPK‐activated protein kinase‐2 (MAPKAP‐K2), mitogen‐ and stress‐activated kinase 1 (MSK1) and mitogen‐ and stress‐activated kinase 2 (MSK2) was determined using immune complex assays. 3 Muscle glycogen content was reduced by 40 ± 6 % after the marathon. ERK1/2 phosphorylation increased 7.8‐fold and p38 MAPK phosphorylation increased 4.4‐fold post‐exercise. Prolonged running did not alter ERK1/2 and p38 MAPK protein expression. The activity of p90rsk, a downstream target of ERK1/2, increased 2.8‐fold after the marathon. The activity of MAPKAPK‐K2, a downstream target of p38 MAPK, increased 3.1‐fold post‐exercise. MSK1 and MSK2 are downstream of both ERK1/2 and p38 MAPK. MSK1 activity increased 2.4‐fold post‐exercise. MSK2 activity was low, relative to MSK1, with little activation post‐exercise. 4 In conclusion, prolonged distance running activates MAPK signalling cascades in skeletal muscle, including increased activity of downstream targets: p90rsk, MAPKAP‐K2 and MSK. Activation of these downstream targets provides a potential mechanism by which exercise induces gene transcription in skeletal muscle.
Lee Video-Based Face Recognition Based On State-Space Model

This paper proposes a video-based framework for face recognition to identify which faces appear in a video sequence. Our basic idea is like a tracking task to track a selection of person candidates over time according to the observing visual features of face images in video frames. Hence, we employ the state-space model to formulate video-based face recognition by dividing this problem into two parts: the likelihood and the transition measures. The likelihood measure is to recognize whose face is currently being observed in video frames, for which two-dimensional linear discriminant analysis is employed. The transition measure estimates the probability of changing from an incorrect recognition at the previous stage to the correct person at the current stage. Moreover, extra nodes associated with head nodes are incorporated into our proposed state-space model. The experimental results are also provided to demonstrate the robustness and efficiency of our proposed approach. Keywords—2DLDA, face recognition, state-space model, likelihood measure, transition measure.
Modelling of Implantable Photovoltaic Cells Based on Human Skin Types

Implantable electronic devices are emerging as important healthcare technologies due to their sustainable operation and low risk of infection. To overcome the drawbacks of the built-in battery in implantable devices, energy harvesting from the human body or another external source is required. Energy harvesting using appropriately sized and properly designed photovoltaic cells enable implantable medical devices to be autonomous and self-powered. Among the challenges in using PV cells is the small fraction of incident light that penetrates the skin. Thus, it is necessary to involve such physical properties in the energy harvesting system design. Consequently, we propose a novel photodiode model that considers skin loss in different ethnic groups. Our physical simulations have been implemented using COMSOL and MATLAB. Circuit and system modelling have been performed using Cadence 180nm TSMC technology. Our results show that the transmittance of near infrared light is almost the same in three skin types: Caucasian, Asian and African. Maximum power delivery of 12 μW (African skin) and 14 μW (Caucasian and Asian skin) were achieved at 0.45 V. With the help of a power management unit, an output voltage of 1.8–2 V was achieved using the PV cells.
Sidelobe suppressing beamforming using linearly constrained adaptive arrays for low angle tracking

Low angle tracking has been widely studied to solve multipath effect which can be a serious problem in radar systems. Zoltowski suggested a 3-D beamspace maximum likelihood estimation scheme which can simply find the angle of arrival (AOA) of a target from a quadratic equation. However, this scheme has drawbacks such as fixed beam pattern and relatively high sidelobe. This paper proposes a new beamforming scheme using the linearly constrained adaptive arrays. The proposed scheme generates a beam pattern which can overcome previous scheme by providing low sidelobe using adaptive structure resulting robust estimation. Numerical results are provided to show the improved performances.
On the Performance of ESIGN and RSA on IC Cards

The advancement of information and communications technology, especially the Internet, has created an opportunity to improve the administrative efficiency and service quality in governments of many nations. However, due to the lack of communication security services, sensitive documents could not be transmitted securely over open networks using off-the-shelf software. Digital signature is by far one of the most important cryptographic techniques used in the e-government and e-commerce applications. It provides authentication of senders or receivers (they are who they claim to be) and offers non-repudiation of transmission (senders can't deny their digital signature in the signed documents and the document cannot be altered in transmission without being detected). This paper presents our efforts in the implementation of digital signature algorithms on IC cards. We evaluated the performance of well-known ESIGN and RSA digital signature algorithms on the Hitachi H8/300 8-bit IC card chips.
Approximate Generalized Matching: $f$-Factors and $f$-Edge Covers

In this paper we present linear time approximation schemes for several generalized matching problems on nonbipartite graphs. Our results include $O_\epsilon(m)$-time algorithms for $(1-\epsilon)$-maximum weight $f$-factor and $(1+\epsilon)$-approximate minimum weight $f$-edge cover. As a byproduct, we also obtain direct algorithms for the exact cardinality versions of these problems running in $O(m\sqrt{f(V)})$ time. The technical contributions of this work include an efficient method for maintaining {\em relaxed complementary slackness} in generalized matching problems and approximation-preserving reductions between the $f$-factor and $f$-edge cover problems.
RECOVERY OF PROLIFERATING HAEMOPOIETIC PROGENITOR CELLS AFTER KILLING BY HYDROXYUREA

Two doses of 1 mg/g of hydroxyurea (HU), injected 7 hr apart into irradiated mice in which CFU‐S were proliferating during marrow regeneration, killed about 90% of CFU‐S. This same dose regime injected into normal female mice, with non‐proliferating CFU‐S killed 92 % of CFU‐C, 99 % of ESC and only 30 % of CFU‐S. One day after the treatment CFU‐S had decreased to 50 % and remained at about this level for a further day then returned to normal values. In spleen the increase in CFU‐S was delayed by a day and showed a marked overshoot. During the period that CFU‐S were decreased in number they were actively proliferating. Marrow CFU‐C recovered in an exponential manner with a doubling time of 16 hr. Spleen CFU‐C recovered 1 day later than marrow and showed a pronounced overshoot. ESC recovered very rapidly with doubling time of 5 hr. The changes in 59Fe incorporation into RBC, and the peripheral blood picture, were a delayed reflection of the changes in ESC and CFU‐C.
Urinary Protein Excretion following Coronary Angiography Using a Non-Ionic Radiocontrast Agent

The administration of radiographic contrast media is recognized as an important cause of renal failure in the hospital setting. Non-ionic, low osmolality contrast agents are reportedly less nephrotoxic than ionic, high osmolality contrast media, but this is not a universal finding. 1,2 Early or moderate lesions of the renal parenchyma are not detected by standard renal function tests because of the substantial renal functional reserve. The measurement of specific urinary proteins, on the other hand, provides information on the region of the nephron that may be affected by toxic injury.J-5 Increases in the urinary excretion of Nsacetyl-jiD-glucosaminidase (NAG; present in the lysosomes of tubular cells) and adenosine deaminase binding protein (ADBP; found on the brush border of proximal tubular cells) are suggestive of tubular cell injury. Increased excretion of low molecular weight proteins such as cx[-microglobulin and P2-microglobulin which are filtered by the glomerulus and subsequently reabsorbed in the proximal tubules, implies functional tubular impairment. Albuminuria, on the other hand, brings into question glomerular integrity. In the present study, we use a combination of indices of both glomerular and tubular impairment to examine a group of patients undergoing elective coronary angiography with the nonionic agent iohexol,