Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Follicular fluid proteins stimulate nitric oxide (NO) synthesis in human sperm: A possible role for NO in acrosomal reaction

Nitric oxide (NO) is a free radical involved in the regulation of several functions of the male genitourinary system. It is produced by neurons and the endothelium and epithelia of reproductive system; it mediates penile erection and regulates sperm motility, viability, and metabolism. Here we show that human spermatozoa exhibit a detectable NO synthase (NOS) activity, measured both as ability of the intact sperm and cell lysate to convert L‐[3H]arginine into L‐[3H]citrulline and as 24 h accumulation of extracellular nitrite in intact sperm suspensions. NOS activity (identified as an endothelial isoform) was inhibited by L‐canavanine and NG‐monomethyl‐L‐arginine, and nitrite accumulation was inhibited by the NO scavenger hemoglobin; both enzyme activity and nitrite production were increased by a 24 h incubation of spermatozoa with protein‐enriched extracts of human follicular fluid (PFF); a significant increase of citrulline synthesis was observed only after a 4 h incubation with 40% PFF, a time period during which acrosomal reactivity was significantly increased. PFF‐induced acrosomal reaction was inhibited by L‐canavanine and hemoglobin, and the NO donors sodium nitroprusside (SNP), S‐nitroso‐N‐acetyl‐penicillamine (SNAP), and DETA NONOate were able to increase the percentage of reacted spermatozoa. Our results suggest that NO synthesized by human sperm may play a role in follicular fluid–induced acrosomal reaction. J Cell Physiol 178:85–92, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Closed-loop response properties of a visual interneuron involved in fly optomotor control

Due to methodological limitations neural function is mostly studied under open-loop conditions. Normally, however, nervous systems operate in closed-loop where sensory input is processed to generate behavioral outputs, which again change the sensory input. Here, we investigate the closed-loop responses of an identified visual interneuron, the blowfly H1-cell, that is part of a neural circuit involved in optomotor flight and gaze control. Those behaviors may be triggered by attitude changes during flight in turbulent air. The fly analyses the resulting retinal image shifts and performs compensatory body and head rotations to regain its default attitude. We developed a fly robot interface to study H1-cell responses in a 1 degree-of-freedom image stabilization task. Image shifts, induced by externally forced rotations, modulate the cell’s spike rate that controls counter rotations of a mobile robot to minimize relative motion between the robot and its visual surroundings. A feedback controller closed the loop between neural activity and the rotation of the robot. Under these conditions we found the following H1-cell response properties: (i) the peak spike rate decreases when the mean image velocity is increased, (ii) the relationship between spike rate and image velocity depends on the standard deviation of the image velocities suggesting adaptive scaling of the cell’s signaling range, and (iii) the cell’s gain decreases linearly with increasing image accelerations. Our results reveal a remarkable qualitative similarity between the response dynamics of the H1-cell under closed-loop conditions with those obtained in previous open-loop experiments. Finally, we show that the adaptive scaling of the H1-cell’s responses, while maximizing information on image velocity, decreases the cell’s sensitivity to image accelerations. Understanding such trade-offs in biological vision systems may advance the design of smart vision sensors for autonomous robots.
Steps Towards Prediction of Conducted Emission Levels of an RB-IGBT Indirect Matrix Converter

Numerical prediction of conducted emissions has the potential to become an important utility in power converter design. Advance knowledge of the conducted emission and simulations of the EMC performance can help to reduce cost and time in the design process. This paper presents a detailed time-domain simulation of an Indirect Matrix Converter (IMC) for predicting common and differential mode conducted emissions. The simulation model includes the parasitic inductances and capacitances of the PCB layout, whose values are obtained using the Partial Element Equivalent Circuit (PEEC) method. The simulation also includes the EMC filter, the mains connection cable and a load model for which parameters and parasitics are obtained from measurements. The results of the simulation are compared with conducted emissions measurements of an existing IMC Index prototype.
A Multivariate Model of the Determinants of Extramarital Sexual Permissiveness.

A major purpose of this article is to present the beginning elements of a causal model of extramarital sexual permissiveness and thereby encourage future development of the understanding of this important type of human relationship. Our procedure involved using the National Opinion Research Center's General Social Surveys. Four of these surveys contained a question on extramarital sexual permissiveness (1973, 1974, 1976, 1977). We utilized all four years to examine and test out parts of our model but only the 1977 survey contained the full set of variables in our model. Our final trimmed path model contained nine variables. Other variables were examined and found wanting in some way. The data from the 1977 survey fit our model rather closely. We were also able to test the model with one variable missing using the 1974 NORC survey and found it held up quite well. Tests for interaction were undertaken and although no single variable seemed to require a separate model, there were some interesting specific interactions. In addition, six variables not included in the NORC surveys were suggested for inclusion in an expanded version of the proposed model. A typology of eight items was proposed as a Guttman scale measure of extramarital sexual permissiveness. Finally, suggestions were made for future strategic research and theory development in this area.
Parental Perspectives of Students With Autism Spectrum Disorders Transitioning From Primary to Secondary School in the United Kingdom

Transferring from mainstream primary to secondary school can be especially problematic for children with an autism spectrum disorder. Two groups of parents (nine pretransition and six posttransition parents) contributed to this 15-month-long study. Perceptions of the pretransition group were captured through focus groups and in-depth interviews at three critical times: before transition, one term in, and after a full year of secondary schooling. The posttransition group provided retrospective perceptions. The data, coded using a grounded theory approach, confirmed that transition was problematic in the first year, although there were signs of integration by the second year of secondary school. The establishment of friendship groups and peer acceptance appeared to be the key criteria for successful transition.
Chlorophylls Contents in Echinocactus grusonii Extract

Currently, Golden Barrel cactus extract is formulated in dietary supplements, on account of its powerful weight loss profit and antioxidant activity. Golden Barrel cactus grusonii (Echinocactus grusonii), a Thai cultivar Golden Barrel cactus which is known as the golden barrel Golden Barrel cactus was therefore investigated for total chlorophylls with the aim of developing as a dietary supplement in future. The chlorophyll contents of 3 and 6 years Echinocactus grusonii extracts were evaluated by High Performance Liquid Chromatography with a Grace-Vydac 201TP54 reversed-phase polymeric C18 column. The results showed that chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b are the main components of Echinocactus grusonii crude extracts also at higher level at age 3 years. It was found that the main chlorophylls contents are chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b at 2.94±0. 55μg/ml and 1.63±0.14 μg/ml for 3 years Echinocactus grusonii. In addition, the amount of chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b show lower content at 1.11±0. 25μg/ml and 0.67±0. 01μg/ml for 6 years Echinocactus grusonii. In conclusion, Echinocactus grusonii age 3 years crude extracts showed total chlorophylls contents higher than at age 6 years. The phytochemical profile study of Echinocactus grusonii age 3 years and 6 years crude extracts are planned in the near future.
Complementing human judgment of essays written by English language learners with e-rater® scoring

E-rater® is an automated essay scoring system that uses natural language processing techniques to extract features from essays and to model statistically human holistic ratings. Educational Testing Service has investigated the use of e-rater, in conjunction with human ratings, to score one of the two writing tasks on the TOEFL-iBT® writing section. In this article we describe the TOEFL iBT writing section and an e-rater model proposed to provide one of two ratings for the Independent writing task. We discuss how the evidence for a process that uses both human and e-rater scoring is relevant to four components in a validity argument: (a) Evaluation — observations of performance on the writing task are scored to provide evidence of targeted writing skills; (b) Generalization — scores on the writing task provide estimates of expected scores over relevant parallel versions of the task and across raters; (c) Extrapolation — expected scores on the writing task are consistent with other measures of writing ability; and (d) Utilization — scores on the writing task are useful in educational contexts. Finally, we propose directions for future research that will strengthen the case for using complementary methods of scoring to improve the assessment of EFL writing.
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders: an International Perspective

This article presents the proceedings of a symposium presented at the 2004 annual meeting of the International Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism, held in Mannheim, Germany. The organizers and chairpersons were Kerstin Stromland and Kenneth R. Warren. The presentations were as follows: 1) “Comparison of FASD in Moscow, Russia, and San Diego, California,” by Sarah N. Mattson; 2) “Neurobehavior and Interventions in FASD in South Africa,” presented by Colleen M. Adnams; 3) “Ophthalmologic Involvement in the Fetal Alcohol Syndrome” presented by Kerstin Stromland; and 4) “Brain Imaging in Children With Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders,” by Ilona Autti-Ramo.
New approaches to interconnect macromodeling with explicit delay extraction

IC design automation relies on macromodels for interconnect analysis. For simulation speed, low-order macromodels are in general preferred. Besides rational macromodels, explicit delay components e-taus are of special interest in interconnect timing. This paper investigates new approaches to modeling interconnects in the form of multiplying a rational function by a delay component. Fitting-based techniques are used both in the time-domain and in the frequency-domain for the purpose of hybrid modeling using sampled data. A technique for passivity test is also introduced. Examples are given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methodology.
BodyScan: Enabling Radio-based Sensing on Wearable Devices for Contactless Activity and Vital Sign Monitoring

Wearable devices are increasingly becoming mainstream consumer products carried by millions of consumers. However, the potential impact of these devices is currently constrained by fundamental limitations of their built-in sensors. In this paper, we introduce radio as a new powerful sensing modality for wearable devices and propose to transform radio into a mobile sensor of human activities and vital signs. We present BodyScan, a wearable system that enables radio to act as a single modality capable of providing whole-body continuous sensing of the user. BodyScan overcomes key limitations of existing wearable devices by providing a contactless and privacy-preserving approach to capturing a rich variety of human activities and vital sign information. Our prototype design of BodyScan is comprised of two components: one worn on the hip and the other worn on the wrist, and is inspired by the increasingly prevalent scenario where a user carries a smartphone while also wearing a wristband/smartwatch. This prototype can support daily usage with one single charge per day. Experimental results show that in controlled settings, BodyScan can recognize a diverse set of human activities while also estimating the user's breathing rate with high accuracy. Even in very challenging real-world settings, BodyScan can still infer activities with an average accuracy above 60% and monitor breathing rate information a reasonable amount of time during each day.
Separation of collagen‐bound and porous bone‐water longitudinal relaxation in mice using a segmented inversion recovery zero‐echo‐time sequence

Cortical bone mechanical properties are related to the collagen‐bound water (CBW) and pore water (PW) components of cortical bone. The study evaluates the feasibility of zero‐echo‐time imaging in mice in vivo for longitudinal relaxation time (T1) measurements in cortical bone and separation of CBW and PW components.
Role of Genetic Variation in the Cannabinoid Receptor Gene (CNR1) (G1359A Polymorphism) on Weight Loss and Cardiovascular Risk Factors After Liraglutide Treatment in Obese Patients With Diabetes Mellitus Type 2

Background A polymorphism (1359 G/A) of the cannabinoid receptor 1 (CNR1) gene was reported as a common polymorphism (rs1049353) with potential implications in weight loss. We decide to investigate the role of this polymorphism on metabolic changes and weight loss secondary to treatment with liraglutide. Methods A population of 86 patients with diabetes mellitus type 2 and obesity, unable to achieve glycemic control (hemoglobine glycate A1c >7%) with metformin alone or associated to sulfonylurea, who require initiation of liraglutide treatment in progressive dose to 1.8 mg/d subcutaneously, was analyzed. Results Fifty-one patients (59.3%) had the genotype G1359G, and 35 patients (40.7%) had G1359A (28 patients, 32.6%) or A1359A (7 patients, 8.1%) (A allele carriers). In patients with both genotypes, basal glucose, HbA1c, body mass index, weight, fat mass, waist circumference, and systolic blood pressures decreased. In patients with G1359G genotype, total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol decreased, and in patients with A allele, homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance decreased, too. Conclusions There is an association of the A allele with an improvement of insulin resistance secondary to weight loss after liraglutide treatment in obese patients with diabetes mellitus type 2. Noncarriers of A allele showed an improvement in cholesterol levels after weight loss.
Mediating modernity in Bali

This essay explores the mediation of modernity in Bali through wayang puppet theatre and political cartoons. The representational practices of puppeteer and political cartoonist provide revealing comparisons of 'traditional' and 'modern' forms of mediation. Through these agents of popular culture and local critical discourse, the paper traces the interface between the monologic aspects of globalization and modernity - the expansion of capital and the rhetoric of progress - and the heteroglossic and carnivalesque preferences of the two popular genres. In this context, it pursues a particularly Bakhtinian interest in the relationship between elite and mass cultures at a crossroad of globalizing cultural and political forces. At another level, the paper points to theoretical problems raised by these mediating traditions for the analytic practices of ethnography and cultural studies.
Circulating antibodies to nephrin in patients with type 1 diabetes.

BACKGROUND Patients with type 1 diabetes typically develop autoantibodies to antigens of the pancreatic islet cells including insulin, glutamic acid decarboxylase and the protein tyrosine phosphatase-related islet antigen 2 protein. Nephrin is a protein shared by the kidney glomeruli, pancreatic beta-cells and islet microendothelia. Since circulating antibodies to nephrin have been shown to cause proteinuria, we wanted to test whether such autoantibodies can be detected in diabetic patients. METHODS We developed a radioimmunoprecipitation assay and analysed samples in a follow-up series of 66 patients with type 1 diabetes. RESULTS A total of 24% of the patients tested positive for nephrin autoantibodies at diagnosis, whereas 23, 14 and 18% had these antibodies at 2, 5 and 10 years, respectively. During the follow-up at 16-19 years after diagnosis, 14 patients had signs of renal injury and 29% of them tested positive for nephrin autoantibodies in at least one sample. CONCLUSIONS We conclude that a subset of patients with type 1 diabetes present with circulating autoantibodies to nephrin. However, the present data do not allow conclusions of a causative role for these antibodies in the pathogenesis of proteinuria in diabetes.
Missing Pieces, Repetitive Practices

The sexual abuse and exploitation of children is a serious problem. Adult sexual predators often use strategies known as grooming to entice their victims. These include targeting particularly vulnerable youth, gift giving, and systematically engaging in desensitizing sexual behaviors. Less commonly discussed is the notion of institutional grooming, the practice of strategically placing themselves in positions of public trust where they have access to children yet appear beyond reproach. Once situated, they can abuse children for decades without deterrence in spite of the fact that individuals around them may be aware–or partially aware–of their behavior. This article examines three cases, one involving a priest, another a football coach, and the third a pediatrician and considers the institutional practices and cultures that permit (or potentially permit) abuse and exploitation to flourish. Among other things it finds: confidentiality mandates and other codes of silence and secrecy impede information sharing; departmental or programmatic silos exist each with their own independent and competing agendas; confused reporting lines within the institution often end in the hands of powerful individuals who have an interest in non-disclosure; barriers exist to investing within the institution and reporting outside the institution often including mistrust and disempowerment of law enforcement and child protective services; extreme power differences exist between and among victims, predators, reporters, and other institutional players; and finally, intense loyalties personal, professional, and institutional are present. These factors produce institutional cultures that protect pedophiles and conspire against their vulnerable, individual, child victims.
Fidelity-Based Probabilistic Q-Learning for Control of Quantum Systems

The balance between exploration and exploitation is a key problem for reinforcement learning methods, especially for Q-learning. In this paper, a fidelity-based probabilistic Q-learning (FPQL) approach is presented to naturally solve this problem and applied for learning control of quantum systems. In this approach, fidelity is adopted to help direct the learning process and the probability of each action to be selected at a certain state is updated iteratively along with the learning process, which leads to a natural exploration strategy instead of a pointed one with configured parameters. A probabilistic Q-learning (PQL) algorithm is first presented to demonstrate the basic idea of probabilistic action selection. Then the FPQL algorithm is presented for learning control of quantum systems. Two examples (a spin-1/2 system and a Λ-type atomic system) are demonstrated to test the performance of the FPQL algorithm. The results show that FPQL algorithms attain a better balance between exploration and exploitation, and can also avoid local optimal policies and accelerate the learning process.
HIF1 transcription factor regulates laminin-332 expression and keratinocyte migration

Epidermal wound repair is a complex process involving the fine orchestrated regulation of crucial cell functions, such as proliferation, adhesion and migration. Using an in vitro model that recapitulates central aspects of epidermal wound healing, we demonstrate that the transcription factor HIF1 is strongly stimulated in keratinocyte cultures submitted to mechanical injury. Signals generated by scratch wounding stabilise the HIF1α protein, which requires activation of the PI3K pathway independently of oxygen availability. We further show that upregulation of HIF1α plays an essential role in keratinocyte migration during the in vitro healing process, because HIF1α inhibition dramatically delays the wound closure. In this context, we demonstrate that HIF1 controls the expression of laminin-332, one of the major epithelial cell adhesion ligands involved in cell migration and invasion. Indeed, silencing of HIF1α abrogates injury-induced laminin-332 expression, and we provide evidence that HIF1 directly regulates the promoter activity of the laminin α3 chain. Our results suggest that HIF1 contributes to keratinocyte migration and thus to the re-epithelialisation process by regulating laminin-332.
Classifying children for sports participation based upon anthropometric measurement

Purpose: This study proposes a classification system for youth sports that is maturation-based, using the anthropometric prediction of vertical jump impulse potential. Methods: Impulse was calculated for children between 8.0 and 17.9 years of age from vertical jump height [I = m × (2 gh)0.5] in a truncated version of the Coquitlam Growth Study database. A series of stepwise regressions was performed for each gender, predicting impulse scores from 32 anthropometric variables, height, body mass, and chronological age. Results: Equations were developed that accounted for differences in muscle tissue development while utilizing variables easily measured in both males and females, including age, and measures of height, forearm girth, and calf girth. Conclusion: Using restricted ranges of impulse scores, males and females can be classed into appropriate groups for competition and sport, competing together through the age of 13. Beyond the age of 14, females have a similar capacity to generate impulse and could compete in one group, while restricted impulse categories would be useful for males until the age of 18 years.
The Making of Meaning: Churches, Development Projects and Violence in Eastern Uganda

Churches and development projects are a shared feature of the landscape of much of rural Africa. In this article I look at these two very different sorts of institution in a village in the Teso region of eastern Uganda, exploring the ways in which people do, or do not, make meaning through their participation in churches and development projects. In this context recently-formed Pentecostal churches have become a significant part of the local landscape, while the community structures built up by NGOs struggle to keep going once the funding ends. In explaining this difference I make an argument about how institutions are made sense of by people living in a particular place. The Teso region experienced a violent insurgency in the late 1980s and early 1990s and the idea of becoming born again has had particular resonance against this history. By contrast the work of NGOs is at a distance from what matters to people. This is evidenced not only in the rusted road signs that mark the failure of past projects, or in the new aluminium-roofed village churches, but also in the way people talk about churches and NGOs. Discussions about NGOs were dry and matter-of-fact, whereas conversations on new churches were rich and wide-ranging linking to other aspects of village life. It can be argued that development projects and Pentecostal churches are interpreted differently, and this differential explains the durability of churches and the brief after-lives of development interventions.