Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Relations between intracellular ions and energy metabolism: a study with monensin in synaptosomes, neurons, and C6 glioma cells

Treatment of rat brain synaptosomes with 10 microM monensin stimulated activity of the Na/K pump, which enhanced oxygen consumption and lactate production. Glycolytic flux was also increased independently of the pump activation by a fall in [H+]i. Under such conditions, glycolysis provided 26% of ATP for the ouabain-sensitive ATPase, a value substantially greater than the 4% obtained in veratridine-treated preparations (Erecinska and Dagani, 1990). In C6 glioma cells, a glia- derived line endowed with high rates of aerobic lactate synthesis, the cytosolic and mitochondrial ATP generation contributed 50% each for the support of the pump in the presence of 10 microM monensin. The fraction of energy utilized by the pump was greater in synaptosomes than in C6 cells. Enhancement of ion movements was accompanied by changes in the levels of high-energy phosphate compounds. Measurements with ion- sensitive microelectrodes in C6 cells and cultured neurons showed that monensin caused an increase in pHi by 0.4–0.5 unit and a parallel rise in [Na+]i. The increases in [Na+]i were about twofold in both types of cells, but the absolute values attained were much higher in neurons (40- 50 mM) than in C6 cells (10–12 mM). Membrane potentials transiently declined by less than 10 mV and returned to their original values after 20 min of treatment. Rises in [Ca2+]i were small in neurons as well as in C6 cells. These changes could be explained by the known mechanism and/or consequences of monensin action. In contrast, in synaptosomes monensin caused an internal alkalinization of 0.1–0.15 pH unit, a large depolarization of the plasma membrane, and massive leakage of potassium into the external medium. The decrease in plasma membrane potential was accompanied by an increase in [Ca/+]i and release of the neurotransmitter amino acids GABA, aspartate, and glutamate. The depolarization and loss of K+ were unaffected by calcium withdrawal, replacement of chloride with gluconate, and addition of 1 mM 4- acetamido-4′-isothiocyanostilebene-2,2′-disulfonic acid (SITS), but was markedly attenuated by elimination of Na+. It is proposed that in synaptosomes monensin and/or the consequences of its action open a nonspecific cation channel that allows Na+ entry and K+ exit, with a consequent decrease in membrane potential.
Seismic Evidence for Upper Mantle Extension Beneath the Late Paleozoic Appalachian Orogen

Across the Appalachian orogen of New England, the splitting of core-refracted shear waves from a wide range of arrival directions indicates the presence of two near-uniform horizontal layers of anisotropic upper mantle. The anisotropy in the lower layer has a fast axis near-parallel to the motion of the North American plate in an absolute reference frame, and thus is attributed to basal shear as the plate plows through asthenospheric mantle. The anisotropy of the upper layer is inferred to be a fossil fabric, residing in lithospheric mantle. The nite extension direction of the upper fabric is subhorizontal and oriented normal to the local trend of the Appalachian orogen. The upper fabric is consistent over a broad region beneath and west of the New England Appalachians, which indicates that it formed after Devonian closure of the Iapetus Ocean, probably during the late Paleozoic Acadian and Allegenian orogenies. Tectonic scenarios for syn-convergent extension predict rapid surface uplift and increased heat ow due to lithospheric thinning, which may account for late-orogenic mantle-derived magmatism that occurs in both the northern Appalachians and Morocco.
Associations among parenting experiences during childhood and adolescence, hypothalamus‐pituitary‐adrenal axis hypoactivity, and hippocampal gray matter volume reduction in young adults

Recent human studies have indicated that adverse parenting experiences during childhood and adolescence are associated with adulthood hypothalamus‐pituitary‐adrenal (HPA) axis hypoactivity. Chronic HPA axis hypoactivity inhibits hippocampal gray matter (GM) development, as shown by animal studies. However, associations among adverse parenting experiences during childhood and adolescence, HPA axis activity, and brain development, particularly hippocampal development, are insufficiently investigated in humans. In this voxel‐based structural magnetic resonance imaging study, using a cross‐sectional design, we examined the associations among the scores of parental bonding instrument (PBI; a self‐report scale to rate the attitudes of parents during the first 16 years), cortisol response determined by the dexamethasone/corticotropin‐releasing hormone test, and regional or total hippocampal GM volume in forty healthy young adults with the following features: aged between 18 and 35 years, no cortisol hypersecretion in response to the dexamethasone test, no history of traumatic events, or no past or current conditions of significant medical illness or neuropsychiatric disorders. As a result, parental overprotection scores significantly negatively correlated with cortisol response. Additionally, a significant positive association was found between cortisol response and total or regional hippocampal GM volume. No significant association was observed between PBI scores and total or regional hippocampal GM volume. In conclusion, statistical associations were found between parental overprotection during childhood and adolescence and adulthood HPA axis hypoactivity, and between HPA axis hypoactivity and hippocampal GM volume reduction in healthy young adults, but no significant relationship was observed between any PBI scores and adulthood hippocampal GM volume. Hum Brain Mapp 33:2211–2223, 2012. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Enkephalin downregulation in the nucleus accumbens underlies chronic stress-induced anhedonia

Abstract Restraint and immobilization have been extensively used to study habituation of the neuroendocrine response to a repeated stressor, but behavioral consequences of this stress regimen remain largely uncharacterized. In this study, we used sucrose preference and the elevated-plus maze to probe behavioral alterations resulting from 14 days of restraint in rats. We observed a decrease in sucrose preference in stressed animals, particularly in a subgroup of individuals, but no alteration in anxiety behaviors (as measured in the elevated-plus maze) four days following the last restraint. In these low-sucrose preference animals, we observed a downregulation of the expression of preproenkephalin mRNA in the nucleus accumbens. Furthermore, we observed a strong correlation between enkephalin expression and sucrose preference in the shell part of the nucleus accumbens, with a lower level of enkephalin expression being associated with lower sucrose preference. Interestingly, quantification of the corticosterone response revealed a delayed habituation to restraint in the low-sucrose preference population, which suggests that vulnerability to stress-induced deficits might be associated with prolonged exposure to glucocorticoids. The induction of ΔFosB is also reduced in the nucleus accumbens shell of the low-sucrose preference population and this transcription factor is expressed in enkephalin neurons. Taken together, these results suggest that a ΔFosB-mediated downregulation of enkephalin in the nucleus accumbens might underlie the susceptibility to chronic stress. Further experiments will be needed to determine causality between these two phenomena.
Substitution of Magnetic Resonance Imaging for Computed Tomography: An Exploratory Study

Deapite the importance of understanding factors related to physician adoption and use of diagnostiv technologies, relatively few studies have been published. Results of a two-year study of the adoption of magnetiv resonance imaging (MRI) and its substitution for computed tomography scanning (CT) are presented. The literature on physician adoption and use of technologu is used to provide a frame-work for this study. Differences in adoption and substitution among medical specialties, early versus late adopters, and high versus low users of MRI are examined. Results show that neuerologists and internists more rapidly adopt MRI and substitute it for CT than do orthopedists and other surgical specialists. Referral of higher number of patients is the best predictor of more rapid substitution. Physicians who were late adopters more quickly substituted MRI for CT. The cost and social implications of empirical versus “ideal” substitution rates are discussed along with various regulatory, technology assessment, and finicial strategies influence substitution. The role of individual physicians, radiologists, and specialty societies in determining substitution rates is also discussed.
The translation of an incubator: the case of the Lighthouse in Bubulo, Uganda

This article reviews a social entrepreneurial initiative to set up a solar-powered incubator in Bubulo, Uganda, initiated by a group of Sweden-based entrepreneurship students. Using an Actor-Network Theoryinformed approach, it addresses the question of how the original aims of the initiative shifted as it moved from Sweden to Uganda, securing new allies and resources. In the tracing of this movement from northern Europe to central Africa, concepts from Actor-Network Theory, such as ‘translation’ and ‘drift’, are drawn upon. Thus, the text deals with spatial aspects of social entrepreneurial projects, heeding the call from Steyaert and Dey, who list ‘spatializing’ as one of ‘nine verbs that can keep the social entrepreneurship research agenda ‘‘dangerous’’ ’. The text thus engages in the debate on the merits of business incubation in low-income countries - a topic currently high on the international development policy agenda. The study, it is argued, prompts scholars and policy-makers to shift perspectives when evaluating what this type of initiatives achieve. Rather than ‘creating’ entrepreneurship, projects like the Lighthouse are better seen as efforts to ‘mobilize’ existing activities. Moreover, the article also raises the issue of whether the classic incubator-as-we-know-it is a suitable model for the generation of economic activity in low-income countries. Keywords: social entrepreneurship; entrepreneurship development; nascent entrepreneurship; business incubation; solar power; actor-network theory; translation; spatiality (Published: 9 Februry 2012) Citation: Annals of Innovation & Entrepreneurship 2012, 3 : 15762 - DOI: 10.3402/aie.v3i0. 15762
Registration of multi-view 3D echocardiography images

Real-time 3D echocardiography (RT3DE) suffers from non-uniform image quality and a limited field of view. This can be improved by fusion of multiple images. Since accurate registration is essential for fusion of good quality, this study examines the performance of different methods for intrasubject registration of multi-view apical RT3DE images. RT3DE images focused on the left ventricle were rigidly registered to images focused on the right ventricle. The performance of single-frame and multi-frame registration, that optimizes the metric for several time frames simultaneously, was examined. Furthermore, the suitability of mutual information (MI) as similarity measure was compared to normalized cross-correlation (NCC). Evaluation of the results was based on annotations made in the data by two observers. It was found that multi-frame registration can improve registration results with respect to single-frame registration. In addition, NCC outperformed MI as metric. If NCC was optimized in a multi-frame registration strategy including end-diastolic and endsystolic time frames, the automatic method performed as good as manual registration.
Current management strategies of acute post-operative endophthalmitis

The current management of acute post-operative endophthalmitis relies on microbial confirmation, intravitreal antibiotics, and vitrectomy. The endophthalmitis vitrectomy study (EVS) demonstrated that systemic antibiotics are not necessary in post-cataract/secondary intraocular lens (IOL) acute bacterial endophthalmitis, and that vitrectomy could be required only for eyes with presenting vision of light perception. Since the publication of the EVS newer tests are available for microbial confirmation, and many new and effective antibiotics are discovered for systemic therapy. We have studied large numbers of patients with endophthalmitis over several years. Perhaps our experience represents the endophthalmitis status in the developing countries. The article is a synthesis of recent publications in the world literature. Finally the authors have suggested a management strategy for acute post-cataract acute bacterial endophthalmitis.
Muscarinic m1 and m2 receptor proteins in local circuit and projection neurons of the primate striatum: Anatomical evidence for cholinergic modulation of glutamatergic prefronto‐striatal pathways

The cellular and subcellular localization of muscarinic receptor proteins m1 and m2 was examined in the neostriatum of macaque monkeys by using light and electron microscopic immunocytochemical techniques. Double‐labeling immunocytochemistry revealed m1 receptors in calbindin‐D28k–positive medium spiny projection neurons. Muscarinic m1 labeling was dramatically more intense in the striatal matrix compartment in juvenile monkeys but more intense in striosomes in the adult caudate, suggesting that m1 expression undergoes a developmental age‐dependent change. Ultrastructurally, m1 receptors were predominantly localized in asymmetric synapse‐forming spines, indicating that these spines receive extrastriatal excitatory afferents. The association of m1‐positive spines with lesion‐induced degenerating prefronto‐striatal axon terminals demonstrated that these afferents originate in part from the prefrontal cortex. The synaptic localization of m1 in these spines indicates a role of m1 in the modulation of excitatory neurotransmission. To a lesser extent, m1 was present in symmetric synapses, where it may also modulate inhibitory neurotransmission originating from local striatal neurons or the substantia nigra. Conversely, m2/choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) double labeling revealed that m2‐positive neurons corresponded to large aspiny cholinergic interneurons and ultrastructurally, that the majority of m2 labeled axons formed symmetric synapses. The remarkable segregation of the m1 and m2 receptor proteins to projection and local circuit neurons suggests a functional segregation of m1 and m2 mediated cholinergic actions in the striatum: m1 receptors modulate extrinsic glutamatergic and monoaminergic afferents and intrinsic GABAergic afferents onto projection neurons, whereas m2 receptors regulate acetylcholine release from axons of cholinergic interneurons. J. Comp. Neurol. 434:445–460, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Three‐dimensional magnetic resonance myocardial motion tracking from a single image plane

Three‐dimensional imaging for the quantification of myocardial motion is a key step in the evaluation of cardiac disease. A tagged magnetic resonance imaging method that automatically tracks myocardial displacement in three dimensions is presented. Unlike other techniques, this method tracks both in‐plane and through‐plane motion from a single image plane without affecting the duration of image acquisition. A small z‐encoding gradient is subsequently added to the refocusing lobe of the slice‐selection gradient pulse in a slice following CSPAMM acquisition. An opposite polarity z‐encoding gradient is added to the orthogonal tag direction. The additional z‐gradients encode the instantaneous through plane position of the slice. The vertical and horizontal tags are used to resolve in‐plane motion, while the added z‐gradients is used to resolve through‐plane motion. Postprocessing automatically decodes the acquired data and tracks the three‐dimensional displacement of every material point within the image plane for each cine frame. Experiments include both a phantom and in vivo human validation. These studies demonstrate that the simultaneous extraction of both in‐plane and through‐plane displacements and pathlines from tagged images is achievable. This capability should open up new avenues for the automatic quantification of cardiac motion and strain for scientific and clinical purposes. Magn Reson Med 58:92–102, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Revisiting the Evolutionary History and Roles of Protein Phosphatases with Kelch-Like Domains in Plants1[C][W]

A group of plant-specific protein phosphatases has a rich evolutionary history and performs essential roles in development. Protein phosphatases with Kelch-like domains (PPKL) are members of the phosphoprotein phosphatases family present only in plants and alveolates. PPKL have been described as positive effectors of brassinosteroid (BR) signaling in plants. Most of the evidence supporting this role has been gathered using one of the four homologs in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), BRASSINOSTEROID-INSENSITIVE1 SUPPRESSOR (BSU1). We reappraised the roles of the other three members of the family, BSL1, BSL2, and BSL3, through phylogenetic, functional, and genetic analyses. We show that BSL1 and BSL2/BSL3 belong to two ancient evolutionary clades that have been highly conserved in land plants. In contrast, BSU1-type genes are exclusively found in the Brassicaceae and display a remarkable sequence divergence, even among closely related species. Simultaneous loss of function of the close paralogs BSL2 and BSL3 brings about a peculiar array of phenotypic alterations, but with marginal effects on BR signaling; loss of function of BSL1 is, in turn, phenotypically silent. Still, the products of these three genes account for the bulk of PPKL-related activity in Arabidopsis and together have an essential role in the early stages of development that BSU1 is unable to supplement. Our results underline the functional relevance of BSL phosphatases in plants and suggest that BSL2/BSL3 and BSU1 may have contrasting effects on BR signaling. Given that BSU1-type genes have likely undergone a functional shift and are phylogenetically restricted, we caution that inferences based on these genes to the whole family or to other species may be misleading.
Experimental simulation of simultaneous vision.

PURPOSE To present and validate a prototype of an optical instrument that allows experimental simulation of pure bifocal vision. To evaluate the influence of different power additions on image contrast and visual acuity. METHODS The instrument provides the eye with two superimposed images, aligned and with the same magnification, but with different defocus states. Subjects looking through the instrument are able to experience pure simultaneous vision, with adjustable refractive correction and addition power. The instrument is used to investigate the impact of the amount of addition of an ideal bifocal simultaneous vision correction, both on image contrast and on visual performance. the instrument is validated through computer simulations of the letter contrast and by equivalent optical experiments with an artificial eye (camera). Visual acuity (VA) was measured in four subjects (AGE: 34.3 ± 3.4 years; spherical error: -2.1 ± 2.7 diopters [D]) for low and high contrast letters and different amounts of addition. RESULTS The largest degradation in contrast and visual acuity (∼25%) occurred for additions around ±2 D, while additions of ±4 D produced lower degradation (14%). Low additions (1-2 D) result in lower VA than high additions (3-4 D). CONCLUSIONS A simultaneous vision instrument is an excellent tool to simulate bifocal vision and to gain understanding of multifocal solutions for presbyopia. Simultaneous vision induces a pattern of visual performance degradation, which is well predicted by the degradation found in image quality. Neural effects, claimed to be crucial in the patients' tolerance of simultaneous vision, can be therefore compared with pure optical effects.
Assigning Individual Roles and its Effect on the Cooperative Learning Setting

The research studied how assigning roles to individuals within groups during cooperative learning activities could improve the overall learning. It followed four classes of middle school science students during the learning of the topics density and pH through group learning activities. The research measured how assigning roles would affect the amount of time spent on task within groups, the amount of time when all students within the group were participating, and the group grades. The research concluded that assigning roles to students in groups reduced the amount of time students might get off task and increased the amount of participation within the groups. The result for group grades was not as definite and therefore might require further research in comparing the achievement in groups with and without roles. Document Type Thesis Degree Name MS in Mathematics, Science, and Technology Education First Supervisor Diane Barrett Second Supervisor Bernard Ricca This thesis is available at Fisher Digital Publications: http://fisherpub.sjfc. edu/mathcs_etd_masters/99 Assigning individual roles 1 Assigning Individual Roles and its Effect on the Cooperative Learning Setting By Bonnie Coggeshall Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree M.S. Mathematics, Science and Technology Education