Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mechanism Involved in Initiation and Propagation of Receptor-Induced Intercellular Calcium Signaling in Cultured Rat Astrocytes

The mechanisms involved in the initiation and the propagation of intercellular calcium signaling (calcium waves) were studied in cultured rat astrocytes. The analysis of calcium waves, induced either by mechanical stimulation or by focal application of ionomycin, indicated that initiation was dependent on the presence of external calcium. In addition, pharmacological experiments indicate that intercellular propagation required PLC activation, integrity of IP3-sensitive internal calcium stores, and functional gap junctions. An extracellular action of ATP or glutamate and participation of voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels were tested by using enzymatic degradation, receptor antagonists, and channel blockers, respectively. Because neither the speed of propagation nor the extent of the calcium waves was affected by these treatments, these alternate mechanisms were excluded from playing a role in intercellular calcium signaling. Biochemical assays and focal applications of several agonists (methoxamine, carbachol, glutamate) of membrane receptors to neurotransmitters and peptides (endothelin 1) demonstrated that their ability to trigger regenerative calcium waves depended on phospholipase C activity and inositol phosphate production. Thus, in rat astrocytes, initiation and propagation of calcium waves involve a sequence of intra- and intercellular steps in which phospholipase C, inositol trisphosphate, internal calcium stores, and gap junction channels play a critical role. The identification of these different events allows us to determine several targets at which the level of long-range signaling in astrocytes may be controlled.
INTERAÇÕES DISCURSIVAS E PRÁTICAS EPISTÊMICAS EM SALAS DE AULA DE CIÊNCIAS

Presentamos en este articulo una discusion acerca de la adopcion del concepto de practicas epistemicas en analisis de interacciones discursivas desarrolladas en clases de ciencias. Se consideraron los resultados de dos investigaciones en las cuales analizamos acciones de grupos de estudiantes a lo largo de actividades investigativas, buscando verificar las relaciones entre practicas epistemicas desarrolladas por ellos y las estrategias articuladas por la profesora en la realizacion de las actividades. El analisis incluye categorias presentes en la literatura del campo de la educacion y otras elaboradas a lo largo de las investigaciones. El concepto de practicas epistemicas, segundo una perspectiva sociocultural de la educacion, resalta el papel de una comunidad de cualquier practica en la decision de lo que puede ser considerado conocimiento relevante y las formas adecuadas de construirlo. En esa perspectiva, las actividades investigativas desarrolladas por los grupos de alumnos analisados abrieron espacio para una variedad de praticas epistemicas, distribuidas en las instancias sociales de producion, comunicaion y evaluacion del conocimiento.
A collaborative interest model of relational coordination: Examining relational norms as actor bonds

An important aspect of business-to-business marketing involves the development over time of privileged bonds between firms. Research has identified the complexity of such bonds and emphasised the need for closer scrutiny of the different mechanisms at work in successful and mutually beneficial business relationships. Actor intention and actor bonds are structured as a complex amalgam of self and collective interest. Firms cooperate for self-interest and in that process generate relational norms whose structure can be represented as actor bonds. In this study, a longitudinal input-process-output model of relationships is proposed. Input by firms motivated to create relationships is driven by the need to access customers or resources. This desire to operate in a relationship leads firms to coordinate themselves through a process whereby relational norms are developed and finally, output is achieved at a relationship level. That output is conceptualised at a relationship level recognises the emergent results of interaction, an essential reason for joining any relationship. The model was empirically tested in the computer software industry with a survey of firms acting as principals and distributors in a number of existing distribution relationships. Our findings, based on regression analysis, suggest that self and collective interest result in an intriguing blend of relational norms. The proposition that self-interest is not linked to trust and commitment is supported, suggesting that relational coordination is primarily based on collective interest. However, the proposition that flexibility is linked to both self and collective interest is also supported. This suggests that the degree of flexibility found in relationships may reflect the continuing need of balancing self and collective interests. The final section of the paper proposes directions for future research on the intertwining of self and collective interest in relationships, along with their associations to actor bond structure that is configured as relational norms. * Telephone: (618) 8303 3103, Facsimile: (618) 8303 4368 * Email: chris.medlin@adelaide.edu. au
Long-term quercetin supplementation reduces lipid peroxidation but does not improve performance in endurance runners

Purpose To evaluate the effects of chronic quercetin supplementation on endurance performance and antioxidant status in long distance runners. We hypothesized that an improved antioxidant status can be associated with enhanced performance. Methods During 6 weeks of supplementation utilizing a double blind, randomized design, young male subjects received quercetin (1000 mg/day) or placebo while maintaining their current training schedules. Results Following the end of the supplementation period, there was a significant time × supplement interaction for serum malondialdehyde (MDA), an indicator of lipid peroxidation. There were no significant pre- to post-supplement changes in parameter values employed for measuring total antioxidant capacity, superoxide dismutase activity, and protein oxidation (protein carbonyl) in serum. There were also no significant pre- to post-supplement differences in VO2peak, running economy, heart rate, and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) during the 10 km time trial. Conclusion The findings obtained indicate that there is a relationship between quercetin supplementation and the statistically significant decreasing trend in MDA levels following 6 weeks of supplementation and training. This evidence suggests that quercetin can reduce oxidative stress (lipid peroxidation). However, performance improvements were not significant (as measured by VO2peak, running economy, heart rate, and RPE).
I/O complexity for range queries on region data stored using an R-tree

We study the node distribution of an R-tree storing region data, like for instance islands, lakes or human-inhabited areas. We show that real region datasets are packed in minimum bounding rectangles (MBRs) whose area distribution follows the same power law, named REGAL (REGion Area Law), as that for the regions themselves. Moreover these MBRs are packed in their turn into MBRs following the same law, and so on iteratively, up to the root of the R-tree. Based on this observation, we are able to accurately estimate the search effort for range queries, the most prominent spatial operation, using a small number of easy-to-retrieve parameters. Experiments on a variety of real datasets (islands, lakes, human-inhabited areas) show that our estimation is accurate, enjoying a maximum geometric average relative error within 30%.
Transcriptome Analysis of Zebrafish Embryogenesis Using Microarrays

Zebrafish (Danio rerio) is a well-recognized model for the study of vertebrate developmental genetics, yet at the same time little is known about the transcriptional events that underlie zebrafish embryogenesis. Here we have employed microarray analysis to study the temporal activity of developmentally regulated genes during zebrafish embryogenesis. Transcriptome analysis at 12 different embryonic time points covering five different developmental stages (maternal, blastula, gastrula, segmentation, and pharyngula) revealed a highly dynamic transcriptional profile. Hierarchical clustering, stage-specific clustering, and algorithms to detect onset and peak of gene expression revealed clearly demarcated transcript clusters with maximum gene activity at distinct developmental stages as well as co-regulated expression of gene groups involved in dedicated functions such as organogenesis. Our study also revealed a previously unidentified cohort of genes that are transcribed prior to the mid-blastula transition, a time point earlier than when the zygotic genome was traditionally thought to become active. Here we provide, for the first time to our knowledge, a comprehensive list of developmentally regulated zebrafish genes and their expression profiles during embryogenesis, including novel information on the temporal expression of several thousand previously uncharacterized genes. The expression data generated from this study are accessible to all interested scientists from our institute resource database (http://giscompute.gis.a-star.edu.sg/~govind/zebrafish/data_download.html).
Training signal design for channel estimation in massive MIMO systems

In this paper, the design of training signals for channel estimation in massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems is considered. Under a stationary, block Gauss-Markov channel model, a method for optimal pilot beam pattern design for enhanced channel estimation is proposed, exploiting both the properties of Kalman filtering and the spatio-temporal channel correlation. First, pilot beam pattern design is considered under the assumption of orthogonal beam patterns within a block. The orthogonality assumption is subsequently relaxed and the design problem is solved via a greedy approach. Numerical results show the efficacy of the proposed algorithm.
TBI-QOL: Development and Calibration of Item Banks to Measure Patient Reported Outcomes Following Traumatic Brain Injury

Objective:To use a patient-centered approach or participatory action research design combined with advanced psychometrics to develop a comprehensive patient-reported outcomes (PRO) measurement system specifically for individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI). This TBI Quality-of-Life (TBI-QOL) measurement system expands the work of other large PRO measurement initiatives, that is, the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System and the Neurology Quality-of-Life measurement initiative. Setting:Five TBI Model Systems centers across the United States. Participants:Adults with TBI. Design:Classical and modern test development methodologies were used. Qualitative input was obtained from individuals with TBI, TBI clinicians, and caregivers of individuals with TBI through multiple methods, including focus groups, individual interviews, patient consultation, and cognitive debriefing interviews. Item pools were field tested in a large multisite sample (n = 675) and calibrated using item response theory methods. Main Outcomes Measures:Twenty-two TBI-QOL item banks/scales. Results:The TBI-QOL consists of 20 independent calibrated item banks and 2 uncalibrated scales that measure physical, emotional, cognitive, and social aspects of health-related quality of life. Conclusions:The TBI-QOL measurement system has potential as a common data element in TBI research and to enhance collection of health-related quality-of-life and PRO data in rehabilitation research and clinical settings.
Employability skills in health services management: Perceptions of recent graduates

Background: Employer skill requirements of graduates are monitored by Graduate Careers Australia, but health services management (HSM) specific employability skills (ES) perceived by graduates to be important on the job and their perceptions of skills they need to improve are not well reported. Academics need this feedback to improve course employment outcomes by helping current students identify and articulate appropriate competencies to potential employers. Also teaching of industry requirements can help improve job matching for employers. Method: Recent graduates working in HSM in New South Wales, Australia were surveyed to rate ES for importance and rate their own skill levels on the same items. The gap between these two ratings was identified for 44 ES. Results: ES important to recent graduates in rank order were: verbal communication skills, integrity and ethical conduct, time management, teamwork, priority setting, ability to work independently, organisational skills, written communication, being flexible and open minded and networking. Highest self-ratings were found for integrity and ethical conduct, ability to work independently, being flexible and open minded, tertiary qualifications, interpersonal skills, written communication skills, time management, life-long learning, priority setting and administration skills. Generally graduates rated their skills lower than their ratings of importance. Conclusions: Recent graduates can provide valuable feedback to universities about ES required for HSM positions and identify their own skill gaps for development at work or through study. Generic skills rather than job-specific skills are what they rate as most important. Closer engagement of universities and employers is recommended especially through placements.
Estimating the Incidence of Acute Infectious Intestinal Disease in the Community in the UK: A Retrospective Telephone Survey

Objectives To estimate the burden of intestinal infectious disease (IID) in the UK and determine whether disease burden estimations using a retrospective study design differ from those using a prospective study design. Design/Setting A retrospective telephone survey undertaken in each of the four countries comprising the United Kingdom. Participants were randomly asked about illness either in the past 7 or 28 days. Participants 14,813 individuals for all of whom we had a legible recording of their agreement to participate Outcomes Self-reported IID, defined as loose stools or clinically significant vomiting lasting less than two weeks, in the absence of a known non-infectious cause. Results The rate of self-reported IID varied substantially depending on whether asked for illness in the previous 7 or 28 days. After standardising for age and sex, and adjusting for the number of interviews completed each month and the relative size of each UK country, the estimated rate of IID in the 7-day recall group was 1,530 cases per 1,000 person-years (95% CI: 1135–2113), while in the 28-day recall group it was 533 cases per 1,000 person-years (95% CI: 377–778). There was no significant variation in rates between the four countries. Rates in this study were also higher than in a related prospective study undertaken at the same time. Conclusions The estimated burden of disease from IID varied dramatically depending on study design. Retrospective studies of IID give higher estimates of disease burden than prospective studies. Of retrospective studies longer recall periods give lower estimated rates than studies with short recall periods. Caution needs to be exercised when comparing studies of self-reported IID as small changes in study design or case definition can markedly affect estimated rates.
Using SMT solvers to verify high-integrity programs

In this paper we report on our experiments in using the currently popular Smt (Sat Modulo Theories) solvers Yices [10] and Cvc3 [1] and the Simplify theorem prover [9] to discharge verification conditions (VCs) from programs written in the Spark language [5]. Spark is a subset of Ada used primarily in high-integrity systems in the aerospace, defence, rail and security industries. Formal verification of Spark programs is supported by tools produced by the UK company Praxis High Integrity Systems. These tools include a VC generator and an automatic prover for VCs. We find that Praxis's prover can prove more VCs than Yices, Cvc3 or Simplify because it can handle some relatively simple non-linear problems, though, by adding some axioms about division and modulo operators to Yices, Cvc3 and Simplify, we can narrow the gap. One advantage of Yices, Cvc3 and Simplify is their ability to produce counterexample witnesses to VCs that are not valid. This work is the first step in a project to increase the fraction of VCs from current Spark programs that can be proved automatically and to broaden the range of properties that can be automatically checked. For example, we are interested in improving support for non-linear arithmetic and automatic loop invariant generation.
Biologically inspired load balancing mechanism in neocortical competitive learning

A unique delayed self-inhibitory pathway mediated by layer 5 Martinotti Cells was studied in a biologically inspired neural network simulation. Inclusion of this pathway along with layer 5 basket cell lateral inhibition caused balanced competitive learning, which led to the formation of neuronal clusters as were indeed reported in the same region. Martinotti pathway proves to act as a learning “conscience,” causing overly successful regions in the network to restrict themselves and let others fire. It thus spreads connectivity more evenly throughout the net and solves the “dead unit” problem of clustering algorithms in a local and biologically plausible manner.
Hybrid TDM-WDM 10G-PON for high scalability next generation PON

Current passive optical networks (PONs) (Gigabit PON (GPON) and Ethernet PON (EPON)) will run out of bandwidth sooner or later due to the ever increasing bandwidth demand. These standards and the new next generation (NGPON) standards (10 Gigabit-PON (XG-PON) and 10 Gigabit Ethernet-PON (10G-EPON)) are based on time division multiplexing (TDM-PON) which also has its limitations. In this paper hybrid TDM-WDM PON architecture is proposed to meet the requirements of NG-PON. The proposed TDM-WDM PON architecture has longer reach than 10G TDM-PON and has high scalability. System architecture and system performance characterization will be presented considering long-reach PON.
Region-specific bag-of-visual-words representations for retrieving brain tumors in contrast-enhanced MRI

The current paper proposes a content-based retrieval method for T1-weighted contrast-enhanced MRI (CE-MRI) of brain tumors using region-specific bag-of-visual-words (BoW) representations. Patches are densely sampled within and around the brain tumor regions, with normalization and whitening as the preprocessing methods. The proposed method is evaluated on a brain tumor CE-MRI dataset. The experimental results demonstrate that the mean average precision of the proposed method for retrieval can achieve 90.1%.
FOB1 affects DNA topoisomerase I in vivo cleavages in the enhancer region of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae ribosomal DNA locus

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae the FOB1 gene affects replication fork blocking activity at the replication fork block (RFB) sequences and promotes recombination events within the rDNA cluster. Using in vivo footprinting assays we mapped two in vivo Fob1p-binding sites, RFB1 and RFB3, located in the rDNA enhancer region and coincident with those previously reported to be in vitro binding sites. We previously provided evidences that DNA topoisomerase I is able to cleave two sites within this region. The results reported in this paper, indicate that the DNA topoisomerase I cleavage specific activity at the enhancer region is affected by the presence of Fob1p and independent of replication and transcription activities. We thus hypothesize that the binding to DNA of Fob1p itself may be the cause of the DNA topoisomerase I activity in the rDNA enhancer.
Cloning and Characterization of Neuropilin-1-Interacting Protein: A PSD-95/Dlg/ZO-1 Domain-Containing Protein That Interacts with the Cytoplasmic Domain of Neuropilin-1

Neuropilin-1 (Npn-1), a receptor for semaphorin III, mediates the guidance of growth cones on extending neurites. The molecular mechanism of Npn-1 signaling remains unclear. We have used a yeast two-hybrid system to isolate a protein that interacts with the cytoplasmic domain of Npn-1. This Npn-1-interacting protein (NIP) contains a central PSD-95/Dlg/ZO-1 (PDZ) domain and a C-terminal acyl carrier protein domain. The physiological interaction of Npn-1 and NIP is supported by co-immunoprecipitation of these two proteins in extracts from a heterologous expression system and from a native tissue. The C-terminal three amino acids of Npn-1 (S-E-A-COOH), which is conserved from Xenopus to human, is responsible for interaction with the PDZ domain-containing C-terminal two-thirds of NIP. NIP as well as Npn-1 are broadly expressed in mice as assayed by Northern and Western analysis. Immunohistochemistry and in situhybridization experiments revealed that NIP expression overlaps with that of Npn-1. NIP has been independently cloned as RGS–GAIP-interacting protein (GIPC), where it was identified by virtue of its interaction with the C terminus of RGS-GAIP and suggested to participate in clathrin-coated vesicular trafficking. We suggest that NIP and GIPC may participate in regulation of Npn-1-mediated signaling as a molecular adapter that couples Npn-1 to membrane trafficking machinery in the dynamic axon growth cone.
Extended generalized impedance control for redundant manipulators

An impedance control method for redundant manipulators called an extended generalized impedance control is developed. It is based on an extended task space formulation and generalized impedance control. With generalized impedance control, the manipulator's end-effector position and force tracking abilities can be balanced by properly adjusting impedance parameters. Null space motion is controlled by tracking a minimal parameterization of null space velocity. Redundancy is then exploited by specifying a desired null space velocity trajectory that optimizes a performance index. The control algorithm is implemented as part of OSCAR (Operational Software Components for Advanced Robotics), keeping with the generality concept. Therefore, it can be easily deployed with any serial manipulator. The effectiveness of the proposed controller is illustrated by computer simulations of a complex 10-DOF spatial manipulator performing a cutting task.
COMMENTS ON D-BRANES ON ORBIFOLDS AND K-THEORY

We systematically revisit the description of D-branes on orbifolds and the classification of their charges via K-theory. We include enough details to make the results accessible to both physicists and mathematicians interested in these topics. The minimally charged branes predicted by K-theory in ℤN orbifolds with N odd are only BPS. We confirm this result using the boundary state formalism for ℤ3. For ℤN × ℤN orbifolds with N odd, in the untwisted case and with discrete torsion whose class is a generator of H3(ℤ/N × ℤ/N,ℤ), we show that the K-theory classification of charges agrees with the boundary state approach, largely developed by Gaberdiel and collaborators, including the types of representation on the Chan–Paton factors.