Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Relative Importance of Extracellular and Intracellular Ca2+ for Acetylcholine Stimulation of Insulin Release in Mouse Islets

Mouse islets were used to study whether mobilization of intracellular Ca2+ is sufficient to account for acetylcholine (ACh) amplification of glucose-induced insulin release. In the presence of 15 mM glucose, the acceleration of 45Ca efflux and insulin release by 1–100μM ACh increased with the concentration of extracellular Ca2+ (0.25–2.5 mM). Low concentrations of the Ca2+-channel blockers D 600 (1 μM) or nifedipine (0.1 μM) partially inhibited glucose-induced insulin release and its amplification by ACh. At higher concentrations, D 600 (25 μM) or nifedipine (2 μM) practically abolished the ionic and secretory effects of 1 μM ACh. However, 100 μM ACh still caused a fast, large, but transient acceleration of 45Ca efflux, accompanied by a small, short-lived release of insulin. Similar results were obtained in a Ca2+-free medium, indicating that this peak of 45Ca efflux reflects Ca2+ mobilization. Addition of nifedipine or omission of Ca2+ during ACh stimulation rapidly and strongly inhibited 45Ca efflux and insulin release. Both glucose and ACh induced 45Ca uptake were inhibited by D 600. Only high concentrations of ACh (100 μM) mobilize enough cellular Ca2+ to trigger a small and transient insulin release when Ca2+ influx is prevented or impossible. A continuous influx ofCa2+ is necessary for low ACh concentrations to increase release and for high concentrations to have a sustained effect. The amplification of release by the neurotransmitter results from a slight enhancement of Ca2+ influx associated with a marked increase in the effectiveness of incoming Ca2+ on the releasing machinery.
Application of low inert infrared heaters for soldering processes

Low inert infrared (IR) heaters are made from thin metal sheets. A special coating on the surface of the heaters ensures emissivity about 0.9. The heaters are warmed up directly by electric current. The surface temperature and spectral distribution of this type of heater may be varied by electronic control, making them very suitable for soldering of electronic components, especially for SMDs on PCBs. The construction allows flowing air (or inert gas) through them. Experimental equipment for soldering of electronic components on PCBs was designed and produced in our laboratory. The following experiments were carried out: the temperature distribution on the PCB and electronic components, with and without convection heating, were measured. The possibility for realization of different time/temperature profiles was investigated. Opportunities of utilization of this technology for different kinds of solder pastes and for different kinds of electronic components were evaluated.
Clinical and Immune Impact of Mycobacterium bovis BCG Vaccination Scarring

ABSTRACT The World Health Organization recommends Mycobacterium bovis BCG vaccination in areas of high tuberculosis prevalence. BCG's clinical and immune effects, not necessarily Mycobacterium tuberculosis specific, are unclear. BCG vaccine scarring often is used as a surrogate marker of vaccination or of effective vaccination. We evaluated BCG scarring status in relation to clinical findings and outcome in 700 hospitalized Malawians, of whom 32 had M. tuberculosis bloodstream infections (BSI) (10 of whom had cellular immune studies done) and of whom 48 were infants <6 months old and therefore recently vaccinated (19 of whom had immune studies). In the patients ≥6 months old, scarring was not related to the presence of pulmonary symptoms (35 versus 30%), chronic cough or fever, mortality, or M. tuberculosis BSI. In M. tuberculosis BSI patients, scarring was unrelated to mortality, vital signs, or clinical symptoms but those with scarring had higher proportions of memory and activated T cells and more type 2-skewed cytokine profiles. Infants with either BCG scarring (n = 10) or BCG lesional inflammation (n = 5) had no symptoms of sepsis, but 18 of 33 infants without BCG vaccination lesions did. Those with BCG lesions had localized infections more often than did those without BCG lesions. These infants also had lower median percentages of lymphocytes spontaneously making interleukin-4 (IL-4) or tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and lower ratios of T cells spontaneously making IL-4 to T cells making IL-6. Thus, we found that, in older patients, BCG vaccine scarring was not associated with M. tuberculosis-specific or nonspecific clinical protection. Those with M. tuberculosis BSI and scarring had immune findings suggesting previous M. tuberculosis antigen exposure and induction of a type 2 cytokine pattern with acute reexposure. It is unlikely that this type 2 pattern would be protective against mycobacteria, which require a type 1 response for effective containment. In infants <6 months old, recent BCG vaccination was associated with a non-M. tuberculosis-specific, anti-inflammatory cytokine profile. That the vaccinated infants had a greater frequency of localized infections and lesser frequency of sepsis symptoms suggests that this postvaccination cytokine pattern may provide some non-M. tuberculosis-specific clinical benefits.
A Regional Network of Superintendents Confronting Equity

Research into equity leadership has been a growing focus within educational leadership. Few studies explore the role of the superintendent in equity work. Drawing from interview data and observation of monthly regional leadership meetings, this article examines how 12 superintendents describe their equity leadership practices. Focusing on the ways their practice is evidenced across public and private domains of talk and action, we employ the term “messy messages” to communicate the complex, fluid, and uncomfortable nature of this work. Discussion illustrates the complexity of district equity advocacy, and increasing need for social justice education in superintendent leadership preparation programs.
Reproducibility of Angle Metrics Using the Time-Domain Anterior Segment Optical Coherence Tomography: Intra-Observer and Inter-Observer Variability

Abstract Purpose: To evaluate the reproducibility of anterior chamber angle measurements obtained by the Zeiss Visante anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT). Methods: Twenty eyes from 20 normal subjects with open anterior chamber angles were studied. The anterior chamber angle was imaged using the Visante AS-OCT. The angle-opening distance (AOD 500, AOD 750), trabercular iris space area (TISA 500, TISA 750) and scleral spur angle (SS angle) at the inferior angle location were measured. All the subjects underwent imaging in a darkened room (1 foot candles measured at the eye). Images were graded in a masked fashion by certified Doheny Image Reading Center graders. For intra-grader reproducibility assessments, images were re-graded by the same grader 1 week later after random sorting of images. For inter-grader assessments, a second masked grader independently reviewed the images. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) were used to assess reproducibility. Results: Inferior angle measurements of AOD (500, 750), TISA (500, 750) and SS angle for 20 normal eyes were calculated. The intra-observer ICC calculations showed excellent reproducibility for all measurements (AOD 500 = 0.95, AOD 750 = 0.97, TISA 500 = 0.93, TISA 750 = 0.94, SS = 0.96; p < 0.001 for all). The inter-observer ICC calculations showed lower reproducibility for all measurements (AOD 500 = 0.71, p < 0.001; AOD 750 = 0.82, p < 0.001; TISA 500 = 0.49, p = 0.08; TISA 750 = 0.61, p = 0.02; SS = 0.75). Conclusion: Determination of anterior chamber angle measurements was possible with the time-domain AS-OCT, but only modest inter-observer reproducibility was found even among experienced graders.
Progress in the Development of RF Driven Negative Ion Sources for ITER NBI

The neutral beam injection (NBI) system for ITER is at present based on arc sources which suffer up to now from a limited lifetime of the tungsten filaments and from unacceptable plasma non-uniformity. Inductively coupled radio frequency (RF) sources, which have successfully been developed at IPP Garching for positive ion based NBI, offer substantial advantages for ITER. Since December 2002 the development of a large area RF source for negative ions is supported through an official EFDA task agreement. This development is carried out at IPP on three different test facilities: "BATMAN" is devoted to the physical understanding of the underlying processes of the negative ion formation, but with small extraction areas (<100 cm2) and short pulses (<10 s). The calorimetric H- and D- current density has already exceeded ITER requirements. Source filling pressure and electron to ion ratio are compatible with ITER requirements. Test facility "MANITU" focuses mainly on long pulse operation (3600 s) and larger extraction areas (300 cm2). The system has been operational since spring 2005 but still requires improvements with respect to reliability. The "RADI" test bed is dedicated to demonstrate plasma uniformity and the modular concept of the RF source, by scaling up the size of the source to half the size of the ITER source. The new "Half-Size Source" with about the width and half the height of the ITER source will be delivered within the next weeks. Full size extraction however will not be possible, but a dummy grid will simulate the gas conductance of the ITER source
Association study of GRIK1 gene polymorphisms in schizophrenia: case–control and family‐based studies

Glutamatergic function is one of the major hypotheses for schizophrenia. Within the glutamate system, the glutamate receptor ionotropic kainate‐1 (GRIK1) gene is thought to be particularly involved in schizophrenia because of the reported reduction of GRIK1 in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of patients.
TGFβ superfamily signalling regulators are differentially expressed in the developing and adult mouse testis

Transforming growth factor-beta (TGFβ) superfamily ligands are produced by and act upon testicular cells to control testis morphogenesis and adult fertility. Ligand production changes during testis development and dysregulated signalling affects the number of cells comprising each lineage and their development, with several components of this diverse signalling pathway linked to male infertility. To test the hypothesis that TGFβ superfamily signalling regulators are differentially expressed during mouse testis development, we surveyed expression of Hgs, Zfyve9, Smurf1 and Net25 by Northern blot and in situ hybridization and SMURF2 and MAN1 by Western blot and immunohistochemistry. Expression of these genes is highly regulated and differs between the first spermatogenic wave and adult spermatogenesis. Zfyve9 transcripts were first detected in Sertoli cells and spermatogonia at 5 days post partum (dpp) whereas Hgs mRNA was first detected in pachytene spermatocytes at 15 dpp. Smurf1 mRNA was broadly expressed at 0 and 5 dpp but restricted to spermatogonia and early spermatocytes at 15 dpp and spermatogonia, spermatocytes and round spermatids in adults. SMURF2 was limited to gonocyte nuclei at birth but was nuclear in all cells at 5 dpp. SMURF2 was absent from 15 dpp differentiating spermatogonia and early spermatocytes but readily detected in adult pachytene spermatocytes and round spermatids. MAN1 and Net25 also had different expression profiles, with MAN1 undetectable at 5 dpp. Differential synthesis of signalling modulators explains how Sertoli cells and spermatogenic cells, which all possess TGFβ superfamily signalling machinery and reside within the same microenvironment, respond differently to the same ligand.
Bistatic Synthetic-Aperture Radar Imaging of Rotating Objects

The imaging properties of a focused radar aperture synthesized by object rotation are considered. The ring-shaped aperture synthesized by the object rotation can provide high-resolution two-dimensional imaging using only monochromatic irradiation. The case of monochromatic irradiation is extended to the polychromatic case and to equivalent bistatic geometries. These techniques offer practical methods for radar imaging of rotating objects with scattering centers visible over large angular extents.
Cost‐effective enrichment hybridization capture of chloroplast genomes at deep multiplexing levels for population genetics and phylogeography studies

Biodiversity, phylogeography and population genetic studies will be revolutionized by access to large data sets thanks to next‐generation sequencing methods. In this study, we develop an easy and cost‐effective protocol for in‐solution enrichment hybridization capture of complete chloroplast genomes applicable at deep‐multiplexed levels. The protocol uses cheap in‐house species‐specific probes developed via long‐range PCR of the entire chloroplast. Barcoded libraries are constructed, and in‐solution enrichment of the chloroplasts is carried out using the probes. This protocol was tested and validated on six economically important West African crop species, namely African rice, pearl millet, three African yam species and fonio. For pearl millet, we also demonstrate the effectiveness of this protocol to retrieve 95% of the sequence of the whole chloroplast on 95 multiplexed individuals in a single MiSeq run at a success rate of 95%. This new protocol allows whole chloroplast genomes to be retrieved at a modest cost and will allow unprecedented resolution for closely related species in phylogeography studies using plastomes.
Proceedings of the 15th International Academic MindTrek Conference: Envisioning Future Media Environments

Academic MindTrek brings together a cross-disciplinary crowd of people in order to investigate current and emerging topics within media in the ubiquitous arena. Business, social, technical and content-related media topics will be discussed. This year the submission categories covered short and long papers, extended abstracts, posters, workshops, tutorials and demos. The MindTrek Association hosts MindTrek as an annual conference, where the Academic MindTrek conference has been a part this unique set of events comprising competitions, world-famous keynote speakers, plenary sessions, media festivals and workshops, since 1997. The scientific part of the conference is organized in co-operation with ACM SIGMM, and ACM SIGCHI. Conference proceedings will be published in the ACM Digital Library. Selected high quality papers will be selected and published in international journals, as book chapters, or via open access journals.
Value-conflict and volatility influence distinct decision-making processes

Humans are capable of quickly adapting their decisions using multiple sources of environmental uncertainty. Drawing inspiration from the underlying neural substrates of adaptive decision-making, we propose a dynamic cognitive model in which feedback signals regarding the relative state-action value (i.e., conflict in the probability of reward between two choices) and the reliability of reward contingencies (i.e., likelihood that target value has changed) uniquely target the rate of evidence accumulation (v ) and the amount of evidence needed to gate a decision (a), respectively. We experimentally vetted this model using a variant of the two-armed bandit task (N = 20), in which the level of value-conflict and the volatility of reward contingencies were independently manipulated between conditions. Model simulations and behavioral responses were fit to a hierarchical drift diffusion model and both showed similar patterns of changes in v and a across conditions, providing prima facie evidence that distinct estimates of environmental uncertainty target distinct components of decision processes.
Retractable Self-expandable Stent for Endovascular Treatment of Wide-necked Intracranial Aneurysms: Preliminary Experience

OBJECTIVE: Intracranial stenting combined with endosaccular coiling is a therapeutic alternative for the endovascular treatment (EVT) of wide-necked intracranial aneurysms. The current limitation of available stents is the impossibility to reposition them once they are partially deployed. Recently, the first retractable self-expandable stent has been developed and we sought to evaluate the use of this stent for EVT of wide-necked intracranial aneurysms. METHODS: Between March 2004 and March 2005, 11 patients with an unruptured aneurysm have been selected for this study. In all cases, previous attempts with EVT with the remodeling technique failed or was technically judged difficult. In all patients, EVT combined stent placement (Leo, Balt, Montmorency, France) across the aneurysm neck and subsequent coiling of the sac. Aneurysms were located on the carotid siphon (n = 9), the internal carotid artery bifurcation (n = 1), and the vertebral artery (n = 1). Aneurysms diameter size varied from 3 to 45 mm. Clinical outcome was assessed with the Modified Glasgow Outcome Scale. RESULTS: EVT was successfully performed and led to an excellent outcome in all patients. The stent could be navigated within cerebral arteries without any exchange procedure. Thanks to its retractability, the stent could precisely be positioned in all cases. Angiographic results consisted of 9 complete occlusions and 2 incomplete occlusions in 2 giant aneurysms. No procedure-related complication occurred. CONCLUSION: The Leo stent appears very useful for EVT of wide-necked intracranial aneurysms. The advantage of this stent is the possibility to reposition it which allows a very precise positioning across the aneurysm neck.
Impaired postexercise cardiovascular autonomic modulation in middle-aged women with type 2 diabetes

Background Type 2 diabetes is associated with cardiovascular autonomic dysfunction. Postexercise autonomic modulation may be different in obese individuals with and without type 2 diabetes. We examined postexercise responses in nondiabetic and diabetic women aged 40–60 years. Methods Hemodynamics, high-frequency and low-frequency of RR interval, low-frequency of systolic blood pressure variability and baroreflex sensitivity were evaluated before and after a 20 min walk at ~65% of VO2 peak in eight lean, 12 obese without type 2 diabetes and eight women with type 2 diabetes. Postexercise measurements were obtained at 10–15, 20–25 and 30–35 min. Results Systolic blood pressure decreased at 10 (P<0.001) and 20 min (P<0.01) in all groups. Total peripheral resistance decreased at 10 min in all women, but the subsequent increase at 20 min was greater (P<0.01) in lean than in diabetic women. Log-transformed low-frequency of systolic blood pressure increased (P<0.01) at 10 and 20 min in all women, but the increase at 10 min was smaller (P<0.05) in diabetic than in lean women. Heart rate was increased (P<0.001) at 10 min in all women and at 20 min in both obese groups. Both log-transformed high-frequency of RR interval and baroreflex sensitivity decreased at 10 and 20 min of recovery in all groups. A group-by-time interaction (P<0.05) was observed for heart rate and baroreflex sensitivity as a lower heart rate and higher baroreflex sensitivity were observed in lean women than in women with type 2 diabetes. Conclusions Reduced postexercise baroreflex sensitivity and responses to autonomic cardiovascular activity contribute to an attenuated recovery of heart rate and total peripheral resistance after brisk walking in middle-aged obese women with type 2 diabetes.
Hematein chelates of unusual metal ions for tinctorial histochemistry

Abstract Hematoxylin is oxidized easily to hematein, an excellent stain for metal ions. If it already is bound to a substrate, the metal ion becomes a mordant linking the dye to the substrate. Metal ions added to hematein in solution are chelated by the hematein to form a lake. Most of these chelates stain animal tissues. They usually are bound to the tissue by a combination of hydrogen bonding of the hematein and ionic bonding of the metal ion. When binding of the lake to the tissue occurs by way of the metal ion, the metal ion is a mordant. Mordant staining often is specific. Chromium hematoxylin binds to strong acids; it can be made selective for protein-bound sulfonic acids. Zirconyl hematoxylin is selective for acidic mucins. Mucihematein can be made selective for all acidic mucins or for sulfomucins alone. Bismuth hematoxylin appears to be selective for the guanido group of arginine and there is some evidence that the bonding is covalent. Although it is not a histochemical stain, copper–chrome hematoxylin is an excellent stain for organelles with double membranes, i.e., mitochondria and nuclei.
Alzheimer disease detection and tracking of Alzheimer patient

Alzheimer disease is one of the forms of dementia. AD is tremendously increasing disease in the world. There are so many biomarkers detect the Alzheimer disease. From that Electroencephalograph signal is give correct result and performance. In Alzheimer disease, death of brain cells are occurs so there is many causes happened such as memory loss, poor in calculation and recent event happened etc. Early detection of Alzheimer disease is very useful for him and his family. Early detection of Alzheimer patients is very useful for him and his family. In detection, firstly EEG database is filter then noise and artifacts is removed from EEG database using independent component analysis. By wavelet transform four features are extracted and classification is done by support vector machine. In monitoring system, Alzheimer patient is track by using GPS and GSM. With the help of this monitoring system Alzheimer patient is travel anywhere without caregiver.
Community outreach with weekly delivery of anti-retroviral drugs compared to cognitive-behavioural health care team-based approach to improve adherence among indigent women newly starting HAART

Abstract Sustained virological suppression requires adherence to >95% of doses of therapy. Overall there is paucity of data on adherence interventions among women and post-intervention outcomes. In this pilot study, we evaluated a novel strategy of weekly delivery of medications (Directly Delivered Therapy: DDT) for six months using an outreach worker (ORW), among ARV naïve indigent women starting HAART and compared the ‘during intervention’ and ‘post-intervention’ outcomes to the health care team (a nurse educator, a case worker, a pharmacist and social worker/drug addictions counsellor) based approach termed Adherence Coordination Services (ACS) and the Standard of Care (SoC) historical referent group. The baseline characteristics of the three groups were comparable. The proportion of women who achieved sustained virologic suppression in 4–8 month period for DDT; ACS and SoC groups were 86% (18/21); 54% (6/11); and 36% (8/22) (P<0.004); and in the 10–14 month period were 80% (12/15); 54% (6/11) and 45%(10/22) (P=0.036 for DDT vs. SoC). Retention rate in the DDT was 87%, and 92% of 307 ORW visits were kept, and post-intervention satisfaction was high. Short-term weekly delivery of medications using a community based liaison is a feasible, acceptable and a cost-effective strategy for improving both short-term and perhaps long-term adherence among women initiating their first HAART regimen.