Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Membrane signalling and progesterone in female and male osteoblasts. I. Involvement of intracellular Ca2+, inositol trisphosphate, and diacylglycerol, but not cAMP

Bone is a target tissue of progestins, but the mechanisms by which they act are still unclear. We examined the early (5–60 s) effects of progesterone and progesterone covalently bound to BSA (P‐CMO BSA), which does not enter the cell, on the cytosolic free Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) and the formation of inositol 1,4,5 trisphosphate (InsP3) and diacylglycerol (DAG) in confluent female and male rat osteoblasts. P‐CMO BSA like free progesterone increased [Ca2+]i via Ca2+ influx through L‐type Ca2+ channels and Ca2+ mobilization from the endoplasmic reticulum. Both progestins increased InsP3 and DAG formation within 10 s, and the increase was blocked by phospholipase C inhibitors (neomycin and U‐73122). Progesterone and P‐CMO BSA mobilized calcium from the endoplasmic reticulum via the activation of a phospholipase C linked to a pertussis toxin‐insensitive G‐protein in both osteoblast types, and this process was controlled by protein kinase C. Neither progestin had any effect on cAMP formation in male and female osteoblasts. The membrane effects were not blocked by a progesterone nuclear antagonist. They were independent of the concentration of nuclear receptors and not linked to gender. Thus, progesterone appears to act in female and male rat osteoblasts via unconventional cell‐surface receptors which belong to the class of membrane receptors coupled to phospholipase C via a pertussis toxin‐insensitive G‐protein. The bifurcating pathways leading to the formation of InsP3 and DAG may provide a certain flexibility in controlling cell responses, both by their nature and by their rates of formation and degradation. J. Cell. Biochem. 79:334–345, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Improved techniques for assessment of plasma lipoprotein patterns. I. Precipitation in gels after electrophoresis with polyanionic compounds.

A method is described for making lipoprotein fractions visible by polyanion precipitation in situ in the gels after electrophoresis. With the new technique the pattern and its interpretation in the differential diagnosis of all primary forms of hyperlipoproteinemia is the same as for the other lipid-staining procedures. The new technique is simpler to perform, reliable, and provides the required information 60 min after electrophoresis. It also allows a very fast determination of the abnormal lipoprotein (LP-X) that characterizes cholestasis, without use of a specific antiserum.
Cephalic arterial pattern in New World edentates and Old World pangolins with special reference to their phylogenetic relationships and taxonomy.

The cephalic arterial pattern in edentates and pangolins is described on the basis of 9 corrosion specimens, representing all the classical superfamilies, with special reference to their phylogenetic relationship and taxonomy. In this respect, the importance of the manner in which the external carotid artery system annexes the stepedial area of supply and of the course of the internal carotid artery in relation to the tympanic cavity is emphasized. The investigation does not indicate any special relationship between the New World edentates and the Old World pangolins, whereas the marked difference in the course of the internal carotid artery in recent edentates stresses the independent development of the South American anteaters compared with that of the two other edentate groups (armadillos and tree sloths). Most probably the edentates were divided very early into two main lines which have evolved independently since the early Tertiary, i.e. one for the anteaters and one for the tree sloths and armadillos, indicating a probable subdivision of the true edentates into two suborders. This subdivision is markedly different from the classical two-fold division of the edentates.
International Mindedness through the looking glass: Reflections on a concept

The aim of this article is to report and reflect on a research project involving the conceptualization of the term International Mindedness, which is used across a range of International Baccalaureate (IB) global and local contexts. The research process involved both a critical analysis of IB official documents and a literature review of concepts related to this term, which revealed important differences in their interpretations. The results shed light on the process of articulating a concept that is used globally and interpreted locally.
2-Methylthio-1,4-naphthoquinone, a unique sulfur-containing quinone from a thermophilic hydrogen-oxidizing bacterium, Hydrogenobacter thermophilus

A quinone was extracted and purified from the cells of an extremely thermophilic hydrogen bacterium, Hydrogenobacter thermophilus TK-6 (IAM 12695). Its chemical structure was determined as 2-methylthio-3-VI, VII-tetrahydromultiprenyl-1,4-naphthoquinone by elemental analysis, 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, mass spectroscopy, and infrared spectroscopy of the quinone and by gas-liquid chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy analysis of the ozonolysis products of the quinone. It was shown that the other five strains of H. thermophilus have the same quinone system. We named the quinone with the 2-methylthio-1,4-naphthoquinone nucleus "methionaquinone. " The abbreviation of MTK is recommended for this class of quinone.
Efficiency of fast- and slow-twitch muscles of the mouse performing cyclic contractions.

The mechanical efficiency of mouse fast- and slow-twitch muscle was determined during contractions involving sinusoidal length changes. Measurements were made of muscle length, force production and initial heat output from bundles of muscle fibres in vitro at 31 degrees C. Power output was calculated as the product of the net work output per sinusoidal length cycle and the cycle frequency. The initial mechanical efficiency was defined as power output/(rate of initial heat production+power output). Both power output and rate of initial heat production were averaged over a full cycle of length change. The amplitude of length changes was +/- 5% of muscle length. Stimulus phase and duration were adjusted to maximise net work output at each cycle frequency used. The maximum initial mechanical efficiency of slow-twitch soleus muscle was 0.52 +/- 0.01 (mean +/- 1 S.E.M. N = 4) and occurred at a cycle frequency of 3 Hz. Efficiency was not significantly different from this at cycle frequencies of 1.5-4 Hz, but was significantly lower at cycle frequencies of 0.5 and 1 Hz. The maximum efficiency of fast-twitch extensor digitorum longus muscle was 0.34 +/- 0.03 (N = 4) and was relatively constant (0.32-0.34) over a broad range of frequencies (4-12 Hz). A comparison of these results with those from previous studies of the mechanical efficiency of mammalian muscles indicates that efficiency depends markedly on contraction protocol.
The Impact of Religious Faith and Practice on Patients Suffering from a Major Affective Disorder: A Cost Analysis

Presents empirical data showing the relationship between religious beliefs and practices and lengths of stay in the hospital for patients suffering from one form of mental illness. Includes a spiritual injury scale which measures guilt, anger or resentment, sadness/grief, lack of meaning, feeling God/life has treated one unfairly, religious doubt, and fear of death. Shows in statistical form the relationship between these spiritual injuries and length of stay in the hospital. Indicates that spiritual injury issues are positively associated with longer lengths of hospital stay and that an inverse relationship exists between religious faith as measured by church attendance and cost for health care.
Increasing mobile rates while minimizing cost per bit — Cooperation vs. denser deployment

It is known that future cellular communication systems must meet an ever increasing demand for mobile data rates, i.e. must consequently improve spectral efficiency. Two degrees of freedom to address this issue are to use a denser deployment or introduce cooperation between base stations. This paper introduces models to capture both achievable rates and the costs connected to these two options (addressing capex, opex, energy and backhaul), and yields an insight into their impact on the overall cost per bit.
Stochastic origin of Gompertzian growths

This work faces the problem of the origin of the logarithmic character of the Gompertzian growth. We show that the macroscopic, deterministic Gompertz equation describes the evolution from the initial state to the final stationary value of the median of a log-normally distributed, stochastic process. Moreover, by exploiting a stochastic variational principle, we account for self-regulating feature of Gompertzian growths provided by self-consistent feedback of relative density variations. This well defined conceptual framework shows its usefulness by allowing a reliable control of the growth by external actions.
Potential Sites of Bioactive Gibberellin Production during Reproductive Growth in Arabidopsis[W]

Gibberellin 3-oxidase (GA3ox) catalyzes the final step in the synthesis of bioactive gibberellins (GAs). We examined the expression patterns of all four GA3ox genes in Arabidopsis thaliana by promoter–β-glucuronidase gene fusions and by quantitative RT-PCR and defined their physiological roles by characterizing single, double, and triple mutants. In developing flowers, GA3ox genes are only expressed in stamen filaments, anthers, and flower receptacles. Mutant plants that lack both GA3ox1 and GA3ox3 functions displayed stamen and petal defects, indicating that these two genes are important for GA production in the flower. Our data suggest that de novo synthesis of active GAs is necessary for stamen development in early flowers and that bioactive GAs made in the stamens and/or flower receptacles are transported to petals to promote their growth. In developing siliques, GA3ox1 is mainly expressed in the replums, funiculi, and the silique receptacles, whereas the other GA3ox genes are only expressed in developing seeds. Active GAs appear to be transported from the seed endosperm to the surrounding maternal tissues where they promote growth. The immediate upregulation of GA3ox1 and GA3ox4 after anthesis suggests that pollination and/or fertilization is a prerequisite for de novo GA biosynthesis in fruit, which in turn promotes initial elongation of the silique.
Increased personal respirable endotoxin exposure with furry pets

on the basis of our current knowledge. Care must be taken when interpreting association results of single genes, and when interpreting association studies with a candidate gene, other genes in the genomic neighbourhood that are possibly in linkage disequilibrium with that gene should be considered, too. This task should become much more feasible once the haplotype pattern and linkage disequilibrium islands of the genome are known (6). This project was supported by grants from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG HE 3123/3-1 and HE 3123/ 4-2). The recruitment of asthmatic children was partially supported by a grant from the NIH (NIH R01 HL66533-01).
Workshop summary for the 3rd international audio/visual emotion challenge and workshop (AVEC'13)

The third Audio-Visual Emotion Challenge and workshop AVEC 2013 will be held in conjunction ACM Multimedia'13. Like the 2012 edition of AVEC, the workshop/challenge addresses the interpretation of social signals represented in both audio and video in terms of the high-level continuous dimensions arousal and valence, but importantly this year the data is that of a large number of clinically depressed patients and controls, with a sub-challenge in self-reported severity of depression estimation. Like both previous AVECs, the aim is to bring together the audio and video analysis communities.
Borderline personality disorder in an intermediate psychological therapies service

ABSTRACT The intermediate psychological therapies service is provided for individuals referred with common mental health problems within the primary care psychological therapies service, but whose difficulties are longstanding and/or complex. The prevalence of borderline personality disorder (BPD) in intermediate psychological therapy services has not been researched to-date. The current study aimed to measure the prevalence of BPD amongst patients attending intermediate psychological therapies (n = 63). The prevalence of BPD was established by identifying the number of patients who met DSM-IV criteria. BPD prevalence amongst patients attending an intermediate psychological therapy service was 37%. The high proportion of patients presenting with BPD indicates the potential need for staff training and supervision in how to manage such high levels of need at this service level. This is the first study to report prevalence rates of BPD specifically in an intermediate care psychological therapy service.
Effects of observer variation in population screening for cervical carcinoma

A stratified random sample of 100 cervical smears was taken from routine population screening material and graded by three cytological laboratories. The sensitivity of the smear test for detecting cervical malignancies varied from 72 to 88%—a difference of 16%; for all serve epithelial abnormalities the sensitivity varied from 52 to 71% (a difference of 19%). The histological material pertaining to these smears was re-examined `blindly' and then sent for diagnosis to a second pathologist. Using each set of histodiagnoses as reference, the sensitivity of the test for detecting cervical malignancies varied from 77 to 85%—a difference of 8%; the sensitivity for all epithelial abnormalities varied from 62 to 76% (a difference of 14%). The significance of these observer variations on the efficacy of screening for cervical carcinoma is discussed.
A Case Study of Family Therapy for a Daughter with a Binge-Drinking Problem

This study examined the factors affecting the client’s binge drinking, and the client and parents’ change led by family therapy. From August to November 2011, the counseling case of this research was consisted of a total of 9 sessions – individual, parents, mother-daughter, father-daughter, and family counseling. This study utilized verbatim and audio recordings, and em-ployed Miles and Huberman(1994) matrix and network to analyze the data. The findings of the study revealed that the factors that influenced the client’s binge drinking included the family’s dysfunctional communication method, adverse rearing attitude owing to unresolved emotional problems from the family-of-origin, and the client family’s peculiar environment and culture. The therapist’s intervention included making the client aware of his own problem, helping to gain insight and understand the parents’ family-of-origin, connecting the past family-of-origin and the present, identifying attempted solutions, making aware of new change, and suggesting new communication methods. Through the therapist’s intervention employing MRI interactional family therapy model and Bowen’s family systems theory, the family members experienced changes; perception of all family members that participated in the counseling changed, and accordingly, their communication method and attitude changed as well. Through these changes in the family, the client’s alcohol consumption reduced in terms of both frequency and amount, thus was able to solve their binge drinking problem.
Low-density parity-check coding for block fading relay channels

We study low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes with iterative decoding on block fading (BF) Relay Channels. We use coded cooperation, a variant of decode-and-forward with a smaller outage probability than the latter. We derive a new code structure by extending the previously published full-diversity root-LDPC code, designed for the BF point-to-point channel, to exhibit a rate-compatibility property which is necessary for coded cooperation. Density evolution equations are determined in order to plot the word error rate performance for infinite length codes. We show that our code construction exhibits near-outage limit performance for all block lengths and for a range of coding rates up to 0.5, which is the highest possible coding rate that achieves full-diversity on the relay channel.
New procedures for selection among (simulated) alternatives

“Ranking and selection” procedures were developed for use in situations where the experimenter's goal is to “select the best” (selection) or to “rank competing alternatives” (ranking). These are typical goals when a simulation study is performed, often in order to select that one of several procedures (for running a real-world system) which is best (with regard to a specified criterion of goodness). Therefore these procedures have become a standard analysis method in simulation work in recent years (e.g., see the references in (8)). In this paper we: review some of the selection procedures most often found useful in design and analysis of simulation experiments; discuss some other important procedures and related problems; and state some unsolved statistical problems of importance in simulation work.
Estrogen Receptor (cid:1) Is a Major Contributor to Estrogen-Mediated Fetal Testis Dysgenesis and Cryptorchidism

Failure of the testes to descend into the scrotum (cryptorchid- ism) is one of the most common birth defects in humans. In utero exposure to estrogens, such as 17 (cid:2) -estradiol (E2) or the synthetic estrogen diethylstilbestrol (DES), down-regulates insulin-like 3 ( Insl3 ) expression in embryonic Leydig cells, which in turn results in cryptorchidism in mice. To identify the molecular mechanism whereby xenoestrogens block Insl3 gene transcription, we performed a microarray analysis of wild-type or estrogen receptor (ER) (cid:1) -mutant testes exposed in utero to pharmacological doses of E2 or DES. Six and 31 genes were respectively down-regulated and up-regulated by estrogen exposure ( > 4-fold). All six genes down-regulated by estrogen exposure, including Insl3 and the steroidogenic genes steroidogenic acute regulatory protein and cytochrome P450 17 (cid:1) -hydroxylase/17,20-lyase, were done so by an ER (cid:1) dependent mechanism. In contrast, up-regulation was medi- ated either by ER (cid:1) for 12 genes or by an independent mechanism for the 19 remaining genes. Finally, we show that Insl3 gene expression and testicular descent were not affected by in utero exposure to E2 or DES in ER (cid:1) mutant mice, whereas absence of ER (cid:2) did not influence the effect of these estrogens. Collectively, these data demonstrate that xenoestrogens in- hibit the endocrine functions of fetal Leydig cells through an ER (cid:1) -dependent mechanism. ( Endocrinology 148: 5507–5519, 2007)
Salivary Cortisol, Testosterone, and T/C Ratio Responses during a 36-hole Golf Competition

The purpose of this investigation was to study the effects of 36 continuous holes of competitive golf on salivary testosterone, cortisol, and testosterone-to-cortisol ratio and their relation to performance in eight elite male collegiate golfers (age 20.3 [+/- 1.5] years). Thirty-six holes of a 54-hole NCAA golf tournament were played on the first day of the competition. A saliva sample was taken 45 minutes prior to the round and immediately following each hole for a total of 37 samples per subject. Time matched baseline samples were collected on a different day to account for circadian variation. Six-hole areas under the curve (AUC) values were calculated for endocrine measures. Significant (p < 0.05) increases were noted for cortisol during competition, however, testosterone did not change during competition compared to baseline. Testosterone-to-cortisol (T/C) ratio was significantly lower throughout the competition compared to baseline measures. Thirty-six-hole AUC testosterone-to-cortisol ratio response was correlated (r = 0.82) to 36-hole score. There was a high correlation between pre-round testosterone (r = 0.71), T/C ratio response (r = 0.82), and 36-hole score. CSAI-2 somatic anxiety was correlated to pre-round cortisol (r = 0.81) and testosterone (r = - 0.80) response. These results indicate a significant hormonal response during 10 hours of competitive golf. Good golf performance (low golf scores) in this competition was related to low T/C ratio (r = .82). Additionally, results from this investigation validated CSAI-2 somatic anxiety with physiological measures of anxiety.
Screening of 70 medicinal plant extracts for antioxidant capacity and total phenols

The total phenolic content and related total antioxidant capacity of 70 medicinal plant infusions was analyzed. Infusions were prepared in common way in which teas are prepared for human consumption. The total phenolics were measured by Folin–Ciocalteau assay. The total antioxidant capacity was estimated by Ferric Reducing/Antioxidant Power (FRAP) assay. To make practical comparison of relative antioxidant potential of phenolics extracted from selected medicinal plants, the phenol antioxidant coefficient (PAC) was calculated for each infusion. The total phenolic content of medicinal plant infusions ranges from 9 to 2218 mg/L. The FRAP range from 0.06 to 25 mM/L. There was significant linear correlation between total phenolic content and FRAP. According to their antioxidant capacity, 70 medicinal plant extracts can be divided in five groups: (a) very low FRAP (<1 mM/L) n = 9; (b) low FRAP (1–5 mM/L), n = 37; (c) good FRAP (5–10 mM/L), n = 15; (d) high FRAP (10–20 mM/L), n = 8; and (e) very high FRAP (>20 mM/L), n = 1 medicinal plant extract. The PAC was ranging from 1.1 to 3.9 (average 2.4). The best results were obtained for Melissae folium infusions: high phenolic concentration, very high FRAP (>20 mM/L) and PAC > 3. The effect of infusion time and infusion temperature on the phenolic content, FRAP, and free radical scavenging ability was tested. DPPH radical scavenging ability ofMelissae folium phenolics was similar to (+)-catechin but not as good as for quercetin. Compared to Trolox and vitamin C, Melissae folium phenolics were more efficient free ABTS radical scavengers. The results indicate thatMelissae folium infusions could be an important dietary source of phenolic compounds with high antioxidant capacity comparable with red wine or beverages like tea. 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Some computations in background-independent off-shell string theory.

Recently, background-independent open-string field theory has been formally defined in the space of all two-dimensional world-sheet theories. In this paper, to make the construction more concrete, I compute the action for an off-shell tachyon field of a certain simple type. From the computation it emerges that, although the string field action does not coincide with the world-sheet (matter) partition function in general, these functions do coincide on shell. This can be demonstrated in general, as long as matter and ghosts are decoupled.
RW-OGS: An optimized randomwalk protocol for resource discovery in large scale dynamic Grids

The information service is an important component of any Grid middleware as it helps users to find resources suitable for the execution of their applications. Traditional approaches based on data bases that have been designed for Grids of moderate size do not fit the requirements of wide-area large scale Grids composed of dozens of thousands highly dynamic nodes. In this paper, we propose a fully distributed information service relying on an unstructured overlay network. The core of this information service is the RW-OGS cached-based optimized random walk protocol. We describe experimental results showing that RW-OGS outperforms state of the art protocols in terms of bandwidth consumption and resource discovery latency. Moreover, RW-OGS is optimized to increase the probability to discover nodes with free resources and to enable fast discovery of rare resources. The RW-OGS protocol has been implemented as part of the Vigne middleware aiming at easing the use of large scale desktop Grids for executing a wide range of distributed applications.