Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pharmacokinetics of latanoprost in the cynomolgus monkey. 1st communication: single intravenous, oral or topical administration on the eye.

Latanoprost (13,14-dihydro-15(R)-17-phenyl-18,19,20-trinor-PGF2a- isopropyl ester, CAS 130209-82-4 PhXA41, Xalatan) is a prodrug used for reduction of the intraocular pressure in the treatment of glaucoma. The pahrmacokinetics of this drug was studied in the cynomolgus monkey after intravenous, oral and topical administration of 9 beta-[3H] labelled latanoprost. The plasma profile of radioactivity from HPLC separation of samples obtained after intravenous as well as topical administration on the eyes showed a rapid and complete hydrolysis of the ester. The pharmacologically active acid of latanoprost showed a maximum concentration 5 min post topical administration and an elimination half-life of about 10 min. Tertiary butyldimethylsilyl derivatives were prepared of the radioactive fractions collected from the HPLC column. The derivatives were analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). After oral administration no latanoprost and very little of its acid was present in plasma, indicating a first-pass metabolism resulting in more polar compounds. Based on the retention times on the HPLC and GC and on a mass spectrum similar to the acid of latanoprost but 28 daltons lower, the main metabolite in urine and faeces was identified as the 1,2-dinor acid of latanoprost. In a similar way a more polar fraction from urine was identified as the 1,2,3,4-tetranor metabolite of the acid of latanoprost. The tissue distribution after i.v. and topical administration was similar with organs of metabolism (liver) and elimination (kidney) containing the highest concentrations. After topical application much of the dose was found in the anterior ocular tissues but not in the posterior parts of the eye. In conclusion, latanoprost is a prodrug which in vivo rapidly is hydrolysed to the corresponding free acid. The acid of latanoprost has a short half-life in plasma and is extensively metabolised mainly through beta-oxidation before it is excreted into the urine and faeces.
The effects of therapeutic hypothermia on cerebral metabolism in neonates with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy: An in vivo 1H-MR spectroscopy study

Therapeutic hypothermia has emerged as the first empirically supported therapy for neuroprotection in neonates with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). We used magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) to characterize the effects of hypothermia on energy metabolites, neurotransmitters, and antioxidants. Thirty-one neonates with HIE were studied during hypothermia and after rewarming. Metabolite concentrations (mmol/kg) were determined from the thalamus, basal ganglia, cortical grey matter, and cerebral white matter. In the thalamus, phosphocreatine concentrations were increased by 20% during hypothermia when compared to after rewarming (3.49 ± 0.88 vs. 2.90 ± 0.65, p < 0.001) while free creatine concentrations were reduced to a similar degree (3.00 ± 0.50 vs. 3.74 ± 0.85, p < 0.001). Glutamate (5.33 ± 0.82 vs. 6.32 ± 1.12, p < 0.001), aspartate (3.39 ± 0.66 vs. 3.87 ± 1.19, p < 0.05), and GABA (0.92 ± 0.36 vs. 1.19 ± 0.41, p < 0.05) were also reduced, while taurine (1.39 ± 0.52 vs. 0.79 ± 0.61, p < 0.001) and glutathione (2.23 ± 0.41 vs. 2.09 ± 0.33, p < 0.05) were increased. Similar patterns were observed in other brain regions. These findings support that hypothermia improves energy homeostasis by decreasing the availability of excitatory neurotransmitters, and thereby, cellular energy demand.
Wearable, wireless sensor platform for occupational radiation dosimetry applications

Presented is a low-power wireless ionizing radiation monitoring circuit intended to be worn for occupational dosimetry. The sensor element is a custom MOS capacitor which traps holes in proportion to the amount of ionizing radiation detected, thus permanently causing a lateral shift in the CV-curve (toward more negative threshold voltage). The circuit measures the capacitance value of several redundant sensors at a given voltage in the depletion region, records this value over time and occasionally transmits the stored values to a base station. The 32 mm × 46 mm circuit utilizes a Nordic nRF51422 system-on-chip with a S310 SoftDevice to form a Bluetooth connection. From the change in capacitance, the dose that has been delivered can be determined. Measurement resolution is approximately 0.1 mSv (10 mRem), making this a viable technology for occupational dosimetry.
Surgery for Lone Atrial Fibrillation: Present State-of-the-Art

For 2 decades, the cut-and-sew Cox-Maze III procedure was the gold standard for the surgical treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF) and proved to be effective at curing lone AF and preventing its most dreaded complication, stroke. However, this procedure was not widely adopted because of its complexity and technical difficulty. During the past 5 to 10 years, the introduction of new ablation technology has led to the development of the Cox-Maze IV procedure, as well as, more limited lesion sets, with the ultimate goal of performing a minimally invasive lesion set on the beating heart, without the need for cardiopulmonary bypass. This review summarizes the current state of the art and future directions in the surgical treatment of lone AF. The hope is that as we learn more about the mechanisms of AF and develop preoperative diagnostic technologies capable of precisely locating the areas responsible for AF, it will become possible to tailor specific lesion sets and ablation modalities to individual patients, making the surgical treatment of lone AF available to a larger population of patients.
A Single-Amino-Acid Substitution in the P2 Domain of VP1 of Murine Norovirus Is Sufficient for Escape from Antibody Neutralization

ABSTRACT Noroviruses cause epidemic outbreaks of acute viral gastroenteritis worldwide, and the number of reported outbreaks is increasing. Human norovirus strains do not grow in cell culture. However, murine norovirus (MNV) replicates in the RAW 264.7 macrophage cell line and thus provides a tractable model to investigate norovirus interactions with host cells. Epitopes recognized by monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against the human norovirus strains Norwalk virus and Snow Mountain virus (SMV) identified regions in the P domain of major capsid protein VP1 important for interactions with putative cellular receptors. To determine if there was a relationship between domains of MNV VP1 and VP1 of human norovirus strains involved in cell binding, epitope mapping by phage display was performed with an MNV-1-neutralizing MAb, A6.2. 1. A consensus peptide, GWWEDHGQL, was derived from 20 third-round phage clones. A synthetic peptide containing this sequence and constrained through a disulfide linkage reacted strongly with the A6.2. 1 MAb, whereas the linear sequence did not. Four residues in the A6.2. 1-selected peptide, G327, G333, Q334, and L335, aligned with amino acid residues in the P2 domain of MNV-1 VP1. This sequence is immediately adjacent to the epitope recognized by anti-SMV MAb 61.21. Neutralization escape mutants selected with MAb A6.2. 1 contained a leucine-to-phenylalanine substitution at position 386 in the P2 domain. The predicted location of these residues on VP1 suggests that the phage peptide and the mutation in the neutralization-resistant viruses may be in close proximity to each other and to residues reported to be important for carbohydrate binding to VP1 of human norovirus strains.
Information search behavior of European tourists visiting Mauritius

Introduction Tourism is considered to be an information intensive industry which relies on communication with tourists to be successful (Pan & Fesenmaier, 2006; Poon, 1993). Understanding the information search behavior of travelers is therefore important for providing effective marketing strategies and designing appropriate communication campaigns (Gursoy & Chen, 2000). However, travelers from different national cultures behave differently in their search for information about a destination. Haywantee Ramkissoon and Robin Nunkoo
A multi-objective genetic algorithm for on-chip real-time optimisation of word length and power consumption in a pipelined FFT processor targeting a MC-CDMA receiver

This paper presents a multi-objective genetic algorithm for on-chip real-time optimisation of word length and power consumption in a fixed-point pipelined fast Fourier transform (FFT) processor targeting on MC-CDMA receiver. The multi-objective GA is used to find solutions for the FFT coefficients which have optimum performance in term of signal to noise ratio (SNR) and power consumption. The results demonstrate that the GA can find solutions which are optimised for both objectives. Results also show that there is a significant reduction in power consumption while maintaining the SNR after the optimisation. Optimisation from 16-bit to 11-bit, results in power reduction of 6.6% and an average error of 0.69 dB.
Pilot Structures for the Uplink Single Carrier FDMA Transmission Systems

Single carrier FDMA has been recently considered as a promising uplink transmission scheme for next generation mobile communications due to its low peak-to-average power ratio. Low PAPR characteristic should be maintained not only for data transmission period but also for pilot period. Therefore, the pilot channel should be carefully designed in consideration of low PAPR requirement as well as channel estimation performance and pilot overhead. In this paper, we present a novel time-division multiplexed pilot structure for uplink SC-FDMA systems. The proposed pilot structure can preserve full frequency resolution despite the fact that it is transmitted through a shortened block in the time domain. Consequently, the proposed pilot structure can provide better channel estimation compared to a conventional structure. It is shown through simulations that the proposed pilot structure outperforms conventional methods.
Chronic Neural Adaptations to Unilateral Exercise: Mechanisms of Cross Education

&NA; ZHOU, S. Chronic neural adaptations to unilateral exercise: mechanisms of cross education. Exerc. Sport Sci. Rev., Vol. 28, No. 4, pp 177‐184, 2000. Cross education refers to the contralateral effect of chronic motor activity in one limb. The effect can enhance or diminish motor activity and is specific to the homologous muscles and the training task. The mechanisms underlying the phenomenon involve adaptations in the nervous system, probably at the level of the spinal cord.
Genome‐wide linkage analyses of extended Utah pedigrees identifies loci that influence recurrent, early‐onset major depression and anxiety disorders

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a common, clinically heterogeneous disorder often found comorbid with other disorders. We studied recurrent, early‐onset MDD (MDD‐RE) and anxiety disorders in combination to define powerful phenotypes for genetic study. We used 87 large, extended Utah pedigrees to investigate linkage to 3 phenotypes: “MDD‐RE;” “MDD‐RE or anxiety;” and “MDD‐RE and anxiety;” where in the latter definition the disorders must appear comorbid within an individual. Pedigrees ranged in size from 2 to 6 generations and contained 3 to 42 individuals affected with MDD or anxiety (718 total). In primary analyses, we identified three regions with at least suggestive genome‐wide evidence for linkage on chromosomes 3centr, 7p, and 18q. Both 7p and 18q are replication findings for related phenotypes. The best linkage evidence was for a novel locus at 3p12.3‐q12.3 (LOD = 3.88, “MDD‐RE or anxiety”) and 18q21.33‐q22.2 (LOD = 3.75, “MDD‐RE and anxiety”), a well‐established susceptibility locus for bipolar disorder. In our secondary sex‐specific analyses, we identified two further regions of interest on chromosomes 4q and 15q. Using linked pedigrees, we localized 3centr and 18q to 9.8 and 12.2 cM, respectively, with potential for further localization with the addition of markers in specific pedigrees. Our success in replication and novel locus identification illustrates the utility of large extended pedigrees for common disorders, such as MDD. Further, it supports the hypothesis that MDD and anxiety disorders have over‐lapping genetic etiologies and suggests that comorbid diagnoses may be useful in defining more genetically homogeneous forms of MDD for linkage mapping. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Influence of Grapevine Training Systems on Vine Growth and Fruit Composition: A Review

Training a grapevine involves a manipulation of vine form. The type of training may lead to differences in total leaf area and the percentage of leaf area well-exposed to light. Consequently, the ability for a grapevine to photosynthesize efficiently depends upon its training system and the accompanying light microclimate of its leaves. In addition to altering the light microclimate of the canopy, training may impact numerous other variables such as fruit bud differentiation, cluster exposure, vine water status, and leaf transpiration. Modification of vine training systems to achieve balance between vine vigor and yield has led to divided canopy systems that might simultaneously increase yield and improve fruit composition through optimization of canopy light microclimate. Consequently, many training systems have been identified as being capable of improving wine quality through a combination of enhanced canopy and fruit microclimate.
Performance analysis of static versus rotary DC/AC power converters for hybrid renewable energy based microgrid applications

Hybrid renewable energy is an emerging notable choice in microgrids' formation to overcome the problem of intermittency that is usually raised while using a single renewable energy source. Generally, the hybrid renewable energy source produce DC power, which is to be converted to AC power to supply to loads and integrating with utility grid. Hence, the efficacy of a microgrid relies on its DC/AC power conversion. For DC/AC conversion, the contemporary research work focuses on the design of power electronics based static multilevel inverter configurations and the traditional electrical machines based retrofitted configurations. However, all these static and rotary inverter configurations possess their inherent limitations, which affect the fruitful operation of the microgrid. Keeping this conviction in mind, this paper analyzes the effect of static and rotary inverters on the microgrid operation. For the analysis, total system's modeling and simulations are performed using MATLAB/Simulink® tool. Various performance indices are obtained for the considered static/rotary inverters and presented a comprehensive analysis as a result.
Trisomy and triploidy are sources of embryo mortality in the zebra finch

Hatching failure is a surprisingly common phenomenon given that natural selection constantly works against it. In birds, an average of about 10 per cent of eggs across species fail to hatch, often owing to the death of embryos. While embryo mortality owing to inbreeding is both well-documented and evolutionarily plausible, this is not true for other sources of mortality. In fact, the basis for hatching failure in natural populations remains largely unexplained. Here, we demonstrate that embryo mortality in captive zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) follows from chromosomal aneuploidy or polyploidy. As part of microsatellite genotyping of a captive breeding population, we found 12 individuals (3.6%) with three alleles among 331 embryos that had died during development, while there were no such cases observed among 1210 adult birds. Subsequent genotyping of 1920 single nucleotide polymorphism markers distributed across the genome in birds with three alleles at microsatellite loci, and in greater than 1000 normal birds, revealed that the aberrant karyotypes involved cases of both trisomies and triploidy. Cases of both maternally and paternally inherited trisomies resulted from non-disjunction during meiosis. Maternally inherited cases of triploidy were attributable to failure of meiosis leading to diploid eggs, while paternally inherited triploidy could have arisen either from diploid sperm or from dispermy. Our initial microsatellite screening set only had the power to detect less than 10 per cent of trisomies and by extrapolation, our data therefore tentatively suggest that trisomy might be a major cause of embryo mortality in zebra finches.
Ventriculoatrial shunt for hydrocephalus. Electrocardiographic control for accurate placement.

Surgical treatment of hydrocephalus depends on successful bypass of an obstructive process within the ventricular system or, if this is impossible, diversion of the cerebrospinal fluid stream from its normal channels within the central nervous system. Development of competent one-way valves, well tolerated by the tissues, has made it possible to divert the fluid into the blood stream without the hazard of reversal of flow and consequent blockage of the shunt system. Experience has shown that successful shunting requires placement of the distal tube in a portion of the blood stream with rapid flow and turbulence. Under such conditions the hazard of clotting around the tubing is minimized, while more peripheral placement in smaller venous channels results in frequent failure due to clotting and vascular occlusion. Optimum placement, therefore, is in the right atrium or at the junction of the superior vena cava and atrium via the right jugular vein.
A new Shivaphis species (Hemiptera: Aphididae) on the Chinese endemic plant, Pteroceltis tatarinowii.

A new species of aphid in subfamily Calaphidinae, Shivaphis pteroceltis sp. n. , is described from China. This aphid feeds on Pteroceltis tatarinowii, an endemic tree commonly planted as an ornamental in China and used in the production of Xuan paper. The life cycle is described, and the descriptions of fundatrices, apterous and alate viviparae, oviparae and males are provided. COI sequences have been deposited in Genbank, and the type specimens are deposited in the National Zoological Museum of China, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing and Forestry Bureau of Central District, Zaozhuang City, Shandong Province, China.
Steering Attosecond Electron Wave Packets with Light

Photoelectrons excited by extreme ultraviolet or x-ray photons in the presence of a strong laser field generally suffer a spread of their energies due to the absorption and emission of laser photons. We demonstrate that if the emitted electron wave packet is temporally confined to a small fraction of the oscillation period of the interacting light wave, its energy spectrum can be up- or downshifted by many times the laser photon energy without substantial broadening. The light wave can accelerate or decelerate the electron's drift velocity, i.e., steer the electron wave packet like a classical particle. This capability strictly relies on a sub-femtosecond duration of the ionizing x-ray pulse and on its timing to the phase of the light wave with a similar accuracy, offering a simple and potentially single-shot diagnostic tool for attosecond pump-probe spectroscopy.
Spectrophotometric Methods for the Determination of Ketoconazole in Pharmaceutical Dosage Forms

Purpose: To develop simple, sensitive and economical methods for the determination of (KZ) in both pure samples and pharmaceutical formulations. Methods: The first method (A) was based on the oxidation of the studied drug by a known excess of cerium (IV) as an oxidizing agent and subsequent determination of unreacted oxidant by reacting it with indigo carmine (IN) dye. The second method (B) involved potassium permanganate as oxidant and methylene blue (MB) as dye. Spectrophotometry was used to determine the residual amount of the dyes by measuring the absorbance of the two dyes at 610 and 660 nm, respectively. Comparison was made with the British Pharmacopoeia 1998 method. Results: Linear calibration graphs were obtained at 4 - 30 and 5 - 35 µg/ml for the two methods at 610 and 660 nm, respectively. The regression equation was Y = 0.01X + 0.133, (R 2 = 0.996, RSD = 78 % and limit of detection (LOD) of µg/ml for method A. For the second method (B), it was Y = 0.008X + 0.039, (R 2 = 0.995), RSD = 0.95 % and LOD = 2.3 µg/ml. The proposed methods were successfully applied to the determination of KZ in pharmaceutical formulations. Conclusion: The results demonstrate that the methods are as accurate and reproducible as official methods.
Low-power-consumption direct-conversion CMOS transceiver for multi-standard 5-GHz wireless LAN systems with channel bandwidths of 5-20 MHz

This paper describes a low-power-consumption direct-conversion CMOS transceiver for WLAN systems operating at 4.9-5.95 GHz. Its power consumption is reduced by using a resonator-switching wide-dynamic-range LNA. The broad tuning range needed for multiple-channel-bandwidth systems is provided by a single widely tunable low-pass filter based on negative-source-degeneration-resistor transconductors, and its automatic frequency-band-selection PLL supports multiple standard 5-GHz WLAN systems. The system noise figure is 4.4 dB at a maximum gain of 74 dB, and the receiver IIP3 is +5 dBm and -21dBm for the minimum and maximum gain modes, respectively. The error vector magnitude (EVM) of the transmitted signal is 2.6%. The current consumption is extremely low, 65 mA in the transmitter path and 60 mA in the receiver path.
The Effects of Opposition and Gender on Knee Kinematics and Ground Reaction Force During Landing From Volleyball Block Jumps

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of opposition and gender on knee kinematics and ground reaction force during landing from a volleyball block jump. Six female and six male university volleyball players performed two landing tasks: (a) an unopposed and (b) an opposed volleyball block jump and landing. A 12-camera motion analysis system (120 Hz) was used to record knee kinematics, and a force platform (600 Hz) was used to record ground reaction force during landing. The results showed a significant effect for level of opposition in peak normalized ground reaction force (p = .04), knee flexion at ground contact (p = .003), maximum knee flexion (p = .001), and knee flexion range of motion (p = .003). There was a significant effect for gender in maximum knee flexion (p = .01), knee flexion range of motion (p = .001), maximum knee valgus angle (p = .001), and knee valgus range of motion (p = .001). The changes in landing biomechanics as a result of opposition suggest future research on landing mechanics should examine opposed exercises, because opposition may significantly alter neuromuscular responses.