Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Establishment and Properties of a Growth Factor-Dependent, Perpetual Neural Stem Cell Line from the Human CNS

The ready availability of unlimited quantities of neural stem cells derived from the human brain holds great interest for basic and applied neuroscience, including therapeutic cell replacement and gene transfer following transplantation. We report here the combination of epigenetic and genetic procedures for perpetuating human neural stem cell lines. Thus we tested various culture conditions and genes for those that optimally allow for the continuous, rapid expansion and passaging of human neural stem cells. Among them, v-myc (the p110 gag-myc fusion protein derived from the avian retroviral genome) seems to be the most effective gene; we have also identified a strict requirement for the presence of mitogens (FGF-2 and EGF) in the growth medium, in effect constituting a conditional perpetuality or immortalization. A monoclonal, nestin-positive, human neural stem cell line (HNSC.100) perpetuated in this way divides every 40 h and stops dividing upon mitogen removal, undergoing spontaneous morphological differentiation and upregulating markers of the three fundamental lineages in the CNS (neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes). HNSC.100 cells therefore retain basic features of epigenetically expanded human neural stem cells. Clonal analysis confirmed the stability, multipotency, and self-renewability of the cell line. Finally, HNSC.100 can be transfected and transduced using a variety of procedures and genes encoding proteins for marking purposes and of therapeutic interest (e.g., human tyrosine hydroxylase I).
Antithrombin Concentrate in Pediatric Patients Requiring Unfractionated Heparin Anticoagulation: A Retrospective Cohort Study*

Objective: To describe antithrombin levels, altered unfractionated heparin effect (anti-factor Xa activity and activated partial thromboplastin time), and adverse effects post administration of a single high dose of antithrombin concentrate. Design: Retrospective review. Patients: Infants and children with antithrombin levels less than 50% and a subtherapeutic unfractionated heparin effect. Setting: Quaternary care children’s hospital with a dedicated anticoagulation program. Interventions: None. Measurements and Main Results: A single high dose of antithrombin concentrate was administered. Antithrombin level, anti-factor Xa, and activated partial thromboplastin times were measured post antithrombin concentrate infusion and daily until stable. One hundred twenty-one patients received 246 doses of antithrombin. Patients were described using two cohorts based on the ability to obtain exact heparin doses. Cohort 1 included all patients between January 2004 and May 2008 when complete heparin dosing was unavailable. Cohort 2 included patients from May 2008 to May 2011 when heparin dose was available. Median age and weight were 3.7 months and 4.1 kg. Mean antithrombin concentrate dose was 222 IU/kg. Mean antithrombin level increased from 0.39 to 1.20 U/mL following antithrombin concentrate administration. In cohort 2, unfractionated heparin doses to achieve a target anti-factor Xa activity pre-post antithrombin concentrate were 28 and 19 U/kg/hr, respectively, for children 12 months old or younger and 25 and 19 U/kg/hr, respectively, for children older than 12 months. There were no hemorrhagic, thrombotic, or allergic events within 1 week of antithrombin concentrate administration. Conclusions: This is the largest study of antithrombin concentrate evaluation in children. Administration of antithrombin concentrate increases anti-factor Xa activity with lower administered unfractionated heparin doses.
Physical efficiency and activity energy expenditure in term pregnancy females measured during cardiopulmonary exercise tests with a supine cycle ergometer

Abstract Objectives: To evaluate physical efficiency and activity energy expenditure (AEE) in term pregnancy females during cardiopulmonary exercise tests with a supine cycle ergometer. Material and methods: The study comprised 22 healthy full-term pregnancy women with uncomplicated pregnancies hospitalized in the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Specialist Teaching Hospital in Tychy, Poland. All subjects underwent cardiopulmonary exercise tests (CPET) on a supine cycle ergometer. The 12-min, three-stage, progressive, symptom-limited submaximal test protocol (up to 80% HRmax) was used. Pulsometry was used to record HR on a beat-to-beat analysis and to calculate AEE. Respiratory responses were measured by ergospirometer and a computer system on a breath-by-breath basis at rest, during exercise and at restitution. Results: In the studied population, VO2max was established at the level of 2.19 ± 0.33 L/min in ergospirometry and 2.04 ± 025 L/min in pulsometry. Physical efficiency calculated for sub-maximal exercise by use of the Davis equation was 30.52 ± 0.12%. AEE, based on VO2 in various phases of the CPET, was 0.47, 0.71 and 0.88 L/min for phases 25, 50 and 75 W. Based on ergospirometer readouts, AEE was 10.60, 16.11 and 20.94 kJ/min for phases 25, 50 and 75 W. Overall mean AEE (determined by pulsometry) was 10.59 kJ/min. CPET testing did not have any negative effect upon the health or life of the neonates involved in the study. Conclusions: Submaximal CPET up to 80% HRmax with a supine cycle ergometer is a safe and precise method for assessing work efficiency in term pregnancy women.
Towards human BCI applications based on cognitive brain systems: an investigation of neural signals recorded from the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex

One of the critical issues in brain-computer interface (BCI) research is how to translate a person's intention into brain signals for controlling computer programs. The motor system is currently the primary focus, where signals are obtained during imagined motor responses. However, cognitive brain systems are also attractive candidates, in that they may be more amenable to conscious control, yielding better regulation of magnitude and duration of localized brain activity. We report on a proof of principle study for the potential use of a higher cognitive system for BCI, namely the working memory (WM) system. We show that mental calculation reliably activates the WM network as measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Moreover, activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) indicates that this region is active for the duration of mental processing. This supports the notion that DLPFC can be activated, and remains active, at will. Further confirmation is obtained from a patient with an implanted electrode grid for diagnostic purposes, in that gamma power within DLPFC increases during mental calculation and remains elevated for the duration thereof. These results indicate that cortical regions involved in higher cognitive functions may serve as a readily self-controllable input for BCI applications. It also shows that fMRI is an effective tool for identifying function-specific foci in individual subjects for subsequent placement of cortical electrodes. The fact that electrocorticographic (ECoG) signal confirmed the functional localization of fMRI provides a strong argument for incorporating fMRI in BCI research.
Social Capital and Total Factor Productivity: Evidence from Chinese Provinces

The impact of social capital on economic development has been broadly studied by scholars. However, research in the Chinese context is relatively rare. Drawing upon data from the China General Social Survey, our results suggest that the enhancing effect of social capital on total factor productivity is very limited in the case of China. The network dimension of social capital is significant only in pooled OLS estimations, and trust as well as the participation dimension of social capital exert no impact across all estimations. Our interpretation is that this is partly due to the fact that trust, values and norms formed in civil society are inherently difficult to transmit to the market sector. Besides, the impact of social capital on economic performance is undermined when physical capital plays a significant role in production. We therefore propose that the effect of social capital on economic performance is contingent on localized social and economic conditions.
Design and development of few-tooth-deference planetary gear Powertrain Coupling system with biased bent shaft in electric and HEV for all-terrain vehicles

The article has analyzed the domestic and international present research status and development trend of the electric and hybrid electric vehicles (HEV). Considering actual scientific research, according to the characteristic and environment requirement of all-terrain vehicle (ATV), the principle of elected and designed component parts for powertrain coupling system of ATV, and the demands of performance parameter of power, torque and speed of moving ATV, this article studies on the performance parameter and control strategy of powertrain coupling system of engine, electric motor and the storage battery. The optimization matching, the modeling simulation and the experiment have been carried out. The article proposes a new multipurpose design and development plan on the powertrain coupling system in electric and HEV for ATVs. It introduces a new transmission system based on few- tooth - deference planetary gear powertrain coupling system with biased bent shaft (FPS), which have been applied in powertrain coupling system of the multipurpose light electric and HEV for ATV. The research results show that the proposed FPS meets the performance requirement for entire vehicle (ATV), especially in regard infinitely variable speed. The method and the obtained result provide the basis design theory for the low-speed vehicles (that is, agricultural vehicles) and multipurpose light electric and HEVs. The technology has been applied to ATVs in Ningbo Saiting Electric Bicycle Science & Technology CO., LTD, and is applying for nation invention patent.
Self-oscillating resonant gate drive for resonant inverters and rectifiers composed solely of passive components

This paper presents a new self-oscillating resonant gate drive composed solely of passive components. The gate drive can be used in various resonant converters and inverters and can be used for both low and high side gate drive. The paper presents examples of how higher order harmonics can be used to improve the performance of the gate drive and how the gate drive can be implemented in a class E inverter, a class DE inverter and in class E inverter with a synchronous class E rectifier. The paper shows practical implementations of all the proposed inverters and converters operating in the Very High Frequency (VHF) range, all showing good results with peak efficiency up to 82% and output regulation from 70% to full load without bursting.
Does the soft aspects of TQM influence job satisfaction and commitment? An empirical analysis

Purpose Previous studies that have attempted to link TQM and employees’ satisfaction are either theoretical without empirical evidence or had limited outcome in scope as they link only few elements of TQM with employees’ job satisfaction and commitment. This study is warranted due to the paucity of insights into the impact of soft strategies on determining job satisfaction and commitment. Despite the considerable body of TQM literature that has evolved to examine the relationship between TQM and employees’ job satisfaction in various countries as well as industries there is no existing literature that recognizes the soft aspects of TQM within the context of the Indian manufacturing industry. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach On the basis of the proposed hypotheses a conceptual model was proposed and tested. A questionnaire survey was employed for data collection. The participants were 450 shop floor employees of three Indian manufacturing organizations. Findings The results have shown that six out of the nine soft aspects of TQM played a role in determining job satisfaction and commitment. The results have also shown that the predictors of both job satisfaction and commitment were the same except for the strength of prediction. The proposed model showed an acceptable fit. Originality/value This is the first study to examine the impact of soft aspects of TQM in determining job satisfaction and commitment in the Indian manufacturing organizations.
Initial Efficacy Testing of an Autobiographical Memory Intervention on Advance Care Planning for Patients With Terminal Cancer.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES To test the efficacy of a novel intervention to facilitate advance care planning. DESIGN Exploratory, quasiexperimental pilot study with two independent groups. SETTING A large hospice located in the southwestern United States. SAMPLE A convenience sample of 50 participants with terminal cancer enrolled in hospice. METHODS An autobiographical memory (ABM) intervention used the participants' experiences with cancer and end of life for the purpose of directing advance care planning. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES Two domains of advance care planning, decision making and communication, were measured in relation to 11 variables. FINDINGS The ABM intervention was nonthreatening, short in duration, and easily completed with participants as they recalled, without hesitation, specific personal memories of family and friends who had died and their advance care plans. The Mann-Whitney nonparametric test revealed that participants in the experimental group had a higher average rank than those in the control group for communicating the decision about antibiotics, as well as exhibited a trend toward significance for five other advance care planning variables. CONCLUSIONS Findings showed that directive ABMs may be effective in influencing the decision making and communication of advance care planning for terminally ill patients with cancer. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING The current level of understanding about using the ABM intervention suggests that nurses can initiate an advance care planning conversation using this approach.
Structural Determinants of an Insect β-N-Acetyl-d-hexosaminidase Specialized as a Chitinolytic Enzyme*

β-N-Acetyl-d-hexosaminidase has been postulated to have a specialized function. However, the structural basis of this specialization is not yet established. OfHex1, the enzyme from the Asian corn borer Ostrinia furnacalis (one of the most destructive pests) has previously been reported to function merely in chitin degradation. Here the vital role of OfHex1 during the pupation of O. furnacalis was revealed by RNA interference, and the crystal structures of OfHex1 and OfHex1 complexed with TMG-chitotriomycin were determined at 2.1 Å. The mechanism of selective inhibition by TMG-chitotriomycin was related to the existence of the +1 subsite at the active pocket of OfHex1 and a key residue, Trp490, at this site. Mutation of Trp490 to Ala led to a 2,277-fold decrease in sensitivity toward TMG-chitotriomycin as well as an 18-fold decrease in binding affinity for the substrate (GlcNAc)2. Although the overall topology of the catalytic domain of OfHex1 shows a high similarity with the human and bacterial enzymes, OfHex1 is distinguished from these enzymes by large conformational changes linked to an “open-close” mechanism at the entrance of the active site, which is characterized by the “lid” residue, Trp448. Mutation of Trp448 to Ala or Phe resulted in a more than 1,000-fold loss in enzyme activity, due mainly to the effect on kcat. The current work has increased our understanding of the structure-function relationship of OfHex1, shedding light on the structural basis that accounts for the specialized function of β-N-acetyl-d-hexosaminidase as well as making the development of species-specific pesticides a likely reality.
Transcriptional activation of the CEF-4/9E3 cytokine gene by pp60v-src

The CEF-4/9E3 gene is expressed constitutively in Rous sarcoma virus (RSV)-transformed cells. This expression is largely determined by an increase in transcription of the gene. In this report, we characterize the regulatory elements responsible for the transformation-dependent activation of CEF-4/9E3. Three sequences corresponding to AP-1, PRD II/kappa B, and TAACGCAATT are involved in the process and therefore define the src-responsive unit (SRU) of the CEF-4 promoter. In constructs containing a deletion of the SRU, multiple copies of AP-1 or PRD II/kappa B, but not TAACGCAATT, led to activation of the promoter. Thus, factors interacting with these elements are constitutively activated in RSV-transformed chicken embryo fibroblasts. In agreement with the results of transient expression assays, protein binding to AP-1, PRD II/kappa B, and TAACGCAATT were more abundant in the nuclei of transformed cells. The expression of the CEF-4 promoter was investigated in cells infected by a temperature-sensitive mutant of RSV. No significant increase in CEF-4 promoter activity was detected early after activation of pp60v-src. In contrast, a substantial activation of the CEF-4 promoter was detected late after a temperature shift. Factors interacting with the TAACGCAATT, PRD II/kappa B, and AP-1 elements accumulated gradually over a period of several hours. Therefore, transcriptional activation plays an important role in the late, constitutive expression of the CEF-4 gene in stably transformed cells.
Scheduling transshipment operations in a multiple inbound and outbound door crossdock

Crossdocking is a logistic technique which seeks to reduce costs related to inventory holding, order picking, transportation as well as the delivery time. Little attention has been given to the transshipment operations inside a crossdocking platform. Most of the existing work in this domain is limited to scheduling of operations for a restricted class of crossdocks, such as the mono input and output platforms. In this article, we study the transshipment scheduling problem in a multiple inbound and outbound dock configuration. In the crossdocking facility under study, transshipment operations are performed based on the decisions taken at the supervisory level. Incoming products are either directly loaded to an outbound truck, if the truck is already available at an outbound dock, or they are temporarily stored incurring a unit holding cost. The supervisor can also decide to replace an outbound truck to facilitate direct loading but this decision costs a unit replacement cost. The objective is to find the best schedule of transshipment operations to minimize the sum of inventory holding and truck replacement costs. In this article, we present 2 heuristics to attain this objective. Several numerical experiments are presented. The results are compared with the optimal solution to evaluate the performance of the method
Contribution of respiratory muscle blood flow to exercise‐induced diaphragmatic fatigue in trained cyclists

We investigated whether the greater degree of exercise‐induced diaphragmatic fatigue previously reported in highly trained athletes in hypoxia (compared with normoxia) could have a contribution from limited respiratory muscle blood flow. Seven trained cyclists completed three constant load 5 min exercise tests at inspired O2 fractions () of 0.13, 0.21 and 1.00 in balanced order. Work rates were selected to produce the same tidal volume, breathing frequency and respiratory muscle load at each (63 ± 1, 78 ± 1 and 87 ± 1% of normoxic maximal work rate, respectively). Intercostals and quadriceps muscle blood flow (IMBF and QMBF, respectively) were measured by near‐infrared spectroscopy over the left 7th intercostal space and the left vastus lateralis muscle, respectively, using indocyanine green dye. The mean pressure time product of the diaphragm and the work of breathing did not differ across the three exercise tests. After hypoxic exercise, twitch transdiaphragmatic pressure fell by 33.3 ± 4.8%, significantly (P < 0.05) more than after both normoxic (25.6 ± 3.5% reduction) and hyperoxic (26.6 ± 3.3% reduction) exercise, confirming greater fatigue in hypoxia. Despite lower leg power output in hypoxia, neither cardiac output nor QMBF (27.6 ± 1.2 l min−1 and 100.4 ± 8.7 ml (100 ml)−1 min−1, respectively) were significantly different compared with normoxia (28.4 ± 1.9 l min−1 and 94.4 ± 5.2 ml (100 ml)−1 min−1, respectively) and hyperoxia (27.8 ± 1.6 l min−1 and 95.1 ± 7.8 ml (100 ml)−1 min−1, respectively). Neither IMBF was different across hypoxia, normoxia and hyperoxia (53.6 ± 8.5, 49.9 ± 5.9 and 52.9 ± 5.9 ml (100 ml)−1 min−1, respectively). We conclude that when respiratory muscle energy requirement is not different between normoxia and hypoxia, diaphragmatic fatigue is greater in hypoxia as intercostal muscle blood flow is not increased (compared with normoxia) to compensate for the reduction in , thus further compromising O2 supply to the respiratory muscles.
Education Professional Standards Board

The Education Professional Standards Board (EPSB) is an independent, 17-member board charged with the governance of Kentucky’s teaching profession. The duties and responsibilities of the board include managing educator certification, ensuring that teacher preparation institutions are adequately preparing teachers, monitoring and applying disciplinary practices of the profession, and supporting newly graduated teachers through an internship program. EPSB manages many duties well, but some procedures need review and improvement. For example, tracking and disposition of disciplinary cases should be better detailed. Reductions in state funding have affected some programs, including the teacher internship program. Legislative Research Commission Foreword Program Review and Investigations
Liquid-Phase Immunoassays Using Brownian Relaxation of Magnetic Markers

We have developed a liquid-phase immunoassay technique using Brownian relaxation of magnetic markers. In this method, biological targets are fixed on the surface of large polymer beads whose size is typically a few μm. When the markers are bound to the targets, their Brownian relaxation time is dominated by that of the polymer bead, becoming much longer than that of unbound (free) markers. The resulting difference between the magnetic properties of the bound and free markers was detected by relaxation measurements. Therefore, we can magnetically distinguish between the bound and free markers, i.e., we can omit a time consuming washing process called bound/free separation. We developed a detection system using a magneto-resistive (MR) sensor and showed that we can detect 1.4 × 107 bound markers in 60 μl of solution. If we assume that a single marker is bound to a single target, this sensitivity can be expressed as 3.8 × 10-16 mol/ml (or 0.38 fmol/ml) in terms of the molecular-number concentration. We also demonstrated the detection of biological targets called biotins, which were conjugated on the surface of the polystyrene beads with a diameter of 3.3 μm. A strong relationship was obtained between the number of bound markers and the number of biotin-conjugated polymer beads, which confirmed the validity of the present method.