Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Chronic alcohol feeding potentiates hormone‐induced calcium signalling in hepatocytes

Chronic alcohol consumption causes a spectrum of liver diseases, but the pathogenic mechanisms driving the onset and progression of disease are not clearly defined. We show that chronic alcohol feeding sensitizes rat hepatocytes to Ca2+‐mobilizing hormones resulting in a leftward shift in the concentration–response relationship and the transition from oscillatory to more sustained and prolonged Ca2+ increases. Our data demonstrate that alcohol‐dependent adaptation in the Ca2+ signalling pathway occurs at the level of hormone‐induced inositol 1,4,5 trisphosphate (IP3) production and does not involve changes in the sensitivity of the IP3 receptor or size of internal Ca2+ stores. We suggest that prolonged and aberrant hormone‐evoked Ca2+ increases may stimulate the production of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species and contribute to alcohol‐induced hepatocyte injury.
CrossTalk proposal: dynamic cerebral autoregulation should be quantified using spontaneous blood pressure fluctuations

In healthy individuals, cerebral blood flow (CBF) is regulated by different mechanisms that maintain optimal blood supply to the brain, responding to changes in O2 demand (neurovascular coupling, NVC), arterial partial pressure of CO2 (PaCO2 ) (vasomotor reactivity, VMR) and arterial blood pressure (BP) (cerebral autoregulation, CA) (Willie et al. 2014). Whilst NVC and VMR are normally performed with some form of stimulation (e.g. sensorimotor protocols, CO2 breathing or rebreathing), methods for CA assessment are still controversial, particularly regarding the decision to perturb changes in BP or not (Tzeng & Ainslie, 2014; Tzeng et al. 2014). On the one hand, the relationship between BP and CBF can be characterised at rest based on spontaneous fluctuations of these variables (Zhang et al. 1998). On the other hand, there is the argument that we can get more robust results using manoeuvres to induce larger changes in BP than normally observed at rest (Claassen et al. 2009; Tan, 2012). In this debate we argue that the former should be adopted whenever possible. But to understand how we arrived at these crossroads, it is important to review the recent conceptual and technological developments in this field.
Understanding management data systems for enterprise performance management

Purpose – Managing enterprise performance is an important, yet a difficult process due to its complexity. The process involves monitoring the strategic focus of an enterprise, whose performance is measured from the analysis of data generated from a wide range of interrelated business activities performed at different levels within the enterprise. This study aims to investigate management data systems technologies in terms of how they are used and the issues that are related to their effective management within the broader context of enterprise performance management (EPM). Design/methodology/approach – A range of recently published research literature on data warehousing, online analytic processing and EPM is reviewed to explore their current state, issues and challenges learned from their practice.Findings – The findings of the study are reported in two parts. The first part discusses the current business practices of these technologies, and the second part identifies and discusses the issues and challeng.
Abstracts of the IPOS 11th World Congress of Psycho‐Oncology

Background: This project aimed to evaluate whether a group psychological intervention could improve cognitive performance in people who have completed treatments for cancer. It was hypothesised that group cognitive rehabilitation would improve objective cognitive performance, subjective cognitive function and quality of life. Methods: 6 participants who had previously completed treatments for adult onset cancer took part in a group cognitive behavioural intervention in February 2009 conducted by a clinical psychologist and a psychologist-in-training. The "Re-Cog" intervention, developed for this study, involved four 2-hour group sessions and between session homework. A participant manual and clinician manual were developed. Sessions involved education, skills training and skills practice on the topics of "Aging, health, cancer and cognitive function", "Memory", "Attention", and "Fatigue, emotions and cognition". Participants completed neuropsychological assessments and self-report measures of subjective cognitive function, quality of life, and emotional distress at pre-treatment and post-treatment. Results: Results will be presented for pre- and post scores on neurocognitive assessment (the Repeatable Battery for Assessment of Neuropsychological Status and Trailmaking Test), self-reported cognition (Multiple Abilities Self-Report Questionnaire), quality of life (European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Core Quality of Life Questionnaire), distress (Kessler-10), illness perceptions (Illness Perceptions Questionnaire - Revised), and patient satisfaction. Conclusions: Results will show for the first time whether a brief group intervention can improve cancer survivors' subjective or objective cognitive performance. If successful, the pilot study will be extended to a larger trial. Research Implications: This project will assist with finding out the extent to which cognitive difficulties experienced by a proportion of cancer survivors are remediable in a manualised group treatment format. Clinical Implications: If successful, the program is designed in a format that would be easy to disseminate. It is manualised, relatively brief, designed for delivery in a group, and intended for use with cancer survivors who have mixed tumour types. Acknowledgement of Funding: Funding for this project was provided by Griffith University Research Grant GURG-36603.
Balancing the 2 Hemispheres in Simple Calculation: Evidence From Direct Cortical Electrostimulation

How do the parietal lobes contribute to simple calculation? Clinical and neuroimaging methods, which are based mainly on correlational evidence, have provided contrasting results so far. Here we used direct cortical electrostimulation during brain surgery to causally infer the role of the left and right parietal lobes in simple calculation. Stimulation provoked errors for addition and multiplication in different parietal areas on both hemispheres. Crucially, an innovative qualitative error analysis unveiled the functional contrast of the 2 parietal lobes. Right or left stimulation led to different types of substitution errors in multiplication, unveiling the function of the more active hemisphere. While inhibition of the left hemisphere led mainly to approximation errors, right hemisphere inhibition enhanced retrieval within a stored repertory. These results highlight the respective roles of each hemisphere in the network: rote retrieval of possible solutions by the left parietal areas and approximation to the correct solution by the right hemisphere. The bilateral orchestration between these functions guarantees precise calculation.
Interferon-α and ribavirin for the treatment of recurrent hepatitis C after liver transplantation

BACKGROUND Initial studies utilizing interferon-alpha and ribavirin for the treatment of recurrent hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection after liver transplantation showed promising results. Here we report our single-center experience using this combination therapy. METHODS Liver transplant recipients with recurrent HCV (elevated serum aminotransferases, positive serum HCV RNA, and biopsy-proven hepatitis without rejection) received interferon-alpha (1.5-3 million units subcutaneously three times a week) and ribavirin (400-1000 mg p.o. daily) for 12 months or more. Serum aminotransferases, HCV RNA, and severity of hepatitis were followed. RESULTS Thirty-two patients have been treated for at least 3 months, including 13 who have been on 12 or more months of therapy. Three died from allograft failure due to recurrent HCV. Dose reductions of interferon-alpha and/or ribavirin occurred in 22 patients. Thirteen had their medications permanently discontinued for severe adverse effects. Twenty-six patients (81%) had a biochemical response (BR; normalization of serum aminotransferases) after 3 months. End-of-treatment and sustained BR were 77% and 71%, respectively. Mean viral loads decreased 68-77%; however, only three patients became serum HCV RNA negative. After 12 months of therapy, no histological improvement was observed in 11 patients who were biopsied. Patients who received mycophenolate mofetil or daclizumab had a less likelihood of achieving a BR. CONCLUSIONS A significant number of patients did not tolerate interferon-alpha or ribavirin. Although BR was excellent and mean viral loads decreased significantly, virological clearance was poor and no histological improvement was noted. A more efficacious treatment with less adverse effects for recurrent HCV after liver transplantation is needed.
The human ventilatory response to stress: rate or depth?

Many stressors cause an increase in ventilation in humans. This is predominantly reported as an increase in minute ventilation ( V̇E ). But, the same V̇E can be achieved by a wide variety of changes in the depth (tidal volume, VT) and number of breaths (respiratory frequency, ƒR). This review investigates the impact of stressors including: cold, heat, hypoxia, pain and panic on the contributions of ƒR and VT to V̇E to see if they differ with different stressors. Where possible we also consider the potential mechanisms that underpin the responses identified, and propose mechanisms by which differences in ƒR and VT are mediated. Our aim being to consider if there is an overall differential control of ƒR and VT that applies in a wide range of conditions. We consider moderating factors, including exercise, sex, intensity and duration of stimuli. For the stressors reviewed, as the stress becomes extreme V̇E generally becomes increased more by ƒR than VT. We also present some tentative evidence that the pattern of ƒR and VT could provide some useful diagnostic information for a variety of clinical conditions. In The Physiological Society's year of ‘Making Sense of Stress’, this review has wide‐ranging implications that are not limited to one discipline, but are integrative and relevant for physiology, psychophysiology, neuroscience and pathophysiology.
Decline in cellular function of aged mouse c‐kit+ cardiac progenitor cells

While autologous stem cell‐based therapies are currently being tested on elderly patients, there are limited data on the function of aged stem cells and in particular c‐kit+ cardiac progenitor cells (CPCs). We isolated c‐kit+ cells from young (3 months) and aged (24 months) C57BL/6 mice to compare their biological properties. Aged CPCs have increased senescence, decreased stemness and reduced capacity to proliferate or to differentiate following dexamethasone (Dex) treatment in vitro, as evidenced by lack of cardiac lineage gene upregulation. Aged CPCs fail to activate mitochondrial biogenesis and increase proteins involved in mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation in response to Dex. Aged CPCs fail to upregulate paracrine factors that are potentially important for proliferation, survival and angiogenesis in response to Dex. The results highlight marked differences between young and aged CPCs, which may impact future design of autologous stem cell‐based therapies.
Sensorimotor control of breathing in the mdx mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Respiratory failure is a leading cause of mortality in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), but little is known about the control of breathing in DMD and animal models. We show that young (8 weeks of age) mdx mice hypoventilate during basal breathing due to reduced tidal volume. Basal CO2 production is equivalent in wild‐type and mdx mice. We show that carotid bodies from mdx mice have blunted responses to hyperoxia, revealing hypoactivity in normoxia. However, carotid body, ventilatory and metabolic responses to hypoxia are equivalent in wild‐type and mdx mice. Our study revealed profound muscle weakness and muscle fibre remodelling in young mdx diaphragm, suggesting severe mechanical disadvantage in mdx mice at an early age. Our novel finding of potentiated neural motor drive to breathe in mdx mice during maximal chemoactivation suggests compensatory neuroplasticity enhancing respiratory motor output to the diaphragm and probably other accessory muscles.
Unchanged mitochondrial phenotype, but accumulation of lipids in the myometrium in obese pregnant women

Obesity during pregnancy and childbirth is associated with labour dystocia leading to instrumental or operative delivery, but the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms remain unclear and insufficient uterine contractility has been suggested. This study examined whether reduced myometrial mitochondrial capacity or quantity could contribute as a pathophysiological mechanism to labour dystocia. Data did not support reduced myometrial mitochondrial capacity or quantity in the myometrium at term in obese women, but a reduced myocyte density with increased triglyceride content was demonstrated, which could lead to poorer uterine contractility. These results add to the understanding of systemic effects of obesity, placing also the myometrium at term as an affected non‐adipose tissue.
Customer relationship management and innovation capability: an empirical study

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of various dimensions of customer relationship management (CRM) on innovation capabilities. Five dimensions of CRM (information sharing, customer involvement, long‐term partnership, joint problem‐solving, and technology‐based CRM) and five aspects of innovation capability (product, process, administrative, marketing, and service innovations) are identified. The one‐to‐one associations between the two constructs are developed and verified. , – Data from 107 Taiwanese computer manufacturers are collected. Multiple regression analysis is employed to examine the effects of CRM on innovation capabilities. , – The following results are offered: computer manufacturers in Taiwan perform various levels of CRM and, consequently, display different levels of effects on each of the five innovation capabilities. Generally, firms are able to increase their innovation capability by ad hoc CRM; the relationship between customer involvement and process innovation; customer involvement and administrative innovation; and long‐term partnership and marketing innovation are not significant; and technology‐based CRM has positive effects on all five types of innovation. , – The findings suggest that not all CRM activities contribute to innovation programs, which clearly indicates the need for applying other mechanisms, such as supplier integration, to form a complete innovation program. Managers should align the development of their supplier management and CRM practices with the desired innovation capability. , – The one‐to‐one relationships between CRM practices and innovation capabilities have not been properly examined. The findings suggest the need for more research in this area, and the statistical results provide managers with useful guidelines for implementing appropriate CRM practices to develop specific innovation capabilities to respond to enhanced competitiveness.
Fear Spreading Across Senses: Visual Emotional Events Alter Cortical Responses to Touch, Audition, and Vision

Abstract Attention and perception are potentiated for emotionally significant stimuli, promoting efficient reactivity and survival. But does such enhancement extend to stimuli simultaneously presented across different sensory modalities? We used functional magnetic resonance imaging in humans to examine the effects of visual emotional signals on concomitant sensory inputs in auditory, somatosensory, and visual modalities. First, we identified sensory areas responsive to task‐irrelevant tones, touches, or flickers, presented bilaterally while participants attended to either a neutral or a fearful face. Then, we measured whether these responses were modulated by the emotional content of the face. Sensory responses in primary cortices were enhanced for auditory and tactile stimuli when these appeared with fearful faces, compared with neutral, but striate cortex responses to the visual stimuli were reduced in the left hemisphere, plausibly as a consequence of sensory competition. Finally, conjunction and functional connectivity analyses identified 2 distinct networks presumably responsible for these emotional modulatory processes, involving cingulate, insular, and orbitofrontal cortices for the increased sensory responses, and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex for the decreased sensory responses. These results suggest that emotion tunes the excitability of sensory systems across multiple modalities simultaneously, allowing the individual to adaptively process incoming inputs in a potentially threatening environment.
Text Recommender System Using User's Usage Patterns

– The purpose of this paper is to develop a novel and flexible recommender system based on usage patterns and keyword preferences using collaborative filtering (CF) and content‐based filtering (CBF). , – The proposed system analyzes data captured from the navigational and behavioral patterns of users and estimates the popularity and similarity levels of a user's clicked content. Based on this information, content is recommended to each user using recommendation methods such as CF and CBF. To assess the effectiveness of the proposed approach, an empirical study was conducted by constructing an experimental news site. , – The results of the experimental study clearly show that the proposed hybrid method is superior to conventional methods that use only CF or CBF. , – The above findings are based on data captured from a relatively small experimental site, and they require further verification using various actual content sites. A promising area for future research may be the application of the proposed approach to making recommendations in user‐created content environments, such as blog sites and video upload sites, where users can actively participate as both writers and readers. , – Unlike the most research on recommender systems, this is the first study to analyze user usage patterns and thereby determine appropriate recommendation algorithms for each user. The proposed recommender system provides greater prediction accuracy than conventional systems.
Periodic Performance Prediction for Real-time Business Process Monitoring

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide industrial managers with insight into the real‐time progress of running processes. The authors formulated a periodic performance prediction algorithm for use in a proposed novel approach to real‐time business process monitoring.Design/methodology/approach – In the course of process executions, the final performance is predicted probabilistically based on partial information. Imputation method is used to generate probable progresses of ongoing process and Support Vector Machine classifies the performances of them. These procedures are periodically iterated along with the real‐time progress in order to describe the ongoing status.Findings – The proposed approach can describe the ongoing status as the probability that the process will be executed continually and terminated as the identical result. Furthermore, before the actual occurrence, a proactive warning can be provided for implicit notification of eventualities if the probability of occurrence of the gi.
Difficulties and Benefits of Integrated Management Systems

Purpose – In recent years, the number of management systems (MSs) has sharply increased. These MSs can be certified with, for example, the quality standard ISO 9001 or the environmental standard ISO 14001 and they can subsequently be integrated into one single, jointly managed system. The main purpose of this research is to study the relationships between the level of system integration, on one hand, and the difficulties encountered in the integration process, as well as the related benefits, on the other.Design/methodology/approach – Data for this study derive from a survey carried out in 76 organizations registered to, at a minimum, both ISO 14001:2004 and ISO 9001:2008 standards for quality and environmental MSs. A descriptive and an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) are provided. Additionally, structural equation modelling (SEM) is applied to the responses of these organizations to a mailed survey.Findings – From the results, the paper proposes a model of the difficulties related to systems integratio.
In situ measurements of ion-exchange processes in single polymer particles:  laser trapping microspectroscopy and confocal fluorescence microspectroscopy.

Ion-exchange processes of a cationic dye (Rhodamine B; RhB) were studied for individual polymer particles (diameter of 16-20 μm) by laser trapping microspectroscopy and confocal fluorescence laser microspectroscopy. The absorbance of RhB at 565 nm adsorbed on a cation-exchange particle increased linearly with the concentration of RhB in the aqueous phase, while it was independent of the particle diameter. Fluorescence intensity profile measurements of RhB along the particle diameter by confocal fluorescence microspectroscopy directly proved that ion exchange took place in the surface layer (∼2-μm thickness) of the particle in the initial stage (1 h). Diffusion of RhB in the particle was very slow, and ion exchange proceeded gradually to the inner volume in the order of days. The ion-exchange processes were analyzed on the basis of simulation of the time course of the concentration profile of RhB in the particle, and the diffusion coefficient of RhB was determined to be (2-4) × 10(-11) cm(2)·s(-1).
Retinotopic maps and foveal suppression in the visual cortex of amblyopic adults

Amblyopia is a developmental visual disorder associated with loss of monocular acuity and sensitivity as well as profound alterations in binocular integration. Abnormal connections in visual cortex are known to underlie this loss, but the extent to which these abnormalities are regionally or retinotopically specific has not been fully determined. This functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study compared the retinotopic maps in visual cortex produced by each individual eye in 19 adults (7 esotropic strabismics, 6 anisometropes and 6 controls). In our standard viewing condition, the non‐tested eye viewed a dichoptic homogeneous mid‐level grey stimulus, thereby permitting some degree of binocular interaction. Regions‐of‐interest analysis was performed for extrafoveal V1, extrafoveal V2 and the foveal representation at the occipital pole. In general, the blood oxygenation level‐dependent (BOLD) signal was reduced for the amblyopic eye. At the occipital pole, population receptive fields were shifted to represent more parafoveal locations for the amblyopic eye, compared with the fellow eye, in some subjects. Interestingly, occluding the fellow eye caused an expanded foveal representation for the amblyopic eye in one early–onset strabismic subject with binocular suppression, indicating real‐time cortical remapping. In addition, a few subjects actually showed increased activity in parietal and temporal cortex when viewing with the amblyopic eye. We conclude that, even in a heterogeneous population, abnormal early visual experience commonly leads to regionally specific cortical adaptations.