Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Molecular Gasping Activity In Vitro : A Rhythm Dependent on 5-HT 2 A Receptors

Many rhythmic behaviors are continuously modulated by endogenous peptides and amines, but whether neuromodulation is critical to the expression of a rhythmic behavior often remains unknown, particularly in mammals. Here, we address this issue in the respiratory network that was isolated in spontaneously rhythmic medullary slice preparations from mice. Under control conditions, the respiratory network generates fictive eupneic activity. We hypothesized previously that this activity depends on two types of pacemaker neurons. The bursting properties of one pacemaker rely on the persistent sodium current (INa(p) ) and are insensitive to blockade of calcium channels with cadmium (CI-pacemakers), whereas bursting mechanisms of a second pacemaker are sensitive to cadmium (CS-pacemakers) and the calcium-dependent nonspecific cation current blocker flufenamic acid. During hypoxia, fictive eupneic activity is supplanted by the neural correlate of gasping, which is proposed to depend only on CI-pacemakers. Because CI-pacemakers require endogenous activation of 5-HT2A receptors, we tested the hypothesis that 5-HT2A receptor activation is critical for gasping. Here, we demonstrate that fictive gasping and CI-pacemaker bursting were selectively eliminated by the 5-HT2A receptor antagonist piperidine or ketanserin. Neither 5-HT2A antagonist eliminated bursting by CS-pacemakers and ventral respiratory group (VRG) population activity. However, this VRG activity was very different from eupneic activity. In the presence of 5-HT2A antagonists, VRG activity was eliminated by flufenamic acid and could not be reliably restored by adding substance P. These data support the hypothesis that two types of pacemaker bursting mechanisms underlie fictive eupnea, whereas only one burst mechanism is critical for gasping.
Adding Gabapentin to a multimodal regimen does not reduce acute pain, opioid consumption or chronic pain after total hip arthroplasty

Background: Gabapentin (GPN) is effective in reducing post‐operative pain and opioid consumption, but its effects with regional anesthesia for total hip arthroplasty (THA) are not known. We designed this study to determine whether (1) gabapentin administration reduces pain and opioid use after THA using a multimodal analgesic regimen including spinal anesthesia; (2) pre‐operative administration of gabapentin is more effective than post‐operative administration.
An Observational Study of Hand Washing and Infection Control Practices by Healthcare Workers

Abstract During a 6-week period, a medical student conducted an observational study of hand washing and infection control practices in a community teaching hospital. There was no difference in the prevalence of handwashing practices among the three work shifts. The prevalence of hand washing was higher in surgical (56.4%) and medical intensive-care units (39.2%) than in intermediate (30.0%) or general units (22.8%).
FMR1 genotype interacts with parenting stress to shape health and functional abilities in older age

This study investigated the association of genotype (CGG repeats in FMR1) and the health and well‐being of 5,628 aging adults (mean age = 71) in a population‐based study. Two groups were contrasted: aging parents who had adult children with developmental or mental health disabilities (n = 785; the high‐stress parenting group) and aging parents of healthy children who did not have disabilities (n = 4843; the low‐stress parenting group). There were significant curvilinear interaction effects between parenting stress group and CGG repeats for body mass index and indicators of health and functional limitations, and the results were suggestive of interactions for limitations in cognitive functioning. Parents who had adult children with disabilities and whose genotype was two standard deviations above or below the mean numbers of CGGs had poorer health and functional outcomes at age 71 than parents with average numbers of CGGs. In contrast, parents who had healthy adult children and who had similarly high or low numbers of CGG repeats had better health and functional outcomes than parents with average numbers of CGGs. This pattern of gene by environment interactions was consistent with differential susceptibility or the flip‐flop phenomenon. This study illustrates how research that begins with a rare genetic condition (such as fragile X syndrome) can lead to insights about the general population and contributes to understanding of how genetic differences shape the way people respond to environments. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Rice production structures in Sri Lanka: The normalized translog profit function approach

This study attempts to estimate the output supply and input demand elasticities of rice production using the restricted normalized translog profit function for the four major paddy producing districts; Anuradhapura, Hambantota, Kurunegala and Polonnaruwa in Sri Lanka. In addition, elasticities of substitution between inputs are also estimated. The results suggest that the changes in market prices of inputs and output significantly affect the farmers` profits, rice supply and the use of resources in paddy cultivation. The supply elasticity of rice with respect to its own price is 0.5 and the supply elasticity of output with respect to fertilizer price is -0.05 on an average. Fertilizer demand in the country is inelastic but significant to its own price. Therefore, fertilizer subsidy is one of the main factors to increase fertilizer demand as well as paddy supply in the country. In addition, the low elasticity of substitution between labour and fertilizer and other inputs indicates that there is a complementary relationship among these inputs hence their combined application increases paddy production synergistically. Overall, this study suggest that farmers are price sensitive and assures prevalence of higher output price is essential for higher rice production.
Extension of D-H parameter method to hybrid manipulators used in robot-assisted surgery

The main focus of this work is to extend the applicability of D-H parameter method to develop a kinematic model of a hybrid manipulator. A hybrid manipulator is a combination of open- and closed-loop chains and contains planar and spatial links. It has been found in the literature that D-H parameter method leads to ambiguities, when dealing with closed-loop chains. In this work, it has been observed that the D-H parameter method, when applied to a hybrid manipulator, results in an orientational inconsistency, because of which the method cannot be used to develop the kinematic model. In this article, the concept of dummy frames is proposed to resolve the orientational inconsistency and to develop the kinematic model of a hybrid manipulator. Moreover, the prototype of 7-degree-of-freedom hybrid manipulator, known as a surgeon-side manipulator to assist the surgeon during a medical surgery, is also developed to validate the kinematic model derived in this work.
An Integrated Water Resources and Economic Approach for Optimizing Water Allocation Policies

Reservoir/river systems analysis models are generally used in the formulation and evaluation of alternative plans for responding to water related problems and needs. One of the main problems is the water resources allocation and the cost associated with pumping, if needed. Taking the appropriate decision is considered as a techno-economic issue. The case study presented in this paper involves a complex system of three dams, two pumping stations and two diversion structures all serving an agricultural production unit. The objective of this research is to determine a suitable and feasible water allocation/pumping policy as a “trade-off” between minimizing the water deficiency and the cost of pumping. To achieve this objective, a water resources model was developed using HEC-5. A multi-criteria decision approach was implemented to determine the most appropriate water release policy and the capacity of the water diversion facilities. The parameters used were subject to a sensitivity analysis to assess their relative impact on the determined policy. The suggested release policy allows a reduction of half the total of the pumping costs with only 3% reduction in the water allocation reliability, as measured by the failure frequency of demand satisfaction and the average shortage index.
A Methodological Comparison of

This short paper comparatively studies Ronald Coase and Gary Becker from the methodological perspective. Since Becker’s analytical approach is known to be a very general one, when Becker’s and Coase’s analytical approaches are compared, it is natural to assume that Becker’s approach will be the easy winner. This analysis shows, however, that the opposite turns out to be the case. Two criteria (generality and applicability) are used to make the assessment.
Screening of Probiotic Activities of Forty-Seven Strains of Lactobacillus spp. by In Vitro Techniques and Evaluation of the Colonization Ability of Five Selected Strains in Humans

ABSTRACT The probiotic potential of 47 selected strains ofLactobacillus spp. was investigated. The strains were examined for resistance to pH 2.5 and 0.3% oxgall, adhesion to Caco-2 cells, and antimicrobial activities against enteric pathogenic bacteria in model systems. From the results obtained in vitro, five strains,Lactobacillus rhamnosus 19070-2, L. reuteri DSM 12246, L. rhamnosus LGG, L. delbrueckii subsp.lactis CHCC 2329, and L. casei subsp.alactus CHCC 3137, were selected for in vivo studies. The daily consumption by 12 healthy volunteers of two doses of 1010 freeze-dried bacteria of the selected strains for 18 days was followed by a washout period of 17 days. Fecal samples were taken at days 0 and 18 and during the washout period at days 5 and 11.Lactobacillus isolates were initially identified by API 50CHL and internal transcribed spacer PCR, and their identities were confirmed by restriction enzyme analysis in combination with pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Among the tested strains, L. rhamnosus 19070-2, L. reuteri DSM 12246, and L. rhamnosus LGG were identified most frequently in fecal samples; they were found in 10, 8, and 7 of the 12 samples tested during the intervention period, respectively, whereas reisolations were less frequent in the washout period. The bacteria were reisolated in concentrations from 105 to 108 cells/g of feces. Survival and reisolation of the bacteria in vivo appeared to be linked to pH tolerance, adhesion, and antimicrobial properties in vitro.
Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Diskussionspapiere Measuring Monetary Conditions in US Asset Markets A Market Specific Approach

We analyze monetary conditions in US asset markets — corporate equity, real estate, Treasury bond and corporate & foreign bond — from a market specific perspective, proposing the concept of market leverage. Market leverage measures the average leverage of all asset holders in a particular asset market. The concept builds on an accountingbased network that links balance sheet leverages of asset holders to their corresponding shares of ownership. Our empirical analysis yields the following results. Firstly, market specific monetary conditions can differ considerably among asset markets. Secondly, market specific monetary conditions are positively related to asset prices. Thirdly, US asset markets have experienced a loosening in market specific monetary conditions in the last decades. Fourthly, the loosening of market specific monetary conditions explains long-term increases in US asset prices. Fifthly, the recent convergence of market specific monetary conditions of real asset markets towards those of financial asset markets implies a rise in upside risk to future US asset price inflation.
Effects of packaging on mechanical stress in 3D-ICs

In this work the mechanical stress induced in 3D stacks by different packaging process steps is studied. The 3D stacks used in this work are assembled using two identical dies containing a number of stress sensors which are designed and manufactured in 65nm technology. It is observed that the contribution of the package substrate and the die-attach process to the redistribution of mechanical stress inside the 3D stacked IC is more significant than the one of the EMC and that the influence of packaging on the shape and amplitude of local stress around the inter-die interconnects (micro-bumps) is not significant. These observations are supported by the measurements of stress done using micro-Raman spectroscopy and are correlated with the results of finite element modeling and with optical warpage measurements of different packaging configurations.
More than Words: Probing the Terms Undergraduate Students Use to Describe Their Instructors.

Undergraduates often use single words to describe their instructors, including “boring,” “enthusiastic,” and “organized,” but what instructional behaviors cause students to use these words? This study utilized interviews and an online survey to ask students to translate commonly used instructor descriptions into their associated instructional behaviors. Explanations from undergraduates revealed that these behaviors include both the way instructors interact personally with students as well as how they convey the content to the class. The instructional behaviors identified through this process were classified into themes representing three different aspects of classroom interactions and placed into a schema depicting the positive instructional behaviors that students indicated led to respect for an instructor. The results will give instructors insight into how what they do in the classroom relates to student perception of their ability to foster learning.
Preliminary investigations of a new beta‐adrenoceptive receptor blocking drug, LB46, in man

1 . Preliminary studies in man of a new beta‐adrenoceptive receptor blocking drug, dl‐4‐(2‐hydroxy‐3‐isopropylaminopropoxy)‐indole (LB46), are described. 2 . LB46, 0.5 mg by oral administration, appeared to be of similar potency to propranolol 20 mg in inhibiting isoprenaline‐induced and exercise‐induced tachycardia. 3 . In comparable beta‐receptor blocking doses LB46 did not show the negative chronotropic property possessed by propranolol.
Cloning and nucleotide sequence of the ispA gene responsible for farnesyl diphosphate synthase activity in Escherichia coli.

The molecular cloning and the determination of the nucleotide sequence of the ispA gene responsible for farnesyl diphosphate (FPP) synthase [EC 2.5. 1.1] activity in Escherichia coli are described. E. coli ispA strains have temperature-sensitive FPP synthase, and the defective gene is located at about min 10 on the chromosome. The wild-type ispA gene was subcloned from a lambda phage clone containing the chromosomal fragment around min 10, picked up from the aligned genomic library of Kohara et al. [Kohara, Y. , Akiyama, K. , & Isono, K. (1987) Cell 50, 495-508]. The cloned gene was identified as the ispA gene by the recovery and amplification of FPP synthase activity in an ispA strain. A 1,452-nucleotide sequence of the cloned fragment was determined. This sequence specifies two open reading frames, ORF-1 and ORF-2, encoding proteins with the expected molecular weights of 8,951 and 32,158, respectively. A part of the deduced amino acid sequence of ORF-2 showed similarity to the sequences of eucaryotic FPP synthases and of crtE product of a photosynthetic bacterium. The plasmid carrying ORF-2 downstream of the lac promoter complemented the defect of FPP synthase activity of the ispA mutant, showing that the product encoded by ORF-2 is the ispA product. The maxicell analysis indicated that a protein of molecular weight 36,000, approximately consistent with the molecular weight of the deduced ORF-2-encoded protein, is the gene product.
∞-Categories for the Working Mathematician

homotopy theory C.1. Lifting properties, weak factorization systems, and Leibniz closure C.1. 1. Lemma. Any class of maps characterized by a right lifting property is closed under composition, product, pullback, retract, and limits of towers; see Lemma C.1. 1. Proof. For now see [47, 11.1. 4] and dualize. On account of the dual of Lemma C.1. 1, any set of maps in a cocomplete category “cellularly generates” a larger class of maps with the same left lifting property. C.1. 2. Definition. The class of maps cellularly generated by a set of maps is comprised of those maps obtained as sequential composites of pushouts of coproducts of those maps.
Early studies on the “ synergistic factor ” in Granuloviruses

Baculoviruses are a large group of viruses pathogenic to arthropods, primarily insects from the order Lepidoptera and also insects in the orders Hymenoptera and Diptera (Moscardi 1999; Herniou & Jehle, 2007). Baculoviruses have been used to control insect pests on agricultural crops and forests around the world (Moscardi, 1999; Szewczk et al., 2006, 2009; Erlandson 2008). Efforts have been ongoing for the last two decades to develop strains of baculoviruses with greater potency or other attributes to decrease the cost of their use through a lower cost of production or application. Early efforts focused on the insertion of foreign genes into the genomes of baculoviruses that would increase viral killing speed for use to control agricultural insect pests (Black et al., 1997; Bonning & Hammock, 1996). More recently, research efforts have focused on viral genes that are involved in the initial and early processes of infection and host factors that impede successful infection (Rohrmann, 2011). The enhancins are proteins produced by some baculoviruses that are involved in one of the earliest events of host infection. This article provides a review of baculovirus enhancins and their role in the earliest phases of viral infection.
The nonlinear Schrödinger equation ground states on product spaces

We study the nature of the Nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation ground states on the product spaces $\R^n\times M^k$, where $M^k$ is a compact Riemannian manifold. We prove that for small $L^2$ masses the ground states coincide with the corresponding $\R^n$ ground states. We also prove that above a critical mass the ground states have nontrivial $M^k$ dependence. Finally, we address the Cauchy problem issue which transform the variational analysis to dynamical stability results.
The use of uterine artery doppler as a predictive tool for adverse gestational outcomes in pregnant patients with autoimmune and thrombophilic disease.

OBJECTIVES To verify whether Doppler velocimetry on the uterine arteries can be used to single out abnormal hemodynamic adjustments in the uteroplacental district and to prognose adverse gestational outcomes in pregnant women with autoimmune and trombophilic disease. METHODS The study included 67 patients divided into 3 groups selected by a developed pathology. Attention was given to the performance of the Resistance Index (RI) in Doppler velocimetry checks at 10th, 16th-18th, 21st and 28th weeks of gestation. RESULTS A significant correlation between Doppler values at week 21st and development of preeclampsia was observed (p <0.05) in the three patient groups. High Doppler values at the 21st week were found to be strongly associated (p <0.01) with preterm delivery. We also observed a significant correlation (p <0.05) between high Doppler values at week 21st and low weight at birth. Doppler was found to have a predictive power for gestational adverse outcomes already at week 16th. CONCLUSION RI values of more than 0.58 (taken as a cut-off) at 16/18th weeks allowed us to identify the category most at risk, if confirmed at 21 weeks.
Treatment of melanoma metastases in a limb by isolated limb perfusion and isolated limb infusion

In‐transit melanoma metastases are often confined to a limb. In this circumstance, treatment by isolated limb perfusion or isolated limb infusion can be a remarkably effective regional treatment option. J. Surg. Oncol. 2011; 104:397–404. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Biofunctional Composites of Polysaccharides Containing Inorganic Nanoparticles

In the last years, a variety of biopolymers have been investigated as soft matrices to accommodate inorganic nanoparticles (Darder et al., 2007; Dias et al., 2011). Innovation in Nanomedicine has been a major driving force to create new bionanocomposites because these materials bring together the intrinsic functionalities of inorganic nanoparticles and the biointerfaces offered by polymers of natural origin. On one hand, this type of hybrid materials can be designed to perform a specific function, depending on the characteristics of the loaded inorganic nanoparticles and, on the other hand, the composite can be easily adapted to biosystems due to the potential biocompatibility and low-toxicity of the biopolymer matrix. In view of the large number of available polymers to produce such bionanocomposites this chapter has focus on the use of polysaccharides derived from natural sources, i.e. polymeric carbohydrate structures, that have been intensely investigated in the context of bioapplications. As such, cellulose, that together with lignin forms the ubiquitous composite wood, will be only briefly mentioned in specific contexts. Since synthesis conditions play a determinant role in the performance of the final materials, the chemical strategies for the production of bulk and nanodispersed bionanocomposites will be reviewed. Depending on the type of envisaged bioapplication, aspects related to the performance of the polysaccharide will be highlighted. These include relevant biochemical interactions with the surroundings and, the biofunctionality of the nanocomposite that results from the conjugated action of both the biopolymer and the inorganic nanofillers. Recent years have witnessed the implementation of new therapeutics, clinical diagnostic techniques and disease preventive strategies that directly emerge from Nanotechnology (Sakamoto et al., 2010; Seigneuric et al., 2010). Therefore this chapter concludes with illustrative examples of bionanocomposites whose properties are of great interest in bioapplications such as magnetic nanocarriers for drug delivery and antimicrobial composites based on nanometals. As a final note, the challenging field comprising the development of multifunctional bionanocomposites will be put in perspective.
The utility of aspartate aminotransferase/platelet ratio index in HIV/hepatitis C-co-infected patients

Liver biopsy is currently the gold standard for determining the stage of liver fibrosis. There are risks associated with liver biopsy; therefore, surrogate markers to predict the severity of disease would be useful. We studied 50 patients with HIV/hepatitis C co-infection who had liver biopsies and determined that no patient with an aspartate aminotransferase/platelet ratio index (APRI) of 0.6 or less had stage F3 or F4 disease. The APRI is useful for excluding advanced disease in this patient population.