Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Influence of volatile anesthetics on thromboxane A2 signaling.

BACKGROUND Thromboxane A2 (TXA2) is a member of the prostaglandin family; activation of its receptor induces several important effects, including platelet aggregation and smooth muscle contraction. Because volatile anesthetics interfere with aggregation and contraction, the authors investigated effects of halothane, isoflurane, and sevoflurane on TXA2 signaling in an isolated receptor model. METHODS mRNA encoding TXA2 receptors was prepared in vitro and expressed in Xenopus oocytes. The effects of halothane, isoflurane, and sevoflurane on Ca2+-activated Cl- currents induced by the TXA2 agonist U-46619 and on those induced by intracellular injection of inositol 1-4-5 trisphosphate or guanosine 5'-O-(2-thiodiphosphate) were measured using the voltage-clamp technique. RESULTS Expressed TXA2 receptors were functional (half maximal effect concentration [EC50], 3.2 x 10(-7) +/- 1.1 x 10(-7) M; Hill coefficient (h), 0.8 +/- 0.2). Halothane and isoflurane inhibition of TXA2 signaling was reversible and concentration dependent (halothane half maximal inhibitory concentration [IC50], 0.46 +/- 0.04 mM; h, 1.6 +/- 0.21; isoflurane IC50, 0.69 +/- 0.12 mM; h, 1.3 +/- 0.27). 0.56 mM halothane (1%) right-shifted the U-46619 concentration-response relationship by two orders of magnitude (EC50, 1 x 10[-5] M). That h and maximal effect (Emax) were unchanged indicates that halothane acts in a competitive manner. In contrast, isoflurane acted noncompetitively, decreasing Emax by 30% (h and EC50 were unchanged). Both halothane and isoflurane had no effect on intracellular signaling pathways. Sevoflurane (0-1.3 mM) did not affect TXA2 signaling. CONCLUSIONS Both halothane and isoflurane inhibit TXA2 signaling at the membrane receptor, but by different mechanisms. This suggests that the effects of these anesthetics on TXA2 signaling are evoked at different locations of the receptor protein: halothane probably acts at the ligand binding site and isoflurane at an allosteric site.
An Efficient Broadband Reconfigurable Power Amplifier Using Active Load Modulation

A novel power amplifier (PA) architecture, the Load Modulated Balanced PA (LMBA), is presented. The LMBA is able to modulate the impedance seen by a pair of RF power transistors in a quadrature balanced configuration, by varying the amplitude and phase of an external control signal. This enables power and efficiency to be optimized dynamically at specific power backoff levels and frequencies. Unlike the Doherty PA, the load seen by the active devices can be modulated upwards or downwards, both resistively and reactively, with minimal loss of power combination efficiency. The LMBA is presented as a potentially disruptive technique which enables any specific amplifier characteristic to be controlled dynamically over wide signal amplitude and frequency ranges.
Application of acid whey and set milk to marinate beef with reference to quality parameters and product safety.

BACKGROUND The aim of the study was to evaluate the potential of acid whey and set milk as a marinade in the traditional production of fermented eye round. METHODS Studies involved assaying pH value, water activity (aw), oxidation-reduction potential and TBARS value, colour parameters in CIE system (L*, a*, b*), assaying the number of lactic acid bacteria and certain pathogenic bacteria after ripening process and after 60-day storing in cold storage. Sensory analysis and analysis of the fatty acids profile were performed after completion of the ripening process. RESULTS Analysis of pH value in the products revealed that application of acid whey to marinate beef resulted in increased acidity of ripening eye round (5.14). The highest value of the colour parameter a* after ripening process and during storage was observed in sample AW (12.76 and 10.07 respectively), the lowest on the other hand was observed in sample SM (10.06 and 7.88 respectively). The content of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) was higher in eye round marinated in acid whey by approx. 4% in comparison to other samples. CONCLUSIONS Application of acid whey to marinade beef resulted in increased share of red colour in general colour tone as well as increased oxidative stability of the product during storage. It also increased the content of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in the product. All model products had high content of lactic acid bacteria and there were no pathogenic bacteria such as: L. monocytogenes, Y. enterocolitica, S. aureus, Clostridium sp.
Hepatic Fibrosis in a Long-term Murine Model of Sepsis

ABSTRACT Chronic sequelae of sepsis represent a major, yet underappreciated clinical problem, contributing to long-term mortality and quality-of-life impairment. In chronic liver disease, inflammation perpetuates fibrogenesis, but development of fibrosis in the post–acute phase of systemic inflammation has not been studied. Therefore, a mouse model of post–acute sequelae of sepsis was established based on polymicrobial peritonitis under antibiotic protection. Survival decreased to approximately 40% within 7 days and remained constant until day 28 (post–acute phase). In survivors, clinical recovery was observed within 1 week, whereas white blood cell and platelet count, as well as markers of liver injury, remained elevated until day 28. Macroscopically, inflammation and abscess formation were detected in the peritoneal space and on/in the liver. Microscopically, acute-chronic inflammation with ductular proliferation, focal granuloma formation in the parenchyma, and substantial hepatic fibrosis were observed. Increased numbers of potentially pathogenetic macrophages and &agr;-smooth muscle actin–positive cells, presumably activated hepatic stellate cells, were detected in the vicinity of fibrotic areas. Fibrosis was associated with the presence of elastin and an augmented production/deposition of collagen types I and III. Microarray analyses revealed early activation of canonical and noncanonical pathways of hepatic stellate cell transdifferentiation. Thus, chronic sequelae of experimental sepsis were characterized by abscess formation, persistent inflammation, and substantial liver injury and fibrosis, the latter associated with increased numbers of macrophages/&agr;-smooth muscle actin–positive cells and deposition of collagen types I and III. This suggests persistent activation of stellate cells, with consecutive fibrosis—a hallmark of chronic liver disease—as a result of acute life-threatening infection.
A 200 MHz 1.2 W 1.4 GFLOPS microprocessor with graphic operation unit

This 200 MHz CMOS 2-issue superscalar microprocessor is redesigned with a 0.25 /spl mu/m 5-metal-layers CMOS process (L/sub eff/=0.20 /spl mu/m). In this chip 3.2M transistors are implemented in a 7.6/spl times/7.6 mm/sup 2/ die. This chip for low-cost graphic, embedded applications achieves 1.4 GFLOPS at 200 MHz with low-power consumption. This chip integrates CPU, FPU, 8 kB direct-mapped instruction cache (IC), 16 kB direct-mapped data cache (DC), MMU (64-entry unified TLB and 4-entry ITLB), bus interface logic, and six peripherals which are DMAC, timer unit (TMU), real time clock (RTC), serial comm. interface (SCI), interrupt controller (INTC), and emulation/debug unit (EMU). The bus interface provides glueless connections to SRAM, DRAM, SDRAM, burst-ROM, and PCMCIA, bus operation includes 8-, 16-, 32-, and 64b bus widths.
Photodissimilation of Fructose to H(inf2) and CO(inf2) by a Dinitrogen-Fixing Cyanobacterium, Anabaena variabilis

The ability of cyanobacteria to serve as biocatalysts in the production of H(inf2) as a fuel and chemical feedstock was investigated with Anabaena variabilis. The results show that A. variabilis, when incubated under argon, dissimilated fructose to H(inf2) and CO(inf2) in a light-dependent reaction. The H(inf2) production had an obligate requirement for fructose and was heterocyst dependent, since NH(inf4)(sup+)-grown cultures lacking heterocysts failed to produce H(inf2). Differential inhibition studies with CO showed that nitrogenase is the main enzyme catalyzing the H(inf2) production. Net H(inf2) yield increased with increasing concentrations of fructose up to 10 mM in the medium. The average apparent conversion efficiency of fructose to H(inf2) (net H(inf2) produced/fructose removed from the medium) was about 10, although higher conversion efficiencies of 15 to 17 could be obtained during shorter periods and at optimum fructose concentrations. Under the same conditions, the ratio of CO(inf2) released to fructose removed from the medium was about 3.5, suggesting that only a fraction of the fructose carbon was completely oxidized to CO(inf2). Under conditions of carbon excess, which prevents H(inf2) uptake, the maximum ratio of H(inf2) to CO(inf2) was found to be 3.0. This is higher than the expected value of 2.0, indicating that water was also a source of reductant in this fructose-mediated H(inf2) production. Inhibition of H(inf2) evolution by 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea confirmed a role for photosystem II in this process. The rate of H(inf2) production by A. variabilis SA1 was 46 ml h(sup-1) g (dry weight)(sup-1). This high rate was maintained for over 15 days. About 30% of this H(inf2) was derived from water (10 ml of H(inf2) h(sup-1) g [dry weight](sup-1)). These results show that filamentous, heterocystous cyanobacteria can serve as biocatalysts in the high-efficiency conversion of biomass-derived sugars to H(inf2) as a fuel source while simultaneously dissimilating water to H(inf2).
A novel sorting-based multi-objective model predictive control for PMSG wind turbines

A novel multi-objective model predictive control strategy which is based on sorting and ranking approach for controlling converters of wind power system is proposed in this paper. In order to avoid the nontrivial process of weighting factors tuning that is typical in traditional multi-objective model predictive control, multi-objective optimization based on sorting is developed where quick sort is incorporated to sort the control variables to obtain the candidate which has the smallest objective function value. In addition, predictive direct power and direct torque control are adopted separately for the grid-side and the generator-side converters where one-step delay in digital implementation and switching losses are compensated without deterioration of control system stability. Simulations are conducted in MATLAB/Simulink to show that the proposed method can get excellent performance under both steady and dynamic states with lowered fluctuations and switching frequencies while avoid the cumbersome process of weighting factors tuning.
The oral health needs of children after treatment for a solid tumour or lymphoma.

BACKGROUND With increasing survival rates for childhood cancer, late effects are of growing importance. Oral health is central to general health, level of nutrition, quality of life, and is significant in the holistic care of children during cancer therapy. HYPOTHESIS The oral health needs of children treated for solid tumours/lymphoma will be greater than the general population, groups will differ according to tumour and treatment. DESIGN One hundred and twenty patients, 0-17 years, under follow-up from 01/07/06 to 07/02/07 were investigated for caries, opacities, microdontia, and gingivitis. Analysis was performed with stratification according to tumour and treatment. Comparisons made with the UK 2003 Child Dental Health Survey. RESULTS The neuroblastoma group and high-dose chemotherapy with stem-cell rescue (HDCSCR) therapy group had increased caries of the primary teeth. Chi-squared analysis revealed a statistically significant relationship (P < 0.03) between the age at receipt of chemotherapy (<3.5 years) and the presence of microdont teeth. CONCLUSION Oral health care is important for all patients particularly those with a neuroblastoma, or who received HDCSCR. Patients should be advised about the possibility of microdontia in the permanent dentition following chemotherapy under 3.5 years.
Induction of matrix metalloproteinase‐9 (MMP‐9) in lipopolysaccharide‐stimulated primary astrocytes is mediated by extracellular signal‐regulated protein kinase 1/2 (Erk1/2)

In the present study, we investigated whether the activation of protein kinase C (PKC) and extracellular signal‐regulated kinase 1/2 (Erk1/2) are involved in the induction of MMP‐9 in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)–stimulated primary astrocytes. The expression of MMP‐9 but not MMP‐2 was increased by LPS. LPS treatment induced activation of Erk1/2 within 30 min, which was dose‐dependently inhibited by PD98059, a specific inhibitor of the Erk kinase (MEK). In this condition, PD98059 blocked the increase in MMP‐9 protein and mRNA level as well as gelatin‐digesting activity. Inhibition of PKC activity blocked the LPS‐induced activation of Erk1/2 as well as MMP‐9 expression. In addition, activation of PKC by phorbol myristoyl acetate (PMA) activated Erk1/2 with concomitant increase in MMP‐9 production. Moreover, treatment of PD98059 dose‐dependently decreased the PMA‐induced MMP‐9 expression. The results from the present study suggest that induction of MMP‐9 by LPS in rat primary astrocytes is mediated, at least in part, by the sequential activation of PKC and Erk1/2. The Erk1/2‐mediated MMP‐9 induction may provide insights into the regulation of MMP‐9 production in CNS, which may occur in vivo in pathological situations such as CNS inflammation. GLIA 41:15–24, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
IIIV/Si hybrid integrated devices for optical interconnect

As the increasing demand for information interconnect, the traditional electrical interconnect will encounter a bottleneck on speed and power consumption. As a comparison, optical interconnect can offer better performance considering the above aspects. Multifunctional, high-speed, highly-integrated photonic circuits are necessary for the next generation optical interconnect. Due to the compatible fabrication processes with CMOS electronics, silicon photonics has drawn much attention towards large scale integration of photonic devices. In this presentation, we discuss our view of the on-chip interconnect infrastructure for future multi-core processers based on wavelength-multiplexing and our recent results on some key devices of such structure. Cascading performances of various wavelength multiplexer and de-multiplexer including arrayed waveguide gratings and echelle gratings based on silicon-on-insulator platform are discussed and compared. Besides passive functions, active devices, including modulators, light sources, etc., are also important for interconnect applications. Due to the limitations of silicon, hybrid integration through combining active III-V components and passive silicon waveguide circuits by DVS-BCB adhesive bonding are employed to realize some active photonic functions. InP based electro-absorption (EA) modulators on silicon with sub 100mV driving voltage are realized. Ultra short adiabatic tapers for mode converters between passive silicon waveguides and InP active structures are designed. The integration of multi-channel EA modulators and wavelength (de)multiplexer are realized. In addition, we also demonstrate a novel doubled-side processed III-V nanowire waveguide. This waveguide contains asymmetric thin upper and lower InP layers for lateral current injection, which make the metal contacts away from optical field while keeping a high index contract in all directions.
Influence of the Polyphenolic Tannic Acid on the Toxicity of the Insecticide Deltamethrin to Fish. A Comparative Study Examining Both Biochemical and Cytopathological Parameters

Humics and pesticides are present in aquatic environment and the toxicological consequences of their chemical interaction is well studied. However, data concerning the mechanism of the biochemical action of humic-pesticide combinations are scarce, especially in vertebrates. Thus we have chosen to study the in vivo effects of the plant polyphenolic tannic acid and the pyrethroid insecticide deltamethrin [Decis] alone or in combination on hepatic xenobiotic-metabolizing enzyme activities and the associated redox-parameters in carp, as the complex assessment of these systems are regarded to serve as a relevant biomarker of environmental pollution. Stress effects and tissue damage were followed by determination of the plasma glucose level, the activities of plasma transaminases, and by electron microscopy. Tannic acid alone exerted weak prooxidant effect due to its marked antioxidant enzyme inhibitory activity. Deltamethrin, applied in a very low dose, induced oxyradical production in fish via activation of cytochrome P450 isozymes. This effect was promoted by the antioxidant enzyme inhibitory action of tannic acid, when the two chemicals were combined; however, the ultrastructural damage of the hepatocytes was reduced by the common cytoprotective capacity of the phenolic. Numerous humics are known to alter the toxicity of pesticides and their influence depends on their type and concentration. Therefore, our work taken together with other comparative studies may contribute to the assessment of the impact of humics in nature, especially in case of environmental pollution.
Role models—implementation‐based approaches to using roles

A role of an entity can be defined as the set of properties that are important for an object in order to behave in a certain way, as expected by a set of other objects. A role model is a software that specifies a style of designing and implementing roles. This paper evaluates roles in the context of modeling dynamic systems by examining its foundations, surveying the recent role models available for academic use and giving implementation examples. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A case study of senior user acceptance for Orange Technology game

This study incorporated a virtual orchid gardening game as a case of Orange Technology game (OTG) to qualitatively study the factors influencing senior user acceptance and their causal relationships. In this study, we first conduct a panel discussion with 15 participants to come out general issues; then conduct user interviews with 23 senior users to evaluate the significance of each issue, and to explore their relationships and make propositions. The results show that knowledge learning and social interaction have positive effects on both self-efficacy and hedonic experience, self-efficacy also has a positive effect on hedonic experience, and hedonic experience will have a direct impact on behavior intention to use OTG system. Consequently, we summarize above propositions into a conceptual model, named as seniors' game-technology acceptance model (SGTAM).
ARTERIAL PULSE WAVE VELOCITY AND PERITONEAL TRANSPORT CHARACTERISTICS INDEPENDENTLY PREDICT HOSPITALIZATION IN CHINESE PERITONEAL DIALYSIS PATIENTS

♦ Objective: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the most common cause of mortality in chronic peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. Increased arterial stiffness may be related to a high peritoneal permeability resulting in fluid overload in PD patients. We studied the relations between arterial stiffness, peritoneal transport, and radiographic parameters of systemic fluid overload in a cohort of Chinese PD patients. ♦ Design: Prospective cohort study. ♦ Setting: University referral center. ♦ Patients: We studied 107 PD patients. Vascular pedicle width and cardiothoracic ratio were measured from a plain postero-anterior chest radiograph. Pulse wave velocity (PWV) was determined at carotid–femoral (C-F) and carotid–radial sites. Peritoneal transport was determined by the dialysate-to-plasma ratio (D/P) of creatinine at 4 hours of dwell. Patients were followed for 9.4 ± 4.6 months. ♦ Outcome Measures: Duration of hospitalization; actuarial and technique survival. ♦ Results: There were no relationships between radiographic measures, arterial PWV, and D/P creatinine. However, both C-F PWV and D/P creatinine were independent predictors of the number of hospitalizations for CVD. None of the parameters correlated with mortality in this study. ♦ Conclusions: There were no relationships between radiological parameters of fluid overload, peritoneal transport characteristics, and arterial PWV. Both C-F PWV and D/P creatinine were independent predictors of the number of hospitalizations for CVD. Our result suggests that arterial stiffness and high peritoneal transport each contribute to the development of CVD in this group of patients.
Fiber Orientation and Cell‐Cell Coupling Influence Ventricular Fibrillation Dynamics

Introduction: The structure of ventricular fibrillation (VF) is influenced by regional differences in action potential durations and perhaps restitution kinetics and fiber anisotropy. The spatial organization of VF was investigated by measuring the cross‐correlation (CC) and mutual information (MI) of membrane potential (Vm) oscillations recorded from multiple sites.
Intramuscular Hemangioma: Recurrence Risk Related to Surgical Margins

The best treatment for intramuscular hemangiomas is unclear in part because the outcome is variable, with recurrence rates ranging from 18% to 61%. This variance is due to deficiencies in previous reports such as an inadequate population size, lack of life table analyses, lack of uniform pathologic criteria, and loose or absent definition of surgical margins. Our goal was to address these deficiencies and support or refute previous results. We identified 110 patients between 1981 and 2005. There were 48 males and 62 females with an average age of 22 years at the time of consult. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed 76% of patients managed initially without excision were surgery-free at 2 years and 66% at 5 years. For patients treated with surgery, 86% and 73% were recurrence free at 2 and 5 years, respectively. There were substantial differences in local recurrence when stratified by margin: 93% of patients were recurrence free at 5 years when the excision was marginal and wide, 65% when intralesional without any gross remaining tumor, and 33% when intralesional with gross remaining tumor. Surgical margins and tumor size were the only identified risk factors for recurrence.
Administration of Growth Hormone by Disposable Preloaded Syringes

ABSTRACT. The convenience of Genotropin KabiQuick, a novel single‐use disposable injection system for growth hormone (GH) administration, was studied in 20 GH‐treated children aged 8‐16 years. The convenience of the device and tolerance to it were assessed by means of a questionnaire, which was completed by the patients and their families after a treatment period of 2 weeks. The families were asked to compare the new device with the conventional system of GH administration, involving the use of standard ampoules and ordinary syringes. The majority of patients considered the new device superior to the conventional system; 85% of patients found reconstitution easier and 70% found dosing easier. Sixty‐five per cent of patients expressed a preference for using Genotropin KabiQuick for future therapy. It is concluded that Genotropin KabiQuick is well tolerated and that the majority of patients prefer it to conventional injection systems for GH administration.