Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A role for sodium/calcium exchange in the action potential shortening caused by strophanthidin in guinea pig ventricular myocytes.

OBJECTIVE The aim was to investigate the nature of the membrane currents which underlie the shortening of the action potential in guinea pig cardiac myocytes upon exposure to the digitalis analogue strophanthidin. METHODS Ventricular myocytes were isolated enzymatically from the guinea pig heart and impaled with conventional microelectrodes to measure action potentials. Cells were voltage clamped and the change in membrane current upon strophanthidin exposure was recorded. Contractile activity was assessed optically as cell shortening. RESULTS Strophanthidin caused an initial lengthening followed by a progressive shortening of the action potential. The initial lengthening was due to an inhibition of outward Na/K pump current caused by strophanthidin. The subsequent action potential shortening was associated with the progressive activation of a membrane current that reversed at -54.5(SD 7.5) mV, n = 8. Since this current was outward over the potential range of the action potential plateau, it participated in causing the action potential shortening with strophanthidin. This component of membrane current was not sensitive to potassium channel blockers, but it was blocked by removing external Ca and applying 5 mM nickel externally. Removal of external Ca inhibits outward current generated by the Ca entry/Na extrusion mode of the Na/Ca exchange, whereas nickel is known to block the Na/Ca exchange. CONCLUSIONS The voltage dependence of the membrane current associated with progressive action potential shortening, and its sensitivity to external Ca and nickel, suggest that it is carried on the Na/Ca exchange. It is proposed that the Na/Ca exchange generates this membrane current in response to the combined rise of intracellular sodium and calcium that occurs with strophanthidin. Theoretical calculations simulating the effect of a combined rise of intracellular sodium and calcium on Na/Ca exchange predict closely the reversal potential and characteristics of the experimentally measured current. The results of this study suggest that a membrane current generated by the Na/Ca exchange makes an important contribution to the action potential shortening that occurs with digitalis compounds.
The nervous system as ectopic germinal center: CXCL13 and IgG in lyme neuroborreliosis

Lyme neuroborreliosis (LNB) is a chronic infection in which B‐cell activation, plasma cell infiltration, and enhanced Ig production in infected tissue are prominent feature. However, little is known about how B cells and plasma cells invade and persist in target organs. To assess this issue, we developed real‐time PCR measurements of IgG and CXCL13 production. We used these RNA assays and specific enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assays for protein and demonstrated that human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), stimulated by Borrelia burgdorferi sonicate, produced CXCL13 and IgG. Magnetic separation of PBMC populations and flow cytometry showed that CXCL13 is produced by dendritic cells. We then measure the expression of CXCL13 and IgG in tissues and correlated the expression of these host genes with spirochetal load. We also measured expression of dbpA and BBK32, two spirochetal genes important in chronic infection. There was a strong correlation between host immune response gene expression (CXCL13 and IgG) and spirochetal load. Immunohistochemistry of infected nonhuman primates tissue confirmed that CXCL13 is expressed in the nervous system. We conclude that persistent production of CXCL13 and IgG within infected tissue, two characteristics of ectopic germinal centers, are definitive features of LNB. Ann Neurol 2005;57:813–823
Fluorosis: A New Model and New Insights

Fluoride is an effective agent for the prevention of dental caries. However, the mechanism of how excessive fluoride exposure causes fluorosis remains uncertain. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) exhibit periodic tooth replacement throughout their lives, thereby providing continuous access to teeth at developmental stages susceptible to fluoride exposure. Zebrafish teeth do not contain true enamel, but consist of a hard enameloid surface. Therefore, we asked whether zebrafish could be used as a model organism for the study of dental fluorosis. Scanning electron microscopy of fluoride-treated teeth demonstrated that the enameloid was pitted and rough, and FTIR analysis demonstrated that the teeth also contained a significantly higher organic content when compared with untreated controls. Furthermore, we demonstrate for the first time that decreased expression of an important signaling molecule (Alk8) in tooth development may contribute to the observed fluorotic phenotype, and that increased cell apoptosis may also play a role in the mechanism of fluorosis.
Probabilistic interpretation and improvements to the HMM-filler for handwritten keyword spotting

Traditionally, the HMM-Filler approach has been widely used in the fields of speech recognition and handwritten text recognition to tackle lexicon-free, query-by-string keyword spotting (KWS). It computes a score to determine whether a given keyword is written in a certain image region. It is conjectured, that this score is related to the confidence of the system, respect to the previous question. However, it is still not clear what this relationship is. In this paper, the HMM-Filler score is derived from a probabilistic formulation of KWS, which gives a better understanding of its behavior and limits. Additionally, the same probabilistic framework is used to present a new algorithm to compute the KWS scores, which results in better average precision (AP), for a keyword spotting task in the widely used IAM database. We show that the new algorithm can improve the HMM-filler results up to 10.4% relative (5.3% absolute) points in AP, in the considered task.
The Cryptococcus neoformans GeneDHA1 Encodes an Antigen That Elicits a Delayed-Type Hypersensitivity Reaction in Immune Mice

ABSTRACT When mice are vaccinated with a culture filtrate fromCryptococcus neoformans (CneF), they mount a protective cell-mediated immune response as detected by dermal delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) to CneF. We have identified a gene (DHA1) whose product accounts at least in part for the DTH reactivity. Using an acapsular mutant (Cap-67) of C. neoformans strain B3501, we prepared a culture filtrate (CneF-Cap67) similar to that used for preparing the commonly used skin test antigen made with C. neoformans 184A (CneF-184A). CneF-Cap67 elicited DTH in mice immunized with CneF-184A. Deglycosylation of CneF-Cap67 did not diminish its DTH activity. Furthermore, size separation by either chromatography or differential centrifugation identified the major DTH activity of CneF-Cap67 to be present in fractions that contained proteins of approximately 19 to 20 kDa. Using N-terminal and internal amino acid sequences derived from the 20-kDa band, oligonucleotide primers were designed, two of which produced a 776-bp amplimer by reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) using RNA from Cap-67 to prepare cDNA for the template. The amplimer was used as a probe to isolate clones containing the full-lengthDHA1 gene from a phage genomic library prepared from strain B3501. The full-length cDNA was obtained by 5′ rapid amplification of cDNA ends and RT-PCR. Analysis of DHA1 revealed a similarity between the deduced open reading frame and that of a developmentally regulated gene from Lentinus edodes(shiitake mushroom) associated with fruiting-body formation. Also, the gene product contained several amino acid sequences identical to those determined biochemically from the purified 20-kDa peptide encoded byDHA1. Recombinant DHA1 protein expressed inEscherichia coli was shown to elicit DTH reactions similar to those elicited by CneF-Cap67 in mice immunized against C. neoformans. Thus, DHA1 is the first gene to be cloned from C. neoformans whose product has been shown to possess immunologic activity.
'Early recognition' of words in continuous speech

In this paper, we present an automatic speech recognition (ASR) system based on the combination of an automatic phone recogniser and a computational model of human speech recognition - SpeM - that is capable of computing 'word activations' during the recognition process, in addition to doing normal speech recognition, a task in which conventional ASR architectures only provide output after the end of an utterance. We explain the notion of word activation and show that it can be used for 'early recognition', i.e. recognising a word before the end of the word is available. Our ASR system was tested on 992 continuous speech utterances, each containing at least one target word: a city name of at least two syllables. The results show that early recognition was obtained for 72.8% of the target words that were recognised correctly. Also, it is shown that word activation can be used as an effective confidence measure.
Contrast agent detection in RF IVUS using one-class cost-sensitive learning

In this report, we investigate the feasibility of detecting contrast agent in intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) sequences by the characterization of the radio-frequency (RF) signal using one-class cost-sensitive learning. Samples from RF signal corresponding to contrast-free baseline IVUS and contrast agent were acquired and used to compute spectral-based and wavelet-based features over a three-dimensional window of size. The samples were used to compute two contrast detection classifiers (CDC) based on a one-class cost-sensitive support vector machines (SVM) method. For the first contrast detection classifier (CDC1), we train the oneclass SVM to recognize the contrast agent RF signal. For the second contrast detection classifier (CDC2) we train the SVM to recognize baseline IVUS RF signal and detect the contrast agent by the rejection from this model. The performance of these models was evaluated for frequency-domain and wavelet-based features using different window sizes by computing the rate of the detection of contrast-agent (CD) and the rejection of baseline IVUS (BR) for CDC1 and the rate of the detection of baseline IVUS (BD) and the rejection of contrast agent (CR) for CDC2 in two 40MHz IVUS sequences from swine on which a bolus injection of contrast agent (SonoVuer) was employed. Using frequency-domain features, the best average performances for CDC1 (CD=96.61% and BR=95.67%) and CDC2 (BD=96.79% and CR=94.24%) were obtained for a window of size: (r = 255, θ = 7, t = 13). The best performances for wavelet-based features for CDC1 (CD=96.79% and BR=94.13%) and CDC2 (BD=98.51% and CR=96.94%) were obtained using the same window size.
A TDMA-based bandwidth reservation protocol for QoS routing in a wireless mobile ad hoc network

This paper considers the bandwidth reservation problem in a mobile ad hoc network (MANET) to support QoS (quality-of-service) routing. We approach this problem by assuming a common channel shared by all hosts under a TDMA (time division multiple access) channel model. Existing solutions have addressed this problem by assuming a stronger multi-antenna model, where the bandwidth of a link is independent of the transmitting/receiving activities of its neighboring links, or a less strong CDMA-over-TDMA channel model, where the use of a time slot on a link is only dependent on the status of its one-hop neighboring links. While more practical and less costly, using a TDMA model needs to face the challenge of radio interference problems. In this paper, we propose a new protocol that can reserve routes by addressing both the hidden-terminal and exposed-terminal problems. The protocol can conduct accurate bandwidth calculation while performing route discovery. Simulation results are presented to verify how this new protocol performs.
Effects of Severe Hypertension on Endothelial and Platelet Microparticles

Abstract—The molecular mechanisms by which extreme blood pressure elevation leads to vascular injury are not defined. To explore the hypothesis that activation of endothelium and platelets as manifested by increased concentrations of circulating endothelial microparticles and platelet microparticles could play a role in this target organ injury, we conducted a cross-sectional study of these markers in 3 groups: (1) untreated patients referred specifically for treatment of severe uncontrolled hypertension; (2) untreated patients with established mild hypertension; and (3) normotensive volunteer subjects. By ANOVA, endothelial (P =0.002) and platelet (P =0.01) microparticles were greatest in the severely hypertensive group. There was a significant correlation between both of these markers and blood pressure, even in the setting of multiple risk factors. Our results suggest that these markers may be useful and specific for pressure-induced endothelial and platelet activation in hypertension. Furthermore, because of the combined effects of endothelial and platelet microparticles on coagulation, leukocytes, and endothelium, it is possible that they may play a pathogenic role in mediating target organ injury in severe hypertension.
Some proportional 2-tuple geometric aggregation operators for linguistic decision making

In this paper, we investigate decision making problems with fuzzy linguistic information. Motivated by the idea of proportional 2-tuple PT, we develop some new aggregation operators such as PT weighted geometric averaging operator, PT ordered weighted geometric averaging operator and PT hybrid geometric averaging operator, which can be utilized to aggregate preference information taking the form of linguistic variables, and study some desirable properties. Based on the aforesaid operators, we develop a practical method for decision making under the PT linguistic environments. Finally, an example is given to verify the developed approach and demonstrate its practicality and effectiveness.
A meta-analytic review of the effect of guilt on compliance

Abstract Meta-analytic procedures were used to estimate the effect of experienced guilt on compliance. Examination of 47 effect sizes indicated that inducing guilt is an effective means by which to increase compliance, ρ = . 26. Moreover, despite coding for numerous substantive and methodological moderators, there was no evidence of moderation in these data. Instead, correcting for measurement error in the independent variable and restriction in range in the dependent explained all variance in effect sizes, yielding a corrected effect size of ρ′ = . 35.
Can Language-Concordant Prevention Care Managers Improve Cancer Screening Rates?

Objective: There is evidence that non-English speakers in the United States receive lower quality health care and preventive services than English speakers. We tested the hypothesis that Spanish-speaking women would respond differently to an intervention to increase up-to-date status for cancer screening. Study Design and Setting: A multisite randomized controlled trial showed that scripted telephone support, provided by a Prevention Care Manager (PCM), increased up-to-date rates for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening. This subgroup analysis investigated the relative efficacy of the PCM among women who chose to communicate with the PCM in Spanish versus English. Results: Of 1,346 women in this analysis, 63% were Spanish speakers. Whereas the PCM intervention increased cancer screening rates generally, Spanish-speaking women seemed to benefit disproportionately more than English-speaking women for cervical cancer screening (unadjusted odds ratio, 1.77; 95% confidence interval, 1.03-3.05). In addition, in this exploratory analysis, there was a trend toward Spanish-speaking women receiving more benefit than English-speaking women from the intervention in increased breast and colorectal cancer screening rates. Conclusion: Spanish-speaking women seemed to benefit more than did English-speaking women from a bilingual telephone support intervention aimed at increasing cancer screening rates. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2007;16(10):2058–64)
Quality Assurance and Public Administration Education in Hong Kong1

Public administration education has become increasingly important in the period following the Second World War. Rapid industrial development and urbanisation led to demands for services of increased quantity and enhanced quality. Governments were forced to change their role in order to keep up with the rising needs and expectations of their citizens. The period therefore witnessed the world-wide emergence of new patterns of governance and administration.
VC 3 : Trustworthy Data Analytics in the Cloud

We present VC 3 , the first practical framework that allows users to run distributed MapReduce computations in the cloud while keeping their code and data secret, and ensuring the correctness and completeness of their results. VC 3 runs on unmodified Hadoop, but crucially keeps Hadoop, the operating system and the hypervisor out of the TCB; thus, confidentiality and integrity are preserved even if these large components are compromised. VC 3 relies on SGX processors to isolate memory regions on individual computers, and to deploy new protocols that secure distributed MapReduce computations. VC 3 optionally enforces region self-integrity invariants for all MapReduce code running within isolated regions, to prevent attacks due to unsafe memory reads and writes. Experimental results on common benchmarks show that VC 3 performs well compared with unprotected Hadoop; VC 3 ’s average runtime overhead is
Phylogenetic analysis suggests that sociality is associated with reduced effectiveness of selection

Abstract The evolution of sociality in spiders is associated with female bias, reproductive skew and an inbreeding mating system, factors that cause a reduction in effective population size and increase effects of genetic drift. These factors act to decrease the effectiveness of selection, thereby increasing the fixation probability of deleterious mutations. Comparative studies of closely related species with contrasting social traits and mating systems provide the opportunity to test consequences of low effective population size on the effectiveness of selection empirically. We used phylogenetic analyses of three inbred social spider species and seven outcrossing subsocial species of the genus Stegodyphus, and compared dN/dS ratios and codon usage bias between social Inbreeding and subsocial outcrossing mating systems to assess the effectiveness of selection. The overall results do not differ significantly between the social inbreeding and outcrossing species, but suggest a tendency for lower codon usage bias and higher dN/dS ratios in the social inbreeding species compared with their outcrossing congeners. The differences in dN/dS ratio and codon usage bias between social and subsocial species are modest but consistent with theoretical expectations of reduced effectiveness of selection in species with relatively low effective population size. The modest differences are consistent with relatively recent evolution of social mating systems. Additionally, the short terminal branches and lack of speciation of the social lineages, together with low genetic diversity lend support for the transient state of permanent sociality in spiders.
Genome-Scale Validation of Deep-Sequencing Libraries

Chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by high-throughput (HTP) sequencing (ChIP-seq) is a powerful tool to establish protein-DNA interactions genome-wide. The primary limitation of its broad application at present is the often-limited access to sequencers. Here we report a protocol, Mab-seq, that generates genome-scale quality evaluations for nucleic acid libraries intended for deep-sequencing. We show how commercially available genomic microarrays can be used to maximize the efficiency of library creation and quickly generate reliable preliminary data on a chromosomal scale in advance of deep sequencing. We also exploit this technique to compare enriched regions identified using microarrays with those identified by sequencing, demonstrating that they agree on a core set of clearly identified enriched regions, while characterizing the additional enriched regions identifiable using HTP sequencing.
Extracting messages masked by chaos.

This chapter highlights how to extract messages that are masked by a chaotic signal in a system of two Lorenz oscillators. This mask removal is done for two different modes of transmission: a digital one, where a parameter of the sender is switched between two values, and an analog mode, where a small amplitude message is added to the carrier signal. It can be achieved without using a second Lorenz oscillator as a receiver, and without doing a full reconstruction of the dynamics. This method is robust with respect to transformations that impede the unmasking using a Lorenz receiver, and is not affected by the broadband noise that is inherent to the synchronization process. The chapter also discusses the limitations of this way of extraction for messages in high frequency bands.
60 GHz transceiver architectures deploying substrate integrated circuits (SICs) technique

This paper presents an innovative 60 GHz substrate integrated transceiver system with a broad bandwidth up to 3 GHz. To validate the proposed substrate integrated circuits (SICs) scheme, a 60 GHz wireless communication system with modulated signals is successfully demonstrated for line-of-sight (LOS) channels. The proposed integration technique of planar and non-planar structures allows the design of passive components and active devices within a single package. The passive circuits and high-gain antennas are integrated together with monolithic microwave integrated circuits by simple wire-bonding process. With this design and implementation technique, our 60 GHz transceiver system can demonstrate attractive advantages and features such as low-cost, compact size, low profile and reliable performances.
Regional anesthesia by the intravenous route.

Experience using three local anesthetic agents (lidocaine hydrochloride, chloroprocaine hydrochloride, and prilocaine) intravenously in producing regional anesthesia in extremities isolated from the systemic circulation by a tourniquet is compared. Chloroprocaine produced thrombophlebitis in 4 of 51 patients. Although prilocaine produced excellent anesthesia, its use should be reserved for clinical trials until further data are available concerning the production of methemoglobinemia. Taking both effectiveness and safety into account, lidocaine appears to be the drug of choice at this time. In our experience, and from the reports in the literature, 1.5 mg/kg of lidocaine hydrochloride is preferable to 3 mg/kg. This dose resulted in good or excellent regional anesthesia in 60 of 66 patients when injected after a 20-minute period of ischemia had been effected by the use of an arterial tourniquet.
The impact of attitudinal factors on intention to report workplace Internet abuse

ABSTRACT Why do employees actually report workplace Internet abuse? The prevailing theory is that employees make deliberate, calculated decisions only after weighing the pros and cons of reporting. This research proposes a behavioral model in which attitudinal factors are largely responsible for shaping employee intentions to report workplace Internet abuse. Theories of idealism, perceived organizational risk, social influence, and managerial position are synthesized to better understand workers’ motivations. A survey 315 American workers tested the proposed hypotheses and research model using structural equation modeling. Results confirm the validity of the proposed model. Each of the attitudinal factors had a significant impact on employee willingness to report Internet violations. This study underscores the importance of attitudinal factors in a space that primarily portrays employees as rational, unemotional actors.