Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reference values for pulmonary function in Asian Indians living in the United States.

OBJECTIVE To establish reference values for pulmonary function in the Asian-Indian population living in the United States. DESIGN Five-year cross-sectional study of pulmonary function in healthy adult Asian Indians living in the United States, using American Thoracic Society guidelines for measuring pulmonary function. SETTING Measurement of pulmonary function in healthy nonsmoking Asian Indians in a pulmonary function laboratory or at festivals, picnics, and ceremonies where subjects could be conveniently recruited. PARTICIPANTS Four hundred sixty subjects from a population of Asian Indians residing in the Chicago metropolitan area. MEASUREMENTS Spirometry was performed in all subjects with measurements of FEV(1), FVC, and forced expiratory flow between 25% and 75% of vital capacity (FEF(25-75)). Lung volumes were measured in eighty subjects. Prediction equations for FEV(1), FVC, and FEF(25-75) were derived using multiple regression analysis. RESULTS Three hundred sixty-three subjects (226 men and 137 women) met the inclusion criteria. Spirometric values derived from our prediction equations, when compared to the values for whites from the selected studies in the literature, showed FVC to be 20 to 24% lower in men and 25 to 28% lower in women. FEV(1) was 16 to 23% lower in men and 20 to 26% lower in women. Differences were not quite as large when compared to values from African Americans and other studies on Asians. CONCLUSIONS We provide reference values for pulmonary function in nonsmoking Asian Indians living in the United States. These reference values should be used for evaluation of pulmonary function in this population.
Knowledge Spillovers, Absorptivecapacity, Technology Innovation and Agricultural Network Structure

From the perspective of agricultural cluster to explore network structure, knowledge spillovers, absorptive capacity for technical innovation of the agglomeration. Studies have shown that dense network structure will enhance the knowledge spillovers and promote the actual absorptive capacity of agriculture cluster members, absorptive capacity is conducive to the enhancement of knowledge diffusion, the network structure, knowledge spillovers and absorptive capacity is directly related to agricultural technology innovation.
Specific Activation of a c-Jun NH2-terminal Kinase Isoform and Induction of Neurite Outgrowth in PC-12 Cells by Staurosporine*

Staurosporine, a protein kinase inhibitor, is known to mimic the effect of nerve growth factor (NGF) in promoting neurite outgrowth. To elucidate the mechanism by which staurosporine induces neurite outgrowth in PC-12 cells, we performed an in-gel kinase assay using myelin basic protein as a substrate, and found that staurosporine induced the activation of a kinase with an apparent molecular mass of 57 kDa. The dose of staurosporine required to activate this kinase was consistent with that required to induce neurite outgrowth. Interestingly, the staurosporine-activated kinase was immunoprecipitated by anti-c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK) isoforms antibody, but not by anti-JNK1-specific antibody or anti-ERK1 antibody, raising the possibility that this kinase is a novel JNK isoform. The substrate specificity of the kinase was distinct from those of osmotic shock-activated JNKs and NGF-activated ERK1. The kinase phosphorylates transcription factors including c-Jun, Elk-1, and ATF2, as well as myelin basic protein, suggesting that it plays a role in gene induction. Furthermore, staurosporine induced immediate-early genes including Nur77 and fos, but notjun. The activation of the staurosporine-activated kinase, as well as the induction of neurite outgrowth, did not require Ras function, while Ras was required for the activation of ERKs and neurite outgrowth induced by NGF. Taken together, these results indicate staurosporine specifically activates a JNK isoform, which may contribute to biological activities including neurite outgrowth.
Random Vibration Structure Fatigue Analysis Based on Finite Element Simulation

In order to analyze the fatigue of the airborne product structure, the modal analysis and random vibration analysis are conducted for the product by using the finite element analysis software ANSYS. The modal analyzing results are compared with the modal test results and the finite element model is corrected. The stress response power spectral density is obtained from random vibration analyzing. A frequency domain method for calculating the fatigue damage of the structure is presented. The simulation results are in agreement with the reliability enhancement testing results. An optimization scheme for the product structure design is given.
Imposing Connectivity Constraints in Forest Planning Models

Connectivity requirements are a common component of forest planning models, with important examples arising in wildlife habitat protection. In harvest scheduling models, one way of addressing preservation concerns consists of requiring that large contiguous patches of mature forest are maintained. In the context of nature reserve design, it is common practice to select a connected region of forest, as a reserve, in such a way as to maximize the number of species and habitats protected. Although a number of integer programming formulations have been proposed for these forest planning problems, most are impractical in that they fail to solve reasonably sized scheduling instances. We present a new integer programming methodology and test an implementation of it on five medium-sized forest instances publicly available in the Forest Management Optimization Site repository. Our approach allows us to obtain near-optimal solutions for multiple time-period instances in fewer than four hours.
Assessing Graph Properties and Dynamics of the Functional Brain Networks in Alzheimer's Disease

The human brain is the most complex system in nature. It is intrinsically organized into networked system. Theoretical graphic analysis of human brain networks not only sheds new light into the understanding how the human brain works, but also provides information for exploring into neurological and psychiatric disorders. This paper presents our work of MR imaging data and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (R-fMRI) data, characterizing the graph properties related to clustering coefficient, average degree percentage, characteristic path, global efficiency and small-world ness and network dynamics property on the constructed functional brain networks, then, inferring the discrepancies of those properties between patients with Alzheimer's disease and normal controls. Our experimental results demonstrate that functional brain network of normal controls has higher clustering coefficient, average degree percentage and global efficiency and lower characteristic path. Moreover, it also has stronger small-world ness and propensity for synchronization, compared those of functional brain networks of patients with Alzheimer's disease.
Genetic analysis of bacterial acetyltransferases: identification of amino acids determining the specificities of the aminoglycoside 6'-N-acetyltransferase Ib and IIa proteins

The aminoglycoside 6'-N-acetyltransferase [AAC(6')-I] and AAC(6')-II enzymes represent a class of bacterial proteins capable of acetylating tobramycin, netilmicin, and 2'-N-ethylnetilmicin. However, an important difference exists in their abilities to modify amikacin and gentamicin. The AAC(6')-I enzymes are capable of modifying amikacin. In contrast, the AAC(6')-II enzymes are capable of modifying gentamicin. Nucleotide sequence comparison of the aac(6')-Ib gene and the aac(6')-IIa gene showed 74% sequence identity (K. J. Shaw, C. A. Cramer, M. Rizzo, R. Mierzwa, K. Gewain, G. H. Miller, and R. S. Hare, Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 33:2052-2062, 1989). Comparison of the deduced protein sequences showed 76% identity and 82% amino acid similarity. A genetic analysis of these two proteins was initiated to determine which amino acids were responsible for the differences in specificity. Results of domain exchanges, which created hybrid AAC(6') proteins, indicated that amino acids in the carboxy half of the proteins were largely responsible for determining specificity. Mutations shifting the specificity of the AAC(6')-Ib protein to that of the AAC(6')-IIa protein (i.e., gentamicin resistance and amikacin sensitivity) have been isolated. DNA sequence analysis of four independent isolates revealed base changes causing the same amino acid substitution, a leucine to serine, at position 119. Interestingly, this serine occurs naturally at the same position in the AAC(6')-IIa protein. Oligonucleotide-directed mutagenesis was used to construct the corresponding amino acid change, a serine to leucine, in the AAC(6')-IIa protein. This change resulted in the conversion of the AAC(6')-IIa substrate specificity to that of AAC(6')-Ib. Analysis of additional amino acid substitutions within this region of AAC(6')-Ib support the model that we have identified an aminoglycoside binding domain of these proteins.
Multiobjective $H_{\infty }$ Control for String Stability of Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control Systems

Autonomous vehicle following systems are playing a decisive role to increase vehicle density on roads by shortening intervehicle time gaps. However, disturbance attenuation along a platoon of vehicles, i.e., string stability, is being a challenging task while time gap is getting shorter. In order to guarantee the string stability of a vehicle platoon, a multiobjective <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$H_{\infty }$</tex-math></inline-formula> control formulation for adaptive cruise control and cooperative adaptive cruise control structures has been investigated in this paper. The proposed control method solves an optimization problem and achieves a controller that is able to provide not only the system stability, but also the string stability as distinct from the traditional <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$H_{\infty }$</tex-math></inline-formula> control.
Preparation of Expanded Graphite with Fe3O4 Nanoparticles

In this paper, it can be seen that the optimum mixture ratio of graphite to other contents (graphite: H2SO4: H2O2: HClO4) is 10(g):28(ml):1(ml):5(ml), which obtained the best expansion voluSubscript textme (191ml/g). The Fe3O4-expanded graphite composite material was prepared by FeCl3 solution of ethylene glycol with heating reaction in reactor. The graphite sheets within EG were nanoscales, four iron oxide nanoparticles were dispersed between holes of expanded graphite sheets. Evidently, the graphite nanosheets wrapped in the four iron oxide particles can be observed. It is clearly that the magnetic adsorption properties of particles are strength on EG/Fe3O4. In addition, the EG/Fe3O4 composite obtained by this process has a product (magnetite), which is proved of XRD characteristic peaks.
Observational Study of Prevalence of Long-term Raynaud-Like Phenomena and Neurological Side Effects in Testicular Cancer Survivors

Background Sensory neuropathy (paresthesias), tinnitus, hearing impairment, and Raynaud phenomena are side effects of cisplatin-based chemotherapy used to treat testicular cancer patients. We assessed the long-term occurrence of these side effects among testicular cancer survivors according to the treatment they received. Methods A total of 1814 men who were treated for unilateral testicular cancer in Norway during 1980–1994 were invited to participate in a national multicenter follow-up survey conducted during 1998–2002. The men were allocated to six groups according to the treatment they had received. Self-reported symptoms were assessed by a mailed questionnaire that included the Scale for Chemotherapy-Induced Neurotoxicity. A total of 1409 participants who responded to the questionnaire and/or underwent audiometry were assessable in this study. Respondents to the questionnaire (n = 1402) scored the relevant symptoms according to how troubled they were by each (not at all, a little, quite a bit, or very much). Hearing impairment was objectively assessed by audiometry at 4000 Hz in 755 men (seven of whom did not respond to the questionnaire). Group comparisons of symptom assessments were performed with χ2 or Kruskal–Wallis tests. Associations between relevant factors and self-reported symptoms or hearing impairment measured by audiometry were assessed using proportional odds ordinal logistic regression models and linear regression models, respectively. All statistical tests were two-sided. Results The median follow-up for the 1409 assessable men was 10.7 years (range = 4–21 years). All chemotherapy groups had statistically significantly higher odds for increasing severity of all assessed symptoms and inferior audiometric results compared with men who did not receive chemotherapy. Among chemotherapy-treated men, 39% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 35% to 43%) reported Raynaud-like phenomena (defined as white or cold hands or fingers [or feet or toes] on cold exposure), 29% (95% CI = 25% to 33%) reported paresthesias in the hands or feet, 21% (95% CI = 18% to 25%) reported hearing impairment, and 22% (95% CI = 19% to 26%) reported tinnitus as major symptoms troubling them quite a bit or very much. Hearing impairment (odds ratio [OR] = 5.3, 95% CI = 3.0 to 9.2) and tinnitus (OR = 7.1, 95% CI = 4.1 to 12.4) were particularly common in the dose-intensive chemotherapy group compared with the no chemotherapy group. Men who were treated with radiotherapy had higher odds of self-reported paresthesias in feet compared with those not treated with radiotherapy (OR = 1.5, 95% CI = 1.01 to 2.1, P = .04). Conclusion Long-term survivors of testicular cancer who were treated with cisplatin-based chemotherapy were more often troubled by dose-dependent neurological side effects and Raynaud-like phenomena compared with those who were not treated with chemotherapy.
Multiple Scattering Effects of Ag Particles in Super-Resolution Near-field Structure

Random Ag-SiN films consisting of random small Ag particles embedded in a SiN thin film were deposited by radiant-frequency magnetron sputtering. Specimens orderly comprising a random Ag-SiN film and an optical phase change recording layer were exposed to a focused laser beam. It showed that, with a random Ag-SiN layer deposited above the recording layer, the ablation of the recording layer occurred much faster and under much lower power than that of a single recording layer, which verified the local field enhancement of multiple scattering effects of the Ag particles. Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) calculation of a sandwiched structure consisting of ZnS-SiO2(130nm)/AgOx(20nm)/ZnS-SiO2(40nm) under a Gaussian beam irradiation has been carried out to simulate the near-field distribution in the structure. Near-field optical data storage adopting a Super-Resolution Near-field Structure (Super-RENS) usually utilizes similar films structure mentioned above to achieve super resolution storage density while getting a high Carrier to Noise Ratio (CNR) at the same time. Many recent works have reported that small Ag particles were formed in the AgOx film after converging laser irradiation onto the sandwiched structure. Here, another FDTD calculation was done to simulate the same model except for that small Ag particles were modeled in the AgOx film in the center region of the incident laser spot. The results showed a huge local near-field enhancement, which indicates that, if the structure full of such small Ag particles are formed in a tiny region beyond the optical diffraction limit, the optical recording and readout out density would be improved as well as a high CNR level achieved due to the multiple scattering of the Ag particles.
Use of Mice in Studies of Brain Microcirculation

lum), we obtain values for the distribution volume ratio that agree very well with those calculated us­ ing plasma data (Logan et al., 1996). Another possibility for determining the distribu­ tion volume ratio is to compute the ratio of radio­ activity from the latest scans in a study. If both regions are close to a steady state, this might not be a bad approximation, but it depends upon the ligand, isotope, plasma clearance rate, and experi­ mental conditions.
Lessons Learned from Cross-Validating Alignments between Large Anatomical Ontologies

OBJECTIVES To compare the alignments of two large anatomical ontologies (the Foundational Model of Anatomy and GALEN) produced by three ontology alignment systems (AOAS, FALCON and PRIOR) in the framework of the Ontology Alignment Evaluation Initiative during its 2006 campaign. MATERIALS Number of mappings identified by AOAS: 3,132, FALCON: 2,518 and PRIOR: 2,589. METHODS Three approaches to analyzing and comparing the results were utilized: computing the overlap among result files, manual review of some 2,000 mappings and structural validation. CONCLUSIONS The generic systems FALCON and PRIOR identify many false positives and false negatives. With a stricter and domain-specific lexical similarity model, AOAS has a better precision, but is more sensitive to missing synonyms and misspellings.
Isolation and analysis of two Escherichia coli K-12 ilv attenuator deletion mutants with high-level constitutive expression of an ilv-lac fusion operon

A lysogenizing lambda phage, lambda dilv-lac11, was constructed to carry an ilvD-lac operon fusion. Expression from the phage of the ilvE and lacZ genes is controlled by an intact ilv control region also carried by this phage. Two spontaneous mutants of lambda dilv-lac11 that have high-level constitutive expression of the ilv-lac fusion operon were isolated by growth on a beta-chloroalanine selective medium. The mutants were shown by nucleotide sequence determination to contain large deletions (delta 2216, approximately 1.6 kilobases; delta 2219, approximately 1.9 kilobases), which in both cases remove the proposed ilv attenuator terminator. The rest of the ilv leader and promoter region DNA remains intact in these mutants. Deletion 2216 also removed part of the downstream ilvG gene, whereas delta 2219 extended through the entire ilvG gene into the ilvGE intercistronic region. A possible mechanism of deletion formation is discussed.
Repressive coping style and positive self-presentation.

OBJECTIVE This paper reviews 59 studies looking at cognitive, individual differences and physiological correlates of the repressive coping style, as defined by Weinberger, Schwartz, and Davidson (1979). A central aim is to evaluate the relative importance of the anxiety and social desirability components of repression. Thus, the empirical study investigates the relationships between repression and a number of relevant, but hitherto unexamined, constructs, including trait emotional intelligence (trait EI), self-estimated intelligence, functional and dysfunctional impulsivity, and stoicism. It was hypothesized that repressors would score higher than the other three groups on trait EI, self-estimated IQ and functional impulsivity, but lower on dysfunctional impulsivity. METHOD In total, 259 (174 females) participants from three British universities completed questionnaires measuring the dependent and independent variables. Participants were divided into four groups (truly low anxious, non-defensive/high anxious, defensive/high anxious and repressors) based on their scores on anxiety and social desirability. Analyses (moderated multiple regressions and ANOVAs) were conducted both on the total sample as well as on 'extreme-scoring' individuals. RESULTS Where there were significant differences, the hypotheses were supported, particularly with respect to trait EI, self-estimated IQ and impulsivity. Using 'extreme-scoring' groups did not effectively change the results. The regressions revealed an absence of significant interactions between anxiety and social desirability. CONCLUSION Results are discussed in terms of the now replicated effect that repressors present a highly positive and optimistic self-image, despite cognitive and behavioural data suggesting that their coping style is psychologically unhealthy. In addition, it is argued that many findings in the repressive coping style literature can be parsimoniously explained through main effects of anxiety or social desirability alone (i.e., without invoking a construct that combines the two).
Nicorandil, an Adenosine Triphosphate-Sensitive Potassium Channel Opener, Inhibits Muscarinic Acetylcholine Receptor-Mediated Activation of Extracellular Signal-Regulated Kinases in PC12 Cells

BACKGROUND:Nicorandil, an adenosine triphosphate-sensitive potassium channel opener, is reported to have an antinociceptive effect by hyperpolarization through the K+ channel. The activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), a family of mitogen-activated protein kinases, plays an important role in synaptic plasticity and noxious stimulation in the dorsal root ganglion, and spinal neurons have been reported to induce its activation. To understand the biological mechanisms of nicorandil, we examined the effects of nicorandil on muscarinic acetylcholine (ACh) receptor-mediated activation of ERK in a neuronal model cell, rat pheochromocytoma PC12 cells. METHODS:PC12 cells were stimulated with ACh in the presence or absence of nicorandil, and phosphorylation of ERK was examined by a Western blot analysis. We also examined the effects of nicorandil on the ERK activation induced by 4β-phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate, an activator of protein kinase C, or ionomycin, a calcium ionophore. Intracellular Ca2+ increase was visualized in fluo-3-loaded PC12 cells using fluorescence microscopy. RESULTS:Nicorandil inhibited ACh-induced ERK activation in a concentration-dependent manner. The inhibition was abolished by glibenclamide, an adenosine triphosphate-sensitive potassium channel blocker. Nicorandil suppressed the ERK activation induced by ionomycin but not 4β-phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate. Pretreatment of PC12 cells with nicorandil reduced the intracellular Ca2+ concentration stimulated by ACh. CONCLUSIONS:Nicorandil inhibits muscarinic activation of the ERK signaling pathway by reducing the intracellular Ca2+ concentration.
Formal property verification by abstraction refinement with formal, simulation and hybrid engines

We present RFN, a formal property verification tool based on abstraction refinement. Abstraction refinement is a strategy for property verification. It iteratively refines an abstract model to better approximate the behavior of the original design in the hope that the abstract model alone will provide enough evidence to prove or disprove the property. However, previous work on abstraction refinement was only demonstrated on designs with up to 500 registers. We developed RFN to verify real-world designs that may contain thousands of registers. RFN differs from the previous work in several ways. First, instead of relying on a single engine, RFN employs multiple formal verification engines, including a BDD-ATPG hybrid engine and a conventional BDD-based fixpoint engine, for finding error traces or proving properties on the abstract model. Second, RFN uses a novel two-phase process involving 3-valued simulation and sequential ATPG to determine how to refine the abstract model. Third, RFN avoids the weakness of other abstraction-refinement algorithms-finding error traces on the original design, by utilizing the error trace of the abstract model to guide sequential ATPG to find an error trace on the original design. We implemented and applied a prototype of RFN to verify various properties of real-world RTL designs containing approximately 5,000 registers, which represents an order of magnitude improvement over previous results. On these designs, we successfully proved a few properties and discovered a design violation.