Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Tracazolate Reveals a Novel Type of Allosteric Interaction with Recombinant γ-Aminobutyric AcidA Receptors

Tracazolate, a pyrazolopyridine, is an anxiolytic known to interact with gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)(A) receptors, adenosine receptors, and phosphodiesterases. Its anxiolytic effect is thought to be via its interaction with GABA(A) receptors. We now report the first detailed pharmacological study examining the effects of tracazolate on a range of recombinant GABA(A) receptors expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes. Replacement of the gamma2s subunit within the alpha1beta3gamma2s receptor with the epsilon subunit caused a dramatic change in the functional response to tracazolate from potentiation to inhibition. The gamma2s subunit was not critical for potentiation because alpha1beta3 receptors were also potentiated by tracazolate. gamma2/epsilon chimeras revealed a critical N-terminal domain between amino acids 206 and 230 of gamma2, governing the nature of this response. Replacement of the beta3 subunit with the beta1 subunit within alpha1beta3gamma2s and alpha1beta3epsilon receptors also revealed selectivity of tracazolate for beta3-containing receptors, determined by asparagine at position 265 within transmembrane 2. Replacement of gamma2s with gamma1 or gamma3 revealed a profile intermediate to that of alpha1beta1epsilon and alpha1beta1gamma2s. alpha1beta1delta receptors were also potentiated by tracazolate; however, the maximum potentiation of the EC(20) was much greater than on alpha1beta1gamma2. Concentration-response curves to GABA in the presence of tracazolate for alpha1beta1epsilon and alpha1beta1gamma2s revealed a concentration-related decrease in maximum current amplitude, but a leftward shift in the EC(50) only on alpha1beta1gamma2. Like alpha1beta1gamma2s, GABA concentration-response curves on alpha1beta1delta receptors were shifted to the left with increased maximum responses. Tracazolate has a unique pharmacological profile on recombinant GABA(A) receptors: its potency (EC(50)) is influenced by the nature of the beta subunit; but more importantly, its intrinsic efficacy, potentiation, or inhibition is determined by the nature of the third subunit (gamma1-3, delta, or epsilon) within the receptor complex.
Plasma Lipid Profile and Incident Ischemic Stroke: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study

Background and Purpose— The role of circulating lipids and lipoproteins in the pathogenesis of ischemic stroke remains uncertain despite 3 decades of research. We examined this issue in a large population-based cohort. Methods— Between 1987 and 1989, 14 175 middle-aged men and women, free of clinical cardiovascular disease, took part in the first examination of the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study cohort. Baseline measurements included plasma levels of LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, apolipoprotein B, apolipoprotein A-1, and triglycerides and myriad risk factors for cardiovascular disease. The cohort was followed for cardiovascular disease end points. Results— Over an average follow-up of 10 years (142 704 person-years at risk), we documented clinical ischemic stroke in 305 participants (161 men and 144 women). After multivariable adjustment for stroke risk factors, categorical and spline regression analyses of the entire sample, as well as the sample of men alone, revealed weak and inconsistent associations between ischemic stroke and each of the 5 lipid factors. Among women, the most consistent findings were decreasing risk of ischemic stroke within the top half of the distribution of HDL cholesterol and increasing risk within the lower range of the triglyceride distribution. Conclusions— The relation of circulating cholesterol to ischemic stroke does not resemble its well-known relation to coronary heart disease. Either the pathogenesis of a substantial proportion of ischemic strokes does not involve classic atherosclerotic mechanisms, or the effect of plasma lipids on atherogenesis is substantially different in the intracranial vascular bed.
An in vitro evaluation of the effect of sealant characteristics on laser fluorescence for caries detection.

PURPOSE The purposes of this study were to: (1) evaluate the ability of a laser fluorescence (LF) unit to detect simulated caries under pit and fissure sealants; (2) determine the effect of an opacifying agent in sealants on LF values; and (3) determine interexaminer reproducibility values of the unit in a highly controlled, laboratory setting. Sealant characteristics specifically considered were: (1) filler content; (2) opacity; and (3) intrinsic fluorescence. METHODS Three sealants were used in this study: 2 unfilled and 1 filled. To evaluate the effect of an opacifying agent, titanium dioxide powder was added to both filled and unfilled sealants. 0.5-mm thick sealant discs were prepared for all samples. The sealant discs were individually placed on top of 3 wells filled with varying amounts of protoporphyrin IX, a fluorescent material that mimicked dental caries. A total of 270 readings were made through the different sealant discs to evaluate signal attenuation of the laser fluorescence unit. RESULTS Clear sealants, without an added opacifying agent, attenuated LF readings. At baseline protoporphyrin IX levels yielding DIAGNOdent readouts of 20 and 60, there was a significant difference in the LF readings between the baseline protoporphyrin (uncovered) and with sealant disc covered in all 3 sealant types (P<.001). Furthermore, the filled sealant attenuated LF signals significantly more than the unfilled sealant (P<.001). Sealants with titanium dioxide added had variable levels of intrinsic fluorescence. Titanium dioxide added to the sealants also had a profound effect on fluorescence transmission of the underlying simulated caries. As the concentration of titanium dioxide approached 0.5%, the fluorescence signal was almost fully attenuated. CONCLUSION Clinical detection of caries under dental sealants with the use of laser fluorescence units is unreliable and not recommended due to a high likelihood of inaccurate readings caused by: (1) intrinsic fluorescence of sealant material; and (2) attenuation of fluorescence signals by the sealant.
De rol van angstgevoeligheid en neuroticisme bij cognitieve gedragstherapie voor angststoornissen.

In society nowadays there is a high prevalence of anxiety disorders. Since the personality traits neuroticism and anxiety sensitivity are often linked to anxiety disorders, these traits will be examined in this study. This study investigates whether a high degree of anxiety sensitivity (1) and neuroticism (2) go hand in hand with a smaller decline of symptoms when the client is undergoing cognitive behavioral therapy. In addition, it is tested whether the prediction value of anxiety sensitivity works independently from neuroticism or not (3). Moreover, it is expected that a high degree of both anxiety sensitivity and neuroticism correspond to more drop-outs during treatment (4). The study has been held among 183 clients of the Academisch Angstcentrum Altrecht, who were 18 - 59 years old (M = 35.0, SD = 10.1). During the measurements that were taken before and after completing the treatment and the follow-up, the clients had to fill out surveys about their personality and their symptoms. In this study, none of the posed hypotheses were confirmed. A high degree of anxiety sensitivity or neuroticism cannot be linked to a smaller decline in symptoms. In the case of general psychological symptoms, which was one of the measures of treatment outcome, a higher degree of neuroticism even corresponds to a greater decline of symptoms after undergoing cognitive behavioral therapy. In addition, there was no difference in drop-out between participants which had a high or a low degree of anxiety sensitivity and neuroticism. An exploratory study showed that with both a high or low degree of anxiety sensitivity or neuroticism, there was no relapse between the measurements that took place after the treatment was completed and the follow-up. A high degree of anxiety sensitivity or neuroticism thus cannot be linked to a less effective therapy and neuroticism even seems to be linked to a greater decline of symptoms. In the future, it is important to execute similar studies with different patients and a longer follow-up period.
Invisible Rafts at Work

Back in the early days of lipidology the phase behavior of membrane lipids was characterized in great detail, but only in the 1980s was its relevance for mammalian cell biology revealed. McConnell and colleagues found that membrane lipids can form coexisting fluid phases (1), and Tillack and coworkers demonstrated that some glycosphingolipids on the surface of erythrocytes occur in small clusters (2,3). It was then proposed that the sorting of such glycosphingolipid aggregates into the apical transport pathway in the Golgi of epithelial cells forms the molecular basis for maintaining their enrichment on the apical surface (4), and this proposal was extended to include a role for glycosphingolipid domains in sorting proteins (5) and to describe how the anterograde sorting of sphingolipid/cholesterol domains generates the different lipid compositions of plasma membrane and ER (6). The identification of the relevant lipids and the subsequent implication of lipid-based domains in signaling at the plasma membrane (7) challenged biophysicists to directly visualize the existence of what had then been termed ‘lipid rafts’ in the membranes of living cells. A long and frustrating quest suggested they were an illusion (8), but now the solution appears to lie in fusion.
Declarative task delegation in OpenMOLE

In this paper we present OpenMOLE, a scientific framework providing a virtualized runtime environment for distributed computing. Current distributed execution systems do not hide the hardware and software heterogeneity of computing and data resources whereas OpenMOLE provides generic services to develop distributed scientific algorithms independently from the execution environment architecture. OpenMOLE uses abstraction layers to delegate computing tasks with the same high level interface for the major underlying architectures: local processors, batch systems, computational grids, Internet computing and cloud computing. The file access abstraction layer is another key feature helping a generic usage of the computation power provided by grids and clusters. The OpenMOLE framework has been tested with the exploration of a bacterial biofilm simulation with an individual-based model.
Optimal mobile sensor motion planning under nonholomonic constraints for parameter estimation of distributed systems

This paper presents a numerical solution for a mobile sensor motion trajectory scheduling problem under nonholomonic constraints of a project named MAS-net, which stands for mobile actuator-sensor network. The motivation of the MAS-net project, at the first stage, is to estimate diffusion system parameters by networked mobile sensors. Each sensor is mounted on a differential-drive mobile robot to observe the diffusing fog. In other words, this project requires to observe a parabolic distributed parameter systems (DPS) by nonholonomic networked mobile sensors. This paper reformulates this problem in the framework of optimal control and proposes a procedure to obtain a numerical solution by using RIOTS by A. Schwartz, E. Polak, and Y. Q. Chen (1997) and Matlab PDE toolbox. The objective function of this method is designed to minimize the effect of the sensing noise. Extensive simulation results are presented for illustration.
Nonsuicidal self-injury in a male incarcerated population

Awareness about nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) in clinical and nonclinical populations has rapidly expanded in the last 20 years. However, much less is known about this behavior in male inmates. In February and March 2013, 140 male inmates in two Oregon correctional institutions participated in a study on the prevalence, frequency, functions, and predictors of NSSI. Results indicated that 2.1% of participants (n = 3) had engaged in NSSI during current incarceration. The most commonly endorsed NSSI behaviors were cutting and interfering with wound healing, with frequencies ranging from two to 500 instances. Participants emphasized intrapersonal functions of NSSI over interpersonal functions. Study hypotheses could not be tested statistically due to the low number of participants who endorsed NSSI during current incarceration. However, the following factors seemed linked to NSSI behaviors during current incarceration: preincarceration NSSI history, younger than average age, recency of current incarceration, and elevated scores on the PAI ANT scale. Implications of the study and directions for future research are discussed. Degree Type Dissertation Rights Terms of use for work posted in CommonKnowledge. Comments Library Use: LIH This dissertation is available at CommonKnowledge: http://commons.pacificu.edu/spp/1083 Copyright and terms of use If you have downloaded this document directly from the web or from CommonKnowledge, see the “Rights” section on the previous page for the terms of use. If you have received this document through an interlibrary loan/document delivery service, the following terms of use apply: Copyright in this work is held by the author(s). You may download or print any portion of this document for personal use only, or for any use that is allowed by fair use (Title 17, §107 U.S.C.). Except for personal or fair use, you or your borrowing library may not reproduce, remix, republish, post, transmit, or distribute this document, or any portion thereof, without the permission of the copyright owner. [Note: If this document is licensed under a Creative Commons license (see “Rights” on the previous page) which allows broader usage rights, your use is governed by the terms of that license. ] Inquiries regarding further use of these materials should be addressed to: CommonKnowledge Rights, Pacific University Library, 2043 College Way, Forest Grove, OR 97116, (503) 352-7209. Email inquiries may be directed to:. copyright@pacificu.edu This dissertation is available at CommonKnowledge: http://commons.pacificu.edu/spp/1083 NONSUICIDAL SELF-INJURY IN A MALE INCARCERATED POPULATION A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF SCHOOL OF PROFESSIONAL PSYCHOLOGY PACIFIC UNIVERSITY HILLSBORO, OREGON BY MARGARETHA J. L. SCHUERMAN IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PSYCHOLOGY 26 JULY 2013 APPROVED: Genevieve L. Y. Arnaut, Psy.D. , Ph.D. Robin L. Shallcross, Ph.D., ABPP
IEEE P1363.1 Draft 10: Draft Standard for Public Key Cryptographic Techniques Based on Hard Problems over Lattices

This document is an unapproved draft of a proposed IEEE Standard. As such, this document is subject to 11 change. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK! Because this is an un approved draft, this document must not be 12 utilized for any conformance/compliance purposes. P ermission is hereby granted for IEEE Standards 13 Committee participants to reproduce this document f or purposes of international standardization 14 consideration. Prior to adoption of this document, i whole or in part, by another standards developme nt 15 organization, permission must first be obtained fro m the IEEE Standards Activities Department 16 (stds.ipr@ieee.org). Other entities seeking permiss ion to reproduce this document, in whole or in part , must 17 also obtain permission from the IEEE Standards Acti vities Department. 18
Optimal VLSI Delay Tuning by Space Tapering With Clock-Tree Application

Interconnect shielding is used in very large scale integration designs to prevent noise interference from the cross-coupling capacitance between adjacent signals. This paper takes advantage of the shields already present in the design and uses them to tune the propagation delay of the clock signals by space tapering, thus eliminating expensive and process variation sensitive dedicated delay buffers. The problem of obtaining the desired delay at a minimum shielding cost (silicon area) by tapering its spacing from the signal wires is solved. A clock-tree synthesis methodology that uses shields to obtain useful skews at the underlying flip-flops is proposed. The method was tested on an industrial 28-nm memory controller and ARM® processor designs, operated in 800-MHz and 1.6-GHz clock speed, respectively, and confirmed its viability for delivering the required useful skews to flip-flops. About 90% of the useful skew problems could be solved by shielding manipulations.
The influence of time and distance traveled by bed bugs, Cimex lectularius, on permethrin uptake from treated mattress liners.

BACKGROUND Residual insecticides interrupt the dispersal of bed bugs (Cimex lectularius, L.), but one of the issues encountered with residual applications is understanding the uptake of active residues by the insect. This study determined permethrin uptake by bed bugs walking on the ActiveGuard® Mattress Liner product, via a combination of video recording in arenas and gas chromatography analyses. RESULTS The best model for estimating permethrin uptake utilized a covariance model (r2 = 0.469) with two factors: time of exposure (F1,55 = 2.44, P < 0.001) and distance traveled (F1,55 = 0.30, P = 0.0460). Bed bug permethrin uptake was 15.1 (95% CI: 10.3-22.1) ng insect-1 within 1 min exposure, 21.0 (15.0, 31.0) ng insect-1 within 10 min and ≈ 42 (29.8, 60.6) ng insect-1 within ≥50 min exposure. Correcting for percentage recovery, these values would be increased by a factor of 1.21. CONCLUSION This permethrin-treated fabric provides a surface from which bed bugs begin rapidly to absorb permethrin on contact and within the first 1 cm of travel. Variability in uptake was likely a result of grooming and thigmotaxis, and future work should use quantitative methods to study behaviors and formulations that increase exposure to the toxicant. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.
Characterizing Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Methane Emissions from Rice Paddies in Northeast China from 1990 to 2010

Background Rice paddies have been identified as major methane (CH4) source induced by human activities. As a major rice production region in Northern China, the rice paddies in the Three-Rivers Plain (TRP) have experienced large changes in spatial distribution over the recent 20 years (from 1990 to 2010). Consequently, accurate estimation and characterization of spatiotemporal patterns of CH4 emissions from rice paddies has become an pressing issue for assessing the environmental impacts of agroecosystems, and further making GHG mitigation strategies at regional or global levels. Methodology/Principal Findings Integrating remote sensing mapping with a process-based biogeochemistry model, Denitrification and Decomposition (DNDC), was utilized to quantify the regional CH4 emissions from the entire rice paddies in study region. Based on site validation and sensitivity tests, geographic information system (GIS) databases with the spatially differentiated input information were constructed to drive DNDC upscaling for its regional simulations. Results showed that (1) The large change in total methane emission that occurred in 2000 and 2010 compared to 1990 is distributed to the explosive growth in amounts of rice planted; (2) the spatial variations in CH4 fluxes in this study are mainly attributed to the most sensitive factor soil properties, i.e., soil clay fraction and soil organic carbon (SOC) content, and (3) the warming climate could enhance CH4 emission in the cool paddies. Conclusions/Significance The study concluded that the introduction of remote sensing analysis into the DNDC upscaling has a great capability in timely quantifying the methane emissions from cool paddies with fast land use and cover changes. And also, it confirmed that the northern wetland agroecosystems made great contributions to global greenhouse gas inventory.
Measurement and control of attitudes of quadruped robots

Man and quadruped animals use various attitudes in walking or running. The reason for them to do so are that using various attitudes can increase speed of motion, keep balance of their bodies, save energy, be adaptable to environments. It is found that quadruped robot can simulate quadruped animals to use same attitudes and obtain same advantages. In this paper a definition of attitude of quadruped robots is given first. Then various attitudes used by quadruped robots in various gait and environments as well as their advantages are listed. A method which use inclination sensors and electronic compass to measure attitudes of quadruped robots is proposed. Finally a scheme to control attitudes of quadruped robots is presented and solutions of inverse kinematics of the robot are given, some experiments have already been made successfully. The use of attitude sensors greatly improves the intelligence level of walking robots and makes them have better properties. <<ETX>>
Newborn EEG connectivity analysis using time-frequency signal processing techniques

ii Declaration by author . iv Publications during candidature . v Publications included in this thesis . vii Peer-reviewed Journal Articles . vii Conference Articles . viii Conference Abstract . xi Contributions by others to the thesis. xii Statement of parts of the thesis submitted to qualify for the award of another degree . xiii Acknowledgements. xiv
The need for equality in education: An intersectionality examination of labeling and zero tolerance practices

The authors observe that students in school who exhibit challenging behaviours are given labels such as “severe behaviour,᾿ “troubled,᾿ or “violent᾿ and that these negative labels have repercussions on students. School administrators also employ zero tolerance policies without addressing the root causes of negative behaviour. Using students’ self-reports the authors note the negative effects of labeling and zero tolerance practices on children and schools, and discuss the implications for society as a whole. They conclude with recommendations for changes in policies and practices that more carefully consider the systemic sources of the behaviour, and that align more closely with fundamental educational goals and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. LE BESOIN D’EGALITE EN EDUCATION : UN EXAMEN INTERSECTIONEL DES PRATIQUES D’ETIQUETAGES ET DE ZERO TOLERANCE RESUME. Pour controler les etudiants qui montrent des comportements violents a l’ecole, les educateurs les categorisent et les etiquettes par des termes de comportements severes et utilisent des politiques de tolerance zero. En utilisant des autoportraits d’etudiants, des jurisprudences, des resultats d’etudes a grandes echelles, et en prenant en consideration une ecole exemplaire, nous notons les aspects negatifs de la politique de zero tolerance, de l’etiquetage des eleves et nous discutons les implications de la societe dans son ensemble. Nous concluons avec des recommandations, pour des changements dans les politiques et les pratiques, qui considerent plus prudemment les sources systematiques du comportement, et qui se rapprochent plus etroitement des buts fondamentaux de l’education et la Charte canadienne des droits et libertes.
Cs880: Approximations Algorithms 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Motivation

In the previous lecture, we saw how to approximate Sparsest Cut given a low distortion embedding from arbitrary metrics into l1. In the first part of this lecture, we present such an embedding with O(log n) distortion [1], and hence a O(log n)-approximation for Sparsest Cut [2]. In the second part of this lecture, we introduce a generalization of linear programming known as semi-definite programming (SDP), and give an SDP relaxation for the Max-Cut problem [3].