Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A VOLTAGE‐DEPENDENT CHLORIDE CONDUCTANCE CHANNEL FROM TORPEDO ELECTROPLAX MEMBRANE *

During the past few years, we have been studying the possibility of incorporating ion-conductance channels from animal cell membranes into artificial bilayers, as a first step towards characterizing these channels in a biochemically defined system. The strategy for this work is to bring about the fusion of native membrane vesicles with a planar phospholipid bilayer, a system upon which electrical conductance may be measured at a controllable applied voltage. Using this approach, we have documented the existence of a voltage-gated K+-selective channel from rabbit sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) . 1-4 In attempting to extend the technique to other and better-understood membrane systems, we recently showed that “microsac” vesicles of the electric organ of Torpedo californica, an electric ray whose electroplax membrane carries a high concentration of acetylcholine receptor, can be made to induce a large increase in conductance of planar b i l aye r~ . ~ Quite surprisingly, this microsac-induced conductance had no properties to be expected of the acetylcholine-gated channel, but rather displayed anion selectivity and voltage-dependence, along with clear single-channel fluctuation behavior. In this paper, we extend the initial results presented on this channel. The major new finding here is that the channel is exquisitely selective to chloride ion and is actually blocked by certain other anions. In addition, we demonstrate the asymmetric inhibition of the channel by those anion-transport workhorses, SITS and DIDS. While we can only speculate upon the physiological role of the system, we consider that the results demonstrate that the C1channel is present in the electroplax of Torpedo and that it must be taken into account in any model of the operation of this cell.
Effect of etanercept and anakinra on inflammatory attacks in the hyper-IgD syndrome: introducing a vaccination provocation model.

BACKGROUND Hyper-IgD and periodic fever syndrome (HIDS) is an hereditary autoinflammatory syndrome, characterised by recurrent inflammatory attacks. Treatment of HIDS is difficult, although simvastatin is beneficial and etanercept might be effective. Studying the treatment of a rare periodic syndrome is complicated by the varying frequency and severity of symptoms and low prevalence. Our aim was to develop a system of clinical observations to evaluate effectiveness of treatment-on-demand. METHODS Seven fever episodes in three HIDS patients were monitored, with and without administration of etanercept or anakinra. We developed a clinical score, which includes 12 symptoms. In one patient, inflammatory attacks were provoked by vaccination. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS At the onset of an attack, all patients reported a clinical score between 20 and 25. The score was used to quantify severity and define the end of an attack. Reproducible monitoring of inflammatory episodes was difficult, even in this pilot study. The effect of early administration of etanercept was variable. In one patient, a fever episode could be readily provoked within 12 to 24 hours by vaccination. In this patient, the IL-1ra analogue anakinra was more successful in aborting the inflammatory attack than etanercept. We propose that this vaccination model will allow evaluation of treatment-on-demand in a controlled setting.
The Prevalence of Obesity and Overweight and Its Relevance to Transportation Among Primary School Students: Yazd, Iran; 2015

Background: The prevalence of overweight and obesity in all age groups, especially in childhood, has become alarming. Identification, intervention, and prevention are important factors affecting it. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the association the body mass index (BMI) in children and transportation to school in greater areas of Yazd during 2014 2015. Methods: This is an analytical cross-sectional study. It was conducted on 2000 primary school students between six to 13 years old who lived in the greater areas of Yazd. Data were collected using a validated questionnaire. Anthropometrics were collected using standardized instruments. Results: In this study, 2000 students were enrolled and 1700 students’ information aged between six to 13 years were recruited completely. About 42% of the participants were male. The mean ± SD age of students was 9.55 (± 1.9) years old. The frequency of normal weight was 56%, overweight was 10.9%, and obesity was 20.6. Students who actively commuted to school had a lower BMI (P = 0.035). Conclusions: The results of this study showed that the way students can travel could affect their BMI. The use of vehicle was higher in obese and overweight students.
Approximation of the central chi-squared distribution for on-line computation of the threshold for energy detector

Despite the simplicity of the energy detector, its use in cognitive radio systems is limited by the need of a priori information about the noise level. In the absence of such information, it is necessary to estimate the variance of the noise in one way or another and recalculate the threshold of detection on false alarm. If the noise is additive white Gaussian (AWGN) with zero mean, then the threshold is compared to a test statistic that has a central chi-squared distribution. However, calculation of a threshold of detection in the operational (on-line) mode is difficult. In this paper, various approximations of the central chi-squared distribution are investigated. These approximations will allow simplifying the operational calculation of the detection threshold.
Long-term effects of a long-acting beta 2-adrenoceptor agonist, salmeterol, on airway hyperresponsiveness in patients with mild asthma.

BACKGROUND Asthma is characterized by hyperresponsiveness of the airways to bronchoconstrictive stimuli. Long-acting beta 2-adrenoceptor agonists have been introduced as a new therapeutic approach, but there is growing concern about whether control of asthma may deteriorate with the regular use of these agents. We investigated the long-term effects of the beta 2 agonist salmeterol on bronchodilation and on airway hyperresponsiveness to the bronchoconstrictive agent methacholine in mild asthma. METHODS In a parallel, double-blind study, 24 patients with mild asthma were randomly assigned to treatment with either inhaled salmeterol (50 micrograms, twice daily) (n = 12) or placebo (n = 12) during an eight-week trial. Methacholine challenge was performed before, during, and after the treatment period. Methacholine responsiveness was measured as the provocative concentration (PC20) that caused a 20 percent decrease in the forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1). RESULTS There was a significant increase in FEV1 one hour after the inhalation of salmeterol (P = 0.006), which did not differ significantly on days 0, 28, and 56 of the treatment period (increase, 9.8, 9.4, and 8.8 percent of predicted FEV1, respectively; P = 0.91). On the first treatment day, salmeterol afforded significant protection against methacholine-induced bronchoconstriction, as shown by a 10-fold increase in the PC20 as compared with the value at entry (P less than 0.001). After four and eight weeks of treatment, however, the salmeterol-induced change in the PC20 was significantly attenuated (P less than 0.001) to only a twofold increase. Two and four days after treatment ended, the PC20 was not significantly different from the value before treatment (P = 0.15). CONCLUSIONS Regular treatment of patients with mild asthma with salmeterol leads to tolerance to its protective effects against a bronchoconstrictor stimulus, in this case inhaled methacholine, despite well-maintained bronchodilation. This finding raises concern about the effectiveness of prolonged therapy with long-acting beta 2-adrenoceptor agonists in asthma.
Determination of Residues Responsible for Substrate and Product Speci fi city of Solanum habrochaites

Isoprenoids are diverse compounds that have their biosynthetic origin in the initial condensation of isopentenyl diphosphate and dimethylallyl diphosphate to form C10 prenyl diphosphates that can be elongated by the addition of subsequent isopentenyl diphosphate units. These reactions are catalyzed by either cis-prenyltransferases (CPTs) or trans-prenyltransferases. The synthesis of volatile terpenes in plants typically proceeds through either geranyl diphosphate (C10) or trans-farnesyl diphosphate (C15), to yield monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes, respectively. However, terpene biosynthesis in glandular trichomes of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) and related wild relatives also occurs via the cis-substrates neryl diphosphate (NPP) and 2Z,6Z-farnesyl diphosphate (Z,Z-FPP). NPP and Z,Z-FPP are synthesized by neryl diphosphate synthase1 (NDPS1) and Z,Z-farnesyl diphosphate synthase (zFPS), which are encoded by the orthologous CPT1 locus in tomato and Solanum habrochaites, respectively. In this study, comparative sequence analysis of NDPS1 and zFPS enzymes from S. habrochaites accessions that synthesize either monoterpenes or sesquiterpenes was performed to identify amino acid residues that correlate with the ability to synthesize NPP or Z,Z-FPP. Subsequent structural modeling, coupled with site-directed mutagenesis, highlighted the importance of four amino acids located within conserved domain II of CPT enzymes that form part of the second a-helix, for determining substrate and product specificity of these enzymes. In particular, the relative positioning of aromatic amino acid residues at positions 100 and 107 determines the ability of these enzymes to synthesize NPP or Z,Z-FPP. This study provides insight into the biochemical evolution of terpene biosynthesis in the glandular trichomes of Solanum species.
Mutual fund efficiency and tradeoffs in the production of risk and return

Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to estimate the performance of 188 mutual funds relative to the risk/return frontier accounting for the transaction costs of producing a portfolio of investments. Design/methodology/approach - – The directional output distance function is used to estimate mutual fund performance. The method allows the data to define a frontier of return and risk accounting for the transaction costs associated with securities management and production of risky returns. Proxies for the transaction costs of producing a portfolio of securities include the turnover ratio, load, expense ratio, and net asset value. The estimates of mutual fund performance are bootstrapped to account for the unknown data generating process. By comparing each mutual fund’s performance relative to the capital market line the authors determine how the fund should adjust their portfolio in regard to risk and return in order to maximize the inefficiency adjusted Sharpe ratio. Findings - – The bootstrapped estimates indicate that the average mutual fund could simultaneously expand return and contract risk by 3.2 percent if it were to operate on the efficient frontier. After projecting each mutual fund’s return and risk to the efficient frontier the authors find that a majority of the mutual funds should reduce risk to be consistent with the capital market line. Originality/value - – Many researchers have used data envelopment analysis to estimate a piecewise linear frontier of risk and return to measure mutual fund performance. To the authors’ knowledge the research is the first to use a twice-differentiable quadratic directional distance function to measure the managerial performance and risk/return tradeoff of mutual funds.
A multicenter prospective study of immunochemical fecal occult blood testing for colorectal cancer detection.

BACKGROUND Colorectal cancer (CRC) screening by guaiac fecal occult blood test (gFOBT) can reduce the mortality of CRC. The new immunochemical fecal occult blood test (iFOBT) has possibly improved sensitivity and specificity without any dietary restriction. OBJECTIVE The present study aimed to evaluate the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values of iFOBT for CRC detection compared to the colonoscopic and pathologic findings in known CRC cases. MATERIAL AND METHOD A multicenter prospective study was conducted in three university hospitals in Bangkok, Thailand, between May and August 2006. Stool samples from 100 histologically-proven CRC patients and 64 control cases with normal colonoscopic findings were collected for iFOBT (OC-Light, Nagase, Singapore) without dietary restriction. RESULTS The results showed the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values of iFOBT for CRC detection to be 91.0% (95% CI: 83.8-95.2), 93.8% (95% CI: 85.0-97.5), 95.8% (95% CI: 89.7-98.4) and 87.0% (95% CI: 77.0-93.0) respectively. The sensitivity for CRC according to Dukes'stage was 71.4% (Dukes' A), 88.0% (Dukes' B), and 96.7% (Dukes' C or D). The sensitivity was 84.2% for proximal colon and 92.6% for distal colon and rectum. CONCLUSION The iFOBT revealed high sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values for CRC detection without dietary restriction. It should be considered as a noninvasive tool for CRC detection.
Tourism destinations’ vulnerability to climate change: Nature-based tourism in Vava’u, the Kingdom of Tonga

Tourism plays an important role in economic and human development in the Pacific. These benefits are at risk from the impacts of climate change, threatening the sustainability of the Pacific tourism sector. We assess the vulnerability and resilience of nature-based tourism in Vava’u, Tonga, using the Destination Sustainability Framework of Calgaro (2014) modified for a climate change focus. Our empirical assessment indicates that the following factors increase vulnerability levels in Vava’u: strong seasonality, dependency on air access, remoteness, limited connectivity of Vava’u from national decision makers and limited human and financial resources. Resilience levels in Vava’u are heightened by a high awareness of climate change, the resilient nature of Tongans and strong family and social networks. In conclusion, we recommend a set of adaptation strategies to further improve resilience levels, namely improving climate change education, increasing product and market diversification, strengthening institutional capacities and mainstreaming adaptation in national policies.
Calculation of robust and optimal fractional PID controllers for time delay systems with gain margin and phase margin specifications

This paper proposes a novel method to graphically compute all feasible gain and phase margin specifications-oriented robust and optimal fractional PID controllers to stabilize time delay processes (TD) of any order. The gain-phase margin tester method is utilized to guarantee the concerned systems certain robust safety margins and test the constant gain margin boundary, constant phase margin boundary, and stability boundary in the parameter plane. The overlapping region of these plotted boundaries, which represents all feasible robust stabilizing PID controllers and allows the considered TD processes to retain pre-specified safety margins, is graphically determined as the gain and phase margin specifications-oriented region (GPMSOR). The variations of the GPMSOR and the stability region with respect to the variations of the noninteger orders of the integral and derivative terms have been investigated. According this, it is possible to slightly enlarge the GPMSOR by altering the noninterger order of the integral and derivative terms. This modifications in GPMSOR through altering the noninteger orders of the integral and derivative terms allows us to find the robust and optimal PID controller gain set for the considered TD systems. In other words, the selected fractional order PID controllers from the GPMSOR not only retain the prescribed GM and PM specifications but minimize the integral of the absolute error (IAE) or the integral of the squared error (ISE) performance criterion. Finally, an illustrative example cited from the literature with computer simulations is provided to demonstrate the effectiveness and confirm the validity of the proposed methodology.
Neuroendocrine and substrate responses to altered brain 5-HT activity during prolonged exercise to fatigue.

Pharmacological manipulation of brain serotonergic [5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT)] activity affects run time to exhaustion in the rat. These effects may be mediated by neurochemical, hormonal, or substrate mechanisms. Groups of rats were decapitated during rest, after 1 h of treadmill running (20 m/min, 5% grade), and at exhaustion. Immediately before exercise rats were injected intraperitoneally with 1 mg/kg of quipazine dimaleate (QD; a 5-HT agonist), 1.5 mg/kg of LY 53857 (LY; a 5-HT antagonist), or the vehicle (V; 0.9% saline). LY increased and QD decreased time to exhaustion (approximately 28 and 32%, respectively; P < 0.05). At fatigue, QD animals had greater plasma glucose, liver glycogen, and muscle glycogen concentrations but lower plasma free fatty acid concentration than did V and LY animals (P < 0.05). In general, plasma corticosterone and catecholamine levels during exercise in QD and LY rats were similar to those in V rats. Brain 5-HT and 5-hydroxyindole-3-acetic acid concentrations were higher at 1 h of exercise than at rest (P < 0.05), and the latter increased even further at fatigue in the midbrain and striatum (P < 0.05). Brain dopamine (DA) and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) were higher at 1 h of exercise (P < 0.05) but were similar to resting levels at fatigue. QD appeared to block the increase in DA and DOPAC at 1 h of exercise, and LY prevented the decrease in DA and DOPAC at fatigue (P < 0.05). (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Lordosis Restoration After Smith-Petersen Osteotomies and Interbody Strut Placement: A Radiographic Study in Cadavers

Study Design. Six human lumbar cadaveric specimens evaluated after sequential steps in restoration of lumbar lordosis. Objective. To determine the effect of Smith-Petersen osteotomies (SPO) with concurrent interbody strut placement on lordosis in the lumbar spine. Summary of Background Data. The importance of restoration of lumbar lordosis is well recognized. SPO have been suggested to yield roughly 10° of lordosis per level, whereas pedicle subtraction osteotomies have been shown to result in over 30° of lordosis restoration. Though the pedicle subtraction osteotomy can achieve greater degrees of lordosis, there is considerable surgical morbidity associated. We hypothesize that SPO with an interbody strut placed within the disc space will result significantly greater lordosis than SPO alone. Methods. Lateral radiographs of 6 human lumbar specimens were obtained after 3 interventions as follows: (1) lumbar spine without osteotomy in maximal extension, (2) after SPO at L2, L3, and L4 and held in maximal extension with pedicle screw fixation, and (3) after SPO at L2, L3, and L4 with interbody cage placement in L2–L3, L3–L4, and L4–L5 held in maximal extension with pedicle screw fixation. Results. The mean lordosis in the intact specimens was 7.03° (standard deviation [SD], 2.21°). The mean lordosis after SPO was 11.05° (SD, 1.05°). The mean lordosis after SPO and interbody strut placement was 15.72° (SD, 3.19°). The difference in lordosis in the osteotomized specimens with and without interbody strut was significantly (P < 0.01). Conclusion. The addition of an interbody strut to a lumbar level after SPO may result in as much as 15° of lumbar lordosis, significantly greater than that of SPO alone.
Children's Gender and Men's Income: Evidence from Iran

In many societies, men work for more hours and acquire higher wages if they have sons versus daughters. Gender bias, higher returns to male children’s human capital, and higher costs of raising male children are hypothesized to explain this behavior; among these, gender bias has received stronger support from empirical studies. Using a four-year panel dataset, we show that a different institutional setting may make men respond to their children’s gender differently. We study men’s income in a dotal society, Iran, where families were expected to provide dowry for their marrying daughters. We show that, in contrast to the findings in developed countries, Iranian men earn more income when they have daughters versus sons, and we argue that the institution of marriage is the major reason for this unconventional result.
Transcriptional regulation of the human telomerase reverse transcriptase

hTERT and NFAT were thought until recently to belong to separate metabolic compartments. The involvement of NFAT in the induction of hTERT transcription suggested by hTERT expression variations during lymphocyte stimulation and immunosuppressive treatments explains the link between hTERT expression and cell stimulation and offers new insights for therapeutic developments.
Cbfb Regulates Bone Development by Stabilizing Runx Family Proteins

Runx family proteins, Runx1, Runx2, and Runx3, play important roles in skeletal development. Runx2 is required for osteoblast differentiation and chondrocyte maturation, and haplodeficiency of RUNX2 causes cleidocranial dysplasia, which is characterized by open fontanelles and sutures and hypoplastic clavicles. Cbfb forms a heterodimer with Runx family proteins and enhances their DNA‐binding capacity. Cbfb‐deficient (Cbfb−/−) mice die at midgestation because of the lack of fetal liver hematopoiesis. We previously reported that the partial rescue of hematopoiesis in Cbfb−/− mice revealed the requirement of Cbfb in skeletal development. However, the precise functions of Cbfb in skeletal development still remain to be clarified. We deleted Cbfb in mesenchymal cells giving rise to both chondrocyte and osteoblast lineages by mating Cbfbfl/fl mice with Dermo1 Cre knock‐in mice. Cbfbfl/fl/Cre mice showed dwarfism, both intramembranous and endochondral ossifications were retarded, and chondrocyte maturation and proliferation and osteoblast differentiation were inhibited. The differentiation of chondrocytes and osteoblasts were severely inhibited in vitro, and the reporter activities of Ihh, Col10a1, and Bglap2 promoter constructs were reduced in Cbfbfl/fl/Cre chondrocytes or osteoblasts. The proteins of Runx1, Runx2, and Runx3 were reduced in the cartilaginous limb skeletons and calvariae of Cbfbfl/fl/Cre embryos compared with the respective protein in the respective tissue of Cbfbfl/fl embryos at E15.5, although the reduction of Runx2 protein in calvariae was much milder than that in cartilaginous limb skeletons. All of the Runx family proteins were severely reduced in Cbfbfl/fl/Cre primary osteoblasts, and Runx2 protein was less stable in Cbfbfl/fl/Cre osteoblasts than Cbfbfl/fl osteoblasts. These findings indicate that Cbfb is required for skeletal development by regulating chondrocyte differentiation and proliferation and osteoblast differentiation; that Cbfb plays an important role in the stabilization of Runx family proteins; and that Runx2 protein stability is less dependent on Cbfb in calvariae than in cartilaginous limb skeletons. © 2014 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.
Modeling and simulation of wide area monitoring and control systems in IP-based networks

Phasor based Wide Area Monitoring and Control Systems (WAMC) is becoming a reality with increased international research and development. Many aspects of these systems are being addressed and researched. These systems depend largely on high performance communication architecture. This paper addresses the analysis of PMU systems and communication architectures by utilizing simulation tools to implement and analyze models. Specifically, focusing on the transmission of Phasor samples to the Phasor Data Concentrator (PDC) and control signals from the WAMC systems back to substations devices. This done by implementing shared and dedicated communication network scenarios to analyze delays. This is the first step to analyzing the performance and scalability of the IT infrastructure to support PMU-based Systems.