Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Ventral Photoreceptor Cells of Limulus II . The basic photoresponse

The ventral photoreceptors of Limulus polyph,mus are unipolar cells with large, ellipsoidal somas located long both "lateral olfactory nerves. " As a consequence of their size and location, the cells are easily impaled with microelectrodes. The cells have an average resting potential of --48 my. The resting potential is a function of the external concentration of K. When the cell is illuminated, it gives rise to the typical "receptor potential" seen in most invertebrate photoreceptors which consists of a transient phase followed by a maintained phase of depolarization. The amplitude of the transient phase depends on both the state of adaptation of the cell and the intensity of the illumination, while the amplitude of the maintained phase depends only on the intensity of the illumination. The over-all size of the receptor potential depends on the external concentration of Na, e.g. in sodium-free seawater the receptor potential is markedly reduced, but not abolished. On the other hand lowering the Ca concentration produces a marked enhancement of both components of the response, but predominantly of the steady-state component. Slow potential fluctuations are seen in the dark-adapted cell when it is illuminated with a low intensity light. A spike-like regenerative process can be evoked by either the receptor potential or a current applied via a microelectrode. No evidence of impulse activity has been found in the axons of these cells. The ventral photoreceptor cell has many properties in common with a variety of retinular cells and therefore should serve as a convenient model of the primary receptor cell in many invertebrate eyes. I N T R O D U C T I O N T h e ionic basis for recep tor potent ials in pho torecep tors has been investiga ted in on ly a few prepara t ions , namely , the cells in the o m m a t i d i a of the horseshoe c rab (Kikuchi , Nai to , and T a n a k a , 1962), the re t inu la r cells of the crayfish (Eguchi , 1965), and the re t inu la r cells of the honeybee d rone (Fulpius and Baumann , 1969). These p repara t ions all have the d isadvantages of being qui te small and e m b e d d e d in a meshwork of p igment -con ta in ing cells and glial cells. In the studies ci ted above it was shown that sodium is ira-
Widespread Cotranslational Formation of Protein Complexes

Most cellular processes are conducted by multi-protein complexes. However, little is known about how these complexes are assembled. In particular, it is not known if they are formed while one or more members of the complexes are being translated (cotranslational assembly). We took a genomic approach to address this question, by systematically identifying mRNAs associated with specific proteins. In a sample of 31 proteins from Schizosaccharomyces pombe that did not contain RNA–binding domains, we found that ∼38% copurify with mRNAs that encode interacting proteins. For example, the cyclin-dependent kinase Cdc2p associates with the rum1 and cdc18 mRNAs, which encode, respectively, an inhibitor of Cdc2p kinase activity and an essential regulator of DNA replication. Both proteins interact with Cdc2p and are key cell cycle regulators. We obtained analogous results with proteins with different structures and cellular functions (kinesins, protein kinases, transcription factors, proteasome components, etc.). We showed that copurification of a bait protein and of specific mRNAs was dependent on the presence of the proteins encoded by the interacting mRNAs and on polysomal integrity. These results indicate that these observed associations reflect the cotranslational interaction between the bait and the nascent proteins encoded by the interacting mRNAs. Therefore, we show that the cotranslational formation of protein–protein interactions is a widespread phenomenon.
School Reform and the No-Man's-Land of High School Size.

The paper explores the ways in which research and practice have shaped how we think about the proper size of the high school. Since 1970, essentially all research tends to favor the creation of small high schools. Four forces seem to have come into play much more strongly, often in concert with each other, since our conception of the high school was established; the information age, the emergence of an adolescent culture, the studentsi rights movement, and our changing views of the proper functioning of organizations all threaten to render the large, comprehensive high school obsolete. Two reform responses to these conditions have emerged: break existing big high schools up into small schools within schools (SWASs) and create new, small high schools. The two alternatives represent very different models of schooling with very different cultures. Successful examples of the SWAS approach are rare, perhaps non-existent. Five types of error are often committed in designing them: errors of size, of continuity, of autonomy, of time, and of control. Creating new, small high schools is an effective approach but their effectiveness begins to diminish when they get much larger than 200 students. SWASs also seem to hit a size barrier when they try to get much smaller than 400 students. This no-manis-land of high school size is discussed and its implications for reform efforts are considered. The analysis attempts to explain why so little of our widespread effort to reform the high school has been successful and it suggests remedies, uncomfortable as they may be, that hold the promise of rectifying the situation.
Mendel’s law reveals fatal flaws in Bateman’s 1948 study of mating and fitness

Bateman’s experimental study of Drosophila melanogaster produced conclusions that are now part of the bedrock premises of modern sexual selection. Today it is the most cited experimental study in sexual selection, and famous as the first experimental demonstration of sex differences in the relationship between number of mates and relative reproductive success. We repeated the experimental methodology of the original to evaluate its reliability. The results indicate that Bateman’s methodology of visible mutations to assign parentage and reproductive success to subject adults is significantly biased. When combined in offspring, the mutations decrease offspring survival, so that counts of mate number and reproductive success are mismeasured. Bateman’s method overestimates the number of subjects with no mates and underestimates the number with one or more mates for both sexes. Here we discuss why Bateman’s paper is important and present additional analyses of data from our monogamy trials. Monogamy trials can inform inferences about the force of sexual selection in populations because in monogamy trials male–male competition and female choice are absent. Monogamy trials also would have provided Bateman with an a priori test of the fit of his data to Mendel’s laws, an unstated, but vital assumption of his methodology for assigning parentage from which he inferred the number of mates per individual subject and their reproductive success. Even under enforced monogamous mating, offspring frequencies of double mutant, single mutant and no mutant offspring were significantly different from Mendelian expectations proving that Bateman’s method was inappropriate for answering the questions he posed. Double mutant offspring (those with a mutation from each parent) suffered significant inviability as did single mutant offspring whenever they inherited their mother’s marker but the wild-type allele at their father’s marker locus. These inviability effects produced two important inaccuracies in Bateman’s results and conclusions. (1) Some matings that actually occurred were invisible and (2) reproductive success of some mothers was under-estimated. Both observations show that Bateman’s conclusions about sex differences in number of mates and reproductive success were unwarranted, based on biased observations. We speculate about why Bateman’s classic study remained without replication for so long, and we discuss why repetition almost 60 years after the original is still timely, necessary and critical to the scientific enterprise. We highlight overlooked alternative hypotheses to urge that modern tests of Bateman’s conclusions go beyond confirmatory studies to test alternative hypotheses to explain the relationship between mate number and reproductive success.
Aero-gravity Assisted Manoeuvers within Preliminary Interplanetary Mission Design: a Multi-objective Evolutive Algorithm Approach

The paper presents a new approach to deal with the preliminary space mission analysis design of particularly complex trajectories focused on interplanetary targets. According to an optimisation approach, a multi-objective strategy is selected on a mixed continuous and discrete state variables domain in order to deal with possible multi-gravity assist manoeuvres (GAM) as further degrees of freedom of the problem, in terms of both number and planets sequence selection to minimize both the ∆v expense and the time trip time span. A further added value to the proposed algorithm stays in that, according to planets having an atmosphere, aero-gravity assist manoeuvres (AGAM) are considered too within the overall mission design optimisation, and the consequent optimal control problem related to the aerodynamic angles history, is solved. According to the target planet different capture strategies are managed by the algorithm, the aerocapture manoeuvre too, whenever possible (e.g. Venus, Mars target planets). In order not to be trapped in local solution the Evolutionary Algorithms (EAs) have been selected to solve such a complex problem. Simulations and comparison with already designed space missions showed the ability of the proposed architecture in correctly selecting both the sequences and the planets type of either GAMs or AGAMs to optimise the selected criteria vector, in a multidisciplinary environment, switching on the optimal control problem whenever the atmospheric interaction is involved in the optimisation by the search process. Symbols δ = semi-angular deviation for GAM between the v∞, v∞ in\outcoming vectors [rad] φ = Angular deviation for AGAM between the v∞, v∞ in\outcoming vectors [rad] ρ = Atmospheric density [kgm] γ = Flight path angle [rad] μ = Bank angle [rad] δ∆ttransf j = j-th heliocentric transfer time variation with respect to the linked conics solution ∆|v∞| = Relative velocity losses because of drag [ms] ωI = i-th planetary passage orbital plane inclination according to the reference [rad] A = Surface [m] kplanet = Planetary constant [ms] N = No. of flybys apart from the departure and target planets Q = Heat load [J/m] r = Object position vector according to the primary attractor rinterf = Planetary atmosphere limit [m] S = (1xN) Planet sequence vector v∞= = Incoming s\c velocity vector relative to the planet[ms] V= Velocity vector modulus vc = Relative velocity vector on circular orbit at |r| equal to the atmospheric path [ms] X = Distance from the stagnation point [m]
Airway bacteria measured by quantitative polymerase chain reaction and culture in patients with stable COPD: relationship with neutrophilic airway inflammation, exacerbation frequency, and lung function

Background Potentially pathogenic microorganisms can be detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) in sputum from patients with COPD, although how this technique relates to culture and clinical measures of disease is unclear. We used cross-sectional and longitudinal data to test the hypotheses that qPCR is a more sensitive measure of bacterial presence and is associated with neutrophilic airway inflammation and adverse clinical outcomes. Methods Sputum was collected from 174 stable COPD subjects longitudinally over 12 months. Microbial sampling using culture and qPCR was performed. Spirometry and sputum measures of airway inflammation were assessed. Findings Sputum was qPCR-positive (>106 copies/mL) in 77/152 samples (Haemophilus influenzae [n=52], Moraxella catarrhalis [n=24], Streptococcus pneumoniae [n=19], and Staphylococcus aureus [n=7]). Sputum was culture-positive in 50/174 samples, with 49 out of 50 culture-positive samples having pathogen-specific qPCR bacterial loads >106 copies/mL. Samples that had qPCR copy numbers >106/mL, whether culture-positive or not, had increased sputum neutrophil counts. H. influenzae qPCR copy numbers correlated with sputum neutrophil counts (r=0.37, P<0.001), were repeatable within subjects, and were >106/mL three or more times in 19 patients, eight of whom were repeatedly sputum culture-positive. Persistence, whether defined by culture, qPCR, or both, was associated with a higher sputum neutrophil count, lower forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), and worsened quality of life. Interpretation qPCR identifies a significant number of patients with potentially bacteria-associated neutrophilic airway inflammation and disease that are not identified by traditional culture-based methods.
A New Property of Transient Currents of Induction Motors

This work presents, demonstrates and analyzes a property that relates the transient response of stator and rotor currents to the speed of induction motors and their parameters. The straightforward application of this property allows determining the rotation speed of the motor and detecting a failure or variation of its parameters. This property is demonstrated analyzing the induction motor modeled by two parts: one linear and another non-linear. Based on the operating principles of induction machines and the theory of differential equations, a hypothesis is stated on the behavior of currents in the transient state. Then, by symbolically computing the eigenvalues, the hypothesis is verified so that it validates the stated property. KeywordsElectric motors model, Induction motors, Speed estimation.
Bureau of Justice Statistics National Crime Victimization Survey

In 1994, compared to 1973, the U.S. population was about as vulnerable to violent crime but significantly less vulnerable to property crime. From 1973 through 1994, the rates of violent crime victimization had intervals of stability, increase, and decrease, while the rates of property crime underwent a virtually uninterrupted decrease. The 1994-95 decline in the violent crime rate was the largest single-year decrease ever measured in the total violent category.
Fine particle mass from the Diskus inhaler and Turbuhaler inhaler in children with asthma.

The study aimed to investigate dose consistency and particle distribution from the dry powder inhalers Diskus and Turbuhaler. Full profiles of inhalation pressure versus time were recorded in 18 4 yr old and 18 8 yr old asthmatic children through Diskus and Turbuhaler inhalers. These data were used in an inhalation profile simulator to assess drug delivery from both a Diskus inhaler and a Turbuhaler inhaler, and in particular to assess the proportion of drug emitted in the coarse (>4.7 microm) and fine (<4.7 microm) particle size range from each type of inhaler. The inhalation profile more accurately represents the changes in flow rate over time through the device than the constant flow rate usually applied with an impactor alone. The aerosol cloud was released before the peak inspiratory effort had been achieved and accordingly the early part and not the peak of the inspiratory performance is a determinant of the quality of the aerosol. The mean (SD) amount of drug in large particles (>4.7 microm), fine particles (<4.7 microm) and very fine particles (<2.1 microm) in percentage of label claim from the Fluticasone Diskus was 72 (5), 15 (2) and 2 (1) from the 4 yr old children and 71 (3), 18 (2) and 2 (1) from the 8 yr old children, respectively. Similar particle fractions from the Budesonide Turbuhaler were 35 (9), 21 (10) and 7 (5) from 4 yr old children and 30 (7), 32 (9) and 12 (6) from 8 yr old children. In conclusion, the Diskus inhaler provides an improved dose consistency through the varying age groups and inspiratory flow performances when compared to the Turbuhaler in terms of the proportion of the dose emitted at each particle size. This improvement is at the expense of a low fine particle mass and a high proportion of coarse particles from the Diskus as compared with the Turbuhaler.
Aversive Racism and Selection Decisions: 1989 and 1999

The present study investigated differences over a 10-year period in whites' self-reported racial prejudice and their bias in selection decisions involving black and white candidates for employment. We examined the hypothesis, derived from the aversive-racism framework, that although overt expressions of prejudice may decline significantly across time, subtle manifestations of bias may persist. Consistent with this hypothesis, self-reported prejudice was lower in 1998–1999 than it was in 1988–1989, and at both time periods, white participants did not discriminate against black relative to white candidates when the candidates' qualifications were clearly strong or weak, but they did discriminate when the appropriate decision was more ambiguous. Theoretical and practical implications are considered.
Novel battery charging and discharging control system for solar panel using One-by-one controllers and maximum power point tracker

This paper presents new methodology of charging and discharging batteries in photovoltaic system. The proposed method introduces One-by-one battery charging and discharging controllers with a maximum power point tracker for a solar panel. This approach allows the batteries to be charged and discharged with their own proper condition and this will be extended battery lifetime. Beside this, the using of maximum power point tracker (MPPT), guarantees fully utilizing of energy from a solar panel. The experimental system verifies the validity of the approach.
An empirical investigation of the epistemological assumptions underlying two ISD approaches

A situated information systems design (ISD) methodology for supporting routine work is being iteratively developed and refined. Driven from a different theory of action from conventional ISD methodologies we have reason to believe that the new methodology assumes a different epistemological stance. As pointed out by Hirschheim (1995) there has been very little examination of epistemological assumptions implicit in ISD methodologies. Consequently, in this paper we address the differences in epistemological assumptions of the conventional ISD approaches (such as Structured System and Analysis Design Methodologies) and the situated ISD approach by constructing a simulated field situation to allow a conventionally-trained IS analyst to analyse the same case as had been previously analysed by applying the situated ISD methodology. We find that while the conventional approach focuses on articulated knowledge and observes the system under study with a detached stance, the situated approach includes tacit knowledge and recognises the importance of the environment. This is achieved through immersion in the system such that the situated analyst attempts to take the subject position of an actor in the system, while also maintaining some analytical distance.
A Combined Adaptive Neural Network and Nonlinear Model Predictive Control for Multirate Networked Industrial Process Control

This paper investigates the multirate networked industrial process control problem in double-layer architecture. First, the output tracking problem for sampled-data nonlinear plant at device layer with sampling period Td is investigated using adaptive neural network (NN) control, and it is shown that the outputs of subsystems at device layer can track the decomposed setpoints. Then, the outputs and inputs of the device layer subsystems are sampled with sampling period Tu at operation layer to form the index prediction, which is used to predict the overall performance index at lower frequency. Radial basis function NN is utilized as the prediction function due to its approximation ability. Then, considering the dynamics of the overall closed-loop system, nonlinear model predictive control method is proposed to guarantee the system stability and compensate the network-induced delays and packet dropouts. Finally, a continuous stirred tank reactor system is given in the simulation part to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Haptics-Enhanced Virtual Environments for Stroke Rehabilitation

The purpose of the project is to develop virtual therapeutic environments that include different levels of haptic sensory feedback for post-stroke rehabilitation. Various applications have been created within virtual environments using the PHANToM and CyberGrasp (haptic devices), ranging from everyday functional tasks to game-like activities designed to motivate patients and to maximize therapeutic movement with cortical reorganization goals in mind. Current system development as well as future plans for clinical tests in Phase 2 are discussed.
Cannabinoid Receptor 1 Gene Polymorphisms and Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and in Healthy Controls

Context. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is frequently associated with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The endocannabinoid system may play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of NAFLD. Polymorphism of the cannabinoid receptor 1 gene (CNR1) may be responsible for individual susceptibility to obesity and related conditions. Objective. To determine the role of genetic variants of CNR1 in the etiopathology of NAFLD in women with PCOS. Design and Setting. Our department (a tertiary referral center) conducted a cross-sectional, case-controlled study. Subjects. 173 women with PCOS (aged 20–35) and 125 healthy, age- and weight-matched controls were studied. Methods. Hepatic steatosis was assessed by ultrasound evaluation. Single nucleotide polymorphisms of CNR1 (rs806368, rs12720071, rs1049353, rs806381, rs10485170, rs6454674) were genotyped. Results. Frequency of the G allele of rs806381 (P < 0.025) and the GG genotype of rs10485170 (P < 0.03) was significantly higher in women with PCOS and NAFLD than in PCOS women without NAFLD. Frequency of the TT genotype of rs6454674 was higher in PCOS women with NAFLD (not significantly, P = 0.059). In multivariate stepwise regression, allele G of rs806381 was associated with PCOS + NAFLD phenotype. Conclusion. Our preliminary results suggest the potential role of CNR1 polymorphisms in the etiology of NAFLD, especially in PCOS women.