Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Time course study of the effects of chronic nicotine infusion on drug response and brain receptors.

The experiments reported here examined the time course of the development and loss of tolerance to nicotine as well as the time course for the up-regulation and return to basal levels of brain nicotinic receptors. Nicotine was administered by continuous i.v. infusion through cannulae implanted in the right jugular veins of DBA mice. Tolerance to the effects of nicotine on Y-maze activity and rears, body temperature and heart rate was seen accompanying the infusion of 4 mg/kg/hr of nicotine. Maximal tolerance was obtained in 4 days and was paralleled by increases in the number of brain nicotine binding sites. The binding of alpha-bungarotoxin was also increased by chronic nicotine treatment but increases in binding preceded the development of detectable tolerance to the challenge dose of nicotine. Chronic nicotine treatment had no effect on quinuclidinyl benzilate binding. Tolerance to the effects of nicotine was lost at different rates for the various tests in that base-line response was attained for the Y-maze activity and rearings test in 8 days, whereas 12 to 16 days were required to regain control response for the body temperature test. Tolerance for the heart rate test persisted throughout the 20-day withdrawal period. Brain nicotine binding sites had returned to control levels by 8 days after treatment whereas the alpha-bungarotoxin binding sites were at control levels at the earliest time of postinfusion testing (4 days). Brain quinuclidinyl benzilate binding sites were unaffected by nicotine treatment and did not change during the withdrawal period. The changes in nicotine binding in the various brain regions during the onset and offset experiments were virtually identical. These changes in binding correlated highly with the acquisition and loss of tolerance to the effects of nicotine on the Y-maze locomotor activity and body temperature tests. The correlations between changes in nicotine binding and the Y-maze rearings and the heart rate tests were lower but some association is suggested. Although changes in nicotine binding may explain some of the tolerance observed, other explanations for tolerance must be sought as well.
A chaos based integrated jitter booster circuit for true random number generators

In this work, we present a chaos based integrated jitter booster circuit for use in multiple oscillator sampling true random number generator architecture. Multiple ring oscillator based true random number generators need significant number of rings for accumulating the intrinsic jitter of inverters to a useful level. Thus, they occupy large silicon area and consume considerable amount of power. The proposed circuit offers an alternative approach for boosting jitter using the chaotic dynamics generated by non-linear coupling of two ring oscillators that require fewer number of components. The simplicity of the proposed circuit offers high integration potential with inherent low area and power consumption advantages. Chaotic dynamics of the circuit was studied using both numerical and circuit simulations. Measurement results of the test chip implemented at 250nm CMOS technology node confirmed chaotic behavior and jitter boosting capability. To the very best of our knowledge this is the first integrated circuit implementation of a chaotic circuit based on digital gates.
Photoplethysmographic derivation of respiratory rate: a review of relevant physiology

An abnormal respiratory rate is often the earliest sign of critical illness. A reliable estimate of respiratory rate is vital in the application of remote telemonitoring systems, which may facilitate early supported discharge from hospital or prompt recognition of physiological deterioration in high-risk patient groups. Traditional approaches use analysis of respiratory sinus arrhythmia from the electrocardiogram (ECG), but this phenomenon is predominantly limited to the young and healthy. Analysis of the photoplethysmogram (PPG) waveform offers an alternative means of non-invasive respiratory rate monitoring, but further development is required to enable reliable estimates. This review conceptualizes the challenge by discussing the effect of respiration on the PPG waveform and the key physiological mechanisms that underpin the derivation of respiratory rate from the PPG.
The Giant Protein Ebh Is a Determinant of Staphylococcus aureus Cell Size and Complement Resistance

ABSTRACT Staphylococcus aureus USA300, the clonal type associated with epidemic community-acquired methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) infections, displays the giant protein Ebh on its surface. Mutations that disrupt the ebh reading frame increase the volume of staphylococcal cells and alter the cross wall, a membrane-enclosed peptidoglycan synthesis and assembly compartment. S. aureus ebh variants display increased sensitivity to oxacillin (methicillin) as well as susceptibility to complement-mediated killing. Mutations in ebh are associated with reduced survival of mutant staphylococci in blood and diminished virulence in mice. We propose that Ebh, following its secretion into the cross wall, contributes to the characteristic cell growth and envelope assembly pathways of S. aureus, thereby enabling complement resistance and the pathogenesis of staphylococcal infections.
Mapping the Conceptual Terrain of Leadership: A Critical Point of Departure for Cross-Cultural Studies

Research outside of education suggests that there are differences across cultures in terms of how people define leadership. The early stages of research into cross-cultural conceptions of leadership should try to explore the meaning of leadership from the perspective of people within a given culture. [Among other techniques, this research should examine] . the use of different models of leadership in different cultures.
ERM family members as molecular linkers between the cell surface glycoprotein CD44 and actin-based cytoskeletons

The ERM family members, ezrin, radixin, and moesin, localizing just beneath the plasma membranes, are thought to be involved in the actin filament/plasma membrane association. To identify the integral membrane protein directly associated with ERM family members, we performed immunoprecipitation studies using antimoesin mAb and cultured baby hamster kidney (BHK) cells metabolically labeled with [35S]methionine or surface-labeled with biotin. The results indicated that moesin is directly associated with a 140-kD integral membrane protein. Using BHK cells as antigens, we obtained a mAb that recognized the 140-kD membrane protein. We next cloned a cDNA encoding the 140-kD membrane protein and identified it as CD44, a broadly distributed cell surface glycoprotein. Immunoprecipitation with various anti-CD44 mAbs showed that ezrin and radixin, as well as moesin, are associated with CD44, not only in BHK cells, but also in mouse L fibroblasts. Furthermore, immunofluorescence microscopy revealed that in both BHK and L cells, the Triton X-100-insoluble CD44 is precisely colocalized with ERM family members. We concluded that ERM family members work as molecular linkers between the cytoplasmic domain of CD44 and actin-based cytoskeletons.
A Black Hole Farey Tail

We derive an exact expression for the Fourier coefficients of elliptic genera of Calabi-Yau manifolds. When applied to k-fold symmetric products of K3 surfaces the expression is well-suited to studying the AdS/CFT correspondence on AdS3 x S3. The expression also elucidates an SL(2,Z) invariant phase diagram for the D1/D5 system involving deconfining transitions in the limit as k goes to infinity.
Open Access Methodology Article Prediction of Novel Synthetic Pathways for the Production of Desired Chemicals

article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons At-tribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Abstract Background: There have been several methods developed for the prediction of synthetic metabolic pathways leading to the production of desired chemicals. In these approaches, novel pathways were predicted based on chemical structure changes, enzymatic information, and/or reaction mechanisms, but the approaches generating a huge number of predicted results are difficult to be applied to real experiments. Also, some of these methods focus on specific pathways, and thus are limited to expansion to the whole metabolism. Results: In the present study, we propose a system framework employing a retrosynthesis model with a prioritization scoring algorithm. This new strategy allows deducing the novel promising pathways for the synthesis of a desired chemical together with information on enzymes involved based on structural changes and reaction mechanisms present in the system database. The prioritization scoring algorithm employing Tanimoto coefficient and group contribution method allows examination of structurally qualified pathways to recognize which pathway is more appropriate. In addition, new concepts of binding site covalence, estimation of pathway distance and organism specificity were taken into account to identify the best synthetic pathway. Parameters of these factors can be evolutionarily optimized when a newly proven synthetic pathway is registered. As the proofs of concept, the novel synthetic pathways for the production of isobutanol, 3-hydroxypropionate, and butyryl-CoA were predicted. The prediction shows a high reliability, in which experimentally verified synthetic pathways were listed within the top 0.089% of the identified pathway candidates. Conclusions: It is expected that the system framework developed in this study would be useful for the in silico design of novel metabolic pathways to be employed for the efficient production of chemicals, fuels and materials. Background In the past few decades, various systematic methods have been developed for the prediction of synthetic metabolic pathways for the production of chemicals by employing microorganisms [1-15]. These methods can be classified by whether the approach is based on chemical structural changes, enzymatic information, and/or reaction mechanisms. The method based on chemical structural changes is applied to reconstruct the network which represents
NAVIGATION SYSTEM OF AUTONOMOUS MOBILE ROBOT USING OMNIDIRECTIONAL VISION AND FUZZY CONTROLLER

Omnidirecional Vision System are presented as appropriate to the tasks of navigation of independent mobile robots, providing information regarding the work environment of the robot with a 360o panoramic image. This paper presents the implementation of a navigation system, based on Omnidirecional Vision and Fuzzy Controller, using a low cost camera (WebCam) and a mirror constructed in polishing metal (conical mirror), under a LINUX Platform, guaranteeing the portabilidade of the solution in an environment of open code. The considered system was implemented in the Platform of Autonomous Mobile Robot of the Laboratory of Automation and Evolutive Computing LACE, of the Department of Computing and Statistics Sciences UNESP – São José do Rio Preto.
Diffusion Limits of Limited Processor Sharing Queues

We consider a processor sharing queue where the number of jobs served at any time is limited to K, with the excess jobs waiting in a buffer. We use random counting measures on the positive axis to model this system. The limit of this measure-valued process is obtained under diffusion scaling and heavy traffic conditions. As a consequence, the limit of the system size process is proved to be a piece-wise reflected Brownian motion. © Institute of Mathematical Statistics, 2011.
A Performance based Transaction Reduction Algorithm for Discovering Frequent Patterns

Association rules are the main technique to determine the frequent item set in data mining. When a large number of item sets are processed by the database, it needs to be scanned multiple times. Consecutively, multiple scanning of the database increases the number of rules generation, which then consume more system resources. Existing approach TR-BAM scans the unnecessary transaction which takes more time to find frequent item set. This paper presents a modified transaction reduction technique named PBTRA which reduces the scanning times by cutting down the unnecessary transaction row. So, the corresponding item set is extracted directly without moving for entire database. Moreover, it exploits horizontal transaction of the matrix that automatically reduces the entire database scanning. Experimental results validate the performance of the proposed approach and expose that proposed method is more effective and efficient than previously proposed algorithm.
Ribonucleocapsid Formation of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus through Molecular Action of the N-Terminal Domain of N Protein

ABSTRACT Conserved among all coronaviruses are four structural proteins: the matrix (M), small envelope (E), and spike (S) proteins that are embedded in the viral membrane and the nucleocapsid phosphoprotein (N), which exists in a ribonucleoprotein complex in the lumen. The N-terminal domain of coronaviral N proteins (N-NTD) provides a scaffold for RNA binding, while the C-terminal domain (N-CTD) mainly acts as oligomerization modules during assembly. The C terminus of the N protein anchors it to the viral membrane by associating with M protein. We characterized the structures of N-NTD from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) in two crystal forms, at 1.17 Å (monoclinic) and at 1.85 Å (cubic), respectively, resolved by molecular replacement using the homologous avian infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) structure. Flexible loops in the solution structure of SARS-CoV N-NTD are now shown to be well ordered around the β-sheet core. The functionally important positively charged β-hairpin protrudes out of the core, is oriented similarly to that in the IBV N-NTD, and is involved in crystal packing in the monoclinic form. In the cubic form, the monomers form trimeric units that stack in a helical array. Comparison of crystal packing of SARS-CoV and IBV N-NTDs suggests a common mode of RNA recognition, but they probably associate differently in vivo during the formation of the ribonucleoprotein complex. Electrostatic potential distribution on the surface of homology models of related coronaviral N-NTDs suggests that they use different modes of both RNA recognition and oligomeric assembly, perhaps explaining why their nucleocapsids have different morphologies.
A PRAGMATIC PERSPECTIVE ON CONTACT-INDUCED LANGUAGE CHANGE: Dynamics in interlinguistics

Since the 1970's, the study of contact-induced language change has been given new impulses by scholars who feel the need for a theoretical synthesis of the available data. The earlier lack of a systematization of the wide range of types and degrees of linguistic interference revealed in the large number of case studies, had led to several unwarranted generalizations on language changer geoetic affiliation and the impact of contact. In these generalizations, the assumption persisted that language contact is a rather exceptional phenomenon, or that in cases where it does occur it cannot have a really significant influence.2 While being based on too little evidence, this idea also follows from a standard structuralist belief in the stability and imperviousness of specific language systems. Thomason & Kaufman's Language contact, creolization, and genetic linguistics (1988) is without doubt one of the most valuable efforts to meet the mentioned need for an encompassing reconsideration of the data on language contact. In about the same period, but in a different corner of linguistics, a comparable kind of discomfort was felt. Mainly in the wake of the linguistic-philosophical tradition of speech act theory, linguists had turned to the study of language use, moving away from the dominant concentration on language as a structural system. The discipline they established was called 'pragmatics'. But 'pragmaticians' came to realize that pragmatics had developed into an extremely diversified tield of study, with a galaxy of phenomena within its scope. Indeed, pragmatics was expected to host all linguistic issues that could not be handled by tiaditional disciplines such as syntax and semantics. This wide diversity of phenomena to be covered inevitably went along with a high variety of methodological and terminological angles, with incomparability of the findings as
From identity to organisation identity : the evolution of a concept

The view that corporate and/or organisation identity is a contributing factor to organisational success, is increasingly observed in the media. At the same time research interest in the concept appears to be on the increase. While identity is not a novel concept and has presented in different forms, it remains shrouded in ambiguity and is in need of more precise articulation. The present study revisited the origins of the identity concept and reviewed various perspectives on identity. A specific meaning structure and theoretical framework for the organization identity concept is proposed and it is concluded that contemporary views of identity are increasingly embracing earlier psychological perspectives. Opsomming Die siening dat korporatiewe en/of organisasie-identiteit ’n bydraende faktor tot organisasiesukses is, word toenemend in die media waargeneem. Navorsingsbelangstelling in die konsep skyn terselfdertyd toe te neem. Terwyl identiteit geensins ’n nuwe konsep is nie en in verskillende vorme voorkom, bly dit in vaagheid gehul en word ’n meer duidelike omskrywing daarvan benodig. Die huidige studie het die oorsprong van die indentiteitskonsep nagespeur en verskeie perspektiewe op identiteit in oenskou geneem. ’n Bepaalde betekenisstruktuur en teoretiese raamwerk word vir die identiteitskonsep voorgestel en die gevolgtrekking word gemaak dat kontemporere sienings van identiteit toenemend besig is om vroeere psigologiese perspektiewe te omsluit.
Engineering a Bacillus subtilis expression-secretion system with a strain deficient in six extracellular proteases

We describe the development of an expression-secretion system in Bacillus subtilis to improve the quality and quantity of the secreted foreign proteins. This system consists of a strain (WB600) deficient in six extracellular proteases and a set of sacB-based expression vectors. With the inactivation of all six chromosomal genes encoding neutral protease A, subtilisin, extracellular protease, metalloprotease, bacillopeptidase F, and neutral protease B, WB600 showed only 0.32% of the wild-type extracellular protease activity. No residual protease activity could be detected when WB600 was cultured in the presence of 2 mM phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride. By using TEM beta-lactamase as a model, we showed that WB600 can significantly improve the stability of the secreted enzyme. To further increase the production level we constructed an expression cassette carrying sacY, a sacB-specific regulatory gene. This gene was placed under the control of a strong, constitutively expressed promoter, P43. With this cassette in the expression vector, an 18-fold enhancement in beta-lactamase production was observed. An artificial operon, P43-sacY-degQ, was also constructed. However, only a partial additive enhancement effect (24-fold enhancement) was observed. Although degQ can stimulate the production of beta-lactamase in the system, its ability to increase the residual extracellular protease activity from WB600 limits its application. The use of the P43-sacY cassette and WB600 would be a better combination for producing intact foreign proteins in high yield.
Redistribution Without Egalitarianism

I will, in this paper, set out the philosophical foundations and the basic structure of a new theory of justice. I will argue that both these foundations and the theory which is based upon them are intuitively attractive and theoretically sound. Finally, I will argue that both are supported by the fact that they lead to attractive implications such as the following: (1) One can justify at least some governmental redistributive programs which presuppose that those receiving the wealth have a right to it, without being committed to any form of egalitarianism. (2) The justification for these redistributive programs respects property entitlements; it argues, in effect, that property entitlements and rights to some redistribution of wealth presuppose each other, rather than being in conflict with each other. (3) The amount of redistribution to which each indigent person is entitled is directly proportional to the wealth of the society in question (the wealthier the society, the greater the entitlement) and inversely proportional to the number of indigents in the society in question (the more indigents, the less to which each is entitled). There are at this stage in the history of Western thought few entirely new ideas in philosophy. Too much has been written about the important issues to allow for entirely new approaches. My theory is no exception to these generalizations, for it draws upon the tradition of John Locke, of the agrarian reforms such as Paine, Spence, and Ogilvie, and of libertarian writers such as Robert Nozick. Nevertheless, I will argue, the resulting theory is a significant advance over the ideas of these earlier writers.
Changing risk behaviours for non-communicable disease in New Zealand working men--is workplace intervention effective?

AIMS To evaluate the effectiveness of a health promotion programme targeting dietary behaviours and physical activity among male hourly-paid workers and to explore demographic and attitudinal influences on dietary patterns at baseline. METHODS A controlled field trial compared workers at one intervention and one control worksite. The intervention comprised nutrition displays in the cafeteria and monthly 30-minute workshops for six months. Key outcome measures at six and twelve-months were self-reported dietary and lifestyle behaviours, nutrition knowledge, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference and blood pressure. RESULTS 132 men at the intervention site and 121 men at the control site participated in the study and a high retention rate (94% at 6-months and 89% at 12-months) was achieved. At baseline, 40% of the total sample (253) were obese, 30% had elevated blood pressure, 59% indicated an excessive fat intake and 92% did not meet the recommended vegetable and fruit intake. The intervention reduced fat intake, increased vegetable intake and physical activity, improved nutrition knowledge and reduced systolic blood pressure when compared to the control site. There was no difference in change in mean BMI or waist circumference. Reduction in BMI was associated with reduction in fat intake. DISCUSSION Low intensity workplace intervention can significantly improve reported health behaviours and nutrition knowledge although the impact on more objective measures of risk was variable. A longer duration or more intensive intervention may be required to achieve further reduction in risk factors.
Sentence Comparison Using Robust Minimal Recursion Semantics and an Ontology

We design and test a sentence comparison method using the framework of Robust Minimal Recursion Semantics which allows us to utilise the deep parse information produced by Jacy, a Japanese HPSG based parser and the lexical information available in our ontology. Our method was used for both paraphrase detection and also for answer sentence selection for question answering. In both tasks, results showed an improvement over Bag-of-Words, as well as providing extra information useful to the applications.
Kv7 and Kv11 channels in myometrial regulation

What is the topic of this review? The topic of this review is how ion channels contribute to the physiology of the uterus, with particular focus on novel potassium channels. What advances does it highlight? Two families of potassium channels, encoded by KCNQ and KCNH genes, have been identified as important players in the control of myometrial contraction and may represent interesting novel therapeutic targets.