Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cold-acclimation-induced non-shivering thermogenesis in birds is associated with upregulation of avian UCP but not with innate uncoupling or altered ATP efficiency

SUMMARY Despite their lack of brown adipose tissue, some bird species develop regulatory non-shivering thermogenesis (NST) of skeletal muscle origin in response to cold acclimation. Mechanisms involved in avian NST are still unclear but may involve reduced energetic coupling in skeletal muscle mitochondria through the expression of an avian homologue of mammalian uncoupling proteins. The aim of this work was to investigate whether the expression of avian uncoupling protein (avUCP) would correlate with the capacity for cold-induced muscle NST. Various levels of cold acclimation were obtained by rearing 1-week-old ducklings (Cairina moschata) for 4 weeks at three different ambient temperatures (25°C, 11°C or 4°C). Muscle NST was measured by simultaneous recordings of metabolic rate and electromyographic activity (gastrocnemius muscle) at ambient temperatures (Ta) ranging from 27°C to −5°C. The expression of avUCP gene and mitochondrial bioenergetics were also determined in gastrocnemius muscle. Results showed that muscle NST capacity depends on the Ta at which ducklings were acclimated, i.e. the lower the rearing temperature, the higher the capacity for NST. This increased metabolic heat production occurred in parallel with an upregulation of avUCP, which was not associated with a change in mitochondrial membrane conductance. The intensity of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation also increased in proportion with the harshness of cold, while the efficiency of ATP generation was equally effective in all three acclimation temperatures. In the absence of mitochondrial uncoupling, these data indicate a clear link between avUCP expression and the capacity of ducklings to adjust their muscular aerobic activity to cold exposure.
Association between indicators of dementia and nutritional status in institutionalised older people.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Dementia weakens older people and can lead to malnutrition; therefore, the objective of this study was to assess the association between indicators of dementia and biochemical indicators, anthropometric indicators and food intake in institutionalised older people. METHODS A total of 150 older people of both genders participated in this study. Nutritional status was determined by body mass index and other anthropometric variables, and biochemical indicators were used to analyse the differences between individuals with and without dementia. Energy and nutrient intakes were determined by food records, and dementia was investigated with the Mini-Mental State Examination. The data were analysed by the chi-square test, Student's t-test and Mann-Whitney tests. RESULTS Of the 150 individuals studied, 48% were men with a mean age of 73 ± 10 years and 52% were women with a mean age of 80 ± 9 years. Thirty-six per cent had some degree of malnutrition and 48% presented dementia, which was more prevalent in women (59%). The nutritional status of men and women individuals with and without dementia differed significantly (P < 0.001 for men and women). The only variables that presented a significant difference between individuals with and without dementia were those associated with muscle mass in men. There were no differences in energy and nutrient intakes between individuals with and without dementia except for vitamin C intake, which differed among women (P = 0.032). CONCLUSION In the conditions of the present study, dementia was associated with nutritional status, but not with energy and nutrient intakes, suggesting that older people with dementia may have higher nutritional requirements. Implications for practice. Investigation of dementia may contribute to the nutritional status assessment of older people and energy expenditure and immobility should be investigated for a more complete assessment.
Novel Bioactive Titanate Layers Formed on Ti Metal and Its Alloys by Chemical Treatments

Sodium titanate formed on Ti metal by NaOH and heat treatments induces apatite formation on its surface in a body environment and bonds to living bone. These treatments have been applied to porous Ti metal in artificial hip joints, and have been used clinically in Japan since 2007. Calcium titanate formed on Ti-15Zr-4Nb-4Ta alloy by NaOH, CaCl2, heat, and water treatments induces apatite formation on its surface in a body environment. Titanium oxide formed on porous Ti metal by NaOH, HCl, and heat treatments exhibits osteoinductivity as well as osteoconductivity. This is now under clinical tests for application to a spinal fusion device.
A computer simulation of household sampling schemes for health surveys in developing countries.

BACKGROUND Cluster sample surveys of health and nutrition in rural areas of developing countries frequently utilize the EPI (Expanded Programme on Immunization) method of selecting households where complete enumeration and systematic or simple random sampling (SRS) is considered impractical. The first household is selected by choosing a random direction from the centre of the community, counting the houses along that route, and picking one at random. Subsequent households are chosen by visiting that house which is nearest to the preceding one. METHODS Using a computer, and data from a survey of all children in 30 villages in Uganda, we simulated the selection of samples of size 7, 15 and 30 children from each village using SRS, the EPI method, and four different modifications of the EPI method. RESULTS The choice of sampling scheme for households had very little effect on the precision or bias of estimates of prevalence of malnutrition, or of recent morbidity, with EPI performing as well as SRS. However, the EPI scheme was inefficient and showed bias for variables relating to child care and for socioeconomic variables. Two of the modified EPI schemes (taking every fifth house and taking separate EPI samples in each quarter of the community) performed in general much better than EPI and almost as well as SRS. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that the unmodified EPI household sampling scheme may be adequate for rapid appraisal of morbidity prevalence or nutritional status of communities, but that it may not be appropriate for surveys which cover a wider range of topics such as health care, or seek to examine the association of health or nutrition with explanatory factors such as education and socioeconomic status. Other factors such as cost and the ability to monitor interviewers' performance should also be taken into account.
Stimulus-Timing-Dependent Plasticity of Cortical Frequency Representation

Adult cortical circuits possess considerable plasticity, which can be induced by modifying their inputs. One mechanism proposed to underlie changes in neuronal responses is spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP), an up- or downregulation of synaptic efficacy contingent upon the order and timing of presynaptic and postsynaptic activity. The repetitive and asynchronous pairing of a sensory stimulus with either another sensory stimulus or current injection can alter the response properties of visual and somatosensory neurons in a manner consistent with STDP. To examine whether such plasticity also exists in the auditory system, we recorded from neurons in the primary auditory cortex of anesthetized and awake adult ferrets. The repetitive pairing of pure tones of different frequencies induced shifts in neuronal frequency selectivity, which exhibited a temporal specificity akin to STDP. Only pairs with stimulus onset asynchronies of 8 or 12 ms were effective and the direction of the shifts depended upon the order in which the tones within a pair were presented. Six hundred stimulus pairs (lasting ∼70 s) were enough to produce a significant shift in frequency tuning and the changes persisted for several minutes. The magnitude of the observed shifts was largest when the frequency separation of the conditioning stimuli was < ∼1 octave. Moreover, significant shifts were found only in the upper cortical layers. Our findings highlight the importance of millisecond-scale timing of sensory input in shaping neural function and strongly suggest STDP as a relevant mechanism for plasticity in the mature auditory system.
Direct Binding of Human NK Cell Natural Cytotoxicity Receptor NKp44 to the Surfaces of Mycobacteria and Other Bacteria

ABSTRACT Our previous studies demonstrated that Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) can directly interact with human NK cells and induce the proliferation, gamma interferon production, and cytotoxic activity of such cells without the need for accessory cells. Thus, the aim of the present study was to identify the putative receptor(s) responsible for the recognition of BCG by human NK cells and potentially involved in the activation of NK cells. To this end, we first investigated the surface expression of three NK cell-activating receptors belonging to the natural cytoxicity receptor (NCR) family on highly purified human NK cells upon in vitro direct stimulation with BCG. An induction of the surface expression of NKp44, but not of NKp30 or NKp46, was observed after 3 and 4 days of in vitro stimulation with live BCG. The NKp44 induction involved mainly a particular NK cell subset expressing the CD56 marker at high density, CD56bright. In order to establish whether NKp44 could directly bind to BCG, whole BCG cells were stained with soluble forms of the three NCRs chimeric for the human immunoglobulin G (IgG) Fc fragment (NKp30-Fc, NKp44-Fc, NKp46-Fc), followed by incubation with a phycoerythrin (PE)-conjugated goat anti-human IgG antibody. Analysis by flow cytometry of the complexes revealed a higher PE fluorescence intensity for BCG incubated with NKp44-Fc than for BCG incubated with NKp30-Fc, NKp46-Fc, or negative controls. The binding of NKp44-Fc to the BCG surface was confirmed with immunogold labeling using transmission electron microscopy, suggesting the presence of a putative ligand(s) for human NKp44 on the BCG cell wall. Similar binding assays performed on a number of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria revealed a pattern of NKp44-Fc binding restricted to members of the genus Mycobacterium, to the mycobacterium-related species Nocardia farcinica, and to Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Altogether, the results obtained indicate, for the first time, that at least one member of the NCR family (NKp44) may be involved in the direct recognition of bacterial pathogens by human NK cells.
International R & D cooperation : the effects of distance on the choice of the country of partners

M@n@gement Copies of this article can be made free of charge and without securing permission, for purposes of teaching, research, or library reserve. Consent to other kinds of copying, such as that for creating new works, or for resale, must be obtained from both the journal editor(s) and the author(s). M@n@gement is a double-blind refereed journal where articles are published in their original language as soon as they have been accepted. International R&D cooperation: the effects of distance on the choice of the country of partners M@n@gement, 13(1), 1-37. Association Internationale de Management Stratégique 2 International R&D cooperation: the effects of distance on the choice of the country of partners The objective of this article is to evaluate the impact of the initial context of companies on their propensity to cooperate and on the characteristics of partner companies that they consider to be significant. More specifically, the authors attempt to measure the influence of different dimensions of distance (cultural, administrative, geographic, economic and technological) on the choice of the country of partners in international R&D cooperation. Based on the contribution of the literature on international business and the framework proposed by Ghemawat (2001), this article develops several hypotheses concerning the effects of distance, analysed by five different dimensions. These hypotheses are tested on a sample of 1502 international agreements concluded by European companies in the biotechnology industry. The findings of the empirical study show that distance influences the choice of the country of partners, but that the impact varies according to the dimension analysed and the context of the agreement. In particular, they reveal that administrative, geographic, economic and technological distance plays an essential role, whereas cultural distance does not have a significant influence on the choice of the country of partners, at least in the biotechnology industry and when projects are subsidised.
Health indexes for power transformers: a case study

Proper operation of power transformers is critical to ensuring transmission and distribution of electrical power. Most transformers have an electrical insulation system based on oil and paper. The state of the insulation system is the major factor influencing the state of the transformer. During service the dielectric materials within the transformer deteriorate, and small concentrations of impurities such as water, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and furan compounds accumulate in the oil. Since it is easy to obtain oil samples from power transformers, the information most commonly collected by transformer fleet managers relates to the physical and dielectric properties of the oil. These properties include dielectric strength, dissipation factor, color, interfacial tension, and concentrations of dissolved gases, furans, acids, and moisture. Using these properties it is possible to determine whether a transformer has developed certain specific faults, e.g., partial discharges, arcing, sparking, overheating, etc. On the other hand, various health indexes have been proposed to characterize the general condition of a transformer [1]-[3]. The factors taken into account in these indexes vary, and are given different statistical weightings depending on their influence on the general condition of the transformer. In this article we evaluate the condition of a fleet of operating power transformers, using two recently proposed health indexes, and compare the results.
On the supremal controllable sublanguage of a given language

The concept of controllable language has been shown to play a basic role in the existence theory of supervisory controls for discrete event processes. In this paper the supremal controllable sublanguage S of a given language L is characterized as the largest fixpoint of a certain operator ¿. In the case where the languages involved are regular it is shown that the fixpoint S can be computed as the limit of the (finite) sequence {Kj} given by Kj+1 = ¿(Kj), K0 = L. An effective computational algorithm is developed, and three examples are provided for illustration.
The CAI Analyser Package: Inferring Gene Expressivity from Raw Genomic Data

UNLABELLED The Codon Adaptation Index (CAI) was introduced by Sharp and Li in 1987 to quantify codon usage similarities between a coding sequence and a set of reference sequences. When synonymous codons for a given amino acid exist, highly expressed genes seem to prefer some of them, according to tRNA abundance and thermodynamic issues. Some authors have described CAI-based methods to derive expressivity measures for all genes in a genome, in a computational framework. Here we present the CAIAP (CAI Analyser Package), a platform independent package of computer programs allowing the calculation of the CAI and a deep study of gene expressivity from raw gene sequences. Our approach implements and optimizes a procedure to derive the reference sequences from whole genomes and use their codon usage for CAI estimation. Moreover, a set of analysis tools are provided to perform statistical analyses and therefore to give robustness to results. OBJECTIVE Our efforts were aimed to produce an easy-to-use and fully automatic set of programs specifically designed for the analysis of gene expressivity and inter-species comparisons on a great number of genomes. Moreover, the output integrates information coming from functional annotations of genes. We are maintaining a web server storing our analyses for hundreds of genomes, allowing intergenomic comparison of data thanks to dedicated search engines. The CAIAP server is hosted at www4.unifi. it/scibio/bioinfo/caiap/html. The programs (maintained as Perl scripts) are also available for download at the same location.
Spencer, Andrew/Zwicky, Arnold M. (Hrsg.): The Handbook of Morphology

Lang ersehnt, nun ist es endlich da: ein Handbuch für Morphologen. Aus der Sicht der 60er Jahre wäre ein solches Handbuch eigentlich ein Ding der Unmöglichkeit, wurde doch die Morphologie, wie die Herausgeber in der Einleitung (S. 1) feststellen, in der Frühphase generativer Linguistik gern als ,the Poland of linguistics' bezeichnet. Die Verhältnisse haben sich geändert; heutzutage kann man ein Handbuch der Morphologie mit der vielleicht provokativ gemeinten, angesichts der Interface-Problematik, die die Morphologiediskussion beherrscht, aber durchaus nachvollziehbaren Aussage beginnen: ,Morphology is at the conceptual centre of linguistics' (S. 1). Die Wahl der Herausgeber des Handbuchs kann als ausgesprochen glücklich bezeichnet werden. Sowohl Spencer als auch Zwicky sind einschlägig ausgewiesen als Theoretiker und Kenner der Morphologieszene. Zudem verbinden sie den europäischen mit dem amerikanischen Blick auf die Linguistik, und sie vertreten unterschiedliche Wissenschaftlergenerationen. Wie zu erhoffen und zu erwarten, ist es ihnen gelungen, die erste Riege der an Fragen der Morphologie interessierten Wissenschaftler für die Mitarbeit am Handbuch zu gewinnen. Viele Autoren sind Vorreiter im Bereich der von ihnen dargestellten Aspekte der Morphologie. Darüber hinaus vertreten sie unterschiedliche theoretische Strömungen, so daß das Handbuch nicht dogmatisch einen bestimmten Ansatz zu propagieren versucht, sondern sich durch theoretische Offenheit und Pluralismus auszeichnet, die die morphologische Theoriediskussion der letzten 30 Jahre adäquat widerspiegelt.
The Reporting of Crime and Violence in the Los Angeles Times: Is There a Public Health Perspective?

The authors examine how crime and violence is reported and framed by the Los Angeles Times . Using a public health perspective, we examine whether health-oriented variables, such as causal factors and societal effects of crimes, are present in crime news stories. The classic stereotyping of crime and violence framing is strongly present in the Times . We discuss what changes would be useful to provide news consumers with a more accurate picture of crime in their community.
Double checking the administration of medicines: what is the evidence? A systematic review

Objective To evaluate the evidence for double checking the administration of medicines. Design A systematic search of six electronic databases—Embase, Medline, British Nursing Index and Archive, CINAHL, National electronic library for Medicines (NeLM) and PsycINFO—for all articles describing double checking of medication and dose calculation, for either dispensing or administration in both adults and children up to and including October 2010. Results Sixteen articles met the inclusion criteria. There were only three quantitative studies. Only one of these was a randomised controlled clinical trial in a clinical setting. This study showed a statistically significant reduction in the medication error rate from 2.98 (95% CI 2.45 to 3.51) to 2.12 (95% CI 1.69 to 2.55) per 1000 medications administered with double checking. One study reported a reduction in dispensing errors, by a hospital pharmacy, from 9.8 to 6 per year following the introduction of double checking. The majority of the studies were qualitative and involved interviews, focus groups and questionnaires. Conclusion There is insufficient evidence to either support or refute the practice of double checking the administration of medicines. Clinical trials are needed to establish whether double checking medicines are effective in reducing medication errors.
Transference and its usefulness in psychotherapy in the light of empirical evidence

The paper is aimed at finding answers to the following questions: (1) Is there empirical evidence for the psychoanalytic concept of transference? (2) Is there empirical evidence for the usefulness of working with transference in psychotherapy? Objections concerning the reality and practical value of transference have been summarized. A review of research dedicated to transference has been conducted, covering fundamental research in the psychology of social cognition as well as research on psychotherapy using both psychodynamic and nonpsychodynamic approaches. Studies from the first group confirm the existence of transference. Studies from the second group indicate conditions in which working with transference in psychotherapy seems to be efficient. Implications for psychotherapy practice have been formulated.
Shifting and scaling adaptation to dynamic stimuli in somatosensory cortex

Recent reports have shown that responses of midbrain neurons in the guinea pig rapidly shift the dynamic range of their responses to track changes in the statistics of ongoing sound-level distributions. This results in an increased coding accuracy for the most commonly occurring stimulus intensities. To investigate whether this type of adaptation might also be found in other sensory modalities, we characterized the intensity-response functions of neurons in rat primary somatosensory cortex (S1) to continuous sinusoidal vibration of the whiskers with amplitudes that were changed every 40 ms. Vibration amplitudes were selected randomly such that there was an 80% chance for the amplitude to be drawn from a relatively narrow 'high-probability region' (HPR). Stimulus mean and variance were then manipulated by shifting or widening the HPR. We found that rat S1 neurons adapt to shifts of the HPR mainly by shifting their thresholds, and to changes in HPR width by changing the slope of their rate-level curves. Using realistic single-neuron models, we go on to show that after-hyperpolarizing currents, such as those carried by K(Ca)(2+) channels, may be responsible for the threshold shifts, but not the slope changes.
Evolutionary computation in creative design

A keyless tool chuck is disclosed which may be used with most power tools having standard chucks. The jaws of the chuck are displaced and retracted by controlling the rotation of a threaded collar which surrounds the jaws relative to the rotation of the tool shaft and the jaws. This rotation is controlled by displacing a plate so as to control rotation of the collar in a first embodiment. In a second embodiment, rotation of the chuck collar is controlled by a clutch means, and in a third embodiment the rotation of the chuck collar is controlled relative to the jaws by means of vanes which are inserted into a grooved cylinder attached to the chuck collar.
Obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome as a risk factor for hypertension: population study

Abstract Objective: To assess whether sleep apnoea syndrome is an independent risk factor for hypertension. Design: Population study. Setting: Sleep clinic in Toronto. Participants: 2677 adults, aged 20-85 years, referred to the sleep clinic with suspected sleep apnoea syndrome. Outcome measures: Medical history, demographic data, morning and evening blood pressure, and whole night polysomnography. Results: Blood pressure and number of patients with hypertension increased linearly with severity of sleep apnoea, as shown by the apnoea-hypopnoea index. Multiple regression analysis of blood pressure levels of all patients not taking antihypertensives showed that apnoea was a significant predictor of both systolic and diastolic blood pressure after adjustment for age, body mass index, and sex. Multiple logistic regression showed that each additional apnoeic event per hour of sleep increased the odds of hypertension by about 1%, whereas each 10% decrease in nocturnal oxygen saturation increased the odds by 13%. Conclusion: Sleep apnoea syndrome is profoundly associated with hypertension independent of all relevant risk factors.