Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cation interactions within the cyclic GMP‐activated channel of retinal rods from the tiger salamander.

1. The ionic dependence of current through the 3',5'‐cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cyclic GMP)‐activated channels of salamander rods was studied in excised inside‐out membrane patches from isolated outer segments. Voltage‐clamp experiments on transducing rods were performed so that the channels in intact cells could be compared with those in excised patches. 2. The reversal potential of the cyclic GMP‐induced patch current was close to the Na+ equilibrium potential when the concentration of NaCl on the cytoplasmic surface of a patch was varied at constant external NaCl concentration. Fitting the Goldman‐Hodgkin‐Katz equation indicated that the apparent ratio of permeabilities for Na+ and Cl‐ was at least 50. This confirms a previous report that the channel's Na+ permeability is much larger than its Cl‐ permeability. 3. Na+ currents through the channel did not obey the independence principle. The outward patch current at large positive potential began to saturate with increasing concentrations of internal Na+, as if permeation required Na+ to bind to a site with an apparent dissociation constant around 180 mM. 4. In symmetrical NaCl solutions containing very low concentrations of divalent cations the current‐voltage relation measured from excised patches 50 microseconds after switching the voltage showed mild outward rectification. By 1 ms the rectification was more pronounced. The rectification at 50 microseconds is attributed to voltage dependence of Na+ permeation. The additional rectification at later times is attributed to voltage dependence of the channel's probability of being open, depolarization favouring the open state. 5. In symmetrical Mg2+ solutions the cyclic GMP‐induced patch currents were smaller and the outward rectification was more pronounced. 6. Addition of Mg2+ or Ca2+ to an internal Na+ solution blocked the cyclic GMP‐induced Na+ current through the channels, as if by occupying a single binding site with an affinity in the 0.1‐2 mM range. Block by Mg2+ was voltage dependent, suggesting that the binding site was within the channel's transmembrane electric field. Raising the Mg2+ concentration on the external surface of the patch increased the apparent dissociation constant of block by internal Mg2+, as expected if external and internal Mg2+ compete for the same binding site. 7. Block by internal Ca2+ had an opposite and weaker voltage dependence than block by internal Mg2+. 8. In symmetrical solutions containing both Na+ and Mg2+ the outward rectification was more pronounced than in solutions containing Na+ alone. In solutions thought to be close to physiological the outward patch current increased e‐fold for a depolarization of 24‐30 mV. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
A language modeling approach to question answering on speech transcripts

This paper presents a language modeling approach to sentence retrieval for Question Answering (QA) that we used in Question Answering on speech transcripts (QAst), a pilot task at the Cross Language Evaluation Forum (CLEF) evaluations 2007. A language model (LM) is generated for each sentence and these models are combined with document LMs to take advantage of contextual information. A query expansion technique using class models is proposed and included in our framework. Finally, our method's impact on exact answer extraction is evaluated. We show that combining sentence LMs with document LMs significantly improves sentence retrieval performance, and that this sentence retrieval approach leads to better answer extraction performance.
[Effect difference between acupuncture and moxibustion for functional dyspepsia: a randomized controlled trial].

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effect difference between acupuncture and moxibustion for functional dyspepsia (FD). METHODS Sixty patients with FD were randomized into an acupuncture group (29 cases with 1 rejecting) and a moxibustion group (27 cases with 3 dropping). The corresponding manipulations for 4 courses were applied at Zhongwan (CV 12) and Zusanli (ST 36) in the two groups, continuous 5 times as 1 course with 2 days between two courses, once a day and total 20 times. Leed's dyspepsia questionnaire (LDQ) and Nepean dyspepsia index (NDI) were tested before and after treatment, and safety was evaluated. RESULTS After treatment, the total LDQ scores decreased in the two groups (both P<0.01), with statistical different value between the two groups (P<0.05). Upper abdominal pain, early satiety, epigastric burning in the acupuncture group were improved more obviously compared with those in the moxibustion group (all P<0.01). The NDI scores in the two groups increased after treatment (both P<0.01), without statistical different value before and after treatment (P>0.05). CONCLUSION Acupuncture and moxibustion are effective for FD and acupuncture shows superiority.
Implantable Radiofrequency Identification (RFID) Tags are not Tattoos

altogether. Rather it should mean that we should always strive for a person-centered approach, taking in the specific needs of every different individual and thereupon making a balanced decision on what eventually will prove to have more value, not only for the individual herself but also taking in account that what makes her a person that is being cared for. Ultimately certain cases could then possibly warrant the use of implanting a chip, including Aunt Millie (! ) as a potential candidate.
A risk factor for female fertility and pregnancy: celiac disease

Celiac disease is a genetically-based intolerance to gluten. In the past, celiac disease has been considered a rare disease of infancy characterized by chronic diarrhea and delayed growth. Besides the overt enteropathy, there are many other forms which appear later in life; target organs are not limited to the gut, but include liver, thyroid, skin and reproductive tract. It is now recognized that celiac disease is a relatively frequent disorder; the overall prevalence is at least 1:300 in Western Europe. Celiac disease may impair the reproductive life of affected women, eliciting delayed puberty, infertility, amenorrhea and precocious menopause. Clinical and epidemiological studies show that female patients with celiac disease are at higher risk of spontaneous abortions, low birth weight of the newborn and reduced duration of lactation. No adequate studies are available on the rate of birth defects in the progeny of affected women; however, celiac disease induces malabsorption and deficiency of factors essential for organogenesis, e.g. iron, folic acid and vitamin K. The overall evidence suggests that celiac disease patients can be a group particularly susceptible to reproductive toxicants; however, the pathogenesis of celiac disease-related reproductive disorders still awaits clarification. At present, like the other pathologies associated with celiac disease, the possible prevention or treatment of reproductive effects can only be achieved through a life-long maintenance of a gluten-free diet.
An Efficient and Stabilizing Model Predictive Control of Switched Systems

Model Predictive Control (MPC) of switched systems typically requires an on-line solution of a Mixed Integer Program (MIP). Since the worst case complexity of the optimization problem increases exponentially with respect to the number of integer variables, an on-line implementation of the MPC for problems with large number of sub-systems and/or large horizons is usually expensive. In this technical note, we propose a stabilizing MPC formulation for state-dependent switched systems, that enables a tradeoff between the computational complexity of the MPC controller and the optimal performance of the closed-loop system. The proposed approach uses a pre-terminal set, in addition to the positively invariant terminal set, which aids in reducing the on-line complexity although at the expense of optimality. Examples are presented to illustrate the computational benefits of the proposed MPC strategy over existing MPC for switched systems.
Tilt testing results are influenced by tilt protocol.

AIMS It is unknown how the return to supine position influences duration of loss of consciousness (LOC) and cardioinhibition during tilt test. METHODS AND RESULTS Retrospective analysis of two datasets containing records of patients who underwent tilt testing for unexplained syncope in two centres was performed. Patients, totalling 1232, were included in the study: 262 in a Swedish centre and 970 patients in a Polish centre. In Sweden, tilt table with tilt-down time (TDT) of 18 s was used (Group II). In Poland, two different tilt tables were used, one of them with TDT of 10 s (Group I, n = 325), and the other with TDT of 47 s (Group III, n = 645). Cardioinhibitory reflex occurred most frequently in Group III, whereas number of pauses >3 s, frequency of very long asystole ≥30 s, and the total duration of pauses >3 s demonstrated a trend to increase from Group I to III. Duration of LOC in Groups II and III was significantly longer compared with Group I (32.0 and 33.7 s vs. 16.4 s). In the multivariate-adjusted regression model, cardioinhibitory reflex was predicted by tilt-table model (odds ratio per model with increasing TDT: 1.40; 95% confidence interval, 1.19-1.64; P < 0.0001), whereas LOC duration was longer with increasing TDT (P < 0.0001) and age (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSION Longer TDT during induced vasovagal syncope increases the prevalence of cardioinhibitory reflex and prolongs the duration of LOC. Tilt-down time does not affect asystolic pause duration but delay may lead to occurrence of multiple pauses, higher frequency of very long asystole, and longer total asystole duration.
The phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase inhibitor NVP-BKM120 overcomes resistance signals derived from microenvironment by regulating the Akt/FoxO3a/Bim axis in chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells

Phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase pathway is constitutively activated in chronic lymphocytic leukemia mainly due to microenvironment signals, including stromal cell interaction and CXCR4 and B-cell receptor activation. Because of the importance of phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase signaling in chronic lymphocytic leukemia, we investigated the activity of the NVP-BKM120, an orally available pan class I phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase inhibitor. Sensitivity to NVP-BKM120 was analyzed in chronic lymphocytic leukemia primary samples in the context of B-cell receptor and microenvironment stimulation. NVP-BKM120 promoted mitochondrial apoptosis in most primary cells independently of common prognostic markers. NVP-BKM120 activity induced the blockage of phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase signaling, decreased Akt and FoxO3a phosphorylation leading to concomitant Mcl-1 downregulation and Bim induction. Accordingly, selective knockdown of BIM rescued cells from NVP-BKM120-induced apoptosis, while the kinase inhibitor synergistically enhanced the apoptosis induced by the BH3-mimetic ABT-263. We also found NVP-BKM120 to inhibit B-cell receptor- and stroma-dependent Akt pathway activation, thus sensitizing chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells to bendamustine and fludarabine. Furthermore, NVP-BKM120 down-regulated secretion of chemokines after B-cell receptor stimulation and inhibited cell chemotaxis and actin polymerization upon CXCR4 triggering by CXCL12. Our findings establish that NVP-BKM120 effectively inhibits the phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase signaling pathway and disturbs the protective effect of the tumor microenvironment with the subsequent apoptosis induction through the Akt/FoxO3a/Bim axis. We provide here a strong rationale for undertaking clinical trials of NVP-BKM120 in chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients alone or in combination therapies.
Permeabilization via the P2X7 Purinoreceptor Reveals the Presence of a Ca2+-activated Cl−Conductance in the Apical Membrane of Murine Tracheal Epithelial Cells*

Calcium-activated Cl−secretion is an important modulator of regulated ion transport in murine airway epithelium and is mediated by an unidentified Ca2+-stimulated Cl− channel. We have transfected immortalized murine tracheal epithelial cells with the cDNA encoding the permeabilizing P2X7 purinoreceptor (P2X7-R) to selectively permeabilize the basolateral membrane and thereby isolate the apical membrane Ca2+-activated Cl− current. In P2X7-R-permeabilized cells, we have demonstrated that UTP stimulates a Cl− current across the apical membrane of CF and normal murine tracheal epithelial cells. The magnitude of the UTP-stimulated current was significantly greater in CF than in normal cells. Ion substitution studies demonstrated that the current exhibited a permselectivity sequence of Cl− > I− > Br− > gluconate−. We have also determined a rank order of potency for putative Cl−channel blockers: niflumic acid ≥ 5-nitro-2-(3-phenylpropylamino)benzoic acid > 4,4′-diisothiocyanostilbene-2,2′-disulfonate > glybenclamide ≫ diphenlyamine-2-carboxylate, tamoxifen, andp-tetra-sulfonato-tetra-methoxy-calix[4]arene. Complete characterization of this current and the corresponding single channel properties could lead to the development of a new therapy to correct the defective airway surface liquid in cystic fibrosis patients.
The Longitudinal Elderly Person Shadowing Program: Outcomes From an Interprofessional Senior Partner Mentoring Program

The University of Saskatchewan's Longitudinal Elderly Person Shadowing (LEPS) is an interprofessional senior mentors program (SMP) where teams of undergraduate students in their first year of medicine, pharmacy, and physiotherapy; 2nd year of nutrition; 3rd year nursing; and 4th year social work partner with community-dwelling older adults. Existing literature on SMPs provides little information on the sustainability of attitudinal changes toward older adults or changes in interprofessional attitudes. LEPS students completed Polizzi's Aging Semantic Differential and the Interdisciplinary Education Perception Scale. Perceptions of older men and women improved significantly and changes were sustained after one year. However, few changes were seen in interprofessional attitudes.
An abstract model of the object-oriented DBMS

In his research the author is looking into the cooperation of methodology, language, and database in the design of object-oriented systems which are to be realized in an object-oriented programming language using an object-oriented database system (OODBMS). The focus is on some of the differences between traditional object-oriented design and object-oriented database design. For this purpose a small formal model of a contemporary OODBMS is built. This model describes abstractions of the most important data structures of OODBMS and their associated functionality. Based on both a pragmatic and a theoretic understanding of the architecture of contemporary OODBMSs, the author aims at presenting some of the issues to be considered in object-oriented database design such as: object management, object retrieval, and concurrency. <<ETX>>
The Study of Ethics in the P. A. Curriculum

The purpose of this article is to suggest a method for integrating the study of ethics into a public administration curriculum. Although the Watergate scandals succeeded in transforming ethics into a growth industry, it might be unwise to put too much stress on Watergate in discussing future curriculum developments. An obvious reason for this caution is that the primary offenders in Watergate were officials who were either elected or politically appointed rather than career bureaucrats.
Receptor Recognition Mechanisms of Coronaviruses: a Decade of Structural Studies

ABSTRACT Receptor recognition by viruses is the first and essential step of viral infections of host cells. It is an important determinant of viral host range and cross-species infection and a primary target for antiviral intervention. Coronaviruses recognize a variety of host receptors, infect many hosts, and are health threats to humans and animals. The receptor-binding S1 subunit of coronavirus spike proteins contains two distinctive domains, the N-terminal domain (S1-NTD) and the C-terminal domain (S1-CTD), both of which can function as receptor-binding domains (RBDs). S1-NTDs and S1-CTDs from three major coronavirus genera recognize at least four protein receptors and three sugar receptors and demonstrate a complex receptor recognition pattern. For example, highly similar coronavirus S1-CTDs within the same genus can recognize different receptors, whereas very different coronavirus S1-CTDs from different genera can recognize the same receptor. Moreover, coronavirus S1-NTDs can recognize either protein or sugar receptors. Structural studies in the past decade have elucidated many of the puzzles associated with coronavirus-receptor interactions. This article reviews the latest knowledge on the receptor recognition mechanisms of coronaviruses and discusses how coronaviruses have evolved their complex receptor recognition pattern. It also summarizes important principles that govern receptor recognition by viruses in general.
The role of platelets in inflammation

Summary There is growing recognition of the critical role of platelets in inflammation and immune responses. Recent studies have indicated that antiplatelet medications may reduce mortality from infections and sepsis, which suggests possible clinical relevance of modifying platelet responses to inflammation. Platelets release numerous inflammatory mediators that have no known role in haemostasis. Many of these mediators modify leukocyte and endothelial responses to a range of different inflammatory stimuli. Additionally, platelets form aggregates with leukocytes and form bridges between leukocytes and endothelium, largely mediated by platelet P-selectin. Through their interactions with monocytes, neutrophils, lymphocytes and the endothelium, platelets are therefore important coordinators of inflammation and both innate and adaptive immune responses.
The Third Industrial Revolution and New Thinking of the New Path to Industrialization:Based on the Perspective of Evolutionary Economics and Economic History

Defined on the base of the dominant technology of the fifth wave of technology revolution,namely information and communication technology(ICT),in 2002,the inherent nature and realizing ways of "the New Path to Industrialization" in present China does not reflect the remarkable impact on the path to industrialization created by the Third Industrial Revolution,the core of which is the sixth wave of technology revolution.Besides ICT,some new contents including Renewable Energy Revolution(Green Technology),Artificial Intelligence Technology and Nanotechnology Revolution,should be supplemented into "the New Path to Industrialization". The essence of "the New Path" is firmly grasping the historical opportunities of the new technological revolution.Its strong evidence is the economic take-off of the US and Germany,which successfully seized "the second window of opportunity" in the Second Industrial Revolution.This paper analyzes these phenomena thoroughly grounded on evolutionary economics.The national industries should be strengthened,the domestic market should be expanded,the high ends of industry value chains of new technological revolution should be occupied,and the competitive advantages in the third industrial revolution should be reestablished in order to make China achieve the goal of "the New Path to Industrialization". This is the inevitable choice of China to become one of the leaders of the Third Industrial Revolution together with the US,Japan and the EU.This paper demonstrates policy choices of this strategy from a comparative perspective of history and reality.
Boxed in: Reclassification of Arab Americans on the U.S. Census as Progress or Peril?

The United States Bureau of the Census has proposed a standalone “Middle Eastern or North African” (“MENA”) box for the 2020 census. Deemed white by law since 1944, the 2020 census may afford Arab Americans the unprecedented opportunity to identify as MENA, and nonwhite — the latter standing as a per se designation that conflicts with federal and local surveillance, profiling, and policing of Arab Americans during the protracted “War on Terror. ”Since the 1980s, Arab American organizations have lobbied the Census Bureau to recognize Arab Americans as a distinct demographic. These efforts proved futile, until after the September 11th terrorist attacks, when progressive steps were made toward adopting a standalone racial box. This forward momentum intersects with increased government interest in collecting precise and comprehensive demographic data about Arab Americans — a population disparately linked to terrorism.While perceived as a moment of racial progress, the proposed 2020 Census Reform also raises many concerns. This Article investigates the converging government interest in establishing a standalone MENA box, and then, the perils associated with the proposed reform and reclassification. These prospective perils include: first, expanded government surveillance and monitoring of Arab Americans; second, the creation of a formal binary for Arab Americans, whereby voluntarily checking the MENA box signals association with national security suspicion, while checking “White” mitigates that suspicion; and third, division of the Arab American population between two per se races.
Trapping Sets of Fountain Codes

The remarkable results of Fountain codes over the binary erasure channel (BEC) have motivated research on their practical implementation over noisy channels. Trapping sets are a phenomenon of great practical importance for certain graph codes on noisy channels. Although trapping sets have been extensively studied for low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes, to the best of our knowledge they have never been fully explored for Fountain codes. In this letter, we demonstrate that trapping sets are damaging to the realized rate and decoding cost of Fountain codes. Furthermore, we show that through trapping set detection we may combat these negative effects.
Interpreting anomalously low voltage noise in two-channel measurement systems

In this work we 1) analyze and give a theoretical explanation for the anomalously low cross-spectral density of voltage fluctuations that is observed when two thermal noise sources with matched intensities are coupled to the inputs of two-channel phase modulation (PM) or amplitude modulation (AM) noise measurement systems (NMS), 2) empirically evaluate spectral resolutions of different types of measurement systems, and 3) discuss noise measurement techniques involving cross-correlation signal processing. Our work shows that the statistical uncertainty, which sets the ultimate spectral resolution in the thermal noise limited regime, is approximately the same for both systems. However, in practical terms, the non-stationary nature of the noise, the temporal separation of calibration and measurement, and the difficulty of reproducing the calibrations for two measurements make it extremely difficult to resolve noise that is more than 10 dB below the noise floor in a single channel NMS. In a two-channel NMS, however, the calibrations of the two channels are carried out simultaneously, and one can take full advantage of a large number of averages and make reproducible noise measurements with resolution 10 dB below the noise floor of a single channel NMS.
Abnormal Trading Volume and the Cross-Section of Stock Returns

Stocks with high trading volume outperform otherwise stocks for one week, but subsequently underperform at the longer horizon. We show that such time-varying predictability of trading volume is attributed to abnormal trading activity, which is not explained by past volume. Specifically, we find that the return forecasting power of abnormal trading activity is strongly positive up to five weeks ahead. In contrast, the predictive power of the expected trading activity is negative, and lasts for longer horizons. We further argue that behavioral biases and investors’ attention induces abnormal trading activity, but its price impact is primarily related to behavioral biases. Overall evidence emphasizes the role of behavioral biases and investors’ attention to explain trading volume.