Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A highly selective kappa-opioid receptor agonist, CI-977, reduces excitatory synaptic potentials in the rat locus coeruleus in vitro.

Intracellular recordings were made from neurons in a rat locus coeruleus slice preparation in vitro. A postsynaptic potential was evoked by electrical stimulation of afferents to the neurons. CI-977 ([5R-(5a,7a,8b)]-N-methyl-N-[7-(1-pyrrolidinyl)-1-oxaspiro[4.5]dec -8-yl[-4-benzofuranacetamide monohydrochloride) caused a depression of the evoked postsynaptic potential on locus coeruleus neurons. This action was reversed on washout. Bremazocine had a similar action on less than 50% of locus coeruleus neurons. Concentrations of CI-977 which depressed the postsynaptic potential did not affect either passive membrane conductance or a voltage-sensitive potassium current resembling IA. The depression of the excitatory postsynaptic potential caused by CI-977 remained in the presence of either 30 microM bicuculline and picrotoxin or when potassium acetate-filled recording electrodes were used. Using potassium chloride-filled recording electrodes and in the presence of 30 microM 6-cyano-2,3-dihydro-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione and either 30 microM DL-2-amino-5-phosphonovaleric acid or 500 microM kynurenic acid, CI-977 had no effect on the postsynaptic potential. The effects of CI-977 were reversed by 30-100 nM naloxone and 1-10 nM norbinaltorphimine but not by 1-10 nM naloxone. The hyperpolarizing response to the mu-opioid receptor-selective agonist D-Ala2,Nme Phe4,Gly-ol5 (DAGOL) was blocked by 1-10 nM naloxone but not by 1-100 nM norbinaltorphimine. The hyperpolarizing response to DAGOL was not affected by high doses of CI-977. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Indexing billions of images for sketch-based retrieval

Because of the popularity of touch-screen devices, it has become a highly desirable feature to retrieve images from a huge repository by matching with a hand-drawn sketch. Although searching images via keywords or an example image has been successfully launched in some commercial search engines of billions of images, it is still very challenging for both academia and industry to develop a sketch-based image retrieval system on a billion-level database. In this work, we systematically study this problem and try to build a system to support query-by-sketch for two billion images. The raw edge pixel and Chamfer matching are selected as the basic representation and matching in this system, owning to the superior performance compared with other methods in extensive experiments. To get a more compact feature and a faster matching, a vector-like Chamfer feature pair is introduced, based on which the complex matching is reformulated as the crossover dot-product of feature pairs. Based on this new formulation, a compact shape code is developed to represent each image/sketch by projecting the Chamfer features to a linear subspace followed by a non-linear source coding. Finally, the multi-probe Kmedoids-LSH is leveraged to index database images, and the compact shape codes are further used for fast reranking. Extensive experiments show the effectiveness of the proposed features and algorithms in building such a sketch-based image search system.
Location and Size of Dopaminergic and Serotonergic Cell Populations Are Controlled by the Position of the Midbrain–Hindbrain Organizer

Midbrain dopaminergic and hindbrain serotonergic neurons play an important role in the modulation of behavior and are involved in a series of neuropsychiatric disorders. Despite the importance of these cells, little is known about the molecular mechanisms governing their development. During embryogenesis, midbrain dopaminergic neurons are specified rostral to the midbrain–hindbrain organizer (MHO), and hindbrain serotonergic neurons are specified caudal to it. We report that in transgenic mice in which Otx2 and accordingly the MHO are shifted caudally, the midbrain dopaminergic neuronal population expands to the ectopically positioned MHO and is enlarged. Complementary, the extension of the hindbrain serotonergic cell group is decreased. These changes are preserved in adulthood, and the additional, ectopic dopaminergic neurons project to the striatum, which is a proper dopaminergic target area. In addition, in mutants in which Otx2 and the MHO are shifted rostrally, dopaminergic and serotonergic neurons are relocated at the newly positioned MHO. However, in these mice, the size ratio between these two cell populations is changed in favor of the serotonergic cell population. To investigate whether the position of the MHO during embryogenesis is also of functional relevance for adult behavior, we tested mice with a caudally shifted MHO and report that these mutants show a higher locomotor activity. Together, we provide evidence that the position of the MHO determines the location and size of midbrain dopaminergic and hindbrain serotonergic cell populations in vivo. In addition, our data suggest that the position of the MHO during embryogenesis can modulate adult locomotor activity.
Magnesium and Vascular Changes in Hypertension

Many factors have been implicated in the pathogenesis of hypertension, including changes in intracellular concentrations of calcium, sodium, potassium, and magnesium. There is a significant inverse correlation between serum magnesium and incidence of cardiovascular diseases. Magnesium is a mineral with important functions in the body such as antiarrhythmic effect, actions in vascular tone, contractility, glucose metabolism, and insulin homeostasis. In addition, lower concentrations of magnesium are associated with oxidative stress, proinflammatory state, endothelial dysfunction, platelet aggregation, insulin resistance, and hyperglycemia. The conflicting results of studies evaluating the effects of magnesium supplements on blood pressure and other cardiovascular outcomes indicate that the action of magnesium in the vascular system is present but not yet established. Therefore, this mineral supplementation is not indicated as part of antihypertensive treatment, and further studies are needed to better clarify the role of magnesium in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases.
Reproducibility of electronic cell counts in milk; a study of 5 further factors

Summary This paper is a sequel to a previous one in which a number of factors likely to influence the accuracy of counting somatic cells in milk was assessed; in the present work the effects of 5 other factors are investigated. In a study of storage time and temperature of milk samples fixed in formalin, a significant increase in cell count occurred after 5–7 d when samples were stored at room temperature (17–23°C), compared with those maintained at 4 °C. When manual and mechanical mixing of fixed samples were compared only marginal differences in cell counts were observed. An increase in cell counts followed manual dilution of milk samples in comparison with automatic dilution. The temperature of samples prepared for counting was also studied and no significant variations occurred between mean temperatures of 12·7 and 32·9 °C. The final factor evaluated was that of holding time before counting; using 4 cell-count levels it was observed that counts were acceptable up to 1½ h.
Maintenance of Paraoxonase 2 Activity as a Strategy to Attenuate P. Aeruginosa Virulence

Abstract : The P. aeruginosa signaling and virulence molecule 3OC12 mediates inactivation of the lactonase paraoxonase 2 (PON2) and induces many immunomodulatory effects in host cells. Because PON2 rapidly inactivates 3OC12, we hypothesized that preventing PON2 inactivation by 3OC12 could be a therapeutic strategy to limit P. aeruginosa quorum signaling and thereby attenuate virulence. In human and mouse primary cell types we found PON2 to be sensitive to 3OC12-mediated inactivation at concentrations of 3OC12 expected to be present near P. aeruginosa colonies during infection. We also discovered that 3OC12 is rapidly hydrolyzed intracellularly by PON2 to 3OC12-acid, which becomes trapped and accumulates within the cells, specifically within the endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria. 3OC12 caused a rapid PON2-dependent cytosolic and mitochondrial pH decrease, calcium release and phosphorylation of stress signaling kinases. The findings suggest that intracellular acidification is the proximal event that mediates many immunomodulatory effects of 3OC12 and PON2 inactivation. PON2 appears to be inactivated by 3OC12 via an endoplasmic reticulum stress like response triggered by acidification. Two compounds were identified that inhibit both intracellular acidification and PON2 inactivation, suggesting that they could be developed as potential drugs to prevent 3OC12-mediated biological effects. Protecting cells from 3OC12-mediated acidification could be an important therapeutic strategy to attenuate P. aeruginosa quorum signaling and virulence as well as host cell immunomodulation.
Comparison of Four Algorithms forEstimating 3-D Rigid Transformations 1

A common need in machine vision is to compute the 3-D rigid transformation that exists between two sets of points for which corresponding pairs have been determined. In this paper a comparative analysis of four popular and eecient algorithms is given. Each computes the trans-lational and rotational components of the transform in closed-form as the solution to a least squares formulation of the problem. They diier in terms of the representation of the transform and the method of solution, using respectively: singular value decomposition of a matrix, orthonor-mal matrices, unit quaternions and dual quaternions. This comparison presents results of several experiments designed to determine the (1) accuracy in the presence of noise, (2) stability with respect to degenerate data sets, and (3) relative computation time of each approach.
A feedback controlled coil driver for transcutaneous power transmission

A fully integrated feedback controlled coil driver for transcutaneous power transmission was proposed to power biomedical implants. For a normal power transmission operation, the voltage across the switch that energizes the coil is sampled and compared with ground, followed by an integration to obtain an optimal on-time for the switch such that the coil current was maximized for a given DC input power. The coil driver also provides ASK modulation on the coil current by changing the size of the switch according to the input data. In the normal power transmission operation, a peak-to-peak coil current of ~730mA was obtained with a power dissipation of 71.6mW at 5V.
On using cooccurrence matrices to detect periodicities

Drawbacks and limitations in applying the χ2independence hypothesis test parameter over the elements of cooccurrence matrices are discussed. The proper kind of measures to be applied, essentially of degree of concentration on the main diagonal, is justified. Some simple parameters that can be used in this direction are introduced, and their performances illustrated using simulations. The possibility of designing "ad hoc" tests is also suggested.
Biometric Palm Prints Feature Matching for Person Identification

Biometrics is playing an important role for person recognition. The Biometrics identification of an individual is can be done by physiological or behavioral characteristics; where the palm print of an individual can be captured by using sensors and is one of among physiological characteristics of an individual. Palm print is a unique and reliable biometric characteristic with high usability. A palm print refers to an image acquired of the palm region of the hand. The biometric use of palm prints uses ridge patterns to identify an individual. Palm print recognition system is most promising to recognize an individual based on statistical properties of palm print image. It is rich in its features: principal lines, wrinkles, ridges, singular points and minutiae points. This paper proposes a Biometric Palm print lines extraction using image processing morphological operation. The proposed work discusses the significance; since both the palm print and hand shape images are proposed to extract from the single hand image acquired from a sensor. The basic statistical properties can be computed and are useful for biometric recognition of individual. This result and analysis will result into Total Success Rate (TSR) of experiment is 100%. This paper discusses proposed work for biometric recognition of individual by using basic statistical properties of palm print image. The experiment is carried out by using MATLAB software image processing toolbox.
Chemotaxis of 3T3 and SV3T3 cells to fibronectin is mediated through the cell-attachment site in fibronectin and a fibronectin cell surface receptor

Fibronectin (FN) is a multidomain extracellular matrix protein that induces attachment and chemotactic migration of fibroblastic cells. In this study we analyzed the molecular determinants involved in the FN- induced chemotactic migration of normal and SV40-transformed 3T3 cells. Two different monoclonal antibodies to the cell-binding site of FN blocked chemotaxis to a 140-kD FN fragment (Ca 140) containing the cell- binding domain. A monoclonal antibody to a determinant distant from the cell-binding site did not affect chemotaxis. A synthetic tetrapeptide, RGDS, which represents the major cell-attachment sequence, was able to compete with FN and the Ca 140 fragment in chemotaxis assays, but this peptide itself had no significant chemotactic activity. A larger peptide encompassing this sequence, GRGDSP, was chemotactic, while the peptide GRGESP, where a glutamic acid residue was substituted for aspartic acid, was inactive. Chemotactic migration could be prevented in a dose-dependent manner by a rabbit polyclonal antiserum to a 140-kD cell surface FN receptor. This antibody was more effective on normal than on transformed 3T3 cells. Neither the anti-FN receptor antiserum nor a monoclonal antibody to the cell-binding site of FN blocked migration induced by another potent chemoattractant, platelet-derived growth factor. These data indicate that FN-induced chemotaxis of 3T3 and SV3T3 cells is mediated via the RGDS cell-attachment site of FN and the 140-kD cell surface FN receptor. The interaction is specific and can be altered by transformation.
spatio-temporal patt erns of activity in thalamic reticular nucleus

Recent intracellular recordings from reticular thalamic (RE) neurons at resting and hyperpolarized membrane potentials in vivo suggest that the reversed inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (IPSPs) between RE cells can directly trigger a low-threshold spike. The oscillatory mechanisms underlying IPSP-triggered low-threshold spikes crowned by spike-bursts within the RE nucleus and their effect on the network behavior were investigated in models of an isolated RE network and network of RE and thalamocortical (TC) cells. In a one-dimensional RE network the external stimulation resulted in waves of excitation propagating with constant velocity 25-150 cells/sec controlled by the GABAA conductance, radius of synaptic interconnections in the network and the level of membrane potential in RE cells. In a one-dimensional network of RE and TC cells sequences of spindle oscillations were followed by localized waves propagating inside the RE network, triggering oscillations involving both RE and TC cells. This model predicts that the isolated reticular nucleus may initiate sequences of spindle oscillations in thalamocortical networks in vivo.
Does the Relation of Blood Pressure to Coronary Heart Disease Risk Change With Aging?: The Framingham Heart Study

Background — We examined the relative importance of diastolic (DBP), systolic (SBP) and pulse pressure (PP) as predictors of coronary heart disease (CHD) risk in different age groups of Framingham Heart Study participants. Methods and Results — We studied 3060 men and 3479 women between 20 and 79 years of age who were free of CHD and were not on antihypertensive drug therapy at baseline. Cox regression adjusted for age, sex, and other risk factors was used to assess the relations of BP indexes to CHD risk over a 20-year follow-up. In the group <50 years of age, DBP was the strongest predictor of CHD risk (hazard ratio [HR] per 10 mm Hg increment, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.18 to 1.51) rather than SBP (HR, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.06 to 1.24) or PP (HR, 1.02; 95% CI, 0.89 to 1.17). In the group 50 to 59 years of age, risks were comparable for all 3 BP indexes. In the older age group, the strongest predictor of CHD risk was PP (HR, 1.24; 95% CI, 1.16 to 1.33). When both SBP and DBP were considered jointly, the former was directly and the latter was inversely related to CHD risk in the oldest age group Conclusions — With increasing age, there was a gradual shift from DBP to SBP and then to PP as predictors of CHD risk. In patients <50 years of age, DBP was the strongest predictor. Age 50 to 59 years was a transition period when all 3 BP indexes were comparable predictors, and from 60 years of age on, DBP was negatively related to CHD risk so that PP became superior to SBP.
Risk factors for venous thromboembolism after total hip and knee replacement surgery

Elective total hip and total knee arthroplasty surgeries are associated with an extraordinarily high incidence of asymptomatic venous thromboembolism (VTE). Symptomatic deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or pulmonary embolism (PE) is diagnosed in only 2%–4% of these patients. A number of studies have defined the incidence and time course of symptomatic thromboembolism after these procedures. Knee arthroplasty is associated with a very high incidence of asymptomatic calf vein thrombosis, with almost all symptomatic VTE events diagnosed in the first 21 days after surgery. Hip arthroplasty, however, is associated with a higher incidence of asymptomatic proximal thrombi and a modestly higher incidence of symptomatic VTE events, many diagnosed up to 6 or 8 weeks after hospital discharge. Extended medical thromboprophylaxis has been shown to reduce the incidence of symptomatic and asymptomatic VTE among hip arthroplasty patients but not among knee arthroplasty patients. Risk factors for VTE after knee arthroplasty are not well defined. Important risk factors that have been shown to be associated with the development of VTE after hip surgery include (1) a history of prior VTE, (2) obesity (body mass index > 25), (3) delay in ambulation after surgery, and (4) female sex. Factors associated with lower risk include (1) Asian/Pacific Islander ethnicity, (2) use of pneumatic compression among non-obese patients after surgery, and (3) extended thromboprophylaxis after hospital discharge.
The model for induction-healing asphalt concrete

Induction heating of asphalt concrete is accomplished by adding electri- cally conductive particles to the asphalt mixture, and heating them with an induction heat- ing device. When the temperature of the asphalt concrete is higher than 30-70 °C, cracks may start closing. In this article, the healing properties of 25 different mixtures, with the same aggregates distribution and amount of bitumen, but with 2 different lengths, 4 different quantities, and 4 different diameters of steel wool fibers have been considered. It has been found that the asphalt concrete studied can be healed up to 60% and that healing happens when the temperature is higher than 50 °C. Additionally, asphalt healing versus the increase of temperature has been fitted through an equation based on the capillary theory, showing that capillary flow is the main parameter affecting asphalt healing at high temperature.
Biodegradable polyesters for medical and ecological applications

Numerous biodegradable polymers have been developed in the last two decades. In terms of application, biodegradable polymers are classified into three groups: medical, ecological, and dual application, while in terms of origin they are divided into two groups: natural and synthetic. This review article will outline classification, requirements, applications, physical properties, biodegradability, and degradation mechanisms of representative biodegradable polymers that have already been commercialized or are under investigation. Among the biodegradable polymers, recent developments of aliphatic polyesters, especially polylactides and poly(lactic acid)s, will be mainly described in the last part.
A study of knowledge, attitudes, and practice of dental doctors about adverse drug reaction reporting in a teaching hospital in India

Objective: The aim was to investigate the knowledge, attitudes, and practice of dental doctors about adverse drug reaction (ADR) reporting. Materials and Methods: In a cross-sectional study, questionnaire was administered to 95 dental doctors working in a teaching dental hospital attached to a medical college with an ADR monitoring center (AMC). Statistical Analysis Used: Descriptive statistics were used to analyze responses. The association of knowledge and attitude with respect to position of dentists was analyzed with Chi-square test. Results: The response rate and spontaneous reporting rate was found to be 61.0% and 13.7%, respectively. Important factors contributing to under reporting of ADRs include lack of awareness about AMC in the institute (81.0%) and pharmacovigilance program (72.4%), complacency (67.2%), lack of training to identify ADRs (65.5%), fear factor (63.7%), lethargy (58.6%), lack of risk perception of over the counter product related ADR (39.6%), inadequate risk perception of nonallopathic and herbal medicines (31%), indifference (27.5%) and concern that report may be wrong (27.5%). No significant difference in knowledge and attitudes of doctors with respect to position was found except for reporting of ADRs of newly marketed drugs and serious reactions to established product (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The deficiencies in knowledge and attitudes appear to be the underlying factor for under reporting by dental practitioners. It should be addressed urgently in order to increase spontaneous reporting by them.
The t(14;18)(q32;q21)/IGH–MALT1 translocation in gastrointestinal extranodal marginal zone lymphoma of mucosa‐associated lymphoid tissue (MALT lymphoma)

Studies have indicated that the t(14;18)(q32;q21)/IGH–MALT1 translocation is present in extranodal marginal zone lymphomas of mucosa‐associated lymphoid tissue (MALT lymphoma). However, only a few studies have investigated the incidence of t(14;18)/IGH–MALT1 in primary gastrointestinal MALT lymphomas or in diffuse large B‐cell lymphomas (DLBCL). The overall significance of t(14;18)/IGH–MALT1 in gastrointestinal MALT lymphomas is not clear. We examined 41 gastrointestinal MALT lymphoma and 23 DLBCL cases, with the aim of further understanding the role of t(14;18)/IGH–MALT1 in these diseases.
Verifying Conflicts among Multiple Norms in Multi-agent Systems: (Extended Abstract)

Norms represent the expected behavior of an agent in a multi-agent system. Generally, norms describe the actions that can be performed, must be performed, and cannot be performed in the system. Due to the number of norms defined to govern a multi-agent systems (MAS), norms may conflict with each other. Norms are in conflict when the fulfillment of one norm violates the other and vice-versa. There are several works that analyze the conflicting norms. However, to the best of our knowledge, these works only analyze conflicts between pairs of norms. There are situations that conflict can only be detected when we analyze several norms together. This work presents an approach to check for conflicts among multiple norms and a strategy to minimize the complexity of this NP-hard problem.