Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Characterization of ion channels seen in subconfluent human dermal fibroblasts.

1. Ion channels expressed in human dermal fibroblasts are characterized using the patch‐clamp technique. 2. A number of different ion channels were found but their expression occurred at various frequencies. The most commonly found phenotype was the expression of voltage‐gated K+ current. This ‘typical’ K+ current was seen in about 60% of the cells recorded. 3. Subtypes of voltage‐gated K+ channels could be discerned by differences in gating kinetics. One has fast inactivation and resembles the ‘A’ K+ current. Additional subtypes were sometimes discerned based on activation kinetics. 4. The large‐conductance Ca(2+)‐activated K+ channel (maxi‐K+) could be found in nearly every cell but required large depolarizations to activate using the standard Ca(2+)‐buffered pipette solution (10(‐8) M [Ca2+]i). 5. Inward rectifier K+ channels were seen in a low percentage of cells. The inward rectifier K+ current was sensitive to ‘wash‐out’ if guanosine 5'‐O‐(3‐thiotriphosphate) (GTP gamma S) was included in the pipette solution dialysing the cell. 6. Tetrodotoxin (TTX)‐sensitive voltage‐gated Na+ channels were seen but in a lower number of cells recorded, about 20%. Evidence for subtypes of Na+ channels were sometimes seen based on differences in gating kinetics. 7. An ATP‐dependent osmotically activated Cl‐ current was also found. This current showed some outward rectification but was otherwise voltage independent. 8. In addition, a cell‐to‐cell contact‐associated K+ current was described. This current was linear over the voltage ranges used and whose gating correlated with the existence of gap junctions. 9. These currents were characterized to determine the baseline behaviour of unstimulated cells and to compare to bradykinin‐stimulated cells described in the following paper. As unexcitable cells, human dermal fibroblasts are capable of expressing a surprising diversity of ion channel phenotypes and of ion channel modulations.
Effect of Probe Tube Insertion Depth on Spectral Measures of Speech

This study investigated how depth variations in the tip of the probe tube affected spectral measures of speech recorded in the external ear canal. Consonant-vowel nonsense syllables were recorded with a probe tube microphone system in 10 adult participants with normal middle ear function. Recordings were made with the probe tube tip placed 1 mm, 5 mm, and 10 mm beyond the medial tip of a custom earmold. The effect of probe depth was evaluated on spectral levels (one-third octave and one-twelfth octave band). Extending the probe tube 10 mm past the medial tip of the earmold gave the most accurate results, with relatively lower sound levels for either the 1-mm or 5-mm insertion depth. In general, the effect of insertion depth was minimal at frequencies below 3 to 4 kHz, although this varied with the specific phoneme and the width of the analysis bands. The authors found no significant difference between 1- and 5-mm insertion depths, suggesting that as long as the tip of the probe tube is sufficiently close to the tympanic membrane to capture the highest frequency of interest, it makes little difference if it is less than 5 mm beyond the earmold tip.
Physiological and Psychological Predictors of Walking Speed in Older Community-Dwelling People

Background: Six-metre walking speed (SMWS) is a commonly used test for measuring functional performance in older people. However, apart from lower limb strength, few studies have examined the range of physiological and psychological factors that influence performance in this test. Objective: To investigate the relative contributions of a range of sensorimotor, balance and psychological factors to SMWS in a large sample of older people. Methods: 668 community-dwelling people aged 75–98 years (mean age 80.1, SD = 4.4) underwent the SMWS test as well as quantitative tests of vision, peripheral sensation, strength, reaction time, balance, fear of falling, pain and vitality. Results: Many physiological and psychological factors were significantly associated with SMWS in univariate analyses. Stepwise multiple regression analyses revealed that a composite lower limb strength measure (sum of knee extension, knee flexion and ankle dorsiflexion muscle strength scores), postural sway, leaning balance as assessed with the coordinated stability test, reaction time, edge contrast sensitivity, SF12 body pain and vitality scores and age were significant and independent predictors of SMWS. Of these measures, the combined lower limb strength measure had the highest beta weight indicating it was the most important variable in explaining the variance in SMWS. However, the other sensorimotor, balance and psychological measures each provided important independent information. The combined set of variables explained 40% of the variance in SMWS (multiple r = 0.63). Conclusions: The findings indicate that in community-dwelling older people, self-selected walking speed is influenced not only by lower limb strength but also by balance, reaction time, vision, pain and emotional well-being.
Findings from the NIMH Multimodal Treatment Study of ADHD (MTA): Implications and Applications for Primary Care Providers

In 1992, the National Institute of Mental Health and 6 teams of investigators began a multisite clinical trial, the Multimodal Treatment of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (MTA) study. Five hundred seventy-nine children were randomly assigned to either routine community care (CC) or one of three study-delivered treatments, all lasting 14 months. The three MTA treatments-monthly medication management (usually methylphenidate) following weekly titration (MedMgt), intensive behavioral treatment (Beh), and the combination (Comb)-were designed to reflect known best practices within each treatment approach. Children were assessed at four time points in multiple outcome. Results indicated that Comb and MedMgt interventions were substantially superior to Beh and CC interventions for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms. For other functioning domains (social skills, academics, parent-child relations, oppositional behavior, anxiety/depression), results suggested slight advantages of Comb over single treatments (MedMgt, Beh) and community care. High quality medication treatment characterized by careful yet adequate dosing, three times daily methylphenidate administration, monthly follow-up visits, and communication with schools conveyed substantial benefits to those children that received it. In contrast to the overall study findings that showed the largest benefits for high quality medication management (regardless of whether given in the MedMgt or Comb group), secondary analyses revealed that Comb had a significant incremental effect over MedMgt (with a small effect size for this comparison) when categorical indicators of excellent response and when composite outcome measures were used. In addition, children with parent-defined comorbid anxiety disorders, particularly those with overlapping disruptive disorder comorbidities, showed preferential benefits to the Beh and Comb interventions. Parental attitudes and disciplinary practices appeared to mediate improved response to the Beh and Comb interventions.
Magnetoencephalography Correlate of EEG POSTS (Positive Occipital Sharp Transients of Sleep)

Purpose: In contrast to EEG, which has guidelines for interpretation and a plethora of textbooks, the full range of activity seen in magnetoencephalography (MEG) has not been fleshed out. Currently, magnetoencephalographers apply criteria for EEG waveforms to MEG signals based on an assumption that MEG activity should have morphology that is similar to EEG. The purpose of this article was to show the characteristic MEG profile of positive occipital sharp transients of sleep. Methods: Simultaneous MEG–EEG recordings of two cases are shown. Results: In both the cases, the morphologic features of positive occipital sharp transients of sleep in MEG vary and sometimes mimic epileptic spikes. Conclusion: This report raises a caution that a normal variant may have an even more epileptic appearance on MEG than on EEG. Using the simultaneously recorded EEG to avoid misinterpretation of spikey-looking positive occipital sharp transients of sleep in MEG is a natural and prudent practice.
Examining the Impact of Shipping Charge Fairness on Consumer Satisfaction and Behavior

Abstract:Firms are increasingly recognizing that consumers' perceptions of price fairness should be considered when making logistics decisions at the firm level. A key element of price fairness is the shipping charges that consumers pay. This is especially critical with respect to online retail shipping charges as they represent a substantial portion of consumers' total cost and are visible to consumers before they place an order. Perceptions of the fairness of these prices are believed to impact online shoppers' selection of a retailer as well as influence subsequent purchase behavior. While large retailers may be able to leverage scale economies in shipping to offer free shipping on many orders, smaller firms may not be able to offer this to consumers. Thus, the general expectations of consumers are an important competitive factor in the environment, especially for the small and medium enterprises that are employers of 70 percent of US workers. This study assesses the impact of shipping charge fairness upon consumer satisfaction, repurchase, and positive word-of-mouth outcomes for a focal firm. Additionally, the moderating influences of shipping charge magnitude and consumer experience are examined. Consumer perceptions of fairness are found to influence satisfaction as well as willingness to repurchase and make positive referrals.
Performance evaluation of surge energy regenerative two-switch power supply with TEC values

In recent years, environmental problems and consumer requirements encourage more and more high efficiency and miniaturized electronic devices. In addition to that, since smaller Typical Electricity Consumption (TEC) values of office automation equipment are requested, it is necessary to realize high efficiency in a wide operating range from the energy saving mode (about 0.5W) to the rating mode (about several hundreds of watts). Furthermore, the coexistence of energy saving and low cost is hard to be achieved in conventional power supply. In this paper, a new DC-DC converter with a surge energy regeneration circuit topology is studied. A small inductor is positively attached to the power transformer to realize a high efficiency and a low noise performance. The circuit operation analysis and the results of both simulations and experiments are addressed. In this paper, various circuit topologies are built to carry out the efficiency comparison and performance evaluation with TEC values.
Effects of chronic stress on hippocampal long‐term potentiation

Chronic stress causes atrophy of the apical dendrites of CA3 pyramidal neurons and deficits in spatial memory. We investigated the effects of chronic stress on hippocampal physiology and long‐term potentiation (LTP) in the CA3 and dentate gyrus (DG). Rats were subjected to chronic (21 days, 6 h/day) restraint stress and tested for LTP 48 h following the last stress episode. Control animals were briefly handled each day, similar to the experimental group but without restraint. To eliminate acute stress effects, a second control group of rats was subjected to a single acute (6 h) restraint stress and tested for LTP 48 h later. Field potential recordings were made, under chloropent anesthesia, from the stratum lucidum of CA3, with stimulation of either the mossy fiber or commissural/associational pathways, or in the DG granule‐cell layer, with stimulation of the medial perforant pathway. Chronic stress produced a suppression of LTP at 48 h compared to controls in a site‐specific manner, namely, significantly lower LTP in the medial perforant input to the DG and also in the commissural/associational input to the CA3, but not in the mossy fiber input to CA3. The animals subjected to acute stress and tested 48 h later did not show a suppression in LTP. High‐frequency stimulation (HFS) of the commissural/associational and mossy fiber inputs to CA3 produced epileptic afterdischarges in 56% of acutely stressed animals and in 29% of chronically stressed animals, whereas HFS caused afterdischarges in only 9% of nonstressed controls. No afterdischarges were seen in the medial perforant path input to DG. In order to explore the basis for these changes, we performed paired‐pulse inhibition/facilitation (PPI/F) and current‐source‐density (CSD) analysis in stressed and control animals. For PPI/F, acute stress caused an overall significant enhancement of excitation in the commissural/associational input to CA3 and medial perforant path input to DG. In contrast, chronic stress did not produce significant changes in PPI/F. The CSD analysis revealed significant chronic stress‐induced shifts in the current sources and sinks in the apical dendrites and pyramidal cell layers of the CA3 field but not in the DG. These results are consistent with the morphological findings for stress effects upon dendrites of CA3 neurons. Furthermore, they suggest that chronic stress produces changes in the input‐output relationship in the hippocampal trisynaptic circuit which could affect information flow through this structure. Hippocampus 2002;12:245–257. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Total body oxygen stores and physiological diving capacity of California sea lions as a function of sex and age

SUMMARY A defining physiological capability for air-breathing marine vertebrates is the amount of oxygen that can be stored in tissues and made available during dives. To evaluate the influence of oxygen storage capacity on aerobic diving capacity, we examined the extent to which blood and muscle oxygen stores varied as a function of age, body size and sex in the sexually dimorphic California sea lion, Zalophus californianus. We measured total body oxygen stores, including hematocrit, hemoglobin, MCHC, plasma volume, blood volume and muscle myoglobin in pups through adults of both sexes. Blood and muscle oxygen storage capacity was not fully developed by the end of the dependency period, with blood stores not fully developed until animals were larger juveniles (70 kg; 1.5-2.5 years) and muscle stores not until animals were sub-adult size (125 kg; 4-6 years). Differences in aerobic diving capacity among size classes were reflective of these major milestones in the development of oxygen stores. Male sea lions had greater absolute blood volume than females and reflected the larger mass of males, which became apparent when animals were large juveniles. Adult female sea lions had greater muscle myoglobin concentrations compared to males, resulting in greater mass-specific muscle and total oxygen stores. Delayed development of oxygen stores is consistent with the shallow epi-mesopelagic foraging behavior in this species. We hypothesize that the greater mass-specific oxygen stores of female sea lions compared to males is related to differences in foraging behavior between the sexes.
Think Globally, Act Locally: Community-Engaged Comparative Politics

ABSTRACT This article describes how comparative politics specialists can adopt community-engaged strategies and other innovative pedagogies to emphasize local–global connections. It discusses a comparative course on urban social movements that requires sustained, community-based learning. Students are placed in organizations advocating for refugee families, Latinx communities, and people in situations of homelessness. Engagement with community partners supports student learning in meaningful ways. Students apply social-movement theory to real-world situations, develop an understanding of activists and the communities they seek to empower, and gain intercultural competency by working with diverse groups. They also grapple with different modes of social action and models of citizenship. Most important, students learn to investigate activism comparatively through analysis of overseas cases. Bridging the local and the global in a single semester can be an arduous task, but undergraduates have embraced this challenge.
Maternal Health-Seeking Behavior: The Role of Financing and Organization of Health Services in Ghana

This paper examines how organization and financing of maternal health services influence health-seeking behavior in Bosomtwe district, Ghana. It contributes in furthering the discussions on maternal health-seeking behavior and health outcomes from a health system perspective in sub-Saharan Africa. From a health system standpoint, the paper first presents the resources, organization and financing of maternal health service in Ghana, and later uses case study examples to explain how Ghana's health system has shaped maternal health-seeking behavior of women in the district. The paper employs a qualitative case study technique to build a complex and holistic picture, and report detailed views of the women in their natural setting. A purposeful sampling technique is applied to select 16 women in the district for this study. Through face-to-face interviews and group discussions with the selected women, comprehensive and in-depth information on health- seeking behavior and health outcomes are elicited for the analysis. The study highlights that characteristics embedded in decentralization and provision of free maternal health care influence health-seeking behavior. Particularly, the use of antenatal care has increased after the delivery exemption policy in Ghana. Interestingly, the study also reveals certain social structures, which influence women's attitude towards their decisions and choices of health facilities.
Adaptive Self-Tuning Speed Control for Permanent-Magnet Synchronous Motor Drive With Dead Time

In this paper, an adaptive self-tuning speed control for a permanent-magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) drive with dead time is proposed. Firstly, to equivalently place the dead time element outside the closed-loop speed control, a dead time compensator (DTC), based on the Smith predictor and a self-tuning proportional-integral model-following controller (ST-PI-MFC) is proposed. The model-following error is used to adaptively update the gains of the ST-PI-MFC via the affine projection algorithm (APA). Secondly, a disturbance observer, based on the time delay control (TDC) approach is used for torque feed forward control. The system's model is greatly simplified when the disturbance observer is combined with the motor. Relying on the simplified model, a natural adaptive observer is used to estimate the motor speed. Unknown motor parameters are estimated by minimizing the state estimation error using an iterative gradient algorithm offered by the affine projection. The estimated parameters are used to update the gains of the integral-proportional (IP) servo loop controller, the disturbance observer and the Smith model. The validity and usefulness of the proposed control scheme are verified through simulation and experimental results
Persistence of community-acquired respiratory distress syndrome toxin-producing Mycoplasma pneumoniae in refractory asthma.

BACKGROUND The role of Mycoplasma pneumoniae (Mp) in the initiation and persistence of asthma remains elusive. Mp community-acquired respiratory distress syndrome toxin (CARDS Tx) is a unique virulence factor that induces an intense lymphocytic response and exacerbates asthma in animal models. We sought to determine the incidence of Mp infection and the presence of CARDS Tx in subjects with refractory asthma (RA). METHODS We conducted a prospective observational study in 64 subjects with RA. Respiratory secretions (sputum, nasal lavage, and throat swab) and blood were analyzed for the presence of CARDS Tx and P1 adhesin (P1) DNA by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and CARDS Tx by antigen capture. Serum IgM and IgG antibodies to CARDS Tx were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). RESULTS Thirty-three of 64 subjects (52%) tested positive for Mp: 29 of 33 by CARDS Tx vs 10 of 33 by P1 assays. Ten subjects followed longitudinally for up to 633 days tested persistently positive for Mp. There were no significant differences in Mp-specific IgG responses between Mp-positive and Mp-negative groups. Eight of 10 subjects who tested persistently positive failed to mount a substantial IgG response to CARDS Tx, and up to 8 weeks of clarithromycin failed to eradicate Mp in five subjects. CONCLUSIONS Subjects with RA may be chronically infected with Mp. PCR for CARDS Tx appears to be the most sensitive method of identifying Mp infection. Despite the persistence of Mp in subjects with RA, some subjects failed to mount an IgG response, and macrolide therapy was insufficient to eradicate Mp.
Maternal smoking in pregnancy, fetal development, and childhood asthma.

OBJECTIVES We examined the relationships among maternal smoking in pregnancy, fetal development, and the risk of asthma in childhood. METHODS We conducted a population-based cohort study, where all 58 841 singleton births were followed for 7 years using nationwide registries. RESULTS Maternal smoking increased the risk of asthma (adjusted odds ratio = 1.35; 95% confidence interval = 1.13, 1.62 for high exposure). Low birthweight and preterm delivery increased the risk of asthma at the age of 7, whereas being small for gestational age did not. CONCLUSIONS Maternal smoking in pregnancy increases the risk of asthma during the first 7 years of life, and only a small fraction of the effect seems to be mediated through fetal growth.
Upstream, Downstream & Common Firm Shocks

We develop a multi-sector DSGE model to calculate upstream and downstream industry exposure networks from U.S. input-output tables and test the relative importance of shocks from each direction by comparing these with estimated networks of firms’ equity return responses to one another. The correlations between the upstream exposure and equity return networks are large and statistically significant, while the downstream exposure networks have lower — but still positive — correlations that are not statistically significant. These results suggest a low short-term elasticity of substitution across inputs transmitting shocks from suppliers, but more flexible ties with downstream firms. Additionally, both the DSGE model and simulations of our empirical approach highlight the importance of accounting for common factors in network estimation, which become more important over our 1989-2017 sample period, explaining 11.7% of equity return variation over the first ten years and 35.0% over the final ten.
Single Stage Correction with External Fixation of the Ulcerated Foot in Individuals with Charcot Neuroarthropathy

The ulcerated foot in individuals with Charcot neuroarthropathy presents a complex problem when correction of the deformity is necessary but the presence of infection precludes the use of internal fixation. We reviewed 11 patients with midfoot Charcot neuroarthropathy, collapse, and ulceration who were at risk for amputation. These patients underwent operative debridement, corrective osteotomy, external skeletal fixation and culture-directed antibiotic therapy as a limb salvage procedure. Patients were transitioned from the external fixator (average 57 days) to total contact casting (average 131 days) and all subsequently progressed to therapeutic footwear in 12 to 49 months of follow-up (average 24 months), except one patient whose medical decline resulted in bedrest. We believe that when performed in properly selected patients, this procedure presents an alternative to amputation and, via corrective osteotomy, results in a shoe-able, functional foot that is potentially less prone to ulceration.