Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Analysis of Slug Tests in Formations of High Hydraulic Conductivity

A new procedure is presented for the analysis of slug tests performed in partially penetrating wells in formations of high hydraulic conductivity. This approach is a simple, spreadsheet‐based implementation of existing models that can be used for analysis of tests from confined or unconfined aquifers. Field examples of tests exhibiting oscillatory and nonoscillatory behavior are used to illustrate the procedure and to compare results with estimates obtained using alternative approaches. The procedure is considerably simpler than recently proposed methods for this hydrogeologic setting. Although the simplifications required by the approach can introduce error into hydraulic‐conductivity estimates, this additional error becomes negligible when appropriate measures are taken in the field. These measures are summarized in a set of practical field guidelines for slug tests in highly permeable aquifers.
The Effects of Aging on the Electrophysiologic and Hemodynamic Responses to Nifedipine in Isolated Perfused Hearts

Summary Age effects on responses to calcium channel blockade with nifedipine were studied in isolated Langendorff-perfused Fischer 344 rat hearts. Responses to 25 min of perfusion with nifedipine concentrations of 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100 ng/ml were studied in hearts from 11 mature (6 months) and 13 senescent (23–27 months) male F344 rats. Nifedipine produced significant increases in the atrial cycle length (p < 0.001), paced atrioventricular (AV) conduction time (p < 0.001), AV Wenckebach cycle length (p < 0.001), left ventricular (LV) diastolic pressure (p < 0.001), and decreases in LV systolic pressure (p < 0.001) and peak dP/dt (p < 0.001) in hearts from both mature and senescent rats. Greater decreases in the atrial rate (p < 0.05) and depression of peak dP/dt (p < 0.05) were detected in senescent vs. mature rat hearts. No age difference in responses of AV conduction parameters were detected although increases in the AV Wenckebach cycle length appeared to be greater in senescent hearts at concentrations >75 ng/ml.
Iron (III) chelation and antioxidant properties of myo‐inositol phosphorylated polymeric microspheres

New chelating and antioxidant polymeric microspheres were synthesized through precipitation polymerization of 4‐O‐(4‐vinylbenzyl)‐myo‐inositol 1,3,5‐orthoformate with ethylene glycol dimethacrylate and subsequent exhaustive phosphorylation of the myo‐inositol groups with phosphoric acid. Three different microspheres using different molar ratios of the two co‐monomers were prepared. The antioxidant properties of these polymers were evaluated in rat liver microsomal membranes. This study showed that the macromolecular systems are very effective at inhibiting iron‐dependent lipid peroxidation of the membranes. This antioxidant effect is due to the chelating properties of polyphosphorylated inositol residues in the polymeric devices toward ferric ions. The amount of polyphosphorylated inositol in the microspheres was found to play a crucial role in determining the chelating efficiency of the polymers: the polymer with the greatest amount of polyphosphorylated inositol was the most powerful antioxidant polymer.
Effect of Gravity Correction on Isokinetic Average Force of the Quadriceps and Hamstring Muscle Groups in Women Runners

Previous investigations have examined the effect of gravity correction on hamstring and quadriceps force and reciprocal muscle group ratios when tested from a seated position. The effect of gravity correction on these values when knee extension is tested from supine and knee flexion from prone has not been determined. This study tested 48 females for concentric and eccentric average force of the quadriceps in the supine position and of the hamstring muscle group in the prone position with a Kin Com dynamometer. For the quadriceps and hamstring muscle groups, the gravity-corrected values were greater (p < .01) than gravity-uncorrected values for concentric and eccentric force. The gravity-corrected flexion/extension reciprocal muscle group ratios were also greater (p < .01) than uncorrected ratios when determined from both concentric and eccentric average force values. These findings indicate gravity correction had a significant effect on both quadriceps and hamstring force production and reciprocal muscle group ratios, regardless of the fact that both muscle groups were assessed against the effects of gravity. Furthermore, the effect of gravity correction on the hamstring muscle group was approximately twice as great as on the quadriceps. These findings support the need to correct for the effect of gravity when assessing knee extension from supine and knee flexion from prone. Thus, it is very important for clinicians to report how testing and gravity correction were accomplished to allow proper interpretation and analysis of the presented values.
Review: The future of cell therapies and brain repair: Parkinson's disease leads the way

During the past 40 years brain tissue grafting techniques have been used both to study fundamental neurobiological questions and to treat neurological diseases. Motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease are largely due to degeneration of midbrain dopamine neurones. Because the nigrostriatal pathology is relatively focused anatomically, Parkinson's disease is considered the ideal candidate for brain repair by neural grafting and dopamine neurone transplantation for it has led the way in the neural transplantation research field. In this mini‐review, we briefly highlight four important areas of development. First, we describe marked functional benefits up to 18 years after transplantation surgery in patients with Parkinson's disease. This is proof‐of‐principle that, using optimal techniques and patient selection, grafted dopamine neurones can work in humans and the duration of the benefit exceeds placebo effects associated with surgery. Second, we describe that eventually protein aggregates containing α‐synuclein, identical to Lewy bodies, develop inside foetal dopamine neurones transplanted to patients with Parkinson's disease. This gives clues about pathogenetic mechanisms operating in Parkinson's disease, and also raises the question whether neural graft function will eventually decline as the result of the disease process. Third, we describe new emerging sources of transplantable dopamine neurones derived from pluripotent stem cells or reprogrammed adult somatic cells. Fourth, we highlight an important European Union‐funded multicentre clinical trial involving transplantation of foetal dopamine neurones in Parkinson's disease. We describe the design of this ongoing trial and how it can impact on the overall future of cell therapy in Parkinson's disease.
Experimental evaluation of energy optimized trajectories for industrial robots

This thesis presents a method reducing the energy consumption in industrial robots up to more than 30%. The reduction is possible by the use of a smart optimization algorithm tuning the individual robot motions and improving the coordination of multiple robots. To increase the sustainability of the automated manufacturing industry, the large energy consumption in industrial robots must be reduced. Various approaches, such as new control systems, lower robot weight, DC-based architectures and smart sleep mode, are being evaluated today. However, with over 1.3 million industrial robots operating worldwide, a solution for already existing robots is also desirable. The challenges are to develop an energy-optimized solution and to integrate it in existing robots. The experiments and evaluations in this thesis have been conducted on real industrial robots available in the robotic laboratory at Chalmers University of Technology. Based on the current robot behavior, various approaches for reducing the energy consumption of predefined trajectories have been evaluated. The results show that the use of an optimization algorithm for minimizing the squared acceleration can reduce the energy consumption in a robot significantly. When coordinating multiple robots the reduction can be increased even further, by the use of a smart zone-booking system reducing waiting time. Furthermore, tools for measuring robot performance and for implementing and executing optimized trajectories in the robots have also been developed. The latter is an important contribution towards integrating the final optimization strategy in existing robots. The resulting energy reduction of over 30% indicates, along with the execution method, that a fully integrated solution is feasible and likely to provide satisfying results.
THE RENAL CLEARANCE OF 131-I LABELED MEGLUMINE DIATRIZOATE (RENOGRAFIN) IN MAN.

The renal clearance of inulin is the universally accepted measure of glom erular filtration in man. The chemical quantitation of this substance, however, is tedious and time consuming. Even in the best of hands, the standard devia tion for repeated chemical determinations on the same sample of insulin is 4.3 per cent ( 1 ) . In order to simplify the measurement of glomerular filtration rate, a group of substances believed to be excreted in the same manner as inulin and labeled with gamma-emitting isotopes have been employed in clearance studies. These include â€ ̃@â€ ̃I (2) and 1251 (3) allyl inulin, vitamin B1257c0 (4), and 1311 la beled sodium diprotiozoate (Miokon) (5), sodium diatrizoate (Hypaque) (5,6), meglumine diatrizoate (Renografin) (5,7), and sodium iothalamate (Angio Conray) (8). The radioactivity of these labeled compounds in plasma and urine, necessary for the calculation of clearances, can easily and accurately be measured in a well type scintillation counter. Renografin â€ ̃@â€ ̃I, when first used for radiorenography (9), was thought to be handled by both glomerular filtration and tubular secretion. Woodruff and Malvin, however, showed in dogs that the changes in Renografin 1311concentra tion paralleled those of creatinine in urine obtained from different levels of the renal tubule during stop-flow studies (5). This inference that Renografin is handled exactly like exogenous creatinine in the dog, that is, solely by glomerular filtration, was supported by further data which indicated that the clearance of a tracer dose of Renografin 131J after a single intravenous injection was equal to that of continuously infused creatinine, once a small correction had been made for that fraction of Renografin bound to plasma proteins. Meschan et at (7), in eleven studies on five dogs, noted that although the average ratio be tween the clearance of Renografin 1311,given in a single intravenous tracer dose, and that of inulin, administered by continuous infusion, was 1.01, the ratios obtained in each separate study ranged from 0.92 to 1.15 when all studies were considered. This paper reports the results of simultaneous clearances of Reno grafin 1311 and inulin, both determined by constant infusion techniques, in 15 human subjects.
SOCS and diabetes—ups and downs of a turbulent relationship

Diabetes mellitus is one of the most emerging diseases threatening the present world. Thus, intensive investigations are carried out to better understand the mechanisms occurring in type 1 (T1D) and 2 (T2D) diabetes, and to elaborate more potent methods to fight the disease. In this aspect, the suppressors of cytokine signalling (SOCS) are one of the most studied factors of recent years. SOCS proteins have been discovered as cytokine pathway inhibitors; however, presently, their influence seems wider. Most of the known SOCS proteins are involved in the modulation of the development of insulin resistance, β‐cell failure and eventually T1D and T2D. They are also involved in complications related with diabetes, such as retinopathy, nephropathy and cardiomyopathy. In T1D, SOCS proteins regulate β‐cell mass, mediate resistance to damaging factors and improve pancreatic islet graft survival. Regarding insulin resistance and T2D, SOCS proteins take part in mediating signals produced by diabetogenic substances and regulate insulin receptor functioning, affecting insulin sensitivity. However, not all of the present data are consistent, and thus, further studies are required. Finally, for several pharmacologically active substances of importance regarding the treatment of diabetes, SOCS‐modulating properties have already been described. Here, we review the findings of SOCS–diabetes relations of the last decade. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
[Construction and verification of anti-MM scFv-tP fusion protein expression vector].

OBJECTIVE To construct an expression vector of anti-MM scFv-tP fusion protein and test its expression efficiency and function. METHODS The truncated protamine (tP) gene sequence was added to the gene of single chain antibody against the specific antigen on the surface of malignant melanoma tumor cells using PCR. A GST-fusion expression vector was constructed and the soluable protein was expressed in the E.coli system. After cleavage and purification, the purified fusion protein was obtained. The binding activity of Anti-MM scFv-tP and siRNA was detected by EMSA. Flow cytometry and confocal microscopy were used to detect the cell surface antigen binding activity of the fusion protein. RESULTS The expression vector of Anti-MM scFv-tP fusion protein was successfully constructed. The soluable protein could be expressed in the E.coli system, and the purified fusion protein was obtained. The anti-MM scFv-tP fusion protein retained siRNA binding ability and could directly target malignant melanoma (MM) LiBr cells. CONCLUSION The recombinant GST- Anti-MM-scFv-tp expression vector was successfully constructed. The fusion protein retains siRNA binding ability and can directly target LiBr cells to provide a reliable tool for further study.
Double Sieve Collision Attack Based on Bitwise Detection

Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) is widely used for protecting wireless sensor network (WSN). At the Workshop on Cryptographic Hardware and Embedded Systems (CHES) 2012, Gerard et al. proposed an optimized collision attack and break a practical implementation of AES. However, the attack needs at least 256 averaged power traces and has a high computational complexity because of its byte wise operation. In this paper, we propose a novel double sieve collision attack based on bitwise collision detection, and an improved version with an error-tolerant mechanism. Practical attacks are successfully conducted on a software implementation of AES in a low-power chip which can be used in wireless sensor node. Simulation results show that our attack needs 90% less time than the work published by Gerard et al. to reach a success rate of 0.9.
Joint Channel and Network Coding for Cooperative Diversity in a Shared-Relay Environment

In this paper we propose a cooperative diversity scheme for the communication model of two sources sharing a single relay. The scheme uses algebraic code superposition relaying in the multiple access fading channel to create spatial diversity under the constraint of limited communications resources. We also describe in detail a novel computationally efficient message passing algorithm at the destination's decoder which extracts the substantial spatial diversity contained in the code superposition and signal superposition. The decoder is based on a sliding window structure where certain a posteriori LLRs are retained to form a priori LLRs for the next decoding. We show that despite the simplicity of the proposed scheme, diversity gains are efficiently leveraged by the simple combination of channel coding at the sources and network coding at the relay.
Activation of peripheral cannabinoid CB1 receptors inhibits mechanically evoked responses of spinal neurons in noninflamed rats and rats with hindpaw inflammation

The presence of cannabinoid1 (CB1) receptors on primary afferent fibres may provide a novel target for cannabinoid analgesics. The present study investigated the ability of peripheral CB1 receptors to modulate innocuous and noxious transmission in noninflamed rats and rats with peripheral carrageenan inflammation. Effects of peripheral injection of arachidonyl‐2‐choroethylamide (ACEA; 10 and 30 µg in 50 µL), a selective CB1 receptor agonist, on mechanically evoked responses of dorsal horn neurons were studied in noninflamed rats and rats with peripheral carrageenan inflammation. Peripheral injection of ACEA (30 µg in 50 µL) significantly inhibited innocuous (12 g) mechanically evoked responses of spinal neurons in noninflamed (27 ± 4% of control; P < 0.01) and inflamed (12 ± 8% of control; P < 0.05) rats. Similarly, noxious (80 g) mechanically evoked responses of spinal neurons were inhibited by peripheral injection of ACEA (30 µg in 50 µL) in noninflamed rats (51 ± 9% of control; P < 0.01) and rats with peripheral carrageenan inflammation (21 ± 8% of control; P < 0.01). Inhibitory effects of ACEA were significantly greater in rats with peripheral carrageenan inflammation than in noninflamed rats (P < 0.05). Inhibitory effects of ACEA were significantly blocked by coadministration of the CB1 receptor antagonist SR141716A in both groups of rats. Peripheral injection of SR141716A alone did not alter mechanically evoked responses of spinal neurons in either group of rats. These data demonstrate that activation of peripheral CB1 receptors can inhibit innocuous and noxious somatosensory processing. Furthermore, following peripheral inflammation there is an enhanced inhibitory effect of a peripherally administered CB1 receptor agonist on both innocuous and noxious mechanically evoked responses of spinal neurons.
An attempt to evaluate lung aggression in monkey silicosis: hydrolases, peroxidase and antiproteases activities in serial bronchoalveolar lavages.

Exposure to silica can induce fibrosis and/or emphysema. Various factors such as proteases, other hydrolases and oxidants may be involved in the destruction of lung parenchyma. On the other hand, antiproteases play an important role in the protection of lung parenchyma against the action of proteases. We have developed an animal model of silicosis in monkey Macacus cynomolgus and followed these factors by bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL). We have studied glycosidases activities, elastase-like activity, immunoreactive alpha 1-protease inhibitor (alpha 1PI), neutrophil elastase inhibitory capacity (NEIC) and myeloperoxidase. Bronchoalveolar cells in serial BAL were also studied. Six monkeys were exposed to quartz aerosols (100 mg.m-3) for 18 wks. They were followed until they developed X-ray changes, which occurred between 21-64 wks after the end of the dust exposure. Cellular "silicotic nodules" were observed in lung biopsies. A control animal underwent serial BAL. Changes were seen in the differential cell count. The release of superoxide anion by bronchoalveolar cells obtained during the experiment was increased. Separation on a gradient of Percoll showed the presence of young macrophages, which exhibited enhanced release of superoxide anion as compared to the totality of bronchoalveolar cells. The biochemical analysis of BAL fluids obtained during and after the period of dust exposure showed an increase in glycosidases, alpha 1PI and NEIC. Some free elastase-like activity was simultaneously detected in BAL fluids from exposed animals but not from the control. This elastase-like activity was very low compared to NEIC. The increase in enzymatic and antiprotease activities occurred at different points in time for each animal, suggesting large differences in individual responses to dust, but occurred before the chest X-ray abnormalities.
Effect of Subliminal Visual Material on an Auditory Signal Detection Task

An experiment assessed the effect of subliminally embedded, visual material on an auditory detection task. 22 women and 19 men were presented tachistoscopically with words designated as “emotional” or “neutral” on the basis of prior GSRs and a Word Rating List under four conditions: (a) Unembedded Neutral, (b) Embedded Neutral, (c) Unembedded Emotional, and (d) Embedded Emotional. On each trial subjects made forced choices concerning the presence or absence of an auditory tone (1000 Hz) at threshold level; hits and false alarm rates were used to compute non-parametric indices for sensitivity (A′) and response bias (B″). While over-all analyses of variance yielded no significant differences, further examination of the data suggests the presence of subliminally “receptive” and “non-receptive” subpopulations.
Chloroacetonitrile-Induced Cytotoxicity and Oxidative Stress in Isolated Rat Hepatocytes

Chloroacetonitrile (CAN) is a disinfectant by-product of drinking water chlorination. The present work was designed to investigate the cytotoxic effects as well as the oxidative stress induced by CAN in isolated rat hepatocytes. Hepatocytes were exposed to different concentrations of CAN (5-40 µM) in a time-course experiment for up to 2 h. CAN exposure induced a significant decrease in cell viability and a significant increase in the leakage of hepatic enzymes in a concentration and time-related manner. In addition, CAN exposure results in a significant decrease in cellular GSH content as well as a significant enhancement of TBARS accumulation in a concentration and time-related manners. Also, a subsequent experiment was designed to evaluate the role of GSH modulation and oxidative stress in CAN toxicity in hepatocytes at 2 h. Pretreatment with the GSH-depleting agents enhanced the cytotoxicity of CAN. Conversely, pretreatment with GSH or sulfhydryl compounds attenuated CAN toxicity. Similarly, co-incubation with enzymatic antioxidants, or iron chelator, or hydroxyl radical scavengers exhibited significant protection against CAN cytotoxicity. In conclusion, our results suggest that CAN has a potential cytotoxic effect in isolated rat hepatocytes; and GSH modulation can play a critical role against CAN-induced cellular damage. (Osama S. El-Tawil, Ali H. Abou-Hadeed, Abeir A. Shalaby and Samar M. Mouneir. Chloroacetonitrile-Induced Cytotoxicity and Oxidative Stress in Isolated Rat Hepatocytes. Journal of American Science 2010;6(10):1307-1316). (ISSN: 1545-1003).
Seroprevalence of cytomegalovirus infection among healthy blood donors in Bahia State, Brazil

Nos objetivamos analisar a soroprevalencia para infeccao por citomegalovirus (CMV) e avaliar aspectos particulares do perfil imunologico relacionado em doadores de sangue no estado da Bahia. Foram realizados imunoensaios de deteccao de IgG e IgM anti-CMV, bem como avaliacao da avidez dos anticorpos IgG anti-CMV. A metodologia utilizada foi o Teste imunoenzimatico ELISA, confirmado por quimioluminescencia. A reatividade das amostras para a infeccao por CMV foi comparada entre generos e grupos etarios. Entre os 636 doadores testados, 428 (67,3%) eram do sexo masculino e 208 (32,7%) do sexo feminino. A soroprevalencia geral para CMV observada foi de 87,9%, sendo maior estatisticamente entre as mulheres (94,7%) do que entre os homens (84,6%) (p<0,05). Nenhuma amostra foi positiva para IgM anti-CMV. Cerca de 4,6% das amostras testadas apresentaram IgG anti-CMV em altos titulos, nestes casos foi realizado o imunoensaio de avidez do IgG anti-CMV que evidenciou: baixa avidez (31%), moderada avidez (21%) e alta avidez (48%). A alta soroprevalencia encontrada ressalta a importância do uso de estrategias como a leucorreducao e a transfusao com hemocomponente CMV-negativo em pacientes com alto risco de desenvolverem infeccao severa por CMV. Os altos titulos de IgG anti-CMV e o perfil da avidez dessa IgG sugerem a possibilidade da reativacao ou reinfeccao.