Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cross layer trigger-based handover scheme for mobile WiMAX networks

Wireless interoperability for microwave access WiMAX networks have recently emerged to be a cost-effective solution to provide broadband access over a large coverage area. To maintain service continuity and guarantee the QoS in real-time applications for mobile users, handover delay is one of the main challenges. In this paper, cross layer trigger-based handover scheme is proposed which will be able to offer uninterrupted services to mobile users. The basic idea behind this scheme is to achieve a global optimality by utilising the advantages of cross layer interactions between link layer and network layer. The cross layer triggers generated at lower layers, intimate higher layers about an imminent handover and allow execution of handover processes in layer 2 and layer 3 simultaneously. The analytical and simulation results show that the proposed mechanism enhances the handover performance in terms of handover delay and latency, which, in turn, reduces signalling overload and service disruption significantly.
Epidermal growth factor stimulation of stromelysin mRNA in rat fibroblasts requires induction of proto-oncogenes c-fos and c-jun and activation of protein kinase C

Stromelysin (transin) is a secreted metalloprotease that is transcriptionally induced by a variety of growth factors and oncogenes. We examined the necessity of specific secondary (protein kinase C) and tertiary (c-fos and c-jun protein products) messengers in the transactivation of stromelysin gene expression by epidermal growth factor (EGF). Rat-1 fibroblasts exposed to antisense c-fos DNA or RNA demonstrated that c-fos expression was necessary for complete EGF induction of stromelysin expression. Similar results demonstrating the necessity of c-jun protein in the EGF induction of stromelysin were obtained. We also demonstrated that protein kinase C activation is required for the EGF induction of stromelysin, since phorbol ester desensitization of C kinase proteins abolished the ability of EGF to induce stromelysin mRNA, protein, and promoter activity. In reconstitution experiments, neither c-fos, c-jun, nor C kinase activation alone induced significant stromelysin expression. Overexpression of c-fos and c-jun was able to induce stromelysin to a level similar to that of the growth factor, and stimulation of protein kinase C activity augmented this induction. The data suggest that the EGF induction of stromelysin in rat fibroblasts procedes through a pathway involving c-fos, c-jun, and protein kinase C.
The effects of stimulation of the carotid body chemoreceptors on heart rate in the dog

It is well known that hypoxia causes tachycardia, but there is no general agreement as to the mechanism of this effect. Some workers have assumed it to be the result of a reflex arising from stimulation of the carotid body and aortic arch chemoreceptors (Asmussen & Chiodi, 1941; von Euler & Liljestrand, 1942; Whitehorn, Edelmann & Hitchcock, 1946; Dripps & Comroe, 1947; Alveryd & Brody, 1948), despite there being a number of conflicting reports of the effects of stimulation of the chemoreceptors on heart rate. Stimulation of the carotid bodies by various drugs injected into the common carotid artery of spontaneously breathing dogs caused bradycardia (Heymans, Bouckaert & Dautrebande, 1931 a, b; Heymans, Bouckaert, von Euler & Dautrebande, 1932; Heymans, Bouckaert, Farber & Hsu, 1936; Comroe & Schmidt, 1938; Heymans & Bouckaert, 1941), but perfusion of the carotid sinus region using Ringer's solution with either a high CO2 content or a low pH resulted in tachyeardia (Heymans, Bouckaert & Dautrebande, 1930; Heymans, Bouckaert & Samaan, 1935). More recently, Bernthal, Greene & Revzin (1951) excited the carotid bodies by hypoxic blood and found variable effects on heart rate. In every case chemoreceptor stimulation, whether by drugs, Ringer's solution or hypoxic blood, caused reflex hyperpnoea. On the other hand, in dogs in which the rate and depth of respiration were controlled by a pump, stimulation of the carotid bodies by either hypoxic or venous blood invariably caused bradycardia (Bernthal et al. 1951; Daly & Daly, 1957). In the cat Landgren & Neil (1952) found that stimulation of chemoreceptors by local application of various drugs to the carotid bodies invariably caused hyperpnoea, hypertension and tachycardia. In subsequent experiments, in which carotid body perfusion techniques were used, Neil (1956) showed that the tachycardia which occurs in systemic hypoxia was not the result of stimulation of the carotid body chemoreceptors.
Skin-puncture and blood-collecting techniques for infants.

SubmitSamuel Meites, Clinical Chemistry ters: Laboratory, Children’s Hospital, 700 Children’s Drive, Columbus, OH 43205 Monte J. Levitt,* Biodecision Laboratories, Inc., 4415 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 EvaluaThomas A. Blumenfeld, Microchemistry tors: Laboratory, Babies Hospital, ColumbiaPresbyterian Medical Center, 622 West 168th St., New York, NY 10032 Keith B. Hammond, PediatricMicrochemistry Laboratbry, University of Colorado Medical Center, 4200 East 9th Avenue, Denver, CO 80262 Jocelyn M. Hicks, Department of Clinical Laboratories, Children’s Hospital National Medical Center and George Washington University School of Medicine, 111 Michigan Avenue, N. W. , Washington, DC 20010 Gilbert J. Hill, Division of Clinical Biochemistry, The Hospital for Sick Children, 555 University Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1X8, Canada John E. Sherwin, Department of Pediatrics, Michael Reese Hospital and Medical Center, 29th St. and Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60616 Elizabeth K. Smith, Department of Laboratories, Children’s Orthopedic Hospital and Medical Center, 4800 Sand Point Way, N.E. , Seattle, WA 98105 * Former Clinical Chemistry Laboratory, Department address: of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 Introduction
Transformations in a Culture of Consumption: Women and Department Stores, 1890–1925

"We dream, we work, we wake! " declared Artemas Ward, one of America's first great advertising geniuses, in 1892. "The world seems real only when it answers to our individual touch. Yet, beyond our touch, beyond our waking, beyond our working, and almost in the land of dreams, lie things beyond our present thought, greater, wider, stronger, than those we now lay hold on. To each a world opens; to everyone possibilities are present. "' Ward captured here what I wish to develop at much greater length in this essay on the culture of consumption and women. America at the close of the nineteenth century and at the beginning of the next was, indeed, a land of "possibilities" and "dreams" that flowered within the heart of a new culture and that had the power to change older patterns that had hitherto distinguished the behavior of many women. As recent historical study of women has so consistently shown, nineteenthcentury middle-class Americans viewed women as dependent, emotional, deeply religious, and sexually pure beings who were supposed to tend the domestic fires and to bear and rear children. Men, on the other hand, were thought of as stalwart citizen-producers, family providers, rational people who found personal fulfillment in public life and in the individual ownership of property. The public life was male, and individualism a male legacy that only a few women dared claim as their own. By 1915 that older paradigm had been deeply weakened by the transformation of work. Men now received wages and salaries in factories or in ever-expanding corporate and bureaucratic structures, while many women had entered the work force, some finding jobs in the new consumer, service-oriented industries.2 Alongside those changes in work emerged a vast culture of consumption. Forged by merchants in the company of enthusiastic politicians, reformers,
Characterization of antibody-reactive epitopes on the 65-kilodalton protein of Mycobacterium leprae

Twenty-three monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) prepared in seven different laboratories were studied, all of which recognized the 65-kilodalton (kDa) protein of Mycobacterium leprae as determined by Western blotting or gel radioimmunoassay or both. Fourteen of the MAbs recognized different epitopes, as evaluated by cross-competition studies using radiolabeled MAb and unlabeled inhibitors; the species specificity of these epitopes was defined by nitrocellulose dot blot immunoassays with bacterial sonic extract antigen preparations from 23 species of mycobacteria. Each of the 14 distinct MAbs recognized a 65-kDa protein produced by a lysogenized Escherichia coli Y1089 host containing cloned rDNA which included the gene for the M. leprae 65-kDa protein. Of the 14 distinct MAbs, 1 recognized an epitope found only on M. leprae, and the others recognized epitopes present on as few as 8 or as many as all 23 of the mycobacterial species studied. Identification of these distinct 65-kDa protein epitopes and use of the MAbs which recognize them should assist future structural studies of this protein and characterization of the T-cell reactive and serodiagnostically useful portions of the molecule.
Scratch-Induced Demagnetization of Perpendicular Magnetic Disk

The mechanism of scratch-induced demagnetization was studied in perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR) disks. These scratches, which may occur on the disk's surface during head/disk contact, cause demagnetization that results in read/write errors. The scratch-induced demagnetization is thus investigated by the scratch test, observation of atomic force microscopy and magnetic force microscopy, and analysis of transmission electronic microscopy. It was found that the angle of the grain in the recording layer, which is vertically orientated on a PMR disk, was tilted under the scratch. These analyses revealed that scratch-induced demagnetization is caused mainly by plastic deformation which results in grain tilt in the recording layer, rather than by stress. Therefore, a dense and not-easily titled grain structure in the recording layer is needed to produce a reliable hard disk drive (HDD).
Factor structure of the unified Parkinson's disease rating scale: Motor examination section

The Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) is widely used to asses Parkinson's disease (PD) disability but its metric properties have not been extensively studied. We investigated the factor structure and internal consistency of the Motor Examination section of the UPDRS in a sample of 294 consecutive patients with idiopathic PD who were assessed while in the “on” state. There was a high degree of internal consistency. Factor analysis revealed six clinically distinct factors, three bradykinesia measures (axial/gait, right and left), one rigidity measure, and two tremor measures (rest and postural). These factors accounted for 78% of the variance. Total Motor Examination scores and selected factors correlated well with other examiner‐determined global ratings of PD disability (Hoehn and Yahr stage and Schwab‐England Activities of Daily Living score). These results suggest that the Motor Examination section of the UPDRS provides a useful measure of PD function as well as severity measures of six clinical disability domains.
S100B increases in cyanotic versus noncyanotic infants undergoing heart surgery and cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB)

Abstract Aims S100B has been proposed as a consolidated marker of brain damage in infants with congenital heart disease (CHD) undergoing cardiac surgery and cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). The present study aimed to investigate whether S100B blood levels in the perioperative period differed in infants complicated or not by cyanotic CHD (CHDc) and correlated with oxygenation status (PaO2). Methods We conducted a case-control study of 48 CHD infants without pre-existing neurological disorders undergoing surgical repair and CPB. 24 infants were CHDc and 24 were CHD controls. Blood samples for S100B assessment were collected at six monitoring time-points: before the surgical procedure (T0), after sternotomy but before CPB (T1), at the end of the cross-clamp CPB phase (T2), at the end of CPB (T3), at the end of the surgical procedure (T4), at 24 h postsurgery (T5). Results In the CHDc group, S100B multiples of median (MoM) were significantly higher (p < .05, for all) from T0 to T5. PaO2 was significantly lower (p < .05, for all) in CHDc infants at T0–T1 and at T4 while no differences (p > .05, for all) were found at T2, T3, T5. Linear regression analysis showed a positive correlation between S100B MoM at T3 and PaO2 (R = 0.84; p < .001). Conclusions The present data showing higher hypoxia/hyperoxia-mediated S100B concentrations in CHDc infants suggest that CHDc are more prone to perioperative brain stress/damage and suggest the usefulness of further investigations to detect the “optimal” PaO2 target in order to avoid the side effects associated with reoxygenation during CPB.
Retinoic acid receptors and cellular retinoid binding proteins: complex interplay in retinoid signaling.

VITAMIN A and its biologically active derivatives, retinal and retinoic acid (RA), are essential for the health and survival of the individual. These natural compounds, together with a large repertoire of synthetic analogs, are collectively referred to as retinoids. In addition to their well known role in vision, retinoids are required for reproduction, act as morphogenetic agents during embryonic development, and regulate the growth and differentiation of a wide variety of cell types throughout the life of the organism. Although the role of 11-cis-retinal as the chromophore component of the photoreceptors in the visual cycle was elucidated three decades ago (1), the general mechanism by which RA influences cellular activities has been unraveled only relatively recently. In fact, our present understanding of how retinoids control cell functions stems directly from studies of steroid and thyroid hormones' action. These pioneering studies demonstrated that small hydrophobic ligands are able to cross passive.
Divergent effects of matrix metalloproteinases 3, 7, 9, and 12 on atherosclerotic plaque stability in mouse brachiocephalic arteries

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are thought to be involved in the growth, destabilization, and eventual rupture of atherosclerotic lesions. Using the mouse brachiocephalic artery model of plaque instability, we compared apolipoprotein E (apoE)/MMP-3, apoE/MMP-7, apoE/MMP-9, and apoE/MMP-12 double knockouts with their age-, strain-, and sex-matched apoE single knockout controls. Brachiocephalic artery plaques were significantly larger in apoE/MMP-3 and apoE/MMP-9 double knockouts than in controls. The number of buried fibrous layers was also significantly higher in the double knockouts, and both knockouts exhibited cellular compositional changes indicative of an unstable plaque phenotype. Conversely, lesion size and buried fibrous layers were reduced in apoE/MMP-12 double knockouts compared with controls, and double knockouts had increased smooth muscle cell and reduced macrophage content in the plaque, indicative of a stable plaque phenotype. ApoE/MMP-7 double knockout plaques contained significantly more smooth muscle cells than controls, but neither lesion size nor features of stability were altered in these animals. Hence, MMP-3 and MMP-9 appear normally to play protective roles, limiting plaque growth and promoting a stable plaque phenotype. MMP-12 supports lesion expansion and destabilization. MMP-7 has no effect on plaque growth or stability, although it is associated with reduced smooth muscle cell content in plaques. These data demonstrate that MMPs are directly involved in atherosclerotic plaque destabilization and clearly show that members of the MMP family have widely differing effects on atherogenesis.
Impact of dominance and epistasis on the genetic make-up of simulated populations under selection: a model development.

SUMMARY A two-locus genetic model was used to simulate different levels of additive, dominance, and additive-by-additive genetic effects. The character under phenotypic selection was controlled by 30 pairs of diallelic loci, located on different chromosomes. Initial gene frequencies were set to 0.5 for all loci and the recombination probability was 0.20 between adjacent loci. The broad-sense heritability was varied at levels of 0.03, 0.30, and 0.60. After building up a random mating population with 200 males and 400 females, the phenotypic best individuals per year were selected over 200 years (approx. 35 overlapping generations), keeping the population size constant. The results of the simulations showed extreme differences between eight models with the same initial heritability, but different amounts of additive, dominance, and additive-by-additive variance components. A model with additive, dominance, and additive-by-additive variance at the same initial magnitude, and negative dominance and positive additive-by-additive effect, led to the highest genetic response in the long term for all heritabilities simulated. The additive model showed the best selection advance in the short term. Some of the initial dominance and additive-by-additive variance was converted to additive genetic variance during the selection period, which in turn contributed to the selection response. ZUSAMMENFASSUNG: Auswirkungen von Dominanz and Epistasie auf den genetischen Aufbau von simulierten Populationen unter Selektion: Eine Modellentwicklung Ein 2-Locus-Genmodell wurde zur Simulation verschiedener Ausprägungen von additiven, Dominanz und additiv mal additiv genetischen Effekten verwendet. Das Merkmal under phänotypischer Selektion wurde von 30 diallelen Locuspaaren auf verschiedenen Chromosomen kontrolliert. Die Anfangsgenfrequenz wurde für alle Loci mit 0.5 angenommen und die Rekombinationsrate betrug 0.20 zwischen benachbarten Loci. Die Heritabilität im weiteren Sinn wurde zwischen 0.03, 0.30 und 0.60 variiert. Nach dem Aufbau einer Population durch Zufallspaarung von 200 männlichen und 400 weiblichen Individuen wurden die phänotypisch besten Individuen pro Jahr unter Konstanthaltung der Populationsgröße über einen Zeitraum von 200 Jahren (ca. 35 überlappende Generationen) selektiert. Die Ergebnisse der Simulationen zeigten extreme Unterschiede zwischen den acht Modellen mit der gleichen Anfangsheritabilität aber verschiedenen Anteilen von additiven, Dominanz und additiv mal additiven Varianzkomponenten. Ein Modell mit zu Beginn gleich hoher additiver, Dominanz und additiv mal additiver Varianz und negativem Dominanz- und positivem additiv mal additiven Effekt führte bei allen simulierten Heritabilitäten langfristig zum höchsten Selektionserfolg. Kurzfristig zeigte das additive Modell den höchsten Selektionsfortschritt. Ein Teil der Anfangs-Dominanz- und -Additiv mal additiv-Varianz wurde während der Selektionsperiode in additive Varianz umgewandelt, die wiederum zum Selektionserfolg beitrug.
Development of Mechanical and Control Systems for a Robotic Fish Using Electrostatic Film Motors

We describe the design features that underlie the operation of Seidengyo (electrostatic fish), a light, flexible, and bio-inspired robotic fish that swims in water like an actual fish. These features include an elaborate power transmission system and a compact and all-purpose robot controller. The power transmission system permits reciprocating power, from a 3-layer- structure electrostatic film motor, to be converted to periodic oscillations of a caudal fin. The controller is capable uf easily generating high-frequency and high-voltage driving signals and rapidly accomplishing various control tasks (e.g., sampling sensor, computing control algorithms and so on). As a result, we can control oscillations of the caudal fin via a synchronous operation approach to realize open-loop swimming. We present the results of experiments that focus on the performance of the constructed controller.
Frequency of incomplete medication histories obtained at triage.

PURPOSE The frequency of incomplete medication histories obtained at triage in an emergency department (ED) is described. METHODS The survey of medication histories collected during ED triage was conducted during a 20-week period. Data collection occurred on weekdays during the dayshift for 15 hours per week for a total of 300 hours. Patients who bypassed triage or were unconscious, unable to communicate, uncooperative, or violent were excluded. Ten student pharmacists were trained on study procedures and collected data using a data collection tool which included patient's chief complaints, medications and dosages, and whether medications were identified at triage. Patients' medication-related ED visits were classified as being caused by adverse effects, medication errors, poor adherence, intentional overdose, or therapeutic failure. RESULTS During the 300 hours of data collection, 2063 patients were admitted to the ED. Of these, 1465 (71%) were interviewed and evaluated for complete medication histories. Among 1172 (80%) patients identified as taking medications, the history obtained at triage failed to identify at least one medication in 707 (48%) patients. In cases where medications were not identified, a mixture of prescription (73%) and nonprescription (27%) medications were missed with a median of 2 drugs (range, 1-20 drugs). Drugs missed at triage were related to the patient's chief complaint in 27% of the cases. CONCLUSION Medication histories collected at triage in the ED of an urban medical center were often incomplete, especially among patients taking multiple medications. Efforts should be taken to improve methods for obtaining more complete medication histories during triage and collecting supplemental medication histories to ensure appropriate emergency care.
Functional ovarian lesions in children and adolescents: when to remove them

Study objective. Functional ovarian lesions represent 45% of all pediatric adnexal abnormalities. Their surgical management, even if frequent, is not clear, especially in pediatric age. Materials and methods. We retrospectively reviewed 22 pediatric patients surgically treated for functional ovarian lesions from 2000 to 2006. The following characteristics were analysed: age, size of the lesion, ultrasound (US) aspect and clinical presentation. Results. The average age was 16.1 years of age (range: 6 months–18 years). Of the 22 functional lesions, 12 (55%) were follicular cysts and 10 (45%) corpus luteum ones. The average size was 6.7 cm (range: 5.1–33 cm). US scan showed simple lesions in 10 cases (45%) and complex ones in 12 cases (55%). In 16 girls (72.8%) the presenting symptom was abdominal pain while 2 patients (9%) presented abdominal distention. In the other 4 patients (16.2%) the lesion was found accidentally during US examination. Conclusion. In pediatric subjects, functional ovarian cysts rarely required surgical intervention, though no complications or disorder recurrence were reported. To preserve ovarian function, conservative surgery has to be performed whenever feasible.