Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Long-term effects of multiple doses of methamphetamine on tryptophan hydroxylase and tyrosine hydroxylase activity in rat brain.

Tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH) activity was measured in various rat brain regions after administering large doses of methamphetamine (METH). After four sequential doses of METH (15 mg/kg), given every 6 hr, TPH activity was decreased (to approximately 10% of control) in both the neostriatum and hippocampus. The depression of enzyme activity persisted for at least 30 days. When compared with the depression of neostriatal tyrosine hydroxylase activity, the depression of neostriatal and hippocampal TPH activity occurred sooner and was more pronounced. The depression of TPH activity was dependent on the number of doses and the amount of drug administered. Five days after one to two doses of METH, a transient recovery was observed but when four doses were given, the enzyme was depressed. No decrease in TPH activity was observed in brain areas containing serotonergic cell bodies. Agents which prevent the METH-induced decrease of neostriatal tyrosine hydroxylase activity, i.e., haloperidol, alpha-methyl-p-tyrosine and gamma-aminobutyric acid transaminase inhibitors also prevented the decrease in TPH activity caused by METH. In addition, fluoxetine, an inhibitor of 5-hydroxytryptamine re-uptake, prevented the METH-induced decrease in neostriatal and hippocampal TPH activity but did not alter the decrease in nenostriatal tyrosine hydroxylase activity.
A different view of thrombosis

&NA; In this paper we discuss some of the physical difficulties associated with the classical view of thrombosis and conclude that there are problems associated with these concepts. We propose an alternative model based on our published observations that, during ex‐vivo thrombus formation, the platelets, which normally do not stain for tissue factor, become tissue factor positive. These hybrid species are capable not only of propagating coagulation, but also of initiating it. Thus thrombi can grow without evoking long‐range diffusion ‐ a very slow and inefficient mechanism, particularly in a flowing system. Blood Coagul Fibrinolysis 11 (suppl 1):S1‐S2 © 2000 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Shoot, Ready, Aim: Pneumonia Care Quality and Costs in a Community Hospital

Mandatory community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) protocol usage was proposed in our community-based teaching hospital because of senior medical staff perceptions that excessive variation in CAP care was adversely affecting clinical outcomes and costs. The purpose of our study was to examine CAP process of care variation, outcomes, and costs to ascertain whether the mandatory CAP protocol could be justified. The study consisted of an analysis of administrative and sampled chart data. We looked at pneumonia severity, orders for blood cultures or sputum staining, antibiotic usage, symptom resolution, length of stay, discharge status, readmission risk by follow-up time, and financial data. We found that process of care variation was low, clinical outcomes were generally good, and CAP care was profitable. Our data suggested that the proposed mandatory CAP protocol was not necessary. Our experience supports the management principle that fact finding should usually precede decision making, not the reverse.
Control of Shh activity and signaling in the neural tube.

The generation of diverse cell types in the neural tube requires inductive signals that are generally derived from tissues adjacent to the neural tube and capable of patterning cell fates at a distance. Shh, a signaling molecule secreted from the notochord and the floor plate, has been shown to induce motor neurons (MN) as well as interneurons, dorsal to the MN, in a concentration-dependent manner. The cellular response to the Shh signal is mediated by receptors, cytoplasmic factors as well as transcription factors, which act both positively and negatively to modulate Shh activity in the patterning of diverse cell types in the ventral neural tube. Additionally, Shh also cooperates with Bmp and Fgf molecules in the control of diverse neuronal cell fates in the brain.
Two Generalized Predator-Prey Models for Integrated Pest Management with Stage Structure and Disease in the Prey Population

Stage-structured predator-prey models with disease in the prey are constructed. For the purpose of integrated pest management, two types of impulsive control strategies (impulsive release of infective prey and impulsive release of predator) are used. For Case 1, infective prey applications are more frequent than releases of predator (natural enemies). For Case 2, predator (natural enemies) releases are more frequent than infective prey applications. In both cases, we get the sufficient conditions for the global attractivity of the susceptible prey-eradication periodic solution. In addition, the persistence of the systems is also discussed. At last, the results are discussed and some possible future work is put forward.
Analysis of apoptosis in lymph nodes of HIV-infected persons. Intensity of apoptosis correlates with the general state of activation of the lymphoid tissue and not with stage of disease or viral burden.

The occurrence of in vivo apoptosis was investigated in lymph node sections obtained from HIV-infected persons at different stages of disease. The degree of apoptosis in lymph nodes from HIV-infected individuals was compared with that observed in lymph nodes obtained from HIV-negative individuals. Apoptosis was readily detected in lymph nodes obtained from both HIV-negative and HIV-positive persons; however, the degree of apoptosis in lymph nodes obtained from HIV-positive persons was three to four times higher than that observed in the lymph nodes obtained from HIV-negative persons. In contrast to HIV-negative lymph nodes in which apoptosis was confined largely to germinal centers, in HIV-positive lymph nodes all functional compartments of the lymph node (i.e., cortex, paracortex, and sinuses) were extensively involved by this phenomenon. Furthermore, a significant correlation was observed between intensity of apoptosis and degree of activation of the lymphoid tissue associated with HIV infection. In contrast, intensity of apoptosis correlated neither with the clinical stage of HIV disease nor with the viral burden in the lymph node. Finally, apoptosis was not restricted only to CD4+ T cells; both B cells and CD8+ T cells were found to undergo apoptosis. Taken together, these results indicate that the increased intensity of the apoptotic phenomenon in HIV infection is caused by the general state of immune activation, and is independent of the progression of HIV disease and of the levels of viral load.
Controlling Competition by Structural Information

In this paper, we propose a new information theoretic method called structural information control for exible feature discovery. The new method has three distinctive characteristics. First, the new method can directly control competitive unit activation patterns. Second, competitive units compete with each other by maximizing their information content about input patterns. Consequently, this information maximization makes it possible to exibly control competition processes. Third, in structural information control, it is possible to de ne many di erent kinds of information content, and we can choose a speci c type of information according to a given objective. When applied to competitive learning, structural information can be used to control the number of dead or spare units, and to extract macro as well as micro features of input patterns in explicit ways. We rst applied this method to simple pattern classi cation to demonstrate that information can be controlled and that di erent neuron ring patterns can be generated. Second, we applied the method to a language acquisition problem in which networks must exibly discover some linguistic rules by changing structural information.
Post-weld-shift in semiconductor laser packaging

Post-weld-shift (PWS) in laser welding technique for a package (DIP) with fiber pigtail to laser connection has been studied experimentally and numerically modelled. Experimental results show that the PWS of optical component welded by a dual-beam laser welding system shifts more to the counterclockwise as the energy difference of the laser beam increases. This indicates that the PWS in laser packaging can be minimized by properly controlling the laser beam energy delivery. A finite-element method (FEM) has been carried out to analyse the effect of laser beam energy variation on PWS in laser packaging. A satisfactory agreement between the experimental results and FEM calculations suggests that the FEM provides one of the effective methods for predicting the PWS in laser welding technique for optoelectronic packaging.
Overview and early results of the Superconducting Submillimeter‐Wave Limb‐Emission Sounder (SMILES)

[1] The Superconducting Submillimeter-Wave Limb-Emission Sounder (SMILES) was successfully launched and attached to the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) on the International Space Station (ISS) on 25 September 2009. It has been making atmospheric observations since 12 October 2009 with the aid of a 4 K mechanical cooler and superconducting mixers for submillimeter limb-emission sounding in the frequency bands of 624.32–626.32 GHz and 649.12–650.32 GHz . On the basis of the observed spectra, the data processing has been retrieving vertical profiles for the atmospheric minor constituents in the middle atmosphere, such as O3 with isotopes, HCl, ClO, HO2, BrO, and HNO3. Results from SMILES have demonstrated its high potential to observe atmospheric minor constituents in the middle atmosphere. Unfortunately, SMILES observations have been suspended since 21 April 2010 owing to the failure of a critical component.
Expression of human mucin genes in respiratory, digestive, and reproductive tracts ascertained by in situ hybridization.

In recent years considerable advances have been made in our knowledge of the peptide moiety of human mucins through cDNA cloning. In many diseases disorders in mucin biosynthesis are observed, which result either from changes in the synthesis of the carbohydrate side chains or from differences in the relative expression of the different apomucins, each of which may affect physical properties of the viscous gel. We describe in situ hybridization studies on healthy human mucosae with five different oligonucleotide probes corresponding to each of the human genes known to date that encode secreted mucins, i.e., MUC 2, 3, 4 (HGM nomenclature) and 5B, 5C (proposed name). These genes present a nucleic tandem repeat organization. The choice of oligonucleotide probes was made to amplify the signal by hybridization of many small probes on the same mRNA molecules. A characteristic pattern of mucin gene expression was observed for each mucosa.
Morphological and functional characterization of large antral follicles in three breeds of sheep with different ovulation rates.

Morphological and functional features of large ovarian follicles from three breeds of sheep, with different ovulation rates (Finnish Landrace N = 12, Finnish Landrace X Scottish Blackface N = 16, Merino X Scottish Blackface N = 16) were compared by integrating three techniques; ink labelling, in-vitro oestradiol production and morphological classification. The follicles were removed at two stages of the follicular phase, 1 (PG + 1) or 2 (PG + 2) days after PGF-2 alpha treatment and compared after monitoring their rates of growth with the use of ink labelling. After ovariectomy all follicles greater than or equal to 1 mm in diameter were dissected, and the 8 largest were incubated individually for 2 h to assess their ability to secrete oestradiol and testosterone. After incubation the follicles were processed for histological examination and checked for atresia. An analysis of the follicle population was based on in-vitro oestradiol secretion rates in all three breeds; an oestrogen-active population producing 500-8100 pg oestradiol/ml/h and an oestrogen-inactive population producing 0-499 pg oestradiol/ml/h. A comparison of the 3 approaches demonstrated agreement on 94.3 +/- 1.2% of occasions. Ink-labelling demonstrated that all follicles identified as oestrogen-active were increasing in size. Within oestrogen-active follicles significant correlations were detected between oestradiol production and testosterone production (r = 0.42), oestradiol production and granulosa cell number (r = 0.45) and between oestradiol production and mitotic index (r = -0.38). A regression model fitting breed, stage of atresia, granulosa cell number, in-vitro testosterone production and mitotic index demonstrated that granulosa cell number is a characteristic which contributes significantly to the variation of in-vitro oestradiol production in oestrogen-active and oestrogen-inactive follicles. There was no significant difference between breeds in the mean number of ink-labelled follicles growing from Day PG - 1 to Day PG + 1. There was a significant difference between the breeds in the number of ink-labelled follicles growing between Days PG + 1 and PG + 2 (Days 1 and 2 of the follicular phase), the number being similar to the ovulation rate for the breed. The majority of the oestrogen-active follicles had been recruited by Day PG - 1, although in the Finnish Landrace genotypes more than 30% were recruited on or after Day PG + 1 compared to less than 10% in Merino x Scottish Blackface ewes. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Multiple stress signal integration in the regulation of the complex σS‐dependent csiD‐ygaF‐gabDTP operon in Escherichia coli

The csiD‐ygaF‐gabDTP region in the Escherichia coli genome represents a cluster of σS‐controlled genes. Here, we investigated promoter structures, sigma factor dependencies, potential co‐regulation and environmental regulatory patterns for all of these genes. We find that this region constitutes a complex operon with expression being controlled by three differentially regulated promoters: (i) csiDp, which affects the expression of all five genes, is cAMP‐CRP/σS‐dependent and activated exclusively upon carbon starvation and stationary phase; (ii) gabDp1, which is σS‐dependent and exhibits multiple stress induction like σS itself; and (iii) gabDp2[previously suggested by Schneider, B.L. , Ruback, S. , Kiupakis, A.K. , Kasbarian, H. , Pybus, C. , and Reitzer, L. (2002) J. Bacteriol. 184: 6976–6986], which appears to be Nac/σ70‐controlled and to respond to poor nitrogen sources. In addition, we identify a novel repressor, CsiR, which modulates csiDp activity in a temporal manner during early stationary phase. Finally, we propose a physiological role for σS‐controlled GabT/D‐mediated γ‐aminobutyrate (GABA) catabolism and glutamate accumulation in general stress adaptation. This physiological role is reflected by the activation of the operon‐internal gabDp1 promoter under the different conditions that also induce σS, which include shifts to acidic pH or high osmolarity as well as starvation or stationary phase.
Review and Comparative Study of Ray Traversal Algorithms on a Modern GPU Architecture

In this paper we present a chronological review of five distinct data structures commonly found in literature and ray tracing systems: Bounding Volume Hierarchies (BVH), Octrees, Uniform Grids, KD-Trees, and Bounding Interval Hierarchies (BIH). This review is then followed by an extensive comparative study of six different ray traversal algorithms implemented on a modern Kepler CUDA GPU architecture, to point out pros and cons regarding performance and memory consumption of such structures. We show that a GPU KD-Tree ray traversal based on ropes achieved the best performance results. It surpasses the BVH, often used as primary structure on state-of-the-art ray tracers. A carefully well implemented ropes based KD-Tree CUDA traversal can improve performance on a 12-39% approximate range. This suggests that, for critic real time applications, the ropes based KD-Tree traversal is a more adequate option on GPU. However, this structure consumes at least 4x more memory space than BVHs and BIHs. This disadvantage can be a limiting factor on memory limited architectures.
Plan de connaissance pour les réseaux sémantiques : application au contrôle d'admission. (Knowledge plane for semantic networks : admission control)

Depuis quelques annees, il y a un reel changement dans les usages des reseaux en termes d'applications vehiculees ainsi que dans leur nombre. On voit apparaitre de plus en plus d'applications contraintes en termes de delai, comme par exemple la telephonie sur IP, ainsi que d'applications gourmandes en ressources comme par exemple le Srteaming Video. La croissance en volume de ces applications copmmence a poser des problemes de congestion dasn les reseaux filiares et sans fil. Les operateurs reseaux doivent etre capables d'absorber ces changements de trafic, de faire face a cette demande de plus en plus intensive en bande passante et de fournir une bonne qualite (QoS) aux applications. Cela necessite des mecanismes intellignets en termes d'ordonnancement et de gestion des files d'attente, de controle d'admission, de controle de debit et/ou de routage. L'objectif initial de cette these etati d'aboutir a la conception d'une nouvelle architecture de traitement et de gestion du trafic et de la qualite de service pour le controle d'admission. Plus precisement nous presentons une nouvelle solution pour le controle d'admission qui repose sur l'elaboration en continu d'un plan de connaissance et sur la modelisatio automatique du comportement d'un lien reseau par une file d'attente monoserveur. Norte solution doit permettre d'offrir une garantie probabiliste d'un parametre de performance QoS qui peut etre le delai d'attente moyen des paquets dans le buffer du lien ou le taux de perte. Nous avons evalue les performances de notre nouveau contro^le d'admission par simulation en considerant diverses conditions possibles de trafic. Lers resultats obtenus indiquent que la solution proposee permet d'atteindre un controle d'admission ni trop conservateur, ni trop permissif. En outre, notre solution offre l'avantage de se baser uniquement sur une connaisssance acquise au cours du temps et permet ainsi de s'affranchir d'un parametrage complique des parametres comme c'est le cas pour les solutions classiques de controle d'admission
Disruption of SLP-76 Interaction with Gads Inhibits Dynamic Clustering of SLP-76 and FcεRI Signaling in Mast Cells

ABSTRACT We developed a confocal real-time imaging approach that allows direct observation of the subcellular localization pattern of proteins involved in proximal FcεRI signaling in RBL cells and primary bone marrow-derived mast cells. The adaptor protein Src homology 2 (SH2) domain-containing leukocyte phosphoprotein of 76 kDa (SLP-76) is critical for FcεRI-induced calcium flux, degranulation, and cytokine secretion. In this study, we imaged SLP-76 and found it in the cytosol of unstimulated cells. Upon FcεRI cross-linking, SLP-76 translocates to the cell membrane, forming clusters that colocalize with the FcεRI, the tyrosine kinase Syk, the adaptor LAT, and phosphotyrosine. The disruption of the SLP-76 interaction with its constitutive binding partner, Gads, through the mutation of SLP-76 or the expression of the Gads-binding region of SLP-76, inhibits the translocation and clustering of SLP-76, suggesting that the interaction of SLP-76 with Gads is critical for appropriate subcellular localization of SLP-76. We further demonstrated that the expression of the Gads-binding region of SLP-76 in bone marrow-derived mast cells inhibits FcεRI-induced calcium flux, degranulation, and cytokine secretion. These studies revealed, for the first time, that SLP-76 forms signaling clusters following FcεRI stimulation and demonstrated that the Gads-binding region of SLP-76 regulates clustering of SLP-76 and FcεRI-induced mast cell responses.
Atypical Neural Responding to Hearing One’s Own Name in Adults With ASD

Diminished responding to hearing one’s own name is one of the earliest and strongest predictors of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Here, we studied, for the first time, the neural correlates of hearing one’s own name in ASD. Based on existing research, we hypothesized enhancement of late parietal positive activity specifically for the own name in neurotypicals, and for this effect to be reduced in adults with ASD. Source localization analyses were conducted to estimate group differences in brain regions underlying this effect. Twenty-one adults with ASD, and 21 age- and gender-matched neurotypicals were presented with 3 categories of names (own name, close other, unknown other) as task-irrelevant deviant stimuli in an auditory oddball paradigm while electroencephalogram was recorded. As expected, late parietal positivity was observed specifically for own names in neurotypicals, indicating enhanced attention to the own name. This preferential effect was absent in the ASD group. This group difference was associated with diminished activation in the right temporoparietal junction (rTPJ) in adults with ASD. Further, a familiarity effect was found for N1 amplitude, with larger amplitudes for familiar names (own name and close other). However, groups did not differ for this effect. These findings provide evidence of atypical neural responding to hearing one’s own name in adults with ASD, suggesting a deficit in self–other distinction associated with rTPJ dysfunction.
Microsatellite primers identified by 454 sequencing in the floodplain tree species Eucalyptus victrix (Myrtaceae)1

Premise of the study: Microsatellite primers were developed for Eucalyptus victrix (Myrtaceae) to evaluate the population and spatial genetic structure of this widespread northwestern Australian riparian tree species, which may be impacted by hydrological changes associated with mining activity. Methods and Results: 454 GS-FLX shotgun sequencing was used to obtain 1895 sequences containing putative microsatellite motifs. Ten polymorphic microsatellite loci were identified and screened for variation in individuals from two populations in the Pilbara region. Observed heterozygosities ranged from 0.44 to 0.91 (mean: 0.66) and the number of alleles per locus ranged from five to 25 (average: 11). Conclusions: These microsatellite loci will be useful in future studies of population and spatial genetic structure in E. victrix, and inform the development of seed sourcing strategies for the species.
Amphibious Pattern Design of a Robotic Fish with Wheel‐propeller‐fin Mechanisms

This paper is devoted to the underwater and terrestrial locomotion aspects of an amphibious robotic fish propelled by modular fish‐like propelling units and a pair of hybrid wheel‐propeller‐fin mechanisms. According to the mechanical structure and locomotion characteristics of the robot, a central pattern generator (CPG) network comprising coupled oscillators is employed to produce signals for swimming, crawling, as well as transitions between them. Specifically, a set of four key parameters including a tonic input drive, a direction factor, and two pitch factors is introduced to serve as input to the CPG network. Meanwhile, a finite state machine is built to trigger locomotor pattern transitions. Field tests on the amphibious patterns and autonomous water‐land transition demonstrate the effectiveness of the adopted CPG‐based control architecture. The latest results show that the robot attained a maximum advancing speed of 1.16 m/s (corresponding to 1.66 body lengths per second), a minimal turning radius of approximately 0.55 m (corresponding to 0.79 body lengths) on land, as well as an average rolling speed of 204 degrees per second in an alligator‐like roll maneuver. It is also found that the dolphin‐like dorsoventral swimming could provide an increase of 10.3% in speed compared to the fish‐like carangiform swimming on the same propulsion platform.