Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The role of endocytosis in regulating the strength of hippocampal synapses

The readily releasable pool of vesicles (RRP) varies in size during synaptic activity and is replenished by recruitment from the reserve pool as well as vesicle retrieval after fusion. To investigate which of these steps is rate limiting in supplying vesicles to the RRP, we measured the effects of changes in temperature in cultured hippocampal neurons, where higher average rates of release can be maintained as the temperature is increased. Using a pHluorin‐based reporter of exocytosis and endocytosis (sypHy), we find that changes in temperature between 25°C and 35°C do not significantly alter the rate of recruitment from the reserve pool. In contrast, the time constant of endocytosis fell from ∼17 s at 25°C to ∼10 s at 35°C (Q10= 1.7), while the time constant of vesicle reacidification fell from ∼5.5 s to ∼1 s (Q10= 5.5). A kinetic model of the vesicle cycle constructed using measured parameters was found to describe variations in vesicle release rate observed during long trains of spikes as well as recovery from synaptic depression after bursts of activity. These results indicate that endocytosis operating with time constants of 10–15 s is the rate‐limiting process determining replenishment of the RRP during long‐term activity. A fast mode of vesicle retrieval could not be detected at any temperature, nor was it necessary to invoke such a mechanism to account for use‐dependent changes in synaptic release probability.
Os avicultores integrados no Brasil: estratégias e adaptações – o caso da Coperguaçu Descalvado– SP

A partir de um quadro geral da avicultura brasileira, procurou-se caracterizar os produtores avicolas como um grupo especifico de produtores, que vivenciam situacoes bastante diversas em suas relacoes com a empresa integradora. Desta forma, a pesquisa trata das relacoes de trabalho na avicultura evidenciando um novo perfil de produtor integrado, o empresario. Este estudo foi realizado com os produtores avicolas vinculados a Coperguacu, na cidade de Descalvado – SP. A hipotese adotada e que estamos vivenciando uma nova forma de adaptacao do produtor avicola com a empresa/cooperativa que leva a uma nova forma de gestao e controle da producao. Em funcao disso, o trabalho aborda os novos rumos da atividade avicola como tambem as estrategias atuais para a manutencao do sistema.
Improvement of resistance switching characteristics in NiO films obtained from controlled Ni oxidation

Bi-stable resistive switching phenomena controlled by external voltages has drawn much attention for high-density nonvolatile memory devices, the resistive memory materials ranging from organic to inorganic materials, with either metallic or conductive oxide electrodes. These resistive switching phenomena have been reported in many simple transition metal oxide films such as CuOx, TiO2, NiO or ZrO2. The switching mechanism in Metal/Resistive oxide/Metal (MRM) structures has been attributed to the reversible formation/rupture of filamentary conducting paths at the interfaces between metal electrodes and bi-stable oxide film. Recently, we have explored the possibility to form memory cells from the partial oxidation of blanket Ni metallic bottom electrode. The switching characteristics were progressively improved by optimizing annealing conditions and selecting appropriate substrates on which nickel film was sputtered. Reversible and repetitive resistive switching phenomena with set/reset voltages around plusmn1 V were demonstrated in NiO/NiO/Ni structures fabricated from Ni/TiN/Ti/SiO2/Si2N4/Si substrates.
Monocular fixation in human eye movement

The monocular eye movements associated with the maintenance of fixation have been recorded using the contact lens/optical lever system. The records, in analogue form on magnetic tape, were subsequently converted to a digital form and analysed on a computer. It is found that there is reasonable agreement between the responses of the same subject on different days, Analysis of the magnitudes and preferred directions of saccades and drifts and their interrelationships show that there is an elliptical overall fixation area which is subdivided into a series of overlapping short-period fixation areas. The results indicate that saccades occurring during fixation have one of two functions, either (a) to recentre the retinal image on the short-period mean fixation position, or (b) to move the short-period fixation area, possibly to avoid retinal receptor fatigue. An organizational model of the fixation control system has been developed from the analysis of results.
Quality of Service and Performance Analysis with Reactive Protocol in Manet by a Fuzzy Scheduler

This paper presents an analysis of DSR protocol and packet scheduling algorithm to find those that most improve performance in congested network and proposes our algorithm to improve the performance of DSR protocol by using fuzzy logic in mobile ad hoc networks. Packet schedulers in wireless ad hoc networks serve data packets in FIFO order. Because, a scheduling algorithm to schedule the packet based on their priorities will improve the performance of the network. It is found that the scheduler provides overall improvement in the performance of the system when evaluated under different load and mobility conditions. The performance of this scheduler has been studied using NS2.34 simulator and measured such as packet delivery ratio, end-toend delay and throughput and an attempt to apply fuzzy logic in the design and implementation of a rule based scheduling algorithm to solve the shortcoming of well-known drop tail algorithms. Our main contribution is proposing a fuzzy approach to multi-packets scheduling in which the scheduling parameters are treated as fuzzy variables. It is concluded that the proposed fuzzy approach is very promising and it has the potential to be considered for future research.
Qué distancia recorre el consumidor para comprar un coche

Se ha observado que para la localizacion de una red de puntos de venta es fundamental tener en cuenta los desplazamiento de los consumidores. Asi mismo, los habitos y los desplazamientos de los compradores estan determinados por su lugar de residencia y por su entorno. Este articulo tiene como objetivo estudiar las diferencias entre los desplazamientos rurales y urbanos realizados para la adquisicion de un vehiculo por compradores particulares, con la finalidad de demostrar que es posible reducir la distancia de los desplazamientos mediante la aplicacion de modelos de localizacion – asignacion a la ubicacion geografica de los concesionarios. Keywords: geomarketing; sig; automocion; modelo de localizacion - asignacion; pmediano; Andalucia.
Terramechanics‐based model for steering maneuver of planetary exploration rovers on loose soil

This paper presents analytical models to investigate the steering maneuvers of planetary exploration rovers on loose soil. The models are based on wheel‐soil interaction mechanics, or terramechanics, with which the traction and disturbance forces of a wheel are evaluated for various slip conditions. These traction forces are decomposed into the longitudinal and lateral directions of the wheel. The latter component, termed the side force has a major influence in characterizing the steering maneuvers of the rover. In this paper, the wheel‐soil mechanics models are developed with particular attention to the side force and the validity of the model is confirmed by using a single‐wheel test bed. The motion profile of the entire rover is numerically evaluated by incorporating the wheel‐soil models into an articulated multibody model that describes the motion dynamics of the vehicle's body and chassis. Steering maneuvers are investigated under different steering angles by using a four‐wheel rover test bed on simulated lunar soil regolith simulant. The experimental results are compared with the simulation results using the corresponding model parameters. The proposed wheel‐and‐vehicle model demonstrates better accuracy in predicting steering maneuvers as compared to the conventional kinematics‐based model. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Quantitative and Functional Diversity of Cross-Reactive EBV-Specific CD8+ T Cells in a Longitudinal Study Cohort of Lung Transplant Recipients

Background. Cross-reactive antiviral memory T cells constitute a significant proportion of the alloresponse, potentially playing a pivotal role in adverse posttransplant outcomes in human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-mismatched allografts. We explored the longitudinal dynamics of cross-reactive HLA-B8-restricted Epstein-Barr virus-specific CD8+ T cells directed toward the EBNA3A epitope FLRGRAYGL (FLR) in lung transplant recipients (LTRs) to determine whether their corecognition of HLA-B*4402 expressed on the allograft contributed to poorer posttransplant outcomes. Methods. Cross-reactive FLR-specific CD8+ T cells were measured in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid in 11 HLA-B8+ LTR, who had received HLA-B44+ lung allograft, after in vitro autologous (FLR pulsed) or allogeneic stimulation by multiparameter flow cytometry. Results. FLR-specific CD8+ T cells were detectable ex vivo and after 13 days following in vitro peptide stimulation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Individual LTR and demonstrated diverse functional profiles of either cytokine production and/or cytotoxic potential (interferon-g+, interferon-g+CD107a+ and CD107a+ subsets). However, cells isolated from bronchoalveolar lavage exhibited a skewed functional phenotype toward CD107a expression alone, indicating cytotoxic-producing but not cytokine-producing capabilities. In addition, our findings suggested that the presence of cross-reactive FLR-specific CD8+ T cells may influence the alloreactive hierarchy directed against the allograft, although they were not associated with poorer short- or long-term clinical outcomes in the absence of Epstein-Barr virus reactivation and in the setting of current immunosuppression and antiviral prophylaxis protocols. Conclusion. We report, for the first time, the longitudinal measurement of cross-reactive FLR-specific CD8+ T cells within a clinical transplantation framework.
Robust Landing and Sliding Maneuver Hybrid Controller for a Quadrotor Vehicle

This paper addresses the design and experimental evaluation of a robust controller for a quadrotor landing maneuver comprising the approach to a landing slope and sliding on that slope, before coming to a complete halt. During the critical landing flight phase, the dynamics of the vehicle change with the type of contact with the ground, and a hybrid automaton, whose states reflect the several dynamic behaviors of the quadrotor, is employed to model the vehicle throughout the complete maneuver. The quadrotor landing problem is broken down as separate maneuver generation and robust trajectory tracking problems, which are combined to achieve a successful maneuver that is robust to possible uncertainties. The experimental results are provided to attest to the feasibility of the proposed landing procedure.
Directional bias of neurons in V1 and V2 of strabismic monkeys: temporal-to-nasal asymmetry?

PURPOSE Strabismus that develops shortly after birth is known to cause temporal-to-nasal eye movement asymmetries under monocular viewing. The neural mechanisms underlying this deficit are not well understood. In the current study, the hypothesis that this eye movement anomaly reflects a similar asymmetry in the directional response properties of neurons in the early stages of cortical processing was examined. METHODS Strabismus was simulated with optical methods in infant monkeys between 4 and 14 weeks of age. When the monkeys were mature, microelectrode recording experiments were conducted in the primary visual cortex (V1) and visual area 2 (V2). After the spatial frequency of sine wave-grating stimuli for each neuron was optimized, each neuron's responsiveness to 24 directions of stimulus movement was measured. The preferred direction and the strength of directional bias were determined by a vector summation method: RESULTS There was not an overabundance of neurons in V1 or V2 of strabismic monkeys preferring the temporal-to-nasal direction of stimulus movement. However, the average directional bias was significantly reduced in these strabismic monkeys. Interocular suppression was highly prevalent, and this suppression was stronger and more common in neurons dominated by the ipsilateral eye. CONCLUSIONS The results suggest that the eye movement asymmetries in strabismic subjects do not result from similar asymmetries in the directional properties of V1 or V2 neurons, but rather reflect impoverished cortical signals to the brain stem nuclei that control eye movements.
Reconstruction de profils protéiques pour la recherche de biomarqueurs. (Reconstruction of proteomic profiles for biomarker discovery)

Cette these preparee au CEA Leti, Minatec Campus, Grenoble, et a l'IMS, Bordeaux, s'inscrit dans le theme du traitement de l'information pour des donnees proteomiques. Nous cherchons a reconstruire des profils proteiques a partir des donnees issues de chaines d'analyse complexes associant chromatographie liquide et spectrometrie de masse. Or, les signaux cibles sont des mesures de traces peptidiques qui sont de faible niveau dans un environnement tres complexe et perturbe. Ceci nous a conduits a etudier des outils statistiques adaptes. Ces perturbations peuvent provenir des instruments de mesure (variabilite technique) ou des individus (variabilite biologique). Le modele hierarchique de l'acquisition des donnees permet d'inclure ces variabilites explicitement dans la modelisation probabiliste directe. La mise en place d'une methodologie problemes inverses permet ensuite d'estimer les grandeurs d'interet. Dans cette these, nous avons etudie trois types de problemes inverses associes aux operations suivantes: 1) la quantification de proteines cibles, vue comme l'estimation de la concentration proteique, 2) l'apprentissage supervise a partir d'une cohorte multi-classe, vu comme l'estimation des parametres des classes, et 3) la classification a partir des connaissances sur les classes, vue comme l'estimation de la classe a laquelle appartient un nouvel echantillon. La resolution des problemes inverses se fait dans le cadre des methodes statistiques bayesiennes, en ayant recours pour les calculs numeriques aux methodes d'echantillonnage stochastique (Monte Carlo Chaine de Markov).
Morphologic Changes in Contralateral Superior Vestibulo-Ocular Neurons following Labyrinthectomy in the Cat

Ultrastructural changes were measured in 22 contralateral superior vestibulo-ocular neurons (SVONs) from four cats painlessly sacrificed at 8 weeks and 25 contralateral SVONs from four cats sacrificed at 1 year following unilateral labyrinthectomy. The SVONs at 8 weeks showed a 43% decrease in somal size, a 34% loss in rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER), a 48% loss of ribosomes, and a 47% decrease in the number of synaptic profiles (SPs) contacting the soma. At 1 year the SVONs had a 31 % decrease in size, a 43% decrease in RER, a 50% loss of ribosomes, and a 71 % decrease in SPs. Synaptic vesicles (SVs) in both groups of SVONs showed no change in size or shape compared to control SVs. These findings resemble the contralateral SVON changes that occur following excision of the vestibular ganglion.
Bioavailability and pharmacokinetics of florfenicol in broiler chickens.

The bioavailability and pharmacokinetic disposition of florfenicol in broiler chickens were investigated after intravenous (i.v.), intramuscular (i.m.) and oral administrations of 15 and 30 mg/kg body weight (b.w.). Plasma concentrations of florfenicol were determined by a high performance liquid chromatographic method in which plasma samples were spiked with chloramphenicol as internal standard. Plasma concentration-time data after i.v. administration were best described by a two-compartment open model. The elimination half-lives were 168 +/- 43 and 181 +/- 71 min, total body clearance 1.02 +/- 0.17 and 1.02 +/- 0.16 L x kg/h, the volume of distribution at steady-state 4.99 +/- 1.11 and 3.50 +/- 1.01 L/kg after i.v. injections of 15 and 30 mg/kg b.w. , respectively. Plasma concentration-time data after i.m. and oral administrations were adequately described by a one-compartment model. The i.m. bioavailability and the oral bioavailability of florfenicol were 95, 98 and 96, 94%, respectively, indicating that florfenicol was almost absorbed completely after i.m. and oral administrations of 15 and 30 mg/kg b.w.
An iterative approach to FIR filter design with reduced group delay error via semidefinite programming

This paper considers the problem of designing an approximately linear phase FIR digital filter. The main problem could be divided into a series of subproblems which are Semidefinite Programs (SDPs) and can be solved efficiently using off-the-shelf solvers. Inspired by Steiglitz-McBride approach, we propose a novel iterative algorithm to obtain better performance in reducing the group delay error. Simulation results illustrate that the proposed approach has a better performance than other conventional design methods.
Control of open quantum systems: case study of the central spin model

We study the controllability of a central spin guided by a classical field and interacting with a spin bath and show that the central spin is fully controllable independently of the number of bath spins. Additionally we find that for unequal system-bath couplings even the bath becomes controllable by acting on the central spin alone. We then analyze numerically how the time to implement gates on the central spin scales with the number of bath spins and conjecture that for equal system-bath couplings it reaches a saturation value. We provide evidence that sometimes noise can be effectively suppressed through control.
A stereological study of glomerular number and volume: preliminary findings in a multiracial study of kidneys at autopsy.

BACKGROUND This report describes preliminary results of a study of glomerular number and volume and their associations, in kidneys of people coming to autopsy. METHODS Both kidneys were weighed at autopsy and the right kidney was perfusion-fixed and sub-sampled for stereological estimation of total glomerular number, and of mean renal corpuscle volume, using the physical disector/fractionator combination. RESULTS The 78 kidneys studied so far were from Australian Aborigines, Australian non-Aborigines, US blacks and US whites, ages newborn to 84 years. Glomerular number ranged almost ninefold (from 210,332 to 1,825,380), with mean (SD) of 784,909 (314,686); it decreased throughout adult life (r=-0.32, P=0.009). Mean renal corpuscle volume varied 5.6-fold in adults and was inversely correlated with glomerular number (r=-0.38, P=0.001). Total renal corpuscle volume varied in adults by a factor of 15.8. Kidney weight correlated with body surface area (BSA) at all ages (r=0.76, P < 0.001); it varied 3.4-fold among adults, while kidney weight/m2 varied 3.7-fold. The percentage of sclerosed glomeruli varied from 0 to 23%, and it correlated strongly with age (r=0.58, P < 0.001). Females had smaller kidneys than males, and, marginally, fewer glomeruli. There were no significant variations by ethnic group. CONCLUSIONS These extraordinary ranges of glomerular number and size among ostensibly "normal" people, and their inverse relationship, probably have important implications for susceptibility to renal insufficiency. People with low glomerular (nephron) numbers are likely to be particularly predisposed, with the process marked by compensatory hypertrophy of residual nephrons, which, in turn, accelerates their obsolescence. Much, however, remains to be done, including evaluation of history, clinical features, accompanying pathology, detailed renal morphology, and further pursuit of potentially defining characteristics in high risk groups.
Perspective how many women have osteoporosis?

Osteoporosis is widely viewed as a major public health concern, but the exact magnitude of the problem is uncertain and likely to depend on how the condition is defined. Noninvasive bone mineral measurements can be used to define a state of heightened fracture risk (osteopenia), or the ultimate clinical manifestation of fracture can be assessed (established osteoporosis). If bone mineral measurements more than 2 standard deviations below the mean of young normal women represent osteopenia, then 45% of white women aged 50 years and over have the condition at one or more sites in the hip, spine, or forearm on the basis of population‐based data from Rochester, Minnesota. A smaller proportion is affected at each specific skeletal site: 32% have bone mineral values this low in the lumbar spine, 29% in either of two regions in the proximal femur, and 26% in the midradius. Although this overall estimate is substantial, some other serious chronic diseases are almost as common. More importantly, low bone mass is associated with adverse health outcomes, especially fractures. The lifetime risk of any fracture of the hip, spine, or distal forearm is almost 40% in white women and 13% in white men from age 50 years onward. If the enormous costs associated with these fractures are to be reduced, increased attention must be given to the design and implementation of control programs directed at this major health problem.
Fault Estimation for a Class of Nonlinear Systems Based on Intermediate Estimator

This technical note investigates the problem of fault estimation for a class of nonlinear systems with Lipschitzian nonlinearities. In most of the existing fault estimation approaches, the observer matching condition should be satisfied. However, this condition is hard to meet for many systems. To overcome this restriction, a new fault estimation method is proposed, where an intermediate variable is introduced and a specially designed intermediate estimator is proposed to estimate the state and the faults simultaneously by exploiting the properties of fault distribution matrix. It is proved that the states of the error system are uniformly ultimately bounded. Simulation examples verify the effectiveness of the proposed method.
The rapid rise in gastroesophageal junction tumors: is inflammation of the gastric cardia the underwater iceberg?

Over the last 40 years, there has been a rapid rise in the incidence of esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) as well as proximal gastric cardia adenocarcinoma (GCC, also known as junctional adenocarcinoma). Although most of the focus has been on EAC, which has been strongly linked to Barrett’s esophagus (BE), GCCs arise in a contiguous location at the squamocolumnar junction (SCJ), and are often difficult to distinguish from EAC at a clinical or pathologic level. Furthermore, whereas gastroesophageal reflux and BE are clearly defined risk factors for EAC, most patients with EAC do not have a strong history of reflux, and EAC lesions show surrounding or associated specialized BE mucosa in fewer than half of cases. Recent publications have raised the question of whether EAC and GCC might possibly arise from the same origin and should therefore be described as one entity.1–4 Moreover, in the clinical setting, screening and surveillance of at-risk patients has been limited to individuals with BE with intestinal metaplasia (IM), and this strategy is unlikely to impact the overall incidence of EAC/GCC. It remains unclear as to whether any patients without reflux symptoms should be considered for screening. In addition, no efforts have been made to identify patients at risk for GCC, in part because risk factors and markers for GCC are poorly described.