Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Control of muscle blood flow during exercise: local factors and integrative mechanisms

Understanding the control mechanisms of blood flow within the vasculature of skeletal muscle is clearly fascinating from a theoretical point of view due to the extremely tight coupling of tissue oxygen demands and blood flow. It also has practical implications as impairment of muscle blood flow and its prevention/reversal by exercise training has a major impact on widespread diseases such as hypertension and diabetes. Here we analyse the role of mediators generated by skeletal muscle activity on smooth muscle relaxation in resistance vessels in vitro and in vivo. We summarize their cellular mechanisms of action and their relative roles in exercise hyperaemia with regard to early and late responses. We also discuss the consequences of interactions among mediators with regard to identifying their functional significance. We focus on (potential) mechanisms integrating the action of the mediators and their effects among the cells of the intact arteriolar wall. This integration occurs both locally, partly due to myoendothelial communication, and axially along the vascular tree, thus enabling the local responses to be manifest along an entire functional vessel path. Though the concept of signal integration is intriguing, its specific role on the control of exercise hyperaemia and the consequences of its modulation under physiological and pathophysiological conditions still await additional analysis.
Fungal lipases : a review

Lipases (triacylglycerol hydrolases, E.C. 3.1.1.3) occupy a prominent place among biocatalysts and carry out reactions in aqueous and non-aqueous media. They catalyze both the hydrolysis and synthesis of long chain acylglycerols. The chemo-, regioand enantiospecific characteristics of lipase tend to be a focus research area for scientists and industrialists. Compared to plants and animals, microorganisms have been found to produce high amount of lipases. Fungal lipases stand out as the major sources of the enzyme because of their catalytic activity, low cost of production and relative ease in genetic manipulation. This review describes the various sources of lipases, their properties, purification methods, immobilization techniques, and potential industrial applications that make lipases to be biocatalysts of choice for the present and future. The aim of this review is to present recent information on fungal lipases.
Maternal immunoglobulin G antibody transfer and development of immunoglobulin G antibody responses in blue and gold macaw (Ara ararauna) chicks.

OBJECTIVE To document the maternal transfer of IgG antibodies from Blue and Gold Macaw hens to chicks via the egg; to measure serum IgG half-life in macaw chicks; and to measure the ability of 2- to 10-week-old macaw chicks to generate primary and secondary IgG responses. PROCEDURE 4 adult Blue and Gold Macaw hens were inoculated with 200 micrograms of bovine serum albumin (BSA) every 21 days throughout the breeding season. Eggs laid by these hens were incubator hatched to eliminate the possibility of antibody transfer through crop secretions during feeding. Anti-BSA titer was measured just prior to each inoculation in hens and in chicks from 14 to 42 days of age. 1 chick from each of 5 macaw clutches hatched to nonimmunized hens was assigned to 1 of 2 experimental groups. Group-1 chicks were inoculated with 200 micrograms of BSA at 2 and 6 weeks of age. Group-2 chicks were inoculated with 200 micrograms of BSA at 6 and 10 weeks of age. Anti-BSA titer was measured weekly for 8 weeks after primary inoculation. Blood samples were centrifuged, and serum was harvested and frozen at -85 C until analyzed. Anti-BSA IgG titer were measured by ELISA. In the maternal transfer experiment, an exponential decay model was used to calculate the half-life of BSA antibodies in chicks. In the BSA antibody response experiment, comparison of primary and secondary anti-BSA responses of 2- and 6-week-old chicks was performed, using a two-way repeated measures ANOVA, with significance set at P < 0.05. RESULTS Hens maintained high anti-BSA titer throughout the breeding season. Maternal transfer of anti-BSA IgG antibodies was documented in all 7 chicks. Anti-BSA titer in chicks decreased in exponential fashion with an average serum IgG half-life of 3.85 days. By 42 days of age, antibodies to BSA were virtually undetectable in all chicks. The primary antibody response of 6-week-old chicks was significantly higher than that of 2-week-old chicks (P = 0.016). No significant difference was observed in the magnitude of the secondary antibody responses between these age groups. Peak anti-BSA IgG antibody responses were reached by 14 days after primary and secondary immunization. Chicks of both age groups generated lower anti-BSA IgG titer than did adult Blue and Gold Macaws. CONCLUSIONS Blue and Gold Macaw hens transfer IgG antibodies to their chicks through the egg. The half-life of IgG in newly hatched chicks is approximately 3.85 days. 6-week-old chicks develop higher anti-BSA titers than do 2-week-old chicks, but significantly lower titers than do adult macaws. CLINICAL RELEVANCE Information on the nondomestic avian immune system will be useful in the development of vaccination and other preventive health programs for psittacine birds.
The impact of kuna exchange rate volatility on croatian exports

The aim of this paper is to analyze the monetary transmission mechanism through the influence of exchange rate variability on export volume. To date it has been very common to use “historical volatility” as an approximation for exchange rate variability in empirical studies. However, many macroeconomic time series are characterized by heteroskedasticity, i.e. their variance is not constant over time. Thus in this paper the ARCH model is proposed as a model of conditional heteroskedasticity. Also, as an alternative to ARCH we will introduce historical volatility based not only on future but also on past exchange rate values. In exploring the influence of exchange rate volatility and domestic income on export volume, Johansen’s multivariate cointegration approach and error-correction model (ECM) are used. The short run and long run relationships are analyzed separately. The results of econometric analysis draw attention to the different strengths of the relationship between kuna volatility and exports for the two proposed models. The first model shows a mild negative long-run relationship, while the second shows the much stronger aversion of Croatian exporters to volatility as a measure of exchange rate uncertainty.
Powdery mildew resistance genes in wheat: verification of STS markers.

Five accessions of Aegilops speltoides and 67 European wheat cultivars (winter and spring) originating from the Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, United Kingdom, and 4 non-European wheat cultivars from Brazil and the USA were examined with molecular Sequence Tagged Site (STS) markers for resistance genes to powdery mildew: Pm 1, Pm 2, Pm 3 and Pm 13. All markers gave clear, repeatable results, although three of them (Pm 1, Pm 2 and Pm 3) appeared as not specific for resistance genes. Comparison of STS analysis results with Pm genes, postulated as the reaction type after inoculation with differential isolates of Erysiphe graminis f.sp. tritici (Blumeria graminis), revealed a high number of disparities. The marker for Pm 13 was not detected in any examined cultivar but was present in five accessions of Aegilops speltoides.
Ca2+-Calmodulin and Janus Kinase 2 Are Required for Activation of Sodium-Proton Exchange by the Gi-Coupled 5-Hydroxytryptamine1a Receptor

The type 1 sodium-proton exchanger (NHE-1) is expressed ubiquitously and regulates key cellular functions, including mitogenesis, cell volume, and intracellular pH. Despite its importance, the signaling pathways that regulate NHE-1 remain incompletely defined. In this work, we present evidence that stimulation of the 5-hydroxytryptamine1A (5-HT1A) receptor results in the formation of a signaling complex that includes activated Janus kinase 2 (Jak2), Ca2+/calmodulin (CaM), and NHE-1, and which involves tyrosine phosphorylation of CaM. The signaling pathway also involves rapid agonist-induced association of CaM and NHE-1 as assessed by coimmunoprecipitation studies and by bioluminescence resonance energy transfer studies in living cells. We propose that NHE-1 is activated through this pathway: 5-HT1A receptor → Gi2α and/or Gi3α → Jak2 activation → tyrosine phosphorylation of CaM → increased binding of CaM to NHE-1 → induction of a conformational change in NHE-1 that unmasks an obscured proton-sensing and/or proton-transporting region of NHE-1 → activation of NHE-1. The Gi/o-coupled 5-HT1A receptor now joins a handful of Gq-coupled receptors and hypertonic shock as upstream activators of this emerging pathway. In the course of this work, we have presented clear evidence that CaM can be activated through tyrosine phosphorylation in the absence of a significant role for elevated intracellular Ca2+. We have also shown for the first time that the association of CaM with NHE-1 in living cells is a dynamic process.
The Long‐Term Structure of Commodity Futures

Futures markets on agricultural commodities typically trade with maximum maturity dates of less than four years. If these markets did trade with maturities eight or ten years distant, futures prices would have value as price forecasts and as a way to structure long-term swaps and insurance contracts. Agricultural commodity markets generally exhibit mean reversion in spot prices and convenience yields. Spot markets also exhibit seasonality. This study develops and implements a procedure to generate long-term futures curves from existing futures prices. Data on lean hogs and soybeans are used to show that the method provides plausible results.
Varenicline, appetite, and weight reduction.

was normal (2.3 ng/ml), whereas serum prolactin level was suppressed to 1.3 ng/ml. His pathological hypersexuality completely disappeared 2 weeks after discontinuation of bromocriptine. After 4 weeks, pramipexole (0.125 mg b.i.d.), another dopamine receptor agonist, was added instead of bromocriptine since his motor performance deteriorated. After 1 week of pramipexole, all the hypersexual symptoms reemerged. At this point, his serum prolactin level was 2.2 ng/ml. His pathological hypersexuality completely disappeared again just by discontinuing pramipexole. Then we titrated madopar up to 125 mg t.i. d. instead of adding other dopamine receptor agonist. After 3 weeks, his motor performance improved with partial reemergence of hypersexual symptoms (penile erection, facial flushing, sexually suggestive remarks, touching). However, the severity of the reemerged symptoms was much more tolerable than those induced by dopamine receptor agonist. At this point, his serum prolactin level was not suppressed (13.3 ng/ml).
Managing the care of patients with bisphosphonate-associated osteonecrosis: an American Academy of Oral Medicine position paper.

BACKGROUND This position paper addresses the prevention of bisphosphonate-associated osteonecrosis (BON) and the management of care of patients with cancer and/or osteoporosis who are receiving bisphosphonates and who have BON or are at risk of developing it. METHODS The authors reviewed the literature available on this newly described oral complication. Information of interest included bisphosphonates, the medications associated with this oral complication; the patient population at risk of developing BON and the diseases being treated with this class of medications; the clinical presentation of the oral lesions; guidelines for managing the care of patients who develop BON; the prevention of this complication based on current knowledge; and recommendations for routine dental treatment of patients receiving bisphosphonates. RESULTS There is strong evidence that bisphosphonate therapy is the common link in patients with BON. The pathobiological mechanism leading to BON may have to do with the inhibition of bone remodeling and decreased intraosseous blood flow caused by bisphosphonates. People at risk include patients with multiple myeloma and patients with cancer metastatic to bone who are receiving intravenous bisphosphonates, as well as patients taking bisphosphonates for osteoporosis. The risk of developing complications appears to increase with time of use of the medication. There are no guidelines based on evidence, and the clinical management of the oral complication is based on expert opinion. CONCLUSION Prevention of BON is the best approach to management of this complication. Existing protocols to manage the care of patients who will receive radiation therapy or chemotherapy may be used until specific guidelines for BON are developed.
Some features of transverse instability of partly compensated proton beams

Transverse e-p instability in the proton rings could be damped by increase in beam density and the rate of secondary particles generation above a threshold level, corresponded a decrease of the unstable wavelength below a transverse beam size. In high current proton rings as LANSCE PSR is possible to reach this "island of stability" by fast, concentrated charge exchange injection without painting and enhanced generation of secondary plasma as it was demonstrated in small scale PSR at BINP. After damping of e-p instability has been accumulated a circulating proton beam with intensity, corresponding a tune shift /spl Delta//spl nu/=0.85/spl times/6 in the ring with /spl nu/=0.85. Transverse instability of a bunched beam was damped by a simple feed back. Experimental observations of a transverse instability of proton beams in different accelerators and storage rings will be discussed.
Use of healthcare resources, family function, and socioeconomic support during the first four years after preterm birth

Objectives: To assess the use of healthcare resources for preterm infants and to evaluate family function and socioeconomic support in a defined population from birth to 4 years of age. Methods: In a prospective case-control study, 39 singleton preterm infants without prenatal abnormalities born during an 18 month period were studied together with their families. The population consisted of 19 very preterm infants (less than 32 weeks) and 20 randomised moderate preterm infants (32–35 weeks), and the control group comprised 39 full term infants. Contacts with medical services, child health services, and the social welfare system were registered, and family function and life events were studied. Results: The preterm children were more often readmitted to hospital (odds ratio (OR) 6.6, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.0 to 22.1) and had more outpatient attendances (OR 5.6, 95% CI 2.1 to 15.0) during their first year of life. Mothers in the preterm group more often used temporary parental allowance than the control mothers (p < 0.001). The number of contacts with the child health services and the social welfare system did not differ significantly from the controls. Neither was there any significant difference with regard to family function or life events at 4 years of age. Conclusions: A large proportion of the premature children used specialist care during the first years of life. However, the families of the preterm infants were socially well adapted up to four years after birth compared with the control families.
Analysis of a Material Point Method for Snow

A physically-plausible simulation of snow is a challenging task. The method we analyze in this thesis is a Material Point Method (MPM), that has been adjusted to accommodate both the fluid-like and the granular properties of snow. We analyze the simulation in four aspects. One, the noise generated from problems in numerical stability. Two, we analyze the domain in which simulation parameters perform. Three, we reason about the scale of the simulation. And fourth, we present samples collected from runtime analysis. With this, we obtain an understanding of the stability and the performance of the method.
Non-thermal nuclear magnetic resonance quantum computing using hyperpolarized xenon

Current experiments in liquid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) quantum computing are limited by low initial polarization. To address this problem, we have investigated the use of optical pumping techniques to enhance the polarization of a 2-qubit NMR quantum computer (13C and 1H in 13CHCl3). We have generalized the procedure for effective pure state preparation in order to efficiently use the increased polarization. With this more flexible scheme, an effective pure state is prepared with polarization enhancement of a factor of 10 compared to the thermal state. An implementation of Grover’s quantum search algorithm with a polarization-enhanced spin system is demonstrated.
Nucleation and Growth of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes: A Molecular Dynamics Study

Molecular dynamics simulations based on an empirical potential energy surface were used to study iron catalyzed nucleation and growth of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). The simulations show that SWNTs grow from iron-carbide particles at temperatures between 800 and 1400 K, whereas graphene sheets encapsulate the particle at temperatures below 600 K and a three-dimensional soot-like structure is formed above 1600 K. Nucleation of these carbon (C) structures can be divided into three stages: (i) at short times the FeC particle is not saturated in C and all C atoms are dissolved in the particle; (ii) at intermediate times the FeC cluster is highly supersaturated in C and carbon strings, polygons and small graphitic islands nucleate on the cluster surface; (iii) at longer times the FeC cluster is supersaturated in C and, depending on the temperature, the graphene sheet, SWNT, or soot-like structure is grown. At low temperatures the kinetic energy is not sufficient to overcome the attractive forces be.
Application of CL/EBIC-SEM techniques for characterization of irradiation induced defects in triple junction solar cells

We report the results of the characterization of irradiated InGaP2/GaAs/Ge multijunction (MJ) solar cells using the cathodoluminescence (CL) imaging/spectroscopy and electron beam induced current (EBIC) modes of scanning electron microscopy (SEM). These techniques were applied to verify the influence of irradiation damage on the optoelectronic properties of each subcell triple junction structure and correlate illuminated (AM0, 1 sun, 25°C) currentquantum efficiency (QE) characteristics.
Regulation of output from the plant circadian clock

Plants, like many other organisms, have endogenous biological clocks that enable them to organize their physiological, metabolic and developmental processes so that they occur at optimal times. The best studied of these biological clocks are the circadian systems that regulate daily (∼ 24 h) rhythms. At the core of the circadian system in every organism are oscillators responsible for generating circadian rhythms. These oscillators can be entrained (set) by cues from the environment, such as daily changes in light and temperature. Completing the circadian clock model are the output pathways that provide a link between the oscillator and the various biological processes whose rhythms it controls. Over the past few years there has been a tremendous increase in our understanding of the mechanisms of the oscillator and entrainment pathways in plants and many useful reviews on the subject. In this review we focus on the output pathways by which the oscillator regulates rhythmic plant processes. In the first part of the review we describe the role of the circadian system in regulation at all stages of a plant's development, from germination and growth to reproductive development as well as in multiple cellular processes. Indeed, the importance of a circadian clock for plants can be gauged by the fact that so many facets of plant development are under its control. In the second part of the review we describe what is known about the mechanisms by which the circadian system regulates these output processes.
Skin and muscle components of forearm blood flow in directly heated resting man.

Changes in forearm muscle blood flow (FMBF) during direct whole-body heating were measured in 17 normal subjects using three different methods. We conclude that FMBF is not increased by direct whole-body heating. Since renal and splanchnic blood flow fall 30% under these conditions, maximal total skin blood flow in 12 previously studied subjects can be estimated from the rise in cardiac output to be 7.6 L/min (3.0-11.1 L/min).
Elevation of serum vascular endothelial growth factor in male patients with metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Angiogenesis is essential for tumor growth and metastasis. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is the most potent angiogenic factor identified to date. The authors investigated the correlation between the levels of serum VEGF (S‐VEGF) in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and disease progression.
Lymphangitic Carcinomatosis ofthe Lung : Serial Changes on High-Resolution CT 1

Purpose : To present initial and follow-up HRCT findings of lymphangitic carcinomatosis ofthe lung. Materials and Methods : Both initial and f,이low-up HRCT scans were obtained in 18 patients with lymphangitic carcinomatosis of the lung. After dividing the patients into two groups (with anticancer chemotherapy (n= 12) and without chemotherapy (n=6)), changes of pulmonary parenchymal abnormalities (percentile increase or decrease in the extent of each pattern) were assessed and compared on initial and follow-up HRCTs. Resu Its : Findings on initial CT were interlobular septal thickening (n = 18 ) (smooth in 15 and mixed smooth and nodular in three) , thickening of bronchovascular bundles (n=17), areas of ground-glass opacity (n=15), polygonallines (n=15), and nodules (n= lO). With chemotherapy, the finding ofpolygonallines decreased by 20.3 %, while findings of ground-glass opacity, bronchovascular bundle thickening, septal thickening, and nodules remained stable. Without chemotherapy , all CT patterns of abnormalities except nodules increased by 45 88 %. In three patients who did not undergo chemotherapy , smooth interlobular septal thickening changed to nodular thickening. Conclusion : Lymphangitic carcinomatosis ofthe lung manifests initially as smooth thickening of the interlobular septae, bronchovascular bundle thickening, areas of ground-glass opacity, and polygonallines, as seen on HRCT. Without chemotherapy, the extent of CT findings increases and there is a tendency for smooth septal thickening to change to nodular thickening. Chemotherapy induces improvement or cessation ofthe progression ofCT findings.
Optimal tuning of the hybrid Monte Carlo algorithm

We investigate the properties of the Hybrid Monte Carlo algorithm (HMC) in high dimensions. HMC develops a Markov chain reversible w.r. t. a given target distribution . by using separable Hamiltonian dynamics with potential -log . The additional momentum variables are chosen at random from the Boltzmann distribution and the continuous-time Hamiltonian dynamics are then discretised using the leapfrog scheme. The induced bias is removed via a Metropolis- Hastings accept/reject rule. In the simplified scenario of independent, identically distributed components, we prove that, to obtain an O(1) acceptance probability as the dimension d of the state space tends to . , the leapfrog step-size h should be scaled as h=l ×d−1/ 4 . Therefore, in high dimensions, HMC requires O(d1/ 4 ) steps to traverse the state space. We also identify analytically the asymptotically optimal acceptance probability, which turns out to be 0.651 (to three decimal places). This is the choice which optimally balances the cost of generating a proposal, which decreases as l increases (because fewer steps are required to reach the desired final integration time), against the cost related to the average number of proposals required to obtain acceptance, which increases as l increases