Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Neuronal activity in the cholinoceptive basal forebrain of freely moving narcoleptic dobermans

CHOLINERGIC stimulation in the basal forebrain (BF) triggers cataplexy in canine narcolepsy. Extracellular single unit recordings in the BF were carried out in freely moving narcoleptic dogs to study the neuronal mechanisms mediating cataplexy induction in the BF. Among the 64 recorded neurons, 12 were wake-active, three were slow wave sleep (SWS)-active, 17 were wake-/ REM-active, 11 were REM sleep-active, three were cataplexy-active, and the other 18 were state-independent. Systemic administration of physostigmine, a cholinesterase inhibitor, induces status cataplecticus, decreases SWS and increases acetylcholine levels in the BF. Firing of most of the state-dependent neurons in the BF was significantly modified by physostigmine. Some of these neurons may thus mediate sleep stage changes or the effect on cataplexy observed after cholinergic stimulation in the BF.
Constrained Information Processing and Individual Income Expectations

Do individuals use all information at their disposal when forming expectations about future events? In this paper we present an econometric framework to answer this question. We show how individual information sets can be characterized by simple nonparametric exclusion restrictions and provide a quantile based test for constrained information processing. In particular, our methodology does not require individuals’ expectations to be rational, and we explicitly allow for individuals to have access to sources of information which the econometrician cannot observe. As an application, we use microdata on individual income expectations to study which information agents employ when forecasting future earnings. Consistent with models where information processing is limited, we find that individuals’ information sets are coarse in that valuable information is discarded. We then quantify the utility costs of coarse information within a standard consumption life-cycle model. Consumers would be willing to pay 0.04% of their permanent income to incorporate the econometrician’s information set in their forecasts.
Possible role of diadenosine polyphosphates as modulators of cardiac sensory‐motor neurotransmission in guinea‐pigs.

1. Isolated guinea‐pig atria were used to study the neuromodulatory effect of diadenosine polyphosphates (APnA) on cardiac capsaicin‐sensitive sensory‐motor neurotransmission. 2. In the presence of atropine, guanethidine and propranolol, electrical field stimulation (EFS) of the atrial preparations evoked a positive inotropic response which is known to be mediated by release of calcitonin gene‐related peptide (CGRP) from sensory‐motor nerves. P1,P2‐diadenosine pyrophosphate (AP2A), P1,P3‐diadenosine triphosphate (AP3A), P1,P4‐diadenosine tetraphosphate (AP4A), P1,P5‐diadenosine pentaphosphate (AP5A) and P1,P6‐diadenosine hexaphosphate (AP6A) inhibited in a concentration‐dependent way (0.1‐30 microM) cardiac responses to EFS. The inhibitory effect of APnA was mimicked by adenosine. 3. All the APnA tested had a direct negative inotropic effect, by reducing in a concentration‐dependent manner the basal contractile tension. The inotropism of APnA was comparable to that of adenosine. 4. Both inhibition of cardiac responses to EFS and negative inotropism of AP2A, AP3A and AP4A were sensitive to the antagonism by the A1 adenosine receptor antagonist 8‐cyclopentyl‐1,3‐dipropylxanthine (DPCPX; 0.1‐1 nM). The extent of antagonism of DPCPX for the APnA tested was comparable to that for adenosine. 5. Despite the direct negative inotropism, AP4A tested at the highest concentration used did not affect the cardiac responses to the neurotransmitter CGRP, applied exogenously. 6. These results have demonstrated that in isolated guinea‐pig atria APnA inhibited sensory‐motor neurotransmission, without affecting cardiac responses to exogenous CGRP. The effect of APnA was sensitive to antagonism by DPCPX, which suggests it operates via the activation of prejunctional A1 adenosine receptors. A postjunctional negative inotropism was also shown, mediated by myocardial A1 adenosine receptors.
Development of spinal reflexes in the rat fetus studied in vitro.

1. The onset and development of spinal reflex activity was investigated using the isolated spinal cord of the rat fetus. The potential changes generated in motoneurones were recorded extracellularly from L3 ventral roots. 2. A spike potential was recorded from the ventral root at embryonic day 13.5 in response to stimulation of the cord surface close to the ventral root. The discharge persisted in Ca2+‐free solution but was blocked by tetrodotoxin. 3. At embryonic day 14.5, trans‐synaptically evoked discharges were detected in motoneurones. 4. Stimulation of the dorsal root was first effective in eliciting reflex discharges at embryonic day 15.5. The reflex response then consisted of a prolonged depolarization upon which were superimposed small spikes, and was probably polysynaptic. 5. A spike potential, presumably a monosynaptic reflex, was generated at the end of fetal life. This discharge appeared first at embryonic day 17.5 in a primitive form. 6. Between embryonic day 16.5 and 17.5, stimulation of the dorsal root of diffferent segments (L1‐L6) elicited responses similar to those induced by the corresponding (i.e. L3) dorsal root stimulation. These inter‐segmentally induced responses were then reduced in size toward the birth. However, in the presence of strychnine, a train of spike discharges of similar shape to the segmentally induced response was also evoked by stimulation of the dorsal root at L4 or L5. These spikes disappeared during further post‐natal development. 7. It is concluded that synapses in the segmental polysynaptic pathway become functional in a retrograde sequence with respect to the direction of normal reflex impulse flow. The reflex responses, elicited by stimulation of the dorsal roots of different segments, are suggested to be suppressed first by the development of inhibitory mechanisms and then by neuronal cell death or by elimination of the synapses responsible for generating the inter‐segmental reflexes.
Mechanisms involved in serum-dependent inactivation of the immunotoxin enhancers monensin and carrier-protein-monensin.

The immunotoxin-enhancing properties of monensin and of human-serum-albumin-monensin conjugates are severely impaired in the presence of human serum. In this study we have therefore investigated the interaction between serum proteins and monensin leading to the inactivation of monensin function as immunotoxin potentiator. We found that the binding of monensin-specific mAb to thioether-cross-linked or disulfide-cross-linked protein-monensin conjugates is negatively affected by serum, as indicated by immunoenzymic (ELISA) and radioimmunobinding analysis. Size-exclusion chromatography of serum samples indicated that the greatest blocking effect is due to protein components of 40-90 kDa eluting as a broad peak (peak 4). Analysis of the proteins contained within peak 4 by ion-exchange chromatography followed by microsequencing revealed that the major components of peak no. 4 were transferrin, human serum albumin and immunoglobulin fragments. Investigations on the nature of the interactions between serum proteins and monensin leading to monensin inactivation were conducted by affinity chromatography of serum on immobilized human-serum-albumin-monensin conjugates, size-exclusion chromatography, SDS/PAGE analysis of serum-treated human-serum-albumin-monensin conjugates, and evaluation of the stability of immobilized human-serum-albumin-bound 125I-monensin following treatment with serum. Addition of esterase inhibitors (e.g. EDTA, 4-nitrophenyl phosphate) or prior treatment of the serum at 56 degrees C partially reversed the serum effects observed. We conclude that serum proteins block the immunotoxin-enhancing effect of monensin and of human-serum-albumin-monensin conjugates by multiple mechanisms involving hydrophobic and covalent interactions and enzyme-mediated cleavage of protein-bound monensin.
Design and control of a quasi-Z-source inverter based for wind power generation using PMSG

In this paper, a complete quasi-Z-source inverter based for wind power generation system is modelled and analysed. The overall system is introduced in two main configurations, one is open loop and the other is closed loop. The open loop system is designed in such away to extract the maximum wind energy from the open loop configuration using the modified Space Vector Pulse Width Modulation based on the maximum constant boost of the quasi Z source inverter. The closed loop system is used to control the dc link voltage. Results extracted from both cases are described, analyzed and compared. A 600 watt Permanent Magnet synchronous generator is used to generate the output power from the wind turbine. A complete MATLAB simulation for the analysis and design is introduced. A hardware setup of the wind turbine emulator coupled with the Permanent Magnet synchronous generator based on the Z-source inverter and controlled by the DSP TMS320F28335 is under construction for the hardware verification.
The epidemiology of revision total hip arthroplasty in the United States.

BACKGROUND Understanding the causes of failure and the types of revision total hip arthroplasty performed is essential for guiding research, implant design, clinical decision-making, and health-care policy. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the mechanisms of failure and the types of revision total hip arthroplasty procedures performed in the United States with use of newly implemented ICD-9-CM (International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification) diagnosis and procedure codes related specifically to revision total hip arthroplasty in a large, nationally representative population. METHODS The Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Nationwide Inpatient Sample database was used to analyze clinical, demographic, and economic data from 51,345 revision total hip arthroplasty procedures performed between October 1, 2005, and December 31, 2006. The prevalence of revision procedures was calculated for population subgroups in the United States that were stratified according to age, sex, diagnosis, census region, primary payer class, and type of hospital. The cause of failure, the average length of stay, and total charges were also determined for each type of revision arthroplasty procedure. RESULTS The most common type of revision total hip arthroplasty procedure performed was all-component revision (41.1%), and the most common causes of revision were instability/dislocation (22.5%), mechanical loosening (19.7%), and infection (14.8%). Revision total hip arthroplasty procedures were most commonly performed in large, urban, nonteaching hospitals for Medicare patients seventy-five to eighty-four years of age. The average length of hospital stay for all types of revision arthroplasties was 6.2 days, and the average total charges were $54,553. However, the average length of stay, average charges, and procedure frequencies varied considerably according to census region, hospital type, and type of revision total hip arthroplasty procedure performed. CONCLUSIONS Hip instability and mechanical loosening are the most common indications for revision total hip arthroplasty in the United States. As further experience is gained with the new diagnosis and procedure codes specifically related to revision total hip arthroplasty, this information will be valuable in directing future research, implant design, and clinical decision-making.
Random Simplicial Complexes and the Construction of Linear Error Correcting Codes

It is a major open problem in coding theory to construct linear error correcting codes with a large rate and a large distance. Here we suggest a new approach to the construction of such codes that is based on the study of random two dimensional simplicial complexes. In this thesis we investigate some of the aspects of this main problem.
Predictors of Academic Success and Failure in a Pharmacy Professional Program

Objectives. This study was conducted to determine which admissions criteria are valuable in selecting pharmacy students by determining which criteria are significant predictors of success or failure. Methods. A statistical analysis was conducted on the retrospective data of 309 students. Academic probation was used as an indication of academic failure. Academic success was measured by first-professional year grade point average (GPA) in pharmacy courses. Results. Predictors of failure included ACT composite score, average grade in organic chemistry courses, and gender. Predictors of success included ACT score, average grade in organic chemistry courses, grades in math and science prepharmacy courses, and prior attainment of a bachelor's degree. Conclusions. Academic predictors of success and failure shared common variables, but there were predictors of success that were not predictors of failure. It may be useful for selection committees to consider both sets of predictors as part of the screening processes.
Development of intrinsic membrane properties in mammalian retinal ganglion cells.

It is now well established that retinal ganglion activity is essential to the normal development of the mammalian visual system. Moreover, it has been shown that the critical periods of activity occur well before the time when the retina is capable of detecting light. To better understand these activity-mediated events, patch-clamp studies have begun to examine the development of intrinsic membrane properties in isolated and intact retinal ganglion cells. Here we review the major findings of these studies and highlight the similarities in the functional development of ganglion cells in a number of mammalian species.
Ideas, paradigms and confusions

Pierre-Marc Daigneault (2014) is correct in writing that Peter Hall’s (1993) concept of policy paradigm has had an enormous and positive impact on studies of public policy. It rightly moved us from ignoring the power and importance of ideas to understanding that ideas undergird and justify powerful political positions. Daigneault correctly suggests that the collective academic recognition of the power of ideas has reached a level of maturity and that it is now widely accepted, especially in the field of public policy. It is central to both the advocacy coalitions framework (ACF) (Sabatier 1988, Sabatier and Jenkins-Smith 1993) and punctuated equilibrium (PE) (Baumgartner and Jones 1991, 1993) approaches. More interpretivist policy approaches, such as those of Schneider and Ingram (1993) or Stone (1988, 1989) also put ideas and issue definitions at the core of their understandings of how policies are justified, and how they change. Hall’s 1993 article rightly deserves credit for helping to establish ideas as a central element of policy analysis. But ideas were not new at the time. Hall cites Heclo (1974, 1978) and a range of scholars working on nuclear deterrence, international political economy and other foreign policy domains in developing his ideas that ideas matter; clearly these communities of experts had been identified in such works cited by Hall (1993) as Krasner (1978), Nye (1987), and Haas (1992). Hall’s article came at a moment in the development of the public policy literature that was ripe with rich discussions about the power of ideas; it was, as John Kingdon (1984) might have said, an idea whose time had come. Hall’s article came at the right time and it has rightly been credited with pushing the concept of ideas, but more particularly that of policy paradigms, to the centre of our understandings of public policy: how they come about; what supports them; and how and in what conditions they might change.
Mitochondrial Function in Sepsis

ABSTRACT Mitochondria are an essential part of the cellular infrastructure, being the primary site for high-energy adenosine triphosphate production through oxidative phosphorylation. Clearly, in severe systemic inflammatory states, like sepsis, cellular metabolism is usually altered, and end organ dysfunction is not only common, but also predictive of long-term morbidity and mortality. Clearly, interest is mitochondrial function both as a target for intracellular injury and response to extrinsic stress have been a major focus of basic science and clinical research into the pathophysiology of acute illness. However, mitochondria have multiple metabolic and signaling functions that may be central in both the expression of sepsis and its ultimate outcome. In this review, the authors address five primary questions centered on the role of mitochondria in sepsis. This review should be used both as a summary source in placing mitochondrial physiology within the context of acute illness and as a focal point for addressing new research into diagnostic and treatment opportunities these insights provide.
Relationship Between Abdominal Adiposity and Exercise Tolerance in Children With Obesity

Purpose: To determine whether abdominal obesity is associated with lower exercise tolerance in children. Methods: Waist-to-height ratios (WHtRs) were determined for 50 children aged 8 to 12 years with body mass index greater than the 95th percentile and 6-minute walk distance (6MWD) conducted. Results: Mean 6MWD was found to be 510 (standard deviation = 60) m. Univariate analysis revealed that WHtR was the only significant predictor of 6MWD (P = .01). In modeling using multiple regression analysis, 26% of the variance in 6MWD could be attributed to the participant's age, WHtR, and sex; WHtR was the only significant contributor to 6MWD (P = .001). Conclusion: WHtR was the most strongly correlated factor with distance achieved on the 6-minute walk test, a measure of exercise tolerance, and is an important measure to screen for cardiovascular disease risk and to prompt further evaluation of functional exercise capacity.
Developing railway station choice models to improve rail industry demand models

This paper describes the development of railway station choice models suitable for defining probabilistic station catchments for use in the aggregate demand models typically used to forecast demand for new rail stations. Revealed preference passenger survey data obtained from the Welsh and Scottish Governments was used for model calibration. Techniques were developed to identify trip origins and destinations from incomplete address information and to automatically validate reported trips. A bespoke trip planner was used to derive mode-specific station access variables and train leg measures. Results of a number of multinomial logit and random parameter (mixed) logit models are presented and their predictive performance assessed. The models were found to have substantially superior predictive accuracy compared to the base model (which assumes the nearest station has a probability of one), indicating that their incorporation into passenger demand forecasting methods has the potential to significantly improve model performance.
Tetravalency and magnetic phase diagram in the heavy-fermion superconductor UPd2Al3.

Measurements of the dc susceptibility χ(T), dc magnetization, magnetoresistivity, and magnetostriction are utilized to delineate the magnetic B-T phase diagram of the antiferromagnetically ordered (T N =14K) heavy-fermion superconductor (T c =2K)UPd 2 AL 3 . The single-crystal data reveal three antiferromagnetic phases for B⊥c, but only one for Bc. The anisotropic χ(T) in the paramagnetic state suggests a tetravalent configuration of uranium
Distinct Roles of TLR2 and the Adaptor ASC in IL-1β/IL-18 Secretion in Response to Listeria monocytogenes1

Apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a C-terminal caspase recruitment domain (ASC) is an adaptor molecule that has recently been implicated in the activation of caspase-1. We have studied the role of ASC in the host defense against the intracellular pathogen Listeria monocytogenes. ASC was found to be essential for the secretion of IL-1β/IL-18, but dispensable for IL-6, TNF-α, and IFN-β production, in macrophages infected with Listeria. Activation of caspase-1 was abolished in ASC-deficient macrophages, whereas activation of NF-κB and p38 was unaffected. In contrast, secretion of IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α was reduced in TLR2-deficient macrophages infected with Listeria; this was associated with impaired activation of NF-κB and p38, but normal caspase-1 processing. Analysis of Listeria mutants revealed that cytosolic invasion was required for ASC-dependent IL-1β secretion, consistent with a critical role for cytosolic signaling in the activation of caspase-1. Secretion of IL-1β in response to lipopeptide, a TLR2 agonist, was greatly reduced in ASC-null macrophages and was abolished in TLR2-deficient macrophages. These results demonstrate that TLR2 and ASC regulate the secretion of IL-1β via distinct mechanisms in response to Listeria. ASC, but not TLR2, is required for caspase-1 activation independent of NF-κB in Listeria-infected macrophages.
Two-Way Classification of a Data Table with Non Negative Entries: The Role of the χ2 Distance and Correspondence Analysis

We developed an approach to two-way classification based on the χ2 distance and Correspondence Analysis. We present, in particular, two classification algorithms: the first one operates a dimension reduction before applying clustering techniques to rows and columns. The second one, successively partitions the data matrix to extract several classification schemes rather than one. Applications to gene expression and web data are presented. The results are compared with an optimal partition algorithm.
Self-Organization of Pulse-Coupled Oscillators with Application to Clustering

We introduce an efficient synchronization model that organizes a population of integrate-and-fire oscillators into stable and structured groups. Each oscillator fires synchronously with all the others within its group, but the groups themselves fire with a constant phase difference. The structure of the synchronized groups depends on the choice of the coupling function. We show that by defining the interaction between oscillators according to the relative distance between them, our model can be used as a general clustering algorithm. Unlike existing models, our model incorporates techniques from relational and prototype-based clustering methods and results in a clustering algorithm that is simple, efficient, robust, unbiased by the size of the clusters, and that can find an arbitrary number of clusters. In addition to helping the model self-organize into stable groups, the synergy between clustering and synchronization reduces the computational complexity significantly. The resulting clustering algorithm has several advantages over conventional clustering techniques. In particular, it can generate a nested sequence of partitions and it can determine the optimum number of clusters in an efficient manner. Moreover, since our approach does not involve optimizing an objective function, it is not sensitive to initialization and it can incorporate nonmetric similarity measures. We illustrate the performance of our algorithms with several synthetic and real data sets.