Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Assessment of anaerobic power to verify VO2max attainment

Across various populations, verification testing is used to confirm VO2max attainment and has repeatedly shown similar VO2max values to those obtained from incremental exercise. Yet, many individuals show meaningful differences in VO2max between protocols, and an explanation for this is unknown. The aim of the study was to elucidate this phenomenon in 30 men and women of similar age, fitness, and physical activity using assessment of anaerobic power. On day 1, they completed the Wingate test, and returned at least 48 h later to complete incremental cycle ergometry followed by a verification protocol. During exercise, ventilation, pulmonary gas exchange data, and heart rate (HR) were continuously measured. Mean VO2max was similar (P > 0·05) between protocols (42·05 ± 5·88 ml kg−1 per min versus 42·03 ± 5·75 ml kg−1 per min, respectively), although seven subjects (23%) revealed a VO2max that was not ‘verified’ by the supramaximal protocol. Indices of power output and gas exchange data were similar (P > 0·05) between subjects who revealed a ‘true’ VO2max compared to those who did not, although peak and mean power was consistently higher in persons whose VO2max was not ‘verified. ’ A previously established HRmax criterion for verification testing was not met in 17% of subjects. Additional study is merited to identify alternate determinants of VO2max, such as muscle activation via assessment of motor unit recruitment, and to investigate utility of verification testing to confirm VO2max attainment in elite athletes and the elderly.
Interest in Hollow-Fiber Perfusion Bioreactors Is Growing

level: intermediate P eople who regularly culture animal cells become so comfortable with standard techniques that novel approaches can seem contrived or even unnatural. However, the typical cycle of seeding cells at very low density in an excess of medium and harvesting (often quite aggressively) just before the point of medium exhaustion is quite an unphysiologic process. Popular culture systems often take cells that originally grew attached to a porous matrix at high densities, with little variability in nutrient and oxygen supply, and adapt them to low-density, styrene-bound or amorphous suspension cultures. Although these methods are well understood and convenient, classical batch-style twodimensional culture in T-flasks or three-dimensional suspension culture in shake-flasks and bioreactors really aren’t physiologically relevant models. A remarkable number of alternative culture approaches operating with such unusual mechanisms as rocking bags and depth filters have been introduced over recent years. These are often categorized by characteristics such as suspension/adherent or batch/continuous operation (1). However, most share two fundamental features: Cells are subjected to wide swings in nutrient, waste, and pH levels from seeding to harvest, and they are generally growing at highly cyclical but relatively low culture densities. Until recently, the negative consequences of those highly artificial protocols were not well appreciated. But increasing demands of modern drug development, regenerative medicine, and fundamental scientific investigation have inspired the development of alternative approaches. Perfusion culture now exists in a number of (often quite distinct) implementations (2). Hollow-fiber– based technologies in general are used in many applications, from tangentialf low filtration to prokaryotic biofilms in wastewater treatment. Here we consider only their use in the culture of animal cells, referring to this as hollow-fiber perfusion bioreactor (HFPB) technology. Table 1 introduces many of the growing applications of such systems along with the benefits they provide.
TITLE: Connexins and Cadherin Cross-talk in the Pathogenesis of Prostate Cancer

1a-25(OH)2 vitamin D3 (1-25D), an active hormonal form of Vitamin D3, is a well-known chemopreventive and prodifferentiating agent. It has been shown to inhibit the growth of several prostate cancer cell lines. Gap junctions, formed of proteins called connexins (Cx), are ensembles of cell-cell channels, which permit the exchange of small growth regulatory molecules between adjoining cells. Cell-cell communication mediated by gap junctional channels is an important homeostatic control mechanism for regulating cell growth and differentiation. We have investigated the effect of 1-25D on the formation and degradation of gap junctions in an androgen-responsive prostate cancer cell line, LNCaP, which expresses retrovirally-introduced Cx32. Connexin32 is expressed by the luminal and well-differentiated cells of normal prostate and prostate tumors. Our results document that 1-25D enhances the expression of Cx32 and its subsequent assembly into gap junctions. Our results further show that 1-25D prevents androgen-regulated degradation of Cx32, posttranslationally, independent of androgen receptor (AR)-mediated signaling. Finally, our findings document that formation of gap junctions sensitizes Cx32-expressing LNCaP cells to the growth inhibitory effects of 1-25D and alters their morphology. These findings suggest that the growth-inhibitory effects of 1-25D in LNCaP cells may be related to its ability to modulate the assembly of Cx32 into gap junctions. Citation: Kelsey L, Katoch P, Ray A, Mitra S, Chakraborty S, et al. (2014) Vitamin D3 Regulates the Formation and Degradation of Gap Junctions in AndrogenResponsive Human Prostate Cancer Cells. PLoS ONE 9(9): e106437. doi:10.1371/journal.pone. 0106437 Editor: Michael Koval, Emory University School of Medicine, United States of America Received November 26, 2013; Accepted August 6, 2014; Published September 4, 2014 Copyright: 2014 Kelsey et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Funding: This research was supported by National Institutes of Health CA113903, DOD PCRP PC-081198 and PC-111867, Nebraska State Grant LB506 and R01DE12308. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. * Email: pmehta@unmc.edu
A coarse cell search scheme of TD-SCDMA systems

This paper presents a novel initial cell search (frame synchronization) scheme of TD-SCDMA system. This algorithm uses the implicit power transition in the special frame structure and introduces a different power ratio detector comparing with the conventional non-coherent algorithms, which makes it less complicated and more reliable. We verify our algorithm by computer simulations, and the results show a good and robust performance in a wide range of signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs).
Evidence-based view of safety and effectiveness of pharmacologic therapy for nausea and vomiting of pregnancy (NVP).

OBJECTIVE Our goal was to review the safety and effectiveness of available antiemetics for treatment of nausea and vomiting of pregnancy. STUDY DESIGN We performed a quantitative and qualitative overview of observational controlled studies for drug safety in pregnancy and randomized controlled trials for drug effectiveness for nausea and vomiting in pregnancy. RESULTS All of the following are safe and effective for treatment of varying degrees of nausea and vomiting in pregnancy: Bendectin/Diclectin (doxylamine, pyridoxine, dicyclomine), antihistamine (H(1)) blockers, and phenothiazines; however, the magnitude of effect, particularly for phenothiazines, is in question and may differ among individual agents. Pyridoxine and vitamin B(12)are safe and may be effective. Metoclopramide, droperidol, and ondansetron may be effective, but safety data are insufficient to recommend them as first-line agents. Corticosteroids may not be as beneficial as first thought, and there may be a small teratogenic risk. The relative effectiveness of various agents is largely unknown. CONCLUSION Many medications, particularly H(1)-antagonists and phenothiazines, are safe and effective for treatment of varying degrees of NVP.
Flow cytometric determination of glucocorticoid receptor (GCR) expression in lymphocyte subpopulations: lower quantity of GCR in patients with post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Assessment of the intracellular glucocorticoid receptor (GCR) level may be useful in monitoring functional disturbances of the hypothalamic‐pituitary‐adrenocortical axis or effects of prolonged steroid therapy. Cytosolic ligand binding assays have recently been supplemented by flow cytometric determination of receptor expression in individual cells. A method based on multiparametric analysis of whole blood by simultaneous labelling of intracellular GCRs and surface markers of lymphocyte subsets is described. We examined 25 healthy male volunteers and 35 age‐ and sex‐matched post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) patients within 8 years from traumatic event. PTSD patients had a lower relative quantity of GCR in all lymphocyte populations tested as compared with healthy volunteers. NK cells of both groups showed higher expression of GCR than other lymphocyte subsets. In PTSD patients, the expression of GCR in B lymphocytes was also higher than in T cell. Although serum cortisol level was lower in PTSD patients, there was no correlation between cortisol level and GCR expression. Multiparameter flow cytometric determination of GCR expression in lymphocyte subpopulations may provide a useful tool for monitoring immunoregulatory action of glucocorticoids.
Identification of NTN4, TRA1, and STC2 as Prognostic Markers in Breast Cancer in a Screen for Signal Sequence Encoding Proteins

Purpose: In a previous screen using a signal-trap library, we identified a number of secreted proteins up-regulated in primary tumor cells isolated from invasive breast cancers. The purpose of this study was to assess the expression of these genes in human invasive breast tumors and to determine the significance of their expression for prognosis in breast cancer. Experimental Design: A tissue microarray containing 245 invasive breast tumors from women treated with curative surgery followed by anthracycline-based chemotherapy and hormone therapy for the estrogen receptor (ER)–positive tumors was screened by in situ hybridization with probes against thrombospondin 3 (TSP3), insulin-like growth factor binding protein 7 (IGFBP7), tumor rejection antigen 1 (TRA1), stanniocalcin 2 (STC2), and netrin 4 (NTN4). Correlations between categorical variables were done using the χ2 test and Fisher's exact test. Cumulative survival probabilities were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method and multivariate survival analysis was done with Cox hazard model. A series of breast cancers were also stained with NTN4 antibodies. Results: All five genes examined were expressed in invasive breast tumor cells. NTN4 protein expression was also confirmed by immunohistochemistry. Together, these data validate the design and screening of the signal-trap library. Univariate survival analysis revealed that expressions of TRA1, STC2, and NTN4 are correlated with longer disease-free survival and that TRA1 and NTN4 are associated with longer overall survival. Multivariate analysis showed that NTN4 is an independent prognostic factor of overall survival. Conclusions: This article describes the identification of three secreted proteins, NTN4, TRA1, and STC2, as potential novel prognostic markers in breast cancer.
Does Strategy Knowledge Influence Working Memory in Children with Mathematical Disabilities?

This study investigated the relationship between working memory (WM), declarative strategy knowledge, and math achievement in children with and without mathematical disabilities (MD). Experiment 1 examined the relationship between strategy knowledge, verbal WM, and visual-spatial WM in children with MD as a function of initial, gain, and maintenance conditions. The results showed that after partialing the influence of reading, stable strategy choices rather than specific strategy knowledge was related to verbal and visual-spatial WM span in high demand (maintenance) conditions. Experiment 2 compared children with MD to a group of chronological age-matched children and a group of math ability-matched children on the same conditions as Experiment 1. Age-matched children's verbal and visual-spatial WM performance was superior to that of children with MD, whereas WM performance was statistically comparable between children with MD and younger children matched on math ability. The selection of expert strategies was related to high WM span scores in the initial conditions. After controlling for reading achievement in a regression analysis, verbal and visual-spatial WM, stable verbal strategy choices, and expert strategy choices related to visual-spatial processing all contributed independent variance to math achievement. Overall, these results suggest that WM and math achievement are related to strategy knowledge.
Aberración Óptica

estudio de las aberraciones ópticas radica en la evaluación de las imágenes que produce un sistema óptico. Este fenómeno se debe a la geometría del sistema. En este artículo se tiene la finalidad de presentar en forma aproximada las ecuaciones analíticas que describen a un frente de onda esférico afectado por aberración " coma " en un sistema óptico con simetría. Abstract—The study of optic aberrations is related to evaluation of the images produced by an optic system. This phenomenon is related to the geometry of the system. In this paper, we present approximate analytical equations that describe the front of the spherical wave affected by the aberration in an optic system with symmetry. este se debe a las leyes físicas que producen los rayos de luz y a las imperfecciones geométricas de los sistemas ópticos, entre algunas otras características [1-3]. En este trabajo nos centraremos en una de las " aberraciones de Seidel " denominada " coma " , con la intención de mostrar en forma analítica el efecto que tiene sobre un frente de onda esférico. La expresión analítica en coordenadas cartesianas para la función de aberración " coma " está dada por () 2 0 2 0 0 2 0 0) , (y x y C y x + = Δ (1) donde 2 C es una constante. Manuscrito recibido el 5 de marzo del 2008. Manuscrito aceptado para su publicación el 15 de junio del 2008. Supongamos que trabajamos en un sistema óptico simétrico y que inicialmente se tiene un frente de onda esférico de radio 0 R en un tiempo inicial , 0 = t además un punto arbitrario sobre el frente de onda con coordenadas 2 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 , , y x R z z y y x x − − ± = = = =. Debido a que el caso de aberración esférica ya fue tratado con detalle anteriormente por GSO y MMM [4] se considera que la forma del frente de onda inicial después de un tiempo determinado t y afectado por alguna aberración tiene la expresión de las siguientes ecuaciones: () [ ] () () [ ] (). 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 z z y x z y y x y x R …
Colloquium: Non-Markovian dynamics in open quantum systems

An ongoing theme in quantum physics is the interaction of small quantum systems with an environment. If that environment has many degrees of freedom and is weakly coupled, it can often be reasonable to treat its decohering effect on the small system using a ``memoryless,'' or Markovian description. This Colloquium shows that for many phenomena a more refined, non-Markovian, treatment is necessary. The suite of developing theoretical tools is reviewed, with which recent progress on this problem has been based.
Transition from metastability to instability in a binary-liquid mixture.

In a binary mixture of oligomers of styrene and \ensuremath{\epsilon}-caprolactone, we have studied a transition from metastability to instability by changing a quench depth systematically under an off-critical quench condition. The concentration distribution function turns out to be a good fingerprint for determining whether phase separation is nucleation-growth type or spinodal-decomposition type. We also demonstrate clear morphological and kinetice evidence of a diffuse metastable-unstable transition or crossover phenomena theoretically predicted for the system with a finite-range interaction.
Endogenous Biomarkers to Assess Drug-Drug Interactions by Drug Transporters and Enzymes.

BACKGROUND Drug-Drug Interactions (DDI) by modulation of drug transporters or drug metabolizing enzymes are common in multi-drug therapy. DDI potential of any new drug is assessed by conducting separate clinical studies using relevant probe substrates, which involves additional resource and cost. Recently, several endogenous compounds have been evaluated as substrates of transporters and enzymes that could be assessed as part of early clinical trials along with the assessment of drug pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and safety studies. This enables an early readout on potential DDIs avoiding or minimally delaying the conduct of definitive DDI studies until later in clinical development. METHOD This review describes various endogenous biomarkers reported for drug transporters and metabolizing enzymes with their advantages and limitations. CONCLUSION Furthermore, the authors describe strategies to adopt while exploring a new endogenous biomarker, and factors to be considered in selection of biomarkers with the current challenges and opportunities.
k-connectivity of Random Graphs and Random Geometric Graphs in Node Fault Model

k-connectivity of random graphs is a fundamental property indicating reliability of multi-hop wireless sensor networks (WSN). WSNs comprising of sensor nodes with limited power resources are modeled by random graphs with unreliable nodes, which is known as the node fault model. In this paper, we investigate k-connectivity of random graphs in the node fault model by evaluating the network breakdown probability, i.e., the disconnectivity probability of random graphs after stochastic node removals. Using the notion of a strongly typical set, we obtain universal asymptotic upper and lower bounds of the network breakdown probability. The bounds are applicable both to random graphs and to random geometric graphs. We then consider three representative random graph ensembles: the Erdös-Rényi random graph as the simplest case, the random intersection graph for WSNs with random key predistribution schemes, and the random geometric graph as a model of WSNs generated by random sensor node deployment. The bounds unveil the existence of the phase transition of the network breakdown probability for those ensembles.
Munc13-1-mediated Vesicle Priming Contributes to Secretory Amyloid Precursor Protein Processing*

The amyloid precursor protein (APP) gives rise toc β-amyloid peptides, which are the main constituents of senile plaques in brains of Alzheimer's disease patients. Non-amyloidogenic processing of the APP can be stimulated by phorbol esters (PEs) and by intracellular diacylglycerol (DAG) generation. This led to the hypothesis that classical and novel protein kinase Cs (PKCs), which are activated by DAG/PEs, regulate APP processing. However, in addition to PKCs, there are other DAG/PE receptors present in neurons that may participate in the modulation of APP processing. Munc13-1, a presynaptic protein with an essential role in synaptic vesicle priming, represents such an alternative target of the DAG second messenger pathway. Using Munc13-1 knock-out mice and knock-in mice expressing a Munc13-1(H567K) variant deficient in DAG/PE binding, we determined the relative contributions of PKCs and Munc13-1 to PE-stimulated secretory APP processing. We establish that, in addition to PKC, Munc13-1 significantly contributes to the regulation of secretory APP metabolism.
Vth adjustable self-aligned embedded source/drain Si/Ge nanowire FETs and dopant-free NVMs for 3D sequentially integrated circuit

3D stackable high-performance Si nanowire field-effect transistors (NWFETs) and dopant-free Ge junctionless nanowire non-volatile memories (JL-NWNVMs) with self-aligned embedded source/drain (S/D) current boosters and independent back gate (BG) V<sub>th</sub> adjusters for 3D sequential integrated circuit are realized by low thermal budget process (<;450°C). The fabricated Si NWFETs exhibit low subthreshold swings (96 and 125 mV/dec.), high on-currents (232 and 110 μA/μm), and large γ value (>0.05) for V<sub>th</sub> adjustment. The high-Δ capped blocking dielectric bandgap engineered dopant-free Ge JL-NWNVM exhibits high I<sub>on</sub>/I<sub>off</sub> ratio (>10<sup>5</sup>), large memory window (>4V), and low charge loss (<;40%, 10yrs). Thanks to the quantum confinement effect, such V<sub>th</sub> adjustable nanowire devices perform well at higher temperatures, which give a wide design window for 3D sequential integrated circuit.
Canine sperm vitrification with sucrose: effect on sperm function

The ability of sucrose to protect spermatozoa against mitochondrial damage, artificial acrosome reaction and DNA fragmentation during ultra‐rapid cryopreservation in canine sperm was investigated. Swim‐up selected spermatozoa of second‐fraction semen were vitrified with different concentrations of sucrose (0.1, 0.25 and 0.4 m) in proportion 1 : 1 v/v with HTF–BSA 1%. From each group, 30‐μl suspensions of cells were dropped directly into liquid nitrogen and stored for at least 24 h. Cells were thawed by submerging the spheres in HTF with 1% BSA at 37 °C. The number of progressively motile spermatozoa was significantly higher in the sucrose 0.25 m + HTF–BSA 1% (42.5 ± 2.3%, P < 0.01) than in HTF only (1.66 ± 0.3%). The same combination of sucrose 0.25 m + HTF–BSA 1% (42.7 ± 1.5%) had a stronger cryoprotective effect on the integrity of mitochondrial membrane potential (P < 0.05) and decreased the DNA fragmentation (2.8 ± 0.5%) as compared with HTF only (1.93 ± 0.6% and 5.6 ± 0.6% respectively). With respect to acrosome‐reacted spermatozoa, no significant difference was found between the groups investigated (P > 0.05). It is concluded that sucrose, a nonpermeable cryoprotectant, can effectively preserve important physiological parameters such as mitochondrial membrane potential and DNA integrity during ultra‐rapid cryopreservation.
Review: Do we need new antibiotics for treating exacerbations of COPD?

Exacerbations may produce permanent impairment in lung function and health status in patients with COPD. Up to 70% of episodes have a bacterial etiology, being of mixed viral infection in some cases. The new, more active antibiotics have demonstrated better eradication of bacteria in the airways and, consequently, prolongation of the time to the next exacerbation. However, the ability of bacteria to develop resistance to the antibiotics currently used warrants novel research into new families of antimicrobials, and the adoption of new strategies such as the prevention of exacerbations, nebulized antibiotic treatment or the use of antibiotics in combination.