Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Action of a NO donor on the excitation–contraction pathway activated by noradrenaline in rat superior mesenteric artery

The aim of the present study was to investigate the actions of NO donors in ratsuperior mesenteric artery stimulated with noradrenaline by studying their effects on isometric tension, membrane potential (Vm), cytosolic calcium concentration ([Ca2+]cyt) and accumulation of inositol phosphates. In unstimulated arteries, SNAP (S‐nitroso‐N‐acetylpenicillamine, 10 μm) hyperpolarised Vm by 3.0 ± 0.5 mV (n= 9). In KCl‐stimulated arteries, SNAP relaxed contraction without changing Vm and [Ca2+]cyt. In noradrenaline‐stimulated arteries, SNAP relaxed tension, repolarised Vm and decreased [Ca2+]cyt with the same potency. Responses to SNAP were unaffected by the following K+ channel blockers: glibenclamide, 4‐aminopyridine, apamin and charybdotoxin, and by increasing the KCl concentration to 25 mM. In SNAP‐pretreated arteries, the production of inositol phosphates and the contraction stimulated by noradrenaline were inhibited similarly. The guanylate cyclase inhibitor ODQ abolished the increase in cyclic GMP content evoked by SNAP and inhibited the effects of SNAP on contraction, Vm and accumulation of inositol phosphates in noradrenaline‐stimulated artery. These results indicate that, in rat superior mesenteric arteries activated by noradrenaline, inhibition of production of inositol phosphates is responsible for the effects of the NO donor SNAP on membrane potential, [Ca2+]cyt and contraction through a cyclic GMP‐dependent mechanism.
Islam and the Challenge of Democracy: A "Boston Review" Book

Islam and the Challenge of Democracy by KHALED ABOU EL FADL 3 Responses Change from Within by NADER A. HASHEMI 49 Democracy and Conflict by JEREMY WALDRON 55 The Best Hope by NOAH FELDMAN 59 The Primacy of Political Philosophy by M. A. MUQTEDAR KHAN 63 The Importance of Context by A. KEVIN REINHART 69 Is Liberalism Islam's Only Answer? by SABA MAHMOOD 74 Popular Support First by BERNARD HAYKEL 78 Too Far from Tradition by MOHAMMAD H. FADEL 81 Revealed Law and Democracy by DAVID NOVAK 87 Practice and Theory by JOHN L. ESPOSITO 93 Islam Is Not the Problem by WILLIAM B. QUANDT 101 Reply KHALED ABOU EL FADL 109 Contributors 129 Index 131
A Measure of Textural Patterns and Strengths

Although in existing writings about music the term texture is not always clearly defined, the term is used to describe phenomena relating to the structure of music. Existing concepts fall generally into two categories: (1) polyphonic or homophonic, and (2) light or heavy. Rimsky-Korsakov points out that harmonic texture is common to both polyphonic and homophonic styles [W, 71]. In this concept the vertical relationship of sounds makes up the texture. Rimsky-Korsakov, as are others interested in orchestration, is concerned with the proper scoring of instruments to avoid too heavy or too light sonorities. Students of orchestration are warned that too many gaps will cause thinness in the harmonic structure [ , 86] and that low scoring of the middle parts will cause heaviness [2, 76, 88]. In the consideration of the total structure of music, the exploration and classification of certain vertical relationships are explained in the study of harmony. Our present-day chord classifications are a great simplification over the classifications existing prior to the time of Rameau, e. g. Johann Mattheson's classification of seventy-four chords into three general groups: consonant, dissonant, and less-used dissonant [8, 16]. Yet, with our classifications, there may be something left unsaid with regard to sonority or the total effect of simultaneously sounded tone-combinations. It is believed by some theorists that the first inversion of a triad sounds lighter than the same triad in its root position, that harmony in open position usually sounds less intense than in close position, and that large gaps between inner parts produce a weak effect [, 43-4; 1, 4; a, 68]. With regard to this, Piston makes the following statement:
Characterizing fading in wearable communications channels using composite models

Characterizing and modeling the behavior of fading channels is critical for robust wireless systems design. This is especially the case for wireless devices designed to be positioned on the human body. So-called wearable communications are not only impacted by signal fluctuations caused by the propagation environment but also shadowed and envelope fading generated by the human body. In this paper we statistically characterize fading channels observed in wearable communications using a range of very general line of sight and multiplicative composite fading models such as K-μ / lognormal LOS and K-μ / gamma. In particular we investigate off-body wearable channels operating at 5.8 GHz for a series of experiments which are designed to be representative of everyday scenarios likely to be encountered by wearable device users. Using the Kullback-Leibler divergence, we then perform a quantitative analysis of the fits of these models to the measured composite fading data obtained for the wearable channels considered here.
The Attachment and Penetration Apparatus of the Miracidium of Schistosoma

Preliminary electron microscope observations have shown that in the miracidium of Schistosoma mattheei the surface of the apical epidermal plate consists of branching and anastomosing microvilli. It is suggested that this arboreal arrangement serves to attach the miracidium to the body surface of snail hosts during attempts to penetrate; the apical papilla can therefore be regarded as an attachment organ, functionally analogous to the suckers of the adult schistosome. It is also suggested that the degree of ‘fit’ between the attachment organ and the snail body surface may be an important factor determining the success of attempts by the miracidium to penetrate. Electron microscopy has also shown that the so-called penetration and apical glands are single flask-shaped cells. No endoplasmic reticulum and very few ribosomes were seen in these cells and it is therefore suggested that, in the mature (free-swimming) miracidium, the “glands” are not functional as such; they are simply sacs full of fluid. If they contain histolytic substances they must either have been synthesized at an earlier stage in the life history of the organism or they are synthesized elsewhere and passed into the “glands”. Histochemical attempts to identify leucine aminopeptidase and mucin in the contents of the “glands” of S. mansoni miracidia were unsuccessful. It is concluded that these substances probably do not play any role in the penetration into or attachment on snail intermediate hosts by S. mansoni miracidia.
Interferência de medicamentos em exames laboratoriais.

Os exames laboratoriais sao importantes para prevencao e diagnostico de doencas, auxilio no tratamento de patologias, acompanhamento de pacientes para verificar a eficacia do tratamento aplicado e determinar dados epidemiologicos. A interferencia de medicamentos em exames realizados nas analises clinicas e toxicologicas e de suma importância n a rotina dos laboratorios por interferir nos ensaios e modificar o d iagnostico clinico laboratorial, o que leva a um resultado falso positivo ou falso negativo, pseudo - aumento ou pseudo - diminuicao. Os diagnosticos equivocados, podem gerar graves riscos a s aude do paciente, sendo assim necessario novos exames clinicos, que resultam em custos adicionais. A probabilidade de ocorrer interferencia aumenta a medida que o paciente utiliza mais de um medicamento, o que deve ser sempre verificado pelos profissionais de saude antes da realizacao dos exames. Nota - se que importante o estudo destas alteracoes nos laudos laboratoriais por parte dos profissionais de saude, principalmente pelos analistas responsaveis por laboratorios de analises clinicas
Not all dopamine neurons are created equal: Functional heterogeneity of midbrain dopamine axons

The levodopa-responsive motor signs of Parkinson’s disease (PD) are caused by the death of dopaminergic neurons that project from the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) to the striatum. Paradoxically, traditional approaches for measuring dopamine release in the striatum (eg, fast-scan cyclic voltammetry) have not detected clear movement-associated dopaminergic signaling in this pathway. Indeed, the most recent model posits that phasic (milliseconds-scale) dopamine release encodes reward learning, whereas slow (seconds-scale) variations in background firing encode locomotion. Using 2-photon microscopy and axon photometry with optogenetics in freely moving mice, Howe and Dombeck were able to correlate dopamine signaling with locomotor activity and unpredicted reward presentation on a milliseconds timescale. The authors demonstrated that spontaneous locomotion is associated with rapid, phasic activation of dopaminergic neurons that project to the dorsal striatum. Moreover, if these neurons were optogenetically stimulated in phasic bursts, mice increased movement to a frequency that roughly correlated to the frequency of optogenetic stimulation. The authors went on to show that dopamine signaling in dorsal striatum is (1) most closely associated with movement initiation and acceleration, (2) independent of unanticipated rewards, and (3) more prominent in axons whose cell bodies resided in SNc when compared with the ventral tegmental area (VTA). In contrast, dopamine signaling in VTA neurons that project to the ventral striatum was responsive to unpredicted rewards but rarely to locomotor activity. Together, these results challenge the current model of striatal dopamine signaling and suggest that midbrain dopamine neurons are functionally and spatially heterogeneous in terms of their ability to encode either reward or movement. Overall, having a better framework for understanding midbrain dopamine signaling will lead to therapeutic advances in PD. The techniques described by Howe and Dombeck can be used to analyze functionally and spatially distinct populations of dopamine neurons, which may allow future studies to characterize the relative sparing of VTA neurons in PD. An understanding of the features that allow VTA neurons to remain largely intact in individuals with PD could lead to the identification of novel treatment targets. Although the role of these heterogeneous dopaminergic populations in the complex voluntary movement circuit remains to be determined, it is likely that the phasic activation of nigrostriatal dopamine neurons identified by Howe and Dombeck is deficient in patients with PD. In the future, more effective treatments for PD will need to either restore spatiotemporal dopamine requirements or target specific subpopulations of midbrain dopamine neurons.
Operators' value creation models in electronic invoicing - User company perspective

Electronic Invoicing (E-invoicing) has been going through fast development during recent years. It is believed to bring great savings for companies. There has been a lot of research and studies on Einvoicing. This study is going to study on how E-invoicing operators could create value but from users’ perspective. The study is going to build its own value creation framework based on Amit and Zott’s value creation model in E-business, which defines four value creation dimensions, i.e., efficiency, complementarity, lock-in and novelty. First, extensive literature reviews on value creation theories, including value chain, transaction cost economy, resource-based view of firms and network economy, were conducted. Besides, enterprise application integration and expert opinion were also taken into consideration. As a result, the new value creation framework came out with four modified value drivers, namely efficiency, complementary services, integration and network effects. The changes were made because it is more suitable in the context of E-invoicing. Furthermore, for each of the value drivers, a set of measurement items were identified to evaluate how an Einvoicing operator performed in providing the service. In the empirical part, two case studies are completed. Interviews were prepared and done with Einvoicing managers inside the company. It turns out that all the four value creation sources, efficiency, complementary services, integration and network effects, are observed in the company. As users of E-invoicing, the companies thought E-invoicing improves efficiency by reducing the invoice cycle time, saving costs, and eliminating human touch in the process. Supplier activation is seen as an important area where operators could improve their services. Integration of systems especially automatic accounting is regarded as the future development of E-invoicing but not yet under development in practice. Standardization is needed to enable E-invoice usage between different operators and networks. This study is important in providing a new perspective on E-invoicing research and development. It not only contributes to the E-invoicing literature but also could act as guidance for E-invoicing operators on how to improve their services. It has limitations such as on the resources of information and future research areas are identified. For example, quantified research methods could be used to measure how important each value drive is.
Current management of low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion, high-grade squamous epithelial lesion, and atypical glandular cells.

Introduction Cervical cancer and its precursors remain a significant public health issue. Since the Papanicolaou smear was developed in 1941, rates of cervical cancer have decreased dramatically in countries with screening programs. The Bethesda System has been developed and subsequently revised to clarify terminology for reporting abnormal cervical cytology results. An estimated 50 million women participate in Papanicolaou test screening programs each year in the United States, with 5% of these women requiring further evaluation. Laboratory surveys from the College of American Pathologists (CAP) indicate that evaluation of Papanicolaou test abnormalities leads to a diagnosis of lowgrade intraepithelial lesion in more than 1 million women, and a further 500,000 women will be diagnosed with high-grade cervical cancer precursors. The diagnosis and treatment of cervical cancer precursors remain a major public health challenge.
Flow and Leakage Characteristics of a Sashless Inclined Air-Curtain (sIAC) Fume Hood Containing Tall Pollutant-Generation Tanks

In many fume hood applications, pollutant-generation devices are tall. Human operators of a fume hood must stand close to the front of the hood and lift up their hands to reach the top opening of the tall tank. In this situation, it is inconvenient to access the conventional hood because the sash acts as a barrier. Also, the bluff-body wake in front of the operator's chest causes a problem. By using laser-assisted smoke flow visualization and tracer-gas test methods, the present study examines a sashless inclined air-curtain (sIAC) fume hood for tall pollutant-generation tanks, with a mannequin standing in front of the hood face. The configuration of the sIAC fume hood, which had the important element of a backward-inclined push-pull air curtain, was different from conventional configurations. Depending on suction velocity, the backward-inclined air curtain had three characteristic modes: straight, concave, and attachment. A large recirculation bubble covering the area—from the hood ceiling to the work surface—was formed behind the inclined air curtain in the straight and concave modes. In the attachment mode, the inclined air curtain was attached to the rear wall of the hood, about 50 cm from the hood ceiling, and bifurcated into up and down streams. Releasing the pollutants at an altitude above where the inclined air curtain was attached caused the suction slot to directly draw up the pollutants. Releasing pollutants in the rear recirculation bubble created a risk of pollutants’ leaking from the hood face. The tracer-gas (SF6) test results showed that operating the sIAC hood in the attachment mode, with the pollutants being released high above the critical altitude, could guarantee almost no leakage, even though a mannequin was standing in front of the sashless hood face.
Differences in Retinol Metabolism and Proliferative Response between Neointimal and Medial Smooth Muscle Cells

Vascular disease is multifactorial and smooth muscle cells (SMCs) play a key role. Retinoids have been shown to influence many disease-promoting processes including proliferation and differentiation in the vessel wall. Phenotypic heterogeneity of vascular SMCs is a well-known phenomenon and phenotypic modulation of SMCs precedes intimal hyperplasia. The SMCs that constitute the intimal hyperplasia demonstrate a distinct phenotype and differ in gene expression compared to medial SMCs. Cellular retinol-binding protein-1 (CRBP-I), involved in retinoid metabolism, is highly expressed in intimal SMCs, indicating altered retinoid metabolism in this subset of cells. The aim of this study was to evaluate the metabolism of all-trans ROH (atROH), the circulating prohormone to active retinoids, in vascular SMCs of different phenotypes. The results show an increased uptake of atROH in intimal SMCs compared to medial SMCs as well as increased expression of the retinoid-metabolizing enzymes retinol dehydrogenase-5 and retinal dehydrogenase-1 and, in conjunction with this gene expression, increased production of all-trans retinoic acid (atRA). Furthermore, the retinoic acid-catabolizing enzyme CYP26A1 is expressed at higher levels in medial SMCs compared to intimal SMCs. Thus, both retinoid activation and deactivation processes are in operation. To analyze if the difference in ROH metabolism was also correlated to differences in the biological response to retinol, the effects of ROH on proliferation of SMCs with this phenotypic heterogeneity were studied. We found that intimal SMCs showed a dose- and time-dependent growth inhibition when treated with atROH in contrast to medial SMCs, in which atROH had a mitogenic effect. This study shows, for the first time, that (1) vascular SMCs are able to synthesize biologically active atRA from the prohormone atROH, (2) intimal SMCs have a higher capacity to internalize atROH and metabolize atROH into atRA compared to medial SMCs and (3) atROH inhibits growth of intimal SMCs, but induces medial SMC growth.
Hypercostimulation through 4-1BB Distorts Homeostasis of Immune Cells1

The deleterious side effects associated with a recent clinical trial with anti-CD28 superagonist Abs have questioned the use of reagents to costimulatory molecules in human therapy. We now show that sustained signaling from an agonist Ab to 4-1BB, a member of the TNFR superfamily, results in detrimental effects on immune cell homeostasis. Repeated anti-4-1BB treatment during the reconstitution of hematopoietic cells in irradiated mice engrafted with bone marrow, or in mice infected with vaccinia virus, induced abnormal apoptosis of premature and immature B cells in the bone marrow, and led to peripheral B cell depletion. Inhibition of B cell development was indirect and due to costimulation of CD8 T cells and dependent on IFN-γ. Moreover, anti-4-1BB also suppressed the development of NK and NKT cells, but in this case independently of T cells and IFN-γ. The altered NK cell homeostasis resulted from activation-induced cell death triggered by anti-4-1BB. These results show that hypercostimulation elicits strong T cell immunity, but it can simultaneously distort immune homeostasis, suggesting that careful attention to activity, dose, and periodicity of treatment will be needed in any immunotherapeutic strategy with agonist Abs to costimulatory molecules.
Some haematological and clinical-chemical parameters of sight hounds (Afghan hound, saluki and whippet).

Blood was collected from 111 clinically healthy dogs of sight hound breeds for haematological and clinical chemical analyses. The distributions according to age, breed and sex are tabulated. Reference values for haemoglobin were established as 172-240 g/l for adults and 136-217 g/l for growing dogs; the respective packed cell volume values were 50-69% and 41-64%. Ten serum parameters were determined: AP, ALAT, ASAT, GT, CK, urea, cholesterol, creatinine, total protein and albumin. The results are given as means +/- S.D. , and a reference value for serum creatinine was established as less than or equal to 165 mumol/l for adults.
Making Silicon Nitride Film a Viable Gate Dielectric

To extend the scaling limit of thermal SiO2 in the ultrathin regime when the direct tunneling current becomes significant, members of this author’s research team at Yale University, in collaboration with the Jet Process Corporation, embarked on a program to explore the potential of silicon nitride as an alternative gate dielectric. In this paper, highquality silicon nitride (or oxynitride) films made by a novel jet vapor deposition (JVD) technique are described. The JVD process utilizes a high-speed jet of light carrier gas to transport the depositing species onto the substrate to form the desired films. The film composition has been determined to consist primarily of Si and N, with some amounts of O and H. Metal–nitride–Si (MNS) capacitors based on the JVD nitride films deposited directly on Si exhibit relatively low densities of interface traps, fixed charge, and bulk traps. The interface traps at the nitride/Si interface exhibit different properties from those at the SiO2/Si interface in several aspects. In contrast to the conventional CVD silicon nitride, the high-field I V characteristics of the JVD silicon nitride fit the Fowler–Nordheim (F–N) tunneling theory over four to five orders of magnitude in current, but do not fit at all the Frenkel–Poole (F–P) transport theory. This is consistent with the much lower concentration of electronic traps in the JVD silicon nitride. Results from the carrier separation experiment indicate that electron current dominates the gate current with very little hole contribution. Both theoretical calculation and experimental data indicate that the gate leakage current in JVD silicon nitride is significantly lower than that in silicon dioxide of the same equivalent oxide thickness. The breakdown characteristics of the JVD nitride are also respectable. Compared to their MOSFET counterparts, MNS transistors exhibit reduced low-field transconductance but enhanced high-field transconductance, perhaps due to the presence of border traps. As expected, the JVD silicon nitride films exhibit very strong resistance to boron penetration and oxidation at high temperatures. These properties, coupled with its room-temperature deposition process, make JVD silicon nitride an attractive candidate to succeed thermal SiO2 as an advanced gate dielectric in future generations of ULSI devices.