Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Microfluidic Bioreactors for Cell Culturing: A Review

The use of microfluidic bioreactor platforms for cell culturing holds considerable promise for a range of fields which include drug discovery, tissue engineering, bioprocessing optimisation and cell based screening studies. Microflu- idic bioreactor systems have length scales that are well matched to the physical dimensions of most cells and microorgan- isms. In view of this, microfluidic bioreactors have attractive features which make them ideal to study the behaviour of cells and their internal organisation in their native microenvironment. Due to their small footprint microbioreactor plat- forms offer a number of advantages over conventional macroscale systems including improved biological function, higher quality cell-based data, reduced volume of reagents, ease of integration and lower cost. This review highlights the basic concepts, designs and operational requirements of microbioreactors for cell based studies. An illustrative outline of differ- ent applications of microbioreactors and some indication of new trends and progress in recent years are provided. Specific examples of applications of microbioreactors are drawn for cytotoxicity assays, tissue engineering, stem cells, microbial fermentations, single cell analysis and in vitro fertilisation.
A further analysis of the responsiveness of experienced and inexperienced ring dove (Streptopelia risoria) foster parents to squabs.

The responsiveness of experienced and inexperienced ring dove foster parents to young (2-day-old) and older (4- to 5-day-old) squabs was compared (a) 4 days after the 2nd egg was laid, and (b) at about the time of hatching. In the 4-day groups inexperienced male foster parents showed more squab directed attention than did experienced males. In addition, older squabs introduced to inexperienced subjects gained significantly more weight than any other subgroup. In the 13-day groups, the only differences obtained gave indications of enhanced behavioral responsiveness to the squabs by inexperienced foster parents.
Regulating Corporate Annual Reports in Australia

The purpose of the corporate annual report is to communicate information to the corporate shareholder and other stockholders (or potential stockholders). The information should communicate the financial condition of the enterprise, and provide other information that would likely be of interest to the user. It is the shareholder who is the owner of the company, and it is the existing shareholder who must be the primary audience. As owners, the shareholders have the primary right to determine what information they would like disclosed, whether preparers or other users believe that to be so. The corporate annual report is also the main communication vehicle that managers have to communicate the effectiveness of their accomplishments in meeting their fiduciary duties and carrying out their stewardship functions in the organization. So, it is the shareholders, both institutional and individual, that ultimately must determine the form and content of the annual report, rather than the accountants, auditors, or corporate management. The process of communication requires that the receiver be informed. If there is no understanding by the receiver of the material being communicated, no informational value is contained therein, and the communication has no value. If corporate managers want to communicate effectively with the owners, they must attempt to communicate in a language that the shareholders understand. In this paper I examine perceived changes in the usefulness of corporate annual reports to individual investors in Australia over time, using a comparison of 1996 survey results [Anderson and Epstein, 1996] with the earlier Anderson study conducted in 1978 [Anderson, 1979], The 1978 to 1996 time period is of particular interest, given that corporate legislation has become more demanding in terms of disclosure, the accounting standard-setting process has been overhauled, stock exchange listing requirements increased, and government intervention occurred. Further, over this period the Australian financial system was deregulated, a number of major corporate crashes took place, and global events such as the share market crash and recession occurred.
Identification and surgical ligation of aortopulmonic vascular malformation causing left heart volume overload in 4 dogs.

A 7-month-old intact female Cocker Spaniel weighing 7.7 kg was presented for investigation of a heart base murmur. The dog was free from clinical signs. There was a grade IV/VI pansystolic murmur localized over the left heart base. Femoral pulses were of normal volume and character. Routine serum biochemistry and hematology were unremarkable. Echocardiography showed increased left ventricular internal end diastolic diameter (LVIDD) at 4.2 cm (reference range, 2.3–3.4 cm) and left ventricular internal end systolic diameter (LVIDS) at 2.8 cm (reference range, 1.4–2.4 cm), and mildly increased left atrial (LA) to aorta (AO) ratio at 1.8 : 1 (reference range, <1.6) (Fig 1A). Spectral Doppler echocardiography showed increased aortic velocity (AV) at 1.8 m/s (reference range, 1.0–1.4 m/s) and continuous retrograde flow in the main pulmonary artery ranging from 1.8 m/s in systole (Vs) to 1.2 m/s in diastole (VD) (Fig 1B). Color Doppler echocardiography identified the point of entry of the main shunting vessel into the proximal pulmonary artery (Fig 1C). A PDA was suspected, but not fully imaged (Fig 1A). Selective angiography in the proximal descending aorta showed contrast opacifying a network of tortuous vessels in the dorsocaudal thorax (Fig 2A) with subsequent opacification of the left atrium. A diagnosis of a congenital left-to-right systemic to pulmonary artery vascular shunt was made. In view of the size of the vessel, number of tortuous vessels, and the increased left heart dimensions, surgical ligation of the shunting vessel was attempted. A left thoracotomy was performed at the 5th intercostal space. Multiple tortuous vessels over the visceral surface of the lungs corresponded to those seen on angiography (Fig 3A). The point of entry of the main vessel into the pulmonary artery could not be identified, but an anomalous vessel, thought to be a bronchoesophageal artery, was observed coursing cranially toward the pulmonary artery from the descending aorta. Digital pressure on this vessel abolished the murmur audible on esophageal stethoscope. After ligation of this vessel, the tortuous vessels immediately decreased dramatically in size. Whether the anomalous vessel arose directly from the descending aorta or a dorsal intercostal artery was not determined. Routine closure was performed and the dog recovered uneventfully. Follow-up color Doppler echocardiography 1 month postoperatively showed reduction in LVIDD to 3.2 cm and LVIDS to 2.5 cm, LA : AO to 1.5 : 1 and AV to 1.3 m/s. There was laminar flow within the pulmonary artery and no shunt was identified. The dog continues to do well clinically 28 months later, although further echocardiography has not been performed.
The presenting complaints of low income adults for emergency dental care: an analysis of 35,000 episodes in Victoria, Australia.

OBJECTIVE This study examined the mix of presenting problems faced by a large diverse dental service treating low-income Australian adults and provides a basis for communities to understand and manage demand for dental services. DESIGN A retrospective analysis in a state-wide multi-centre dental health service. Data for all patients (in all public adult dental clinics in the state of Victoria during May-Aug 2005) who used the emergency services in a 12 week period were recorded and analysed. A triage question tree was developed and embedded into a neural network based computer triage tool. RESULTS Approximately 52% of low income adults presenting for emergency treatment required treatment on the day of triage. The main problem was with natural teeth (89.6%). Of those with natural teeth problems, 41.3% had pain disturbing their sleep patterns and 14.7% had experienced a swelling. Metropolitan patients accessed the services 2.3 times more than rural patients. CONCLUSION These data clearly highlight that there is significant opportunity to reduce nearly 48% of on-day demand for emergency dental care through the application of appropriately clinical based triage.
Syphilis as a Social Disease: Experience from the Post-Communist Transition Period in Estonia

Increased incidence of sexually transmitted diseases (STD) and radical social changes have taken place at the same time in Estonia. Our aim was to study the trends in syphilis incidence, selected sociodemographic factors and health status indicators during the economic transition. Associations were estimated by the ordinary least square regression method for change in and actual values of syphilis and tuberculosis incidence rate (IR), percentage of non-ethnic Estonians and urban population, homicides rate, unemployment rate and, birth rate. The analysis was performed by counties at three different time periods. Syphilis IR significantly correlated with the proportion of non-ethnic Estonians, urban population, tuberculosis IR and birth rate. Change of syphilis IR correlated significantly with concurrent changes in unemployment rate and tuberculosis IR. Our findings support the theory that syphilis is a social disease, thus emphasizing the importance of social factors in the occurrence of STDs.
Antenatally Detected, Unilateral Dilatation of the Renal Pelvis: A Critical Review. 1. Postnatal Non-operative Treatment 20 Years on--is it Safe?

Background: Non-operative postnatal treatment of antenatally detected hydronephrosis, consistent with pyelo-ureteral obstruction, has functioned well during follow-ups of up to 17 years. However, doubts are still expressed and, admittedly, the final verdict on this new policy is still remote. The purpose of this review is to define the state of art and to serve as a background for future randomized clinical trials, which still are missing. Methods and Material: From the literature, 6 patient series were chosen based on the following criteria: publication during the 1990s to allow for a longer follow-up and better diagnostic tools; consecutive patient series; and compliance with a 50-point form. Data, from 593 kidneys, were then pooled. Result of the compilation: Four hundred and seventy-four kidneys, with differential function >40%, were allocated to expectancy and followed for 2-144 (mean 23) months. Four hundred and twenty-five (90%) were successful, independent of presence of caliectasis. Forty-nine (10%) had delayed pyeloplasty, after which declined function mostly improved / normalized - similar to 108 kidneys with early pyeloplasty because of an initial differential function <40%. Hydronephrotic size and isotope wash out rate did not predict outcome. Conclusions: These figures agree with other reports: few cross-overs and functional recovery also after delayed operations. Thus, so far, with a caveat for future deterioration, expectancy seems safe and promising, in unilateral and probably in bilateral cases with normal function, although perhaps not in solitary kidneys. Hopefully, this review, together with a forthcoming communication on long-term risks and urgent research needs, will help to design future randomized clinical trials.
Development of MSP430-Based Underwater Acoustic Recorder with Multi-MCU Framework

Sound waves are highly conductive in the ocean; therefore, they are used in various aspects of underwater applications like, environment exploration, underwater target detection and signal transmission. For all these applications, underwater acoustic signal logging is one of the key elements of the system. In laboratory setup, data recorders are often configured on a single-board computer, industrial computer or personal computer, because the peripherals are easy to acquire and versatile in functions. However, for this approach the systems are bulky and expensive. More importantly, the power is assumed to be unlimited. Therefore this approach is not feasible for long duration operation in the field. In previous research, we already develop an underwater acoustic recorder with single low-power microcontroller. It adopts TI's low-power Micro Control Unit (MCU) MSP430F169 as the core of the system. MSP430 has built-in 12-bit A/D converter with 200 KHz sampling rate and Serial Peripherals Interface (SPI). The A/D converter digitizes the acoustic signal from the hydrophone, and throughput the data to a SD memory card via SPI. For its compactness, low-cost and low-power, the system can run long duration measurement with just eight AA alkaline cells for two to three days. However, the A/D converting thread is suspended while SPI is streaming data to SD card. In this work, we present a multi-MCU, master-slave, scalable scheme to resolve this limitation of the previous design. Multiple MCUs are used in this scheme: a master MCU, M, coordinates the sampling clock between the two units (denoted as SA and SB) which are identical MCU/SD design. As the system starts, the master MCU sends out square waves as the synchronization signal. SA is set to assume the task first. The element in the array takes turn to do the sampling at the rising edge of the clock until the buffer in each MCU is full. Then SA streams data to SD cards, and the sampling task is passed on to SB. Basically, the task is rotated between SA and SB. With this arrangement, the acoustic signal is sampled continuously but stored sequentially in MCU/SD units; and clips are stored in SA and SB alternatively. For the current setup, we implement two elements in the array. With the built-in 2K RAM in one MCU, this design is capable of streaming data at 100 KHz. One major advantage of this design is that the system is scalable in nature because the array can be augmented without modifying the circuit. For every additional element installed in the array, the data sampling and streaming rate can be increase by 50 KHz until the sampling clock limit is reached for the master unit.
Molecular Mechanisms of Light Stress of Photosynthesis

Abstract: Photosynthesis is the basic energy conversion process on Earth, which makes possible the utilization of the energy of sunlight for living organisms. However, light is not only the basic driving force of photosynthesis, but also an important stress factor at the same time. Light‐induced decline of photosynthetic activity, generally denoted as photoinhibition, is a general phenomenon in all oxygenic photosynthetic organism under conditions when the metabolic processes cannot keep up with the electron flow produced by the primary photoreactions. Although light‐induced damage occurs in all pigmented photosynthetic complexes the primary site of photoinhibition is the photosystem II (PSII) complex, which performs light‐driven oxidation of water to protons and oxygen. The main factors, which are responsible for the light sensitivity of photosystem II, are excited pigment molecules, oxygen, manganese, as well as electron donors with high‐oxidizing potential. Photosystem II can be efficiently protected from photodamage by the combination of harmless dissipation of absorbed light energy, nonradiative charge recombination, and repair of damaged reaction center complexes, making possible the safe utilization of light, the highly energetic substrate of photosynthesis.
Switching control synthesis for discrete-time switched linear systems via modified Lyapunov-Metzler inequalities

This paper addresses the switching control synthesis problem of discrete-time switched linear systems. A particular class of matrix inequalities, the so-called Lyapunov-Metzler inequalities is modified to provide conditions for stability analysis and output feedback control synthesis under a relaxed min-switching logic. The switching rule combined with switching output feedback controllers are designed to stabilize the switched closed-loop system and satisfy a pre-specified ℓ2 gain performance. The proposed switching control approach is to reduce the high frequency switches commonly observed in min-switching strategy based designs. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is illustrated through a numerical example.
Interaction of the p85 subunit of PI 3‐kinase and its N‐terminal SH2 domain with a PDGF receptor phosphorylation site: structural features and analysis of conformational changes.

Circular dichroism and fluorescence spectroscopy were used to investigate the structure of the p85 alpha subunit of the PI 3‐kinase, a closely related p85 beta protein, and a recombinant SH2 domain‐containing fragment of p85 alpha. Significant spectral changes, indicative of a conformational change, were observed on formation of a complex with a 17 residue peptide containing a phosphorylated tyrosine residue. The sequence of this peptide is identical to the sequence surrounding Tyr751 in the kinase‐insert region of the platelet‐derived growth factor beta‐receptor (beta PDGFR). The rotational correlation times measured by fluorescence anisotropy decay indicated that phosphopeptide binding changed the shape of the SH2 domain‐containing fragment. The CD and fluorescence spectroscopy data support the secondary structure prediction based on sequence analysis and provide evidence for flexible linker regions between the various domains of the p85 proteins. The significance of these results for SH2 domain‐containing proteins is discussed.
Ligand-dependent Interaction of the Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor with a Novel Immunophilin Homolog in Vivo*

In an effort to identify regulators of aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) signaling, we have employed the yeast two-hybrid system to screen for human proteins that interact in a ligand-dependent manner with the AHR. After screening 1.4 × 106 clones from a human B cell library, two distinct clones were identified that associated specifically with the liganded receptor. No clones were identified that interacted preferentially with the unliganded AHR. One of the ligand-dependent clones, ARA9, encodes a novel 330-amino acid protein with regions of amino acid sequence similarity to the 52-kDa FK506-binding protein known to be associated with the glucocorticoid receptor. Yeast two-hybrid experiments with ARA9 demonstrated a strong interaction with the AHR that is enhanced 11-fold in the presence of the ligand β-naphthoflavone. In vitro experiments using proteins generated in reticulocyte lysates confirmed this interaction and indicated that ARA9 can be co-immunoprecipitated with the AHR using antisera raised specifically for either the AHR or the 90-kDa heat shock protein. The observation that ARA9 has a high affinity for both the 90-kDa heat shock protein-associated and ligand-activated forms of the AHR suggests that ARA9 is a component of the AHR-signaling pathway in vivo.
Kinematic Elicitation of Basic Emotions: A Validation Study in an Italian Sample

Video clips proved to effectively elicit different emotions. Hewig and colleagues (2005) developed a comprehensive set collecting 20 emotional film clips and investigated the basic emotions elicited in a German sample. In this study, we tested the reproducibility of their findings in Italian nonclinical adult subjects (N = 32) examined individually in an ecological setting; moreover, the differences between presentation modalities (with and without sound) were examined. Clips were rated on 10 emotional states (serene, amused, happy, surprised, sad, scared, angry, disgusted, indignant, tense) and on two bipolar dimensions of valence and intensity. Only little differences between presentation modalities were found; stories depicted proved to be clear enough. Film clips elicited the expected emotional profiles, and their rank order for each emotion is almost comparable with the German ones. However, all the clips elicited more than one emotion: ANCOVA proved that emotions were not fully independent and specific association patterns were found. Implications are discussed in the light of the complexity of emotional activation.
The Magnetic Field of the Large Magellanic Cloud Revealed Through Faraday Rotation

We have measured the Faraday rotation toward a large sample of polarized radio sources behind the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) to determine the structure of this galaxy's magnetic field. The magnetic field of the LMC consists of a coherent axisymmetric spiral of field strength ∼1 microgauss. Strong fluctuations in the magnetic field are also seen on small (<0.5 parsec) and large (∼100 parsecs) scales. The large bursts of recent star formation and supernova activity in the LMC argue against standard dynamo theory, adding to the growing evidence for rapid field amplification in galaxies.
Why Hemispheric Lateralization of Language is Only Part of the Story in Epilepsy Surgery Candidates

Commentary Using their large sample of epilepsy surgery candidates, Berl et al. have made an important contribution regarding the complexity of the lateralization patterns during a semantic decision task of aurally presented word definitions. They have demonstrated the need for assessing lateralization of language in both Wernicke’s area (WA) and Broca’s area (inferior frontal gyrus [IFG]) rather than relying solely on hemispheric lateralization. Almost three quarters of the patients had left lateralization of both IFG and WA in contrast to 97.5 percent of the healthy controls. However, they identified four left (L) dominant (L IFG/L WA, L IFG/bilateral WA, L IFG/bilateral WA, L IFG only), three right (R) dominant (R IFG/R WA, R WA/ bilateral IFG, R IFG/bilateral WA), one bilateral (bilateral IFG/ bilateral WA), and two crossed-dominant patterns (L IFG/R WA, R IFG/ L WA) in the patients. In contrast, the control group had three left dominant (L IFG/L WA, bilateral IFG/ L WA, L IFG/ bilateral WA), one bilateral (bilateral IFG/bilateral WA), and one crossed-dominant pattern (R IFG/L WA). The L IFG, three right dominant, and LIFG/R WA patterns of the epilepsy patients not found in the control group imply epilepsy-related regional reorganization. The clinical and linguistic implications of these atypical patterns, as well as their age-related development need to be further studied in surgical outcome and prospective studies, respectively. By comparing a priori categorization of language patterns with data-driven hierarchical cluster methods, Berl et al. also highlighted the problems involved in using the traditional cut-off points for the lateralization index ([LI] –0.2–0.2) for assessing laterality strength. Their data driven classification demonstrates a LI cut-off of +0.5 for left and –0.5 for right laterality rather than the traditional >0.2 and <0.2 respective cut points. Their findings also indicate that bilateral language is found in epilepsy patients with an LI from +0.4 to –0.4 instead of the traditionally used LI range between +0.2 and –0.2. The findings of this study dovetails with those of Seghier et al. (1) who concluded from their findings in 82 healthy volunteers the importance of both identifying within hemisphere as well as hemispheric fMRI regional activation prior to neurosurgical intervention. Using a semantic matching task, Seghier et al. (1) reported that individuals vary in the degree of their Characterization of Atypical Language Activation Patterns in Focal Epilepsy.
The Pareto/NBD is Not a Lost-for-Good Model

In their widely cited “Return on Marketing” paper, Rust et al. (2004) draw on Jackson’s (1985a) lost-for-good versus always-a-share classification of customer relationships and associate the Pareto/NBD model (Schmittlein et al. 1987) with the lost-for-good setting. This association is repeated by Gupta and Zeithaml (2006) and continues in the literature (e.g., Conoor 2010, Ma and Büschken 2011, Romero et al. 2013). Reflecting more carefully on Jackson’s work, we feel that it is more appropriate to refer to the Pareto/NBD as a “leaky” always-a-share model; we develop this view below.