Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Beneficial effects of L‐arginine–nitric oxide‐producing pathway in rats treated with alloxan

In an attempt to elucidate molecular mechanisms and factors involved in β cell regeneration, we evaluated a possible role of the l‐arginine–nitric oxide (NO)‐producing pathway in alloxan‐induced diabetes mellitus. Diabetes was induced in male Mill Hill rats with a single alloxan dose (120 mg kg−1). Both non‐diabetic and diabetic groups were additionally separated into three subgroups: (i) receiving l‐arginine · HCl (2.25%), (ii) receiving l‐NAME · HCl (0.01%) for 12 days as drinking liquids, and (iii) control. Treatment of diabetic animals started after diabetes induction (glucose level ≥ 12 mmol l−1). We found that disturbed glucose homeostasis, i.e. blood insulin and glucose levels in diabetic rats was restored after l‐arginine treatment. Immunohistochemical findings revealed that l‐arginine had a favourable effect on β cell neogenesis, i.e. it increased the area of insulin‐immunopositive cells. Moreover, confocal microscopy showed colocalization of insulin and pancreas duodenum homeobox‐1 (PDX‐1) in both endocrine and exocrine pancreas. This increase in insulin‐expressing cells was accompanied by increased cell proliferation (observed by proliferating cell nuclear antigen‐PCNA immunopositivity) which occurred in a regulated manner since it was associated with increased apoptosis (detected by the TUNEL method). Furthermore, l‐arginine enhanced both nuclear factor‐kB (NF‐kB) and neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) immunopositivities. The effect of l‐arginine on antioxidative defence was observed especially in restoring to control level the diabetes‐induced increase in glutathione peroxidase activity. In contrast to l‐arginine, diabetic pancreas was not affected by l‐NAME supplementation. In conclusion, the results suggest beneficial l‐arginine effects on alloxan‐induced diabetes resulting from the stimulation of β cell neogenesis, including complex mechanisms of transcriptional and redox regulation.
Postural change and volume expansion affect plasma endothelin levels.

To the Editor. — Endothelin-1 is a novel endothelium-derived, 21 amino acid polypeptide with potent vasoconstrictor/pressor actions. 1 Using a highly sensitive and specific radioimmunoassay for endothelin-1, we recently showed that endothelin actually circulates at very low concentrations in man. 2 However, no information is yet available as to whether circulating endothelin levels change under physiological conditions. Study. — We studied whether postural changes and volume overload may affect plasma endothelin-1 concentrations in five healthy male volunteers (aged 29.3 ±7.1 years). After overnight fasting and recumbency, the plasma endothelin-1 level (mean± SEM) was 0.95 ±0.13 pg/mL. After being in the upright position for 2 hours, the plasma endothelin-1 concentration increased significantly to 1.63 ±0.30 pg/mL ( P P
Introduction to Mixed Membership Models and Methods

1.1 Historical Developments . 3 1.2 A General Formulation for Mixed Membership Models . 4 1.3 Advantages of Mixed Membership Models in Applied Statistics . 6 1.4 Theoretical Issues with Mixed Membership Models . 8 1.4. 1 General Issues Inherent to Mixtures . 8 References . 10
A CMOS laser radar receiver for sub-ns optical pulses

A receiver channel topology for a pulsed time-of-flight (TOF) laser rangefinder is presented. The IC receiver chip realized in a 0.18 μm CMOS technology includes a transimpedance amplifier, a post amplifier and a timing comparator. Timing detection is based on leading edge detection. A multi-channel TDC is used for compensating the amplitude-dependent timing error by detecting the pulse width of the received pulse and by using this information for calibration. The receiver channel is targeted to be used with a laser diode transmitter generating sub-ns pulses. According to the simulations, the single-shot precision is <; 30 ps with SNR = 10 and the total walk error 350 ps in a dynamic range of 1:100,000.
Early risk of recurrence by subtype of ischemic stroke in population-based incidence studies

Objective: To study the early risk of recurrent stroke by etiologic subtype. Methods: The authors studied risk of recurrent stroke by etiologic subtype (Trial of ORG 10172 in Acute Stroke Treatment [TOAST] classification) in patients in two population-based studies: the Oxford Vascular Study and the Oxfordshire Community Stroke Project. A meta-analysis was performed with data from the only two other published studies reporting equivalent data. Results: The four studies included 1,709 strokes with 30 recurrences at 7 days, 72 at 30 days, and 113 at 3 months. Recurrent stroke risk varied between subtypes (p < 0.001). Compared with other subtypes, patients with stroke due to large-artery atherosclerosis (LAA) had the highest odds of recurrence at 7 days (odds ratio [OR] = 3.3, 95% CI = 1.5 to 7.0), 30 days (OR = 2.9, 95% CI = 1.7 to 4.9), and 3 months (OR = 2.9, 95% CI = 1.9 to 4.5). Odds of recurrence at 30 days for other subtypes were cardioembolic (OR = 1.0, 95% CI = 0.6 to 1.7), undetermined (OR = 1.0, 95% CI = 0.6 to 1.6), and small-vessel stroke (OR = 0.2, 95% CI = 0.1 to 0.6). There was no significant heterogeneity between the studies. Although only 14% of strokes were associated with LAA, this subtype accounted for 37% of recurrences within 7 days. Conclusions: The risk of early recurrent stroke is highest in patients with LAA. This supports the need for urgent carotid imaging and prompt endarterectomy.
Graphene/Nanohydroxyapatite hybrid reinforced polylactic acid nanocomposite for load-bearing applications

ABSTRACT We studied polylactic acid (PLA) nanocomposite reinforced with graphene nanoplatelets (GNP)/Nanohydroxyapatite (NHA) hybrid prepared using the melt-mixing technique. Before mixing with the GNP, NHA was surface modified using 3-aminopropyl triethoxysilane (APTES). The surface-modified NHA (mNHA) loading was constant at 5wt% while varying the GNP loading from 0.01–0.1wt%. Results show with 0.01 wt% GNP, the impact strength of the PLA/mNHA/GNP nanocomposite increased, tensile strength decreased, thermal stability, and viscoelastic properties improved significantly compared to neat PLA and PLA/mNHA. The FESEM images show the agglomeration of mNHA/GNP hybrid at higher loading (>0.05 wt%), leading to the deterioration of PLA/mNHA/GNP nanocomposite properties.
Selective Apoptosis in Hepatic Stellate Cells Mediates the Antifibrotic Effect of Phenanthrenes from Dendrobium nobile

Regardless of the etiology, cellular death of the liver parenchymal hepatocyte seems to be a primary event of hepatic fibrogenesis, which ultimately results in hepatic stellate cell (HSC) activation and the synthesis of extracellular matrix proteins. Recently it has been demonstrated that hepatic fibrosis can be a reversible process when the stimulus is properly eliminated. Apoptotic removal of active HSC is considered an essential part of the resolution. By employing the HSC cell line, HSC‐T6, it was found that the methanol extract of Dendrobium nobile stem significantly inhibited the proliferation of HSC‐T6 cells. Three phenanthrenes, denbinobin, fimbriol B and 2,3,5‐trihydroxy‐4,9‐dimethoxyphenanthrene isolated from D. nobile were proven to inhibit HSC proliferation. Growth arrest of HSCs by these compounds was accompanied by cellular loss via autophagy‐linked apoptosis. The maximal dose of these compounds, however, had little effect on primary cultured hepatocytes in rats. Collagen deposition in HSC‐T6 cells was attenuated by these phenanthrenes. Collectively, the above results demonstrated that denbinobin, fimbriol B and 2,3,5‐trihydroxy‐4,9‐dimethoxyphenanthrene exhibited antifibrotic activities possibly by the induction of selective cell death in HSCs but not in hepatocytes, implying that these compounds may be useful candidates for developing therapeutic agents for the prevention and treatment of hepatic fibrosis. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Replication origin region of Bacillus subtilis chromosome contains two rRNA operons

The first replicating DNA fragment (BamHI-7) of the Bacillus subtilis chromosome contains two promoters for a rRNA operon. A map of restriction enzyme cleavage sites of the region of replication origin suggests the presence of a second rRNA operon in this region. Hybridization of rRNA genes (rDNA) with DNA fragments derived from the origin region by treatment with various enzymes clearly revealed two rRNA operons in this region, one at the B7-B3 junction and the other at the B5-B6 junction. The restriction enzyme cleavage sites surrounding the rRNA operons show that the operon at the B5-B6 junction corresponds to the rrnA operon. A novel operon at the B7-B3 junction was termed rrnO. Transformation by density-labeled fragments of the origin region showed that the first replicating marker, guaA, is located in the B3 fragment. From these results, a map was constructed for the first time to correlate the genetic markers with the physical structure of the replication origin region of the B. subtilis chromosome. The role of the rrnO operon in regulating the initiation of chromosomal replication is discussed, based on the fact that the promoter of the rrnO operon suppresses the replication of the plasmid carrying the promoter.
Mammalian Sperm Motility: Observation and Theory

Mammalian spermatozoa motility is a subject of growing importance because of rising human infertility and the possibility of improving animal breeding. We highlight opportunities for fluid and continuum dynamics to provide novel insights concerning the mechanics of these specialized cells, especially during their remarkable journey to the egg. The biological structure of the motile sperm appendage, the flagellum, is described and placed in the context of the mechanics underlying the migration of mammalian sperm through the numerous environments of the female reproductive tract. This process demands certain specific changes to flagellar movement and motility for which further mechanical insight would be valuable, although this requires improved modeling capabilities, particularly to increase our understanding of sperm progression in vivo. We summarize current theoretical studies, highlighting the synergistic combination of imaging and theory in exploring sperm motility, and discuss the challenges for future observational and theoretical studies in understanding the underlying mechanics.
Effect of Post Partum Separation of Mother and Kid on Maternal Care in the Domestic Goat

Twenty-four goat mothers were separated from their newborn kids for 1 hour immediately following birth. Two months later these mothers were observed to nurse their own kids less and alien kids more than nonseparated mothers. Separation of mother and young in half the flock also resulted in abnormal "rejecting" behavior in some nonseparated mothers.
Physical and genetic characterization of the glnA--glnG region of the Escherichia coli chromosome.

We have cloned and characterized a fragment of the Escherichia coli chromosome spanning glnA, the structural gene for glutamine synthetase (L-glutamate:ammonia ligase (ADP-forming), EC 6.3. 1.2]. The fragment also carriers glnG, whose product is necessary for regulation of glnA expression, and a previously unidentified gene whose function we have not discovered. Transcription of glnA and the newly identified gene occurs divergently from a region between the two genes. Transcription of glnA proceeds toward glnG, which is transcribed in the same direction. A region of DNA between glnA and glnG contains genetic information whose loss may result in the inability to reduce expression of glnA and other operons in response to ammonia (the GlnC phenotype).
Czado , Haug : Quasi maximum likelihood estimation and prediction in the compound Poisson ECOGARCH ( 1 , 1 ) model

This paper deals with the problem of estimation and prediction in a compound Poisson ECOGARCH(1, 1) model. For this we construct a quasi maximum likelihood estimator under the assumption that all jumps of the log-price process are observable. Since these jumps occur at unequally spaced time points, it is clear that the estimator has to be computed for irregularly spaced data. Assuming normally distributed jumps and a recursion to estimate the volatility allows to define and compute a quasi-likelihood function, which is maximised numerically. The small sample behaviour of the estimator is analysed in a small simulation study. Based on the recursion for the volatility process a one-step ahead prediction of the volatility is defined as well as a prediction interval for the log-price process. Finally the model is fitted to tick-by-tick data of the New York Stock Exchange. (JEL: C32, C51, C53)
Nacionalno računovodstvo zaštite životne sredine: praksa u Srbiji

Informacije o životnoj sredini su relevantna osnova za ocenu stanja životne sredine zemlje, ali i relevantan faktor za izbor adekvatnih mera unapređenja životne sredine. Kreatori nacionalne politike u oblasti zastite životne sredine, donosioci odluka, strucna i sira javnost su interesne grupe koje imaju potrebu za kvalitetnim i blagovremenim informacijama koje pruža nacionalno racunovodstvo zastite životne sredine. Cilj rada je identifikovanje vrsta informacija o životnoj sredini koje su dostupne na nacionalnom nivou i analiza prakse izvestavanja o životnoj sredini u Srbiji. Analiza investicija, tekucih izdataka i prihoda od aktivnosti povezanih sa zastitom životne sredine je sprovodena po oblastima zastite životne sredine za period 2012-2014. Rezultati analize pokazuju apsolutno smanjenje ulaganja koja se odnose na aktivnosti zastite životne sredine u posmatranom periodu, kao i povecanje ukupnih tekucih izdataka za zastitu životne sredine. Prihodi od naknada i ostalih aktivnosti koje se odnose na zastitu životne sredine beleže povecanje u posmatranom periodu, i to u skoro svim oblastima posmatranja.
Review of Book: Living in God's Creation: Orthodox Perspectives on Ecology

It is unusual for a book on the environmental crisis to be, simultaneously, a book about vocation, but this is no ordinary book. In a style at once scholarly and accessible, Elizabeth Theokritoff, an Orthodox theologian and translator, describes our basic calling as 'living here on earth' and, with deep insight, explores how something so basic has become so problematical. She asks how we can find ways ofliving 'that aren't grimly,earnestly and off-puttingly "green"', and comes up with some answers that are thoroughly christian: realistic, hopeful and practical. In a development ofthe familiar green tag 'think globally, act locally', we are bidden rather to 'think cosmically, act personally', a message conveyed in measured tones which have not always been the hallmark ofenvironmental debate. Indeed, what marks out this book, perhaps above all else, is the way the author manages to combine a proper sense of urgency with a balanced perspective, while the clarity ofher languageand a freshness of approach serve to revitalize what can be, for all its importance, a rather tired topic. The volume grew out ofa series oflectures on 'Creator and creation' delivered by Theokritoff in 2000 under the auspices of the diocese of Demetrias (Volos) in Greece, and part of a broader project linking the Orthodox tradition to the challenges of our times. The St Vladimir's Seminary Press is to be congratulated on making the fruits of this farsighted initiative more widely available at a most reasonable price. After an engaging survey of the ground to be covered, the work unfolds in six well-structured chapters (ready-made teaching or discussion units). The recommended reading lists which follow each chapter show a remarkable breadth, ranging from early church Fathers to contemporary Orthodox theologians and scientists though an index would have been most helpful in a book like this. Difficult questions are not ignored, including the charge that christianity itself is in some ways to blame for our current ecological plight through a too literal interpretation of the command to 'subdue
Uma abordagem para pré-processamento de dados textuais em algoritmos de aprendizado

The attribute-value representation of documents used in text mining provides a natural framework for classifying or clustering documents based on their contents. In the context of machine learning algorithms, the attribute-value representation of documents is often accomplished by using the bag-of-words approach. Since every word in the document could be treated as an attribute, such an approach is characterized by yielding very high dimensional data. In fact, the representation of documents has a crucial influence on how well some learning algorithms (either supervised or unsupervised) can perform. As one of the main contributions of this work, a framework to efficiently decomposing text into words by using the bag-of-words approach, as well as reducing the dimensionality of the representation generated, is presented. This framework makes text accessible to most machine learning algorithms for it only requires data to be described as a vector of fixed dimensionality. In order to illustrate the framework proposed, a computational tool was implemented. This tool by, among other things, reducing the dimensionality of the text representation can lead to an improvement in the performance of the machine learning techniques being applied. The types of machine learning algorithms employed were either supervised or unsupervised, depending on the problem in hand. For instance, supervised learning algorithms can be applied whenever the documents have labels preassigned, whereas unsupervised learning algorithms are often applied to unlabelled data. For the case of unsupervised learning, in order to evaluate if a given cluster corresponds to a certain concept, this work takes another approach by using inductive learning techniques. For example, with this approach one could understand how the system represents and reasons about the acquired knowledge. Explanation facilities are required both for user acceptance of the solution generated by the system, and for the purpose of understanding whether the reasoning is sound.
Visual Attention and Structural Choice in Sentence Production Across Languages

To represent the complexity of a visually perceived event, viewers need to attend selectively to different aspects of the event and its associated entities. Spoken descriptions of such complex events must encode the corresponding perceptual properties. This review discusses how the speaker’s attentional focus on one of the referents in a given event influences the structural choice in languages with different degrees of word order flexibility. First, we will discuss whether English speakers prefer to map visually salient referents onto a prominent grammatical role (e.g., Subject) or to a prominent linear position in the sentence (e.g., the sentential starting point). Comparison of this evidence with research in free word-order languages (Russian and Finnish) suggests the existence of a mapping mechanism wherein perceptual salience predominantly affects grammatical-role assignment and, to a lesser extent, assignment of linear positions.
Estudio de la dinámica de núcleos neuronales con aplicaciones al tratamiento de trastornos motores.

Este trabajo esta orientado a la exploracion de nuevas estrategias de modulacion de la actividad neuronal en el marco de la optimizacion de la eficiencia de dispositivos implantables destinados al tratamiento de enfermedades neurologicas (e.g., DBS:Deep Brain Stimulation). Con la intencion de entender la dinamica neuronal de la red de ganglios basales, se propusieron diferentes modelos para la representacion del sistema. El analisis de los mismos permitio caracterizar los distintos estados de la dinamica de la red, los cuales fueron asociados a estados fisiologicos y patologicos observados en el mal del Parkinson. Se encontro que el esquema open-loop DBS, implementado mediante el modelo, reproduce exitosamente una importante observacion experimental en relacion a la frecuencia de estimulacion, la cual ha sido ampliamente reportada en pacientes con Parkinson sujetos a implantes DBS. Se propuso una representacion simplificada de este esquema que permite mejorar la comprension del efecto del parametro frecuencia de estimulacion DBS. El esquema closed-loop DBS propuesto en este trabajo se basa en el entrenamiento de una red neuronal artificial capaz de adaptar los parametros de la estimulacion utilizando informacion sobre el estado de la red de ganglios basales. Para realizar dicho objetivo, fue necesario explorar y elegir distintos algoritmos capaces de extraer rasgos relevantes a partir de las senales producidas por el modelo, tales como el analisis de Fourier en espacio y en tiempo, la descomposicion en Wavelets y el acoplamiento fase-amplitud. Finalmente, se implemento el entrenamiento de la red neuronal artificial mediante un esquema de aprendizaje por refuerzo. Se observo que la red artificial es capaz de aplicar una estimulacion adecuada al sistema para llevarlo al estado fisiologico. Ademas, se analizo la influencia de cada rasgo en el aprendizaje de la red y su nivel de relevancia.
A comprehensive methodology for establishing and sustaining government chief information officer function

The Government Chief Information Officer (GCIO) function is an international best practice for successful adoption of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) within and across government organizations, for managing the impact of ICT on government and its partners, and for maximizing the benefits produced by ICT-enabled public governance to citizens. However, many governments around the world, particularly at the local level and in developing countries, lack the capacity, tools and insight required to establish GCIO functions to fit their institutional environment and address local needs, and others had to employ a mix of top-down design, bottom-up growth and trial-and-error. To assist governments in this task, and to fill existing research-policy gap, this paper presents a comprehensive but practical methodology for establishing and sustaining the GCIO function, strongly relying on government-academia collaboration, and presents the validation of this methodology through a national GCIO development project in Colombia (GCIO.CO). The main contribution of this paper is the presentation of a policy-level tool for systematic development of GCIO functions to match local conditions, including project-level implementation framework enabled by government-academia partnership.
Immunochemical evidence that human apoB differs when expressed in rodent versus human cells Published, JLR Papers in Press, December 16, 2002. DOI 10.1194/jlr.M200413-JLR200

LDL from human apolipoprotein B-100 (apoB-100) transgenic (HuBTg+/+) mice contains more triglyceride than LDL from normolipidemic subjects. To obtain novel monoclonal antibody (MAb) probes of apoB conformation, we generated hybridomas from HuBTg+/+ that had been immunized with LDL isolated from human plasma. One apoE-specific and four anti-apoB-100-specific hybridomas were identified. Two MAbs, 2E1 and 3D11, recognized an epitope in the amino-terminal 689 residues of apoB in native apoB-containing lipoproteins (LpBs) from human plasma or from the supernatant of human hepatoma HepG2 cells, but did not react with LpB from HuBTg+/+ mice or LpB secreted by human apoB-100-transfected rat McArdle 7777 hepatoma cells. 2E1 reacted weakly and 3D11 reacted strongly with apoB from HuBTg+/+ mice after SDS-PAGE. The lack of expression of the 2E1 and 3D11 epitopes on native LpB from HuBTg+/+ mice did not solely reflect the abnormal lipid composition of murine LpB. Both epitopes were detected in all human plasma samples tested and in all human plasma LpB classes. Therefore, human apoB expressed by rodent hepatocytes or hepatoma cells appears to adopt a different conformation or undergoes different posttranslational modification than apoB expressed in human hepatocytes or hepatoma cells.