Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Immunocytochemical localization of rH1 sodium channel in adult rat heart atria and ventricle. Presence in terminal intercalated disks.

BACKGROUND Of the five sodium channel subtypes expressed in cardiac tissues, the rat (rH1) and human (hH1) isoforms are thought to be the predominant subtypes on the basis of heterologous expression studies. In this study, subtype-specific antibodies and immunocytochemistry were used to confirm protein expression and to localize rH1 protein in cardiac tissues. METHODS AND RESULTS Subtype-specific antibodies immunolabeled adult rat heart tissue in a manner identical to that obtained with subtype-nonselective antibodies. All antibodies specifically bound to the surface and t-tubular systems of atrial and ventricular muscle cells. Cytoplasmic labeling, reflecting nascent sodium channels or cytoplasmic stores of sodium channel protein, was apparent. Most notably, all antibodies also specifically labeled the subset of intercalated disks located at the ends but not the sides of adjacent ventricular muscle cells. CONCLUSIONS rH1 is the predominant subtype expressed on rat atrial and ventricular muscle cells. rH1 protein localization in surface and t-tubular membranes is consistent with its proposed role in coordinating membrane depolarization along the length and deep within cardiac muscle cells. rH1 protein localization in terminal intercalated disks suggests that sodium channels may also act as a localized voltage-dependent current amplifier, raising the safety margin for conduction; they also may contribute to anisotropic or saltatory conduction in cardiac tissues. These electrophysiological properties would be particularly important under conditions of altered, channel function resulting from ion channel gene defects (e.g., long QT syndrome), antiarrhythmic drug therapy, ischemia, or other heart diseases by influencing the electrophysiological substrate for ventricular tachyarrhythmias.
Research of online trust in C2C electronic commerce based on website institutions

Online trust crisis restricts consumers from online business; as a result increasing trust of online business is an important approach for developing C2C electronic commerce. From the view of customers, the paper compartmentalizes online business trust into three aspects: trust to online environmental, trust to websites and trust to sellers, and then carries an empirical research in antecedents of the three types of trust. Through the multiple regression analysis on questionnaires, the result shows that: individual trust tendency has an positive effect on trust to online environment, trust to websites and trust to sellers, however, the regression coefficient of the environmental trust is the biggest among the three coefficients; the validity of the reputation feedback the real name authentication the third party payment, the interaction and communication have an significance positive effect on the trust to websites, among them the regression coefficient of the validity of the third party payment is the biggest; The seller's reputation has a significance positive effect on the trust to sellers but the seller's scale has no significance effect on it.
In Vitro Bactericidal Activity of Antibiotic Combinations Against Clinical Isolates of Mycobacterium chelonae

Abstract Mycobacterium chelonae is one of the most antibiotic-resistant species of the pathogenic, rapidly-growing mycobacteria. The objective of this study was to evaluate the bactericidal activity of classical and new potential drugs, alone and in combinations, against clinical isolates of Mycobacterium chelonae. Clarithromycin was seen to be the most bactericidal drug. In drug combinations, this compound is most useful with gentamicin, fluoroquinolones, rifampicin, linezolid, other aminoglycosides, doxycyline and carbapenems. The combination of tobramycin with ciprofloxacin or moxifloxacin also exhibits similar activity. In conclusion, this study on bactericidal activity of drug combinations against Mycobacterium chelonae confirms the utility of clarithromycin associated with other drugs, and, of the new drugs, the value of moxifloxacin and linezolid
QRP03-5: SLA-Constrained Resource Scheduling Policy for Group Peering in P2P Grid

Due to the dynamic nature of the grid computing and P2P in networks, the behavior of system might be very unpredictable in respect of reliability. Thus, we need well-organized system architecture to provide high system availability with resource scheduling scheme for P2P grid application. In this paper, we propose the SLA-constrained resource scheduling policy methodology in order to enhance system performance in P2P grid. The simulation results show that SCPA-based job scheduling can support the load balancing and guarantee the high system availability in system performance.
Multi-Tier Data Access & Hierarchical Memory Optimization

Building robust and reliable storage systems and memory hierarchies is very important in modern computing environment because hierarchical memory architecture is present almost everywhere. This hierarchy is not limited to attached devices, but it expands to middle-tiers, web caches, and network and internet storage. So optimizing access of the data stored along all these hierarchical levels is very challenging. In this paper we study different performance metrics of the hierarchical memory in order to optimize the cost, access time, and reliability of hierarchical data access. We first present formulas for calculating the probability of exceeding a threshold access time when using hierarchical memory architecture, then we study the behavior of the different performance measures as we vary the number, size and cost of the intermediate memory levels and we come to conclusions that can help the designer build an optimal storage hierarchy.
Water sensor ppk28 modulates Drosophila lifespan and physiology through AKH signaling

Significance Sensory inputs are known to control aging. The underlying circuitry through which these cues are integrated into regulatory physiological outputs, however, remains largely unknown. Here, we use the taste sensory system of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster to detail one such circuit. Specifically, we find that water-sensing taste signals alter nutrient homeostasis and regulate a glucagon-like signaling pathway to govern production of internal water production. This metabolic alteration likely serves as a response to water sensory information. This control of metabolic state, in turn, determines the organism’s long-term health and lifespan. Our studies, then, provide a framework for understanding sensory control of aging as well as several targets to potentially maximize organismal health. Sensory perception modulates lifespan across taxa, presumably due to alterations in physiological homeostasis after central nervous system integration. The coordinating circuitry of this control, however, remains unknown. Here, we used the Drosophila melanogaster gustatory system to dissect one component of sensory regulation of aging. We found that loss of the critical water sensor, pickpocket 28 (ppk28), altered metabolic homeostasis to promote internal lipid and water stores and extended healthy lifespan. Additionally, loss of ppk28 increased neuronal glucagon-like adipokinetic hormone (AKH) signaling, and the AKH receptor was necessary for ppk28 mutant effects. Furthermore, activation of AKH-producing cells alone was sufficient to enhance longevity, suggesting that a perceived lack of water availability triggers a metabolic shift that promotes the production of metabolic water and increases lifespan via AKH signaling. This work provides an example of how discrete gustatory signals recruit nutrient-dependent endocrine systems to coordinate metabolic homeostasis, thereby influencing long-term health and aging.
The Relationship between Assessment Skills and Nursing Knowledge

This research aimed to clarify the relationship between nursing students’ levels of structural knowledge and assessment skills. Participants were 17 third-year university students majoring in nursing who participated individually in the experiments. The experiments included a nursing-scene task, free-recall task, and sorting task. Experiments were conducted before and after their clinical practice. Each student’s level of structural knowledge was calculated from the free-recall and sorting task responses, and each student’s assessment skill was calculated from the nursing-scene task responses. Levels of structural knowledge were significantly higher in post-examination compared with pre-examination (p < 0.01). Assessment skills scores were also significantly higher in post-examination compared with pre-examination (p < 0.001). When comparing assessment skills in relation to levels of structural knowledge, the high-structured group (n = 5) had significantly higher scores for their conclusions and reasons than the low-structured group (n = 5) (p < 0.001). Information-collecting scores in the task case did not differ between the low- and high-structured groups, although the high-structured group tended to mention information that was not included in the task case (p < 0.10). Well-structured knowledge of students in the high-structured group seemed to enable them to acquire and activate highly related information during assessment. Students in the high-structured group apparently made assessments not only by using information given but also by over viewing information comprehensively.
Methyl Alcohol Poisoning in Trabzon (Turkey)

Abstract: The aim of this retrospective study was to examine methyl alcohol intoxications in Trabzon (Turkey) and to determine any relations between the laboratory results and histopathologic changes. A total of 4492 forensic autopsies were performed from 1998 to 2008. Thirteen of the cases (0.3%) were because of methanol poisoning, and all were men. Their ages ranged from 25 to 62 years. The blood methanol concentrations ranged widely, from 15 to 482 mg/dL. In six cases, poisoning was because of consumption of the alcoholic beverage “Raki,” while in five cases, poisoning was because of the ingestion of cologne. The products consumed were unknown in the other two cases because of insufficient history and data records. Mortality because of methanol poisoning may be prevented/decreased with the implementation of some precautions, such as public education regarding the harms of methyl alcohol, routine monitoring of the vendors that sell alcoholic beverages and cologne, and appropriate legal retribution for the illegal production of methanol.
RBF neural networks and MTI for text independent speaker identification

Artificial neural networks applied to speaker recognition tasks have being addressed by several researchers. This paper presents an investigation of the use of radial basis function (RBF) neural networks as classifiers applied to speaker identification tasks. A novel way to organize the speech frames in order to represent the speakers-the minimal temporal information (MTI)-is introduced and a comparison with the traditional multilayer perceptron (MLP) is presented. The results obtained indicate that the use of RBF neural networks are promising in speaker recognition and the MTI strategy to organize the speech frames are able to improve the RBF recognition rate.
Direct Evidence that C-Peptide Inhibitors of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Entry Bind to the gp41 N-Helical Domain in Receptor-Activated Viral Envelope

ABSTRACT While it has been established that peptides modeling the C-helical region of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 gp41 are potent in vivo inhibitors of virus replication, their mechanism of action has yet to be determined. It has been proposed, but never directly demonstrated, that these peptides block virus entry by interacting with gp41 to disrupt the formation or function of a six-helix bundle structure. Using a six-helix bundle-specific monoclonal antibody with isolate-restricted Env reactivity, we provide the first direct evidence that, in receptor-activated viral Env, C-peptide entry inhibitors bind to the gp41 N-helical coiled-coil to form a peptide/protein hybrid structure and, in doing so, disrupt native six-helix bundle formation.
Proximités et ressources territoriales dans la filière vin. L’exemple du vignoble de Chablis

Bien qu’une litterature importante concernant les territoires et clusters vitivinicoles ait ete produite ces dernieres annees, il existe peu de travaux cherchant a preciser les fondations territoriales de leur competitivite. Cet article se propose de contribuer a combler ces lacunes en faisant appel a un cadre conceptuel multidisciplinaire. Plus specifiquement, les auteurs font appel a la theorie des ressources et competences et a l’economie de la proximite, appliquees a la forme organisationnelle particuliere qu’est un territoire vitivinicole, pour identifier les ressources strategiques mises a disposition des producteurs locaux et preciser leur processus de construction. Ce socle conceptuel est ensuite utilise pour analyser le vignoble de Chablis en Bourgogne.
Experimental evaluation of voltage unbalance compensation in an islanded microgrid

In this paper, a method for voltage unbalance compensation in an islanded microgrid based on the proper control of distributed generators (DGs) interface converter is proposed. In this method, active and reactive power control loops are considered to control the power sharing among the DGs. Also, a virtual impedance loop and voltage and current proportional-resonant controllers are included. Experimental results show the effectiveness of the proposed method for compensating voltage unbalance to an acceptable level.
Identification of Domains Directing Specificity of Coupling to G-proteins for the Melanocortin MC3 and MC4 Receptors*

The melanocortin receptors, MC3R and MC4R, are G protein-coupled receptors that are involved in regulating energy homeostasis. Using a luciferase reporter gene under the transcriptional control of a cAMP- responsive element (CRE), the coupling efficiency of the MC4R and MC3R to G-proteins was previously shown to be different. MC4R exhibited only 30–50% of the maximum activity induced by MC3R. To assess the role of the different MC3R and MC4R domains in G-protein coupling, several chimeric MC3R/MC4R receptors were constructed. The relative luciferase activities, which were assessed after transfecting the chimeric receptors into HEK 293T cells, showed that the i3 (3rd intracellular) loop domain has an essential role in the differential signaling of MC3R and MC4R. To reveal which amino acid residue was involved in the MC4R-specific signaling in the i3 loop, a series of mutant MC4Rs was constructed. Reporter gene analysis showed that single mutations of Arg220 to Ala and Thr232 to either Val or Ala increased the relative luciferase activities, which suggests that these specific amino acids, Arg220 and Thr232, in the i3 loop of MC4R play crucial roles in G-protein coupling and the subtype-specific signaling pathways. An examination of the inositol phosphate (IP) levels in the cells transfected with either MC3R or MC4R after being exposed to the melanocortin peptides revealed significant stimulation of IP production by MC3R but no detectable increase in IP production was observed by MC4R. Furthermore, none of the MC4R mutants displayed melanocortin peptide-stimulated IP production. Overall, this study demonstrated that MC3R and MC4R have distinct signaling in either the cAMP- or the inositol phospholipid-mediated pathway with different conformational requirements.
Implementing managerial innovations in primary care: Can we rank change drivers in complex adaptive organizations?

Background: There has been much innovation in primary care in the past few decades. Although external and systemic constraints for health care organizations are relevant for their managerial evolution, there is also evidence that organizations operating under the same external pressures reach different levels of maturity. Purposes: Which of the internal drivers available explain and foster change? Is it possible to rank change drivers by looking at their rate of efficacy in order to define a general change management path in the relationship between managers and physicians? The study is a hypothesis-generating work, designed to discuss a framework, consistent with the complex adaptive systems literature, for more effective internal change management approaches. Methods: We employed a qualitative approach to conduct a multiple case study in order to directly observe the evidence and to ask "key change players" for their perceptions. We studied different organizations all subject to the same external constraints in order to focus on the effects of internal change drivers. Findings: According to key players' opinions, the main drivers for managerial development are characteristics of the actors involved: their motivation, leadership, and commitment; the quality of relationships among the main actors; and how the resources dedicated to manage change are used. Given these criteria, any organizational strategy and goal seems to be achievable. This is consistent with the suggestions coming from the complex adaptive system literature. Managerial Implications: Managers have to consider the management of the relationship with professionals as the key success factor for implementing change. Managerial leadership has to be diffused in the organization both in the vertical and horizontal dimensions. Innovations need a medium or long-term perspective to become widely applied, and this requires a strong commitment which is related to managerial stability. Resources for innovation are to be considered a critical driver for fostering the relationship between managers and professionals.
Modulation of the nitric oxide synthase pathway in atherosclerosis

Atherosclerosis is the leading cause of mortality in the developed world. In the United States alone there are approximately 700000 deaths per year attributable to coronary artery disease, stroke and peripheral vascular diseases (National Center for Health Statistics, 1994). Although national data demonstrate an increase in coronary artery disease prevalence since 1970 (Morano, 1996), there has been a significant decline in mortality from atherosclerosis over the past three decades. Much of this decline may be attributable to risk factor modification. Intriguingly, many of the risk factors for atherosclerosis (hypercholesterolaemia, hypertension, homocysteinaemia, diabetes mellitus and exposure to tobacco) are associated with a reduced elaboration of nitric oxide by the endothelium (endothelium-derived nitric oxide (EDNO)) (Luscher, Raij & Vanhoutte, 1987; Celermajer et al. 1993; Wu & Meininger, 1995). The result is a perturbation in the normal functions of the endothelium to maintain appropriate vessel calibre and resist the development of atherosclerosis. This endothelial impairment occurs well before any structural changes of atherogenesis are detected. Indeed when otherwise normal vessels are exposed in vitro to oxidized lipoproteins, an impairment in EDNO-dependent vasodilatation can be detected within minutes. It is well documented that risk factor modification has reduced the incidence of morbidity and mortality due to cardiovascular disease (Pasternak, Grundy, Levy & Thompson, 1996).
Scalable multithreaded algorithms for mutable irregular data with application to anisotropic mesh adaptivity

Anisotropic mesh adaptation is a powerful way to directly minimise the computational cost of mesh based simulation. It is particularly important for multi-scale problems where the required number of floating-point operations can be reduced by orders of magnitude relative to more traditional static mesh approaches. Increasingly, finite element/volume codes are being optimised for modern multicore architectures. Inter-node parallelism for mesh adaptivity has been successfully implemented by a number of groups using domain decomposition methods. However, thread-level parallelism using programming models such as OpenMP is significantly more challenging because the underlying data structures are extensively modified during mesh adaptation and a greater degree of parallelism must be realised while keeping the code race-free. In this thesis we describe a new thread-parallel implementation of four anisotropic mesh adaptation algorithms, namely edge coarsening, element refinement, edge swapping and vertex smoothing. For each of the mesh optimisation phases we describe how safe parallel execution is guaranteed by processing workitems in batches of independent sets and using a deferredoperations strategy to update the mesh data structures in parallel without data contention. Scalable execution is further assisted by creating worklists using atomic operations, which provides a synchronisation-free alternative to reduction-based worklist algorithms. Additionally, we compare graph colouring methods for the creation of independent sets and present an improved version which can run up to 50% faster than existing techniques. Finally, we describe some early work on an interrupt-driven work-sharing for-loop scheduler which is shown to perform better than existing workstealing schedulers. Combining all aforementioned novel techniques, which are generally applicable to other unordered irregular problems, we show that despite the complex nature of mesh adaptation and inherent load imbalances, we achieve
A Novel Robust Tracking Algorithm in Cluttered Environments for Distributed Sensor Network

Tracking has attracted much attention over the past few years, particularly in the field of distributed sensor network. The most challenging issue is nonline of sight (NLOS) problem in cluttered environments such as indoor or urban areas since the presence of NLOS errors leads to severe degradation in the tracking performance. In this paper, we propose a novel robust tracking algorithm to mitigate the measurement noise and NLOS error. The robust localization method is firstly employed to estimate the positions of the mobile node with different subgroups. Then the residual test method is used to remove the larger localization error. Finally, the modified Kalman filter is introduced to improve the tracking accuracy. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm can track the mobile node and estimate the position with relatively higher accuracy in comparison with existing methods.