Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Neoplastic Response in Japanese Medaka and Channel Catfish Exposed to N-Methyl-N'-Nitro-N-Nitrosoguanidine*1

Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes) and channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) were investigated for carcinogenic response following a 28-day, 3X/wk pulse exposure to N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG). Five-wk-old medaka were exposed at concentrations of 0, 0.5, and 1.0 mg/L, and 5-mo-old catfish at concentrations of 0, 0.1, and 0.5 mg/L. In medaka, a total of 19 tumors including 2 branchioblastomas, 6 thyroid follicular adenomas and 1 adenocarcinoma, and 11 subcutaneous fibrosarcomas were observed in 16 of 96 MNNG-exposed fish. In catfish, a total of 37 tumors including 4 squamous cell carcinomas and 16 papillomas, 3 lipomas, 1 fibroma, 1 osteosarcoma, 4 branchioblastomas, 6 thymic epithelial tumors, and 2 generalized lymphosarcomas were observed in 34 of 172 MNNG-exposed fish. The induction of neoplasms in medaka was primarily in the gill, thyroid, and subcutis of the cervical and trunk regions, whereas in catfish skin, thymus, oro-pharynx, and hemopoietic tissues were also commonly affected. In both species, the neoplastic response was considered to be related to direct exposure of the tissues to MNNG. Some of these tumors have not been reported in the literature in either natural or experimental fish. The results also suggest species-specific differences in carcinogenic response following MNNG exposure.
Renal colic: new concepts related to pathophysiology, diagnosis and treatment

Purpose of review To give new insights into the pathophysiology, diagnosis and treatment of acute renal colic caused by a stone disease. Recent findings Traditional intravenous pyelography is no longer the primary method of investigation in patients with renal colic. If the patient has a history of previous attacks of renal colic and stone disease the recommended diagnostic approach is to start with plain abdominal radiography and ultrasonography together with Doppler ultrasonography. Noncontrast computerized tomography is reserved for unsolved problems. If the patient has no history of stone disease or has atypical clinical presentation it is better to start with noncontrast computerized tomography. Intravenous pyelography is indispensable if an endoscopic or open intervention is required. Magnetic resonance imaging is a promising method of investigation, particularly in pregnant women. Effective pain relief is achieved by the use of opioids, nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs or desmopressin. Summary The diagnostic approach to renal colic has recently been changed due to the introduction of new, noninvasive radiologic procedures such as Doppler ultrasonography, noncontrast computerized tomography and magnetic resonance imaging.
Design on the health and usage monitoring system

For the mechanical parts of helicopter easily damaged and often inducing accident, the key system to ensure flight safety of helicopter and achieve the on-condition maintenance is HUMS. In the paper the key technologies of HUMS are researched including position optimizing of the sensors, flight safety monitoring and diagnosing technology, the method of setting threshold, and it is dissertated in detail about the main function assemblies and realization methods of this system. The application in helicopter showed that this system could improve the flight security, prevent air accident, and enhance the maintenance capability.
Design of Optimal Orbit and Constant Force for Soft-Landing of Lunar Lander

This paper deals with the soft landing of lunar lander. A parametric piecewise constant controller is developed, which arbitrarily approaches the optimal continuous controller and has the parameters whose number is equal to the rank of the system. This controller transforms the optimal control to the parameter optimization which is easily solved by the standard mathematic programming. The soft landing problem is treated by using this controller. Optimal parameters are derived by the genetic algorithm. At last, the simulation results illustrate the feasibility and advantage of our approach.
Pilot Preclinical and Clinical Evaluation of (4S)-4-(3-[18F]Fluoropropyl)-L-Glutamate (18F-FSPG) for PET/CT Imaging of Intracranial Malignancies

Purpose (S)-4-(3-[18F]Fluoropropyl)-L-glutamic acid (18F-FSPG) is a novel radiopharmaceutical for Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging. It is a glutamate analogue that can be used to measure xC- transporter activity. This study was performed to assess the feasibility of 18F-FSPG for imaging orthotopic brain tumors in small animals and the translation of this approach in human subjects with intracranial malignancies. Experimental Design For the small animal study, GS9L glioblastoma cells were implanted into brains of Fischer rats and studied with 18F-FSPG, the 18F-labeled glucose derivative 18F-FDG and with the 18F-labeled amino acid derivative 18F-FET. For the human study, five subjects with either primary or metastatic brain cancer were recruited (mean age 50.4 years). After injection of 300 MBq of 18F-FSPG, 3 whole-body PET/Computed Tomography (CT) scans were obtained and safety parameters were measured. The three subjects with brain metastases also had an 18F-FDG PET/CT scan. Quantitative and qualitative comparison of the scans was performed to assess kinetics, biodistribution, and relative efficacy of the tracers. Results In the small animals, the orthotopic brain tumors were visualized well with 18F-FSPG. The high tumor uptake of 18F-FSPG in the GS9L model and the absence of background signal led to good tumor visualization with high contrast (tumor/brain ratio: 32.7). 18F-FDG and 18F-FET showed T/B ratios of 1.7 and 2.8, respectively. In the human pilot study, 18F-FSPG was well tolerated and there was similar distribution in all patients. All malignant lesions were positive with 18F-FSPG except for one low-grade primary brain tumor. In the 18F-FSPG-PET-positive tumors a similar T/B ratio was observed as in the animal model. Conclusions 18F-FSPG is a novel PET radiopharmaceutical that demonstrates good uptake in both small animal and human studies of intracranial malignancies. Future studies on larger numbers of subjects and a wider array of brain tumors are planned. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01186601
Effect of Contact Impedance on the Head Electrical Properties Based on EIT Technology

Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) is a noninvasive technique that permits estimation of resistivity within a subject by reconstructing from boundary measurements. The head electrical properties based on EIT technology have been studied by many authors and in most of this work the realistic head model has been considered without contact impedance between the electrodes and the scalp. It is interesting to evaluate the effect of contact impedance on surface potential distributions because the contact impedance and the current density through this contact impedance are both high. In this paper we describe a complete electrode realistic head model that takes into account the presence of the electrode-scalp contact impedance. Using the finite element method (FEM), we get the surface potential distribution curves whose amplitude and shape are affected evidently by the magnitude of the contact impedance. The complete electrode realistic head model can be used to improve the precision of the reconstructed images by EIT
Sexual Complications of Anterior Fusion of the Lumbar Spine

Recently, there is renewed interest in anterior fusion for spondylolisthesis and congenital and paralytic scoliosis with pelvic obliquity. Some of the candidates are prepubertal boys. Sterility after surgery in urogenitally normal prepubertal boys will not be determined until these patients mature. A worldwide survey of 20 surgeons with 15–20 years of experience (4,500 cases) reports the frequency of sterility (retrograde ejaculation) to be 19 cases (0.42%) and impotence 20 cases (0.44%). Onefourth of the retrograde ejaculation cases resolved and became normal. Impotence is non-organic. The complication of retrograde ejaculation does not appear to be related to approach, though it was related to technique. While the complications of sterility and impotence following anterior fusion have been over-exaggerated, caution and informed consent from adult males and parents of prepubertal male children is advisable.
Haloperidol reverses the changes in striatal glutamatergic immunolabeling following a 6‐OHDA lesion

We reported previously that 3 months following a unilateral lesion of the nigrostriatal pathway with 6‐hydroxydopamine (6‐OHDA), there was a decrease in the extracellular level of striatal glutamate as determined by in vivo microdialysis. This resulted in an accumulation or increase in the density of nerve terminal glutamate immunolabeling (Meshul et al., 1999). We also reported on blockade of dopamine D‐2 receptors with haloperidol resulting in ultrastructural changes within the striatum consistent with increased functioning of the glutamatergic corticostriatal pathway (Meshul and Tan 1994). We hypothesized that administration of haloperidol to 6‐OHDA‐lesioned rats may be capable of activating the corticostriatal pathway and thereby counteracting the effects of the unilateral nigrostriatal lesion. Striatal glutamatergic function was evaluated using electron microscopy and quantitative glutamate immunocytochemistry. Starting 1 month after a unilateral lesion of the nigrostriatal pathway with 6‐OHDA, haloperidol (0.5 mg/kg/d) was administered for the next 2 months. Within the dorsolateral caudate nucleus, the main area of innervation from the motor cortex, haloperidol blocked the 6‐OHDA‐induced increase in the density of nerve terminal glutamate immunolabeling. Within all three experimental groups (6‐OHDA, haloperidol, 6‐OHDA/haloperidol) there was an increase in the mean percentage of striatal asymmetrical synapses containing a perforated postsynaptic density. In addition, haloperidol treatment resulted in a reduction in the number of apomorphine‐induced contralateral rotations in unilaterally 6‐OHDA lesioned rats. The data suggests that the decrease in striatal glutamatergic function 3 months following a unilateral 6‐OHDA lesion can be reversed by daily haloperidol treatment. This finding is discussed in terms of current therapy for Parkinson's disease. Synapse 36:129–142, 2000. Published 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Olf-1/Early B Cell Factor Is a Regulator ofglut4 Gene Expression in 3T3-L1 Adipocytes*

A negative regulatory element in the 5′-flanking region of the murine glut4 gene mediates chronic insulin- and cAMP-induced repression in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Previous work demonstrated that members of the nuclear factor 1 (NF1) family of transcription factors and an unidentified factor bind to and mediate repression from this regulatory element. By using a yeast one-hybrid screen, Olf-1/Early B cell factor (O/E-1) was isolated as a candidate for this unidentified factor. A protein complex from 3T3-L1 adipocyte nuclear extract that bound the negative regulatory element was recognized by O/E-specific antiserum, and binding activity was competed effectively by distinct O/E-binding sequences. O/E binding activity was also detected in nuclear extracts from insulin-responsive, GLUT4-expressing tissues including adipose, skeletal muscle, and heart. Mutations within the negative regulatory element that abolish binding of O/E proteins concomitantly blocked insulin-induced repression in reporter gene assays. These results suggest that one or more members of the O/E transcription factor family function as important regulators ofglut4 gene expression and therefore may play a heretofore unanticipated role in glucose homeostasis and insulin signaling.
Operation of an hybrid PV-battery system with improved harmonic performance

The search of efficient, robust and fault-tolerant electronic power converters is a challenge for the industry and academia. Nowadays, the integration and exploitation of the renewable energy sources and energy storage systems is required. In these terms, the multilevel power converters and specifically the cascaded H-bridge (CHB) power converter is a very good candidate. However, if a CHB power converter operates under an unbalanced operation a low-frequency high-distortion content appears in the output voltage spectrum. In order to reduce this problem, an extra cell, equipped with a low voltage battery or supercapacitor, is added to the original CHB converter. The idea is to operate the extra cell with the convenient duty cycle value in order to eliminate the low-order harmonic distortion generated by the unbalanced operation. This makes the proposed method very interesting because it leads to a reduction of the grid connection filter.
How Much Privacy We Still Have on Social Network

Recently, internet is one of the most efficient and effective ways to communicate and sharing the information especially in terms of social networking sites. With over billions of users connected through online social network and due to the popularity of social network sites, more people are concerning about the privacy and it has become an important issue. In this paper we will review how the current privacy plays on social network sites, analyze how personal information is being influenced by internet and social network, and also we will discuss how the privacy become a risk and how to employ security awareness to avoid privacy risk.
Red-Envelope Cash: Journalists on the Take in Contemporary China

ABSTRACT This project examines the practice of taking red-envelope cash in contemporary Chinese journalism, which involves journalists accepting cash wrapped in an envelope that is provided by sources or other social agents. On the basis of focus group interviews, in-depth interviews, and personal communication, this project brings journalists’ perceptions on this practice to the fore. Journalists predominantly attribute the practice to Chinese cultural factors, especially the Chinese emphasis on guanxi. However, this research argues that culture alone is an insufficient explanation. This project incorporates sociological studies of “informal relationships” to enrich our understanding of the practice.
Against Financial Regulation Harmonization: A Comment

This comment is on a paper by Christian Kirchner and Wulf Kaal, which proposes a variety of post-financial crisis regulatory reforms under a common theme of minimizing “regulatory arbitrage. ” The comment focuses on one of their proposals, hedge fund regulation, and then picks up on the theme of regulatory arbitrage to discuss a broader reform issue regarding financial regulatory architecture. I contend that the move to regulate hedge funds is misguided because hedge funds were not a cause of the recent crisis, nor are they likely to cause a future one. Rather, the regulatory response to hedge funds can best be understood in terms of the historical pattern of hostility to short sellers. I further contend that the post-crisis emphasis on regulatory consolidation and harmonization, which is a common legislative response following a crisis, is as misguided as the regulatory focus on hedge funds. In particular, in a regime of global harmonization, regulatory error can result in heightened systemic risk, as regulatory incentives lead financial institutions worldwide to adopt similar business strategies. When such strategies fail, they do so on a global basis, and can thereby precipitate a global financial crisis. Accordingly, regulatory arbitrage, a byproduct of regulatory diversity, provides a valuable, and little appreciated, hedge against systemic failure.
Chromatic Adaptation in MarineSynechococcus Strains

ABSTRACT Characterization of two genetically distinct groups of marineSynechococcus sp. strains shows that one, but not the other, increases its phycourobilin/phycoerythrobilin chromophore ratio when growing in blue light. This ability of at least some marineSynechococcus strains to chromatically adapt may help explain their greater abundance in particular ocean environments than cyanobacteria of the genus Prochlorococcus.
State feedback control in a quasi-behavioral setting based on non-recursive models

The role played by a discrete-time state-feedback controller in assigning a specified discrete-time eigenvalue structure is approached exclusively in terms of plant trajectories. The knowledge of the directional behavior of the plant is based on general, qualitative properties (revealed by a physical insight into the operating conditions) and concrete, quantitative aspects (captured, by experimentation, in non-recursive models). Controller design (including the output regulation case) results directly by complementing the qualitative information with the quantitative one, circumventing the need for parameter estimation, as a distinct and indispensable stage, preceding the design procedure in classical scenarios.
Allowing Short-Lived TCP Sessions to Ramp-UP in Broadband Wireless Networks

In this paper, we propose a dynamic OFDMA based subcarrier/power allocation which aims to protect the newly established TCP connections. The proposed allocation utilizes an estimation of the current congestion window of TCP connections to allocate resources so that vulnerable flows with small congestion windows avoid entering packet recovery via retransmission time out. In addition, for the long-lived TCP flows, the theoretical TCP throughput which can be accomplished in their end-to-end path is used as their desired achievable data rate on wireless link. Such a technique can be of significant importance since due to its popularity, TCP is commonly used over the broadband wireless networks. I. INTRODUCTION
Dynamic Tax Competition, Home Bias and the Gain from Non-preferential Agreements

In a dynamic two-period model of tax competition, where an investor has home bias for the country where he/she invests in the initial period, we show that tax revenue under a non-preferential taxation scheme is strictly higher compared to a preferential taxation scheme. A non-preferential taxation scheme not only increases tax revenue in the later period, it also reduces competition in the initial period. The gain from having a non-preferential regime is strictly increasing in home bias as long as home bias is not large enough. When home bias is above a critical level, the gain from having a non-preferential agreement is independent of home bias. While the literature on tax competition has identified that ``home bias" can make non-preferential taxation preferable to a preferential regime when investors are small with heterogeneous home bias, we show that even when investors are large with a discrete home bias, a non-preferential regime generates higher tax revenue compared to a preferential regime. We show that even when only one of the capital bases has home bias, a non-preferential regime generates higher tax revenue compared to a preferential regime. This paper also quantify the gain from a non-preferential regime with a parameter which captures home bias and provide clear comparative statics. Moreover, we also show that a country has an incentive to unilaterally commit to a non-preferential agreement.
Effect of Infection Control Measures on the Frequency of Upper Respiratory Infection in Child Care: A Randomized, Controlled Trial

Background. Acute upper respiratory infections are common in children who attend child care, and preventing transmission of disease in this setting depends on actions by child care staff. We set out to discover whether transmission of respiratory infections in child care could be reduced by improved infection control procedures. Methods. We performed a cluster, randomized, controlled trial of an infection control intervention conducted in child care centers in 1 city in Australia. The intervention was training of child care staff about transmission of infection, handwashing, and aseptic nosewiping technique. Implementation of the intervention was recorded by an observer. Illness was measured by parent report in telephone interviews every 2 weeks. Results. There were 311 child-years of surveillance for respiratory symptoms. By multivariable analysis, there was no significant reduction in colds in intervention center children across the full age range. However, a significant reduction in respiratory illness was present in children 24 months of age and younger. When compliance with infection control practices was high, colds in these children were reduced by 17%. Conclusions. This trial supports the role of direct transmission of colds in young children in child care. The ability of infection control techniques to reduce episodes of colds in children in child care was limited to children 24 months of age and under.
Chronic constriction injury induced long-term changes in spontaneous membrane-potential oscillations in anterior cingulate cortical neurons in vivo.

BACKGROUND Neuropathic pain induction by nerve injury has been shown by in vitro studies to be accompanied by synaptic strengthening in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and has been shown by pharmacological studies in vivo to be prevented by blocking N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor-dependent ACC plasticity. These findings indicate that ACC neurons undergo nerve injury-induced synaptic modifications and further raise a new question about neuropathic pain-associated changes in neuronal activity in the ACC in vivo, particularly spontaneous neuronal oscillations - a process believed to be fundamental for many forms of brain function. OBJECTIVE In this study, we examined the change of spontaneous membrane-potential (MP) oscillations in the ACC in vivo in a neuropathic pain animal model of chronic constriction injury (CCI), which may account for neuropathic pain development, as well as pain hypersensitivity and spontaneous pain. STUDY DESIGN Experimental trial in rats. METHODS Neuropathic pain rats were produced by CCI surgery on the common sciatic nerve. Neuropathic pain-related behaviors were accessed by evoked responses to both mechanical and thermal stimuli, as well as spontaneous pain indicated by spontaneous foot lifting. In vivo whole-cell recording was performed in both control and neuropathic pain rats under anaesthesia. MP and action-potential (AP) changes of layer II/III ACC pyramidal cells were measured in current-clamp mode. The level of anaesthesia was evaluated by monitoring respiratory and heart rates in some experiments. RESULTS Within 7 to 14 days after CCI surgery, the frequency of MP oscillations of ACC neurons was found to be significantly higher than that in control rats. Such an increase in oscillation frequency after surgery was not due to periphery transmission via the sciatic nerve subjected to CCI surgery and was indicated to be accounted for by neuronal modifications in the central nervous system. Furthermore, this increase was found to result in a higher overall level of MP excitation as well as an increase in spontaneous AP firing. LIMITATIONS Our findings in MP and AP changes were obtained in anaesthetized brains; this issue remains to be further examined by using whole-cell recording in awake behaving animals. CONCLUSIONS Neuropathic pain is accompanied by the increase in rates of spontaneous oscillations of ACC neurons. This change may be critical for neuropathic pain development, as well as pain hypersensitivity and spontaneous pain in neuropathic pain animals.