Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of rapid cooling on mechanical and electrical responses in ventricular muscle of guinea‐pig.

The effect of rapidly lowering bathing solution temperature from 36.5 +/‐ 0.5 degrees C to various low temperatures was examined in guinea‐pig ventricular muscle to explore the possible role of intracellular Ca2+ store sites in excitation‐contraction coupling. Rapid cooling from 36.5 +/‐ 0.5 degrees C to below 18 degrees C caused contracture (rapid cooling contracture, r.c.c.) with subthreshold depolarization for contraction, if electrical stimulation was applied before cooling. R.c. c. peak tension depended on cooling temperature, and pre‐cooling stimulation frequency and duration. R.c. c. induced after pre‐cooling stimulation was enhanced by increased extracellular Ca2+ ( [Ca2+]o) and decreased by reduction of [Ca2+]o. Co2+ (2‐4 mM) added to the HEPES‐buffered Krebs solution, which suppressed the action potential plateau and inhibited twitch response, did not abolish r.c. c. after pre‐cooling stimulation at high frequency. Reduction of extracellular Na+ concentration ( [Na+]o) before cooling enhanced r.c. c. , and even in non‐stimulated preparations, incubation in low [Na+]o below 68.8 mM for 20 min produced r.c. c. R.c. c. was superimposed on the tonic component of the K+ contracture, after a quiescent preparation has been depolarized beyond ‐40 mV by addition of solid KCl to normal Krebs solution. The relation between r.c. c. tension and membrane potential was shifted to the left along the voltage axis by reducing [Na+]o and shifted to the right by decreasing [Ca2+]o. Results suggest that well‐developed intracellular Ca2+ store sites could sequester enough Ca2+ to generate tension by an energy‐dependent process which had been loaded mainly by a voltage‐dependent Na+‐Ca2+ exchange mechanism and Ca2+ current, and that rapid cooling could cause Ca2+ release from the intracellular store sites with little contribution to membrane excitation in the guinea‐pig ventricular muscle.
Culling in 50 dairy herds in England

A survey of 50 Friesian/Holstein dairy herds (average size 178 cows) in England investigated the rate of culling and the reasons for disposal and death over three years from 1990 to 1992. The average total annual culling rate was 23.8 per cent (22.0 per cent sold and 1.8 per cent died). Of the disposals, 54 per cent were culled by the end of their fourth lactation. Poor fertility was the most important reason for culling (36.5 per cent of disposals), followed by management policy (11.5 per cent), mastitis (10.1 per cent), bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) (7.4 per cent) and lameness (5.6 per cent). The most common causes of death were mastitis (8.9 per cent) and BSE (11.5 per cent), but 46 per cent died for unknown reasons.
Missed Connections

Despite the widely shared assumption that public participation impacts planning implementation, empirical research rarely tests this belief. By reviewing what is known about if and how public participation impacts plan and planning implementation, and why we know so little, this review identifies a significant gap in the planning literature. The article synthesizes public participation and planning implementation literature to explain why this gap exists. This review is focused on one central research question: why is our empirical understanding of the overlap between public participation and implementation so limited? Building from these limitations, the article concludes with suggested directions for future research.
A Review of Past Research on Changes in Hearing Aid Benefit over Time

&NA; Hearing aid benefit refers to a relative change in performance on a particular measure between aided and unaided listening conditions. A number of studies in recent years have investigated the hypothesis that hearing aid benefit increases over time after the initial fitting of the aid. Both objective (speech recognition) and subjective (questionnaire) measures have been used to measure hearing aid benefit. Some studies have reported a positive increase over time in group mean benefit, and some have reported no change in benefit, whereas none have reported a group mean negative change in benefit. However, individual subjects in these studies can show changes in benefit in either a positive or negative direction. The variability across subjects in each study has been large in comparison with the observed amount of benefit increase. In this review of the literature, it is argued that the studies present essentially similar results and the range of values across subjects in the various studies shows considerable overlap. Although there does appear to be a tendency for hearing aid benefit to increase over time, there are other, much stronger, factors influencing changes in hearing aid benefit that make it impossible at present to predict which patients will show a reliable increase (or decrease) in hearing aid benefit over time. (Ear & Hearing 1996;17;14S‐28S)
Gap junctions among the perikarya, dendrites, and axon terminals of the luminosity‐type horizontal cell of the turtle retina

Gap junctions of the H1 horizontal cell of the turtle retina (Leeper, 1978) were studied in thin‐sectioned material and in freeze‐fracture replicas. Peri‐karyal gap junctions were extremely restricted, 0.02–0.07 μm2 in area, whereas those of axon terminals were much larger, most being 0.1–1.0 μm2. Both varieties, however, had the usual seven‐layered appearance in thin sec‐tion and measured 15 ± 1 nm in overall width between cytoplasmic faces. Freeze‐fractured views of the perikaryal junctions revealed roughly circular patches of P‐face 9‐nm particles and E‐face pits. The axon terminal gap junctions were seen as large areas of P‐face particles and E‐face pits containing occasional islands of unsnecialized membrane. Particle densities varied from 1, 455to 2, 448 μm−2 serial reconstruction was made or a portion of the axon terminal network in order to measure the surface areas of the axons con‐tained therein and the fraction occupied by gap junctions. These data demonstrated that the fractional area occupied by gap junctions was roughly in inverse proportion to the area of the axon region (tuberous core vs. terminal process). It is argued that this constitutes an impedance matching device to ensure adequate current flow through the axon processes. Assuming that each P‐face particle represents a connexon having a conductance of 10−10 and given the P‐face particle density and gap junctional areas determined in this report, we calculated that the gap junction distribution is adequate to account for the spatial properties of the horizontal cell axon network (Lamb, 1976).
Uniform olivocerebellar conduction time underlies Purkinje cell complex spike synchronicity in the rat cerebellum.

1. The issue of isochronicity of olivocerebellar fibre conduction time as a basis for synchronizing complex spike activity in cerebellar Purkinje cells has been addressed by latency measurement, multiple‐electrode recording and Phaseolus vulgaris leucoagglutinin (PHA‐L) tracing of climbing fibres in the adult rat. 2. The conduction time of the olivocerebellar fibres was measured by recording Purkinje cell complex spike (CS) responses from various areas of the cerebellum. The CSs were evoked by stimulating the olivocerebellar fibres near the inferior olive. In spite of a difference in length, as determined directly by light microscopy, the conduction times of different climbing fibres were quite uniform, 3.98 +/‐ 0.36 ms (mean +/‐ S.D., n = 660). 3. Multiple‐electrode recording of spontaneous Purkinje cell CS activity was employed to study the spatial extent of CS synchronicity in the cerebellar cortex. Recordings of CS were obtained from Purkinje cells located on the surface and along the walls of lobule crus 2a. The rostrocaudal band‐like distribution of simultaneous (within 1 ms) CS activity in Purkinje cells extended down the sides of the cerebellar folia to the deepest areas recorded (1.6‐2.6 mm deep). As shown in previous experiments, the distribution of simultaneous CS activity did not extend significantly (500 microns) in the mediolateral axis of the cerebellar cortex. 4. In two animals a detailed determination of the length of the olivocerebellar fibre bundles was performed by staining the fibres with PHA‐L injected into the contralateral inferior olive. This measurement included fibre bundles terminating in twenty‐six different areas, ranging from the tops of the various folia to the bottoms of the fissures in both the hemisphere and the vermis. There was a 47.5% difference between the length of the longest measured fibre bundle (15.8 mm, terminating in lobule 6b, zone A) and the length of the shortest measured fibre bundle (8.3 mm, terminating in the cortex at the base of the primary fissure, zone D), after correction for tissue shrinkage. To attain an isochronous conduction time the conduction velocities for these two fibre bundles were calculated to be 4.22 m/s and 2.37 m/s, respectively. 5. By interpolating between measured points a simple formula was derived to estimate the average length of olivocerebellar fibres terminating in any given area of the cerebellar cortex, excluding the paraflocculus, the flocculus and the most lateral regions of the hemisphere. 6. We investigated the most likely mechanisms by which conduction velocity variations with length could result in global isochronicity. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Reversion and Maintenance of Sinus Rhythm in Patients with Permanent Atrial Fibrillation by Internal Cardioversion Followed by Biatrial Pacing

FRAGAKIS, N. , et al.: Reversion and Maintenance of Sinus Rhythm in Patients with Permanent Atrial Fibrillation by Internal Cardioversion Followed by Biatrial Pacing. Patients in atrial fibrillation (AF) who fail external cardioversion are usually regarded as in permanent AF. Internal cardioversion may revert many such patients into sinus rhythm (SR) but the majority relapse rapidly into AF. We investigated whether internal cardioversion followed by biatrial pacing is an effective to restore and subsequently maintain SR in patients with permanent AF. Patients in permanent AF underwent internal cardioversion that was followed by biatrial temporary pacing for 48 hours. Those who remained in SR received a permanent biatrial pacemaker programmed to a rate responsive mode with a lower rate 90 beats/min. Primary end point of the study included maintenance in SR 3 months after internal cardioversion. Sixteen patients (14 men, 57 ± 11 years) were cardioverted. The median duration of AF was 24 months (quartiles, Q1= 8.5 and Q3= 102) and mean left atrium diameter was 48 ± 04 mm. A permanent biatrial pacemaker was implanted in 11 patients. At a mean follow‐up of 15 months (range 4 to 24), 8 patients remained in SR for more than 3 months. AF was eliminated in 5 patients, while in two a second internal cardioversion on amiodarone was required. Antiarrhythmic therapy was used in half of our population and did not predict the long‐term maintenance of SR. Following internal cardioversion with continuous biatrial pacing, 50% of patients with permanent AF were maintained for prolonged periods in SR. This is a new modality of treatment of permanent AF directed to the maintenance of SR that provides a further therapeutic option in end‐stage AF.
Production of ethanol from wood hydrolyzate by yeasts ¶

A total of 43 Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) strains of Pichia stipitis and Candida shehatae were tested for their ability to ferment a 1:1 mixture of glucose and xylose to-ethanol prior to fermentation of partially deacidified wood hydrolyzates. The starting sugar composition, pH, and concentrations of inhibitors such as acetic acid, furfural, and hydroxy methyl furfural varied from one batch to another. The delay observed in growth and fermentation depended on the amounts of inhibitors present and on the ca­ pacity of the strain to resist them. The ethanol production and yields obtained with C. shehatae were higher than those with P. stipitis. C. shehatae strain FPL-Y-049 produced up to 34 g/l ethanol from batch VII of wood hydrolyzates. Allthe glucose, mannose, galactose and xylose in the woodhydrolyzate were consumedduring fermentation. Only arabinose was unused. Addition of 10 mg/l zinc toacidhydrolyzate did not affect peak ethanol production, but it did increase rates of sugar utilization and ethanol production. The fermentation of hydrolyzate withrecycled cells of C. shehatae Y-049 reduced the fermentation lag and increased the final ethanol concentration.The ethanol production rate was optimum in the pH range of 5.5-6.0, and an ethanol yield of 0.41-0.46 g/g was obtained i n these fermentations. Because of heterogeneity between wood hydrolyzate batches, ethanol production was found to be influenced by hydrolyzate composition, pH, acetate concentration, amount of cells, and recycling of cells. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.
Evaluation of a community based childhood injury prevention program.

OBJECTIVES: This pilot study evaluates the effectiveness of a community based childhood injury prevention program on the reduction of home hazards. METHODS: High risk pregnant women, who were enrolled in a home visiting program that augments existing health and human services, received initial home safety assessments. Clients received education about injury prevention practices, in addition to receiving selected home safety supplies. Fourteen questions from the initial assessment tool were repeated upon discharge from the program. Matched analyses were conducted to evaluate differences from initial assessment to discharge. RESULTS: A significantly larger proportion of homes were assessed as safe at discharge, compared with the initial assessment, for the following hazards: children riding unbuckled in all auto travel, Massachusetts Poison Center sticker on the telephone, outlet plugs in all unused electrical outlets, safety latches on cabinets and drawers, and syrup of ipecac in the home. CONCLUSIONS: A community based childhood injury prevention program providing education and safety supplies to clients significantly reduced four home hazards for which safety supplies were provided. Education and promotion of the proper use of child restraint systems in automobiles significantly reduced a fifth hazard, children riding unbuckled in auto travel. This program appears to reduce the prevalence of home hazards and, therefore, to increase home safety.
The child in the city.

Every word to utter from the writer involves the element of this life. The writer really shows how the simple words can maximize how the impression of this book is uttered directly for the readers. Even you have known about the content of the child in the city so much, you can easily do it for your better connection. In delivering the presence of the book concept, you can find out the boo site here.
XY sex reversal, pontocerebellar hypoplasia and intellectual disability: Confirmation of a new syndrome

We report on a 46,XY female with pontocerebellar hypoplasia and intellectual disability. To our knowledge, this is the fourth reported patient with this constellation and further confirms a rare new syndrome. The condition is probably a single gene disorder with a currently unknown mode of inheritance. The causative gene is likely involved in the normal gonadal sex determination as well as the cerebral and cerebellar formation and function. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Obesity in Preschool-Aged Children with Sickle Cell Anemia: Emerging Nutritional Challenge in a Resource Limited Setting

Background: The burden of childhood obesity is increasing in most developing countries particularly in the urban areas owing to globalization; and children with sickle cell anemia (SCA) in such environment do not live in isolation. The study is aimed at determining the prevalence of obesity in younger children with SCA. Methods: A consecutive recruitment of 58 children with SCA aged between 1 year and 5 years 4 months (subjects) and their age and sex matched controls selected using multistage sampling technique were carried out. The weight and height of the children were obtained using standard equipment. The WHO Anthro and Anthro-Plus software were used for analyzing the nutritional status of the children based on standard deviation (z-scores). The data were analyzed using SPSS version 19.0 while the level of significance was set at p < 0.05. Results: The mean BMI for the subjects was 15.38 ± 1.93 (range from 11.50–20.80) and 17.10 ± 2.28 (range from 13.4–23.20) in the controls. Overweight (z-score > + 1≤2) and obesity (z score >+2) were recorded in 10 (17.2%) and 2 (3.4%) of the subjects while in the controls overweight and obesity were observed in 16 (27.6%) and 13 (22.4%), respectively (p = 0.000). Conclusions: Obesity and overweight is becoming prevalent among children with SCA and so awareness and preventive health education about obesity should be created among caregivers of children with sickle cell anemia in our setting to avert its possible complications
A simple battery model for EV range prediction: Theory and experimental validation

A reliable and accurate estimation of the parameters of batteries equivalent models is of paramount importance in many applications. This paper is focused on electric vehicle framework. A simplified method for estimating these parameters is presented and validated. The proposed methodology introduces the concept of apparent state of discharge (ASOD), i.e., the traditional state of discharge adjusted in order to take into account the effects of current and temperature. This ASOD is, then, used to estimate the open circuit voltage and, consequently, the output voltage of the battery cells. The effectiveness of this method has been experimentally tested on a real Lithium-ion cell in order to estimate the expected range of an electric vehicle.
Meta-analysis of microarrays: interstudy validation of gene expression profiles reveals pathway dysregulation in prostate cancer.

The increasing availability and maturity of DNA microarray technology has led to an explosion of cancer profiling studies. To extract maximum value from the accumulating mass of publicly available cancer gene expression data, methods are needed to evaluate, integrate, and intervalidate multiple datasets. Here we demonstrate a statistical model for performing meta-analysis of independent microarray datasets. Implementation of this model revealed that four prostate cancer gene expression datasets shared significantly similar results, independent of the method and technology used (i.e., spotted cDNA versus oligonucleotide). This interstudy cross-validation approach generated a cohort of genes that were consistently and significantly dysregulated in prostate cancer. Bioinformatic investigation of these genes revealed a synchronous network of transcriptional regulation in the polyamine and purine biosynthesis pathways. Beyond the specific implications for prostate cancer, this work establishes a much-needed model for the evaluation, cross-validation, and comparison of multiple cancer profiling studies.
3-stage 15 GHz p-HEMT power amplifier design for MMIC applications

This paper present the design of 3-stage 15 GHz power amplifier (PA) using 0.15 µm GaAs p-HEMT technology. At operating frequency of 15 GHz (Ku-band), each single PA stage was designed for optimum power and efficiency of the transistor, with 50 Ω input and output impedance matching. In this design, the active devices were selected from the depletion p-HEMT type with voltage supply of 4.5 V and DC bias of −0.2 V. The PA delivers maximum linear output power of 22.29 dBm while achieving maximum power-added-efficiency (PAE) of 31.21 %. The PA has an input and output return loss at 29.80 dB and 31.05 dB respectively. Having a current consumption of 155 mA, this PA achieves a small signal gain of 32.50 dB. The proposed PA is designed within a die size of about 3.0 × 1.0 mm2 on GaAs substrate.
Impaired Skeletal Muscle Oxygenation and Exercise Tolerance in Pulmonary Hypertension.

BACKGROUND Limb muscle dysfunction is documented in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), but little is known regarding muscle oxygen (O2) supply and its possible effects on exercise tolerance in PAH. METHODS Ten patients with PAH and 10 matched controls underwent progressive maximal cardiopulmonary exercise test, voluntary and nonvolitional dominant quadriceps muscle strength measures, and nondominant quadriceps biopsy to assess maximal oxygen uptake, muscle function, and lower limb fiber type and capillarity, respectively. Both groups then performed normoxic and hyperoxic submaximal intensity exercise protocol at the same absolute workload during which muscle O2 supply was assessed by measuring changes in myoglobin-deoxyhemoglobin level (Δ[Mb-HHb]) and tissue oxygenation index in the dominant quadriceps using near-infrared spectroscopy. Changes in cardiac output, estimated systemic O2 delivery, and systemic O2 saturation were also assessed noninvasively throughout both submaximal exercises. RESULTS Patients with PAH displayed lower maximal oxygen uptake (P < 0.01), skeletal muscle strength (P < 0.05), and capillarity (P = 0.01). Throughout the normoxic submaximal exercise protocol, Δ[Mb-HHb] (P < 0.01) was higher whereas changes in tissue oxygenation index (P < 0.01) and systemic O2 saturation (P = 0.01) were lower in patients with PAH compared with those in controls. Conversely, changes in cardiac output and estimated systemic O2 delivery were similar between groups. Muscle oxygenation remained unchanged with O2 supplementation. Among variables known to influence tissue oxygenation, only quadriceps capillarity density correlated with Δ[Mb-HHb] (r = -0.66, P < 0.01), which in turn correlated with maximal oxygen uptake (r = -0.64, P < 0.01), 6-min walked distance (r = -0.74, P = 0.01), and both voluntary (r = -0.46, P = 0.04) and nonvolitional (r = -0.50, P = 0.02) quadriceps strength. CONCLUSIONS Capillary rarefaction within the skeletal muscle influences exercise tolerance and quadriceps strength at least partly through impaired muscle oxygen supply in PAH.
Mental planning and the Tower of London task

The Tower of London (TOL) task has been used extensively as a test of planning ability in neuropsychological patients and normal populations. Participants are asked to preplan mentally a sequence of moves to match a start set of discs to a goal, and then to execute the moves one by one. The mental preplanning stage has been identified as critical to efficient performance. The current experiments examined whether manipulations of mental preplanning influence performance on the TOL. In Experiment 1, the effect of different planning instructions was examined. Those told to make full mental plans spent considerably longer in planning than participants given no specific planning instructions, yet there was no effect of instruction condition on the efficiency of executing plans. Experiment 2 investigated whether people were able to plan mentally, by looking at their ability to identify intermediate states of an optimum mental plan. Results indicated that most individuals could make accurate preplans up to two subgoals ahead, but not three. However, making an efficient preplan did not result in better subsequent execution of moves to solve the TOL trial. It is concluded that people can make effective mental plans for a limited number of moves. However, on the TOL task, mental preplanning does not offer benefits in terms of quicker performance, or more accurate solution. The nature of planning in the TOL task is therefore questioned.