Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Relationship of the Functional Refractory Period to Conduction in the Atrioventricular Node

The functional refractory period of atrioventricular (AV) transmission has been accepted as a measure of AV nodal refractoriness and has been assumed to be determined solely by conduction of interpolated extrasystoles through the AV node when it is partially refractory. In the present study, we found an important effect of the conduction time of the regular beats by measuring AV nodal conduction times of atrial extrasystoles from the His bundle of isolated, blood-perfused dog hearts. We separated three independent components that determine AV nodal conductivity: (1) a “basal conduction time” measured with a “postmature” extrasystole at low heart rates ( < 120 /min), (2) a rate-dependent increment in conduction time (previously called “fatigue”) that affects both normal and premature cycles equally and (3) an exponential change in conduction time that depends entirely on the immediately preceding interval and, therefore, is not further affected by heart rate. The functional refractory period is one point defining this continuous exponential function. We showed that an important cause of the decrease in the functional refractory period that occurs when heart rate is increased is the change in the conduction time of the regular beats.
The Coordinated Climate-Crop Modeling Project (C3MP)

Alex Ruane, Sonali McDermid, Nicholas Hudson, Cynthia Rosenzweig, L. R. Ahuja, Saseendran S. Anapalli, Jakarat Anothai, Senthold Asseng, Dumont Benjamin, Federico Bert, Patrick Bertuzzi, Virendra S. Bhatia, Marco Bindi, Ian Broad, Davide Cammarano, Ramiro Carretero, Uran Chung, Giacomo De Sanctis, Thanda Dhliwayo, Frank Ewert, Roberto Ferrise, Thomas Gaiser, Guillermo Garcia, Sika Gbegbelegbe, Vellingiri Geethalakshmi, Edward Gerardeaux, Richard Goldberg, Brian Grant, Edgardo Guevara, Holger Hoffmann, Huanping Huang, Flavio Barbosa Justino, Asha S. Karunaratne, Ann-Kristin Koehler, Soora Naresh Kumar, Arunachalam Lakshmanan, Xiaomao Lin, Qunying Luo, Graciela Magrin, Yuji Masutomi, Theodoros Mavromatis, Greg McLean, Santiago Meira, Monoranjan Mohanty, Marco Moriondo, Lamyaa Negm, Francesca Orlando, Isik Ozturk, Zhiming Qi, Johanna Ramarohetra, Helene Raynal, Gabriel Rodriguez, Vaishali Sharda, Lu Shuo, Ward Smith, Afshin Soltani, K.Srinivas, Dillip Kumar Swain, Fulu Tao, Kindie Tesfaye, Maria I. Travasso, Giacomo Trombi, Federico E. Viscarra, Enli Wang, Hong Wang, Lee Byun-Woo, Yang Xiaoguang, Ban Ho Young, Jin I. Yun, and Zhigan Zhao
Some precautions for the field users of PDC measurement for transformer insulation condition assessment

The need for economic, reliable and effective delivery of electric power has lead to the search for new, efficient and effective methods for diagnosing the insulation of the HV equipments in the industries all over the world. One of the methods currently being investigated as a potential nondestructive diagnostic tool for condition monitoring of the oilpaper insulation of power transformers is the polarisation and depolarisation current (PDC) measurement. This paper starts with a theoretical and physical description of the PDC technique. Several practical aspects of the technique have been discussed in the paper along with corresponding experimental and field test results. These physical considerations can be used as 'precautions' for the potential field users of the PDC technique for insulation condition assessment of transformers.
Process-Dependent N/PBTI Characteristics of TiN Gate FinFETs

A study of the negative and positive bias temperature instability (N/PBTI) reliability of FinFETs with different TiN metal gates deposited by either atomic layer deposition (ALD) or physical vapor deposition (PVD) on HfO2 dielectrics found that the nonuniformity of the interfacial oxide layer is closely related to reliability characteristics. FinFETs with an ALD TiN gate exhibit better NBTI and PBTI lifetimes than those with a PVD TiN gate. In addition, the dependence of fin width on NBTI reliability appeared to be worse with narrower fins, whereas PBTI reliability improves.
Exposición placentaria a contaminantes ambientales en un estudio de Cohorte

Los estudios toxicologicos y epidemiologicos han demostrado que la exposicion humana a contaminantes ambientales con actividad hormonal ha contribuido al incremento de ciertas enfermedades comunes de base endocrina. La gran diversidad estructural de los compuestos liberados al medioambiente y su facil acceso al organismo, junto con las interacciones que pueden establecerse entre ellos y las hormonas endogenas, dificultan enormemente cualquier proceso de evaluacion del riesgo. En esta tesis se realiza una aproximacion holistica al estudio de la exposicion materno-infantil a disruptores endocrinos.
The Importance of Exhaled Nitric Oxide Concentration in Asthmatic Patients and Factors that Impact its Measurement

Measurement of exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) concentration is a simple, reproducible, and noninvasive means of identifying the extent of airway inflammation and disease control in asthma. Accuracy of FeNO measurements depends on certain host-related factors such as atopy, sex, diet, and environmental factors such as ambient conditions and measurement technique. In this study, we aimed to assess the correlation between FeNO levels, disease control, host related factors and environmental factors in asthma. For this purpose, we enrolled 40 asthmatics and 20 controls; measured FeNO, serum ECP, total IgE, blood eosinophilia; and performed spirometry both on a relatively less polluted a summer day with a repeat procedure14 days later and on a polluted winter day. Difference between these timepoints in terms of Peak Expiratory Flow (PEF) was calculated for asthmatics. No association between FeNO levels, host factors and air pollution was found in asthmatics; however, there was a significant increase in FeNO with increasing air pollution in normal subjects. There was an insignificant reduction in FeNO levels in active smokers as compared to exsmokers and nonsmokers both in asthmatics and controls. Atopic asthmatics had significantly higher FeNO levels than those with no atopy (p=0.022). Initial blood eosinophilia correlated with FeNO levels (p=0.008). These results suggest that asthmatics with high FeNO levels should be investigated for the presence of atopy and low FeNO levels (<25ppb) have a high positive predictive value for asthma control.
Hive-stored pollen of honey bees: many lines of evidence are consistent with pollen preservation, not nutrient conversion

Honey bee hives are filled with stored pollen, honey, plant resins and wax, all antimicrobial to differing degrees. Stored pollen is the nutritionally rich currency used for colony growth and consists of 40–50% simple sugars. Many studies speculate that prior to consumption by bees, stored pollen undergoes long‐term nutrient conversion, becoming more nutritious ‘bee bread’ as microbes predigest the pollen. We quantified both structural and functional aspects associated with this hypothesis using behavioural assays, bacterial plate counts, microscopy and 454 amplicon sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene from both newly collected and hive‐stored pollen. We found that bees preferentially consume fresh pollen stored for <3 days. Newly collected pollen contained few bacteria, values which decreased significantly as pollen were stored >96 h. The estimated microbe to pollen grain surface area ratio was 1:1 000 000 indicating a negligible effect of microbial metabolism on hive‐stored pollen. Consistent with these findings, hive‐stored pollen grains did not appear compromised according to microscopy. Based on year round 454 amplicon sequencing, bacterial communities of newly collected and hive‐stored pollen did not differ, indicating the lack of an emergent microbial community co‐evolved to digest stored pollen. In accord with previous culturing and 16S cloning, acid resistant and osmotolerant bacteria like Lactobacillus kunkeei were found in greatest abundance in stored pollen, consistent with the harsh character of this microenvironment. We conclude that stored pollen is not evolved for microbially mediated nutrient conversion, but is a preservative environment due primarily to added honey, nectar, bee secretions and properties of pollen itself.
Molecular Toxicology of Corals: A Review

Coral reefs worldwide have become increasingly affected by a phenomenon known as ”coral bleaching,” the loss of the symbiotic algae from the host corals. The underlying causes and mechanism(s) of coral bleaching are not well known, although several have been hypothesized. While coral bleaching has been a primary focus in recent years, corals respond differentially to numerous environmental stresses. The impacts of heat, hydrocarbons, salinity, sewage effluents, biocides, heavy metals, and ultraviolet light have been investigated in both laboratory experiments and field surveys among multiple coral species. Herein what is known regarding the biological impacts of such stresses on corals at the molecular level of organization is summarized. The objective is to focus attention at the early stages of biological effects in order to encourage and facilitate research that provide ways to understand how changes at the molecular level might elucidate processes likely occurring at the population level. This, in turn, should accelerate studies that may elucidate the cellular and physiological changes contributing to coral decline, rather than just document the continued global loss of coral diversity and abundance.
Emotional Intensity Modulates the Integration of Bimodal Angry Expressions: ERP Evidence

Integration of information from face and voice plays a central role in social interactions. The present study investigated the modulation of emotional intensity on the integration of facial-vocal emotional cues by recording EEG for participants while they were performing emotion identification task on facial, vocal, and bimodal angry expressions varying in emotional intensity. Behavioral results showed the rates of anger and reaction speed increased as emotional intensity across modalities. Critically, the P2 amplitudes were larger for bimodal expressions than for the sum of facial and vocal expressions for low emotional intensity stimuli, but not for middle and high emotional intensity stimuli. These findings suggested that emotional intensity modulates the integration of facial-vocal angry expressions, following the principle of Inverse Effectiveness (IE) in multimodal sensory integration.
Conservation planning under climate change: accounting for adaptive potential and migration capacity in species distribution models

A number of assumptions underpinning the use of species distribution models to predict biological responses to climate change are violated for temperate and boreal tree species that are widespread, long‐lived and genetically adapted to local climate conditions. To address this situation, we propose a methodology to account for the potential effects of genetic structure, adaptive potential and limited migration capacity.
Commercial-Off-the-Shelf DC-DC converters for high energy physics detectors for the sLHC upgrade

A new generation of Commercial-Off-the-Shelf (COTS) buck-type converters built using advanced short channel "high voltage" CMOS processes have the potential to operate near the interaction region of the proposed Super Large Hadron Collider (sLHC) upgraded accelerator. The benefit would be a simpler DC power distribution system and an increase of the overall power efficiency by allowing higher voltage power delivery to the front-end electronics, thus limiting the ohmic losses. The devices must operate in a high magnetic field and be able to withstand both high doses of ionizing radiation and large neutron fluence. These converters are to be mounted on the same readout boards as the sensitive front-end electronics or in close proximity without introducing any additional noise due to the high switching frequencies. Radiation hardness and noise test results will be reported.
Pharmacological Implications of Two Distinct Mechanisms of Interaction of Memantine with N-Methyl-d-aspartate-Gated Channels

Unlike other N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antagonists, clinical trials have shown that memantine is clinically tolerated and effective in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. The mechanism for memantine tolerability, however, remains contentious but may be partly explained by its uncompetitive antagonism. The specific site of memantine block in the NMDAR channel interacts with magnesium and is assumed to be at or near a narrow constriction representing the channel selectivity filter. A second, very low-affinity site of memantine action has also been reported. Here, using mutational analysis and substituted cysteine accessibility methods on recombinant NR1/NR2A NMDARs expressed in Xenopus oocytes, we precisely localize both the specific and second memantine-blocking sites. Intriguingly, memantine interacts with its specific blocking site in the same fashion as intracellular rather than extracellular Mg2+. Thus, the N-site asparagine (N) in the M2 region of the NR1 subunit represents the dominant site for uncompetitive antagonism by memantine. The N and N + 1 site asparagines in NR2A produce strong electrostatic interactions with memantine. In contrast, the second (superficial) memantine-blocking site, located at the extracellular vestibule of the channel, appears to be nonspecific and overlaps the site occupied by the nonspecific pore blocker hexamethonium. Residues in the post-M3 segment of the NR1 subunit are not directly involved in memantine binding. The distinct patterns of interaction and the relative degree of affinity of memantine for these two binding sites contribute to the drug's excellent pharmacological profile of clinical tolerability. In the future, these parameters should be considered in searching for improved neuroprotective agents in this class.
High power factor control of electrolytic capacitor less current-fed single-phase to three-phase power converter

This paper proposes a novel single-phase to three-phase power converter, which based on current-fed topology. The proposed power converter doesn't require electrolytic capacitor and large inductance reactor. The proposed control method obtains high power factor operation and variable speed control for IPMSM. By using boost voltage characteristics of the proposed converter, the converter controls high speed area of the motor. Furthermore, output voltage waveforms of the proposed power converter have low PWM components. Hence, the proposed system can achieve high efficiency motor design. Validity of the proposed system proves by simulation and experimental results.
Computational Intelligence in Used Products Retrieval and Reproduction

Remanufacturing has become a superior option for product recovery management system. It mainly consists of three stages: retrieval, reproduction, and redistribution. So far, many different approaches have been followed in order to improve the efficiency of a remanufacturing process. However, as the complexity increases, the use of computational intelligence (CI) in those problems is becoming a unique tool of imperative value. In this paper, different CI methods, such as artificial neural network (ANN), ant colony optimization (ACO), biogeography-based optimization (BBO), cuckoo search (CS) and fuzzy logic (FL), are utilized to solve the problems involved in retrieval and reproduction stages for remanufacturing. The key issues in implementing the proposed approaches are discussed, and finally the applicability of the proposed methods are illustrated through different examples.
Design artefacts as service design concepts: a case study from a telecommunication domain

The article describes a case study conducted in collaboration with a Polish mobile provider. The goal of the study was to design a means to support business experts in aligning their requirements and user needs at an early stage of the design process of a mobile service offering. The described approach is proposed as a new way of mediating business and user requirements for complex services.
Determining the Dimensions of the Drug-binding Domain of Human P-glycoprotein Using Thiol Cross-linking Compounds as Molecular Rulers*

The human multidrug resistance P-glycoprotein (P-gp) interacts with a broad range of compounds with diverse structures and sizes. There is considerable evidence indicating that residues in transmembrane segments 4–6 and 10–12 form the drug-binding site. We attempted to measure the size of the drug-binding site by using thiol-specific methanethiosulfonate (MTS) cross-linkers containing spacer arms of 2 to 17 atoms. The majority of these cross-linkers were also substrates of P-gp, because they stimulated ATPase activity (2.5- to 10.1-fold). 36 P-gp mutants with pairs of cysteine residues introduced into transmembrane segments 4–6 and 10–12 were analyzed after reaction with 0.2 mm MTS cross-linker at 4 °C. The cross-linked product migrated with lower mobility than native P-gp in SDS gels. 13 P-gp mutants were cross-linked by MTS cross-linkers with spacer arms of 9–25 Å. Vinblastine and cyclosporin A inhibited cross-linking. The emerging picture from these results and other studies is that the drug-binding domain is large enough to accommodate compounds of different sizes and that the drug-binding domain is “funnel” shaped, narrow at the cytoplasmic side, at least 9–25 Å in the middle, and wider still at the extracellular surface.
Power‐law species–area relationships and self‐similar species distributions within finite areas

The species-area relationship (SAR) is often expressed as a power-law, which indicates scale invariance. It has been claimed that the scale invariance or self-similarity at the community level is not compatible to the self-similarity at the level of spatial distribution of individual species, because the power law would only emerge if distributions for all species had identical fractal dimensions. Here we show that even if species differ in their fractal dimensions, the resulting SAR is approximately linear on a log-log scale because observed spatial distributions are inevitably spatially restricted  a phenomenon we term the finite area effect. Using distribution atlases, we demonstrate that the apparent power-law of SARs for central European birds is attributable to this finite-area effect affecting species that indeed reveal selfsimilar distributions. We discuss implications of this mechanism producing the SAR.
Prevalence and some properties of verotoxin (Shiga-like toxin)-producing Escherichia coli in seven different species of healthy domestic animals

Fecal samples from 720 healthy, domestic animals representing seven different species (cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, chickens, dogs, and cats) were investigated for verotoxin (VT [Shiga-like toxin])-producing Escherichia coli (VTEC). VTEC were isolated from 208 animals (28.9%), most frequently from sheep (66.6% VTEC carriers), goats (56.1%), and cattle (21.1%). VTEC were isolated less frequently from pigs (7.5%), cats (13.8%), and dogs (4.8%) and were not found in chickens (< 0.7%). Forty-one different O:H serotypes and 23 untypeable O-groups were isolated. Five serotypes (O5:H-, O91:H-, O146:H21, O87:H16, and O82:H8) occurred in more than one animal species. Serotypes O5:H-, O91:H-, O146:H21, O128:H2, and OX3:H8 represented 54.8% of the VTEC strains. Nearly 60% of all VTEC O:H serotypes isolated in this study have been implicated as human pathogens, indicating that healthy, domestic animals may serve as a reservoir of human pathogens. All VTEC, except nine feline strains, hybridized with one or both of the VT1 and VT2 specific DNA probes. VT production and enterohemolysin (E-Hly+) production were associated in E. coli from goats, sheep, and cattle but not in E. coli from chickens, pigs, dogs, and cats. A close association of VT with E-Hly+ was found in O5:H-, O146:H21, O128:H2, O77:H4, O119:H25, and O123:(H10) strains. Thirty of 240 (12.5%) E-Hly+ strains hybridized with an E-Hly+ specific DNA probe, indicating heterogeneity of regulatory or structural E-Hly+ genes in strains of E. coli.
Clinical screening score for the fragile X (Martin-Bell) syndrome.

A clinical score based on the manifestations of the fragile(X) syndrome has been formulated and applied to all individuals included in a fragile(X) case finding program in New South Wales. The total score can vary from 0 to 10. Individuals are scored 0, 1, or 2 in each of 5 categories considered indicative of the fragile(X) phenotype: family history of intellectual handicap, face length, ear configuration, personality, and body habitus. In a study of 1,206 individuals where the clinical scores were prospective (i.e., they had been given before the cytogenetic results were known) the percentage of those with the fragile(X) increased from 0.6% of those with scores of 4 or less to 14.6% with scores 5-7 and to 67% of those with scores 8-10. We have found the score simple to use in the circumstances where screening takes place (sheltered workshops and schools) and have reduced the number of individuals tested cytogenetically by 45%.
Drawer Compacted Sand Filter : A new and innovative design for on-site wastewater treatment

In this paper, results of new intermittent sand filter design was presented. Drawer Compacted Sand Filter DCSF is a modified design for sand filter, in which sand layer is broken down into several layers (10 cm each) and placed in a movable drawers separated by 5 cm space each. Lab-scale DCSF was designed and operated in Surrey University's lab for 49 days and fed by synthetic greywater. 30 cm of sand media was placed in three drawers, 10 cm each. 8 cm gravel was placed in the first drawer at the top of the chest. The effective size of sand media and gravel were 0.2 mm, 3 mm, respectively. The organic load was 42780 mg/m 2 . day and hydraulic load was 50L/m 2 . day. Significant reduction in BOD5 and TSS was noticed between drawers 1 and 2, whereas no significant reduction was observed by passing water through all drawers. The study concluded that accommodating sand media in movable drawers and distribute hydraulic load between drawers would minimize the maintenance and space requirements for sand filter. However, this research is a preliminary study and further investigation is currently being done to optimize the system.
The Apert Syndrome Hand: Pathologic Anatomy and Clinical Manifestations

&NA; The Apert syndrome hand demonstrates many typical clinical features including syndactyly, symbrachyphalangism, and growth disturbances. This is due to the grossly abnormal anatomy of both the skeletal and soft‐tissue structures associated with a progressive disease process. This paper presents a clinical, radiologic, and histologic analysis of the Apert syndrome hand anatomy and correlates it with the clinical manifestations. It also links hand and craniofacial dysplasia to other regions of the skeleton as well as the overall disease process. From our analysis, we conclude that there is a genetic anomaly causing variable and uncoordinated differentiation of the mesenchyme at the time of embryologic separation into its various skeletal components, particularly in the distal limb bud and craniofacial skeleton. This disease process continues postnatally in endochondral bone growth center malformation and malfunction as well as ectopic cartilage ossification in soft tissues. We discuss the role of abnormal musculotendinous anatomy and altered biomechanical forces in relation to these processes.