Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Intrinsic Sensitivity of Tumor Cells to Bleomycin as an Indicator of Tumor Response to Electrochemotherapy

Electrochemotherapy (ECT) involves the use of locally applied electric pulses to increase delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs into cells in tissues. ECT with bleomycin (BLM) is a very effective local treatment, but different tumors have different response rates to ECT. The aim of our study was to compare the responsiveness of SA‐1 and EAT tumors to BLM and ECT in vitro and in vivo, in order to find possible reasons for the observed difference in response rate. The difference in sensitivity to ECT in vitro between the SA‐1 and EAT cells was 10‐fold and was the same as the difference in sensitivity to chronic BLM exposure, as measured by tetrazolium‐based colorimetric (MTT) assay. This difference in sensitivity between SA‐1 and EAT to ECT was also reflected in tumor cure rate. A six‐times lower dose of BLM was needed to obtain local tumor control in SA‐1 than in EAT tumors. Therefore, we suggest that the difference in sensitivity to BLM and ECT predominantly reflects the difference in intrinsic sensitivity of the cells to BLM.
Sound Synthesis and Evaluation of Interactive Footsteps and Environmental Sounds Rendering for Virtual Reality Applications

We propose a system that affords real-time sound synthesis of footsteps on different materials. The system is based on microphones, which detect real footstep sounds from subjects, from which the ground reaction force (GRF) is estimated. Such GRF is used to control a sound synthesis engine based on physical models. Two experiments were conducted. In the first experiment, the ability of subjects to recognize the surface they were exposed to was assessed. In the second experiment, the sound synthesis engine was enhanced with environmental sounds. Results show that, in some conditions, adding a soundscape significantly improves the recognition of the simulated environment.
Using an explicit emission tagging method in global modeling of source‐receptor relationships for black carbon in the Arctic: Variations, sources, and transport pathways

We introduce an explicit emission tagging technique in the Community Atmosphere Model to quantify source‐region‐resolved characteristics of black carbon (BC), focusing on the Arctic. Explicit tagging of BC source regions without perturbing the emissions provides a physically consistent and computationally efficient approach to establish source‐receptor relationships and transport pathways. Our analysis shows that the contributions of major source regions to the global BC burden are not proportional to the respective emissions due to strong region‐dependent removal rates and lifetimes, while the contributions to BC direct radiative forcing show a near‐linear dependence on their respective contributions to the burden. Arctic BC concentrations, deposition, and source contributions all have strong seasonal variations. Eastern Asia contributes the most to the wintertime Arctic BC burden, but has much less impact on lower‐level concentrations and deposition. Northern Europe emissions are more important to both surface concentration and deposition in winter than in summer. The largest contribution to Arctic BC in the summer is from Northern Asia. Although local emissions contribute less than 10% to the annual mean BC burden and deposition within the Arctic, the per‐emission efficiency is much higher than for non‐Arctic sources. The interannual variability (1996–2005) due to meteorology is small in annual mean BC burden and radiative forcing but is significant in yearly seasonal means over the Arctic. When a slow aging treatment of BC is introduced, the increase of BC lifetime and burden is source dependent. Global BC forcing‐per‐burden efficiency also increases primarily due to changes in BC vertical distributions.
LESSONS FROM EMOTION PSYCHOLOGY FOR THE DESIGN OF LIFELIKE CHARACTERS

ABSTRACT This special issue describes a number of applications that utilize lifelike characters that teach indirectly, by playing some role in a social interaction with a user. The design of such systems reflects a compromise between competing, sometimes unarticulated, demands: They must realistically exhibit the behaviors and characteristics of their role, they must facilitate the desired learning, and they must work within the limitations of current technology, and there is little theoretical or empirical guidance on the impact of these compromises on learning. Our perspective on this problem is shaped by our interest in the role of emotion and emotional behaviors in such forms of learning. In recent years, there has been an explosion of interest in the role of emotion in the design of virtual humans. The techniques and motivations underlying these various efforts can seem, from an outsider's perspective, as bewildering and multifaceted as the concept of emotion itself is generally accused of being. Drawing on insights from emotion psychology, this article attempts to clarify for the designers of educational agents the various theoretical perspectives on the concept of emotion with the aim of giving guidance to designers of educational agents.
Bulk Organic Matter and Lipid Biomarker Composition of Chesapeake Bay Surficial Sediments as Indicators of Environmental Processes

Seasonal measurements of lipid biomarker (fatty acid and sterol) composition along with organic carbon and nitrogen elemental and stable isotopic signatures were made in surficial sediments collected along the salinity gradient of the Chesapeake Bay mainstem. These data along with water quality information including chlorophyll and dissolved oxygen concentration were used to assess temporal and spatial variations in organic matter (OM) composition and the processes that control its distribution. While the amount of OM in sediments was largely related to sediment surface area and exhibited very little seasonal variability, OM lipid composition was spatially and temporally variable. Principal components analysis (PCA) identified three suites of lipid compounds that encapsulate these elements of variability. The first, representing allochthonous versus autochthonous OM identified the Northern Bay as the major site of terrestrial OM deposition. The greater contribution of terrestrial OM in this region was supported by elemental C:N and stable isotope data. The second was identified as a seasonal component of lipid composition and indicated the deposition of labile, primarily diatom-derived OM in the spring and degradation of this OM through the summer and fall. This component was particularly enriched in Southern Bay sediments relative to other portions of the Bay and varied with tributary water inflow. A third component of OM composition represented microbially-derived OM which, although most abundant in the Mid-Bay, represented the greatest fraction of OM in the Southern Bay. Sediments of the Mid-Bay were particularly enriched in flagellate-derived OM in the summer. Sediment OM composition was not influenced by water-column dissolved oxygen concentration. The combination of lipid biomarkers and PCA proved a more sensitive indicator of sediment OM sources and reactivity than bulk elemental or isotopic data and presents a picture of the estuary as a trap for both allochthonous and autochthonous OM. The high degree of spatial and temporal variability in estuarine sediment OM composition may influence the distribution of benthic communities and the long-term sediment record.
Old River Control Complex sedimentation investigation

Abstract : This report documents an investigation of sediment diversions at the Old River Control Complex (ORCC) conducted for the U. S. Army Engineer District, New Orleans. The investigation was conducted via a combination of field data collection and laboratory analysis, geomorphic assessments, and numerical modeling. The objectives were to determine current rates of sediment diversion, evaluate potential impacts on the stability of the Mississippi River, and identify options to increase sediment diversion rates. As operated since the early 1990s, sediment diversion at the ORCC probably is less efficient than required to maintain channel stability in the Mississippi River downstream of the ORCC. While there is clear evidence of significant channel aggradation in the vicinity of the ORCC, the impacts of ORCC operations on regional sedimentation remain uncertain. Operational alternatives were analyzed that potentially could increase the long-term sediment diversion efficiency at the ORCC. In particular, the investigation found, via a synthesis of field investigations and numerical modeling, that while the auxiliary control structure is the most efficient at diverting bed material from the Mississippi River, the low sill structure is more efficient at delivering bed material to the outfall channel leading to the Atchafalaya River.
An initial analysis of the pixel-level uncertainties in global MODIS cloud optical thickness and effective particle size retrievals

Operational Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) retrievals of cloud optical thickness and effective particle radius employ well-known solar reflectance techniques using pre-calculated reflectance look-up tables. We develop a methodology for evaluating the quantitative uncertainty in simultaneous retrievals of cloud optical thickness and particle size for this type of algorithm and present example results. The technique uses retrieval sensitivity calculations derived from the reflectance look-up tables, coupled with estimates for the effect of various error terms on the uncertainty in inferring the reflectance at cloud-top. The error terms include the effects of the measurements, surface spectral albedos, and atmospheric corrections on both water and ice cloud retrievals. Results will deal exclusively with pixel-level uncertainties associated with plane-parallel clouds; real-world radiative departures from a plane-parallel model are an additional consideration. While we demonstrate the uncertainty technique with operational 1 km MODIS retrievals from the NASA Earth Observing System (EOS) Terra and Aqua satellite platforms, the technique is generally applicable to any reflectance-based satellite- or air-borne sensor retrieval using similar spectral channels.
Heavy Metal Detoxification by Different Bacillus Species Isolated from Solar Salterns

The biosorption mechanism is an alternative for chemical precipitation and ultrafiltration which have been employed to treat heavy metal contamination with a limited success. In the present study, three species of Bacillus which were isolated from solar salterns were screened for their detoxification potential of the heavy metals, lead, chromium, and copper, by biosorption. Biosorption potential of each isolate was determined by Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS), Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES), and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) as the amount of metal present in the medium after the treatment with the isolates. Bacterial isolates, Bacillus licheniformis NSPA5, Bacillus cereus NSPA8, and Bacillus subtilis NSPA13, showed significant level of lead biosorption with maximum of 87–90% by Bacillus cereus NSPA8. The biosorption of copper and chromium was relatively low in comparison with lead. With the obtained results, we have concluded that the bacterial isolates are potential agents to treat metal contamination in more efficient and ecofriendly manner.
Flow resistance in gravel‐bed channels with large‐scale roughness

A previously published mixing length (ML) model for evaluating the Darcy–Weisbach friction factor for a large‐scale roughness condition (depth to sediment height ratio ranging from 1 to 4) is brieﬂy reviewed and modiﬁed (MML). Then the MML model and a modiﬁed drag (MD) model are experimentally tested using laboratory measurements carried out for gravel‐bed channels and large‐scale roughness condition. This analysis showed that the MML gives accurate estimates of the Darcy–Weisbach coefﬁcient and for Froude number values greater than 0·5 the MML model coincides with the ML one. Testing of the MD model shows limited accuracy in estimating ﬂow resistance.
N‐terminal acetylation and protonation of individual hemoglobin subunits: Position‐dependent effects on tetramer strength and cooperativity

The presence of alanine (Ala) or acetyl serine (AcSer) instead of the normal Val residues at the N‐terminals of either the α‐ or the β‐subunits of human adult hemoglobin confers some novel and unexpected features on the protein. Mass spectrometric analysis confirmed that these substitutions were correct and that they were the only ones. Circular dichroism studies indicated no global protein conformational changes, and isoelectric focusing showed the absence of impurities. The presence of Ala at the N‐terminals of the α‐subunits of liganded hemoglobin results in a significantly increased basicity (increased pKa values) and a reduction in the strength of subunit interactions at the allosteric tetramer–dimer interface. Cooperativity in O2 binding is also decreased. Substitution of Ala at the N‐terminals of the β‐subunits gives neither of these effects. The substitution of Ser at the N terminus of either subunit leads to its complete acetylation (during expression) and a large decrease in the strength of the tetramer–dimer allosteric interface. When either Ala or AcSer is present at the N terminus of the α‐subunit, the slope of the plot of the tetramer–dimer association/dissociation constant as a function of pH is decreased by 60%. It is suggested that since the network of interactions involving the N and C termini of the α‐subunits is less extensive than that of the β‐subunits in liganded human hemoglobin disruptions there are likely to have a profound effect on hemoglobin function such as the increased basicity, the effects on tetramer strength, and on cooperativity.
Diffusion imaging of cerebral white matter in persons who stutter: evidence for network-level anomalies

Deficits in brain white matter have been a main focus of recent neuroimaging studies on stuttering. However, no prior study has examined brain connectivity on the global level of the cerebral cortex in persons who stutter (PWS). In the current study, we analyzed the results from probabilistic tractography between regions comprising the cortical speech network. An anatomical parcellation scheme was used to define 28 speech production-related ROIs in each hemisphere. We used network-based statistic (NBS) and graph theory to analyze the connectivity patterns obtained from tractography. At the network-level, the probabilistic corticocortical connectivity from the PWS group were significantly weaker than that from persons with fluent speech (PFS). NBS analysis revealed significant components in the bilateral speech networks with negative correlations with stuttering severity. To facilitate comparison with previous studies, we also performed tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) and regional fractional anisotropy (FA) averaging. Results from tractography, TBSS and regional FA averaging jointly highlight the importance of several regions in the left peri-Rolandic sensorimotor and premotor areas, most notably the left ventral premotor cortex (vPMC) and middle primary motor cortex, in the neuroanatomical basis of stuttering.
Evolution and information

The association between life and information is discussed. Information is considered to be “a stimulus which expands or amends the World View of the informed”. Using this definition, the standard chain of evolutionary development is reconsidered. It is proposed that information was derived from the environment as a direct result of the evolution of organisms that used other organisms as a food source. Only with the evolution of sexual reproduction did it become necessary for organisms to be aware of others of the same species. It is argued that one of the consequences of the evolution of different sexes is that often, prospective mates had to evolve means of communication, making it possible for animals to expand their World Views by other means. Such reinterpretation of evolutionary thinking has numerous implications for the information scientist. Some of these are discussed.
A conserved pattern in plant‐mediated interactions between herbivores

Abstract Plant‐mediated interactions between herbivores are important determinants of community structure and plant performance in natural and agricultural systems. Current research suggests that the outcome of the interactions is determined by herbivore and plant identity, which may result in stochastic patterns that impede adaptive evolution and agricultural exploitation. However, few studies have systemically investigated specificity versus general patterns in a given plant system by varying the identity of all involved players. We investigated the influence of herbivore identity and plant genotype on the interaction between leaf‐chewing and root‐feeding herbivores in maize using a partial factorial design. We assessed the influence of leaf induction by oral secretions of six different chewing herbivores on the response of nine different maize genotypes and three different root feeders. Contrary to our expectations, we found a highly conserved pattern across all three dimensions of specificity: The majority of leaf herbivores elicited a negative behavioral response from the different root feeders in the large majority of tested plant genotypes. No facilitation was observed in any of the treatment combinations. However, the oral secretions of one leaf feeder and the responses of two maize genotypes did not elicit a response from a root‐feeding herbivore. Together, these results suggest that plant‐mediated interactions in the investigated system follow a general pattern, but that a degree of specificity is nevertheless present. Our study shows that within a given plant species, plant‐mediated interactions between herbivores of the same feeding guild can be stable. This stability opens up the possibility of adaptations by associated organisms and suggests that plant‐mediated interactions may contribute more strongly to evolutionary dynamics in terrestrial (agro)ecosystems than previously assumed.
Petrography, Geochemistry, and Origin of Burial Diagenetic Facies, Siluro-Devonian Helderberg Group (Carbonate Rocks), Central Appalachians

Petrographic and geochemical studies of pore-filling cements and replacement products in the Helderberg Group (Upper Silurian-Lower Devonian, central Appalachians) document the diagenetic history of these rocks. Shallow-ramp skeletal limestones and buildups were partially lithified by marine cements. However, most pore-filling cement formed under shallow (<300 m) to deep burial (300-4,000 m) conditions. Regional cathodoluminescent zonation patterns in early, calcite cements indicate meteoric ground waters were involved in shallow burial cementation. Early zoned calcite cements consist of updip nonluminescent cements with thin luminescent laminae in limestone or sandstone, that pass downdip into subzoned dull cements (interlayered bright and dull laminae), and then into nonzoned dull cement in basinward limestone. The regional distribution, stable isotopic compositions, and timing of early zoned cements relative to other diagenetic events suggest that all of the early cements formed synchronously from meteoric ground waters that became progressively more reducing as they flowed downdip (at least 150 km). Helderberg sandstone tongues probably were preferential conduits for meteoric gro nd waters because early calcite cements formed only on scattered skeletal grains in sandstones. Late, void-filling dull cement formed from deep burial pore fluids at burial depths of 300 to 4,000 m. Deep burial pore fluids were dilute to saline Na-Ca-Cl brines (from primary fluid inclusion data) with stable isotopic compositions that probably were similar to isotopic compositions of formation waters from modern oil fields. Void-filling dull calcite cements occluded nearly all remaining porosity before late Paleozoic fracturing and deformation. Latest diagenetic phases include dolomite, fluorite, silica, and fracture-filling dull calcite. This study shows that integrated petrographic and geochemical approaches to diagenetic studies are useful for relating various diagenetic phases and fabrics to burial history and paleoaquifer distribution.
Characterization of the human visual V6 complex by functional magnetic resonance imaging

Magnetoencephalography of a visual area along the human parieto‐occipital sulcus suggested that this region represents the human homologue of the monkey visual area V6 complex (visual area V6/visuomotor area V6A) involved in the integration of visual and somatomotor information. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging at 2.0 T and 2 × 2 × 3 mm3 resolution (16 sections) to characterize visual areas along the parieto‐occipital sulcus in five healthy human subjects. Paradigms comprised a full‐field checkerboard stimulation, a full‐field luminance flicker as well as a foveal and peripheral luminance flicker using both a direct and differential design for comparing functional states. Along the parieto‐occipital sulcus, and in contrast to primary visual areas, luminance stimulation evoked much larger activation volumes than checkerboard stimulation. Moreover, based on anatomic landmarks, luminance stimulation identified two functionally distinct regions of parieto‐occipital sulcus activations: an inferior part (supposedly visual area V6) and a superior portion (supposedly visuomotor area V6A). With these assignments, foveal vs. peripheral luminance stimulation revealed a weaker foveal overrepresentation in visual area V6/visuomotor area V6A than in early visual areas, and only a mild tendency for a retinotopic organization in visual area V6. Further analyses of the functional coding of the human visual area V6 complex require functional magnetic resonance imaging at even higher spatial resolution.
An Oriented-Group Supporting Multi-user Public Auditing for Data Sharing

Cloud computing is a kind of internet-based computing, it outstanding property is on-demand computing. As an important service, cloud storage is able to provide users and enterprises with various capabilities to store and access their data in the centers. It relies on sharing of resources to achieve coherence and economies of scale. However, in most of data sharing protocols, to update the outsourced data, the data updating operation is only executed by data owner. Obviously, it is far from practical due to the tremendous computational cost on data owner. To support multi-user modification, we propose a novel public auditing for data sharing with multi-user modification by using ring signature in this paper. Our scheme does not only support public checking and efficient user revocation, but provide backward security. Efficiency analysis shows that our scheme is very efficient.
Derived Arithmetic Fuchsian Groups of Genus Two

We classify all cocompact torsion-free derived arithmetic Fuchsian groups of genus two by commensurability class. In particular, we show that there exist no such groups arising from quaternion algebras over number fields of degree greater than 5. We also prove some results on the existence and form of maximal orders for a class of quaternion algebras related to these groups. Using these results in conjunction with a computer program, one can determine an explicit set of generators for each derived arithmetic Fuchsian group containing a torsionfree subgroup of genus two. We show this for a number of examples.