Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Study of Third Order Optical Nonlinearity in DASPB Dye-Doped Polymer Films Using CW Laser

The optimum self-focussing materials with an intensity-dependent refractive index and the realization of the ability of these materials to produce intensity dependent phase shift in all-optical photonic devices have become a topic of continuous investigation. Many organic materials including dye-doped polymer films are creating interest due to their advantages in terms of enhanced efficiency, and optimum mechanical properties to fabricate reliable devices. In this paper, we have studied the nonlinear optical properties like nonlinear absorption and nonlinear refraction of a two-photon fluorescent dye DASPB doped in Polymethyl methacrylate-methacrylic acid (PMMA-MA) polymer matrix using open aperture and closed aperture Z-scan experimental methods by means of low power continuous wave (CW) laser beam. The optical limiting properties of these films are also studied using Type 1 and Type 2 configurations at different input powers using continuous wave (CW) laser beams of 532 nm wavelength. The nonlinear refractive index n2, nonlinear absorption coefficient β, changes in refractive index with input intensity, and the magnitude of third-order optical nonlinearity of the dye-doped film are experimentally determined. The saturated output power for type 1 and type 2 optical limiting are determined. The input limiting threshold and saturated output power level for both type 1 and type 2 optical limiting configurations are recorded. DASPB dye-doped in PMMA-MA polymer film has shown saturation absorption at lower input irradiance and reverse saturation absorption along with two-photon absorption at higher input irradiance and hence found to be a potential candidate for the third harmonic property based photonic devices.
Observer Agreement in Evaluating Coronary Angiograms

The reliability of interpretation of coronary arteriography as a diagnostic tool was investigated in a sub study of the VA Cooperative Study of Surgical Treatment for Coronary Arterial Occlusive Disease. Twenty two physicians with varying levels of experience read 13 cine angiograms — blind — on two different oc casions. Analysis of inter- and intraobserver variability showed that angiographic items about which observers were most inconsistent from one reading to the other had the largest interobserver disagreement as well. They were the distal portions of the left anterior descending and left circumflex arteries. Among the items on which there was most consistent agreement — namely, the right main coronary artery and presence of ven tricular aneurysm — there was most often agreement between observers as well. When individual readers were evaluated, some observers were far more consistent in their own readings of all the angiographic items than others. This intraobserver agreement in turn correlated fairly well with how often they agreed with the other observers and with how much experience they reported having in reading coronary cineangiograms.
What determines altocumulus dissipation time

[1] This paper asks what factors influence the dissipation time of altocumulus clouds. The question is addressed using three-dimensional, large-eddy simulations of a thin, midlevel cloud that was observed by aircraft. The cloud might be aptly described as “altostratocumulus” because it was overcast and contained radiatively driven turbulence. The simulations are used to construct a budget equation of cloud water. This equation allows one to directly compare the four processes that diminish liquid: diffusional growth of ice crystals, large-scale subsidence, radiative heating, and turbulent mixing of dry air into the cloud. Various sensitivity studies are used to find the “equivalent sensitivity” of cloud decay time to changes in various parameters. A change from no sunlight to direct overhead sunlight decreases the lifetime of our simulated cloud as much as increasing subsidence by 1.2 cm s−1, increasing ice number concentration by 780 m−3, or decreasing above-cloud total water mixing ratio by 0.60 g kg−1. Finally, interactions among the terms in the cloud water budget are summarized in a “budget term feedback matrix. ” It is able to diagnose, for instance, that in our particular simulations, the diffusional growth of ice is a negative feedback.
Kinetic evaluation in nonhuman primates of two new PET ligands for peripheral benzodiazepine receptors in brain

Peripheral benzodiazepine receptors (PBRs) are upregulated on activated microglia and are, thereby, biomarkers of cellular inflammation in brain. We recently developed two PET ligands with an aryloxyanilide structure to image PBRs and now evaluate the kinetics of these radiotracers in monkey to determine whether they are suitable to explore in human. Baseline and receptor‐blocking scans were performed with [11C]PBR01 and [18F]PBR06 in conjunction with serial measurements of the arterial plasma concentration of parent radiotracer separated from radiometabolite. We used brain and plasma data with compartmental modeling to calculate regional brain distribution volume, which is equal to the ratio at equilibrium of the concentration of radioligand in brain to that of plasma. The distribution volume of [11C]PBR01 was inaccurately estimated in the baseline scans, possibly because of the short half‐life of 11C or the presence of radiometabolite in brain. In contrast, the distribution volume of [18F]PBR06 was stably determined within 200 min of scanning, and nondisplaceable uptake was only ∼10% of total brain uptake. [18F]PBR06 is promising for use in human because brain activity could be quantified with standard compartmental models and showed higher ratios (∼10:1) of specific to nonspecific uptake. A critical factor for human use will be whether the tracer has adequately fast wash out from brain relative to the half‐life of the radionuclide to obtain stable values of distribution volume. Synapse 61:595–605, 2007. Published 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Pegylated liposomal doxorubicin plus highly active antiretroviral therapy versus highly active antiretroviral therapy alone in HIV patients with Kaposi's sarcoma

Twenty-eight HIV patients either naive or failing highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART)with moderate-advanced Kaposi's sarcoma (KS)were randomly chosen to initiate a new HAART regimen plus pegylated liposomal doxorubicin(PLD) or the new HAART regimen alone. After 48 weeks, better response rates were observed in the HAART plus PLD group (76% versus 20%). In HIV-infected patients with moderate-advanced KS, HAART alone may not be enough for KS response.
Antihypertensive Effect of a 5‐Day Infusion of Atrial Natriuretic Factor in Humans

Atrial natriuretic factor was infused in a low dose (0.2 μg/min) during 5 days in six patients with essential hypertension. Atrial natriuretic factor infusion caused plasma levels of atrial natriuretic factor to increase from 49±10 to 106±19 pg/ml. Within 4 hours after the start of the atrial natriuretic factor infusion, urinary sodium excretion increased hi all subjects. Sodium balance was regained after 24 hours with a net loss of 72.3±14.6 mmol. However, systolic as well as diastolic blood pressure started to decrease gradually in all subjects only after 12 hours of atrial natriuretic factor infusion, reaching a stable level after 36 hours with a decrease of 11.5±1.5% and 10.3±0.8%, respectively. Heart rate increased in parallel by 12.6±3.1%. Hematocrit rose 7.1±2.3%. After cessation of atrial natriuretic factor infusion, plasma atrial natriuretic factor levels, sodium balance, and hematocrit returned to baseline within 24 hours, whereas blood pressure slowly returned toward baseline values over 3 days. These data show that chronic atrial natriuretic factor infusion in patients with essential hypertension causes a negative sodium balance and a rise in hematocrit, followed by a smooth decrease in blood pressure with a rise in heart rate until a new equilibrium is reached after approximately 2 days. Thus, atrial natriuretic factor in low doses appears intimately involved in the regulation of sodium balance and blood pressure in humans. Moreover, these data suggest that atrial natriuretic factor-like substances will eventually become useful antihypertensive drugs.
U N I V E R S I T Y OF

Randomized search heuristics like evolutionary algorithms and simulated annealing ﬁnd many applications, especially in situations where no full information on the problem instance is available. In order to understand how these heuristics work, it is necessary to analyze their behavior on classes of functions. Such an analysis is performed here for the class of monotone pseudo-boolean polynomials. Results depending on the degree and the number of terms of the polynomial are obtained. The class of monotone polynomials is of special interest since simple functions of this kind can have an image set of exponential size, improvements can increase the Hamming distance to the optimum and in order to ﬁnd a better search point, it can be necessary to search within a large plateau of search points with the same ﬁtness value.
Effects of Aliskiren on Stroke in Rats Expressing Human Renin and Angiotensinogen Genes

Objective Pre-treatment with angiotensin receptor blockers is known to improve neurological outcome after stroke. This study investigated for the first time, whether the renin inhibitor aliskiren has similar neuroprotective effects. Methods Since aliskiren specifically blocks human renin, double transgenic rats expressing human renin and angiotensinogen genes were used. To achieve a systolic blood pressure of 150 or 130 mmHg animals were treated with aliskiren (7.5 or 12.5 mg/kg*d) or candesartan (1.5 or 10 mg/kg*d) via osmotic minipump starting five days before middle cerebral artery occlusion with reperfusion. Infarct size was determined by magnetic resonance imaging. mRNA of inflammatory marker genes was studied in different brain regions. Results The mortality of 33.3% (7 of 21 animals) in the vehicle group was reduced to below 10% by treatment with candesartan or aliskiren (p<0.05). Aliskiren-treated animals had a better neurological outcome 7 days post-ischemia, compared to candesartan (Garcia scale: 9.9±0.7 vs. 7.3±0.7; p<0.05). The reduction of infarct size in the aliskiren group did not reach statistical significance compared to candesartan and vehicle (24 h post-ischemia: 314±81 vs. 377±70 and 403±70 mm3 respectively). Only aliskiren was able to significantly reduce stroke-induced gene expression of CXC chemokine ligand 1, interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha in the ischemic core. Conclusions Head-to-head comparison suggests that treatment with aliskiren before and during cerebral ischemia is at least as effective as candesartan in double transgenic rats. The improved neurological outcome in the aliskiren group was blood pressure independent. Whether this effect is due to primary anti-inflammatory mechanisms has to be investigated further.
A review of predictability studies of Atlantic sector climate on decadal time scales

This review paper discusses the physical basis and the potential for decadal climate predictability over the Atlantic and its adjacent land areas. Many observational and modeling studies describe pronounced decadal and multidecadal variability in the Atlantic Ocean. However, it still needs to be quantified to which extent the variations in the ocean drive variations in the atmosphere and over land. In particular, although a clear impact of the Tropics on the midlatitudes has been demonstrated, it is unclear if and how the extratropical atmosphere responds to midlatitudinal sea surface temperature anomalies. Although the mechanisms behind the decadal to multidecadal variability in the Atlantic sector are still controversial, there is some consensus that some of the longer-term multidecadal variability is driven by variations in the thermohaline circulation. The variations in the North Atlantic thermohaline circulation appear to be predictable one to two decades ahead, as shown by a number of perfect model predictability experiments. The next few decades will be dominated by these multidecadal variations, although the effects of anthropogenic climate change are likely to introduce trends. Some impact of the variations of the thermohaline circulation on the atmosphere has been demonstrated in some studies so that useful decadal predictions with economic benefit may be possible.
The Neural Basis for Spatial Relations

Studies in semantics traditionally focus on knowledge of objects. By contrast, less is known about how objects relate to each other. In an fMRI study, we tested the hypothesis that the neural processing of categorical spatial relations between objects is distinct from the processing of the identity of objects. Attending to the categorical spatial relations compared with attending to the identity of objects resulted in greater activity in superior and inferior parietal cortices (especially on the left) and posterior middle frontal cortices bilaterally. In an accompanying lesion study, we tested the hypothesis that comparable areas would be necessary to represent categorical spatial relations and that the hemispheres differ in their biases to process categorical or coordinate spatial relations. Voxel-based lesion symptom mapping results were consistent with the fMRI observations. Damage to a network comprising left inferior frontal, supramarginal, and angular gyri resulted in behavioral impairment on categorical spatial judgments. Homologous right brain damage also produced such deficits, albeit less severely. The reverse pattern was observed for coordinate spatial processing. Right brain damage to the middle temporal gyrus produced more severe deficits than left hemisphere damage. Additional analyses suggested that some areas process both kinds of spatial relations conjointly and others distinctly. The left angular and inferior frontal gyrus processes coordinate spatial information over and above the categorical processing. The anterior superior temporal gyrus appears to process categorical spatial information uniquely. No areas within the right hemisphere processed categorical spatial information uniquely. Taken together, these findings suggest that the functional neuroanatomy of categorical and coordinate processing is more nuanced than implied by a simple hemispheric dichotomy.
Phylogenetic and Biological Characterization of Newcastle Disease Virus Isolates from Pakistan

ABSTRACT Eight Newcastle disease virus isolates from Pakistan were sequenced and characterized. A PCR matrix gene assay, designed to detect all avian paramyxovirus 1, did not detect four of the isolates. A new matrix gene test that detected all isolates was developed. Phylogenetic analysis and pathotyping confirmed that virulent viruses of different genotypes are circulating in Pakistan.
Manipulation of Regulatory Cells’ Responses to Treatments for Chronic Hepatitis B Virus Infection

Background Identification of effective treatments in hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains a controversial topic. Although the currently approved drugs for HBV control the disease’s progression and also limit associated outcomes, these drugs may not fully eradicate HBV infection. In addition to better managing patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) infection, the induction of seroclearance by these drugs has been a commonly discussed topic in recent years. Objectives In this study, we focused on treating CHB infection via the manipulation of T cells’ responses to identify possible approaches to cure CHB. Materials and Methods All studies relevant to the role of cellular and humoral responses in HBV infection (especially regulatory cells) were investigated via a systematic search of different databases, including PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar. Considering extracted data and also our unpublished data regarding the association between regulatory cytokines and CHB, we introduced a novel approach for the induction of seroclearance. Results Considering the increased levels of regulatory cytokines and also regulatory T cells (Tregs) during CHB, it seems that these cells are deeply involved in CHB infection. The inhibition of regulatory T cells may reverse the dysfunction of effector T cells in patients with CHB infection. In order to inhibit Tregs’ responses, different types of approaches could be employed to restore the impaired function of effector T cells. The blockade of IL-10, IL-35, CTLA-4, PD-1, and TIM-3 were discussed throughout this study. Regardless of the efficacy of these methods, CHB patients may experience serious liver injuries due to the cytotoxic action of CD8+ T cells. Antiviral therapy and a decrease in HBV DNA to undetectable levels could also significantly reduce the risk of the hepatitis B flare. Conclusions The inhibition of Tregs is a novel therapeutic approach to cure chronically HBV infected patients. However, further studies are needed to investigate the safety and efficacy of this approach.
Incidence of chemotherapy-induced amenorrhea depending on the timing of treatment by menstrual cycle phase in women with early breast cancer.

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to characterize the factors associated with chemotherapy-induced amenorrhea (CIA) and to examine whether the phase of the menstrual cycle at chemotherapy start could affect the rate of CIA in premenopausal women with early breast cancer. METHODS CIA was defined as the cessation of menses for at least 3 months during or after chemotherapy. Menstrual phase was defined as days 1-6, follicular phase as days 7-14, luteal phase as days 15-20 and premenstrual phase as days 21-28. Univariate and multivariate predictors of CIA were examined. RESULTS Among 111 premenopausal women, univariate analysis showed a higher incidence of CIA in patients treated in the follicular phase rather than in other menstrual cycle phases (67.6% compared with 45.5%; P=0.03). The rate of CIA increased with age: 65.2% and 45.8% in patients aged >42 and </=42 years, respectively (P=0.05). Upon multivariate analysis these differences remained statistically significant and duration of chemotherapy of more than six cycles correlated significantly with the incidence of CIA (P=0.03). CONCLUSIONS The major implication of this analysis is that the timing of treatment within the menstrual cycle may potentially modulate the onset of CIA. This work and its future confirmation using prospective randomized trials would be useful in predicting the likelihood of CIA and in counseling breast cancer patients, especially those with a good prognosis who benefit less from chemical castration.
Acceptance and adoption of the innovative use of smartphone

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to investigate human motivations affecting an adoption decision for smartphone among medical doctors and nurses.Design/methodology/approach – This study investigates smartphone users' perception based on users' perceived adoption under the self‐efficacy, technology acceptance model (TAM) and innovation attributes leading to an adoption attitude under innovation diffusion theory by providing research constructs for the domain of medical doctors and nurses, testing them with reliability and validity, and demonstrating their distinctiveness with hypothesis testing.Findings – The results indicate that behavioral intention to use was largely influenced by perceived usefulness (PU) and attitude toward using smartphone. PU and perceived ease of use positively determine attitude toward using smartphone.Research limitations/implications – For researchers, this study shows the possible and valuable adaptation of TAM constructs into the smartphone acceptance of doctors and nurs.
Semen activates the female immune response during early pregnancy in mice

Insemination elicits inflammatory changes in female reproductive tissues, but whether this results in immunological priming to paternal antigens or influences pregnancy outcome is not clear. We have evaluated indices of lymphocyte activation in lymph nodes draining the uterus following allogeneic mating in mice and have investigated the significance of sperm and plasma constituents of semen in the response. At 4 days after mating, there was a 1ḃ7‐fold increase in the cellularity of the para‐aortic lymph node (PALN) compared with virgin controls. PALN lymphocytes were principally T and B lymphocytes, with smaller populations of CD3+ B220lo, NK1.1+ CD3– (NK) and NK1.1+ CD3+ (NKT) cells. CD69 expression indicative of activation was increased after mating and was most evident in CD3+ and NK1.1+ cells. Synthesis of cytokines including interleukin‐2, interleukin‐4 and interferon‐γ was elevated in CD3+ PALN cells after exposure to semen, as assessed by intracellular cytokine fluorescence‐activated cell sorting, immunohistochemistry and quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. Matings with vasectomized males indicated that the lymphocyte activation occurs independently of sperm. However, in contrast, males from which seminal vesicle glands were surgically removed failed to stimulate PALN cell proliferation or cytokine synthesis. Adoptive transfer experiments using radiolabelled lymphocytes from mated mice showed that lymphocytes activated at insemination home to embryo implantation sites in the uterus as well as other mucosal tissues and lymph nodes. These findings indicate that activation and expansion of female lymphocyte populations occurs after mating, and is triggered by constituents of seminal plasma derived from the seminal vesicle glands. Moreover, lymphocytes activated at insemination may help mediate maternal tolerance of the conceptus in the implantation site.
Extended report: Autoantibodies to citrullinated proteins induce joint pain independent of inflammation via a chemokine-dependent mechanism

Objective An interesting and so far unexplained feature of chronic pain in autoimmune disease is the frequent disconnect between pain and inflammation. This is illustrated well in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) where pain in joints (arthralgia) may precede joint inflammation and persist even after successful anti-inflammatory treatment. In the present study, we have addressed the possibility that autoantibodies against citrullinated proteins (ACPA), present in RA, may be directly responsible for the induction of pain, independent of inflammation.
Chemokine Signaling during Midline Epithelial Seam Disintegration Facilitates Palatal Fusion

Disintegration of the midline epithelial seam (MES) is crucial for palatal fusion, and failure results in cleft palate. Palatal fusion and wound repair share many common signaling pathways related to epithelial-mesenchymal cross-talk. We postulate that chemokine CXCL11, its receptor CXCR3, and the cytoprotective enzyme heme oxygenase (HO), which are crucial during wound repair, also play a decisive role in MES disintegration. Fetal growth restriction and craniofacial abnormalities were present in HO-2 knockout (KO) mice without effects on palatal fusion. CXCL11 and CXCR3 were highly expressed in the disintegrating MES in both wild-type and HO-2 KO animals. Multiple apoptotic DNA fragments were present within the disintegrating MES and phagocytized by recruited CXCR3-positive wt and HO-2 KO macrophages. Macrophages located near the MES were HO-1-positive, and more HO-1-positive cells were present in HO-2 KO mice compared to wild-type. This study of embryonic and palatal development provided evidence that supports the hypothesis that the MES itself plays a prominent role in palatal fusion by orchestrating epithelial apoptosis and macrophage recruitment via CXCL11-CXCR3 signaling.