Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Working in a radioactive zone, two scientists learn tough lessons about politics, bias and the challenges of doing good science

T he summer of 1994 was our first season together in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, a region within a 30-kilometer radius of the Cher-nobyl Nuclear Power Plant. We were there to investigate the long-term biological effects of ionizing radiation following the catastrophic explosion and fire at reactor number four on April 26, 1986, which released plumes of radionu-clides that spread across Europe. We were only 2 kilometers from the defunct power plant, and the area was still so radioactive that our Geiger counters were perpetually abuzz. Although the " Zone " was now nearly deserted—more than 135,000 people had been evacuated from the region—we were amazed by the diversity of mammals living in the shadow of the ruined reactor only eight years after the meltdown. The odd juxtaposition was eerily reminiscent of one of the creepier Twilight Zone episodes. We were in an area known as the " red forest , " so named from the predominant hue of the trees, which had been discolored in death by the radiation. All the pine trees were dead; only birches remained. During our excursion through the woods, we trapped some of the local mice for examination in a makeshift laboratory. We were surprised to find that although each mouse registered unprecedented levels of radiation in its bones and muscles, all the animals seemed physically normal, and many of the females were carrying normal-looking embryos. This was true for pretty much every creature we examined—highly radioactive, but physically normal. It was the first of many revelations. We have now spent 12 years trying to sort out the effects of a radioactive environment on the local wildlife. We have performed a variety of experiments in the Zone. In one of our earliest studies, we found that the resident mouse population did not have any obvious chromo-somal damage. We wondered whether the absence of injury could be explained by some sort of adaptive change, perhaps a more efficient DNA-repair mechanism, after many prior generations of exposure to radiation. But when we transplanted wild mice from uncontaminated regions into cages in the red forest and then examined their chromosomes, they were likewise unaffected by the radiation. In at least this respect, the mice seemed to have a natural " immunity " to harm from radiation. We repeated the cage experiments with Big Blue transgenic mice—which carry a gene that glows " blue " if it undergoes …
Central nervous system processing of emotions in children with faecal incontinence

Aim: Faecal incontinence (FI) is a common disorder involving both the enteric (ENS) and central nervous systems (CNS). The aim of the study is to analyze neurophysiologically the central processing of emotions in children with FI, healthy controls and children with Attention‐deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Variational Boosting: Iteratively Refining Posterior Approximations

We propose a black-box variational inference method to approximate intractable distributions with an increasingly rich approximating class. Our method, termed variational boosting, iteratively refines an existing variational approximation by solving a sequence of optimization problems, allowing the practitioner to trade computation time for accuracy. We show how to expand the variational approximating class by incorporating additional covariance structure and by introducing new components to form a mixture. We apply variational boosting to synthetic and real statistical models, and show that resulting posterior inferences compare favorably to existing posterior approximation algorithms in both accuracy and efficiency.
N-acetylcysteine, a glutamate modulator, in the treatment of trichotillomania: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

CONTEXT Trichotillomania is characterized by repetitive hair pulling that causes noticeable hair loss. Data on the pharmacologic treatment of trichotillomania are limited to conflicting studies of serotonergic medications. N-acetylcysteine, an amino acid, seems to restore the extracellular glutamate concentration in the nucleus accumbens and, therefore, offers promise in the reduction of compulsive behavior. OBJECTIVE To determine the efficacy and tolerability of N-acetylcysteine in adults with trichotillomania. DESIGN Twelve-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. SETTING Ambulatory care center. PATIENTS Fifty individuals with trichotillomania (45 women and 5 men; mean [SD] age, 34.3 [12.1] years). INTERVENTIONS N-acetylcysteine (dosing range, 1200-2400 mg/d) or placebo was administered for 12 weeks. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Patients were assessed using the Massachusetts General Hospital Hair Pulling Scale, the Clinical Global Impression scale, the Psychiatric Institute Trichotillomania Scale, and measures of depression, anxiety, and psychosocial functioning. Outcomes were examined using analysis of variance modeling analyses and linear regression in an intention-to-treat population. RESULTS Patients assigned to receive N-acetylcysteine had significantly greater reductions in hair-pulling symptoms as measured using the Massachusetts General Hospital Hair Pulling Scale (P < .001) and the Psychiatric Institute Trichotillomania Scale (P = .001). Fifty-six percent of patients "much or very much improved" with N-acetylcysteine use compared with 16% taking placebo (P = .003). Significant improvement was initially noted after 9 weeks of treatment. CONCLUSIONS This study, the first to our knowledge that examines the efficacy of a glutamatergic agent in the treatment of trichotillomania, found that N-acetylcysteine demonstrated statistically significant reductions in trichotillomania symptoms. No adverse events occurred in the N-acetylcysteine group, and N-acetylcysteine was well tolerated. Pharmacologic modulation of the glutamate system may prove to be useful in the control of a range of compulsive behaviors. TRIAL REGISTRATION clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00354770.
Annoyed Users: Ads and Ad-Block Usage in the Wild

Content and services which are offered for free on the Internet are primarily monetized through online advertisement. This business model relies on the implicit agreement between content providers and users where viewing ads is the price for the "free" content. This status quo is not acceptable to all users, however, as manifested by the rise of ad-blocking plugins which are available for all popular Web browsers. Indeed, ad-blockers have the potential to substantially disrupt the widely established business model of "free" content, currently one of the core elements on which the Web is built. In this work, we shed light on how users interact with ads. We show how to leverage the functionality of AdBlock Plus, one of the most popular ad-blockers to identify ad traffic from passive network measurements. We complement previous work, which focuses on active measurements, by characterizing ad-traffic in the wild, i.e., as seen in a residential broadband network of a major European ISP. Finally, we assess the prevalence of ad-blockers in this particular network and discuss possible implications for content providers and ISPs.
Development of review criteria for assessing the quality of management of stable angina, adult asthma, and non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus in general practice.

OBJECTIVE: To develop review criteria to assess the quality of care for three major chronic diseases: adult asthma, stable angina, and non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Modified panel process based upon the RAND/UCLA (University College of Los Angeles) appropriateness method. Three multiprofessional panels made up of general practitioners, hospital specialists, and practice nurses. RESULTS: The RAND/UCLA appropriateness method of augmenting evidence with expert opinion was used to develop criteria for the care of the three conditions. Of those aspects of care which were rated as necessary by the panels, only 26% (16% asthma, 10% non-insulin dependent diabetes, 40% angina) were subsequently rated by the panels as being based on strong scientific evidence. CONCLUSION: The results show the importance of a systematic approach to combining evidence with expert opinion to develop review criteria for assessing the quality of three chronic diseases in general practice. The evidence base for the criteria was often incomplete, and explicit methods need to be used to combine evidence with expert opinion where evidence is not available.
The Difference in Prognostic Factors between Early Recurrence and Late Recurrence in Estrogen Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer: Nodal Stage Differently Impacts Early and Late Recurrence

Background Probability of recurrence in patients with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer remains constant for long periods. We compared tumor burden impact on late versus early recurrence in our cohort with long-term follow-up. Methods Five hundred and ninety five patients diagnosed with ER-positive breast cancer between 1989 and 2001 were classified into three groups: early recurrence within 5 years, late recurrence after 5 years, and no recurrence. We identified prognostic factors among the groups using logistic regression analysis. Results At median follow-up of 11.7 years, among 595 ER-positive women, 98 (16.4%) had early recurrence and 58 (9.7%) had late recurrence. On multivariate analysis, higher nodal stage (N0 vs. N2, odds ratio [OR] 3.189; N0 vs. N3, OR 9.948), higher histologic grade (grade 1 vs. grade 2, OR 3.896; grade 1 vs. grade 3, OR 5.945), age >35 years (OR 0.295), and receiving endocrine therapy (OR 0.293) affected early recurrence. Compared to no recurrence, receiving endocrine therapy (OR 0.285) was solely related to decreased risk of late recurrence. Increased risk of early recurrence was noted with the higher nodal stage when early and no recurrences were compared. This phenomenon was not found in late recurrence. In the last comparison between the early and late recurrence, higher nodal stage (N0 vs. N3, OR 16.779) and higher histologic grade (grade 1 vs. grade 3, OR 18.111) repeatedly weighted for early recurrence. Conclusions Nodal burden had an attenuated influence on late recurrence, which suggests that, unlike early recurrence, tumor biology might have a more important role than tumor load for late recurrence in ER-positive disease.
X-ray emission spectroscopy investigation of Cu nanoclusters embedded in a C 60 fullerene matrix

The Cu (3d-4s M 2p 3/2 ) L f X-ray emission band has been measured in Cu nanoclusters, present in a series of Cu/C 60 thin-film nanostructures. In comparison with bulk Cu, a negative shift and a narrowing of the L f band have been noticed. These observations are mainly attributed to a size effect but charge transfer from metal to C 60 occurring at interfaces and causing a depletion of the Cu 3d band is also considered.
Error Analysis of Clay-Rock Water Content Estimation with Broadband High-Frequency Electromagnetic Sensors—Air Gap Effect

Broadband electromagnetic frequency or time domain sensor techniques present high potential for quantitative water content monitoring in porous media. Prior to in situ application, the impact of the relationship between the broadband electromagnetic properties of the porous material (clay-rock) and the water content on the frequency or time domain sensor response is required. For this purpose, dielectric properties of intact clay rock samples experimental determined in the frequency range from 1 MHz to 10 GHz were used as input data in 3-D numerical frequency domain finite element field calculations to model the one port broadband frequency or time domain transfer function for a three rods based sensor embedded in the clay-rock. The sensor response in terms of the reflection factor was analyzed in time domain with classical travel time analysis in combination with an empirical model according to Topp equation, as well as the theoretical Lichtenecker and Rother model (LRM) to estimate the volumetric water content. The mixture equation considering the appropriate porosity of the investigated material provide a practical and efficient approach for water content estimation based on classical travel time analysis with the onset-method. The inflection method is not recommended for water content estimation in electrical dispersive and absorptive material. Moreover, the results clearly indicate that effects due to coupling of the sensor to the material cannot be neglected. Coupling problems caused by an air gap lead to dramatic effects on water content estimation, even for submillimeter gaps. Thus, the quantitative determination of the in situ water content requires careful sensor installation in order to reach a perfect probe clay rock coupling.
Increased Independence and Decreased Vertigo after Vestibular Rehabilitation

OBJECTIVE: We sought to determine the effectiveness in decreasing some symptoms, such as vertigo, and increasing performance of daily life skills after vestibular rehabilitation. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: Patients who had chronic vertigo due to peripheral vestibular impairments were seen at a tertiary care center. They were referred for vestibular rehabilitation and were assessed on vertigo intensity and frequency with the use of the Vertigo Symptom Scale, the Vertigo Handicap Questionnaire, the Vestibular Disorders Activities of Daily Living Scale, and the Dizziness Handicap Inventory. They were then randomly assigned to 1 of 3 home program treatment groups. RESULTS: Vertigo decreased and independence in activities of daily living improved significantly. Improvement was not affected by age, gender, or history of vertigo. CONCLUSION: For many patients a simple home program of vestibular habituation head movement exercises is related to reduction in symptoms and increasing independence in activities of daily living.
Analysis of the Load-Deformation Behaviour and Debonding for FRP-Strengthened Concrete Structures

Results from nonlinear finite element analyses of fibre reinforced polymer (FRP)-strengthened concrete beams and slabs are presented. The direct shear test, a basic application that provides insight into FRP-concrete interfacial behaviour, is also considered. The motivation for this work is the fact that, although there is a large amount of experimental data available on the FRP strengthening of concrete structures, a full understanding of the various load–deformation behaviours and debonding phenomenon is still lacking. The numerical models presented in this paper adopt a displacement-controlled solution and are capable of simulating FRP-strengthened beams either in shear or in flexure, as well as slabs strengthened using either passive or prestressed FRP laminates. Results of the different applications are presented and compared with published test data, and a very good agreement in terms of the ultimate load carrying capacities, load–deflection behaviour and modes of failure, is obtained.
Antinociceptive and Hypothermic Effects of Salvinorin A Are Abolished in a Novel Strain of κ-Opioid Receptor-1 Knockout Mice

Salvia divinorum is a natural occurring hallucinogen that is traditionally used by the Mazatec Indians of central Mexico. The diterpene salvinorin A was identified as an active component of S. divinorum over 20 years ago, but only recently has biochemical screening indicated that a molecular target of salvinorin A in vitro is the κ-opioid receptor. We have examined whether salvinorin A, the C2-substituted derivative salvinorinyl-2-propionate, and salvinorin B can act as κ-opioid receptor agonists in vivo. We found that following intracerebroventricular injection over a dose range of 1 to 30 μg of both salvinorin A and salvinorinyl-2-propionate produces antinociception in wild-type mice but not in a novel strain of κ-opioid receptor knockout mice. Moreover, both salvinorin A and salvinorinyl-2-propionate reduce rectal body temperature, similar to conventional κ-opioid receptor agonists, in a genotype-dependent manner. In addition, we determined that salvinorin A has high affinity for κ1- but not κ2-opioid receptors, demonstrating selectivity for this receptor subclass. Finally, treatment over the same dose range with salvinorin B, which is inactive in vitro, produced neither antinociceptive nor hypothermic effects in wild-type mice. These data demonstrate that salvinorin A is the active component of S. divinorum, selective for κ1-opioid receptors, and that salvinorin A and specific structurally related analogs produce behavioral effects that require the κ-opioid receptor.
F4/80+ Host Macrophages Are a Barrier to Murine Embryonic Stem Cell-Derived Hematopoietic Progenitor Engraftment In Vivo

Understanding how embryonic stem cells and their derivatives interact with the adult host immune system is critical to developing their therapeutic potential. Murine embryonic stem cell-derived hematopoietic progenitors (ESHPs) were generated via coculture with the bone marrow stromal cell line, OP9, and then transplanted into NOD.SCID. Common Gamma Chain (NSG) knockout mice, which lack B, T, and natural killer cells. Compared to control mice transplanted with adult lineage-negative bone marrow (Lin− BM) progenitors, ESHP-transplanted mice attained a low but significant level of donor hematopoietic chimerism. Based on our previous studies, we hypothesized that macrophages might contribute to the low engraftment of ESHPs in vivo. Enlarged spleens were observed in ESHP-transplanted mice and found to contain higher numbers of host F4/80+ macrophages compared to BM-transplanted controls. In vivo depletion of host macrophages using clodronate-loaded liposomes improved the ESHP-derived hematopoietic chimerism in the spleen but not in the BM. F4/80+ macrophages demonstrated a striking propensity to phagocytose ESHP targets in vitro. Taken together, these results suggest that macrophages are a barrier to both syngeneic and allogeneic ESHP engraftment in vivo.
Phenomenon of secondary reverse streamer in an ester transformer liquid under lightning impulse voltage

Secondary Reverse Streamer (SRS) was investigated in a natural ester transformer liquid under standard negative lightning impulse voltage. SRS represents a streamer that occurs well after the termination of the primary streamer (PS) propagation under a single lightning impulse, and it holds an opposite polarity to that of the PS and the impulse voltage. As an example when negative impulses are applied, all the SRSs have positive polarities. Although both streamers' stopping lengths increase with the applied voltage, the stopping length of SRS is always shorter than that of PS. The average propagation velocity of SRS is approximately 1.25 km/s regardless of applied voltages. The maximum light intensity of SRS is lower than that of PS. The formation of SRS is likely caused by the reserve electric filed induced by residual space charges.
Fabrication of Micro/Nano Structures on Metals by Femtosecond Laser Micromachining

Femtosecond laser micromachining has emerged in recent years as a new technique for micro/nano structure fabrication because of its applicability to virtually all kinds of materials in an easy one-step process that is scalable. In the past, much research on femtosecond laser micromachining was carried out to understand the complex ablation mechanism, whereas recent works are mostly concerned with the fabrication of surface structures because of their numerous possible applications. The state-of-the-art knowledge on the fabrication of these structures on metals with direct femtosecond laser micromachining is reviewed in this article. The effect of various parameters, such as fluence, number of pulses, laser beam polarization, wavelength, incident angle, scan velocity, number of scans, and environment, on the formation of different structures is discussed in detail wherever possible. Furthermore, a guideline for surface structures optimization is provided. The authors’ experimental work on laser-inscribed regular pattern fabrication is presented to give a complete picture of micromachining processes. Finally, possible applications of laser-machined surface structures in different fields are briefly reviewed.
A new floating model level scheme for the assimilation of boundary‐layer top inversions: the univariate assimilation of temperature

The assimilation of observations with a forecast is often heavily influenced by the description of the error covariances associated with the forecast. When a temperature inversion is present at the top of the boundary layer (BL), a significant part of the forecast error may be described as a vertical positional error (as opposed to amplitude error normally dealt with in data assimilation). In these cases, failing to account for positional error explicitly is shown to result in an analysis for which the inversion structure is erroneously weakened and degraded.
Variation-aware low-power video processor design techniques

With recent advances in scaled CMOS process technology, CMOS VLSI systems suffers from severe process-voltage-temperature (PVT) variations. Aggressive supply voltage scaling is also accompanied with technology scaling, which even aggravates the worst-case speed variations and noise margin of embedded SRAM memories. This paper presents variation-tolerant design techniques for video coding and decoding (CODEC) processor, which is mainly composed of computational data-path and embedded SRAM memories. First, we present an adaptive clock generation method to remove the delay failures in data-path operating with sub or near-threshold supply voltage. The variation-aware clock generation scheme can monitor the timing-variations and efficiently control the clock cycles to minimize the delay failures causes by timing variations. In low voltage operations, embedded SRAM memories also suffer from many functional failures. Priority based embedded memory design approaches, which are selective error correction coding (ECC) and variable sizing scheme for SRAM, are also presented to mitigate the video quality loss with serious functional failures in embedded memory.
Dopamine Receptors and Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive extrapyramidal motor disorder. Pathologically, this disease is characterized by the selective dopaminergic (DAergic) neuronal degeneration in the substantia nigra. Correcting the DA deficiency in PD with levodopa (L-dopa) significantly attenuates the motor symptoms; however, its effectiveness often declines, and L-dopa-related adverse effects emerge after long-term treatment. Nowadays, DA receptor agonists are useful medication even regarded as first choice to delay the starting of L-dopa therapy. In advanced stage of PD, they are also used as adjunct therapy together with L-dopa. DA receptor agonists act by stimulation of presynaptic and postsynaptic DA receptors. Despite the usefulness, they could be causative drugs for valvulopathy and nonmotor complication such as DA dysregulation syndrome (DDS). In this paper, physiological characteristics of DA receptor familyare discussed. We also discuss the validity, benefits, and specific adverse effects of pharmaceutical DA receptor agonist.
The big picture on small screens delivering acceptable video quality in mobile TV

Mobile TV viewers can change the viewing distance and (on some devices) scale the picture to their preferred viewing ratio, trading off size for angular resolution. We investigated optimal trade-offs between size and resolution through a series of studies. Participants selected their preferred size and rated the acceptability of the visual experience on a 200ppi device at a 4:3 aspect ratio. They preferred viewing ratios similar to living room TV setups regardless of the much lower resolution: at a minimum 14 pixels per degree. While traveling on trains people required videos with a height larger than 35mm.