Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Material testing facilities and programs for plasma-facing component testing

Component development for operation in a large-scale fusion device requires thorough testing and qualification for the intended operational conditions. In particular environments are necessary which are comparable to the real operation conditions, allowing at the same time for in situ/in vacuo diagnostics and flexible operation, even beyond design limits during the testing. Various electron and neutral particle devices provide the capabilities for high heat load tests, suited for material samples and components from lab-scale dimensions up to full-size parts, containing toxic materials like beryllium, and being activated by neutron irradiation. To simulate the conditions specific to a fusion plasma both at the first wall and in the divertor of fusion devices, linear plasma devices allow for a test of erosion and hydrogen isotope recycling behavior under well-defined and controlled conditions. Finally, the complex conditions in a fusion device (including the effects caused by magnetic fields) are exploited for component and material tests by exposing test mock-ups or material samples to a fusion plasma by manipulator systems. They allow for easy exchange of test pieces in a tokamak or stellarator device, without opening the vessel. Such a chain of test devices and qualification procedures is required for the development of plasma-facing components which then can be successfully operated in future fusion power devices. The various available as well as newly planned devices and test stands, together with their specific capabilities, are presented in this manuscript. Results from experimental programs on test facilities illustrate their significance for the qualification of plasma-facing materials and components. An extended set of references provides access to the current status of material and component testing capabilities in the international fusion programs.
Low Awareness of Overweight Status Among Parents of Preschool-Aged Children, Minnesota, 2004-2005

Introduction Many studies have found that parents of overweight children do not perceive their child to be overweight. Little is known, however, about the extent to which such misperceptions exist among parents of preschool-aged children. Methods We analyzed data that were collected in 2004-2005 from parents of 593 preschool-aged children in 20 child care centers in the Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, metropolitan area. Parents were asked how they would classify their preschooler's weight, and children's height and weight were measured. Results Of the predominantly white, educated sample, most parents (90.7%) of overweight preschoolers classified their child as normal weight. An even higher percentage (94.7%) of children at risk for overweight were classified as normal weight by their parents. Most parents of normal-weight children classified their child's weight as average. However, 16.0% classified their normal-weight child as underweight or very underweight. Conclusion Results indicate that parents are unlikely to recognize childhood overweight among preschool-aged children, which is concerning because parents of overweight children may be unlikely to engage in obesity prevention efforts for their child if they do not recognize their child's risk status. A notable proportion of parents of normal-weight children perceived their child to be underweight, which suggests that parents of normal-weight children may be more concerned with undernutrition than overnutrition.
A survey on server-side approaches to securing web applications

Web applications are one of the most prevalent platforms for information and service delivery over the Internet today. As they are increasingly used for critical services, web applications have become a popular and valuable target for security attacks. Although a large body of techniques have been developed to fortify web applications and mitigate attacks launched against them, there has been little effort devoted to drawing connections among these techniques and building the big picture of web application security research. This article surveys the area of securing web applications from the server side, with the aim of systematizing the existing techniques into a big picture that promotes future research. We first present the unique aspects of the web application development that cause inherent challenges in building secure web applications. We then discuss three commonly seen security vulnerabilities within web applications: input validation vulnerabilities, session management vulnerabilities, and application logic vulnerabilities, along with attacks that exploit these vulnerabilities. We organize the existing techniques along two dimensions: (1) the security vulnerabilities and attacks that they address and (2) the design objective and the phases of a web application during which they can be carried out. These phases are secure construction of new web applications, security analysis/testing of legacy web applications, and runtime protection of legacy web applications. Finally, we summarize the lessons learned and discuss future research opportunities in this area.
Carbon Storage in Young Chinese Fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata) Monoculture and Mixed Plantations in Subtropical China

Mixed plantations of Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata, CL) and five broadleaf tree species (Ailanthus altissima (AA), Betula luminifera (BL), Sapindus mukurossi (SM), Tciliata varpubescens (TV) and Zelkova schnideriana (ZS)) were established. After 5 years, spatial distributions of carbon stocks were studied in Chinese fir monoculture and mixed plantations. Overstory tree carbon storages were significantly lower (P<0.05) in mixed plantations than that in Chinese fir monoculture plantations. Understory vegetation carbon storages were significantly lower (P<0.05) in CL+BL and CL+ZS plantations than in the monoculture plantations. No significant difference was observed between other mixed plantations and monoculture plantations. Litter carbon storage was significantly lower in CL+ZS plantations than in the monoculture plantations (P<0.05), there was no significant difference between other mixed plantations and monoculture plantations. Soil carbon storages (0-60 cm) in mixed plantations were higher than that in the monoculture plantations, except for CL+SM plantations. Total ecosystem carbon storage was no significant difference between monoculture and mixed plantations, except for CL+SM plantations. Nevertheless, spatial distribution of carbon storage was different among these mixed plantations.
Inactivating one hippocampus impairs avoidance of a stable room-defined place during dissociation of arena cues from room cues by rotation of the arena

Unilateral intrahippocampal injections of tetrodotoxin were used to temporarily inactivate one hippocampus during specific phases of training in an active allothetic place avoidance task. The rat was required to use landmarks in the room to avoid a room-defined sector of a slowly rotating circular arena. The continuous rotation dissociated room cues from arena cues and moved the arena surface through a part of the room in which foot-shock was delivered. The rat had to move away from the shock zone to prevent being transported there by the rotation. Unilateral hippocampal inactivations profoundly impaired acquisition and retrieval of the allothetic place avoidance. Posttraining unilateral hippocampal inactivation also impaired performance in subsequent sessions. This allothetic place avoidance task seems more sensitive to hippocampal disruption than the standard water maze task because the same unilateral hippocampal inactivation does not impair performance of the variable-start, fixed hidden goal task after procedural training. The results suggest that the hippocampus not only encodes allothetic relationships amongst landmarks, it also organizes perceived allothetic stimuli into systems of mutually stable coordinates. The latter function apparently requires greater hippocampal integrity.
An improved method for acquiring cerebrovascular reactivity maps

This study aims to improve the method used to produce cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) maps by MRI. Previous methods have used a standard boxcar presentation of carbon dioxide (CO2). Here this is replaced with a sinusoidally modulated CO2 stimulus. This allowed the use of Fourier analysis techniques to measure both the amplitude and phase delay of the BOLD CVR response, and hence characterize the arrival sequence of blood to different regions of the brain. This characterization revealed statistically significant relative delays between regions of the brain (ANOVA < 0.0001). In addition, post hoc comparison showed that the frontal (P < 0.001) and parietal (P = 0.004) lobes reacted earlier than the occipital lobe. Magn Reson Med, 2011. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
2-SPP Approximate Synthesis for Error Tolerant Applications

We propose an approximate logic synthesis heuristic for synthesizing a 2-SPP circuit under a given error rate threshold. 2-SPP circuits are three-level EXOR-AND-OR forms with EXOR gates restricted to fan-in 2. They represent a direct generalization of SOP forms, obtained generalizing cubes to "2-pseudocubes" where literals in cubes may be replaced by 2-EXOR factors in 2-pseudocubes. We discuss and experimentally evaluate two different measures for the error: the bit threshold and the minterm threshold. The first metric considers the overall number of complemented output bits, while the second metric is related to the number of input vectors on which the output computed by the circuit is different from the exact one on at least one bit. Experimental results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed approach. For an error rate threshold of 1%, our heuristic for approximate 2-SPP synthesis provides an average reduction of the number of 2-pseudocubes in the cover of about 23% for all the considered benchmarks, when we consider the bit threshold error metric. The reduction in the number of 2-pseudocubes is interesting even in the minterm threshold error metric, especially when we perform the resynthesis of the derived approximate versions of the benchmarks: the average gain, without resynthesis is of about 8%, while the average gain with resynthesis becomes 15%.
Preclinical Development Stromal Platelet-Derived Growth Factor Receptor a ( PDGFR a ) Provides a Therapeutic Target Independent of Tumor Cell PDGFR a Expression in Lung Cancer Xenografts

In lung cancer, platelet-derived growth factor receptor a (PDGFRa) is expressed frequently by tumorassociated stromal cells and by cancer cells in a subset of tumors.We sought to determine the effect of targeting stromal PDGFRa in preclinical lung tumor xenograft models (human tumor, mouse stroma). Effects of antihuman (IMC-3G3) and anti-mouse (1E10) PDGFRa monoclonal antibodies (mAb) on proliferation and PDGFRa signaling were evaluated in lung cancer cell lines and mouse fibroblasts. Therapy studies were conducted using established PDGFRa-positive H1703 cells and PDGFRa-negative Calu-6, H1993, and A549 subcutaneous tumors in immunocompromisedmice treatedwith vehicle, anti-PDGFRamAbs, chemotherapy, or combination therapy. Tumors were analyzed for growth and levels of growth factors. IMC-3G3 inhibited PDGFRa activation and the growth of H1703 cells in vitro and tumor growth in vivo, but had no effect on PDGFRa-negative cell lines or mouse fibroblasts. 1E10 inhibited growth and PDGFRa activation of mouse fibroblasts, but had no effect on human cancer cell lines in vitro. In vivo, 1E10-targeted inhibition of murine PDGFRa reduced tumor growth as single-agent therapy in Calu-6 cells and enhanced the effect of chemotherapy in xenografts derived fromA549 cells. We also identified that low expression cancer cell expression of VEGF-A and elevated expression of PDGF-AA were associated with response to stromal PDGFRa targeting. We conclude that stromal PDGFRa inhibition represents a means for enhancing control of lung cancer growth in some cases, independent of tumor cell PDGFRa expression.Mol Cancer Ther; 11(11); 2473–82. 2012 AACR.
Extremum seeking without external dithering and its application to plasma RF heating on FTU

We propose a new global extremum seeking algorithm to optimize the coupling between the emitting Lower Hybrid (LH) antennas and the plasma scrape off layer in the radiofrequency (RF) heating system of tokamak plasmas. The new algorithm, where the disturbances affecting the system are used as probing signals, requires less stringent properties than the previous algorithms, and is more robust. Simulation results are presented illustrating the effectiveness of the algorithm on the Lower Hybrid RF heating system of the Frascati Tokamak Upgrade (FTU).
Multi-dimensional Intertemporal Poverty in Rural China

We analyse intertemporal poverty in two important dimensions income and nutrition in less developed northwest China during 2000-2004. A generalised recursive selection model is proposed which enables simultaneous estimation of the causes of intertemporal poverty within and between dimensions. Improvement in agricultural production is crucial for reducing both dimensions of intertemporal poverty. We find evidence suggestive of intertemporal income-nutrition poverty traps.Higher labour productivity, especially in agriculture rather than local off-farm activities or out-migration, holds much potential for breaking the vicious circle. Agricultural innovation and mechanisation, regarded by the government as indispensable, yield mixed outcomes for intertemporal multi-dimensional poverty reduction.
High temperature decomposition of austempered microstructures in spheroidal graphite cast iron

AbstractSpheroidal graphite (SG) cast iron is often plasma nitrided for corrosion resistance, and plasma nitriding has been proposed as a surface engineering treatment to improve wear resistance. However, the microstructure of austempered SG iron comprises constituents that may be unstable at nitriding temperatures. Therefore, the thermal stability of austempered SG cast iron has been studied at high temperature. Differential scanning calorimetry shows that microstructures obtained by austempering at low (300°C) and intermediate (380°C) temperatures, and which contained retained austenite, underwent a large exothermic transition during heating to typical nitriding temperatures. The transition began at approximately 470°C and peaked at 510–520°C, and was due to the decomposition of retained austenite to ferrite and cementite. A microstructure obtained by austempering at a higher temperature (440°C), and which consisted entirely offirst and second stage bainite, was stable up to nitriding temperatures. Afte.
Selective loss of GABAB receptors in orexin-producing neurons results in disrupted sleep/wakefulness architecture

Hypothalamic neurons that contain the neuropeptide orexin (hypocretin) play important roles in the regulation of sleep/wake. Here we analyze the in vivo and in vitro phenotype of mice lacking the GABAB1 gene specifically in orexin neurons (oxGKO mice) and demonstrate that GABAB receptors on orexin neurons are essential in stabilizing and consolidating sleep/wake states. In oxGKO brain slices, we show that the absence of GABAB receptors decreases the sensitivity of orexin neurons to both excitatory and inhibitory inputs because of augmented GABAA-mediated inhibition that increases the membrane conductance and shunts postsynaptic currents in these neurons. This increase in GABAA-mediated inhibitory tone is apparently the result of an orexin receptor type 1-mediated activation of local GABAergic interneurons that project back onto orexin neurons. oxGKO mice exhibit severe fragmentation of sleep/wake states during both the light and dark periods, without showing an abnormality in total sleep time or signs of cataplexy. Thus, GABAB receptors on orexin neurons are crucial in the appropriate control of the orexinergic tone through sleep/wake states, thereby stabilizing the state switching mechanisms.
Design Issues for Traffic Management for the ATM UBR + Service for TCP Over Satellite Networks

This project was a comprehensive research program for developing techniques for improving the performance of Internet protocols over Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) based satellite networks. Among the service categories provided by ATM networks, the most commonly used category for data traffic is the unspecified bit rate (UBR) service. UBR allows sources to send data into the network without any feedback control. The project resulted in the numerous ATM Forum contributions and papers.
Human Carboxylesterase-2 Hydrolyzes the Prodrug of Gemcitabine (LY2334737) and Confers Prodrug Sensitivity to Cancer Cells

Purpose: The oral prodrug of gemcitabine LY2334737 is cleaved systemically to gemcitabine; the mechanism responsible for hydrolysis is unknown. LY2334737 cytotoxicity was tested in the NCI-60 panel; mining of microarray expression data identified carboxylesterase (CES) as a top hydrolase candidate. Studies examined whether CES is responsible for hydrolysis and whether cellular CES expression confers prodrug sensitivity. Experimental Design: Human recombinant CES isozymes were assayed for LY2334737 hydrolysis. Stable CES-overexpressing HCT-116 transfectants and a SK-OV-3 knockdown were prepared. Cell lines were tested for drug sensitivity and CES expression by quantitative real time-PCR (qRT-PCR), Western blotting, and immunohistochemical staining. Bystander cytotoxicity studies were conducted with GFP-tagged PC-3 cells as the reporter cell line. Therapeutic response of the HCT-116 transfectants was evaluated in xenografts. Results: Of 3 human CES isozymes tested, only CES2 hydrolyzed LY2334737. Five cell lines that express CES2 responded to LY2334737 treatment. LY2334737 was less cytotoxic to a SK-OV-3 CES2 knockdown than parental cells. The drug response of CES2-transfected HCT-116 cells correlated with CES2 expression level. Bystander studies showed statistically greater PC-3–GFP growth inhibition by LY2334737 when cells were cocultured with CES2 and not mock transfectants. Oral treatment of xenograft models with 3.2 mg/kg LY2334737 once a day for 21 days showed greater tumor growth inhibition of CES2 transfectant than the mock transfectant (P ≤ 0.001). Conclusions: CES2 is responsible for the slow hydrolysis of LY2334737. Because intact prodrug circulates at high plasma levels after oral LY2334737 administration, improved response rates may be observed by tailoring LY2334737 treatment to patients with CES2 tumor expression. Clin Cancer Res; 19(5); 1159–68. ©2012 AACR.
An Intradermal Inoculation Model of Scrub Typhus in Swiss CD-1 Mice Demonstrates More Rapid Dissemination of Virulent Strains of Orientia tsutsugamushi

Scrub typhus is an important endemic disease of the Asia-Pacific region caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi. To develop an effective vaccine to prevent scrub typhus infection, a better understanding of the initial host-pathogen interaction is needed. The objective of this study was to investigate early bacterial dissemination in a CD-1 Swiss outbred mouse model after intradermal injection of O. tsutsugamushi. Three human pathogenic strains of O. tsutsugamushi (Karp, Gilliam, and Woods) were chosen to investigate the early infection characteristics associated with bacterial virulence. Tissue biopsies of the intradermal injection site and draining lymph nodes were examined using histology and immunohistochemistry to characterize bacterial dissemination, and correlated with quantitative real-time PCR for O. tsutsugamushi in blood and tissue from major organs. Soluble adhesion molecules were measured to examine cellular activation in response to infection. No eschar formation was seen at the inoculation site and no clinical disease developed within the 7 day period of observation. However, O. tsutsugamushi was localized at the injection site and in the draining lymph nodes by day 7 post inoculation. Evidence of leukocyte and endothelial activation was present by day 7 with significantly raised levels of sL-selectin, sICAM-1 and sVCAM-1. Infection with the Karp strain was associated with earlier and higher bacterial loads and more extensive dissemination in various tissues than the less pathogenic Gilliam and Woods strains. The bacterial loads of O. tsutsugamushi were highest in the lungs and spleens of mice inoculated with Karp and Gilliam, but not Woods strains. Strains of higher virulence resulted in more rapid systemic infection and dissemination in this model. The CD-1 mouse intradermal inoculation model demonstrates features relevant to early scrub typhus infection in humans, including the development of regional lymphadenopathy, leukocyte activation and distant organ dissemination after low-dose intradermal injection with O. tsutsugamushi.
Preliminary walking experiments with underactuated 3D bipedal robot MARLO

This paper reports on an underactuated 3D bipedal robot with passive feet that can start from a quiet standing position, initiate a walking gait, and traverse the length of the laboratory (approximately 10 m) at a speed of roughly 1 m/s. The controller was developed using the method of virtual constraints, a control design method first used on the planar point-feet robots Rabbit and MABEL. For the preliminary experiments reported here, virtual constraints were experimentally tuned to achieve robust planar walking and then 3D walking. A key feature of the controller leading to successful 3D walking is the particular choice of virtual constraints in the lateral plane, which implement a lateral balance control strategy similar to SIMBICON. To our knowledge, MARLO is the most highly underactuated bipedal robot to walk unassisted in 3D.
The Neuromodulation of the Intestinal Immune System and Its Relevance in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

One of the main tasks of the immune system is to discriminate and appropriately react to “danger” or “non-danger” signals. This is crucial in the gastrointestinal tract, where the immune system is confronted with a myriad of food antigens and symbiotic microflora that are in constant contact with the mucosa, in addition to any potential pathogens. This large number of antigens and commensal microflora, which are essential for providing vital nutrients, must be tolerated by the intestinal immune system to prevent aberrant inflammation. Hence, the balance between immune activation versus tolerance should be tightly regulated to maintain intestinal homeostasis and to prevent immune activation indiscriminately against all luminal antigens. Loss of this delicate equilibrium can lead to chronic activation of the intestinal immune response resulting in intestinal disorders, such as inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). In order to maintain homeostasis, the immune system has evolved diverse regulatory strategies including additional non-immunological actors able to control the immune response. Accumulating evidence strongly indicates a bidirectional link between the two systems in which the brain modulates the immune response via the detection of circulating cytokines and via direct afferent input from sensory fibers and from enteric neurons. In the current review, we will highlight the most recent findings regarding the cross-talk between the nervous system and the mucosal immune system and will discuss the potential use of these neuronal circuits and neuromediators as novel therapeutic tools to reestablish immune tolerance and treat intestinal chronic inflammation.