Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Energetic proton generation in ultra-intense laser–solid interactions

An explanation for the energetic ions observed in the PetaWatt experiments is presented. In solid target experiments with focused intensities exceeding 1020 W/cm2, high-energy electron generation, hard bremsstrahlung, and energetic protons have been observed on the backside of the target. In this report, an attempt is made to explain the physical process present that will explain the presence of these energetic protons, as well as explain the number, energy, and angular spread of the protons observed in experiment. In particular, we hypothesize that hot electrons produced on the front of the target are sent through to the back off the target, where they ionize the hydrogen layer there. These ions are then accelerated by the hot electron cloud, to tens of MeV energies in distances of order tens of μm, whereupon they end up being detected in the radiographic and spectrographic detectors.
Abstract Platform and Transformations for Model-Driven Service-Oriented Development

In this paper, we discuss the use of abstract platforms and transformation for designing applications according to the principles of the service-oriented architecture. We illustrate our approach by discussing the use of the service discovery pattern at a platform-independent design level. We show how a trader service can be specified at a high-level of abstraction and incorporated in an abstract platform for service-oriented development. Designers can then build platform-independent models of applications by composing application parts with this abstract platform. Application parts can use the trader service to publish and discover service offers. We discuss how the abstract platform can be realized into two target platforms, namely Web Services (with UDDI) and CORBA (with the OMG trader).
Serial Topoisomerase II Expression in Primary Breast Cancer and Response to Neoadjuvant Anthracycline-Based Chemotherapy

Objective: We analyzed the value of topoisomerase IIα (Topo II) in predicting the clinical response to anthracycline-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancers and the potential changes in Topo II after chemotherapy. In parallel, HER2, which is commonly coexpressed with Topo II, and p53, a modulator of chemotherapy activity, were also analyzed. Methods: Forty-one patients with primary breast cancer and treated with neoadjuvant anthracycline-based chemotherapy (FAC or FEC) were included for the present study. Topo II, HER2 and p53 expression were measured by immunohistochemistry in pre and post chemotherapy (at the time of surgery), tumor specimens and the results were correlated with the clinical response. Results: Topo II was overexpressed in 16 of 41 (31%) tumors before treatment, and this overexpression was significantly associated with clinical response (p = 0.03). HER2 and p53 were unrelated to response. Notably, Topo II overexpression, but not HER2 or p53, was lost in specimens after chemotherapy (p = 0.01). Conclusion: The observed link between Topo II and the clinical response to neoadjuvant anthracycline-based chemotherapy, together with its loss after chemotherapy, implies that Topo II deserves further testing in a prospective setting as a predictive marker.
Direct Binding to Ceramide Activates Protein Kinase Cζ before the Formation of a Pro-apoptotic Complex with PAR-4 in Differentiating Stem Cells*[boxs]

We have reported that ceramide mediates binding of atypical protein kinase C (PKC) ζ to its inhibitor protein, PAR-4 (prostate apoptosis response-4), thereby inducing apoptosis in differentiating embryonic stem cells. Using a novel method of lipid vesicle-mediated affinity chromatography, we showed here that endogenous ceramide binds directly to the PKCζ·PAR-4 complex. Ceramide and its analogs activated PKCζ prior to binding to PAR-4, as determined by increased levels of phosphorylated PKCζ and glycogen synthase kinase-3β and emergence of a PAR-4-to-phosphorylated PKCζ fluorescence resonance energy transfer signal that co-localizes with ceramide. Elevated expression and activation of PKCζ increased cell survival, whereas expression of PAR-4 promoted apoptosis. This suggests that PKCζ counteracts apoptosis, unless its ceramide-induced activation is compromised by binding to PAR-4. A luciferase reporter assay showed that ceramide analogs activate nuclear factor (NF)-κB unless PAR-4-dependent inhibition of PKCζ suppresses NF-κB activation. Taken together, our results show that direct physical association with ceramide and PAR-4 regulates the activity of PKCζ. They also indicate that this interaction regulates the activity of glycogen synthase kinase-3β and NF-κB.
Treatment With Streptococcal Preparation (OK-432) Suppresses Anti-Islet Autoimmunity and Prevents Diabetes in BB Rats

We have recently shown that a streptococcal preparation (OK-432) inhibits insulitis and prevents diabetes in nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice, an animal model of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM). We extended this study to another model of IDDM, namely BB rats. Male and female BB rats were injected weekly with 0.2 mg OK-432 i.p. starting from 5 to 6 wk and continuing through 20 or 30 wk of age. The cumulative incidence of IDDM over 20 wk in the OK-432-treated BB rats (4 of 54, 7.4%) was significantly (P < .01) lower than that found in the nontreated BB rats (13 of 47, 27.7%). We examined some of these rats as follows. All of the OK-432-treated BB rats tested showed normal glucose levels before and after oral glucose administrations, as did the nontreated and nondiabetic BB rats. Histological examination of pancreatic sections revealed that the OK-432-treated rats retained a greater number of intact islets without infiltration of the mononuclear cells than did the nontreated BB rats. A preliminary in vitro study further demonstrated that the cytotoxic activities of spleen cells against a rat insulinoma cell line, RIN, were suppressed in the OK-432-treated rat. However, the treatment of BB rats with OK-432 showed no suppressive effects in the spleen cell number, the responsiveness of spleen cells to concanavalin A, the populations of OX19+, W3/25+, and OX8+ peripheral blood lymphocytes, or in the titers of cell surface antibody against RIN. These results suggest that a nonimmunosuppressive immunomodulator such as OK-432 may be useful as an agent for immunotherapy of IDDM.
Effect of Vascularity on Canine Distracted Tibial Callus Consolidation

In the consolidation period of distraction osteogenesis, mineralization occurs before corticalization. We hypothesized that the increased rate of bone mineral density correlates to the density of vascularity in the callus. We unilaterally lengthened the tibia in eight adult beagles. After a waiting period of 7 days, tibiae were lengthened for 30 days. After a consolidation period of an additional 60 days, all animals were euthanized. Just before euthanasia, blood vessels were perfused with 50% w/v barium sulfate solution, and soft radiographs of the distracted callus and the control tibiae were taken. Bone mineral density of the regenerated bones was measured preoperatively by quantitative computed tomography on Days 37, 68, and 98. Increases of the percent bone mineral density (from Day 37 to Day 98 and from Day 68 to Day 98) correlated with the blood vessel volume density ratios on Day 98. Our results suggest that preservation of the higher density of blood vessels in the consolidation period could lead to the better mineralization of the distracted callus.
Experimental Research on Jury Decision-Making

Because trial juries deliberate in secrecy, legal debates about jury functioning have relied heavily on anecdote and speculation. In recent years, investigators have begun to challenge many common assumptions about jury behavior. An important tool in this effort has been the mock jury experiment, in which research participants are randomly assigned to alternative trial conditions and asked to reach a verdict in a simulated case. Researchers have used mock jury experiments to test hypotheses about causal influences on jury behavior and to develop theoretical models of the jury deliberation process.
PROLACTIN STIMULATION IN MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS – AN INDICATOR OF DISEASE SUBTYPES AND ACTIVITY?

Prolactin (PRL) belongs to the growth and lactogenic hormone family and has potent immunomodulating properties. Mild hyperprolactinemia has been found to enhance several autoimmune diseases and increased PRL plasma levels have been described in the experimental multiple sclerosis (MS) model while the PRL antagonist bromocriptine was able to suppress the disease. As studies of PRL serum levels in MS have led to conflicting results we investigated further the question of prolactin alterations in MS. We correlated PRL baseline values in a large sample of 132 MS patients with disease course and activity. Furthermore, inhibitory (bromocriptine) and stimulatory (metoclopramide) tests were performed in a subsample (n=39) to gain functional information. We found no correlation of baseline values with disease course or activity. Nevertheless in the regression analysis of stimulatory test results, 14% of the variance was attributable to disease activity. In conclusion PRL does not seem to be relevant as an activity marker in the whole MS population.
TNFα Post‐Translationally Targets ZnT2 to Accumulate Zinc in Lysosomes

Mammary epithelial cells undergo widespread lysosomal‐mediated cell death (LCD) during early mammary gland involution. Recently, we demonstrated that tumor necrosis factor‐α (TNFα), a cytokine released during early involution, redistributes the zinc (Zn) transporter ZnT2 to accumulate Zn in lysosomes and activate LCD and involution. The objective of this study is to determine how TNFα retargets ZnT2 to lysosomes. We tested the hypothesis that TNFα signaling dephosphorylates ZnT2 to uncover a highly conserved dileucine motif (L294L) in the C‐terminus of ZnT2, allowing adaptor protein complex‐3 (AP‐3) to bind and traffic ZnT2 to lysosomes. Confocal micrographs showed that TNFα redistributed wild‐type (WT) ZnT2 from late endosomes (Pearson's coefficient = 0.202 ± 0.05 and 0.097 ± 0.03; P < 0.05) to lysosomes (0.292 ± 0.03 and 0.649 ± 0.03; P < 0.0001), which increased lysosomal Zn (P < 0.0001) and activated LCD (P < 0.0001) compared to untreated cells. Mutation of the dileucine motif (L294V) eliminated the ability of TNFα to redistribute ZnT2 from late endosomes to lysosomes, increase lysosomal Zn, or activate LCD. Moreover, TNFα increased (P < 0.05) AP‐3 binding to wt ZnT2 but not to L294V immunoprecipitates. Finally, using phospho‐ and dephospho‐mimetics of predicted phosphorylation sites (T281, T288, and S296), we found that dephosphorylated S296 was required to target ZnT2 to accumulate Zn in lysosomes and activate LCD. Our findings suggest that women with variation in the C‐terminus of ZnT2 may be at risk for inadequate involution and breast disease due the inability to traffic ZnT2 to lysosomes. J. Cell. Physiol. 230: 2345–2350, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Cytogenetic Effect of Low Dose γ-Radiation in Plant Test-Systems : Non-Linear Dose-Effect Relationship

Over several decades, modelling the effects of ionizing radiation on biological system has relied on the target principle [Timofeeff-Ressovsky et al., 1935], which assumes that cell damage or modification to genes appear as a direct consequence of the exposure of biological macromolecules to charged particles. It is assumed that there is no threshold for the induction of biological damage and that the effects observed are proportional to the energy absorbed. Following this principle, the average number of hits per target should increase linearly with dose, and the yield of mutations per unit of dose is assumed to be the same at both low and high doses. This principle has served as the scientific background for the linear no-threshold (LNT) concept that forms the basis for the radiological protection for the public and the environment [ICRP, 1990]. It follows from the LNT that there is an additional risk for human health from exposure to any radiation level, even below natural background. Since the mid 50s, however, the scientific basis for the LNT concept has been challenged as experimental data have shown that, at low doses, there was a non-linear relationship in the dose response. Luchnik and Timofeeff-Ressovsky were the first who showed a non-linear response to a low dose exposure [Luchnik, 1957; Timofeeff-Ressovsky & Luchnik, 1960]. Since then, many data have been accumulated which contradict the LNT model at low doses and dose rates. However, the hit-effect paradigm has become so strong and indissoluble that it has persisted even under the growing pressure of scientific evidence for phenomena at low dose exposure that can not be successfully accounted for by the LNT concept. In recent years, additional information on non-targeted effects of radiation has been accumulated following the first reports of an adaptive response in human lymphocytes [Olivieri et al., 1984] as well as bystander mutagenic effect of alpha-particles [Nagasawa & Little, 1992; Mothersill et al., 1995]. Other phenomena including genomic instability, low-dose hypersensitivity, and increased radiation resistance effects are also under study [Marples et al., 1997; Kadhim et al., 2004; Bonner, 2004].
Thermal concentrator and electrical cloak bifunctionality: Towards transformation multiphysics

Through the design and synthesis (in terms of realistic material constituents) of a metamaterial shell that simultaneously behaves as a thermal concentrator and an electrical “invisibility cloak”, we present a first step towards a more general “transformation multiphysics” framework that allows independent and simultaneous coordinate-transformation-based manipulation of multiple physical phenomena.
A proposed optical-based sensor for assessment of hand movement

The purpose of this research is to evaluate two types of sensor that can be applied to monitor human finger flexion in real time. Currently, flex sensors are the most commonly used resistance sensors in glove-based systems. However, measurements show that current flex sensors have problems associated with hysteresis error, low sensitivity at small angles, and considerable time drift with large bending angles which render them unsuitable for tracking hand motion at low speed. In contrast, the developed optical sensor prototype has good repeatability, sensitivity and low temporal drift, as well as offering the capability of accurate measurements in both clockwise and anticlockwise directions. The sensor is based on the principle of crossed-polarization detection, and consists of one LED, two rotatable polarizers and one photodiode amplifier which enables the detection of changes in polarized light intensity proportional to angular rotation.
Windows to the heart: creating an acute care dementia unit.

In 1999, Dr. Jeffrey Nichols, chief of geriatrics at Cabrini Medical Center (CMC) in New York City, and medical director of the Cabrini Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation (CCNR), and his colleagues received a grant from the United Hospital Fund to develop an eight-bed, family-centered acute care unit for patients with dementia at CMC, a 500-bed hospital. Because of their location in Lower Manhattan, these institutions serve an ethnically diverse population, including many non-English-speaking people of Hispanic and Asian origin, and they have a high proportion of elderly patients, including patients with dementia. This inpatient unit was created to address the widely recognized problem that when dementia patients are hospitalized, the experience is frequently highly stressful for both patients and family or nonkin caregivers. Patients with advanced Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias often suffer a precipitous decline in function during and after hospitalization, which places additional burdens on the patients and their caregivers. After some focus group research with family caregivers of dementia patients, Dr. Nichols and his colleagues realized that it was not sufficient to “tweak this, tweak that” in the traditional system of care in the hospital in order to meet the identified needs; rather, they had to take a comprehensive, carefully orchestrated, and holistic approach to change—encompassing the physical, operational, and cultural environment of the institution. In the following interview with Innovations associate editor Karen S. Heller, Dr. Nichols describes the challenges he and his colleagues faced in starting this kind of unit in the acute care hospital setting and provides some preliminary evidence for its success. This interview is excerpted from the thematic issue, “Supporting Family Caregivers,” Volume 3, Number 2, 2001 of the online journal Innovations in End-of-Life Care at .
Transfer of antibiotic resistance in mixed cultures of Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

of resistance to the others. Resistance was not transferred in the presence of DNase, and transfer was most probably due to transformation of competent clonal type 1 or 2 recipients by DNA liberated from the donor strain into the culture broth. The results are of potential relevance to clinical problems of development and spread of antibiotic-resistant gonococci.
A Comparison of Two Loudness Balancing Tasks in Cochlear Implant Subjects Using Bipolar Stimulation

Objective In this study, the accuracy of independent measurement of the loudness of different electrodes in a cochlear implant (the “reference” method) was compared with the accuracy of measurements that depend on the results of previous measurements (the “adjacent” method) by evaluating the similarity between and the slopes of the loudness balance curves, and the variability in the measured loudness balance values. Design The two methods of loudness balancing differed only in the reference electrode used. In the adjacent method, the loudness of the test electrode was sequentially adjusted to match the loudness of an adjacent reference electrode, whereas in the reference method, the loudness of all test electrodes was adjusted to match that of a common reference electrode. Five subjects implanted with the Nucleus 22 device completed both methods of loudness balancing for all of their functioning electrodes. Each test/reference electrode pair was loudness balanced six times to assess the variability of the two methods. Results The loudness balance curves for the two methods were statistically correlated (p < 0.001) for all subjects. The slopes of the regression lines for the loudness balance curves were statistically different from zero (p < 0.05) for roughly half of the subjects for each method. A sign test indicated statistically different means for the basal set and apical set of measurements for only one subject for both methods. The variance in the measured values across electrodes for the reference method was significantly greater for three of the five subjects (p < 0.01). Conclusions It was hypothesized that because of its dependence on previously measured values, the adjacent method could be susceptible to “drift,” i.e., a shift in the overall loudness to which the electrodes are balanced. However, none of the statistical measures employed to test for drift indicated that the adjacent method was more susceptible to drift than the reference method, nor were the responses to the adjacent method more variable. Thus, based on these results, dependent measurements do not seem to be less accurate than independent measurements. The relatively higher variance for the reference method in some subjects may be due to the difficulty of comparing the loudness of stimuli that are far apart in pitch.
The Relationship of the A and H Antigens of Erythrocytes of Sub‐Group A2 *

In previous communications [Z, 3,4] it has been demonstrated that the mixed agglutination reaction of minor erythrocyte populations has some usefulness as a means of investigating certain aspects of antigen-antibody phenomena in the ABH blood group system. In particular it has been shown that cross-reacting antibody of Group 0 serum combines with the red cell a t a site which is spatially very close to, or even identical with the A and B antigen sites [3]. Further studies along these lines raised the question as to whether or not there was any detectable degree of spatial correspondence between the alpha-reactive antigen of cells of sub-group A, and the H antigen which these cells also possess. The purpose of this communication is to describe the experiments devised to investigate this problem. Principles of the Experiments
Spinal instability neoplastic score: an analysis of reliability and validity from the spine oncology study group.

PURPOSE Standardized indications for treatment of tumor-related spinal instability are hampered by the lack of a valid and reliable classification system. The objective of this study was to determine the interobserver reliability, intraobserver reliability, and predictive validity of the Spinal Instability Neoplastic Score (SINS). METHODS Clinical and radiographic data from 30 patients with spinal tumors were classified as stable, potentially unstable, and unstable by members of the Spine Oncology Study Group. The median category for each patient case (consensus opinion) was used as the gold standard for predictive validity testing. On two occasions at least 6 weeks apart, each rater also scored each patient using SINS. Each total score was converted into a three-category data field, with 0 to 6 as stable, 7 to 12 as potentially unstable, and 13 to 18 as unstable. RESULTS The κ statistics for interobserver reliability were 0.790, 0.841, 0.244, 0.456, 0.462, and 0.492 for the fields of location, pain, bone quality, alignment, vertebral body collapse, and posterolateral involvement, respectively. The κ statistics for intraobserver reliability were 0.806, 0.859, 0.528, 0.614, 0.590, and 0.662 for the same respective fields. Intraclass correlation coefficients for inter- and intraobserver reliability of total SINS score were 0.846 (95% CI, 0.773 to 0.911) and 0.886 (95% CI, 0.868 to 0.902), respectively. The κ statistic for predictive validity was 0.712 (95% CI, 0.676 to 0.766). CONCLUSION SINS demonstrated near-perfect inter- and intraobserver reliability in determining three clinically relevant categories of stability. The sensitivity and specificity of SINS for potentially unstable or unstable lesions were 95.7% and 79.5%, respectively.
Feedback About More Accurate Versus Less Accurate Trials

One purpose of the present study was to examine whether self-confidence or anxiety would be differentially affected by feedback from more accurate rather than less accurate trials. The second purpose was to determine whether arousal variations (activation) would predict performance. On Day 1, participants performed a golf putting task under one of two conditions: one group received feedback on the most accurate trials, whereas another group received feedback on the least accurate trials. On Day 2, participants completed an anxiety questionnaire and performed a retention test. Skin conductance level, as a measure of arousal, was determined. The results indicated that feedback about more accurate trials resulted in more effective learning as well as increased self-confidence. Also, activation was a predictor of performance.