Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Vortex creep down to 0.3 K in superconducting Fe(Te,Se) single crystals

We report on a study of the vortex creep in Fe1+δ(TexSe1−x ) single crystals (x = 0.5 and 0.4) down to 0.28 K (∼Tc/50) and up to μ0Ha = 2T. The relaxation of the current density [J (t )] has been measured during 20 hours and the decay of J (t ) can be well described by a J (t ) ∝ [ln(t/t0)]−1/μ law.We show that the relaxation exponent μ tends towards 0 forT <2K and μ0Ha < 0.1T [i.e. J (t ) → (t0/t)α] and increases for increasing T and/or Ha . Our measurements strongly suggest that the logarithmic creep rate R = −d ln(J )/d ln(t ) remains finite at zero temperature (R|T→0 → 2%) and hence that quantum creep plays a dominant role in the relaxation process at low temperature. A maximum is observed in both the temperature and field dependence of R(t = 100s,T,Ha ), which can be associated to a crossover from a single vortex (one-dimensional) to a bundle (three-dimensional) creep regime.
Indaziflam: a new cellulose-biosynthesis-inhibiting herbicide provides long-term control of invasive winter annual grasses.

BACKGROUND Indaziflam is a cellulose-biosynthesis-inhibiting (CBI) herbicide that is a unique mode of action for resistance management and has broad spectrum activity at low application rates. This research further explores indaziflam's activity on monocotyledons and dicotyledons and evaluates indaziflam's potential for restoring non-crop sites infested with invasive winter annual grasses. RESULTS Treated Arabidopsis, downy brome, feral rye and kochia were all susceptible to indaziflam in a dose-dependent manner. We confirmed that indaziflam has increased activity on monocots (average GR50 = 231 pm and 0.38 g AI ha-1 ) at reduced concentrations compared with dicots (average GR50 = 512 pm and 0.87 g AI ha-1 ). Fluorescence microscopy confirmed common CBI symptomologies following indaziflam treatments, as well as aberrant root and cell morphology. Across five application timings, indaziflam treatments resulted in superior invasive winter annual grass control 2 years after treatment (from 84 ± 5.1% to 99 ± 0.5%) compared with imazapic (36% ± 1.2%). Indaziflam treatments significantly increased biomass and species richness of co-occurring species 2 years after treatment. CONCLUSION Indaziflam's increased activity on monocots could provide a new alternative management strategy for long-term control of multiple invasive winter annual grasses that invade >23 million ha of US rangeland. Indaziflam could potentially be used to eliminate the soil seed bank of these invasive grasses, reduce fine fuel accumulation and ultimately increase the competitiveness of perennial co-occuring species. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.
Susceptibility of Staphylococcus species and subspecies to fleroxacin

Twenty-four Staphylococcus species or subspecies were examined for their susceptibilities to the fluoroquinolone fleroxacin (Ro 23-6240) by disk diffusion (5-micrograms disk) and by agar dilution for the determination of MICs. Resistant strains were further tested for their susceptibilities to oxacillin and the fluoroquinolone ciprofloxacin. Reference strains of the novobiocin-resistant species (Staphylococcus saprophyticus, Staphylococcus cohnii, Staphylococcus xylosus, Staphylococcus arlettae, and Staphylococcus gallinarum) had an intrinsic intermediate susceptibility (MIC, 4 micrograms/ml) to fleroxacin. Fleroxacin resistance was not observed in the reference strains of the novobiocin-susceptible species (MIC, 0.5 to 2.0 micrograms/ml). Clinical isolates of coagulase-negative species were generally less susceptible to fleroxacin than were reference strains. Seven percent of the Staphylococcus epidermidis clinical strains were resistant (MIC, greater than or equal to 8 micrograms/ml) to fleroxacin. Of these strains, 77% were resistant to oxacillin and 50% were resistant to ciprofloxacin. Thirty-four percent of the Staphylococcus haemolyticus clinical strains were resistant to fleroxacin, and 9% had intermediate susceptibility. Of the resistant strains, 95% were resistant to oxacillin and 77% were resistant to ciprofloxacin, while 23% had intermediate susceptibility to ciprofloxacin. Fleroxacin is an effective antimicrobial agent against most staphylococci.
Patients with chronic fatigue syndrome have reduced absolute cortical blood flow

Prior studies on brain blood flow in chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) did not find consistent results. This may be because they used single‐photon emission computed tomography to measure brain blood flow, which could not measure absolute blood flow. Therefore, the aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that patients with CFS have reduced absolute cerebral blood flow. Xenon‐computed tomography blood flow studies were done on 25 CFS patients and seven healthy controls. Analyses were done after stratifying the CFS patients based on the presence or absence of a current psychiatric disorder. Flow was diminished in both groups as follows: patients with no current psychiatric disorders had reduced cortical blood flow in the distribution of both right and left middle cerebral arteries (P<0·05 for both) while those with current psychiatric disorders had reduced blood flow only in the left middle cerebral artery territory (P<0·05). These data indicate that patients with CFS have reduced absolute cortical blood flow in rather broad areas when compared with data from healthy controls and that those devoid of psychopathology had the most reductions in cortical flow. These data support, in part, our earlier findings that patients devoid of psychopathology are the group most at risk of having some of the symptoms of CFS due to brain dysfunction.
The impact of online social games on E-learning usage among female students

The momentum contemplate evaluates the relationship among online social recreations and the e-learning utilization by look at the impact of social, subjective and teaching nearness on e-learning use between female understudies by method for playing on the web social diversions. This study utilizes an exploratory research plan, comfort test procedure. The outcomes propose that all scales are basically related with E-learning use. It is found that E-learning uses is emphatically tremendous and has a direct related with social nearness. The relationship between E-learning use and psychological nearness has a decidedly strong enormous connection; in like manner, the relationship between E-learning use and teaching nearness has an emphatically strong colossal connection. The disclosures inferred that the characteristic of online social amusements; both intellectual and teaching nearness impact E-learning utilization.
The Common Inhalational Anesthetic Isoflurane Induces Apoptosis via Activation of Inositol 1,4,5-Trisphosphate Receptors

Background:Isoflurane induces cell apoptosis by an unknown mechanism. The authors hypothesized that isoflurane activates inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) receptors on the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane, causing excessive calcium release, triggering apoptosis. Methods:The authors determined isoflurane-induced cytotoxicity by measuring caspase-3 activity, lactate dehydrogenase release, MTS (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium, inner salt) reduction, and imaging analysis of cell damage markers (annexin V and propidium iodide staining) in different cell types. The authors used the chicken B lymphocyte with a total knock-out of IP3 receptors, PC12 cells with elevated IP3 receptor activity (transfected with L286V presenilin 1), striatal cells with a knock-in of Q111 Huntingtin, and each cell line’s corresponding wild-type controls. The authors also measured the isoflurane-evoked changes of calcium concentration in cytosol and/or mitochondria in these cells. Results:Isoflurane induced apoptosis concentration- and time-dependently, and sequentially elevated cytosolic and then mitochondrial calcium in the chicken B-lymphocyte wild-type but not the IP3 receptor total knock-out cells. Thapsigargin, a calcium adenosine triphosphatase inhibitor on ER membranes, induced apoptosis and elevations of calcium in cytosol and mitochondria in both chicken B-lymphocyte wild-type and IP3 receptor total knock-out cells. Isoflurane induced significantly more neurotoxicity and greater calcium release from the ER in L286V PC12 and Q111 Huntingtin striatal cells than in their corresponding wild-type controls, both of which were significantly inhibited by the IP3 receptor antagonist xestospongin C. Conclusion:These findings suggest that isoflurane activates the ER membrane IP3 receptor, producing excessive calcium release and triggering apoptosis. Neurons with enhanced IP3 receptor activity, as in certain cases of familial Alzheimer or Huntington disease, may be especially vulnerable to isoflurane cytotoxicity.
PERCEIVED OPPORTUNITIES, GANG MEMBERSHIP, AND DELINQUENCY.

Certain aspects of the opportunity structure paradigm were operationalized in a study of delinquent gangs in Chicago. Negro and white lower-class gang boys were compared with lower-class nongang boys from the same neighborhoods, and with middle-class boys, of the same race. The ranking of the six race-by-class-by-gang-status groups on official delinquency rates corresponded more closely to ranking on perceptions of legitimate opportunities than to ranking on perceptions of illegitimate opportunities, which is consistent with the assumption that illegitimate opportunities intervene after legitimate opportunities have been appraised and found wanting. Gang members perceived legitimate opportunities as available less often than nongang boys, lower-class boys, less often than middle-class, and Negro boys, less often than white. Differences in perceptions of illegitimate opportunities were in the reverse direction, as expected. Language: en
Multifidus Muscle Changes After Back Injury Are Characterized by Structural Remodeling of Muscle, Adipose and Connective Tissue, but Not Muscle Atrophy: Molecular and Morphological Evidence

Study Design. Longitudinal case-controlled animal study. Objective. To investigate putative cellular mechanisms to explain structural changes in muscle and adipose and connective tissues of the back muscles after intervertebral disc (IVD) injury. Summary of Background Data. Structural back muscle changes are ubiquitous with back pain/injury and considered relevant for outcome, but their exact nature, time course, and cellular mechanisms remain elusive. We used an animal model that produces phenotypic back muscle changes after IVD injury to study these issues at the cellular/molecular level. Methods. Multifidus muscle was harvested from both sides of the spine at L1–L2 and L3–L4 IVDs in 27 castrated male sheep at 3 (n = 10) or 6 (n = 17) months after a surgical anterolateral IVD injury at both levels. Ten control sheep underwent no surgery (3 mo, n = 4; 6 mo, n = 6). Tissue was harvested at L4 for histological analysis of cross-sectional area of muscle and adipose and connective tissue (whole muscle), plus immunohistochemistry to identify proportion and cross-sectional area of individual muscle fiber types in the deepest fascicle. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction measured gene expression of typical cytokines/signaling molecules at L2. Results. Contrary to predictions, there was no multifidus muscle atrophy (whole muscle or individual fiber). There was increased adipose and connective tissue (fibrotic proliferation) cross-sectional area and slow-to-fast muscle fiber transition at 6 but not 3 months. Within the multifidus muscle, increases in the expression of several cytokines (tumor necrosis factor &agr; and interleukin-1&bgr;) and molecules that signal trophic/atrophic processes for the 3 tissue types (e.g., growth factor pathway [IGF-1, PI3k, Akt1, mTOR], potent tissue modifiers [calcineurin, PCG-1&agr;, and myostatin]) were present. Conclusion. This study provides cellular evidence that refutes the presence of multifidus muscle atrophy accompanying IVD degeneration at this intermediate time point. Instead, adipose/connective tissue increased in parallel with the expression of the genes that provide putative mechanisms for multifidus structural remodeling. This provides novel targets for pharmacological and physical interventions. Level of Evidence: N/A
Neural Basis of Temporal Context Memory: A Functional MRI Study

Temporal context information is crucial to understanding human episodic memory. Human lesion and neuroimaging data indicate that prefrontal regions are important for retrieving temporal context memory, although the exact nature of their involvement is still unclear. We employed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to elucidate the neural basis of two kinds of temporal context memory: the temporal order of items between lists and within a list. On the day of the fMRI experiment, subjects memorized a list of 30 pictures in the morning and another list of 30 pictures in the afternoon. During the scanning session, the subjects performed three tasks. In a between-lists task, they were asked to judge the temporal order between two items that had been presented in different lists. In a within-list task, they were asked to judge the temporal order between two items that had been presented in a single list. We found bilateral prefrontal activities during these two temporal context memory tasks compared with a simple item-recognition task. Furthermore, in direct comparison between these two tasks, we found differential prefrontal activities. Thus, right prefrontal activity was associated with temporal order judgment of items between lists, whereas left prefrontal activity was related to temporal order judgment of items within a list. These results indicate that retrieval processes of two kinds of temporal context memory are supported by different, but overlapping, sets of cerebral regions. We speculate that this reflects different cognitive processes for retrieving temporal context memory between separate episodes and within a single episode.
A "Tips and Tricks" Practical Guide to the Synthesis of Gold Nanorods.

G nanorods have been the first successful example of anisotropic plasmonic nanostructure synthesized by wet chemistry. Since the early 2000s, they have received increasing attention because of their tunable optical (plasmonic) properties, which render them ideal candidates for a wide range of applications, such as solar harvesting, photovoltaics, surfaceenhanced spectroscopies, sensing, and therapy, to name a few. A direct consequence is that a broad variety of researchers with a wide range of backgrounds are currently interested in exploiting their optical properties. Therefore, fast, easy, scalable, and reliable methods for the synthesis of gold nanorods are necessary for their actual implementation in new technologies, which could have a direct impact on our future every-day life. During the past 2 decades, a huge effort has been made to decrease the size dispersity of colloidal gold nanorods; unfortunately, we have not achieved sufficient reproducibility of the synthetic protocols, understood as the possibility of reproducing them in a different working environment. The reason is that small details and “tricks” are generally left out in the experimental section of dedicated publications. In this Viewpoint, we highlight all of the synthetic aspects that generally remain in the shadows in order to provide the scientific community with a user-friendly guide for the production of gold nanorods. We present in Scheme 1 an informal representation of the optimization of synthesis methods to achieve the required quality.
Effect of Ethanolic Leaves Extract of Moringa oleifera on Blood Glucose Levels of Streptozocin-Induced Diabetics and Normoglycemic Wistar Rats

This study was undertaken to determine the hypoglycemic effect of Moringa oleifera (family: Moringaceae) ethanolic extract in normal (normoglycemic) and STZ induced diabetic Wistar rats. In one set of experiment, graded doses of the leaves extract (250 and 500 mg/kg i.p.) were separately administered to groups of fasted normal and fasted STZ diabetic rats. The hypoglycemic effect of the ethanolic leaves extract was compared with that of insulin 6 i.u/kg in fasted normal and STZ diabetic rats. Following treatment, relatively moderate to high doses of Moringa oleifera (250 and 500 mg/kg i.p.) produced a dose-dependent, significant reduction (p<0.05) in blood glucose levels of fasted STZ diabetic rats only. A significant decrease in the blood glucose levels after 1-7 h of administration with the doses of 250 and 500 mg/kg was observed in the STZ diabetic group when compared to control. As regards to the dose of 250 and 500 mg/kg for the fasted normal rats, there was significant increase in the blood glucose levels when compared to control. In conclusion the ethanolic extract of the leaves of Moringa oleifera possesses hypoglycemic activity in STZ induced diabetic Wistar rats only.
Leibniz's laws of continuity and homogeneity

We explore Leibniz's understanding of the differential calculus, and argue that his methods were more coherent than is generally recognized. The foundations of the historical infinitesimal calculus of Newton and Leibniz have been a target of numerous criticisms. Some of the critics believed to have found logical fallacies in its foundations. We present a detailed textual analysis of Leibniz's seminal text Cum Prodiisset, and argue that Leibniz's system for differential calculus was free of contradictions.
Large-Scale Speaker Ranking from Crowdsourced Pairwise Listener Ratings

Speech quality and likability is a multi-faceted phenomenon consisting of a combination of perceptory features that cannot easily be computed nor weighed automatically. Yet, it is often easy to decide which of two voices one likes better, even though it would be hard to describe why, or to name the underlying basic perceptory features. Although likability is inherently subjective and individual preferences differ frequently, generalizations are useful and there is often a broad intersubjective consensus about whether one speaker is more likable than another. However, breaking down likability rankings into pairwise comparisons leads to a quadratic explosion of rating pairs. We present a methodology and software to efﬁciently create a likability ranking for many speakers from crowdsourced pairwise likability ratings. We collected pairwise likability ratings for many (>220) speakers from many raters (>160) and turn these ratings into one likability ranking. We investigate the resulting speaker ranking stability under different conditions: limiting the number of ratings and the dependence on rater and speaker characteristics. We also analyze the ranking wrt. acoustic correlates to ﬁnd out what factors inﬂuence likability. We publish our ranking and the underlying ratings in order to facilitate further research. 1
Calculating bed load transport in steep boulder bed channels

Steep, rough channels occupy a large fraction of the total channel length in mountainous regions. Most sediment mobilized on hillslopes must pass through these streams before reaching lower‐gradient channels. Steep channels have wide grain size distributions that are composed of finer, more mobile sediment and large, rarely mobile grains. The large grains can bear a significant portion of the total shear stress and thereby reduce the stress available to move the finer sediment. Conventional bed load transport equations often overpredict the sediment flux in steep channels by several orders of magnitude. We hypothesize that sediment transport equations overpredict the sediment flux because they do not (1) account for the stress borne by rarely mobile grains, (2) differentiate between highly and rarely mobile sediment, and (3) account for the limited availability of mobile sediment. Here we modify a conventional bed load transport equation to include these three effects. We use measurements of the flow, bed properties, and sediment flux in a small, steep flume to test this equation. We supply gravel at a constant rate through fields of regularly spaced immobile spheres and measure the bed coverage by gravel and sphere protrusion (the percent of the sphere that protrudes above the gravel deposit). For a given sphere spacing, the proportion of the bed covered by gravel increases and the sphere protrusion decreases with greater sediment supply. Thus bed coverage and immobile grain protrusion may serve as proxies for sediment availability in steep, rough streams. Unlike most transport equations that we tested, our modified bed load equation predicts sediment fluxes to within an order of magnitude of the measured values. Our results demonstrate that accurately predicting bed load transport in steep, rough streams may require accounting for the effects of local sediment availability (coverage by mobile sediment) and drag due to rarely mobile particles.
Identification of fast and slow ventilatory responses to carbon dioxide under hypoxic and hyperoxic conditions in humans

1 Under conditions of both euoxia and hypoxia, it is generally accepted that the ventilatory response to CO2 has both rapid (peripheral chemoreflex) and slow (central chemoreflex) components. However, under conditions of hyperoxia, it is unclear in humans whether the fast component is completely abolished or merely attenuated in magnitude. 2 The present study develops a technique to determine whether or not a two‐compartment model fits the ventilatory response to CO2 significantly better than a one‐compartment model. Data were collected under both hypoxic (end‐tidal PO2= 50 Torr) conditions, when two components would be expected, and under hyperoxic (end‐tidal PO2= 200 Torr) conditions, when the presence of the fast compartment is under question. 3 Ten subjects were recruited, of whom nine completed the study. The end‐tidal PCO2 of each subject was varied according to a multi‐frequency binary sequence that involved 13 steps into and 13 steps out of hypercapnia lasting altogether 1408 s. 4 In four out of nine subjects in hypoxia, and six out of nine subjects in hyperoxia, the two‐compartment model fitted the data significantly better than the one‐compartment model (F ratio test on residuals). This improvement in fit was significant for the pooled data in both hypoxia (P < 0·05) and hyperoxia (P < 0·005). Mean ventilatory sensitivities for the central chemoreflex were (mean ± s.e.m.) 1·69 ± 0·39 l min−1 Torr−1 in hypoxia and 2·00 ± 0·32 l min−1 Torr−1 in hyperoxia. Mean ventilatory sensitivities for the peripheral chemoreflex were 2·42 ± 0·36 l min−1 Torr−1 in hypoxia and 0·75 ± 0·16 l min−1 Torr−1 in hyperoxia. 5 It is concluded that the rapid and slow components of the ventilatory response to CO2 can be separately identified, and that a rapid component persists under conditions of hyperoxia.