Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Beam loss monitoring system for the LHC

One of the most critical elements for the protection of CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is its beam loss monitoring (BLM) system. It must prevent the superconducting magnets from quenching and protect the machine components from damages, as a result of critical beam losses. By measuring the loss pattern, the BLM system helps to identify the loss mechanism. Special monitors will be used for the setup and control of the collimators. The specification for the BLM system includes a very high reliability (tolerable failure rate of 10/sup -7/ per hour) and a high dynamic range of 10/sup 8/ (10/sup 13/ at certain locations) of the particle fluencies to be measured. In addition, a wide range of integration times (40 /spl mu/s to 84 s) and a fast (one turn) trigger generation for the dump signal are required. This paper describes the complete design of the BLM system, including the monitor types (ionization chambers and secondary emission monitors), the design of the analogue and digital readout electronics as well as the data links and the trigger decision logic.
Number sense and its relationship with mathematics

Individual differences in number sense correlate with mathematical ability and performance, although the presence and strength of this relationship differs across studies. Inconsistencies in the literature may stem from heterogeneity of number sense and mathematical ability constructs. Sample characteristics may also play a role as changes in the relationship between number sense and mathematics may differ across development and cultural contexts. In this study, 4,984 16-year-old students were assessed on estimation ability, one aspect of number sense. Estimation was measured using two different tasks: number line and dot-comparison. Using cognitive and achievement data previously collected from these students at ages 7, 9, 10, 12, and 14 years of age, the study explored for which of the measures and when in development these links are observed; how strong these links are and how much these links are moderated by other cognitive abilities. The two number sense measures correlated modestly with each other (r = .22), but moderately with mathematics at age 16. Both measures were also associated with earlier mathematics; but this association was uneven across development and was moderated by other cognitive abilities.
Urinary 6‐sulphatoxymelatonin, an index of pineal function in the rat

Abstract: The objective of this study was to apply the radioimmunoassay for 6‐sulphatoxymelatonin (aMT6s) to rat urine, and use it to study the source of aMT6s. The radioimmunoassay was found to have acceptable within‐ and between‐assay variation, excellent specificity, and good parallelism between the standard and unknown. Because urine is highly contaminated we assessed whether preliminary purification was required and established that it was unnecessary. Using this assay a 24‐hr rhythm in 6‐sulphatoxymelatonin output was seen in pools of urine harvested at 3‐hr intervals from Wistar rats on LD 12:12. The nocturnal rise in aMT6s was abolished by constant light. In contrast pinealectomy lowered aMT6s output significantly throughout both dark and light. This study confirms previous studies indicating that the pineal is the major source of 6‐sulphatoxymelatonin. It is concluded that urinary 6‐sulphatoxymelatonin as measured by radioimmunoassay is a valid measure of pineal gland activity in the rat.
Testing The Black- Litterman Model: Sensitivity of Weight Vector to the Variance of Views

The paper investigates sensitivity of the optimal portfolio obtained from the Black Litterman model to the specification of the inputs. Specifically estimation methods of the variances of the views are employed and the results are analysed. For this purpose the MSCI indices of 14 European countries are experienced. The result shows very weak response of the weight vector to the estimation method of the variance matrix of views. Further research suggests the sensitivity analysis concentrated on the prior specification of the equilibrium returns as the beginning point for the Black Litterman model.
Blind to Chains? The Potential of Bioarchaeology for Identifying the Enslaved of Roman Britain

Abstract This research explores the contribution bioarchaeology can make to the study of slavery in Roman Britain, responding to the calls by Webster and colleagues for the greater use of osteological and scientific techniques in this endeavour. It reviews the evidence for the bodies of the enslaved in the primary sources and bioarchaeological evidence from the New World and the Roman Empire. The paper aims to establish patterns of physiological stress and disease, which could be used to reconstruct osteobiographies of these individuals, and applies these findings to bioarchaeological evidence from Britain. It concludes that at the present time, it may not be possible for us to successfully separate out the enslaved from the poor or bonded labourers, because their life experiences were very similar. Nevertheless, these people are overlooked in the archaeological record, so unless we attempt to search for them in the extant evidence, the life experiences of the majority of the Romano-British population who were vital to its economy will remain lost to us.
Quantitative sensing of nanoscale colloids using a microchip Coulter counter

We have fabricated a microchip Coulter counter on a quartz substrate, and have used it to detect individual nanoscale colloidal particles with a sensitivity proportional to each particle's size. We demonstrate the ability of this device to sense colloids as small as 87 nm diameter, and to distinguish between colloids whose diameters differ by less than 10%. Further reductions in the pore size, easily done with current nanofabrication techniques, make our device applicable to measuring biological macromolecules, such as DNA and proteins.
Racial Disparities in Intensity of Care at the End-of-Life: Are Trauma Patients the Same as the Rest?

Introduction. Medicare data show Blacks and Hispanics use more health care resources in the last six months of life than Whites. We sought to determine if similar differences exist in trauma patients who died following moderate to severe injury. Methods. We analyzed data from a prospective cohort study of 18 Level 1 and 51 non-trauma centers in 12 states to examine racial/ethnic variation in intensity of care and hospital costs. Results. Blacks were more likely than Whites to receive critical care consultation RR=1.67 (95% CI, 1.22, 2.30), specialty assessments RR=1.44 (95% CI, 1.12, 1.86) and procedures RR=1.22 (95% CI, 1.00, 150). Hispanics were less likely than Whites to have withdrawal-of-care orders, RR=0.72 (95% CI, 0.53, 0.98). Conclusion. Among patients who die after trauma, Blacks receive higher intensity of care and Hispanics were less likely to have withdrawal of care orders than others. This suggests racial disparities in patient preferences and provider treatment.
Ultrastrucural observations on the interaction in vitro between bovine eosinophils and juvenile Fasciola hepatica

SUMMARY This ultrastructural study has shown that there is a layer of dense flocculent material on the surface of juvenile Fasciola hepatica incubated in vitro with specific bovine antiserum. This material corresponds to the complexes of secreted glycocalyx and bovine antibody previously characterized by fluorescence microscopy. Bovine eosinophils attach closely to those regions of the parasite's surface that are free of flocculent precipitates. This close attachment is followed by degranulation of the eosinophils into the narrow zone between the cells and the parasite. Only in these regions is damage, in the form of vacuolation of the tegument, seen within the juvenile F. hepatica. It is concluded that the inability of bovine eosinophils to kill juvenile F. hepatica in the presence of specific antiserum results from the presence of a protective layer, consisting of antigen/antibody complexes, on the parasite's surface.
Understanding words, understanding numbers: an exploration of the mathematical profiles of poor comprehenders.

BACKGROUND Poor comprehenders are children who show significant deficits in their reading comprehension performance, despite average, or above-average word reading ability. To date, there have been no in-depth studies of the mathematical performance profiles of such children. AIMS This study aimed to explore the mathematical profiles of poor comprehenders. Given that language impairment is associated with difficulties with mathematics, and that poor comprehenders tend to have oral language weaknesses, we hypothesized that poor comprehenders would show relative weaknesses in aspects of mathematical performance. SAMPLE From a sample of 109 children aged 7-8 years, we selected 14 poor comprehenders and 14 controls with age-appropriate reading comprehension ability. The groups were matched on non-verbal ability, multiple measures of reading accuracy, and chronological age. METHODS We compared the performance of the group of poor comprehenders with that of the matched controls on two standardized measures of mathematical ability, one measuring procedural arithmetic prowess and the other tapping higher-level mathematical reasoning. RESULTS Although there were no group differences in performance on the arithmetic measure, the poor comprehenders showed significantly lower scores than the controls on the mathematical reasoning task. The poor comprehenders exhibited impaired verbal ability relative to controls, with these differences in verbal ability associated with the group differences found on the test of mathematical reasoning. CONCLUSIONS Poor comprehenders' deficits are not limited to the domain of literacy; their underlying profile of impairments also seems to selectively impact on certain components of mathematical ability.
Some remarks on stability for a phase field model with memory

In the present paper we treat the system for (x; t) 2 › £ (0; T), 0 < T < 1, with the boundary conditions n ¢ ru = n ¢ r` = 0; (x; t) 2 @› £ (0; T); and initial conditions u(x; 0) = u0(x), `(x; 0) = `0(x), x 2 ›, which was proposed in (36) to model phase transitions taking place in the presence of memory efiects which arise as a result of slowly relaxing internal degrees of freedom, although in (36) the efiects of past history were also included. This system has been shown to exhibit some intriguing efiects such as grains which appear to rotate as they shrink (36). Here the set of steady states of (PFM) and of an associated classical phase fleld model are shown to be the same. Moreover, under the assumption that a1 and a2 are both proportional to a kernel of positive type, the index of instability and the number of unstable modes for any given stationary state of the two systems can be compared and spectral instability is seen to imply instability. By suitably restricting further the memory kernels, the (weak) ! ilimit set of any initial condition can be shown to contain only steady states and linear stability can be shown to imply nonlinear stability.
Quality indicators for diabetes mellitus in the ambulatory setting: using the Delphi method to inform performance measurement development

There are multiple “evidence-based” diabetes guidelines that are used to develop diabetes performance measures for diabetes by multiple stakeholders within the United States, Europe, and other countries.12 Similarly, there are multiple differing sets of performance measures. Although leading organisations that develop measures or endorse measures report their process, the explicit reasoning underlying the selection of the final measures is often not apparent.3 In the current issue of QSHC, Martirosyan et al report on their use of the RAND Panel Delphi methodology to develop valid prescribing quality indicators (PQIs) for persons with type 2 diabetes (see page 318) . 4 This is a good step forward, although it is not without shortcomings. In their report, a panel of experts was given practice guidelines and the evidence base. A series of proposed PQIs were then evaluated in a two-round process. Their paper raises several issues about performance measures and how they are chosen. Experts clearly disagree on how to evaluate evidence, and the Delphi method is designed to achieve consensus during the decision-making process. The Delphi method provides a structure to organise group communication. It is an iterative process of repeated evaluations by a group of individuals whose opinions or judgements are of interest. It is designed to secure the benefits of group decision-making while insulating the process from its limitations, for example, dominant individual members, and is useful for situations when the decisive factors are subjective and not knowledge-based, that is, where individual judgements vary and there is incomplete knowledge. It is usually conducted as a series of sequential questionnaires or “rounds. ” After the first round, each subsequent round is accompanied by anonymously presented information regarding the preceding round. Each panel member is thus encouraged to reconsider and, if appropriate, to change their previous reply in light …
Fine particles in homes of predominantly low-income families with children and smokers: Key physical and behavioral determinants to inform indoor-air-quality interventions

Children are at risk for adverse health outcomes from occupant-controllable indoor airborne contaminants in their homes. Data are needed to design residential interventions for reducing low-income children's pollutant exposure. Using customized air quality monitors, we continuously measured fine particle counts (0.5 to 2.5 microns) over a week in living areas of predominantly low-income households in San Diego, California, with at least one child (under age 14) and at least one cigarette smoker. We performed retrospective interviews on home characteristics, and particle source and ventilation activities occurring during the week of monitoring. We explored the relationship between weekly mean particle counts and interview responses using graphical visualization and multivariable linear regression (base sample n = 262; complete cases n = 193). We found associations of higher weekly mean particle counts with reports of indoor smoking of cigarettes or marijuana, as well as with frying food, using candles or incense, and house cleaning. Lower particle levels were associated with larger homes. We did not observe an association between lower mean particle counts and reports of opening windows, using kitchen exhaust fans, or other ventilation activities. Our findings about sources of fine airborne particles and their mitigation can inform future studies that investigate more effective feedback on residential indoor-air-quality and better strategies for reducing occupant exposures.
Analysis and simulation of the relative lethality of Auger-electron-emitting radionuclides with a liquid-scintillation counter

Purpose: The efficiency of strand-break induction and the counting efficiency of a liquid-scintillation counter can both be described similarly in terms of Poisson statistics. The aim of this work is to relate these two concepts, developing a simple method to simulate with a liquid-scintillation counter the relative biological effects between two different electron-emitting radionuclides. Methods: A gel scintillator can be used to confine the decaying nuclei into nanoscale structures of liquid water (micelles). Because the fluorescing agents of the gel lay outside the micelle structure, the low-energy electrons emitted by the decaying nucleus lose part of their energy within the micelle structure before being detected, resulting in a negative increment of the counting efficiency. The difference in the counting efficiency between two gels with micelles of different characteristic sizes is applied to simulate the relative lethality of the radionuclides. Results: The results are only qualitatively successful. A better accuracy cannot be achieved for commercial liquid-scintillation spectrometers, which have two photomultiplier tubes of identical gain. Also the comparison cannot be extended to low-Z Auger-electron-emitting radionuclides such as 55Fe, since the micelle size effect is significantly increased by the interference of the L-Auger electrons. Conclusions: A liquid-scintillation counter with a gain decreased by a factor of 2.5 in one of the two photomultiplier tubes would be necessary to improve the simulation of the damaging efficiency.
Postprandial interleukin-6 release from skeletal muscle in men with impaired glucose tolerance can be reduced by weight loss.

CONTEXT Obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus are associated with increased levels of IL-6, a marker of inflammation. OBJECTIVE This study addressed the question of whether IL-6 was released from skeletal muscle after a high-fat meal in men with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), a prediabetic state, and whether IL-6 release could be reduced by weight loss. DESIGN Skeletal muscle metabolism was studied in men with IGT (n = 11) and compared with men with normal glucose tolerance (NGT, n = 9), matched for body mass index and age. IL-6 flux over skeletal muscle was measured with the forearm model. Eight IGT men were willing to participate in a 12-wk weight loss program and were tested again. RESULTS IL-6, but not C-reactive protein or TNF-alpha receptor 1 and 2, was released by skeletal muscle. Muscle IL-6 release was higher in IGT than in NGT during fasting (IGT = 2.26 +/- 1.89 vs. NGT = 0.87 +/- 0.48 fmol x 100 ml tissue(-1) x min(-1), P = 0.04) and after a meal (mean area under the curve per minute: IGT = 3.48 +/- 2.63 vs. NGT = 1.37 +/- 0.75 fmol x 100 ml tissue(-1) x min(-1); P = 0.03). In the IGT men, body weight loss resulted in a decrease of postprandial IL-6 release from skeletal muscle (-52%; P = 0.04), reaching levels of the obese, NGT controls. CONCLUSION The present data suggest that a high-fat meal can evoke IL-6 release from muscle and that the IL-6 release is a consequence rather than a cause of the obese, insulin-resistant, and/or IGT state.
Bundling and interdigitation of adsorbed thiolate groups in self-assembled nanocrystal superlattices

Self-assembling of nanocrystals involves organization of nanocrystals encapsulated by protective compact organic molecules into a crystalline material. The adsorbed molecules not only serve as the protection layer for the nanocrystals but also provide the dominant cohesive interactions (or “bonding”) sustaining the nanocrystal superlattices. The length of the adsorbed molecules is a controllable parameter, making the ratio of particle size to interparticle distance an adjustable parameter that sensitively tunes the interparticle interaction/coupling and resulting collective properties. In this paper, bundling and interdigitation of thiolate molecules adsorbed on Ag nanocrystals are observed using the chemical imaging technique in energy-filtered transmission electron microscopy (EF-TEM) at a resolution of ∼2 nm. In these orientationally ordered, self-assembled Ag−nanocrystal superlattices, the bundling of the adsorbed molecules on the nanocrystal surfaces is the fundamental structural principle. A model c.
HMG1 interacts with HOX proteins and enhances their DNA binding and transcriptional activation.

High mobility group protein 1 (HMG1) is a non‐histone, chromatin‐associated nuclear protein with a proposed role in the regulation of eukaryotic gene expression. We show that HMG1 interacts with proteins encoded by the HOX gene family by establishing protein‐protein contacts between the HMG box domains and the HOX homeodomain. The functional role of these interactions was studied using the transcriptional activity of the human HOXD9 protein as a model. HMG1 enhances, in a dose‐dependent fashion, the sequence‐specific DNA binding activity in vitro, and the transcriptional activation in a co‐transfection assay in vivo, of the HOXD9 protein. Functional interaction between HMG1 and HOXD9 is dependent on the DNA binding activity of the homeodomain, and requires the HOXD9 transcriptional activation domain. HMG1 enhances activation by HOXD9, but not by HOXD8, of the HOXD9‐controlled element. Specific target recognition and functional interaction with HMG1 can be transferred to HOXD8 by homeodomain swapping. We propose that HMG1‐like proteins might be general co‐factors in HOX‐mediated transcriptional activation, which facilitate access of HOX proteins to specific DNA targets, and/or introduce architectural constraints in the assembly of HOX‐containing transcriptional complexes.
Bacterial Lipopolysaccharide Activates HIV Long Terminal Repeat Through Toll-Like Receptor 41

In HIV-infected patients, concurrent infections with bacteria and viruses are known to induce HIV replication as assessed by increases in plasma HIV RNA levels. In the present study, we determined the cell surface receptor and molecular mechanisms of enterobacterial LPS-induced HIV transcription. Human dermal microvessel endothelial cells (HMEC) were transfected with an HIV-long terminal repeat (LTR)-luciferase construct and subsequently stimulated with purified bacterial LPS. Our studies demonstrate that human Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) mediates LPS-induced NF-κB and HIV-LTR activation in HMEC through IL-1 signaling molecules, namely myeloid differentiation protein, IL-1R-associated kinase, TNFR-associated factor, and NF-κB-inducing kinase. Cotransfection of HMEC with HIV-LTR-luciferase and TLR4 cDNA from LPS-hyporesponsive C3H/HeJ mice abrogates LPS-induced HIV transcription as does the use of dominant-negative mutants of the IL-1 signaling molecules. Transfection of HMEC with an HIV-LTR-mutant that lacks the NF-κB binding site or pretreatment of cells with chemical inhibitors of the NF-κB pathway also blocked LPS-induced HIV-LTR transactivation. These data support the conclusion that TLR4 mediates enterobacterial LPS-induced HIV transcription via IL-1 signaling molecules and NF-κB activation plays an important role in HIV-LTR transactivation.
XRCC3 ATPase Activity Is Required for Normal XRCC3-Rad51C Complex Dynamics and Homologous Recombination*

Homologous recombinational repair preserves chromosomal integrity by removing double-strand breaks, cross-links, and other DNA damage. In eukaryotic cells, the Rad51 paralogs (XRCC2/3, Rad51B/C/D) are involved in this process, although their exact functions are largely undetermined. All five paralogs contain ATPase motifs, and XRCC3 exists in a single complex with Rad51C. To examine the function of this Rad51C-XRCC3 complex, we generated mammalian expression vectors that produce human wild-type XRCC3 or mutant XRCC3 with either a nonconservative mutation (K113A) or a conservative mutation (K113R) in the GKT Walker A box of the ATPase motif. The three vectors were independently transfected into Xrcc3-deficient irs1SF Chinese hamster ovary cells. Wild-type XRCC3 complemented irs1SF cells, albeit to varying degrees, whereas ATPase mutants had no complementing activity, even when the mutant protein was expressed at comparable levels to that in wild-type-complemented clones. Because of dysfunction of the mutants, we propose that ATP binding and hydrolyzing activities of XRCC3 are essential. We tested in vitro complex formation by wild-type and mutant XRCC3 with His6-tagged Rad51C upon co-expression in bacteria, nickel-affinity purification, and Western blotting. Wild-type and K113A mutant XRCC3 formed stable complexes with Rad51C and co-purified with Rad51C, whereas the K113R mutant did not and was predominantly insoluble. The addition of 5 mm ATP but not ADP also abolished complex formation by the wild-type proteins. These results suggest that XRCC3 probably regulates the dissociation and formation of Rad51C-XRCC3 complex through ATP binding and hydrolysis with both processes being essential for the ability of the complex to participate in homologous recombinational repair.