Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Varied‐space grazing incidence gratings in high resolution scanning spectrometers

We discuss the dominant geometrical aberrations of a grazing incidence reflection grating and new techniques which can be used to reduce or eliminate them. Convergent beam geometries and the aberration correction possible with varied groove spacings are each found to improve the spectral resolution and speed of grazing incidence gratings. In combination, these two techniques can result in a high resolution (λ/Δλ≳104) monochromator or scanning spectrometer with a simple rotational motion for scanning wavelength or selecting the spectral band.
The synthesis of some NLFM laws using the stationary phase principle

In radar literature, the sidelobes reduction techniques using synthesis of some proper nonlinear FM (NLFM) laws represents a major scientific research direction. Accordingly, in order to assure the sidelobes suppression, the main objective of this paper is to present an adequate synthesis algorithm of some NLFM laws based on stationary phase principle. The achieved experimental results confirm a significant sidelobes reduction (i.e., more than -40 dB) without necessity to apply some weighting techniques. Finally, the analysis of the synthesized NLFM laws by ambiguity function tool was also discussed.
Focused ultrasound-mediated sonochemical internalization: an alternative to light-based therapies

Abstract. Activation of sonosensitizers via focused ultrasound (FUS), i.e., sonodynamic therapy has been proposed as an extension to light-activated photodynamic therapy for the treatment of brain as well as other tumors. The use of FUS, as opposed to light, allows treatment to tumor sites buried deep within tissues as well as through the intact skull. We have examined ultrasonic activation of sonosensitizers together with the anticancer agent bleomycin (BLM), i.e., sonochemical internalization (SCI). SCI is a technique that utilizes FUS for the enhanced delivery of endo-lysosomal trapped macromolecules into the cell cytoplasm in a similar manner to light-based photochemical internalization. The released agent can, therefore, exert its full biological activity, in contrast to being degraded by lysosomal hydrolases. Our results indicate that, compared to drug or FUS treatment alone, FUS activation of the sonosensitizer AlPcS2a together with BLM significantly inhibits the ability of treated glioma cells to grow as three-dimensional tumor spheroids in vitro.
Gel Electrophoresis for Investigating Enzymes with Biotechnological Application

Maria de Lourdes T. M. Polizeli1*, Simone C. Peixoto-Nogueira1, Tony M. da Silva1, Alexandre Maller2 and Hamilton Cabral3 1Biology Department, Faculty of Philosophy Sciences and Letters of Ribeirao Preto, Sao Paulo University 2Biochemistry and Immunology Department School of Medicine of Ribeirao Preto, Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo University 3Science Pharmaceutical Department School of Pharmaceutical Science of Ribeirao Preto, Sao Paulo University Brazil
Evaluating High-Frequency Visco-Elastic Moduli in Asphalt Concrete

Spectral Analysis of Surface Wave (SASW) testing was used to evaluate an improvement in the source generation repeatability of surface waves when a sheet metal couplant strip was used compared to the exposed asphalt surface, plus the increase in maximum coherent frequency achieved using a wire spring impactor compared to a solenoid driven steel striker plate. Both SASW and Multichannel Analysis of Surface Waves (MASW) were used to evaluate the high-frequency visco-elastic dynamic modulus of asphalt concrete plate specimens vs. a master curve constructed from standard dynamic modulus tests. The master curve was used to temperature and frequency shift the high-frequency moduli to an 18°C, 25 Hz reference value for comparison. SASW results tended to overestimate the 25 Hz reference modulus obtained from the master curve. MASW results agreed well with the reference modulus, when shifted using the master curve equations, but overestimated the reference modulus when shifted using a power function approximation of the linear portion of the master curve.
Thermal insulation by heat resistant polymers

Internal insulation in a solid rocket motor is a layer of heat-barrier material placed between the internal surface of the case and the propellant. The primary function of internal insulation is to prevent the rocket motor case from reaching temperatures that may endanger its structural integrity. An extensive experimental and theoretical work in the development and characterization of asbestos-free rubbers for use as rocket motor insulators has been performed. The insulation is based on chopped carbon fiber and/or aramid fiber in the pulp form as fillers for Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (EPDM). The first aim of the research is to provide an understanding of the mechanism, the principle, and the process for making polymeric thermal insulants. The second aim is to produce thermal insulants based on polymers with different fillers having different compositions which are capable of working under extreme thermal conditions of 2760 °C (5000 °F). This is through an investigation on the processing, installation, physical, mechanical, thermal and ablative properties of these materials. A hybrid of chopped carbon fiber and Kevlar pulp filled EPDM has been shown to exhibit better thermal, mechanical, physical and ablative properties than its asbestos containing counterpart. Also the prediction of thermal conduction of multiphase thermal insulation composite materials was done using series, parallel, Maxwell Euken and effective medium theory models. Comparison with the measured values allows determining which model estimates best the thermal conductivity of composite insulation material. Development of a suitable optimization technique to reach the best parameters of the selected material was done by doing transient dynamic analysis to determine the response of these materials under a time-varying thermal load. A new type of insulation material using prepregs was developed for the first time. This consists of the development of the prepregs and their assembly to make insulant laminates. This laminate has been shown to exhibit better physical, mechanical, thermal and ablative properties than a hybrid of chopped carbon fiber and Kevlar pulp filled EPDM.
Shop Floor Power: Opportunity and Collectivism in Nurses’ Collective Resignations

This historical and comparative study attends to the phenomenon of collective resignation by registered nurses in the Swedish health services, with the aim of exploring the existence and utilization of shop floor power. The study uses two kinds of data: incidences of collective resignation since the 1980s are explored using newspaper data; second, two cases of collective resignation are comparatively explored using interview data. First is analyzed how contemporary opportunities to take this form of worker action arose. Then is analyzed how differences between the two cases shed further light on opportunity structures in different contexts of nursing, and on nurses’ ability to organize the resignation threat as a collective act. The study clarifies the existence of nurses’ shop floor power as it relates to opportunity structures, while also pointing to the significance of the extent of collectivism when nurses challenge employers by threatening this kind of industrial action
A Bivalent Anthrax–Plague Vaccine That Can Protect against Two Tier-1 Bioterror Pathogens, Bacillus anthracis and Yersinia pestis

Bioterrorism remains as one of the biggest challenges to global security and public health. Since the deadly anthrax attacks of 2001 in the United States, Bacillus anthracis and Yersinia pestis, the causative agents of anthrax and plague, respectively, gained notoriety and were listed by the CDC as Tier-1 biothreat agents. Currently, there is no Food and Drug Administration-approved vaccine against either of these threats for mass vaccination to protect general public, let alone a bivalent vaccine. Here, we report the development of a single recombinant vaccine, a triple antigen consisting of all three target antigens, F1 and V from Y. pestis and PA from B. anthracis, in a structurally stable context. Properly folded and soluble, the triple antigen retained the functional and immunogenicity properties of all three antigens. Remarkably, two doses of this immunogen adjuvanted with Alhydrogel® elicited robust antibody responses in mice, rats, and rabbits and conferred complete protection against inhalational anthrax and pneumonic plague. No significant antigenic interference was observed. Furthermore, we report, for the first time, complete protection of animals against simultaneous challenge with Y. pestis and the lethal toxin of B. anthracis, demonstrating that a single biodefense vaccine can protect against a bioterror attack with weaponized B. anthracis and/or Y. pestis. This bivalent anthrax–plague vaccine is, therefore, a strong candidate for stockpiling, after demonstration of its safety and immunogenicity in human clinical trials, as part of national preparedness against two of the deadliest bioterror threats.
Speculative precomputation: long-range prefetching of delinquent loads

This paper explores Speculative Precomputation, a technique that uses idle thread contexts in a multithreaded architecture to improve performance of single-threaded applications. It attacks program stalls from data cache misses by pre-computing future memory accesses in available thread contexts, and prefetching these data. This technique is evaluated by simulating the performance of a research processor based on the Itanium/sup TM/ ISA supporting Simultaneous Multithreading. Two primary forms of Speculative Precomputation are evaluated. If only the non-speculative thread spawns speculative threads, performance gains of up to 30% are achieved when assuming ideal hardware. However, this speedup drops considerably with more realistic hardware assumptions. Permitting speculative threads to directly spawn additional speculative threads reduces the overhead associated with spawning threads and enables significantly more aggressive speculation, overcoming this limitation. Even with realistic costs for spawning threads, speedups as high as 169% are achieved, with an average speedup of 76%.
Superblock compilation and other optimization techniques for a Java-based DBT machine emulator

Superblock compilation techniques such as control flow graph (CFG) or trace compilation have become a widely adopted approach to increase the performance of dynamically compiling virtual machines even further. While this was shown to be successful for many conventional virtual machines, it did not result in a higher performance for Java-based DBT machine emulators so far. These emulators dynamically translate application binaries of a target machine into Java bytecode, which is then eventually compiled into the native code of the emulating host by the Java Virtual Machine (JVM). Successful superblock compilation techniques for this class of emulators must consider the special requirements that result from the two-stage translation as well as the characteristics of the JVM, such as the inability of most Java JIT compilers to handle large bytecode methods efficiently. In this paper, we present a superblock compilation approach for a Java-based DBT machine emulator that generates a performance increase of up to 90 percent and of 32 percent on average. The key idea of our design is to provide a large scope over the control flow of target applications across basic block boundaries for the JVM, while still keeping small bytecode methods for the execution units. In addition, we also present two further optimizations -- interpreter context elimination and program counter elimination -- which increase the emulation performance by 16 percent again. In total, the optimization techniques discussed in this paper provide an average performance gain of 48 percent for the surveyed emulator.
Higher order arrangement of the eukaryotic nuclear bodies

The nuclei of eukaryotic cells consist of discrete substructures. These substructures include the nuclear bodies, which have been implicated in a number of biological processes such as transcription and splicing. However, for most nuclear bodies, the details of involvement in these processes in relation to their three-dimensional distributions in the nucleus are still unclear. Through the analysis of TDP, a protein functional in both transcriptional repression and alternative splicing, we have identified a new category of nuclear bodies within which the TDP molecules reside. Remarkably, the TDP bodies (TBs) colocalize or overlap with several different types of nuclear bodies previously suggested to function in transcription or splicing. Of these nuclear bodies, the Gemini of coiled bodies (GEM) seems to associate with TB through the interaction between survival motor neuron (SMN) protein and TDP. Furthermore, TB sometimes appears to be the bridge of two or more of these other nuclear bodies. Our data suggest the existence of a hierarchy and possibly functional arrangement of the nuclear bodies within the eukaryotic nuclei.
Experimental Results of High-Efficiency Resonant Coupling Wireless Power Transfer Using a Variable Coupling Method

We experimentally demonstrate that the efficiency of wireless power transfer utilizing resonant coupling is improved by applying the “matching condition. ” The `matching condition' is extracted from an equivalent circuit model of a magnetically coupled wireless power transfer system. This condition is achieved by varying the coupling factor between the source (load) and the internal resonator. Applying this technique results in efficiency improvements of 46.2% and 29.3% at distances of 60 cm and 1 m, respectively. The maximum efficiency is 92.5% at 15 cm. A circuit model based on the extracted parameters of the resonators produces results similar to the experimental data.
Controlled Structure and Properties of Thermoresponsive Nanoparticle–Hydrogel Composites

: & & B & + & ++ + 0 & 0 0+ & + + & & 0 & & & & + + & % 1 + & + B 0 & & B & + + C/ D & ++ + 0C/9 0 & 0 + D C :* / D 0+ 0 & BB 0 / #E + & + / :* / 0+ 1 + & B & & 0 + 9 0 B / & 0 +8 & & B 0+ + & = 9 + 1 9/ 9& :* / 0+ / :* / & 0+ + 0 0 + BB B F 1 + 9 1 & + + 0 + 0 B & & B / 9 & . & 0 & & 1 0 1 9+ B + + 0 0 0 & & & & & 09 & + + + 0 & F + & 0 + 9 F 0 B + ? + & 9 & + 9+ 0 & 0+ & 9 F 0 1 + B & 1 & 9 & & + # = + B B 9 & + 0 B & G 0 & 0 & ) & 1 0 & + !
Influence of Parasitic Capacitance on Output Voltage for Series-Connected Thin-Film Piezoelectric Devices

Series-connected thin film piezoelectric elements can generate large output voltages. The output voltage ideally is proportional to the number of connections. However, parasitic capacitances formed by the insulation layers and derived from peripheral circuitry degrade the output voltage. Conventional circuit models are not suitable for predicting the influence of the parasitic capacitance. Therefore we proposed the simplest model of piezoelectric elements to perform simulation program with integrated circuit emphasis (SPICE) circuit simulations). The effects of the parasitic capacitances on the thin-film Pb(Zr, Ti)O3, (PZT) elements connected in series on a SiO2 insulator are demonstrated. The results reveal the negative effect on the output voltage caused by the parasitic capacitances of the insulation layers. The design guidelines for the devices using series-connected piezoelectric elements are explained.
Dopamine D2 receptors are involved in the regulation of fyn and metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 phosphorylation in the rat striatum in vivo

Fyn, a major Src family kinase (SFK) member that is densely expressed in striatal neurons, is actively involved in the regulation of cellular and synaptic activities in local neurons. This SFK member is likely regulated by dopamine signaling through a receptor mechanism involving dopamine D2 receptors (D2Rs). This study characterizes the D2R‐dependent regulation of Fyn in the rat striatum in vivo. Moreover, we explore whether D2Rs regulate metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5) in its tyrosine phosphorylation and whether the D2R–SFK pathway modulates trafficking of mGluR5. We found that blockade of D2Rs by systemic administration of a D2R antagonist, eticlopride, substantially increased SFK phosphorylation in the striatum. This increase was a transient and reversible event. The eticlopride‐induced SFK phosphorylation occurred predominantly in immunopurified Fyn but not in another SFK member, Src. Eticlopride also elevated tyrosine phosphorylation of mGluR5. In parallel, eticlopride enhanced synaptic delivery of active Fyn and mGluR5. Pretreatment with an SFK inhibitor blocked the eticlopride‐induced tyrosine phosphorylation and synaptic trafficking of mGluR5. These results indicate that D2Rs inhibit SFK (mainly Fyn) phosphorylation in the striatum. D2Rs also inhibit tyrosine phosphorylation and synaptic recruitment of mGluR5 through a signaling mechanism likely involving Fyn. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Numerical approximations of Allen-Cahn and Cahn-Hilliard equations

Stability analyses and error estimates are carried out for a number of commonly used numerical schemes for the Allen-Cahn and Cahn-Hilliard equations. It is shown that all the schemes we considered are either unconditionally energy stable, or conditionally energy stable with reasonable stability conditions in the semi-discretized versions. Error estimates for selected schemes with a spectral-Galerkin approximation are also derived. The stability analyses and error estimates are based on a weak formulation thus the results can be easily extended to other spatial discretizations, such as Galerkin finite element methods, which are based on a weak formulation.
Biopsy and prognosis of malignant melanoma.

In a personal series of 559 patients with black lesions on the skin, only 2.1% had malignant melanomas; about 98% were not melanomatous. Of 31 instances in which melanoma was suspected, the diagnosis was proven by histopathologic examination in only 12 (38.7%). Since melanoma surgery is mutilating, biopsy studies would be helpful if they were not damaging to the patient. Of the 193 surgically treated localized malignant melanomas reported to the California Tumor Registry from 1950 to 1954, incomplete excision was performed in 115 cases. Definitive surgery was done later in 90 of these cases— as much as one week later in 73. A comparison of the survival rates of the 115 patients on whom biopsies were done with those of the 55 patients on whom definitive surgery was performed immediately showed no deleterious effect from the delayed surgery.
Influence of the target vessel on the location and area of maximum skin dose during percutaneous coronary intervention

Background: A number of cases involving radiation-associated patient skin injury attributable to percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) have been reported. Knowledge of the location and area of the patient's maximum skin dose (MSD) in PCI is necessary to reduce the risk of skin injury. Purpose: To determine the location and area of the MSD in PCI, and separately analyze the effects of different target vessels. Material and Methods: 197 consecutive PCI procedures were studied, and the location and area of the MSD were calculated by a skin-dose mapping software program: Caregraph. The target vessels of the PCI procedures were divided into four groups based on the American Heart Association (AHA) classification. Results: The sites of the MSD for AHA #1–3, AHA #4, and AHA #11–15 were located mainly on the right back skin, the lower right or center back skin, and the upper back skin areas, respectively, whereas the MSD sites for the AHA #5–10 PCI were widely spread. The MSD area for the AHA #4 PCI was larger than that for the AHA #11–15 PCI (P<0.0001). Conclusion: Although the radiation associated with PCI can be widely spread and variable, we observed a tendency regarding the location and area of the MSD when we separately analyzed the data for different target vessels. We recommend the use of a smaller radiation field size and the elimination of overlapping fields during PCI.
Assessing Content Diversity in Medical Weblogs

In this paper, we are considering weblogs focusing on medicine and health. Given this general topic, posts can deal with diseases, medical treatments, medications and the like to which in turn different aspects can be considered. Within a diversity-aware medical search engine knowledge about this kind of diversity can support grouping of search results into diversity dimensions covered by a text. Therefore, a method is introduced for studying topic and content diversity. The approach bases on information extraction technologies and domain knowledge and is applied to a set of medical weblog posts. The diversity of topics described in this dataset will be studied in more detail.
3-(5-Dimethylamino-1-Naphthalenesulphonyl)-2-(3-Pyridyl)Thiazolidine (YHI-1) Selectively Inhibits Human Immunodeficiency virus Type 1

3-(5-Dimethylamino-1-naphthalenesulphonyl)-2-(3-pyridyl)thiazolidine (YHI-1), a synthetic analogue of D-cysteinolic acid isolated from sardines (Sardinops melanostictus), was found to be a specific inhibitor of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) replication in various cell cultures. YHI-1 inhibited HIV-1IIIB replication with a 50% effective concentration (EC50) of 3.35, 10.23 and 4.61 μM in MT-4 cells, peripheral blood mononuclear cells and MAGI-CCR5 cells, respectively. However, no antiviral activity was observed with non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI)-resistant HIV-1 strains, such as nevirapine-resistant HIV-1HE/NEV and MKC-442-resistant HIV-1IIIB-R, or with HIV-2ROD or SIVMAC. YHI-1 failed to inhibit reverse transcriptase (RT) activity in vitro with different template–primer systems. Time-of-addition experiments, the failure to inhibit NNRTI-resistant strains and the failure to show in vitro activity against RT suggest that a metabolite of YHI-1 inside the cell acts like an NNRTI. Thus, YHI-1 seems to belong to a new class of HIV-1 inhibitor and is a good candidate for further development.
Reliability of fine-pitch flip-chip packages

A new low-cost flip-chip technology that leverages the existing fine pitch flip-chip technologies is discussed. For decades, the C4 process has served as the main interconnect method in the flip-chip package. However with bump pitches shrinking, the solder bump based C4 process is facing challenges in terms of reducing pitch and underfill process. At the same time, increasing challenges for flip-chip are seen by the movement toward lead-free solder bumps and low-k dielectric layers. This paper provides an overview of Tessera μPILR™ flip-chip technology incorporating a 150um pitch bump array and the simulations and study conducted on reliability of Tessera μPILR flip-chip package. This study explores the effect of various design parameters on package warpage. Solder fatigue life prediction was performed and solder bump reliability was compared for Tessera flip-chip technology and standard flip-chip solder joints using Modified Anand solder material properties and Darveaux fatigue life prediction theory. Initial experimental reliability results are also presented which highlight the reliability/feasibility of Tessera developmental μPILR flip-chip package design for 150um bump pitch. Further more, fracture mechanics approach was applied, and energy release rates were obtained in order to check reliability of low-k dielectric layer.