Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Probing novel properties of nucleons and nuclei via parity violating electron scattering

This thesis reports on two experiments conducted by the HAPPEx (Hall A Proton Parity Experiment) collaboration at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. For both, the weak neutral current interaction (WNC, mediated by the Z0 boson) is used to probe novel properties of hadronic targets. The WNC interaction amplitude is extracted by measuring the parity-violating asymmetry in the elastic scattering of longitudinally polarized electrons o unpolarized target hadrons. HAPPEx-III, conducted in the Fall of 2009, used a liquid hydrogen target at a momentum transfer of Q2 = 0.62 GeV2. The measured asymmetry was used to set new constraints on the contribution of strange quark form factors (GsE,M ) to the nucleon electromagnetic form factors. A value of APV = -23.803±} 0.778 (stat)± 0.359 (syst) ppm resulted in GsE + 0.517GsM = 0.003± 0.010 (stat)± 0.004 (syst)± 0.009 (FF). PREx, conducted in the Spring of 2010, used a polarized electron beam on a 208Pb target at a momentum transfer of Q2 = 0.009 GeV2. This parity-violating asymmetry can be used to obtain a clean measurement of the root-mean-square radius of the neutrons in the 208Pb nucleus. The Z0 boson couples mainly to neutrons; the neutron weak charge is much larger thanmore » that of the proton. The value of this asymmetry is at the sub-ppm level and has a projected experimental fractional precision of 3%. We will describe the accelerator setup used to set controls on helicity-correlated beam asymmetries and the analysis methods for finding the raw asymmetry for HAPPEx-III. We will also discuss in some detail the preparations to meet the experimental challenges associated with measuring such a small asymmetry with the degree of precision required for PREx. « less
Influence of Heat Treatments on the Near-Surface Tritium Concentration Profiles

Austenitic stainless steel, type 316, absorbs significant quantities of tritium into the near surface (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$ < 1 ~\mu \text{m}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) on exposure to tritium containing gases at room temperature. The tritium concentrations that develop in the near-surface region (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$ < 1 ~\mu \text{m}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) are shown to persist for several years without changing. The current work shows the effect of heat treatments on the near-surface tritium-concentration profiles in stainless steel. Identical stainless-steel samples were exposed to tritium at room temperature and then were heated to different temperatures between 100 °C and 300 °C for 2 h under a stagnant argon atmosphere. After this initial preheating, the concentration profiles in the first <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$10 ~\mu \text{m}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> were measured by using a combination of a ZnCl2 wash and an etching procedure. Tritium was thermally released by heating the samples to 550 °C to measure the residual tritium present in the bulk of the sample. The data show two dominant features. First, preheating causes tritium to migrate both out of the sample and deeper than ><inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$1 ~\mu \text{m}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> into the bulk. This effect increases with increasing temperature. Second, the depletion of tritium from the near surface does not occur until a temperature of 200 °C.
The impact of audit committee characteristics on Saudi bank performance

This paper examines the impact of audit committee characteristics on the performance of Saudi listed banks. Data are collected from the annual reports of Saudi listed banks from 2010 to 2018. To test hypotheses, this study applies the random effects model as the main method of analysis, while the ordinary least square (OLS), the feasible generalized least squares (FGLS), and the panel-corrected standard errors (PCSE) methods are used for robustness check and additional analysis. The empirical results indicate a significant positive effect of audit committee independence on all measures of bank performance (ROA, ROE, Tobin’s Q). The empirical results of this study also provide important implications for regulatory bodies and market participants in Saudi Arabia and developing countries to understand the actual role of different attributes of the audit committees on firm performance.
The IRAS 2 and IRAS 4 Outflows and Star Formation in NGC 1333

We report the first detection of the western bow shock component from IRAS 2 in NGC 1333 along with observations of previously detected shocks and outflow winds from this source and those from IRAS 4. We compare the shock and outflow distributions from these two young stellar objects (YSOs), and the locations of other YSOs, with the overall distribution of the dense molecular gas in the star-forming core using high spatial resolution observations of CS (J = 2 → 1, 3 → 2, and 5 → 4) emission made with the Institut de Radio Astronomie Millimétrique 30 m antenna. These comparisons provide a new picture of the morphology and dynamics of the star-forming core of NGC 1333. The CS maps show (1) a large cavity with many YSOs just at the inner edge of the cavity, (2) a dense, compressed shell at 8 km s-1; and (3) a gas layer at 7 km s-1 probably located inside the cavity. We find that the IRAS 2 and IRAS 4 outflows impact different gas layers as indicated by the spatial association of the red- and blueshifted lobes, and that IRAS 2 is located near the front edge of the CS shell. The burst of star formation that has shaped NGC 1333 is occurring in the compressed shell traced by CS and now appears to be in a late evolutionary stage.
Attitudes and Beliefs around the Value of Vaccination in the United States

Despite the benefits of immunization, differences in attitudes persist toward vaccines. We captured individuals’ perceptions of vaccines and vaccination across the United States (US) to inform vaccine-related policy development. A survey was completed by 5000 respondents from 10 states. Respondents were screened for inclusion, which included individuals ≥ 18 years of age that had received a vaccine or were unvaccinated but indicated a favorable or neutral attitude towards vaccinations. Participants were excluded if they indicated they did not support the idea of vaccinations. Questions explored perceptions of vaccines for all age groups. Among unvaccinated individuals, the most common concerns were about safety (38%). Most respondents (95%) highlighted the importance of state immunization programs for disease prevention. Access to health and immunization records and immunization information systems were important to 96% and 88% of respondents, respectively, for future health planning. Doctors and healthcare professionals (HCPs) were considered trusted sources for vaccine information (95%). Overall, respondents recognized the importance of vaccination, but documented concerns among the unvaccinated indicated a need for greater promotion regarding vaccine safety. Doctors and HCPs, as trusted information sources, should continue to and increasingly advocate for the importance of immunization to increase vaccine uptake.
An Examination of SuperDARN Backscatter Modes Using Machine Learning Guided by Ray‐Tracing

The Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) is a network of High Frequency (HF) radars that are typically used for monitoring plasma convection in the Earth's ionosphere. A majority of SuperDARN backscatter can broadly be divided into three categories: (a) ionospheric scatter due to reflections from plasma irregularities in the E and F regions of the ionosphere, (b) ground scatter caused by reflections from the ground/sea surface following reflection in the ionosphere, and (c) backscatter from meteor trails left by meteoroids as they enter the Earth's atmosphere. Due to the complex nature of HF propagation and mid‐latitude electrodynamics, it is often not straightforward to distinguish between different modes of backscatter observed by SuperDARN. In this study, we present a new two‐stage machine learning algorithm for identifying different backscatter modes in SuperDARN data. In the first stage, a neural network that “mimics” ray‐tracing is used to predict the probability of ionospheric and ground scatter occurring at a given location along with parameters like the elevation angles, reflection heights etc. The inputs to the network include parameters that control HF propagation, such as signal frequency, season, UT time, and geomagnetic activity levels. In the second stage, the output probabilities from the neural network and actual SuperDARN data are clustered together to determine the category of the backscatter. Our model can distinguish between meteor scatter, 1/2 hop E‐/F‐region ionospheric as well as ground/sea scatter. We validate our model by comparing predicted elevation angles with those measured at a SuperDARN radar.
Characteristic of Molecular Subtypes in Lung Squamous Cell Carcinoma Based on Autophagy-Related Genes and Tumor Microenvironment Infiltration

Background Recently, a large number of studies have sought personalized treatment for lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) by dividing patients into different molecular subtypes. Autophagy plays an important role in maintaining the tumor microenvironment and immune-related biological processes. However, the molecular subtypes mediated by autophagy in LUSC are not clear. Methods Based on 490 LUSC samples, we systematically analyzed the molecular subtype modification patterns mediated by autophagy-related genes. The ssGSEA and CIBERSORT algorithm were utilized to quantify the relative abundance of TME cell infiltration. Principal component analysis was used to construct autophagy prognostic score (APS) model. Results We identified three autophagy subtypes in LUSC, and their clinical outcomes and TME cell infiltration had significant heterogeneity. Cluster A was rich in immune cell infiltration. The enrichment of EMT stromal pathways and immune checkpoint molecules were significantly enhanced, which may lead to its immunosuppression. Cluster B was characterized by relative immunosuppression and relative stromal activation. Cluster C was activated in biological processes related to repair. Patients with high APS were significantly positively correlated with TME stromal activity and poor survival. Meanwhile, high APS showed an advantage in response to anti-PD1 and anti-CTLA4 immunotherapy. Conclusion This study explored the autophagy molecular subtypes in LUSC. We also discovered the heterogeneity of TME cell infiltration driven by autophagy-related genes. The established APS model is of great significance for evaluating the prognosis of LUSC patients, the infiltration of TME cells, and the effect of immunotherapy.
The transitional wake behind an inclined prolate spheroid

The wake behind a 6:1 prolate spheroid at 45° incidence has been studied by means of direct numerical simulations (DNSs). The Reynolds number based on the minor axis of the spheroid was 3000 as compared to 1000 in our preceding study [Jiang et al., “The laminar wake behind a 6:1 prolate spheroid at 45° incidence angle,” Phys. Fluids 26, 113602 (2014)]. The resulting wake is no longer laminar and the transitional wake is fundamentally unsteady and highly asymmetric from the very beginning. A substantial side force resulted from the asymmetric pressure field. No signs of vortex shedding could be observed. The forces and the flow field around the spheroid exhibited a dominant periodicity with a surprisingly low Strouhal number of 0.0733. One part of the counter-rotating vortex pair which dominated the near-wake broke down into small-scale vortices as soon as the vortex left the shadow behind the spheroid. The other part appeared as a helical vortex inside which the mechanical energy was conserved over a substantial length. The axial flow within this vortex tube experienced a sudden change from having maximum to minimum at the vortex center while maintaining the sign of the circulation. The severe asymmetry of the wake is ascribed to a global instability and may impact on submarine maneuverability.
Religious Divisions and Production Technology: Experimental Evidence from India

This paper implements a field experiment in India to understand whether the effects of religious diversity on productivity and attitudes depend on a firm’s production technology. I randomly assigned Hindu and Muslim workers at a manufacturing plant in West Bengal to religiously mixed or homogeneous teams. Production tasks are categorized as highor low-dependency based on the degree of continuous coordination required for production. I find that mixed teams are less productive than homogeneous teams in high-dependency tasks, but this effect attenuates completely in four months. In low-dependency tasks, diversity does not affect productivity. Despite lowering short-run productivity, mixing improves out-group attitudes for Hindu workers in high-dependency tasks, but there are little or no effects in low-dependency tasks. The improvements in production and attitudes in highdependency tasks are consistent with the minority (Muslim) workers initiating and paying the cost of integration. Overall, this pattern of results suggests that technology that incentivizes individuals to learn to work together is important in overcoming existing intergroup differences – and leads to improved relations and team performance. *Duke University. Email: arkadev.ghosh@duke.edu. I am indebted to Siwan Anderson, Munir Squires, Patrick Francois, Matt Lowe, and Jamie McCasland for their advice, support and guidance throughout the project. I would like to thank Anand Chopra, Claudio Ferraz, Ashok Kotwal, Gaurav Khanna, Elizabeth Lyons, Salma Mousa, Nathan Nunn, Daniel Rees and Thorsten Rogall for useful suggestions and comments. Thanks also to Aaheli Chakraborty, Mouiry Gope, Abhirup Majumder and Subhaman Supantha for excellent research assistance. This research was undertaken thanks to funding from the Centre for Innovative Data in Economics Research (CIDER) under the Canada Excellence Research Chair held by Prof. Erik Snowberg. This project received ethics approval from UBC BREB (Number: H19-00729), and was pre-registered in the AEA registry (ID #0004270).
Individualized Approach in the Surgical Management of Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Results from a Greek Multicentre Study

Simple Summary Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary liver cancer with expected increasing frequency in the next few decades. The Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) Staging System is a widely adopted tool for guiding the therapeutic algorithms of patients with HCC. This classification has been guiding clinical practice for the last two decades. However, emerging data demonstrate that patients beyond the traditional criteria of operability or resectability can benefit from surgical treatment. We present the Greek multicentre experience of treating HCC within and beyond BCLC guidelines. Abstract Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary liver cancer and the third leading cause of death worldwide. The management of HCC is complex, with surgical treatment providing long-term survival in eligible patients. This study aims to present the experience of aggressive surgical management of HCC in Greece. Methods: This is a retrospective multicentre clinical study with 242 patients. Results: Most patients were male (79%) and had a median age of 71 yrs. According to the most recent BCLC criteria, 172 patients (71.1%) were classified as BCLC 0-A stage, 33 patients (13.6%) were classified as BCLC B, and 37 (15.3%) were classified as BCLC C. A total of 54% of the patients underwent major hepatectomy. Major postoperative morbidity was 15.6%, and the 90-day postoperative mortality rate was 4.5%. The median follow-up was 33.5 months. Three- and five-year overall survival was 65% and 48%, respectively. The median overall survival was 55 months. Significantly, five-year survival was 55% for BCLC A, and 34% and 21% for BCLC B and C, respectively. In univariate analysis, cirrhosis, type of resection (R status), and BCLC stage were associated with overall survival. Multivariate analysis indicated that R1 and R2 resections compared to R0, and BCLC C compared to BCLC 0-A, were independently associated with increased mortality. Conclusions: Aggressive surgical treatment of HCC offers satisfactory long-term survival prospects. A significant percentage (29%) of HCCs that underwent liver resection were of the intermediate and advanced BCLC stage. The management of patients with HCC should be discussed in multidisciplinary tumour board meetings on a case-by-case basis to be more effective.
Extend the Survival of Human Sperm In Vitro in Non-Freezing Conditions: Damage Mechanisms, Preservation Technologies, and Clinical Applications

Preservation of human spermatozoa in vitro at normothermia or hypothermia maintaining their functions and fertility for several days plays a significant role in reproductive biology and medicine. However, it is well known that human spermatozoa left in vitro deteriorate over time irreversibly as the consequence of various stresses such as the change of osmolarity, energy deficiency, and oxidative damage, leading to substantial limitations including the need for semen examinations, fertility preservation, and assisted reproductive technology. These problems may be addressed with the aid of non-freezing storage techniques. The main and most effective preservation strategies are the partial or total replacement of seminal plasma with culture medium, named as extenders, and temperature-induced metabolic restriction. Semen extenders consist of buffers, osmolytes, and antioxidants, etc. to protect spermatozoa against the above-mentioned adverse factors. Extended preservation of human spermatozoa in vitro has a negative effect on sperm parameters, whereas its effect on ART outcomes remains inconsistent. The storage duration, temperature, and pre-treatment of semen should be determined according to the aims of preservation. Advanced techniques such as nanotechnology and omics have been introduced and show great potential in the lifespan extension of human sperm. It is certain that more patients will benefit from it in the near future. This review provided an overview of the current knowledge and prospects of prolonged non-freezing storage of human sperm in vitro.
Increased KV2.1 Channel Clustering Underlies the Reduction of Delayed Rectifier K+ Currents in Hippocampal Neurons of the Tg2576 Alzheimer’s Disease Mouse

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the progressive deterioration of cognitive functions. Cortical and hippocampal hyperexcitability intervenes in the pathological derangement of brain activity leading to cognitive decline. As key regulators of neuronal excitability, the voltage-gated K+ channels (KV) might play a crucial role in the AD pathophysiology. Among them, the KV2.1 channel, the main α subunit mediating the delayed rectifier K+ currents (IDR) and controlling the intrinsic excitability of pyramidal neurons, has been poorly examined in AD. In the present study, we investigated the KV2.1 protein expression and activity in hippocampal neurons from the Tg2576 mouse, a widely used transgenic model of AD. To this aim we performed whole-cell patch-clamp recordings, Western blotting, and immunofluorescence analyses. Our Western blotting results reveal that KV2.1 was overexpressed in the hippocampus of 3-month-old Tg2576 mice and in primary hippocampal neurons from Tg2576 mouse embryos compared with the WT counterparts. Electrophysiological experiments unveiled that the whole IDR were reduced in the Tg2576 primary neurons compared with the WT neurons, and that this reduction was due to the loss of the KV2.1 current component. Moreover, we found that the reduction of the KV2.1-mediated currents was due to increased channel clustering, and that glutamate, a stimulus inducing KV2.1 declustering, was able to restore the IDR to levels comparable to those of the WT neurons. These findings add new information about the dysregulation of ionic homeostasis in the Tg2576 AD mouse model and identify KV2.1 as a possible player in the AD-related alterations of neuronal excitability.
Cavitation Characterization of Size-Isolated Microbubbles in a Vessel Phantom Using Focused Ultrasound

Pharmaceutical delivery can be noninvasively targeted on-demand by microbubble (MB) assisted focused ultrasound (FUS). Passive cavitation detection (PCD) has become a useful method to obtain real-time feedback on MB activity due to a FUS pulse. Previous work has demonstrated the acoustic PCD response of MBs at a variety of acoustic parameters, but few have explored variations in microbubble parameters. The goal of this study was to determine the acoustic response of different MB size populations and concentrations. Four MB size distributions were prepared (2, 3, 5 µm diameter and polydisperse) and pulled through a 2% agar wall-less vessel phantom. FUS was applied by a 1.515 MHz geometrically focused transducer for 1 ms pulses at 1 Hz PRF and seven distinct mechanical indices (MI) ranging from 0.01 to 1.0 (0.0123 to 1.23 MPa PNP). We found that the onset of harmonic (HCD) and broadband cavitation dose (BCD) depends on the mechanical index, MB size and MB concentration. When matched for MI, the HCD and BCD rise, plateau, and decline as microbubble concentration is increased. Importantly, when microbubble size and concentration are combined into gas volume fraction, all four microbubble size distributions align to similar onset and peak; these results may help guide the planning and control of MB + FUS therapeutic procedures.
The Development of an Innovative Embedded Sensor for the Optical Measurement of Ex-Vivo Engineered Muscle Tissue Contractility

Tissue engineering is a multidisciplinary approach focused on the development of innovative bioartificial substitutes for damaged organs and tissues. For skeletal muscle, the measurement of contractile capability represents a crucial aspect for tissue replacement, drug screening and personalized medicine. To date, the measurement of engineered muscle tissues is rather invasive and not continuous. In this context, we proposed an innovative sensor for the continuous monitoring of engineered-muscle-tissue contractility through an embedded technique. The sensor is based on the calibrated deflection of one of the engineered tissue’s supporting pins, whose movements are measured using a noninvasive optical method. The sensor was calibrated to return force values through the use of a step linear motor and a micro-force transducer. Experimental results showed that the embedded sensor did not alter the correct maturation of the engineered muscle tissue. Finally, as proof of concept, we demonstrated the ability of the sensor to capture alterations in the force contractility of the engineered muscle tissues subjected to serum deprivation.
Strain dependence on polarization properties of AlGaN and AlGaN-based ultraviolet lasers grown on AlN substrates

Since the band ordering in AlGaN has a profound effect on the performance of UVC light emitting diodes (LEDs) and even determines the feasibility of surface emitting lasers, the polarization properties of emitted light from c-oriented AlGaN and AlGaN-based laser structures were studied over the whole composition range, as well as various strain states, quantum confinements, and carrier densities. A quantitative relationship between the theoretical valence band separation, determined using k•p theory, and the experimentally measured degree of polarization is presented. Next to composition, strain was found to have the largest influence on the degree of polarization while all other factors were practically insignificant. The lowest crossover point from the transverse electric to transverse magnetic polarized emission of 245 nm was found for structures pseudomorphically grown on AlN substrates. This finding has significant implications toward the efficiency and feasibility of surface emitting devices below this wavelength.