Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Frequency and magnetic-field dependence of the dielectric constant and conductivity of La2CuO4+y.

Detailed measurements are reported of the conductivity and dielectric constant at frequencies up to 20 MHz for single crystals of La{sub 2}CuO{sub 4+{ital y}}, with {ital y} varied in the range 0.001--0.01. The hole concentration is determined for each {ital y} by Hall measurements. The conductivity shows a power-law dependence on frequency ({omega}{sup {ital s}}), which is typical of thermally assisted tunneling between localized states. The exponent {ital s}{lt}1 decreases with increasing temperature and increasing oxygen content. The dielectric constant decreases with increasing frequency at low frequency with the power law {omega}{sup {ital s}{minus}1}, showing that it is dominated by the same hopping mechanism. At high frequency the dielectric constant saturates and, for the electric field parallel to the CuO{sub 2} layers, the saturation value increases with oxygen content. From the polarizability at low acceptor concentration the radius of the bound hole is found to be {similar to}8 A, a value that is consistent with a simple hydrogenic model of the impurity state. The small binding energy of the hole to the impurity, 35 meV as determined from Hall measurements, together with this radius of 8 A, requires that the mass of the hole be fairly small, {similar to}2{ital m}{submore » {ital e}}. The growth of the localization length with hole density is almost purely two dimensional, implying that there is no true insulator-to-metal transition, but rather a crossover from strong to weak localization. From studies of the magnetic-field dependence of the frequency-dependent conductivity and dielectric constant one finds new evidence for the strong coupling of the excess holes to the antiferromagnetically ordered Cu spins. « less
N-Butyl-2-cyanoacrylate-based injectable and in situ-forming implants for efficient intratumoral chemotherapy

Abstract The local delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs to tumor sites is an effective approach for achieving therapeutic drug concentrations in solid tumors. Injectable implants with the ability to form in situ represent one of the most promising technologies for intratumoral chemotherapy. However, many issues must be resolved before these implants can be applied in clinical practice. Herein, we report a novel injectable in situ-forming implant system composed of n-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate (NBCA) and ethyl oleate, and the sol–gel phase transition is activated by anions in body fluids or blood. This newly developed injectable NBCA ethyl oleate implant (INEI) is biodegradable, biocompatible, and non-toxic. INEI solidifies in several seconds after exposure to body fluids or blood, and the implant’s in vivo degradation time can be controlled. In addition, the pore sizes formed by the polymerization of NBCA can be decreased by increasing the NBCA concentration in the implants. Therefore, the drug retention/release time can be adjusted from a few weeks to several months by changing the concentration of NBCA in the implant formulation. Anti-tumor experiments in animal models showed that the average growth inhibition rate of xenografted human breast cancer cells by the paclitaxel-loaded INEI (40% NBCA) was 80%, and they also indicated that tumors in some of the mice were completely eliminated by just a single dosage injection. For the epirubicin-loaded INEI (50% NBCA), the average growth inhibition rate of xenografted human liver cancer cells was 58%. Thus, the chemotherapeutic drug-loaded INEIs exhibited excellent therapeutic efficacy for local chemotherapy.
Stromal‐mediated down‐regulation of CD13 in bone marrow cells originating from acute myeloid leukemia patients

Abstract: The metallopeptidase CD13 is expressed on normal myeloid cells of monocytic and granulocytic origin and on the surface of leukemic blasts in most acute myeloid leukemias (AML). To study the mechanisms regulating lineage restricted CD13 expression in AML we determined normalised CD13 mRNA levels in bone marrow cells and peripheral blood cells of 27 AML patients. Cells of bone marrow origin had lower levels of normalised CD13 mRNA than cells of peripheral blood origin, even though fluorescence intensity and fraction of cells expressing CD13 on the surface was unchanged. In particular, AML patients with very low levels of normalised CD13 mRNA in bone marrow cells showed an increase in CD13 mRNA expression in peripheral blood. To evaluate the effects of bone marrow microenvironment on CD13 mRNA expression, we cultured leukemic myeloid cells with and without murine stromal cells. Bone marrow cells with high and low CD13 surface expression that entered the stromal layers all down‐regulated CD13 mRNA expression as compared to cells in suspension above. For peripheral blood cells within stromal layers, CD13 mRNA expression was diminished in only 3 out of 6 cases. The ambiguous effect of stromal cells on peripheral blood cells may illustrate a differentiation‐dependent response towards stroma. We determined the polyadenylation status of CD13 mRNA for 9 bone marrow aspirates and 7 peripheral blood samples. Polyadenylation was diminished in bone marrow cells from AML patients with low levels of normalised CD13 mRNA, raising the possibility of involvement of mRNA instability in regulation of CD13 mRNA expression in this subgroup of patients.
The Culex pipiens Complex in Europe

Abstract The present study examines the mating and breeding behavior as well as the genetic differentiation of Culex pipiens biotype pipiens and Cx. pipiens biotype molestus. Firstly, the mating behavior of Cx. pipiens s.l. originating from larval populations of various epigeous and hypogeous breeding sites in Germany was examined. Autogeny was prevailing in underground populations, occasionally found in semi-open water reservoirs like drains, rarely in containers, but never in ponds and ditches. Secondly, in a multilocus enzyme electrophoretic study the gene flow among seven geographic populations of Cx. pipiens biotype pipiens and the biotype molestus from several European countries was quantified. For comparison, five populations of Cx. quinquefasciatus from Asia, Africa and North America, three populations of Cx. torrentium (Germany) and other outgroup species were also examined. Thirdly, the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase submit I gene of both biotypes from Germany was analysed by a polymerase chain reaction – restriction fragment length polymorphism assay and the ascertained DNA-sequences were aligned with genebank data of Russian populations. The population genetic analyses revealed much higher genetic distances between local populations of Cx. pipiens biotype pipiens and Cx. pipiens biotype molestus compared to the low differentiation between geographically remote populations within each taxon. The UPGMA (unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean) analysis and F-statistics positioned the biotypes pipiens on one side and molestus on the other side in discrete monophyletic clusters. Gene flow between local populations of the biotypes pipiens and molestus could be shown to be lower than gene flow between geographically distant populations within each of the two groups, leading to the conclusion that Cx. pipiens biotype molestus could be a distinct taxon. Culex quinquefasciatus was genetically well-separated, in particular by the diagnostic enzyme marker malate dehydrogenase (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate). The genetic markers adenylatekinase and hydrobutyrate dehydrogenase allowed to screen thousands of morphologically similar samples of either Cx. pipiens s.l. and Cx torrentium and it could be shown that Cx. torrentium is a very frequent species in central Europe.
Visualization of exocytosis in pancreatic acinar cells by fluorescence microscopy

The control of regulated exocytosis is still largely unknown in epithelial cells (12). While much progress has been made in understanding constitutive secretion we still know only in outline the mechanisms of secretory granule fusion (5). Progress requires methods of real-time imaging of granule exocytosis and in recent years a variety of optical methods have been applied towards understanding epithelial cell secretion. The results obtained have ranged from simply counting the numbers of fused granules to insights into the molecular mechanisms that regulate fusion and fission.
Natural history of compensated cirrhosis in the Child‐Pugh class a compared between 490 patients with hepatitis C and 167 with B virus infections

Natural histories of compensated cirrhosis in the Child‐Pugh class A were compared between the 490 patients infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) and 167 patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV) who were followed for more than 1 year up to 20 years without antiviral treatment. Patients with HCV were older (median age: 59 vs. 45 years), less predominantly male (59.0% vs. 76.0%), transfused more frequently (49.2% vs. 9.0%), and had higher aminotransferase as well as lower albumin levels and fewer platelets (P < 0.001 for all). Death was commoner (55.1% vs. 35.9%, P < 0.001) and hepatocellular carcinoma developed more often (53.9% vs. 28.7%, P < 0.001) in patients with HCV than HBV. In multivariate analysis, low albumin levels (hazard ratio: 1.65), α‐fetoprotein (1.55), alcohol consumption (1.49), age >55 years (1.47), and retention of indocyanine green (1.39) were independent risk factors for the survival in patients with HCV, while male gender (4.43), age >45 years (2.24), retention of indocyanine green (2.14), hepatitis B e antigen (2.11), and low platelet counts (1.91) were in those with HBV. Chances for survival was significantly different (P < 0.001) among patients with HCV having low (number of factors: 0–1), medium (2–3), and high risks (4–5), as well as in those with HBV having low (0–1), medium (2–4), and high risks (5–6). In conclusion, survival and development of hepatocellular carcinoma, and factors for survival, are considerably different between patients with compensated cirrhosis infected with HCV and HBV, which would need to be taken into consideration in their management and planning treatment strategies. J. Med. Virol. 78:459–465, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Can Use of Positive Religious Coping Predict Greater Distress? An Examination of Army Soldiers on Deployment

Although positive religious coping is generally viewed as an adaptive, functional coping pattern, some studies have actually found positive religious coping to be associated with more distress in military populations. In the current study, we examined the role of positive religious coping on distress across 2 time points. Participants in this study were 192 Army soldiers (men = 90.4%) who were stationed in Iraq for a 1-year deployment in 2005. Using structural equation modeling, we conducted a cross-lag analysis of positive religious coping and distress. Results indicated that greater use of positive religious coping significantly predicted greater distress 1 month later, whereas distress at T1 did not predict positive religious coping 1 month later. Combat exposure was also a significant predictor of distress 1 month later. Implications of these results include the need to inquire about clients’ use of religious coping and whether such coping methods are having the desired effect for them.
Disordered eating patterns, body image, self-esteem, and physical activity in preadolescent school children.

OBJECTIVE Eating disorders have been typically defined as an "adolescent problem. " As a result of emerging evidence which indicated this health problem to be evident in the prepubescent age range, this study aimed to establish prevalence and factors associated with eating/dieting, physical activity, and body image among a nonclinical, naturalistically-derived sample of preadolescent (aged 10 and 11) school children (n = 61). METHOD This cohort of children, which represented the entire grade 6 class of a suburban Elementary school, was measured for body image satisfaction [silhouettes], a participation in activity index, a self-worth scale and a measure of eating attitudes & behavior [Eating and Me scale [E & M]]. RESULTS The longitudinal assessment of body image [3 measures over 9 months] indicated signs of stability of "actual" assessments of body image for males, but marked changes for females who preferred to be ideally "chunkier" in stature over time. Physical activity was only implicated with bulimia for the male sub-group. The E & M scale reported a Cronbach's alpha of . 76, with two factors [bulimia; drive for thinness/anorexia] representing 65% of the total variance. Moderate internal validity [r . 58] between body dissatisfaction on the E & M scale and the silhouette measure was observed. DISCUSSION These results demonstrated that body image views and concerns appeared before puberty, that gender differences prevailed with respect to eating/dieting, activity and body image, and that the E & M scale has emerged as a promising research tool. The longitudinal nature of this study of eating disorders also promotes the need for qualitative research methodology and attention to pre-pubertal cognitive/perceptual processes.
Interrelationships between seminal parameters and sperm nuclear DNA damage before and after density gradient centrifugation: implications for assisted conception.

BACKGROUND With an increase in the use of assisted reproduction technologies the requirements of the diagnostic semen analysis are constantly changing. METHODS Spermatozoa from patients undergoing IVF were analysed by examining the conventional semen parameters and DNA/chromatin integrity, using in-situ nick translation (NT) and the Chromomycin A(3) fluorochrome, which indirectly demonstrates a decreased presence of protamine. Samples were examined before and after preparation using discontinuous density gradient centrifugation. RESULTS Density gradient centrifugation enriched samples by improving the percentage of morphologically normal forms by 138% and sperm nuclear integrity by 450%. Sperm nuclear integrity as assessed by in-situ nick translation (NT) demonstrated a very clear relationship with sperm concentration, motility and morphology. Morphology correlated with fertilization rates of patients undergoing IVF, while NT values of the spermatozoa post-preparation were significantly lower in pregnant patients. CONCLUSIONS We have demonstrated that along with the classical semen parameters, the assessment of nuclear integrity improves the characterization of the semen sample and may be used as a tool for allocating patients to specific assisted reproduction treatments.
Immunohistochemical detection of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the bone marrow in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes: correlation between VEGF expression and the FAB category

Recent data suggest that vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is produced in neoplastic cells in various myeloid neoplasms and plays a key role as an autocrine regulator and mediator of angiogenesis. We examined the expression of VEGF in paraffin-embedded bone marrow sections obtained from normal donors (n = 5) and 46 patients with myelodysplastic syndromes [MDS, French–American–British (FAB)-type refractory anemia (RA), n = 10; refractory anemia with ringed sideroblasts (RARS), n = 10; refractory anemia with excess blasts (RAEB), n = 10; RAEB in transformation (RAEB-T), n = 8; chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML), n = 8] by immunohistochemistry using an anti-VEGF antibody. In normal bone marrow, the anti-VEGF antibody was found to react with myeloid progenitor cells, immature monocytic cells, plasma cells and megakaryocytes, but not with erythroid cells or mature granulocytic cells. Higher levels of VEGF were found in patients with MDS, subtypes RAEB, RAEB-T and CMML, compared to patients with RA or RARS, or the normal bone marrow. These differences were found to result from expression of VEGF in immature myeloid cells in RAEB, RAEB-T and CMML. The microvessel density was also higher in patients with RAEB-T and CMML compared to RA and RARS or the normal bone marrow. Expression of VEGF mRNA was demonstrable in isolated neoplastic cells by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction in all patients examined. In aggregate, these data show that VEGF is expressed in bone marrow cells in patients with MDS. The amount of expressed VEGF is related to the percentage of immature myeloid cells (blasts and monocytic progenitors) and correlates with the FAB category.
How chips helped discover the Higgs boson at CERN

Integrated circuits and devices revolutionized particle physics experiments, and have been a cornerstone in the recent discovery of the Higgs boson by the ATLAS and CMS experiments at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. Particles are accelerated and brought into collision at specific interaction points. Detectors are giant cameras, about 40 m long by 20 m in diameter, constructed around these interaction points to take pictures of collision products as they fly away from the collision point. They contain millions of channels, often implemented as reverse biased silicon pin diode arrays covering areas of up to 200 m2 in the center of the experiment, generating a small (~1fC) electric charge upon particle traversals. Integrated circuits provide the readout, and accept collision rates of about 40 MHz with on-line selection of potentially interesting events before data storage. Power consumption directly impacts the measurement quality as it governs the amount of material present in the detector. Radiation tolerance has to exceed space requirements by orders of magnitude. The presence of tens of thousands of chips in a single system requires special attention to uniformity, robustness and redundancy.
IL11 Antagonist Inhibits Uterine Stromal Differentiation, Causing Pregnancy Failure in Mice1

Abstract Hormonal contraceptives are unsuitable for many women; thus, the development of new, nonhormonal contraceptives is of great interest. In women, uterine epithelial expression of interleukin 11 (IL11) and its receptor (IL11RA) suggests IL11 is critical for blastocyst attachment during implantation. Il11ra-deficient mice are infertile due to a defective decidualization response to the blastocyst, leading to total pregnancy loss. We examined the effect of administering a PEGylated IL11 antagonist, PEGIL11A (where PEG is polyethylene glycol), on pregnancy outcomes in mice and IL11 signaling in human endometrial epithelial cells (HES). PEGIL11A was detected in sera up to 72 h after intraperitoneal (IP) injection versus up to 2 h for the non-PEGylated antagonist. Following IP injection, PEGIL11A localized to uterine decidual cells and reduced immunoreactive cyclin D3 (IL11 decidual target). To inhibit IL11 action during early decidualization, PEGIL11A or control were administered IP on Days 3–6 (beginning just prior to maximal decidual Il11 expression). On Day 6, mesometrial decidualization was disturbed in PEGIL11A-treated animals with regions of hemorrhage visible in the mesometrial decidua. On Day 10, severe decidual destruction was visible: implantation sites contained significant hemorrhage, and the uterine luminal epithelium had reformed, suggesting a return to estrous cycling. These results demonstrate that PEGIL11A blocked IL11 action in the decidua during early decidualization, which totally abolished pregnancy and which is equivalent to the Il11ra−/− mouse. PEGIL11A significantly diminished STAT3 phosphorylation in HES cells in vitro (P ≤ 0.05). This study provides valuable information for PEGIL11A that could lead to the development of this protein as a nonhormonal contraceptive.
Lightweight Monitoring of Distributed Streams

As data becomes dynamic, large, and distributed, there is increasing demand for what have become known as distributed stream algorithms. Since continuously collecting the data to a central server and processing it there is infeasible, a common approach is to define local conditions at the distributed nodes, such that—as long as they are maintained—some desirable global condition holds. Previous methods derived local conditions focusing on communication efficiency. While proving very useful for reducing the communication volume, these local conditions often suffer from heavy computational burden at the nodes. The computational complexity of the local conditions affects both the runtime and the energy consumption. These are especially critical for resource-limited devices like smartphones and sensor nodes. Such devices are becoming more ubiquitous due to the recent trend toward smart cities and the Internet of Things. To accommodate for high data rates and limited resources of these devices, it is crucial that the local conditions be quickly and efficiently evaluated. Here we propose a novel approach, designated CB (for Convex/Concave Bounds). CB defines local conditions using suitably chosen convex and concave functions. Lightweight and simple, these local conditions can be rapidly checked on the fly. CB’s superiority over the state-of-the-art is demonstrated in its reduced runtime and power consumption, by up to six orders of magnitude in some cases. As an added bonus, CB also reduced communication overhead in all the tested application scenarios.
[Relationship between hepatitis B virus genotype, BCP/Pre-C region mutations and risk of hepatocellular carcinoma in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region].

OBJECTIVE To investigate the relationship between hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotype, the mutation in basic core promoter (BCP) region/pre-core (Pre-C) region and the incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in Fusui county of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (Guangxi), a area with high incidence of HCC. METHODS In this case-control study, 53 HCC patients and 70 asymptomatic HBV carriers were enrolled. Blood samples were collected from them for serum separation and HBV DNA extraction. The DNA sequences of the S region and BCP/Pre-C region of HBV was determined by direct sequencing following nested-PCR amplification. The relationship between the genotype, gene mutation of HBV and the incidence of HCC was analyzed. RESULTS The mutation rates of the A1762T/G1764A in the BCP region and the T1858C in the Pre-C region of HBV were significantly higher in HCC group than in control group (94.3% vs. 75.7%, P = 0.006; 50.9% vs. 31.4%, P = 0.029). The mutation rate of A1775G was significantly higher in control group (28.6%) than in HCC group (13.2%) (P = 0.041). Multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that A1762T/G1764A and T1858C mutations are the risk factors for the development of HCC (OR = 5.459, 95% CI: 1.397-21.332, P = 0.015; OR = 3.881, 95% CI: 1.462-10.305, P = 0.006). A1775G is the protective factor in the development of HCC (OR = 0.192, 95% CI: 0.059-0.622, P = 0.006). CONCLUSION The present investigation showed that BCP A1762T/G1764A, A1775G and Pre-C T1858C mutations are correlated with the incidence of HCC in Fusui county of Guangxi.
HELIUM IGNITION ON ACCRETING NEUTRON STARS WITH A NEW TRIPLE-α REACTION RATE

We investigate the effect of a new triple-α reaction rate from Ogata et al. on helium ignition conditions on accreting neutron stars and on the properties of the subsequent type I X-ray burst. We find that the new rate leads to significantly lower ignition column density for accreting neutron stars at low accretion rates. We compare the results of our ignition models for a pure helium accretor to observations of bursts in ultracompact X-ray binaries (UCXBs), which are believed to have nearly pure helium donors. For 0.001\,\dot{m}_{\mathrm{Edd}}$? >, the new triple-α reaction rate from Ogata et al. predicts a maximum helium ignition column of ∼3 × 109 g cm−2, corresponding to a burst energy of ∼4 × 1040 erg. For at which intermediate long bursts occur, the predicted burst energies are at least a factor of 10 too low to explain the observed energies of such bursts in UCXBs. This finding adds to the doubts cast on the triple-α reaction rate of Ogata et al. by the low-mass stellar evolution results of Dotter & Paxton.