Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Applications of Imaging Technology in Radiation Research

Imaging research and advances in systems engineering have enabled the transition of medical imaging from a means for accomplishing traditional anatomic visualization (i.e., orthopedic planar film X ray) to a means for noninvasively assessing a variety of functional measures. Perfusion imaging is one of the major highlights in functional imaging. In this work, various methods for measuring perfusion using widely-available commercial imaging modalities and contrast agents, specifically X ray and MR (magnetic resonance), will be described. The first section reviews general methods used for perfusion imaging, and the second section provides modality-specific information, focusing on the contrast mechanisms used to calculate perfusion-related parameters. The goal of these descriptions is to illustrate how perfusion imaging can be applied to radiation biology research.
Genetically modified T cells targeting neovasculature efficiently destroy tumor blood vessels, shrink established solid tumors and increase nanoparticle delivery

Converting T cells into tumor cell killers by grafting them with a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) has shown promise as a cancer immunotherapeutic. However, the inability of these cells to actively migrate and extravasate into tumor parenchyma has limited their effectiveness in vivo. Here we report the construction of a CAR containing an echistatin as its targeting moiety (eCAR). As echistatin has high binding affinity to αvβ3 integrin that is highly expressed on the surface of endothelial cells of tumor neovasculature, T cells engrafted with eCAR (T‐eCAR) can efficiently lyse human umbilical vein endothelial cells and tumor cells that express αvβ3 integrin when tested in vitro. Systemic administration of T‐eCAR led to extensive bleeding in tumor tissues with no evidence of damage to blood vessels in normal tissues. Destruction of tumor blood vessels by T‐eCAR significantly inhibited the growth of established bulky tumors. Moreover, when T‐eCAR was codelivered with nanoparticles in a strategically designed temporal order, it dramatically increased nanoparticle deposition in tumor tissues, pointing to the possibility that it may be used together with nanocarriers to increase their capability to selectively deliver antineoplastic drugs to tumor tissues.
Trastuzumab Triggers Phagocytic Killing of High HER2 Cancer Cells In Vitro and In Vivo by Interaction with Fcγ Receptors on Macrophages

Trastuzumab has been used for the treatment of HER2-overexpressing breast cancer for more than a decade, but the mechanisms of action for the therapy are still being actively investigated. Ab-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity mediated by NK cells is well recognized as one of the key mechanisms of action for trastuzumab, but trastuzumab-mediated Ab-dependent cellular phagocytosis (ADCP) has not been established. In this study, we demonstrate that macrophages, by way of phagocytic engulfment, can mediate ADCP and cancer cell killing in the presence of trastuzumab. Increased infiltration of macrophages in the tumor tissue was associated with enhanced efficacy of trastuzumab whereas depletion of macrophages resulted in reduced antitumor efficacy in mouse xenograft tumor models. Among the four mouse FcγRs, FcγRIV exhibits the strongest binding affinity to trastuzumab. Knockdown of FcγRIV in mouse macrophages reduced cancer cell killing and ADCP activity triggered by trastuzumab. Consistently, an upregulation of FcγRIV expression by IFN-γ triggered an increased ADCP activity by trastuzumab. In an analogous fashion, IFN-γ priming of human macrophages increased the expression of FcγRIII, the ortholog of murine FcγRIV, and increased trastuzumab-mediated cancer cell killing. Thus, in two independent systems, the results indicated that activation of macrophages in combination with trastuzumab can serve as a therapeutic strategy for treating high HER2 breast cancer by boosting ADCP killing of cancer cells.
The Investigation of FBG sensor system for the transmission line icing measurement

It causes a lot of accidents and influences power system security in our country by the transmission line icing, the research and prevention of line icing are in process all the time. At present, the majority of electrical Company adopt electrical signal sensor to measure temperature, but some localization lies in them more or less; the scan time lasts quite a long time in traditional fiber temperature measuring system. However, fiber Bragg grating is an insulator and is small, and it has the advantages of low-price, simple structure, safety, no electromagnetic interference, so are particularly suit for measuring temperature, strain and stress. This paper uses fiber Bragg grating as the sensor of on-line monitoring system of electrical equipment. A novel fiber Bragg grating sensor interrogation system based on a tunable fiber Fabry-Perot(FFP) filter was demonstrated. A reference fiber Bragg grating (FBG) was used as a wavelength reference element. By measuring the wavelength difference between reference FBG and sensor FBG, the drift of tunable FFP filter's cavity length was compensated. A quadratic fit function was made with software based on experiment results. This function showed a good fit to the relationship between the displacement of PZT and control voltage. It was used to calculate the wavelength of the sensing FBG Experiment results show that the measured error caused by the drift of FFP filter's cavity length and PZT's nonlinearity is greatly reduced and a higher accuracy is obtained.
Performance analysis of the receiving antenna combined by several simple optical lens in Visible Light Communication

We researched the performance of the aspheric lens as the receiving antenna of the indoor Visible Light Communication and got the different results with the lens placed in different situations. We use channel gain curves to describe the relationship between the Field-of-View and the optical gain of the receiving antenna. The experiment shows that the aspheric lens can provide a 15dB optical gain and a 36° FOV cooperated with Thorlabs Photodetector PDA100 by placing the curves-surface outwards and focusing accurately. Also, a 10dB optical gain and a 46° FOV achieved by placing the flat-surface outwards and focusing accurately. Furthermore, we researched the performance of the combination of the aspheric and Bi-Concave Spherical lens, aspheric and negative meniscus lens as the receiving antenna which can effectively enlarge the FOV from 36° to 52° with the cost of 5dB optical gain. At last, we researched the Fisheye Lens's performance as receiving antenna and got its channel gain curves.
Set-Shifting in Adults with ADHD

Abstract Difficulties related to inhibition and set-shifting have been suggested as possible endophenotypes of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). However, such difficulties have not been consistently found in studies using standard neuropsychological tests. This has been partly explained by the complexity of these tests and the need to include contrast measures which control for more basic functions. The purpose of the present study was to examine whether difficulties related to inhibition and set-shifting in adult ADHD patients could be revealed by the Color Word Interference Test (CWIT) from the Delis Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS). A clinically recruited group of adults with ADHD (n = 60) obtained significantly lower scores than population derived controls (n = 60) on both primary summary (p < .001) and contrast measures (p = .004) of set-shifting. The differences between the groups remained statistically significant after controlling for intellectual function and working memory (p = .003). However, no significant differences between the groups were observed on any measure of inhibition. The study indicates that adults with ADHD have specific difficulties with set-shifting as measured by the CWIT, difficulties that probably also reflect problems related to executive function in their daily life. (JINS, 2012, 18, 1–10)
Loss and thermal redistributed modulation methods for three-level neutral-point-clamped wind power inverter undergoing Low Voltage Ride Through

The three-level neutral-point-clamped (3L-NPC) converter is a promising multilevel topology in the application of mega-watts wind power generation system. However, the growing requirements by grid codes may impose high stress and even give reliability problem to this converter topology. This paper investigates the loss and thermal performances of a 10 MW 3L-NPC wind power inverter undergoing Low Voltage Ride Through (LVRT) operation. A series of new space vector modulation methods are then proposed to relocate the thermal loading among the power switching devices. It is concluded that, with the proposed modulation methods, the thermal distribution in the 3L-NPC wind power inverter undergoing LVRT becomes more equal, and the junction temperature of the most stressed devices can be also relieved. Also the control ability of DC-bus neutral point potential, which is one of the crucial considerations for the 3L-NPC converter, is not compromised by the proposed modulation methods.
Frequency adaptivity improvement in GDSC-PLL

This paper shows a scheme for improving the detection performance of the Fundamental-Frequency Positive-Sequence (FFPS) space vector through the Generalized Delayed Signal Cancellation Phase-Locked Loop (GDSC-PLL). The performance was improved by a new scheme that reduces the phase-angle error in the frequency adaptive scheme during grid frequency variations. In the new scheme we replaced the SRF-PLL used for the frequency adaptation scheme by simple samples counters. Further, we made improvements in the circuitry that performs the frequency estimation filtering. The performances of the traditional GDSC-PLL and other usual detection schemes were compared with the proposed one through transient test cases based on IEC 61000 and typical electrical events. The new approach led to a reduction of up to 79% in the phase-angle convergence time right after disturbances and a reduction of up to 65% in the mean absolute error during frequency variation.
A sampling approach to finding Lyapunov functions for nonlinear discrete-time systems

This paper considers the problem of stability verification for discrete-time nonlinear systems via Lyapunov functions. Depending on the system dynamics, the candidate Lyapunov function and the set of initial states of interest, one generally needs to handle large, possibly non-convex or non-feasible optimization problems. To avoid such problems, we propose a constructive and systematically applicable sampling-based approach to stability analysis of nonlinear systems. This approach proposes verification of the decrease condition for a candidate Lyapunov function on a finite sampling of a bounded set of initial conditions and then it extends the validity of the Lyapunov function to an infinite set of initial conditions by exploiting continuity properties. This result involves no apriori analytic description of the continuity property and it is based on multi-resolution sampling, to perform efficient state-space exploration. Moreover, the stability verification is decentralized in the sampling points, which makes the method parallelizable. The proposed methodology is illustrated on two examples.
3D face recognition via discriminative keypoint selection

In this paper, we propose a discriminative keypoint selection-based 3D face recognition method that is superior to prevalent techniques in terms of both computational complexity and performance. We use the average face model (AFM) for face registration to efficiently locate the axis of symmetry in the rotated face mesh and recover a full frontal face from a 3D face model commonly corrupted due to pose variances. Instead of using the keypoint detection method, we use the feature selection algorithm to find the most discriminant keypoints for face identification and reduce computational time for not only feature extraction but also keypoint matching. The results of the experiments conducted on the Bosphorus database and the UMB-DB show that our algorithm can improve rank-1 identification accuracy, thus confirming its robustness against pose variances, expressions, and occlusions.
The Importance of Teaching Civility as a Workplace Relationship Building Competency

This paper explores the importance of teaching civility as a workplace relationship building competency. First, civility is defined and described as it pertains to workplace culture. Then organizational examples are provided to demonstrate why companies care about civility. Next, we ponder civility as a relationship building competency that is important for work-related relationships. Continuing our investigation, we list some of the indirect costs of incivility and bullying (both are antitheses of civility) to stakeholders in the workplace. We consider through organizational examples what a civil workplace is like and we survey ways of teaching civility in the Business school (B-School) classroom, either face to face or online as these are the platforms through which we teach, learn, and work.
Hyperacuity Test to Evaluate Vision through Dense Cataracts; Research Preliminary to a Clinical Study. I. Studies Conducted at the University of California at Berkeley before Travel to India

Background. Patients with dense ocular media disorders retain the ability to project or point to an intense source of light. Using this response capability and high luminance points of light as stimuli, Vernier judgments (a hyperacuity test) can be made by these patients, even without the presence of a “window” through a leucoma, cataract, or bleed. Without coaching, these individuals are able to locate the centers of the individual degraded point images if the individual light sources are adequately separated (i.e., if sufficient “gaps” exist between the individual stimuli), and they can spatially align the degraded images. Advanced cataracts are the main cause of blindness in the developing world, and this is a treatable condition. In these nations, only a modest proportion of affected patients receive surgery, and only 5% or less of these individuals obtain treatment in two eyes. There are incredibly large and rapidly growing backlogs of advanced cataract patients requiring care (many millions). Because of the 20 to 30% failure rates that occur after treatment (all causes) in many developing world settings, a test performed before surgery, which offers a meaningful estimate of postsurgical visual outcome, can be valuable. Using the principle defined above, we seek to determine before surgery those individuals who will derive most benefit from cataract removal, and which of two cataractous eyes has the better postsurgical visual prognosis. Experimental. In Berkeley, we performed a series of preliminary studies on a Vernier acuity test before initiating a clinical study in a developing world setting. These studies were conducted upon young adult normal subjects wearing their usual vision corrections, with and without induced refractive errors, and/or with or without simulated dense nuclear cataracts. We sought (1) to determine the number of repeat trials necessary for reliable outcomes; (2) to compare a two-point and a three-point Vernier acuity display; (3) to determine the shape of the measured response function at large gap separations between test points; (4) to define optimal test distance and stimulus size; (5) to assess the effect(s) of a broad range of uncorrected refractive errors upon outcomes; and (6) to consider means to minimize refraction-based errors by using a pinhole, a refractive correction, and/or selective spatial filtering. We compared responses obtained using the current CRT/VDT-based, computer- driven (Berkeley) instrument with a new precision optical/mechanical computer-driven (India) instrumerit. The India instrument is needed to determine design parameters for a next stage simpler, cheaper, more rugged field instrument(s). A preliminary protocol, the HyperAcuity Study Protocol (HASP), was formulated for later use in the clinical study and for initial later trial in India
Inhibition of cellular DNA synthesis by vesicular stomatitis virus

DNA synthesis in mouse myeloma (MPC-11) cells and L cells was rapidly and progressively inhibited by infection with vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV). No significant difference in cellular DNA synthesis inhibition was noted between synchronized and unsynchronized cells, nor did synchronized cells vary in their susceptibility to VSV infection after release from successive thymidine and hydroxyurea blocks. Cellular RNA synthesis was inhibited to about the same extent as DNA synthesis, but cellular protein synthesis was less affected by VSV at the same multiplicity of infection. The effect of VSV on cellular DNA synthesis could not be attributed to degradation of existing DNA or to decreased uptake of deoxynucleoside triphosphates, nor were DNA polymerase and thymidine kinase activities significantly different in VSV-infected and uninfected cell extracts. Analysis by alkaline sucrose gradients of DNA in pulse-labeled uninfected and VSV-infected cells indicated that VSV infection did not appear to influence DNA chain elongation. Cellular DNA synthesis was not significantly inhibited by infection with the VSV polymerase mutant tsG114(I) at the restrictive temperature or by infection with defective-interfering VSV DI-011 (5' end of the genome), but DI-HR-LT (3' end of genome) exhibited initially rapid but not prolonged inhibition of MPC-11 cell DNA synthesis. DNA synthesis inhibitory activity of wild-type VSV was only slowly and partially inactivated by very large doses of UV irradiation. These data suggest that, as in the effect of VSV on cellular RNA synthesis (Weck et al., J. Virol. 30:746-753, 1979), inhibition of cellular DNA synthesis by VSV requires transcription of a small segment of the viral genome.
Chloramphenicol accumulation by Haemophilus influenzae

The mechanism of chloramphenicol transport into susceptible strains of Haemophilus influenzae cells has not been reported previously. We examined apparent uptake of chloramphenicol by bacterial cells by using high-pressure liquid chromatography to quantitate drug disappearance from liquid media. Cell-associated chloramphenicol concentration is 1,000-fold greater than the extracellular drug concentration. Under incubation conditions associated with chloramphenicol disappearance from media, cellular protein synthesis was inhibited; however, if accumulation was inhibited, protein synthesis occurred in the presence of the drug. Chloramphenicol uptake appeared saturable (Km = 0.96 mM, Vmax = 0.9 mumol/min per mg of protein) and energy dependent: disappearance from media was markedly decreased by 2,4-dinitrophenol and carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone, compounds which disrupt the proton motive force. Uptake occurred only in median which can support growth and was dependent upon temperature and pH. Drug accumulation was minimally affected by inhibitors of electron transport or by gentamicin and puromycin, both inhibitors of protein synthesis. The rate of disappearance was inhibited by SCH24893, a fluorinated chloramphenicol analog which also inhibits protein synthesis. We conclude that chloramphenicol accumulation by H. influenzae occurs by energy-dependent transport.
Clinical application and quantitative evaluation of generator-produced copper-62-PTSM as a brain perfusion tracer for PET.

UNLABELLED Copper-62-pyruvaldehyde bis(N4-methylthiosemicarbazone) copper II (62Cu-PTSM) has been proposed as a generator-produced positron-emitting tracer for perfusion imaging. To evaluate the characteristics of 62Cu-PTSM as a cerebral perfusion tracer, brain PET images of 62Cu-PTSM were compared with cerebral blood flow (CBF). METHODS Following an intravenous injection of 62Cu-PTSM, a serial dynamic PET scan was performed for 10 min with arterial sampling in 10 subjects. CBF was measured by 15O-labeled water before the 62Cu-PTSM study. RESULTS Dynamic PET scan with octanol-extracted arterial input function indicated the presence of significant back-diffusion of 62Cu-PTSM from the brain within 3 min after injection, followed by stable activity from 3 to 10 min. Comparison with 15O-water PET demonstrated less contrast between high- and low-flow regions in 62Cu-PTSM image and a nonlinear relationship of flow and 62Cu-PTSM uptake, which suggests the underestimation of CBF in high-flow regions due to the existence of back-diffusion. CONCLUSION Although 62Cu-PTSM can be used widely for evaluation of brain perfusion with PET, kinetic analysis and correction may be needed to quantify regional CBF.
Nonlinear analysis of cycle slips in injection-locked oscillators

A method is presented for the analysis of cycle slips in injection-locked oscillators. This nonlinear phenomenon gives rise to a temporal desynchronization between the injected oscillator and the input source due to noise perturbations. It involves very different time scales, so even envelope-transient based Monte Carlo analyses may suffer from high computational cost. The method presented is based on the extraction of a semi-analytical nonlinear model of the injected oscillator. This reduced order model enables an efficient stochastic analysis of this oscillator, based on the use of the associated Fokker-Planck equation in the phase probability density. The analysis allows predicting the parameter-space regions that are best protected against cycle slips. The method has been applied to an injection-locked oscillator at 5 GHz, with good agreement with commercial software simulations and measurements.
Arbitrage Pricing Theory and the Capital Asset Pricing Model-Evidence from the Indian Stock Market

The arbitrage pricing theory (APT) has been proposed as an alternative to the capital asset pricing model (CAPM). This paper uses principal components analysis to estimate the factors that influence stock returns. Analysis of the Indian stock market using monthly and weekly returns for 1991-2002 shows that APT with multiple factors provides a better indication of asset risk and estimates of required rate of return than CAPM which uses beta as the single measure of risk.
Shorter Sleep Duration Is Associated With Increased Risk for Being Overweight at Ages 9 to 12 Years

OBJECTIVE. The potential association between short sleep duration or sleep problems and childhood overweight has not been well described. The objective of this study was to test the independent associations of sleep duration and problems with overweight risk in children. METHODS. Data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development were analyzed. In 3rd and 6th grades, sleep duration and problems were obtained by maternal report, and height and weight were measured, with overweight defined as a BMI of ≥95th percentile for age and gender. Logistic regression evaluated the association of sleep duration and problems with overweight at 6th grade cross-sectionally adjusting for gender, race, and maternal education. Additional covariates tested individually included the level of chaos at home, the quality of the home environment, the lax-parenting subscale score of the Raising Children Checklist, and the Child Behavior Checklist internalizing and externalizing subscale scores. Logistic regression also evaluated the relationship of sleep duration at 3rd grade and overweight at 6th grade, adjusting for gender, race, maternal education, and the child's BMI z score in 3rd grade. RESULTS. Of 785 children, 50% were male, 81% were white, and 18% were overweight in 6th grade. Shorter sleep duration in 6th grade was independently associated with a greater likelihood of overweight in 6th grade. Shorter sleep duration in 3rd grade was also independently associated with overweight in 6th grade, independent of the child's weight status in 3rd grade. Sleep problems were not associated with overweight. CONCLUSION. One preventive approach to overweight may be to ensure adequate sleep in childhood.