Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Contributions of Various Radiological Sources to Background in a Suburban Environment

AbstractThis work is a brief overview and comparison of dose rates stemming from both indoor and outdoor natural background radiation and household objects within a suburban environment in North Carolina. Combined gamma and beta dose rates were taken from indoor objects that ranged from the potassium in fruit to the americium in smoke detectors. For outdoor measurements, various height and time data samples were collected to show fluctuations in dose rate due to temperature inversion and geometric attenuation. Although each sample tested proved to have a statistically significant increase over background using Students t-test, no sample proved to be more than a minor increase in natural radiation dose. The relative contributions from natural radioactivity such as potassium in foods and common household items are shown to be easily distinguished from background using standard handheld instrumentation when applied in a systematic, methodological manner.
Phage Display of Adenovirus Type 5 Fiber Knob as a Tool for Specific Ligand Selection and Validation

ABSTRACT Adenovirus (Ad) vectors are most potent for use as gene delivery vehicles to infect human cells in vitro and in vivo with high efficiency. The main limitation in utilization of Ad as a gene transfer vector is the lack of specificity. Genetic modifications of Ad capsid proteins resulting in incorporation of foreign polypeptide ligand sequences can redirect the vector towards target cells. However, in many cases the incorporated ligands lose specificity or lead to conformational changes influencing virion integrity. In order to select target-specific ligands a priori structurally compatible with Ad, we propose a system for displaying polypeptide sequences in the context of the Ad fiber knob on the surfaces of filamentous bacteriophages. To establish this concept, we displayed the wild-type Ad serotype 5 knob and knobs containing c-Myc epitopes and six-histidine sequences in the pJuFo phage system. The knobs remained trimeric and bound the coxsackievirus-Ad receptor, and the phage knob-displayed ligands recognized and bound their cognates in the phage-displayed knob context. Further development of this system may be useful for candidate ligand fidelity and Ad structural compatibility validation prior to Ad modification.
The recombinant human chorionic gonadotropin prefilled pen: results of patient and nurse human factors usability testing

Objectives: The first prefilled pen for administration of recombinant human chorionic gonadotropin (r-hCG) has been developed. Usability testing was undertaken to evaluate the risk of dosing errors versus the existing r-hCG prefilled syringe, and assess function and handling of the pen. Methods: Infertile women who were trying to conceive, and specialist nurses, were recruited in Germany. Usability goals were defined and categorized as critical or functional operational goals. Individual, non-interventional, standardized, usability tests (including ease-of-use assessment) were performed with patients and nurses. Cumulative test scores for critical operations were compared. Non-standardized qualitative analyses of nurse–patient training sessions were performed. Results: The cumulative test score for the r-hCG prefilled pen was better than that of the existing prefilled syringe, so it was concluded that the overall risk of dosing errors was not higher with the pen. The ease of use of the pen was rated favorably by patients and nurses. Both user groups were confident that they could inject the correct dose using the pen. Conclusions: The overall risk of dosing errors was not higher with the r-hCG prefilled pen than the existing prefilled syringe. The ease-of-use of the r-hCG prefilled pen was rated favorably by patients and nurses.
Neuronal correlates of perceptual stability during eye movements

We are usually unaware of retinal image motion resulting from our own movement. For instance, during slow‐tracking eye movements the world around us remains perceptually stable despite the retinal image slip induced by the eye movement. It is commonly held that this example of perceptual invariance is achieved by subtracting an internal reference signal, reflecting the eye movement, from the retinal motion signal. If the two cancel each other, visual objects, which do not move, will also be perceived as non‐moving. If, however, the reference signal is too small or too large, a false eye movement‐induced motion of the external world, the Filehne illusion, will be perceived. We have exploited our ability to manipulate the size of the reference signal in an attempt to identify neurons in the visual cortex of monkeys, influenced by the percept of self‐induced visual motion or the reference signal rather than the retinal motion signal. We report here that such ‘percept‐related’ neurons can already be found in the primary visual cortex area, although few in numbers. They become more frequent in areas middle temporal and medial superior temporal in the superior temporal sulcus, and comprise almost 50% of all neurons in area visual posterior sylvian (VPS) in the posterior part of the lateral sulcus. In summary, our findings suggest that our ability to perceive a visual world, which is stable despite self‐motion, is based on a neuronal network, which culminates in the VPS located in the lateral sulcus below the classical dorsal stream of visual processing.
Crossover Method for Interactive Genetic Algorithms to Estimate Multimodal Preferences

We apply an interactive genetic algorithm (iGA) to generate product recommendations. iGAs search for a single optimum point based on a user's Kansei through the interaction between the user and machine. However, especially in the domain of product recommendations, theremay be numerous optimum points. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to develop a new iGA crossover method that concurrently searches for multiple optimum points for multiple user preferences. The proposed method estimates the locations of the optimum area by a clustering method and then searches for the maximum values of the area by a probabilistic model. To confirm the effectiveness of this method, two experiments were performed. In the first experiment, a pseudouser operated an experiment system that implemented the proposed and conventional methods and the solutions obtained were evaluated using a set of pseudomultiple preferences. With this experiment, we proved that when there aremultiple preferences, the proposed method searches faster and more diversely than the conventional one. The second experiment was a subjective experiment. This experiment showed that the proposed method was able to search concurrently for more preferences when subjects had multiple preferences.
Forschungssonden für die Dichtemessung an landwirtschaftlichen Gütern

Seit Jahren werden radiometrische Dichtesonden auch in der landwirtschaftlichen Forschung eingesetzt. Sie arbeiten nahezu zerstorungsfrei und mit geringem Aufwand. Die Strahlenbelastung des Gutes liegt dabei um Grosenordnungen unter dem Grenzwert fur strahlenbehandelte Lebens- und Futtermittel, die des Mespersonals weit unter der mittleren naturlichen und zivilisatorisch bedingten Strahlenbelastung der Gesamtbevolkerung in Deutschland. In diesem Beitrag wird neben Hinweisen zur Wirkungsweise und zum Einsatz dieser Sonden vor allem gezeigt, auf welche Weise man zu gesicherten Kalibrierkurven gelangt, die dem Anwender zuverlassige Meswerte garantieren. Dazu werden die experimentell gewonnenen Zusammenhange erstmals auch mathematisch dargestellt.
Barnettozyma siamensis f.a., sp. nov., a lipid-accumulating ascomycete yeast species.

Two strains, DMKU-UbN24(1)(T) and DMKU-CPN24(1), of a novel yeast species were obtained from soil and palm oil fruit, respectively, collected in Thailand by an enrichment isolation technique using a nitrogen-limited medium containing glycerol as the sole source of carbon. On the basis of morphological, biochemical, physiological and chemotaxonomic characteristics and sequence analysis of the D1/D2 region of the large subunit (LSU) rRNA gene and the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, the two strains were found to represent a novel species of the genus Barnettozyma although the formation of ascospores was not observed. The novel species was related most closely to the type strain of Candida montana but differed by 5.4 % nucleotide substitutions in the D1/D2 region of the LSU rRNA gene and by 10.3-10.5 % nucleotide substitutions in the ITS region. The name Barnettozyma siamensis f.a. , sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is DMKU-UbN24(1)(T) ( = BCC 61189(T) = NBRC 109701(T) = CBS 13392(T)).
Leucine and protein metabolism in the lactating dairy cow mammary gland: responses to supplemental dietary crude protein intake

Summary Mammary gland protein metabolism, determined by an arteriovenous difference technique, was monitored in four Holstein-Friesian dairy cows in response to supplemental dietary protein (provided as rumen-protected soyabean meal) during late lactation (weeks 24–30). Each cow was offered two isoenergetic diets composed of grass silage (170 g crude protein/kg dry matter) plus either a low (108 g/kg) or medium (151 g/kg) crude protein concentrate in a single crossover design involving two 21 d periods. On day 21, arteriovenous measurements across the mammary gland were made during a 13 h continuous i.v. infusion of [1-13C]leucine and with frequent (2 hourly) milk sampling during the final 6 h. Although total milk yield was slightly increased (+1 kg/d) by protein supplementation, milk protein yield was not significantly affected. Whole body protein flux (protein synthesis plus oxidation) was not significantly affected by supplementation. Total mammary gland protein synthesis (milk plus non-milk protein) was also not affected by supplementation but on both diets gland synthesis was always greater (by 20–59%) than milk protein output. The fractional oxidation rate of leucine by the mammary gland was significantly increased by protein supplementation (0·047 v. 0·136). Although the enrichment of leucine in secreted milk protein continued to increase, the final value (at 13 h) was 0·94 of the arterial plasma free leucine plateau value (not significantly different), suggesting almost exclusive use of plasma free leucine for milk protein synthesis. Based on current feeding schemes for dairy cattle, a fixed proportion (0·65–0·75) of the additional protein intake (+490 g/d) should have been partitioned into milk protein. Instead, leucine oxidation by the mammary gland was increased. Whether oxidation of other amino acids was also enhanced is unknown but if amino acid oxidation and the ‘additional’ non-milk protein synthesis occurring in the gland are not crucial to milk synthesis, then by reducing such activities improvements in the efficiency of converting absorbed amino acid into milk protein can be achieved.
Superjunction IGBT Filling the Gap Between SJ MOSFET and Ultrafast IGBT

In this letter, we report Eoff-versus- Vce tradeoff curves for vertical superjunction insulated-gate bipolar transistors (SJ IGBTs), exhibiting unusual inverse slopes dEoff/dVce >;0 in a transition region between purely unipolar and strongly bipolar device behaviors. This effect is due to the action of p-pillar hole current when depleting the drift layer of SJ IGBTs during turnoff and the impact of current gain on the transconductance. Such SJ IGBTs surpass by a very significant margin their superjunction MOSFET counterparts in terms of power-handling capability and on-state and turnoff losses, all at the same time.
Low concentrations of honey reduce biofilm formation, quorum sensing, and virulence in Escherichia coli O157:H7

Bacterial biofilms are associated with persistent infections due to their high resistance to antimicrobial agents. Hence, controlling pathogenic biofilm formation is important in bacteria-related diseases. Honey, at a low concentration of 0.5% (v/v), significantly reduced biofilm formation in enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 without inhibiting the growth of planktonic cells. Conversely, this concentration did not inhibit commensal E. coli K-12 biofilm formation. Transcriptome analyses showed that honey significantly repressed curli genes (csgBAC), quorum sensing genes (AI-2 importer and indole biosynthesis), and virulence genes (LEE genes). Glucose and fructose in the honeys were found to be key components in reducing biofilm formation by E. coli O157:H7 through the suppression of curli production and AI-2 import. Furthermore, honey, glucose and fructose decreased the colonization of E. coli O157:H7 cells on human HT-29 epithelial cells. These results suggest that low concentrations of honey, such as in honeyed water, can be a practical means for reducing the colonization and virulence of pathogenic E. coli O157:H7.
Myelin-associated Glycoprotein Inhibits Microtubule Assembly by a Rho-kinase-dependent Mechanism*

Myelin-associated glycoprotein (MAG) and Nogo are potent inhibitors of neurite outgrowth from a variety of neurons, and they have been identified as possible components of the central nervous system myelin that prevents axonal regeneration in the adult vertebrate central nervous system. The activation of RhoA and Rho-kinase is reported to be an essential part of the signaling mechanism of these proteins. Here, we report that the collapsing response mediator protein-2 (CRMP-2) is phosphorylated by a Rho-kinase-dependent mechanism downstream of MAG or Nogo-66. The overexpression of the nonphosphorylated form of CRMP-2 at threonine 555, which is the phosphorylation site for Rho-kinase, counteracts the inhibitory effect of MAG on the postnatal cerebellar neurons. Additionally, the expression of the dominant negative form of CRMP-2 or knockdown of the gene using small interference RNA (siRNA) mimics the effect of MAG in vitro. Consistent with the function of CRMP-2, which promotes microtubule assembly, microtubule levels are down-regulated in the cerebellar neurons that are stimulated with MAG in vitro. Reduction in the density of microtubules is also observed in the injured axons following the spinal cord injury, and this effect depends on the Rho-kinase activity. Our data suggest the important roles of CRMP-2 and microtubules in the inhibition of the axon regeneration by the myelin-derived inhibitors.
The pathway from the medial geniculate body to the ectosylvian auditory cortex in the dog

Lesions of the medial geniculate body showed Marchi degeneration to the dorsal pörtion of the anterior ectosylvian gyrus and the entire middle ectosylvian gyrus in the dog. The fibers passed under the arcuate fibers terminating under the entire dorso‐ventral width of the gyrus. Few fibers were found to enter the cortex itself.
An Inclusive Comparison in LAN Environment between Conventional and Hybrid Methods for Spectral Amplitude Coding Optical CDMA Systems

In this paper, performance analysis of conventional spectral amplitude coding (CSAC) with hybrid (HSAC) for OCDMA system is investigated in local area network (LAN) environment. The CSAC is built based on arithmetic sequence with simple algebraic ways. The HSAC technique is used in which spectral amplitude coding (SAC) combined with wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) to effectively reduce multiple access interference (MAI) and mitigate the influence of phase induced intensity noise (PIIN) arising in photodetecting process. The main idea is to construct the code sequences in SAC domain then repeat it diagonally in the wavelength domain as groups which maintains the same cardinality of a given code weight. Results show that HSAC outperforms CSAC when the number of active users is high due to its better correlation properties. It has been shown that the HSAC can suppress intensity noise effectively and improve the bandwidth utilization significantly up to 4.2 nm.
KL4‐surfactant prevents hyperoxic and LPS‐induced lung injury in mice

KL4‐surfactant contains the novel KL4 peptide, sinapultide, which mimics properties of the hydrophobic pulmonary surfactant protein SP‐B, in a phospholipid formulation and may be lung protective in experimental acute respiratory distress syndrome/acute lung injury. Our objective was to determine the protective role of airway delivery of KL4‐surfactant in murine models of hyperoxic and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)‐induced lung injury and further explore the mechanisms of protection. For the hyperoxic injury model, mice exposed to 80% O2 for 6 days received an intranasal bolus of vehicle, beractant, or KL4‐surfactant on days 3, 4, 5, and 6 of the exposure, and lungs were evaluated on day 7. Mice in the LPS‐induced lung injury model received an intratracheal bolus of LPS followed by an intranasal bolus of KL4‐surfactant or control at 1, 3, and 19 hr post‐LPS challenge, and lungs were evaluated after 24 hr. To explore the mechanisms of protection, in vitro assays were performed with human and murine endothelial cell monolayers, and polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) transmigration in the presence or absence of KL4‐surfactant or lipid controls was evaluated. Based on morphology, histopathology, white blood cell count, percentage of PMNs, and protein concentration in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, our data showed KL4‐surfactant, unlike vehicle or beractant, blocked neutrophil influx into alveoli and suppressed lung injury. Furthermore, in vitro assays showed KL4‐surfactant decreased neutrophil transmigration at the endothelial cell level. KL4‐surfactant decreased inflammation and lung permeability compared with controls in both mouse models of lung injury. Evidence suggests the anti‐inflammatory mechanism of the KL4‐peptide is through inhibition of PMN transmigration through the endothelium. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2006, 41:916–928. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Self-reported fears to common indigenous animals in an adult UK population: the role of disgust sensitivity.

Two studies are described which report on the prevalence and intensity of self-reported fears to common indigenous animals in an adult UK population. The results of Study 1 suggest that (i) around a third of the variance in fear of indigenous animals can be accounted for by two factors which represent the theoretically coherent categories of invertebrates (e.g. slug, worm, cockroach) and fear-relevant animals (e.g. rat, snake, bat); (ii) females tend to report significantly greater levels of fear than males to a large majority of prevalently feared animals; and (iii) there were no obviously consistent patterns of fear with age. Study 2 identifies individual disgust sensitivity levels as being an important and significant predictor of fear of animals in both the invertebrate and fear-relevant categories, and finds that females report significantly higher disgust sensitivity levels than males. Since most of the prevalently feared indigenous animals appear to be disgust-relevant, this latter finding helps to explain the generally higher fear ratings given by females.
Operation and Optimization of Silicon-Diode-Based Optical Modulators

An optical modulator in silicon based on a diode structure has been operated in both forward and reverse bias. This modulator achieves near state-of-the-art performance in both modes, thereby making this device ideal for comparing the two modes of operation. In reverse bias, the device has a V¿L of 4.0 V·cm and a bandwidth of 26 GHz. In forward bias, the device is very sensitive, a V¿L as low as 0.0025 V·cm has been achieved, but the bandwidth is only 100 MHz. A new geometry for a reverse-bias device is proposed, and it is predicted to achieve a V¿L of 0.5 V·cm.
A central control engine for an open and hybrid simulation environment

Embedded control systems are increasing in complexity. This paper describes a modelling and simulation environment which can efficiently handle the horizontal and vertical integration of both the hardware and the software design process. The focus is on simulation and its control aspects, detailing the respective algorithms. The work is conducted within the OMI/TOOLS project funded by the European Community.
A Silver Staining Method for Single-cell Gel Assay

The single-cell gel assay (comet assay) is a very useful microelectrophoretic technique for evaluation of DNA damage and repair in individual cells. Usually, the comets are visualized and evaluated with fluorescent DNA stains. This staining requires specific equipment (e.g., a high-quality fluorescence microscope), the slides must be analyzed immediately, and they cannot be stored for long periods of time. Here we describe, using human lymphocytes, some modifications of the silver staining for comets that significantly increase the sensitivity/reproducibility of the assay. This silver staining was compared with fluorescence staining and commercial silver stains. (J Histochem Cytochem 49:1183–1186, 2001)
Nurses' and physicians' assessment of mother-infant mental health at the first postnatal visits.

OBJECTIVE To examine the degree to which physicians and nurses use their first postnatal contact with mothers and babies to learn about their psychosocial strengths and problems. METHOD Forty-two consecutively born infants and their mothers were observed during their initial postnatal visit with a public health nurse and their physician in Montreal. Both visits were audiotaped. Tapes were analyzed for the number of physical and psychosocial topics discussed during the visits. Observers also rated the professionals' communication skills. During a later home visit, mothers were given the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised, and the Working Model of the Child Interview (WMCI). RESULTS Nurses spent more time with families, discussed more psychosocial issues, and were rated to be more sensitive interviewers than physicians. They were also concerned about the psychological well-being and psychological difficulties of more mothers than were the physicians. In contrast, physicians were more sensitive to pregnancy complications in younger mothers. Mothers' satisfaction correlated with the number of psychosocial issues discussed by both professional groups. WMCI data suggest that recent non-Western immigrants are overrepresented among insecurely attached mothers. CONCLUSIONS Nurses and physicians obtain different data from the same patients and should increase their collaboration.
Intracranial hypertension and cerebral perfusion pressure: influence on neurological deterioration and outcome in severe head injury*

Object. Recently, a renewed emphasis has been placed on managing severe head injury by elevating cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP), which is defined as the mean arterial pressure minus the intracranial pressure (ICP). Some authors have suggested that CPP is more important in influencing outcome than is intracranial hypertension, a hypothesis that this study was designed to investigate. Methods. The authors examined the relative contribution of these two parameters to outcome in a series of 427 patients prospectively studied in an international, multicenter, randomized, double-blind trial of the N-methyl-d-aspartate antagonist Selfotel. Mortality rates rose from 9.6% in 292 patients who had no clinically defined episodes of neurological deterioration to 56.4% in 117 patients who suffered one or more of these episodes; 18 patients were lost to follow up. Correspondingly, favorable outcome, defined as good or moderate on the Glasgow Outcome Scale at 6 months, fell from 67.8% in patients without neurological .
A novel method for real-time globally optimized path planning in a dynamic environment based on ant colony system algorithm

The traditional path-planning algorithm is used for static environment only. By presenting a novel method for optimal path planning in a dynamic environment, a solution based on fuzzy logic, Ant Colony System (ACS) algorithm and Grid method were discovered. The studio Microsoft Robotics Developer was chosen to perform the 3D simulation of this method and the result shows that the method discussed in this paper is effective, and can be applied to other dynamic environment for real-time globally optimized path planning of Intelligent Mobile Robots.