Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Optimization of gold nanostructers for laser killing of cancer cells

Recently, the first applications of gold nanoshells (Halas and co-workers, 2003), nanospheres and nanosphere clusters (Anderson and co-workers, 2003; Zharov and co-workers, 2003) to the cancer cell diagnostics and laser killing of cancer cells (LKCC) have been reported. However, to be clinically relevant, existing technologies must overcome fundamental problems related with limitations of current understanding the relationship between the nanoparticle/cluster parameters (size, shape, particle/cluster structure, etc.) and the efficiency of LKCC therapy, as well as with limitations of the available methods for synthesis and in situ characterization of new advanced nanoparticles and clusters with unique synergistic properties which are crucial for selective LKCC therapy. Here we report on preliminary simulation results aimed at finding the optimal cluster structures for maximal absorption efficiency of laser radiation. We consider also alternative possibilities related with using gold nanorods and nanoshells instead of spherical particles. Two types of nanostructures are studied: (1) bioconjugates of single nanoparticles (spheres, nanoshells, and nanorods); (2); linear chains, 2D lattice arrays, and 3D clusters of gold spheres or conjugates that mimic aggregation of nanoparticles on or within cancer cells. By using the generalized multiparticle Mie solution and different versions of the cluster T-matrix method, we calculated the absorption efficiency of nanostructures under study. The gold nanoshells and nanorods with tunable spectral resonances are shown to be more effective photothermal labels as compared to usual solid gold spheres. In the case of 1D-3D clusters, the interparticle separations and short linear chain fragments are the main structural parameters determining the absorption efficiency
Towards Practical Uniform Interpolation and Forgetting for ALC TBoxes

We develop a clausal resolution-based approach for computing uniform interpolants of TBoxes formulated in the description logicALC when such uniform interpolants exist. We also present an experimental evaluation of our approach and its applications to concept forgetting, ontology obfuscation and logical difference on real-life ALC ontologies. Our results indicate that in many practical cases a uniform interpolant exists and can be computed with the presented algorithm.
Social Reactions to Child Sexual Abuse Disclosures: A Critical Review

ABSTRACT Recent studies have examined disclosure of child sexual abuse to determine the correlates and consequences of telling others about this form of victimization. The present article reviews the current empirical literature on disclosure and reactions to adult survivors to assess what is known about the process of disclosure and whether telling others is therapeutic and leads to positive outcomes. Most studies assessing social reactions in detail have concerned adult survivors retrospectively reporting on their disclosures of child sexual abuse. Few empirical studies have been conducted in this area but research suggests that few victims tell anyone about child sexual abuse as children, and that the type of reactions to disclosure vary according to when disclosure occurs (childhood or adulthood), the extent and nature of the disclosure, and the person to whom one discloses. Clear evidence shows that negative social reactions are harmful to survivors' well-being, but better assessment of specific reactions and their effects are needed in theoretically-based studies to evaluate how these responses affect survivors' recovery in the context of other variables. Suggestions for future research on social reactions of others to adult survivors disclosing child sexual abuse are presented.
In vivo quantification of intraventricular hemorrhage in a neonatal piglet model using an EEG-layout based electrical impedance tomography array

Intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) is a common occurrence in the days immediately after premature birth. It has been correlated with outcomes such as periventricular leukomalacia (PVL), cerebral palsy and developmental delay. The causes and evolution of IVH are unclear; it has been associated with fluctuations in blood pressure, damage to the subventricular zone and seizures. At present, ultrasound is the most commonly used method for detection of IVH, but is used retrospectively. Without the presence of adequate therapies to avert IVH, the use of a continuous monitoring technique may be somewhat moot. While treatments to mitigate the damage caused by IVH are still under development, the principal benefit of a continuous monitoring technique will be in investigations into the etiology of IVH, and its associations with periventricular injury and blood pressure fluctuations. Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) is potentially of use in this context as accumulating blood displaces higher conductivity cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the ventricles. We devised an electrode array and EIT measurement strategy that performed well in detection of simulated ventricular blood in computer models and phantom studies. In this study we describe results of pilot in vivo experiments on neonatal piglets, and show that EIT has high sensitivity and specificity to small quantities of blood (<1 ml) introduced into the ventricle. EIT images were processed to an index representing the quantity of accumulated blood (the ‘quantity index’, QI). We found that QI values were linearly related to fluid quantity, and that the slope of the curve was consistent between measurements on different subjects. Linear discriminant analysis showed a false positive rate of 0%, and receiver operator characteristic analysis found area under curve values greater than 0.98 to administered volumes between 0.5, and 2.0 ml. We believe our study indicates that this method may be well suited to quantitative monitoring of IVH in newborns, simultaneously or interleaved with electroencephalograph assessments.
Joint Routing and Medium Access Control in Fixed Random Access Wireless Multihop Networks

We study cross-layer design in random-access-based fixed wireless multihop networks under a physical interference model. Due to the complexity of the problem, we consider a simple slotted ALOHA medium access control (MAC) protocol for link-layer operation. We formulate a joint routing, access probability, and rate allocation optimization problem to determine the optimal max-min throughput of the flows and the optimal configuration of the routing, access probability, and transmission rate parameters in a slotted ALOHA system. We then also adapt this problem to include an XOR-like network coding without opportunistic listening. Both problems are complex nonlinear and nonconvex. We provide extensive numerical results for both problems for medium-size mesh networks using an iterated optimal search technique. Via numerical and simulation results, we show that: 1) joint design provides a significant throughput gain over a default configuration in slotted-ALOHA-based wireless networks; and 2) the throughput gain obtained by the simple network coding is significant, especially at low transmission power. We also propose simple heuristics to configure slotted-ALOHA-based wireless mesh networks. These heuristics are extensively evaluated via simulation and found to be very efficient.
Defect‐Rich Ultrathin ZnAl‐Layered Double Hydroxide Nanosheets for Efficient Photoreduction of CO2 to CO with Water

Defect-rich ultrathin ZnAl-layered double hydroxide nanosheets are successfully prepared. Under UV-vis irradiation, these nanosheets are superior efficient catalysts for the photoreduction of CO2 to CO with water. The formed oxygen vacancies lead to the formation of coordinatively unsaturated Zn(+) centers within the nanosheets, responsible for the very high photocatalytic activities.
Catheter Cryoablation: Biology and Clinical Uses

Cryotherapy, or the use of freezing temperatures to elicit a specific tissue response, has a long history of safe and effective use in medicine. Cryothermal ablation results in discrete homogenous lesions that are sharply demarcated, with preserved ultrastructural tissue integrity and low propensity for thrombosis.1–3 Its unique safety profile is well established. Although cryoenergy has been used in modern surgical procedures for more than 50 years, the development of steerable percutaneous cryocatheters represents a more recent landmark in the history of clinical cardiac electrophysiology. This review examines the current state of knowledge regarding cryothermal catheter ablation. Pertinent features related to biophysics and biomechanics of cryothermal tissue injury are summarized, potential advantages compared with standard radiofrequency (RF) catheter ablation (RFCA) are discussed, and the contemporary clinical experience with transcatheter cryoablation is reviewed. Practical aspects relevant to clinical electrophysiologists are emphasized throughout. The concept of cooling to treat medical disorders dates back to the ancient Egyptians, where the use of hypothermic therapy was described in ≈1600 to 3000 BCE.1 More recently, iced saline was used in the mid-1800s for the treatment of carcinomas of the breast and uterine cervix, followed by the topical use of liquid oxygen, nitrogen, and hydrogen for superficial carcinomas in the early 1900s. Preceded by a near half-decade of experimentation, the modern era of cryosurgery was initiated by Cooper and Lee4 in 1961 when vacuum-insulated cryosurgical probes cooled by liquid nitrogen (−196oC) were introduced. Novel cryoprobes were subsequently developed using thermoelectric cooling (Peltier effect) or cooling by the Joule–Thomson effect (ie, from the expansion of a highly compressed nonideal gas into a region of low pressure). Whereas the thermoelectric method (cooling by the passage of a direct current through dissimilar metal junctions) offered limited thermal efficiency, the Joule–Thomson effect was relatively …
Ka-band antipodal dual exponentially tapered slot antenna for next generation mobile communication system applications

In this paper, the design, simulation and measurement of a planar antenna at Ka-band targeted for 5th-generation mobile terminal application are presented. Based on tapered-slot configuration, this antenna exhibited an input return loss of greater than 10 dB covering entire Ka-band from 26.5 GHz to 40 GHz. The measured gain was 5 dBi at 28 GHz and 7.9 dBi at 38 GHz. Gain enhancement was achieved through elliptic-shaped dielectric loading in the direction of radiation. A 2-dB improvement in gain at 28 GHz and 38 GHz was obtained. The proposed antenna configuration can easily be realized using standard printed-circuit-board (PCB) process for the ease of integration with other planar circuitry, suitable for applications of the next generation mobile terminals at millimeter-wave frequencies.
The Cronbach-Mesbah Curve for assessing the unidimensionality oh an item set: the R package MCM

This paper describes the R package CMC that calculates and plots the step-by-step Cronbach Mesbah curve. This is a simple but effective method, based on the Cronbach coefficient of reliability that can be used for checking the unidimensionality of a measurement scale adopted in a psychological or social science survey. So far this graphical tool has been implemented only in an SAS macro called ANAQOL and therefore its dissemination has been somewhat limited to SAS users. The main aim of the CMC package is to extend the use of this method to a wider scientific community. To pursue this goal, the package is written in the open-source R language, which is rapidly evolving as the lingua franca of data analysis and statistical computing in many scientific fields. This paper illustrates the Cronbach-Mesbah curve via simulated datasets from the Rasch model.
Probabilistic Byzantine quorum systems

In this paper we present probabilistic masking quorum systems, a technique for replicating data that can mask, with high probability, the arbitrary (Byzantine) failure of data servers from clients. This technique generalizes previous work on probabilistic quorum systems to mask Byzantine server failures in their full generality, and improves over previous masking quorum systems by o ering better data availability and access e ciency. We de ne probabilistic masking quorum systems, demonstrate a novel access protocol for implementing replicated data with them, and prove general and tight lower bounds on the performance that they can achieve. We also present a probabilistic masking quorum construction that outperforms strict masking constructions in measures of both availability and e ciency.
Image Retrieval using Shape Feature

An ashtray houses a fan (20) which drives air through two filters (30, 36). Air is drawn in from an ashtray well (6) and expelled from openings (17) in the base of the ashtray. A recirculation path (A1, A2, A3) is provided for pre-filtering by the first filter 30.
Comparison of a hair bundle's spontaneous oscillations with its response to mechanical stimulation reveals the underlying active process

Hearing relies on active filtering to achieve exquisite sensitivity and sharp frequency selectivity. In a quiet environment, the ears of many vertebrates become unstable and emit one to several tones. These spontaneous otoacoustic emissions, the most striking manifestation of the inner ear's active process, must result from self-sustained mechanical oscillations of aural constituents. The mechanoreceptive hair bundles of hair cells in the bullfrog's sacculus have the ability to amplify mechanical stimuli and oscillate spontaneously. By comparing a hair bundle's spontaneous oscillations with its response to small mechanical stimuli, we demonstrate a breakdown in a general principle of equilibrium thermodynamics, the fluctuation–dissipation theorem. We thus confirm that a hair bundle's spontaneous movements are produced by energy-consuming elements within the hair cell. To characterize the dynamical behavior of the active process, we introduce an effective temperature that, for each frequency component, quantifies a hair bundle's deviation from thermal equilibrium. The effective temperature diverges near the bundle's frequency of spontaneous oscillation. This behavior, which is not generic for active oscillators, can be accommodated by a simple model that characterizes quantitatively the fluctuations of the spontaneous movements as well as the hair bundle's linear response function.
DNA stretching and compression: large-scale simulations of double helical structures.

Computer-simulated elongation and compression of A - and B -DNA structures beyond the range of thermal fluctuations provide new insights into high energy "activated" forms of DNA implicated in biochemical processes, such as recombination and transcription. All-atom potential energy studies of regular poly(dG). poly(dC) and poly(dA). poly(dT) double helices, stretched from compressed states of 2.0 A per base-pair step to highly extended forms of 7.0 A per residue, uncover four different hyperfamilies of right-handed structures that differ in mutual base-pair orientation and sugar-phosphate backbone conformation. The optimized structures embrace all currently known right-handed forms of double-helical DNA identified in single crystals as well as non-canonical forms, such as the original "Watson-Crick" duplex with trans conformations about the P-O5' and C5'-C4' backbone bonds. The lowest energy minima correspond to canonical A and B -form duplexes. The calculations further reveal a number of unusual helical conformations that are energetically disfavored under equilibrium conditions but become favored when DNA is highly stretched or compressed. The variation of potential energy versus stretching provides a detailed picture of dramatic conformational changes that accompany the transitions between various families of double-helical forms. In particular, the interchanges between extended canonical and non-canonical states are reminiscent of the cooperative transitions identified by direct stretching experiments. The large-scale, concerted changes in base-pair inclination, brought about by changes in backbone and glycosyl torsion angles, could easily give rise to the observed sharp increase in force required to stretch single DNA molecules more than 1.6-1.65 times their canonical extension. Our extended duplexes also help to tie together a number of previously known structural features of the RecA-DNA complex and offer a self-consistent stereochemical model for the single-stranded/duplex DNA recognition brought in register by recombination proteins. The compression of model duplexes, by contrast, yields non-canonical structures resembling the deformed steps in crystal complexes of DNA with the TATA-box binding protein (TBP). The crystalline TBP-bound DNA steps follow the calculated compression-elongation pattern of an unusual "vertical" duplex with base planes highly inclined with respect to the helical axis, exposed into the minor groove, and accordingly accessible for recognition.Significantly, the double helix can be stretched by a factor of two and compressed roughly in half before its computed internal energy rises sharply. The energy profiles show that DNA extension-compression is related not only to the variation of base-pair Rise but also to concerted changes of Twist, Roll, and Slide. We suggest that the high energy "activated" forms calculated here are critical for DNA processing, e.g. nucleo-protein recognition, DNA/RNA synthesis, and strand exchange.
Graph Theory Based Cooperative Transmission for Physical-Layer Security in 5G Large-Scale Wireless Relay Networks

In this paper, multi-hop cooperative techniques are adopted to improve the physical-layer security in 5G large-scale decode-and-forward relay networks with massive relays and eavesdroppers. The utilization of graph theory is investigated to relieve the burden of massive nodes and ease the cooperative anti-eavesdropping transmission designs. In particular, a secrecy weighted graph is first established according to the network topology. Three scenarios associated with different levels of wiretapping capability are taken into account. Accordingly, secrecy measurements are converted into the weight of each edge and three efficient cooperative anti-eavesdropping strategies are then proposed for physical-layer security enhancement based on the shortest path algorithm, respectively. It is verified that the proposed cooperative anti-eavesdropping strategies have the property of low complexity and are more attractive for large-scale networks. Simulation results highlight the efficiency and effectiveness of our designs. It has been shown that two-hop transmission does not always promise performance gain in terms of secrecy gain. On the contrary, the proposed strategies are able to provide considerable improvement for different cases, emphasizing the necessity of adopting multi-hop cooperative anti-eavesdropping techniques to improve the physical-layer security.
Estimation of boron impurities in graphite by danger coefficient method

Trace impurities of boron in reactor grade graphite cause a marked decrease in the quality of this material for reactor application. Accurate chemical analysis for boron at such levels is difficult and subject to considerable uncertainty. A method of estimating boron content by nondestructive testing utilizing the adverse effect of the impurity on the reactivity of a research reactor operating at a low power level is proposed. Such a method would include in boron content contributions due to some impurities, notably rare earths, not detected by chemical techniques. This investigation indicates that boron present in reactor grade graphite is of the order of 1.2 parts per million and greater than is shown by other methods. This boron content can be estimated with a significant precision of about 0.2 parts per million. This project was done by the authors at the U. S. Naval Postgraduate School between August 1957 and January 1958. The AGN-201 research reactor was used on some 40 different occasions with approximately 160 hours of critical time. The authors wish to express their appreciation to Professor William W. Hawes who was present during all reactor operations due to licensing requirements . Other indebtedness is indicated under Acknowledgments .
Microsatellite analysis of genetic diversity among clinical and nonclinical Saccharomyces cerevisiae isolates suggests heterozygote advantage in clinical environments

The genetic structure of a global sample of 170 clinical and nonclinical Saccharomyces cerevisiae isolates was analysed using 12 microsatellite markers. High levels of genetic diversity were revealed both among the clinical and among the nonclinical S. cerevisiae isolates without significant differentiation between these two groups of isolates, rendering a single origin of pathogenic isolates unlikely. This suggests that S. cerevisiae is a true opportunistic pathogen, with a diversity of unrelated genetic backgrounds able to cause infections in humans, and that the ability of S. cerevisiae isolates to cause infections is likely due to a combination of their phenotypic plasticity and the immune system status of the exposed individuals. As was previously reported for bread, beer and wine strains and for environmental S. cerevisiae isolates, the microsatellite genotypes indicated ploidy level variation, from possibly haploid up to tetraploid, among clinical S. cerevisiae isolates. However, rather than haploid, sporulation proficiency and spore viability data indicated that most S. cerevisiae isolates that were mono‐allelic at all examined microsatellite loci were likely homothallic and self‐diploidized. Interestingly, the proportion of heterozygous clinical isolates was found to be significantly higher than the proportion of heterozygous nonclinical isolates, suggesting a selective advantage of heterozygous S. cerevisiae yeasts in clinical environments.