Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Interazione dei neutrini con la materia

I neutrini sono particelle straordinariamente elusive. Per dirla con Leon Lederman, si aggiudicano senza rivali il primopremio del concorsominimalista: hanno carica elettrica nulla e massa quasi nulla, e si lasciano coinvolgere solo dall’interazione debole responsabile del decadimento beta del neutrone (oltre che da quella gravitazionale, che è comunque trascurabile). Nel 1934, Hans Bethe e Rudolf Peierls, basandosi su una stima della sua sezione d’urto ottenuta analizzando il decadimento beta inverso, conclusero perentoriamente che “non c’è alcun modo possibile di osservare un neutrino”[1]. Da parte sua, Wolfgang Pauli, che aveva ipotizzato l’esistenza del neutrino quattro anni prima, commentò costernato: “Ho fatto una cosa terribile: ho postulato l’esistenza di una particella che non può essere rivelata”. In effetti, le sezioni d’urto associate alle interazioni deboli sono molto piccole, e quindi estremamente difficili da misurare. Il valore ottenuto da Bethe e Peierls, σ ≈ 10−44 cm2, è circa venti ordini di grandezza minore delle sezioni d’urto tipiche delle interazioni forti tra protoni e neutroni. Utilizzando questa stima si trova un valore del cammino libero medio di un neutrino nell’acqua—cioè della distanza media che un neutrino può percorrere senza che si verifichino collisioni con le particelle del mezzo circostante—dell’ordine di dieci anni luce (un anno luce è pari a 9461 miliardi di km). I neutrini possono essere osservati solo indirettamente, attraverso le interazioni tra le altre particelle prodotte nelle interazioni deboli e la materia di cui è fatto il rivelatore. Poiché queste interazioni si verificano in modo casuale, per aumentarne la frequenza sono necessari fasci di neutrini sufficientemente intensi e grandi quantità di materia: più neutrini, più materia, più interazioni, più eventi.
Simultaneous measurement of arterial input function and tumor pharmacokinetics in mice by dynamic contrast enhanced imaging: Effects of transcytolemmal water exchange

A noninvasive technique for simultaneous measurement of the arterial input function (AIF) for gadodiamide (Omniscan) and its uptake in tumor was demonstrated in mice. Implantation of a tumor at a suitable location enabled its visualization in a cardiac short axis image. Sets of gated, low‐resolution saturation recovery images were acquired from each of five tumor‐bearing mice following intravenous administration of a bolus of contrast agent (CA). The AIF was extracted from the signal intensity changes in left ventricular blood using literature values of the CA relaxivity and a precontrast T1 map. The time‐dependent 1H2O relaxation rate constant (R1 = 1/T1) in the tumor was modeled using the BOLus Enhanced Relaxation Overview (BOLERO) method in two modes regarding the equilibrium transcytolemmal water exchange system: 1) constraining it exclusively to the fast exchange limit (FXL) (the conventional assumption), and 2) allowing its transient departure from FXL and access to the fast exchange regime (FXR), thus designated FXL/FXR. The FXL/FXR analysis yielded better fittings than the FXL‐constrained analysis for data from the tumor rims, whereas the results based on the two modes were indistinguishable for data from the tumor cores. For the tumor rims, the values of Ktrans (the rate constant for CA transfer from the vasculature to the interstitium) and ve (volume fraction of the tissue extracellular and extravascular space) returned from FXL/FXR analysis are consistently greater than those from the FXL‐constrained analysis by a factor of 1.5 or more corresponding to a CA dose of 0.05 mmole/kg. Magn Reson Med 52:248–257, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Dependency Analysis - A Petri-Net-Based Technique for Synthesizing Large Concurrent Systems

Petri nets (PNs) are frequently used in modeling, designing, and analyzing concurrent systems. A problem with PNs, in the general case, is that they require high computational complexity to analyze their properties, such as reachability, liveness, and boundedness. To avoid this problem, synthesis techniques for constructing large PNs are presented. Using these techniques, the behavior of the constructed PN can be determined by local analysis that uses known properties of the given nets. Thus, the high computational complexity of global analysis is bypassed. A synthesis technique that explores dependency relations in PNs is presented. It synthesizes large PNs by combining smaller PNs of arbitrary topology structures, and the combination is verified efficiently by dependency analysis. A large system based on a PN can be built up by repeated applications of the technique. >
Written instructions to patients to confirm pathology results: is this effective in the transmission of results?

Bowel cancer is the second most common internal malignancy in Australia. Bowel cancer is suited to community screening methods such as faecal occult blood testing and colonoscopy. Typical reporting of histopathology results after colonoscopy takes 3–5 days. Patients were given written instructions to call the clinician within 3–5 days to discuss the histopathology results. The objective of the study was to perform an audit whether patients call the clinician to discuss their histopathology results after undergoing a colonoscopy, gastroscopy or both.
CARDIOVASCULAR INNERVATION

THERE are two types of textbook of medicine. The one deals primarily with principles and omits detail, while the other consists largely of factual information. Both types are necessary. Price's Textbook of Medicine falls into the latter category and is an excellent book of its type. The new edition is extensively rewritten and the new sections are in most cases a considerable improvement on those they replace. May I suggest for future editions that one to four selected references at the end of each sub-section would considerably enhance the usefulness of this book. G. M. B.
On eigenmodes, stiffness, and sensitivity of atomic force microscope cantilevers in air versus liquids

The effect of hydrodynamic loading on the eigenmode shapes, modal stiffnesses, and optical lever sensitivities of atomic force microscope (AFM) microcantilevers is investigated by measuring the vibrations of such microcantilevers in air and water using a scanning laser Doppler vibrometer. It is found that for rectangular tipless microcantilevers, the measured fundamental and higher eigenmodes and their equivalent stiffnesses are nearly identical in air and in water. However, for microcantilevers with a tip mass or for picket shaped cantilevers, there is a marked difference in the second (and higher) eigenmode shapes between air and water that leads to a large decrease in their modal stiffness in water as compared to air as well as a decrease in their optical lever sensitivity. These results are explained in terms of hydrodynamic interactions of microcantilevers with nonuniform mass distribution. The results clearly demonstrate that tip mass and hydrodynamic loading must be taken into account in stiffness .
Seismological aspects of the Guatemala Earthquake of February 4, 1976

Detailed analyses of teleseismic surface waves and body waves from the Guatemala earthquake of February 4, 1976, show the following: (1) Left lateral displacement along a vertical fault with a strike varying from N66°E to N98°E is consistent with the teleseismic data. (2) The seismic moment was 2.6 × 10^27 dyn cm. The directivity of the surface wave radiation indicates an asymmetric (1:2.3) bilateral faulting with a total length of 250 km. In modeling the displacement a rupture velocity of 3 km/s was used, and the fault curvature was included. (3) If a fault width of 15 km is assumed, the average offset is estimated to be about 2 m. This value is about twice as large as the average surface offset. (4) Although the observed directivity suggests a uniform overall displacement along the fault, the body wave analysis suggests that the earthquake consists of as many as 10 independent events, each having a seismic moment of 1.3–5.3 × 10^26 dyn cm and a fault length of about 10 km. The spatial separation of these events varies from 14 to 40 km. This multiple-shock sequence suggests that the rupture propagation is jagged and partially incoherent with an average velocity of 2 km/s. (5) The average stress drop estimated from surface waves is about 30 bars, but the local stress drop for the individual events may be significantly higher than this. (6) The complex multiple event is a manifestation of a heterogeneous distribution of the mechanical properties along the fault, which may be caused by either asperities, differences in strength, differences in pore pressure, differences in slip characteristics (stable sliding versus stick slip), or combinations of these factors. (7) This complexity has important bearing on the state of stress along transform faults and is important in assessing the effect of large earthquakes along other transform faults like the San Andreas.
Potential use of Neem Leaf Slurry as a Sustainable Dry Season Management Strategy to Control the Malaria Vector Anopheles gambiae (Diptera: Culicidae) in West African Villages

ABSTRACT Larval management of the malaria vector, Anopheles gambiae Giles s.s. , has been successful in reducing disease transmission. However, pesticides are not affordable to farmers in remote villages in Mali, and in other material resource poor countries. Insect resistance to insecticides and nontarget toxicity pose additional problems. Neem (Azadirachta indica A. Juss) is a tree with many beneficial, insect bioactive compounds, such as azadirachtin. We tested the hypothesis that neem leaf slurry is a sustainable, natural product, anopheline larvicide. A field study conducted in Sanambele (Mali) in 2010 demonstrated neem leaf slurry can work with only the available tools and resources in the village. Laboratory bioassays were conducted with third instar An. gambiae and village methods were used to prepare the leaf slurry. Experimental concentration ranges were 1,061–21,224 mg/L pulverized neem leaves in distilled water. The 50 and 90% lethal concentrations at 72 h were 8,825 mg/L and 15,212 mg/L, respectively. LC concentrations were higher than for other parts of the neem tree when compared with previous published studies because leaf slurry preparation was simplified by omitting removal of fibrous plant tissue. Using storytelling as a medium of knowledge transfer, villagers combined available resources to manage anopheline larvae. Preparation of neem leaf slurries is a sustainable approach which allows villagers to proactively reduce mosquito larval density within their community as part of an integrated management system.
Staff Ratios and Allocated Instructional Time for Multihandicapped Students

Examinations of ecologically relevant variables within diverse educational settings have produced evidence that allocated instructional time is one modifiable variable clearly related to student achievement. The present study compared the amount of instructional time available in classrooms for severely/multiply handicapped children when student/staff ratios ranged from 10:3 to 5:3. Results suggest a turning point at which instructional and noninstructional (or caretaking) time are approximately equal, at a 2:1 student/staff ratio. Thereafter, the gains in instructional time may become less pronounced.
Variability in growth rates of juvenile fishes in different estuarine habitats

Estuaries are vital nursery grounds for many marine fishes. During initial estuarine residence, juvenile fishes presumably benefit greatly from rapid growth, which can diminish susceptibility to size-selective predators. To measure the degree of variability in growth rates across different estuarine sites and habitats. I conducted caging experiments with 3 species (Pseudopleuronectes americanus, Tautoga onitis, and Gobiosoma bosci) at 4 sites in New Jersey, USA, estuaries. Two sites were in an estuary with dense eelgrass Zostera marina beds (Little Egg Harbor) and 2 were in an estuary lacking eelgrass but supporting patchy accumulations of the macroalgae Ulva lactuca (Great Bay). Experiments were conducted in vegetated (either Zostera or Ulva) and unvegetated habitats at each site. Relative differences in growth rates among the 4 sites and between the 2 habitats were generally maintained across experiments withln species, suggesting a consistency in foraging value. For all 3 species, growth . was highest at a Great Bay site and generally lowest at a httle Egg Harbor site. The presence of vegetation (either Zostera or Ulva) was beneficial to growth only for T onitis. Observed patterns in water temperature, sediment structure, and food availability were potential factors effecting the observed differences in growth rates. Natural densities of the 3 fish species were quantified and compared to the results of growth experiments to determine if there were trade-offs between rapid growth and other attributes of habitat quality. P. americanus and T onitis were more abundant in areas supporting faster growth, but the complete absence of tautog from unvegetated substrates suggested some degree of habitat avoidance. A clear trade-off between habitat selection and foraging quality occurred for G. bosci; gobies were most abundant inside eelgrass beds, which supported the poorest growth rates.
Comparative Analysis of 2 Resonance Frequency Measurement Devices: Osstell Mentor and Osstell ISQ

Objective:Comparing reliability of Osstell Mentor and Osstell ISQ in implant stability measurement, and assessing whether their measurements are comparable. Materials and Method:Implant stability was measured with both devices on 58 implants in 15 patients. Six measurements were completed with each device with 2 different transducers (3 measurements with each transducer), that is, 12 measurements for each implant. Results:Mean implant stability quotient (ISQ) value with Osstell ISQ was 72.59, 72.47, and 73.17 in the first measurements, respectively. With Osstell Mentor, the results were 72.43, 72.60, and 73.26, respectively; mean ranges were 3.37, 3.60, and 3.75, respectively. However, mean value with Osstell ISQ and Osstell Mentor was 72.87 and 72.04, respectively. The intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.98. This means an almost perfect degree of concordance between both devices. Conclusions:Resonance frequency analysis systems in Osstell Mentor and Osstell ISQ show almost perfect reproducibility and repeatability.
Off-farm labor supply responses to permanent and transitory farm income

A sample of Iowa farm couples is used to evaluate whether off-farm labor supply decisions respond to permanent and transitory components of farm income. Off-farm labor supply of both spouses declines in response to increases in permanent farm income. Farm wives also reduce off-farm labor supply in response to positive transitory farm income shocks. Consequently, one mechanism farm households use to smooth their goods consumption when facing fluctuating farm income is to modify their consumption of leisure. Ability to smooth goods consumption does not imply the absence of liquidity constraints among farm households unless leisure consumption is also smoothed. Key Words: Frisch equations, off-farm labor, farm income, transitory shocks, permanent shocks
A Framework for the Non-Monolithic Implementation of Protocols in the x-kernel

This paper describes a framework for splitting the implementation of network protocols in the x-kernel into a user-level library, which implements the majority of the protocol functionality, and a kernel component, which provides a fast track to demultiplex packets into the appropriate recipient address space. The design also provides the user with flexibility to decide which aspects of the protocol implementation should be in user space and which should be in the kernel. We implement an example TCP/UDP-IP-Ethernet protocol stack and report on its performance which is competitive with monolithic implementations. The kernel level demultiplexing of network packets is well structured, modular and scalable. The cost of demultiplexing is shown to be insensitive to the number of user-level instances of protocols. The performance of the approach on a multiprocessor system shows that non-monolithic protocol implementations are potentially more parallelizable than traditional monolithic ones.
An Integrative Analysis of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory and the Hypomanic Personality Scale: Implications for Construct Validity

The primary goal of this study was to explicate the construct validity of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) and the Hypomanic Personality Scale (HPS) by examining their relations both to each other and to measures of personality and psychopathology in a community sample (N = 255). Structural evidence indicates that the NPI is defined by Leadership/Authority, Grandiose Exhibitionism, and Entitlement/Exploitativeness factors, whereas the HPS is characterized by specific dimensions reflecting Social Vitality, Mood Volatility, and Excitement. Our results establish that (a) factor-based subscales from these instruments display divergent patterns of relations that are obscured when relying exclusively on total scores and (b) some NPI and HPS subscales more clearly tap content specifically relevant to narcissism and mania, respectively, than others. In particular, our findings challenge the construct validity of the NPI Leadership/Authority and HPS Social Vitality subscales, which appear to assess overlapping assertiveness content that is largely adaptive in nature.
Analysis of immunoglobulin gamma heavy chain expression in synovial tissue of a patient with rheumatoid arthritis.

OBJECTIVE To gain insight into mechanisms underlying local immune responses in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), we analyzed the utilization of variable-region heavy chain (VH), diversity (DH), and joining (JH) gene segments expressed in synovial tissue of a patient with RA. METHODS An unrestricted complementary DNA (cDNA) library was generated from unselected cells extracted from synovial tissue obtained at the time of joint replacement. Southern blot analysis for VH, JH, and C gamma subclass utilization was performed on the first 50 C gamma- and JH-positive recombinants for which phage DNA was isolated. Eighteen of the clones were selected at random for sequence analysis. The VH gene segments were compared with an extensive database of germline and cDNA sequences. RESULTS All transcripts utilized gene segments from the VH1 (28%), VH3 (56%), and VH4 (15%) families. There was a predominance of JH4, JH5, and JH6 gene segment utilization. Fourteen of 18 randomly sequenced clones contained sufficient VH-region information for analysis. Eight (57%) were most closely related to VH gene segments that are preferentially expressed in human fetal liver or that encode antibodies with self-reactivity. The variable domains were heavily mutated, and replacement-to-silent substitution ratios (R:S ratios) in the antigen-binding domains (complementarity-determining regions [CDRs]) were disproportionately high. CDR3 lengths were quite variable, due to extensive N-region addition and 5'-exonuclease activity in the VH-DH-JH joins. CONCLUSION Plasma cells in this synovial tissue sample appear to express VH gene segments that are preferentially utilized during fetal development or in autoantibodies. The JH repertoire is similar to that seen in adult peripheral blood lymphocytes, but much different from that found during fetal development. The large number of somatic mutations and the high R:S ratios in the CDRs suggest an antigen-driven response.
The International Neuroblastoma Risk Group (INRG) classification system: an INRG Task Force report.

PURPOSE Because current approaches to risk classification and treatment stratification for children with neuroblastoma (NB) vary greatly throughout the world, it is difficult to directly compare risk-based clinical trials. The International Neuroblastoma Risk Group (INRG) classification system was developed to establish a consensus approach for pretreatment risk stratification. PATIENTS AND METHODS The statistical and clinical significance of 13 potential prognostic factors were analyzed in a cohort of 8,800 children diagnosed with NB between 1990 and 2002 from North America and Australia (Children's Oncology Group), Europe (International Society of Pediatric Oncology Europe Neuroblastoma Group and German Pediatric Oncology and Hematology Group), and Japan. Survival tree regression analyses using event-free survival (EFS) as the primary end point were performed to test the prognostic significance of the 13 factors. RESULTS Stage, age, histologic category, grade of tumor differentiation, the status of the MYCN oncogene, chromosome 11q status, and DNA ploidy were the most highly statistically significant and clinically relevant factors. A new staging system (INRG Staging System) based on clinical criteria and tumor imaging was developed for the INRG Classification System. The optimal age cutoff was determined to be between 15 and 19 months, and 18 months was selected for the classification system. Sixteen pretreatment groups were defined on the basis of clinical criteria and statistically significantly different EFS of the cohort stratified by the INRG criteria. Patients with 5-year EFS more than 85%, more than 75% to < or = 85%, > or = 50% to < or = 75%, or less than 50% were classified as very low risk, low risk, intermediate risk, or high risk, respectively. CONCLUSION By defining homogenous pretreatment patient cohorts, the INRG classification system will greatly facilitate the comparison of risk-based clinical trials conducted in different regions of the world and the development of international collaborative studies.
A Robust Text Classifier Based on Denoising Deep Neural Network in the Analysis of Big Data

Text classification has always been an interesting issue in the research area of natural language processing (NLP). While entering the era of big data, a good text classifier is critical to achieving NLP for scientific big data analytics. With the ever-increasing size of text data, it has posed important challenges in developing effective algorithm for text classification. Given the success of deep neural network (DNN) in analyzing big data, this article proposes a novel text classifier using DNN, in an effort to improve the computational performance of addressing big text data with hybrid outliers. Specifically, through the use of denoising autoencoder (DAE) and restricted Boltzmann machine (RBM), our proposed method, named denoising deep neural network (DDNN), is able to achieve significant improvement with better performance of antinoise and feature extraction, compared to the traditional text classification algorithms. The simulations on benchmark datasets verify the effectiveness and robustness of our proposed text classifier.