Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Radiosensitization with Gadolinium Chelate-Coated Gold Nanoparticles Prevents Aggressiveness and Invasiveness in Glioblastoma

Purpose This study aimed to evaluate the radiosensitizing potential of Au@DTDTPA(Gd) nanoparticles when combined with conventional external X-ray irradiation (RT) to treat GBM. Methods Complementary biological models based on U87 spheroids including conventional 3D invasion assay, organotypic brain slice cultures, chronic cranial window model were implemented to investigate the impact of RT treatments (10 Gy single dose; 5×2 Gy or 2×5 Gy) combined with Au@DTDTPA(Gd) nanoparticles on tumor progression. The main tumor mass and its infiltrative area were analyzed. This work focused on the invading cancer cells after irradiation and their viability, aggressiveness, and recurrence potential were assessed using mitotic catastrophe quantification, MMP secretion analysis and neurosphere assays, respectively. Results In vitro clonogenic assays showed that Au@DTDTPA(Gd) nanoparticles exerted a radiosensitizing effect on U87 cells, and in vivo experiments suggested a benefit of the combined treatment “RT 2×5 Gy + Au@DTDTPA(Gd)” compared to RT alone. Invasion assays revealed that invasion distance tended to increase after irradiation alone, while the combined treatments were able to significantly reduce tumor invasion. Monitoring of U87-GFP tumor progression using organotypic cultures or intracerebral grafts confirmed the anti-invasive effect of Au@DTDTPA(Gd) on irradiated spheroids. Most importantly, the combination of Au@DTDTPA(Gd) with irradiation drastically reduced the number, the viability and the aggressiveness of tumor cells able to escape from U87 spheroids. Notably, the combined treatments significantly reduced the proportion of escaped cells with stem-like features that could cause recurrence. Conclusion Combining Au@DTDTPA(Gd) nanoparticles and X-ray radiotherapy appears as an attractive therapeutic strategy to decrease number, viability and aggressiveness of tumor cells that escape and can invade the surrounding brain parenchyma. Hence, Au@DTDTPA(Gd)-enhanced radiotherapy opens up interesting perspectives for glioblastoma treatment.
Detection of possible p-mode oscillations on Procyon

In the course of a search for solar-like oscillations in bright late-type stars, Doppler variability was observed in the F5 subgiant Procyon. The variations have frequencies within a 1.1 mHz range centered at 0.9 mHz, and a total rms amplitude within that range of 2.5 m/s. Observations of Arcturus and scattered sunlight made with the same equipment during the same time interval show no such variation, indicating that the variations seen on Procyon are of stellar origin. The Doppler signal seen is entirely consistent with solar-like p-modes on Procyon, with maximum mode amplitudes of about 50 cm/s and periods around 20 minutes. Several statistical tests support the identification for the signal with narrow-band oscillations, but none does so conclusively. Assuming that the signal does arise from p-modes, there is evidence that the frequency splitting nu(0) is 71 micro-Hz. The data do not permit a definite estimate of this quantity, and other values of nu(0) fit the observations about equally well. In order to clarify the sources of ambiguity in this and similar observations, the data acquisition, reduction, and interpretation are described. 32 refs.
DYNAMIC PROPAGATION OF SNAP-THROUGH BUCKLING IN TENSEGRITY STRUCTURES

Tensegrity structures under certain conditions may be prone to snap-through buckling. The temporary loss of equilibrium due to snap-through normally results in a dynamic force being applied to each node associated with the snap-through. This paper presents a numerical study on the progressive collapse behavior of tensegrity structures due to the buckling of struts. Emphasis is given to the dynamic nature of the coupled member and nodal snap-through effects on the overall structural behavior. Member buckling is taken into consideration by carefully following the buckling load–displacement response of the member. It is assumed that the structure is subjected only to static gravitational load. Results of the present study allow one to assess the effects of various design parameters such as self-stress levels, effective-length factor of struts and damping characteristics on the propagation of snap-through buckling in these structures. The conclusions, drawn from this study, lead to the suggestion of some guid.
The Societal Value of the Modern Zoo: A Commentary on How Zoos Can Positively Impact on Human Populations Locally and Globally

Modern zoos and aquariums have evolved greatly since the end of the Second World War, to become centres of conservation excellence and scientific institutions for the study of animal behaviour, ecology, husbandry management. Whilst the impact of zoos and aquariums to biodiversity conservation, population management and advancement of species care is well documented, their positive impacts on society (including the communities that they are located within) is less well known. The four established aims of the modern zoo—Conservation, Education, Recreation (Engagement) and Research—provide a strong foundation for wider review and critique of the societal value of zoos and aquariums. This article synthesises what such value may be, and how it could be measured, from a systematic review of the literature pertaining to each of these four established aims. It also recommends areas of future scientific inquiry to further study the wider impact of zoos on their local communities and on human populations and behaviour more generally. Including Wellbeing as a fifth aim of the modern zoo would also cement their wider societal value. Further scrutiny of the societal value of the modern zoo enhances the value of the zoo’s living collection and the green spaces that it manages to provide accessibility to biodiversity and nature-centric education essential to long-term, planetary friendly human behaviour change.
Specific Differential Phase Estimation in the Presence of Nonuniform Rainfall Medium along the Path

Specific differential propagation phase (KDP) is estimated as the slope of the differential propagation phase (FDP). The estimate of specific differential propagation phase is typically obtained over a path to minimize measurement error. It is shown that the estimate of specific differential phase over a nonuniform rainfall path is biased, and the bias increases with increased reflectivity variation along the path. It is also shown that the bias can be both positive and negative depending on the nature of nonuniformity in the propagation path. Three models for nonuniform reflectivity variation along the precipitation path are studied. A simple algorithm is presented to correct the bias in the estimation of KDP due to nonuniform rainfall paths. Multiparameter radar data collected over central Florida are analyzed and compared to the theoretical results developed in this paper.
Abundances for giant stars in the Draco dwarf galaxy

The abundances of 14 giant stars with +0.2 > M V > -2.5 (19.6 > V > 16.9) in the Draco dwarf galaxy, using a synthetic spectral analysis of the calcium infrared triplet and the strongest line (5183 A) of the magnesium b triplet. The average abundance of the galaxy is ∼-1.9 ± 0.4 (all quoted uncertainties are 1 σ), with a range from ∼-1.4 to -2.4. As previously noted by Zinn and Kinman et al., the abundances seem to fall into two groups, one with an average [Ca, Mg/H] near -1.6 ± 0.2 and the other -2.3 ± 0.2
Neutron-induced defects in high-purity germanium

Fast neutron‐induced defects have been studied in high‐purity n‐ and p‐type germanium using capacitance techniques. Capacitance versus voltage has been applied to monitor the total defect introduction rate. The defects introduced by low‐temperature (10 K) and room‐temperature irradiations, as well as the native defects present in the As‐grown materials, are characterized by deep level transient spectroscopy. The restrictions of these techniques when applied to a material having a low‐free‐carrier concentration are pointed out. The previous knowledge of the annealing behavior and introduction rates of defects created by electron irradiation allowed some information about the microscopic origin of the point defects observed to be obtained. The dominant defects induced by the irradiation are vacancy or divacancy related. The study of the stable traps at low temperature provides a reasonable understanding of the primary defects and their annealing behavior up to room temperature. The characteristics of the se.
Faculty and Student Online Mentoring Preferences

Isolation of online doctoral students intensifies when they transition from coursework to the dissertation/capstone phase, limiting them to interacting with their mentors. A three-round modified Delphi study was conducted to examine mentoring preferences of online doctoral students and faculty. The first round provided qualitative data regarding the preferred mentoring practices for faculty and alumni. Round 1 qualitative data were organized into Likert questions and used in the second round, which resulted in data about frequency of mentoring practices for the same participants from Round 1. The third round provided data about importance of each preference rated by faculty and current students. Findings indicated a dichotomy was present in that mentees’ academic self-esteem appeared to be tied to faculty being responsive. Faculty emphasized mentee autonomy while mentees wanted frequent contact with faculty.
Proportion of Chinese Children and Adolescents Meeting 24-Hour Movement Guidelines and Associations with Overweight and Obesity

Background: Since there is little knowledge about the 24-hour movement behaviors of Chinese children and adolescents, the purposes of this study were to investigate the proportion of Chinese children and adolescents meeting the 24-Hour Movement Guidelines and to further evaluate its relationship with overweight and obesity. Methods: A total of 440 children and adolescents aged 7–18 years from 7 cities in China were selected to measure physical activity using accelerometers, and sleep (SLP) and screen time (ST) using questionnaires. The data were analyzed with the independent T-test, Mann–Whitney U test, Cox–Stuart test, chi-square test, and logistic regression. Results: The proportion of Chinese children and adolescents meeting the overall 24-Hour Movement Guidelines was 7.3%. Boys (11.8%) were higher than girls (3.4%) (p < 0.001) and showed a downward trend with age (Ptrend = 0.03). The rates of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents who met the ST, MVPA + ST, ST + SLP, and MVPA + SLP + ST guidelines were 39%, 15%, and 36%, and 25% did not meet any guidelines. The rates of overweight and obesity among those who met 1, 2, and 3 guidelines were lower than the rate among those who did not meet any guidelines (odds ratio (OR) = 0.51, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.22–1.17; OR = 0.32, 95% CI: 0.13–0.77; OR = 0.23, 95% CI: 0.07–0.81) and showed a decreasing trend (Ptrend = 0.006). Conclusions: The proportion of Chinese children and adolescents meeting the overall 24-Hour Movement Guidelines was low. The rate of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents who met the overall 24-Hour Movement Guidelines was the lowest compared with the rates among those who met any one or two. There was a dose–response relationship between the number of guidelines met and the overweight and obesity rate.
Statistical theory of effective electrical, thermal, and magnetic properties of random heterogeneous materials. IV. Effective−medium theory and cumulant expansion method

Several perturbation solutions for the effective permittivity in a completely random medium are evaluated and the validity of the approximations is discussed. It is shown through a diagram technique that the effective−medium theory in a macroscopically inhomogeneous material is equivalent to the coherent−potential approximation in a discordered binary alloy not only in its physical concept but also in its mathematical structure. A cumulant expansion method which substantially takes into account the clustering effects is proposed while the effective−medium theory or the coherent−potential approximation is, by its nature, a single−site approximation and neglects the clustering effects. The numerical results obtained by the effective−medium theory and by the cumulant method for a binary mixture of a conducting material and an insulating material are compared with the computer simulation data on the effective conductivity of a three−dimensional random network. The solution of the cumulant method gives a remar.
Reconstructing the Stellar UV and EUV Emission that Controls the Chemistry of Exoplanet Atmospheres

Abstract Lyman-α and extreme-ultraviolet radiation from exoplanet host stars are critically important for evaluating the phototchemistry of planetary atmospheres, but these emissions are largely or completely absorbed by hydrogen in the interstellar medium. We describe a new technique for estimating the intrinsic Lyman-α and EUV fluxes of F, G, K, and M stars using correlations with observable emission lines.
Global Impairment of Immediate-Early Genes Expression in Rett Syndrome Models and Patients Linked to Myelination Defects

Rett syndrome (RTT) is a severe neurodevelopmental disease caused almost exclusively by mutations to the MeCP2 gene. This disease may be regarded as a synaptopathy, with impairments affecting synaptic plasticity, inhibitory and excitatory transmission and network excitability. The complete understanding of the mechanisms behind how the transcription factor MeCP2 so profoundly affects the mammalian brain are yet to be determined. What is known, is that MeCP2 involvement in activity-dependent expression programs is a critical link between this protein and proper neuronal activity, which allows the correct maturation of connections in the brain. By using RNA-sequencing analysis, we found several immediate-early genes (IEGs, key mediators of activity-dependent responses) directly bound by MeCP2 at the chromatin level and upregulated in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex of the Mecp2-KO mouse. Quantification of the IEGs response to stimulus both in vivo and in vitro detected an aberrant expression pattern in MeCP2-deficient neurons. Furthermore, altered IEGs levels were found in RTT patient’s peripheral blood and brain regions of post-mortem samples, correlating with impaired expression of downstream myelination-related genes. Altogether, these data indicate that proper IEGs expression is crucial for correct synaptic development and that MeCP2 has a key role in the regulation of IEGs.
Approximate estimations in capture–recapture model with heteroscedastic measurement errors

In a capture–recapture experiment, the number of measurements for individual covariates usually equals the number of captures. This creates a heteroscedastic measurement error problem and the usual surrogate condition does not hold in the context of a measurement error model. This study adopts a small measurement error assumption to approximate the conventional estimating functions and the population size estimator. This study also investigates the biases of the resulting estimators. In addition, modifications for two common approximation methods, regression calibration and simulation extrapolation, to accommodate heteroscedastic measurement error are also discussed. These estimation methods are examined through simulations and illustrated by analysing a capture–recapture data set.
Application of Silver Nanoparticles to Improve the Antibacterial Activity of Orthodontic Adhesives: An In Vitro Study

There is a significant change in the bacterial plaque populations in the oral cavity during and after orthodontic treatment. Numerous studies have demonstrated that 2–96% of patients could increase the risk of white spot lesions. Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacilli ssp. are responsible for these white spot lesions. In this work, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) with a diameter of 11 nm and dispersed in water were impregnated onto three different commercial orthodontic adhesives at 535 μg/mL. The shear bond strength (SBS) was assessed on 180 human premolars and metallic brackets. The premolars were divided into six groups (three groups for the commercial adhesives and three groups for the adhesives with AgNPs). All the groups were tested for their bactericidal properties, and their MIC, MBC, and agar template diffusion assays were measured. After adding AgNPs, the SBS was not significantly modified for any adhesive (p > 0.05), and the forces measured during the SBS did not exceed the threshold of 6 to 8 MPa for clinical acceptability in all groups. An increase in the bactericidal properties against both S. mutans and L. acidophilus was measured when the adhesives were supplemented with AgNPs. It was concluded that AgNPs can be supplement commercial orthodontic adhesives without modifying their mechanical properties with improved bactericidal activity.
Band gap modulation of ZnTe1-xOx alloy film by control of oxygen gas flow rate during reactive magnetron sputtering

The band gap energy of ZnTe1-xOx alloy films grown on c-plane sapphire substrates was modulated by controlling the argon-oxygen ratio during radio frequency magnetron sputtering. The ZnTe1-xOx samples were deposited at a substrate temperature of 200 °C and with gas mixtures of 2%–8% oxygen in argon. The optical transparency of the ZnTe1-xOx samples was measured in the 1.5–6.0 eV energy range by optical transmission spectra. The optical band gap, obtained from plots of (αhν)2 as a function of hν, increased from 2.2 to 4.9 eV with increasing oxygen ratio, believed to be a result of a change in bonding structure through composition exchange during film deposition by reactive magnetron sputtering. These results show that the band gap energy of ZnTe1-xOx, ZnOTeO, and (ZnO)1-x(TeO2)x alloy films can be modulated, making them more suited for applications as windows and as active layers for ZnTe-based intermediate band solar cells.
Exact analytical models of the streaming instability driven by intense neutrino beams

Detailed properties of the neutrino streaming instability in a plasma are investigated for two particular choices of beamed neutrino distributions that permit exact analytical solutions to the dispersion relation. The dispersion relation is solved analytically, and it is shown that the maximum instability growth rate scales with powers κ of the Fermi constant GF lower than 2 (1 ≤ κ ≤ 4/3). For conditions present in type II supernovae, the neutrinos are sufficiently collimated for the neutrino streaming instability to operate.
Ab initio volume‐dependent elastic and lattice dynamics properties of KTaO3

Ab initio calculations have been performed to investigate the behaviour under hydrostatic pressure of the structural and electronic properties, the optical dielectric constant, the Born effective charges, and elastic and dynamical properties in cubic perovskite KTaO3. These physical properties have been calculated within the local density approximation in the frame of density functional theory. The results for the pressure behaviour of these properties of KTaO3 are in agreement with experimental data when available; in other cases they may be considered as predictions.
Study on Improvement of Convergence in Harmony Search Algorithms

Abstract In order to solve a complex optimization problem more efficient ly than traditional approaches, various meta-heuristic algorithms such as genetic algorithm, ant-colony algorithm, and harmony search algorithm have been extensively researched. Compared with other meta-heuristic algorithm, harmo ny search algorithm shows a better result to resolve the complex optimization issues. Harmony search algorithm is in spired by the improvision process of musician for most suitable harmony. In general, the performance of harmony search algorithm is determined by the value of har-mony memory considering rate, and pitch adjust rate. In this pa per, modified harmony search algorithm is proposed in order to derive best harmony. If the optimal solution of a specific problem can not be found for a certain period of time, a part of original harmony memory is updated as the selec ted suitable harmonies. Experimental results using test function demonstrate that the updated harmony memory can induce the approximation of reliable optimal solution in the short iteration, because of a few change of fitness. Key Words : Harmony search algorithm, optimization, Meta Heuristic, global optimum, local minimum
Friction Term Formulation and Convective Instability in a Shallow Atmosphere

Abstract The form of the friction terms for a shallow layer of fluid on a sphere is discussed for isotropic and transversely-isotropic fluids. We then examine the nature of convection in a transversely-isotropic fluid and find that long flat convection cells with a width to height ratio of 2(νH/νV)½ are produced, where νH, νV are the horizontal and vertical diffusion coefficients. The critical Rayleigh number is given by Rc=4π4νH/νV, but another Rayleigh number P=βgΔTd5/(νVκVL), with a constant critical value Rc=4π4 is shown to be a more relevant parameter. Results for convection in a rotating system are also given.
Molecules in the ejecta of SN 1987A

Carbon monoxide has been observed in the ejecta of SN 1987A. The molecular formation and destruction mechanisms in the ejecta environment are explored to determine how the CO and other molecules may be formed. In the absence of grains the first molecules must be formed either through negative ion reactions or through radiative association. The molecules are destroyed by interactions with the radiation field, by fast electron impact, and most effectively by charge transfer reactions with He(+) ions. The CO masses inferred from the observations of vibrational emission can be reproduced by a partially mixed model of the element distribution or by a fully mixed model with rapid charge transfer of He(+) to metal atoms. 23 refs.
Invited review article ordering of voids and gas bubbles in radiation environments

Abstract Dr. Kanwar Krishan graduated from Panjab University, Chandigarh and did his doctorate from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur in 1971. He was subsequently a Visiting Fellow at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bombay where his research interests were in magnetism and defects in solids. In 1972 he joined the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay and later spent a year as a Visiting Scientist at the Theoretical Physics Division, Atomic Energy Research Establishment, Harwell where he worked on problems relating to void swelling in metals. From 1975 onwards he has been at the Reactor Research Centre, Kalpakkam as Head of the Radiation Damage and Defect Studies Group in the Materials Science Laboratory. His current interests are in radiation damage, phase instabilities in metals induced by irradiation, metallic glasses and computer simulation applied to defects in solids.