gebhart/patrepeval huggingface dataset:
Biaxial nematic phases (2010)

An overview over the current state of research in the field of biaxial nematic liquid crystalline materials is given. After a short introduction, providing some general aspects and summarizing the classical approaches, the main part focuses on recent developments of new concepts for designing biaxial nematics. First, the major theoretical concepts are outlined, including the classification to different symmetries, the importance of cooperativity and cluster formation for the development of biaxial order and the conditions for the establishment of field induced and spontaneous biaxiality in nematic phases. These new concepts also require the re-evaluation of the tools used for the identification of phase biaxiality, which are discussed briefly. In the second part, recent progress in the design of potential biaxial nematic materials, especially focussing on bent-core molecules with nematic phases, is reported and, finally, comparisons with phase biaxiality as observed in smectic liquid crystals are made.
Hybrid Silicon Photonic Circuits for Chip-Scale Quantum Optics (2016)

We will present the heterogeneous integration of active nanostructured materials on silicon chips for low-loss waveguiding and the exploitation of hybrid photonic circuits for efficient light conversion, manipulation and detection on silicon platform.
An Empirical Study of the Reliability of Operating System Utilities (1989)

Operating system facilities, such as the kernel and utility programs, are assumed to be reliable. Recent experience has led us to question the robustness of our operating system utility programs under unusual input streams. Specifically, we were interested in a basic form of testing: whether the utilities would crash or hang (infinite loop) in response to unusual input. We constructed a set of tools to test this form of reliability. Almost 90 utilities were tested on each of six versions of the UNIX operating system. Included in this list of systems was one that underwent commercial product testing. As a result of our tests, we were able to crash 24-33% of the utilities that we tested, including commonly used utilities such as editors, shells and document formatters. These were programs that either terminated abnormally, generating a core dump, or programs that had infinite loops.\n\tWe then examined each utility program that crashed and identified the cause. These results were then categorized by the cause of crash. We describe the cause of the crashes, the programming practices that led to the errors, and make some suggestions on how to avoid these problems in the future.
Yield Loss Assessment in Canola: Effects of Brown Girdling Root Rot and Maggot Damage on Single Plant Yield (2002)

Single plant yield loss due to brown girdling root rot (Rhizoctonia solani) and cabbage root maggot (Delia spp.) damage was assessed in canola (Brassica rapa cvs. Reward and Tobin) to quantify the effects of root rot on yield and determine whether yield losses due to root rot are compounded by maggot damage. At crop ripening during 1998 and 1999, 2,000 plants from six growers' fields were scored for both root rot and maggot injury. The assessed roots were separated into eight categories constructed by crossing four classes of root rot severity based on degree of girdling and two classes of maggot damage based on percentage of the root surface with maggot tunnels. A ninth category was defined for partially to completely decayed roots for which it was not possible to determine maggot damage. There was no root rot by maggot injury interaction on any of the yield parameters measured. Furthermore, maggots had no adverse effects on yield at the observed damage levels. In contrast, plant weight, seed yield, harvest index, seed size, but not oil content were reduced on plants with completely decayed roots. On average, seed yield was not reduced on plants with roots with nongirdling lesions and superficial nonsinking girdling lesions, but was reduced by 17% on plants with roots with girdling and sinking lesions, and by 65% on plants with decayed taproots. Over 2 years, yield losses in growers' fields ranged from 1 to 5%.
Potent and Broad-Spectrum Antimicrobial Activity of CXCL14 Suggests an Immediate Role in Skin Infections (2009)

The skin is constantly exposed to commensal microflora and pathogenic microbes. The stratum corneum of the outermost skin layer employs distinct tools such as harsh growth conditions and numerous antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) to discriminate between beneficial cutaneous microflora and harmful bacteria. How the skin deals with microbes that have gained access to the live part of the skin as a result of microinjuries is ill defined. In this study, we report that the chemokine CXCL14 is a broad-spectrum AMP with killing activity for cutaneous gram-positive bacteria and Candida albicans as well as the gram-negative enterobacterium Escherichia coli. Based on two separate bacteria-killing assays, CXCL14 compares favorably with other tested AMPs, including human beta-defensin and the chemokine CCL20. Increased salt concentrations and skin-typical pH conditions did not abrogate its AMP function. This novel AMP is highly abundant in the epidermis and dermis of healthy human skin but is down-modulated under conditions of inflammation and disease. We propose that CXCL14 fights bacteria at the earliest stage of infection, well before the establishment of inflammation, and thus fulfills a unique role in antimicrobial immunity.
Mobeyes: smart mobs for urban monitoring with a vehicular sensor network (2006)

Vehicular sensor networks are emerging as a new network paradigm of primary relevance, especially for proactively gathering monitoring information in urban environments. Vehicles typically have no strict constraints on processing power and storage capabilities. They can sense events (e.g., imaging from streets), process sensed data (e.g., recognizing license plates), and route messages to other vehicles (e.g., diffusing relevant notification to drivers or police agents). In this novel and challenging mobile environment, sensors can generate a sheer amount of data, and traditional sensor network approaches for data reporting become unfeasible. This article proposes MobEyes, an efficient lightweight support for proactive urban monitoring based on the primary idea of exploiting vehicle mobility to opportunistically diffuse summaries about sensed data. The reported experimental/analytic results show that MobEyes can harvest summaries and build a low-cost distributed index with reasonable completeness, good scalability, and limited overhead
Micelle Directed Synthesis of Polyoxometalate Nanoparticles and Their Improved Catalytic Activity for the Aerobic Oxidation of Sulfides (2006)

Micelle directed polyoxometalate nanoparticles were synthesized by depositing H3+xPVxMo12-xO40 (x = 0, 2) by precipitation on micelles prepared from cesium dodecyl sulfate. The cryo-TEM image showed particles of about approximately 10 nm roughly consistent with the particle size computed from an idealized model. HRTEM coupled with EELS imaging to map the distribution of the elements also supported the formation of micelle directed polyoxometalate nanoparticles. In the aerobic oxidation of various sulfides to sulfoxides and sulfones, the clustered polyoxometalate assemblies supported on hydrophilic silica showed significantly higher catalytic activity versus that of nonclustered assemblies.
Induction of cIAP-2 in Human Colon Cancer Cells through PKCδ/NF-κB (2003)

Activation of protein kinase C (PKC) prevents apoptosis in certain cells; however, the mechanisms are largely unknown. Inhibitors of apoptosis (IAP) family members, including NAIP, cIAP-1, cIAP-2, XIAP/hILP, survivin, and BRUCE, block apoptosis by binding and potently inhibiting caspases. Activation of NF-kappa B contributes to cIAP-2 induction; however, the cellular mechanisms regulating cIAP-2 expression have not been entirely defined. In this study, we examined the role of the PKC and NF-kappa B pathways in the regulation of cIAP-2 in human colon cancers. We found that cIAP-2 mRNA levels were markedly increased in human colon cancer cells by treatment with the phorbol ester, phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA), or bryostatin 1. Inhibitors of the Ca2+-independent, novel PKC isoforms, but not inhibitors of MAPK, PI3-kinase, or PKA, blocked PMA-stimulated cIAP-2 mRNA expression, suggesting a role of PKC in PMA-mediated cIAP-2 induction. Pretreatment with the PKC delta-selective inhibitor rottlerin or transfection with an antisense PKC delta oligonucleotide inhibited PMA-induced cIAP-2 expression, whereas cotransfection with a PKC delta plasmid induced cIAP-2 promoter activity, which, taken together, identifies a role for PKC delta in cIAP-2 induction. Treatment with the proteasome inhibitor, MG132 or inhibitors of NF-kappa B (e.g. PDTC and gliotoxin), decreased PMA-induced up-regulation of cIAP-2. PMA-induced NF-kappa B activation was blocked by either GF109203x, MG132, PDTC, or gliotoxin. Moreover, overexpression of PKC delta-induced cIAP-2 promoter activity and increased NF-kappa B transactivation, suggesting regulation of cIAP-2 expression by a PKC delta/NF-kappa B pathway. In conclusion, our findings demonstrate a role for a PKC/NF-kappa B-dependent pathway in the regulation of cIAP-2 expression in human colon cancer cells. These data suggest a novel mechanism for the anti-apoptotic function mediated by the PKC delta/NF-kappa B/cIAP-2 pathway in certain cancers.
A high strain two-stack two-color quantum well infrared photodetector (1997)

A high strain two-stack, two-color, InGaAs/AlGaAs and AlGaAs/GaAs quantum well infrared photodetector for midwavelength infrared (MWIR) and long wavelength infrared (LWIR) detection has been demonstrated. Each stack is designed to have detection in one of the two atmospheric windows, 3–5 μm and 8–12 μm, respectively. The MWIR stack has employed 35% of indium in the InGaAs well, which not only achieved peak wavelength at 4.3 μm, but also obtained very high peak responsivity of Rp=0.65 A/W, using 45° light coupling. Normal incidence without grating coupling also has high responsivity with 40%–50% in the MWIR stack and 35%–45% in the LWIR stack, respectively, compared with the 45° incidence. Despite the large in-plane compressive strain induced by the high indium concentration, the device is highly uniform and has very low dark current in the MWIR stack. The background limited temperature is 125 K for the MWIR stack with a cutoff wavelength λc=4.6 μm, and is 70 K for the LWIR stack with λc=10 μm.
Les enjeux du PNSE3 (2015)

Le 3e Plan National Sante-Environnement vient d’etre publie par les ministeres de la Sante, de l’Ecologie et du Developpement durable. Sa gestation a pris pres de 9 mois et il faut lui esperer une longue vie, tant les enjeux qu’il porte sont essentiels pour l’avenir ! Elabore en collaboration avec l’ensemble des parties prenantes selon une methode experimentee au Grenelle de l’environnement, sa genese a ete complexe : trois groupes de travail ont propose des actions, [...]
Interface defect formation in MOSFETs by atomic hydrogen exposure (1994)

The formation of interface defects that occurs when atomic hydrogen, H/spl deg/, is introduced into the gate oxide of MOSFETs at room temperature has been studied. MOSFETs with the edges of the gate oxide at the source and drain exposed to the ambient were placed downstream of a hydrogen plasma. Baffles prevent UV light from the plasma from reaching the device. The effective channel lengths ranged from 0.9 to 5 /spl mu/m. For comparison, bare thermal oxides were exposed at the same time. The interface state density in the MOSFETs was measured by charge pumping and in the bare oxide by high-low capacitance-voltage measured with a Hg probe. We observe that the induced damage has the same energy distribution of interface traps in both types of samples. This distribution is very similar to that produced by irradiation or hot electron stressing. It is characterized by a broad peak at 0.7 eV above the valence band. A charge pumping analysis has been developed to measure interface states as a function of position above the MOSFET source and drain regions. The degradation decreases exponentially from the point of H/spl deg/ entry at the gate edges near the source and drain. This demonstrates that the hydrogen enters the gate oxide of the MOSFET at the channel edges. Furthermore, the decay length is constant within the experimental uncertainty over three orders of magnitude of H/spl deg/ dose and two orders of magnitude of interface trap density. The exponential decrease of defect generation with increasing lateral diffusion distance is in contrast to the weaker oxide thickness dependence of the defect generation rate observed by Cartier et al. (J. Non-Cryst. Sol., 1994). These results indicate that defects such as Si-H bonds at the Si-SiO/sub 2/ interfaces act as catalysts for H/sub 2/ formation by reactions such as Si- + H/spl deg//spl rarr/SiH, SiH + H/spl deg//spl rarr/Si- + H/sub 2/. Furthermore, the number of these sites is not changed by the H/sub 2/ exposure.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">></ETX>
Waveguide Sources of Photon Pairs (2011)

This thesis describes various methods for producing photon pairs from waveguides. It covers relevant topics such as waveguide coupling and phase matching, along with the relevant measurement techniques used to infer photon pair production. A new proposal to solve the phase matching problem is described along with two conceptual methods for generating entangled photon pairs. Photon pairs are also experimentally demonstrated from a third novel structure called a Bragg Reflection Waveguide (BRW).\n\nThe new proposal to solve the phase matching problem is called Directional Quasi-Phase Matching (DQPM). It is a technique that exploits the directional dependence of the non-linear susceptiblity ($\\chi^{(2)}$) tensor. It is aimed at those materials that do not allow birefringent phase-matching or periodic poling. In particular, it focuses on waveguides in which the interplay between the propagation direction, electric field polarizations and the nonlinearity can change the strength and sign of the nonlinear interaction periodically to achieve quasi-phasematching.\n\nOne of the new conceptual methods for generating entangled photon pairs involves a new technique that sandwiches two waveguides from two differently oriented but similar crystals together. The idea stems from the design of a Michelson interferometer which interferes the paths over which two unique photon pair processes can occur, thereby creating entanglement in any pair of photons created in the interferometer. By forcing or sandwiching the two waveguides together, the physical space that exists in the standard Micheleson type interferometer is made non-existent, and the interferometer is effectively squashed. The result is that the two unique photon pair processes actually occupy the same physical path. This benefits the stability of the interferometer in addition to miniaturizing it. The technical challenges involved in sandwiching the two waveguides are briefly discussed.\n\nThe main result of this thesis is the observation of photon pairs from the BRW. By analyzing the time correlation between two single photon detection events, spontaneous parametric down conversion (SPDC) of a picosecond pulsed ti:sapph laser is demonstrated. The process is mediated by a ridge BRW. The results show evidence for type-0, type-I and type-II phase matching of pump light at 783nm, 786nm and 789nm to down converted light that is strongly degenerate at 1566nm, 1572nm, and 1578nm respectively. The inferred efficiency of the BRW was 9.8$\\cdot$10$^{-9}$ photon pairs per pump photon. This contrasts with the predicted type-0 efficiency of 2.65$\\cdot$10$^{-11}$. This data is presented for the first time in such waveguides, and represents significant advances towards the integration of sources of quantum information into the existing telecommunications infrastructure.
Configurable area-IO memory for system-in-a-package (SiP) (2001)

System-in-a-Package (SiP), a generalization of System-on-a-Chip (SoC), provides a cost-effective solution for large-scale memory/logic integration. However, commercial memory chips are not optimized for SiP. Conventional IO design barriers the memory performance in SiP module. Furthermore, memory for SiP could be configurable to meet the bandwidth requirement for various logic architectures. This paper presents a configurable area-IO memory architecture, which can trade off the memory depth and word-width for different logic chips integrated with this memory module. A 512K SRAM chip has been designed to verify this approach.
Implantation of Stromal Vascular Fraction Progenitors at Bone Fracture Sites: From a Rat Model to a First-in-Man Study (2016)

Stromal Vascular Fraction (SVF) cells freshly isolated from adipose tissue include osteogenic- and vascular-progenitors, yet their relevance in bone fracture healing is currently unknown. Here, we investigated whether human SVF cells directly contribute to the repair of experimental fractures in nude rats, and explored the feasibility/safety of their clinical use for augmentation of upper arm fractures in elderly individuals. Human SVF cells were loaded onto ceramic granules within fibrin gel and implanted in critical nude rat femoral fractures after locking-plate osteosynthesis, with cell-free grafts as control. After 8 weeks, only SVF-treated fractures did not fail mechanically and displayed formation of ossicles at the repair site, with vascular and bone structures formed by human cells. The same materials combined with autologous SVF cells were then used to treat low-energy proximal humeral fractures in 8 patients (64-84 years old) along with standard open reduction and internal fixation. Graft manufacturing and implantation were compatible with intraoperative settings and led to no adverse reactions, thereby verifying feasibility/safety. Biopsies of the repair tissue after up to 12 months, upon plate revision or removal, demonstrated formation of bone ossicles, structurally disconnected and morphologically distinct from osteoconducted bone, suggesting the osteogenic nature of implanted SVF cells. We demonstrate that SVF cells, without expansion or exogenous priming, can spontaneously form bone tissue and vessel structures within a fracture-microenvironment. The gained clinical insights into the biological functionality of the grafts, combined with their facile, intra-operative manufacturing modality, warrant further tests of effectiveness in larger, controlled trials. Stem Cells 2016;34:2956-2966.
Molecular epidemiology of rabies virus in France: comparison with vaccine strains (1992)

A molecular epidemiological study of the rabies virus currently prevalent in France was carried out by directly sequencing polymerase chain reaction-amplified genes. The rabies virus pseudogene psi was chosen as the most divergent genomic area, and as such the best 'clock' for measuring virus evolution. Sequence comparisons between 12 wild rabies virus isolates indicated strong conservation whatever the host and wherever the virus had been isolated. This holds true for a unique wild reservoir, the fox. On the other hand, a good correlation between genetic and geographical criteria indicates a slow evolution of the wild virus in parallel with the spatio-temporal progression of the epizootic. In contrast to their intrinsic homogeneity (about 2% divergence), the wild isolate sequences showed a marked divergence from those of vaccine seed strains (about 14.7%). This finding invites world-wide molecular epidemiological studies, particularly in countries in which vaccination failures have been reported.
Resveratrol – pills to replace a healthy diet? (2011)

Nutrapharmacology, or the use of bioactive food compounds at pharmacological doses is emerging as a therapeutic approach to target the complex metabolic dysregulations in ageing and obesity-related chronic disease. Resveratrol, a polyphenol found in the skin of grapes, and other edible plants and related food products, has received extensive attention through the link with the French paradox, and later with its chemopreventive activity demonstrated in vitro and in animal cancer models. A plethora of laboratory investigations has provided evidence for the multi-faceted properties of resveratrol and suggests that resveratrol may target ageing and obesity-related chronic disease by regulating inflammation and oxidative stress. A number of obstacles stand in the path to clinical usage however, not least the lack of clinical evidence to date, and the myriad of doses and formulations available. Further, data on the effects of resveratrol consumption in a capsule vs. food form is conflicting, and there are uncertain effects of long term dosing. The review will summarize the human pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic published data, and the topics for research if resveratrol is to become a multi-target therapeutic agent addressing chronic disease.
Identification of developmentally regulated genes in Entamoeba histolytica: insights into mechanisms of stage conversion in a protozoan parasite (2007)

Developmental switching between life-cycle stages is a common feature among many pathogenic organisms. The protozoan parasite Entamoeba histolytica converts between cysts (essential for disease transmission) and trophozoites (responsible for tissue invasion). Identification of genes involved in the developmental pathway has been severely hindered by the inability to generate E. histolytica cysts in vitro. Using parasite strains derived from recent human infections and whole-genome transcriptional profiling, we determined that 1439 genes (approximately 15% of annotated genes) were potentially developmentally regulated. Genes enriched in cysts (672 in total) included cysteine proteinases and transmembrane protein kinases, which may be involved in signal transduction. Genes enriched in trophozoites (767 in total) included genes typically thought of as important in tissue invasion by trophozoites, including the Gal/GalNAc lectin light subunit and cysteine protease 1. Putative regulators of differentiation including possible G-protein coupled receptors, signal transduction proteins and transcription factors were identified. A number of E. histolytica stage-specific genes were also developmentally regulated in the reptilian parasite E. invadens, indicating that they likely have conserved functions in Entamoeba development. These advances lay the groundwork for dissection of the molecular signals that initiate stage conversion and development of novel diagnostic and therapeutic measures targeting E. histolytica cysts.
Pulmonary hypertension: therapeutic targets within the serotonin system (2008)

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is characterized by a sustained and progressive elevation in pulmonary arterial pressure and pulmonary vascular remodelling leading to right heart failure and death. Prognosis is poor and novel therapeutic approaches are needed. The serotonin hypothesis of PAH originated in the 1960s after an outbreak of the disease was reported among patients taking the anorexigenic drugs aminorex and fenfluramine. These are indirect serotonergic agonists and serotonin transporter substrates. Since then many advances have been made in our understanding of the role of serotonin in the pathobiology of PAH. The rate-limiting enzyme in the synthesis of serotonin is tryptophan hydroxylase (Tph). Serotonin is synthesized, through Tph1, in the endothelial cells of the pulmonary artery and can then act on underlying pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells and pulmonary arterial fibroblasts in a paracrine fashion causing constriction and remodelling. These effects of serotonin can be mediated through both the serotonin transporter and serotonin receptors. This review will discuss our current understanding of 'the serotonin hypothesis' of PAH and highlight possible therapeutic targets within the serotonin system.