julilili42/papers huggingface dataset:
Sensing dielectric media on the nanoscale with freely oriented gold nanorods
2013-01-01

In this work we demonstrate that freely oriented individual gold nanorods (GNRs) can be used for sensing variations of the refractive index at the interface between two dielectric media. Both the elastic scattering and the luminescence signal of individual GNRs have been used to characterize the dielectric medium surrounding the particles. The scattering signal depends strongly on the distance from the focusing interface and the refractive index mismatch at the focusing interface, while the luminescence signal is only influenced by the last parameter. We used radially and azimuthally polarized light as an excitation source to directly determine the orientation of individual gold nanorods embedded within a dielectric medium.
Dimethyl sulfoxide at high concentrations inhibits non-selective cation channels in human erythrocytes
2013-01-01

Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), a by-product of the pulping industry, is widely used in biological research, cryobiology and medicine. On cellular level DMSO was shown to suppress NMDA-AMPA channels activation, blocks Na+ channel activation and attenuates Ca2+ influx (Lu and Mattson 2001). In the present study we explored the whole-cell patch-clamp to examine the acute effect of high concentrations of DMSO (0.1-2 mol/l) on cation channels activity in human erythrocytes. Acute application of DMSO (0.1-2 mol/l) dissolved in Cl--containing saline buffer solution significantly inhibited cation conductance in human erythrocytes. Inhibition was concentration-dependent and had an exponential decay profile. DMSO (2 mol/l) induced cation inhibition in Cl-- containing saline solutions of: 40.3 ± 3.9% for K+, 35.4 ± 3.1% for Ca2+ and 47.4 ± 1.9% for NMDG+. Substitution of Cl- with gluconate- increased the inhibitory effect of DMSO on the Na+ current. Inhibitory effect of DMSO was neither due to high permeability of erythrocytes to DMSO nor to an increased tonicity of the bath media since no effect was observed in 2 mol/l glycerol solution. In conclusion, we have shown that high concentrations of DMSO inhibit the non-selective cation channels in human erythrocytes and thus protect the cells against Na+ and Ca2+ overload. Possible mechanisms of DMSO effect on cation conductance are discussed.
Experimental and Theoretical Investigations on the IR and Raman Spectra for CuPc and TiOPC
2013-01-01

Vibrational IR and Raman powder spectra were recorded for copper phthalocyanine (CuPc) and titanyl (IV) phthalocyanine (TiOPc). Density functional theory (DFT) calculations have been used to predict the theoretical spectra and to assist reliable assignments of the experimental frequencies. There is, in general, a good agreement between experimental and theoretically predicted spectra. The best accordance between experiment and calculated wavenumbers was obtained in the case of the IR spectrum for CuPc (maximum deviations between experiment and theory (unscaled values) amount to less than 20 cm). New assignments for the IR and Raman spectra for both molecules were done in order to establish the basis for further work on thin films.
EUSO-BALLOON a pathfinder for detecting UHECR's from the edge of space
2013-01-01

\\nEUSO-Balloon has been conceived as a pathfinder mission for JEM-EUSO, to perform an end-to-end test of the subsystems and components, and to prove the global detection chain while improving our knowledge of the atmospheric and terrestrial UV background. Through a series of stratospheric balloon flights performed by the French Space Agency CNES, EUSO-BALLOON will serve as an evolutive test-bench for all the key technologies of JEM-EUSO. EUSO-Balloon also has the potential to detect Extensive Air Showers from above, marking a key milestone in the development of UHECR science, and paving the way for any future large scale, space-based UHECR observatory.\\n
Stress- and rate-controlled granular rheology
2013-01-01

Granular solid hydrodynamics (GSH) is employed to account for granular rheology, both the rate-controlled one, smoothly extending from the critical state to the Bagnold regime, and the stress-controlled one that is discontinuous and hysteretic. Employing GSH, it is shown that a quiescent state is stable below the smaller jamming stress and instable above the larger fluidization stress, with values in between being metastable; also, that the MiDi relation, appropriate for rigid grains, needs to be rectified, because real granular media, with a sound velocity one to three times that of air, are soft.
An Integrative Hierarchical Monitoring Approach for Detecting and Characterizing CO2 Releases
2013-01-01

An integrative hierarchical monitoring approach is proposed, with the aim of reliably detecting and assessing possible leakages from storage formations into the shallow subsurface. This hierarchical approach - with method developments and applications ranging from remote sensing (infrared spectroscopy, micrometeorology-based flux measurement), to regional measurements (geophysics and chamber based soil CO2 flux measurement), to local in-situ measurements (Direct Push Technology) - will allow large spatial areas to be consistently covered. The paper introduces a hierarchical monitoring approach applied in the MONACO project and reveals first results from measurements taken at natural analogue sites in the Czech Republic. These results indicate that the hierarchical monitoring approach represents a multidisciplinary modular concept working in different scales and resolutions.
Smooth pursuit adaptation (SPA) exhibits features useful to compensate changes in the properties of the smooth pursuit eye movement system due to usage
2013-01-01

Smooth-pursuit adaptation (SPA) refers to the fact that pursuit gain in the early, still open-loop response phase of the pursuit eye movement can be adjusted based on experience. For instance, if the target moves initially at a constant velocity for ~100-200 ms and then steps to a higher velocity, subjects learn to up-regulate the pursuit gain associated with the initial target velocity (gain-increase SPA) in order to reduce the retinal error resulting from the velocity step. Correspondingly, a step to a lower target velocity leads to a decrease in gain (gain-decrease SPA). In this study we demonstrate that the increase in peak eye velocity during gain-increase SPA is a consequence of expanding the duration of the eye acceleration profile while the decrease in peak velocity during gain-decrease SPA results from reduced peak eye acceleration but unaltered duration. Furthermore, we show that carrying out stereotypical smooth pursuit eye movements elicited by constant velocity target ramps for several hundred trials (=test of pursuit resilience) leads to a clear drop in initial peak acceleration, a reflection of oculomotor and/or cognitive fatigue. However, this drop in acceleration gets compensated by an increase in the duration of the acceleration profile, thereby keeping initial pursuit gain constant. The compensatory expansion of the acceleration profile in the pursuit resilience experiment is reminiscent of the one leading to gain-increase SPA, suggesting that both processes tap one and the same neuronal mechanism warranting a precise acceleration-duration trade-off. Finally, we show that the ability to adjust acceleration duration during pursuit resilience depends on the integrity of the oculomotor vermis (OMV) as indicated by the complete loss of the duration adjustment following a surgical lesion of the OMV in one rhesus monkey we could study.
CCK1-Receptor Stimulation Protects Against Gut Mediator-Induced Lung Damage During Endotoxemia
2013-01-01

During endotoxemia enteral LCFA absorption reduces TNFα release into mesenteric lymph and attenuates histomorphologic parameters of lung dysfunction. Failure to elicit this effect in CCK1R(-/-) mice demonstrates that anti-inflammatory properties of LCFAs are mediated through CCK1-Rs.
Nonlinear correlations impair quantification of episodic memory by mesial temporal BOLD activity.
2013-01-01

We interpreted the u-shaped correlations to be due to compensatory hippocampal activations associated with low performance when people try unsuccessfully to remember presented items. Because activation levels did not linearly increase with memory performance, the latter cannot be quantified by fMRI alone, but only be used in conjunction with neuropsychological testing.
Age-Dependent Changes in the Histogram of Apparent Diffusion Coefficients Values in Magnetic Resonance Imaging
2013-01-01

The aim of this study was to develop a fast method for estimating whether a brain volume loss is within the normal range for the respective age of the patient. A readout-segmented diffusion-weighted echo-planar imaging sequence was performed as part of the routine examination at a 3-T scanner. Data without (b0-image) and with diffusion weighting (1000 s/mm(2)) from 492 patients were examined (in the age from 3 to 89 years). One hundred and seventy-three data-sets had to be excluded due to brain lesions or to pathological enlarged cerebrospinal fluid spaces. In the remaining 319 data-sets, apparent diffusion coefficients (ADCs) values were calculated for all pixels exceeding a combined threshold in the diffusion-weighted data and in the non-diffusion-weighted data. The first part of the histogram represents pixels containing mostly brain tissue. The percentage of number of pixels in this part of the ADC histograms was evaluated for all patients and was correlated with the age of the patients. In all the areas examined, a monotone change of relative pixel numbers with the age of the patients was found. The reduction of the contribution of pixels containing mostly brain tissue accelerated with age and was found to be 0.18%/year in the age of 20, 0.34%/year in the age of 50, and 0.50%/year in the age of 80. The observed decrease of the relative number of pixels from the brain tissue with increasing age corresponds to previously published results based on more time-consuming 3-D measurements. The presented technique uses a conventional clinical sequence and might be helpful in deciding whether an observed brain volume loss in a patient is within the normal range for the age of the patient.
Does Chronic Idiopathic Dizziness Reflect an Impairment of Sensory Predictions of Self-Motion?
2013-01-01

Most patients suffering from chronic idiopathic dizziness do not present signs of vestibular dysfunction or organic failures of other kinds. Hence, this kind of dizziness is commonly seen as psychogenic in nature, sharing commonalities with specific phobias, panic disorder, and generalized anxiety. A more specific concept put forward by Brandt and Dieterich (1) states that these patients suffer from dizziness because of an inadequate compensation of self-induced sensory stimulation. According to this hypothesis self-motion-induced reafferent visual stimulation is interpreted as motion in the world since a predictive signal reflecting the consequences of self-motion, needed to compensate the reafferent stimulus, is inadequate. While conceptually intriguing, experimental evidence supporting the idea of an inadequate prediction of the sensory consequences of own movements has as yet been lacking. Here we tested this hypothesis by applying it to the perception of background motion induced by smooth pursuit eye movements. As a matter of fact, we found the same mildly undercompensating prediction, responsible for the perception of slight illusory world motion ("Filehne illusion") in the 15 patients tested and their age-matched controls. Likewise, the ability to adapt this prediction to the needs of the visual context was not deteriorated in patients. Finally, we could not find any correlation between measures of the individual severity of dizziness and the ability to predict. In sum, our results do not support the concept of a deviant prediction of self-induced sensory stimulation as cause of chronic idiopathic dizziness.
All-ceramic prosthetic rehabilitation of a worn dentition: Use of a distal cantilever. Two-year follow-up.
2013-01-01

The rehabilitation of heavily abraded occlusion in patients with parafunctional habits is a restorative challenge to the dentist. Use of all-ceramic systems in such cases is widely considered, but uncertainty over their resistance hinders their broad use. The authors would like to illustrate a possible approach by mixing two all-ceramic systems based on zirconium dioxide and lithium disilicate. A 48-year-old female patient attended with reduced vertical dimension in a full dentition. She suffered from craniomandibular (CMD) pain and desired an esthetic rehabilitation. Prosthodontic treatment was started in a pain-free condition, after correction of the vertical dimension with an occlusal splint, over four months. Determination of the treatment was based on the clinical findings: IPS e.max(®) ZirCAD frameworks veneered with IPS e.max(®) Ceram were used for discolored retainers or subgingival finishing lines. All the rest received IPS e.max(®) Press crowns. A zirconia-based, single-tooth-retained distal cantilever reconstruction was used to replace a missing second molar. No technical or biological complication was observed 24 months after treatment. The patient was highly satisfied and pain-free.
Is There a Negative Interpretation Bias in Depressed Patients? An Affective Startle Modulation Study
2013-01-01

&lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;Background/Aims:&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt; Scientists proposed that patients with depression favour negative interpretations when appraising ambiguity. As self-report measures seem prone to response bias, implicit measures of emotional valence should be additionally used. &lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;Methods:&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt; A total of 16 patients with depression and 19 controls underwent an acoustic imagery task comprising neutral and negative words, as well as ambiguous words that could be understood either way. Affective startle modulation and direct interrogation were used to assess implicit and explicit emotional valence, respectively. We expected a negative bias for ambiguous words in the patient group, resulting in augmented startle magnitudes and preference for negative interpretations of the ambiguous words in the interrogation. &lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;Results:&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt; Surprisingly, both groups preferred neutral interpretations and showed augmented startle magnitudes to ambiguous words. Furthermore, both groups displayed an emotional startle potentiation for negative words. &lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;Conclusion:&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt; In summary, our results do not confirm a negative interpretation bias or a blunted emotional response in patients with major depression. The mismatch between self-report and affective startle reaction to ambiguous targets might reflect defensive mobilization or attention effects.
Source Determination for Subsurface Light Non-Aqueous Phase Liquid (LNAPL) Using Trimethylcyclopentane and Trimethylcyclohexane Isomer Ratios
2013-01-01

Abstract Ratios of two pairs of cyclic hydrocarbon isomers are developed to link petroleum hydrocarbon pools and residuals in the subsurface to their probable source product. The ratios 1,2,4- trimethylcyclopentane/1,2,3- trimethylcyclopentane, and 1,1,3- trimethylcyclohexane/1,2,4- trimethylcyclohexane are proposed for LNAPL-source correlation because the pairs are present in a wide range of refinery feeds and refined products, they are resistant to aerobic biodegradation, and have similar solubility and volatility. The proposed ratios and other conventional methods are used to evaluate the source of hydrocarbon product encountered in wells at the Shiraz Oil Refinery, Iran. Keywords: light non-aqueous phase liquid (LNAPL)source determinationdiagnostic ratiostrimethylcyclohexanetrimethylcyclopentane Acknowledgment The Shiraz Oil Refining Company supported this research (Project No. 86/84/48) and we are grateful for their collaboration during the fieldwork. Many thanks to Dr. Thomas Wendel, Renate Seelig and Julia Saturn from the Hydrogeochemistry Lab of Tuebingen University for GC/MS analysis and their technical assistance. Suggestions by two anonymous reviewers were most helpful in developing this article.
Punishing Perpetrators or Seeking Truth for Victims: Serbian Opinions on Dealing with War Crimes
2013-01-01

The debate on how to deal with the past in Serbia is still ongoing almost twenty years after the end of the armed conflict in the former Yugoslavia. From the very start the international community has put major emphasis on the criminal prosecution and conviction of the persons mostly responsible for the war crimes in the region, both by establishing the ICTY and encouraging national prosecutions. In the discussions about ‘dealing with the past’ in Serbia little if any attention has been devoted to the views and expectations of the local population, although they provide an additional source of information about the strategies and the mechanisms for dealing with the crimes of the past and reconstructing the future. The objective of this chapter is to find out what people in Serbia think about the central debates around impunity and accountability for war crimes, and more specifically which importance they attach to criminal prosecutions and truth commissions in the country. For this purpose, it reports about the main findings of a quantitative survey conducted in Serbia in 2007, and concludes that the picture is not black and white but complex instead.
The role of size constancy for the integration of local elements into a global shape
2013-01-01

Visual perception depends on the visual context and is likely to be influenced by size constancy, which predicts a size and distance invariant perception of objects. However, size constancy can also result in optical illusions that allow the manipulation of the perceived size. We thus asked whether the integration of local elements into a global object can be influenced by manipulations of the visual context and size constancy? A set of stimuli was applied in healthy individuals that took advantage of the "Kanizsa" illusion, in which three circles with open wedges oriented toward a center point are placed to form an illusionary perception of a triangle. In addition, a 3D-perspective view was implemented in which the global target ("Kanizsa" triangle) was placed in combination with several distractor circles either in a close or a distant position. Subjects were engaged in a global recognition task on the location of the "Kanizsa" triangle. Global recognition of "Kanizsa" triangles improved with a decreasing length of the illusory contour. Interestingly, recognition of "Kanizsa" triangles decreased when they were perceived as if they were located further away. We conclude that the integration of local elements into a global object is dependent on the visual context and dominated by size constancy.
The Ambivalent Role of Idiosyncratic Risk in Asymmetric Tournaments
2013-01-01

In our paper, we analyze the interplay of contestant heterogeneity and idiosyncratic risk in rank-order tournaments: While in symmetric tournaments an increase in idiosyncratic risk reduces incentives, in asymmetric tournaments this is not necessarily the case: Rather, we show that increasing the level of idiosyncratic risk in asymmetric tournaments will at first increase and - only after a critical risk level has been reached - reduce incentives. We find this critical risk level to be higher, the larger the degree of contestant heterogeneity. Concerning practical implications, it is more important to reduce idiosyncratic risk in the tournament when contestants are similar and less beneficial when contestants are heterogeneous. In light of the fact that equilibrium effort levels in tournaments with a low level of contestant heterogeneity are by far higher than those in tournaments with high levels of contestant heterogeneity, the advice would be to simultaneously reduce contestant heterogeneity (e.g., by league-building or handicapping) and idiosyncratic risk.
The Geisler Method: Tracing Activity-Dependent cGMP Plasticity Changes upon Double Detection of mRNA and Protein on Brain Slices
2013-01-01

We recently demonstrated that an increase of guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cGMP) signaling could protect the inner ear from noise-induced hair cell damage. Noise exposure not only damages hair cells but also alters the central responsiveness to sound leading to plasticity changes. cGMP signaling has long been known to play a crucial role for plasticity changes and long-term potentiation (LTP). To get a first insight into the role of cGMP for noise-induced plasticity changes we aimed to co-trace the mRNA and protein of plasticity-related genes as, e.g., the immediate early gene Arc (activity-regulated cytoskeletal protein) with markers for the cGMP pathway. We developed a method that permits the simultaneous monitoring of mRNA and protein through light microscopy to visualize gene expression in neurons and synapses of its processes. Accordingly, different from previous fluorescence-based assays that detect, e.g., fluorochrome-labeled Arc antibodies and Arc mRNA, we describe here a methodology that allows the detection of mRNA and protein of synaptic genes using nonfluorescent stable tracers for high-resolution observation of activity-dependent plasticity changes using light microscopy even after weeks or months.
Compartment syndrome of thigh and lower leg with disruption of the popliteal vascular bundle after being run over by a 25-ton truck.
2013-01-01

Compartment syndrome of the thigh is a rare condition, potentially resulting in devastating functional outcome. Increasing intracompartmental pressure which suppresses microcirculation and capillary perfusion may lead to cellular anoxia and muscle ischemia. The muscle compartments in the thigh have a more compliant fascia and blend anatomically into the open compartments of the pelvis, thus compensating higher volumes than the compartments in the lower leg. We present a previously unreported case in which the limb of a 36-year-old man was run over by a 25-ton truck. He presented with a sensomotor deficit in his left lower leg with full paralysis of the shank muscles and absence of all foot pulses. CT scan showed a huge haematoma in the thigh with active bleeding out of the popliteal artery into the haematoma which has already expanded into the muscle compartments of the lower leg. The limb had a disastrous compartment syndrome of the thigh and lower leg with disruption of the popliteal neurovascular bundle; however, no bones in the limb were fractured. A complete fasciotomy of all the lower limb muscle compartments was immediately performed. The artery was reconstructed with interposition of the smaller saphenous vein, which was already interrupted through the initial trauma.
The Theory of Trade Policy and Reform
2013-01-01

Historically, trade taxes have been an important source of government revenue in subsistence-oriented economies with large informal sectors. As countries developed and economic activity became more market-oriented, governments sourced revenue frorn broader, more efficient tax bases. But trade taxesremained, with protection of domestic import-competing activity, rather than revenue, becoming their primary motivation. This shift of motivation also facilitated the substitution of alternative policies, quantitative restrictions for example, which would limit import competition without necessarily generating revenue.
Asymmetric velocity distribution in boundary-heating granular gas and a hydrodynamic description
2013-01-01

A microgravity experimental study of vibrofluidized granular gas with intermediate number density is performed. Local velocity distributions are investigated, and are found to deviate measurably from a symmetric distribution for the velocity component in the direction of vibration due to the boundary heating mechanism. One generalized granular hydrodynamic theory (GSH) is used for a phenomenological model to describe this extended boundary effect by introducing additional variables to the two-peak distribution profile, which provides an account for the understanding of the bulk boundary effect.