julilili42/papers huggingface dataset:
Low-temperature light detectors: Neganov–Luke amplification and calibration
2012-08-03

The simultaneous measurement of phonons and scintillation light induced by\\nincident particles in a scintillating crystal such as CaWO4 is a powerful\\ntechnique for the active rejection of background induced by gamma's and beta's\\nand even neutrons in direct Dark Matter searches. However, less than ~1% of the\\nenergy deposited in a CaWO4 crystal is detected as light. Thus, very sensitive\\nlight detectors are needed for an efficient event-by-event background\\ndiscrimination. Due to the Neganov-Luke effect, the threshold of\\nlow-temperature light detectors based on semiconducting substrates can be\\nimproved significantly by drifting the photon-induced electron-hole pairs in an\\napplied electric field. We present measurements with low-temperature light\\ndetectors based on this amplification mechanism. The Neganov-Luke effect makes\\nit possible to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of our light detectors by a\\nfactor of ~9 corresponding to an energy threshold of ~21 eV. We also describe a\\nmethod for an absolute energy calibration using a light-emitting diode.\\n
Influence of Seasonal and Geochemical Changes on the Geomicrobiology of an Iron Carbonate Mineral Water Spring
2012-08-04

ABSTRACT Fuschna Spring in the Swiss Alps (Engadin region) is a bicarbonate iron(II)-rich, pH-neutral mineral water spring that is dominated visually by dark green microbial mats at the side of the flow channel and orange iron(III) (oxyhydr)oxides in the flow channel. Gradients of O 2 , dissolved iron(II), and bicarbonate establish in the water. Our goals were to identify the dominating biogeochemical processes and to determine to which extent changing geochemical conditions along the flow path and seasonal changes influence mineral identity, crystallinity, and microbial diversity. Geochemical analysis showed microoxic water at the spring outlet which became fully oxygenated within 2.3 m downstream. X-ray diffraction and Mössbauer spectroscopy revealed calcite (CaCO 3 ) and ferrihydrite [Fe(OH) 3 ] to be the dominant minerals which increased in crystallinity with increasing distance from the spring outlet. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis banding pattern cluster analysis revealed that the microbial community composition shifted mainly with seasons and to a lesser extent along the flow path. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis showed that microbial communities differ between the flow channel and the flanking microbial mat. Microbial community analysis in combination with most-probable-number analyses and quantitative PCR (qPCR) showed that the mat was dominated by cyanobacteria and the channel was dominated by microaerophilic Fe(II) oxidizers (1.97 × 10 7 ± 4.36 × 10 6 16S rRNA gene copies g −1 using Gallionella -specific qPCR primers), while high numbers of Fe(III) reducers (10 9 cells/g) were identified in both the mat and the flow channel. Phototrophic and nitrate-reducing Fe(II) oxidizers were present as well, although in lower numbers (10 3 to 10 4 cells/g). In summary, our data suggest that mainly seasonal changes caused microbial community shifts, while geochemical gradients along the flow path influenced mineral crystallinity.
A continental‐scale tool for acoustic identification of European bats
2012-08-06

Summary Acoustic methods are used increasingly to survey and monitor bat populations. However, the use of acoustic methods at continental scales can be hampered by the lack of standardized and objective methods to identify all species recorded. This makes comparable continent‐wide monitoring difficult, impeding progress towards developing biodiversity indicators, trans‐boundary conservation programmes and monitoring species distribution changes. Here we developed a continental‐scale classifier for acoustic identification of bats, which can be used throughout E urope to ensure objective, consistent and comparable species identifications. We selected 1350 full‐spectrum reference calls from a set of 15 858 calls of 34 E uropean species, from E cho B ank, a global echolocation call library. We assessed 24 call parameters to evaluate how well they distinguish between species and used the 12 most useful to train a hierarchy of ensembles of artificial neural networks to distinguish the echolocation calls of these bat species. Calls are first classified to one of five call‐type groups, with a median accuracy of 97·6%. The median species‐level classification accuracy is 83·7%, providing robust classification for most E uropean species, and an estimate of classification error for each species. These classifiers were packaged into an online tool, i B ats ID , which is freely available, enabling anyone to classify E uropean calls in an objective and consistent way, allowing standardized acoustic identification across the continent. Synthesis and applications . i B ats ID is the first freely available and easily accessible continental‐scale bat call classifier, providing the basis for standardized, continental acoustic bat monitoring in E urope. This method can provide key information to managers and conservation planners on distribution changes and changes in bat species activity through time.
Implicit motives, explicit traits, and task and contextual performance at work.
2012-08-06

Personality psychologists have long argued that explicit traits (as measured by questionnaires) channel the expression of implicit motives (as measured by coding imaginative verbal behavior) such that both interact in the prediction of relevant life outcome variables. In the present research, we apply these ideas in the context of industrial and organizational psychology and propose that 2 explicit traits work as channels for the expression of 3 core implicit motives in task and contextual job performance (extraversion for implicit affiliation and implicit power; explicit achievement for implicit achievement). As a test of these theoretical ideas, we report a study in which employees (N = 241) filled out a questionnaire booklet and worked on an improved modern implicit motive measure, the operant motive test. Their supervisors rated their task and contextual performance. Results support 4 of the 6 theoretical predictions and show that interactions between implicit motives and explicit traits increase the explained criterion variance in both task and contextual performance.
Photonic properties of one-dimensionally-ordered cold atomic vapors under conditions of electromagnetically induced transparency
2012-08-06

We experimentally study the photonic properties of a cold-atom sample trapped\\nin a one-dimensional optical lattice under the conditions of\\nelectromagnetically induced transparency. We show that such a medium has two\\nphotonic band gaps. One of them is in the transparency window and gives rise to\\na Bragg mirror, which is spectrally very narrow and dynamically tunable. We\\ndiscuss the advantages and the limitations of this system. As an illustration\\nof a possible application we demonstrate a two-port all-optical switch.\\n
X-ray bursting neutron star atmosphere models using an exact relativistic kinetic equation for Compton scattering
2012-08-07

Theoretical spectra of X-ray bursting neutron star (NS) model atmospheres are\\nwidely used to determine the basic NS parameters such as their masses and\\nradii. We construct accurate NS atmosphere models using for the first time an\\nexact treatment of Compton scattering via the integral relativistic kinetic\\nequation. We also compare the results with the previous calculations based on\\nthe Kompaneets operator. We solve the radiation transfer equation together with\\nthe hydrostatic equilibrium equation accounting exactly for the radiation\\npressure by electron scattering. We thus construct a new set of plane-parallel\\natmosphere models in LTE for hot NSs. The models were computed for six chemical\\ncompositions (pure H, pure He, solar H/He mix with various heavy elements\\nabundances Z = 1, 0.3, 0.1, and 0.01 Z_sun, and three log g = 14.0, 14.3, and\\n14.6. For each chemical composition and log g, we compute more than 26 model\\natmospheres with various luminosities relative to the Eddington luminosity\\nL_Edd computed for the Thomson cross-section. The maximum relative luminosities\\nL/L_Edd reach values of up to 1.1 for high gravity models. The emergent spectra\\nof all models are redshifted and fitted by diluted blackbody spectra in the\\n3--20 keV energy range appropriate for the RXTE/PCA. We also compute the color\\ncorrection factors f_c. The radiative acceleration g_rad in our luminous,\\nhot-atmosphere models is significantly smaller than in corresponding models\\nbased on the Kompaneets operator, because of the Klein-Nishina reduction of the\\nelectron scattering cross-section, and therefore formally "super-Eddington"\\nmodel atmospheres do exist. The differences between the new and old model\\natmospheres are small for L / L_Edd &lt; 0.8. For the same g_rad / g, the new f_c\\nare slightly larger (by approximately 1%) than the old values.\\n
Comparison of 6q25 Breast Cancer Hits from Asian and European Genome Wide Association Studies in the Breast Cancer Association Consortium (BCAC)
2012-08-07

The 6q25.1 locus was first identified via a genome-wide association study (GWAS) in Chinese women and marked by single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs2046210, approximately 180 Kb upstream of ESR1. There have been conflicting reports about the association of this locus with breast cancer in Europeans, and a GWAS in Europeans identified a different SNP, tagged here by rs12662670. We examined the associations of both SNPs in up to 61,689 cases and 58,822 controls from forty-four studies collaborating in the Breast Cancer Association Consortium, of which four studies were of Asian and 39 of European descent. Logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Case-only analyses were used to compare SNP effects in Estrogen Receptor positive (ER+) versus negative (ER-) tumours. Models including both SNPs were fitted to investigate whether the SNP effects were independent. Both SNPs are significantly associated with breast cancer risk in both ethnic groups. Per-allele ORs are higher in Asian than in European studies [rs2046210: OR (A/G) = 1.36 (95% CI 1.26-1.48), p = 7.6 × 10(-14) in Asians and 1.09 (95% CI 1.07-1.11), p = 6.8 × 10(-18) in Europeans. rs12662670: OR (G/T) = 1.29 (95% CI 1.19-1.41), p = 1.2 × 10(-9) in Asians and 1.12 (95% CI 1.08-1.17), p = 3.8 × 10(-9) in Europeans]. SNP rs2046210 is associated with a significantly greater risk of ER- than ER+ tumours in Europeans [OR (ER-) = 1.20 (95% CI 1.15-1.25), p = 1.8 × 10(-17) versus OR (ER+) = 1.07 (95% CI 1.04-1.1), p = 1.3 × 10(-7), p(heterogeneity) = 5.1 × 10(-6)]. In these Asian studies, by contrast, there is no clear evidence of a differential association by tumour receptor status. Each SNP is associated with risk after adjustment for the other SNP. These results suggest the presence of two variants at 6q25.1 each independently associated with breast cancer risk in Asians and in Europeans. Of these two, the one tagged by rs2046210 is associated with a greater risk of ER- tumours.
Hydraulic Driven Fast and Precise Nonmagnetic Tactile Stimulator for Neurophysiological and MEG Measurements
2012-08-07

Electric stimulation of the peripheral nerves is well established as a diagnostic and research tool to analyze the somatosensory system. However, electric stimulation has some disadvantages. Electric stimulation of the median nerve triggers action potentials in all fiber populations of the nerve. Electric stimulation further creates artifacts and courses discomfort which is usually not well tolerated in the awake child. Therefore, the development of a more specific stimulation has constantly been a goal in recent years. There have been several approaches in the past to deliver somatic stimulation. However, all of them failed short in some aspects. In this study, a new type of somatosensory stimulator device was developed and compared against the gold standard of electric stimulation. The stimulation is achieved by repetitive tactile stimulation of the index finger using a blunt needle. In contrast to all previous approaches, we use a hydraulic system to move the needle up and downward. Given that water is very well suited to conduct pressure pulses it is possible to place the tactile stimulator device holding the needle close to the subject and the hydraulic driving system outside a critical area. Using a phantom, we showed that our stimulator is capable of delivering a stimulus precise on the submillisecond time scale. In addition, we test our stimulator on a healthy adult and compare the results against the electric stimulation. We can show the feasibility of measuring the electric responses of the peripheral nerve and while using MEG also the response of the primary somatosensory cortex. The tactile stimulation showed a more spatial focuses activation of the primary somatosensory cortex when compared against the electric stimulation. The proposed high-precision tactile stimulator will make it possible to analyze the somatosensory system noninvasively in children in the future.
Intensity-modulated stereotactic radiotherapy for the treatment of medically inoperable patients with NSCLC stage I
2012-08-07

The standard treatment for stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is lobectomy. However, a considerable number of patients are not eligible for standard lung surgery due to poor pulmonary function or comorbidities. We evaluated the efficacy and tolerability of intensity-modulated stereotactic radiotherapy (IMSRT) with moderate hypofractionation for these patients. Twelve patients were selected for IMSRT. 4D-CT planning was performed by gating CT-scanning positioning. The applied doses ranged between 10x4.5 Gy (80% ID) (N=1), 12x4.5 Gy (95% ID) (N=1) and 10x5.5 Gy (95% ID) (N=10). Long-term follow-up was performed including spirometry and CT for evaluation of local, locoregional and distant control. Even in patients with poor pulmonary function IMRST was safe and well tolerated. No severe acute adverse effects were observed. Estimated local control at 2 years was 90%. Moreover, IMSRT does not induce a significant deterioration of pulmonary function. IMRST is safe and feasible even for patients with very poor pulmonary function. The applied dose provides a high local control rate, although the biological equivalent dose (BED) is lower compared to the average of other SRT regimens. Therefore, IMRST may be an efficient alternative for all NSCLC stage I patients with contraindications to standard lobectomy especially in patients with small tumors in high-risk localisations.
Grey parrots use inferential reasoning based on acoustic cues alone
2012-08-08

Our ability to make logical inferences is considered as one of the cornerstones of human intelligence, fuelling investigations of reasoning abilities in non-human animals. Yet, the evidence to date is equivocal, with apes as the prime candidates to possess these skills. For instance, in a two-choice task, apes can identify the location of hidden food if it is indicated by a rattling noise caused by the shaking of a baited container. More importantly, they also use the absence of noise during the shaking of the empty container to infer that this container is not baited. However, since the inaugural report of apes solving this task, to the best of our knowledge, no comparable evidence could be found in any other tested species such as monkeys and dogs. Here, we report the first successful and instantaneous solution of the shaking task through logical inference by a non-ape species, the African grey parrot. Surprisingly, the performance of the birds was sensitive to the shaking movement: they were successful with containers shaken horizontally, but not with vertical shaking resembling parrot head-bobbing. Thus, grey parrots seem to possess ape-like cross-modal reasoning skills, but their reliance on these abilities is influenced by low-level interferences.
The Obese Brain Athlete: Self-Regulation of the Anterior Insula in Adiposity
2012-08-08

The anterior insular cortex (AIC) is involved in emotional processes and gustatory functions which can be examined by imaging techniques. Such imaging studies showed increased activation in the insula in response to food stimuli as well as a differential activation in lean and obese people. Additionally, studies investigating lean subjects established the voluntary regulation of the insula by a real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging-brain computer interface (rtfMRI-BCI) approach. In this exploratory study, 11 lean and 10 obese healthy, male participants were investigated in a rtfMRI-BCI protocol. During the training sessions, all obese participants were able to regulate the activity of the AIC voluntarily, while four lean participants were not able to regulate at all. In successful regulators, functional connectivity during regulation vs. relaxation between the AIC and all other regions of the brain was determined by a seed voxel approach. Lean in comparison to obese regulators showed stronger connectivity in cingular and temporal cortices during regulation. We conclude, that obese people possess an improved capacity to self-regulate the anterior insula, a brain system tightly related to bodily awareness and gustatory functions.
DyBa2Cu3O7−xsuperconducting coated conductors with critical currents exceeding 1000 A cm−1
2012-08-08

DyBa2Cu3O7−x (DyBCO) films with MgO buffer layers were grown on Hastelloy substrates by inclined substrate deposition (ISD). An almost linear increase of the critical current with the DyBCO film thickness was observed. A maximum critical current of 1018 A cm−1 was measured for a DyBCO film with 5.9 μm thickness, yielding a critical current density of 1.7 MA cm−2 at 77 K and self-field. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) yielded highly biaxially textured DyBCO films at all thicknesses and, thus, no significant decrease of the critical current density occurs with the film thickness. ISD yields a non-zero component of the growth direction parallel to the DyBCO (a, b)-plane since the DyBCO grows on a faceted MgO surface and avoids a-axis growth. Therefore, the ISD technology offers a unique possibility to overcome thickness limitations in coated conductor technology.
Alternative approaches to antifungal therapies
2012-08-08

Abstract The expansive use of immunosuppressive medications in fields such as transplantational medicine and oncology, the higher frequency of invasive procedures in an ageing population and the HIV / AIDS pandemic have increased the frequency of systemic fungal infections. At the same time, increased resistance of pathogenic fungi to classical antifungal agents has led to sustained research efforts targeting alternative antifungal strategies. In this review, we focus on two promising approaches: cationic peptides and the targeting of fungal virulence factors. Cationic peptides are small, predominantly positively charged protein fragments that exert direct and indirect antifungal activities, one mechanism of action being the permeabilization of the fungal membrane. They include lysozyme, defensins and cathelicidins as well as novel synthetic peptides. Among fungal virulence factors, the targeting of candidal secreted aspartic proteinases seems to be a particularly promising approach.
Discovery of gamma-ray emission from the extragalactic pulsar wind nebula N 157B with H.E.S.S.
2012-08-08

We present the significant detection of the first extragalactic pulsar wind\\nnebula (PWN) detected in gamma rays, N157B, located in the large Magellanic\\nCloud (LMC). Pulsars with high spin-down luminosity are found to power\\nenergised nebulae that emit gamma rays up to energies of several tens of TeV.\\nN157B is associated with PSRJ0537-6910, which is the pulsar with the highest\\nknown spin-down luminosity. The High Energy Stereoscopic System telescope array\\nobserved this nebula on a yearly basis from 2004 to 2009 with a dead-time\\ncorrected exposure of 46 h. The gamma-ray spectrum between 600 GeV and 12 TeV\\nis well-described by a pure power-law with a photon index of 2.8 \\\\pm 0.2(stat)\\n\\\\pm 0.3(syst) and a normalisation at 1 TeV of (8.2 \\\\pm 0.8(stat) \\\\pm 2.5(syst))\\n\\\\times 10^-13 cm^-2s^-1TeV^-1. A leptonic multi-wavelength model shows that an\\nenergy of about 4 \\\\times 10^49erg is stored in electrons and positrons. The\\napparent efficiency, which is the ratio of the TeV gamma-ray luminosity to the\\npulsar's spindown luminosity, 0.08% \\\\pm 0.01%, is comparable to those of PWNe\\nfound in the Milky Way. The detection of a PWN at such a large distance is\\npossible due to the pulsar's favourable spin-down luminosity and a bright\\ninfrared photon-field serving as an inverse-Compton-scattering target for\\naccelerated leptons. By applying a calorimetric technique to these\\nobservations, the pulsar's birth period is estimated to be shorter than 10 ms.\\n
Impact of Fe Content in Laboratory-Produced Soot Aerosol on its Composition, Structure, and Thermo-Chemical Properties
2012-08-09

Soot aerosol, which is a major pollutant in the atmosphere of urban areas, often contains not only carbonaceous matter but also inorganic material. These species, for example, iron compounds, originated from impurities in fuel or lubricating oil, additives or engine wear may change the physico-chemical characteristics of soot and hence its environmental impact. We studied the change of composition, structure, and oxidation reactivity of laboratory-produced soot aerosol with varying iron content. Soot types of various iron contents were generated in a propane/air diffusion flame by adjusting the doping amount of iron pentacarbonyl Fe(CO)5 to the flame. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM)/energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) was combined with cluster analysis (CA) to separate individual particles into definable groups of similar chemical composition representing the particle types in dependence of the iron content in soot. Raman microspectroscopy (RM) and infrared spectroscopy were applied for the characterization of the graphitic soot structure, hydrocarbons, and iron species. For the analysis of soot reactivity, temperature-programmed oxidation (TPO) was used. It is demonstrated that iron is most dominantly present in the form of amorphous Fe (III) oxide crystallizing to hematite α-Fe2O3 upon thermal treatment. Iron contaminations do not change the soot microstructure crucially, but Fe(CO)5 doping of the flame impacts hydrocarbon composition. Soot oxidation reactivity strongly depends on the iron content, as the temperature of maximum carbon (di)oxide emission T max follows an exponential decay with increasing iron content in soot. Based on the results of the thermo-chemical characterization of laboratory-produced internally mixed iron-containing soot, we can conclude that iron-containing combustion aerosol samples cannot be characterized unambiguously by current thermo-optical analysis protocols. Copyright 2012 American Association for Aerosol Research
Monitoring the On‐line Titration of Enantiomeric Omeprazole Employing Continuous‐flow Capillary Microcoil 1H NMR Spectroscopy
2012-08-09

ABSTRACT The titration of the ( S )‐enantiomer of omeprazole with the ( R )‐enantiomer in chloroform‐ d 1 is monitored by continuous‐flow capillary microcoil 1 H NMR spectroscopy employing a microcoil with a detection volume of 1.5 μl. The observed changes of the 1 H NMR chemical shifts indicate the formation of a heterochiral ( R , S ) dimer of omeprazole via its sulfinyl group and the NH group of the benzimidazole ring. Chirality 24:1074–1076, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.