julilili42/papers huggingface dataset:
Characterising the VHE diffuse emission in the central 200 parsecs of our Galaxy with H.E.S.S.
2017-10-30

The diffuse very high-energy (VHE; &gt;100 GeV) γ -ray emission observed in the central 200 pc of the Milky Way by H.E.S.S. was found to follow dense matter distribution in the central molecular zone (CMZ) up to a longitudinal distance of about 130 pc to the Galactic centre (GC), where the flux rapidly decreases. This was initially interpreted as the result of a burst-like injection of energetic particles 10 4 yr ago, but a recent more sensitive H.E.S.S. analysis revealed that the cosmic-ray (CR) density profile drops with the distance to the centre, making data compatible with a steady cosmic PeVatron at the GC. In this paper, we extend this analysis to obtain, for the first time, a detailed characterisation of the correlation with matter and to search for additional features and individual γ -ray sources in the inner 200 pc. Taking advantage of 250 h of H.E.S.S. data and improved analysis techniques, we perform a detailed morphology study of the diffuse VHE emission observed from the GC ridge and reconstruct its total spectrum. To test the various contributions to the total γ -ray emission, we used an iterative 2D maximum-likelihood approach that allows us to build a phenomenological model of the emission by summing a number of different spatial components. We show that the emission correlated with dense matter covers the full CMZ and that its flux is about half the total diffuse emission flux. We also detect some emission at higher latitude that is likely produced by hadronic collisions of CRs in less dense regions of the GC interstellar medium. We detect an additional emission component centred on the GC and extending over about 15 pc that is consistent with the existence of a strong CR density gradient and confirms the presence of a CR accelerator at the very centre of our Galaxy. We show that the spectrum of full ridge diffuse emission is compatible with that previously derived from the central regions, suggesting that a single population of particles fills the entire CMZ. Finally, we report the discovery of a VHE γ -ray source near the GC radio arc and argue that it is produced by the pulsar wind nebula candidate G0.13−0.11.
Why Did Income Inequality in Germany Not Increase Further After 2005?
2017-10-30

Abstract While income inequality in Germany considerably increased in the years before 2005, this trend stopped after 2005. We address the question of what factors were responsible for the break in the inequality trend after 2005. Our analysis suggests that income inequality in Germany did not continue to rise after 2005 for the following reasons. First, we observe that the general rise in wage inequality that explained a lot of the inequality increase before 2005, became less steep (but did not stop) after 2005. Second, despite further increases in wage inequality after 2005, inequality in annual labour incomes did not increase further after 2005 because increased within-year employment opportunities compensated otherwise rising inequality in annual labour incomes. Third, income inequality did not fall in a more marked way after 2005 because also the middle and the upper part of the distribution benefited from the employment boom after 2006. Finally, we provide evidence that the effect of a wide range of other factors that are often suspected to have influenced the distribution such as capital incomes, household structures, population ageing, changes in the tax and transfer system and the financial crisis of 2008 did not significantly alter the distribution after 2005.
Fano resonances and fluorescence enhancement of a dipole emitter near a plasmonic nanoshell
2017-10-30

We analytically study the spontaneous emission of a single optical dipole\\nemitter in the vicinity of a plasmonic nanoshell, based on the Lorenz-Mie\\ntheory. We show that the fluorescence enhancement due to the coupling between\\noptical emitter and sphere can be tuned by the aspect ratio of the core-shell\\nnanosphere and by the distance between the quantum emitter and its surface. In\\nparticular, we demonstrate that both the enhancement and quenching of the\\nfluorescence intensity are associated with plasmonic Fano resonances induced by\\nnear- and far-field interactions. These Fano resonances have asymmetry\\nparameters whose signs depend on the orientation of the dipole with respect to\\nthe spherical nanoshell. We also show that if the atomic dipole is oriented\\ntangentially to the nanoshell, the interaction exhibits saddle points in the\\nnear-field energy flow. This results in a Lorentzian fluorescence enhancement\\nresponse in the near field and a Fano line-shape in the far field. The\\nsignatures of this interaction may have interesting applications for sensing\\nthe presence and the orientation of optical emitters in close proximity to\\nplasmonic nanoshells.\\n
The future of metabolomics in ELIXIR
2017-10-30

<ns4:p>Metabolomics, the youngest of the major omics technologies, is supported by an active community of researchers and infrastructure developers across Europe. To coordinate and focus efforts around infrastructure building for metabolomics within Europe, a workshop on the “Future of metabolomics in ELIXIR” was organised at Frankfurt Airport in Germany. This one-day strategic workshop involved representatives of ELIXIR Nodes, members of the PhenoMeNal consortium developing an e-infrastructure that supports workflow-based metabolomics analysis pipelines, and experts from the international metabolomics community. The workshop established <ns4:italic>metabolite identification</ns4:italic> as the critical area, where a maximal impact of computational metabolomics and data management on other fields could be achieved. In particular, the existing four ELIXIR Use Cases, where the metabolomics community - both industry and academia - would benefit most, and which could be exhaustively mapped onto the current five ELIXIR Platforms were discussed. This opinion article is a call for support for a new ELIXIR metabolomics Use Case, which aligns with and complements the existing and planned ELIXIR Platforms and Use Cases.</ns4:p>
Single nucleotide polymorphism (rs1035130C>T) in the interleukin 18 receptor 1 gene and susceptibility to severe <i>P. falciparum</i> malaria in Lafia, North-central Nigeria
2017-10-30

The interleukin 18 receptor 1 (IL18R1) gene encodes a potent cytokine receptor that is critical for IL18 binding and subsequent signal transduction. This gene is a member of the IL1 receptor family that resides in a cluster of genes on human chromosome 2. Several polymorphisms have been shown to exist on this gene locus and some were found to be associated with inflammatory diseases but there is paucity of data on association with malaria. This study therefore, was aimed at determining the possible association of the rs1035130C&gt;T coding polymorphism with severe malaria in Lafia, North-central Nigeria. The rs1035130C&gt;T polymorphism was genotyped in a total of 214 participants including 98 severe malaria cases and 116 asymptomatic controls. DNA was extracted from blood spotted on filter paper using the QIAamp® DNA Mini Kit. The ABI PRISM® 3100 Genetic Analyzer was used to sequence the polymorphic locus. Our data showed a significantly higher frequency (P=0.021) of the CT heterozygous genotype in the asymptomatic control group (25.0%) than in the severe malaria group (13.27%). In addition, the frequency of the minor T allele was significantly higher (P=0.013) in the asymptomatic controls compared to the severe malaria cases. However, the TT homozygous genotype was not found in the severe malaria group. These results suggest a contributory role of the rs1035130C&gt;T polymorphism in regulating host susceptibility or resistance to severe malaria and consequently have implications for understanding the molecular mechanisms of malaria pathogenesis.Keywords: Malaria, Interleukin, rs1035130C&gt;T, Polymorphism, Genotype.
Dose-Dependent Effects of Intranasal Insulin on Resting-State Brain Activity
2017-10-31

Abstract Context Insulin action in the human brain influences eating behavior, cognition, and whole-body metabolism. Studies investigating brain insulin rely on intranasal application. Objective To investigate effects of three doses of insulin and placebo as nasal sprays on the central and autonomous nervous system and analyze absorption of insulin into the bloodstream. Design, Participants, and Methods Nine healthy men received placebo or 40 U, 80 U, and 160 U insulin spray in randomized order. Before and after spray, brain activity was assessed by functional magnetic resonance imaging, and heart rate variability (HRV) was assessed from electrocardiogram. Plasma insulin, C-peptide, and glucose were measured regularly. Setting General community. Results Nasal insulin administration dose-dependently modulated regional brain activity and the normalized high-frequency component of the HRV. Post hoc analyses revealed that only 160 U insulin showed a considerable difference from placebo. Dose-dependent spillover of nasal insulin into the bloodstream was detected. The brain response was not correlated with this temporary rise in circulating insulin. Conclusions Nasal insulin dose-dependently modulated regional brain activity with the strongest effects after 160 U. However, this dose was accompanied by a transient increase in circulating insulin concentrations due to a spillover into circulation. Our current results may serve as a basis for future studies with nasal insulin to untangle brain insulin effects in health and disease.
What drives young children to over-imitate? Investigating the effects of age, context, action type, and transitivity
2017-10-31

Imitation underlies many traits thought to characterize our species, which includes the transmission and acquisition of language, material culture, norms, rituals, and conventions. From early childhood, humans show an intriguing willingness to imitate behaviors, even those that have no obvious function. This phenomenon, known as "over-imitation," is thought to explain some of the key differences between human cultures as compared with those of nonhuman animals. Here, we used a single integrative paradigm to simultaneously investigate several key factors proposed to shape children's over-imitation: age, context, transitivity, and action type. We compared typically developing children aged 4-6years in a task involving actions verbally framed as being instrumental, normative, or communicative in function. Within these contexts, we explored whether children were more likely to over-imitate transitive versus intransitive actions and manual versus body part actions. Results showed an interaction between age and context; as children got older, they were more likely to imitate within a normative context, whereas younger children were more likely to imitate in instrumental contexts. Younger children were more likely to imitate transitive actions (actions on objects) than intransitive actions compared with older children. Our results show that children are highly sensitive to even minimal cues to perceived context and flexibly adapt their imitation accordingly. As they get older, children's imitation appears to become less object bound, less focused on instrumental outcomes, and more sensitive to normative cues. This shift is consistent with the proposal that over-imitation becomes increasingly social in its function as children move through childhood and beyond.
Cytokine single-nucleotide polymorphisms and risk of non-small-cell lung cancer
2017-10-31

In conclusion, IL1B rs1143634 was significantly associated with a higher risk of NSCLC. No influence of IL1B rs12621220, rs1143623, rs16944, rs1143627, IL12A rs662959, IL13 rs1881457 and IL16 rs7170924 on the risk of developing NSCLC was found in our study.
Glutamate Activates AMPA Receptor Conductance in the Developing Schwann Cells of the Mammalian Peripheral Nerves
2017-10-31

Schwann cells (SCs) are myelinating cells of the PNS. Although SCs are known to express different channels and receptors on their surface, little is known about the activation and function of these proteins. Ionotropic glutamate receptors are thought to play an essential role during development of SC lineage and during peripheral nerve injury, so we sought to study their functional properties. We established a novel preparation of living peripheral nerve slices with preserved cellular architecture and used a patch-clamp technique to study AMPA-receptor (AMPAR)-mediated currents in SCs for the first time. We found that the majority of SCs in the nerves dissected from embryonic and neonatal mice of both sexes respond to the application of glutamate with inward current mediated by Ca 2+ -permeable AMPARs. Using stationary fluctuation analysis (SFA), we demonstrate that single-channel conductance of AMPARs in SCs is 8–11 pS, which is comparable to that in neurons. We further show that, when SCs become myelinating, they downregulate functional AMPARs. This study is the first to demonstrate AMPAR-mediated conductance in SCs of vertebrates, to investigate elementary properties of AMPARs in these cells, and to provide detailed electrophysiological and morphological characterization of SCs at different stages of development. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT We provide several important conceptual and technical advances in research on the PNS. We pioneer the first description of AMPA receptor (AMPAR)-mediated currents in the PNS glia of vertebrates and provide new insights into the properties of AMPAR channels in peripheral glia; for example, their Ca 2+ permeability and single-channel conductance. We describe for the first time the electrophysiological and morphological properties of Schwann cells (SCs) at different stages of development and show that functional AMPARs are expressed only in developing, not mature, SCs. Finally, we introduce a preparation of peripheral nerve slices for patch-clamp recordings. This preparation opens new possibilities for studying the physiology of SCs in animal models and in surgical human samples.
An Effective Characterization of the Alternation Hierarchy in Two-Variable Logic
2017-10-31

We give an algebraic characterization, based on the bilateral semidirect product of finite monoids, of the quantifier alternation hierarchy in two-variable first-order logic on finite words. As a consequence, we obtain a new proof that this hierarchy is strict. Moreover, by application of the theory of finite categories, we are able to make our characterization effective: that is, there is an algorithm for determining the exact quantifier alternation depth for a given language definable in two-variable logic.
The immunopeptidomic landscape of ovarian carcinomas
2017-11-01

Significance Despite the revolution in cancer therapy initiated by checkpoint inhibitors, durable clinical responses remain sporadic in many types of cancer, including ovarian cancer. Understanding which antigens are essentially presented by tumor cells and further able to be recognized by T cells provides a major step toward novel effective targeted immunotherapies. In this study, we comprehensively analyzed the immunopeptidomic landscape of ovarian carcinoma and compared it to variety of benign sources to identify antigens exclusively presented on tumor cells. With personalized therapies moving into the focus of clinical cancer therapy, we further present insights on how gene-expression analysis and immunohistochemistry can support antigen selection for individualized immunotherapy.
Long-term patterns of body mass and stature evolution within the hominin lineage
2017-11-01

Body size is a central determinant of a species' biology and adaptive strategy, but the number of reliable estimates of hominin body mass and stature have been insufficient to determine long-term patterns and subtle interactions in these size components within our lineage. Here, we analyse 254 body mass and 204 stature estimates from a total of 311 hominin specimens dating from 4.4 Ma to the Holocene using multi-level chronological and taxonomic analytical categories. The results demonstrate complex temporal patterns of body size variation with phases of relative stasis intermitted by periods of rapid increases. The observed trajectories could result from punctuated increases at speciation events, but also differential proliferation of large-bodied taxa or the extinction of small-bodied populations. Combined taxonomic and temporal analyses show that in relation to australopithecines, early Homo is characterized by significantly larger average body mass and stature but retains considerable diversity, including small body sizes. Within later Homo , stature and body mass evolution follow different trajectories: average modern stature is maintained from ca 1.6 Ma, while consistently higher body masses are not established until the Middle Pleistocene at ca 0.5–0.4 Ma, likely caused by directional selection related to colonizing higher latitudes. Selection against small-bodied individuals (less than 40 kg; less than 140 cm) after 1.4 Ma is associated with a decrease in relative size variability in later Homo species compared with earlier Homo and australopithecines. The isolated small-bodied individuals of Homo naledi ( ca 0.3 Ma) and Homo floresiensis ( ca 100–60 ka) constitute important exceptions to these general patterns, adding further layers of complexity to the evolution of body size within the genus Homo . At the end of the Late Pleistocene and Holocene, body size in Homo sapiens declines on average, but also extends to lower limits not seen in comparable frequency since early Homo .
Geography, land inequality and regional numeracy in Europe in historical perspective
2017-11-01

Abstract We find a relationship between geographic factors and numeracy in more than 300 regions of Europe around the year 1900. We argue that the distribution of land ownership is a plausible mechanism, given that it is related to the geographic factors under study. Consistent with theoretical studies in the Unified Growth Theory framework, we find that inequality in land distribution has a negative correlation with human capital formation as landowners did not have incentives to promote educational institutions or were not willing to pay the necessary taxes. This study explains a substantial share of the differences in development gradients between rural European regions in a historical perspective.
Why do horseflies need polarization vision for host detection? Polarization helps tabanid flies to select sunlit dark host animals from the dark patches of the visual environment
2017-11-01

Horseflies (Tabanidae) are polarotactic, being attracted to linearly polarized light when searching for water or host animals. Although it is well known that horseflies prefer sunlit dark and strongly polarizing hosts, the reason for this preference is unknown. According to our hypothesis, horseflies use their polarization sensitivity to look for targets with higher degrees of polarization in their optical environment, which as a result facilitates detection of sunlit dark host animals. In this work, we tested this hypothesis. Using imaging polarimetry, we measured the reflection–polarization patterns of a dark host model and a living black cow under various illumination conditions and with different vegetation backgrounds. We focused on the intensity and degree of polarization of light originating from dark patches of vegetation and the dark model/cow. We compared the chances of successful host selection based on either intensity or degree of polarization of the target and the combination of these two parameters. We show that the use of polarization information considerably increases the effectiveness of visual detection of dark host animals even in front of sunny–shady–patchy vegetation. Differentiation between a weakly polarizing, shady (dark) vegetation region and a sunlit, highly polarizing dark host animal increases the efficiency of host search by horseflies.
ACTR-58. PHASE III TRIAL OF CCNU/TEMOZOLOMIDE (TMZ) COMBINATION THERAPY VS. STANDARD TMZ THERAPY FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED MGMT-METHYLATED GLIOBLASTOMA PATIENTS: THE CeTeg/NOA-09 trial
2017-11-01

There is an urgent need for more effective therapies in glioblastoma (GBM). Data from the single arm UKT-03 trial (Glas et al., J Clin Oncol 27, 1257, 2009) suggested that combined lomustine/temozolomide (CCNU/TMZ) therapy might have superior activity in MGMT-methylated GBM. The phase III CeTeG/NOA-09 trial was set up to test this hypothesis in a randomized setting. Patients with MGMT-methylated GBM were randomized (1:1) for standard therapy with daily TMZ (75 mg/m2) during local radiotherapy (RT, 30 x 2 Gy) followed by 6 courses of TMZ (150–200 mg/m2/day for 5 days q4w) or experimental therapy with CCNU/TMZ in addition to local RT. Six 6-week courses of CCNU/TMZ (CCNU 100 mg/m2 d1, TMZ 100 mg/m2 d2-6) were applied with the first course starting on the first day of RT while continuous concomitant TMZ was not applied. The TMZ dose was adapted in further courses. The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS) in the modified intention-to-treat (mITT) population of patients who had received at least one dose of study medication. For confirmatory analysis, differences in OS were analyzed using the logrank test stratified for center and recursive partitioning analysis group. The trial randomized 141 patients; 129 patients (63 TMZ, 66 CCNU/TMZ) belonged to the mITT population. OS was superior in the CCNU/TMZ arm as compared to the TMZ arm (p=0.049). Significant OS differences were also found in the as-randomized population (p=0.043) and in the subgroup of 103 patients with an IDHwt GBM (p=0.039). In the mITT population, median OS was prolonged from 31.4 months (95%CI 27.0–44.8 months) with TMZ to 37.9 months (95% CI 29.2–51.4 months) with CCNU/TMZ (hazard ratio for death 0.60, 95% CI 0.35–1.03, p=0.064). In summary, CCNU/TMZ combination chemotherapy showed improved efficacy as compared to TMZ standard therapy in patients with newly diagnosed MGMT promotor-methylated GBM.
Periprosthetic bone remodeling of short cementless femoral stems in primary total hip arthroplasty
2017-11-01

The study shows moderate-quality evidence that periprosthetic bone remodeling around the analyzed SHA stems was similar to standard THA stems. However, short SHA stems with lateral flare revealed a moderate- to low-quality evidence for superiority over the standard THA and highlighted the importance of the different SHA designs. Besides, it has to be noticed that despite a similar pattern of periprosthetic bone remodeling, the femoral length where periprosthetic bone remodeling occurs is clearly shorter in SHA. Due to the moderate- to low-quality evidence and the limited stem designs analyzed, the further large-scale multicenter RCTs including the most recent SHA designs are required. However, the current findings should be considered by surgeons for counseling patients regarding total hip replacement.
Tell Abraq during the second and first millennia BC: site layout, spatial organisation, and economy
2017-11-01

Abstract Research recommenced at Tell Abraq in 2007, carried out by Bryn Mawr College with an international team in co‐operation with the Sharjah Archaeology Authority. Between 2007 and 2010 fieldwork was limited to documenting sections of the previous excavations and one small sounding while our attention focused mainly on the nearby shell‐midden site of Hamriya and the fortified Iron Age settlement site of Muweilah. Since 2010, large‐scale excavations have been conducted which have fundamentally altered our understanding of the layout of the settlement and its economic relations during the second and first millennia BC . In this report, we detail the results of this work and present preliminary interpretations.