Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cu2Se and Cu Nanocrystals as Local Sources of Copper in Thermally Activated In Situ Cation Exchange

Among the different synthesis approaches to colloidal nanocrystals, a recently developed toolkit is represented by cation exchange reactions, where the use of template nanocrystals gives access to materials that would be hardly attainable via direct synthesis. Besides, postsynthetic treatments, such as thermally activated solid-state reactions, represent a further flourishing route to promote finely controlled cation exchange. Here, we report that, upon in situ heating in a transmission electron microscope, Cu2Se or Cu nanocrystals deposited on an amorphous solid substrate undergo partial loss of Cu atoms, which are then engaged in local cation exchange reactions with Cu “acceptor” phases represented by rod- and wire-shaped CdSe nanocrystals. This thermal treatment slowly transforms the initial CdSe nanocrystals into Cu2–xSe nanocrystals, through the complete sublimation of Cd and the partial sublimation of Se atoms. Both Cu “donor” and “acceptor” particles were not always in direct contact with each other; hence, the gradual transfer of Cu species from Cu2Se or metallic Cu to CdSe nanocrystals was mediated by the substrate and depended on the distance between the donor and acceptor nanostructures. Differently from what happens in the comparably faster cation exchange reactions performed in liquid solution, this study shows that slow cation exchange reactions can be performed at the solid state and helps to shed light on the intermediate steps involved in such reactions.
Direct Evidence that Scorpion α-Toxins (Site-3) Modulate Sodium Channel Inactivation by Hindrance of Voltage-Sensor Movements

The position of the voltage-sensing transmembrane segment, S4, in voltage-gated ion channels as a function of voltage remains incompletely elucidated. Site-3 toxins bind primarily to the extracellular loops connecting transmembrane helical segments S1-S2 and S3-S4 in Domain 4 (D4) and S5-S6 in Domain 1 (D1) and slow fast-inactivation of voltage-gated sodium channels. As S4 of the human skeletal muscle voltage-gated sodium channel, hNav1.4, moves in response to depolarization from the resting to the inactivated state, two D4S4 reporters (R2C and R3C, Arg1451Cys and Arg1454Cys, respectively) move from internal to external positions as deduced by reactivity to internally or externally applied sulfhydryl group reagents, methane thiosulfonates (MTS). The changes in reporter reactivity, when cycling rapidly between hyperpolarized and depolarized voltages, enabled determination of the positions of the D4 voltage-sensor and of its rate of movement. Scorpion α-toxin binding impedes D4S4 segment movement during inactivation since the modification rates of R3C in hNav1.4 with methanethiosulfonate (CH3SO2SCH2CH2R, where R = -N(CH3)3 + trimethylammonium, MTSET) and benzophenone-4-carboxamidocysteine methanethiosulfonate (BPMTS) were slowed ~10-fold in toxin-modified channels. Based upon the different size, hydrophobicity and charge of the two reagents it is unlikely that the change in reactivity is due to direct or indirect blockage of access of this site to reagent in the presence of toxin (Tx), but rather is the result of inability of this segment to move outward to the normal extent and at the normal rate in the toxin-modified channel. Measurements of availability of R3C to internally applied reagent show decreased access (slower rates of thiol reaction) providing further evidence for encumbered D4S4 movement in the presence of toxins consistent with the assignment of at least part of the toxin binding site to the region of D4S4 region of the voltage-sensor module.
Markers and Drivers: Cardiovascular Health of Middle-Age and Older Indians

Using the 2010 pilot study of the Longitudinal Aging Study in India (LASI), the authors examine the socioeconomic and behavioral risk factors for poor cardiovascular health among middle-aged and older Indians, focusing on self-reported and directly measured hypertension. The LASI pilot survey (N=1,683) was fielded in four states: Karnataka, Kerala, Punjab, and Rajasthan. These four states were chosen to capture regional variations and socioeconomic and cultural differences. They find significant inter-state differences across multiple measures of cardiac health and risk factors for hypertension, including body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, and health behaviors. In contrast to the findings from developed countries, they find education and other markers of higher socioeconomic status (SES) to be positively associated with hypertension. Among the hypertensive, however, they find that those at higher SES are less likely to be undiagnosed and more likely to be in better control of their blood pressure than respondents with low SES. They also find significant inter-state variations in hypertension prevalence, diagnosis, and management that remain even after accounting for socio economic differences, obesity, and health behaviors. They conclude by discussing these findings and their implications for public health and economic development in India and the developing country context more generally.
On Effectiveness of Backlog Bounds Using Stochastic Network Calculus in 802.11

Network calculus is a powerful methodology of characterizing queueing processes and has wide applications, but few works on applying it to 802.11 by far. In this paper, we take one of the first steps to analyze the backlog bounds of an 802.11 wireless LAN using stochastic network calculus. In particular, we want to address its effectiveness on bounding backlogs. We model a wireless node as a single server with impairment service based on two best-known models in stochastic network calculus: Jiang's and Ciucu's. Interestingly, we find that the two models can derive equivalent stochastic service curves and backlog bounds in our studied case. We prove that the network-calculus bounds imply stable backlogs as long as the average rate of traffic arrival is less than that of service, indicating the theoretical effectiveness of stochastic network calculus in bounding backlogs. From A. Kumar's 802.11 model, we derive the concrete stochastic service curve of an 802.11 node and its backlog bounds. We compare the derived bounds with ns-2 simulations and find that the former are very loose and we discuss the reasons. And we show that the martingale and independent case analysis techniques can improve the bounds significantly. Our work offers a good reference to applying stochastic network calculus to practical scenarios.
Lending to the Borrower from Hell: Debt and Default in the Age of Philip II

What sustained borrowing without third�? party enforcement in the early days of sovereign lending? Philip II of Spain accumulated towering debts while stopping all payments to his lenders four times. How could the sovereign borrow much and default often? We argue that bankers’ ability to cut off Philip II’s access to smoothing services was key. A form of syndicated lending created cohesion among his Genoese bankers. As a result, lending moratoria were sustained through a ‘cheat�? the�? cheater’ mechanism. Our article thus lends empirical support to a recent literature that emphasises the role of bankers’ incentives for continued sovereign borrowing.
Implications of oxytocin in speech

Abstract The overall aim of my thesis is to shed light on the interplay between the evolution of human sociality and the evolution of human language. My approach is multidisciplinary and includes studies ranging from genomic analyses to behavioral experiments in songbirds. Findings presented here lend genetic evidence to a specific hypothesis under which human sociality can be studied, the ‘self-domestication’ hypothesis, based on significant overlaps identified in the genes under positive selection in modern humans and several domesticated species. We further propose oxytocin as being a good candidate molecule that underpins the genetic mechanisms of human prosociality and language, by serving as the molecular basis of social reward in spoken language acquisition. We show modern human-specific alleles in the oxytocin and the paralogous vasopressin/vasotocin receptors (particularly AVPR1A/VTR1A) correlate with a shift towards prosociality in modern-humans, along with three convergent variant changes in modern humans and bonobos, who have also been claimed to be self-domesticated. Additionally, we show an effect of social reward in tuning fine-grained aspects of vocal learning (i.e. pitch learning) in an experiment in zebra finches, providing support for hypotheses on the importance of social feedback in human spoken-language acquisition. We also present our preliminary findings on the role of oxytocin in singing in zebra finches; male zebra finches treated intranasally with an oxytocin-antagonist reduced significantly the number of introductory notes in the song they sang to attract their females. Lastly, we propose a universal nomenclature for the vertebrate oxytocin and vasopressin/vasotocin ligands and receptors, which is based on multi-scale synteny analyses, which will allow easier translation of findings across vertebrates and foster more informative design of functional experiments across species
Venous thromboembolism has the same risk factors as atherosclerosis

Background:Previous studies have shown that idiopathic pulmonary embolism is positively associated with other cardiovascular events, such as myocardial infarction and stroke, suggesting a potentially important association between atherosclerosis risk factors and venous thromboembolism (VTE). We performed a meta-analysis to evaluate the correlation between risk factors for atherosclerosis and VTE. Methods:In December 2014, we searched MEDLINE and EMBASE for studies evaluating the associations between VTE and risk factors for atherosclerosis and pooled outcome data using random-effects meta-analysis. In addition, we analyzed publication bias. Results:Thirty-three case-control and cohort studies with a total of 185,124 patients met the inclusion criteria. We found that participants with body mass index (BMI) ≥30 kg/m2 had a significantly higher prevalence of VTE than those with BMI <30 kg/m2 in both case-control studies (odds ratio [OR] = 2.45, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.78–3.35) and cohort studies (relative risk [RR] = 2.39, 95% CI: 1.79–3.17). VTE was more prevalent in patients with hypertension than without hypertension (OR = 1.40, 95% CI: 1.06–1.84; RR = 1.36, 95% CI: 1.11–1.67). The findings were similar for VTE prevalence between patients with and without diabetes (OR = 1.78, 95% CI: 1.17–2.69; RR = 1.41, 95% CI: 1.20–1.66). Current smoking was significantly associated with VTE prevalence in case-control studies (OR = 1.34, 95% CI: 1.01–1.77), but not in cohort studies (RR = 1.29, 95% CI: 0.96–1.72). In addition, we found that total cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations were significantly higher in patients with VTE than without VTE (weighted mean differences [WMD] = 8.94 mg/dL, 95% CI: 3.52–14.35 mg/dL, and WMD = 14.00 mg/dL, 95% CI: 8.85–19.16 mg/dL, respectively). High-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations were significantly lower in patients with VTE than without VTE (WMD = −2.03 mg/dL, 95% CI: −3.42 to −0.63 mg/dL). Higher quality studies were more homogeneous, but confirmed the same significant associations. Conclusions:Based on our systematic review and meta-analysis, we observed a significant association between VTE and the risk factors for atherosclerosis. These results may make an important contribution to clinical practice regarding VTE treatment.
Influence of Calcium Phosphate and Apatite Containing Products on Enamel Erosion

For the purpose of erosion prevention the present study aimed to compare the efficacy of two biomimetic products and a fluoride solution to optimize the protective properties of the pellicle. After 1 min of in situ pellicle formation on bovine enamel slabs, 8 subjects adopted CPP-ACP (GC Tooth Mousse), a mouthwash with hydroxyapatite microclusters (Biorepair), or a fluoride based mouthwash (elmex Kariesschutz) for 1 min each. Afterwards, samples were exposed in the oral cavity for 28 min. Native enamel slabs and slabs exposed to the oral cavity for 30 min without any rinse served as controls. After oral exposure, slabs were incubated in HCl (pH values 2, 2.3, and 3) for 120 s and kinetics of calcium and phosphate release were measured photometrically; representative samples were evaluated by SEM and TEM. The physiological pellicle reduced demineralization at all pH values; the protective effect was enhanced by fluoride. The biomimetic materials also reduced ion release but their effect was less pronounced. SEM indicated no layer formation after use of the different products. However, TEM confirmed the potential accumulation of mineral components at the pellicle surface. The tested products improve the protective properties of the in situ pellicle but not as effectively as fluorides.
Olanzapine Treatment of Adolescent Rats Causes Enduring Specific Memory Impairments and Alters Cortical Development and Function

Antipsychotic drugs are increasingly used in children and adolescents to treat a variety of psychiatric disorders. However, little is known about the long-term effects of early life antipsychotic drug treatment. Most antipsychotic drugs are potent antagonists or partial agonists of dopamine D2 receptors; atypical antipsychotic drugs also antagonize type 2A serotonin receptors. Dopamine and serotonin regulate many neurodevelopmental processes. Thus, early life antipsychotic drug treatment can, potentially, perturb these processes, causing long-term behavioral- and neurobiological impairments. Here, we treated adolescent, male rats with olanzapine on post-natal days 28–49. As adults, they exhibited impaired working memory, but normal spatial memory, as compared to vehicle-treated control rats. They also showed a deficit in extinction of fear conditioning. Measures of motor activity and skill, habituation to an open field, and affect were normal. In the orbital- and medial prefrontal cortices, parietal cortex, nucleus accumbens core and dentate gyrus, adolescent olanzapine treatment altered the developmental dynamics and mature values of dendritic spine density in a region-specific manner. Measures of motor activity and skill, habituation to an open field, and affect were normal. In the orbital- and medial prefrontal cortices, D1 binding was reduced and binding of GABAA receptors with open Cl− channels was increased. In medial prefrontal cortex, D2 binding was also increased. The persistence of these changes underscores the importance of improved understanding of the enduring sequelae of pediatric APD treatment as a basis for weighing the benefits and risks of adolescent antipsychotic drug therapy, especially prophylactic treatment in high risk, asymptomatic patients. The long-term changes in neurotransmitter receptor binding and neural circuitry induced by adolescent APD treatment may also cause enduring changes in behavioral- and neurobiological responses to other therapeutic- or illicit psychotropic drugs.
Low Predictability of Colour Polymorphism in Introduced Guppy (Poecilia reticulata) Populations in Panama

Colour polymorphism is a recurrent feature of natural populations, and its maintenance has been studied in a range of taxa in their native ranges. However, less is known about whether (and how) colour polymorphism is maintained when populations are removed from their native environments, as in the case of introduced species. We here address this issue by analyzing variation in colour patterns in recently-discovered introduced populations of the guppy (Poecilia reticulata) in Panama. Specifically, we use classic colour analysis to estimate variation in the number and the relative area of different colour spots across low predation sites in the introduced Panamanian range of the species. We then compare this variation to that found in the native range of the species under low- and high predation regimes. We found aspects of the colour pattern that were both consistent and inconsistent with the classical paradigm of colour evolution in guppies. On one hand, the same colours that dominated in native populations (orange, iridescent and black) were also the most dominant in the introduced populations in Panama. On the other, there were no clear differences between either introduced-low and native low- and high predation populations. Our results are therefore only partially consistent with the traditional role of female preference in the absence of predators, and suggest that additional factors could influence colour patterns when populations are removed from their native environments. Future research on the interaction between female preference and environmental variability (e.g. multifarious selection), could help understand adaptive variation in this widely-introduced species, and the contexts under which variation in adaptive traits parallels (or not) variation in the native range.
Food Safety Challenges towards Safe, Healthy, and Nutritious Street Foods in Bangladesh

The street foods play an important socioeconomic role in meeting food and nutritional requirements of city consumers at affordable prices to the lower and middle income people. The number of food poisoning notifications rose steadily worldwide since the inception of E. coli O157:H7 outbreak in the 1980s to date. This may be partly attributed to improved surveillance, increased global trade and travel, changes in modern food production, the impact of modern lifestyles, changes in food consumption, and the emergence of new pathogens. Consumer's knowledge and attitude may influence food safety behavior and practice. For the sake of public health, it is important to understand the epidemiology of foodborne illnesses that help in prevention and control efforts, appropriately allocating resources to control foodborne illness, monitoring and evaluation of food safety measures, development of new food safety standards, and assessment of the cost-effectiveness of interventions. This review paper described the sociodemographic characteristics, common hazards, and occupational hazards of street food vendors, microbial risk associated with street food, food safety interventions and control measures, regulatory aspects and legal requirements, financial constraints, and attitudes.
Secret Key-Based Identification and Authentication With a Privacy Constraint

We consider the problem of identification and authentication based on secret key generation from some usergenerated source data (e.g., a biometric source). The goal is to reliably identify users pre-enrolled in a database as well as authenticate them based on the estimated secret key while preserving the privacy of the enrolled data and of the generated keys. We characterize the optimal tradeoff region of the identification rate, compression rate of the users' source data, information leakage rate, and secret key rate. In particular, we provide a coding strategy based on layered random binning which is shown to be optimal. In addition, we study a related secure identification/authentication problem where an adversary tries to deceive the system using its own data. Here, the optimal tradeoff of the identification rate, compression rate, leakage rate, and exponent of the maximum false acceptance probability is provided. The results reveal a close connection between the optimal secret key rate and the false acceptance exponent of the identification/authentication system.
The structure of education and its influence on occupational mobility: a comparative study between the United States and Germany

Mobility research analyzes the influence of social background on educational and occupational attainment. It is generally agreed that occupational mobility is conditional on educational attainment and social background. The research here presented reanalyzes this relationship with special interest to educational attainment. The analysis is conducted using RC-association, models which have not been used in the research of social mobility at all. After a short introduction to the topic, the educational systems of Germany and the United States are presented indicating the formal structure of the institutions, years of schooling possible, and credentials. Second, a theoretical framework is developed using features of human capital theory, status attainment theory, dual labor market theory, and Weber's theory of social closure. Third, findings of the statistical analysis are presented separately for each country and then in comparative perspective. Fourth, the final part of the paper discusses high school tracking as an informal process to restrict access to higher education. Two distinct patterns between father's occupation and respondent's occupation have emerged from the data. These patterns are similar for both countries, indicating that similar underlying processes take place. Social closure as indicated by levels of selfrecruitment are relatively strong in both countries, while processes of social mobility are weaker in the United States. Overall, mobility rates are slightly higher for Germany than the United States.
The NGC 672 and 784 galaxy groups: evidence for galaxy formation and growth along a nearby dark matter filament

We present U, B, V, R, I, Hα and NUV photometry of 14 galaxies in the very local Universe (within 10 Mpc). Most objects are dwarf irregular galaxies (dIrr) and are probably associated with the NGC 672/IC 1727 and NGC 784 galaxy groups. The galaxies are at low redshift (51 ≤ v⊙≤ 610 km s−1) and most appear projected on the sky as a 6° long linear filament. We show that the galaxy positions along this filament correlate with their radial velocity, hinting to an interpretation as a single kinematic entity. Our CCD photometry indicates that all objects qualify as ‘dwarf galaxies’ with MB≥−18 mag. We examine the star formation (SF) properties of individual objects in the context of their immediate environment. The current SF rate (SFR) is derived directly from the Hα line flux. An approximate SF history is derived by comparing the multiband photometry with results of galaxy evolution models from Bruzual & Charlot (2003a,b), assuming short SF bursts separated by long quiescence periods. Relations between the current SFR and the H i mass or the absolute B magnitude for the galaxies in these groups indicate that these objects behave like normal galaxies. A comparison of the photometric measurements with evolutionary synthesis model predictions indicates that most objects can be understood as containing at least one ‘old’ stellar population (≥1–10 Gyr) and one ‘young’ population (≤30 Myr). For both groups, the recent SF bursts appear to have occurred at similar times, a few to a few tens of Myr ago, arguing for synchronicity in SF in these objects. In an attempt to evaluate the possible role of galaxy–galaxy interaction, we investigate the trend of the SFR with an object's projected distance from the brightest and most massive galaxies of each group. We do not find a steadily decreasing SF as function of this distance; such a result could be expected if the SF would have been triggered by interactions. We propose that one possible explanation of the nearly synchronous SF in all objects is accretion of cold gas from intergalactic space on to dark matter haloes arranged along a filament threading the void where these dwarf galaxies reside. We point out this galaxy sample as an ideal target to study hierarchical clustering and galaxy formation among very nearby objects.