Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Advancing squarewave voltammetry at PEDOT/fCNT carbon fiber microelectrodes for in vivo basal dopamine detection

Dopamine is a central nervous system neurotransmitter responsible for vital human functions which operates via two signalling modes. Phasic signalling comprises subsecond fluctuations in extracellular DA, whereas tonic signalling comprises minute to hour fluctuations. Both signalling modes are critical to study for full characterization of a given in vivo DA system, but currently available methods for sampling tonic signalling possess signifcant limitations, including limited spatial resolution and extensive damage upon implantation among others. In order to provide an alternative electrochemical detection technique for the quantifcation of tonic in vivo DA signalling, squarewave voltammetry (SWV) has been developed at carbon fiber electrodes (CFEs), but has suffered issues of low DA sensitivity and extensive signal interferences from electrochemically active analytes such as ascorbic acid (AA). Thus, a surface coating of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) with carboxy-functionalized carbon nanotubes (PEDOT/fCNT) has been developed for implementation on CFE substrates to increase DA sensitivity. Persistent issues preventing reliable in vivo application of this technology include extensive AA interference and significant discrepancies between conditions of the in vitro calibration environment and in vivo recording environment. The latter issue generalizes to all electrochemical sensing techniques. It was hypothesized that PEDOT/fCNT coatings and the introduction of 0 V static potential periods prior to SWV application may be implemented as strategies to mitigate AA interference. Furthermore, agarose gels and bovine serum albumin surface adsorption were explored as potential mechanisms through which in vitro conditions may more closely approximate the in vivo for more reliable calibrations and data interpretation. PEDOT/fCNT was found to significantly increase AA sensitivity, de- crease relative DA to AA peak amplitude, and increase the redox profile separation between AA and DA in the SWV dI trace. 0 V static potential application demonstrated ability to significantly reduce AA peak amplitude while simultaneously increasing DA peak amplitude without exhibiting significant effects on sensitivity. Finally, agarose gel and protein adsorption strategies were unsuccessful in replicating in vivo conditions in vitro, but point to future methods by which this goal may be achieved. This work represents a major step forward in realizing a powerful basal DA sensing tool for the neurosciences and bioengineering.
Neurobiological correlates of impulsivity in healthy adults : Lower prefrontal gray matter volume and spontaneous eyeblink rate but greater resting-state functional connectivity in

Studies consistently implicate aberrance of the brain's reward-processing and decision-making networks in disorders featuring high levels of impulsivity, such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, substance use disorder, and psychopathy. However, less is known about the neurobiological determinants of individual differences in impulsivity in the general population. In this study of 105 healthy adults, we examined relationships between impulsivity and three neurobiological metrics – gray matter volume, resting-state functional connectivity, and spontaneous eye-blink rate, a physiological indicator of central dopaminergic activity. Impulsivity was measured both by performance on a task of behavioral inhibition (go/no-go task) and by self-ratings of attentional, motor, and non-planning impulsivity using the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS11). Overall, we found that less gray matter in medial orbitofrontal cortex and paracingulate gyrus, greater resting-state functional connectivity between nodes of the basal ganglia-thalamo-cortical network, and lower spontaneous eye-blink rate were associated with greater impulsivity. Specifically, less prefrontal gray matter was associated with higher BIS-11 motor and non-planning impulsivity scores, but was not related to task performance; greater correlated resting-state functional connectivity between the basal ganglia and thalamus, motor cortices, and prefrontal cortex was associated with worse no-go trial accuracy on the task and with higher BIS-11 motor impulsivity scores; lower spontaneous eye-blink rate was associated with worse no-go trial accuracy and with higher BIS-11 motor impulsivity scores. These data provide evidence that individual differences in impulsivity in the general population are related to variability in multiple neurobiological metrics in the brain's reward-processing and decision-making networks.
Mobile Device Profiling and Intrusion Detection Using Smart Batteries

This paper introduces capabilities developed for a battery-sensing intrusion protection system (B-SIPS) for mobile computers, which alerts when abnormal current changes are detected. The intrusion detection system's (IDS's) IEEE 802.15. 1 (Bluetooth) and 802.11 (Wi-Fi) capabilities are enhanced with iterative safe process checking, wireless connection determination, and an automated intrusion protection disconnect ability. The correlation intrusion detection engine (CIDE) provides power profiling for mobile devices and a correlated view of B-SIPS and snort alerts. An examination of smart battery drain times was conducted to ascertain the optimal transmission rate for the B-SIPS client. A 10 second reporting rate was used to assess 9 device types, which were then compared with their corresponding baseline battery lifetime. Lastly, an extensive usability study was conducted to improve the B-SIPS client and CIDE features. The 31 expert participants provided feedback and data useful for validating the system's viability as a complementary IDS for mobile devices.
Dropout Prevention Initiatives for Malaysian Indigenous Orang Asli Children.

This paper discusses dropout prevention initiatives by the Malaysian government for the disadvantaged indigenous Orang Asli people in the rural villages of Peninsular Malaysia. The roles of the Ministry of Education (MOE) as well as the Institutes of Teacher Education (ITEs) are highlighted pertaining to efforts at improving the quality of education for elementary school Orang Asli children. The out-reach programs and in-service courses for teachers in Orang Asli Schools are highlighted. Challenges faced in the implementation of these initiatives are also discussed.
2 A SHORT HISTORY OF THE NEUROPSYCHOLOGY OF DECISION MAKING

Many disorders of the central nervous system affect judgment and decision making. Along with other impairments of “executive function,” these symptoms have been challenging to understand within a classical neurological-localizationist framework, beyond a general link to the frontal lobes. Notwithstanding these difficulties, the fact that decision making deficits can emerge in neurological diseases provides a starting point for determining the neural circuits that underlie them. This method of enquiry has several advantages: from a clinical perspective, a better understanding of brain-behavior relationships can help in the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of disordered decision making. From a basic science perspective, this approach provides the capacity to test two main questions. The first concerns the behaviors themselves and the second the brain substrates of those behaviors.
The proximal experience of awe

Research on awe has grown exponentially in recent decades; however, few studies have considered whether awe-inspiring experiences also inspire other emotions. In two studies, we explored whether interventions targeting awe also evoke other discrete emotions. Additionally, we considered two constructs that may be associated with increases in each emotion—self-relevant thoughts and connectedness. In Study 1, we manipulated awe in virtual reality and examined the potential effects of a prototypical awe experience—a spacewalk accompanied by an audio clip of Carl Sagan’s Pale Blue Dot. In Study 2, we manipulated awe with a video depicting scenes of Earth from outer space paired with the same audio clip. Across both studies, a prototypical awe experience was associated not only with awe, but with compassion, gratitude, love, and optimism, along with connectedness and self-relevant thoughts. Furthermore, we found that increases in self-relevant thoughts and connectedness in response to the awe induction predicted increases in each emotion evoked and vice-versa. These findings suggest that experiences that are commonly considered awe-inspiring—such as viewing a picturesque landscape—may be more appropriately conceptualized more broadly as self-transcendent. More work is needed to determine whether the documented benefits of awe may be more appropriately interpreted as the benefits of self-transcendent emotions.
Effects of Direct and Indirect Questions On The Ocular-Motor Deception Test

To discriminate between truthful and deceptive individuals, the ocular-motor deception test (ODT) makes within-subject comparisons of recorded physiological and behavioral response time. In two mock crime experiments, we tested for effects of factors that might improve the efficiency and accuracy of the ODT. In each experiment, half of the participants were guilty of stealing $20 from a secretary’s wallet and the other half were innocent. Experiment 1 compared the accuracy of an ODT that directly asks if a person committed illicit acts with accuracy of an ODT that indirectly asks if the person provided false answers on a questionnaire about those illicit acts. Experiment 2 manipulated item presentation, feedback during the practice ODT, and inter-question intervals. In one presentation format, items were sequenced such that no two items of the same type appeared in succession (distributed). In the other condition, items of the same type were presented in succession (blocked). In Experiment 1, accuracy of classifications as guilty or innocent by logistic regression were significantly higher for participants asked directly about their involvement in the crimes (83%) than for participants asked if they falsified their answers on the pre-test questionnaire (60%). In Experiment 2, 86% and 83% of participants in the distributed and blocked conditions were correctly classified, respectively. Feedback during practice and differences in interval-event intervals had no discernible effects on ocular-motor measures. The results suggest that the ODT should stimulate the individual emotionally with direct questions about illicit behaviors, and cognitively or attentionally with unpredictable transitions between question types.
[Group psychoeducation in bipolar mood disorders - the influence on the cognitive representation of the illness. The results of the program "Taming the bipolar affective disorder"].

OBJECTIVES To assess the influence of group psychoeducation in bipolar disorder on selected aspects of cognitive representation of illness. METHODS 51 patients with bipolar diagnosis were included in the study, and 24 were included in the final statistical analysis. The participants took part in 8 meetings of group psychoeducation. The assessment of selected aspects of cognitive representation of illness, i.e. acceptance of illness, health locus of control, generalized self-efficiency, hope for success, therapeutic compliance, beliefs about bipolar disorder was conducted with validated questionnaires before, after, and 18 months after receiving psychoeducation to register possible changes. RESULTS Statistically significant increase in acceptance of illness, perceived self-efficiency, hope for success, therapeutic compliance, and positive modification of beliefs about bipolar disorder were detected. The observed change occurred right after the intervention, but it was not sustained during the follow-up. CONCLUSIONS Psychoeducation may exert a positive influence on virtually important cognitive variables, which seem to be clinically important. This influence may disappear with time, thus the interventions should either be repeated or the duration of intervention should be prolonged. The study shows new possible research directions in the field of searching for the mechanism of action of psychoeducation in bipolar disorder, as well as of its active components.
Auditory attention decoding with EEG recordings using noisy acoustic reference signals

To decode auditory attention from electroencephalography (EEG) recordings in a cocktail-party scenario with two competing speakers a least-squares method has recently been proposed, showing a promising decoding accuracy. This method however requires the clean speech signals of both the attended and the unattended speaker to be available as reference signals, which is difficult to achieve from the noisy recorded microphone signals in practice. In addition, optimizing the parameters involved in the spatio-temporal filter design is of crucial importance in order to reach the largest possible decoding performance. In this paper, the influence of noisy acoustic reference signals and the spatio-temporal filter and regularization parameters on the decoding performance is investigated. The results show that to some extent the decoding performance is robust to noisy acoustic reference signals, depending on the noise type. Furthermore, we demonstrate the crucial influence of several parameters on the decoding performance, especially when the acoustic reference signals used for decoding have been corrupted by noise.
Effects of stocking density on growth performance , carcass yield , and immune status of a local chicken breed 1

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of stocking density on growth performance, carcass yield, and immune status of a local chicken breed. In total, 840 one-day-old male Suqin yellow chickens were placed into 4-m2 cages in groups of 50 (low), 70 (medium), or 90 (high) birds. Each treatment was represented by 4 replicates (cages). The cages measured 2.84 × 1.42 m; half of the area of the cage (2 m2) was used from 1 to 28 d and the whole cage was used from 29 to 42 d. Stocking densities were 25, 35, and 45 birds/ m2 from 1 to 28 d and 12.5, 17.5, and 22.5 birds/m2 from 29 to 42 d (low, medium, and high, respectively). Final production (live bird mass after fasting) per unit area was 14.46, 19.46, and 24.23 kg/m2, respectively, at 42 d of age. Several immune parameters were evaluated, and the growth performance, carcass yield, and meat quality were determined. Body weight at 28 and 42 d of age was significantly reduced as the stocking density increased (P < 0.05). A depression in daily weight gain was noticed from 1 to 28 d and 1 to 42 d of age, and daily feed intake decreased significantly in each period as density increased (P < 0.05). The feed/gain from 29 to 42 d and from 1 to 42 d of age decreased as density increased (P < 0.05). At 42 d, there was no effect of the stocking density on carcass, eviscerated carcass, breast, and abdominal fat yields (P > 0.05). The thigh yield of chickens in the medium-density group improved significantly (P < 0.05) compared with those of the other 2 groups. The water-loss rate, shear force, and meat color of the muscle were unaffected (P > 0.05) by the stocking density, but pH values increased slightly as density increased. No significant difference was noted in the immunological parameters, but the blood total protein and potassium were significantly affected by stocking density (P < 0.05). The findings of this study suggest that increasing the stocking density advantageously affected feed/gain and decreased the final BW, whereas no evidence was found that stocking density caused changes in any of the measured immune parameters.
SURFACE DENSIFIED P/M TRANSMISSION GEAR

Progress in development of a surface densified P/M transmission gear is reviewed. The gear is the fifth gear of a manual transmission for a medium sized passenger car. Blanks were produced by hobbing of pressed and sintered slugs. Densification of both the root and the flanks of the P/M gear was achieved using gear rolling technique. The rolled gears were case hardened. At present the development stage, the quality of such the gear is close to AGMA class 10, which is considered to be the required level for automotive manual gearboxes. The surface roughness is better than for the shaved reference gear. The hardness profile in the flank region matches the hardness profile of the wrought reference gear; and finally, the desired density distribution was reached. INTRODUCTION Power transmission gears are traditionally manufactured from wrought bar stock or from forged billets by cutting followed by heat treatment. However, in recent years P/M processes have been refined to a level that matches the performance of case hardened steel [see e.g. 1-3]. For high quality gears, e.g. high-speed automotive gears, the rough cutting is followed by a fine finishing in order to improve the quality, see Figure 1. After the heat treatment, the bore and sides of the gear can be ground in order to further enhance the quality. In some cases shot peening of the gear flank and root is performed in order to improve the fatigue resistance. The steels used for these components are usually, relatively low-alloy, low carbon steels, such as AISI 5120, with totally 2% alloying elements and 0,2wt. % carbon. These steels are well suited for case hardening where the surface region is carburized to typically 0,8 wt. % carbon. The result is a component with a high strength in the surface layer that is further increased by the presence of residual compressive stresses generated by the phase transformations during the case hardening. In many cases is the performance of these gears more than what is required; this can be true for both tooth root bending fatigue and for the tooth flank endurance limit. Although this opens an opportunity for P/M technology, there are very few automotive gear applications where a P/M steel with a density of 7,0 g/cm can meet the requirements. However, a gear is highly loaded in two places; the flank experiences a high contact load and the tooth root region high bending stresses. In general it can be said that for slowly rotating gears it is the bending stresses that are critical for the design and material selection. For fast rotating gears with smaller moments it is generally the contact stress and the degree of sliding that is critical for the gear pair. Both these loads are confined to a shallow layer at and below the surface of the component. This means that it could be sufficient to increase the density in this layer in order to reach the fatigue performance of solid steel [1-5].
Reconsideration of Optimal Carrier Sensing in Distributed Control Wireless Ad Hoc Networks

IEEE 802.11 wireless ad hoc network performance in DCF (dist ributed coordination function) mode is limited by hidden and exposed terminals problem. RTS/CTS (request-to-send/clear-to-send) based hand shake reduces the problem to some extent, but the network performa nce is a function of nodal carrier sense (CS) range and interference range. While a large CS range compared to the interference range can reduce the collision related throughput loss, it has a negative impact of increased expos d terminals. Via experimental studies it was recently demonstrated that , e effect of interference to a reception process differs depending on arrival order of the desired signal and interfering signal. In view of this frame arrival order dependent capture (ODC) capability of receivers, in this pa per we investigate the optimal choice of CS range and explore the possibility of maximizing the network performa nce. Via mathematical analysis, supported by extensive network simulations, we demonstrate the network performan ce benefit of ODC dependent optimal CS range. The distinctive characteristic of ODC diminishes at higher dat a r tes, and as a result the performance gain with optimal CS range reduces. Nevertheless, at low-to-moderately-hig h data rates, the performance gain is shown to be quite significant.
An inference procedure for order parameters utilizing confidence distribution random variables

Meta-analysis is a valuable tool for combining information from independent studies. However, most common meta-analysis techniques rely on distributional assumptions that are difficult, if not impossible, to verify. For instance, in the commonly used fixed-effects and random-effects models, we take for granted that the underlying study parameters are either exactly the same across individual studies or that they are samples from a single (often normal) distribution. In this paper, we present a new framework for summarizing information obtained from multiple studies and make inference that is not dependent on any distributional assumption for the study-level treatment effects. This development leads to an inference problem of constructing confidence intervals or hypothesis tests for order parameters of the treatment effects, including the extrema of parameters, (e.g., max{θ1, ., θK}). Such an inference problem is considered in the literature as one of “the existing problems where standard bootstrap estimators are not consistent and where alternative approaches also face significant challenges” (Hall and Miller, 2010). Based on recent developments on confidence distributions, we propose a new resampling method to deal with the inference problem for the extrema of the parameters and also, more generally, for any order parameters. This new resampling method can be viewed as an extension of the well-studied and widely-used bootstrap method, but it enjoys a more flexible interpretation and manipulation. We provide a large sample theoretical support for the proposed method. We also explore the theoretical performance of both the standard bootstrap and proposed method, especially in the presence of ties and near ties among the θi’s. We discuss tuning methods that provide good finite-sample performance, and show that our results compare favorably to comparable estimators, including the standard bootstrap. Finally, we illustrate our method with
LncRNAs: From Basic Research to Medical Application

This review aimed to summarize the current research contents about long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) and some related lncRNAs as molecular biomarkers or therapy strategies in human cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Following the development of various kinds of sequencing technologies, lncRNAs have become one of the most unknown areas that need to be explored. First, the definition and classification of lncRNAs were constantly amended and supplemented because of their complexity and diversity. Second, several methods and strategies have been developed to study the characteristic of lncRNAs, including new species identifications, subcellular localization, gain or loss of function, molecular interaction, and bioinformatics analysis. Third, based on the present results from basic researches, the working mechanisms of lncRNAs were proved to be different forms of interactions involving DNAs, RNAs, and proteins. Fourth, lncRNA can play different important roles during the embryogenesis and organ differentiations. Finally, because of the tissue-specific expression of lncRNAs, they could be used as biomarkers or therapy targets and effectively applied in different kinds of diseases, such as human cancer and cardiovascular diseases.