Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Oxytocin-gaze positive loop and the coevolution of human-dog bonds

Gaze into my eyes Humans bond emotionally as we gaze into each other's eyes—a process mediated by the hormone oxytocin. Nagasawa et al. show that such gaze-mediated bonding also exists between us and our closest animal companions, dogs (see the Perspective by MacLean and Hare). They found that mutual gazing increased oxytocin levels, and sniffing oxytocin increased gazing in dogs, an effect that transferred to their owners. Wolves, who rarely engage in eye contact with their human handlers, seem resistant to this effect. Science, this issue p. 333; see also p. 280 The human-dog bond is facilitated by the interaction of oxytocin feedback loops that emerged over the course of domestication. [Also see Perspective by MacLean and Hare] Human-like modes of communication, including mutual gaze, in dogs may have been acquired during domestication with humans. We show that gazing behavior from dogs, but not wolves, increased urinary oxytocin concentrations in owners, which consequently facilitated owners’ affiliation and increased oxytocin concentration in dogs. Further, nasally administered oxytocin increased gazing behavior in dogs, which in turn increased urinary oxytocin concentrations in owners. These findings support the existence of an interspecies oxytocin-mediated positive loop facilitated and modulated by gazing, which may have supported the coevolution of human-dog bonding by engaging common modes of communicating social attachment.
Effect of Ag, In and AgIn Alloying Additions on Microstructure and Texture of Mg-3Al-1Zn Alloy during Multi-Pass Warm Rolling

In the present investigation the rolling response, microstructure and texture evolution of four Mg alloys during multi-pass warm rolling were evaluated. The nominal composition of the base alloy (alloy-1) was Mg-3Al-1Zn. The alloy-2, 3 and 4 were developed by separate additions of non-rare earth elements Ag and In, and a master alloy 85Ag15In (wt.%) to make target compositions Mg-3Al-1Zn-0.5x, (x = Ag ,In, AgIn). Samples from all four alloys were subjected to multi-pass warm rolling at 300 °C to accumulative reductions of 50, 75 and 90% with 8 minutes inter-pass annealing. For all four alloys, crack free sheets of less than 1 mm thickness were produced successfully with true strain corresponding to 90% reduction. The as-cast microstructures revealed second phase particles at grain boundaries and grains interiors for all alloys. A slight scatter in the size of the deformed grains was observed for alloy-1, 2 and 3 after rolling reductions of 50, 75 and 90%. However, a sustained decrease in grain size with increasing the rolling reductions was only observed in alloy-4, despite inter-pass annealing. XRD macro-texture results of alloy-2 and 3 presented very strong basal texture showing almost concentric contours around normal direction (ND). Such strong sheet texture is attributed to a preferential alignment of basal planes parallel to the sheet surface. On the other hand alloy-1 and alloy-4 revealed a weaker texture with basal poles spread more towards transverse direction (TD) as compared to rolling direction (RD) and may be due to the activation of some non-basal slip and twinning in addition to basal slip under the same processing parameters.
Deadlock Control Software for Tow Automated Guided Vehicles using Petri Nets

Factoring and warehouse distribution centers face numerous and interrelated challenges in their e orts to move products and materials through their facilities. New technologies in navigation and guidance allow true autonomy with more exibility and resource e ciency. In this paper we investigate a complete design approach to obtain deadlock-free minimal adaptive routing algorithms for these systems. The approach is based in an abstract view of the system as a Resource Allocation System. The interconnection network and the routing algorithm elaborated by the designer, are the initial information used to obtain in an automatic way a Petri Net model. For this kind of routing algorithms, we prove that the obtained Petri Net belongs to the well-known class of SPR net systems, and therefore the rich set of analysis and synthesis results can be applied to enforce the liveness property of the routing algorithm.
Herpesvirus Assembly and Egress

Herpesvirus particles consist of four morphologically distinct structures, the core, capsid, tegument, and envelope. The inner nucleoprotein core comprising the linear double-stranded DNA genome is included in an icosahedral (T=16) capsid shell of 150 hexons and 12 pentons. The capsid is surrounded by a layer of proteinaceous material designated the tegument which, in turn, is enclosed in an envelope of host cell-derived lipids containing virus-encoded (glyco)proteins. Whereas capsid formation in the nuclei of infected cells is understood in some detail, the mechanisms of tegumentation and envelopment and the intracellular compartments involved have long been disputed. This review focuses on recent findings that demonstrate a rather complex process of herpesvirus maturation including primary envelopment of capsids by budding at the inner leaflet of the nuclear membrane and translocation of capsids into the cytoplasm after loss of the primary envelope by fusion with the outer leaflet of the nuclear membrane. Subsequently, final tegumentation occurs in the cytoplasm and tegumented capsids obtain their final envelope by budding into vesicles of the trans-Golgi network. Tegumentation and envelopment are driven by specific protein-protein interactions that appear, at least in cultured cells, to exhibit a remarkable redundancy.
The Maximum Error Probability Criterion, Random Encoder, and Feedback, in Multiple Input Channels

For a multiple input channel, one may define different capacity regions, according to the criterions of error, types of codes, and presence of feedback. In this paper, we aim to draw a complete picture of relations among these different capacity regions. To this end, we first prove that the average-error-probability capacity region of a multiple input channel can be achieved by a random code under the criterion of maximum error probability. Moreover, we show that for a non-deterministic multiple input channel with feedback, the capacity regions are the same under two different error criterions. In addition, we discuss two special classes of channels to shed light on the relation of different capacity regions. In particular, to illustrate the roles of feedback, we provide a class of MAC, for which feedback may enlarge maximum-error-probability capacity regions, but not average-error-capacity regions. Besides, we present a class of MAC, as an example for which the maximum-error-probability capacity regions are strictly smaller than the average-error-probability capacity regions (first example showing this was due to G. Dueck). Differently from G. Dueck’s enlightening example in which a deterministic MAC was considered, our example includes and further generalizes G. Dueck’s example by taking both deterministic and non-deterministic MACs into account. Finally, we extend our results for a discrete memoryless two-input channel, to compound, arbitrarily varying MAC, and MAC with more than two inputs.
A 9.4-ENOB 1V 3.8μW 100kS/s SAR ADC with Time-Domain Comparator

The ADC-SAR is fabricated in a 0.18mum 2P5M CMOS process. This SAR-ADC converter achieves 56fJ/conversion-step FOM with 58dB SNDR. It uses a comparator, named time-domain comparator, that instead of operating in the voltage domain, transforms the input and the reference voltages into pulses and compares their duration.
High Blood Pressure in Acute Ischaemic Stroke – Broadening Therapeutic Horizons

High blood pressure (BP) is present in 80% of patients with acute ischaemic stroke and is independently associated with poor outcome. Although this epidemiology suggests that BP should be lowered acutely, concerns about dysfunctional cerebral autoregulation suggest otherwise. Several small randomised trials have assessed cerebral blood flow with various antihypertensive classes and agents in acute ischaemic stroke. Overall, these studies showed no change in cerebral perfusion, although the numbers of studies and patients are limited and there are methodological problems with some trials. There are no large published randomised trials assessing outcome with BP lowering in acute stroke. Calcium channel blockers did not alter outcome after ischaemic stroke (29 trials, 7,665 patients). However, some trials, especially those testing intravenous calcium channel blockers (INWEST) or oral β-receptor antagonists (BEST) reported real or potential hazard. In contrast, oral candesartan reduced combined vascular events in 339 patients with ischaemic stroke (ACCESS) although it had no effect on disability. The CHHIPS trial found that death was reduced in patients randomised to active treatment (labetalol, lisinopril) as compared with placebo. Two larger trials reported that glucose-potassium-insulin therapy (GIST) or magnesium (IMAGES) lowered BP but had no effect on functional outcome. The INTERACT pilot trial studied patients with intracerebral haemorrhage and found that an intensive BP-lowering regime non-significantly reduced haematoma expansion. There are four large ongoing trials examining whether to continue or stop pre-stroke antihypertensive therapy (COSSACS, ENOS) or lower BP in acute stroke (ENOS, SCAST) or haemorrhage (INTERACT 2).
An R package for monitoring test under density ratio model and its applications

Quantiles and their functions are important population characteristics in many applications. In forestry, lower quantiles of the modulus of rapture and other mechanical properties of the wood products are important quality indices. It is important to ensure that the wood products in the market over the years meet the established industrial standards. Two well-known risk measures in finance and hydrology, value at risk (VaR) and median shortfall (MS), are quantiles of their corresponding marginal distributions. Developing effective statistical inference methods and tools on quantiles of interest is an important task in both theory and applications. When samples from multiple similar natured populations are available, Chen et al. [2016] proposed to use a density ratio model (DRM) to characterize potential latent structures in these populations. The DRM enables us to fully utilized the information contained in the data from connected populations. They further proposed a composite empirical likelihood (CEL) to avoid a parametric model assumption that is subject to model-mis-specification risk and to accommodate clustered data structure. A cluster-based bootstrap procedure was also investigated for variance estimation, construction of confidence interval and test of various hypotheses. This thesis contains complementary developments to Chen et al. [2016]. First, a user-friendly R package is developed to make their methods easy-to-use for practitioners. We also include some diagnostic tools to allow users to investigate the goodness of the fit of the density ratio model. Second, we use simulation to compare the performance DRM-CEL-based test and the famous Wilcoxin rank test for clustered data. Third, we study the performance of DRM-CEL-based inference when the data set contains observations with different cluster sizes. The simulation results show that DRM-CEL method works well in common situations.
Neglected tropical diseases

• They afflict the poorest people – those without access to the safe water, sanitation, and basic health services required in order to protect themselves against infection by bacteria, viruses and other pathogens. High-income groups are rarely affected. • Many are chronic, slowly developing conditions that become progressively worse if undetected and untreated. The damage they cause can be irreversible. • They can cause severe pain and life-long disabilities, with long-term consequences for the person and also for family members who have to care for the person. • People with NTDs are often stigmatised and excluded from society, and this can affect their mental health. The individual diseases are very different, and one person can be affected by more than one disease at the same time. The infectious agents responsible include:
Symmetric Model of Remote Collaborative MR Using Tangible Replicas

Research into collaborative mixed reality (MR) or augmented reality has recently been active. Previous studies showed that MR was preferred for collocated collaboration while immersive virtual reality was preferred for remote collaboration. The main reason for this preference is that the physical object in remote space cannot be handled directly. However, MR using tangible objects is still attractive for remote collaborative systems, because MR enables seamless interaction with real objects enhanced by virtual information with the sense of touch. Here we introduce "tangible replicas"(dual objects that have the same shape, size, and surface), and propose a symmetrical model for remote collaborative MR. The result of experiments shows that pointing and drawing functions on the tangible replica work well despite limited shared information.
Oxidation behavior of carbon steel in simulated kerosene combustion atmosphere: A valuable tool for fire investigations

Fire investigations aim to establish the origin and cause of fires by collecting and analyzing the comprehensive fire‐related evidences. Metallic materials exposed to the fire scene environments are usually subjected to melting and/or high‐temperature oxidation, and they have been considered vital parameters for temperature determination, as recommended in NFPA 921. The oxide characteristics obtained from the conventional fire investigations primarily rely on simple visual observations such as the variations in oxide color, the so‐called “oxidation patterns. ” However, such information is not sufficiently convincing due to the complex nature of oxides formed in the fire scene. The oxide color is strongly affected by the type of oxide, the oxide thickness, the concentration of contaminant, and the interactions among different oxides. In this study, Q235 structural steel samples have been exposed to high‐temperature air and simulated kerosene combustion conditions at certain temperatures and for indicated periods. The oxidation rate was examined by thermogravimetric analysis. The morphologies and microstructures of the oxide scales were investigated by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, and X‐ray diffractions. The results show that the oxide properties are strongly dependent on the oxidation temperature and oxidation atmospheres. These oxidation behaviors are expected to provide useful information on identifying fire characteristics.
CCI-779 plus Cisplatin Is Highly Effective against Human Melanoma in a SCID Mouse Xenotranplantation Model

Background: This study set out to investigate the antitumor effects of a treatment strategy combining the mTOR inhibitor CCI-779 with cisplatin in vitro and in a human melanoma SCID mouse model. Methods: In vitro 518A2, Mel-JUSO or 607B cell lines were incubated with CCI-779, cisplatin and CCI-779 plus cisplatin. Based on these results, a 4-group, parallel, controlled experimental study design was initiated in vivo. SCID mice were injected with melanoma cells, and after the development of tumors the mice received daily injections of CCI-779 or solvent. On treatment days 2 and 6 cisplatin or mock solution were administered. Results: In vitro a synergistic antitumor effect was observed for the treatment regimen of CCI-779 plus cisplatin. In SCID mice after 2 weeks of therapy with CCI-779 plus cisplatin 4 of 6 tumors of the 518A2 cell line were completely eradicated. In the two remaining 518A2 xenografts this treatment strategy reduced the tumor weight by 94 ± 9% compared to solvent. CCI-779 plus cisplatin also exerted a significant antitumor effect in Mel-JUSO and 607B xenografts compared to mock-treated animals. Conclusion: We provide circumstantial evidence that the use of CCI-779 plus cisplatin might qualify as a promising strategy in the treatment of human melanoma.
Longitudinal Cognitive Trajectories of Women Veterans from the Women's Health Initiative Memory Study.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY A comparison of longitudinal global cognitive functioning in women Veteran and non-Veteran participants in the Women's Health Initiative (WHI). DESIGN AND METHODS We studied 7,330 women aged 65-79 at baseline who participated in the WHI Hormone Therapy Trial and its ancillary Memory Study (WHIMS). Global cognitive functioning (Modified Mini-Mental State Examination [3MSE]) in Veterans (n = 279) and non-Veterans (n = 7,051) was compared at baseline and annually for 8 years using generalized linear modeling methods. RESULTS Compared with non-Veterans, Veteran women were older, more likely to be Caucasian, unmarried, and had higher rates of educational and occupational attainment. Results of unadjusted baseline analyses suggest 3MSE scores were similar between groups. Longitudinal analyses, adjusted for age, education, ethnicity, and WHI trial assignment revealed differences in the rate of cognitive decline between groups over time, such that scores decreased more in Veterans relative to non-Veterans. This relative difference was more pronounced among Veterans who were older, had higher educational/occupational attainment and greater baseline prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors (e.g., smoking) and cardiovascular disease (e.g., angina, stroke). IMPLICATIONS Veteran status was associated with higher prevalence of protective factors that may have helped initially preserve cognitive functioning. However, findings ultimately revealed more pronounced cognitive decline among Veteran relative to non-Veteran participants, likely suggesting the presence of risks that may impact neuropathology and the effects of which were initially masked by Veterans' greater cognitive reserve.
Generalized lucky-drift model for impact ionization in semiconductors with disorder

An extension of an original lucky-drift model to the case of disordered semiconductors is proposed, motivated by experimental observations of an avalanche phenomenon in amorphous semiconductors. The generalization encompasses two scattering mechanisms: an inelastic one due to optical phonons and an elastic one due to a disorder potential. An obtained analytical solution is verified by a kinetic Monte Carlo simulation. Eventually, experimental data on a field dependence of the impact ionization coefficient in amorphous selenium are interpreted using reasonable material parameters.
Hybrid dynamic modeling and control of constrained manipulation systems

Discrete event systems are presented as a powerful framework for a large number of robot control tasks. This paper presents a general description of the discrete event modeling and control synthesis for robot manipulation. Additionally, methods for the effective monitoring of the process based on the detection and identification of discrete events are given. The effectiveness and versatility of the approach are demonstrated through a wide variety of experiments. Applications are demonstrated in assembly, online training of robots, advanced perception capabilities, human-robot shared control and the understanding of human manipulation skills.
Generalized and Extended Product Codes

Generalized Product (GPC) Codes, an unification of Product Codes and Integrated Interleaved (II) Codes, are presented. Applications for approaches requiring local and global parities are described. The more general problem of extending product codes by adding global parities is studied and an upper bound on the minimum distance of such codes is obtained. Codes with one, two and three global parities whose minimum distances meet the bound are presented. Tradeoffs between optimality and field size are discussed.
The protective effect of late preconditioning against myocardial stunning in conscious rabbits is mediated by nitric oxide synthase. Evidence that nitric oxide acts both as a trigger and as a mediator of the late phase of ischemic preconditioning.

Seventy-four conscious rabbits undergoing a sequence of six 4-minute coronary occlusion/4-minute reperfusion cycles for 3 consecutive days (days 1, 2, and 3) were assigned to nine groups. In group I (controls, n = 8), the recovery of systolic wall thickening (WTh) after the sixth reperfusion was markedly improved on days 2 and 3 compared with day 1, indicating late preconditioning (PC) against myocardial stunning; the total deficit of WTh after the sixth reperfusion was reduced by 56% on day 2 and 50% on day 3 compared with day 1 (P < .01). Administration on day 2 of the nonselective NO synthase (NOS) inhibitor N omega-nitro-L-arginine (L-NA) (group II, n = 8) or of the selective inducible NOS inhibitors aminoguanidine (AG) (group IV, n = 8) and S-methylisothiourea sulfate (SMT) (group VI, n = 6) completely abrogated late PC against stunning on day 2. On day 3, the expected PC effect became manifest in all groups. Administration of L-NA, AG, or SMT on day 1 (groups III [n = 7], V [n = 6], and VII [n = 5], respectively) had no discernible effect on the deficit of WTh on day 1, indicating that these agents do not augment the severity of myocardial stunning in nonpreconditioned myocardium. In group VIII (n = 7), the abrogation of late PC by SMT on day 2 was completely reversed by the concomitant administration of L-arginine (595 mg/kg IV), indicating that it was not due to nonspecific NOS-unrelated actions. Administration of L-arginine alone on day 2 (group IX [n = 5]) had no effect on the deficit of WTh. Furthermore, administration of L-NA on day 1 (group III) prevented the appearance of the PC effect on day 2, whereas AG (group V) and SMT (group VI) did not, suggesting that the development of late PC on day 1 is triggered by the endothelial (type III) isoform of NOS. This study demonstrates that three structurally different NOS inhibitors (L-NA, AG, and SMT), given 24 hours after the PC ischemia, consistently abrogate late PC against myocardial stunning in conscious rabbits, indicating that this cardioprotective effect is mediated by the activity of NOS. The results obtained with AG and SMT specifically implicate the inducible (type II) isoform as the mediator of the protection on day 2. Previous studies have shown that NO triggers the development of late PC. The present results indicate that NO plays a dual role in late PC against stunning, acting initially as the trigger and subsequently as the mediator of the protection.
Intestinal Stem Cell Niche: The Extracellular Matrix and Cellular Components

The intestinal epithelium comprises a monolayer of polarised columnar cells organised along the crypt-villus axis. Intestinal stem cells reside at the base of crypts and are constantly nourished by their surrounding niche for maintenance, self-renewal, and differentiation. The cellular microenvironment including the adjacent Paneth cells, stromal cells, smooth muscle cells, and neural cells as well as the extracellular matrix together constitute the intestinal stem cell niche. A dynamic regulatory network exists among the epithelium, stromal cells, and the matrix via complex signal transduction to maintain tissue homeostasis. Dysregulation of these biological or mechanical signals could potentially lead to intestinal injury and disease. In this review, we discuss the role of different intestinal stem cell niche components and dissect the interaction between dynamic matrix factors and regulatory signalling during intestinal stem cell homeostasis.