Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Control of Amygdala Circuits by 5-HT Neurons via 5-HT and Glutamate Cotransmission

The serotonin (5-HT) system and the amygdala are key regulators of emotional behavior. Several lines of evidence suggest that 5-HT transmission in the amygdala is implicated in the susceptibility and drug treatment of mood disorders. Therefore, elucidating the physiological mechanisms through which midbrain 5-HT neurons modulate amygdala circuits could be pivotal in understanding emotional regulation in health and disease. To shed light on these mechanisms, we performed patch-clamp recordings from basal amygdala (BA) neurons in brain slices from mice with channelrhodopsin genetically targeted to 5-HT neurons. Optical stimulation of 5-HT terminals at low frequencies (≤1 Hz) evoked a short-latency excitation of BA interneurons (INs) that was depressed at higher frequencies. Pharmacological analysis revealed that this effect was mediated by glutamate and not 5-HT because it was abolished by ionotropic glutamate receptor antagonists. Optical stimulation of 5-HT terminals at higher frequencies (10–20 Hz) evoked both slow excitation and slow inhibition of INs. These effects were mediated by 5-HT because they were blocked by antagonists of 5-HT2A and 5-HT1A receptors, respectively. These fast glutamate- and slow 5-HT-mediated responses often coexisted in the same neuron. Interestingly, fast-spiking and non-fast-spiking INs displayed differential modulation by glutamate and 5-HT. Furthermore, optical stimulation of 5-HT terminals did not evoke glutamate release onto BA principal neurons, but inhibited these cells directly via activation of 5-HT1A receptors and indirectly via enhanced GABA release. Collectively, these findings suggest that 5-HT neurons exert a frequency-dependent, cell-type-specific control over BA circuitry via 5-HT and glutamate co-release to inhibit the BA output. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The modulation of the amygdala by serotonin (5-HT) is important for emotional regulation and is implicated in the pathogenesis and treatment of affective disorders. Therefore, it is essential to determine the physiological mechanisms through which 5-HT neurons in the dorsal raphe nuclei modulate amygdala circuits. Here, we combined optogenetic, electrophysiological, and pharmacological approaches to study the effects of activation of 5-HT axons in the basal nucleus of the amygdala (BA). We found that 5-HT neurons co-release 5-HT and glutamate onto BA neurons in a cell-type-specific and frequency-dependent manner. Therefore, we suggest that theories on the contribution of 5-HT neurons to amygdala function should be revised to incorporate the concept of 5-HT/glutamate cotransmission.
Transforming Agrarian Economies: Opportunities Seized, Opportunities Missed

The poverty that afflicts rural economy, Kazushi Ohkawa once observed, can basically be ascribed to the existence of excess labor which remains within the economy. Development economics may be able to claim to have fulfilled one of its important tasks if it can properly pin down the solution to the problem of excess labor supply in agrarian economies. The view articulated in this book is that the problems of low productivity and low incomes in agrarian economies in developing countries result from a surplus of labor force in these economies, and it subscribes to a structural transformation paradigm, which asserts that such economies can only be improved through structural transformation. On the basis of this paradigm, the book describes scrupulously and perhaps very convincingly the development strategies necessary for instituting such a structural transformation. Two of the three authors, Kilby and Johnston, coauthored an earlier book, Agriculture and Structural Transformation: Economic Strategies in Late-Developing Countries (New York: Oxford University Press, 1975), which has been appraised as a standard textbook on development economics, and which was translated into Japanese by Takeo Misawa. As evident from the use of the identical word “transformation” in their titles, the two books share a common basic perspective. Moreover, approximately one-quarter of the content of the new book is a recapitulation of the 1975 book. It would be wrong, however, to regard the new book simply as a revised version of the 1975 book. It goes without saying that the new book, which incorporates twenty years of new research undertakings by the authors, includes a number of improvements over the 1975 book, with new additions and replacements of outdated descriptions in the latter. But a more crucial difference lies in the fact that the new book persistently debates the question summarized in its subtitle, namely, why are some countries successful in seizing the opportunities for adopting and implementing strategies for structural transformation, while others are not? One revealing outcome of this persistent inquiry is the fact that the new book pays a great deal of attention to the political processes which lead to the adoption of development strategies. And the analysis of the political processes undertaken in the book is characterized above all by the use of the concept of “strategic notion,” which was introduced by Tomich, the youngest of the three authors. The concept is carefully embedded throughout the entire book, and serves as a key analytical instrument for linking economic analysis and the concrete policies adopted in the course of developmental efforts.
Integrating true concurrency into the robot programming language GOLOG

Research in knowledge representation and theories of action has led to the development of several logical languages to describe the dynamics of the world. One of the most influential languages developed is the situation calculus. Stemming from this research, the situation calculus based programming language, GOLOG, has been proposed as a tool for implementing simulators and controllers of dynamical systems using a repertoire of user specified primitive actions. Lately, this language has been extended in order to incorporate the notion of concurrent action execution, leading to the dialect CONGOLOG, where an interleaving view of concurrent execution is considered. We take this work one step further by introducing true concurrency, defining the language TCONGOLOG. In our view, true concurrency arises when primitive actions can be taken to be executed at the same instant.
The Politics of Neutrality and the Changing Role of Expertise in Public Administration

This article explores and discusses the ongoing attempt to reinstate an ethos of neutrality in public administration. It focuses on the political benefits and costs of contemporary strategies in public administration for using expertise based on an ethos of neutrality. On the one hand, expertise may serve to allow a particular form of value neutrality that curbs abuse of political office, questions received wisdom on the efficacy of policy interventions, and thereby holds the potential to minimize the waste of public resources employed to meet political goals. On the other hand, the use of expertise as a mode of supporting neutrality is also problematic inasmuch as it may serve to endorse a politics of necessity and, unwittingly, reduce the scope of political agency.
Emission lines in GRBs constrain the total energy reservoir

The emission features observed in the X{ray afterglow of Gamma Ray Bursts are extremely powerful. Since they last at least for several hours, they imply energies of the order of 10 49 ergs. This in turn implies that the energy contained in the illuminating continuum thought to be responsible of the line production must exceed 10 51 ergs. This is a strong lower limit to the energy reservoir of Gamma Ray Bursts, which is independent of collimation and beaming, and bears important consequences on the possible collimation of the reball radiation and the density of the medium surrounding the burst. The discovery that Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) are cos- mological implies large luminosities, but the exact value of the radiated luminosities and the kinetic power of the re- ball originating the emission are still uncertain by a large factor, since we do not know if the emission is isotropic or if it is instead collimated in a cone. The main tool to esti- mate the degree of collimation of the emission has been, so far, the presence of an achromatic break in the lightcurves of the afterglows. This is interpreted as due to the deceler- ation of the reball, whose bulk Lorentz factor becomes smaller than the inverse of the jet opening angle j (see e.g. Rhoads 1999). This allows to estimatej and to obtain the \true" values of the emitted energy. Most notably, in this respect, is the nding of Frail et al. (2001) who found a remarkable \clustering" of the reball energy, once they are corrected by the estimate of their degree of collima- tion. Since the total power and energy are obviously the main parameters for the construction of any model, the importance of these estimates is obvious. These in turn are based on a number of assumptions, such as the den- sity of the matter surrounding the burst site, which is responsible for the deceleration of the reball, and on the key observation of the presence of an achromatic break in the light curve of the afterglow. Independent estimates of the \true" energy, or even limits on it, are called for. In this paper we point out that the observed emission features observed in the X{ray afterglow spectra of several bursts can indeed put a rm lower limit to the emitted luminosity of GRBs. This limit is at the same time simple, independent of the degree of
Detection of Talaromyces marneffei from Fresh Tissue of an Inhalational Murine Pulmonary Model Using Nested PCR

Penicilliosis marneffei, often consecutive to the aspiration of Talaromyces marneffei (Penicillium marneffei), continues to be one of the significant causes of morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised patients in endemic regions such as Southeast Asia. Improving the accuracy of diagnosing this disease would aid in reducing the mortality of associated infections. In this study, we developed a stable and reproducible murine pulmonary model that mimics human penicilliosis marneffei using a nebulizer to deliver Talaromyces marneffei (SUMS0152) conidia to the lungs of BALB/c nude mice housed in exposure chamber. Using this model, we further revealed that nested PCR was sensitive and specific for detecting Talaromyces marneffei in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and fresh tissues. This inhalation model may provide a more representative analysis tool for studying the development of penicilliosis marneffei, in addition to revealing that nested PCR has a predictive value in reflecting pulmonary infection.
Propagation of nonlinear longitudinal-transverse waves along magnetic flux tubes in the solar atmosphere. II. The treatment of shocks.

In this series of papers the time-dependent propagation of nonlinear longitudinal-transverse waves in thin vertical magnetic flux tubes embedded in the solar atmosphere is investigated numerically using the (one-dimensional) thin tube approximation. As in the last decade the particular form of the backreaction term in the transverse equation of motion has been under considerable dispute we investigate this issue once again and suggest a new expression for the backreaction term in the local approximation. This new expression intends to avoid criticisms leveled at the previous terms. In the present paper we numerically compare the actual effects these different terms produce in a number of cases including the situations where the reported discrepancies are prominent. We find that noticeable discrepancies between the various proposed backreaction terms occur only, when strong longitudinal fluid flows are present simultaneously with the swaying of the tube and that for weak flows these discrepancies disappear. If only weak longitudinal flows occur it thus appears that the particular choice of the backreaction term is not important.
Essays on human capital formation of youth in the Middle East: the role of migrant remittances in Jordan and armed conflict in Lebanon

Human capital formation is a fundamental requirement for countries’ long term economic development and societal prosperity. This process can be enhanced or disrupted by internal factors such as migration and remittances, or external ones like wars. This thesis is interested in investigating both phenomena. The following questions are addressed: what is the impact of migrant remittances on human capital formation, do these private inflows induce any changes in the behavior of remittance-receivers towards education expenditure, and finally what is the short term micro-economic effect of armed conflicts on education in post war countries. In investigating these issues, focus is made on two perspectives: first youth, an active group in the society whose age matches up higher education levels and labor force entry simultaneously; second gender differentials both in terms of impact and behavior. The research explores new surveys from the Middle East, datasets that have not been analyzed previously from an education angle and that are not generally available to researchers. These datasets come from Jordan and Lebanon, two middle income non-oil producer countries. The thesis is composed of three independent essays. The first examines the impact of migrant remittances on human capital accumulation among youth in Jordan and highlights the various ways in which remittances influence education outcomes. The analysis takes a gender dimension and examines whether the effects and magnitude of such impact is different between males and females. The second essay considers remittances receipt, from both domestic and international sources, and examines their impact on Jordanian households’ education spending patterns. Following the literature on intra-household bargaining and gender expenditure preferences, the analysis examines whether such impact is potentially different between male and female headed households. The third essay tackles the impact of the 2006 war on education attendance of youth in Lebanon. The chapter captures households’ schooling responses in the aftermath of the war. By looking at the implications of a diversified array of damages sustained; reflecting physical, human, income and employment losses; the chapter examines possible linkages between the nature of the damage incurred and the manner and magnitude in which such damage affects education.
A connectionist model for automatic generation of child-adult interaction patterns

This study introduces a neural network that models the social interactions from a video corpus. The corpus consists of recordings of naturalistic observations of social interactions among children and their environment. The videos are annotated multimodally including features like gestures. We explore how this video corpus can be utilized for modelling by training our model on a portion of the annotated data extracted from the corpus, and then by using the model to predict novel interaction sequences. We evaluate our model by comparing its automatically generated sequences to an unseen portion of the corpus data. The initial results show strong similarities between the generated interactions and those observed in the corpus.
ACUTE EFFECTS OF STATIC STRETCH ON THE STATIC AND DYNAMIC BALANCE INDICES IN THE YOUNG HEALTHY NON-ATHLETIC FEMALES

Introduction: Applying static stretch before sport activities has been emphasized to improve range of motion, flexibility and muscle performance and also to reduce pain and muscle stiffness. Regarding to the controversies about the effect of static stretch and the importance of the balance control to prevent injuries during sport activities, this study was designed to investigate the effect of short and long duration static stretch on the static and dynamic balance indices. Materials and Methods: 45 young healthy non-athletic females were assigned to one of the three a) 15 seconds static stretch, b) 45 seconds static stretch and c) control groups. Three set of 15 or 45 seconds static stretch exercise were applied over the Hamstring, Quadriceps and Gastrocnemius muscles of both lower limbs of the experimental groups, while no static stretch was applied for the control group. Before and after the intervention, static and dynamic balance indices including overall, anterior-posterior and medial-lateral balance indices, were measured in all groups by Biodex SD machine. Results: Our findings showed decreased overall, anterior-posterior and medial-lateral dynamic balance indices in the 45 second stretch group compared to the 15 seconds stretch group (P<0.0001) and also the control group (P=0.003), while no significant differences in balance indices were seen between 15 seconds and control groups. Conclusion: The results may indicate that long duration static stretch exercises may disturb the function of the dynamic balance and so may cause sport injuries in athletics. Further studies are needed to investigate the specific effect of static stretch in the different type of sport activities Keywords: Muscle Stretching Exercises, Postural Balance, Athletic Injuries, Women
Correlation-based spectrum sensing in cognitive radio

Spectrum sensing is an essential function for cognitive radio systems. Based on the observation that signal samples usually are correlated due to various reasons, such as oversampling, multipath propagation and correlation among raw signals, a correlation-based detection method is proposed to differentiate signals from noise in this paper. Sensing performance of the proposed method is analyzed theoretically when primary signals are fully correlated. Its complexity is compared with that of energy detection and threshold setting is discussed under an estimated false alarm probability. However, the algorithm is inferior to energy detection in sensing performance when signal samples are uncorrelated. To overcome this disadvantage, an adaptive detection model is developed. Simulations based on captured ATSC DTV signals and analog PAL TV signals are presented to verify the performance of the proposed method.
Principles of Discrete Time Mechanics: V. The Quantisation of Maxwell's Equations

Principles of discrete time mechanics are applied to the quantisation of Maxwell's equations. Following an analysis of temporal node and link variables, we review the classical discrete time equations in the Coulomb and Lorentz gauges and conclude that electro-magneto duality does not occur in pure discrete time electromagnetism. We discuss the role of boundary conditions in our mechanics and how temporal discretisation should influence very early universe dynamics. Quantisation of the Maxwell potentials is approached via the discrete time Schwinger action principle and the Faddeev-Popov path integral. We demonstrate complete agreement in the case of the Coulomb gauge, obtaining the vacuum functional and the discrete time field commutators in that gauge. Finally, we use the Faddeev-Popov method to construct the discrete time analogues of the photon propagator in the Landau and Feynman gauges, which casts light on the break with relativity and possible discrete time analogues of the metric tensor.
Electronic Supplementary Information Genetics of Superionic Conductivity in Lithium Lanthanum Titanates

LLTO systems with low lithium contents (x ≤ 0.08) have predominately been found to adopt an orthorhombic structure and at lithium contents above this, a tetragonal structure forms, space group P4/mmm, figure 1a. The unit cell of LLTO is made from TiO6 octahedra and the A-cation cages are formed by 12 oxygen ions belonging to octahedra, see figure 1a. It is difficult to describe the defect nomenclature based on the La2/3TiO3 lattice and thereby to ensure a consistent notation and set of effective charges. Nevertheless, to describe point defects using Krӧger-Vink notation the ABO3 stoichiometry of the parent structure will be used. The La ions randomly populate the A-sites ( • ), however, there is a small degree of ordering forming rich and poor • layers along the c-axis. Lithium ions and A site vacancies also occupy the A-sites, leaving a network of Li and available for lithium ion migration. In the notation chosen for this representation the neutrality condition becomes;
Spectroscopic detection improves multi-color quantification in fluorescence tomography

Simultaneous detection of several biological processes in vivo is a common requirement in biomedical and biological applications, and in order to address this issue the use of multiple fluorophores is usually the method of choice. Existing methodologies however, do not provide quantitative feedback of multiple fluorophore concentrations in small animals in vivo when their spectra overlap, especially when imaging the whole body in 3D. Here we present an approach where a spectroscopic module has been implemented into a custom-built Fluorescence Molecular Tomography (FMT) system. In contrast with other multispectral approaches, this multimodal imaging system is capable of recording the fluorescence spectra from each illumination point during a tomographic measurement. In situ spectral information can thus be extracted and used to improve the separation of overlapping signals associated with different fluorophores. The results of this new approach tested on both in vitro and in vivo experiments are presented, proving that accurate recovery of fluorophore concentrations can be obtained from multispectral tomography data even in the presence of high autofluorescence.
Using Distributed Balanced Trees Over DHTs for Building Large-scale Indexes

DHT systems are structured overlay networks capable of using P2P resources as a scalable storage platform for very large data applications. However, their efficiency expects a level of uniformity in the association of data to index keys that is often not present in inverted indexes. Index data tends to follow non-uniform distributions, often power law distributions, creating intense local storage hotspots and network bottlenecks on specific hosts. Current techniques like caching cannot, alone, cope with this
Identifying "representative" workloads in designing MpSoC platforms for media processing

Workload design is a well recognized problem in the domain of microprocessor design. Different program characteristics that influence the selection of a representative workload include microarchitecture-centric properties such as cache miss rates, instruction mix and accuracy of branch prediction. However, properties of a workload that are pertinent to the context of system-level design of multiprocessor SoC platforms are very different. Till date, the problem of "representative workload design" in this specific context has not been sufficiently addressed. This work represents an attempt to address this problem in the specific case of SoC platform design for multimedia processing. Towards this, we present a method to characterize properties of multimedia workload that are relevant to SoC platform design. Based on such a characterization, we present a technique for classifying different multimedia streams. Finally, we show the utility of such a classification through a case study involving the design of a multiprocessor SoC platform for MPEG-2 decoding.
A Framework for Exploration and Gaming in Mixed Reality

The paper presents a framework for developing games in mixed reality. It integrates architectural blocks that handle more traditional tasks such as models and interaction between objects, with other modules that manage interaction with devices and objects in the real world. All access to the objects and information is managed though a hypermedia graph, that maintains relations between all the objects involved in the game. The paper proposes interfaces for the different tasks, namely information access, interaction and display in the real world or virtual worlds, and it illustrates these examples with our current implementation in a mixed reality art gallery setting.