Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Synergy among binary (MWNT, SLG) nano-carbons in polymer nano-composites: a Raman study

Load transfer and mechanical strength of reinforced polymers are fundamental to developing advanced composites. This paper demonstrates enhanced load transfer and mechanical strength due to synergistic effects in binary mixtures of nano-carbon/polymer composites. Different compositional mixtures (always 1 wt% total) of multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) and single-layer graphene (SLG) were mixed in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), and effects on load transfer and mechanical strength were studied using Raman spectroscopy. Significant shifts in the G-bands were observed both in tension and compression for single as well as binary nano-carbon counterparts in polymer composites. Small amounts of MWNT0.1 dispersed in SLG0.9/PDMS samples (subscripts represent weight percentage) reversed the sign of the Raman wavenumbers from positive to negative values demonstrating reversal of lattice stress. A wavenumber change from 10 cm−1 in compression to 10 cm−1 in tension, and an increase in elastic modulus of ∼103% was observed for MWNT0.1SLG0.9/PDMS with applied uniaxial tension. Extensive scanning electron microscopy revealed the bridging of MWNT between two graphene plates in polymer composites. Mixing small amounts of MWNTs in SLG/PDMS eliminated the previously reported compressive deformation of SLG and significantly enhanced load transfer and mechanical strength of composites in tension. The orientation order of MWNT with application of uniaxial tensile strain directly affected the shift in Raman wavenumbers (2D-band and G-band) and load transfer. It is observed that the cooperative behavior of binary nano-carbons in polymer composites resulted in enhanced load transfer and mechanical strength. Such binary compositions could be fundamental to developing advanced composites such as nano-carbon based mixed dimensional systems.
Characterization of a descending pathway: activation and effects on motor patterns in the brachyuran crustacean stomatogastric nervous system

SUMMARY The regulation of motor patterns by higher-order neuronal centers ensures appropriate motor function and behavior, but only a few studies have characterized this regulation at the cellular level. Here, we address motor pattern regulation in the stomatogastric nervous system (STNS) of the crab Cancer pagurus. This easily accessible model system is an extension of the central nervous system and contains the motor circuits that generate the rhythmic motor patterns for ingestion (esophageal rhythm) and processing of food (gastric mill and pyloric rhythms). We have documented the actions of two identified neurons located in the brain on the STNS motor circuits. We show that these neurons provide exteroceptive chemosensory information to the motor circuits and we outline their axonal projection patterns, their firing activity and their effects on three motor patterns. Backfill stainings and activity measurements in vivo and in vitro show that two neurons located in cluster 17 of the brain project via the inferior ventricular (IV) nerve to the STNS. These IV neurons started to burst rhythmically when chemosensory stimuli were applied to the first antennae. When rhythmically activated in vitro, gastric mill rhythms were elicited or, if already active, entrained by the IV neuron activity. In addition, IV neuron stimulation excited the esophageal motor neuron and inhibited several pyloric neurons such that the timing of the IV neuron activity was imposed on all motor rhythms. The IV neurons were thus capable of synchronizing the activities of different motor circuits, which demonstrates the regulation of motor patterns by higher-order neuronal centers.
Information Technology as Coordination Infrastructure

An optical head apparatus is adapted to write and read data onto and from an optical disk using an optical beam emitted from a light-emitting element. Such an optical head apparatus includes: a lens actuator having a lens casing for retaining an objective, magnetic circuits provided on two sides of the lens casing, a coil having a part placed in the gaps formed by the magnetic circuits; a focus detector having a detection lens assembly consisting of a plurality of lenses for correcting aberration, a divided photodetector for receiving a light beam which has been converged by being passed through the detection lens assembly, and a differential amplifier for taking out a differential output from the divided photodetector, the detection lens assembly, the divided photodetector, and the differential amplifier being disposed in the optical path of light reflecting from the optical disk. The detection lens assembly has a lens which is the closest lens to the focal point thereof, the center line of at least a focal point side interface of the lens is inclined with respect to the optical axes of the other lenses.
Oscillatory gamma band and slow brain activity evoked by real and imagery musical stimuli

There is growing evidence that oscillatory brain activity is involved in Gestalt recognition processes. However, it is still a question at issue whether this activity is correlated to high-level cognitive top-down processes or to perceptual bottom-up processes [1]. In contrast imaginary events are supposed to be pure top-down processes, which makes them a possibility to differenciate between bottom-up and top-down processes. There are several studies investigating imaginary events in a variety of modalities. In the visual modality Rogers et al. [2] found a late positive component following omissions during a train of stimuli. In an action viewing experiment Hari et al. [3] showed a rebound of oscillatory 20 Hz activity similar to a suppression during action. In visual as well as auditory modality Simson et al. [4, 5] observed late positive components that were topographically similar to P3 components and independent of modality. In an experiment with omissions in a train of tones Raij et al. [6] showed bilateral activiation of auditory cortex and frontal areas. Zatorre et al. [7] and Halpern et al. [8] showed in PET studies the activation of similar areas during the perception and imagination of melodies. These experiments demonstrated the activation of brain areas and processes during real as well as imaginary sensory input. In our experiment we examined the slow evoked and oscillatory induced (non-phase locked) brain activity in gamma ( 20 Hz) frequency range for real and imagined musical and non-musical stimuli. It was hypothesised that the activity during the imagined stimuli should be generated by a top-down process and it was expected to give evidence of the functional role of oscillatory activity in sound processing and representation of auditory objects.
A PROPOSED METHODOLOGY FOR BEHAVIOUR-BASED MULTI-AGENT Q- LEARNING FOR AUTONOMOUS EXPLORATION

With the advancement of robotic explorations in diversified fields (like planetary exploration, exploration in Antartica, military applications for mine detection, surveillance and rescue) autonomous exploration has become popular for exploration in unknown and unstructured environments. To help such explorations in fully unknown environments robot learning is very useful. Out of various well-known learning methods Q-learning, a sub-part of Reinforcement learning, has been proven suitable. It is a continuous system-environment interaction model using reward-punishment scheme. Mostly an agent looks after this online system-environment interaction. But if the learning scheme is complex, single agent may not perform well. For such situation multi-agent learning is more appropriate. The whole task is broken down into several sub-tasks and different agents are assigned for completion of different sub-tasks. The current research work describes a methodology which uses a simplified multi-agent scheme for autonomous exploration of a robot. Here the most important and appropriate task/ agent with highest priority is identified using a popular behaviour-based architecture and the corresponding action is taken. The online update of the reinforcement function is done only to that agent/ task, but not to all other as in case of twoplayer zero sum game. The current work differs with the popularly used multi-agent Qlearning, which is nothing but two-player zero sum game, in the sense that it is tested using a robotic system, not using any simulation like others. Also it doesn’t use two (or more) completely different systems as in the previous cases of multi-agent Q-learning, rather it uses different agents in a single system (robot) for the same environment.
N=4 SYM on K3 and the AdS(3)/CFT(2) Correspondence

We study the Fareytail expansion of the topological partition function of N=4 SU(N) super Yang-Mills theory on K3. We argue that this expansion corresponds to a sum over geometries in asymptotically AdS_3 spacetime, which is holographically dual to a large number of coincident fundamental heterotic strings.
PTSD-related paradoxical insomnia: an actigraphic study among veterans with chronic PTSD

Abstract: Background: Sleep disturbance is a common self-reported complaint by PTSD patients. However, there are controversies in documenting objective indices of disrupted sleep in these patients. The aim of the present study was to assess sleep disturbances in veterans with chronic PTSD, using both subjective and objective assessments. Methods: Thirty two PTSD patients with complaints of insomnia were evaluated using the Clinician Administrated PTSD Scale version 1 (CAPS) and completed the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) for subjective evaluation of their sleep. For objective evaluation, participants underwent two consecutive overnight actigraphic assessments. Total Sleep Time (TST), Sleep Latency (SL), Sleep Efficiency (SE) and Number of Awakening (NWAK) were measured in all participants. Results: Participants underestimated TST (p less than 0.0001), SE (p less than 0.0001) as well as NASO (0.03) in the questionnaire compared to the actigraphic assessment and overestimated SL (p less than 0.0001). Conclusions: Objective sleep parameters do not adversely affect veterans with chronic PTSD. Self-reported sleep disturbance in these patients is not reliable and objective sleep assessments are necessary.
Recognizing human actions by BP-AdaBoost algorithm under a hierarchical recognition framework

This paper explores the performance of Neural Network (NN) for human action recognition and proposes a novel hierarchical and boosting-based action recognition system. Specifically, the main contributions of our work are three-fold: (1) A boosted NN based scheme is applied to the human action recognition task for the first time, during which we extend the standard binary AdaBoost algorithm to a multiclass version; (2) A novel hierarchical recognition framework with pre-decision and post-decision modules is proposed, which can significantly enhance the training efficiency as well as the frame-based recognition accuracy; (3) Numerous modified features (both motion and shape features) are utilized and combined in this paper. Experiments on the Weizmann dataset show promising results of our approach in comparison with other state-of-the-art methods.
Xpec: A cross-layer spectrum assignment in Cognitive Radio networks

In Cognitive Radio (CR) networks, the licensed but vacant spectrum bands are assigned to the CR users in an opportunistic manner. These assignments should be realized according to the activities of the licensed users in the spectrum as well as the throughput requirements of the CR users. Considering these two main challenges, in this paper, we investigate the spectrum assignment problem in centralized cognitive radio (CR) networks using a cross-layer perspective. The proposed cross-layer approach, so-called Xpec, combines the observation of the licensed users' activities and the throughput requirements of the CR users. More specifically, Xpec takes the SNR observations of the licensed users' activities from the physical layer and the throughput requests of the CR users from the MAC layer to derive a weighted spectrum assignment strategy. The evaluations show that the proposed Xpec provides higher spectrum utilization and better fairness than the traditional layered strategy under heterogeneous channel conditions.
Automata on Inifinite Trees 3 2 Automata on infinite trees

This article presents the basic theory of automata on infinite trees. We introdu ce the standard model of nondeterministic automata and the generalization to altern ating automata. The central part of the theory considers the closure properties of tree lang uages definable by such automata, the equivalence of the different models, and their algorithmic pro perties. We show how these results are obtained and how games of infinite duration can be used a s a powerful tool to obtain transparent proofs and algorithms. We also present some applicatio ns of tree automata in logic, in particular decidability results and characterizations for monadic second -order logic over infinite trees, and algorithms for the modal μ-calculus.
Retinoic Acid Receptor α Function in Vertebrate Limb Skeletogenesis: a Modulator of Chondrogenesis

Retinoic acid is a signaling molecule involved in the regulation of growth and morphogenesis during development. There are three types of nuclear receptors for all-trans retinoic acid in mammals, RARα, RARβ, and RARγ, which transduce the retinoic acid signal by inducing or repressing the transcription of target genes (Leid, M., P. Kastner, and P. Chambon. 1992. Trends Biochem. Sci. 17:427–433). While RARα, RARβ, and RARγ are expressed in distinct but overlapping patterns in the developing mouse limb, their exact role in limb development remains unclear. To better understand the role of retinoic acid receptors in mammalian limb development, we have ectopically expressed a modified RARα with constitutive activity (Balkan, W., G.K. Klintworth, C.B. Bock, and E. Linney. 1992. Dev. Biol. 151:622–625) in the limbs of transgenic mice. Overexpression of the transgene was associated with marked pre- and postaxial limb defects, particularly in the hind limb, where expression of the transgene was consistently seen across the whole anteroposterior axis. The defects displayed in these mice recapitulate, to a large degree, many of the congenital limb malformations observed in the fetuses of dams administered high doses of retinoic acid (Kochhar, D.M. 1973. Teratology. 7:289–295). Further analysis of these transgenic animals showed that the defect in skeletogenesis resided at the level of chondrogenesis. Comparison of the expression of the transgene relative to that of endogenous RARα revealed that downregulation of RARα is important in allowing the chondrogenic phenotype to be expressed. These results demonstrate a specific function for RARα in limb development and the regulation of chondroblast differentiation.
The gene, environment association studies consortium (GENEVA): maximizing the knowledge obtained from GWAS by collaboration across studies of multiple conditions

Genome‐wide association studies (GWAS) have emerged as powerful means for identifying genetic loci related to complex diseases. However, the role of environment and its potential to interact with key loci has not been adequately addressed in most GWAS. Networks of collaborative studies involving different study populations and multiple phenotypes provide a powerful approach for addressing the challenges in analysis and interpretation shared across studies. The Gene, Environment Association Studies (GENEVA) consortium was initiated to: identify genetic variants related to complex diseases; identify variations in gene‐trait associations related to environmental exposures; and ensure rapid sharing of data through the database of Genotypes and Phenotypes. GENEVA consists of several academic institutions, including a coordinating center, two genotyping centers and 14 independently designed studies of various phenotypes, as well as several Institutes and Centers of the National Institutes of Health led by the National Human Genome Research Institute. Minimum detectable effect sizes include relative risks ranging from 1.24 to 1.57 and proportions of variance explained ranging from 0.0097 to 0.02. Given the large number of research participants (N>80,000), an important feature of GENEVA is harmonization of common variables, which allow analyses of additional traits. Environmental exposure information available from most studies also enables testing of gene‐environment interactions. Facilitated by its sizeable infrastructure for promoting collaboration, GENEVA has established a unified framework for genotyping, data quality control, analysis and interpretation. By maximizing knowledge obtained through collaborative GWAS incorporating environmental exposure information, GENEVA aims to enhance our understanding of disease etiology, potentially identifying opportunities for intervention. Genet. Epidemiol. 34: 364–372, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Lowering blood homocysteine with folic acid based supplements: meta-analysis of randomised trials

Abstract Objective: To determine the size of reduction in homocysteine concentrations produced by dietary supplementation with folic acid and with vitamins B-12 or B-6. Design: Meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials that assessed the effects of folic acid based supplements on blood homocysteine concentrations. Multivariate regression analysis was used to determine the effects on homocysteine concentrations of different doses of folic acid and of the addition of vitamin B-12 or B-6. Subjects: Individual data on 1114 people included in 12 trials. Findings: The proportional and absolute reductions in blood homocysteine produced by folic acid supplements were greater at higher pretreatment blood homocysteine concentrations (P<0.001) and at lower pretreatment blood folate concentrations (P<0.001). After standardisation to pretreatment blood concentrations of homocysteine of 12 μmol/l and of folate of 12 nmol/l (approximate average concentrations for Western populations), dietary folic acid reduced blood homocysteine concentrations by 25% (95% confidence interval 23% to 28%; P<0.001), with similar effects in the range of 0.5-5 mg folic acid daily. Vitamin B-12 (mean 0.5 mg daily) produced an additional 7% (3% to 10%) reduction in blood homocysteine. Vitamin B-6 (mean 16.5 mg daily) did not have a significant additional effect. Conclusions: Typically in Western populations, daily supplementation with both 0.5-5 mg folic acid and about 0.5 mg vitamin B-12 would be expected to reduce blood homocysteine concentrations by about a quarter to a third (for example, from about 12 μmol/l to 8-9 μmol/l). Large scale randomised trials of such regimens in high risk populations are now needed to determine whether lowering blood homocysteine concentrations reduces the risk of vascular disease. Key messages Higher blood homocysteine concentrations seem to be associated with higher risks of occlusive vascular disease and with lower blood concentrations of folate and vitamins B-12 and B-6 Proportional and absolute reductions in blood homocysteine concentrations with folic acid supplements are greater at higher pretreatment blood homocysteine concentrations and at lower pretreatment blood folate concentrations In typical Western populations, supplementation with both 0.5-5 mg daily folic acid and about 0.5 mg daily vitamin B-12 should reduce blood homocysteine concentrations by about a quarter to a third Large scale randomised trials of such regimens in people at high risk are now needed to determine whether lowering blood homocysteine concentrations reduces the risk of vascular disease
Fuzzy variable based step-size self-optimizing control implementing to a resonance liquid reactor

It is difficult to model a liquid resonance controlling system when there are different materials, different capacity of the container, different liquid density and so on in the system. In order to realize resonance of these liquids in the container, a self-optimizing control method of the level of the liquid is suggested. Meanwhile in order to improve control precision and decrease response time, the step-size of self-optimizing of frequency of acceleration is changed by fuzzy control strategy in the control system. According to self-optimizing method, the fuzzy control rule sheet is put forward. The results of experiment show the suggested methods can implement resonance of liquid in the container automatically.
The Subregion Correspondence Model of Binocular Simple Cells

We explore the hypothesis that binocular simple cells in cat areas 17 and 18 show subregion correspondence, defined as follows: within the region of overlap of the two eye’s receptive fields, their ON subregions lie in corresponding locations, as do their OFF subregions. This hypothesis is motivated by a developmental model (Erwin and Miller, 1998) that suggested that simple cells could develop binocularly matched preferred orientations and spatial frequencies by developing subregion correspondence. Binocular organization of simple cell receptive fields is commonly characterized by two quantities: interocular position shift, the distance in visual space between the center positions of the two eye’s receptive fields; and interocular phase shift, the difference in the spatial phases of those receptive fields, each measured relative to its center position. The subregion correspondence hypothesis implies that interocular position and phase shifts are linearly related. We compare this hypothesis with the null hypothesis, assumed by most previous models of binocular organization, that the two types of shift are uncorrelated. We demonstrate that the subregion correspondence and null hypotheses are equally consistent with previous measurements of binocular response properties of individual simple cells in the cat and other species and with measurements of the distribution of interocular phase shifts versus preferred orientations or versus interocular position shifts. However, the observed tendency of binocular simple cells in the cat to have “tuned excitatory” disparity tuning curves with preferred disparities tightly clustered around zero (Fischer and Krüger, 1979; Ferster, 1981; LeVay and Voigt, 1988) follows naturally from the subregion correspondence hypothesis but is inconsistent with the null hypothesis. We describe tests that could more conclusively differentiate between the hypotheses. The most straightforward test requires simultaneous determination of the receptive fields of groups of three or more binocular simple cells.
A Genetic Algorithm for the Multiobjective Solid Transportation Problem: A Fuzzy Approach

Genetic Algorithms are adaptative procedures of optimization and search inspired in the mechanisms of natural selection and genetic. Currently, these algorithms are being highly considered above all in those problems with complex solution spaces for those which we do not have good algorithms to solve them. To address the Transportation Problem, usualy is supposed the decision-maker knows with certitude each data involved into it, but often he does not it. In this case, fuzzy sets are a very appropiate tool modeling this kind of process. As occurs in the classical case, Transportation problems in a fuzzy environment ((5]) and Fuzzy Linear Programming ((14]) are strongly related between them, but there are some cases for which the existing algorithms do not work well, e.g. the Multiobjective Solid Transportation Problem (MSTP). In this paper we enhance the interface between Genetic Algorithms and Fuzzy Sets ((8]) by proposing a Genetic Algorithm based solution method to the case in which fuzzy goals are assumed in the MSTP. The following work consists of a rst approach to the problem whose solutions are found in integers.