Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
VTA-NAc glutaminergic projection involves in the regulation of pain and pain-related anxiety

Background Besides the established role of dopamine neurons and projections in nociceptive stimuli, the involvement of ventral tegmental area (VTA) glutamatergic projections to nucleus accumbens (NAc) in pain remains unknown. In the present study, we aimed to examine the role of VTA glutamatergic projections to NAc in painful stimuli and its related behavioral changes. Methods Unilateral chronic constrictive injury (CCI) of sciatic nerve or intraplantar hind paw injections (i.pl.) of complete Freund’s adjuvant (CFA) were used to develop pathological pain models in wild-type and VGluT2-Cre mice. The involvement of VTA glutamatergic neurons with projections to NAc in CCI-induced pain model was noted by c-Fos labeling and firing rate recordings. Pain response and pain-related behavior changes to the artificial manipulation of the VTA glutamatergic projections to NAc were observed by Hargreaves tests, von Frey tests, open field tests, elevated maze tests, and sucrose preference tests. Results Glutamatergic neurons in VTA had efferent inputs to shell area of the NAc. The CCI pain model significantly increased neuronal activity and firing rate in VTA glutamate neurons with projections to NAc. The photoinhibition of these glutamatergic projections relieved CCI-induced neuropathic pain and CFA-induced acute and chronic inflammatory pain. Moreover, pathological neuropathic pain-induced anxiety and less sucrose preference were also relieved by inhibiting the VTA glutamatergic projections to NAc. Conclusion Together, glutamatergic inputs from VTA to NAc contribute to chronic neuropathic and inflammatory pain and pain-related anxiety and depressive behaviors, providing a mechanism for developing novel therapeutic methods.
Effects of physical activity on regulatory emotional self-efficacy, resilience, and emotional intelligence of nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic

The normalization of epidemic prevention and control has exacerbated nurses’ physical and mental stresses. The important role of physical activity in relieving nurses’ physical and mental stresses has received extensive attention from researchers in recent years. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of physical activity on the regulatory emotional self-efficacy, resilience, and emotional intelligence of nurses and explain their interactions. The present study adopted the cluster sampling method. From April to May 2022, a total of 500 nurses in six municipal hospitals in Changsha City were selected. Finally, 402 valid data samples were obtained. Afterward, AMOS 23.0 (by maximum likelihood estimation) was used to process the collected data and analyze the proposed hypotheses by using 5,000 bootstrap samples to test the mediating effects of the structural equation model. The results demonstrated that there are positive correlations between physical activity and resilience (standardized coefficients = 0.232, p < 0.001), resilience and regulatory emotional self-efficacy (standardized coefficients = 0.449, p < 0.001), and emotional intelligence and regulatory emotional self-efficacy (standardized coefficients = 0.330, p < 0.001). The positive influence of physical activity on emotional regulation self-efficacy is completely mediated by emotional intelligence and resilience (standardized indirect effect = 0.237, p < 0.01), and this explanatory power is far higher than any previous study (R2 = 0.49). The positive emotions generated by an individual’s physical activity have an important explanatory role for individuals who want to establish more emotional regulation self-efficacy, emotional intelligence, and psychological resilience.
Tandem occlusions involving the internal carotid and anterior cerebral arteries—A rare form of stroke: Results from the multicenter EVATRISP collaboration study

Background Patients with stroke secondary to isolated anterior cerebral artery (ACA) occlusions have poor outcomes. Whether tandem occlusions (TO) of the extracranial internal carotid (ICA) and the ACA carry even worse outcomes that remain unknown. Methods Patients with TO involving ICA and ACA occlusions were identified from 14 participating centers from the EndoVascular treatment And ThRombolysis in Ischemic Stroke Patients (EVATRISP) project which is a multicenter, observational, cohort study with prospective accrual of data followed by retrospective data analysis. Patients with isolated ACA stroke served as controls. Results Included were 92 patients with isolated ACA and 16 patients with ICA-ACA TO stroke. On univariate analyses, patients with TO had more severe strokes on admission [median NIHSS (IQR) 13.5 (9–21) vs. 8 (5–12), p = 0.003] and were more often treated with thrombectomy (81 vs. 40%, p = 0.002). Mortality rates were higher among TO patients (31 vs. 11%, p = 0.03). Rates of favorable functional outcomes were numerically lower among TO patients (38 vs. 60%) but the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.09). On multivariate analyses, the presence of TO did not modify the chances for favorable outcomes. Conclusion TO stroke with ICA and isolated ACA involvement is rare and results in more severe initial neurological deficits and higher mortality compared to those seen in patients with isolated ACA stroke.
The role of social exclusion in the formation of suicidal ideation among the elderly in rural pension institutions

Introduction Social exclusion as well as a sense of belonging and depression have been identified as risk factors for suicide among older adults in pension institutions. In particular, the elderly living in rural pension institutions is more likely to have poor mental health and a higher incidence of suicidal ideation. This study explored the mechanism of social exclusion on suicidal ideation among the elderly in rural pension institutions, and the moderating effect of interpersonal trust. Methods The social exclusion experience scale, sense of belonging, depression self-rating scale (CES-D), suicidal ideation scale (BSI-CV), and interpersonal trust scale (ITS) were used to investigate the elderly in rural pension institutions. A total of 1,387 samples (53.35% female) were collected, ranging in age from 65 to 95 years (M = 72.8, SD = 6.173). Results The results of the study found that: (1) social exclusion increases the suicidal ideation of the elderly in rural pension institutions, and the sense of belonging and depression play a significant chain-mediated role in the relationship between social exclusion and suicidal ideation in the elderly. (2) Interpersonal trust moderates the impact of social exclusion on the sense of belonging, depression, and suicidal ideation. Specifically, interpersonal trust can alleviate the promotion effect of social isolation on suicidal ideation and depression, and can also reduce the adverse effect of social exclusion on the sense of belonging. Discussion This study validates that social exclusion is a risk factor for suicidal ideation in the rural elderly and identifies interpersonal trust as a protective factor against social exclusion and its negative outcomes in the elderly. This study provides a scientific basis for improving the depression status of the elderly in rural China and formulating suicide prevention measures.
A pilot study on the efficacy of topical lotion containing anti-acne postbiotic in subjects with mild -to -moderate acne

Introduction Acne can compromise facial esthetics and become a mental burden, especially when it occurs in puberty. Skincare cosmetics with anti-acne efficiency is more convenient than other treatment modalities, such as dietary supplements, in certain circumstances. The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy of an anti-acne lotion in alleviating acne. Methods In our study, an anti-acne lotion containing ferment lysate produced by Lactiplantibacillus plantarum VHProbi® E15 were applied to subjects with mild -to -moderate acne over 4 weeks. The efficacy was evaluated based on instrumental measurements using Visia®-CR and CK-MPA® system. Results and discussion The anti-acne lotion exhibited favorable safety, meeting the stringent criteria for the detection of microbes, heavy metals, toxicity, and irritation. After 2 weeks of treatment, a statistically significant improvement in acne lesions was observed compared to baseline (P < 0.01), and this continued to the end of the study. After 4 weeks of treatment, the transepidermal water loss (P < 0.05) and sebum production (P < 0.05) were significantly decreased in subjects compared to baseline. In addition, the pore/area of interest (AOI) and stratum corneum hydration displayed slightly positive changes throughout treatment. Thus, we conclude that applying topical anti-acne lotion may be safe and confer effective benefits in people with mild -to -moderate acne and represents a promising therapeutic option for acne.
Sharpening the tip of the spear: Tailoring performance psychology for Special Operation Forces

As performance psychology expands to address different environments, military settings are viewed as a natural extension. In certain cases, however, we suggest that a sub-optimal approach has been employed, due to a lack of specific knowledge of military culture and context, coupled with a diminished emphasis on conducting psychological research targeted directly on military performance. In this paper we explore the specific and importantly unique challenges encountered when researching and consulting with Special Operation Forces (SOF) within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) alliance. To support both researchers and practitioners, we offer an overview of the current state of knowledge in this specific domain. We highlight key differences between SOF and conventional forces, then look at the specific requirements for developing performance psychology in the SOF context. Finally, we offer some perspectives on where opportunities might have been missed and offer some suggestions for more impactful (and accurate) research and practice.
Differences in fouling community composition and space occupation across broad spatial and temporal scales

Sessile marine invertebrate (biofouling) communities have served as an important model in ecology for evaluating fundamental patterns and processes, including invasion dynamics, which vary at broad spatial and temporal scales. Here, we tested for differences in biofouling community development among three biogeographically distinct bays in North America (Chesapeake Bay, Tampa Bay, and San Francisco Bay), exploring possible explanations for differential non-native species success. In particular, we aimed to examine if San Francisco Bay (a global hotspot for non-native species richness) differed in composition and space occupation, especially since open space can facilitate colonization. Additionally, we explored how biogeography, assembly and succession dynamics over the short and long term, and space availability affect marine communities across broad spatial scales. Patterns of community assembly differed among bays, with more bare space and less secondary cover (species settling on species) in San Francisco Bay. San Francisco Bay was also distinguished by a higher percent cover of Tunicata (almost all of which are non-native and historically absent) over multiple time scales. Cirripedia recruited on bare panels in all three Bays but cover increased only in Tampa Bay, as soak time increased. Tube-dwelling Polychaeta distinguished Chesapeake Bay from Tampa Bay and San Francisco Bay. Low-salinity events temporarily restructured the communities in all three bays. Whether differences among bays reflect coastal versus bay-specific patterns remains to be tested.
Replenishing the Indus Delta through multi-sector transformation

The Indus River Basin (IRB) is a severely water-stressed and rapidly developing home to an estimated 250 million people in South Asia. An acute deficit of environmental flows (EFs) in the basin’s delta negatively impacts geomorphology and surrounding ecosystems. Here, a sub-national model of the IRB’s integrated water–energy–land systems is applied to quantify multi-sector transformations and system costs for enhancing EFs to the Indus Delta. The results show that increasing the average outflows from the basin relative to historical policy levels by 2.5 and 5 times would increase sectoral costs for upstream water users between 17–32 and 68–72% for low and high ecological potential targets. The enhanced EFs result in more energy for pumping and treating water upstream from the delta and a net increase in irrigation and energy investments. The EF policy costs are minimized by 7–14% through cooperation across countries and 6–9% through the coordinated implementation of water efficiency measures in the irrigation, conveyance, power plant cooling, and water treatment sectors. The results underscore the crucial role of a multi-sector, multi-scale collaboration in achieving EF targets in water-stressed river basins for ecosystem adaptation to climate vulnerability, restoration of the delta, and socio-economic benefits.
Correlated evolution of wing morphology and echolocation calls in bats

Introduction Flight and echolocation are two crucial behaviors associated with niche expansion in bats. Previous researches have attempted to explain the interspecific divergence in flight morphology and echolocation vocalizations in some bat groups from the perspective of foraging ecology. However, the relationship between wing morphology and echolocation vocalizations of bats remains obscure, especially in a phylogenetic context. Objectives Here, we aimed to assess the correlated evolution of wing morphology and echolocation calls in bats within a phylogenetic comparative framework. Methods We integrated the information on search-phrase echolocation call duration, peak frequency, relative wing loading, aspect ratio, and foraging guilds for 152 bat species belonging to 15 families. We quantified the association among wing morphology, echolocation call parameters, and foraging guilds using phylogeny-based comparative analyses. Results Our analyses revealed that wing morphology and echolocation call parameters depended on families and exhibited a marked phylogenetic signal. Peak frequency of the call was negatively correlated with relative wing loading and aspect ratio. Call duration was positively correlated with relative wing loading and aspect ratio among open-space aerial foragers, edge-space aerial foragers, edge-space trawling foragers, and narrow-space gleaning foragers. Wing morphology, call duration, and peak frequency were predicted by foraging guilds. Conclusion These results demonstrate that adaptive response to foraging ecology has shaped the correlated evolution between flight morphology and echolocation calls in bats. Our findings expand the current knowledge regarding the link between morphology and vocalizations within the order Chiroptera.
Computation Verification for Noobs

Computational-integrity (also known as checking-computation [9], verifiable-computation [31, 49], and computation-delegation [37]) protocols eliminate the need to trust reporters of computation results, by allowing the latter to provide a cryptographic proof attesting to the validity of the results. The proof verification time is polylogarithmic with the length of the computation (succinct), introducing significant improvement over the naive solution for general computations, which is merely re-execution. Computational-integrity protocols were introduced around three decades ago [9]. This original work offered theoretical solutions to practical problems. An immediate practical motivation for taking such an approach comes from a different field of mathematical-proofs done by computer such as the celebrated example of [8] showing that any planar graph is fourcolourable. The method used in [8] included a computer exhaustively verifying correctness of a finite set of graphs, requiring work beyond what is humanly achievable, and took over a thousand hours to complete using the computer. Obviously, anyone who did not want to repeat this heavy verification process had to put their trust in the researcher who claimed to execute it. This kind of a proof to a mathematical claim was novel, and the fact the proof cannot be easily verified by peer reviews disappointed many. Computational-integrity is a natural solution to such problems, as it can be used by researchers to generate a succinct proof for the integrity of any computation, verifiable by anyone. Unfortunately, the work of [8] predated the initial ideas of verifiable computation, introduced in [9], by roughly a decade. Even though roughly three decades have passed since the introduction of [9], it is still probably infeasible to use modern computational-integrity for problems of such complexity. Although there are implementations of succinct verifiers that can succinctly verify the correctness of a small proof, the computation overhead on the prover, compared to the naive computation, is still too high. The line of research work we present shows what we have done in order to advance the field of computational-integrity from theory to practice. Our results show how theory can be improved to provide concrete efficiency. A common technique we have used is adding interactivity to both improve the soundness of protocols, and reduce the proving computational load. In addition to theoretical improvements, we provide three POC implementations of systems used to measure the constructions’ concrete efficiency. Moreover, the implementations can be used as a reference for production grade system, as they introduce efficient data-structures and algorithms designed and tuned for implementation of algebraic proof systems. Technion Computer Science Department Ph.D. Thesis PHD-2019-13 2019
Erratum: X-ray analysis of the cluster 3C 129

The cluster 3C 129 is classified as a rich cluster. An analysis of the properties of the cluster 3C 129 from ROSAT PSPC and HRI, Einstein IPC, and EXOSAT ME observations is presented. The mean temperature from a joint fit of the ROSAT PSPC and EXOSAT ME data is 5.5(±0.2) keV. The luminosity is 0.6×1044 erg s−1 in 0.2–2.4 keV and 2.7×1044 erg s−1 in 0.2–10 keV. We find a cooling flow with a rate of ∼84 M⊙ yr−1. The central gas density is 6×10−3 cm−3, and the ICM mass is 3.6×1013 M⊙. The total cluster mass is ∼5×1014 M⊙. The X-ray morphology shows an east–west elongation, which is evidence for a recent merger event. The radio source 3C 129.1 is located near the X-ray centre. Another cluster member galaxy (the radio galaxy 3C 129) is a prototype of head-tailed radio galaxies, and is located in the west part of the cluster. The tail points along the gradient of intracluster gas pressure. There are no significant point X-ray sources associated with the AGNs of the two radio galaxies.
Longitudinal and Lateral Vibrations of a Planar Piezoceramic Transformer

Recently, the author has investigated the characteristics of Rosen-type piezotransformer with accounting the difference in elastic compliances of input and output sections. The refined formula has been derived for a transform ratio. It was established that a transform ratio is inversely proportional to a square frequency. This fact explains why an operation of the planar transformers at higher modes of vibrations is not effective. The longitudinal mechanical stresses in excite and generate sections of the transformer are axisymmetric in respect to the separating line that is in good matching with the experimental data. In this paper, the previous authors results are used for analyse of the modes of vibrations, frequency behaviour of the transform ratio and input admittance of transverse-longitudinal transformer. The spectrum of vibrations of the piezotransformer compares with that of rectangular piezoelectrtic plate. It is shown that piezoplate has more rigid spectrum than piezotransformer. The coupling between lateral and longitudinal vibrations in piezoplate and piezotransformer is similar.
Female Genital Cutting and Bride Price

This paper explores the relationship between female genital cutting (FGC) and the marriage market. I develop a general equilibrium model of parents’ decisions to cut their daughters, where the bride price, the groom’s traditional payment to the bride’s family upon marriage, is determined endogenously in the marriage market. The model predicts that in a context where FGC is a marker of chastity, an unobservable but valuable trait in the marriage market, the practice increases the marital surplus, the bride price. I use a difference-in-differences approach and test the model’s predictions on Egyptian data. I build a village-level dataset of the coverage of an antiFGC campaign, using archive information on Egyptian radio transmitters and a radio propagation software. I find that cohorts exposed to the campaign are 13% less likely to be cut and receive a 24% lower bride price. When investigating whether FGC is a marker of chastity, I find that the decline in FGC is substituted by an increase in pre-marital virginity testing and child marriage. Finally, to better understand whether these marriage market returns provide an incentive for parents to cut their daughters, I conduct a cross-Africa analysis. I find that the practice of bride price is associated with a 16% higher likelihood of a daughter being cut.
Statistics for spatial functional data: some recent contributions

Functional data analysis (FDA) is a relatively new branch in statistics. Experiments where a complete function is observed for each individual give rise to functional data. In this work we focus on the case of functional data presenting spatial dependence. The three classic types of spatial data structures (geostatistical data, point patterns, and areal data) can be combined with functional data as it is shown in the examples of each situation provided here. We also review some contributions in the literature on spatial functional data. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The Role of Cognitive Biases and Theory of Mind in Human Coordination

Theory of mind models the way humans handle so- cial situations by managing internal models of others in order to predict their actions. A particular recur- sive scheme that captures such behavior is the level- k model where behavior is hierarchically arranged in in- creasing sophistication level such that a level- k behavior is the best response against a level- ( k − 1) policy of the other agent. Expected utility theory (EUT) is com- monly used in decision-making models together with the level- k model, as a theory of value. However, EUT is known to not capture biases due to human interpreta-tions of risk associated with decisions and their value. In this work, we develop a framework that enables us to consider level- k recursive theory of mind where bi- ases and risk associated with decisions are captured by cumulative prospect theory (CPT), a risk-sensitive the- ory of value. We show that risk-sensitive agents (i.e. using CPT) are better at coordinating, with increasing sophistication level k , compared to risk-neutral agents (i.e. using EUT). We ﬁnd that both settings suggest that the reason why humans are good at coordination may stem from the fact that we are cognitively biased to do so. As a consequence, we might be able to leverage the proposed framework to equip artiﬁcial intelligence decision-making schemes with human-like reasoning.