Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pre-exposure to Ambiguous Faces Modulates Top-Down Control of Attentional Orienting to Counterpredictive Gaze Cues

Understanding and reacting to others’ nonverbal social signals, such as changes in gaze direction (i.e., gaze cue), are essential for social interactions, as it is important for processes such as joint attention and mentalizing. Although attentional orienting in response to gaze cues has a strong reflexive component, accumulating evidence shows that it can be top-down controlled by context information regarding the signals’ social relevance. For example, when a gazer is believed to be an entity “with a mind” (i.e., mind perception), people exert more top-down control on attention orienting. Although increasing an agent’s physical human-likeness can enhance mind perception, it could have negative consequences on top-down control of social attention when a gazer’s physical appearance is categorically ambiguous (i.e., difficult to categorize as human or nonhuman), as resolving this ambiguity would require using cognitive resources that otherwise could be used to top-down control attention orienting. To examine this question, we used mouse-tracking to explore if categorically ambiguous agents are associated with increased processing costs (Experiment 1), whether categorically ambiguous stimuli negatively impact top-down control of social attention (Experiment 2), and if resolving the conflict related to the agent’s categorical ambiguity (using exposure) would restore top-down control to orient attention (Experiment 3). The findings suggest that categorically ambiguous stimuli are associated with cognitive conflict, which negatively impact the ability to exert top-down control on attentional orienting in a counterpredicitive gaze-cueing paradigm; this negative impact, however, is attenuated when being pre-exposed to the stimuli prior to the gaze-cueing task. Taken together, these findings suggest that manipulating physical human-likeness is a powerful way to affect mind perception in human-robot interaction (HRI) but has a diminishing returns effect on social attention when it is categorically ambiguous due to drainage of cognitive resources and impairment of top-down control.
Sensory Abilities of Horses and Their Importance for Equitation Science

Vision, hearing, olfaction, taste, and touch comprise the sensory modalities of most vertebrates. With these senses, the animal receives information about its environment. How this information is organized, interpreted, and experienced is known as perception. The study of the sensory abilities of animals and their implications for behavior is central not only to ethology but also to animal welfare. Sensory ability, perception, and behavior are closely linked. Horses and humans share the five most common sensory modalities, however, their ranges and capacities differ, so that horses are unlikely to perceive their surroundings in a similar manner to humans. Understanding equine perceptual abilities and their differences is important when horses and human interact, as these abilities are pivotal for the response of the horse to any changes in its surroundings. This review aims to provide an overview of the current knowledge on the sensory abilities of horses. The information is discussed within an evolutionary context and also includes a practical perspective, outlining potential ways to mitigate risks of injuries and enhance positive horse-human interactions. The equine sensory apparatus includes panoramic visual capacities with acuities similar to those of red-green color-blind humans as well as aural abilities that, in some respects exceed human hearing and a highly developed sense of smell, all of which influence how horses react in various situations. Equine sensitivity to touch has been studied surprisingly sparingly despite tactile stimulation being the major interface of horse training. We discuss the potential use of sensory enrichment/positive sensory stimulation to improve the welfare of horses in various situations e.g. using odors, touch or sound to enrich the environment or to appease horses. In addition, equine perception is affected by factors such as breed, individuality, age, and in some cases even color, emphasizing that different horses may need different types of management. Understanding the sensory abilities of horses is central to the emerging discipline of equitation science, which comprises the gamut of horse-human interactions. Therefore, sensory abilities continue to warrant scientific focus, with more research to enable us to understand different horses and their various needs.
A Review on Synthesis of Methane as a Pathway for Renewable Energy Storage With a Focus on Solid Oxide Electrolytic Cell-Based Processes

Environmental issues related to global warming are constantly pushing the fossil fuel-based energy sector toward an efficient and economically viable utilization of renewable energy. However, challenges related to renewable energy call for alternative routes of its conversion to fuels and chemicals by an emerging Power-to-X approach. Methane is one such high-valued fuel that can be produced through renewables-powered electrolytic routes. Such routes employ alkaline electrolyzers, proton exchange membrane electrolyzers, and solid oxide electrolyzers, commonly known as solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOECs). SOECs have the potential to utilize the waste heat generated from exothermic methanation reactions to reduce the expensive electrical energy input required for electrolysis. A further advantage of an SOEC lies in its capacity to co-electrolyze both steam and carbon dioxide as opposed to only water, and this inherent capability of an SOEC can be harnessed for in situ synthesis of methane within a single reactor. However, the concept of in situ methanation in SOECs is still at a nascent stage and requires significant advancements in SOEC materials, particularly in developing a cathode electrocatalyst that demonstrates activity toward both steam electrolysis and methanation reactions. Equally important is the appropriate reactor design along with optimization of cell operating conditions (temperature, pressure, and applied potential). This review elucidates those developments along with research and development opportunities in this space. Also presented here is an efficiency comparison of different routes of synthetic methane production using SOECs in various modes, that is, as a source of hydrogen, syngas, and hydrogen/carbon dioxide mixture, and for in situ methane synthesis.
Glutamic Acid-Assisted Phytomanagement of Chromium Contaminated Soil by Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.): Morphophysiological and Biochemical Alterations

Chelator-assisted phytoremediation is an economical, sustainable, and ecologically friendly method of extracting heavy metals and metalloids from the soil. Organic chelators are thought to enhance metal availability and mobility in contaminated media, thereby improving phytoextraction. The aim of the present study was to examine whether exogenous application of glutamic acid (GA) could improve chromium (Cr) phytoextraction by sunflower plants (Helianthus annuus L.). Seeds were planted in plastic pots filled with 5 kg of local agricultural soil spiked with increasing concentrations of Cr (1, 2, and 5 mg kg−1). Glutamic acid (5 mM) was applied to soil in solution according to a completely randomized experimental design, and the sunflower plants were harvested after 8 weeks. The results indicated that increasing Cr-induced stress signiﬁcantly inhibited plant growth, leading to reduced biomass, photosynthetic pigment content, activities of antioxidant enzymes, and leaf area of the sunflower plants. However, exogenous addition of GA significantly reduced the Cr-associated toxic effects while also increasing the accumulation of Cr in the plants. Moreover, increasing concentrations of Cr in the soil increased the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) responsible for the altered antioxidant enzyme activities. The results revealed that GA application to the topsoil enhanced the Cr concentration and accumulation in the root, stem, and leaves by up to 254, 225, 355, and 47, 59, 150% respectively. Further the GA addition reduced the Cr-induced toxicity in plants and might be helpful for enhancing Cr phytoextraction by sunflower plants.
Enhancing corticospinal tract neurite outgrowth using histone deacetylase inhibitors

ii PREFACE . iii LIST OF TABLES . vi LIST OF FIGURES . vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS . ix ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . xi CHAPTER 1 : INTRODUCTION . 1 1.1 Corticospinal Tract Neurons: Function, Development and Injury . 1 1.2 Spinal Cord Injury: Barriers to Regeneration and Therapeutic Strategies . 5 1.2.1 Bridging the lesion gap with cell therapies . 5 1.2.2 Neurotrophic support . 8 1.2.3 Neutralizing the inhibitory lesion environment . 9 1.2.3.1 Myelin associated inhibitors . 9 1.2.3.2 The glial scar and inhibitory proteoglycans . 11 1.2.4 Enhancing intrinsic growth pathways of CST neurons . 12 1.2.4.1 MAPK/ERK pathway . 13 1.2.4.2 Rho pathway inhibition . 14 1.2.4.3 PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway activation . 15 1.2.4.4 Histone deacetylase inhibitors . 16 1.3 Histone Deacytelases and Their Inhibitors . 16 1.3.1 HDAC inhibitors . 18 1.3.2 HDAC inhibitors can have neuroprotective effects . 19 1.3. 3 Relevance of HDACs and their inhibitors to CST neurons . 20 1.4 Rationale, Hypothesis and Aims . 22 CHAPTER 2 : MATERIALS AND METHODS . 25 2.1 Mice Used for Cell Culture: Thy-1YFP16JRS . 25 2.2 Corticospinal Neuron Cell Culture . 25 2.3 Immunocytochemistry . 27 2.4 Image Analysis and Quantification . 28 2.4.1 Image acquisition . 28 2.4.2 Neuron and corticospinal neuron counting using the cellomics automated microscope . 29 2.4.3 Montaging and quantification of neurite length, branching and the number of primary neurites from individual neurons . 29 2.4.4 Quantification of total CST neurite carpet outgrowth per field of view . 30 2.4. 5 Statistical analysis . 31 CHAPTER 3 : RESULTS . 39 3.1 YFP Expression in P8 Thy1-YFP-16JRS Mice Demarcates a Population of Corticospinal Neurons in vivo, which is Maintained in vitro . 39 3.2 Establishing Experimental Conditions with NT3, CNTF and HDAC Inhibitors 40
Attitudes to Animals in Cyprus and the UK: Associations with Personality, Delinquency, and Morality

ABSTRACT The study aim was to investigate the associations between personality factors, attitudes to animals, moral values, and delinquent behaviors, and to examine the moderating effects of gender, age, and country of origin on these associations. This was a cross-cultural comparison of residents of Cyprus and the UK. A total of 526 people completed an online questionnaire and a path analysis was carried out. Persons who reported more positive attitudes to animals reported higher agreeableness and conscientiousness, lower delinquency, and were more likely to be Cypriot. Those reporting more delinquent behaviors expressed lower agreeableness and low conscientiousness and were residents of the UK. Persons with higher scores for self-reported morality also reported higher agreeableness and conscientiousness and were more likely to be Cypriot residents. The findings support previous studies on personality and attitudes toward animal welfare and suggest that positive attitudes to animal welfare may be linked to more rural lifestyles.
Modern slavery in law: towards continuums of exploitation

ABSTRACT The term modern slavery has become part of common discourse in the last few years, attributable in large part to the enactment of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (UK) and its Australian counterpart, the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth). These Acts define modern slavery, for which they are both named, by reference to specific categories of criminal offences. But the term is actually rooted in advocacy and developed organically to encompass a range of issues, which have proven difficult to pin down in practice. Many practitioners suggest that it is impossible to draw hard lines: the dynamic and fluid nature of the term in advocacy runs against the certainty required of definitions in law. Until now, few people have questioned how the term has functioned in the legal context, yet there are important questions to be asked. What are the tensions between the Acts’ strict legal categories and modern slavery’s supposedly dynamic nature? How can these tensions be resolved? Is there a better way to understand modern slavery that would not only allow the law to function efficiently but also recognise the informality, poverty, and exploitation at modern slavery’s core?
Root traits are multidimensional: specific root length is independent from root tissue density and the plant economic spectrum

Root, stem and leaf traits are thought to be functionally coordinated to maximize the efficiency of acquiring and using limited resources. However, evidence is mixed for consistent whole‐plant trait coordination among woody plants, and we lack a clear understanding of the adaptive value of root traits along soil resource gradients. If fine roots are the below‐ground analogue to leaves, then low specific root length (SRL) and high tissue density should be common on infertile soil. Here, we test the prediction that root, stem and leaf traits and relative growth rate respond in unison with soil fertility gradients. We measured fine root, stem and leaf traits and relative growth rate on individual seedlings of 66 tree species grown in controlled conditions. Our objectives were (i) to determine whether multiple root traits align with growth rate, leaf and stem traits and with each other and (ii) to quantify the relationships between community‐weighted mean root traits and two strong soil fertility gradients that differed in spatial extent and community composition. At the species level, fast growth rates were associated with low root and stem tissue density and high specific leaf area. SRL and root diameter were not clearly related to growth rate and loaded on a separate principal component from the plant economic spectrum. At the community level, growth rate was positively related to soil fertility, and root tissue density (RTD) and branching were negatively related to soil fertility. SRL was negatively related and root diameter was positively related to soil fertility on the large‐scale gradient that included ectomycorrhizal angiosperms. Synthesis. Root, stem and leaf tissue traits of tree seedlings are coordinated and influence fitness along soil fertility gradients. RTD responds in unison with above‐ground traits to soil fertility gradients; however, root traits are multidimensional because SRL is orthogonal to the plant economic spectrum. In contrast to leaves, trees are not constrained in the way they construct fine roots: plants can construct high or low SRL roots of any tissue density. High RTD is the most consistent below‐ground trait that reflects adaptation to infertile soil.
Ginsenoside Re Treatment Attenuates Myocardial Hypoxia/Reoxygenation Injury by Inhibiting HIF-1α Ubiquitination

Previous studies have shown an attenuating effect of ginsenoside Re on myocardial injury induced by hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R). However, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. This study was designed to determine the underlying mechanism by which ginsenoside Re protects from myocardial injury induced by H/R. HL-1 cells derived from AT-1 mouse atrial cardiomyocyte tumor line were divided into control, H/R, and H/R + ginsenoside Re groups. Cell viability was measured by CCK-8 assay. ATP levels were quantified by enzymatic assays. Signaling pathway was predicted by network pharmacology analyses and verified by luciferase assay and gene-silencing experiment. The relationship between ginsenoside Re and its target genes and proteins was analyzed by docking experiments, allosteric site analysis, real-time PCR, and ubiquitination and immunoprecipitation assays. Our results showed that ginsenoside Re treatment consistently increased HL-1 cell viability and significantly up-regulated ATP levels after H/R-induced injury. Network pharmacology analysis suggested that the effect of ginsenoside Re was associated with the regulation of the Hypoxia-inducing factor 1 (HIF-1) signaling pathway. Silencing of HIF-1α abrogated the effect of ginsenoside Re on HL-1 cell viability, which was restored by transfection with an HIF-1α-expressing plasmid. Results of the bioinformatics analysis suggested that ginsenoside Re docked at the binding interface between HIF-1α and the von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) E3 ubiquitin ligase, preventing VHL from binding HIF-1α, thereby inhibiting the ubiquitination of HIF-1α. To validate the results of the bioinformatics analysis, real-time PCR, ubiquitination and immunoprecipitation assays were performed. Compared with the mRNA expression levels of the H/R group, ginsenoside Re did not change expression of HIF-1α mRNA, while protein level of HIF-1α increased and that of HIF-1α[Ub]n decreased following ginsenoside Re treatment. Immunoprecipitation results showed that the amount of HIF-1α bound to VHL substantially decreased following ginsenoside Re treatment. In addition, ginsenoside Re treatment increased the expression of GLUT1 (glucose transporter 1) and REDD1 (regulated in development and DNA damage response 1), which are targets of HIF-1α and are critical for cell metabolism and viability. These results suggested that Ginsenoside Re treatment attenuated the myocardial injury induced by H/R, and the possible mechanism was associated with the inhibition of HIF-1α ubiquitination.
Possible Assessment of Calf Venous Pump Efficiency by Computational Fluid Dynamics Approach

Three-dimensional simulations of peripheral, deep venous flow during muscular exercise in limbs of healthy subjects and in those with venous dysfunction were carried out by a computational fluid-dynamics (CFD) approach using the STAR CCM + platform. The aim was to assess the effects of valvular incompetence on the venous calf pump efficiency. The model idealizes the lower limb circulation by a single artery, a capillary bed represented by a porous region and a single vein. The focus is on a segment of the circuit which mimics a typical deep vein at the level of the calf muscle, such as the right posterior tibial vein. Valves are idealized as ball valves, and periodic muscle contractions are given by imposing time-dependent boundary conditions to the calf segment wall. Flow measurements were performed in two cross-sections downstream and upstream of the calf pump. Model results demonstrate a reduced venous return for incompetent valves during calf exercise. Two different degrees of valvular incompetence are considered, by restricting the motion of one or both valves. Model results showed that only the proximal valve is critical, with a 30% reduction of venous return during calf exercise in case of valvular incompetence: the net flow volume ejected by the calf in central direction was 0.14 mL per working cycle, against 0.2 mL for simulated healthy limbs. This finding appeared to be consistent with a 25% reduction of the calf ejection fraction, experimentally observed in chronic venous disease limbs compared with healthy limbs.
A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF FUNCTIONAL OUTCOME OF CONVENTIONAL DISCECTOMY WITH PERCUTANEOUS ENDOSCOPIC DISCECTOMY

Introduction DISC prolapse is a common problem seen in 1 in 10,000 in general population and 10% patients may require surgical intervention. Lumbar disc herniation accounts for only 5% of all low back pain problems but is the most common cause of radiating nerve root pain (sciatica). e natural history of disc herniation indicates that they may decrease in size or even disappear within a few weeks or months of onset. In migrated or extruded herniations, phagocytosis of the herniated disc by the macrophages occurs, while, in contained herniations, dehydration of the herniated nucleus pulposus plays a major role in the reduction of the herniated disc size. Various types of procedures ranging from large Laminectomy to Percutaneous Discectomy under Local Anaesthesia are being practiced. Lumbar discectomy is the most common surgical procedure for lumbar related symptoms.
The Socioethical Implications of Body Worn Computers: An Ethnographic Study

This thesis explores the socioethical implications of body worn computers (BWC) using an ethnographic approach. Furthermore, a subset, body worn cameras (BWCs), combines data with value added constancy through Location Based Services (LBS) over wireless network connections. The aim of this investigation was to engage global leaders from transdisciplinary stakeholder groups in semi-structured interviews, conversations and events, situating a review of the social impact and ethical implications of BWCs. A critical discourse analysis using a Foucauldian approach reveals power relations, which are then infused through narrative with unique intercultural perspectives, differentiating ‘location’ from ‘place’. The author of this study has subsequently identified through Grounded Theory that BWCs are causal agency for disconnect from proper culture which can be addressed through the application of Ngikalikarra, a unique framework for empathetic understanding of place and community engagement.
Investigation on Blockchain Technology for Web Service Composition: A Case Study

The blockchain is an incorruptible digital ledger of economic transactions that can be programmed to record not just financial transactions but virtually everything of value. Blockchain technology makes breakthroughs in business intelligence in many areas such as banking sector, finance, judiciary, commerce, and information technology. Web service compositions have a revolutionary impact on business intelligence by enabling loose coupling, data consolidation from diverse sources, consolidation of information under a single roof, easing ad-hoc querying and reporting. The objective of current work is to investigate the applicability of blockchain for the semantic web service composition process. The paper focuses on design of conceptual architecture and the algorithm for QoS-aware semantic web service composition (SWSC) using blockchain.
"I Have a Narrow Thought Process": Constraints on Explanations Connecting Inferences and Self-Perceptions

Most people are unfamiliar with the kinds of inferences that platforms like Facebook and Google can automatically associate with them, despite the existence of interfaces designed to provide transparency to end users. We conducted a study to investigate people’s reactions upon being exposed to these inferences, to learn if and how they perceived the inferences to be connected to themselves. Through qualitative analysis, we found that the evidence participants used to relate the inferences with their self-perceptions was bounded by what they remembered about their own past behaviors in connection with the platform. Inferences that participants felt were implausible given their own behavior were rationalized as being related to family members, outdated, or could ﬁt anyone with similar demographic characteristics. Participants also identiﬁed some inferences they believed had no connection with themselves whatsoever. We discuss implications for how participants’ reasoning might lead to expectations about what kinds of inferences are possible, and what this means for people’s ability to make informed privacy decisions regarding consent and disclosure.