Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Acute and Lifetime Stress and Psychotic Illness: The Roles of Reward and Salience Networks

Affective reactions to acute stressors often evoke exacerbations of psychotic symptoms and sometimes de novo psychotic symptoms and initial psychotic episodes. Across the lifespan, affective reactions to acute stressors are enhanced by successive adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), in a process called “behavioral sensitization”. The net effects of behavioral sensitization of acute stress responses are to alter responsivity to positive and negative feedback and to unexpected events, regardless of valence, leading to the maladaptive assignment of salience to stimuli and events. The assignment of “aberrant” salience to stimuli and events has profound consequences for learning and decision-making, which can influence both the positive and negative symptoms of psychosis. In this review, we discuss some of the psychological and neural mechanisms by which affective reactivity to acute stress, and its sensitization through the experience of stress and trauma across the lifespan, impact both the positive and negative symptoms of psychosis. We recount how the reward and salience networks of the brain, together with inputs from the dopamine and serotonin neurotransmitter systems, are implicated in both affective reactivity to stress and the symptoms of psychosis, likely mediate the effects of stress and trauma on the symptoms of psychosis and could serve as targets for interventions.
Spitzer Infrared Spectrograph (IRS) Observations of the Redshift 3.91 Quasar APM 08279+5255

The Infrared Spectrograph (IRS) on board the Spitzer Space Telescope has been used to obtain low- and moderate-resolution spectra of the dust- and gas-rich quasar APM 08279+5255 (z = 3.91). Broad Paα and Paβ recombination lines of hydrogen were detected at wavelengths of 9.235 and 6.315 μm, respectively, as well as a strong, red continuum that is a smooth power law over the observed (rest-frame) wavelength range 5.3-35 μm (1.08-7.1 μm). The observed Paα/Paβ line flux ratio of 1.05 ± 0.2 is far from the case B value of ∼2 and simple models of high-density, high optical depth ionized-gas regions (∼1.8). This deviation is opposite in sense to the expected effect of reddening. No evidence is found in the spectrum for either the 3.3 or the 6.2 μm emission features usually attributed to aromatic hydrocarbons in gas-rich galaxies in the local universe. This is consistent with the high-luminosity active galactic nucleus (AGN) nature of APM 08279+5255.
Towards better understanding the stiffness of nanocomposites via parametric study of an analytical model modeling parameters and experiments

The stiffness of polymeric materials can be improved dramatically with the addition of nanoparticles. In theory, as the nanoparticle loading in the polymer increases, the nanocomposite becomes stiffer; however, experiments suggest that little or no stiffness improvement is observed beyond an optimal nanoparticle loading. The mismatch between the theoretical and experimental findings, particularly at high particle loadings, needs to be understood for the effective use of nanoparticles. In this respect, we have recently developed an analytical model to close the gap in the literature and predict elastic modulus of nanocomposites. The model is based on a three-phase Mori-Tanaka model coupled with the Monte-Carlo method, and satisfactorily captures the experimental results, even at high nanoparticle loadings. The developed model can also be used to study the effects of agglomeration in nanocomposites. In this paper, we use this model to study the effects of agglomeration and related model parameters on the stiffness of nanocomposites. In particular, the effects of particle orientation, critical distance, dispersion state and agglomerate property, and particle aspect ratio are investigated to demonstrate capabilities of the model and to observe how optimal particle loading changes with respect these parameters. The study shows that the critical distance defining agglomerates and the properties of agglomerates are the key design parameters at high particle loadings. These two parameters rule the optimal elastic modulus with respect to particle loading. The findings will allow researchers to form design curves and successfully predict the elastic moduli of nanocomposites without the exhaustive experimental undertakings.
Degradation modeling based on the gamma process with random initial degradation level and random threshold

ABSTRACT The stochastic modeling of performance characteristics is an important approach for the quality assessment of products. As part of the stochastic modeling, it is possible to consider different variation sources such as temporal, unit-to-unit heterogeneity and measurement error. These sources have been incorporated into different stochastic processes in the literature. Considering the unit-to-unit heterogeneity, two sources of variation can be found for certain products, particularly when the initial level and the critical threshold vary from unit-to-unit. Although, these sources have been studied separately, they have not been studied simultaneously. In this paper, a modeling approach is proposed which considers the gamma process to take into account the temporal uncertainty and the initial degradation level and the critical threshold level as two additional sources of variation. The modeling consists in first obtaining the distribution of the subtraction of the critical threshold and the initial level via a deconvolution operation. Then, the cumulative distribution function of the first passage time distribution is obtained through numerical integration. A simulation study is conducted to evaluate the performance of the proposed method, where different scenarios are analyzed. Furthermore, this approach is applied to a fatigue-crack propagation case study, from which a reliability assessment is performed.
Stem Cell Therapy for Alzheimer’s Disease: A Scoping Review for 2017–2022

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has been a major causal factor for mortality among elders around the world. The treatments for AD, however, are still in the stage of development. Stem cell therapy, compared to drug therapies and many other therapeutic options, has many advantages and is very promising in the future. There are four major types of stem cells used in AD therapy: neural stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells, embryonic stem cells, and induced pluripotent stem cells. All of them have applications in the treatments, either at the (1) cellular level, in an (2) animal model, or at the (3) clinical level. In general, many more types of stem cells were studied on the cellular level and animal model, than the clinical level. We suggest for future studies to increase research on various types of stem cells and include cross-disciplinary research with other diseases. In the future, there could also be improvements in the timeliness of research and individualization for stem cell therapies for AD.
Paederia foetida Linn Leaves-Derived Extract Showed Antioxidant and Cytotoxic Properties Against Breast Carcinoma Cell

Paederia foetida Linn. is a rich source of active compounds, yet its antioxidant and cytotoxic properties remain poorly studied. This current research aimed to investigate the chemical profiles of a crude extract derived from P. foetida leaves, its fractionated substances, and their antioxidant and cytotoxic properties on MCF-7 cells, a breast carcinoma cell. Six fractionated substances have been separated in thin layer chromatography (TLC) plate. Five fractions showed antioxidant properties, as indicated by the formation of the yellowish band on the TLC plate after spraying with the DPPH reagent. Furthermore, crude extract of P. foetida leaves and its fractions are also characterized by antioxidant properties against 2, 2'-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radicals. F1 fraction exhibited the most potent antioxidant activity with IC50 values of 10.94±2.67 and 50.04±0.48 µg/ml, respectively, toward DPPH and ABTS radicals. Crude extract and all six fractions also varied in their cytotoxic properties against MCF-7 cells, with IC50 values ranging from 410.24±0.30 to 831.57±6.91 µg/ml. F3 fractions showed the strongest cytotoxicity (IC50 value: 410.24±0.30 µg/ml). Methanolic extract and active plant leaf fractions contained flavonoid and phenolic compounds, as measured by aluminum chloride and Folin-Ciocalteu reagent, respectively. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis showed that phenol, flavonoid, alkaloid, limonoid, and steroid were the major compound found in the crude extract and fractions. In conclusion, the present study proved that crude extract of P. foetida leaves and its fractionated substances were potential as antioxidant and cytotoxic agents.
Self-organized structures induced by external white noise and nanosized levels of their formation in the non-crystalline As-S(Se) semiconductor systems

Discussed in this paper are the singularity and self-organizing effect of instability and randomness under the influence of external white noise on formation of non-crystalline materials. The random nature of the receiving medium together with the disorganizing effect was found to be capable to initiate formation of qualitatively new self-organized structures in non-crystalline solids. Also analyzed in the paper is the effect of a random temperature field applied to the melt during the cooling process in non-crystalline As-S(Se) semiconductor systems. The conditions for a non-crystalline system in a fluctuating external environment to adjust its properties to the average properties of the environment and to correspond to the deterministic case were identified. Furthermore, the conditions for non-additive reaction of the system to a random environment and formation of a new mode of energy conversion in the self-organized structure at the nanoscale level are determined. The spectrum of the structures created in this way is more diverse as compared to the spectrum corresponding to respective deterministic conditions.
A Dynamically Reconfigurable Recursive Switched- Capacitor DC–DC Converter With Adaptive Load Ability Enhancement

Multiple voltage conversion ratio (VCR) recursive switched-capacitor (SC) dc–dc converters, based on several basic 2:1 converters, are widely used for on-chip power supplies due to their flexible VCRs for higher energy efficiency. However, conventional multiple VCR SC converters usually have one or more 2:1 converters unused for some VCRs, which results in lower power density and chip area wastage. This article presents a new recursive dc–dc converter system, which can dynamically reconfigure the connection of all on-chip 2:1 converter cells so that the unused converters in the conventional designs can be reused in this new architecture for increasing the load-driving capacity, power density, and power efficiency. To validate the design, a 4-bit-input 15-ratio system was designed and fabricated in a 180-nm BCD process, which can support a maximum load current of $\text{0.71}\,\text{mA}$ and achieves a peak power efficiency of 93.1% with $105.3\,\mu \text{A/mm}^{2}$ chip power density from a 2-V input power supply. The measurement results show that the load-driving capacity can become 6.826×, 2.236×, and 2.175× larger than the conventional topology when the VCR is 1/2, 1/4, and 3/4, respectively. In addition, the power efficiency under these specific VCRs can also be improved considerably.
Temporary Equilibrium Dynamics with Bayesian Learning

Abstract This paper examines the stability of deterministic steady states in a class of economies where the state variable is one dimensional and where agents use Bayesian techniques to form expectations. The dynamics with learning are locally convergent if the prior mean is close to a stable perfect-foresight root having modulus less than 1 and if the prior beliefs are held with enough confidence. The dynamics are, however, divergent if the prior mean or the variance of the prior distribution is sufficiently large. Journal of Economic Literature classification numbers: C62, D83, D84.
Characteristic Comparison of Ground Reaction Force of the Taekwondo's Apkubi Motion and the Walking on Older Persons

The purpose of this study was to quantify the biomechanical characteristics of the ground reaction force(GRF) during the Taekwondo`s Apkubi, one of the basic movement in Taekwondo and the walking. The GRF profiles under the stance foot of Apkubi movement and walking were directly measured in sample of 20 healthy older persons. In the anterior-posterior and vertical direction, the GRF of the Apkubi movement reached to the peak braking force at 10% of the normalized stance time percent and the peak driving force at 90% of stance time, but that of the walking reached to the peak braking force at 20% of stance time and the peak driving force at 80% of stance time. In vertical force, the GRF of the walking showed two peak values, but that of the Apkubi movement seemed three peak values. Moreover the first peak vertical force was significantly(t
Genomic Regions Associated with Wool, Growth and Reproduction Traits in Uruguayan Merino Sheep

The aim of this study was to identify genomic regions and genes associated with the fiber diameter (FD), clean fleece weight (CFW), live weight (LW), body condition score (BCS), pregnancy rate (PR) and lambing potential (LP) of Uruguayan Merino sheep. Phenotypic records of approximately 2000 mixed-age ewes were obtained from a Merino nucleus flock. Genome-wide association studies were performed utilizing single-step Bayesian analysis. For wool traits, a total of 35 genomic windows surpassed the significance threshold (PVE ≥ 0.25%). The proportion of the total additive genetic variance explained by those windows was 4.85 and 9.06% for FD and CFW, respectively. There were 42 windows significantly associated with LWM, which collectively explained 43.2% of the additive genetic variance. For BCS, 22 relevant windows accounted for more than 40% of the additive genetic variance, whereas for the reproduction traits, 53 genomic windows (24 and 29 for PR and LP, respectively) reached the suggestive threshold of 0.25% of the PVE. Within the top 10 windows for each trait, we identified several genes showing potential associations with the wool (e.g., IGF-1, TGFB2R, PRKCA), live weight (e.g., CAST, LAP3, MED28, HERC6), body condition score (e.g., CDH10, TMC2, SIRPA, CPXM1) or reproduction traits (e.g., ADCY1, LEPR, GHR, LPAR2) of the mixed-age ewes.
Commitment to sustainability in large European banks and its relationship with board gender diversity: a 2030 Agenda perspective

Ensuring a sustainable future by meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) cannot be achieved without women's empowerment and gender equality. This study aims to determine whether there are differences between European banks in terms of their commitment to SDGs and the intensity of this commitment depending on their board gender diversity. A sample of the 50 largest European banks from 2016 to 2020 was used to perform hypothesis testing for differences in means. The results provide robust support for the assertion that banks with greater female representation on the board of directors have a greater commitment to the 2030 Agenda. The originality of this research lies in the use of indicators of commitment to SDGs corresponding to each of the five SDG pillars. This study thus provides the first evidence of the importance of distinguishing between these pillars when examining the relationship between commitment to SDGs and board gender diversity. This evidence advances the scant literature on this relationship.
Association between Diet-related Behaviour and Risk of Colorectal Cancer: A Scoping Review

Individual dietary patterns may be influenced by diet-related behaviours, which may eventually play a significant role in contributing to colorectal cancer risk. As nearly half of colorectal cancer cases can be prevented through diet and lifestyle modification, in this study, we aimed to present an overview of the literature on diet-related behaviour and its effect on colorectal cancer risk among adults. Articles published from 2011 until July 2021 were selected. Out of the 1,198 articles retrieved, 25 were analyzed. There were 16 case-control studies, and nine of them were cohort studies. As a finding, the instruments used in this review were food frequency questionnaires (n = 23), followed by a semi-structured interview (n = 1), and diet records (n = 1). We demonstrated that unhealthy diet-related behaviours are linked to an increased risk of colorectal cancer in adults and those food frequency questionnaires or food records are common instruments used to collect diet-related behaviours. This article imparts the research trends and directions of colorectal cancer risk factors and shows that diet-related behaviour varies and changes over time.
The relation between disgust sensitivity and risk-taking propensity: A domain specific approach

Disgust is a cross-culturally recognized emotion that is characterized by avoidant or cautious tendencies. Accordingly, greater sensitivity to disgust may be related to less willingness to take risks. Relatively little research has examined the association between disgust sensitivity and risk-taking propensity. Further, no research to date has taken a domain specific approach to understanding the association between these constructs. Across two studies (N1=98, N2=390) and a mini-meta analysis utilizing two additional datasets (total N=1981), we assessed the extent to which domain specific disgust sensitivity (i.e., Pathogen, Sexual, and Moral) were related to domain specific risk-taking propensity (i.e., Social, Recreational, Health/Safety, Ethical, and Financial). We conducted two cross-sectional studies, with a community and a student sample. Participants completed surveys that included measures of disgust sensitivity and risk-taking propensity. Bivariate correlations across the two studies indicated that greater disgust sensitivity was related to lower risk-taking propensity across almost all domains. However, when controlling for covariance among the disgust sensitivity domains, regression analyses suggested variability in the association between disgust sensitivity and risk-taking propensity depending on domains. Based on mini meta-analysis, sexual disgust sensitivity had the strongest relationships with social risk-taking propensity and health/safety risk-taking propensity, and moral disgust sensitivity had the strongest relationship with ethical risk-taking propensity. These findings suggest the presence of domain specific relations between disgust sensitivity and risk-taking propensity. The domain specific focus may help in utilizing disgust as a factor to decrease certain risky behaviors (e.g., moral disgust for decreasing plagiarism).
Near-field Thermal Radiation Between Two Closely Spaced Glass Plates Exceeding Planck’s Blackbody Radiation Law

This work reports experimental studies on radiative heat flux between two parallel glass surfaces. Small polystyrene particles are used as spacers to maintain a micron-sized gap between two optical flats. By carefully choosing the number of particles and performing the measurement in a high-vacuum environment, the experiment is designed to ensure that the radiative heat flux is the dominant mode of heat transfer. The experimental results clearly demonstrate that the radiative heat flux across micron-sized gaps can exceed the far-field upper limit given by Planck’s law of blackbody radiation. The measured radiative heat flux shows reasonable agreement with theoretical predictions.
Organized convective systems in the tropical western pacific as a process in general circulation models: A toga coare case‐study

We examine the large‐scale effects of organized convective systems in the tropical western Pacific observed during the Tropical‐Ocean Global‐Atmosphere Coupled Ocean‐Atmosphere Response Experiment (TOGA COARE). In a case‐study approach, we examine realizations of a supercluster, associated with the onset of the December 1992 westerly wind burst, in the T213 operational medium‐range weather forecasting model of the European Centre for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). We idealize a supercluster as a hierarchy of three interacting scales, namely organized cumulonimbu 𝒞1 mesoscale convective systems 𝒞2, and the supercluster component 𝒞3. It is shown that the ECMWF model represents this hierarchy as a 𝒞3‐like surrogate whose influence dominates the effect of parametrized convection. This causes over‐prediction of the model tendencies which, in the case of zonal momentum, is explained in elementary terms.
Phonetic targets as the link between speech production and speech perception

We argue in this paper that the coherence between speech perception and production, which the motor theory maintains, lies in the common knowledge about speech production shared by the speaker and the listener. More specifically, we propose that abstract phonemic units are associated with phonetic targets that are articulatorily operable. These targets, however, are usually not fully achieved in speech production. Rather, they are often only approximated by different degrees under the limitation of various articulatory constraints. The process of speech production, therefore, is one in which various phonetic targets are being continuously approximated. As evidence, we will demonstrate with recent acoustic data how lexical tones in Mandarin are implemented through continuous approximation under specific articulatory constraints, how these constraints bring about extensive variations in the F0 contours, and how, despite the variations, tonal targets maintain their integrity in connected speech. We will then.
Thermal stresses and cracking resistance of dielectric films (SiN, Si3N4, and SiO2) on Si substrates

In device‐manufacturing technology, it is important to understand why dielectric films crack. With this objective in mind, we have constructed an apparatus for measurement of thermal stresses in thin films (25–500 °C), obtained results on various reactively plasma deposited (RPD) Si‐N and CVD SiO2 films, and developed a model which quantifies the cracking resistance of different types of RPD Si‐N films. Measurements were made of the coefficient of thermal expansion α (T), which increases on going from SiO2→Si3N4→SiN→Si and the intrinsic stress, which is compressive for RPD Si3N4, nearly zero for thermal SiO2 and tensile for RPD SiN and CVD SiO2. The cracking resistance of Si‐N film at a given temperature is functionally related to its density, intrinsic stress, thermal mismatch with Si, and the deposition temperature.
Comment on “Broadband matched-field processing: Coherent and incoherent approaches” [Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 113, 2587–2598 (2003)]

The recent paper by Soares and Jesus [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 113, 2587–2598 (2003)] discussed the probability density functions (pdfs) of the envelope and phase of signals for modeling in broadband match-field processing. In this Comment, we provide an explicit expression for the pdf of phase involving the standard normal distribution function. Several elementary approximations are also suggested and references given.