Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Efficacy of slow oscillatory‐transcranial direct current stimulation on EEG and memory – contribution of an inter‐individual factor

Despite many reports on beneficial effects of anodal slow oscillatory‐transcranial direct current stimulation (so‐tDCS) during non‐rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep on memory consolidation, frequent negative outcomes have also been observed. Our working hypothesis is that so‐tDCS efficacy is strongly dependent upon the susceptibility of the underlying network. One component determining susceptibility of the network is hypothesized to be reflected in learning or ‘task‐induced’ plastic changes. Another component is hypothesized to represent inter‐individual confounds. Twenty‐five (15 female) healthy students participated in two learning conditions with and without so‐tDCS during early nocturnal NREM sleep and in one control condition without learning tasks. So‐tDCS was applied in five 5‐min blocks. EEG was assessed during two time windows: an acute period with five 1‐min epochs after each stimulation block and a 150‐min post‐stimulation time period. Inter‐individual differences were assessed by a memory quotient (MQ) and subjects classified into high‐ vs. low‐scoring groups. Although so‐tDCS was efficient in enhancing fast spindle parameters in the 150‐min time period in all subjects, so‐tDCS failed to modulate memory consolidation. In contrast, in subjects with a high MQ, memory retention on a figural paired‐associate task was significantly increased after so‐tDCS. Task‐induced slow spindle density was modulated in the opposite direction in subjects with high vs. low MQ being increased in the high‐MQ group only. Effects of so‐tDCS on EEG were limited to fast spindle modulations in both time windows. These results reveal that inter‐individual confound can impact so‐tDCS efficacy, suggesting potential use of such factors as biomarkers.
Superficial and peripheral dose in compensator‐based FFF beam IMRT

Abstract Flattening filter‐free (FFF) beams produce higher dose rates. Combined with compensator‐based intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) techniques, the dose delivery for each beam can be much shorter compared to the flattened beam MLC‐based or flattened beam compensator‐based IMRT. This ‘snap shot’ IMRT delivery is beneficial to patients for tumor motion management. Due to softer energy, superficial doses in FFF beam treatment are usually higher than those from flattened beams. Due to no flattening filter, thus less photon scattering, peripheral doses are usually lower in FFF beam treatment. However, in compensator‐based IMRT using FFF beams, the compensator is in the beam pathway. Does it introduce beam hardening effects and scattering such that the superficial dose is lower and peripheral dose is higher compared to FFF beam MLC‐based IMRT? This study applied Monte Carlo techniques to investigate the superficial and peripheral doses in compensator‐based IMRT using FFF beams and compared it to the MLC‐based IMRT using FFF beams and flattened beams. Besides varying thicknesses of brass slabs to simulate varying thicknesses of compensators, a simple cone‐shaped compensator was simulated to mimic a clinical application. The dose distribution in water phantom by the cone‐shaped compensator was then simulated by multiple MLC‐defined FFF and flattened beams with varying apertures. After normalization to the maximum dose, Dmax, the superficial and peripheral doses were compared between the FFF beam compensator‐based IMRT and FFF/flattened beam MLC‐based IMRT. The superficial dose at the central 0.5 mm depth was about 1% (of Dmax) lower in the compensator‐based 6 MV FFF (6FFF) IMRT compared to the MLC‐based 6FFF IMRT, and about 8% higher than the flattened 6 MV MLC‐based IMRT dose. At 8 cm off‐axis at depth of central maximum dose, dmax, the peripheral dose between the 6FFF and flattened 6 MV MLC demonstrated similar doses, while the compensator dose was about 1% (of Dmax) higher. Compensators reduce the superficial doses slightly compared to open FFF beams, but increases the peripheral doses due to scatter in the compensator.
Leaching assessment of matrix land reclamation material

A green strategy has been proposed by stabilising incineration bottom ash (IBA) waste and marine clay (MC) waste as land reclamation material, termed MC-IBA matrix. However, the reuse of IBA may increase the potential threats to the environment since IBA contains heavy metals. Heavy metal leaching depends on the interplay of various physical and chemical factors such as size, shape and porosity of the particles, temperature, pH, aging and degradation of material and control mechanism and so on. In this paper, the leaching process against pH and time was studied as a necessary environmental assessment. Three laboratory leaching tests were employed to characterise the leaching: pH-dependent test (CEN/TS 14429), availability test (NEN 7371) and diffusion test (NEN 7347). The shear strength development of the MC-IBA matrix was also determined. Results indicated that (1) the shear strength of the MC-IBA matrix presented a great increase during curing time; (2) pH played a significant role in heavy metal leachi.
VnCoreNLP: A Vietnamese Natural Language Processing Toolkit

We present an easy-to-use and fast toolkit, namely VnCoreNLP—a Java NLP annotation pipeline for Vietnamese. Our VnCoreNLP supports key natural language processing (NLP) tasks including word segmentation, part-of-speech (POS) tagging, named entity recognition (NER) and dependency parsing, and obtains state-of-the-art (SOTA) results for these tasks. We release VnCoreNLP to provide rich linguistic annotations to facilitate research work on Vietnamese NLP. Our VnCoreNLP is open-source and available at: https://github.com/vncorenlp/VnCoreNLP
Application of Receptor Theory to the Design and Use of Fixed-Proportion Mu-Opioid Agonist and Antagonist Mixtures in Rhesus Monkeys

Receptor theory predicts that fixed-proportion mixtures of a competitive, reversible agonist (e.g., fentanyl) and antagonist (e.g., naltrexone) at a common receptor [e.g., mu-opioid receptors (MORs)] will result in antagonist proportion-dependent decreases in apparent efficacy of the agonist/antagonist mixtures and downward shifts in mixture dose-effect functions. The present study tested this hypothesis by evaluating behavioral effects of fixed-proportion fentanyl/naltrexone mixtures in a warm-water tail-withdrawal procedure in rhesus monkeys (n = 4). Fentanyl (0.001–0.056 mg/kg) alone, naltrexone (0.032–1.0 mg/kg, i.m.) alone, and fixed-proportion mixtures of fentanyl/naltrexone (1:0.025, 1:0.074, and 1:0.22) were administered in a cumulative-dosing procedure, and the proportions were based on published fentanyl and naltrexone Kd values at MOR in monkey brain. Fentanyl alone produced dose-dependent antinociception at both 50 and 54°C thermal intensities. Up to the largest dose tested, naltrexone alone did not alter nociception. Consistent with receptor theory predictions, naltrexone produced a proportion-dependent decrease in the effectiveness of fentanyl/naltrexone mixtures to produce antinociception. The maximum effects of fentanyl, naltrexone, and each mixture were also used to generate an efficacy-effect scale for antinociception at each temperature, and this scale was evaluated for its utility in quantifying 1) efficacy requirements for antinociception at 50 and 54°C and 2) relative efficacy of six MOR agonists that vary in their efficacies to produce agonist-stimuated GTPγS binding in vitro (from lowest to highest efficacy: 17-cyclopropylmethyl-3,14β-dihyroxy-4,5α-epoxy-6α-[(3′-isoquinolyl)acetamindo]morphine, nalbuphine, buprenorphine, oxycodone, morphine, and methadone). These results suggest that fixed-proportion agonist/antagonist mixtures may offer a useful strategy to manipulate apparent drug efficacy for basic research or therapeutic purposes.
Association of asthma diagnosis with leptin and adiponectin: a systematic review and meta-analysis

There is some evidence which shows that higher levels of serum leptin and lower levels of serum adiponectin are associated with the diagnosis of asthma. This meta-analysis evaluated the association of serum leptin and adiponectin levels with the diagnosis of asthma. We searched the MEDLINE, Cochrane, EMBASE and CINAHL Plus databases up to July 2015. Eligible studies were randomized controlled trials, prospective studies, retrospective studies, case–control studies and cohort studies. 13 studies with 3642 patients were included in the study. The meta-analysis found that in the overall study population, the diagnosis of asthma was associated with higher levels of leptin (pooled standardized difference in means=0.867, 95% CI 0.416 to 1.318, p<0.001) and lower levels of adiponectin (pooled standardized difference in means=−0.371, 95% CI −0.728 to −0.014, p=0.042) in patients with asthma compared with controls. Subgroup analysis found that higher leptin levels were associated with asthma both in adults (standardized difference in means=1.374, 95% CI 0.621 to 2.126, p<0.001) and children (standardized difference in means=0.302, 95% CI 0.010 to 0.594, p=0.042). However, borderline association of adiponectin with asthma was seen in adults (p=0.05), but not in children (p=0.509). Sensitivity analysis indicated that the findings for leptin were robust. Our findings are consistent with higher levels of serum leptin being associated with asthma regardless of age, and low adiponectin levels being associated with asthma in adults only.
An Immortalized Human Dorsal Root Ganglion Cell Line Provides a Novel Context To Study Herpes Simplex Virus 1 Latency and Reactivation

ABSTRACT A defining characteristic of alphaherpesviruses is the establishment of lifelong latency in host sensory ganglia with occasional reactivation causing recurrent lytic infections. As an alternative to rodent models, we explored the use of an immortalized cell line derived from human dorsal root ganglia. HD10.6 cells proliferate by virtue of a transduced tetracycline-regulated v-myc oncogene. In the presence of doxycycline, HD10.6 cells mature to exhibit neuronal morphology and express sensory neuron-associated markers such as neurotrophin receptors TrkA, TrkB, TrkC, and RET and the sensory neurofilament peripherin. Infection of mature HD10.6 neurons by herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) results in a delayed but productive infection. However, infection at a low multiplicity of infection (MOI) in the presence of acyclovir results in a quiescent infection resembling latency in which viral genomes are retained in a low number of neurons, viral gene expression is minimal, and infectious virus is not released. At least some of the quiescent viral genomes retain the capacity to reactivate, resulting in viral DNA replication and release of infectious virus. Reactivation can be induced by depletion of nerve growth factor; other commonly used reactivation stimuli have no significant effect. IMPORTANCE Infections by herpes simplex viruses (HSV) cause painful cold sores or genital lesions in many people; less often, they affect the eye or even the brain. After the initial infection, the virus remains inactive or latent in nerve cells that sense the region where that infection occurred. To learn how virus maintains and reactivates from latency, studies are done in neurons taken from rodents or in whole animals to preserve the full context of infection. However, some cellular mechanisms involved in HSV infection in rodents are different from those in humans. We describe the use of a human cell line that has the properties of a sensory neuron. HSV infection in these cultured cells shows the properties expected for a latent infection, including reactivation to produce newly infectious virus. Thus, we now have a cell culture model for latency that is derived from the normal host for this virus.
Statins Are Associated With a Decreased Risk of Decompensation and Death in Veterans With Hepatitis C-Related Compensated Cirrhosis.

BACKGROUND & AIMS Statins decrease portal pressure in patients with cirrhosis and increase survival times of patients who have bled from varices. However, statins can be hepatotoxic. It is important to determine whether long-term statin use will be beneficial or detrimental for patients with cirrhosis because physicians are reluctant to prescribe statins to patients with liver disease. We investigated the effects of statins on decompensation and survival times in patients with compensated cirrhosis. METHODS We performed a retrospective cohort using the Veteran Affairs Clinical Case Registry, which contains nationwide data from veterans infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV). We identified patients with compensated cirrhosis from January 1996 through December 2009. Statin use was according to filled prescriptions. Cirrhosis and decompensation were determined from International Classification of Diseases, 9th revision codes, using a validated algorithm. RESULTS Among 40,512 patients with HCV compensated cirrhosis (98% male; median age, 56 y), 2802 statin users were identified. We developed a propensity score model using variables associated with statin prescription, and new statin users were matched with up to 5 nonusers; 685 statin users were matched with 2062 nonusers. Discrimination of the propensity score model was 0.92. Statin users had a lower risk of decompensation (hazard ratio [HR], 0.55; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.39-0.77) and death (HR, 0.56; 95% CI, 0.46-0.69), compared with nonusers. Findings persisted after adjustment for age, FIB-4 index score, serum level of albumin, model for end-stage liver disease and Child-Turcotte-Pugh scores (HR for decompensation, 0.55; 95% CI, 0.39-0.78), and death (HR, 0.55; 95% CI, 0.45-0.68). CONCLUSIONS Based on data from the Veteran Affairs Clinical Case Registry, statin use among patients with HCV and compensated cirrhosis is associated with a more than 40% lower risk of cirrhosis decompensation and death. Although statins cannot yet be recommended widely for these patients, their use should not be avoided.
Alcohol Intake and Risk of Incident Melanoma: A Pooled Analysis of Three Prospective Studies in the United States

Background: Alcohol consumption is associated with increased risk of numerous cancers, but existing evidence for an association with melanoma is equivocal. No study has evaluated the association with different anatomic locations of melanoma. Methods: We used data from three large prospective cohort studies to investigate whether alcohol intake was associated with risk of melanoma. Alcohol intake was assessed repeatedly by food-frequency questionnaires. A Cox proportional hazards model was used to calculate multivariate-adjusted hazard ratios (HRs). Results: A total of 1,374 cases of invasive melanoma were documented during 3,855,706 person-years of follow-up. There was an association between higher alcohol intake and incidence of invasive melanoma (pooled multivariate HR 1.14 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.00–1.29] per drink/day; Ptrend = 0.04). Among alcoholic beverages, white wine consumption was associated with an increased risk of melanoma (pooled multivariate HR 1.13 [95% CI, 1.04–1.24] per drink/day; Ptrend <0.01) after adjusting for other alcoholic beverages. The association between alcohol consumption and melanoma risk was stronger for melanoma in relatively UV-spared sites (trunk) versus more UV-exposed sites (head, neck, or extremities). Compared with nondrinkers, the pooled multivariate-adjusted HRs for ≥20 g/day of alcohol were 1.02 (95% CI, 0.64–1.62; Ptrend = 0.25) for melanomas of the head, neck, and extremities and 1.73 (95% CI, 1.25–2.38; Ptrend = 0.02) for melanomas of the trunk. Conclusions: Alcohol intake was associated with a modest increase in the risk of melanoma, particularly in UV-protected sites. Impact: These findings further support American Cancer Society Guidelines for Cancer Prevention to limit alcohol intake. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 25(12); 1550–8. ©2016 AACR.
The recommended Threshold Limit Values for heat exposure fail to maintain body core temperature within safe limits in older working adults

ABSTRACT Purpose: The American Conference of Governmental and Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH®) Threshold Limit Values (TLV® guidelines) for work in the heat consist of work-rest (WR) allocations designed to ensure a stable core temperature that does not exceed 38°C. However, the TLV® guidelines have not been validated in older workers. This is an important shortcoming given that adults as young as 40 years demonstrate impairments in their ability to dissipate heat. We therefore evaluated body temperature responses in older adults during work performed in accordance to the TLV® recommended guidelines. Methods: On three occasions, 9 healthy older (58 ± 5 years) males performed a 120-min work-simulated protocol in accordance with the TLV® guidelines for moderate-to-heavy intensity work (360 W fixed rate of heat production) in different wet-bulb globe temperatures (WBGT). The first was 120 min of continuous (CON) cycling at 28.0°C WBGT (CON[28°C]). The other two protocols were 15-min intermittent work bouts performed with different WR cycles and WBGT: (i) WR of 3:1 at 29.0°C (WR3:1[29°C]) and (ii) WR of 1:1 at 30.0°C (WR1:1[30°C]). Rectal temperature was measured continuously. The rate of change in mean body temperature was determined via thermometry (weighting coefficients: rectal, 0.9; mean skin temperature, 0.1) and direct calorimetry. Results: Rectal temperature exceeded 38°C in all participants in CON[28°C] and WR3:1[29°C] whereas a statistically similar proportion of workers exceeded 38°C in WR1:1[30°C] (χ2; P = 0.32). The average time for rectal temperature to reach 38°C was: CON[28°C], 53 ± 7; WR3:1[29°C], 79 ± 11; and WR1:1[30°C], 100 ± 29 min. Finally, while a stable mean body temperature was not achieved in any work condition as measured by thermometry (i.e., >0°C·min−1; all P<0.01), heat balance as determined by direct calorimetry was achieved in WR3:1[29°C] and WR1:1[30°C] (both P ≥ 0.08). Conclusion: Our findings indicate that the TLV® guidelines do not prevent body core temperature from exceeding 38°C in older workers. Furthermore, a stable core temperature was not achieved within safe limits (i.e., ≤38°C) indicating that the TLV® guidelines may not adequately protect all individuals during work in hot conditions.
Environmental layout complexity affects neural activity during navigation in humans

Navigating large‐scale surroundings is a fundamental ability. In humans, it is commonly assumed that navigational performance is affected by individual differences, such as age, sex, and cognitive strategies adopted for orientation. We recently showed that the layout of the environment itself also influences how well people are able to find their way within it, yet it remains unclear whether differences in environmental complexity are associated with changes in brain activity during navigation. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate how the brain responds to a change in environmental complexity by asking participants to perform a navigation task in two large‐scale virtual environments that differed solely in interconnection density, a measure of complexity defined as the average number of directional choices at decision points. The results showed that navigation in the simpler, less interconnected environment was faster and more accurate relative to the complex environment, and such performance was associated with increased activity in a number of brain areas (i.e. precuneus, retrosplenial cortex, and hippocampus) known to be involved in mental imagery, navigation, and memory. These findings provide novel evidence that environmental complexity not only affects navigational behaviour, but also modulates activity in brain regions that are important for successful orientation and navigation.
Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography with double balloon enteroscope in patients with altered gastrointestinal anatomy: A meta-analysis

Background/Aims: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography with double balloon enteroscope (DBE-ERCP) in patients with altered gastrointestinal anatomy in a meta-analysis. Materials and Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted on PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane library covering the period from January 2001 to December 2015. Data were selected and abstracted from eligible studies and were pooled using a random-effects model. Heterogeneity was assessed using the I2 test. Results: Ten studies involving a total of 301 patients were included in the analysis. The pooled enteroscopy, diagnostic, and therapeutic success rates were 89.75% [95% confidence interval (CI): 79.65–94.30%], 79.92% (95% CI: 68.06–89.59%), and 63.55% (95% CI: 53.70–72.86%), respectively. DBE-ERCP-related complications occurred in 18 patients including perforation (5), pancreatitis (3), cholangitis (9), and bleeding (1). The incidence of DBE-ERCP-related complication was 6.27% (95% CI: 2.61–11.38%). Conclusion: Diagnostic and therapeutic DBE-ERCPs are feasible in patients with altered gastrointestinal anatomy. DBE-ERCP may be considered when pancreaticobiliary diseases occur in patients undergoing Roux-en-Y reconstruction or pancreaticoduodenectomy.
Traffic-Aware Relay Node Deployment for Data Collection in Wireless Sensor Networks

Wireless sensor networks have been widely used for ambient data collection in diverse environments. While in many such networks the sensor nodes are randomly deployed in massive quantity, there is a broad range of applications advocating manual deployment. A typical example is structure health monitoring, where the sensors have to be placed at critical locations to fulfill civil engineering requirements. The raw data collected by the sensors can then be forwarded to a remote base station (the sink) through a series of relay nodes. In the wireless communication context, the operation time of a battery-limited relay node depends on its traffic volume and communication range. Hence, although not bounded by the civil-engineering-like requirements, the locations of the relay nodes have to be carefully planned to achieve the maximum network lifetime. The deployment has to not only ensure connectivity between the data sources and the sink, but also accommodate the heterogeneous traffic flows from different sources and the dominating many-to-one traffic pattern. Inspired by the uniqueness of such application scenarios, in this paper, we present an in-depth study on the trafficaware relay node deployment problem. We develop optimal solutions for the simple case of one source node, both with single and multiple traffic flows. We show however that the general form of the deployment problem is difficult, and the existing connectivity-guaranteed solutions cannot be directly applied here. We then transform our problem into a generalized version of the Euclidean Steiner Minimum Tree problem (ESMT). Nevertheless, we face further challenges as its solution is in continuous space and may yield fractional numbers of relay nodes, where simple rounding of the solution can lead to poor performance. We thus develop algorithms for discrete relay node assignment, together with local adjustments that yield high-quality practical solutions. Our solution has been evaluated through both numerical analysis and ns-2 simulations and compared with state-of-the-art approaches. The results show that it achieves up to 6 to 14 times improvement on the network lifetime over the existing traffic-oblivious strategies.