Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sleep architecture and its relationship to insomnia.

The methods used to obtain and depict sleep data shape our understanding of sleep as a phenomenon. The standard criteria for describing sleep were developed in the late 1960s. These criteria, which were established on the basis of the polysomnographic equipment available at that time, called for the division of sleep into stages according to depth; the visual depiction of these stages led to the now widely accepted concept of "sleep architecture. " Although the sleep architecture model remains useful, the technology that provided the model's framework for understanding sleep has been superseded by computer-assisted systems for recording and analyzing sleep that may allow us to acquire data on sleep that were unobtainable with older equipment. Future gathering and depiction of sleep data, regardless of the recording and assessment methods used, should minimize disruption of sleep during study, allow for computerized analysis of sleep parameters, and describe the data from the perspective of the effect that sleep and the problems surrounding it have on daytime functioning.
2 2 Fe b 20 17 Parameterized Shifted Combinatorial Optimization

Shifted combinatorial optimization is a new nonlinear optimization framework which is a broad extension of standard combinatorial optimization, involving the choice of several feasible solutions at a time. This framework captures well studied and diverse problems ranging from so-called vulnerability problems to sharing and partitioning problems. In particular, every standard combinatorial optimization problem has its shifted counterpart, which is typically much harder. Already with explicitly given input set the shifted problem may be NP-hard. In this article we initiate a study of the parameterized complexity of this framework. First we show that shifting over an explicitly given set with its cardinality as the parameter may be in XP, FPT or P, depending on the objective function. Second, we study the shifted problem over sets definable in MSO logic (which includes, e.g., the well known MSO partitioning problems). Our main results here are that shifted combinatorial optimization over MSO definable sets is in XP with respect to the MSO formula and the treewidth (or more generally clique-width) of the input graph, and is W[1]-hard even under further severe restrictions.
VEZT as a novel independent prognostic factor in gastric cancer.

BACKGROUND Vezatin is an transmembrane protein associated with cell-cell adhesion junctions. In our previous studies, we found that the tumor suppressor function of VEZT was related to methylation of CpG island and were down-regulated in tumor tissue and cells compared to normal controls. However, the role of VEZT gene as a novel putative tumor suppressor in biological characteristics and the relationship with clinicopathological factors and prognosis of gastric cancer was not yet clear. Therefore, we sought to explore these questions and prepare for further research in this study. METHODS We examined the vezatin expression levels in 119 gastric cancer tissues and adjacent normal tissues by immunohistochemistry. Furthermore, we evaluated the expression of VEZT and its relationship with clinicopathological factors, lymphatic metastasis and prognostic value for gastric cancer. RESULTS The expression of VEZT was significantly down-regulated in gastric cancer tissues and cell lines and its expression levels was related to differentiation, TNM staging and lymphatic metastasis. Furthermore, analysis of 5-year survival of 119 gastric cancer patients showed that those with strong vezatin expression had significantly longer overall survival time than those with negative vezatin expression. CONCLUSIONS These data provided an innovative insight that up-regulation of vezatin can be taken as a meaningful way for treating human gastric and other types of cancers. And VEZT expression levels can be considered as a biomarker for gastric cancer progression, lymphatic metastasis and as a novel independent prognostic factor.
Choroidal Vascularity Index in Retinitis Pigmentosa: An OCT Study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE To evaluate structural changes in the choroid of patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) using swept-source optical coherence tomography (OCT) scans. PATIENTS AND METHODS A prospective study was conducted comparing 35 eyes of 35 patients with RP and 26 eyes of 26 normal patients. OCT images of the choroid were binarized into luminal and stromal areas to derive choroidal vascularity index (CVI). Subfoveal choroidal thickness (CT) was also measured and compared. RESULTS There was a significant decrease in the mean CVI among eyes with RP as compared to normal eyes (56.91 ± 1.43% vs. 59.47 ± 1.55%; P < .0001). Mean subfoveal CT was significantly greater in eyes with RP as compared to normal eyes (262.82 μm ± 69.69 μm vs. 194.65 μm ± 23.55 μm; P < .0001). CONCLUSION Patients with RP showed a significant reduction in CVI and an increase in CT as compared to normal eyes. [Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging Retina. 2018;49:191-197. ].
Ultrasonography for the assessment of the upper trapezius properties in healthy females: a reliability study.

BACKGROUND to date, an assessment of morphometric features, muscle stiffness and blood flow in the upper trapezius among healthy females at rest and contraction states has not been conducted. So, in the current research, the intra-rater reliability of ultrasonographic features of upper trapezius in healthy females was examined. METHOD in this study stiffness and thickness of the upper trapezius in rest and contraction states were measured by ultrasonography on 12 healthy female subjects (28.33±5.05 years old). Color Doppler imaging was used to assess muscle circulation in the rest state only. Every step and calculation of measurements was repeated 3 times with the same rater. Therefore, in total 36 measurements were done for each variable. RESULTS according to the analysis, the value of intra class correlation coefficient (ICC) for total variables showed an excellent level of reliability. Thickness at contraction had maximum reliability (ICC= 0.993) and Minimum Diastolic Velocity had the lowest reliability (ICC=0.771). CONCLUSIONS the results of current research demonstrated that real time ultrasonography is a reliable method for measurement of various parameters of upper trapezius, including morphometric features, its stiffness and blood supply in non-symptomatic females. These mentioned variables can likely be used for objective assessment and provide numerical reference value for clinical plans.
Evaluation of Push out Bond Strength of Fiber Post after Treating the Intra Radicular Post Space with Different Post Space Treatment Techniques: A Randomized Controlled In vitro Trial

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the push out bond strength after treating the post space with different irrigation procedures. Study Design: The study sample comprised of 60 recently extracted premolars. These teeth were placed in 5.25% sodium hypochlorite solution for 5 min and then washed under tap water. De-coronated samples were biomechanically prepared until F3 ProTaper and obturated using AH-Plus and 30# (6%) gutta-percha. The specimens were allowed to set for 24 h and then post space was prepared. The teeth were randomly assigned into three experimental groups based on the treatment technique: Group A – control, Group B – sodium hypochlorite and ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid (EDTA) and Group C – diode laser and EDTA. The samples were sectioned horizontally and push out bond strength was evaluated. The stereomicroscopic examination was done for evaluating the failure mode. One-way ANOVA variance followed by Tukey's post-hoc test was used for statistical analysis using SPSS software. Results: Use of diode laser does not enhance the bond strength of fiber post. Conclusion: Diode laser at a very low pulse can be used as an irrigant adjuvant to vaporize the cement residues. Using diode laser does not enhance the bond strength. EDTA as final irrigant increases the bond strength of fiber post.
Heavy metal assessment of some eye shadow products imported intoNigeria from China

Chinese made eye shadows (cosmetic commonly used by women and children) were analysed to determine the levels of heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cr, Co, and Mn) in the products. Different samples of eye shadow were randomly selected from products available in the shops at Zaria, Kano and Kaduna markets in Nigeria. After digestion with concentrated acids (HNO3 and HCl), concentrations of the selected heavy metals were determined in triplicate using a flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Nickel, copper, zinc, cobalt and manganese were detected in all the colours of eye shadow in varying concentrations. Chromium was also detected in all the colours except one (Diamond pink). The regulations relating to cosmetics products gave no limit values for toxic elements such as metals occurring as impurities in cosmetics products. However, it has been proposed that the levels of nickel, cobalt and chromium should preferably be less than 170 μgg-1 and Lead should not exceed 20 μgg-1. 85% of the colours have Ni and Co concentrations above 170 μgg-1 but Cr concentrations were below this limit in all the colours. Only 2 brands (3 colours) have lead content higher than 20 μgg-1. 7 out of 20 colours (35%) of the brands of eye shadows contain cadmium at low concentrations. It is obvious from the present study that the use of facial cosmetics like eye shadow exposes users to low levels of heavy metals.
Function of Nod‐like receptors in microbial recognition and host defense

Summary: Nucleotide oligomerization domain (NOD)‐like receptors (NLRs) are a specialized group of intracellular proteins that play a critical role in the regulation of the host innate immune response. NLRs act as scaffolding proteins that assemble signaling platforms that trigger nuclear factor‐κB and mitogen‐activated protein kinase signaling pathways and control the activation of inflammatory caspases. Importantly, mutations in several members of the NLR family have been linked to a variety of inflammatory diseases consistent with these molecules playing an important role in host–pathogen interactions and the inflammatory response. In this review, we focus on the role of Nod1 and Nod2 in host defense and in particular discuss recent finding regarding the role of Nlrc4, Nlpr1, and Nlrp3 inflammasomes in caspase‐1 activation and subsequent release of proinflammatory cytokines such as interleukin‐1β.
4×4 Butler Matrix Beam Forming Network using Novel Reduced Size Branchline Coupler

This paper presents a reduced size quadrature branch-line coupler that has achieved size reduction by approximately up to 80% without having to compromise performance. This design is realized on a low cost substrate (FR4, 0.50mm, ¿r = 4.4), yields an excellent return loss (¿49.0dB) and coupling loss (¿3.30 ~ ¿3.50dB) characteristics at 1.8GHz. The practical application of this novel reduced size branch-line coupler has been implemented and demonstrated in a 4×4 Butler Matrix beam-forming network operating at 1.7-2.0GHz.
COMPUTER-MEDIATED CORRECTIVE FEEDBACK AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF L2 GRAMMAR

Shannon Sauro University of Texas at San Antonio This paper reports on a study that investigated the impact of two types of computermediated corrective feedback on the development of adult learners’ L2 knowledge: (1) corrective feedback that reformulates the error in the form of recasts, and (2) corrective feedback that supplies the learner with metalinguistic information about the nature of the error. High intermediate and advanced adult learners of English (n=23) from an intact class at a Swedish university were randomly assigned to one of three conditions (two feedback conditions and one control) and were randomly paired with English native speakers. During task-based interaction via text-chat, the learners received focused corrective feedback on omission of the zero article with abstract noncount nouns (e.g., employment, global warming, culture). Computer-delivered pretests, posttests and delayed posttests of knowledge (acceptability judgments) measured learning outcomes. Results showed no significant advantage for either feedback type on immediate or sustained gains in target form knowledge, although the metalinguistic group showed significant immediate gains relative to the control condition.
Challenges of foster care

The convergence between points that Schofield emphasizes and our own observations and research findings make us think that we may be right with regard to some things. Of particular note are the attention given to firstly, the role of the child in affecting the foster caregiver’s ability to parent effectively, and secondly the importance of caregiver commitment. We begin our commentary by discussing these similarities. We follow that with a consideration of the possible limitations of foster care as a means of providing a secure base.
Particle swarm optimization implementation for minimal transmission power providing a fully-connected cluster for the Internet of Things

Everyday, more sensor nodes become interconnected to make the Internet of Things real. However, since Wireless Sensor Networks comprise energy-limited devices, techniques to save energy have become a trend in research. Since energy-saving comes at a cost to the network, its consequences must be thoroughly considered in order to keep their communication effective. In this work, the use of particle swarm optimization (PSO) is proposed to calculate different transmission powers for each node, without creating disconnected areas in a sensors cluster. The achieved results show that the proposed PSO algorithm is able to save sensors energy when compared to the common deployment of nodes with a single transmission power.
Provision of pen along with questionnaire does not increase the response rate to a postal survey: a randomised controlled trial

Postal surveys are a cost effective method of obtaining information from large numbers of geographically disparate medical professionals about their attributes, behaviours, attitudes and beliefs. The validity of the findings of such surveys is primarily dependent upon an adequate response rate and it is of concern that the rates are declining.1 Inclusion of a pen along with the questionnaire is often used to counter this trend. In theory, the availability of a pen would enable immediate completion of the questionnaire. The gift of a pen may also predispose the recipient to look upon the questionnaire more favourably increasing the likelihood of a response. However, the effectiveness of this strategy has not been established. Therefore as part of a national survey of consultant gynaecologists, we conducted a randomised controlled trial, to determine if …
Clustering-Based Adaptive Channel Estimator for Optical Fiber Communication Systems

In this letter, a new clustering-based adaptive channel estimator is proposed for optical fiber communication systems with the maximum-likelihood sequence estimation (MLSE) receiver. The estimator is very effective in estimating the key channel parameters needed by the Viterbi processor without assuming that the channel memory length is known a priori to the receiver. Moreover, the application of the proposed channel estimator can induce a complexity-reduced MLSE receiver.
Null Results in Brief Dietary Patterns and Prostate Cancer Risk

Recent studies report that certain dietary patterns, especially those high in red and processed meats, are associated with prostate cancer risk. We prospectively investigated associations between empirically derived dietary patterns and prostate cancer risk using the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study. We followed 14,627 men of ages 34 to 75 years for an average of 13.6 years, and identified 1,018 incident prostate cancers. Factor analysis of the 121-item food frequency questionnaire identified four factors with eigenvalues >2 that explained 67% of the total variance. Using Cox proportional hazard models, we found no association between any dietary pattern and prostate cancer risk overall (all Ptrend ≥ 0.2). The hazard ratios for quartiles of the dietary pattern scores ranged from 0.87 to 1.14 and all 95% confidence intervals included 1. The analyses by aggressiveness, Gleason score groups, and age at diagnosis did not show any association (all Ptrend > 0.07). (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2009;18(11):3126–9)
A First Experimental Electron Density Study on a C 70 Fullerene

(C70C2F5)10 Roman Kalinowskia, Manuela Webera, Sergey I. Troyanovb, Carsten Paulmannc, and Peter Lugera a Institut für Chemie und Biochemie /Anorganische Chemie, Freie Universität Berlin, Fabeckstraße 36a, 14195 Berlin, Germany b Department of Chemistry, Moscow State University, 119991 Moscow, Leninskie Gory, Russia c Mineralogisch-Petrologisches Institut, Universität Hamburg, Grindelallee 48, 20146 Hamburg, Germany
High-power 10-GHz operation of AlGaN HFET's on insulating SiC

We report the first high-power RF characterization of AlGaN HFET's fabricated on electrically insulating SiC substrates. A record total power of 2.3 W at 10 GHz was measured from a 1280-/spl mu/m wide HFET at V/sub ds/=33 V. An excellent RF power density of 2.8 W/mm was measured on a 320-/spl mu/m wide HFET. These values are a result of the high thermal conductivity of SiC, relative to the typical substrate, sapphire.
An Injectable Oxidated Hyaluronic Acid/Adipic Acid Dihydrazide Hydrogel as a Vitreous Substitute

Vitrectomy is a common procedure for treating ocular-related diseases. The surgery involves removing the vitreous humor from the center of the eye, and vitreous substitutes are needed to replace the vitreous humor after vitrectomy. In the present study, we developed a colorless, transparent and injectable hydrogel with appropriate refractive index as a vitreous substitute. The hydrogel is formed by oxidated hyaluronic acid (oxi-HA) cross-linked with adipic acid dihydrazide (ADH). Hyaluronic acid (HA) was oxidized by sodium periodate to create aldehyde functional groups, which could be cross-linked by ADH. The refractive index of this hydrogel ranged between 1.3420 and 1.3442, which is quite similar to human vitreous humor (1.3345). The degradation tests demonstrated that the hydrogel could maintain the gel matrix over 35 days, depending on the ADH concentration. In addition, the cytotoxicity was evaluated on retina pigmented epithelium (RPE) cells cultivated following the ISO standard (tests for in vitro cytotoxicity), and the hydrogel was found to be non-toxic. In a preliminary animal study, the oxi-HA/ADH hydrogel was injected into the vitreous cavity of rabbit eyes. The evaluations of slit-lamp observation, intraocular pressure, cornea thickness and histological examination showed no significant abnormal biological reactions for 3 weeks. This study suggests that the injectable oxi-HA/ADH hydrogel should be a potential vitreous substitute.
Recombinant interleukin 3 induces interleukin 2 receptor expression on early myeloid cells in normal human bone marrow.

Human interleukin 3 (IL-3) is a multipotential cytokine that supports the growth of early hematopoietic progenitors and promotes their response to other, later-acting cytokines. We found that IL-3 was able to induce the expression of interleukin 2 (IL-2) receptor (IL-2R) (CD25) on a subset of early myeloid cells in normal human bone marrow that had been first depleted of mature hematopoietic cells and E-rosette-positive T cells by treatment with soybean lectin and sheep erythrocytes (SBA-E-BM). Immunofluorescence analysis revealed that the CD25+ cells were contained almost entirely within the lymphoblastoid gate of the IL-3-cultured marrow. CD25 was undetectable on freshly isolated marrow and less than 10% CD25+ cells could be detected following liquid culture at 37 degrees C in the presence of 10% human serum, 10% fetal calf serum, or under serum-free conditions. Addition of IL-3 (100 U/ml) significantly increased the expression of CD25 to 37%, 31%, and 24%, respectively. CD25 could also be induced by granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), but no IL-2R was detectable following exposure to granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF), interleukin 1 (IL-1), interleukin 4 (IL-4), or IL-2. Expression of CD25 was dependent on the dose of IL-3 or GM-CSF added and was maximal within 24 h of exposure. Two-color immunofluorescence analysis demonstrated that CD25 was not expressed by cells of lymphoid lineage or by mature monocytes, but rather was present on cells that coexpressed CD13, CD33, CD34, MY8, and HLA-DR, and that lacked CD14 or CD11b, thus placing the CD25+ cells at or near the myeloblast stage of differentiation. An identical phenotype was found for CD25+ cells induced by GM-CSF. Cycloheximide completely inhibited the IL-3-induced expression of CD25, indicating the necessity for protein synthesis, and although most of the CD25+ cells were in G0/G1 phase, 25% of the cells were in S or G2M phase, indicating that receptor expression was not cell-cycle dependent. The p75 chain of IL-2R was not detected on the CD25+ cells. IL-3 was also found to directly induce CD25 in greater than 46% of SBA-E-BM enriched for CD34+ cells by panning. Consistent with the expression of only p55 IL-2R, the functional activity of IL-2 on enriched CD34+ cells exposed to IL-3 could not be demonstrated in either granulocyte-macrophage colony-forming unit (CFU-GM) assays or proliferation assays. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Intramolecular electron transfer in laccases

Rate constants and activation parameters have been determined for the internal electron transfer from type 1 (T1) to type 3 (T3) copper ions in laccase from both the fungus Trametes hirsuta and the lacquer tree Rhus vernicifera, using the pulse radiolysis method. The rate constant at 298 K and the enthalpy and entropy of activation were 25 ± 1 s−1, 39.7 ± 5.0 kJ·mol−1 and −87 ± 9 J·mol−1·K−1 for the fungal enzyme and 1.1 ± 0.1 s−1, 9.8 ± 0.2 kJ·mol−1 and −211 ± 3 J·mol−1·K−1 for the tree enzyme. The initial reduction of the T1 site by pulse radiolytically produced radicals was direct in the case of T. hirsuta laccase, but occured indirectly via a disulfide radical in R. vernicifera. The equilibrium constant that characterizes the electron transfer from T1 to T3 copper ions was 0.4 for T. hirsuta laccase and 1.5 for R. vernicifera laccase, leading to full reduction of the T1 site occurring at 2.9 ± 0.2 electron equivalents for T. hirsuta and 4 electron equivalents for R. vernicifera laccase. These results were compared with each other and with those for the same process in other multicopper oxidases, ascorbate oxidase and Streptomyces coelicolor laccase, using available structural information and electron transfer theory.