Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Predicting Technical Success inHome Sleep Apnea Test

Background: Home sleep apnea tests are economical but their technical failure rate is higher than with in-lab studies. We aimed to predict factors related to failures. Methods: Altogether, 1,055 consecutive respiratory polygraphy recordings for subjects aged 16-90 years (38% female) were included. The sleep nurses were asked to predict the success of the upcoming recording according to their experienced perception. The recording was considered successful if the main recorded parameters (nasal flow, thoracic and abdominal movements, blood oxygen saturation, snoring, and posture) were intelligible during ≥80% of the night. Results: Defects due to a recording device caused a failure rate of 4.4%, and those recordings were excluded from further analyses. Subject-related reasons caused a failure rate of 10.4% (i.e. 70% of all failures). There were no statistically significant differences in the failure rate regarding gender, age, education level, ESS, smoking habits, BMI, comorbidities, sharing a bed with someone, having small children or pets, being outside of working life, or working irregular hours. Nurse’s prediction of reliability sorted out successful and unsuccessful recordings statistically significantly (P=0.035). The technical success was not statistically significantly different between first-time and repeated recordings. Conclusions: Background characteristics of the subject or conditions during the recording did not predict the failure of home sleep apnea test. An experienced nurse could still predict the technical success of the recording based on her perception. Even if the first test failed, it is still worthwhile to retest at home, as the failure rate in repeated recordings stayed low.
The Psychology of the Common Cold and Influenza: Implications for COVID-19

The purpose of this short article is to draw attention to an area of research that has major implications for the COVID-19 pandemic. Psychologists have investigated psychological risk factors for susceptibility to URTIs for over ifty years. Early research has been reviewed by Cohen and Williamson [1], and was criticised for failing to control for exposure to the virus, lack of objective assessment of the disease (no clinical observations or virological assays), the use of retrospective or cross-sectional designs, and poor conceptualisation of psychological constructs such as the stress process. Since that review a substantial body of research has recti ied these issues using experimentally-induced URTIs, longitudinal designs, control of a range of other risk factors, and more clearly de ined psychological constructs.
Mitochondrial trafficking in healthy and injured neurons

Mitochondria are the primary generators of ATP and are important regulators of intracellular calcium homeostasis. These organelles are dynamically transported along lengthy neuronal processes, presumably for appropriate distribution to cellular regions of increased need such as synapses. The removal of damaged mitochondria that produce harmful reactive oxygen species and promote apoptosis is also thought to be mediated by mitochondrial transport to autophagosomes. Mitochondrial trafficking is therefore important for maintaining neuronal and mitochondrial health while cessation of movement may lead to neuronal and mitochondrial dysfunctions.The demands for mitochondria differ between developing and mature neurons, and separate mitochondrial recruitment signals have been identified in each case. In the first aim, we examined how mitochondrial dynamics are affected by the development of synaptic connections in cortical neurons. We revealed reduced mitochondrial movement and elongated morphology in mature neurons which probably serve to optimize mitochondrial contact with synaptic sites.Synapses require mitochondria to supply ATP and regulate local [Ca2+]i for neurotransmission. The second aim investigated mitochondrial trafficking patterns relative to synaptic sites on axons and dendrites. We demonstrated that synapses are targets for long-term mitochondrial localization and dynamic recruitment of moving mitochondria, and that trafficking patterns are influenced by changes in synaptic activity. We also found that mitochondrial movement in dendrites is more severely impaired by neurotoxic glutamate and zinc exposures than in axons. These findings suggest a mechanism for postsynaptic dysfunction and dendritic degeneration in excitotoxicity.The third aim examined impaired mitochondrial transport as an early pathogenic mechanism in Huntington's disease. Recent studies indicate that aggregates composed of mutant huntingtin fragments hinder axonal transport by sequestering wildtype huntingtin, cytoskeletal components and molecular motors. Our studies in cortical neurons demonstrated reduced mitochondrial trafficking specifically to sites of aggregates and impeded passage of moving mitochondria by aggregates resulting in discrete regions of mitochondrial accumulation and immobilization.In summary, this dissertation provides new insight into our understanding of mitochondrial trafficking, morphology and distribution in cortical neurons that are developing, synaptically mature, acutely injured, and diseased. We conclude that mitochondrial movement is dynamic in healthy neurons and that injured neurons exhibit different manifestations of impaired movement.
Perceiving those who are gone: Cultural research on post-bereavement perception or hallucination of the deceased

Experiencing the continued presence of the deceased is common among the bereaved, whether as a sensory perception or as a felt presence. This phenomenon has been researched from psychological and psychiatric perspectives during the last five decades. Such experiences have been also documented in the ethnographic literature but, despite the extensive cross-cultural research in the area, anthropological data has generally not been considered in the psychological literature about this phenomenon. This paper provides an overview aimed at bridging these two areas of knowledge, and approaches the post-bereavement perception or hallucination of the deceased in cultural context. Ongoing debates are addressed from the vantage point of ethnographic and clinical case study research focusing on the cultural repertoires (in constant flux as cultures change) from which these experiences are labelled as desirable and normal, on the one hand, or as dangerous and pathological, on the other.
PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSE OF QUINOA TO SALT STRESS UNDER SHAD HOUSE CONDITION

Quinoa is a halophytic species emerging as a potential new crop in many regions of the world because of the nutritional composition of their seeds. This study has been carried out at the Faculty of Environmental Agricultural Science, Arish University, Egypt during the two successive growing seasons 2016/2017 and 2017/2018. The experiment has been done at the shad net house of the experimental crop farm using quinoa seedlings (one month old), which grow in pots. Seedlings have been irrigated every two days using four treatments of irrigation water (control, 100, 150, 200 mM), where control was tap water 85 mM. It was observed that vegetative parameters of quinoa seedling were significantly decreased with increasing water salinity concentration . The highest value for each of plant height, root length, number of leaves, leaf dry weight, shoot dry weight, root dry weight, water relative content was obtained with low saline control, followed by 100, 150 and 200mM which gave the lowest values in this respect. Concerning growth analysis, the maximum value for each of leaf area duration, relative growth rate, crop growth rate and net assimilation rate was achieved by control, followed by the other respected studied concentration which gave the lowest values. The obtained results cleared that the concentration of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, pigments decreased in plant tissue with increasing water salinity concentration. However, sodium and proline concentrations increased in plant tissue with increasing salinity concentration. It worthy to note that there were significant differences between Giza1 and Giza2 in most studied parameters.
The Effect Of Aeration And Stabilization Time Of Gas-Sbr Processing On Chicken Slaughterhouse Wastewater Treatment

The high consumption of chicken has an impact on the increasing activities in the chicken slaughterhouse that produces highly polluted wastewater. The Granular Activated Sludge Sequencing Batch Reactor (GAS-SBR) is an alternative wastewater treatment technology to treat chicken slaughterhouse wastewater appropriately. This study aims to analyze the effect of aeration time and stabilization time on the removal of organic compounds to optimize the GAS-SBR process. GAS-SBR forms granular biomass of the activated sludge without additional media. By forming such granular sludge, the land requirement can decrease as the granules have high density and able to settle fast. This research began with the analysis of wastewater and sludge characteristics, followed by seeding and acclimatization, then running the primary experiments using variations of aeration time (4 and 6 hours) as well as stabilization time (1, 4, and 6 hours). Finally, the parameters of COD, BOD, TSS, and ammonia were analyzed to determine the removal efficiency. The results state that the chicken slaughterhouse wastewater is categorized as highly contaminated; it contains 6,406 mg/L COD, 3,215 mg/L BOD, and 13.8 mg/L ammonia. The optimum condition of aeration and stabilization time is 6 hours each with a COD removal of 61%, BOD by 65%, and TSS by 46%; while the optimum ammonia removal of 65% took place on 4 hours of each aeration and stabilization time. In conclusion, GAS-SBR has the capability to treat chicken slaughterhouse wastewater with high organic pollution by modifying the aeration and stabilization time.
Mesocosm evaluation of bensulfuron methyl activity on Eurasian watermilfoil, vallisneria, and American pondweed.

Concentration/exposure time relationships for the compound bensulfuron methyl (methyl 2-[[[[[(4,6-dimeth­ oxy-2-pyrimidinyl)amino]-carbonyl]amino]sulfonyl] methyl]benzoate) against Eurasian watermilfoil (Myriophyl­ lum spicatum L.), vallisneria (Vallisneria americana Michx.), and American pondweed (Potamogeton nodosus Poi ret) were evaluated in a large outdoor mesocosm system. Initial treatment rates ranged from 25 to 100 I-lg/L, and plants were exposed for a 12-week period. Estimates of plant con­ trol were based on weekly measurements of shoot height, biomass harvested at 6 and 12 weeks posttreatment, and regrowth of root crowns following removal from her­ bicide-treated conditions. Biomass of Eurasian watermilfoil averaged approximately 50% less than that of untreated references after 6 weeks exposure to all treatments. At 12 weeks exposure, Eurasian watermilfoil biomass was re­ duced 96 to 98% compared to untreated references at all chemical rates tested. Shoot height of untreated Eurasian watermilfoil had reached the water surface (100 cm), but averaged less than 20 cm in height in all bensulfuron methyl treatments. Vallisneria and American pondweed exhibited greater than 95% reduction in biomass at all chemical rates tested compared to untreated references at 12 weeks posttreatment. Shoot heights of vallisneria and American pondweed were reduced greater than 90% at all bensulfuron methyl treatment rates compared to un­ treated references. When removed from herbicide-treated conditions, some root crowns from all species initiated re­ growth. After 12 weeks exposure, results show that bensul­ furon methyl contact time may be more important than rate of application for controlling the species tested. dax Key w01·ds: Herbicide, chemical control, MarinerR , Lon­ R , Myriophyllum spicatum, Potamogeton nodosus.
EFFECTS OF PCB EXPOSURE ON HEPATIC GENE EXPRESSION AND ENZYME ACTIVITY IN AVIAN SPECIES

Title of Document: EFFECTS OF PCB EXPOSURE ON HEPATIC GENE EXPRESSION AND ENZYME ACTIVITY IN AVIAN SPECIES Meredith E. Bohannon, Doctor of Philosophy, 2014 Directed By: Professor M.A. Ottinger, Department of Animal and Avian Sciences Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are a class of anthropogenic chemical compounds used by industry from the 1940s until the 1970s. Two General Electric plants at Fort Edward and Hudson Falls, NY contaminated the Hudson River by disposing roughly 604,500 kg of PCBs into the waterway during that time. This research focused on using whole-genome screening to find novel biochemical responses in laboratory and wild birds that are exposed to PCB mixtures relevant to the Hudson River. We used two PCB congener profiles, found in spotted sandpiper eggs and in tree swallow eggs from the Hudson River area of concern. We also tested PCB 126 and PCB 77 singly, since both have very high avian TEQs compared to other PCB congeners. Microarray technology was used to assess the spotted sandpiper mixture in Japanese quail. Pathways of interest were identified and qPCR was performed on a suite of genes to assess the response levels of Japanese quail that were exposed to both mixtures as well as the single congeners. Ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) was assessed in Japanese quail with all treatments, and in tree swallow and bluebird populations at the Hudson River site, and at three reference sites. Major findings from the microarray study revealed that the pathways for xenobiotic metabolism, oxidative damage, endocrine disruption, and energy balance were all impacted with PCB exposure. For the four compounds tested with both sexes, EROD activity increased in laboratory birds for seven of those eight sex/compound combinations. Cytochrome P450 1A4 and cytochrome P450 1A5 were the most consistently responsive genes for all sex/compound combinations. All other genes showed varied responses that changed with concentration, compound, and sex, however there were few differences seen at the level of significance (p<0.05). EROD exhibited mild response to PCB exposure in wild birds, with significant (p<0.05) differential expression in environmentally exposed birds at the Hudson River across years, 2006-2008. In summary, this research demonstrates that xenobiotic metabolism remains a highly responsive pathway with PCB exposure and that this pathway responds to PCB mixtures in a manner that does not mirror the toxic equivalency of the component PCBs. EFFECTS OF PCB EXPOSURE ON HEPATIC GENE EXPRESSION AND ENZYME ACTIVITY IN AVIAN SPECIES
Screening of higher plants and animal faeces for the fungitoxicity against Rhizoctonia solani

Plant extracts and animal faeces were screened for their ability to control R. solani, the cause of sheath blight of rice. Inhibition or reduction of fungal growth was recorded with extracts of Allium sativum, Prosopis juliflora, Gynandropsis pentaphylla, Leucos aspera and Vitex negundo. Of the oilcakes screened, gingelly cake recorded 62.2% inhibition of the pathogen. Hen litter and pig dung recorded 90 and 52.9% inhibition of the pathogen, respectively.
Understanding Differential Underachievement in English Among Secondary-School Students from Northern Nigeria

Low performance of students in English has been an issue of great concern to education stakeholders in Nigeria. Standardized examination results have consistently shown that students from the northern region perform more poorly than those from the southern part. To this regard, this study combined psychological factors of self-concept, locus of control and students’ demographic factors as fundamental in explaining differential English academic achievement of students in northern Nigerian schools. The aim is to identify some of the major factors causing underachievement of students in English. Hence, a quantitative research approach is used for data collection and analysis. The sample comprised 1,227 students drawn from 15 public Senior Secondary Schools in Bauchi, Kaduna and Niger States. Each of the states represents the 3 geopolitical zones of the northern region. A standardized questionnaire was used to measure self-concept and locus of control. The findings indicate a high level of correlation between English self-concept and English achievement, especially in specific domains than the general aspects. The reading self-concept correlated more with the reading achievement. It was therefore suggested among others that teachers should prioritize specific aspect of English to assist underperforming students in particular domains (writing; reading) of English and its corresponding self-concept. Improve in students’ performance in English can lead to better performance in other subjects and higher standard of education in the country.
Evaluation of distribution of different species of Candida in cancer patients

khaterekheirollahi@yahoo.com Abstract Background and objectives: Patients undergoing chemotherapy are severely susceptible to infections due to a compromised immune system and also their oral cavity is a great place for microorganisms and fungi to grow. The aim of this study was to determine the distribution of different strains of Candida from oral lesions of these patients. Methods: This descriptive study was performed on 128 patients undergoing chemotherapy in teaching hospitals of Yazd, which was three weeks passing receiving their first medicine. Oral samples were prepared from swabs and then cultured in Sabouraud dextrose agar culture media for evaluation of yeast growth, colonization, and identification of species. Samples were examined under the microscope and recorded. Finally, the data were analyzed by SPSS17 software, Chi-square, and Man-Whitney tests. Results: 128 patients participated in this study, which included 45 males (35.15%) and 83 females (64.85%) with an average age of 40.16 ± 19.95 years. 84 patients (62.65%) had candida in their oral cavity, of which 79 were candida albicans and 5 were Non-albicans Candida. No significant correlation was found between the type of candidates, type of cancer and the frequency of Candida albicans with the age and sex of the patients (P-value <0.05). Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, the prevalence of Candida albicans in patients undergoing chemotherapy is higher than Non-albicans Candida. Patients with leukemia are more susceptible to Candida infections.
Comparison of oostegite shapes in some gammaroidean species (Crustacea: Amphipoda)

Within the superfamily Gammaroidea oostegites vary from broad (primitive) to narrow (advanced). Broad oostegites are found in members of the Acanthogammaridae, Macrohectopidae and a few of the Gammaridae. Most species of the family Gammaridae have broad anterior oostegites and narrow posterior ones. Marine Gammarus species and Echinogammarus show a narrowing trend in the anterior oostegites as well.
Bluetooth low energy RF front-end for low-voltage applications in CMOS technology.

This work presents the analysis, design methodology and implementation of CMOS electronic circuits for operation in RF frequency, in the Industrial, Scientifical and Medical (ISM) band, following the Bluetooth Low Energy communication protocol, for the frequency band of 2.4 GHz to 2.4835 GHz. The contemporary motivation for working with Bluetooth, as well as the necessary performance parameters to be followed by the design is presented. Bluetooth Low Energy present a more flexible specification set, which helps with the reduction of supply voltage and power consumption. The considerations on how to work with MOSFETs with low voltage are presented, including the operation with inversion levels next to weak inversion region. Three implementations are presented, with results for LNA blocks and Front-End, which present a system with LNA and Mixer. The signal converted to an intermediate frequency is analyzed, as well as the LNA operation. All the presented design showed power consumption below 1 mW, for 0.5 V supply and linearity compatible with input power up to -20 dBm.
Modelling Time to Mortality with Congestive Heart Failure: A Case Study in Wollo General and Referral Government Hospitals

Congestive heart failure is a complex clinical syndrome of functional or structural impairment in the heart. Nowadays heart failure is common and increasing in the world and researches on this area is limited. Therefore the aim of the present study was to analyze and quantify the impact of modelling heart failure survival allowing for covariates with time varying effects known to be independent predictors of overall mortality in this clinical setting. A retrospective cohort study was conducted on CHF patients who were on treatment follow up at both WGH and DRH from January 1, 2010 to December 30, 2016. A total of 487 patients were selected by using simple random sampling from the patient's medical record. Semi parametric, parametric PH models and AFT models was employed to identify the best model which shown as the real causation of factors with the outcome of CHF which is death. The Weibull accelerated failure time model result showed that the risk factors related to accelerating or decelerating the lifespan were age (TR=0.962, p=0.000), Residence (rural) (TR=1.24, p=0.019), Nutritional (Poor) (TR=0.582, p=0.000), Smoking (TR=0.774, p=0.005), Alcoholism (TR=1.394, p=0.010), Diabetes mellitus (TR=0.49, p=0.000), Hypertension (TR=0.079, p=0.019), Stroke (TR=0.799, p=0.014), Coronary Artery disease (TR=0.276, p=0.012), Tuberculosis bacillus (TR=0.103, p=0.000) as a co morbidity and the interaction between age and Tuberculosis bacillus (p=0.000), age and Coronary artery disease (p=0.041), Diabetes mellitus with Hypertension (p=0.000), Hypertension with Nutritional status (p=0.000) and age with time (p=0.000) were found statistically significant. The Weibull accelerated failure time model performed better explain the effect of predictors than other Cox and parametric PH models. Thus, researchers should use parametric AFT models to see regression varying effect covariates. Frequent monitoring and follow up of Patients with heart failure should be adopted.
Stocks, or geographically separated populations of the New Zealand orange roughy, Hoplostethus atlanticus, in relation to parasite infestation, growth rate, and otolith shape.

Interrelationships between parasite load and sex, otolith shape, growth rate, and depth and date of capture of orange roughy H. atlanticus (Teleostei: Trachichthyidae) were grouped by both Quota Management Areas (QMAs) and Regional Fisheries Areas (RFAs). Parasite data were collected in 1987 from populations of H. atlanticus as defined by QMAs in New Zealand waters. Examination of the data showed that: (1) parasite load was not related to QMAs and RFAs; (2) parasite load was weakly related to both otolith shape and growth rate; (3) there were differences in growth rate between RFAs; and (4) there was a significant variation in the shape of otolith between RFAs.
Clustering Approach For Energy Efficient Big Data Gathering In Wsn

: The wireless sensor network (WSN) is expanding in discrete to provide both the network and the services with new opportunities. With the tremendous rise in communication technology, big data has become a hot topic of research. WSN play a pivotal role in emerging big data and can generate a large amount of data. To gather the real-time data is quite challenging, for this various energy-efficient algorithm have been designed that helps in overcoming these challenges. Various researches have been done in this field but the efficient results were not obtained. Various techniques like Cluster Heads selection strategies were implemented, along with this the approach for Relay Node (RN) selection was also there, multicast routing was also used but none of the technique was effective to achieve the desired results. To update the network structure for big data gathering approach a new technique needs to be proposed. So in this paper, a technique is proposed that works on cluster sub sectioning and also in improving the multihop routing technique. From the results obtained it is concluded that the proposed system gives better results in terms of the network stability, network lifetime and the energy consumption of the system. The simulation is processed by using the MATLAB software.