Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Efficacy and safety of galantamine in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease: multicentre randomised controlled trial

Abstract Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of galantamine in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Design: Randomised, double blind, parallel group, placebo controlled trial. Setting: 86 outpatient clinics in Europe and Canada. Participants: 653 patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease. Intervention: Patients randomly assigned to galantamine had their daily dose escalated over three to four weeks to maintenance doses of 24 or 32 mg. Main outcome measures: Scores on the 11 item cognitive subscale of the Alzheimer's disease assessment scale, the clinician's interview based impression of change plus caregiver input, and the disability assessment for dementia scale. The effect of apolipoprotein E4 genotype on reponse to treatment was also assessed. Results: At six months, patients who received galantamine had a significantly better outcome on the 11 item cognitive subscale of the Alzheimer's disease assessment scale than patients in the placebo group (mean treatment effect 2.9 points for lower dose and 3.1 for higher dose, intention to treat analysis, P<0.001 for both doses). Galantamine was more effective than placebo on the clinician's interview based impression of change plus caregiver input (P<0.05 for both doses v placebo). At six months, patients in the higher dose galantamine group had significantly better scores on the disability assessment for dementia scale than patients in the placebo group (mean treatment effect 3.4 points, P<0.05). Apolipoprotein E genotype had no effect on the efficacy of galantamine. 80% (525) of patients completed the study. Conclusion: Galantamine is effective and well tolerated in Alzheimer's disease. As galantamine slowed the decline of functional ability as well as cognition, its effects are likely to be clinically relevant.
Modelling and Simulation in Materials Science and Engineering Visualization and analysis of atomistic simulation data with OVITO – the Open Visualization Tool

The Open Visualization Tool (OVITO) is a new 3D visualization software designed for post-processing atomistic data obtained from molecular dynamics or Monte Carlo simulations. Unique analysis, editing and animations functions are integrated into its easy-to-use graphical user interface. The software is written in object-oriented C++, controllable via Python scripts and easily extendable through a plug-in interface. It is distributed as open-source software and can be downloaded from the website http://ovito.sourceforge. net/. (Some figures in this article are in colour only in the electronic version)
Molecular genetic diversity and origin of Chinese domestic duck breeds

Abstract. The 667 bp control region of mitochondrial DNA from 8 representative domestic duck breeds in China, which were all native preserved duck breeds, and a mallard (6 Anas zonorhyncha individuals) were sequenced. The genetic polymorphism and the origin of the 8 domestic ducks were analysed. The result showed that the haplotype diversity (Hd) and average nucleotide diversity (Pi) were 0.67136 and 0.19 %, respectively. Hd and Pi of Youxian Sheldrake were the highest in the 8 domestic duck breeds. Kimura-2 parameter genetic distance between the breeds ranged from 0.00056 to 0.00414. The NJ phylogenetic tree and reduced median-joining network chart were constructed by the total 38 haplotypes and 96 sequences, which included 12 sequences of Anas platyrhynchos from GenBank, 6 sequences of Anas zonorhyncha from GenBank and 78 sequences of this study (72 domestic ducks and 6 Anas zonorhyncha ). The maternal origin of the 8 domestic ducks all originated from Anas platyrhynchos .
Nonlinear Optical Properties of Nanostructured Supramolecular Organic Semiconductor

Resonant third-order optical susceptibility and hyperpolarizability of donor polymer in chloroform were revealed to be ~2.5 − 9.1 × 10−20 m2/V2 and ~8.6 × 10−42 m5/V2 by degenerate four-wave mixing in nanosecond scale at 532 nm, which was attributed to the resonant enhancement.
A preliminary study on ultrasonic treatment effect on transverse wood permeability.

Ultrasonic pre-treatment of small and pressure saturated Douglas-fir heartwood specimens at 20 kHz fixed frequency with an acoustic horn resulted in increased specific permeability coefficient in both radial and tangential directions. Statistical analysis revealed that there was a high correlation between ultrasonic treatment time and specific permeability coefficient. Improvement rate of permeability in both radial and tangential directions was nearly the same regardless of treatment time.
Developing Measurement Scales for Passwords Uniqueness and Secrecy

Password authentication represent a critical weakness in the security of online security. Research shows that individuals frequently engage in poor password hygiene behaviors, including choosing weak passwords, reusing passwords, writing down passwords, and facilitating password theft by not covering their keyboard or emailing passwords in clear text. Among these factors, password uniqueness and password secrecy are of great importance in maintaining password hygiene. Despite the importance of these factors, there are no rigorously-tested measurement scales in information security literature for these concepts; therefore, the goal of this research is to develop and empirically test two measurement scales for two key constructs in this context, namely password uniqueness and password secrecy.
A grid-tied photovoltaic generation system based on series-connected module integrated inverters with adjustable power factor

In order to enhance the redundancy and reliability for distributed generation, a grid-tied photovoltaic (PV) generation system based on series-connected module integrated inverters (SC-MIIs) is proposed in this paper. In the proposed system, each MII is interfaced with a PV panel with independent maximum power point tracking (MPPT) to harvest maximum solar energy. The outputs of MIIs are at AC-line frequency and are connected in series to fulfill the voltage requirement by the utility grid. Since the high step-up power conversion in the conventional micro-inverter is avoided, the SC-MIIs based PV grid-tied structure is easier to be implemented and features higher efficiency. A distributed control strategy for SC-MIIs is also proposed for this system, in which the active power sharing between SC-MIIs is determined by the individual maximum power available from PV panels, while the reactive power of the system can be regulated through any of the SC-MIIs according to the utility grid command. Simulation and experimental results verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed system and its corresponding control strategy.
A first-prototype of the claw pole type half-wave rectified variable field flux motor

Recently development of the new concept motor for EV or HEV becomes very active. The wider torque and speed controllable operating range and high efficiency under driving area are needed for traction motor. As the new motor candidates, the novel motor with the variable motor constant, variable field flux and variable magnetized magnet are proposed by many universities and companies. In the previous paper, we proposed a half-wave rectified brushless synchronous motor using half-wave rectified variable field flux method. This motor is simple and robust brushless structure and has variable field flux performance. This paper describes a new Claw Pole Type Half-Wave Rectified Variable Field Flux Motor (CP-HVFM) and introduces the results of first-order design for prototype machine.
Internet Anomaly Detection based on Complex Network Path

Detecting the anomaly behaviors such as network failure or Internet intentional attack in the large-scale Internet is a vital but challenging task. While numerous techniques have been developed based on Internet traffic in past years, anomaly detection for structured datasets by complex network have just been of focus recently. In this paper, a anomaly detection method for large-scale Internet topology is proposed by considering the changes of network crashes. In order to quantify the dynamic changes of Internet topology, the network path changes coefficient(NPCC) is put forward which will highlight the Internet abnormal state after it is attacked continuously. Furthermore we proposed the decision function which is inspired by Fibonacci Sequence to determine whether the Internet is abnormal or not. That is the current Internet is abnormal if its NPCC is beyond the normal domain which structured by the previous k NPCCs of Internet topology. Finally the new Internet anomaly detection method was tested over the topology data of three Internet anomaly events. The results show that the detection accuracy of all events are over 97%, the detection precision of each event are 90.24%, 83.33% and 66.67%, when k = 36. According to the experimental values of the index F_1, we found the the better the detection performance is, the bigger the k is, and our method has better performance for the anomaly behaviors caused by network failure than that caused by intentional attack. Compared with traditional anomaly detection, our work may be more simple and powerful for the government or organization in items of detecting large-scale abnormal events.
Psychiatric disorders in Norwegian 8- to 10-year-olds: an epidemiological survey of prevalence, risk factors, and service use.

OBJECTIVE The Bergen Child Study is a longitudinal study of child mental health from the city of Bergen, Norway. We present methods and results from the first wave of the study, focusing on prevalence of disorders, associations with risk factors, and the use of services. METHOD The target population included all 9,430 children attending grades 2 to 4 in Bergen schools during the academic year 2002/2003. The main screening instrument was the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, whereas diagnoses were based on the Development and Well-Being Assessment. Information about child and family risk factors and service use was also obtained in this second stage. RESULTS In the first phase, the teacher Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire was obtained for 9,155 (97%) of the target children and the matching parent Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire for 6,297 (67%); 1,011 children (11%) were assessed with the Development and Well-Being Assessment in the second phase. The weighted prevalence for any DSM-IV psychiatric disorder was 7.0% (95% confidence interval 5.6%-8.5%). Disorders were associated with age, gender, learning difficulties, family type, and poverty. Although 75% of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder had been in contact with specialist mental health services, this was true for only 13% of those with pure emotional disorders. CONCLUSIONS The overall prevalence of psychiatric disorders in children is relatively low in this Norwegian sample, when assessed with the Development and Well-Being Assessment. Children with emotional disorders have limited access to specialist services.
Long-term ambient fine particulate matter air pollution and lung cancer in a large cohort of never-smokers.

RATIONALE There is compelling evidence that acute and chronic exposure to ambient fine particulate matter (PM(2.5)) air pollution increases cardiopulmonary mortality. However, the role of PM(2.5) in the etiology of lung cancer is less clear, particularly at concentrations that prevail in developed countries and in never-smokers. OBJECTIVES This study examined the association between mean long-term ambient PM(2.5) concentrations and lung cancer mortality among 188,699 lifelong never-smokers drawn from the nearly 1.2 million Cancer Prevention Study-II participants enrolled by the American Cancer Society in 1982 and followed prospectively through 2008. METHODS Mean metropolitan statistical area PM(2.5) concentrations were determined for each participant based on central monitoring data. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to estimate multivariate adjusted hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals for lung cancer mortality in relation to PM(2.5). MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS A total of 1,100 lung cancer deaths were observed during the 26-year follow-up period. Each 10 μg/m(3) increase in PM(2.5) concentrations was associated with a 15-27% increase in lung cancer mortality. The association between PM(2.5) and lung cancer mortality was similar in men and women and across categories of attained age and educational attainment, but was stronger in those with a normal body mass index and a history of chronic lung disease at enrollment (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS The present findings strengthen the evidence that ambient concentrations of PM(2.5) measured in recent decades are associated with small but measurable increases in lung cancer mortality.
Physiological antagonism between 5-hydroxytryptamine(2A) and group II metabotropic glutamate receptors in prefrontal cortex.

In prefrontal cortex, 5-hydroxytryptamine(2A) (5-HT(2A)) receptors have been linked to the action of hallucinogens and atypical antidepressant/antipsychotic drugs. Previously, we have shown in cortical layer V pyramidal cells that a nonselective metabotropic glutamate (mGlu) receptor agonist suppresses the induction of excitatory postsynaptic potentials/currents (EPSPs/EPSCs) via activation of 5-HT(2A) receptors. In this study, we tested the ability of the selective mGlu2/3 agonist (1S,2S,5R, 6S)-2-aminobicyclo[3.1. 0]hexane-2,6-dicarboxylate monohydrate (LY354740) and the selective mGlu2/3 antagonist 2S-2-amino-2-(1S, 2S-2-carboxycycloprop-1-yl)-3(xanthy-9-yl)propanoic acid (LY341495) to modulate serotonin(5-HT)-induced EPSPs and electrically evoked EPSPs by using intracellular recording from layer V pyramidal cells in medial prefrontal cortex. The mGlu2/3 antagonist LY341495 increased the frequency and amplitude of 5-HT-induced EPSCs, suggesting a role for mGlu2/3 receptors in mediating the action of endogenous glutamate on autoreceptors. Conversely, the mGlu2/3 agonist LY354740 was highly effective and potent (EC(50) = 89 nM) in suppressing glutamate release induced by 5-HT(2A) receptor activation in the medial prefrontal cortex, probably via a presynaptic mechanism. The mGlu2/3 antagonist LY341495 potently blocked the suppressant effect of LY354740 on 5-HT-induced EPSCs as well as electrically evoked early EPSPs. Autoradiography with the radioligands [(3)H]LY354740 and [(125)I](+/-)-1-(2, 5-dimethoxy-4-iodophenyl)-2-aminopropane showsa striking overlap of the laminar distribution of mGlu2/3 and 5-HT(2A) receptors in the medial prefrontal cortex that is not apparent in other cortical regions. These findings suggest a close coupling between mGlu2/3 and 5-HT(2A) receptors in the prefrontal cortex that may be relevant for novel therapeutic approaches in the treatment of neuropsychiatric syndromes such as depression and schizophrenia.
Planning Ability Following Moderate to Severe Traumatic Brain Injury: Performance on a 4-Disk Version of the Tower of London

Abstract This study aimed to assess planning ability in adults with traumatic brain injury (TBI) using a 4-disk version of the Tower of London (TOL). Thirty three individuals with TBI were compared with equivalent numbers of matched controls. Overall, the TOL4 was shown to be sensitive to the effects of brain injury, with the TBI group performing significantly more poorly on this version of the planning test than the matched controls. More specifically, group differences were found to be related to the complexity of the planning problems, particularly among a TBI subgroup with localised prefrontal damage. Results of the study provide support for the adverse effects of TBI on planning ability, and the important role of the prefrontal cortex in planning.
A Collaborative Wireless Sensor Network Routing Scheme for Reducing Energy Wastage

A Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) is a network of battery-powered nodes in which data is routed from sources to sinks. Each node consumes energy in order to transmit or receive on its radio. Consequently, an intermediate node that is used by multiple sources will quickly expire. If some sources are unable to route without the presence of that node, any remaining energy they have is wasted. We present a new routing scheme known as node reliance, which rates the degree to which nodes are relied upon in routing. The use of node reliance reduces the contention for intermediate nodes, permitting sources to route to sinks for longer and thus maximising the useful lifetime of the network.
Music style mining and classification by melody

Music style is one of the features that people used to classify music. Discovery of music style is helpful for the design of a content-based music retrieval system. In this paper we investigate the mining and classification of music style by melody from a collection of MIDI music. We extract the chord from the melody and investigate the representation of extracted features and corresponding mining techniques for music classification. Experimental results show that the classification accuracy is about 70% to 84% for 2-way classification.
Re‐introduction of the Eschmann Tracheal Tube Introducer

observational study correlating STOP-BANG scores with formal polysomnography [4], and found that using a lower cut-off for body mass index of 30 kg.m 2 may simplify the application of the STOP-BANG questionnaire without affecting performance [4]. We recognise that the STOP-BANG questionnaire was validated in the Western population; however, to our knowledge, there is no validated modification of the STOP-BANG questionnaire for Asians. Currently, Singapore teaching hospitals have a low threshold for ‘elective’ critical care admission. However, we have been able to collect data (unpublished) for unplanned critical care admissions, and have found that a STOP-BANG score of ≥ 4 is associated with a 2.5-fold increased rate of unplanned critical care admission compared with STOP-BANG scores of 0 or 1.
Mirror drawing in a deafferented patient and normal subjects

Results on a mirror drawing task showed that a deafferented patient had no problem completing the pattern, whereas normal subjects needed more than four trials to attain a similar performance. The results suggest the presence of integrated visual and proprioceptive maps. The inversion of visual coordinates requires the need for a recalibration. Without proprioception, the task is more like a simple visual tracking task.
The impact of joint disease on the Modified Health Assessment Questionnaire scores in rheumatoid arthritis patients: A cross-sectional study using the National Database of Rheumatic Diseases by iR-net in Japan

Abstract Objectives: To investigate the effect of bilateral and unilateral joint disease on the Modified Health Assessment Questionnaire (MHAQ) scores and the differences in joint weighting in rheumatoid arthritis patients. Methods: A total of 9212 subjects from the Japanese nationwide cohort database NinJa, 2011, were analyzed. The presence or absence of disease in each joint, including swelling and/or tenderness, was investigated. The correlations between bilateral and unilateral disease in each joint and MHAQ scores were investigated using multivariable logistic regression analysis. Results: The patients’ mean age and disease duration was 63.2 and 12.2 years, respectively. The Disease Activity Score-28 was 3.3. The odds ratios of physical impairment according to the MHAQ using multivariable logistic regression models for bilateral and unilateral joints, respectively, were: shoulder, 4.0 and 1.8; elbow, 2.6 and 1.8; wrist, 1.9 and 1.5; hip, 1.7 and 3.0; knee, 2.6 and 1.9; ankle, 2.3 and 2.0, finger, 1.4 and 1.2; and toe, 1.0 and 1.1. The shoulder, elbow, wrist, knee, and ankle had a significant effect on physical impairment. Conclusions: The MHAQ score was significantly affected by shoulder, elbow, wrist, knee, and ankle joint disease. Furthermore, bilateral disease tended to have a greater effect on physical impairment than unilateral disease.
Transient Transcriptional Activation of theVibrio cholerae El Tor Virulence Regulator ToxT in Response to Culture Conditions

ABSTRACT Vibrio cholerae El Tor require special in vitro culture conditions, consisting of an initial static growth period followed by shift to shaking (AKI conditions), for expression of cholera toxin (CT) and toxin coregulated pili (TCP). ToxT, a regulator whose initial transcription depends on the ToxR regulator, positively modulates expression of CT and TCP. To help understand control of CT and TCP in El Tor vibrios, we monitored ctxAB and ToxR-dependenttoxT transcription by time course primer extension assays. AKI conditions stimulated CT synthesis with an absence ofctxAB transcription during static growth followed by induction upon shaking. ToxR-dependent toxT transcription was induced at the end of the static growth period but was transient, stopping shortly after shaking was initiated but, interestingly, also if the static phase was prolonged. Immunoblot assays showed that ToxR protein levels were not coincidentally transient, implying a protein on/off switch mechanism for ToxR. Despite the transient activation by ToxR, transcription of ctxAB was maintained during shaking. This finding suggested continued toxT expression, possibly through relay transcription from another promoter. The 12.6-kb distant upstream tcpA promoter responsible for expression of the TCP operon has been proposed to provide an alternate toxTmessage by readthrough transcription. Activation of thetcpA promoter is supported by increased expression of TcpA protein during the shaking phase of the culture. Readthrough transcription of toxT from tcpA would be compatible with reverse transcription-PCR evidence for atoxT mRNA at times when ToxR-dependent transcription was no longer detectable by primer extension.
Effect of caffeine on the vocal folds: a pilot study

Abstract Caffeine is considered to be a dehydrating agent with detrimental effects on the quality of voice of persons ingesting it. This has led medical personnel dealing with voice disorders, especially in the case of professional voice users, to give advice against the use of caffeine. Yet this is an anecdotal truth as an extensive Medline literature search did not reveal any scientific evidence of caffeine being proven to have adverse effects on the vocal folds. We, therefore, initiated this pilot study to ascertain the connection between caffeine and voice quality on a laboratory basis. Two hundred and fifty mg of caffeine were provided to eight volunteers in tablet form, and blood levels along with laryngograph readings were recorded to document the changes produced. Analysing the irregularities of frequencies in a) free speech b) a reading passage and c) singing ‘Happy Birthday’, substantial changes were seen to authenticate the fact that caffeine does produce alterations in voice quality but these alterations have considerable intrasubject variability. A full study with wider parameters is to be performed on this subject as we consider it to be of importance in the management of voice disorders.