Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Caffeine eliminates psychomotor vigilance deficits from sleep inertia.

STUDY OBJECTIVES This study sought to establish the effects of caffeine on sleep inertia, which is the ubiquitous phenomenon of cognitive performance impairment, grogginess and tendency to return to sleep immediately after awakening. DESIGN 28 normal adult volunteers were administered sustained low-dose caffeine or placebo (randomized double-blind) during the last 66 hours of an 88-hour period of extended wakefulness that included seven 2-hour naps during which polysomnographical recordings were made. Every 2 hours of wakefulness, and immediately after abrupt awakening from the naps, psychomotor vigilance performance was tested. SETTING N/A. PARTICIPANTS N/A. INTERVENTIONS N/A. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS In the placebo condition, sleep inertia was manifested as significantly impaired psychomotor vigilance upon awakening from the naps. This impairment was absent in the caffeine condition. Caffeine had only modest effects on nap sleep. CONCLUSIONS Caffeine was efficacious in overcoming sleep inertia. This suggests a reason for the popularity of caffeine-containing beverages after awakening. Caffeine's main mechanism of action on the central nervous system is antagonism of adenosine receptors. Thus, increased adenosine in the brain upon awakening may be the cause of sleep inertia.
Use of Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) for the investigation of the Human Olfactory System

In vivo fMRI study of the human olfactory system is difficult not only because the devoted areas in human cortex are much less extended than those of the other sensory systems, but also for the presence of a high magnetic susceptibility around the olfactory stations. This work presents the results obtained in the attempt of developing a robust and reproducible fMRI technique to evaluate the human olfactory system in healthy subjects.
Specific language impairment and school outcomes. I: identifying and explaining variability at the end of compulsory education.

BACKGROUND This investigation reports the results of national educational examinations in secondary schooling for young people who have been participating in the Manchester Language Study. AIMS The emphasis of the study is on furthering understanding of educational outcomes at the end of compulsory education. METHODS & PROCEDURES A total of 120 adolescents with a history of specific language impairment (SLI) and 121 adolescents with typical development (TD) who were in their final year of compulsory secondary schooling (mean age = 17;4 years) participated. National educational examination results throughout secondary schooling were collected along with a range of psycholinguistic skills from 11 to 16/17 years. OUTCOMES & RESULTS Forty-four per cent of young people with SLI obtained at least one of the expected qualifications at the end of secondary education, indicating some improvements compared with reports on earlier cohorts. Regression analyses revealed that literacy and language skills were predictive of educational attainment after controlling for IQ and maternal education. Nearly one-quarter of the sample of adolescents with SLI was not entered for any examinations at the end of compulsory education. A very strong association between earlier patterns of entry for examinations and patterns of examination entry at school leaving age was found. CONCLUSIONS In addition to performance IQ, concurrent and early literacy and language skills have significant effects on the academic attainments of young people with a history of SLI. The transition from primary to secondary schooling is a crucial time for assessment and evaluation of individual children's needs and levels of support required.
Relationship of leg strength and power to ground reaction forces in both experienced and novice jump trained personnel.

METHODS There were 14 male soldiers who participated in this study examining the relationship of leg strength and power on landing performance. Subjects were separated into two groups. The first group (E, n = 7) were parachute training instructors and highly experienced in parachute jumping. The second group of subjects (N, n = 7) had no prior parachute training experience and were considered novice jumpers. All subjects were tested for one-repetition maximum (1 RM) squat strength and maximal jump power. Ground reaction forces (GRF) and the time to peak force (TPF) at landing were measured from jumps at four different heights (95 cm, 120 cm, 145 cm, and 170 cm). All jumps were performed from a customized jump platform onto a force plate. RESULTS No differences were seen between E and N in either IRM squat strength or in MJP. In addition, no differences were seen between the groups for time to peak force at any jump height. However, significantly greater GRF were observed in E compared to N. Moderate to high correlations between maximal jump power and GRF (r values ranging from 0.62-0.93) were observed in E. Although maximal jump power and the TPF was significantly correlated (r = -0.89) at only 120 cm for E, it was interesting to note that the correlations between MJP and the time to peak force in E were all negative and that the correlations between these variables in N were all positive. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that experienced parachutists may use a different landing strategy than novice jumpers. This difference may be reflected by differences in GRF generated during impact and a more efficient utilization of muscle power during the impact phase of the landing.
EEG Maturation: Viability through Adolescence

ABSTRACT. As our brain matures, the EEG patterns change in a predictable manner. These cortical developments create age-specific waveforms that help decipher the normal maturation of the EEG. The majority of these changes take place during the neonatal period when waveform alterations occur week to week from discontinuous bursts to a more continuous background. From the neonatal period to infancy, background patterns of sleep and awake begin to show the continuity seen in older children and adults. With further maturation, the neonatal patterns of awake and sleep develop into the posterior dominant rhythm and distinguishable sleep structures of childhood. While pediatric patterns mirror the mature waveforms of adult EEG, their morphology and reactive response differentiates them. The goal of this article is to illustrate the normal maturation and development of the EEG using the age-specific waveforms and patterns seen in neonates, infants, children, and adolescence.
Novel biologically based therapeutic strategies in myeloma.

Multiple myeloma remains incurable despite advances in conventional chemotherapy and wider applicability of high dose chemotherapy with single and/or tandem autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation. Although a complete remission rate of 41% and an event-free survival of 43 months have been reported after tandem transplantation, it is highly unlikely that further improvements in the outcome of multiple myeloma will be achieved by escalating cytotoxic chemotherapy alone. Novel biologically based therapies are therefore urgently required. Targeted therapeutic approaches based on: identification of genetic abnormalities in malignant plasma cells; interrupting growth of myeloma cells; triggering apoptotic signaling cascades in tumor cells; modulating growth and survival of multiple myeloma cells in the bone marrow microenvironment, i.e. angiogenesis and cytokine networks; enhancing allogeneic and autologous antimyeloma immunity; and characterizing newer myeloma antigens for serotherapy are under development. These therapies offer great promise, used alone/or in combination with conventional treatment approaches, to improve the outcome in this disease in newly diagnosed/refractory or relapsed patients with multiple myeloma.
An integration platform for developing context-aware applications based on context reasoning and service automation techniques

This paper proposes an integration platform composed of Agent platform and Open Services Gateway Initiative (OSGi) framework to assist in developing context-aware applications. For developing context-aware applications, we firstly have to gather data through sensor networks and reason the meaningful context information. Secondly, context-aware applications must make the decision according to the context information, and provide the user-centric service through selecting the suitable device and deciding the service flow. In the integration platform, the agent platform providing personalization and learning capabilities to assist in reasoning context information. Furthermore, OSGi providing the modularization bundles of applications which aid to management the devices and services. Finally, the elder mental care scenario is implemented to verify the performance of the integration platform.
Pharmacological Effects of Glycyrrhiza spp. and Its Bioactive Constituents: Update and Review

The roots and rhizomes of various species of the perennial herb licorice (Glycyrrhiza) are used in traditional medicine for the treatment of several diseases. In experimental and clinical studies, licorice has been shown to have several pharmacological properties including antiinflammatory, antiviral, antimicrobial, antioxidative, antidiabetic, antiasthma, and anticancer activities as well as immunomodulatory, gastroprotective, hepatoprotective, neuroprotective, and cardioprotective effects. In recent years, several of the biochemical, molecular, and cellular mechanisms of licorice and its active components have also been demonstrated in experimental studies. In this review, we summarized the new phytochemical, pharmacological, and toxicological data from recent experimental and clinical studies of licorice and its bioactive constituents after our previous published review. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Role of CXCR3 in cellular but not humoral renal allograft rejection

CXCR3, a chemokine receptor mainly expressed by T cells, is involved in animal transplant models and in human allograft rejection. CXCR3 expression was localized in formalin‐fixed, paraffin‐embedded renal allograft biopsies without signs of rejection (C4d‐negative, Banff 0, n = 16), with C4d deposits as a sign of humoral rejection (C4d‐positive, Banff 0, n = 8), with cellular rejection (C4d‐negative, Banff I, n = 7) and with signs of both cellular and humoral rejection (C4d‐positive, Banff 1, n = 5). Small, round infiltrating cells were CXCR3‐positive. A high number of these cells was present in biopsies with cellular rejection (independent of C4d deposition). CXCR3‐positive cells diffusely infiltrated the interstitium, including the tubular epithelium (tubulitis). CXCR3 scores and the area of CXCR3 staining were significantly higher in cellular rejection, when compared to biopsies without rejection, and with deposition of C4d alone. CXCR3‐positive cells infiltrate renal allografts during cellular rejection, whereas C4d deposition is not associated with the recruitment of these cells.
Detection of Lung Cancer Stages on CT scan Images by Using Various Image Processing Techniques

Lung cancer seems to be the common cause of death among people throughout the world. Early detection of lung cancer can increase the chance of survival among people. The overall 5-year survival rate for lung cancer patients increases from 14 to 49% if the disease is detected in time. Although Computed Tomography (CT) can be more efficient than X-ray. However, problem seemed to merge due to time constraint in detecting the present of lung cancer regarding on the several diagnosing method used. Hence, a lung cancer detection system using image processing is used to classify the present of lung cancer in a CTimages. In this study, MATLAB have been used through every procedures made. In image processing procedures, process such as image pre-processing, segmentation and feature extraction have been discussed in detail. We are aiming to get the more accurate results by using various enhancement and segmentation techniques.
DISTRIBUTION OF SOME ENZYMES ASSOCIATED WITH THE METABOLISM OF GLUTAMATE, ASPARTATE, γ‐AMINOBUTYRATE AND GLUTAMINE IN CAT SPINAL CORD 1

The activities of glutamine synthetase, glutaminase, glutamate decarboxylase, GABA aminotransferase, glutamate dehydrogenase, and aspartate aminotransferase were measured in four areas of the cat spinal cord and in dorsal and ventral roots. Five of the six enzymes showed identical distribution patterns; i.e. the activities in the dorsal and ventral gray matter were equal and those of dorsal and ventral white matter were equal. No statistical differences in the mean enzyme activities in the dorsal and ventral roots were found. Glutamate decarboxylase was the only enzyme which had a different pattern. The enzyme activity in dorsal gray was twice that of ventral gray; the same pattern as the GABA concentration in both these areas. The glutamine synthetase activities in the cord areas and roots correlated with the glutamine distribution reported earlier. Thus, the distribution of glutamine (not a transmitter) and GABA (questionable transmitter) in gray matter are dictated by their synthesizing enzymes, whereas the distribution of glutamate and aspartate (likely transmitter suspects) cannot be explained on the basis of enzyme activities. Therefore, the enzyme activities may be related to the amino acid levels primarily in metabolic compartments, whereas the excess of certain amino acids in specific areas of the cord and roots may be related to functional compartments accumulated for use in synaptic transmission.
Behavioral Science Comes of Age

People are fascinated by the brain, in large part because of a great interest in understanding their own minds and mental health. Over a century of neuroscience and psychological research has convinced most people that "Descartes died," leaving the old mind/brain dualism behind. The reality that we don9t have a mind separate from the rest of our body has been brought home in many experimental ways, perhaps especially by modern neuroimaging techniques that allow investigators to look into the brains of living, awake, and behaving human beings--watching minds in action.
Improved Reliable Trust-Based and Energy-Efficient Data Aggregation for Wireless Sensor Networks

In wireless sensor networks, secure data aggregation is very important for reducing the quantity of data transmitted and prolonging the lifetime of wireless sensor networks. When wireless sensor networks are deployed in untrusted and hostile environments, their nodes are often compromised, which reduces the security and reliability of the transmitted data. Compromised nodes can inject erroneous data, selectively forward data to an adversary, impersonate legal nodes to join routing paths, and disrupt data transmission during the data-aggregation operation. Previous researchers have relied on reputation system to find compromised nodes and prevent attacks during the data-aggregation operation. In this paper, we propose an improved reliable, trust-based, and energy-efficient data-aggregation protocol for wireless sensor networks. We call the protocol the iRTEDA protocol, and it combines the reputation system, residual energy, link availability, and a recovery mechanism to improve secure data aggregation and ensure that the network is secure, reliable, and energy-efficient. Simulations have shown that the iRTEDA protocol exceeds the performances of other protocols from the perspectives of the accuracy of the data, the reliability of the routing path, the consumption of energy, and the lifetime of secure data aggregation.
A polymorphism within the equine CRISP3 gene is associated with stallion fertility in Hanoverian warmblood horses.

Fertility of stallions is of high economic importance, especially for large breeding organisations and studs. Breeding schemes with respect to fertility traits and selection of stallions at an early stage may be improved by including molecular genetic markers associated with traits. The genes coding for equine cysteine-rich secretory proteins (CRISPs) are promising candidate genes because previous studies have shown that CRISPs play a role in the fertilising ability of male animals. We have previously characterised the three equine CRISP genes and identified a non-synonymous polymorphism in the CRISP1 gene. In this study, we report one non-synonymous polymorphism in the CRISP2 gene and four non-synonymous polymorphisms in the CRISP3 gene. All six CRISP polymorphisms were genotyped in 107 Hanoverian breeding stallions. Insemination records of stallions were used to analyse the association between CRISP polymorphisms and fertility traits. Three statistical models were used to evaluate the influence of single mutations, genotypes and haplotypes of the polymorphisms. The CRISP3 AJ459965:c. +622G>A SNP leading to the amino acid substitution E208K was significantly associated with the fertility of stallions. Stallions heterozygous for the CRISP3 c. +622G>A SNP had lower fertility than homozygous stallions (P = 0.0234). The pregnancy rate per cycle in these stallions was estimated to be approximately 7% lower than in stallions homozygous at this position.
Comparative sensitivity of eight freshwater phytoplankton species to isoprocarb, propargite, flumetralin and propiconazol

This work compared the sensitivity of three cyanobacteria (Anabaena flos-aquae, Microcystis flosaquae and Mirocystis aeruginosa) as well as five green algae (Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata, Scenedesmus quadricauda, Scenedesmus obliquus, Chlorella vulgaris and Chlorella pyrenoidosa) to four pesticides through 96h short-term chronic tests. The results showed that the toxicity of the pesticides to the organisms increased in the order: propiconazol > isoprocarb > flumetralin > propargite. A wide variation in toxicity response of the organisms was observed. The sensitivity of the organisms varied by over one order of magnitude for propargite, by over two orders of magnitude for isoprocarb and propiconazol, and by over three orders of maginitude for flumetralin. Compared to green algae, cyanobacteria were less sensitive. This may result in the alteration of green algae dominated species to those dominated by cyanobacteria, stimulating to cyanobcterial bloom during a certain period.
Voice controlled home automation system using Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Internet of Things (IoT)

The primary objective of our project is to construct a fully functional voice based Home automation system that uses Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence and Natural Language Processing (NLP) to provide a cost-effective, efficient way to work together with home appliances. There are many smart home solutions in the market that aim to automate the basic operations of these home appliances using various technologies such as GSM (Global System for Mobile), NFC (Near-Field Communication) etc. However, most of these systems focus on mimicking the basic operation of the electrical switch. Our project aims at providing a fully automated voice based solution that our users can rely on, to perform more than just switching on/off the appliances. The user sends a command through speech to the mobile device, which interprets the message and sends the appropriate command to the specific appliance. We plan on implementing four basic home appliances as a “Proof-of-Concept” for this project which includes Fan, Light, Coffee Machine and Door Alarms. The voice command given by the user is interpreted by the mobile device using Natural Language processing. The mobile device acts as a central console; it determines what operation must be completed by which appliance to fulfill the user's request. The central console might likewise be either a desktop application, web application or a smart phone application as nearly all of the data transferred can be processed by the cloud. However, for the convenience of the user and increased mobile capabilities we will be using a smart phone in this project. The appliances are associated with the mobile device through an Arduino Board that establishes the concept of Internet of Things. The Arduino Boards are interfaced with the appliances and programmed in a manner that they respond to mobile inputs.
Diagnostic significance of neck vibration for the cervical vertigo.

It has been generally accepted that the neck afferents play a major role in postural adjustment. Eye and body movements induced by vibratory stimulation of the unilateral dorsal neck area were examined in patients with vertigo suspected to be of cervical origin, as well as in those with unilateral peripheral vestibular impairment and normal subjects. Whether or not vibratory stimulation was a useful method for the objective examination of cervical vertigo was investigated. Although in some normal subjects, fine nystagmus and body movement were evoked on neck stimulation, in those with unilateral peripheral vestibular impairment and vertigo of possibly cervical origin, neck stimulation evoked nystagmus and body movement at much higher rates. In unilateral peripheral vestibular impairment, the evoked nystagmus was always in the direction contralateral to the impaired inner ear. Postural deviation to the ipsilateral side of the impaired vestibulum, namely to the side of the slow phase of the neck-induced nystagmus, was often observed on stimulation of both sides of the neck. In vertigo of possibly cervical origin changing the side of stimulation reversed the direction of the nystagmus in most of the cases. Body movement induced by neck vibration in these patients had a tendency to deviate to the contralateral side of the evoked nystagmus. In patients having localized tender spots or a bruised area on the neck, severe dysequilibrium was often provoked on vibrating these points. Moreover, caloric nystagmus was often influenced by the neck vibratory stimulation. Generally, if the direction of caloric nystagmus coincided with that of neck-induced nystagmus, the caloric nystagmus was reinforced and vice versa. The usefulness of neck vibration for the objective diagnosis of cervical vertigo was stressed.
Does herpes zoster ophthalmicus increase the risk of stroke?

Varicella zoster virus (VZV), a ubiquitous human herpesvirus, causes chicken pox on primary infection and then establishes lifelong latency in all cranial nerve, dorsal root, and autonomic ganglia. When VZV-specific cell-mediated immunity declines, such as in elderly and immunocompromised individuals, virus reactivates in one or more ganglia and typically travels peripherally to cause herpes zoster in the corresponding dermatomes. Herpes zoster can be complicated by stroke and has been described clinically as VZV vasculopathy, granulomatous angiitis, post varicella arteriopathy, and herpes zoster ophthalmicus (HZO) with delayed contralateral hemiparesis. The likely mechanism for stroke caused by VZV is direct viral infection of cerebral arteries. This assertion is supported by animal studies identifying afferent fibers from trigeminal and dorsal root ganglia to both intracranial and extracranial blood vessels, providing an anatomic pathway for spread of the virus,1,2 and observations of viral particles, antigens, and DNA in affected arterial vessels in VZV vasculopathy cases.3,4 Several studies have examined varicella and the risk of stroke in children,5,6 but large studies in the adult population regarding the frequency and risk of …