Search Results (9,056)

Monitoring the driver’s physical and mental state based on wearable EEG acquisition equipment, especially the detection and early warning of fatigue, is a key issue in the research of the brain–computer interface in human–machine intelligent fusion driving. Comparing and analyzing the waking (alert) state and fatigue state by simulating EEG data during simulated driving, this paper proposes a brain functional network construction method based on a phase locking value (PLV) and phase lag index (PLI), studies the relationship between brain regions, and quantitatively analyzes the network structure. The characteristic parameters of the brain functional network that have significant differences in fatigue status are screened out and constitute feature vectors, which are then combined with machine learning algorithms to complete classification and identification. The experimental results show that this method can effectively distinguish between alertness and fatigue states. The recognition accuracy rates of 52 subjects are all above 70%, with the highest recognition accuracy reaching 89.5%. Brain network topology analysis showed that the connectivity between brain regions was weakened under a fatigue state, especially under the PLV method, and the phase synchronization relationship between delta and theta frequency bands was significantly weakened. The research results provide a reference for understanding the interdependence of brain regions under fatigue conditions and the development of fatigue driving detection systems. Full article

The purpose of this study is to evaluate and compare how well different routing protocols perform in terms of load sharing, link failover, and overall network performance. Wireshark was used for packet-level analysis, VMWare was used for virtualization, GNS3 was used for network simulation, and Iperf3 was used to measure network performance parameters. Convergence time, packet losses, network jitter, and network delay are the parameters that were selected for assessment. To examine the behaviors of Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) and Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP) routing protocols in a variety of network settings, a simulated network environment incorporating both protocols along with Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) is created for the research. The setup for the experiment entails simulating different network conditions, such as fluctuating traffic loads and connection failures, to track how the protocols function in dynamic situations. The efficiency metrics for OSPF and EIGRP with BGP are measured and evaluated using the data generated by Wireshark and Iperf3. The results of this research show that EIGRP has a better failover convergence time and packet loss percentage as compared to the OSPF. Full article

Background and Objectives: Rotational malformation after intramedullary nailing of intertrochanteric fractures is a relatively common, possibly severe, and difficult-to-detect complication, since intraoperative radiographic imaging allows for the assessment of the quality of reduction in the frontal and sagittal planes, but not in the transverse plane. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the rotational malalignment after intramedullary nailing of intertrochanteric fractures and to investigate a possible connection with specific patients’ or fractures’ characteristics. Materials and Methods: 74 patients treated with intramedullary nailing due to an intertrochanteric fracture underwent a postoperative CT of the pelvis-hips and knees. The value of the anteversion was measured both in the operated-on (angle 1) and in the healthy hip (angle 2) based on the technique described by Jeanmart et al. and the difference in anteversion (D angle = angle 1 minus angle 2) was calculated. A positive D angle indicated the presence of excessive internal overcorrection of the distal fragment during fracture reduction, while a negative D angle indicated the presence of excessive external overcorrection. The absolute value of the D angle represents the postoperative difference in anteversion between the two hips. The patients were divided into three groups according to this value: group A, with D < 5° (physiological difference); group B, with 5° < D < 15° (acceptable rotational alignment); and group C, with D ≥ 15° (rotational deformity). Results: Group A constitutes 56.8%, group B 12.2%, and group C 31.1% of the study population. Overall, 79.7% of the patients presented a positive angle D, while, for group C, the percentage was even higher at 91.3%. According to the AO/OTA classification system, 37.8% of the cases were stable fractures, 47.3% were unstable fractures, and 14.9% were reverse oblique fractures. Based on our analysis, the type of fracture has a serious impact on the rotational alignment, since the statistical significance of the mean angle D for the three types of fracture is reliable (p = 0.029). Stable fractures present the lowest anteversion difference values, while reverse oblique fractures present the highest difference. Conclusions: Our study reveals that the percentage of rotational malalignment after the intramedullary nailing of intertrochanteric fractures remains high (31.1%), despite the proper use of radiographic imaging during the intraoperative fracture reduction. In most cases (91.3%), this malalignment appears to be a matter of internal overcorrection. A clear correlation between hip’s rotational deformity and patients′ functional outcome has yet to be proven, and constitutes our objective in the near future. Full article

Neuroaesthetics is a relatively young field that connects neuroscience with empirical aesthetics and originates in the neurological theory of aesthetic experience. It investigates brain structures and activity during the phenomena of artistic perception and production and, at the same time, attempts to understand the influence of neurological pathologies on these mechanisms. For each participant (six subjects with mild cognitive decline and ten controls), electroencephalography (EEG) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) data were acquired thanks to a wearable EEG–fNIRS system during the execution of a P300 task. Full article

Identifying brain activity and flow direction can help in monitoring the effectiveness of neurofeedback tasks that aim to treat cognitive deficits. The goal of this study was to compare the neuronal electrical activity of the cortex between individuals from two groups—low and high difficulty—based on a spatial analysis of electroencephalography (EEG) acquired through neurofeedback sessions. These sessions require the subjects to maintain their state of attention when executing a task. EEG data were collected during three neurofeedback sessions for each person, including theta and beta frequencies, followed by a comprehensive preprocessing. The inverse solution based on cortical current density was applied to identify brain regions related to the state of attention. Thereafter, effective connectivity between those regions was estimated using the Directed Transfer Function. The average cortical current density of the high-difficulty group demonstrated that the medial prefrontal, dorsolateral prefrontal, and temporal regions are related to the attentional state. In contrast, the low-difficulty group presented higher current density values in the central regions. Furthermore, for both theta and beta frequencies, for the high-difficulty group, flows left and entered several regions, unlike the low-difficulty group, which presented flows leaving a single region. In this study, we identified which brain regions are related to the state of attention in individuals who perform more demanding tasks (high-difficulty group). Full article

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a class of circular non-coding RNAs that play essential roles in the intricate and dynamic networks governing cell growth, development, and apoptosis. Resveratrol (RSV), a non-flavonoid polyphenol, is known to participate in follicular development and ovulation. In our previous research, we established a model using porcine ovarian granulosa cells (POGCs) treated with resveratrol, which confirmed its regulatory effects on long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and microRNAs (miRNAs) within these cells. However, the influence of resveratrol on circRNA expression has not been thoroughly investigated. To explore how resveratrol affects circRNA levels in POGCs, we designed an experiment with three groups: a control group (CON, n = 3, 0 μM RSV), a low-dose RSV group (LOW, n = 3, 50 μM RSV), and a high-dose RSV group (HIGH, n = 3, 100 μM RSV) for circRNA sequencing. We identified a total of 10,045 candidate circRNAs from POGCs treated with different concentrations of resveratrol (0, 50, and 100 μM). Differential expression analysis indicated that 96 circRNAs were significantly altered in the LOW vs. CON group, while 109 circRNAs showed significant changes in the HIGH vs. CON group. These circRNAs were notably enriched in biological processes associated with cell metabolism, apoptosis, and oxidative stress. Functional enrichment analysis of the host genes revealed their involvement in critical signaling pathways, including mTOR, AMPK, and apoptosis pathways. Additionally, we identified potential miRNA sponge candidates among the differentially expressed circRNAs, particularly novel_circ_0012954 and novel_circ_0004762, which exhibited strong connectivity within miRNA-target networks. Our findings provide valuable insights into the regulatory mechanisms of circRNAs in the context of resveratrol-induced apoptosis in POGCs, highlighting their potential as innovative therapeutic targets in reproductive biology. Full article

Objective: This study delves into the implications of adenoidectomy for scoliosis progression, investigating the intricate nexus of hypoxia, spinal curvature, and surgical intervention. With adenoidectomy being a common procedure for addressing pediatric sleep-disordered breathing, this research study explores its potential impact on spinal health. Patients and Methods: Employing a retrospective cohort design, this study gathered data from patients who underwent adenoidectomy, including those with scoliosis, between January 2017 and March 2023. Initial and follow-up evaluations involved clinical and radiological assessments, notably measuring the Cobb angle to quantify spinal curvature. Results: This study enrolled 218 patients under 10 years old. Among them, 18 exhibited Cobb angles of 10° or more, with a mean Cobb angle of 12.8°. In the follow-up evaluation, 83% of patients with initial Cobb angles of 10° or more were reached out to, along with 84.6% of those with Cobb angles below 10°. The postoperative follow-up revealed a notable decrease in Cobb angles for most patients, particularly those with an initial Cobb angle exceeding 10°. Conclusions: This study underscores the potential connection between adenoidectomy, hypoxia, and scoliosis regression, highlighting the importance of early intervention for scoliosis management. Despite certain limitations, this investigation lays the foundation for future research involving larger patient cohorts and multifaceted analyses. The observed interactions between airway function, hypoxia, and spinal health open avenues for refining clinical strategies in scoliosis treatment. Full article

Several terminologies exist for a vestigial muscle connecting the clavicle to the cervical vertebrae; however, “levator claviculae muscle” and “cleidocervical muscle” are commonly found in the contemporary literature. The term “levator claviculae” does not determine the location of the superior insertion point, but rather describes a single function of the muscle. However, similar to the sternocleidomastoid muscle, the bilateral presence of this muscle could result not only in increased strength for elevating the clavicle, but also in enhanced neck flexion and greater neck stability. To provide anatomical precision, the muscle could be more accurately termed the cleidocervical muscle. This literature review was performed using “PubMed” as the search engine. Mesh terms such as levator AND claviculae, cleidocervicalis, cleidocervical, cleidoatlanticus, and cleidotrachelian were used. Our proposal for a precise methodology in addressing the terminology would be as follows: [Position 1: cleidocervical muscle] [Position 2: vertebra levels]. In this opinion paper, we advocate for the anatomical community to discontinue the use of the term “levator claviculae” and instead adopt the more appropriate “cleidocervical muscle” in academic discourse. Full article

This study examines the contribution of early executive functions (EFs) in the association between fluency in reading and arithmetic. Kindergarten children (N = 1185) were assessed on executive functions skills and on reading and arithmetic fluency in Grade 1 and Grade 3. The analysis revealed that beyond the connection within each domain there is a unidirectional effect between fluency measures, with Grade 1 reading fluency significantly influencing the development of arithmetic fluency in Grade 3. Furthermore, the findings indicate that kindergarten EFs significantly contribute to arithmetic fluency at both time points and to reading fluency in the first grade. Early EF skills also emerged as significant contributors to the associations between fluency performance in reading and arithmetic, suggesting that the influence of EFs extends beyond individual academic domains. These findings have implications for understanding the cognitive mechanisms that underlie the relations between these academic skills. Full article

Background: Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a significant challenge in modern medicine due to its unclear underlying causes. Brain network dysfunction is believed to play a key role in its pathophysiology. Resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI), a neuroimaging technique, enables the in vivo assessment of functional connectivity (FC) between brain regions, offering insights into these network dysfunctions. The aim of this study was to evaluate abnormalities in FC within major brain networks in patients with drug-resistant MDD. Methods: The study group consisted of 26 patients with drug-resistant MDD and an age-matched control group (CG) of 26 healthy subjects. The rs-fMRI studies were performed on a 3T MR scanner (Philips, Ingenia) using a 32-channel head and neck coil. Imaging data were statistically analyzed, focusing on the intra- and inter-network FC of the following networks: default mode (DMN), sensorimotor (SMN), visual (VN), salience (SN), cerebellar (CN), dorsal attention (DAN), language (LN), and frontoparietal (FPN). Results: In patients with MDD, the intra-network analysis showed significantly decreased FC between nodes within VN compared to CG. In contrast, the inter-network analysis showed significantly increased FC between nodes from VN and SN or VN and DAN compared to CG. Decreased FC was found between SN and CN or SN and FPN as well as VN and DAN nodes compared to CG. Conclusions: Patients with MDD showed significant abnormalities in resting-state cortical activity, mainly regarding inter-network functional connectivity. These results contribute to the knowledge on the pathomechanism of MDD and may also be useful for developing new treatments. Full article

Managing modern, web-based, distributed applications effectively is a complex task that requires coordinating several aspects, including understanding the relationships among their components, the way they interact, the available hardware, the quality of network connections, and the providers hosting them. A distributed application consists of multiple independent and autonomous components. Managing the application involves overseeing each individual component with a focus on global optimization rather than local optimization. Furthermore, each component may be hosted by different resource providers, each offering its own monitoring and control interfaces. This diversity adds complexity to the management process. Lastly, the implementation, load profile, and internal status of an application or any of its components can evolve over time. This evolution makes it challenging for a Quality of Service (QoS) manager to adapt to the dynamics of the application’s performance. This aspect, in particular, can significantly affect the QoS manager’s ability to manage the application, as the controlling strategies often rely on the analysis of historical behavior. In this paper, the authors propose an extension to a previously introduced QoS manager through the addition of two new modules: (i) an associative memory module and (ii) an event forecast module. Specifically, the associative memory module, functioning as a cache, is designed to accelerate inference times. The event forecast module, which relies on a Weibull Time-to-Event Recurrent Neural Network (WTTE-RNN), aims to provide a more comprehensive view of the system’s current status and, more importantly, to mitigate the limitations posed by the finite number of decision classes in the classification algorithm. Full article

Myofibers are highly specialized contractile cells of skeletal muscles, and dysregulation of myofiber morphogenesis is emerging as a contributing cause of myopathies and structural birth defects. Myotubes are the myofiber precursors and undergo a dramatic morphological transition into long bipolar myofibers that are attached to tendons on two ends. Similar to axon growth cones, myotube leading edges navigate toward target cells and form cell–cell connections. The process of myotube guidance connects myotubes with the correct tendons, orients myofiber morphology with the overall body plan, and generates a functional musculoskeletal system. Navigational signaling, addition of mass and volume, and identification of target cells are common events in myotube guidance and axon guidance, but surprisingly, the mechanisms regulating these events are not completely overlapping in myotubes and axons. This review summarizes the strategies that have evolved to direct myotube leading edges to predetermined tendon cells and highlights key differences between myotube guidance and axon guidance. The association of myotube guidance pathways with developmental disorders is also discussed. Full article

Most fire spread is caused by the absence of suppression means at the beginning of the fire. This results in the missed golden time. There are various factors that cause initial fires, such as electrical outlets, general distribution circuits, and oil–vapor–gas cluster spaces. In most cases, these places are out of reach of human hands or they lose the initial suppression time when a fire occurs, causing the spread of fire. This study implements an intelligent fire suppression device that connects sensor IoT based on microcapsules to secure initial fire suppression and golden time in the event of a fire in blind spots that cannot be seen by humans or at a time when it is difficult to recognize a fire. The microcapsule is a micro-collection unit that collects Novec 1230 gas generated in the semiconductor production process. The microcapsule is molded into a form with a fire suppression function and, when a fire occurs, the molded body explodes and absorbs ambient oxygen to suppress the fire. The complex-sensor IoT executes smoke and heat detection generated when a fire is suppressed within 10 s, which ensures the reliability of the detector by notifying of the fire and detecting the ignition point through communication linkages such as Ieee 485 and WiFi or LoRa. Full article

Economic globalisation has accelerated the cross-regional flow of resource elements and broken through the constraints of traditional regional administrative boundaries. Urban agglomerations are core carriers that drive and accelerate regional integration development and can promote the division of urban functions and cooperation. This study considers the Nanjing metropolitan area as a case study to construct a comprehensive first-degree evaluation index system for cities from a factor-flow perspective, focusing on economic, cultural, and transportation connections. We found that (1) Nanjing, which has long been ranked first, shows a downward trending score, dropping from 0.956 in 2017 to 0.937 in 2023; (2) The comprehensive first-degree spatial structure of metropolitan-area cities presents a network hierarchical development feature of “one core, multiple centres, and multiple areas”. With Nanjing as the regional core city, Chuzhou (0.879), Yangzhou (0.915), and Wuhu (0.897) as sub-centre cities, and other cities as sub-regional nodes, the urban system structure gradually forms; (3) The indicators of economic (0.166 **), cultural (0.226 **), and transportation (0.644 ***) element connections were interrelated and mutually reinforced, forming a unified entity with internal connections. This study quantitatively measured the level of integrated development in the Nanjing metropolitan area and provided a reference for formulating regional policies. Full article

(1) Background: Nutrition is a critical aspect of health and well-being in the elderly population, as physiological changes associated with aging can impact nutrient utilization and dietary needs. The aim of this study was the assessment of nutritional screening and associated factors among community-dwelling elderly people. (2) Methods: This study is the first phase of an intervention trial of people aged 65 years and over who received primary health services and resided in the municipality of Archanes Asterousia in Crete, Greece. Nutritional risk was assessed using the Mini Nutritional Assessment. Diet-related factors were analyzed, including health status (oral hygiene, depression, cognitive decline, impaired functioning, quality of life), social factors (educational attainment, marital status, type of work before 60 years), and lifestyle factors (smoking, drinking, diet). (3) Results: A total of 730 elderly people were evaluated (males, 31.5%), with an average age (±SD) of 76.83 (±6.68) years. MNA was found to have a statistically significant connection with assessment of oral hygiene, mental state, Charlson comorbidity, functional independence (assessed with the Barthel scale), and quality of life. The exception was geriatric depression (GDS), with which no statistically significant association was found (p > 0.05). Nutritional risk analysis revealed 379 participants (51.9%) to be adequately nourished, 205 (28.1%) to be at risk of malnutrition, and 146 (20.0%) to be malnourished. (4) Conclusions: These results clearly demonstrated the key factors that contribute to the nutritional screening of elderly people and need to be addressed by health authorities and social services. Full article