Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Importance of Initiating a “Tummy Time” Intervention Early in Infants With Down Syndrome

Purpose: This study compared differences in motor development in infants with Down syndrome beginning a tummy time intervention before 11 weeks of age and after 11 weeks of age. Methods: Nineteen infants with Down syndrome participated in tummy time until they could independently transition in and out of sitting. Motor development was assessed monthly using the Bayley III Motor Scales and compared between the groups. Results: A difference in motor development between early and late groups is apparent 1, 2, and 3 months following intervention initiation. Conclusion: Early implemented tummy time was effective in reducing motor delay in young infants with Down syndrome and is a prudent first step in intervention.
Redox-sensitive alteration of replisome architecture safeguards genome integrity

Metabolic regulation of genome stability Cells respond to metabolic fluctuations by adjusting the speed of DNA replication as a safeguard for genome stability. Somyajit et al. elucidate the cellular mechanisms that align replication fork dynamics with metabolic pathways (see the Perspective by Gómez-González and Aguilera). The elevation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels under metabolic stress dissociates a replication accelerator from the replisome and leads to replication slowdown, thus preventing replication stress. Studying this genome surveillance mechanism in cancer cells with elevated ROS levels and increased replication adaptability may provide opportunities to specifically target tumors. Science, this issue p. 797; see also p. 722 Reactive oxygen species slow down the speed of DNA replication, thereby protecting genome integrity under metabolic stress. DNA replication requires coordination between replication fork progression and deoxynucleotide triphosphate (dNTP)–generating metabolic pathways. We find that perturbation of ribonucleotide reductase (RNR) in humans elevates reactive oxygen species (ROS) that are detected by peroxiredoxin 2 (PRDX2). In the oligomeric state, PRDX2 forms a replisome-associated ROS sensor, which binds the fork accelerator TIMELESS when exposed to low levels of ROS. Elevated ROS levels generated by RNR attenuation disrupt oligomerized PRDX2 to smaller subunits, whose dissociation from chromatin enforces the displacement of TIMELESS from the replisome. This process instantly slows replication fork progression, which mitigates pathological consequences of replication stress. Thus, redox signaling couples fluctuations of dNTP biogenesis with replisome activity to reduce stress during genome duplication. We propose that cancer cells exploit this pathway to increase their adaptability to adverse metabolic conditions.
Exploring REACH as a potential data source for characterizing ecotoxicity in life cycle assessment

Toxicity models in life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) currently only characterize a small fraction of marketed substances, mostly because of limitations in the underlying ecotoxicity data. One approach to improve the current data situation in LCIA is to identify new data sources, such as the European Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation, and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) database. The present study explored REACH as a potential data source for LCIA based on matching reported ecotoxicity data for substances that are currently also included in the United Nations Environment Programme/Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (UNEP/SETAC) scientific consensus model USEtox for characterizing toxicity impacts. Data are evaluated with respect to number of data points, reported reliability, and test duration, and are compared with data listed in USEtox at the level of hazardous concentration for 50% of the covered species per substance. The results emphasize differences between data available via REACH and in USEtox. The comparison of ecotoxicity data from REACH and USEtox shows potential for using REACH ecotoxicity data in LCIA toxicity characterization, but also highlights issues related to compliance of submitted data with REACH requirements as well as different assumptions underlying regulatory risk assessment under REACH versus data needed for LCIA. Thus, further research is required to address data quality, pre‐processing, and applicability, before considering data submitted under REACH as a data source for use in LCIA, and also to explore additionally available data sources, published studies, and reports. Environ Toxicol Chem 2017;36:492–500. © 2016 SETAC
Quality of life assumptions determine which cervical cancer screening strategies are cost‐effective

Quality‐adjusted life years are used in cost‐effectiveness analyses (CEAs). To calculate QALYs, a “utility” (0–1) is used for each health state induced or prevented by the intervention. We aimed to estimate the impact of quality of life (QoL) assumptions (utilities and durations of health states) on CEAs of cervical cancer screening. To do so, 12 alternative sets of utility assumptions were retrieved from published cervical cancer screening CEAs. Two additional sets were based on empirical QoL data that were integrally obtained through two different measures (SF‐6D and EQ‐5D) from eight groups of women (total n = 3,087), from invitation for screening to diagnosis with cervical cancer. Per utility set we calculated the number of quality‐adjusted days lost (QADL) for each relevant health state in cervical cancer screening, by multiplying the study‐specific assumed disutilities (i.e., 1‐utility) with study‐specific durations of the loss in QoL, resulting in 14 “QADL‐sets. ” With microsimulation model MISCAN we calculated cost‐effectiveness of 342 alternative screening programs (varying in primary screening test [Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vs. cytology], starting ages, and screening interval) for each of the 14 QADL‐sets. Utilities used in CEAs appeared to differ largely. We found that ten QADL‐sets from the literature resulted in HPV and two in cytology as preferred primary test. The SF‐6D empirical QADL‐set resulted in cytology and the EQ‐5D one in HPV as preferred primary test. In conclusion, assumed utilities and health state durations determine cost‐effectiveness of cervical cancer screening. Also, the measure used to empirically assess utilities can be crucial for CEA conclusions.
A role for focal adhesion kinase in facilitating the contractile responses of murine gastric fundus smooth muscles

Activation of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) by integrin signalling facilitates smooth muscle contraction by transmitting the force generated by myofilament activation to the extracellular matrix and throughout the smooth muscle tissue. Here we report that electrical field stimulation (EFS) of cholinergic motor neurons activates FAK in gastric fundus smooth muscles, and that FAK activation by EFS is atropine‐sensitive but nicardipine‐insensitive. PDBu and calyculin A contracted gastric fundus muscles Ca2+‐independently and also activated FAK. Inhibition of FAK activation inhibits the contractile responses evoked by EFS, and inhibits CPI‐17 phosphorylation at T38. This study indicates that mechanical force or tension is sufficient to activate FAK, and that FAK appears to be involved in the activation of the protein kinase C–CPI‐17 Ca2+ sensitization pathway in gastric fundus smooth muscles. These results reveal a novel role for FAK in gastric fundus smooth muscle contraction by facilitating CPI‐17 phosphorylation.
Investigating effects of different artefact types on motor imagery BCI

Artefacts in recordings of the electroencephalogram (EEG) are a common problem in Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs). Artefacts make it difficult to calibrate from training sessions, resulting in low test performance, or lead to artificially high performance when unintentionally used for BCI control. We investigate different artefacts' effects on motor-imagery based BCI relying on Common Spatial Patterns (CSP). Data stem from an 80-subject BCI study. We use the recently developed classifier IC_MARC to classify independent components of EEG data into neural and five classes of artefacts. We find that muscle, but not ocular, artefacts adversely affect BCI performance when all 119 EEG channels are used. Artefacts have little influence when using 48 centrally located EEG channels in a configuration previously found to be optimal.
Whether Orthotic Management and Exercise are Equally Effective to the Patients With Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis in Mainland China?: A Randomized Controlled Trial Study

Study Design. A prospective randomized controlled trial. Objective. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of orthotic management versus exercise on spinal curvature, body symmetry, and quality of life. Summary of Background Data. A number of well-designed studies comparing conservative treatment of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) have been conducted and the evidence becomes stronger. However, there is a lack of the information on the effectiveness of orthotic management versus exercise. Methods. The inclusion criteria recommended by the Scoliosis Research Society (SRS) and the international Society on Scoliosis Orthopedic and Rehabilitation Treatment (SOSORT) were used during enrollment. Eligible patients were randomly assigned to either bracing group or exercise group. Patients in the bracing group were prescribed with a rigid thoracolumbosacral orthosis and requested to wear 23 h/day, while patients in the exercise group were treated with the protocol of the Scientific Exercise Approach to Scoliosis. Data regarding angle of trunk inclination, Cobb angle, shoulder balance, body image, and quality of life (QoL) were collected every 6 months. Results. Twenty-four patients in the bracing group and 29 patients in the exercise group participated in this study. For the intergroup comparison, the bracing group showed better results about the correction of spinal curvature (Cobb angle at the first 12 months of intervention, P = 0.039), scores concerning QoL, especially function (P < 0.001), mental health (P < 0.001), and total score (P < 0.001), were higher than that of the exercise group. The results of body symmetry evaluation did not differ significantly between the two groups. For the intragroup comparison, parameters of spinal curvature (baseline vs. 12-month, P < 0.03 in the exercise group and P < 0.001 in the bracing group), QoL (baseline vs. 12-month, P < 0.001), and TAPS (baseline vs. 12-month, P < 0.033) significantly improved over the studied period. Shoulder balance (baseline vs. 12-month, P < 0.005) showed significant improvement only in the bracing group. Conclusion. Both interventions of bracing and exercise showed significant treatment effectiveness on the patients with AIS. Bracing was superior to capture corrections in parameters of spinal curvature and body symmetry, while the QoL, especially in aspect of the functional and psychological status, was significantly better in the exercise group. Level of Evidence: 1
WebLogo-2M: Scalable Logo Detection by Deep Learning from the Web

Existing logo detection methods usually consider a small number of logo classes and limited images per class with a strong assumption of requiring tedious object bounding box annotations, therefore not scalable to real-world applications. In this work, we tackle these challenges by exploring the webly data learning principle without the need for exhaustive manual labelling. Specifically, we propose a novel incremental learning approach, called Scalable Logo Self-Training (SLST), capable of automatically self-discovering informative training images from noisy web data for progressively improving model capability. Moreover, we introduce a very large (1,867,177 images of 194 logo classes) logo dataset "WebLogo-2M"1 by an automatic web data collection and processing method. Extensive comparative evaluations demonstrate the superiority of the proposed SLST method over state-of-the-art strongly and weakly supervised detection models and contemporary webly data learning alternatives.
No adverse lung effects of 7- and 28-day inhalation exposure of rats to emissions from petrodiesel fuel containing 20% rapeseed methyl esters (B20) with and without particulate filter – the FuelHealth project

Abstract Increased use of biofuels raises concerns about health effects of new emissions. We analyzed relative lung health effects, on Fisher 344 rats, of diesel engine exhausts emissions (DEE) from a Euro 5-classified diesel engine running on petrodiesel fuel containing 20% rapeseed methyl esters (B20) with and without diesel particulate filter (DPF). One group of animals was exposed to DEE for 7 days (6 h/day), and another group for 28 days (6 h/day, 5 days/week), both with and without DPF. The animals (n = 7/treatment) were exposed in whole body exposure chambers. Animals breathing clean air were used as controls. Genotoxic effects of the lungs by the Comet assay, histological examination of lung tissue, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) markers of pulmonary injury, and mRNA markers of inflammation and oxidative stress were analyzed. Our results showed that a minor number of genes related to inflammation were slightly differently expressed in the exposed animals compared to control. Histological analysis also revealed only minor effects on inflammatory tissue markers in the lungs, and this was supported by flow cytometry and ELISA analysis of cytokines in BALF. No exposure-related indications of genotoxicity were observed. Overall, exposure to DEE with or without DPF technology produced no adverse effects in the endpoints analyzed in the rat lung tissue or the BALF. Overall, exposure to DEE from a modern Euro 5 light vehicle engine run on B20 fuel with or without DPF technology produced no adverse effects in the endpoints analyzed in the rat lung tissue or the BALF.
Pore translocation of knotted DNA rings

Significance Pore translocation, the driven passage of molecules through narrow channels, has become an important tool for probing DNA properties. In a recent breakthrough experiment, this technique was used to detect knots that form spontaneously in DNA filaments and can hence impact their in vivo functionality. Here, by using an accurate model, we simulate the translocation of knotted DNA, expose its unexpectedly rich phenomenology, and clarify the implications for experiments. We show that knot translocation occurs in two possible modes, depending on the knot initial position and size. These properties also account for the typically late occurrence of the knot passage event. Finally, the passage duration is found to depend more on the translocation velocity of the knot than its size. We use an accurate coarse-grained model for DNA and stochastic molecular dynamics simulations to study the pore translocation of 10-kbp–long DNA rings that are knotted. By monitoring various topological and physical observables we find that there is not one, as previously assumed, but rather two qualitatively different modes of knot translocation. For both modes the pore obstruction caused by knot passage has a brief duration and typically occurs at a late translocation stage. Both effects are well in agreement with experiments and can be rationalized with a transparent model based on the concurrent tensioning and sliding of the translocating knotted chains. We also observed that the duration of the pore obstruction event is more controlled by the knot translocation velocity than the knot size. These features should advance the interpretation and design of future experiments aimed at probing the spontaneous knotting of biopolymers.
Electric arc furnace granulated slag as a partial replacement of natural aggregates for concrete production

The present paper deals with the use of industrial by-products from Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) for the partial replacement of natural aggregates commonly used to manufacture concrete. Three different grading of EAF granulated slag were considered. The rheological and mechanical properties of concrete manufactured with a partial replacement of natural aggregates with slag were determined. Dry shrinkage of hardened concrete was also evaluated. Results indicated that the maximum percentage of natural aggregate replaced with EAF granulated slag is about 15% in order to limit the superplasticizer dosage to attain the same workability class (S4) of the reference mixture at the end of the mixing procedure. The higher the percentage of granulated slag, the higher the specific mass, the elastic modulus in compression and the compressive strength of the concrete. On the other hand, dry shrinkage of the concrete increases by adding a greater amount of EAF granulated slag. As a consequence of the experimental results use of EAF granulated slag in concrete production is limited for the higher specific mass (higher dead loads and seismic vulnerability of the structures) and the higher sensitivity to crack (higher elastic modulus and dry shrinkage) with respect concrete manufactured with natural aggregates only.
Prospective Assessment of Sex‐Related Differences in Symptom Status and Health Perception Among Patients With Atrial Fibrillation

Background We prospectively assessed sex‐specific differences in health perception, overall symptom status, and specific symptoms in a large cohort of patients with atrial fibrillation. Methods and Results We performed a prospective multicenter observational cohort study of 1553 patients with atrial fibrillation. Patients completed questionnaires about personal characteristics, comorbidities, and symptoms on a yearly basis. Mean age was 70±11 years among women and 67±12 years among men. Health perception on a visual analogue scale ranging from 0 to 100 (with higher scores indicating better health perception) was significantly lower in women than in men (70 [interquartile range: 50–80] versus 75 [interquartile range: 60–85]; P<0.0001). More women than men had any symptoms (85.0% versus 68.3%; P<0.0001), palpitations (65.2% versus 44.4%; P<0.0001), dizziness (25.6% versus 13.5%; P<0.0001), dyspnea (35.7% versus 21.8%; P<0.0001), and fatigue (25.3% versus 19.1%; P=0.006). At 1‐year follow‐up, symptoms decreased in both sexes but remained more frequent in women (49.1% versus 32.6%, P<0.0001). In multivariable adjusted longitudinal regression models, female sex remained an independent predictor for lower health perception (ß=−4.8; 95% CI, −6.5 to −3.1; P<0.0001), any symptoms (odds ratio [OR]: 2.6; 95% CI, 2.1–3.4; P<0.0001), palpitations (OR: 2.6; 95% CI, 2.1–3.2; P<0.0001), dizziness (OR: 2.9; 95% CI, 2.1–3.9; P<0.0001), dyspnea (OR: 2.1; 95% CI, 1.6–2.8; P<0.0001), fatigue (OR: 1.6; 95% CI, 1.2–2.2; P=0.0008), and chest pain (OR: 1.8; 95% CI, 1.3–2.6; P=0.001). Conclusions Women with atrial fibrillation have a substantially higher symptom burden and lower health perception than men. These relationships persisted after multivariable adjustment and during prospective follow‐up.
Institution Building and Change in China

We advance a conceptual frame for explaining economic transformation in China that combines a dynamic and a comparative perspective by taking the analysis of Fiscal Federalism one step further. Using insights from the comparative business systems literature we show that devolution of power at the beginning of the reform process introduced local autonomy, which stimulated a diversity of local regulatory regimes. As the central political leadership is no longer the sole supplier of institutional change, local governments become equal contributors to the formation of local business systems. Yet, local governments only partially define emerging local business systems. Local governance at the enterprise level is defined by the interaction between political and economic entrepreneurship, or, phrased in institutional terms, local business systems emerge from the interplay between the formal architecture of local autonomy and the informal institution of networking. In a comparative perspective this interaction, and its underlying driving forces for co-operation, namely: procedural uncertainty, relational risk and institutional change, will lead to diversity in outcomes. In a dynamic perspective both market competition and networking will ensure further competition between business systems, while political unification, imitation or scale economies will ask for convergence of local business systems beyond the local nexus.
Evaluation of hypothalamus‐pituitary‐thyroid axis function by chronic perchlorate exposure in male rats

Perchlorate is a widespread endocrine disruptor that was previously correlated with increased serum TSH levels and decreased thyroid hormones production both in animals and humans. Even so, the regulation of gene/protein expression in the hypothalamus, pituitary and thyroid by chronic perchlorate exposure was not completely elucidated. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the underlying mechanisms involved in the disruption of hypothalamus‐pituitary‐thyroid axis by chronic perchlorate exposure. Male Wistar rats were treated or not with NaClO4 in the drinking water (35 mg/Kg/day) for 60 days. Thereafter, hormone/cytokines serum levels were measured through multiplex assays; genes/proteins expression were investigated by qPCR/Western Blotting and thyroid morphology was evaluated through histological analysis. Serum TSH levels were increased and serum T4/T3 levels were decreased in perchlorate‐treated animals. This treatment also altered the thyrotropin‐releasing hormone mRNA/protein content in the hypothalamus. Additionally, the expression of both subunits of TSH were increased in the pituitary of perchlorate‐treated rats, which also presented significant alterations in the thyroid morphology/gene expression. Furthermore, perchlorate exposure reduced liver Dio1 mRNA expression and increased the content of pro‐inflammatory cytokines in the thyroid and the serum. In conclusion, our study adds novel findings about the perchlorate‐induced disruption of the hypothalamus‐pituitary‐thyroid axis gene/protein expression in male rats. The data presented herein also suggest that perchlorate induces thyroid and systemic inflammation through the increased production of cytokines. Taken together, our results suggest that perchlorate contamination should be monitored, especially in the individuals most susceptible to the deleterious effects of reduced levels of thyroid hormones.
Psoralea corylifolia L: Ethnobotanical, biological, and chemical aspects: A review

Psoralea corylifolia L. (Leguminosae) is a well‐known traditional medicinal plant used from ancient times for treatment of various ailments. It is widely distributed and an important part of therapeutics in Ayurveda and in Chinese medicines. The aim of this review is to present comprehensive and most up to date report on its ethnobotanical, ethnopharmacological, clinical, phytochemical, and side effects. Studies on the ethnobotanical, ethnopharmacological, clinical, phytochemical, and side effects of P. corylifolia were published until year 2017 and were searched using various scientific databases. The scientific literature searched revealed that these plant species has been extensively investigated in vivo and in vitro for various biological and phytochemical studies. It has cardiotonic, vasodilator, pigmentor, antitumor, antibacterial, cytotoxic, and anti‐helminthic properties and locally used for alopecia, inflammation, leukoderma, leprosy, psoriasis, and eczema. So far, about a hundred bioactive compounds have been isolated from seeds and fruits, and most important compounds identified belongs to coumarins, flavonoids, and meroterpenes groups. This review article summarized the most updated scientific literature on bioactive phytochemical and biological activities of P. corylifolia. This article will be a useful addition to providing information for future research, and more standard clinical trials are needed for the plant to be used as therapeutic agent.