Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Attention and word learning in autistic, language delayed and typically developing children

Previous work has demonstrated that patterns of social attention hold predictive value for language development in typically developing infants. The goal of this research was to explore how patterns of attention in autistic, language delayed, and typically developing children relate to early word learning and language abilities. We tracked patterns of eye movements to faces and objects while children watched videos of a woman teaching them a series of new words. Subsequent test trials measured participants‘ recognition of these novel word-object pairings. Results indicated that greater attention to the speaker‘s mouth was related to higher scores on standardized measures of language development for autistic and typically developing children (but not for language delayed children). This effect was mediated by age for typically developing, but not autistic children. When effects of age were controlled for, attention to the mouth among language delayed participants was negatively correlated with standardized measures of language learning. Attention to the speaker‘s mouth and eyes while she was teaching the new words was also predictive of faster recognition of those words among autistic children. These results suggest that language delays among children with autism may be driven in part by aberrant social attention, and that the mechanisms underlying these delays may differ from those in language delayed participants without autism.
Sweet Taste Perception and Dental Caries in 13- to 15-Year-Olds: A Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study

Dietary habits and, in particular, the intake frequency of sucrose are of major importance for the development of dental caries. The perception of sweet taste is believed to have an influence on sucrose intake and therefore affects the predisposition to dental caries. The aim was to study the caries experience and sweet taste perception and to further analyze the possible relationship between the 2 tested variables in 13- to 15-year-old children from 3 different geographical areas. A cross-sectional survey comprising 669 children (220 Italian, 224 Mexican, and 225 Saudi Arabian) was conducted. The children were examined in their school setting. A sweet taste perception level was determined by the sweet taste threshold (TT) and sweet taste preference (TP). The sweet test was performed with sucrose solutions varying in concentration from 1.63 to 821.52 g/L. The International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS) and DMFS indices were used to diagnose caries. The highest mean value for TT was found for Italian children followed by Saudi and Mexican. Saudi schoolchildren showed the highest mean values for TP and DMFS, followed by Italian and Mexican. A statistically significant difference for TP, TT, DMFS, and initial caries was found between the 3 countries. A weak yet positive correlation was found between taste perception (TT and TP) versus DMFS and manifest caries in all 3 countries (r = 0.137-0.313). The findings of the present study showed a variation in sweet taste perception between the 3 countries, which may influence the caries outcome of the children in the individual countries.
Pathogenesis of Onchocercal Keratitis (River Blindness)

SUMMARY Onchocerciasis is a major cause of blindness. Although the World Health Organization has been successful in reducing onchocerciasis as a public health problem in parts of West Africa, there remain an estimated 17 million people infected with Onchocerca volvulus, the parasite that causes this disease. Ocular pathology can be manifested in any part of the eye, although disease manifestations are frequently characterized as either posterior or anterior eye disease. This review focuses on onchocerca-mediated keratitis that results from an inflammatory response in the anterior portion of the eye and summarizes what is currently known about human disease. This review also describes studies with experimental models that have been established to determine the immunological mechanisms underlying interstitial keratitis. The pathogenesis of keratitis is thought to be due to the host inflammatory response to degenerating parasites in the eye; therefore, the primary clinical symptoms of onchocercal keratitis (corneal opacification and neovascularization) are induced after injection of soluble O. volvulus antigens into the corneal stroma. Experimental approaches have demonstrated an essential role for sensitized T helper cells and shown that cytokines can regulate the severity of keratitis by controlling recruitment of inflammatory cells into the cornea. Chemokines are also important in inflammatory cell recruitment to the cornea, and their role in onchocerciasis is being examined. Further understanding of the molecular basis of the development of onchocercal keratitis may lead to novel approaches to immunologically based intervention.
Amazon in the Air: Innovating with Big Data at Lufthansa

Big data offers great opportunities for innovation. However, at the end of 2014, at the peak of its hype, big data deployment was still scarce and failures abounded. This article presents a case of how Lufthansa, the largest airline in Europe, successfully tackled the task of discovering value from big data, addressing the inherent technical complexities, and transforming their business model of selling airline tickets to customers to one that we call "Amazon in the Air" where service-dominant logic prevails. This case demonstrates that IT innovation is the business imperative to survive and exemplifies the complex business environment and rapid changes for which big data is being considered. Our case study also sheds light on the challenges and critical success factors for innovating with big data and how to navigate through uncharted waters, employing new thinking and new approaches to seize innovation with big data.
Microtubule-Dependent Modulation of Adhesion Complex Composition

The microtubule network regulates the turnover of integrin-containing adhesion complexes to stimulate cell migration. Disruption of the microtubule network results in an enlargement of adhesion complex size due to increased RhoA-stimulated actomyosin contractility, and inhibition of adhesion complex turnover; however, the microtubule-dependent changes in adhesion complex composition have not been studied in a global, unbiased manner. Here we used label-free quantitative mass spectrometry-based proteomics to determine adhesion complex changes that occur upon microtubule disruption with nocodazole. Nocodazole-treated cells displayed an increased abundance of the majority of known adhesion complex components, but no change in the levels of the fibronectin-binding α5β1 integrin. Immunofluorescence analyses confirmed these findings, but revealed a change in localisation of adhesion complex components. Specifically, in untreated cells, α5-integrin co-localised with vinculin at peripherally located focal adhesions and with tensin at centrally located fibrillar adhesions. In nocodazole-treated cells, however, α5-integrin was found in both peripherally located and centrally located adhesion complexes that contained both vinculin and tensin, suggesting a switch in the maturation state of adhesion complexes to favour focal adhesions. Moreover, the switch to focal adhesions was confirmed to be force-dependent as inhibition of cell contractility with the Rho-associated protein kinase inhibitor, Y-27632, prevented the nocodazole-induced conversion. These results highlight a complex interplay between the microtubule cytoskeleton, adhesion complex maturation state and intracellular contractile force, and provide a resource for future adhesion signaling studies. The proteomics data have been deposited in the ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD001183.
Interactive slide: an interactive playground to promote physical activity and socialization of children

We present a novel playground platform that will hopefully help in countering two important issues in children in the developed world: lack of physical activity and lack of socialization. The system underlying the platform will eventually adapt automatically to and modulate the amount of physical activity of children by applying a new notion in interaction: that of "interaction tempo". The concept of beats per minute seems especially adequate as the base structure of a physically-based activity. As an exertion interface we expect that, through the design of collaborative experiences, it will also enhance socialization of children.
Influence of Salt Quantity on Recovery Yield of Heterogeneous Aluminium Scrap

The influence of the salt quantity on the recovery yield of aluminium scrap was studied considering an heterogeneous charge. The analysed heterogeneous charge was composed by different types of scrap such as turning, shredded materials and dross. The amount of salt was related to the scrap quality using the salt factor, which is defined as the ratio between the non-aluminium content in the scrap and the quantity of salt required. Two levels of salt factor were considered, 1.2 and 1.8. The analysis of variance was then implemented to verify the influence of the salt quantity on the recovery yield. The results were statistically confirmed using the Anderson-Darling test, the Dixon’s outliers test and the coefficient of variance. An increment of the recovery yield from 95% to 97% was revealed by increasing the salt factor from 1.2 to 1.8.
Influence of Magnetic Fields on Magneto-Aerotaxis

The response of cells to changes in their physico-chemical micro-environment is essential to their survival. For example, bacterial magnetotaxis uses the Earth's magnetic field together with chemical sensing to help microorganisms move towards favoured habitats. The studies of such complex responses are lacking a method that permits the simultaneous mapping of the chemical environment and the response of the organisms, and the ability to generate a controlled physiological magnetic field. We have thus developed a multi-modal microscopy platform that fulfils these requirements. Using simultaneous fluorescence and high-speed imaging in conjunction with diffusion and aerotactic models, we characterized the magneto- aerotaxis of Magnetospirillum gryphiswaldense. We assessed the influence of the magnetic field (orientation; strength) on the formation and the dynamic of a micro-aerotactic band (size, dynamic, position). As previously described by models of magnetotaxis, the application of a magnetic field pointing towards the anoxic zone of an oxygen gradient results in an enhanced aerotaxis even down to Earth's magnetic field strength. We found that neither a ten-fold increase of the field strength nor a tilt of 45° resulted in a significant change of the aerotactic efficiency. However, when the field strength is zeroed or when the field angle is tilted to 90°, the magneto-aerotaxis efficiency is drastically reduced. The classical model of magneto-aerotaxis assumes a response proportional to the cosine of the angle difference between the directions of the oxygen gradient and that of the magnetic field. Our experimental evidence however shows that this behaviour is more complex than assumed in this model, thus opening up new avenues for research.
Causality on longitudinal data: Stable specification search in constrained structural equation modeling

A typical problem in causal modeling is the instability of model structure learning, i.e., small changes in finite data can result in completely different optimal models. The present work introduces a novel causal modeling algorithm for longitudinal data, that is robust for finite samples based on recent advances in stability selection using subsampling and selection algorithms. Our approach uses exploratory search but allows incorporation of prior knowledge, e.g., the absence of a particular causal relationship between two specific variables. We represent causal relationships using structural equation models. Models are scored along two objectives: the model fit and the model complexity. Since both objectives are often conflicting, we apply a multi-objective evolutionary algorithm to search for Pareto optimal models. To handle the instability of small finite data samples, we repeatedly subsample the data and select those substructures (from the optimal models) that are both stable and parsimonious. These substructures can be visualized through a causal graph. Our more exploratory approach achieves at least comparable performance as, but often a significant improvement over state-of-the-art alternative approaches on a simulated data set with a known ground truth. We also present the results of our method on three real-world longitudinal data sets on chronic fatigue syndrome, Alzheimer disease, and chronic kidney disease. The findings obtained with our approach are generally in line with results from more hypothesis-driven analyses in earlier studies and suggest some novel relationships that deserve further research.
Oma1 Links Mitochondrial Protein Quality Control and TOR Signaling To Modulate Physiological Plasticity and Cellular Stress Responses

ABSTRACT A network of conserved proteases known as the intramitochondrial quality control (IMQC) system is central to mitochondrial protein homeostasis and cellular health. IMQC proteases also appear to participate in establishment of signaling cues for mitochondrion-to-nucleus communication. However, little is known about this process. Here, we show that in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, inactivation of the membrane-bound IMQC protease Oma1 interferes with oxidative-stress responses through enhanced production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) during logarithmic growth and reduced stress signaling via the TORC1-Rim15-Msn2/Msn4 axis. Pharmacological or genetic prevention of ROS accumulation in Oma1-deficient cells restores this defective TOR signaling. Additionally, inactivation of the Oma1 ortholog in the human fungal pathogen Candida albicans also alters TOR signaling and, unexpectedly, leads to increased resistance to neutrophil killing and virulence in the invertebrate animal model Galleria mellonella. Our findings reveal a novel and evolutionarily conserved link between IMQC and TOR-mediated signaling that regulates physiological plasticity and pancellular oxidative-stress responses.
Localized viscoelasticity measurements with untethered intravitreal microrobots

Microrobots are a promising tool for medical interventions and micromanipulation. In this paper, we explore the concept of using microrobots for microrheology. Untethered magnetically actuated microrobots were used to characterize one of the most complex biofluids, the vitreous humor. In this work we began by experimentally characterizing the viscoelastic properties of an artificial vitreous humor. For comparison, its properties were also measured using special microcantilevers in an atomic force microscope (AFM) setup. Subsequently, an untethered device was used to study the vitreous humor of a porcine eye, which is a valid ex-vivo model of a human eye. Its viscoelasticity model was extracted, which was in agreement with the model of the artificial vitreous. The existing characterization methodology requires eye and vitreous humor dissection for the microrheology measurements. We envision that the method proposed here can be used in in vivo.
Independent 3D motion detection using residual parallax normal flow fields

This paper considers a specific problem of visual perception of motion, tamely the problem of visual detection of independent 3D motion. Most of the existing techniques for solving this problem rely on restrictive assumptions about the environment, the observer's motion, or both. Moreover, they are based on the computation of a dense optical flow field, which amounts to solving the ill-posed correspondence problem. In this work independent motion detection is formulated as a problem of robust parameter estimation applied to the visual input acquired by a rigidly moving observer. The proposed method automatically selects a planar surface in the scene and the residual planar parallax normal flow field with respect to the motion of this surface is computed at two successive time! instants. The two resulting normal flow fields are then combined in a linear model. The parameters of this model are related to the parameters of self-motion (ego-motion) and their robust estimation leads to a segmentation of the scene based on 3D motion. The method avoids a complete solution to the correspondence problem by selectively matching subsets of image points and by employing normal flow fields. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method in detecting independent motion in scenes with large depth variations and unrestricted observer motion.
OxymaPure/DIC: An Efficient Reagent for the Synthesis of a Novel Series of 4-[2-(2-Acetylaminophenyl)-2-oxo-acetylamino] Benzoyl Amino Acid Ester Derivatives

OxymaPure (ethyl 2-cyano-2-(hydroxyimino)acetate) was tested as an additive for use in the carbodiimide (DIC) approach for the synthesis of a novel series of α-ketoamide derivatives (4-[2-(2-acetylaminophenyl)-2-oxo-acetylamino]benzoyl amino acid ester derivatives). OxymaPure showed clear superiority to HOBt/DIC or carbodiimide alone in terms of purity and yield. The title compounds were synthesized via the ring opening of N-acylisatin. First, N-acetylisatin was reacted with 4-aminobenzoic acid under conventional heating as well as microwave irradiation to afford 4-(2-(2-acetamidophenyl)-2-oxoacetamido)benzoic acid. This α-ketoamide was coupled to different amino acid esters using OxymaPure/DIC as a coupling reagent to afford 4-[2-(2-acetylaminophenyl)-2-oxo-acetylamino]benzoyl amino acid ester derivatives in excellent yield and purity. The synthesized compounds were characterized using FT-IR, NMR, and elemental analysis.
Adoptive Transfer With In Vitro Expanded Human Regulatory T Cells Protects Against Porcine Islet Xenograft Rejection via Interleukin-10 in Humanized Mice

T cell-mediated rejection remains a barrier to the clinical application of islet xenotransplantation. Regulatory T cells (Treg) regulate immune responses by suppressing effector T cells. This study aimed to determine the ability of human Treg to prevent islet xenograft rejection and the mechanism(s) involved. Neonatal porcine islet transplanted NOD-SCID IL2rγ−/− mice received human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) with in vitro expanded autologous Treg in the absence or presence of anti-human interleukin-10 (IL-10) monoclonal antibody. In addition, human PBMC-reconstituted recipient mice received recombinant human IL-10 (rhIL-10). Adoptive transfer with expanded autologous Treg prevented islet xenograft rejection in human PBMC-reconstituted mice by inhibiting graft infiltration of effector cells and their function. Neutralization of human IL-10 shortened xenograft survival in mice receiving human PBMC and Treg. In addition, rhIL-10 treatment led to prolonged xenograft survival in human PBMC-reconstituted mice. This study demonstrates the ability of human Treg to prevent T-cell effector function and the importance of IL-10 in this response. In vitro Treg expansion was a simple and effective strategy for generating autologous Treg and highlighted a potential adoptive Treg cell therapy to suppress antigraft T-cell responses and reduce the requirement for immunosuppression in islet xenotransplantation.
The impact of health insurance in Africa and Asia: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the impact of health insurance on resource mobilization, financial protection, service utilization, quality of care, social inclusion and community empowerment in low- and lower-middle-income countries in Africa and Asia. METHODS A systematic search for randomized controlled trials, quasi-experimental and observational studies published before the end of 2011 was conducted in 20 literature databases, reference lists of relevant studies, web sites and the grey literature. Study quality was assessed with a quality grading protocol. FINDINGS Inclusion criteria were met by 159 studies - 68 in Africa and 91 in Asia. Most African studies reported on community-based health insurance (CBHI) and were of relatively high quality; social health insurance (SHI) studies were mostly Asian and of medium quality. Only one Asian study dealt with private health insurance (PHI). Most studies were observational; four had randomized controls and 20 had a quasi-experimental design. Financial protection, utilization and social inclusion were far more common subjects than resource mobilization, quality of care or community empowerment. Strong evidence shows that CBHI and SHI improve service utilization and protect members financially by reducing their out-of-pocket expenditure, and that CBHI improves resource mobilization too. Weak evidence points to a positive effect of both SHI and CBHI on quality of care and social inclusion. The effect of SHI and CBHI on community empowerment is inconclusive. Findings for PHI are inconclusive in all domains because of insufficient studies. CONCLUSION Health insurance offers some protection against the detrimental effects of user fees and a promising avenue towards universal health-care coverage.
Bis(1,3-diethylbenzimidazolium) tetrabromidomercurate(II)

In the title compound, (C11H15N2)2[HgBr4], the tetracoordinated HgII center of the complex anion adopts a distorted tetrahedral geometry [Hg—Br = 2.5755 (8)–2.623 (11) Å and Br—Hg—Br = 103.78 (19)–116.4 (3)°]. One of the Br atoms is disordered over two sites [site-occupancy factors = 0.51 (6) and 0.49 (6)]. The N—C—N angles in the cations are 110.7 (6) and 111.4 (7)°. In the crystal packing, a supramolecular chain is formed via both weak intermolecular C—H⋯Br hydrogen bonds and π–π aromatic ring stacking interactions [centroid–centroid separation = 3.803 (1) Å].