Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nutrients and tobacco : short and long-term effects on brain and cognition in childhood and adolescence

The brain undergoes rapid structural and functional changes during gestation and in the first two years of life. But brain development also continues throughout childhood and adolescence with cognitive abilities getting improved. Threats to the vulnerable Central Nervous System can have long-lasting effects throughout the foetal and neonatal periods and beyond infancy, on all aspects of development. This thesis investigates the long-term associations of prenatal tobacco exposure, as well as the long-term associations of breastfeeding with brain and cognitive development of adolescents. Further, it investigates the short-term effects of omega-3 supplementation on brain and cognition of school-aged children. These will be examined in order to identify solutions for optimal development, both at brain and cognitive level, for the new generation. The first study is entirely based on maternal cigarette smoking during pregnancy association with cognitive development of adolescents. This study found no differences on cognitive development of exposed and non-exposed adolescents when maternal education was held constant in the two groups. The two subsequently studies examined long-term associations of breastfeeding duration with brain and cognition of adolescents. These studies found that breastfeeding duration was positively linked to intelligence and brain structures, such as caudate nucleus, which is vulnerable to environmental influences during critical periods of brain development. Lastly, the omega-3 supplementation study found no differences between active and placebo group on cognition but found associations between omega-3 fatty acids and brain microstructure thus hypothesizing that higher intake of ω-3 fatty acids can alter concentrations of specific ω-6 fatty acids thus influencing membrane fluidity. As such, our findings suggest that in order to obtain optimal brain and cognitive development, we do not only need to discard toxins or employ nutrients during critical periods of rapid brain development but also take into account other environmental and genetic factors that play vital role in children‘s development.
Sentinel Injuries in Infants Evaluated for Child Physical Abuse

OBJECTIVE: Relatively minor abusive injuries can precede severe physical abuse in infants. Our objective was to determine how often abused infants have a previous history of “sentinel” injuries, compared with infants who were not abused. METHODS: Case-control, retrospective study of 401, <12-month-old infants evaluated for abuse in a hospital-based setting and found to have definite, intermediate concern for, or no abuse after evaluation by the hospital-based Child Protection Team. A sentinel injury was defined as a previous injury reported in the medical history that was suspicious for abuse because the infant could not cruise, or the explanation was implausible. RESULTS: Of the 200 definitely abused infants, 27.5% had a previous sentinel injury compared with 8% of the 100 infants with intermediate concern for abuse (odds ratio: 4.4, 95% confidence interval: 2.0–9.6; P < .001). None of the 101 nonabused infants (controls) had a previous sentinel injury (P < .001). The type of sentinel injury in the definitely abused cohort was bruising (80%), intraoral injury (11%), and other injury (7%). Sentinel injuries occurred in early infancy: 66% at <3 months of age and 95% at or before the age of 7 months. Medical providers were reportedly aware of the sentinel injury in 41.9% of cases. CONCLUSIONS: Previous sentinel injuries are common in infants with severe physical abuse and rare in infants evaluated for abuse and found to not be abused. Detection of sentinel injuries with appropriate interventions could prevent many cases of abuse.
Virtual Warrensburg: Using Cooperative Learning and the Internet in the Social Studies Classroom

The author discusses how high school social studies teachers can have their students investigate local history topics and share their findings by producing Web pages, using a cooperative learning structure. The author discusses his firsthand experiences using this approach with high school students at Warrensburg High School. He emphasizes the need to rethink how technology is being used in the social studies classroom—in particular, by having students share their local history findings with others beyond the walls of the classroom rather than being passive learners with the Internet. In addition, he emphasizes the benefits of having students work together to collaboratively construct knowledge using technology—specifically, by using the PIES cooperative learning structure to ensure there is positive interdependence, individual accountability, equal participation, and simultaneous interaction among group members. Examples of Web pages, produced by his students using the PIES cooperative learning structure, are discussed in the article.
Contemporary pollen and seed dispersal in a Prunus mahaleb population: patterns in distance and direction

Pollination and seed dispersal determine the spatial pattern of gene flow in plant populations and, for those species relying on pollinators and frugivores as dispersal vectors, animal activity plays a key role in determining this spatial pattern. For these plant species, reported dispersal patterns are dominated by short‐distance movements with a significant amount of immigration. However, the contribution of seed and pollen to the overall contemporary gene immigration is still poorly documented for most plant populations. In this study we investigated pollination and seed dispersal at two spatial scales in a local population of Prunus mahaleb (L.), a species pollinated by insects and dispersed by frugivorous vertebrates. First, we dissected the relative contribution of pollen and seed dispersal to gene immigration from other parts of the metapopulation. We found high levels of gene immigration (18.50%), due to frequent long distance seed dispersal events. Second, we assessed the distance and directionality for pollen and seed dispersal events within the local population. Pollen and seed movement patterns were non‐random, with skewed distance distributions: pollen tended moved up to 548 m along an axis approaching the N–S direction, and seeds were dispersed up to 990 m, frequently along the SW and SE axes. Animal‐mediated dispersal contributed significantly towards gene immigration into the local population and had a markedly nonrandom pattern within the local population. Our data suggest that animals can impose distinct spatial signatures in contemporary gene flow, with the potential to induce significant genetic structure at a local level.
Occupational Mobility , Occupation Distance and Basic Skills : Evidence from Job-Based Skill Measures ∗

In this paper a basic skill vector characterization of occupations is used to examine the relation between human capital specificity and occupational mobility. Specifically, the paper asks, how much occupational mobility is simply moving a given skill or task set around different occupations that use the same skill set, and how much involves major shifts in the skill vectors? The loss of specific human capital is most likely to occur in cases where the skill or task vectors are different. It also contrasts the relation between basic skill or task mobility relative to 3-digit occupation mobility in total mobility, as recorded in the March Current Population Surveys, with the same relationship in involuntary mobility, as reflected in the Displaced Worker Survey. Total mobility includes voluntary mobility that includes moves to higher job offers using the same skills, as well as promotions that may reflect augmented skills. In each case these will not be sources of specific capital loss. By contrast, the involuntary mobility due to plant closure is likely to involve a higher incidence of loss of specific capital. The evidence suggests that a decreasing fraction of occupation switches involve significant skill portfolio switches. This is particularly true for involuntary mobility. The direction of the move in total mobility shows a small upward pattern. By contrast, there is a marked downward pattern for involuntary occupation switchers.
Transient Receptor Potential Melastatin-4 Is Involved in Hypoxia-Reoxygenation Injury in the Cardiomyocytes

Ischemic heart disease still remains the most common cause of cardiac death. During ischemia-reperfusion (I/R), reactive oxygen species (ROS) are produced in excess in cardiac tissue, where they induce cell death. Our previous study showed that 9-phenanthrol (9-Phe), a specific inhibitor of the TRPM4 channel, preserves cardiac contractile function and protects the heart from I/R injury-related infarction in the excised rat heart. Accordingly, we hypothesized that TRPM4 channels are involved in the 9-Phe-mediated cardioprotection against ROS-induced injury. In rats, intravenous 9-Phe mitigated the development of myocardial infarction caused by the occlusion of the left anterior descending artery. Immunohistochemical analysis indicated that TRPM4 proteins are expressed in ventricular myocytes susceptible to I/R injury. Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is among the main ROS overproduced during I/R. In the cardiomyocyte cell line H9c2, pretreatment with 9-Phe prevented cell death induced by conditions mimicking I/R, namely 200 μM H2O2 and hypoxia-reoxygenation. Gene silencing of TRPM4 preserved the viability of H9c2 cardiomyocytes exposed to 200 μM H2O2. These results suggest that the cardioprotective effects of 9-Phe are mediated through the inhibition of the TRPM4 channels.
Cystatin C versus creatinine in determining risk based on kidney function.

BACKGROUND Adding the measurement of cystatin C to that of serum creatinine to determine the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) improves accuracy, but the effect on detection, staging, and risk classification of chronic kidney disease across diverse populations has not been determined. METHODS We performed a meta-analysis of 11 general-population studies (with 90,750 participants) and 5 studies of cohorts with chronic kidney disease (2960 participants) for whom standardized measurements of serum creatinine and cystatin C were available. We compared the association of the eGFR, as calculated by the measurement of creatinine or cystatin C alone or in combination with creatinine, with the rates of death (13,202 deaths in 15 cohorts), death from cardiovascular causes (3471 in 12 cohorts), and end-stage renal disease (1654 cases in 7 cohorts) and assessed improvement in reclassification with the use of cystatin C. RESULTS In the general-population cohorts, the prevalence of an eGFR of less than 60 ml per minute per 1.73 m(2) of body-surface area was higher with the cystatin C-based eGFR than with the creatinine-based eGFR (13.7% vs. 9.7%). Across all eGFR categories, the reclassification of the eGFR to a higher value with the measurement of cystatin C, as compared with creatinine, was associated with a reduced risk of all three study outcomes, and reclassification to a lower eGFR was associated with an increased risk. The net reclassification improvement with the measurement of cystatin C, as compared with creatinine, was 0.23 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.18 to 0.28) for death and 0.10 (95% CI, 0.00 to 0.21) for end-stage renal disease. Results were generally similar for the five cohorts with chronic kidney disease and when both creatinine and cystatin C were used to calculate the eGFR. CONCLUSIONS The use of cystatin C alone or in combination with creatinine strengthens the association between the eGFR and the risks of death and end-stage renal disease across diverse populations. (Funded by the National Kidney Foundation and others.).
The ADULT‐EEC spectrum: An R280C mutation with a borderline phenotype

Elisa Kier-Swiatecka,* Marianne Kock, Peter Marker, Hans Eiberg, and Klaus Wilbrandt Kjaer Department of Oral and Maxillo-facial Surgery, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark Institute of Orthodontics, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark Institute of Medical Biochemistry and Genetics, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark Wilhelm Johannsen Centre for Functional Genome Research, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
Sobre la marcación del discurso en español

On discourse marking in Spanish. In the study of language in use, referential meaning must be complemented by our attitude towards what we say (modal meaning) and towards the receiver (interactional meaning). The text we produce is referred to as textual meaning. In this respect, discourse marking is seen as a macrofunction by means of which the speaker indicates his relationship with respect to the receiver (interactional meaning), the organization of his discourse (textual meaning) and subjectivity (modal meaning). The term ‘discourse marking’ is frequently used, but it is almost alwaysassociated with discourse markers. In our view, the term could have a broader interpretation, not associated exclusively with discourse markers, since what we call ‘discourse marking’ can be undertaken by means of other procedures and a variety of words (interjections, vocatives, adverbs ending in -mente, fixed forms…) This paper deals with the so-called discourse marking. A model is suggested that takes into account the variety of functions that need to be distinguished as well as the units that play a part in it.
Collaboration: An Element Associated With the Success of Four Inclusive High Schools

Collaboration between general education teachers and special education teachers is often mentioned in the literature as a means of accomplishing the inclusion of students with disabilities in general education. The purpose of this study was to describe, using both qualitative and quantitative data, the communication and collaboration practices in four high schools with demonstrated success at including students with disabilities in general education and achieving exemplary outcomes for all students. Schoolwide approaches and classroom-level factors associated with collaboration characterize the themes that emerged as important to the success of these high schools. A discussion of these results and implications for practice are presented.
Emerging Adults at Work and at Play: Leisure, Work Engagement, and Career Indecision

To expand the understanding of how leisure and recreational activities can inform career indecision, this research examined the relationship between career indecision, work engagement, and leisure in emerging adults, 25—30 years of age. Independent sample t tests reveal that career indecisive emerging adults scored significantly lower on all three leisure factors on the Leisure Diagnostic Battery, Short Form (LDB-B): Leisure Enjoyment t(62) = 6.997; Leisure Competence t(62) = 8.383; and Leisure Control t(62) = 6.792 (all at p < .001). Career indecisive emerging adults also scored significantly lower on work engagement t(62) = 5.488, p < . 001. Work engagement and leisure activity provide an additional lens to understanding emerging adults in the throes of career decision making, some of whom are floundering and in need of professional assistance. Implications for career counselors are discussed.
Visual Attention Is Not Enough: Individual Differences in Statistical Word-Referent Learning in Infants

Recent evidence shows that infants can learn words and referents by aggregating ambiguous information across situations to discern the underlying word-referent mappings. Here, we use an individual difference approach to understand the role of different kinds of attentional processes in this learning: 12- and 14-month-old infants participated in a cross-situational word-referent learning task in which the learning trials were ordered to create local novelty effects, effects that should not alter the statistical evidence for the underlying correspondences. The main dependent measures were derived from frame-by-frame analyses of eye gaze direction. The fine- grained dynamics of looking behavior implicates different attentional processes that may compete with or support statistical learning. The discussion considers the role of attention in binding heard words to seen objects, individual differences in attention and vocabulary development, and the relation between macro-level theories of word learning and the micro-level dynamic processes that underlie learning.
Genetic Sensitivity to the Bitter Taste of 6-n-Propylthiouracil (PROP) and Its Association with Physiological Mechanisms Controlling Body Mass Index (BMI)

Taste sensitivity to the bitter compound 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP) is considered a marker for individual differences in taste perception that may influence food preferences and eating behavior, and thereby energy metabolism. This review describes genetic factors that may contribute to PROP sensitivity including: (1) the variants of the TAS2R38 bitter receptor with their different affinities for the stimulus; (2) the gene that controls the gustin protein that acts as a salivary trophic factor for fungiform taste papillae; and (3) other specific salivary proteins that could be involved in facilitating the binding of the PROP molecule with its receptor. In addition, we speculate on the influence of taste sensitivity on energy metabolism, possibly via modulation of the endocannabinoid system, and its possible role in regulating body composition homeostasis.
J Simplified models of mixed dark matter

We explore simplified models of mixed dark matter (DM), defined here to be a stable relic composed of a singlet and an electroweak charged state. Our setup describes a broad spectrum of thermal DM candidates that can naturally accommodate the observed DM abundance but are subject to substantial constraints from current and upcoming direct detection experiments. We identify “blind spots” at which the DM-Higgs coupling is identically zero, thus nullifying direct detection constraints on spin independent scattering. Furthermore, we characterize the fine-tuning in mixing angles, i.e. well-tempering, required for thermal freeze-out to accommodate the observed abundance. Present and projected limits from LUX and XENON1T force many thermal relic models into blind spot tuning, well-tempering, or both. This simplified model framework generalizes bino-Higgsino DM in the MSSM, singlino-Higgsino DM in the NMSSM, and scalar DM candidates that appear in models of extended Higgs sectors.
High-Density Lipoproteins Reduce Endothelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition

Objective—Endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition is an inflammation-induced process by which endothelial cells can transdifferentiate into fibroblasts. Based on the endothelial-protective and antifibrotic effects of high-density lipoproteins (HDL), we aimed to investigate whether HDL can reduce endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition. Approach and Results—Therefore, human aortic endothelial cells were stimulated with the profibrotic factor transforming growth factor (TGF)-&bgr;1 in the presence or absence of HDL. Their impact on the transition of endothelial cells to mesenchymal-like cells was analyzed. Phase contrast microscopy demonstrated that HDL abrogated the TGF-&bgr;1–induced spindle-shape morphology in human aortic endothelial cells. Furthermore, HDL decreased the TGF-&bgr;1–mediated induction of &agr;-smooth muscle actin expression and concomitant loss in endothelial cadherin expression, as shown by immunofluorescence staining and flow cytometry. In addition, HDL decreased the TGF-&bgr;1–induced collagen deposition in human aortic endothelial cells involving the scavenger receptor class B, type 1 and downstream phosphatidyl inositol-3-kinase following the findings that the HDL-mediated reduction was abrogated by scavenger receptor class B, type 1 siRNA knockdown and phosphatidyl inositol-3-kinase inhibition, respectively. The HDL-mediated reduction in endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition was associated with an induction of the inhibitory Smad, Smad 7. Conclusions—We provide the first in vitro evidence that the endothelial-protective and antifibrotic effects of HDL include the reduction in endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition.
A qualitative analysis of attitudes to face transplants: Contrasting views of the general public and medical professionals

While there has been a considerable criticism and debate about face transplantation from ethicists, surgeons and psychologists, little is known about the attitudes of medical professionals and the general public whose support will be necessary if face transplants are to be accepted. This study therefore conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews with medical professionals (8) and the general public (8) to explore their understanding of and attitudes to face transplants. A thematic analysis was used to analyse these data. Five overarching themes were identified including agreement in principal, caveats and conditions, medical and technical difficulties, function and appearance, and the significance of the human face. The analysis revealed overwhelming support in principle for face transplants, but with important caveats and conditions. Both groups shared clear representations of deserving and undeserving candidates, and concerns about psychological adjustment. The general public sample demonstrated little understanding of medical implications or the consequences of a failed graft, which did concern the medical professionals. Neither group showed a clear understanding of the psychological or social factors required to predict best outcomes and identify suitable candidates. Analyses revealed a stereotypical belief from both groups that the life of a severely disfigured recipient is intolerable without this operation.
Rwandan female genital modification: Elongation of the Labia minora and the use of local botanical species

The elongation of the labia minora is classified as a Type IV female genital mutilation by the World Health Organization. However, the term mutilation carries with it powerful negative connotations. In Rwanda, the elongation of the labia minora and the use of botanicals to do so is meant to increase male and female pleasure. Women regard these practices as a positive force in their lives. This paper aims to assess whether Rwandan vaginal practices should indeed be considered a form of female genital mutilation and whether the botanicals used by women are detrimental to their health. Research was carried out in the northeast of Rwanda over the course of 13 months. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with thirteen informants. Two botanicals applied during stretching sessions were identified as Solanum aculeastrum Dunal and Bidens pilosa L. Both have wide medicinal use and contain demonstrated beneficial bioactive compounds. We suggest that it is therefore more appropriate to describe Rwandan vaginal practices as female genital modification rather than mutilation.
The Effects of Humorous Literature on Emotion: A Pilot Project Comparing Children with Asperger's Syndrome Before and After Neurofeedback Training and Controls

This study examined neurofeedback training, reading humorous stories, and emotion in children diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome (AS). In a pre-posttest design (before and after the story), positive and negative affect were compared between controls and two experimental groups of children with AS—those beginning training ( 40 sessions). Children with AS who had more than 40 sessions of neurofeedback responded the same way to the reading materials as the normally functioning controls with increases in positive affect and decreases in negative affect. Children with AS with less than 4 sessions of neurofeedback did not display this change.