Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
KIPS: An Evidence-Based Tool for Assessing Parenting Strengths and Needs in Diverse Families

The movement toward evidence-based practices has stimulated greater interest in assessing parenting outcomes. The purpose of these studies was to further validate the Keys to Interactive Parenting Scale (KIPS), a structured observational assessment of parenting quality, with 397 diverse families. Factor analysis demonstrated that the 12 KIPS items comprise one construct that explained 60% of the variance and showed high internal consistency (the Cronbach's &agr; = 0.95). Analyses of KIPS mean scores did not detect significant differences in parenting quality among African American, White, and Latino parents observed during parent-child play. Parents rated by home visitors as more engaged in services showed higher quality parenting (r = 0.22, P < .0001). KIPS scores correlated significantly with the Nursing Child Assessment Teaching Scale Caregiver Total (r = 0.35, P = .0001) and subscales (Response to Distress r = 0.38, P < .0001; Social-Emotional Growth Fostering r = 0.29, P = .001; Cognitive Growth Fostering r = 0.19, P = .03), and Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment subscales (Acceptance r = 0.23, P = .01; Responsivity r = 0.19, P = .038). These findings, together with previous research, demonstrate the reliability, validity, evaluative value, and clinical relevance of KIPS. KIPS offers a practical tool that providers can use in collaboration with families to tailor services to diverse families, track progress, and demonstrate outcomes.
Neuro-Cognitive Effects of Acute Tyrosine Administration on Reactive and Proactive Response Inhibition in Healthy Older Adults

Abstract The aging brain is characterized by altered dopamine signaling. The amino acid tyrosine, a catecholamine precursor, is known to improve cognitive performance in young adults, especially during high environmental demands. Tyrosine administration might also affect catecholamine transmission in the aging brain, thereby improving cognitive functioning. In healthy older adults, impairments have been demonstrated in two forms of response inhibition: reactive inhibition (outright stopping) and proactive inhibition (anticipatory response slowing) under high information load. However, no study has directly compared the effects of a catecholamine precursor on reactive and load-dependent proactive inhibition. In this study we explored the effects of tyrosine on reactive and proactive response inhibition and signal in dopaminergically innervated fronto-striatal regions. Depending on age, tyrosine might lead to beneficial or detrimental neurocognitive effects. We aimed to address these hypotheses in 24 healthy older human adults (aged 61–72 years) using fMRI in a double blind, counterbalanced, placebo-controlled, within-subject design. Across the group, tyrosine did not alter reactive or proactive inhibition behaviorally but did increase fronto-parietal proactive inhibition-related activation. When taking age into account, tyrosine affected proactive inhibition both behaviorally and neurally. Specifically, increasing age was associated with a greater detrimental effect of tyrosine compared with placebo on proactive slowing. Moreover, with increasing age, tyrosine decreased fronto-striatal and parietal proactive signal, which correlated positively with tyrosine’s effects on proactive slowing. Concluding, tyrosine negatively affected proactive response slowing and associated fronto-striatal activation in an age-dependent manner, highlighting the importance of catecholamines, perhaps particularly dopamine, for proactive response inhibition in older adults.
Evaluatie van zandsuppleties aan de Nederlandse kust 1975-1994: een morfologische beschouwing

In dit rapport wordt de evaluatie beschreven met betrekking tot de effectiviteit van zandsuppleties langs de Nederlandse kust. Zandsuppleties zijn het belangrijkste middel voor het "dynamisch handhaven" van de kustlijn, waarvoor in 1990 is gekozen. Ten behoeve van een voortgangsrapportage aan de Tweede Kamer over de implementatie van het nieuwe kustbeleid werd in 1993 de doelmatigheid van twaalf zandsuppleties onderzocht. Omdat de sinds 1991 uitgevoerde "handhavingssuppleties" zich toen nog niet leenden voor een evaluatie vanwege de korte ervaringstijd, werden suppleties van voor 1990 geevalueerd. In 1995 is de doelmatigheid van zandsuppleties onderzocht in vijf kusttrajecten, waar al diverse malen is gesuppleerd. Hierbij zijn ook de vanaf 1991 uitgevoerde handhavingssuppleties meegenomen. Geconcludeerd wordt dat het suppleren van zand voor een dynamische kust als de Nederlandse een doelmatige methode is om de zand balans in evenwicht te houden en om doorgaande kustachteruitgang te stoppen. Daarmee biedt zandsuppletie de mogelijkheid tot behoud van functies van strand en duin, zoals natuur, recreatie en waterkering. Tevens kan een basisvoorziening worden geschapen voor verdere ontwikkeling van deze functies. Op de schaal van een enkele suppletie bezien is voor elke kubieke meter zand, die door structurele erosie uit het suppletiegebied verdwijnt, meer dan een kubieke meter suppletiezand nodig, gemiddeld 25 % extra. Dit percentage is echter lokatie- en tijdgebonden en varieert nogal door de diversiteit in kustvormen en fluctuaties in het erosiegedrag. Suppletiezand wordt verspreid over een groter gebied, maar is nog in de kustzone aanwezig. Op een tijd- en ruimteschaal van tientallen jaren en vele kilometers beschouwd is er -naast de normale erosie- dan ook nauwelijks sprake van verlies van suppletiezand. Wel valt zowel toenemende (Texel) als afnemende erosie (bv. Walcheren) waar te nemen.
A Biomechanical Finite Element Study of Subsidence and Migration Tendencies in Stand-Alone Fusion Procedures - Comparison of an In Situ Expandable Device with a Rigid Device

Abstract Study Design: Biomechanical study using a finite element model of the lumbar functional spinal unit (FSU). Objectives: To compare the biomechanics of a novel in situ expandable posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) device, with a traditional rigid cage used in a stand-alone fashion. Methods: An experimentally validated intact finite element (FE) model of the L4-L5 FSU was altered to model expandable VariLift-L and BAK devices in a stand-alone fashion. A follower compressive pre-load of 400 N plus 8.0 Nm of flexion, extension, lateral bending, and axial rotation moments were applied to the model to simulate the physiological loadings. The kinematics and load sharing among various models were compared. Results: Range of motion analyses showed that fusion utilizing VariLift-L expandable stand-alone device was more effective in limiting motion of the spinal column than the BAK device. The normal load at the device/endplate interface for the VariLift-L was similar to that of the BAK in all loading modes. The A-P shear load for the stand-alone VariLift-L model was higher than the BAK model under flexion. Conclusions: Due to predicted forces along the A-P direction, axial contact loads in flexion and extension, the lordotic slope of the device and the presence of intact annulus in the anterior region of the disc, the tendency of the VariLift-L device to migrate into the canal and subside into the endplate may be lower, despite the higher A-P shear force predicted for the VariLift-L device. This shape and lordotic expandability act to resist A-P shear forces in the flexion mode. The expandable device has the advantage of adjusting its outer profile to the lordotic angle of the treated segment, ensuring a better contact between the device and endplates. Biomechanically, the VariLift-L interbody fusion device is a good solution for fusion surgery of the lumbar spine segment.
Aqueous Methanolic Bark Extract of Oroxylum indicum Inhibited Testosterone induced Prostate Hyperplasia in Rat

Oroxylum indicum is a frequently reported traditional medicinal plant known to possess antiproliferative and antitumor activity. The present study investigated the effect of crude methanolic bark extract of Oroxylum indicum on testosterone induced benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) in rat. Adult male rats were given either corn oil or testosterone dissolved in corn oil and testosterone with aqueous methanolic bark extracts of Oroxylum indicum (10, 50 and 100 mg/kg/day) for 14 days. The inhibitory effect of Oroxylum indicum on testosterone induced hyperplasia was evaluated by prostatic index and histopathological examination. Serum marker of liver injury (alanine aminotransferase, ALT and aspartate aminotransferase, AST) and liver histopathological examination were also conducted. Compared with testosterone induced BPH model group, Oroxylum indicum extract treated groups exhibited significant reduction in the prostatic index. Oroxylum indicum treated group also exhibited reduced hyperplasia of prostatic epithelium likewise finasteride treated group. Aqueous methanolic extract of Oroxylum indicum significantly inhibited testosterone induced prostate hyperplasia thus indicated the presence of efficient ingredients which can be used for the treatment of BPH.
Peri‐implant health

OBJECTIVE The aim is to define clinical and histologic characteristics of peri-implant tissues in health and describe the mucosa-implant interface. IMPORTANCE An understanding of the characteristics of healthy peri-implant tissues facilitates the recognition of disease (i.e., departure from health). FINDINGS The healthy peri-implant mucosa is, at the microscopic level, comprised of a core of connective tissue covered by either a keratinized (masticatory mucosa) or non-keratinized epithelium (lining mucosa). The peri-implant mucosa averages about 3 to 4 mm high, and presents with an epithelium (about 2 mm long) facing the implant surface. Small clusters of inflammatory cells are usually present in the connective tissue lateral to the barrier epithelium. Most of the intrabony part of the implant appears to be in contact with mineralized bone (about 60%), while the remaining portion faces bone marrow, vascular structures, or fibrous tissue. During healing following implant installation, bone modeling occurs that may result in some reduction of the marginal bone level. CONCLUSIONS The characteristics of the peri-implant tissues in health are properly identified in the literature, including tissue dimensions and composition. Deviation from the features of health may be used by the clinician (and researcher) to identify disease, including peri-implant mucositis and peri-implantitis.
Evidence for the effectiveness of police-based pre-booking diversion programs in decriminalizing mental illness: A systematic literature review

Purpose People with mental illnesses are at a significantly greater risk of police arrest than the general population. This pattern of arrests has been associated with a phenomenon referred to as the criminalization of mental illness such that people with mental illnesses are inappropriately diverted to the criminal justice system rather than to treatment. To decrease arrests of people with mental illnesses experiencing a crisis, pre-booking diversion programs have been developed to intervene at the point of police contact. This systematic literature review examines the state of knowledge regarding the effectiveness of police-based pre-booking diversion programs by addressing the question, “What is the evidence for the effectiveness of police-based pre-booking diversion programs in reducing arrests (i.e., reducing criminalization) of people with mental illnesses? ” Methods Systematic literature searches of seven databases were performed during May 2017. The searches sought to identify studies that examined the effectiveness of pre-booking diversion programs in decreasing arrests. A multi-phase screening process was completed independently by two pairs of reviewers as well as a risk of bias review. Results A total of 2,750 unique citations were identified. Of these, 4 met the inclusion/exclusion criteria; all were from the US. Three of the studies examined the effectiveness of Crisis Intervention Teams and one study looked at a mobile crisis program. Two of the studies were at moderate risk of bias and two at high risk. Conclusions This review indicates that this line of inquiry is still developing. There are a number of gaps yet to be filled. The current evidence for the effectiveness of police-based pre-booking diversion programs in reducing arrests (i.e., reducing criminalization) of people with mental illnesses is limited. However, these studies indicate there is moderate evidence that these programs increase linkages to mental health services.
On the Impact of Leveraged Buyouts on Bank Systemic Risk

Although banks are at the center of systemic risk, there are other institutions that contribute to it. With the publication of the leveraged lending guideline in March 2013, the U.S. regulators show that they are especially worried about the private equity firms with their high-risk deals. Given these risks and the interconnectedness of the banks through the LBO loan syndicates, I shed light on the impact of a bank's LBO loan exposure on its systemic risk. By using 3,538 observations between 2000 and 2013 from 165 global banks, I show that banks with higher LBO exposure also have a higher level of systemic risk. Other loan purposes do not show this positive relationship. The main drivers influencing this relationship positively are the bank's interconnectedness to other LBO financing banks and its size. Lending experience with a specific PE sponsor, experience with leading LBO syndicates or a bank's credit rating, however, lead to a lower impact of the LBO loan exposure on systemic risk.
Automated bone age assessment using bag of features and random forests

The Bone Age is a fairly reliable measure of persons growth and maturation of skeleton. Bone age assessment (BAA) is a procedure that is used to predict the age of a person. The construction of a complete and fairly accurate automated bone age assessment system (ABAA) requires efficient feature extraction and classification methods. In this paper, we have presented an implementation of Bag of Features (BoF) method along with Random Forest classifier on phalanges or bones of fingers. The results have outperformed previous methods available as we have achieved a mean error of 0.58 years and 0.77 years of RMSE for bone age range of 0–18 years. Our experiments have also proved that use of gender bias improves the classification. The best performance was obtained for the ring, middle and index fingers.
Role of diet and food intake in age‐related macular degeneration: a systematic review

A systematic literature review was conducted to evaluate the role of diet and food intake in age‐related macular degeneration (AMD). Eighteen high‐quality studies were identified. Adherence to a Mediterranean diet had decreased risk of AMD progression. An Oriental diet pattern had decreased association with AMD prevalence, whereas a Western diet pattern had increased association with AMD prevalence. High consumption of vegetables rich in carotenoids and fatty fish containing omega‐3 fatty acids was beneficial for those at risk of AMD. Vegetable oils and animal fats containing omega‐6 fatty acids, and red/processed meat should be consumed minimally to reduce the risk of AMD progression. High glycaemic index diets and alcohol consumption of greater than two drinks a day had increased association with AMD. As the quality of diet and food intake had a vital role in AMD, the provision of appropriate nutritional advice to those at risk of AMD is recommended.
Multiple meningiomas in two male-to-female transsexual patients with hormone replacement therapy: A report of two cases and a brief literature review

Background: Exogenous sex hormones may play a role in meningioma development and growth. Thus, transsexual patients being on long-standing hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may be at particular risk for meningioma development and growth. Here we present two cases of two male-to-female transsexual patients taking HRT for an extended period of time with both patients requiring surgical treatment at our institution due to multiple growing meningiomas. Case Description: The first patient was a 50-year-old genetic male (male-to-female transsexual) who presented 7 years after an extensive sex-change operation due to progressive bitemporal visual defects. The patient had been on HRT for approximately a decade. Radiological examinations showed a total of four meningiomas, one being a large suprasellar meningioma causing the symptoms. Three of the four meningiomas were operated on, but the patient's vision could not be saved. Immunohistochemical (IH) analysis of the meningiomas showed both estrogen and progesterone receptor expression. The patient continued HRT and during follow-up regrowth of the meningiomas was noted. The second patient was a 48-year-old genetic male (male-to-female transsexual) who had been on HRT for two decades and also presented due to left-sided visual loss. Radiological examination showed four meningiomas, one being a left-sided sinus cavernous meningioma causing compression of the visual apparatus. This patient had a previous normal head computerized tomography scan dating back 10 years before his current presentation. Three of the four meningiomas were operated on with a slight improvement in visual acuity. IH analysis showed positive progesterone receptor expression but negative estrogen receptor expression. Conclusion: Radiological screening may be justifiable for transsexual patients with a history of long-standing HRT and special focus should be paid to transsexual patients displaying new neurological symptoms or those already diagnosed with a meningioma.
Elucidating the genetic architecture of Adams–Oliver syndrome in a large European cohort

Adams–Oliver syndrome (AOS) is a rare developmental disorder, characterized by scalp aplasia cutis congenita (ACC) and transverse terminal limb defects (TTLD). Autosomal dominant forms of AOS are linked to mutations in ARHGAP31, DLL4, NOTCH1 or RBPJ, while DOCK6 and EOGT underlie autosomal recessive inheritance. Data on the frequency and distribution of mutations in large cohorts are currently limited. The purpose of this study was therefore to comprehensively examine the genetic architecture of AOS in an extensive cohort. Molecular diagnostic screening of 194 AOS/ACC/TTLD probands/families was conducted using next‐generation and/or capillary sequencing analyses. In total, we identified 63 (likely) pathogenic mutations, comprising 56 distinct and 22 novel mutations, providing a molecular diagnosis in 30% of patients. Taken together with previous reports, these findings bring the total number of reported disease variants to 63, with a diagnostic yield of 36% in familial cases. NOTCH1 is the major contributor, underlying 10% of AOS/ACC/TTLD cases, with DLL4 (6%), DOCK6 (6%), ARHGAP31 (3%), EOGT (3%), and RBPJ (2%) representing additional causality in this cohort. We confirm the relevance of genetic screening across the AOS/ACC/TTLD spectrum, highlighting preliminary but important genotype–phenotype correlations. This cohort offers potential for further gene identification to address missing heritability.
Evaluation of sparing organs at risk (OARs) in left‐breast irradiation in the supine and prone positions and with deep inspiration breath‐hold

Abstract Purpose To compare doses to organs at risk (OARs) for left‐sided whole‐breast radiation therapy with comparable planning target volume (PTV) coverage using three techniques: free breathing in a supine position (SFB), deep inspirational breath‐hold in a supine position (SDIBH), and free breathing in prone position (PFB). Materials and methods Thirty‐three patients with left‐sided early‐stage breast cancer underwent CT simulation following SFB, SDIBH, and PFB protocols for whole‐breast radiation therapy. One radiation oncologist contoured the breast PTV, heart, left ventricle (LV), and left anterior descending artery (LAD). Treatment plans were optimized using field‐in‐field technique with the AAA algorithm. Each plan was optimized to provide identical coverage to the PTV such that a reasonable comparison for OAR dosimetry could be evaluated. All plans were prescribed 42.56 Gy in 16 fractions to the left‐breast PTV. Results The mean dose in SFB for the heart, LV, and LAD was 1.92, 3.19, and 21.73 Gy, respectively, which were significantly higher than the mean dose in SDIBH for the heart (1.08 Gy, P ≤ 0.0001), LV (1.50 Gy, P ≤ 0.0001), and LAD (6.3 Gy, P ≤ 0.0001) and in PFB for the heart (0.98 Gy, P ≤ 0.0001), LV (1.34 Gy, P ≤ 0.0001), and LAD (6.57 Gy, P ≤ 0.0001). Similar findings were noted for the cardiac components in SFB for V2.5, V5, V10, V20, and V30 compared with values in SDIBH and PFB. The mean dose for the left lung in PFB was 0.61 Gy that was significantly lower than in SFB (5.63 Gy, P ≤ 0.0001) and SDIBH (5.54 Gy, P ≤ 0.0001). Mean dose and dosimetric values for each OAR increased in SFB and SDIBH for patients with a large breast volume compared with values for patients with a small breast volume. Conclusions SFB results in higher heart, LAD, and LV doses than the other techniques. Both PFB and SDIBH are more advantageous for these OARs irrespective of breast volume. PFB results in significantly lower lung doses than SFB and SDIBH. PFB always provided better results than SFB for the heart, LV, LAD, and lung. This conclusion contrasts with some published studies concluding that the prone position has no benefit for heart sparing.
Correlation of CRM1-NES affinity with nuclear export activity

CRM1 (Exportin1/XPO1) exports hundreds of broadly functioning protein cargoes out of the cell nucleus by binding to their classical nuclear export signals (NESs). The 8- to 15-amino-acid-long NESs contain four to five hydrophobic residues and are highly diverse in both sequence and CRM1-bound structure. Here we examine the relationship between nuclear export activities of 24 different NES peptides in cells and their CRM1-NES affinities. We found that binding affinity and nuclear export activity are linearly correlated for NESs with dissociation constants (Kds) between tens of nanomolar to tens of micromolar. NESs with Kds outside this range have significantly reduced nuclear export activities. These include two unusually tight-binding peptides, one from the nonstructural protein 2 of murine minute virus (MVM NS2) and the other a mutant of the protein kinase A inhibitor (PKI) NES. The crystal structure of CRM1-bound MVM NS2NES suggests that extraordinarily tight CRM1 binding arises from intramolecular contacts within the NES that likely stabilizes the CRM1-bound conformation in free peptides. This mechanistic understanding led to the design of two novel peptide inhibitors that bind CRM1 with picomolar affinity.
Early detection of lung cancer using SVM classifier in biomedical image processing

Image processing techniques are now commonly used in the medical field for early detection of diseases. This research aims to improve accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of early detection of lung cancer through a combination of image processing techniques and data mining. The Computed Tomography (CT) scan image of the lungs is pre-processed and the Region of Interest (ROI) segmented, retained and compressed using a DWT (Discrete Waveform Transform) technique. The resulting ROI image is decomposed into four sub frequencies, bands LL, HL, LH, and HH. Again, the LL sub frequency is decomposed into four sub-bands, applying a 2-level DWT to the ROI based image. Further, features such as entropy, co-relation, energy, variance and homogeneity are extracted from the 2-level DWT images using a GLCM (Gray level Co-occurrence Matrix) with classification effected by means of an SVM (Support Vector Machine). Classification identifies whether the CT image is normal or cancerous. The Lung Image Database Consortium dataset (LIDC) has been used for training and testing purpose for this study. A Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) curve is used to analyze the performance of the system. Overall the system has accuracy of 95.16%, sensitivity of 98.21% and specificity of 78.69%.