Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
SUPPORTING PARENTS Relationship between attention deficit hyperactive disorder symptoms and perceived parenting practices of school-age children

Aims and objectives. To examine the relationship between the perception on parenting practices and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms in school-age children. Background. Psychosocial attention deficit hyperactivity disorder intervention approaches emphasise environmental risk factors at the individual, family and community level. Parenting variables are strongly related to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptom severity. Design. A cross-sectional questionnaire survey. Methods. The participants were 747 children and their parents in two elementary schools. The instruments used were Korean Conners Abbreviated Parent Questionnaire and Korean version Maternal Behavior Research Instrument (measuring four dimensions of parenting practices: affection, autonomy, rejection, control). Descriptive and logistic regression analyses were performed. Results. The rejective parenting practice was statistically significant in logistic regression controlling gender and age of children, family structure, maternal education level and socio-economic status. The rejection parenting is associated with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms in children (OR = 1 356). Conclusions. These results suggest the importance of specific parenting educational programmes for parents to prevent and decrease attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms. It would be more effective rather than focusing only on the child’s attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms, developing educational programmes for parents to prevent rejection parenting practice and improve parenting skills in the family system. Relevance to clinical practice. When developing a treatment programme for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, healthcare providers should consider not only the child’s attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms, but also the parenting practices. Comprehensive interventions designed to prevent rejection and improve parenting skills may be helpful in mitigating attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms.
Effect of Environmental Exposure on the Lead Levels in Human Blood in Kenya

Lead is one of the heavy metals associated with a number of health problems such as abdominal pains, constipation and loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, insomnia, headache, irritability, dizziness and lead encephalopathy. The major source of lead into the environment is through emission from auto exhaust in countries still using leaded fuel, with other contributors being cigarette smoke, burning of lead battery castings, weathering, ceramic industries and paints. Therefore there is need for continued monitoring of the levels of lead in the environment and in people to determine the level of exposure. The aim of the study was to determine the effect of environmental exposure on the levels of lead in human blood in Nairobi City and Nyamira District, Kenya. The subjects who had lived in the study areas continuously for five years were randomly selected and recruited for the study. The study used a questionnaire to assess lead exposure factors of the recruits, while atomic absorption spectroscopy and differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry were used for determining the lead levels. The subjects in Nairobi City Centre had the highest mean blood lead (BPb) level of 29.9 + 16.91 µg/l, while Nyamira Rural subjects had the lowest mean of 24.20 + 7.07 µg/l. The mean lead level of the subjects was statistically significant between Nairobi City Centre and Nyamira Rural (P < 0.01, df = 99). The smokers, those who travelled frequently, the users of glazed ceramics, those who worked in industries and those who lived near busy roads had higher levels of blood lead. The study provides an additional data pointing to elevated blood lead levels in environmentally exposed individuals. Keywords: Lead, environmental exposure, human blood, AAS, DPASV.
Cytokine Expression in the Epidural Space: A Model of Noncompressive Disc Herniation-Induced Inflammation

Study Design. Animal study. Objective. Development of an animal model for the study of biochemical changes that occur in the epidural space after intervertebral disc herniation. Summary of Background Data. Although strong evidence for an inflammatory component exists, the biochemical processes underlying pain after disc herniation remain unknown. Methods. Epidural lavage was performed in 48 rats after L5 dorsal root ganglion exposure at baseline and 3, 6, or 24 hours after placement of autologous nucleus pulposus (NP) (N = 15), saline (N = 15), or NP + an interferon-&ggr; antibody (anti-IFN-&ggr;; N = 18) directly onto the dorsal root ganglion. Multiplex assays quantifying interleukin (IL)-1&agr;, IL-1&bgr;, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, tumor necrosis factor &agr; (TNF-&agr;), IFN-&ggr;, and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) were performed. NP (N = 7) was also analyzed for these cytokines by placing NP into saline and measuring the relative concentration. Results. Cytokines measured low at baseline (0–100 pg/mL) in all groups. Compared with saline, NP application caused IL-6 elevation, peaking at T = 3 hours, that was prevented by anti-IFN-&ggr;. NP induced elevation of TNF-&agr;, peaking at T = 24 hours and was prevented by anti-IFN-&ggr;. IFN-&ggr; was elevated after NP at T = 3 hours and T = 24 hours. IL-1&agr; was similar after saline versus NP. The concentrations of IL-1&bgr; and IL-10 were elevated at T = 3 hours, 6 hours, and 24 hours in all groups without between-groups difference. The level of IL-4 peaked at T = 3 hours in the NP group and was different than saline and NP + anti-IFN-&ggr; groups, but the time effect was insignificant. There was no change for GM-CSF. The concentration of cytokines measured in normal NP was less than 2 pg/mL for all cytokines except TNF-&agr;. Conclusion. In this model of acute noncompressive disc herniation, NP caused the elevation of epidural IL-6, TNF-&agr;, and IFN-&ggr;—all attenuated by IFN-&ggr; blockade. IL-1&bgr; and IL-10 were both significantly elevated by saline alone and their response was not prevented by IFN-&ggr; blockade. This model may prove useful for the study of the biochemical processes by which NP induces inflammation-induced nerve root irritation and radiculopathic pain.
First-in-man experience with a new embolic deflection device in transcatheter aortic valve interventions.

AIMS To report our first-in-man experience with a new cerebral embolic deflection device (SMT Embolic Deflection Device) during transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). A significant number of strokes and brain infarcts are caused by embolisation of atherosclerotic material, clots and other debris during various phases of invasive cardiac procedures, especially TAVI. The application of a temporary filter in the aortic arch averting dislodged emboli from entering the cerebral circulation might prevent this. METHODS AND RESULTS In 15 patients (mean age 79 years) with severe aortic stenosis undergoing percutaneous transfemoral or transapical aortic valve implantation, the SMT Embolic Deflection Device was advanced utilising the contralateral femoral artery access using a 9 Fr delivery sheath. Once deployed in the aortic arch, a porous membrane shields the supraaortic-cerebral trunks by deflecting emboli away from the cerebral circulation. Embolic material is not contained or removed by the device. A 6 Fr pigtail catheter can be used through the same sheath throughout the whole procedure. Brain diffusion weighted (DW)-MRI was obtained in 10 patients before and at 4 days after (± 2 days) the procedure and retrospectively compared to 20 patients previously undergoing TAVI without a protection device. Successful placement of the embolic protection device was achieved in all patients. Additional procedural time due to the use of the device was 7 min (± 2 min). There were no procedural complications. No patient developed new neurological symptoms or clinical findings of stroke except one patient who suffered from a transient ischaemic attack (TIA) two days after the procedure. DW-MRI showed 3.2 new cerebral lesions per patient, compared to 7.2 new lesions per patient in the group without SMT filter. CONCLUSIONS In this first-in-man experience, the feasibility of a new embolic deflection device is demonstrated. Larger randomised, prospective studies are required to confirm these findings and prove safety and efficacy by reducing the incidence of cerebral embolism and stroke after TAVI.
Description and Primary Results from an Audiometric Study of Male Twins

Objective: The purpose of this study is to present descriptive results from an audiometric examination of a male twin sample, compare the values with normative databases, and explore whether there are age differences in genetic and environmental contributions to variation in hearing. Design: Audiometric and questionnaire data were collected on a subsample of male twins who were identified through the population‐based Swedish Twin Registry. Hearing examinations were completed for a total of 557 intact pairs, comprised of 250 identical (monozygotic [MZ]) pairs and 307 fraternal(dizygotic [DZ]) pairs aged 36 to 80 yr. A scale measuring hearing in the high‐tone ranges was constructed by calculating the mean for the hearing threshold values obtained for both ears combined at 3000, 4000, 6000, and 8000 Hz for air conduction. Results: To assess whether the twin values are representative of general hearing function, the hearing thresholds were compared with values from two normative databases. Results suggest that these twin data provide a valid representation of hearing function in a cross‐section of the Swedish male population, aged 35 and older. The mean values for hearing ability decreased across age, and variation increased. Twin similarity, estimated across four age groups using intraclass correlations, decreased from 0.716 to 0.516 for the MZ pairs and increased from 0.131 to 0.279 for the DZ pairs. These results suggest that variation in hearing ability in the high ranges is due to genetic and environmental factors and that environmental effects become more important with age. Conclusions: These data reflect typical age‐related deterioration in hearing ability accompanied by greater individual differences in hearing function with age. Across all ages, genetic and environmental effects are important sources of variation in hearing. However, preliminary analyses suggest that the relative influence of environment increases with age. These environmental effects are of the nonshared type that are not associated with shared family environments but rather are explained by unique exposures.
Time-series properties of the power grid with real-time pricing load customers

This study reports agent-based simulation findings regarding the effect of price forecast methods on power market stability. Under the dynamic pricing scheme, the uncleared issue is the emergent behavior of retail customers given the fact that customers have to forecast real-time price to make optimal consumption decisions. The interaction of intelligent retail customers who learn to select forecast methods drives the system dynamics. Simulation results are used to compare with analytical model to draw conclusions on the effect of different factors on the system stability.
Single electron effects and structural effects in ultrascaled silicon nanocrystal floating-gate memories

In this paper, we present a nanometer-sized floating-gate memory device, fabricated on silicon-on-insulator substrate and using silicon nanocrystals as storage nodes. Single electron charging and discharging phenomena occurring at room temperature will be demonstrated and discussed by means of simple analytical models. A deeper investigation of the impact of critical dimensions of the memory cell (i.e., active area and channel width and length) on the device operation (in particular, memory programming window), performed on a large number of samples, will be reported. Qualitative explanations for the observed experimental behaviors will be given.
Knowledge Virtualization and Local Connectedness Among Smart High-Tech Companies

Smart high-tech companies are characterized by knowledge intensity and open innovation. Even when these companies emerge in spatial clusters or dense urban places, they may utilize knowledge networks on a global scale. However, there is not much insight into the factors that shape knowledge networks, the role of virtualization herein and the impact of on global knowledge sourcing on local connectedness. This paper seeks to fill these gaps in understanding, by drawing on a selected sample of young high-technology companies in the Netherlands and application of rough set analysis to identify homogeneous categories of companies in the highly differentiated segment of young high-tech companies. The outcomes suggest that employing mainly local and employing mainly global knowledge networks coexist in city-regions, and that only part of the globalized companies are losing local connectedness, particularly those involved in co-creation with global customers and those acting as learning partners of multinational corporations (‘reverse’ knowledge transfer). Factors counteracting a weakening of local connectedness are specific local knowledge relationships and the strategy of developing local/regional customer markets.
Femoral fixation sites for optimum isometry of posterolateral reconstruction.

BACKGROUND Graft reconstructions of the lateral collateral ligament, popliteus tendon, and popliteofibular ligament are frequently performed in conjunction with a reconstruction of the posterior cruciate ligament to restore knee stability. The purpose of this study was to determine the femoral fixation sites resulting in the optimum isometry of popliteus tendon, popliteofibular ligament, and lateral collateral ligament grafts in a knee with a reconstruction of the posterior cruciate ligament. METHODS Relative length changes (isometry measurements) were recorded between sutures fixed at femoral grid points and appropriate fibular or tibial graft tunnel sites; sites resulting in the least change in suture length as the knee was moved from 0 degrees to 90 degrees of flexion were identified as optimum isometric points. Bone blocks of Achilles tendon grafts were fixed with the midpoint of the tissue's leading edge adjacent to the optimum isometric point (optimum placement). Isometry measurements were repeated with a lateral collateral ligament graft placed in a fibular tunnel and with popliteus tendon and popliteofibular ligament grafts alternately placed in appropriate tibial and fibular tunnels. The graft isometry measurements were then repeated with the bone block centered over the femoral footprint of the lateral collateral ligament or popliteus tendon. RESULTS For all reconstructions, there was no difference between the relative length changes of the suture placed at the optimum isometric point and the relative length changes of the graft with an optimally placed bone block. The mean location of the optimally placed bone-block center of the lateral collateral ligament graft was within 1.85 mm of the mean center of the footprint of the lateral collateral ligament; the mean graft isometry measurements with the optimally placed bone block were not significantly different from those with the bone block centered over the lateral collateral ligament footprint. The mean optimally placed bone-block center of the popliteus tendon and popliteofibular ligament reconstructions was 11 mm anterior and 2.7 mm proximal to the center of the popliteus tendon footprint. The mean relative length changes of the popliteus tendon and popliteofibular ligament grafts with the bone block optimally placed were <0.9 mm and <1.2 mm, respectively; the means with the popliteus tendon and popliteofibular ligament bone blocks centered over the popliteus tendon footprint were 3.7 mm and 5.0 mm, respectively. CONCLUSIONS A popliteus tendon or popliteofibular ligament reconstruction with the bone block centered over the femoral footprint of the popliteus tendon was highly non-isometric. If the graft were fixed at 30 degrees of flexion, it would elongate approximately 4 mm when the knee was extended to 0 degrees and possibly stretch out.
Detection, isolation and assessment of Salmonella entiritidis in milk by conventional culture methods and real-time PCR in Iran

Salmonellas are wide-range organisms which can cause disease in human and other organisms. They can invade the intestinal and extra-intestinal tissues. The Salmonellosis is one of the main world health challenges. Salmonellas are usually detected in milk by conventional methods of bacterial culture. However, this method is time consuming and lacks the desired specificity. So, the objective of this study was to develop and evaluate a SYBR Green real-time PCR method for the specific detection of Salmonella Entiritidis in cow milk farm samples. In this article, we present a real-time PCR assay for quantitative detection of Salmonella Entiritidis in100 samples milk. The standard curve correlation coefficient for the threshold cycle versus the copy number of initial Salmonella Entiritidis cells was 0.996. To test the PCR system, a set of 100 milk samples were screened for the presence of Salmonella Entiritidis. 17% (17/100) of milk samples, tested positive for Salmonella Entiritidis. This result indicated that the real-time PCR assay provides a specific, sensitive and rapid method for quantitative detection of Salmonella Entiritidis. Moreover, it is concluded cow milk is commonly contaminated with Salmonella Entiritidis and could serve as a potential risk for consumers in Iran, especially if proper hygienic and cooking conditions are not maintained.
Strategy Selection Versus Flexibility: Using Eye-Trackers to Investigate Strategy Use During Mental Rotation

Spatial researchers have been arguing over the optimum cognitive strategy for spatial problem-solving for several decades. The current article aims to shift this debate from strategy dichotomies to strategy flexibility—a cognitive process, which although alluded to in spatial research, presents practical methodological challenges to empirical testing. In the current study, participants’ eye movements were tracked during a mental rotation task (MRT) using the Tobii ×60 eye-tracker. Results of a latent profile analysis, combining different eye movement parameters, indicated two distinct eye-patterns—fixating and switching patterns. The switching eye-pattern was associated with high mental rotation performance. There were no sex differences in eye-patterns. To investigate strategy flexibility, we used a novel application of the changepoint detection algorithm on eye movement data. Strategy flexibility significantly predicted mental rotation performance. Male participants demonstrated higher strategy flexibility than did female participants. Our findings highlight the importance of strategy flexibility in spatial thinking and have implications for designing spatial training techniques. The novel approaches to analyzing eye movement data in the current paper can be extended to research beyond the spatial domain.
The detection of geographical substructuring of Trypanosoma brucei populations by the analysis of minisatellite polymorphisms

Analysis of natural populations of Trypanosoma brucei has shown that there is linkage disequilibrium between alleles at pairs of loci in isolates taken from the field. This disequilibrium can occur as a result of a low frequency of genetic exchange, the masking of frequent genetic exchange by the rapid expansion of a few genotypes or by the treatment of 2 (or more) genetically isolated populations as a single population. We have analysed stocks from 2 geographically separate locations using 3 minisatellite markers to determine the frequencies of the alleles in each area and the frequency and nature of the multilocus genotypes. The results show that many alleles and multilocus genotypes are unique to each geographical location, supporting the conclusion that these populations are genetically isolated with limited or no gene flow between them. This geographical substructuring needs to be taken into account in considering the origins of the linkage disequilibrium in a number of populations.
Incidence and prevalence of keratoconus in Denmark.

PURPOSE To estimate the prevalence and incidence of hospitalized keratoconus (KC) in Denmark. METHODS Data extracts from the National Patient Registry under the National Board of Health (which covers the entire Danish population) were analysed. RESULTS The prevalence of KC was estimated at 86 patients per 100,000 residents and the incidence at 1.3 per 100 000 per year. CONCLUSION KC is rather widespread in Denmark, with more than 4600 affected individuals.
Does pretreatment insomnia or anxiety predict acute response to bupropion SR?

BACKGROUND This retrospective analysis was conducted to determine whether pretreatment levels of insomnia or anxiety were associated with likelihood of or time to antidepressant response with bupropion sustained release (SR). METHODS Data from an open-label, 8-week, acute phase multicenter study of 797 adult outpatients with recurrent, nonpsychotic major depressive disorder who received bupropion SR (300 mg/day) were used. Depressive symptom severity was measured by the 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D17), insomnia by totaling the three HAM-D17 insomnia items (early, middle, late), and anxiety by the 14-item Hamilton Rating Scale forAnxiety. RESULTS Overall, 67% (533/797) of patients responded (defined as > or = 50% reduction in baseline HAM-D17). Neither baseline insomnia nor baseline anxiety was related to the likelihood of achieving response. Higher baseline insomnia and lower baseline anxiety were associated with an earlier onset of response (about one week sooner in each). CONCLUSIONS Predicting the likelihood of antidepressant response with bupropion SR cannot be based on either baseline insomnia or anxiety levels.