Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Factors influencing the mental health of autistic children and teenagers: Parents’ observations and experiences

The high prevalence of mental health and behaviour problems among autistic children and adults is an issue of concern to the autism community. Many studies have been undertaken to identify the factors that protect against/or increase the risk of such difficulties. However, this research is dominated by quantitative observational studies. In this study, we sought to investigate the same issue using a qualitative research approach, positioning parents as experts and eliciting their theories as to what influenced their child’s mental health from diagnosis to the late teenage years. In-depth interviews were undertaken with 33 parents (30 mothers, 3 fathers) of 31 autistic teenagers (21 males, 10 females) aged between 15 and 19 years (median 17 years) purposively sampled from an existing cohort (QUEST). Parents believed a wide range of child-centred, developmental and socio-environmental factors had played a role in their child’s mental health, alongside life events involving loss and separation. A number of these factors have received little or no research attention to date (e.g. aspects of the school environment). The findings have important implications, highlighting factors that should be given priority in future research, as well as interventions needed to support the mental health of autistic teenagers. Lay abstract Autistic people are more likely to experience mental health difficulties compared to neurotypical people. It is very important that we understand what increases the risk for mental health difficulties, and what helps to protect against them. So far, research on this for children and young people has only investigated a small number of factors and these have been chosen by researchers and clinicians. This study took a different approach in which parents’ expertise in their children was recognised. Parents were asked to tell the story of their autistic teenagers’ mental health from diagnosis in early childhood through to the present, and to explain the ‘theories’ they developed about what affected their child’s mental health – positively and negatively – and how. Parents believed a wide range of factors played a role. These include: (1) aspects of their child (e.g. their autistic traits, intelligence); (2) aspects of their surroundings (e.g. the efforts parents make to prevent and respond to their child’s difficulties, features of the school they attend, availability of social activities); (3) changes their child experienced growing up (e.g. puberty, awareness of being autistic); and (4) life events involving loss and separation. Many of the factors parents identified as important have received little or no research attention to date. The findings suggest issues that should be considered in future research and reveal ways that support for parents and autistic children and teenagers can be improved.
Hypoglycemic effect of Coffea arabica leaf extracts and major bioactive constituents

Abstract The present study focused on investigating the antioxidant, antiglycation activity, digestive enzymes inhibition, bioaccessibility and hypoglycemic effect of C. arabica leaves extracts. The extracts deactivated the O2•-, ROO•, H2O2, HOCl reactive oxygen species. Coffee leaves showed strong inhibition of α-glucosidase (IC50 = 40.30 μg mL−1) greater than the isolated metabolites and acarbose. There was also inhibition of pancreatic lipase (IC50 = 56.43 μg mL−1) in addition to a hypoglycemic effect in zebrafish similar to acarbose and metformin. With the exception of rutin, all biocompounds were detected at all stages of in vitro digestion. Finally, these results suggest that C. arabica leaf extracts possess antidiabetic and anti-obesity properties that can be attributed to the main metabolites and the synergistic action between them. Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma
Modeling of methylene blue removal on Fe3O4 modified activated carbon with artificial neural network (ANN)

Abstract In this study, AC/Fe3O4 adsorbent was first synthesized by modifying activated carbon with Fe3O4. The structure of the adsorbent was then characterized using analysis techniques specific surface area (BET), Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (SEM-EDX), and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). Equilibrium, thermodynamic and kinetic studies were carried out on the removal of methylene blue (MB) dyestuff from aqueous solutions AC/Fe3O4 adsorbent. The Langmuir maximum adsorption capacity of AC/Fe3O4 was 312.8 mg g−1, and the best fitness was observed with the pseudo-second-order kinetics model, with an endothermic adsorption process. In the final stage of the study, the adsorption process of MB on AC/Fe3O4 was modeled using artificial neural network modeling (ANN). Considering the smallest mean square error (MSE), The backpropagation neural network was configured as a three-layer ANN with a tangent sigmoid transfer function (Tansig) at the hidden layer with 10 neurons, linear transfer function (Purelin) the at output layer and Levenberg-Marquardt backpropagation training algorithm (LMA). Input parameters included initial solution pH (2.0–9.0), amount (0.05–0.5 g L−1), temperature (298–318 K), contact time (5–180 min), and concentration (50–500 mg L−1). The effect of each parameter on the removal and adsorption percentages was evaluated. The performance of the ANN model was adjusted by changing parameters such as the number of neurons in the middle layer, the number of inputs, and the learning coefficient. The mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) was used to evaluate the model’s accuracy for the removal and adsorption percentage output parameters. The absolute fraction of variance (R 2) values were 99.83, 99.36, and 98.26% for the dyestuff training, validation, and test sets, respectively. NOVELTY STATEMENT The aspect of the study, which is expected to contribute to the literature, firstly, we performed the characterization process of the iron-coated activated carbon with analytical measurements. Then, we verified the adsorption process by performing pH effect, equilibrium, kinetic and thermodynamic studies. Our primary goal is to statistically demonstrate that efficiency estimation can be made in a shorter time with smart methods, especially by comparing real experimental results with ANN estimation results obtained from modern artificial intelligence techniques. We believe that this aim will provide a different perspective to the literature in terms of obtaining results with minimum cost and effort for these processes with high accuracy and consistency. Graphical abstract
Latent disconnectome prediction of long-term cognitive-behavioural symptoms in stroke

Abstract Stroke significantly impacts the quality of life. However, the long-term cognitive evolution in stroke is poorly predictable at the individual level. There is an urgent need to better predict long-term symptoms based on acute clinical neuroimaging data. Previous works have demonstrated a strong relationship between the location of white matter disconnections and clinical symptoms. However, rendering the entire space of possible disconnection-deficit associations optimally surveyable will allow for a systematic association between brain disconnections and cognitive-behavioural measures at the individual level. Here we present the most comprehensive framework, a composite morphospace of white matter disconnections (disconnectome) to predict neuropsychological scores 1 year after stroke. Linking the latent disconnectome morphospace to neuropsychological outcomes yields biological insights that are available as the first comprehensive atlas of disconnectome-deficit relations across 86 scores—a Neuropsychological White Matter Atlas. Our novel predictive framework, the Disconnectome Symptoms Discoverer, achieved better predictivity performances than six other models, including functional disconnection, lesion topology and volume modelling. Out-of-sample prediction derived from this atlas presented a mean absolute error below 20% and allowed personalize neuropsychological predictions. Prediction on an external cohort achieved an R2 = 0.201 for semantic fluency. In addition, training and testing were replicated on two external cohorts achieving an R2 = 0.18 for visuospatial performance. This framework is available as an interactive web application (http://disconnectomestudio.bcblab.com) to provide the foundations for a new and practical approach to modelling cognition in stroke. We hope our atlas and web application will help to reduce the burden of cognitive deficits on patients, their families and wider society while also helping to tailor future personalized treatment programmes and discover new targets for treatments. We expect our framework’s range of assessments and predictive power to increase even further through future crowdsourcing.
Estimated cost-effectiveness of point-of-care testing in community pharmacies vs. self-testing and standard laboratory testing for HIV

Objective: Point-of-care-testing (POCT) for HIV at community pharmacies can enhance care linkage compared with self-tests and increase testing uptake relative to standard lab testing. While the higher test uptake may increase testing costs, timely diagnosis and treatment can reduce downstream HIV treatment costs and improve health outcomes. This study provides the first evidence on the cost-effectiveness of pharmacist-led POCT vs. HIV self-testing and standard lab testing. Design: Dynamic transmission model Methods: We compared three HIV testing strategies: POCT at community pharmacies; self-testing using HIV self-test kits; and standard lab testing. Analyses were conducted from the Canadian health system perspective over a 30-year time horizon for all individuals aged 15–64 years in Canada. Costs were measured in 2021 Canadian dollars and effectiveness was captured using quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs). Results: Compared with standard lab testing, POCT at community pharmacies would save $885 million in testing costs over 30 years. Though antiretroviral treatment costs would increase by $190 million with POCT as more persons living with HIV are identified and treated, these additional costs would be partly offset by their lower downstream healthcare utilization (savings of $150 million). POCT at community pharmacies would also yield over 5000 additional QALYs. Compared with HIV self-testing, POCT at community pharmacies would generate both higher costs and higher QALYs and would be cost-effective with an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of $47 475 per QALY gained. Conclusions: Offering POCT at community pharmacies can generate substantial cost savings and improve health outcomes compared with standard lab testing. It would also be cost-effective vs. HIV self-testing.
Work engagement status of registered nurses in pediatric units in Saudi Arabia: A cross‐sectional study

Background This study aimed to evaluate the work engagement status of registered pediatric nurses and its relationship with personal- and work-related variables in selected hospitals. Personal- and work-related factors generally influence work engagement. However, data on work engagement in pediatric clinical practice are limited. Methods This study employed a cross-sectional design, including 230 registered nurses working in pediatric units in Madinah, Saudi Arabia. A non-probability approach (convenience sampling) was adopted in recruiting the sample. Eight personal- and work-related variables were examined using the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale shortened 9-item version. Results The overall mean scale score was 4.54 (standard deviation = 0.95). The dedication subscale showed the highest mean score (4.84), followed by the absorption (4.48) and vigor subscales (4.29). A higher work engagement score was associated with an older age (H = 17.892; p < 0.001), a non-Saudi nationality (Z = 5.724; p < 0.001), a higher educational level (Z = 3.178; p = 0.001), and a long duration of experience (>10 years) (H = 18.435; p < 0.001). No significant differences were observed between the total scale score according to marital status (p = 0.077), current working unit (p = 0.063), and current working hours (p = 0.067). Conclusions Among registered pediatric nurses, work engagement is relatively high but is average in terms of the vigor component. To our knowledge, this research is the first to explore how work environment affects work engagement among pediatric nurses in Madinah, Saudi Arabia.
Acellular fish skin for wound healing

Fish skin grafting as a new skin substitute is currently being used in clinical applications. Acceleration of the wound healing, lack of disease transmission, and low cost of the production process can introduce fish skin as a potential alternative to other grafts. An appropriate decellularization process allows the design of 3D acellular scaffolds for skin regeneration without damaging the morphology and extracellular matrix content. Therefore, the role of decellularization processes is very important to maintain the properties of fish skin. In this review article, recent studies on various decellularization processes as well as biological, physical, and mechanical properties of fish skin and its applications with therapeutic effects in wound healing were investigated.
Optimal control problems with delays in state and control variables subject to mixed control–state constraints

Optimal control problems with delays in state and control variables are studied. Constraints are imposed as mixed control–state inequality constraints. Necessary optimality conditions in the form of Pontryagin's minimum principle are established. The proof proceeds by augmenting the delayed control problem to a nondelayed problem with mixed terminal boundary conditions to which Pontryagin's minimum principle is applicable. Discretization methods are discussed by which the delayed optimal control problem is transformed into a large‐scale nonlinear programming problem. It is shown that the Lagrange multipliers associated with the programming problem provide a consistent discretization of the advanced adjoint equation for the delayed control problem. An analytical example and numerical examples from chemical engineering and economics illustrate the results. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Heat Balance in the Nocturnal Boundary Layer during CASES-99

Abstract A unique set of nocturnal longwave radiative and sensible heat flux divergences was obtained during the 1999 Cooperative Atmosphere–Surface Exchange Study (CASES-99). These divergences are based on upward and downward longwave radiation measurements at two levels and turbulent eddy correlation measurements at eight levels. In contrast to previous radiation divergence measurements obtained within 10 m above the ground, radiative flux divergence was measured within a deeper layer—between 2 and 48 m. Within the layer, the radiative flux divergence is, on average, comparable to or smaller than the sensible heat flux divergence. The horizontal and vertical temperature advection, derived as the residual in the heat balance using observed sensible heat and radiative fluxes, are found to be significant terms in the heat balance at night. The observations also indicate that the radiative flux divergence between 2 and 48 m was typically largest in the early evening. Its magnitude depends on how fast the gr.
The summertime low-level jet and marine boundary layer structure along the California coast

Abstract This paper examines the strong, summertime northerly low-level jet (LLJ) that frequently exists along the California coast. The persistent synoptic-scale pressure distribution (North Pacific high to the west, thermal low to the east) and baroclinity created by the juxtaposition of the heated continent and the cool marine layer produce the mean structure of this LLJ. Strong diurnal thermal forcing, coupled with topographic influences on the flow, modulate the jet structure, position, and intensity. A mesoscale model is used to examine many of the complex facets of the LLJ flow dynamics. Several sensitivity studies, in addition to a control experiment, aid in this investigation. Principal findings of this study include the following. The pronounced east–west slope of the marine planetary boundary layer (MPBL) is not due primarily to colder SST values along the coast. Dynamically forced low-level coastal divergence, coupled with synoptic-scale divergence, appears to be dominant in determining MPBL i.
Pulse wave velocity in early-treated children living with perinatal HIV infection is similar to uninfected children

Introduction: HIV is associated with accelerated cardiovascular disease, due to HIV-associated metabolic abnormalities, antiretroviral therapy (ART), and HIV itself. Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV) is the noninvasive gold standard measurement of arterial stiffness, and associated with incident vascular events in adults. It is unclear if arterial stiffness is accelerated in children living with perinatal HIV (CHIV) who initiate ART early in life. We compared the longitudinal trajectory of PWV in CHIV to children unexposed to HIV. A secondary comparison compared HIV exposed uninfected children (CHEU) to unexposed children. Methods: Four hundred and sixty-five children (141 CHIV, 160 CHEU, 164 unexposed) previously in the children with HIV early antiretroviral therapy (ART) (CHER) and P1060 trials were followed annually at Tygerberg Children's Hospital, South Africa between 2014 and 2020. CHIV initiated ART in infancy or early childhood, with excellent ART adherence and largely sustained viral suppression. The primary outcome was PWV, measured using the Vicorder system, and evaluated using linear mixed effects models. Results: Median (interquartile range) age at first PWV measurement was 8.64 (7.7–9.1) years, and median follow-up time 2.9 (1.6–4.0) years. Adjusted analyses showed no significant mean difference in PWV in CHIV and CHEU compared to unexposed [CHIV: 0.101 m/s, 95% confidence interval (CI) −0.012 to 0.214; CHEU: 0.068 m/s, 95% CI −0.047 to 0.183], after adjusting for gender, age, ethnicity, mean arterial pressure, resting average heart rate and family history of cardiovascular disease. Conclusions: Early-treated CHIV with sustained viral suppression have similar PWV to unexposed children. Excellent adherence and early ART initiation may protect against cardiovascular disease.
The associations among childhood trauma, loneliness, mental health symptoms, and indicators of social exclusion in adulthood: A UK Biobank study

Childhood trauma has been associated with adult psychosocial outcomes linked to social exclusion. However, the strength of these associations in the general population is unknown. The emergence of the UK Biobank, with rich phenotypic characterization of the adult population, affords the exploration of the childhood determinants of adult psychopathology with greater statistical power. The current study aims to explore (1) the associations between childhood trauma and social exclusion in adulthood and (2) the role that self‐reported loneliness and symptoms of distress play in the associations.
Bisphenol-A release from thermoplastic clear aligner materials: A systematic review

Aim: The aim of the present study was to undertake a systematic review of the available evidence on the release of bisphenol-A (BPA) from thermoplastic materials used in the fabrication of clear aligners (CA). Methods: Electronic databases, such as MEDLINE (via PubMed), Google Scholar, Scopus, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, OpenGrey, and the U.S. National Institute of Heath-Clinical Trials, were searched up to 27 October 2022. In vivo/in vitro studies that assessed the release of BPA from different thermoplastic CA materials, with or without a control group, were selected. The risk of bias (RoB) in the randomised controlled trials (RCT) and in vitro studies was assessed using the Cochrane RoB tool and the guidelines for the reporting of pre-clinical studies, respectively. The quality of evidence was determined using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations (GRADE) Pro tool. Results: Six studies were considered for review from a total of 1926 records. This included one RCT and five in vitro studies. Only two studies found leaching of BPA, while four did not report any traces. The RoB was found to be moderate to high. The GRADE evidence level ranged from low to very low. Five of the included studies were conducted in vitro. Significant heterogeneity among the included studies prevented a quantitative synthesis. Conclusion: In light of the available conflicting evidence, BPA release from CAs can neither be confirmed nor denied. Safety remains questionable until high-quality in vivo trials prove otherwise. Registration: PROSPERO CRD42022310434.
HIGH ENERGY SPECTRAL EVOLUTION OF V404 CYGNI DURING THE 2015 JUNE OUTBURST AS OBSERVED BY INTEGRAL

The black hole binary GS 2023+338 exhibited an unprecedently bright outburst in 2015 June. On 2015 June 17, the high energy instruments on board INTEGRAL detected an extremely variable emission during both bright and low luminosity phases, with dramatic variations of the hardness ratio on timescales of approximately seconds. The analysis of the IBIS and SPI data reveals the presence of hard spectra in the brightest phases, compatible with thermal Comptonization with a temperature of kTe ∼ 40 keV. The seed photon’s temperature is best fit by kT0 ∼ 7 keV, which is too high to be compatible with blackbody emission from the disk. This result is consistent with the seed photons being provided by a different source, which we hypothesize to be a synchrotron driven component in the jet. During the brightest phase of flares, the hardness shows a complex pattern of correlation with flux, with the maximum energy released in the range of 40–100 keV. The hard-X-ray variability for E > 50 keV is correlated with flux variations in the softer band, showing that the overall source variability cannot originate entirely from absorption, but at least part of it is due to the central accreting source.
Effect of antiretroviral therapy on decreasing arterial stiffness, metabolic profile, vascular and systemic inflammatory cytokines in treatment-naïve HIV: A one-year prospective study

Introduction Cardiovascular disease is a major cause of death among people living with HIV (PLH). Non-treated PLH show increased levels of inflammation and biomarkers of vascular activation, and arterial stiffness as a prognostic cardiovascular disease risk factor. We investigated the effect of one year of ART on treatment-naïve HIV(+) individuals on arterial stiffness and inflammatory and vascular cytokines. Methods We cross-sectionally compared aortic stiffness via tonometry, inflammatory, and vascular serum cytokines on treatment-naïve (n = 20) and HIV (-) (n = 9) matched by age, sex, metabolic profile, and Framingham score. We subsequently followed young, treatment-naïve individuals after 1-year of ART and compared aortic stiffness, metabolic profile, and inflammatory and vascular serum biomarkers to baseline. Inflammatory biomarkers included: hs-CRP, D-Dimer, SAA, sCD163s, MCP-1, IL-8, IL-18, MRP8/14. Vascular cytokines included: myoglobin, NGAL, MPO, Cystatin C, ICAM-1, VCAM-1, and MMP9. Results Treatment-naïve individuals were 34.8 years old, mostly males (95%), and with high smoking prevalence (70%). Baseline T CD4+ was 512±324 cells/mcL. cfPWV was similar between HIV(-) and treatment-naïve (6.8 vs 7.3 m/s; p = 0.16) but significantly decreased after ART (-0.52 m/s; 95% CI -0.87 to -0.16; p0.006). Almost all the determined cytokines were significantly higher compared to controls, except for MCP-1, myoglobin, NGAL, cystatin C, and MMP-9. At follow-up, only total cholesterol and triglycerides increased and all inflammatory cytokines significantly decreased. Regarding vascular cytokines, MPO, ICAM-1, and VCAM-1 showed a reduction. D-Dimer tended to decrease (p = 0.06) and hs-CRP did not show a significant reduction (p = 0.17). Conclusion One year of ART had a positive effect on reducing inflammatory and vascular cytokines and arterial stiffness.