Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Intervention for childhood apraxia of speech.

BACKGROUND The diagnostic criteria for Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS), and the underlying cause(s) for this disorder, remain heavily debated. Some agreement exists that children with CAS may have impairments in one or more of the following domains: non-speech oral motor function, motor speech function, speech sounds and structures (i.e., syllable and word shapes), prosody, language, phonemic awareness / metalinguistic skills, and literacy . Recently consensus has been reached that only three features across these domains have diagnostic validity: (1) inconsistent error production on both consonants and vowels across repeated productions of syllables or words, (2) lengthened and impaired coarticulatory transitions between sounds and syllables, and (3) inappropriate prosody (ASHA 2007). Perhaps due to the ongoing deliberation over aetiology and diagnosis, little evidence on intervention for CAS is published. OBJECTIVES To assess the efficacy of intervention delivered by Speech and Language Pathologists(s)/Speech and Language Therapists targeting CAS in children and adolescents. SEARCH STRATEGY The following databases were searched: CENTRAL (Issue 4, 2006), MEDLINE (1966 to 01/2007), CINAHL (1982 to 12/2006), EMBASE (1980 to 01/2007), ERIC (1965 to 01/2007), Linguistics Abstracts Online (1985 to 01/2007), PsycINFO (1872 to 01/2007). Reference lists of articles thus identified were examined. SELECTION CRITERIA The review considered randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-randomised studies of children aged 3 to 16 years with CAS, grouped by treatment types (e.g., perceptual and instrumentally-based biofeedback treatment techniques). DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS Two authors independently assessed titles and abstracts identified from the searches and obtained full text versions of all potentially relevant articles. Articles were assessed for design and risk of bias. In addition to outcome data, a range of variables about participant group and outcomes were documented. MAIN RESULTS Of 825 titles and abstracts searched, only 31 abstracts appeared to meet inclusion criteria. The remaining 794 papers were excluded predominantly on the basis of not including participants with CAS (e.g., focused on other developmental speech disorders or adult acquired apraxia of speech), or for not being intervention studies (i.e. being diagnostic or descriptive). All 31 full text articles obtained were excluded following evaluation as they did not meet inclusion criteria on design. Thus no studies are included in this review. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS The review demonstrates a critical lack of well controlled treatment studies addressing treatment efficacy for CAS, making it impossible for conclusions to be drawn about which interventions are most effective for treating CAS in children or adolescents.
The robustness of perception

The natural environment around us, which is often crowded, cluttered or even foggy, is subject to a dynamically changing composition of objects and events. The human brain is continuously perceiving, recognizing and evaluating this dynamic scene composition. If the perception of degraded visual objects is important, e.g. in the case of potential threat stimuli, the brain needs to be more sensitive in detecting these objects from the natural environment. It is therefore hypothesized that reacting to the dynamically changing environment involves a robust and quick processing of salient information, which can be either with or without conscious awareness. We investigated the dynamics and robustness of perception using pictures of three salience levels, i.e. fearful faces (most salient), neutral faces (salient) and houses (nonsalient), which appear from dynamically decreasing random visual noise. Stimuli were matched for luminance, contrast, brightness and spatial frequency information. Reaction times show a significantly earlier response for faces than for houses. Fearful faces were significantly more quickly detected than neutral faces. The neural correlates sustaining robust perception were investigated with event‐related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The amygdala showed a significant perception‐related response for faces, as compared to houses, that was further enhanced for fearful faces as compared to neutral faces. Our data indicate that emotionally salient information processing is (i) mediated by the amygdala and (ii) more robust than for nonsalient stimuli as it shows a significantly lower perceptual threshold.
Madmen and specialists: The clientele and the staff of the Lunatic Asylum, Bangalore

The history of the asylum has proven to be an invaluable resource for exploring the interface between science, medicine, religion and social and political processes. The definitions of insanity have troubled humans for centuries, as have the methods for treatment. Diverse, and often conflicting, ideological positions are quite common. Documenting the specific histories of the staff and patients of an asylum can thus help us understand the evolution of the physical and the intellectual growth of psychiatry in India. In this endeavour, we have used the records of the Lunatic Asylum, Bangalore (later the All India Institute of Mental Health and subsequently the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences [NIMHANS]) to explore the history of psychiatry in India. The only asylum maintained by a ‘Native Kingdom’, it exemplifies the dynamics of the growth of mental health services in the country. We trace the changes in administrative control of the Asylum, the changes in medical practice and some aspects of the social history of the region. This article traces the history of psychiatry at one institution, which, at the micro level, is a mirror to the understanding of the historical trends of psychiatric services in India.
Cryo-EM of a Marseilleviridae virus particle reveals a large internal microassembly

Nucleocytoplasmic large DNA viruses (NCLDVs) blur the line between viruses and cells. Melbournevirus (MelV, fam. Marseilleviridae) belongs to a new family of NCLDVs. Here we present an electron cryo-microscopy structure of the MelV particle, with the largest known triangulation number (T=309) for a virus. The 230-nm particle is constructed by 3080 pseudo-hexagonal capsomers and encloses a membrane bilayer. Its most distinct feature is a large dense body (LDB) consistently found in all particles. Electron cryo-tomography of 147 particles showed that the LDB is located preferentially in proximity to the bilayer. The LDB is 30 nm in size and its density matches that of a genome/protein complex. More than 58 proteins are associated with the purified particle, including histone-like proteins, putative membrane proteins and capsid proteins. The observed intricate structural organization reinforces the genetic complexity of MelV, setting it apart from other viruses, and suggests an evolutionary link with cellular organisms.
Differential scan-path: A novel solution for secure design-for-testability

In this paper, we present a new scan-path structure for improving the security of systems including scan paths, which normally introduce a security critical information leak channel into a design. Our structure, named differential scan path (DiSP), divides the internal state of the scan path in two sections. During the shift-out operation, only subtraction of the two sections is provided. Inferring the internal state from this subtraction requires much guesswork that increases exponentially with scan path length while the resulting fault coverage is only marginally altered. Subtraction does not preserve parity, thus avoiding attacks using parity information. The structure is simple, needs little area and does not require unlocking keys. Through implementing the DiSP in an elliptic curve crypto-graphic coprocessor, we demonstrate how easily it can be integrated into existing design tools. Simulations show that test effectiveness is preserved and that the internal state is effectively hidden.
RABBIT: An Intelligent Database Assistant

We have designed and implemented an intelligent database assistant to aid the user in formulating a query. The system, named RABBIT, relies upon a new paradigm for retrieval, retrieval by reformulation, based on a psychological theory of human remembering. To make a query, the user interactively constructs a description of his target item(s) by criticizing successive example (and counterexample) instances. One of the key innovations in RABBIT is that instances from the database are presented to the user from a well-defined perspective inferred from the user's query description and the structure of the knowledge base. Among other things, this constructed perspective prevents the user from creating semantically improper query descriptions. RABBIT particularily facilitates users who approach a database with only a vague idea of what it is that they want and who thus, need to be guided in the (re)formulation of their queries. RABBIT is also of substantial value to casual users who have limited knowledge of a given database or who must deal with a multitude of databases.
An interscale multivariate statistical model for MAP multicomponent image denoising in the wavelet transform domain

The paper presents the design of a multivariate statistical approach for multicomponent image denoising in the wavelet transform domain. We extend an approach that we have recently proposed, where the wavelet coefficients of all the image channels at the same spatial position, in a given orientation and at the same resolution level, are grouped into a vector, and a multivariate Bernoulli-Gaussian distribution is used as a prior model. The paper develops low-complexity maximum a posteriori rules that exploit jointly the intra- and interscale redundancies between the wavelet coefficients. Experimental results carried out on remote sensing multispectral images show that the proposed procedure improves the state-of-the-art wavelet-based denoising methods.
Developmental pathways to antisocial behavior: The delayed-onset pathway in girls

Recent research has suggested that there are two distinct trajectories for the development of antisocial behavior in boys: a childhood-onset pathway and an adolescent-onset pathway. After reviewing the limited available research on antisocial girls, we propose that this influential method of conceptualizing the development of severe antisocial behavior may not apply to girls without some important modifications. Antisocial girls appear to show many of the correlates that have been associated with the childhood-onset pathway in boys, and they tend to show impaired adult adjustment, which is also similar to boys in the childhood-onset pathway. However, antisocial girls typically show an adolescent-onset to their antisocial behavior. We have proposed that these girls show a third developmental pathway which we have labeled the “delayed-onset” pathway. This model rests on the assumption that many of the putative pathogenic mechanisms that contribute to the development of antisocial behavior in girls, such as cognitive and neuropsychological deficits, a dysfunctional family environment, and/or the presence of a callous and unemotional interpersonal style, may be present in childhood, but they do not lead to severe and overt antisocial behavior until adolescence. Therefore, we propose that the delayed-onset pathway for girls is analogous to the childhood-onset pathway in boys and that there is no analogous pathway in girls to the adolescent-onset pathway in boys. Although this model clearly needs to be tested in future research, it highlights the need to test the applicability of current theoretical models for explaining the development of antisocial behavior in girls.
CO2 laser emission modes to control enamel erosion

Considering the importance and prevalence of dental erosion, the aim of this in vitro study was to evaluate the influence of different modes of pulse emission of CO2 laser associated or not to acidulated phosphate fluoride (APF) 1.23% gel, in controlling enamel erosion by profilometry. Ninety‐six fragments of bovine enamel were flattened and polished, and the specimens were subjected to initial erosive challenge with hydrochloric acid (pH = 2). Specimens were randomly assigned according to surface treatment: APF 1.23% gel and gel without fluoride (control), and subdivided according to the modes of pulse CO2 laser irradiation: no irradiation (control), continuous, ultrapulse, and repeated pulse (n = 12). After surface treatment, further erosive challenges were performed for 5 days, 4 × 2 min/day. Enamel structure loss was quantitatively determined by a profilometer, after surface treatment and after 5 days of erosive challenges. Two‐away ANOVA revealed a significant difference between the pulse emission mode of the CO2 laser and the presence of fluoride (P ≤ 0.05). The Duncan's test showed that CO2 laser irradiation in continuous mode and the specimens only received fluoride, promoted lower enamel loss than that other treatments. A lower dissolution of the enamel prisms was observed when it was irradiated with CO2 laser in continuous mode compared other groups. It can be concluded that CO2 laser irradiation in continuous mode was the most effective to control the enamel structure loss submitted to erosive challenges with hydrochloric acid. Microsc. Res. Tech. 78:654–659, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Comparison of conventional approaches and soft-computing approaches for software quality prediction

Managing software development and maintenance projects requires early knowledge about quality and effort needed for achieving a necessary quality level. Quality prediction models can identify outlying software components that might cause potential quality problems. Quality prediction is based on experience with similar predecessor projects constructing a relationship between the output-usually the number of errors-and some kind of input-here we use complexity metrics-to the quality of a software development project. Two approaches are presented to build quality prediction models: multilinear discriminant analysis as one example for conventional approaches and fuzzy expert-systems generated by genetic algorithms. Using the capability of genetic algorithms, the fuzzy rules can be automatically generated from example data to reduce the cost and improve the accuracy. The generated quality model-with respect to changes-provides both quality of fit (according to past data) and predictive accuracy (according to ongoing projects). The comparison of the approaches gives an answer on the effectiveness and the efficiency of a soft-computing approach.
Double snapback in SOI nMOSFETs and its application for SOI ESD protection

Double snapback in silicon-on-insulator (SOI) nMOSFETs is reported. An extensive experimental analysis of this phenomenon and a tentative model are presented. It is shown that this double-snapback phenomenon offers a basis for an electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection concept for SOI technologies. <<ETX>>
The CDKN 2 A-CDKN 2 B rs 4977756 polymorphism and glioma risk : a meta-analysis

The association between the rs4977756 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and glioma risk has been studied, but these studies have yielded conflicting results. In order to explore this association, we performed a metaanalysis. A comprehensive literature search was performed using PubMed and EMBASE database. Six articles including 12 case-control studies in English with 12022 controls and 6871 cases were eligible for the meta-analysis. Subgroup analyses were conducted by ethnicity and source of controls. Our meta-analysis found that rs4977756 polymorphism was associated with glioma risks in homozygote, heterozygote, dominant, recessive and additive genetic models (GG versus AA: OR=1.55, 95% CI=1.42-1.69, Ph=0.996, I 2=0.0%; AG versus AA: OR=1.20, 95% CI=1.12-1.28, Ph=0.934, I 2=0.0%; recessive model: OR=1.39, 95% CI=1.28-1.50, Ph=0.995, I 2=0.0%; dominant model: OR=1.29, 95% CI=1.21-1.37, Ph=0.923, I 2=0.0%; additive model: OR=1.24, 95% CI=1.19-1.30, Ph=0.966, I2=0.0%). Moreover, our results suggested that CDKN2A-CDKN2B rs4977756 polymorphism was associated with a notable increased risk of glioma in Europeans. However, in Asians, we could not come to a conclusion because of lack of studies. Sensitivity analysis showed the omission of any study made no significant difference. No evidence of publication bias was produced. Our meta-analysis suggested that rs4977756 polymorphism was associated with increased risk of glioma. Moreover, additional studies should be further investigated to draw a more accurate conclusion.
Sliding mode regulator as solution to optimal control problem

This paper presents the optimal control problem for a linear system with respect to a Bolza-Meyer criterion with a non-quadratic non-integral term. The optimal solution is obtained as a sliding mode control, whereas the conventional linear feedback control fails to provide a causal solution. Performance of the obtained optimal controller is verified in the illustrative example against the conventional LQ regulator that is optimal for the quadratic Bolza-Meyer criterion. The simulation results confirm an advantage in favor of the designed sliding mode control.
Enantioselective separation of the sunscreen agent 3‐(4‐methylbenzylidene)‐camphor by electrokinetic chromatography: Quantitative analysis in cosmetic formulations

3‐(4‐Methylbenzylidene)‐camphor (MBC) is a chiral sunscreen agent used in cosmetic products. In this work, the enantioseparation of MBC has been performed by EKC and applied to the analysis of the MBC enantiomers in cosmetic creams. Different experimental conditions (type and concentration of the chiral selector, temperature, and sample solvent) have been optimized. Due to the neutral nature of this compound, anionic CD derivatives were investigated as chiral selectors. Carboxymethylated‐β‐CD (CM‐β‐CD) showed the highest chiral separation power, observing that a 15 mM concentration of this CD at a working temperature of 15°C enabled to obtain the highest enantioresolution. However, under these conditions, tailing of peaks obtained for the enantiomers was observed. The addition of increasing concentrations of the neutral α‐CD to CM‐β‐CD at a 15 mM concentration in a 100 mM borate buffer at pH 9.0 improved the enantiomeric separation and decreased peak tailing. The use of DMF for the total dissolution of the cosmetic creams, and methanol:water (1:1 v/v) for appropriate dilution enabled to observe good shape and size for the peaks of the MBC enantiomers. After optimizing a method for the preconditioning of the capillary, the analytical characteristics of the chiral separation method for the analysis of MBC were investigated. Linearity, LODs and LOQs, precision (instrumental repeatability, method repeatability, intermediate precision), accuracy, and selectivity were evaluated. The method was applied to analyze MBC enantiomers contained in two commercial cosmetic creams containing racemic MBC and to study the skin absorption of this compound with time.
Weight loss in prepubertal obese children is associated with a decrease in adipocyte fatty-acid-binding protein without changes in lipocalin-2: a 2-year longitudinal study.

CONTEXT Lipocalin-2 and adipocyte fatty-acid-binding protein (A-FABP or FABP4) are adipokines potentially involved in the pathophysiology of obesity and metabolic syndrome in adults. In children, they have been scarcely studied. OBJECTIVE To analyze lipocalin-2 and A-FABP circulating levels before and after 2 years of a dieting and lifestyle intervention in a prepubertal obese cohort. DESIGN AND SETTING Case-control study with a prospective follow-up of cases for 2 years in our referral pediatric endocrine outpatient center. PATIENTS AND METHODS Seventy-three prepubertal obese children, 8.03 ± 1.08-years old, and 47 age- and gender-matched lean controls were studied. Anthropometric parameters, blood pressure, fasting oral glucose tolerance test, homeostatic model insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR), lipid profile, lipocalin-2, and A-FABP were evaluated. Weight loss was considered if z-score body mass index (BMI) decreased at least 0.5 s.d. RESULTS At baseline, lipocalin-2 and A-FABP were higher in prepubertal obese children than those in lean controls (P<0.001). A-FABP showed a gradual increase, according to the obesity degree (r(2)=0.632; P<0.001). After 2 years, obese patients who lost weight showed a decrease in A-FABP (a mean 2% reduction in BMI was associated with a mean 29% decrease in A-FABP (P<0.001)) without changes in lipocalin-2 levels. Regression model analysis adjusted by age, sex, BMI, and HOMA showed that A-FABP was lower in males (β=-5.77 (CI 95%: -9.7; -1.84)) and was modified by BMI (β=2.7 (CI 95%: 1.77-3.62), r(2)=0.659). Lipocalin-2 was not modified by any of these variables. CONCLUSIONS Prepubertal obese children show high plasma lipocalin-2 and A-FABP levels, but only A-FABP is influenced by weight loss.
Reliability of Venous Diameter in the Diagnosis of Subclinical Varicocele

Objective: The diameters of the veins in the pampiniform plexus have been used to diagnose subclinical varicocele. But there are many cutoff points and some controversies about the diagnosis. These cause difficulty in the evaluation of the results of epidemiological and clinical studies. Our aim is to establish the reliability of vein diameters in the pampiniform plexus in the diagnosis of subclinical varicocele. Methods: Physical examination, scrotal gray scale ultrasonography (SU) and color Doppler ultrasonography (CDU) were performed to assess varicocele in 100 infertile patients without clinical varicocele (group I), 100 infertile patients with clinical left varicocele (group II), and 50 fertile men without clinical varicocele (group III) as a control group. The diameter of the veins in the pampiniform plexus was measured with SU. According to various cutoff points of venous diameter and CDU criteria, the diagnosis of varicocele was made. The highest mean venous diameters were calculated with and without varicocele in men whose diagnoses had been made with CDU. The results were correlated with each other and the control group. Results: According to venous diameter cutoff points, the varicocele ratio did not correlate with the CDU results (p < 0.05) except for the left side of patients with clinical left-sided varicocele. The highest mean diameters of the veins in group III (control group) did not show a significant difference to the other groups (p > 0.05) except for the left side of group II patients. We did not find an exact relation between the highest venous diameter in the men who have and those who do not have subclinical varicocele with CDU. The highest mean diameter was 2.17 ± 0.34 (SD) mm for men who have subclinical varicocele and 2.00 ± 0.31 mm for men who do not have subclinical varicocele by CDU (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Our results indicate that venous diameters should not be used as diagnostic criteria for subclinical varicocele. Only the evaluation of venous diameter in varicocele should be used to document and quantify pathology, but it should not be used to establish the diagnosis.
Aberrant expression of miR‐218 and miR‐204 in human mesial temporal lobe epilepsy and hippocampal sclerosis—Convergence on axonal guidance

Mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) is one of the most common types of the intractable epilepsies and is most often associated with hippocampal sclerosis (HS), which is characterized by pronounced loss of hippocampal pyramidal neurons. microRNAs (miRNAs) have been shown to be dysregulated in epilepsy and neurodegenerative diseases, and we hypothesized that miRNAs could be involved in the pathogenesis of MTLE and HS.