Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Keeping up with the evidence base: Survey of behavior professionals about Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions

Professionals who primarily deliver services to children on the autism spectrum employ a range of techniques and supports that are colloquially known as applied behavior analysis therapy. The landscape of evidence supporting interventions for children on the autism spectrum has vastly transformed in the last decade. A substantial, relatively high-quality literature base supports the effectiveness of Naturalistic Developmental Behavior Interventions for supporting development in children on the autism spectrum, yet few professionals serving this population receive training in this category of interventions. Board Certified Behavior Analysts and related professionals are the primary service providers for this population. The purpose of this survey study is to describe and understand the knowledge and beliefs that Behavior Analyst Certification Board certificants have around Naturalistic Developmental Behavior Interventions, and the implications for training the professionals most likely to serve young children on the autism spectrum. A total of 901 respondents completed the survey. Respondents indicated, on average, little to no knowledge of Naturalistic Developmental Behavior Intervention practices and that few believe these practices to be effective or appropriate for the field. We discuss the implications and needs for future training and research in this area. Lay abstract Primary service providers for young children on the autism spectrum and developmentally delayed children use many strategies under the umbrella of applied behavior analysis therapy. The evidence supporting interventions for children on the autism spectrum has changed last decade, and powerful research supports the relative effectiveness of Naturalistic Developmental Behavior Interventions, yet a few professionals serving young children on the autism spectrum receive training in this category of interventions. Board Certified Behavior Analysts and related professionals are the primary service providers for this population. The purpose of this survey study is to describe and understand the knowledge and beliefs that Behavior Analyst Certification Board certificants have around Naturalistic Developmental Behavior Interventions. The survey was completed by 901 respondents. Respondents indicated, on average, little to no knowledge of Naturalistic Developmental Behavior Intervention practices and few believe that these practices are effective or appropriate for the field. Recommendations include increasing training opportunities for related professionals, and changing certification requirements to match the current evidence.
Longer or shorter spines: Reciprocal trait evolution in stickleback via triallelic regulatory changes in Stanniocalcin2a

Significance Across a broad range of species, evolution has modified a common vertebrate body plan to produce endless forms most beautiful. A key unanswered question is whether diverse morphological changes in a common structure arise from modifying different genes or the same genes in different ways. Many natural populations of threespine stickleback have evolved either longer or shorter dorsal and pelvic spines. Here, we identify reciprocal regulatory changes in an ancient enhancer of the bone growth inhibitor, Stanniocalcin2a, as an underlying genetic cause. Many other stickleback loci similarly show three or more major classes of variants across populations; we suggest that diverse alleles at key loci may represent a common mechanism for producing diverse phenotypes from a smaller toolkit of genes. Vertebrates have repeatedly modified skeletal structures to adapt to their environments. The threespine stickleback is an excellent system for studying skeletal modifications, as different wild populations have either increased or decreased the lengths of their prominent dorsal and pelvic spines in different freshwater environments. Here we identify a regulatory locus that has a major morphological effect on the length of stickleback dorsal and pelvic spines, which we term Maser (major spine enhancer). Maser maps in a closely linked supergene complex that controls multiple armor, feeding, and behavioral traits on chromosome IV. Natural alleles in Maser are differentiated between marine and freshwater sticklebacks; however, alleles found among freshwater populations are also differentiated, with distinct alleles found in short- and long-spined freshwater populations. The distinct freshwater alleles either increase or decrease expression of the bone growth inhibitor gene Stanniocalcin2a in developing spines, providing a simple genetic mechanism for either increasing or decreasing spine lengths in natural populations. Genomic surveys suggest many recurrently differentiated loci in sticklebacks are similarly specialized into three or more distinct alleles, providing multiple ancient standing variants in particular genes that may contribute to a range of phenotypes in different environments.
Amorphous Si/SiO2 distributed Bragg reflectors with transfer printed single-crystalline Si nanomembranes

A distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) consisting of a single-crystal Si nanomembrane (NM) layer formed by the transfer printing technique on top of an evaporated amorphous Si (a-Si)/SiO2 DBR structure was demonstrated. The reflectivity of different DBR structures/pairs is measured and verified it by the simulation. An improved surface roughness of the top layer by employing a Si NM suggests that the smoother single crystalline surface not only minimizes light scattering loss but also can be an epitaxial template layer for subsequent Si growth without contributing any strain. The results indicate a simple pathway toward achieving high performance Si/SiO2 DBRs employing Si NM as a top layer. This method could also lead to the fabrication of large-area, high performance NM based DBRs at low cost with high throughput.
Kinetics and Properties of Asphaltene Adsorption on Surfaces

A quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) was used to probe asphaltene adsorption on gold surfaces and hydrophilic and hydrophobic silica particles. The adsorption studies were conducted with solutions of various ratios of pentane solvent to model oil (S/O) and asphaltene concentrations. The adsorption of asphaltenes on solid surfaces at different S/O showed multilayer deposition without reaching equilibrium after 16 h. Adsorption of asphaltenes and other components on the surfaces were detectable well below the onset of precipitation. The amount of material adsorbed increased significantly after the onset of precipitation. Adsorption was more pronounced on the gold surface than on the silica particles. The swelling of the asphaltene aggregates on the surface of the quartz crystal led to restructuring of the adsorbed material on the surfaces, depending on the S/O. For S/O > 0, the swelling effect suggested open nanoaggregate or polymer brush structure. The adsorbed asphaltenes demonstrated more viscoelastic beh.
An astonishing wealth of new proteasome homologs

Abstract Motivation The proteasome is the main proteolytic machine for targeted protein degradation in archaea and eukaryotes. While some bacteria also possess the proteasome, most of them contain a simpler and more specialized homolog, the heat shock locus V protease. In recent years, three further homologs of the proteasome core subunits have been characterized in prokaryotes: Anbu, BPH and connectase. With the inclusion of these members, the family of proteasome-like proteins now exhibits a range of architectural and functional forms, from the canonical proteasome, a barrel-shaped protease without pronounced intrinsic substrate specificity, to the monomeric connectase, a highly specific protein ligase. Results We employed systematic sequence searches to show that we have only seen the tip of the iceberg so far and that beyond the hitherto known proteasome homologs lies a wealth of distantly related, uncharacterized homologs. We describe a total of 22 novel proteasome homologs in bacteria and archaea. Using sequence and structure analysis, we analyze their evolutionary history and assess structural differences that may modulate their function. With this initial description, we aim to stimulate the experimental investigation of these novel proteasome-like family members. Availability and implementation The protein sequences in this study are searchable in the MPI Bioinformatics Toolkit (https://toolkit.tuebingen.mpg.de) with ProtBLAST/PSI-BLAST and with HHpred (database ‘proteasome_homologs’). The following data are available at https://data.mendeley. com/datasets/t48yhff7hs/3: (i) sequence alignments for each proteasome-like homolog, (ii) the coordinates for their structural models and (iii) a cluster-map file, which can be navigated interactively in CLANS and gives direct access to all the sequences in this study. Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Badis kaladanensis, a new fish species (Teleostei: Badidae) from Mizoram, northeast India

Badis kaladanensis, a new percoid fish is described from the Kaladan basin of Mizoram, northeast India. It belongs to the Badis badis species group but can be easily distinguished from its congeners, except from B. kanabos and B. tuivaiei, in having a dark blotch on the dorsal fin between the base of 3rd to 5th spines. It is further distinguished from B. kanabos in having more scales in lateral row (27–30 vs. 25–26), more circumpeduncular scale rows (18–20 vs. 16–17) and smaller eye (7.5–8.9% SL vs. 9.5–12.7); and from B. tuivaiei in having fewer vertebrae (28–29 vs. 30–31) and more rakers on the first gill arch (9 vs. 6–8). The analysis of the mitochondrial DNA (coi and cytb) revealed the distinctness of B. kaladanensis from all other Badis species with the interspecific distance ranges from 5.4–20.4%. (coi) and 5.1–26.3% (cytb).
Validation of the Simplified Palliative Prognostic Index to Predict Survival for Advanced Cancer Patients in Home Hospice Setting

Background The simplified Palliative Prognostic Index (sPPI) substitutes a single item from the Communication Capacity Scale (CCS) for the delirium item of the original PPI. This study aimed to examine the validity of the sPPI for patients with advanced cancer in a home-based hospice care setting. Methods This study included 75 patients with advanced cancer who received home-based hospice care. We used medical records maintained by professional hospice nurses who had visited the patients in their homes. Based on their sPPI score, patients were divided into three groups—A (<4), B (≥4 and <6), and C (≥6)—to compare survival. Further, we investigated the sPPI’s accuracy using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and sensitivity and specificity for 3- and 6-week survival. We used three sPPIs including different substitutions for the delirium item (two methods using the CCS and one using the Korean Nursing Delirium Screening Scale). Results The median survival was 60–61 days for group A, 27–30 days for group B, and 12–16 days for group C. The difference in survival was significant (P<0.05). The AUC was 0.814–0.867 for 3-week survival and 0.736–0.779 for 6-week survival. For 3- and 6-week survival, prognostic prediction showed sensitivities of 76.2%–90.9% and 76.3%–86.8%, and specificities of 64.2%–88.7% and 51.4%–70.3%, respectively. Conclusion The sPPI, which is measured by professional hospice nurses, has acceptable validity to predict survival for patients with advanced cancer in a home hospice setting in South Korea.
RGCC balances self‐renewal and neuronal differentiation of neural stem cells in the developing mammalian neocortex

During neocortical development, neural stem cells (NSCs) divide symmetrically to self‐renew at the early stage and then divide asymmetrically to generate post‐mitotic neurons. The molecular mechanisms regulating the balance between NSC self‐renewal and neurogenesis are not fully understood. Using mouse in utero electroporation (IUE) technique and in vitro human NSC differentiation models including cerebral organoids (hCOs), we show here that regulator of cell cycle (RGCC) modulates NSC self‐renewal and neuronal differentiation by affecting cell cycle regulation and spindle orientation. RGCC deficiency hampers normal cell cycle process and dysregulates the mitotic spindle, thus driving more cells to divide asymmetrically. These modulations diminish the NSC population and cause NSC pre‐differentiation that eventually leads to brain developmental malformation in hCOs. We further show that RGCC might regulate NSC spindle orientation by affecting the organization of centrosome and microtubules. Our results demonstrate that RGCC is essential to maintain the NSC pool during cortical development and suggest that RGCC defects could have etiological roles in human brain malformations.
Glucocorticoid maturation of mitochondrial respiratory capacity in skeletal muscle before birth

In adults, glucocorticoids act to match the supply and demand for energy during physiological challenges, partly through actions on tissue mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) capacity. However, little is known about the role of the natural prepartum rise in fetal glucocorticoid concentrations in preparing tissues for the increased postnatal energy demands. This study examined the effect of manipulating cortisol concentrations in fetal sheep during late gestation on mitochondrial OXPHOS capacity of two skeletal muscles with different postnatal locomotive functions. Mitochondrial content, biogenesis markers, respiratory rates and expression of proteins and genes involved in the electron transfer system (ETS) and OXPHOS efficiency were measured in the biceps femoris (BF) and superficial digital flexor (SDF) of fetuses either infused with cortisol before the prepartum rise or adrenalectomised to prevent this increment. Cortisol infusion increased mitochondrial content, biogenesis markers, substrate-specific respiration rates and abundance of ETS complex I and adenine nucleotide translocator (ANT1) in a muscle-specific manner that was more pronounced in the SDF than BF. Adrenalectomy reduced mitochondrial content and expression of PGC1α and ANT1 in both muscles, and ETS complex IV abundance in the SDF near term. Uncoupling protein gene expression was unaffected by cortisol manipulations in both muscles. Gene expression of the myosin heavy chain isoform, MHCIIx, was increased by cortisol infusion and reduced by adrenalectomy in the BF alone. These findings show that cortisol has a muscle-specific role in prepartum maturation of mitochondrial OXPHOS capacity with important implications for the health of neonates born pre-term or after intrauterine glucocorticoid overexposure.
Effects of obesity on pulmonary function considering the transition from obstructive to restrictive pattern from childhood to young adulthood

Adults with obesity exhibit a restrictive pattern, whereas children with obesity exhibit an obstructive pattern. However, the transition process remains unclear. We performed a systematic search for studies reporting on body mass index and pulmonary function in children. The main outcomes were forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC), and their ratio (FEV1/FVC). We compared individuals with overweight or with obesity with individuals with normal weight. Random‐effects models were used to calculate pooled estimates. A total of 17 studies were included. Individuals with obesity had a lower FEV1/FVC ratio (mean difference [MD] = −3.61%; 95% confidence interval [CI] = −4.58%, −2.64%) and a higher percent‐predicted FVC (MD = 3.33%; 95% CI = 0.79%, 5.88%) than those with normal weight. Obesity impaired pulmonary function in the obstructive pattern during childhood to young adulthood, and the maximum obstruction was observed at the age of 16 years in boys and 20 years in girls. The effects attenuated at approximately 30 years and then shifted to the restrictive pattern after 35 years of age in men and 40 years in women. The effects of obesity on pulmonary function change from the obstructive pattern in childhood to the restrictive pattern in adulthood.
Grain Boundary Energy and Grain Size Dependences of Thermal Conductivity of Polycrystalline Graphene

We investigate with molecular dynamics simulations the dependences of thermal conductivity (κ) of polycrystalline graphene on grain boundary (GB) energy and grain size. Hexagonal grains and grains with random shapes and sizes are explored, and their thermal properties and phonon densities of states are characterized. It is found that κ decreases exponentially with increasing GB energy, and decreasing grain size reduces κ. GB-induced phonon softening and scattering, as well as reduction in the number of heat conducting phonons, contribute to the decrease in thermal conductivity.
Genome-Wide SNPs Clarify a Complex Radiation and Support Recognition of an Additional Cat Species

Abstract Phylogenetic reconstruction and species delimitation are often challenging in the case of recent evolutionary radiations, especially when postspeciation gene flow is present. Leopardus is a Neotropical cat genus that has a long history of recalcitrant taxonomic problems, along with both ancient and current episodes of interspecies admixture. Here, we employ genome-wide SNP data from all presently recognized Leopardus species, including several individuals from the tigrina complex (representing Leopardus guttulus and two distinct populations of Leopardus tigrinus), to investigate the evolutionary history of this genus. Our results reveal that the tigrina complex is paraphyletic, containing at least three distinct species. While one can be assigned to L. guttulus, the other two remain uncertain regarding their taxonomic assignment. Our findings indicate that the “tigrina” morphology may be plesiomorphic within this group, which has led to a longstanding taxonomic trend of lumping these poorly known felids into a single species.
Central role of c-Src in NOX5- mediated redox signalling in vascular smooth muscle cells in human hypertension

Abstract Aims NOX-derived reactive oxygen species (ROS) are mediators of signalling pathways implicated in vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) dysfunction in hypertension. Among the numerous redox-sensitive kinases important in VSMC regulation is c-Src. However, mechanisms linking NOX/ROS to c-Src are unclear, especially in the context of oxidative stress in hypertension. Here, we investigated the role of NOX-induced oxidative stress in VSMCs in human hypertension focusing on NOX5, and explored c-Src, as a putative intermediate connecting NOX5-ROS to downstream effector targets underlying VSMC dysfunction. Methods and results VSMC from arteries from normotensive (NT) and hypertensive (HT) subjects were studied. NOX1,2,4,5 expression, ROS generation, oxidation/phosphorylation of signalling molecules, and actin polymerization and migration were assessed in the absence and presence of NOX5 (melittin) and Src (PP2) inhibitors. NOX5 and p22phox-dependent NOXs (NOX1–4) were down-regulated using NOX5 siRNA and p22phox-siRNA approaches. As proof of concept in intact vessels, vascular function was assessed by myography in transgenic mice expressing human NOX5 in a VSMC-specific manner. In HT VSMCs, NOX5 was up-regulated, with associated oxidative stress, hyperoxidation (c-Src, peroxiredoxin, DJ-1), and hyperphosphorylation (c-Src, PKC, ERK1/2, MLC20) of signalling molecules. NOX5 siRNA reduced ROS generation in NT and HT subjects. NOX5 siRNA, but not p22phox-siRNA, blunted c-Src phosphorylation in HT VSMCs. NOX5 siRNA reduced phosphorylation of MLC20 and FAK in NT and HT. In p22phox- silenced HT VSMCs, Ang II-induced phosphorylation of MLC20 was increased, effects blocked by melittin and PP2. NOX5 and c-Src inhibition attenuated actin polymerization and migration in HT VSMCs. In NOX5 transgenic mice, vascular hypercontractilty was decreased by melittin and PP2. Conclusion We define NOX5/ROS/c-Src as a novel feedforward signalling network in human VSMCs. Amplification of this system in hypertension contributes to VSMC dysfunction. Dampening the NOX5/ROS/c-Src pathway may ameliorate hypertension-associated vascular injury.
Positive effects of roflumilast on behavior, neuroinflammation, and white matter injury in mice with global cerebral ischemia

Inhibition of phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) is a promising pharmacological strategy for the treatment of cerebral ischemic conditions. To increase the relevance and increase the translational value of preclinical studies, it is important to conduct experiments using different animal species and strains, different animal models, and to evaluate long-term functional outcomes after cerebral ischemia. In the present study, the effects of the selective PDE4 inhibitor roflumilast were evaluated in vivo and in vitro. Balb/c mice were subjected to bilateral common carotid artery occlusion (BCCAO) and tested during 21 days in multiple behavioral tasks to investigate the long-term effects of roflumilast on functional recovery. The effects of roflumilast were also investigated on hippocampal cell loss, white matter injury, and expression of neuroinflammatory markers. Roflumilast prevented cognitive and emotional deficits induced by BCCAO in mice. Roflumilast also prevented neurodegeneration and reduced the white matter damage in the brain of ischemic animals. Besides, roflumilast decreased Iba-1 (microglia marker) levels and increased Arginase-1 (Arg-1; microglia M2 phenotype marker) levels in the hippocampus of these mice. Likewise, roflumilast suppressed inducible nitric oxide synthase (microglia M1 phenotype marker) expression and increased Arg-1 levels in a primary mouse microglia culture. These findings support evidence that PDE4 inhibition by roflumilast might be beneficial in cerebral ischemic conditions. The neuroprotective effects of roflumilast appear to be mediated by a decrease in neuroinflammation.
Integrated microRNA and mRNA signatures associated with overall survival in epithelial ovarian cancer

Ovarian cancer (OC), the eighth-leading cause of cancer-related death among females worldwide, is mainly represented by epithelial OC (EOC) that can be further subdivided into four subtypes: serous (75%), endometrioid (10%), clear cell (10%), and mucinous (3%). Major reasons for high mortality are the poor biological understanding of the OC mechanisms and a lack of reliable markers defining each EOC subtype. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNA molecules that regulate gene expression primarily by targeting messenger RNA (mRNA) transcripts. Their aberrant expression patterns have been associated with cancer development, including OC. However, the role of miRNAs in tumorigenesis is still to be determined, mainly due to the lack of consensus regarding optimal methodologies for identification and validation of miRNAs and their targets. Several tools for computational target prediction exist, but false interpretations remain a problem. The experimental validation of every potential miRNA-mRNA pair is not feasible, as it is laborious and expensive. In this study, we analyzed the correlation between global miRNA and mRNA expression patterns derived from microarray profiling of 197 EOC patients to identify the signatures of miRNA-mRNA interactions associated with overall survival (OS). The aim was to investigate whether these miRNA-mRNA signatures might have a prognostic value for OS in different subtypes of EOC. The content of our cohort (162 serous carcinomas, 15 endometrioid carcinomas, 11 mucinous carcinomas, and 9 clear cell carcinomas) reflects a real-world scenario of EOC. Several interaction pairs between 6 miRNAs (hsa-miR-126-3p, hsa-miR-223-3p, hsa-miR-23a-5p, hsa-miR-27a-5p, hsa-miR-486-5p, and hsa-miR-506-3p) and 8 mRNAs (ATF3, CH25H, EMP1, HBB, HBEGF, NAMPT, POSTN, and PROCR) were identified and the findings appear to be well supported by the literature. This indicates that our study has a potential to reveal miRNA-mRNA signatures relevant for EOC. Thus, the evaluation on independent cohorts will further evaluate the performance of such findings.