Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Parent-Completed Developmental Screening in Premature Children: A Valid Tool for Follow-Up Programs

Our goals were to (1) validate the parental Ages and Stages Questionnaires (ASQ) as a screening tool for psychomotor development among a cohort of ex-premature infants reaching 2 years, and (2) analyse the influence of parental socio-economic status and maternal education on the efficacy of the questionnaire. A regional population of 703 very preterm infants (<35 weeks gestational age) born between 2003 and 2006 were evaluated at 2 years by their parents who completed the ASQ, by a pediatric clinical examination, and by the revised Brunet Lezine psychometric test with establishment of a DQ score. Detailed information regarding parental socio-economic status was available for 419 infants. At 2 years corrected age, 630 infants (89.6%) had an optimal neuromotor examination. Overall ASQ scores for predicting a DQ score ≤85 produced an area under the receiver operator curve value of 0.85 (95% Confidence Interval:0.82–0.87). An ASQ cut-off score of ≤220 had optimal discriminatory power for identifying a DQ score ≤85 with a sensitivity of 0.85 (95%CI:0.75–0.91), a specificity of 0.72 (95%CI:0.69–0.75), a positive likelihood ratio of 3, and a negative likelihood ratio of 0.21. The median value for ASQ was not significantly associated with socio-economic level or maternal education. ASQ is an easy and reliable tool regardless of the socio-economic status of the family to predict normal neurologic outcome in ex-premature infants at 2 years of age. ASQ may be beneficial with a low-cost impact to some follow-up programs, and helps to establish a genuine sense of parental involvement.
Multiwavelength characterization of faint ultra steep spectrum radio sources: A search for high-redshift radio galaxies

Context. Ultra steep spectrum (USS) radio sources are one of the efficient tracers of powerful high-z radio galaxies (HzRGs). In contrast to searches for powerful HzRGs from radio surveys of moderate depths, fainter USS samples derived from deeper radio surveys can be useful in finding HzRGs at even higher redshifts and in unveiling a population of obscured weaker radio-loud AGN at moderate redshifts. Aims. Using our 325 MHz GMRT observations (5σ ∼ 800 μJy) and 1.4 GHz VLA observations (5σ ∼ 80−100 μJy) available in two subfields (VLA-VIMOS VLT Deep Survey (VLA-VVDS) and Subaru X-ray Deep Field (SXDF)) of the XMM-LSS field, we derive a large sample of 160 faint USS radio sources and characterize their nature. Methods. The optical and IR counterparts of our USS sample sources are searched using existing deep surveys, at respective wavelengths. We attempt to unveil the nature of our faint USS sources using diagnostic techniques based on mid-IR colors, flux ratios of radio to mid-IR, and radio luminosities. Results. Redshift estimates are available for 86/116 (∼74%) USS sources in the VLA-VVDS field and for 39/44 (∼87%) USS sources in the SXDF fields with median values (zmedian) ∼1.18 and ∼1.57, respectively, which are higher than estimates for non-USS radio sources (zmedian non−USS ∼ 0.99 and ∼0.96), in the two subfields. The MIR color–color diagnostic and radio luminosities are consistent with most of our USS sample sources at higher redshifts (z > 0.5) being AGN. The flux ratio of radio to mid-IR (S 1.4 GHz/S 3.6 μm) versus redshift diagnostic plot suggests that more than half of our USS sample sources distributed over z ∼ 0.5 to 3.8 are likely to be hosted in obscured environments. A significant fraction (∼26% in the VLA-VVDS and ∼13% in the SXDF) of our USS sources without redshift estimates mostly remain unidentified in the existing optical, IR surveys, and exhibit high radio to mid-IR flux ratio limits similar to HzRGs, and so, can be considered as potential HzRG candidates. Conclusions. Our study shows that the criterion of ultra steep spectral index remains a reasonably efficient method to select high-z sources even at sub-mJy flux densities. In addition to powerful HzRG candidates, our faint USS sample also contains populations of weaker radio-loud AGNs potentially hosted in obscured environments.
Alignable and nonalignable differences in causal explanations

are corresponding characteristicsof a pair, and nonalignable differences, which are characteristics of one item for which there are no corresponding characteristics in the other. In three experiments, the hypothesis that people’s evaluations of causal explanations vary as a function of feature alignment was examined. The resultssuggestthat people will rateexplanations differentlyon the basis of alignable or nonalignable differences, depending on the type of the event, and that alignability depends on the relational structure among the features of the event. factorial design, with relational structure version (repair, insurance) as a between-subjects factor and explanation type (role alignable, form alignable, mismatch) as a within-subjects factor. The household scenario offered one addi- tional explanation, so it involved a 2 3 4 mixed factorial design, with relational structure version (happiness, health) as a between- subjects factor and explanation type (role alignable, form alignable, mismatch, match) as a within-subjects factor.
A “Bat” Is Easier to Learn than a “Tab”: Effects of Relative Phonotactic Frequency on Infant Word Learning

Many studies have shown that during the first year of life infants start learning the prosodic, phonetic and phonotactic properties of their native language. In parallel, infants start associating sound sequences with semantic representations. However, the question of how these two processes interact remains largely unknown. The current study explores whether (and when) the relative phonotactic probability of a sound sequence in the native language has an impact on infants’ word learning. We exploit the fact that Labial-Coronal (LC) words are more frequent than Coronal-Labial (CL) words in French, and that French-learning infants prefer LC over CL sequences at 10 months of age, to explore the possibility that LC structures might be learned more easily and thus at an earlier age than CL structures. Eye movements of French-learning 14- and 16-month-olds were recorded while they watched animated cartoons in a word learning task. The experiment involved four trials testing LC sequences and four trials testing CL sequences. Our data reveal that 16-month-olds were able to learn the LC and CL words, while14-month-olds were only able to learn the LC words, which are the words with the more frequent phonotactic pattern. The present results provide evidence that infants’ knowledge of their native language phonotactic patterns influences their word learning: Words with a frequent phonotactic structure could be acquired at an earlier age than those with a lower probability. Developmental changes are discussed and integrated with previous findings.
Swedish Export Price Determination: Pricing to Market Shares?

The Swedish export price determination for automobiles and kraft paper to three destination countries, over the period 1980-1994, is investigated. Formal tests on an error correction model indicate results consistent with price discrimination in Swedish exports of both goods. The exporters use their market power for pricing to market, which is characterized by the concern for foreign conditions, and implies an incomplete exchange rate pass-through. However, the pricing behaviour does not seem to be determined by the development of market shares, in any cases except one. The total pass-through to the local currency price within a year, that is the effect of an exchange rate change working through all variables and all interactions in the price determination, span between -16 % and +109 %.
Determination of the Most Toxic Polychlorodibenzofurans in Fresh Milk from Southwest Iran

Background: Today’s presence of polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) in foodstuff, such as milk and milk products, is considered to be the major concern for human health. This study was aimed to determine the concentrations of the most toxic congeners of furans in pasteurized milk samples produced in southwest Iran. Material and method: 15 composite samples of pasteurized milk were collected from 3 major dairy factories in Khuzestan Province (southwest of Iran) in summer, autumn and winter from July 2011 to March 2012. After precipitation of the proteins, fat phase was reduced and extracted with hexane and ether. After dehydration, furans existed in fat percolated with hexane through a column chromatography that contained respectively silica gel/silver nitrate, silica gel, silica gel/sulphuric acid and with percolating output through another column that contained activated charcoal and silica gel and washed the lower column with a mixture of dichloromethane-hexane and toluene, concentrated and dissolved in mobile phase and analyzed using HPLC: 150 mm × 4.6 mm ID, 5 μm cosmosil 5 NPE column equipped with a UV detector at 254 and 235 nm, mobile phase: methanol/water (80:20, v/v) at flow rate of 1 ml/min. Results: All samples were found to be contaminated with furans. The average concentration of 2,3,7,8 TCDF and 2,3,4,7,8 PCDF were 1.91 pg/g and 1.77 pg/g in lipid content ranging from 2% to 3% respectively. The mean total content of furans in milk fat was 0.36 TEQ (Toxic Equivalency) pg/g which was below the recommended EU (European Union) threshold value 3 pg (WHO-PCDFs-TEQ/g fat). Also, result showed that there were statistically significant differences between each factory during 3 seasons.
The flux ratio of the [O iii] λλ5007, 4959 lines in AGN: comparison with theoretical calculations

By taking into account the relativistic corrections to the magnetic dipole operator, the theoretical [O iii] 5006.843/4958.911 line intensity ratio of 2.98 is obtained. In order to check this new value using the active galactic nuclei (AGN) spectra, we present the measurements of the flux ratio of the [O iii]λλ4959, 5007 emission lines for a sample of 62 AGN, obtained from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) data base and the published observations. We select only the high signal-to-noise ratio spectra for which the line shapes of the [O iii]λλ4959,5007 lines are the same. We obtained an averaged flux ratio of 2.993 ± 0.014, which is in a good agreement with the theoretical one.
Relatedness is a poor predictor of negative plant–soil feedbacks

Understanding the mechanisms underlying negative plant–soil feedbacks remains a critical challenge in plant ecology. If closely related species are more similar, then phylogeny could be used as a predictor for plant species interactions, simplifying our understanding of how plant–soil feedbacks structure plant communities, underlie invasive species dynamics, or reduce agricultural productivity. Here, we test the utility of phylogeny for predicting plant–soil feedbacks by undertaking a hierarchical Bayesian meta-analysis on all available pairwise plant–soil feedback experiments conducted over the last two decades, including 133 plant species in 329 pairwise interactions. We found that the sign and magnitude of plant–soil feedback effects were not explained by the phylogenetic distance separating interacting species. This result was consistent across different life forms, life cycles, provenances, and phylogenetic scales. Our analysis shows that, contrary to widespread assumption, relatedness is a poor predictor of plant–soil feedback effects.
Efficient parallel algorithms on optically interconnected arrays of processors

Arrays of processors with pipelined optical buses are introduced for the efficient implementation of computationally intensive applications. Techniques for the concurrent transmission of messages over the optical bus to avoid collision of messages is shown. Convenient parallel data movement operations are derived for this architecture, which are then used in the design of parallel algorithms for the solution of some important numerical problems. The parallel algorithms implemented in the paper are for solving systems of linear equations and finding the roots of nonlinear equations. Even though this array of processors can function in the MIMD mode of operation, it is more suitable for the SIMD mode of operation, because it can be easily synchronised and scaled to a massive number of processors. Hence, the above parallel algorithms have been designed with the SIMD mode in mind. Their time complexities have been analysed, and are shown to compare favourably with those implemented on processors connected with electronic buses or point to point links such as the hypercube. Moreover, whereas a processing element of a hypercube of size N has log N ports, a processing element of an array with optical buses has a constant number of ports. Thus, it seems that an array of processors with optical buses is a promising, and could be a better, alternative for future supercomputing systems.
A secret sharing based privacy enforcement mechanism for untrusted social networking operators

Social networking sites (SNSs) have attracted millions of users. Through these sites, the users share their information (text messages, photos, and videos, etc) with their friends. By doing this, the privacy of users is often at stake. Although they provide some privacy settings to help in restricting access to a limited number of friends, they do not protect against the untrustworthiness of the social networking operator (SNO). Recently there has been some attempts to address this issue [1], [11]; these advocate for encrypting the users' data to ensure their privacy. However, these methods have their limitations. In [1], the security of the users' data is dependent on the non-disclosure of the encryption key; the scheme proposed in [11] is computationally expensive. In this paper, we propose a secret-sharing based key-management scheme for encrypting the users' data in order to preserve user's privacy. The proposed method offers unconditional security against the disclosure of the encryption key (to preserve privacy), and it is also computationally faster. The security of the method is analyzed against possible attacks, and the computational efficiency of the method is demonstrated using quantitative results.
Presenilin Promotes Dietary Copper Uptake

Dietary copper is essential for multicellular organisms. Copper is redox active and required as a cofactor for enzymes such as the antioxidant Superoxide Dismutase 1 (SOD1). Copper dyshomeostasis has been implicated in Alzheimer’s disease. Mutations in the presenilin genes encoding PS1 and PS2 are major causes of early-onset familial Alzheimer’s disease. PS1 and PS2 are required for efficient copper uptake in mammalian systems. Here we demonstrate a conserved role for presenilin in dietary copper uptake in the fly Drosophila melanogaster. Ubiquitous RNA interference-mediated knockdown of the single Drosophila presenilin (PSN) gene is lethal. However, PSN knockdown in the midgut produces viable flies. These flies have reduced copper levels and are more tolerant to excess dietary copper. Expression of a copper-responsive EYFP construct was also lower in the midgut of these larvae, indicative of reduced dietary copper uptake. SOD activity was reduced by midgut PSN knockdown, and these flies were sensitive to the superoxide-inducing chemical paraquat. These data support presenilin being needed for dietary copper uptake in the gut and so impacting on SOD activity and tolerance to oxidative stress. These results are consistent with previous studies of mammalian presenilins, supporting a conserved role for these proteins in mediating copper uptake.
What's new in academic medicine? Things we wish were taught during our medical training

For the April 2019 issue, the Editorial Board decided to focus on perceived gaps within both undergraduate (UME) and graduate medical education (GME) curricula. Consequently, we present our readers with some unique perspectives, assembled into a collection of experience‐based “pearls” or testimonials by faculty with at least 10 years in active clinical practice from across a highly diverse group of academic institutions. Our overarching goal is to help identify opportunities that will make our UME and GME systems stronger and help better prepare our medical students, residents, and fellows for effectively managing both the cognitive/physical rigors of modern clinical practice and enhanced proficiency across other important domains of one’s daily functioning. The topics discussed by our team are complex, as reflected in the word cloud provided in Figure 1. We hope you enjoy the read and find some of the shared experiences helpful.
A Survey Proposal towards Holistic Management of Schizophrenia

1 Abstract— Holistic management of schizophrenia involves mainstream pharmacological intervention, complimentary medicine intervention, therapeutic intervention and other psychosocial factors such as accommodation, education, job training, employment, relationship, friendship, exercise, overall well-being, smoking, substance abuse, suicide prevention, stigmatisation, recreation, entertainment, violent behaviour, arrangement of public trusteeship and guardianship, day-day-living skill, integration with community, and management of overweight due to medications and other health complications related to medications amongst others. Our review shows that there is no integrated survey by combining all these factors. An international web-based survey was conducted to evaluate the significance of all these factors and present them in a unified manner. It is believed this investigation will contribute positively towards holistic management of schizophrenia. There will be two surveys. In the pharmacological intervention survey, five popular drugs for schizophrenia will be chosen and their efficacy as well as harmful side effects will be evaluated on a scale of 0 -10. This survey will be done by psychiatrists. In the second survey, each element of therapeutic intervention and psychosocial factors will be evaluated according to their significance on a scale of 0 - 10. This survey will be done by care givers, psychologists, case managers and case workers. For the first survey, professional bodies of psychiatrists in English speaking countries will be contacted to request them to ask their members to participate in the survey. For the second survey, professional bodies of clinical psychologist and care givers in English speaking countries will be contacted to request them to ask their members to participate in the survey. Additionally, for both the surveys, relevant professionals will be contacted through personal contact networks. For both the surveys, mean, mode, median, standard deviation and net promoter score will be calculated for each factor and then presented in a statistically significant manner. Subsequently each factor will be ranked according to their statistical significance. Additionally, country specific variation will be highlighted to identify the variation pattern. The results of these surveys will identify the relative significance of each type of pharmacological intervention, each type of therapeutic intervention and each type of psychosocial factor. The determination of this relative importance will definitely contribute to the improvement in quality of life for individuals with schizophrenia.
Symbolic Performance Modeling of Parallel Systems

Performance prediction is an important engineering tool that provides valuable feedback on design choices in program synthesis and machine architecture development. We present an analytic performance modeling approach aimed to minimize prediction cost, while providing a prediction accuracy that is sufficient to enable major code and data mapping decisions. Our approach is based on a performance simulation language called PAMELA. Apart from simulation, PAMELA features a symbolic analysis technique that enables PAMELA models to be compiled into symbolic performance models that trade prediction accuracy for the lowest possible solution cost. We demonstrate our approach through a large number of theoretical and practical modeling case studies, including six parallel programs and two distributed-memory machines. The average prediction error of our approach is less than 10 percent, while the average worst-case error is limited to 50 percent. It is shown that this accuracy is sufficient to correctly select the best coding or partitioning strategy. For programs expressed in a high-level, structured programming model, such as data-parallel programs, symbolic performance modeling can be entirely automated. We report on experiments with a PAMELA model generator built within a dataparallel compiler for distributed-memory machines. Our results show that with negligible program annotation, symbolic performance models are automatically compiled in seconds, while their solution cost is in the order of milliseconds.
Adaptive multidimensional coded modulation over flat fading channels

We introduce a general adaptive coding scheme for Nakagami multipath fading channels. An instance of the coding scheme utilizes a set of 2L-dimensional (2L-D) trellis codes originally designed for additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channels. Any set of 2L-D trellis codes for AWGN channels can be used, Sets for which all codes can be generated by the same encoder and decoded by the same decoder are of particular interest. A feedback channel between the transmitter and receiver makes it possible to transmit at high spectral efficiencies under favorable channel conditions and respond to channel degradation through a smooth reduction of the spectral efficiency. We develop a general technique to determine the average spectral efficiency of the coding scheme for any set of 2L-D trellis codes. As an illustrative example, we calculate the average spectral efficiency of an adaptive codec utilizing eight 4-D trellis codes. The example codec is based on the International Telecommunications Union's ITU-T V.34 modem standard.
Farm-Households and Social Relationships: Modelling Issues, and Analysis of Results from a Survey in Sierra Leone

Farm-household relations represent a central question as related to data collection / processing to provide information on rural development and agricultural-based households income. This issue implies both theoretical and empirical (modelling) facets. In the framework of the SEAMLESS Integrated Project (EU Framework Programme 6), the Farm System Simulator (FSSIM) model was developed. Based on FSSIM a household module is built to take into account farminghousehold inter-linkages, particularly inflows of extra-farming income by household members, as well as use of (household) family labour, and households (self) consumption of farming outputs. The improvements being developed in the model will allow including issues peculiar of inter-tropical farming systems (FSSIM Africa – provisional title of the new model). Concerning methodological improvements, the last advancements in (Positive) Mathematical Programming as an approach useful to model ex-ante farm-household behaviour under relevant policy scenarios are addressed. The paper includes results of a farm-household survey of Sierra Leone. Results focus on farm-household relations, addressing data collection / processing issues as related to farm-household and village connections.