Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A meta-synthesis on parenting a child with autism

Background The lifelong nature of autism in a child has deep implications on parents as they are faced with a range of challenges and emotional consequences in raising the child. The aim of this meta-synthesis was to explore the perspectives of parents in raising a child with autism in the childhood period to gain an insight of the adaptations and beliefs of parents toward autism, their family and social experiences, as well as their perceptions toward health and educational services. Methods A systematic search of six databases (PubMed, EMBASE, PsychInfo, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects [DARE]) was conducted from inception up to September 30, 2014. Full-text English articles of qualitative studies describing parents’ perceptions relating to the care of children younger than 12 years of age and diagnosed with a sole disorder of autism were included. Results A total of 50 eligible articles were appraised and analyzed, identifying four core themes encompassing all thoughts, emotions, and experiences commonly expressed by parents: 1) The Parent, 2) Impact on the Family, 3) Social Impact, and 4) Health and Educational Services. Findings revealed that parents who have a child with autism experienced multiple challenges in different aspects of care, impacting on parents’ stress and adaptation. Conclusion Health care provision should be family centered, addressing and supporting the needs of the whole family and not just the affected child, to ensure the family’s well-being and quality of life in the face of a diagnosis of autism.
Japanese Spotted Fever, South Korea

We describe the first case of Japanese spotted fever and the first isolate of spotted fever group rickettsia from a patient in South Korea. The isolated rickettsia from the patient was identified as Rickettsia japonica by analysis of the nucleotide sequences of 16S rRNA, gltA, ompA, ompB, and sca4 genes.
Sphingosine‐1‐phosphate induces COX‐2 expression via PI3K/Akt and p42/p44 MAPK pathways in rat vascular smooth muscle cells

Sphingosine 1‐phosphate (S1P) has been shown to regulate smooth muscle cell proliferation, migration, and vascular maturation. S1P increases the expression of several proteins including COX‐2 in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) and contributes to arteriosclerosis. However, the mechanisms regulating COX‐2 expression by S1P in VSMCs remain unclear. Western blotting and RT‐PCR analyses showed that S1P induced the expression of COX‐2 mRNA and protein in a time‐ and concentration‐dependent manner, which was attenuated by inhibitors of MEK1/2 (U0126) and PI3K (wortmannin), and transfection with dominant negative mutants of p42/p44 mitogen‐activated protein kinases (ERK2) or Akt. These results suggested that both p42/p44 MAPK and PI3K/Akt pathways participated in COX‐2 expression induced by S1P in VSMCs. In accordance with these findings, S1P stimulated phosphorylation of p42/p44 MAPK and Akt, which was attenuated by U0126, LY294002, or wortmannin, respectively. Furthermore, this up‐regulation of COX‐2 mRNA and protein was blocked by a selective NF‐κB inhibitor helenalin. Consistently, S1P‐stimulated translocation of NF‐κB into the nucleus was revealed by immnofluorescence staining. Moreover, S1P‐stimulated activation of NF‐κB promoter activity was blocked by phosphatidylinositol 3‐kinase (PI3K) inhibitor LY294002 and helenalin, but not by U0126, suggesting that involvement of PI3K/Akt in the activation of NF‐κB. COX‐2 promoter assay showed that S1P induced COX‐2 promoter activity mediated through p42/p44 MAPK, PI3K/Akt, and NF‐κB. These results suggested that in VSMCs, activation of p42/p44 MAPK, Akt and NF‐κB pathways was essential for S1P‐induced COX‐2 gene expression. Understanding the mechanisms involved in S1P‐induced COX‐2 expression on VSMCs may provide potential therapeutic targets in the treatment of arteriosclerosis. J. Cell. Physiol. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A controlled study of the reliability of pure tone audiometry for the detection of gentamicin auditory toxicity

Abstract Hearing changes in patients treated with gentamicin have been prospectively investigated. A group of patients who had a similar spectrum of clinical conditions but did not receive gentamicin have been studied as a control group. The audiometric technique was first validated by recording audiograms from health volunteers, once in an anechoic chamber and twice in a ward. It was concluded that changes in threshold <20 db. should not be regarded as significant when measured in a ward. In the gentamicin-treated group an initial audiogram was not a reliable measure of the patient's normal hearing because of the influence of their clinical condition. Twenty-one of the control patients were elective admissions to hospital and had their hearing first tested when they were clinically well. There was a 24 per cent incidence of unexplained hearing abnormalities—similar to the incidence of hearing loss in the gentamicin-treated group at follow-up. It was concluded that aminoglycoside auditory toxicity should not be assessed retrospectively. The incidence of hearing changes in the control and gentamicin-treated groups were similar. Possible causes of hearing loss in surgical patients are discussed and recommendations are made for the conduct of future studies of drug-induced auditory toxicity.
Distributed under Creative Commons Cc-by 4.0 Accelerometer-measured Physical Activity Is Not Associated with Two-year Weight Change in African-origin Adults from Five Diverse Populations

Background. Increasing population-levels of physical activity (PA) is a controversial strategy for managing the obesity epidemic, given the conflicting evidence for weight loss from PA alone per se. We measured PA and weight change in a three-year prospective cohort study in young adults from five countries (Ghana, South Africa, Jamaica, Seychelles and USA). Methods. A total of 1,944 men and women had baseline data, and at least 1 follow-up examination including measures of anthropometry (weight/BMI), and objective PA (accelerometer, 7-day) following the three-year study period. PA was explored as 1-minute bouts of moderate and vigorous PA (MVPA) as well as daily sedentary time. Prevalence of normal weight ranged from 85% in Ghanaian men to 29% in USA men and 52% in Ghanaian women to 15% in USA women. Over the two-year follow-up period, USA men and Jamaican women experienced the smallest yearly weight change rate (0.1 ± 3.3 kg/yr; −0.03 ± 3.0 kg/yr, respectively), compared to South African men and Ghanaian women greatest yearly change (0.6.0 ± 3.0 kg/yr; 1.22 ± 2.6 kg/yr, respectively). Mean yearly weight gain tended to be larger among normal weight participants at baseline than overweight/obese at baseline. Neither baseline MVPA nor sedentary time were associated with weight gain. Using multiple linear regression, only baseline weight, age and gender were significantly associated with weight gain.
A Tree Matching Approach for the Temporal Registration of Retinal Images

The temporal registration of retinal images provides an important groundwork for doctors to monitor the progression of diseases. Retinal image registration is challenging because the intensity of the retina and the vascular structure can vary greatly over time. In this paper, we describe a tree matching approach to register retinal images. We model each vessel in a retinal image as a tree, called vessel feature tree (VFT). We design a matching function to compute the similarity of a pair of vessels based on their VFTs. We develop a global alignment algorithm to compute the best match between the vessels in two images. Experiment results on 300 pairs of real-world retina images indicate that the proposed approach is able to achieve an accuracy of 93%
Mechanisms of Action and Clinical Application of Macrolides as Immunomodulatory Medications

SUMMARY Macrolides have diverse biological activities and an ability to modulate inflammation and immunity in eukaryotes without affecting homeostatic immunity. These properties have led to their long-term use in treating neutrophil-dominated inflammation in diffuse panbronchiolitis, bronchiectasis, rhinosinusitis, and cystic fibrosis. These immunomodulatory activities appear to be polymodal, but evidence suggests that many of these effects are due to inhibition of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) phosphorylation and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) activation. Macrolides accumulate within cells, suggesting that they may associate with receptors or carriers responsible for the regulation of cell cycle and immunity. A concern is that long-term use of macrolides increases the emergence of antimicrobial resistance. Nonantimicrobial macrolides are now in development as potential immunomodulatory therapies.
Perioperative management of the morbidly obese adolescent with heart failure undergoing bariatric surgery

The incidence and prevalence of adolescent obesity and adolescent heart failure are increasing, and anesthesiologists increasingly will encounter patients with both conditions. A greater understanding of the physiologic challenges of adolescent heart failure as they relate to the perioperative stressors of anesthesia and bariatric surgery is necessary to successfully manage the perioperative risks faced by this growing subpopulation. Here, we present a representative case of a morbidly obese adolescent with heart failure who underwent a laparoscopic bariatric operation and review the limited available literature on perioperative management in this age group. Specifically, we review evidence and offer recommendations related to preoperative evaluation, venous thromboembolism prophylaxis, positioning, induction, airway management, monitoring, anesthetic maintenance, ventilator management, and adverse effects of the pneumoperitoneum, rhabdomyolysis, and postoperative care.
Design and Control of a Power Assist System for Lifting Objects Based on Human Operator's Weight Perception and Load Force Characteristics

This paper deals with the design and control of a power assist system for lifting objects. It was hypothesized that an operator's perception of weight due to inertial force might be different from the perceived weight due to gravitational force. The system was simulated for different sizes of objects. Results show that an increase in mechanical time constant reduces perceived heaviness and load forces. The results also show the technique for simultaneous optimization of motion and perceived heaviness. Psychophysical studies show that the power assist system reduces the weights of the lifted objects to 40%, 30%, and 25% of the actual weights for unimanual, bimanual, and cooperative lifting tasks, respectively. The studies also show that operators apply 6.30, 6.22, and 6.14 times larger than the actually required load forces for the unimanual, bimanual, and cooperative lifting tasks, respectively. Therefore, a novel control strategy was proposed that reduced the excessive load forces and thus enhanced maneuverability, safety, naturalness, etc., of the system. The feasibility of zero gravity and zero inertia was studied. The operator's load force characteristics in some worst cases were studied. The effects of friction between an object and the operator's hand on weight perception and load forces were also studied. Power-assisted manipulation of objects in harmonic motion was also considered. Finally, it was proposed to use the findings to design power assist systems for lifting heavy objects in industries such as manufacturing, logistics, transport, construction, military and rescue operations, mining, etc., that would enhance interactions with human users.
Mechanism of Immune Dysfunction in Cancer Mediated by Immature Gr-1+ Myeloid Cells1

The mechanism of tumor-associated T cell dysfunction remains an unresolved problem of tumor immunology. Development of T cell defects in tumor-bearing hosts are often associated with increased production of immature myeloid cells. In tumor-bearing mice, these immature myeloid cells are represented by a population of Gr-1+ cells. In this study we investigated an effect of these cells on T cell function. Gr-1+ cells were isolated from MethA sarcoma or C3 tumor-bearing mice using cell sorting. These Gr-1+ cells expressed myeloid cell marker CD11b and MHC class I molecules, but they lacked expression of MHC class II molecules. Tumor-induced Gr-1+ cells did not affect T cell responses to Con A and to a peptide presented by MHC class II. In sharp contrast, Gr-1+ cells completely blocked T cell response to a peptide presented by MHC class I in vitro and in vivo. Block of the specific MHC class I molecules on the surface of Gr-1+ cells completely abrogated the observed effects of these cells. Thus, immature myeloid cells specifically inhibited CD8-mediated Ag-specific T cell response, but not CD4-mediated T cell response. Differentiation of Gr-1+ cells in the presence of growth factors and all-trans retinoic acid completely eliminated inhibitory potential of these cells. This may suggest a new approach to cancer treatment.
The development of real-time PCR micro device with optical sensor for early detection of cancer

We can detect cancer in the early stages by validating the expression of cancer specific nucleic acids in the blood. In this report, we have developed the micro device for performing real-time polymerase chain reaction (real-time PCR), one of the methods used for determining the quantity of nucleic acids, using a small volume of reagent. This all-in-one device can perform real-time PCR with the inclusion of heating control and the analyzing system with optical sensor.
Environmental Heterogeneity and Biological Pattern in a Chaotic Predator – prey System

This work investigates predator–prey interactions and diffusion in a heterogeneous environment. It has been previously shown that weak diffusion along an environmental gradient can drive an otherwise periodic predator–prey model into quasiperiodicity and chaos. The model is a reaction-diffusion equation with a Type II functional response of the predator and a logistic growth of the prey. The intrinsic growth rate of the prey varies linearly in space. We compare the spatial patterns of the populations to the underlying gradient. The spatial patterns of the predator and prey can differ strongly from the underlying environmental gradient. As diffusion becomes weaker, and the system moves from limit cycles through quasiperiodicity to chaos, this difference is magnified and the population patterns display smaller spatial scales. 7 1997 Academic Press Limited
A modular power electronics protoboard for didactic applications

Over ten years ago, the first laboratory course on Power Electronics was introduced in the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). The course was conceived in conjunction with the development of a small, but consistent set of modules, which have been designed with the aim of making it easier to implement many different converter functions. After a decade of successful use, this conception has been proving so far to be very effective and versatile, that it motivated the effort for updating and improving the initial testbed. Undergraduate and graduated students have developed a variety of experiments using these modules. The whole material has evolved to a tool for interdisciplinary work on many subjects, such as: power electronics, electrical motor drives and digital control. An overview of ways to use this teaching tool is presented in this paper, along with a discussion about perspectives for the next years.
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation as a Novel Method for Enhancing Aphasia Treatment Effects

Abstract. Neuromodulation is an exciting area of development. Currently, there is significant interest in academia, industry, and clinical practice where an effective and acceptable transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) kit for use in clinical rehabilitation would offer much benefit to patients’ treatment. In this review, I discuss the latest group studies investigating current tDCS methods for enhancing aphasia treatment effects in post-stroke (sub-acute and chronic) and primary progressive aphasia (PPA) patient populations. This field is still new, and many more investigations with larger samples of patients are needed. Nevertheless, in the studies completed to date, on-line tDCS paired with language rehabilitation was feasible, safe, well tolerated, and sham controlled. Results on the effectiveness of tDCS at boosting recovery outcomes are preliminary but promising with a number of themes emerging. I highlight some of these themes and future directions toward identifying those patients who are.
Facial feature detection and tracking with automatic template selection

We describe an accurate and robust method of locating facial features. The method utilises a set of feature templates in conjunction with a shape constrained search technique. The current feature templates are correlated with the target image to generate a set of response surfaces. The parameters of a statistical shape model are optimised to maximise the sum of responses. Given the new feature locations the feature templates are updated using a nearest neighbour approach to select likely feature templates from the training set. We find that this template selection tracker (TST) method outperforms previous approaches using fixed template feature detectors. It gives results similar to the more complex active appearance model (AAM) algorithm on two publicly available static image sets and outperforms the AAM on a more challenging set of in-car face sequences
Chronic type B hepatitis and the “healthy” Hbsag carrier state

Liver Diseases Section, Digestive Diseases Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892; the Marion Bessin Liver Research Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York 10461; and the Stratton Laboratory for the Study of Liver Diseases, Mount Sinai School of Medicine of the City University of New York, New York, New York 10029
Optimal bounds for parity-oblivious random access codes

Random access coding is an information task that has been extensively studied and found many applications in quantum information. In this scenario, Alice receives an n-bit string x, and wishes to encode x into a quantum state ρ x , such that Bob, when receiving the state ρ x , can choose any bit i ∈ [ n ] and recover the input bit xi with high probability. Here we study two variants: parity-oblivious random access codes (RACs), where we impose the cryptographic property that Bob cannot infer any information about the parity of any subset of bits of the input apart from the single bits xi; and even-parity-oblivious RACs, where Bob cannot infer any information about the parity of any even-size subset of bits of the input. In this paper, we provide the optimal bounds for parity-oblivious quantum RACs and show that they are asymptotically better than the optimal classical ones. Our results provide a large non-contextuality inequality violation and resolve the main open problem in a work of Spekkens et al (2009 Phys. Rev. Lett.102 010401). Second, we provide the optimal bounds for even-parity-oblivious RACs by proving their equivalence to a non-local game and by providing tight bounds for the success probability of the non-local game via semidefinite programming. In the case of even-parity-oblivious RACs, the cryptographic property holds also in the device independent model.
Does cognitive behavioural therapy have a role in improving problem solving and coping in adolescents with suicidal ideation?

Abstract Problem-solving and coping skills deficits have been shown in adolescents who experience suicide-related behaviours, including suicidal ideation. Little evidence exists about effective interventions for this population. We undertook a pilot study of an Internet-based CBT programme that included problem-solving skills training to investigate its impact on skills deficits. The study employed a pre-test/post-test design. Outcomes of interest were negative problem orientation, emotion- and task-focused coping, and adolescents’ perception of helpfulness of the intervention. Participants, recruited via the school wellbeing team, were assessed at baseline, at weekly intervention sessions and immediately post-intervention. Twenty-one adolescents completed the intervention. Over the course of the intervention, negative problem-solving orientation improved and students relied less on emotion-focused coping strategies. Because there was no control group, we cannot be certain that the changes seen between baseline and post-intervention can be attributed to the intervention. Adolescents rated the problem-solving and cognitive restructuring modules as particularly helpful. Interventions that include enhancement of problem-solving skills, as well as cognitive restructuring to address adolescents’ appraisal of problems and their ability to solve them appear promising for adolescents with suicidal ideation. Further investigation is warranted.
Effect of electrical stimulation current frequencies on isometric knee extension torque.

The purpose of this study was to compare the isometric knee extension torques of male and female subjects during maximal voluntary contractions (MVCs), electrical stimulation only, and electrical stimulation superimposed onto MVCs at electrical stimulation current frequencies of 20, 50, and 100 Hz. An asymmetrical, bidirectional, nonionizing waveform of 1-msec pulse duration was delivered through the femoral nerve and the superficial quadriceps femoris muscles at maximally tolerated intensity for each subject. The male subjects (n = 20) demonstrated significantly greater absolute torques under all contraction conditions than did the female subjects (n = 20) (p less than .01); when the torques were expressed as a percentage of each subject's MVC torque, however, no significant differences were observed between the sexes. Overall, the superimposed contractions at 50 and 100 Hz and the MVCs had similar torque values, all being significantly greater than the torque values produced by electrical stimulation only at frequencies of 20, 50, and 100 Hz and by the superimposed contractions at 20 Hz. Superimposing electrical stimulation onto MVCs did not result in greater torques than those produced by the MVCs alone. The three most effective contraction conditions, in terms of subject comfort (minimal discomfort) and increased torque, were the superimposed contractions at 50 and 100 Hz and MVCs alone, all of which involved a voluntary component.
Sparse Kernel Logistic Regression for Phoneme Classification

Logistic Regression is a well known classification method in the field of statistical learning. Recently, a kernelised version of logistic regression has become very popular, that allows nonlinear probabilistic classification and shows promising results on several benchmarks. In this paper we show that kernel logistic regression (KLOGREG) and especially its sparse extensions are useful alternatives to standard Gaussian mixture models or Support Vector Machines (SVM) in the classification of speech samples. Results on three small speech recognition datasets are given and compared to SVMs and Gaussian mixture models. While the classification results of the KLOGREG are similar to the results of SVMs, we show that the sparse KLOGREG versions produce highly sparse models. Unlike SVMs the KLOGREG can naturally be generalised to multi-class problems and provides an estimate of the conditional probability of class membership. So it is possible to quantify confidence levels for class assignments and to use KLOGREG in continuous speech recognition.