Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Community participation interventions for children and adolescents with a neurodevelopmental intellectual disability: a systematic review

Abstract Purpose: The purpose of this review was to examine the effectiveness of community integration interventions in facilitating the community participation, self-esteem, and quality of life of children and adolescent’s with a neurodevelopmental intellectual disability. Methods: Electronic searches of five databases and manual searches of reference lists were conducted. Community integration interventions which targeted friendship development, recreation participation, quality of life, and self-esteem were included. Results: Thirteen studies were included in this review. A variety of study designs and interventions were used. All but one study reported significantly increased friendships, five studies reported increased recreation participation and one study reported increased quality of life and self-esteem. Methodological quality of the studies ranged from adequate to strong. Conclusions: Community integration interventions appear to be effective in enhancing the inclusion of children and adolescents with a neurodevelopmental intellectual disability. In particular, findings from this review highlight that there are potentially many ways to continue to improve the effectiveness of community participation interventions for this group. These include the need for the development of programmes which facilitate friendships alongside recreational participation, include typically developing peers, consider the activity preferences of children and adolescents in developing programmes, and accommodate individual impairments and needs through grading and adaptive leisure activities. Future interventions should use the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health as a measurement framework and consider the role of factors such as impairment, personal and environmental factors in facilitating community participation. Implications for Rehabilitation Community participation interventions appear to be effective in enhancing the inclusion of children and adolescents with neurodevelopmental intellectual disability. Future community integration interventions should facilitate friendships alongside recreational participation, include typically developing peers, consider the activity preferences of children and adolescents in developing programme, and accommodate individual impairments and needs through grading and adaptive leisure activities. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health should be used as a measurement framework and consider the role of factors such as impairment, personal and environmental factors in facilitating community participation.
Model-Based Classification via Mixtures of Multivariate t-Factor Analyzers

A model-based classification technique is developed, based on mixtures of multivariate t-factor analyzers. Specifically, two related mixture models are developed and their classification efficacy studied. An AECM algorithm is used for parameter estimation, and convergence of these algorithms is determined using Aitken's acceleration. Two different techniques are proposed for model selection: the BIC and the ICL. Our classification technique is applied to data on red wine samples from Italy and to fatty acid measurements on Italian olive oils. These results are discussed and compared to more established classification techniques; under this comparison, our mixture models give excellent classification performance.
Color Doppler ultrasound-guided botulinum toxin type A injection combined with an ankle foot brace for treating lower limb spasticity after a stroke.

OBJECTIVE To explore the effectiveness of the color Doppler ultrasound-guided botulinum toxin type A (BTX-A) injection combined with an ankle foot brace (AFO) for treating lower limb spasticity after a stroke. PATIENTS AND METHODS A total of 103 post-stroke patients with lower limb spasticity were divided into three groups: the control group treated with conventional therapy and rehabilitation training, the observation group treated with conventional therapy, rehabilitation training and botulinum toxin type A injection, the treatment group treated with AFO plus the same treatment received by the observation group. The muscle spasms were evaluated using the Clinic Spasticity Influx (CSI), movement with the Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA), dynamic and static balance with the Berg Balance Scale (BBS), and daily life activities with the Functional Independence Measure (FIM), respectively. RESULTS Compared the first month after treatment with the prior treatment, there were significant differences in CSI, FMA and FIM scores in both control group and the observation group (p < 0.05). However, no differences were noticed in the control group (p > 0.05). Compared the third and sixth month after treatment with prior treatment, there were significant differences in these three groups (p < 0.05). In terms of treatment time, the BBS scores were always higher in all three groups after one month, three months and six months treatment than prior treatment (p < 0.05), and there were significant differences in third month and sixth month after treatment compared with the first month treatment (p < 0.05). Compared the third month after treatment with the sixth month, there were significant differences in all three groups (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS The color Doppler ultrasound-guided BTX-A injection combined with AFO can effectively promote patients with post-stroke lower limb spasticity in lower limb muscle spasm, movement, balance and daily life activities.
Effect of olive cake on daily gain, carcass characteristics and chemical composition of lamb meat

This experiment investigated the effect of olive cake in the feed of weaned Pramenka lambs on their daily gain, carcass traits and on the chemical composition of different groups of muscles. For that purpose, 45 male lambs were divided into three groups with 15 lambs each and fed separately for 50 days. The first group (control) was fed a commercial concentrate, while the second and third (test) groups were fed a concentrate with the addition of 15% and 30% olive cake, respectively. The results showed that the high level of olive cake inclu - sion (30%) decreased ( P < 0.01) daily gain, final weight, empty carcass weight and ( P < 0.05) dressing percentage of lambs. The olive cake resulted in a significantly higher ( P < 0.01) proportion of stomach and intestines in the carcass compared to the control. The content of fat, proteins and dry matter in all the analyzed groups of mus - cles was lowest in the carcasses of lambs fed olive cake. The results of this research suggest that the addition of 15% of olive cake to the concentrate had no significant negative effect on daily gain, carcass weight and dressing percentage of lambs.
Bayesian Regularized Committee of Extreme Learning Machine

Extreme Learning Machine (ELM) is an efficient learning algorithm for Single-Hidden Layer Feedforward Networks (SLFNs). Its main advantage is its computational speed due to a random initialization of the parameters of the hidden layer, and the subsequent use of Moore-Penrose’s generalized inverse in order to compute the weights of the output layer. The main inconvenient of this technique is that as some parameters are randomly assigned and remain unchanged during the training process, they can be non-optimum and the network performance may be degraded. This paper aims to reduce this problem using ELM committees. The way to combine them is to use a Bayesian linear regression due to its advantages over other approaches. Simulations on different data sets have demonstrated that this algorithm generally outperforms the original ELM algorithm.
Pulse Compression Ultrasonic Non Destructive Evaluation of Thick Polymer Samples

The use of ultrasonic signals at sub-MHz frequencies for Non Destructive Evaluation of thick polymer samples is described. It will be shown that the combination of low-frequency coded signals such as chirps, together with appropriate signal processing methods such as pulse compression, can provide a powerful tool for ultrasonic NDE. To achieve this goal, it is essential that the measurement system bandwidth is as wide as possible, and matched to the type of waveform chosen for the measurement. In this work, the required bandwidth is achieved by using piezo-composite probes and it will be demonstrated how the combination of pulse compression techniques and broadband probes can be used to inspect highly attenuating materials such as thick polymers. In particular, the application of pulse compression is shown to help in the NDE of flexible riser stiffeners, used extensively in the offshore oil and gas industries.
Selection and Effect of Ointment Bases for Preparing Collagenase Inhibitor Ointment Using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography and Franzcell Apparatus

After the dorsal subcutaneous administration of injectable collagen implant derived from bovine dermis (Zyderm; INAMED, Santa Barbara, CA) to mice, ointments that contain 3 types of collagenase inhibitors, Esculetin (6,7-dihydroxy-2H-chromen-2-one), ONO-4817 [(2S,4S)-N-hydroxy-5-ethoxymethyloxy-2-methyl-4-(4-phenoxybenzoyl) amino-pentanamide], and MMI270 (CGS27023A) {N-hydroxy-2(R)-[(4-methoxysulfonyl)-(3-picolyl)-amino]-3-methylbutanamide hydrochloride monohydrate} were applied daily on the dorsal region of mice (injection site), and intradermal Zyderm was extirpated after 30, 60, and 90 days to measure the level of hydroxyproline. Furthermore, dermal tissue was examined by Azan staining and immunostaining. A significant difference was observed in the level of hydroxyproline in the Esculetin and the ONO-4817 ointment groups compared with that in the control group after 30 days. A significant difference was also observed in the level of hydroxyproline in the Esculetin ointment group compared with that in the control group after 60 and 90 days. Histologically, 90 days after the application of the ointment, dense localization of type III collagen was observed around the injected Zyderm in the group applied Esculetin ointment compared with the control group. Therefore, it was indicated that Esculetin suppressed the degradation of collagen, and further facilitated the qualitative changes that increased neo-collagen, and that the collagen implant with hypodermic injection remained on behalf of ointments contained within the collagenase inhibitors that were applied on the skin surface.
Early Onset of Lipid Peroxidation After Human Traumatic Brain Injury

Background On the basis of the contradiction between data on experimental head trauma showing oxidative stress-mediated cerebral tissue damage and failure of the majority of clinical trials using free radical scavenger drugs, we monitored the time-course changes of malondialdehyde (MDA, an index of cell lipid peroxidation), ascorbate, and dephosphorylated ATP catabolites in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of traumatic brain-injured patients. Methods CSF samples were obtained from 20 consecutive patients suffering from severe brain injury. All patients were comatose, with a Glasgow Coma Scale on admission of 6±1. The first CSF sample for each patient was collected within a mean value of 2.95 hours from trauma (SD=1.98), after the insertion of a ventriculostomy catheter for the continuous monitoring of intracranial pressure. During the next 48 hours, CSF was withdrawn from each patient once every 6 hours. All samples were analyzed by an ion-pairing high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the simultaneous determination of MDA, ascorbic acid, hypoxanthine, xanthine, uric acid, inosine, and adenosine. Results In comparison with values recorded in 10 herniated-lumbar-disk, noncerebral control patients, data showed that all CSF samples of brain-injured patients had high values (0.226 μmol/L; SD=0.196) of MDA (undetectable in samples of control patients) and decreased ascorbate levels (96.25 μmol/L; SD=31.74), already at the time of first withdrawal at the time of hospital admission. MDA was almost constant in the next two withdrawals and tended to decrease thereafter, although 48 hours after hospital admission, a mean level of 0.072 μmol/L CSF (SD=0.026) was still recorded. The ascorbate level was normalized 42 hours after hospital admission. Changes in the CSF values of ATP degradation products (oxypurines and nucleosides) suggested a dramatic alteration of neuronal energy metabolism after traumatic brain injury. Conclusions On the whole, these data demonstrate the early onset of oxygen radical-mediated oxidative stress, proposing a valid explanation for the failure of clinical trials based on the administration of oxygen free radical scavenger drugs and suggesting a possible rationale for testing the efficacy of lipid peroxidation “chain breakers” in future clinical trials.
Ethylmalonyl-CoA Mutase from Rhodobacter sphaeroides Defines a New Subclade of Coenzyme B12-dependent Acyl-CoA Mutases*

Coenzyme B12-dependent mutases are radical enzymes that catalyze reversible carbon skeleton rearrangement reactions. Here we describe Rhodobacter sphaeroides ethylmalonyl-CoA mutase (Ecm), a novel member of the family of coenzyme B12-dependent acyl-CoA mutases, that operates in the recently discovered ethylmalonyl-CoA pathway for acetate assimilation. Ecm is involved in the central reaction sequence of this novel pathway and catalyzes the transformation of ethylmalonyl-CoA to methylsuccinyl-CoA in combination with a second enzyme that was further identified as promiscuous ethylmalonyl-CoA/methylmalonyl-CoA epimerase. In contrast to the epimerase, Ecm is highly specific for its substrate, ethylmalonyl-CoA, and accepts methylmalonyl-CoA only at 0.2% relative activity. Sequence analysis revealed that Ecm is distinct from (2R)-methylmalonyl-CoA mutase as well as isobutyryl-CoA mutase and defines a new subfamily of coenzyme B12-dependent acyl-CoA mutases. In combination with molecular modeling, two signature sequences were identified that presumably contribute to the substrate specificity of these enzymes.
Clonal expansion of lipopolysaccharide-stimulated B lymphocytes.

The effect of lipopolysaccharide from Gram-negative bacteria (LPS) on the activation and clonal expansion of B cell precursors specific for SRC has been studies in a microculture system. Results indicate that LPS can activate the precursor cells to antibody production in the absence of antigen and without significant cell proliferation. Clonal expansion will ensure only if LPS and SRC are present.
Glucagon‐like peptide 1(GLP‐1) in biology and pathology

Post‐translational proteolytic processing of the preproglucagon gene in the gut results in the formation of glucagon‐like peptide 1 (GLP‐1). Owing to its glucose‐dependent insulinotropic effect, this hormone was postulated to primarily act as an incretin, i.e. to augment insulin secretion after oral glucose or meal ingestion. In addition, GLP‐1 decelerates gastric emptying and suppresses glucagon secretion. Under physiological conditions, GLP‐1 acts as a part of the ‘ileal brake’, meaning that is slows the transition of nutrients into the distal gut. Animal studies suggest a role for GLP‐1 in the development and growth of the endocrine pancreas. In light of its multiple actions throughout the body, different therapeutic applications of GLP‐1 are possible. Promising results have been obtained with GLP‐1 in the treatment of type 2 diabetes, but its potential to reduce appetite and food intake may also allow its use for the treatment of obesity. While rapid in vivo degradation of GLP‐1 has yet prevented its broad clinical use, different pharmacological approaches aiming to extend the in vivo half‐life of GLP‐1 or to inhibit its inactivation are currently being evaluated. Therefore, antidiabetic treatment based on GLP‐1 may become available within the next years. This review will summarize the biological effects of GLP‐1, characterize its role in human biology and pathology, and discuss potential clinical applications as well as current clinical studies. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
ROLE OF XANTHINE OXIDASE IN DEXAMETHASONE‐INDUCED HYPERTENSION IN RATS

1 Glucocorticoid‐induced hypertension (GC‐HT) in the rat is associated with nitric oxide‐redox imbalance. 2 We studied the role of xanthine oxidase (XO), which is implicated in the production of reactive oxygen species, in dexamethasone‐induced hypertension (dex‐HT). 3 Thirty male Sprague‐Dawley rats were divided randomly into four treatment groups: saline, dexamethasone (dex), allopurinol plus saline, and allopurinol plus dex. 4 Systolic blood pressures (SBP) and bodyweights were recorded each alternate day. Thymus weight was used as a marker of glucocorticoid activity, and serum urate to assess XO inhibition. 5 Dex increased SBP (110 ± 2–126 ± 3 mmHg; P < 0.001) and decreased thymus (P < 0.001) and bodyweights (P" < 0.01). Allopurinol decreased serum urate from 76 ± 5 to 30 ± 3 µmol/L (P < 0.001) in saline and from 84 ± 13 to 28 ± 2 µmol/L in dex‐treated (P < 0.01) groups. 6 Allopurinol did not prevent dex‐HT. This, together with our previous findings that allopurinol failed to prevent adrenocorticotrophic hormone induced hypertension, suggests that XO activity is not a major determinant of GC‐HT in the rat.
Glutamatergic agents for schizophrenia: current evidence and perspectives

Suboptimal outcomes in schizophrenia are a consequence of lacking insight into the etiology, biomarkers and treatment-relevant subgroups, the therapeutic restriction to dopaminergic-modulating antipsychotics that fail to significantly improve negative and cognitive symptoms, non-adherence, and, in the case of treatment-resistance, the underutilization of clozapine. Evidence suggests additional, extra-dopaminergic abnormalities in amino acid neurotransmission, particularly the glutamatergic system. Antidopaminergic antipsychotics modulate this system on several levels, as do mood stabilizers, including lamotrigine, topiramate and pregabaline. Recently, agonists at metabotropic glutamate receptors and glycine uptake inhibitors failed in large placebo-controlled trials for schizophrenia. Problems to overcome for successfully leveraging glutamatergic agents for schizophrenia are patient selection, focus on positive symptoms and late disease stages, and dose-response relationships. Because glutamate guides processes of brain development and maturation, clinical research should focus on the at-risk mental state or first-episode psychosis, address cognition and negative symptoms and use monotherapy designs in parallel to augmentation strategies.
Effect of Heating Delay on Conversion and Strength of a Post-cured Resin Composite

Physical property enhancement in light-cured resin composites from post-cure heating is attributed to free radicals created during initial photocuring, the number of which decreases following initial light-curing. Clinically, it is important to know when the number of remaining free radicals is too low to provide for additional conversion of monomer in post-cure-heated specimens. The hypothesis tested is that the potential for additional conversion in post-cure-heated resin composite restorations is dependent upon the time after initial light-curing at which the specimen is exposed to heat treatment. This research examined the effect of delay in post-cure heating after initial photo-activation on strength and monomer conversion of a commercial resin composite material. Discs (10 x 1 mm) of Herculite XRV (Kerr/Sybron, Orange, CA) were photocured at standardized conditions. One group was left unheated, and another was subjected to post-cure heating (Brilliant DI-500, Coltene AG, Altstatten, Switzerland) at the following times after being light-cured : 5 and 30 min, and 6, 24, 48, 72, 96, and 120 hrs. After the appropriate delay time, unheated and heated specimens (n = 10) were tested for biaxial flexural strength at a constant stressing rate. Recovered, fractured strength specimens (n = 10) were analyzed for cure by means of IR spectroscopy. Post-cure heating increased strength over that of the unheated specimens only for the shortest delay times: 5 or 30 min. Thereafter, strength values were statistically equivalent (p < 0.05). Delay in heating did not significantly enhance strength of post-cure-heated specimens, but delay in time did improve strength of the unheated groups. The greatest monomer conversion was obtained when post-cure heating was applied within 6 hrs following light-curing. The difference in cure between unheated and heated specimens remained significant up to 96 hrs of delay. Flexural strength of post-cure-heated specimens remained unchanged with time delay for heating specimens. Maximal monomer conversion of post-cured specimens is obtained only within 6 hrs of light-curing. The potential for additional conversion arising from post-cure heat treatment is dependent upon the time following initial curing at which heat is applied following initial light-curing. However, delay in heat application has no influence on flexural strength.
Impact of catheter sizes and intracoronary glyceryl trinitrate on the TIMI frame count when digital angiograms are acquired at lower frame rates during elective angiography and PCI

The TIMI frame count (TFC) is a useful measure of coronary flow. To be widely applicable, the effect of different catheter sizes and the use of intracoronary glyceryl trinitrate (ICGTN) must be determined when films are acquired at lower acquisition rates (12.5 frames/s, f/s). Methods: We compared 6F versus 5F diagnostic catheters (n = 44), 6F versus 7F diagnostic catheters (n = 45) and 6F diagnostic versus 7F guide catheters (n = 44). In the nitrate angiography group (n = 141), coronary angiography was performed before and after 200 micrograms of ICGTN. In the nitrate percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) group (n = 48), coronary angiography was performed before and after 200 micrograms of ICGTN after the completion of the elective PCI procedure. Results: The mean difference in the uncorrected TFC using 6F and 5F was 0.02 (95 % CI −0.5, 0.6; P = 0.9); using 6F and 7F diagnostic catheters it was 0.3 (95% CI −0.49, 1.1; p = 0.4); and using 6F diagnostic and 7F guide catheters it was 0.4 (95% CI −2.6, 3.4; P = 0.7) respectively. In the nitrate angiography group, the uncorrected TFC before and after ICGTN was 13.1±6.2 and 15±7.5 (equivalent to 31.4±14.9 and 36±2 at 30 f/s), with a mean difference of 1.9 (95% CI 1.3, 2.5; P = <0.0001). In the nitrate PCI group, the uncorrected TFC before and after ICGTN administration was 9.2±3.7 and 10.3±4.2 (equivalent to 22.6±9.6 and 25.2±11 at 30 f/s) respectively with a mean difference between the two injections of 1.2 (95% CI −0.4, 1.9; P = 0.003). Conclusion: We have demonstrated that the catheter sizes did not significantly affect the TFC when angiography was performed at 12.5f/s. The use of ICGTN significantly increased the TFC in both normal and diseased coronary arteries. This effect was also observed when ICGTN was administered into the culprit vessels after the completion of the elective PCI procedure. This effect must be considered when investigating the impact of specific treatments or drugs on coronary flow.
Improved SVM for Learning Multi-Class Domains with ROC Evaluation

The area under the ROC curve (AUC) has been used as a criterion to measure the performance of classification algorithms even the training data embraces unbalanced class distribution and cost-sensitiveness. Support vector machine (SVM) is accepted to be a good classification algorithm in classification learning. This paper describes an improved SVM learning method, where RBF is used as its kernel function, and the parameters of RBF are optimized by genetic algorithm. Within the parameter optimization and SVM learning, AUC is used as the evaluation criterion. The improved method can be used to deal with multi-class classification domains. Compared to the previous SVM algorithm, the improved SVM appears to have better learning performance.