Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reading Aloud, Play, and Social-Emotional Development

In an RCT of the VIP, it was demonstrated that pediatric promotion of reading aloud and play resulted in reduced hyperactivity at school entry. OBJECTIVES: To determine impacts on social-emotional development at school entry of a pediatric primary care intervention (Video Interaction Project [VIP]) promoting positive parenting through reading aloud and play, delivered in 2 phases: infant through toddler (VIP birth to 3 years [VIP 0–3]) and preschool-age (VIP 3 to 5 years [VIP 3–5]). METHODS: Factorial randomized controlled trial with postpartum enrollment and random assignment to VIP 0-3, control 0 to 3 years, and a third group without school entry follow-up (Building Blocks) and 3-year second random assignment of VIP 0-3 and control 0 to 3 years to VIP 3-5 or control 3 to 5 years. In the VIP, a bilingual facilitator video recorded the parent and child reading and/or playing using provided learning materials and reviewed videos to reinforce positive interactions. Social-emotional development at 4.5 years was assessed by parent-report Behavior Assessment System for Children, Second Edition (Social Skills, Attention Problems, Hyperactivity, Aggression, Externalizing Problems). RESULTS: VIP 0-3 and VIP 3-5 were independently associated with improved 4.5-year Behavior Assessment System for Children, Second Edition T-scores, with effect sizes (Cohen’s d) ∼−0.25 to −0.30. Receipt of combined VIP 0-3 and VIP 3-5 was associated with d = −0.63 reduction in Hyperactivity (P = .001). VIP 0-3 resulted in reduced “Clinically Significant” Hyperactivity (relative risk reduction for overall sample: 69.2%; P = .03; relative risk reduction for increased psychosocial risk: 100%; P = .006). Multilevel models revealed significant VIP 0-3 linear effects and age × VIP 3-5 interactions. CONCLUSIONS: Phase VIP 0-3 resulted in sustained impacts on behavior problems 1.5 years after program completion. VIP 3-5 had additional, independent impacts. With our findings, we support the use of pediatric primary care to promote reading aloud and play from birth to 5 years, and the potential for such programs to enhance social-emotional development.
Pediatricians and Public Health: Optimizing the Health and Well-Being of the Nation’s Children

Ensuring optimal health for children requires a population-based approach and collaboration between pediatrics and public health. The prevention of major threats to children’s health (such as behavioral health issues) and the control and management of chronic diseases, obesity, injury, communicable diseases, and other problems cannot be managed solely in the pediatric office. The integration of clinical practice with public health actions is necessary for multiple levels of disease prevention that involve the child, family, and community. Although pediatricians and public health professionals interact frequently to the benefit of children and their families, increased integration of the 2 disciplines is critical to improving child health at the individual and population levels. Effective collaboration is necessary to ensure that population health activities include children and that the child health priorities of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), such as poverty and child health, early brain and child development, obesity, and mental health, can engage federal, state, and local public health initiatives. In this policy statement, we build on the 2013 AAP Policy Statement on community pediatrics by identifying specific opportunities for collaboration between pediatricians and public health professionals that are likely to improve the health of children in communities. In the statement, we provide recommendations for pediatricians, public health professionals, and the AAP and its chapters.
TRATAMIENTO DE LA NEOPLASIA INTRA EPITELIAL VULVAR MEDIANTE VULVECTOMÍA TEGUMENTARIA

SUMMARY Between 1999 and 2005, 12 patients with the diagnosis of vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia were ingresses. The average age was 50 years (r: 26-74 years). The diagnosis was made by means of biopsy directed by vulvoscopy. In 9 women tegumental vulvectomy were performed according to technique that is described. 54.5% of the patients presented multiples vulvar lesions and 45.5% only one lesion at the examination. In biopsy, 63% of the lesion presented suggestive signs of infection by HPV. 55.5% of the treated patients did not present new lesions and 33% had one or more recurrences, 11% did not attend control, there were no surgical complications or mortality.
Spectral and duration sensitivity to light-at-night in ‘blind’ and sighted rodent species

SUMMARY Light-at-night (LAN) has become a defining feature of human and animal ecosystems and may possibly compromise human and animal physiology and health. Spectral and acclimation duration (AD) sensitivity were compared between social voles (Microtus socialis) and ‘blind’ mole rats (Spalax ehrenbergi) in four increasing ADs (0, 1, 7 and 21 days) to LAN (1×30 min, 293 μW cm–2) of three different monochromatic lights [blue (479 nm), yellow (586 nm) and red (697 nm)]. Animals were sampled for urine and oxygen consumption (VO2) promptly after each LAN-AD. Urine samples were analyzed for production rate, urinary 6-sulfatoxymelatonin and urinary metabolites of adrenalin and cortisol. Overall, the blue light elicited the greatest effects on the biological markers of M. socialis, whereas similar effects were detected for S. ehrenbergi in response to red light. The increasing LAN-AD resulted in a dose-dependent decrement of all markers tested, except of stress hormones, which showed a direct positive correlation with LAN-AD. Our results suggest that: (1) photoperiod is an important cue for entraining physiological functions in the ‘blind’ S. ehrenbergi, which is essentially characterized by red-shifted sensitivity compared with the blue-shifted sensitivity detected for the sighted counterpart species, and (2) there is a strong association between LAN of the appropriate wavelength and adrenal endocrine responses, suggesting that LAN is a potential environmental stressor.
Origin and mechanism of thermal insensitivity in mole hemoglobins: a test of the ‘additional’ chloride binding site hypothesis

SUMMARY The structural and evolutionary origins underlying the effect of temperature on the O2 binding properties of mammalian hemoglobins (Hbs) are poorly understood, despite their potential physiological importance. Previous work has shown that the O2 affinities of the blood of the coast mole (Scapanus orarius) and the eastern mole (Scalopus aquaticus) are significantly less sensitive to temperature changes than that of the star-nosed mole (Condylura cristata). It was suggested that this difference may arise from the binding of ‘additional’ chloride ions within a cationic pocket between residues 8His, 76Lys and 77Asn on the β-like δ-globin chains of coast and eastern mole Hbs. To test this hypothesis, we deduced the primary sequences of star-nosed mole and American shrew mole (Neurotrichus gibbsii) Hb, measured the sensitivity of these respiratory proteins to allosteric effector molecules and temperature, and calculated their overall oxygenation enthalpies (ΔH′). Here we show that the variability in ΔH′ seen among mole Hbs cannot be attributed to differential Cl– binding at δ8, δ76 and δ77, as the Cl– sensitivity of mole Hbs is unaffected by amino acid changes at this site (i.e. the proposed ‘additional’ Cl– binding site is not operational in mole Hbs). Rather, we demonstrate that the numerically low ΔH′ of coast and eastern mole Hbs results from heightened proton binding relative to other mole Hbs. Comparative sequence analysis and molecular modelling moreover suggest that this attribute evolved in a common ancestor of these two fossorial lineages and arises from the development of a salt bridge between a pair of amino acid residues (δ125His and α34Glu/Asp) that are not present in other mole Hbs.
Muscular tissues of the squid Doryteuthis pealeii express identical myosin heavy chain isoforms: an alternative mechanism for tuning contractile speed

SUMMARY The speed of muscle contraction is largely controlled at the sarcomere level by the ATPase activity of the motor protein myosin. Differences in amino acid sequence in catalytically important regions of myosin yield different myosin isoforms with varying ATPase activities and resulting differences in cross-bridge cycling rates and interfilamentary sliding velocities. Modulation of whole-muscle performance by changes in myosin isoform ATPase activity is regarded as a universal mechanism to tune contractile properties, especially in vertebrate muscles. Invertebrates such as squid, however, may exhibit an alternative mechanism to tune contractile properties that is based on differences in muscle ultrastructure, including variable myofilament and sarcomere lengths. To determine definitively whether contractile properties of squid muscles are regulated via different myosin isoforms (i.e. different ATPase activities), the nucleotide and amino acid sequences of the myosin heavy chain from the squid Doryteuthis pealeii were determined from the mantle, arm, tentacle, fin and funnel retractor musculature. We identified three myosin heavy chain isoforms in squid muscular tissues, with differences arising at surface loop 1 and the carboxy terminus. All three isoforms were detected in all five tissues studied. These results suggest that the muscular tissues of D. pealeii express identical myosin isoforms, and it is likely that differences in muscle ultrastructure, not myosin ATPase activity, represent the most important mechanism for tuning contractile speeds.
Fast extraction of gradual association rules: a heuristic based method

Even if they have proven to be relevant on traditional transactional databases, data mining tools are still inefficient on some kinds of databases. In particular, databases containing discrete values or having a value for each item, like gene expression data, are especially challenging. On such data, existing approaches either transform the data to classical binary attributes, or use discretisation, including fuzzy partition to deal with the data. However, binary mapping of such databases drives to a loss of information and extracted knowledge is not exploitable for end-users. Thus, powerful tools designed for this kind of data are needed. On the other hand, existing fuzzy approaches hardly take gradual notions into account, or are not scalable enougth to tackle the problem. In this paper, we thus propose a heuristic in order to extract tendencies, in the form of gradual association rules. A gradual rule can be read as "The more X and the less Y, then the more V and the less W". Instead of using fuzzy sets, we apply our method directly on valued data and we propose an efficient heuristic, thus reducing combinatorial complexity and scalability. Experiments on synthetic datasets show the interest of our method.
A Novel Use of Radar Graphs in Evaluating the Operational Performance Characteristics of Laboratory Instruments

The evaluation of new laboratory instruments as potential replacements for existing instruments occurs frequently in most clinical laboratories. Typically, considerable attention is paid to the evaluation of the analytical performance characteristics (eg, precision, accuracy, reportable range, reference interval) of the methods for the various analytes that can be quantified using these instruments, some or no attention is paid to the clinical performance characteristics [eg, diagnostic accuracy (sensitivity and specificity), negative and positive predictive value] of these methods, and little attention may be paid to the operational performance characteristics (eg, acceptable specimen types and volume requirements, completeness of test menu, maximum run size) of the new instrument compared to the existing or competitor instruments. The rationale for this difference in attention paid by laboratory professionals to the aforementioned performance characteristics of laboratory methods/instruments is most likely
Modeling of correct self-adaptive systems: a graph transformation system based approach

Software is always embedded in a social and technical context which change over time and therefore also the software has to be adjusted over time to preserve its value. Self-adaptive systems provide a vision how the systems can become capable of doing a large fraction of the required adaptations autonomously. In this paper we first discuss what is required to model correct self-adaptive systems. We then present the formal model of graph transformation systems which serves most of the identified needs. Based on this findings we outline how UML class and object diagrams as well as extensions for the modeling of behavior based upon graph transformation systems can be employed to model correct self-adaptive system. An application example is used to present how the approach can be employed to model self-adaptive systems at a high level of abstraction and means to ensure its correctness are discussed.
Prevalence of colonizing bacteria and their association with primary bacteremias in hemodialysis of a university hospital

Introduction: the incidence of primary bacteremia in patients on hemodialysis (HD) is reported to be from 2.5 to 5.5 cases per 1,000 catheter-day. the clinical impact is relevant and increases the cost of the HD Unit. Methods: The present study is the first of 2 phases. It was conducted from January to December of 2012, and included all patients and nurses who were in the HD Unit. The prevalence of Gramnegative bacilli (GNB) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MrSA) colonizing the nasal passages and the skin is described. Also, phenotypic association was sought by genus, species and sensitivities between colonizing bacterial strains and blood cultures with GNB and MRSA. Results: the study included 70 patients and 10 nurses. the prevalence of nasal colonization in patients by GNB was 9% and 6% in the pericatheter, and no nursing GNB colonization was discovered. The prevalence of MRSA nasal colonization was 19% and 6% in the pericatheter for patients and in the nurses the nasal colonization was 50% and 10% in the hands. We identified 29 cases of primary bacteremia. The primary bacteremia rate is 1.5 per 1,000 catheter-day or 0.4 episodes per patient per year. Conclusion: We demonstrated a high prevalence of MrSA colonization in patients and nurses in the HD Unit. No relationship was found between primary bacteremia by GNB and patients and nurses’ bacteria colonization by the phenotypic comparison.
Bone Marrow Involvement in Hodgkin and Non-Hodgkin Lymphomas: The Role of Fluorine-18-Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron EmissionTomography/Computed Tomography

Copyright: © 2014 Caldarella C, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Bone Marrow Involvement in Hodgkin and Non-Hodgkin Lymphomas: The Role of Fluorine-18-Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography
Parental hypoxic exposure confers offspring hypoxia resistance in zebrafish (Danio rerio)

SUMMARY Parental influences are a potentially important component of transgenerational transfer of phenotype in vertebrates. This study examined how chronic hypoxic exposure on adult zebrafish (Danio rerio) affected the phenotype of their offspring. Separate adult populations were exposed to hypoxia (13.1 kPa O2) or normoxia (21.1 kPa O2) for periods ranging from 1 to 12 weeks. Adults were then returned to normoxia and bred within experimental groups. Adult fecundity and egg characteristics (volume of egg, yolk and perivitelline fluid) were assessed. Subsequently, larval body length, time to loss of equilibrium in severe hypoxia (~4 kPa O2), and critical thermal minima (CTmin) and maxima (CTmax) were measured at 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21 and 60 days post-fertilization (d.p.f.). Adult fecundity was depressed by hypoxic exposure. Egg component volumes were also depressed in adults exposed to 1–2 weeks of hypoxia, but returned to control levels following longer hypoxic exposure. Adult hypoxic exposures of >1 week resulted in longer body lengths in their larval offspring. Time to loss of equilibrium in severe hypoxia (i.e. hypoxic resistance) in control larvae decreased from 6 to 12 d.p.f. , remaining constant thereafter. Notably, hypoxic resistance from 6 to 18 d.p.f. was ~15% lower in larvae whose parents were exposed to just 1 week of chronic hypoxia, but resistance was significantly increased by ~24–30% in 6–18 d.p.f. larvae from adults exposed to 2, 3 or 4 weeks of hypoxia. CTmin (~10–12°C) and CTmax (~39.5°C) were unchanged by parental hypoxic exposure. This study demonstrates that parental hypoxic exposure in adult zebrafish has profound epigenetic effects on the morphological and physiological phenotype of their offspring.
Rapid mitochondrial adjustments in response to short-term hypoxia and re-oxygenation in the Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas

SUMMARY As oxygen concentrations in marine coastal habitats can fluctuate rapidly and drastically, sessile marine organisms such as the oyster Crassostrea gigas can experience marked and rapid oxygen variations. In this study, we investigated the responses of oyster gill mitochondria to short-term hypoxia (3 and 12 h, at 1.7 mg O2 l−1) and subsequent re-oxygenation. Mitochondrial respiratory rates (states 3 and 4 stimulated by glutamate) and phosphorylation efficiency [respiratory control ratio (RCR) and the relationship between ADP and oxygen consumption (ADP/O)] were measured. Cytochrome c oxidase (CCO) activity and cytochrome concentrations (a, b, c1 and c) were measured to investigate the rearrangements of respiratory chain subunits. The potential implication of an alternative oxidase (AOX) was investigated using an inhibitor of the respiratory chain (antimycin A) and through gene expression analysis in gills and digestive gland. Results indicate a downregulation of mitochondrial capacity, with 60% inhibition of respiratory rates after 12 h of hypoxia. RCR remained stable, while ADP/O increased after 12 h of hypoxia and 1 h of re-oxygenation, suggesting increased phosphorylation efficiency. CCO showed a fast and remarkable increase of its catalytic activity only after 3 h of hypoxia. AOX mRNA levels showed similar patterns in gills and digestive gland, and were upregulated after 12 and 24 h of hypoxia and during re-oxygenation. Results suggest a set of controls regulating mitochondrial functions in response to oxygen fluctuations, and demonstrate the fast and extreme plasticity of oyster mitochondria in response to oxygen variations.
The evolution and development of vertebrate lateral line electroreceptors

Summary Electroreception is an ancient vertebrate sense with a fascinating evolutionary history involving multiple losses as well as independent evolution at least twice within teleosts. We review the phylogenetic distribution of electroreception and the morphology and innervation of electroreceptors in different vertebrate groups. We summarise recent work from our laboratory that has confirmed the homology of ampullary electroreceptors in non-teleost jawed vertebrates by showing, in conjunction with previously published work, that these are derived embryonically from lateral line placodes. Finally, we review hypotheses to explain the distribution of electroreception within teleosts, including the hypothesis that teleost ampullary and tuberous electroreceptors evolved via the modification of mechanosensory hair cells in lateral line neuromasts. We conclude that further experimental work on teleost electroreceptor development is needed to test such hypotheses.
L'activité physique habituelle au cours du développement

The three objectives of the present review of the literature were to: characterize the evolution of habitual physical activity (HPA) during growth; evaluate the tracking of HPA from childhood to adulthood; and analyse the level of HPA in children and adolescents according to public health recommendations. Data indicates that HPA decreases from childhood to adulthood about 7% per year, with a great reduction during puberty and adolescence concurrent to changes in the type of physical activity. It appears that HPA is not quite steady (0.09 < r < 0.66) during growth, which means that behavioural changes occur. Being very active during childhood or adolescence does not necessarily translate into a high level of HPA in adulthood. The mean values of HPA of children and adolescents vary from 15 to 90 min•day−1 between studies, and for most of them HPA has been higher or close to public health recommendations. However, these results mask a great number of children and adolescents who are inactive or becoming in.
Non-antibiotic strategies for the prevention/treatment of Clostridium difficile infection

Background: Clostridium difficile infection has become a serious concern in both hospital and secondary healthcare environments. In the presence of repeated or prolonged antibiotic treatment, the C. difficile spores can germinate in the colon and produce toxins that cause colonic inflammation and diarrhea. The standard treatment for C. difficile-associated disease (CDAD) usually involves the withdrawal of the antibiotic treatment that led to the CDAD followed by a course of oral metronidazole or vancomycin, but there has been an increasing number of treatment failures and recurrences of disease. Over the past 10 – 15 years, researchers have begun exploring the possibility of using alternative means to combat C. difficile infection. Objective/methods: Over the course of the past 5 years, there has been a considerable amount of patent literature focused on non-antibiotic alternatives, including passive and active immunizations, monoclonal antibodies, antitoxins, inert binders and probiotic therapies. Results/conclusion: Current antibiotic therapies for the treatment of CDAD are not as effective as they once were. There is some promising work on non-antibiotic alternatives for CDAD prevention and treatment.
Pharmacotherapy of amnestic mild cognitive impairment: lessons from the Memory Impairment Study

Evaluation of: Petersen RC, Thomas RG, Grundman M et al.: Vitamin E and donepezil for the treatment of mild cognitive impairment. N. Engl. J. Med. 352, 2379–2388 (2005). A 3-year randomized controlled study comparing donepezil with tocopherol and placebo in 769 subjects with amnestic mild cognitive impairment showed an overall 16% yearly rate of progression to dementia. This was more common in the subjects carrying the apoE4 allele. There was no sustained difference between the treatment groups over the 3 years of treatment. This study design can be used to test new agents that may modify the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
Research Into the Genetic Component of Heart Disease: From Linkage Studies to Genome-Wide Genotyping

Correspondence: Dr. R. Elosua. Grupo de Epidemiologia y Genetica Cardiovascular, Programa de Investigacion en Procesos Inflamatorios y Cardiovasculares. Institut Municipal d’Investigacio Medica. Dr. Aiguader, 88. 08003 Barcelona. Spain. E-mail: relosua@imim.es It has been known for centuries that many of the characteristics of living creatures are inherited. In recent years, considerable progress has been made in our understanding of many Mendelian diseases caused by mutations in one or a small number of genes. However, it is proving much more difficult to elucidate the genetic basis of complex diseases, including coronary heart disease (CHD). The objective of this paper was to review some of the most significant findings observed to date in studies into the genetic component of CHD. We report on the most important results from linkage and association studies, including genome-wide association studies. Finally, we summarize the potential usefulness of these findings for daily clinical practice and disease prevention, and look forward to the challenges we can expect to encounter in the near future.