Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Early markers of autism spectrum disorders in infants and toddlers prospectively identified in the Social Attention and Communication Study

The Social Attention and Communication Study involved the successful implementation of developmental surveillance of the early markers of autism spectrum disorders in a community-based setting. The objective in the current study was to determine the most discriminating and predictive markers of autism spectrum disorders used in the Social Attention and Communication Study at 12, 18 and 24 months of age, so that these could be used to identify children with autism spectrum disorders with greater accuracy. The percentage of ‘yes/no’ responses for each behavioural marker was compared between children with autistic disorder (n = 39), autism spectrum disorder (n = 50) and developmental and/or language delay (n = 20) from 12 to 24 months, with a logistic regression also conducted at 24 months. Across all ages, the recurring key markers of both autistic disorder and autism spectrum disorder were deficits in eye contact and pointing, and from 18 months, deficits in showing became an important marker. In combination, these behaviours, along with pretend play, were found to be the best group of predictors for a best estimate diagnostic classification of autistic disorder/autism spectrum disorder at 24 months. It is argued that the identified markers should be monitored repeatedly during the second year of life by community health-care professionals.
The Effects of Simulated Buffeting on the Internal Pressure of Man

The effects of mechanically induced vibration upon the human abdomen were determined by measuring the pressure in the rectal end of the colon sigmoideum. A technique was developed for transmitting the internal pressure to external recorders, and the amplitudes of the colon pressure fluctuations were determined, when eight human subjects and one Rhesus monkey were subjected to vertical sinusoidal vibration, at vector accelerations of less than one g, in the frequency range of one through twenty c/s. The pressure fluctuations were found to vary with frequency, showing maximum mean “peak to peak” pressure, per one g acceleration, of 57 mm Hg at 4.5 c/s and 4 c/s, sitting erect and sitting relaxed; and 30 mm Hg at 7 c/s in the semi-supine posture of human subjects. These resonances confirm the results of related prior studies of the human body as a mechanical system.
Studies on the constituents of medicinal and related plants in Sri Lanka. III. Novel sesquilignans from Hedyotis lawsoniae.

Four new sesquilignans, named hedyotol-A, -B, -C, and -D, were isolated from the leaves of Hedyotis lawsoniae, along with four known lignans. The structures of these novel lignans were determined on the basis of spectroscopic and chemical evidence.
Dissecting the Role of Iron Uptake Systems in Pseudomonas aeruginosa 1 Virulence and Airways Infection 2 3

Virulence and Airways Infection 2 3 Fabrizia Minandri, Francesco Imperi, Emanuela Frangipani, Carlo Bonchi, Daniela Visaggio 4 Marcella Facchini, Paolo Pasquali, Alessandra Bragonzi, and Paolo Visca* 5 6 a Department of Sciences, Roma Tre University, Rome, Italy; b Pasteur Institute–Cenci Bolognetti 7 Foundation, Department of Biology and Biotechnology, C. Darwin, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, 8 Italy; c Infections and Cystic Fibrosis Unit, Division of Immunology, Transplantation and Infectious Diseases, 9 San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy; d Department of Food Safety and Veterinary Public Health, 10 Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy. 11 12 13 Running head: Iron and Pseudomonas aeruginosa virulence 14 15 16
Mumps in a community with low vaccination coverage in the Netherlands.

The incidence of mumps in the Netherlands has increased since August 2007. Until mid May 2008, 89 individuals were found positive for mumps virus infection by laboratory testing at the Centre for Infectious Diseases Control (CIb) of the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), compared to less than 10 cases per year between 2005 and 2007. Mumps is not a notifiable disease in the Netherlands and surveillance is mainly based on monitoring laboratory test requests and their results offered by the CIb and other laboratories. As only a minority of cases is offered laboratory testing, however, the extent of the current mumps outbreak is unknown.
Crisis Intervention: Theoretical and Methodological Considerations*

This paper is a theoretical and methodological dissertation on the concept of crisis intervention as an instrument of primary prevention; appropriate current literature is reviewed. The concepts of crisis are discussed briefly, and a concept emphasizing the intrapsychic state of the individual is proposed. The relevance of crisis with its period of disturbed functioning and its potential immediate and long-term sequelae for mental and physical health and social adaptation is reviewed. The concepts of crisis intervention are explored and dealt with. Each is looked at from the aspects of epidemiologically established basis, forms of intervention, both actual and hypothesized, and methodology of evaluation of effectiveness.
Data Mining for Real-Time Intelligent Decision Support System in Intensive Care Medicine

The introduction of Intelligent Decision Support Systems (IDSS) in critical areas like Intensive Medicine is a complex and difficult process. The professionals of Intensive Care Units (ICU) haven’t much time to register data because the direct care to the patients is always mandatory. In order to help doctors in the decision making process, the INTCare system has been deployed in the ICU of Centro Hospitalar of Porto, Portugal. INTCare is an IDSS that makes use of data mining models to predict the outcome and the organ failure probability for the ICU patients. This paper introduces the work carried out in order to automate the processes of data acquisition and data mining. The main goal of this work is to reduce significantly the manual efforts of the staff in the ICU. All the processes are autonomous and are executed in real-time. In particular, Decision Trees, Support Vector Machines and Naïve Bayes were used with online data to continuously adapt the predictive models. The data engineering process and achieved results, in terms of the performance attained, will be presented.
Capacity enhancement in vehicle to roadside networks using ESPAR technique

In this paper, we investigate electronically steerable parasitic array radiator (ESPAR) smart antenna in a highway scenario, where roadside access points (APs) are installed on a highway to provide intelligent transportation System (ITS) services. We Consider vehicle-to-roadside (V2R) communication for a vehicle that aims to send data to the AP (uplink). A seven element ESPAR system as a beam former smart antenna in AP is used to eliminate the interference signals. The simulation results indicate that ESPAR system can improve the average capacity of the link more than 2 bps/Hz.
Chronic breathlessness in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: a major challenge for caregivers

ABSTRACT Introduction: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is one of the most common forms of interstitial lung disease, with a median survival time of two to five years. Most patients with IPF experience chronic breathlessness, which is closely linked to poor perceived quality of life and significant restriction of daily activities; therefore, effective management of this distressing symptom is a major goal of patient care. Areas covered: This report summarizes the physiology of IPF during rest and exercise, outlines current concepts of the mechanisms of breathlessness, and provides a physiological rationale for optimal management of individual patients. It also examines the evidence for efficacy of a number of therapeutic interventions currently at our disposal for the management of breathlessness in IPF, which aim to reduce respiratory neural drive, reduce worsening of mechanical load, and alter central perception. Expert commentary: The current evidence supporting general measures in relieving chronic breathlessness is weak; hence, more carefully designed prospective studies are required.
Resistance to Acute Babesiosis Is Associated with Interleukin-12- and Gamma Interferon-Mediated Responses and Requires Macrophages and Natural Killer Cells

ABSTRACT We examined the role of the cytokines gamma interferon (IFN-γ) and interleukin-12 (IL-12) in the model of acute babesiosis with the WA1 Babesia. Mice genetically deficient in IFN-γ-mediated responses (IFNGR2KO mice) and IL-12-mediated responses (Stat4KO mice) were infected with the WA1 Babesia, and observations were made on the course of infection and cytokine responses. Levels of IFN-γ and IL-12 in serum increased 24 h after parasite inoculation. The augmented susceptibility observed in IFNGR2KO and Stat-4KO mice suggests that the early IL-12- and IFN-γ-mediated responses are involved in protection against acute babesiosis. Resistance appears to correlate with an increase in nitric oxide (NO) production. In order to assess the contribution of different cell subsets to resistance against the parasite, we also studied mice lacking B cells, CD4+ T cells, NK cells, and macrophages. Mice genetically deficient in B lymphocytes or CD4+ T lymphocytes were able to mount protective responses comparable to those of immunosufficient mice. In contrast, in vivo depletion of macrophages or NK cells resulted in elevated susceptibility to the infection. Our observations suggest that a crucial part of the response that protects from the pathogenic Babesia WA1 is mediated by macrophages and NK cells, probably through early production of IL-12 and IFN-γ, and induction of macrophage-derived effector molecules like NO.
Mouse Models of Human CAG Repeat Disorders

Expansions of CAG trinucleotide repeats encoding glutamine have been found to be the causative mutations of seven human neurodegenerative diseases. Similarities in the clinical, genetic, and molecular features of these disorders suggest they share a common mechanism of pathogenesis. Recent progress in the generation and characterization of transgenic mice expressing the genes containing expanded repeats associated with spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA), spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 (SCA1), Machado‐Joseph disease (MJD/ SCA3), and Huntington's disease (HD) is beginning to provide insight into the underlying mechanisms of these neurodegenerative disorders.
The Relation Among Sleep Duration, Homework Burden, and Sleep Hygiene in Chinese School-Aged Children

Insufficient sleep in school-aged children is common in modern society, with homework burden being a potential risk factor. The aim of this article is to explore the effect of sleep hygiene on the association between homework and sleep duration. Children filled out the Chinese version of the Adolescent Sleep Hygiene Scale, and parents filled out a sociodemographic questionnaire. The final sample included 363 boys and 371 girls with a mean age of 10.82 ± 0.38 years. Children with more homework went to bed later and slept less. Better sleep hygiene was associated with earlier bedtimes and longer sleep duration. Findings suggest that homework burden had a larger effect on sleep duration than sleep hygiene. Fifth-grade children in Shanghai have an excessive homework burden, which overwrites the benefit of sleep hygiene on sleep duration.
Birth defects associated with perturbations in preimplantation, gastrulation, and axis extension: from conjoined twinning to caudal dysgenesis

Congenital malformations represent approximately 3 in 100 live births within the human population. Understanding their pathogenesis and ultimately formulating effective treatments are underpinned by knowledge of the events and factors that regulate normal embryonic development. Studies in model organisms, primarily in the mouse, the most prominent genetically tractable mammalian model, have equipped us with a rudimentary understanding of mammalian development from early lineage commitment to morphogenetic processes. In this way, information provided by studies in the mouse can, in some cases, be used to draw parallels with other mammals, including human. Here, we provide an overview of our current understanding of the general sequence of developmental events from early cell cleavages to gastrulation and axis extension occurring in human embryos. We will also review some of the rare birth defects occurring at these stages, in particular those resulting in conjoined twinning or caudal dysgenesis. WIREs Dev Biol 2012, 2:427–442. doi: 10.1002/wdev.97
Down-Regulation of Tomato b -Galactosidase 4 Results in Decreased Fruit Softening

Transcript abundance of the gene encoding b -galactosidase II, a b -galactosidase/exo-galactanase (EC 3.2.1.23) present during tomato ( Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) fruit ripening, was suppressed by expression of an antisense tomato b -galactosidase 4 (TBG4) cDNA driven by the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter. RNA gel-blot analysis was used to evaluate TBG4 mRNA levels in transgenic fruit. All of the antisense lines had attenuated TBG4 mRNA levels in turning stage fruit; however, TBG4 mRNA suppression was unstable, and mRNA levels varied in red-ripe fruit among the lines. Suppression of TBG4 mRNA levels in antisense fruit was correlated with a reduction in extractable exo-galactanase activity against a lupin galactan. All of the antisense lines had reduced free galactose levels at mature green stage 4, but levels comparable with controls during ripening. Total cell wall galactosyl contents in the antisense fruit were not significantly different from control fruit. Whole-fruit firmness was measured using a texture analyzer and the means of the peak force measurements for four of six antisense lines were significantly higher than control fruit. One antisense line had red-ripe fruit that were 40% firmer than controls. Fruit from this antisense line also had the lowest TBG4 mRNA and exo-galactanase levels and the highest wall galactosyl content during the early stages of ripening, implicating an involvement of this gene product in cell wall modification leading to fruit softening. Lower Exo-Galactanase Activity Results in Transient Reduction in Free Gal, But Only Minor Changes in Total Cell Wall Galactosyl
A Prospective Study of the Efficacy and Tolerance of a Chimeric Antibody to Tumor Necrosis Factors (Remicade) in Severe Pediatric Crohn Disease

ObjectivesTo evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of infliximab in children with severe Crohn disease (CD), the authors prospectively monitored 21 children aged 15 ± 2 years with severe CD who they treated with infliximab (5 mg/kg) on days 0, 15, and 45. One patient received only one injection. Eighteen patients were corticosteroid dependent, and 6 were receiving parenteral nutrition. Three patients were corticoid resistant (1 mg/kg/d >15 days). Sixteen had perianal disease. ResultsThe Harvey-Bradshaw index (HB) decreased from 8 ± 3 on day 0 to 1 ± 2 on day 45 (P = 0.001). The inflammation factors decreased (P = 0.001), and albumin increased (P = 0.002). Nineteen children were in complete remission (HB < 4) on day 45, and 2 had improved (HB = −6 points). Tumor necrosis factor-&agr; (TNF&agr;) in the stools (n = 16) decreased (P = 0.04). All perianal fistulas (n = 12) were closed by day 90. Fourteen of 21 patients had stopped taking steroids at 3 months, and all had stopped parenteral nutrition. Growth velocity was significantly greater after infliximab administration (Z score, +0.5) than before (−0.45;P = 0.004). Nineteen of 21 patients had relapsed (90%) at 1 year despite continued immunosuppressors. Seven had surgery because of an uncontrolled relapse (5), stenosis (1), or fistula (1). Six patients developed antinuclear antibodies (1/40–1/640e), and two had anti-DNA antibodies. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) values increased (>100-fold) in eight patients. One child developed an anaphylactic reaction to the medication, and one had a catheter-related sepsis. ConclusionInfliximab produces spectacular results for children with severe CD and is well tolerated. However, its effect is transitory for many (90%), with frequent relapses despite continued immunosuppressors. Long-term management with infliximab should be tested despite its worrying side effects.
Science, Values and Animal Welfare: Exploring the ‘Inextricable Connection’

In conceptualizing animal welfare, it is useful to distinguish among three types of concepts. ‘Type 1” are single, measurable attributes. ‘Type 2’ are single attributes that cannot be measured directly but can be estimated by correctly combining various contributing attributes. ‘Type 3’ are concepts involving multiple attributes which are grouped together because they serve some common function, and whose relative importance cannot be established in an entirely objective way. Individuals who treat animal welfare as a type 1 concept may propose single, objective measures of welfare, such as longevity or levels of stress-related hormones; however, this approach rests on judgements, which are not purely objective, about the relative importance of different factors for an animal's quality of life. Studies of animal preferences and motivation are sometimes seen as an objective way to weight different attributes according to the animals’ own priorities, and thus allow animal welfare to be treated as a type 2 concept. However, numerous technical and fundamental difficulties limit our ability to do this. Animal welfare is best seen as a type 3 concept incorporating multiple attributes, with considerable consensus over certain general principles (eg that a high level of welfare implies freedom from suffering) but with value-related disagreement over how these principles should be applied. Because the various attributes cannot be combined in a purely objective way, science is limited in its ability to determine the ‘overall’ welfare of an animal and to compare welfare in disparate environments. Instead of attempting to ‘measure’ animal welfare, the role of science should be seen as identifying, rectifying and preventing welfare problems.
Structural and optical characterization of vertical GaAs/GaP core-shell nanowires grown on Si substrates

GaAs nanowires were grown on Si (111) substrates. By coating a thin GaAs buffer layer on Si surface and using a two-temperature growth, the morphology and crystal structure of GaAs nanowires were dramatically improved. The strained GaAs/GaP core-shell nanowires, based on the improved GaAs nanowires with a shell thickness of 25 nm, showed a significant shift in emission energy of 260 meV from the unstrained GaAs nanowires.
The Reversal of Inequality Trends in Colombia, 1978-95: A Combination of Persistent and Fluctuating Forces

Between 1978 and 1995, Colombia made a U-turn in income inequality and underwent significant changes in key socio-demographic characteristics and labor market indicators. The dynamics of inequality were asymmetric: while rural inequality improved, the opposite happened in urban areas with predominant effects on national income distribution. In this paper we measure the specific contributions of determinant factors of household income to the dynamics of urban and rural inequality for the periods 1978-88 and 1988-95. Using a microeconomic reduced form model of individual labor earnings and labor market participation and occupational choice, we decompose the changes in inequality derived from variations in (i) the returns to human assets -education and experience- and the residual variance; (ii) the changes in endowments of human assets –schoolingand in family size; and (iii) the structural changes in labor force participation and occupational choice. Our findings show that periods of moderate inequality changes conceal strong counterbalancing effects of equalizing and unequalizing forces. The dynamics of income inequality in Colombia might be decomposed as a combination of persistent and fluctuating forces. In urban areas the four persistent factors are jointly unequalizing: education endowment equalization, family size, non-labor income and participation and occupational choice –at the individual level-. However, the larger and unstable effects of five other fluctuating factors dominate them –e.g. returns to education-. Paradoxically, education endowment equalization worsens income inequality in urban areas but improves it in rural areas. This apparent contradiction can be explained by the large differences in returns to education prevalent in the urban areas. It is also surprising that increasing participation of less skilled women generated asymmetric effects between household and individual wage distributions. Although households appear to exacerbate static inequality among workers, they also attenuate the changes in individual income inequality produced by each determinant factor. Finally, unless the increasing trend of skill wage differentials is reversed, the aggregate effect of persistent inequality determinants leads to expect an increasing deterioration of long run inequality trends.
Nutritional Correlates of Human Oral Microbiome

Background: Despite many potential effects of the oral microbiome on oral and systemic health, scant information is available regarding the associations between diet and the oral microbiome. Methods: Oral rinse DNA samples from 182 participants in a population-based case–control study for colorectal cancer were used to amplify a V3–V4 region of bacterial 16S rRNA gene. The amplicons were sequenced using Illumina MiSeq paired end chemistry on 2 runs, yielding approximately 33 million filtered reads that were assigned to bacterial classes. Relative abundances of each class and family as well microbial diversity/richness indices were correlated with selected dietary intakes from a food frequency questionnaire. Results: Saturated fatty acids (SFAs) and vitamin C intakes were consistently correlated with alpha (within-subjects) diversity indexes in both richness and diversity. SFA intake was positively correlated with relative abundance of betaproteobacteria and fusobacteria. Vitamin C and other vitamins with correlated intakes—for example, the B vitamins and vitamin E—exhibited positive correlations with fusobacteria class, its family Leptotrichiaceae and a clostridia family Lachnospiraceae. In addition, glycemic load was positively correlated with Lactobacillaceae abundance. Conclusion: The observed associations in this study were modest. However, the results suggest that the effects of diets are likely to be habitat specific, and observations from the gut microbiome are not transferrable to the oral microbiome. Further studies are warranted, incorporating a range of host biomarkers, such as cytohistological, molecular, or biochemical measurements, in order to address biological consequences of these dietary intakes in human oral health.
Attorney Views on the Use of Private Agencies for Probation Supervision and Treatment

The exponential rise in probation caseloads has necessitated that some jurisdictions contract with private probation agencies and community-based private treatment providers. Regulations that monitor private providers are ill defined or absent, leaving standards open to broad interpretation. Attorneys in one jurisdiction that used private providers were surveyed to measure their beliefs about private treatment providers for people sentenced to probation. The research found that attorneys supported private provider representatives being present in court to contact defendants and to provide evidence to strengthen probation violations. Private agency reputation and standardized criteria were important to establish qualifications in offering supervision and treatment services.