Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Gastrointestinal symptoms and autism spectrum disorder: links and risks – a possible new overlap syndrome

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a genetically determined neurodevelopmental brain disorder presenting with restricted, repetitive patterns of behaviors, interests, and activities, or persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction. ASD is characterized by many different clinical endophenotypes and is potentially linked with certain comorbidities. According to current recommendations, children with ASD are at risk of having alimentary tract disorders – mainly, they are at a greater risk of general gastrointestinal (GI) concerns, constipation, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. GI symptoms may overlap with ASD core symptoms through different mechanisms. These mechanisms include multilevel pathways in the gut–brain axis contributing to alterations in behavior and cognition. Shared pathogenetic factors and pathophysiological mechanisms possibly linking ASD and GI disturbances, as shown by most recent studies, include intestinal inflammation with or without autoimmunity, immunoglobulin E-mediated and/or cell-mediated GI food allergies as well as gluten-related disorders (celiac disease, wheat allergy, non-celiac gluten sensitivity), visceral hypersensitivity linked with functional abdominal pain, and dysautonomia linked with GI dysmotility and gastroesophageal reflux. Dysregulation of the gut microbiome has also been shown to be involved in modulating GI functions with the ability to affect intestinal permeability, mucosal immune function, and intestinal motility and sensitivity. Metabolic activity of the microbiome and dietary components are currently suspected to be associated with alterations in behavior and cognition also in patients with other neurodegenerative diseases. All the above-listed GI factors may contribute to brain dysfunction and neuroinflammation depending upon an individual patient’s genetic vulnerability. Due to a possible clinical endophenotype presenting as comorbidity of ASD and GI disorders, we propose treating this situation as an “overlap syndrome”. Practical use of the concept of an overlap syndrome of ASD and GI disorders may help in identifying those children with ASD who suffer from an alimentary tract disease. Unexplained worsening of nonverbal behaviors (agitation, anxiety, aggression, self-injury, sleep deprivation) should alert professionals about this possibility. This may shorten the time to diagnosis and treatment commencement, and thereby alleviate both GI and ASD symptoms through reducing pain, stress, or discomfort. Furthermore, this may also protect children against unnecessary dietary experiments and restrictions that have no medical indications. A personalized approach to each patient is necessary. Our understanding of ASDs has come a long way, but further studies and more systematic research are warranted.
Gene Therapy on Trial

A flurry of reports and congressional hearings, sparked by the death of a volunteer in a study at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia last fall, are due in the next few weeks. The Penn episode points up a central problem: The field still lacks an ideal vector. Many clinicians fear that support for gene therapy will buckle under the onslaught.
Can Multi-Detector Computed Tomography (MDCT) Help in Differentiation of Neoplastic Parotid Lesions?

Background: Parotid lesions are uncommon issue in clinical practice with wide differential diagnosis based upon multiple pathological varieties and limited clinical values. Computed tomography (CT) try to solve this issue as possible. Objectives: To evaluate the diagnostic reliability of multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) in characterization of benign and malignant parotid lesions using a systematic approach in comparison to final pathological data. Patients & Methods: A retrospective study includes136 patients diagnosed pathologically as parotid tumors underwent multi-detector computerized tomography (MDCT) examination using 64-row multi-detector computerized tomography (CT) scanner. All the images were evaluated for certain multi-detector computerized tomography (MDCT) criteria in a systematic manner. Results: Our study revealed primary malignant tumors in 88 patients, secondary metastatic lesions in 3 patients and benign tumors in 45 patients. Five multi-detector computerized tomography (MDCT) criteria were statistically significant in differentiating between benign and malignant parotid lesions, they were; lesion margin (p=0.001), location (p=0.05), enhancement pattern (p=0.001), central necrosis (p=0.001) and para-pharyngeal space extension(p=0.001). Conclusion: Multi-detector computerized tomography (MDCT) can be valuable in differentiating between benign and malignant parotid lesions and leading the management strategy aiming for best surgical outcome.
Acute alachlor and butachlor herbicide poisoning

Background. Alachlor and butachlor are commonly used herbicides. However, data on acute human poisonings are scarce. We retrospectively analyzed the data of human alachlor/butachlor poisoning in Taiwan. Methods. The study period ran from October 1986 through February 2007. Sixty-three alachlor and 70 butachlor poisoning cases were reported to the Taiwan National Poison Center during the study period. Clinical data were reviewed and analyzed. Results. Most patients intentionally ingested the herbicides. The toxicities of alachlor and butachlor were largely similar. Twenty-eight out of 102 patients with oral exposure were asymptomatic, while the others developed vomiting, central nervous system depression, and other outcomes. Among patients using other exposure pathways, gastrointestinal effects were the main manifestation. Three patients died after manifesting profound hypotension and/or coma following alachlor ingestion. Conclusion. Alachlor and butachlor poisonings are usually of low toxicity. However, severe neurological and cardiovascular outcomes may develop rarely, especially following oral ingestion. Medical management of such poisonings is primarily supportive.
Establishment of three bleomycin‐resistant human carcinoma cell lines and their cross‐resistance to other antitumor agents

Three bleomycin‐resistant (BLMr) human carcinoma cell lines (HeLa‐BLMr, KB‐BLMr, and Hepd‐uvBLMr) were established in culture by progressively increasing the concentration of bleomycin (BLM). HeLa‐BLMr and KB‐BLMr were obtained after 5 and 2 months of incubation with BLM, whereas the establishment of Hepd‐uvBLMr required 3 months of incubation with BLM after ultraviolet treatment. These cells have been successfully subcultured for more than 150 passages during more than 2 years in the presence of 1 μg/ml of BLM. The degrees of BLM resistance were 20‐fold, 11.6‐fold, and 186‐fold for HeLa‐BLMr, KB‐BLMr, and Hepd‐uvBLMr, respectively, and the resistant phenotype of both HeLa‐BLMr and Hepd‐uvBLMr was stable when they were cultured for 30 passages in BLM‐free medium, but unstable in KB‐BLMr. Although each cell line exhibited cross‐resistance to 3 to 5 other antitumor agents including peplomycin, combined use of BLM with a polyene antibiotic, a calcium channel blocker, or a poly(ADP‐ribose) polymerase inhibitor overcame the BLM resistance in vitro to various degrees.
Postnatal management of isolated mild pelvic dilatation detected in antenatal period

Aim: Mild antenatal renal pelvic dilatation (ARPD) revealed by prenatal ultrasound (US) raises the question whether or not screening for vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) is mandatory. The aim of our study was to suggest guidelines for postnatal management of infants with mild ARPD defined as an antero‐posterior (AP) dilatation >5 and <10 mm.
Denoising of Hyperspectral Images Using the PARAFAC Model and Statistical Performance Analysis

Denoising is an important preprocessing step to further analyze a hyperspectral image (HSI). The common denoising methods, such as 2-D (two dimensions) filter, actually rearrange data from 3-D to 2-D and ignore the spectral relationships among different bands of the image. Tensor decomposition method has been adapted to denoise HSIs, for instance Tucker3 (three-mode factor analysis) model. However, this model has problems in uniqueness of decomposition and in estimation of multiple ranks. In this paper, to overcome these problems, we exploit a powerful multilinear algebra model, named parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC), and the number of estimated rank is reduced to one. Assumed that HSI is disturbed by white Gaussian noise, the optimal rank of PARAFAC is estimated according to that the covariance matrix of the n-mode unfolding matrix of the removed noise should be approach to a scalar matrix. Then, the denoising results by PARAFAC decomposition are presented and compared with those obtained by Tucker3 model and 2-D filters. To further verify the denoising performance of PARAFAC decomposition, Cramer-Rao lower bound (CRLB) of denoising is deduced theoretically for the first time, and the experiment results show that the PARAFAC model is a preferable denoising method since the variance of the HSI denoised by it is closer to the CRLB than by other considered methods.
Integration of HIV and Tuberculosis in the Community

Current strategies are insufficient to contain the growing tuberculosis (TB) epidemic in areas of high HIV prevalence such as sub-Saharan Africa. Due to the increased risk of morbidity and mortality among those coinfected, early detection is critical. However, strategies dependent on passive, facility-based case finding have failed due to severe limitations in the HIV-positive population. There is growing evidence from multiple clinical trials that early initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in patients coinfected with HIV and TB reduces mortality. Integration of community-based distribution of ART and TB medicines should be considered for coinfected patients to help improve retention in care and to off-load busy health systems. Several models of integration of HIV and TB care in sub-Saharan Africa have been successful. This review article examines the concepts of HIV and TB integration of testing and treatment at the community level.
Clinically useful adjuvants in regional anaesthesia.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW In this review, emphasis is placed on adjuvant drugs that are already in clinical use. The list of adjuvants studied during the review period includes adrenaline, clonidine, ketamine, neostigmine, nondepolarizing muscle relaxants, and nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs. Some future aspects are considered in a couple of experimental studies on slow-release local anaesthetic formulations. RECENT FINDINGS Adrenaline not only acts as a vasoconstrictor, it may also produce analgesia through an alpha2-adrenergic mechanism. Adrenaline may facilitate the uptake of the local anaesthetic into nerves. The addition of adrenaline to a mixture of ropivacaine and fentanyl clearly improves thoracic epidural analgesia. Several recent studies have shown a synergism of clonidine with local anaesthetics in various types of blocks, as well as with spinal opioids. Bradycardia and hypotension may be associated with the use of clonidine. Neostigmine may cause antinociception both in the spinal cord and in peripheral nerves. Neostigmine has been found to potentiate the effect of spinal opioids, but gastrointestinal side effects are frequent. Biodegradable microcapsules containing bupivacaine and dexamethasone have been tested in humans and found to produce analgesia for several days (intercostal block). Local inflammatory reactions and paraesthesias, however, were observed in 30% of cases. SUMMARY Adrenaline and opioids may be regarded as the best investigated and most important adjuvants in regional anaesthesia. Other drugs, such as clonidine and neostigmine, may prolong analgesia in various regional anaesthetic techniques, but possible side effects may limit their clinical application. Further development is needed concerning extra-long acting analgesic formulations.
Multiphase Zero-Current Switching Bidirectional Converters and Battery Energy Storage Application

A multiphase quasi-resonant (QR) zero-current switching (ZCS) switched capacitor (SC) bidirectional dc-dc converter structure is proposed to reduce current ripple and switching loss, and significantly increase converter efficiency and power density. This approach provides a more precise output voltage to obtain voltage conversion ratios from the double-mode versus half-mode to n-mode versus 1/n mode. This is accomplished by adding a different number of switched capacitors and power MOSFET switches with a small series connected resonant inductor for forward and reverse schemes. The size and cost can be reduced when the proposed converter is designed with coupled inductors. Simulation and experimental results demonstrate four-phase with and without coupled inductor interleaved QR ZCS SC converter performance for bidirectional power flow control applications. A battery energy storage system for a bidirectional power flow control application is demonstrated.
Performance of a minimally invasive uncalibrated cardiac output monitoring system (Flotrac/Vigileo) in haemodynamically unstable patients.

BACKGROUND Early haemodynamic assessment is of particular importance in the evaluation of haemodynamically compromised patients, but is often precluded by the invasiveness and complexity of the established cardiac output (CO) monitoring techniques. The FloTrac/Vigileo system allows minimally invasive CO determination based on the arterial pressure waveform derived from any standard arterial catheter, and the algorithm underlying CO calculation was recently modified to allow a more precise estimate of aortic compliance. METHODS Using the new software, we studied 25 haemodynamically unstable patients who had a radial artery catheter and underwent invasive haemodynamic monitoring with the PiCCO system. PiCCO-derived transpulmonary thermodilution and pulse contour CO (reference-CO) were compared with the CO values obtained with the FloTrac/Vigileo system (AP-CO). Reported CO values are indexed to body surface area. Agreement between reference-CO and AP-CO recorded during routine clinical care was assessed using Bland-Altman statistics. RESULTS Overall bias between the reference-CO and the AP-CO (n=324) was 0.68 litre min(-1) m(-2) with a high percentage error of +/- 58.8% (95% limits of agreement +/- 1.94 l min(-1) m(-2)). There was a significant difference (P<0.001) between the radial and the femoral mean arterial pressures, and bias was significantly larger for a mean pressure difference of >5 mm Hg (0.93 vs 0.57 litre min(-1) m(-2), P=0.032). No connection was found between the norepinephrine dose and the CO agreement. CONCLUSIONS Despite the updated algorithm, AP-CO still showed a limited agreement with the reference-CO and systematically underestimated the CO so that the method is not suitable to replace invasive CO monitoring at present.
Mediterranean Conference on Information Systems ( MCIS ) 9-2010 RECOVERING FROM TRUST BREAKDOWNS IN LARGE SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATIONS

On the basis of experiences from the Faroese large-scale implementation of integrated healthcare information systems and insights into dynamic aspects of trust, we offer the following lessons learned for the successful management and recovery of trust (breakdowns) in large system implementations: restore relations by turning towards face-to-face events and procedures, assure a well-functioning and available support organization, demonstrate trust in actors to enhance their own self-confidence and celebrate successes, even the smallest or ones injected by yourself. The propositions are based on a 6-year longitudinal qualitative case study and analyzed using critical incidents and content analysis. The propositions were discussed in a seminar with project participants. Finally the findings are challenged and sharpened and suggestions for further research are given.
Estimation of the Roll Hydrodynamic Moment Model of a Ship by Using the System Identification Method and the Free Running Model Test

When a fast container ship or a naval vessel turns, accompanying roll motions occur. This roll effect must be considered in the horizontal equations of the motion of the ship to predict the maneuverability of the ship properly. In this paper, a new method for determining a model structure of the hydrodynamic roll moment acting on a ship and for estimating the hydrodynamic coefficients is proposed. The method utilizes a system identification technique with the data from sea trial tests or from free running model (FRM) tests. To obtain motion data that is applied to the proposed algorithm, an FRM of a large container ship was developed. Using this model ship, standard maneuvering tests were carried out on a small body of water out of doors. A hydrodynamic roll moment model was constructed utilizing the data from turning circle tests and a 20-20 zig-zag test. This was then confirmed through a 10-10 zig-zag test. It was concluded that a model structure of the hydrodynamic roll moment model could be established without difficulty through a system identification method and FRM tests.
A Cost-Based Approach to a Reliable Multicast Transport Protocol

In this paper we provide a new approach to estimate the link usage of multicast reliable transport protocols. It can be used as a benchmark to evaluate their scalability. We have chosen, as a case study, a multicast reliable transport protocol called RCCMP. It has been designed to be simple, scalable, reliable and TCP-friendly. The link cost is due to data, retransmitted data, and characteristic packets of multicast protocols such as control packets. For RCCMP, control packets are used to estimate the number of receivers involved in the session. Also, the reliability cost has to be added to the bandwidth consumption. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed models are able to predict the bandwidth usage.
CINEMA NA ESCOLA: UMA MÁQUINA DE GUERRA CONTRA A VIOLÊNCIA PERFORMÁTICA NARCISISTA?

No contexto atual das políticas de currículo se vê proliferar nas escolas um novo gerencialismo que sai do setor privado e invade o setor público com vistas a qualificar o processo de gerência e melhorar os resultados. Esse novo gerencialismo, conforme Ball (2006) vai produzindo uma cultura da performatividade, constituindo corpos cada vez mais preocupados com os resultados, o desempenho e a qualificação de si. Mas, para além de um corpo-performático e polivalente, a cultura da performatividade produz uma violência narcisista a nível das pequenas diferenças correlatas à produção e a exclusão do outro no contexto escolar. O que se pretende com esse texto é pensarmos a contingência das violências produzidas pela escola contemporânea através da cultura da performatividade, e no contrafluxo, questionar: pode o cinema se colocar como máquina de guerra na produção de linhas de fuga aos desejos imanentemente agressivos no sentido de potencializar outra ética para a existência que exceda a da lógica neoliberal performática? Chamamos para a discussão e composição desse pensamento alguns teóricos da perspectiva pós-estruturalistas: Foucault (1999, 2008, 2010), Deleuze (1988, 2013), Ball (2003, 2010), Skliar (2016), e outros que se debruçam nos estudos focados em cinema: Miranda (2015, 2016), Migliorin (2015), Oliveira Jr, (2016), Gonçalves (2014). Acreditamos que por meio de algumas experiências desenvolvidas pelo Laboratório de Estudos Audiovisuais-OLHO, novas pistas podem ser seguidas de forma a construir através do cinema outros corpos, outras éticas, outros modos e estilos de ser e estar na vida.
Sur la notion d'optimalité dans les problèmes de bandit stochastique

Cette these s'inscrit dans les domaines de l'apprentissage statistique et de la statistique sequentielle. Le cadre principal est celui des problemes de bandit stochastique a plusieurs bras. Dans une premiere partie, on commence par revisiter les bornes inferieures sur le regret. On obtient ainsi des bornes non-asymptotiques dependantes de la distribution que l'on prouve de maniere tres simple en se limitant a quelques proprietes bien connues de la divergence de Kullback-Leibler. Puis, on propose des algorithmes pour la minimisation du regret dans les problemes de bandit stochastique parametrique dont les bras appartiennent a une certaine famille exponentielle ou non-parametrique en supposant seulement que les bras sont a support dans l'intervalle unite, pour lesquels on prouve l'optimalite asymptotique (au sens de la borne inferieure de Lai et Robbins) et l'optimalite minimax. On analyse aussi la complexite pour l'echantillonnage sequentielle visant a identifier la distribution ayant la moyenne la plus proche d'un seuil fixe, avec ou sans l'hypothese que les moyennes des bras forment une suite croissante. Ce travail est motive par l'etude des essais cliniques de phase I, ou l'hypothese de croissance est naturelle. Finalement, on etend l'inegalite de Fano qui controle la probabilite d'evenements disjoints avec une moyenne de divergences de Kullback-leibler a des variables aleatoires arbitraires bornees sur l'intervalle unite. Plusieurs nouvelles applications en decoulent, les plus importantes etant une borne inferieure sur la vitesse de concentration de l'a posteriori Bayesien et une borne inferieure sur le regret pour un probleme de bandit non-stochastique.
Campylobacter in Broiler Chicken and Broiler Meat in Sri Lanka: Influence of Semi-Automated vs. Wet Market Processing on Campylobacter Contamination of Broiler Neck Skin Samples

Broiler meat can become contaminated with Campylobacter of intestinal origin during processing. The present study aimed to identify the prevalence of Campylobacter in broiler flocks and meat contamination at retail shops, and determine the influence of semi-automated and wet market processing on Campylobacter contamination of neck skin samples. Samples were collected from semi-automated plants (n = 102) and wet markets (n = 25). From each batch of broilers, pooled caecal samples and neck skin samples were tested for Campylobacter. Broiler meat purchased from retail outlets (n = 37) was also tested. The prevalence of Campylobacter colonized broiler flocks was 67%. The contamination of meat at retail was 59%. Both semi-automated and wet market processing resulted to contaminate the broiler neck skins to the levels of 27.4% and 48%, respectively. When Campylobacter-free broiler flocks were processed in semi-automated facilities 15% (5/33) of neck skin samples became contaminated by the end of processing whereas 25% (2/8) became contaminated after wet market processing. Characterization of isolates revealed a higher proportion of C. coli compared to C. jejuni. Higher proportions of isolates were resistant to important antimicrobials. This study shows the importance of Campylobacter in poultry industry in Sri Lanka and the need for controlling antimicrobial resistance.