Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
‘Oh No, I have an Autistic Child?!’: Challenges of Mothers Regarding the Autistic Traits of their Children

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is defined as a complex developmental disorder which involves persistent challenges in social interaction, verbal/non-verbal communication, and restricted/repetitive behaviours. At present, the prevalence of ASD appears to be increasing globally, including in Malaysia. Parents of children with autism can find it difficult to cope and struggle with the demanding situations. This paper describes a case study that explores the perspectives of three mothers of ASD child. Face-to-face semi structured interviews were used to obtain their insights. Data were transcribed and analysed using the thematic analysis method. The interview revealed some challenges in relation to autistic traits which include: (i) one-way communication, (ii) alone, aloof and participate in silence, (iii) sensory issue such as super sensitive hearing, (iv) aggressive behaviour, (v) unique views, (vi) routine based, (vii) attention to details, (viii) obsessions, and (ix) moody and tantrum. The case study also unfolded that there is a need to promote the family capacity to assist mothers in raising their ASD child. Therefore, an appropriate treatment programmes in techniques for managing behavioural problems for mothers as the prime caregiver must be offered so that they are better placed to help their autistic child.
Antibacterial Effect of Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) against the Aetiological Agents of Pitted Keratolyis

Pitted keratolysis (PK) is a bacterial skin infection mostly affecting the pressure-bearing areas of the soles, causing unpleasant symptoms. Antibiotics are used for therapy, but the emergence of antiobiotic resistance, makes the application of novel topical therapeutic agents necessary. The antibacterial effects of 12 EOs were compared in the first part of this study against the three known aetiological agents of PK (Kytococcus sedentarius, Dermatophilus congolensis and Bacillus thuringiensis). The results of the minimal inhibitory concentration, minimal bactericidal concentration and spore-formation inhibition tests revealed that lemongrass was the most effective EO against all three bacterium species and was therefore chosen for further analysis. Seventeen compounds were identified with solid-phase microextraction followed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (HS-SPME/GC-MS) analysis while thin-layer chromatography combined with direct bioautography (TLC-BD) was used to detect the presence of antibacterially active compounds. Citral showed a characteristic spot at the Rf value of 0.47, while the HS-SPME/GC-MS analysis of an unknown spot with strong antibacterial activity revealed the presence of α-terpineol, γ-cadinene and calamenene. Of these, α-terpineol was confirmed to possess an antimicrobial effect on all three bacterium species associated with PK. Our study supports the hypothesis that, based on their spectrum, EO-based formulations have potent antibacterial effects against PK and warrant further investigation as topical therapeutics.
The Impact of Informal Social Support on Older Health: Evidence from China

Objectives: To explore the impact of informal social support (ISS) on older health. Methods: Multiple regression was used as the baseline regression, grouping regression was used to examine whether there were health effect differences among groups based on age and household registration, and insurance was selected to explore moderating effects of formal social support (FSS). Results: First, economic support, accompanied support, and number of intimate contacts had significantly positive effects on older health except for care support’s negative effects. Second, ISS had different health effects for different groups based on age and household registration. Third, FSS was a significant moderating for ISS. Conclusions: The government should emphasize and strengthen the supplementary role of ISS to FSS and promote the effective combination of the two, especially for the older who are high-age and rural, and further improve the role of care support.
Smart Optical Sensors for Internet of Things: integration of temperature monitoring and customized security physical unclonable functions

Nowadays, the Internet of Things (IoT) has an astonishingly societal impact in which healthcare services stand out. Amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic scenario, challenges include the development of authenticatable smart IoT devices with the ability to simultaneously track people and sense in real-time human body temperature aiming to infer a health condition in a contactless and remote way through user-friendly equipment such as a smartphone. Univocal smart labels based on quick response (QR) codes were designed and printed on medical substrates (protective masks and adhesive) using flexible organic-inorganic luminescent inks. Luminescence thermometry and physically unclonable functions (PUFs) are simultaneously combined allowing non-contact temperature detection, identification, and connection with the IoT environment through a smartphone. This is an intriguing example where luminescent inks based on organic-inorganic hybrids modified by lanthanide ions are used to fabricate a smart label that can sense temperature with remarkable figures of merit, including maximum thermal sensitivity of Sr=1.46 %K-1 and temperature uncertainty of dT=0.2 K, and accuracy, precision, and recall of 96.2%, 98.9%, and 85.7%, respectively. The methodology proposed is feasibly applied for the univocal identification and mobile optical temperature monitoring of individuals, allowing the control of the access to restricted areas and the information transfer to medical entities for post medical evaluation towards a new generation of mobile-assisted eHealth (mHealth).
Effect of Joints’ Configuration Change on the Effective Mass of the Robot

Effective mass of robot is considered of great significance in enhancing the safety of human-robot collaboration. In this paper, the effective mass of the robot is investigated using different joint configurations. This investigation is executed in two steps. In the first step, the position of each joint of the robot is changing alone, whereas the positions of the other joints of the robot are fixed and then the effective mass is determined. In the second step, the positions of all joints of the robot are changing together, and the effective mass of the robot is determined. From this process, the relation between the effective mass of the robot and the joint configurations can be presented. This analysis is implemented in MATLAB and using two collaborative robots; the first one is UR10e robot which is a 6-DOF robot and the second one is KUKA LBR iiwa 7 R800 robot which is a 7-DOF robot. The results from this simulation prove that the change in any joint position of the robot except the first and the last joint affect the effective mass of the robot. In addition, the change in all joints’ positions of the robot affect the effective mass. Effective mass can thus be considered as one of the criteria in optimizing the robot kinematics and configuration.
A Digital Health Application Allowing a Personalized Low-Glycemic Nutrition for the Prophylaxis of Migraine: Proof-of-Concept Data from a Retrospective Cohort Study

Background: Migraine is a headache disorder with the highest socioeconomic burden. The aim of this study was to deliver the first proof-of-concept data of the potential role of an individual low-glycemic diet provided by a novel digital health application in the prophylaxis of migraine. Methods: We analyzed data from a retrospective survey of individuals who participated in a digital nutrition program that provides dietary recommendations based on the individual analysis of continuous glucose measurement from an up to 14-day test phase. A total of 84 individuals completed the retrospective digital survey. The endpoints were changes in the number of migraine days, average duration of attacks, average pain severity, frequency of intake of pain medication, absenteeism, and presenteeism before and after program participation. Results: The intraindividual comparisons of the endpoints before and after program participation revealed decreases in migraine frequency and other patient-relevant migraine parameters. Moreover, patients with a baseline migraine frequency of two and more migraine days per month and adherence to the dietary recommendations (n = 40) showed a mean reduction in migraine days by 33% with a 50%-responder rate of 38%. Conclusions: The data provides emerging evidence that an individualized low-glycemic diet based on continuous glucose measurement could be a promising approach for a diet-based, non-pharmacological migraine prophylaxis. However, future research is required to confirm the implied effectiveness.
Current Surgical Management Strategies for Colorectal Cancer Liver Metastases

Simple Summary Colorectal cancer is one of the most common cancer diagnoses in the world. At least half of patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer will develop metastatic disease, with most being identified in the liver. Surgical resection of colorectal liver metastases (CRLM) is potentially curative. Surgical resection of CRLM, however, remains underutilized despite the continued expansion of operative strategies available. This is likely due to differing views on resectability. Resectability is a surgical assessment, and the classification of CRLM as unresectable should only be made by an experienced hepatobiliary surgeon. Obtaining a surgical evaluation at the time of liver metastasis discovery may help mitigate the challenge of assessing resectability and the determination of potential operative time windows within current multimodal management strategies. The aim of this review is to help facilitate discussions surrounding resectability as well as the timing and sequencing of both surgical and non-surgical therapies. Abstract Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer diagnosis in the world, and the second most common cause of cancer-related deaths. Despite significant progress in management strategies for colorectal cancer over the last several decades, metastatic disease remains difficult to treat and is often considered incurable. However, for patients with colorectal liver metastases (CRLM), surgical resection offers the best opportunity for survival, can be curative, and remains the gold standard. Unfortunately, surgical treatment options are underutilized. Misperceptions regarding resectable and unresectable CRLM likely play a role in this. The assessment of factors that impact resectability status like medical fitness, technical considerations, and disease biology can be difficult, necessitating careful multidisciplinary input and discussion. The identification of ideal operative time windows that align with the multimodal management of these patients can also be perplexing. For all patients with CRLM it may therefore be advantageous to obtain surgical evaluation at the time of discovering liver metastases to mitigate these challenges and minimize the risk of undertreatment. In this review we summarize current surgical management strategies for CRLM and discuss factors to be considered when determining resectability.
Autocalibración de parámetros extrínsecos de sistemas estéreo para aplicaciones de tráfico

En este artículo se presenta un método de autocalibración de los parámetros extrínsecos de un sistema estéreo en aplicaciones de tráfico. Dicho método se basa en determinar la geometría de la calzada delante del vehículo. Esta posición relativa varía considerablemente mientras el vehículo circula, por tanto, resulta de gran interés poder estimarla para su aplicación en múltiples aplicaciones basadas en visión por computador, tales como: sistemas avanzados de ayuda a la conducción, vehículos autónomos o robots. Estos continuos cambios en la posición del sistema estéreo se traducen en variaciones en los valores de los parámetros extrínsecos (altura, ángulo de cabeceo y ´ángulo de alabeo). La validación del método de autocalibración es realizada mediante el empleo de un algoritmo de odometría visual, donde se evalúa la mejora en los resultados que supone conocer en todo momento el valor de los parámetros extrínsecos del sistema estéreo.
Coptisine Alleviates Imiquimod-Induced Psoriasis-like Skin Lesions and Anxiety-like Behavior in Mice

Psoriasis is a common inflammatory skin disorder, which can be associated with psychological disorders, such as anxiety and depression. This study investigated the efficacy and the mechanism of action of a natural compound coptisine using imiquimod (IMQ)-induced psoriasis mice. Coptisine reduced the severity of psoriasis-like skin lesions, decreased epidermal hyperplasia and the levels of inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-17, and IL-22. Furthermore, coptisine improved IMQ-induced anxiety in mice by increasing the number of entries and time in open arms in the elevated plus maze (EPM) test. Coptisine also lowered the levels of inflammatory cytokines TNF-α and IL-1β in the prefrontal cortex of psoriasis mice. HaCaT keratinocytes and BV2 microglial cells were used to investigate the effects of coptisine in vitro. In M5-treated HaCaT cells, coptisine decreased the production of IL-6, MIP-3α/CCL20, IP-10/CXCL10, and ICAM-1 and suppressed the NF-κB signaling pathway. In LPS-stimulated BV2 cells, coptisine reduced the secretion of TNF-α and IL-1β. These findings suggest that coptisine might be a potential candidate for psoriasis treatment by improving both disease severity and psychological comorbidities.
The Rise of Market Culture: The Textile Trade and French Society, 1750–1900 by William M. Reddy (review)

List of figures and maps List of abbreviations Preface Introduction Part I. A World Without Entrepreneurs, 1750-1815: 1. Commerce as conflict 2. The design of the spinning jenny 3. New terms and old practices Part II. Uses of the Market Idea, 1816-1851: 4. The first crisis of management 5. Spinners on guard 6. Visions of subsistence 7. A search for identity Part III. Unquestioned Assumptions, 1852-1904: 8. The clock time of the Second Empire 9. The moral sense of farce 10. Little insurrections Conclusion Notes Bibliographical note Index.
Methods of Inactivation of Highly Pathogenic Viruses for Molecular, Serology or Vaccine Development Purposes

The handling of highly pathogenic viruses, whether for diagnostic or research purposes, often requires an inactivation step. This article reviews available inactivation techniques published in peer-reviewed journals and their benefits and limitations in relation to the intended application. The bulk of highly pathogenic viruses are represented by enveloped RNA viruses belonging to the Togaviridae, Flaviviridae, Filoviridae, Arenaviridae, Hantaviridae, Peribunyaviridae, Phenuiviridae, Nairoviridae and Orthomyxoviridae families. Here, we summarize inactivation methods for these virus families that allow for subsequent molecular and serological analysis or vaccine development. The techniques identified here include: treatment with guanidium-based chaotropic salts, heat inactivation, photoactive compounds such as psoralens or 1.5-iodonaphtyl azide, detergents, fixing with aldehydes, UV-radiation, gamma irradiation, aromatic disulfides, beta-propiolacton and hydrogen peroxide. The combination of simple techniques such as heat or UV-radiation and detergents such as Tween-20, Triton X-100 or Sodium dodecyl sulfate are often sufficient for virus inactivation, but the efficiency may be affected by influencing factors including quantity of infectious particles, matrix constitution, pH, salt- and protein content. Residual infectivity of the inactivated virus could have disastrous consequences for both laboratory/healthcare personnel and patients. Therefore, the development of inactivation protocols requires careful considerations which we review here.
Using Human Biomonitoring Data to Support Risk Assessment of Cosmetic Ingredients—A Case Study of Benzophenone-3

Safety assessment of UV filters for human health by the Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) is based on the estimation of internal dose following external (skin) application of cosmetic products, and comparison with a toxicological reference value after conversion to internal dose. Data from human biomonitoring (HBM) could be very useful in this regard, because it is based on the measurement of real-life internal exposure of the human population to a chemical. UV filters were included in the priority list of compounds to be addressed under the European Human Biomonitoring Initiative (HBM4EU), and risk assessment of benzophenone-3 (BP-3) was carried out based on HBM data. Using BP-3 as an example, this study investigated the benefits and limitations of the use of external versus internal exposure data to explore the usefulness of HBM to support the risk assessment of cosmetic ingredients. The results show that both approaches did indicate a risk to human health under certain levels of exposure. They also highlight the need for more robust exposure data on BP-3 and other cosmetic ingredients, and a standardized framework for incorporating HBM data in the risk assessment of cosmetic products.
First Year Metabolic and Hormonal Behavior Define two Different Populations of SGA Newborn for Weight or Height

Abstract Context Small-for-gestational-age (SGA) children have a particular metabolic and hormonal pattern at birth that changes rapidly. Objective To evaluate the linear and weight growth in the first year of life in SGA children. Design Prospective, monocentric cohort study. Setting Real-world data collected from April 2012 to January 2016. Patients SGA newborns uniformly defined by either growth or length lower than -2 SDs for gestational age. Interventions All children were evaluated for 1 year after birth, at 3 days of life, then 3, 6, and 12 months after birth. Main outcome measures Anthropometric parameters and biochemical variables, such as blood glucose, insulin, leptin, IGF-1, IGF binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3), and homeostasis model assessment - insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) index. Results A total of 133 SGA children were enrolled. Length significantly improved 1 month after birth, whereas weight significantly increased only at 3 months after birth. Biochemical variables increased during the first year of life, showing a prediction by IGFBP-3 and HOMA-IR index. Then, the variables were divided considering either weight, length, or both, showing a different incidence. The biochemical variable changes recorded in the first step were maintained considering SGA children for weight or length, whereas they disappeared when weight and length were considered together. Conclusions Our study shows a specific catchup growth for weight and length in SGA children. Moreover, we highlight that weight and length should be considered as independent parameters in SGA children, defining 2 different metabolic-hormonal populations with different conceivable predictive role in early catchup growth and in later growth and metabolic status.
Control of a Modified Switched-Capacitor Boost Converter

Switched-capacitor converters and their alternatives have been shown to provide high efficiency with high power densities on smaller volumes, and can thereby be a suitable choice for energy harvesting. This paper proposes a hybrid power architecture based on a switched-capacitor topology and a boost converter that can be used for such purposes. A switching capacitor circuit can achieve any voltage ratio, allowing a boost converter to increase the input voltage to higher voltage levels. The first stage is unregulated with high-efficiency voltage conversion. The boost stage provides a regulated voltage output on such a converter. Rather than cascading two converters, their operation is integrated for the output voltage regulation. One major problem of switched-capacitor converters is output voltage regulation, which is solved by the interconnection of the power stages. The simplicity and robustness of the solution provide the possibility to achieve higher voltage ratios than cascading boost converters and provide higher efficiency. The converter’s size and cost can be improved with the integration of switching capacitors in DC-DC converter structures. A converter prototype has been designed, modelled, and built for the input voltage level of 2 V and power level of 5 W.
Cytoskeleton Protein EB3 Contributes to Dendritic Spines Enlargement and Enhances Their Resilience to Toxic Effects of Beta-Amyloid

EB3 protein is expressed abundantly in the nervous system and transiently enters the dendritic spines at the tip of the growing microtubule, which leads to spine enlargement. Nevertheless, the role of dynamic microtubules, and particularly EB3 protein, in synapse function is still elusive. By manipulating the EB3 expression level, we have shown that this protein is required for a normal dendritogenesis. Nonetheless, EB3 overexpression also reduces hippocampal neurons dendritic branching and total dendritic length. This effect likely occurs due to the speeding neuronal development cycle from dendrite outgrowth to the step when dendritic spines are forming. Implementing direct morphometric characterization of dendritic spines, we showed that EB3 overexpression leads to a dramatic increase in the dendritic spine head area. EB3 knockout oppositely reduces spine head area and increases spine neck length and spine neck/spine length ratio. The same effect is observed in conditions of amyloid-beta toxicity, modeling Alzheimer`s disease. Neck elongation is supposed to be a common detrimental effect on the spine’s shape, which makes them biochemically and electrically less connected to the dendrite. EB3 also potentiates the formation of presynaptic protein Synapsin clusters and CaMKII-alpha preferential localization in spines rather than in dendrites of hippocampal neurons, while its downregulation has an opposite effect and reduces the size of presynaptic protein clusters Synapsin and PSD95. EB3′s role in spine development and maturation determines its neuroprotective effect. EB3 overexpression makes dendritic spines resilient to amyloid-beta toxicity, restores altered PSD95 clustering, and reduces CaMKII-alpha localization in spines observed in this pathological state.