bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Association of In Utero HIV Exposure With Obesity and Reactive Airway Disease in HIV-Negative Adolescents and Young Adults
Authors: Fourman Lindsay T. , Pan Chelsea S. , Zheng Isabel , Gerard Marisa E. , Sheehab Asia , Lee Hang , Stanley Takara L. , Grinspoon Steven K. 
Published: November 2019

Background:
HIV-negative individuals with in utero HIV exposure represent an emerging population, exceeding 18 million people worldwide. Long-term clinical outcomes among HIV-exposed uninfected (HEU) individuals into adolescence and young adulthood remain unknown.

Setting:
US academic health system.

Methods:
In this observational cohort study, we leveraged a patient data registry to identify 50 HEU adolescents and young adults. We also identified 141 HIV-unexposed controls that were matched to HEU subjects up to 3:1 on age of last encounter (±2 years), birthdate (±5 years), sex, race/ethnicity, and zip code. All subjects were born since January 1, 1990, with medical records available into adolescence and young adulthood. Primary outcomes were most recent body mass index (BMI) z-score and presence of reactive airway disease (RAD). Records were manually reviewed to extract health information.

Results:
Fifty HEU adolescents and young adults (18 ± 3 years, 54% men) and 141 matched controls (19 ± 3 years, 54% men) were compared. HEU individuals had a higher BMI z-score (1.12 ± 1.08 vs. 0.73 ± 1.09, P = 0.03) and an increased prevalence of obesity (42% vs. 22%, P = 0.009) compared with controls. HEU subjects also had a higher prevalence of RAD vs. controls (40% vs. 23%, P = 0.03). These differences persisted on adjusting for demographic, socioeconomic, maternal, and birth-related factors. Maternal prenatal CD4+ T-cell count was inversely associated with BMI z-score among HEU adolescents (r = −0.47, P = 0.01).

Conclusions:
HEU adolescents and young adults exhibited a heightened prevalence of obesity and RAD compared with HIV-unexposed controls. Additional studies are needed to optimize care for the expanding population of HEU individuals transitioning to adulthood.
A Third-Generation Adaptive Statistical Iterative Reconstruction for Contrast-Enhanced 4-Dimensional Dual-Energy Computed Tomography for Pancreatic Cancer
Authors: Ohira Shingo , Kanayama Naoyuki , Wada Kentaro , Washio Hayate , Karino Tsukasa , Ueda Yoshihiro , Inui Shoki , Miyazaki Masayoshi , Koizumi Masahiko , Teshima Teruki 
Published: November 2019

Objectives
The objective of this study was to assess the objective and subjective qualities of the contrast-enhanced 4-dimensional dual-energy computed tomography using adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction (ASiR) and ASiR-V.

Methods
The virtual monochromatic images at 60 keV were reconstructed using filtered back projection, ASiR, and ASiR-V (10%–100%) for 14 patients with pancreatic cancer. The contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) was calculated, and the subjective measurements were compared based on a 5-point score scale.

Results
The ASiR-V yielded a significantly higher CNR than ASiR (P < 0.05). The subjective image quality (peak) was significantly improved (P < 0.01) with ASiR (50%) (3.8, 3.5, and 4.0; overall image quality, tumor delineation, and noise, respectively) and with ASiR-V (50%) (3.9, 3.5, and 4.2, respectively) compared with the filtered back projection (3.2, 3.2, and 3.0, respectively).

Conclusions
The ASiR-V yielded higher CNR than ASiR and provided the highest subjective scores regarding the overall image quality.
Diabetic Foot Ulcer Patients' Uncertainty Regarding Their Prognosis
Authors: Lee Ye-Na , Chang Sung Ok 
Published: November 2019

PURPOSE:
The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify the subjective patient perspectives toward the uncertainty regarding diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) prognosis.

DESIGN:
Q-methodology, which is a qualitative method for analyzing subjective viewpoints, was used.

SUBJECTS AND SETTING:
Forty patients with DFUs who were admitted to the diabetic wound center of a university hospital in Seoul, South Korea.

METHODS:
Data were collected on the subjective viewpoint of patients regarding their DFU prognosis uncertainty and analyzed by the software program PQMethod 2.35 using a principal component analysis and varimax rotation.

RESULTS:
This study revealed 4 factors characterizing patient subjective experience related to DFU prognosis: confusion from a lack of knowledge, concerns about a negative future, overdependence on information, and expectations for a positive outlook about favorable results.

CONCLUSION:
The findings of this study suggest various intervention methods for patients with DFU facing uncertainty about their prognosis based on the 4 viewpoints identified. The identification of the factor causing uncertainty and integration of all uncertainty factors are expected to be used as the basis for reducing patients' uncertainty and helping nurses care for patients more effectively.
Hierarchy processing in human neurobiology: how specific is it?
Authors: Friederici Angela D. 
Published: November 2019

Although human and non-human animals share a number of perceptual and cognitive abilities, they differ in their ability to process hierarchically structured sequences. This becomes most evident in the human capacity to process natural language characterized by structural hierarchies. This capacity is neuroanatomically grounded in the posterior part of left Broca's area (Brodmann area (BA) 44), located in the inferior frontal gyrus, and its dorsal white matter fibre connection to the temporal cortex. Within this neural network, BA 44 itself subserves hierarchy building and the strength of its connection to the temporal cortex correlates with the processing of syntactically complex sentences. Whether these brain structures are also relevant for other human cognitive abilities is a current debate. Here, this question will be evaluated with respect to those human cognitive abilities that are assumed to require hierarchy building, such as music, mathematics and Theory of Mind. Rather than supporting a domain-general view, the data indicate domain-selective neural networks as the neurobiological basis for processing hierarchy in different cognitive domains. Recent cross-species white matter comparisons suggest that particular connections within the networks may make the crucial difference in the brain structure of human and non-human primates, thereby enabling cognitive functions specific to humans.
This article is part of the theme issue ‘What can animal communication teach us about human language?’
The syntax–semantics interface in animal vocal communication
Authors: Suzuki Toshitaka N. , Wheatcroft David , Griesser Michael 
Published: November 2019

Syntax (rules for combining words or elements) and semantics (meaning of expressions) are two pivotal features of human language, and interaction between them allows us to generate a limitless number of meaningful expressions. While both features were traditionally thought to be unique to human language, research over the past four decades has revealed intriguing parallels in animal communication systems. Many birds and mammals produce specific calls with distinct meanings, and some species combine multiple meaningful calls into syntactically ordered sequences. However, it remains largely unclear whether, like phrases or sentences in human language, the meaning of these call sequences depends on both the meanings of the component calls and their syntactic order. Here, leveraging recently demonstrated examples of meaningful call combinations, we introduce a framework for exploring the interaction between syntax and semantics (i.e. the syntax-semantic interface) in animal vocal sequences. We outline methods to test the cognitive mechanisms underlying the production and perception of animal vocal sequences and suggest potential evolutionary scenarios for syntactic communication. We hope that this review will stimulate phenomenological studies on animal vocal sequences as well as experimental studies on the cognitive processes, which promise to provide further insights into the evolution of language.
This article is part of the theme issue ‘What can animal communication teach us about human language?’
A taxonomy for vocal learning
Authors: Tyack Peter L. 
Published: November 2019

Humans and songbirds learn to sing or speak by listening to acoustic models, forming auditory templates, and then learning to produce vocalizations that match the templates. These taxa have evolved specialized telencephalic pathways to accomplish this complex form of vocal learning, which has been reported for very few other taxa. By contrast, the acoustic structure of most animal vocalizations is produced by species-specific vocal motor programmes in the brainstem that do not require auditory feedback. However, many mammals and birds can learn to fine-tune the acoustic features of inherited vocal motor patterns based upon listening to conspecifics or noise. These limited forms of vocal learning range from rapid alteration based on real-time auditory feedback to long-term changes of vocal repertoire and they may involve different mechanisms than complex vocal learning. Limited vocal learning can involve the brainstem, mid-brain and/or telencephalic networks. Understanding complex vocal learning, which underpins human speech, requires careful analysis of which species are capable of which forms of vocal learning. Selecting multiple animal models for comparing the neural pathways that generate these different forms of learning will provide a richer view of the evolution of complex vocal learning and the neural mechanisms that make it possible.This article is part of the theme issue ‘What can animal communication teach us about human language?’
Becoming human: human infants link language and cognition, but what about the other great apes?
Authors: Novack Miriam A. , Waxman Sandra 
Published: November 2019

Human language has no parallel elsewhere in the animal kingdom. It is unique not only for its structural complexity but also for its inextricable interface with core cognitive capacities such as object representation, object categorization and abstract rule learning. Here, we (i) review recent evidence documenting how (and how early) language interacts with these core cognitive capacities in the mind of the human infant, and (ii) consider whether this link exists in non-human great apes—our closest genealogical cousins. Research with human infants demonstrates that well before they begin to speak, infants have already forged a link between language and core cognitive capacities. Evident by just three months of age, this language–cognition link unfolds in a rich developmental cascade, with each advance providing the foundation for subsequent, more precise and more powerful links. This link supports our species' capacity to represent and convey abstract concepts and to communicate beyond the immediate here and now. By contrast, although the communication systems of great apes are sophisticated in their own right, there is no conclusive evidence that apes establish reference, convey information declaratively or pass down communicative devices via cultural transmission. Thus, the evidence currently available reinforces the uniqueness of human language and the power of its interface to cognition.This article is part of the theme issue ‘What can animal communication teach us about human language?’
What can animal communication teach us about human language?
Authors: Fishbein Adam R. , Fritz Jonathan B. , Idsardi William J. , Wilkinson Gerald S. 
Published: November 2019

Language has been considered by many to be uniquely human. Numerous theories for how it evolved have been proposed but rarely tested. The articles in this theme issue consider the extent to which aspects of language, such as vocal learning, phonology, syntax, semantics, intentionality, cognition and neurobiological adaptations, are shared with other animals. By adopting a comparative approach, insights into the mechanisms and origins of human language can be gained. While points of agreement exist among the authors, conflicting viewpoints are expressed on several issues, such as the presence of proto-syntax in animal communication, the neural basis of the Merge operation, and the neurogenetic changes necessary for vocal learning. Future comparative research in animal communication has the potential to teach us even more about the evolution, neurobiology and cognitive basis of human language.
This article is part of the theme issue ‘What can animal communication teach us about human language?’
Towards a new taxonomy of primate vocal production learning
Authors: Fischer Julia , Hammerschmidt Kurt 
Published: November 2019

The extent to which vocal learning can be found in nonhuman primates is key to reconstructing the evolution of speech. Regarding the adjustment of vocal output in relation to auditory experience (vocal production learning in the narrow sense), effects on the ontogenetic trajectory of vocal development as well as adjustment to group-specific call features have been found. Yet, a comparison of the vocalizations of different primate genera revealed striking similarities in the structure of calls and repertoires in different species of the same genus, indicating that the structure of nonhuman primate vocalizations is highly conserved. Thus, modifications in relation to experience only appear to be possible within relatively tight species-specific constraints. By contrast, comprehension learning may be extremely rapid and open-ended. In conjunction, these findings corroborate the idea of an ancestral independence of vocal production and auditory comprehension learning. To overcome the futile debate about whether or not vocal production learning can be found in nonhuman primates, we suggest putting the focus on the different mechanisms that may mediate the adjustment of vocal output in response to experience; these mechanisms may include auditory facilitation and learning from success.This article is part of the theme issue ‘What can animal communication teach us about human language?’
Birdsong as a window into language origins and evolutionary neuroscience
Authors: Aamodt Caitlin M. , Farias-Virgens Madza , White Stephanie A. 
Published: November 2019

Humans and songbirds share the key trait of vocal learning, manifested in speech and song, respectively. Striking analogies between these behaviours include that both are acquired during developmental critical periods when the brain's ability for vocal learning peaks. Both behaviours show similarities in the overall architecture of their underlying brain areas, characterized by cortico-striato-thalamic loops and direct projections from cortical neurons onto brainstem motor neurons that control the vocal organs. These neural analogies extend to the molecular level, with certain song control regions sharing convergent transcriptional profiles with speech-related regions in the human brain. This evolutionary convergence offers an unprecedented opportunity to decipher the shared neurogenetic underpinnings of vocal learning. A key strength of the songbird model is that it allows for the delineation of activity-dependent transcriptional changes in the brain that are driven by learned vocal behaviour. To capitalize on this advantage, we used previously published datasets from our laboratory that correlate gene co-expression networks to features of learned vocalization within and after critical period closure to probe the functional relevance of genes implicated in language. We interrogate specific genes and cellular processes through converging lines of evidence: human-specific evolutionary changes, intelligence-related phenotypes and relevance to vocal learning gene co-expression in songbirds.This article is part of the theme issue ‘What can animal communication teach us about human language?’
Behaviour, biology and evolution of vocal learning in bats
Authors: Vernes Sonja C. , Wilkinson Gerald S. 
Published: November 2019

The comparative approach can provide insight into the evolution of human speech, language and social communication by studying relevant traits in animal systems. Bats are emerging as a model system with great potential to shed light on these processes given their learned vocalizations, close social interactions, and mammalian brains and physiology. A recent framework outlined the multiple levels of investigation needed to understand vocal learning across a broad range of non-human species, including cetaceans, pinnipeds, elephants, birds and bats. Here, we apply this framework to the current state-of-the-art in bat research. This encompasses our understanding of the abilities bats have displayed for vocal learning, what is known about the timing and social structure needed for such learning, and current knowledge about the prevalence of the trait across the order. It also addresses the biology (vocal tract morphology, neurobiology and genetics) and evolution of this trait. We conclude by highlighting some key questions that should be answered to advance our understanding of the biological encoding and evolution of speech and spoken communication.This article is part of the theme issue ‘What can animal communication teach us about human language?’
Syntax and compositionality in animal communication
Authors: Zuberbühler Klaus 
Published: November 2019

Syntax has been found in animal communication but only humans appear to have generative, hierarchically structured syntax. How did syntax evolve? I discuss three theories of evolutionary transition from animal to human syntax: computational capacity, structural flexibility and event perception. The computation hypothesis is supported by artificial grammar experiments consistently showing that only humans can learn linear stimulus sequences with an underlying hierarchical structure, a possible by-product of computationally powerful large brains. The structural flexibility hypothesis is supported by evidence of meaning-bearing combinatorial and permutational signal sequences in animals, with sometimes compositional features, but no evidence for generativity or hierarchical structure. Again, animals may be constrained by computational limits in short-term memory but possibly also by limits in articulatory control and social cognition. The event categorization hypothesis, finally, posits that humans are cognitively predisposed to analyse natural events by assigning agency and assessing how agents impact on patients, a propensity that is reflected by the basic syntactic units in all languages. Whether animals perceive natural events in the same way is largely unknown, although event perception may provide the cognitive grounding for syntax evolution.
This article is part of the theme issue ‘What can animal communication teach us about human language?’
Behavioral effects of multiple-dose oxytocin treatment in autism: A randomized, placebo-controlled trial with long-term follow-up
Authors: Bernaerts Sylvie , Boets Bart , Bosmans Guy , Steyaert Jean , Alaerts Kaat 
Published: November 2019

ABSTRACTBackgroundIntranasal administration of the ‘prosocial’ neuropeptide oxytocin is increasingly explored as a potential treatment for targeting the core characteristics of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, long-term follow-up studies, evaluating the possibility of long-lasting retention effects are currently lacking.MethodsUsing a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel design, this pilot clinical trial explored the possibility of long-lasting behavioral effects of four weeks of intranasal oxytocin treatment (24 International Units once daily in the morning) in 40 adult men with ASD. To do so, self-report and informant-based questionnaires assessing core autism symptoms and characterizations of attachment were administered at baseline, immediately after four weeks of treatment (approximately 24 hours after the last nasal spray administration), and at two follow-up sessions, four weeks and one year post-treatment.ResultsNo treatment-specific effects were identified in the primary outcome assessing social symptoms (Social responsiveness scale, self- and informant-rated). In particular, with respect to self-reported social responsiveness, improvements were evident both in the oxytocin and in the placebo group, yielding no significant between-group difference (p= .37). Also informant-rated improvements in social responsiveness were not significantly larger in the oxytocin, compared to the placebo group (between-group difference: p= .19).Among the secondary outcome measures, treatment-specific improvements were identified in the Repetitive Behavior Scale and State Adult Attachment Measure, indicating reductions in self-reported repetitive behaviours (p= .04) and reduced feelings of avoidance towards others (p= .03) in the oxytocin group compared to the placebo group, up to one month and even one year post-treatment. Treatment-specific effects were also revealed in screenings of mood states (Profile of Mood States), indicating higher reports of ‘vigor’ (feeling energetic, active, lively) in the oxytocin, compared to the placebo group (p= .03).ConclusionsWhile no treatment-specific improvements were evident in terms of core social symptoms, the current observations of long-term beneficial effects on repetitive behaviors and feelings of avoidance are promising and suggestive of a therapeutic potential of oxytocin treatment for ASD. However, given the exploratory nature of this pilot study, future studies are warranted to evaluate the long-term effects of OT administration further.Trial RegistrationThe trial was registered with the European Clinical Trial Registry (Eudract 2014-000586-45) on January 22, 2014 (https://www.clinicaltrialsregister.eu/ctr-search/trial/2014-000586-45/BE).
Affective biases encoded by the central arousal systems dynamically modulate inequality aversion in human interpersonal negotiations
Authors: Murphy Daniel AJ , Harmer Catherine J , Browning Michael , Pulcu Erdem 
Published: November 2019

AbstractNegotiating with others about how finite resources should be distributed is an important aspect of human social life. However, little is known about mechanisms underlying human social-interactive decision-making. Here, we report results from a novel iterative Ultimatum Game (UG) task, in which the proposer’s facial emotions and offer amounts were sampled probabilistically based on the participant’s decisions, creating a gradually evolving social-interactive decision-making environment. Our model-free results confirm the prediction that both the proposer’s facial emotions and the offer amount influence human choice behaviour. These main effects demonstrate that biases in facial emotion recognition also contribute to violations of the Rational Actor model (i.e. all offers should be accepted). Model-based analyses extend these findings, indicating that participants’ decisions are guided by an aversion to inequality in the UG. We highlight that the proposer’s facial responses to participant decisions dynamically modulate how human decision-makers perceive self–other inequality, relaxing its otherwise negative influence on decision values. In iterative games, this cognitive model underlies how offers initially rejected can gradually become more acceptable under increasing affective load, and accurately predicts 86% of participant decisions. Activity of the central arousal systems, assessed by measuring pupil size, encode a key element of this model: proposer’s affective reactions in response to participant decisions. Taken together, our results demonstrate that, under affective load, participants’ aversion to inequality is a malleable cognitive process which is modulated by the activity of the pupil-linked central arousal systems.