bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Neuronal networks in the developing brain are adversely modulated by early psychosocial neglect
Authors: Stamoulis Catherine , Vanderwert Ross E. , Zeanah Charles H. , Fox Nathan A. , Nelson Charles A. 
Published: July 2017

The brain’s neural circuitry plays a ubiquitous role across domains in cognitive processing and undergoes extensive reorganization during the course of development in part as a result of experience. In this study we investigated the effects of profound early psychosocial neglect associated with institutional rearing on the development of task-independent brain networks, estimated from longitudinally acquired electroencephalographic (EEG) data from <30 to 96 mo, in three cohorts of children from the Bucharest Early Intervention Project (BEIP), including abandoned children reared in institutions who were randomly assigned either to a foster care intervention or to remain in care as usual and never-institutionalized children. Two aberrantly connected brain networks were identified in children that had been reared in institutions: 1) a hyperconnected parieto-occipital network, which included cortical hubs and connections that may partially overlap with default-mode network, and 2) a hypoconnected network between left temporal and distributed bilateral regions, both of which were aberrantly connected across neural oscillations. This study provides the first evidence of the adverse effects of early psychosocial neglect on the wiring of the developing brain. Given these networks' potentially significant role in various cognitive processes, including memory, learning, social communication, and language, these findings suggest that institutionalization in early life may profoundly impact the neural correlates underlying multiple cognitive domains, in ways that may not be fully reversible in the short term. NEW & NOTEWORTHY This paper provides first evidence that early psychosocial neglect associated with institutional rearing profoundly affects the development of the brain’s neural circuitry. Using longitudinally acquired electrophysiological data from the Bucharest Early Intervention Project (BEIP), the paper identifies multiple task-independent networks that are abnormally connected (hyper- or hypoconnected) in children reared in institutions compared with never-institutionalized children. These networks involve spatially distributed brain areas and their abnormal connections may adversely impact neural information processing across cognitive domains.
Vibration over the larynx increases swallowing and cortical activation for swallowing
Authors: Mulheren Rachel W. , Ludlow Christy L. 
Published: July 2017

Sensory input can alter swallowing control in both the cortex and brainstem. Electrical stimulation of superior laryngeal nerve afferents increases reflexive swallowing in animals, with different frequencies optimally effective across species. Here we determined 1) if neck vibration overlying the larynx affected the fundamental frequency of the voice demonstrating penetration of vibration into the laryngeal tissues, and 2) if vibration, in comparison with sham, increased spontaneous swallowing and enhanced cortical hemodynamic responses to swallows in the swallowing network. A device with two motors, one over each thyroid lamina, delivered intermittent 10-s epochs of vibration. We recorded swallows and event-related changes in blood oxygenation level to swallows over the motor and sensory swallowing cortexes bilaterally using functional near infrared spectroscopy. Ten healthy participants completed eight 20-min conditions in counterbalanced order with either epochs of continuous vibration at 30, 70, 110, 150, and 70 + 110 Hz combined, 4-Hz pulsed vibration at 70 + 110 Hz, or two sham conditions without stimulation. Stimulation epochs were separated by interstimulus intervals varying between 30 and 45 s in duration. Vibration significantly reduced the fundamental frequency of the voice compared with no stimulation demonstrating that vibration penetrated laryngeal tissues. Vibration at 70 and at 150 Hz increased spontaneous swallowing compared with sham. Hemodynamic responses to swallows in the motor cortex were enhanced during conditions containing stimulation compared with sham. As vibratory stimulation on the neck increased spontaneous swallowing and enhanced cortical activation for swallows in healthy participants, it may be useful for enhancing swallowing in patients with dysphagia. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Vibratory stimulation at 70 and 150 Hz on the neck overlying the larynx increased the frequency of spontaneous swallowing. Simultaneously vibration also enhanced hemodynamic responses in the motor cortex to swallows when recorded with functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). As vibrotactile stimulation on the neck enhanced cortical activation for swallowing in healthy participants, it may be useful for enhancing swallowing in patients with dysphagia.
New B7 Family Checkpoints in Human Cancers
Authors: Ni Ling , Dong Chen 
Published: July 2017

Abstract
T cells are the main effector cells in immune response against tumors. The activation of T cells is regulated by the innate immune system through positive and negative costimulatory molecules. Targeting immune checkpoint regulators such as programmed cell death 1 (PD-1)/PD-1 ligand 1 (PD-L1) and CTL antigen 4 (CTLA-4) has achieved notable benefit in a variety of cancers, which leads to multiple clinical trials with antibodies targeting the other related B7/CD28 family members. Recently, five new B7 family ligands, B7-H3, B7-H4, B7-H5, B7-H6, and B7-H7, were identified. Here we review recent understanding of new B7 family checkpoint molecules as they have come to the front of cancer research with the concept that tumor cells exploit them to escape immune surveillance. The aim of this article is to address the structure and expression of the new B7 family molecules as well as their roles in controlling and suppressing immune responses of T cells as well as NK cells. We also discuss clinical significance and contribution of these checkpoint expressions in human cancers. Mol Cancer Ther; 16(7); 1203–11. ©2017 AACR.
Mosaic Paideia: The Law of Moses within Philo of Alexandria’s Model of Jewish Education
Authors: Zurawski Jason M. 
Published: July 2017

AbstractPaideia is one of Philo’s most consistent preoccupations. It was so thoroughly foundational for the Alexandrian that he built it into nearly every aspect of his philosophy and worldview. Paideia was the tool needed to acquire virtue and wisdom, eradicate the passions, become an ideal citizen of the world, and secure the immortal life of the soul. The following explores the role of the Mosaic law within Philo’s overall theory of education, looking at what made the law such a unique pedagogical resource, how it functioned at various levels of education, what its relationship was to the other forms of education Philo deemed necessary—the curriculum of encyclical paideia and the study of philosophy—and, ultimately, what Philo’s idealized vision of Jewish education can tell us about his deeper concerns for his fellow Alexandrian Jews and his understanding of Jewish identity in the Mediterranean diaspora.
The New Life of the Good Souls in Josephus: Resurrection or Reincarnation?
Authors: Yli-Karjanmaa Sami 
Published: July 2017

AbstractThis study examines four Josephan passages discussing souls entering a new body or life. It argues that research on this issue can be advanced from the conclusion by several scholars that despite the language of reincarnation it is really the belief in resurrection that underlies Josephus’s accounts. The key findings include: Josephus does not directly characterize the new life as a reward, and the fact that its recipients are good souls does not contradict reincarnation. The descriptions of the new body inb.j.are in all respects easier to reconcile with reincarnation than resurrection. The expression ἐκ περιτροπῆς (αἰώνων) is best understood as referring to (cyclical) recurrence. The Josephan version of re-embodiment that emerges has many exact similarities with accounts of reincarnation but only a few general ones with resurrection. The thesis that Josephus’s real referent is resurrection is implausible.
Demand for Coffee Imports
Authors: Kutty P. Unneen 
Published: July 2017

Basic economic theory suggests that the level of demand for imports of any good for consumption is determined by various factors, though their relative importance may vary from country to country. As far as coffee is concerned, it is believed that factors such as its own prices, prices of its close substitutes, i.e. tea, real income, population, price elasticity, income elasticity, change in the consumer's proference do determine the level of demand for its imports in any country. Based on the above proposition the study aims at building appropriate import demand models for analysing the pattern of imports of coffee for consumption in different countries. Countries considered for the study are - USA, UK, Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
A Critical Appraisal of Unctad Conferences with Special Reference to Unctad Xi
Authors: Nag Biswajit , Nandi Anisha 
Published: July 2017

The UNCTAD is a forum which was created to further the needs and concerns of the developing and the least developed countries and carry forward their developmental goals in the world. Since its inception, ten conferences have been held. UNCTAD XI was another step towards bridging the gap between the developed and the developing countries in the form of dialogue and action. The failure of Cancun Ministerial Conference in 2003 and subsequent apathy and frustration of developing and LDCs in the multilateral trading system led to creation of UNCTAD XI. This eleventh session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development took place in Sao Paulo on 13-18 June 2004. The overall theme of this 2004 ministerial event (UNCTAD XI) was “enhancing the coherence between national development strategies and global economic processes towards economic growth and development, particularly of developing countries”. In this paper, an attempt has been made to study the role of UNCTAD XI in reference to the previous experiences of the various development tasks undertaken by UNCTAD in coherence to trade issues.
Japanese Deregulation and Financial Liberalization between 1990s and the New Century
Authors: Tandon Rameshwar 
Published: July 2017

In the late l980s, Japan was moving to a competitive market-based system of banking and capital markets; new environment created new kinds of risks as also opportunities and dangers of taking risks. The pace of financial liberalization and deregulation was accelerated which spurred competition. But forces leading to the asset bubble started building up much earlier with the slowdown in the economy. The government deficit started rising and share of government bonds rose from 5 per cent of GDP during the l970s to over 18 per cent during late l980s. During the decade, the Nikkei share price index, from its 1989 peak, fell by more than 50 per cent; between l99l and 2000, land prices declined by more than 30 per cent. The OECD estimates point out that net wealth losses incurred by the economy between 1989 and l999 due to this asset price collapse amounted to more than two years' wealth of GDP or about $7 trillion, of which more than 50 per cent was borne by the households. This massive loss in wealth had serious negative consequences; the banking sector was saddled with a large amount of non-performing assets and they drastically curtailed heir lending. The progressive tightening of monetary policy during late 1990s and inevitable unwinding of borrowing boom produced a steep drop in the growth of real money supply and bank lending also weakened appreciably. This rapid rise in stock prices up to l989 was seen as an abnormality; was it the speculative zeal of investors or unmanaged monetary policy or business losses in corporate sectors? While since the early 1990s the MOF pursued vigorous liberalization of bond market and internationalization of stock and bond markets and introduction of a futures market for bonds, etc, these reform measures began with relaxation of the collateral rule. The Paper makes an attempt to understand and highlight a slew of measures taken by Japanese government to liberalize and deregulate its financial sector and has pointed out the ups and downs of such bold initiatives taken by the government.
Human Factors in Highway Design, Operation and Safety Problems
Authors: Forbes Theodore W. 
Published: July 2017

On several urban freeways, peak hour traffic leads drivers to operate vehicles at time spacing less than their fastest emergency reaction time. Therefore, factors affecting speed and accuracy of driver judgment and response have become critically important. Experimental studies have shown how driver perception, judgment, and response time (measured by driver lag in acceleration and deceleration) can be affected by highway design features. Experimental studies of factors affecting driver responses when combined with mathematical analyses based on such driver-vehicle-highway responses may explain differences in maximum traffic flow at which self limiting stoppage occurs without adequate physical causes in heavy traffic. Other human engineering data already available or obtainable through specialized studies suggest ways of obtaining more efficient driver-vehicle-highway-and-environment interrelationships and, thereby, more efficient and safer operation of highways. Examples of such information and studies are given.
Verbal Behavior in Retrieving Telephone Information
Authors: Deininger R. L. 
Published: July 2017

A telephone information bureau is a simple information retrieval system, and computer based systems are being considered. The design of the system will depend in part upon: [a) what the customer says in making the request, (b) the role of the customer and the operator in making the request more definite and (c) the time consuming activities found with the present system. A method was developed for analyzing the verbal behavior of the participants in calls to information bureaus in order to assess these factors in present day bureaus. The method was applied to one sample of calls and the results were discussed as indicating design problems in terms of what the participants knew and said.
Link Analysis by Computer
Authors: Haygood Robert C. , Teel Kenneth S. , Greening Charles P. 
Published: July 2017

The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of graphic vs. computer-aided link analysis. One analyst performed a graphic analysis of a complex flight control system checkout console. Another, following the same operating procedure, carried out a computer-aided analysis of the same console, utilizing the RECOMP II and a specially prepared machine-language program. Results indicated that the computer-aided analysis was equally accurate and resulted in significant savings in time and money. Therefore, further development and application of the computer-aided technique are recommended.
The Psychometric Prediction of Problem Drivers
Authors: Schuster D. H. , Guilford J. P. 
Published: July 2017

The major aim was to develop personality-inventory scales for the discrimination between two groups of problem drivers—traffic violators and accident-repeater drivers—and better-than-average drivers. A secondary aim was to attempt to improve prediction of problem drivers through multiple-regression equations. An experimental instrument including 395 items was developed, taking into account a very wide variety of personal qualities that had previously been found to characterize problem drivers or that were newly hypothesized to be potentially discriminating. The instrument was administered to approximately 2000 drivers. Problem-driver criterion groups were set up, each characterized by a different degree of seriousness of violation or accident record. Item analyses yielded scales that were found to be predictive on cross validation, also scales for the detection of test-taking biases. Multiple-regression equations were derived incorporating the scale scores with variables pertaining to biographical data and were cross-validated. Useful degrees of prediction were demonstrated from the scales alone and from the multiple-regression equations.
Artifacts in the Registration and Interpretation of Speech-Process Variables
Authors: Braehler E. , Zenz H. 
Published: July 2017

Of the different interacting characteristics of the speech process such as level, intensity and range of voices, on-off-patterns etc., the on-off-patterns are the most readily formalized and objectively recorded; hence the appearance of this feature in particular in some hundred publications. However, the results of different research teams investigating the same subject-matter sometimes vary considerably. In this article the authors report on their duplication of some of these published investigations, using an automatic speech analyser comparable to Cassota, Feldstein and Jaffe's AVTA. Their findings were similar to those of some other research workers, but they found evidence for the hypothesis that these results are based on technical artifacts and that some correlations obtained, for which psychological interpretations have been given, are in fact due to minor, unacknowledged circumstances of recording. The authors comment on these findings in the context of a broad discussion on the problem of artifacts and wrong conclusions arising from weaknesses of technique, interpretation and model construction.
Relating West Nile Virus Case Fatality Rates to Demographic and Surveillance Variables
Authors: Tackett Julie , Charnigo Richard , Caldwell Glyn 
Published: July 2017

Objective. The purpose of this ecological study was to relate West Nile virus (WNV) human case fatality rates to county-level demographic and surveillance variables, thereby characterizing the populations to which WNV poses the greatest threat. Methods. The authors acquired data on human, avian, and mosquito WNV infections for the 13 states in which there were 100 or more human cases during 2003. The data on avian and mosquito infections were converted into surveillance variables using empirical Bayes methodology. A preliminary logistic regression model was formulated to relate these surveillance variables and demographic variables to case fatality rates. The statistical technique of backward elimination was applied to obtain a final model in terms of the variables most useful for predicting case outcomes. Results. The probability of a fatal outcome depends on the poverty rate for the county in which the infected person lives ( p=0.0283), the average temperature ( p<0.0001), and surveillance variables reflecting the fractions of Culex pipiens and Culex restuans mosquitoes among infected mosquitoes ( p=0.0079; p=0.0076). Conclusions. Effective WNV educational programs and control measures are vital, especially in poverty-stricken areas. A uniform protocol for disseminating county-level data could facilitate timely responses to WNV outbreaks and to emerging infectious diseases more generally.
Can Data from Programs for the Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV Be Used for HIV Surveillance in Kenya?
Authors: Seguy Nicole , Hladik Wolfgang , Munyisia Esther , Bolu Omotayo , Marum Larry H. , Diaz Theresa 
Published: July 2017

Objective. In Africa, HIV surveillance is conducted among antenatal clinic (ANC) attendees using unlinked-anonymous testing (UAT). In Kenya, the utility of prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) program data for HIV surveillance was evaluated. Methods. UAT and PMTCT data were compared at the same clinics and for the same time (2003 UAT survey) period. The HIV testing uptake for PMTCT was defined as the number of ANC attendees tested for HIV out of those who had their first ANC visit during the ANC surveillance period. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated to determine associations between demographic characteristics and HIV testing acceptance. Results. Of 39 ANC-UAT sites, six had PMTCT data. PMTCT data were recorded across several logbooks with varying quality. For PMTCT, 2,239 women were offered HIV testing and 1,258 (56%) accepted; for UAT, 1,852 women were sampled. Median UAT-based HIV prevalence was 12.8% (range, 8.1%–26.3%) compared with 14.4% (range, 7.0%–27.2%) in PMTCT. HIV testing acceptance for PMTCT ranged from 48% to 69% across clinics, and was more likely among primigravidae than multigravidae. Conclusion. Because of varying PMTCT data quality and varying HIV testing acceptance for PMTCT, PMTCT-based HIV prevalence estimates cannot currently replace UAT-based estimates in Kenya.
Self-Reported Hepatitis C Virus Antibody Status and Risk Behavior in Young Injectors
Authors: Hagan Holly , Campbell Jennifer , Thiede Hanne , Strathdee Steffanie , Ouellet Lawrence , Kapadia Farzana , Hudson Sharon , Garfein Richard S. 
Published: July 2017

Objective. This study was conducted to assess the accuracy of self-reported hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibody (anti-HCV) serostatus in injection drug users (IDUs), and examine whether self-reported anti-HCV serostatus was associated with recent injection risk behavior. Methods. In five U.S. cities (Baltimore, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and Seattle), 3,004 IDUs from 15 to 30 years old were recruited for a baseline interview to determine eligibility for a randomized controlled trial of a behavioral intervention. HIV and HCV antibody testing were performed, and subject data (e.g., demographics, drug and sexual risk behavior, and history of HIV and HCV testing) were collected via audio computer-administered self-interview. Risk behavior during the previous three months was compared to self-reported anti-HCV serostatus. Results. Anti-HCV prevalence in this sample of young IDUs was 34.1%. Seventy-two percent of anti-HCV-positive and 46% of anti-HCV-negative IDUs in this sample were not aware of their HCV serostatus. Drug treatment or needle exchange use was associated with increased awareness of HCV serostatus. Anti-HCV-negative IDUs who knew their serostatus were less likely than those unaware of their status to inject with a syringe used by another IDU or to share cottons to filter drug solutions. Knowledge of one's positive anti-HCV status was not associated with safer injection practices. Conclusions. Few anti-HCV-positive IDUs in this study were aware of their serostatus. Expanded availability of HCV screening with high quality counseling is clearly needed for this population to promote the health of chronically HCV-infected IDUs and to decrease risk among injectors susceptible to acquiring or transmitting HCV.
The Association between Childhood Asthma and Community Violence, Los Angeles County, 2000
Authors: Jeffrey Jessica , Sternfeld Isabelle , Tager Ira 
Published: July 2017

Objective. This study's objective is to determine if there is an association between rates of violence and rates of childhood asthma in Los Angeles County communities. Methods. Rates of hospitalization for assault and for asthma were calculated for each ZIP Code and city in Los Angeles County. Linear regression was used to determine the effect of assault rates on asthma rates while controlling for potential confounders such as poverty and racial/ethnic distribution. At the city level, crime rates were included in the model as additional measures of community violence. Results. Hospitalization rates for childhood asthma and assaults were significantly correlated at both the city ( r=0.80) and the ZIP Code ( r=0.54) levels. The association remained significant when controlling for poverty and racial/ethnic distribution with linear regression ( p<0.0001). At the city level, the variables measuring the crime rate were not significant predictors of asthma hospitalizations. Conclusions. Community violence as measured by the rate of assault hospitalizations is associated with childhood asthma in Los Angeles County. Health care providers should consider their asthmatic patients' social environments when devising treatment plans.