Robots and autistic children: a review

In accordance with the advancement in robotics and the scholarly literature, the extents of utilizing robots for autistic children are widened and could be a promising method for individual with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) treatments, where the different form of robot (humanoid, non-humanoid, animal-like, toy, and kits) can be employed effectively as a support tool to augment the learning skills and rehabilitate of the individual with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Thus, the robots were exploited for ASD children in different aspects namely; modelling, teaching, and skills practicing; testing, highlighting and evaluating; providing feedback or encouragement; join Attention; eliciting social behaviours; emotion recognition and expression; imitation; vocalization; turn-taking; and diagnostic. The related literature published recently in journals and conferences is taken into account. In this paper, we review the use of robots that help in the therapy of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The articles on using robots for autistic children rehabilitation and education which reported results of experiments on a number of participants were implicated. After looking in digital libraries under this criteria, and excluding non-related, and duplicated studies, 39 studies have been found. The findings were focused mainly on the social communication skills of autistic children and how the extent of the robots mitigate their stereotyped behaviours. Deeper research is required in this area to cover all applications of robotic on autistic children in order to design feasible and low-cost robots that ensure provide high validity

Impact of new synthesized analogues of dehydroacetic acid on growth rate and vomitoxin accumulation by Fusarium graminearum under different temperatures in maize hybrid

Previous work indicated that some of the new synthesized analogues of dehydroacetic acid (DHA) were inhibitory to the growth of mycotoxin producing moulds and accumulation of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and ochratoxin A (OTA). The objective of this study was to determine the specific new synthesized chemical compounds that may be effective against mould growth and vomitoxin (deoxynivalenol) (DON) accumulation by Fusarium graminearum. The effect of the investigated 3-/2-aminophenylamine-(ptoluoyl)- 4-hydroxy-6-(p-tolyl)-2H- pyrane-2-one (Schiff base) and 4-hydroxy-3-(p-toluoyl)-6-(p-tolil)-2Hpyrane- 2-one (DHT) on growth and DON accumulation were studied using a mould F. graminearum ZMPBF 1244 and maize grain hybrid to determine the possible use of these compounds as a mean of controlling DON accumulation. Schiff base was inhibitory at 0.05 and 0.1 μg/g and DHT at 0.5 μg/g of maize grain. The inhibitory effect of these substances was judged to be the inhibition of growth rather than toxin accumulation. When growth occurred after a delay, DON accumulation occurred when the cultures reached secondary metabolism. Given sufficient time, cultures which were inhibited initially, but which subsequently inhibited their growth, produced toxin levels equivalent to the control cultures. Levels of the Schiff base above 0.2 μg/g almost completely inhibited mould growth or permitted only a small amount of growth that never reached secondary metabolism and never produced DON during the time of this study.Key words: Fusarium graminearum, vomitoxin, Schiff base, chitin, Artemia salina

Electrocochleography and cognition are important predictors of speech perception outcomes in noise for cochlear implant recipients

Although significant progress has been made in understanding outcomes following cochlear implantation, predicting performance remains a challenge. Duration of hearing loss, age at implantation, and electrode positioning within the cochlea together explain ~ 25% of the variability in speech-perception scores in quiet using the cochlear implant (CI). Electrocochleography (ECochG) responses, prior to implantation, account for 47% of the variance in the same speech-perception measures. No study to date has explored CI performance in noise, a more realistic measure of natural listening. This study aimed to (1) validate ECochG total response (ECochG-TR) as a predictor of performance in quiet and (2) evaluate whether ECochG-TR explained variability in noise performance. Thirty-five adult CI recipients were enrolled with outcomes assessed at 3-months post-implantation. The results confirm previous studies showing a strong correlation of ECochG-TR with speech-perception in quiet (r = 0.77). ECochG-TR independently explained 34% of the variability in noise performance. Multivariate modeling using ECochG-TR and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scores explained 60% of the variability in speech-perception in noise. Thus, ECochG-TR, a measure of the cochlear substrate prior to implantation, is necessary but not sufficient for explaining performance in noise. Rather, a cognitive measure is also needed to improve prediction of noise performance

Is characteristic frequency limiting real-time electrocochleography during cochlear implantation?

Objectives: Electrocochleography (ECochG) recordings during cochlear implantation have shown promise in estimating the impact on residual hearing. The purpose of the study was (1) to determine whether a 250-Hz stimulus is superior to 500-Hz in detecting residual hearing decrement and if so; (2) to evaluate whether crossing the 500-Hz tonotopic, characteristic frequency (CF) place partly explains the problems experienced using 500-Hz. Design: Multifrequency ECochG comprising an alternating, interleaved acoustic complex of 250- and 500-Hz stimuli was used to elicit cochlear microphonics (CMs) during insertion. The largest ECochG drops (≥30% reduction in CM) were identified. After insertion, ECochG responses were measured using the individual electrodes along the array for both 250- and 500-Hz stimuli. Univariate regression was used to predict whether 250- or 500-Hz CM drops explained low-frequency pure tone average (LFPTA; 125-, 250-, and 500-Hz) shift at 1-month post-activation. Postoperative CT scans were performed to evaluate cochlear size and angular insertion depth. Results: For perimodiolar insertions ( Conclusion: Using 250-Hz stimulus for ECochG feedback during implantation is more predictive of hearing preservation than 500-Hz. This is due to the electrode passing the 500-Hz CF during insertion which may be misidentified as intracochlear trauma; this is particularly important in subjects with smaller cochlear diameters and deeper insertions. Multifrequency ECochG can be used to differentiate between trauma and advancement of the apical electrode beyond the CF

Deep transfer learning for human identification based on footprint: A comparative study

Identifying people based on their footprint has not yet gained enough attention from the researchers. Therefore, in this paper, an investigation of human identification conducted based on the footprint. Transfer Learning used as the main concept of this investigation. The aim of using Transfer Learning is to overcome the need for a large-scale dataset and achieve high accuracy with a low-scale dataset. Five well-known models used, namely, Alexnet, Vgg16, Vgg19, Googlenet, and Inception v3. Each of these models fine-tuned to fit-in the paper’s topic. A dataset of 30 individuals constructed in order to train the models. The right and left footprint of each individual captured with iPhone camera. The models trained and evaluated based on the same settings. The evaluation shows that Inception v3 model achieved the highest accuracy compared to all other four models

Teratogenicity of depleted uranium aerosols: A review from an epidemiological perspective

BACKGROUND: Depleted uranium is being used increasingly often as a component of munitions in military conflicts. Military personnel, civilians and the DU munitions producers are being exposed to the DU aerosols that are generated. METHODS: We reviewed toxicological data on both natural and depleted uranium. We included peer reviewed studies and gray literature on birth malformations due to natural and depleted uranium. Our approach was to assess the "weight of evidence" with respect to teratogenicity of depleted uranium. RESULTS: Animal studies firmly support the possibility that DU is a teratogen. While the detailed pathways by which environmental DU can be internalized and reach reproductive cells are not yet fully elucidated, again, the evidence supports plausibility. To date, human epidemiological data include case examples, disease registry records, a case-control study and prospective longitudinal studies. DISCUSSION: The two most significant challenges to establishing a causal pathway between (human) parental DU exposure and the birth of offspring with defects are: i) distinguishing the role of DU from that of exposure to other potential teratogens; ii) documentation on the individual level of extent of parental DU exposure. Studies that use biomarkers, none yet reported, can help address the latter challenge. Thoughtful triangulation of the results of multiple studies (epidemiological and other) of DU teratogenicity contributes to disentangling the roles of various potentially teratogenic parental exposures. This paper is just such an endeavor. CONCLUSION: In aggregate the human epidemiological evidence is consistent with increased risk of birth defects in offspring of persons exposed to DU

European fitness landscape for children and adolescents: updated reference values, fitness maps and country rankings based on nearly 8 million test results from 34 countries gathered by the FitBack network

Objectives (1) To develop reference values for health-related fitness in European children and adolescents aged 6–18 years that are the foundation for the web-based, open-access and multilanguage fitness platform (FitBack); (2) to provide comparisons across European countries. Methods This study builds on a previous large fitness reference study in European youth by (1) widening the age demographic, (2) identifying the most recent and representative country-level data and (3) including national data from existing fitness surveillance and monitoring systems. We used the Assessing Levels of PHysical Activity and fitness at population level (ALPHA) test battery as it comprises tests with the highest test–retest reliability, criterion/construct validity and health-related predictive validity: the 20 m shuttle run (cardiorespiratory fitness); handgrip strength and standing long jump (muscular strength); and body height, body mass, body mass index and waist circumference (anthropometry). Percentile values were obtained using the generalised additive models for location, scale and shape method. Results A total of 7 966 693 test results from 34 countries (106 datasets) were used to develop sex-specific and age-specific percentile values. In addition, country-level rankings based on mean percentiles are provided for each fitness test, as well as an overall fitness ranking. Finally, an interactive fitness platform, including individual and group reporting and European fitness maps, is provided and freely available online (www.fitbackeurope.eu). Conclusion This study discusses the major implications of fitness assessment in youth from health, educational and sport perspectives, and how the FitBack reference values and interactive web-based platform contribute to it. Fitness testing can be conducted in school and/or sport settings, and the interpreted results be integrated in the healthcare systems across Europe

Extent of Height Variability Explained by Known Height-Associated Genetic Variants in an Isolated Population of the Adriatic Coast of Croatia

BACKGROUND: Human height is a classical example of a polygenic quantitative trait. Recent large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified more than 200 height-associated loci, though these variants explain only 2∼10% of overall variability of normal height. The objective of this study was to investigate the variance explained by these loci in a relatively isolated population of European descent with limited admixture and homogeneous genetic background from the Adriatic coast of Croatia. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In a sample of 1304 individuals from the island population of Hvar, Croatia, we performed genome-wide SNP typing and assessed the variance explained by genetic scores constructed from different panels of height-associated SNPs extracted from five published studies. The combined information of the 180 SNPs reported by Lango Allen el al. explained 7.94% of phenotypic variation in our sample. Genetic scores based on 20~50 SNPs reported by the remaining individual GWA studies explained 3~5% of height variance. These percentages of variance explained were within ranges comparable to the original studies and heterogeneity tests did not detect significant differences in effect size estimates between our study and the original reports, if the estimates were obtained from populations of European descent. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: We have evaluated the portability of height-associated loci and the overall fitting of estimated effect sizes reported in large cohorts to an isolated population. We found proportions of explained height variability were comparable to multiple reference GWAS in cohorts of European descent. These results indicate similar genetic architecture and comparable effect sizes of height loci among populations of European descent

Diminishing benefits of urban living for children and adolescents’ growth and development

Optimal growth and development in childhood and adolescence is crucial for lifelong health and well-being1–6. Here we used data from 2,325 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight from 71 million participants, to report the height and body-mass index (BMI) of children and adolescents aged 5–19 years on the basis of rural and urban place of residence in 200 countries and territories from 1990 to 2020. In 1990, children and adolescents residing in cities were taller than their rural counterparts in all but a few high-income countries. By 2020, the urban height advantage became smaller in most countries, and in many high-income western countries it reversed into a small urban-based disadvantage. The exception was for boys in most countries in sub-Saharan Africa and in some countries in Oceania, south Asia and the region of central Asia, Middle East and north Africa. In these countries, successive cohorts of boys from rural places either did not gain height or possibly became shorter, and hence fell further behind their urban peers. The difference between the age-standardized mean BMI of children in urban and rural areas was <1.1 kg m–2 in the vast majority of countries. Within this small range, BMI increased slightly more in cities than in rural areas, except in south Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and some countries in central and eastern Europe. Our results show that in much of the world, the growth and developmental advantages of living in cities have diminished in the twenty-first century, whereas in much of sub-Saharan Africa they have amplified