Investigating associations between cognitiveempathy, affective empathy and anxiety inadolescents with autism spectrum disorder

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is strongly associated with socio-cognitive impairments that may result in vulnerability to other mental health conditions, particularly anxiety disorders. This study examined the relationship between anxiety disorders and two key socio-cognitive impairments (cognitive empathy, affective empathy) in 60 adolescents (aged 11–18 years) with and without ASD. Adolescents with ASD showed cognitive empathy was negatively associated with separation anxiety disorder, whereas positive associations between affective empathy and generalized anxiety disorder, and positive marginal associations between affective empathy, social phobia, total anxiety, and separation anxiety disorder were observed. These findings suggest that cognitive and affective empathy show different patterns of associations with anxiety-related issues in ASD, and these differences should be considered for interventions and treatment programs

Value of preoperative spirometry to predict postoperative pulmonary complications

AbstractIn order to determine the incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications (POPC) and the value of preoperative spirometry to predict pulmonary complications after upper abdominal surgery, 24 women and 36 men (total 60 patients) were studied prospectively (mean age 48·3 years). On the day before the operation and for 15 days after the operation, each patients's respiratory status was assessed by clinical examination, chest radiography, spirometry and blood gas analysis, and patients were monitored for pulmonary complications by a chest physician and a surgeon independently. In this study, postoperative pulmonary complications developed in 21 (35%) patients (pneumonia in 10 patients, bronchitis in nine patients, atelectasis in one patient, pulmonary embolism in one patient). Of 31 patients with abnormal preoperative spirometry, 14 (45·2%) patients showed complications, whereas among 29 patients with normal preoperative spirometry, 7 (24·1%) patients showed complications (P<0·05). The incidence of POPC was higher in patients with advanced age, smoking, preoperative abnormal findings obtained from physical examination of the chest, higher ASA class and longer duration of operation. The sensitivity (0·76) and specificity (0·79) of abnormal preoperative findings obtained from physical examination to predict POPC were higher than abnormal preoperative spirometry (0·67 and 0·56 retrospectively). There was no significant difference between patients with and without pulmonary complications in regard to weight, serum albumin, type of incision, incidence of abnormal preoperative blood gases and duration of postoperative hospital stay. We conclude that POPC is still a serious cause of postoperative morbidity. Multiple risk factors include preoperative abnormal spirometry responsible for development of POPC. If used alone, spirometry has limited clinical value as a screening test to predict POPC after upper abdominal surgery

cis-Acting Complex-Trait-Associated lincRNA Expression Correlates with Modulation of Chromosomal Architecture.

Intergenic long noncoding RNAs (lincRNAs) are the largest class of transcripts in the human genome. Although many have recently been linked to complex human traits, the underlying mechanisms for most of these transcripts remain undetermined. We investigated the regulatory roles of a high-confidence and reproducible set of 69 trait-relevant lincRNAs (TR-lincRNAs) in human lymphoblastoid cells whose biological relevance is supported by their evolutionary conservation during recent human history and genetic interactions with other trait-associated loci. Their enrichment in enhancer-like chromatin signatures, interactions with nearby trait-relevant protein-coding loci, and preferential location at topologically associated domain (TAD) boundaries provide evidence that TR-lincRNAs likely regulate proximal trait-relevant gene expression in cis by modulating local chromosomal architecture. This is consistent with the positive and significant correlation found between TR-lincRNA abundance and intra-TAD DNA-DNA contacts. Our results provide insights into the molecular mode of action by which TR-lincRNAs contribute to complex human traits

Evidence from the first Shared Medical Appointments (SMAs) randomised controlled trial in India: SMAs increase the satisfaction, knowledge, and medication compliance of patients with glaucoma

In Shared Medical Appointments (SMAs), patients with similar conditions meet the physician together and each receives one-on-one attention. SMAs can improve outcomes and physician productivity. Yet privacy concerns have stymied adoption. In physician-deprived nations, patients’ utility from improved access may outweigh their disutility from loss of privacy. Ours is to our knowledge the first SMA trial for any disease, in India, where doctors are scarce. In a 1,000-patient, single-site, randomized controlled trial at Aravind Eye Hospital, Pondicherry, we compared SMAs and one-on-one appointments, over four successive visits, for patients with glaucoma. We examined patients’ satisfaction, knowledge, intention-to-follow-up, follow-up rates, and medication compliance rates (primary outcomes) using intention-to-treat analysis. Of 1,034 patients invited between July 12, 2016 –July 19, 2018, 1,000 (96.7%) consented to participate, and were randomly assigned to either SMAs (NSMA = 500) or one-on-one appointments (N1-1 = 500). Patients who received SMAs showed higher satisfaction (MeanSMA = 4.955 (SD 0.241), Mean1-1 = 4.920 (SD 0.326); difference in means 0.035; 95% CI, 0.017–0.054, p = 0.0002) and knowledge (MeanSMA = 3.416 (SD 1.340), Mean1-1 = 3.267 (SD 1.492); difference in means 0.149; 95% CI, 0.057–0.241, p = 0.002) than patients who received one-on-one appointments. Across conditions, there was no difference in patients’ intention-to-follow-up (MeanSMA = 4.989 (SD 0.118), Mean1-1 = 4.986 (SD 0.149); difference in means 0.003; 95% CI, -0.006–0.012, p = 0.481) and actual follow-up rates (MeanSMA = 87.5% (SD 0.372), Mean1-1 = 88.7% (SD 0.338); difference in means -0.012; 95% CI, -0.039–0.015, p = 0.377). Patients who received SMAs exhibited higher medication compliance rates (MeanSMA = 97.0% (SD 0.180), Mean1-1 = 94.9% (SD 0.238); difference in means 0.020; 95% CI, 0.004–0.036, p = 0.013). SMAs improved satisfaction, learning, and medication compliance, without compromising follow-up rates or measured clinical outcomes. Peer interruptions were negatively correlated with patient satisfaction in early-trial SMAs and positively correlated with patient satisfaction in later-trial SMAs. Trial registration: The trial was registered with Clinical Trials Registry of India (https://ctri.nic.in/) with reference no. REF/2016/11/012659 and registration no. CTRI/2018/02/011998

Optimal allocation without transfer payments

Author's draft dated February 2010 issued as discussion paper by University of Exeter Business School. Final version published by Elsevier; available online at http://www.sciencedirect.com/Often an organization or government must allocate goods without collecting payment in return. This may pose a difficult problem either when agents receiving those goods have private information in regards to their values or needs. In this paper, we find an optimal mechanism to allocate goods when the designer is benevolent. While the designer cannot charge agents, he can receive a costly but wasteful signal from them. We find conditions for cases in which ignoring these costly signals by giving agents equal share (or using lotteries if the goods are indivisible) is optimal. In other cases, those that send the highest signal should receive the goods; however, we then show that there exist cases where more complicated mechanisms are superior. Also, we show that the optimal mechanism is independent of the scarcity of the goods being allocated

Once-monthly paliperidone palmitate in recently diagnosed and chronic non-acute patients with schizophrenia

OBJECTIVE: To explore the treatment response, tolerability and safety of once-monthly paliperidone palmitate (PP1M) in non-acute patients switched to oral antipsychotics stratified by time since diagnosis as recently diagnosed (3 years). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Post-hoc analysis of a prospective, interventional, single-arm, multicentre, open-label, 6-month study performed in 233 recently diagnosed and 360 chronic patients. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The proportion achieving treatment response (defined as >/=20% improvement in Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale [PANSS] total score from baseline to endpoint) and maintained efficacy (defined as non-inferiority in the change in PANSS total score at endpoint [Schuirmann's test]). RESULTS: 71.4% of recently diagnosed and 59.2% of chronic patients showed a >/=20% decrease in PANSS total score (p=0.0028 between groups). Changes in PANSS Marder factors, PANSS subscales, and the proportion of patients with a Personal and Social Performance scale (PSP) total score of 71-100 were significantly greater in recently diagnosed compared with chronic patients. PP1M was well tolerated, presenting no new safety signals. CONCLUSION: These data show that recently diagnosed patients treated with PP1M had a significantly higher treatment response and improved functioning, as assessed by the PSP total score, than chronic patients

The EU’s stability-democracy dilemma in the context of the problematic accession of the Western Balkan states

The accession of the remaining six Western Balkan states into the EU is shrouded in much uncertainty. Despite Croatia finally traversing the difficult path to eventual membership in 2013, not one of the remaining Western Balkan countries can claim to be on a definite pathway to membership today. An increasingly prevalent argument is that the EU’s engagement with its neighbourhoods has faltered because its strategies have been undermined by an inherent stability-democracy dilemma. This article examines the EU’s engagement with the Western Balkans and finds that although the EU tried to transcend this dilemma, in reality, a tension between stability and democracy was present with the former generally receiving more attention in policymaking. This led to not only a lack of tangible democratization amongst the Western Balkan states, but further uncertainty about their accession prospects. By 2018, it was clear that the EU’s engagement with the Western Balkans needed a rethink, resulting in a new approach: the ‘Six Flagship Initiatives’. However, given the apprehensiveness of some member states (especially France) coupled with the presence of outsiders such as Russia and China in the area, the accession prospects of the six non-EU Western Balkan states remains blurred

A novel approach for rapid screening of mitochondrial D310 polymorphism

BACKGROUND: Mutations in the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) have been reported in a wide variety of human neoplasms. A polynucleotide tract extending from 303 to 315 nucleotide positions (D310) within the non-coding region of mtDNA has been identified as a mutational hotspot of primary tumors. This region consists of two polycytosine stretches interrupted by a thymidine nucleotide. The number of cytosines at the first and second stretches are 7 and 5 respectively, according to the GeneBank sequence. The first stretch exhibits a polymorphic length variation (6-C to 9-C) among individuals and has been investigated in many cancer types. Large-scale studies are needed to clarify the relationship between cytosine number and cancer development/progression. However, time and money consuming methods such as radioactivity-based gel electrophoresis and sequencing, are not appropriate for the determination of this polymorphism for large case-control studies. In this study, we conducted a rapid RFLP analysis using a restriction enzyme, BsaXI, for the single step simple determination of 7-C carriers at the first stretch in D310 region. METHODS: 25 colorectal cancer patients, 25 breast cancer patients and 41 healthy individuals were enrolled into the study. PCR amplification followed by restriction enzyme digestion of D310 region was performed for RFLP analysis. Digestion products were analysed by agarose gel electrophoresis. Sequencing was also applied to samples in order to confirm the RFLP data. RESULTS: Samples containing 7-C at first stretch of D310 region were successfully determined by the BsaXI RFLP method. Heteroplasmy and homoplasmy for 7-C content was also determined as evidenced by direct sequencing. Forty-one percent of the studied samples were found to be BsaXI positive. Furthermore, BsaXI status of colorectal cancer samples were significantly different from that of healthy individuals. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, BsaXI RFLP analysis is a simple and rapid approach for the single step determination of D310 polymorphism of mitochondrial DNA. This method allows the evaluation of a significant proportion of samples without the need for sequencing- and/or radioactivity-based techniques

A framework to evaluate the viability of robotic process automation for business process activities

Robotic process automation (RPA) is a technology for centralized automation of business processes. RPA automates user interaction with graphical user interfaces, whereby it promises efficiency gains and a reduction of human negligence during process execution. To harness these benefits, organizations face the challenge of classifying process activities as viable automation candidates for RPA. Therefore, this work aims to support practitioners in evaluating RPA automation candidates. We design a framework that consists of thirteen criteria grouped into five perspectives which offer different evaluation aspects. These criteria leverage a profound understanding of the process step. We demonstrate and evaluate the framework by applying it to a real-life data set.Comment: This is an accepted manuscript for the "RPA Forum" at the "Int. Conference on Business Process Management (BPM 2020)". The final authenticated version is available online at https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-58779-6_1

Reducing the Multiplicative Complexity in Logic Networks for Cryptography and Security Applications

Reducing the number of AND gates plays a central role in many cryptography and security applications. We propose a logic synthesis algorithm and tool to minimize the number of AND gates in a logic network composed of AND, XOR, and inverter gates. Our approach is fully automatic and exploits cut enumeration algorithms to explore optimization potentials in local subcircuits. The experimental results show that our approach can reduce the number of AND gates by 34% on average compared to generic size optimization algorithms. Further, we are able to reduce the number of AND gates up to 76% in best-known benchmarks from the cryptography community