Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Food Addiction in Bulimia Nervosa: Clinical Correlates and Association with Response to a Brief Psychoeducational Intervention.

Food addiction (FA) has been examined in different populations. Although high FA levels are associated with greater eating disorder severity, few studies have addressed how FA relates to treatment outcome. GOALS The study aims (1) to determine whether a brief intervention for bulimia nervosa (BN) reduces FA diagnosis or severity compared with baseline and (2) to determine if FA is predictive of treatment outcome. METHOD Sixty-six female BN patients participated in the study. The Yale Food Addiction Scale was administered at two time points: prior to and following a 6-week intervention. The number of weekly binging/purging episodes, dropout and abstinence from bulimic behaviour were used as primary outcome measures. RESULTS This brief intervention reduced FA severity and FA diagnosis in the 55 patients who completed treatment. FA severity was a short-term predictor of abstinence from binging/purging episodes after treatment (p = .018). CONCLUSIONS Food addiction appears to be prevalent in BN although FA severity can improve following a short-term intervention. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.
Enhanced far-UV reflectance of Al mirrors protected with hot-deposited MgF2

Mirrors based on Al protected with a MgF2 film provide high reflectance over a broad spectral range down to the wavelength of 120 nm in the Far UV (FUV). After more than 50 years since the development of this technology, a significant FUV reflectance enhancement has been obtained in the last years. Such enhancement originates mostly in the higher transparency of the MgF2 protective layer deposited on a hot Al-coated substrate. Research has been conducted at GOLD to measure the dependence of the FUV reflectance enhancement with MgF2 deposition temperature. A reflectance enhancement was found for freshly-prepared samples; moreover, the reflectance degradation over time of Al films protected with hot-deposited MgF2 was also smaller than for the coatings deposited at room temperature. A reflectance as high as 90% was measured at 121.6 nm (hydrogen Lyman α line) for aged samples. A FUV reflectance enhancement was also obtained on samples fully deposited at room temperature and later annealed in vacuum. The reflectance of Al mirrors as a function of MgF2 deposition temperature, as well as of post-deposition annealed mirrors, and their stability over time is presented. Structural data on film roughness, density, and main crystal orientations for mirrors with a MgF2 film deposited both at room temperature and at 250°C are also presented.
Live attenuated influenza virus vaccine reduces virus shedding of newborn piglets in the presence of maternal antibody

Influenza A virus in swine (IAV‐S) causes an acute respiratory disease of swine which results in great economic losses in pig production. Major control strategies include the use of killed vaccines (KV) in breeding females to confer passive immunity to their offspring. A bivalent H1N1 and H3N2 NS1‐truncated live attenuated IAV‐S vaccine have recently become available, which showed promising results in young pigs.
Ethnicity and arterial stiffness in children and adolescents from a Brazilian population

Background: Increased stiffness of large arteries is an important determinant of cardiovascular disease risk. Higher values of arterial stiffness measured by carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cf-PWV) have been measured in adult African-Americans compared with whites. Studies assessing ethnic differences in cf-PWV among children and adolescents are scarce. This study sought to evaluate the association between ethnicity and cf-PWV in Brazilian children and adolescents. Methods: Seven hundred and seventy-one children and adolescents (211 blacks and 560 nonblacks, 11.3 ± 2.7 years) were included. Arterial stiffness was evaluated by cf-PWV. The ethnic classification was obtained by a single interviewer according to general phenotypes such as skin color, hair shape and facial traces. Results: Blood pressure was similar in blacks and nonblacks across all pubertal stages. Differently, cf-PWV was higher in blacks than nonblacks pubescent (5.9 ± 0.7 vs. 5.6 ± 0.8 m/s, P = 0.001) and postpubescent (6.1 ± 0.7 vs. 5.7 ± 0.7 m/s, P = 0.042), whereas no difference was detected between blacks and nonblacks prepubescent. These analyses were adjusted for sex, age, height, BMI, SBP and heart rate. Conclusion: Our study showed that higher cf-PWV values in blacks appear in adolescence and are independent of blood pressure values. Therefore, our data suggest adolescence as the key phase for the appearance of the vascular profile found in adults black individuals.
Conserved Atg8 recognition sites mediate Atg4 association with autophagosomal membranes and Atg8 deconjugation

Deconjugation of the Atg8/LC3 protein family members from phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) by Atg4 proteases is essential for autophagy progression, but how this event is regulated remains to be understood. Here, we show that yeast Atg4 is recruited onto autophagosomal membranes by direct binding to Atg8 via two evolutionarily conserved Atg8 recognition sites, a classical LC3‐interacting region (LIR) at the C‐terminus of the protein and a novel motif at the N‐terminus. Although both sites are important for Atg4–Atg8 interaction in vivo, only the new N‐terminal motif, close to the catalytic center, plays a key role in Atg4 recruitment to autophagosomal membranes and specific Atg8 deconjugation. We thus propose a model where Atg4 activity on autophagosomal membranes depends on the cooperative action of at least two sites within Atg4, in which one functions as a constitutive Atg8 binding module, while the other has a preference toward PE‐bound Atg8.
Type-specific antigenic determinants on the major external glycoprotein of high- and low-oncogenic murine mammary tumor viruses

We recently showed that the 52,000-dalton external glycoprotein (gp52) of the highly oncogenic mouse mammary tumor viruses (MMTVs) of RIII, GR, and C3H mice contains both type- and group-specific antigenic determinants. This was demonstrated by using a competition radioimmunoassay with 125I-externally labeled virions and antisera to the gp52 of MMTV from RIII mice (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 74:3564-3568, 1977). We report here that we were able to distinguish between the gp52's of the high-oncogenic MMTV of C3H mice [MMTV(C3H)] and the low-oncogenic MMTV of that same mouse strain [MMTV(C3Hf)]. This was accomplished by use of a competition radioimmunoassay with 125I-externally labeled virions of MMTV(C3H) and antisera prepared against MMTV(C3H). A comparison of the intact virion and purified gp52 radioimmunoassays showed that MMTV type-specific differences were enhanced with the intact virion radioimmunoassay. These differences were further magnified with appropriately absorbed antisera. These findings thus allow an immunological distinction between the surface glycoproteins of a low-oncogenic endogenous and a high-oncogenic exogenous MMTV of the same mouse strain.
Frequency, risk factors, and outcomes of central nervous system relapse in lymphoma patients treated with dose‐adjusted EPOCH plus rituximab

Central nervous system (CNS) relapse in non‐Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) is a rare but serious complication that carries a poor prognosis. The use of infusional etoposide, prednisone, vincristine, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and rituximab (EPOCH‐R) for frontline treatment of diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is increasing, though little is known about incidence of and risk factors for CNS relapse with this regimen
Characterization of Three Homologs of the Large Subunit of the Magnesium Chelatase from Chlorobaculum tepidum and Interaction with the Magnesium Protoporphyrin IX Methyltransferase*

Green bacteria synthesize several types of (bacterio)chlorophylls for the assembly of functional photosynthetic reaction centers and antenna complexes. A distinctive feature of green bacteria compared with other photosynthetic microbes is that their genomes contain multiple homologs of the large subunit (BchH) of the magnesium chelatase which is a three-subunit enzyme complex (BchH, BchD, and BchI) that inserts magnesium into protoporphyrin IX as the first committed step of (bacterio)chlorophyll biosynthesis. There is speculation that the additional BchH homologs may regulate the biosynthesis of each type of chlorophyll, although the biochemical properties of the different magnesium chelatase complexes from a single species of green bacteria have not yet been compared. In this study, we investigated the activities of all three chelatase complexes from the green sulfur bacterium Chlorobaculum tepidum and interactions with the next enzyme in the pathway, magnesium protoporphyrin IX methyltransferase (BchM). Although all three chelatase complexes insert magnesium into protoporphyrin IX, the activities range by a factor of 105. Further, there are differences in the interactions between the BchH homologs and BchM; two of the subunits increase the methyltransferase activity by 30–60%, and the third decreases it by 30%. Expression of the chelatase complexes alone and together with BchM in Escherichia coli overproducing protoporphyrin IX suggests that the chelatase is the rate-limiting enzyme. We observed that BchM uses protoporphyrin IX without bound metal as a substrate. Our results conflict with expectations generated by previous gene inactivation studies and suggest a complex regulation of chlorophyll biosynthesis in green bacteria.
Relationship of Antibiotic Treatment to Recovery after Acute FEV1 Decline in Children with Cystic Fibrosis

Rationale: Children with cystic fibrosis often experience acute declines in lung function. We previously showed that such declines are not always treated with antibiotics, but we did not assess whether treatment improves the likelihood of recovery. Objectives: To determine whether new antibiotic treatment was associated with recovery from acute FEV1 decline. Methods: We studied episodes of FEV1 decline (≥10% from baseline) in the Epidemiologic Study of Cystic Fibrosis. Treatments were hospitalization, home intravenous antibiotic, new inhaled oral quinolone, or other oral antibiotic. We used logistic regression to evaluate whether treatment was associated with recovery to baseline or near baseline. Results: Logistic regression of 9,875 patients showed that new antibiotic treatment was associated with an increased likelihood of recovery to 90% of baseline (P < 0.001), especially for hospitalization compared with no new antibiotic (odds ratio [OR], 2.79; 95% confidence interval, 2.41‐3.23). All four outpatient treatments were associated with greater likelihood of recovery compared with no treatment (OR, 1.27‐1.64). Inpatient treatment was better than outpatient treatment (OR, 1.94; 95% confidence interval, 1.68‐2.23). Treatment‐type ORs were similar across recovery criteria and levels of baseline lung function. Conclusions: New antibiotic therapy, and especially inpatient treatment, is associated with greater likelihood of recovery after acute decline in FEV1. Benefits extend across all disease stages and are especially important in patients with high lung function, who are at greatest risk for FEV1 decline.
Emerging Gram negative resistance to last-line antimicrobial agents fosfomycin, colistin and ceftazidime-avibactam – epidemiology, laboratory detection and treatment implications

ABSTRACT Introduction: Multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensively-drug-resistant (XDR) Gram-negative bacteria have emerged as a major threat to human health globally. This has resulted in the ‘re-discovery’ of some older antimicrobials and development of new agents, however resistance has also rapidly emerged to these agents. Areas covered: Here we describe recent developments in resistance to three of the most important last-line antimicrobials for treatment of MDR and XDR Gram negatives: fosfomycin, colistin and ceftazidime-avibactam. Expert commentary: A key challenge for microbiologists and clinicians using these agents for treating patients with MDR and XDR Gram negative infections is the need to ensure appropriate reference methods are being used to test susceptibility to these agents, especially colistin and fosfomycin. These methods are not available in all laboratories meaning accurate results are either delayed, or potentially inaccurate as non-reference methods are employed. Combination therapy for MDR and XDR Gram negatives is likely to become more common, and future studies should focus on the clinical effects of monotherapy vs combination therapy, as well as validation of synergy testing methods. Effective national and international surveillance systems to detect and respond to resistance to these last line agents are also critical.
A Single Test Combining Blood Markers and Elastography is More Accurate Than Other Fibrosis Tests in the Main Causes of Chronic Liver Diseases

Background and Goal: International guidelines suggest combining a blood test and liver stiffness measurement (LSM) to stage liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis C (CHC) and non–alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Therefore, we compared the accuracies of these tests between the main etiologies of chronic liver diseases. Study: Overall, 1968 patients were included in 5 etiologies: CHC: 698, chronic hepatitis B: 152, human immunodeficiency virus/CHC: 628, NAFLD: 225, and alcoholic liver disease (ALD): 265. Sixteen tests [13 blood tests, LSM (Fibroscan), 2 combined: FibroMetersVCTE] were evaluated. References were Metavir staging and CHC etiology. Accuracy was evaluated mainly with the Obuchowski index (OI) and accessorily with area under the receiver operating characteristics (F≥2, F≥3, cirrhosis). Results: OIs in CHC were: FibroMetersVCTE: 0.812, FibroMetersV: 0.785 to 0.797, Fibrotest: 0.762, CirrhoMetersV: 0.756 to 0.771, LSM: 0.754, Hepascore: 0.752, FibroMeterALD: 0.750, aspartate aminotransferase platelet ratio index: 0.742, Fib-4: 0.741. In other etiologies, most tests had nonsignificant changes in OIs. In NAFLD, CHC-specific tests were more accurate than NAFLD-specific tests. The combined FibroMetersVCTE had significantly higher accuracy than their 2 constitutive tests (FibroMetersV and LSM) in at least 1 diagnostic target in all etiologies, except in ALD where LSM had the highest OI, and in 3 diagnostic targets (OIs and 2 area under the receiver operating characteristics) in CHC and NAFLD. Conclusions: Some tests developed in CHC outperformed other tests in their specific etiologies. Tests combining blood markers and LSM outperformed single tests, validating recent guidelines and extending them to main etiologies. Noninvasive fibrosis evaluation can thus be simplified in the main etiologies by using a unique test: either LSM alone, especially in ALD, or preferably combined to blood markers.
Hedonic Orientation Moderates the Association Between Cognitive Control and Affect Reactivity to Daily Hassles in Adolescent Boys

People often seek to regulate their affective reactions when confronted with hassles. Hassle reactivity is lower for people with higher cognitive control, presumably because of better affect regulation. Many adolescents, however, show higher hassle reactivity than children, despite better cognitive control. The present study aims to understand whether motivational differences when seeking to regulate affective experiences moderate the association between cognitive control and hassle reactivity in adolescence. We hypothesized that higher cognitive control is related to lower hassle reactivity only for adolescents with a strong hedonic orientation, that is, for adolescents who seek to maintain or enhance positive or to dampen negative affect. We investigated 149 boys’ (age range: 10–20 years) hedonic orientation and affect reactivity toward daily hassles during 2 weeks of experience sampling. Higher cognitive control, assessed with a working memory battery in the laboratory, was associated with stronger hassle reactivity in individuals with low hedonic orientation. The more hedonic-oriented individuals were, the lower was their hassle reactivity, but only in combination with high cognitive control. Our findings illustrate that higher cognitive control is not always related to lower hassle reactivity. Rather, when daily hassles compromise affect balance, hedonic orientation is equally important to understand affect reactivity in adolescent boys.
Ambient fine particulate matter in China: Its negative impacts and possible countermeasures

ABSTRACT In recent decades, China has experienced rapid economic development accompanied by increasing concentrations of ambient PM2.5, particulate matter of less than 2.5 μm in diameter. PM2.5 is now believed to be a carcinogen, causing higher lung cancer risks and generating losses to the economy and society. This meta-analysis evaluates the losses generated by ambient PM2.5 in Suzhou from 2014 to 2016 and predicts losses at different concentrations. Estimations of total losses in Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Guangzhou, Dalian, and Xiamen are also presented, with a total national loss in 2015. The authors then demonstrate that lowering ambient PM2.5 concentrations would be a realistic way for China to reduce the evaluated social losses in the short term. Possible legal measures are listed for lowering ambient PM2.5 concentrations. Implications: The present findings quantify the economic effects of ambient PM2.5 due to the increased incidence rate and mortality rate of lung cancer. Lowering ambient PM2.5 concentrations would be the most realistic way for China to reduce tghe evaluated social losses in the short term. Possible legal measures for lowering ambient PM2.5 concentrations to reduce the total losses are identified.
Zinc finger AN1-type containing 4 is a novel marker for predicting metastasis and poor prognosis in oral squamous cell carcinoma

Aims Head and neck cancer, including oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), is the sixth most common cancer worldwide and has a high potential for locoregional invasion and nodal metastasis. Therefore, discovery of a useful molecular biomarker capable of predicting tumour progression and metastasis of OSCC is crucial. We have previously reported zinc finger AN1-type containing 4 (ZFAND4) as one of the most upregulated genes in recurrent OSCC using a cDNA microarray analysis. Although ZFAND4 has been shown to promote cell proliferation of gastric cancer, its expression and clinicopathological roles in OSCC remain unclear. Methods In this study, we examined ZFAND4 expression by immunohistochemistry in 214 cases of OSCC. Results High cytoplasmic expression of ZFAND4 was observed in 45 out of 214 (21%) patients with OSCC. Expression levels of ZFAND4 were strongly associated with metastasis to the lymph nodes (p=0.0429) and distant organs (p=0.0068). Cases with high expression of ZFAND4 had a significantly unfavourable prognosis compared with patients with low expression of ZFAND4 (p<0.0001). Furthermore, ZFAND4 overexpression was an independent poor prognostic factor for OSCC as determined by multivariate analysis using the Cox proportional hazards model (p<0.0001). Conclusions These results suggest that ZFAND4 is a useful marker for predicting metastasis and poor prognosis in patients with OSCC.
Identity Processes and Statuses in Patients with and without Eating Disorders

Problems with identity formation are associated with a range of psychiatric disorders. Yet, the mechanisms underlying such problems and how they are refined into specific diagnostic presentations require further investigation. The present study investigated identity processes among 123 women with eating disorders (ED) and age-matched community controls via a newly developed identity model. Several clinical outcome variables were assessed. Patients with ED scored lower on committing to and identifying with identity-related choices and scored higher on maladaptive or ruminative exploration, identity diffusion and identity disorder. They also experienced less identity achievement as compared with controls. The identity disorder status was associated with the highest scores on anxiety, depression, borderline personality disorder symptoms, and non-suicidal self-injury and the lowest scores on need satisfaction. Results indicate that patients with ED experience more identity problems than community controls and those captured by an identity disorder status experience the most problematic psychosocial functioning. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.
Analytical Modeling of Distributed Location Based Access for Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks

One of the key ingredients of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) is delivery of broadcast status messages among vehicles for safety purposes. This requires an efficient Medium Access Control (MAC) that provides low average delay and high reliability. To this end, Carrier Sense Multiple Access (CSMA) has been commonly proposed for Vehicle Ad Hoc Networks (VANETs). Nevertheless, the hidden- node problem can jeopardize the reliability of CSMA, whereas the latency when accessing the channel can be unbounded. To overcome these limitations, resource allocation based on the geo-location of the vehicles can be applied in VANETs. For example, a distributed location based access (DLOC) algorithm has been proposed such that vehicles access orthogonal resource blocks based on their position, aiming at maximizing the distance of co-channel transmitters. In this paper we propose a stochastic geometry approach to analyze DLOC taking into account path loss and fading as well as the random location of transmitting vehicles. Analytical results include the average interference, average binary rate and capture probability, i.e. probability of successful message transmission. It is shown that increasing the number of RBs increases reliability but there is a trade off between reliability and average BR.
Circulating interleukin 6 during a continuous infusion of tumor necrosis factor and interferon gamma

Plasma samples obtained from patients receiving a 24-h continuous infusion of human recombinant (hr)TNF or a combination of two overlapping, 24-h continuous infusions of hrIFN-gamma and hrTNF were analyzed for IL-6 in a sensitive bioassay. A transient appearance of circulating IL-6 was observed with peak levels between 3 and 6 h after the start of the hrTNF infusion. These peak levels correlated quite well with the dose of hrTNF administered (r = 0.86; p less than 0.001). The maximal value observed was 27.5 ng/ml IL-6 in a sample of a patient receiving 545 micrograms/m2 hrTNF. The combination of hrIFN-gamma (200 micrograms/m2) and hrTNF in the infusions resulted in higher IL-6 levels than a comparable dose of hrTNF alone. A maximal value of 23.5 ng/ml IL-6 was observed in a patient receiving 205 micrograms/m2 hrTNF. No IL-6 was found in the plasma of patients during the 12-h infusion with hrIFN-gamma alone, except for two borderline samples.