Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Enhancing Effects of Contingency Instructions on Fear Acquisition and Extinction in Anxiety Disorders

Explicit instructions regarding stimulus-threat associations increase acquisition and extinction of fear in healthy participants. The current study aimed to investigate the effect of contingency instructions on fear acquisition and extinction in patients with anxiety disorders. Patients with various anxiety disorders (N = 104) and healthy comparison participants (N = 93) participated in a differential fear conditioning task (within-subjects design). Approximately halfway through the acquisition phase, participants were instructed about the stimulus-threat association, and approximately halfway through the extinction phase, participants were informed that the unconditioned stimulus (US) would no longer be administered. Outcome measures were: fear-potentiated startle, skin conductance, fearfulness ratings, and US expectancy ratings. Patients demonstrated overall increased physiological and subjective fear responses during acquisition and extinction phases, relative to the comparison group. There were no major differences in fear acquisition and extinction between patients with different anxiety disorders. During acquisition, instructions led to increased discrimination of fear responses between a danger cue (conditioned stimulus [CS]+) and safety cue (CS−) in both patients and comparison participants. Moreover, instructions strengthened extinction of fear responses in the patient and comparison group. Patients and healthy comparison participants are better able to discriminate between danger and safety cues when they have been explicitly informed about cues that announce a threat situation. Considering the analogies between fear extinction procedures and exposure therapy, this suggests that specific instructions on stimulus-threat associations during exposure therapy might improve short-term treatment efficacy. The question remains for future studies whether instructions have a positive effect on extinction learning in the longer term.
Translating chimpanzee personality to humans: Investigating the transportability of chimpanzee‐derived personality scales to humans

There is a growing interest in the study of personality in chimpanzees with repeated findings of a similar structure of personality in apes to that found in humans. To date, however, the direct translational value of instruments used to assess chimpanzee personality to humans has yet to be explicitly tested. As such, in the current study we sought to determine the transportability of factor analytically‐derived chimpanzee personality scales to humans in a large human sample (N = 301). Human informants reporting on target individuals they knew well completed chimpanzee‐derived and human‐derived measures of personality from the two most widely studied models of human personality: Big Five and Big Three. The correspondence between informant‐reported chimpanzee‐ and human‐derived personality scales was then investigated. Results indicated high convergence for corresponding scales across most chimpanzee‐ and human‐derived personality scales. Findings from the current study provide evidence that chimpanzee‐derived scales translate well to humans and operate quite similarly to the established human‐derived personality scales in a human sample. This evidence of transportability lends support to the translational nature of chimpanzee personality research suggesting clear relevance of this growing literature to humans. Am. J. Primatol. 78:601–609, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Using Oscillating Sounds to Manipulate Sleep Spindles

Introduction EEG oscillations known as sleep spindles have been linked with various aspects of cognition, but the specific functions they signal remain controversial. Two types of EEG sleep spindles have been distinguished: slow spindles at 11-13.5 Hz and fast spindles at 13.5-16 Hz. Slow spindles exhibit a frontal scalp topography, whereas fast spindles exhibit a posterior scalp topography and have been preferentially linked with memory consolidation during sleep. To advance understanding beyond that provided from correlative studies of spindles, we aimed to develop a new method to systematically manipulate spindles. Aims and Methods We presented repeating bursts of oscillating white noise to people during a 90-min afternoon nap. During stage 2 and slow-wave sleep, oscillations were embedded within contiguous 10-s stimulation intervals, each comprising 2 s of white noise amplitude modulated at 12 Hz (targeting slow spindles), 15 Hz (targeting fast spindles), or 50 Hz followed by 8 s of constant white noise. Results During oscillating stimulation compared to constant stimulation, parietal EEG recordings showed more slow spindles in the 12-Hz condition, more fast spindles in the 15-Hz condition, and no change in the 50-Hz control condition. These effects were topographically selective, and were absent in frontopolar EEG recordings, where slow spindle density was highest. Spindles during stimulation were similar to spontaneous spindles in standard physiological features, including duration and scalp distribution. Conclusions These results define a new method to selectively and noninvasively manipulate spindles through acoustic resonance, while also providing new evidence for functional distinctions between the 2 types of EEG spindles.
Automatic artefact detection in single‐channel sleep EEG recordings

Quantitative electroencephalogram analysis (e.g. spectral analysis) has become an important tool in sleep research and sleep medicine. However, reliable results are only obtained if artefacts are removed or excluded. Artefact detection is often performed manually during sleep stage scoring, which is time consuming and prevents application to large datasets. We aimed to test the performance of mostly simple algorithms of artefact detection in polysomnographic recordings, derive optimal parameters and test their generalization capacity. We implemented 14 different artefact detection methods, optimized parameters for derivation C3A2 using receiver operator characteristic curves of 32 recordings, and validated them on 21 recordings of healthy participants and 10 recordings of patients (different laboratory) and considered the methods as generalizable. We also compared average power density spectra with artefacts excluded based on algorithms and expert scoring. Analyses were performed retrospectively. We could reliably identify artefact contaminated epochs in sleep electroencephalogram recordings of two laboratories (healthy participants and patients) reaching good sensitivity (specificity 0.9) with most algorithms. The best performance was obtained using fixed thresholds of the electroencephalogram slope, high‐frequency power (25–90 Hz or 45–90 Hz) and residuals of adaptive autoregressive models. Artefacts in electroencephalogram data can be reliably excluded by simple algorithms with good performance, and average electroencephalogram power density spectra with artefact exclusion based on algorithms and manual scoring are very similar in the frequency range relevant for most applications in sleep research and sleep medicine, allowing application to large datasets as needed to address questions related to genetics, epidemiology or precision medicine.
Mitral valve repair or replacement in hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy: a prospective randomized study.

OBJECTIVES The optimal surgical strategy for concomitant mitral valve intervention during myectomy remains controversial. The purpose of this study was to compare the results of mitral valve replacement versus repair in patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy and severe mitral regurgitation. METHODS Between 2010 and 2013, a total of 88 patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy and severe mitral regurgitation were randomly assigned to undergo either mitral valve replacement or repair in addition to extended myectomy. RESULTS Three patients from the repair group were switched to mitral valve replacement after repair failure. There was 1 early death (2.4%) in the replacement group. The resting left ventricular outflow tract gradient was reduced from 89.1 ± 20.4 to 18.3 ± 5.7 mmHg (P < 0.001) and from 96.6 ± 28.1 to 14.7 ± 5.9 mmHg (P < 0.001) in the replacement and repair groups, respectively; there was no significant difference between the groups (P = 0.458). At 2-year follow-up, overall survival was 87.2 ± 4.9% and 96.7 ± 3.3% (P = 0.034); freedom from sudden cardiac death was 95.6 ± 3.1% and 96.7 ± 3.3% (P = 0.615); and freedom from thromboembolic events was 91.2 ± 4.2% and 100%, respectively (P = 0.026). CONCLUSIONS Both mitral valve repair and valve replacement in addition to extended myectomy are effective methods of surgical treatment in patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy who have severe mitral regurgitation. The benefits of mitral valve repair are better overall survival and a lower rate of thromboembolic events. Clinical trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02054221.
Withdrawal-Related Changes in Delay Discounting Predict Short-Term Smoking Abstinence

Introduction Impulsive decision making is associated with smoking behavior and reflects preferences for smaller, immediate rewards and intolerance of temporal delays. Nicotine withdrawal may alter impulsive decision making and time perception. However, little is known about whether withdrawal-related changes in decision making and time perception predict smoking relapse. Methods Forty-five smokers (14 female) completed two laboratory sessions, one following 24-hour abstinence and one smoking-as-usual (order counterbalanced; biochemically verified abstinence). During each visit, participants completed measures of time perception, decision making (ie, discount rates), craving, and withdrawal. Following the second laboratory session, subjects underwent a well-validated model of short-term abstinence (quit week) with small monetary incentives for each day of biochemically confirmed abstinence. Results Smokers significantly overestimated time during abstinence, compared to smoking-as-usual (p = .021), but there were no abstinence effects on discount rates (p = .6). During the quit week, subjects were abstinent for 3.5 days (SD = 2.15) and smoked a total of 12.9 cigarettes (SD = 15.8). Importantly, higher discount rates (ie, preferences for immediate rewards) during abstinence (abstinence minus smoking difference score) predicted greater number of days abstinent (p = .01) and fewer cigarettes smoked during the quit week (p = .02). Withdrawal-related change in time reproduction did not predict relapse (p = .2). Conclusions These data suggest that individuals who have a greater preference for immediate rewards during abstinence (vs. smoking-as-usual) may be more successful at maintaining short-term abstinence when provided with frequent (eg, daily) versus less frequent incentive schedules (eg, 1 month). Abstinence-induced changes in decision making may be important for identifying smokers who may benefit from interventions that incentivize abstinence such as contingency management (CM). Implications The present results suggest that smokers who place greater subjective value on immediate rewards during withdrawal (compared to smoking-as-usual) may be less likely to relapse if offered small, frequent monetary incentives to maintain abstinence. Thus, the current findings may have important implications for identifying smokers most likely to benefit from particular interventions such as CM. Future research might evaluate whether withdrawal-related changes in delay discounting moderate treatment response to different incentive schedules with the goal of optimizing CM effectiveness to improve abstinence rates.
Physico-chemical and thermal properties of chicken myofibrillar protein concentrate (CMPC) mixed with barley bran flour during frozen storage.

BACKGROUND Possible new additives for surimi-like products made from chicken meat, which could improve its functional properties during frozen storage, are the subject of much research. The use of dietary fibre in surimi-like products made from chicken meat has not been extensively studied. The objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of barley bran flour in stabilizing chicken myofibrillar proteins during frozen storage and maintaining its functionality. METHODS Surimi-like material (chicken myofibrillar protein concentrate – CMPC) from mechanically deboned chicken meat was mixed with barley bran flour (0–6%) and stored in a freezer for 30, 60, 90 and 180 days. Instrumental color measurements (L*, a*, and b* values) were taken using a Hunter-Lab Mini ScanXE. Texture profile analysis (TPA) tests were performed using a TA.XT2i SMS Stable Micro Systems Texture Analyzer) equipped with an aluminium cylindrical probe P/75. Differential scanning calorim- etry (DSC) was used for the determination of denaturation temperatures and enthalpies. RESULTS Denaturation enthalpies of CMPC increased when the mass fraction of barley bran was increased (w = 0–6%). Instrumental color parameters (L*, a* and b*) of CMPC gels were significantly (p < 0.05) af- fected by the addition of barley bran. Texture profile analysis (TPA) parameters – hardness and chewiness – increased significantly (p < 0.05) with the addition of barley bran (w = 0–6%). Cohesiveness and springiness were also significantly (p < 0.05) affected by the addition of barley bran (w = 0–6%) during frozen storage. CONCLUSIONS The increase in denaturation enthalpies and some instrumental textural and color parameters, indicate possible interactions of chicken myofibrillar proteins with barley bran.
Microstructures, Mechanical and Creep Properties of Rapidly Solidification/Powder Metallurgy Mg-6wt.%Zn Alloys with 5wt.%Ce and 1.5wt.%Ca Additions

Rapidly solidification/powder metallurgy (RS/PM) Mg-6Zn, Mg-6Zn-5Ce and Mg-6Zn-5Ce-1.5Ca (wt.%) alloys were produced via hot extrusion with RS powders, produced by atomization-twin roll quenching. Microstructures, mechanical and creep properties of the alloys were investigated. The results showed that for the Mg-6Zn alloys with 5wt. %Ce and 1.5wt. %Ca additions, the microstructures of the alloys were gradually refined, which caused the strength of the alloy at room temperature to increase remarkably, especially for the RS/PM Mg-6Zn-5Ce-1.5Ca alloy, exhibited a high compressive strength of 394MPa at room temperature. At elevated temperatures, due to the fine and stable intermetallic compounds i.e. MgxZnyCez and MgxZnyCez-(Ca) phases were formed for the Mg-6Zn-5Ce alloy and Mg-6Zn-5Ce-1.5Ca alloys, respectively, and the thermal stability of the ternary phase was a little lower than that of the quaternary phase because of the dissolving of Ca into the MgxZnyCez phase, the mechanical and creep properties at elevated temperatures increased remarkably with Ce and Ca additions, especially for the RS/PM Mg-6Zn-5Ce-1.5Ca alloy, which exhibited a high compressive strength of 258MPa at 200°C, and the minimum creep rate was decreased about 2 times, compared with that of the Mg-6Zn-5Ce alloy.
Finite horizon H∞ control for stochastic systems with multiple decision makers

This paper investigates the finite horizon H∞ control problem for a class of nonlinear stochastic systems with multiple decision makers. First, it is shown that the H∞ controllers for the decision makers can be obtained by solving a dynamic Nash game problem. In order to find the H∞ controllers, necessary conditions for the existence of Nash equilibrium in the worst case disturbance, which consist of cross-coupled forward-backward stochastic differential equations (CFBSDEs), are derived by using stochastic maximum principle. Second, a four step scheme is adopted to develop a computational algorithm to solve the CFBSDEs. A simple practical example is solved to show the validity of the proposed method.
Comparison of three different risk-stratification models for predicting lymph node involvement in endometrioid endometrial cancer clinically confined to the uterus

Objective To compare the clinical validity of the Gynecologic Oncology Group-99 (GOG-99), the Mayo-modified and the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO)-modified criteria for predicting lymph node (LN) involvement in women with endometrioid endometrial cancer (EC) clinically confined to the uterus. Methods A total of 625 consecutive women who underwent comprehensive surgical staging for endometrioid EC clinically confined to the uterus were divided into low- and high-risk groups according to the GOG-99, the Mayo-modified, and the ESMO-modified criteria. Lymphovascular space invasion is the cornerstone of risk stratification according to the ESMO-modified criteria. These 3 risk stratification models were compared in terms of predicting LN positivity. Results Systematic LN dissection was achieved in all patients included in the study. LN involvement was detected in 70 (11.2%) patients. LN involvement was correctly estimated in 51 of 70 LN-positive patients according to the GOG-99 criteria (positive likelihood ratio [LR+], 3.3; negative likelihood ratio [LR−], 0.4), 64 of 70 LN-positive patients according to the ESMO-modified criteria (LR+, 2.5; LR−, 0.13) and 69 of the 70 LN-positive patients according to the Mayo-modified criteria (LR+, 2.2; LR−, 0.03). The area under curve of the Mayo-modified, the GOG-99 and the ESMO-modified criteria was 0.763, 0.753, and 0.780, respectively. Conclusion The ESMO-modified classification seems to be the risk-stratification model that most accurately predicts LN involvement in endometrioid EC clinically confined to the uterus. However, the Mayo-modified classification may be an alternative model to achieve a precise balance between the desire to prevent over-treatment and the ability to diagnose LN involvement.
Multi-Locus Sequence Typing of Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli Isolates from Nigerian Children Uncovers Multiple Lineages

Background Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC) are defined by their stacked-brick adherence pattern to human epithelial cells. There is no all-encompassing genetic marker for EAEC. The category is commonly implicated in diarrhea but research is hampered by perplexing heterogeneity. Methodology/Principal Findings To identify key EAEC lineages, we applied multilocus sequence typing to 126 E. coli isolates from a Nigerian case-control study that showed aggregative adherence in the HEp-2 adherence assay, and 24 other EAEC strains from diverse locations. EAEC largely belonged to the A, B1 and D phylogenetic groups and only 7 (4.6%) isolates were in the B2 cluster. As many as 96 sequence types (STs) were identified but 60 (40%) of the EAEC strains belong to or are double locus variants of STs 10, 31, and 394. The remainder did not belong to predominant complexes. The most common ST complex, with predicted ancestor ST10, included 32 (21.3%) of the isolates. Significant age-related distribution suggests that weaned children in Nigeria are at risk for diarrhea from of ST10-complex EAEC. Phylogenetic group D EAEC strains, predominantly from ST31- and ST394 complexes, represented 38 (25.3%) of all isolates, include genome-sequenced strain 042, and possessed conserved chromosomal loci. Conclusions/Significance We have developed a molecular phylogenetic framework, which demonstrates that although grouped by a shared phenotype, the category of ‘EAEC’ encompasses multiple pathogenic lineages. Principal among isolates from Nigeria were ST10-complex EAEC that were associated with diarrhea in children over one year and ECOR D strains that share horizontally acquired loci.
Gene expression profiling of acute type A aortic dissection combined with in vitro assessment†

OBJECTIVES The mechanisms underlying aortic dissection remain to be fully elucidated. We aimed to identify key molecules driving dissection through gene expression profiling achieved by microarray analysis and subsequent in vitro experiments using human aortic endothelial cells (HAECs) and aortic vascular smooth muscle cells (AoSMCs). METHODS Total RNA, including microRNA (miRNA), was isolated from the intima‐media layer of dissected ascending aorta obtained intraoperatively from acute type A aortic dissection (ATAAD) patients without familial thoracic aortic disease (n = 8) and that of non‐dissected ascending aorta obtained from transplant donors (n = 9). Gene expression profiling was performed with mRNA and miRNA microarrays, and results were confirmed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Target genes and miRNA were identified by gene ontology analysis and a literature search. To reproduce the in silico results, HAECs and AoSMCs were stimulated in vitro by upstream cytokines, and expression of target genes was assessed by qPCR. RESULTS Microarray analysis revealed 1536 genes (3.6%, 1536/42 545 probes) and 41 miRNAs (3.0%, 41/1368 probes) that were differentially expressed in the ATAAD group (versus donor group). The top 15 related pathways included regulation of inflammatory response, growth factor activity and extracellular matrix. Gene ontology analysis identified JAK2 (regulation of inflammatory response), PDGFA, TGFB1, VEGFA (growth factor activity) and TIMP3, TIMP4, SERPINE1 (extracellular matrix) as the target genes and miR‐21‐5p, a TIMP3 repressor, as target miRNA that interacts with the target genes. Validation qPCR confirmed the altered expression of all 7 target genes and miR‐21‐5p in dissected aorta specimens (all genes, P < 0.05). Ingenuity pathway analysis showed TNF‐&agr; and TGF‐&bgr; to be upstream cytokines for the target genes. In vitro experiments showed these cytokines inhibit TIMP3 expression (P < 0.05) and enhance VEGFA expression (P < 0.01) in AoSMCs but not HAECs. miR‐21‐5p expression increases in AoSMCs under TNF‐&agr; and TGF‐&bgr; stimulation (fold change: 1.36; P = 0.011). CONCLUSIONS Results of our novel approach, integrating in vitro assessment into gene expression profiling, implicated chronic inflammation characterized by MMP‐TIMP dysregulation, increased VEGFA expression, and TGF‐&bgr; signalling in the development of dissection. Further investigation may reveal novel diagnostic biomarkers and uncover the mechanism(s) underlying ATAAD.
High Circulating Free Thyroxine Levels May Increase the Risk of Frailty: The Rotterdam Study

Context Thyroid hormones affect metabolism in various tissues, organs, and systems. However, the overall impact of thyroid function on an individual's vulnerability to adverse outcomes remains unclear. Objective To investigate the cross-sectional and prospective association of thyroid function with the frailty index, a well-established measure of overall health. Design and Setting The Rotterdam Study, a population-based, prospective cohort study. Participants and Main Outcome Measurements Participants with baseline measurements of thyroid function and the frailty index were eligible. The frailty index was measured at baseline and after a median follow-up time of 10.1 years (interquartile range, 5.7 to 10.8 years). A higher frailty index indicated a worse health state. We assessed the association of thyroid function with frailty at baseline, frailty at follow-up, and frailty changes over time, adjusting for age, sex, cohort, smoking, alcohol, and education. Results We included 9640 participants (mean age, 64.9 years). There was a U-shaped association of thyrotropin (TSH; P < 0.0003) and free thyroxine (FT4; P < 0.0001) with frailty at baseline. There was no association of TSH, but a positive association of FT4 with frailty at follow-up and frailty changes over time (β, 1.22; confidence interval, 0.73 to 1.72 per 1 unit FT4). Conclusion In this population-based study, participants with low and high thyroid function were more likely to be frail than participants with normal thyroid function. However, only those with higher FT4 levels had an increased risk of becoming more frail over time. The identification of FT4 as a potential marker of health deterioration could have future implications regarding the prediction and prevention of frailty.