Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Abbreviated exposure to cuprizone is sufficient to induce demyelination and oligodendrocyte loss

Cuprizone intoxication is one of several animal models used to study demyelination and remyelination. Early treatment protocols exposed mice to cuprizone for 6 weeks to induce demyelination; however, more recent reports have varied exposure times from 4 to 5 weeks. The goal of this study was to determine the minimal exposure of cuprizone in C57BL/6 mice that would induce a pathology of robust demyelination and gliosis similar to that described for a 5‐ or 6‐week treatment. We found that an abbreviated insult of only 2 weeks of exposure to cuprizone induced significant demyelination 3 weeks later (5‐week time point) but was somewhat variable. Three weeks of exposure to cuprizone produced extensive demyelination by week 5, equivalent to that observed with 5 weeks of exposure. The depletion of mature oligodendrocytes, as well as microglia and astrocyte accumulation, showed trends similar to those with 5‐week exposure to cuprizone. Once mature oligodendrocytes are perturbed after a 3‐week treatment, the progression to demyelination occurs without requiring further exposure. Furthermore, the early removal of cuprizone did not accelerate remyelination, suggesting that other sequences of events must follow before repair can occur. Thus, a short, “hit and run” CNS insult triggers a cascade of events leading to demyelination 2–3 weeks later. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Hypothermia and xenon: Novel noble guardians in hypoxic–ischemic encephalopathy?

The financial and emotional cost of caring for children affected by hypoxic–ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is enormous, and developing therapeutic strategies to prevent or ameliorate the severity of HI‐related brain injury remains a major priority. In the past, supportive management was the mainstay of treatment, but considerable progress has been made in identifying and developing neuroprotective strategies for neonates with HIE. The neuroprotective effects of several therapeutic modalities, including anticonvulsants, hyperbaric oxygen, and erythropoietin, have been investigated. This Mini‐Review discusses the potential of two neuroprotective agents that show the most promise thus far: xenon and therapeutic hypothermia. The pathogenesis of HIE involves more than one pathway, and intervening in multiple pathways may yield better results than interventions targeted at a single cellular level. The therapeutic benefits of xenon and hypothermia have been confirmed in several in vitro and in vivo studies, both individually and in combination. With promising results being reported, it is, perhaps, only a matter of time before xenon and hypothermia become established as a standard care for neonates with HIE. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Persistent Asymmetric Optic Disc Swelling After Long-Duration Space Flight: Implications for Pathogenesis

Background: Several ophthalmic findings including optic disc swelling, globe flattening and choroidal folds have been observed in astronauts following long-duration space flight. The authors now report asymmetric choroidal expansion, disc swelling and optic disc morphologic changes in a 45-year-old astronaut which occurred during long-duration space flight and persisted following his space mission. Methods: Case study of ocular findings in an astronaut documented during and after a long-duration space flight of approximately 6 months. Before, during and after his spaceflight, he underwent complete eye examination, including fundus photography, ultrasound, and optical coherence tomography. Results: We documented asymmetric choroidal expansion inflight that largely resolved by 30 days postflight, asymmetric disc swelling observed inflight that persisted for over 180 days postflight, asymmetric optic disc morphologic changes documented inflight by OCT that persisted for 630 days postflight and asymmetric globe flattening that began inflight and continued 660 days postflight. Lumbar puncture opening pressures obtained at 7 and 365 days post-mission were 22 and 16 cm H20 respectively. Conclusion: The persistent asymmetric findings noted above, coupled with the lumbar puncture opening pressures, suggest that prolonged microgravity exposure may have produced asymmetric pressure changes within the perioptic subarachnoid space.
Clarifying the Links of Conscientiousness With Internalizing and Externalizing Psychopathology.

OBJECTIVE Although Conscientiousness/disinhibition plays a substantial role in internalizing and externalizing psychopathology, the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. We aim to clarify facet-level associations and to examine whether (a) impairment mediates the link of Conscientiousness with internalizing and externalizing symptoms, and (b) demoralization (assessed via Neuroticism) accounts for their associations. METHOD A total of 450 participants (Mage = 42; primarily female and Caucasian) who reported current/recent psychiatric treatment completed two measures of domain- and facet-level traits (i.e., NEO-PI-3, PID-5), as well as interview measures of impairment and disorders. Correlation, regression, and mediation analyses were conducted. RESULTS Internalizing disorders (and particularly, the distress disorders) were uniquely associated with facets related to low self-efficacy, whereas externalizing disorders were uniquely associated with risk-taking and disregarding rules. For the internalizing disorders only, these associations were reduced after accounting for Neuroticism, though associations with distress disorders remained significant. Impairment mediated the link between Conscientiousness and symptoms for internalizing disorders, but not consistently for externalizing disorders. CONCLUSIONS The internalizing and externalizing disorders are associated with Conscientiousness due to different facet-level content. Demoralization and impairment both contribute to the link between internalizing disorders and Conscientiousness, whereas neither process accounts substantially for the relation of externalizing disorders with Conscientiousness.
‘At risk by fact of birth’: perceptions and concerns about medical male circumcision for HIV prevention in northern Malawi

In this article, we draw on critical approaches to risk to examine varied and interlaced perceptions of personal risk for HIV which young men in an area of traditionally low male circumcision have to Malawi government’s new policy of medical male circumcision for HIV prevention, locally known as mdulidwe. In this article, we draw on data from in-depth interviews (n = 29) and focus groups (n = 24) with young men aged 18–24 years undertaken in 2013 in an area with traditionally low rates of circumcision, Livingstonia in the northern region district of Malawi. Our findings show that the push for medical male circumcision in this region has given rise to a perception that the penile foreskin is an inborn anomaly that leads to excessive risk for HIV provoking anxiety, confusion, uncertainty, fatalistic views, and waning faith in national response to the epidemic. Our analysis of the data indicates that medical male circumcision has ushered in a layered and sometimes conflicting understanding of risk for HIV/AIDS where established ideas grounded in sexual propriety and risk-taking are being re-evaluated and reinterpreted within an emerging worldview coloured with sensibilities pertaining to notions of bodily normalcy. This indicates that the men in our study had a nuanced understanding of risk for HIV that incorporated notions of sexual risk-taking with corporeal impropriety, necessitating appropriate public risk communication about HIV/AIDS and policy responses for its prevention.
Effects of Role-Play and Mindfulness Training on Enhancing the Family Friendliness of the Admissions Treatment Team Process

This article describes two studies that evaluated training intended to improve the family friendliness of five components of the admissions treatment team process (Introduction, Meeting Management, Case Presentation and Discussion, Service Plans, and Tact and Technicalities) at an inpatient child and adolescent psychiatric hospital. In Study 1, we observed 18 case presentations and found that the ratings on family friendliness were low on Service Plans and Tact and Technicalities. Following three role-play training sessions, we found no statistically significant improvement. In Study 2, we used a multiple-baseline design across treatment team process components and enhanced the family friendliness of each component through mindfulness training. Follow-up observations at monthly intervals for 6 months showed continued high rates of family friendly services. Our study suggests that the mindful delivery of mental health services can produce long-term gains in the family friendliness of admissions treatment teams.
Effective Disengagement: Insecure People Are More Likely to Disengage From an Ongoing Task and Take Effective Action When Facing Danger.

OBJECTIVE People believe that they can respond effectively to threats, but actually they experience difficulties in disengaging from ongoing tasks and shifting their attention to life-threatening events. We contend that this tendency is especially true for secure people with respect to their worldview and perception of others and not for insecure individuals. METHOD In Study 1 (N = 290), we examined individuals' reactions to various threat scenarios. In Study 2 (N = 65), we examined these reactions using a behavioral design high in ecological validity. In Study 3 (N = 78), we examined group-level benefits for the actions of insecure individuals by manipulating asocial behavior in response to an emergency. RESULTS Study 1 indicated that anxiously attached individuals stayed away from threats and sought help; avoidant people tended to take action by either assessing the risk of the event and/or enacting an asocial action such as fight or flight. Study 2 added ecological validity to these findings, and Study 3 showed that priming asocial behavior responses promoted actions that increased group members' chances of survival. CONCLUSION Results validate the central tenets of social defense theory and indicate that actions that are deemed asocial may paradoxically promote the survival of individuals and groups.
Self-Other Agreement and Metaperception Accuracy Across the Big Five: Examining the Roles of Depression and Self-Esteem.

OBJECTIVE The ability to judge other people's personality characteristics and to know how we are viewed by others are important aspects of social cognition. The present study tested the impact of depressive symptoms and low self-esteem on self-other agreement and the accuracy of metaperception (i.e., how we believe others view us) across the Big Five dimensions of personality. METHOD Participants who varied in depressive symptoms engaged in a 10-minute "getting to know you" interaction in dyads. Ratings on the Big Five personality dimensions, depression, and self-esteem were completed prior to the interaction. After the interaction, participants rated the personality of their partner and rated how they believed their partner would rate them (metaperception). RESULTS Self-other agreement was only found on Extraversion, whereas there was significant meta-accuracy on Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Extraversion. Depressive symptoms and low self-esteem negatively biased metaperceptions of Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Neuroticism. CONCLUSIONS Depression and low self-esteem function to negatively bias how we believe we are seen by others in new acquaintanceships and therefore may play an important role in the development of interpersonal relationships.
The benefit of punishment sensitivity on motor performance under pressure.

OBJECTIVE Humans are often required to perform demanding cognitive and motor tasks under pressure. However, in such environments there is considerable interindividual variability in the ability to successfully execute actions. Here, we consider how individual differences in self-reported sensitivity to punishment influence skilled motor performance under pressure and whether this relationship is moderated by the temporal detection of threat. METHOD Across two studies, 160 UK participants (Study 1: N = 80, Mage = 21.6, 52 males; Study 2: N = 80, Mage = 24.95, 45 males) performed a precision-grip task and received either early or late warning of an upcoming stressful manipulation involving social evaluation and performance-dependent incentives. RESULTS In both studies, we report an interaction where punishment sensitivity was adaptive for motor performance only when threats were detected early and there was opportunity to prepare for the upcoming stressor. Further, our results suggest that the benefits of punishment sensitivity are likely underpinned by the effective use of cognitive strategies. CONCLUSION Heightened sensitivity to punishment is adaptive for performance under pressure, provided threats are detected early and effective cognitive strategies are implemented.
Individual differences in personality change across the adult life span.

OBJECTIVE A precise and comprehensive description of personality continuity and change across the life span is the bedrock upon which theories of personality development are built. Little research has quantified the degree to which individuals deviate from mean-level developmental trends. In this study, we addressed this gap by examining individual differences in personality trait change across the life span. METHOD Data came from a nationally representative sample of 9,636 Dutch participants who provided Big Five self-reports at five assessment waves across 7 years. We divided our sample into 14 age groups (ages 16-84 at initial measurement) and estimated latent growth curve models to describe individual differences in personality change across the study period for each trait and age group. RESULTS Across the adult life span, individual differences in personality change were small but significant until old age. For Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, and Agreeableness, individual differences in change were most pronounced in emerging adulthood and decreased throughout midlife and old age. For Emotional Stability, individual differences in change were relatively consistent across the life span. CONCLUSIONS These results inform theories of life span development and provide future directions for research on the causes and conditions of personality change.
A Profile of Neuro-Ophthalmic Practice Around the World

Background: To compare contrast neuro-ophthalmic practice in various countries, an 18-question survey was sent to the international North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society (NANOS) members in the spring of 2016. Methods: At least 1 NANOS member was contacted for each non-US nation in the NANOS membership roster. If there were multiple NANOS members from 1 country, multiple were contacted. If responses were received from more than 1 person from a single country, the first response received was used as the source data. The survey (in English) was emailed to 47 NANOS members from 31 countries. Twenty responses were received representing members from 15 nations. Results: In all 15 nations, at least half of the neuro-ophthalmologists were trained as ophthalmologists. In 60% of nations, at least half of the neuro-ophthalmologists were trained internally, whereas in 33% of countries, at least half were trained in the United States. The number of physicians who practiced a significant amount of neuro-ophthalmology ranged from low (0.08/million, India) to high (3.10/million, Israel). Countries having the highest percentage of neuro-ophthalmologists exclusively practicing neuro-ophthalmology also were those with better patient access to neuro-ophthalmic care. Requirement of approval to see a neuro-ophthalmologist or for imaging studies requested by neuro-ophthalmologists was not typical. In most nations, academic neuro-ophthalmologists were paid a straight salary. In no nation were neuro-ophthalmologists paid more than another ophthalmic subspecialty. Conclusions: Individual national health care system designs and compensation models have had a profound influence on the rewards and challenges that face neuro-ophthalmologists. There seems to have been a connection between recognition of the discipline, financial rewards of neuro-ophthalmic practice, conditions that permit full-time neuro-ophthalmic practice, and patient access to care. A higher percentage of gross national product for health care did not seem to insure an adequate supply of neuro-ophthalmologists.
Are They Listening? Parental Social Coaching and Parenting Emotional Climate Predict Adolescent Receptivity.

Associations linking parenting emotional climate and quality of parental social coaching with young adolescents' receptivity to parental social coaching were examined (N = 80). Parenting emotional climate was assessed with adolescent-reported parental warmth and hostility. Quality of parental social coaching (i.e., prosocial advice, benign framing) was assessed via parent-report and behavioral observations during a parent-adolescent discussion about negative peer evaluation. An adolescent receptivity latent variable score was derived from observations of adolescents' behavior during the discussion, change in adolescents' peer response plan following the discussion, and adolescent-reported tendency to seek social advice from the parent. Parenting climate moderated associations between coaching and receptivity: Higher quality coaching was associated with greater receptivity in the context of a more positive climate. Analyses suggested a stronger association between coaching and receptivity among younger compared to older adolescents.
The Roles of Racial Discrimination, Cultural Mistrust, and Gender in Latina/o Youth's School Attitudes and Academic Achievement.

Gender gaps in achievement are particularly pronounced among Latina/os, who are among the population most affected by the academic achievement gap. This study examined the roles of racial discrimination, cultural mistrust, and economic value of education in the academic achievement of urban, low-income Latina/o adolescents. Participants were 346 high school students. Structural equation modeling revealed that the model of associations was a better fit for male students than for female students. Cultural mistrust mediated the relationship between racial discrimination and values of education, and perceived limitations of education predicted lower attendance rates for male students but not for female students. Implications for future research and interventions are discussed.
Habilidade de ortodontistas e leigos na percepção de assimetrias da mandíbula

OBJETIVO: analisar a habilidade de ortodontistas e leigos para perceber as assimetrias faciais causadas por desvios mandibulares. METODOS: foram obtidas fotografias frontais da face de dois individuos, sendo um do sexo masculino e outro do sexo feminino. As fotografias foram tiradas em Posicao Natural de Cabeca (PNC) com desvios mandibulares progressivos - em 2, 4 e 6mm -, partindo-se da posicao de Maxima Intercuspidacao Habitual (MIH). Para testar a reprodutibilidade do metodo, utilizaram-se os Coeficientes de Correlacao Intraclasse (ICC) e o teste de Kappa ponderado.As diferencas entre os examinadores leigos e ortodontistas foram investigadas atraves do teste de Mann-Whitney, enquanto a analise de Friedman foi utilizada para investigar as diferencas nos escores para os progressivos avancos mandibulares. Todas as estatisticas foram executadas com nivel de confiabilidade de 95%. RESULTADOS: os ortodontistas foram habeis em perceber os desvios somente a partir de 4mm, quando comparados a posicao de MIH (p≤0,05), enquanto os leigos tiveram o mesmo padrao para o individuo do sexo feminino. Porem, ao examinar o sujeito do sexo masculino, os leigos nao observaram nenhuma alteracao executada a partir de MIH (p>0,05). De modo geral, apesar de as medianas atribuidas pelos ortodontistas terem sido menores que as dos leigos, essa diferenca foi significativa apenas para o desvio de 6mm, em ambos os pacientes. CONCLUSOES: ortodontistas e leigos avaliaram a assimetria mandibular de modo diferente, visto que ortodontistas tendem a ser mais criticos quando as assimetrias sao mais severas. Conclui-se, ainda, que existe variacao na avaliacao das assimetrias faciais dependendo do paciente examinado, principalmente entre os examinadores leigos.
Protective effects of geraniol (a monoterpene) in a diabetic neuropathy rat model: Attenuation of behavioral impairments and biochemical perturbations

Involvement of oxidative stress, inflammatory response, and mitochondrial dysfunction in the development of diabetic neuropathy (DN) is well appreciated. The present study examines the potential of geraniol (GE), a well‐known phytoconstituent commonly found in lemon, spices, rose oil, etc., to attenuate DN‐associated oxidative/nitrosative stress by employing a streptozotocin (STZ) diabetic rat model. STZ‐induced diabetic rats provided with oral supplements of GE (100 mg/kg bw/day, 8 weeks) exhibited significant improvement in tail‐flick latency (sensory function) and the narrow beam test (motor function). Terminally, elevated levels of oxidative markers (reactive oxygen species, malondialdehyde, hydroperoxides) in cytosol of the sciatic nerve (SN) and in selected regions of the brain of diabetic rats were markedly reduced by GE supplements. Furthermore, GE significantly diminished the levels of protein carbonyls (a measure of protein oxidation) and nitrites in diabetic rats. In addition, in mitochondria, GE supplements restored the activities of enzymes, such as complexes I–III, succinate dehydrogenase, and citrate synthase, in brain regions of diabetic rats, with a concomitant reduction in the levels of oxidative markers. GE significantly lowered the enhanced cytosolic calcium levels and acetylcholinesterase activity in the SN and the brain regions of diabetic rats. Depleted dopamine levels evident in the SN and the cortex/striatum among diabetic rats were restored by GE. From our data, we hypothesize that GE may be a promising therapeutic candidate in the management of DN in humans. Further understanding of the molecular mechanisms of its neuromodulatory effects is essential in order to exploit its therapeutic efficacy. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Retardo estatural em menores de cinco anos: um estudo "baseline"

The scope of this study was to describe the prevalence of, and analyze factors associated with, linear growth retardation in children. The baseline study analyzed 2040 children under the age of five, establishing a possible association between growth delay (height/age index < 2 scores Z) and variables in six hierarchical blocks: socio-economic, residence, sanitary, maternal, biological and healthcare access. Multivariate analysis was performed using Poisson regression with the robust standard error option, obtaining adjusted prevalence ratios with a CI of 95% and the respective significant probability values. Among non-binary variables, there was a positive association with roof type and number of inhabitants per room and a negative association with income per capita, mother's schooling and birth weight. The adjusted analysis also indicated water supply, visit from the community health agent, birth delivery location, internment for diarrhea, or for pneumonia and birth weight as significant variables. Several risk factors were identified for linear growth retardation pointing to the multi-causal aspects of the problem and highlighting the need for control measures by the various hierarchical government agents.