Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effective Treatment of Veterans With PTSD: Comparison Between Intensive Daily and Weekly EMDR Approaches

The effectiveness of EMDR therapy in treating veterans diagnosed with PTSD was evaluated in this study using two treatment formats: intensive daily EMDR treatment provided twice a day during a 10-day period and a second format of one session each week. The study used archived outcome data previously collected and stored at Soldier Center. Both formats provided 18–20 treatment sessions of EMDR therapy to veterans diagnosed with PTSD that included dissociative exhibitions and moral injury issues. Questions addressed included: (1) does EMDR therapy administered twice daily ameliorate veterans’ PTSD symptoms; (2) does EMDR therapy administered twice daily provide equivalent outcome results as EMDR therapy administered weekly for 18–20 sessions; and (3) does the treatment outcome persist. The effectiveness of the weekly treatment group was also evaluated. Both groups’ results were assessed at pre-treatment, post-treatment and 1-year follow-up. The results indicated that both weekly treatment and intensive daily treatment groups produced statistically significant treatment effects (p < 0.001) that were maintained at 1-year follow-up. The10-day EMDR intensive daily treatment (EMDR therapy twice a day for 10 days) produced a similar outcome as to that of the weekly treatment with a 1-year follow-up. Results support the effectiveness of EMDR therapy when offered in both weekly treatment format as well as the intensive 10-day format on an outpatient basis. While recognizing the limitations of this study the results are significant to warrant additional research.
Targeting Peroxisome Proliferator Activated Receptor α (PPAR α) for the Prevention of Mitochondrial Impairment and Hypertrophy in Cardiomyocytes

Background/Aims: Morphological and biochemical maladaptation of cardiomyocytes are associated with mitochondrial dysfunction and dysregulation in hypertrophic conditions. Peroxisome proliferator activated receptor α (PPARα), a drug target for dyslipidemia, is known to be downregulated in cardiomyocytes in response to hypertrophic stimuli. The current study was undertaken to investigate the role of PPARα signaling in mitochondrial remodeling and thereby dysregulation of cardiomyocytes due to hypertrophy in vitro. Methods: Rat cardiomyocytes H9c2 (2-1) and neonatal rat ventricular myocytes (NRVMs) were cultured and treated with α1-adrenergic agonist phenylephrine (PE, 100 µM, 24 hours) in the presence or absence of 10 µM fenofibrate or bezafibrate. Cellular hypertrophy was observed by atomic force microscopy and immunofluorescence with F-actin antibody. mRNA levels of hypertrophic marker genes and other genes were examined by quantitative real time PCR. Structural as well as functional remodeling of the mitochondria were evaluated by immunofluorescence (F-actin and COX-I), live cell imaging microscopy (JC-I, mitotracker), mitochondrial complex V activity, MPTP activity and ATP assay. Oxidative stress was measured by using sensitive fluorescent indicator probes. Cellular and mitochondrial calcium were measured by using fluorescent indicator probes Rhod-2 AM and X-rhod-1 AM, respectively. Targetscan prediction analysis was performed to find out miRNAs as putative regulators of VDAC. Luciferase assay was conducted to confirm binding of miR28 with VDAC. Results: Co-treatment of H9c2(2-1) cells with PE and fenofibrate restricted increase in cell size and expression of marker genes such as atrial-natriuretic peptide (ANP), brain-natriuretic peptide (BNP) and β-myosin heavy chain (β-MHC) compared to those with PE alone. Fenofibrate prevented PE-induced down regulation of PPARα-target genes like CPT-I and MCAD. Mitochondrial trans-membrane potential (Δψm) and motility were reduced by PE which were significantly checked by fenofibrate. Increased ROS production and calcium level in PE-treated cells were ameliorated by fenofibrate. Mitochondrial activity and ATP generation were reduced by PE which was rescued by fenofibrate. Fenofibrate also prevented PE-induced down regulation of mitochondrial genes like VDAC-I and COX-IV. Expression of several miRNAs was altered in hypertrophic cardiomyocytes which were restored when co-treated with fenofibrate. miR28 was found to target 3’ untranslated region of VDAC-I. Conclusion: Overall, the results demonstrate that PPARα signaling is critically involved in mitochondrial dysfunction in hypertrophic cardiomyocytes in which miR28 plays a pivotal role.
Moral (dis)engagement with anthropogenic climate change in online comments on newspaper articles

Abstract Anthropogenic climate change (ACC) is widely acknowledged to be morally significant, but little is known about everyday moralising around ACC. We addressed this gap via quantified thematic analysis of 300 online comments to British newspaper articles on ACC, drawing on Bandura's moral disengagement theory. Moral disengagement through denial of ACC was widespread. Other disengagement strategies, such as palliative comparison and diminishing agency, occurred less often. There was also some moral engagement, most often through assertions of the existence of ACC and/or its harmful effects. Moral disengagement was significantly more common in comments on right wing than left wing newspapers, whereas the opposite was true of moral engagement. Although Bandura's framework provided a useful starting point to make sense of ACC moralising, it did not capture moral concerns that extended beyond its “harm/care” remit. In particular, many “denial” comments included a “dishonesty” discourse, whereby ACC proponents were accused of deception for ulterior motives. To classify this discourse as moral disengagement obscures its engagement with a different set of moral issues around trust and honesty. We suggest that Bandura's theory represents one possible “moral landscape” around ACC and could be extended to encompass a broader range of moral concerns.
Hormone therapy in postmenopausal women associated with risk of stroke and venous thromboembolism: a population-based cohort study in Taiwan

Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate the risks and benefits of hormone therapy (HT) in postmenopausal women in Taiwan. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database, a population-based healthcare claims dataset. Eligible women, aged 40 to 65, were matched 1:1 by age and menopause year to avoid confounding through imbalanced baseline characteristics among the two groups (2,491 pairs). The primary outcomes were acute coronary syndrome (ACS), venous thromboembolism (VTE), and ischemic stroke (IS). Results: Mean follow-up in the HT group was 30 months. Mean age of the HT group was 50 years. After adjusting for age, statin and anticoagulant use, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, and hypertension, the hazard ratios (95% CIs) for the HT group were increased: ACS, 3.73 (2.01-6.91); IS, 3.51 (2.41-5.11); and VTE, 2.51 (1.15-5.47). Conclusions: In postmenopausal Taiwanese women, HT may be associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Although the women in our population receiving HT were near menopausal age, their risk of cardiovascular disease was still higher than in the non-HT group.
Spatial control of Draper receptor signaling initiates apoptotic cell engulfment

The engulfment of apoptotic cells is essential for tissue homeostasis and responding to damage. Engulfment is mediated by receptors that recognize ligands exposed on apoptotic cells, such as phosphatidylserine (PS). Here, we convert Drosophila S2 cells into proficient phagocytes by transfecting the Draper engulfment receptor and replacing apoptotic cells with PS-coated beads. We show that PS-ligated Draper forms microclusters that exclude a bulky transmembrane phosphatase and recruit phosphotyrosine binding proteins, revealing a triggering mechanism similar to the T cell receptor (TCR). Analogous to the TCR, Draper’s extracellular domain and PS can be replaced with FRB and FKBP respectively, resulting in a rapamycin-inducible engulfment system. However, in contrast to the TCR, we show that localized signaling at Draper microclusters results in time-dependent depolymerization of actin filaments. Collectively, our results reveal mechanistic similarities and differences between the receptors involved in apoptotic corpse clearance and mammalian immunity and demonstrate that engulfment can be reprogrammed towards non-native targets. Condensed title Spatial Control of Engulfment Signaling
Maximizing the Influence in Social Networks via Holistic Probability Maximization

Social media has become very popular nowadays by spreading plentiful human‐centric data to a large number of audience. A rich body of literature has studied the influence maximization problem in social networks under certain propagation models. However, existing models suffer from the assumption of unlimited propagation time and some of them are nondeterministic. Influence maximization algorithms within those frameworks are often trading off between performance guarantee and computational cost. In this paper, we try to formulate the influence maximization problem in another way, where we limit the propagation time to a predefined propagation round and in each round maintain the probability to make the propagation process more tractable. We introduce a new diffusion model called a probability propagation model and formulate this optimization problem as a holistic probability maximization problem. We show that information diffusion estimation in the proposed framework is not NP‐hard. Hence, any algorithm within it will be more efficient. However, the maximization problem is still NP‐hard. After proving the submodularity in the proposed framework, we design a partial‐updating greedy algorithm and its heuristic extension to solve the maximization problem. Extensive experiments on four synthetic data sets and four real‐world data sets from Facebook, Wikipedia, arXiv, and Epinions demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.
Transcriptional activation of elephant shark mineralocorticoid receptor by corticosteroids, progesterone, and spironolactone

Binding and activity assays suggest a role for progesterone in stimulating the elephant shark mineralocorticoid receptor. Expanding mineralocorticoid functions Mineralocorticoid receptors (MRs) belong to the nuclear receptor family of transcription factors. Aldosterone is a physiological ligand for the human MR, which is best known for regulating electrolyte homeostasis. Noting that the MR first arose in cartilaginous fish, which do not have aldosterone, Katsu et al. examined the binding and activity profiles of a range of corticosteroids and steroid hormones for the MR of the elephant shark, a cartilaginous fish found in the oldest group of jawed vertebrates. These studies suggest that elephant shark MR is activated by progesterone, which acts as an antagonist of the human MR. Given the abundance of the MR in elephant shark ovaries and testis, these findings suggest that the MR may play an unappreciated role in reproductive physiology. The mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) is a nuclear receptor and part of a large and diverse family of transcription factors that also includes receptors for glucocorticoids, progesterone, androgens, and estrogens. The corticosteroid aldosterone is the physiological activator of the MR in humans and other terrestrial vertebrates; however, its activator is not known in cartilaginous fish, the oldest group of extant jawed vertebrates. Here, we analyzed the ability of corticosteroids and progesterone to activate the full-length MR from the elephant shark (Callorhinchus milii). On the basis of their measured activities, aldosterone, cortisol, 11-deoxycorticosterone, corticosterone, 11-deoxcortisol, progesterone, and 19-norprogesterone are potential physiological mineralocorticoids. However, aldosterone, the physiological mineralocorticoid in humans and other terrestrial vertebrates, is not found in cartilaginous or ray-finned fish. Although progesterone activates MRs in ray-finned fish, progesterone does not activate MRs in humans, amphibians, or alligator, suggesting that during the transition to terrestrial vertebrates, progesterone lost the ability to activate the MR. Both elephant shark MR and human MR are expressed in the brain, heart, ovary, testis, and other nonepithelial tissues, suggesting that MR expression in diverse tissues evolved in the common ancestor of jawed vertebrates. Our data suggest that 19-norprogesterone– and progesterone-activated MR may have unappreciated functions in reproductive physiology.
EmotiW 2018: Audio-Video, Student Engagement and Group-Level Affect Prediction

This paper details the sixth Emotion Recognition in the Wild (EmotiW) challenge. EmotiW 2018 is a grand challenge in the ACM International Conference on Multimodal Interaction 2018, Colarado, USA. The challenge aims at providing a common platform to researchers working in the affective computing community to benchmark their algorithms on 'in the wild' data. This year EmotiW contains three sub-challenges: a) Audio-video based emotion recognition; b) Student engagement prediction; and c) Group-level emotion recognition. The databases, protocols and baselines are discussed in detail.
Role of Morphometry and Matrix Metalloproteinase-9 Expression in Differentiating between Atypical Endometrial Hyperplasia and Low Grade Endometrial Adenocarcinoma

Background: Endometrial carcinomas are common gynecologic malignancies worldwide. In Egypt they represent 2.6 %. We evaluated the role of morphometry and MMP-9 immunohistochemical expression to differentiate atypical endometrial hyperplasia from low grade endometrial adenocarcinoma. Methods: 60 cases of endometrial lesions that included 25 cases of complex endometrial hyperplasia with atypia, 25 cases of low grade endometrioid adenocarcinoma, in addition to 10 cases of proliferative endometrium as a control group. Morphometric measurements and D-score were evaluated. MMP9 was performed using streptavidin –biotin immunoperoxidase system. Results: D score was more than 1 in 100% of cases of proliferative endometrium. In atypical hyperplasia 28 % of cases had a D-score more than 1, 44% less than 0 and 28% of cases had a D score between 0 and 1 with uncertain prognosis. All carcinoma cases had D-score less than 0. MMP9 was positive in all cases of the study but differ in its degree of expression; proliferative endometrium with low expression. Atypical hyperplasia divided as 52% low expression and 48% high expression. Most of the Endometrial adenocarcinoma cases (92%) showed high expression. There was significant difference in expression of MMP9 in atypical endometrial hyperplasia and endometrial adenocarcinoma (p> 0.001). Conclusion: The relation between MMP9 expression and D-score value in cases of atypical endometrial hyperplasia was highly significant P>0.001Thus, incorporating both MMP9 immunoexpression and D-score value would increase the accuracy of diagnosis of atypical endometrial hyperplasia and low grade endometrial adenocarcinoma.
Results from the Child/Adolescent Anxiety Multimodal Longitudinal Study (CAMELS): Functional Outcomes

Objective: To report functional outcomes from the multisite Child/Adolescent Anxiety Multimodal Extended Long-term Study (CAMELS), which examined the impact of youth anxiety treatment (cognitive-behavioral therapy [CBT], coping cat; Sertraline, SRT; COMB [CBT + SRT]; pill placebo) on (a) global and (b) domain-specific functioning assessed an average of 3.1 times, 3- to 12-years postrandomization (first assessment = mean 6.5 years postrandomization). Method: Three-hundred and 19 of 488 families from the Child/Adolescent Anxiety Multimodal Study (CAMS; Walkup et al., 2008) participated. Growth curve modeling examined the impact of treatment condition and acute treatment outcomes (i.e., response, remission) on global functioning, global and domain-specific impairment, and life satisfaction across follow-up visits. Logistic regressions explored the impact of treatment remission and condition on low frequency events (arrests/convictions) and education. Results: Treatment responders and remitters demonstrated better global functioning, decreased overall impairment, and increased life satisfaction at follow-up. Treatment remission, but not response, predicted decreased domain-specific impairment (social relationships, self-care/independence, academic functioning), and maintenance of increased life satisfaction across follow-ups. Participants in the CBT condition, compared with pill placebo, demonstrated improved trajectories pertaining to life satisfaction, overall impairment, and impairment in academic functioning. Randomization to CBT or COMB treatment was associated with increasing employment rates. Trajectories for participants randomized to SRT was not significantly different from placebo. Treatment outcome and condition did not predict legal outcomes, school/work variables, or family life. Conclusion: Positive early intervention outcomes are associated with improved overall functioning, life satisfaction, and functioning within specific domains 6.5 years posttreatment. Treatment type differentially predicted trajectories of functioning. Findings support the positive impact of pediatric anxiety treatment into adolescence and early adulthood.
Interaction-driven quantum Hall wedding cake–like structures in graphene quantum dots

An electronic wedding cake In nanostructures such as quantum dots, spatial confinement forces electrons to assume discrete energy levels. Quantization can also occur in an external magnetic field, where electrons' energies group into so-called Landau levels (LLs). Gutiérrez et al. explored the interplay between these two mechanisms and electronic interactions in a circulator resonator made of graphene. As an external magnetic field was increased, the electron quantum states transformed from atomic-like states to LL-like states. Electronic interactions caused a characteristic wedding cake–like shape of electronic density at high fields. Science, this issue p. 789 Scanning tunneling spectroscopy zeroes in on the effects of electronic interactions in graphene nanostructures. Quantum-relativistic matter is ubiquitous in nature; however, it is notoriously difficult to probe. The ease with which external electric and magnetic fields can be introduced in graphene opens a door to creating a tabletop prototype of strongly confined relativistic matter. Here, through a detailed spectroscopic mapping, we directly visualize the interplay between spatial and magnetic confinement in a circular graphene resonator as atomic-like shell states condense into Landau levels. We directly observe the development of a “wedding cake”–like structure of concentric regions of compressible-incompressible quantum Hall states, a signature of electron interactions in the system. Solid-state experiments can, therefore, yield insights into the behavior of quantum-relativistic matter under extreme conditions.
Normal fluid stresses are prevalent in rotary ventricular assist devices: A computational fluid dynamics analysis

Despite the evolution of ventricular assist devices, ventricular assist device patients still suffer from complications due to the damage to blood by fluid dynamic stress. Since rotary ventricular assist devices are assumed to exert mainly shear stress, studies of blood damage are based on shear flow experiments. However, measurements and simulations of cell and protein deformation show normal and shear stresses deform, and potentially damage, cells and proteins differently. The aim was to use computational fluid dynamics to assess the prevalence of normal stress, in comparison with shear stress, in rotary ventricular assist devices. Our calculations showed normal stresses do occur in rotary ventricular assist devices: the fluid volumes experiencing normal stress above 10 Pa were 0.011 mL (0.092%) and 0.027 mL (0.39%) for the HeartWare HVAD and HeartMate II (HMII), and normal stresses over 100 Pa were present. However, the shear stress volumes were up to two orders of magnitude larger than the normal stress volumes. Considering thresholds for red blood cell and von Willebrand factor deformation by normal and shear stresses, the fluid volumes causing deformation by normal stress were between 2.5 and 5 times the size of those causing deformation by shear stress. The exposure times to the individual normal stress deformation regions were around 1 ms. The results clearly show, for the first time, that while blood within rotary ventricular assist devices experiences more shear stress at much higher magnitudes as compared with normal stress, there is sufficient normal stress exposure present to cause deformation of, and potentially damage to, the blood components. This study is the first to quantify the fluid stress components in real blood contacting devices.
Single- or Pair-Housed: Which Is Better for Captive Southern Tamanduas?

ABSTRACT The captive environment can limit some important behavioral options for nonhuman animals, which often results in decreased welfare. The companion of a conspecific can be a source of complexity in captivity, but this aspect has received little attention for solitary species. This study investigated the effects of two different housing conditions on the behavior of a solitary species, the Southern tamandua (Tamandua tetradactyla). Six individuals housed singly and four housed in pairs in two Brazilian zoological institutions were observed for 10 days from 09:00h to 17:00h during the rainy season. Each individual was observed for 26:40 hours. Compared with singly housed tamanduas, paired animals were less inactive (single = 74.62 ± 5.2%, paired = 28.51 ± 0.04% of the records), foraged and explored more (single = 11.07 ± 3.0%, paired 31.48 ± 0.01% of the records), and exhibited a diversity of behaviors 102.56% greater than single tamanduas. These results suggest that interactions with conspecifics in captivity, even for solitary animals, can promote the performance of desirable behaviors, which in several species has been correlated with improved welfare.
Modeling human somite development and fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva with induced pluripotent stem cells

ABSTRACT Somites (SMs) comprise a transient stem cell population that gives rise to multiple cell types, including dermatome (D), myotome (MYO), sclerotome (SCL) and syndetome (SYN) cells. Although several groups have reported induction protocols for MYO and SCL from pluripotent stem cells, no studies have demonstrated the induction of SYN and D from SMs. Here, we report systematic induction of these cells from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) under chemically defined conditions. We also successfully induced cells with differentiation capacities similar to those of multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC-like cells) from SMs. To evaluate the usefulness of these protocols, we conducted disease modeling of fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP), an inherited disease that is characterized by heterotopic endochondral ossification in soft tissues after birth. Importantly, FOP-iPSC-derived MSC-like cells showed enhanced chondrogenesis, whereas FOP-iPSC-derived SCL did not, possibly recapitulating normal embryonic skeletogenesis in FOP and cell-type specificity of FOP phenotypes. These results demonstrate the usefulness of multipotent SMs for disease modeling and future cell-based therapies. Summary: Protocols for the differentiation of human iPSCs to somite derivatives (myotome, sclerotome, syndetome and dermatome) are developed and applied to the modeling of the bone disease fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva.