Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cognitive Bias in Clinicians’ Communication about Human Papillomavirus Vaccination

ABSTRACT National guidelines recommend human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination for all 11–12-year-olds, but uptake among United States adolescents remains low. A major barrier to greater uptake is the lack of effective recommendations for HPV vaccine from clinicians. One potential influence on clinicians’ recommendations for HPV vaccine that has been relatively unexplored is that of cognitive biases, or errors in judgement that result from ‘mental shortcuts’ used to make decisions under uncertainty. Therefore, we analyzed qualitative data from interviews with 32 pediatric clinicians using a framework of nine cognitive biases relevant to HPV vaccination: omission bias, ambiguity aversion, present bias, availability bias, optimism bias, naturalness bias, protected values, anchoring bias, and confirmation bias. We used a directed content analysis approach to iteratively code and analyze all transcripts in the dataset. We found evidence for several cognitive biases that were related to weaker recommendations for HPV vaccine. Commonly identified biases included anchoring bias (perception that vaccination unnecessary due to age/pubertal status); present bias (perception of burdens related to discussing vaccination), and optimism bias (belief that patient at low risk for HPV acquisition). We found less frequent evidence for ambiguity aversion (perception of missing information regarding vaccination) and omission bias (deferring vaccination). Other biases were identified infrequently or not at all. Our findings suggest that several cognitive biases may be an influence on clinicians’ communication about HPV vaccine. Raising awareness of cognitive biases related to making HPV vaccine recommendations could help to strengthen the recommendations that clinicians provide.
Deficiency of apoptosis‐stimulating protein two of p53 ameliorates acute kidney injury induced by ischemia reperfusion in mice through upregulation of autophagy

Acute kidney injury (AKI) has become a common disorder with a high risk of morbidity and mortality, which remains major medical problem without reliable and effective therapeutic intervention. Apoptosis‐stimulating protein two of p53 (ASPP2) is a proapoptotic member that belongs to p53 binding protein family, which plays a key role in regulating apoptosis and cell growth. However, the role of ASPP2 in AKI has not been reported. To explore the role of ASPP2 in the progression of AKI, we prepared an AKI mouse model induced by ischaemia reperfusion (I/R) in wild‐type (ASPP2+/+) mice and ASPP2 haploinsufficient (ASPP2+/−) mice. The expression profile of ASPP2 were examined in wild‐type mice. The renal injury, inflammation response, cellular apoptosis and autophagic pathway was assessed in ASPP2+/+ and ASPP2+/− mice. The renal injury, inflammation response and cellular apoptosis was analysed in ASPP2+/+ and ASPP2+/− mice treated with 3‐methyladenine or vehicle. The expression profile of ASPP2 showed an increase at the early stage while a decrease at the late stage during renal injury. Compared with ASPP2+/+ mice, ASPP2 deficiency protected mice against renal injury induced by I/R, which mainly exhibited in slighter histologic changes, lower levels of blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine, and less apoptosis as well as inflammatory response. Furthermore, ASPP2 deficiency enhanced autophagic activity reflecting in the light chain 3‐II conversion and p62 degradation, while the inhibition of autophagy reversed the protective effect of ASPP2 deficiency on AKI. These data suggest that downregulation of ASPP2 can ameliorate AKI induced by I/R through activating autophagy, which may provide a novel therapeutic strage for AKI.
Quantitative analysis of image metrics for reduced and standard dose pediatric 18F-FDG PET/MRI examinations.

OBJECTIVE: The study performs a comprehensive analysis of image metrics to objectively support the reduction of injected activity in pediatric oncology 18F-FDG PET/MR (18F-fludeoxyglucose PET/MR) examinations. Contrast-to-Noise Ratio (CNR), Normalized Noise (NN), tumor burden, and standardized uptake value (SUV) parameters stability were investigated to robustly define the acceptable reduced activity level that preserves the clinical utility of images, considering different PET applications. METHODS: 21 PET/MRI examinations performed on a 3-Tesla Biograph mMR scanner were analyzed. Tracer activity reduction was stimulated by decreasing the count statistics of the original list-mode data (3 MBq kg-1). In addition to the already studied SUV metrics and subjective scoring on lesion detectability, a thorough analysis of CNR, NN, Metabolic Tumor Volume (MTV), and Total Lesion Glycolysis (TLG) was performed. RESULTS: SUVmax and SUVmean increased more than 5% only in 0.6 MBq kg-1 reconstructed images (+10% and +9%, respectively), while SUVpeak was almost unaffected (average variations < 2%). The quantified CNR, NN, MTV, and TLG behavior with the decrease of the injected activity clearly defines 1.5 MBq kg-1 as a threshold of activity after which the quality of the image degrades. Subjective and objective analyses yielded consistent results. All 56 lesions were detected until activity of 1.2 MBq kg-1, whereas five lesions were missed on the 0.6 MBq kg-1 image. Perceived image quality (IQ) decreased in Lower Tracer Activity (LTA) images but remained acceptable until 1.5 MBq kg-1. CONCLUSION: Results about the stability of image metrics beyond the semi-quantitative SUV parameters and subjective analysis, rigorously proves the feasibility of the reduction of injected activity to 1.5 MBqkg-1 for pediatric patients aged between 7 and 17 years. ADVANCES IN KNOWLEDGE: This is the first report on the quantitative evaluation of the effect of activity reduction on image quality in pediatric PET/MR. The findings offer objective corroboration to the feasibility of a significant dose reduction without consequences on clinical image reading and tumor burden metrics.
Submillimeter fMRI reveals a layout of dorsal visual cortex in macaques, remarkably similar to New World monkeys

Significance The primate visual system encompasses >30 visual areas. Characterizing each area, and the interactions between them, is a prerequisite to understanding the visual system. This fundamental task, however, requires a precise parcellation of the visual cortex. Nonetheless, already at the earliest visual processing stages, i.e., just rostral to V2, the number and exact definition of areas are heavily contested. Here, we map the macaque visual cortex using fMRI at unprecedented high resolution. We show a substantially different retinotopic organization of dorsal third and fourth visual areas in macaques compared with widely accepted models, yet a remarkably similar layout in Old and New World monkeys. This organization largely reconciles most reported discrepancies concerning the visuotopic organization of nonhuman primate caudo-dorsal occipital cortex. The macaque dorsal occipital cortex is generally thought to contain an elongated third visual area, V3d, extending along most of the rostral border of area V2. In contrast, our submillimeter retinotopic fMRI maps (0.6-mm isotropic voxels, achieved by implanted phased-array receive coils) consistently show three sectors anterior to V2d. The dorsal (mirror image) sector complies with the traditional V3d definition, and the middle (nonmirror image) sector with V3A. The ventral (mirror image) sector bends away from V2d, as does the ventrolateral posterior area (VLP) in marmosets and the dorsolateral posterior area (DLP) in owl monkeys, and represents the entire contralateral hemifield as V3A does. Its population-receptive field size, however, suggests that this ventral sector is another area at the same hierarchical level as V4d. Hence, contrary to prevailing views, the retinotopic organization of cortex rostral to V2d differs substantially from widely accepted models. Instead, it is evolutionarily largely conserved in Old and New World monkeys given its surprisingly similar overall visuotopic organization.
Dicer functions transcriptionally and posttranscriptionally in a multilayer antiviral defense

Significance Posttranscriptional RNA interference-mediated antiviral defense is well conserved, in which the key players, Dicer and Argonaute, act to digest viral RNAs. Utilizing a filamentous fungus model, we have previously shown the Spt–Ada–Gcn5 acetyltransferase (SAGA) transcriptional activator to regulate the upregulation of the two main antiviral RNA-silencing components, dicer-like 2 (dcl2) and argonaute-like 2 (agl2). Here, we show an additional distinct functional role for DCL2 in the virus-responsive, SAGA-mediated transcriptional upregulation of a subset of host genes. Strikingly, certain upregulated genes contribute to mitigate viral symptom induction. No involvement of Argonaute in this Dicer function is suggested by the agl2 disruption assay. Therefore, DCL2 is bifunctional in dual-layer antiviral defense to inhibit viral replication and alleviate symptom expression. In antiviral RNA interference (RNAi), Dicer plays a primary role in processing double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) molecules into small-interfering RNAs (siRNAs) that guide Argonaute effectors to posttranscriptional suppression of target viral genes. Here, we show a distinct role for Dicer in the siRNA-independent transcriptional induction of certain host genes upon viral infection in a filamentous fungus. Previous studies have shown that the two key players, dicer-like 2 (dcl2) and argonaute-like 2 (agl2), of antiviral RNAi in a phytopathogenic ascomycete, Cryphonectria parasitica, are highly transcriptionally induced upon infection with certain RNA mycoviruses, including the positive-stranded RNA hypovirus mutant lacking the RNAi suppressor (Cryphonectria hypovirus 1-Δp69, CHV1-Δp69). This induction is regulated by the Spt–Ada–Gcn5 acetyltransferase (SAGA) complex, a well-known transcriptional coactivator. The present study shows that diverse host genes, in addition to dcl2 and agl2, were up-regulated more than 10-fold by SAGA upon infection with CHV1-Δp69. Interestingly, DCL2, but not AGL2, was essential for SAGA-mediated global gene up-regulation. Moreover, deletion of certain virus-induced genes enhanced a CHV1-Δp69 symptom (growth rate) but not its accumulation. Constitutive, modest levels of dcl2 expression drastically reduced viral siRNA accumulation but were sufficient for full-scale up-regulation of host genes, suggesting that high induction of dcl2 and siRNA production are not essential for the transcriptional up-regulation function of DCL2. These data clearly demonstrate the dual functionality of DCL2: as a dsRNA-specific nuclease in posttranscriptional antiviral RNA silencing and as a key player in SAGA-mediated host gene induction, which independently represses viral replication and alleviates virus-induced symptom expression.
Tandem gene duplication and recombination at the AT3 locus in the Solanaceae, a gene essential for capsaicinoid biosynthesis in Capsicum

Capsaicinoids are compounds synthesized exclusively in the genus Capsicum and are responsible for the burning sensation experienced when consuming hot pepper fruits. To date, only one gene, AT3, a member of the BAHD family of acyltransferases, is currently known to have a measurable quantitative effect on capsaicinoid biosynthesis. Multiple AT3 paralogs exist in the Capsicum genome, but their evolutionary relationships have not been characterized well. Recessive alleles at this locus result in absence of capsaicinoids in pepper fruit. To explore the evolution of AT3 in Capsicum and the Solanaceae, we sequenced this gene from diverse Capsicum genotypes and species, along with a number of representative solanaceous taxa. Our results revealed that the coding region of AT3 is highly conserved throughout the family. Further, we uncovered a tandem duplication that predates the diversification of the Solanaceae taxa sampled in this study. This pair of tandem duplications were designated AT3-1 and AT3-2. Sequence alignments showed that the AT3-2 locus, a pseudogene, retains regions of amino acid conservation relative to AT3-1. Gene tree estimation demonstrated that AT3-1 and AT3-2 form well supported, distinct clades. In C. rhomboideum, a non-pungent basal Capsicum species, we describe a recombination event between AT3-1 and AT3-2 that modified the putative active site of AT3-1, also resulting in a frame-shift mutation in the second exon. Our data suggest that duplication of the original AT3 representative, in combination with divergence and pseudogene degeneration, may account for the patterns of sequence divergence and punctuated amino acid conservation observed in this study. Further, an early rearrangement in C. rhomboidium could account for the absence of pungency in this Capsicum species.
Microscopic investigation of palyno‐morphological features of melliferous flora of Lakki Marwat district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

The present study was carried out to investigate the polliniferous bee flora of Lakki Marwat district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. A total of 18 species, belonging to 13 different families were identified for the foraging activities of honeybees, namely, Cenchrus biflorus, Cestrum nocturnum, Citrus limon, Combretum indicum, Datura innoxia, Duranta erecta, Hamelia patens, Helianthus annuus, Ipomoea cairica, Luffa aegyptiaca, Nerium oleander, Ocimum basilicum, Parthenium hysterophorus, Pennisetum typhoides, Prosopis cineraria, Prosopis juliflora, Saccharum spontaneum, and Ziziphus jujuba. The identified melliferous flora was collected for the morpho‐palynological investigation. Pollen were acetolyzed, measured, and described qualitatively using light microscopy. The pollen types varied from psilate to echinate and colpi from tricolpate to hexacolpate. Quantitative characteristics including polar diameter, equatorial diameter, polar to equatorial ratio, colpi length, colpi width, spine length, spine width, and exine thickness of the pollen were determined and analyzed statistically using software IBM SPSS Statistics 20. The results of the present study highlighted the significance of pollen morphology of the bee flora of the area which may lead to the identification of the potential and useful botanical sources for beekeepers and to check the honey quality marketed from the study area.
Phosphorus-Modulation-Triggered Surface Disorder in Titanium Dioxide Nanocrystals Enables Exceptional Sodium-Storage Performance.

Structural modulation and surface engineering have remarkable advantages for fast and efficient charge storage. Herein, we present a phosphorus modulation strategy which simultaneously realizes surface structural disorder with interior atomic-level P-doping to boost the Na+ storage kinetics of TiO2 . It is found that the P-modulated TiO2 nanocrystals exhibit a favourable electronic structure, and enhanced structural stability, Na+ transfer kinetics, as well as surface electrochemical reactivity, resulting in a genuine zero-strain characteristic with only approximately 0.1 % volume variation during Na+ insertion/extraction, and exceptional Na+ storage performance including an ultrahigh rate capability of 210 mAh g-1 at 50 C and a strong long-term cycling stability without significant capacity decay up to 5000 cycles at 30 C.
N-terminal methionine excision of proteins creates tertiary destabilizing N-degrons of the Arg/N-end rule pathway

All organisms begin protein synthesis with methionine (Met). The resulting initiator Met of nascent proteins is irreversibly processed by Met aminopeptidases (MetAPs). N-terminal (Nt) Met excision (NME) is an evolutionarily conserved and essential process operating on up to two-thirds of proteins. However, the universal function of NME remains largely unknown. MetAPs have a well-known processing preference for Nt-Met with Ala, Ser, Gly, Thr, Cys, Pro, or Val at position 2, but using CHX-chase assays to assess protein degradation in yeast cells, as well as protein-binding and RT-qPCR assays, we demonstrate here that NME also occurs on nascent proteins bearing Met–Asn or Met–Gln at their N termini. We found that the NME at these termini exposes the tertiary destabilizing Nt residues (Asn or Gln) of the Arg/N-end rule pathway, which degrades proteins according to the composition of their Nt residues. We also identified a yeast DNA repair protein, MQ-Rad16, bearing a Met–Gln N terminus, as well as a human tropomyosin–receptor kinase–fused gene (TFG) protein, MN-TFG, bearing a Met–Asn N terminus as physiological, MetAP-processed Arg/N-end rule substrates. Furthermore, we show that the loss of the components of the Arg/N-end rule pathway substantially suppresses the growth defects of naa20Δ yeast cells lacking the catalytic subunit of NatB Nt acetylase at 37 °C. Collectively, the results of our study reveal that NME is a key upstream step for the creation of the Arg/N-end rule substrates bearing tertiary destabilizing residues in vivo.
Towards a Genome-Based Reclassification of the Genus Lactobacillus

Ed. Note: The authors of the published article did not feel that a response was necessary. Since the advent of the genomic era, it has become clear that the genus Lactobacillus is as large as a typical bacterial family ([1][1]). In addition, it has been shown several times that this genus is
Impaired systolic and diastolic left ventricular function in children and adolescents with congenital adrenal hyperplasia receiving corticosteroid therapy

Abstract Aim The present study aimed to evaluate systolic and diastolic myocardial function in children and adolescents with congenital adrenal hyperplasia. Methods The study included 44 children with the diagnosis of classic congenital adrenal hyperplasia and 39 healthy children whose age, pubertal status, and gender were similar to those of the patient group. Anthropometric parameters and 17-hydroxyprogesterone levels were measured, and bone age was calculated. The average daily hydrocortisone dose was calculated over the last 1-year file records. Hyperandrogenic state was defined according to bone age SD score (⩾2) and 17-hydroxyprogesterone levels (>10 ng/ml). Echocardiographic examinations were assessed by conventional two-dimensional Doppler echocardiography and tissue Doppler imaging. Results Patients had higher morphological parameters, such as left ventricular end-systolic diameter, interventricular septal thickness at end diastole, left ventricular posterior wall thickness at end diastole, left ventricular mass and index, than the control group (p<0.05). On pulsed-wave and tissue Doppler echocardiography, significant subclinical alterations were observed in systolic (isovolumic contraction time), diastolic (isovolumic relaxation time), and global left ventricular functional (myocardial performance index) parameters in the congenital adrenal hyperplasia group compared to the control group (p<0.05). In partial correlation analyses, after controlling the effect of hyperandrogenism, the mean hydrocortisone dosage was positively correlated with isovolumic relaxation time in congenital adrenal hyperplasia group (p<0.05). Conclusion This study demonstrated that the patients with congenital adrenal hyperplasia are at risk for left ventricular hypertrophy, systolic and diastolic myocardial subclinical alterations. Overtreatment may be responsible for the increased risk of myocardial dysfunction in patients with congenital adrenal hyperplasia.
Type 2 diabetes mellitus, brain atrophy, and cognitive decline

Objective To study longitudinal relationships between type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), cortical thickness, and cognitive function in older people with normal cognition, mild cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer disease (AD). Methods The sample was derived from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative cohort who underwent brain MRI and cognitive tests annually for 5 years. Presence of T2DM was based on fasting blood glucose ≥7.0mml/L or the use of glucose-lowering agents. We used latent growth curve modeling to explore longitudinal relationships between T2DM, cortical thickness, and cognitive function, adjusting for relevant covariates and testing for interactions. Results There were 124 people with T2DM (mean age 75.5 years, SD 6.2) and 693 without T2DM (mean age 75.1 years, SD 6.9) with at least 1 MRI available. AD and lower cortical thickness at study entry was associated with a lower chance of having a MRI available at each follow-up phase (all p < 0.001). T2DM was associated with lower baseline cortical thickness (p = 0.01). We found no direct effect of T2DM on decline in cortical thickness or cognitive function, but there was an indirect pathway linking T2DM and cognitive decline via baseline cortical thickness (β = −0.17, p = 0.022). There was an interaction between T2DM and education whereby the negative effect of T2DM on baseline cortical thickness was reduced in those with greater education (β = 0.34, p = 0.037). These associations changed minimally when adjusted for baseline cognitive diagnosis. Conclusions In an older cohort with low cerebrovascular disease burden, T2DM contributes to cognitive decline via neurodegeneration. Prior brain and cognitive reserve may protect against this effect.
Topological and nematic ordered phases in many-body cluster-Ising models

We present a fully analytically solvable family of models with many-body cluster interaction and Ising interaction. This family exhibits two phases, dubbed cluster and Ising phases, respectively. The critical point turns out to be independent of the cluster size $n+2$ and is reached exactly when both interactions are equally weighted. For even $n$ we prove that the cluster phase corresponds to a nematic ordered phase and in the case of odd $n$ to a symmetry-protected topological ordered phase. Though complex, we are able to quantify the multiparticle entanglement content of neighboring spins. We prove that there exists no bipartite or, in more detail, no $n+1$-partite entanglement. This is possible since the nontrivial symmetries of the Hamiltonian restrict the state space. Indeed, only if the Ising interaction is strong enough (local) genuine $n+2$-partite entanglement is built up. Due to their analytical solvableness the $n$-cluster-Ising models serve as a prototype for studying nontrivial-spin orderings, and due to their peculiar entanglement properties they serve as a potential reference system for the performance of quantum information tasks.