Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hippocampal Subfields in Acute and Remitted Depression—an Ultra-High Field Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study

Abstract Background Studies investigating hippocampal volume changes after treatment with serotonergic antidepressants in patients with major depressive disorder yielded inconsistent results, and effects on hippocampal subfields are unclear. Methods To detail treatment effects on total hippocampal and subfield volumes, we conducted an open-label study with escitalopram followed by venlafaxine upon nonresponse in 20 unmedicated patients with major depressive disorder. Before and after 12 weeks treatment, we measured total hippocampal formation volumes and subfield volumes with ultra-high field (7 Tesla), T1-weighted, structural magnetic resonance imaging, and FreeSurfer. Twenty-eight remitted patients and 22 healthy subjects were included as controls. We hypothesized to detect increased volumes after treatment in major depressive disorder. Results We did not detect treatment-related changes of total hippocampal or subfield volumes in patients with major depressive disorder. Secondary results indicated that the control group of untreated, stable remitted patients, compared with healthy controls, had larger volumes of the right hippocampal-amygdaloid transition area and right fissure at both measurement time points. Depressed patients exhibited larger volumes of the right subiculum compared with healthy controls at MRI-2. Exploratory data analyses indicated lower baseline volumes in the subgroup of remitting (n = 10) vs nonremitting (n = 10) acute patients. Conclusions The results demonstrate that monoaminergic antidepressant treatment in major depressive disorder patients was not associated with volume changes in hippocampal subfields. Studies with larger sample sizes to detect smaller effects as well as other imaging modalities are needed to further assess the impact of antidepressant treatment on hippocampal subfields.
Evaluation of the ease of use and acceptability of an innovative device – the ‘Episiometer’, in ensuring an accurate mediolateral episiotomy: a pilot study

Abstract The present study was undertaken at the Port Moresby General Hospital, Papua New Guinea, to evaluate the ease of use and acceptability of a perineal measuring device (Episiometer) for giving a correct length and angle of a mediolateral episiotomy. An Episiometer was placed on the perineum to guide the angle and length immediately before giving an episiotomy. A feedback survey was collected and the angle and length of the episiotomy were measured at the time of delivery and at 6 weeks postpartum. The length and angle of episiotomy were found to be accurate in 86% of the cases. Forty-two of the fifty (86%) clinicians felt that the Episiometer was easy or very easy to use. They also found this device to be beneficial (92%). The Episiometer seems to be an easy-to-use and feasible device that is well accepted by clinicians and patients and may aid in standardising the length and angle of an episiotomy. Impact statement What is already known on this subject? Episiotomy is the commonest obstetric procedure performed worldwide. However, the angle and length of an episiotomy vary greatly amongst operators. It is also recognised that birth trauma and an inaccurate episiotomy result in debilitating anal sphincter injury. Therefore, a pilot study was conducted to evaluate the ease of use and acceptability of a new, inexpensive, low- tech device “Episiometer” to guide clinicians and midwives to perform an appropriate episiotomy. What do the results of this study add? This pilot study to evaluate the usability of the new innovation amongst clinician and patients revealed high acceptance of the device amongst clinicians and positive attitude of the patients towards the device. The clinicians also felt the device to be an effective teaching tool. Usage if the device results in a more accurate length and angle of an episiotomy. What are the implications of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? Further research and multicentre randomised control trials are needed to establish the effectiveness of the device in reducing the complications of episiotomy and risk of OASIS. The present study has shown the Episiometer as an acceptable and easy to use device amongst clinicians and can benefit the young clinicians as a teaching tool in directing a correct angle and length of episiotomy.
The association between employment and the health of people with intellectual disabilities: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND There is strong evidence indicating that paid employment is generally good for the physical and mental health of the general population. This systematic review considers the association between employment and the health of people with intellectual disabilities. METHODS Studies published from 1990 to 2018 were identified via electronic literature databases, email requests and cross-citations. Identified studies were reviewed narratively. RESULTS Twelve studies were identified. Studies were generally consistent in reporting an association between being in paid employment and better physical or mental health status. CONCLUSIONS This review supports the view that the well-established association between employment and better health is similar for adults with and without intellectual disabilities. However, evidence establishing causality is lacking and further research to determine specific health benefits attributable to employment for people with intellectual disabilities and the causal pathways that operate is required.
Oral health abnormalities in children born with macrosomia established during mixed dentition period.

OBJECTIVE Introduction: The prevalence of soft tissue and hard tooth tissuediseases in the oral cavity and the morphofunctional disorders of craniofacial complex, require attention ofspecialistsin various branches of medicine. Scientists began to pay attention to metabolic and other violations that have occurred in the fetal development and led to the occurrence of certain changes in the dental status of the child. The aim of this research is to study the features of the dental health condition in the children of Northeast of Ukraine, who were born with macrosomia during the period of mixed dentition. The study takes into account intrauterine body length growth acceleration, intrauterine obesity or well-balanced acceleration of both the body weight and length gain. PATIENTS AND METHODS Materials and methods:Thirty 6.5-11-year-old children with fetal macrosomia were examined (MainGroup). A Comparison Group was comprised of sixteen children, whose weight-height parameters at birth were normal (fetal normosomia). All children in the Main group were split into four subgroups in accordance with weight-height parameters at birth using the V. I. Grischenko and his co-authors' harmonious coefficient. The evaluation of the hygiene status of the oral cavity, the dental caries intensity evaluation, and the quantitative analysis of minor salivary gland secretion have been performed. The prevalence of dentoalveolar abnormalities was evaluated. RESULTS Results: The highest values of caries intensity were recorded in macrosomic-at-birth children born with harmonious (well-balanced) intrauterine development, with intrauterine obesity and increased body length, or with intrauterine obesity and an average body length. Macrosomic children have reduced number of minor salivary glands per unit area in comparison with the normosomic-at-birth children. The saliva secretion of minor salivary glands in macrosomic children is reliably, by 16,5% on average, reduced. Children born with fetal macrosomia have long narrow faces and high palates more frequently than normosomic-at-birth children. Children born macrosomic have a significantly higher percentage (100% versus 73%)of dentoalveolar abnormalitiesin comparison with the normosomic-at-birth children. CONCLUSION Conclusions: The processes causing fetal macrosomia have a great impact on the dental status of children in the period of mixed dentition.
Understanding the Impact of Seeing Gun Violence and Hearing Gunshots in Public Places: Findings From the Youth Firearm Risk and Safety Study

There is a current public health emphasis on finding strategies for reducing the risks associated with children’s gun violence exposure. This article examines the impact of seeing and hearing gun violence on youth of different ages and living in urban and nonurban areas. Participants were 630 youth, aged 2 to 17. Youth, ages 10 to 17, completed a self-report survey, and caregivers of young children, ages 2 to 9, completed the survey as a proxy for that child. Participants resided in Boston, MA; Philadelphia, PA; and rural areas of eastern TN. Participants were recruited through a variety of techniques including pediatric clinics, housing authorities, youth-serving agencies, festivals, word of mouth, and local e-mail lists for classified advertisements. Data were collected between October 2017 and April 2018 and analyzed in 2019. In total, 41% of youth in this study reported ever seeing or hearing gun violence; 32% had such an experience in the past year. Among exposed youth, 50% took protective action to keep themselves safe, and 58% reported being very or extremely afraid, sad, or upset as a result of the indirect gun violence. More youth living in urban compared with nonurban areas took some protective action. Females and younger children had increased odds of experiencing high fear as a result of the violence. Current gun violence prevention has typically targeted adolescents; however, current findings suggest the need to focus on younger children as well, including the distress resulting from indirect exposure to gun violence.
Nerve Growth Factor Induces Proliferation and Aggressiveness in Prostate Cancer Cells

Resistance to hormone therapy and disease progression is the major challenge in clinical management of prostate cancer (PC). Drugs currently used in PC therapy initially show a potent antitumor effects, but PC gradually develops resistance, relapses and spreads. Most patients who fail primary therapy and have recurrences eventually develop castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), which is almost incurable. The nerve growth factor (NGF) acts on a variety of non-neuronal cells by activating the NGF tyrosine-kinase receptor, tropomyosin receptor kinase A (TrkA). NGF signaling is deregulated in PC. In androgen-dependent PC cells, TrkA mediates the proliferative action of NGF through its crosstalk with the androgen receptor (AR). Epithelial PC cells, however, acquire the ability to express NGF and TrkA, as the disease progresses, indicating a role for NGF/TrkA axis in PC progression and androgen-resistance. We here report that once activated by NGF, TrkA mediates proliferation, invasiveness and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in various CRPC cells. NGF promotes organoid growth in 3D models of CRPC cells, and specific inhibition of TrkA impairs all these responses. Thus TrkA represents a new biomarker to target in CRPC.
Episodic-Memory Performance in Machine Learning Modeling for Predicting Cognitive Health Status Classification

Background: Memory dysfunction is characteristic of aging and often attributed to Alzheimer’s disease (AD). An easily administered tool for preliminary assessment of memory function and early AD detection would be integral in improving patient management. Objective: Our primary aim was to utilize machine learning in determining initial viable models to serve as complementary instruments in demonstrating efficacy of the MemTrax online Continuous Recognition Tasks (M-CRT) test for episodic-memory screening and assessing cognitive impairment. Methods: We used an existing dataset subset (n = 18,395) of demographic information, general health screening questions (addressing memory, sleep quality, medications, and medical conditions affecting thinking), and test results from a convenience sample of adults who took the M-CRT test. M-CRT performance and participant features were used as independent attributes: true positive/negative, percent responses/correct, response time, age, sex, and recent alcohol consumption. For predictive modeling, we used demographic information and test scores to predict binary classification of the health-related questions (yes/no) and general health status (healthy/unhealthy), based on the screening questions. Results: ANOVA revealed significant differences among HealthQScore groups for response time true positive (p = 0.000) and true positive (p = 0.020), but none for true negative (p = 0.0551). Both % responses and % correct had significant differences (p = 0.026 and p = 0.037, respectively). Logistic regression was generally the top-performing learner with moderately robust prediction performance (AUC) for HealthQScore (0.648–0.680) and selected general health questions (0.713–0.769). Conclusion: Our novel application of supervised machine learning and predictive modeling helps to demonstrate and validate cross-sectional utility of MemTrax in assessing early-stage cognitive impairment and general screening for AD.
Prevalence and Duration of Use of Medicines Recommended for Short-Term Use in Aged Care Facility Residents

Background: Multiple studies have assessed the appropriateness of the use of medicines for nursing home residents; however, few have included duration of use in their assessment. The aim of this study was to assess the level and duration of use of medications recommended for short-term use in residents of aged care facilities in Australia. Methods: Australian Government Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) administrative claims data were used for this study. Veterans eligible for all health services subsidised by DVA were followed for one year from 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016. The number of days covered for each medicine was calculated by multiplying the number of prescriptions dispensed during the year by the pack duration for the medicine. The pack duration was calculated by dividing the quantity supplied at each dispensing by the usual number of doses per day in older people according to Australian prescribing guidelines. The proportion of patients using each medicine and the number of days covered during the study period were determined. Results: 14, 237 residents met the inclusion criteria. One in five participants were dispensed antipsychotics, and the median duration of use was 180 days in the one-year period. More than one-third were dispensed a benzodiazepine, and the median duration of use was 240 days in the year. Half were dispensed an opioid analgesic with a median duration of use of 225 days in the year. Fifty-two percent were dispensed proton pump inhibitors with a median duration of use of 360 days in the year. A quarter received an antibiotic recommended for the management of urinary tract infection, with a median duration of use of 14 days in the year. Conclusion: Long-term use of antipsychotics, benzodiazepines, opioid analgesics and proton pump inhibitors is common in aged care residents. Ensuring appropriate duration of use for these medicines is necessary to reduce risk of harm.
Heart Involvement in Inflammatory Rheumatic Diseases: A Systematic Literature Review

Introduction: Patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases have an increased risk of developing cardiovascular manifestations. The high risk of cardiovascular pathology in these patients is not only due to traditional cardiovascular risk factors (age, gender, family history, smoking, sedentary lifestyle, cholesterol), but also to chronic inflammation and autoimmunity. Aim: In this review, we present the mechanisms of cardiovascular comorbidities associated with inflammatory rheumatic diseases, as they have recently been reported by different authors, grouped in electrical abnormalities, valvular, myocardial and pericardial modifications and vascular involvement. Methods: We conducted a systematic search of published literature on the following online databases: EBSCO, ScienceDirect, Scopus and PubMed. Searches were limited to full-text English-language journal articles published between 2010 and 2017 using the following key words: heart, systemic inflammation, autoimmunity, rheumatic diseases and disease activity. After the primary analysis we included 50 scientific articles in this review. Results: The results showed that cardiac manifestations of systemic inflammation can occur frequently with different prevalence in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE), systemic sclerosis(SSc) and ankylosing spondylitis(AS). Rheumatologic diseases can affect the myocardium, cardiac valves, pericardium, conduction system and arterial vasculature. Conclusions: Early detection, adequate management and therapy of specific cardiac involvement are essential in rheumatic disease. Electrocardiographic and echocardiographic evaluation should be performed as routine investigations in patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases.
Intolerance of uncertainty predicts analogue posttraumatic stress following adverse life events

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: There is evidence that intolerance of uncertainty (IU) is associated with elevated post-traumatic stress (PTS) symptoms. There is a scarcity of research examining whether IU is prospectively related to PTS following exposure to negative life events. Using data from a Dutch student-sample, we examined the degree to which IU predicts post-traumatic stress symptoms associated with negative stressful life events (analogue posttraumatic stress (PTS)). DESIGN: This was a prospective survey-study. METHODS: A group of 193 undergraduate students completed self-report measures of Inhibitory IU, Prospective IU, and anxiety sensitivity (at Time 1, T1). One year later (at T2), participants rated adverse life-events experienced between T1 and T2, and completed a questionnaire tapping PTS associated with the most distressing event experienced in this time-frame. We hypothesized that pre-event Inhibitory IU and—to a lesser extent—Prospective IU would predict analogue PTS, after covarying for anxiety sensitivity. RESULTS: As predicted, pre-event Inhibitory IU predicted post-event analogue PTS, even when controlling for anxiety sensitivity. With respect to distinct analogue PTS clusters, Inhibitory IU predicted PTS avoidance and PTS hyperarousal, but was unrelated to PTS reexperiencing. CONCLUSIONS: This study confirm that IU, particularly Inhibitory IU, may convey risk for elevated PTS following adverse life events.
Marriage Aspiration, Perceived Marriage Squeeze, and Anomie Among Unmarried Rural Male Migrant Workers in China

Using data from a survey of rural–urban migrants conducted in Xiamen City, China, during 2009, this study explores determinants of anomie among unmarried rural male migrant workers in the context of China’s gender imbalance. Results indicate that the perceived marriage squeeze has exerted direct effects on anomie, and marriage aspiration has indirect effects on anomie among rural male migrant workers. The perceived marriage squeeze also has a mediating effect between marriage aspiration and anomie among unmarried rural male migrant workers. Social integration in the destination city is also a determinant of anomie among these unmarried migrant workers.
Sometimes Nature Doesn’t Work: Absence of Attention Restoration in Older Adults Exposed to Environmental Scenes

ABSTRACT Background/Study Context: An accumulating body of literature indicates that contact with natural settings can benefit health and wellbeing. Numerous studies support Attention Restoration Theory (ART), which suggests that even short exposure to nature, as opposed to urban environments, can promote attention restoration by stimulating soft fascination. However, it is unclear whether the restorative effects hold in aging. This study tested nature effect on cognitive restoration in older people. Methods: Utilizing the Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART), we explored changes in attentional performance in 75 healthy older individuals before and after exposure to either natural or urban scenes. We checked for age-related differences by comparing the older sample to a group of 21 young participants. Results: We found no effects of environmental exposure for either attentional accuracy, sensitivity to visual targets or reaction times. Our older participants had worse accuracy and slower reaction times than a younger control group who used the same paradigm. Conclusion: The results of our study conducted with older adults show no attention restoration effects in this population. Potential geographical/cultural moderators as wells as methodological considerations are discussed to provide insights for future studies on cognitive restoration in older age.
A specialised SKI complex assists the cytoplasmic RNA exosome in the absence of direct association with ribosomes

The Ski2‐Ski3‐Ski8 (SKI) complex assists the RNA exosome during the 3′ to 5′ degradation of cytoplasmic transcripts. Previous reports showed that the SKI complex is involved in the 3′ to 5′ degradation of mRNAs, including 3′ untranslated regions (UTRs) and devoid of ribosomes. Paradoxically, we recently showed that the SKI complex directly interacts with ribosomes during the co‐translational mRNA decay and that this interaction is necessary for its RNA degradation promoting activity. Here, we characterised a new SKI‐associated factor, Ska1, that associates with a subpopulation of the SKI complex. We showed that Ska1 is specifically involved in the degradation of long 3′UTR‐containing mRNAs, poorly translated mRNAs as well as other RNA regions not associated with ribosomes, such as cytoplasmic lncRNAs. We further show that the overexpression of SKA1 antagonises the SKI‐ribosome association. We propose that the Ska1‐SKI complex assists the cytoplasmic exosome in the absence of direct association of the SKI complex with ribosomes.
On the issue of accelerated hygienic assessment of environmental genotoxic carcinogens.

OBJECTIVE The aim of the work was assessment of the criterial significance of the complex of early immunological reactions of the organism, pathomorphological and genotoxic changes in the organs for the acceleration of testing and hygienic assessment of carcinogenic danger of chemical substances. PATIENTS AND METHODS Materials and methods: Investigations were carried out in the chronic experiment on white random-bred male mice and included 2 series of the investigations: 1 - application of benz(a)pyrene on skin in different doses (10.5µg; 2.1µg; 0.21µg); 2 - peroral administration of benz(a)pyrene and phenol (single dose - 0.1 mg). Genotoxic changes in skin and forestomach were assessed with the help of micronuclear test. RESULTS Results: Under carcinogen exposure, regardless of routes of administration we determined an increase frequency of the cells with micronuclei and suppression of T-link ofimmune system during the first month which were characterized by a parallelism of development, unidirectional relative to carcinogenesis and presence of reliable reverse correlative connection between them. In the period between the 1t and the 3d months we observed a stabilization of the number of cells with micronuclei and deepening of immunosuppression at the expense of the suppression of humoral chain of the immunity. CONCLUSION Conclusions: The obtained data became a basis for the development of methodic scheme of accelerated testing of the chemical substances under investigations for carcinogenicity and hygienic setting of genotoxic carcinogens.