Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Which exercise and behavioural interventions show most promise for treating fatigue in multiple sclerosis? A network meta-analysis

Background: Fatigue is a common, debilitating symptom of multiple sclerosis (MS) without a current standardised treatment. Objective: The aim of this systematic review with network meta-analyses was to estimate the relative effectiveness of both fatigue-targeted and non-targeted exercise, behavioural and combined (behavioural and exercise) interventions. Methods: Nine electronic databases up to August 2018 were searched, and 113 trials (n = 6909) were included: 34 were fatigue-targeted and 79 non-fatigue-targeted trials. Intervention characteristics were extracted using the Template for Intervention Description and Replication guidelines. Certainty of evidence was assessed using GRADE. Results: Pairwise meta-analyses showed that exercise interventions demonstrated moderate to large effects across subtypes regardless of treatment target, with the largest effect for balance exercise (SMD = 0.84). Cognitive behavioural therapies (CBTs) showed moderate to large effects (SMD = 0.60), with fatigue-targeted treatments showing larger effects than those targeting distress. Network meta-analysis showed that balance exercise performed significantly better compared to other exercise and behavioural intervention subtypes, except CBT. CBT was estimated to be superior to energy conservation and other behavioural interventions. Combined exercise also had a moderate to large effect. Conclusion: Treatment recommendations for balance and combined exercise are tentative as the certainty of the evidence was moderate. The certainty of the evidence for CBT was high.
Personality maturation and personality relaxation: Differences of the Big Five personality traits in the years around the beginning and ending of working life.

INTRODUCTION At work, people are confronted with clear expectations about how to behave professionally. In line with the Social Investment Principle, the beginning and ending of working life might thus promote changes in personality traits that are relevant at work (e.g., conscientiousness). METHODS Based on data from the Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP), we examined nuanced differences of the Big Five personality traits in the years around the beginning and ending of working life. Whether participants had started working or retired in the past year was assessed yearly. The Big Five personality traits were assessed in four waves between 2005 and 2017. RESULTS In people who started working, multilevel analyses revealed that conscientiousness was higher in the first year of working life versus all other years. Extraversion was higher in and after the first year of working life versus before, and agreeableness increased gradually in the three years after people had started working. In people who retired, conscientiousness was lower in and after the first year of retirement versus before. No other traits differed around the start of retirement. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that the start of working life might promote personality maturation, whereas retirement might promote personality 'relaxation'.
Data sharing to improve concordance in variant interpretation across laboratories: results from the Canadian Open Genetics Repository

Background This study aimed to identify and resolve discordant variant interpretations across clinical molecular genetic laboratories through the Canadian Open Genetics Repository (COGR), an online collaborative effort for variant sharing and interpretation. Methods Laboratories uploaded variant data to the Franklin Genoox platform. Reports were issued to each laboratory, summarising variants where conflicting classifications with another laboratory were noted. Laboratories could then reassess variants to resolve discordances. Discordance was calculated using a five-tier model (pathogenic (P), likely pathogenic (LP), variant of uncertain significance (VUS), likely benign (LB), benign (B)), a three-tier model (LP/P are positive, VUS are inconclusive, LB/B are negative) and a two-tier model (LP/P are clinically actionable, VUS/LB/B are not). We compared the COGR classifications to automated classifications generated by Franklin. Results Twelve laboratories submitted classifications for 44 510 unique variants. 2419 variants (5.4%) were classified by two or more laboratories. From baseline to after reassessment, the number of discordant variants decreased from 833 (34.4% of variants reported by two or more laboratories) to 723 (29.9%) based on the five-tier model, 403 (16.7%) to 279 (11.5%) based on the three-tier model and 77 (3.2%) to 37 (1.5%) based on the two-tier model. Compared with the COGR classification, the automated Franklin classifications had 94.5% sensitivity and 96.6% specificity for identifying actionable (P or LP) variants. Conclusions The COGR provides a standardised mechanism for laboratories to identify discordant variant interpretations and reduce discordance in genetic test result delivery. Such quality assurance programmes are important as genetic testing is implemented more widely in clinical care.
Referential Form and Memory for the Discourse History

The way we refer to things in the world is shaped by the immediate physical context as well as the discourse history. But what part of the discourse history is relevant to language use in the present? In four experiments, we combine the study of task-based conversation with measures of recognition memory to examine the role of physical contextual cues that shape what speakers perceive to be a part of the relevant discourse history. Our studies leverage the differentiation effect, a phenomenon in which speakers are more likely to use a modified expression to refer to an object (e.g., dotted sock) if they had previously described a similar object (e.g., striped sock) than when they had not described a similar object. Two physical cues-the background that framed the to-be-described pictures and the position of the pictures in the display-were manipulated to alter perceptions about the relevant discourse context. We measured the rate with which speakers modify referring expressions to differentiate current from past referents. Recognition memory measures following the conversation probed what was and was not remembered about past discourse referents and contexts. Analysis of modification rates indicated that these contextual grouping cues shaped perceptions about the relevant discourse context. The contextual cues did not affect memory for the referents, but the memory for past referents was better for speakers than for listeners. Our findings show that perceptions about the relevant discourse history are a key determinant of how language is used in the moment but also that conversational partners form asymmetric representations of the discourse history.
Analysis of the Theory of Integrative Nurse Coaching

The Theory of Integrative Nurse Coaching (TINC) has been analyzed according to the method of Walker and Avant. We have found that TINC is a well-constructed mid-range theory in the discipline of nursing. Within the domain of holistic nursing, it is focused on the goal of healing the whole person, synthesizing a large amount of theoretical material related to the concept of healing and placing it within the context of nursing as a discipline. With underpinnings in holistic nursing, it aligns with numerous grand nursing theories via the metaparadigm, healing, and patterns of knowing. It is easily translated into holistic nursing practice, actualized in the role of the nurse coach. It describes a method of holistic nursing practice that is suitable for use in numerous settings, including lifestyle, chronic disease, and end of life, among others. Although there is little published research using the theory, there is potential for application in holistic nursing practice, education, research, policy, and administration. We have identified numerous potential research questions that would test the theory. In this time of global nursing shortage and burnout, it is notable that this mid-range theory explicitly describes how self-care of the nurse enhances client care.
Overgeneral and specific autobiographical memory predict the course of depression: an updated meta-analysis

Abstract Impairments in retrieving event-level, specific autobiographical memories, termed overgeneral memory (OGM), are recognised as a feature of clinical depression. A previous meta-analytic review assessing how OGM predicts the course of subsequent depressive symptoms showed small effects for correlations and regression analyses when baseline depressive symptoms were controlled for. We aimed to update this study and examine whether their findings replicate given the decade of research that has been published since. A systematic literature review using the same eligibility criteria as the previous meta-analysis led to a doubling of eligible studies (32 v. 15). The results provided more precise estimates of effect sizes, and largely support the finding that OGM predicts the course of depressive symptoms. The effects were generally small, but significantly larger among clinical samples, compared to studies with non-clinical samples. There was some evidence that higher age was associated with stronger effects, and longer follow-up was associated with weaker effects. The findings on other moderating variables that were analysed were mixed. Continued research into this modifiable cognitive process may help to provide an avenue to better understand and treat highly prevalent and impactful depressive disorders.
Identification, methylation profiling, and expression analysis of stress-responsive cytochrome P450 genes in rice under abiotic and phytohormones stresses

ABSTRACT The cytochrome P450 (CYP) is a large and complex eukaryotic gene superfamily with enzymatic activities involved in several physiological and regulatory processes. As an objective, an in-silico genome-wide DNA methylation (5mC) analysis was performed in rice (Oryza sativa cv. Zhonghua11), and the epigenetic role of CYPs in two abiotic stresses was observed. Being a stable representative mark, DNA-methylation alters the gene expression under stressful environmental conditions. Rice plants under salinity and drought stresses were analyzed through MeDIP-chip hybridization, and 14 unique genes of the CYP family were identified in the rice genome with varying degrees of methylation. The gene structure, promoter sequences, and phylogenetic analysis were performed. Furthermore, the responses of CYPs to various abiotic stresses, including salinity, drought, and cold were revealed. Similarly, the expression profile of potential CYPs was also investigated under various phytohormone stresses, which revealed the potential involvement of CYPs to hormone regulations. Overall, the current study provides evidence for CYP’s stress regulation and fundamental for further characterization and understanding their epigenetic roles in gene expression regulation and environmental stress regulation in higher plants.
How Category Selection Impacts Inference Reliability: Inheritance Inference From an Ecological Perspective

This article presents results from a simulation-based study of inheritance inference, that is, inference from the typicality of a property among a "base" class to its typicality among a subclass of the class. The study aims to ascertain which kinds of inheritance inferences are reliable, with attention to the dependence of their reliability upon the type of environment in which inferences are made. For example, the study addresses whether inheritance inference is reliable in the case of "exceptional subclasses" (i.e., subclasses that are known to be atypical in some respect) and attends to variations in reliability that result from variations in the entropy level of the environment. A further goal of the study is to show that the reliability of inheritance inference depends crucially on which sorts of base classes are used in making inferences. One approach to inheritance inference treats the extension of any atomic predicate as a suitable base class. A second approach identifies suitable base classes with the cells of a partition (of a preselected size k) of the domain of objects that satisfies the condition of maximizing the similarity of objects that are assigned to the same class. In addition to permitting more inferences, our study shows that the second approach results in inheritance inferences that are far more reliable, particularly in the case of exceptional subclasses.
The Dietary Inflammatory Index and Human Health: An Umbrella Review of Meta-Analyses of Observational Studies.

Numerous observational studies have investigated the role of the Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII®) in chronic disease risk. The aims of this umbrella review and integrated meta-analyses were to systematically synthesize the observational evidence reporting on the associations between the DII and health outcomes based on meta-analyses, and to assess the quality and strength of the evidence for each associated outcome. This umbrella review with integrated meta-analyses investigated the association between the DII and a range of health outcomes based on meta-analyses of observational data. A credibility assessment was conducted for each outcome using the following criteria: statistical heterogeneity, 95% prediction intervals, evidence for small-study effect and/or excess significance bias, as well as effect sizes and P values using calculated random effects meta-analyses. In total, 15 meta-analyses reporting on 38 chronic disease-related outcomes were included, incorporating a total population of 4,360,111 subjects. Outcomes (n = 38) were examined through various study designs including case-control (n = 8), cross-sectional (n = 5), prospective (n = 5), and combination (n = 20) study designs. Adherence to a pro-inflammatory dietary pattern had a significant positive association with 27 (71%) of the included health outcomes (P value < 0.05). Using the credibility assessment, Class I (Convincing) evidence was identified for myocardial infarction only, Class II (Highly suggestive) evidence was identified for increased risk of all-cause mortality, overall risk of incident cancer, and risk of incident site-specific cancers (colorectal, pancreatic, respiratory, and oral cancers) with increasing (more pro-inflammatory) DII score. Most outcomes (n = 31) presented Class III (Suggestive) or lower evidence (Weak or No association). Pro-inflammatory dietary patterns were nominally associated with an increased risk of many chronic disease outcomes. However, the strength of evidence for most outcomes was limited. Further prospective studies are required to improve the precision of the effect size.
Work and well-being: collective and individual self-concept, job commitment, citizenship behavior, and autonomy as predictors of overall life satisfaction

ABSTRACT A job may contribute to overall life satisfaction (LS) when it meets basic psychological needs. This study examined aspects of one’s work (organizational commitment, citizenship behavior and autonomy), and individual differences in self-concept (collective versus individual), as predictors of overall LS. 295 employees working at a variety of jobs completed questionnaires online. Results showed that higher collective self-concept predicted greater LS; this was partially mediated by affective job commitment, work autonomy and altruistic citizenship behaviors, all of which also independently predicted greater LS. Higher individual self-concept was also a significant predictor of LS, partially mediated by compliance citizenship behaviors. These results suggest that when work fulfills a need for connectedness (i.e., for people with a collective self-concept), autonomy, and when we feel emotionally committed to our job, and go beyond what it requires, our overall LS is higher. These results clarify some positive ways that our work contributes to overall LS, but important questions remain for future research.
PIP2 corrects cerebral blood flow deficits in small vessel disease by rescuing capillary Kir2.1 activity

Significance Years before the emergence of infarctions or significant cognitive decline, patients with cerebral small vessel disease (SVD) show a deterioration in the ability of the brain to augment blood flow locally in response to increases in neuronal activity (functional hyperemia). Using a well-characterized genetic mouse model of a hereditary form of SVD, we determined the molecular defect at play in capillary endothelial cells. We found that SVD is associated with reduced synthesis of the phospholipid PIP2, which prevents the Kir2.1 channel-initiated capillary-to-arteriole electrical signaling that supports vasodilatory responses during functional hyperemia. We further show that systemic injection of exogenous PIP2 is sufficient to rescue this deficit in SVD mice, restoring adequate cerebral blood flow in response to neuronal activation. Cerebral small vessel diseases (SVDs) are a central link between stroke and dementia—two comorbidities without specific treatments. Despite the emerging consensus that SVDs are initiated in the endothelium, the early mechanisms remain largely unknown. Deficits in on-demand delivery of blood to active brain regions (functional hyperemia) are early manifestations of the underlying pathogenesis. The capillary endothelial cell strong inward-rectifier K+ channel Kir2.1, which senses neuronal activity and initiates a propagating electrical signal that dilates upstream arterioles, is a cornerstone of functional hyperemia. Here, using a genetic SVD mouse model, we show that impaired functional hyperemia is caused by diminished Kir2.1 channel activity. We link Kir2.1 deactivation to depletion of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2), a membrane phospholipid essential for Kir2.1 activity. Systemic injection of soluble PIP2 rapidly restored functional hyperemia in SVD mice, suggesting a possible strategy for rescuing functional hyperemia in brain disorders in which blood flow is disturbed.
Artificial Intelligence, Globalization, and Strategies for Economic Development

Progress in artificial intelligence and related forms of automation technologies threatens to reverse the gains that developing countries and emerging markets have experienced from integrating into the world economy over the past half century, aggravating poverty and inequality. The new technologies have the tendency to be labor-saving, resource-saving, and to give rise to winner-takes-all dynamics that advantage developed countries. We analyze the economic forces behind these developments and describe economic policies that would mitigate the adverse effects on developing and emerging economies while leveraging the potential gains from technological advances. We also describe reforms to our global system of economic governance that would share the benefits of AI more widely with developing countries.
Disentangling activity traces on Australian goldfields: An experimental study of quartz assemblages derived from knapping and gold prospecting

Abstract Archaeologists have long grappled with identifying quartz artefacts in the archaeological record. The particular fracture mechanics of quartz can complicate the distinction between knapped quartz, other types of deliberately broken quartz, and natural occurrences of this mineral. In Australia, the quartz ‘problem’ is compounded on goldfields, where quartz debris from knapping, gold mining and other processes has the potential to co-occur. This paper investigates whether quartz assemblages produced by Aboriginal knappers and post-contact gold prospectors each possess a unique ‘signature’. It compares two quartz assemblages made experimentally using different but commonly used techniques with potential for creating artefacts with similar features: knapping with a hammerstone, and gold prospecting with a pick-axe. The results indicate that most artefacts in each assemblage are amorphous and lack diagnostic markers. Nonetheless, differences between the products of each technique are apparent at the assemblage level. Overall, the results highlight the complexities involved in investigating and classifying quartz artefacts, including on goldfields, and emphasise the importance of a holistic, assemblage-based approach to the study of quartz artefacts from different time periods and manufacturing origins.
Understanding COVID-19 through the lens of ‘syndemic vulnerability’: possibilities and challenges

Officially declared a pandemic on 11 March 2020, COVID-19 has resulted in over 85million cases and 1.8million deaths worldwide (World Health Organization 2020). Despite early sentiments that we were ‘all in the same boat’ in facing this global crisis, evidence now clearly demonstrates that this is not the case. Within countries, there are stark differences in who is most likely to be diagnosed with, and to die from the virus. In England, for example, ethnic minority groups and people living in deprived areas have been shown to be disproportionately at risk (Public Health England 2020). The virus is thus said to be exploiting and exacerbating pre-existing patterns of inequality resulting in worse outcomes for people with underlying health conditions (which are themselves socially patterned), and people who, through their housing or employment circumstance, are more exposed to the virus (Marmot et al. 2020b). In response to this emerging picture of multiple, interacting, and adverse conditions (i.e. COVID-19, non-communicable disease, poverty, discrimination), it has been argued that what we are actually witnessing is not a pandemic, but rather a syndemic (Baybutt and Dooris 2020; Horton 2020; Bambra et al. 2020; Herrick 2020). A syndemic emerges ‘when two or more health conditions co-occur in environments of aggravated adversity and interact synergistically to yield worse health outcomes than each affliction would likely generate on its own’ (Willen et al. 2017, 965). First described by Merrill Singer, a critical medical anthropologist, the concept draws explicit attention to deleterious biological interactions between diseases, and the ways in which these are further compounded by adverse social conditions (Singer and Clair 2003). Importantly, COVID-19 is not a syndemic all over the world. New Zealand for example, at the time of writing, has recorded just 1,832 confirmed cases and 25 deaths (World Health Organization 2020). Such profound differences between countries illustrate how the virus also ‘interacts’ with pre-existing economic and political conditions. Reflecting on the US response, Mendenhall (2020) points to the role played by ‘systemic racism, mistrust in science and leadership, and a fragmented health-care system’ in compounding its effects. Likewise, Marmot et al. (2020a) argue that the impact of COVID-19 in England needs to be understood in light of the pre-pandemic situation, one characterised by stalling improvements in life expectancy, widening inequalities, and decades