Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Neurodevelopmental Outcomes of Extremely Low Birth Weight Survivors in Johannesburg, South Africa

Background: Improved survival in extremely low birth weight infants (ELBWI) in Sub-Saharan Africa has raised the question whether these survivors have an increased chance of adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes. Objectives To describe neurodevelopmental outcomes of ELBWI in a neonatal unit in South Africa. Methods This was a prospective follow-up study. All ELBWI who survived to discharge between 1 July 2013 and 31 December 2017 were invited to attend the clinic. Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development (version III) were conducted at 9 to 12 months and 18 to 24 months. Results There were 723 ELBWI admissions during the study period, 292 (40.4%) survived to hospital discharge and 85/292 (29.1%) attended the neonatal follow up clinic. The mean birth weight was 857.7 g (95% CI: 838.2–877.2) and the mean gestational age was 27.5 weeks (95% CI 27.1–27.9). None of the infants had any major complication of prematurity. A total of 76/85 (89.4%) of the infants had a Bayley-III assessment at a mean corrected age of 17.21 months (95% CI: 16.2–18.3). The mean composite scores for cognition were 98.4 (95% CI 95.1–101.7), language 89.9 (95% CI 87.3–92.5) and motor 97.6 (95% CI 94.5–100.6). All mean scores fell within the normal range, The study found 28 (36.8%) infants to be “at risk” for neurodevelopmental delay. Conclusion Our study demonstrates good neurodevelopmental outcome in a small group of surviving ELBWI, but these results must be interpreted in the context of the high mortality in this group of infants.
Neuronal Cells Display Distinct Stability Controls of Alternative Polyadenylation mRNA Isoforms, Long Non-Coding RNAs, and Mitochondrial RNAs

RNA stability plays an important role in gene expression. Here, using 3′ end sequencing of newly made and pre-existing poly(A)+ RNAs, we compare transcript stability in multiple human cell lines, including HEK293T, HepG2, and SH-SY5Y. We show that while mRNA stability is generally conserved across the cell lines, specific transcripts having a high GC content and possibly more stable secondary RNA structures are relatively more stable in SH-SY5Y cells compared to the other 2 cell lines. These features also differentiate stability levels of alternative polyadenylation (APA) 3′UTR isoforms in a cell type-specific manner. Using differentiation of a neural stem cell line as a model, we show that mRNA stability difference could contribute to gene expression changes in neurogenesis and confirm the neuronal identity of SH-SY5Y cells at both gene expression and APA levels. In addition, compared to transcripts using 3′-most exon cleavage/polyadenylation sites (PASs), those using intronic PASs are generally less stable, especially when the PAS-containing intron is large and has a strong 5′ splice site, suggesting that intronic polyadenylation mostly plays a negative role in gene expression. Interestingly, the differential mRNA stability among APA isoforms appears to buffer PAS choice in these cell lines. Moreover, we found that several other poly(A)+ RNA species, including promoter-associated long noncoding RNAs and transcripts encoded by the mitochondrial genome, are more stable in SH-SY5Y cells than the other 2 cell lines, further highlighting distinct RNA metabolism in neuronal cells. Together, our results indicate that distinct RNA stability control in neuronal cells may contribute to the gene expression and APA programs that define their cell identity.
Decreased Serum Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor in Poststroke Depression: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Backgrounds There were conflicting results on the comparison of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels between poststroke depression (PSD) patients and stroke patients without PSD among previous studies. Thus, we conducted this systemic review and meta-analysis to explore the alteration of serum BDNF levels in PSD. Methods This study included articles from the Web of Science and PubMed databases that were published before December 2021. STATA 12.0 software was used to compute the standardized mean difference (SMD) and 95% confidence interval (CI) regarding the comparison of serum BDNF in PSD and stroke patients without PSD. Results We collected the mean value and standard deviation (SD) of serum BDNF in PSD and stroke patients without PSD from six studies (PSD: n = 268, stroke patients without PSD: n = 425). The present meta-analysis showed decreased serum BDNF level in patients with PSD, compared to stroke patients without PSD with a random-effects model (mean value of BDNF level [PSD vs. stroke patients without PSD]: 14.106 vs. 17.995 ng/ml; SMD = –1.578; 95% CI: –2.820, –0.337; I2 = 97.8%, p-value for Q test < 0.001). Conclusion Brain-derived neurotrophic factor may work as a potential biomarker to predict the risk of PSD among stroke survivors. More large-sample clinical trials exploring the alteration of serum BDNF levels in PSD among stroke patients need to be conducted to verify this result.
Adolescent Connectedness: A Scoping Review of Available Measures and Their Psychometric Properties

Introduction Adolescent connectedness, a key component of positive youth development, is associated with various positive health outcomes. Several measures have been developed to assess this construct. However, no study has summarized data on the existing measures of adolescent connectedness. We conducted this scoping review to fill this gap. We specifically aimed to: (i) identify the existing measures of adolescent connectedness, (ii) determine the most frequently used measures among the identified measures, and (iii) summarize the psychometric properties of these measures with a keen interest in highlighting their cross-cultural utility and validity. Methods We searched CINAHL, Embase, PsycInfo, PubMed, and Web of Science databases for relevant articles published since database inception to 7th February 2021. Our search structure contained the key words “Adolescents”, “Connectedness”, and “Measures”. We also searched Open Gray for potentially relevant gray literature. Results We identified 335 measures from 960 eligible studies assessing various domains of adolescent connectedness, including school, family, community, peer, ethnic, racial, cultural, religious/spiritual, and self-connectedness. Most of the included studies (72.1%) were from North America and Europe. Most of the measures (n = 132, 39.4%) were measures of school connectedness among adolescents. Of the identified measures, 60 of them met our criteria of frequently used measures (i.e., the top five most used measures per domain of connectedness). These frequently used measures were used across 481 of the included studies with 400 of them reporting their psychometric properties. The reported reliability of these measures was adequate (Cronbach's alpha ≥ 0.70) in 89.8% of these studies. These measures also appeared to be valid in terms of their face, content, construct, criterion, convergent, discriminant, concurrent, predictive, measurement invariance, and cross-cultural validity. Conclusions There exists a wide array of measures of adolescent connectedness. Sixty of these measures have been frequently used across studies and appear to be reliable and/or valid. However, this evidence is mostly from North America and Europe. This is a reflection of the limitation of this review where only studies published in English were considered. It might also reflect the paucity of research in other regions of the world. More research is needed for clearer insights.
Three Intervention Programs in Secondary Education on Attitudes Toward Persons With a Disability

Persons with a disability make up a social group which is in an especially vulnerable situation. They have to face obstacles and difficulties in their participation as part of the community with equal opportunities, in which attitude of others is a determining factor. This study makes a comparative analysis of three intervention programs (1 “Simulation and Modeling,” 2 “Information and Awareness Raising,” and 3 “Adapted Sport”) on attitudes toward persons with a disability of adolescents in secondary schools. Each program is based on a concrete technique, but they all have the common thread of the direct, structured contact technique with persons with a disability. The effectiveness of the three programs in changing attitudes is analyzed, and their impact on the different factors of the attitude construct (1 “acceptance/rejection,” 2 “competence/limitation,” and 3 “equality of opportunities”) is also studied. The results show the effectiveness of the three programs. The students show more positive attitudes toward persons with a disability in all the groups, especially program 1. Analyzing the general influence of the three programs on the factors of the attitude construct, it can be seen that in factors 2 and 3, the attitudes have significantly improved in all three programs. Finally, the results show that each program has been more effective on a concrete attitude factor.
Leader’s Implicit Followership and Employees’ Innovative Behavior: Chain Mediation Effect of Leader–Member Exchange and Psychological Empowerment

In the Chinese society, where power distance is high, leaders’ attitudes and behavior toward employees determine their career development as well as affect the entire team’s performance. Therefore, exploring the kind of employees that leaders expect in China is essential. Based on implicit followership theory perspective, this study considers leaders’ positive implicit followership (LPIF) as the main research variable and examines its influence on employees’ innovative behavior (EIB). Moreover, it explores the multiple mediation effect of the leader–member exchange (LMX) relationship and psychological empowerment (PE) in this influence mechanism. The study sample comprised 389 leaders and their direct employees at 45 large- and medium-sized enterprises in Shandong, Beijing, Hebei, Shanghai, Shanxi, Zhejiang, and other regions of China. We used the leader–employee 1:1 matching questionnaire, and the longitudinal research design was adopted to avoid homology variance, making the study results more realistic and reliable. This study used the SPSS 26.0 and AMOS 26.0 statistical software to verify the hypotheses. Our findings show that LPIF has a significant positive effect on EIB, and LMX and PE have multiple mediation effects on the relationship between LPIF and EIB. When the level of LPIF is high, LMX and PE are also enhanced, which in turn promotes the increase in EIB. This study provides a new perspective for subsequent research on the psychological mechanism of employees and suggests an important method for understanding leadership and following processes in an organization. It plays a guiding role for the management practice of an enterprise, selection of leaders, and training of employees.
Autophagy Impairment in App Knock-in Alzheimer’s Model Mice

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is characterized by impaired protein homeostasis leading to amyloid-β peptide (Aβ) amyloidosis. Amyloid precursor protein (APP) knock-in mice exhibit robust Aβ pathology, providing possibilities to determine its effect on protein homeostasis including autophagy. Here we compared human AD postmortem brain tissue with brains from two different types of App knock-in mice, AppNL–F and AppNL–G–F mice, exhibiting AD-like pathology. In AD postmortem brains, p62 levels are increased and p62-positive staining is detected in neurons, including potential axonal beadings, as well as in the vasculature and in corpora amylacea. Interestingly, p62 is also increased in the neurons in 12-month-old AppNL–G–F mice. In brain homogenates from 12-month-old AppNL–G–F mice, both p62 and light chain 3 (LC3)-II levels are increased as compared to wildtype (WT) mice, indicating inhibited autophagy. Double immunostaining for LC3 and Aβ revealed LC3-positive puncta in hippocampus of 24-month-old AppNL–F mice around the Aβ plaques which was subsequently identified by electron microscopy imaging as an accumulation of autophagic vacuoles in dystrophic neurites around the Aβ plaques. Taken together, autophagy is impaired in App knock-in mice upon increased Aβ pathology, indicating that App knock-in mouse models provide a platform for understanding the correlation between Aβ and autophagy.
Coping and Resilience Among Endurance Athletes During the COVID-19 Pandemic

COVID-19 lockdowns constrained the training opportunities of athletes resulting in physical and mental hardship. In this study, athletes involved in the outdoor endurance sports of running, cycling or swimming were recruited through Facebook groups and using online mailing lists. The final sample (n = 3,551) consisted of 576 female respondents (16.2%), and 2,975 male respondents (83.8%). The mean age of participants was 44.13 years (min = 16, max = 83, and SD = 9.84). An online survey was designed to measure variables relevant to athletes’ mental health; resilience and emotion regulation strategies; mobility restrictions; training routines; personal involvement in endurance sports; age; gender; and country of residence. Overall, the results of our study indicate that during lockdown, decreases in training volume, lower lockdown-specific resilience, and holding more negative perceptions about lockdown mobility restrictions (perceived strictness) all contributed to perceived barriers to training. In the analysis, athletes’ relative observance of mobility restrictions was controlled for. Athletes exhibiting high personal commitment to their sports displayed: greater lockdown resilience, a greater use of adaptive coping strategies, and lower levels of perceived barriers to training.
Gender Differences in ICT Acceptance for Health Purposes, Online Health Information Seeking, and Health Behaviour among Estonian Older Adults during the Covid-19 Crisis

ICT tools play an important role in accessing health information today. Although health ratings have improved in Estonia, the inequalities in women's and men's health continue to persist. As consumption of relevant information creates favourable preconditions for better health behaviour, it is paramount to study gender differences regarding online health information seeking and its relations to health behaviour. This article focuses on gender differences in ICT acceptance for health purposes, online health information seeking, and health behaviour choices among Estonian older adults. A survey involving 204 men and 297 women aged 50 and over living in Estonia was conducted in the summer of 2020. Cross-tabulation and chi-square tests were used to analyse the retrieved data. The results indicate that women prioritised remote communication with a medical doctor more during the Covid-19 crisis while men were more eager to use digital applications for health purposes. The latter also reported better access to computers and smart devices allowing them to conduct online health information searches more conveniently. Men also stood out for their readiness to be vaccinated against Covid-19. Thus, their interest in digital health information should be given due consideration when developing various health services and apps along with national health communication strategies. Copyright © 2022 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. All rights reserved.
Does Improving Agricultural Productivity Reduce Poverty? A Computable General Equilibrium Approach for Guinea-Bissau

This paper aims to analyze the effects of productivity improvements on economic outcomes, especially on poverty reduction in Guinea-Bissau for the period 2014-2030. We analyze the evolution of agricultural production over the last three decades and econometrically estimate the agriculture investment allocation parameter. Through a dynamic recursive CGE model, we find that improvements in agricultural productivity through a 4% increase in investment in this sector positively impact GDP growth, sector output, and job opportunities for rural and urban workers. There are long-term positive welfare effects from rising real income and household consumption in rural and urban settings. The rural household welfare gains are due to direct effects and a drop in the consumer price index. The decline in food prices propagated the indirect impacts on urban household welfare. The poor benefited the most. We suggest an agricultural development agenda as a measure that would help to improve the poorer living standard in this country.
Benchmarking Library Recognition in Tweets

Software developers often use social media (such as Twitter) to share programming knowledge such as new tools, sample code snippets, and tips on programming. One of the topics they talk about is the software library. The tweets may contain useful information about a library. A good understanding of this information, e.g., on the developer's views regarding a library can be beneficial to weigh the pros and cons of using the library as well as the general sentiments towards the library. However, it is not trivial to recognize whether a word actually refers to a library or other meanings. For example, a tweet mentioning the word “pandas” may refer to the Python pandas library or to the animal. In this work, we created the first benchmark dataset and investigated the task to distinguish whether a tweet refers to a programming library or something else. Recently, the pre-trained Transformer models (PTMs) have achieved great success in the fields of natural language processing and computer vision. Therefore, we extensively evaluated a broad set of modern PTMs, including both general-purpose and domain-specific ones, to solve this programming library recognition task in tweets. Experimental results show that the use of PTM can outperform the best-performing baseline methods by 5% - 12% in terms of F1-score under within-, cross-, and mixed-library settings.
Eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) correlates with eosinophil cell counts in the induced sputum of elite swimmers

Abstract Introduction: Swimming practice has been associated with eosinophilic inflammation, however, the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. The eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) in induced sputum may be used as a potential biomarker to assess airway eosinophilic inflammation among elite swimmers. The objective of this study is to characterize ECP levels in sputum supernatant in elite swimmers and evaluate ECP as an eosinophilic inflammatory marker. Material and methods: Elite swimmers annually screened in our department (n = 27) were invited to participate in this cross-sectional study. Swimmers who agreed to participate (n = 24, 46% girls) performed lung function and skin-prick tests. Induced sputum was also collected and analyzed for differential cell counts and ECP measurements in sputum supernatant (ImmunoCAPTM 100, ECP, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Uppsala, Sweden). Results: The median ECP level was 15.60 μg/L (6.02–38.75 μg/L) and higher levels were found among boys (27.90 (11.20–46.30) μg/L vs 6.65 (2.82–22.80) μg/L, P = . 02). In addition, ECP levels in the sputum supernatant were positively correlated with eosinophil cell counts in the induced sputum (r = 0.583, P = .08). Conclusions: ECP levels correlated positively with eosinophil counts in the induced sputum in elite swimmers. The measurement of ECP in sputum supernatant may be a useful marker to assess and manage eosinophilic inflammatory changes in the airways of elite swimmers.
Epidemiological Factors Associated With Intraductal Papillary Mucinous Neoplasm of the Pancreas

Objective The present study aimed to identify epidemiological factors associated with the development of intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMN) of the pancreas comparing patients after IPMN resection with population-based controls. Methods Preoperative data of 811 patients undergoing pancreatic resection for IPMN were matched in a 1:1 ratio with a random sample of volunteers from the Study of Health in Pomerania, which showed no pancreatic cyst greater than 2 mm in magnetic resonance cholangiopancreaticography. Results A total of 811 controls with a mean age of 61.9 years (standard deviation, 8.4 years) were matched to cases with a mean age of 66.1 years (standard deviation, 9.3 years). A previous history of pancreatitis, endocrine pancreatic insufficiency was significantly more frequent in IPMN patients compared with controls (P = 0.001). Moreover, adjusted data revealed that urogenital cancer (P = 0.034), colorectal cancer (P = 0.021), as well as first-degree family history of colorectal cancer (P = 0.001) were significantly more frequent in IPMN patients. Conclusions A history of urogenital and colorectal cancer often coincides with IPMN, which have an indication for surgery and are associated with preoperative episodes of pancreatitis and with endocrine insufficiency. Prospective studies are needed to investigate the role of these factors in IPMN development.
Role of Socioeconomic Factors on Physical and Mental Distress Reported by Alabama Adults with COPD

This article examines how socioeconomic factors influence physical and mental distress experienced by Alabama adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) using 2015–2019 data from Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System surveys. Alabama adults with COPD who were employed/self-employed, retired, or identified as homemakers were less likely to report physical distress than those unable to work. Younger Alabama adults (25–64 years) with COPD were approximately two times more likely to report mental distress than respondents 65 and older. African Americans with COPD in Alabama were less likely to experience physical distress than Whites. Public health and healthcare practitioners across Alabama can use these state-level findings to direct more targeted, high-yield interventions that will address existing health disparities among Alabama residents with COPD. Abstract Objectives Educational attainment, income, and race play significant roles in managing and treating patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of these socioeconomic factors and others on the physical and mental distress reported by patients with COPD living in Alabama. Methods A cross-sectional analysis was completed of Alabama Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System 2015–2019 data collected from 4123 respondents who reported that a health professional told them they had COPD, chronic bronchitis, or emphysema. Univariate analyses examined descriptive differences in physical and mental distress among racial groups. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to assess physical and mental distress as a function of race and demographic variables (age, sex, employment status, household income, education level), controlling for dichotomous healthcare access variables (enrollment in a health insurance plan, having a usual source of care, routine check-up in the past 2 years). Results Most Alabama adults with COPD from 2015 to 2019 were female (64%) and older than 45 years (88%). Annual incomes were low, with >40% of respondents (43.84%) earning <$20,000/year; adults making between $35,000 and $49,999 were less likely (odds ratio 0.60, 95% confidence interval 0.38–0.96) to experience mental distress. Younger Alabama adults with COPD (25–64 years) were approximately two times more likely than respondents ages 65 and older to report mental distress. African Americans were less likely to report physical distress as compared with Whites (odds ratio 0.61, 95% confidence interval 0.44–0.83). Alabama adults who could not work were more likely than those with COPD who were employed/self-employed, out of work, retired, or identified as homemakers to report physical distress. Conclusions Public health and healthcare practitioners across Alabama should use these analyses to direct more targeted, high-yield interventions that will address existing health disparities among state residents living with COPD.