Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of COVID-19 pandemic on acute ischemic stroke care. A single-centre retrospective analysis of medical collateral damage.

INTRODUCTION Early international observations report decreased number of acute ischemic stroke admissions and prolonged onset-to-treatment times during COVID-19 pandemic. AIM Our goal was to assess the effect of COVID-19 pandemic on Hungarian acute ischemic stroke care. METHOD We compared demographical and clinical characteristics, rate of intravenous and endovascular therapies and therapeutic time parameters of acute ischemic strokes admitted to a university stroke centre in a COVID-epidemic period (01/03/2020-30/04/2020) and an identical period of 2019. RESULTS 86 patients were admitted during the COVID-period and 97 in the control period. Demographical and clinical characteristics of these periods were well-balanced. In the COVID-period, the proportion of patients arriving beyond 24 hours after onset increased by 13% (p = 0.046), the rate of endovascular interventions remained unchanged (8%), the rate of intravenous thrombolysis decreased from 26% to 16%, the mean onset-to-treatment time of thrombolysis increased by 20 minutes, while the mean door-to-treatment time increased by only 5 minutes. Behind the shift of arrival time categories, multivariable (year of examination, NIHSS, age) logistic regression shows that the year of examination might play a leading role (p = 0.096). CONCLUSION In the COVID-period, admissions for acute ischemic strokes decreased by 11% and the proportion of cases certainly untreatable by reperfusion therapies (arriving beyond 24 hours after onset) increased significantly. While the rate of endovascular interventions remained unchanged, the absolute rate of intravenous thrombolysis decreased by 10% and the mean onset-to-treatment time showed a tendency to increase. In these changes, the COVID-epidemic itself and related out-of-hospital factors might play a leading role. Orv Hetil. 2020; 161(34): 1395-1399.
Single Nucleus RNASeq Profiling of Mouse Lung: Reduced Dissociation Bias and Improved Rare Cell Type Detection Compared with Single Cell RNASeq.

Single cell RNA-sequencing (scRNASeq) has advanced our understanding of lung biology, but utility is limited by the need for fresh samples, loss of cell types by death or inadequate dissociation, and transcriptional stress responses induced during tissue digestion. Single nucleus RNASeq (snRNASeq) has addressed these deficiencies in other tissues, but no protocol exists for lung. We present a snRNASeq protocol and compare its results with scRNA-seq. Two nuclear suspensions were prepared in lysis buffer on ice while one cell suspension was generated using enzymatic and mechanical dissociation. Cells and nuclei were processed using the 10x Genomics platform, and sequencing data analyzed by Seurat. 16,110 single nucleus and 11,934 single cell transcriptomes were generated. Gene detection rates were equivalent in snRNASeq and scRNASeq (~1,700 genes and 3,000 UMI per cell) when mapping intronic and exonic reads. In the combined data, 89% of epithelial cells were identified by snRNASeq, versus 22.2% of immune cells. snRNASeq transcriptomes are enriched for transcription factors and signaling proteins, with reduction in mitochondrial and stress response genes. Both techniques improved mesenchymal cell detection over previous studies. Homeostatic signaling relationships among alveolar cell types were defined by receptor-ligand mapping using snRNASeq data, revealing interplay among epithelial, mesenchymal, and capillary endothelial cells. Single nucleus RNASeq can be applied to archival murine lung samples, improves dissociation bias, eliminates artifactual gene expression and provides similar gene detection compared to scRNASeq.
The role of gender and self-esteem as moderators of the relationship between stigma and psychological distress among infertile couples

ABSTRACT To determine if perceived stigma is positively associated with psychological distress, and examine if self-esteem has a moderating effect on the relationship between stigma and psychological distress among infertile Chinese couples. 369 infertile couples completed questionnaires including socio-demographic and clinical characteristics, stigma, self-esteem, and psychological distress. Stigma had a significant, positive association with psychological distress (r = 0.461, P < 0.01). Self-esteem moderated the association between stigma and psychological distress differently for men compared to women. Stigma had a positive, moderate association with psychological distress in men with high self-esteem compared to men with low self-esteem (t = 3.232, P < 0.01). However, there was no significant difference in the relationship between stigma and psychological distress between women with high and low self-esteem, tests of the simple slopes showed that non-significant difference of slopes between the two groups (t = −0.017, P = 0.987). The results indicate that self-esteem buffers the net effect of stigma on psychological distress in men but not women. Future research should focus on interventions that use self-esteem as a way to decrease the negative association of stigma with psychological distress, especially among men who are infertile and have low self-esteem.
Fetal Hemoglobin in Sickle Cell Anemia.

Fetal hemoglobin (HbF) can blunt the pathophysiology, temper the clinical course and offer prospects for curative therapy of sickle cell disease. This review focuses on: 1. HbF quantitative trait loci and the geography of β-globin gene haplotypes, especially those found in the Middle East; 2. how HbF might differentially impact the pathophysiology and many subphenotypes of sickle cell disease; 3. clinical implications of person-to-person variation in the distribution of HbF among HbF-containing erythrocytes; 4. reactivation of HbF gene expression using both pharmacologic and cell-based therapeutic approaches. A confluence of detailed understanding of the molecular basis of HbF gene expression, coupled with the ability to precisely target by genomic editing most areas of the genome, are producing important preliminary therapeutic results that could provide new options for cell-based therapeutics with curative intent.
Quantifying Unequal Catchability and its Effect on Survival Estimates in an Actual Population

(1) Simulation models, in combination with a test of equal catchability, were used to quantify the effect of heterogeneity of catchability on survival estimates obtained by capture-recapture methods from an actual population. (2) The biases in the estimates were found to be negligible although the test revealed a considerable degree of heterogeneity. (3) This suggests that the use of such tests to determine the appropriatene8s of particular estimation models to actual data may be highly misleading. (4) Simulation may often be a useful and relatively inexpensive method for exploring alternative models.
Aging Changes of the Superficial Fat Compartments of the Midface Over Time: A Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study.

BACKGROUND Studies involving superficial facial fat compartments are few in number with conflicting results. Most of them involved small study groups and compared measurements between different populations of young and old subjects either on cadavers or living subjects. OBJECTIVE To clarify volumetric and dimensional changes in midfacial superficial fat compartment retrospectively in patients who underwent a repeat magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) without gross pathology. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 70 patients with a mean age of 60 years (range: 33-82 years) and a median elapsed time of 44.5 months (range: 32-64 months) between 2 MRIs were included. Magnetic resonance imaging scans were analyzed in the axial and sagittal planes to obtain measurements of the medial part of the superficial cheek fat. Superficial cheek fat was divided into 3 compartments. Thickness, width, and height were measured, and volumes were calculated for each compartment on both hemifaces. RESULTS Volume and thickness were decreased significantly in all compartments (p < .05). The width was decreased in superior and middle compartments, whereas increased in lower compartment indicating dislocation of the fat tissue (p < .05). Height was also significantly increased (p < .05). A subgroup analysis has shown that there was no significant difference between men and women. CONCLUSION This study clarifies that aging is associated with a significant decrease in superficial midfacial fat tissue volume and thickness both in women and men. The decrease in width in upper and middle compartments, but increase in lower compartment suggests a volume shift within superficial fat tissue.
Results of a mixed methods evaluation of the Make Healthy Normal campaign.

The Make Healthy Normal obesity prevention mass media campaign was implemented in New South Wales, Australia from 2015 to 2018. This study evaluated Phase 2 (2017-18) of that campaign, using three cross-sectional online surveys with men aged 18-54 years (n = 4352) and six focus groups with men aged 35-54 years and parents with children aged 5-12 years (n = 38), reflecting the campaign's target audiences. We used linear and logistic regressions to examine changes over time in key outcomes, consistent with the campaign's theorized hierarchy of effects. Focus group data were analysed thematically and integrated with survey results at the interpretation stage. Survey results showed reasonable prompted recognition, although unprompted recall remained low, and there were no consistent, positive shifts in other outcomes, including behaviour. Focus group results suggested that this was because the campaign's messages, while considered clear and relevant, did not address the constraints participants experienced that made change difficult. Hence, the campaign by itself was unlikely to lead to behaviour change. We need to reconsider the role of campaigns in addressing multi-determined and complex problems. Evaluations should reconsider metrics of success, as they may not immediately result in behaviour change, especially in the absence of complementary policy and environmental strategies.
Examining the impact of COVID‐19 in ethnically diverse families with young children with intellectual and developmental disabilities

Abstract Background The COVID‐19 pandemic introduced challenges to families with young children with developmental delays. Beyond the widespread concerns surrounding illness, loss of employment and social isolation, caregivers are responsible for overseeing their children's educational and therapeutic programmes at home often without the much needed support of professionals. Method The present study sought to examine the impact of COVID‐19 in 77 ethnically, linguistically and socioeconomically diverse families with young children with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs) in California and Oregon, who were participating in larger intervention studies. Parents responded to five interview questions about the impact of the pandemic, services for their child, silver linings or positive aspects, coping and their concerns about the long‐term impact of the pandemic. Results Parents reported that their biggest challenge was being at home caring for their children with the loss of many essential services. Parents reported some positive aspects of the pandemic, especially being together as a family. Although there were positive aspects of the situation, many parents expressed concern about long‐term impacts of the pandemic on their children's development, given the loss of services, education and social engagement opportunities. Conclusion Results suggest that parents of young children with IDD report significant challenges at home during the pandemic. Professional support, especially during the reopening phases, will be critical to support family well‐being and child developmental outcomes.
Comparison between lung ultrasonography and current methods for volume assessment in Asian chronic hemodialysis patients

Volume assessment in end‐stage kidney disease patients on hemodialysis (HD) remains inadequate by existing methods: clinical examination, bioimpedance spectroscopy, measurement of inferior vena cava diameter by ultrasound (IVCD), and plasma B‐type natriuretic peptide (NT‐pro BNP). This study aims to compare the performance of lung ultrasound against existing methods for volume assessment in a HD cohort.
Examining day hospital treatment outcomes for sexual minority patients with eating disorders.

OBJECTIVE Epidemiological data support that sexual minorities (SM) report higher levels of eating pathology. Theories suggest these disparities exist due to stressors specific to belonging to a minority group; however, few studies have specifically explored differences between SM and heterosexual individuals in clinical eating disorder samples. Thus, the present study compared SM and heterosexual patients with eating disorders on demographic characteristics and eating disorder and psychological outcomes during day hospital treatment. METHOD Patients (N = 389) completed surveys of eating pathology, mood, anxiety, and skills use at treatment admission, 1-month post-admission, discharge, and 6-month follow-up. Overall, 19.8% of patients (n = 79) identified as SM, while 8.0% (n = 32) reported not identifying with any sexual orientation. SM were more likely to present across genders (17.7% of females, 24.2% of males, 33.3% of transgender patients, and 87.5% of nonbinary patients). RESULTS SM patients were significantly more likely to endorse major depressive disorder, panic disorder, and self-harm at admission than their heterosexual counterparts. Multilevel models demonstrated that across time, SM patients demonstrated greater eating pathology, emotion dysregulation, depressive symptoms, and anxiety symptoms. Significant interactions between sexual orientation and time were found for eating pathology and emotion dysregulation, such that although SM patients started treatment with higher scores, they improved at a faster rate compared to heterosexual patients. DISCUSSION Consistent with minority stress theory, SM patients report greater overall eating disorder and comorbid symptoms. Importantly, results do not support that there appear to be significant disparities in treatment outcome for SM patients in this sample of day hospital patients.
Heterologous Gene Expression System Using the Cold-Inducible CnAFP Promoter in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

To increase the availability of microalgae as producers of valuable compounds, it is necessary to develop novel systems for gene expression regulation. Among the diverse expression systems available in microalgae, none are designed to induce expression by low temperature. In this study, we explored a cold-inducible system using the antifreeze protein (AFP) promoter from a polar diatom, Chaetoceros neogracile. A vector containing the CnAFP promoter (pCnAFP) was generated to regulate nuclear gene expression, and reporter genes (Gaussia luciferase (GLuc) and mVenus fluorescent protein (mVenus)) were successfully expressed in the model microalga, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. In particular, under the control of pCnAFP, the expression of these genes was increased at low temperature, unlike pAR1, a promoter that is widely used for gene expression in C. reinhardtii. Promoter truncation assays showed that cold inducibility was still present even when pCnAFP was shortened to 600 bp, indicating the presence of a low-temperature response element between –600 and –477 bp. Our results show the availability of new heterologous gene expression systems with cold-inducible promoters and the possibility to find novel low-temperature response factors in microalgae. Through further improvement, this cold-inducible promoter could be used to develop more efficient expression tools.
Neural alignment during face‐to‐face spontaneous deception: Does gender make a difference?

This study investigated the gender differences in deception and their neural basis in the perspective of two‐person neuroscience. Both male and female dyads were asked to perform a face‐to‐face spontaneous sender–receiver deception task, while their neural activities in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and right temporal parietal junction (rTPJ) were recorded simultaneously using functional near‐infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS)‐based hyperscanning. Male and female dyads displayed similar deception rate, successful deception rate, and eye contact in deception trials. Moreover, eye contact in deception trials was positively correlated with the success rate of deception in both genders. The fNIRS data showed that the interpersonal neural synchronization (INS) in PFC was significantly enhanced only in female dyads when performed the deception task, while INS in rTPJ was increased only in male dyads. Such INS was correlated with the success rate of deception in both dyads. Granger causality analysis showed that no significant directionality between time series of PFC (or rTPJ) in each dyad, which could indicate that sender and receiver played equally important role during deception task. Finally, enhanced INS in PFC in female dyads mediated the contribution of eye contact to the success rate of deception. All findings in this study suggest that differential patterns of INS are recruited when male and female dyads perform the face‐to‐face deception task. To our knowledge, this is the first interbrain evidence for gender difference of successful deception, which could make us a deeper understanding of spontaneous face‐to‐face deception.
Microparticles globally reprogram Streptomyces albus toward accelerated morphogenesis, streamlined carbon core metabolism, and enhanced production of the antituberculosis polyketide pamamycin

Streptomyces spp. are a rich source for natural products with recognized industrial value, explaining the high interest to improve and streamline the performance of in these microbes. Here, we studied the production of pamamycins, macrodiolide homologs with a high activity against multiresistant pathogenic microbes, using recombinant Streptomyces albus J1074/R2. Talc particles (hydrous magnesium silicate, 3MgO·4SiO2·H2O) of micrometer size, added to submerged cultures of the recombinant strain, tripled pamamycin production up to 50 mg/L. Furthermore, they strongly affected morphology, reduced the size of cell pellets formed by the filamentous microbe during the process up to sixfold, and shifted the pamamycin spectrum to larger derivatives. Integrated analysis of transcriptome and precursor (CoA thioester) supply of particle‐enhanced and control cultures provided detailed insights into the underlying molecular changes. The microparticles affected the expression of 3,341 genes (56% of all genes), revealing a global and fundamental impact on metabolism. Morphology‐associated genes, encoding major regulators such as SsgA, RelA, EshA, Factor C, as well as chaplins and rodlins, were found massively upregulated, indicating that the particles caused a substantially accelerated morphogenesis. In line, the pamamycin cluster was strongly upregulated (up to 1,024‐fold). Furthermore, the microparticles perturbed genes encoding for CoA‐ester metabolism, which were mainly activated. The altered expression resulted in changes in the availability of intracellular CoA‐esters, the building blocks of pamamycin. Notably, the ratio between methylmalonyl CoA and malonyl‐CoA was increased fourfold. Both metabolites compete for incorporation into pamamycin so that the altered availability explained the pronounced preference for larger derivatives in the microparticle‐enhanced process. The novel insights into the behavior of S. albus in response to talc appears of general relevance to further explore and upgrade the concept of microparticle enhanced cultivation, widely used for filamentous microbes.
Predictors of Quitting Smoking in Cardiac Rehabilitation

Quitting smoking and participation in cardiac rehabilitation (CR) are effective strategies in reducing morbidity and mortality. However, little is known about the predictors of quitting smoking in those who attend CR. This study aimed to determine the sociodemographic and clinical factors associated with the likelihood of CR attendees who are quitting smoking. Data from the UK National Audit of Cardiac Rehabilitation (NACR) database, between April 2013 and March 2016, were used. Smoking status is categorized as smokers and quitters, assessed by patient self-report. The study used patient demographics, cardiovascular risk factors, comorbidities, and physical and psychosocial health measures. Binary logistic regression was performed to identify the predictors of quitting smoking among CR attendees. Of the 3290 patients who started CR and were entered into the NACR database, 2052 were continued smokers (mean age 58.59 ± 10.49 years, 73.6% men) and 1238 were quitters (mean age 57.63 ± 10.36 years, 75.8% men). The median duration of CR was 9 weeks. Compared to smokers, the quitters were younger, weighed more, were less anxious and depressed, and were more likely to be employed. Single patients had 0.60 times lower odds (95% CI 0.43 to 0.82) of quitting smoking than patients with partners, and low-risk patients had 1.71 times higher odds (95% CI 1.12 to 2.62) of quitting smoking than high-risk patients. Increasing number of comorbidities and depression scores were associated with decreasing likelihood of quitting. This study highlights the routine factors that determine smoking cessation outcomes, which could inform the delivery of CR to better help patients to quit smoking.
Tread softly: Counselling psychology and neuroscience

Advances in the fields of neurobiology, cognitive neuroscience and behaviour genetics pose a significant philosophical and epistemological challenge to the models of mind and psychotherapeutic practice advocated by counselling psychology. Drawing on contemporary work within psychoanalysis, however, I argue that a marriage of neuroscientific and psychotherapeutic research is not only possible but necessary. This paper discusses current research in the fields of memory, mental state understanding and behavioural genetics and examines some of the inherent methodological and conceptual problems facing interdisciplinary research within counselling psychology. The paper concludes with a brief discussion about the ways in which counselling psychology may be well-placed to contribute to a psychotherapeutically-informed neuroscience.
Extracts of macroalgae from the Brazilian coast inhibit bacterial quorum sensing

Abstract The ability of polar (1:1 water/methanol) and non-polar (dichloromethane) extracts of macroalgae from Arraial do Cabo, RJ, Brazil, to inhibit quorum sensing (QS) was investigated. Before extraction, half of the algae were treated with 30% ethanol to kill and remove surface-associated bacteria. Twenty of 22 polar extracts inhibited the QS of the acyl homoserine lactone (AHL) producer and reporter Chromobacterium violaceum CV017 with minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) ranging from 0.28 μg ml-1 (Ulva fasciata) to 189 μg ml-1 (Codium sp.). The MIC of non-polar extracts varied from 69 μg ml-1 (Sargassum furcatum) to 2730 μg ml-1 (Peyssonnelia capensis). Usually, extracts from algae with associated bacteria had a higher bioactivity than ones without them. Among 11 algal species tested, 50% of extracts with associated bacteria were toxic to C. violaceum CV026. None of the extracts contained AHLs, which was shown using reporters C. violaceum CV026 and Agrobacterium tumefaciens NTL4 (pZLR4). Polar (11%) and non-polar extracts (2%) inhibited QS-dependent attachment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PA01 at tissue-level concentrations. Our data suggest that secondary metabolites from algae and their associated microbiota are an important source of QS inhibitors, which potentially can be used in future biotechnological applications.