Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nurses’ Perspectives on the Dismissal of Vaccine-Refusing Families From Pediatric and Family Care Practices

Purpose: Dismissal of families who refuse mandated childhood vaccines from pediatric practices has become more common among US pediatricians over the past 2 decades. While nurses (registered nurses [RNs] and advanced practice registered nurses [APRNs]) often are the first health-care professional to encounter parents’ vaccine hesitancy and serve as a primary source of information, there are no published data on nurses’ perspectives on dismissal as a response to vaccine refusal. This study examined nurses’ perspectives on dismissal of vaccine-refusing families from primary care practices. Design: Cross-sectional survey administered electronically from February to September 2018. Data analysis was conducted from November 2018 to March 2019. Setting: Data were collected electronically from a national sample of nurses. Subjects: A convenience sample of 488 primary care nurses (74% APRNs) was recruited and enrolled in the study through collaboration with 4 professional nursing associations. Measure and Analysis: A cross-sectional survey was conducted from February to September 2018. We explored correlates of nurses’ (n = 488) attitudes toward dismissal by modeling attitude scores as a function of practice and respondent characteristics. We also modeled odds of encountering vaccine refusal and odds of reporting dismissal of a vaccine-refusing family in the last 12 months, each as a function of respondents’ practice characteristics. Results: Eighty-four percent of respondents encountered vaccine refusal in the previous 12 months, and 22% reported that their practice had dismissed a vaccine-refusing family within the previous 12 months. Twenty-eight percent agreed/strongly agreed that they would dismiss or support a decision to dismiss families who refuse all vaccines, and 12% supported dismissal of families for refusal of some but not all vaccines. Thirty-nine percent of respondents disagreed/strongly disagreed with dismissing families who refuse all vaccines, and 50% disagreed/strongly disagreed with dismissal for refusal of some but not all. Conclusion: Almost all nurses working in primary care encounter vaccine refusal, and most consider all Centers for Disease Control and Prevention–recommended childhood vaccines to be important to public health. There is significant polarization of nurses’ attitudes toward the appropriateness of dismissal as a response to vaccine refusal. We recommend the development of professional nursing guidelines for responding to vaccine refusal. However, because there are no data on the community health impact of dismissal policies, we recommend further research on outcomes of dismissal policies to inform such guidelines.
The Clinical Characteristics of Unilateral Placoid Pigment Epitheliopathies

ABSTRACT Purpose: Placoid-pigment-epitheliopathies like Acute-Posterior-Multifocal-Placoid-Pigment Epitheliopathy (APMPPE) and Relentless-Placoid-Choroidopathy (RPC) usually show bilateral involvement. This retrospective case series describes the clinical features with unilateral disease onset. Methods: 21 patients from 9 tertiary referring institutions were collected and evaluated. Results: Seventeen patients were included: 11 (65%) had unilateral placoid-pigment-epitheliopathy consistent with APMPPE, 6 (35%) with RPC (mean age: 28.82 ± 9.1 years). Mean follow-up time was 45 ± 48 months. Forty-one percent fellow-eyes had initial inflammatory signs including vitreous-cells, vascular-sheathing, and ONH swelling. Thirty-five percent developed chorioretinal lesions during follow-up after 19.5 ± 16.9 months. Initial inflammation in fellow-eye was not associated with fellow-eye involvement (p = .5). However, subfoveal choroidal-thickness (SCT) at baseline was significantly thicker in fellow-eyes who developed chorioretinal lesion compared to fellow-eyes who did not (400 ± 70 µm versus 283 ± 127 µm,p = .047). Conclusion: Unaffected fellow-eyes may have inflammatory signs at initial disease-onset and may develop lesions over time. They should be carefully monitored, particularly if they present with an increased SCT.
The effect of sleep restriction, with or without high‐intensity interval exercise, on myofibrillar protein synthesis in healthy young men

Sleep restriction has previously been associated with the loss of muscle mass in both human and animal models. The rate of myofibrillar protein synthesis (MyoPS) is a key variable in regulating skeletal muscle mass and can be increased by performing high‐intensity interval exercise (HIIE), although the effect of sleep restriction on MyoPS is unknown. In the present study, we demonstrate that participants undergoing a sleep restriction protocol (five nights, with 4 h in bed each night) had lower rates of skeletal muscle MyoPS; however, rates of MyoPS were maintained at control levels by performing HIIE during this period. Our data suggest that the lower rates of MyoPS in the sleep restriction group may contribute to the detrimental effects of sleep loss on muscle mass and that HIIE may be used as an intervention to counteract these effects.
Future Time Perspective and Affect in Daily Life Across Adulthood and Old Age: Findings From Two Micro-Longitudinal Studies.

OBJECTIVE Future time perspective (FTP) refers to individuals' perceptions of the future as either open-ended or limited. Despite well-documented individual differences in FTP across the adult lifespan, little is known about short-term variations of FTP within individuals and the within-person associations between FTP and affective experiences. METHOD Study 1 used data from a daily diary study over 10 days (N = 564) with a wide age range across the adult lifespan (M = 48.30). Study 2 used data from an ambulatory assessment study over 10 days (N = 136) obtained from healthy older adults (M = 70.45). RESULTS Findings suggest that 10% to 20% of the total variance in FTP was within-person, and 29% to 62% of the total variance in affect was within-person. Multilevel modeling showed that occasions with a more open-ended FTP were occasions with more positive affect, energetic arousal, calmness, and positive valence, and less negative affect. Age moderated the within-person associations between FTP and positive and negative affect as well as energetic arousal, with weaker associations for older adults. CONCLUSIONS This research demonstrates the importance of looking at both within-person and between-person differences with respect to the associations between FTP and affective experiences in daily life.
The Influence of Family and Friend Confidants on Marital Quality in Older Couples.

OBJECTIVES Relationships with confidants play an important role in older adults' health and well-being. Particularly, family and friend confidants could significantly support or interfere with older adults' marital relationships. This study used a dyadic approach to examine the influence of the structural features of both spouses' family and friend confidant networks on older couples' marital quality over five years. METHODS Analyses used dyadic data from Wave 2 (2010-2011) and Wave 3 (2015-2016) interviews of the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP), a nationally representative sample of community-dwelling older adults. Longitudinal actor-partner interdependence models were used to examine the influence of spouses' family and friend confidant networks on couples' marital quality. RESULTS Having a larger friend confidant network or closer connections with friend confidants predicted greater marital quality for wives and husbands five years later. Larger family confidant networks of both spouses predicted greater marital quality for wives over time. However, husbands reported worse marital quality over time if wives reported having closer connections with their own family confidants at baseline. DISCUSSION This study demonstrates the importance of family and friend confidant networks for older couples' marital quality and highlights the benefits of having a larger or closer friend confidant network. Future research should examine mechanisms that account for the effects of spouses' family and friend confidant networks on older couples' marital quality.
Lumenal calcification and microvasculopathy in fetuin-A-deficient mice lead to multiple organ morbidity

The plasma protein fetuin-A mediates the formation of protein-mineral colloids known as calciprotein particles (CPP)–rapid clearance of these CPP by the reticuloendothelial system prevents errant mineral precipitation and therefore pathological mineralization (calcification). The mutant mouse strain D2,Ahsg-/- combines fetuin-A deficiency with the calcification-prone DBA/2 genetic background, having a particularly severe compound phenotype of microvascular and soft tissue calcification. Here we studied mechanisms leading to soft tissue calcification, organ damage and death in these mice. We analyzed mice longitudinally by echocardiography, X-ray-computed tomography, analytical electron microscopy, histology, mass spectrometry proteomics, and genome-wide microarray-based expression analyses of D2 wildtype and Ahsg-/- mice. Fetuin-A-deficient mice had calcified lesions in myocardium, lung, brown adipose tissue, reproductive organs, spleen, pancreas, kidney and the skin, associated with reduced growth, cardiac output and premature death. Importantly, early-stage calcified lesions presented in the lumen of the microvasculature suggesting precipitation of mineral containing complexes from the fluid phase of blood. Genome-wide expression analysis of calcified lesions and surrounding (not calcified) tissue, together with morphological observations, indicated that the calcification was not associated with osteochondrogenic cell differentiation, but rather with thrombosis and fibrosis. Collectively, these results demonstrate that soft tissue calcification can start by intravascular mineral deposition causing microvasculopathy, which impacts on growth, organ function and survival. Our study underscores the importance of fetuin-A and related systemic regulators of calcified matrix metabolism to prevent cardiovascular disease, especially in dysregulated mineral homeostasis.
Social learning of acoustic anti-predator cues occurs between wild bird species

In many species, individuals gather information about their environment both through direct experience and through information obtained from others. Social learning, or the acquisition of information from others, can occur both within and between species and may facilitate the rapid spread of antipredator behaviour. Within birds, acoustic signals are frequently used to alert others to the presence of predators, and individuals can quickly learn to associate novel acoustic cues with predation risk. However, few studies have addressed whether such learning occurs only though direct experience or whether it has a social component, nor whether such learning can occur between species. We investigate these questions in two sympatric species of Parids: blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) and great tits (Parus major). Using playbacks of unfamiliar bird vocalizations paired with a predator model in a controlled aviary setting, we find that blue tits can learn to associate a novel sound with predation risk via direct experience, and that antipredator response to the sound can be socially transmitted to heterospecific observers, despite lack of first-hand experience. Our results suggest that social learning of acoustic cues can occur between species. Such interspecific social information transmission may help to mediate the formation of mixed-species aggregations.
Genomics-Enabled Analysis of Puroindoline b2 Genes Identifies New Alleles in Wheat and Related Triticeae Species

Kernel hardness is a key trait of wheat seeds, largely controlled by two tightly linked genes Puroindoline a and b (Pina and Pinb). Genes homologous to Pinb, namely Pinb2, have been studied. Whether these genes contribute to kernel hardness and other important seed traits remains inconclusive. Using the high-quality bread wheat reference genome, we show that PINB2 are encoded by three homoeologous loci Pinb2 not syntenic to the Hardness locus, with Pinb2-7A locus containing three tandem copies. PINB2 proteins have several features conserved for the Pin/Pinb2 phylogenetic cluster but lack a structural basis of significant impact on kernel hardness. Pinb2 are seed-specifically expressed with varied expression levels between the homoeologous copies and among wheat varieties. Using the high-quality genome information, we developed new Pinb2 allele specific markers and demonstrated their usefulness by 1) identifying new Pinb2 alleles in Triticeae species; and 2) performing an association analysis of Pinb2 with kernel hardness. The association result suggests that Pinb2 genes may have no substantial contribution to kernel hardness. Our results provide new insights into Pinb2 evolution and expression and the new allele-specific markers are useful to further explore Pinb2’s contribution to seed traits in wheat.
Loss of a conserved MAPK causes catastrophic failure in assembly of a specialized cilium-like structure in Toxoplasma gondii

Primary cilia are important organizing centers that control diverse cellular processes. Apicomplexan parasites like Toxoplasma gondii have a specialized cilium-like structure called the conoid that organizes the secretory and invasion machinery critical for the parasites’ lifestyle. The proteins that initiate the biogenesis of this structure are largely unknown. We identified the Toxoplasma ortholog of the conserved kinase ERK7 as essential to conoid assembly. Parasites in which ERK7 has been depleted lose their conoids late during maturation and are immotile and thus unable to invade new host cells. This is the most severe phenotype to conoid biogenesis yet reported, and is made more striking by the fact that ERK7 is not a conoid protein, as it localizes just basal to the structure. ERK7 has been recently implicated in ciliogenesis in metazoan cells, and our data suggest that this kinase has an ancient and central role in regulating ciliogenesis throughout Eukaryota.
Factors Related to Depressive Symptoms Among Multicultural Adolescents in Korea

This study aimed to compare related factors of depressive symptoms among multicultural adolescents in South Korea. Cross-sectional data were collected from 1,325 students studying in ninth grade (mean age: 14.97 ± 0.36 years) who had one Korean parent and one foreign-born parent. The score of depressive symptoms among girls (1.777 ± 0.550) was higher than boys (1.647 ± 0.512). The regression model—including demographic, psychological, and social factors—explained 38.3% of depressive symptoms among boys and 27.9% among girls. Body image satisfaction was the most powerful factor related to depressive symptoms in both boys and girls. Gender-differentiated factors identified in this study such as demographic, psychological, and social factors need to be studied while planning gender-tailored intervention programs to help relieve depressive symptoms among multicultural adolescents.
Early characteristics of bone deficits in children with Fontan palliation

Abstract Background: This is a cross-sectional study aiming to understand the early characteristics and background of bone health impairment in clinically well children with Fontan circulation. Methods: We enrolled 10 clinically well children with Fontan palliation (operated >5 years before study entrance, Tanner stage ≤3, age 12.1 ± 1.77 years, 7 males) and 11 healthy controls (age 12.0 ± 1.45 years, 9 males) at two children’s hospitals. All patients underwent peripheral quantitative CT. For the Fontan group, we obtained clinical characteristics, NYHA class, cardiac index by MRI, dual x-ray absorptiometry, and biochemical studies. Linear regression was used to compare radius and tibia peripheral quantitative CT measures between Fontan patients and controls. Results: All Fontan patients were clinically well (NYHA class 1 or 2, cardiac index 4.85 ± 1.51 L/min/m2) and without significant comorbidities. Adjusted trabecular bone mineral density, cortical thickness, and bone strength index at the radius were significantly decreased in Fontan patients compared to controls with mean differences −30.13 mg/cm3 (p = 0.041), −0.31 mm (p = 0.043), and −6.65 mg2/mm4 (p = 0.036), respectively. No differences were found for tibial measures. In Fontan patients, the mean height-adjusted lumbar bone mineral density and total body less head z scores were −0.46 ± 1.1 and −0.63 ± 1.1, respectively, which are below the average, but within normal range for age and sex. Conclusions: In a clinically well Fontan cohort, we found significant bone deficits by peripheral quantitative CT in the radius but not the tibia, suggesting non-weight-bearing bones may be more vulnerable to the unique haemodynamics of the Fontan circulation.
Evaluation of Liver Iron Content by Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Children with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia after Cessation of Treatment

Objective: There are a limited number of studies evaluating iron overload in childhood leukemia by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The aim of this study was to determine liver iron content (LIC) by MRI in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) who had completed treatment and to compare those values with serum iron parameters. Materials and Methods: A total of 30 patients between the ages of 7 and 18 who had completed ALL treatment were included in the study. Serum iron parameters (serum iron, serum ferritin [SF], and total iron-binding capacity) and liver function tests were studied. R2 MRI was performed for determining LIC. Results: Normal LIC was detected in 22 (63.4%) of the cases. Seven (23.3%) had mild and 1 (3.3%) had moderate liver iron deposition. In contrast, severe iron overload was not detected in any of the cases. LIC levels were correlated with the numbers of packed red blood cell (pRBC) transfusions (r=0.637, p<0.001), pRBC transfusion volume (r=0.449, p<0.013), SF levels (r=0.561, p=0.001), and transferrin saturation (r=0.353, p=0.044). In addition, a positive correlation was found between the number of pRBC transfusions and SF levels (r=0.595, p<0.001). Conclusion: We showed that the frequency of liver iron deposition was low and clinically less significant after the end of treatment in childhood ALL patients. LIC was demonstrated to be related to SF and transfusion history. These findings support that SF and transfusion history may be used as references for monitoring iron accumulation or identifying cases for further examinations such as MRI.
The prevalence and prognostic significance of interatrial block in the general population

Abstract Introduction: Partial and advanced interatrial block (IAB) in the electrocardiographic (ECG) represents inter-atrial conduction delay. IAB is associated with atrial fibrillation (AF) and stroke in the general population. Material and methods: A representative sample of Finnish subjects (n = 6354) aged over 30 years (mean: 52.2 years, standard deviation: 14.6) underwent a health examination including a 12-lead ECG. Five different IAB groups based on automatic measurements were compared to normal P waves using multivariate-adjusted Cox proportional hazard model. Follow-up lasted up to 15 years. Results: The prevalence of advanced and partial IAB was 1.0% and 9.7%, respectively. In the multivariate model, both advanced (hazard ratio (HR): 1.63 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.00−2.65)) and partial IAB (HR: 1.39 (1.09−1.77)) were associated with increased risk of AF. Advanced IAB was associated with increased risk of stroke or transient ischaemic attack (TIA) independently of associated AF (HR: 2.22 (1.20−4.13)). Partial IAB was also associated with increased risk of being diagnosed with coronary heart disease (HR: 1.26 (1.01−1.58)). Discussion: IAB is a rather frequent finding in the general population. IAB is a risk factor for AF and is associated with an increased risk of stroke or TIA independently of associated AF. Key messages Both partial and advanced interatrial block are associated with increased risk of atrial fibrillation in the general population. Advanced interatrial block is an independent risk factor for stroke and transient ischaemic attack. The clinical significance of interatrial block is dependent on the subtype classification.
Competitiveness and symbiotic efficiency in alfalfa of Rhizobium favelukesii ORY1 strain in which homologous genes of peptidases HrrP and SapA that negatively affect symbiosis were identified

In acid soils, Rhizobium favelukesii strains, known as Oregon-like strains, are a potential risk for alfalfa production given their parasitic behaviour. In this study, we isolated five parasitic strains (ORY1 to ORY5) from alfalfa nodules grown in Uruguayan acid soils, with a 99.7% and a 100% 16S rRNA gene sequence identity to R. favelukesii type strain of LUP83. The BOX profiles of the five isolates showed two different patterns, suggesting some diversity among these acid-tolerant isolates. The genome sequence analysis of R. favelukesii strains ORY1, LPU83, and Or191 showed that they have around 87.5% of common coding genes, including the symbiotic genes. Moreover, the phylogenetic analysis of ORY1 symbiotic genes nifH, nifD, nifK, nodA, nodB, and nodD were related to the symbiotic genes of E. meliloti. We teste ORY1 competitiveness by inoculating seeds with 99:1 and 1:99 ratios of ORY1::gusA/E. meliloti U143. In both treatments, ORY1::gusA occupied more than 50% of nodules, evidencing its high competitiveness. However, the aerial biomass in these treatments was remarkably different, suggesting that the nodules induced by the efficient strain are essential to provide enough N for optimal plant growth. These findings support the needing of inoculating in areas where inefficient strains are likely to be present. Finally, we found three genes that encode amino acid sequences for domains of M16 peptidases (with homology to bacterial hrrP and sapA genes), two of them were contiguous and located in an accessory plasmid, whereas the other one was a chromosomal gene. These genes are likely to be involved in the parasitic behaviour of ORY1 strain.
Exosomes isolated from the plasma of remote ischemic conditioning rats improved cardiac function and angiogenesis after myocardial infarction through targeting Hsp70

Remote ischemic conditioning (RIC) is a promising therapeutic strategy to protect heart against ischemic-reperfusion injury. Exosomes have been proved to be an important regulator in many pathological processes. Whether the exosomes derived from RIC could improve cardiac remodeling and function after myocardial infarction (MI) has not been reported. MI animal model was established by ligating the left coronary artery. The bilateral hindlimbs of rats were subjected to RIC treatment using tourniquets. Exosomes were isolated from the plasma of RIC rats and identified by transmission electron microscope. The proliferation, migration, and apoptosis of endothelial cells were measured by CCK8, traswell, and flow cytometry. Western blotting, and qRT-PCR were applied to measure the expression of angiogenesis-related molecules, and immunohistochemistry staining was used to observe the expression of vWF. RIC and RIC exosomes remarkably facilitated cardiac function, cardiac cell remodeling, and angiogenesis. RIC exosomes markedly increased the cell ratio in the G1 phase, cell migration, cell proliferation, tube formation, and inhibited cell apoptosis through Hsp70. The expression of eNOS, iNOS, HIF-1α, Ang-1, and VEGF was markedly increased by RIC exosomes. RIC exosomes significantly improved cardiac function, cardiac remodeling, and angiogenesis after MI, and they accelerated angiogenesis through increasing the levels of angiogenesis-related molecules.