Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Impact of continuous glucose monitoring on improving emotional well-being among adult people with type 1 diabetes mellitus: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION Real-time continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) has changed the way people with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and health care providers perceived diabetes management and glucose control. OBJECTIVES The purpose was to compare emotional well-being between adult people with type 1 diabetes who used CGM or conventional self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG). PATIENTS AND METHODS The MEDLINE/PubMed, the Cochrane Library/Embase, CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science, ProQuest databases were searched. Primary outcomes were health-related quality of life, glycemic control and fear of hypoglycemia. The inclusion criteria were: adults, RCTs, CGM, SMBG, survey studies on quality of life, fear of hypoglycemia. RESULTS The meta-analysis was based on 11 studies with a total of 1228 T1DM. HFS worry domain analysis indicated reduction of hypoglycemia fear in CGM user compared with SMBG users: Cohen's d equaled -0.24 (95% CI: -0.41 to -0.07), mean difference: -3.15 (95% Cl: -5.48 to - 0.82). The outcome analysis for the DTSQ brought about Cohen's d at 0.23 (95% CI: -0.18; 0.63). The overall Cohen's d value equaled -0.24 (95% CI: -0.57; 0.09) indicating a lack CGM effect on improving HbA1c, however excluding one study from the calculations made HbA1c reduction significantly higher in CGM users (Cohen's d = -0.33; 95% CI: -0.66 to -0.00; P=0.047). CONCLUSIONS The first quantitative meta-analysis of adults T1DM exclusively that provides further evidence for CGM systems' ability to reduce fear of hypoglycemia and improve quality of life. CGM systems have advantage over SMBG in T1DM adults and improve HbA1c levels.
Marketing of commercial foods for infant and young children in Uruguay: sugary products, health cues on packages and fun social products on Facebook

Abstract Objective: To analyse the content of the marketing of commercial foods for infants and young children on packages and social media. Design: Commercial foods targeted at children, regarded as potential breast-milk substitutes according to the Uruguayan breast-feeding standard, were considered: dairy products; teas, juices and bottled waters; glucose solutions; cereals and mixtures of fruits and vegetables. All the products sold at forty-four retail outlets were purchased. A Facebook search was performed to identify accounts of these products. For each account, all the content posted by the brands between July 2017 and July 2019 was recorded. The visual and textual information included in the packages and Facebook posts was analysed using content analysis. Products were classified using the nutrient profile model of the Pan American Health Organization. Setting: Montevideo, Uruguay. Results: Seventy-six unique commercial foods targeted at infants and young children were identified, 96 % of which were excessive in sugar. Packages frequently included textual and visual elements to convey health-related associations, including images of fruits and vegetables, nutrient content claims and endorsement logos. Ten Facebook accounts were identified, which generated 302 posts. Parents and caregivers were the main target audience of the posts, which mainly included content related to fun and social aspects of food consumption. Additionally, the posts frequently conveyed the idea that products would contribute to children’s growth and development. Conclusions: Results suggest the need to implement comprehensive regulations on the marketing of commercial foods targeted at children, regarded as potential breast-milk substitutes according to the Uruguayan breast-feeding standard.
Characterization of fruit and vegetable wastes as a single substrate for the anaerobic digestion

Fruit and vegetable wastes (FVWs) represent a specific waste produced by all the wholesale markets and by many companies in the food industry. Due to their high perishability their handling and disposal are quite critical to community acceptance. Since they have very high moisture contents, biochemical processes, such as anaerobic digestion, are the most suitable conversion technologies to treat FVWs. To ensure process stability and good conversion efficiencies, it is of fundamental importance to accurately characterize the feedstock properties, especially physical and chemical characteristics like the Total Solid (TS), Volatile Solid (VS), Carbon, Nitrogen, macro, micro and trace elements contents. Moreover, on the basis of such parameters, a decision on whether using FVWs as a single feedstock or as co-substrate in the anaerobic digestion process can be made. Most of the studies on a complete residues' characterization focus on the organic fraction of the municipal solid waste (Hanc et al., 2011), on biomass produced by the forestry, agriculture, municipality and industry sectors (Chiang et al., 2012), or on food waste (Zhang et al., 2007). On the counterpart, to the authors' knowledge, most of the studies on fruit and vegetable wastes focus on their use as a co substrate in the anaerobic digestion process (Garcia-Pena et al., 2011). This work presents a detailed characterization study of the chemical and physical properties of representative varieties of fruits and vegetables' residues produced by the Vegetable Wholesale Market of Sardinia (Mercato Ortofrutticolo della Sardegna Italy). In addition, this study comments the feasibility of using FVWs as a single substrate in anaerobic digestion, on the basis of the existing scholarly literature (Deublein and Steinhauser, 2008) and the results from the present analysis. More over, the study estimates the expected biogas composition from the anaerobic digestion of FVWs.
Does comprehensive cognitive remediation improve emotion perception?

ABSTRACT Background: Social cognition, including emotion perception, is impaired in people with serious mental illnesses (SMI), and is associated with cognitive and community functioning. Cognitive remediation can improve neurocognition, but the impact on emotion perception has been less well studied. The current study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a cognitive remediation programme in improving emotion perception. Methods: Thirty-seven people with SMI and a history of difficulties obtaining employment were randomised to either vocational rehabilitation only, or vocational rehabilitation combined with cognitive remediation. Participants were assessed at baseline and post-treatment on a neurocognitive battery, work history, and emotion perception. Results: The cognitive remediation group did not improve more than the vocational rehabilitation only group on either measure of emotion perception, despite significantly greater gains in cognitive functioning. Baseline emotion identification, but not discrimination, was significantly associated with cognition and work history. Conclusions: Despite associations between social and neurocognition, there was no evident transfer of cognitive gains to performance on measures of emotion perception. The findings, though limited by a small sample size, are important in expanding the research indicating that the effects of cognitive remediation tend to be limited to the specific cognitive domains targeted in the program.
Long experience with a web-based, interactive, conversational virtual patient case simulation for medical students’ evaluation: comparison with oral examination

ABSTRACT Virtual patients (VP) have been advocated as reliable tools for teaching and evaluating clinical skills and competence. We have developed an internet-based, OSCE-like, conversational VP system designed both for training and assessment of medical students. The system, that encompasses complete patient management from H&P to diagnostic procedures and treatment, has now been used regularly during the clerkship of internal medicine. The present article describes the system and compares assessments undertaken with the VP-system over the last five years, to traditional bed-side oral exams. All students practiced on their own exercise VP cases, while preparing for the final exam. A total of 586 students were evaluated simultaneously with both assessment modalities. The αCronbach of the VP exam averaged 0.86. No correlation was found between the grades obtained in the two exams, indicating that the VP exam evaluated different parameters than those assessed by the examiners in the oral examinations. We conclude that a VP system can be utilized as a valid and reliable examination tool. It is also most useful for independent training by students during their ward-based learning, as well as when not studying in classes, wards or clinics, when social distancing is required.
Plasma neurofilament light chain levels and cognitive testing as predictors of fast progression in Alzheimer’s disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by a heterogeneous course. Predicting a fast rather than a slow decline over time is crucial to both provide a reliable prognosis and elaborate stricter enrolment criteria in clinical trials. Here we searched for independent predictors of cognitive decline rate to assess the risk of fast disease progression already at baseline.
Effect of Parboiling on Grain Dimensions of Rice

Parboiling brought about significant changes in the grain dimensions in rice, the extent varying with the type of parboiling. Roasted-parboiled and pressure-parboiled rices had significantly greater length (L), breadth (B), L/B ratio, but lower thickness as compared to raw rice, and to that produced by normal steam-parboiling. Ridges on lateral regions of grain in raw rice seem to smoothen out in case of normal parboiling, but get pronounced in case of other methods.
Brain iron enrichment attenuates α‐synuclein spreading after injection of preformed fibrils

Regional iron accumulation and α‐synuclein (α‐syn) spreading pathology within the central nervous system are common pathological findings in Parkinson's disease (PD). Whereas iron is known to bind to α‐syn, facilitating its aggregation and regulating α‐syn expression, it remains unclear if and how iron also modulates α‐syn spreading. To elucidate the influence of iron on the propagation of α‐syn pathology, we investigated α‐syn spreading after stereotactic injection of α‐syn preformed fibrils (PFFs) into the striatum of mouse brains after neonatal brain iron enrichment. C57Bl/6J mouse pups received oral gavage with 60, 120, or 240 mg/kg carbonyl iron or vehicle between postnatal days 10 and 17. At 12 weeks of age, intrastriatal injections of 5‐µg PFFs were performed to induce seeding of α‐syn aggregates. At 90 days post‐injection, PFFs‐injected mice displayed long‐term memory deficits, without affection of motor behavior. Interestingly, quantification of α‐syn phosphorylated at S129 showed reduced α‐syn pathology and attenuated spreading to connectome‐specific brain regions after brain iron enrichment. Furthermore, PFFs injection caused intrastriatal microglia accumulation, which was alleviated by iron in a dose‐dependent way. In primary cortical neurons in a microfluidic chamber model in vitro, iron application did not alter trans‐synaptic α‐syn propagation, possibly indicating an involvement of non‐neuronal cells in this process. Our study suggests that α‐syn PFFs may induce cognitive deficits in mice independent of iron. However, a redistribution of α‐syn aggregate pathology and reduction of striatal microglia accumulation in the mouse brain may be mediated via iron‐induced alterations of the brain connectome.
The impact of social unrest and pandemic on mental health of young people in Hong Kong: The transdiagnostic role of event-based rumination

Objective: Co-occurring population-level events, such as social unrest and coronavirus disease 2019, are observed in many societies today. Few studies have explored their combined mental health effects on young people. While self-focused rumination has been suggested to be a key mechanism underlying depression, the role of event-based rumination in mediating the impact of population stressors has yet to be elucidated. Methods: Data were collected from 6988 young people in a large-scale community online survey in Hong Kong. The survey assessed symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, direct exposure to social unrest-related traumatic events, coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic-related events, personal stressful life events, event-based rumination and other individual risk factors. Results: High levels of comorbid post-traumatic stress disorder and depressive symptoms were observed. Logistic regression analysis revealed that probable post-traumatic stress disorder was associated with traumatic events (odds ratio = 1.73, 95% confidence interval = [1.64, 1.82]), pandemic-related events (odds ratio = 1.08, confidence interval = [1.01, 1.16]), stressful life events (odds ratio = 1.20, confidence interval = [1.21, 1.37]), high event-based rumination (odds ratio = 3.00, confidence interval = [2.58, 3.48]), lower resilience (odds ratio = 1.18, confidence interval = [1.15, 1.21]), higher smartphone reliance (odds ratio = 1.09, confidence interval = [1.05, 1.13]) and financial concerns (odds ratio = 1.25, confidence interval = [1.18, 1.33]). The odds for probable post-traumatic stress disorder was also significantly higher when two or more traumatic events were experienced (odds ratio = 4.03, confidence interval = [3.52, 4.62]). Factors associated with moderate-to-severe level depressive symptoms were similar. Event-based rumination significantly mediated between different types of external events (traumatic events, pandemic-related events, stressful life events) and both post-traumatic stress disorder and depressive symptoms. Conclusion: These findings suggest that diverse types of stressful events during population-level crises could add to personal stressors to affect mental health outcomes in young people. Among other protective and risk factors, event-based rumination presented as a prominent transdiagnostic mediator for different symptom dimensions which may be a potentially important target for early risk detection and intervention.
Long-term outcomes of psychological treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract Several types of psychological treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are considered well established and effective, but evidence of their long-term efficacy is limited. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to investigate the long-term outcomes across psychological treatments for PTSD. MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, PTSDpubs, PsycINFO, PSYNDEX, and related articles were searched for randomized controlled trials with at least 12 months of follow-up. Twenty-two studies (N = 2638) met inclusion criteria, and 43 comparisons of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) were available at follow-up. Active treatments for PTSD yielded large effect sizes from pretest to follow-up and a small controlled effect size compared with non-directive control groups at follow-up. Trauma-focused treatment (TFT) and non-TFT showed large improvements from pretest to follow-up, and effect sizes did not significantly differ from each other. Active treatments for comorbid depressive symptoms revealed small to medium effect sizes at follow-up, and improved PTSD and depressive symptoms remained stable from treatment end to follow-up. Military personnel, low proportion of female patients, and self-rated PTSD measures were associated with decreased effect sizes for PTSD at follow-up. The findings suggest that CBT for PTSD is efficacious in the long term. Future studies are needed to determine the lasting efficacy of other psychological treatments and to confirm benefits beyond 12-month follow-up.
Enhanced Food Quality: Effects of Composts on the Quality of Plant Foods

The effects of composts prepared from kitchen and yard wastes and farm yard manures were compared to mineral fertilizers on a range of quality parameters of cabbage, carrots, potato and tomato. Parameters evaluated were desirable versus undesirable nutrients in vegetables, storage quality as determined both by storage testing and enzyme assays and sensory quality. As a general trend, composts positively affected food quality, improved storage performance and yielded a somewhat superior sensory quality of tomatoes in particular. Composts significantly reduced nitrates and improved the nitrate to vitamin C ratio of vegetables. Vegetable yields for compost treatments were lower during the first two years but did not differ significantly after the third application.
Structure-activity relationship of antioxidant prenylated (iso)flavonoid-type compounds: quantum chemistry and molecular docking studies

Abstract Prenylated (iso)flavonoid-type compounds are a subclass of natural flavonoids that have been reported to exhibit good antioxidant properties. In the present paper, the structure–activity relationship of three typical prenylated (iso)flavonoids namely 8-prenyldaidzein (Per), Licoflavone (Lic), and erysubin F (Ery) have been determined using DFT (density functional theory)-based calculations and molecular docking studies. As result, the CH bond of the prenyl substituent was found to be the most thermodynamically favorable site for trapping free radicals in the gas phase and lipid physiological environments. While the OH bond of the B-ring seems to be more reactive in water. HAT (hydrogen atom transfer) and SPLET (sequential proton loss electron transfer) play a decisive role in the antiradical activity of the studied compounds in lipid and polar physiological environments, respectively. All of the studied compounds exhibit strong binding affinity to both xanthine oxidase and inducible nitric oxide synthase enzymes by forming several hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions with their respective catalytic sites. These results suggest that (iso)flavonoid-type compounds are promising radical scavengers and antioxidants. Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
Antitumour effects of the essential oil from Mentha x villosa combined with 5-fluorouracil in mice

In the previous study, we demonstrated that the essential oil from the leaves of Mentha x villosa (EOMV) shows antitumour activities. In the present paper, the effects of the combination of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) with the EOMV were determined in mice transplanted with Sarcoma 180 tumour cells. Hematological and biochemical analyses, as well as morphological analyses of the tumour and the organs (liver, spleen and kidney) were performed in order to evaluate the toxicological aspects. The combination of the EOMV (50 and 100 mg/kg/day) with 5-FU (10 mg/kg/day) led to a higher tumour growth inhibition rate (58.9% and 65.7%, respectively) when compared with 5-FU alone at 10 mg/kg/day (30.2%). The combined use of 5-FU (10 mg/kg/day) with the EOMV (50 and 100 mg/kg/day) showed similar tumour growth inhibition rate to that of 5-FU alone at the highest dose (25 mg/kg/day) with less severe leukopenia. However, neither the enzymatic activity of transaminases nor the urea and creatinine levels were modified when compared with the 5-FU groups. These findings indicate that the EOMV may enhance the therapeutic effectiveness of chemotherapeutic drugs. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Acculturation Mitigates the Negative Impact of Perceived Stress on Depressive Symptoms Among U.S. Chinese Older Adults

The present study aimed to examine the role of acculturation in mitigating the negative impact of perceived stress on depressive symptoms among U.S. Chinese older adults. Data of 3,159 Chinese adults over 60 years old were drawn from the Population Study of Chinese Elderly in Chicago (PINE). In addition to socio-demographic variables, participants’ acculturation levels, perceived stress, and depressive symptoms were assessed. Perceived stress was positively related to depressive symptoms among Chinese older adults. However, no significant association was found between acculturation level and depressive symptoms. Regression analysis supported the moderation hypothesis of acculturation level on the relationship between perceived stress on depressive symptoms. The negative impact of perceived stress on depressive symptoms was mitigated for Chinese older adults who had higher levels of acculturation than for those who had lower levels of acculturation. The findings have implications in minority aging and mental health policies during the on-going pandemic era.
Safety and effectiveness of ustekinumab in Crohn's disease: Interim results of post‐marketing surveillance in Japan

Ustekinumab, a human anti‐interleukin‐12/23 monoclonal antibody, has been approved in Japan for the treatment of Crohn's disease. Here, we report the findings from an 8‐week interim analysis of post‐marketing surveillance to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of ustekinumab in Japanese patients with Crohn's disease.
Harm related to recreational ketamine use and its relevance for the clinical use of ketamine. A systematic review and comparison study

ABSTRACT Backgrounds Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic that is currently considered for several new indications. Aim To deduce the safety of long-term ketamine treatment using the harm of heavy recreational (non-medical) ketamine use as a proxy for maximal possible harm of ketamine treatment. Methods Systematic literature review according to PRISMA guidelines to identify controlled studies on ketamine-related harm in heavy recreational ketamine users. Results were compared with serious adverse events (SAEs) in patients treated with ketamine according to three systematic reviews considering dosing regimen and cumulative dose. Results The systematic search yielded 25 studies. Heavy recreational ketamine use can escalate to ketamine dependency and was often dose-dependently associated with other SAEs, including cognitive and mental disorders, and gastrointestinal and urinary tract symptoms, which disappeared upon marked reduction of ketamine use. Heavy ketamine users have a much higher cumulative exposure to ketamine than ketamine treated patients (>90 times), which may explain why SAEs in the clinical context are mostly mild and reversible and why ketamine dependence was not reported in these patients. Conclusion Treatment of patients with ketamine is not associated with ketamine dependency or SAEs. However, caution is needed since data on long-term clinical ketamine use with a long-term follow-up is lacking.
First report of ophidiomycosis in Asia caused by Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola in captive snakes in Japan

Ophidiomycosis is an emerging infectious disease caused by the fungus Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola, which has been affecting wild and captive snakes in North America, Europe, and Australia. We report 12 cases of suspected ophidiomycosis in captive colubrid snakes in Japan. Pathological and microbiological examinations were performed, and the results confirmed the diagnosis of ophidiomycosis in two snakes, which indicated that the remaining sympatrically raised snakes also had ophidiomycosis since they exhibited similar lesions. This is the first report of ophidiomycosis in Asia caused by O. ophiodiicola. To prevent the expansion of ophidiomycosis in the natural environment in Japan, there is a need to evaluate the ophidiomycosis carrier status of imported snakes, the pathogenicity of the infection in native snakes, and the prevalence and distribution of O. ophiodiicola in wild and captive snakes. Measures also must be taken to prevent endemicity globally.