Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
REHABILITATION WITH INTENSIVE ATTENTION TRAINING EARLY AFTER ACQUIRED BRAIN INJURY PROMOTES BETTER LONG-TERM STATUS ON HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE, DAILY ACTIVITIES, WORK ABILITY AND RETURN TO WORK

Objective To describe long-term effects on activity, participation, and quality of life (i) at different post-injury starting time points of attention training and (ii) of two different types of rehabilitation with attention training in patients after stroke or traumatic brain injury; and to describe their functioning level. Design 2 years after rehabilitation intervention, comparisons were made in one cohort receiving attention training subacute (< 4 months) or post-acute (4–12 months) and in one cohort with two different training methods, a process-based and an activity-based method respectively. Patients 100 patients were recruited from our earlier RCT study. They had mild to moderate stroke or traumatic brain injury with relatively limited symptomatology, and all had moderate to severe attention impairment. Methods A questionnaire-based interview: EuroQol 5 dimensions, Occupational Gaps Questionnaire, Work Ability Index, self-assessed work status, self-reported employment conditions, sick leave, and experienced cognitive limitations in work performance. Results An advantage for patients receiving subacute attention training regarding daily activities, work ability and returning to work. Conclusion The results indicate that subacute rehabilitation with attention training (< 4 months) is preferable compared to post-acute intervention (4–12 months). There were only minor differences between the training methods. LAY ABSTRACT Previously, in the context of interdisciplinary rehabilitation, we have subjected patients with stroke or traumatic brain injury to additional intensive rehabilitation of attention using two different training methods, a process-based and an activity-based method. The specific attention training commenced either during the first four months after injury or between four and 12 months after injury. In the current study, we report data collected by a telephone interview two years later regarding quality of life and possible limitations in activities of daily life and work. The results show an advantage for patients receiving early rehabilitation regarding daily activities, capacity for work and return to work. Further, there were some minor advantages for patients in the early group, receiving process-based training. Still, the two methods had no significant outcome differences after two years. Thus, the importance of early rehabilitation needs to be considered in organizing rehabilitation services.
Enhanced Risky Choice in Male Rats Elicited by the Acute Pharmacological Stressor Yohimbine Involves Prefrontal Dopamine D1 Receptor Activation

Abstract Background Acute stress alters risk-based decision-making; however, the underlying neural and neurochemical substrates are underexplored. Given their well-documented stress-inducing effects in humans and laboratory animals, glucocorticoids such as cortisol and corticosterone and the α2-adrenoceptor antagonist yohimbine represent potent pharmacological tools to mimic some characteristics of acute stress. Methods Here, we analyzed the effects of the pharmacological stressors corticosterone and yohimbine given systemically on risk-based decision-making in male rats. Moreover, we investigated whether pharmacological stressor effects on risk-based decision-making involve dopamine D1 receptor stimulation in the dorsal prelimbic cortex (PL). We used a risk discounting task that requires choosing between a certain/small reward lever that always delivered 1 pellet and a risky/large reward lever that delivered 4 pellets with a decreasing probability across subsequent trials. Results Systemic administration of yohimbine increased the preference for the risky/large reward lever. By contrast, systemic single administration of corticosterone did not significantly promote risky choice. Moreover, co-administration of corticosterone did not enhance the effects of yohimbine on risky choice. The data further show that the increased preference for the risky/large reward lever under systemic yohimbine was lowered by a concurrent pharmacological blockade of dopamine D1 receptors in the PL. Conclusions Our rodent data provide causal evidence that stimulation of PL D1 receptors may represent a neurochemical mechanism by which the acute pharmacological stressor yohimbine, and possibly nonpharmacological stressors as well, promote risky choice.
Different colours of shadows: classification of UAV images

ABSTRACT Due to their low light conditions, shadows reduce the accuracy of feature extraction and change detection in remote-sensing images. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are capable of acquiring images that have a resolution of several centimetres and removing shadows is a challenge. In this study, the Maximum Likelihood (ML) and Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifiers were used to classify a UAV image acquired using a red–green–blue (RGB) camera over the Old Woman Creek National Estuarine Research Reserve in Ohio, USA. The impact of shadows on the classification process was explored for different pixel sizes ranging from 0.03 to 1.00 m. The SVM generated higher overall accuracy (OA) at finer spatial resolution (0.25–0.50 m), while the optimal spatial resolution for the ML classifier was 1.00 m. The percentage of shadow coverage increased with spatial resolution for both classifiers (1.71% for ML and 6.63% for SVM). Shadows were detected and extracted using two approaches: (a) as a separate class using regions of interests (ROIs) observed in the image, and (b) by applying a segmentation threshold of 0.3 to visible atmospherically resistant index (VARI). The extracted shadows were separately classified using ROIs selected from shaded surfaces, and then removed using the fusion of RGB reflectance, VARI, and digital surface model (DSM) images. The OA of classified shadows reached 91.50%. OAs of merged sunlit and shadow classified images improved for 18.48% for SVM, and 17.62% for the ML classifier. VARI accurately captures shadows, and when fused with RGB reflectance and DSM, it intensifies their low signal and enhances classification. Whether used to capture or to remove shadows, VARI serves as an effective ‘shadow index’. Shadows create obstacles to remote-sensing processing; however, their spectral information should not be neglected as both shadows and sunlit areas are important for ecological processes such as photosynthesis, carbon balance, evapotranspiration, fish abundance, and more.
Primer registro de Didelphis albiventris Lund, 1841 (Didelphiomorphia: Didelphidae) como hospedador para adultos y ninfas de Amblyomma ovale Koch,1844 (Acari: Ixodidae) en Argentina

Fil: Di Benedetto, Ingrid Maria Desiree. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Cs.exactas Naturales y Agrimensura. Departamento de Biologia. Laboratorio Biologia de Los Parasitos; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnologico Santa Fe; Argentina
Humoral immune escape by current SARS-CoV-2 variants BA.2.86 and JN.1, December 2023

Variant BA.2. 86 and its descendant, JN.1, of SARS-CoV-2 are rising in incidence across Europe and globally. We isolated recent JN.1, BA.2. 86, EG.5, XBB.1. 5 and earlier variants. We tested live virus neutralisation of sera taken in September 2023 from vaccinated and exposed healthy persons (n = 39). We found clear neutralisation escape against recent variants but no specific pronounced escape for BA.2. 86 or JN.1. Neutralisation escape corresponds to recent variant predominance but may not be causative of the recent upsurge in JN.1 incidence.
Direction of Causality Between Financial Development and Economic Growth. Evidence for Developing Countries

Abstract The results of extensive studies that analyzed the existence and meaning of correlations between the economic growth and the financial market development lead us to a more thorough study of these correlations. Therefore, we performed a broad study of the developing countries from around the world (the developing part of each region constructed by the World Bank through its Statistics Bureau). The regions taken into analysis were: Europe and Central Asia, South Asia, East Asia and the Pacific, the Arab world, Latin America & and the Caribbean, the Middle East and North Africa, and Sub-Saharan Africa. For comparison purposes, we have also included in the sample the North American countries, the Euro Area and the European Union as a whole, because these last three areas are the main benchmarks of the financial markets. The results are consistent with those from previous studies on the subject and vary depending on region and financial indicator considered.
Mycoplasma pneumoniae epidemic in Denmark, October to December, 2023

We report a surge of patients, especially children and adolescents, with respiratory disease caused by Mycoplasma pneumoniae in Denmark since October 2023. While the surge has reached an epidemic level, no impact on hospital capacity has been observed; only 14% (446/3,195) of cases, primarily adults, required hospitalisation. Macrolide resistance was detected in less than 2% of samples tested. Timely monitoring of hospitalisations linked to M. pneumoniae infections has been established to inform the healthcare system, decisionmakers and the public.
CANADA GOOSE BROOD BEHAVIOR AND SURVIVAL ESTIMATES AT CREX MEADOWS, WISCONSIN

Many studies have reported on the biology of Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) broods in a variety of geographical locations and habitat types. Different methods based on observations of both marked and unmarked broods, however, have yielded a wide range of results concerning brood loss, brood mixing and gosling survival. This paper reports on a study of Canada Goose broods in a managed, reestablished flock. The objectives were to describe certain aspects of the behavior and survival in individually identified broods, to examine some potential biases inherent in goose brood studies and to compare the results with data collected in other studies.
Association of metformin with cardiovascular and graft outcomes in kidney transplant recipients with posttransplantation diabetes mellitus.

Background Posttransplantation diabetes mellitus (PTDM) is a crucial problem after kidney transplantation. We aimed to determine whether metformin affects cardiovascular and graft outcomes in patients with PTDM. Methods This retrospective cohort study included 1,663 kidney transplant recipients without preexisting diabetes mellitus. The patients were divided into metformin and non-metformin groups, with matched propensity scores. We also estimated metformin's effect on percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs), acute rejection, and graft failure. Results Of 634 recipients with PTDM, 406 recipients were treated with metformin. The incidence of PCI was 2.4% and 7.1% in the metformin and non-metformin groups, respectively (p = 0.04). The metformin group exhibited a lower risk of PCI in Cox regression analyses (hazard ratio [HR], 0.27; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.10-0.77; p = 0.014), especially in subgroups with male sex, age over 49 years (median), long-term metformin use (mean of ≥1,729 days), and simultaneous tacrolimus administration. Long-term metformin use was also associated with lower incidence of MACEs (HR, 0.09; 95% CI, 0.01-0.67; p = 0.02). Incidence of graft failure was 9.9% and 17.0% in the metformin and non-metformin groups, respectively (p = 0.046). Both long-term use and higher dose of metformin, as well as tacrolimus administration with metformin, were associated with a lower risk of graft failure (HR, 0.29; 95% CI, 0.11-0.75; p = 0.01; HR, 0.39; 95% CI, 0.18-0.85; p = 0.02; and HR, 0.39; 95% CI, 0.19-0.79; p = 0.009, respectively). Conclusion Metformin use is associated with a decreased risk of developing coronary artery disease and better graft outcomes in PTDM.
Effect of backpack loading on cervical and sagittal shoulder posture in standing and after dynamic activity in school going children

Background: Adolescent age group as school going children who experience a period of accelerated growth and development of skeletal and soft tissue. Any daily physical stresses external forces such as load carrying may also influence alignment of the human body. It is assumed that daily intermittent abnormal postural adaptations could result in pain and disability. Objectives: To know the effect of backpack loading on cervical and sagittal shoulder posture (SSP) in standing and after dynamic activity in school going children. Materials and Methods: The research project was conducted after getting clearance from Human Research Ethics Committee of the H M Patel Institution for Education and research center. Study was conducted on 160 school going children, and measurement were taken to know the loading over the cervical region along with their bagpacks were weighed. Results: Total 160 students were enrolled in the present study. Study found that average value of the subject's body weight was 34.83 kg, and subjects backpack weight was 6.42 kg that was equivalent to 18% of the subject's body weight. The mean value of cranio-vertebral angle (CVA) without school bag was 40.62. The mean values of cranio-horizontal angle (CHA) while standing with 18% of body weight and after dynamic activities with 18% of body weight were 24.51 ± 10.3 and 28.93 ± 4.34, respectively. The mean value of SSP without school bag was 39.39 ± 4.31, whereas the mean values of SSP while standing with 18% of body weight and after dynamic activities with 18% of body weight were 54.38 ± 21.19 and 77.62 ± 17.50, respectively. Conclusions: Study revealed that there is a significant reduction in the CVA (or increased forward head position), increase in CHA, and SSP were found while carrying a backpack weight 18% of body weight over both shoulders.
Family caregiver experiences and needs across health conditions, relationships, and the lifespan: a Qualitative analysis

ABSTRACT Purpose The purpose of this study was to understand the lived experiences of family caregivers who provide care to individuals across a broad range of ages, caregiving relationships, and health conditions and/or disabilities. Family caregiver research is typically siloed by health condition or by caregiving relationship, leaving gaps in understanding similarities and differences among caregivers. Methods We hosted three virtual focus groups with diverse family caregivers (n = 26) caring for an individual with a long-term disability and/or health condition(s). We conducted a qualitative thematic analysis using an iterative, inductive process. Results Participants primarily expressed shared experiences, despite having unique caregiving situations. We identified themes among a) caregiver experiences: Trying to Do It All, Balancing Complex Emotions, Managing Expectations, and Adjusting to Changes Over Time and b) caregiver needs: Longing for Breaks and Self-Care; Lacking Help, Support and Resources; and Desiring Understanding and Recognition. Conclusions These findings emphasize that many elements of the caregiving experience transcend care recipient age, condition, and relationship and are applicable to clinicians, researchers, and policy makers. The evidence of shared caregiver experiences can guide efficiencies in policy and practice (e.g., pooling of existing resources, expansion of interventions) to meet the needs of a broader population of caregivers.
Effectiveness of Bivalent mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines in Preventing COVID-19–Related Thromboembolic Events Among Medicare Enrollees Aged ≥65 Years and Those with End Stage Renal Disease — United States, September 2022–March 2023

COVID-19 has been associated with an increased risk for thromboembolic events, including ischemic stroke, venous thromboembolism, and myocardial infarction. Studies have reported lower rates of COVID-19-related thromboembolic events among persons who received the COVID-19 vaccine compared with persons who did not, but rigorous estimates of vaccine effectiveness (VE) in preventing COVID-19-related thromboembolic events are lacking. This analysis estimated the incremental benefit of receipt of a bivalent mRNA COVID-19 vaccine after receiving an original monovalent COVID-19 vaccine. To estimate VE of a bivalent mRNA COVID-19 dose in preventing thromboembolic events compared with original monovalent COVID-19 vaccine doses only, two retrospective cohort studies were conducted among Medicare fee-for-service enrollees during September 4, 2022-March 4, 2023. Effectiveness of a bivalent COVID-19 vaccine dose against COVID-19-related thromboembolic events compared with that of original vaccine alone was 47% (95% CI = 45%-49%) among Medicare enrollees aged ≥65 years and 51% (95% CI = 39%-60%) among adults aged ≥18 years with end stage renal disease receiving dialysis. VE was similar among Medicare beneficiaries with immunocompromise: 46% (95% CI = 42%-49%) among adults aged ≥65 years and 45% (95% CI = 24%-60%) among those aged ≥18 years with end stage renal disease. To help prevent complications of COVID-19, including thromboembolic events, adults should stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccination.
Aberrant RBMX expression is relevant for cancer prognosis and immunotherapy response

Cancer accounts for the highest rates of morbidity and mortality worldwide. RNA binding motif protein X-linked (RBMX) is a nuclear RNA-binding protein, associated with certain types of cancer by participating in the integration of sister chromatids and a combination of ribonucleoprotein complexes. However, the specific role of RBMX in cancer immunity remains unknown. This study presents the aberrant expression levels, single-cell distributions, effective prognostic roles, immune cell infiltration associations, and immunotherapy responses of RBMX as a biomarker in various types of cancer. Moreover, it validates the aberrant expression of RBMX in clinical cancer samples. Furthermore, we also evaluated the relationships between RBMX expression and myeloid-derived suppressor cells in clinical samples by immunofluorescent staining. The results showed that knockdown of RBMX can impair the proliferation, migration, and invasion of liver cancer cells. Finally, we indicated that RBMX may play an immunoregulatory role in cancer progression, affecting the therapeutic effects of immune checkpoint inhibitors in patients with cancer.
Exercise Training Decreases Nitrite Concentration in the Heart and Locomotory Muscles of Rats Without Changing the Muscle Nitrate Content

Background Skeletal muscles are postulated to be a potent regulator of systemic nitric oxide homeostasis. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the impact of physical training on the heart and skeletal muscle nitric oxide bioavailability (judged on the basis of intramuscular nitrite and nitrate) in rats. Methods and Results Rats were trained on a treadmill for 8 weeks, performing mainly endurance running sessions with some sprinting runs. Muscle nitrite (NO2 −) and nitrate (NO3 −) concentrations were measured using a high‐performance liquid chromatography–based method, while amino acids, pyruvate, lactate, and reduced and oxidized glutathione were determined using a liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry technique. The content of muscle nitrite reductases (electron transport chain proteins, myoglobin, and xanthine oxidase) was assessed by western immunoblotting. We found that 8 weeks of endurance training decreased basal NO2 − in the locomotory muscles and in the heart, without changes in the basal NO3 −. In the slow‐twitch oxidative soleus muscle, the decrease in NO2 − was already present after the first week of training, and the content of nitrite reductases remained unchanged throughout the entire period of training, except for the electron transport chain protein content, which increased no sooner than after 8 weeks of training. Conclusions Muscle NO2 − level, opposed to NO3 −, decreases in the time course of training. This effect is rapid and already visible in the slow‐oxidative soleus after the first week of training. The underlying mechanisms of training‐induced muscle NO2 − decrease may involve an increase in the oxidative stress, as well as metabolite changes related to an increased muscle anaerobic glycolytic activity contributing to (1) direct chemical reduction of NO2 − or (2) activation of muscle nitrite reductases.
The Effects of Mutation and Recombination Rate Heterogeneity on the Inference of Demography and the Distribution of Fitness Effects

Abstract Disentangling the effects of demography and selection has remained a focal point of population genetic analysis. Knowledge about mutation and recombination is essential in this endeavor; however, despite clear evidence that both mutation and recombination rates vary across genomes, it is common practice to model both rates as fixed. In this study, we quantify how this unaccounted for rate heterogeneity may impact inference using common approaches for inferring selection (DFE-alpha, Grapes, and polyDFE) and/or demography (fastsimcoal2 and δaδi). We demonstrate that, if not properly modeled, this heterogeneity can increase uncertainty in the estimation of demographic and selective parameters and in some scenarios may result in mis-leading inference. These results highlight the importance of quantifying the fundamental evolutionary parameters of mutation and recombination before utilizing population genomic data to quantify the effects of genetic drift (i.e. as modulated by demographic history) and selection; or, at the least, that the effects of uncertainty in these parameters can and should be directly modeled in downstream inference.
Healthcare costs of cancer among children, adolescents, and young adults: A scoping review

Abstract Objective To collate and critically review international evidence on the direct health system costs of children and adolescents and young adults (AYA) with cancer. Methods We conducted searches in PubMed, MEDLINE, CINAHL, and Scopus. Articles were limited to studies involving people aged 0–39 years at cancer diagnosis and published from 2012 to 2022. Two reviewers screened the articles and evaluated the studies using the Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards checklist. The reviewers synthesized the findings using a narrative approach and presented the costs in 2022 US dollars for comparability. Results Overall, the mean healthcare costs for all cancers in the 5 years post diagnosis ranged from US$36,670 among children in Korea to US$127,946 among AYA in the USA. During the first year, the mean costs among children 0–14 years ranged from US$34,953 in Chile to over US$130,000 in Canada. These were higher than the costs for AYA, estimated at US$61,855 in Canada. At the end of life, the mean costs were estimated at over US$300,000 among children and US$235,265 among adolescents in Canada. Leukemia was the most expensive cancer type, estimated at US$50,133 in Chile, to US$152,533 among children in Canada. Overall, more than a third of the total cost is related to hospitalizations. All the included studies were of good quality. Conclusions Healthcare costs associated with cancer are substantial among children, and AYA. More research is needed on the cost of cancer in low‐ and middle‐income countries and harmonization of costs across countries.