Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Personality characteristics in specialist and generalist intimate partner violence perpetrators

Abstract Intimate partner violence (IPV) is one of the most common types of violence against women. Although personality disorders have been associated with IPV, perpetration research regarding personality according to the classification specialist/generalist IPV perpetrators is scarce. The general aim of this study was to describe personality in a large sample of IPV Spanish male perpetrators considering their classification (specialist vs. generalist). Participants were 1093 men convicted of IPV crimes whose ages ranged from 18 to 76 years old (M = 40.15; SD = 10.32). Of them, 554 men were classified as specialist perpetrators and 539 men were classified as generalist perpetrators. Participants completed questionnaires regarding sociodemographic and violence aspects as well as the Spanish version of the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory III. Generalist perpetrators showed higher means in nearly all the personality disorders scales compared to specialist perpetrators. Prevalence rates in the majority of personality disorders were lower than 5%. Higher scores on the avoidant, histrionic, and self‐defeating scales and lower scores on the aggressive, borderline, and drug dependence scales were related to being a specialist perpetrator. This study contributes to a better understanding of personality among generalist and specialist perpetrators.
The Syntax of Adjectives: A Comparative Study

In The Syntax of Adjectives, Guglielmo Cinque offers cross-linguistic evidence that adjectives have two sources. Arguing against the standard view, and reconsidering his own earlier analysis, Cinque proposes that adjectives enter the nominal phase either as "adverbial" modifiers to the noun or as predicates of reduced relative clauses. Some of his evidence comes from a systematic comparison between Romance and Germanic languages. These two language families differ with respect to the canonical position taken by adjectives, which is prenominal in Germanic and both pre- and postnominal in Romance. Cinque shows that a simple N(oun)-raising analysis encounters a number of problems, the primary one of which is its inability to express a fundamental generalization governing the interpretation of pre- and postnominal adjectives in the two language families. Cinque argues that N-raising as such should be abandoned in favor of XP-raising--a conclusion also supported by evidence from other language families. After developing this framework for analyzing the syntax of adjectives, Cinque applies it to the syntax of English and Italian adjectives. An appendix offers a brief discussion of other languages that appear to distinguish overtly between the two sources of adjectives.
Implementing Technology Literacy Programs in Retirement Homes and Residential Care Facilities: Conceptual Framework

Background The COVID-19 pandemic caused widespread societal disruption, with governmental stay-at-home orders resulting in people connecting more via technology rather than in person. This shift had major impacts on older adult residents staying in retirement homes and residential care facilities, where they may lack the technology literacy needed to stay connected. The enTECH Computer Club from the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada created a knowledge translation toolkit to support organizations interested in starting technology literacy programs (TLPs) by providing guidance and practical tips. Objective This paper aimed to present a framework for implementing TLPs in retirement homes and residential care facilities through expanding on the knowledge translation toolkit and the framework for person-centered care. Methods Major concepts relating to the creation of a TLP in retirement homes and residential care facilities were extracted from the enTECH knowledge translation toolkit. The domains from the framework for person-centered care were modified to fit a TLP context. The concepts identified from the toolkit were sorted into the three framework categories: “structure,” “process,” and “outcome. ” Information from the knowledge translation toolkit were extracted into the three categories and synthesized to form foundational principles and potential actions. Results All 13 domains from the framework for person-centered care were redefined to shift the focus on TLP implementation, with 7 domains under “structure,” 4 domains under “process,” and 2 domains under “outcome. ” Domains in the “structure” category focus on developing an organizational infrastructure to deliver a successful TLP; 10 foundational principles and 25 potential actions were identified for this category. Domains in the “process” category focus on outlining procedures taken by stakeholders involved to ensure a smooth transition from conceptualization into action; 12 foundational principles and 9 potential actions were identified for this category. Domains in the “outcome” category focus on evaluating the TLP to consider making any improvements to better serve the needs of older adults and staff; 6 foundational principles and 6 potential actions were identified for this category. Conclusions Several domains and their foundational principles and potential actions from the TLP framework were found to be consistent with existing literatures that encourage taking active steps to increase technology literacy in older adults. Although there may be some limitations to the components of the framework with the current state of the pandemic, starting TLPs in the community can yield positive outcomes that will be beneficial to both older adult participants and the organization in the long term.
Continuous Glucose Monitoring-Guided Insulin Administration in Hospitalized Patients With Diabetes: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

OBJECTIVE The efficacy and safety of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) in adjusting inpatient insulin therapy have not been evaluated. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS This randomized trial included 185 general medicine and surgery patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes treated with a basal-bolus insulin regimen. All subjects underwent point-of-care (POC) capillary glucose testing before meals and bedtime. Patients in the standard of care (POC group) wore a blinded Dexcom G6 CGM with insulin dose adjusted based on POC results, while in the CGM group, insulin adjustment was based on daily CGM profile. Primary end points were differences in time in range (TIR; 70-180 mg/dL) and hypoglycemia (<70 mg/dL and <54 mg/dL). RESULTS There were no significant differences in TIR (54.51 ± 27.72 vs. 48.64 ± 24.25%; P = 0.14), mean daily glucose (183.2 ± 40 vs. 186.8 ± 39 mg/dL; P = 0.36), or percent of patients with CGM values <70 mg/dL (36 vs. 39%; P = 0.68) or <54 mg/dL (14 vs. 24%; P = 0.12) between the CGM-guided and POC groups. Among patients with one or more hypoglycemic events, compared with POC, the CGM group experienced a significant reduction in hypoglycemia reoccurrence (1.80 ± 1.54 vs. 2.94 ± 2.76 events/patient; P = 0.03), lower percentage of time below range <70 mg/dL (1.89 ± 3.27% vs. 5.47 ± 8.49%; P = 0.02), and lower incidence rate ratio <70 mg/dL (0.53 [95% CI 0.31-0.92]) and <54 mg/dL (0.37 [95% CI 0.17-0.83]). CONCLUSIONS The inpatient use of real-time Dexcom G6 CGM is safe and effective in guiding insulin therapy, resulting in a similar improvement in glycemic control and a significant reduction of recurrent hypoglycemic events compared with POC-guided insulin adjustment.
The long Filamin-A isoform is required for intestinal development and motility: implications for chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction

Abstract Filamin A (FLNA) is a cytoplasmic actin binding protein, recently shown to be expressed as a long and short isoform. Mutations in FLNA are associated with a wide spectrum of disorders, including an X-linked form of chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction (CIPO). However, the role of FLNA in intestinal development and function is largely unknown. In this study, we show that FLNA is expressed in the muscle layer of the small intestine from early human fetal stages. Expression of FLNA variants associated with CIPO, blocked expression of the long flna isoform and led to an overall reduction of RNA and protein levels. As a consequence, contractility of human intestinal smooth muscle cells was affected. Lastly, our transgenic zebrafish line showed that the flna long isoform is required for intestinal elongation and peristalsis. Histological analysis revealed structural and architectural changes in the intestinal smooth muscle of homozygous fish, likely triggered by the abnormal expression of intestinal smooth muscle markers. No defect in the localization or numbers of enteric neurons was observed. Taken together, our study demonstrates that the long FLNA isoform contributes to intestinal development and function. Since loss of the long FLNA isoform does not seem to affect the enteric nervous system, it likely results in a myopathic form of CIPO, bringing new insights to disease pathogenesis.
Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy, Excision, and Observation for Early Rectal Cancer: The Phase II NEO Trial (CCTG CO.28) Primary End Point Results

PURPOSE Organ-sparing therapy for early-stage I/IIA rectal cancer is intended to avoid functional disturbances or a permanent ostomy associated with total mesorectal excision (TME). The objective of this phase II trial was to determine the outcomes and organ-sparing rate of patients with early-stage rectal cancer treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by transanal excision surgery (TES). METHODS This phase II trial included patients with clinical T1-T3abN0 low- or mid-rectal adenocarcinoma eligible for endoscopic resection who were treated with 3 months of chemotherapy (modified folinic acid–fluorouracil-oxaliplatin 6 or capecitabine-oxaliplatin). Those with evidence of response proceeded to transanal endoscopic surgery 2-6 weeks later. The primary end point was protocol-specified organ preservation rate, defined as the proportion of patients with tumor downstaging to ypT0/T1N0/X and who avoided radical surgery. RESULTS Of 58 patients enrolled, all commenced chemotherapy and 56 proceeded to surgery. A total of 33/58 patients had tumor downstaging to ypT0/1N0/X on the surgery specimen, resulting in an intention-to-treat protocol-specified organ preservation rate of 57% (90% CI, 45 to 68). Of 23 remaining patients recommended for TME surgery on the basis of protocol requirements, 13 declined and elected to proceed directly to observation resulting in 79% (90% CI, 69 to 88) achieving organ preservation. The remaining 10/23 patients proceeded to recommended TME of whom seven had no histopathologic residual disease. The 1-year and 2-year locoregional relapse-free survival was, respectively, 98% (95% CI, 86 to 100) and 90% (95% CI, 58 to 98), and there were no distant recurrences or deaths. Minimal change in quality of life and rectal function scores was observed. CONCLUSION Three months of induction chemotherapy may successfully downstage a significant proportion of patients with early-stage rectal cancer, allowing well-tolerated organ-preserving surgery.
High Transverse Thermoelectric Performance and Interfacial Stability of Co/Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 Artificially Tilted Multilayer Thermoelectric Devices.

Artificially tilted multilayer thermoelectric devices (ATMTDs) have attracted extensive attention because of their numerous advantages, such as high integration, great structural freedom, and large transverse Seebeck coefficients. ATMTDs are composed of numerous alternating stackings of two types of materials with large differences in electrical and thermal transport. Therefore, it is of great interest to find ATMTDs with both high transverse thermoelectric performance and good interfacial stability to develop their practical application. In this work, cobalt (Co) and Bi0.5Sb1. 5Te3 (BST) are chosen to prepare Co/BST ATMTDs. The interfacial structure and composition of Co/BST are characterized, and its interfacial stability and transverse thermoelectric performance are evaluated. The results show that the thickness of the Co/BST interfacial reaction layer is about 4 μm. Annealing at 473 K for 32 h does not increase the thickness, which indicates better interfacial stability than Ni/BST. After structure optimization, Co/BST ATMTD has ZTzx = 0.41, which is second only to YbAl3/BST ATMTDs. Meanwhile, the transverse Seebeck coefficient reaches -120.38 μV/K. The outstanding interfacial stability and transverse thermoelectric performance promise excellent thermal response and refrigeration performance with Co/BST ATMTDs.
Effect of technologist and patient attributes on centering for body CT examinations: Influence of cultural and ethnic factors

There are no published data on the effect of patient and technologist gender and ethnicity attributes on off-centering in CT. Therefore, we assessed the impact of patient and technologist variations on off-centering patients undergoing body CT. With institutional review board approval, our retrospective study included 1000 consecutive adult patients (age ranged 22–96 years; 756 males: 244 females) who underwent chest or abdomen CT examinations. We recorded patient (age, gender, nationality, body weight, height,), technologist gender, and scan-related (scanner vendor, body region imaged, scan length, CT dose index volume, dose length product) information. Lateral and anteroposterior (AP) diameters were recorded to calculate effective diameter and size-specific dose estimate (SSDE). Off-centering represented the distance between the anterior-posterior centers of the scan field of view and the patient at the level of carina (for chest CT) and iliac crest (for abdomen CT). About 76% of the patients (760/1000) were off-centered with greater off-centering for chest (22 mm) than for abdomen (15 mm). Although ethnicity or patient gender was not a significant determinant of off-centering, technologist-patient gender mismatch was associated with a significantly greater frequency of off-centering (p<0.001). Off-centering below the gantry isocenter was twice as common as off-centering above the gantry isocenter (p<0.001). The latter occurred more frequently in larger patients and was associated with higher radiation doses than those centered below the isocenter (p<0.001). Technologists’ years of experience and patient factors profoundly affect the presence and extent of off-centering for both chest and abdomen CTs. Larger patients are more often off-centered than smaller patients.
Bayesian regression analysis of skewed tensor responses

Tensor regression analysis is finding vast emerging applications in a variety of clinical settings, including neuroimaging, genomics, and dental medicine. The motivation for this paper is a study of periodontal disease (PD) with an order‐3 tensor response: multiple biomarkers measured at prespecified tooth–sites within each tooth, for each participant. A careful investigation would reveal considerable skewness in the responses, in addition to response missingness. To mitigate the shortcomings of existing analysis tools, we propose a new Bayesian tensor response regression method that facilitates interpretation of covariate effects on both marginal and joint distributions of highly skewed tensor responses, and accommodates missing‐at‐random responses under a closure property of our tensor model. Furthermore, we present a prudent evaluation of the overall covariate effects while identifying their possible variations on only a sparse subset of the tensor components. Our method promises Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) tools that are readily implementable. We illustrate substantial advantages of our proposal over existing methods via simulation studies and application to a real data set derived from a clinical study of PD. The R package BSTN available in GitHub implements our model.
Hepatitis B virus movement through the hepatocyte: An update

Viruses are obligate intracellular pathogens that utilize cellular machinery for many aspects of their propagation and effective egress of virus particles from host cells is one important determinant of virus infectivity. Hijacking host cell processes applies in particular to the hepatitis B virus (HBV), as its DNA genome with about 3 kb in size is one of the smallest viral genomes known. HBV is a leading cause of liver disease and still displays one of the most successful pathogens in human populations worldwide. The extremely successful spread of this virus is explained by its efficient transmission strategies and its versatile particle types, including virions, empty envelopes, naked capsids, and others. HBV exploits distinct host trafficking machineries to assemble and release its particle types including nucleocytoplasmic shuttling transport, secretory, and exocytic pathways, the Endosomal Sorting Complexes Required for Transport pathway, and the autophagy pathway. Understanding how HBV uses and subverts host membrane trafficking systems offers the chance of obtaining new mechanistic insights into the regulation and function of this essential cellular processes. It can also help to identify potential targets for antiviral interventions. Here, I will provide an overview of HBV maturation, assembly, and budding, with a focus on recent advances, and will point out areas where questions remain that can benefit from future studies. Unless otherwise indicated, almost all presented knowledge was gained from cell culture‐based, HBV in vitro‐replication and in vitro‐infection systems.
Association of Umbilical Cord Serum Oxidative Stress Markers, ADMA and Adiponectin with Adverse Fetal Outcomes in Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy

Abstract Background: Limited studies are available on fetal oxidative stress and endothelial dysfunction and their association with adverse fetal outcomes in hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP). Method: Umbilical cord blood samples were collected at delivery from 134 pregnant women with HDP and 59 controls. Markers of oxidative stress, endothelial dysfunction and inflammation and adipokines were analyzed. Results were correlated with adverse fetal outcomes. Results: Malondialdehyde, total antioxidant status(TAS), ADMA and hsCRP levels were increased in late and early onset preeclampsia. Adiponectin levels were decreased in early onset preeclampsia. High ADMA levels were positively associated with preterm births and fetal mortality and high TAS, protein carbonyl content(PC), ADMA and low adiponectin levels were positively associated with low birth weight babies. Conclusion: Fetal systemic oxidative stress, endothelial dysfunction and inflammation were altered in early and late onset preeclampsia. High TAS, PC and ADMA levels and low adiponectin levels were positively associated with adverse fetal outcomes in HDP.
Recent advances in cellular models for discovering prion disease therapeutics

ABSTRACT Introduction Prion diseases are a group of rare and lethal, rapidly progressive neurodegenerative diseases arising due to conversion of the physiological cellular prion protein into its pathological counterparts, denoted as ‘prions. ’ These agents are resistant to inactivation by standard decontamination procedures and can be transmitted between individuals, consequently driving the irreversible brain damage typical of the diseases. Areas covered Since its infancy, prion research has mainly depended on animal models for untangling the pathogenesis of the disease as well as for the drug development studies. With the advent of prion-infected cell lines, relevant animal models have been complemented by a variety of cell-based models presenting a much faster, ethically acceptable alternative. Expert Opinion To date, there are still either no effective prophylactic regimens or therapies for human prion diseases. Therefore, there is an urgent need for more relevant cellular models that best approximate in vivo models. Each cellular model presented and discussed in detail in this review has its own benefits and limitations. Once embarking in a drug screening campaign for the identification of molecules that could interfere with prion conversion and replication, one should carefully consider the ideal cellular model.
Bone densitometry in children with idiopathic nephrotic syndrome on prolonged steroid therapy: A tertiary multicenter study

Long-term glucocorticoids administration inhibits bone mineralization and has a negative impact on basic cellular mechanisms that are critical in the development and maintenance of bone strength. Steroids can cause osteoporosis in children and have a negative impact on bone mineral content (BMC) and bone mineral density (BMD). We aim to determine the BMD of children with idiopathic nephrotic syndrome (INS) who are on corticosteroids therapy. This cross-sectional study included 90 patients on corticosteroids therapy and 50 apparently healthy age and sex-matched children served as a control group. Renal functions, bone biochemistry, and parathyroid hormone (PTH) were measured in patients and controls. BMD was measured at the lumbar spinal region (L2–L4) using Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scan in both patients and controls groups. Serum PTH, phosphorous, and alkaline phosphatase levels were significantly higher in patients than in controls. There was a statistically significant reduction in blood calcium levels in patients compared to controls. Osteopenia was diagnosed by DEXA scan in 24 patients (26.7%) and osteoporosis in 12 patients (13.3 %). There was a statistically significant decline in BMD-z score, BMD, and BMC in patients compared to the healthy group. Patients with INS on corticosteroids treatment have a lower BMD than their peers. Pediatric INS patients had a high prevalence of osteopenia and osteoporosis as measured by DEXA. Steroid therapy has a deleterious impact on bone mineralization in children with INS.
Association of arterial properties with left ventricular morphology and function in the community

Objectives: Arterial structural and functional remodeling is recognized as a key determinant of incident heart failure, although the contribution of arterial properties on left ventricular (LV) remodeling is not fully studied. Aortic dilatation is an early manifestation of arterial remodeling and estimated pulse wave velocity (ePWV) is emerging as a simple measure of arterial stiffness. This study aimed to characterize the association of aortic size and ePWV with LV morphology and function. Methods: The study cohort consisted of 539 participants without overt cardiac disease who underwent extensive cardiovascular examination. Aortic root diameter was measured by two-dimensional echocardiography and ePWV was calculated from a regression equation using age and mean blood pressure. LV global longitudinal strain (LVGLS) was obtained by speckle-tracking echocardiography. Results: Aortic root diameter and ePWV were correlated with LV mass index and LVGLS, while only ePWV was related to E/e′ ratio. In multivariable analysis, aortic root diameter and ePWV were significantly related to LV mass index and LVGLS (all P < 0.05), and the association of aortic root size and ePWV with LVGLS was independent of LV mass index and E/e′ ratio. Individuals with both aortic root enlargement and increased ePWV had significantly larger LV mass index and reduced LVGLS compared with those either or those with normal aortic size and ePWV (both P < 0.05). Conclusion: Aortic root size and ePWV were independently associated with unfavorable LV remodeling in individuals free of cardiac disease, which might provide useful information into the pathogenesis-linking arterial remodeling and heart failure.