Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Factor Structure of the Memory for Intentions Test (MIsT): A Conceptual Replication in Older Adults and People with HIV Disease

ABSTRACT Objective The Memory for Intentions Test (MIsT) is a clinical measure of prospective memory that has strong evidence for convergent, discriminative, and ecological validity. This study uses a conceptual replication design to evaluate the latent structure of the MIsT in two parallel samples who commonly experience prospective memory deficits: older adults and people living with HIV disease. Participants and Methods Study participants included 303 people with HIV disease (ages 18–67) and 267 community-dwelling older adults (ages 50–91). Confirmatory factor analyses of the MIsT were conducted separately in each sample. We evaluated a one-factor model, as well as three two-factor models with the MIsT items loading onto each factor based on cue type, delay interval, or response modality. Results The one-factor model provided the best (and most parsimonious) fit to the data in both study samples. All two-factor models also demonstrated good fit statistics, although correlations between the two factors in each model were high and none of the two-factor models provided a significantly better fit than the one-factor model. Conclusions Results of this conceptual replication study provide support for a robust factor structure of the MIsT across older adults and people with HIV disease. A total score for the MIsT provides the most parsimonious solution, although available evidence and theory also support the potential use of subscales (e.g., cue type). Future studies of the MIsT would be useful to determine its psychometrics in different clinical populations and across demographic factors (e.g., race/ethnicity).
Mechanistic study of copper oxide, zinc oxide, cadmium oxide, and silver nanoparticles-mediated toxicity on the probiotic Lactobacillus reuteri

Abstract The use of metal/metal oxide nanoparticles (NPs) in consumer products has increased dramatically. Accordingly, human exposure to these NPs has increased. Lactobacillus reuteri, a member of the beneficial gut microbiota, is essential for human health. In the present study, the toxic effect of three metal oxides (CuO, ZnO, and CdO) and one metal (Ag) NPs on L. reuteri were investigated in vitro. L. reuteri was susceptible to all the prepared NPs in a dose-dependent manner, visualized as an increase in the zones of inhibition and a significant reduction in the maximum specific growth rates (µ max). The minimal inhibitory concentrations were 5.8, 26, 560, and 560 µg/mL for CdO-, Ag-, ZnO-, and CuO-NPs, respectively, and the respective minimal bactericidal concentrations were 60, 70, 1500, and 1500 µg/mL. Electron microscopic examinations revealed the adsorption of the prepared NPs on L. reuteri cell surface, causing cell wall disruption and morphological changes. These changes were accompanied by significant leakage of cellular protein content by 214%, 191%, 112%, and 101% versus the untreated control when L. reuteri was treated with CdO-, Ag-, CuO-, and ZnO-NPs, respectively. NPs also induced oxidative damage, where the malondialdehyde level was significantly increased, and glutathione content was significantly decreased. Quantifying the DNA damage using comet assay showed that CuONPs had the maximum DNA tail length (8.2 px vs. 2.1 px for the control). While CdONPs showed the maximum percentage of DNA in tail (15.5% vs. 3.1%). This study provides a mechanistic evaluation of the NPs-mediated toxicity to a beneficial microorganism.
Risk factors for infarct growth and haemorrhagic or oedematous complications after endovascular treatment - a literature review.

INTRODUCTION Acute ischaemic stroke (AIS) is caused by significant disturbances in the cerebral bloodflow (CBF) that lead to brain ischaemia and eventually result in irreversible brain tissue damage. The main goal of its treatment is to restore bloodflow to the areas at risk of necrosis. Intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) and mechanical thrombectomy (MT) are the mainstay of current therapy, with the latter being widely employed in selected patients with radiologically proven large vessel occlusion (LVO). Despite convincing evidence of its efficacy, up to half of patients undergoing endovascular treatment (EVT) still do not achieve a beneficial functional outcome; this is mainly due to unfavourable brain tissue sequelae. Therefore, factors associated with known adverse brain changes, such as larger infarct size or haemorrhagic and oedematous complications, should be adequately addressed. OBJECTIVE To review the available literature describing AIS brain tissue outcome assessed by computed tomography (CT) and/ or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients undergoing MT treatment. Additionally, to evaluate the association of post-MT tissue changes with short- and long-term prognosis. MATERIAL AND METHODS We searched the PubMed, Scopus, EMBASE, and Google Scholar databases according to established criteria. RESULTS We found a total of 264 articles addressing the most common types of AIS tissue sequelae after EVT (i.e. MT with or without IVT as bridging therapy) by brain CT and MRI. These were: follow-up infarct volume (FIV), cerebral oedema (COD) and haemorrhagic transformation (HT). As the next step, 37 articles evaluating factors associated with defined outcomes were selected. Several non-modifiable factors such as age, comorbidities, pretreatment neurological deficit, and collateral circulation status were found to affect stroke tissue sequelae, to varying degrees. Additionally, some factors including time to treatment initiation, selection of treatment device, and periprocedural systemic blood pressure, the modification of which can potentially reduce the occurrence of an unfavourable tissue outcome, were identified. Some recently revealed biochemical and serological parameters may play a similar role. CONCLUSIONS The identification of factors that affect post-MT ischaemic area evolution may result in studies assessing the effects of their modification, and potentially improve clinical outcomes. Modifiable parameters, including periprocedural systemic blood pressure and some biochemical factors, may be of particular importance.
Autistic adults’ views and experiences of requesting and receiving workplace adjustments in the UK

This article examines 181 autistic adults’ views toward, and experiences of, requesting and receiving workplace adjustments in the UK. Using an online survey, we collected both qualitative and quantitative data relating to individuals’ experiences. While the majority of participants perceived workplace adjustments to be important, many were not receiving them. Analysis of open-ended text responses highlighted specific challenges that autistic people face in requesting and receiving adjustments. Specifically, participants felt the onus fell on them to (1) identify their need for adjustments; (2) establish the specific adjustments that would be beneficial and (3) request adjustments from their employer. Yet, they reported struggling with this process. Participants also highlighted a range of social and organisational barriers to the successful implementation of workplace adjustments. Unsurprisingly, the lack of successfully implemented adjustments had far-reaching impacts on participants’ wellbeing as well as the choices they made about their future employment. These findings highlight the need for employers to take a more active role in the identification and implementation of workplace adjustments, as well as a need for more understanding and inclusive working environments that truly allow autistic employees to thrive in the workplace.
Wearable Neck Surface Accelerometers for Occupational Vocal Health Monitoring: Instrument and Analysis Validation Study

Background Neck surface accelerometer (NSA) wearable devices have been developed for voice and upper airway health monitoring. As opposed to acoustic sounds, NSA senses mechanical vibrations propagated from the vocal tract to neck skin, which are indicative of a person’s voice and airway conditions. NSA signals do not carry identifiable speech information and a speaker’s privacy is thus protected, which is important and necessary for continuous wearable monitoring. Our device was already tested for its durable endurance and signal processing algorithms in controlled laboratory conditions. Objective This study aims to further evaluate both instrument and analysis validity in a group of occupational vocal users, namely, voice actors, who use their voices extensively at work in an ecologically valid setting. Methods A total of 16 professional voice actors (age range 21-50 years; 11 females and 5 males) participated in this study. All participants were mounted with an NSA on their sternal notches during the voice acting and voice assessment sessions. The voice acting session was 4-hour long, directed by a voice director in a professional sound studio. Voice assessment sessions were conducted before, during, and 48 hours after the acting session. The assessment included phonation tasks of passage reading, sustained vowels, maximum vowel phonation, and pitch glides. Clinical acoustic metrics (eg, fundamental frequency, cepstral measures) and a vocal dose measure (ie, accumulated distance dose from acting) were computed from NSA signals. A commonly used online questionnaire (Self-Administered Voice Rating questionnaire) was also implemented to track participants’ perception of vocal fatigue. Results The NSA wearables stayed in place for all participants despite active body movements during the acting. The ensued body noise did not interfere with the NSA signal quality. All planned acoustic metrics were successfully derived from NSA signals and their numerical values were comparable with literature data. For a 4-hour long voice acting, the averaged distance dose was about 8354 m with no gender differences. Participants perceived vocal fatigue as early as 2 hours after the start of voice acting, with recovery 24-48 hours after the acting session. Among all acoustic metrics across phonation tasks, cepstral peak prominence and spectral tilt from the passage reading most closely mirrored trends in perceived fatigue. Conclusions The ecological validity of an in-house NSA wearable was vetted in a workplace setting. One key application of this wearable is to prompt occupational voice users when their vocal safety limits are reached for duly protection. Signal processing algorithms can thus be further developed for near real-time estimation of clinically relevant metrics, such as accumulated distance dose, cepstral peak prominence, and spectral tilt. This functionality will enable continuous self-awareness of vocal behavior and protection of vocal safety in occupational voice users.
“Expectation is Always that the Practitioner Might Not Be Okay with Queerness”: Experiences of LGBTQ+ With the Healthcare System in Saskatchewan, Canada

ABSTRACT This project aimed to explore the experiences of perceived mistrust and stigma by the LGBTQ+ members while accessing healthcare services in Saskatchewan, Canada. In partnership with local organization, a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach was employed and, semi structured descriptive interviews were conducted. Sixteen participants ranging from age 20–60 were recruited and interviewed. Inductive coding method with thematic data analysis was performed, and descriptive comprehensive results were produced. The LGBTQ+ community reported negative experiences within the context of four emerging themes: (a) perceived stigma and discrimination in healthcare settings, (b) practitioners’ LGBTQ+-specific healthcare knowledge, (c) the need for LGBTQ+-specific cultural sensitivity and inclusion, and (d) a call for changes in healthcare policy. Each theme and its corresponding experiences serve as a baseline of information to demonstrate the need for improved access to safe healthcare and increased sustainable health for the LGBTQ+ community members. This calls for training and education, establishing cultural sensitivity, and mandating policy changes could improve the experiences of the LGBTQ+ community members.
Properties of mesons and quarks under extreme conditions from Gauge-Gravity duality

This thesis is concerned with the properties of mesons and quarks which live in the strongly coupled plasma of certain gauge theories which are similar to QCD. To study these plasmas we exploit gauge gravity duality which has been particularly useful for understanding QCD at temperatures above, but not far above, that at which quarks and gluons are deconfined. For example we will show analytically that mesons propagating through these plasmas have a subluminal limiting velocity at non zero temperatures. This limiting velocity decreases with increasing temperature towards the dissociation temperature. We then argue that this behavior will be universal in gauge theories with a gravity dual. If this result applies in QCD it would have observable effects in future heavy ion collisions at RHIC and the LHC. We also study the width of these mesons by exploiting nonperturbative string effects which can destabilize them, a result we attribute on the gauge theory side to thermal fluctuations. We show that the lifetime of these mesons, described via nonperturbative string effects, decreases rapidly above the momentum at which the meson speed approaches its limiting velocity. This is further evidence for the universality of the limiting velocity and it sharpens the signature expected in heavy ion collisions, especially when the LHC starts colliding ions. Finally the system that was used to study these mesons has an interesting phase structure in the plane of temperature and quark chemical potential. We find a third order phase transition line which ends at a tricritical point. We argue that this phase transition is driven by the same nonperturbative physics which contributed to the meson lifetime. Thesis Supervisor: Hong Liu Title: Associate Professor Thesis Supervisor: Krishna Rajagopal Title: Professor
Barley GRIK1‐SnRK1 kinases subvert a viral virulence protein to upregulate antiviral RNAi and inhibit infection

Viruses often usurp host machineries for their amplification, but it remains unclear if hosts may subvert virus proteins to regulate viral proliferation. Here, we show that the 17K protein, an important virulence factor conserved in barley yellow dwarf viruses (BYDVs) and related poleroviruses, is phosphorylated by host GRIK1‐SnRK1 kinases, with the phosphorylated 17K (P17K) capable of enhancing the abundance of virus‐derived small interfering RNAs (vsiRNAs) and thus antiviral RNAi. Furthermore, P17K interacts with barley small RNA‐degrading nuclease 1 (HvSDN1) and impedes HvSDN1‐catalyzed vsiRNA degradation. Additionally, P17K weakens the HvSDN1‐HvAGO1 interaction, thus hindering HvSDN1 from accessing and degrading HvAGO1‐carried vsiRNAs. Importantly, transgenic expression of 17K phosphomimetics (17K5D), or genome editing of SDN1, generates stable resistance to BYDV through elevating vsiRNA abundance. These data validate a novel mechanism that enhances antiviral RNAi through host subversion of a viral virulence protein to inhibit SDN1‐catalyzed vsiRNA degradation and suggest new ways for engineering BYDV‐resistant crops.
Reconsidering the role of glycaemic control in cardiovascular disease risk in type 2 diabetes: A 21st century assessment

It is well known that the multiple factors contributing to the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes (T2D) confer an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD). Although the relationship between hyperglycaemia and increased microvascular risk is well established, the relative contribution of hyperglycaemia to macrovascular events has been strongly debated, particularly owing to the failure of attempts to reduce CVD risk through normalizing glycaemia with traditional therapies in high‐risk populations. The debate has been further fuelled by the relatively recent discovery of the cardioprotective properties of glucagon‐like peptide‐1 receptor agonists and sodium‐glucose cotransporter‐2 inhibitors. Further, as guidelines now recommend individualizing glycaemic targets, highlighting the importance of achieving glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) goals safely, the previously observed negative influences of intensive therapy on CVD risk might not present if trials were repeated using current‐day treatments and individualized HbA1c goals. Emerging longitudinal data illuminate the overall effect of excess glucose, the impacts of magnitude and duration of hyperglycaemia on disease progression and risk of CVD complications, and the importance of glycaemic control at or early after diagnosis of T2D for prevention of complications. Herein, we review the role of glucose as a modifiable cardiovascular (CV) risk factor, the role of microvascular disease in predicting macrovascular risk, and the deleterious impact of therapeutic inertia on CVD risk. We reconcile new and old data to offer a current perspective, highlighting the importance of effective, early treatment in reducing latent CV risk, and the timely use of appropriate therapy individualized to each patient's needs.
Electromyography Based Decoding of Dexterous, In-Hand Manipulation Motions With Temporal Multichannel Vision Transformers

Electromyography (EMG) signals have been used in designing muscle-machine interfaces (MuMIs) for various applications, ranging from entertainment (EMG controlled games) to human assistance and human augmentation (EMG controlled prostheses and exoskeletons). For this, classical machine learning methods such as Random Forest (RF) models have been used to decode EMG signals. However, these methods depend on several stages of signal pre-processing and extraction of hand-crafted features so as to obtain the desired output. In this work, we propose EMG based frameworks for the decoding of object motions in the execution of dexterous, in-hand manipulation tasks using raw EMG signals input and two novel deep learning (DL) techniques called Temporal Multi-Channel Transformers and Vision Transformers. The results obtained are compared, in terms of accuracy and speed of decoding the motion, with RF-based models and Convolutional Neural Networks as a benchmark. The models are trained for 11 subjects in a motion-object specific and motion-object generic way, using the 10-fold cross-validation procedure. This study shows that the performance of MuMIs can be improved by employing DL-based models with raw myoelectric activations instead of developing DL or classic machine learning models with hand-crafted features.
Occurrence of Lymphatic Filariasis infection after 15 years of mass drug administration in two hotspot districts in the Upper East Region of Ghana

Background Lymphatic filariasis (LF) causes chronic morbidity, which usually manifests as lymphedema or hydrocele. Mass drug administration (MDA) began in Kassena Nankana East Municipal (KNEM) and Nabdam, two hotspot districts in the Upper East Region in Ghana, in 2000 and 2005, respectively. This cross-sectional study evaluated the impact of 15 years of MDA on the control of LF as determined by circulating filarial antigen (CFA) and microfilariae assessment in the KNEM and the Nabdam districts. Methodology/Principal findings A total of 7,453 participants from eight sub-districts in the two hotspot districts (KNEM: N = 4604; Nabdam: N = 2849) were recruited into the study. The overall CFA prevalence as determined by the FTS was 19.6% and 12.8% in the KNEM and Nabdam districts, respectively. Manyoro, a sub-district on the border with Burkina Faso, recorded the highest CFA prevalence of 26% in the KNEM. Assessment of microfilariae and Og4C3 antigen was done from 1009 (KNEM: N = 799 (79.2%); Nabdam: N = 210 (20.8%)) randomly selected FTS-positive (N = 885) and FTS-negative (N = 124) individuals. The Og4C3 antigen was found in 22.6%/23.0% of the selected individuals (KNEM/Nabdam), whereas the night blood revealed microfilariae in only 0.7%/0.5%. Conclusions/Significance Using the WHO endorsed FTS, CFA prevalence exceeded the long-standing <2% threshold—which may need revision and validation. Surprisingly, the Og4C3 ELISA showed positive results in only about one-fifth of the FTS positive samples. However, even this result would not have met the <2% CFA criteria for LF elimination. In contrast, projections from the microfilariae results revealed a halt in LF transmission. The global elimination target was due in 2020 but has been extended to 2030 since this could not be met. Focused MDA intervention intensification on seasonal migrants and non-compliers, and implementation of alternative treatment strategies may suffice for the elimination of the disease.
Hepatitis E virus infection in the United States: Seroprevalence, risk factors and the influence of immunological assays

In the United States (U.S.), a hepatitis E virus (HEV) seroprevalence between 6 and 21% has been described, with a decreasing trend. We aimed to investigate HEV infection in the U.S. population from 2009 to 2016, and examine the differences in seroprevalence using different assays. We used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES-CDC) to estimate HEV seroprevalence and analyze demographic variables related to the infection. Additionally, we compared 4 serological tests used. The estimated HEV seroprevalence between 2009–2016 was 6.1% (95% CI: 5.6%-7.0%) for IgG and 1.02% (0.8%-1.2%) for IgM. Higher HEV IgG prevalences were found in older people, females, non-Hispanic Asians and those born outside of the U.S. The in-house immunoassay and the Wantai HEV-IgG ELISA presented the highest sensitivity values in the tested population. The highest specificity values corresponded to the DSI-EIA-ANTI-HEV-IgG assay. The kappa statistical values showed concordances no greater than 0.64 between the assays. HEV prevalence in our study was similar to previously reported, and a decline in the prevalence was observed through the NHANES assessments (from 1988 to 2016). The sensitivity and specificity of the assays varied widely, making comparisons difficult and highlighting the need to develop a gold standard assay.