Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparing Cognitive Tests and Smartphone‐Based Assessment in 2 US Community‐Based Cohorts

Background Smartphone‐based cognitive assessments have emerged as promising tools, bridging gaps in accessibility and reducing bias in Alzheimer disease and related dementia research. However, their congruence with traditional neuropsychological tests and usefulness in diverse cohorts remain underexplored. Methods and Results A total of 406 FHS (Framingham Heart Study) and 59 BHS (Bogalusa Heart Study) participants with traditional neuropsychological tests and digital assessments using the Defense Automated Neurocognitive Assessment (DANA) smartphone protocol were included. Regression models investigated associations between DANA task digital measures and a neuropsychological global cognitive Z score (Global Cognitive Score [GCS]), and neuropsychological domain‐specific Z scores. FHS participants’ mean age was 57 (SD, 9.75) years, and 44% (179) were men. BHS participants' mean age was 49 (4.4) years, and 28% (16) were men. Participants in both cohorts with the lowest neuropsychological performance (lowest quartile, GCS1) demonstrated lower DANA digital scores. In the FHS, GCS1 participants had slower average response times and decreased cognitive efficiency scores in all DANA tasks (P<0.05). In BHS, participants in GCS1 had slower average response times and decreased cognitive efficiency scores for DANA Code Substitution and Go/No‐Go tasks, although this was not statistically significant. In both cohorts, GCS was significantly associated with DANA tasks, such that higher GCS correlated with faster average response times (P<0.05) and increased cognitive efficiency (all P<0.05) in the DANA Code Substitution task. Conclusions Our findings demonstrate that smartphone‐based cognitive assessments exhibit concurrent validity with a composite measure of traditional neuropsychological tests. This supports the potential of using smartphone‐based assessments in cognitive screening across diverse populations and the scalability of digital assessments to community‐dwelling individuals.
Deciphering the Tumor Microenvironment of Colorectal Cancer and Guiding Clinical Treatment With Patient-Derived Organoid Technology: Progress and Challenges

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most prevalent malignant tumors of the digestive tract worldwide. Despite notable advancements in CRC treatment, there is an urgent requirement for preclinical model systems capable of accurately predicting drug efficacy in CRC patients, to identify more effective therapeutic options. In recent years, substantial strides have been made in the field of organoid technology, patient-derived organoid models can phenotypically replicate the original intra-tumor and inter-tumor heterogeneity of CRC, reflecting cellular interactions of the tumor microenvironment. Patient-derived organoid models have become an indispensable tool for investigating the pathogenesis of CRC and facilitating translational research. This review focuses on the application of organoid technology in CRC modeling, tumor microenvironment, and guiding clinical treatment, particularly in drug screening and personalized medicine. It also examines the existing challenges encountered in clinical organoid research and provides a prospective outlook on the future development directions of clinical organoid research, encompassing the standardization of organoid culture technology and the application of tissue engineering technology.
Gut microbiota composition may be an indicator of erectile dysfunction

Abstract Erectile Dysfunction (ED) is considered a physical and mental illness. A variety of potential associations between gut microbiota and health or disease have been found. By comparing the gut microbiota of healthy controls and ED patients, our study investigated the relationship between ED and gut microbiota. The results revealed that the ED group exhibited a significantly higher relative abundance of Bacteroides, Fusobacterium, Lachnoclostridium, Escherichia‐Shigella and Megamonas, while showing a significantly lower relative abundance of Bifidobacterium compared to the control group. The dysbiosis of gut microbiota played a role in the onset and progression of ED by influencing the gut barrier, cardiovascular system and mental health, which provided a novel perspective on understanding the pathophysiology of ED. What is more, we had identified several key gut microbiota. By combining 16S rRNA sequencing with machine learning techniques, we were able to uncover the significant value and impact of gut microbiota in the early detection of ED.
Glucocorticoid receptor-dependent therapeutic efficacy of tauroursodeoxycholic acid in preclinical models of spinocerebellar ataxia type 3

Spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3) is an adult-onset neurodegenerative disease caused by a polyglutamine expansion in the ataxin-3 (ATXN3) gene. No effective treatment is available for this disorder, other than symptom-directed approaches. Bile acids have shown therapeutic efficacy in neurodegenerative disease models. Here, we pinpointed tauroursodeoxycholic acid (TUDCA) as an efficient therapeutic, improving the motor and neuropathological phenotype of SCA3 nematode and mouse models. Surprisingly, transcriptomic and functional in vivo data showed that TUDCA acts in neuronal tissue through the glucocorticoid receptor (GR), but independently of its canonical receptor, the farnesoid X receptor (FXR). TUDCA was predicted to bind to the GR, in a similar fashion to corticosteroid molecules. GR levels were decreased in disease-affected brain regions, likely due to increased protein degradation as a consequence of ATXN3 dysfunction being restored by TUDCA treatment. Analysis of a SCA3 clinical cohort showed intriguing correlations between the peripheral expression of GR and the predicted age at disease onset in presymptomatic subjects and FKBP5 expression with disease progression, suggesting this pathway as a potential source of biomarkers for future study. We have established a novel in vivo mechanism for the neuroprotective effects of TUDCA in SCA3 and propose this readily available drug for clinical trials in SCA3 patients.
Comparative outcomes of autologous cultured melanocytes transplantation and non‐cultured epidermal cell suspension transplantation in piebaldism patients: A retrospective study

Abstract Purpose To compare the efficacy and safety of autologous cultured melanocytes transplantation (CMT) and non‐cultured epidermal cell suspension transplantation (NCES) in the treatment of piebaldism. Patients and methods A retrospective study was conducted on 30 anatomically based lesions from nine piebaldism patients who underwent either CMT (n = 7) or NCES (n = 23) between 2018 and 2020. The extent of repigmentation and colour matching was evaluated in all recipient sites using a digital imaging analysis system. In addition, adverse effects have also been assessed by follow‐up results. Results More than 75% repigmentation was achieved in 100% (7/7) and 60.9% (14/23) of the 30 lesions with the CMT and NCES, respectively. There were significant differences between the two methods in terms of repigmentation. The majority of patients had colour mismatches, and there was no discernible difference between the two surgical techniques. Adverse reactions rarely occurred. Conclusion The present study suggested that autologous CMT may provide better repigmentation in piebaldism patients than NCES with no significant side effects.
An Analysis of Turbulent Heat Fluxes and the Energy Balance During the REFLEX Campaign

Three eddy covariance stations were installed at the Barrax experimental farm during the Land-Atmosphere Exchanges (REFLEX) airborne training and measurement campaign to provide ground truth data of energy balance fluxes and vertical temperature and wind profiles. The energy balance closure ratio (EBR) was 105% for a homogeneous camelina site, 86% at a sparse reforestation site, and 73% for a vineyard. We hypothesize that the lower closure in the last site was related to the limited fetch. Incorporating a vertical gradient of soil thermal properties decreased the RMSE of the energy balance at the camelina site by 16 W m−2. At the camelina site, eddy covariance estimates of sensible and latent heat fluxes could be reproduced well using mean vertical profiles of wind and temperature, provided that the Monin—Obukhov length is known. Measured surface temperature and sensible heat fluxes suggested high excess resistance for heat (kB−1 = 17).
Impact of Wastewater on Surface Water Quality in Developing Countries: A Case Study of South Africa

Wastewater effluents are major contributors to a variety of water pollution problems. Most cities of developing countries generate on the average 30–70 mm3 of wastewater per person per year. Owing to lack of or improper wastewater treatment facilities, wastewater and its effluents are often discharged into surface water sources, which are receptacles for domestic and industrial wastes, resulting to pollution. The poor quality of wastewater effluents is responsible for the degradation of the receiving surface water body. Wastewater effluent should be treated efficiently to avert adverse health risk of the user of surface water resources and the aquatic ecosystem. The release of raw and improperly treated wastewater onto water courses has both short‐ and long‐term effects on the environment and human health. Hence, there should be proper enforcement of water and environmental laws to protect the health of inhabitants of both rural and urban communities. This study reports major factors responsible for the failing state of wastewater treatment facilities in developing countries, which includes poor operational state of wastewater infrastructure, design weaknesses, lack of expertise, corruption, insufficient funds allocated for wastewater treatment, overloaded capacities of existing facilities, and inefficient monitoring for compliance, among others.
Evolution, the Cognitive Sciences, and the Science of Victimization

Despite clear aversion to such labels, one of the most impactful criminological theories is rooted in cognitive science. Gottfredson and Hirschi's general theory has been repeatedly tested, replicated relatively well, and has since reached beyond its original scope to explain other important outcomes like victimization. However, the work never viewed itself as part of a larger scientific landscape and resisted the incursion of neuroscience, cognitive science, and evolutionary theory from the start. This missed opportunity contributes to some of the theory's shortcomings. We begin by considering relevant literatures that were originally excluded and then conduct a new analysis examining the cognitive underpinnings of victimization in a high-risk sample of adolescents. We used the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (n = 3,444; 48% female; 49% Black, 25% Hispanic) which contained sound measures of self-control and intelligence, as well as four types of adolescent victimization. Self-control was robustly associated with all forms of victimization, whereas intelligence had generally no detectable effect. We discuss how these findings fit into a broader understanding about self-control and victimization.
Measurement of the cosmic ray helium flux with the AMS-02 experiment

AMS02 est un detecteur de rayons cosmiques installe sur la Station Spatiale Internationale depuis 2011. Grace a ce detecteur nous sommes capable de calculer le flux des differents elements composant les rayons cosmiques avec une grande precision. Le but principal de ce travail est le calcul du flux d’helium pour deux echantillons de donnees differents : le premier etant le meme que celui utilise pour la publication par la collaboration des resultats sur le spectre d’helium (30 mois), le second etant un echantillons plus etendu (49 mois). La difference entre ce travail et les resultats publies ne depasse pas 2.5% pour le premier echantillon et 3% pour le second. La deuxieme partie de ce travail se focalise sur la recherche de l’antimatiere et l’etablissement d’une limite sur le rapport antihelium/helium a 2.21 10-7 a 95% C.L. pour un intervalle de rigidite de 1.7GV a 200GV.
The Loch Lomond stadial ice cap in Western Lochaber, Scotland

The aim of this thesis is to reconstruct the dimensions of the Loch Lomond Stadial (LLS) ice cap in Western Lochaber, Scotland, and to make inferences about ice cap dynamics on the basis of the field evidence. There have been no previous detailed studies of LLS ice cover in Western Lochaber, yet an accurate empirical reconstruction of the ice cap is an essential input and constraint to models of the interactions between climate, ice volume, topography and mantle rheology. Three different types of field evidence are used to reconstruct the ice limits. Firstly, geomorphological and sedimentary evidence indicates some lateral and terminal limits and retreat patterns. Secondly, a seismic stratigraphy of Loch Linnhe and the Firth of Lome provides additional evidence for the distribution of glacial deposits and an ice limit. Thirdly, the glacial and periglacial evidence on 111 slopes marks trimline altitudes reflecting the palaeo-ice surface. Ice limits reconstructed from these three types of evidence allow a three dimensional reconstruction of the ice surface. The ice cap was up to ~650m thick, and ice flowed from the main mountain ridges and an ice plateau around the heads of Lochs Eil and Shiel, down the main troughs to the sea lochs. All available chronological controls support the proposition that this ice cap existed during the LLS. Depositional evidence suggests that subsequent ice retreat back towards the mountains was punctuated by stillstands at topographic pinning points in the sea lochs. There are distinct contrasts in the spatial distributions of glacial erosional and depositional evidence. Throughout the west and south of Western Lochaber terrestrial signs of glacial scouring are widespread and glacial till and moraines are thin and sporadic, yet there are thick glacimarine sequences in the proglacial submarine basin in Loch Linnhe, and large proglacial outwash fans around the lochs. In the north east of Western Lochaber and in Eastern Lochaber slopes are mostly mantled with glacial till, there are large terminal and lateral moraines and outwash deposits are common. These patterns may be explained mainly by a consideration of tidewater glacier theory and topographic controls on ice dynamics. In particular, the iceberg calving termini of the outlet glaciers may have resulted in high velocity ice flow and erosional regimes right to the snouts, so that deposition was concentrated offshore or in proglacial fluvioglacial outwash spreads. Trough geometry determined the sites of stillstands of the former tidewater glaciers during retreat. Several lines of evidence suggest that landscape modification during the LLS may have been relatively insubstantial. The reconstructed ice surface allows the estimation of palaeoEquilibrium Line Altitudes. These are calculated using an AAR method, which allows for advancing and calving glacial regimes. The derived ELAs range from 309 478m, with a regional mean of 360m. This value accords with previous ELA reconstructions in the south west Highlands.
Clinical relevance of vaginal natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (vNOTES) in gynecology

This study reviews the progress and recent advances in vaginal natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (vNOTES) as a minimally invasive gynecologic procedure. The proposed advantages of vaginal natural orifice transluminal surgery include enhanced cosmesis due to a scarless procedure, better exposure compared with the pure vaginal approach, tolerable pain scores, fewer perioperative complications, and a shorter hospital stay. Recent advances in surgical instrumentation and technology have improved the feasibility of vNOTES as an innovative treatment option for gynecological conditions. However, technical challenges and training issues must be overcome before its widespread use. As a promising surgical innovation, further randomized comparative studies are required to clarify the safety and effectiveness of vNOTES in gynecology.
The Role of Neutrophil in COVID-19: Positive or Negative

Abstract Background Neutrophils are the first line of defense against pathogens. They are divided into multiple subpopulations during development and kill pathogens through various mechanisms. Neutrophils are considered one of the markers of severe COVID-19. Summary In-depth research has revealed that neutrophil subpopulations have multiple complex functions. Different subsets of neutrophils play an important role in the progression of COVID-19. Key Messages In this review, we provide a detailed overview of the developmental processes of neutrophils at different stages and their recruitment and activation after SARS-CoV-2 infection, aiming to elucidate the changes in neutrophil subpopulations, characteristics, and functions after infection and provide a reference for mechanistic research on neutrophil subpopulations in the context of SARS-CoV-2 infection. In addition, we have also summarized research progress on potential targeted drugs for neutrophil immunotherapy, hoping to provide information that aids the development of therapeutic drugs for the clinical treatment of critically ill COVID-19 patients.
BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL REHABILITATION IN THE WORKING POPULATION WITH CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN: A CONCEPT ANALYSIS

Objective To identify the essential attributes of biopsychosocial rehabilitation for chronic low back pain in the working population. Design A concept analysis was conducted according to the 8-step method of Walker and Avant. This framework provides a clear concept and theoretical and operational definitions. Methods Five databases were searched, followed by a systematic screening. Subsequently, attributes, illustrative cases, antecedents, consequences and empirical referents were formulated. Results Of the 3793 studies identified, 42 unique references were included. Eleven attributes were identified: therapeutic exercise, psychological support, education, personalization, self-management, participation, follow-up, practice standard, goal-setting, social support, and dietary advice. Subsequently, illustrative cases were described. Antecedents, such as motivation, preparedness and a multidisciplinary team, were found, together with consequences such as decreased pain, less sick-leave and increased function and work status. Finally, examples of empirical referents were given. Conclusion This study identified the attributes that are necessary to develop biopsychosocial rehabilitation intervention programmes for chronic low back pain. The defined concept of biopsychosocial rehabilitation for chronic low back pain may serve as a solid base to further develop and apply interventions. Future research should focus on the objectification of biopsychosocial rehabilitation and conceptualization regarding how personalization is done. LAY ABSTRACT Low back pain that persists for more than 3 months is a worldwide problem with great economic consequences. Rehabilitation focusing on all the aspects of the individual, called biopsychosocial rehabilitation, has already proved to be an efficacious treatment. The requirements for such a programme are not yet clear. Therefore, the aim of this research is to clarify the concept of biopsychosocial rehabilitation and depict the essential elements that form this concept. After reviewing the recent literature, this study identified 11 essential elements, together with actions that need to be taken before the treatment, the results of the treatment and examples of cases and assessment tools. The essential elements are presented in the results and the concept is clarified for future researchers to build upon. An assessment tool for the entire concept should be developed in the future, together with conceptualization on how to adapt treatment for each individual.
Chatbots and Large Language Models in Radiology: A Practical Primer for Clinical and Research Applications.

Although chatbots have existed for decades, the emergence of transformer-based large language models (LLMs) has captivated the world through the most recent wave of artificial intelligence chatbots, including ChatGPT. Transformers are a type of neural network architecture that enables better contextual understanding of language and efficient training on massive amounts of unlabeled data, such as unstructured text from the internet. As LLMs have increased in size, their improved performance and emergent abilities have revolutionized natural language processing. Since language is integral to human thought, applications based on LLMs have transformative potential in many industries. In fact, LLM-based chatbots have demonstrated human-level performance on many professional benchmarks, including in radiology. LLMs offer numerous clinical and research applications in radiology, several of which have been explored in the literature with encouraging results. Multimodal LLMs can simultaneously interpret text and images to generate reports, closely mimicking current diagnostic pathways in radiology. Thus, from requisition to report, LLMs have the opportunity to positively impact nearly every step of the radiology journey. Yet, these impressive models are not without limitations. This article reviews the limitations of LLMs and mitigation strategies, as well as potential uses of LLMs, including multimodal models. Also reviewed are existing LLM-based applications that can enhance efficiency in supervised settings.
Selection and Propagation Methods for Ploiarium Alternifolium, An Indigenous Tree Species For Slope Control: Case Study Of Sultan Azlan Shah Campus, Sultan Idris Education University, Malaysia

The area of green corridors encompassing the Sultan Azlan Campus (KSAS), Sultan Idris Education University (UPSI) is about 151km2, approximately 19% of the total campus area. The green corridor is best described as a secondary forest composed of various indigenous tree species with potential erosion control and slope stabilization. This study aims to identify suitable species for erosion control at slope areas. One of the most promising species is Ploiarium alternifolium, which has been selected for this study and was propagated for use in erosion control. Three propagation techniques were applied, i.e., grafting, branch cutting and in-situ harvesting. The results show that grafting and in-situ harvesting were more efficient than branch cutting. Therefore, the use Ploiarium alternifolium in erosion control is a promising method and can be complimented by mechanical engineering methods.