Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Link Between Neuroticism and Everyday Cognitive Failures is Mediated by Self-Reported Mindfulness Among College Students

Neuroticism has been linked to an increased likelihood of cognitive failures, including episodes of inattentiveness, forgetfulness, or accidents causing difficulties in successfully executing everyday tasks and impacting health and quality of life. Cognitive failures associated with trait neuroticism can prompt some negative psychological outcomes and risky behaviors. Accumulating evidence shows that augmenting mindfulness can benefit cognitive health and general well-being. However, little is known regarding potential cognitive-behavioral pathways through which individual differences in trait neuroticism could influence the propensity to cognitive failures. Using a sample of 1003 undergraduate college students (females: n = 779) consisting of self-reported questionnaire data, we conducted correlational and mediational analyses to investigate the interrelationship between neuroticism, mindfulness, and cognitive failures. Higher neuroticism scores (females: r = −0.388, males: r = −0.390) and higher cognitive failures scores (females: r = −0.339, males: r = −0.407, p < .001) were significantly correlated with lower self-reported mindfulness scores. Mindfulness significantly mediated the relationship between neuroticism and cognitive failures (β = 0.50, 95%, CI: 0.37, 0.65). These findings indicate that higher mindfulness may help ameliorate negative effects of neuroticism on everyday cognitive failures. Future research will determine how college students may benefit from positive impact of mindfulness to improve their psychological and physical health.
Intuitive Toxicology. II. Expert and Lay Judgments of Chemical Risks in Canada

This study is a replication and extension in Canada of a previous study in the United States in which toxicologists and members of the public were surveyed to determine their attitudes, beliefs, and perceptions regarding risks from chemicals. This study of â€œintuitive vs. scientific toxicologyâ€ was motivated by the premise that different assumptions, conceptions, and values underlie much of the discrepancy between expert and lay views of chemical risks. The results showed that Canadian toxicologists had far lower perceptions of risk and more favorable attitudes toward chemicals than did the Canadian public. The public's attitudes were quite negative and showed the same lack of doseâ€ response sensitivity found in the earlier U.S. study. Both the public and the toxicologists lacked confidence in the value of animal studies for predicting human health risks. However, the public had great confidence in the validity of animal studies that found evidence of carcinogenicity, whereas such evidence was not considered highly predictive of human health risk by many toxicologists. Technical judgments of toxicologists were found to be associated with factors such as affiliation, gender, and worldviews. Implications of these data for risk communication are briefly discussed.
Nocturnal Dipping and Left Ventricular Mass Index in the Chronic Kidney Disease in Children Cohort

Visual Abstract Background and objectives The physiologic nocturnal BP decline is often blunted in patients with CKD; however, the consequences of BP nondipping in children are largely unknown. Our objective was to determine risk factors for nondipping and to investigate if nondipping is associated with higher left ventricular mass index in children with CKD. Design, setting, participants, & measurements We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of ambulatory BP monitoring and echocardiographic data in participants of the Chronic Kidney Disease in Children study. Multivariable linear and spline regression analyses were used to evaluate the relationship of risk factors with dipping and of dipping with left ventricular mass index. Results Within 552 participants, mean age was 11 (±4) years, mean eGFR was 53 (±20) ml/min per 1.73 m2, and 41% were classified as nondippers. In participants with nonglomerular CKD, female sex and higher sodium intake were significantly associated with less systolic and diastolic dipping (P≤0.05). In those with glomerular CKD, Black race and greater proteinuria were significantly associated with less systolic and diastolic dipping (P≤0.05). Systolic dipping and diastolic dipping were not significantly associated with left ventricular mass index; however, in spline regression plots, diastolic dipping appeared to have a nonlinear relationship with left ventricular mass index. As compared with diastolic dipping of 20%–25%, dipping of <20% was associated with 1.41-g/m2.7-higher left ventricular mass index (95% confidence interval, −0.47 to 3.29), and dipping of >25% was associated with 1.98-g/m2.7-higher left ventricular mass index (95% confidence interval, −0.77 to 4.73), although these relationships did not achieve statistical significance. Conclusions Black race, female sex, and greater proteinuria and sodium intake were significantly associated with blunted dipping in children with CKD. We did not find a statistically significant association between dipping and left ventricular mass index. Podcast This article contains a podcast at https://www.asn-online.org/media/podcast/CJASN/2021_12_20_CJN09810721. mp3
Pulse Oximeter Performance, Racial Inequity, and the Work Ahead

It has long been known that many pulse oximeters function less accurately in patients with darker skin. Reasons for this observation are incompletely characterized and potentially enabled by limitations in existing regulatory oversight. Based on decades of experience and unpublished data, we believe it is feasible to fully characterize, in the public domain, the factors that contribute to missing clinically important hypoxemia in patients with darkly pigmented skin. Here we propose 5 priority areas of inquiry for the research community and actionable changes to current regulations that will help improve oximeter accuracy. We propose that leading regulatory agencies should immediately modify standards for measuring accuracy and precision of oximeter performance, analyzing and reporting performance outliers, diversifying study subject pools, thoughtfully defining skin pigmentation, reporting data transparently, and accounting for performance during low-perfusion states. These changes will help reduce bias in pulse oximeter performance and improve access to safe oximeters.
Excitatory Amino Acid Transporter EAAT5 Improves Temporal Resolution in the Retina

Abstract Excitatory amino acid transporters (EAATs) remove glutamate from the synaptic cleft. In the retina, EAAT1 and EAAT2 are considered the major glutamate transporters. However, it has not yet been possible to determine how EAAT5 shapes the retinal light responses because of the lack of a selective EAAT5 blocker or EAAT5 knock-out (KO) animal model. In this study, EAAT5 was found to be expressed in a punctate manner close to release sites of glutamatergic synapses in the mouse retina. Light responses from retinae of wild-type (WT) and of a newly generated model with a targeted deletion of EAAT5 (EAAT5−/−) were recorded in vitro using multielectrode arrays (MEAs). Flicker resolution was considerably lower in EAAT5−/− retinae than in WT retinae. The close proximity to the glutamate release site makes EAAT5 an ideal tool to improve temporal information processing in the retina by controlling information transfer at glutamatergic synapses.
Hydro-Climatic Trends in the Hudson Bay Region, Canada

Long-term streamflow time series were analysed to provide evidence of climate change in the Hudson Bay region. We also investigated whether relationships exist between streamflow and proximal temperature and precipitation time series. The Mann-Kendall test for trend reveals an earlier occurrence of the spring peak flow in three rivers flowing into southern Hudson Bay, with a statistically-significant warming trend for spring temperature. In the northwestern Hudson Bay region, precipitation has significantly increased in all seasons, resulting in increasing trends in the discharge of the Kazan River. In contrast, a decrease in river discharge was detected in central Manitoba, because of warmer temperatures and less abundant rainfall. On the east side of Hudson Bay, statistically-significant streamflow trends were detected for individual months, but temporally and spatially coherent patterns could not be identified. This study of the Hudson Bay streamflow provides evidence of climate change using streamflow and climate data in the Hudson Bay region over the past century. The climate change signal is not spatially uniform and is obscured when the Hudson Bay basin is treated as a single large region.
Is Basson’s Model of Sexual Response Relevant? Yes, and so are other validated models of sexual response: A commentary on Balon (2021)

One important misrepresentation was that Basson’s model served as the conceptual basis for the creation of Female Sexual Interest/Arousal Disorder (FSIAD) in the 5th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5; American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Balon and Clayton (2014) have made this claim several years ago: (“It appears that the primary reason for creation of this diagnosis was to dismantle the longstanding linear concept of the sexual response cycle (desire, arousal, orgasm, plateau/resolution) in women and to replace it with another concept of sexual response (circular model) for women”; p. 1227) and we have previously countered this (Brotto, Graham, Paterson, Yule, & Zucker, 2015; Graham, Brotto, & Zucker, 2014). It is unfortunate that this myth continues to perpetuate in 2021 despite it being refuted six years ago. In fact, no one model served as a framework for the DSM-5 female sexual disorders. Basson’s circular sexual response cycle does highlight the importance of responsive desire, which featured as one of the six criteria for FSIAD. But the polythetic criteria for a diagnosis of FSIAD reflect the fact that no one model captures all women’s experiences of sexual desire and arousal (Brotto et al., 2015; Graham et al., 2014). Women can meet any three of the six FSIAD criteria and in the “Diagnostic features” section in DSM-5 is the statement: “There may be different symptom profiles across women, as well as variability in how sexual interest/ arousal disorder may be expressed. ” (American Psychiatric Association, 2013, p. 433). Extensive literature reviews of the research, including studies on the empirically-supported Incentive Motivation Model (Toates, 2009), and not exclusively Basson’s model, formed the basis for the FSIAD disorder. A second misconception propagated in the Balon (2021) commentary is that sexual desire (Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder; HSDD) and sexual arousal (Female Sexual Arousal Disorder; FSAD) were “merged” in DSM-5. Instead, as we have previously highlighted, both HSDD and FSAD were deleted from the DSM-5, and Female Sexual Interest/Arousal Disorder (FSIAD) was added. The primary reason for the deletions of HSDD and FSAD was because of longstanding criticism that the essential criteria for these disorders (Boyle, 1994; Tiefer, 1991; 2001) did not reflect women’s actual experience of low sexual desire and arousal. Moreover, multiple lines of evidence – qualitative, experimental and clinical studies – have demonstrated no empirical basis for any distinction between subjective arousal and desire (Chivers & Brotto, 2017; Laan & Both, 2008; Meana, 2010) (for a more detailed justification for the DSM-5 changes, see Brotto, 2010; Graham, 2010, 2016).
Reply to Permanyer et al.: The uncertainty surrounding healthy life expectancy indicators

Permanyer et al. (1) extend the analysis of human longevity by Vaupel et al. (2) to analyze trends in best-practice healthy life expectancy (BPHLE) in addition to best-practice life expectancy (BPLE) at birth. They estimate that, in the period 1990–2019, BPHLE increased at a slower pace than BPLE. We concur with Permanyer et al. (1) about the importance of healthy life expectancy. Differences in trends between BPHLE and BPLE, however, are not obvious when it is recognized that BPHLE estimates are uncertain. As life expectancy rises, it is unclear whether the extra years of life are being lived in good health. Mixed results have been found, depending on the age, population, and measure used (3). Since the seminal work by Sanders (4), there has not been a consensus on how to measure healthy life expectancy. The debate is ongoing, as acknowledged by Permanyer et al. (1). Fig. 1 replicates figure 1 in ref. 1 using the same data from the Global Burden of Disease (5) but incorporating the reported 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs) (vertical lines).
An analysis of domestic cooker control design

Abstract This study is an attempt to identify, the particular arrangement of the controls of a domestic cooker which would be the most natural and efficient to use. A cooker hob simulator capable of providing both ‘in line’ and ‘in quadrature’ ring layouts, and different ring-control arrangements was used. Twenty-eight students carried out trials on the simulator and their error rates were measured. A new statistical test was used lo show thai one of the ring-control arrangements for the ‘in quadrature’ rings, gave significantly less errors than the other three and hence could be regarded as the easiest lo use.
Mutagenesis of human genomes by endogenous mobile elements on a population scale

Several large-scale Illumina whole-genome sequencing (WGS) and whole-exome sequencing (WES) projects have emerged recently that have provided exceptional opportunities to discover mobile element insertions (MEIs) and study the impact of these MEIs on human genomes. However, these projects also have presented major challenges with respect to the scalability and computational costs associated with performing MEI discovery on tens or even hundreds of thousands of samples. To meet these challenges, we have developed a more efficient and scalable version of our mobile element locator tool (MELT) called CloudMELT. We then used MELT and CloudMELT to perform MEI discovery in 57,919 human genomes and exomes, leading to the discovery of 104,350 nonredundant MEIs. We leveraged this collection (1) to examine potentially active L1 source elements that drive the mobilization of new Alu, L1, and SVA MEIs in humans; (2) to examine the population distributions and subfamilies of these MEIs; and (3) to examine the mutagenesis of GENCODE genes, ENCODE-annotated features, and disease genes by these MEIs. Our study provides new insights on the L1 source elements that drive MEI mutagenesis and brings forth a better understanding of how this mutagenesis impacts human genomes.
Vitamin D3 enhances the effects of omega‐3 oils against metabolic dysfunction‐associated fatty liver disease in rat

This study investigated the effects of omega‐3 oils (OM) and/or vitamin D3 (VD) against metabolic dysfunction‐associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD). Forty rats were divided into negative (NC) and positive (PC) controls, OM, VD, and OM + VD groups, and MAFLD was induced by high‐fat/high‐fructose diet (12 weeks). Oral OM (415 mg/kg/day) and/or intramuscular VD (290 IU/kg/day) were given for 4 weeks (5 times/week). The PC animals were markedly obese and had hyperglycemia, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, elevated liver enzymes, abnormal hepatic histology, and increased caspase‐3 with apoptosis than the NC group. The expression of hepatic peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor‐α (PPAR‐α; 5.3‐fold), insulin induced gene‐1 (INSIG1; 7.8‐fold), adiponectin receptor‐1 (AdipoR1; 4.4‐fold), and leptin receptor (LEPR; 6‐fold) declined, while PPAR‐γ (3.7‐fold) and sterol regulatory element‐binding protein‐1 (SREBP1; 2.4‐fold) increased, in the PC than the NC group. Leptin (2.2‐fold), malondialdehyde (2.1‐fold), protein carbonyl groups (17.3‐fold), IL‐1β (4.4‐fold), IL‐6 (2.1‐fold), TNF‐α (1.8‐fold) also increased, whereas adiponectin (2.8‐fold) glutathione (2.1‐fold), glutathione peroxidase‐1 (2.4‐fold), glutathione reductase (2.2‐fold), catalase (1.4‐fold), and IL‐10 (2.8‐fold) decreased, in the PC livers. Both monotherapies attenuated obesity, metabolic profiles, and PPAR‐γ/SREBP1/leptin/Caspase‐3/apoptosis, while induced PPAR‐α/adiponectin/AdipoR1/LEPR/INSIG1. The monotherapies also reduced the oxidative stress and pro‐inflammatory markers and increased the antioxidant and anti‐inflammatory molecules. However, the OM effects were better than VD monotherapy. Alternatively, the co‐therapy group showed the greatest ameliorations in liver functions, lipid‐regulatory molecules, oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis. In conclusion, while OM monotherapy was superior to VD, the co‐therapy protocol displayed the best alleviations against MAFLD, possibly by enhanced modulation of metabolic, antioxidant, and anti‐inflammatory pathways.
In-Person Verification of Deep Learning Algorithm for Diabetic Retinopathy Screening Using Different Techniques Across Fundus Image Devices

Purpose To evaluate the clinical performance of an automated diabetic retinopathy (DR) screening model to detect referable cases at Siriraj Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand. Methods A retrospective review of two sets of fundus photographs (Eidon and Nidek) was undertaken. The images were classified by DR staging prior to the development of a DR screening model. In a prospective cross-sectional enrollment of patients with diabetes, automated detection of referable DR was compared with the results of the gold standard, a dilated fundus examination. Results The study analyzed 2533 Nidek fundus images and 1989 Eidon images. The sensitivities calculated for the Nidek and Eidon images were 0.93 and 0.88 and the specificities were 0.91 and 0.85, respectively. In a clinical verification phase using 982 Nidek and 674 Eidon photographs, the calculated sensitivities and specificities were 0.86 and 0.92 for Nidek along with 0.92 and 0.84 for Eidon, respectively. The 60°-field images from the Eidon yielded a more desirable performance in differentiating referable DR than did the corresponding images from the Nidek. Conclusions A conventional fundus examination requires intense healthcare resources. It is time consuming and possibly leads to unavoidable human errors. The deep learning algorithm for the detection of referable DR exhibited a favorable performance and is a promising alternative for DR screening. However, variations in the color and pixels of photographs can cause differences in sensitivity and specificity. The image angle and poor quality of fundus photographs were the main limitations of the automated method. Translational Relevance The deep learning algorithm, developed from basic research of image processing, was applied to detect referable DR in a real-word clinical care setting.
Ultrastructural analysis of the morphological phenotypes of microglia associated with neuroinflammatory cues

Microglia are the primary resident immune cells of the central nervous system that are responsible for the maintenance of brain homeostasis. There is a plethora of evidence to suggest that microglia display distinct phenotypes that are associated with the alteration of cell morphology under varying environmental cues. However, it has not been fully explored how the varying states of microglial activation are linked to the alteration of microglia morphology, especially in the microdomain. The objective of this study was to quantitatively characterize the ultrastructural morphology of human microglia under neuroinflammatory cues. To address this, a human cell line of microglia was stimulated by antiinflammatory (IL‐4), proinflammatory (TNF‐α), and Alzheimer's disease (AD)‐associated cues (Aβ, Aβ + TNF‐α). The resulting effects on microglia morphology associated with changes in microdomain were analyzed using a high‐resolution scanning electron microscopy. Our findings demonstrated that microglial activation under proinflammatory and AD‐cues were closely linked to changes not only in cell shape but also in cell surface topography and higher‐order branching of processes. Furthermore, our results revealed that microglia under proinflammatory cues exhibited unique morphological features involving cell‐to‐cell contact and the formation of vesicle‐like structures. Our study provides insight into the fine details of microglia morphology associated with varying status of microglial activation.
ABO blood group and risk of COVID‐19 infection and complications: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Several studies have identified a possible association between ABO blood group and COVID-19. However, studies are of variable quality and results are inconsistent. The aim of this systematic review was to synthesize the evidence on the association between ABO and the risk of COVID-19 infection and prognosis. Searches were conducted in PubMed, MedRxive and BioRxive to identify observational studies published up to May 2021. The incidence of COVID-19 and, among the COVID-19 positive patients, the risk of hospitalization, ICU admission, mechanical ventilation and mortality were also analyzed. A total of 63 studies were included, with 6,470,438 participants. Group O was associated to a significantly lower risk of COVID-19 infection (OR O vs non-O 0.88 95%CI: 0.82-0.94; I2 : 91%) and group A with a higher risk (OR A vs non-A 1.08 95%CI: 1.02-1.15). No effect of ABO on the risk of hospitalization, ICU admission or ventilation was observed. Group A was associated with higher mortality (OR A vs non-A: 1.13 95%CI 1.03-1.13), group B with lower mortality (OR B vs non-B 0.88; 95%CI 0.80-0.96), and no effect with group O was observed. The quality of the evidence was rated as "very low" and "low". Group O would present a reduced risk of COVID-19 infection, but would not influence the prognosis of the disease. Group A would be risk factor for COVID-19 infection and mortality. Group B would not modify the risk of COVID-19 infection, but would be associated to a lower mortality risk.
Long-term outcome of biologically guided dose-escalated radiotherapy of localized prostate cancer

Abstract Background Biologically created subvolumes enable non-uniform dose distributions in prostate cancer radiotherapy (RT) thus potentially improving therapeutic ratio and reducing toxicity. We present the long-term outcome of men receiving focal boosting of carbon-11 acetate (ACE) PET-CT metabolically active areas in prostate carcinoma. Material and methods Thirty men with hormone naïve localized prostate carcinoma underwent ACE PET/CT for RT planning. There were five low-, 17 intermediate-, and eight high-risk patients. Based on thresholding of the standardized uptake values (SUVs) metabolic target volumes (MTVs) corresponding to intraprostatic lesions (IPLs) were contoured. Two planning target volumes (PTVs) were applied i.e., PTVlow-risk for the whole prostate with 8–10 mm margin and PTVhigh-risk for the MTV. Pelvic nodes were not irradiated. Late toxicity of biologically guided RT was reviewed after a median of 63 months and outcome after a median follow-up of 124 months. Results Median doses to PTVlow-risk, PTVhigh-risk, prostate, and MTV were 72.9 Gy, 79.4 Gy, 76.6 Gy, and 80.4 Gy, respectively, in 38 fractions. The 10-year cancer-specific survival was 86% and the biochemical failure-free ratio 68%, respectively. The median biochemical progression-free survival (PFS) was 37, 108, and 119 months in the high, intermediate, and low-risk groups, respectively, the difference being significant between high and intermediate-risk groups (p = 0.02). One patient (3%) presented with locoregional and 5 (17%) with distant nodal metastases. Five patients (17%) had a biochemical relapse. A larger MTV was associated with shorter PFS (r = −0.41, p = 0.02), but had no influence on OS. No other statistically significant differences in the dose painting parameters were observed between recurrence-free and recurring patients. Conclusions Biological guidance for dose-escalated prostate RT is feasible with ACE PET/CT. Since a larger MTV may be associated with a higher risk for progression, we encourage further study of dose-escalation to ACE-positive lesions considering the low toxicity of our protocol.