Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Relationship Between Grit and Resilience in Emergency Medical Service Personnel

Background: Emergency medical service (EMS) personnel are regularly exposed to traumatic incidents and experience higher rates of symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than the general population. Grit is a construct proposed to be associated with achievement, but it has demonstrated preliminary evidence of an association with resilience. The current study examined the relationship between grit and resilience among EMS workers. Methods: A link to an online survey was sent to East Baton Rouge Parish Emergency Medical Services personnel via an email distribution list. Demographic variables and the following self-report measures were assessed: the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5), the Grit Scale, the Brief COPE scale, and the Professional Exposure to Traumatic Experiences scale (modified from the Life Events Checklist). Results: PCL-5 scores were significantly and negatively correlated with the Grit Scale score (r=–0.57, P<0.01). Hierarchical regression revealed that grit and coping mechanisms were predictive of self-reported PTSD symptoms (adjusted R2=68.7%, F(15,67)=9.81, P<0.001). Examination of the coefficients revealed that lower total Grit Scale scores and higher scores on the following Brief COPE scales were significant predictors of PCL-5 scores: denial, substance abuse, disengagement, and self-blame. Conclusion: This study examined the relationship between grit and resilience, measured by self-reported PTSD symptoms. Our results demonstrate a significant relationship between grit and resilience. Grit is related to, but distinct from, other constructs that predict resilience, such as coping mechanisms. Large prospective studies could have significant implications for hiring practices and building grit in existing personnel to bolster resilience.
Preschoolers Find Ways to Resist Temptation After Learning That Willpower Can Be Energizing.

Children's tendency to delay gratification predicts important life outcomes, yet little is known about how to enhance delay of gratification other than by teaching task-specific strategies. The present research investigated the effect of exposing children to a model who experiences the exertion of willpower as energizing. In two experiments, 86 4-5 year-olds were read a story that represented the exertion of willpower as energizing or a control story before taking part in a delay-of-gratification task. Children exposed to a storybook character who struggled with waiting, but eventually found it energizing, spontaneously generated more delay strategies, which enhanced delay. By promoting the search for effective strategies, this approach provides a promising direction for efforts to foster self-regulation early in development.
The effect of 10- versus 30-minutes of acute aerobic exercise on insulin and glucose in obese adults

Introduction: Obesity is associated with insulin resistance often accompanied by hyperinsulinemia and hyperglycemia, placing obese individuals at risk for type 2 diabetes and other chronic diseases. Acute exercise is associated with a decrease in postprandial insulin and glucose, but it is unknown how exercise of varying duration affects these variables. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare changes in postprandial insulin and glucose following 10-minutes (10-EX) and 30-minutes (30-EX) of aerobic exercise to a resting (REST) condition. Methods: 9 healthy, sedentary obese men and women (BMI: 33.6±3.2 kg/m2; Age: 45.3±5.7 years) each performed 10-EX, 30-EX and REST in a randomized fashion. Blood was collected in the fasting state, and at 30-minute intervals following breakfast for 120-minutes. All exercise sessions were performed at 70-75% maximal heart rate. Results: Data was collected at all time points for five subjects, which were included in area under the curve (AUC) analyses. There was no significant difference in plasma insulin AUC between REST (12,270±6,148), 10-EX (10,633±5,162), and 30-EX (11,479±4,810) (p=0.354). There was no significant difference in plasma glucose AUC between REST (23,184±6,023), 10-EX (21,735±2,680), and 30-EX (22,899±3,328) (p=0.554). However, the patterns of change were not consistent across experimental conditions. A significant main effect for condition (p=0.018) was detected at 60-MIN for insulin, with lower insulin observed in 30-EX (32.3±12.3) compared to 10-EX (66.8±30.3) or REST (94.9±48.0). Insulin rebounded following exercise and was significantly higher at 120-MIN in 30-EX (74.3±45.2) compared to REST (55.4±45.7) (p=0.042). Plasma glucose followed a similar pattern, and a significant main effect was observed at 90-MIN (p=0.037) at was elevated in 30-EX (147.6±29.0) compared to 10-EX (122.2±21.5) or REST (121.4±38.0). Conclusion: There was no significant difference in plasma insulin or glucose AUC between 10-EX, 30-EX and REST, but pattern of change was not consistent across conditions. Additional research should explore if differences in pattern of change following 10- or 30-minutes of exercise affect health outcomes in obese adults.
Air‐side ammonia stripping coupled to anaerobic digestion indirectly impacts anaerobic microbiome

Air‐side stripping without a prior solid–liquid phase separation step is a feasible and promising process to control ammonia concentration in thermophilic digesters. During the process, part of the anaerobic biomass is exposed to high temperature, high pH and aerobic conditions. However, there are no studies assessing the effects of those harsh conditions on the microbial communities of thermophilic digesters. To fill this knowledge gap, the microbiomes of two thermophilic digesters (55°C), fed with a mixture of pig manure and nitrogen‐rich co‐substrates, were investigated under different organic loading rates (OLR: 1.1–5.2 g COD l−1 day−1), ammonia concentrations (0.2–1.5 g free ammonia nitrogen l−1) and stripping frequencies (3–5 times per week). The bacterial communities were dominated by Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes phyla, while the predominant methanogens were Methanosarcina sp archaea. Increasing co‐substrate fraction, OLR and free ammonia nitrogen (FAN) favoured the presence of genera Ruminiclostridium, Clostridium and Tepidimicrobium and of hydrogenotrophic methanogens, mainly Methanoculleus archaea. The data indicated that the use of air‐side stripping did not adversely affect thermophilic microbial communities, but indirectly modulated them by controlling FAN concentrations in the digester. These results demonstrate the viability at microbial community level of air side‐stream stripping process as an adequate technology for the ammonia control during anaerobic co‐digestion of nitrogen‐rich substrates.
Halogen Vacancies Enable Ligand-Assisted Self-assembly of Perovskite Quantum Dots into Nanowires.

Interest has been growing in defects of halide perovskites in view of their intimate connection with key material optoelectronic properties. In perovskite quantum dots (PQDs), the influence of defects is even more apparent than in their bulk counterparts. By combining experiment and theory, we report herein a halide-vacancy-driven, ligand-directed self-assembly process of CsPbBr3 PQDs. With the assistance of oleic acid and didodecyldimethylammonium sulfide, surface-Br-vacancy-rich CsPbBr3 PQDs self-assemble into nanowires (NWs) that are 20 - 60 nm in width and several millimeters in length. The NWs exhibit a sharp photoluminescence profile (~18 nm full-width at-half-maximum) that peaks at 525 nm. Our findings provide insight into the defect-correlated dynamics of PQDs and defect-assisted fabrication of perovskite materials and devices.
HLA-B locus products resist degradation by the human cytomegalovirus immunoevasin US11

To escape CD8+ T-cell immunity, human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) US11 redirects MHC-I for rapid ER-associated proteolytic degradation (ERAD). In humans, classical MHC-I molecules are encoded by the highly polymorphic HLA-A, -B and -C gene loci. While HLA-C resists US11 degradation, the specificity for HLA-A and HLA-B products has not been systematically studied. In this study we analyzed the MHC-I peptide ligands in HCMV-infected cells. A US11-dependent loss of HLA-A ligands was observed, but not of HLA-B. We revealed a general ability of HLA-B to assemble with β2m and exit from the ER in the presence of US11. Surprisingly, a low-complexity region between the signal peptide sequence and the Ig-like domain of US11, was necessary to form a stable interaction with assembled MHC-I and, moreover, this region was also responsible for changing the pool of HLA-B ligands. Our data suggest a two-pronged strategy by US11 to escape CD8+ T-cell immunity, firstly, by degrading HLA-A molecules, and secondly, by manipulating the HLA-B ligandome.
Impaired peroxisomal fitness in obese mice, a vicious cycle exacerbating adipocyte dysfunction via oxidative stress.

AIMS Peroxisome is a critical organelle for fatty acid oxidation and metabolism of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Increased oxidative stress in adipose tissue contributes to the development of insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome in obesity. The present study aimed to investigate the role of peroxisomal fitness in maintaining adipocyte function, which has been underrated in the obesity research area. RESULTS Reduced peroxisomal gene expressions in white adipose tissue (WAT) of obese mice suggested a close correlation between peroxisomes and obesity. Pex5 siRNA increased cellular ROS and inflammatory mediators in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. On the other hands, H2O2 or TNFα treatment significantly decreased biogenesis- and function-related peroxisomal proteins, suggesting a positive feedback loop of ROS/inflammation and peroxisomal dysfunction. Correspondingly, catalase (a major peroxisomal antioxidant)-knockout mice fed with high-fat diet (HFD) exhibited suppressed peroxisomal proteins along with increased oxidative stress and accelerated obesity. In response to fenofibrate (a peroxisomal proliferator) treatment, WAT of HFD-fed wild type mice showed not only increases in peroxisomal biogenesis and fatty acid oxidation, but also attenuated features of adipocyte dysfunction and obesity. However, these results were not observed in PPAR-α null obese mice. Innovation and Conclusion: Adipose tissue peroxisomal homeostasis plays an important role in attenuating the features of obesity, and it can be a potential therapeutic target of obesity.
Multiple mild closed head injuries lead to visual dysfunction in a mouse model.

Visual dysfunction is a common occurrence after traumatic brain injury (TBI). We investigated in this study effects of single or multiple mild TBI on visual function in mice using a closed head injury model that permits unconstrained head movement after impact. Adult mice were briefly anesthetized with isoflurane and given one or three mild head injuries with the closed head injury by mechanically engineered rotational acceleration (CHIMERA) device with an inter-injury interval of 24 hours. The mice were then tested in the Morris water maze, visual cliff and open field tests from day 19 to day 32, and for visual evoked potential at 5 weeks after the last injury and euthanized. The mice with multiple head injuries showed impaired performance in visible platform water maze test and had increased errors in the visual cliff test. Furthermore, there was a graded difference in visual evoked potential with the single injury mice showing modest reduction in N1 amplitude while the multiple injury produced significant reduction compared to sham and single injury group. The optic tract of the injured mice showed increases in glial cell immunostaining. The increase in GFAP immunostaining reached statistical significance for both injured groups while the Iba-1 immunostaining was only significantly increased in the optic tract of repeatedly injured mice. These results indicate that multiple injuries using CHIMERA may result in visual deficits which can affect certain behavioral performances. The change in vision may be a useful marker when monitoring injury outcome and screening for protective agents from TBI.
Quantification, source apportionment and risk assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in sediments from Mokolo and Blood Rivers in Limpopo Province, South Africa

Abstract The presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the environment is of major concern since some of these compounds are highly persistent, toxic (causing cancer) and wide spread pollutants. The objective of this study was to evaluate the levels of PAHs in sediment samples collected from Blood and Mokolo Rivers in Limpopo Province, South Africa. The PAHs in sediments were extracted using optimized microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) method. The quantification of sixteen (16) PAHs in sediments was done by gas chromatography-flame ionization detector (GC-FID). The levels of PAHs recorded in sediment samples from Blood River ranged between 0.015 and 3.25 mg kg−1. The concentrations of PAHs obtained in sediments from Mokolo River (0.047 to 52.7 mg kg−1) were higher than those recorded in sediments from Blood River. The PAHs ratios indicated that both pyrogenic and petrogenic could be the sources of these compounds in both rivers. Toxic equivalency factors (TEFs) and benzo(a)pyrene equivalent (BaPE) were used to estimate the potential human health risk of PAHs in quantitative terms. The assessment of ecotoxicological risk indicated that the sediment samples collected from Mokolo River are at high toxicity risk while sediments from Blood River are at low sediment toxicity risk.
Condom Use, Pornography Consumption, and Perceptions of Pornography as Sexual Information in a Sample of Adult U.S Males

Using survey data from heterosexual adult men in the U.S., the present study has two objectives. The first objective is to provide an additional data point on the overall, bivariate association between frequency of pornography consumption and condom use. The second objective is to test the theoretical proposition that the association between using pornography more frequently and using condoms less frequently will be stronger when pornography is seen as functionally important and weaker when pornography is not seen as functionally important. At the bivariate level, more frequent pornography consumption was associated with using condoms less consistently. At the level of contingency, pornography use predicted condom nonuse only when men perceived that pornography was a primary source of information about sex. When men did not perceive that pornography was a primary source of sexual information, their rate of condom use was unrelated to how much or how little they consumed pornography. Collectively, these results are consistent with the public health position that pornography can be a risk-factor for condomless sex and the theoretical position that the socializing impact of sexual media depends on the pedagogical value attributed to that media.
Biomarker Analyses of Response to Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 4/6 Inhibition and Endocrine Therapy in Women with Treatment-Naïve Metastatic Breast Cancer

Purpose: Preclinical data identified the cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 (CDK4/6) inhibitor palbociclib as synergistic with antiestrogens in inhibiting growth of hormone receptor-positive/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative (HR+/HER2−) human breast cancer models. This observation was validated clinically in the randomized, placebo-controlled, phase III PALOMA-2 study. Experimental Design: To determine markers of sensitivity and resistance to palbociclib plus letrozole, we performed comprehensive biomarker analyses, investigating the correlation with progression-free survival (PFS), on baseline tumor tissues from PALOMA-2. Results: Despite a broad biomarker search, palbociclib plus letrozole demonstrated consistent PFS gains versus placebo plus letrozole, with no single biomarker or cassette of markers associated with lack of benefit from combination treatment. Palbociclib plus letrozole confers efficacy on both luminal A and B patients. Higher CDK4 levels were associated with endocrine resistance which was mitigated by the addition of palbociclib, whereas lower PD-1 levels were associated with greater palbociclib plus letrozole benefit. Tumors with more active growth factor signaling, as exemplified by increased expression of FGFR2 and ERBB3 mRNA, appeared to be associated with greater PFS gain from the addition of palbociclib. Conclusions: These data underscore the importance of CDK4/6 signaling in HR+/HER2− breast cancer and suggest that the interplay between steroid hormone and peptide growth factor signaling could drive dependence on CDK4/6 signaling. See related commentary by Anurag et al., p. 3
Morphometric Biomarkers of Adolescents with Familial Risk for Alcohol Use Disorder.

BACKGROUND While many adolescents exhibit risky behavior, teenagers with a family history (FH+) of an alcohol use disorder (AUD) are at a heightened risk for earlier initiation of alcohol use, a more rapid escalation in frequency and quantity of alcohol consumption and developing a subsequent AUD in comparison to youth without such family history (FH-). Neuroanatomically, developmentally normative risk-taking behavior parallels an imbalance between more protracted development of the pre-frontal cortex (PFC) and earlier development of limbic regions. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) derived volumetric properties were obtained for these structures in FH+ and FH- adolescents. METHODS Forty-two substance-naïve adolescents (13-14-year-olds), stratified into FH+ (N=19, 13 girls) and FH- (N=23, 11 girls) age/handedness-matched groups, completed MRI scanning at 3.0T, as well as cognitive and clinical testing. T1 images were processed using Freesurfer to measure PFC and hippocampi/amygdalae subfields/nuclei volumes. RESULTS FH+ status was associated with larger hippocampal/amygdala volumes (p<.05), relative to FH- adolescents, with right amygdala results appearing to be driven by FH+ boys. Volumetric differences also were positively associated with family history density (p<.05) of having an AUD. Larger subfields/nuclei volumes were associated with higher anxiety levels and worse auditory verbal learning performance (p<.05). CONCLUSION FH+ risk for AUD is detectable via neuromorphometric characteristics, which precede alcohol use onset and the potential onset of a later AUD, that are associated with emotional and cognitive measures. It is plausible that the development of limbic regions might be altered in FH+ youth, even prior to the onset of alcohol use, which could increase later risk. Thus, targeted preventative measures are warranted that serve to delay the onset of alcohol use in youth, particularly in those who are FH+ for an AUD.
Methods, availability, and applications of PM2.5 exposure estimates derived from ground measurements, satellite, and atmospheric models

ABSTRACT Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is a well-established risk factor for public health. To support both health risk assessment and epidemiological studies, data are needed on spatial and temporal patterns of PM2.5 exposures. This review article surveys publicly available exposure datasets for surface PM2.5 mass concentrations over the contiguous U.S., summarizes their applications and limitations, and provides suggestions on future research needs. The complex landscape of satellite instruments, model capabilities, monitor networks, and data synthesis methods offers opportunities for research development, but would benefit from guidance for new users. Guidance is provided to access publicly available PM2.5 datasets, to explain and compare different approaches for dataset generation, and to identify sources of uncertainties associated with various types of datasets. Three main sources used to create PM2.5 exposure data are ground-based measurements (especially regulatory monitoring), satellite retrievals (especially aerosol optical depth, AOD), and atmospheric chemistry models. We find inconsistencies among several publicly available PM2.5 estimates, highlighting uncertainties in the exposure datasets that are often overlooked in health effects analyses. Major differences among PM2.5 estimates emerge from the choice of data (ground-based, satellite, and/or model), the spatiotemporal resolutions, and the algorithms used to fuse data sources. Implications: Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) has large impacts on human morbidity and mortality. Even though the methods for generating the PM2.5 exposure estimates have been significantly improved in recent years, there is a lack of review articles that document PM2.5 exposure datasets that are publicly available and easily accessible by the health and air quality communities. In this article, we discuss the main methods that generate PM2.5 data, compare several publicly available datasets, and show the applications of various data fusion approaches. Guidance to access and critique these datasets are provided for stakeholders in public health sectors.
The onset of xylogenesis in Smith fir is not related to outer bark thickness.

PREMISE The resumption of stem growth varies across the ontogenetic development of trees. Compared with younger trees, older ones have thicker outer bark with a temperature-insulating effect that could potentially prevent the stem from warming in the spring. However, the question of whether xylogenesis in old trees is influenced by the thick bark still remains unresolved. METHODS We investigated the onset of xylogenesis across the ontogenetic development of Smith fir (Abies georgei var. smithii) trees in the Sygera Mountains, southeastern Tibetan Plateau. The outer bark of older trees was also removed. Xylogenesis was monitored in microcores we collected every 3 days during May and June in 2017. RESULTS Xylogenesis began in late May in young (<50 yr) and mature (50-100 yr) trees, 1 week earlier than in adult (>100-150 yr) and old (>150-200 yr) trees. Older (>200 yr) trees had the latest onset of xylogenesis, 2 weeks after young trees. The resumption of xylogenesis was similar between the control and bark-removed trees. CONCLUSIONS Growth resumption was delayed in older and bigger trees. Outer bark did not affect the onset of xylogenesis, which indicated that the delayed resumption of growth during the lifespan of trees could be more related to endogenous factors than to an insulating effect of the thick bark of older individuals.
Simultaneous inference for multiple marginal generalized estimating equation models

Motivated by small-sample studies in ophthalmology and dermatology, we study the problem of simultaneous inference for multiple endpoints in the presence of repeated observations. We propose a framework in which a generalized estimating equation model is fit for each endpoint marginally, taking into account dependencies within the same subject. The asymptotic joint normality of the stacked vector of marginal estimating equations is used to derive Wald-type simultaneous confidence intervals and hypothesis tests for multiple linear contrasts of regression coefficients of the multiple marginal models. The small sample performance of this approach is improved by a bias adjustment to the estimate of the joint covariance matrix of the regression coefficients from multiple models. As a further small sample improvement a multivariate t-distribution with appropriate degrees of freedom is specified as reference distribution. In addition, a generalized score test based on the stacked estimating equations is derived. Simulation results show strong control of the family-wise type I error rate for these methods even with small sample sizes and increased power compared to a Bonferroni-Holm multiplicity adjustment. Thus, the proposed methods are suitable to efficiently use the information from repeated observations of multiple endpoints in small-sample studies.