Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A new classification system for describing concurrent use of nicotine vaping products alongside cigarettes (so-called 'dual use'): findings from the ITC-4 Country Smoking and Vaping wave 1 Survey.

AIMS To determine whether a simple combination of level of smoking and level of vaping results in a useful typology for characterizing smoking and vaping behaviours. METHODS Cross-sectional data from adults (≥ 18 years) in the 2016 wave 1 ITC Four Country Smoking and Vaping Survey in the United States (n = 2291), England (n = 3591), Australia (n = 1376) and Canada (n = 2784) were used. Participants who either smoked, vaped or concurrently used both at least monthly were included and divided into eight groups based on use frequency of each product (daily, non-daily, no current use). This resulted in four concurrent use groups (predominant smokers, dual daily users, predominant vapers and concurrent non-daily users). These groups were compared with each other and with the four exclusive use groups, on socio-demographics, nicotine dependence, beliefs and attitudes about both products, and quit-related measures using data weighted to reference population surveys in each country. RESULTS Of the sample, 10.8% were concurrent users, with daily smokers vaping non-daily (predominant smokers), constituting 51.6% of this group. All eight categories differed from other categories on at least some measures. Concurrent daily nicotine users reported higher levels of indicators of nicotine dependence, and generally more positive attitudes toward both smoking and vaping than concurrent non-daily users. Among daily nicotine users, compared with exclusive daily smokers, reports of interest in quitting were higher in all concurrent use groups. Dual daily users had the most positive attitudes about smoking overall, and saw it as the least denormalized, and at the same time were equally interested in quitting as other concurrent users and were most likely to report intending to continue vaping. CONCLUSIONS In Australia, Canada, England and the United States in 2016, daily nicotine users differed considerably from non-daily nicotine users. Among daily nicotine users, dual daily users (those who smoke and vape concurrently) should be treated as a distinct grouping when studying relationships between smoking and vaping. The eight-level typology characterizing concurrent and exclusive use of smoking and vaping should be considered when studying both products.
Examining the Impact of Knowledge Translation Interventions on Uptake of Evidence‐Based Practices by Care Aides in Continuing Care

BACKGROUND Dissemination of evidence-based practices has been a long-standing challenge for healthcare providers and policy makers. Research has increasingly focused on effective knowledge translation (KT) in healthcare settings. AIMS This study examined the effectiveness of two KT interventions, informal walkabouts and documentation information sessions, in supporting care aide adoption of new evidence-based practices in continuing care. METHODS The Sustaining Transfers through Affordable Research Translation (START) study examined sustainability of a new practice, the sit-to-stand activity completed with residents in 23 continuing care facilities in Alberta, Canada. At each facility, two informal walkabouts and two documentation information sessions were conducted with care aides during the first 4 months. To assess their effect, uptake of the sit-to-stand activity was compared 4 days prior to and 4 days after each intervention, as well as the entire first and fourth months of the study were compared. Data were analyzed using mixed linear regression models created to estimate the changes in uptake. RESULTS Data were collected from 227 residents. After controlling for age, sex, dementia, and mobility, a 5.3% (p = .09) increase in uptake of the mobility activity was observed during the day shift and 6.1% (p = .007) increase in uptake of the mobility activity during the evening shift. Site size had a significant effect on the outcome with medium-sized facilities showing a 12.6% (SE = .07) increase over small sites and a 18.2% (SE = .05) increase over large sites. These results suggest that repeated KT interventions and sufficient time are key variables in the successful implementation of new practices. LINKING EVIDENCE TO ACTION Consideration of time, repetition, and facility-specific variables such as size may generate simple, cost-effective KT interventions in healthcare settings.
Development of an Instrument to Assess Stroke Caregivers' Readiness for the Transition Home.

PURPOSE The study purpose was to develop a measure to assess stroke caregivers' commitment and capacity to assume the caregiving role prior to discharge. DESIGN Participants were caregivers of stroke survivors in an inpatient rehabilitation facility. METHODS A sequential, multimethod approach, which included item generation from qualitative data, review of items by expert clinicians, cognitive interviews to determine response format (n = 22), and item clarity (n = 20), and an analysis of pilot data were utilized. FINDINGS Cognitive interviewing provided information to improve item clarity. CONCLUSION This instrument development approach resulted in the Preparedness Assessment for the Transition Home After Stroke (PATH-s), a 26-item self-report instrument. The PATH-s represents the domains of the Model of Caregiver Readiness, upon which the instrument was developed. CLINICAL RELEVANCE The PATH-s, once further validated, may guide healthcare providers in the development of tailored care plans to address identified gaps and better prepare caregivers for the transition home.
Identification of Extrachromosomal Circular DNA in Hop via Rolling Circle Amplification

During a survey for new viruses affecting hop plants, a circular DNA molecule was identified via rolling circle amplification (RCA) and later characterized. A small region of the 5.7-kb long molecule aligned with a microsatellite region in the Humulus lupulus genome, and no coding sequence was identified. Sequence analysis and literature review suggest that the small DNA molecule is an extranuclear DNA element, specifically, an extrachromosomal circular DNA (eccDNA), and its presence was confirmed by electron microscopy. This work is the first report of eccDNAs in the family Cannabaceae. Additionally, this work highlights the advantages of using RCA to study extrachromosomal DNA in higher plants.
Mesothelial mobilization in the developing lung and heart differs in timing, quantity, and pathway dependency.

The mesothelial lining of the lung, the visceral pleura, and of the heart, the epicardium, derive from a common multipotent precursor tissue, the mesothelium of the embryonic thoracic cavity that also contributes to organ-specific mesenchymal cell types. Insight into mesothelial mobilization and differentiation has prevailedin the developing heart while the mesenchymal transition and fate of the visceral pleura are poorly understood. Here, we use the fact that the early mesothelium of both the lung and the heart expresses the transcription factor gene Wt1, to comparatively analyze mesothelial mobilization in the two organs by a genetic cre-loxP-based conditional approach. We show that epicardial cells are mobilized in a large number between E12.5 and E14.5, whereas pleural mobilization occurs only sporadically and variably in few regions of the lung in a temporally highly confined manner shortly after E12.5. Mesothelium-specific inactivation of unique pathway components using a Wt1creERT2 line excluded a requirement for canonical WNT, NOTCH, HH, TGFB, PDGFRA, and FGFR1/FGFR2 signaling in the mesenchymal transition of the visceral pleura but indicated a deleterious effect of activated WNT, NOTCH, and HH signaling on lung development. Epicardial mobilization was negatively impacted on by loss of HH, PDGFRA, FGFR1/2 signaling. Epicardial overactivation of WNT, NOTCH, and HH disturbed epicardial and myocardial integrity. We conclude that mesothelial mobilization in the developing lung and heart differs in timing, quantity and pathway dependency, indicating the organ specificity of the program.
Examining the relationship between perinatal depression and neurodevelopment in infants and children through structural and functional neuroimaging research

Abstract Depression is the most common perinatal psychiatric disorder, but little is known about how it may impact offspring neurodevelopment, as well as the mechanisms by which it may confer transgenerational psychiatric risk. This review presents imaging studies conducted to evaluate the relationship between perinatal depression (PND) and infant and child neurodevelopment. Altered structural and functional connectivity is implicated in children exposed to PND and anxiety. Overall, there are changes in connectivity between amygdala and the prefrontal cortex. Studies suggest decreased hippocampal growth in the first 6 months after birth, decreased cortical thickness in children, and increased amygdala volumes, that are more pronounced in female offspring. Future research is needed to understand the impact of PND on development so that early interventions which promote mother–infant bonding and cognitive development may improve developmental outcomes in children exposed to PND, reducing later risk of psychopathology.
A Four-Factor Immunoscore System That Predicts Clinical Outcome for Stage II/III Gastric Cancer

The American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging system for gastric cancer is insufficiently prognostic. An immunoscore system based on PD-L1 expression on tumor or immune cells, PD-1 expression, and infiltration of CD8+ T cells was more prognostic and complements the AJCC system. The American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging system is insufficiently prognostic for operable gastric cancer patients; therefore, complementary factors are under intense investigation. Although the focus is on immune markers, the prognostic impact of a single immune factor is minimal, due to complex antitumor immune responses. A more comprehensive evaluation may engender more accurate predictions. We analyzed immune factors by immunohistochemical staining in two independent cohorts. The association with patients' survival was analyzed by the Kaplan–Meier method. Our immunoscore system was constructed using Cox proportional hazard analysis. PD-L1+ immune cells (IC), PD-L1+ tumor cells (TC), PD-1hi, and CD8More were found among 33.33%, 31.37%, 33.33%, and 49%, respectively, of patients from the discovery cohort, and 41.74%, 17.4%, 38.26%, and 30.43% from the validation cohort. PD-L1+ ICs and PD-1hi ICs correlated with poorer overall survival (OS), but PD-L1+ TCs correlated with better OS and clinical outcomes and infiltration of more CD8+ T cells. These four factors were independently prognostic after tumor/lymph nodes/metastasis (TNM) stage adjustment. An immunoscore system based on hazard ratios of the four factors further separated gastric cancer patients with similar TNM staging into low-, medium-, or high-risk groups, with significantly different survival. Our prognostic model yielded an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.856 for prediction of mortality at 5 years, superior to that of TNM staging (AUC of 0.676). Thus, this more comprehensive immunoscore system can provide more accurate prognoses and is an essential complement to the AJCC staging system for operable gastric cancer patients. Cancer Immunol Res; 5(7); 524–34. ©2017 AACR.
Impairment of Cycling Capacity in the Heat in Well-Trained Endurance Athletes After High-Intensity Short-Term Heat Acclimation.

PURPOSE: To investigate the effects of short-term, high-intensity interval training (HIIT) on heat acclimation (HA). METHODS: Male cyclists/triathletes were assigned into either an HA (n = 13) or a comparative (COMP, n = 10) group. HA completed 3 cycling heat-stress tests to exhaustion (60% Wmax) (HST1, pre-HA; HST2, post-HA; HST3, 7 d post-HA). HA consisted of 30-min bouts of HIIT cycling (6 min at 50% Wmax then 12 x 1 min 100%-Wmax bouts with 1 min rest between bouts) on 5 consecutive days. COMP completed HST1 and HST2 only. HST and HA trials were conducted in 35°C/50% relative humidity. Cycling capacity and physiological and perceptual data were recorded. RESULTS: Cycling capacity was impaired after HIIT HA (77.2 ± 34.2 min vs 56.2 ± 24.4 min, P = .03) and did not return to baseline after 7 d of no HA (59.2 ± 37.4 min). Capacity in HST1 and HST2 was similar in COMP (43.5 ± 8.3 vs 46.8 ± 15.7 min, P = .54). HIIT HA lowered resting rectal (37.0°C ± 0.3°C vs 36.8°C ± 0.2°C, P = .05) and body temperature (36.0°C ±0.3°C vs 35.8°C ± 0.3°C, P = .03) in HST2 compared with HST1 and lowered mean skin temperature (35.4°C ± 0.5°C vs 35.1°C ± 0.3°C, P = .02) and perceived strain on day 5 compared with day 1 of HA. All other data were unaffected. CONCLUSIONS: Cycling capacity was impaired in the heat after 5 d of consecutive HIIT HA despite some heat adaptation. Based on the data, this approach is not recommended for athletes preparing to compete in the heat; however, it is possible that it may be beneficial if a state of overreaching is avoided.
Plasma Epstein–Barr virus DNA as an archetypal circulating tumour DNA marker

Analysis of circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA), as one type of ‘liquid biopsy’, has recently attracted great attention. Researchers are exploring many potential applications of liquid biopsy in many different types of cancer. In particular, it is of biological interest and clinical relevance to study the molecular characteristics of ctDNA. For such purposes, plasma Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) DNA from patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) would provide a good model to understand the biological properties and clinical applications of ctDNA in general. The strong association between EBV and NPC in endemic regions has made plasma EBV DNA a robust biomarker for this cancer. There are many clinical utilities of plasma EBV DNA analysis in NPC diagnostics. Its role in prognostication and surveillance of recurrence is well established. Plasma EBV DNA has also been validated for screening NPC in a recent large‐scale prospective study. Indeed, plasma EBV DNA could be regarded as an archetypal ctDNA marker. In this review, we discuss the biological properties of plasma EBV DNA from NPC samples and also the clinical applications of plasma EBV DNA analysis in the management of NPC. Of note, the recently reported size analysis of plasma EBV DNA in patients with NPC has highlighted size as an important analytical parameter of ctDNA and demonstrated clinical value in improving the diagnostic performance of an EBV DNA‐based NPC screening test. Such insights into ctDNA analysis (including size profiling) may help its full potential in cancer diagnostics for other types of cancer to be realised. © 2019 The Authors. The Journal of Pathology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland.
Enhanced Silver Nanowire Composite Window Electrode Protected by Large Size Graphene Oxide Sheets for Perovskite Solar Cells

Despite the outstanding features of high transmittance and low sheet resistance from silver nanowire (Ag NW) based transparent electrodes, their applications in perovskite solar cells (PVSCs) as window electrodes encounter significant obstacles due to the stability issue brought by the corrosion of halogen species from perovskite layer. In this study, we used large size graphene oxide (LGO) sheets as the protective barrier for bottom Ag NW nano-network. Contributed by the LGO with average size of 60 μm, less GO sheet was necessary for forming the fully covered protective barrier with fewer cracks, which consequently improved the optical transparency and anticorrosive ability of the composite electrode compared to the one from relatively small size GO. Our experiments demonstrated the composite electrode of Ag NW/LGO. The glass substrate exhibited transmittance of 83.8% and 81.8% at 550 nm before and after partial reduction, which maintained 98.4% and 95.1% average transmittance (AVT) of the pristine Ag NW electrode. Meanwhile, we utilized the steady hot airflow to assist the fast solvent evaporation and the uniform GO film formation on Ag NW electrode. Before the application of composite electrode in organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite solar cells, the operational stability of composite electrodes from different sizes of GO with perovskite film fabricated on top were characterized under continuing external bias and light irradiation. Experimental results indicate that the Ag NW electrode protected by LGO could maintain original resistance for more than 45 h. Finally, the PVSC fabricated on Ag NW/LGO based composite electrode yielded a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 9.62%, i.e., nearly 85% of that of the reference device fabricated on the commercial indium-tin oxide (ITO) glass. Our proposed low temperature and solution processed bottom electrode with improved optical transparency and operational stability can serve as the very beginning layer of optoelectronic devices, to promote the development of low cost and large area fabrication perovskite solar cells.
Preserved cardiovascular homeostasis despite blunted acetylcholine‐induced dilation in mice with endothelial muscarinic M3 receptor deletion

Muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (AChMR1‐5) are fundamental for cellular responses upon release of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine (ACh) from parasympathetic nerve fibers. ACh is the prototypical agonist stimulating endothelium‐dependent dilation, but most blood vessels lack parasympathetic innervation, raising the question as to the physiologic function of endothelial AChMR in vivo. Global deletion of AChM3R revealed a role in ACh‐induced vasodilation in vitro and food uptake, but overall cardiovascular homeostasis has not been examined thoroughly.
Inhibition of inhaled halloysite nanotube toxicity by trehalose through enhanced autophagic clearance of p62

Abstract Nanomaterials are widely used in an ever-increasing number of consumer and industrial products. It is therefore essential that the toxic effects of nanomaterials are understood in order to improve product safety. Here we evaluate the toxicity of inhaled halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) by applying a purpose designed inhalation exposure system and succeed in suppressing HNTs toxicity using trehalose. By assessing apoptosis, oxidative stress, inflammatory response, and autophagy, it is found that HNTs can cause sub-chronic toxicity in mice. Further investigations indicate that HNTs induce autophagy blockade that results in the accumulation of sequestosome-1 (p62), which is responsible for the excessive apoptosis, inflammatory response and oxidative stress. We found that p62 can be eliminated by trehalose and the application of trehalose in vitro and in vivo successfully inhibits toxicity by accelerating the clearance of p62. Trehalose shows great potential for reducing nanoparticle toxicity.
The Reasons for Doing Physical Exercise Mediate the Effect of Self-Esteem on Uncontrolled Eating Amongst Nursing Personnel

Background: Since the beginning of the 20th century, the importance of creating healthy work environments and promoting the health of workers in the healthcare sector to create Healthy and Resilient Organizations has been emphasized. In this context, self-esteem is an essential construct which influences health and healthy life styles, and, therefore, the general wellbeing of nurses. The objective of this study was to analyze the mediating role of reasons for exercising in the effect that self-esteem has on uncontrolled eating by nursing professionals. Methods: The sample was made up of 1094 nurses who were administered the Rosenberg General Self-Esteem Scale, the Goal Content for Exercise Questionnaire, and the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire-R18. Results: Bivariate correlation analysis and multiple mediation analysis showed that self-esteem has direct and indirect effects on uncontrolled eating. Moreover, self-esteem determines whether one does physical exercise to improve one’s image, recognition, or social affiliation—although the effects on uncontrolled eating were only significant in the case of image. Conclusions: The results have important practical implications in the framework of Positive Occupational Health Psychology (POHP) as they emphasize self-esteem, physical exercise and eating as essential aspects of the health and wellbeing of employees in the healthcare sector, highlighting the importance of creating organizations committed to promoting the psychosocial health of their workers.
Manhattan Distance-Based Adaptive 3D Transform-Domain Collaborative Filtering for Laser Speckle Imaging of Blood Flow

Laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI) is a full-field, noncontact imaging technology for mapping blood flow with high spatio-temporal resolution, in which the speckle contrast can be estimated either in spatial domain or temporal domain. Temporal LSCI (tLSCI) provides higher spatial resolution than spatial domain does. However, when the number of sampling frames is limited, it is difficult to obtain accurate blood flow velocity owing to the significant statistical noise. The widely used spatially averaged tLSCI (savg-tLSCI) usually requires a large number of sampling frames to obtain acceptable denoising performance. Here, based on the nonlocal filtering strategy of block-matching and three-dimensional transform-domain collaborative filtering (BM3D), Manhattan distance-based adaptive BM3D (MD-ABM3D) is proposed to effectively manage the complicated inhomogeneous noise in tLSCI image and improve the signal-to-noise ratio. Manhattan distance improves the accuracy of the block matching in strong noise, and the adaptive algorithm adapts to the inhomogeneous noise and estimates suitable parameters for improved denoising. MD-ABM3D improves 4.91 dB in peak signal-to-noise ratio relative to savg-tLSCI. It achieves stability for denoising tLSCI image with different temporal windows. The image-quality evaluation of MD-ABM3D for tLSCI (t = 20 frames) equals that of savg-tLSCI (t = 60 frames). It achieves high signal-to-noise ratio with a reduced number of sampling frames. A reduced number of sampling frames are more practical for biomedical applications. It also offers higher temporal resolution and less disturbance from the motion of the moving object.
Identification of stable senescence‐associated reference genes

Cellular senescence is a state of permanent cell cycle arrest activated in response to damaging stimuli. Many hallmarks associated with senescent cells are measured by quantitative real‐time PCR (qPCR). As the selection of stable reference genes for interpretation of qPCR data is often overlooked, we performed a systematic review to understand normalization strategies entailed in experiments involving senescent cells. We found that, in violation of the Minimum Information for publication of qPCR Experiments (MIQE) guidelines, most reports used only one reference gene to normalize qPCR data, and that stability of the reference genes was either not tested or not reported. To identify new and more stable reference genes in senescent fibroblasts, we analyzed the Shapiro–Wilk normality test and the coefficient of variation per gene using in public RNAseq datasets. We then compared the new reference gene candidates with commonly used ones by using both RNAseq and qPCR data. Finally, we defined the best reference genes to be used universally or in a strain‐dependent manner. This study intends to raise awareness of the instability of classical reference genes in senescent cells and to serve as a first attempt to define guidelines for the selection of more reliable normalization methods.