Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Urinary free cortisol and childhood maltreatments in eating disorder patients: New evidence for an ecophenotype subgroup

Abstract Introduction Increasing neurobiological evidence has suggested the presence of a specific ecophenotype in people with eating disorders (EDs) linked to early maltreatment. Urinary‐free cortisol could strengthen the data and show specific relationships between maltreated subtypes and the hormonal profiles of patients with EDs. This study aims to evaluate the presence of different urinary cortisol in drug‐free patients in the acute phase of the disorder and its relationship with childhood maltreatment. Methods A sample of 78 female patients with ED is included in the study. Childhood maltreatment history and 24‐h urinary free cortisol (24‐h UFC) are evaluated at a specialised ED ward admission. Results Patients with a maltreatment history show more blunted 24‐h UFC levels than peers without childhood maltreatment (p = 0.001). Regression analysis showed that child abuse is a predictor of the reduction of 24‐h UFC (p < 0.001), with physical abuse (p = 0.011) and sexual abuse (p = 0.050) that could have a more specific impact than other maltreatment subtypes. Discussion Childhood maltreatment should be evaluated in ED patients due to its biological impact on the hormonal stress axis, which could impair the ability of patients to respond to standardized ED treatment.
“Fun slipping into the doctor's role”—The relationship between sonoanatomy teaching and professional identity formation before and during the Covid‐19 pandemic

The various psychological dimensions of professional identity formation (PIF) are an important aspect of the study course for undergraduate medical students. Anatomical learning environments have been repeatedly shown to play a critical role in forming such an identity; however, relevance of PIF during sonoanatomical training remains underexplored. At the end of their basic anatomy studies, third‐semester medical students took part in a four‐day block course on anatomy and imaging. Anatomical content was revised in small groups using peer teaching and imaging methods, including one hour of hands‐on sonoanatomy sessions each day. On‐site sonoanatomy was identified as an excellent format to support students' transition from the pre‐clinical to clinical phase as medical experts‐to‐be. Students enjoyed practical exercises and the clinical input, which increased their interest in the medical profession and their academic studies. This study further examined the effects of the transition into an online‐only format, necessitated by the current Covid‐19 pandemic. A comparison was made between the quantitative and qualitative evaluation data, and the written results of examinations of several on‐site (n = 1096, mean age = 22.4 years ± 2.18), and online‐only cohorts (n = 230, mean age = 22.6 years ± 2.21). The online‐only transition led to a reduction of all PIF‐related variables measured, losing identity‐related variables, increasing students' stress levels, and reducing their long‐term academic performance. Together, this study demonstrates presence of PIF in undergraduate sonoanatomy teaching, and cautions against the uncritical online‐only substitution of hands‐on learning environments.
How aerobic exercise improves executive function in ADHD children: A resting‐state fMRI study

The aim of the study is to explore the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) characteristics of the improvement in executive function by aerobic exercise in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Seventeen children with ADHD were selected for 8 weeks of rope skipping aerobic training, and fMRI findings and executive function were examined before and after training. Regional homogeneity (ReHo) and degree centrality (DC) indexes were used in fMRI analysis, whereas the flanker task was used to test executive function. A paired t test was used to compare the fMRI indexes and response time of executive function before and after training. After aerobic exercise, the brain regions in which the ReHo value of ADHD children significantly increased included the left middle frontal gyrus and the right superior frontal gyrus; the brain region in which the DC value increased was the right posterior cingulate cortex. The flanker task response time decreased significantly (P < 0.05, after correction) after aerobic exercise. The study findings support the hypothesis that aerobic exercise can improve the executive function of ADHD children, and the brain mechanism involved is mainly related to the enhancement of spontaneous prefrontal lobe activity.
Men’s and women’s endorsement of hegemonic masculinity and responses to COVID-19

Using a gendered psychology of health approach, we examine the effects of the culturally idealized form of masculinity—hegemonic masculinity—for both men and women’s health attitudes and behaviors. Using data collected across four studies (N = 805) during the COVID-19 pandemic, we found that stronger endorsement of hegemonic masculinity related to health attitudes antithetical to mitigation strategies (e.g. more engagement in risky behaviors, less support for federal mandates) and evaluations of how political leaders have responded to COVID-19. These effects did not differ by gender suggesting that hegemonic masculinity has implications for both men and women’s health.
Transiting Out of Full-Time National Service: A Qualitative Study of Barriers and Motivators of Weight Change in Young Adult Men in Singapore

Higher prevalence of obesity in men compared with women, particularly among those 18 to 40 years of age, has been observed in Singapore. We explored young men’s perceptions of weight change after transiting out of National Service (NS) over a 12-month period and sought to understand the underlying drivers. In-depth interviews, guided by the Health Belief Model (HBM), were conducted with young men 12 months after they had completed full-time NS. Six constructs from the HBM, namely, perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, cues to action, and perceived self-efficacy, were utilized to guide the analysis. Thematic analysis revealed that participants generally perceived a gain in body weight after the transition and attributed this to decreased exercise-related physical activity (PA) levels and increased consumption of unhealthy food. However, many did not display immediate concerns nor view leading a healthy lifestyle as priority, citing time constraints, inertia to comply, or lack of access to sports facilities and healthy food options as barriers. Healthy lifestyle behaviors, mainly PA, were mostly pursued for physical health and appearance. Motivators toward a healthy lifestyle tended to be internal factors such as self-motivation, personal preference, and habit, whereas external motivators included peer or familial influence and environmental factors. Our findings align with key concepts of the HBM and suggest a need to educate young men transiting out of NS on lifestyle, weight, and health, in particular addressing their misconceptions.
Outcomes of a home telemonitoring program for SARS-CoV-2 viral infection at a large academic medical center

Introduction Telemedicine serves as a viable option during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide in-home care, maintain home isolation precautions, reduce unnecessary healthcare exposures, and de-burden hospitals. Methods We created a novel telemedicine program to closely monitor patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) at home. Adult patients with COVID-19 were enrolled in the program at the time of documented infection. Patients were followed by a team of providers via telephone or video visits at frequent intervals until resolution of their acute illness. Additionally, patients were stratified into high-risk and low-risk categories based on demographics and underlying comorbidities. The primary outcome was hospitalization after enrollment in the home monitoring program, including 30 days after discharge from the program. Results Over a 3.5-month period, 1128 patients met criteria for enrollment in the home monitoring program. 30.7% were risk stratified as high risk for poor outcomes based on their comorbidities and age. Of the 1128 patients, 6.2% required hospitalization and 1.2% required ICU admission during the outcome period. Hospitalization was more frequent in patients identified as high risk (14.2% vs 2.7%, P < 0.001). Discussion Enrollment in a home monitoring program appears to be an effective and sustainable modality for the ambulatory management of COVID-19.
Trends in the occurrence of ischaemic heart disease over time in rheumatoid arthritis: 1821 patients from 1972 to 2017

Objective To evaluate trends of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and ischaemic heart disease (IHD) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients compared with the general population over time. Method We performed a retrospective cohort study of 1821 RA patients diagnosed from 1972 to 2013. Aggregated counts of the total population of the same county (Hordaland, Norway) and period were used for comparison. Information on AMI and IHD events was obtained from hospital patient administrative systems or cardiovascular registries. We estimated incidence rates and excess of events [standardized event ratio (SER) with 95% confidence interval (CI)] compared with the general population by Poisson regression. Results There was an average annual decline of 1.6% in age- and gender-adjusted AMI incidence rates from 1972 to 2017 (p < 0.035). The difference in events (excess events) in RA patients compared with the general population declined on average by 1.3% per year for AMI and by 2.3% for IHD from 1972 to 2014. There were no significant excess AMI (SER 1.05, 95% CI 0.82–1.35) or IHD events (SER 1.02, 95% CI 0.89–1.16) for RA patients diagnosed after 1998 compared with the general population. Conclusion Incidence rates and excess events of AMI and IHD in RA patients declined from 1972 to 2017. There were no excess AMI or IHD events in RA patients diagnosed after 1998 compared with the general population.
Aqueous MXene/Xanthan Gum Hybrid Inks for Screen-Printing Electromagnetic Shielding, Joule Heater, and Piezoresistive Sensor.

MXenes have exhibited potential for application in flexible devices owing to their remarkable electronic, optical, and mechanical properties. Printing strategies have emerged as a facile route for additive manufacturing of MXene-based devices, which relies on the rational design of functional inks with appropriate rheological properties. Herein, aqueous MXene/xanthan gum hybrid inks with tunable viscosity, excellent printability, and long-term stability are designed. Screen-printed flexible MXene films using such hybrid inks exhibit a high conductivity up to 4.8 × 104 S m-1 , which is suitable to construct multifunctional devices mainly including electromagnetic shielding, Joule heaters, and piezoresistive sensors. The average electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding value can reach to 40.1 dB. In the Joule heater, the heating rate of printed MXene film can reach 20 °C s-1 under a driving voltage of 4 V, with a highest steady-state temperature of 130.8 °C. An MXene-based piezoresistive sensor prepared by the printing interdigital electrode also presents good sensing performance with a short response time of 130 ms and wide pressure region up to 30 kPa. As a result, screen-printed MXene film exhibits reinforced multifunctional performance, which is promising for application in the next-generation of intelligent and wearable devices.
Dosimetry of a novel focused monoenergetic beam for radiotherapy

Objective. A novel treatment modality is currently being developed that produces converging monoenergetic x-rays. Conventional application of dosimetric calibration as presented in protocol TG61 is not applicable. Furthermore, the dosimetry of the focal point of the converging beam is on the order of a few millimeters, requiring a high-resolution dosimeter. Here we present a procedure to calibrate radiochromic film for narrow-beam monoenergetic 60 keV photons as well as absolute dosimetry of monoenergetic focused x-rays. A study of the focal spot dose rate after passing through a bone-equivalent material was also done to quantify the effects of heterogeneous materials. Approach. This was accomplished by configuring a polyenergetic beam of equivalent energy using a clinical orthovoltage machine. Calibrated films were then used to perform absolute dosimetry of the converging beam by measuring the beam profile at various depths in water. Main Results. A method for calibrating radiochromic film has been developed and detailed that allows absolute dosimetry of a monoenergetic photon beam. Absolute dosimetry of a focused, mono-energetic beam resulted in a focal spot dose rate of ∼30 cGy min−1 at a depth of 5 cm in water. Significance. This work serves to establish a dosimetry protocol for mono-energetic beam absolute dosimetry as well as the use of such a method for measurement of a novel teletherapy modality.
Automatized online prediction of slow‐wave peaks during non‐rapid eye movement sleep in young and old individuals: Why we should not always rely on amplitude thresholds

Brain‐state‐dependent stimulation during slow‐wave sleep is a promising tool for the treatment of psychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases. A widely used slow‐wave prediction algorithm required for brain‐state‐dependent stimulation is based on a specific amplitude threshold in the electroencephalogram. However, due to decreased slow‐wave amplitudes in aging and psychiatric conditions, this approach might miss many slow‐waves because they do not fulfill the amplitude criterion. Here, we compared slow‐wave peaks predicted via an amplitude‐based versus a multidimensional approach using a topographical template of slow‐wave peaks in 21 young and 21 older healthy adults. We validate predictions against the gold‐standard of offline detected peaks. Multidimensionally predicted peaks resemble the gold‐standard regarding spatiotemporal dynamics but exhibit lower peak amplitudes. Amplitude‐based prediction, by contrast, is less sensitive, less precise and – especially in the older group – predicts peaks that differ from the gold‐standard regarding spatiotemporal dynamics. Our results suggest that amplitude‐based slow‐wave peak prediction might not always be the ideal choice. This is particularly the case in populations with reduced slow‐wave amplitudes, like older adults or psychiatric patients. We recommend the use of multidimensional prediction, especially in studies targeted at populations other than young and healthy individuals.
Low-Dose CT for Renal Calculi Detection Using Spectral Shaping of High Tube Voltage.

PURPOSE To investigate reduction of radiation exposure in unenhanced CT in suspicion of renal calculi using a tin-filtered high tube voltage protocol compared to a standard low-dose protocol without spectral shaping. MATERIALS AND METHODS A phantom study using 7 human renal calculi was performed to test both protocols. 120 consecutive unenhanced CT examinations performed due to suspicion of renal calculi were included in this retrospective, monocentric study. 60 examinations were included with the standard-dose protocol (SP) (100 kV/130 mAs), whereas another 60 studies were included using a low-dose protocol (LD) applying spectral shaping with tin filtration of high tube voltages (Sn150 kV/80 mAs). Image quality was assessed by two radiologists in consensus blinded to technical parameters using an equidistant Likert scale ranging from 1-5 with 5 being the highest score. Quantitative image quality was assessed using regions of interest in abdominal organs, muscles, and adipose tissue to analyze image noise and signal-to-noise ratios (SNR). Commercially available dosimetry software was used to determine and compare effective dose (ED) and size-specific dose estimates (SSDEmean). RESULTS All seven renal calculi of the phantom could be detected with both protocols. There was no difference regarding calcluli size between the two protocols except for the smallest one. The smallest concretion measured 1.5 mm in LD and 1.0 mm in SP (ground truth 1.5 mm). CTDIvol was 3.36 mGy in LD (DLP: 119.3 mGycm) and 8.27 mGy in SP (DLP: 293.6 mGycm). The mean patient age in SP was 47 ± 17 years and in LD 49 ± 13 years. Ureterolithiasis was found in 33 cases in SP and 32 cases in LD. The median concretion size was 3 mm in SP and 4 mm in LD. The median ED in LD was 1.3 mSv (interquartile range (IQR) 0.3 mSv) compared to 2.3 mSv (IQR 0.9 mSv) in SP (p < 0.001). The SSDEmean of LD was also significantly lower compared to SP with 2.4 mGy (IQR 0.4 mGy) vs. 4.8 mGy (IQR 2.3 mGy) (p < 0.001). The SNR was significantly lower in LD compared to SP (p < 0.001). However, there was no significant difference between SP and LD regarding the qualitative assessment of image quality with a median of 4 (IQR 1) for both groups (p = 0.648). CONCLUSION Tin-filtered unenhanced abdominal CT for the detection of renal calculi using high tube voltages leads to a significant reduction of radiation exposure and yields high diagnostic image quality without a significant difference compared to the institution's standard of care low-dose protocol without tin filtration. KEY POINTS · Tin-filtered CT for the detection of renal calculi significantly reduces radiation dose. · The application of tin filtration provides comparable diagnostic image quality to that of SP protocols. · An increase in image noise does not hamper diagnostic image quality. CITATION FORMAT · Gassenmaier S, Winkelmann MT, Magnus J et al. Low-Dose CT for Renal Calculi Detection Using Spectral Shaping of High Tube Voltage. Fortschr Röntgenstr 2022; DOI: 10.1055/a-1752-0472.
Attention does not always help: The role of expectancy, divided, and spatial attention on illusory conjunctions

Humans have the subjective impression of a rich perceptual experience, but this perception is riddled with errors that might be produced by top-down expectancies or failures in feature integration. The role of attention in feature integration is still unclear. Some studies support the importance of attention in feature integration, whereas others suggest that feature integration does not require attention. Understanding attention as a heterogeneous system, in this study, we explored the role of divided (as opposed to focused—Experiment 1) attention, and endogenous–exogenous spatial orienting (Experiments 2 and 3) in feature integration. We also explored the role of feature expectancy, by presenting stimulus features that were completely unexpected to the participants. Results demonstrated that both endogenous and exogenous orienting improved feature integration whereas divided attention did not. Moreover, a strong and consistent feature expectancy effect was observed, demonstrating perceptual completion when an unexpected perceptual feature was presented in the scene. These results support the feature confirmation account, which proposes that attention is important for top-down matching of stable representations.
Dynamics Combined With Hill Model for Functional Electrical Stimulation Ankle Angle Prediction

Musculoskeletal models play an essential role in ankle rehabilitation research. The majority of the existing models have established the relationship between EMG and joint torque. However, EMG signal acquisition requires higher clinical conditions, such as sensitivity to external circumstances, motion artifacts and electrode position. To solve the nonlinear and time-varying nature of joint movement, a Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) model was proposed in this study to simulate the whole process of ankle dorsiflexion. The model is combined with muscle contraction dynamics based on Hill model and ankle inverse dynamics to connect FES parameters, torques, and ankle angles. In addition, the extended Kalman filter (EKF) algorithm was applied to identify the unknown parameters of the model. Model validation experiment was performed by acquiring the actual data of healthy volunteers. Results showed that the root mean square error (RMSE) and normalized root mean square error (NRMSE) of this model were 11.93%±0.53% and 1.39°±0.26°, respectively, which means it can effectively predict the output variation of ankle joint angle while changing electrical stimulation parameters. Therefore, the proposed mode is essential for developing closed-loop feedback control of electrical stimulation and has the potential to help patients to conduct rehabilitation training.
IgG4-related sclerosing cholangitis involving the gallbladder mimicking a hilar cholangiocarcinoma

A 76-year-old man presented with abdominal pain, jaundice, and fever. Abdominal computed tomography demonstrated wall thickening of the gallbladder with gallstones surrounding a large low-density lesion communicating with the gallbladder and a thickened, enhancing wall at the hepatic hilum and common hepatic duct (CHD). Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) showed a stricture at the hilum extending to the CHD, suggestive of a hilar cholangiocarcinoma (▶Fig. 1). Percutaneous catheter drainage for liver abscess and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography with stent placement for biliary drainage and biopsy was performed. Histology did not show malignancy. Same-session endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided tissue acquisition and peroral cholangioscopy (POCS) were performed. EUS revealed symmetrical and smooth wall thickening of the hilum and CHD. EUS-guided tissue acquisition was performed using a 22-gauge needle (▶Fig. 2). POCS (SpyGlass DS; Boston Scientific, Natick, Massachusetts, USA) demonstrated a stricture with dilated vessels and hyperemic and papillary-appearing mucosa in the hilum and CHD (▶Video 1). Specimens were obtained using the SpyBite biopsy forceps (Boston Scientific). The pathology results from EUS-guided tissue acquisition and SpyBite forceps biopsy showed stromal fibrosis with lymphoplasmacytic infiltration and more than 10 IgG4-positive plasma E-Videos
Charting cognition: Mapping public understanding of COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic of the last 2 years (and counting) disrupted commerce, travel, workplaces, habits, and—of course—health, the world over. This study aimed to capture snapshots of the perceptions and misperceptions of COVID-19 among 27 participants from three US municipalities. These perspectives are analyzed through thematic analyses and concept maps. Such snapshots, particularly as viewed through the lens of narrative sense-making theory, capture a sample of cognitions at this unique moment in history: a little over 1 year into the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings suggest that the (mis)perceptions captured are predominantly conveyed via narratives of participants’ personal experiences, and that the themes of attitudes toward precautionary measures, uncertainty, and the muddied science communication environment are prevalent. These themes suggest several salient targets for future research and current science communication, such as a focus on basic explainers, vaccinations’ safety and effectiveness and the necessity of uncertainty in the practice of science.