Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Novel Approach to Measurement-Based Care: Integrating Palliative Care Tools Into Geriatric Mental Health

Background: Older adults cared for in a geriatric mental health program often have medical co-morbidities causing physical symptoms which may be under-recognized. We explore the utility of palliative care tools in this patient population to identify the burden of symptoms and impact on patient dignity. Methods: Participants were recruited from a geriatric mental health inpatient unit and outpatient day hospital. Mood and somatic symptoms were tracked with self-report rating scales, including the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) and the Geriatric Anxiety Inventory (GAI) used in psychiatry, as well as the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS) and Patient Dignity Inventory (PDI) used in palliative care. Demographic characteristics were collected from a retrospective chart review. Exploratory longitudinal models were developed for the GDS and GAI outcomes to assess change over time after adjusting for ESAS and PDI item scores. Results: Data were obtained for 33 English speaking patients (inpatients N = 17, outpatients N = 16) with a mean age of 76.5 (SD = 6.1). At baseline, several ESAS symptom burdens were rated as moderate and the PDI often captured physically distressing symptoms. GDS scores declined over time but at a slower rate for those reporting higher levels of pain on the ESAS (P = .04). GAI scores declined over time but at a slower rate for those identifying physically distressing symptoms on the PDI (P = .04). Conclusions: This study demonstrates how using the ESAS and PDI in a mental health population can be helpful in tracking symptoms and how these symptoms are related to psychiatric outcomes.
A chemically defined system supports two distinct types of stem cell from a single blastocyst and their self‐assembly to generate blastoid

The pluripotent stem cells exist in a narrow window during early development and its derivation depends on intrinsic and extrinsic growth signalling in vitro. It has remained challenging to derive two or three distinct cell lines that are representative of blastocyst‐stage lineages from one preimplantation embryo simultaneously in a chemical defined condition. Therefore, it is desirable to establish a system by manipulating extrinsic signalling in culture to derive multiple types of stem cells from a single blastocyst. This study used a defined medium containing Activin A, WNT activator and LIF (ACL medium), enabling establishment of ACL‐ESCs and ACL‐XEN cells from one blastocyst. ACL‐blastoids were generated by suspending ACL‐ESCs and ACL‐XEN cells with ACL‐blastoid medium in three‐dimensional culture system. Lineage markers expression of ACL‐blastoids were performed by immunofluorescence. Our results indicate that ACL‐ESCs and ACL‐XEN cells derived from one blastocyst represent ICM and PrE lineages. Importantly, we obtained ACL‐blastoid from ACL‐ESCs and ACL‐XEN cells self‐aggregation, partially recapitulating early development and initiation of early implantation events. This study would not only provide ACL culture system for derivation and maintenance of two types of cell lines corresponding to ICM as well as PrE, but also reconstruct blastoids with them to deepen our understanding of early embryogenesis and widen insights into translational application of stem cells.
Accelerated Cognitive Decline Associated With Hearing Loss and Bilateral Vestibulopathy: Insights From a Prospective Cross-Sectional Study Using the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status Adjusted for the Hearing Impaired in the DFNA9 Population

Background: DeaFNess Autosomal dominant 9 (DFNA9) is a hereditary disorder known to affect both hearing and vestibular function in its carriers. Its phenotype is characterized by progressive sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) and vestibular dysfunction evolving towards bilateral vestibulopathy (BV) by the 3rd to 5th life decade. Recent studies have identified the impact of hearing loss and vestibular dysfunction on cognitive functioning. Objective: The main objective of this study was to investigate how the cognitive functioning of carriers of the p.Pro51Ser variant in the COCH gene is affected by the disease and compare these results with a matched healthy control group. Study design: Forty-six carriers of the pathogenic p.Pro51Ser variant in the COCH gene were included in this study, of which 38 met the Bárány Society criteria and were thus diagnosed with BV. All subjects were between the age of 22 and 72 years old. Each control was individually matched based on age, gender, and education level. A cognitive, vestibular, and hearing assessment was performed in all subjects. All participants completed the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status, adjusted for the Hearing Impaired (RBANS-H), a cognitive test battery that includes subtests probing Immediate and Delayed Memory, Visuospatial/Constructional, Language, and Attention. Results: Overall, the DFNA9 patients demonstrated significantly lower scores on the Immediate Memory subscale and lower Total Scale scores than their healthy matched controls. The total sample was divided into two groups: age <55 years old and age ≥55 years old. The DFNA9 group aged ≥55 years old obtained significantly lower scores on the Attention subscale and lower Total Scale scores than their matched controls. Cognition of DFNA9 patients aged <55 years old no longer differed significantly from their matched controls. Conclusion: This cross-sectional study found that DFNA9 patients demonstrated cognitive deficits in comparison with their healthy matched controls. The DFNA9 group aged ≥ 55 years old obtained significantly lower scores on the Total Scale and Attention subscale. This finding; however, was not observed for the age group younger than 55 years old. Further research is needed on the individual trajectory of SNHL and vestibular function, and how hearing rehabilitation affects cognitive functioning.
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Modulates Working Memory Maintenance Processes in Healthy Individuals

Abstract The effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) at the pFC are often investigated using cognitive paradigms, particularly working memory tasks. However, the neural basis for the neuromodulatory cognitive effects of tDCS, including which subprocesses are affected by stimulation, is not completely understood. We investigated the effects of tDCS on working memory task-related spectral activity during and after tDCS to gain better insights into the neurophysiological changes associated with stimulation. We reanalyzed data from 100 healthy participants grouped by allocation to receive either sham (0 mA, 0.016 mA, and 0.034 mA) or active (1 mA or 2 mA) stimulation during a 3-back task. EEG data were used to analyze event-related spectral power in frequency bands associated with working memory performance. Frontal theta event-related synchronization (ERS) was significantly reduced post-tDCS in the active group. Participants receiving active tDCS had slower RTs following tDCS compared with sham, suggesting interference with practice effects associated with task repetition. Theta ERS was not significantly correlated with RTs or accuracy. tDCS reduced frontal theta ERS poststimulation, suggesting a selective disruption to working memory cognitive control and maintenance processes. These findings suggest that tDCS selectively affects specific subprocesses during working memory, which may explain heterogenous behavioral effects.
Isotonic design for phase I cancer clinical trials with late-onset toxicities

ABSTRACT This article addresses the problem of identifying the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) in Phase I dose-finding clinical trials with late-onset toxicities. The main design challenge is how best to adaptively allocate study participants to tolerable doses when the evaluation window for the toxicity endpoint is long relative to the accrual rate of new participants. We propose a new design framework based on order-restricted statistical inference that addresses this challenge in sequential dose assignments. We illustrate the proposed method on real data from a Phase I trial of bortezomib in lymphoma patients and apply it to a Phase I trial of radiotherapy in prostate cancer patients. We conduct extensive simulation studies to compare our design’s operating characteristics to existing published methods. Overall, our proposed design demonstrates good performance relative to existing methods in allocating participants at and around the MTD during the study and accurately recommending the MTD at the study conclusion.
Association of meal timing of energy, macronutrients and foods with hypercholesterolaemia in the US adults

Abstract Few studies examined the association of energy, macronutrients and food consumption at dinner v. breakfast with hypercholesterolaemia. A total of 27 911 participants from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2003–2016) were included in the cross-sectional study. Energy, macronutrients and food consumption at breakfast, dinner and the difference at dinner v. breakfast (Δratio) were calculated. Multiple logistic regression models and substitution effects of foods at dinner with breakfast were also performed. After adjustment for potential covariates, compared with the lowest quintile, participants in the highest quintile of Δratio in terms of energy had a higher risk of prevalent hypercholesterolaemia (ORΔratio of energy 1·16, 95 % CI (1·01, 1·33)) mainly due to Δratio of low-quality carbohydrates and plant protein (ORΔratio of low-quality carbohydrates 1·19; 95 % CI (1·05, 1·35)); ORΔratio of plant protein 1·13; 95 % CI (1·01, 1·28)). ΔAdded sugars and Δnuts were associated with hypercholesterolaemia (ORΔadded sugars 1·01; 95 % CI (1·00, 1·02)); ORΔnuts 1·08; 95 % CI (1·01, 1·16)). Furthermore, the substitution of added sugars, nuts and processed meat at dinner with breakfast could reduce the OR of hypercholesterolaemia. This study indicated that among US adults, overconsumption of energy, macronutrients including low-quality carbohydrates and plant protein at dinner than breakfast was significantly associated with a higher risk of prevalent hypercholesterolaemia. The replacing of added sugar, nuts and processed meat at dinner with breakfast reduced the risk of prevalent hypercholesterolaemia. This study emphasised the importance of meal timing in the prevention of hypercholesterolaemia.
Phase transitions in a slender cylinder composed of an incompressible elastic material. II. Analytical solutions for two boundary-value problems

In this sequel paper, we solve two boundary-value problems for the asymptotic model equation derived in the first paper. One of the purposes is to compare the analytical solutions with the experimental results obtained by a number of other authors. With the help of a phase-plane analysis on this model, first we manage to solve a force-controlled problem. We find that it is necessary to divide the external stress into seven intervals. Analytical solutions in all intervals are obtained. An interesting finding is that the value of the radius–length ratio has a great influence on the solutions. In particular, it influences the number of non-trivial solutions. In this regard, the potential application of this result to the cold drawing industry is pointed out. Our results also yield the possible nucleation stress which turns out to be dependent on the radius–length ratio a. A simple approximate formula for the nucleation stress is given, which shows that it is a decreasing function of a. This seems to capture the size effect observed in experiments: the smaller the diameter is, the larger the nucleation stress is. We also obtain the analytic solutions for a displacement-controlled problem with the help of those of a force-controlled problem. The engineering stress–strain curve plotted from the solution of the preferred configurations seems to capture the key features of the curve measured in a few experiments.
Ultrasonic propagation in electrorheological suspensions

Electrorheological fluids are colloidal suspensions that exhibit dramatic and reversible increases in shear viscosity upon the application of an electric field. These fluids generally consist of hydrated, hydrophilic particles suspended in a hydrophobic and electrically insulating base liquid. In addition to viscosity changes, induced fibration, increases in local particle concentration, and changes in the fluid dielectric properties are observed. Since the suspended particles are hydrated, the application of an intense electric field likely results in the generation of induced dipoles. The mechanism for the ER effect is believed, by some, to be the chainlike linkage of these dipoles. A report is given on the measured changes in acoustical parameters exhibited by a model electrorheological fluid (cornstarch and peanut oil) in the presence of electric fields of order 1 kV/mm. Relative changes in compressional‐wave sound speed and attenuation, both parallel and perpendicular to the applied electric field, were measured for frequencies ranging from 500 to 5 MHz. The data were taken at various field strengths and suspension concentrations to observe the effect that these parameters have on the acoustic properties of the suspension. Results exhibit qualitative agreement with previously published results [Korobko and Chernobai, Trans. Inhenerno Fizi. Zh. 48, 219 (1985)]. [Work supported by ONR. ]Electrorheological fluids are colloidal suspensions that exhibit dramatic and reversible increases in shear viscosity upon the application of an electric field. These fluids generally consist of hydrated, hydrophilic particles suspended in a hydrophobic and electrically insulating base liquid. In addition to viscosity changes, induced fibration, increases in local particle concentration, and changes in the fluid dielectric properties are observed. Since the suspended particles are hydrated, the application of an intense electric field likely results in the generation of induced dipoles. The mechanism for the ER effect is believed, by some, to be the chainlike linkage of these dipoles. A report is given on the measured changes in acoustical parameters exhibited by a model electrorheological fluid (cornstarch and peanut oil) in the presence of electric fields of order 1 kV/mm. Relative changes in compressional‐wave sound speed and attenuation, both parallel and perpendicular to the applied electric field, w.
An XMM-Newton Observation of the High Magnetic Field Radio Pulsar PSR B0154+61

We present the results obtained from a 31 ks XMM-Newton observation of the high magnetic field radio pulsar PSR B0154+61. This relatively nearby pulsar has an inferred dipole surface magnetic field strength of 2.1 × 1013 G, among the highest in the population. This makes the pulsar a possible transition object between the classical radio pulsars and magnetars, whose enhanced X-ray emission is believed to be powered by their large magnetic fields. However, our analysis shows that no X-ray emission is detected from the position of PSR B0154+61 with XMM-Newton. The upper flux limit derived from the observation implies a blackbody temperature of T ≲ 73 eV and unabsorbed 0.3-10.0 keV X-ray luminosity of ≲1.4 × 1032 ergs s-1 (assuming a distance of 2.2 kpc and column density of NH ≲ 3 × 1021 cm-2). This luminosity is much lower than those exhibited by all known magnetars. When corrections for the presence of a light-element atmosphere on the neutron star are made, our estimates favor the temperature predictions of rapid cooling models over those of standard cooling models. However, the uncertainties in distance, column density, and atmospheric composition prevent a definite conclusion regarding initial cooling.
Development and validation of Tagalog versions of the Drug Abuse Screening Test-20 (DAST-20) and Stimulant Relapse Risk Scale (SRRS) for drug users in the Philippines

Methamphetamine use is becoming a major social issue in the Philippines, and this has been attracting international interest. Understanding the characteristics of drug users and the severity of their drug use is an urgent requirement for promoting effective treatment and support; however, in the Philippines, a lack of screening and assessment tools with confirmed reliability and validity is a major obstacle in this regard. Therefore, the aim of this study is to develop Tagalog versions of the Drug Abuse Screening Test-20 (DAST-20), a drug-abuse screening tool used worldwide, and the Stimulant Relapse Risk Scale (SRRS), a tool for quantitatively evaluating relapse among stimulant users, and to confirm their validity and reliability. Participants were 305 patients admitted to the Treatment and Rehabilitation Center (TRC) operated by the Philippines Department of Health for treatment for methamphetamine use. Sufficient internal consistency for the DAST-20 was confirmed, with a Cronbach’s alpha value of 0.81. Concerning validity, receiver-operating-characteristic analysis, featuring diagnoses from independent doctors, returned an acceptable area-under-curve value of 0.62. Sufficient internal consistency was also confirmed for the SRRS, with a Cronbach’s alpha value of 0.89. Correlation analysis of subjective drug craving (measured using a visual analog scale) and the SRRS revealed a significant positive correlation (r = 0.19, p < 0.001), confirming a certain level of validity. The Tagalog versions of the DAST-20 and SRRS developed in this study were confirmed to be reliable and valid. These scales could be effective for use in clinical settings and for research purposes.
Severe COVID-19 Infection in Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes During the First Three Waves in Sweden

OBJECTIVE Type 2 diabetes is an established risk factor for hospitalization and death in COVID-19 infection, while findings with respect to type 1 diabetes have been diverging. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Using nationwide health registries, we identified all patients aged ≥18 years with type 1 and type 2 diabetes in Sweden. Odds ratios (ORs) describe the general and age-specific risk of being hospitalized, need for intensive care, or dying, adjusted for age, socioeconomic factors, and coexisting conditions, compared with individuals without diabetes. Machine learning models were used to find predictors of outcomes among individuals with diabetes positive for COVID-19. RESULTS Until 30 June 2021, we identified 365 (0.71%) and 11,684 (2.31%) hospitalizations in 51,402 and 504,337 patients with type 1 and 2 diabetes, respectively, with 67 (0.13%) and 2,848 (0.56%) requiring intensive care unit (ICU) care and 68 (0.13%) and 4,020 (0.80%) dying (vs 7,824,181 individuals without diabetes [41,810 hospitalizations (0.53%), 8,753 (0.11%) needing ICU care, and 10,160 (0.13%) deaths). Although those with type 1 diabetes had moderately raised odds of being hospitalized (multiple-adjusted OR 1.38 [95% CI 1.24–1.53]), there was no independent effect on ICU care or death (OR of 1.21 [95% CI 0.94–1.52] and 1.13 [95% CI 0.88–1.48], respectively). Age and socioeconomic factors were the dominating features for predicting hospitalization and death in both types of diabetes. CONCLUSIONS Type 2 diabetes was associated with increased odds for all outcomes, whereas patients with type 1 diabetes had moderately increased odds of hospitalization but not ICU care and death.
Intramolecular Force Mapping at Room Temperature

Acquisition of dense, three-dimensional, force fields with intramolecular resolution via noncontact atomic force microscopy (NC-AFM) has yielded enormous progress in our ability to characterize molecular and two-dimensional materials at the atomic scale. To date, intramolecular force mapping has been performed exclusively at cryogenic temperatures, due to the stability afforded by low temperature operation, and as the carbon monoxide functionalization of the metallic scanning probe tip, normally required for submolecular resolution, is only stable at low temperature. In this paper we show that high-resolution, three-dimensional force mapping of a single organic molecule is possible even at room temperature. The physical limitations of room temperature operation are overcome using semiconducting materials to inhibit molecular diffusion and create robust tip apexes, while challenges due to thermal drift are overcome with atom tracking based feedforward correction. Three-dimensional force maps comparable in spatial and force resolution to those acquired at low temperature are demonstrated, permitting a quantitative analysis of the adsorption induced changes in the geometry of the molecule at the picometer level.
Numerical study of Petrov-Galerkin formulations for the shallow water wave equations

The behavior of Petrov-Galerkin formulations for shallow water wave equations is evaluated numerically considering typical one-dimensional propagation problems. The formulations considered here use stabilizing operators to improve classical Galerkin approaches. Their advantages and disadvantages are pointed out according to the intrinsic time scale (free parameter) which has a particular importance in this kind of problem. The influence of the Courant number and the performance of the formulation in dealing with spurious oscillations are adressed.
ICAM‐1‐mediated osteoblast‐T lymphocyte direct interaction increases mineralization through TGF‐β1 suppression

Modulation of osteoblast functions by T lymphocytes is important in inflammation‐associated mineralized tissue diseases. The study aimed to determine whether direct interaction between these two cell types affects osteoblast functions and mineralization. The results showed that direct contact between the two cell types was evident by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Under osteogenic induction, higher hydroxyapatite precipitation was observed in cocultures with direct contact with T lymphocytes compared with that by osteoblasts cultured alone. Cocultures without direct cell contact caused a decrease in mineralization. Direct cell contact also upregulated intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)‐1 and simultaneously downregulated transforming growth factor (TGF)‐β1 in osteoblasts. However, the downregulation of TGF‐β1 was reversed by ICAM‐1 blocking. Exogenously added TGF‐β1 in cocultures with direct cell contact suppressed mineralization. In conclusion, studies are consistent with ICAM‐1‐mediated direct contact between osteoblasts and T lymphocytes increasing mineralization via downregulation of TGF‐β1 in osteoblasts in vitro. This suggests a possible unexpected, but crucial, role of T lymphocytes in enhancing matrix mineralization during the repair process in vivo. The study identifies ICAM‐1/TGF‐β1 as possible novel therapeutic targets for the treatment and prevention of inflammation‐associated mineralized tissue diseases.
Nonlinear propagation of plane and circular Rayleigh waves in isotropic solids

Nonlinear Rayleigh wave propagation in an isotropic solid is investigated theoretically. Hamiltonian formalism is used to derive a set of coupled equations for the harmonic amplitudes. Both plane and circular waves are considered. Numerical results are presented for an initially monochromatc wave that propagates in steel. It is shown that the horizontal component of the particle velocity wave forms a shock profile, while the vertical component forms a pulse. An evolution equation for the waveform is derived.