Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Concerning Vision Therapy and Ocular Motor Training in Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

cal criteria that require the presence of the pathognomonic lesion of CTE, defined as “p-tau aggregates in neurons, astrocytes, and cell processes around small vessels in an irregular pattern at the depths of the cortical sulci. ” This specific pathologic marker is found only in individuals with CTE; it is not found in PART. The pathognomonic lesion is found in all severities of CTE and clearly differentiates CTE from PART and other neurodegenerative diseases. In severe CTE (stages III and IV), in addition to pathognomonic perivascular hyperphosphorylated tau (p-tau) lesions in the cortex, there is p-tau pathology in medial temporal lobe structures, including the hippocampus, amygdala, and entorhinal cortex. The medial temporal lobe p-tau pathology in CTE bears similarities to PART, but has significant differences. In a recent study, Farrell et al compared age and sex-matched cohorts of PART and CTE using computer-assisted quantitative morphometrics to measure the density of p-tau (AT8) positive pixels in subfields of the hippocampus normalized to total hippocampal p-tau. The subfields CA4 and CA3 had significantly higher p-tau burden in CTE compared with PART. In addition, there was an increase in total p-tau pathology across the hippocampus in CTE. The preferential involvement of CA3 and CA4 in CTE might further differentiate CTE from PART. As for the study of Iverson et al purportedly showing CTE neuropathology in the brains of individuals who did not experience chronic traumatic brain injury, McKee et al and Alosco et al have previously raised doubts about the neuropathology shown in those cases, suggesting that the authors misinterpreted features of agerelated tau astrogliopathy (ARTAG) as diagnostic for CTE. Chen and Tao also raise the concern that PART must be taken into consideration because “. the mean age of participants in this study (Mez et al) was 48.9 to 68.7. ” However, PART typically occurs at an advanced age with the vast majority of cases over the age of 80. In the Wang et al study, the average age of the patients with PART was 76 years, and only 3 individuals (7%) with PART died in their 50s. Thus, the mean age of the subjects with CTE in our study is far younger than the mean age of subjects with PART. Last, although it is agreed that small amounts of p-tau may be present in the brains of young individuals, none of the young individuals described by Braak et al had the diagnostic p-tau pathology of CTE; none were described to have perivascular clusters of p-tau in neurons and astrocytes at the depths of the sulci in the cerebral cortex. In summary, although small amounts of p-tau may be found in normal aging and p-tau pathology is found in the medial temporal lobe structures in aged subjects with PART, there are clear neuropathological distinctions among these conditions.
Low Abundance of Three Tick Species in the Piedmont of North Carolina

Abstract Multiple species of ticks, including Ixodes scapularis (Say, Ixodida:Ixodidae), Amblyomma americanum (L., Ixodida:Ixodidae), and Dermacentor variabilis (Say, Ixodida:Ixodidae), occur in high and increasing abundance in both the northeast and southeast United States. North Carolina is at the nexus of spread of these species, with high occurrence and abundance of I. scapularis to the north and A. americanum to the south. Despite this, there are few records of these species in the Piedmont of North Carolina, including the greater Charlotte metropolitan area. Here, we update the known occurrence and abundance of these species in the North Carolina Piedmont. We surveyed for ticks using cloth drags, CO2 traps, and leaf litter samples at a total of 79 sites within five locations: Mecklenburg County, South Mountains State Park, Stone Mountain State Park, Duke Forest, and Morrow Mountain State Park, all in North Carolina, during the late spring, summer, and fall seasons of 2019. From these surveys, we had only 20 tick captures, illuminating the surprisingly low abundance of ticks in this region of North Carolina. Our results indicate the possibility of underlying habitat and host factors limiting tick distribution and abundance in the North Carolina Piedmont.
Emodin inhibits aggregation of amyloid‐β peptide 1–42 and improves cognitive deficits in Alzheimer's disease transgenic mice

Aggregation of amyloid‐β peptide 1–42 (Aβ42) initiates the onset of Alzheimer's disease (AD), and all the drugs designed to attenuate AD have failed in clinical trials. Emodin reduces levels of β‐amyloid, tau aggregation, oxidative stress, and inflammatory response, demonstrating AD therapeutic potential, whereas its effect on the accumulation of the amyloid‐β protein is not well understood. In this work, we investigated emodin activity on Aβ aggregation using a range of biochemical, biophysical, and cell‐based approaches. We provide evidence to suggest that emodin blocks Aβ42 fibrillogenesis and Aβ‐induced cytotoxicity, displaying a greater effect than that of curcumin. Through adopting three short peptides (Aβ1‐16, Aβ17‐33, and Aβ28‐42), it was proven that emodin interacts with the Leu17‐Gly33 sequence. Furthermore, our findings indicated that Val18 and Phe19 in Aβ42 are the target residues with which emodin interacts according amino acid mutation experiments. When fed to 8‐month‐old B6C3‐Tg mice for 2 months, high‐dose emodin ameliorates cognitive impairment by 60%–70%. Pathological results revealed that levels of Aβ deposition in the brains of AD mice treated with a high dose of emodin decreased by 50%–70%. Therefore, our study indicates that emodin may represent a promising drug for AD treatment.
Alzheimer's Disease Progressively Alters the Face-Evoked Visual-Processing Network.

BACKGROUND Postmortem studies of Alzheimer's disease (AD) brains not only find amyloid-β (Aβ) and neurofibrillary tangles (NFT) in the primary and associative visual cortical areas, but also reveal a temporally successive sequence of AD pathology beginning in higher-order visual association areas, followed by involvement of lower-order visual processing regions with disease progression, and extending to primary visual cortex in late-stage disease. These findings suggest that neuronal loss associated with Aβ and NFT aggregation in these areas may alter not only the local neuronal activation but also visual neural network activity. OBJECTIVE Applying a novel method to identify the visual functional network and investigate the association of the network changes with disease progression. METHODS To investigate the effect of AD on the face-evoked visual-processing network, 8 severe AD (SAD) patients, 11 mild/moderate AD (MAD), and 26 healthy senior (HS) controls undertook a task-fMRI study of viewing face photos. RESULTS For the HS, the identified group-mean visual-processing network in the ventral pathway started from V1 and ended within the fusiform gyrus. In contrast, this network was disrupted and reduced in the AD patients in a disease-severity dependent manner: for the MAD patients, the network was disrupted and reduced mainly in the higher-order visual association areas; for the SAD patients, the network was nearly absent in the higher-order association areas, and disrupted and reduced in the lower-order areas. CONCLUSION This finding is consistent with the current canonical view of the temporally successive sequence of AD pathology through visual cortical areas.
Priorities and expectations of patients attending a multidisciplinary interstitial lung disease clinic

The significant and progressive morbidity associated with ILD mean that patients often struggle with the impact of this disease on their QOL and independence. To date, no studies have investigated the importance of multidisciplinary care on patient experience in ILD. We aimed to determine the expectations and priorities of patients attending a tertiary referral centre multidisciplinary ILD clinic. In particular, we sought to learn how important the multidisciplinary element of the clinic was to patients and which aspects of the clinic were most valued.
Engineered Saccharomyces cerevisiae for lignocellulosic valorization: a review and perspectives on bioethanol production

ABSTRACT The biorefinery concept, consisting in using renewable biomass with economical and energy goals, appeared in response to the ongoing exhaustion of fossil reserves. Bioethanol is the most prominent biofuel and has been considered one of the top chemicals to be obtained from biomass. Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the preferred microorganism for ethanol production, has been the target of extensive genetic modifications to improve the production of this alcohol from renewable biomasses. Additionally, S. cerevisiae strains from harsh industrial environments have been exploited due to their robust traits and improved fermentative capacity. Nevertheless, there is still not an optimized strain capable of turning second generation bioprocesses economically viable. Considering this, and aiming to facilitate and guide the future development of effective S. cerevisiae strains, this work reviews genetic engineering strategies envisioning improvements in 2nd generation bioethanol production, with special focus in process-related traits, xylose consumption, and consolidated bioprocessing. Altogether, the genetic toolbox described proves S. cerevisiae to be a key microorganism for the establishment of a bioeconomy, not only for the production of lignocellulosic bioethanol, but also having potential as a cell factory platform for overall valorization of renewable biomasses. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACTS
Ecological interactions between spiders and the purple pitcher plant, Sarracenia purpurea

ECOLOGICAL INTERACTIONS BETWEEN SPIDERS AND THE PURPLE PITCHER PLANT, SARRACENIA PURPUREA Marc Aaron Milne Old Dominion University, 2010 Director: Dr. Deborah A. Waller Spiders and harvestmen are commonly captured by or reside upon the carnivorous purple pitcher plant, Sarracenia purpurea. Although spiders and harvestmen are often known to be prey of S. purpurea, other ecological interactions between these arthropods and the plant are poorly understood. Studies were undertaken at three pitcher plant populations, two in Virginia and one in North Carolina, to assess the ecological relationships between spiders and harvestmen and S. purpurea. Multiple plots containing pitcher plants (treatment) and plots lacking pitcher plants (control) were created at these locations. Spiders and harvestmen were collected through five different techniques. Spatial, temporal, and interspecific variation in spider diversity and density among these techniques was calculated. To assess the attractive and/or retentive ability of the morphological features of S. purpurea, a field experiment was carried out whereby pitcher plant types and models were placed in a large area and their capture abilities were compared. Sticky traps at various proximities from the plant were used to test the plant's influence on local insect density. The propensity of spiders and harvestmen to consume S. purpurea nectar was also examined, and the species of spiders that commonly oviposit in the pitchers were recorded. Finally, stable isotope signatures were used to determine if spider residents contribute nutrients to the plant. Significant correlations were found between the density and diversity of spiders captured by S. purpurea and those found in the environment. There was no difference in spider diversity or density between control and treatment plots. Pigment-lacking, peristome nectarlacking, and control pitchers did not differ in arthropod capture, but models captured less prey. Furthermore, newer pitchers captured more prey than older pitchers. These data indicate that attraction and/or retention of spiders by S. purpurea is similar to attraction and/or retention of insects. Spiders and harvestmen readily consumed S. purpurea nectar and often used the plant for oviposition. Spider residents of the genus Agelenopsis contributed nitrogen to the pitchers. Finally, there was no difference in insect density between control and treatment sticky traps, suggesting that S. purpurea does not influence nearby insect density.
Hemodialysis Use and Practice Patterns: An International Survey Study.

RATIONALE & OBJECTIVE Hemodialysis (HD) is the most common form of kidney replacement therapy. The study aimed to examine the use, availability, accessibility, affordability and quality of HD care worldwide. STUDY DESIGN A cross-sectional survey SETTING & PARTICIPANTS: Stakeholders (clinicians, policymakers, consumer representatives) in 182 countries were convened by the International Society of Nephrology between July to September 2018. OUTCOMES Use, availability, accessibility, affordability and quality of HD care ANALYTICAL APPROACH: Descriptive statistics RESULTS: Overall, representatives from 160 countries (88%) participated. Median country-specific use of chronic HD was 298.4 (interquartile range: 80.5-599.4) per million population (pmp). The global median HD use among new kidney failure patients was 98.0 (81.5-140.8) pmp and the median number of HD centers was 4.5 (1.2-9.9) pmp. Adequate HD services (3-4 hours, 3 times weekly) were generally available in 27% of low-income countries. Home HD was generally available in 36% of high-income countries. Thirty-two percent of countries performed monitoring of patient-reported outcomes, 61% of small solute clearance, 60% of bone mineral markers, 51% of technique survival, and 60% of patient survival. At initiation of chronic dialysis, only 5% of countries used arteriovenous access in most patients. Dialysis access education was suboptimal, funding for vascular access procedures was not uniform, and co-payments were greater in countries with lower levels of income. Patients in 23% of the low-income countries had to pay >75% of HD costs, compared with patients in only 4% high-income countries. LIMITATIONS A cross-sectional survey with possibility of response bias, social desirability bias, and limited data collection preventing in-depth analysis CONCLUSIONS: In summary, findings reveal substantial variations in global HD use, availability, accessibility, quality and affordability worldwide, with the lowest use evident in low and lower-middle-income countries.
Oral Treatment with Iododiflunisal Delays Hippocampal Amyloid-β Formation in a Transgenic Mouse Model of Alzheimer's Disease: A Longitudinal in vivo Molecular Imaging Study.

BACKGROUND Transthyretin (TTR) is a tetrameric, amyloid-β (Aβ)-binding protein which reduces Aβ toxicity. The TTR/Aβ interaction can be enhanced by a series of small molecules that stabilize its tetrameric form. Hence, TTR stabilizers might act as disease-modifying drugs in Alzheimer's disease. OBJECTIVE We monitored the therapeutic efficacy of two TTR stabilizers, iododiflunisal (IDIF), which acts as small-molecule chaperone of the TTR/Aβ interaction, and tolcapone, which does not behave as a small-molecule chaperone, in an animal model of Alzheimer's disease using positron emission tomography (PET). METHODS Female mice (AβPPswe/PS1A246E/TTR+/-) were divided into 3 groups (n = 7 per group): IDIF-treated, tolcapone-treated, and non-treated. The oral treatment (100 mg/Kg/day) was started at 5 months of age. Treatment efficacy assessment was based on changes in longitudinal deposition of Aβ in the hippocampus (HIP) and the cortex (CTX) and determined using PET-[18F]florbetaben. Immunohistochemical analysis was performed at age = 14 months. RESULTS Standard uptake values relative to the cerebellum (SUVr) of [18F]florbetaben in CTX and HIP of non-treated animals progressively increased from age = 5 to 11 months and stabilized afterwards. In contrast, [18F]florbetaben uptake in HIP of IDIF-treated animals remained constant between ages = 5 and 11 months and significantly increased at 14 months. In the tolcapone-treated group, SUVr progressively increased with time, but at lower rate than in the non-treated group. No significant treatment effect was observed in CTX. Results from immunohistochemistry matched the in vivo data at age = 14 months. CONCLUSION Our work provides encouraging preliminary results on the ability of small-molecule chaperones to ameliorate Aβ deposition in certain brain regions.
The Peptidoglycan-associated lipoprotein Pal contributes to the virulence of Burkholderia mallei and provides protection against lethal aerosol challenge

ABSTRACT Burkholderia mallei is a highly pathogenic bacterium that causes the fatal zoonosis glanders. The organism specifies multiple membrane proteins, which represent prime targets for the development of countermeasures given their location at the host-pathogen interface. We investigated one of these proteins, Pal, and discovered that it is involved in the ability of B. mallei to resist complement-mediated killing and replicate inside host cells in vitro, is expressed in vivo and induces antibodies during the course of infection, and contributes to virulence in a mouse model of aerosol infection. A mutant in the pal gene of the B. mallei wild-type strain ATCC 23344 was found to be especially attenuated, as BALB/c mice challenged with the equivalent of 5,350 LD50 completely cleared infection. Based on these findings, we tested the hypothesis that a vaccine containing the Pal protein elicits protective immunity against aerosol challenge. To achieve this, the pal gene was cloned in the vaccine vector Parainfluenza Virus 5 (PIV5) and mice immunized with the virus were infected with a lethal dose of B. mallei. These experiments revealed that a single dose of PIV5 expressing Pal provided 80% survival over a period of 40 days post-challenge. In contrast, only 10% of mice vaccinated with a PIV5 control virus construct survived infection. Taken together, our data establish that the Peptidoglycan-associated lipoprotein Pal is a critical virulence determinant of B. mallei and effective target for developing a glanders vaccine.
The impact of a national caries strategy in Greenland 10 years after implementation. A failure or a success?

ABSTRACT Aims 1) to describe the dental health goals and the single financial goal defined in 2008 with a new national caries strategy in Greenland (CSG) and the progress made during the subsequent 10-year period; 2) to describe the CSG initiatives; and 3) to report caries outcome data for 3-year-old children as well as 9-year-old children in 2012 and 2018; for 6-year-old children as well as 12-year-old children in 2015 and 2018 and for 15-year-old children in 2018, and to compare the data with the baseline data from 2008. Only 6 of the 20 dental health goals were close to being or were achieved over the 10-year period. The total cost of running PDHS-G increased by 4% from 2008 to 2018. The CSG strategy focused on predetermined visits/examinations, risk-related recalls, oral health promotion and predetermined fluoride and sealing policies. The percentage of children with a defs/DMFS = 0 increased by 8–18%, and the mean defs/DMFS decreased by 40–60% between 2008 and 2018 in all five age groups involved. To conclude, the goals defined in 2008 were generally not achieved (failure), but the caries status improved significantly from 2008 to 2018 in all age groups (success).
Remission From Unhealthy Drinking Among Patients With an Alcohol Use Disorder: A Longitudinal Study Using Systematic, Primary Care-Based Alcohol Screening Data.

OBJECTIVE Using electronic health record (EHR) data from a systematic, primary care-based alcohol screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) initiative within a health system, we examined correlates of remission from unhealthy drinking among patients with an alcohol use disorder (AUD). METHOD We conducted a longitudinal study of 4,078 adults with AUD who screened positive for unhealthy drinking between October 1, 2015, and September 30, 2016. We extracted EHR data up to 3 years after screening until October 1, 2018. We used survival analysis to examine associations between remission (i.e., reporting abstinence or low-risk drinking at a subsequent screening) and patient characteristics, comorbidities, and treatment utilization. RESULTS The median time to remission from unhealthy drinking was 1.7 years. Factors significantly associated with greater odds of remitting from unhealthy drinking during follow-up were female gender; older age (50-64 years); Black or Latino/Hispanic race/ethnicity; having more medical comorbidities; not having a comorbid drug use disorder; lower alcohol consumption levels; and receiving addiction medicine treatment before the index screening. In the first follow-up year, individuals with mental health comorbidities were more likely to remit, but those in psychiatric treatment were less likely. Receiving addiction treatment during follow-up was not associated with remission. CONCLUSIONS Ethnic minorities and individuals with mental illness were more likely to remit, which is encouraging given the health disparities observed among these clinically important subgroups and warrants further research. Our findings may inform research on AUD recovery and clinical practice, as remission from unhealthy drinking is a crucial component of the early stages of recovery.
Comparing the Keyto App and Device with Weight Watchers’ WW App for Weight Loss: Protocol for a Randomized Trial

Background Obesity and being overweight are major contributing factors for many diseases. Calorie restricted diets often fail to result in sustained long-term weight loss. Very low–carbohydrate, high-fat ketogenic diets have been suggested to have superior metabolic and weight loss effects. Keyto is a low-cost, highly scalable mobile health (mHealth) app paired with a noninvasive biofeedback tool aimed at facilitating weight loss through a personalized healthy and predominantly plant- and fish-based ketogenic diet. Objective This protocol describes a randomized trial comparing the efficacy of the Keyto mHealth app and device intervention to that of Weight Watchers’ WW app in individuals who are overweight or obese. The primary outcome is weight loss after 12 weeks. Secondary and exploratory outcomes, including metabolic and cardiovascular risk factors, will be assessed at 12, 24, and 48 weeks. Methods A total of 144 participants will be recruited and randomized to either the Keyto program or Weight Watchers program. Study participants will be guided through the study via video conference or phone calls and will undergo a fasting blood analysis performed by a third-party diagnostic lab at weeks 0 and 12 to assess metabolic and cardiovascular risk markers. All participants will be asked to weigh themselves daily on a study-provided Bluetooth-enabled scale. Participants randomized to the Keyto arm will also be asked to measure their breath acetone levels, a measure of ketosis, with the Keyto device 3 times per day. Results Recruitment started in December 2019. Rolling recruitment is expected to be completed by July 2020. Data collection and analysis of the primary intervention phase is expected to be completed in October 2020. The 24- and 48-week follow-ups are expected to be completed in January 2021 and July 2021, respectively. Conclusions This trial will provide high-quality evidence regarding the efficacy of the Keyto weight loss program in individuals who are overweight and obese in a free-living condition. This study also fills a gap by examining the impact of a ketogenic diet emphasizing plant- and fish-based fats on blood lipid profile and cardiovascular disease risk. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04165707; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04165707. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) DERR1-10.2196/19053