Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Effect of Climate Change on Loss of Lake Volume: Case of Sedimentation in Central Rift Valley Basin, Ethiopia

Evaluating the impact of climate change on sediment yield has become one of the major topics in climate research. The purpose of this study was to investigate sediment yield contribution to lake volume change under changing climatic conditions in the Central Rift Valley Basin. The ensemble mean of five regional climate models (RCMs) in the coordinated regional climate downscaling experiment (CORDEX)-Africa was considered for the purpose of this study. The climate variables (precipitation, minimum and maximum temperatures) in RCMs were bias corrected against observed data (1985–2016) using linear scaling (LS), power transformation (PT), variance of scaling (VS), and quantile mapping (QM). Two emission scenarios, the Representative Concentration Pathways, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, were considered for the future scenario period (2041–2070). Better results were obtained when the ensemble values of the bias correction methods were used. Hence, the projected values of climate variables after bias correction were used in the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) hydrological model to estimate the sediment yield contribution to lake volume change due to climate change. The results show that the average projected precipitation will decrease by 7.97% and 2.55% under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, respectively. On average, the maximum temperature will increase by 1.73 °C and 2.36 °C under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, respectively, while the minimum temperature will increase by 2.16 °C and 3.07 °C under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, respectively. The average annual sediment yield contributions to Lake Ziway were 431.05 ton/km2 and 322.82 ton/km2 for the Meki and Ketar rivers, respectively, in the historical period (1985–2010). The study also reveals that the annual sediment yield that was estimated for the Meki River was 323 ton/km2 and 382 ton/km2 under RCP4.5 and under RCP8.5, respectively. The sediment estimations for the Ketar River were 157 ton/km2 and 211 ton/km2 under RCP4.5 under RCP8.5, respectively. This will decrease the rate of volume change in Lake Ziway by 38% under RCP4.5 and by 23% under RCP8.5. The results show that the life expectancy of the lake is likely to increase under climate change scenarios. This will help water resources managers make informed decisions regarding the planning, management, and mitigation of the river basins.
Insistence on sameness for food space appropriation: An exploratory study on Brazilians with autism (self-)diagnosis in adulthood

Insistence on Sameness has been pathologized as a subtype of restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities, in autism. We examined the meanings of Insistence on Sameness for autistic adults through the lens of critical autism studies and environmental psychology, exploring their foodways and experiences of food environments, in relation to eating out and grocery shopping, and their experiences of autism (self-)diagnosis. Data were collected from earlier individual email interviews with Brazilian adults on the autism spectrum (N = 16), either formally diagnosed in adulthood (n = 10) or self-diagnosed (n = 6). Our thematic analysis generated the following three themes: (1) Insistence on Sameness behaviors in food space as participants’ efforts for human–environment optimization—reducing uncertainty, uncontrollability, and exposure to unwanted sensory stimuli and social interaction; (2) suppressed Insistence on Sameness behaviors for being considered weird habits; and (3) realization of Insistence on Sameness as an authentically autistic way of coping when self-knowledge deepens through autism (self-)diagnosis. Our findings suggest autistic adults’ insistence on sameness is an authentically autistic way to appropriate space and exercise their right to comfortably co-exist and live as human beings and as themselves. Lay abstract Insistence on sameness is common in autistic individuals and continues into adulthood. Research shows it may be a way to cope with environments because of their sensory sensitivity, intolerance to uncertainty, and anxiety. Understanding the reasons for insistence on sameness from the perspective of autistic adults is important. To study the meanings of insistence on sameness for autistic adults, we interviewed 16 Brazilian autistic adults. All 10 formally diagnosed participants were diagnosed in adulthood. Six participants identified as being on the autism spectrum without formal diagnosis. During the interviews by email, we first asked about participants’ experiences with autism diagnosis, either formal diagnosis or self-diagnosis. Then, we asked about their experiences in places for eating out and grocery shopping. We found they tended to always go to the same places and use protective accessories to eat or shop comfortably. But their such behaviors were considered weird habits, first by other people and later by themselves. While trying to control their weird habits because of social pressure, they often suffered anxiety and meltdowns. When they finally learned of their autism in adulthood, they began to better understand who they are and why they experience the environment differently from others. This new understanding taught them that their so-called weird habits are actually part of their authentically autistic ways to cope with the weirder world. This study suggests that autistic adults’ insistence on sameness is an authentically autistic way to exercise their right to comfortably co-exist and live as human beings and as themselves.
Measuring sleep health in primary school-aged children: A systematic review of instruments and their content validity

Abstract Study Objectives This review aimed to summarize instruments that measure one or more domains of sleep health (i.e. duration, quality, efficiency, timing, daytime sleepiness and sleep-related behaviors) in a general population of 4–12-year old children, and to assess these instruments’ content validity. Other measurement properties were evaluated for instruments with indications of sufficient content validity. Methods A systematic literature search was performed in PubMed, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and EmBase. Methodological quality, content validity, and other measurement properties were assessed via the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) methodology. Instruments with indications of sufficient content validity (i.e. relevance, comprehensiveness and comprehensibility) were further evaluated on other measurement properties (i.e. other aspects of validity, reliability, responsiveness). A modified GRADE approach was applied to determine the quality of evidence. Results Twenty instruments, containing 36 subscales, were included. None of the instruments measured all sleep health domains. For five (subscales of) instruments sufficient relevance and comprehensibility was found. The quality of evidence ranged from very low to moderate. For these five instruments all additional measurement properties were assessed. Sufficient results were found for structural validity (n = 1), internal consistency (n = 1), and construct validity (n = 1), with quality of evidence ranging from very low to high. Conclusions Several (subscales of) instruments measuring domains of child sleep health showed good promise, demonstrating sufficient relevance, comprehensibility, and some also sufficient results on other measurement properties. However, more high quality studies on instrument development and the evaluation of measurement properties are required. PROSPERO registration number: CRD42021224109
Prevention of mastitis in multiparous dairy cows with a previous history of mastitis by oral feeding with probiotic Bacillus subtilis

Abstract Mastitis is a very common inflammatory disease of the mammary gland of dairy cows, resulting in a reduction of milk production and quality. Probiotics may serve as an alternative to antibiotics to prevent mastitis, and the use of probiotics in this way may lessen the risk of antibiotic resistant bacteria developing. We investigated the effect of oral feeding of probiotic Bacillus subtilis (BS) C‐3102 strain on the onset of mastitis in dairy cows with a previous history of mastitis. BS feeding significantly decreased the incidence of mastitis, the average number of medication days and the average number of days when milk was discarded, and maintained the mean SCC in milk at a level substantially lower than the control group. BS feeding was associated with lower levels of cortisol and TBARS and increased the proportion of CD4+ T cells and CD11c+ CD172ahigh dendritic cells in the blood by flow cytometry analysis. Parturition increased the migrating frequency of granulocytes toward a milk chemoattractant cyclophilin A in the control cows, however, this was reduced by BS feeding, possibly indicating a decreased sensitivity of peripheral granulocytes to cyclophilin A. These results reveal that B. subtilis C‐3102 has potential as a probiotic and has preventative capacity against mastitis in dairy cows.
Tobacco mosaic virus hijacks its coat protein interacting protein IP-L to inhibit NbCML30, a novel calmodulin-like protein, to enhance its infection.

Calcium is an important plant immune signal that is essential for activating host resistance, but how RNA viruses manipulate calcium signals to promote their infections remains largely unknown. Here, we demonstrated that tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) coat protein (CP) interacting protein L (IP-L) associates with calmodulin-like protein 30 (NbCML30) in cytoplasm and nucleus, and can suppress its expression at nucleic acid and protein levels. NbCML30, which lacks the EF-Hand conserved domain and cannot bind to Ca2+ , was located at cytoplasm and nucleus and was down-regulated by TMV infection. NbCML30 silencing promoted TMV infection, while its overexpression inhibited TMV infection by activating Ca2+ -dependent oxidative stress in plants. NbCML30-mediated resistance to TMV mainly depends on IP-L regulation as the facilitation of TMV infection by silencing NbCML30 was cancelled by co-silencing NbCML30 and IP-L. Overall, these findings expand our understanding that in the absence of any reported silencing suppressor activity, TMV CP manipulates IP-L to inhibit NbCML30, influencing its Ca2+ -dependent oxidative stress activation. These results lay a theoretical foundation that will enable us to engineer tobacco with improved TMV resistance in the future.
13C-Methacetin Breath Test Predicts Survival in Patients With Hepatocellular Carcinoma Undergoing Transarterial Chemoembolization

INTRODUCTION: The 13C-methacetin breath test (13C-MBT) is a dynamic method for assessing liver function. This proof-of-concept study aimed to investigate the association between 13C-MBT values and outcomes in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) undergoing transarterial chemoembolization (TACE). METHODS: A total of 30 patients with HCC were prospectively recruited. Of these, 25 were included in baseline and 20 in longitudinal analysis. 13C-MBTs were performed before the first and second TACE session. Patients were followed for at least 1 year. RESULTS: At baseline, the median 13C-MBT value was 261 μg/kg/hr (interquartile range 159–387). 13C-MBT, albumin-bilirubin, Child-Pugh, and Model for End-Stage Liver Disease scores were associated with overall survival in extended univariable Cox regression (13C-MBT: standardized hazard ratio [sHR] 0.297, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.111–0.796; albumin-bilirubin score: sHR 4.051, 95% CI 1.813–9.052; Child-Pugh score: sHR 2.616, 95% CI 1.450–4.719; Model for End-Stage Liver Disease score: sHR 2.781, 95% CI 1.356–5.703). Using a cutoff of 140 μg/kg/hr at baseline, 13C-MBT was associated with prognosis (median overall survival 28.5 months [95% CI 0.0–57.1] vs 3.5 months [95% CI 0.0–8.1], log-rank P < 0.001). Regarding prediction of 90-day mortality after second 13C-MBT, the relative change in 13C-MBT values yielded an area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve of 1.000 (P = 0.007). DISCUSSION: Baseline and longitudinal 13C-MBT values predict survival of patients with HCC undergoing TACE. The relative change in 13C-MBT values predicts short-term mortality and may assist in identifying patients who will not benefit from further TACE treatment.
Bootstrapping the confidence intervals of R2MAD for samples from contaminated standard logistic distribution

This paper investigates the confidence intervals of R2MAD, the coefficient of determination based on median absolute deviation in the presence of outliers. Bootstrap bias-corrected accelerated (BCa) confidence intervals, known to have higher degree of correctness, are constructed for the mean and standard deviation of R2MAD for samples generated from contaminated standard logistic distribution. The results indicate that by increasing the sample size and percentage of contaminants in the samples, and perturbing the location and scale of the distribution affect the lengths of the confidence intervals. The results obtained can also be used to verify the bound of R2MAD.
Renewal of academic psychiatry without addressing gender equity will render it Jurassic rather than endangered

While two editorials have raised concerns about the decline in Australian academic psychiatry, for a genuine rejuvenation to ever occur, we will need to re-examine how women can be better included in this important endeavour. While attainment of fellowship has reached gender parity, academic psychiatry has disappointingly lagged, with 80% of its senior leadership roles across Australia and New Zealand still held by men, with a similar situation in the United Kingdom and the United States as well as many other countries. Encouraging women into academic psychiatry is not only critical to progress as a profession but also will help address the current blindness to sex differences in biological psychiatry, as well the social impact of restrictive gender norms and the effects of gender-based violence on mental health. This potentially creates opportunities for significant gains and insights into mental disorders. However, addressing the barriers for women in academia requires tackling the entrenched disparities across salaries, grant funding, publications, teaching responsibilities, keynote invitations and academic promotions alongside the gender-based microaggressions, harassment and tokenism reported by many of our female academics. Many women must grapple with not just a ‘second shift’ but a ‘third shift’, making the burden of an academic career unreasonable and burnout more likely. Addressing this is no easy task. The varied research in academic medicine reveals no quick fixes, although promoting gender equity brings significant potential benefits. Areas such as academic psychiatry need to recognise our community’s growing discomfort with workplaces that choose to maintain status quo. Gender equity must be a critical part of any quest to revive this important area of practice for our profession.
Cerebrospinal fluid sex steroid hormones in bacterial meningitis

Unfavorable outcome in bacterial meningitis is related to excessive inflammation and higher inflammatory markers have been reported in female than in male patients. Sex steroid hormones have immunomodulatory properties and can be found in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF); however, their actions have not been studied in bacterial meningitis. We investigated the association between CSF sex steroid hormone levels and inflammatory parameters, disease severity, and outcome in pneumococcal meningitis. We identified adults with culture-proven pneumococcal meningitis in a prospective cohort study (2006–2014). We measured estradiol and testosterone in CSF using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) using an enzyme-linked immunoassay. Hormone levels were compared according to outcome, which was graded using the Glasgow Outcome Scale (a score of 5 indicating favorable, 1–4 unfavorable outcome). Correlation analysis was used to measure the association between hormone levels and inflammatory cytokines, chemokines, and complement factors as well as severity of illness, as measured by the Glasgow Coma Scale and the Dutch Meningitis Risk Score. We included 60 patients: 20 men, 20 premenopausal (<50 years), and 20 postmenopausal (>50 years) women. Twenty-one (35%) patients had an unfavorable outcome and 11 (18%) died. Cases with an unfavorable outcome exhibited higher estradiol (median 14.0 vs 5.0 pmol/L, P = .04) and lower SHBG (0.40 vs 1.0 nmol/L, P = .03) levels compared with those with a favorable outcome. Estradiol was positively correlated with C-reactive protein (R = 0.42, P = .001), CSF protein (R = 0.33, P = .01), and proinflammatory cytokine levels. CSF concentrations of the sex steroid hormone estradiol were associated with outcome and CSF inflammation. Understanding the dose and time-dependent interaction between sex steroid hormones and the inflammatory response in bacterial meningitis represents an important and understudied topic.
Task requirements affect the neural correlates of consciousness

In the search for the neural correlates of consciousness, it is often assumed that there is a stable set within the relevant sensory modality. Within the visual modality, the debate has centred upon whether frontal or occipital activations are the best predictors of perceptual awareness. Although not accepted by all as definitive evidence, no‐report and decoding studies have indicated that occipital activity is the most consistently correlated with perceptual awareness whereas frontal activity might be closely related to aspects of cognition typically related to reports. However, perception is rarely just passive perception of something, but more or less always perception for something. That is, the task at hand for the perceiver may influence what is being perceived. This suggests an alternative view: that consciousness is not one specific ‘function’ that can be localized consistently to one area or event‐related component and that the specific attributes of the neural correlates of consciousness depend on the task at hand. To investigate whether and how tasks may influence the neural correlates of consciousness, we here contrasted two tasks, a perceptual task and a conceptual task, using identical stimuli in both tasks. Using magnetoencephalography, we found that the perceptual task recruited more occipital resources than the conceptual task. Furthermore, we found that between the two conditions, the amount of frontal resources recruited differed between different gradations of perceptual awareness partly in an unexpected manner. These findings support a view of task affecting the neural correlates of consciousness.
Determination and analysis of sex ratios in heme oxygenase 1 gene targeted mouse embryos

Heme oxygenase 1 or Hmox1 enzyme is involved in catalyzing the first and rate‐limiting step in heme breakdown reactions. Many studies have reported a partial lethality of Hmox1 knockout mice obtained from heterozygous breeding pairs. Similar results were obtained in our transgenic mice colony and a sex specific bias was observed in the favor of males in the adult mice. Hmox1 independent factors which could have caused this bias were initially analyzed and it was found that those factors were not a reason behind this anomaly. Certain studies involving gene knockout hinted toward a prenatal or neonatal lethality of female knockout mice embryos or pups, respectively. In order to check if this bias was occurring in embryonic stages, that is, either if mutant female embryos were dying or if heterozygous mothers were not carrying embryos to term, we analyzed the sex‐ratios in mid‐ and late‐gestational ages (9.5–13.5 dpc and 14.5–18.5 dpc, respectively). Our results did not indicate any significant difference in the sex ratios in embryonic stages; hence, it was concluded that females are not dying in embryonic stages. It can be speculated that these deaths were probably occurring at neonatal age. More studies are required to confirm that the lack of Hmox1 gene products is the sole reason for this female lethality.
An efficient rectangular optimization method for sparse orthogonal collimator based small animal irradiation

Objective. Intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) is widely used in clinical radiotherapy, treating varying malignancies with conformal doses. As the test field for clinical translation, preclinical small animal experiments need to mimic the human radiotherapy condition, including IMRT. However, small animal IMRT is a systematic challenge due to the lack of corresponding hardware and software for miniaturized targets. Approach. The sparse orthogonal collimators (SOC) based on the direct rectangular aperture optimization (RAO) substantially simplified the hardware for miniaturization. This study investigates and evaluates a significantly improved RAO algorithm for complex mouse irradiation using SOC. Because the Kronecker product representation of the rectangular aperture is the main limitation of the computational performance, we reformulated matrix multiplication in the data fidelity term using multiplication with small matrices instead of the Kronecker product of the dose loading matrices. Solving the optimization problem was further accelerated using the Fast Iterative Shrinkage-Thresholding Algorithm (FISTA). Main results. Four mouse cases, including a liver, a brain tumor, a concave U-target, and a complex total marrow irradiation (TMI) case, were included in this study with manually delineated targets and OARs. Seven coplanar-field SOC IMRT (sIMRT) plans were compared with idealistic fluence map based IMRT (iIMRT) plans. For the first three cases with simpler and smaller targets, the differences between sIMRT plans and iIMRT plans in the planning target volumes (PTV) statistics are within 1%. For the TMI case, the sIMRT plans are superior in reducing hot spots (also termed D max) of PTV, kidneys, lungs, heart, and bowel by 20.5%, 31.5%, 24.67%, 20.13%, and 17.78%, respectively. On average, in four cases in this study, the sIMRT plan conformity is comparable to that of the iIMRT’s with lightly increased R50 and Integral Dose by 2.23% and 2.78%. Significance. The significantly improved sIMRT optimization method allows fast plan creation in under 1 min for smaller targets and makes complex TMI planning feasible while achieving comparable dosimetry to idealistic IMRT with fluence map optimization.
The Added Value of Pharmacotherapy to Cognitive Behavior Therapy And Vice Versa in the Treatment of Alcohol Use Disorders: A Systematic Review

Abstract Aim To explore whether combined interventions i.e. psychotherapeutic plus psychosocial interventions are more effective than monotherapies in the treatment of alcohol use disorders. Methods Systematic review of the results of randomized controlled trials that compared combined therapies with monotherapies (either pharmacotherapy or psychotherapy). Results The search resulted in 28 eligible studies. Data from these RCTs showed that 10 out of 19 RCTs (53%) demonstrated an added value of combined therapy (psychotherapy + pharmacotherapy) compared to psychotherapy only, whereas only three out of nine RCTs (33%) comparing combined therapy with pharmacotherapy showed a possible added value for combined therapy. Conclusions Pharmacotherapy is effective to treat AUD with or without psychotherapy and that psychotherapy can best be offered in combination with pharmacotherapy.