bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Community engagement to increase vaccine uptake: Quasi-experimental evidence from Islamabad and Rawalpindi, Pakistan
Authors: Abdullah Mujahid , Ahmad Taimoor , Kazmi Twangar , Sultan Faisal , Afzal Sabeen , Safdar Rana Muhammad , Khan Adnan Ahmad 
Published: September 2022

AbstractDeveloping countries have been facing difficulties in reaching out to low-income and underserved communities for COVID-19 vaccination coverage. The rapidity of vaccine development caused a mistrust among certain subgroups of the population, and hence innovative approaches were taken to reach out to such populations. Using a sample of 1760 respondents in five low-income, informal localities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, Pakistan, we evaluated a set of interventions involving community engagement by addressing demand and access barriers. We used multi-level mixed effects models to estimate average treatment effects across treatment areas. We found that our interventions increased COVID-19 vaccine willingness in two treatment areas that are furthest from city centers by 7.6% and 6.6% respectively, while vaccine uptake increased in one of the treatment areas by 17.1%, compared to the control area. Our results suggest that personalized information campaigns such as community mobilization help to increase COVID-19 vaccine willingness. Increasing uptake however, requires improving access to the vaccination services. Both information and access may be different for various communities and therefore a “one-size-fits-all” approach may need to be better localized. Such underserved and marginalized communities are better served if vaccination efforts are contextualized.
The prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection and long COVID in US adults during the BA.5 surge, June-July 2022
Authors: Qasmieh Saba A , Robertson McKaylee M , Teasdale Chloe A , Kulkarni Sarah G , Jones Heidi , McNairy Margaret , Borrell Luisa N. , Nash Denis 
Published: September 2022

AbstractDue to changes in SARS-CoV-2 testing practices, passive case-based surveillance may be an increasingly unreliable indicator for monitoring the burden of SARS-CoV-2, especially during surges.We conducted a cross-sectional survey of a population-representative sample of 3,042 U.S. adults between June 30 and July 2, 2022, during the Omicron BA.5 surge. Respondents were asked about SARS-CoV-2 testing and outcomes, COVID-like symptoms, contact with cases, and experience with prolonged COVID-19 symptoms following prior infection. We estimated the weighted age and sex-standardized SARS-CoV-2 prevalence, during the 14-day period preceding the interview. We estimated age and gender adjusted prevalence ratios (aPR) for current SARS-CoV-2 infection using a log-binomial regression model.An estimated 17.3% (95% CI 14.9, 19.8) of respondents had SARS-CoV-2 infection during the two-week study period–equating to 44 million cases as compared to 1.8 million per the CDC during the same time period. SARS-CoV-2 prevalence was higher among those 18-24 years old (aPR 2.2, 95% CI 1.8, 2.7) and among non-Hispanic Black (aPR 1.7, 95% CI 1.4, 2.2) and Hispanic (aPR 2.4, 95% CI 2.0, 2.9). SARS-CoV-2 prevalence was also higher among those with lower income (aPR 1.9, 95% CI 1.5, 2.3), lower education (aPR 3.7 95% CI 3.0,4.7), and those with comorbidities (aPR 1.6, 95% CI 1.4, 2.0). An estimated 21.5% (95% CI 18.2, 24.7) of respondents with a SARS-CoV-2 infection more than 4 weeks prior reported long COVID symptoms.The inequitable distribution of SARS-CoV-2 prevalence during the BA.5 surge will likely drive inequities in the future burden of long COVID.
STING activation promotes autologous type I interferon-dependent development of type 1 regulatory T cells during malaria
Authors: Wang Yulin , De Labastida Rivera Fabian , Edwards Chelsea L. , Frame Teija C. M. , Engel Jessica A. , Bukali Luzia , Na Jinrui , Ng Susanna S. , Corvino Dillon , de Oca Marcela Montes , Bunn Patrick T. , Soon Megan S. F. , Andrew Dean , Loughland Jessica R. , Amante Fiona H. , Barber Bridget E. , McCarthy James S. , Lopez J. Alejandro , Boyle Michelle J. , Engwerda Christian R. 
Published: September 2022

SummaryThe development of highly effective malaria vaccines and improving drug treatment protocols to boost anti-parasitic immunity is critical for malaria elimination. However, these efforts are hampered by parasite-specific immunoregulatory networks that are rapidly established following exposure to malaria parasites. Here, we identify stimulator of interferon genes (STING) as a critical mediator of type I interferon production by CD4+ T cells during blood-stage Plasmodium falciparum infection. STING activation by cyclic guanosine monophosphate-adenosine monophosphate (cGAMP) stimulated IFNB gene transcription that promoted development of IL-10 and IFNγ co-producing CD4+ T (type I regulatory; Tr1) cells. CD4+ T cell sensitivity to STING phosphorylation increased in healthy volunteers following P. falciparum infection, particularly in Tr1 cells. Finally, we found the JAK1/2 inhibitor ruxolitinib modulated this innate signalling axis in CD4+ T cells to increase parasite-specific Th1 and diminish Tr1 cell responses. These findings identify STING as a critical mediator of Tr1 cell development during malaria.
Erotic cue exposure increases physiological arousal, biases choices towards immediate rewards and attenuates model-based reinforcement learning
Authors: Mathar David , Wiebe Annika , Tuzsus Deniz , Knauth Kilian , Peters Jan 
Published: September 2022

AbstractComputational psychiatry focuses on identifying core cognitive processes that appear altered across a broad range of psychiatric disorders. Temporal discounting of future rewards and model-based control during reinforcement learning have proven as two promising candidates. Despite its trait-like stability, temporal discounting has been suggested to be at least partly under contextual control. For example, highly arousing cues such as erotic pictures were shown to increase discounting, although overall evidence to date remains somewhat mixed. Whether model-based reinforcement learning is similarly affected by arousing cues is unclear. Here we tested cue-reactivity effects (erotic pictures) on subsequent temporal discounting and model-based reinforcement learning in a within-subjects design in n=39 healthy male participants. Self-reported and physiological arousal (cardiac activity and pupil dilation) were assessed before and during cue exposure. Arousal was increased during exposure of erotic vs. neutral cues both on the subjective and autonomic level. Erotic cue exposure nominally increased discounting as reflected by reduced choices of delayed options. Hierarchical drift diffusion modeling (DDM) linked increased discounting to a shift in the starting point bias of evidence accumulation towards immediate options. Model-based control during reinforcement learning was reduced following erotic cues according to model-agnostic analysis. Notably, DDM linked this effect to attenuated forgetting rates of unchosen options, leaving the model-based control parameter unchanged. Our findings replicate previous work on cue-reactivity effects in temporal discounting and for the first time show similar effects in model-based reinforcement learning. Our results highlight how environmental cues can impact core human decision processes and reveal that comprehensive drift diffusion modeling approaches can yield novel insights in reward-based decision processes.
Relationship between swimming velocity and trunk twist motion in short-distance crawl swimming
Authors: Hyodo Hiroki , Koga Daiki , Sengoku Yasuo , Wada Tadashi 
Published: September 2022

AbstractThis study aimed to estimate the trunk twist angle from the shoulder and hip rotation angles in short-distance crawl swimming and to elucidate the twist motion of the relationship between the trunk and the rotation angular velocity in response to changes in swimming speed. Swimming speed during the experimental trials was computed from the subject’s best times in the 50 and 100m crawl swims. Wireless self-luminous LED markers were attached to seven locations on the body. The actual coordinate values of the LED markers were obtained using 18 cameras for underwater movements and 4 on the water for above-water movements. A comparison of the rate of change between trials revealed a high correlation (r = 0.722, p < 0.01) between the twist angle and shoulder rotation angular velocity in the push phase. In the same phase, a high correlation (r =0.748, p < 0.01) was also found between the twist angle and the angular velocity of hip rotation. These results suggest that swimmers increase the twist angle of their trunks to obtain a higher swimming speed. Moreover, the trunk muscle group increases its activity before starting the main motion of the twist back motion, and stretch-shortening cycle (SSC) motion may be performed in the trunk.
Safety and immunogenicity of a broad-spectrum mosaic vaccine as a booster dose against SARS-CoV-2 Omicron and other circulating variants
Authors: Kaabi Nawal Al , Yang Yun Kai , Liang Yu , Xu Ke , Zhang Xue Feng , Kang Yun , Jin Yu Qin , Hou Jun Wei , Zhang Jing , Yang Tian , Hussein Salah , ElDein Mohamed Saif , Lei Ze Hua , Zhang Hao , Shao Shuai , Liu Zhao Ming , Liu Ning , Zheng Xiang , Su Ji Guo , Yang Sen Sen , Cong Xiangfeng , Tan Yao , Lei Wenwen , Gao Xue Jun , Jiang Zhiwei , Wang Hui , Li Meng , Mekki Hanadi Mekki , Zaher Walid , Mahmoud Sally , Zhang Xue , Qu Chang , Liu Dan Ying , Zhang Jing , Yang Mengjie , Eltantawy Islam , Xiao Peng , Shen Fu Jie , Wu Jin Juan , Han Zi Bo , Du Li Fang , Tang Fang , Chen Shi , Ma Zhi Jing , Zheng Fan , Hou Ya Nan , Li Xin Yu , Li Xin , Wang Zhao Nian , Yin Jin Liang , Mao Xiao Yan , Zhang Jin , Qu Liang , Zhang Yun Tao , Yang Xiao Ming , Wu Guizhen , Li Qi Ming 
Published: September 2022

ABSTRACTBACKGROUNDThe rising breakthrough infections caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants, especially Omicron and its sub-lineages, have raised an urgent need to develop broad-spectrum vaccines against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We have developed a mosaic-type recombinant vaccine candidate, named NVSI-06-09, having immune potentials against a broad range of SARS-CoV-2 variants.METHODSAn ongoing randomized, double-blind, controlled phase 2 trial was conducted to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of NVSI-06-09 as a booster dose in subjects aged 18 years and older from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), who had completed two or three doses of BBIBP-CorV vaccinations at least 6 months prior to the enrollment. The participants were randomly assigned with 1:1 to receive a booster dose of NVSI-06-09 or BBIBP-CorV. The primary outcomes were immunogenicity and safety against SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, and the exploratory outcome was cross-immunogenicity against other circulating strains.RESULTSA total of 516 participants received booster vaccination. Interim results showed a similar safety profile between NVSI-06-09 and BBIBP-CorV booster groups, with low incidence of adverse reactions of grade 1 or 2. For immunogenicity, by day 14 after the booster vaccination, the fold rises in neutralizing antibody geometric mean titers (GMTs) from baseline level elicited by NVSI-06-09 were remarkably higher than those by BBIBP-CorV against the prototype strain (19.67 vs 4.47-fold), Omicron BA.1.1 (42.35 vs 3.78-fold), BA.2 (25.09 vs 2.91-fold), BA.4 (22.42 vs 2.69-fold), and BA.5 variants (27.06 vs 4.73-fold). Similarly, the neutralizing GMTs boosted by NVSI-06-09 against Beta and Delta variants were also 6.60-fold and 7.17-fold higher than those boosted by BBIBP-CorV.CONCLUSIONSA booster dose of NVSI-06-09 was well-tolerated and elicited broad-spectrum neutralizing responses against SARS-CoV-2 prototype strain and immune-evasive variants, including Omicron and its sub-lineages. The immunogenicity of NVSI-06-09 as a booster vaccine was superior to that of BBIBP-CorV. (Funded by LIBP and BIBP of Sinopharm; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT05293548).
Lexical Stability of Psychiatric Clinical Notes from Electronic Health Records over a Decade
Authors: Hansen Lasse , Enevoldsen Kenneth , Bernstorff Martin , Perfalk Erik , Danielsen Andreas A. , Nielbo Kristoffer L. , Østergaard Søren D. 
Published: September 2022

AbstractNatural Language Processing methods hold promise for improving clinical prediction by utilising information otherwise hidden in the clinical notes of electronic health records. However, clinical practice—as well as the systems and databases in which clinical notes are recorded and stored—change over time. As a consequence, the content of clinical notes may also change over time, which could degrade the performance of prediction models. Despite its importance, the stability of clinical notes over time has rarely been tested. Therefore, in this study, we examined the lexical stability of clinical notes from the Psychiatric Services of the Central Denmark Region in the period from January 1, 2011, to November 22, 2021 (a total of 14,811,551 clinical notes describing 129,570 patients) by quantifying sentence length, readability, syntactic complexity and clinical content - and estimating changepoints in these metrics. We find lexical and syntactic stability over time, which bodes well for the use of Natural Language Processing for predictive modelling in clinical practice.
Autophagy alterations in white and brown adipose tissues of mice exercised under different training protocols
Authors: Tamargo-Gómez Isaac , Fernández-Sanjurjo Manuel , Codina-Martínez Helena , Tomás-Zapico Cristina , Iglesias-Gutiérrez Eduardo , Fernández Álvaro F. , Fernández-García Benjamín 
Published: September 2022

ABSTRACTAutophagy is a conserved catabolic process that promotes cellular homeostasis and health. Although exercise is a well-established inducer of this pathway, little is known about the effects of different types of training protocols on the autophagy levels of tissues that are tightly linked to the obesity pandemic (like brown adipose tissue) but not easily accessible in humans. Here, we take advantage of animal models to assess the effects of short- and long-term resistance and endurance training in both white and brown adipose tissue, reporting distinct alterations on autophagy proteins LC3B and p62. For instance, both short-term endurance and resistance training protocols increased the levels of these proteins in white adipose tissue before this similarity diverges during long training, while autophagy regulation appears to be far more complex in brown adipose tissue. Additionally, we also analyzed the repercussion of these interventions in fat tissues of mice lacking autophagy protease ATG4B, further assessing the impact of exercise in these dynamic, regulatory organs (which are specialized in energy storage) when autophagy is limited. In this regard, only resistance training could slightly increase the presence of lipidated LC3B, while p62 levels increased in white adipose tissue after short-term training but decreased in brown adipose tissue after long-term training. Altogether, our study suggests an intricated regulation of exercise-induced autophagy in adipose tissues that is dependent on the training protocol and the autophagy competence of the organism.
The effect of short-term activation of AHL15 on long-term plant developmental change and transcriptome profile
Authors: Karami Omid , Henkel Christiaan , Offringa Remko 
Published: September 2022

AbstractWe have previously documented that overexpression of the Arabidopsis nuclear protein AHL15 leads to reprogramming of somatic cells to embryonic cells (Karami et al., 2021) and to suppression of plant ageing (Karami et al., 2020). Here we show that transient (4 hours) activation of overexpressed AHL15-GR in Arabidopsis seedlings has long-term effects on plant development. RNA sequencing analysis detected an extensive reprogramming of the transcriptome 4 hours after AHL15-GR activation, with respectively 540 and 1107 genes showing more than 2-fold up- and down-regulation. AHL15 seemed to act in a transcription leveldependent manner, activating predominantly low expressed genes and repressing mostly highly expressed genes. Rapid decondensation of heterochromatin was observed after AHL15 activation in leaf primordia and axillary meristems, indicating that the global reprogramming of the transcriptome by transient activation of this AT-Hook domain protein might be caused by extensive modulation of the chromatin configuration. We also found that co-activated or co-repressed genes were often physically linked in small chromosomal clusters, which is in line with regulation at the chromatin level.
Meningeal IL-17 producing T cells mediate cognitive impairment in salt-sensitive hypertension
Authors: Santisteban Monica M. , Schaeffer Samantha , Anfray Antoine , Faraco Giuseppe , Lopez David Brea , Wang Gang , Sobanko Melissa , Sciortino Rose , Racchumi Gianfranco , Waisman Ari , Park Laibaik , Anrather Josef , Iadecola Costantino 
Published: September 2022

ABSTRACTHypertension, a disease afflicting over one billion individuals worldwide, is a leading cause of cognitive impairment, the mechanisms of which remain poorly understood. In a mouse model of hypertension, we found that the neurovascular and cognitive dysfunction depends on IL-17, a cytokine elevated in hypertensive individuals. However, neither circulating IL-17 or brain angiotensin signaling could account in full for the dysfunction. Rather, IL-17 produced by T-cells in the dura mater was the major culprit by reaching the cerebrospinal fluid and activating IL-17 receptors on brain associated macrophages. Accordingly, depleting brain macrophages, deleting IL17-RA in brain macrophages, or suppressing meningeal T cells completely rescued cognitive function without attenuating blood pressure elevation, circulating IL-17 or brain angiotensin signaling. The data unveil a critical role of meningeal T-cells and macrophage IL-17 signaling in the neurovascular and cognitive dysfunction of hypertension and suggest novel therapies to counteract the devastating effects of hypertension on cognitive health.
ExoJ: an ImageJ2/Fiji plugin for automated spatiotemporal detection and analysis of exocytosis
Authors: Liu Junjun , Verweij Frederik Johannes , Van Niel Guillaume , Galli Thierry , Danglot Lydia , Bun Philippe 
Published: September 2022

AbstractExocytosis is a dynamic physiological process that enables the release of biomolecules to the surrounding environment via the fusion of membrane compartments to the plasma membrane. Understanding its mechanisms is crucial, as defects can compromise essential biological functions. The development of pH-sensitive optical reporters alongside fluorescence microscopy enables the assessment of individual vesicle exocytosis events at the cellular level. Manual annotation represents, however, a time-consuming task, prone to selection biases and human operational errors. Here, we introduce ExoJ, an automated plugin based on ImageJ2/Fiji. ExoJ identifies user-defined genuine populations of exocytic events, recording quantitative features including intensity, apparent size and duration. We designed ExoJ to be fully user-configurable, making it suitable to study distinct forms of vesicle exocytosis regardless of the imaging quality. Our plugin demonstrates its capabilities by showcasing distinct exocytic dynamics among tetraspanins and vesicular SNAREs protein reporters. Assessment of performance on synthetic data demonstrated ExoJ is a robust tool, capable to correctly identify exocytosis events independently of signal-to-noise ratio conditions. We propose ExoJ as a standard solution for future comparative and quantitative studies of exocytosis.
IL-33 Involved in the Progression of Liver Fibrosis Through Innate Immunity Cells (Mφ) Regulated by ICOS/ICOSL Signaling in Early Stage of Mice Schistosomiasis
Authors: Liu Lei , Wang Peng , Xie Shi-Qi , Pu Wen-Jie , Xu Jing , Xia Chao-Ming 
Published: September 2022

AbstractSchistosomiasis liver fibrosis is characterized by the foci of a classical type 2 granulomatous inflammation in response to egg soluble antigen. The inducible costimulator (ICOS)/ICOSL signaling can mediate Th2 polarization and regulate the disease process of chronic schistosomiasis by adaptive immune response. ICOS/ICOSL signaling could regulate innate immune cells, including B cells and macrophage (Mφ), and participate in pulmonary fibrosis. The purpose of the study was to identify whether ICOS/ICOSL signaling could regulate the polarization of Mφ, and to explore the potential role of IL-33 in ICOSL knockout (ICOSL-KO) mice with schistosomiasis. Firstly, the expression level of CD86, CD206 and IL-33 was checked respectively in ICOSL-KO and WT mice infected with Schistosoma japonicum (S. japonicum). Then recombinant IL-33 (rIL-33) was injected into ICOSL-KO mice infected with S. japonicum. Our experiments showed that the liver Mφ was successfully polarized toward to classical activated Mφ (M1) and the expression of IL-33 was inhibited in ICOSL-KO mice. Furthermore, the injection of rIL-33 successfully aggravated liver fibrosis in ICOSL-KO mice, increased the numbers of lymphocyte antigen 6C (Ly6C)hi, enhanced the expression of C-C chemokine ligand (CCL)2,, CCL5 and C-X-C motif chemokine 2 (CXCL2), and promoted polarization of T helper (Th) cells to Th2 cells, as well as induced the autophagy and apoptosis of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs). Overall, the liver fibrosis was alleviated in ICOSL-KO mice along with the reduced expression of IL-33, which could skew the polarization of Mφ toward to M1, induce Th cells activation, HSCs apoptosis and autophagy through Smad2/3 and TGF-β signaling pathway, thus participated in the homeostasis of liver fibrosis of schistosomiasis.
Photoelectrochemical imaging of action potentials for single cardiomyocytes through contact force manipulation of organoids
Authors: Jacques Rachel , Zhou Bo , Marhuenda Emilie , Gorecki Jon , Das Anirban , Iskratsch Thomas , Krause Steffi 
Published: September 2022

AbstractAccurate monitoring of cardiomyocyte action potentials (APs) is essential to understand disease propagation and for trials of novel therapeutics. Patch clamp techniques offer ‘gold standard’ measurements in this field, but are notoriously difficult to operate and only provide measurements of a single cell. Here we propose photoelectrochemical imaging (PEI), in conjunction with a setup for controlling the contact force between the cardiomyocyte organoids and the sensor surface, for measuring APs with high sensitivity. The method was validated through the use of drugs, and the results successfully visualized the expected electrophysiological changes to the APs. PEI allows for several cells to be monitored simultaneously, opening further research to the electrophysiological interactions of adjoining cells. This method expands the applications of PEI to three-dimensional geometries and provides the fields of stem cell research, drug trials and heart disease modelling with an invaluable tool to further investigate the role of APs.