julilili42/papers huggingface dataset:
Patient-Centered Approach Might Effectively Tackle The Definition Of Progression In Chronic Neurological Diseases: Results From The EmBioProMS Trial In Progressive Multiple Sclerosis
2021-09-12

Abstract Background Proper identification of disability accumulation in the routine clinical care of progressive multiple sclerosis (PMS) patients is usually a challenging task. Patient-reported outcome measurements (PROMs) can provide a practical, cost-efficient, and remotely accessible tool to assess disease progression. Methods EmBioProMS is a prospective, multicentric cohort, conducted in 7 specialized MS centers in Germany. PROMs were evaluated at inclusion and compared between patients with retrospective evidence of disease progression in the last two years and those with stable disease. Patients with either primary or secondary progressive MS according to the McDonald criteria 2017 were included in the analysis, while patients with incomplete PROMs scores, MS relapses, other neurological or systemic inflammatory diseases were excluded. The disease progression was assessed using a combined outcome parameter, including EDSS score, timed 25-foot walk test, and nine-hole-peg test. Results 185 patients were included in the final analysis (SPMS, n=77; PPMS, n=108). The median age and disease duration were 55 years and 13 years, respectively. Disease progression was diagnosed in 114 of 185 patients (61.6%). BDI-II, MSIS-29, and FSMC scores were worse in patients with evidence of disease progression in the last two years. Patients with any of the included PROMs above the 90th percentile had an odds ratio of 3.8 (95% confidence interval: 1.4–10.6, P=0.01) for having progression in the last two years in a binomial regression model adjusted for age, sex, disease duration, treatment status, center effect, and Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS). Similar results were observed in patients with PROM scores in the 80th and 70th percentile (OR: 2.9 and 3.7, P=0.015 and 0.003, respectively). Conclusion PROMs can be a simple and effective way to detect disability worsening in a chronic neurological disease like PMS and, therefore, substantially contribute to better classification and prognostication of the disease course through objective and structural patient-doctor communication. Trial Registration German Clinical Trials Register (Deutsches Register Klinischer Studien - DRKS), DRKS00020132
Personality Psychology
2021-09-13

Personality psychology, which seeks to study individual differences in thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that persist over time and place, has experienced a renaissance in the last few decades. It has also not been reviewed as a field in the Annual Review of Psychology since 2001. In this article, we seek to provide an update as well as a meta-organizational structure to the field. In particular, personality psychology has a prescribed set of four responsibilities that it implicitly or explicitly tackles as a field: ( a) describing what personality is—i.e., what the units of analysis in the field are; ( b) documenting how it develops; ( c) explaining the processes of personality and why they affect functioning; and ( d) providing a framework for understanding individuals and explaining their actions, feelings, and motivations. We review progress made over the last 20 years to address these four agendas and conclude by highlighting future directions and ongoing challenges to the field.
Tracking the Distribution of Brucella abortus in Egypt Based on Core Genome SNP Analysis and In Silico MLVA-16
2021-09-13

Brucellosis, caused by the bacteria of the genus Brucella, is one of the most neglected common zoonotic diseases globally with a public health significance and a high economic loss among the livestock industry worldwide. Since little is known about the distribution of B. abortus in Egypt, a total of 46 B. abortus isolates recovered between 2012–2020, plus one animal isolate from 2006, were analyzed by examining the whole core genome single nucleotide polymorphism (cgSNP) in comparison to the in silico multilocus variable number of tandem repeat analysis (MLVA). Both cgSNP analysis and MLVA revealed three clusters and one isolate only was distantly related to the others. One cluster identified a rather widely distributed outbreak strain which is repeatedly occurring for at least 16 years with marginal deviations in cgSNP analysis. The other cluster of isolates represents a rather newly introduced outbreak strain. A separate cluster comprised RB51 vaccine related strains, isolated from aborted material. The comparison with MLVA data sets from public databases reveals one near relative from Argentina to the oldest outbreak strain and a related strain from Spain to a newly introduced outbreak strain in Egypt. The distantly related isolate matches with a strain from Portugal in the MLVA profile. Based on cgSNP analysis the oldest outbreak strain clusters with strains from the UK. Compared to the in silico analysis of MLVA, cgSNP analysis using WGS data provides a much higher resolution of genotypes and, when correlated to the associated epidemiological metadata, cgSNP analysis allows the differentiation of outbreaks by defining different outbreak strains. In this respect, MLVA data are error-prone and can lead to incorrect interpretations of outbreak events.
Effects of full-body mirror exposure on eating pathology, body image and emotional states: Comparison between positive and negative verbalization
2021-09-13

Mirror exposure (ME) is an effective technique to improve body image. However, evidence on the underlying mechanisms and the optimal verbalization instruction during ME is lacking. Therefore, this experimental study analyzed mechanisms of ME and therapeutic outcomes by comparing positive (PV) and negative (NV) full-body verbalization. N = 73 healthy females were randomized to a PV or an NV condition. PV participants verbalized positively while NV participants verbalized negatively about their whole body. Each participant underwent three standardized ME sessions. Before and after each ME session, positive affect, negative affect and body satisfaction were assessed. Before the first and after the third ME, participants completed questionnaires on cognitive-affective and behavioral aspects of body image, eating pathology and self-esteem. Regarding within-ME changes, the results indicate that positive affect and body satisfaction decreased while negative affect increased in the NV group but not in the PV group. In contrast, regarding between-ME changes, decreased negative affect as well as positive affect and increased body satisfaction were observed in both groups. However, eating pathology remained stable, whereas body-checking behavior increased and the PV condition was followed by higher levels of self-esteem compared to the NV condition. These findings suggest that both PV and NV improve negative affect and body satisfaction between-ME, and thus seem to be effective ME instructions. Given that NV led to increased negative affect within-ME and did not influence self-esteem, PV might represent the favorable instruction during ME for body-satisfied women.
Temporally distinct oscillatory codes of retention and manipulation of verbal working memory
2021-09-13

Abstract Most psychophysiological studies of working memory (WM) target only the short‐term memory construct, whereas short‐term memory is only a part of the WM responsible for the storage of sensory information. Here, we aimed to further investigate oscillatory brain mechanisms supporting the executive components of WM—the part responsible for the manipulation of information. We conducted an exploratory reanalysis of a previously published EEG dataset where 156 participants (82 females) performed tasks requiring either simple retention or retention and manipulation of verbal information in WM. A relatively long delay period (&gt;6 s) was employed to investigate the temporal trajectory of the oscillatory brain activity. Compared with baseline, theta activity was significantly enhanced during encoding and the delay period. Alpha‐band power decreased during encoding and switched to an increase in the first part of the delay before returning to the baseline in the second part; beta‐band power remained below baseline during encoding and the delay. The difference between the manipulation and retention tasks in spectral power had diverse temporal trajectories in different frequency bands. The difference maintained over encoding and the first part of the delay in theta, during the first part of the delay in beta, and during the whole delay period in alpha. Our results suggest that task‐related modulations in theta power co‐vary with the demands on the executive control network; beta suppression during mental manipulation can be related to the activation of motor networks; and alpha is likely to reflect the activation of language areas simultaneously with sensory input blockade.
CD18 Antibody Application Blocks Unwanted Off-Target T Cell Activation Caused by Bispecific Antibodies
2021-09-13

T cell-recruiting bispecific antibodies (bsAbs) are successfully used for the treatment of cancer. However, effective treatment with bsAbs is so far hampered by severe side effects, i.e., potentially life-threatening cytokine release syndrome. Off-target T cell activation due to binding of bispecific CD3 antibodies to T cells in the absence of target cells may contribute to excessive cytokine release. We report here, in an in vitro setting, that off-target T cell activation is induced by bsAbs with high CD3 binding affinity and increased by endothelial- or lymphoid cells that act as stimulating bystander cells. Blocking antibodies directed against the adhesion molecules CD18/CD54 or CD2/CD58 markedly reduced this type of off-target T cell activation. CD18 blockade—in contrast to CD2—did not affect the therapeutic activity of various bsAbs. Since CD18 antibodies have been shown to be safely applicable in patients, blockade of this integrin holds promise as a potential target for the prevention of unwanted off-target T cell activation and allows the application of truly effective bsAb doses.
Switching the basal insulin to insulin glargine 300 U/ ml in people with type 2 diabetes under basal insulin supported oral therapy: Observational trial on effectiveness and safety
2021-09-13

Abstract Aims This study evaluated the effectiveness and safety of switching the basal insulin (BI) in a BI‐supported oral therapy (BOT) to insulin glargine 300 U/ml (Gla‐300) in adults with inadequately controlled type 2 diabetes (T2D). Materials and methods This was a non‐interventional, multicentre, prospective 12‐month study, conducted in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The study documented people with T2D with glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) between 7.5% and 10.0%, currently treated by a non‐Gla‐300 BOT regimen, after the physician had decided to switch the BI to Gla‐300. Primary endpoint was the proportion of patients achieving the fasting plasma glucose (FPG; ≤110 mg/dl) target. Results In total, 1194 participants comprised the full analysis set, of which 793 completed documentation of 12 months Gla‐300 treatment (FAS‐M12). The main previous BI was insulin glargine 100 U/ml (Gla‐100; 47.2%). Twelve months after switching to Gla‐300, 27.0% of FAS‐M12 participants achieved the FPG target and 44.8% their individualized HbA1c target. The greatest FPG target achievements were seen in previous Gla‐100 (29.3%), and greatest HbA1c target achievements in previous insulin detemir users (57.7%). The mean FPG decreased by −36.3 ± 51.2 mg/dl to 135.5 ± 36.9 mg/dl and mean HbA1c by −0.79 ± 1.01% to 7.45 ± 0.94%. Symptomatic and nocturnal hypoglycaemia incidence significantly decreased over 12 months of Gla‐300 treatment. Body weight remained unchanged. Conclusions Switching the BI to Gla‐300 in a BOT regimen improved metabolic control and treatment satisfaction in a substantial proportion of patients with T2D and inadequate target achievement within 12 months in clinical practice with a decreased risk of symptomatic and nocturnal hypoglycaemia and without weight gain.
Impact of enzalutamide on patient-reported fatigue in patients with prostate cancer: data from the pivotal clinical trials
2021-09-13

Abstract Background Fatigue is a multifactorial symptom commonly reported by patients with prostate cancer as a result of disease and treatment. This study assesses the impact enzalutamide has on patient-reported fatigue (“fatigue”) by using patient-reported outcomes from four pivotal, placebo-controlled trials of enzalutamide (ARCHES (NCT02677896), PROSPER (NCT02003924), PREVAIL (NCT01212991), and AFFIRM (NCT00974311)). Methods Fatigue was assessed in the individual studies using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy–Prostate item GP1 at baseline, weeks 13 or 17, and every 12 weeks until disease progression. Longitudinal changes were assessed using mean scores and mixed-model repeated measures. Results The fatigue rates at baseline were higher in patients with later-stage disease (metastatic and/or castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC)) and among patients who had already received prior treatment lines; rates ranged between 58% in PROSPER (nonmetastatic CRPC) and 86% in AFFIRM (post-docetaxel metastatic CRPC). Irrespective of disease state, initiation of enzalutamide or placebo resulted in an early increase of fatigue (by weeks 13 or 17), with fatigue levels stabilizing thereafter. At last assessment, ≥55% of patients reported fatigue improvement or stabilization in all trials compared to baseline. More patients reported fatigue worsening by ≥1 or ≥2 units with enzalutamide plus androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) than with placebo plus ADT in ARCHES, PROSPER, and PREVAIL, but the between-group difference was &lt;10% in all trials. Conclusions The levels of fatigue were greater in mCRPC and lower in earlier states of disease. In all trials, patients reported a small increase in fatigue for the first 13–17 weeks after starting enzalutamide or placebo, with slightly greater fatigue with enzalutamide in all studies except AFFIRM, but fatigue stabilized or improved thereafter. This suggests a role for clinical management of fatigue to help patients cope early in treatment.
Response time and response time variability as indicators of response quality during static automated perimetry
2021-09-13

Abstract Purpose Perimetry is a both demanding and strenuous examination method that is often accompanied by signs of fatigue, leading to false responses and thus incorrect results. Therefore, it is essential to monitor the response quality. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the response time (RT) and its variability (RTV) as quality indicators during static automated perimetry. Methods Size III Goldmann stimuli (25.7′) were shown with the OCTOPUS 900 perimeter in four visual field locations with 13 different stimulus luminance levels (0.04–160 cd/m 2 ). An increased rate of false-positive and false-negative catch trials (25% each) served to monitor the response quality simultaneously together with response time recording. Data evaluation was divided into global and individual analysis. For global analysis, the agreement indices (AI, agreement between time periods with an increased number of false responses to catch trials and time periods with pathological response to time-based values set into relation to time periods in which only one of the two criteria was considered pathological) and for individual analysis, the Spearman correlation coefficients were calculated. Ophthalmologically normal subjects with a visual acuity ≥ 0.8, and a maximum spherical/cylindrical ametropia of ± 8.00/2.50 dpt were included. Results Forty-eight subjects (18 males, 30 females, age 22–78 years) were examined. The total number of false responses to catch trials was (median/maximum): 6/82. RT and RTV were compared to the occurrence of incorrect responses to catch trials. The resulting individual Spearman correlation coefficients (median/maximum) were for RT: ρ RT = 0.05/0.35 and for RTV: ρ RTV = 0.27/0.61. The global analysis of the RTV showed agreement indices (median/maximum) of AI RTV = 0.14/0.47. Conclusions According to this study, an increased portion of catch trials is suitable as a verification tool for possible response quality indicators. The RTV is a promising parameter for indicating the response quality.
Simplified group activity selection with group size constraints
2021-09-13

Abstract Several real-world situations can be represented in terms of agents that have preferences over activities in which they may participate. Often, the agents can take part in at most one activity (for instance, since these take place simultaneously), and there are additional constraints on the number of agents that can participate in an activity. In such a setting, we consider the task of assigning agents to activities in a reasonable way. We introduce the simplified group activity selection problem providing a general yet simple model for a broad variety of settings, and start investigating its special case where upper and lower bounds of the groups have to be taken into account. We apply different solution concepts such as envy-freeness and core stability to our setting and provide a computational complexity study for the problem of finding such solutions.
Distinct Effects of Heparin and Interleukin‐4 Functionalization on Macrophage Polarization and In Situ Arterial Tissue Regeneration Using Resorbable Supramolecular Vascular Grafts in Rats
2021-09-14

Abstract Two of the greatest challenges for successful application of small‐diameter in situ tissue‐engineered vascular grafts are 1) preventing thrombus formation and 2) harnessing the inflammatory response to the graft to guide functional tissue regeneration. This study evaluates the in vivo performance of electrospun resorbable elastomeric vascular grafts, dual‐functionalized with anti‐thrombogenic heparin (hep) and anti‐inflammatory interleukin 4 (IL‐4) using a supramolecular approach. The regenerative capacity of IL‐4/hep, hep‐only, and bare grafts is investigated as interposition graft in the rat abdominal aorta, with follow‐up at key timepoints in the healing cascade (1, 3, 7 days, and 3 months). Routine analyses are augmented with Raman microspectroscopy, in order to acquire the local molecular fingerprints of the resorbing scaffold and developing tissue. Thrombosis is found not to be a confounding factor in any of the groups. Hep‐only‐functionalized grafts resulted in adverse tissue remodeling, with cases of local intimal hyperplasia. This is negated with the addition of IL‐4, which promoted M2 macrophage polarization and more mature neotissue formation. This study shows that with bioactive functionalization, the early inflammatory response can be modulated and affect the composition of neotissue. Nevertheless, variability between graft outcomes is observed within each group, warranting further evaluation in light of clinical translation.
Effects of selective breeding for voluntary exercise, chronic exercise, and their interaction on muscle attachment site morphology in house mice
2021-09-14

Abstract Skeletal muscles attach to bone at their origins and insertions, and the interface where tendon meets bone is termed the attachment site or enthesis. Mechanical stresses at the muscle/tendon‐bone interface are proportional to the surface area of the bony attachment sites, such that a larger attachment site will distribute loads over a wider area. Muscles that are frequently active and/or are of larger size should cause attachment sites to hypertrophy (training effect); however, experimental studies of animals subjected to exercise have provided mixed results. To enhance our ability to detect training effects (a type of phenotypic plasticity), we studied a mouse model in which 4 replicate lines of High Runner (HR) mice have been selectively bred for 57 generations. Selection is based on the average number of wheel revolutions on days 5 &amp; 6 of a 6‐day period of wheel access as young adults (6–8 weeks old). Four additional lines are bred without regard to running and serve as non‐selected controls (C). On average, mice from HR lines voluntarily run ~3 times more than C mice on a daily basis. For this study, we housed 50 females (half HR, half C) with wheels (Active group) and 50 (half HR, half C) without wheels (Sedentary group) for 12 weeks starting at weaning (~3 weeks old). We tested for evolved differences in muscle attachment site surface area between HR and C mice, plastic changes resulting from chronic exercise, and their interaction. We used a precise, highly repeatable method for quantifying the three‐dimensional (3D) surface area of four muscle attachment sites: the humerus deltoid tuberosity (the insertion point for the spinodeltoideus, superficial pectoralis, and acromiodeltoideus), the femoral third trochanter (the insertion point for the quadratus femoris), the femoral lesser trochanter (the insertion point for the iliacus muscle), and the femoral greater trochanter (insertion point for the middle gluteal muscles). In univariate analyses, with body mass as a covariate, mice in the Active group had significantly larger humerus deltoid tuberosities than Sedentary mice, with no significant difference between HR and C mice and no interaction between exercise treatment and linetype. These differences between Active and Sedentary mice were also apparent in the multivariate analyses. Surface areas of the femoral third trochanter, femoral lesser trochanter, and femoral greater trochanter were unaffected by either chronic wheel access or selective breeding. Our results, which used robust measurement protocols and relatively large sample sizes, demonstrate that muscle attachment site morphology can be (but is not always) affected by chronic exercise experienced during ontogeny. However, contrary to previous results for other aspects of long bone morphology, we did not find evidence for evolutionary coadaptation of muscle attachments with voluntary exercise behavior in the HR mice.
Comparative Analysis of the Antitumor Activity of Cis- and Trans-Resveratrol in Human Cancer Cells with Different p53 Status
2021-09-14

Resveratrol, a natural plant phytoalexin, is produced in response to fungal infection or− UV irradiation. It exists as an isomeric pair with cis- and trans-conformation. Whereas multiple physiological effects of the trans-form, including a pronounced anti-tumoral activity, are nowadays elucidated, much less knowledge exists concerning the cis-isomer. In our work, we analyzed the antiproliferative and cytotoxic properties of cis-resveratrol in four different human tumor entities in direct comparison to trans-resveratrol. We used human cell lines as tumor models for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC; HepG2, Hep3B), colon carcinoma (HCT-116, HCT-116/p53(−/−)), pancreatic carcinoma (Capan-2, MiaPaCa-2), and renal cell carcinoma (A498, SN12C). Increased cytotoxicity in all investigated tumor cells was observed for the trans-isomer. To verify possible effects of the tumor suppressor p53 on resveratrol-induced cell death, we used wild type and p53-deleted or -mutated cell lines for every tested tumor entity. Applying viability and cytotoxicity assays, we demonstrated a differential, dose-dependent sensitivity towards cis- or trans-resveratrol among the respective tumor types.