julilili42/papers huggingface dataset:
Does the brain care about magnitudes? A tDCS study on functional lateralization of magnitude processing
2023-08-14

Abstract Functional lateralization was previously established for various cognitive domains – but not for number processing. Although numbers are considered to be bilaterally represented in the intraparietal sulcus (IPS), there are some indications of different functional roles of the left vs. right IPS in processing number pairs with small vs. large distance, respectively. This raises the question whether number size plays a distinct role in the lateralization within the IPS. In our preregistered study, we applied anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the left vs. right IPS to investigate the effect of stimulation as compared to sham on small vs. large distance, in both single-digit and two-digit number comparison. We expected that anodal tDCS over the left IPS facilitates number comparison with small distance, while anodal tDCS over the right IPS facilitates number comparison with large distance. Results indicated no effect of stimulation; however, exploratory analyses revealed that tDCS over the right IPS slowed down single-digit number processing after controlling for the training effect. In conclusion, number magnitude processing might be bilaterally represented in the IPS, however, our exploratory analyses emphasise the need for further investigation on functional lateralization of number processing.
Tissue-preserving treatment with non-invasive physical plasma of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia—a prospective controlled clinical trial
2023-08-15

Objective Cervical cancer represents the fourth leading cause of cancer among women and is associated with over 311,000 annual deaths worldwide. Timely diagnosis is crucial given the lengthy pre-cancerous phase, which is typified by cervical intraepithelial neoplastic lesions. However, current treatment methods are often tissue-destructive and can be accompanied by severe side effects. To address these concerns, our study introduces a novel, gentle approach for the tissue-preserving treatment of CIN lesions. Results We present findings of a controlled, prospective, single-armed phase IIb clinical trial performed at the Department for Women’s Health, Tübingen, Germany. From September 2017 to March 2022 we assessed 570 participants for study eligibility. Of the screened patients, 63 participants met with CIN1/2 lesions met the inclusion criteria and were treated with non-invasive physical plasma (NIPP). Assessment of treatment efficacy was based on a comprehensive analysis of histological and cytological findings, along with high-risk HPV infection load at 3 and 6 months post-treatment. Comparative analyses were performed retrospectively with data obtained from 287 untreated patients in the control group. Our findings indicate that patients treated with NIPP experienced an 86.2% rate of full remission, along with a 3.4% rate of partial remission of CIN lesions, which compares favorably to the control group’s rates of 40.4% and 4.5%, respectively. Additionally, we observed a twofold reduction in high-risk HPV infections following NIPP treatment. Minor side effects were observed, such as mild pain during treatment and short-term smear bleeding or increased vaginal discharge within 24 h after treatment. Given the experimental nature of NIPP treatment and the availability of established standard treatments, our study was designed as a non-randomized study. Conclusion NIPP treatment offers a highly flexible and easy-to-apply method for treating pre-cancerous CIN1/2 lesions. This non-invasive approach is notable for its tissue-preserving nature, making it a promising alternative to current excisional and ablative treatments. CIN1/2 lesions were employed as preliminary in vivo models for the targeted treatment of CIN3 lesions. Clinical trial registration https://www.clinicaltrials.gov , identifier NCT03218436.
A Fluorescent Probe as a Lead Compound for a Selective α-Synuclein PET Tracer: Development of a Library of 2-Styrylbenzothiazoles and Biological Evaluation of [18F]PFSB and [18F]MFSB
2023-08-15

A method to detect and quantify aggregated α-synuclein (αSYN) fibrils <i>in vivo</i> would drastically impact the current understanding of multiple neurodegenerative diseases, revolutionizing their diagnosis and treatment. Several efforts have produced promising scaffolds, but a notable challenge has hampered the establishment of a clinically successful αSYN positron emission tomography (PET) tracer: the requirement of high selectivity over the other misfolded proteins amyloid β (Aβ) and tau. By designing and screening a library of 2-styrylbenzothiazoles based on the selective fluorescent probe <b>RB1</b>, this study aimed at developing a selective αSYN PET tracer. [<sup>3</sup>H]PiB competition binding assays identified <b>PFSB</b> (<i>K<sub>i</sub></i> = 25.4 ± 2.3 nM) and its less lipophilic analogue <b>MFSB</b>, which exhibited enhanced affinity to αSYN (<i>K<sub>i</sub></i> = 10.3 ± 4.7 nM) and preserved selectivity over Aβ. The two lead compounds were labeled with fluorine-18 and evaluated using <i>in vitro</i> autoradiography on human brain slices, where they demonstrated up to 4-fold increased specific binding in MSA cases compared to the corresponding control, reasonably reflecting selective binding to αSYN pathology. <i>In vivo</i> PET imaging showed [<sup>18</sup>F]<b>MFSB</b> successfully crosses the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and is taken up in the brain (SUV = 1.79 ± 0.02). Although its pharmacokinetic profile raises the need for additional structural optimization, [<sup>18</sup>F]<b>MFSB</b> represents a critical step forward in the development of a successful αSYN PET tracer by overcoming the major challenge of αSYN/Aβ selectivity.
Self‐control fluctuates from day to day and is linked to subjective well‐being within and between persons
2023-08-15

Abstract The psychological trait of self‐control has been linked to interindividual differences in subjective well‐being: Individuals with higher self‐control report less negative affect, more positive affect, and higher life satisfaction. However, less is known about how much self‐control fluctuates from day to day and how these fluctuations are related to subjective well‐being. This intensive longitudinal study describes day‐to‐day fluctuations in self‐control and investigates whether and how they are related to subjective well‐being. A sample of 64 undergraduate students at the entry phase of university ( M = 22.55 years, SD = 6.51, range = 18–53, 97% female) provided 1459 reports of their self‐control and subjective well‐being, collected every evening across three 9‐day measurement bursts over 6 months. Participants' self‐control fluctuated substantially from day to day with less than 40% of the variability in daily self‐control being attributable to interindividual differences in self‐control. On days with higher self‐control, participants reported less negative affect, more serenity, and higher life satisfaction. We found no relationship between self‐control and vigor. The findings suggest that researchers need to go beyond current assessment practices and theories treating self‐control as a stable trait to help develop tailored well‐being interventions for everyday life.
Tumor-Free Resection Margin Distance in the Surgical Treatment of Node-Negative Squamous Cell Cancer of the Vulva Has No Impact on Survival: Analysis of a Large Patient Cohort in a Tertiary Care Center
2023-08-15

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of pathological tumor-free margin distance on survival in SCC patients treated with surgery alone. Methods: This retrospective study included 128 patients with node-negative disease that received no adjuvant treatment. Disease-free and overall survival were analyzed according to pathological tumor-free margin distance. Results: The patients were subclassified into three resection margin category groups: “1 to 3 mm” (n = 42), “&gt;3 to 8 mm” (n = 47) or “&gt;8 mm” (n = 39). Thirty-nine of the 128 patients (30.5%) developed recurrent disease. Median follow-up for disease-free survival (DFS) was 6.49 years (95% CI 5.16 years; 7.62 years), and median follow-up for overall survival (OS) was 6.29 years (95% CI 5.45 years; 7.33 years). The 5-year DFS rate was 0.70 (95% CI: 0.62–0.79), and the 5-year OS rate was 0.79 (95% CI: 0.71–0.87). Regarding the survival outcome, there were no independent significant differences in either disease-free survival (DFS) (p = 0.300) or overall survival (p = 1.000) among patients within the three tumor-free resection margin categories. Multivariate analyses did not show any statistically significant association between tumor-free resection margin distance and recurrent disease or death, either when analyzed as a categorical variable or when analyzed as a continuous variable. Conclusion: The present study did not show a significant impact of pathological tumor-free resection margin distance following surgery in patients with node-negative SCC of the vulva (that did not receive adjuvant treatment) on disease-free and overall survival.
Isolation and Identification of Phytocompounds from Maytenus dhofarensis and Their Biological Potentials
2023-08-15

Maytenus dhofarensis Sebsebe (Celestraceae) is a naturally growing shrub in Oman. It is not a reputed medicinal plant in Oman, but it is regionally endemic and causes shivering attacks on goats that graze on it. The chemical investigation of the hexane and chloroform extracts of the fruits and stems of M. dhofarensis afforded dihydro-β-agarofuran-type sesquiterpene pyridine alkaloid (1), lupanyl myristoate (2) and lignanolactone (3). Compounds (1–3) are new isolates from M. dhofarensis. The structures of these compounds were assigned through comprehensive IR, NMR, and ESI-MS analyses, and the relative configurations of compounds 1 and 3 were deduced from density function theory (DFT) calculations and NMR experiments. Compound 1 was assayed against the kinase enzyme and showed no inhibition activity for p38 alpha and delta at a 10 μM test concentration. Compound 3 inhibited the 2,2′-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH) by 69.5%, compared to 70.9% and 78.0% for gallic acid and butylated hydroxyanisole, respectively, which were used as positive controls.
Bottom-up assessment of household electricity consumption in dynamic cities of the Global South—Evidence from Kigali, Rwanda
2023-08-15

Data on electricity consumption is crucial for assessing and modeling energy systems, making it a key element of sustainable urban planning. However, many countries in the Global South struggle with a shortage of statistically valid, geocoded, and disaggregated household-level data. This paper aims to develop a generic methodology for the generation of such a database in terms of electricity consumption. The methodology was tested in Kigali, the capital city of Rwanda, with a focus on all single-family residential building types of the inner city. Discrete data on buildings is obtained through combined information products derived from very high resolution (VHR) satellite imagery, field surveys, and computer assisted personal interviewing. In total, 509 valid geocoded survey datasets were used to evaluate and model household electricity consumption, as well as electrical appliance ownership. The study's findings reveal that the arithmetic mean of specific electricity consumption was 3.66 kWh per household per day and 345 kWh per capita per year in 2015. By subdividing the data into distinct building types as well as their spatial location, and weighting the specific values according to their proportion in the study area, a more accurate mean value of 1.88 kWh per household per day and 160 kWh per capita per year was obtained. Applying this weighted mean to extrapolate household electricity consumption for the study area, in conjunction with the sample's precision level, resulted in an estimate of 126–137 GWh for the year 2015. In contrast, using the arithmetic mean would have led to values twice as high, even exceeding the total electricity consumption of the entire city, including multi-family and non-residential buildings. The study highlights the significance of on-site data collection combined with geospatial mapping techniques in enhancing of understanding of residential energy systems. Using building types as indicators to distinguish between households with contrasting electricity consumption and electrical appliance load levels can address the challenges posed by rapid urban growth in the Global South. This proposed method can assist municipal administrations in establishing a database that can be updated resource-efficiently at regular intervals by acquiring new satellite images.
Investigating the Geography of Thought Across Eleven Countries: Cross-Cultural Differences in Analytic and Holistic Cognitive Styles Using Simple Perceptual Tasks and Reaction Time Modeling
2023-08-15

This paper investigates cross-cultural differences in analytic/holistic cognitive styles among participants from eleven countries: Armenia, Australia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Czechia, Germany, Ghana, Philippines, Slovakia, Taiwan, and Türkiye. Using a pre-registered design, 993 university students were assessed with three perceptual tasks based on Navon hierarchical figures and Gottschaldt’s embedded figures. Analytic and holistic cognitive styles were estimated using reaction time modeling, specifically a Bayesian 4-parameter shifted Wald distribution and a hierarchical linear ballistic accumulator model. The results revealed notable cross-cultural variations in cognitive styles, though these differences did not align with predictions from analytic/holistic cognitive style theory. Countries traditionally characterized as more holistic or analytic did not consistently show the expected cognitive style patterns. Multilevel modeling examined the influence of country-level variables, such as Hofstede’s and Schwartz’s cultural dimensions. While some dimensions, like individualism and long-term orientation, were associated with both analytic and holistic thinking, many cultural predictors had no significant impact on cognitive styles. Additionally, exploratory latent profile analysis assessed cognitive meta-styles, such as flexibility and rigidity, but the findings do not support the presence of a rigidity meta-style. No profiles exhibited a strong preference for one cognitive dimension while showing a low preference for the other. These findings challenge the straightforward application of analytic/holistic theory across diverse cultural contexts and suggest a need for re-evaluation of its generalizability.
Activity in the human superior colliculus associated with reaching for tactile targets
2023-08-15

The superior colliculus (SC) plays a major role in orienting movements of eyes and the head and in the allocation of attention. Functions of the SC have been mostly investigated in animal models, including non-human primates. Differences in the SC's anatomy and function between different species question extrapolations of these studies to humans without further validation. Few electrophysiological and neuroimaging studies in animal models and humans have reported a role of the SC in visually guided reaching movements. Using BOLD fMRI imaging, we sought to decipher if the SC is also active during reaching movements guided by tactile stimulation. Participants executed reaching movements to visual and tactile target positions. When contrasted against visual and tactile stimulation without reaching, we found increased SC activity with reaching not only for visual but also for tactile targets. We conclude that the SC's involvement in reaching does not rely on visual inputs. It is also independent from a specific sensory modality. Our results indicate a general involvement of the human SC in upper limb reaching movements.
Fetal Assessment in Pregnancy (Indication and Methodology for Fetal Monitoring in a low-risk Population). Guideline of the DGGG, DEGUM, OEGGG and SGGG (S3-Level, AWMF Registry No. 015/089, February 2023)
2023-08-15

Abstract Purpose The aim of this guideline was to find evidence on whether carrying out Doppler examinations and CTGs in low-risk cohorts of pregnant women improves outcomes. Methods First, a systematic search for guidelines was carried out. Identified guidelines were evaluated using the DELPHI instrument of the AWMF. Three guidelines were found to be suitable to evaluate CTG. Two DEGUM best practice guidelines were judged suitable to describe the methods. All studies on this issue were additionally analyzed using 8 PICO questions. A structured consensus of the participating professional societies was achieved using a nominal group process and a structured consensus conference moderated by an independent moderator. Recommendations No antepartum Doppler sonography examinations should be carried out in low-risk cohorts in the context of antenatal care. No antepartum CTG should be carried out in low-risk cohorts. Note The guideline will be published simultaneously in the official journals of both professional societies (i. e., Geburtshilfe und Frauenheilkunde for the DGGG and Ultraschall in der Medizin/European Journal of Ultrasound for the DEGUM).
The parable of copycat headlines under Erdogan regime in Turkey
2023-08-15

AbstractPress freedom is considered one of the most important fundamental rights. A free and independent media empowers a well-informed society and helps to scrutinise transparent governance. This paper reveals one of a kind strategy that has emerged in Turkey over the last decade under President Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party. Early research points out some of the methods used by Erdogan, however, overlooks a major trend that has only encountered during Erdogan’s rule: Providing the media with ready-made articles to such an extent that newspapers with identical headlines hit the streets. Covering more than 2,000 days between 2013 and 2018, this study conducted an extensive content analysis, tracking the front pages of 50,000 newspapers and examining the headlines of more than 600,000 front-page stories.
Data from DNA-Methylome–Based Tumor Hypoxia Classifier Identifies HPV-Negative Head and Neck Cancer Patients at Risk for Locoregional Recurrence after Primary Radiochemotherapy
2023-08-15

&lt;div&gt;AbstractPurpose:&lt;p&gt;Tumor hypoxia is a paradigmatic negative prognosticator of treatment resistance in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). The lack of robust and reliable hypoxia classifiers limits the adaptation of stratified therapies. We hypothesized that the tumor DNA methylation landscape might indicate epigenetic reprogramming induced by chronic intratumoral hypoxia.&lt;/p&gt;Experimental Design:&lt;p&gt;A DNA-methylome–based tumor hypoxia classifier (Hypoxia-M) was trained in the TCGA (The Cancer Genome Atlas)-HNSCC cohort based on matched assignments using gene expression–based signatures of hypoxia (Hypoxia-GES). Hypoxia-M was validated in a multicenter DKTK-ROG trial consisting of human papillomavirus (HPV)–negative patients with HNSCC treated with primary radiochemotherapy (RCHT).&lt;/p&gt;Results:&lt;p&gt;Although hypoxia-GES failed to stratify patients in the DKTK-ROG, Hypoxia-M was independently prognostic for local recurrence (HR, 4.3; &lt;i&gt;P&lt;/i&gt; = 0.001) and overall survival (HR, 2.34; &lt;i&gt;P&lt;/i&gt; = 0.03) but not distant metastasis after RCHT in both cohorts. Hypoxia-M status was inversely associated with CD8 T-cell infiltration in both cohorts. Hypoxia-M was further prognostic in the TCGA-PanCancer cohort (HR, 1.83; &lt;i&gt;P&lt;/i&gt; = 0.04), underscoring the breadth of this classifier for predicting tumor hypoxia status.&lt;/p&gt;Conclusions:&lt;p&gt;Our findings highlight an unexplored avenue for DNA methylation–based classifiers as biomarkers of tumoral hypoxia for identifying high-risk features in patients with HNSCC tumors.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;a href="https://aacrjournals.org/clincancerres/article/doi/10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-23-1132" target="_blank"&gt;See related commentary by Heft Neal and Brenner, p. 2954&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
Exercise parameters influencing exercise difficulty
2023-08-15

Macro-adaptive systems aim to assign practice exercises to language learners that match their proficiency levels. While learner-dependent parameters of exercise difficulty need to be considered online, learner-independent parameters can inform an exercise’s difficulty level in a resource-efficient offline procedure. We present an evaluation of learners’ responses to form-based grammar exercises that aims to identify learner-independent exercise parameters affecting exercise complexity. The results indicate that the exercise type can yield coarse-grained complexity estimates, whereas exercise type specific features can inform more fine-grained estimates. For fine-grained estimates, we show that syntactic variants significantly impact exercise difficulty. Since there is strong variation between learning targets and learners with respect to the impact of different exercise parameters on a learner’s performance, exercise difficulty can only be reliably determined if the exercises are created in a systematic way and by also considering characteristics of the learner.
HDHumans
2023-08-16

Photo-real digital human avatars are of enormous importance in graphics, as they enable immersive communication over the globe, improve gaming and entertainment experiences, and can be particularly beneficial for AR and VR settings. However, current avatar generation approaches either fall short in high-fidelity novel view synthesis, generalization to novel motions, reproduction of loose clothing, or they cannot render characters at the high resolution offered by modern displays. To this end, we propose HDHumans, which is the first method for HD human character synthesis that jointly produces an accurate and temporally coherent 3D deforming surface and highly photo-realistic images of arbitrary novel views and of motions not seen at training time. At the technical core, our method tightly integrates a classical deforming character template with neural radiance fields (NeRF). Our method is carefully designed to achieve a synergy between classical surface deformation and a NeRF. First, the template guides the NeRF, which allows synthesizing novel views of a highly dynamic and articulated character and even enables the synthesis of novel motions. Second, we also leverage the dense pointclouds resulting from the NeRF to further improve the deforming surface via 3D-to-3D supervision. We outperform the state of the art quantitatively and qualitatively in terms of synthesis quality and resolution, as well as the quality of 3D surface reconstruction.
Circulating Biomarkers Instead of Genotyping to Establish Metabolizer Phenotypes
2023-08-16

Pharmacogenomics (PGx) enables personalized treatment for the prediction of drug response and to avoid adverse drug reactions. Currently, PGx mainly relies on the genetic information of absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) targets such as drug-metabolizing enzymes or transporters to predict differences in the patient's phenotype. However, there is evidence that the phenotype-genotype concordance is limited. Thus, we discuss different phenotyping strategies using exogenous xenobiotics (e.g., drug cocktails) or endogenous compounds for phenotype prediction. In particular, minimally invasive approaches focusing on liquid biopsies offer great potential to preemptively determine metabolic and transport capacities. Early studies indicate that ADME phenotyping using exosomes released from the liver is reliable. In addition, pharmacometric modeling and artificial intelligence improve phenotype prediction. However, further prospective studies are needed to demonstrate the clinical utility of individualized treatment based on phenotyping strategies, not only relying on genetics. The present review summarizes current knowledge and limitations.