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Mental fatigue in golf: A systematic review
Mental fatigue, or cognitive fatigue, is a multi-aspect of exhaustion resulting from prolonged engagement in mentally demanding tasks, characterized by diminished energy, mental exhaustion, and distraction, which can adversely impact various aspects of golfers’ performance. However, there are still limited systematic reviews on the interaction between mental fatigue and athletes’ performance in golf. This study aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the correlation between mental fatigue and golf and demonstrate the current state of research and characterization of research in the field. The systematic review was conducted using a PRISMA flow chart, with thorough literature searches across PubMed, Web of Science, SPORTDiscus, Scopus, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) databases. The quality of the literature was assessed using Qualsyst. The study summarized findings from 10 articles on the interaction between mental fatigue and athletes’ performance in golf. It indicates that mental fatigue is influenced by factors such as duration of play and walking distance, with prolonged golf tasks inducing mental fatigue. Mental fatigue directly affects golf performance, including the overall score for 18 holes, iron club accuracy, drive distance, and especially impacts putting performance. However, the results of these studies are limited and one-sided because studies conducted on driving ranges or in laboratories focus only on putting performance and ignore other golf skills. The study on the effects of mental fatigue on iron accuracy and driving distance was conducted under competitive conditions on an outdoor golf course, making it impossible to eliminate confounding factors. The lack of intervention studies on other specific golf skills may limit a comprehensive understanding of the impact of mental fatigue on golf performance. Trial registration Systematic Review Registration: [https://inplasy.com/][INPLASY202410111].
Label free quantitative proteomic analysis reveals the physiological and biochemical responses of Arabidopsis thaliana to cinnamon essential oil
Abstract The increasing use of synthetic chemical herbicides has resulted in environmental, human and animal health issues. This has also led to the development of herbicide resistance in weed populations. The use of essential oils (EOs) can contribute to the development of effective, eco-friendly and nature-based alternatives to these chemical products due to their phytotoxicity and multisite action. Our study aimed to evaluate the proteomic response of Arabidopsis thaliana (A. thaliana) leaves to the application of a cinnamon essential oil (CEO) emulsion. The results showed that the application of CEO emulsion at a concentration of 6% severely impacted the proteomic profile of A. thaliana, especially for membrane proteins and those involved in the photosynthesis process. Interestingly, 40 proteins were identified and listed as the most differentially accumulated proteins in the leaves of A. thaliana. CEO decreased the expression of all the proteins associated with catabolism and anabolism processes while simultaneously increasing the expression levels of proteins involved in the response to oxidative stress. Overall, these findings allowed us to obtain a global view of the proteome response to CEO, opening promising perspectives for the development of natural herbicides, especially given the low probability of developing resistant weed populations.
A hybrid multi-panel image segmentation framework for improved medical image retrieval system
Multi-panel images play an essential role in medical diagnostics and represent approximately 50% of the medical literature. These images serve as important tools for physicians to align various medical data (e.g., X-rays, MRIs, CT scans) of a patient into a consolidated image. This consolidated multi-panel image, represented by its component sub-images, contributes to a thorough representation of the patient’s case during diagnosis. However, extracting sub-images from the multi-panel images poses significant challenges for medical image retrieval systems, especially when dealing with regular and irregular image layouts. To address these challenges, this paper presents a novel hybrid framework that significantly enhances sub-image retrieval. The framework classifies medical images, employs advanced computer vision and image processing techniques including image projection profiles and morphological operations, and performs efficient segmentation of various multi-panel image types including regular and irregular medical images. The hybrid approach ensures accurate indexing and facilitates fast retrieval of sub-images by medical image retrieval systems. To validate the proposed framework, experiments were conducted on a set of medical images from publicly available datasets, including ImageCLEFmed 2013 to ImageCLEFmed 2016. The results show better performance compared to other methods, attaining an accuracy of 90.50% in image type identification and 91% and 92% in regular and irregular multi-panel image segmentation tasks, respectively. By achieving accurate and efficient segmentation across diverse multi-panel image types, our framework demonstrates significant potential to improve the performance of medical image retrieval systems.
Spotlight on amino acid changing mutations in the JAK-STAT pathway: from disease-specific mutation to general mutation databases
Abstract The JAK-STAT pathway is central to cytokine signaling and controls normal physiology and disease. Aberrant activation via mutations that change amino acids in proteins of the pathway can result in diseases. While disease-centric databases like COSMIC catalog mutations in cancer, their prevalence in healthy populations remains underexplored. We systematically studied such mutations in the JAK-STAT genes by comparing COSMIC and the population-focused All of Us database. Our analysis revealed frequent mutations in all JAK and STAT domains, particularly among white females. We further identified three categories: Mutations uniquely found in All of Us that were associated with cancer in the literature but could not be found in COSMIC, underscoring COSMIC’s limitations. Mutations unique to COSMIC underline their potential as drivers of cancer due to their absence in the general population. Mutations present in both databases, e.g., JAK2Val617Phe/V617F - widely recognized as a cancer driver in hematopoietic cells, but without disease associations in All of Us, raising the possibility that combinatorial SNPs might be responsible for disease development. These findings illustrate the complementarity of both databases for understanding mutation impacts and underscore the need for multi-mutation analyses to uncover genetic factors underlying complex diseases and advance personalized medicine.
How centuries of isolation shaped Greenlanders’ unique genetics
Maternal age and the rising incidence of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy: A comprehensive analysis of national claims data from Japan
Background Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) significantly increase the risk of developing hypertension and cardiovascular disease (CVD) later in life and are a major cause of maternal mortality. However, little is known about the nationwide, long-term, all-inclusive status of HDP. Objective To estimate the incidence of HDP from 2011 to 2019 in Hokkaido, Japan, with a focus on age groups. Methods Using National Database (NDB) insurance medical data, a retrospective analysis was conducted. Due to the absence of direct pregnancy data, birth numbers were used as a surrogate for the number of pregnant women to calculate the incidence of HDP. Results The average incidence rate of HDP over 9 years was 6.37%. The incidence rate was lowest among women aged 25–29 years, at 5.58% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 5.43–5.73), and increased with age, peaking at 10.58% (95% CI: 10.10–11.09) among women over 40 years. Notably, the incidence rate for women under 20 years of age was 6.70% (95% CI: 5.97–7.51), which was higher than that for women in their 20s. A mean annual increase of 0.25% in age-adjusted incidence was observed during this period, which was statistically significant (R² = 0.87, p < 0.01). Conclusion This study reveals that the risk of developing HDP is associated with both older childbearing and younger pregnancies and follows a J-curve, suggesting that factors other than maternal aging also contribute to the increased incidence of HDP and that further research on risk factors for HDP, which is on the rise worldwide, is urgently needed.
Palaeognath birds innovate to solve a novel foraging problem
Abstract The ability to innovate implies flexible cognition, and is used as a broad metric of intelligence. Innovation in birds has been intensively studied in the larger and more taxonomically diverse Neognathae clade (particularly crows and parrots) and overlooked in the smaller and more ancestral Palaeognathae clade. The current study provides the first known evidence of technical innovation in palaeognath birds. We tested the ability of nine individuals of three species to move a hole towards a chamber to access a food reward. This problem was different to traditional innovation puzzle-boxes where an obstacle is moved away from a food chamber. Three emus and one rhea produced a wheel-turning innovation, moving the hole in the most efficient direction (closer to the nearest food item) in 90% of cases. One rhea dismantled the task twice by removing the central bolt, which we suggest is a second type of innovation, and it did not persist once they innovated the wheel turning solution. Ostriches did not innovate. We classify innovation in palaeognaths as low level/simplistic, relying on general exploration and asocial trial and error learning. Our research suggests that technical innovation may have evolved far earlier in birds than previously thought, and palaeognath birds are a compelling taxonomic group for further cognitive research.
Usability of a digital mindfulness training program for smoking cessation: A mixed-method single-center pilot study protocol (HowToMind)
Background Tobacco use is one of the leading causes of preventable disease and death worldwide. Despite the availability of evidence-based pharmacological treatments, only a small number of individuals with tobacco use disorder achieve long-term abstinence after smoking cessation. This highlights the need to enhance existing interventions. In this protocol, we describe our single-center mixed-method trial, HowToMind, conducted in Dijon, France. This trial aims to investigate the usability and acceptability of a digital mindfulness-based intervention designed to complement standard smoking cessation treatment to potentiate its effects. Methods We will include 60 adults seeking treatment for tobacco use disorder, as defined by DSM-5 criteria, who wish to quit smoking and own a smartphone. All participants will receive a combination of transdermal and oral nicotine replacement therapy and will be introduced to an eHealth app that provides a digital equivalent of an 8-week mindfulness training program. The acceptability of the initial version of our app will be assessed based on usage frequency, and usability will be evaluated using the Mobile App Rating Scale (French version). A participatory approach will be employed through focus groups conducted at the end of the 8 weeks of app use, aimed at co-constructing the final version of the app based on participant feedback. Discussion Our pilot mixed-method trial seeks to explore the usability and acceptability of our app, making necessary adjustments to its content and functionality based on participant feedback before its implementation in a large randomized controlled trial assessing the app’s potential to enhance the effects of standard treatment. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT06500117.
PPM1B degradation mediated by TRIM25 ubiquitination modulates cell cycle and promotes gastric cancer growth
Mature murine supraspinatus tendons demonstrate regional differences in multiscale structure, function and gene expression
The hierarchical structure of tendon dictates its ability to effectively transmit loads from muscle to bone. Tendon- and site-specific differences in mechanical loading result in the establishment and remodeling of structure, as well as associated changes in composition throughout development and healing. Previous work has demonstrated region-specific differences in the response of collagen fibrils to mechanical loading within the insertion region and midsubstance regions of mouse supraspinatus tendons using atomic force microscopy. However, multiscale structure, function, and gene expression differences between the insertion and midsubstance of the supraspinatus tendon have not yet been linked together in a comprehensive study. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to elucidate site-specific hierarchical structure, function, and gene expression differences in mouse supraspinatus tendons. Supraspinatus tendons from day 150 wild-type C57BL/6 mice were harvested for regional mechanics, histology, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Mechanical testing revealed that the midsubstance region demonstrated a greater modulus and increased collagen fiber realignment compared to the insertion region. Histological scoring demonstrated greater cellularity and more rounded cells in the insertion region. TEM analysis showed differences in collagen fibril diameter distributions between the two regions, with a shift towards smaller diameters observed at the insertion region. Gene expression analysis identified several genes that were differentially expressed between regions, with principal component analysis revealing distinct clustering based on region. These findings provide insight into the regional heterogeneity of the supraspinatus tendon and underscore the importance of considering these differences in the context of tendon injury and repair, contributing to a better understanding of tendon structure-function and guiding future studies aimed at elucidating the mechanisms underlying tendon pathology.
Robust modified passive islanding detection for microgrids using mathematical morphology based dual algorithm
Association of the abbreviated burn severity index with mortality in severely burned patients: A meta-analysis
Background and purpose The ability of the abbreviated burn severity index (ABSI) to predict death among patients with severe burns remains unclear. This meta-analysis aimed to identify the association between the ABSI and mortality in severely burned patients. Methods The PubMed, EMBASE and Web of Science databases were searched up to September 15, 2024. The odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were combined, and a subgroup analysis was conducted on the basis of age, ABSI grouping method and OR source. All the statistical analyses were performed with STATA version 15.0. Results Sixteen studies with 4011 cases were included in the analysis. The pooled results demonstrated that an elevated ABSI was significantly related to an increased risk of mortality (OR = 1.72, 95% CI: 1.48–2.00; P < 0.001). In addition, subgroup analysis by age (adult: OR = 1.35, P < 0.001; child: OR = 68.40, P < 0.001), ABSI grouping method (dichotomous: OR = 16.14, P < 0.001; continuous: OR = 1.59, P < 0.001) and OR source (univariate: OR = 11.42, P = 0.015; multivariate: OR = 1.51, P < 0.001) yielded similar results. Conclusion The ABSI serves as a reliable prognostic indicator in severely burned patients, and patients with an elevated ABSI are at increased risk of death.
Epidemiologic trends and increasing inequalities in orthognathic surgery in Germany: a nationwide analysis 2005–2022
Abstract Orthognathic surgery (OS) has become a widely used treatment option for moderate to severe dento-skeletal malocclusions. The aim of this study was to analyze the incidence and time trends of OS and potential influencing factors in the German healthcare system. Nationwide data regarding the national diagnosis-related-group (DRG) inpatient billing system was received from the German Federal Statistical Office. We estimated age-gender standardized incidence of OS-associated procedures between 2005 and 2022 and evaluated age- and gender-adjusted time trends using Poisson regression analysis. The total standardized incidence rate of OS-associated procedures in the observational period 2005–2022 was 11.1 (♀13.0; ♂ 9.2) per 100,000 person years. A significant increase of 61.8% (♀+48.7%; ♂+82.9%) in OS-associated procedures was observed within the observational period, mainly due to the increase of the procedures in the age groups 15–34 years (+ 53.6%), 35–59 years (+ 66.7%) and 60–79 years (+ 20.0%). Mandibular procedures increased by 45.0%, while maxillary procedures increased by 88.2%. There were significant differences of the incidence of OS-associated procedures between the various federal states in Germany, indicating a higher incidence and stronger increase in more affluent regions. The age- and gender-standardized incidence of OS-associated procedures increased among all genders and the most relevant age groups in Germany in the last two decades. There is an ongoing trend to implement maxillary and combined procedures. These effects are limited to more affluent regions only, reflecting the impact of socioeconomic and regional factors on healthcare accessibility.
Guideline-based bismuth quadruple therapy for helicobacter pylori infection in China: A systematic review and network meta-analysis
Background Currently, quadruple therapy is unanimously recommended as the current first-line treatment option for Helicobacter pylori (H. Pylori) eradication. However, the drug composition of quadruple therapy is very complex, and the efficacy and safety between them is not clear. Aims To compare the efficacy and safety of H. Pylori eradication regimens, which were recommended by the Fifth Consensus of China, by network meta-analysis. Methods Literature databases were used to retrieve clinical randomized controlled trials of H. Pylori eradication. Network meta-analysis was performed using BUGSnet and meta package of R software, using OR values as effect size, and SUCRA was used to rank the efficacy of interventions under each outcome. Results A total of 55 studies and 130 arms were included. The NMA analysis found that the top regimen in term of eradication rate outcome was: Rabeprazole + Bismuth + Furazolidone + Tetracycline (SUCRA, 97.5). In terms of safety outcomes: Lansoprazole + Bismuth + Amoxycillin + Clarithromycin (SUCRA, 91.97). Conclusions The bismuth quadruple therapies recommended by the guidelines for the treatment of H. Pylori have good performance in terms of four-week eradication rate and safety outcome indicators, and due to the different resistance of antibiotics in different regional populations, rational use of drugs should be combined with local conditions.
Publisher Correction: Influence of cell shape on sonoporation efficiency in microbubble-facilitated delivery using micropatterned cell arrays
Multiscale footprints reveal the organization of cis-regulatory elements
Abstract Cis-regulatory elements (CREs) control gene expression and are dynamic in their structure and function, reflecting changes in the composition of diverse effector proteins over time1. However, methods for measuring the organization of effector proteins at CREs across the genome are limited, hampering efforts to connect CRE structure to their function in cell fate and disease. Here we developed PRINT, a computational method that identifies footprints of DNA–protein interactions from bulk and single-cell chromatin accessibility data across multiple scales of protein size. Using these multiscale footprints, we created the seq2PRINT framework, which uses deep learning to allow precise inference of transcription factor and nucleosome binding and interprets regulatory logic at CREs. Applying seq2PRINT to single-cell chromatin accessibility data from human bone marrow, we observe sequential establishment and widening of CREs centred on pioneer factors across haematopoiesis. We further discover age-associated alterations in the structure of CREs in murine haematopoietic stem cells, including widespread reduction of nucleosome footprints and gain of de novo identified Ets composite motifs. Collectively, we establish a method for obtaining rich insights into DNA-binding protein dynamics from chromatin accessibility data, and reveal the architecture of regulatory elements across differentiation and ageing.
“Pet effect” patterns: Dynamics of animal presence and caregiver affect across (tele)work and non-work contexts
Human-animal interactions (HAI) may relate to animal caregivers’ affect, also referred to as the “pet effect”. However, studies have not explored these associations in work contexts or evaluated longitudinal patterns of HAI with other activities across work and non-work contexts, and their associations with caregiver emotions. We therefore assess momentary associations between HAI during (tele)work and non-work time and positive and negative caregiver affect (PA/NA), identify person-level patterns of longitudinal HAI state trajectories, and analyze cross-level moderating effects of these patterns on momentary associations between HAI and PA/NA. First, we evaluated associations between momentary HAI and caregiver PA/NA including the moderating role of momentary work state (teleworking vs. not working). Second, using a data-driven approach, we applied sequence analysis to determine heterogeneity in state trajectories amongst caregivers using working activity and animal presence in five possible states (working at work/teleworking with animal/teleworking without animal/not working with animal/not working without animal), which we labelled as animal-work constellations. Similar trajectories of animal-work constellations across caregivers were grouped into clusters with recognizable patterns. Third, we assessed whether such patterns moderated momentary associations between HAI and caregiver PA/NA. Caregivers (Npersons = 324) completed ecological momentary survey data during five days with 10 prompts per day (Nobservations = 16,127) between 2017 and 2024. Results showed that momentary associations between HAI and affect were moderated by momentary work state and person-level animal-work constellation pattern, contextualizing the “pet effect”. Our results highlight the importance of microlevel investigations of animal-work constellations and validates the novel use of sequence analysis to explore the role of context and time.
A clustering fractional-order grey model in short-term electrical load forecasting
Evaluating patient experience in maternity services using a Bayesian belief network model
Pregnancy and childbirth are commonly seen as positive experiences, but they can also pose distinct challenges and risks, especially when care is insufficient. This study investigates the factors influencing maternity patient experience by exploring the complex interactions among these factors. Using data from the 2021 maternity patient survey by the National Health Services (NHS) in England, we implemented a Bayesian Belief Network (BBN) to model these interactions. Three structural learning models were created, namely Bayesian Search (BS), Peter-Clark (PC), and Greedy Thick Thinning (GTT). Further, sensitivity analysis was conducted to quantify interactions among the influencing factors and identify the most influential factor affecting the outcome. The results underscore the importance of recognizing the interdependencies among the eight key domains of the survey, which collectively shape maternity care experiences. These factors include the start of care in pregnancy, antenatal check-ups, care during pregnancy, labour and birth, staff caring, care in the hospital, feeding the baby, and care after birth. These findings can guide healthcare managers and decision-makers in developing proactive strategies to mitigate factors impacting maternity patient experiences. Ultimately, this study contributes to the ongoing efforts to enhance the quality of maternity care and improve outcomes for mothers and their infants.