Colon targeting in rats, dogs and IBD patients with species-independent film coatings.

Polysaccharides were identified, which allow for colon targeting in human Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) patients, as well as in rats and dogs (which are frequently used as animals in preclinical studies). The polysaccharides are degraded by colonic enzymes (secreted by bacteria), triggering the onset of drug release at the target site. It has to be pointed out that the microbiota in rats, dogs and humans substantially differ. Thus, the performance of this type of colon targeting system observed in animals might not be predictive for patients. The aim of this study was to limit this risk. Different polysaccharides were exposed to culture medium inoculated with fecal samples from IBD patients, healthy dogs and "IBD rats" (in which colonic inflammation was induced). Dynamic changes in the pH of the culture medium were used as an indicator for the proliferation of the bacteria and, thus, the potential of the polysaccharides to serve as their substrate. Fundamental differences were observed with respect to the extent of the pH variations as well as their species-dependency. The most promising polysaccharides were used to prepare polymeric film coatings surrounding 5-aminosaliciylic acid (5-ASA)-loaded starter cores. To limit premature polysaccharide dissolution/swelling in the upper gastro intestinal tract, ethylcellulose was also included in the film coatings. Drug release was monitored upon exposure to culture medium inoculated with fecal samples from IBD patients, healthy dogs and "IBD rats". For reasons of comparison, also 5-ASA release in pure culture medium was measured. Most film coatings showed highly species-dependent drug release kinetics or limited colon targeting capacity. Interestingly, extracts from aloe vera and reishi (a mushroom) showed a promising potential for colon targeting in all species.

Proton-Capture Rates on Carbon Isotopes and Their Impact on the Astrophysical

The ^{12}C/^{13}C ratio is a significant indicator of nucleosynthesis and mixing processes during hydrogen burning in stars. Its value mainly depends on the relative rates of the ^{12}C(p,γ)^{13}N and ^{13}C(p,γ)^{14}N reactions. Both reactions have been studied at the Laboratory for Underground Nuclear Astrophysics (LUNA) in Italy down to the lowest energies to date (E_{c.m.}=60 keV) reaching for the first time the high energy tail of hydrogen burning in the shell of giant stars. Our cross sections, obtained with both prompt γ-ray detection and activation measurements, are the most precise to date with overall systematic uncertainties of 7%-8%. Compared with most of the literature, our results are systematically lower, by 25% for the ^{12}C(p,γ)^{13}N reaction and by 30% for ^{13}C(p,γ)^{14}N. We provide the most precise value up to now of 3.6±0.4 in the 20-140 MK range for the lowest possible ^{12}C/^{13}C ratio that can be produced during H burning in giant stars.

The Associations Between Death Anxiety, Supernatural Beliefs, Caring for Loved Ones and Attachments.

Despite extensive efforts in a better understanding of associations between death anxiety and various factors, efforts studying the complex associations across those variables are still limited. This study was conducted to better understand the possible complexity between death anxiety and myriad of factors, by first extracting the most important features, and then assessing the complexity of variables by checking all pairwise interaction terms. We found most of associated factors of death anxiety are related to the concept of attachment or caring for loved ones. Ill-effect attachment with positive associations with death anxiety included factors such as attachment to the physical side of oneself, being alone before death, and the possibility of death being the end of us. On the other hand, supernatural conceptions of worldviews such as believing in God, believing that the soul is separate from body, and being religious buffer against the death anxiety.

Distinguishable DNA methylation defines a cardiac-specific epigenetic clock.

BACKGROUND: The present study investigates whether epigenetic differences emerge in the heart of patients undergoing cardiac surgery for an aortic valvular replacement (AVR) or coronary artery bypass graft (CABG). An algorithm is also established to determine how the pathophysiological condition might influence the human biological cardiac age. RESULTS: Blood samples and cardiac auricles were collected from patients who underwent cardiac procedures: 94 AVR and 289 CABG. The CpGs from three independent blood-derived biological clocks were selected to design a new blood- and the first cardiac-specific clocks. Specifically, 31 CpGs from six age-related genes, ELOVL2, EDARADD, ITGA2B, ASPA, PDE4C, and FHL2, were used to construct the tissue-tailored clocks. The best-fitting variables were combined to define new cardiac- and blood-tailored clocks validated through neural network analysis and elastic regression. In addition, telomere length (TL) was measured by qPCR. These new methods revealed a similarity between chronological and biological age in the blood and heart; the average TL was significantly higher in the heart than in the blood. In addition, the cardiac clock discriminated well between AVR and CABG and was sensitive to cardiovascular risk factors such as obesity and smoking. Moreover, the cardiac-specific clock identified an AVR patient's subgroup whose accelerated bioage correlated with the altered ventricular parameters, including left ventricular diastolic and systolic volume. CONCLUSION: This study reports on applying a method to evaluate the cardiac biological age revealing epigenetic features that separate subgroups of AVR and CABG.

Behavioral and emotional adaptations of obese and underweight students in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Previous studies have investigated the effects of COVID-19 on the general population of college students. However, research evaluating the complex behavioral and psychological impact of the pandemic on both obese and underweight students is currently limited. We used data from a survey conducted from March to April 2020 across 2534 students enrolled in seven US universities. We examined whether the associations between taking various behaviors and being obese and underweight students are unidimensional, or varies based on various negative emotions, and their sociodemographic characteristics. Also, we checked whether emotions of obese and underweight groups are impaired, which consequently might impact taking various cautionary behaviors. The results highlight complex relationships between being obese and underweight students and other considered variables. For instance, despite the associated risk, it was found that obese students are associated with less fear, guilt and irritability due to the pandemic. However, those associations vary based on factors such as level of educations. In addition, while obese students are less likely to avoid a large group of people, the impact changes based on gender. Lack of precautions and emotions is despite the increased risk of hospitalization and death associated with obese and underweight groups. Finally, it was found that there are negative and stable associations between higher social class, income, and the lower likelihood of being obese or underweight. Significant differences and similarities were also found across factors to obese and underweight students.

Afraid of Social Exclusion: Fear of Missing Out Predicts Cyberball-Induced Ostracism.

Although social exclusion violates the basic needs of sense of control, self-esteem, meaningful existence, and belongingness, it is unknown if fear of missing out (FoMO) or attachment anxiety contributes to one's sense of ostracism and each of these basic needs. We aimed to identify if baseline scores in attachment anxiety and/or FoMO predict how excluded an individual feels after playing an online ball-tossing game designed to include or exclude them and if these constructs tap into basic needs that ostracism has shown to threaten. A sample of 193 young adults participated in this online study. After completing measures of demographics, FoMO, and attachment anxiety, each participant played Cyberball, a virtual ball-tossing game. Under the guise of playing with two other human participants, this paradigm consists of pre-programmed conditions of either inclusion, which entails receiving 10 of the total 30 ball tosses, or exclusion, which consists of receiving the ball only twice at the beginning of the game. Participants then completed post-measures of state ostracism, basic needs, and attention checks and were debriefed regarding the nature of the Cyberball game. We found that FoMO, but not attachment anxiety, predicted how ostracized one felt. Likewise, FoMO was inversely related to control, belongingness, and meaningful existence. Attachment anxiety did not predict any of the basic needs examined in the study. We conclude FoMO may be less about the experience one misses out on and more about the fear of being excluded. Future research is needed to evaluate if people experience increases in state FoMO while excluded and if baseline mood influences our findings.

Properties of a Transport Instrument for Measuring Psychological Impacts of Delay on Commuters, Mokken Scale Analysis.

This study assessed the validity of instrument including various negative psychological and physical behaviors of commuters due to the public transport delay. Instruments have been mostly evaluated by parametric method of item response theory (IRT). However, the IRT has been characterized by some restrictive assumptions about the data, focusing on detailed model fit evaluation. The Mokken scale analysis (MSA), as a scaling procedure is a non-parametric method, which does not require adherence to any distribution. The results of the study show that in most regards, our instrument meets the minimum requirements highlighted by the MSA. However, the instrument did not adhere to the minimum requirements of the "scalability" for two variables including "stomach pain" and "increased heart rate". So, modifications were proposed to address the violations. Although MSA technique has been used frequently in other fields, this is one of the earliest studies to implement the technique in the context of transport psychology.

Direct Measurement of the

One of the main neutron sources for the astrophysical s process is the reaction ^{13}C(α,n)^{16}O, taking place in thermally pulsing asymptotic giant branch stars at temperatures around 90 MK. To model the nucleosynthesis during this process the reaction cross section needs to be known in the 150-230 keV energy window (Gamow peak). At these sub-Coulomb energies, cross section direct measurements are severely affected by the low event rate, making us rely on input from indirect methods and extrapolations from higher-energy direct data. This leads to an uncertainty in the cross section at the relevant energies too high to reliably constrain the nuclear physics input to s-process calculations. We present the results from a new deep-underground measurement of ^{13}C(α,n)^{16}O, covering the energy range 230-300 keV, with drastically reduced uncertainties over previous measurements and for the first time providing data directly inside the s-process Gamow peak. Selected stellar models have been computed to estimate the impact of our revised reaction rate. For stars of nearly solar composition, we find sizeable variations of some isotopes, whose production is influenced by the activation of close-by branching points that are sensitive to the neutron density, in particular, the two radioactive nuclei ^{60}Fe and ^{205}Pb, as well as ^{152}Gd.

Rail Transport Delay and Its Effects on the Perceived Importance of a Real-Time Information.

Various psychological feelings that commuters might experience due to the shortcomings of a public transport are a major concern for transport policy makers. Those shortcomings would be translated into various negative psychological feelings, which would consequently tarnish the perceived quality of the public transport system in terms of its characteristics, e.g., the perceived quality of the passengers' information system (PIS). A delay has often been defined as the difference between the real arrival of a transport and the scheduled arrival of based on the PIS. The main question this study seeks to answer is how passengers view the PIS while undergoing various psychological negative impacts due to delay? This is especially important when the PIS is not precise. Previous studies on the importance of real-time information mainly focus on the impact of PIS on the satisfaction of commuters, or the reliability of the public transport. However, they rarely consider the negative psychological impacts that delays might have on commuters, and how those negative feelings might be aggravated by providing inaccurate information for the commuters. The proposed study is based on completed questionnaires by 396 passengers waiting for a rail transport in Malaysia; the rail transport was experiencing frequent long delays due to various mechanical malfunctions. In addition, the PIS provided for the passengers were mainly imprecise, and was updated regularly. The relationship between various considered variables, and a related latent factor, were formed by means of factor analysis. The results of internal consistency and validity highlight acceptable factors to be considered for a structural equation modeling (SEM) model. Three latent factors were found to impact the latent factor of PIS. For instance, it was found that the relationship between motion sickness factor and the response of PIS is not by a direct relationship between those two factors, but through the mediation of a latent physiological factor. On the other hand, the impact of the psychological feelings of the commuter by PIS is higher than its physiological effects. The results of this study have an important managerial implication for policy makers that even if the delay is inevitable, an accurate PIS could be provided to reduce the associated negative feelings of delay. Extensive discussion has been had about identification of a best fit model and process of model's parameters' estimation.

May chronic cough in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease be a contraindication of Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy placement: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy (PEG) can involve some complications, despite the good safety of its track record. The Buried Bumper Syndrome (BBS) is a rare, late and dangerous complication that consists in the erosion of the internal bumper through the gastric wall. Case presentation We report the development of BBS in a man with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who had a persistent chronic cough which was prevalently but not solely in the morning and required placement of a PEG tube for continuous infusion of Levodopa/carbidopa intestinal gel for advanced Parkinson's disease. CONCLUSION: We believe that COPD with chronic cough while not representing an absolute contraindication to PEG placement, may potentially cause BBS and therefore an appropriate regimen of tube care by expert personnel is mandatory in this setting.

Should you let your child play football? What about soccer or hockey?

College students (n = 120) answered 18 yes-no questions that varied the child's gender (male, female), grade (grade school, high school, college), and sport (football, soccer, hockey). The format of the 18 yes or no questions was "If you had a child in (grade school, high school, college) would you let (him, her) play (football, soccer, hockey)"? Similar to a previous study, a large percentage (78.8%) of the respondents answered yes to the questions about football, indicating that they would permit their children to play football despite the risk of concussion (96% yes for male children, 67% yes for female children). Although the number of respondents who would allow their male child to play soccer (98% for male children, 99% for female children) or hockey (92% for male children, 89% for female children) was similar to the percentage of respondents that would allow their male child to play football, significantly more respondents would allow their female child to play soccer or hockey than football. This result is potentially problematic because soccer and hockey have high rates of concussion, especially for females, which suggests that the respondents may have been unaware of this fact.

Performance on the repeatable battery for the assessment of neuropsychological status in college students with mild traumatic brain injury.

College students recovering from mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) often experience a constellation of symptoms including cognitive and emotional difficulties. While these symptoms may interfere with academic performance, few students seek supportive services. Assessment of MTBI symptoms may be important to help identify students with symptoms that may interfere with academic performance and assist them in obtaining appropriate treatment and support services. The purpose of this study was to evaluate cognitive performance of college students with a history of MTBI on the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) as well as symptoms of anxiety and depression. A total of seventy college students participated in this study. Participants were divided into two groups based on self-reported history of MTBI. Participants with a history of MTBI (n = 22) performed significantly higher (p < .05) on the RBANS Delayed Memory Index and endorsed significantly fewer (p < .05) trait anxiety symptoms on the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) than students without a history of head injury (n = 48). Students with a history of MTBI displayed few impairments on the RBANS and are more likely to endorse fewer symptoms of trait anxiety (but not state anxiety or depression) than peers without a history of head injury.

The baryon density of the Universe from an improved rate of deuterium burning.

Light elements were produced in the first few minutes of the Universe through a sequence of nuclear reactions known as Big Bang nucleosynthesis (BBN)1,2. Among the light elements produced during BBN1,2, deuterium is an excellent indicator of cosmological parameters because its abundance is highly sensitive to the primordial baryon density and also depends on the number of neutrino species permeating the early Universe. Although astronomical observations of primordial deuterium abundance have reached percent accuracy3, theoretical predictions4-6 based on BBN are hampered by large uncertainties on the cross-section of the deuterium burning D(p,γ)3He reaction. Here we show that our improved cross-sections of this reaction lead to BBN estimates of the baryon density at the 1.6 percent level, in excellent agreement with a recent analysis of the cosmic microwave background7. Improved cross-section data were obtained by exploiting the negligible cosmic-ray background deep underground at the Laboratory for Underground Nuclear Astrophysics (LUNA) of the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (Italy)8,9. We bombarded a high-purity deuterium gas target10 with an intense proton beam from the LUNA 400-kilovolt accelerator11 and detected the γ-rays from the nuclear reaction under study with a high-purity germanium detector. Our experimental results settle the most uncertain nuclear physics input to BBN calculations and substantially improve the reliability of using primordial abundances to probe the physics of the early Universe.

Lateralized cognitive functions in Parkinson's patients: A behavioral approach for the early detection of sustained attention deficits.

Parkinson's disease (PD) has been described as a disconnection syndrome. The lateralized motor onset of symptoms indicates asymmetrical dysregulation of the dopamine production in the substantia nigra, in the striatum and, in turns, a dysfunction of the basal ganglia and of the connected cortical areas. However, lateralization of cognitive symptoms is less clear, and it would be important to determine whether lateralized motor deficits are associated with cognitive impairments typically documented following damage to one specific hemisphere. We tested twenty-two PD patients at various stages of the disease on a sustained attention task, namely a multiple object tracking (MOT). This task is particularly sensitive at revealing lateralized deficits, and is often used to diagnose visual field attentional deficits in stroke patients with unilateral parietal lesions. In the present study, PD patients were asked to track four moving discs (two in the left and two in the right hemifield) amidst moving distracters. Left and right visual field tracking accuracy was psychophysically measured and compared to that of age-matched controls. Results revealed distinct behaviors: left (motor deficit) PD patients showed impaired performance in the left, while right (motor deficit) PD patients were impaired in the right hemifield. Data indicate that PD affects motor as well as attentional functions. Interestingly, performance correlated with scores on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) a measure of cognitive functioning. Crucially, results suggest that cognitive skills might be affected as early as motor functions, and that early evaluation might be key to predicting disease progression and planning interventions.

The effects of dynamic workload and experience on commercially available EEG cognitive state metrics in a high-fidelity air traffic control environment.

The current study evaluated the validity of commercially available electroencephalography (EEG) cognitive state metrics of workload and engagement in differentially experienced air traffic control (ATC) students. EEG and pupil diameter recordings were collected from 47 ATC students (27 more experienced and 20 less experienced) during a high-fidelity, variable workload approach-control scenario. Scenario workload was manipulated by increasing the number of aircraft released and the presence of a divided attention task. Results showed that scenario performance significantly degraded with increased aircraft and the presence of the divided attention task. No scenario performance differences were found between experience groups. The EEG engagement metric significantly differed between experience groups, with less experienced controllers exhibiting higher engagement than more experienced controllers. The EEG workload metric and pupil diameter were sensitive to workload manipulations but did not differentiate experience groups. Commercially available EEG cognitive state metrics may be a viable tool for enhancing ATC training.

Males tend to die, females tend to pass away.

The hypothesis that obituary notices will be less direct/less emotional in the language used for females than for males was tested. A total of 703 consecutive obituaries were examined in a local newspaper and instances of whether the person died or passed away was noted for males and females. A 2 (gender) × 2 (died, passed away) Chi-Square analysis supported the hypothesis: X2 (1) = 8.87, p < .01. Thus, males are more likely to die, whereas females are more likely to pass away.

Direct Capture Cross Section and the E_{p}=71 and 105 keV Resonances in the

The ^{22}Ne(p,γ)^{23}Na reaction, part of the neon-sodium cycle of hydrogen burning, may explain the observed anticorrelation between sodium and oxygen abundances in globular cluster stars. Its rate is controlled by a number of low-energy resonances and a slowly varying nonresonant component. Three new resonances at E_{p}=156.2, 189.5, and 259.7 keV have recently been observed and confirmed. However, significant uncertainty on the reaction rate remains due to the nonresonant process and to two suggested resonances at E_{p}=71 and 105 keV. Here, new ^{22}Ne(p,γ)^{23}Na data with high statistics and low background are reported. Stringent upper limits of 6×10^{-11} and 7×10^{-11} eV (90% confidence level), respectively, are placed on the two suggested resonances. In addition, the off-resonant S factor has been measured at unprecedented low energy, constraining the contributions from a subthreshold resonance and the direct capture process. As a result, at a temperature of 0.1 GK the error bar of the ^{22}Ne(p,γ)^{23}Na rate is now reduced by 3 orders of magnitude.

Erratum: Three New Low-Energy Resonances in the

This corrects the article DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.115.252501.