Behavioral emergencies

BACKGROUND: A plethora of weight management apps are available, but many individuals, especially those living with overweight and obesity, still struggle to achieve adequate weight loss. An emerging area in weight management is the support for one's self-regulation over momentary eating impulses. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to examine the feasibility and effectiveness of a novel artificial intelligence-assisted weight management app in improving eating behaviors in a Southeast Asian cohort...

Tool use is considered a driving force behind the evolution of brain expansion and prolonged juvenile dependency in the hominin lineage. However, it remains rare across animals, possibly due to inherent constraints related to manual dexterity and cognitive abilities. In our study, we investigated the ontogeny of tool use in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), a species known for its extensive and flexible tool use behavior. We observed 70 wild chimpanzees across all ages and analyzed 1,460 stick use events filmed in the Taï National Park, Côte d'Ivoire during the chimpanzee attempts to retrieve high-nutrient, but difficult-to-access, foods...

Abstract Vaginal transmission from semen of male Ebola virus (EBOV) survivors has been implicated as a potential origin of Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreaks. While EBOV in semen must traverse cervicovaginal mucus (CVM) to reach target cells, the behavior of EBOV in CVM is poorly understood. CVM contains substantial quantities of IgG, and arrays of IgG bound to a virion can develop multiple Fc-mucin bonds, immobilizing the IgG/virion complex in mucus. Here, we measured the real-time mobility of fluorescent Ebola virus-like-particles (VLP) in 50 CVM specimens from 17 women, with and without ZMapp, a cocktail of 3 monoclonal IgGs against EBOV...

Linking identified MPOX cases to care is essential for MPOX control. This study aims to investigate the intentions of healthcare seeking and self-isolation for MPOX among men who have sex with men (MSM) in China. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted in early August 2023 in China. Respondents were recruited by community-based organizations (CBOs), collecting information on demographics, health status, behavioral and psychological characteristics. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to examine the predictors of intentions to seek healthcare and self-isolate for MPOX within the MSM population...

BACKGROUND: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a significant contributor to global mortality and disability, and emerging evidence indicates that trigeminal nerve electrical stimulation (TNS) is a promising therapeutic intervention for neurological impairment following TBI. However, the precise mechanisms underlying the neuroprotective effects of TNS in TBI are poorly understood. Thus, the objective of this study was to investigate the potential involvement of the orexin-A (OX-A)/orexin receptor 1 (OX1R) mediated TLR4/NF-κB/NLRP3 signaling pathway in the neuroprotective effects of TNS in rats with TBI...

Lattice mismatch significantly influences microscopic transport in semiconducting devices, affecting interfacial charge behavior and device efficacy. This atomic-level disordering, often overlooked in previous research, is crucial for device efficiency and lifetime. Recent studies have highlighted emerging challenges related to lattice mismatch in perovskite solar cells, especially at heterojunctions, revealing issues like severe tensile stress, increased ion migration, and reduced carrier mobility. This review systematically discusses the effects of lattice mismatch on strain, material stability, and carrier dynamics...

As the popularity of electric bicycles (e-bikes) continues to surge, the number of accidents involving them has commensurately increased. A significant factor contributing to the high fatality rate in these accidents is the low usage of helmets among e-bike riders. Helmets have been proven to reduce the severity of injuries, yet their usage remains unexpectedly low. This issue is particularly pronounced among college students, the primary buyer group for e-bikes. Regrettably, there is a lack of research exploring their intentions to wear helmets...

Nanopolystyrene (NPS), a frequently employed nanoplastic, is an emerging environmental contaminant known to cause neurotoxicity in various organisms. However, the potential for transgenerational neurotoxic effects, especially from photoaged NPS (P-NPS), remains underexplored. This study investigated the aging of virgin NPS (V-NPS) under a xenon lamp to simulate natural sunlight exposure, which altered the physicochemical characteristics of the NPS. The parental generation (P0) of Caenorhabditis elegans was exposed to environmental concentrations (0...

BACKGROUND: Thai pharmacists' roles have increasingly shifted to a system-focused role in providing public health services. A competency framework in this area is essential to workforce development. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to summarize and synthesize the literature on pharmaceutical public health competencies of Thai pharmacists. METHODS: The Scopus, MEDLINE, and Web of Science (Clarivate) databases were searched. The search criteria included "public health", "health promotion", "primary care", "community pharmacy", "pharmacy" and "pharmacist"...

Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by progressive motor as well as less recognized non-motor symptoms that arise often years before motor manifestation, including sleep and gastrointestinal disturbances. Despite the heavy burden on the patient's quality of life, these non-motor manifestations are poorly understood. To elucidate the temporal dynamics of the disease, we employed a mouse model involving injection of alpha-synuclein (aSyn) pre-formed fibrils (PFF) in the duodenum and antrum as a gut-brain model of Parkinsonism...

Representation of the environment by hippocampal populations is known to drift even within a familiar environment, which could reflect gradual changes in single cell activity or result from averaging across discrete switches of single neurons. Disambiguating these possibilities is crucial, as they each imply distinct mechanisms. Leveraging change point detection and model comparison, we found that CA1 population vectors decorrelated gradually within a session. In contrast, individual neurons exhibited predominantly step-like emergence and disappearance of place fields or sustained change in within-field firing...

BACKGROUND: Sepsis-induced cardiomyopathy (SIC) is a critical complication arising from sepsis characterized by reversible myocardial dysfunction. Despite the increasing attention to SIC in research, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain poorly comprehended. METHODS: In this study, we utilized bioinformatics to analyze RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) and single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) data from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database to identify key immune cell populations and molecular markers associated with SIC...

Smart cities have emerged as a promising solution to the problems associated with urbanization. However, research that holistically considers diverse stakeholders in smart cities is scarce. This study utilizes data from four types of collaborators (academia, public sector, industry, and civil society actors) to identify key topics and suggest research areas for developing smart cities. We used latent Dirichlet allocation and Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers for topic extraction and analysis...

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is the most common gastrointestinal emergency in neonates, particularly preterm infants. Many factors can lead to NEC, but microbial dysbiosis is one of the most important risk factors that can induce this disease. Given the major role of the gut virome in shaping bacterial homeostasis, virome research is a fledgling but rapidly evolving area in the field of microbiome that is increasingly connected to human diseases, including NEC. This review provides an overview of the development of the gut virome in newborns, discusses its emerging role in NEC, and explores promising therapeutic applications, including phage therapy and fecal virome transplantation...

Lack of hard currency is one of the key growth barriers in emerging countries, as imports vastly outstrip exports. In response, governments in these countries usually undertake a variety of policy packages, including the devaluation of the domestic currency. Despite these efforts, there have been no discernible adjustments to foreign balance. This study examines whether the response to devaluation differs significantly between the goods and services trade in Ethiopia. We estimate the long- and short-run elasticities of the disaggregated trade indicators using an autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) and error correction mechanisms...

The current work aims to analyze the main themes related to artificial intelligence (AI) and sustainable development during the pandemic period. This study provides an overview of the specialized literature related to AI and sustainability from the beginning of the pandemic through 2023. The present paper analyses scientific literature emphasizing both artificial intelligence's positive and negative impacts on sustainable development objectives (SDGs). To conduct the research, we employed bibliometric analysis and text-mining techniques to identify the major themes in the literature indexed in the Web of Science and Scopus databases...

Depression is a devastating mood disorder that causes significant disability worldwide. Current knowledge of its pathophysiology remains modest and clear biological markers are lacking. Emerging evidence from human and animal models reveals persistent alterations in endoplasmic reticulum (ER) homeostasis, suggesting that ER stress-related signaling pathways may be targets for prevention and treatment. However, the neurobiological basis linking the pathways involved in depression-related ER stress remains unknown...

Collaborative hunting, in which predators play different and complementary roles to capture prey, has been traditionally believed to be an advanced hunting strategy requiring large brains that involve high-level cognition. However, recent findings that collaborative hunting has also been documented in smaller-brained vertebrates have placed this previous belief under strain. Here, using computational multi-agent simulations based on deep reinforcement learning, we demonstrate that decisions underlying collaborative hunts do not necessarily rely on sophisticated cognitive processes...

INTRODUCTION: Myopia and its vision-threatening complications present a significant public health problem. This review aims to provide an updated overview of the multitude of known and emerging interventions to control myopia, including their potential effect, safety, and costs. METHODS: A systematic literature search of three databases was conducted. Interventions were grouped into four categories: environmental/behavioral (outdoor time, near work), pharmacological (e...

This study investigates the factors contributing to COVID vaccine hesitancy. Vaccine hesitancy has commonly been attributed to susceptibility to misinformation and linked to particular socio-demographic factors and personality traits. We present a new perspective, emphasizing the interplay between individual cognitive styles and perceptions of public health institutions. In January 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic, 318 participants underwent a comprehensive assessment, including self-report measures of personality and clinical characteristics, as well as a behavioral task that assessed information processing styles...