To understand how Twitter bots and trolls ("bots") promote online health content.
We compared bots' to average users' rates of vaccine-relevant messages, which we collected online from July 2014 ...through September 2017. We estimated the likelihood that users were bots, comparing proportions of polarized and antivaccine tweets across user types. We conducted a content analysis of a Twitter hashtag associated with Russian troll activity.
Compared with average users, Russian trolls (χ
(1) = 102.0; P < .001), sophisticated bots (χ
(1) = 28.6; P < .001), and "content polluters" (χ
(1) = 7.0; P < .001) tweeted about vaccination at higher rates. Whereas content polluters posted more antivaccine content (χ
(1) = 11.18; P < .001), Russian trolls amplified both sides. Unidentifiable accounts were more polarized (χ
(1) = 12.1; P < .001) and antivaccine (χ
(1) = 35.9; P < .001). Analysis of the Russian troll hashtag showed that its messages were more political and divisive.
Whereas bots that spread malware and unsolicited content disseminated antivaccine messages, Russian trolls promoted discord. Accounts masquerading as legitimate users create false equivalency, eroding public consensus on vaccination. Public Health Implications. Directly confronting vaccine skeptics enables bots to legitimize the vaccine debate. More research is needed to determine how best to combat bot-driven content.
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CEKLJ, DOBA, FSPLJ, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, ODKLJ, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VSZLJ
Abstract
We studied the unique kinematic properties in massive filament G352.63-1.07 at 10
3
au spatial scale with the dense molecular tracers observed with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter ...Array. We find the central massive core M1 (12
M
⊙
) being separated from the surrounding filament with a velocity difference of
v
−
v
¯
sys
=
−
2
km
s
−
1
and a transverse separation within 3″. Meanwhile, as shown in multiple dense-gas tracers, M1 has a spatial extension closely aligned with the main filament and is connected to the filament toward both its ends. M1 thus represents a very beginning state for a massive, young star-forming core escaping from the parental filament, within a timescale of ∼4000 yr. Based on its kinetic energy (3.5 × 10
44
erg), the core escape is unlikely solely due to the original filament motion or magnetic field but requires more energetic events such as a rapid intense anisotropic collapse. The released energy also seems to noticeably increase the environmental turbulence. This may help the filament to become stabilized again.
OBJECTIVE To systematically assess the evidence for an association between sexual abuse and a lifetime diagnosis of psychiatric disorders. PATIENTS AND METHODS We performed a comprehensive search ...(from January 1980-December 2008, all age groups, any language, any population) of 9 databases: MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Current Contents, PsycINFO, ACP Journal Club, CCTR, CDSR, and DARE. Controlled vocabulary supplemented with keywords was used to define the concept areas of sexual abuse and psychiatric disorders and was limited to epidemiological studies. Six independent reviewers extracted descriptive, quality, and outcome data from eligible longitudinal studies. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were pooled across studies by using the random-effects model. The I2 statistic was used to assess heterogeneity. RESULTS The search yielded 37 eligible studies, 17 case-control and 20 cohort, with 3,162,318 participants. There was a statistically significant association between sexual abuse and a lifetime diagnosis of anxiety disorder (OR, 3.09; 95% CI, 2.43-3.94), depression (OR, 2.66; 95% CI, 2.14-3.30), eating disorders (OR, 2.72; 95% CI, 2.04-3.63), posttraumatic stress disorder (OR, 2.34; 95% CI, 1.59-3.43), sleep disorders (OR, 16.17; 95% CI, 2.06-126.76), and suicide attempts (OR, 4.14; 95% CI, 2.98-5.76). Associations persisted regardless of the victim's sex or the age at which abuse occurred. There was no statistically significant association between sexual abuse and a diagnosis of schizophrenia or somatoform disorders. No longitudinal studies that assessed bipolar disorder or obsessive-compulsive disorder were found. Associations between sexual abuse and depression, eating disorders, and posttraumatic stress disorder were strengthened by a history of rape. CONCLUSION A history of sexual abuse is associated with an increased risk of a lifetime diagnosis of multiple psychiatric disorders.
Direct interspecies electron transfer (DIET) is potentially an effective form of syntrophy in methanogenic communities, but little is known about the diversity of methanogens capable of DIET. The ...ability of Methanosarcina barkeri to participate in DIET was evaluated in coculture with Geobacter metallireducens. Cocultures formed aggregates that shared electrons via DIET during the stoichiometric conversion of ethanol to methane. Cocultures could not be initiated with a pilin-deficient G. metallireducens strain, suggesting that long-range electron transfer along pili was important for DIET. Amendments of granular activated carbon permitted the pilin-deficient G. metallireducens isolates to share electrons with M. barkeri, demonstrating that this conductive material could substitute for pili in promoting DIET. When M. barkeri was grown in coculture with the H2-producing Pelobacter carbinolicus, incapable of DIET, M. barkeri utilized H2 as an electron donor but metabolized little of the acetate that P.carbinolicus produced. This suggested that H2, but not electrons derived from DIET, inhibited acetate metabolism. P. carbinolicus-M. barkeri cocultures did not aggregate, demonstrating that, unlike DIET, close physical contact was not necessary for interspecies H2 transfer. M. barkeri is the second methanogen found to accept electrons via DIET and the first methanogen known to be capable of using either H2 or electrons derived from DIET for CO2 reduction. Furthermore, M. barkeri is genetically tractable,making it a model organism for elucidating mechanisms by which methanogens make biological electrical connections with other cells.
Virus-like particle (VLP) and live virus assays were used to investigate neutralizing immunity against Delta and Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variants in 259 samples from 128 vaccinated individuals. Following ...Delta breakthrough infection, titers against WT rose 57-fold and 3.1-fold compared with uninfected boosted and unboosted individuals, respectively, versus only a 5.8-fold increase and 3.1-fold decrease for Omicron breakthrough infection. Among immunocompetent, unboosted patients, Delta breakthrough infections induced 10.8-fold higher titers against WT compared with Omicron (p = 0.037). Decreased antibody responses in Omicron breakthrough infections relative to Delta were potentially related to a higher proportion of asymptomatic or mild breakthrough infections (55.0% versus 28.6%, respectively), which exhibited 12.3-fold lower titers against WT compared with moderate to severe infections (p = 0.020). Following either Delta or Omicron breakthrough infection, limited variant-specific cross-neutralizing immunity was observed. These results suggest that Omicron breakthrough infections are less immunogenic than Delta, thus providing reduced protection against reinfection or infection from future variants.
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•In breakthrough infections, variant-specific cross-neutralizing immunity is limited•Higher antibody titers are observed in severe versus mild breakthrough infections•Delta breakthroughs exhibited 10.8× higher antibody titers compared with Omicron•The rise in antibody titers from Omicron breakthroughs was 1/3 of that from boosting
In comparing breakthrough infections from the SARS-CoV-2 Delta and Omicron variants, the latter, though milder than Delta infections, were associated with lower antibody titers and limited cross-neutralizing immunity, suggesting reduced protection against reinfection or infection from a future variant.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Objective
To measure the extent to which the provision of mammograms was impacted by the COVID‐19 pandemic and surrounding guidelines.
Data Sources
De‐identified summary data derived from medical ...claims and eligibility files were provided by Independence Blue Cross for women receiving mammograms.
Study Design
We used a difference‐in‐differences approach to characterize the change in mammograms performed over time and a queueing formula to estimate the time to clear the queue of missed mammograms.
Data Collection
We used data from the first 30 weeks of each year from 2018 to 2020.
Principal Findings
Over the 20 weeks following March 11, 2020, the volume of screening mammograms and diagnostic mammograms fell by 58% and 38% of expected levels, on average. Lowest volumes were observed in week 15 (April 8 to 14), when screening and diagnostic mammograms fell by 99% and 74%, respectively. Volumes began to rebound in week 19 (May), with diagnostic mammograms reaching levels to similar to previous years’ and screening mammograms remaining 14% below expectations. We estimate it will take a minimum of 22 weeks to clear the queue of missed mammograms in our study sample.
Conclusions
The provision of mammograms has been significantly disrupted due to the COVID‐19 pandemic.
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BFBNIB, DOBA, FZAB, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
SARS-CoV-2 Delta and Omicron are globally relevant variants of concern. Although individuals infected with Delta are at risk of developing severe lung disease, infection with Omicron often causes ...milder symptoms, especially in vaccinated individuals
. The question arises of whether widespread Omicron infections could lead to future cross-variant protection, accelerating the end of the pandemic. Here we show that without vaccination, infection with Omicron induces a limited humoral immune response in mice and humans. Sera from mice overexpressing the human ACE2 receptor and infected with Omicron neutralize only Omicron, but not other variants of concern, whereas broader cross-variant neutralization was observed after WA1 and Delta infections. Unlike WA1 and Delta, Omicron replicates to low levels in the lungs and brains of infected animals, leading to mild disease with reduced expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and diminished activation of lung-resident T cells. Sera from individuals who were unvaccinated and infected with Omicron show the same limited neutralization of only Omicron itself. By contrast, Omicron breakthrough infections induce overall higher neutralization titres against all variants of concern. Our results demonstrate that Omicron infection enhances pre-existing immunity elicited by vaccines but, on its own, may not confer broad protection against non-Omicron variants in unvaccinated individuals.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
This study investigated the possibility that the electrical conductivity of carbon cloth accelerates direct interspecies electron transfer (DIET) in co-cultures. Carbon cloth accelerated metabolism ...of DIET co-cultures (Geobacter metallireducens-Geobacter sulfurreducens and G.metallireducens-Methanosarcina barkeri) but did not promote metabolism of co-cultures performing interspecies H2 transfer (Desulfovibrio vulgaris-G.sulfurreducens). On the other hand, DIET co-cultures were not stimulated by poorly conductive cotton cloth. Mutant strains lacking electrically conductive pili, or pili-associated cytochromes participated in DIET only in the presence of carbon cloth. In co-cultures promoted by carbon cloth, cells were primarily associated with the cloth although the syntrophic partners were too far apart for cell-to-cell biological electrical connections to be feasible. Carbon cloth seemingly mediated interspecies electron transfer between the distant syntrophic partners. These results suggest that the ability of carbon cloth to accelerate DIET should be considered in anaerobic digester designs that incorporate carbon cloth.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
The methylthioadenosine phosphorylase (MTAP) gene is located adjacent to the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 2A (CDKN2A) tumor-suppressor gene and is co-deleted with CDKN2A in approximately 15% of ...all cancers. This co-deletion leads to aggressive tumors with poor prognosis that lack effective, molecularly targeted therapies. The metabolic enzyme methionine adenosyltransferase 2α (MAT2A) was identified as a synthetic lethal target in MTAP-deleted cancers. We report the characterization of potent MAT2A inhibitors that substantially reduce levels of S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) and demonstrate antiproliferative activity in MTAP-deleted cancer cells and tumors. Using RNA sequencing and proteomics, we demonstrate that MAT2A inhibition is mechanistically linked to reduced protein arginine methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5) activity and splicing perturbations. We further show that DNA damage and mitotic defects ensue upon MAT2A inhibition in HCT116 MTAP−/− cells, providing a rationale for combining the MAT2A clinical candidate AG-270 with antimitotic taxanes.
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•Development of MAT2A inhibitors (MAT2Ai) AGI-24512 and AG-270 with improved potency•AGI-24152 and AG-270 reduce proliferation of cancer cells and tumors that lack MTAP•MAT2Ai reduce PRMT5 activity affecting mRNA splicing and inducing DNA damage•Antiproliferative effects of AG-270 are synergistic with taxanes in vitro and in vivo
Kalev et al. characterize potent inhibitors of the metabolic enzyme MAT2A, including the clinical candidate AG-270, which reduces proliferation of MTAP-deficient cancer cells and tumors. This is mediated by deregulation of splicing, DNA damage, and reduced DNA damage repair, enabling synergistic combinations with antimitotic taxanes.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
We present a study of six far-infrared fine structure lines in the z = 4.225 lensed dusty star-forming galaxy SPT 0418−47 to probe the physical conditions of its interstellar medium (ISM). In ...particular, we report Atacama Pathfinder EXperiment (APEX) detections of the OI 145 μm and OIII 88 μm lines and Atacama Compact Array (ACA) detections of the NII 122 and 205 μm lines. The OI 145 μm/CII 158 μm line ratio is ∼5× higher compared to the average of local galaxies. We interpret this as evidence that the ISM is dominated by photo-dissociation regions with high gas densities. The line ratios, and in particular those of OIII 88 μm and NII 122 μm imply that the ISM in SPT 0418−47 is already chemically enriched to nearly solar metallicity. While the strong gravitational amplification was required to detect these lines with APEX, larger samples can be observed with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), and should allow observers to determine if the dense, solar metallicity ISM is common among these highly star-forming galaxies.
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FMFMET, NUK, UL, UM, UPUK
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