Partisanship Predicts COVID-19 Vaccine Brand Preference: The Insightful Case of Argentina

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of not only diminishing the resistance to vaccine adoption in general, but also to reduce both real and perceived barriers to a swift vaccination campaign. One major problem faced by health systems around the world was that people’s preferences for a specific brand of vaccine often delayed vaccination efforts as people canceled or delayed appointments to receive their preferred brand. Therefore, in the event of another pandemic, it is important to know which factors influence preferences for specific vaccine brands. Previous literature showed that consumers choose products that are congruent with their self-concept, which includes their political affiliation. Given that the discourse around vaccine brands has been strongly politicized during the pandemic, in our work, we test whether partisanship influences preferences for COVID-19 vaccine brands. To test this, we collected survey data from Argentina (N = 432), a country with a clear bipartisan structure and where a variety of vaccine brands were administered, both from Western and Eastern laboratories. We found that supporters of the ruling party, which had strong ties with Eastern countries such as Russia and China, perceived Eastern vaccine brands (e.g., Sputnik V) to be more effective and safe than Western ones (e.g., Pfizer) whereas the contrary was true for supporters of the opposition. Our results also showed that supporters of the opposing party were more likely to wish to hypothetically switch vaccines, to delay their appointment in case of not receiving their preferred brand, and to disapprove of their local vaccination campaign. Our results demonstrate that political party affiliation biases perceptions of both vaccine brands’ quality and vaccination campaign effectiveness. We anticipate that our results can inform public policy strategies when it comes to an efficient vaccine supply allocation, as political affiliation is a measurable and predictable consumer trait.Este artículo se encuentra publicado en SSRN 4292235

Avaliação de leitura: escala de fluência baseada em textos narrativos

El objetivo de este trabajo es aplicar una escala subjetiva de fluidez a fin de determinar si esta modalidad de evaluación configura una herramienta eficiente para valorar la fluidez lectora. Una muestra de niños y niñas argentinos de 5to grado de nivel primario fue evaluada con una tarea de comprensión lectora silente ad hoc (TCL), una tarea estandarizada de lectura de palabras (TL) y una tarea de lectura en voz alta para valorar la fluidez con la Escala de fluidez lectora para textos (EFT). Los datos obtenidos al aplicar la EFT fueron analizados y comparados con las puntuaciones de las tareas de CL y TL. Primero, se realizó un análisis de correlación que detectó que el puntaje total de la EFT y cada una de las categorías contempladas en su diseño se asociaron significativamente entre sí y con las puntuaciones alcanzadas por los participantes en la TL y en la TCL. Luego, para establecer si la EFT permite diferenciar entre sujetos con diferente nivel de comprensión se dividió a la muestra en dos grupos según su rendimiento en la TCL y se llevó adelante un análisis de contrastes para medias relacionadas que indicó diferencias en la puntuación global y en las distintas categorías de la EFT entre los grupos de alto y bajo nivel de comprensión. Estos resultados sugieren que la EFT es una herramienta fiable para la evaluación de la fluidez lectora en el ámbito educativo y clínico y es un instrumento sensible para detectar diferencias de rendimiento en comprensión lectora.The aim of this research is to apply a fluency scale in order to investigate if this way to assess is an efficient tool for measuring reading fluency. A sample of Argentinean primary school-aged children (5th grade) were assessed with an ad hoc silent reading comprehension task (RC), a standardized word reading task (WR), and an oral reading task (OR). Oral reading samples were analysed with the Text Reading Fluency Scale (TRFS) designed for this research. The results from the TRFS were analysed and compared with those from the RC and WR tasks. In first place, a correlation analysis was performed. Results showed that TRFS’ total score and each of the categories included in the rubric were significantly associated with each other as well as with participant´s rating achieved in RC and WR tasks. Then, further analysis was fulfilled to establish if TRFS can identify differences in reading comprehension level. The sample was divided according to their performance in the RC in two groups: high and low level of comprehension, and a contrast analysis was conducted. The results showed differences between high and low level of comprehension groups in TRFS´ total score and in the different categories of the rubric. These results suggest that TRFS is a reliable tool to evaluate reading fluency at school as well as in clinical practice and is a sensitive instrument for detecting reading comprehension performance level.O objetivo deste artigo é aplicar uma escala de fluência subjetiva a fim de determinar se esta modalidade de avaliação é uma ferramenta eficiente para avaliar a fluência da leitura. Uma amostra de crianças argentinas do 5º ano da escola primária foi avaliada com uma tarefa ad hoc de compreensão de leitura silenciosa (TCL), uma tarefa estandardizada de leitura de palavras (TL) e uma tarefa de leitura em voz alta para avaliar a fluência com a Escala de Fluência de Leitura para Textos (EFT). Os dados obtidos através da aplicação do EFT foram analisados e comparados com as pontuações das tarefas CL e TL. Primeiro, foi realizada uma análise de correlação que constatou que a pontuação total da EFT e cada uma das categorias no desenho da EFT estavam significativamente associadas umas às outras e às pontuações de TL e TCL dos participantes. Depois, para estabelecer se o EFT pode diferenciar entre sujeitos com diferentes níveis de compreensão, a amostra foi dividida em dois grupos de acordo com o seu desempenho no TCL e foi realizada uma análise de contrastes para meios relacionados, indicando diferenças na pontuação global e nas diferentes categorias de EFT entre os grupos de alta e baixa compreensão. Estes resultados sugerem que o EFT é uma ferramenta fiável para a avaliação da fluência da leitura em contextos educativos e clínicos e é um instrumento sensível para detectar diferenças no desempenho da compreensão da leitura.Fil: Fumagalli, Julieta Carolina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Instituto de Lingüística; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Ferroni, Marina Valeria. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Instituto de Lingüística; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Jaichenco, Virginia Irene. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Instituto de Lingüística; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Hurlingham; Argentin

miRNA expression is increased in serum from patients with semantic variant primary progressive aphasia

Primary progressive aphasia (PPA) damages the parts of the brain that control speech and language. There are three clinical PPA variants: nonfluent/agrammatic (nfvPPA), logopenic (lvPPA) and semantic (svPPA). The pathophysiology underlying PPA variants is not fully understood, including the role of micro (mi)RNAs which were previously shown to play a role in several neurodegenerative diseases. Using a two-step analysis (array and validation through real-time PCR), we investigated the miRNA expression pattern in serum from 54 PPA patients and 18 controls. In the svPPA cohort, we observed a generalized upregulation of miRNAs with miR-106b-5p and miR-133a-3p reaching statistical significance (miR-106b-5p: 2.69 ± 0.89 mean ± SD vs. 1.18 ± 0.28

Development of an instrument for collective assessment of fluency and comprehension of reading in elementary school students II

Objetivo: O estudo apresenta o processo de desenvolvimento de um instrumento para avaliação coletiva da fluência e da compreensão de leitura de escolares do ensino fundamental II e verifica o efeito da escolaridade no desempenho no instrumento. Método: Participaram do estudo 100 escolares regularmente matriculados do 6º ao 9º ano no ensino fundamental de escolas públicas. A construção do instrumento envolveu sete etapas, com participação de duas juízas. O instrumento é composto por um texto narrativo apropriado para escolares do ensino fundamental II e por 10 questões de múltipla escolha, sendo cinco questões literais e cinco inferenciais. Resultados: Os resultados evidenciaram melhor desempenho, tanto em fluência quanto em compreensão de leitura, para os participantes com maior escolaridade. A fluência de leitura apresentou correlações positivas e moderadas com a compreensão leitora. Conclusão: O instrumento é de fácil aplicação e análise, podendo ser utilizado em contexto clínico, educacional e de pesquisa para mensurar o desempenho de escolares do 6º ao 9º ano em fluência e compreensão de leitura.Purpose: The study presents the process of developing of an instrument for collective evaluation of reading fluency and comprehension of secondary elementary school students in grades 6-9 and verifies the effect of schooling on performance in the instrument. Methods: 100 students regularly enrolled in grades 6-9 in secondary elementary public schools participated in the study. The construction of the instrument involved seven steps, with the participation of two judges. The instrument was composed of narrative text appropriate for secondary elementary school students and for 10 multiple choice questions, which five were literal questions and five were inferential questions. Results: The results showed a better performance for the participants with higher schooling in fluency and in reading comprehension. The reading fluency presented positive and moderate correlations with the reading comprehension. Conclusion: The instrument is easy to apply and analyze, and can be used in clinical, educational and research context to measure the performance of students in grades 6-9 in fluency and reading comprehension

PRNP P39L variant is a rare cause of frontotemporal dementia in Iialian population

The missense P39L variant in the prion protein gene (PRNP) has recently been associated with frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Here, we analyzed the presence of the P39L variant in 761 patients with FTD and 719 controls and found a single carrier among patients. The patient was a 67-year-old male, with a positive family history for dementia, who developed apathy, short term memory deficit, and postural instability at 66. Clinical and instrumental workup excluded prion disease. At MRI, bilateral frontal lobe atrophy was present. A diagnosis of FTD was made, with a mainly apathetic phenotype. The PRNP P39L mutation may be an extremely rare cause of FTD (0.13%)

Narrative comprehension in 5 and 6-year-old children: effects of working memory and sustained attention

Comprender un texto es una actividad cognitiva compleja que implica la construcción de una representación mental coherente en la memoria. Un proceso importante para ello es la generación de inferencias. La memoria de trabajo ha mostrado ser un factor cognitivo importante para explicar las diferencias en comprensión e inferencias, al igual que la capacidad de sostener la atención. El propósito del presente trabajo consiste en estudiar la relación entre la memoria de trabajo y la atención sostenida en la comprensión de narraciones en niños de 5 y 6 años. Para ello, se trabajó con una muestra de 100 niños, quienes escucharon tres textos narrativos y respondieron preguntas acerca de su contenido literal e inferencial, y además realizaron dos pruebas de memoria de trabajo y una de atención sostenida. Los resultados indican que los niños de 6 años muestran desempeños mejores y significativos en la comprensión de información literal y en la respuesta a preguntas de inferencia que los niños de 5 años. Además, el análisis de correlación mostró que las medidas de comprensión se hallan vinculadas a medidas de atención sostenida y a medidas de memoria de trabajo. El análisis de senderos sugiere que, en niños de 5 y 6 años, las mejoras logradas en la comprensión general como producto de la edad están mediadas, en parte, por la capacidad del niño para mantener la atención en la narración y almacenar temporalmente la información recibida en la memoria de trabajo mientras la escucha.Text comprehension involves the construction of a coherent mental representation, which requires the person to build bridges between the new information and the background knowledge. In adults, establishing associations between information provided by the text is frequently an automatic skill, while for children it implies an important cognitive effort. This ability develops gradually over time and is connected to the generation of inferences. Working memory and the ability to sustain attention are considered two crucial processes for comprehension. The purpose of this study is to analyze the role of working memory and sustained attention in the comprehension of narratives in 5 and 6-year-old children. The study included 100 children of 5 and 6 years of age, of both sexes, that participated with the informed consent of their parents. Three oral texts were narrated to the children by a professional storyteller. For each text, six questions were asked: three of literal content and three of inferential content. Additionally, two working memory tasks were administered with one task of sustained attention. Three analyses were performed: First, a correlation analysis, to study the associations between comprehension, working memory, and sustained attention measures. Then, a comparison analysis of comprehension, working memory, and sustained attention scores between ages 5 and 6. And finally, a path analysis to study the role of age, sustained attention, and working memory on comprehension. Spearman Rho analyses in the whole sample show that literal comprehension had a significant correlation with forward digit span (Rho = .37, p < .001), backward digit span (Rho = .37, p < .001), and with the sustained attention task (Rho = -.37, p < .001). Inferences showed a significant correlation with forward digit span (Rho = .36, p < .001), backward digit span (Rho = .46, p < .001), and with the sustained attention task (Rho = -.37, p < .001). Sustained attention measures showed a significant correlation with forward digit span (Rho = -.34, p < .001) and with backward digit span (Rho = -.37, p < .001). The comparison analysis indicated significant differences between 5- and 6-year-olds in sustained attention measures (t (98) = 3.08, SEM = 5.41, p < .01), literal comprehension (t (98) = 4.05, SEM = 0.59, p < .001), and inferences (U = 750.50, z = 3.50, p < .001), but not in forward digit span (t (98) = 1.43, SEM = 0.34, p = .16) and backward digit span (U = 1043.50, z = 1.49, p = .14). A model of interrelation was proposed with age as independent variable, comprehension as dependent variable, and working memory and sustained attention as mediating variables, being comprehension, a latent factor formed by literal comprehension and inferences, and working memory another latent factor formed by forward digits and backward digits span. The path analysis showed a good fit of the data to the model (χ2 (5) = 1.93, p = .86; AGFI = .97, CFI = .99, TLI = .99, RMSEA = .00). The analysis showed that 6-year-olds perform better than 5-year-olds in literal and inferential information, and in sustained attention, but not in working memory. The correlation analyses, on the other hand, indicated that comprehension measures are associated to working memory and sustained attention scores and the path analysis indicated that both working memory and sustained attention play a role in comprehension. This suggests that, in 5 and 6-year-olds, age has an effect on the comprehension of general information and the ability to generate inferences, but this effect is mediated, in part, by the child’s ability to sustain attention on the narration and to temporarily store the information received while listening to it.Fil: Barreyro, Juan Pablo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Psicología. Instituto de Investigaciones; ArgentinaFil: Formoso, Jesica. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Psicología. Instituto de Investigaciones; ArgentinaFil: Alvarez Drexler, Andrea. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Psicología. Instituto de Investigaciones; ArgentinaFil: Leiman, Marina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Psicología. Instituto de Investigaciones; ArgentinaFil: Fernández, Rocío. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Psicología. Instituto de Investigaciones; ArgentinaFil: Calero, Alejandra Daniela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Psicología. Instituto de Investigaciones; ArgentinaFil: Fumagalli, Julieta Carolina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Instituto de Lingüística; ArgentinaFil: Injoque Ricle, Irene. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Psicología. Instituto de Investigaciones; Argentin

Release of sICAM-1 in Oocytes and In Vitro Fertilized Human Embryos

Background: During the last years, several studies have reported the significant relationship between the production of soluble HLA-G molecules (sHLA-G) by 48–72 hours early embryos and an increased implantation rate in IVF protocols. As consequence, the detection of HLA-G modulation was suggested as a marker to identify the best embryos to be transferred. On the opposite, no suitable markers are available for the oocyte selection. Methodology/Principal Findings: The major finding of the present paper is that the release of ICAM-1 might be predictive of oocyte maturation. The results obtained are confirmed using three independent methodologies, such as ELISA, Bio-Plex assay and Western blotting. The sICAM-1 release is very high in immature oocytes, decrease in mature oocytes and become even lower in in vitro fertilized embryos. No significant differences were observed in the levels of sICAM-1 release between immature oocytes with different morphological characteristics. On the contrary, when the mature oocytes were subdivided accordingly to morphological criteria, the mean sICAM-I levels in grade 1 oocytes were significantly decreased when compared to grade 2 and 3 oocytes. Conclusions/Significance: The reduction of the number of fertilized oocytes and transferred embryos represents the main target of assisted reproductive medicine. We propose sICAM-1 as a biochemical marker for oocyte maturation and grading

Presymptomatic cognitive and neuroanatomical changes in genetic frontotemporal dementia in the Genetic Frontotemporal dementia Initiative (GENFI) study: a cross-sectional analysis.

BACKGROUND: Frontotemporal dementia is a highly heritable neurodegenerative disorder. In about a third of patients, the disease is caused by autosomal dominant genetic mutations usually in one of three genes: progranulin (GRN), microtubule-associated protein tau (MAPT), or chromosome 9 open reading frame 72 (C9orf72). Findings from studies of other genetic dementias have shown neuroimaging and cognitive changes before symptoms onset, and we aimed to identify whether such changes could be shown in frontotemporal dementia. METHODS: We recruited participants to this multicentre study who either were known carriers of a pathogenic mutation in GRN, MAPT, or C9orf72, or were at risk of carrying a mutation because a first-degree relative was a known symptomatic carrier. We calculated time to expected onset as the difference between age at assessment and mean age at onset within the family. Participants underwent a standardised clinical assessment and neuropsychological battery. We did MRI and generated cortical and subcortical volumes using a parcellation of the volumetric T1-weighted scan. We used linear mixed-effects models to examine whether the association of neuropsychology and imaging measures with time to expected onset of symptoms differed between mutation carriers and non-carriers. FINDINGS: Between Jan 30, 2012, and Sept 15, 2013, we recruited participants from 11 research sites in the UK, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Canada. We analysed data from 220 participants: 118 mutation carriers (40 symptomatic and 78 asymptomatic) and 102 non-carriers. For neuropsychology measures, we noted the earliest significant differences between mutation carriers and non-carriers 5 years before expected onset, when differences were significant for all measures except for tests of immediate recall and verbal fluency. We noted the largest Z score differences between carriers and non-carriers 5 years before expected onset in tests of naming (Boston Naming Test -0·7; SE 0·3) and executive function (Trail Making Test Part B, Digit Span backwards, and Digit Symbol Task, all -0·5, SE 0·2). For imaging measures, we noted differences earliest for the insula (at 10 years before expected symptom onset, mean volume as a percentage of total intracranial volume was 0·80% in mutation carriers and 0·84% in non-carriers; difference -0·04, SE 0·02) followed by the temporal lobe (at 10 years before expected symptom onset, mean volume as a percentage of total intracranial volume 8·1% in mutation carriers and 8·3% in non-carriers; difference -0·2, SE 0·1). INTERPRETATION: Structural imaging and cognitive changes can be identified 5-10 years before expected onset of symptoms in asymptomatic adults at risk of genetic frontotemporal dementia. These findings could help to define biomarkers that can stage presymptomatic disease and track disease progression, which will be important for future therapeutic trials. FUNDING: Centres of Excellence in Neurodegeneration

White matter hyperintensities are seen only in GRN mutation carriers in the GENFI cohort

© 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/BY/4.0/).Genetic frontotemporal dementia is most commonly caused by mutations in the progranulin (GRN), microtubule-associated protein tau (MAPT) and chromosome 9 open reading frame 72 (C9orf72) genes. Previous small studies have reported the presence of cerebral white matter hyperintensities (WMH) in genetic FTD but this has not been systematically studied across the different mutations. In this study WMH were assessed in 180 participants from the Genetic FTD Initiative (GENFI) with 3D T1- and T2-weighed magnetic resonance images: 43 symptomatic (7 GRN, 13 MAPT and 23 C9orf72), 61 presymptomatic mutation carriers (25 GRN, 8 MAPT and 28 C9orf72) and 76 mutation negative non-carrier family members. An automatic detection and quantification algorithm was developed for determining load, location and appearance of WMH. Significant differences were seen only in the symptomatic GRN group compared with the other groups with no differences in the MAPT or C9orf72 groups: increased global load of WMH was seen, with WMH located in the frontal and occipital lobes more so than the parietal lobes, and nearer to the ventricles rather than juxtacortical. Although no differences were seen in the presymptomatic group as a whole, in the GRN cohort only there was an association of increased WMH volume with expected years from symptom onset. The appearance of the WMH was also different in the GRN group compared with the other groups, with the lesions in the GRN group being more similar to each other. The presence of WMH in those with progranulin deficiency may be related to the known role of progranulin in neuroinflammation, although other roles are also proposed including an effect on blood-brain barrier permeability and the cerebral vasculature. Future studies will be useful to investigate the longitudinal evolution of WMH and their potential use as a biomarker as well as post-mortem studies investigating the histopathological nature of the lesions.This work was funded by the UK Medical Research Council, the Italian Ministry of Health, and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research as part of a Centres of Excellence in Neurodegeneration grant (CoEN015). The Dementia Research Centre is supported by Alzheimer's Research UK, Brain Research Trust, and The Wolfson Foundation. This work was supported by the NIHR Queen Square Dementia Biomedical Research Unit and the NIHR UCL/H Biomedical Research Centre. JDR is supported by an MRC Clinician Scientist Fellowship (MR/M008525/1) and has received funding from the NIHR Rare Disease Translational Research Collaboration (BRC149/NS/MH). KD is supported by an Alzheimer's Society PhD Studentship (AS-PhD-2015-005). JBR is supported by the Wellcome Trust (103838) and the NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre. MM is supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Ontario Research Fund. RL is supported by Réseau de médecine génétique appliquée, Fonds de recherche du Québec—Santé (FRQS). FT is supported by the Italian Ministry of Health. DG is supported by the Fondazione Monzino and Italian Ministry of Health, Ricerca Corrente. SS is supported by Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze (CRF 2013/0199) and the Ministry of Health RF-2010-2319722. SO is supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/H046410/1, EP/J020990/1, EP/K005278), the Medical Research Council (MR/J01107X/1), the EU-FP7 project VPH-DARE@IT (FP7-ICT-2011-9-601055), and the National Institute for Health Research University College London Hospitals Biomedical Research Centre (NIHR BRC UCLH/UCL High Impact Initiative BW.mn.BRC10269). JvS is supported by The Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development Memorable grant (733050103) and Netherlands Alzheimer Foundation Memorable grant (733050103).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio