Regulatory Flexibility and Psychological Adjustment: A Three-Study Multi-Method Investigation

This dissertation filled critical gaps in the regulatory flexibility literature via three empirical studies. Study 1 integrated flexibility components—context sensitivity, repertoire, and feedback responsiveness—by measuring them concurrently and applying rigorous, double-cross validation latent profile analysis to link profiles of flexibility components to depression and anxiety. Study 2 investigated the predictive ability of flexibility for longitudinal trajectories of depression, anxiety, and PTSD while examining over 50 other important factors. Specifically, this study used a machine learning approach to predict trajectories of resilience and psychopathology. Study 3 incorporated situational characteristics and flexibility in an intensive longitudinal design (i.e., ecological momentary assessment) to understand how flexibility was associated with depressed mood, anxious mood, and perceived stress across daily situations. Together, this dissertation found that greater regulatory flexibility was associated with decreased depression and anxiety (Study 1), lower likelihood of chronic depression and anxiety in the aftermath of potentially traumatic events (Study 2), and lower levels of momentary depressed mood, anxious mood, and perceived stress (Study 3)

3D Question Answering

Visual Question Answering (VQA) has witnessed tremendous progress in recent years. However, most efforts only focus on the 2D image question answering tasks. In this paper, we present the first attempt at extending VQA to the 3D domain, which can facilitate artificial intelligence's perception of 3D real-world scenarios. Different from image based VQA, 3D Question Answering (3DQA) takes the color point cloud as input and requires both appearance and 3D geometry comprehension ability to answer the 3D-related questions. To this end, we propose a novel transformer-based 3DQA framework "3DQA-TR", which consists of two encoders for exploiting the appearance and geometry information, respectively. The multi-modal information of appearance, geometry, and the linguistic question can finally attend to each other via a 3D-Linguistic Bert to predict the target answers. To verify the effectiveness of our proposed 3DQA framework, we further develop the first 3DQA dataset "ScanQA", which builds on the ScanNet dataset and contains $\sim$6K questions, $\sim$30K answers for $806$ scenes. Extensive experiments on this dataset demonstrate the obvious superiority of our proposed 3DQA framework over existing VQA frameworks, and the effectiveness of our major designs. Our code and dataset will be made publicly available to facilitate the research in this direction.Comment: To Appear at IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics (TVCG) 202

Effect of Delivered Dosage of Cigarette Smoke Toxins on the Levels of Urinary Biomarkers of Exposure

Urinary metabolites of tobacco smoke toxins are often used as biomarkers for the evaluation of active and passive exposure to cigarette smoke toxins. In a study of healthy smokers, we investigated concentrations of urinary biomarkers in relation to concentrations of selected toxins in mainstream cigarette smoke as determined by machine smoking of cigarettes in a manner that mimics an individual's smoking behavior (topography). Concentrations of nicotine, 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone, and benzo(a)pyrene, in mainstream smoke determined under human smoking conditions, and their urinary metabolites cotinine, 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol, and 1-hydroxypyrene were established for 257 individuals who smoked low-yield (0.1-0.8 mg Federal Trade Commission nicotine/cigarette; mean, 0.66; n = 87), medium-yield (0.9-1.2 mg nicotine/cigarette; mean, 1.1; n = 109), and high-yield cigarettes (nicotine, >1.3 mg nicotine/cigarette; mean, 1.41; n = 61). Levels of urinary metabolites expressed per unit of delivered parent compounds decreased with increased smoke emissions. In smokers of low-, medium-, and high-yield cigarettes, the respective cotinine (ng/mg creatinine)-to-nicotine (mg/d) ratios were 89.4, 77.8, and 57.1 (low versus high; P = 0.06); the 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol (pmol/mg creatinine)-to-4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (ng/d) ratios were 0.81, 0.55, and 0.57 (low versus high; P = 0.05); and the 1-hydroxypyrene (pg/mg creatinine)-to-benzo(a)pyrene (ng/d) ratios were 1.55, 1.13, and 0.97 (low versus high; P = 0.008). Similarly, means of cotinine per unit of delivered nicotine in smokers who consumed 20 cigarettes per day. Likewise, a negative correlation was observed between cotinine-to-nicotine ratios and delivered doses of nicotine in subgroups of smokers who used the identical brand of cigarette, namely a filter tip-vented Marlboro (r = −0.59), which is a popular brand among Euro-Americans, and Newport (r = −0.37), a menthol-flavored cigarette without filter tip vents that is preferred by African-Americans. Thus, the intensity of the exposures significantly affects the levels of urinary biomarkers of exposure and should be taken into account in the evaluation of human exposure to cigarette smoke toxins

Domains of life satisfaction and perceived health and incidence of chronic illnesses and hospitalization: evidence from a large population-based Chinese cohort

Background Global life satisfaction has been consistently linked to physical health. A deeper and culturally nuanced understanding of which domains of satisfaction may be responsible for this association has implications for developing novel, scalable, and targeted interventions to improve physical health at the population level. Objectives This cohort study draws participants from the China Family Panel Studies (CPFS), a nationally representative cohort of 10,044 Chinese adults to assess the independent associations between three important domains of life satisfaction (and their changes) and indicators of physical health. Results A total of 10,044 participants were included in the primary analysis (4,475 female [44.6%]; mean [SD] age, 46.2 [12.1] years). Higher baseline levels of satisfaction with job, marriage, and medical services were independently associated with better perceived physical health (0.04 < β values < 0.12). Above and beyond their baseline levels, increases in satisfaction with job, marriage, and medical services were independently associated with better perceived physical health (0.04 < β values < 0.13). On the contrary, only higher baseline levels of and increases in satisfaction with marriage showed prospective associations with lower odds of incidence of chronic health condition and hospitalization (0.84 < ORs < 0.91). Conclusions These findings provide policymakers and interventionists interested in leveraging psychological health assets with rich information to rank variables and develop novel interventions aimed at improving wellbeing at the population level

Gender Differences Relative to Smoking Behavior and Emissions of Toxins from Mainstream Cigarette Smoke

This study examined whether gender differences exist in the exposure to select mainstream cigarette smoke toxins as a result of differences in smoking behavior or type of cigarettes smoked among 129 female and 128 male smokers. Smoking topography data indicated that, compared with men, women took smaller puffs (37.6 ml/puff vs. 45.8 ml/puff; p = .0001) of shorter duration (1.33 s/puff vs. 1.48 s/puff; p = .002) but drew more puffs per cigarette (13.5 vs. 12.0; p = .001) and left longer butts (36.3 mm or 40.2% of cigarette length vs. 34.3 mm or 39.2% of cigarette length; p = .01). These trends were similar in both African Americans and European Americans. The emissions of select toxins per cigarette, as determined by mimicking human smoking behaviors were greater among the male smokers than the female smokers and correlated significantly with delivered smoke volume per cigarette. The geometric means of emissions of nicotine from cigarettes were 1.92 mg/cigarette (95% CI = 1.80-2.05) for women versus 2.20 (95% CI = 2.04-2.37) for men (p = .005). Cigarettes smoked by women yielded 139.5 ng/cigarette of 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK; 95% CI = 128.8-151.0), compared with 170.3 ng/cigarette (95% CI = 156.3-185.6) for men (p = .0007); benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) emissions were 18.0 ng/cigarette (95% CI = 17.0-19.0) for women and 20.5 ng/cigarette (95% CI = 18.8-22.3) for men (p = .01). The gender differences with regard to cigarette smoke yields of toxins were more profound in European Americans than in African Americans. On average, African American men's smoking habits produced the highest emissions of select toxins from cigarettes, and European American female smokers had the lowest exposure to carcinogens and toxins. Several studies have suggested that women may be more susceptible than men to the ill effects of carcinogens in tobacco and tobacco smoke, whereas other studies have not found differences in lung cancer risk between men and women. The present study suggests that gender differences in exposure to tobacco smoke cannot account for a higher rate of lung cancer in female smokers compared with male smokers

The Farnesyltransferase β-Subunit Ram1 Regulates Sporisorium scitamineum Mating, Pathogenicity and Cell Wall Integrity

The basidiomycetous fungus Sporisorium scitamineum causes a serious sugarcane smut disease in major sugarcane growing areas. Sexual mating is essential for infection to the host; however, its underlying molecular mechanism has not been fully studied. In this study, we identified a conserved farnesyltransferase (FTase) β subunit Ram1 in S. scitamineum. The ram1Δ mutant displayed significantly reduced mating/filamentation, thus of weak pathogenicity to the host cane. The ram1Δ mutant sporidia showed more tolerant toward cell wall stressor Congo red compared to that of the wild-type. Transcriptional profiling showed that Congo red treatment resulted in notable up-regulation of the core genes involving in cell wall integrity pathway in ram1Δ sporidia compared with that of WT, indicating that Ram1 may be involved in cell wall integrity regulation. In yeast the heterodimeric FTase is responsible for post-translational modification of Ras (small G protein) and a-factor (pheromone). We also identified and characterized two conserved Ras proteins, Ras1 and Ras2, respectively, and a MAT-1 pheromone precursor Mfa1. The ras1Δ, ras2Δ and mfa1Δ mutants all displayed reduced mating/filamentation similar as the ram1Δ mutant. However, both ras1Δ and ras2Δ mutants were hypersensitive to Congo red while the mfa1Δ mutant was the same as wild-type. Overall our study displayed that RAM1 plays an essential role in S. scitamineum mating/filamentation, pathogenicity, and cell wall stability

Previous Radiotherapy Increases the Efficacy of IL-2 in Malignant Pleural Effusion: Potential Evidence of a Radio-Memory Effect?

Preclinical and clinical studies have shown that prior receipt of radiotherapy enhances antitumor immune responses, a phenomenon we call the “radio-memory effect.” However, all of the evidence regarding this effect to date comes from work with PD1/PDL1 inhibitors. Here we explored whether this effect also occurs with other forms of immune therapy, specifically interleukin-2 (IL-2). We retrospectively assessed outcomes in patients with malignant pleural effusion (MPE) who had previously received radiotherapy for non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) within 18 months before the intrapleural infusion of IL-2 or cisplatin. Radiotherapy sites included lungs, thoracic lymph nodes, and intracranial. All patients received intrapleural infusion of IL-2 or cisplatin, and most had had several cycles of standard chemotherapy for NSCLC. We identified 3,747 patients with MPE (median age 64 years [range 29–88)) treated at one of several institutions from August 2009 through February 2015; 642 patients had been treated with IL-2 and 1102 with cisplatin and had survived for at least 6 months afterward. Among those who received IL-2, 288 had no radiotherapy, 324 had extracranial (i.e., thoracic) radiotherapy, and 36 had intracranial radiotherapy. The median follow-up time for surviving patients was 38 months. Patients who had received extracranial radiotherapy followed by IL-2 had significantly longer PFS than patients who had not received extracranial radiotherapy (i.e., either no radiotherapy or intracranial radiotherapy). Patients who had received intracranial or extracranial radiotherapy followed by IL-2 had significantly longer OS than did other patients. No survival advantage was noted for prior radiotherapy among patients who received intrapleural cisplatin. We speculate that previous radiotherapy could enhance the efficacy of subsequent intrapleural infusion of IL-2, a “radio-memory” effect that could be beneficial in future studies

症例の予後改善のための,電子ビームCT,4列～320列CTを用いた循環器領域の新しい臨床診断学の開発への貢献

I went to the Stanford University Department of Radiology\u27s three-dimensional (3D) imaging laboratory from 1996 to 1999 to study a novel 3D image processing technique using electron beam computed tomography (CT). When I returned to Japan, I found that multi-slice CT had been available in daily practice since 1998. We have published a total of 152 peer-reviewed papers on diagnostic images in the field of cardiovascular disease. In 2003, when 16-slice CT was available for use in general hospitals, we successfully developed a prototype 256-slice cone-beam CT at the National Institute of Radiological Sciences. We produced several papers discussing the utilities of this prototype CT in both animal and phantom experiments, the concepts and ideas that were currently used for cardiac perfusion and myocardium characteristic study. In 2010, our paper was used as a reference in the American College of Cardiology Foundation Expert Consensus Guideline. The our current topics presented include coronary artery stenosis, coronary arterial plaques, the characteristics of the myocardium, the anatomy of structural and congenital heart disease, and the cardiac function, all using 16-320 slice CT with reduced radiation exposure in CT acquisition. Furthermore, we are now performing novel clinical CT studies combined magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography, and echocardiography. Using previous image data, we analyzed an epidemiology study using CT findings to predict the occurrence of major cardiovascular adverse events over long-term follow-up periods of more than 100 months (median), one of the longest follow-up periods documented in the literature. We also need to obtain accurate diagnoses for subjects with cardiac failure or fatal arrhythmia of unknown origin, allowing them to receive specific effective therapy for their possible cardiac amyloidosis, cardiac sarcoidosis, or Fabry\u27s disease. Of course, in all CT imaging techniques used for evaluation and monitoring of cardiovascular risk

Effect of Bi-B-Si-Zn-Al glass additive on the properties of low-temperature sintered silicon carbide ceramics

In this study, the performance of low-temperature sintered Bi-B-Si-Zn-Al glass/SiC composites by vacuum hot-press sintering between 700°C and 1000°C was investigated. The specimen had a relatively preferable density of 95.5% and thermal conductivity of 8.660 Wm−1K−1 after sintering at 900°C for 2 h. The dielectric constant and dielectric loss tangle of the composite were 32.9 and 0.57 at 20 GHz, respectively. The XRD analysis indicated the formation of Bi, Zn and ZnAl2O4 crystals, and the microstructure showed the low contact angle of the glass and SiC grain. Such low-temperature sintered SiC ceramic may have a promising application in the electronic field