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Artificial intelligence (AI) is already widely used in daily communication, but despite concerns about AI's negative effects on society the social consequences of using it to communicate remain largely unexplored. We investigate the social consequences of one of the most pervasive AI applications, algorithmic response suggestions ("smart replies"), which are used to send billions of messages each day. Two randomized experiments provide evidence that these types of algorithmic recommender systems change how people interact with and perceive one another in both pro-social and anti-social ways. We find that using algorithmic responses changes language and social relationships. More specifically, it increases communication speed, use of positive emotional language, and conversation partners evaluate each other as closer and more cooperative. However, consistent with common assumptions about the adverse effects of AI, people are evaluated more negatively if they are suspected to be using algorithmic responses. Thus, even though AI can increase the speed of communication and improve interpersonal perceptions, the prevailing anti-social connotations of AI undermine these potential benefits if used overtly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radiation therapy is the most effective cytotoxic therapy for localized tumors. However, normal tissue toxicity limits the radiation dose and the curative potential of radiation therapy when treating larger target volumes. In particular, the highly radiosensitive intestine limits the use of radiation for patients with intra-abdominal tumors. In metastatic ovarian cancer, total abdominal irradiation (TAI) was used as an effective postsurgical adjuvant therapy in the management of abdominal metastases. However, TAI fell out of favor due to high toxicity of the intestine. Here we utilized an innovative preclinical irradiation platform to compare the safety and efficacy of TAI ultra-high dose rate FLASH irradiation to conventional dose rate (CONV) irradiation in mice. We demonstrate that single high dose TAI-FLASH produced less mortality from gastrointestinal syndrome, spared gut function and epithelial integrity, and spared cell death in crypt base columnar cells compared to TAI-CONV irradiation. Importantly, TAI-FLASH and TAI-CONV irradiation had similar efficacy in reducing tumor burden while improving intestinal function in a preclinical model of ovarian cancer metastasis. These findings suggest that FLASH irradiation may be an effective strategy to enhance the therapeutic index of abdominal radiotherapy, with potential application to metastatic ovarian cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is a correction notice for an article titled "Artificial intelligence in communication impacts language and social relationships" published in Scientific Reports. The correction addresses the omission of the Funding section in the original article and provides the correct information, stating that the work was supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. CHS 1901151. The authors of the article are listed as Jess Hohenstein, Rene F. Kizilcec, Dominic DiFranzo, Zhila Aghajari, Hannah Mieczkowski, Karen Levy, Mor Naaman, Jeffrey Hancock, and Malte F. Jung. [Extracted from the article]

Objective: To compare aromatase inhibitors (AIs) with progestins as adjuvant hormonal therapy(AHT) for low-grade endometrial stromal sarcomas (LGESSs). Methods: We reviewed cases with LGESS at our institution from 1984 to 2017. Disease recurrence and recurrence-free survival (RFS) were assessed among patients who received AI, progestins, or no AHT. Results: Among 39 patients with LGESS, 18 received progestins, 13 received AI, and 8 received no AHT. Thirty patients had stage I disease, and 9 had stage II to IV disease. All underwent hysterectomies. Disease recurred in 70% (7/10) of stage I patients who received no AHT, compared to 14.3% (1/7) receiving AI, and 7.7% (1/13) receiving progestins (P ¼ .003). Among stage I patients taking AI, mean RFS was 153.1 months (95% confidence interval [CI]: 110-195.6) versus 306.2 months (95% CI: 259.7-352.6) for progestin patients and 90.8 months (95% CI: 56.8-124.9) for those who received no AHT. In stage II to IV patients, mean RFS was 148.5 months (95%CI: 148.5-148.5) and 120.8months (95%CI: 55.8-185.9) for the AI and progestin groups, respectively. All stage II to IV patients received AHT. Among stage I patients, median follow-up time for RFS was 159.1 months for progestin patients, 52.6 months for AI, and 53.1 months for those who received no AHT. Of this, 69% of stage I patients taking progestins reduced/stopped treatment prematurely due to side effects. None of the patients taking AI discontinued treatment early. Conclusion: Aromatase inhibitor is associated with longer RFS in patients with advanced LGESS, is better tolerated than progestins, and can be primary AHT for LGESS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Naegleria fowleri is a thermophilic free-living ameba found in freshwater environments worldwide. It is the cause of a rare but potentially fatal disease in humans known as primary amebic meningoencephalitis. Established N. fowleri detection methods rely on conventional culture techniques and morphological examination followed by molecular testing. Multiple alternative real-time PCR assays have been published for rapid detection of Naegleria spp. and N. fowleri. Foursuch assays were evaluated for the detection of N. fowleri from surface water and sediment. The assays were compared for thermodynamic stability, analytical sensitivity and specificity, detection limits, humic acid inhibition effects, and performance with seeded environmental matrices. Twenty-one ameba isolates were included in the DNA panel used for analytical sensitivity and specificity analyses. N. fowleri genotypes I and III were used for method performance testing. Two of the real-time PCR assays were determined to yield similar performance data for specificity and sensitivity for detecting N. fowleri in environmental matrices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The Vancouver Rapid Access (VARA) clinic aimed to deliver urgent palliative radiotherapy (RT) and holistic care to patients with newly diagnosed incurable lung cancer. The purpose of this paper is to describe the 9-month pilot phase of the clinic and to compare its efficacy to standard practice. Methods: A multidisciplinary team performed the initial consult, and if appropriate, the patient received RT the same day and was connected with supportive services as required. Patient and treatment details were prospectively collected. A retrospective chart review of similar patients in standard practice 1 year prior to VARA was performed. Variables compared between VARA and standard practice included RT wait times and supportive service referrals. Results: During the pilot phase, 58 patients were assessed. Forty percent were inpatients, and 62 % had an ECOG 2 or higher. Fifty-four patients received RT; the majority (72 %) received RT on the same day as their consultation, compared to 41 % in standard practice ( p < 0.001). The most common sites treated were the bone (42 %), lung (34 %), and brain (14 %). More than half of VARA patients (54 %) were referred to an additional health service such as home care nursing compared to 31 % of standard practice patients ( p = 0.01). The VARA clinic decreased the proportion of patients double-booked into an oncologists schedule from 23 to 13 % ( p < 0.001). Conclusions: The VARA clinic has improved wait times for palliative RT, increased patient access to supportive services, and improved the workload for lung radiation oncologists. This clinic could serve as a model for other patients with incurable cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Caregiving for patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) is associated with negative outcomes for the caregiver such as depression, anxiety, medical ill- ness, poorer general health and mortality, which further translate into ad- verse outcomes for the patient. The burden experienced by caregivers of AD patients, both professional and informal, has been found to be positively related to the presence and severity of the patients' neuropsychiatric symptoms, also referred to as the behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD). As such, management of BPSD may help in alleviating caregiver burden. The purpose of this review is to summarize the current literature on the effects of pharmacological interventions for BPSD on the burden of AD patient caregivers. A literature review was conducted, using keywords related to dementia, drug treatment, caregiving and BPSD. Studies were included if they were a randomized controlled trial of a currently mar- keted drug in AD patients, and included a measure of caregiver burden and BPSD. Twenty-four articles met the eligibility criteria for this review. Cognitive enhancers (cholinesterase inhibitors, memantine) were associated with de- creased caregiver burden in some studies, though it is unclear whether the improvements were related to changes in BPSD or cognition and function. Antipsychotics have been associated with decreased caregiver burden in some studies, though variability may be related to disease severity. Other drug treat- ments, including antidepressants, have also been shown to have inconsistent effects on caregiver burden. Besides the small number of clinical trials that included a measure of caregiver burden, there is large variability in the literature due to differing conceptualizations of caregiver burden and the lack of a re- cognized gold standard for caregiving burden assessment. It is therefore difficult to draw strong conclusions about whether the pharmacological management of BPSD relieves caregiver burden. Given the importance of caregiver burden and its negative consequences for the caregiver and the patient, future clinical trials should pay more attention to this crucial outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Shigella flexneri outer membrane protease IcsP proteolytically cleaves the actin-based motility protein IcsA from the bacterial surface. The icsP gene is monocistronic and lies downstream of an unusually large intergenic region on the Shigella virulence plasmid. In silico analysis of this region predicts a second transcription start site 84 bp upstream of the first. Primer extension analyses and beta-galactosidase assays demonstrate that both transcription start sites are used. Both promoters are regulated by the Shigella virulence gene regulator VirB and both respond similarly to conditions known to influence Shigella virulence gene expression (iron concentration, pH, osmotic pressure, and phase of growth). The newly identified promoter lies upstream of a Shine-Dalgarno sequence and second 5′-ATG-3′, which is in frame with the annotated icsP gene. The use of either translation start site leads to the production of IcsP capable of proteolytically cleaving IcsA. A bioinformatic scan of the Shigella genome reveals multiple occurrences of in-frame translation start sites associated with putative Shine-Dalgarno sequences, immediately upstream and downstream of annotated open reading frames. Taken together, our observations support the possibility that the use of in-frame translation start sites may generate different protein isoforms, thereby expanding the proteome encoded by bacterial genomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction of aquatic organisms to new ecosystems has led to massive alterations to the structure and function of natural ecosystems, and to extinction of native flora and fauna. The ecological impacts caused by exotic aquatic species worldwide have been widely recognized, but the past and potential human health impacts of these introductions have been largely ignored. This review identifies several modes by which introduced aquatic species negatively impact human health: a) the direct introduction of human pathogens and/or their hosts; b) the introduction of pathogens of species upon which humans depend; and c) structural and functional alterations of ecosystems that affect other aquatic species upon which humans depend. The literature review presented here focuses on the first of these modes, presenting examples of either pathogens or hosts of pathogens (or both) that are documented to have been introduced, and that either affect or have the potential to affect human health, and occur in aquatic environments. Documented or suspected cases of introduced species that have caused human health impacts include: a) introduced dinoflagellates, which cause the accumulation of human neurotoxins in shellfish; b) various species of freshwater snails hosting a variety of human disease organisms, includingSchistosoma mansoni(the cause of intestinal schistosomiasis), schistosomes that cause “swimmer’s itch” (cercarial dermatitis), the liver flukeFasciola hepatica, and others; c)Vibrio cholerae, the agent of infection of cholera disease; and d) introduced mitten crabs, which can carry a human lung fluke. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fluoroquinolone resistance can be conferred through chromosomal mutations or by the acquisition of plasmids carrying genes such as the quinolone resistance gene (qnr). In this study, 3,309 strains of commensal Escherichia coli were isolated in Ecuador from: (i) humans and chickens in a rural northern coastal area (n = 2368, 71.5%) and (ii) chickens from an industrial poultry operation (n = 827, 25%). In addition, 114 fluoroquinolone-resistant strains from patients with urinary tract infections who were treated at three urban hospitals in Quito, Ecuador were analyzed. All of the isolates were subjected to antibiotic susceptibility screening. Fluoroquinolone-resistant isolates (FRIs) were then screened for the presence of qnrB genes. A significantly higher phenotypic resistance to fluoroquinolones was determined in E. coli strains from chickens in both the rural area (22%) and the industrial operation (10%) than in strains isolated from humans in the rural communities (3%). However, the rates of qnrB genes in E. coli isolates from healthy humans in the rural communities (11 of 35 isolates, 31%) was higher than in chickens from either the industrial operations (3 of 81 isolates, 6%) or the rural communities (7 of 251 isolates, 2.8%). The occurrence of qnrB genes in human FRIs obtained from urban hospitals was low (1 of 114 isolates, 0.9%). These results suggested that the qnrB gene is more widely distributed in rural settings, where antibiotic usage is low, than in urban hospitals and industrial poultry operations. The role of qnrB in clinical resistance to fluoroquinolones is thus far unknown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]