Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Breast Cancer: The Perspective of Northern Nigerian Women

Background: The rising incidence of breast cancer is complicated by late presentation, which marks breast cancer diagnosis in Nigeria with about 70% of cases presenting at advanced stages of the disease. The aim of this study is to determine the general level of awareness of breast cancer, breast cancer risk factors, signs/symptoms as well as preventive measures nothern Nigerian women. It also aimed at determining their attitudes toward breast cancer cure, prevention and cause. Finally, it aims to determine their practices toward breast cancer and its associated factors. Methods: A cross-sectional community survey was used to study 230 women aged 15–60 years in Chikun Local Government Area. The subjects were selected based on nonprobability sampling. Data collected using self-administered questionnaire were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science students (version 16). Test of associations employed Chi-square statistical tool with the level of significance taken at 0.05. Results: About 75.2% knew about breast cancer with health facility (29.13%) being the greatest source of information. An average of 29.35% had knowledge of the risk factors tested. Mean knowledge of the signs and symptoms was 50.1% Average knowledge of breast cancer screening methods was 34.26% with breast self-examination (BSE) (46.1%) being the most recognized. In relation to perception, about 21.7% strongly agreed with the fact that breast cancer is treatable following early detection while 18.3% strongly agreed that screening is effective in detecting breast cancer. Concerning practice, an average of 10.2% practiced any of the screening methods, with BSE (17.4%) being the most practiced. Strongest reasons for nonpractice was ignorance (17.4%). An association was established between knowledge and practice of all the screening methods (P = 0.001 respectively). Conclusions: There is insufficient knowledge, as well as poor practices in relation to important factors associated with breast cancer prevalence.
An analysis of cardiac defects and surgical interventions in 84 cases with full trisomy 18

Trisomy 18 (Edwards syndrome) is the second most common autosomal trisomy after trisomy 21. Medical issues commonly include cardiac defects, such as ventricular septal defect (VSD) and atrial septal defect (ASD). If untreated, these conditions can contribute to the associated infant mortality. The objective of the study was review parent‐reported information on 84 cases with full trisomy 18 focusing on prenatal and postnatal assessment and confirmation of cardiac defects and on subsequent treatment with cardiac surgery and post‐surgery outcomes. At birth, 65 parent responses indicated the presence of VSD (77.4%), 38 ASD (45.2%), and 50 patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) (59.5%). The presence of multiple cardiac defects was also analyzed including 25 cases with VSD, ASD, and PDA at birth. The total reduced to 18 at survey completion. Twenty‐four cases had one or more cardiac defects repaired for a total of 34 corrective surgeries. Age at surgery varied from 2 weeks to 41 months of age with most performed under 1 year of age. Twenty‐one cases were still living at the time of survey completion (87.5%). From these date we provide recommendations and implications. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The Effect of Freeze-Thaw Cycles on Gene Expression Levels in Lymphoblastoid Cell Lines

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) transformed lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) are a widely used renewable resource for functional genomic studies in humans. The ability to accumulate multidimensional data pertaining to the same individual cell lines, from complete genomic sequences to detailed gene regulatory profiles, further enhances the utility of LCLs as a model system. However, the extent to which LCLs are a faithful model system is relatively unknown. We have previously shown that gene expression profiles of newly established LCLs maintain a strong individual component. Here, we extend our study to investigate the effect of freeze-thaw cycles on gene expression patterns in mature LCLs, especially in the context of inter-individual variation in gene expression. We report a profound difference in the gene expression profiles of newly established and mature LCLs. Once newly established LCLs undergo a freeze-thaw cycle, the individual specific gene expression signatures become much less pronounced as the gene expression levels in LCLs from different individuals converge to a more uniform profile, which reflects a mature transformed B cell phenotype. We found that previously identified eQTLs are enriched among the relatively few genes whose regulations in mature LCLs maintain marked individual signatures. We thus conclude that while insight drawn from gene regulatory studies in mature LCLs may generally not be affected by the artificial nature of the LCL model system, many aspects of primary B cell biology cannot be observed and studied in mature LCL cultures.
Improvement of the mechanical and flame-retardant properties of polyetherimide membranes modified with Graphene oxide

ABSTRACT Polyetherimide (PEI) membranes doped with different amounts (1–5 wt.%) of Graphene Oxide (GO) were prepared through a solution casting method. The effect of the Graphene Oxide incorporation on mechanical and flame-retardant properties was investigated by XDR, FTIR and SEM analyses. Results showed that the addition of 5 wt. % of GO into the membranes caused a 30% of improvement in the tensile strength and a significant increase in the glass transition temperature. Flame-retardant properties were improved when the amount of Graphene Oxide into PEI membrane was increased. These improvements in the membrane composites expand its application for aerospace and building industries. Graphical Abstract
Factors Associated With Nonresponse to a Computer-Tailored Asthma Management Program for Urban Adolescents With Asthma

Background. The ability to identify potentially resistant participants early in the course of an intervention could inform development of strategies for behavior change and improve program effectiveness. Objective. The objective of this analysis was to identify factors related to nonresponse (i.e., lack of behavior change) to an asthma management intervention for urban teenagers. The intervention targeted several behaviors, including medication adherence, having a rescue inhaler nearby, and smoking. Methods. A discriminate analysis was conducted using data from a randomized trial of the intervention. Included in this analysis are participants who reported a physician diagnosis of asthma, completed a baseline questionnaire, were randomized to the treatment group, completed ≥2 of 4 educational sessions, and completed ≥2 of 3 follow-up questionnaires. Ninety students met criteria for inclusion in this subgroup analysis. Results. In logistic regression models for medication adherence, nonresponse was related to low baseline asthma self-regulation, odds ratio = 3.6 (95% confidence interval = 1.3–9.5). In models for having an inhaler nearby, nonresponse was related to low baseline self-regulation and to rebelliousness, OR = 4.7 (1.6–13.2) and 5.6 (1.7–18.0), respectively. Nonresponse to smoking messages was related to rebelliousness, low emotional support, and low religiosity, ORs = 7.6 (1.8–32.3), 9.5 (1.4–63.5), and 6.6 (1.5–29.8) respectively. Conclusions. Certain variables had the ability to discriminate the likelihood of response from that of nonresponse to an asthma program for urban, African American adolescents with asthma. These variables can be used to identify resistant subgroups early in the intervention, allowing the application of specialized strategies through tailoring. These types of analyses can inform behavioral interventions.
Intermediate hepatobiliary cells predict an increased risk of hepatocarcinogenesis in patients with hepatitis C virus-related cirrhosis.

BACKGROUND & AIMS The expression of biliary lineage markers such as cytokeratin (K) 7 by hepatocytes is thought to reflect an altered regeneration pathway recruiting a stem cell compartment, more prone to carcinogenesis. We aimed to investigate the presence of these so-called intermediate hepatobiliary cells (IHC) in liver biopsies of patients with hepatitis C-related cirrhosis and their potential influence on the subsequent occurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS From a cohort of patients with hepatitis C-related cirrhosis, prospectively screened for HCC, we retrospectively selected those with a liver biopsy performed for the initial diagnosis of cirrhosis. Presence of IHC was recorded when foci of K7-positive, intermediate-sized hepatocytes were detected. RESULTS A total of 150 patients were included (87 men; mean age, 57 y; range, 19-84 y; body mass index, 25 kg/m(2)). After a median follow-up period of 4.85 years, HCC was diagnosed in 36 patients (24%). Baseline liver biopsy showed intermediate hepatobiliary cell foci in 61 patients (41%). Intermediate cells co-expressed both hepatocytes markers and the progenitor cell markers Ep-CAM and K19. The presence of intermediate hepatobiliary cells was associated independently with HCC occurrence (Fine and Gray model; hazard ratio, 2.48; 95% confidence interval, 1.24-4.96; P = .01). Other predictors of HCC were diabetes and low platelet count. The HCC annual incidence rate was significantly higher in patients with IHC compared with patients without (8.14% vs 3.12%, Gray's test, P = .003). CONCLUSIONS The aberrant expression of biliary K by hepatocytes in patients with hepatitis C virus-related cirrhosis is related independently to HCC occurrence.
Development of an HPLC method for the radiochemical purity evaluation of [18F]fluoroestradiol

18F-Fluoroestradiol ([18F]FES), an estrogen analog, is a radiopharmaceutical used in Positron Emission Tomography (PET) that allows evaluating the tumor cell receptor profile and the best therapy strategy, the staging, the prognosis and the response to therapy in several breast cancer cases. As there is not any pharmacopoeia’s monograph of [18F]FES to standardize its quality control criteria, this work presents a new HPLC’s method to perform the [18F]FES radiochemical purity. A liquid chromatograph was used with radioactivity and ultraviolet detectors. Three concentrations of fluoroestradiol standard solution were used along the test. Their retention time was compared to its relative radiolabelled analogue to confirm its identity. Several mobile phases with acetonitrile and two mobile phase flows were tested to optimize the runs. Peaks symmetry, retention time, theoretical plates and resolution were analyzed to choose the best conditions. The mean retention time of both standard Fluoroestradiol and [18F]FES solutions were the same, demonstrating that [18F]FES formulation did not interfere with [18F]FES analysis. The best conditions were 1.2 mL/min and isocratic 40% V/V acetonitrile in water, which gave [18F]FES peak resolution greater than 6 and symmetry factor of 1. Thus, the developed method is ready to be validated and implemented in [18F]FES quality control routine in CDTN/Brazil.
Role of ErbB Receptors in Cancer Cell Migration and Invasion

Growth factors mediate their diverse biologic responses (regulation of cellular proliferation, differentiation, migration and survival) by binding to and activating cell-surface receptors with intrinsic protein kinase activity named receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs). About 60 RTKs have been identified and can be classified into more than 16 different receptor families. Their activity is normally tightly controlled and regulated. Overexpression of RTK proteins or functional alterations caused by mutations in the corresponding genes or abnormal stimulation by autocrine growth factor loops contribute to constitutive RTK signaling, resulting in alterations in the physiological activities of cells. The ErbB receptor family of RTKs comprises four distinct receptors: the EGFR (also known as ErbB1/HER1), ErbB2 (neu, HER2), ErbB3 (HER3) and ErbB4 (HER4). ErbB family members are often overexpressed, amplified, or mutated in many forms of cancer, making them important therapeutic targets. EGFR has been found to be amplified in gliomas and non-small-cell lung carcinoma while ErbB2 amplifications are seen in breast, ovarian, bladder, non-small-cell lung carcinoma, as well as several other tumor types. Several data have shown that ErbB receptor family and its downstream pathway regulate epithelial-mesenchymal transition, migration, and tumor invasion by modulating extracellular matrix (ECM) components. Recent findings indicate that ECM components such as matrikines bind specifically to EGF receptor and promote cell invasion. In this review, we will present an in-depth overview of the structure, mechanisms, cell signaling, and functions of ErbB family receptors in cell adhesion and migration. Furthermore, we will describe in a last part the new strategies developed in anti-cancer therapy to inhibit ErbB family receptor activation.
Prevalence and Description of Palliative Care in US Nursing Homes

Objective: To describe rates and policies in U.S. Nursing Homes (NH) related to palliative care, comfort care, and hospice care based on a nationwide survey of directors of nursing. Measurements: A national survey was distributed online and was completed by 316 directors of nursing of NHs (11% response rate). The directors of nursing were asked about availability and policies in their facilities. Specifically, questions were related to policies, referral patterns, discussion about such care, and types of medical conditions qualifying for such services. Results: Hospice is significantly more available than palliative or comfort care programs; also, for-profit facilities, compared to non-profits, are significantly more likely to have palliative care programs and medical directors for palliative care. Social workers and nurses were most likely to suggest palliative type programs. Only 42% of facilities with palliative program provide consultation by a palliative certified physician. Residents with non-healing pressure ulcers, frequent hospitalizations, or severe/uncontrolled pain or non-pain symptoms were less likely to be referred. Conclusions: There is limited availability of palliative type programs in NH facilities and underutilization in those NH with programs.
Fiber Design For High-Power Low-Cost Yb:Al-Doped Fiber Laser Operating at 980 nm

We investigated an Yb:Al-doped depressed-clad hollow optical fiber (DCHOF) for cladding-pumped 980-nm laser operation. With a careful design, the nonzero fundamental-mode cutoff characteristics of a DCHOF allows the competing 1030- 1060 nm emission to be filtered out, despite being quite close to 980 nm. The laser yielded over 3 W of output power in a diffraction limited beam (M2~1.09) from a DCHOF with an inner-cladding diameter of 120 mum. This is large enough for pumping with standard fiber-coupled multimode diode sources. By reducing the inner-cladding size to 90 mum, and hence, lowering the 980-nm threshold, the output power was scaled up to 7.5 W. However, we believe that the M2-parameter degrades to 2.7, as a result of increased cladding-mode lasing, as the cladding thickness is reduced.
`Blood-doping' effects on hematocrit regulation and oxygen consumption in late-stage chicken embryos (Gallus gallus)

SUMMARY The extent to which hematocrit (Hct) is regulated and the impact of altered Hct on blood oxygen transport in avian embryos are largely unknown. Consequently, we investigated how acute blood removal or Ringer solution injection modified Hct in day 15 embryos, and how `blood doping' with erythrocyte-enriched whole blood influenced O2 consumption in day 15–17 chicken embryos. Mean Hct (±s.e.m.) at day 15, 16 and 17 was 26.7±0.6%, 28.0±0.4% and 30.7±0.5%, respectively. Blood withdrawal (19 increments of 125 μl each, separated by 30 min) caused a progressive fall in Hct to ∼12% at day 15. Hct decline was strictly proportional to the extent of blood withdrawal. Incremental Ringer solution injection over an 8 h period, transiently increasing blood volume up to 85% over initial values, did not decrease Hct, indicating that injected Ringer solution rapidly left the circulating blood compartment. Blood doping with erythrocyte-enriched whole blood artificially elevated Hct from 27% to 38%, but caused no significant change in routine O2 consumption (0.35–0.39 ml O2 min–1 egg–1) at any point over the subsequent 6 h period in day 15–17 embryos. We conclude that Hct is not protected acutely in day 15 chicken embryos, with no evidence of erythrocyte sequestration or release. Additionally, at day 15–17, Hct increases of ∼10% do not enhance embryonic oxygen consumption, suggesting that blood oxygen carrying capacity per se is not limiting to oxygen consumption.
Azacytidine (Vidaza®) in the treatment of myelodysplastic syndromes

The myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are a heterogeneous group of disorders that manifest as bone marrow failure with the risk of life threatening infections and bleeding. A third of these patients may transform to acute leukemia. Age and co-morbidities have limited treatment in the majority to supportive care with a minority of patients eligible for the only curative modality to date, allogeneic stem cell transplantation. The advent of targeted therapy has increased the repertoire of therapeutic options. In particular the methyl transferase inhibitor 5 Azacytidine, that targets epigenetic changes in MDS, has been shown to be effective in up to 60% of patients in a Phase III randomized controlled trial comparing it with best supportive care and has been licensed by the US Food and Drug Administration for use in all subtypes of MDS. It has been shown to prolong time to leukemic transformation (21 vs 12 months with 3% transforming to leukemia p=0.0001) and is the only disease-modifying drug. Patients with monosomy 7, trisomy 8, and diploid chromosomes appear to particularly benefit with the former deriving sustained remissions. As an outpatient therapy, with an acceptable side effect profile, treatment with Azacytidine needs to be considered in all MDS patients who are eligible for treatment.
The PERMIS X.509 role based privilege management infrastructure

This paper describes the output of the PERMIS project, which has developed a role based access control infrastructure that uses X.509 attribute certificates (ACs) to store the users' roles. All access control decisions are driven by an authorization policy, which is itself stored in an X.509 attribute certificate, thus guaranteeing its integrity. All the ACs can be stored in one or more LDAP directories, thus making them widely available. Authorization policies are written in XML according to a DTD that has been published at XML.org. The Access Control Decision Function (ADF) is written in Java and the Java API is simple to use, comprising of just 3 methods and a constructor. There is also a Privilege Allocator, which is a tool that constructs and signs attribute certificates and stores them in an LDAP directory for subsequent use by the ADF.
CCD photometric search for peculiar stars in open clusters. VII. Berkeley 11, Berkeley 94, Haffner 1

Aims. The detection of magnetic chemically peculiar (CP2) stars in open clusters of the Milky Way can be used to study the influence of different galactic environments on the (non-)presence of peculiarities, which has to be taken into account in stellar evolution models. Furthermore it is still unknown if the CP2 phenomenon evolves, i.e. does the strength of the peculiarity feature at 5200 A increase or decrease with age. Methods. We have observed eight young to intermediate age open clusters in the ∆a photometric system. This intermediate band photometric system samples the depth of the 5200 A flux depression by comparing the flux at the center with the adjacent regions having bandwidths of 110 A to 230 A. The ∆a photometric system is most suitable to detect CP2 stars with high efficiency, but is also capable of detecting a small percentage of non-magnetic CP objects. Also, the groups of (metal-weak) λ Bootis, as well as classical Be/shell stars, can be successfully investigated. This photometric system allows one to determine the age, reddening and distance modulus by fitting isochrones. Results. Among the presented sample of eight galactic clusters, we have detected twenty three CP2, eight Be/Ae and eight metalweak stars. Another six objects show a peculiar behaviour which is most probably due to a non-membership, variability or duplicity. Fitting isochrones to ∆a photometry yields estimates of the age, reddening and distance that are in excellent agreement with published values.
Simulating activities of daily living with finite element analysis improves fracture prediction for patients with metastatic femoral lesions

Predicting fracture risk for patients with metastatic femoral lesions remains an important clinical problem. Mirels' criterion remains the most formalized radiographic scoring system with good sensitivity (correctly identifying clinical fractures) but relatively poor specificity (correctly identify cases that do not fracture). A series of patients with metastatic femoral lesions had Computed Tomography (CT) scans, were followed prospectively for 4 months, and categorized into fracture (n = 5), non‐fracture (n = 28), or stabilized (n = 11) groups. CT based‐Finite Element (FE) modeling was used to predict fracture for these cases using axial compression (AC), level walking (LW), and aggressive stair ascent (ASA) loading conditions. The FE predicted fracture force was greater for the non‐fracture compared to the fracture group for all loading cases. The ability of the FE models to predict fracture cases (sensitivity) was similar for the groups (Mirels, AC, LW: 80%, ASA: 100%). The ability of the models to correctly predict the non‐fracture cases (specificity) was improved for AC (71%) and LW (86%) loading conditions, when compared to Mirels specificity (43%), but poorer for the ASA (21%) conditions. The results suggest that FE models that assess fracture risk using LW conditions can improve fracture prediction over Mirels scoring in a clinical population. © 2015 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 33:1226–1234, 2015.
Clinical features of neuromyelitis optica in children

Objective: To compare clinical features of pediatric neuromyelitis optica (NMO) to other pediatric demyelinating diseases. Methods: Review of a prospective multicenter database on children with demyelinating diseases. Case summaries documenting clinical and laboratory features were reviewed by an adjudication panel. Diagnoses were assigned in the following categories: multiple sclerosis (MS), acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, NMO, and recurrent demyelinating disease not otherwise specified. Results: Thirty-eight cases of NMO were identified by review panel, 97% of which met the revised International Panel on NMO Diagnosis NMO-SD 2014 criteria, but only 49% met 2006 Wingerchuk criteria. Serum or CSF NMO immunoglobulin G (IgG) was positive in 65% of NMO cases that were tested; however, some patients became seropositive more than 3 years after onset despite serial testing. No patient had positive CSF NMO IgG and negative serum NMO IgG in contemporaneous samples. Other than race (p = 0.02) and borderline findings for sex (p = 0.07), NMO IgG seropositive patients did not differ in demographic, clinical, or laboratory features from seronegatives. Visual, motor, and constitutional symptoms (including vomiting, fever, and seizures) were the most common presenting features of NMO. Initiation of disease-modifying treatment was delayed in NMO vs MS. Two years after onset, patients with NMO had higher attack rates, greater disability accrual measured by overall Expanded Disability Status Scale score, and visual scores than did patients with MS. Conclusion: The new criteria for NMO spectrum disorders apply well to the pediatric setting, and given significant delay in treatment of NMO compared to pediatric MS and worse short-term outcomes, it is imperative to apply these to improve access to treatment.