Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
High -density lipoprotein cholesterol as a predictor for diabetes mellitus

Background: Diabetes is a prevalent chronic disease around the world. To evaluate the risk of diabetes comprehensively, we developed a score model for risk prediction with HDL-C as a protective factor. Methods: We extracted physical examination data of 2728 individuals. The data contain 18 demographic and clinical variables. To identify the statistical significant feature variables, the backward stepwise logistic regression was used based on the data of the “exploratory population”. To ascertain the cutoff value of the selected variables, we used the Youden index. Then we assigned each variable level a score according to the estimated regression model coefficients and then calculated the individual’s total score. We gained the cutoff value for the total score through the Youden Index and stratified the total score into four levels. We employed the data of “validation population” to test the performance of the score model based on the area under the ROC curve. Results: Age, LDL-C, HDL-C, BMI, family history of diabetes, diastolic blood pressure and TCHO were selected as statistically significant variables. The diabetes risk score range varied from 0 to 17. The risk level categorized by the total score was low, middle, high and extremely high, with a score range of 0-2, 3-7, 8-12 and 13-17, respectively. Conclusions: The score model based on physical examination data is an efficient and valuable tool to evaluate and monitor the potential diabetes risk for both healthy and unhealthy people at an individual level.
Macrophages induce “budding” in aggressive human colon cancer subtypes by protease-mediated disruption of tight junctions

Primary human colorectal tumors with a high stromal content have an increased capacity to metastasize. Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) promote metastasis, but the contribution of other stromal cell types is unclear. Here we searched for additional stromal cell types that contribute to aggressive tumor cell behavior. By making use of the ‘immunome compendium’—a collection of gene signatures reflecting the presence of specific immune cell-types—we show that macrophage signatures are most strongly associated with a high CAF content and with poor prognosis in multiple large cohorts of primary tumors and liver metastases. Co-culturing macrophages with patient-derived colonospheres promoted ‘budding’ of small clusters of tumor cells from the bulk. Immunohistochemistry showed that budding tumor clusters in stroma-rich areas of T1 colorectal carcinomas were surrounded by macrophages. In vitro budding was accompanied by reduced levels of the tight junction protein occludin, but OCLN mRNA levels did not change, nor did markers of epithelial mesenchymal transition. Budding was accompanied by nuclear accumulation of β-catenin, which was also observed in budding tumor cell clusters in situ. The NFκB inhibitor Sanguinarine resulted in a decrease in MMP7 protein expression and both NFκB inhibitor Sanguinarine and MMP inhibitor Batimastat prevented occludin degradation and budding. We conclude that macrophages contribute to the aggressive nature of stroma-rich colon tumors by promoting an MMP-dependent pathway that operates in parallel to classical EMT and leads to tight junction disruption.
Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: Innovative Training Approach for Nurse-Midwives in High Prevalent Settings

Background Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) has no medical benefits and is associated with serious health complications. FGM/C including medicalization is illegal in Kenya. Capacity building for nurse-midwives to manage and prevent FGM/C is therefore critical. Objective Determine the current FGM/C knowledge and effect of training among nurse-midwives using an electronic tool derived from a paper-based quiz on FGM/C among nurse-midwives. Methods Nurse-midwives (n=26) were assessed pre- and post-FGM/C training using a quiz comprising 12 questions. The quiz assessed the following factors: definition, classification, determining factors, epidemiology, medicalization, prevention, health consequences, and nurse-midwives' roles in FGM/C prevention themes. The scores for individuals and all the questions were computed and compared using SPSS V22. Results The mean scores for the quiz were 64.8%, improving to 96.2% p < 0.05 after training. Before the training, the following proportions of participants correctly answered questions demonstrating their knowledge of types of cutting (84.6%), link with health problems (96.2%), FGM/C-related complications (96.2%), communities that practice FGM/C (61.5%), medicalization (43.6%), reinfibulation (46.2%), dissociation from religion (46.2%), and the law as it relates to FGM/C (46.2%). The participants demonstrated knowledge of FGM/C-related complications with the proportion of nurse-midwives correctly answering questions relating to physical impact (69.2%), psychological impact (69.2%), sexual impact (57.7%), and social impact (38.5%). Additionally, participant awareness of NM roles in managing FGM/C included the following: knowledge of the nurse-midwife as counselor (69.2%), advocate (80.8%), leader (26.9%), role model (42.3%), and caregiver (34.6%). These scores improved significantly after training. Conclusion Substantial FGM/C-related knowledge was demonstrated by nurse-midwives. They, however, showed challenges in preventing/rejecting medicalization of FGM/C, and there were knowledge gaps concerning sexual and social complications, as well as the specific roles of NM. This underscores the need to implement innovative FGM/C training interventions to empower health professionals to better respond to its management and prevention.
Electrically conductive polymers and composites for biomedical applications

Electrically conductive polymeric materials have recently attracted considerable interest from academic and industrial researchers to explore their potential in biomedical applications such as in biosensors, drug delivery systems, biomedical implants and tissue engineering. Conventional conductive homopolymers such as polypyrrole and PEDOT show promising conductivity for these applications, however their mechanical properties, biocompatibility and processability are often poor. This has led to more recent attention being directed towards conductive polymeric composites comprised of biostable/biocompatible polymers with dispersed conductive fillers such as graphene, carbon nanotubes and metallic nanoparticles. The major objective of this paper is to provide an up to date review of the recent investigations conducted in the development of conductive polymer composites focussing on the methods of their preparation, underlying concepts of their conductivity and the ways to tailor their properties. Furthermore, recent progress made in conventional conducting polymers and their composites/blends for biomedical applications is also discussed.
The Effect of Acute and Intensive Exposure to Particulate Matter on Birth Outcomes in Montevideo

This study explores the impact of air pollution on adverse birth outcomes. The study focuses on the effect of breathable particulate matter with diameter of 10 micrometers or less (PM10) on the likelihood of premature birth and low birth weight (LBW). The study exploits the fact that in 2011 the ashes and dust resulting from the eruption of the Puyehue volcano in Chile substantially increased exposure to PM10 in Montevideo, Uruguay. Using prenatal and birth data from the Perinatal Information System for 2010-2012, it is found that increases in quarterly averages of PM10 concentrations beyond 50 µg/m3 decrease birth weight and increase the likelihood of LBW and prematurity at increasing rates. The results also suggest that the effect of PM10 on birth weight works mainly through a higher likelihood of prematurity, rather than through intrauterine growth retardation. The effects increase with each trimester of pregnancy: exposure during the third trimester is the most dangerous.
Phylogenetic Placement of Exact Amplicon Sequences Improves Associations with Clinical Information

The move from OTU-based to sOTU-based analysis, while providing additional resolution, also introduces computational challenges. We demonstrate that one popular method of dealing with sOTUs (building a de novo tree from the short sequences) can provide incorrect results in human gut metagenomic studies and show that phylogenetic placement of the new sequences with SEPP resolves this problem while also yielding other benefits over existing methods. ABSTRACT Recent algorithmic advances in amplicon-based microbiome studies enable the inference of exact amplicon sequence fragments. These new methods enable the investigation of sub-operational taxonomic units (sOTU) by removing erroneous sequences. However, short (e.g., 150-nucleotide [nt]) DNA sequence fragments do not contain sufficient phylogenetic signal to reproduce a reasonable tree, introducing a barrier in the utilization of critical phylogenetically aware metrics such as Faith’s PD or UniFrac. Although fragment insertion methods do exist, those methods have not been tested for sOTUs from high-throughput amplicon studies in insertions against a broad reference phylogeny. We benchmarked the SATé-enabled phylogenetic placement (SEPP) technique explicitly against 16S V4 sequence fragments and showed that it outperforms the conceptually problematic but often-used practice of reconstructing de novo phylogenies. In addition, we provide a BSD-licensed QIIME2 plugin (https://github.com/biocore/q2-fragment-insertion) for SEPP and integration into the microbial study management platform QIITA. IMPORTANCE The move from OTU-based to sOTU-based analysis, while providing additional resolution, also introduces computational challenges. We demonstrate that one popular method of dealing with sOTUs (building a de novo tree from the short sequences) can provide incorrect results in human gut metagenomic studies and show that phylogenetic placement of the new sequences with SEPP resolves this problem while also yielding other benefits over existing methods.
The effect of using games in teaching conservation

Games are an increasingly popular approach for conservation teaching. However, we know little about the effectiveness of the games on students’ experiences and knowledge acquisition. Many current games are supplemental games (SG) that have no meaningful interaction with the subject matter. We adapted the experiential gaming (EG) model where students were immersed in goal-orientated tasks found in real-life situations, and they tackled questions to complete actions for their main task. Classroom-based games were created for eight different conservation topics for an annual Wildlife Conservation Course and an annual Diploma in International Wildlife Conservation Practice. Data were collected over two cycles, a total sample size of 55 multinational students. We used a combination of repeated-measures design and counterbalanced measures design; each student was subjected at least twice to each of the EG and didactic instruction (DI) treatments, and at least once to the SG approach. We compared students’ perception, learning and behavioural responses to the treatments, including measures of student personality types and learning styles as explanatory variables. Findings revealed multiple benefits of the classroom EG compared to the DI approach, such as increased attention retention, increased engagement and added intrinsic motivation. The improved level of intrinsic motivation was mainly facilitated by increased social bonding between participants. Further, we show that this EG approach appeals to a wide range of learning styles and personalities. The performance of SG was generally intermediate between that of EG and DI. We propose EG as a beneficial complement to traditional classroom teaching and current gamified classes for conservation education.
The Effectiveness of Instance Normalization: a Strong Baseline for Single Image Dehazing

We propose a novel deep neural network architecture for the challenging problem of single image dehazing, which aims to recover the clear image from a degraded hazy image. Instead of relying on hand-crafted image priors or explicitly estimating the components of the widely used atmospheric scattering model, our end-to-end system directly generates the clear image from an input hazy image. The proposed network has an encoder-decoder architecture with skip connections and instance normalization. We adopt the convolutional layers of the pre-trained VGG network as encoder to exploit the representation power of deep features, and demonstrate the effectiveness of instance normalization for image dehazing. Our simple yet effective network outperforms the state-of-the-art methods by a large margin on the benchmark datasets.
Lipids and pathogenic flaviviruses: An intimate union

The viral replication cycle presents viruses with a series of logistical challenges: To be successful, the virus must synthesize new copies of its genetic material, induce the cell to translate its genome into protein, and coordinate the host and viral factors required to assemble new virus particles. Much of this occurs at intracellular membranes, and lipid bilayers are expected to both play a central role in organizing the molecular machinery required for each stage of virion biogenesis and provide a structural foundation for particle assembly. These functions are prominently exploited by viruses with single-strand, positive-sense RNA genomes, which dramatically remodel intracellular membranes to form specialized replication complexes (RC) in the cytoplasm of infected cells [1]. While the architectural features of RC membranes have been extensively studied, the emerging discipline of lipidomics has yielded new insight into the ways in which positive-strand RNA viruses modulate host lipid metabolism to create lipid environments favorable to RC formation and viral replication.
Determination Of Sex By Hand Dimensions

The aim of our physical anthropometric study was to determine sex (male/female) by hand dimensions. Two hundred and fifty students (125 males and 125 females) of the age above 18 years were examined in the year 2005. The average hand length and breadth were found to be about 1cm greater in males as compared to females. The hand index was calculated and has been used for the determination of sex. To conclude, the hand index more than 44 is suggestive of male and less than 44 is that of female.
Applying the Criminal Narrative Experience Framework to Young Offenders

The present study applied the Criminal Narrative Experience for the first time with young offenders (N = 23). The analysis was based on young people serving a community sentence and attending a Youth Offending Team. Participants completed questionnaires relating to their roles and emotions during a typical offence and data were examined with Smallest Space Analysis (SSA) to identify if the themes were replicated. Three themes were identified: Calm Professional, Elated Hero, and a combined theme of Distressed Revenger and Depressed Victim. Correlation indicated links between Narrative Experience and static and dynamic risk factors. Findings suggest that the Calm Professional theme correlates with Neighbourhood risk factors, the Elated Hero with Attitudes to Offending, and the Distressed Revenger/Depressed Victim theme with Living Arrangements and Family and Personal Relationships. Potential reasons for identifying three rather than four themes with this sample are discussed. Implications of findings in preventing reoffending are highlighted.
Induction of NLRP3 Inflammasome Activation by Heme in Human Endothelial Cells

Hemolytic or hemorrhagic episodes are often associated with inflammation even when infectious agents are absent suggesting that red blood cells (RBCs) release damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs). DAMPs activate immune and nonimmune cells through pattern recognition receptors. Heme, released from RBCs, is a DAMP and induces IL-1β production through the activation of the nucleotide-binding domain and leucine-rich repeat-containing family and pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) in macrophages; however, other cellular targets of heme-mediated inflammasome activation were not investigated. Because of their location, endothelial cells can be largely exposed to RBC-derived DAMPs; therefore, we investigated whether heme and other hemoglobin- (Hb-) derived species induce NLRP3 inflammasome activation in these cells. We found that heme upregulated NLRP3 expression and induced active IL-1β production in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). LPS priming largely amplified the heme-mediated production of IL-1β. Heme administration into C57BL/6 mice induced caspase-1 activation and cleavage of IL-1β which was not observed in NLRP3−/− mice. Unfettered production of reactive oxygen species played a critical role in heme-mediated NLRP3 activation. Activation of NLRP3 by heme required structural integrity of the heme molecule, as neither protoporphyrin IX nor iron-induced IL-1β production. Neither naive nor oxidized forms of Hb were able to induce IL-1β production in HUVECs. Our results identified endothelial cells as a target of heme-mediated NLRP3 activation that can contribute to the inflammation triggered by sterile hemolysis. Thus, understanding the characteristics and cellular counterparts of RBC-derived DAMPs might allow us to identify new therapeutic targets for hemolytic diseases.
Statin use and survival in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer treated with abiraterone or enzalutamide after docetaxel failure: the international retrospective observational STABEN study

Background Statins may potentiate the effects of anti-hormonal agents for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) through further disruption of essential steroidogenic processes. We investigated the effects of statin use on clinical outcomes in patients with mCRPC receiving abiraterone or enzalutamide. Materials and methods This was a retrospective multicenter study including patients that received abiraterone or enzalutamide for mCRPC. The effect of concurrent statin use on outcomes was evaluated. The associations of statins with early (≤12 weeks) prostate-specific antigen (PSA) declines (> 30%), cancer-specific survival and overall survival (OS) were evaluated after controlling for known prognostic factors. Results Five hundred and ninety-eight patients treated with second-line abiraterone or enzalutamide after docetaxel for mCRPC were included. A total of 199 men (33.3%) received statins during abiraterone/enzalutamide treatment. Median OS was 20.8 months (95% CI = 18.3–23.2) for patients who received statins, versus 12.9 months (95% CI = 11.4–14.6) for patients who did not receive statins (P < 0.001). After adjusting for age, alkaline phosphatase, PSA, neutrophil-to-lymphocytes ratio, Charlson comorbidity score, Gleason score, visceral disease, hemoglobin, opiate use and abiraterone versus enzalutamide treatment, the use of statin therapy was associated with a 53% reduction in the overall risk of death (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.47; 95% CI = 0.35–0.63; P < 0.001). Statin use was also associated with a 63% increased odds of a > 30% PSA decline within the first 12 weeks of treatment (OR = 1.63; 95% CI = 1.03–2.60; P = 0.039). Conclusions In this retrospective cohort, statin use was significantly associated with both prolonged OS and cancer-specific survival and increased early > 30% PSA declines. Prospective validation is warranted.
Exploring ethnic inequalities in health: evidence from the Health Survey for England, 1998-2011

Issues of social justice and social and spatial inequalities in health have long been researched, yet there is a relative paucity of research on ethnic inequalities in health. Given the increasing ethnic diversity of England's population and the persistence of unjust differences in health this research is timely. We used annual data from the Health Survey for England between 1998 and 2011, combined into a time-series dataset, to examine the influence of socioeconomic and spatial factors on ethnic variations in health and to explore whether inequalities have changed over time. Our analysis reveals that ethnic differences in health are largely rooted in socioeconomic or spatial difference, although variations by health outcome are observed. This work builds on existing literature which looks to socioeconomic and spatial difference for explanations of ethnic inequalities in health, rather than any supposed inherent underlying risk of poor health for minority ethnic groups.
Tortillas, Pizza, and Broccoli

Abstract Marked dietary changes are occurring nationwide in Mexico, yet these manifest differently among distinct socioeconomic status (SES) groups. This article examines several complex relationships among: SES; food preferences, norms, and aspirations; and actual dietary practices in a Mexican city. Drawing on data from an in-depth ethnographic study conducted in Mazatlán, Sinaloa, this study takes a multidimensional qualitative approach in order to gain a more nuanced understanding of contemporary dietary changes and nutritional health disparities. Very few studies distinguish actual dietary behaviors from food preferences, interrogate disjunctures between dietary patterns and aspirations, or investigate tensions between normative and temptation food preferences. This work advances the literature by bringing together insights from Bourdieu’s theory of habitus, (critical) consumer demand theory, and Popkin’s theory of nutrition transitions to shed light on how SES not only shapes food consumption patterns but also the diets that people aspire to consume in a developing-country setting. The study finds that food practices and preferences are driven by economic constraints but also different kinds of socially structured exposures, access, beliefs, and norms.
What remains of history? Historical epistemology and historical understanding in Scotland's Curriculum for Excellence

ABSTRACT This paper critically examines the framing of historical knowledge in the primary and ‘broad general education’ phases (ages 4–14) of Scotland's Curriculum for Excellence. The paper focuses on curriculum documentation, particularly the curriculum's aims and ‘Experiences and Outcomes’ and evaluates these in light of recent research on children's historical understanding. It is argued that the decision to frame historical understanding as ‘People, Past Events and Societies’ within the context of a ‘social studies’ curriculum area has been motivated by a misunderstanding of history's unique disciplinary identity. It is argued that history curricula must take account of the unique ontological and epistemological challenges posed by investigating the past and that by failing to do this, ‘Curriculum for Excellence’ offers children in Scotland a problematic representation of what it means to study the past. The paper challenges the curriculum in both epistemic and pedagogical terms, before suggesting that a rigorous study of history as a discipline can make a valuable contribution to children's personal and social development.