Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Williams' legacy: A critical reappraisal of his nine predictions about the evolution of senescence

Williams' evolutionary theory of senescence based on antagonistic pleiotropy has become a landmark in evolutionary biology, and more recently in biogerontology and evolutionary medicine. In his original article, Williams launched a set of nine “testable deductions” from his theory. Although some of these predictions have been repeatedly discussed, most have been overlooked and no systematic evaluation of the whole set of Williams' original predictions has been performed. For the sixtieth anniversary of the publication of the Williams' article, we provide an updated evaluation of all these predictions. We present the pros and cons of each prediction based on recent accumulation of both theoretical and empirical studies performed in the laboratory and in the wild. From our viewpoint, six predictions are mostly supported by our current knowledge at least under some conditions (although Williams' theory cannot thoroughly explain why for some of them). Three predictions, all involving the timing of senescence, are not supported. Our critical review of Williams' predictions highlights the importance of William's contribution and clearly demonstrates that, 60 years after its publication, his article does not show any sign of senescence.
Parental smoking and childhood obesity: higher effect estimates for maternal smoking in pregnancy compared with paternal smoking--a meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND Some studies reported similar effect estimates for the impact of maternal smoking in pregnancy and paternal smoking on childhood obesity, whereas others suggested higher effects for maternal smoking. We performed a meta-analysis to compare the effect of in utero exposure to maternal smoking and that of paternal or household smoking exposure in utero or after birth with mutual adjustment. METHODS Meta-analysis of observational studies identified in MEDLINE, EMBASE and Web of Knowledge published in 1900-2013. Study inclusion criterion was assessment of the association of maternal smoking during pregnancy and paternal or household smoking (anyone living in the household who smokes) at any time with childhood overweight and obesity. The analyses were based on all studies with mutually adjusted effect estimates for maternal and paternal/household smoking applying a random-effects model. RESULTS Data for 109,838 mother/child pairs were reported in 12 studies. The pooled odds ratios (ORs) for overweight 1.33 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.23;1.44] (n=6, I2=0.00%) and obesity 1.60 (95% CI 1.37;1.88) (n=4, I2=32.47%) for maternal smoking during pregnancy were higher than for paternal smoking: 1.07 (95% CI 1.00;1.16) (n=6, I2=41.34%) and 1.23 (95% CI 1.10;1.38) (n=4, I2=14.61%), respectively. Similar estimates with widely overlapping confidence limits were found for maternal smoking during pregnancy and childhood overweight and obesity: 1.35 (95% CI 1.20;1.51) (n=3, I2=0.00%) and 1.28 (95% CI 1.07;1.54) (n=3, I2=0.00%) compared with household smoking 1.22 (95% CI 1.06;1.39) (n=3, I2=72.14%) and 1.31 (95% CI 1.15;1.50)] (n=3, I2=0.00%). CONCLUSIONS Higher effect estimates for maternal smoking in pregnancy compared with paternal smoking in mutually adjusted models may suggest a direct intrauterine effect.
Polygenic evolution drives species divergence and climate adaptation in corals

Closely related species often show substantial differences in ecological traits that allow them to occupy different environmental niches. For few of these systems is it clear what the genomic basis of adaptation is and whether a few loci of major effect or many genome‐wide differences drive species divergence. Four cryptic species of the tabletop coral Acropora hyacinthus are broadly sympatric in American Samoa; here we show that two common species have differences in key environmental traits such as microhabitat distributions and thermal stress tolerance. We compared gene expression patterns and genetic polymorphism between these two species using RNA‐Seq. The vast majority of polymorphisms are shared between species, but the two species show widespread differences in allele frequencies and gene expression, and tend to host different symbiont types. We find that changes in gene expression are related to changes in the frequencies of many gene regulatory variants, but that many of these differences are consistent with the action of genetic drift. However, we observe greater genetic divergence between species in amino acid replacement polymorphisms compared to synonymous variants. These findings suggest that polygenic evolution plays a major role in driving species differences in ecology and resilience to climate change.
Sanitation facilities and hygiene practices in a semi-urban community in Rivers State, south-south Nigeria.

Background: Water and sanitation projects are synergistic in producing health effects; while there has been massive investment in water projects as part of the effort to achieve the Millennium Development Goal on access to water and sanitation; the same cannot be said for sanitation projects. This study examined the state of sanitation facilities and hygiene behaviour in an oil rich community in the Niger delta region of Nigeria. Method : The study was carried out in Ogbogu, a small semi-urban community in Rivers State, south-south Nigeria, using a descriptive cross-sectional study design. The data was collected using a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire, field observations and focus group discussions. The questionnaire was administered to female heads of households with under-five children; the field observations consisted of direct observations, spot checks and rating checks of sanitation facilities and hygiene behaviour of the respondents; while the focus group discussions were held with executive members of the community's women's association. Results : Only 68% of the households in the community had access to a sanitation facility. The reasons given for not having a sanitation facility include lack of space (85.92%), and cost (12.68%). Most of the facilities were flush toilets (61.07%), and they formed 87.95% of the 83 facilities found to be in good hygienic condition. Of the respondents with sanitation facility, 28.86% would not allow young children to use the facility. Only 21.36% of the respondents routinely disposed the stool of their children into the sanitation facility; human faeces were consequently found around the house of 40% of the respondents. About 22% of the respondents were found to have the appropriate hand washing behaviour; while the two week period prevalence of diarrhea amongst children less than 36 weeks was 14.09%. Conclusions: The access to sanitation facility, and hand washing behaviour in the study community were poor. Hygiene education and social marketing of sanitation facilities are hereby advised. Keywords: Sanitation facility; hygiene practices; Semi-Urban community; Nigeria.
Isolation of common aerobic bacterial pathogens from the environment of seven hospitals, Ahvaz, Iran

Introduction and objective: Hospital acquired infections are serious problems in patients care and adversely affect the mortality and morbidity despite antimicrobial therapy and advances in supportive care. The researchers aimed to determine the contamination of inanimate hospital environment to bacterial agents and their susceptibility to various antimicrobial agents. Seven different teaching hospitals were included in this study. Materials and methods: From April 2006 to January 2007, 1208 samples (1156 wet swabs, eight water dialysis and 44 hand washing samples) were taken from surface and medical instruments in different hospitals' wards. Susceptibility test for bacterial isolates was done by disk diffusion assay. Results: In the present study 57% of samples were positive and more than 10 species were isolated. Coagulase negative staphylococci (36.1%) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (8.9%) were the predominant isolates among Gram-positive and negative bacteria, respectively. Hands (79.5%), kitchen (71.4%), staffs ' room (61.1%) and equipments (57.8%) were the most infected sites. Gram-negative enteric bacilli (50%) in food service personnel and Grampositive cocci (46.6%) in medical personnel were predominant isolates from hand specimens. 60% of Staphylococcs aureus yielded methicillin resistant (MRSA). Conclusion: Lack of a universal procedure for surveillance of nosocomial infection, presence of MRSA and some other pathogenic bacteria, poor hand hygiene and heavy contamination of some important surfaces are the most important problems in our hospitals.
Learning Disabilities and Brain Function: A Neuropsychological Approach

This ambitious book attempts to relate neurology and education by applying neuropsychology to childhood learning disorders. It is written primarily for teachers to promote the development of "neuroeducators," as William Cruickshank, PhD, argues in the foreword. In fact, an evangelical tone colors this attempt to "convert" teachers to a neuropsychological point of view. The first two introductory chapters are followed by an oversimplified and flawed exposition of neuroscience in relation to learning. Here, as elsewhere, the neurology is surprisingly naive (referring to dendrites as "dendrons" for example). The more important parts of the book are contained in six chapters that constitute a balanced review of neuropsychology. A chapter on therapy is followed by a summary chapter or "Postscript. " "Clinical Addendums" at the end of most chapters and numerous case summaries scattered throughout the text help to relate the neuropsychological principles to actual clinical situations that a teacher might encounter. Gaddes
Prevalence of Invalid Performance on Baseline Testing for Sport-Related Concussion by Age and Validity Indicator

Importance Estimated base rates of invalid performance on baseline testing (base rates of failure) for the management of sport-related concussion range from 6.1% to 40.0%, depending on the validity indicator used. The instability of this key measure represents a challenge in the clinical interpretation of test results that could undermine the utility of baseline testing. Objectives To determine the prevalence of invalid performance on baseline testing and to assess whether the prevalence varies as a function of age and validity indicator. Design, Setting, and Participants This retrospective, cross-sectional study included data collected between January 1, 2012, and December 31, 2016, from a clinical referral center in the Midwestern United States. Participants included 7897 consecutively tested, equivalently proportioned male and female athletes aged 10 to 21 years, who completed baseline neurocognitive testing for the purpose of concussion management. Interventions Baseline assessment was conducted with the Immediate Postconcussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT), a computerized neurocognitive test designed for assessment of concussion. Main Outcomes and Measures Base rates of failure on published ImPACT validity indicators were compared within and across age groups. Hypotheses were developed after data collection but prior to analyses. Results Of the 7897 study participants, 4086 (51.7%) were male, mean (SD) age was 14.71 (1.78) years, 7820 (99.0%) were primarily English speaking, and the mean (SD) educational level was 8.79 (1.68) years. The base rate of failure ranged from 6.4% to 47.6% across individual indicators. Most of the sample (55.7%) failed at least 1 of 4 validity indicators. The base rate of failure varied considerably across age groups (117 of 140 [83.6%] for those aged 10 years to 14 of 48 [29.2%] for those aged 21 years), representing a risk ratio of 2.86 (95% CI, 2.60-3.16; P < .001). Conclusions and Relevance The results for base rate of failure were surprisingly high overall and varied widely depending on the specific validity indicator and the age of the examinee. The strong age association, with 3 of 4 participants aged 10 to 12 years failing validity indicators, suggests that the clinical interpretation and utility of baseline testing in this age group is questionable. These findings underscore the need for close scrutiny of performance validity indicators on baseline testing across age groups.
The living arrangements of elderly Europeans

This paper uses data from the European Household Panel survey to chart the living arrangements of older people in 13 countries across the European Union, focusing particularly on whether older people live with a spouse, with their children, or with other adults. There are wide variations between men and women, mainly due to the fact that women are widowed at a much earlier age than men; there are large variations with age; and there are also large differences between countries. Men and women in a 'Southern', or 'Catholic' group of countries are much more likely to live with their children, either with or without a partner, than men and women in 'Northern', or 'Protestant' countries, who tend to live with just a partner, or to live alone. A large proportion of the older people in our sample who live with their children are receiving care within the household, particularly in the Southern countries; we also find that the giving of care is to a large extent reciprocal, with child care being provided within the household by the 'younger old', to almost the same extent as care is provided by other family members to the 'older old'. However, this reciprocity of care holds only in the case of women; older men living with their children provide very little child care, while receiving the same amount of care as older women.
Preference Method of Delivery and It's Relevant Causes in View of Pregnant Women Referring to Public and Private Clinics in Rafsanjan City

Preference Method of Delivery and It's Relevant Causes in View of Pregnant Women Referring to Public and Private Clinics in Rafsanjan City T. Negahban MSc , A. Ansari Jaberi MSc , M. Kazemi MSc Received: 06/02/06 Sending for Revision: 28/06/06 Receiving Revised Manuscript: 18/10/06 Accepted: 12/11/06 Background and Objective: While it's widely accepted that vaginal delivery is the best method of parturition, in most countries the cesarean rate has been growing over the past decades and in most cases it's performed only based on the women demand. Finding the reasons of women’s tendency toward cesarean may help to diminsh the rate of this delivery method. Therefor in the present study we tried to investigate the preference method of delivery and its relevant causes in view of pregnant women referring to public and private clinics in Rafsanjan. Material and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 256 pregnant women were continuously interviewed and their method of choice for delivery and their reasons were also investigated using a qustionnaire. Data were analyzed by t test, one way Analysis of Variance and χ2 test. Results: The results showed that 31.25% and 68.75% of the participants choose Cesarean Section (C/S) and Normal Vaginal Delivery (NVD) respectively as a method of choice for parturition. 52.6% of those who have chosen C/S, believed that NVD is a painful and stressful method which cannot be tolerated whereas 42% of the second group believed C/S could be a high-risk and invasive method. Of the knowledge qustions, 45.5% were correctly answered by the participants. Conclusion: The most important reasons for choosing C/S among the participants were fear of severe pain during vaginal delivery and lack of knowledge about the complications of cesarean. In addition, it should be important for the health – policy makers to develop an awareness concerning the C/S complications and the advantages of NVD. Applying of pharmaceutical and non – pharmaceutial pain-relief methods may also change the attitude of women in favour of NVD. Key words: Pregnant Women, Attitude, Preference Method
Androgen Receptor Splice Variant 7 and Efficacy of Taxane Chemotherapy in Patients With Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer.

IMPORTANCE We previously showed that detection of androgen receptor splice variant 7 (AR-V7) in circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from men with castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) was associated with primary resistance to enzalutamide and abiraterone therapy, but the relevance of AR-V7 status in the context of chemotherapy is unknown. OBJECTIVE To investigate whether AR-V7-positive patients would retain sensitivity to taxane chemotherapy and whether AR-V7 status would have a differential impact on taxane-treated men compared with enzalutamide- or abiraterone-treated men. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS We examined CTCs for AR-V7 mRNA using a reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction assay. From January 2013 to July 2014, we prospectively enrolled patients with metastatic CRPC initiating taxane chemotherapy (docetaxel or cabazitaxel) at a single academic institution (Johns Hopkins). Our prespecified statistical plan required a sample size of 36 taxane-treated men. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES We evaluated associations between AR-V7 status and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) response rates, PSA progression-free survival (PSA PFS), and clinical and/or radiographic progression-free survival (PFS). After incorporating updated data from our prior study of 62 patients treated with enzalutamide or abiraterone, we also investigated the interaction between AR-V7 status (positive or negative) and treatment type (taxane vs enzalutamide or abiraterone). RESULTS Of 37 taxane-treated patients enrolled, 17 (46%) had detectable AR-V7 in CTCs. Prostate-specific antigen responses were achieved in both AR-V7-positive and AR-V7-negative men (41% vs 65%; P = .19). Similarly, PSA PFS (hazard ratio [HR], 1.7, 95% CI, 0.6-5.0; P = .32) and PFS (HR, 2.7, 95% CI, 0.8-8.8; P = .11) were comparable in AR-V7-positive and AR-V7-negative patients. A significant interaction was observed between AR-V7 status and treatment type (P < .001). Clinical outcomes were superior with taxanes compared with enzalutamide or abiraterone therapy in AR-V7-positive men, whereas outcomes did not differ by treatment type in AR-V7-negative men. In AR-V7-positive patients, PSA responses were higher in taxane-treated vs enzalutamide- or abiraterone-treated men (41% vs 0%; P < .001), and PSA PFS and PFS were significantly longer in taxane-treated men (HR, 0.19 [95% CI, 0.07-0.52] for PSA PFS, P = .001; HR, 0.21 [95% CI, 0.07-0.59] for PFS, P = .003). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Detection of AR-V7 in CTCs from men with metastatic CRPC is not associated with primary resistance to taxane chemotherapy. In AR-V7-positive men, taxanes appear to be more efficacious than enzalutamide or abiraterone therapy, whereas in AR-V7-negative men, taxanes and enzalutamide or abiraterone may have comparable efficacy. Circulating tumor cell-based AR-V7 detection may serve as a treatment selection biomarker in CRPC.
Association Between Parkinson Disease and Risk of Cancer in Taiwan.

IMPORTANCE Parkinson disease (PD) has been reported to be associated with a general reduced risk of cancer. These studies were mainly carried out in Western populations and little was known about associations in East Asians. OBJECTIVE To analyze the association between PD and risk of cancer. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In this cohort study, the data were obtained from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database, which contained information on approximately 24.7 million insured individuals. The cohort included individuals with newly diagnosed as having PD between 2004 and 2010. An age- and sex-matched systematic random-sampling method was used for subject selection in the reference non-PD cohort. Multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression analysis was used to determine the effects of PD on the risks of cancer, as shown by hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% CIs. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The Taiwan Population Census and National Cancer Registry Databases were used to identify patients with cancer. The last follow-up date was December 31, 2012. RESULTS In 62 023 patients with PD, the HR for all subsequent cancers combined was 1.58 (95% CI, 1.50-1.65). Of the 19 types of cancer, Parkinson disease was not associated with breast, ovarian, or thyroid cancers. Increased HRs were found in the remaining 16 cancers, including malignant brain tumors (HR, 3.42; 95% CI, 1.84-6.38), gastrointestinal tract cancers (esophageal [HR, 1.81; 95% CI, 1.28-2.57], stomach [HR, 1.59; 95% CI, 1.30-1.94], colorectal [HR, 1.47; 95% CI, 1.31-1.65], liver [HR, 1.89; 95% CI, 1.67-2.14]; gallbladder [HR, 1.73; 95% CI, 1.16-2.57], and pancreas [HR, 1.48; 95% CI, 1.09-2.02]) (P < .05 for all comparisons), lung cancers (HR, 1.56; 95% CI, 1.38-1.76), some hormone-related cancers (uterine [HR, 1.83; 95% CI, 1.12-3.01], cervical [HR, 1.36; 95% CI, 1.05-1.76], and prostate [HR, 1.80; 95% CI, 1.52-2.13; P < .05 for all comparisons), urinary tract cancers (kidney and bladder cancers; HRs, 1.59 and 1.99, respectively; P < .001 for both comparisons), lymphoma and/or leukemia (HR, 1.62; 95% CI, 1.31-2.01), melanoma (HR, 2.75; 95% CI, 1.35-5.59), and other skin cancers (HR, 1.81; 95% CI, 1.46-2.23). For hepatocellular carcinoma, the highest HR resided in the 50- to 59-year-old group (HR, 2.57; 95% CI, 1.7-3.89). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Our study concludes that PD is is associated with most cancers in Taiwan. Further studies are needed to clarify whether our findings can be applied to other East Asian populations. The differences between our study and most previous cohorts suggest the importance of ethnicity and environmental exposures in disease pathogenesis.
Adult body mass index and risk of ovarian cancer by subtype: a Mendelian randomization study.

BACKGROUND Observational studies have reported a positive association between body mass index (BMI) and ovarian cancer risk. However, questions remain as to whether this represents a causal effect, or holds for all histological subtypes. The lack of association observed for serous cancers may, for instance, be due to disease-associated weight loss. Mendelian randomization (MR) uses genetic markers as proxies for risk factors to overcome limitations of observational studies. We used MR to elucidate the relationship between BMI and ovarian cancer, hypothesizing that genetically predicted BMI would be associated with increased risk of non-high grade serous ovarian cancers (non-HGSC) but not HGSC. METHODS We pooled data from 39 studies (14 047 cases, 23 003 controls) in the Ovarian Cancer Association Consortium. We constructed a weighted genetic risk score (GRS, partial F-statistic = 172), summing alleles at 87 single nucleotide polymorphisms previously associated with BMI, weighting by their published strength of association with BMI. Applying two-stage predictor-substitution MR, we used logistic regression to estimate study-specific odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the association between genetically predicted BMI and risk, and pooled these using random-effects meta-analysis. RESULTS Higher genetically predicted BMI was associated with increased risk of non-HGSC (pooled OR = 1.29, 95% CI 1.03-1.61 per 5 units BMI) but not HGSC (pooled OR = 1.06, 95% CI 0.88-1.27). Secondary analyses stratified by behaviour/subtype suggested that, consistent with observational data, the association was strongest for low-grade/borderline serous cancers (OR = 1.93, 95% CI 1.33-2.81). CONCLUSIONS Our data suggest that higher BMI increases risk of non-HGSC, but not the more common and aggressive HGSC subtype, confirming the observational evidence.