Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Oral paracoccidioidomycosis in a non-endemic region from Brazil: A short case series

Background Although the paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM) is endemic in Brazil, the occurrence in most states from the North and Northeastern Brazil is very unusual. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinicopathologic features of a case series of oral PCM in a non-endemic region from Brazil (Northeastern region), discussing the clinical and histopathological differential diagnoses of the oral manifestations of the disease. Material and Methods Between 2000 and 2017, all cases of oral PCM were retrieved from the Oral Pathology Laboratory, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, located at Northeastern Brazil. Clinical data, such as age, gender, origin, occupation, site, symptoms, time of complaints, clinical presentation, number of lesions, and clinical hypotheses of diagnosis, were collected from the clinical charts. All cases were histologically reviewed in hematoxylin-eosin and Gomori-Grocott staining. Results Six cases were identified. All patients were male, with a mean age of 53.8 years (ranging from 40 to 73 years). Four cases appeared as multiple ulcers and two presented single lesions (buccal mucosa and hard palate). Clinically, in five cases, squamous cell carcinoma was considered in the differential diagnosis. The common histopathological features consisted of hyperplastic epithelium, intraepithelial microabscesses, and formation of granulomatous chronic inflammatory reaction in a fibrous connective tissue with severe chronic inflammatory reaction. Yeasts were observed either inside of multinucleated giant cells or extracellularly. Conclusions Although rare in non-endemic regions, oral PCM should be considered in the differential diagnosis of oral chronic ulcers, mainly those multiple. Key words:Oral mucosa, mycology, paracoccidoidomycosis, ulcer.
Proteomics approaches to investigate cancer radiotherapy outcome: slow train coming

Radiotherapy represents an effective curative strategy that along with surgery and chemotherapy is traditionally used in cancer treatment. An optimal therapy delivers accurate radiation doses to tumour while protecting surrounding normal tissue. Although radiotherapy regimens have improved in recent years, tumour radioresistance and normal tissue toxicity remain major challenges that considerably contribute to the effectiveness of cancer therapy. These factors affect especially radiosensitive individuals in the treatment of whom the balance between effective tumour killing and adverse normal tissue late effects turns out to be problematic. Understanding molecular mechanisms involved in tumour and normal tissue response is essential in order to improve radiotherapy outcome in the field of personalised medicine. Alteration in the global proteome of cells and tissues truthfully reflects the changes in physiology and pathophysiology of biological samples. This makes proteomics analysis a powerful tool principally enabling identification of radioresistance biomarkers in cancer and sensitivity biomarkers in individuals. Yet, the use of proteomics in cancer therapy is still in its infancy and more research is needed to fulfil the great promise of this technique. The present review summarises recent proteomic-based studies searching for biomarkers for more accurate prediction of radiotherapeutic response in tumour and normal tissue.
The Physical Activity Level, Body Composition and Diabetes Mellitus Influence the
 Association Between Depression and Hypertension in Community-Dwelling Elders

Mailing Address: Rafael Pereira Department of Biological Sciences, State University of Southwest of Bahia. Rua José Moreira Sobrinho, s/n. Postal Code: 45210-506, Jequiezinho Jequie, Bahia Brazil. E-mail: rafaelpereira@uesb.edu. br The Physical Activity Level, Body Composition and Diabetes Mellitus Influence the Association Between Depression and Hypertension in Community-Dwelling Elders Carlos Geovane S. Araújo, Ivna Vidal Freire, Ícaro José Santos Ribeiro, Yanne Franca Montino, Cézar Augusto Casotti, Rafael Pereira Universidade Estadual do Sudoeste da Bahia (UESB),1 Jequie, BA Brazil
Valuable Genomes: Taxonomy and Archetypes of Business Models in Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Testing

Background Recent progress in genome data collection and analysis technologies has led to a surge of direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic testing services. Owing to the clinical value and sensitivity of genomic data, as well as uncertainty and hearsay surrounding business practices of DTC genetic testing service providers, DTC genetic testing has faced significant criticism by researchers and practitioners. Research in this area has centered on ethical and legal implications of providing genetic tests directly to consumers, but we still lack a more profound understanding of how businesses in the DTC genetic testing markets work and provide value to different stakeholders. Objective The aim of this study was to address the lack of knowledge concerning business models of DTC genetic testing services by systematically identifying the salient properties of various DTC genetic testing service business models as well as discerning dominant business models in the market. Methods We employed a 3-phased research approach. In phase 1, we set up a database of 277 DTC genetic testing services. In phase 2, we drew on these data as well as conceptual models of DTC genetic testing services and iteratively developed a taxonomy of DTC genetic testing service business models. In phase 3, we used a 2-stage clustering method to cluster the 277 services that we identified during phase 1 and derived 6 dominant archetypes of DTC genetic testing service business models. Results The contributions of this research are 2-fold. First, we provided a first of its kind, systematically developed taxonomy of DTC genetic testing service business models consisting of 15 dimensions in 4 categories. Each dimension comprises 2 to 5 characteristics and captures relevant aspects of DTC genetic testing service business models. Second, we derived 6 archetypes of DTC genetic testing service business models named as follows: (1) low-cost DTC genomics for enthusiasts, (2) high-privacy DTC genomics for enthusiasts, (3) specific information tests, (4) simple health tests, (5) basic low-value DTC genomics, and (6) comprehensive tests and low data processing. Conclusions Our analysis paints a much more complex business landscape in the DTC genetic testing market than previously anticipated. This calls for further research on business models and their effects that underlie DTC genetic testing services and invites specific regulatory interventions to protect consumers and level the playing field.
ERP: Edge Resource Pooling for Data Stream Mobile Computing

Recently, the explosion of resource-hungry and delay-sensitive Internet-of-Things (IoT) applications as exemplified by wearable appliances, video surveillance, and connected vehicles have posed great challenges on the underlying IoT devices which typically have limited computation resource. In response, computation offloading is envisioned as a promising approach to augmenting capability of IoT devices. Toward real-time and efficient computation offloading, in this paper we propose a novel edge resource pooling framework, in which a massive crowd of devices at the network edge exploit device-to-device (D2D) collaboration for pooling and sharing computation resource with each other. Specifically, we first formulate the utility maximization problem under both computation and communication constraints as a mixed-integer linear programming problem, which is further proven to be NP-hard. To address this challenge, we propose a greedy heuristic based on the classical maximum network flow problem, and thus to schedule the task offloading in a cost-efficient manner. By considering the case that a centralized controller (e.g., a network operator) is not available, a decentralized task offloading scheme is further proposed, in which IoT devices communicate and determine D2D offloading strategy locally. Rigorous theoretical analysis and extensive evaluations demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms.
Induction of oxidative/nitrosative stress following Tc-99m pertechnetate thyroid scintigraphy in human

Objective: Oxidative/nitrosative stress may be triggered by a various sources and ionizing radiation may also initiate oxidative/nitrosative stress. This is the first study, we aimed to investigate the induction of oxidative and nitrosative stress due to ionizing radiation in patients undergoing Tc-99m pertechnetate thyroid scintigraphy. Method: Totally 26 patients (16 female,10 male) undergoing Tc-99m pertechnetate thyroid scintigraphy were included in this study. The patients were aged between 20 and 50 years (58.0±16.3 years). The blood samples were taken from patients 20 minutes after intravenous injection of Tc-99m pertechnetate in dose used clinically (5 miliCurie) before the patients were taken to the thyroid imaging. Control group was selected from 30 healthy subjects (15 female,15 male). The control group was aged between 17 and 72 years (57.0±14.0 years). The blood samples were taken both patients and control group for measuring antioxidant enzymes (catalase and superoxide dismutase), malondialdehyde, nitric oxide and nitrotyrosine as oxidative/nitrosative stress biomarkers. Results: In this study we found that activities of antioxidant enzymes inreased in patients compared to control (p<0.05). Further, malondialdehyde levels as an indicator of oxidative stress were higher in patients than control group (p<0.05). The levels of nitric oxide and nitrotyrosine as nitrosative stress biomarkers also increased in patients compared to control groups (p<0.05). Conclusions: We thought that Tc-99m pertechnetate may cause an increase in reactive oxygen and nitrogen species and may cause oxidative/nitrosative damage at the cellular level. Our results indicated that the dose of Tc-99m pertechnetate given in these patients undergoing thyroid scintigraphy can tolerable.
Effect of quality of antenatal care on the perinatal outcome: A cross sectional study

Antenatal care is one of the major way by which we can avoid many complications related to pregnancy outcome by very minute and cost effective interventions. Antenatal care is a way of monitoring pregnancy to lead to a successful outcome. A cross sectional study was conducted at tertiary care hospital to know the effect of antenatal care on pregnancy outcome, association of risk factors with poor pregnancy outcome, reasons for poor antenatal care and to increase the awareness about regular antenatal check-up. For this, 100 postnatal women whose baby shifted to NICU were included in this study. Majority (62%) of the study subjects were from urban areas, were educated up to upper primary and belonged to Class 3 socioeconomic status. About 26% of cases had irregular ANC check-up and 74% had check-up more than or equal to 4 during their ANC period. Most common risk factor was anaemia followed by pre-eclampsia and PROM in our study. Among the neonatal risk factors, low birth weight was the most common risk factors. Among all the factors associated with the regularity of the ANC check-up, rural residents had more irregular check-up when compared to the urban areas (p<0.05). Educational status of mother and socioeconomic status of the family had significant influence over the regularity of the ANC check-up. All antenatal risk factors except for obstructed labour were significantly higher in the patients who had irregular ANC check-up. Further, low birth weight, preterm birth and infections were also more common in mothers having irregular check-up during the ANC period (p<0.01). The present study highlights that regularity of the ANC check-up reduces the perinatal complications. Some factors like socioeconomic status, educational status of mother and residence affect the regularity of the ANC check-up, indirectly affecting the perinatal outcome.
Growth faltering in children of the Kimberley: Effects of alcohol restriction

Objective: To describe growth patterns of weight of Australian Aboriginal children from birth to 21 months living in the Fitzroy Valley in the Kimberley region before and after the introduction of alcohol restrictions in 2007. Methods: Longitudinal weight growth data was examined from three cohorts using mixed model analysis. The cohorts were children participating in the Lililwan Study, born 2002-2003, the Kimberley CommuniCare Cohort, born 2009-2011, and a historical cohort, born 1974-1993. Results: The pattern of weight growth in the Lililwan Study (2002-2003) was unchanged from that of the historical cohort (1974-1993), with 50% falling >0.5 standard deviation scores (SDS) for weight in the first 12 months of life. Growth patterns improved following community-wide alcohol restrictions with a lower proportion of subjects decreasing weight SDS >0.5 in the Kimberley CommuniCareTM Cohort (2009-2011) compared to children in the Lililwan Study (2002-2003); 20% and 52% (P=0.015), respectively. Conclusions: Growth faltering in early childhood remains endemic in the Fitzroy Valley, but its prevalence decreased following the introduction of alcohol restrictions in 2007. Implications for public health: These results provide evidence of the benefit to children's health with an improvement in growth that followed the reduction in alcohol use from a community-driven initiative.
Effect of ulinastatin combined with mild therapeutic hypothermia on intestinal barrier dysfunction following cardiopulmonary resuscitation in rats

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of ulinastatin (UTI) alone or combined with mild therapeutic hypothermia (MTH) on intestinal barrier dysfunction following cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in rats. A total of 25 adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly organized into five groups: Sham; control; UTI; MTH; and the combined group. The latter four groups were induced with the asphyxiated cardiac arrest rat model and treated with different interventions. After 6 h of treatment, the intestinal tissues of the rats were examined by electron microscopy, and the levels of intestinal malondialdehyde (MDA) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were determined. The results of the present study indicated that the target temperature had successfully been attained in MTH and the combined group, and the other three groups of rats all survived at a normal temperature. In the rats treated with UTI or MTH, the epithelial cells exhibited pathological changes in their tight junctions and epithelial cell surface microvilli compared with the sham group. In the rats treated with a combination of UTI and MTH, whilst the epithelial cells exhibited a few slight changes, including mitochondrial edema, they were largely similar to the normal epithelial cells. However, there were significant differences in the levels of MDA and SOD between the different treatment groups. UTI combined with MTH may serve a protective role by suppressing oxidative stress in the small intestinal mucosa following CPR in rats compared with either UTI or MTH treatment alone.
Understanding Implementation of a Digital Self-Monitoring Intervention for Relapse Prevention in Psychosis: Protocol for a Mixed Method Process Evaluation

Background Relapse is common in people who experience psychosis and is associated with many negative consequences, both societal and personal. People who relapse often exhibit changes (early warning signs [EWS]) in the period before relapse. Successful identification of EWS offers an opportunity for relapse prevention. However, several known barriers impede the use of EWS monitoring approaches. Early signs Monitoring to Prevent relapse in psychosis and prOmote Well-being, Engagement, and Recovery (EMPOWER) is a complex digital intervention that uses a mobile app to enhance the detection and management of self-reported changes in well-being. This is currently being tested in a pilot cluster randomized controlled trial. As digital interventions have not been widely used in relapse prevention, little is known about their implementation. Process evaluation studies run in parallel to clinical trials can provide valuable data on intervention feasibility. Objective This study aims to transparently describe the protocol for the process evaluation element of the EMPOWER trial. We will focus on the development of a process evaluation framework sensitive to the worldview of service users, mental health staff, and carers; the aims of the process evaluation itself; the proposed studies to address these aims; and a plan for integration of results from separate process evaluation studies into one overall report. Methods The overall process evaluation will utilize mixed methods across 6 substudies. Among them, 4 will use qualitative methodologies, 1 will use a mixed methods approach, and 1 will use quantitative methodologies. Results The results of all studies will be triangulated into an overall analysis and interpretation of key implementation lessons. EMPOWER was funded in 2016, recruitment finished in January 2018. Data analysis is currently under way and the first results are expected to be submitted for publication in December 2019. Conclusions The findings from this study will help identify implementation facilitators and barriers to EMPOWER. These insights will inform both upscaling decisions and optimization of a definitive trial. Trial Registration ISRCTN Registry ISRCTN99559262; http://www.isrctn. com/ISRCTN99559262 International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) DERR1-10.2196/15634
Scaffolding Student Understanding in Small-Group Work: Students’ Uptake of Teacher Support in Subsequent Small-Group Interaction

Providing contingent or adaptive support (i.e., scaffolding) is effective. Yet it is unclear how it promotes students’ learning. In this mixed-methods study, we investigated to what extent the effect of contingent support for students’ learning is mediated by the extent to which students take up teachers’ support in subsequent small-group work. We define contingent support as support that contains adapted levels of teacher control or regulation based on the learner’s level of understanding. To explore the research question, we analyzed all interactions from 35 lessons of 7 secondary social studies teachers and 7 small groups of students. Logistic multilevel mediation analyses showed that the likelihood of students formulating accurate answers during small-group work was higher when students applied the teacher’s support in subsequent small-group work (as opposed to ignoring that support). However, the contingency of a teacher’s support did not affect students’ uptake or the accuracy of their answers. Additional qualitative analyses showed that students’ uptake of contingent support was sometimes hampered by untimely fading of the support. Moreover, we found that contingent support that was then gradually faded was the most effective in fostering students’ uptake of a teacher’s support.
Pain, Physical Function, Radiographic Features, and Quality of Life in Knee Osteoarthritis Agricultural Workers Living in Rural Population

Background The aim of this study was to analyse the relationship between the clinical manifestations, disease severity based on radiography images, functional activity level, and quality of life in patients with knee osteoarthritis in a rural population living in Serbian enclaves in Kosovo, as well as to determine the correlation between the WOMAC and the EQ-5D questionnaire in this population. Method The cross-sectional study was conducted at the Internal Medicine Clinic, Clinical Hospital Center Pristina-Gracanica, located in Laplje Selo from February to December 2013. One hundred patients with confirmed (American College of Rheumatology criteria) knee osteoarthritis completed the EQ-5D and Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) questionnaires, rated pain on a visual analogue scale (VAS), and underwent knee radiographic examinations. Result Most patients were obese with moderate radiographic changes according to the Kellgeren–Lawrence scale and suffered from very severe pain according to the VAS scale. The duration of disease significantly correlated with the WOMAC scores, VAS score, and all of the scores on the EQ-5D, except for mobility. The age of participants showed a similar correlation with the same variables. The patients with higher Kellgren–Lawrence scores (3-4) were significantly older, with a significantly higher body mass index (BMI) and longer duration of disease than patients with lower scores (1-2). Significantly higher VAS, pain/discomfort EQ-5D, and WOMAC pain and function scores were also recorded among patients with more significant radiological changes. The correlations between WOMAC and EQ-5D were satisfactory. Conclusion The severity of clinical manifestations and radiographic area changes may affect functional ability and the quality of life in knee OA patients living in rural areas, which requires adequate treatment and physical therapy.
Assessment of Magnitude and Associated Factors of Emergence Delirium in the Post Anesthesia Care Unit at Tikur Anbesa Specialized Hospital, Ethiopia

Background Emergence delirium (ED) is known as an acute agitation and confusion occurring during or immediately following emergence from general anesthesia, in the Operation Room or post anesthesia care unit (PACU). ED results in significant morbidity and complications resulting in longer hospital stays. We studied the magnitude and risk factors of ED in the general surgical population. Methods An institution-based prospective cross-sectional study was conducted on patients who underwent surgical procedure at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital, Ethiopia, from March 6 – May 1, 2017. Data was collected using patient interview and chart review. Patients with Richmond Agitation Sedation Scale ≥+1 at any time were considered to have emergence delirium/agitation. Categorical data was analyzed using the fishers exact test. Continuous data was analyzed using student t-test. Independent variables were analyzed using binary logistic regression. P-value of <0.05 was considered as cutoff point to test for statistically significance. Result The overall magnitude of Emergence Delirium in this study was 31.7%. Older age (CI=4.266 – 12.095, P=0.001), substance abuse (OR =4.6, CI=1.962 – 10.863, P=0.001), preoperative anxiety (OR= 2.4, CI=1.140 – 5.244, P=0.02), benzodiazepine premedication (OR= 8, CI=2.788 – 23.21, P=0.001), excessive blood loss (OR=3.38, CI=1.789 – 6.412, P=0.001), postoperative pain (OR=3.37, CI=2.015 – 6.934, P=0.001) and longer PACU stay (CI=18.645 – 26.766, P=0.001) were positively associated with Emergence Delirium. Conclusion The magnitude of emergence delirium is high and it is associated with older age, substance abuse, premedication with benzodiazepine, excessive blood loss postoperative pain and longer PACU stay.
The human gastrointestinal microbiota and prostate cancer development and treatment

The human gastrointestinal microbiome contains commensal bacteria and other microbiota that have been gaining increasing attention in the context of cancer development and response to treatment. Microbiota play a role in the maintenance of host barrier surfaces that contribute to both local inflammation and other systemic metabolic functions. In the context of prostate cancer, the gastrointestinal microbiome may play a role through metabolism of estrogen, an increase of which has been linked to the induction of prostatic neoplasia. Specific microbiota such as Bacteroides, Streptococcus, Bacteroides massiliensis, Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, Eubacterium rectalie, and Mycoplasma genitalium have been associated with differing risks of prostate cancer development or extensiveness of prostate cancer disease. In this Review, we discuss gastrointestinal microbiota's effects on prostate cancer development, the ability of the microbiome to regulate chemotherapy for prostate cancer treatment, and the importance of using Next Generation Sequencing to further discern the microbiome's systemic influence on prostate cancer.