Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prevalence of Vitamin D deficiency in Pakistan ; implications for the future

Background and aims: Vitamin D deficiency (25-hydroxyvitamin D VitDD) affects over one billion people worldwide. VitDD results in progression of osteoporosis as well as other conditions. Previous studies have shown high rates of VitDD in Pakistan despite appreciable levels of sunshine. However, none have assessed VitDD across all age groups, genders, incomes and locations to guide future strategies. Methods: Questionnaire and blood sampling among 4830 randomly selected citizens. Results: High levels of VitDD among all age groups, genders, income levels and locations. 53.5% had VitDD, 31.2% had insufficient Vitamin D and only 15.3% normal Vitamin D. Conclusion: High rates of VitDD in Pakistan despite high levels of sunshine and previous Food Acts asking for food fortification with Vitamin D. Public health strategies are needed to address high VitDD rates, including food fortification, i.e. nurture, alongside increasing exposure to sunlight, i.e. nature. This will involve all key stakeholder groups.
Clinical Neuropsychiatry (2017) 14, EPUB AHEAD OF PRINT IDENTITy DEvElOPmENT, PARENTINg sTylEs, BODy UNEAsINEss, AND DIsgUsT TOwARD FOOD. A PERsPEcTIvE OF INTEgRATION AND REsEARcH

Objective: International literature has shown that a child’s relational experiences from infancy to adolescence are crucial for the formation of personal and social identity. The representations and patterns of self and others might be risk factors for the dysfunctional perception of one’s body, above all during adolescence. likewise, certain defective parenting styles may prove crucial in the etiology of eating disorders. In particular, rejection and disgust for food may sometimes represent the negative product of early dysfunctional experiences. The present paper investigates the relationship between identity development, parenting styles, perception of body image and refusal of specific foods in a group of adolescents and young adults. Method: The group of participants consists of 100 subjects, aged 18 to 32 (m = 21.56, sD = 2.67), of which 71 girls and 29 boys, who were recruited among university students in sicily. Participants completed the following instruments: the Ego Identity Process Questionnaire, the Parental Bonding Instrument, the Body Uneasiness Test, and an ad hoc questionnaire to identify the food which individuals feel more disgust, and the family experiences associated with that specific food. Results and conclusions: Data show the predictive role of parenting styles on identity development. Furthermore, identity commitment seems to predict the perception of body image. The hypothesis about the influence of parental control, especially the paternal one, on the intensity of food-specific disgust has also been confirmed. Results confirm the importance of relation between personal identity and family, the latter considered to be a predictor of personal and social development, not just a precursor of a high level of self-esteem, but also an expression of new tastes and food preferences.
Optimization of enzymatic hydrolysis of tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) by- product using response surface methodology

Fish protein hydrolysate was recovered from tilapia by-product (TB) through enzymatic hydrolysis using alcalase enzyme. Hydrolysis reaction of TB was monitored according to the degree of hydrolysis (DH) by employing O-phtaldialdehyde (OPA) method. Optimization process for obtaining high yield of TB protein hydrolysate was performed using response surface methodology (RSM) by optimizing a combination of four independent variables namely, pH (6.5-8.5), temperature (55-70 o C), substrate concentration (10-17.5% w/v), and enzyme concentration (1.5-3.5% w/w) with (DH) as a response. The optimum enzymatic hydrolysis conditions were obtained at pH 7.5, temperature of 60 o C, substrate concentration of 15% (w/v) and 2.5% (w/w) of enzyme concentration and yielded about 20.20% of DH after hydrolyzing for 120 min. RSM generated model predicted that 20.42% of DH could be achieved at these conditions and this model was valid based on the DH value obtained from the experimental study (20.31%) which was quite similar with the predicted value. High yield of DH obtained from the optimization process could produce fish protein hydrolysate with good nutritional and functional properties.
Neurotensin, substance P, and insulin enhance cell migration

Neurotensin, substance P, and insulin have been demonstrated to improve wound healing in vivo. However, the mechanism behind their effect is still not fully understood. This study investigates the effects leading to enhanced scratch closure by these peptides in vitro. The skin keratinocyte cell line, HaCaT, was used to test scratch closure effects of the peptides and alterations of cytokine levels. HUVEC cells were used to test the angiogenic effect of the peptides. Furthermore, clinical isolates of Staphylococcus lugdunensis were used to examine the potential antimicrobial activity of each peptide. Our results demonstrate that neurotensin, substance P, and insulin had significant migratory effects in scratch assays were neurotensin had the lowest effect. Furthermore, we investigated use of the peptides in combination. When substance P was used in combination with neurotensin, the cell migratory capacity was decreased, and the peptides showed a negative correlation (r = −0.298, P < .001). Neurotensin and insulin significantly increased levels of monocyte chemoattractant protein‐1 (P < .001) secreted from white blood cells, whereas substance P showed a tendency. Interestingly, neurotensin increased the level of monocyte chemoattractant protein‐1 significantly compared to substance P (P < .01). Additionally, the peptides decreased TNFα mRNA levels (P < .001) in HaCaT cells, whereas only neurotensin and insulin decreased IL‐8 mRNA (P < .001) but had no significant effect on IL‐6 mRNA levels. Surprisingly, substance P increased IL‐6 mRNA 9‐fold (P < .001). Furthermore, we demonstrate that the peptides increased angiogenesis in the HUVEC cells (P < .001). Finally, S. lugdunensis isolates were not susceptible to the peptides. We demonstrate that the peptides worked differently on HaCaT cells, but substance P acted differently than neurotensin on cytokine levels expression as well as on migration of HaCaT cells. On the contrary, neurotensin and insulin worked similarly. All of these aspects are crucial for proper wound healing, and the results suggest multiple mechanisms for wound‐healing properties of these peptides.
Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening Prevalence and Associated Factors among Women in the South African General Population

Purpose: The aims of the study were to estimate the prevalence of breast and cervical cancer screening among women in the South African general population and assess associated factors. Methods: Data from a national population-based cross-sectional household survey in South Africa in 2012 for 10,831 women aged 30+ years were analysed using bivariate and multivariable logistic regression. The outcome variables were cervical cancer screening (Papanicolaou smear test) and breast cancer screening (mammography). Exposure variables were sociodemographic factors, lifestyle variables, and chronic conditions. Results: The prevalences of Papanicolaou (PAP) smear test and mammography participation were 52.0% and 13.4%, respectively. On multivariable logistic regression analysis, women with higher education, those who were non-black African, having medical aid and having chronic conditions were more likely to undergo a Pap smear test and mammography. Living in rural areas was related to a lower likelihood of receiving both types of screening. In addition, undertaking moderate or vigorous physical activity was associated with breast cancer screening. Conclusion: Screening for cervical cancer was relatively high but for breast cancer it was low, despite the latter being a major public health problem in South Africa. This may be attributed to the limited availability, affordability, and accessibility of breast cancer screening services among socio-economically disadvantaged individuals There are some socio-economic disparities in adopting both breast and cervical cancer screening guidelines that could be targeted by interventions.
Domestic Violence Among Pregnant Women.

BACKGROUND Domestic violence during pregnancy is an important social & health issue in all societies. In Muslim world and particularly underdeveloped countries, domestic violence is often under reported. It is the need of hour to encourage reporting of such events & implementation of research-based policies for prevention of women abuse & support of the victims of domestic violence (DV). The objective of this study was to highlight this neglected social problem of our society & to identify at risk population. METHODS This is a cross sectional study conducted at Ayub Teaching Hospital & Benazir Bhutto Shaheed Teaching Hospital, Abbottabad (January 2014 to December. 2016). Pregnant women were inquired regarding history of abuse by husband and sociodemographic characteristics were noted in a Performa to analyse the risk factors for domestic violence. RESULTS The overall prevalence was found to be 35%. Out of 1000 pregnant women, 270 (27%) suffered from simple violence and 60 (6%) were victims of grievous assault. Violence among pregnant women is found to be more prevalent among residents of urban areas, women of older age being uneducated & belonging to poor socioeconomic status. CONCLUSIONS Domestic violence during pregnancy is a common & often neglected psychosocial health problem. High risk population needs to be identified so that preventive strategies can be planned & implemented.
Pushing the boundaries of parallel Deep Learning - A practical approach

This work aims to assess the state of the art of data parallel deep neural network training, trying to identify potential research tracks to be exploited for performance improvement. Beside, it presents a design for a practical C++ library dedicated at implementing and unifying the current state of the art methodologies for parallel training in a performance-conscious framework, allowing the user to explore novel strategies without departing significantly from its usual work-flow.
A novel relay selection algorithm based on mobile social networks for device-to-device cooperative communications

Relay selection is the key of Device-to-Device (D2D) cooperative communication. Aiming at the fact that current algorithms of relay selection lack the consideration of security, reliability and probing cost, simultaneously, a novel algorithm of relay selection based on social relationship and mobile location of users is presented. A D2D cooperative system model based on social networks is proposed, the sets of relay candidates are determined according to the mobile location of users, and the sets of candidates are narrowed by social relationship further. By adopting above mechanisms, the algorithm could reduce the probing costs and guarantee the security and reliability of relay nodes, thereby could enhance throughput of the system. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm could significantly improve the throughput of D2D cooperative system, the performance not only is better than that of the system without relay but also is better than other schemes with and without social relationship under the same conditions.
A case study of stakeholder perceptions of patient held records: the Patients Know Best (PKB) solution

Introduction Patients Know Best (PKB) provides a patient portal with integrated, patient-controlled digital care records. Patient-controlled personal health records facilitate coordinated management of chronic disease through improved communications among, and about, patients across professional and organisational boundaries. An NHS foundation trust hospital has used PKB to support self-management in patients with inflammatory bowel disease; this paper presents a case study of usage. Methods The stakeholder empowered adoption model provided a framework for consulting variously placed stakeholders. Qualitative interviews with clinical stakeholders and a patient survey. Results Clinicians reported PKB to have enabled a new way of managing stable patients, this facilitated clinical and cost effective use of specialist nurses; improved two-way communications, and more optimal use of outpatient appointments and consultant time. The portal also facilitated a single, rationalised pathway for stable patients, enabling access to information and pro-active support. For patients, the system was a source of support when unwell and facilitated improved communication with specialists. Three main barriers to adoption were identified; these related to concerns over security, risk averse attitudes of users and problems with data integration. Conclusions Patient-controlled personal health records offer significant potential in supporting self-management. Digital connection to healthcare can help patients to understand their condition better and access appropriate, timely clinical advice.
Fertility preservation in Hodgkin’s lymphoma patients that undergo targeted molecular therapies: an important step forward from the chemotherapy era

In total, 80%–90% of Hodgkin’s lymphoma (HL) patients are curable with combination chemoradiotherapy. Due to improvements in therapeutic strategies, 50% of all relapsed/refractory patients may undergo complete clinical responses and have long-term survival. Treatment options for HL are effective, but may have a negative impact on post-chemotherapy fertility. Thus, cryopreservation of semen prior to treatment is recommended for male patients. For female patients, assisted reproductive techniques (ART) consult and fertility preservation should be offered as a therapeutical option. In the last years, new targeted molecules have been available for HL treatment. These new drugs showed a high rate of overall responses in the setting of heavily pretreated patients, most of them in relapse after autologous stem cell transplantation, a group previously considered very poor risk. Up to 50% of patients have a complete response and an improved overall survival. Future studies will address the usefulness of novel molecules as a frontline therapy. Considering the high response and survival rates with monoclonal antibody-based therapeutics, fertility has become a concerning issue for long-term HL survivors. As progress has been made regarding ART, with the rigorous steps planned for HL patients, more survivors will become parents.
Cholesteryl ester transfer protein gene variations and macronutrient intakes interaction in relation to metabolic syndrome: Tehran lipid and glucose study

Objective(s): There are controversial results regarding the effect of the interaction of CETP polymorphisms with dietary fats on the lipid profiles. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of CETP polymorphisms (rs5882 and rs3764261) and macronutrient intakes interaction in relation to metabolic syndrome (MetS) or its components. Materials and Methods: In this nested case-control study, subjects were selected from among participants of the Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study. Cases (n=441) were individually matched with two controls (844 non-MetS subjects). DNA samples were genotyped with HumanOmniExpress-24-v1-0 bead chips, including 649,932 SNP loci. Results: The mean ages at baseline were 38.1±10 and 37.0±10 years in women and 36.2±11 and 36.3±11 years in men, respectively in cases and controls. We did not find significant gene-diet interactions between rs5882 and dietary macronutrient intakes in relation to MetS risk. The risk of low HDL-C was lower in the first quartile of MUFA and total fat intake in G allele carriers, compared to AA genotype group. The risk of high BP appeared to increase significantly in higher quartiles of trans-fatty acid intakes (>1.81% of total energy intake) in G allele carriers compared with the AA genotype group. No significant interactions were found between rs3764261 and macronutrient intakes in association with MetS or its components. Conclusion: Our findings demonstrate that dietary fats modify the association of rs5882 and risk of low HDL-C and high blood pressure.
The associations between diet and physical activity with body composition and walking a timed distance in adults with Prader–Willi syndrome

Background Research on aging in Prader–Willi syndrome (PWS) is limited, although people with PWS are living longer. Individuals with PWS present with high fat mass, low lean mass, and low levels of physical activity (PA). Previous reports in children and young adults with PWS show inadequate nutrient intake and body fat percentage indicating obesity. Previous studies in PWS rarely included individuals beyond young adulthood, especially studies conducted in the United States. This study includes adults from 18 to 62 years of age, and includes 19 of the estimated 60 adult individuals with PWS in Oklahoma. Because individuals with PWS are living longer, information must be provided on aging with PWS. This study is a report of the initial data for a planned longitudinal study on aging with PWS. Objective Determine associations between body composition, diet, PA, and a timed walk for adults with PWS, and to assess adequacy of dietary intake for those individuals aging with PWS. Design This cross-sectional investigation determined dietary habits, PA, and body composition of adults with PWS, and tested associations between these variables. Results Participants ranged in age from 18 to 62 years. They had healthier body composition, at 26.8% body fat, than previously reported. Mean body mass index (BMI) was in the overweight range at 26.7. Those who consumed higher amounts of fat (as a percent of total kilocalories) had statistically significant lower body fat percentage, but this may simply reflect that individuals with lower body fat percentages felt freer to consume fat. Mean steps taken per day was 7631.7 steps but only 16% of participants met healthy PA recommendations despite participating in daily structured exercise. All participants’ diets met Dietary Guidelines for macronutrient distribution, but 80% were deficient in calcium, 100% were deficient in dietary vitamin D, and 87% were deficient in fiber. Sample size was small, so it was difficult to reach statistical significance, despite seeing clinical significance. Conclusions Recommend working toward healthy PA recommendations for all age groups by decreasing time in sedentary activity. Recommend increasing vitamin A and D fortified dairy products and high-fiber foods, and consider dietary supplementation, especially for calcium, vitamin D, and fiber.
Coffee and tea consumption and risk of prostate cancer in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition

The epidemiological evidence regarding the association of coffee and tea consumption with prostate cancer risk is inconclusive, and few cohort studies have assessed these associations by disease stage and grade. We examined the associations of coffee (total, caffeinated and decaffeinated) and tea intake with prostate cancer risk in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition. Among 142,196 men, 7,036 incident prostate cancer cases were diagnosed over 14 years of follow‐up. Data on coffee and tea consumption were collected through validated country‐specific food questionnaires at baseline. We used Cox proportional hazards regression models to compute hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Models were stratified by center and age, and adjusted for anthropometric, lifestyle and dietary factors. Median coffee and tea intake were 375 and 106 mL/day, respectively, but large variations existed by country. Comparing the highest (median of 855 mL/day) versus lowest (median of 103 mL/day) consumers of coffee and tea (450 vs. 12 mL/day) the HRs were 1.02 (95% CI, 0.94–1.09) and 0.98 (95% CI, 0.90–1.07) for risk of total prostate cancer and 0.97 (95% CI, 0.79–1.21) and 0.89 (95% CI, 0.70–1.13) for risk of fatal disease, respectively. No evidence of association was seen for consumption of total, caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee or tea and risk of total prostate cancer or cancer by stage, grade or fatality in this large cohort. Further investigations are needed to clarify whether an association exists by different preparations or by concentrations and constituents of these beverages.
Transcriptional Profiling of Immune-Related Genes in Leishmania infantum-Infected Mice: Identification of Potential Biomarkers of Infection and Progression of Disease

Leishmania spp. is a protozoan parasite that affects millions of people around the world. At present, there is no effective vaccine to prevent leishmaniases in humans. A major limitation in vaccine development is the lack of precise understanding of the particular immunological mechanisms that allow parasite survival in the host. The parasite-host cell interaction induces dramatic changes in transcriptome patterns in both organisms, therefore, a detailed analysis of gene expression in infected tissues will contribute to the evaluation of drug and vaccine candidates, the identification of potential biomarkers, and the understanding of the immunological pathways that lead to protection or progression of disease. In this large-scale analysis, differential expression of 112 immune-related genes has been analyzed using high-throughput qPCR in spleens of infected and naïve Balb/c mice at four different time points. This analysis revealed that early response against Leishmania infection is characterized by the upregulation of Th1 markers and M1-macrophage activation molecules such as Ifng, Stat1, Cxcl9, Cxcl10, Ccr5, Cxcr3, Xcl1, and Ccl3. This activation doesn't protect spleen from infection, since parasitic burden rises along time. This marked difference in gene expression between infected and control mice disappears during intermediate stages of infection, probably related to the strong anti-inflammatory and immunosuppresory signals that are activated early upon infection (Ctla4) or remain activated throughout the experiment (Il18bp). The overexpression of these Th1/M1 markers is restored later in the chronic phase (8 wpi), suggesting the generation of a classical “protective response” against leishmaniasis. Nonetheless, the parasitic burden rockets at this timepoint. This apparent contradiction can be explained by the generation of a regulatory immune response characterized by overexpression of Ifng, Tnfa, Il10, and downregulation Il4 that counteracts the Th1/M1 response. This large pool of data was also used to identify potential biomarkers of infection and parasitic burden in spleen, on the bases of two different regression models. Given the results, gene expression signature analysis appears as a useful tool to identify mechanisms involved in disease outcome and to establish a rational approach for the identification of potential biomarkers useful for monitoring disease progression, new therapies or vaccine development.