Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Distribution of cervical and breast cancer risk factors in women and their screening behaviours

Breast cancer and cervical cancer are important causes of cancer-related mortality in women all over the world. The present study was conducted in order to investigate the distribution of cervical and breast cancer risk factors in women and their knowledge and behaviours about cancer screening methods. The study is cross-sectional in nature. It was conducted with the participation of 1,886 women in Turkey. Data were collected through a questionnaire. The knowledge and behaviours of women aged 40 and over about breast cancer or cervical cancer screening methods were investigated according to the education level; results showed that the rates of those who knew and did breast self-examination were significantly lower in illiterate women. Besides, the rates of women who did breast self-examination were significantly lower in those who were aged 40 and over, and the rates of those who had clinical breast examination and Pap smear test were significantly lower in women aged 39 and below (p < 0.01). This study identified the most notable breast and cervical cancer risk factors as low education levels, high number of deliveries, short breastfeeding period, obesity and low socio-economic level. For this reason, public health policies should be developed to minimise these risk factors.
Cardiac CaV1.2 channels require &bgr; subunits for &bgr;-adrenergic–mediated modulation but not trafficking

Ca2+ channel &bgr;-subunit interactions with pore-forming &agr;-subunits are long-thought to be obligatory for channel trafficking to the cell surface and for tuning of basal biophysical properties in many tissues. Unexpectedly, we demonstrate that transgenic expression of mutant &agr;1C subunits lacking capacity to bind CaV&bgr; can traffic to the sarcolemma in adult cardiomyocytes in vivo and sustain normal excitation-contraction coupling. However, these &bgr;-less Ca2+ channels cannot be stimulated by &bgr;-adrenergic pathway agonists, and thus adrenergic augmentation of contractility is markedly impaired in isolated cardiomyocytes and in hearts. Similarly, viral-mediated expression of a &bgr;-subunit–sequestering peptide sharply curtailed &bgr;-adrenergic stimulation of WT Ca2+ channels, identifying an approach to specifically modulate &bgr;-adrenergic regulation of cardiac contractility. Our data demonstrate that &bgr; subunits are required for &bgr;-adrenergic regulation of CaV1.2 channels and positive inotropy in the heart, but are dispensable for CaV1.2 trafficking to the adult cardiomyocyte cell surface, and for basal function and excitation-contraction coupling.
Intralesional triamcinolone alone or in combination with botulinium toxin A is ineffective for the treatment of formed keloid scar: A double blind controlled pilot study

Cutaneous injury can ignite excessive fibroproliferative growth that results in keloid formation. Keloids are associated with significant morbidity related to disfigurement and/or symptoms (e.g., pain and pruritus). First‐line treatment of formed keloids involves topical or intralesional steroids. Recurrent or resistant keloids are managed by surgical excision or cryotherapy, followed by steroidal application or adjuvant irradiation. Although adjuvant irradiation appears to be most efficacious, alternative therapeutic options are needed for patients without access to radiation centers. Botulinum Toxin A (BTA) appears to have similar inhibitory effects to irradiation on the cell cycle via downregulation of pathogenic cytokines. Herein, we conducted a study to compare the efficacy of intralesional triamcinolone used alone, or in combination with BTA, in the treatment of formed keloid scars. Twenty patients with a cumulative of 40 keloids completed the study. There was no significant difference between treatment arms with respect to height vascularization, pliability, and pigmentation scores. The addition of BTA resulted in significant symptomatic improvement of pain and pruritus as compared to intralesional triamcinolone alone (p < 0.001). Irradiation is only effective when administered in the adjuvant setting where inhibitory effects on cell cycle and migration are optimized. Future studies with intralesional triamcinolone and BTA should be performed adjuvantly.
Prognostic Nutritional Index as an independent prognostic factor in locoregionally advanced squamous cell head and neck cancer

Background Locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (LAHNSCC) is a heterogeneous disease in which better predictive and prognostic factors are needed. Apart from TNM stage, both systemic inflammation and poor nutritional status have a negative impact on survival. Methods We retrospectively analysed two independent cohorts of a total of 145 patients with LAHNSCC treated with induction chemotherapy followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy at two different academic institutions. Full clinical data, including the Prognostic Nutritional Index (PNI), neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio and derived neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio, were analysed in a training cohort of 50 patients. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was used to establish optimal cut-off. Univariate and multivariate analyses of prognostic factors for overall survival (OS) were performed. Independent predictors of OS identified in multivariate analysis were confirmed in a validation cohort of 95 patients. Results In the univariate analysis, low PNI (PNI<45) (p=0.001), large primary tumour (T4) (p=0.044) and advanced lymph node disease (N2b-N3) (p=0.025) were significantly associated with poorer OS in the validation cohort. The independent prognostic factors in the multivariate analysis for OS identified in the training cohort were dRNL (p=0.030) and PNI (p=0.042). In the validation cohort, only the PNI remained as independent prognostic factor (p=0.007). Conclusions PNI is a readily available, independent prognostic biomarker for OS in LAHNSCC. Adding PNI to tumour staging could improve individual risk stratification of patients with LAHNSCC in future clinical trials.
“When I get married…”: Contributing factors to intimate partner violence among married Jordanian women: A qualitative study

Abstract The authors in this study have explored and sought to gain an understanding of the contributing factors related to intimate partner violence among married Jordanian women. A qualitative research design using ten semi-structured interviews was used. Our analysis revealed two main themes: “when I get married” and “the role of family”. Financial, cultural and sexual factors were found to be vital in shaping the overall path of IPV. Therefore, if IPV is to be addressed carefully, then a multi-approach strategy within the social, legal and political levels of society is urgently needed.
Imitating the Risky Decision-Making of Peers

This experiment examined whether emerging adults imitate the risky decision-making of peers and whether peer susceptibility functions as a moderator. Overall, 63 emerging adults participated with a confederate of the same gender. The participants were randomly assigned to the experimental (confederate engaged in risky decision-making) or control (confederate did not engage in risky decision-making) condition. Risky decision-making was measured with the Stop-Light Game task, and peer susceptibility was measured with a questionnaire. Linear regression analyses showed that the participants engaged in more risky decision-making when the peer displayed risky decision-making. Peer susceptibility was not found to be a significant moderator of this relationship. The findings showed that health education programs need to consider imitation to reduce the risky decision-making of emerging adults more effectively.
Alcohol septal ablation vs myectomy for symptomatic hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy: Systematic review and meta‐analysis

Surgical myectomy (SM) and Alcohol septal ablation (ASA) are effective therapies for patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy who remain symptomatic despite medical therapy. A plethora of data has recently emerged on the long‐term outcomes of these procedures. We hence sought to perform an updated meta‐analysis comparing both procedures.
The impact of frailty and cognitive impairment on quality of life: employment and social context matter

ABSTRACT Background: How cognitive impairment and frailty combine to impact on older adults’ Quality of Life (QoL) is little studied, but their inter-relationships are important given how often they co-occur. We sought to examine how frailty and cognitive impairment, as well as changes in frailty and cognition, are associated with QoL and how these relationships differ based on employment status and social circumstances. Methods: Using the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe data, we employed moderated regression, followed by simple slopes analysis, to examine how the relationships between levels of health (i.e., of frailty and cognition) and QoL varied as a function of sex, age, education, social vulnerability, and employment status. We used the same analysis to test whether the relationships between changes in health (over two years) and QoL varied based on these same moderators. Results: Worse frailty (b = −1.61, p < .001) and cognitive impairment (b = −0.08, p < .05) were each associated with lower QoL. Increase in frailty (b = −2.17, p < .001) and cognitive impairment (b = −0.25, p < .001) were associated with lower QoL. The strength of these relationships varied depending on interactions with age, sex, education, social vulnerability, and employment status. Higher social vulnerability was consistently associated with lower QoL in analyses examining both static health (b = −3.16, p < .001) and change in health (b = −0.66, p < .001). Conclusions: Many predictors of QoL are modifiable, providing potential targets to improve older adults’ QoL. Even so, the relationships between health, cognition, and social circumstances that shape QoL in older adults are complex, highlighting the importance for individualized interventions.
Comparison of Local Control of Brain Metastases With Stereotactic Radiosurgery vs Surgical Resection: A Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Clinical Trial

Importance Brain metastases are a common source of morbidity for patients with cancer, and limited data exist to support the local therapeutic choice between surgical resection and stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS). Objective To evaluate local control of brain metastases among patients treated with SRS vs surgical resection within the European Organization for the Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) 22952-26001 phase 3 trial. Design, Setting, and Participants This unplanned, exploratory analysis of the international, multi-institutional randomized clinical trial EORTC 22952-26001 (conducted from 1996-2007) was performed from February 9, 2017, through July 25, 2018. The EORTC 22952-26001 trial randomized patients with 1 to 3 brain metastases to whole-brain radiotherapy vs observation after complete surgical resection or before SRS. Patients in the present analysis were stratified but not randomized according to local modality (SRS or surgical resection) and treated per protocol with 1 to 2 brain metastases and tumors with a diameter of no greater than 4 cm. Interventions Surgical resection or SRS. Main Outcomes and Measures The primary end point was local recurrence of treated lesions. Cumulative incidence of local recurrence was calculated according to modality (surgical resection vs SRS) with competing risk regression to adjust for prognostic factors and competing risk of death. Results A total of 268 patients were included in the analysis (66.4% men; median age, 60.7 years [range, 26.9-81.1 years]); 154 (57.5%) underwent SRS and 114 (42.5%) underwent surgical resection. Median follow-up time was 39.9 months (range, 26.0-1982.0 months). Compared with the SRS group, patients undergoing surgical resection had larger metastases (median 28 mm [range, 10-40 mm] vs 20 mm [range, 4-40 mm]; P < .001), more frequently had 1 brain metastasis (112 [98.2%] vs 114 [74.0%]; P < .001), and differed in location (parietal, 21 [18.4%] vs 61 [39.6%]; posterior fossa, 30 [26.3%] vs 12 [7.8%]; P < .001). In adjusted models, local recurrence was similar between the SRS and surgical resection groups (hazard ratio [HR], 1.15; 95% CI, 0.72-1.83). However, when stratified by interval, patients with surgical resection had a much higher risk of early (0-3 months) local recurrence compared with those undergoing SRS (HR, 5.94; 95% CI, 1.72-20.45), but their risk decreased with time (HR for 3-6 months, 1.37 [95% CI, 0.64-2.90]; HR for 6-9 months, 0.75 [95% CI, 0.28-2.00]). At 9 months or longer, the surgical resection group had a lower risk of local recurrence (HR, 0.36; 95% CI, 0.14-0.93). Conclusions and Relevance In this exploratory analysis, local control of brain metastases was similar between SRS and surgical resection groups. Stereotactic radiosurgery was associated with improved early local control of treated lesions compared with surgical resection, although the relative benefit decreased with time. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00002899
Safety of azithromycin in infants under six months of age in Niger: A community randomized trial

Background Mass azithromycin distribution reduces under-5 child mortality. Trachoma control programs currently treat infants aged 6 months and older. Here, we report findings from an infant adverse event survey in 1–5 month olds who received azithromycin as part of a large community-randomized trial in Niger. Methods and principal findings Active surveillance of infants aged 1–5 months at the time of treatment was conducted in 30 randomly selected communities from within a large cluster randomized trial of biannual mass azithromycin distribution compared to placebo to assess the potential impact on child mortality. We compared the distribution of adverse events reported after treatment among azithromycin-treated versus placebo-treated infants. From January 2015 to February 2018, the caregivers of 1,712 infants were surveyed. Approximately one-third of caregivers reported at least one adverse event (azithromycin: 29.6%, placebo: 34.3%, risk ratio [RR] 0.86, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.68 to 1.10, P = 0.23). The most commonly reported adverse events included diarrhea (azithromycin: 19.3%, placebo: 28.1%, RR 0.68, 95% CI 0.49 to 0.96, P = 0.03), vomiting (azithromycin: 15.9%, placebo: 21.0%, RR 0.76, 95% CI 0.56 to 1.02, P = 0.07), and skin rash (azithromycin: 12.3%, placebo: 13.6%, RR 0.90, 95% CI 0.59 to 1.37, P = 0.63). No cases of infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis were reported. Conclusions Azithromycin given to infants aged 1–5 months appeared to be safe. Inclusion of younger infants in larger azithromycin-based child mortality or trachoma control programs could be considered if deemed effective. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02048007.
Application of Faster R-CNN model on Human Running Pattern Recognition

The advance algorithms like Faster Regional Convolutional Neural Network (Faster R-CNN) models are suitable to identify classified moving objects, due to the efficiency in learning the training dataset superior than ordinary CNN algorithms and the higher accuracy of labeling correct classes in the validation and testing dataset. This research examined and compared the three R-CNN type algorithms in object recognition to show the superior efficiency and accuracy of Faster R-CNN model on classifying human running patterns. Then it described the effect of Faster R-CNN in detecting different types of running patterns exhibited by a single individual or multiple individuals by conducting a dataset fitting experiment. In this study, the Faster R-CNN algorithm is implemented directly from the version released by Ross Girshick.
Event-Related Potentials Reveal Altered Executive Control Activity in Healthy Elderly With Subjective Memory Complaints

Several studies reported that healthy elderly with subjective memory complaints (SMC) evolve to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) more frequently than elderly without subjective memory decline. In the present study, we investigated event-related potentials (ERPs) associated to executive control processes taking place during the performance of a Simon task with two irrelevant dimensions (stimulus position and direction pointed by an arrow) in healthy elderly divided in low and high SMC (LSMC, HSMC) groups. P300 was studied as a correlate of working memory. Medial frontal negativity (MFN) was studied as a correlate of conflict monitoring. Whereas the LSMC group showed interference from the stimulus position, participants with HSMC showed interference from both irrelevant dimensions. P300 latency was longer and P300 amplitude was lower when the stimulus position was incompatible with the required response but differences between both groups were not observed. MFN was not modulated in the LSMC group; however, the HSMC group showed larger MFN when the stimulus position and/or the direction pointed by the arrow were incompatible with the required response. These results suggest that participants with HSMC deployed greater conflict monitoring activity to maintain the performance when the target stimulus contained conflictive spatial information.
Decompositions of congruence subgroups of Chevalley groups

We formulate and prove relative versions of several decompositions known in the theory of Chevalley groups over commutative rings. These decompositions are used to obtain factorizations in terms of subsystem subgroups of type [Formula: see text] and upper estimates of the width of principal congruence subgroups with respect to Tits–Vaserstein generators.
A study of the circulating fibroblast growth factor 21 as a novel noninvasive biomarker of hepatic injury in genotype-4 chronic hepatitis C: Egyptian patients and their response to direct-acting antiviral agents

Background Fibroblast growth factor (FGF) 21 was reported to be induced by different injurious agents, including chronic hepatitis C (CHC) virus, affecting the liver. The aims of this study were to evaluate the FGF21 levels in CHC patients before and after the treatment with direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs) in comparison to that in control subjects and to correlate these levels with insulin resistance (IR), lipid profile, and fibrosis stages. Patients and methods We studied 75 naive CHC patients and 40 age- and gender-matched healthy control subjects. Patients were divided into five groups based on the severity of fibrosis as detected by Fibroscan as follows: F0, n=2; F1, n=13; F2, n=23; F3, n=16; F4, n=21. We estimated the FGF21 levels at the start of the study for all the participants and for the patients only at the end of treatment with simisipivir (SIM) and sofosbuvir (SOF). These levels were compared between the patients and the control subjects and also for the patients before and after the treatment with DAAs. The FGF21 levels were correlated to IR, lipid profile, and stages of liver fibrosis. Results The FGF21, fasting blood sugar (FBS), fasting insulin, and homeostasis model of IR (HOMA-IR) were significantly higher in CHC patients compared to control (5.04±0.75 vs 4.7±0.52, 20.15±5.13 vs 13.15±4.2, 4.49±1.28 vs 2.72±0.87, and 123.7±52.6 vs 21.8±8.8; P≤0.01, P≤0.001, P≤0.001, and P≤0.001, respectively). The posttreatment FGF21 levels were significantly reduced when compared to the pretreatment levels (123.7±52.5 vs 60.5±32.7, P≤0.001). FGF21 levels showed significant negative correlation with FBS and positive correlation with serum albumin (P≤0.05 and P≤0.003, respectively). The multiple linear regression analysis revealed that serum albumin, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c), and the stage of liver fibrosis were independent risk factors for FGF21. Conclusion Besides its metabolic modulator role, FGF21 strongly introduced itself as a novel biomarker of hepatic injury in Egyptian, genotype-4, CHC patients.
Exploring the Impact of Code Smells on Fine-Grained Structural Change-Proneness

Code smells are used to describe the bad structures in the source code, which could hinder software maintainability, understandability and changeability. Nowadays, scholars mainly focus on the impact of smell on textual change-proneness. However, in comparison to textual changes, structural changes could better reveal the change nature. In practice, not all code change types are equally important in terms of change risk severity levels, and software developers are more interested in particular changes relevant to their current tasks. Therefore, we investigate the relationship between smells and fine-grained structural change-proneness to solve these issues. Our experiment was conducted on 11 typical open source projects. We first employed Fishers exact test and Mann–Whitney test to explore whether smelly files (affected by at least one smell type) had higher structural change-proneness than other files, and whether files with more smell instances are more likely to undergo structural changes, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression model was built to study the relation between each kind of smell and change-proneness with respect to five change categories. Our results showed that: (1) in most cases, smelly files were more prone to structural changes and files with more smell instances tend to undergo higher structural changes; (2) quite a few smell types were related to structural change-proneness, particularly, Refused Parent Bequest (RPB), Message Chains (MCH), Divergent Change (DIVC), Feature Envy (FE) and Shotgun Surgery (SS) increased structural changes for some change categories. However, when controlling the file size Lines of Code (LOC), significant change-proneness of some smells disappeared or the magnitude of significance decreased more or less.
APACHE II Death Risk and Length of Stay in the ICU Are Associated With Pressure Injury in Critically Ill Patients

Background The aim of this study was to identify factors associated with pressure injury (PI) occurrence in critically ill patients. This was a retrospective cohort study conducted at a mixed intensive care unit (ICU). Methods Univariate analysis and logistic regression were used to identify which variables are associated with PI. Results Twenty-one (15%) of 142 patients developed PI. The median and the range of the variables in the groups without and with PI were as follows: Braden scale risk score, 13 (8 - 20) and 10 (8 - 14) points, respectively; Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) death risk, 39% (2 - 97%) and 75% (26 - 96%), respectively; and length of stay in the ICU, 4 (2 - 36) and 16 (5 - 29) days, respectively. The socio-demographic variables included in the logistic regression were age (P = 0.09), Braden scale risk score (P = 0.0003), APACHE II death risk (P < 0.0001), length of stay in the ICU (P < 0.0001) and reason for ICU admission (P = 0.09). Only APACHE II death risk and length of stay in the ICU presented significant differences; the odds ratios were 1.05 and 1.25, respectively, and the 95% confidence intervals were 1.01 - 1.09 and 1.12 - 1.39, respectively. Conclusion APACHE II death risk and length of stay in the ICU are probably associated with PI occurrence in the study population.
DIMAL: Deep Isometric Manifold Learning Using Sparse Geodesic Sampling

This paper explores a fully unsupervised deep learning approach for computing distance-preserving maps that generate low-dimensional embeddings for a certain class of manifolds. We use the Siamese configuration to train a neural network to solve the problem of least squares multidimensional scaling for generating maps that approximately preserve geodesic distances. By training with only a few landmarks, we show a significantly improved local and nonlocal generalization of the isometric mapping as compared to analogous non-parametric counterparts. Importantly, the combination of a deep-learning framework with a multidimensional scaling objective enables a numerical analysis of network architectures to aid in understanding their representation power. This provides a geometric perspective to the generalizability of deep learning.