Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Association of GABABR1 Receptor Gene Polymorphism with Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome

Objective: GABABR (gamma-amino butyric acid B receptor)-mediated neurotransmission has been implicated in the pathophysiology of a variety of neuropsychiatric disorders. GABABR1 gene variants were identified by single-strand conformation analysis. The nucleotide exchanges cause a substitution of alanine to valine in exon 1a1 (Ala20Val), a substitution of glycine to serine in exon 7 (Gly489Ser) and a silent C to G nucleotide exchange encoding the amino acid phenylalanine in exon 11 (Phe658Phe). The significance of GABABR1a gene polymorphism in obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) as well as the association of these polymorphisms with the polysomnography findings in OSAS patients are not known. In this study, we aimed to assess the significance of 3 different GABABR1 gene polymorphisms (Ala20Val, Gly489Ser and Phe658Phe) in OSAS. Methods: Seventy-five patients (23 female and 52 male) with OSAS and 99 healthy volunteers (51 female, 48 male) were included in the study to assess Ala20Val, Gly489Ser and Phe658Phe polymorphisms of the GABABR1 gene. Results: For the Ala20Val variants, there was no significant difference between the genotypes and allele frequencies of the patients and controls, nor between both genders (p > 0.05). For Phe658Phe polymorphism, there was no significant difference between genotypes and allele frequencies of the patients and controls (p > 0.05). However, the C/C genotype was overrepresented and the T/C genotype was less frequent in male than female patients (p = 0.03). The C/C genotype was overrepresented and the T/C genotype was less frequent in male patients than male controls (p = 0.01). For GABABR1-Gly489Ser polymorphism, all of the patients and controls had G/G genotype. The apnea arousal index scores of the male patients with C/C genotype were significantly higher than in the patients with C/T genotype (p = 0.01). The percent total sleep time in non-REM 1 scores of the male patients with T/T genotype were significantly higher than in the patients with T/C genotype (p = 0.021). The percent total sleep time in non-REM 2 scores of the female patients with C/C genotype were significantly higher than in the patients with C/T genotype (p = 0.006). Conclusion: The Ala20Val polymorphism of the GABABR1 gene may be associated with OSAS, whereas Gly489Ser polymorphism does not seem to be involved in OSAS. The C/C variant of the Phe658Phe polymorphism GABABR1 gene seems associated with the occurrence of OSAS and is also associated with some sleep related parameters (apnea arousal index and percent total sleep time in non-REM) recorded by polysomnography.
Lumbar Multifidus and Erector Spinae Muscle Synergies in Patients with Nonspecific Low Back Pain During Prone Hip Extension: A Cross‐sectional Study

Prone hip extension is used to clinically assess movement control in patients with nonspecific low back pain (LBP). Excessive lumbopelvic movements and altered muscle activation patterns are common in patients with nonspecific LBP. However, no evidence exists regarding lumbar multifidus and lumbar erector spinae muscle synergy patterns in patients with nonspecific LBP during this clinical test.
The Significance of Ascites in Patients With Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: A Case-Control Study

Objective Limited data exist on the impact of ascites in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). We evaluated the survival outcomes of patients with PDAC and ascites. Methods Retrospective, single-institution, case-control study including patients with newly diagnosed PDAC from 2007 to 2016. One hundred fifty-four patients with ascites at diagnosis (case group) and 154 controls were matched on age, sex, stage, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance, surgical treatment, lymph node, and margin status. Ascites was defined as computed tomography–detected fluid in the pelvic/peritoneal cavity. Overall survival was compared between groups via Cox proportional hazards models with a gamma frailty term to account for the correlation between matched pairs on entire cohort and by disease stages for subgroup analysis. Results The 154 matched cases included 24 resectable, 19 borderline resectable, 51 locally advanced, and 60 metastatic disease. Patients with ascites had higher risk of death compared with those without (conditional hazard ratio, 1.58; 95% confidence interval, 1.23–2.03; P < 0.001). Stratified analysis showed a significant association between ascites and poor prognosis in patients with localized disease (conditional hazard ratio, 1.62; 95% confidence interval, 1.18–2.24; P = 0.003). Conclusions Radiographic ascites is a poor prognostic factor in PDAC. Our findings may aid physicians in considering systemic therapy prior to attempting local treatments.
GraphGrind: addressing load imbalance of graph partitioning

We investigate how graph partitioning adversely affects the performance of graph analytics. We demonstrate that graph partitioning induces extra work during graph traversal and that graph partitions have markedly different connectivity than the original graph. By consequence, increasing the number of partitions reaches a tipping point after which overheads quickly dominate performance gains. Moreover, we show that the heuristic to balance CPU load between graph partitions by balancing the number of edges is inappropriate for a range of graph analyses. However, even when it is appropriate, it is sub-optimal due to the skewed degree distribution of social networks. Based on these observations, we propose GraphGrind, a new graph analytics system that addresses the limitations incurred by graph partitioning. We moreover propose a NUMA-aware extension to the Cilk programming language and obtain a scale-free yet NUMA-aware parallel programming environment which underpins NUMA-aware scheduling in GraphGrind. We demonstrate that Graph-Grind outperforms state-of-the-art graph analytics systems for shared memory including Ligra, Polymer and Galois.
Is There an Overlap between Sudden Neurosensorial Hearing Loss and Cardiovascular Risk Factors?

Introduction: Sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSHL) has been proposed as a symptom of underlying vascular problems. The purpose of this work is to evaluate the genetic and acquired risk factors. Methods: Ninety-nine patients were tested for the presence of common polymorphisms related to thrombophilia (prothrombin and factor V Leiden) in order to assess genetic risk factors, and several parameters classically associated with vascular disorders (cardiovascular events, brain stroke and antiphospholipid syndrome) were evaluated. Additional assessments of personal and familial history risk factors for vascular disorders were performed in each patient. Results: Thrombophilia studies did not demonstrate statistically relevant differences between the patients and control group. However, lipidemia profile and directed personal and familial histories showed positive trends for SSHL. Conclusion: The lack of clear relationships between SSHL and other vascular risk factors suggests multicausality as a predominant disease profile. Although preliminary results point at a vascular involvement in SSHL, a long-term prospective study is necessary to demonstrate that SSHL represents an early vascular symptom.
First Report of Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl Virus in Réunion Island.

In September 1997, stunting, reduced leaf size, leaf curling, and yellow margins were observed on tomato plants on a farm on the south coast of Réunion, a French island belonging to the Mascarenes archipelago. To our knowledge, these symptoms appeared to be characteristic of a tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) infection. Diseased plants gave positive reactions with a triple antibody sandwich-enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (TAS-ELISA), using ADGEN antibodies specific for begomoviruses (1). The serological results were confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with a pair of degenerate primers-MP16, 5'-CCTCTAGATAATATTAC(C/T)(G/T)(G/A)(A/T)(T/G)G(G/A)CC-3' and MP82, 5'-CGGAATTC(T/C)TGNAC(C/T)TT(G/A)CANGGNCC(T/C)T C(G/A)CA-3'-designed by Malla Padidam (ILTAB, San Diego, CA) to amplify a region of the A component of begomoviruses, between the intergenic conserved nonanucleotide sequence (TAATATTAC) and the first 5' quarter of the capsid protein gene. A 500-bp PCR product was obtained from a symptomatic plant but not from a healthy looking one. After cloning the PCR product in a pGEM-T Easy vector (Promega, Madison, WI) and sequencing it with plasmid-specific primers (SP6, T7), the sequence was compared with the sequences of the NCBI data base, with the use of BLAST. Nineteen sequences among those producing the highest scoring segment pairs were compared with each other and with the 500-bp PCR product from Réunion by the Clustal method of MegAlign (DNASTAR, London). The Réunion sequence (AJ010790) was at least 94% similar to sequences of TYLCV isolates from the Dominican Republic (AF024715), Cuba (AJ223505), and Israel (X15656, X76319 for the mild clone). Based on these results, it appeared that the analyzed tomato plant was infected by a geminivirus isolate belonging to the Israeli species of TYLCV. A preliminary survey was carried out from December 1997 to April 1998 in both outdoor and protected tomato crops. Infected plants were detected by TAS-ELISA in 52 of the 123 locations visited. Severe economic losses were observed: 14 locations with 60 to 100% yield reduction and 11 locations with 40 to 60% yield reduction. All the infected samples were collected in the leeward coast, which is the driest region of the island. Although Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) has been recorded since 1938 in Réunion (2), it has been observed on tomato crops only since 1997 and population levels were low compared with those of Trialeurodes vaporariorum Westwood. During the first six months of 1998, B. tabaci was found on Euphorbia heterophylla L. , Lantana camara L. , Solanum melongena L. , S. nigrum L. , and Phaseolus vulgaris L. These host plants often occur near infected tomato crops. References: (1) S. Macintosh et al. Ann. Appl. Biol. 121:297, 1992. (2) L. Russell and J. Etienne. Proc. Entomol. Soc. Wash. 87:202, 1985.
Combined Low Densities of FoxP3+ and CD3+ Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes Identify Stage II Colorectal Cancer at High Risk of Progression

For nonmetastatic colorectal cancer, FoxP3+ and CD3+ T-cell densities have prognostic value up to stage III is reached. Loss of prognostic value at that point indicates that various T-cell subsets are differentially influential as the cancer progresses. The densities of CD3+ and CD8+ tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), combined with tumor–node–metastasis (TNM) staging, have prognostic value for patients with nonmetastatic colorectal cancer. We compared the prognostic value of CD3+ and FoxP3+ TILs at the invasive front, TNM classifiers, and microsatellite (MS) status in a trial set of patients with stage II and III colorectal cancer (n = 413), by recursive partitioning with a classification and regression tree (CART). Significant prognostic factors and interactions were reassessed by logistic regression and Cox proportional-hazards modeling in the trial and a validation set (n = 215) of patients with stage II colorectal cancer. In the trial set, CART indicated that TIL numbers were of value only in predicting recurrence risk for stage II cancers, where low densities of FoxP3+ TILs ranked first and low densities of CD3+ TILs further stratifying risk. Multivariate analysis showed that TILs interacted with tumor stage (FoxP3+, P = 0.06; CD3+, P = 0.02) and MS instability (MSI; FoxP3+; P = 0.02). In stage II MS-stable cancers, concomitant low densities of both FoxP3+ and CD3+ TILs identified patients with the highest progression risk in the trial [HR 7.24; 95% confidence interval (CI), 3.41–15.4; P < 0.001] and the validation (HR 15.16; 95% CI, 3.43–66.9; P < 0.001) sets. FoxP3+ and CD3+ TIL load in colorectal cancer was more informative than other prognostic factors before the cancer progressed to lymph nodes. This prognostic information about TILs, including FoxP3+ cells, suggests that randomized controlled trials might be refined to include interactions between TNM status, molecular classifiers, and postsurgical treatments.
Preparation and Characterization of TiO2-PVDF/PMMA Blend Membranes Using an Alternative Non-Toxic Solvent for UF/MF and Photocatalytic Application

The approach of the present work is based on the use of poly (methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) polymer, which is compatible with PVDF and TiO2 nanoparticles in casting solutions, for the preparation of nano-composites membranes using a safer and more compatible solvent. TiO2 embedded poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)/PMMA photocatalytic membranes were prepared by phase inversion method. A non-solvent induced phase separation (NIPS) coupled with vapor induced phase separation (VIPS) was used to fabricate flat-sheet membranes using a dope solution consisting of PMMA, PVDF, TiO2, and triethyl phosphate (TEP) as an alternative non-toxic solvent. Membrane morphology was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Backscatter electron detector (BSD) mapping was used to monitor the inter-dispersion of TiO2 in the membrane surface and matrix. The effects of polymer concentration, evaporation time, additives and catalyst amount on the membrane morphology and properties were investigated. Tests on photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) were also carried out using the membranes entrapped with different concentrations of TiO2. The results of this study showed that nearly 99% MB removal can be easily achieved by photocatalysis using TiO2 immobilized on the membrane matrix. Moreover, it was observed that the quantity of TiO2 plays a significant role in the dye removal.
School-age dental screening: oral health and eating habits.

AIM the study has the purpose to evaluate the association between clinical data collected from dental screening carried out on children and their eating habits. Materials and methods: The dental screening was carried out on a sample of eight-year-old children attending the third grade of the elementary schools of Gaeta (Latina). Clinical data and periodontal status indexes were recorded. The descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, frequency) of all data were calculated and anova analysis and chi square test have been performed. RESULTS On the sample of 70 children the results showed an average of 1.4 decayed teeth per child (sd ± 2.3) with a slightly higher average in females. More than 68% of the sample had poor or insufficient oral hygiene conditions with plaque presence in 64% of cases. Moreover, 57% of children had class II malocclusion with increased overjet and oral breathing respectively in 37% and 30% of cases. Only 24% were breastfed in the first months of life and more than 40% maintained a bad habit for over two years of age. About eating habits, more than 80% of the sample consumed sweets or sweet drinks every day. The analysis of the data showed as children consume several snacks throughout the day, and 47% eat them watching TV. CONCLUSIONS The results of this study showed how prevention program carried out through the School is more effective on children for learning of content especially when the acquisition of knowledge follows the application and verification of theoretical and practical skills in terms of oral health.
Impact of gender on echocardiographic characteristics in heart transplant recipients

Assessment following heart transplantation (HTx) is routinely performed using transthoracic echocardiography. Differences in long‐term mortality following HTx related to donor‐recipient matching have been reported, but effects of gender on cardiac size and function are not well studied. The aims of this study were to evaluate differences in echocardiographic characteristics of HTx recipients defined by gender.
Tachycardia: The hidden cardiovascular risk factor in uncomplicated arterial hypertension.

Early detection and management of elevated blood pressure is crucial in reducing the burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The importance of an absolute risk assessment and patient risk stratification has been highlighted in the European hypertension guidelines since 2003. Amongst numerous risk factors influencing patient prognosis, elevated heart rate (HR) has been indicated as important predictor of future risk of hypertension, coronary heart disease, sudden cardiac death, heart failure, CVD, stroke, total cancer and mortality. Given that resting HR can be easily determined in clinical practice and modified by lifestyle changes as well as beta-blocker therapy, it seems reasonable that lowering resting HR should be a potential target to reduce disease burden and premature mortality. However, there is a lack of outcome studies of HR lowering in tachycardia-related hypertension. This review outlines the underlying mechanisms of early course hypertension pathophysiology with the critical role of the sympathetic nervous system activation, the prognostic significance of fast HR and the mechanistic rationale for the use of non-pharmacological approaches and/or highly long-acting cardioselective beta blockers with some consideration given to betaxolol properties.
Risk Factors for Glaucoma Drainage Device Exposure in a Middle-Eastern Population

Précis: In this case-control study, female sex, and older age were risk factors for tube exposure; risk was related to the number of prior ocular surgeries and scleral patch graft (compared with pericardial graft) was found to protect against exposure. Purpose: Identification of potential risk factors for glaucoma drainage device (GDD) exposure may help to prevent this potentially blinding complication. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the possible risk factors for GDD exposure in a tertiary eye care center in the Middle-East. Methods: A retrospective case-control study was undertaken for a 7-year period (2008 to 2015 inclusive). All patients who presented with a GDD incident exposure were identified and were compared with a similar number of controls (without exposure) identified during the same period. Demographic factors, past ocular history, treatment, and surgical technique were recorded for both groups. Bivariate and multivariable analyses were used to identify possible risk factors for tube exposure. Results: A total of 836 patients underwent GDD surgery during this time period and 53 patients were identified with exposure, giving a cumulative incident exposure rate of 6.3% (0.9% per year). Bivariate analysis showed that the median age of cases (51 years) was similar to controls (53 years) (P=0.95), while there was a greater proportion of women with exposure (49%) compared with the control group (28%) with a statistically significant difference (P=0.028). The number of previous surgeries (3.77±2.1) was significantly higher (P=0.018) in the exposure group (4.25±2.0) compared with controls (3.3±2.0). With each unit increase in the number of previous surgeries, the odds of exposure significantly increased by 1.29 (95% confidence interval, 1.05-1.57). In the multivariable regression, female sex (P=0.006) and older age (P=0.025) were significant risk factors and use of a scleral patch (P=0.02) graft potentially protective. Conclusions: Previous surgery, female sex, and older age are potential risk factors identified in our study. The use of scleral patch graft is potentially protective against GDD extrusion. Further study is needed to elucidate the reasons for these causative and protective factors.
HPV Vaccine Acceptance Among Mid-Adult Women

Objective: To determine correlates of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine acceptance in mid-adult women. Methods: A convenience sample of 472 mid-adult women completed a 2-part, 69-item survey that included demographic, knowledge, and behavioral variables as potential correlates of vaccine acceptance. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression models were used to identify correlates for vaccine acceptance. Results: Mid-adult women who received the HPV vaccine were more likely to be younger than 55 years (P < .001); have had an abnormal Papanicolaou test (odds ratio [OR], 2.15; 95% CI, 1.18–3.92); understand that HPV causes cervical cancer (OR, 2.39; 95% CI, 1.08–5.30); feel at risk for HPV infection (OR, 2.14; 95% CI, 1.00–4.57), and feel it is important for their partner (OR, 25.20; 95% CI, 9.66–65.72) and children (OR, 3.54; CI, 0.51–24.56) to get the HPV vaccine. Monogamous mid-adult women (OR, 0.46; 95% CI, 0.21–1.00); women who did not want any vaccines (OR, 0.26; 95% CI, 0.07–0.92); and women who felt it was too late to get the vaccine (OR, 0.18; 95% CI, 0.08–0.44) were less likely to want the HPV vaccine. Conclusions: These clinical predictors of HPV vaccine acceptance will help clinicians recognize mid-adult women who may be more receptive to vaccination.
Matching response to need: What makes social networks fit for providing bereavement support?

The objectives of this study were to explore the goodness of fit between the bereaved peoples’ needs and the support offered by their social networks; to ascertain whether this support was experienced as helpful or unhelpful by bereaved people; and to explore both the types of social networks that offer effective support and the characteristics of the communities that encourage and nurture such networks. This study was based on qualitative interviews from twenty bereaved people, in Western Australia, interviewed in 2013. A framework analysis of these interviews was undertaken using a deductive approach based on the goodness of fit framework. Much of this support is provided informally in community settings by a range of people already involved in the everyday lives of those recently bereaved; and that support can be helpful or unhelpful depending on its amount, timing, function and structure. Improving the fit between the bereaved person’s needs and the support offered may thus involve identifying and enhancing the caring capacity of existing networks. An important strategy for achieving this is to train community members in mapping and developing these naturally occurring networks. Some such networks will include relationships of long standing, others may be circles of care formed during a period of caring. Peer support bereavement networks develop from these existing networks and may also recruit new members who were not part of the caring circle. The findings endorse social models of bereavement care that fit within a public health approach rather than relying solely on professional care. As exemplified by Compassionate Communities policies and practices, establishing collaboration between community networks and professional services is vital for effective and sustainable bereavement care.