Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Diet quality of vegetarian diets compared with nonvegetarian diets: a systematic review

Objective Vegetarian diets are consistently associated with improved health outcomes, and higher diet quality may contribute to improved health outcomes. This systematic review aims to qualitatively compare the a priori diet quality of vegetarian and nonvegetarian diets. Methods Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) protocol, 2 online databases (Web of Science and PubMed) were searched for English language studies comparing diet quality among vegetarian and nonvegetarian adults using an a priori diet quality index. Two reviewers assessed study eligibility. Comparisons were made between total and component (when available) diet quality scores among the 12 studies meeting inclusion criteria. Conclusions Lacto-ovo vegetarians or vegans had higher overall diet quality (4.5-16.4 points higher on the Healthy Eating Index 2010 [HEI-2010]) compared with nonvegetarians in 9 of 12 studies. Higher HEI-2010 scores for vegetarians were driven by closer adherence to recommendations for total fruit, whole grains, seafood and plant protein, and sodium. However, nonvegetarians had closer adherence to recommendations for refined grains and total protein foods. Higher diet quality in vegetarian diets may partially explain improvements in health outcomes compared with nonvegetarians; however, more research controlling for known confounders like health consciousness is needed.
Association between periodontal disease and preterm prelabour rupture of membranes

OBJECTIVE Periodontal disease is a possible contributing factor to preterm delivery. The aim of this study was to compare the periodontal status of women with preterm prelabour rupture of membranes (PPROM) and women with uncomplicated singleton pregnancies. PATIENTS AND METHODS Seventy-eight women with PPROM at gestational ages between 24 + 0 and 36 + 6 weeks and 77 healthy women with uncomplicated pregnancies, matched for gestational age at sampling without preterm birth, were included in this study. All women underwent evaluation of periodontal and oral hygiene status. RESULTS Women with PPROM had higher gingival and plaque indexes in crude analysis (gingival index: median 0.80 versus 0.20; p < 0.0001; plaque index: median 0.80 versus 0.10; p < 0.0001), even after adjustment for smoking status (p < 0.0001 and p < 0.0001). Mean clinical attachment loss (CAL) and probing pocket depth (PPD) values were higher in women with PPROM in the crude analysis (CAL: median 2.3 mm versus 1.8 mm; p < 0.0001; PPD: median 2.3 mm versus 1.8; p < 0.0001), as well as after adjustment for smoking status (p < 0.0001 and p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS Pregnant women with PPROM residing in central Europe had worse periodontal status than women with uncomplicated pregnancies.
Twenty-five years of national health IT: exploring strategy, structure, and systems in the English NHS

Abstract Objective There is global interest in implementing national information systems to support healthcare, and the National Health Service in England (NHS) has a troubled 25-year history in this sphere. Our objective was to chronicle structural reorganizations within the NHS from 1973 to 2017, alongside concurrent national information technology (IT) strategies, as the basis for developing a conceptual model to aid understanding of the organizational factors involved. Materials and Methods We undertook an exploratory, retrospective longitudinal case study by reviewing strategic plans, legislation, and health policy documents, and constructed schemata for evolving structure and strategy. Literature on multi-organizational forms, complexity, national-level health IT implementations, and mega-projects was reviewed to identify factors that mapped to the schemata. Guided by strong structuration theory, these factors were superimposed on a simplified structural schema to create the conceptual model. Results Against a background of frequent NHS reorganizations, there has been a logical and emergent NHS IT strategy focusing progressively on technical and data standards, connectivity, applications, and consolidation. The NHS has a complex and hierarchical multi-organization form in which restructuring may impact a range of intra- and inter-organizational factors. Discussion NHS-wide IT programs have generally failed to meet expectations, though evaluations have usually overlooked longer-term progress. Realizing a long-term health IT strategy may be impeded by volatility of the implementation environment as organizational structures and relationships change. Key factors influencing the strategy–structure dyad can be superimposed on the tiered NHS structure to facilitate analysis of their impact. Conclusion Alignment between incremental health IT strategy and dynamic structure is an under-researched area. Lessons from organizational studies and the management of mega-projects may help in understanding some of the ongoing challenges.
Digital neuropsychology: Challenges and opportunities at the intersection of science and software

Abstract Objective: Digital devices are now broadly accessible and have the capacity to measure aspects of human behavior with high precision and accuracy, in a standardized manner. The purpose of this article is to characterize opportunities and barriers for modern digital neuropsychology, particularly those that are unique to digital assessment. Methods: We provide a critical overview of the state-of-the-art in digital neuropsychology, focusing on personal digital devices. Results: We identify three major barriers associated with digital neuropsychology, which affect both the interpretation of test scores and test norms: (1) variability in the perceptual, motor and cognitive demands of the same test across digital device classes (e.g. personal computer, tablet and smartphone); (2) hardware and software variability between devices within the same class that affect stimulus presentation and measurement and (3) rapid changes over time in hardware, software and device ownership, which can lead to rapid obsolescence of particular tests and test norms. We offer specific recommendations to address these barriers and outline new opportunities to understand and measure neuropsychological functioning over time and in everyday environments. Conclusions: Digital neuropsychology provides new approaches for measuring and monitoring neuropsychological functioning, informed by an understanding of the limitations and potential of digital technology.
Antagonistic effects of Plasmodium-helminth co-infections on malaria pathology in different population groups in Côte d’Ivoire

INTRODUCTION Plasmodium spp. and helminths are co-endemic in many parts of the tropics; hence, co-infection is a common phenomenon. Interactions between Plasmodium and helminth infections may alter the host's immune response and susceptibility and thus impact on morbidity. There is little information on the direction and magnitude of such interactions and results are conflicting. This study aimed at shedding new light on the potential interactions of Plasmodium and helminth co-infections on anemia and splenomegaly in different population groups in Côte d'Ivoire. METHODOLOGY Parasitologic and clinical data were obtained from four cross-sectional community-based studies and a national school-based survey conducted between 2011 and 2013 in Côte d'Ivoire. Six scenarios of co-infection pairs defined as Plasmodium infection or high parasitemia, combined with one of three common helminth infections (i.e., Schistosoma mansoni, S. haematobium, and hookworm) served for analysis. Adjusted logistic regression models were built for each scenario and interaction measures on additive scale calculated according to Rothman et al., while an interaction term in the model served as multiplicative scale measure. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS All identified significant interactions were of antagonistic nature but varied in magnitude and species combination. In study participants aged 5-18 years from community-based studies, Plasmodium-hookworm co-infection showed an antagonistic interaction on additive scale on splenomegaly, while Plasmodium-Schistosoma co-infection scenarios showed protective effects on multiplicative scale for anemia and splenomegaly in participants aged 5-16 years from a school-based study. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE No exacerbation from co-infection with Plasmodium and helminths was observed, neither in participants aged 5-18 years nor in adults from the community-based studies. Future studies should unravel underlying mechanisms of the observed interactions, as this knowledge might help shaping control efforts against these diseases of poverty.
Self-feeding dependence incidence and predictors among nursing home residents: Findings from a 5 year retrospective regional study.

The aim of this regionally-based, retrospective study was to describe the incidence of self-feeding dependence and predictors among elderly patients admitted from 2008 to 2013 to 105 Italian nursing homes. Data reported in a regional database collected at the time of nursing home admission and every 6 months up to the resident's death were accessed. The self-feeding degree of dependence was the dependent variable; at the individual and nursing home levels, explanatory variables were those collected at nursing home admission and every 6 months. The structural equation model and the ordinal polynomial logit regression analysis were performed. A total of 13 175 records of residents when admitted to the nursing home and their following 69 341 records, were included. At the time of nursing home admission, 6496 residents (49.3%) reported a certain degree of dependence in self-feeding and showed slight worsening in their dependence every 6 months. At the individual level, the increased functional dependence raised the proportional odds ratios of approximately 4.36 times of an increased dependence in self-feeding; the degree of cognitive impairment, the lack of social interactions, the occurrence of pressure sores, comorbidities, as well as the clinical instability and time all raised the risk of self-feeding dependence progression. At the nursing home level, an increased number of beds emerged as a factor also increasing the proportional odds of dependence in self-feeding. Factors affecting self-feeding dependence are multi-faceted at the individual and at the nursing home levels.
Intracranial Carotid Artery Calcification and Effect of Endovascular Stroke Treatment

Background and Purpose— Previous studies suggest that intracranial carotid artery calcification (ICAC) volume might influence the clinical outcome of patients after endovascular treatment (EVT) for acute ischemic stroke. Importantly, ICAC can be subtyped into a medial or intimal pattern that may differentially influence the effect of EVT in patients with acute ischemic stroke. Methods— All 500 patients included in the MR CLEAN (Multicenter Randomized Clinical trial of Endovascular treatment for acute ischemic stroke in the Netherlands) were evaluated. Volume (mm3) and location pattern (tunica intima or tunica media) of ICAC could be determined on baseline noncontrast computed tomography in 344 patients. Functional outcome at 90 days was assessed with the modified Rankin Scale. Next, we investigated the association of ICAC volume and pattern with functional outcome using adjusted ordinal logistic regression models. Effect modification by EVT was assessed with an interaction term between treatment allocation and ICAC aspect. Results— We found evidence for treatment effect modification by ICAC pattern (P interaction=0.04). Patients with predominantly medial calcification had better functional outcome with EVT than without this treatment (adjusted common odds ratio, 2.32; 95% CI, 1.23–4.39), but we observed no effect of EVT in patients with predominantly intimal calcifications (adjusted common odds ratio, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.40–1.68). We did not find an association of ICAC volume with functional outcome (adjusted common odds ratio per unit increase ICAC volume 1.01 (95% CI, 0.89–1.13). Moreover, we found no evidence for effect modification by ICAC volume (P interaction=0.61). Conclusions— The benefit of EVT in acute ischemic stroke patients with a medial calcification pattern is larger than the benefit in patients with an intimal calcification pattern. Clinical Trial Registration— URL: http://www.trialregister. nl. Unique identifier: NTR1804. URL: http://www.isrctn. com. Unique identifier: ISRCTN10888758.
Using an interactive communication tool in healthcare situations: Patterns in young children’s use of participation cues

This study forms part of a larger project about developing and using interactive technology to facilitate young children’s participation in healthcare situations. Children’s participation in these situations improves their motivation and situated understanding. Likewise, their participation helps professionals to more fully understand the child’s perspective. In the project, an interactive communication tool, that is, an application suitable for tablet use, was developed with children, aged three to five, in two clinical settings. When tested, the children’s participation cues, identified from video recordings of healthcare situations, were understood as having curious, thoughtful or affirmative meanings. This study aimed to investigate the similarities and differences in the young children’s use of participation cues when using an interactive communication tool in healthcare situations. A secondary analysis of the identified cues was performed focusing on age, setting and examination or procedure. In total, 2167 cues were identified representing either curious, thoughtful or affirmative cues. The curious cues were mainly used (66%), followed by thoughtful (28%) and affirmative (6%) cues. Differences in cue usage were seen in relation to the children’s age and setting. Knowing how children may react to common healthcare procedures may help increase healthcare professionals’ awareness of the need to support children in an individual and situational way.
Classification by Sparse Neural Networks

The choice of dictionaries of computational units suitable for efficient computation of binary classification tasks is investigated. To deal with exponentially growing sets of tasks with increasingly large domains, a probabilistic model is introduced. The relevance of tasks for a given application area is modeled by a product probability distribution on the set of all binary-valued functions. Approximate measures of network sparsity are studied in terms of variational norms tailored to dictionaries of computational units. Bounds on these norms are proven using the Chernoff–Hoeffding bound on sums of independent random variables that need not be identically distributed. Consequences of the probabilistic results for the choice of dictionaries of computational units are derived. It is shown that when a priori knowledge of a type of classification tasks is limited, then the sparsity may be achieved only at the expense of large sizes of dictionaries.
Inequality, A Reassessment of the Effect of Family and Schooling in America.

The book Inequality by Christopher Jencks is in one sense an arid waste of somewhat confusing and misleading statistics between chapter one and chapter nine, and, in another sense, a destructive, unscientific critique of American education and families. Jencks' interpretation comes down hard on his basic feeling that "The crucial problem today is that relatively few people view income inequality as a serious problem; indeed the Nixon administration apparently convinced itself that income was too equally distributed in 1968 and that the rich needed additional incentives to get even richer . The Kennedy and Johnson administrations were only marginally better. Neither made any explicit effort to equalize incomes; the subject was hardly discussed. Instead reformers focused on equalizing opportunity. " This view is probably correct but it is no excuse for an unscholarly, unscientific polemic against far from "peripheral institutions," which is Jencks' evaluation of the American schools. This book states
Candida auris otomycosis in Iran and review of recent literature

Candida auris is a multidrug‐resistant yeast emerging in immunocompromised and in otherwise healthy individuals. Due to difficulties in microbiological identification of C. auris because of the lack of available laboratory technology in developing countries, the number of patients affected is most likely underestimated. We report the first case of C. auris otitis which now adds Iran as the fifth country around the Persian Gulf, in addition to Kuwait, Oman, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Candida auris is an unknown pathogen in routine laboratories in Iran because most Candida isolates are probably misdiagnosed. Otomycosis seems to be a different clinical presentation of C. auris mainly involving isolates from the East‐Asian clade. We compared the mycological and clinical details of the Iranian patient with other cases of otitis reported since the last review of C. auris otomycosis in 2017.
What are the risk factors for postoperative infections of third molar extraction surgery: A retrospective clinical study-?

Background This study aimed to identify (1) the predilection site of postoperative infection after third molar extraction surgery, (2) risk factors associated with postoperative infection, and (3) the cause of the difference between delayed- and early-onset infections. Material and Methods This retrospective study included 1010 patients (396 male, 614 female) who had ≥1 third molars extracted (2407; 812 maxilla, 1595 mandible). The risk factors were classified as attributes, general health, anatomic, and operative. Outcome variables were delayed- and early-onset infections. Results Postoperative infection was completely absent in the maxilla, and all infections occurred in the mandible, with a probability of 1.94% (31/1595). Bivariate analysis for postoperative infection showed depth of inclusion and intraoperative hemostatic treatment to be significantly associated with the development of infections. Bivariate analysis for delayed- and early-onset infections showed simultaneous extraction of the left and right mandibular third molars to be prominent risk factors. Conclusions Postoperative infection occurs mainly in the mandible, and that in the maxilla is very rare. The risk of postoperative infection in the mandible was found to be related to the depth of inclusion and intraoperative hemostatic treatment. Simultaneous extraction of the left and right mandibular third molars appear to increase the risk of delayed-onset postoperative infection. Key words:Third molar extraction surgery, delayed-onset infection, early-onset infection, postoperative infection.
Employee Stress, Reduced Productivity, and Interest in a Workplace Health Program: A Case Study from the Australian Mining Industry

The Australian mining sector has an elevated industry prevalence of stress and high stress related productivity impairment costs. This study surveyed 897 employees from an Australian mining company to identify characteristics associated with: (a) high stress related productivity impairment costs; and (b) likelihood of stressed employees wanting stress management assistance at work. Groups associated with average annual productivity impairment costs in excess of $50,000 per employee included: permanent day shift employees; employees who reported being stressed at work most of the time; employees who reported being stress at work all of the time; and employees who were contemplating better managing their stress in the next 6 months. Overall, 52% of employees who identified as being in the contemplation stage of change for stress management and 52% of employees who experienced stress most of the time reported wanting stress assistance with stress. However, only 33% of stressed permanent day shift employees and 36% of employees who experienced stress all the time reported wanting stress assistance. To achieve a high return on investment when implementing workplace stress management programs in the mining industry, practitioners need to strategically target health promotion to engage stressed employees with high productivity impairment costs and low desire for stress management assistance.
Real life experiences in HCV management in 2018

ABSTRACT Introduction: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major cause of chronic liver disease, with approximately 71 million chronically infected individuals worldwide. Treatment of chronic hepatitis C has considerably improved in the last few years thanks to the introduction of direct-acting antivirals able to achieve sustained virological response in more than 95% of patients. Successful anti-HCV treatment can halt liver disease progression and solve the HCV-related extra-hepatic manifestations, eventually reducing liver-related and overall mortality. Areas covered: With the aim to respond to unmet needs in patient’s identification, universal access to antiviral therapy and treatment optimization in specific setting of HCV-infected patients, a group of Italian experts met in Stresa in May 2018. The summary of the considerations arising from this meeting and the final statements are reported in this paper. Expert commentary: All the advances on HCV cure may have a real clinical impact not only in individual patients but also at the social health level if they are applied to all infected patients, independently from the stage of liver disease. Further improvements are needed in order to attain HCV elimination, such as the development of an enhanced screening program working in parallel to the present treatment options.
Nomogram for Predicting Individual Survival After Recurrence of Advanced-Stage, High-Grade Ovarian Carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE To analyze clinical prognostic factors for survival after recurrence of high-grade, advanced-stage ovarian-peritoneal-tubal carcinoma and to develop a nomogram to predict individual survival after recurrence. METHODS We retrospectively analyzed patients treated in multicenter Gynecologic Oncology Group protocols for stage III and IV ovarian-peritoneal-tubal carcinoma who underwent primary debulking surgery, received chemotherapy with paclitaxel and a platinum compound, and subsequently developed recurrence. Prognostic factors affecting survival were identified and used to develop a nomogram, which was both internally and externally validated. RESULTS There were 4,739 patients included in this analysis, of whom, 84% had stage III and 16% had stage IV ovarian carcinoma. At a median follow-up of 88.8 months (95% CI 86.2-92.0 months), the vast majority of patients (89.4%) had died. The median survival after recurrence was 21.4 months (95% CI 20.5-21.9 months). Time to recurrence after initial chemotherapy, clear cell or mucinous histology, performance status, stage IV disease, and age were significant variables used to develop a nomogram for survival after recurrence, which had a concordance index of 0.67. The time to recurrence alone accounted for 85% of the prognostic information. Similar results were found for patients who underwent second look laparotomy and had a complete pathologic response or received intraperitoneal chemotherapy. CONCLUSION For individuals with advanced-stage ovarian carcinoma who recur after standard first-line therapy, estimated survivals after recurrence are closely related to the time to recurrence after chemotherapy and prognostic variables can be used to predict subsequent survival. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinialTrials.gov, NCT00002568, NCT00837993, NCT00002717, NCT01074398, and NCT00011986.