Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prevalence of lung function impairment among Greek cement production workers: a cross-sectional study

Greece is a significant cement producing country. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and risk factors of lung function impairment among Greek cement workers. One hundred thirty- seven cement production workers participated in this study. In addition, 110 employees not exposed to cement dust comprised the control group. The concentration of cement total dust at workplace varied from 1.1 to 11.6 mg/m3. In only one of the measurements, the Threshold Limit Level of 10 mg/m3 has been exceeded. Cement production workers presented a higher prevalence of FEV1<80% in comparison to controls (13.9% vs. 2.7%; Chi-Square Test; p=0.002). Multivariate analysis has shown that cement production workers have recorded an almost 5 fold risk of low lung function, as expressed by FEV1<80%, in comparison to the reference population OR=4.92; 95% C.I. =1.22–12.62). Current smoking was associated with an almost 4- fold increased risk of FEV1<80% (OR=3.91;95% C.I.=1.32–11.56). In conclusion, we found a high prevalence of impaired lung function among Greek cement production workers, despite the fact that total and inhalable dust levels were below the occupational exposure limits.
Read Static Noise Margin Decrease of 65-nm 6-T SRAM Cell Induced by Total Ionizing Dose

Read static noise margin (SNM) decrease of 65-nm 6-T cell induced by total ionizing dose (TID) was observed in this paper. The static random access memory (SRAM) cell test structure allowing precise measurement of read SNM was specifically designed and irradiated by gamma ray. Experimental results show that read SNM of 65-nm 6-T cell is sensitive to TID irradiation. The largest decrease of read SNM is 48 mV after 1000 krad(Si) irradiation, which is 36% of the value before TID irradiation. Being dependent on the measurement of radiation responses of cell transistors and simulation results, we conclude that the read SNM decrease is due to a threshold voltage shift induced by TID. Because narrow width transistors are employed in SRAM cells, threshold voltage of cell transistors will be shifted by charges trapped in shallow trench isolation, known as “Radiation-Induced Narrow Channel Effect. ”
Atrophy rates of entorhinal cortex in AD and normal aging

Objectives: To explore the atrophy rate of entorhinal cortex (ERC) in AD and normal aging and assess the value of rate measurement of ERC atrophy for classifying subjects with AD from cognitively normal (CN) control subjects. Methods: Twenty-one AD patients and 23 CN subjects had MRI scans and clinical evaluations twice within 1.8 ± 0.6 years. ERC volumes were manually measured on volumetric T1-weighted MR images. Results: Patients with AD had a greater annual percentage volume change of ERC than CN subjects on both sides (left: 6.8 ± 4.3%/year for AD vs 1.4 ± 2.5%/year for CN [F1,42 = 25.6, p < 0.001]; right: 6.3 ± 3.3%/year for AD vs 1.4 ± 2.3%/year for CN [F1,42 = 25.6, p < 0.001]). Furthermore, increased ERC atrophy rate was correlated (r = −0.56, p = 0.01) with decreased memory performance in AD. CN subjects had on average annual ERC atrophy rates greater than zero (p < 0.01). Baseline volume of ERC predicted atrophy rate of ERC (left: r = −0.53, p < 0.01; right: r = −0.42, p < 0.05) in CN subjects but not in AD subjects. Using ERC baseline volumes alone resulted in 77% overall correct classification (p < 0.01) between AD and CN subjects, with 76% sensitivity and 78% specificity and an area under receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve of 0.83. Adding annual atrophy rate of ERC to the model accounted for most of the variance (p < 0.01), diminishing contributions from baseline volume and yielding 82% overall classification, with 76% sensitivity and 86% specificity and an area under the ROC curve of 0.93. Conclusion: ERC volume loss over time may be a better indicator for AD than cross-sectional measurements.
Skilled attendant at birth and newborn survival in Sub–Saharan Africa

Background Recent studies have shown higher neonatal mortality among births delivered by a skilled attendant at birth (SAB) compared to those who were not in sub–Saharan African countries. Deaths during the neonatal period are concentrated in the first 7 days of life, with about one third of these deaths occurring during the first day of life. We reassessed the relationship between SAB and neonatal mortality by distinguishing deaths on the first day of life from those on days 2–27. Methods We used data on births in the past five years from recent demographic and health survey (DHS) between 2010 and 2014 in 20 countries in sub–Saharan Africa. The main categorical outcome was 1) newborns who died within the first day of birth (day 0–1), 2) newborns who died between days 2–27, and 3) newborns who survived the neonatal period. We ran generalized linear mixed model with multinomial distribution and random effect for country on pooled data. Additionally, we ran a separate model restricted to births with SAB and assessed the association of receipt of seven antenatal care (ANC) and two immediate postnatal care interventions on risk of death on days 0–1 and days 2–27. These variables were assessed as proxy of quality of antenatal and postnatal care. Results We found no statistically significant difference in risk of death on first day of life between newborns with SAB compared to those without. However, after the first day of life, newborns delivered with SAB were 16% less likely to die within 2–27 days than those without SAB (OR = 0.84, 95% CI = 0.71–0.99). Among births with skilled attendant, those who were weighed at birth and those who were initiated early on breastfeeding were significantly less likely to die on days 0–1 (respectively OR = 0.42 95% CI = 0.29–0.62 and OR = 0.24, 95% CI 0.18–0.31) or on days 2–27 (OR = 0.60, 95% CI = 0.45–0.81 and OR = 0.59, 95% CI = 47–0.74, respectively). Newborns whose mothers received an additional ANC intervention had no improved survival chances during days 0–1 of life. However, there was significant association on days 2–27 where newborns whose mothers received an additional ANC interventions had higher survival chances (OR = 0.95, 95% CI = 0.93–0.98). Conclusion Findings demonstrate the vulnerability of newborns immediately after birth, compounded with insufficient quality of care. Improving the quality of care around the time of birth will significantly improve survival and therefore accelerate reduction in neonatal mortality in sub–Saharan African countries. Improved approaches for measuring skilled attendant at birth are also needed.
General Practitioner Advice on Physical Activity—Who Gets it?

Purpose. To evaluate the prevalence and characteristics of patients who received physical activity counseling from a general practitioner. Methods. Data presented are from a cross-sectional survey of approximately 2000 Queensland (Australia) adults conducted as part of a multi-strategy, community-based, physical activity intervention (10,000 Steps Rockhampton). The survey included self-reported receipt of general practitioner advice on physical activity as well as demographic, medical, and physical activity questions. Results. Receipt of advice on physical activity was reported by 24.2% of respondents, with advice more likely to be given to males, overweight/obese people, those with chronic conditions, and those more frequently visiting their general practitioners. Discussion. Rates of physical activity advice and characteristics of patients receiving advice are similar to those reported overseas and suggest that while there is room for improvement, general practitioners are targeting their advice to patients most in need.
Commentary: Recalling Memory by Brain Stimulation.

Working memory (WM) represents the ability to temporarily process and store information for future behaviors. The delayed response task in primates is explained by a continuing discharge in prefrontal cortical neurons during WM [1]. In mice, persistent neuronal firing also contributes to the formation of WM [2]. Opinions differ, however, with some proposing that working memory can be regulated by calcium-mediated synaptic facilitation without the requirement of persistent firing [3], with information in WM existing as “activity-silent” WM in the prefrontal cortex [4]. To further explore this issue of a synaptic mechanism underlying WM, Rose et al. [5] used transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) targeting specific brain regions to manipulate latent WM.
Extreme programming explained - embrace change

Software development projects can be fun, productive, and even daring. Yet they can consistently deliver value to a business and remain under control.Extreme Programming (XP) was conceived and developed to address the specific needs of software development conducted by small teams in the face of vague and changing requirements. This new lightweight methodology challenges many conventional tenets, including the long-held assumption that the cost of changing a piece of software necessarily rises dramatically over the course of time. XP recognizes that projects have to work to achieve this reduction in cost and exploit the savings once they have been earned.Fundamentals of XP include: Distinguishing between the decisions to be made by business interests and those to be made by project stakeholders. Writing unit tests before programming and keeping all of the tests running at all times. Integrating and testing the whole system--several times a day. Producing all software in pairs, two programmers at one screen. Starting projects with a simple design that constantly evolves to add needed flexibility and remove unneeded complexity. Putting a minimal system into production quickly and growing it in whatever directions prove most valuable.Why is XP so controversial? Some sacred cows don't make the cut in XP: Don't force team members to specialize and become analysts, architects, programmers, testers, and integrators--every XP programmer participates in all of these critical activities every day. Don't conduct complete up-front analysis and design--an XP project starts with a quick analysis of the entire system, and XP programmers continue to make analysis and design decisions throughout development. Develop infrastructure and frameworks as you develop your application, not up-front--delivering business value is the heartbeat that drives XP projects. Don't write and maintain implementation documentation--communication in XP projects occurs face-to-face, or through efficient tests and carefully written code.You may love XP, or you may hate it, but Extreme Programming Explained will force you to take a fresh look at how you develop software. 0201616416B04062001
Co-factor-independent phosphoglycerate mutase of Leishmania donovani modulates macrophage signalling and promotes T-cell repertoires bearing epitopes for both MHC-I and MHC-II

SUMMARY Immunoactivation depends upon the antigen potential to modulate T-cell repertoires. The present study has enumerated the effect of 61 kDa recombinant Leishmania donovani co-factor-independent phosphoglycerate mutase (rLd-iPGAM) on mononuclear cells of healthy and treated visceral leishmaniasis subjects as well as on THP-1 cell line. rLd-iPGAM stimulation induced higher expression of interleukin-1β (IL-1β) in the phagocytic cell, its receptor and CD69 on T-cell subsets. These cellular activations resulted in upregulation of host-protective cytokines IL-2, IL-12, IL-17, tumour necrosis factor-α and interferon-γ, and downregulation of IL-4, IL-10 and tumour growth factor-β. This immune polarization was also evidenced by upregulation of nuclear factor-κ light-chain enhancer of activated B cells p50 and regulated expression of suppressor of mother against decapentaplegic protein-4. rLd-iPGAM stimulation also promoted lymphocyte proliferation and boosted the leishmaniacidal activity of macrophages by upregulating reactive oxygen species. It also induced 1·8-fold higher release of nitric oxide (NO) by promoting the transcription of inducible nitric oxide synthase gene. Besides, in silico analysis suggested the presence of major histocompatibility complex class I and II restricted epitopes, which can proficiently trigger CD8+ and CD4+ cells, respectively. This study reports rLd-iPGAM as an effective immunoprophylactic agent, which can be used in future vaccine design.
Latency of Auditory Evoked Field Deflection N100m Ruled by Pitch or Spectrum?

The auditory evoked field (AEF) in response to pure tones of 250 and 1000 Hz and a complex tone with a periodicity of 4 ms (composed of the frequencies 1000, 1250, 1500, 1750, and 2000 Hz), corresponding to a pitch of 250 Hz, was recorded with a 37-channel neuromagnetometer system. The intensity was 60 dB sensation level (SL). Two different stimulus durations were examined in 12 subjects: 500 ms (long tones) and 100 ms (short tones). The stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) was uniformly distributed between 3 and 4 s for the long tones and between 0.8 and 1.2 s for the short tones. Each subject was investigated four times, to assess the intraindividual variability. The mean latency of the AEF deflection N100m turned out to be similar for the long and the short tones: about 98 and 87 ms for the pure tones of 250 Hz and 1000 Hz, respectively, and 95 ms for the complex tone with a pitch of 250 Hz. However, a great interindividual variability was observed, exhibiting no consistent relationship between the N100m latencies for the three different tones, except that the response to the pure tone of 1000 Hz generally occurred earlier. In conclusion, this study does not support the proposal that the N100m latency represents a code for pitch, although a low pitch appears to be a factor favoring a longer N100m latency.
Comparative analysis between RQ‐PCR and digital droplet PCR of BCL2/IGH gene rearrangement in the peripheral blood and bone marrow of early stage follicular lymphoma

BCL2/IGH rearrangements were analysed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) at diagnosis in paired peripheral blood (PB) and bone marrow (BM) samples from 67 patients with stage I/II follicular lymphoma (FL). Real time quantitative PCR (RQ‐PCR) and digital droplet PCR (ddPCR) were performed in cases with a major breakpoint region (MBR+) at diagnosis and after localized radiotherapy and rituximab administration in order to investigate the applicability of ddPCR. The overall ddPCR/RQ‐PCR concordance was 81·9% (113/138 samples) and 97·5% in the 40/138 with quantifiable disease (RQ‐PCR≥10−5). At baseline, ddPCR allowed the recovery of a MBR+ marker in 8/18 (44·4%) samples that resulted MBR‐negative/minor cluster region‐negative/minor BCL2‐negative by qualitative PCR. Moreover, the tumour burden at diagnosis significantly predicted progression‐free survival (PSF) only when quantified by ddPCR. Paired PB and BM samples analysis demonstrated a high concordance in the detection of BCL2/IGH+ cells by qualitative and quantitative methods; in particular, 40/62 samples were positive by ddPCR (25 PB+/BM+; 9 PB+/BM−; 6 PB−/BM+), with 34/40 (85%) identified by the study of PB only. In conclusion, in localized FL, ddPCR is a promising tool for monitoring minimal residual disease (MRD) that is at least comparable to RQ‐PCR and potentially more accurate. PB is a suitable source for serial BCL2/IGH MRD assessments, regardless of the methodology utilized.
Treatment of Cerebral Radionecrosis by Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

Clinically observed adverse radiation effects (ARE) are rather uncommon, but modern imaging reveals that they are more common after radiosurgery than previously believed. Little is known about the pathogenesis, and current treatment is mostly empirical. The benefit of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO) on radiation-induced bone and soft tissue necrosis is known in lesions in the maxillofacial area, the mouth and in the head and neck. HBO raises the tissue pO2 and initiates a cellular and vascular repair mechanism. This forms the basis for the hypothesis that it might also help alleviate the results of cerebral radionecrosis. This study is a preliminary attempt to test this hypothesis. Two patients with arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) were chosen for the study. They had been treated with Gamma Knife radiosurgery (GKRS) and had developed imaging signs consistent with ARE. They were treated by breathing 100% oxygen at 2.5 atmospheres absolute (250 kPa) in sessions of 60 minutes per day. This treatment was repeated 40 times in cycles of ten sessions. Both responded well to HBO, one lesion disappeared and the other was reduced significantly in size. No adjuvant steroids were given. These results give evidence that HBO has a potential value in treating ARE but further experience will be needed to confirm its definite benefit.
Flow Alignment of Extracellular Vesicles: Structure and Orientation of Membrane‐Associated Bio‐macromolecules Studied with Polarized Light

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are currently in scientific focus, as they have great potential to revolutionize the diagnosis and therapy of various diseases. However, numerous aspects of these species are still poorly understood, and thus, additional insight into their molecular‐level properties, membrane–protein interactions, and membrane rigidity is still needed. We here demonstrate the use of red‐blood‐cell‐derived EVs (REVs) that polarized light spectroscopy techniques, linear and circular dichroism, can provide molecular‐level structural information on these systems. Flow‐linear dichroism (flow‐LD) measurements show that EVs can be oriented by shear force and indicate that hemoglobin molecules are associated to the lipid bilayer in freshly released REVs. During storage, this interaction ceases; this is coupled to major protein conformational changes relative to the initial state. Further on, the degree of orientation gives insight into vesicle rigidity, which decreases in time parallel to changes in protein conformation. Overall, we propose that both linear dichroism and circular dichroism spectroscopy can provide simple, rapid, yet efficient ways to track changes in the membrane–protein interactions of EV components at the molecular level, which may also give insight into processes occurring during vesiculation.
Effect of ghrelin on total antioxidant capacity, lipid peroxidation, sperm parameters and fertility in mice against oxidative damage caused by cyclophosphamide

Cyclophosphamide is a drug used for chemotherapy and as an immune‐suppressive in the organ transplantation. Despite its many clinical implications in the treatment of cancers, this drug has toxic effects on the reproductive system. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of ghrelin against the damages caused by cyclophosphamide. In this experimental study, 40 male mice were randomly divided into four groups: (i) control; (ii) cyclophosphamide; (iii) cyclophosphamide + ghrelin; and (iv) ghrelin. Cyclophosphamide (100 mg/kg body weight), once a week, and ghrelin (80 μg/kg body weight), daily, were administered intraperitoneally for 5 weeks. After 5 weeks, the epididymides were removed and the lipid peroxidation, total antioxidant capacity and sperm parameters were examined. The fertility rate was evaluated by performance in vitro fertilisation. In the mice exposed to cyclophosphamide, the number of spermatozoa and viability, as well as total antioxidant capacity, decreased significantly (p < .05). The increase in the abnormal sperm and MDA levels was observed (p < .05). In addition, the fertility rate decreased in this group, while the use of ghrelin significantly improved the above disorders in the treatment group (p < .05). The findings of this study showed that ghrelin attenuates negative effects caused by cyclophosphamide in the sperm parameters and enhances the fertility.
Metagenomic Investigation of Idiopathic Meningoencephalomyelitis in Dogs

Background Meningoencephalomyelitis of unknown origin (MUO) is a common and life‐threatening neuroinflammatory disease in dogs. Features of the disease are suggestive of an underlying immune‐mediated process, but the association of this disease with a pathogen is still unknown. Hypothesis/Objectives To search for candidate etiologic agent associated with cases if MUO using next generation metagenomic sequencing. Animals Twenty‐two dogs diagnosed with either MUO (11/22; 10 CSF and 3 brain), or noninflammatory CNS diseases inconsistent with MUO (11/22; 11 CSF and 2 brain) that served as negative controls. Methods A case control study was performed by identifying MUO and non‐MUO cases. Samples were blindly processed and then unblinded for comparative analyses. Inclusion criteria for MUO cases included consistent MRI lesions and inflammatory CSF with a negative PCR panel for infectious agents or histopathologic diagnosis. Dogs with glucocorticoid therapy within 2 weeks of sample collection were excluded. Fresh‐frozen cerebrospinal fluid (CSF; 21) and brain (5) samples were collected and RNA and DNA were extracted separately for shotgun metagenomic sequencing. Known positive samples were used as controls to validate our sequencing and analysis pipelines and to establish limits of detection. Sequencing results were analyzed at a nucleotide and protein level for broad comparison to known infectious organisms. Results No candidate etiologic agents were identified in dogs with MUO. Conclusions and Clinical Importance These results support but do not prove the hypothesis that MUO is not associated with infectious agents and might be an autoimmune disease.
Combined versus Sequential Hormonal Replacement Therapy: A Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study on Quality of Life-Related Outcome Measures

Background: To compare combined and sequential hormonal replacement therapies to each other as well as placebo in patients suffering from the postmenopausal syndrome. Clinical outcomes were measured concerning both the specific postmenopausal symptoms (using the Kupperman scale) and health or well-being dimensions (using subscales of the General Health Questionnaire and specific depression and anxiety scales). Methods: A prospective randomized double-blind study over 12 months of 105 normal early postmenopausal women in the setting of a general hospital. Results: Both hormone replacement therapies were superior to placebo on the Kupperman scale (sweating, hot flushing, myalgia and vertigo). The psychic symptoms on the Kupperman scale were psychometrically invalid. However, psychic symptoms as measured by the Beck Depression Inventory and the General Health Questionnaire were significantly improved by the hormonal replacement therapies. No differences were observed when combined therapy was compared to sequential therapy. Conclusion: One-year treatment with hormonal replacement therapy is superior to placebo in measuring the somatic and psychic symptoms of the menopausal syndrome. No differences were found in this respect between combined and sequential replacement therapy.