Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Self-affirmation and defensive processing of graphic cigarette warning labels by African American smokers: A community-based study

Objective: Promoting smoking cessation through effective health messaging among African American smokers is of great urgency as African Americans suffer disproportionally more from smoking-related diseases compared to White smokers. This research examines the potential impact of self-affirmation on reducing defensive processing of graphic cigarette warning labels among African American smokers. Method: We conducted an experimental study in which participants were instructed to self-affirm (or not) prior to viewing graphic cigarette warning labels. Results: We found that although self-affirmation had no main effect on defensive processing, it interacted with initial/preexisting attitudes towards smoking to influence defensive responses such as message derogation and perceived message manipulation. For participants with more positive initial attitudes towards smoking, self-affirmation led to reduced message derogation and perceived message manipulation. For these individuals, we also found an indirect effect of self-affirmation on intentions to quit smoking through perceived message manipulation. Self-affirmation had largely no effects on participants with less positive initial attitudes towards smoking. Conclusion: The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.
Effects of Nicotine on Schizophrenia and Antipsychotic Medications: A Systematic Review

Background: Majority people with schizophrenia who smoke cigarettes, tend to be heavy smokers than other psychiatric patients and general population. Nicotine is one of the main components of cigarettes that can produce nicotinic interactions with antipsychotic drugs. Nicotine can also alleviate psychotic symptoms of schizophrenia. Aim: The objective for this systematic review is to examine the effects of nicotine and nicotine-based products in the treatment of schizophrenia, in comparison with placebo, no treatment or antipsychotic medication. Results: All studies comparing nicotine or other related products as the only treatment or adjunctive treatment for schizophrenia patients excluding the animal studies and case studies are reviewed. The use of traditional or known as typical antipsychotics may cause the patients to smoke frequently while patients taking atypical antipsychotics may smoke less. Patients who smoke may metabolize antipsychotics faster than non-smoking patients. There is less report related to smoking cessation among the schizophrenia patients. Conclusion: Neurobiological and psychosocial factors reinforce the high use of nicotine by patients with schizophrenia. Prior to smoking cessation implementation, it is crucial to understand on the ways and reasons for schizophrenia patients to consume nicotine for self-medicate symptoms which may lead to the development of new treatments for schizophrenia and nicotine dependence. Please click PDF below to download the full paper.
Involuntary Termination from Substance Use Disorder Treatment: Unknown Phantoms, Red Flags, and Unexplained Medical Data

In the United States, all treatment programs receiving public funds are required by law to regularly submit admission and discharge data, inclusive of the forced/involuntary termination or administrative discharge of clients, to their local state authorities. In some states, this requirement even extends to programs not receiving public funds. The aim of collecting discharge data—collected under the auspices of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Association [SAMHSA]—is to assist state and county authorities, funders, and accreditors to monitor recovery-focused program performance. However, investigation here undertaken shows that published discharge data from many state treatment settings are perennially and grossly underreported or misreported. This paper reports on evidence that points to systemic failure of regulatory supervision of treatment settings and the ethical breach in duty and consequent legal culpability in reporting medical data. Policy and practice implications are discussed.
Facial Herpes Zoster Accompanied by Herpes ZosterConjunctivitis Caused by Dolosigranulum Pigrum

Dolosigranulum pigrum is considered as an emerging opportunistic pathogen. It was isolated from a patient with facial herpes zoster accompanied by herpes zoster conjunctivitis and identified by 16S rRNA DNA sequence analysis. Furthermore, literature data were collected together to describe the characteristics of D. pigrum and the infections.
Pattern of presentation, treatment, and determinants of outcome of pediatric oncology cases at a tertiary institution in Lagos

Background: Cancers in children are increasing all over the globe, however, the outcome in LMICs is still quite poor due to a myriad of factors. Aim: This review focused on pattern of admissions in a pediatric oncology unit in Lagos, Nigeria and the determinants of outcome. Settings and Design: This was a retrospective descriptive study at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital from January 2015 to July 2017. Common treatment protocols like UKALL, NWTSG etc are adapted for use in the unit. Data Analysis: This was done using SPSS version 22. Results: A total of 178 children were seen at the oncology unit with a slight male preponderance of 1.4:1. The most common malignancy seen was acute lymphoblastic leukemia (20.8%) while retinoblastoma was the commonest solid tumor (19.6%). Mortality rate observed in the period under review was 45% and a large number of patients (22%) abandoned treatment. Conclusion: The management of childhood cancers is still a big challenge in resource constrained settings and a robust health insurance policy will improve outcomes.
Clinic experience in discoid lupus erythematosus: a retrospective study of 132 cases

Introduction Lupus erythematosus (LE) is an autoimmune disease characterized by a broad range of cutaneous manifestations. Discoid LE (DLE) is the most common chronic manifestation of LE. Literature reviews show that there are a limited number of large-series studies investigating DLE. Additionally, there is still no consensus on the etiological factors of DLE such as sun exposure and smoking. Aim To evaluate the clinical and demographic characteristics of patients with DLE. Material and methods The study included patients who were hospitalized in the inpatient and outpatient clinics at the Dermatology Department. Age, gender, treatment method, history of smoking, antinuclear antibody positivity, progression to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), photosensitivity, and laboratory findings were recorded for each patient. Results The study included 132 patients comprising 67 (50.8%) men and 65 (49.2%) women. A family history was found in 3.8%, SLE was detected in 5.3%, and photosensitivity was revealed in 50.0% of the patients. ANA positivity was found in 23.7%, a history of smoking was revealed in 61.4%, and chronic sun exposure was detected in 42.4% of the patients. Conclusions Discoid LE, though identified long ago, remains unelucidated and there are very few studies in the literature reporting on DLE. The results indicated that smoking and chronic UV exposure are important risk factors for DLE. Moreover, although ANA positivity was high in our patients, the rate of progression to SLE was remarkably low. The results also showed that, contrary to common belief, there is no female preponderance in DLE.
Therapeutic Effect of Fibroblast Growth Factor and Olfactory Ensheathing Cells in Rat Models of Spinal Cord Injury

Objective: To compare the efficacy of individual and combined treatment of olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) and acidic fibroblast growth factor (aFGF) in a rat model of spinal cord injury (SCI). Materials and Methods: Adult female Albino Wistar rats were anesthetized with ketamine (90 mg/kg) and xylazine (10 mg/kg) by intraperitoneal injection and T10 laminectomy was performed to expose the spinal cord, before drop-weight injury. Following injury, 2 μg of aFGF was administered at the site of injury and cultured rat olfactory mucosal OEC were transplanted as a single dose of 1 × 106 cells on the 9th day after SCI, used individually as well as in combination therapy. The outcome of the treatments was assessed using the hind-limb motor recovery-Basso, Beattie, Bresnahan (BBB) scale, transcranial motor-evoked potential, and histological studies. Results: All the treated groups showed improvement in hind-limb motor recovery when compared to the control group in BBB (P < 0.05). There was increased electromyography amplitude in treated rats as compared to controls (P < 0.05). Retrograde and anterograde tract tracing showed an increase of preserved axons and possible regeneration. Combination of aFGF with OEC transplantation demonstrated more beneficial effects following SCI than with individual therapy. Conclusion: aFGF and OEC transplantation have neuroprotective and regenerative therapeutic potentials for the future clinical application.
Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Birth Preparedness and Complication Readiness Amongst Pregnant Women in Eti-osa Lga, Lagos

Background: Maternal mortality still remains a major challenge in developing countries. In sub-Saharan Africa, one out of every sixteen women dies of pregnancy-related causes. Birth preparedness and complication readiness is the process of planning for normal birth and anticipating the actions needed in case of an emergency . This is a study to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of birth preparedness and complication readiness. Methodology: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of birth preparedness and complication readiness among antenatal care attendees in Eti-Osa local government area of Lagos State. A systematic sampling technique was used to select the respondents . The data used for this study were collected from pregnant women attending antenatal care in Six Primary Health Care centers in Eti-Osa local government area of Lagos State, using a structured pretested English language, interviewer-administered questionnaire. Results: The mean age of the respondents was 28.9 years, with standard deviation of 5.3 years. The proportion of respondents who have been prepared for birth and for its possible complication was 124 (33.4%). A higher proportion of the married women 212 (72.6%) were better prepared for birth and ready for its possible complication. 120 (83.9%) of pregnant women who had attended tertiary education were prepared for birth and for its complications (p=0.001) Conclusion: Few pregnant women had made adequate arrangements in anticipation for a safe normal delivery.
Prognostic Role of Circulating Tumor Cells (CTCS) in Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma: A Large, Multicenter Prospective Trial.

BACKGROUND Circulating Tumor Cells (CTCs) correlate with adverse prognosis in breast, colorectal, lung and prostate cancer patients. Little data is available for Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC). MATERIALS AND METHODS We designed a multicenter prospective observational study to assess the correlation between CTC counts and Progression Free Survival (PFS) in metastatic RCC patients treated with an anti-angiogenic tyrosine kinase inhibitor as a first-line regimen; Overall Survival (OS) and response were secondary objectives. CTC counts were enumerated by the Cellsearch® system at 4 time points: day 0 of treatment, day 28, day 56 and then at progression, or at 12 months in the absence of progression. RESULTS 195 eligible patients with a median age of 69 years were treated with sunitinib (77.5%) or pazopanib (21%). At baseline, 46.7% of patients had 1 or more CTCs/mL (range, 1 to 263). Thirty patients had ≥ 3 CTCs, with a median PFS of 5.8 vs 15 months in the remaining patients (p = 0.002), HR = 1.99, independently of the International Metastatic RCC Database Consortium (IMDC) score at multivariate analysis (HR: 1.91, 95% CI: 1.16-3.14). Patients with ≥ 3 CTCs had a shorter estimated OS of 13.8 months vs 52.8 months in those with <3 CTCs (p = 0.003), HR = 1.99 (multivariate analysis HR: 1.67, 95% CI: 0.95-2.93). Baseline CTC counts did not correlate with response, as well as having CTC sequencing counts ≥ 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5. CONCLUSIONS We provide prospective evidence that the presence of 3 or more CTCs at baseline is associated with a significantly shorter PFS and OS in mRCC patients. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE In this prospective study we evaluated whether the presence of circulating tumor cells (CTC) in the peripheral blood correlate with activity of first-line tyrosine kinase inhibitors in metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC). We demonstrated that almost half of patients with metastatic RCC have at least one CTC in their blood and that those patients with ≥ 3 CTCs are at increased risk of early progressive disease and early death due to RCC. Studies incorporating CTC counts in the prognostic algorithms of metastatic RCC are warranted.
Diagnostic and clinical decision support systems for antenatal care: is mHealth the future in low-resource settings?

Background: Antenatal screening is useful for early identification and management of high-risk pregnancies. In low-resource settings, provision of the full complement of tests is limited and diagnostic referrals incure additional costs for pregnant women. We assessed the viability of Bliss4Midwives (B4M) - a point-of-care diagnostic decision support device for decentralized screening of pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes and anaemia during antenatal care (ANC). Methods: The device was piloted in seven health facilities across two districts in Northern Ghana over a ten-month period. Health workers were expected to screen women at each ANC visit till delivery. All screening records from the device were automatically archived digitally and later downloaded. After removing duplicates or invalid entries, descriptive quantitative analysis was carried out with IBM SPSS Statistics (version 23). B4M usage behavior, diagnostic and referral outcome were analyzed. Findings: Health workers conducted 1,323 partial or full antenatal screening on 940 women, resulting in decision support for 835 (88.8%) B4M beneficiaries. Diagnostic referral was eliminated for 708 (84.7%) beneficiaries, with 335 (40.1%) of these from facilities without on-site diagnostic alternatives. Of visits with complete data, 92/559 (16.4%) women were screened in their first trimester, 28/940 (2.9%) had 4+ B4M visits and 107/835 (12.8%) women were recommended for urgent referral to a higher-level facility on the first visit. Follow-up screenings flagged an additional 17 women for urgent referral with 10 cases of repeated alerts in five women. Wide variations between high (9 months use) and low adopting (1.5 months use) facilities were observed, with some similarities in usage trend. Conclusions: B4M helped decentralize ANC screening and decrease unnecessary referrals. Project outcomes were influenced by implementation strategy, technical features and behavioural dispositions of users and beneficiaries.
Early Hemorrhage Growth in Patients With Intracerebral Hemorrhage

Background and Purpose The goal of the present study was to prospectively determine how frequently early growth of intracerebral hemorrhage occurs and whether this early growth is related to early neurological deterioration. Methods We performed a prospective observational study of patients with intracerebral hemorrhage within 3 hours of onset. Patients had a neurological evaluation and CT scan performed at baseline, 1 hour after baseline, and 20 hours after baseline. Results Substantial growth in the volume of parenchymal hemorrhage occurred in 26% of the 103 study patients between the baseline and 1-hour CT scans. An additional 12% of patients had substantial growth between the 1- and 20-hour CT scans. Hemorrhage growth between the baseline and 1-hour CT scans was significantly associated with clinical deterioration, as measured by the change between the baseline and 1-hour Glasgow Coma Scale and National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale scores. No baseline clinical or CT prediction of hemorrhage growt.
STUDY OF PREECLAMPSIA IN PLACENTA, KIDNEY, AND HEPATIC DISEASES

Preeclampsia (PE) have a high risk of pregnancy disorder and can cause liver and kidney disease. PE is a dangerous disease in Indonesia with a high risk of cardiovascular death. PE has biomarkers such as proteinuria, blood pressure, dipstick test, renin-angiotensin system, adipsin, calcium/ creatinine (Cr) ratio, albumin/Cr ratio, and uric acid. Apoptosis occurs in the placenta’s PE, where trophoblasts invade and overhaul the uterine spiral artery in the epidermal growth factor signaling system, and the expression of miRNA in PE is targeting genes in a variety of pathophysiological processes can cause kidney and hepatic disease. In this review, we will discuss role of HSP, miRNA, Immunology cell and the risk of kidney and hepatic disease of patient of Preeclampsia.
Factors Influencing Outcomes of Children Hospitalized with Acute Severe Malnutrition

Background: Nutrition is still a global health issue, and improving nutrition is among the targets of the Sustainable Developmental Goals (SDGs). One of Indonesia’s SDGs indicators is to reduce prevalence of malnutrition in children. Indonesia, as a developing country, implements a comprehensive malnutrition treatment program for children, including various aspects related to management of children with acute malnutrition. The purpose of this study was to identify factors associated with the outcome of children hospitalized with acute severe malnutrition. Methods: This cross sectional study enrolled 195 children with severe acute malnutrition, admitted to hospital from November 2016 to August 2017. Statistical Analysis was conducted using multivariable logistic regression to identify factors associated with the outcome. Adjusted Ratio with Confident Interval 95% and the value of P <0 . 05 was considered significant. Result: A total of 195 children were diagnosed havings acute severe malnutrition. A history of complete immunization status (p value <0.001) was proved to be directly proportional to the recovery rate of patients with acute severe malnutrition. Provision of other types of antibiotic (p value 0.001) showed to increase recovery rates of patients with acute severe malnutrition. Several comorbid diseases reduced recovery rates such as pneumonia (Crude OR 0.619) tuberculosis (Crude OR 0.606) and HIV (p value 0.08). Conclusions: This study shows that although the provided treatments are appropriate with the standard treatment for severe malnutrition, they still encounter high levels of morbidity. Further large-scale studies should be conducted to develop better interventions and management of acute severe malnutrition, in order to achieve better outcome.
BLASTOCYSTIS AND OTHER INTESTINAL PARASITES INFECTIONS IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILDREN IN DUKUH VILLAGE, KARANGASEM DISTRICT, BALI

Blastocystis spp. is the most common enteric parasitic infection found in several community surveys from developing countries. Blastocystis infections may cause gastrointestinal symptoms, but also cause extraintestinal symptoms such as urticaria and joint pain. Blastocystis infection can also be asymptomatic or a carrier. However, the prevalence of Blastocystis infection in children has not yet been fully investigated in Indonesia, particularly in Bali Province. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of Blastocystis and other intestinal parasites in elementary school children stools in Dukuh village, Karangasem regency. A cross sectional study was conducted in September 2016. A total of 103 school children stools were collected by informed consent and parasites were examined by microscopy with wet mounts method using Lugol’s iodine solution. Thirty-five school children were infected with Blastocystis spp. (35/103, 34%) that consisted of a single infection (29/35, 82.9%) and mix infection with other parasites (6/35, 17.1%). The mix infections were Blastocystis spp. and hookworm infection (1/6, 16.7%), Blastocystis spp. and Entamoeba coli (1/6, 16.7%), Blastocystis spp. and Giardia lamblia (2/6, 33.3%), Blastocystis spp. and Entamoeba histolytica/ Entamoeba dispar (1/6, 16.7%) and Blastocystis spp. and Entamoeba histolytica/ Entamoeba dispar and Giardia lamblia (1/6, 16.7%). The vacuolar forms of Blastocystis were dominantly found, in which was non-infectious form, whereas the infectious form is the cyst form and Blastocystis density was observed less than 5 cells per field of view at 400 magnification in all cases. This study concluded that the high prevalence of Blastocystis infection in elementary school children in Dukuh Village, Karangasem District, Bali that were dominantly single infections and several mix infections with other intestinal parasites. The high prevalence of Blastocystis infection in elementary school children suggested that it needs proper prevention measures for the children in this study area.
Analysis of effects of Smoking on Lung Function, and Respiratory Muscle Strength of Pakistani Youth

: Introduction: In the present era, cigarette smoking is a major but preventable cause of death. Despite being aware of its harmful and hazardous effects, many young adults begin experimenting with cigarettes at a very early age and then adopt it as a regular habit. Objectives of the study: The basic objective of our study is to analyze the effects of smoking on lung function, and respiratory muscle strength of Pakistani youth. Methodology of the study: This study was conducted at Services institute of medical sciences, Lahore during 2017. Youth male subjects aged 12 to 18 years participated in this cross-sectional study. Socio-demographic values and medical history of the selected patients were recorded clearly. Prior to participation in this study, each subject signed an informed consent form to comply with the ethical guidelines. Results: Most subjects started cigarette smoking between the ages of 15 to 18 years. The most common duration of cigarette smoking was 1 – 3 years. Three major parameters, chest expansion, lung function using spirometry, and respiratory muscle strength, were compared and these all are high in smokers. Conclusion: It is concluded that most of the people started smoking in young age due to environmental and social factors. It is also observed that chest expansion is greater in smokers as compared to non-smokers and smokers suffer ore from respiratory diseases as compared to non-smokers.
Mechanisms underlying the effects of nutrition, adiposity and physical activity on colorectal cancer risk

Lifestyle factors including diet, body fatness and physical activity modulate the risk of developing colorectal cancer (CRC) and it is estimated that over half of CRC cases in the UK are linked to such factors. This review focuses on describing the underlying mechanisms behind the effects of lifestyle factors (predominantly dietary) for which there is strong (convincing or probable) evidence for effects on CRC risk, described in the recently published World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research colorectal cancer report. These include a protective effect of physical activity, wholegrains and dietary fibre, dairy products and calcium supplements, and increased risk associated with red and processed meats, alcoholic drinks and higher body fatness. The postulated mechanisms underlying the effects of lifestyle on CRC risk, including effects on inflammation, insulin resistance and the microbiome, and affecting pathways involved in the regulation of cell proliferation, differentiation, DNA repair and apoptosis are described. Epigenetic mechanisms that are dysregulated in colorectal carcinogenesis leading to aberrant patterns of DNA methylation and aberrant expression of microRNAs may also be modulated by lifestyle factors and consequently modulate CRC risk. It is likely that an interplay of these mechanisms is involved in the modulation of CRC risk as well as a combination of these lifestyle factors.