Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Perceptions and practices related to birthweight in rural Bangladesh: Implications for neonatal health programs in low- and middle-income settings

Background Globally, low birthweight (LBW) infants (<2,500 grams) contribute up to 80% of neonatal mortality. In Bangladesh, approximately 62% of all births occur at home and therefore, weighing newborns immediately after birth is not feasible. Thus, estimates of birthweight in Bangladesh are mostly obtained based on maternal perception of the newborn’s birth size. Little is known about how birthweight is perceived in rural communities, and whether families associate birthweight with newborn’s health status. Our objective was to explore families’ perceptions of newborn’s birthweight, preventive practices to LBW, and care practices for a LBW newborn in rural Bangladesh. Methods We conducted a qualitative study in two rural settings of Bangladesh, including 32 in-depth interviews (11 with pregnant women, 12 with recently delivered women, 4 with husbands whose wives were pregnant or had a recent birth, 5 with mothers-in-law whose daughters-in-law were pregnant or had a recent birth), 2 focus group discussions with husbands and 4 key-informant interviews with community health workers. We used thematic analysis to analyse the data. Results Most participants did not consider birthweight a priority for assessing a newborn’s health status. Recognition of different categories of birthweight was subjective and often included several physical descriptors including birth size of the newborn. LBW was not considered as a criterion of a newborn’s illness unless the newborn appeared unwell. Maternal poor nutrition, inadequate diet in pregnancy, anaemia, illnesses during pregnancy, short stature, twin births and influence of supernatural spirit were identified as the major causes of LBW. Women’s preventive practices to LBW or small newborns were predominantly constrained by a lack of awareness of birthweight and fear of caesarean section. As an effort to avoid caesarean section during birth, several women tended to perform potentially harmful practices in order to give birth to a LBW or small size newborn; such as avoiding nutritious food and decreasing food intake in pregnancy. Common practices to treat a LBW or small newborn who appeared ill included breastfeeding, feeding animal milk, feeding sugary water, feeding formula, oil massage, keeping the small newborn warm and seeking care from formal and informal care providers including a spiritual leader. Maternal lack of decision-making power, financial constraint, home birth and superstition were the major challenges to caring for a LBW newborn. Conclusion Birthweight was not well-understood in the rural community, which highlighted substantial challenges to the prevention and care practices of LBW newborns. Community-level health education is needed to promote awareness related to the recognition of birthweight in rural settings.
Radiation exposure to the eyes and thyroid during C-arm fluoroscopy-guided cervical epidural injections is far below the safety limit

Background The aim of this study was to evaluate radiation exposure to the eye and thyroid in pain physicians during the fluoroscopy-guided cervical epidural block (CEB). Methods Two pain physicians (a fellow and a professor) who regularly performed C-arm fluoroscopy-guided CEBs were included. Seven dosimeters were used to measure radiation exposure, five of which were placed on the physician (forehead, inside and outside of the thyroid protector, and inside and outside of the lead apron) and two were used as controls. Patient age, sex, height, and weight were noted, as were radiation exposure time, absorbed radiation dose, and distance from the X-ray field center to the physician. Results One hundred CEB procedures using C-arm fluoroscopy were performed on comparable patients. Only the distance from the X-ray field center to the physician was significantly different between the two physicians (fellow: 37.5 ± 2.1 cm, professor: 41.2 ± 3.6 cm, P = 0.03). The use of lead-based protection effectively decreased the absorbed radiation dose by up to 35%. Conclusions Although there was no difference in radiation exposure between the professor and the fellow, there was a difference in the distance from the X-ray field during the CEBs. Further, radiation exposure can be minimized if proper protection (thyroid protector, leaded apron, and eyewear) is used, even if the distance between the X-ray beam and the pain physician is small. Damage from frequent, low-dose radiation exposure is not yet fully understood. Therefore, safety measures, including lead-based protection, should always be enforced.
Variable functional connectivity architecture of the preterm human brain: Impact of developmental cortical expansion and maturation

Significance Even though preterm brains are immature and will undergo a myriad of developmental processes, they already display great interindividual differences in their functional connectivity (FC) architecture. Interestingly, functionally less variable brain regions are morphologically more mature around term birth than functionally more complex and variable brain regions. Despite the overall resemblance of variability patterns in preterm infants and adults, some brain regions, especially in higher cognitive networks, show a developmental shift toward greater FC variability in adults, related to postnatal cortical expansion. Our result of robust variability distribution in the preterm brain indicates the need to develop individualized FC measures that may lead to predictors of nervous function in this high-risk population. Functional connectivity (FC) is known to be individually unique and to reflect cognitive variability. Although FC can serve as a valuable correlate and potential predictor of (patho-) physiological nervous function in high-risk constellations, such as preterm birth, templates for individualized FC analysis are lacking, and knowledge about the capacity of the premature brain to develop FC variability is limited. In a cohort of prospectively recruited, preterm-born infants undergoing magnetic resonance imaging close to term-equivalent age, we show that the overall pattern could be reliably detected with a broad range of interindividual FC variability in regions of higher-order cognitive functions (e.g., association cortices) and less interindividual variability in unimodal regions (e.g., visual and motor cortices). However, when comparing the preterm and adult brains, some brain regions showed a marked shift in variability toward adulthood. This shift toward greater variability was strongest in cognitive networks like the attention and frontoparietal networks and could be partially predicted by developmental cortical expansion. Furthermore, FC variability was reflected by brain tissue characteristics indicating cortical maturation. Brain regions with high functional variability (e.g., the inferior frontal gyrus and temporoparietal junction) displayed lower cortical maturation at birth compared with somatosensory cortices. In conclusion, the overall pattern of interindividual variability in FC is already present preterm; however, some brain regions show increased variability toward adulthood, identifying characteristic patterns, such as in cognitive networks. These changes are related to postnatal cortical expansion and maturation, allowing for environmental and developmental factors to translate into marked individual differences in FC.
Fear Goliath or David? Inferring Competence From Demeanor Across Cultures

We examined cultural differences in people’s lay theories of demeanor—how demeanor may be perceived as a straightforward and reliable reflection of reality (convergence theory) or as a deviating reflection of reality (divergence theory). Across different domains of competition, Euro-Canadians perceived greater competence in an opponent with a competent demeanor, whereas Chinese paradoxically perceived greater competence in an opponent with no signs of competence (Studies 1–4b). The results, unexplained by attributional styles (Study 1), likability (Study 3), or modesty (Study 3), suggest that Euro-Canadians endorse a stronger convergence theory than Chinese in their inferences of competence. Corroborated with qualitative data (Study 4a), such cultural differences were explained by the beliefs that demeanor can be a misleading reflection of reality, verified in college and community (Study 4b) samples. We discuss the implications for social perception, intergroup dynamics, and self-presentation in competitions.
First Proof-of-Principle of Inorganic Lead Halide Perovskites Deposition by Magnetron-Sputtering

The present work reports the application of RF-magnetron sputtering technique to realize CsPbBr3 70 nm thick films on glass substrate by means of a one-step procedure. The obtained films show highly uniform surface morphology and homogeneous thickness as evidenced by AFM and SEM investigations. XRD measurements demonstrate the presence of two phases: a dominant orthorhombic CsPbBr3 and a subordinate CsPb2Br5. Finally, XPS data reveals surface bromine depletion respect to the stoichiometrical CsPbBr3 composition, nevertheless photoluminescence spectroscopy results confirm the formation of a highly luminescent film. These preliminary results demonstrate that our approach could be of great relevance for easy fabrication of large area perovskite thin films. Future developments, based on this approach, may include the realization of multijunction solar cells and multicolor light emitting devices.
Hold your breath – Differential behavioral and sensory acuity of mosquitoes to acetone and carbon dioxide

Host seeking in the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti, and the African malaria mosquito, Anopheles coluzzii, relies on specific and generic host-derived odorants. Previous analyses indicate that the behavioral response of these species depends differentially on the presence of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other constituents in human breath for activation and attraction. In this study, we use a flight tube assay and electrophysiological analysis to assess the role of acetone, a major component of exhaled human breath, in modulating the behavioral and sensory neuronal response of these mosquito species, in the presence and absence of CO2. When presented alone at ecologically relevant concentrations, acetone increases attraction in Ae. aegypti, but not in An. coluzzii. Moreover, in combination with CO2, human breath-equivalents of acetone ranging between 0.1 and 10 ppm reproduces a behavioral response similar to that observed to human breath in host-seeking Ae. aegypti, but not in An. coluzzii. Acetone does, however, reduce attraction to CO2 in An. coluzzii, when presented at a higher concentration of 10 ppm. We identify the capitate peg A neuron of the maxillary palp of both species as a dual detector of CO2 and acetone. The sensory response to acetone, or binary blends of acetone and CO2, reflects the observed behavioral output in both Ae. aegypti and An. coluzzii. We conclude that host recognition is contextual and dependent on a combination of ecologically relevant odorants at naturally occurring concentrations that are encoded, in this case, by differences in the temporal structure of the neuronal response. This information should be considered when designing synthetic blends for that optimally attract mosquitoes for monitoring and control.
Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial on the Efficacy of Hyaluronidase in Preventing Perineal Trauma in Nulliparous Women

Purpose Hyaluronidase (HAase) has many uses in medicine, and reports suggest that it affects perineal tissue during fetal passage through the vaginal canal. However, its potential use for preventing perineal trauma has yet to be determined. This study sought to evaluate the efficacy and safety of perineal HAase injections in reducing perineal trauma during vaginal delivery. Materials and Methods A multi-center, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized study was conducted from January 2016 to March 2017. Nulliparous women who planned to undergo vaginal delivery were recruited, and the enrolled women were randomly assigned to the HAase injection group (HAase injection, 5000 IU, n=75) or the control group (normal saline injection, n=73). The degree of perineal laceration, rate of episiotomy, and grade of perineal edema at 1 hour and 24 hours after spontaneous vaginal delivery were compared between the two groups. Results A total of 148 women who underwent vaginal delivery were recruited. No significant differences were observed between the HAase injection and control groups in the rates of perineal laceration (p=0.422). Perineal edema significantly decreased 24 hours after delivery in the women treated with perineal HAase injections, compared to women in the control group (p=0.008). The overall incidences of adverse events, such as redness of the injection site, infection, and wound dehiscence, were similar between the two groups. Conclusion HAase injections in nulliparous women afforded no reductions in the rates of perineal lacerations and episiotomy. However, the use of perineal HAase injections did reduce perineal edema without severe adverse events.
Oral roxadustat three times weekly in ESA‐naïve and ESA‐converted patients with anemia of chronic kidney disease on hemodialysis: Results from two phase 3 studies

Roxadustat is a hypoxia‐inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor approved in China for anemia of dialysis‐dependent chronic kidney disease (CKD). Japanese hemodialysis patients with anemia of CKD previously naïve to, or converted from, erythropoiesis‐stimulating agents (ESAs) were enrolled in two open‐label, noncomparative studies of titrated oral roxadustat administered three times weekly. ESA‐naïve patients (n = 75) were randomized to roxadustat (initial dose, 50 or 70 mg) for 24 weeks; ESA‐converted patients (n = 164) were assigned to roxadustat (initial dose, 70 or 100 mg based on prior ESA dose) for 52 weeks. Efficacy outcomes included average hemoglobin (Hb, weeks 18‐24 or 46‐52), change of Hb from baseline to weeks 18 to 24 (ΔHb18‐24) or weeks 46 to 52 (ΔHb46‐52), and maintenance rate (proportion of patients who achieved average Hb of 10.0‐12.0 g/dL for weeks 18‐24 or weeks 46‐52). Treatment‐emergent adverse events (TEAEs) were monitored. Mean (SD) Hb was 10.93 (0.79) g/dL (weeks 18‐24) (ESA‐Naïve Study), and 10.93 (0.69; weeks 18‐24) g/dL and 11.11 (0.67; weeks 46‐52) g/dL (ESA‐Converted Study). Mean (SD) ΔHb18‐24 was 2.26 (1.02) g/dL (ESA‐Naïve Study) and −0.03 (0.90) g/dL (ESA‐Converted Study); mean (SD) ΔHb46‐52 was 0.12 (0.83) g/dL (ESA‐Converted Study). The overall maintenance rate was 73.0% (54/74) (ESA‐Naïve Study) (weeks 18‐24), and 79.1% (129/163; weeks 18‐24) and 71.2% (116/163; weeks 46‐52) (ESA‐Converted Study). Nasopharyngitis was the most common TEAE. Two deaths, considered unrelated to roxadustat, occurred in the ESA‐Converted Study. Roxadustat effectively corrected and maintained Hb, regardless of previous ESA treatment, in Japanese anemic CKD patients on hemodialysis.
Migraine without Aura and Subclinical Atherosclerosis in Young Females: Is Gut Microbiota to Blame?

Background and Objectives: Migraine with aura (MA) could be considered a risk factor for developing atherosclerosis and cardio-vascular events. However, less is known about the relation between migraine without aura (MWA) and atherosclerosis. Our study aimed to assess whether young female migraineurs, with alterations of gut microbiota could associate early atherosclerosis. Materials and Methods: We conducted an exploratory cross-sectional, pilot study concerning 105 consecutive young females having MWA, with recent normal brain scans, that were free of cardio-vascular risk factors, non-smokers, not on oral contraception, not pregnant, and without thyroid or parathyroid diseases, chronic organ failure, cancer, or on probiotic or antibiotic treatment. Consecutive to assessment of gut microbiota, patients were assigned to two groups: dysbiosis positive (n = 45) and dysbiosis negative (n = 60). All study participants underwent clinical examinations with an assessment of migraine severity, body mass index and carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT), as well as laboratory workups. Statistical analysis was performed using a chi-squared test (χ2), a two-tailed t-test and a nonparametric Spearman’s correlation test. Results: The dysbiosis positive migraineurs showed a significant increase in CIMT along with several anthropometrical, biological and clinical particularities. Significant positive correlations between dysbiosis and CIMT, glycosylated hemoglobin, migraine severity and duration, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and body mass index were found. Conclusions: Young female migraineurs with significant alterations of gut microbiota experienced early signs of atherosclerosis and displayed severe migraine disability, as well as multiple biological and clinical particularities.
Forest soil bacteria able to produce homo and copolymers of polyhydroxyalkanoates from several pure and waste carbon sources

Two bacterial strains able to produce polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) from a wide variety of pure carbon sources (dextrose, xylose, sucrose, lactose and glycerol) were isolated from forest soils and identified as Achromobacter mucicolens and Stenotrophomonas rhizophila. Achromobacter mucicolens also produced poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) from different wastes (cheese whey, molasses, agave bagasse hydrolysate, nejayote and mango waste pulp). Stenotrophomonas rhizophila, produced the copolymer poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate‐co‐3‐hydroxyvalerate) (PHB‐co‐HV) from glycerol (7·7 mol% of HV), and from sucrose with addition of propionic or valeric acid (4·5 and 25 mol% of HV, respectively). The copolymers presented a lower melting point (145, 156 and 127°C) and crystallinity (23, 26 and 16%) than PHB. The maximum biopolymer accumulation (PHB) for each strain growing in pure carbon source was as follows: 31·3 g per 100 g dry cell weight (DCW) for A. mucicolens from xylose; and 13·7 g per 100 g DCW for S. rhizophila from sucrose. Regarding the waste carbon sources, the highest PHB accumulation was obtained from agave bagasse hydrolysate (20·4 g per 100 g DCW) by A. mucicolens. The molecular weights of the biopolymers obtained ranged from 200 to 741 kDa.
Discovering Rare Genes Contributing to Cancer Stemness and Invasive Potential by GBM Single-Cell Transcriptional Analysis

Single-cell RNA sequencing presents the sophisticated delineation of cell transcriptomes in many cancer types and highlights the tumor heterogeneity at higher resolution, which provides a new chance to explore the molecular mechanism in a minority of cells. In this study, we utilized publicly available single-cell RNA-seq data to discover and comprehensively dissect rare genes existing in few glioblastoma (GBM) cells. Moreover, we designed a framework to systematically identify 51 rare protein-coding genes (PCGs) and 47 rare long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in GBM. Patients with high expression levels of rare genes like CYB5R2 and TPPP3 had worse overall survival and disease-free survival, implying their potential implication in GBM progression and prognosis. We found that these rare genes tended to be specifically expressed in GBM cancer stem cells, which emphasized their ability to characterize stem-like cancer cells and implied their contribution to GBM growth. Furthermore, rare genes were enriched in a 17-cell subset, which was located in an individual branch of the pseudotime trajectory of cancer progression and exhibited high cell cycle activity and invasive potential. Our study captures the rare genes highly expressed in few cells, deepens our understanding of special states during GBM tumorigenesis and progression such as cancer stemness and invasion, and proposes potential targets for cancer therapy.
The Potential Effects of Recall Bias and Selection Bias on the Epidemiological Evidence for the Carcinogenicity of Glyphosate

Glyphosate is a widely used herbicide worldwide. The International Agency for Research on Cancer in 2015 declared that glyphosate is probably carcinogenic to humans, noting a positive association for non‐Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). The principal human data on glyphosate and NHL come from five case–control studies and two cohort studies. The case–control studies are at risk of recall bias resulting from information on exposure to pesticides being collected from cases and controls based on their memories. In addition, two of the case–control studies are additionally at risk of a form of selection bias that can exacerbate the effect of recall bias. Both biases are in the direction of making glyphosate appear carcinogenic. If odds ratios (ORs) are not biased and a pesticide plays no role in causing NHL, the probability that an OR for that pesticide is greater than 1.0 is approximately 0.5. The fractions of ORs for pesticides other than glyphosate that are greater than 1.0 in the case–control studies are 0.90 (n = 92), 0.90 (n = 152), 0.93 (n = 59), 0.76 (n = 140), and 0.53 (n = 54), the first two from studies that are at risk for both types of bias. In the two cohort studies, which are not subject to these biases, the comparable fractions for relative risks for all cancers are 0.51 (n = 70) and 0.48 (n = 158). These results comply closely with what would be expected if evidence for carcinogenicity of glyphosate in these studies results from statistical bias in the case–control studies.
Experimental, Numerical, and Analytical Study on The Effect of Graphene Oxide in The Mechanical Properties of a Solvent-Free Reinforced Epoxy Resin

This paper presents a methodology for manufacturing nanocomposites from an epoxy resin reinforced with graphene oxide (GO) nanoparticles. A scalable and sustainable fabrication process, based on a solvent-free method, is proposed with the objective of achieving a high level of GO dispersion, while maintaining matrix performance. The results of three-point bending tests are examined by means of an analytical technique which allows determining the mechanical response of the material under tension and compression from flexural data. As result, an increase of 39% in the compressive elastic modulus of the nanocomposite is found with the addition of 0.3 wt % GO. In parallel, we described how the strain distribution and the failure modes vary with the amount of reinforcement based on digital image correlation (DIC) techniques and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). A novel analytical model, capable of predicting the influence of GO content on the elastic properties of the material, is obtained. Numerical simulations considering the experimental conditions are carried out. the full strain field given by the DIC system is successfully reproduced by means of the finite element method (FEM). While, the experimental failure is explained by the crack growth simulations using the eXtended finite element method (XFEM).
Delinquency Among Turkish Adolescents: Testing Akers’ Social Structure and Social Learning Theory

The purposes of this study are to examine how social learning processes and social structure correlate with delinquency among Turkish adolescents and to articulate to what extent Akers’s social structure and social learning (SSSL) theory explains delinquency in Turkey, which is a different cultural context from Western countries in terms of family structure, level of collectivism or individualism, religion, belief systems, and norms. This study contributes to the existing body of knowledge by providing the first study testing Akers’s theory in the Turkish context. Analyses, relying on a structural equation modeling (SEM) framework, showed that the social learning process accounted for a substantial amount of variation in explaining adolescent delinquency. We also found that social learning process somewhat mediates social structural effects on delinquency.