Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Association of Urine Findings with Metabolic Syndrome Traits in a Population of Patients with Nephrolithiasis

Key Points Stone-forming patients with metabolic syndrome have metabolic and diet factors contributing to stone risk, including high acid excretion and low urine pH. Greater acid excretion is largely the result of higher protein intake, although this does not fully explain the urine pH trends. Low urine pH with high supersaturation of uric acid and low supersaturation of calcium phosphate contributed to the distribution of stone composition in those with more metabolic syndrome traits. Visual Abstract Background The odds of nephrolithiasis increase with more metabolic syndrome (MetS) traits. We evaluated associations of metabolic and dietary factors from urine studies and stone composition with MetS traits in a large cohort of stone-forming patients. Methods Patients >18 years old who were evaluated for stones with 24-hour urine collections between July 2009 and December 2018 had their records reviewed retrospectively. Patient factors, laboratory values, and diagnoses were identified within 6 months of urine collection and stone composition within 1 year. Four groups with none, one, two, and three or four MetS traits (hypertension, obesity, dyslipidemia, and diabetes) were evaluated. Trends across groups were tested using linear contrasts in analysis of variance and analysis of covariance. Results A total of 1473 patients met the inclusion criteria (835 with stone composition). MetS groups were 684 with no traits, 425 with one trait, 211 with two traits, and 153 with three or four traits. There were no differences among groups for urine volume, calcium, or ammonium excretion. There was a significant trend (P<0.001) for more MetS traits being associated with decreasing urine pH, increasing age, calculated dietary protein, urine uric acid (UA), oxalate, citrate, titratable acid phosphate, net acid excretion, and UA supersaturation. The ratio of ammonium to net acid excretion did not differ among the groups. After adjustment for protein intake, the fall in urine pH remained strong, while the upward trend in acid excretion was lost. Calcium oxalate stones were most common, but there was a trend for more UA (P<0.001) and fewer calcium phosphate (P=0.09) and calcium oxalate stones (P=0.01) with more MetS traits. Conclusions Stone-forming patients with MetS have a defined pattern of metabolic and dietary risk factors that contribute to an increased risk of stone formation, including higher acid excretion, largely the result of greater protein intake, and lower urine pH.
Drying characteristics and thermal degradation kinetics of hardness, anthocyanin content and colour in purple‐ and red‐fleshed potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) during hot air drying

Summary Purple-fleshed potatoes (PFP) and red-fleshed potatoes (RFP) were dried using hot air. The hardness, anthocyanin content and colour in PFP and RFP during drying were evaluated at 60, 70 and 80 °C. The hardness was characterised by a softening stage in the early drying period, followed by a hardening stage. The times to reach at the transition were 420, 300 and 240 min at 60, 70 and 80 °C, respectively, for PFP, and 480, 360 and 240 min for RFP. However, the moisture content of both PFP and RFP at the transition time was identical at 0.3 (d.b.). The two stages of hardness changes were well described by combining two modified first-order kinetics models. The activation energy (Ea) for the degradation of anthocyanin in PFP and RFP was 25.12 and 28.43 kJ mol−1, respectively. The Ea values demonstrated that the thermal sensitivity of PFP was higher than that of RFP.
Essential Oils of Four Wild and Semi-Wild Plants from Zimbabwe: Colospermum mopane (Kirk ex Benth.) Kirk ex Leonard, Helichrysum splendidum (Thunb.) Less, Myrothamnus flabellifolia (Welw.) and Tagetes minuta L.

Abstract The essential oils from the aerial parts of Colospermum mopane (Kirk ex Benth.) Kirk ex Leonard, Helichrysum splendidum (Thunb.) Less, Myrothamnus flabellifolia (Sound) Welw. , and Tagetes minuta L. from various locations in Zimbabwe were obtained and distilled fresh to semi-dry and examined by GC and GC/MS. The major components recorded for C. mopane were found to be: α-pinene (67.6-71.6%) and limonene (3.6-5.0%); H. splendidum: α-terpinene (14.9%), β-pinene (10.2%) and 1,8-cineole (8.6%); M. flabellifolia: trans-pinocarveol (28.7-28.8%), pinocarvone (13.4-21.3%), α-pinene (tr-23.0%) and β-selinene (5.0-9.9%); T. minuta: dihydrotagetone (2.2-43.3%), (Z)-β-ocimene(20.7-41.4%),(Z)-tagetenone (0.3-31.4%)), (Z)-tagetone (1.0-21.0%), (E)-tagetenone (0.9-16%).
Integrative analysis of multiple case‐control studies

It is often challenging to share detailed individual‐level data among studies due to various informatics and privacy constraints. However, it is relatively easy to pool together aggregated summary level data, such as the ones required for standard meta‐analyses. Focusing on data generated from case‐control studies, we present a flexible inference procedure that integrates individual‐level data collected from an “internal” study with summary data borrowed from “external” studies. This procedure is built on a retrospective empirical likelihood framework to account for the sampling bias in case‐control studies. It can incorporate summary statistics extracted from various working models adopted by multiple independent or overlapping external studies. It also allows for external studies to be conducted in a population that is different from the internal study population. We show both theoretically and numerically its efficiency advantage over several competing alternatives.
Improving Stroke Risk Prediction in the General Population: A Comparative Assessment of Common Clinical Rules, a New Multimorbid Index, and Machine-Learning-Based Algorithms

Abstract Background There are few large studies examining and predicting the diversified cardiovascular/noncardiovascular comorbidity relationships with stroke. We investigated stroke risks in a very large prospective cohort of patients with multimorbidity, using two common clinical rules, a clinical multimorbid index and a machine-learning (ML) approach, accounting for the complex relationships among variables, including the dynamic nature of changing risk factors. Methods We studied a prospective U.S. cohort of 3,435,224 patients from medical databases in a 2-year investigation. Stroke outcomes were examined in relationship to diverse multimorbid conditions, demographic variables, and other inputs, with ML accounting for the dynamic nature of changing multimorbidity risk factors, two clinical risk scores, and a clinical multimorbid index. Results Common clinical risk scores had moderate and comparable c indices with stroke outcomes in the training and external validation samples (validation—CHADS2: c index 0.812, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.808–0.815; CHA2DS2-VASc: c index 0.809, 95% CI 0.805–0.812). A clinical multimorbid index had higher discriminant validity values for both the training/external validation samples (validation: c index 0.850, 95% CI 0.847–0.853). The ML-based algorithms yielded the highest discriminant validity values for the gradient boosting/neural network logistic regression formulations with no significant differences among the ML approaches (validation for logistic regression: c index 0.866, 95% CI 0.856–0.876). Calibration of the ML-based formulation was satisfactory across a wide range of predicted probabilities. Decision curve analysis demonstrated that clinical utility for the ML-based formulation was better than that for the two current clinical rules and the newly developed multimorbid tool. Also, ML models and clinical stroke risk scores were more clinically useful than the “treat all” strategy. Conclusion Complex relationships of various comorbidities uncovered using a ML approach for diverse (and dynamic) multimorbidity changes have major consequences for stroke risk prediction. This approach may facilitate automated approaches for dynamic risk stratification in the significant presence of multimorbidity, helping in the decision-making process for risk assessment and integrated/holistic management.
Solar photo-Fenton oxidation of mature landfill leachate: empirical model and chemical inferences

ABSTRACT In this study, a stochastic model was applied to investigate the degradation of landfill leachate by solar photo-Fenton processes. The coefficient of determination (R 2) between experimental and predicted data ranged from 0.9958–0.9995. The optimal conditions for the initial phase (lasting 5–22 min) were high Fe2+ level, low pH level, and intermediate H2O2 level. For the second phase, optimal leachate degradation percentages were obtained by maintaining the pH, increasing H2O2, and decreasing Fe2+ to the lowest level. Determination of optimal reaction conditions (such as pH, Fe2+, and H2O2 values) for both degradation phases is of paramount importance for process scale-up. The major contribution of this study was the development of a tool that considers the effects of one or more reactions on organic carbon degradation. This was achieved by assessing the significance of the effects of experimental conditions on model parameters for the fast and slow steps of leachate degradation by advanced oxidation processes. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT
Hepatic Histopathology Among Excessive Drinkers Without Advanced Liver Disease.

AIMS Alcohol-associated liver disease represents a spectrum of histopathological changes from steatosis to advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis. The major goals of this retrospective study were to characterize the histologic features in patients with excessive alcohol use who presented with an abnormal hepatic panel and/or abnormal radiographic imaging and did not meet the clinical diagnosis of alcoholic hepatitis or cirrhosis. METHODS We performed a retrospective study to describe hepatic histology of 62 and 83 excessive drinkers with normal and abnormal serum aspartate transaminase, respectively. The types of inflammatory cells in the liver were characterized by immunohistochemistry for CD4, CD8, CD20, CD68 and myeloperoxidase. RESULTS Among 62 patients with aspartate aminotransferase (AST) ≤ 50 U/L, 37% had histological evidence of steatosis. Of these, we found evidence of hepatocyte ballooning (21%), lobular inflammation (50%), portal inflammation (52%) and fibrosis (14%). For those with AST > 50 U/L, the presence of hepatic steatosis, lobular inflammation and portal inflammation was observed in 29, 60 and 69% of patients, respectively. Fibrosis was found in 33%, four with bridging fibrosis, and one with cirrhosis. We observed the aggregation of CD68+ macrophages, rather than normally distributed with minimal neutrophilic infiltration. Lobular and portal lymphocytic infiltrations are primarily CD8+ T cells. CONCLUSION Abnormal hepatic histopathology occurs in excessive drinkers with normal transaminase activity. Future studies to determine the diagnostic modalities to detect such abnormalities and to better understand its clinical implications and long-term outcome are needed.
Factors associated with the intention to obtain a COVID-19 vaccine among a racially/ethnically diverse sample of women in the USA

Abstract Widespread uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine is critical to halt the pandemic. At present, little is known about factors that will affect vaccine uptake, especially among diverse racial/ethnic communities that have experienced the highest burden of COVID. We administered an online survey to a Qualtrics respondent panel of women ages 27–45 years (N = 396) to assess vaccine intentions and attitudes, and trusted vaccine information sources. 56.8% intended to be vaccinated and 25.5% were unsure. In bivariate analyses, a greater percentage of non-Latina White (NLW) and Chinese women reported that they would be vaccinated, compared with Latina and non-Latina Black (NLB) women (p < 0.001). Those who were uninsured, unemployed and those with lower incomes were less likely to say that they would be vaccinated. In analyses stratified by race/ethnicity, NLB women remained significantly less likely to report that they would be vaccinated compared with NLW women (adjusted odds ratio: 0.47; 95% confidence interval: 0.23, 0.94), controlling for age, marital status, income, education, employment, and insurance status. When analyses were additionally controlled for beliefs in vaccine safety and efficacy, racial/ethnic differences were no longer significant (adjusted odds ratio: 0.64; 95% confidence interval: 0.31, 1.34). Given that NLB women were less likely to report the intention to be vaccinated, targeted efforts will be needed to promote vaccine uptake. It will be critical to emphasize that the vaccine is safe and effective; this message may be best delivered by trusted community members.
Increased risk for renal cell carcinoma in end stage renal disease – a population-based case-control study

Abstract Purpose End-stage renal disease (ESRD) is a known risk factor for the development of renal cell carcinoma (RCC). This case-control study was performed to assess the risk in a nationwide cohort and evaluate tumor characteristics and survival in the ESRD-RCC population. Methods In this study, 9,299 patients with RCC identified in the National Swedish Kidney Cancer Register from 2005 until 2014 and 93,895 matched controls were linked to the Swedish Renal Registry and the National Patient Register. ESRD was defined as chronic kidney disease stage 5, kidney transplantation or kidney dialysis 0–40 years before the diagnosis of RCC. Results A total of 117 patients with ESRD and subsequent RCC were identified and compared with 9,087 patients with RCC. There was a 4.5-times increased risk for RCC among ESRD patients (95% CI = 3.6–5.6; p < 0.001) compared to matched controls. Longer time with ESRD increased the risk of RCC (ESRD > 9 years, OR = 10.2, 95% CI = 7.0–14.8). The ESRD-RCC patients were younger (p = 0.002), had smaller tumors (p < 0.001) and had lower tumor stage (p = 0.045). The incidence of papillary and chromophobe RCC was higher and clear cell RCC lower among the ESRD patients (p < 0.001). The 5-year overall survival was 50% in ESRD-RCC patients and 63% in RCC-only patients (p < 0.05). Conclusion More than 9 years with ESRD increased the risk of developing RCC 10-times compared to individuals without ESRD and the tumors showed a different histopathological pattern. Despite a less advanced tumor stage at diagnosis, the overall survival in ESRD-RCC patients was lower compared to patients with RCC-only.
Serum Levels of Androgens, Estrogens, and Sex Hormone Binding Globulin and Risk of Primary Gastric Cancer in Chinese Men: A Nested Case–Control Study

It was the first study to investigate the association of gastric cancer with prediagnostic sex steroid hormones and SHBG in an Asian male population. Although there were no overall associations for sex steroid hormone concentrations, higher concentrations of SHBG was associated with increased risk of noncardia gastric cancer. Gastric cancer shows a strong male predominance, and sex steroid hormones have been hypothesized to explain this sex disparity. Previous studies examining the associations between sex hormones and sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) and risk of gastric cancer come primarily from western populations and additional studies in diverse populations will help us better understand the association. We performed a nested case–control study in Linxian Nutrition Intervention Trials cohorts to evaluate the associations among Chinese men, where we had sufficient cases to perform a well-powered study. Using radioimmunoassays and immunoassays, we quantitated androgens, estrogens, and SHBG in baseline serum from 328 men that developed noncardia gastric cancer and matched controls. We used multivariable unconditional logistic regression to calculate ORs and 95% confidence intervals (CI) and explored interactions with body mass index (BMI), age, alcohol drinking, smoking, and follow-up time. Subjects with SHBG in the highest quartile, as compared with those in the lowest quartile, had a significantly increased risk of gastric cancer (OR = 1.87; 95% CI, 1.01–3.44). We found some evidence for associations of sex steroid hormones in men with lower BMI. Our study found a novel association suggesting that higher serum concentrations of SHBG may be associated with risk of gastric cancer in men. We found no overall associations with sex hormones themselves, but future studies should expand the scope of these studies to include women and further explore whether BMI modifies a potential association. Prevention Relevance: It was the first study to investigate the association of gastric cancer with prediagnostic sex steroid hormones and SHBG in an Asian male population. Although there were no overall associations for sex steroid hormone concentrations, higher concentrations of SHBG was associated with increased risk of noncardia gastric cancer.
Vida útil e qualidade de frutos de tomateiros tratados com paclobutrazol

The application of growth regulators can influence all plant developmental phases, including flowering, development and maturation of fruits and seeds. In this study, we evaluated the physical and chemical characteristics and shelf life of tomato fruits from plants treated with Paclobutrazol - PBZ (0, 50 and 100 mg L-1) in drench application on seedlings, at 15 days after sowing. The fruits were analyzed immediately after harvest and after 5, 10, 15 and 20 days of storage in ambient conditions. The efficiency of treatments and fruit quality were determined by the parameters of weight loss, firmness, soluble solids (SS), titratable acidity (TA), vitamin C and SS/TA ratio. The experiment was arranged in a 3 x 5 factorial completely randomized design (concentrations of paclobutrazol x days of storage). The applications of paclobutrazol on tomato seedlings, 15 days after sowing, the concentrations of 50 and 100 mg L-1 had no effect on the fruit shelf-life of tomato cv. AF 7631. Increasing concentrations of PBZ resulted in lower weight loss, firmness and acidity of fruits. Soluble solids, vitamin C and SS/TA ratio did not change with increasing concentrations of PBZ. Fruits, regardless of the PBZ concentrations applied to seedlings, reached twenty days of storage (25 ±2 oC and 75±5% UR) fit for consumption, although with significant loss of fresh mass, acidity and firmness.
TeamSTEPPS Curricular-Wide Integration

Supplemental digital content is available in the text. Background To promote safe patient care, nurses must work collaboratively with members of the interprofessional health care team. Purpose The purposes of this study were to explore the effect of a curricular-wide integration of TeamSTEPPS training on baccalaureate nursing students' teamwork knowledge and attitudes and to describe students' perceptions of TeamSTEPPS curricular-wide integration. Methods In this quasi-experimental, mixed-methods study, the experimental group engaged in a curricular-wide integration of TeamSTEPPS throughout the baccalaureate nursing program, whereas the control group received no TeamSTEPPS training. Results The experimental group had significantly higher teamwork knowledge than the control group after training. The curricular-wide integration of TeamSTEPPS was positively received by students. Conclusions This study demonstrated the feasibility and benefits of integrating TeamSTEPPS teamwork training throughout a baccalaureate nursing curriculum, as well as the knowledge gained by students because of this curricular-wide integration. With further research, TeamSTEPPS could offer an evidence-based approach to promote the interprofessional teamwork knowledge and skills nursing students need for safe patient care.
A question of morals? The role of moral identity in support of the youth climate movement Fridays4Future

In the past year, an unprecedented climate movement has risen among European youth, so-called "Fridays4Future" (F4F). Thousands of pupils skip school every Friday to protest for better climate politics. The public debate on the protests contains highly mixed reactions, including praise as well as condemnation. Recent theoretical accounts propose that people’s engagement in community service and actions towards a greater good could be related to their moral identity. Moral identity (MI) is defined as the extent to which being moral is important to the personal identity. The current preregistered study investigates the link between moral identity and participants’ support for F4F in an online survey (N = 537). Results confirm the association between participants’ moral identity and their support for F4F, with the internalization scale predicting passive forms of support and the symbolization scale predicting active forms of support. Additionally, risk perception was found to play an important role. Thus, this study confirms the role of moral identity in people’s pro-environmental engagement and offers new insights in the context of an important and timely issue.
The role of short-chain fatty acids in the interplay between gut microbiota and diet in cardio-metabolic health

ABSTRACT The gut microbiota plays an important role in cardio-metabolic diseases with diet being among the strongest modulators of gut microbiota composition and function. Resistant dietary carbohydrates are fermented to short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) by the gut bacteria. Fiber and omega-3 rich diets increase SCFAs production and abundance of SCFA-producing bacteria. Likewise, SCFAs can improve gut barrier integrity, glucose, and lipid metabolism, regulate the immune system, the inflammatory response, and blood pressure. Therefore, targeting the gut microbiota with dietary strategies leading to increased SCFA production may benefit cardio-metabolic health. In this review, we provide an overview of the association between diet, SCFAs produced by the gut microbiota and cardio-metabolic diseases. We first discuss the association between the human gut microbiota and cardio-metabolic diseases, then investigate the role of SCFAs and finally explore the beneficial effects of specific dietary interventions that can improve cardio-metabolic outcomes through boosting the SCFA production.
CYTOTOXICITY STUDIES OF TETRAPRELYLTOLUQUINONE, A PRENILATED HYDROQUINONE FROM GARCINA COWA ROXB ON H-460, MCF-7 AND DU-145

Objective: The aim of the present study was to examine the cytotoxicity of a new ring-reduced tetra prenyltoluquinone (TPTQ), [2 E ,6 E ,10 E ]-(+)-4b-hydroxy-3-methyl-5b-(3,7,11,15-tetramethyl-2,6,10,14-hexadecatetraenyl-2-cyclohexen-1-one against H-460, MCF-7 and DU-145 cell lines. Methods : Different concentrations of TPTQ were subjected to cytotoxicity study by using MTT method and calculate the percentage of cell viability. Results : The results of this study showed that this compound has IC 50 value 16.3 ± 3.0 µM in H-460 cancer cell lines without any activities towards another two type of cell lines. Conclusion : TPTQ had selective activity against H-460 cancer cell lines.