Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Paying people who use illicit substances or ‘peers’ participating in community-based work: a narrative review of the literature

Abstract People who use illicit substances that use their lived experience to inform their work, or ‘peers,’ are increasingly hired in community-based work internationally. However, this group is disproportionately affected by stigma and discrimination that contributes to inequitable compensation of their work. A narrative review of the literature was conducted to highlight issues involved in compensating people who use drugs who are involved in peer work. After identifying and reviewing over 500 articles, the key issues identified included perspectives of compensation, valuation of participation, type of peer roles, mode of compensation, and structural barriers. How peers’ knowledge, roles, and efforts are viewed and therefore valued in our society largely determines the decision to pay and how much to pay people who use drugs. However, some peers also face systemic and contextual barriers, such as local norms, financial exclusion, and a lack of standards that make them susceptible to inequitable pay. This review serves as both a catalyst to promote dialogue around paying peers, and a starting point for approaching the diverse complexities associated with equitable compensation for peer work.
Bilateral Reduction of Hemispheric Blood Flow in Patients With Unilateral Cerebral Infarction

Bilateral hemispheric blood flow was determined by the intravenous RISA technique in patients with unilateral cerebral infarction. Of all 29 patients, bilateral reduction of cerebral blood flow (CBF) was demonstrated in 13, of whom hemispheric vascular resistance was significantly increased and arm-to-brain circulation time prolonged. In these cases with bilateral subnormal CBF, blood flow on the noninfarcted side tended to increase if the patients were conscious at the time of onset, whereas it remained unchanged even 77 days following stroke if their consciousness was impaired. The already lowered blood flow on the infarcted hemisphere, however, did not increase for a relatively long period of time after the onset. It appears that bilateral reduction of CBF in patients with unilateral infarction is primarily caused by diffuse cerebral vascular changes and some additional systemic circulatory disorder. The possibility of other factors participating is also discussed.
The Stress Sensitization Model

The stress sensitization model was developed to explain the mechanism through which the relationship between stress and affective disorder onsets changes across the course of the disorder. The model posits that individuals become sensitized to stress over time, such that the level of stress needed to trigger episode onsets becomes increasingly lower with successive episodes. The stress sensitization model has accrued empirical support in the context of major depression and to a lesser extent in bipolar spectrum disorders. Furthermore, expanding upon the original stress sensitization model, research also indicates that early adversity (i.e., early childhood experiences) sensitizes individuals to subsequent proximal stress, increasing risk for psychopathology. In this chapter, the theoretical background underlying the stress sensitization model is reviewed, and research evidence investigating stress sensitization is evaluated. In addition, moderators and mechanisms of stress sensitization effects are reviewed, and recommendations for future research are provided.
Mediating role of wellbeing among organizational virtuousness, emotional intelligence and job performance in post-pandemic COVID-19

It is devastating to people’s mental and emotional health to be exposed to the COVID-19 pandemic and the multifaceted response strategies are required to curb it. As a result of social distancing and self-isolation, people have faced many challenges in their lives. The suffering is even greater at the workplace where the employees are working with the fear of getting exposed to the virus and its new variants which is adversely affecting their wellbeing. This study explores and tests a model that extends the wellbeing research across organizational settings and targets the crucial factors that lead to job performance improvement even in the post pandemic COVID-19 situation. To improve both in-role performance and extra-role performance behaviors in the Pakistan banking sector, organizational virtue (also known as organizational virtuousness) and internal virtue (also known as emotional intelligence) are examined. Data were collected from the 416 bank employees using disproportionate stratified sampling technique. In the bank sector of Pakistan, wellbeing was identified as the key psychological factor that relates the in-role performance and extra-role performance to internal and organizational factors. Research findings also determined that conceptualizing subjective wellbeing in the context of work is more meaningful in understanding its relationship with the workplace variables than the general or global subjective wellbeing.
The Comparison Between Mindfulness Based Therapy and Pharmacotherapy on Trauma Related Symptoms

Background: Trauma related disorder is a common disorder in warfare victims. The present study investigated the effectiveness of mindfulness-based therapy and pharmacotherapy improving the clinical symptoms of warfare victims suffering from the disorder. Methods: This experimental study was carried out in 2016 on 28 warfare victims with a trauma related disorder. They were randomly assigned into two groups (mindfulness therapy and pharmacotherapy). The study gathered combat-related trauma related disorder data and analyzed it via repeated measures ANOVA. Results: The results showed that a significant (P < 0.001) decrease in the psychological symptoms of mindfulness therapy group was noted in the post-test and follow-up test. Conclusions: The results showed the effectiveness of mindfulness-based therapy improved the psychological symptoms of warfare victims with trauma related disorders. Mindfulness-based therapy can reduce the psychological symptoms of individuals with trauma related disorders.
Use of antimicrobial coated polyglactin sutures versus plain polyglactin sutures in oral malignancies

OBJECTIVES: To study post operative wound infection rates in patients with oral malignancy following use of antimicrobial coated polyglactin 910 sutures as compared to plain polyglactin 910 sutures. METHODS: A pilot study of consecutive cases that underwent surgery for oral malignancies with all surgical sites being closed with triclosan coated polyglactin 910 sutures from 1st January 2014 to 31st July 2015. A total number of 53 patients were recruited and oral swabs was taken and sent for microbiological analysis prior to antibiotic administration. The overall wound infection rate was then compared retrospectively to the infection rate in the previous year in patients where the surgical sites sutured with plain polyglactin 910. Independent variables were analyzed by Chi-Squared test; multiple logistic regression was preformed to account for multiple risk factors. RESULTS & CONCLUSIONS: The overall wound infection rate in post operative patients who underwent oral malignancies surgery with triclosan coated polyglactin sutures was 17%. The wound infection rate had decreased from 23.86% when plain polyglactin sutures were used. Multivariate analysis was inconclusive and requires completion of the proposed sample size. The microbiological analysis revealed that the oral microbiology in patients with an oral malignancy is the same as those without. Nevertheless, this pilot study reveals that tumour staging of disease is a statistical significant factor to determine post operative surgical site infections.
Effects of sulphur in presence and absence of farmyard manure on onion (Allium cepa) under onion-maize (Zea mays) cropping sequence

Field experiment conducted during 2003-06 to study the effects of 4 (0, 15, 30 and 45 kg/ha.) S levels in the absence and presence of 25 tonnes farmyard manure/ha in onion (Allium cepa L.) - maize (Zea mays L.) system. The results show the positive effects of 30 kg S/ha on bulb yield over the previous levels of 0 and 15 kg/ha (direct effect). Addition of sulphur beyond 30 kg/ha brought the yield to the level of 0 and 15 kg/ha. Application of farmyard manure @ 25 tonnes/ha significantly increased bulb and foliage yield. Sulphur-farmyard manure interaction was positive at low and negative at higher levels of S. Highest yield (yield) was observed either in treatment combination of 25 tonnes farmyard manure/ha without S or 30 kg S/ha without farmyard manure. Plant height significantly increased only by farmyard manure (from 57.4-59.1 cm) over without farmyard manure. In maize (residual effect) and also in onion-maize sequence as a whole (direct + residual effects) the same trend was visible except that the sulphur-farmyard manure interaction was significant only in the later. Sulphur addition beyond 30 kg/ha brought down the total economic yield and also the foliage yield of both the crops to the level of either 15 kg S/ha or even control.
When does doctor’s recommendation become patient’s resolution? The regulatory potential of procedural justice in the context of compliance with medical advice and the treatment process

The main aim of the study was to find empirical evidence to answer the following question: If an important personal interest—namely, health and the prospect of a long life—is not enough to motivate a person to follow recommendations from doctors and medical experts, what factor plays a significant role? The author tested the regulatory potential of procedural justice in this context. The sample consisted of 210 participants, patients of independent primary healthcare facilities and specialist hospital outpatient clinics. The empirical data were analyzed by means of structural equation modeling (SEM). Seven SEM models were tested in the analyses. The adopted analytical strategy brought valuable results. The study supported the main hypothesized relationship, showing that procedural justice was a factor increasing the acceptance of and compliance with medical advice and doctor’s perceived competence. The results of analyses indicate that the fair treatment of patients in healthcare institutions can be regarded as a significant factor regulating patients’ health behavior. The procedural effect is significant for increasing patients’ positive evaluation of doctors’ competence. Also, the evaluation of a doctor as competent increases patient compliance.
Fatores sociodemográficos associados ao grau de conhecimento em saúde bucal de gestantes de uma unidade básica de saúde de São Paulo - SP

As condicoes sociais exercem significativa influencia nao apenas sobre habitos e comportamentos do individuo, mas tambem no conhecimento, percepcao e capacidade de autogerenciamento da sua condicao de saude. O grau de conhecimento e percepcao das gestantes sobre varios aspectos da saude bucal sao influenciados por esses fatores. Objetivo: O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar o conhecimento em saude bucal e os fatores sociodemograficos associados em gestantes atendidas na Unidade Basica de Saude (UBS) de Paraisopolis I, Sao Paulo-SP. Metodologia: Estudo com delineamento transversal analitico. A amostra foi constituida de 195 gestantes, com idades entre 14 e 48 anos. Foi aplicado um questionario composto por onze questoes a fim de avaliar o conhecimento em saude bucal. Os dados sociodemograficos foram coletados do prontuario de acompanhamento da gestacao do programa Mae Paulistana. Para avaliar a associacao entre as variaveis independentes e a variavel dependente realizou-se o teste do Qui-quadrado ou exato de Fisher. As variaveis que apresentaram p<0,20 na analise univariada foram testadas no modelo de regressao logistica multipla. Assumiu-se um nivel de significância de 5% para todas as analises. Resultados: O estudo verificou que escolaridade igual ou maior a 8 anos de estudo unido a presenca de 1 a 2 filhos estao associados a um conhecimento adequado sobre saude bucal em gestantes. No que se refere ao grau de conhecimento em saude bucal, 74,4% das gestantes apresentaram um conhecimento de moderado a alto. Conclusao: Para diminuir as lacunas de conhecimento sobre saude bucal em gestantes, estrategias de promocao de saude bucal durante o pre-natal devem levar em consideracao aspectos sociodemograficos que estao associados ao grau de conhecimento desse grupo. Abstr
Efeito do tempo de uso das pastagens sobre as propriedades de um Latossolo Amarelo da Amazônia Central

Com a remocao da cobertura vegetal natural e a instalacao de pastagem tem ocorrido uma serie de alteracoes nas propriedades quimicas e fisicas dos solos. O objetivo do trabalho foi identificar essas alteracoes quimicas e fisicas dos solos sob pastagem de Brachiaria humidicola com quatro, seis e dez anos em relacao ao solo sob floresta. A adicao das cinzas provenientes da queima da floresta, para a formacao da pastagem elevou o nivel da maioria dos nutrientes no solo. Com excecao do potassio, houve uma reducao nos teores de bases trocaveis, em funcao do tempo de pastejo e, consequentemente, elevacao nos teores de aluminio. Entretanto, a baixa disponibilidade de P e a compactacao da camada superficial do solo foram os fatores que mais limitaram o desenvolvimento da B. humidicola.
PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES OF THE TURKISH VERSION (AYTA-TR) OF THE WHO-EUROPE ATTITUDES OF AGING (EAAQ) QUESTIONNAIRE

Introduction: This study was carried out for psychometric analysis of the Turkish version of the WHO – Atittudes of Aging Questionnaire (AAQ). Materials and Method: AAQ consists of 24 items classified in three domains (Psychosocial Loss-PL; Physical Change-PC and Psychological Growth-PG) with 8 items each (min8 max40). Turkish centre results are presented in this EU FP 5th funded international project (n=833). Internal consistency analysis, Construct validity, Convergent Divergent validity and Known Groups validity were used. Results: 38.7 % of the sample was male, with a mean age 72.7± 6.1. Alpha values of the domains PL, PC ve PG were 0.75, 0.74 and 0.62 respectively. 7th item of the PC and 4th item of the PG violate the internal consistency. BD was the most affected domain by income and objective health (ES=0.50). PL and PC scores were higher among married and who received support(p>0.05). CFA resulted acceptable fit for PC domain (RMESEA= 0.09;CFI=0.93); borderline for PC domain and a poor fit for PG domain. Satisfactory covergent-divergent validity results were obtained between WHOQOL and AAQ scales. Conclusion: Results revealed that psychometric properties of Turkish version of theAAQ can be used for the assessmnet of the attitudes of aging but Psychosocial domain results should be interpreted with caution.
Study of intracellular signaling pathways triggered by natural antioxidants in human endothelial cells

Cardiovascular (CV) benefits of Natural Antioxidant (NA) supplementation are contradictory. Endothelial Cells (EC) are pivotal player on CV diseases onset/progression and thus represent a good model to study the NA impact on vascular pathophysiology. We show that two NA, coumaric acid and resveratrol, affect intracellular ROS levels and cell physiology in human EC. While at lower doses both compounds were antioxidant, at mildly high doses they became pro-oxidant, eliciting cell death by apoptosis and phospho-Akt inhibition. Pro-oxidant effects were counteracted by diphenyleneiodonium, hinting a role for flavin oxidases in NA-induced toxicity. ECs treatment with the mitochondrial permeability transition pore inhibitor prevented oxidative cell damage indicating mitochondrial involvement in NA-induced ECs impairment. Pro-oxidant effects were also hindered by sulfaphenazole (SPZ), suggesting a role for CYP2C9 in NA-induced toxicity. SPZ also prevented NA-induced p-Akt down-regulation and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) impairment indicating that Akt works downstream of CYP2C9 in mediating cellular responses to NA. Stimulation of p-Akt by insulin, counteracted NA-induced MMP impairment and cell death, an effect abolished by Akt inhibitors further suggesting that Akt regulates cell survival in response to NA-induced stress. Our study show that mildly high-doses of NA induce mitochondria-dependent cell damage mediated by CYP2C9 and the Akt pathway in a human vascular model.
Can Functional Assessment Tools Reflect Balance Abilities at 3 Months after Total hip Arthroplasty?

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to determine if the Harrison hip score (HHS), a tool for assessing hip joint function, and the Burg balance scale (BBS), a general balance assessment tool, actually reflect the balance ability of total hip arthroplasty (THA) patients 3 months after surgery. In addition, this study investigated the initial weight distribution strategy for bilateral lower extremity after THA surgery to understand the balance of THA patients. METHODS: Fourteen 3-month THA patients performed static dual standing and sit-to-stand (STS) tasks. Ground reaction forces on each leg were collected to calculate the weight distribution symmetricity (SWD), and the HHS, functional HHS (f-HHS), and BBS were evaluated. Correlation analyses between SWD and the HHS (also f-HHS) and BBS were then applied to the THA patients. RESULTS: The correlations between functional evaluation
Risk Factors Associated with Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV-1, Spontaneous Abortion and Infant Mortality in HIV-1 Infected Women in Burkina Faso: A Prospective Study

Background: Despite efforts to fight, HIV/AIDS mother-to-child transmission of HIV-1 (MTCT), as well as abortion and infant mortality, remains a problem in sub-Saharan Africa. Indeed, a low level of CD4 and a high viral load can be associated with these situations. The aim of this study was to determine the risk factors associated with the occurrence of MTCT, spontaneous abortion and infant mortality in HIV-1 infected women in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. This was a prospective study conducted from May 2014 to September 2017 and involved 423 HIV-1 infected women followed at Saint Camille Hospital in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Sociodemographic data were collected through a questionnaire. The CD4 count and HIV-1 viral load were determined using respectively BD FACSCount and Abbott m2000rt instruments. Bivariate analysis and multinomial logistic regression were performed for associations with a significance threshold for p < 0.05. Results: The average age of women was 38.75 ± 7.98 years. Rates of MTCT, abortion and infant mortality were 16.31%, 30.49% and 34.75%, respectively. The number of pregnancies was associated with the number of infant deaths (p = 0.002). A correlation between the number of pregnancies and infant mortality was observed (p = 0.002) with a relatively high rate (28.6%) among women who had three pregnancies. In addition, marital status was associated with HIV-1 infection in infants (p = 0.042) and spontaneous abortion (p = 0.033). HIV-1 infected women with low CD4 counts (less than 350 cells/μL) and those with viral load more than 1000 copies/mL were about twice as likely to have an spontaneous abortion [OR (IC 95%): 2.50 (1.085 - 5.760); p = 0.03] and [OR (95% CI): 2.16 (1.043 - 4.505); p = 0.04]. Conclusions: The results of this study show the need to improve the treatment of HIV-1 infected women in order to restore CD4 levels and make viral load of HIV-1 undetectable.
Anti-inflammatory actions of nutraceuticals: Novel emerging therapies for atherosclerosis?

Background Cardiovascular disease (CVD)-related events such as myocardial infarction and stroke remain the world’s leading cause of death. The incidence of CVD-related events is expected to rise in the future due to the increase in the global prevalence of obesity and diabetes, in addition to less economically developed countries adopting a western style diet. Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease which is the underlying cause of CVD and characterised by the build-up of fatty deposits within the walls of medium and large arteries. Macrophages play critical roles during the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, including the uptake of modified low-density lipoproteins to form foam cells. CardioWise is a dietary supplement developed by Cultech Limited which contains the anti-inflammatory compounds ω-3 PUFAs, flavanols and phytosterols. The aim of this project was to assess the cardiovascular protective effects of CardioWise and its individual components in isolation using in vitro and in vivo model systems. Results Foam cell formation was attenuated in human THP-1 macrophages treated with CardioWise. In addition, CardioWise reduced pro-inflammatory gene expression, monocyte recruitment and M1 macrophage phenotype polarisation. CardioWise was also found to increase HDL cholesterol levels and attenuate circulating levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines in wild type mice. Further investigation identified (+)-catechin within CardioWise as a key beneficial molecule to explore in greater detail. In vitro experiments demonstrated that catechin reduced monocyte migration and reactive oxygen species generation. Wild type mice treated with catechin were also found to receive anti-atherogenic benefits such as increased HDL cholesterol levels and reduced pro-inflammatory cytokine levels. Conclusion The findings of this study show that CardioWise and catechin are capable of exerting strong anti-inflammatory effects on several stages of atherosclerosis disease development in vitro. Furthermore initial in vivo studies using wild type mice revealed that both treatments are also capable of exerting several cardiovascular protective effects. Reasons for these beneficial effects have been proposed in this thesis and future studies outlined.
Membrane androgen receptor activation triggers pro-apoptotic responses in vitro and in vivo and blocks migration in colon cancer

The classical intracellular androgen receptors (iAR) mediate genomic androgen signals, which take at least more than half an hour. However, the rapid or nongenomic action of androgens takes only seconds to few minutes and involves the activation of androgen membrane binding sites. Although the molecular identity of those membrane binding sites remains still unknown, their expression has been reported in many cell types, including various tumor cells. Activation of membrane androgen receptors (mAR) in prostate and breast cancer cells has been implicated in the regulation of cell growth, motility and apoptosis. Here we analyzed mAR expression and function in colon cancer. Using fluorescent mAR ligands we showed specific membrane staining in mouse colon tumor tissues and in iAR silenced Caco2 cell lines. Stimulation of colon-mAR by testosteronealbumin-conjugates induced rapid actin and tubulin cytoskeleton reorganization and generated apoptotic responses, even in the presence of anti-androgens. We showed that long-term activation of mAR in Caco2 cell lines down-regulated the activity of PI-3K and Akt and induced de-phosphorylation/activation of the pro-apoptotic Bad. Treatment of APC mice significantly decreased the expression of p-AKT and p-Bad levels in tumor tissue. Moreover, mAR activation resulted in a 65% reduction of tumor incidence in chemically induced Balb/c mice colon tumors and an 80% reduction of tumor incidence in APC mice colon tumors. Furthermore, mAR activation strongly inhibited Caco2 cell migration. In accordance with this, vinculin, a protein controlling cell adhesion and actin reorganization, was effectively phosphorylated upon mAR activation. Phosphorylation inhibitors genistein and PP2 inhibited actin reorganization and restored motility. Moreover, blocking actin reorganization by cytochalasin B and silencing vinculin by appropriate siRNA’s restored the migration potential. From these results we conclude that mAR activation inhibits the pro-survival signals Akt/Bad in vitro and in vivo, induces potent proapoptoric responses and blocks migration of colon cancer cells via regulation of vinculin signaling and actin reorganization. Our results point to a central role of mAR in the induction of antitumor responses in colon cancer.