Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Aflatoxins: Occurrence, Exposure, and Binding to Lactobacillus Species from the Gut Microbiota of Rural Ugandan Children

Chronic exposure of children in sub-Saharan Africa to aflatoxins has been associated with low birth weight, stunted growth, immune suppression, and liver function damage. Lactobacillus species have been shown to reduce aflatoxin contamination during the process of food fermentation. Twenty-three Lactobacillus strains were isolated from fecal samples obtained from a cohort of rural Ugandan children at the age of 54 to 60 months, typed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and characterized in terms of their ability to bind aflatoxin B1 in vitro. Evidence for chronic exposure of these children to aflatoxin B1 in the study area was obtained by analysis of local foods (maize flour and peanuts), followed by the identification of the breakdown product aflatoxin M1 in their urine samples. Surprisingly, Lactobacillus in the gut microbiota of 140 children from the same cohort at 24 and 36 months showed the highest positive correlation coefficient with stunting among all bacterial genera identified in the stool samples. This correlation was interpreted to be associated with dietary changes from breastfeeding to plant-based solid foods that pose an additional risk for aflatoxin contamination, on one hand, and lead to increased intake of Lactobacillus species on the other.
Umbilical Cord Practices of Members of the American College of Nurse-Midwives.

INTRODUCTION Mercer et al surveyed members of the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) about their umbilical cord clamping practices in 2000. Over the last 20 years, a significant body of research supporting delayed cord clamping (DCC) has been published. The purpose of this study was to learn how midwives today manage the umbilical cord at birth. METHODS To better understand the current practices of midwives, in 2017, a national online survey of ACNM members was conducted. A total of 24 questions were asked about DCC, cord milking, specific clinical circumstances, and the presence of policies or guidelines. RESULTS A total of 5306 surveys were sent with 1106 responses. After applying inclusion criteria, 1050 were available for analysis. Respondents practiced in all settings: home, birth centers, and hospitals. Compared with 2000, a 46% increase in the practice of DCC was identified. In this study, 98% of the participants reported facilitating DCC for full-term vaginal births as compared with 67% in 2000. In addition, 25% practiced DCC for near-term and 65% for preterm neonates. Cord milking was practiced by 37% of participants. When asked about barriers to practicing DCC, 54% of participants identified time pressures to hand off the newborn as the greatest detriment. It was challenging to practice DCC in situations wherein the newborn needed resuscitation or in breech births. Far fewer midwives practice cord milking compared with DCC. DISCUSSION The survey results suggest there has been an increase in the practice of DCC over the last 20 years. Cord milking is not as widely practiced as DCC, and respondents were less likely to be convinced by the evidence for cord milking. This speaks to the opportunity for more education for midwives. There is also a need for clinical guidelines that address umbilical cord management when challenging circumstances arise such as breech birth, shoulder dystocia, and the need for resuscitation.
HSP70 Multi-Functionality in Cancer

The 70-kDa heat shock proteins (HSP70s) are abundantly present in cancer, providing malignant cells selective advantage by suppressing multiple apoptotic pathways, regulating necrosis, bypassing cellular senescence program, interfering with tumor immunity, promoting angiogenesis and supporting metastasis. This direct involvement of HSP70 in most of the cancer hallmarks explains the phenomenon of cancer “addiction” to HSP70, tightly linking tumor survival and growth to the HSP70 expression. HSP70 operates in different states through its catalytic cycle, suggesting that it can multi-function in malignant cells in any of these states. Clinically, tumor cells intensively release HSP70 in extracellular microenvironment, resulting in diverse outcomes for patient survival. Given its clinical significance, small molecule inhibitors were developed to target different sites of the HSP70 machinery. Furthermore, several HSP70-based immunotherapy approaches were assessed in clinical trials. This review will explore different roles of HSP70 on cancer progression and emphasize the importance of understanding the flexibility of HSP70 nature for future development of anti-cancer therapies.
Coherence Between Sleep Detection by Actigraphy and Polysomnography in a Multi‐Center, Inpatient Cohort of Individuals with Traumatic Brain Injury

Sleep is increasingly recognized as a crucial component to rapid and successful rehabilitation, especially from traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). Assessment of longitudinal patterns of sleep in a hospital setting, however, are difficult and often the expertise or equipment to conduct such studies is not available. Actigraphy (wrist‐worn accelerometry) has been used for many years as a simple proxy measurement of sleep patterns, but its use has not been thoroughly validated in individuals with TBI.
Long-term outcomes in perinatally HIV-infected adolescents and young adults on antiretroviral therapy: a review of South African and global literature

Paediatric antiretroviral programmes have been implemented globally for more than a decade, yet information on long-term treatment outcomes in perinatally HIV-infected adolescents is limited. Published literature on long-term treatment outcomes was reviewed, including virologic, immunologic and growth outcomes, as well as drug resistance and factors associated with drug resistance. Outcomes were compared between high-income countries and low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), with additional focus on South Africa, the country with the biggest HIV epidemic in the world and the largest treatment programme. Treatment outcomes varied but viral suppression results globally were generally concerning. No studies from LMIC have reported on outcomes after >10 years follow-up, demonstrating that further studies are needed.
Risk factors for severe cranial ischaemic complications in giant cell arteritis.

OBJECTIVES Vision complications and a stroke represent severe cranial ischaemic complications (sCIC) associated with increased morbidity and mortality in GCA. We aimed to determine the risk factors for sCIC in GCA. METHODS We analysed the medical records of prospectively enrolled GCA patients diagnosed between September 2011 and August 2019, and compared the clinical and laboratory characteristics of patients with and without sCIC defined as either severe vision complications (diplopia, transient vision loss, permanent partial vision field/acuity defect and permanent visual loss) or stroke. RESULTS During the 96-month observation period, we identified 295 new GCA patients [65.4% female, median (interquartile range) age 74.7 (67.3-80.0) years]. Sixty-one (20.7%) patients developed sCIC (52 isolated severe vision complications, 5 isolated ischaemic strokes and 4 patients with both complications). In a multivariable logistic regression model jaw claudication [odds ratio (OR) 3.43 (95% CI: 1.84, 6.42), P < 0.001], smoking [OR 1.92 (95% CI: 1.01, 3.65), P = 0.046] and increasing age [OR 1.08 (95% CI: 1.04, 1.13), P < 0.001] were significantly associated with sCIC. Higher CRP [OR 0.99 (0.99-1.00), P = 0.011] decreased the risk of sCIC. When considered separately, the odds for severe vision complications increased with age and jaw claudication, and decreased with polymyalgia rheumatica, constitutional symptoms and higher CRP. Atrial fibrillation emerged as the sole independent predictor of ischaemic stroke. CONCLUSION Increasing age, jaw claudication and smoking predicted sCIC, while higher CRP decreased the risk of sCIC in our GCA cohort.
The Impact of Health Narratives on Persuasion in African American Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

ABSTRACT African American women (AAW) experience higher burdens of disease and have the highest rate of heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes when compared to females of other ethnic groups. Health narratives are a communication strategy that has been used to improve population health outcomes. Narrative storytelling is considered to be effective for improving health outcomes in African Americans because of the strong cultural storytelling background. The purpose of this study was to determine if health narratives have a significant effect on persuasion among AAW, as measured by changes in attitudes, beliefs, intentions, and behaviors. Meta-analysis of health narrative experiments (k = 13) for AAW (N = 2,746) revealed that health narratives have a significant overall effect on persuasion (d = .243; p < .01). Sub-group analyses revealed no significant difference between audio-visual and written-based narratives, and no significant difference between general health topics and cancer topics. Narrative communication was effective for promoting health in AAW. These findings imply that narratives can effectively be used as an audio-visual or written-based communication for AAW, and that health topic may not impact outcomes of narrative communication.
Long-Term Subjective Outcomes of Barbed Reposition Pharyngoplasty for Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome Treatment

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate long-term subjective outcomes of barbed reposition pharyngoplasty for obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) treatment using a specific questionnaire, the Palate Postoperative Problem Score (PPOPS). Methods: 140 patients who underwent barbed reposition pharyngoplasty (BRP) surgery in the Morgagni Pierantoni Hospital of Forlì, Italy were enrolled in the study. Postoperative outcomes were evaluated in a short- and long-term follow-up using the PPOPS questionnaire. The average period of follow-up was 26 months. All patients received the PPOPS questionnaire by telephone in a period between April and August 2019. Results: 51% of patients complained of swallowing problems after surgery. In 91% of cases, the problem cleared up spontaneously. At the time of the interview, only 9% of patients had a residual swallowing difficult. At the time of PPOPS evaluation, rhinolalia was observed in 8% of patients, whereas nose regurgitation was present in 2% of patients. In 20% of patients, the foreign body sensation was present during follow-up. The value of apnea–hypopnea index (AHI) reduced from the preoperative value of 31.5 to the postoperative value of 11.4. Conclusions: BRP surgery proved to be an effective technique, appreciated by the majority of patients. Use of the PPOPS questionnaire has demonstrated that the BRP technique seems to ensure efficacy and lower morbidity, with few complications after surgery.
Global Mapping of Interventions to Improve Quality of Life of People with Diabetes in 1990–2018

Improving the quality of life (QOL) of people living with diabetes is the ultimate goal of diabetes care. This study provides a quantitative overview of global research on interventions aiming to improve QOL among people with diabetes. A total of 700 English peer-reviewed papers published during 1990–2018 were collected and extracted from the Web of Science databases. Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) analysis was undertaken to categorize papers by topic or theme. Results showed an increase in interventions to improve the QOL of patients with diabetes across the time period, with major contributions from high-income countries. Community- and family-based interventions, including those focused on lifestyle and utilizing digital technologies, were common approaches. Interventions that addressed comorbidities in people with diabetes also increased. Our findings emphasize the necessity of translating the evidence from clinical interventions to community interventions. In addition, they underline the importance of developing collaborative research between developed and developing countries.
Exploring the influence of workplace violence and bystander behavior on patient safety in Korea: A pilot study.

AIMS To explore the influences of clinical nurses' workplace violence and bystander behavior on patient safety. BACKGROUND Bystanders' role in social violence affects the consequences of said violence; however, few studies have explored the relationship between workplace violence and patient safety among nurses working in clinical settings. METHODS A cross-sectional survey design was conducted using a structured questionnaire pertaining to workplace violence, bystander behavior, patient safety culture, and nurse-assessed patient safety outcomes. The questionnaire was administered to 185 bedside nurses at a university hospital in a metropolitan city in Korea. RESULTS A regression model with department, patient safety culture, workplace bullying, incivility, and bystander behavior explained approximately 34.0% of patient safety. Further, two bystander behavior, defender and facilitating, work-related bullying, and coworker incivility influenced patient safety. CONCLUSION Being a facilitating bystander was a threat to patient safety, while being a defender bystander enhanced patient safety. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT The negative consequences of workplace violence on patient safety may be mitigated by colleagues' reaction to violence; therefore, nursing policymakers should emphasize the role of positive bystanders as an organizational strategy against workplace violence.
Nano-Zn Increased Zn Accumulation and Triglyceride Content by Up-Regulating Lipogenesis in Freshwater Teleost, Yellow Catfish Pelteobagrus fulvidraco

The present study was conducted to explore the mechanism of nano-Zn absorption and its influence on lipid metabolism in the intestine of yellow catfish Pelteobagrus fulvidraco. Compared to ZnSO4, dietary nano-Zn addition increased the triglyceride (TG) content, enzymatic activities of malic enzyme (ME) and fatty acid synthase (FAS), and up-regulated mRNA levels of 6pgd, fas, acca, dgat1, pparγ, and fatp4. Using primary intestinal epithelial cells of yellow catfish, compared to the ZnSO4 group, nano-Zn incubation increased the contents of TG and free fatty acids (FFA), the activities of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD), 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (6GPD), ME, and FAS, up-regulated mRNA levels of lipogenic genes (6pgd, g6pd, fas, dgat1, and pparγ), genes of lipid transport (fatp4 and ifabp), and Zn transport genes (znt5, znt7, mt, and mtf1), and increased the protein expression of fatty acid transport protein 4 (FATP4) and peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma (PPARγ). Further studies found that nano-Zn absorption was via the clathrin-dependent endocytic mechanism. PPARγ mediated the nano-Zn-induced increase in TG, and nano-Zn increased Zn accumulation and induced TG accumulation by activating the PPARγ pathway and up-regulating lipogenesis.
Enhanced Bidirectional Connectivity of the Subthalamo-pallidal Pathway in 6-OHDA-mouse Model of Parkinson’s Disease Revealed by Probabilistic Tractography of Diffusion-weighted MRI at 9.4T

An important challenge in Parkinson’s disease (PD) based neuroscience and neuroimaging is mapping the neuronal connectivity of the basal ganglia to understand how the disease affects brain circuitry. However, a majority of diffusion tractography studies have shown difficulties in revealing connections between distant anatomic brain regions and visualizing basal ganglia connectome. In this current study, we investigated the differences in basal ganglia connectivity between 6-OHDA induced ex-vivo PD mouse model and normal ex-vivo mouse model by using diffusion tensor imaging tractography from diffusion-weighted images obtained with a high resolution 9.4 T MR scanner. Connectivity pattern of the basal ganglia were compared between five 6-OHDA and five control ex-vivo mouse brains using results of probabilistic tractography generated with PROBTRACKX. When compared with control mouse, 6-OHDA mouse showed significant enhancements to motor territory-related subthalamo-pallidal and pallido-subthalamic connectivity. Multi-fiber tractography combined with diffusion MRI data has the potential to help recognize the abnormalities found in connectivity of psychiatric and neurologic disease models.
Promoting self-control in overweight and obese children.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE impulsiveness might affect the ability of an individual to plan meals, eat regularly, and resist impulses to enjoy foods that are high in fat and sugars in a particular way. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a fading strategy regarding a reinforcer dimension to promote the development of self-control and decrease impulsive choice among 14 overweight and obese children. MATERIAL AND METHODS to meet this objective, an experimental procedure of choice behavior was used to evaluate the impulsivity and self-control choices influenced by four reinforcer dimensions on a computer: reinforcement rate, reinforcer quality, immediacy of the reinforcement, and response effort. RESULTS the results indicate that the children's decisions were influenced primarily by the immediacy of the reinforcement and the reinforcement rate; therefore, the children's behavior can be classified as impulsive. Based on these results, a fading procedure was implemented for self-control training in which the immediacy values of the reinforcement and other influential dimensions that devalued the reinforcer were progressively increased. CONCLUSIONS after this fading strategy, a change in preference was observed among the children with regard to the proportion of alternative responses that produced high rates of reinforcement or were of higher quality compared with the allocation of choices associated with immediate reinforcement, which required less effort and were of lower quality. It is possible to design strategies regarding the development of self-control based on the contrasting qualities of these dimensions and the gradual training of tolerance of restrictions on access to the reinforcer.
Almonds (Prunus Dulcis Mill. D. A. Webb): A Source of Nutrients and Health-Promoting Compounds

Almonds (Prunus dulcis Miller D. A. Webb (the almond or sweet almond)), from the Rosaceae family, have long been known as a source of essential nutrients; nowadays, they are in demand as a healthy food with increasing popularity for the general population and producers. Studies on the composition and characterization of almond macro- and micronutrients have shown that the nut has many nutritious ingredients such as fatty acids, lipids, amino acids, proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals, as well as secondary metabolites. However, several factors affect the nutritional quality of almonds, including genetic and environmental factors. Therefore, investigations evaluating the effects of different factors on the quality of almonds were also included. In epidemiological studies, the consumption of almonds has been associated with several therapeutically and protective health benefits. Clinical studies have verified the modulatory effects on serum glucose, lipid and uric acid levels, the regulatory role on body weight, and protective effects against diabetes, obesity, metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular diseases. Moreover, recent researchers have also confirmed the prebiotic potential of almonds. The present review was carried out to emphasize the importance of almonds as a healthy food and source of beneficial constituents for human health, and to assess the factors affecting the quality of the almond kernel. Electronic databases including PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and SciFinder were used to investigate previously published articles on almonds in terms of components and bioactivity potentials with a particular focus on clinical trials.
Molecular diagnosis methods in familial hypercholesterolemia

Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is considered the genetic cause of coronary heart disease and ischemic stroke. FH is mainly an autosomal codominant pattern-based disorder and is primarily determined by point mutations within the low-density lipoprotein receptor, apolipoprotein B, and proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 genes, causing increased low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels in the serum of untreated individuals. The accumulation will eventually lead to atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Although clinical criteria comprising several prognosis scores, such as the Simon Broome, Dutch Lipid Clinic Network, Make Early Diagnosis to Prevent Early Death, and the recently proposed Montreal-FH-SCORE, are the conventional basis of diagnosing FH, the genetic diagnosis made by single nucleotide polymorphism genotyping, multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification analysis, and sequencing (both Sanger and Next-Generation sequencing) offers unequivocal diagnosis. Given the heterogeneity of known mutations, the genetic diagnosis of FH is often difficult to establish, despite the growing evidence of the causative mutations, as well as the polygenic aspect of this pathology and the importance of cascade screening of the FH patient’s healthy family members. This review article details different genetic techniques that can be used in FH identification when there is a clinical FH suspicion based on criteria comprised in prognosis scores, knowing that none of these are exhaustive in the diagnosis, yet they efficaciously overlap and complement each other for confirming the disease at the molecular level.
Relative Validity and Reproducibility of a Short Food Frequency Questionnaire to Assess Nutrient Intakes of New Zealand Adults

There is no recent validated short food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) for use in New Zealand (NZ) adults. This study aimed to evaluate the relative validity and reproducibility of a short FFQ in free-living NZ adults aged 30–59 years. A 57-item, semi-quantitative FFQ was developed and pre-tested. During a 12-month study period the FFQ was administrated twice with a 9-month interval between administrations. Four two-day diet records were collected at months 0, 3, 6, and 9 and a blood sample was taken at month 9. Spearman correlations were used to evaluate the validity of the FFQ with the eight-day diet records and selected biomarkers. Cross-classification analysis and the Bland–Altman method were used to assess the agreement between the FFQ and the diet record. Reproducibility over nine months was assessed using intra-class correlations. A total of 132 males and females completed both FFQs, the eight-day diet record, and provided a blood sample. The highest energy-adjusted correlation coefficients were observed for alcohol (0.81), cholesterol (0.61), and carbohydrate (0.61), with the lowest for sodium (0.29), thiamin (0.33), and niacin equivalents (0.34). More than three quarters of the participants were correctly classified into the same or adjacent quartile for most nutrients, with a low proportion of participants being grossly misclassified (<10%). For most nutrients, the limits of agreement from the Bland–Altman analyses were between 50% and 250%. A positive correlation was observed between dietary intakes and plasma biomarkers for all selected nutrients. The FFQ showed moderate to good reproducibility, with almost all reliability coefficients ranging from 0.60 to 0.80. This short FFQ was shown to validly and reliably rank individuals by their habitual intake of most major nutrients, indicating that the FFQ will offer a time-efficient way to assess the nutrient intake of NZ adults in future research.