Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nutritive evaluation of the natural pastures at early and late rainfall season in Kordofan and Butana, Sudan.

2Absract: This study to assess the nutritive value of some plant species, in Kordofan and Butana natural pasture during early and late rainfall season in terms of chemical composition and relative feed value (RFV). Thirty four plant samples (forbs, shrubs and grasses) from natural pasture at Kordofan (western Sudan) and Butana (eastern Sudan) seventeen each, were evaluated during early and late rainfall season in terms of chemical composition, crude protein (CP), ether extract (E.E), Ash, silica, neutral detergent fibre (NDF), acid detergent fibre (ADF) and acid detergent lignin (ADL). Relative feed values (RFV) were calculated used NDF and ADF contents. In the two locations a significant (p<0.001) differences were observed in chemical composition due to species. The highest CP observed in forbs particularly A. viridis followed by T. terrestris 25.5 % and 23.7 % respectively at early season in Kordofan, while T. terrestris showed the highest CP content followed by A. viridis 25 % and 23.6 % respectively in Butana. CP, Ash and silica decreased while NDF, ADF and ADL were increased significantly (p<0.001) at late season in most of plat species. Forbs and shrubs had significantly (p<0.001) higher CP and ADL than grasses. High Ash (p<0.001) and high silica (p<0.05) were observed in forbs compared to both shrubs and grasses. RFV were adversely reduced in most grass species and significantly (p<0.001) decreased at late season because of increasing NDF and ADF. Forbs were ranked as high feed quality followed by shrubs as medium and grasses as low feed quality with average values 104.6, 92.1 and 81.5 respectively. Pasture in Kordofan had higher CP, Ash, silica and ADL and lower NDF compared to the pasture in Butana. The low NDF in Kordofan resulted in relatively high RFV which may be restricted by high ADL and silica contents as anti herbaceous. Pasture in the both locations had relatively high CP i n early season sufficient for animal requirements, that will become insufficient at late season only if grasses been predominant because grasses had drastic low CP content at mature stage. Advance study on legume / grass ratio through the rainfall season was required.
Thermal Inactivation of Human Norovirus Surrogates and Hepatitis A Virus in Foods

Hepatitis A virus (HAV) is a foodborne enteric virus responsible for outbreaks of hepatitis associated with consumption of shellfish. The objectives of this study were to determine the thermal inactivation behavior of HAV in blue mussels, compare first-order and Weibull models to describe the data, calculate Arrhenius activation energy for each model, and evaluate model efficiency by using selected statistical criteria. The D-values calculated from the first-order model (50-72°C) ranged from 1.07 to 54.17 min for HAV. Using the Weibull model, the tD for HAV to destroy 1 log (D=1) at the same temperatures was 1.57 to 37.91 min. At 72°C, the required treatment time to achieve 6 log reduction was 7.49 min for the first-order model and 8.47 min for the Weibull model. The z-values calculated for HAV were 15.88±3.97°C (R=0.94) using the Weibull model and 12.97±0.59°C (R=0.93) for the first-order model. The calculated activation energies for the first-order model and the Weibull model were 165 and 153 kJ/mole, respectively. Results revealed that the Weibull model was more appropriate to represent the thermal inactivation behavior of HAV in blue mussels for the data being analyzed. The correct understanding of the thermal inactivation behavior of HAV could provide precise determination of the thermal process calculations to prevent foodborne viral outbreaks associated with consumption of contaminated mussels.
Appendectomy for Appendicitis Has Worse Hospital Outcomes in Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patients

Background and Aims: Appendectomy is the choice of surgery for appendicitis but little is known about its outcomes in patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). We sought to compare hospital outcomes of appendectomy for appendicitis between patients with and without IBD. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study utilizing the Nationwide Inpatient Sample between 2009 and 2013. Patients with appendicitis undergoing appendectomy were identified using appropriate International Classification of Diseases codes. Primary outcomes of interest included length of stay (LOS), hospital costs, and post-surgical complications. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to compare these outcomes between patients with and without IBD. Results: A total of 849,312 patients with appendicitis undergoing appendectomy were included in this study, of which 4261 patients had IBD. IBD patients had longer LOS and increased hospital costs. Crohn’s disease (CD) patients were more likely to develop post-operative pulmonary embolism (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 7.06, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) (2.19, 22.79)) and anemia (aOR 2.23, 95% CI (1.21, 4.10)), whereas ulcerative colitis patients were more likely to develop post-operative deep vein thrombosis (aOR 9.79, 95% CI (2.41, 39.75)). CD patients were more likely to have perforated ap-pendicitis (aOR 1.37, 95% CI (1.67, 1.11)) and open appendectomy (aOR 1.56, 95% CI (1.96, 1.27)). Conclusions: Appendectomy for appendicitis in IBD patients is associated with adverse hospital outcomes. Focused attempts are needed to decrease the risk of DVT and PE in these patients. Treating patient’s pre-surgical anemia and proactive venous thromboembolism prophylaxis in IBD patients undergoing appendectomy for appendicitis might improve hos-pital outcomes.
Updated efficacy, safety, & PD-L1 status of patients with HR+, HER2- metastatic breast cancer administered abemaciclib plus pembrolizumab.

1059Background: Abemaciclib is a selective inhibitor of CDK4 & 6 approved to treat HR+, HER2- metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients (pts) as monotherapy and in combination with fulvestrant. In preclinical models, abemaciclib administered with anti-programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) antibody therapy synergistically induced anti-tumor response and immunologic memory. A Phase I study (JPBJ, NCT02079636) of abemaciclib plus pembrolizumab (Merck & Co.), a programmed death receptor 1 (PD-1) antibody, demonstrated stable disease in 65% of pts with stage IV NSCLC along with a generally manageable safety profile. Methods: JPCE is a multicenter, nonrandomized, open-label, Phase 1b study of abemaciclib plus pembrolizumab in pts with HR+, HER2- MBC or stage IV NSCLC. Key eligibility criteria for the MBC cohort were: HR+, HER2- MBC with 1 - 2 prior chemotherapy regimens, measurable disease, adequate organ function, ECOG PS ≤1, and no prior treatment with CDK4 & 6 or PD-1 & PD-L1 inhibitors. The primary objective was .
Hereditary multiple exostoses: are there new plausible treatment strategies?

ABSTRACT Introduction: Hereditary multiple exostoses (HME) is a rare congenital pediatric disorder characterized by osteochondromas forming next to the growth plates in young patients. The osteochondromas cause multiple health problems that include skeletal deformities and chronic pain. Surgery is used to remove the most symptomatic osteochondromas but because of their large number, many are left in place, causing life-long problems and increasing the probability of malignant transformation. There is no other treatment to prevent or reduce osteochondroma formation at present. Areas covered: Recent studies reviewable through PubMed are providing new insights into cellular and molecular mechanisms of osteochondroma development. The resulting data are suggesting rational and plausible new therapeutic strategies for osteochondroma prevention some of which are being tested in HME animal models and one of which is part of a just announced clinical trial. Expert commentary: This section summarizes and evaluates such strategies and points also to possible future alternatives.
Pulmonary neutrophil recruitment, activation and clearance in equine chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in the horse is caused by exposure of susceptible animals to dust and aeroallergens in poorly saved hay and straw. It is characterized by recurrent episodes of airway obstruction in association with neutrophilic pulmonary inflammation. As neutrophils have the capacity to secrete a wide array of potentially histotoxic products such as reactive oxygen species, proteases and cationic proteins, these cells have been proposed to be key mediators of the lung injury observed in COPD. The functional status of neutrophils within both the circulating granulocyte pool and the airways of horses with COPD remains largely unexplored. Likewise, little is known of the kinetics of airspace neutrophil recruitment and clearance during and after an acute episode of COPD or indeed the subsequent fate of these cells. I have demonstrated in vitro that isolated peripheral blood neutrophils may be primed by exposure to inflammatory mediators such as lipopolysaccharide, platelet activating factor and tumour necrosis factor-a. This results in enhanced respiratory burst activity upon subsequent exposure to secretagogue stimuli. Indeed, priming was found to be a necessary step in the induction of functional coupling of receptors for the bacterial peptide fMLP in equine neutrophils. I have also demonstrated that purified peripheral blood neutrophils undergo apoptosis constitutively when aged in vitro and that the rate of apoptosis can be modulated by exposure to a range of pro-inflammatory mediators. In other models of neutrophilic inflammation, cells that have undergone apoptosis have been shown to be recognized by phagocytes such as inflammatory macrophages, engulfed and degraded without inciting an inflammatory response. Acute COPD was induced in susceptible horses by exposure to a 5 h hay/straw challenge. The kinetics and function of airspace neutrophils harvested by bronchoalveolar lavage and peripheral blood neutrophils was monitored sequentially for 14 days after challenge. Hay/straw challenge primed both peripheral blood and airspace neutrophils for an enhanced secretagogue-induced respiratory burst. Significant degranulation of neutrophils occurred within the airspaces as evidenced
Testosterone, Coronary Artery Disease, and the Syntax score in males: a case control study

Objectives: To determine the possible association between serum testosterone levels and the presence or severity of coronary artery disease (CAD) among male patients. Methods: During a 6-month course, all consecutive male individuals younger than 55 years referred for angiography to the Rasoul-e-Akram General Hospital and the Day Clinic, Tehran, Iran, were recruited to the study. Excluded were those with recent history of acute coronary syndrome, history for hypogonadism, or any other medical backgrounds that interfere with results of serum testosterone level. After sending plasma samples, all individuals underwent angiography according which they were categorized as the CAD group (>50% occlusion) and the non-CAD group (<50% occlusion). Furthermore, the Syntax score was calculated for patients of the CAD group. Results: A total of 43 patients were recruited to the study among whom 21 were categorized as the CAD group and 22 as the non-CAD one. Serum level of free testosterone was lower (P=0.010) and that of albumin was higher (P=0.031) in the CAD group when compared to the non-CAD one. However, the total testosterone and the bioavailable testosterone levels were not different between the two groups. No statistically significant correlation was found between the free or total testosterone levels and the Syntax score in CAD patients. Conclusion: Male patients with CAD had lower free testosterone levels when compared to the non-CAD ones. However, the severity of CAD, determined by the Syntax score, did not correlate with the serum testosterone level. Additional studies are needed to clarify the latter issue. Correspondence to: Morteza Hassanzadeh, MD, Internist, Department of Internal Medicine, Rasoul-e-Akram Hospital, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Email: hassanzadeh.m@iums.ac. ir
Validation of diagnostic tests and epidemiology of Helicobacter pylori infection in Bangladesh.

INTRODUCTION Helicobacter pylori infection is associated with gastritis, peptic ulcer, and gastric cancer. We conducted a cross-sectional study to compare five diagnostic tests for H. pylori infection and studied the epidemiology of the infection in Bangladesh. METHODOLOGY Bangladeshi patients with dyspeptic symptoms referred for endoscopic examination were enrolled in this study. Each patient underwent upper endoscopic examination and four gastric biopsy specimens were taken. We used 5 tests for the diagnosis of H. pylori; culture, histology confirmed by immunohistochemistry, rapid urease test (RUT), urinary and serological test. Demographic and environmental variables were collected. RESULTS A total of 133 patients participated in the study, 61 males and mean age 37.3 ± 12.3 years. We used the culture and/or histology results as the gold standard to estimate the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values for the studied diagnostic tests. RUT, culture and histology had high sensitivity and specificity with moderate positive and negative likelihood ratio, whereas urine test and serology showed a good sensitivity and specificity but poor likelihood ratio. The overall prevalence of H. pylori among study subjects was 47% with no difference between gender and age groups. CONCLUSIONS The invasive tests showed better performance than noninvasive tests among Bangladeshi population. The overall prevalence of H. pylori was less than the previously reported in the region with no difference among all age groups.
Associations of pathogenic mutations responsible for breast cancer risk with histology and immunohistochemistry in Romanian population

Abstract Introduction: Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide, and Romania makes no exception from this trend. Genetic screening for Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer began to be used on a larger scale after the introduction of Next Generation Sequencing. The aim of this study was to assess the association of deleterious mutations responsible for breast cancer with histopathological and immunohistochemical prognostic factors and to identify some genetic variants in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. Method: 80 patients with breast cancer and negative genetic test or pathogenic variants on BRCA1/2, TP53, PALB2, CHEK2, ATM genes were included. All the cases had a prior histological diagnosis and complete immunohistochemical features. The genetic testing was conducted through a multigene panel. Results: 65% of patients had a deleterious mutation on BRCA genes. In 97.5% of cases the histology was invasive ductal carcinoma. Significant differences were identified between BRCA1 group and negative mutation group regarding estrogen receptor (ER) (p=0.0051), progesterone receptor (PR) (p=0.0004) and Ki67 (p=0.001). Seven breast cancer patients had BRCA1 c.3607C>T variant, which was statistically significantly associated with triple- negative breast cancer (p <0.0001). Of the 7 cases diagnosed with BRCA 2 mutations we identified the c.8755-1G>A variant in 3 cases and the c.9371A>T variant in 3 cases. Discussion and conclusion: Our study confirmed the association of BRCA1 mutations with negative ER, PR or triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). Description of BRCA1 c.3607C>T mutation for the first time in Romanian population and its association with TNBC will need further investigation.
Exploring cannabis use reasons and experiences among mobile cannabis delivery patients

ABSTRACT Background: Although there are an increasing number of states exploring the legalization of medical and/or recreational cannabis, little research has explored whether and how people are medically using cannabis along with the broader implications of this potential change in policy. Objectives: This study seeks to explore reasons for use and experience with use among users of a medical cannabis delivery service. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a convenience sample of users (n = 21) of a medical cannabis delivery service were recruited and interviewed. Semi-structured interviews were used to gather qualitative data for thematic analysis. Results: Five themes for cannabis use emerged from our research: distrust for the medical field, side effects of prescription drugs, clinical failure, addiction treatment, and cannabis as a prescription drug substitution. Conclusion: People are seeking cannabis to be delivered to them as an alternative to receiving traditional medical treatments, including as a substitute for opioids in treatment for chronic pain. Findings from this formative research suggest future research should be conducted on whether and how cannabis is being used as a substitute for medical treatments along with the implications of this effect on future healthcare and health policy.
Improved child marriage laws and its association with changing attitudes and experiences of intimate partner violence: a comparative multi-national study

Background Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a multi-national problem with many health consequences. Some research suggests that reducing rates of child marriage can improve gender norms and health outcomes related to IPV. Here, we examine whether changes in national child marriage laws can improve attitudes about domestic violence and reduce intimate partner violence at scale. Methods Data on attitudes towards violence and violence experienced were obtained from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and longitudinal data on child marriage policy from WORLD and MACHEquity databases (1995-2012). Treatment countries were included if they improved their national child marriage policies from harmful (under 18) to more protective and control countries were included if they had a constant child-marriage policy that allowed girls to marry under the age of 18. Our final data set included 5 treatment and 14 control countries for women’s outcomes, 2 treatment and 9 control countries for men’s outcomes and 2 treatment and 7 control countries for IPV outcomes (for which fewer countries collect data). We combined individual level responses to five questions on attitudes about domestic violence to create a scale from 0 (always unacceptable) to 5 (always acceptable). All analyses employed a difference-in-differences approach adjusting for individual and country level predictors. Results Data were available for 532 255 women, of which 96 414 also completed the domestic violence modules, and 104 704 men. National changes to a protective child marriage policy were associated with improved attitudes towards violence among women (-0.21 points, 95% confidence interval (CI) = -0.28, -0.14) and men (-0.98 points, 95% CI = -1.13, -0.83). Additionally, the risk of women experiencing physical and sexual abuse reduced by a greater proportion in treatment compared to control countries (odds ratio OR = 0.65, 95% CI = 0.50, 0.84; OR = 0.63, 95% CI = 0.45, 0.88, respectively). Conclusions Our large multi-national study is the first of its kind to critically evaluate the role of national policy on attitudes towards and experiences of IPV among both men and women, and finds that these laws have protective outcomes. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that gender egalitarian laws positively influence norms and health at the national level.
Tooth Width among Qatari with Different Malocclusion

Aims: The aims of this study were to establish the mesiodistal tooth width in a sample of Qatari population. Further, to be able to compare tooth width between genders and Angle classification groups as well as with previous studies. Material and methods: Sixty pairs of pretreatment orthodontic study models with different malocclusion (Class І, Class II, Division 1, Class III malocclusion) were selected from orthodontic records of subjects (30 males and 30 females) seeking orthodontic treatment. Descriptive statistics was done. T-test for comparison between males and females and the ANOVA test was undertaken to explore significant differences between the three groups. Result: Tooth width in upper and lower jaw was presented. Comparison between the right and left side in the upper and lower arch revealed no statistical significant difference. The mesodistal teeth width in males was greater than females in both jaws. Comparison between the three classes of Angle classification show that Class III malocclusion demonstrated statistical significant differences in the lower right and left central incisors, right lateral incisor and left canine (P<0.05). On the other hand, very significant difference was exhibited in the lower right and left first molars (P<0.01) whereas in the upper arch only the upper right canine showed statistical significant difference (P<0.05). Conclusions: The results of the mesiodistal tooth width obtained in the present investigation could be of great help to the clinical Orthodontist for space assessment and to Anthropologists as well as to the Prosthodontist.
Prognostic Biomarkers in Early-Stage B-CLL Patients

Summary Chronic lymphocytic leukemia is one of the most common types of leukemia in adults. It belongs to the group of indolent lymphoproliferative disorders and has a slow clinical course. Approximately 50% of newly diagnosed patients do not require treatment for years. A better understanding of the pathophysiology of the disease has led to the development of models for assessment of the risk. Our study aimed to evaluate the prognostic significance of the serum marker beta-2 microglobulin (82M) and the flow cytometric marker CD49d in patients with early-stage of B-chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL) as well as look for a correlation between CD 49d and the early stages of the disease. For this purpose, analysis of 30 untreated patients with known and newly diagnosed B-CLL was carried out. The following methods were used: documentary, flow cytometric analysis of peripheral blood, Rai staging system and chi-square test of independence (Fisher’s Exact Test). The results from our study showed that a small number of patients in the early stage of the disease have high levels of CD49d expression and beta-2 microglobulins. In eight of 29 patients, the flow cytometric marker was higher than 30%, and in ten out of 29 patients, the B2M was above the reference range. No significant correlation between the two markers in early stage B-CLL patients was found.