Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Involvement of stakeholders in determining health priorities of adolescents in rural South Africa

Background When developing intervention research, it is important to explore issues from the community perspective. Interventions that promote adolescent health in South Africa are urgently needed, and Project Ntshembo (‘hope’) aims to improve the health of young women and their offspring in the Agincourt sub-district of rural northeast South Africa, actively using stakeholder involvement throughout the research process. Objective This study aimed to determine adolescent health priorities according to key stakeholders, to align stakeholder and researcher priorities, and to form a stakeholder forum, which would be active throughout the intervention. Design Thirty-two stakeholders were purposefully identified as community members interested in the health of adolescents. An adapted Delphi incorporating face-to-face discussions, as well as participatory visualisation, was used in a series of three workshops. Consensus was determined through non-parametric analysis. Results Stakeholders and researchers agreed that peer pressure and lack of information, or having information but not acting on it, were the root causes of adolescent health problems. Pregnancy, HIV, school dropout, alcohol and drug abuse, not accessing health services, and unhealthy lifestyle (leading to obesity) were identified as priority adolescent health issues. A diagram was developed showing how these eight priorities relate to one another, which was useful in the development of the intervention. A stakeholder forum was founded, comprising 12 of the stakeholders involved in the stakeholder involvement process. Conclusions The process brought researchers and stakeholders to consensus on the most important health issues facing adolescents, and a stakeholder forum was developed within which to address the issues. Stakeholder involvement as part of a research engagement strategy can be of mutual benefit to the researchers and the community in which the research is taking place.
Toward Community Dynamic through Interactions Prediction in Complex Networks

Until recently all the works done on community detection in complex networks have only consider static networks: a snapshot of the network is taken at a particular time. The communities are then computed on that constructed network. Because real networks are dynamic by nature, investigations on community detection in dynamic networks have started these last years. One problem actually unexplored in community dynamic is the prediction: knowing the evolution of the network until the time-step t, can we predict the communities at the time-step t+1? In this paper, we propose a general approach for communities prediction based on a machine learning model predicting interaction in social networks. In fact, we believe that if one is able to predict the structure of the network with a high precision, then one just need to compute the communities on this predicted network to have the prediction of the community structure. Evaluation on real datasets (DBLP and Facebook walls) shows the feasibility of the approach.
Incremental predictive value of vascular assessments combined with the Framingham Risk Score for prediction of coronary events in subjects of low–intermediate risk

Background: In patients with low–intermediate risk, the use of the Framingham Risk Score (FRS) may not allow accurate prediction of the occurrence of coronary events. Objective: To determine whether non-invasive vascular sonographic assessments add value to the FRS for prediction of coronary events. Methods: Brachial artery flow-mediated dilatation (FMD), carotid intima–media thickness (IMT) and the presence of carotid plaque in 70 male subjects (mean (SD) age 62 (9) years) with a low–intermediate FRS who presented with a recent coronary event were evaluated and compared with those in 35 male controls matched for age (mean age 60 (9) years). Results: Patients with a recent coronary event had a significantly higher FRS than controls. They had a significantly lower FMD (3.56 (2.41)% vs 5.18 (2.69)%, p = 0.003) and significantly higher prevalence of carotid plaque (67% vs 40%, p = 0.008), but there was no significant difference in mean maximum IMT between the two groups (1.01 (0.28) vs 0.96 (0.14) mm, p = 0.32). Multivariate analysis revealed that FMD ⩽4.75% was an independent predictor of an acute coronary event. Of the three vascular markers, FMD ⩽4.75% and presence of carotid plaque provided the best diagnostic accuracy for a coronary event, with area under the curve (AUC) of 0.70 and 0.64 (p = 0.001 and p = 0.033), respectively, based on receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. Furthermore, incorporating carotid plaque or FMD ⩽4.75% into the FRS (AUC = 0.72 and AUC = 0.78) provided incremental benefit in risk stratification over FRS alone (AUC = 0.66) (p = 0.008 and p = 0.007, for comparison of difference in two receiver operating characteristic curves). Conclusions: Incorporating a measure of FMD or carotid plaque burden with FRS significantly increases the accuracy of predicting coronary events in subjects of low–intermediate risk and hence should be considered as additional investigations to improve coronary risk assessment.
Detection of Helicobacter pylori‐Specific Genes in the Oral Yeast

Backgrounds. Until today, human stomach is the only recognized habitat of Helicobacter pylori. However, recruitment of DNA‐based methods has made possible the detection of H. pylori in water and oral cavity, thus suggesting fecal–oral and oral–oral routes for transmission of H. pylori, respectively. In this study, yeast has been proposed as a common vector for transmission of H. pylori. Thus designed primers were recruited to target 16S rDNA and cagA genes in the oral yeasts by PCR.
Retinoid signaling is required to complete the vertebrate cardiac left/right asymmetry pathway.

Vitamin A-deficient (VAD) quail embryos have severe abnormalities, including a high incidence of reversed cardiac situs. Using this model we examined in vivo the physiological function of vitamin A in the left/right (L/R) cardiac asymmetry pathway. Molecular analysis reveals the expression of early asymmetry genes activin receptor IIa, sonic hedgehog, Caronte, Lefty-1, and Fgf8 to be unaffected by the lack of retinoids, while expression of the downstream genes nodal-related, snail-related (cSnR), and Pitx2 is altered. In VAD embryos nodal expression in left lateral plate mesoderm (LPM) is severely downregulated and the expression domain altered during neurulation. Similarly, the expression of cSnR in the right LPM and of Pitx2 in the left side posterior heart-forming region (HFR) is downregulated in the VAD embryos. The lack of retinoids does not cause randomization or ectopic expression of nodal, cSnR, or Pitx2. At the six- to eight-somite stage nodal is expressed transiently in the left posterior HFR of normal quail embryos; this expression is missing in VAD embryos and may be linked to the loss of Pitx2 expression in this region of VAD quail embryos. Administration of retinoids to VAD embryos prior to the six-somite stage rescues the expression of nodal, cSnR, and Pitx2 as well as the randomized VAD cardiac phenotype. There is an absolute requirement for retinoids at the four- to five-somite developmental window for cardiogenesis and cardiac L/R specification to proceed normally. We conclude that retinoids do not regulate the left/right-specific sidedness assignments for expression of genes on the vertebrate cardiac asymmetry pathway, but are required during neurulation for the maintenance of adequate levels of their expression and for the development of the posterior heart tube and a loopable heart. Cardiac asymmetry may be but one of several critical events regulated by retinoid signaling in the retinoid-sensitive developmental window.
Short-term consistency in self-reported physical functioning among elderly women: the Women's Health and Aging Study.

The assessment of physical functioning and disability is integral to population-based and clinical research carried out among elderly people. Typically, functional status is measured through self-reported responses to questions of the form "Do you have difficulty [doing a specific task]? " Knowledge of the reliability and validity of these self-report measures is key to the interpretation of many research efforts, but data on these measurement parameters are sparse. This paper addresses this deficiency through analyses of data from the Weekly Substudy of the Women's Health and Aging Study, a cohort of Baltimore-area women aged > or =65 years with moderate to severe physical disability. Self-reported data on 20 activities, obtained weekly over a 6-month period in 1993 or 1994, were analyzed to investigate how time intervals between assessments and a subject's age and baseline level of disability influenced the consistency of self-reports of disability at both the population level and the individual level. The prevalence of self-reported difficulty increased with baseline disability and, to a lesser extent, with age group. Consistency for all items was very high over short time intervals, but it decreased substantially with increasing intervals between responses (although associations between responses remained significant at 24 weeks). Consistency did not vary with age or baseline disability. Graphic techniques and statistical methods for use with repeated binary data are also illustrated.
Usefulness of RT-PCR for the diagnosis of Japanese encephalitis in clinical samples

The present study was carried out between July 2003 and December 2005 in PGIMER, Chandigarh, India and aimed to compare IgM capture ELISA and nested RT-PCR for the diagnosis of Japanese encephalitis (JE). The samples collected were cerebrospinal fluid and blood from 40 febrile patients with encephalitis (n=40, group I) and blood samples from febrile patients without encephalitis residing in JE endemic areas (n=45, group II). Overall, in CSF samples JE specific RNA was detected in 9/40 (22.5%), while 7/28 (25%) patients showed the presence of specific IgM antibodies. Only 28 CSF samples could be subjected to both RT-PCR and IgM and, among these, 13 cases were found to be confirmed JE based on IgM and/or RT-PCR positivity. Among the confirmed cases, 6 (6/13, 46.5%) could be detected by RT-PCR alone, 4 (4/13, 30.7%) by IgM capture ELISA and 3 (3/13, 23.1%) patients were positive by both the methods. All the RT-PCR positive cases had presented within 5 d of onset of illness. The serum samples of only 16 patients in group I could be tested for IgM antibodies and 5 (31.25%) were found to be positive, while in group II, 11.1% (5/45) positivity was observed. JE specific RNA could not be detected in serum samples of either group of patients. This study highlights the need for carrying out RT-PCR in CSF samples, compared to IgM antibody detection, for the early detection of JEV.
Radiodensity in the central cavity of humeri in high-producing non-commercial laying hens

1. Line differences in the incidence of the presence of radiodense material in the central cavities of humeri of 6 different lines of laying hens were observed using radiographs. 2. Internal humeral radiodense material was observed in over 60% of hens in two lines and 18% of hens in two other lines measured at 65 weeks of age. There was no difference in the incidence (15, 16%) between the last two lines observed at 47 weeks of age. 3. In the 4 lines studied at 65 weeks of age the presence of radiodense material was associated with increased humerus dry weight and ash weight in two lines, while percentage-ash was reduced in all 4 lines. 4. Results from this and previous studies suggest that humeral medullary bone could be an appreciable source of variability in experimental data collected to assess skeletal health.
The effect of donor body mass index on primary graft nonfunction, retransplantation rate, and early graft and patient survival after liver transplantation

Previous studies have suggested that moderate donor liver steatosis is associated with an increased incidence of primary graft nonfunction (PGNF), delayed graft function, early graft loss, and retransplantation rates. The objective of our study was to determine the effect of donor body mass index (dBMI), after adjusting for other known confounding variables, on PGNF, early graft failure, retransplantation rate, and patient survival. The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) database (1987 to 2001) of 22,303 adult patients, excluding patients of pediatric age (age less than 18 years) and those with multiple organ transplantations, living donors, and retransplantations, was used for this study. Based on the BMI (kg/m2) of the organ donor, transplant recipients were divided into four groups as follows: BMI < 25 (group 1, n = 11,660), 25 to 29.9 (group 2, n = 7418), 30 to 34.9 (group 3, n = 2301), and ≥ 35 (group 4, n = 924). Information on donor liver histology was available for 1603 patients who underwent transplantation after 1999, and this subgroup was divided into three groups based on severity of steatosis (group A, < 20%; group B, 20% to 35%; group C, > 35%). Incidence of PGNF and early retransplantation rates were similar in groups 1 to 4 and in groups A, B, and C. Logistic regression analysis showed that dBMI or severity of steatosis was not a predictor of PGNF and early retransplantation. Cox regression analysis, after adjusting for confounding variables, showed similar patient and graft survival at 1 month and 1, 2, and 5 years for groups 1 to 4, and at 1 month and 6 months for groups A, B, and C. Severe donor obesity or moderate steatosis did not influence short‐term and long‐term outcome of liver transplantation.
Differential regulation of polarized synaptic vesicle trafficking and synapse stability in neural circuit rewiring in Caenorhabditis elegans

Neural circuits are dynamic, with activity-dependent changes in synapse density and connectivity peaking during different phases of animal development. In C. elegans, young larvae form mature motor circuits through a dramatic switch in GABAergic neuron connectivity, by concomitant elimination of existing synapses and formation of new synapses that are maintained throughout adulthood. We have previously shown that an increase in microtubule dynamics during motor circuit rewiring facilitates new synapse formation. Here, we further investigate cellular control of circuit rewiring through the analysis of mutants obtained in a forward genetic screen. Using live imaging, we characterize novel mutations that alter cargo binding in the dynein motor complex and enhance anterograde synaptic vesicle movement during remodeling, providing in vivo evidence for the tug-of-war between kinesin and dynein in fast axonal transport. We also find that a casein kinase homolog, TTBK-3, inhibits stabilization of nascent synapses in their new locations, a previously unexplored facet of structural plasticity of synapses. Our study delineates temporally distinct signaling pathways that are required for effective neural circuit refinement.
Association Between Heart Rate Variability and Systemic Endothelin-1 Concentration in Normal-tension Glaucoma

Abstract Purpose: To investigate the association between heart rate variability (HRV) and the plasma level of endothelin-1 (ET-1) in normal-tension glaucoma (NTG). Materials and methods: Twenty-four patients with NTG were enrolled. Subjects with systemic diseases were excluded. All patients underwent a complete ophthalmic examination and were referred to the rheumatology department, where HRV assessment was performed. Patients were divided into two groups according to the standard deviation of normal-normal intervals (SDNN). The low heart rate variability (LHV) group consisted of patients with SDNN values in the bottom half of range of values, and the high heart rate variability (HHV) group consisted of those with SDNN values in the upper half of the range. Blood samples were assayed for ET-1 concentrations, which were compared between the LHV and HHV groups. The relationships between the ET-1 level and HRV parameters were analyzed. Results: The LHV group showed significantly lower ET-1 levels compared with the HHV group (0.57 ± 1.09 versus 2.21 ± 3.56 pg/ml, respectively; p = 0.04). Among the HRV parameters, the SDNN and total power were significantly associated with the systemic level of ET-1 (ρ = 0.729, p < 0.001; ρ = 0.713, p < 0.001, respectively). Conclusions: After excluding patients with systemic diseases, the plasma ET-1 level was associated with HRV parameters in patients with NTG. These observations suggest that the relationship between autonomic dysfunction and autoregulation may play a role in the pathogenesis of NTG.
Muscarinic receptors transform NIH 3T3 cells through a Ras-dependent signalling pathway inhibited by the Ras-GTPase-activating protein SH3 domain

Expression of certain subtypes of human muscarinic receptors in NIH 3T3 cells provides an agonist-dependent model of cellular transformation by formation of foci in response to carbachol. Although focus formation correlates with the ability of the muscarinic receptors to activate phospholipase C, the actual mitogenic signal transduction pathway is unknown. Through cotransfection experiments and measurement of the activation state of native and epitope-tagged Ras proteins, the contributions of Ras and Ras GTPase-activating protein (Ras-GAP) to muscarinic receptor-dependent transformation were defined. Transforming muscarinic receptors were able to activate Ras, and such activation was required for transformation because focus formation was inhibited by coexpression of either Ras with a dominant-negative mutation or constructs of Ras-GAP that include the catalytic domain. Coexpression of the N-terminal region of GAP or of its isolated SH3 (Src homology 3) domain, but not its SH2 domain, was also sufficient to suppress muscarinic receptor-dependent focus formation. Point mutations at conserved residues in the Ras-GAP SH3 domain reversed its action, leading to an increase in carbachol-dependent transformation. The inhibitory effect of expression of the Ras-GAP SH3 domain occurs proximal to Ras activation and is selective for the mitogenic pathway activated by carbachol, as cellular transformation by either v-Ras or trkA/nerve growth factor is unaffected.
Continuous PTH and PTHrP Infusion Causes Suppression of Bone Formation and Discordant Effects on 1,25(OH)2Vitamin D

Osteoblast activity and plasma 1,25(OH)2vitamin D are increased in HPT but suppressed in HHM. To model HPT and HHM, we directly compared multiday continuous infusions of PTH versus PTHrP in humans. Continuous infusion of both PTH and PTHrP results in marked and prolonged suppression of bone formation; renal 1,25(OH)2D synthesis was stimulated effectively by PTH but poorly by PTHrP.
A Simple Early Warning Signal for COVID-19

The paper provides some initial evidence that daily mortality rates (for any cause) by municipality or province can be used as a statistically reliable predictor of looming COVID-19 crises. Using recently published deaths figures for 1,689 Italian municipalities, we estimate the growth in daily mortality rates between the period 2015-2019 and 2020 by province. All provinces that experienced a major COVID-19 shock in mid-March 2020 had increases in mortality rates of 100% or above already in early February 2020. This increase was particularly strong for males and older people, two recognizable features of COVID-19. Using a panel fixed effect model, we show that the association between these early increases in mortality for any cause and the March 2020 COVID-19 shock is strong and significant. We conclude that the growth in mortality rates can be used as a statistically reliable predictor of COVID-19 crises.
Prevalence of amyloid PET positivity in dementia syndromes: a meta-analysis.

IMPORTANCE Amyloid-β positron emission tomography (PET) imaging allows in vivo detection of fibrillar plaques, a core neuropathological feature of Alzheimer disease (AD). Its diagnostic utility is still unclear because amyloid plaques also occur in patients with non-AD dementia. OBJECTIVE To use individual participant data meta-analysis to estimate the prevalence of amyloid positivity on PET in a wide variety of dementia syndromes. DATA SOURCES The MEDLINE and Web of Science databases were searched from January 2004 to April 2015 for amyloid PET studies. STUDY SELECTION Case reports and studies on neurological or psychiatric diseases other than dementia were excluded. Corresponding authors of eligible cohorts were invited to provide individual participant data. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS Data were provided for 1359 participants with clinically diagnosed AD and 538 participants with non-AD dementia. The reference groups were 1849 healthy control participants (based on amyloid PET) and an independent sample of 1369 AD participants (based on autopsy). MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Estimated prevalence of positive amyloid PET scans according to diagnosis, age, and apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 status, using the generalized estimating equations method. RESULTS The likelihood of amyloid positivity was associated with age and APOE ε4 status. In AD dementia, the prevalence of amyloid positivity decreased from age 50 to 90 years in APOE ε4 noncarriers (86% [95% CI, 73%-94%] at 50 years to 68% [95% CI, 57%-77%] at 90 years; n = 377) and to a lesser degree in APOE ε4 carriers (97% [95% CI, 92%-99%] at 50 years to 90% [95% CI, 83%-94%] at 90 years; n = 593; P < .01). Similar associations of age and APOE ε4 with amyloid positivity were observed in participants with AD dementia at autopsy. In most non-AD dementias, amyloid positivity increased with both age (from 60 to 80 years) and APOE ε4 carriership (dementia with Lewy bodies: carriers [n = 16], 63% [95% CI, 48%-80%] at 60 years to 83% [95% CI, 67%-92%] at 80 years; noncarriers [n = 18], 29% [95% CI, 15%-50%] at 60 years to 54% [95% CI, 30%-77%] at 80 years; frontotemporal dementia: carriers [n = 48], 19% [95% CI, 12%-28%] at 60 years to 43% [95% CI, 35%-50%] at 80 years; noncarriers [n = 160], 5% [95% CI, 3%-8%] at 60 years to 14% [95% CI, 11%-18%] at 80 years; vascular dementia: carriers [n = 30], 25% [95% CI, 9%-52%] at 60 years to 64% [95% CI, 49%-77%] at 80 years; noncarriers [n = 77], 7% [95% CI, 3%-18%] at 60 years to 29% [95% CI, 17%-43%] at 80 years. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Among participants with dementia, the prevalence of amyloid positivity was associated with clinical diagnosis, age, and APOE genotype. These findings indicate the potential clinical utility of amyloid imaging for differential diagnosis in early-onset dementia and to support the clinical diagnosis of participants with AD dementia and noncarrier APOE ε4 status who are older than 70 years.