Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Self-Reported Depressive Symptoms Among Black and Hispanic Frail Elders: A Sociocultural Perspective

This study examined the sources of depressive symptoms experienced by frail Black and Hispanic elderly persons experienced in terms of life strain/stresses and coping resources. Overall, results indicate that women in both groups express more depressive symptoms than do men; and Hispanic elders report more depressive symptoms than do Black elders. Common predictors for the two groups were being female, greater numbers of physical illnesses, poor perceived health, more perceived unmet needs, and less sense of control in life. Unique predictors for the Black elders were a higher level of impairment in instrumental activities of daily living, loss of a significant other, involuntary relocation, and fewer formal care providers. For Hispanic elders, the unique predictor of depressive symptoms was few informal helpers.
Late breaking trials of 2016 in coronary artery disease: Commentary covering SCAI, ACC, TCT, EuroPCR, ESC, and AHA

The SCAI Publications Committee and Emerging Leadership Mentorship (ELM) Fellows concisely summarize and provide context on the most important coronary trials presented at large international meetings in 2016, including SCAI, ACC, TCT, EuroPCR, ESC, and AHA. The intent is to allow quick assimilation of trial results into interventional practice, and enable busy interventional cardiologists to stay up to date. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Machine Learning Scoring Functions for Drug Discoveries from Experimental and Synthetic Protein-Ligand Structures: Towards Per-target Scoring Functions

In recent years, machine learning has been proposed as a promising strategy to build accurate scoring functions for computational docking ﬁnalized to numerical empowered drug discoveries. However, the lat-est studies have suggested that over-optimistic results had been reported due to the correlations present in the experimental databases used for training and testing. Here we investigate the performance of an artiﬁcial neural network in binding aﬃnity predictions, comparing results obtained using both experimental protein-ligand structures as well as larger sets of synthetic structures created using commercial software. Interestingly, similar performances are obtained on both databases. We ﬁnd a noticeable performance suppression when moving from random horizontal tests to vertical tests performed on target proteins not included in the training data. The possibility to train the network on relatively easily created synthetic databases leads us to explore per-target scoring functions, trained and tested ad-hoc on complexes including only one target protein. Encouraging results are obtained, depending on the type of protein being addressed.
Determinants of birth weight in boys and girls

Boys are heavier at birth than girls, but girls have higher fat mass at birth than boys. Insulin action may play an important role of this different distribution. Animal models have shown that female offspring are more sensitive to maternal feeding and glucose values during pregnancy and weaning than male offspring. Newborn girls have higher insulin and proinsulin concentrations and total proinsulin-to-insulin ratios in cord blood than boys, despite lighter birth weight. In a cohort of 522 newborn above 37 gestational weeks we split between the sexes and studied associations between birth weights, parental anthropometrics and fasting maternal plasma glucose and insulin levels. Boys weighed 184g more than girls, they were 1.1 cm longer and head circumference differed by 0.86 (all p values <0.01). Multiple linear regressions showed that parity, maternal body mass index, gestational age and maternal birth weight were associated with birth weight for both sexes, whereas maternal weight gain in pregnancy and maternal fasting plasma glucose at week 30-32 were significantly associated with birth weight for girls only. The effect of fasting plasma glucose on birth weight in girls was twice as high as in boys (B=162, 95% CI 33.4-291, p=0.01). Paternal birth weight was significantly associated with birth weight of boys, but no such association was seen for girls. This supports the notion that there is a genetic regulation along the male line. Girls may be more sensitive to intrauterine environment and maternal glucose values, as these have a stronger influence on birth weight of girls.
The Gist of Gis (Geographic Information Systems)

I n the 1800s, when the cause of cholera was still unknown, there was a deadly cholera outbreak in London. The medical establishment did not know how to prevent or stop the raging epidemic. A London physician, Dr. Snow, decided to plot on a map the locations of the cholera victims’ homes. At each address where someone had died of cholera, he placed a dot. Examining the spatial pattern of the dots, he saw that many of the victims lived near a certain public water pump. This water pump was the likely source of the victims’ drinking water supply, because few houses in these poorer neighborhoods had directly piped-in water. Because the one thing that many of the cholera victims seemed to have in common was the use of that pump, Snow decided to test the hypothesis that drinking the water from that pump was somehow related to contracting cholera. Ultimately, that is how the connection was made between cholera and contaminated water supplies. The mapping exercise in this story is an antecedent to the modern day Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Knowledge of GIS use is rapidly becoming essential. Due to recent software advancements, effective use of GIS is now within the reach of almost anyone having minimal familiarity with basic computer operation. Knowledge of GIS is advantageous for research, teaching, and advocacy. Thanks to Juliana Maantay, Department of
Symptomatic stenosis of the vertebrobasilar arteries: results of extra‐ and intracranial stent‐PTA

Background and purpose: About half of all transient ischaemic attacks (TIAs) or strokes in the posterior circulation are caused by the arterial stenosis. The purposes of this study were to determine the safety of stent‐assisted percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (stent‐PTA) and its efficacy for the prevention of recurrent stroke in patients with symptomatic artery stenosis in the extra‐ and intracranial posterior circulation.
Depressive symptoms among older caregivers raising children impacted by HIV/AIDS in the Omusati Region of Namibia

ABSTRACT The study of depressive symptoms among caregivers raising HIV/AIDS-orphans is emerging as an important area of research. However, it has not been explored at length in generational and cultural contexts. In this study, the authors explore the role of financial strain, raising a HIV-infected and/or impacted child, and caregiver knowledge on the depressive symptoms of 89-older caregivers raising HIV/AIDS-orphans in Namibia, Africa. In this study, we found elevated levels of depressive symptoms among this population. Using hierarchical regression, a significant positive association between financial strain and depressive symptoms was found. A significant negative association between caring for an HIV-infected orphan and depression was shown. Our work suggests the need for economic assistance programs and psychosocial interventions for older caregivers.
A systematic review of the epidemiology of multiple sclerosis in South America

Hundreds of publications dealing with the prevalence of multiple sclerosis (MS) throughout the world exist, but little data have been published from South America. Epidemiological studies of MS vary according to environmental, racial and genetic factors; a better understanding of MS in South America would help us to elucidate the disease pattern in this population. The aim of this study is to review the evidence relevant to MS epidemiology in South America. We performed a systematic review of articles of MS epidemiology in South America, with special emphasis on those providing information on the incidence and prevalence of MS (population‐based studies). Six papers provided information on MS epidemiology. One paper used the capture‐recapture methodology, while the remainder employed traditional methods to collect the data. Population‐based studies showed an MS prevalence rate ranging from 1.48 to 17 per 100 000 inhabitants. Available data suggest that the prevalence of MS is lower in South America than in developed countries. The reason for this observation is unknown. Some investigators suggest that certain environmental factors like sun exposure and vitamin D supplementation or the called ‘hygiene hypothesis’ may protect this population. Future studies will contribute to elucidate the etiology of that difference.
Changes in cerebral blood flow after acetazolamide: an experimental study comparing near‐infrared spectroscopy and SPECT

Background and purpose: It is important to find a reliable and bedside method, which can estimate the cerebral blood flow (CBF) of patients in clinical settings. Estimation of CBF by calculating a blood flow index (BFI) using continuous wave near‐infrared spectroscopy (CW‐NIRS) and indocyanine green (ICG) as an iv tracer has been proposed to be a feasible and promising method. To validate if the BFI method can detect relative changes in CBF we compared data with the established method 133Xenon single photon emission computer tomography (133Xe‐SPECT).
‘Wads up, doc’ – trends in British newspapers’ reporting of general practitioners’ pay

Aim To analyse trends in newspaper reporting of British general practitioners’ (GPs’) pay before and after the introduction of the new General Medical Services (GMS) contract. Background The introduction of the new GMS contract for GPs in 2004 linked pay to performance. There may have been a range of wider consequences from this, including changes in how GPs are portrayed in the media. Methods We retrospectively analysed the internet archives of five British newspapers over 2001–2008. The search terms ‘doctor’ or ‘GP’ and ‘pay’ were used in a text search. After checking the relevance of full text articles, we randomly sampled included articles to achieve a quota of up to five articles per newspaper per year. We scored article content using criteria to determine whether GPs were depicted in a positive or negative manner. Summary scores for each article were plotted using locally weighted scatterplot smoothing (LOWESS). We used a grounded approach to identify key themes. Findings Newspaper coverage of GPs’ salaries became unfavourable following the introduction of the new contract. Initial recognition of GPs’ demanding working conditions and relatively poor rewards for public service transformed into concerns about unfairly excessive income and poor use of public money. Although public trust in GPs has remained fairly robust to media criticism, it cannot be taken for granted as continued negative newspaper coverage of their pay may start to erode public trust in the profession.
Disseminated Fusarium From a Primary Gingivitis After Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant in a Patient With Leukemia

Invasive fungal infections continue to plague the immuno- compromised population, and Fusarium species have become an in- creasing threat. This species of fungus is a frequent cause of local infections, such as keratitis and onychomycosis, in the immunocompe- tent but can bring about locally invasive and disseminated infections in the immunocompromised. These infections are associated with a high degree of morbidity and mortality. Patients with neutropenia seem to be particularly susceptible to these manifestations of Fusarium. In invasive and disseminated disease, the primary lesion is often in the sinopul- monary tree or through a wound in the skin. We report here a unique case of primary Fusarium in the gingiva of a patient who underwent hema- topoietic stem cell transplant, diagnosed with relapsed acute lymphocytic leukemia that widely disseminated and led to her demise. (Infect Dis Clin Pract 2011;19: 51Y54)
ShiftWork and Impaired Glucose Metabolism: A 14-Year Cohort Study on 7104 Male Workers

The aim of this study was to assess the effect of shiftwork on hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) level, as an index of glucose metabolism. A 14 yr prospective cohort study was conducted on day (n = 4219) and alternating shiftworkers (n = 2885) who received annual health checkups between 1991 and 2005 at a Japanese steel company. The endpoints were either a 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, or 30% increase in HbA1c during the period of observation, compared to HbA1c at entry to the study. The association between the type of job schedule and increase in HbA1c was investigated after adjusting for age, body mass index, mean arterial pressure, total serum cholesterol, creatinine, alanine aminotransferase, γ-glutamyl transpeptidase, uric acid, drinking habit, smoking habit, and habitual exercise using multivariate pooled logistic regression analyses. Shiftwork was significantly associated with the various HbA1c endpoints (≥10% HbA1c increase, odds ratio 1.35 [95% confidence interval 1.26–1.44]; ≥15% HbA1c increase, odds ratio 1.29 [95% confidence interval, 1.19–1.40]; ≥20% HbA1c increase, odds ratio 1.23 [95% confidence interval 1.11–1.37]; and ≥25% HbA1c increase, odds ratio 1.19 [95% confidence interval 1.03–1.36]). Age, body mass index, alanine aminotransferase, and γ-glutamyl transpeptidase were associated positively with all five HbA1c endpoints. Uric acid was associated negatively with all five HbA1c endpoints. Our study on male Japanese workers revealed alternating shiftwork (in addition to other established factors, such as age and body mass index) was a consistent risk factor for impaired glucose metabolism.
Working with Family Carers of People with Dementia

Supporting family carers is likely to remain at the forefront of community care policy in dementia care for the foreseeable future. However, despite extensive research in the area there is little evidence for the effectiveness of current interventions. Many authors attribute this to methodological weaknesses and promote larger and more sophisticated trials. Using data from an Australian study of how carers of people with dementia cope with the challenges they face, this article calls for a re-appraisal of the ways in which a successful intervention is defined and promotes an approach based on partnership in which carers themselves play a significant role in determining ‘what works’.
Working Life Tables for South Africa, 1996-2001

This paper presents the results of the construction of a working life tables for males and females in South Africa using the 1996 and 2001 population censuses. The main objective of the paper is to illustrate the use of life table analysis in the examination of the labour force using South African data. The study indicates that based on the 1996 census a South African male who survives to age 15 is expected to live 40.9 years, out of which 35.3 years are expected to be spent in active status and the remaining 5.3 years in inactive years. Similar values for South African females are 49.9 years, 37.9 years and 12 years, respectively. Using 2001 census the study indicates that a South African male who survives to age 15 was expected to live 43.9 years of which 36 years will be in active and 8 years will be inactive whereas a South African female was expected to live 50 years of which 34 years will be active and 16 years will be inactive. It was estimated that out of the total number of males who left the working population in 1996, 50 percent left because of death and another 50 percent left for other reasons other than death. The corresponding figures for females are 28 percent and 62 percent respectively. In 2001, 64 percent of the males left the labour force due to deaths whereas 36 percent left due to other causes. Similar figures for females are 45 percent and 55 percent respectively. These figures suggest an increased proportion of men and women are leaving the labour force due to deaths. This means that mortality takes a heavy toll of the seemingly short economically active life. Probably, this is a reflection of the devastating impact of HIV/AIDS on the working population.
Timing of food intake during simulated night shift impacts glucose metabolism: A controlled study

ABSTRACT Eating during the night may increase the risk for obesity and type 2 diabetes in shift workers. This study examined the impact of either eating or not eating a meal at night on glucose metabolism. Participants underwent four nights of simulated night work (SW1–4, 16:00–10:00 h, <50 lux) with a daytime sleep opportunity each day (10:00–16:00 h, <3 lux). Healthy males were assigned to an eating at night (NE; n = 4, meals; 07:00, 19:00 and 01:30 h) or not eating at night (NEN; n = 7, meals; 07:00 h, 09:30, 16:10 and 19:00 h) condition. Meal tolerance tests were conducted post breakfast on pre-night shift (PRE), SW4 and following return to day shift (RTDS), and glucose and insulin area under the curve (AUC) were calculated. Mixed-effects ANOVAs were used with fixed effects of condition and day, and their interactions, and a random effect of subject identifier on the intercept. Fasting glucose and insulin were not altered by day or condition. There were significant effects of day and condition × day (both p < 0.001) for glucose AUC, with increased glucose AUC observed solely in the NE condition from PRE to SW4 (p = 0.05) and PRE to RTDS (p < 0.001). There was also a significant effect of day (p = 0.007) but not condition × day (p = 0.825) for insulin AUC, with increased insulin from PRE to RTDS in both eating at night (p = 0.040) and not eating at night (p = 0.006) conditions. Results in this small, healthy sample suggest that not eating at night may limit the metabolic consequences of simulated night work. Further study is needed to explore whether matching food intake to the biological clock could reduce the burden of type 2 diabetes in shift workers.
Variáveis comportamentais e sociodemográficas estão associadas ao domínio psicológico da qualidade de vida de adolescentes

OBJECTIVE: To identify variables associated with the psychological domain of adolescents' quality of life METHODS: 608 adolescents (14 to 20 years old) from Lapa, Parana, Brazil, were included in the study. Body mass and stature were measured in order to assess the body mass index. For the assessment of quality of life, physical activity, alcohol consumption and socioeconomic status, the questionnaire of the World Health Organization-Bref (WHOQOL-Bref), the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and the Brazilian Classification Economic Criteria were used, respectively. The chi-square and Fisher's exact test, along with logistic regression, were applied for statistical analysis. RESULTS: Logistic regression analyses showed that less active (OR=1.90; 95%CI=1.16-3.10), possible alcohol-dependents (OR=4.18; 95%CI=1.04-16.84), overweight (OR=1.79; 95%CI=1.06-3.04), females (OR=2.98; 95%CI=2.08-4.29) and freshman year high school students (OR=2.23; 95%CI=1.39-3.57) were more likely to have a negative perceptions on the psychological domain of quality of life. CONCLUSIONS: Interventions that benefit physical activity, orientations on nutrition and alcohol consumption will contribute to improve the psychological domain of adolescents' quality of life
No mutations in the voltage‐gated NaV1.7 sodium channel α1 subunit gene SCN9A in familial complex regional pain syndrome

Background: Mutations in the voltage‐gated NaV1.7 Na+ channel α1 gene SCN9A have been linked to pain disorders, such as inherited primary erythromelalgia and paroxysmal extreme pain disorder. Both show clinical overlap with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), a condition that is characterized by pain in association with combinations of vasomotor, sudomotor, sensory, and motor disturbances. Therefore, we here investigated the involvement of the SCN9A gene in familial CRPS.
Circadian phase, circadian period and chronotype are reproducible over months

ABSTRACT The timing of the circadian clock, circadian period and chronotype varies among individuals. To date, not much is known about how these parameters vary over time in an individual. We performed an analysis of the following five common circadian clock and chronotype measures: 1) the dim light melatonin onset (DLMO, a measure of circadian phase), 2) phase angle of entrainment (the phase the circadian clock assumes within the 24-h day, measured here as the interval between DLMO and bedtime/dark onset), 3) free-running circadian period (tau) from an ultradian forced desynchrony protocol (tau influences circadian phase and phase angle of entrainment), 4) mid-sleep on work-free days (MSF from the Munich ChronoType Questionnaire; MCTQ) and 5) the score from the Morningness–Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ). The first three are objective physiological measures, and the last two are measures of chronotype obtained from questionnaires. These data were collected from 18 individuals (10 men, eight women, ages 21–44 years) who participated in two studies with identical protocols for the first 10 days. We show how much these circadian rhythm and chronotype measures changed from the first to the second study. The time between the two studies ranged from 9 months to almost 3 years, depending on the individual. Since the full experiment required living in the laboratory for 14 days, participants were unemployed, had part-time jobs or were freelance workers with flexible hours. Thus, they did not have many constraints on their sleep schedules before the studies. The DLMO was measured on the first night in the lab, after free-sleeping at home and also after sleeping in the lab on fixed 8-h sleep schedules (loosely tailored to their sleep times before entering the laboratory) for four nights. Graphs with lines of unity (when the value from the first study is identical to the value from the second study) showed how much each variable changed from the first to the second study. The DLMO did not change more than 2 h from the first to the second study, except for two participants whose sleep schedules changed the most between studies, a change in sleep times of 3 h. Phase angle did not change by more than 2 h regardless of changes in the sleep schedule. Circadian period did not change more than 0.2 h, except for one participant. MSF did not change more than 1 h, except for two participants. MEQ did not change more than 10 points and the categories (e.g. M-type) did not change. Pearson’s correlations for the DLMO between the first and second studies increased after participants slept in the lab on their individually timed fixed 8-h sleep schedules for four nights. A longer time between the two studies did not increase the difference between any of the variables from the first to the second study. This analysis shows that the circadian clock and chronotype measures were fairly reproducible, even after many months between the two studies.