Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Differences in Mediterranean Diet Adherence between Cyclists and Triathletes in a Sample of Spanish Athletes

Adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MD) has rapidly declined in Mediterranean countries due to the increasing introduction of the Western diet. The aim of this study was to describe adherence to the MD within a sample of athletes from Spain. A second aim was to predict adherence to various components of the MD according to region, sex, and sport discipline. A cross-sectional study was conducted with a sample of 4037 (34.14 ± 9.28 years old) cyclists and triathletes (men: 90.1%). Participants self-reported their sex, date of birth, the number of years they had been practicing their sport, height, weight, sport discipline (cyclist, triathlon), and region. Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener (MEDAS) was used to determine level of adherence to the MD. Women reported a higher MEDAS score and body mass index (BMI) (p ˂ 0.000) than men. Cyclists reported a lower MEDAS score (7.44, SD 2.12 vs. 7.85, SD 2.08), and older age (37.72, SD 9.67 vs. 34.54, SD 8.58) and BMI (23.74, SD 2.69) vs. 22.85, SD 2.28) than triathletes. The study showed that a large proportion of the surveyed athletic population were not meeting the MD guidelines, with particularly low consumption amongst men and cyclists. There were no regional effects. Nutritional guidelines for athletes should be individual rather than general and follow specifications identified by the present research.
Solving time‐periodic fractional diffusion equations via diagonalization technique and multigrid

This paper addresses numerical computation of time‐periodic diffusion equations with fractional Laplacian. Time‐periodic differential equations present fundamental challenges for numerical computation because we have to consider all the discrete solutions once in all instead of one by one. An idea based on the diagonalization technique is proposed, which yields a direct parallel‐in‐time computation for all the discrete solutions. The major computation cost is therefore reduced to solve a series of independent linear algebraic systems with complex coefficients, for which we apply a multigrid method using the damped Richardson iteration as the smoother. Such a linear solver possesses mesh‐independent convergence factor, and we make an optimization for the damping parameter to minimize such a constant convergence factor. Numerical results are provided to support our theoretical analysis.
Using Twitter to Examine Web-Based Patient Experience Sentiments in the United States: Longitudinal Study

Background There are documented differences in access to health care across the United States. Previous research indicates that Web-based data regarding patient experiences and opinions of health care are available from Twitter. Sentiment analyses of Twitter data can be used to examine differences in patient views of health care across the United States. Objective The objective of our study was to provide a characterization of patient experience sentiments across the United States on Twitter over a 4-year period. Methods Using data from Twitter, we developed a set of 4 software components to automatically label and examine a database of tweets discussing patient experience. The set includes a classifier to determine patient experience tweets, a geolocation inference engine for social data, a modified sentiment classifier, and an engine to determine if the tweet is from a metropolitan or nonmetropolitan area in the United States. Using the information retrieved, we conducted spatial and temporal examinations of tweet sentiments at national and regional levels. We examined trends in the time of the day and that of the week when tweets were posted. Statistical analyses were conducted to determine if any differences existed between the discussions of patient experience in metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas. Results We collected 27.3 million tweets between February 1, 2013 and February 28, 2017, using a set of patient experience-related keywords; the classifier was able to identify 2,759,257 tweets labeled as patient experience. We identified the approximate location of 31.76% (876,384/2,759,257) patient experience tweets using a geolocation classifier to conduct spatial analyses. At the national level, we observed 27.83% (243,903/876,384) positive patient experience tweets, 36.22% (317,445/876,384) neutral patient experience tweets, and 35.95% (315,036/876,384) negative patient experience tweets. There were slight differences in tweet sentiments across all regions of the United States during the 4-year study period. We found the average sentiment polarity shifted toward less negative over the study period across all the regions of the United States. We observed the sentiment of tweets to have a lower negative fraction during daytime hours, whereas the sentiment of tweets posted between 8 pm and 10 am had a higher negative fraction. Nationally, sentiment scores for tweets in metropolitan areas were found to be more extremely negative and mildly positive compared with tweets in nonmetropolitan areas. This result is statistically significant (P<.001). Tweets with extremely negative sentiments had a medium effect size (d=0.34) at the national level. Conclusions This study presents methodologies for a deeper understanding of Web-based discussion related to patient experience across space and time and demonstrates how Twitter can provide a unique and unsolicited perspective from users on the health care they receive in the United States.
Thromboangiitis obliterans episode: autoimmune flare-up or reinfection?

Background The possible role of infectious pathogens in the development of thromboangiitis obliterans (TAO) was considered soon after the disease was first described. However, it is not yet known whether infectious pathogens induce thrombotic vasculitis or if they cause a type of autoimmune disease. To investigate whether TAO relapses are more likely due to reinfection or autoimmune flare, the serum levels of toll-like receptor (sTLR) 4, sTLR2, C-reactive protein (CRP), and neopterin were evaluated in TAO patients during both the acute and quiescent phases of the disease as well as in a gender-, age-, and smoking habit-matched control group. Methods Following a cross-sectional study design, 28 patients in the acute phase of TAO and 23 patients in the quiescent phase participated in this study. In addition, 31 matched controls were enrolled. Results Toll-like receptor (TLR) 4 was significantly higher in patients in the acute phase of the disease than in patients in the quiescent phase (P=0.012). Also, TLR4 was significantly higher in the patients with CRP >7 µm/mL than in the patients with lower CRP (P=0.031). Notably, TLR4 in the patients in the quiescent phase of TAO was significantly lower than in the controls (P=0.006). No significant difference in the level of TLR2 was found among the groups (P>0.05). Neopterin was significantly higher in the acute phase of TAO in comparison to the quiescent phase (P=0.003) and the controls (P=0.005). Conclusion These findings indicate that the trigger of TAO might be Gram-negative bacteria, which can be hidden or immunologically suppressed in the quiescent phase of TAO, leading to a lower level of TLR4 accompanying the normal level of neopterin. However, relapses might develop according to toxic or hypoxic cell injuries. Hence, TLR4 shedding will increase, and therefore, sTLR4 could become closer to the level demonstrated in the controls.
Improving hepatitis C direct‐acting antiviral access and uptake: A role for patient‐reported outcomes and lived experience

Hepatitis C virus contributes to substantial and growing mortality and morbidity. Fortunately, the advent of highly effective interferon‐free direct‐acting antiviral (DAA) medications and new diagnostic tests has the potential to dramatically alter the epidemiologic trajectory of hepatitis C, particularly for “hard‐to‐reach” populations. Treatment advances and cure will also likely alter the individual experience of living with hepatitis C. However, it is not yet known in what capacity. This paper provides an overview of the population‐level impact of DAA treatment, highlighting the need to further our understanding of the impact of treatment on behaviour, health and wellbeing through lived experience and more sensitive patient‐reported outcome measures.
A pilot study to investigate the influence of upper respiratory infections on IgE reactivity to food allergens

Food allergens are the most common triggers of anaphylactic cases during childhood, as documented in the European Anaphylaxis Registry (1). Recent data suggest that infections may act as augmenting factors in anaphylactic reactions, while their role in anaphylaxis induction during aeroallergen and oral immunotherapy procedures is well-documented (2). The proposed mode of action involves, in rather generic terms, either lowering the "sub-threshold" allergen dose for anaphylaxis occurrence and/or modulation of clinical tolerance. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Risk factors of transient global amnesia

Introduction: Transient global amnesia (TGA) is characterized by a sudden onset of anterograde and retrograde amnesia, sometimes associated with mild subclinical neuropsychological deficits and vegetative symptoms, lasting for days after the episode. Migraine history, cardiovascular risk factors, and emotional stress are considered possible risk factors. TGA usually occurs during the seventh decade of life, that is, when risk factors and concomitant pathologies have a higher incidence. Case Presentation: We report 3 cases of TGA triggered by different causes (cardiovascular risk factors, emotional stress, and orgasm) with an unusual young onset (patient 1 was a 40-year-old woman, patient 2 was a 21-year-old woman, and patient 3 a 32-year-old man). The patients underwent neuroimaging and cardiovascular examination, and neuropsychological evaluation, without important abnormalities. TGA completely recovery within 1 to 7 days. Conclusions: The occurrence of different precipitating events and accurate questioning (in the absence of head trauma) seem to be key features in making the diagnosis of TGA, besides a complete neuropsychiatric and cardiovascular assessment.
Neisseria gonorrhoeae Exposed to Sublethal Levels of Hydrogen Peroxide Mounts a Complex Transcriptional Response

The strict human pathogen Neisseria gonorrhoeae is the only causative agent of the sexually transmitted disease gonorrhea. This bacterium encounters hydrogen peroxide produced from host cells during infection, but the organism survives in the presence of this antimicrobial agent. This work shows that the bacterium responds to hydrogen peroxide by regulating the expression of many genes involved in multiple processes. ABSTRACT Neisseria gonorrhoeae mounts a substantial transcriptional program in response to hydrogen peroxide (HP), a prominent reactive oxygen species (ROS) encountered during infection. We tested which strain FA1090 genes show differential transcript abundance in response to sublethal amounts of HP to differentiate HP-responsive signaling from widespread cellular death and dysregulation. RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) revealed that 150 genes were significantly upregulated and 143 genes downregulated following HP exposure. We annotated HP-responsive operons and all transcriptional start sites (TSSs) and identified which TSSs responded to HP treatment. We compared the HP responses and other previously reported genes and found only partial overlapping of other regulatory networks, indicating that the response to HP involves multiple biological functions. Using a representative subset of responsive genes, we validated the RNA-Seq results and found that the HP transcriptome was similar to that of sublethal organic peroxide. None of the genes in the representative subset, however, responded to sublethal levels of HOCl or O2-. These results support the idea that N. gonorrhoeae may use variations in HP levels as a signal for different stages of infection. IMPORTANCE The strict human pathogen Neisseria gonorrhoeae is the only causative agent of the sexually transmitted disease gonorrhea. This bacterium encounters hydrogen peroxide produced from host cells during infection, but the organism survives in the presence of this antimicrobial agent. This work shows that the bacterium responds to hydrogen peroxide by regulating the expression of many genes involved in multiple processes.
Hydrogen-rich water ameliorates rat placental stress induced by water restriction

Dehydration is one of the intrauterine abnormalities that could lead to fetal growth retardation and to increase the risk of a variety of adult diseases later in life. This study were to determine the impact of hydrogen-rich water (HRW) supplementation on placental angiotensin II type 1 receptor and placental oxidative stress induced by water restriction. Pregnant Wistar rat were randomly assigned to one of the three groups (n =12 per group). In control group, pure water and food were supplied ad libitum. Water restriction group and HRW group were respectively given pure water and HRW with free access to food, excepting only one hour was available for drinking from day 7 to day 17 of pregnancy. The placental damages and biomarkers of stress were detected by histopathology, immunohistochemistry and western blot, as well as serological test were performed. We demonstrated that maternal water restriction resulted in reduced urine volume and increased serum osmotic pressure, along with decreased fetus weight and crown-rump length. Although placental weight and the number of fetuses had no significant difference among groups, the placental efficiency significantly increased after the oral administration of HRW to the mothers. Meanwhile, the serological derivatives of reactive oxygen metabolites decreased, a significant improvement of placental microstructure with more developed junctional zone and denser labyrinth was manifested, the upregulated expression of angiotensin II type 1 receptor, nuclear factoκB, malondialdehyde, 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine, p38, c-Jun N-terminal kinase and down-regulation of superoxide dismutase were revealed in the placenta. Collectively, HRW administration is able to effectively attenuate placental stress induced by water restriction.
Separation of undersampled composite signals using the Dantzig selector with overcomplete dictionaries

In many applications one may acquire a composition of several signals that may be corrupted by noise, and it is a challenging problem to reliably separate the components from one another without sacrificing significant details. Adding to the challenge, in a compressive sensing framework, one is given only an undersampled set of linear projections of the composite signal. In this paper, we propose using the Dantzig selector model incorporating an overcomplete dictionary to separate a noisy undersampled collection of composite signals, and present an algorithm to efficiently solve the model. The Dantzig selector is a statistical approach to finding a solution to a noisy linear regression problem by minimizing the $\ell_1$ norm of candidate coefficient vectors while constraining the scope of the residuals. If the underlying coefficient vector is sparse, then the Dantzig selector performs well in the recovery and separation of the unknown composite signal. In the following, we propose a proximity operator based algorithm to recover and separate unknown noisy undersampled composite signals through the Dantzig selector. We present numerical simulations comparing the proposed algorithm with the competing Alternating Direction Method, and the proposed algorithm is found to be faster, while producing similar quality results. Additionally, we demonstrate the utility of the proposed algorithm in several experiments by applying it in various domain applications including the recovery of complex-valued coefficient vectors, the removal of impulse noise from smooth signals, and the separation and classification of a composition of handwritten digits.
Hymenoptera parasitoids in protected area of Atlantic Forest biomes and organic rice field : compared assemblages

Una manera de mejorar la sostenibilidad de los sistemas agricolas es generar caracteristicas similares a las de los naturales manteniendo los flujos de energia y la diversidad de habitat, lo que garantiza la presencia de enemigos naturales y otros organismos beneficos que pueden regular las poblaciones de plagas y mantener la productividad con menores impactos ambientales. Este estudio tuvo como objetivos: identificar y comparar la diversidad de las comunidades de parasitoides en arroz irrigado organico y en un area de reserva cercana al cultivo, comparar la eficacia de dos tipos de trampas y la variacion temporal de las especies de parasitoides en los dos sitios. El estudio se llevo acabo en el Refugio de Vida Silvestre Banado Pacheco (RVSBP) y en los campos de arroz organico (AO), Viamao, RS. Se realizaron colectas mensuales de mayo de 2011 a abril de 2012 con dos trampas de Malaise y cuatro Moericke. En el area RVSBP, Platygastridae, Ichneumonidae y Braconidae se presentaron con la mayor abundancia (30 %, 21 % y 11 %, respectivamente) mientras que en AO fueron Platygastridae (26 %), Braconidae (18 %) y Encyrtidae (15 %). La trampa Malaise capturo el mayor numero de parasitoides (58 %). Los estimadores de riqueza Chao 1, Jack 1 y “bootstrap” apuntaron a una riqueza de 229 a 122 especies en AO y de 454 a 260 en el area RVSBP. La diversidad de parasitoides fue mayor en el RVSBP en comparacion a la del AO. La abundancia de parasitoides fue mayor en los meses durante el ciclo del cultivo del arroz.
Early development of visual attention in infants in rural Malawi.

Eye tracking research has shown that infants develop a repertoire of attentional capacities during the first year. The majority of studies examining the early development of attention comes from Western, high-resource countries. We examined visual attention in a heterogeneous sample of infants in rural Malawi (N = 312-376, depending on analysis). Infants were assessed with eye-tracking-based tests that targeted visual orienting, anticipatory looking, and attention to faces at 7 and 9 months. Consistent with prior research, infants exhibited active visual search for salient visual targets, anticipatory saccades to predictable events, and a robust attentional bias for happy and fearful faces. Individual variations in these processes had low to moderate odd-even split-half and test-retest reliability. There were no consistent associations between attention measures and gestational age, nutritional status, or characteristics of the rearing environment (i.e., maternal cognition, psychosocial well-being, socioeconomic status, and care practices). The results replicate infants' early attentional biases in a large, unique sample, and suggest that some of these biases (e.g., bias for faces) are pronounced in low-resource settings. The results provided no evidence that the initial manifestation of infants' attentional capacities is associated with risk factors that are common in low-resource environments.
The use of SAPS 3, SOFA, and Glasgow Coma Scale to predict mortality in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage

Abstract Guidelines for patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) management and several grading systems or prognostic indices have been used not only to improve the quality of care but to predict also the outcome of these patients. Among them, the gold standards Fisher radiological grading scale, Hunt-Hess and the World Federation of Neurological Surgeons (WFNS) are the most employed. The objective of this study is to compare the predictive values of simplified acute physiology score (SAPS) 3, sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA), and Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) in the outcome of patients with aneurysmal SAH. Fifty-one SAH patients (33% males and 67% females; mean age of 54.1 ± 10.3 years) admitted to the intensive care units (ICU) in the post-operative phase were retrospectively studied. The patients were divided into survivors (n=37) and nonsurvivors (n = 14). SAPS 3, Fischer scale, WFNS, SOFA, and GCS were recorded on ICU admission (day 1 – D1), and 72-hours (day 3 – D3) SOFA, and GCS. The capability of each index SAPS 3, SOFA, and GCS (D1 and D3) to predict mortality was analyzed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) and the respective confidence interval (CI) were used to measure the index accuracy. The level of significance was set at P < . 05. The mean SAPS 3, SOFA, and GCS on D1 were 13.5 ± 12.7, 3.1 ± 2.4, and 13.7 ± 2.8 for survivors and 32.5 ± 28.0, 5.6 ± 4.9, and 13.5 ± 1.9 for nonsurvivors, respectively. The AUC and 95% CI for SAPS 3, SOFA, and GCS on D1 were 0.735 (0.592–0.848), 0.623 (0.476–0.754), 0.565 (0.419–0.703), respectively. The AUC and 95% CI for SOFA and GCS on D3 were 0.768 (0.629–0.875) and 0.708 (0.563–0.826), respectively. The overall mortality was 37.8%. Even though SAPS 3 and Fischer scale predicted mortality better on admission (D1), both indices SOFA and GCS performed similarly to predict outcome in SAH patients on D3.
Risk factors of hippocampal sclerosis in the oldest old

Objective To examine the risk factors and comorbidities of hippocampal sclerosis (HS) in the oldest-old. Methods A total of 134 participants with dementia from The 90+ Study with longitudinal evaluations and autopsy were included in this investigation. Participants were divided into 2 groups, one with and one without HS pathology, and differences in clinical and pathologic characteristics were compared. Results Persons with HS tended to have a longer duration of dementia compared to participants without HS (mean 4.0 years vs 6.7 years, odds ratio [OR] 1.26; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.11–1.42; p < 0.001). HS was more likely in participants with a history of autoimmune diseases (rheumatoid arthritis or thyroid disease, OR 3.15; 95% CI 1.30–7.62; p = 0.011), high thyroid-stimulating hormone (OR 4.94; 95% CI 1.40–17.46; p = 0.013), or high thyroid antibodies (OR 3.45; 95% CI 1.09–10.88; p = 0.035). Lewy body disease (LBD) pathology was also associated with an increased likelihood of HS (OR 5.70; 95% CI 1.22–26.4; p = 0.027). Conclusion We identified autoimmune conditions (rheumatoid arthritis and thyroid disease) as potential risk factors for HS in our cohort. LBD was the only pathology that was associated with increased odds of HS and those harboring HS pathology had a longer duration of dementia. This suggests multiple pathways of HS pathology among the oldest-old.