Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Use of key informants in determining the magnitude and causes of childhood blindness in Chikwawa district, southern Malawi.

explore the risk factors of VADD-related childhood blindness. results: Prevalence of childhood blindness in Kishoreganj was found to be 1.03/1,000 children; 32.7% of all children with severe visual impairment/blindness (SVI/BL) had lens disorders leading to blindness. Corneal opacity was the cause of SVI/BL in 23.4% of the study children. Thirty per cent of children were severely visually impaired or blind due to hereditary diseases and 27.1% were severely visually impaired or blind due to childhood factors. Overall, 37.8% children were severely visually impaired or blind due to treatable eye conditions. Illiteracy of mother (odds ratio [OR]=2.45), illiteracy of father (OR=1.74), mother’s disease in pregnancy (OR=3.74), child not receiving vitamin A capsule during diarrhoea (OR=5.01), and child not receiving vitamin A capsule during measles (OR=3.88) appeared as significant risk factors for VADD-related childhood blindness. The following were found to be significant protective factors against vitamin A deficiency in children: child immunised against measles (OR=0.10); colostrum given to child (OR=0.15); child breastfed (OR=0.13); child given dark green leafy vegetables (OR=0.01); child given meat/fish/eggs (OR=0.08); oil/fat used in child’s food (OR=0.14); vitamin A capsule given to child in last year (OR=0.31); vitamin A-rich food eaten during pregnancy (OR=0.02); and antihelminthics given to child (OR=0.15). Conclusion: A comprehensive and integrated programme is needed to control the high prevalence of childhood blindness in the Kishoreganj district. The control programme should include primary prevention strategies for VADD-related blindness, strategies to identify children with eye disease at an early age, and referral and treatment of children with cataract. These programmes should take a primary eye care approach to highlight the risk factors and protective factors of VADD-related blindness in children. Use of key informants in determining the magnitude and causes of childhood blindness in Chikwawa district, southern Malawi
Children’s Blood Lead Seasonality in Flint, Michigan (USA), and Soil-Sourced Lead Hazard Risks

In Flint; MI; USA; a public health crisis resulted from the switching of the water supply from Lake Huron to a more corrosive source from the Flint River in April 2014; which caused lead to leach from water lines. Between 2010 and 2015; Flint area children’s average blood lead patterns display consistent peaks in the third quarter of the year. The third quarter blood lead peaks displayed a declining trend between 2010 and 2013; then rose abruptly between the third quarters of 2013 from 3.6% blood lead levels ≥5 µg/dL to a peak of about 7% in the third quarter of 2014; an increase of approximately 50%. The percentage of blood lead level ≥5 µg/dL in the first quarter of 2015 then dropped to 2.3%; which was the same percentage as the first quarter of 2014 (prior to the Flint River water source change). The Flint quarterly blood lead level peak then rose to about 6% blood lead levels ≥ 5 µg/dL in the third quarter of 2015; and then declined to about 2.5% in the fourth quarter of 2015. Soil lead data collected by Edible Flint food collaborative reveal generally higher soil lead values in the metropolitan center for Flint; with lower values in the outskirts of the city. The questions that are not being asked is why did children’s blood lead levels display a seasonal blood lead pattern before the introduction of the new water supply in Flint; and what are the implications of these seasonal blood lead patterns? Based upon previous findings in Detroit and other North American cities we infer that resuspension to the air of lead in the form of dust from lead contaminated soils in Flint appears to be a persistent contribution to lead exposure of Flint children even before the change in the water supply from Lake Huron to the Flint River.
Effects of Age, Vitamin D3 and Fructooligosaccharide on Correlation of Different Bone Parameters in Broiler Chickens

Effects of age, vitamin D3 (VitD3) and Fructooligosaccharide (FOS) on the correlations of bone parameters were examined in broiler chickens. A total of 36 d-old male chicks were placed in battery brooders and fed a corn/soybean starter diet for 7 days and were randomly assigned to 12 pens each containing 3 birds. In group 1, birds were fed a corn/soybean starter diet and sacrificed on d 14 and 21. In groups 2 and 3, birds were fed a starter diet +250 μg VitD3/kg of diet and 4% FOS/kg of diet for 21 d, respectively. Birds were sacrificed to collect femur bones for measurement of bone parameters. Data were analyzed using Spearman’s correlation analysis. Total mineral density (BMD) and trabecular density (r14 = 0.99, p14 = 0.0001; r21 = 0.90, p21 = 0.0001), total bone area and trabecular area (r14 = 0.99, p14 = 0.0001; r21 = 1.00, p21<0.0001) and trabecular mineral content and cortical mineral content (r14 = 0.99, p14<0.0001; r21 = 0.96, p21<0.0001) were strongly correlated both on d 14 and 21. In birds treated with VitD3 and FOS, bone mineral content (BMC) and cortical bone mineral content (r = 0.95, p<0.0001) and BMD and trabecular mineral content (r = 0.92, p = 0.0004), were strongly correlated but most of the parameters were moderately or weakly correlated. In conclusion, results of this study show that age of birds, VitD3 and FOS treatments influence the relationships among the bone parameters.
Low brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels in serum of Huntington's disease patients

Huntington's disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by motor, cognitive, and psychiatric symptoms and by a progressive degeneration of neurons in basal ganglia and in brain cortex. Brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a pro‐survival factor for striatal neurons. Some evidence implicates a brain BDNF deficiency, related to mutated huntingtin expression, in the selective vulnerability of striatal neurons in HD. We compared BDNF serum levels in 42 patients with HD (range 28–72 years, mean age 51.9 ± 11.5), and 42 age‐matched healthy subjects (range 25–68 years, mean age 48.2 ± 12.5). We evaluated the potential relationship between BDNF serum levels, CAG repeat number (range 40–54, mean 44.8 ± 3.4) and duration of illness (range 6–228 months, mean 103.6 ± 62.1). Serum BDNF levels were significantly lower in patients than in age‐matched healthy subjects. Lower BDNF levels were associated with a longer CAG repeat length and a longer duration of illness. Severity of the illness, as assessed by the Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale (UHDRS) motor and cognitive scores, was negatively related to serum BDNF levels. These results in vivo confirm that the huntingtin mutation causes BDNF production to decline and show that the BDNF deficiency is detectable in HD patients' sera. Further studies on a larger sample size should confirm whether BDNF concentrations in patients' serum could be a useful clinical marker related to the patients' disease phenotype. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Bifurcation dynamics of a worm model with nonlinear incidence ates

There has been a constant barrage of worms over the internet during the recent past. To develop appropriate tools for thwarting quick spread of worms, researchers are trying to understand the behavior of the worm propagation with the aid of epidemiological models. In this study, the bifurcation dynamics of a worm propagation model with nonlinear incidence rates is analyzed in detail. Numerical simulations confirmed the theoretical results.
Large deviation principle for one-dimensional random walk in dynamic random environment: attractive spin-flips and simple symmetric exclusion

Consider a one-dimensional shift-invariant attractive spin-flip system in equilibrium, constituting a dynamic random environment, together with a nearest-neighbor random walk that on occupied sites has a local drift to the right but on vacant sites has a local drift to the left. In previous work we proved a law of large numbers for dynamic random environments satisfying a space-time mixing property called cone-mixing. If an attractive spin-flip system has a finite average coupling time at the origin for two copies starting from the all-occupied and the all-vacant configuration, respectively, then it is cone-mixing. In the present paper we prove a large deviation principle for the empirical speed of the random walk, both quenched and annealed, and exhibit some properties of the associated rate functions. Under an exponential space-time mixing condition for the spin-flip system, which is stronger than cone-mixing, the two rate functions have a unique zero, i.e., the slow-down phenomenon known to be possible in a static random environment does not survive in a fast mixing dynamic random environment. In contrast, we show that for the simple symmetric exclusion dynamics, which is not cone-mixing (and which is not a spin-flip system either), slow-down does occur.
Alzheimer’s Disease and Metal Contamination: Aspects on Genotoxicity

Alzheimer's Disease Pathogenesis: Core Concepts, Shifting Paradigms, and Therapeutic Targets, delivers the concepts embodied within its title. This exciting book presents the full array of theories about the causes of Alzheimer's, including fresh concepts that have gained ground among both professionals and the lay public. Acknowledged experts provide highly informative yet critical reviews of the factors that most likely contribute to Alzheimer's, including genetics, metabolic deficiencies, oxidative stress, and possibly environmental exposures. Evidence that Alzheimer's resembles a brain form of diabetes is discussed from different perspectives, ranging from disease mechanisms to therapeutics. This book is further energized by discussions of how neurotransmitter deficits, neuro-inflammation, and oxidative stress impair neuronal plasticity and contribute to Alzheimer's neurodegeneration. The diversity of topics presented in just the right depth will interest clinicians and researchers alike. This book inspires confidence that effective treatments could be developed based upon the expanding list of potential therapeutic targets. following:
Past, present, and prospects: Reflections 40 years on from the selective impairment of semantic memory (Warrington, 1975)

We summarize the main findings and conclusions of Warrington's (1975) paper, The Selective Impairment of Semantic memory, a neuropsychological paper that described three cases with degenerative neurological conditions [Warrington, E. K. (1975). The selective impairment of semantic memory. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 27, 635–657]. We consider the developments that have followed from its publication and give a selective overview of the field in 2014. The initial impact of the paper was on neuropsychological investigations of semantic loss followed some 14 years later by the identification of Semantic Dementia (the condition shown by the original cases) as a distinctive form of degenerative disease with unique clinical and pathological characteristics. We discuss the distinction between disorders of semantic storage and refractory semantic access, the evidence for category- and modality-specific impairments of semantics, and the light that has been shed on the structure and organization of semantic memory. Finally we consider the relationship between semantic memory and the skills of reading and writing, phonological processing, and autobiographical memory.
Chromium Fate in Constructed Wetlands Treating Tannery Wastewaters

Nine experimental wetlands were built to determine chromium partitioning inside systems treating tannery wastewaters. Results showed 5‐day biochemical oxygen demand and chromium removals of 95 to 99% and 90 to 99%, respectively. The majority of chromium was found in association with media (96 to 98%), followed by effluents (2.9 to 3.9%), and the least was found in plant parts (0.1%). Chemical speciation modeling of solutions and scanning electron microscope analysis suggest two potential chromium removal mechanisms—sorption/coprecipitation with iron hydroxides or oxyhydroxides and biomass sorption. The release of the majority of chromium in the iron‐ and organic‐bound phases during sequential extractions supports the proposed dominant removal mechanisms. The use of a mixture of peat and gravel resulted in lower removal efficiencies and stronger partitioning in organic phases during sequential extractions. Chromium was efficiently removed by wetlands, retained through chemical and biological processes. Future research will focus on further exploring removal mechanisms and proposing management strategies for the chromium‐containing wetland media.
Knowledge and adherence to antiretroviral therapy among adult people living with HIV disease followed-up in the health care centers of the “ Espoir Vie Togo ” association , in Togo , west Africa

Background: The efficacy of antiretroviral therapy (ART) which depends on a near perfect level of patients’ adherence is few documented in our context. The aim of the present study Knowledge and adherence to antiretroviral therapy among adult people living with HIV disease followed-up in the health care centers of the “Espoir Vie Togo” association, in Togo, west Africa Yao Potchoo, Kpatcha Tchamdja, Agnon Balogou, Vincent P. Pitche, and Innocent P. Guissou 1 Yao Potchoo : Maître –Assistant de Pharmacologie, Faculté Mixte de Médecine et de Pharmacie , Université de Lomé, BP 1515 Tel: (228) 221 39 19 / 911 34 78 – Togo. 2 Kpatcha Tchamdja : Pharmacien-Chef, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Kara – Togo. 1 Agnon Balogou : Professeur Agr. de Neurologie, Faculté Mixte de Médecine et de Pharmacie , Université de Lomé, BP 1515 – Togo. 1 Vincent P. Pitché: Professeur Agr. de Dermatologie, Faculté Mixte de Médecine et de Pharmacie , Université de Lomé, BP 1515 – Togo. 3 Innocent P. Guissou : Professeur de Pharmacologie/Toxicologie, Université de Ouagadougou – Unité de Formation et de Recherche/Sciences de la Santé 03 BP 7021 Ouagadougou 03 Burkina Faso.
SARS in China spreads from Beijing to poorer inland provinces

Hopes of containing the global outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) have been dealt a blow by the further rise in the number of cases and the wider spread of the virus in China. By 12 May, China accounted for 5013 of the world's total of 7447 cases. Of the worldwide death toll of 552, almost half (252) of the deaths have occurred there. Although the outbreak in Beijing is in itself worrying, the real cause for concern is the poorer inland provinces where the disease is now being detected, said Peter Cordingley, World Health Organization's spokesman in Manila. “The WHO's position is if we don't fix China we can't fix the world. Some of the …
Tumours of the central nervous system. Analysis of 476 cases observed at the University Hospital of the West Indies.

Analyse statistique en fonction de l'âge de la frequence et de la repartition sur une periode de 15 ans. Les tumeurs intracrâniennes sont 7 fois plus frequentes que les tumeurs de la moelle. 40% de tumeurs neuroepitheliales, 21% de meningiomes, 15% d'adenomes pituitaires, 9% de lesions metastatiques, 6% de tumeurs congenitales. Il n'y a pas de difference en fonction du sexe
Evaluation of ureteroscopy outcome in a teaching hospital.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate factors affecting semi-rigid ureteroscopy (URS) results highlighting the influence of teaching on its outcomes. MATERIAL AND METHODS We reviewed the files of 891 adult patients who had undergone 1182 ureteroscopies at our institute during the period from July 2008 to June 2011. The outcomes of all URSs were evaluated. Outcomes were measured by stone- free rate and presence of complications, which were assessed using the Clavien-Dindo system. Patients were divided into 2 groups; Group 1 (favorable outcome) became stone- free after the first URS and had no documented complications, while Group 2 (unfavorable outcome) had residual stones and/or complications. Group 2 was subdivided according to the skill level of the operating surgeon into two subgroups. Patients belonging to subgroup A had their procedures performed by urology trainees under direct supervision of expert urologists, while those in subgroup B had their procedures performed by the expert urologists themselves. All groups were compared using univariate (chi-square and t tests) and multivariate (logistic regression) statistical tests to identify significant risk factors. All data was analyzed using SPSS. RESULTS A total of 1182 URSs were evaluated. 958 patients had a favorable outcome (Group 1) while 224 patients had an unfavorable outcome (Group 2). Factors associated with an unfavorable outcome include location of the presenting stone (p<0.001) and presence of stone impaction (p<0.001). No statistically significant differences were detected in the overall complication rate between trainees and expert urologists. Trainees stone- free rate was comparable to that of experts; 90.3% vs. 91.1%, respectively, p=0.6. CONCLUSION Factors such as stone impaction and proximal location are associated with an unfavorable surgical outcome. In a high- volume teaching hospital, semi-rigid URS done by trainees under direct supervision is safe and their outcome is comparable to literature findings.
Statin use and the risk of esophageal cancer: a population-based case-control study

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate whether the use of statins was associated with esophageal cancer risk. Methods: A population-based case-control study was conducted in Taiwan. Cases consisted of all patients who were aged 50 years and older and had a first-time diagnosis of esophageal cancer for the period between 2004 and 2010. The controls were matched to cases by age, sex and index date. Adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated by using multiple logistic regression. Results: A total of 197 esophageal cancer cases and 788 controls were examined. The unadjusted ORs for any statin prescription was 0.86 (95% CI = 0.56 – 1.34) and the adjusted OR was 0.96 (95% CI = 0.59 – 1.58). Compared with no use of statins, the adjusted ORs were 0.77 (95% CI = 0.39 – 1.55) for the group having been prescribed statins with cumulative defined daily dose (DDDs) below 115 and 1.16 (95% CI = 0.63 – 2.14) for the group with cumulative statin use of 115 DDDs or more. Conclusions: The present data do not provide evidence to support either beneficial or harmful associations between statin use and esophageal cancer risk.
Explaining regional disparities in traffic mortality by decomposing conditional probabilities

Background In the USA, the mortality rate from traffic injury is higher in rural and in southern regions, for reasons that are not well understood. Methods For 1754 (56%) of the 3142 US counties, we obtained data allowing for separation of the deaths/population rate into deaths/injury, injuries/crash, crashes/exposure and exposure/population, with exposure measured as vehicle miles travelled. A ‘decomposition method’ proposed by Li and Baker was extended to study how the contributions of these components were affected by three measures of rural location, as well as southern location. Results The method of Li and Baker extended without difficulty to include non-binary effects and multiple exposures. Deaths/injury was by far the most important determinant in the county-to-county variation in deaths/population, and accounted for the greatest portion of the rural/urban disparity. After controlling for the rural effect, injuries/crash accounted for most of the southern/northern disparity. Conclusions The increased mortality rate from traffic injury in rural areas can be attributed to the increased probability of death given that a person has been injured, possibly due to challenges faced by emergency medical response systems. In southern areas, there is an increased probability of injury given that a person has crashed, possibly due to differences in vehicle, road, or driving conditions.
Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) Inhibits Fatty Acid Synthetase Activity in Vitro

This paper describes the in vitro effect of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) on fatty acid biosynthesis. Among the rat liver enzymes involved in fatty acid biosynthesis, fatty acid synthetase (FAS) showed the largest activity fluctuation with the types of fatty acids. Of the fatty acids, CLA was the most potent inhibitor of FAS, and the 9c, 11t-rather than the 10t, 12c-isomer showed greater inhibition. CLA also significantly lowered the incorporation of [14C]-acetate into phospholipid in breast cancer cells, supporting the view that CLA inhibits fatty acid biosynthesis through the interaction with FAS.
Cellular responses and cytokine production in post‐treatment hookworm patients from an endemic area in Brazil

Human hookworm infections are distributed widely in tropical areas and have a significant impact on host morbidity and human health. In the present study, we investigated the cellular responsiveness and cytokine production in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from Necator americanus‐infected schoolchildren who had recently received chemotherapy, and compared them with non‐infected endemic controls. Hookworm patients and treated, egg‐negative individuals showed a lower cellular reactivity against phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) and hookworm antigen when compared with egg‐negative endemic controls. The baseline production of proinflammatory tumour necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α) in PBMC from infected patients and treated, egg‐negative individuals was elevated. On the other hand, PHA‐ or hookworm antigen‐induced interleukin (IL)‐12 and interferon (IFN)‐γ secretion was higher in endemic controls than in hookworm patients, who either continued egg‐positive or were egg‐negative after treatment. Also, PBMC from endemic controls secreted more IL‐5 and IL‐13 than the other patient groups. Opposite to that, the spontaneous as well as the antigen‐driven IL‐10 secretion was lower in endemic controls when compared with the other groups. In summary, patently hookworm‐infected as well as egg‐negative treated patients disclosed an elevated spontaneous cellular secretion of proinflammatory TNF‐α, a prominent secretion of regulatory Th2‐type IL‐10 and an impaired production of IL‐12, IFN‐γ, IL‐5 and IL‐13.
Preoptic GnRH and AVT: axes for sexual plasticity in teleost fish.

Alternative reproductive tactics within one sex, adult sex or role change, and reproductive suppression are all forms of reproductive plasticity commonly exhibited among teleost fishes. The two neuropeptides that have been most extensively studied with regard to such behavioral plasticity are gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) and arginine vasotocin (AVT). Here, we review intra- and intersexual variation in the number and size of GnRH and AVT neurons along with gonadal phenotype in those species of teleosts showing intraspecific plasticity in reproductive behavior. In several species, male dimorphisms in the number and/or size of GnRH neurons in the forebrain's preoptic area parallel a divergence in relative gonad size and reproductive tactics. The available studies of AVT-containing neurons in the preoptic area also indicate intrasexual dimorphisms among males, although a proximate link to other reproductive traits and behavioral outcomes is more difficult to recognize. For both GnRH and AVT, there are also species-typical patterns in the coupling between structural (e.g., neuronal and gonadal) traits and reproductive tactic expressed, which likely reflect distinct patterns of adaptation to particular ecological environments. As discussed, neurophysiological, biochemical, and receptor density studies are now essential to establish the functional significance of the diverse organizational patterns of GnRH and AVT neurons in teleosts. Similar studies also need to be carried out in species of other vertebrate groups that show comparable behavioral plasticity.