Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Seroprevalence and Risk Factors for Toxoplasma Gondii Infection among Antenatal Women in Zaria, Nigeria

Toxoplasma gondii infection duri ng pregnanc y represents the ri sk for congenit al infection. Serological screening of pregnant women f or T. go ndii is not a routine antenatal ex amination in health centers in Zaria Nigeria. This study was therefore conducted to determine the prevalence of anti- T. gondii IgG and I gM antibodies among pregnant women in Zaria and t he risk factors for infection. A t otal of 374 serum samples of which 202 and 172 from Sabon G ari and Zaria Lo cal Government Areas respectively were collected from antenatal women. The samp les were analyzed using s pecific T oxo IgG and IgM EIA kits. Information on sociodemographic dat a a nd r isk f actors were obt ained using structured ques tionnaire. The prevalence rates w ere 29.1% and 0.8% for a nti- T.gondii IgG and IgM antibodies re spectively. Multivariate analysis showed t hat there was an association between tasting o f meat while cooking and T. gondii infection among antenatal women in Zaria. (OR=1.9; 95% CI=1.078, 3.358; P= 0.027). Seropositivity was found to increase w ith a ge (OR=0.378; 95% CI=0.182, 0.787, P=0.009) an d decrease with level of formal education (O R=2.52; 95% CI=1.188, 5.331, P=0.016). Infection was found to vary with different source of drinking water. Seroprevalence was higher in those drinking well water (41.6%) and lowest in the group that drank packaged water (20.8%) (OR=3.32; 95% CI=1.568, 6.660, P=0.001). The st udy also reveal ed that 39.0% of the i nfection i n ant enatal women was attributed to tasting of meat while c ooking. Other c haracteristics such as owning/housing of cats, history of cleaning of cat feces, type o f meat consumed and working i n t he f arm did not show any association wi th T. g ondii infection.
Identifying the vulnerable carotid plaque by means of dynamic ultrasound image analysis

Stroke is a global healthcare problem with very high rates of morbidity and mortality; therefore, early diagnosis and prevention are of paramount importance. Many strokes are caused by atherosclerotic plaques in the carotid arteries, and these are often assessed using ultrasound examinations that include the measurement of the degree of stenosis. However, despite the degree of stenosis being an important clinical marker of disease severity, there is an urgent need for additional parameters that can identify high-risk, vulnerable plaques, which may be more likely to cause stroke regardless of the degree of stenosis. This thesis describes the development of techniques for measuring plaque characteristics from ultrasound image sequences, testing the hypothesis that parameters obtained from these measurements can help identify vulnerable carotid plaques. Novel methods to track plaque boundaries in ultrasound image sequences were developed (Chapters 2 and 3). This allowed the dynamic assessment of plaque echogenicity (Chapter 3), a novel method of quantifying plaque surface irregularities (Chapter 4), and the investigation of arterial wall (Chapter 5) and plaque (Chapter 6) mechanics. In the penultimate chapter (Chapter 7), these parameters were integrated in the form of a carotid plaque risk index (CPRI) and its efficacy in predicting the presence of patient symptoms was assessed. The dynamic measures of plaque echogenicity and the novel plaque surface irregularity index correlated significantly with the presence of patient symptoms. The CPRI, which combines these parameters with the degree of stenosis, improved diagnostic accuracy compared to the degree of stenosis on its own, and led to a better separation of the symptomatic and asymptomatic patient groups. The methods for characterising plaque characteristics developed in this thesis could be valuable for identifying vulnerable carotid plaques. The risk index, if its efficacy is confirmed in subsequent clinical trials, may help reduce the incidence and burden of stroke.
Demographic and clinical profile of blood transfusion recipients of a tertiary care hospital

Background: Periodic review and evaluation of the transfusion practices is essential to ensure a quality blood bank services. Aims and Objectives: To study the demographic and clinical characteristics of blood transfusion recipients in the tertiary care hospital. Materials and methods: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study carried out in the blood bank of a tertiary care hospital where the received requisition forms were reviewed for a period of three years (2015-2018). Results: Of the 10072 transfusion requisition recipients, majority, 6133(60.9%) were females and 4996(49.6%) belonged to the age group 18-40years of age. Major indications for transfusion were 4588(45.6%) need during surgeries followed by 3331(33.1%) for hematological conditions and 595(5.9%) were emergency transfusions Conclusion: It is essential for all stakeholders involved in the transfusion should be aware of the characteristics of the transfusion recipients, their indications for the transfusions and standard guidelines for transfusion to ensure a quality transfusion services.
Étude en électroencéphalographie (EEG) des oscillations bêta dans les processus de préparation et d'exécution d'un mouvement volontaire

Bien que le lien entre le rythme beta et le controle moteur soit aujourd'hui bien etabli, la signification fonctionnelle de ce rythme est toujours debattue. En effet, la reponse canonique, obtenue grace a la technique d’electroencephalographie, est typiquement liee a l’execution d’un mouvement volontaire, et peut-etre observee lors de l’observation d’un mouvement realise par une autre personne ou durant l’imagination de celui-ci. L’experience que nous avons menee consiste en une tache motrice necessitant une succession de flexions isometriques de l’index reposant sur un capteur de force. Le sujet faisait varier les delais entre deux reponses successives de facon aleatoire et volontaire. Le premier objectif etait de selectionner des reponses motrices isolees, c’est-a-dire sans reponses qui precede ou qui suit dans une fenetre temporelle relativement longue afin de degager un profil beta canonique grace a la technique d’electroencephalographie. Le second objectif avait pour but l’analyse de la nature des modulations des profils canoniques en fonction de la duree du delai qui separe deux reponses motrices successives. Nous avons pu mettre en evidence que le rythme oscillatoire beta et les differentes composantes a l’interieur de celui-ci etaient fortement modulees lors de la reduction des intervalles de temps entre deux mouvements.
AS PRÁTICAS DE INOVAÇÃO E O PROCESSO DE FORMAÇÃO DE ESTRATÉGIAS DAS PEQUENAS EMPRESAS DE BASE TECNOLÓGICA NOS PERÍODOS DE INCUBAÇÃO E DE PÓS-INCUBAÇÃO

As pequenas empresas de base tecnologica tem a inovacao como uma constante em sua gestao. Entretanto, possuem especificidades que influenciam o seu processo de formacao de estrategias e as suas praticas de inovacao. Acrescente-se que, muitas das Empresas de Base Tecnologica [EBT] iniciam suas atividades amparadas pelo suporte de uma incubadora e, apos o periodo de incubacao, deixam de compartilhar da infraestrutura e da sinergia proporcionada pelo programa. Entao, o objetivo desse artigo e identificar as praticas de inovacao e o processo de formacao de estrategias das EBT nos periodos de incubacao e de pos-incubacao. Para tanto, foi realizado um estudo multicasos em quatro EBTs, caracterizado como qualitativo e exploratorio. Os resultados apontam que as EBT dependem da inovacao, sobretudo a tecnologica, para o seu crescimento e desenvolvimento. Alem disso, ha uma tendencia a formalizacao das praticas de inovacao consoantes com o processo de formacao de estrategias. Nas primeiras fases da empresa, as empresas apresentam processos informais, estrategias emergentes e encontram-se abertas a inovacao. Com a maturidade administrativa, as EBT passam a contar com uma estrutura, sistemas e controles mais rigidos e com um processo de formacao de estrategias formal e deliberado. Estas caracteristicas no processo de gestao e de formacao de estrategias afetam as suas praticas de inovacao, que se distinguem nos periodos de incubacao e de pos-incubacao. ---- DOI: 10.18226/23190639.v7n1. 06 Pedro Henrique de Oliveira*, Universidade de Sao Paulo (USP). Brasil. E-mail: oliveiraph1@gmail.com Ana Claudia Fernandes Terence, Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Brasil. E-mail: anaterence@fclar.unesp. br Marco Antonio Catussi Paschoalotto, Universidade do Oeste Paulista (UNOESTE). Brasil. E-mail: marcocatussi@gmail.com Submetido: Abril 2018 Aceito: Janeiro 2019 *Contato para Correspondencia
Outcome analysis of acute myeloid leukemia patients treated with high dose daunorubicin

Abstract: Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) is a malignant hematopoietic disease caused by the presence of a malignant clone in the bone marrow. The classic AML treatment includes a combination of an Anthracycline and Cytarabine. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of high doses of Daunorubicin on patients' outcome. Methods: During the study period, 16 AML patients received induction therapy with Cytarabine (100 mg/m2/d) for 7 days and Daunorubicin (90 mg/m2/d) for 3 days. Outcome analysis was performed to evaluate the overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) during 2 years of study. Results: The mean age of patients was 38+/-12.38 years, with the age range between 16 and 54 years old. Seven patients (43.8%) were females, and 9 cases (56.3%) were males. OS was 81.3%, with a mean of 396.88 days. (95% CI: 306.99-486.77). DFS was 83.3%, with a mean of 383.57 days (95% CI: 299.88-467.26). The log-rank test showed a significant difference in DFS of AML sub-types, as M1 subtypes had lower DFS (P log-rank= 0.013). Although M1 subtypes had a lower OS, there was no significant difference in OS between subgroups (P log-rank= 0.067). Conclusion: Although disease-free survival was improved by increasing the dose of daunorubicin, there was no difference in the overall survival between the AML subgroups and sexes.
Lidar-based remote sensing of atmospheric boundary layer height over land and ocean

Abstract. Atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) processes are important in climate, weather and air quality. A better understanding of the structure and the behavior of the ABL is required for understanding and modeling of the chemistry and dynamics of the atmosphere on all scales. Based on the systematic variations of the ABL structures over different surfaces, different lidar-based methods were developed and evaluated to determine the boundary layer height and mixing layer height over land and ocean. With Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program (ARM) Climate Research Facility (ACRF) micropulse lidar (MPL) and radiosonde measurements, diurnal and season cycles of atmospheric boundary layer depth and the ABL vertical structure over ocean and land are analyzed. The new methods are then applied to satellite lidar measurements. The aerosol-derived global marine boundary layer heights are evaluated with marine ABL stratiform cloud top heights and results show a good agreement between them.
Metastatic Disease to Clivus: Biopsy or Not?

Due to the aggressive nature of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), most patients succumb to disease before any distant metastasis, such as to the central nervous system (CNS), can occur. Thus only a handful of cases of metastasis to the skull base have been described. After a thorough review of the available literature published since 1950, we report the sixth case of HCC metastasis to the clivus. In this case, a 65-year-old man with a history of melanoma presented with sudden onset of right-sided headache and complete ophthalmoplegia of the right eye for one month. MRI of the brain with and without contrast demonstrated a homogeneously enhancing lesion involving the clivus with evidence of invasion into the right cavernous sinus. Through further body imaging, he was found to have an infiltrative lesion in the left hepatic lobe and underwent an ultrasound-guided biopsy of said lesion that was proven to be well-differentiated hepatocellular carcinoma. An endonasal endoscopic biopsy of his clival lesion was performed and the final pathology was consistent with a metastatic HCC. This case demonstrates the impact of obtaining a surgical specimen of clival tumors to confirm the suspected diagnosis, as well as to perform molecular studies that can drive post-operative decision-making and prognosis. As in this case, the final diagnosis altered treatment plans from that of melanoma, with systemic chemotherapy and radiosurgery, to stereotactic radiosurgery and intrahepatic radioembolization.
Participação de empresas de médio e pequeno porte em cadeia global de valor: estudo na indústria de móveis de Santa Catarina – Brasil

Estudos sobre cadeia de valor apontam que a producao e a distribuicao capitalista estao ocorrendo, de forma crescente, processando-se em nivel global. A dispersao da divisao do trabalho, em varios territorios, tem possibilitado a participacao dos paises perifericos na cadeia de valor. No Brasil, a industria de moveis participa da cadeia global de valor. No Estado de Santa Catarina, a regiao produtora localiza-se na regiao Nordeste com mais de 90% das empresas moveleiras destinando a producao para o mercado externo. Enquanto os produtores locais de moveis se responsabilizam pela producao, os agentes de exportacao intermediam as relacoes de venda para grandes compradores internacionais. Estes ultimos determinam as especificidades dos produtos e processos adotados, as normas de seguranca e sociais e possuem poder de negociacao na determinacao dos precos. Nas negociacoes sobre as condicoes de producao e vendas, as empresas locais propoem alteracoes nas especificacoes dos produtos e dos processos, porem nao tem obtido melhores precos para os produtos comercializados. As empresas produtoras locais ficam subordinadas as determinacoes de precos dos compradores internacionais.
Carotid intima media thickness in relation with blood pressure and body mass index in hypertensive patients

Background: Hypertension will causes structural changes of intima media of large vessels which further causes atheroma formation. Arterial wall thickness can be measured by B-mode ultrasonic measurements of carotid intima media thickness (CIMT) and the extent of carotid atherosclerotic vascular disease may be estimated. The test measures the thickness of the inner two layers of the carotid artery, the intima and the media. Methods: A cross sectional study carried out over a 2 year period. 120 in which 60 are normal healthy individuals and 60 are Hypertensive patients with 3 grades. In all the participants BMI, Blood Pressure and CIMT were measured. Results: In the present study systolic and diastolic blood pressure was significantly increased in hypertension patients compared with Control. The Carotid Intima Media Thickness (CIMT) both Left and Right side were significant higher in Hypertension patients when compared with Control. Blood pressure which includes Systolic and Diastolic blood pressure was positively correlated with cardio vascular risk factor CMIT and it is statistically significant. Conclusion: Present study finding suggested that there is a raised value of CIMT in hypertensive patients. Using CIMT with ultrasonography is a cost effective, noninvasive, easy and reproducible and help as warning signal.
Electroneuromyography At Diagnosis Of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Purpose: Our aim is to retrospectively explicate the results of the carpal tunnel syndrome electroneuromyography, which is the most common entrapment neuropathy. Materials and Methods: 1196 patients were admitted with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) diagnosis to our EMG laboratory in 24 months. Results: As a result of electrophysiological examination 520 (43.5%) cases were considered normal, 676 (56.5%) of cases have supporting findings of carpal tunnel syndrome (n: 296 mild, n:285-medium, and n :295severe ). Conclusion: 43.5% of all cases referred to electrophysiology laboratory with CTS diagnosis have normal electrophysiological findings suggesting more detailed clinical evaluation should be performed before referring patients to electrophysiology laboratory.
Increased cancer-specific mortality of very small size in carcinoembryonic antigen-elevated rectal cancer.

Background The present study aimed to investigate the cause-specific survival (CSS) of very small rectal cancer in the context of preoperative serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) elevation. Methods Patients diagnosed with node-negative rectal cancer from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database from January 2004 to December 2010 meeting the inclusion criteria were identified for this study. The Cox proportional hazards regression analyses were conducted to identify independent factors associated with CSS. Pearson's chi-squared tests and Kaplan-Meier methods were performed. Results A total of 8,413 patients were included into our study. Kaplan-Meier analyses showed lower 7-year CSS rate of very small tumors (≤5 mm) compared to those larger than 40 mm (70.4% vs. 76.0%, log-rank P=0.469). Multivariate Cox analyses showed that patients with very small tumor size (≤5 mm) was also associated with a significantly increased risk of cancer-specific mortality compared with those with large tumor size (HR =2.567, 95% CI: 1.285 to 5.130, P=0.008, using ≥41 mm, C+ as a reference). Conclusions Very small tumor size in the context of preoperative serum CEA elevation could be a surrogate for biological aggressiveness. Our finding would provide a better understanding of tumor biology for us and elicit more future biological researches.
Purinergic effects in the rat urinary bladder. Functional studies of cyclophosphamide treatment on afferent and efferent mechanisms

Pathological conditions in the lower urinary tract are common and have a great impact on the quality of life for the patients suffering from such disorders. In this thesis cyclophosphamide (CYP)-induced cystitis, a wellestablished rat model of inflammatory bladder diseases such as bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis (BPS/IC), has been employed to study the role of purinergic transmission in the normal and inflamed state. The main focus was to characterize purinergic functional contractile and relaxatory parameters, studied in vitro, in vivo and in situ, for which the latter a novel method was developed and validated. The P2X1 purinoceptor was, in concordance with previous studies, found to be the major contractile subtype, whereas P2Y purinoceptor(s) with different sensitivities to the purinergic agonists ADP/ATP and UDP/UTP were shown to be relaxatory. Furthermore, the adenosine P1A2B purinoceptor was demonstrated to play a functional relaxatory role. Using the novel in situ experimental setup presented in this thesis it was concluded that stretch-evoked contralateral contractions, mediated by afferent nerve fibers, were increased during cystitis. This was in contrast to most other contractile studies, in which the response in the inflamed bladder was generally decreased. This enlargement to stretch stimulus was found to be due to both cholinergic and purinergic factors, of which the latter were more pronounced at lower stimulation intensities. Since the purinoceptors are often mentioned in the context of inflammation, studies were also conducted to investigate the role of purinergic, as well as of cholinergic and nitrergic, blockade in the development of cystitis. It was concluded that blockade of the P1A1 purinoceptor or inhibition of nitric oxide synthase can alleviate the change in contractile function to CYP-induced bladder inflammation, which was confirmed by the study of several inflammatory findings common in cystitis. Taken together, the purinergic transmission is altered during cystitis, and the changes are likely predominantly on the afferent side of the micturition reflex arc. The novel in situ setup can be modified and used to study various afferent factors, without interfering with the contractility of the bladder. Future therapeutic drugs targeting purinoceptors on afferent neurons may provide a valuable addition to the currently used medicines. The fact that blockade of purinoceptors at the same time may have a beneficial impact on the inflammation itself may prove to be useful in the treatment of inflammatory conditions in the lower urinary tract.
Stroke Patients with Sinus Rhythm and Atrial Fibrillation: Comparison of Echocardiography Findings

Received: 16.09. 2017 Accepted: 09.10. 2017 Corresponding Author: Abdullah Algın, Department of Emergency Medicine, Adıyaman University Training and Research Hospital, Adıyaman, Turkey Phone: +90 554 276 39 68 E-mail: dralgin@hotmail.com ORCID ID: orcid.org/0000-0002-9016-9701 Cite this article as: Algın A, Erdoğan MÖ, Çolak Ş, Aydın İ, Tayfur İ, Afacan MA, Aydın H. Stroke Patients with Sinus Rhythm and Atrial Fibrillation: Comparison of Echocardiography Findings. Eurasian J Emerg Med. 2019;18(3):153-6. Introduction
Decreased serum calcium levels and negative correlation with degree of nicotine dependence in heavy smokers

ABSTRACT Introduction: The objective of the present study was to investigate the influence of cigarette smoking on serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) calcium levels in Chinese heavy smokers. Methods: One hundred and sixty-seven male subjects were divided into non-smokers (95) and heavy smokers (72). Serum and CSF calcium concentrations were assayed. Smoking status was recorded and the degree of nicotine dependence (FNTD) was assessed by questionnaire. Analysis of variance was performed to assess the differences among dichotomous groups. Partial correlations between calcium level and FNTD scores were calculated. Results: In this population-based study, heavy smokers had significantly lower serum calcium levels than did non-smokers (p < .01). There was no difference in CSF calcium levels between heavy smokers and non-smokers. The average number of cigarettes smoked per day contributed to the decreased serum calcium levels in heavy smokers, while the age of smoking onset and smoking years did not affect serum levels within the smoker group. Furthermore, serum calcium levels negatively correlated with FNTD items 1, 4, 5, 6 and total scores; however, no correlation between CSF calcium levels and FNTD scores was found. Conclusions: Serum calcium levels decreased significantly in Chinese heavy smokers and were associated with the average number of cigarettes smoked per day and the degree of nicotine dependence in heavy smokers.