Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prevention of overweight and obesity in early life

Childhood obesity is a serious challenge for public health. The problem begins early with most excess childhood weight gained before starting school. In 2016, the WHO estimated that 41 million children under 5 were overweight or obese. Once established, obesity is difficult to reverse, likely to persist into adult life and is associated with increased risk of CVD, type 2 diabetes and certain cancers. Preventing obesity is therefore of high importance. However, its development is multi-factorial and prevention is a complex challenge. Modifiable lifestyle behaviours such as diet and physical activity are the most well-known determinants of obesity. More recently, early-life factors have emerged as key influencers of obesity in childhood. Understanding risk factors and how they interact is important to inform interventions that aim to prevent obesity in early childhood. Available evidence supports multi-component interventions as effective in obesity prevention. However, relatively few interventions are available in the UK and only one, TrimTots, has been evaluated in randomised controlled trials and shown to be effective at reducing obesity risk in preschool children (age 1–5 years). BMI was lower in children immediately after completing TrimTots compared with waiting list controls and this effect was sustained at long-term follow-up, 2 years after completion. Developing and evaluating complex interventions for obesity prevention is a challenge for clinicians and researchers. In addition, parents encounter barriers engaging with interventions. This review considers early-life risk factors for obesity, highlights evidence for preventative interventions and discusses barriers and facilitators to their success.
Mathematical Modelling of Mass Transfer and Free Convection Current Effects on Unsteady Viscous Flow with Ramped Wall Temperature

An exact analysis of the flow of an incompressible viscous fluid past an infinite vertical plate is conducted taking into account the presence of foreign mass or constant mass flux and ramped wall temperature. The dimensionless governing coupled linear partial differential equations are solved using the Laplace transform technique. Two different solutions for the fluid velocity are obtained–one valid for the fluids of Schmidt numbers different from unity, and the other for which the Schmidt number is unity. The effects of Prandtl number (Pr), Schmidt number (Sc), time (t) and mass to thermal buoyancy ratio parameter (N) for both aiding and opposing buoyancy effects on the velocity and skin-friction are studied. Also, the heat and mass transfer effects on the flow near a ramped temperature plate have been compared with the flow near a plate with constant temperature.
The Role of Human Papillomavirus in Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

CONTEXT - Human papillomavirus (HPV) is implicated in the development of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas (OPC), particularly those cancers developing in tonsillar tissue. OBJECTIVES - To review the prevalence, subtypes, and methods of detecting HPV in OPC and to review the epidemiology, histology, staging, management, and prevention of these cancers. DATA SOURCES - The study comprised a review of the literature. CONCLUSIONS - The incidence of HPV-OPC is rising globally and in the United States, but rates of HPV-positivity vary with the anatomic site(s) and the population studied, as well as the method of detecting HPV infection. These tumors are more common in men. In contrast to HPV- OPC, the rates of smoking and alcohol abuse are lower. The HPV 16 subtype is predominant, and immunohistochemistry staining for p16 and in situ hybridization are the most widely used methods clinically to detect transcriptionally active HPV. Moreover, HPV-OPC has a unique tumor phenotype with predominantly nonkeratinizing morphology and a variety of patterns. These cancers often present with cystic lymph node metastases. The prognosis for HPV-OPC is significantly better than HPV- OPC and has led to differences in grading, staging, and management. Although there are similarities to cervical cancer, there are challenges in preventing such cancers.
Nutritional Assessment of Hemodialysis Patients Aged Over 65 Years: Outcome of a Cross-Sectional Survey Conducted in the Well-Equipped Hemodialysis Center of the Cahors Hospital, France

Elderly hemodialysis patients particularly suffer from protein-energy wasting syndrome due to age-related physiological changes. We carried out an observational study from 1 to 30 April 2016 involving 31 elderly hemodialysis patients in the center of Cahors University Hospital. We intended to check how close the 3 methods of nutritional evaluation were, namely ingesta, albumin/prealbumin association and Subjective Global Assessment. We trialed the nutritional status of each patient using the above methods. The mean age was 77.7 ± 7.07 years with M/F ratio of 0.63. Exposure to dialysis was 40.61 ± 67.88 months on average. The mean BMI was 26.67 ± 9.17 kg/m2. The average daily calorie and protein intake was 1297.61 ± 321.73 Kcal and 52.87 ± 9.89 g, respectively. The average branchial perimeter was 27.53 ± 2.47 cm with a mean triceps skinfold of 9 ± 0.7. The daily protein intake assessed by the nPCR was 0.95 ± 0.21 g/kg/day. The mean albumin and pre-albumin levels were 37.32 ± 1.41 g/l and 283.22 ± 35.35 mg/l. The average Kt/V was 1.98 ± 0.35. According to the SGA, 26 (83.87%) were in good nutritional status (subgroup 1), 3 (9.67%) were suffering from mild undernutrition (subgroup 2) and 2 (6.46%) had acute undernutrition (subgroup 3). Relying on albumin and prealbumin levels, 18 (58.06%) were in good nutritional status, 6 (19.36%) had mild undernutrition and 7 (22.58%) acute undernutrition. According to the ingesta, 2 (6.46%) patients were in subgroup 1, 8 (25.81%) patients in subgroup 2 and 21 (67.74%) in subgroup 3. No agreement was found between the 3 evaluators of nutritional status (kappa to assess SGA and albumin-pre-albumin association at -0.075 [95% confidence interval: -0.175 to 0.024]; kappa as a measurement for SGA and ingesta at 0.073 [95% range: -0.007 to 0.153], kappa for albumin-prealbumin combination and ingesta at 0.034 [95% confidence interval: -0.058 to 0.126)]. Disjunction between the three nutritional evaluators used in our study, in addition to inherent bias in the low number of staff, provides information on the nutritional problems of elderly hemodialysis patients, especially underestimation of nutritional surveys in relation to actual energy intake, nutritional impact of the physiological and socio-economic changes that accompany aging and the lack of nutritional methods and standards specific to this category of population.
Assessment of radio frequency of hepatic tumors

It is fundamentally important that all cancerous cells be adequately destroyed during Radio Frequency Ablation (RFA) procedures. To help achieve this goal, probe manufacturers advise physicians to increase the treatment region by one centimeter (1cm) in all directions around the diseased tissue. This enlarged treatment region provides a buffer to insure that cancer cells that migrated into surrounding tissue are adequately treated and necrose. Even though RFA is a minimally invasive, image-guided procedure, it is difficult for physicians to confidently follow the specified treatment protocol. In this paper we visually assess an RFA treatment by comparing a registered image set containing the untreated tumor, including the 1 cm safety boundary, to that of an image set containing the treated region acquired one month after surgery. For this study, we used Computerized Tomography images as both the tumor and treated regions are visible. To align the image sets of the abdomen, we investigate three different registration techniques; an affine transform that minimizes the correlation ratio, a point (or landmark) based 3D thin-plate spline approach, and a nonlinear B-spline elastic registration methodology. We found the affine registration technique simple and easy to use because it is fully automatic. Unfortunately, this method resulted in the largest visible discrepancy between the liver in the fused images. The thin-plate spline technique required the physician to identify corresponding landmarks in both image sets, but resulted in better visual accuracy in the fused images. Finally, the non-linear, B-spline, elastic registration technique used the registration results of the thin-plate spline method as a starting point and then required a significant amount of computation to determine its transformation, but also provided the most visually accurate fused image set.
Physiological Actions of Fibroblast Growth Factor-23

Fibroblast growth factor-23 (FGF23) is a bone-derived hormone suppressing phosphate reabsorption and vitamin D hormone synthesis in the kidney. At physiological concentrations of the hormone, the endocrine actions of FGF23 in the kidney are αKlotho-dependent, because high-affinity binding of FGF23 to FGF receptors requires the presence of the co-receptor αKlotho on target cells. It is well established that excessive concentrations of intact FGF23 in the blood lead to phosphate wasting in patients with normal kidney function. Based on the importance of diseases associated with gain of FGF23 function such as phosphate-wasting diseases and chronic kidney disease, a large body of literature has focused on the pathophysiological consequences of FGF23 excess. Less emphasis has been put on the role of FGF23 in normal physiology. Nevertheless, during recent years, lessons we have learned from loss-of-function models have shown that besides the paramount physiological roles of FGF23 in the control of 1α-hydroxylase expression and of apical membrane expression of sodium-phosphate co-transporters in proximal renal tubules, FGF23 also is an important stimulator of calcium and sodium reabsorption in distal renal tubules. In addition, there is an emerging role of FGF23 as an auto-/paracrine regulator of alkaline phosphatase expression and mineralization in bone. In contrast to the renal actions of FGF23, the FGF23-mediated suppression of alkaline phosphatase in bone is αKlotho-independent. Moreover, FGF23 may be a physiological suppressor of differentiation of hematopoietic stem cells into the erythroid lineage in the bone microenvironment. At present, there is little evidence for a physiological role of FGF23 in organs other than kidney and bone. The purpose of this mini-review is to highlight the current knowledge about the complex physiological functions of FGF23.
Comparing clinical decision support functionality of commercial-available electronic medical record systems

iv I 1.0 Introduction . 1 2.0 Background . 4 2.1 Description of Functional Taxonomy . 4 2.2 Description of differ& clinical information systems reviewed 7 3.0 Methods . 10 3.1 Description of each Question in the Questionnaire . 12 4.0 Results . 21 5 -0 Discussion . 26 6.0 Conclusion . 27 7.0 References . 28 8.0 Appendix A . 30
Administration of bifidobacterium and lactobacillus strains modulates experimental myasthenia gravis and experimental encephalomyelitis in Lewis rats

Probiotics beneficial effects on the host are associated with regulation of the intestinal microbial homeostasis and with modulation of inflammatory immune responses in the gut and in periphery. In this study, we investigated the clinical efficacy of two lactobacillus and two bifidobacterium probiotic strains in experimental autoimmune myasthenia gravis (EAMG) and experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) models, induced in Lewis rats. Treatment with probiotics led to less severe disease manifestation in both models; ex vivo analyses showed preservation of neuromuscular junction in EAMG and myelin content in EAE spinal cord. Immunoregulatory transcripts were found differentially expressed in gut associated lymphoid tissue and in peripheral immunocompetent organs. Feeding EAMG animals with probiotics resulted in increased levels of Transforming Growth Factor-β (TGFβ) in serum, and increased percentages of regulatory T cells (Treg) in peripheral blood leukocyte. Exposure of immature dendritic cells to probiotics induced their maturation toward an immunomodulatory phenotype, and secretion of TGFβ. Our data showed that bifidobacteria and lactobacilli treatment effectively modulates disease symptoms in EAMG and EAE models, and support further investigations to evaluate their use in autoimmune diseases.
Start Late or Finish Early: A Distributed Graph Processing System with Redundancy Reduction

Graph processing systems are important in the big data domain. However, processing graphs in parallel often introduces redundant computations in existing algorithms and models. Prior work has proposed techniques to optimize redundancies for out-of-core graph systems, rather than distributed graph systems. In this paper, we study various state-of-the-art distributed graph systems and observe root causes for these pervasively existing redundancies. To reduce redundancies without sacrificing parallelism, we further propose SLFE, a distributed graph processing system, designed with the principle of "start late or finish early". SLFE employs a novel preprocessing stage to obtain a graph's topological knowledge with negligible overhead. SLFE's redundancy-aware vertex-centric computation model can then utilize such knowledge to reduce the redundant computations at runtime. SLFE also provides a set of APIs to improve programmability. Our experiments on an 8-machine high-performance cluster show that SLFE outperforms all well-known distributed graph processing systems with the inputs of real-world graphs, yielding up to 75x speedup. Moreover, SLFE outperforms two state-of-the-art shared memory graph systems on a high-end machine with up to 1644x speedup. SLFE's redundancy-reduction schemes are generally applicable to other vertex-centric graph processing systems.
Rapid, noninvasive detection of Zika virus in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes by near-infrared spectroscopy

We report the first use of near-infrared spectroscopy for rapid, low-cost, noninvasive detection of Zika virus in Aedes aegypti. The accelerating global spread of arboviruses, such as Zika virus (ZIKV), highlights the need for more proactive mosquito surveillance. However, a major challenge during arbovirus outbreaks has been the lack of rapid and affordable tests for pathogen detection in mosquitoes. We show for the first time that near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a rapid, reagent-free, and cost-effective tool that can be used to noninvasively detect ZIKV in heads and thoraces of intact Aedes aegypti mosquitoes with prediction accuracies of 94.2 to 99.3% relative to quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). NIRS involves simply shining a beam of light on a mosquito to collect a diagnostic spectrum. We estimated in this study that NIRS is 18 times faster and 110 times cheaper than RT-qPCR. We anticipate that NIRS will be expanded upon for identifying potential arbovirus hotspots to guide the spatial prioritization of vector control.
The unmet global burden of COPD

Chronic respiratory diseases receive little attention and funding in comparison with other major causes of global morbidity and mortality [1]. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major public health problem. COPD is the end result of a susceptible lung being exposed to sufficient environmental stimulus. Caused principally by tobacco smoking and household air pollution (HAP), COPD is a silent killer in lowand middle-income countries (LMICs): an estimated 328 million people have COPD worldwide [2], and in 15 years, COPD is expected to become the leading cause of death [3]. The relentless decline in lung function that characterises COPD is associated with progressive symptoms and functional impairment, with susceptibility to respiratory infections called ‘exacerbations’. Exacerbations are responsible for much of the morbidity and mortality. COPD has a significant impact on quality of life for those living with the condition, and on local economies for those affected, those caring for the affected and health services. A population literally struggling for breath is, in consequence, unproductive. The majority of cases of chronic lung disease are preventable. Exposure reduction initiatives must focus on tobacco control, and cook-stove interventions: either cleaner fuel (ideally), or better ventilation (at the least). Awareness campaigns and health programmes have the potential to revolutionise the diagnosis and management of COPD and COPD exacerbations, improving quality of life and health service cost and burden. LMICs face unique challenges in managing COPD, including sub-optimal and diverse primary care systems which present challenges with diagnosis and management, especially during exacerbations. A better understanding of how to prevent, diagnose and manage COPD in both rural and urban settings would make a real difference in countries of need. Two important aspects to consider when addressing the global economic burden of COPD are that of underdiagnosis and comorbidities [4]. Firstly, COPD remains underdiagnosed in many jurisdictions [5]. Studies included in reviews focusing on the global economic burden of COPD are all based on diagnosed COPD, and a simple multiplication of these values by the number of COPD patients to calculate the overall economic burden of COPD will underestimate the contribution of undiagnosed COPD [5]. Secondly, COPD is known to be associated with a significant number of comorbid conditions, and estimating costs that are directly attributable to COPD fails to consider the burden of such comorbidities [4]. Adjusting for comorbidities by calculating excess costs with an appropriate comparison group can provide a better opportunity, but even this results in an underestimation of the costs of the comorbidities [6–8].
The use of genetic engineering techniques to improve the lipid composition in meat , milk and fi sh products : a review

The health-promoting properties of dietary long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 LCPUFAs) for humans are well-known. Products of animal-origin enriched with n-3 LCPUFAs can be a good example of functional food, that is food that besides traditionally understood nutritional value may have a beneficial influence on the metabolism and health of consumers, thus reducing the risk of various lifestyle diseases such as atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease. The traditional method of enriching meat, milk or eggs with n-3 LCPUFA is the manipulation of the composition of animal diets. Huge progress in the development of genetic engineering techniques, for example transgenesis, has enabled the generation of many kinds of genetically modified animals. In recent years, one of the aims of animal transgenesis has been the modification of the lipid composition of meat and milk in order to improve the dietetic value of animal-origin products. This article reviews and discusses the data in the literature concerning studies where techniques of genetic engineering were used to create animal-origin products modified to contain health-promoting lipids. These studies are still at the laboratory stage, but their results have demonstrated that the transgenesis of pigs, cows, goats and fishes can be used in the future as efficient methods of production of healthy animal-origin food of high dietetic value. However, due to high costs and a low level of public acceptance, the introduction of this technology to commercial animal production and markets seems to be a distant prospect.
Plant functional diversity affects climate-vegetation interaction

Abstract. We present how variations in plant functional diversity affect climate–vegetation interaction towards the end of the African Humid Period (AHP) in coupled land–atmosphere simulations using the Max Planck Institute Earth system model (MPI-ESM). In experiments with AHP boundary conditions, the extent of the “green” Sahara varies considerably with changes in plant functional diversity. Differences in vegetation cover extent and plant functional type (PFT) composition translate into significantly different land surface parameters, water cycling, and surface energy budgets. These changes have not only regional consequences but considerably alter large-scale atmospheric circulation patterns and the position of the tropical rain belt. Towards the end of the AHP, simulations with the standard PFT set in MPI-ESM depict a gradual decrease of precipitation and vegetation cover over time, while simulations with modified PFT composition show either a sharp decline of both variables or an even slower retreat. Thus, not the quantitative but the qualitative PFT composition determines climate–vegetation interaction and the climate–vegetation system response to external forcing. The sensitivity of simulated system states to changes in PFT composition raises the question how realistically Earth system models can actually represent climate–vegetation interaction, considering the poor representation of plant diversity in the current generation of land surface models.
Marine Infectious Disease Ecology

To put marine disease impacts in context requires a broad perspective on the roles infectious agents have in the ocean. Parasites infect most marine vertebrate and invertebrate species, and parasites and predators can have comparable biomass density, suggesting they play comparable parts as consumers in marine food webs. Although some parasites might increase with disturbance, most probably decline as food webs unravel. There are several ways to adapt epidemiological theory to the marine environment. In particular, because the ocean represents a three-dimensional moving habitat for hosts and parasites, models should open up the spatial scales at which infective stages and host larvae travel. In addition to open recruitment and dimensionality, marine parasites are subject to fishing, filter feeders, dose-dependent infection, environmental forcing, and death-based transmission. Adding such considerations to marine disease models will make it easier to predict which infectious diseases will increase or decre.
Carbon stocks of Hanang forest, Tanzania: An implication for climate mitigation

The study assessed carbon stocks of Hanang mountain forest, Tanzania. Thirty-four sample plots (40 × 50 m) were established along an altitudinal gradient. All trees with diameter at breast height ≥10 cm were identified and measured, and herb species and soil were sampled from four 1 × 1 m quadrats within 10 × 10 m subplots. Mean carbon stock was 48.37 and 0.26 t C ha-1 for tree and herb species, respectively. Soil organic carbon (SOC) was 64.2, 41.93 and 31.0 t C ha-1 in the upper, mid and lower layers, respectively. It was found that there was significant difference in tree carbon (p 0.05) in herbaceous carbon and SOC in the three layers along an altitudinal gradient. Tree carbon was low compared to other tropical areas where allometric models were employed. In contrast, SOC was high compared to other similar forests in the tropics. Anthropogenic threats will likely diminish the SOC hence conservation measures are needed. Key words: Carbon, stocks, altitudinal gradient, soil organic carbon (SOC).