Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Correlation of induced sputum eosinophil levels with clinical parameters in mild and moderate persistent asthma in children aged 7–18 years

ABSTRACT Background: Treatment decisions in asthma are currently based on clinical assessment and spirometry. Sputum eosinophil, being a marker of airway inflammation, can serve as a tool for assessing severity and response to treatment in asthma patients. Objectives: To measure eosinophil percentage in induced sputum in children with asthma and correlate it with clinical asthma parameters. Methods: A prospective observational study was performed at tertiary care hospital on 91 children aged 7–18 years with newly diagnosed mild or moderate persistent asthma. Theinduced sputum eosinophil percentage was obtained at the time of enrollment and three months after treatment with inhaled budesonide. Patients were specifically evaluated for five clinical parameters of asthma, i.e., days of acute exacerbations, use of salbutamol as rescue medication, emergency visits, nighttime cough and days of school absence. Results: Sputum eosinophil percentage was high (3.1 ± 0.515%) at the time of enrollment which reduced significantly after three months of inhaled budesonide therapy [0.06 ± 0.164% (p < 0.0005)]. Children with moderate persistent asthma had significantly higher values of sputum eosinophil levels than children with mild persistent asthma at the time of enrollment (3.38 ± 0.64% vs. 2.99 ± 0.42%, p = 0.001) but the difference was not significant after three months of inhaled steroid therapy (0.07 ± 0.18 vs. 0.04 ± 0.12, p = 0.5104). A significant negative correlation was found between reduction in sputum eosinophil levels and improvement in FEV1 (r = −0.400, p = 0.0001). All the clinical asthma parameters also correlated significantly with the reduction in sputum eosinophil levels after three months of inhaled steroid therapy. Conclusion: Eosinophil levels in induced sputum correlate well with clinical asthma parameters and asthma severity in children. It is a simple, noninvasive and cheap method which can be used for the monitoring of asthma in a resource-limited setting.
Gamma Knife Irradiation of Injured Sciatic Nerve Induces Histological and Behavioral Improvement in the Rat Neuropathic Pain Model

We examined the effects of gamma knife (GK) irradiation on injured nerves using a rat partial sciatic nerve ligation (PSL) model. GK irradiation was performed at one week after ligation and nerve preparations were made three weeks after ligation. GK irradiation is known to induce immune responses such as glial cell activation in the central nervous system. Thus, we determined the effects of GK irradiation on macrophages using immunoblot and histochemical analyses. Expression of Iba-1 protein, a macrophage marker, was further increased in GK-treated injured nerves as compared with non-irradiated injured nerves. Immunohistochemical study of Iba-1 in GK-irradiated injured sciatic nerves demonstrated Iba-1 positive macrophage accumulation to be enhanced in areas distal to the ligation point. In the same area, myelin debris was also more efficiently removed by GK-irradiation. Myelin debris clearance by macrophages is thought to contribute to a permissive environment for axon growth. In the immunoblot study, GK irradiation significantly increased expressions of βIII-tubulin protein and myelin protein zero, which are markers of axon regeneration and re-myelination, respectively. Toluidine blue staining revealed the re-myelinated fiber diameter to be larger at proximal sites and that the re-myelinated fiber number was increased at distal sites in GK-irradiated injured nerves as compared with non-irradiated injured nerves. These results suggest that GK irradiation of injured nerves facilitates regeneration and re-myelination. In a behavior study, early alleviation of allodynia was observed with GK irradiation in PSL rats. When GK-induced alleviation of allodynia was initially detected, the expression of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), a potent analgesic factor, was significantly increased by GK irradiation. These results suggested that GK irradiation alleviates allodynia via increased GDNF. This study provides novel evidence that GK irradiation of injured peripheral nerves may have beneficial effects.
Commentary on "Intravenous Thrombolysis Attenuates Neurologic Deterioration After Ischemic Stroke".

In the article “Intravenous Thrombolysis Attenuates Neurologic Deterioration After Ischemic Stroke,” Siegler and Martin-Schild attempt to determine the reduction of neurologic deterioration caused by stroke progression in acute stroke patients who received intravenous tissue plasminogen activator (IV tPA) compared with those who did not in their hospital cohort. Although IV tPA has been approved as a first-line treatment for acute ischemic stroke for >20 years and the time window for administration has since increased to 4.5 hours, it is still widely underused. The estimated use ranges from 2% to 6.5%. Two common reasons for not administering IV tPA include lack of patient understanding and fear of complications per the treating physician. The original trial of IV tPA published in 1995 demonstrates that stroke patients who receive IV tPA have 33% minimal or no disability at 3 months and a 6.4% risk of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage. Despite the risk of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage, there was no significant difference in mortality between the two groups. Many groups have evaluated causes of (early) neurologic deterioration (ND) after IV tPA, but Siegler and MartinSchild are the first to report a reduction in ND after IV tPA. Despite a hemorrhagic conversion rate of 4.6%, there was a statistically significant 39% reduction in ND from any cause in the IV tPA group. Similar to prior studies, Siegler and Martin-Schild also found a statistically significant improvement in the discharge-modified Rankin score and a significantly decreased incidence of functional dependence in patients receiving IV tPA.
Modified Whipple-Child pancreaticoduodenectomy with anastomosis on jejunal loop in continuity. Presentation of surgical technique and preliminary observations on 45 patients.

INTRODUCTION Cephalic pancreaticoduodenectomy (CPD) is the only current treatment method that can provide long-term survival in patients with periampullary tumors. CASE PRESENTATION This study is a prospective study conducted between 2010 and 2016 in Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Center of "Victor Babes" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Timisoara, Romania, where 57 modified Whipple-Child CPDs with anastomoses on jejunal loop in continuity were performed, in patients with periampullary tumors. Twelve patients, who had undergone prior biliodigestive derivations or biliary drainage using endoscopic retrograde cholangio-pancreatography (ERCP), with stenting of the common bile duct, were excluded from the study. In 45 patients with modified Whipple-Child CPDs with anastomosis on jejunal loop in continuity, which were included in the study, overall morbidity rate was 22.22%. Postoperative mortality (within 30 days after the surgery) was 6.66% and six months and one year survival rates, excluding the four patients who died postoperatively, were 91.11% and 80%, respectively, with a median survival of 32 months. The mean operative time was 300 minutes, ranging between 240 and 390 minutes. CONCLUSIONS Modified Whipple-Child CPD with anastomoses on jejunal loop in continuity seems to be a therapeutic method promising a decreased overall morbidity rate and a good quality of life and offering a distant survival rate, which is consistent, so far, with data reported in the literature.
Stronger Tests of Mechanisms Underlying Geographic Gradients of Biodiversity: Insights from the Dimensionality of Biodiversity

Inference involving diversity gradients typically is gathered by mechanistic tests involving single dimensions of biodiversity such as species richness. Nonetheless, because traits such as geographic range size, trophic status or phenotypic characteristics are tied to a particular species, mechanistic effects driving broad diversity patterns should manifest across numerous dimensions of biodiversity. We develop an approach of stronger inference based on numerous dimensions of biodiversity and apply it to evaluate one such putative mechanism: the mid-domain effect (MDE). Species composition of 10,000-km2 grid cells was determined by overlaying geographic range maps of 133 noctilionoid bat taxa. We determined empirical diversity gradients in the Neotropics by calculating species richness and three indices each of phylogenetic, functional and phenetic diversity for each grid cell. We also created 1,000 simulated gradients of each examined metric of biodiversity based on a MDE model to estimate patterns expected if species distributions were randomly placed within the Neotropics. For each simulation run, we regressed the observed gradient onto the MDE-expected gradient. If a MDE drives empirical gradients, then coefficients of determination from such an analysis should be high, the intercept no different from zero and the slope no different than unity. Species richness gradients predicted by the MDE fit empirical patterns. The MDE produced strong spatially structured gradients of taxonomic, phylogenetic, functional and phenetic diversity. Nonetheless, expected values generated from the MDE for most dimensions of biodiversity exhibited poor fit to most empirical patterns. The MDE cannot account for most empirical patterns of biodiversity. Fuller understanding of latitudinal gradients will come from simultaneous examination of relative effects of random, environmental and historical mechanisms to better understand distribution and abundance of the current biota.
No Association of Coffee Consumption with Gastric Ulcer, Duodenal Ulcer, Reflux Esophagitis, and Non-Erosive Reflux Disease: A Cross-Sectional Study of 8,013 Healthy Subjects in Japan

Probably due to caffeine-induced gastric acid secretion, negative effects of coffee upon various upper-gastrointestinal diseases have been precariously accepted, despite the inadequate epidemiological evidence. Our aim is to evaluate the effect of coffee consumption on four major acid-related diseases: gastric ulcer (GU), duodenal ulcer (DU), reflux esophagitis (RE), and non-erosive reflux disease (NERD) based on the large-scale multivariate analysis. Of the 9,517 healthy adults, GU, DU, and RE were diagnosed by endoscopy, and NERD was diagnosed by the symptoms of heartburn and regurgitation without esophageal erosion. Associations between coffee consumption and the four disorders were evaluated, together with age, gender, body mass index (BMI), Helicobacter pylori (HP) infection status, pepsinogen I/II ratio, smoking, and alcohol. We further performed meta-analysis using the random effects model to redefine the relationship between coffee intake and peptic ulcer disease. The eligible 8,013 study subjects comprised of 5,451 coffee drinkers and 2,562 non-coffee drinkers. By univariate analysis, age, BMI, pepsinogen I/II ratio, smoking, and alcohol showed significant associations with coffee consumption. By multiple logistic regression analysis, positively correlated factors with significance were HP infection, current smoking, BMI, and pepsinogen I/II ratio for GU; HP infection, pepsinogen I/II ratio, and current smoking for DU; HP non-infection, male, BMI, pepsinogen I/II ratio, smoking, age, and alcohol for RE; younger age, smoking, and female for NERD. The meta-analyses could detect any association of coffee consumption with neither GU nor DU. In conclusion, there are no significant relationship between coffee consumption and the four major acid-related upper gastrointestinal disorders.
Asenapine in the management of impulsivity and aggressiveness in bipolar disorder and comorbid borderline personality disorder: an open-label uncontrolled study

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) often co-occurres with bipolar disorder (BD). Impulsivity and aggressiveness represent core shared features and their pharmacological management is mainly based on mood stabilizers and antipsychotics, although scarce evidence is available for this context of comorbidity. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the role of Asenapine as an adjunctive drug for reducing aggressiveness and impulsivity in a sample of Italian BD type I outpatients with or without a comorbid BPD. This was an observational 12-week open-label uncontrolled clinical study carried out from April to October 2014 in two psychiatric clinics in Sicily. Each patient was treated with asenapine at two dose options, 5 mg (twice daily) or 10 mg (twice daily), and concomitant ongoing medications were not discontinued. We measured impulsivity using the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS) and aggressiveness using the Aggressive Questionnaire (AQ). For the analysis of our outcomes, patients were divided into two groups: with or without comorbid BPD. Adjunctive therapy was associated with a significant decrease of BIS and AQ overall scores in the entire bipolar sample. Yet, there was no significant difference in BIS and AQ reductions between subgroups. Using a regression model, we observed that concomitant BPD played a negative role on the Hostility subscale and overall AQ score variations; otherwise, borderline co-diagnosis was related positively to the reduction of physical aggression. According to our post-hoc analysis, global aggressiveness scores are less prone to decrease in patients with a dual diagnosis, whereas physical aggressiveness appears to be more responsive to the add-on therapy in patients with comorbidity.
Trend of measles, mumps, and rubella incidence following the measles‐rubella catch up vaccination in the Republic of Korea, 2001

Following the introduction of measles‐rubella (MR) catch‐up vaccination in 2001 and two dose measles‐mumps‐rubella (MMR2) keep‐up program in 2002, the incidence of measles, mumps, and rubella was not evaluated systematically. To describe the recent changes in epidemiology, a population‐based incidence study from 2001 to 2015 using national notifiable disease surveillance data was conducted. Between 2001 and 2015, there was decrease in the incidence of measles and rubella, whereas a steady increase in mump incidence was noted. The age distribution of mumps cases has shifted to the older age group, whereas rubella became more frequent in younger age group. The incidence of mumps showed an increase in every birth cohorts, except for the decrease in incidence for catch‐up vaccination cohort from 131 cases in 2007‐2011 to 64 cases per 100 000 in 2012‐2015. Continuing in monitoring of mumps and strengthening of the high two‐dose MMR vaccination coverage should be taken place in Korea.
The impact of students with left-behind experiences on childhood: The relationship between negative life events and depression among college students in China

Background: The number of left-behind children in rural China has increased dramatically over the last decade. It is reported that about 21.88% of child population with an estimated number of 61 million are left-behind children whose parents leave them to work in cities. We conducted a cross-sectional study to explore the impacts of left-behind experience (LBE) on college students’ depression and other influencing factors. Aim: This study discusses the mediation effect of self-esteem together with psychological resilience on college students with depression and negative life events of left-behind. The study also discusses the regulation effect of LBE. Methods: A total of 788 college students were selected from three universities in Sichuan and Chongqing (367 with LBEs, 421 without LBEs). Adolescent Self-Rating Life Events Check List (ASLEC), Self-Esteem Scale (SES), Resilience Scale of Chinese Adolescent (RSCA) and Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) were used to measure the negative life events, self-esteem, psychological resilience and depression, respectively. Bootstrap program was used to test the mediation effect, and multiple-group analysis was used to examine the regulation effect for LBE. Results: Scores of ASLEC for the college students with LBEs were higher than those without LBEs (8.59 ± 3.57) vs (7.06 ± 3.38), p < . 001). The scores of LBE, ASLEC and SDS were positively correlated with the college students with LBEs (r = .21 to .29, p < .01), while the scores of RSCA and SES were negatively correlated (r = −.30 to −.59, p < .01). The mediation effect of college students’ self-esteem and psychological resilience between negative life events and depression was significant (mediating effect = .08, .13, .07; p < .01). Thus, the college students’ self-esteem and psychological resilience on negative life events had strong mediation effect on depression. The test of Bootstrap showed that the mediation effect of self-esteem and psychological resilience was significant (95% confidence interval (CI) = [0.04–0.76]). The LBE had regulation effect on college students’ self-esteem and psychological resilience. (The constraint model fitting degree of variation is Δχ2 = 2,120.68, Δdf = 8, p < .001.) The self-esteem and psychological resilience of college students with LBEs can be used to mediate the relation between negative life events and depression, whereas those without LBEs cannot. Conclusion: Self-esteem and psychological resilience fully mediates college students’ negative life events and depression, which is regulated by their previous LBEs.
Comparison of Therapeutic Effectiveness Between Shoulder Distention Arthrography With Translation Mobilization and Distention Arthrography Alone in Patients With Frozen Shoulder

Objective To evaluate the efficacy of distention arthrography (DA) alone and in combination with translational mobilization (TM) for treatment of patients with frozen shoulder (FS). Methods Eighty-five patients diagnosed with unilateral FS (freezing or frozen stage) were included. Forty-one patients were treated with DA and TM (group 1) and 44 patients with DA alone (group 2). Clinical assessments including visual analogue scale (VAS), Cyriax stage, and shoulder passive range of motion (PROM) including forward flexion, abduction, external rotation, and internal rotation were measured at baseline, 1 month, and 3 months following treatment. Results There were no significant differences in gender, side affected, symptom duration, presence of diabetes mellitus, VAS score, Cyriax stage, or shoulder PROM between the two patient groups at baseline. Compared with baseline metrics, patients in both groups demonstrated significantly improved outcome parameters at two post-treatment time points. However, mean all shoulder PROMs were significantly greater, and mean VAS score and Cyriax stage were lower in patients treated with DA and TM than in those treated with DA alone group at two post-treatment time points. At these times, mean interval change of all outcome parameters was significantly greater with DA and TM than DA alone. No serious complications were observed following treatment in either patient group. Conclusion Compared with DA alone, DA combined with TM more effectively alleviates shoulder pain and increases PROM in patients with freezing or frozen stage FS.
Effect of renal function on the pharmacokinetics of fimasartan: a single-dose, open-label, Phase I study

Background Fimasartan is a novel angiotensin II receptor blocker. Fimasartan is mainly eliminated via biliary excretion, and its urinary elimination is less than 3%. Objective Based on guidance from the United States Food and Drug Administration, a reduced pharmacokinetic (PK) study was conducted to evaluate the effect of renal function on the PK of fimasartan in patients with renal impairment and healthy volunteers. Methods A single centre, single-dose, open-label, healthy volunteer controlled trial was conducted in patients with renal impairment (RI) (estimated glomerular filtration rate lower than 30 mL/min/1.73 m2) and age-, weight- and sex-matched healthy volunteers (estimated glomerular filtration rate higher than 90 mL/min/1.73 m2). All participants received a single oral dose of fimasartan 120 mg, after which serial blood sampling for PK evaluation was conducted. Noncompartmental PK analysis of fimasartan was performed. A mixed-effects model approach was used to identify significant covariates and PK parameters. Results Sixteen subjects were enrolled (8 healthy volunteers and 8 RI patients). The maximum plasma concentrations and areas under the plasma concentration curves of the RI patients were higher than those of the healthy volunteers, with geometric mean ratios of 1.87 and 1.73, respectively. The relative bioavailability of fimasartan from the population PK analysis was 77% higher in the RI patients than in the healthy volunteers. Conclusion The increased drug exposure of fimasartan in RI patients was explained by the increased relative bioavailability. This result can be explained from our knowledge concerning alterations in PK related to renal function.
Experimental Research on Properties of High-Strength Foamed Concrete

The aim of this study is to develop structural foamed concretes by using silica fume, fly ash, and polypropylene fiber. The study presents the use of fly ash for fully replacing sand to produce foamed concrete. Fine silica fume and polypropylene (PP) fiber were used to improve properties of foamed concrete. Lightweight foamed concretes with a wide range of concrete densities ( 800–1,500 kg/m3 ) were studied mainly for compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, and drying shrinkage. The results indicate that foamed concrete with a density of 800–1,500 kg/m3 and compressive strength of 10–50 MPa can be made by using silica fume and PP fiber. Fine silica fume and PP fiber greatly improved the compressive strength of foamed concrete. In addition, adding PP fiber significantly improved the splitting tensile strength and drying shrinkage resistance.