Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation to the temporoparietal junction for tinnitus.

OBJECTIVE To examine the effectiveness and safety of low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to the temporoparietal junction in a cohort of patients with bothersome tinnitus. DESIGN Crossover, double-blind, randomized clinical trial. SETTING Outpatient academic medical center. PARTICIPANTS Fourteen adults aged 42 to 59 years with subjective, unilateral or bilateral, nonpulsatile tinnitus of 6 months' duration or longer and a score of 38 or greater on the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI). INTERVENTIONS Low-frequency (1-Hz) 110% motor threshold rTMS or sham treatment to the left temporoparietal junction for 2 weeks. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE The difference in the change of the THI score between active and sham rTMS. RESULTS Active treatment was associated with a median (95% confidence interval) reduction in THI score of 5 (0-14) points, and sham treatment was associated with a median reduction in THI score of 6 (-2 to 12) points. The difference in THI scores between the change associated with active and sham rTMS ranged from a 34-point reduction in THI score after active treatment to a 22-point increase after sham treatment, with a median difference change of only 1 point (-6 to 4 points). CONCLUSIONS Daily low-frequency rTMS to the left temporoparietal junction area for 2 weeks is no more effective than placebo for patients with chronic bothersome tinnitus. Possible explanations for the negative findings are short duration of treatment, failure of rTMS stimulation over the temporoparietal area to affect the auditory cortex buried within the Sylvian fissure, or more widespread cortical network changes associated with severe bothersome tinnitus not amenable to localized rTMS effects. Trial Registration clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00567892.
EFFECT OF INTRAVENOUS INOCULATION OF AVIAN INFLUENZA VIRUS ON REPRODUCTION AND GROWTH IN MALLARD DUCKS

An avian influenza virus isolate, A/Mallard/Ohio/184/86 (H5N1), was evaluated for its effects on reproduction in isolation-reared adult mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos) and growth rate in juvenile mallards after intravenous inoculation. There was a significant decrease in egg production in the experimental group during the first week after inoculation, but it returned to the normal production level during the second week. No effect was seen on egg weight, shape, or fertility. Ducklings receiving this influenza virus isolate did not differ from controls in their rate of growth.
Targeting the Wnt signaling pathway to treat Barrett’s esophagus

Barrett’s esophagus (BE) is an acquired condition in which the normal squamous epithelium in the distal esophagus is replaced by a metaplastic columnar epithelium, as a complication of chronic gastroesophageal reflux. The clinical significance of this disease is its associated predisposition to esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC). Recently, and similarly to other human malignancies, the Wnt signaling pathway and its key component β-catenin have been implicated in the carcinogenesis of BE. Although mutations in adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) or β-catenin are rare in EAC, alterations of upstream components, such as overexpression of Wnt2 ligand or downregulation of Wnt antagonists may play dominant roles in the activation of the Wnt pathway. Increasing evidence suggests that inhibiting the Wnt pathway may be a new targeted therapy for the treatment of cancers and could, therefore, be promising for the cure of EAC, which remains a highly lethal disease.
Analysis of Superiority of the Right Visual Field in Bilateral Tachistoscopic Word-Recognition

McKeever and Huling questioned procedures in experiments on lateral differences in the recognition of horizontally oriented multi-letter stimuli, tachistoscopically exposed bilaterally. They effected three major changes in this method and found superior scores for material in the right than left visual field, a result in the opposite direction of prior findings. Ideas from directional scanning and cerebral dominance accounts of lateral asymmetries suggest that McKeever and Huling's methodological innovations produced their result. Directional scanning notions indicate that horizontal targets impede measures of differences in processing skills of the cerebral hemispheres. These obstacles can be overcome by exposing vertically oriented targets.
An Eight-year Follow-up of the Occlusal Surfaces of First Permanent Molars

The state of the occlusal surfaces of the first permanent molars (FPMs) in a representative group of subjects from seven to 15 years of age was followed retrospectively year by year. Data were taken from oral health records. Standardized charts include information on dental check-ups, oral health status, and the treatment given. The state of each occlusal surface was classified into four categories: (1) sound but unsealed, (2) sealed, (3) filled, or (4) decayed. An overall annual attack rate for all occlusal FPM surfaces was 5.9% per year, and for approximal surfaces, 1.3%. Occlusal caries attacks had been most prevalent between seven and nine years of age, whereas new approximal lesions had been most frequent from ages 11 to 13. The FPMs that had been sealed at the age of seven developed fewer caries than did any other group during the follow-up.
Hazardous Health Behaviour among Medical Students: a Study from Turkey.

BACKGROUND Hazardous health behaviour in young people is an important factor that affects the individual risk for non-communicable diseases and other disorders later in life. This study aimed to determine the hazardous health behaviour of first and last class medical students of Erciyes University. MATERIALS AND METHODS This descriptive study was carried out with 240 medical students from the first and 130 students from the last (sixth) class. Data were obtained by questionnaire between March-April 2012. In total, 339 students were included with a response rate of 91.6%. Socio-demographic characteristics, school success, self-reported economic difficulties, health perceptions, hazardous health behaviour related to chronic disease, tobacco, alcohol, substance use, body weight, height, traffic, violence and nutrition were assessed in line with the literature. RESULTS Of the participants; 64.0% were from first and 36.0% were from the last class. Mean ages for the first and last classes were 19.4 ± 1.5 and 24.0 ± 1.5 years, respectively. In the current study, males exhibited more hazardous behaviour than females. Sime 19.8% of the students in the study group used alcohol, 35.4% used a waterpipe, and 24.8% used tobacco at least once. These rates increased in both genders in the last class and the increase in males was significant. Some 3.8% of the students in the current study used pleasure-inducing illegal substances at least once. All the students participating in the current study were single, the number of males reported not using condoms (8.6%) was 4.56 times higher compared to females. Some 64.0% of the students did not perform physical activity lasting at least 30 minutes for five times a week, 13.0% did not sleep for mean 7-8 hours daily, males having a 2.9 times higher risk. More than 1/3 of the students did not consume cooked vegetable dishes and 1/4 did not consume fresh fruits and salads, the rates were higher among males. CONCLUSIONS In the current study, hazardous health behaviour was prevalent among medical students, with higher risks among males and last class students. According to these results, medical curriculum may be focused on decreasing hazardous health behaviour. In addition, in order to prevent unhealthy behaviour, the number of youth-friendly health facilities should be increased.
Statins, fibrates, and melanoma risk: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND Large randomized, controlled clinical trials of lovastatin and gemfibrozil for heart disease prevention have reported statistically significantly lower melanoma incidences in persons receiving these medications. Results of in vitro animal model and human case-control studies also suggest that statins and fibrates may reduce the risk of melanoma. METHODS We performed a systematic review of trials that randomly assigned participants to receive statins or fibrates versus an alternative therapy for a minimum of 6 months. Trials were identified by searching five electronic databases and the reference lists of eligible publications. Unpublished data were solicited from trial investigators and pharmaceutical companies. A meta-analysis was performed using a fixed-effects model, and odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to estimate pooled treatment effects. All statistical tests were two-sided. RESULTS We obtained data on incident melanomas from 20 of 36 qualifying randomized controlled trials (12 statin trials and eight fibrate trials), with a total of 70,820 participants. A total of 127 melanomas occurred among the 39,426 participants in the statin trials (59 among the 19,872 statin group participants and 68 among the 19,554 control group participants). A total of 27 melanomas occurred among the 31,394 participants enrolled in the fibrate trials (seven among the 12,324 fibrate group participants and 20 among the 19,070 control group participants). Overall, incidence of melanoma was not statistically significantly associated with the use of either statins (OR = 0.87, 95% CI = 0.61 to 1.23) or fibrates (OR = 0.45, 95% CI = 0.20 to 1.01). In a subgroup analysis by drug, only lovastatin use (in one trial) was statistically significantly associated with lower incidence of melanoma (OR = 0.52, 95% CI = 0.27 to 0.99). CONCLUSIONS These findings do not validate the possibility that statins or fibrates prevent melanoma.
The Effects of Premedication on Inhaled Induction of Anesthesia with Sevoflurane

The effects of premedication with midazolam (M), fentanyl (F), or both (B) on induction of anesthesia via a mask with sevoflurane (S) were assessed in 24 healthy volunteers who participated on three occasions, receiving either intravenous (IV) F (2.4 micro g/kg), M (36 micro g/kg), or B (0.6 micro g/kg F, 9 micro g/kg M) 5 min before three vital capacity breaths of 8% S, 66% N2 O, and O2. At loss of lid-lash reflex (LLR), ventilation was manually assisted until a randomly assigned time of administration was attained, at which time laryngoscopy and tracheal intubation were attempted. The effective times for 50% of subjects (ET50) to loss of LLR were 64 s for M and B and 54 s for F (P < 0.05). The ET50 to acceptable intubating conditions were 4.3, 3.1 and 2.5 min for F, M, and B, respectively. F resulted in more airway management difficulties than M or B. Heart rate was slightly increased before intubation in M. Heart rate increases after intubation were least in F, intermediate in B, and greatest in M. The time to achieve good intubating and airway conditions up to intubation was lowest with M or B. Anesthetic adjuvants did not improve the time to achieve loss of consciousness with anesthetic induction via the face mask with sevoflurane, but they significantly decreased the time to acceptable tracheal intubating conditions. Implications: Adults can be anesthetized with very few side effects by breathing themselves to sleep with sevoflurane. Giving patients small doses of sedatives intravenously before they inhale an anesthetic can improve the speed and quality of the process of falling asleep. (Anesth Analg 1997;85:1143-8)
Diversity of Botryosphaeria species on horticultural plants in Victoria and New South Wales

To help understand the diversity of Botryosphaeria species found on horticultural crops in Victoria and New South Wales, 30 isolates were identified using rDNA ITS sequences and elongation factor 1 α (EF-1 α) gene sequences. Cultures had been isolated over the last 25 years and originated from 14 plant species, and about half were from grapevines, stone fruit and pome fruit. The most commonly encountered species were B. australis (8 times), B. obtusa (7 times), B. parva (7 times) and B. dothidea (5 times). Botryosphaeria ribis was identified only once and B. lutea twice.
Morning surge in blood pressure as a predictor of silent and clinical cerebrovascular disease in elderly hypertensives.

To the Editor: We read with interest the paper by Kario et al,1 indicating that an excessive morning surge in blood pressure is a predictor of subsequent stroke in a sample population of elderly Japanese hypertensives. On one hand, the evident diurnal variation in the onset of many acute cardiovascular events, eg, myocardial infarction, angina, cardiac arrest, sudden death, and pulmonary embolism, is closely related to the circadian pattern of blood pressure.2 On the other, there is no doubt that hypertension plays a key role as a risk factor for cerebrovascular accidents. However, recent studies from our group found that patients with and without hypertension had the same 24-hour pattern of onset of both ischemic3 and hemorrhagic4 stroke, characterized by a morning peak. Moreover, other cardiovascular events, eg, acute aortic dissection, show an evident …
Evaluation of Myocardial Damage in Dogs with Heat Stroke

Twenty cases of heat stroke in dogs, observed during hot/hot humid months, were investigated for myocardial damage, if any, employing electrocardiography and estimation of cardiac troponin-I. Heat stroke in dogs was clinically characterized by sudden onset of hyperthermia (temperature > 107.0 °F) during hot/hot humid months, impaired consciousness, severe panting and associated symptoms. Their haemogram reflected thrombocytopenia and increased levels of haemoglobin, packed cell volume, total erythrocytes and total leucocytes. Electrocardiographic abnormalities such as sinus tachycardia (heart rate 240 to 320 beats per minutes), ventricular premature complexes (8–10 per minute), ventricular tachycardia (ventricular rate 180–220), ventricular fibrillations, and 3rd degree heart block associated with increased level of cardiac troponin-I (mean 3.34±1.11 ng/ml) suggested myocardial damage in the dogs with heat stroke.
Estrogen receptors in human nontarget tissues: biological and clinical implications.

I. Introduction THE idea to write this review began a number of years ago when one of us (D.R.C.) was working in Dr. William L. McGuire's laboratory in San Antonio, Texas,1 where we were involved in the study of estrogen receptor(s) (ER) and estrogen-regulated proteins in breast cancer. At that time ER were beginning to be identified in tissues not considered classic targets for estrogens. The idea of reviewing the literature on the presence of ER in nontarget tissues did not prosper because there were methodological problems that could give false positives for ER, such as those reported in melanomas (1). However, at that time ER could be detected by ligand binding assays. More than 10 yr have passed and the study of ER has been improved with the advent and widespread use of monoclonal antibodies against the receptor protein. The presence of ER has been described in numerous normal and pathological tissues using ligandbinding and immunochemical assays. In addition, ER have also been studied at the messeng.
α1-Antitrypsin insufficiency is a possible contributor to preterm premature rupture of membranes

Objective: α1-Antitrypsin (AAT) is protective of tissue damage induced by enzymes of inflammatory cell source. Inflammatory cells are involved in preterm labor, preterm premature rupture of membrane (PPROM) and term premature rupture of membrane (PROM). The purpose of this research was to examine whether plasma concentration and activity of AAT differ between these manifestations. Methods: In a prospective case control study, blood samples were assayed for AAT concentration and activity in 71 individuals. AAT concentration and activity were measured by standard methods. Results: No significant differences were found between AAT levels (p = 0.497) and activity (p = 0.879) in preterm and term labor. AAT levels and activity in PPROM and PROM were not significantly different as well (p = 0.748 and p = 0.880, respectively). While 69 out of 71 patients displayed normal circulating levels of AAT, 2 PPROM patients out of 15 had abnormally low, previously undiagnosed,AAT concentrations, and had subsequently developed complications that were absent in the other groups. Conclusions: No statistically significant differences were demonstrated in the levels of AAT between patients with preterm and term labor, nor between preterm and term PROM. Yet, unexpectedly, patients that had marked AAT deficiency belonged exclusively to the PPROM group.
Loss of Macroautophagy Promotes or Prevents Fibroblast Apoptosis Depending on the Death Stimulus*♦

Macroautophagy has been implicated as a mechanism of cell death. However, the relationship between this degradative pathway and cell death is unclear as macroautophagy has been shown recently to protect against apoptosis. To better define the interplay between these two critical cellular processes, we determined whether inhibition of macroautophagy could have both pro-apoptotic and anti-apoptotic effects in the same cell. Embryonic fibroblasts from mice with a knock-out of the essential macroautophagy gene atg5 were treated with activators of the extrinsic and intrinsic death pathways. Loss of macroautophagy sensitized these cells to caspase-dependent apoptosis from the death receptor ligands Fas and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). Atg5-/- mouse embryonic fibroblasts had increased activation of the mitochondrial death pathway in response to Fas/TNF-α in concert with decreased ATP levels. Fas/TNF-α treatment failed to up-regulate macroautophagy, and in fact, decreased activity at late time points. In contrast to their sensitization to Fas/TNF-α, Atg5-/- cells were resistant to death from menadione and UV light. In the absence of macroautophagy, an up-regulation of chaperone-mediated autophagy induced resistance to these stressors. These results demonstrate that inhibition of macroautophagy can promote or prevent apoptosis in the same cell and that the response is governed by the nature of the death stimulus and compensatory changes in other forms of autophagy. Experimental findings that an inhibition of macroautophagy blocks apoptosis do not prove that autophagy mediates cell death as this effect may result from the protective up-regulation of other autophagic pathways such as chaperone-mediated autophagy.
Different Levels of Sialyl-Tn Antigen Expressed on MUC16 in Patients With Endometriosis and Ovarian Cancer

Objective Although CA125 antigen is a useful marker for ovarian cancer, its expression is also elevated in endometriosis. The purpose of this study was to develop an assay method for evaluating differentially glycosylated MUC16 (CA125 core protein) in patients with endometriosis and ovarian cancer. Materials and Methods We prepared MUC16-enriched fractions from peritoneal fluid of patients with endometriosis and conditioned medium of ovarian carcinoma-3 cells by gel filtration, and evaluated the expression of sialyl-Lea, Tn, and sialyl-Tn antigens by dot blot analysis. A sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was developed to measure the level of sialyl-Tn antigen expressed on MUC16 (sTn/MUC16). The level of sTn/MUC16 was compared between patients with endometriosis (n = 21) and ovarian cancer (n = 36) and in ovarian cancers with different clinical diagnostic criteria. Furthermore, distribution of MUC16 and sialyl-Tn antigen in ovarian cancer tissues was observed immunohistochemically. Results Sialyl-Tn antigen was markedly detectable in the MUC16-enriched fractions from conditioned medium of ovarian carcinoma-3 cells but negligible in those from the peritoneal fluid of the patients with endometriosis. The level of sTn/MUC16 determined by a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was significantly higher in the patients with ovarian cancer than that in the patients with endometriosis (P < 0.001). An elevated level of sTn/MUC16 was detected in 44% of the patients with ovarian cancer but not all the patients with endometriosis. This level increased more prominently in the patients with ovarian cancer than that of MUC16 as both the clinical stage and cytological grade advanced. An elevated level of sTn/MUC16 was frequently found in the patients with serous and endometrioid carcinomas. Consistent with this, sialyl-Tn antigen was colocalized with MUC16 in serous and endometrioid ovarian cancer tissues. Conclusions Estimation of the sTn/MUC16 level may be useful for discriminating endometriosis from ovarian cancer and for evaluating the clinical stage, cytological grade, and histological type of ovarian cancer.
Glycogen synthase kinase‐3 negatively regulates anti‐inflammatory interleukin‐10 for lipopolysaccharide‐induced iNOS/NO biosynthesis and RANTES production in microglial cells

The inflammatory effects of glycogen synthase kinase‐3 (GSK‐3) have been identified; however, the potential mechanism is still controversial. In this study, we investigated the effects of GSK‐3‐mediated interleukin‐10 (IL‐10) inhibition on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)‐induced inflammation. Treatment with GSK‐3 inhibitor significantly blocked LPS‐induced nitric oxide (NO) production as well as inducible NO synthase (iNOS) expression in BV2 murine microglial cells and primary rat microglia‐enriched cultures. Using an antibody array and enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay, we found that GSK‐3‐inhibitor treatment blocked LPS‐induced upregulation of regulated on activation normal T‐cell expressed and secreted (RANTES) and increased IL‐10 expression. The time kinetics and dose–response relations were confirmed. Reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction showed changes on the messenger RNA level as well. Inhibiting GSK‐3 using short‐interference RNA, and transfecting cells with dominant‐negative GSK‐3β, blocked LPS‐elicited NO and RANTES expression but increased IL‐10 expression. In contrast, GSK‐3β overexpression upregulated NO and RANTES but downregulated IL‐10 in LPS‐stimulated cells. Treating cells with anti‐IL‐10 neutralizing antibodies to prevent GSK‐3 from downregulating NO and RANTES showed that the anti‐inflammatory effects are, at least in part, IL‐10‐dependent. The involvement of Akt, extracellular signal‐regulated kinase, p38 mitogen‐activated protein kinase and nuclear factor‐κB that positively regulated IL‐10 was demonstrated. Furthermore, inhibiting GSK‐3 increased the nuclear translocation of transcription factors, that all important for IL‐10 expression, including CCAAT/enhancer‐binding protein beat (C/EBPβ), C/EBPδ, cAMP response binding element protein and NF‐κB. Taken together, these findings reveal that LPS induces iNOS/NO biosynthesis and RANTES production through a mechanism involving GSK‐3‐mediated IL‐10 downregulation.
Socioeconomic inequalities in the distribution of dental caries in Brazilian preschool children.

OBJECTIVES This study assessed the inequality in caries distribution and the association between socioeconomic indicators and caries experience of preschool children in a city in Brazil. METHODS A cross-sectional study in a multistage random sample of 455, 1-5-year-old children was conducted on National Children's Vaccination Day in Santa Maria, Brazil. Calibrated examiners evaluated the prevalence of dental caries and parents provided information about several socioeconomic indicators by means of a semistructured questionnaire. Data were analyzed using Poisson regression model. RESULTS The caries prevalence was 23.5 percent and the means for the decayed, missing and filled primary teeth was 0.8. A high inequality in the caries distribution with Gini coefficient of 0.8 and Significant Caries Index of 2.8 was observed. The oldest children, non-white, with mothers having low level of education and from low household income had the highest prevalence of dental caries. CONCLUSION Socioeconomic factors are strong predictors for the inequality in caries distribution in Brazilian preschool children.