Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Unilateral extradural motor cortex stimulation is safe and improves Parkinson disease at 1 year.

BACKGROUND The primary motor cortex, which is part of the corticobasal ganglia loops, may be an alternative option for the surgical treatment of Parkinson disease. OBJECTIVE To report on the 1-year safety and efficacy of unilateral extradural motor cortex stimulation in Parkinson disease. METHODS A quadripolar electrode strip was extradurally implanted over the motor cortex. Stimulation was continuously delivered through the electrode paddle contralateral to the most affected clinical side. Subjects were prospectively evaluated by the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) and the Parkinson's Disease Quality of Life Questionnaire. In addition, an extensive cognitive and behavioral assessment and electroencephalogram recording were performed. RESULTS Nine patients were included in this study. No surgical complications or adverse events occurred. Moreover, no cognitive or behavioral changes were observed. Under the off-medication condition, the UPDRS III at baseline was decreased by 14.1%, 23.3%, 19.9%, and 13.2%, at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months, respectively. The motor effects were bilateral, appeared after 3 to 4 weeks of stimulation, and outlasted the stimulation itself for 3 to 4 weeks in 1 case of stimulator accidental switching off. The UPDRS IV was decreased by 40.8%, 42.1%, and 35.5% at 1, 3, and 12 months, respectively. The scores on the Parkinson's Disease Quality of Life Questionnaire were increased at months 3, 6, and 12. CONCLUSION Extradural motor cortex stimulation is a safe procedure. After 12 months, the patients demonstrated a moderate improvement of motor symptoms (particularly axial symptoms) and quality of life.
Effectiveness of acute postoperative pain management: I. Evidence from published data.

BACKGROUND This review examines the evidence from published data concerning the incidence of moderate-severe and of severe pain after major surgery, with three analgesic techniques; intramuscular (i.m.) analgesia, patient controlled analgesia (PCA), and epidural analgesia. METHODS A MEDLINE search of the literature was conducted for publications concerned with the management of postoperative pain. Over 800 original papers and reviews were identified. Of these 212 papers fulfilled the inclusion criteria but only 165 provided usable data on pain intensity and pain relief. Pooled data on pain scores obtained from these studies, which represent the experience of a total of nearly 20,000 patients, form the basis of this review. RESULTS Different pain measurement tools provided comparable data. When considering a mixture of three analgesic techniques, the overall mean (95% CI) incidence of moderate-severe pain and of severe pain was 29.7 (26.4-33.0)% and 10.9 (8.4-13.4)%, respectively. The overall mean (95% CI) incidence of poor pain relief and of fair-to-poor pain relief was 3.5 (2.4-4.6)% and 19.4 (16.4-22.3)%, respectively. For i.m. analgesia the incidence of moderate-severe pain was 67.2 (58.1-76.2)% and that of severe pain was 29.1 (18.8-39.4)%. For PCA, the incidence of moderate-severe pain was 35.8 (31.4-40.2)% and that of severe pain was 10.4 (8.0-12.8)%. For epidural analgesia the incidence of moderate-severe pain was 20.9 (17.8-24.0)% and that of severe pain was 7.8 (6.1-9.5)%. The incidence of premature catheter dislodgement was 5.7 (4.0-7.4)%. Over the period 1973-1999 there has been a highly significant (P < 0.0001) reduction in the incidence of moderate-severe pain of 1.9 (1.1-2.7)% per year. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that the UK Audit Commission (1997) proposed standards of care might be unachievable using current analgesic techniques. The data may be useful in setting standards of care for Acute Pain Services.
Electrical impedance myography correlates with standard measures of Als severity

Introduction: Electrical impedance myography (EIM) can be used to assess amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) progression. The relationship between EIM values and standard assessment measures, however, is unknown. Methods: EIM 50 kHz phase data from 60 subjects who participated in a longitudinal natural history study of ALS were correlated with handheld dynamometry (HHD), the ALS Functional Rating Scale‐Revised (ALSFRS‐R) score, and motor unit number estimation (MUNE). Results: Moderate strength correlations between EIM parameters and HHD were observed for both whole‐body and individual upper and lower extremity values. Similarly, moderate strength correlations were observed between EIM and ALSFRS‐R upper and lower extremity subscores, but not total ALSFRS‐R scores. MUNE correlated significantly with single muscle EIM data but not with whole body or upper or lower extremity values. Conclusions: These results support the concept that EIM can serve as a meaningful measure of disease severity in ALS. Muscle Nerve 49:441–443, 2014
IgE cross reactivity between reindeer and bovine milk beta-lactoglobulins in cow's milk allergic patients.

BACKGROUND Allergic reactions to cow's milk are common in small children. One of the main protein allergens found in cow's milk is beta-lactoglobulin (beta-Lg). Reindeer and bovine milk both contain related beta-Lg proteins, but the allergenicity of reindeer beta-Lg has not previously been studied. The purpose of this study was to analyze the immunological cross-reactivity of IgE antibodies from children with cow's milk allergy to reindeer and bovine beta-Lg. METHODS Sera from 17 children and a serum pool of 4 patients with elevated cow's milk-specific IgE were investigated. Beta-Lg from bovine and reindeer milk was isolated in native form and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent inhibition assay was developed. Bovine beta-Lg was used as a capturing antigen and the inhibiting effects of reindeer and bovine beta-Lg on the IgE binding were measured. RESULTS Cross-reactivity patterns of bovine milk beta-Lg specific IgE to reindeer beta-Lg varied among patients. In general, reindeer beta-Lg showed significantly lower inhibition (mean 43%) of IgE binding to the capturing antigen than did bovine beta-Lg (mean 89%). In some patients, even high concentrations of reindeer beta-Lg only partly eliminated the IgE binding to bovine beta-Lg. CONCLUSIONS The partial cross-reactivity of human anti-bovine IgE with reindeer beta-Lg suggests that it lacks important bovine epitopes and those that are recognized are only weakly bound.
Leptin Action in Intestinal Cells*

The adipocyte hormone leptin activates signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) in the hypothalamus, mediating increased satiety and increased energy expenditure. To date, leptin-mediated activation of the STAT pathwayin vivo has not been established in tissues other than hypothalamus. We now describe leptin receptor expression and in vivo signaling in discrete regions of the mouse gastrointestinal tract. Expression of the functional isoform leptin receptor (OB-Rb) is restricted to the jejunum and is readily detected by RT-PCR in isolated enterocytes from this site. Intravenous injection of leptin rapidly induced nuclear STAT5 DNA binding activity in jejunum of +/+ and obese (ob/ob) mice but had no effect in the diabetic (db/db) mouse that lacks the OB-Rb isoform. In addition, an induction of the immediate-early gene c-fos is observed in jejunum in vivo. Leptin-mediated induction of a number of immediate-early genes and activation of STAT3 and STAT5 in a human model of small intestine epithelium, CACO-2 cells, corroborate this effect. Furthermore, intravenous leptin administration caused a significant 2-fold reduction in the apolipoprotein AIV transcript levels in jejunum 90 min after a fat load. Our results suggest that the epithelium of jejunum is a direct target of leptin action, and this activity is dependent on the presence of OB-Rb. Lack of leptin or resistance to leptin action in this site may contribute to obesity and its related syndromes by directly affecting lipid handling.
[Risk factor of intestinal colonization with vancomycin resistant Enterococcus spp in hospitalized pediatric patients with oncological disease].

BACKGROUND The isolation of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus spp (ERV) has increased significantly within the last few years, along with the risk of infection and dissemination of these bacteria. Our aim was to determine risk factors (RF) for intestinal colonization in hospitalized pediatric patients with oncological disease at Hospital de Niños Roberto del Río. METHODS Between January 2012 and December 2013 a transversal study was performed with 107 rectal swabs and processed with a PCR for ERV. The patients were classified as "colonized with ERV" and "not colonized with ERV" and we evaluated possible RF for intestinal colonization in both groups. RESULTS VRE colonization was found in 51 patients (52%). The median of time elapsed between oncological diagnosis and VRE colonization was 35 days. The significant RF associated with VRE colonization were days of hospitalization prior to study, neutropenia and treatment with antibiotics within 30 days prior to study and mucositis. CONCLUSIONS According to the RF revealed in this study we may suggest prevention standards to avoid ERV colonization. This is the first investigation in our country in hospitalized pediatric patients with oncological disease and processed with a multiplex PCR for ERV, therefore it is a great contribution about this subject in Chile.
Adeno-associated virus vectors transduce primary cells much less efficiently than immortalized cells

Immortalized cell lines have been used to study infection and replication of adeno-associated virus (AAV) in culture, but primary cells presumably provide a better model for AAV behavior in animals. Here, we have evaluated the ability of AAV vectors to transduce primary and immortalized strains of human epithelial cells and fibroblasts. Two AAV vectors were used, one that transduced an alkaline phosphatase gene (AAV-LAPSN), and one that transduced a beta-galactosidase/neomycin phosphotransferase fusion gene (AAV-L beta geo). The transduction efficiency of the AAV-LAPSN vector, quantitated by measurement of alkaline phosphatase-positive cell foci following infection, was 10 to 60 times greater in immortalized human cells than in primary cells, and total alkaline phosphatase activity in cell lysates was 40 to 50 times greater in immortalized cells. The AAV-L beta geo vector gave similar results. In contrast, the transduction efficiency of a retrovirus vector encoding alkaline phosphatase was equivalent in primary and immortalized cells. Analysis of the quantity and state of the AAV vector genomes in cells showed that primary and immortalized cells contained comparable numbers of vector copies per cell and that the vast majority of vector DNA was not integrated into the cell genome. Additionally, the level of AAV vector-derived message paralleled the transduction efficiency. These results indicate that the block to functional transduction in primary cells occurred after virus entry and limited the abundance of vector-derived message. Data from AAV transduction in cultures of human cells containing immortalizing genes suggest that cellular changes secondary to the introduction of immortalizing genes increased permissiveness for transduction by AAV vectors. In summary, our data demonstrate that AAV vectors transduce primary human cells much less efficiently than immortalized cells and indicate the importance of using primary cells to evaluate AAV vectors for gene therapy applications.
Airborne Methylene Diphenyl Diisocyanate (MDI) Concentrations Associated with the Application of Polyurethane Spray Foam in Residential Construction

The primary objectives of this study were (a) to measure potential exposures of applicators and assistants to airborne methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI), (b) to measure airborne concentrations of MDI at various distances from the spray foam application, and (c) to measure airborne MDI concentrations as a function of time elapsed since application. Other study objectives were, (a) to compare the results from filter and impinger samples; (b) to determine the particle size distribution in the spray foam aerosol; (c) to determine potential exposures to dichlorofluoroethane; and (d) to measure any off-gassing of MDI after the foam had fully cured. This study was conducted during application of spray polyurethane foam inside five single-family homes under construction in the United States and Canada. Spray foam applicators and assistants may be exposed to airborne MDI concentrations above the OSHA permissible exposure limit. At these concentrations, OSHA recommends appropriate respiratory protection during spray foam application to prevent airborne MDI exposures above established limits and to protect against exposure to dichlorofluoroethane (HCFC-141b). Airborne MDI concentrations decrease rapidly after foam application ceases. The highest airborne concentrations measured after 15 min and 45 min were 0.019 mg/m3 and 0.003 mg/m3, respectively. After 45 min, airborne concentrations were below the limit of quantitation (LOQ) of 0.036-μ g per sample. For samples taken 24 hours after completion of foaming, results were also below the LOQ. Approximately two-thirds of the total mass of the airborne particles in the spray foam aerosol was greater than 3.5 microns in diameter. Airborne MDI concentrations determined by filter sampling methods were 6% to 40% lower than those determined by impinger methods.
Modifying Role of GSTP1 Polymorphism on the Association between Tea Fluoride Exposure and the Brick-Tea Type Fluorosis

Background Brick tea type fluorosis is a public health concern in the north-west area of China. The association between SNPs of genes influencing bone mass and fluorosis has attracted attention, but the association of SNPs with the risk of brick-tea type of fluorosis has not been reported. Objective To investigate the modifying roles of GSTP1 rs1695 polymorphisms on this association. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted. Brick-tea water was tested by the standard of GB1996-2005 (China). Urinary fluoride was tested by the standard of WS/T 89-2006 (China). Skeletal fluorosis was diagnosed by X-ray, the part we scheduled was forearm, shank, and pelvic, then diagnosed the skeletal fluorosis by the standard of WS/192-2008 (China). Gene polymorphism was tested by Sequenom MassARRAY system. Result The prevalence rate in different ethnical participants was different: Tibetan individuals had the highest prevalence rate of skeletal fluorosis. There were significant differences in genotype frequencies of GSTP1 Rs1695 among different ethnical participants (p<0.001): Tibetan, Mongolian and Han subjects with homozygous wild type (GSTP1-AA) genotype were numerically higher than Kazakh and Russian subjects (p<0.001). Compared to Tibetan participants who carried homozygous A allele of GSTP1 Rs1695, Tibetan participants who carried G allele had a significantly decreased risk of skeletal fluorosis (OR = 0.558 [95% CI, 0.326-0.955]). For Kazakh participants, a decreased risk of skeletal fluorosis among carriers of the G allele was limited to non high-loaded fluoride status (OR = 0. 166 [95% CI, 0.035–0.780] vs. OR = 1.478 [95% CI, 0.866–2.552] in participants with high-loaded fluoride status). Neither SNP-IF nor SNP-age for GSTP1 Rs1695 was observed. Conclusion The prevalence rate of the brick tea type fluorosis might have ethnic difference. For Tibetan individuals, who had the highest prevalence rate, G allele of GSTP1 Rs1695 might be a protective factor for brick tea type skeletal fluorosis.
Role of flagella in adherence, internalization, and translocation of Campylobacter jejuni in nonpolarized and polarized epithelial cell cultures

Previous studies of Campylobacter jejuni have suggested that flagellin is an adhesin for epithelial cells and that motility is a virulence factor of this bacterium. The role of flagella in the interactions of C. jejuni with nonpolarized and polarized epithelial cells was examined with flagellar mutants. Flagellated, nonmotile (flaA flaB+ Mot-) and nonflagellated, nonmotile (flaA flaB Mot-) mutants of C. jejuni were constructed by in vivo homologous recombination and gene replacement techniques. Both classes of mutants were found to adhere to cells of human epithelial origin (INT 407) equally well; however, on the basis of the percentage of the inoculum internalized, internalization of the flaA flaB Mot- mutants was decreased by factors ranging from approximately 30 to 40 compared with the parent. The flaA flaB+ Mot- mutant was internalized by the INT 407 cells at levels six- to sevenfold higher than the flaA flaB Mot- mutants. Both classes of mutants, unlike the parent, were unable to translocate across polarized Caco-2 monolayers. These results indicate that flagella are not involved in C. jejuni adherence to epithelial cells but that they do play a role in internalization. Furthermore, the results suggest that either the motility of C. jejuni or the product of flaA is essential for the bacterium to cross polarized epithelial cell monolayers.
Incidence of chemotherapy-induced neutropenia in HIV-infected and uninfected patients with breast cancer receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

BACKGROUND Chemotherapy-induced neutropenia (CIN) can result in poor tolerance of chemotherapy, leading to dose reductions, delays in therapy schedules, morbidity and mortality. Actively identifying predisposing risk factors before treatment is of paramount importance. We hypothesised that chemotherapy is associated with a greater increase in CIN and its complications in HIV-infected patients than in those who are not infected. OBJECTIVE To establish the incidence of CIN in HIV-infected and uninfected patients undergoing chemotherapy. METHODS A retrospective chart review and analysis was conducted in the oncology departments at Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital and Addington Hospital, Durban, South Africa. The study population consisted of 65 previously untreated women of all ages with stage II - IV breast cancer and known HIV status treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy from January 2012 to December 2015. RESULTS HIV-infected patients formed 32.3% of the group, and 95.2% of them were on antiretroviral therapy. The mean age (standard deviation (SD)) of the cohort was 48.5 (13.2) years (40.6 (9.6) years for the HIV-infected group v. 52.0 (13.1) years for the uninfected group; p<0.001). Ninety-five neutropenia episodes were observed (rate 0.85 per 1 year of follow-up time). Following multivariate adjustment, patients with HIV infection were almost two times more likely to develop CIN (hazard ratio (HR) 1.76, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.06 - 2.92; p=0.029. A high baseline absolute neutrophil count (ANC) (HR 0.80, 95% CI 0.68 - 0.95; p=0.005) remained significantly associated with protection against CIN. CONCLUSIONS HIV-infected patients were younger than those who were not infected, and presented at a more locally advanced stage of disease. HIV infection was an independent predictor for CIN. HIV-infected patients had an almost two-fold increased risk of developing CIN and developed neutropenia at a much faster rate. A high baseline white cell count and ANC were protective against CIN.
[Endogenous neuregulin-1 expression in the anterior pituitary of female Wistar-Furth rats during the estrous cycle].

OBJECTIVE To study the changes in endogenous neuregulin-1 (Nrg1) expression in the anterior pituitary of female Wistar-Furth rats in different phases of the estrous cycle. METHODS Female Wistar-Furth rats during estrous cycles were used. RT-PCR was employed to study the changes in the expression of Nrg1 isoforms and their cognate receptors ErbB-2 and ErbB-4 in the anterior pituitary in different phases of the estrous cycle. Western blotting was used to detect Nrg1 expression at the protein level. Immunofluorescence staining was used to identify hypophyseal cells expressing Nrg1 and observe the localization and distribution of Nrg1 and functional phosphorylation of ErbB-4. The co-expression of Nrg1 and ErbB-4 in the anterior pituitary of Rhesus monkey was also investigated. RESULTS Some of the Nrg1 isoforms, especially type III Nrg1s, were expressed at a higher level during the estrous cycle I (E1) and estrous cycle II (E2), a result consistent with that of Western blotting for samples of the anterior pituitaries collected at these phases. Immunofluorescence staining identified the gonadotrophs as the main source of Nrg1, and showed an extensive distribution of Nrg1 in the anterior pituitary in E1 and E2 phases accompanied by apparent phosphorylated activation of ErbB-4. Adjacent distribution of Nrg1- and ErbB-4-positive cells was also observed in the anterior pituitary of male Rhesus monkeys. CONCLUSION Our results provide evidence for the expression of multiple Nrg1 isoforms and the presence of Nrg1/ErbB-4 signaling in the anterior pituitary of female Wistar-Furth rats. This signaling demonstrates an estrous cycle phase-related pattern. Additionally, Nrg1/ErbB-4-based juxtacrine signaling may exist in the anterior pituitary of male non-human primate.
Conditional Random Fields for Multitemporal and Multiscale Classification of Optical Satellite Imagery

In this paper, we present a method for the multitemporal and contextual classification of georeferenced optical remote sensing images acquired at different epochs and having different geometrical resolutions. The method is based on Conditional Random Fields (CRFs) for contextual classification. The CRF model is expanded by temporal interaction terms that link neighboring epochs via transition probabilities between different classes. In order to be able to deal with data of different resolution, the class structure at different epochs may vary with the resolution. The goal of the multitemporal classification is an improved classification performance at all individual epochs, but also the detection of land-cover changes, possibly using lower resolution data. This paper also contains a comparison of the performance of different models for the interaction potentials. Results are given for two different test sites in Germany, where Ikonos, RapidEye, and Landsat images are available. Our results show that the multitemporal classification does indeed increase the overall accuracy of all epochs compared to a monotemporal classification and to a state-of-the-art multitemporal classification method, and that it is feasible to detect changes in lower resolution images.
Alpha-1 adrenergic regulation of lactate production by white adipocytes.

The production of lactate from glucose and lactate release have recently been recognized as a novel function of adipose tissue. It has been demonstrated that catecholamines are able to induce lactate production; nevertheless, the adrenoceptor subtype involved has not yet been clearly identified. We studied the adrenergic regulation of lactate production by epididymal adipocytes. We showed that lactate production was enhanced by noradrenaline (a nonselective adrenergic agonist) and phenylephrine (an alpha-1 adrenergic agonist). On the other hand, isoproterenol (a nonselective beta agonist) and UK 14304 (an alpha-2-adrenergic agonist) did not stimulate glycolysis. Moreover, we observed that the maximal glycolysis induced by 10(-7) M phenylephrine was not significantly different from the maximal lactate production induced by 10(-5) M norepinephrine (0.43 +/- 0.03 vs. 0.39 micromol lactate/10(6) cells. 15 min.). The sensitivity of adipocytes to glycolytic stimulation by catecholamines was much higher for phenylephrine (pD2 = 9.66 +/- 2.30) than for norepinephrine (pD2 = 7.35 +/- 0.113, P < .05). Finally, the stimulation of lactate production by norepinephrine was totally inhibited by the presence of prazosin (10(-6)M) in the incubation medium. Our findings suggest that lactate production by epididymal adipocytes is under the control of alpha-1 adrenoceptors.