Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
'Congenital' hydronephrosis: limitations of diagnosis by fetal ultrasonography.

OBJECTIVE To determine whether children presenting clinically with pelvi-ureteric junction obstruction had fetal hydronephrosis. PATIENTS AND METHODS Forty-three children, born during or after 1985, presented clinically with pelvi-ureteric junction obstruction. Records of the maternal pregnancies were reviewed with reference to the findings of any fetal ultrasonography. RESULTS In 25 patients fetal ultrasonography was performed at or beyond 30 weeks' gestation (mean 33.2). None had significant fetal hydronephrosis. CONCLUSION Hydronephrosis due to pelvi-ureteric obstruction is not necessarily congenital and patients presenting clinically may differ inherently from those detected fetally.
A Threshold of Systemic MAGE-A Gene Expression Predicting Survival in Resected Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer

Purpose: Quantitative measurement of minimal residual disease predicting recurrence in individual cancer patients is available only in very few indications, such as acute lymphoblastic leukemia, but is still missing in most solid tumors, including non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Experimental Design: MAGE-A expression levels in blood and bone marrow determined as calibrator-normalized relative ratios by quantitative multimarker real-time RT-PCR for transcript amplification of MAGE-A1, -A2, -A3/6, -A4, -A10, and -A12 in 94 patients with completely resected NSCLC were correlated with survival in a clinical study. Results: Patients with MAGE-A expression levels ≥0.2 in at least one sample of bone marrow or blood at tumor surgery had a significantly reduced overall (P = 0.007), cancer-free (P = 0.002), and distant metastasis–free survival (P < 0.001) versus patients below 0.2 in all samples without significant difference in locoregional recurrence–free survival. The corresponding HRs (≥0.2 vs. <0.2) for death, cancer-related death, and development of distant metastasis were 2.56 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.42–4.63], 3.32 (95% CI, 1.66–6.61), and 4.03 (95% CI, 1.77–9.18), respectively. Five-year Kaplan–Meier estimates of distant metastasis–free survival were 43% (MAGE-A ≥ 0.2) versus 87% (MAGE-A < 0.2). Conclusions: MAGE-A expression in blood or bone marrow at tumor surgery is an independent predictor of survival in resected NSCLC. The reliable prediction of distant metastasis in individual patients with a statistically proven impact on overall survival may help to refine patient selection for adjuvant therapy urgently needed, especially in the clinical management of elderly patients. Clin Cancer Res; 23(5); 1213–9. ©2016 AACR.
Intranasal immunization with CTL epitope peptides from HIV-1 or ovalbumin and the mucosal adjuvant cholera toxin induces peptide-specific CTLs and protection against tumor development in vivo.

To evaluate the ability of mucosal immunization protocols using peptide immunogens to induce CTL responses, BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice were immunized intranasally (i.n.) with peptides corresponding to a known CTL epitope in HIV-1 glycoprotein 120 or OVA, respectively, and the mucosal adjuvant cholera toxin (CT). Intranasal immunization of BALB/c mice with a 10- or 15-amino acid peptide corresponding to a CTL determinant in HIV-1 glycoprotein 120 and CT induced peptide-specific CTLs in spleen cells that persisted through 35 days after the last immunization. Intranasal immunization of C57BL/6 mice with the octameric OVA peptide and CT produced similar results with detectable peptide-specific CTL in both the cervical lymph node and spleen. To test whether CTL induced by i.n. immunization with OVA peptide and CT were functional in vivo, groups of C57BL/6 mice were injected with E.G7-OVA tumor cells that express the OVA protein and monitored for tumor growth. Animals immunized i.n. with OVA and CT were protected against tumor development as efficiently as animals immunized by the potent CTL induction protocol of i.v. injection with OVA-pulsed dendritic cells. Intranasal immunization with peptides corresponding to known CTL epitopes and CT provides a noninvasive route of immunization for the induction of CTL responses in vivo.
Undiagnosed diabetes—data from the English longitudinal study of ageing

Aims Diabetes UK estimates a quarter of UK cases of diabetes are undiagnosed; 750 000 people have undiagnosed diabetes in addition to 2.25 million with known diabetes, but research studies examining this are contradictory. The aim was to determine the prevalence of, and risk factors for, undiagnosed diabetes in the population of England aged > 50 years and to calculate the percentage of cases of undiagnosed diabetes.
The role of diencephalic pathology in human memory disorder. Evidence from a penetrating paranasal brain injury.

A patient (B.J.) is reported who developed severe memory impairment following a penetrating brain injury caused by a snooker cue which entered through his left nostril into the basal regions of the brain. Initially, his memory disorder had the clinical features of a dense amnesic syndrome, with both anterograde and retrograde amnesia, but B.J. subsequently showed significant recovery of memory function. Formal memory testing was carried out 21 months after injury. This demonstrated marked verbal memory impairment, as severe as that seen in patients with the amnesic syndrome. On nonverbal memory tests, his impairment was relatively mild and patchy. His retrograde amnesia had regressed mainly to affect a 6 month period before the injury. On other cognitive tasks, he performed at an average or above average level, and there was no neuropsychological evidence of frontal lobe dysfunction. Neuroradiological investigations at various stages after his injury failed to demonstrate a lesion in any of the thalamic nuclei. Magnetic resonance imaging showed a lesion in the hypothalamus in the region of the mamillary bodies. Our study demonstrates that marked, relatively focal, memory disorder after diencephalic injury can occur without direct pathology to the body of the thalamus. It also indicates that structures in or adjacent to the hypothalamus, such as the mamillary bodies, may play a more important role in human memory functioning than has hitherto been considered.
Isolated Sphenoid Sinus Disease: An Analysis of 132 Cases

Solitary involvement of the sphenoid sinus is a relatively uncommon entity. A series of 132 patients with isolated sphenoid disease accumulated over a 22‐year period is reported. A retrospective chart review was performed with special attention to the patients' presenting signs, symptoms, and radiographic findings. There were 80 patients with inflammatory disease, 38 with neoplasms, four with fibroosseous disorders, and 10 with traumatic and developmental lesions. The most common presenting symptom was headache, followed by visual changes and cranial nerve palsies. Cranial nerve abnormalities were encountered in 12% of the inflammatory cases, 60% of the benign tumors, and 57% of the malignant tumors. Radiographically, bone remodeling was associated with chronic inflammatory disease, especially mucoceles. Bone erosion was found principally with neoplastic disease, occurring rarely with mucoceles. Extension was associated with malignant tumors.
Infrared spectroscopy in the gas and liquid phase from first principle molecular dynamics simulations: application to small peptides

We discuss the applicability of finite temperature Car–Parrinello molecular dynamics simulations for the calculation of infrared spectra of complex molecular systems, either in the gas phase or in the condensed phase, taking examples from the infrared spectroscopy of N-methylacetamide and small peptides. Band assignments for the simulation is still challenging and we introduce here a general method for obtaining effective normal modes of molecular systems from Molecular Dynamics simulations. The effective normal modes are defined as a linear combination of internal coordinates such that the power spectra of these modes are as localized as possible in frequency. We further define band intensities for these modes from different levels of approximation of the infrared spectrum. Applications of this approach for assigning infrared bands from first-principle molecular dynamics simulations are presented for N-methylacetamide in gas phase and in solution, for the gas phase alanine dipeptide and the gas phase octa-alanine peptide.
Effects of postmortem temperature on the physicochemical characteristics of prerigor Pekin duck breast muscles.

The effects of postmortem (PM) temperature on prerigor Pekin duck breast muscle quality were assessed. Breast meat was obtained from 90 ducks within 15 min PM and then divided into 3 storage temperature groups at 0, 15, and 30°C for 24 h PM. Results revealed that the meat stored at 0°C had a higher pH value than that stored at 30°C. The R-value tended to increase between 15 min, 2 h, and 24 h PM, whereas the water-holding capacity decreased significantly (P < 0.05) with increasing storage time. The drip loss of treatment in meat stored at 30°C was higher than in those stored at 0 and 15°C. As storage periods increased, cooking loss of meat stored at each temperature increased significantly (P < 0.05) at 2 h, but storage temperature does not affect cooking loss of duck breast muscle. The shear force of breast meat at 24 h PM had the lowest value, but meat stored at 30°C increased at 2 h and decreased at 24 h PM. Meat stored at 15°C showed a longer sarcomere length than meat stored at 0 and 30°C. The rate of muscle shortening was high during the 2 h PM for meat at the 3 temperatures. It is concluded that the different temperatures in the range of 0 to 30°C affected the muscle shortening or meat quality of the duck breast meat.
Dynamic networks reveal key players in aging

Motivation: Because susceptibility to diseases increases with age, studying aging gains importance. Analyses of gene expression or sequence data, which have been indispensable for investigating aging, have been limited to studying genes and their protein products in isolation, ignoring their connectivities. However, proteins function by interacting with other proteins, and this is exactly what biological networks (BNs) model. Thus, analyzing the proteins' BN topologies could contribute to the understanding of aging. Current methods for analyzing systems-level BNs deal with their static representations, even though cells are dynamic. For this reason, and because different data types can give complementary biological insights, we integrate current static BNs with aging-related gene expression data to construct dynamic age-specific BNs. Then, we apply sensitive measures of topology to the dynamic BNs to study cellular changes with age. Results: While global BN topologies do not significantly change with age, local topologies of a number of genes do. We predict such genes to be aging-related. We demonstrate credibility of our predictions by 1) observing significant overlap between our predicted aging-related genes and "ground truth" aging-related genes; 2) observing significant overlap between functions and diseases that are enriched in our aging-related predictions and those that are enriched in "ground truth" aging-related data; 3) providing evidence that diseases which are enriched in our aging-related predictions are linked to human aging; and 4) validating our high-scoring novel predictions in the literature. This work was published in Bioinformatics [1].
Phacoemulsification for cataract following pars plana vitrectomy.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE To determine if the technical aspects of phacoemulsification for removal of cataract following pars plana vitrectomy differ from those of phacoemulsification for removal of cataract in nonvitrectomized eyes. PATIENTS AND METHODS Twenty-two eyes that had undergone prior vitrectomy were identified through a retrospective review of chart notes and operative records of 1039 consecutive cataract extractions performed by one surgeon. RESULTS Complications of proliferative diabetic retinopathy was the most common indication for prior vitrectomy. The predominant lens change was nuclear sclerosis. Deep anterior chambers with large anterior to posterior excursions of the iris lens diaphragm with simultaneous fluctuation in pupil size occurred during phacoemulsification. The posterior capsule was flaccid and mobile during lens cortex removal. No posterior capsules ruptured. Postoperative visual acuity improved in 91% of the patients. CONCLUSIONS Prior vitrectomy was associated with diabetes and nuclear sclerotic cataract. Phacoemulsification in this patient population was associated with inadequate pupillary mydriasis, superior conjunctival scarring, intraoperative anterior chamber depth, pupil size, and iris lens excursions that hindered phacoemulsification tip placement. Posterior capsules were excessively flaccid, prone to rapid anterior and posterior excursions, and may have plaques that are resistant to intraoperative removal.
Properties of coxsackievirus B3 variants which are amyocarditic or myocarditic for mice

Inoculation of adolescent CD‐1 mice with one variant of coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3m) results in induction of readily observable myocardial lesions, whereas inoculation of siblings with a second variant (CVB3o) results in little or no myocarditis. These variants could not be distinguished from each other on the basis of replication properties in HeLa cells or cardiac tissues in vivo, sensitivity to human interferon in HeLa cells, induction of interferon in the mouse, generation of detectable levels of defective‐interfering particles in HeLa cells or in cardiac tissue in vivo, stimulation of serum‐neutralizing antibody titers, nor in their rate of clearance by the spleen. Infectivity of CVB3o was slightly more heat labile at 34oC than CVB3m. Little if any replication of either CVB3o or CVB3m occurred in either adherent or nonadherent populations of normal murine lymphoid cells. Cardiac tissues from mice inoculated with CVB3m but not CVB3o contain new antigens that can inhibit migration of sensitized lymphocytes from CVB3m ‐immunized mice in an in vitro cell‐migrationinhibition assay. However, the CVB3o variant was shown to have the genetic capability of inducing myocarditis if the mice were treated with cyclophosphamide prior to virus inoculation. These results suggest, in agreement with our previously published work, that induction of myocarditis by CVB3 requires destruction of myocytes by virus and subsequent stimulation of cell‐mediated responses to new antigens produced in the myocardium during virus replication.
Implementing Family-Integrated Care in the NICU: A Parent Education and Support Program

The purpose of this study was to develop, implement, and evaluate a parent education and support program that enhances family-integrated care in a Canadian neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). A total of 39 mothers of infants born at 35 or fewer weeks' gestation were enrolled in the pilot program. We examined the development, implementation, and qualitative assessment of the education component of a family-integrated care program. We enrolled in groups of 4 or 5, the study mothers agreed to attend daily educational sessions, provide care for their infants for at least 8 hours daily, and participate in medical rounds. The educational sessions were provided by staff and veteran parents to assist parents' development of confidence in providing caregiving skills and assuming the role of a primary caregiver for their infants as they moved closer to discharge. Effectiveness of the program was evaluated through anecdotal feedback and a formal evaluation process at discharge. The results indicated that the mothers were provided with the tools to parent their infants in the NICU, recognize their own strengths, increase their problem-solving strategies, and emotionally prepare them to take their infant home. Feedback from the participants provided direction to adapt the program to provide optimal parent support and education. Parental education is a valued and vital component of family-integrated care in the NICU.
Cervical epidural injections in chronic discogenic neck pain without disc herniation or radiculitis: preliminary results of a randomized, double-blind, controlled trial.

BACKGROUND Chronic neck pain is a common problem in the adult population with a typical 12-month prevalence of 30% to 50%. However, there is a lack of consensus regarding the causes and treatments of chronic neck pain. Despite limited evidence, cervical epidural injections are one of the commonly performed non-surgical interventions in the management of chronic neck pain. STUDY DESIGN A randomized, double-blind, active control trial. SETTING An interventional pain management practice, a specialty referral center, a private practice setting in the United States. OBJECTIVES To evaluate the effectiveness of cervical interlaminar epidural injections with local anesthetic with or without steroids in the management of chronic neck pain with or without upper extremity pain in patients without disc herniation or radiculitis or facet joint pain. METHODS Patients without disc herniation or radiculitis and negative for facet joint pain by means of controlled diagnostic medial branch blocks were randomly assigned to one of 2 groups: injection of local anesthetic only or local anesthetic mixed with non-particulate betamethasone. Seventy patients were included in this analysis. Randomization was performed by computer-generated random allocation sequence by simple randomization. OUTCOMES ASSESSMENT Multiple outcome measures were utilized including the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), the Neck Disability Index (NDI), employment status, and opioid intake with assessment at 3, 6, and 12 months post-treatment. Significant pain relief or functional status was defined as a 50% or more reduction. RESULTS Significant pain relief (> or = 50%) was demonstrated in 80% of patients in both groups and functional status improvement (> or = 50%) in 69% of Group I and 80% of Group II. The overall average procedures per year were 3.9 +/- 1.01 in Group I and 3.9 +/- 0.8 in Group II with an average total relief per year of 40.3 +/- 14.1 weeks in Group I and 42.1 +/- 9.9 weeks in Group II over a period of 52 weeks in the successful group. LIMITATIONS The results of this study are limited by the lack of a placebo group and a preliminary report of 70 patients, with 35 patients in each group. CONCLUSION Cervical interlaminar epidural injections with local anesthetic with or without steroids may be effective in patients with chronic function-limiting discogenic.
Combinaison de la modélisation biophysique et de marquages isotopiques pour estimer la connectivité démographique des populations marines : application à Dascyllus aruanus dans le lagon sud-ouest de Nouvelle-Calédonie

Comprendre la dynamique des populations marines est essentiel a une gestion efficaceet requiert des connaissances sur la dispersion et la connectivite entre populationsqui sont encore tres lacunaires. Beaucoup d’organismes marins ont un cycle de viebipartite avec une phase larvaire pelagique qui represente souvent la seule possibilitede dispersion. De nouvelles techniques de mesure de la dispersion larvaire, parmarquage ou modelisation, ont ete developpees durant ces quinze dernieres annees.Cependant, les resultats de ces deux types d’approches ont rarement ete comparesau sein d’un meme systeme marin, limitant l’utilisation des modeles de dispersiondans les modeles de metapopulation. Dans cette these, nous utilisons ces deux typesd’approches pour etudier la connectivite larvaire d’un poisson de recif corallien,Dascyllus aruanus, dans le lagon sud-ouest de Nouvelle-Caledonie. Notre modele dedispersion montre que la retention larvaire presente une variabilite temporelle eleveea l’echelle lagonaire et a l’echelle d’un patch de recif, et atteint periodiquement desvaleurs elevees malgre des temps moyens de residence courts. Le marquage artificieltransgenerationnel des otolithes montre des taux d’auto-recrutement relativementbas a l’echelle de la saison reproductive, suggerant une ouverture importante despopulations, et une variabilite temporelle considerable de l’auto-recrutement. Enfin,les grandes differences entre les resultats du modele et ceux des marquages appuientle besoin de mieux comprendre les processus qui facilitent la retention larvaire commeles comportements de homing et la circulation des courants a tres petite echelle.
A Lichnerowicz estimate for the first eigenvalue of convex domains in Kähler manifolds

In this article, we prove a Lichnerowicz estimate for a compact convex domain of a Kahler manifold whose Ricci curvature satisfies $\Ric \ge k$ for some constant $k>0$. When equality is achieved, the boundary of the domain is totally geodesic and there exists a nontrivial holomorphic vector field. We show that a ball of sufficiently large radius in complex projective space provides an example of a strongly pseudoconvex domain which is not convex, and for which the Lichnerowicz estimate fails.
PhiReX: a programmable and red light-regulated protein expression switch for yeast

Highly regulated induction systems enabling dose-dependent and reversible fine-tuning of protein expression output are beneficial for engineering complex biosynthetic pathways. To address this, we developed PhiReX, a novel red/far-red light-regulated protein expression system for use in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. PhiReX is based on the combination of a customizable synTALE DNA-binding domain, the VP64 activation domain and the light-sensitive dimerization of the photoreceptor PhyB and its interacting partner PIF3 from Arabidopsis thaliana. Robust gene expression and high protein levels are achieved by combining genome integrated red light-sensing components with an episomal high-copy reporter construct. The gene of interest as well as the synTALE DNA-binding domain can be easily exchanged, allowing the flexible regulation of any desired gene by targeting endogenous or heterologous promoter regions. To allow low-cost induction of gene expression for industrial fermentation processes, we engineered yeast to endogenously produce the chromophore required for the effective dimerization of PhyB and PIF3. Time course experiments demonstrate high-level induction over a period of at least 48 h.
Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Colonization and Empyema: Does it Matter?

BACKGROUND The relation between MRSA colonization and empyema culture results is unknown. We hypothesized that MRSA-colonized patients would be more likely to develop MRSA empyema, and sought to determine if MRSA culture positive empyema had an effect on clinical management or patient outcomes. METHODS The medical records of patients with a diagnosis of empyema from 2007-2010 were retrospectively reviewed for demographics, MRSA colonization status, comorbidities, culture results, clinical management, and discharge disposition. The relationship between MRSA colonization status and culture results was analyzed by bivariate testing. Logistic regression was utilized to determine relations between empyema culture results, comorbidities, and clinical course. RESULTS Of 147 patients identified with empyema, 16 (10.8%) were MRSA colonized. Colonized patients had substantially higher rates of MRSA-positive empyema cultures (75% vs. 4.6%; p<0.001). A greater percentage of the MRSA-positive empyema patients 66.7% were managed with tube thoracostomy alone, compared with culture positive patients with an organism other than MRSA and those with negative cultures (39% and 34% respectively; p=0.043). Neither empyema culture results nor colonization status were substantial risk factors for poor discharge (skilled nursing facility, long-term care hospital, or death). CONCLUSIONS MRSA-colonized patients hospitalized with empyema are highly likely to have cultures positive for MRSA.