Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Predictors of isokinetic back muscle strength in patients with low back pain.

STUDY DESIGN Testing for trunk muscle strength was performed on 105 patients with chronic low back pain. OBJECTIVES To investigate prediction of isokinetic back muscle strength in patients with low back pain. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA The clinical evaluation of patients with chronic low back pain often in difficult because of discrepancy between disability and impairment. The isokinetic trunk device was developed as a tool for objective assessment of back muscle strength. However, the performance of patients depends on radiologic abnormalities of the spine, conditions of the back muscles, and various psychosocial factors. Studies are warranted that address how these variables influence back muscle strength. METHODS The patients with chronic low back pain were tested by an isokinetic trunk muscle strength test (Cybex TEF, Ronkonkoma, NY). In addition, the following variables were recorded: gender, age, body mass index, emotional distress, pain on exertion, self-efficacy for pain, degenerative changes of the lumbar spine, cross-sectional area, and density of the erector spinae muscles. The three latter variables were estimated by computed tomography scans. The sum of the total work performed during isokinetic extension strength test was the dependent variable in a multiple regression analysis, and anthropometric, demographic, psychological, and radiologic factors were independent variables. RESULTS Gender, cross-sectional muscle area, and pain on exertion were the most powerful predictors of isokinetic back muscle strength. The final regression model, which included these variables, could account for approximately 40% of the variability in back muscle strength. CONCLUSION For assessing the results of an isokinetic trunk muscle strength test, cross-sectional muscle area, gender, and pain on exertion should be taken into account.
Analysis of Swiss honeys for pyrrolizidine alkaloids

Summary Various studies have shown that honey may contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) and thus can pose a potential health risk for consumers. It seems that the level of contamination depends on the geographical and botanical origin of the honey. The geographically central location of Switzerland within Europe accounts for various different climate zones, and therefore can serve as a model to study PA contamination in honeys. We analysed 71 honeys between 2009 and 2011. Honeys from various botanical origins were collected from regions north and south of the Alps as well as the alpine regions. The PA concentration of the honeys was determined by target analysis using an HPLC-MS/MS-system, allowing the detection of 18 different PAs and PA-N-oxides found in the genera Echium, Eupatoriumand Senecio. 54% of the honeys contained PAs, while in 46% of the honeys PA concentrations were below the limit of quantitation (LOQ). The LOQs ranged from 1 μg/kg to 3 μg/kg, depending on the PA. The mean PA concentration of the positive samples was 6.7 μg/kg. The highest concentration of PAs (55 μg/kg) was found in a honey from Ticino, an area of the southern flank of the Alps. All the other positive honeys contained PAs at concentrations below 18 μg/kg. Therefore Swiss honey usually does not pose a risk for consumers. In the investigated honeys, honeys from the Swiss alpine regions (29 out of 37) tested more frequently positive for PAs compared to honeys from areas north of the Alps (9 out of 34). This probably reflects the different botanical settings of the central European and the alpine climate regions.
Sexual conflict over breeding substrate causes female expulsion and offspring loss in a cichlid fish

Females of the Lake Tanganyika cichlid Lamprologus callipterus exclusively breed in empty snail shells that males collect in their territories. Male--male competition for shells is severe, leading to frequent shell stealing and territory takeover. As a consequence, males have breeding females in their shells that spawned with competitors. In this field study, we investigated both naturally occurring and experimentally induced encounters of territorial males with females that had spawned with other males. We found that the breeding success of females that were taken over by a different male was significantly reduced. Behavioral observations after experimental shell relocation further showed that males recognized females that they had not spawned with: males directed more exploration and manipulation behavior toward such shells compared with controls. Reoccupation rate of emptied experimental shells was significantly higher than that of unmanipulated empty shells. This indicates that shell stealing and nest takeover, followed by female expulsion, contribute to the reproductive success of L. callipterus males. We also found that female mate choice reduces expulsion risk: females preferred to mate with large males, and male size correlated with dominance. We conclude that the limited availability of breeding substrate is a key determinant of both intrasexual competition and intersexual conflict in this species. Copyright 2008, Oxford University Press.
An evaluation of serologic and antimicrobial therapy in the treatment of tetanus in the United States.

Center (NCDC) of the U.S. Public Health Service, collaborating with state epidemiologists, established a nationwide system of tetanus surveillance. The purpose of this system was to collect relevant clinical and epidemiologic data and, insofar as treatment was concerned, data on serologic and antimicrobial therapy on all cases of tetanus reported in the United States. The epidemiologic and clinical features of tetanus in the United
Nonfat phobic anorexia nervosa: clinical characteristics and response to inpatient treatment.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to compare patients admitted to a specialized inpatient program for anorexia nervosa (AN) with and without a fear of weight gain in terms of specific eating disorder symptoms, general psychopathology, and treatment outcome. METHOD Measures of specific and general psychopathology were administered at admission to and discharge from the inpatient program. Of the 138 participants, 81% (n = 112) were categorized as having clinical levels of "fear of weight gain" and 19% (n = 26) were categorized as having subclinical levels of this feature. RESULTS The subclinical-level group had lower scores on measures of eating disorder psychopathology, depression, general psychiatric disturbance, and obsessive-compulsive symptomatology, but higher self-esteem scores. There were no differences found in terms of age of onset of AN, duration of illness, AN subtype, body mass index, or treatment outcome. DISCUSSION The current findings provide evidence that underweight patients who deny a fear of weight gain are less disturbed in terms of both eating disorder pathology and general psychopathology.
Impact of Insulin Dependence on Perioperative Outcomes Following Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion

Study Design. A retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data. Objective. Our objective was to analyze insulin-dependent and noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM and NIDDM) as potential risk factors for complications, reoperations, and readmissions within 30 days following anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF). Summary of Background Data. ACDF is a common surgical procedure with growing utilization and good long-term outcomes. Readmissions and reoperations are associated with increased morbidity and inferior long-term outcomes. IDDM and NIDDM are often associated with increased complication rates. Methods. This was a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data from the ACS NSQIP database. Patients ≥18 years old undergoing ACDF from 2005 to 2012 were included. Readmission, perioperative events, and reoperation within 30 days following ACDF were measured. Patient demographics, perioperative data, preoperative labs, and postoperative events were assessed. Patients with NIDDM or IDDM were compared with nondiabetic patients using multivariate logistic regression analysis with significance defined as P < 0.05. Odds ratio (OR) was calculated with a 95% confidence interval (CI). Results. Three thousand seven hundred twenty-six patients were included of whom 270 were NIDDM and 171 IDDM. Readmissions and reoperation data were available only from 2011 to 2012, including 1423 nondiabetes mellitus (non-DM), 193 NIDDM, and 87 IDDM cases. NIDDM was associated with higher rates of urinary tract infection (UTI) (P < 0.007), and return to operating room (P = 0.012) than nondiabetic patients. IDDM was associated with higher rates of reoperations (P = 0.04), readmissions (P < 0.0001), and total length of stay (LOS) >5 days (P < 0.0001). Following adjusted multivariate analysis, only IDDM status remained an independent predictor for 30-day readmission (OR 4.8, 95% CI 2.3–10.1). Conclusion. Patients with NIDDM and IDDM were at an increased risk for several postoperative complications following ACDF. IDDM was independently associated with increased 30-day readmission rates. Diabetic patients should be counseled appropriately, and the importance of close perioperative care is highlighted in this study. Level of Evidence: 3
Localized Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy of the Brain in Children Infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus with and without Encephalopathy

Twenty children older than 2 y infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) were examined by in vivo proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H MRS) to study their cerebral metabolism and to identify metabolic profiles in relation with different stages of the disease. Patients were rated regarding their clinical and immunologic status according to the Centers for Disease Control classification and were divided into two groups: without encephalopathy (E-, n = 15) and with progressive encephalopathy (E+, n = 5). The acquisition was performed in the centrum semiovale using the short echo stimulated echo acquisition mode 20-ms sequence. The MRS profile was abnormal in all HIV-infected children compared with healthy age-matched controls (n = 7), even when magnetic resonance images were normal. A significant increase of the proportion of the lipid signals (ANOVA, p < 0.05) was found in all HIV-infected children. In addition, a significant decrease of the proportion of the N-acetylaspartate signal and a significant increase of the proportion of the myo-inositol signal (ANOVA, p < 0.05) characterized the E+ group. The principal component analysis performed on eight variables on 30 spectra confirms that the spectra of HIV-infected children differ from control spectra. The E+ group and the E- group are clearly separated on the map of subjects on the principal plane. The E- group lies in an intermediate position between the E+ group and the control group. The evolution of metabolic alterations in the brain of HIV-infected children can clearly be monitored by 1H MRS and associated with the occurrence of an encephalopathy.
Buprenorphine withdrawal syndrome in newborns: a report of 13 cases.

AIMS To assess neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) and neurodevelopmental outcome in infants born to addicted mothers under buprenorphine substitution therapy. SETTING District general hospital, Angoulême, France. METHODS Retrospective case records study of infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and/or special care baby unit (SCBU) from January 1994 to December 2000 for surveillance and/or treatment of buprenorphine NAS. RESULTS Thirteen infants were born to addicted mothers under buprenorphine maintenance therapy during the study period. Eight were male and five were female; mean birth term and weight were 39 weeks gestation and 3000 g, respectively. Apgar scores were within normal limits; four infants were small for gestational age, none was dysmorphologic and none was extracted for fetal distress. NAS occurred in 11 cases (85%) and required treatment in 10 cases. Morphine chlorhydrate 0.5 mg/kg/day was administered in divided doses to seven children and gave better results than paregoric alone or in combination with diazepam. Upon follow-up, seven children presented transient lower limbs hypertonia, jerky movements and jitteriness that lasted 3-9 months. The overall milestones acquisitions were within normal limits. CONCLUSION Buprenorphine substitution seems to be safe during pregnancy, and has had no teratogenic effects reported to date. It induces NAS of variable intensity that is less prolonged in comparison to methadone; the neurodevelopmental outcome of exposed children is normal in the majority of cases, although some presented with transient motor abnormalities that resolved completely in 85% of those recruited to our study.
Dichloridobis(pyridine-2-selenolato-κ2 N,Se)tin(IV)

The title compound, [SnCl2(C5H4NSe)2], is the product of a reaction of 2,2′-dipyridyl diselenide with tin tetrachloride. The molecule is located about a twofold rotation axis. The coordination environment of the SnIV atom is a distorted octahedron, with two bidentate 2-pyridineselenolate ligands inclined to each other at an angle of 83.96 (7)°. The two Sn—Cl and two Sn—N bonds are in cis configurations, while the two Sn—Se bonds of 2.5917 (3) Å are in a trans configuration, with an Se—Sn—Se angle of 157.988 (15)°. In the crystal, π–π interactions between the pyridine rings [centroid-to-centroid distance of 3.758 (3) Å] and weak intermolecular C—H⋯Cl hydrogen bonds link the molecules into chains along the c axis.
Spreading of Sir3 protein in cells with severe histone H3 hypoacetylation

Heterochromatin formation in yeast involves deacetylation of histones, but the precise relationship between acetylation and the association of proteins such as Sir3, Sir4, and the histone deacetylase Sir2 with chromatin is still unclear. Here we show that Sir3 protein spreads to subtelomeric DNA in cells lacking the transcription-related histone acetyltransferases GCN5 and ELP3. Spreading correlates with hypoacetylation of lysines in the histone H3 tail and results in deacetylation of lysine 16 in histone H4. De-repression of genes situated very close to the ends of the chromosomes in gcn5 elp3 suggests that Sir3 spreads into subtelomeric DNA from the tip of the telomere. Interestingly, growth defects caused by gcn5 elp3 mutation can be suppressed by SIR deletion, suggesting that Sir proteins become detrimental for growth when chromatin is severely hypoacetylated.
Do We Need to Include Osteoporosis in Today's Classification of Distal Radius Fractures?

Although the correlation between decreased bone mineral density and increased incidence of distal radius fractures is widely acknowledged, the effect of osteoporosis on specific fracture types is seldom addressed. No classification system has been established for clinical use that has been validated for osteoporotic fractures or that includes parameters of the bone density or bone quality. So far, only one experimental study could report a clear correlation between bone properties and fracture patterns, and an additional clinical study assesses bone density in relation to displacement in Colles fractures. Further studies are needed to analyze the intra- and interobserver reproducibility of more simplified but nonetheless comprehensive classification systems that recognize the impact of osteoporosis on distal radius fracture and that specifically incorporate bone mineral density.
Insurance- and race-related disparities decrease in elderly trauma patients.

RDW levels, owing to the fact that delaying blood sampling can cause abnormal results in RDW measurements. In conclusion, we believe that these findings obtained from the present study will lead to further large-scale prospective studies evaluating the relationship between RDW and trauma patients. However, RDW itself alone without other inflammatory markers may not give exact information to researchers about the inflammatory status and prognostic indication of the patients. So, from that point of view, we think that it should be evaluated, associating it with other serum inflammatory markers. *The author declares no conflicts of interest.
Antinutritional factors and in vitro protein digestibility of improved haricot bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) varieties grown in Ethiopia

The antinutrient (raffinose oligosaccharides, tannins, phytic acid and trypsin inhibitors) composition and in vitro protein digestibility of eight improved varieties of Phaseolus vulgaris grown in Ethiopia were determined. Stachyose was the predominant α-galactosides in all haricot bean samples. Raffinose was also present in significant quantities but verbascose, glucose and fructose were not detected at all in the samples. The concentrations observed for the protein digestibility and antinutritional factors, varied significantly (P<0.05) between varieties investigated in this study. Mean values for protein digestibility ranged from 80.66% (in Roba variety) to 65.64% (in Beshbesh variety). Mean values for raffinose, stachyose, sucrose, trypsin inhibitors, tannins and phytic acid were 3.14 mg/g, 14.86 mg/g, 24.22 mg/g, 20.68 TUI×103/g, 17.44 mg, catechin equivalents/g and 20.54 mg/g respectively. Statistical analyses of data revealed that antinutritional factors and protein digestibility were influenced by variety (genotype). Relationships between antinutritional factors and protein digestibility were also observed. The possibility of selecting varieties to be used for large-scale cultivation in Ethiopia on the basis of these data is discussed. Among the improved varieties studied, Roba, Redwolaita, Mexican and Awash were found to be the best food and export type of haricot beans in the Ethiopian context, because of their higher protein digestibility, lower antinutrtional factors and other beneficial nutritional parameters. Roba variety can be used by local food processors for the production of value-added bean-based products especially to combat the problem of protein energy malnutrition and related diseases which are very common in developing countries.
Effect of Ascorbic acid on Mercury-induced changes on the liver in Adult Wistar Rats

Mercury is among the heavy metals that have been reported to cause devastating health problems worldwide. The present work was aimed at investigating the effects of mercury chloride and Vitamin C administration on the cyto-architecture of the liver and some liver parameters. Thirty adult Wistar Rats of average weight of 200g were randomly divided into six groups of five rats per group. The animals were administered with different concentrations of mercury chloride orally for three weeks. Group one was the Control and was administered with normal saline, Groups two and three were administered with 52mg/kg body weight and 26.25mg/kg body weight of mercury chloride respectively while Groups four and five were administered with 52mg/kg of mercury chloride +5mg/kg of ascorbic acid and 26.25mg/kg of mercury chloride+5mg/kg of ascorbic acid respectively and Group 6 was administered 5mg/kg of ascorbic acid only. After three weeks of administration, the animals were sacrificed humanely, blood and tissue samples were collected for analysis. The results showed there was significant increase in liver biochemical parameters such as AST, ALT and ALP levels in the serum of treated animals (p<0.05). The result showed that the administration of ascorbic acid resulted in ameliorative effects on biochemical parameters and the effect was most pronounced on the liver of treated rats at higher concentrations of mercuric chloride which was dose dependent.
Gender differences in the longitudinal predictors of adolescent dating violence.

BACKGROUND Adolescent dating violence is a public health problem. The public health approach to prevention is to identify predictors of problem behaviors and develop interventions to eliminate or reduce those predictors with the intention of altering the chain of causation. Longitudinal data are preferred for identifying predictors of behavior but all dating violence studies have used cross-sectional data. We use longitudinal data to examine predictors of adolescent dating violence from several domains guided by an ecological perspective. METHODS Eighty percent (N = 1,965) of the 8th- and 9th-graders in one county completed baseline questionnaires in school and 90% (N = 1,759) of those adolescents completed questionnaires again 1&1/2 years later. Proportional odds models were used to identify cross-sectional correlates and longitudinal predictors of dating violence perpetration that occurred between baseline and follow-up. RESULTS Most of the study variables were correlated with dating violence in cross-sectional analyses. Having friends who are victims of dating violence, using alcohol, and being of a race other than white predicted dating violence perpetration by females. Holding attitudes that are accepting of dating violence predicted dating violence perpetration by males. CONCLUSION The findings suggest that intervention strategies should vary for males and females and that when basing interventions on cross-sectional findings, scarce resources may be stretched to address persons who may not truly be at risk of beginning to perpetrate dating violence.
Reference interval for immature platelet fraction on Sysmex XN hematology analyzer: a comparison study with Sysmex XE-2100

Abstract Background: Recently introduced hematology analyzer, the Sysmex XN modular system (Sysmex, Kobe, Japan), has newly adopted a florescent channel to detect platelets and immature platelet fraction (IPF). This study aimed to establish new reference intervals for %-IPF and absolute number of IPF (A-IPF) on Sysmex XN. Platelet counts, %-IPF, and A-IPF were also compared between Sysmex XN and XE-2100 systems (Sysmex). Methods: Except outliers, blood samples from 2104 healthy individuals and 140 umbilical cord blood were analyzed using both Sysmex XN and XE-2100. The results of two systems were compared using Bland-Altman plot. The reference intervals for %-IPF and A-IPF were defined using non-parametric percentile methods according to the Clinical and Laboratory Standard Institute guideline (C28-A3). Results: The platelet counts, %-IPF, and A-IPF showed non-parametric distributions. The mean difference between Sysmex XN and XE-2100 in healthy individuals revealed a positive bias in platelets (+8.0×109/L), %-IPF (+1.2%), and A-IPF (+3.0×109/L). The reference intervals for %-IPF and A-IPF on Sysmex XN were: 1.0%–7.3% and 2.49–15.64×109/L in healthy individuals; and 1.0%–4.4% and 2.94–12.82×109/L in umbilical cord blood. Conclusions: This large-scale study demonstrates a clear difference of platelet counts and IPF between Sysmex XN and XE-2100. The new reference intervals for IPF on Sysmex XN would provide fundamental data for clinical practice and future research.