Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Oligodendroglioma in an African Lion (Panthera leo)

Abstract A 10-yr-old female lion (Panthera leo) presented for acute onset ataxia and weakness with a history of two seizure episodes 6 mo prior to presentation and a persistent head tilt for at least 6 mo. Gross necropsy findings included a gelatinous mass in the right cerebral hemisphere extending from the frontal to the occipital lobes. Histologically, the mass was composed of polygonal cells surrounding lakes of mucinous material. These cells had clear cytoplasm, ovoid basophilic nuclei, and inapparent cell processes. Immunoreactivity was positive for S100 and neuron-specific enolase but negative for glial fibrillary acid protein, myelin basic protein, neurofilament triplet, vimentin, and cytokeratin. All findings were consistent with an oligodendroglioma. A second neoplasm, a pulmonary adenoma, was also identified at necropsy.
Does the decline in child injury mortality vary by social class? A comparison of class specific mortality in 1981 and 1991

Abstract Objective: To examine whether the decline in child injury death rates between 1981 and 1991 varied by social class. Design: Comparison of class specific child injury death rates for 1979, 1980, 1982, and 1983, with those for the four years 1989-92. Setting: England and Wales. Subjects: Children aged 0-15 years. Main outcome measures: Death rates from injury and poisoning. Results: Death rates from injury and poisoning have fallen for children in all social classes. The decline for children in social classes IV and V (21% and 2% respectively), however, is smaller than that for children in social classes I and II (32% and 37%). As a result of the differential decline in injury death rates, socioeconomic mortality differentials have increased. In the four years 1979-80 and 1982-83 the injury death rate for children in social class V was 3.5 times that of children in social class I. For the four years 1989-92 the injury death rate for children in social class V was 5.0 times that of children in social class I. Poisson regression modelling showed that the trend in the decline in death rates across the social classes was unlikely to have arisen by chance alone. Conclusions: Socioeconomic inequalities in child injury death rates have increased. If these gradients persist, the Health of the Nation's target is likely to be met for children in the non-manual social classes but not for those in the manual social classes. Key messages Mortality from childhood injury is falling, but there are steep social class gradients in death rates A comparison of class specific child injury death rates in 1981 and 1991 shows that the decline in injury death rates in social classes IV and V (21% and 2% respectively) was much smaller than for those in classes I and II (32% and 37%) Because of the differential decline in child injury death rates, socioeconomic mortality differentials increased during this period Unless government rhetoric on social class gradients in health is matched with appropriate action, the Health of the Nation's target for accidents will be met for children in the non-manual social classes but not for those in the manual classes
The Influence of Permeance Effect on the Magnetic Radial Forces of Permanent Magnet Synchronous Machines

An analytical model has been developed for analyzing the magnetic radial forces of permanent magnet (PM) machines. The air-gap magneto-motive force harmonics, stator slotting effect, and rotor saliency effect are considered in the model. Extensive simulations at no-load and under load conditions are performed for analyzing the radial force and vibration modes of different PM machines with different winding and rotor topologies. Concentrated winding with <formula formulatype="inline"><tex Notation="TeX">${\rm q}=0.4$</tex> </formula>, conventional concentrated winding with <formula formulatype="inline"> <tex Notation="TeX">${\rm q}=0.5$</tex></formula>, and the distributed winding with <formula formulatype="inline"><tex Notation="TeX">${\rm q}=2$</tex></formula> are studied taking into account also two rotor types (IPM and SPM rotor). The obtained results show that for all machine types the rotor saliency has a considerable effect on the air-gap flux density and radial force characteristics. For the SPM rotor type, the radial force modes are constant with the time, however for the IPM rotor type the rotor saliency effect induce additional time harmonics in the radial force modes (including mode zero).
Expression and Localization of Granzymes and Perforin in Human Calcific Aortic Valve Disease.

BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE STUDY Calcified aortic valve disease (CAVD) is an actively regulated disease that shares pathophysiological hallmarks with atherosclerosis. One of these common features is extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling, which consists of a dynamic degradation and deposition of the ECM composition. Granzymes (Grs) are ECM- degrading and pro-apoptotic proteases that have been detected in atherosclerotic lesions, but their role in CAVD remains unknown. METHODS The expression of granzymes and perforin was characterized in heavily stenotic valves (n = 20) and control valves (n = 6) using quantitative RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry. RESULTS Quantitative RT-PCR revealed that levels of granzymes A, B, H, K and M mRNA were 4.9-fold (p < 0.001), 7.1-fold (p < 0.001), 4.6-fold (p < 0.001), 4.7-fold (p < 0.001) and 2.8-fold (p = 0.069) higher, respectively, in stenotic aortic valves than in control valves. Perforin mRNA levels were 3.6-fold (p < 0.001) higher in stenotic valves than in control valves. Granzyme A immunohistochemical positivity was observed in mast cells and lymphocytes, granzyme H in mast cells but not in lymphocytes, and granzyme K in lymphocytes but not in mast cells. A statistical analysis was also performed to investigate the effect of statin treatment on granzyme expression, but no differences were found when compared to non-statin-treated patients. CONCLUSIONS The data acquired showed that CAVD is characterized by an increased expression of granzymes A, B, H, K, and perforin.
Directional steering

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate whether directional steering through a novel 32-contact electrode is safe and can modulate the thresholds for beneficial and side effects of stimulation. Methods: The study is a single-center, performance and safety study. Double-blind intraoperative evaluations of the thresholds for therapeutic benefit and for side effects were performed in 8 patients with Parkinson disease while stimulating in randomized order in spherical mode and in 4 different steering modes with the 32-contact electrode, and in monopolar mode with a commercial electrode. In addition, simultaneous recordings of local field potentials through all 32 contacts were performed. Results: There were no adverse events related to the experimental device. For 13 of 15 side effects (87%), the threshold could be increased by ≥1 mA while steering in at least one direction in comparison to conventional spherical stimulation, thereby increasing the therapeutic window by up to 1.5 mA. Recording local field potentials through all 32 electrode contacts yielded spatiotemporal information on pathologic neuronal activity. Conclusions: Controlled steering of current through the brain may improve the effectiveness of deep brain stimulation (DBS), allow for novel applications, and provide a tool to better explore pathophysiologic activity in the brain. Classification of evidence: This study provides Class IV evidence that for patients with Parkinson disease, steering DBS current is well tolerated, increases the threshold for side effects, and may improve the therapeutic window of subthalamic nucleus DBS as compared with current standard spherical stimulation.
Disease Stage 1 Disease Stage 2 Disease Stage 3 Test Result 1 Test Result 2 Test Result 3 State Transitions Observations

A new formulation of Stochastic Model Predictive Output Feedback Control is presented and analyzed as a translation of Stochastic Optimal Output Feedback Control into a receding horizon setting. This requires lifting the design into a framework involving propagation of the conditional state density, the information state, via the Bayesian Filter and solution of the Stochastic Dynamic Programming Equation for an optimal feedback policy, both stages of which are computationally challenging in the general, nonlinear setup. The upside is that the clearance of three bottleneck aspects of Model Predictive Control is connate to the optimality: output feedback is incorporated naturally; dual regulation and probing of the control signal is inherent; closed-loop performance relative to infinite-horizon optimal control is guaranteed. While the methods are numerically formidable, our aim is to develop an approach to Stochastic Model Predictive Control with guarantees and, from there, to seek a less onerous approximation. To this end, we discuss in particular the class of Partially Observable Markov Decision Processes, to which our results extend seamlessly, and demonstrate applicability with an example in healthcare decision making, where duality and associated optimality in the control signal are required for satisfactory closed-loop behavior.
Exposure to potential drug interactions in primary health care

Harmful drug interactions may occur if one drug alters the effect of another drug. During the course of one year, about one-third of the population are exposed to the concurrent use of two or more drugs (polypharmacy). On average, 15% of individuals with polypharmacy are exposed to drugs carrying a risk of potential interactions. Elderly patients exposed to polypharmacy are at highest risk and should therefore be kept under intensified monitoring. Objective - To analyse the prevalence of potential drug interactions, and to identify patients particularly prone to drug interaction. Design - Database study (Odense University Pharmacoepidemiologic Database). Setting - Individuals exposed to polypharmacy in 1999 were examined for potential drug interactions. Subjects - Inhabitants of the County of Funen (n=471 t 732). Main outcome measures - Prevalence of potential drug interactions. Results - One-third of the population were exposed to polypharmacy and among these 15% were exposed to drugs carrying a risk of harmful interaction. Among the elderly with polypharmacy, 25% aged 60-79 years and 36% over 80 years received drugs carrying the risk of interaction. Among individuals exposed to potential drug interaction, 62% were exposed only to one drug interaction and 38% to two or more different drug interactions. The drugs accounting for the highest number of potential interactions were diuretics, NSAIDs, ACE-inhibitors, digoxin, oral antidiabetics, calcium channel blockers, anticoagulants and beta-blockers. When focusing only on major drug interactions, potassium-sparing diuretics and oral anticoagulants were the most frequently involved drugs. Conclusion - Elderly patients exposed to polypharmacy should be kept under intensified monitoring as they are at increased risk of clinically significant drug interactions.
Roles of dextrans on improving lymphatic drainage for liposomal drug delivery system

Our aim was to develop a novel liposomal drug delivery system containing dextrans to reduce undesirable retention of antineoplastic agents and thus alleviate local tissue damage. At the cell level, diethylaminoethyl-dextran (DEAE-Dx) showed the strongest inhibiting effect on liposome uptake by macrophages among tested dextrans. The distribution of radiolabeled liposomes mixed with dextrans in injection site and draining lymph node was investigated in rats after subcutaneous injection. DEAE-Dx substantially reduced the undesired local retention and promoted the draining of liposome into lymphatics, which was further confirmed by confocal microscopy images revealing the substantial prevention of rhodamine B-labelled liposome sequestration by macrophages in normal lymph node in rats. Pharmacokinetic data indicated the accelerated drainage of liposome through lymphatics back to systemic circulation by mixing with DEAE-Dx. In the toxicological study in rabbits, DEAE-Dx alleviated the local tissue damage caused by liposomal doxorubicin. In conclusion, dextrans, particularly DEAE-Dx, could efficiently enhanced liposomes drainage into lymphatics, which proves themselves as promising adjuvants for lymphatic-targeted liposomal drug delivery system.
Stillbirths at the Jos University Teaching Hospital: incidence, risk, and etiological factors.

INTRODUCTION Death of a fetus in-utero or intrapartum is both devastating to the couple and of concern to the clinician. Identifying the etiological and risk factors of stillbirths will help in the prevention or reduction of its occurrence. MATERIALS AND METHODS This was a prospective observational study of all stillbirths over a 16-month period (from January 2006 to April 2007) at the maternity Unit of Jos University Teaching Hospital. Information on maternal socio-demographic details, history of antenatal complications of the index pregnancy, and maternal medical history were obtained by personal interview of all mothers who had a stillbirth. For each stillbirth, information was obtained on the type of stillbirth, estimated gestational age at delivery, sex of baby, and the mode of delivery. These characteristics were subjected to analysis. Etiological causes were assessed using the clinico-pathological approach advocated by Baird-Pattinson. RESULTS There were a total of 3,904 deliveries with 158 stillbirths during the study period, giving a stillbirth rate of 40.5 per 1,000 total births. There were 84 (53.2%) macerated and 74 (46.8%) fresh stillbirths. Of the 3,904 total deliveries, there were 2,022 (51.8%) males and 1,882 (48.2%) females. There were 84 male and 74 female stillbirths, giving stillbirth rates of 41.5 per 1,000 and 39.3 per 1,000 total deliveries for male and female deliveries, respectively, which was not statistically significant (X2 = 4.6865, P < 0.3564). The major causes were abruptio placentae (17.7%), hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (12.7%) and maternal HIV infection 10.7% of stillbirths. Other causes were cord accidents (7.0%), placenta praevia (3.8%), and anemia in pregnancy (3.8%). Forty-six (29.1%) of the stillbirths were unexplained. The main risk factors identified were lack of antenatal care, poor antenatal clinic attendance, home delivery, and late presentation of complicated labor to the facility. CONCLUSION The stillbirth rate in our centre is high, major causes being abruptio placenta and maternal medical conditions. Maternal HIV infection has emerged as a major contributor to stillbirths in this study.
Advances in the understanding of hypersensitivity reactions to drugs.

Although beta-lactams are the most commonly implicated drugs in immediate reactions, other drugs can also contribute to the induction of IgE-specific reactions. Another important group, the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), includes a heterogeneous number of chemical structures widely used for treating inflammation and pain. Although the most important mechanisms of these drugs are related to the synthesis and release of eicosanoides [1], a sizable proportion of patients develop reactions to a single compound as reviewed by Canto et al. [2], where anaphylaxis and/or urticaria have been the most commonly described reactions. In the case of pirazolone derivatives, drug-specific IgE antibodies have been demonstrated by either in-vivo or in-vitro testing [3,4]. For the remaining NSAIDs, only indirect evidence exists for the existence of drug-specific IgE and thus more studies are required to identify the haptens involved, in order to develop immunoassay for identifying these IgE antibodies.
Effects of sevoflurane and propofol on ischaemia-reperfusion injury after thoracic-aortic occlusion in pigs.

BACKGROUND Thoraco-abdominal-aneurysm surgery predicts high mortality. Propofol and sevoflurane are commonly used anaesthetics for this procedure. Halogenated anaesthetics induce organ protection similar to ischaemic preconditioning. We investigated which anaesthetic regimen would lead to a better protection against ischaemia-reperfusion injury induced by temporary thoracic-aortic occlusion. METHODS Following initial fentanyl-midazolam anaesthesia for surgical preparation, 18 pigs were randomly assigned to two groups: group one received propofol (n=9) and group two sevoflurane (n=9) before, during, and after lower body ischaemia in an investigator blinded fashion. Ten animals without aortic occlusion served as time controls (propofol, n=5; sevoflurane, n=5). For induction of ischaemia, the thoracic aorta was occluded by a balloon-catheter for 90 min. After 120 min of reperfusion, the study anaesthetics were discontinued and fentanyl-midazolam re-established for an additional 180 min. Goal-directed therapy was performed during reperfusion. Fluid and catecholamine requirements were assessed. Serum samples and intestinal tissue specimens were obtained. RESULTS Severe declamping shock occurred in both study groups. While norepinephrine requirements in the sevoflurane group were significantly reduced during reperfusion (P<0.05), allowing cessation of catecholamine support in 4/9 animals, all 9/9 animals were still catecholamine dependent at the end of the experiment in the propofol group. Serum activities of lactate dehydrogenase, aspartate transaminase, and alanine aminotransferase were lower with sevoflurane (P<0.05). Small intestine tissue specimens did not differ histologically. CONCLUSIONS Use of sevoflurane compared with propofol attenuated the haemodynamic sequelae of reperfusion injury in our model. Release of serum markers of cellular injury was also attenuated.
Cytogenetic analysis of micronuclei and cell death parameters in epithelial cells of pesticide exposed tea garden workers

Abstract Buccal micronucleus cytome assay was carried out in 47 exposed (sprayers and leaf harvesters), 47 non-exposed (controls) to determine the extent of damage working in the tea plantations of Terai region of West Bengal, India. As the pesticide exposed male workers were found to consume alcohol and smoked cigarettes/bidis, 35 smokers and 30 alcoholics were also included for comparison. Results showed a significant difference in micronuclei (9.91 ± 2.74, p ≤ .001), nuclear bud (4.98 ± 1.31, p ≤ .001), binucleate (6.26 ± 2.84, p ≤ .001), karyorrhectic (8.36 ± 2.28, p ≤ .001), pyknotic (5.62 ± 1.78, p ≤ .05) as well as karyolytic (6.81 ± 3.00, p ≤ .001) nuclei compared with control. Comparison also revealed a higher frequency of micronuclei (6.11 ± 2.55, p ≤ .01), nuclear bud (4.06 ± 1.97, p ≤ .05), binucleate (4.34 ± 1.85, p ≤ .001), karyorrhectic (6.83 ± 2.12, p ≤ .001), and karyolytic (6.20 ± 2.54, p ≤ .001) nuclei except pyknotic cell in the smoker than control. Frequency of binucleate (3.80 ± 1.73, p ≤ .05), karyorrhectic (5.57 ± 2.34, p ≤ .05), pyknotic (5.50 ± 1.36, p ≤ .05), and karyolytic (6.30 ± 2.71, p ≤ .001) nuclei was higher in the alcoholics than control (non-alcoholics), whereas the micronuclei and nuclear bud were found to be non-significant compared with the control. Our analyses also revealed a higher proportion of the micronucleus and the cell death parameters in the pesticide exposed males than females, which indicated that pesticide, smoking, and alcohol may act synergistically to cause more damage to the buccal epithelial cells. However, age and the exposure duration have no influence on the micronucleus and other cell death parameters.
Development of a flexible and potent hypoxia-inducible promoter for tumor-targeted gene expression in attenuated salmonella

To increase the potential of attenuated Salmonella as gene delivery vectors for cancer treatment, we developed a hypoxia-inducible promoter system to limit gene expression specifically to the tumor. This approach is envisaged to not only increase tumor specificity, but also to target those cells that are most resistant to conventional therapies. We demonstrate that the exponential growth of the attenuated bacteria is identical under normoxia and hypoxia. A hypoxia-inducible promoter (HIP-1) was created from a portion of the endogenous Salmonella pepT promoter and was shown to drive reporter gene expression under both acute and chronic hypoxia, but not under normoxia. Genetic engineering of the TATA- and FNR-box within HIP-1 allowed fine tuning of gene induction, resulting in hypoxic induction factors of up to 200-fold. Finally, we demonstrate that HIP-1 can drive hypoxia-mediated gene expression in bacteria which have colonized human tumor xenografts in mouse models. Expression of both GFP and RFP under control of HIP-1 demonstrated an ~15-fold increase relative to a constitutive promoter when tumors were made hypoxic. Moreover, the use of a constitutive promoter resulted in reporter gene expression in both tumors and normal tissues, whereas reporter gene expressing using HIP-1 was confined to the tumor.
Cavus deformity of the foot secondary to a neuromuscular choristoma (hamartoma) of the sciatic nerve. A case report.

A unilateral cavus deformity of the foot suggests the possibility of an intraspinal lesion such as diastematomyelia or tethered cord syndrome. We report the case of a child who had a progressive equinocavovarus deformity of the foot secondary to a neuromuscular choristoma (hamartoma) involving the sciatic nerve. An eight-year-old boy was referred to us for the evaluation of a painless, progressive unilateral cavovarus deformity of the right foot and a limp. The child was the product of a full-term, uncomplicated pregnancy; he had weighed nine pounds (4.1 kilograms) at birth and had been delivered vaginally. The developmental milestones were normal, and the child had walked independently when he was one year old. The parents first noticed a deformity of the right foot when the boy was four years old, but they did not seek medical attention until he was eight years old. The deformity had progressed in the interim, and the child appeared to have weakness of the affected extremity and a limp at the time of presentation. He did not complain of pain. There was no family history of a neurological disorder. Physical examination revealed that the spine and the upper extremities had a normal appearance and a full range of motion, and the results of a neurological examination were normal. The entire right lower extremity was atrophied: the circumferences of the right thigh and calf were two centimeters smaller than those of the left thigh and calf. The range of motion of both hips was symmetrical. There was a 10-degree flexion contracture of the right knee with further flexion to 140 degrees. In addition, there was an equinocavovarus deformity of the right foot. The range of motion of the ankle was -15 to 45 degrees of plantar flexion. The hindfoot was in 15 degrees of varus with no …