Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Use of Dietary Supplements Improved Diet Quality But Not Cardiovascular and Nutritional Biomarkers in Socioeconomically Diverse African American and White Adults

ABSTRACT Knowledge of the contribution of supplements to overall nutritional health is limited. The research objectives were to describe motivations for use of dietary supplements by African Americans and Whites examined in the Healthy Aging in Neighborhoods of Diversity across the Life Span (HANDLS) study and to determine if supplements provided beneficial effects to micronutrient diet quality and nutritional and cardiovascular biomarkers. The majority of the HANDLS study population were smokers, overweight or obese, and self-reported their health as poor to good. The top two reasons for their supplement use were to supplement the diet and to improve overall health. Micronutrient intake was calculated from two 24-hour recalls and a supplement questionnaire. Diet quality was assessed by the Mean Adequacy Ratio (MAR) [Maximum score = 100] derived from the Nutrient Adequacy Ratio (NAR) for 17 micronutrients. The MAR score for nonusers was 73.12, for supplement users based on diet alone was 74.89, and for food and supplements was 86.61. Dietary supplements significantly increased each NAR score and MAR score. However, there were no significant differences between the population proportions with inadequate or excessive blood levels for any biomarkers examined. Nutrition education programs and intervention strategies addressing dietary supplement intake might lead to healthier food choices and may improve the health of this population.
Intraoperative squash cytology of central nervous system lesions: A single center study of 326 cases

Cytology has been shown to be of great value in intraoperative consultations of central nervous system (CNS) pathology. Intraoperative smear cytology provides a rapid and reliable intraoperative diagnosis and guidance to the neurosurgeon during surgical resection and lesion targeting. It also helps the surgeon to monitor and modify the approach at surgery.
Lamotrigine, an antiepileptic drug, and its chloride and nitrate salts.

In lamotrigine [systematic name: 6-(2,3-dichlorophenyl)-1,2,4-triazine-3,5-diamine], C(9)H(7)Cl(2)N(5), (I), the asymmetric unit contains one lamotrigine base molecule. In lamotriginium chloride [systematic name: 3,5-diamino-6-(2,3-dichlorophenyl)-1,2,4-triazin-2-ium chloride], C(9)H(8)Cl(2)N(5)(+). Cl(-), (II), the asymmetric unit contains one lamotriginium cation and one chloride anion, while in lamotriginium nitrate, C(9)H(8)Cl(2)N(5)(+). NO(3)(-), (III), the asymmetric unit contains two crystallographically independent lamotriginium cations and two nitrate anions. In all three structures, N-H.N hydrogen bonds form an R(2)(2)(8) dimer. In (I) and (II), hydrophilic layers are sandwiched between hydrophobic layers in the crystal packing. In all three structures, hydrogen bonds lead to the formation of a supramolecular hydrogen-bonded network. The significance of this study lies in its illustration of the differences between the supramolecular aggregation in the lamotrigine base and in its chloride and nitrate salts.
Quantification of the sixth DNA base 5-hydroxymethylcytosine in colorectal cancer tissue and C-26 cell line.

BACKGROUND DNA methylation at the five position of cytosine is well recognized as an important epigenetic modification in human health and disease. Recent evidences demonstrated that 5-methylcytosine (5-mC) by the TET family of enzymes can be converted to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5-hmC). Here, we use an ultrasensitive and accurate isotope-based LC-MS/MS method to precisely determine the levels of 5-hmC and 5-mC in colorectal cancer and the C-26 colon adenocarcinoma cell line. RESULTS Our data showed that 5-hmC content is significantly reduced (approximately sixfold) in colorectal cancer as compared with adjacent normal tissue. Similarly, the ratio of 5-hmC to 5-mC dropped from 0.054 ± 0.005 in normal tissues, to 0.011 ± 0.002 in cancer. CONCLUSION The analysis of 5-hmC levels and the ratio of 5-hmC:5-mC during tumor progression might provide insight into the role of this modification in cellular immortalization and transformation.
Frequency of anaemia in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus at tertiary care hospitals.

OBJECTIVE To analyze the frequency and causes of anaemia in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients attending in department of medicine at tertiary care hospitals. METHODS This retrospective, descriptive and analytical study was planned to analyze the frequency and causes of anaemia in SLE patients attending the department of medicine at (MMC) and (LUMHS) hospitals during the period of Jan 2006 to Nov 2008. The criteria used in this study were from the American College of Rheumatology. Investigations recorded were blood complete picture, absolute values, peripheral smear, and reticulocyte count in all patients of anaemia. These investigations were necessary to analyse the cases of anaemia in SLE. All investigations were not done in all cases. Patients with hypochromic microcytic anaemia were advised to have serum iron and ferritin levels, seven patients with macrocytic anaemia were advised to have direct and indirect coomb's test, LFTs, serum LDH, serum B12 and folate levels. Patients with normochromic and normocytic anaemia were considered to have anaemia of chronic disease. Bone marrow aspiration and Hb electrophoresis were done in two patients with anaemia of chronic disease. Thirty adult patients were included in this study. Special proforma were prepared to record the information from case sheets of patients including basic information, symptomatology and laboratory investigations. Severity and various types of anaemias were recorded. Anaemia was graded according to severity, as mild (Hb 10-12 G/dl), Moderate (Hb 8-10 G/dl) and severe (Hb < 8 G/dl). Haemoglobinopathies and other types of anaemias were excluded from study. RESULTS Thirty adult diagnosed patients of SLE, were included. Their ages ranged from twenty years to fifty years at time of presentation. The mean age +/- SD (range) was 28 +/- 6.22 (20-50) years and median age was 31 years. Out of thirty patients, twenty seven (90%) were females and three (10%) were males. Twenty eight (93.33%) patients presented with anaemia, 14 (46.66%) patients were of mild anaemia, 8 (26.66%) patients were of moderate grade anaemia and 6 (20%) patients had severe anaemia. Iron deficiency anaemia was found in 9 (30%) patients, 12 (40%) patients had anaemia of chronic disease and 7 (23.33%) patients had haemolytic anaemia, out of theses 7 patients, 5 (16.66%) patients had Coomb's positive haemolytic anaemia. All thirty patients had ANA positive titres > 1:80; and nineteen (63.33%) patients had anti ds DNA positive, titres > 1:10. CONCLUSION Haematologic abnormalities are common manifestations in patients with SLE. Most patients exhibit anaemia at some point during their disease course.
HbA1c analysis by capillary electrophoresis – comparison with chromatography and an immunological method

Abstract Background: Haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) has become an even more important analyte for clinical laboratories during recent years with the introduction of its diagnostic use for diabetes mellitus. Several different analytical principles can be used, each with their advantages and disadvantages. Aim: We wanted to compare Sebia Capillarys 2 Flex Piercing (Capillarys) with our routine HbA1c methods, which were an HPLC method (Tosoh G7) and an immunoassay (Tina-Quant on Roche Modular P) by analysing a large clinical material. Furthermore, we investigated sample stability. Methods: HbA1c analysis was performed in parallel by all three methods for more than 600 patient samples including common and some rare haemoglobin variants, as well as for several controls, some with set target values. Sample stability at room temperature and refrigerated was assessed for up to seven days. Results: Capillarys produced generally somewhat lower HbA1c values than both comparison methods, apparently due to positive bias for the comparison methods. Leaving out samples with haemoglobin variants, we found a mean bias (95% CI) for Capillarys compared to Tosoh G7 (without factorization) and Modular of −0.39 (−0.40 to −0.38) and −0.16 (−0.17 to −0.14) % HbA1c, respectively. HbA1c results were similar between instruments for samples from dialysis patients and for samples with heterozygous common haemoglobin variants, except that Tosoh G7 reported too low results in the presence of Hb E. For heterozygous Hb Raleigh, Capillarys and the immunoassay gave similar results. Conclusion: Capillarys is a convenient instrument for routine HbA1c analysis.
An open-source framework for stress-testing non-invasive foetal ECG extraction algorithms

Over the past decades, many studies have been published on the extraction of non-invasive foetal electrocardiogram (NI-FECG) from abdominal recordings. Most of these contributions claim to obtain excellent results in detecting foetal QRS (FQRS) complexes in terms of location. A small subset of authors have investigated the extraction of morphological features from the NI-FECG. However, due to the shortage of available public databases, the large variety of performance measures employed and the lack of open-source reference algorithms, most contributions cannot be meaningfully assessed. This article attempts to address these issues by presenting a standardised methodology for stress testing NI-FECG algorithms, including absolute data, as well as extraction and evaluation routines. To that end, a large database of realistic artificial signals was created, totaling 145.8 h of multichannel data and over one million FQRS complexes. An important characteristic of this dataset is the inclusion of several non-stationary events (e.g. foetal movements, uterine contractions and heart rate fluctuations) that are critical for evaluating extraction routines. To demonstrate our testing methodology, three classes of NI-FECG extraction algorithms were evaluated: blind source separation (BSS), template subtraction (TS) and adaptive methods (AM). Experiments were conducted to benchmark the performance of eight NI-FECG extraction algorithms on the artificial database focusing on: FQRS detection and morphological analysis (foetal QT and T/QRS ratio). The overall median FQRS detection accuracies (i.e. considering all non-stationary events) for the best performing methods in each group were 99.9% for BSS, 97.9% for AM and 96.0% for TS. Both FQRS detections and morphological parameters were shown to heavily depend on the extraction techniques and signal-to-noise ratio. Particularly, it is shown that their evaluation in the source domain, obtained after using a BSS technique, should be avoided. Data, extraction algorithms and evaluation routines were released as part of the fecgsyn toolbox on Physionet under an GNU GPL open-source license. This contribution provides a standard framework for benchmarking and regulatory testing of NI-FECG extraction algorithms.
The association of genetic variation in CACNA1C with structure and function of a frontotemporal system.

OBJECTIVES A single nucleotide polymorphism at the CACNA1C gene (rs1006737) has been reported in genome-wide association studies to be associated with bipolar disorder (BD) with genome-wide significance. However, the neural system effects of CACNA1C that mediate the association are not known. In this study, we assessed associations between rs1006737 variation and both morphology and functional connectivity within a corticolimbic frontotemporal neural system implicated in BD. METHODS A total of 55 European Americans were divided into two groups: a GG group homozygous for the 'G' allele (n = 30) and carriers of the high risk A allele ('A-carrier' group, AA/AG genotypes; n = 25). The subjects participated in both high-resolution structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans and functional MRI scans during emotional face-processing. Voxel-based morphometry and functional connectivity analyses were performed. RESULTS Compared to the GG group, the A-carrier group showed significantly increased gray matter volume and reduced functional connectivity within a corticolimbic frontotemporal neural system (p < 0.05, corrected). CONCLUSION The findings support effects of the rs1006737 variation on the frontotemporal neural system implicated in BD, both in gray matter morphology and in functional connectivity. This suggests that influence of CACNA1C variation on corticolimbic structure and function may be a mechanism contributing to the neural circuitry of BD.
Dravet syndrome history

Severe myoclonic epilepsy of infancy (SMEI) is a complex form of epilepsy that was first described in France in 1978. Because the myoclonic component of this epilepsy is not always present and because some variability has been observed in the symptomatology, the name was changed to Dravet syndrome in 1989. The genetic aetiology of this epilepsy was discovered in 2001, and since then numerous studies have contributed to a better knowledge of the disease. Around 70% of affected patients are carriers of a mutation on the alpha subunit of the SCN1A gene. An accurate analysis of the clinical features leads to the distinction between typical and atypical forms, both with the same unfavourable prognosis and the same genetic background. However, many studies are being conducted in order to establish correlations between phenotypes and genotypes, and to understand the factors underlying the cognitive impairment of the affected patients.
Survey of childhood asthma in Aberdeen.

Screening of 2511 Aberdeen children revealed 121 who had asthma, a prevalence-rate of 4·8%. There was a ratio of boys to girls of over 2/1; 16 of the 20 children with severe asthma were boys. 80% had experienced their first attack by five years of age. There was a family history of asthma in 53%. Only 1 child had received steroid therapy. Heights and weights of severely asthmatic children were below normal. Children with severe asthma were mostly from social classes IV and v, and tended to come from families of 4 or more children. The mean I.Q. of the asthmatic children was higher than that of the general population.
State-dependent and trait-related gray matter changes in nonrefractory depression

Behavioral evidence suggests functional remission or recovery in nonrefractory depressive disorder after successful antidepressant therapy, but the effect of treatment on brain structures remains unclear. It is possible that some specific structural changes are trait-related, in addition to some state-dependent anatomical regions that could be normalized by medications. In the current study, 32 treatment-naïve nonrefractory depressive disorder patients and 34 matched healthy controls underwent structural MRI scans and a subgroup including 16 patients underwent the second scans after clinical recovery with antidepressant treatment. The statistical analysis of gray matter images showed that the state-dependent regions mainly comprised the key regions within the lateral default, dorsal attention, and frontoparietal networks, whereas the trait-related regions included the medial prefrontal cortex, right anterior insula, thalamus, right parahippocampal gyrus, and right middle occipital gyrus. Moreover, the gray matter changes in the left orbitofrontal cortex, right middle frontal gyrus, left inferior parietal lobule, thalamus, left precentral gyrus, left precuneus, and right middle occipital gyrus were significantly positively correlated with the durations of the current depressive episode. The current findings may not only shed new light on the neuronal effect of antidepressant on depression but also provide potential evidence of the relapse risks for the clinically recovered patients after antidepressant treatment.
High prevalence of coeliac disease in a population‐based study from Western Australia: a case for screening?

OBJECTIVES To determine the prevalence of coeliac disease in an Australian rural community. DESIGN Retrospective analysis of stored serum samples from 3,011 random subjects from the Busselton Health Study. IgA antiendomysial antibodies (AEA) were detected by indirect immunofluorescence, and subjects testing positive were contacted and offered small-bowel biopsy. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Prevalence of AEA positivity and biopsy-proven coeliac disease in the community with reference to the proportion of symptomatic to asymptomatic patients. RESULTS 10 of 3,011 subjects were AEA positive. One subject had died, one subject could not be traced and one refused small-bowel biopsy. All subjects with detectable AEA who consented to biopsy had pathological changes consistent with coeliac disease. The prevalence of newly diagnosed biopsyproven coeliac disease is 7 in 3,011 (1 in 430). Two further subjects had a diagnosis of coeliac disease before this study. When all AEA-positive patients and those previously diagnosed are included, the prevalence is 12/3,011 (1 in 251). There was a significant clustering of cases in the 30-50-years age range, with 10/12 (83%; 95% CI, 52%-98%) aged between 30 and 50 years, compared with 1,092/3,011 (36%; 95% CI, 35%-38%) of the total population (P<0.03). Of the eight AEA-positive subjects who could be contacted, four had symptoms consistent with coeliac disease and four were asymptomatic. Three subjects were iron-deficient, four subjects had first-degree relatives with coeliac disease and one subject had type 1 diabetes mellitus. CONCLUSIONS The prevalence of coeliac disease is high in a rural Australian community. Most patients are undiagnosed, and asymptomatic.
Role of Fracture and Repair Type on Pain and Opioid Use After Hip Fracture in the Elderly

Background and Purpose: Pain after hip fracture repair is related to worse functional outcomes and higher fracture care costs than that for patients with no or less pain. However, to our knowledge, few studies have examined the roles of hip fracture type or surgical procedure as factors influencing postoperative pain or opioid analgesic requirements. Our goal was to determine whether the type of hip fracture or hip fracture repair affects postoperative pain or opioid analgesic requirements in the elderly patient. Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of 231 patients ≥65 years old admitted to a hip fracture center for surgical repair. Fracture patterns were classified into femoral neck (FN) versus intertrochanteric (IT), stable versus unstable, and type of surgical repair. Demographic and intraoperative variables, postoperative pain scores, and opioid analgesic use data were collected and analyzed according to the type of hip fracture and type of surgical repair. Results: There were no differences in postoperative pain when comparing FN versus IT fractures, stable versus unstable fractures, or type of surgical repair. Patients with FN fractures had higher analgesic requirements on postoperative days 1, 2, and 3. There was no difference in postoperative analgesic requirements among patients with stable versus unstable fractures or type of surgical repair. Otherwise, there were no differences in postoperative pain or opioid analgesic use based on the surgical repair or fracture type. Overall, patients with hip fracture experienced low levels of pain.
The Relationships Among Critical Power Determined From a 3-Min All-Out Test, Respiratory Compensation Point, Gas Exchange Threshold, and Ventilatory Threshold

Purpose: Critical power (CP) from the 3-min test was compared to the power outputs associated with thresholds determined from gas exchange parameters that have been used to demarcate the exercise-intensity domains including the respiratory compensation point (RCP), gas exchange threshold (GET), and ventilatory threshold (VT). Method: Twenty-eight participants performed an incremental-cycle ergometer test to exhaustion. The VT was determined from the relationship between the ventilatory equivalent for oxygen uptake (V˙E/V˙O2) versus V˙O2 and the GET was determined using the V-slope method (V˙CO2 vs. V˙O2). The RCP was identified from the V˙E-versus-V˙CO2 relationship. CP was the average power output during the last 30 s of the 3-min all-out test. Linear regression was used to determine the power outputs associated with the RCP, GET, and VT, as well as the V˙O2 associated with CP. Mean differences among the associated power outputs, percent V˙O2 peak, and percent peak power output for the GET, VT, RCP, and CP were analyzed using separate one-way repeated-measures analyses of variance. Results: There were no significant differences between CP (187 ± 47 W) and the power output associated with RCP (190 ± 49 W) or between the power outputs associated with GET (139 ± 37 W) and VT (145 ± 37 W). The power outputs associated with GET and VT, however, were significantly less than were those at CP and associated with RCP. Conclusions: These findings suggest CP and RCP demarcate the heavy from severe exercise-intensity domain and result from a different mechanism of fatigue than that of GET and VT, possibly hyperkalemia.
Identification of a Form of Acyl-CoA:Cholesterol Acyltransferase Specific to Liver and Intestine in Nonhuman Primates*

The present study demonstrates that two different forms of the intracellular cholesterol esterification enzyme acyl-CoA:cholesterol acyltransferase (ACAT) are present in the nonhuman primate hepatocyte; one is similar to that originally cloned from human genomic DNA, here termed ACAT1, while a second gene product, termed ACAT2, is reported here. The primate ACAT2 gene product was cloned from an African green monkey liver cDNA library. Sequence analysis of an isolated, full-length clone of ACAT2 cDNA identified an open reading frame encoding a 526-amino acid protein with essentially no sequence similarity to the ACAT1 cDNA over the N-terminal 101 amino acids but with 57% identity predicted over the remaining 425 amino acids. Transfection of the cloned ACAT2 cDNA into two different mammalian cell types resulted in the production of abundant ACAT activity which was sensitive to ACAT inhibitors. Northern blot analysis showed that the ACAT2 mRNA was expressed primarily in liver and intestine in monkeys. In contrast, ACAT1 mRNA was expressed in almost all tissues examined. Topologic predictions from the amino acid sequence of ACAT2 indicates that it has seven trans-membrane domains in a configuration that places the putative active site of the enzyme in the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum. This orientation of ACAT2 in the endoplasmic reticulum membrane, in addition to its expression only in liver and intestine, suggests that this enzyme may have as a primary function, the secretion of cholesteryl esters into apoB-containing lipoproteins.
Comorbidity in primary care: presentation and consequences.

Comorbidity is a well-established phenomenon in depressive disorders, and it is widely agreed that the majority of depressive disorders examined in both primary care and the general population are not "pure. " This article reviews comorbidity findings in general population and primary care surveys. The implications of comorbid depressive disorders are discussed in terms of their presentation and recognition in primary care, patterns of course and outcome, and associated impairments and disabilities. Data from a World Health Organization study, conducted in primary health clinics in 15 countries, demonstrate that 62% of all depressive cases also suffer from at least one other current mental disorder and that the primary reason for patient visits is rarely of a psychological nature, with the majority of attendees complaining primarily of somatic symptoms (41%), pains (37%), and fatigue and sleep problems (12%). Similar results are presented from 2 recent large representative population surveys, the National Comorbidity Survey and the Early Developmental Stages of Psychopathology Study. The implications of such comorbidity are viewed from various perspectives: the form of depressive presentations in primary care, the recognition of depression in health care, and health services utilization, impairments and disabilities, and course and outcome.