Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Percutaneous Nephrostomy Versus Indwelling Ureteral Stent in the Management of Gynecological Malignancies

Objectives The aims of this study were to evaluate the efficacy of retrograde ureteral stenting and to identify the predictive factors for potential failure of this technique in women with advanced gynecologic malignancies. Methods From 2006 to 2010, a retrospective analysis was performed on a total of 75 patients with ureteral obstruction due to gynecologic malignancies. This population was divided into group 1 (n = 50) in which retrograde stent placement was successful, and group 2 (n = 25) in which stent placement failed and subsequent percutaneous nephrostomy tube placement was required. Multivariate analysis was done to identify predictors of the failure of ureteral stent insertion. Results Multivariate analysis revealed that mean preprocedureal serum cystanin C greater than 2.5 mg/L and length of the ureteral obstruction greater than 3 cm were significant predictors of stent failure. Neither the causes nor location of obstruction predicted the need for percutaneous nephrostomy (PCN). No statistical significance was detected among the subgroups of patients with different degrees of hydronephrosis. Statistical significant differences were found between the 2 groups in procedural time, average cost, and mean interval of stent/catheter replacement. However, no statistically significant difference was found in the median survival time and overall stent-related or catheter-related complications between the 2 groups. Conclusions Retrograde ureteral stenting is a first-line option for managing ureteral obstruction caused by gynecologic malignancies. However, in cases where the preprocedureal mean serum cystanin C is greater than 2.5 mg/L and the length of the ureteral obstruction segment is greater than 3 cm, these patients may be better served by percutaneous drainage.
Benefits and Challenges in Bowel MR Imaging at 3.0 T

Abdominal imaging at 3.0 T has shown to be challenging because of a number of artifacts and effects related to the physics at higher field strength. For bowel imaging at 3.0 T, artifacts due to magnetic field inhomogeneities, standing waves, increased susceptibility, and greater chemical shift effects are of particular concern because they are likely to affect the assessment of relevant structures and counterbalance the benefits of higher signal-to-noise ratio. Regarding small- and large-bowel magnetic resonance imaging, the benefits of higher field strengths translate mainly in better contrast-to-noise ratio of contrast-enhanced T1-weighted gradient echo and T2-weighted imaging, whereas steady-state free precession sequences seem to suffer from serious degradation of image quality. The present article summarizes the technical challenges in bowel imaging at 3.0 T, provides an overview of performance compared with 1.5 T in small- and large-bowel diseases including the rectum, and revises the current literature.
Dissociative Shocks in the Neighborhood of Orion IRc2 Traced with Atomic Carbon

We present Caltech Submillimeter Observatory 10'' resolution maps of the 3P2 → 3P1 line of neutral atomic carbon (809.3435 GHz) and the J = 7-6 line of CO (806.6518 GHz) covering a region of 2′ × 4. ′5 around Orion IRc2 in the BN/KL Nebula. The two lines were observed with the same receiver simultaneously, and therefore the two maps have zero relative pointing error. The atomic carbon (C I) emission does not peak toward the IRc2 position and displays a very different spatial distribution with respect to most molecular species. Moderately strong red wings are detected in C I around the region defined by the high-velocity CO gas with a spatial distribution that delineates a shell of ~20'' radius. We propose that CO dissociation in the J-type shocks produced by the interaction of the IRc2 outflows with the surrounding quiescent gas could play a significant role in this enhancement of atomic carbon in that shell.
Pharmacognostic Evaluation and Antioxidant Activity of Urtica dioica L.

Background: Urtica dioica L. is a common Himalayan species which produces allergenic substances causing oedema and inflammation in humans. It has become a source of folk medicine for the treatment of many diseases. The leaves and roots both are used internally as a blood purifier and diuretic and an infusion of the plant is used for nasal and menstrual haemorrhage, diabetes, rheumatism, eczema, anaemia, hair loss, as an expectorant and antidiarrhoeal. Present study includes pharmacognostic evaluation, antioxidant activity and HPTLC analysis of Urtica dioica L. Methods: Pharmacognostic evaluation of aerial part of U. dioica has been performed as per Indian pharmacopoeia. In-vitro antioxidant evaluation of U. dioica has been performed using DPPH free radical scavenging activity. Ferulic acid, a potential phenolic antioxidant present in this species, has been studied through HPTLC. Results: U. dioica hydro-alcoholic extract shows positive results for antioxidant activity with IC50 value of 88.33 ± 2.88 μg/ml. Standard ascorbic acid showed IC50 value of 2.8 ± 0.62 μg/ml. Ferulic acid was identified at Rf 0.61 ± 0.01 and quantified to 0.73% in this species through CAMAG HPTLC analysis. Conclusion: The pharmacognostical parameters reported can be considered as quality standards of U. dioica in herbal industry. Hydro-alcoholic extract of U. dioica showed positive in vitro antioxidant activity. Presence of phenolic compound suggests that antioxidant activity may be due to ferulic acid content.
Insidious Pedagogy: How Course Management Systems Affect Teaching

Course management systems, like any other technology, have an inherent purpose implied in their design, and therefore a built-in pedagogy. Although these pedagogies are based on instructivist principles, today's large CMSs have many features suitable for applying more constructivist pedagogies. Yet few faculty use these features, or even adapt their CMS very much, despite the several customization options. This is because most college instructors do not work or play much on the Web, and thus utilize Web-based systems primarily at their basic level. The defaults of the CMS therefore tend to determine the way Web-novice faculty teach online, encouraging methods based on posting of material and engendering usage that focuses on administrative tasks. A solution to this underutilization of the CMS is to focus on pedagogy for Web-novice faculty and allow a choice of CMS.
Cloning and expression of equine insulin-like growth factor binding proteins in normal equine tendon.

OBJECTIVES To define a portion of the nucleotide sequences of each of the 6 insulin-like growth factor (IGF) binding proteins (IGFBPs) in horses and describe patterns of messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein expression for IGFBPs in normal equine tendons. ANIMALS 7 horses. PROCEDURE Total RNA was extracted from the tensile region of normal superficial digital flexor tendons and reverse transcribed into complimentary DNA (cDNA). The cDNA was amplified via PCR, and products representing portions of each IGFBP were cloned and sequenced. Nucleotide sequences were used to deduce the amino acid sequences, and both nucleotide and predicted amino acid sequences were compared with those published for bovine, human, mouse, and ovine IGFBPs. Gene expression was quantitated by real-time PCR assay, and protein expression was evaluated by western ligand blot (WLB). RESULTS Clones ranged in size from 262 to 522 bp and had high degrees of sequence homology with other mammalian species. Sequence homology was highest between bovine and equine IGFBPs (86% to 95%) and amongst the IGFBP-5 sequences from the various species (92% to 95%). Message for IGFBP-2 to -6, but not IGFBP-1, was expressed in normal tendon. Protein expression for IGFBP-2, -3, and -4 was detected byWLB in normal tendon and markedly increased in damaged tendons. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Results provide basic information and tools needed for further characterization of the role of the IGF system in tendon healing and may lead to the ability to potentiate the response of healing tendon to exogenous IGF-I via concurrent manipulation of IGFBPs.
Identification of a novel set of scaffolding residues that are instrumental for the inhibitory property of Kunitz (STI) inhibitors

For canonical serine protease inhibitors (SPIs), scaffolding spacer residue Asn or Arg religates cleaved scissile peptide bond to offer efficient inhibition. However, several designed “mini‐proteins,” containing the inhibitory loop and the spacer(s) with trimmed scaffold behave like substrates, indicating that scaffolding region beyond the spacer is also important in the inhibitory process. To understand the loop‐scaffold compatibility, we prepared three chimeric proteins ECIL‐WCIS, ETIL‐WCIS, and STIL‐WCIS, where the inhibitory loop of ECI, ETI, and STI is placed on the scaffold of their homolog WCI. Results show that although ECIL‐WCIS and STIL‐WCIS behave like good inhibitors, ETIL‐WCIS behaves like a substrate. That means a set of loop residues (SRLRSAFI), offering strong trypsin inhibition in ETI, act as a substrate when they seat on the scaffold of WCI. Crystal structure of ETIL‐WCIS shows that the inhibitory loop is of noncanonical conformation. We identified three novel scaffolding residues Trp88, Arg74, and Tyr113 in ETI that act as barrier to confine the inhibitory loop to canonical conformation. Absence of this barrier in the scaffold of WCI makes the inhibitory loop flexible in ETIL‐WCIS leading to a loss of canonical conformation, explaining its substrate‐like behavior. Incorporation of this barrier back in ETIL‐WCIS through mutations increases its inhibitory power, supporting our proposition. Our study provides structural evidence for the contribution of remote scaffolding residues in the inhibitory process of canonical SPIs. Additionally, we rationalize why the loop‐scaffold swapping is not permitted even among the members of highly homologous inhibitors, which might be important in the light of inhibitor design.
Metal‐based nanoparticles in soil: Fate, behavior, and effects on soil invertebrates

Metal‐based nanoparticles (NPs) (e.g., silver, zinc oxide, titanium dioxide, iron oxide) are being widely used in the nanotechnology industry. Because of the release of particles from NP‐containing products, it is likely that NPs will enter the soil compartment, especially through land application of sewage sludge derived from wastewater treatment. This review presents an overview of the literature dealing with the fate and effects of metal‐based NPs in soil. In the environment, the characteristics of NPs (e.g., size, shape, surface charge) and soil (e.g., pH, ionic strength, organic matter, and clay content) will affect physical and chemical processes, resulting in NP dissolution, agglomeration, and aggregation. The behavior of NPs in soil will control their mobility and their bioavailability to soil organisms. Consequently, exposure characterization in ecotoxicological studies should obtain as much information as possible about dissolution, agglomeration, and aggregation processes. Comparing existing studies is a challenging task, because no standards exist for toxicity tests with NPs. In many cases, the reporting of associated characterization data is sparse, or missing, making it impossible to interpret and explain observed differences in results among studies. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 2012; 31: 1679–1692. © 2012 SETAC
Office Surgery Incidents: What Seven Years of Florida Data Show Us

BACKGROUND In the wake of increased media attention focusing on human error in medicine, numerous state medical boards and legislatures have drafted, and are continuing to draft, regulations aimed at protecting patients undergoing procedures in the office setting. These regulations will have a considerable impact on patient access to medically necessary procedures, and any regulations should be based on good data. This report summarizes 7 years of prospective data from the state of Florida, the best data available on office surgery incidents. OBJECTIVE The objective was to determine the nature and incidence of hospital transfers and deaths resulting from office procedures. METHODS This study is a compilation of mandatory reporting by Florida physicians to a central agency of all in-office adverse incidents resulting in death, serious injury, or hospital transfer in the State of Florida from March 2000 to March 2007. Telephone and internet follow-up was conducted to determine reporting physician board certification, hospital privileges, and office accreditation. RESULTS In 7 years there were 31 deaths and 143 procedure-related complications and hospital transfers. Liposuction and liposuction with abdominoplasty or another cosmetic procedure resulted in 24 complications and 8 deaths. Of the offices reporting adverse incidents, 38.5% were accredited by an independent accrediting agency, 92.5% of the physicians were board-certified, and 96.6% had hospital privileges. A total of 58% (18/31) of the deaths and 61% (87/143) of the complications were associated with nonmedically necessary (cosmetic) procedures. A total of 78% (14/18) of these deaths were in ASA Class 1 patients. Plastic surgeons were responsible for 48% of all deaths (83% of cosmetic surgery deaths) and for 52% of all hospital transfers (83% of cosmetic surgery complications and hospital transfers). CONCLUSION Plastic surgeons were responsible for an inordinate number of deaths and hospital transfers. Requiring physician board certification and physician hospital privileges would not seem to increase safety, because most physicians already have these credentials, and physicians without these credentials were not responsible for a disproportionate share of incidents. These data do not show an emergent hazard to patients from medically necessary office surgery. Liposuction under general anesthesia deserves continued scrutiny because deaths due to this procedure continue to occur and this procedure can be performed with dilute local anesthesia, with which no deaths were reported. Mandatory reporting of office incidents should be strongly supported, as well as reporting of incidents that occur after surgery in the hospital outpatient department and ambulatory surgery center. These data should be available for analysis after protecting patient confidentiality. A national debate needs to occur to determine how many deaths and injuries are acceptable from cosmetic procedures performed under general and intravenous anesthesia.
Nurses' knowledge to identify early acute kidney injury.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the knowledgeof nurses on early identification of acute kidney injury (AKI) in intensive care, emergency and hospitalization units. METHOD A prospective multi-center study was conducted with 216 nurses, using a questionnaire with 10 questions related to AKI prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. RESULTS 57.2% of nurses were unable to identify AKI clinical manifestations, 54.6% did not have knowledge of AKI incidence in patients admitted to the ICU, 87.0% of the nurses did not know how to answer as regards the AKI mortality rate in patients admitted to the ICU, 67.1% answered incorrectly that slight increases in serum creatinine do not have an impact on mortality, 66.8% answered incorrectly to the question on AKI prevention measures, 60.4% answered correctly that loop diuretics for preventing AKI is not recommended, 77.6% answered correctly that AKI does not characterize the need for hemodialysis, and 92.5% said they had no knowledge of the Acute Kidney Injury Networkclassification. CONCLUSION Nurses do not have enough knowledge to identify early AKI, demonstrating the importance of qualification programs in this field of knowledge. OBJETIVO Avaliar o conhecimento do enfermeiro na identificação precoce da Injúria Renal Aguda (IRA) em Unidade de Terapia Intensiva, Unidade de Internação e Emergência. MÉTODO Estudo multicêntrico, prospectivo.Participaram do estudo 216 enfermeiros,por meio de questionário com 10 questões relacionadas à prevenção, ao diagnóstico e ao tratamento da IRA. RESULTADOS 57,2% não souberam identificar as manifestações clínicas da IRA, 54,6% não têm conhecimento da incidência de IRA em pacientes internados na UTI, 87,0% dos enfermeiros não souberam responder ao índice de mortalidade de IRA em pacientes internados na UTI, 67,1% responderam incorretamente que aumentos discretos da creatinina sérica não têm impacto na mortalidade, 66,8% responderam incorretamente à questão sobre as medidas de prevenção da IRA, 60,4% acertaram quando responderam que não é recomendada a utilização de diuréticos de alça na prevenção da IRA, 77,6% acertaram ao responder que IRA não caracteriza necessidade de hemodiálise e 92,5% disseram não conhecer a classificação AKIN. CONCLUSÃO Enfermeiros não têm conhecimento suficiente para a identificação precoce da IRA, mostrando a importância de programas de capacitação nesta área do conhecimento.
Grain growth and loss of texture during annealing of alloys, and the translation of Earth’s inner core

The Earth's inner core is seismically anisotropic, with the direction parallel to the rotation axis both fast and more attenuating. There is also increasing evidence that the inner core is asymmetric, with the western hemisphere exhibiting slower direction‐averaged P wave velocity, less overall attenuation, and greater elastic anisotropy. It was recently suggested that the hemispherical variations might result from convective translation, whereby enhanced solidification in the western hemisphere leads to a net eastward translation of inner core material, with melting occurring in the east. Annealing accompanies this eastward movement. This study examines experimentally a previously unobserved sequence of grain growth and loss of texture during the annealing of a directionally solidified alloy. The growth of newly nucleated grains results because the original grains that resulted from directional solidification have a high energy associated with intragranular interphase boundaries, and because the minor element has a very low solubility in the primary phase so that a more traditional sequence of coarsening is not possible. This supplies a physical mechanism for the loss of texture that is suggested seismically.
Use of Psychotropic Medications and Visits to Psychiatrists and Psychologists among Individuals with Nonsyndromic Oral Clefts: A Population-Based Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND Oral clefts (OCs) are among the most common congenital malformations and can have a large impact on the life of the affected individual. Research findings regarding the psychological and psychosocial consequences of OC are inconclusive. METHODS Using Danish nationwide registers, we investigated redeemed prescriptions of psychotropic medication during 1996 to 2012 and visits to psychiatrists and psychologists during 1996 to 2011 among individuals born with nonsyndromic OC in Denmark between 1936 and 2009 and a comparison cohort of individuals without OC. This includes 8244 individuals with OC and 82,665 individuals without OC. RESULTS The Cox regression analysis revealed 12% (95% confidence interval [CI], 7 to 16%) increased risk of using any psychotropic medication for individuals with OC. When examining by cleft type, higher risks for medication use were observed in individuals with cleft lip and palate (CLP) or cleft palate (CP) only. The largest increased relative risk was found for use of antipsychotics and stimulants for individuals with CP followed by use of antipsychotics for individuals with CLP. We found increased risk of visits to psychiatrists for individuals with CP and no increased risk for visits to psychologists for either group. CONCLUSIONS This study indicates that a small group of individuals with nonsyndromic OC, in particular those with palatal involvement, have greater risk of using psychotropic medications. However, elevated use was also observed among younger individuals with cleft lip (CL) only. There seems to be only a modest increase in visits to health professionals for psychological reasons. Undiagnosed syndromes (e.g., 22q11 deletion syndrome), may, however, contribute to an overestimation of the associations. Birth Defects Research 109:824-835, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Antioxidant and renoprotective effects of paricalcitol on experimental contrast-induced nephropathy model.

OBJECTIVES The aim of the study was to assess the effect of paricalcitol on the experimental contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) model. We hypothesised that paricalcitol may prevent CIN. METHODS 32 Wistar albino rats were divided into four groups (n=8 each): control group, paricalcitol group, CIN group and paricalcitol plus CIN group. Paricalcitol (0.4 µg kg(-1) day(-1)) was given intraperitoneally for 5 consecutive days prior to induction of CIN. CIN was induced at day 4 by intravenous injection of indometacin (10 mg kg(-1)), Nω-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME, 10 mg kg(-1)) and meglumine amidotrizoate (6 ml kg(-1)). Renal function parameters, oxidative stress biomarkers, histopathological findings and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) immunoexpression were evaluated. RESULTS The paricalcitol plus CIN group had lower mean serum creatinine levels (p=0.034) as well as higher creatinine clearance (p=0.042) than the CIN group. Serum malondialdehyde and kidney thiobarbituric acid-reacting substances levels were significantly lower in the paricalcitol plus CIN group than in the CIN group (p=0.024 and p=0.042, respectively). The mean scores of tubular necrosis (p=0.024), proteinaceous casts (p=0.038), medullary congestion (p=0.035) and VEGF immunoexpression (p=0.018) in the paricalcitol plus CIN group were also significantly lower. CONCLUSION This study demonstrates the protective effect of paricalcitol in the prevention of CIN in an experimental model.
Effects of the Androgen Antagonist Flutamide and the Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor Citalopram in Bulimia Nervosa: A Placebo-Controlled Pilot Study

Abstract: Prompted by previous studies suggesting that bulimia nervosa in women may be associated with elevated serum levels of testosterone, we have evaluated the possible effect of androgen antagonism in this condition. To this end, women meeting the DSM-IV criteria of bulimia nervosa, purging type, were treated in a one-center study with the androgen receptor antagonist flutamide (n = 9), the serotonin reuptake inhibitor citalopram (n = 15), flutamide plus citalopram (n = 10), or placebo (n = 12) for 3 months using a double-blind design. Self-rated global assessment of symptom intensity suggests all active treatments to be superior to placebo. The reduction in binge eating compared with baseline was statistically significant in both groups given flutamide but not in the groups given citalopram only or placebo. A moderate and reversible increase in serum transaminase levels led to discontinuation in two subjects in the flutamide group. It is concluded that blockade of androgen receptors may reduce some of the symptoms of bulimia nervosa in women.