Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Factors Associated With Failure of Nonoperative Treatment in Lateral Epicondylitis

Background: Lateral epicondylitis is a common cause of elbow pain that is treated with a variety of nonoperative measures and often improves with time. Minimal research is available on patients in whom these nonoperative treatments fail. Purpose: To identify baseline patient and disease factors associated with the failure of nonoperative treatment of lateral epicondylitis, defined as surgery after a period of nonoperative treatment. Study Design: Case control study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: A total of 580 patients treated for lateral epicondylitis at a tertiary center between 2007 and 2012 were analyzed. Disease-specific and patient demographic characteristics were compared between patient groups (nonoperative vs surgical treatment). A multivariable logistic regression model was created based on preliminary univariate testing to determine which characteristics were associated with failure of nonoperative treatment. Results: Of the 580 patients, 92 (16%) underwent surgical treatment at a mean of 6 months (range, 0-31 months) from their initial visit. Univariate analysis demonstrated a potential association (P < .10) between operative management and the following factors at initial diagnosis: increased age, body mass index, duration of symptoms, presence of radial tunnel syndrome, prior injection, physical therapy, splinting, smoking, workers’ compensation, a labor occupation, use of narcotics, use of antidepressant medications, and previous orthopaedic surgery. In the final multivariable model, a workers’ compensation claim (odds ratio [OR], 8.1), prior injection (OR, 5.6), the presence of radial tunnel syndrome (OR, 3.1), previous orthopaedic surgery (OR, 3.2), and duration of symptoms >12 months (OR, 2.5) remained significant independent predictors of surgical treatment. Conclusion: This study identifies risk factors for surgical treatment for lateral epicondylitis. While these findings do not provide information regarding causal factors associated with surgery, these patient and disease-specific considerations may be helpful when counseling patients regarding treatment options and the likelihood of the success of continued nonoperative treatment.
Modulation of the Type I Interferon Response Defines the Sensitivity of Human Melanoma Cells to Oncolytic Measles Virus.

BACKGROUND Oncolytic viruses such as live-attenuated, vaccine strains of measles virus (MV) have recently emerged as promising cancer treatments, having shown significant antitumor activity against a large variety of human tumors. OBJECTIVE Our study aims at determining which parameters define the sensitivity of human melanoma cells to oncolytic MV infection. METHODS We analyzed both in vitro and in vivo the oncolytic activity of MV against a panel of human melanoma cell established in our laboratory. We tested whether either type I interferons or the interferon pathway inhibitor Ruxolitinib could modulate the sensitivity of these cells to oncolytic MV infection. RESULTS Human melanoma cells exhibit varying levels of sensitivity to MV infection in culture and as tumor xenografts. As these differences are not explained by their expression level of the CD46 receptor, we hypothesized that antiviral immune responses may be suppressed in certain cell resulting in their inability to control infection efficiently. By analyzing the type I IFN response, we found that resistant cells had a fully functional pathway that was activated upon MV infection. On the contrary, sensitive cell showed defects in this pathway. When pre-treated with IFN-α and IFN-β, all but one of the sensitive cell became resistant to MV. Cells resistant to MV were rendered sensitive to MV with Ruxolitinib. CONCLUSION Type I interferon response is the main determinant for the sensitivity or resistance of melanoma to oncolytic MV infection. This will have to be taken into account for future clinical trials on oncolytic MV.
Human Oral Bioavailability Prediction of Four Kinds of Drugs

In the development of drugs intended for oral use, good drug absorption and appropriate drug delivery are very important. Now the predictions for drug absorption and oral bioavailability follow similar approach: calculate molecular descriptors for molecules and build the prediction models. This approach works well for the prediction of compounds which cross a cell membrane from a region of high concentration to one of low concentration, but it does not work very well for the prediction of oral bioavailability, which represents the percentage of an oral dose which is able to produce a pharmacological activity. The models for bioavailability had limited predictability because there are a variety of pharmacokinetic factors influencing human oral bioavailability. Recent study has shown that good quantitative relationship could be obtained for subsets of drugs, such as those that have similar structure or the same pharmacological activity, or those that exhibit similar absorption and metabolism mechanisms. In this work, using MLR (Multiple Linear Regression) and SVM (Support Vector Machine), quantitative bioavailability prediction models were built for four kinds of drugs, which are Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Inhibitors or Angiotensin II Receptor Antagonists, Calcium Channel Blockers, Sodium and Potassium Channels Blockers and Quinolone Antimicrobial Agents. Explorations into subsets of compounds were performed and reliable prediction models were built for these four kinds of drugs. This work represents an exploration in predicting human oral bioavailability and could be used in other dataset of compounds with the same pharmacological activity. Human Oral Bioavailability Prediction of Four Kinds of Drugs
Early Erythropoietin Therapy Attenuates Remodeling and Preserves Function of Left Ventricle in Porcine Myocardial Infarction

Erythropoietin (EPO) has been shown to have anti-inflammatory, antiapoptotic, and proangiogenic effects. This study investigated whether early EPO treatment effectively preserves left ventricular (LV) function in porcine acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Eighteen male mini-pigs divided into groups 1 (sham), 2 (AMI), and 3 (AMI with 2 consecutive EPO doses [7500 IU per animal each time] at 30 minutes and 24 hours after AMI induction) underwent echocardiography before and 14 days after AMI induction through left anterior descending artery (LAD) ligation with myocardium harvested for analysis. Larger infarcted areas (IA) were noted in group 2 than in group 3. In both IA and peri-IA, percentage of apoptotic nuclei and CD40-positive cells, messenger RNA expressions of IL-8, matrix metalloproteinase-9, caspase-3, and Bcl-2 associated x protein were highest, whereas proliferator-activated receptor-γ coactivator-1α, endothelial nitric oxide synthase and Bcl-2 were lowest in group 2. Oxidative stress and cytosolic cytochrome c in IA were increased (P < 0.001), whereas protein expression of connexin43, cytochrome c, and protein kinase C-ϵ in mitochondria were reduced in group 2 than in other groups (P < 0.045). The fibrosis in IA was notably decreased in group 3 compared with that in group 2. The number of small arterioles and capillary density in IA was highest in group 3, whereas LV performance was lowest in group 2 (P < 0.045). In conclusion, the results demonstrated that early EPO administration in a porcine AMI model effectively limits infarct size, attenuates LV remodeling, and preserves LV function.
The Use of Dexamethasone for Preventing Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting in Females Undergoing Thyroidectomy: A Dose-Ranging Study

We sought to determine the minimum effective dose of dexamethasone in preventing postoperative nausea and vomiting in women undergoing thyroidectomy. Two hundred twenty-five women (n = 45 in each of five groups) undergoing thyroidectomy under general anesthesia were enrolled in this randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study. Immediately after the induction of anesthesia, patients received IV dexamethasone at doses of 10 mg (D10), 5 mg (D5), 2.5 mg (D2.5), 1.25 mg (D1.25), or saline (S). We found that Groups D10 and D5 were significantly different from Group S in the total incidences of nausea and vomiting, more than four vomiting episodes, the proportions of patients requiring rescue antiemetics, and the incidences of complete responses. The differences between Groups D10 and D5 were not significant. Dexamethasone 2.5 mg reduced the total incidence of nausea and vomiting. Dexamethasone 1.25 mg was not effective. Dexamethasone 5 mg IV is the minimum effective dose in preventing postoperative nausea and vomiting in women undergoing thyroidectomy. Implications We evaluated four doses of IV dexamethasone in preventing postoperative nausea and vomiting in women undergoing thyroidectomy. We found that dexamethasone 5 mg was as effective as dexamethasone 10 mg, and was more effective than saline control. Dexamethasone 5 mg is suggested to be the minimum effective dose for this purpose.
H1N1 pandemic flu found to cause viral pneumonia in severe cases, says WHO

The World Health Organization expressed heightened concern following the presentation of new evidence on clinical aspects of the H1N1 pandemic by experts from heavily affected countries, which document that “primary viral pneumonia is the most common finding in severe cases and a frequent cause of death. ” Experts confirmed that most people infected by the H1N1 pandemic virus do not experience complications and recover within a week. But they also expressed concerns about small subsets of patients who rapidly develop severe progressive pneumonia. Pregnant women, children younger than 2 years old, and …
Effect of cetirizine on bronchial hyperresponsiveness in patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis and asthma

Although H1 antihistamine compounds (H1) are highly effective in the treatment of allergic rhinitis (AR), their role in the treatment of asthma is still controversial. Because a strong association between AR and bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR) has been reported, this study was designed to assess the effect of a new H1 anti histamine, cetirizine (C), on nonspecific BHR in patients with AR. Twelve patients were included in a double‐blind, crossover, placebo‐controlled trial. All patients had positive skin tests for common allergens and showed BHR to inhaled methacholine after specific nasal allergenic challenge. After a washout period of 1 week to ensure the stability of the BHR, the patients received, by crossover randomization, C 10 mg daily or placebo (P) for 2 weeks. After each treatment period, BHR and nasal blocking index (NBI) were measured 1 and 6 h after nasal challenge. Bronchial responsiveness was expressed as methacholine PD20, the provocation dose of methacholine causing a 20% decrease in FEV1. Measurements were then performed after 2 weeks of C and after 2 weeks of P. Baseline values of PD20 (median) measured before challenge showed no difference after cetirizine or after placebo (1.36 mg). Results 1 h after allergen did not show significant differences between C (methacholine PD20=0.522 mg) and placebo (methacholine PD20=0.455 mg). By contrast, 6 h after challenge, methacholine PD20 was 0.918 mg for C and 0.483 mg for P (P=0.042). Similarly, NBI showed no change between C and P 1 h after challenge, whereas the difference was significant 6 h after challenge (P=0.011). These data demonstrate a protective nasal effect of C against BHR measured 6 h after nasal allergen challenge in patients with AR. They suggest that C may be useful in patients with asthma associated with AR.
Mitochondrial DNA haplogroups: role in the prevalence and severity of knee osteoarthritis.

OBJECTIVE Some studies indicate that the mitochondrion is implicated in osteoarthritis (OA). To test the hypothesis that mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroups contribute to the prevalence and severity of knee OA, we analyzed the European mtDNA haplogroups in a Spanish population of patients with knee OA and healthy control subjects. METHODS We combined the single-base extension assay with the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism technique to obtain the different single-nucleotide polymorphisms that characterize the European haplogroups in 457 patients with knee OA and 262 radiologic controls. Knee OA radiographs had previously been classified as grades 1-4 according to Kellgren/Lawrence (K/L) scoring system. RESULTS Individuals carrying haplogroup J showed a significantly decreased risk of knee OA (odds ratio [OR] 0.460 [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.282-0.748], P = 0.002). In terms of K/L scores, patients carrying haplogroup J had a less severe progression of knee OA (OR 0.351 [95% CI 0.156-0.787], P = 0.012), while those carrying haplogroup U had a more severe progression (OR 1.788 [95% CI 1.094-2.922], P = 0.025). CONCLUSION People carrying haplogroup J may be at a lower risk of developing knee OA, and those carrying this haplogroup in whom knee OA does not develop may have a less severe progression of the disease. Patients with knee OA carrying haplogroup U may have a more severe progression of the disease. These results indicate that mtDNA haplogroups contribute to the pathogenesis of OA.
Emotional distress following genetic testing for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer: a meta-analytic review.

OBJECTIVE Meta-analysis was used to synthesize results of studies on emotional consequences of predictive genetic testing for BRCA1/2 mutations conferring increased risk of breast and ovarian cancer. DESIGN Studies assessing anxiety or cancer-specific distress before and after provision of test results (k = 20) were analyzed using a random-effects model. Moderator variables included country of data collection and personal cancer history of study participants. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Standardized mean gain effect sizes were calculated for mutation carriers, noncarriers, and those with inconclusive results over short (0-4 weeks), moderate (5-24 weeks), or long (25-52 weeks) periods of time after testing. RESULTS Distress among carriers increased shortly after receiving results and returned to pretesting levels over time. Distress among noncarriers and those with inconclusive results decreased over time. Some distress patterns differed in studies conducted outside the United States and for individuals with varying cancer histories. CONCLUSION Results underscore the importance of time; changes in distress observed shortly after test-result disclosure frequently differed from the pattern of distress seen subsequently. Although emotional consequences of this testing appear minimal, it remains possible that testing may affect cognitive and behavioral outcomes, which have rarely been examined through meta-analysis. Testing may also affect understudied subgroups differently.
Hypothesis That Urethral Bulb (Corpus Spongiosum) Plays an Active Role in Male Urinary Continence

The proximal urethral bulb in men is enlarged, surrounds the bulbous urethra, and extends dorsally towards the perineum. During intercourse engorgement takes place due to increased blood flow through the corpus spongiosum. Antegrade ejaculation is facilitated by contraction of the bulbospongiosus muscles during climax. Micturition during sexual stimulation is functionally inhibited. Supporting the bulb may indirectly facilitate continence in a certain subset of patients with postprostatectomy incontinence. During physical activity with increased abdominal pressure, reflex contraction of the pelvic floor muscles as well as the bulbospongiosus muscles occurs to support sphincter function and limit urinary incontinence. Operations to the prostate may weaken urinary sphincter function. It is hypothesized that the distal urinary sphincter may be supported indirectly by placing a hammock underneath the urethral bulb. During moments of physical stress the “cushion” of blood within the supported corpus spongiosum helps to increase the zone of coaptation within the sphincteric (membranous) urethra. This may lead to urinary continence in patients treated by a transobturator repositioning sling in patients with postprostatectomy incontinence. This paper describes the possible role of the urethral bulb in male urinary continence, including its function after retroluminal sling placement (AdVance, AdVance XP® Male Sling System, Minnetonka, USA).
Understanding cycling endurance in perpendicular spin-transfer torque (p-STT) magnetic memory

Perpendicular spin-transfer torque (p-STT) memory is attracting an increasing interest as storage class memory (SCM) or static/dynamic RAM replacement. In these applications, high speed and extended endurance are essential and sometimes conflicting requirements. This work addresses cycling endurance of p-STT devices by pulsed experiments and modeling of the dielectric breakdown. We present a new endurance model able to predict the STT endurance as a function of applied voltage, pulse width, pulse polarity and delay time. The trade-off between write time and endurance for RAM replacement is finally addressed.
Isolation of a previously undescribed rickettsia from an aborted bovine fetus

A previously undescribed obligate intracellular bacterium was isolated from an aborted bovine fetus. The organism was resistant to penicillin, replicated within cytoplasmic vacuoles, exhibited structural characteristics compatible with the rickettsias, and shared antigenic determinants with Cowdria ruminantium.
Stability validation of a constrained model predictive networked control system with future input buffering

This paper addresses the stability of a newly-developed control strategy for networked control systems (NCS). This control strategy hones the potential of constrained model predictive control (MPC) by buffering the predicted control sequence at the actuator in anticipation of typical data transmission errors associated with NCS. Closed-loop stability in the sense of Lyapunov is guaranteed for the controller in the linear case, by bounding the projected receding horizon costs by lower- and upper-bounding terms using a predetermined terminal cost. A stability theorem is developed, which provides a suboptimal measure for the controller in real time, and is sufficient to estimate the worst-case transmission delay that can be handled by the developed control buffering strategy. The stability conditions, as governed by the theorem, are validated through real-time implementation on an electro-hydraulic servo system of an industrial processing machine, through an Ethernet network.
Anxiety, impulsivity and depressed mood in relation to suicidal and violent behavior

Many different variables have been associated with suicidal behavior as well as with violent behavior. This study was designed to test a model that attempts to relate such variables to violence and suicide risk. Sixty psychiatric patients were evaluated and divided into suicidal and nonsuicidal groups and then into violent and nonviolent groups. Scores on suicide risk, violence risk, anxiety, anger, impulsivity and mood were then compared between these groups. In a second analysis, scores on suicide risk and violence risk were correlated with all the other variables. Anxiety and impulsivity were found to strongly correlate with suicide risk. Angry and resentful mood correlated with violence risk; trait anxiety correlated negatively with violence risk. The results contribute further insight into the authors' two‐stage model of countervailing forces.
Noether Current, Horizon Virasoro Algebra and Entropy

We provide a simple and straightforward procedure for defining a Virasoro algebra based on the diffeomorphisms near a null surface in a space-time and obtain the entropy density of the null surface from its central charge. We use the off-shell Noether current corresponding to the diffeomorphism invariance of a gravitational Lagrangian L(g ab ,R abcd ) and define the Virasoro algebra from its variation. This allows us to identify the central charge and the zero-mode eigenvalue with which we obtain the entropy density of the Killing horizon. Our approach works for all Lanczos-Lovelock models and reproduces the correct Wald entropy. The entire analysis is done off-shell without using the field equations and allows us to define an entropy density for any null surface which acts as a local Rindler horizon for a particular class of observers.
Parameter Identification of Arc Furnace Based on Stochastic Nature of Arc Length Using Two-Step Optimization Technique

Recent studies on the effect of arc furnaces in a power system lack accurate predicting voltage waveform of an arc furnace. This is mainly due to the random nature of the arc length. In this paper, a novel two-step optimization technique is presented to identify the arc furnace parameters considering the stochastic nature of the arc length. The proposed method is based on a genetic algorithm (GA) which adopts the arc current and voltage waveforms to estimate parameters of the nonlinear time-varying model of an electric arc furnace. Simulation results are compared with data obtained from two real arc furnace plants. Analyses show that the proposed method is profitable to identify accurate values of the arc furnace parameters which incorporate the stochastic nature of the arc length.
Variable DNA methylation is associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung function.

RATIONALE Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is associated with local (lung) and systemic (blood) inflammation and manifestations. DNA methylation is an important regulator of gene transcription, and global and specific gene methylation marks may vary with cigarette smoke exposure. OBJECTIVES To perform a comprehensive assessment of methylation marks in DNA from subjects well phenotyped for nonneoplastic lung disease. METHODS We conducted array-based methylation screens, using a test-replication approach, in two family-based cohorts (n = 1,085 and 369 subjects). MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS We observed 349 CpG sites significantly associated with the presence and severity of COPD in both cohorts. Seventy percent of the associated CpG sites were outside of CpG islands, with the majority of CpG sites relatively hypomethylated. Gene ontology analysis based on these 349 CpGs (330 genes) suggested the involvement of a number of genes responsible for immune and inflammatory system pathways, responses to stress and external stimuli, as well as wound healing and coagulation cascades. Interestingly, our observations include significant, replicable associations between SERPINA1 hypomethylation and COPD and lower average lung function phenotypes (combined P values: COPD, 1.5 × 10(-23); FEV(1)/FVC, 1.5 × 10(-35); FEV(1), 2.2 × 10(-40)). CONCLUSIONS Genetic and epigenetic pathways may both contribute to COPD. Many of the top associations between COPD and DNA methylation occur in biologically plausible pathways. This large-scale analysis suggests that DNA methylation may be a biomarker of COPD and may highlight new pathways of COPD pathogenesis.