Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Utility of Serum Aldolase in Normal Creatine Kinase Dermatomyositis

Serum levels of creatine kinase (CK) and aldolase are valid markers of muscle damage and inflammation in idiopathic inflammatory myopathy (IIM). Although CK levels are typically used for diagnosis and monitoring of patients with IIM, a significant minority of patients with dermatomyositis (DM) present with normal serum CK levels; however, their serum aldolase levels may be discordant with their CK levels, suggesting aldolase as a possible alternative biomarker to CK. This study aimed to further evaluate the role of serum aldolase in patients presenting with normal-CK IIM.
Prolactin serum level in patients with breast cancer.

BACKGROUND Previous studies have suggested that prolactin may serve as an indicator of disease progression in breast cancer. OBJECTIVES To evaluate the use of PRL as a serum tumor marker in patients with breast cancer. METHODS PRL serum level was determined in 99 breast cancer patients and compared with CA 15-3 serum level. RESULTS Elevated serum level of PRL (> 20 ng/ml) was found in 8 of 99 patients (8.1%). A stratified analysis of prolactin levels according to therapy revealed that PRL levels was increased in 8 of 55 untreated patients (14.5%), but not in patients who received hormonal or chemotherapy in the 3 months preceding the test (0/42 patients, P = 0.009). However, mean PRL level was similar in patients with no evidence of disease activity and in patients with active disease (10.2 vs. 8.2 ng/ml, NS). In comparison, CA 15-3 mean level was significantly lower in patients with no evidence of disease as compared to patients with active disease (18.2 vs. 144.7 units/ml, P < 0.001). PRL level was increased in 6 of 60 patients (10%) with no evidence of disease and in 2 of 39 (5.2%) with active disease (NS). In comparison, CA 15-3 level was increased in 3 of 60 patients (5%) with no evidence of disease and in 24 of 39 (61.5%) with active disease (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS PRL levels are decreased following hormonal or chemotherapy in patients with breast cancer and there is no correlation between PRL serum level and the state of disease. Further studies are needed to clarify a possible clinical significance of hyperprolactinemia in a subset of patients with breast cancer.
Nasal Dermoid Sinus Cysts in Children

Thirty‐six children with nasal dermoid sinus cysts were treated in the Department Pediatric Otolaryngology, Armand Trousseau's Children's Hospital (Paris, France) between 1974 and 1994. Ten of the patients presented with a midline cyst only, eight had nasal pits only, and 18 had combined cases. In six of the 36 patients, presurgical imagery indicated signs of intracranial extension of the tract, reaching the foramen caecum without intracranial mass. Three surgical techniques were used: an external rhinoplasty approach with medial crura section in 23 cases, a direct median approach in seven cases, and a paracanthal approach in six cases. Only two cases had meningeal adherences. Two superficial recurrences occurred within the 7‐year follow‐up period. Widening of the scar occurred in four children after verticomedian approach or nasal pit excision. The external rhinoplasty procedure with medial crura section results in a wide surgical approach, low recurrence rate, and good aesthetic results.
Assessing the public health threat associated with waterborne cryptosporidiosis: report of a workshop.

In September 1994, CDC convened a meeting to address the public health threat associated with waterborne cryptosporidiosis. Representatives from 40 states and from regulatory and public health agencies, water utility companies, and advocacy groups discussed approaches to avoiding unnecessary boil-water advisories (i.e., statements to the public advising persons to boil water before drinking it) and preventing and controlling waterborne cryptosporidiosis. Work groups at the meeting addressed four issues: 1) surveillance systems and epidemiologic study designs; 2) public health responses when oocysts are detected in drinking water; 3) cryptosporidiosis in immunocompromised persons; and 4) water sampling methods and interpretation of results. The work groups defined the problems associated with these issues and developed strategies that could be used initially to manage these problems. The work group discussions were summarized, and the conclusions were provided as either a) summaries of current knowledge concerning that issue or b) suggested ways to obtain the information needed to develop useful recommendations. The work group conclusions are for consideration by persons and organizations who must assist with these issues and by those who seek to advance understanding of waterborne cryptosporidiosis.
The Effect of High Pressure and Subzero Temperature on Gelation of Washed Cod and Salmon Meat Edyta

From research and practical point of view, close attention is drawn to the pressure-induced gelation of fi sh myofi brillar proteins (3,7,11–16). This process was proposed as an alternative to traditional heat-induced gelation in preparation of diff erent gel-based products from surimi and fi sh paste. The mechanism of pressure-induced denaturation/gelation is considered to be a complex process in which rearrangement and/or destruction of non-covalent bonds of the tertiary structure of proteins take place (10,15). The contribution of hydrogen bonds, hydrophobic interactions and electrostatic bonds in pressure-induced gels was evidenced (13,17). Furthermore, using diff erential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Angsupanich and Ledward (18) observed that aft er pressurization of cod meat at 100–800 MPa a new, quite stable structure stabilized by hydrogen bonds was formed. It was also found that covalent disulphide bonds at pressure higher than 300 MPa could stabilize the gel network (17,19). ISSN 1330-9862 scientifi c note
An in vitro skin explant assay as a predictive assay for graft‐versus‐host disease in a cohort of pediatric transplants

Abstract: Severe acute graft‐versus‐host disease (GvHD) remains a serious complication of allogeneic stem cell transplantation. An in vitro skin explant assay was used to predict the occurence and severity of acute GvHD in a cohort of 30 pediatric patients undergoing human leucocyte antigen (HLA)‐matched sibling transplants (20 patients) and matched or one antigen mismatched unrelated donor transplants (10 patients). In the cohort of HLA‐matched sibling transplants, the result appeared to reflect the degree of GvHD prophylaxis. The skin explant assay correlated with GvHD outcome in 12 of 20 children, but this did not reach statistical significance (chi‐square 0.95, d.f.=1, p=0.32). These results support previous observations. In this present cohort, patients were treated either with cyclosporin A (CsA) monotherapy (n=7) or with CsA plus additional methotrexate (MTX) (n=13). We have previously demonstrated that the skin explant assay was not as predictive in patients receiving CsA plus additional MTX compared to cohorts treated with CsA alone. In the group of patients treated with CsA alone, four of five patients (80%) predicted to develop GvHD developed acute GvHD of grade II or above; of two patients predicted to develop only grade 0–I GvHD, one patient developed no GvHD and the other grade II GvHD. In the CsA plus MTX group, nine patients were predicted to develop GvHD. Five of nine (55%) developed acute GvHD of grade II or above, while three of four with grade 0 or I skin explant assay results developed only grade 0–I GvHD. In a cohort of 10 patients who received unrelated donor transplants, the skin explant assay correlated with GvHD outcome in all 10 patients (Fisher's exact test p=0.008). Hence, the skin explant assay is a pretransplant in vitro GvHD predictive test that predicts the occurence and severity of acute GvHD in pediatric unrelated donor transplants and to varying degrees, depending on the GvHD prophylaxis protocols, in HLA‐matched sibling cohorts.
A new simulation tool for RF photonics

A time-domain simulator tool is described, which has been developed to simulate optical beamforming systems for phased array antennas. A pilot application employing airborne satellite reception of digital video broadcasting is discussed, to which the requirements of the simulator are matched. Results are presented for a linear antenna array with eight antenna elements. The simulator tool can be generalized to other signal processing applications in RF photonics, such as beamforming for radio astronomy or sideband filtering, making it a widely usable simulator.
The Effect of Psychotherapy on Self-Awareness in Incarcerated and Nonincarcerated Alcoholics

Changes in self-awareness in incarcerated and nonincarcerated male alcoholics are measured before and after disaccustoming therapy based on Alcoholics Anonymous principles. The four-mode conception of self-awareness of Zaborowski is employed. The results show significant and expected changes in incarcerated participants (in defensive, individual, and reflective modes of self-awareness) and almost no changes in nonincarcerated individuals. An effect of motivation on therapy is also identified. Incarceration appears to be more conducive to recovery than to conditions outside the prison.
Variation of large elastodynamic earthquakes on complex fault systems

One of the biggest assumptions, and a source of some of the biggest uncertainties in earthquake hazard estimation is the role of fault segmentation in controlling large earthquake ruptures. Here we apply a new model which produces sequences of elastodynamic earthquake events on complex segmented fault systems, and use these simulations to quantify the variation of large events. We find a number of important systematic effects of segment geometry on the slip variation and the repeat time variation of large events, including an increase in variation at the ends of segments and a decrease in variation for the longest segments.
Inhibitory effects of various essential oils and individual components against extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) produced by Klebsiella pneumoniae and their chemical compositions.

In the current study, in vitro inhibitory activity of several essential oils obtained from the cultivated plants, Foeniculum vulgare, Mentha piperita and M. spicata, Ocimum basilicum, Origanum majorana, O. onites, O. vulgare, Satureja cuneifolia, and a number of individual essential oil components of terpene and aromatic types were screened against 10 isolated strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae producing extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) enzyme, which makes this microorganism quite resistant against the antibiotics: trimetoprime-sulfametoksazol, sulbactam-ampicilin, clavulonate-amoxicilin, ceftriaxon, cefepime, imipenem, ceftazidime, tobramicine, gentamisine, ofloxacin, and ciprofloksasin. All of the essential oils and the components exerted a remarkable inhibition ranging between 32 and 64 μg/mL against all of these strains as strong as the references (ampicilin and oflaxocin) inhibiting at 32 μg/mL. Besides, chemical compositions of the essential oils were elucidated by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The essential oils and the pure components widely found in essential oils screened herein have shown remarkable inhibition against ESBL-producing K. pneumoniae strains, which leads to the suggestion that they may be used as food preservatives for this purpose. Practical Application: The essential oils obtained from Foeniculum vulgare, Mentha piperita and M. spicata, O.cimum basilicum, Origanum majorana, O. onites, O. vulgare, and Satureja cuneifolia as well as common essential oil components have shown notable inhibitory effects against 10 isolated strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae producing extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) enzyme and they might be used as food preservative or ingredient.
Identification of the first pyrimidine nucleobase transporter in Leishmania: similarities with the Trypanosoma brucei U1 transporter and antileishmanial activity of uracil analogues

While purine transport has been widely studied in protozoa, almost nothing is known about their capacity to salvage pyrimidines. Here, we report a Leishmania major transporter with high affinity for uracil (Km=0·32±0·07 μM) which we designated LmU1. This transporter displayed a high degree of specificity, as it had virtually no affinity for cytosine, thymine or purine nucleobases, nor did it transport pyrimidine nucleosides. Highest affinity was for 5-fluorouracil. The results show that the permeant binding site of LmU1 interacts strongly with the keto groups of uracil, as shown by a low affinity for 2-thio- and 4-thiouracil. LmU1 appears to further bind uracil through a weak hydrogen bond with N(1)H of the pyrimidine ring in addition to a stronger H-bond with N(3)H. Substrate binding and selectivity were strikingly similar to that of the U1 transporter in the related kinetoplastid Trypanosoma brucei. Uracil analogues likely to be transported by LmU1 were also screened for antileishmanial activity, with 5-fluorouracil displaying strong activity against promastigotes and intracellular amastigotes. Overall, the results show that, like purine nucleobase transport, pyrimidine nucleobase transport function is very similar in L. major and T. brucei insect forms.
Marriages of Convenience: Explaining Party Mergers in Europe

While party mergers can have important implications for the development of party systems, their causes have not been studied in a large-n comparative study. Using a new data set that covers 24 European democracies in the postwar period, this study shows that parties merge to overcome electoral thresholds or to form one of the two or three largest parties with an important role in the formation of government coalitions. However, mergers are not motivated by the goal to establish a majority, strongly dominant or largest party. The costs of mergers include ideological differences and various transaction costs related to reaching and implementing merger agreements. These transaction costs are lower if parties previously cooperated and if the partisanship of their voters is low.
Brief Screening and Intervention for Alcohol and Drug Use in a College Student Health Clinic: Feasibility, Implementation, and Outcomes

Abstract Objective: Evaluation of the Brief Alcohol Screen and Intervention in College Students (BASICS) in a university primary care setting. Participants/Methods: Undergraduates (N = 449) participated in BASICS and electronic surveys assessing frequency/quantity of alcohol and drug use, psychosocial and mental health outcomes, and demographic information. Data were collected at baseline and 6-month follow-up between August 2006 and August 2008. Results: Drinking and drug use decreased between baseline and 6 months. Participants reported an increase in protective factors and in readiness to change alcohol-related behaviors, and a decrease in alcohol-related consequences and in distress symptoms. Heavy episodic drinking at baseline significantly moderated the changes in number of drinks in a typical week and in a typical weekend, and number of drinks on the occasion drank most on a weekend. Conclusions: BASICS can be implemented in a primary health care setting and university students may reduce their alcohol and/or drug use.
Negative Cognitive Errors in Youth: Specificity to Anxious and Depressive Symptoms and Age Differences

Background: Negative cognitive errors are important in the etiology and treatment of youth internalizing problems, but less is known about their unique relations with anxiety and depression. Aims: The major purpose of this study was to examine associations between distinct negative cognitive errors and anxiety and depression in youth. Method: In a community sample of children and adolescents (aged 9–17; N = 278) negative cognitive errors were assessed using the revised version of the Children's Negative Cognitive Error Questionnaire (CNCEQ-R). Anxiety and depression were assessed with the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children and Children's Depression Inventory, respectively. Results: The strongest predictors of anxiety were the negative cognitive errors “underestimation of the ability to cope” and “mind reading”. The strongest predictors of depression were the errors “selective abstraction” and “overgeneralizing”, with the first error explaining most variance. Analyses of age effects showed that, in comparison to adolescents, children reported higher scores on the total CNCEQ-R score, and on the errors “overgeneralizing”, “personalizing”, and “mind reading”. Conclusions: The findings underscore the importance of researching the role of distinct cognitive processing in youth with anxiety and depression and further development of the CNCEQ-R. Implications for clinical practice are discussed.
Hepatocellular and Hepatic Peroxisomal Alterations in Mice with a Disrupted Peroxisomal Fatty Acyl-coenzyme A Oxidase Gene*

Peroxisomal genetic disorders, such as Zellweger syndrome, are characterized by defects in one or more enzymes involved in the peroxisomal β-oxidation of very long chain fatty acids and are associated with defective peroxisomal biogenesis. The biologic role of peroxisomal β-oxidation system, which consists of three enzymes: fatty acyl-CoA oxidase (ACOX), enoyl-CoA hydratase/3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase (HD), and thiolase, has been examined in mice by disrupting ACOX gene, which encodes the first and rate-limiting enzyme of this system. Homozygous (ACOX −/−) mice lacked the expression of ACOX protein and accumulate very long chain fatty acids in blood. However, these homozygous mice are viable, but growth-retarded and infertile. During the first 3-4 months of age, the livers of ACOX −/− mice reveal severe microvesicular fatty metamorphosis of hepatocytes. In such steatotic cells, peroxisome assembly is markedly defective; as a result, they contain few or no peroxisomes. Few hepatocytes in 1-3-month-old ACOX −/− mice contain numerous peroxisomes, and these peroxisome-rich hepatocytes show no fatty change. At this stage, the basal mRNA levels of HD, thiolase, and other peroxisome proliferator-induced target genes were elevated in ACOX −/− mouse liver, but these mice, when treated with a peroxisome proliferator, showed no increases in the number of hepatic peroxisomes and in the mRNAs levels of these target genes. Between 4 and 5 months of age, severe steatosis resulted in scattered cell death, steatohepatitis, formation of lipogranulomas, and focal hepatocellular regeneration. In 6-7-month-old animals, the newly emerging hepatocytes, which progressively replaced steatotic cells, revealed spontaneous peroxisome proliferation. These livers showed marked increases in the mRNA levels of the remaining two genes of the β-oxidation system, suggesting that ACOX gene disruption leads to increased endogenous ligand-mediated transcription levels. These observations demonstrate links among peroxisomal β-oxidation, development of severe microvesicular fatty liver, peroxisome assembly, cell death, and cell proliferation in liver.
Death with dignity in Washington patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Objectives: To describe the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients who sought medication under the Washington State Death with Dignity (DWD) Act since its inception in 2009. Methods: Chart review at 3 tertiary medical centers in the Seattle/Puget Sound region and comparison to publicly available data of ALS and all-cause DWD cohorts from Washington and Oregon. Results: In Washington State, 39 patients with ALS requested DWD from the University of Washington, Virginia Mason, and Swedish Medical Centers beginning in 2009. The median age at death was 65 years (range 46–86). Seventy-seven percent of the patients used the prescriptions. All of the patients who used the medications passed away without complications. The major reasons for patients to request DWD as reported by participating physicians were loss of autonomy and dignity and decrease in enjoyable activities. Inadequate pain control, financial cost, and loss of bodily control were less commonly indicated. These findings were similar to those of the 92 patients who sought DWD in Oregon. In Washington and Oregon, the percentage of patients with ALS seeking DWD is higher compared to the cancer DWD cohort. Furthermore, compared to the all-cause DWD cohort, patients with ALS are more likely to be non-Hispanic white, married, educated, enrolled in hospice, and to have died at home. Conclusions: Although a small number, ALS represents the disease with the highest proportion of patients seeking to participate in DWD. Patients with ALS who choose DWD are well-educated and have access to palliative or life-prolonging care. The use of the medications appears to be able to achieve the patients' goals without complications.
Late Foreign-Body Reaction to an Intraosseous Bioabsorbable Polylactic Acid Screw. A Case Report*

Local inflammatory and osteolytic foreign-body reactions to bioabsorbable implants made of polyglycolic acid have been well documented in the literature4,5,8,12. Rapid degradation of the polyglycolic acid polymer causes these adverse reactions to occur within two to four months after implantation, when the disintegration of the polymer has reached its final phase6,19. Polylactic acid is another synthetic biodegradable polymer used in fracture-fixation implants. In contrast to polyglycolic acid, the degradation time of the stereo-isomeric form of polylactic acid that is used most commonly, poly-L-lactic acid, is several years. Consequently, the possible foreign-body reactions to devices made of poly-L-lactic acid can be expected to emerge much later than the reactions to devices made of polyglycolic acid. Because implants made of poly-L-lactic acid have been used clinically on a widespread basis for less than ten years, knowledge of the long-term biocompatibility of this polymer in human tissues is limited. We report the case of a patient in whom a local inflammatory reaction to a poly-L-lactic acid screw occurred more than four years after the fixation of an ankle fracture. A twenty-eight-year-old woman sustained a closed, displaced bimalleolar fracture of the left ankle when she slipped on ice in January 1991 (Fig. 1). She had insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus but was otherwise healthy at the time of injury. On the day of admission, the fracture fragments were anatomically reduced and fixed with bioabsorbable poly-L-lactic acid screws (Bioscience, Tampere, Finland). The fracture was exposed, under tourniquet control, through longitudinal incisions over the malleoli. The lateral malleolus was fixed with one 4.5 by fifty-millimeter interfragmentary screw, and the medial malleolus was fixed with one 4.5 by forty-millimeter interfragmentary screw. The screw that was used for the lateral malleolus was inserted diagonally in an anteroposterior direction …
Purification and Characterization of Avian β-Defensin 11, an Antimicrobial Peptide of the Hen Egg

ABSTRACT Natural antimicrobial peptides are present in different compartments (eggshell, egg white, and vitelline membranes) of the hen egg and are expected to be involved in the protection of the embryo during its development and to contribute to the production of pathogen-free eggs. In the present study, we used vitelline membranes from hen (Gallus gallus) eggs as a source of avian β-defensin 11 (AvBD11). A purification scheme using affinity chromatography and reverse-phase chromatography was developed. Purified AvBD11 was analyzed by a combination of mass spectrometry approaches to characterize its primary sequence and structure. A monoisotopic molecular species at [M + H]+ of 9,271.56 Da was obtained, and its N- and C-terminal sequences were determined. We also examined posttranslational modifications and identified the presence of 6 internal disulfide bonds. AvBD11 was found to exhibit antimicrobial activity toward both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.