Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Proposed Set of New Guidelines for Routine Blood Tests during Isotretinoin Therapy for Acne vulgaris

Background: Isotretinoin has been proven to be an effective treatment for acne vulgaris. The enclosed package insert with isotretinoin suggests weekly/biweekly laboratory testing (hepatic functions and lipid analysis) but fails to recommend the needed action levels for abnormalities. Methods: We provide a statistical analysis of a retrospective study of 141 individuals’ course of therapy on isotretinoin and their laboratory blood analysis results. Results: Very few statistically significant elevations in liver enzymes or lipid profiles occurred. More importantly, in only 1 case did these elevations warrant the discontinuation of therapy. Conclusion: The data presented here support the conclusion that limited blood testing should be performed for most patients and that more complete blood testing be done only for those patients with a significant response in liver enzymes, cholesterol or triglycerides. A set of guidelines is proposed for the practicing physician to interpret blood test results.
Antifouling potection at dfferent scales : multiple defence in Mytilus edulis and the global performance of mytilid microtopographies

Marine Organismen sind einem standigen Besiedlungsdruck durch Mikroorganismen, Algensporen und Larvenstadien sessiler Invertebraten ausgesetzt. Weil die Gegenwart von Epibionten die Interaktionen zwischen Substratorganismus (Basibiont) und Umwelt stark beeinflusst, mussen Basibionten auf den Besiedlungsdruck reagieren. Naturliche Verteidigungssysteme mariner Organismen gegen Aufwuchs mussen auf die verschiedensten Taxa potentieller Besiedler, die eine grose Bandbreite an Empfindlichkeiten besitzen, abzielen. Aus diesem Grunde sind diese Abwehrsysteme hoch komplex, und bestehen meist aus einer Kombination mechanischer, chemischer, physikalischer und okologischer Mechanismen, die gleichzeitig oder abwechselnd die Anheftung und das Wachstum von Bakterien, Algen und Wirbellosen beeinflussen. Die vorliegende Arbeit untersucht die naturlichen Antifoulingmechanismen der Mytiliden generell und speziell von Mytilus edulis durch die Entkopplung potentieller mechanischer und chemischer Verteidigungsmechanismen. Des Weiteren wurde untersucht, ob eine dieser Verteidigungskomponenten, die Mikrotopographie, sich durch regionale Optimierung auszeichnet. Letztere wurde im Hinblick auf die hochinvasiven Mytiliden ausgewahlt, da ein universeller, in den verschiedensten biogeographischen Regionen wirksamer Verteidigungsmechanismus die Invasion in neue Habitate erleichtern wurde. Die Ergebnisse aller Experimente unterstutzen nachdrucklich das Konzept eines multiplen Ver-teidigungssystems bei der Miesmuschel Mytilus edulis. Ich konnte zeigen, dass die Oberflachenmikrostruktur Besiedlung durch Makrofouler abwehrt, wahrend die Oberflachenchemie die Besiedlung durch Mikrofouler behindert. Daher stehen mindestens zwei Verteidigungsmechanismen mit dem Periostracum in Zusammenhang. Diese beiden Mechanismen konnten durch kumulative Filtration im Muschelbett und saubernde Bewegungen des Muschelfuses an der Schalenoberflache noch unterstutzt werden. Eine regionale Optimierung der Oberflachenmikrostruktur konnte jedoch nicht nachgewiesen werden.
In de Quervain’s with a separate EPB compartment, ultrasound-guided steroid injection is more effective than a clinical injection technique: a prospective open-label study

We compared ultrasonography (US)-guided injection, targeting the extensor pollicis brevis (EPB) in de Quervain’s disease (dQD) with septation, to clinical injection. Forty-four wrists were randomly allocated to US-guided or manual (non-US-guided) injection. At 4 weeks, pain was significantly reduced in both groups. Pain on the 100 mm visual analogue scale (VAS) for the US group was 80.3 (SD 19.6) mm at baseline and 25.6 (SD 15.1) mm at 4 weeks after injection (p = 0.004). Values for the manual group were 78.0 (SD 18.5) mm at baseline and 58.2 (SD 21.9) mm at 4 weeks after injection (p = 0.04). Pain on the VAS showed a more significant decrease in the US-guided than in the manual injection group (p = 0.0007) from baseline to 4 weeks after injection. The results of this study suggest US-guided injection targeting the EPB in dQD patients with septation is more effective than manual injection.
Modular Power Electronic Transformers: Modular Multilevel Converter Versus Cascaded H-Bridge Solutions

This article analyzes two modular power converter concepts, cascaded H-bridges (CHB) and modular multilevel converter (MMC) topologies, with special attention to the latter design. Both concepts have some characteristics in common and can provide the required functionalities for power electronic transformers (PETs). This analysis will cover aspects like the number of required cells, characteristics of the power devices, functionalities, and potential uses.
Regulating Reproduction

child with Down's syndrome. The case allows the authors to raise many of the issues that are then explored in more detail in subsequent chapters. The conclusion picks up the story of the same family and reviews many of the complex issues raised in the book. Each chapter of the book explores an issue related to prenatal testing, beginning with the first chapter, which reviews basic genetics. The second chapter describes the more common tests, such as alpha-fetoprotein, amniocentesis, and ultrasound. These tests are carefully explained with regard to their purpose, limitations, and risks. This chapter also includes an explanation of less commonly used tests such as chorionic villus sampling and DNA analysis, which gives readers some sense of where the field is headed. In the third chapter, the authors review the prevalence, genetics, and natural history of selected genetic disorders such as Down's syndrome, sickle-cell anemia, cystic fibrosis, Tay-Sachs disease, and spina bifida. It is not completely clear why these conditions were selected, but, through the discussion of these disorders, the authors provide information that could be helpful in making important reproductive decisions. The fourth and fifth chapters, which deal with ethical and legal issues, should be useful to lay readers and to health professionals as well. The authors confront issues such as abortion, use of genetic technologies for questionable practices such as gender screening, equity in access to advanced technologies, and problems with errors in testing. Legal issues, discussed in the last chapter, are also reviewed in a clear and direct fashion. In summary, the book is a well-conceived, well-written survey of the rapidly changing landscape of prenatal testing for a general audience. The goal of the authors is to inform parents and potential parents about genetic disorders in order to assist them in their reproductive decisions. The volume could be useful as a teaching resource for health professionals faced with explaining these issues to parents. The discussion of ethical and legal issues may be especially valuable for health professionals, whose training may have focused more on the technical aspects of prenatal testing. The rapid changes in the field of prenatal testing will, no doubt, place an ever-increasing demand on health care professionals to be versed in these ethical and legal areas.
Complete mitochondrial genome of the giant croaker Nibea japonica (Perciformes, Sciaenidae) and phylogenetic analysis of the Sciaenidae

Abstract The giant croaker Nibea japonica (Perciformes, Sciaenidae) is an important economic fish distributing in the East China Sea, South China Sea, and Japan southern coast. In this study, the complete mitochondrial genome of N. japonica was firstly determined. It is 16 496 bp-length and consists of 22 tRNA genes, 13 protein-coding genes, two rRNA genes, and a control region. Except for eight tRNA and ND6 genes, all other mitochondrial genes are encoded on the heavy strand. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that N. japonica, A. amoyensis, and other seven fish first clustered into the Argyrosominae clade. It is consistent with the taxonomic status. Then, the Argyrosominae, Pseudosciaeninae, and Sciaeniae formed the sister group, while the Johniinae became a separate clade, which is inconsistent with the previous phenotypic report. It is suggested that the researches of single gene and taxionomic might lose some significant evolutionary characters. This study will contribute to phyogenetic analysis of the Sciaenidae and the natural resources conservation.
Assessing risk factors for obesity between childhood and adolescence: II. Energy metabolism and physical activity.

OBJECTIVE To assess the effect of energy expenditure, including resting metabolic rate (RMR), total energy expenditure (TEE), and activity energy expenditure (AEE), as well as substrate oxidation (respiratory quotient [RQ]), on the development of obesity in a large cohort of Native American children with a high propensity for obesity. METHODS During the summer months of 1992 to 1995 and again 5 years later, 138 (65 boys and 73 girls) 5-year-old Pima Indian children were studied. At baseline and follow-up, height and weight were measured; body composition was assessed with the use of 18O dilution; RMR and RQ were assessed with the use of indirect calorimetry; TEE was measured with the use of the doubly-labeled water method; and AEE was calculated (TEE - [RMR + 0.1 x TEE]). In addition, an activity questionnaire was used to assess participation in sporting activities as well as television viewing during the previous year. Linear regression models were used to assess the effects of the baseline variables on the development of obesity. RESULTS Pima Indian children were markedly overweight at both 5 and 10 years of age. Cross-sectionally, percentage of body fat and body weight at 5 and 10 years of age were negatively correlated with sports participation and positively correlated with television viewing. Most important, there was a marked change in the correlation between body size and activity between 5 and 10 years of age: at age 5 years, weight was positively correlated with AEE and PAL, but at age 10 years, the correlation with AEE was lost and that with PAL was negative. However, prospectively, none of the variables measured at baseline was a predictor of percentage of body fat at age 10 years after adjustment for percentage of body fat at age 5 years. CONCLUSIONS At age 5 years, obesity is associated with decreased participation in sports and increased television viewing but not with a decreased PAL. At age 10 years, obesity is associated with decreased participation in sports, increased television viewing, and a decreased PAL, suggesting that a decrease in PAL in free-living conditions seems to follow, not precede, the development of obesity.
Clinical and radiographic study of bone and joint lesions in 26 dogs with leishmaniasis

Twenty-six dogs with parasitologically confirmed leishmaniasis and abnormalities of gait were studied to determine the most common radiological patterns of bone and joint lesions. The clinical findings included either lameness, joint pain and crepitation, soft tissue swelling and/or muscle atrophy. Bone lesions were observed radiographically in 12 of the 26 dogs; the radius and ulna were affected in seven, the tibia in six and the femur in six. Joint lesions were observed radiographically in 15 of the 26 dogs; the carpus and stifle were affected in all 15, and the tarsus in nine. There was a tendency for the bones and joints to be affected bilaterally. The radiographic patterns observed were different in the long bones and the joints. In the long bones, the most common pattern was periosteal and intramedullary proliferation, involving the diaphyses and related to the nutrient foramen; in the joints, two patterns, either non-erosive or erosive polyarthritis with soft-tissue swelling, were observed. The changes observed in the synovial fluid were associated in most cases with osteolytic lesions. However, Leishmania organisms were identified in the synovial fluid from joints without bony radiographic changes.
Bearing Condition Monitoring with Acoustic Emission Techniques

Monitoring the conditions of rotating machinery, such as bearings, is important in order to improve the stability of work. Acoustic Emission (AE) and vibration analysis are some of the most accomplished techniques used for this purpose. Acoustic emission has the ability to detect the initial phase of component degradation. Moreover, it has been observed that vibration analysis is not as successful at low rotational speeds (below 100 rpm). This because the energy generated within this speed region is not detectable using conventional vibration. From this perspective, this paper has presented a brief review of using acoustic emission techniques for monitoring bearing conditions. Keywords—Condition monitoring, stress wave analysis, lowspeed bearings, bearing defect diagnosis.
APOPTOSIS IN THE CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM

In this series, three dimensional computer graphic figures are used to present the anatomical structures involved in the different stages of normal human heart development, improving substantially our comprehension of complex phenomena. Below we present the development of the trilaminar germ disc and the formation of the primitive endocardial tube and the aortae during the third week of pregnancy. For further details and graphics please visit: www.virtual-heart-development.univ-rennes1.fr During the third week of gestation (days 15–21), …
PATHOLOGY OF ANGIOSARCOMA OF THE LIVER AMONG VINYL CHLORIDE‐POLYVINYL CHLORIDE WORKERS

We described the histologic features of 13 hepatic angiosarcomas which developed in workers engaged in the polymerization of vinyl chloride to polyvinyl chloride. Although the histologic features varied considerably in different portions of the angiosarcoma in the same liver and in the angiosarcomas of the liver from different patients, many features were similar such as sinusoidal, papillary, and cavernous growth patterns coincident with the precursor lesions of proliferation and atypia of sinusoidal lining cells.
2 Quality assurance of surgery in gastric and rectal cancer

Multimodality and quality controlled treatment result in improved treatment outcome in patients with solid tumours. Quality assurance focuses on identifying and reducing variations in treatment strategy. Treatment outcome is subsequently improved through the introduction of programs that reduce treatment variations to an acceptable level and implement standardised treatment. In chemotherapy and radiotherapy, such programmes have been introduced successfully. In surgery however, there has been little attention for quality assurance so far. Surgery is the mainstay in the treatment of patients with gastric and rectal cancer. In gastric cancer, the extent of surgery is continuously being debated. In Japan, extended lymph node dissection is favoured whereas in the West this type of surgery is not routinely performed with two large European trials concluding that there is no survival benefi t from regional lymph node clearance. Postoperative chemoradiation is part of the standard treatment in the United States, although its role in combination with adequate surgery has not been established yet. These global diff erences in treatment policy clearly relate to the extent and quality of surgical treatment. As for gastric cancer, surgical treatment of rectal cancer patients determines patient’s prognosis to a large extent. With the introduction of total mesorectal excision, local control and survival have improved substantially. Most rectal cancer patients receive adjuvant treatment, either preor postoperatively. The effi cacy of many adjuvant treatment regimens has been investigated in combination with conventional suboptimal surgery. Traditional indications of adjuvant treatment might have to be re-examined, considering the substantial changes in surgical practise. Quality assurance programs enable the introduction of standardised and quality controlled surgery. Promising adjuvant regimens should be investigated in combination with optimal surgery.
Ethnic-Immigrant Differentials in Health Behaviors, Morbidity, and Cause-Specific Mortality in the United States: An Analysis of Two National Data Bases

This study examines the extent to which various ethnic-immigrant and US-born groups differ in their risks of all-cause and cause-specific mortality, morbidity, and health behaviors. Using data from the National Longitudinal Mortality Study, 1979­1989, we estimated, for major US racial and ethnic groups, mortality risks of immigrants relative to those of the US-born. The Cox regression model was used to adjust mortality differentials by age, sex, marital status, rural/urban residence, education, and family income. Logistic regression was fitted to the National Health Interview Survey data to determine whether health status and behaviors vary among ethnic-immigrant groups and by length of US residence. Compared with US-born whites of equivalent socioeconomic and demographic background, foreign-born blacks, Hispanics, and Asians/Pacific Islanders (APIs), US-born APIs, US-born Hispanics, and foreign-born whites had, respectively, 48%, 45%, 43%, 32%, 26%, and 16% lower mortality risks. While American Indians did not differ significantly from US-born whites, US-born blacks had an 8% higher mortality risk. Black and Hispanic immigrants experienced, respectively, 52% and 26% lower mortality risks than their US-born counterparts. Considerable differentials were also found in mortality for cancer, cardiovascular, respiratory, infectious disease, and injury, and in morbidity and health behaviors, with API and Hispanic immigrants generally experiencing the lowest risks. Consistent with the acculturation hypothesis, immigrants' risks of smoking, obesity, hypertension, and chronic condition, although substantially lower than those for the US-born, increased with increasing length of US residence. Given the substantial nativity differences in health status and mortality, future waves of immigrants of diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds will likely have a sizeable impact on the overall health, disease, and mortality patterns in the United States.
Antifungal agents in neonatal systemic candidiasis

Neonatal systemic candidiasis is increasingly being recognized as a cause of septicemia in the neonatal intensive care unit (2, 19, 26, 36, 59). Predisposing factors for candidemia and subsequently invasive infections include prematurity, prolonged exposure to broad-spectrum antibiotics, the use of intravenous fat emulsions, the presence of necrotizing enterocolitis, prolonged intravascular catheterization, and tracheal intubation (33, 49, 50, 51, 63). Moreover, the immune functions of the newborn, especially in the preterm infant, are suboptimal, manifested as a decreased T-cell and granulocyte function (6, 22, 65). Additionally, it has been shown that lung macrophages of newborns have reduced anti-Candida activity (16). Infection is preceded generally by colonization of the gastrointestinal tract and the skin shortly after delivery (1, 27). Clinical evidence suggests that heavy colonization at multiple sites is a predisposing factor for clinical disease (27, 41), although this is still controversial (40). Most fungal infections in newborns are caused by Candida albicans, Candida parapsilosis, and more rarely, Candida tropicalis (1, 20, 42, 48). The symptoms of systemic candidal infection in the newborn are not specific. In several studies deterioration of respiratory function and apnea were the most common presenting signs, occurring in 70% of infants (2, 10, 26). Temperature instability, irritability, abdominal distension, carbohydrate intolerance, rash, and lethargy were also commonly observed. Similar symptoms are noted in newborns with bacterial infections, which occur frequently or coincidentally with systemic candidiasis. Therefore, most fungemic newborns are presumptively treated for bacterial infection. Since the signs, symptoms, and results of hematologic studies for infants suspected of having candidiasis are not specific, positive cultures are the mainstay in the diagnosis of invasive candidiasis. However, in newborn patients most antifungal therapy is started when fungal elements are seen on Gram stain or yeasts are isolated from some body fluid. On occasion it is even begun empirically or on the basis of the presence of a suggestive rash. Amphotericin B with or without flucytosine is still the treatment of choice for newborns with systemic candidiasis. However, since the introduction of ketoconazole in 1981, fluconazole in 1990, and intraconazole in 1992, these antifungal azoles, which unlike amphotericin B can be given orally, there has been a tendency to use these drugs as alternative therapies. Physicians have been influenced by the efficacy, safety, and ease of the administration of the azoles, despite the lack of direct comparisons of the efficacies of these drugs and amphotericin B. Our purpose here is to present an overview of the available pharmacokinetic data for amphotericin B, flucytosine, and this new group of azole drugs in the newborn. Dosage recommendations, recommendations for dosage adjustments in the face of organ system failure, and recommendations for monitoring toxicity will be suggested.
Gene expression pattern of IGF2, PHLDA2, PEG10 and CDKN1C imprinted genes in spontaneous miscarriages or fetal deaths

Genomic imprinting is defined as an epigenetic modification that leads to parent-of-origin specific monoallelic expression. Some current research on the fetal control growth has been focused on the study of genes that display imprinted expression in utero. Four imprinted genes, two paternally expressed (IGF2 and PEG10) and two maternally expressed (PHLDA2 and CDKN1C), are well known to play a role in fetal growth and placental development. Pregnancy loss in the general reproductive population is a very common occurrence and other genetic causes beyond chromosomal abnormalities could be involved in spontaneous miscarriages or fetal deaths, such as alteration of expression in imprinted genes particularly those related to fetal or placental growth. Quantitative Real Time PCR was performed to evaluate gene expressions patterns of the four mentioned genes in spontaneous miscarriages or fetal deaths from 38 women. Expression levels of PHLDA2 gene were upregulated in the first trimester pregnancy cases and all four imprinted genes studied were upregulated in the second trimester of pregnancy cases comparing with controls. In third trimester PEG10 was downregulated in fetal samples group. This is the first study presenting data from human imprinted genes expression in spontaneous miscarriages or fetal deaths cases from the three trimesters of pregnancy.