Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Archive of SID Determination of Asymptomatic Chlamydia Trachomatis Infections by Omp1 Gene Based -PCR

Received: 25/Nov/2007, Accepted: 6/Feb/2008 Objective: The objective of this research was to determine the prevalence of genital C. trachomatis infection in asymptomatic women by using highly sensitive nested-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in urine sample. Materials and Methods: One hundred-forty asymptomatic women were randomly selected from those who attended gynecology out patient department of Hazraat e Rasool Hospital in Tehran. First catch urine specimen were collected from all the participants. DNA extraction was performed by means of High Pure PCR Template Preparation Kit (HPPTP) according to the manufacture’s instructions. Extracted DNA was tested by omp1 gene based nested-PCR, using sets of primers to amplify C. trachomatis omp1 gene. Visualization of a 1027 bp fragment from omp1 gene in agarose gel electrophoresis was considered as a positive result. Results: In total, 140 urines were tested for determination of C. trachomatis infection. C. trachomatis omp-1 was detected in 22.1% of cases (31/140). The overall prevalence rates of C. trachomatis in the urine sample as determined by omp1 based nested-PCR were 4.3% in group I (age, 44 years). The highest prevalence of C. trachomatis infection (12.1%) was seen in women aged 25-34 years. This finding was not statistically significant (p=0.710). Also, there was not relation between C. trachomatis infection and some probable risk factors such as young age (<25 years), STD history and missing use of barrier contraceptive in this study. Conclusion: The prevalence of C.trachomatis infection in the women not seeking health care warrants more comprehensive study using high sensitive omp1 based nested- PCR to identify and treat a large number of infected women in Iran.
Preferential processing of threatening facial expressions using the repetition blindness paradigm

Background: Neuroanatomical evidence suggests that the human brain has dedicated pathways to rapidly process threatening stimuli. This processing bias for threat was examined using the repetition blindness (RB) paradigm. RB (i.e., failure to report the second instance of an identical stimulus rapidly following the first) has been established for words, objects and faces but not, to date, facial expressions. Methods: 78 (Study 1) and 62 (Study 2) participants identified repeated and different, threatening and non-threatening emotional facial expressions in rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) streams. Results: In Study 1, repeated facial expressions produced more RB than different expressions. RB was attenuated for threatening expressions. In Study 2, attenuation of RB for threatening expressions was replicated. Additionally, semantically related but non-identical threatening expressions reduced RB relative to non-threatening stimuli. Conclusions: These findings suggest that the threat bias is apparent in the temporal processing of facial expressions, and expands the RB paradigm by demonstrating that identical facial expressions are susceptible to the effect.
Primary bilateral spermatocele

We report the case of a bilateral, relatively huge, multilocular spermatocele diagnosed at sonography with surgical and pathological correlation. A 45‐year‐old man presented with bilateral, large inguinoscrotal masses. He had had the masses since his adolescence and their size gradually increased in the past 5 years. Scrotal ultrasonographic examination showed cystic fluid masses that were 65 × 45 × 50 mm in size on the right and 55 × 45 × 40 mm in size on the left side in multilocular spaces. The cystic masses were excised via bilateral inguinoscrotal incision staying near the body of the epididymis. The patient had fathered three children with no fertility problem.
Factors associated with treatment outcome in 64 HIV negative patients with multidrug resistant tuberculosis.

OBJECTIVES In this study we aimed to determine the factors associated with treatment outcome in HIV negative patients with multidrug resistant tuberculosis (MDR TB). MATERIALS AND METHODS The study comprised 64 (43 female and 21 male) patients in whom second line TB drugs were administered in directly observed treatment (DOT) programme. Achievement of sputum AFB (acid fast bacilli) negativity in the 3rd month of the treatment was accepted as the bacteriologic response. Treatment outcome of the patients and the factors influencing the bacteriologic response were evaluated. RESULTS The mean time of sputum smear negativity was determined as 3±2.2 months. Bacteriologic response was determined in 73.4% of the patients. The mean duration time of the treatment was 16.4±8.2 months. Treatment outcome of the patients was determined as cure in 34 (53.1%), default in 18 (28.1%), treatment failure in 1 (1.6%) and exitus in 3 (4.7%) patients. Also, in 8 (12.5%) patients treatment was incomplete and continued. Adverse effects of the drugs were seen in 39 (60.9%) patients with the most frequency of gastrointestinal disturbance (51.5%), psychiatric disorders (15.6%), dermatological effects (12.5%). In logistic regression analysis only presence of cavity and the extensive disease were found to be associated with poor bacteriologic response (OR=1.5, 95% CI: 1.23-1.82, P=0.01 and OR=2, 95% CI: 1.42-2.79, P=0.00, respectively). CONCLUSIONS Although radiological findings might affect the bacteriologic response, MDR TB is a treatable disease if regular and appropriate treatment regimen is administered.
Service use and Costs of Home-Based Versus Hospital-Based Care for People with Serious Mental Illness

Background. The Daily Living Programme (DLP) offered problem-oriented, home-based care for people aged 17–64 with severe mental illness facing emergency admission to the Bethlem–Maudsley Hospital. The multidisciplinary DLP team acted as direct provider and link with other services. Each patient had a key worker. Cost-effectiveness was assessed. Method. The comprehensive costs of DLP and standard in-patient care were compared within a randomised controlled trial. Cost measures ranged over all service inputs and living expenses. The costs of informal care and lost employment were also considered. Assessments of service use, costs and outcomes were conducted at referral, 4, 11 and 20 months. Results. The DLP was significantly less costly than standard treatment in both short and medium term (P = 0.000). Cost savings accrued almost exclusively to the NHS, with no other agency's costs being higher. Conclusions. Coupled with mildly encouraging outcome results over the 20 month period, the DLP was clearly cost-effective in this medium term.
Effect of Aging on Ventilatory Response to Exercise and CO2

Studies were performed to determine the effects of aging on the ventilatory responsiveness to two known respiratory stimulants, inhaled CO2 and exercise. Although explanation of the physiological mechanisms underlying development of exercise hyperpnea remains elusive, there is much circumstantial evidence that during exercise, however mediated, ventilation is coupled to CO2 production. Thus matched groups of young and elderly subjects were studied to determine the relationship between increasing ventilation and increasing CO2 production (VCO2) during steady-state exercise and the change in their minute ventilation in response to progressive hypercapnia during CO2 rebreathing. We found that the slope of the ventilatory response to hypercapnia was depressed in elderly subjects when compared with the younger control group (delta VE/delta PCO2 = 1.64 +/- 0.21 vs. 2.44 +/- 0.40 l X min-1 X mmHg-1, means +/- SE, respectively). In contrast, the slope of the relationship between ventilation and CO2 production during exercise in the elderly was greater than that of younger subjects (delta VE/delta VCO2 = 29.7 +/- 1.19 vs. 25.3 +/- 1.54, means +/- SE, respectively), as was minute ventilation at a single work load (50 W) (32.4 +/- 2.3 vs. 25.7 +/- 1.54 l/min, means +/- SE, respectively). This increased ventilation during exercise in the elderly was not produced by arterial O2 desaturation, and increased anaerobiasis did not play a role. Instead, the increased ventilation during exercise seems to compensate for increased inefficiency of gas exchange such that exercise remains essentially isocapnic. In conclusion, in the elderly the ventilatory response to hypercapnia is less than in young subjects, whereas the ventilatory response to exercise is greater.
Initial trabeculectomy with intraoperative mitomycin-C application in primary glaucomas.

PURPOSE This is a prospective randomized study designed to compare the overall efficacy of intraoperative application of mitomycin-C (MMC) in eyes with no previous ocular surgery versus standard trabeculectomy without MMC. METHODS Twenty-five patients with primary glaucoma had been treated with trabeculectomy in one eye and trabeculectomy with MMC in the other eye. Patients were followed up for 18 months. RESULTS Intraocular pressure (IOP) was 20 mm Hg or less in 23 eyes (92%) in the treatment group after a mean follow up of 17.8 +/- 1.1 months and 17 control eyes (68%) after mean follow up period of 17.8 +/- 1.2 months (range, 16.7-19 months). Wound leaks occurred in 10 (40%) of the treatment group and 3 (12%) of control group. Bleb scarring developed in 1 eye (4%) of the treatment group and 6 (24%) of the control group. Hypotony maculopathy developed in 3 (12%) of the MMC group. Postoperatively, laser suture lysis was needed in 13 (52%) of the treatment group and 21 (84%) of the control group. Additional filter was needed in (4%) of the treatment group, while additional filters were needed in 7 (28%) of the control group. CONCLUSION Intraoperative MMC application may increase the success rate of glaucoma surgery, but close follow-up and meticulous management of patients are needed, especially in the early postoperative period.
Syringomyelia: a look at surgical therapy.

S YRINGOMYELIA and syringobulbia are characterized by an accumulation of fluid in a cyst within the substance of the spinal cord or medulla or both. These cysts arise from various pathological processes and have been treated by surgical incision and drainage and by irradiation3 ,s Different materials have been inserted between the syrinx and the subarachnoid space to provide permanent drainage. In 1953, while attending a meeting of the Society of Neurological Surgeons in New Orleans, one of us heard Dr. Dean Echols explain his technique of using a tantalum wire to maintain a fistula between a syrinx of the spinal cord and the spinal subaraehnoid space and saw his patients who had had this operative procedure. The results were impressive, and we have employed this technique at our clinic since that time. In an effort to determine whether results have improved since the introduction of this technique, we have reviewed the records of patients with syringomyelia or syringobulbia and syringomyelia but without associated neoplasm who were operated on at the Mayo Clinic between 1948 and 196~.
Testicular Torsion in Children: A 20-Year Retrospective Study in a Single Institution

In this paper, we evaluated the historical features and physical examination findings, as well as laboratory tests and ultrasound examinations, in children with testicular torsion (TT), in order to improve diagnosis and treatment in this population. A retrospective review of patients with diagnosis of TT between January 1990 and January 2010 was performed. We included 118 cases in the study, accounting for 9.01% of all cases of acute scrotum. Mean patient age was 9.3 ± 5.6 years. The left side was predominantly affected. The median duration of symptoms up to surgical exploration was 64 h. Absence of cremasteric reflex presented in 94.9% patients. All boys had an ultrasound of the scrotum; decreased or absent blood flow was observed in all orchidectomy patients. Heterogeneous echogenicity presented in all cases of orchidectomy. At surgery, viable testes were present in 46 boys (39%) and preserved; in 72 boys with nonviable testes, they were removed. The median duration of symptoms at presentation was 12 h when the testes were successfully conserved and 90 h when they were removed. Testicular salvage depends critically on early surgical intervention. Ultrasound is a useful tool for the clinical assessment of patients with TT, however, sonographic interpretation must be in conjunction with the clinical manifestations. We advocate immediate surgical exploration with suspected TT. Long-term hormonal levels are within the normal range regardless of the fate of the testis. Further follow-up is needed to confirm fertility after TT.
Echocardiographic evaluation of systolic and mean pulmonary artery pressure in patients with pulmonary hypertension.

We read with interest the recent article by Pyxaras et al . 1 proposing corrected regression equations for improving the echocardiographic estimation of systolic pulmonary artery pressure (sPAP) and mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP) in patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH). The authors propose to slightly modify both the sPAP Bernouilli equation and the empirical mPAP equation (mPAP = 0.61 sPAP + 2 mmHg). Before accepting the authors' conclusion that their two corrected formulas may be more reliable than previous ones, we would like to make the …
Amygdala volume in late-life depression: relationship with age of onset.

OBJECTIVES Depression is common in the elderly population. Although numerous neuroimaging studies have examined depressed elders, there is limited research examining how amygdala volume may be related to depression. DESIGN A cross-sectional examination of amygdala volume comparing elders with and without a diagnosis of major depressive disorder, and between depressed subjects with early and later initial depression onset. SETTING An academic medical center. PARTICIPANTS Ninety-one elderly patients meeting Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, criteria for major depression (54 early-onset depressed and 37 late-onset depressed) and 31 elderly subjects without any psychiatric diagnoses. MEASUREMENTS Amygdala and cerebral volumes were measured using reliable manual tracing methods. RESULTS In models controlling for age, sex, and cerebral volume, there was a significant difference between diagnostic cohorts in amygdala volume bilaterally (left: F[2, 116] = 16.28, p < 0.0001; right: F[2, 116] = 16.28, p < 0.0001). Using least squares mean group analyses, both early- and late-onset depressed subjects exhibited smaller bilateral amygdala volumes than did the nondepressed cohort (all comparisons p < 0.0001), but the two depressed cohorts did not exhibit a statistically significant difference. LIMITATIONS Limitations include missing antidepressant treatment data, recall bias, inability to establish a causal relationship between amygdala size and depression given the cross-sectional nature of the design. CONCLUSIONS Depression in later life is associated with smaller amygdala volumes, regardless of age of initial onset of depression.
Interrelation between Cyanophycin Synthesis, L-Arginine Catabolism and Photosynthesis in the Cyanobacterium Synechocystis Sp. Strain PCC 6803

ʟ Ultrastructural and imm unocytochemical investigations gave evidence that cyanophycin (multi--arginyl-poly-ʟ-aspartate) granules accumulate in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803 under nutrient deficient growth conditions, especially under phosphate limitation. Besides nutrient deficiency, growth of Synechocystis PCC 6803 on ʟ-arginine or ʟ-asparagine as sole N-source also led to high increase of cyanophycin synthesis, while growth on the combination of ʟ-arginine or ʟ-asparagine with nitrate only caused minor cyanophycin accum ulation. Growth of Synechocystis PCC 6803 on ʟ-arginine as sole N-source caused substantial morphological and physiological changes, such as severe thylakoid membrane degradation with partial loss of pigments and photosynthetic activity leading to a phenotype almost like that seen under nutrient deficiency. In contrast to the wild type, the PsbO-free Synechocystis PCC 6803 mutant could grow on ʟ-arginine as sole N-source with only minor morphological and physiological changes. Due to its fairly balanced growth, the mutant accumulated only few cyanophycin granules. ʟ-arginine degrading activity (measured as ornithine and ammonium formation) was high in the PsbO-free mutant but not in the wild type when cells were grown on ʟ-arginine as sole N-source. In both cells types the ʟ-arginine degrading activity was high (although in the PsbO-free mutant about twice as high as in wild type), when cells were grown on ʟ-arginine in combination with nitrate, and as expected very low when cells were grown on nitrate as sole N-source. Thus, net cyanophycin accumulation in Synechocystis PCC 6803 is regulated by the relative concentration of ʟ-arginine to the total nitrogen pool, and the intracellular ʟ-arginine concentration is greatly influenced by the activity of the ʟ-arginine degrading enzyme system which in part is regulated by the activity status of photosystem II. These results suggest a complex interrelation between cyanophycin synthesis, ʟ-arginine catabolism , and in addition photosynthesis in Synechocystis PCC 6803.
Monitoring the progression of Alzheimer's disease with τ-PET.

This scientific commentary refers to ‘Regional profiles of the candidate tau PET ligand 18F-AV-1451 recapitulate key features of Braak histopathological stages’, by Schwarz et al. (doi:10.1093/brain/aww023). Neuropathological staging of Alzheimer’s disease-related lesions, i.e. neurofibrillary tangles and neuropil threads composed of phosphorylated τ-protein (Braak NFT stages) (Braak and Braak, 1991) and amyloid plaques (amyloid phases) (Thal et al. , 2002) is often used for post-mortem diagnosis. In the current issue of Brain , Schwartz and co-workers report a novel method for determining Braak NFT stages in vivo using the τ-PET tracer 18F-AV-1451, which they validate in a large sample of healthy controls and patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or Alzheimer’s disease (Schwarz et al. , 2016). In vivo amyloid imaging is an established method for biomarker-supported diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. However, in contrast with the neuropathologically defined amyloid phases, amyloid PET does not show the gradual expansion from neocortical amyloid aggregates (phase 1) into the basal ganglia (phase 3), the brainstem (phases 4 and 5) and the cerebellum (phase 5). Possible explanations for the difficulty in detecting progression to phases with brainstem and cerebellar involvement using amyloid PET are that (i) subcortical plaques are more often diffuse and are less common than cortical plaques; and (ii) the cerebellum or pons are used as reference regions for imaging, precluding detection of their own involvement in phase 5. By contrast, …
Comparative effects of dexamethasone on placental and foetal organ weights and some linear body measurements in Yankasa sheep and Sahel goats

Dexamethasone is a potent synthetic glucocorticoid use in veterinary and human medicine. However, it causes intra uterine growth restriction (IUGR) and decreases birth weights in some animal species and humans, although each species respond differently. This study investigated the effects of dexamethasone on placental weights and some foetal parameters in Yankasa sheep and Sahel goats with known average gestational length of 148.35 ± 1.50 days and 148.33 ± 1.58 days respectively. Ten adult Sahel goats comprising 8 does and 2 bucks and 10 Yankasa Sheep comprising of 8 ewes and 2 rams were used for this study. Pregnancies were achieved by natural mating after synchronization. Repeated dexamethasone injections were intramuscularly given at 0.25mg/kg body weight on days 1, 3 and 5 during first trimester and days 51, 53 and 55 during second trimester. Foetuses were harvested at day 78 of gestation all through Caesarean section. Foetal weights, crown-rump lengths (CRL), height at withers, heart girth, abdominal circumference, weights of adrenal glands and placental weight were evaluated. Specimens from placentas and adrenal glands were collected for histological analysis. Results showed that the mean placental weights, placental efficiency and foetal body weights were significantly (P<0.05) decreased in dexamethasone treated sheep and goats compared to controls. There was no significant change in foetal adrenal glands and linear body measurements between dexamethasone treatment and control groups in both species except crown-rump lengths (CRL) which was significantly (P<0.05) reduced in Sheep foetuses. It was concluded that dexamethasone caused significant decrease in placental weights and placenta efficiency and hence placental- maternal- foetal transport of nutrient materials in both species and also caused decrease in foetal crown-rump-lengths in sheep but not in goats. This suggests that dexamethasone has some teratogenic effects and that Sheep are more susceptible to dexamethasone treatment compared to goats. Keywords: Dexamethasone, Foetuses, Placenta, Pregnancies, Sahel goats, Yankasa sheep
Surface polar phonon dominated electron transport in graphene

The effects of surface polar phonons on the electronic transport properties of monolayer graphene are studied by using a Monte Carlo simulation. Specifically, the low-field electron mobility and saturation velocity are examined for different substrates (SiC, SiO2, and HfO2) in comparison to the intrinsic case. While the results show that the low-field mobility can be substantially reduced by the introduction of surface polar phonon scattering, corresponding degradation of the saturation velocity is not observed for all three substrates at room temperature. It is also found that surface polar phonons can influence graphene’s electrical resistivity even at low temperature, leading potentially to inaccurate estimation of the acoustic phonon deformation potential constant.
Primordial Odontogenic Tumor: A case report with histopathological analyses

Primordial odontogenic tumor (POT) is a benign mixed epithelial and mesenchymal odontogenic tumor included into the current World Health Organization (WHO) classification of Head and Neck tumours in 2017. As far as the authors have confirmed, only eight cases of this tumor have been reported so far. This paper reports a case of POT that occurred in the right mandible of a 5‐year‐old patient. Panoramic radiograph showed a well‐defined homogeneous radiolucency displacing the unerupted second deciduous molar to the deep part of the mandible. Histopathologically, the tumor was composed of cell‐rich mesenchymal tissue with myxoid areas, surrounded by columnar epithelium and non‐keratinized cuboidal epithelium in the outer layers. The histopathological diagnosis was POT. The expression patterns of cytokeratins (CK) 14, 18, 19, vimentin and CD34 suggested that the grade of differentiation of the POT was approximately equivalent to that of normal primary tooth germ tissues in cap stage to late bell stage.