Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sleep quality in patients with chronic low back pain: a cross-sectional study assesing its relations with pain, functional status and quality of life.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to investigate sleep quality in patients with chronic low back pain (CLBP) and its relationship with pain, functional status, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL). METHODS Two hundred patients with CLBP aged 20-78 years (mean: 50.2 years) and 200 sex- and age-matched pain-free healthy controls (HCs) aged 21-73 years (mean: 49.7 years) were included in this study. After lumbar region examination, in patients, pain was evaluated with the Short Form-McGill Pain Questionnaire (SF-MPQ), functional capacity with the Functional Rating Index (FRI), and health-related quality of life with the Short Form-36 (SF-36). The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used to evaluate sleep quality of both groups.The sleep quality was compared between the patients and HCs. In patients with CLBP, its relations with pain, functional status and HRQOL were also investigated. RESULTS The patients had significantly higher total scores (8.1 ± 4.3, 4.6 ± 3.4, P< 0.001, respectively) and subscale scores (P< 0.001) for PSQI compared to HCs. The groups were only similar in use of sleeping medication (P> 0.05) Among the patients, sleep quality was worse in women, in the patients with complaints more than 11 years, in the patients with low back and two leg pain (P< 0.05). Mean scores of the FRI, SF-MPQ, and visual analog scale in the patients were 8.5 ± 3.0, 16.7 ± 8.0, 6.9 ± 1.2, respectively. The PSQI total scores of patients were positively related with both SF-MPQ and FRI scores (P< 0.001). Also, there were negative relationships between the physical component summary score of the SF-36 and all subscale scores of the PSQI, without sleep duration of PSQI (P< 0.001). CONCLUSION The sleep quality of patients with CLBP was worse compared to HCs, and there were positive relations between the sleep quality with pain and functional status. Also, the poor sleep quality had negative effect on the physical component of quality of life.
Pharmacokinetic variability caused by gender: do women have higher indinavir exposure than men?

To the Editor: The pharmacokinetics of HIV-protease inhibitors a re characterized by high interpatient variability. Thi s variability can be explai ned by many factors, incl uding drug-drug interactions, impaired absorpti on caused by e ither presence or absence of food, and patientre lated factors. Gender may be one of these factors, as it is well known that large diffe rences can ex ist in the way men and women metaboli ze drugs ( 1,2). So fa r, little attention has been paid to the possibility of gender being a re levant de termin ant of in terpat ie nt vari ab ility of HIVprotease inhibitor pharmacokinetics. For ex ampl e, the product monograph of indin av ir (Crixivan; Merck & Co., Rahway, NJ, U .S.A.) mentions onl y that no influence of gender has been noted on indinav ir pharmacokine tics (3), desp ite data from prec lini ca l resea rc h indicating that indin av ir di splays sex dependent pharmacokinetics (4). We have rev iewed indinavir plasma concentrations in HIV-infected women and compared them with indinav ir concentrat ions in a control group of men. The Department of C lini ca l Pharmacy at the U ni versity Medical Centre Nijmegen is a national referra l center for therapeutic drug monito1ing of indinavir in The Netherlands. From our database we selected a ll female patients who were us ing indin av ir. Other inform at ion collected in cluded age, body weight, dose reg imen, indication for drug level monitoring, and indinavir pl asma concentration. Individual plasma concentrati ons of patients us ing 800 mg of indinav ir every 8 h were compared with the time-adjusted plasma concentrati on values in a population of 14 HIV-infected patient ( 12 male, 2 fema le) from whom an 8hour pharmacokinetic curve was recorded afte r observed intake. The ratio of the indi vidual va lue versus the population va lue is ca lled the inclinav ir concentrati on ratio (CR). The pharmacokinetic parameters of the popul ati on curve (AUC, Cmax, Cm;,,) are comparable w ith literature data of 800 mg of inclinavir ( 19.1 mg/L per hour, 8.7 mg/L, and 0. 13 mg/L, respective ly (3)) . A contro l group of 94 men was chosen by random ly selecting inclinav ir plas ma samples that were received at the same day of the sa mples from the fema le group. Differences between women and men were tested fo r s ignifi cance by Mann-Whitney U test o r the two-sample proportion test. A tota l of 380 samples fro m 220 fema le patients was avail able fo r analysis. Out of thi s group, 227 samples came from patients us ing 800 mg of inclinavir every 8 hours. The median CR of inclinavir in these samples was 1.1 8 (inte rquartile range: 0 .651.89), with 58.8% of the sampl es having an indinavir CR > 1.00. In the control group of 94 men, 6 1 samples came from patients using indinav ir 800 mg every 8 hours. The median CR of inclinav ir in these samples was 0.96 (inte rquartil e range: 0.601.70) with 47.4% of the samples having an inclinav ir CR > l.00. The difference in the indinavir CRs between men and women is not significant (p = . l 9), sugges ting no
In vivo measurement of cytosolic free calcium during cerebral ischemia and reperfusion

An increase in cytosolic free calcium concentration ([Ca2 +]i) may trigger irreversible cell injury following cerebral ischemia. We have measured changes in [Ca2 +]i in cat cortex in vivo during ischemia produced by 1 hour of middle cerebral artery occlusion and during 30 minutes of reperfusion. Indo‐1, a fluorescent Ca2+ indicator, was loaded into the exposed cortex by superfusion, and changes in the [Ca2+]i signal (400/506 nm ratio)were measured microfluorometrically during ultraviolet excitation (340 nm). The nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide/reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD/NADH) redox state and hemodynamic changes were measured simultaneously. The animals showing severe deterioration in their electroencephalograms (EEG) showed a progressive increase in the [Ca2+]i signal during ischemia (baseline: 1.46 0.05; 60 minutes after occlusion: 2.99 0.37; n = 7). At 30 minutes following reperfusion, the animals showing little recovery in their EEG exhibited a further increase in [Ca2+}i (4.71 0.87,n = 3), whereas animals showing significant recovery in their EEG also showed recovery of {Ca2+]i(1.55 0.09, n = 4). By contrast, the moderate or mild stroke animals with less deterioration in their EEGs showed no increase in [Ca2+]i during either ischemia or reperfusion. These data suggest that the increase in [Ca2+]i might be closely related not only to deterioration of brain function during ischemia but also to poor recovery during the reperfusion period.
Differential transcription of the two glutamine synthetase genes of Bradyrhizobium japonicum

Bradyrhizobium japonicum induces the formation of nitrogen-fixing symbiotic root nodules on soybean plants. The B. japonicum genome encodes two isoforms of glutamine synthetase (GS). One form, GSI, encoded by the gene glnA, is similar in structure and activity to the enzyme found in all other bacteria. The second form, GSII, encoded by glnII, is structurally related to the eucaryotic enzyme. Genetic analyses indicate that glnA or glnII alone is sufficient to provide glutamine prototrophy, whereas the double mutation glnA glnII produces glutamine auxotrophy. The glnA gene is transcribed from a single promoter that has a structure most similar to that of the bacterial consensus promoter. The level of transcription of glnA is not specifically affected by nitrogen limitation of growth. The glnII gene is also transcribed from a single promoter; however, this promoter has structural features characteristic of promoters controlled by the nitrogen regulation system. In contrast to glnA, physiological studies indicate that glnII transcription is regulated in response to nitrogen source availability. Under aerobic growth conditions, expression of glnII is induced when growth is limited by nitrogen source depletion as expected for regulation by the nitrogen regulation system.
Hybrid Compact-WENO Finite Difference Scheme with Conjugate Fourier Shock Detection Algorithm for Hyperbolic Conservation Laws

For discontinuous solutions of hyperbolic conservation laws, a hybrid scheme, based on the high order nonlinear characteristicwise weighted essentially nonoscillatory (WENO) conservative finite difference scheme and the high resolution spectral-like linear compact finite difference (Compact) scheme, is developed for capturing shocks and strong gradients accurately and resolving smooth scale structures efficiently. The key issue in any hybrid scheme is the design of an accurate, robust, and efficient high order shock detection algorithm that is capable of determining the smoothness of the solution at any given grid point. The conjugate Fourier (cF) partial sum and its derivative are investigated for its applicability as a shock detector due to its unique property, namely, the cF partial sum converges to the location and strength of an isolated jump. For a nonperiodic problem, the data are first evenly extended before the derivative of the cF partial sum and its mean are computed. The mean allows one to par.
Telestroke increases use of acute stroke therapy.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW This review provides a comprehensive overview of the management of acute stroke within the framework of telestroke services. RECENT FINDINGS The remote neurological examination using high quality videoconferencing coupled with remote review of neuroimaging has gained acceptance and proved its reliability in various publications. Telestroke networks confirmed the safety and efficiency of telethrombolysis, with an increase in the rate of thrombolysis in recent years. The analysis of a telestroke network in Europe showed improved outcomes in a cohort of ischemic stroke patients. SUMMARY At the beginning of the millennium, telestroke networks started to develop. Ten years later, there is a collection of about 40 various networks in North America and Europe performing teleconsultations on a regular basis. Telestroke is not a new therapeutic modality, but rather a set of tools to enable more efficient delivery of acute stroke care and to improve the quality of stroke care in neurologically underserved areas. Depending on the level of available regional resources, telestroke networks can support affiliated hospitals by implementing measures that improve the quality of stroke management such as regional campaigns, stroke units and stroke teams, medical education and programs encouraging the usage of guidelines.
Olfactory Bulb and Tract and Temporal Lobe Volumes: Normative Data across Decades a

ABSTRACT: The sense of smell shows a diminution with age as measured by the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT). To ascertain whether the volumes of the olfactory bulbs and tracts (OBTs) and the temporal lobes (TL) declined in parallel to smell function, we examined 36 individuals from ages 22 to 78 who did not complain of any loss of the sense of smell using magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. The OBT volumes showed an initial increase to the 4th decade of life and then a decrease with increasing age, while the trend in TL volume was not as dramatic. There was no correlation between OBT or TL volumes with unilateral or total UPSIT scores. The normative data by decades can be used to assess the OBTs of cohorts of patients with neurodegenerative disorders that affect olfaction.
Isolation of a Rhodobacter capsulatus mutant that lacks c-type cytochromes and excretes porphyrins

A Rhodobacter capsulatus mutant lacking cytochrome oxidase activity was isolated by Tn5 mutagenesis. Difference spectroscopy of crude extracts and extracted c-type cytochromes demonstrated that this mutant completely lacked all c-type cytochromes. The strain did, however, synthesize normal amounts of b-type cytochromes and nonheme iron. This mutant also excreted large amounts of coproporphyrin and protoporphyrin and synthesized reduced amounts of bacteriochlorophyll, suggesting a link between the synthesis of c-type cytochromes and the expression of the tetrapyrrole biosynthetic pathway.
Which factors affect the chances of paid employment for individuals with visual impairment in Britain?

OBJECTIVES To analyze which factors affect the probability of people registered as blind and visually impaired in Britain being in paid employment. PARTICIPANTS Consist of 559 registered individuals of working age with a visual impairment. This sub-sample is drawn from the first wave of a larger, nationally-representative survey of adults who are blind and visually impaired in Britain. METHODS After examining descriptive statistics for employment status and key analysis variables, a multivariate analysis is undertaken to assess the relative impact of: demographic and household characteristics, socio-economic status, aspects of visual impairment, including severity and age of onset, and presence of additional disabilities. RESULTS Educational attainment, housing tenure, registration status (as blind or visually impaired) and having additional disabilities have the strongest impact on the likelihood of an individual registered as visually impaired being in work. CONCLUSIONS The findings underline the need to examine the varying labor market experiences of groups with different types of disability and the importance of assessing the individual effects of severity of visual impairment, age of onset, and presence of additional disabilities.
Disposition of ketoconazole, an oral antifungal, in humans

The pharmacology of ketoconazole was studied in patients with fungal infections. After administration of 50-, 100-, and 200-mg doses of ketoconazole, there was a linear increase in the area under the curve of serum concentrations; this was not apparent when higher doses of ketoconazole were given. An increase in the area under the curve occurred in patients receiving 200 mg daily who were restudied after 1 to 12 months of therapy. However, normalized area under the curve appeared to decrease after higher doses were administered chronically. The half life ranged from 2.0 to 3.3 h. Peak serum concentrations up to 50 micrograms/ml were detected in this study, and potentially therapeutic concentrations were detectable up to 26 h after high doses. Ketoconazole penetrated the saliva and inflamed joint fluid and meninges, although variably, and could be demonstrated in some other tissue compartments. In the presence of renal failure, ketoconazole disposition was not altered, whereas in the presence of hepatic insufficiency, an alteration in disposition was suggested. The interactions of ketoconazole and other drugs were studied. Of note, antacids did not significantly affect ketoconazole pharmacokinetics (nor did meals), and ketoconazole and warfarin did not appear to affect the pharmacokinetics of the other.
Characterization of metastatic breast cancer patients with nondetectable circulating tumor cells

Circulating tumor cells (CTC) are an independent prognostic factor in metastatic breast cancer patients (MBC). However, CTC are undetectable in one third of patients. The aim of this study was to assess the prognostic factors in MBC patients without detectable CTC. This retrospective study included 292 MBC patients evaluated between January 2004 and December 2007. CTC were enumerated before patients started a new line of treatment using the CellSearch™. Overall survival (OS) was calculated from the date of CTC measurement and estimated by the Kaplan‐Meier product limit method. CTC were not detected in 35.96% patients, whereas 40.75% patients had CTC ≥ 5. Undetectable CTC status was positively correlated with presence of brain metastasis (OR: 6.17, 95%CI = 2.14–17.79; p = 0.001), and inversely correlated with bone metastasis (OR: 0.47; 95%CI = 0.27–0.80; p = 0.01). In multivariate analysis, hormone receptors, number of metastatic sites and lines of therapy were independent prognostic factors for OS in patients without detectable CTC. Patients without detectable CTC before starting of a new line of therapy comprise a heterogeneous group with substantially different prognosis. We showed that some important metastatic disease characteristics are predictive of undetectable CTC status in MBC.
In Vitro Activities of Telithromycin, Linezolid, and Quinupristin-Dalfopristin against Streptococcus pneumoniae with Macrolide Resistance Due to Ribosomal Mutations

ABSTRACT To date, 86 of 7,746 macrolide-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates from 1999 to 2002 PROTEKT (Prospective Resistant Organism Tracking and Epidemiology for the Ketolide Telithromycin) surveillance studies were negative for methylase and efflux mechanisms. Mutations in 23S rRNA or the genes encoding riboprotein L4 or L22 were found in 77 of 86 isolates. Six isolates were resistant to quinupristin-dalfopristin and two were resistant to linezolid, while telithromycin demonstrated good activities against all isolates.
A Life-Course View of the Development of Crime

In this article, the authors present a life-course perspective on crime and a critique of the developmental criminology paradigm. Their fundamental argument is that persistent offending and desistance—or trajectories of crime—can be meaningfully understood within the same theoretical framework, namely, a revised agegraded theory of informal social control. The authors examine three major issues. First, they analyze data that undermine the idea that developmentally distinct groups of offenders can be explained by unique causal processes. Second, they revisit the concept of turning points from a time-varying view of key life events. Third, they stress the overlooked importance of human agency in the development of crime. The authors' life-course theory envisions development as the constant interaction between individuals and their environment, coupled with random developmental noise and a purposeful human agency that they distinguish from rational choice. Contrary to influential developmental theories in criminology, the authors thus conceptualize crime as an emergent process reducible neither to the individual nor the environment.
Development of advanced three-dimensional tumour models for anti-cancer drug testing

Animal testing is still the common method to test the efficacy of new drugs, but tissue engineered in vitro models are becoming more acceptable for replacing and reducing animal testing in anti-cancer drug screening by developing in vitro three-dimensional (3D) tumour models for anti-cancer drug testing. In this study, three-dimensional (3D) culture methods were developed to mimic the tumour microenvironment. 3D culturing is to seed, maintain and expand cultured cells in three-dimensional space, in contrast to the traditional two-dimensional (2D) method in which the cells attach to the bottom of culture containers as monolayers. To mimic the intercellular interplay for tumour study, cell co-culture was applied. In this thesis, perfusion culture showed a better homeostasis for 3D tumour model growth over 17 days, with a more controllable working platform and a more reliable response-dose correlation for data interpretation. In the Matrigel sandwich system, the co-culture of breast cancer cells and endothelial cells demonstrated the morphology featuring a vascular network and tumour structures, with the thickness of the three-dimensional structure around 100µm and tubule length 200-400 µm, and maintained for 10 days. The comparisons studies between Matrigel sandwich and other methods suggest that though not fully characterised, Matrigel is still a valuable scaffold choice for developing co-culture 3D tumour model. Finally, the combination of perfusion and co-culture showed the potential of applying this model in angiogenesis assay, with a drug response profile combining cell viability and morphology to mimic in vivo tumour physiology.
Left Ventricular Pseudoaneurysm Complicating Inferior Myocardial Infarction: A Case Report

Acquired pseudoaneurysm of the left ventricle is a very rare disorder and mostly occurs after large transmural myocardial infarction (MI) with peak creatine phosphokinase-MB levels greater than 150 IU/mL. Patients developing left ventricular (LV) pseudoaneurysm usually present with angina or heart failure symptoms. Although different imaging modalities exist, coronary angiography is the gold standard for diagnosis. Surgery is the treatment of choice for LV pseudoaneurysms detected in the first months after MI. Here we report the case of a 74-year-old woman who presented with a relatively small inferior MI due to right coronary artery occlusion and complicated by LV pseudoaneurysm.
Human RBMY regulates germline-specific splicing events by modulating the function of the serine/arginine-rich proteins 9G8 and Tra2-β

RBMY is a male germline RNA binding protein and potential alternative splicing regulator, but the lack of a convenient biological system has made its cellular functions elusive. We found that human RBMY fused to green fluorescent protein was strictly nuclear in transfected cells, but spatially enriched in areas around nuclear speckles with some components of the exon junction complex (EJC). Human RBMY (hRBMY) and the EJC components Magoh and Y14 also physically interacted but, unlike these two proteins, hRBMY protein did not shuttle to the cytoplasm. In addition, it relocalised into nucleolar caps after inhibition of RNA polymerase II transcription. Protein interactions were also detected between RBMY and splicing factors 9G8 and transformer-2 protein homolog β (Tra2-β), mediated by multiple regions of the RBMY protein that contain serine/arginine-rich dipeptides, but not by the single region lacking such dipeptides. These interactions modulated the splicing of several pre-mRNAs regulated by 9G8 and Tra2-β. Importantly, ectopic expression of hRBMY stimulated the inclusion of a testis-enriched exon from the Acinus gene, whereas 9G8 and Tra2-β repressed this exon. We propose that hRBMY associates with regions of the nucleus enriched in nascent RNA and participates in the regulation of specific splicing events in the germline by modulating the activity of constitutively expressed splicing factors.
Importance of Sock Type in the Development of Foot Lesions on Low-Difficulty, Short Hikes

Background and objectives: Foot lesions can be developed during hiking because of external factors. This makes it important to study the effect of hiking equipment on lesion development. Materials and Methods: Technical and non-technical socks were given to 109 hikers to wear during a short hike. Participants were examined at three stages of the hike to determine the development of dermal, muscle and nail lesions, temperature and perimeter in various areas of each foot. Results: The percentage of hikers without injuries was significantly higher among those wearing technical socks (p-value < 0.001). Differences were also observed in mean foot temperature, which was higher in participants wearing technical socks (p-value < 0.001). Conclusion: The results indicate that even on a low-difficulty, short-term sport activity, it is advisable to wear technical socks to prevent lesion development and keep the foot temperature more stable. Sock type was identified as an external conditioning factor in lesion development.