Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Clinical case study: CBT for depression in a Puerto Rican adolescent: challenges and variability in treatment response

Background: There is ample evidence of the efficacy of cognitive‐behavioral therapy (CBT) for depression in adolescents, including Puerto Rican adolescents. However, there is still a high percentage of adolescents who do not respond to a standard “dose” of 12 sessions of CBT. This clinical case study explores the characteristics associated with treatment response in a Puerto Rican adolescent and illustrates the challenges and variability inherent in CBT treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD) in youth. Methods: The patient is a 15‐year‐old adolescent female who at pretreatment presented a diagnosis of MDD with severe depressive symptoms, high suicidal ideation, low self‐concept, and highly dysfunctional attitudes. CBT treatment consisted of 12 standard individual therapy sessions plus four additional sessions, and one family intervention. A case study method was used. Both qualitative and quantitative data for the case are presented using self‐report instruments, clinical case notes and recordings of therapy sessions. Results: Some of the characteristics she presented that have been associated with partial or no response to therapy were: increased severity of depressive symptoms, a prior MDD episode, co‐morbidity with other mental disorders, and significant parental conflict. At termination the patient presented decreases in depressive symptoms, dysfunctional attitudes, and suicidal ideation, as well as improvements in self‐concept. These improvements were maintained up to 1 year posttreatment. Conclusions: Cultural issues are discussed in terms of the potential for parental conflict to perpetuate the patient's depressive symptoms. Depression and Anxiety, 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Opposing Functions of Spinal M2, M3, and M4 Receptor Subtypes in Regulation of GABAergic Inputs to Dorsal Horn Neurons Revealed by Muscarinic Receptor Knockout Mice

Spinal muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (mAChRs) play an important role in the regulation of nociception. To determine the role of individual mAChR subtypes in control of synaptic GABA release, spontaneous inhibitory postsynaptic currents (sIPSCs) and miniature IPSCs (mIPSCs) were recorded in lamina II neurons using whole-cell recordings in spinal cord slices of wild-type and mAChR subtype knockout (KO) mice. The mAChR agonist oxotremorine-M (3-10 μM) dose-dependently decreased the frequency of GABAergic sIPSCs and mIPSCs in wild-type mice. However, in the presence of the M2 and M4 subtype-preferring antagonist himbacine, oxotremorine-M caused a large increase in the sIPSC frequency. In M3 KO and M1/M3 double-KO mice, oxotremorine-M produced a consistent decrease in the frequency of sIPSCs, and this effect was abolished by himbacine. We were surprised to find that in M2/M4 double-KO mice, oxotremorine-M consistently increased the frequency of sIPSCs and mIPSCs in all neurons tested, and this effect was completely abolished by 4-diphenylacetoxy-N-methylpiperidine methiodide, an M3 subtype-preferring antagonist. In M2 or M4 single-KO mice, oxotremorine-M produced a variable effect on sIPSCs; it increased the frequency of sIPSCs in some cells but decreased the sIPSC frequency in other neurons. Taken together, these data strongly suggest that activation of the M3 subtype increases synaptic GABA release in the spinal dorsal horn of mice. In contrast, stimulation of presynaptic M2 and M4 subtypes predominantly attenuates GABAergic inputs to dorsal horn neurons in mice, an action that is opposite to the role of M2 and M4 subtypes in the spinal cord of rats.
Eficacia de los Tratamientos Fungicidas para el Control de Botrytis Cinerea de la Vid en Función de la Época de Aplicación

Los resultados de este trabajo demostraron la presencia de Botrytis cinerea latente, en flores y bayas inmaduras, aparentemente sanas, de vides cvs. Thompson Seedless y Red Globe. Estos resultados sustentan la hipotesis sobre la posible colonizacion de restos florales senescentes por B. cinerea, pudiendo este patogeno persistir latente hasta la cosecha y proporcionar de este modo el inoculo necesario para el desarrollo de la enfermedad. La mayor proporcion de B. cinerea latente se detecto en muestras de flores colectadas en 50% de floracion y vario entre 5,3 y 12,8%. No hubo diferencias significativas entre el grado de latencia obtenido en ambos cultivares. Se ha postulado la necesidad de los tratamientos fungicidas en floracion para reducir la latencia y la incidencia de pudricion gris a la cosecha. De acuerdo con estos resultados, los tratamientos fungicidas aplicados en floracion redujeron significativamente (p<0,05) la botritis a la cosecha, respecto de los testigos sin tratar. Sin embargo, la efectividad de las aplicaciones en floracion fue significativamente (p < 0,05) inferior a la obtenida con igual numero de aplicaciones entre la pinta y la cosecha. Por ejemplo, la eficacia promedio de las aplicaciones en floracion fue 42,9%, mientras que, esta fue 80,2; 83,3 y 92,4% para los tratamientos aplicados entre pinta y cosecha, calendarizadamente o en funcion del pronostico de la botritis, respectivamente. Por consiguiente, los tratamientos fungicidas en floracion, aun cuando efectivos para reducir B. cinerea latente, tuvieron una eficacia inferior respecto de aquellos realizados entre pinta y cosecha. Estos ultimos fueron indispensables en el control de la botritis de la vid. Los resultados de este estudio confirman la utilidad del pronostico de la botritis para establecer el riesgo de infeccion y en funcion de este riesgo decidir la necesidad de los tratamientos fungicidas.
[Effects of an educational program for the reduction of physical restraint use by caregivers in geriatric hospitals].

PURPOSE The purposes of this study were to develop an educational program to reduce the use of physical restraints for caregivers in geriatric hospitals and to evaluate the effects of the program on caregivers' knowledge, attitude and nursing practice related to the use of physical restraints. METHODS A quasi experimental study with a non-equivalent control group pretest-posttest design was used. Participants were recruited from two geriatric hospitals. Eighteen caregivers were assigned to the experimental group and 20 to the control group. The data were collected prior to the intervention and at 6 weeks after the intervention through the use of self-administered questionnaires. Descriptive statistics, X(2) test, Fisher's exact probability test, and Mann-Whitney U test were used to analyze the data. RESULTS After the intervention, knowledge about physical restraints increased significantly in experimental group compared to the control group. However, there were no statistically significant differences between the groups for attitude and nursing practice involving physical restraints. CONCLUSION Findings indicate that it is necessary to apply knowledge acquired through educational programs to nursing practice to reduce the use of physical restraints. User friendly guidelines for physical restraints, administrative support of institutions, and multidisciplinary approaches are required to achieve this goal.
Identification of 86 candidates for small non-messenger RNAs from the archaeon Archaeoglobus fulgidus

In a specialized cDNA library from the archaeon Archaeoglobus fulgidus we have identified a total of 86 different expressed RNA sequences potentially encoding previously uncharacterized small non-messenger RNA (snmRNA) species. Ten of these RNAs resemble eukaryotic small nucleolar RNAs, which guide rRNA 2′-O-methylations (C/D-box type) and pseudouridylations (H/ACA-box type). Thereby, we identified four candidates for H/ACA small RNAs in an archaeal species that are predicted to guide a total of six rRNA pseudouridylations. Furthermore, we have verified the presence of the six predicted pseudouridines experimentally. We demonstrate that 22 snmRNAs are transcribed from a family of short tandem repeats conserved in most archaeal genomes and shown previously to be potentially involved in replicon partitioning. In addition, four snmRNAs derived from the rRNA operon of A. fulgidus were identified and shown to be generated by a splicing/processing pathway of pre-rRNAs. The remaining 50 RNAs could not be assigned to a known class of snmRNAs because of the lack of known structure and/or sequence motifs. Regarding their location on the genome, only nine were located in intergenic regions, whereas 33 were complementary to an ORF, five were overlapping an ORF, and three were derived from the sense orientation within an ORF. Our study further supports the importance of snmRNAs in all three domains of life.
Nature of Enhanced Performance of the Dilated Left Ventricle in the Dog during Chronic Volume Overloading

The size and the performance of the left ventricle were examined in six conscious dogs early (within 1 week) and late (average 7 weeks) after the production of a large infrarenal arteriovenous fistula. Radiopaque beads were implanted near the endocardium of the left ventricle, and in each study the end-diastolic pressure was adjusted to 22 mm Hg by transfusion or bleeding. The shortening of the minor equator of the left ventricle and its mean velocity of shortening were compared in each dog before and after chronic left ventricular dilatation (ventricular end-diastolic volumes of 71 ml early and 101 ml late, P < 0.05). In five dogs the stroke volume increased by an average of 42% (P < 0.05) between early and late studies, but the percent change in circumference and the mean velocity of shortening remained unchanged (24.2 ± 2% (SE) and 23.6 ± 2%, 1.43 ± 0.12 circumferences/sec and 1.44 ± 0.09 circumferences/sec, respectively) at comparable heart rates. In one animal with congestive heart failure, the percent change in circumference and the mean velocity of shortening fell progressively to 19% and 0.74 circumferences/sec. It is concluded that in the absence of myocardial failure the enhanced performances of the chronically dilated left ventricle is mediated by normal performance of each unit of circumference of the enlarged chamber. The nature of this adaptation supports the application of several measures of contractility used for the assessment of chronic variations of inotropic state. Previously, diastolic sarcomere lengths were shown to be maximal and essentially the same after acute over-transfusion as they were during chronic volume overloading, and the present studies provide physiological support for the view that the chronic adaptation to volume overload need not involve the Frank-Starling mechanism at the sarcomere level. The observed adaptation provides a reserve mechanism, in addition to the usual factors regulating cardiac performance, by which chronic alterations in ventricular geometry allow the delivery of more external work.
Circulating Lipids and Acute Pain Sensitization: An Exploratory Analysis

Background In individuals with low back pain, higher lipid levels have been documented and were associated with increased risk for chronic low back pain. Objectives The purpose of this research was to identify plasma lipids that discriminate participants with acute low back pain with or without pain sensitization as measured by quantitative sensory testing. Methods This exploratory study was conducted as part of a larger parent randomized controlled trial. A cluster analysis of 30 participants with acute low back pain revealed two clusters: one with signs of peripheral and central sensitivity to mechanical and thermal stimuli and the other with an absence of peripheral and central sensitivity. Lipid levels were extracted from plasma and measured using mass spectroscopy. Results Triacylglycerol 50:2 was significantly higher in participants with peripheral and central sensitization compared to the nonsensitized cluster. The nonsensitized cluster had significantly higher levels of phosphoglyceride 34:2, plasmenyl phosphocholine 38:1, and phosphatidic acid 28:1 compared to participants with peripheral and central sensitization. Linear discriminant function analysis was conducted using the four statistically significant lipids to test their predictive power to classify those in the sensitization and no-sensitization clusters; the four lipids accurately predicted cluster classification 58% of the time (R 2 = .58, −2 log likelihood = 14.59). Discussion The results of this exploratory study suggest a unique lipidomic signature in plasma of patients with acute low back pain based on the presence or absence of pain sensitization. Future work to replicate these preliminary findings is underway.
Could mobilty performance measures be used to evaluate wheelchair skills?

OBJECTIVE To determine the relationship between mobility performance measures and Wheelchair Skill Test (WST) scores and to establish the test-retest and inter-rater reliability of these measures. METHODS Forty patients with spinal cord injury participated in this study. Subjects performed the Wheelchair Skill Test and mobility performance tests: maximal velocity (Vmax), spontaneous velocity (Vspont) and a 10-m back and forth slalom (Stime). Eighteen patients with spinal cord injury participated in a second testing session to evaluate test-retest reliability and, among these patients, 8 participated in a third testing session to evaluate inter-rater reliability. RESULTS Spearman's correlation coefficients calculated between WST and Vmax, Vspont and Stime were high and significant (p < 0.05). The intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC (2.1)) evaluating test-retest reliability for Vmax, Vspont and Stime were 0.94, 0.84 and 0.88, respectively. The ICC evaluating inter-rater reliability for Vmax, Vspont and Stime were 0.92, 0.92 and 0.95, respectively. Reliability results were confirmed by Bland-Altman plots. CONCLUSION Vmax and Stime could be used to evaluate wheelchair skills and to create a new scale, whereas Vspont is the least appropriate of these measurements to describe wheelchair skills.
Seasonal Affective Disorder in Adolescence

Two adolescent girls with seasonal affective disorder (SAD) are described. It is suggested that the classic symptom profile seen in adults is not characteristic in younger subjects. Although hypersomnia is prominent, increased appetite and carbohydrate craving are rarely reported. Local meteorological data link the course of the disorder in one case to the hours of sunshine and ambient temperature during the winter months.
Influence of Cannabinoids on Electrically Evoked Dopamine Release and Cyclic AMP Generation in the Rat Striatum

Abstract: Using the endogenous cannabinoid receptor agonist anandamide, the synthetic agonist CP 55940 {[1α,2β(R)5α]‐(−)‐5‐(1,1‐dimethylheptyl)‐2‐[5‐hydroxy‐2‐(3‐hydroxypropyl)cyclohexyl]phenol}, and the specific antagonist SR 141716 [N‐(piperidin‐1‐yl)‐5‐(4‐chlorophenyl)‐1‐(2,4‐dichlorophenyl)‐4‐methyl‐1H‐pyrazole‐3‐carboxamide hydrochloride], second messenger activation of the central cannabinoid receptor (CB1) was examined in rat striatal and cortical slices. The effects of these cannabinoid ligands on electrically evoked dopamine (DA) release from [3H]dopamine‐prelabelled striatal slices were also investigated. CP 55940 (1 µM) and anandamide (10 µM) caused significant reductions in forskolin‐stimulated cyclic AMP accumulation in rat striatal slices, which were reversed in the presence of SR 141716 (1 µM). CP 55940 (1 µM) had no effect on either KCl‐ or neurotransmitter‐stimulated 3H‐inositol phosphate accumulation in rat cortical slices. CP 55940 and anandamide caused significant reductions in the release of dopamine after electrical stimulation of [3H]dopamine‐prelabelled striatal slices, which were antagonised by SR 141716. SR 141716 alone had no effect on electrically evoked dopamine release from rat striatal slices. These data indicate that the CB1 receptors in rat striatum are negatively linked to adenylyl cyclase and dopamine release. That the CB1 receptor may influence dopamine release in the striatum suggests that cannabinoids play a modulatory role in dopaminergic neuronal pathways.
The ALCAM Shedding by the Metalloprotease ADAM17/TACE Is Involved in Motility of Ovarian Carcinoma Cells

Previous findings indicated that the activated leukocyte cell adhesion molecule (ALCAM) is expressed by tumors and plays a role in tumor biology. In this study, we show that ALCAM is shed from epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) cells in vitro, leading to the generation of a soluble ALCAM (sALCAM), consisting of most of the extracellular domain. A similar sALCAM molecule was also found in the ascitic fluids and sera from EOC patients, suggesting that this process also occurs in vivo. sALCAM is constitutively produced by EOC cells, and this process can be enhanced by cell treatment with pervanadate, phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA), or epidermal growth factor (EGF), a known growth factor for EOC. Pharmacologic inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) and of a disintegrin and metalloproteases (ADAM), and the tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-3, significantly inhibited sALCAM release by EOC cells. The ADAM17/TACE molecule was expressed in EOC cell lines and ADAM17/TACE silencing by specific small interfering RNA–reduced ALCAM shedding. In addition, inhibitors of ADAM function blocked EOC cell motility in a wound-healing assay. Conversely, a recombinant antibody blocking ALCAM adhesive functions and inducing ALCAM internalization enhanced EOC cell motility. Altogether, our data suggest that the disruption of ALCAM-mediated adhesion is a relevant step in EOC motility, and ADAM17/TACE takes part in this process, which may be relevant to EOC invasive potential. (Mol Cancer Res 2007;5(12):1246–53)
Hirulog in the treatment of unstable angina. Results of the Thrombin Inhibition in Myocardial Ischemia (TIMI) 7 trial.

BACKGROUND Direct thrombin inhibitors are a new class of drugs that may offer a more effective and potentially simpler alternative to heparin. Hirulog is a synthetic peptide based on the leech-derived compound hirudin and, like hirudin, is a highly specific, direct inhibitor of free and clot-bound thrombin. METHODS AND RESULTS TIMI 7 was a randomized, double-blind study of Hirulog, given with 325 mg/d aspirin to 410 patients with unstable angina. Patients received a constant infusion of Hirulog for 72 hours at one of four doses: 0.02 (n = 160), 0.25 (n = 81), 0.5 (n = 88), and 1.0 (n = 81) mg.kg-1.h-1. The primary efficacy end point was "unsatisfactory outcome," defined as death, nonfatal myocardial infarction (MI), rapid clinical deterioration, or recurrent ischemic pain at rest with ECG changes by 72 hours. Unsatisfactory outcome was not different among the four dose groups: 8.1%, 6.2%, 11.4%, and 6.2% (P = NS). However, the secondary end point of death or nonfatal MI through hospital discharge occurred in 10.0% of patients treated with 0.02 mg.kg-1.h-1 compared with 3.2% of patients treated with the three higher doses of Hirulog (0.25, 0.5, and 1.0 mg.kg-1.h-1, P = .008). Only 2 of 410 patients (0.5%) experienced a major hemorrhage attributed to Hirulog. CONCLUSIONS The direct thrombin inhibitor Hirulog is a promising new antithrombotic agent that deserves further study. The results of TIMI 7 lend support to the use of an antithrombin agent with aspirin in patients with unstable angina.
Infection With Different HIV Subtypes Is Associated With CD4 Activation-Associated Dysfunction and Apoptosis

Determination of HIV-1 subtype may be important in the management of HIV-infected individuals, particularly with regard to deciding the CD4 cell count at which to initiate antiretroviral therapy. Non-B subtypes, A and D, are prevalent in Uganda, and individuals infected with subtype D seem to have faster disease progression compared with those infected with subtype A. We examined the level of apoptosis in CD4+ T cells in a study cohort of volunteers infected with subtypes A and D infection. Although the levels of apoptosis in the activated CD4+ cells significantly decreased with viral suppression, CD4+ apoptosis in individuals infected with subtype D were found to be significantly higher compared with those infected with subtype A before antiretroviral treatment. Surface expression of PD-1 on CD4 cells in subtype D was substantially higher compared with that in subtype A (P = 0.03). This difference was not observed in the CD8 population (P > 0.05). Our findings suggest that the infecting HIV subtypes exert an independent influence on the disease outcome in response to antiretroviral treatment.
Soccer, neurotrauma and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: is there a connection?

SUMMARY Trauma has long been hypothesized but never proven to be a risk factor for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). This hypothesis may now have a renaissance due to recent reports in the lay press on ‘the Italian motoneuron mystery’, i.e. the disclosure of 33 diagnosed ALS cases in a subpopulation of 24 000 soccer players of the top three Italian divisions from the 1960s to 1996. Could the repetitive brain trauma that soccer players experience for controlling and advancing the ball with their heads represent an environmental risk factor for developing ALS in genetically predisposed individuals? By critically reviewing the scarce literature and ‘surrounding evidence’ (Medline, CDC, lay press, Italian health officials), we have looked for a potential relationship between (1) soccer and head trauma and (2) head trauma and subsequent development of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Whereas the brain traumatizing effect of soccer seems to be out of the question, the findings of the few retrospective studies on ALS and neurotrauma are conflicting. Taken together, however, the literature would still support the concept of soccer, head trauma, and ALS being interrelated, with high levels of athleticism/physical activity perhaps playing an additive part. To further clarify this issue, extensive prospective epidemiological investigations on ALS following neurotrauma as well as carefully designed animal studies will have to be conducted.
Neural Synchronization Stability in the Tinnitus Decompensation

Neural correlates of psychophysiological tinnitus models in humans may be used for their neurophysiological validation as well as for their refinement and improvement to better understand the pathogenesis of the tinnitus decompensation and to develop new therapeutic approaches. In this study, we try to identify neural correlates of cortico-cortical top-down projections based on the Jastreboff tinnitus model combined with the adaptive resonance theory of Grossberg which has not been applied to the problem of tinnitus so far. In particular, the neural synchronization stability. In single sweep sequences of late auditory evoked potentials is evaluated by the wavelet phase coherence in the time-scale domain. The synchronization stability, which is according to the underlying model linked to the focus of attention on the tinnitus signal, discriminated between a group of compensated and decompensated tinnitus patients. It is concluded that top-down processes according to the adaptive resonance theory basically represent the influences of the limbic and autonomic nervous system in the Jastreboff tinnitus model. The neural correlates of these processes are globally reflected in the synchronization stability of late auditory evoked potentials and may be useful as objective tinnitus decompensation measure