Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Lost in translation: a genealogy of the “social capital” concept in public health

Study objective: To examine the genealogy of the social capital concept in public health, with attention to the epistemological concerns and academic practices that shaped the way in which this concept was translated into public health. Design: A citation-network path analysis of the public health literature on social capital was used to generate a genealogy of the social capital concept in public health. The analysis identifies the intellectual sources, influential texts, and developments in the conceptualisation of social capital in public health. Participants: The population of 227 texts (articles, books, reports) was selected in two phases. Phase 1 texts were articles in the PubMed database with “social capital” in their title published before 2003 (n = 65). Phase 2 texts are those texts cited more than once by phase 1 articles (n = 165). Main results: The analysis shows how the scholarship of Robert Putnam has been absorbed into public health research, how three seminal texts appearing in 1996 and 1997 helped shape the communitarian form that the social capital concept has assumed in public health, and how both were influenced by the epistemological context of social epidemiology at the time. Conclusions: Originally viewed in public health research as an ecological level, psychosocial mechanism that might mediate the income inequality-health pathway, the dominance of the communitarian approach to social capital has given disproportionate attention to normative and associational properties of places. Network approaches to social capital were lost in this translation. Recovering them is key to a full translation and conceptualisation of social capital in public health.
A New Role for the Human Placenta as a Hematopoietic Site Throughout Gestation

We investigated whether the human placenta contributes to embryonic and fetal hematopoietic development. Two cell populations—CD34++CD45low and CD34 +CD45low—were found in chorionic villi. CD34++ CD45low cells display many markers that are characteristic of multipotent primitive hematopoietic progenitors and hematopoietic stem cells. Clonogenic in vitro assays showed that CD34++CD45 low cells contained colony-forming units-culture with myeloid and erythroid potential and differentiated into CD56+ natural killer cells and CD19+ B cells in culture. CD34+CD45low cells were mostly enriched in erythroid- and myeloid-committed progenitors. While the number of CD34++CD45low cells increased throughout gestation in parallel with placental mass. However, their density (cells per gram of tissue) reached its peak at 5 to 8 weeks, decreasing more than 7-fold from the ninth week onward. In addition to multipotent progenitors, the placenta contained intermediate progenitors, indicative of active hematopoiesis. Together, these data suggest that the human placenta is potentially an important hematopoietic organ, opening the possibility of banking placental hematopoietic stem cells along with cord blood for transplantation.
The antiepileptic drug levetiracetam selectively modifies kindling‐induced alterations in gene expression in the temporal lobe of rats

Gene expression profiling by microarrays is a powerful tool for identification of genes that may encode key proteins involved in molecular mechanisms underlying epileptogenesis. Using the Affymetrix oligonucleotide microarray, we have surveyed the expression levels of more than 26,000 genes and expressed sequence tags (ESTs) in the amygdala‐kindling model of temporal lobe epilepsy. Furthermore, the effect of the antiepileptic drug levetiracetam (LEV) on kindling‐induced alterations of gene expression was studied. Treatment of rats with LEV during kindling acquisition significantly suppressed kindling development. For gene expression profiling, six groups of rats were included in the present study: (i) and (ii) sham‐operated rats treated with saline or LEV; (iii) and (iv) electrode‐implanted but non‐kindled rats treated with saline or LEV; (v) and (vi) kindled rats treated with saline or LEV. Treatment was terminated after 11 or 12 daily amygdala stimulations, when all vehicle‐treated rats had reached kindling criterion, i.e. a stage 5 seizure. Twenty‐four hours later, the ipsilateral temporal lobe was dissected for mRNA preparation. Six temporal lobe preparations from each group were analysed for differential gene expression. In control (non‐kindled) rats, LEV treatment was devoid of any significant effect on gene expression. In saline‐treated kindled rats, a large number of genes were observed to display mRNA expression alterations compared with non‐kindled rats. LEV treatment induced marked effects on gene expression from kindled rats. Previously described epilepsy‐related genes, such as neuropeptide Y (NPY), thyrotropin‐releasing hormone (TRH) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) were confirmed to be up‐regulated by kindling and partially normalized by LEV treatment. Real‐time quantitative polymerase chain reaction confirmed NPY, TRH and GFAP expression data from chip experiments. Furthermore, a number of novel genes were identified from the gene chip experiments. A subgroup of these genes demonstrated correlation between expression changes and kindled phenotype measurements. In summary, this study identified many genes with potentially important roles in epileptogenesis and highlighted several important issues in using the gene chip technology for the study of animal models of CNS disorders.
Plasticity of Cortical Projections after Stroke

Ischemic stroke produces cell death and disability, and a process of repair and partial recovery. Plasticity within cortical connections after stroke leads to partial recovery of function after the initial injury. Physiologically, cortical connections after stroke become hyperexcitable and more susceptible to the induction of LTP. Stroke produces changes in the distribution and laterality of sensory, motor, and language representations within the brain that correlate with functional recovery. Anatomically, ischemic lesions induce axonal sprouting within local, intracortical projections and long distance, interhemispheric projections. This postischemic axonal sprouting establishes substantially new patterns of cortical connections with de-afferented or partially damaged brain areas. Axonal sprouting after ischemic lesions is induced by a transient pattern of synchronous, low-frequency neuronal activity in a network of cortical areas connected to the infarct. This pattern of neuronal activity that induces axonal sprouting in the adult after ischemic lesions resembles that seen in the developing brain during axonal elongation and synaptogenesis. Thus, stroke induces a process of remapping and reconnection within the adult brain through changes in neuronal activity that may involve a reactivation of developmental programs in areas connected to the infarct.
MLL: How complex does it get?

The mixed lineage leukemia (MLL) gene encodes a very large nuclear protein homologous to Drosophila trithorax (trx). MLL is required for the proper maintenance of HOX gene expression during development and hematopoiesis. The exact regulatory mechanism of HOX gene expression by MLL is poorly understood, but it is believed that MLL functions at the level of chromatin organization. MLL was identified as a common target of chromosomal translocations associated with human acute leukemias. About 50 different MLL fusion partners have been isolated to date, and while similarities exist between groups of partners, there exists no unifying property shared by all the partners. MLL gene rearrangements are found in leukemias with both lymphoid and myeloid phenotypes and are often associated with infant and secondary leukemias. The immature phenotype of the leukemic blasts suggests an important role for MLL in the early stages of hematopoietic development. Mll homozygous mutant mice are embryonic lethal and exibit deficiencies in yolk sac hematopoiesis. Recently, two different MLL‐containing protein complexes have been isolated. These and other gain‐ and loss‐of‐function experiments have provided insight into normal MLL function and altered functions of MLL fusion proteins. This article reviews the progress made toward understanding the function of the wild‐type MLL protein. While many advances in understanding this multifaceted protein have been made since its discovery, many challenging questions remain to be answered. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Incidence and predictors of post-thyroidectomy hypocalcaemia in a tertiary endocrine surgical unit.

BACKGROUND Post-thyroidectomy hypocalcaemia is a common complication with significant short and long term morbidity. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence and predictors of post-thyroidectomy hypocalcaemia (as defined by a corrected calcium <2.1 mmol/l) in a tertiary endocrine surgical unit. METHODS A total of 238 consecutive patients who underwent completion or bilateral thyroid surgery between 2008 and 2011 were included in this retrospective study. Clinical and biochemical data were obtained from electronic and hard copy medical records. RESULTS The incidence of post-thyroidectomy hypocalcaemia on first postoperative day (POD1) was 29.0%. There was variation in the incidence of hypocalcaemia depending on the timing of measurement on the first postoperative day. At six months following surgery, 5.5% of patients were on calcium and/or vitamin D supplementation. Factors associated with post-thyroidectomy hypocalcaemia were lower preoperative corrected calcium (p=0.005) and parathyroid gland (PTG) auto-transplant (p=0.001). Other clinical factors such as central lymph node dissection, inadvertent PTG excision, ethnicity, preoperative diagnosis and Lugol's iodine were not associated with post-thyroidectomy hypocalcaemia. CONCLUSION The incidence of post-thyroidectomy hypocalcaemia was underestimated by 6% when only POD1 measurements were considered. The timing of measurement on POD1 has an impact on the incidence of post-thyroidectomy hypocalcaemia. Auto-transplantation and lower preoperative calcium were associated with post-thyroidectomy hypocalcaemia.
Fate of enterotoxigenic Staphylococcus aureus and staphylococcal enterotoxins in Feta and Galotyri cheeses

In this study the fate of enterotoxigenic Staphylococcus aureus and staphylococcal enterotoxins in Feta and Galotyri cheeses were studied. Initially, the enterotoxigenic abilities of four Staph. aureus LHA, LHB, LHC and LHD strains isolated from raw ovine milk were examined in both BHI broth and ovine milk. In BHI broth, the Staph. aureus LHA, LHB, LHC and LHD strains were found toxigenic at 37 °C producing the staphylococcal enterotoxins (SEs) serotypes SEA, SEB, SEC and SED, respectively, whereas in ovine milk at 37 °C, Staph. aureus LHD was found to produce only SED, while no SE production was observed for the other examined strains. Thus, the fate of only Staph. aureus LHD and SED were examined in Feta and Galotyri cheeses. The cheeses were made from raw ovine toxic milk with preformed SED or raw ovine milk contaminated with high (ca 6 log cfu/ml) and low inocula (ca 3 log cfu/ml) of Staph. aureus LHD. Results showed that the pathogen was eliminated at slower rate in Galotyri cheese than in Feta cheese, for the high (5 d vs. 16 d) or the low (1 d vs. 12 d) inoculum trials. In both cheeses produced from the toxic milk, SED was detected during manufacturing and storage. SED was also detected in the curd (2 h), when Staph. aureus LHD populations had reached ca 7 log cfu/g, and up to the end of storage for the high inoculum trials of both cheeses. No SED was observed for the low inoculum trials of either cheese.
Efficacy of baricitinib in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis

ABSTRACT Introduction: although the outcome for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (ra) has improved in the past decades, adequate disease control cannot be achieved in a substantial proportion of patients. new drugs with a novel mechanism of action, may represent a valuable addition to the current armamentarium. Areas covered: This review focuses on the pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics of baricitinib. Furthermore, the article summarizes and comments the drug’s efficacy and safety profile in RA patients. Expert opinion: Baricitinib is an oral targeted synthetic (ts) disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) that mainly inhibits JAK1 and JAK2. Baricitinib monotherapy, or in combination with conventional synthetic (cs) DMARDs, has demonstrated its efficacy while having an acceptable safety profile in early active RA naive to DMARDs, and active RA with an inadequate response to csDMARDs and/or biologic (b)DMARDs. The future place of baricitinib in the management of RA patients will depend on several factors. However, baricitinib offer few advantages: oral administration, rapidity of action, efficacy in monotherapy and over adalimumab in one study and non-immunization. However, pending further safety data, current practice would be to start a bDMARD when the treatment target is not achieved with csDMARDs. Availability of additional long-term safety data may influence prescribing decisions.
Binocular Saccades in Myopes and Emmetropes

Purpose To compare saccadic eye movements in groups of myopes and emmetropes, as eye movements could have an influence on refractive error development. Individual saccadic eye movement parameters were also compared with subjective refraction and axial length data. Methods Horizontal eye movements of 28 participants (14 myopes and 14 emmetropes; mean age [SD], 27.0 [4.7] years) were recorded using a head-mounted eye tracker. To reduce the influence of head movements, a chin rest was used. Two fixation stimuli lying symmetrically at ±10 degrees on either side of the median line were presented on a computer monitor and were alternately displayed for durations of 2 seconds each. The participants alternated their fixation between the target positions immediately after they became aware that the target had changed. Only right eye data were considered for analysis. Results Durations, amplitudes, and peak velocities of the main saccades and the numbers of overshoots, undershoots, and exact fixations were analyzed. For all analyzed parameters, no significant differences were found between myopes and emmetropes. When analyzing the whole study population or the emmetropic group alone, none of the saccadic eye movement parameters were correlated with axial length or refractive error. In myopes, only the peak velocity showed a weak correlation with refractive error and axial length, but this failed to reach statistical significance when allowance was made for multiple testing. Conclusions Because saccadic eye movements seem to be similar in myopes and emmetropes, there is no evidence that saccadic eye movements are involved in myopia development.
Individual differences in binocular coordination are uncovered by directly comparing monocular and binocular reading conditions.

PURPOSE We evaluated systematically binocular coordination during a reading task by comparing binocular and monocular reading, and considering the potential effects of individual heterophoria and eye dominance. METHODS A total of 13 participants (aged 19-29 years, refractive errors -0.5 to 0.125 diopters [D]) read single sentences in a haploscope while eye movements were measured with an EyeLinkII eyetracker. RESULTS When reading monocularly, saccade amplitudes increased by 0.04 degrees and first fixation durations became longer by approximately 10 ms. Furthermore, saccade disconjugacies increased, and compensatory vergence drifts during fixation turned into a divergent drift relative to the viewing distance. The vergence angle adjusted for the actual viewing distance became less convergent during monocular reading by 0.5 degrees. Moreover, in participants who were almost orthophoric, only the first fixation duration became longer (by 20 ms) when the reading conditions changed from binocular to monocular. For exophoric participants, all parameters of binocular coordination changed, and first fixation duration decreased by 20 ms. When reading monocularly, no differences between the dominant right eye and the nondominant left eye were found. CONCLUSIONS Because of obvious differences in binocular coordination between monocular and binocular reading, some vergence adjustments are driven actively by fusional processes. Furthermore, higher demands on these binocular fusional processes can be uncovered only by a detailed evaluation of monocular reading conditions.
The activity of a combination of penicillin and novobiocin against bovine mastitis pathogens: development of a disk diffusion test.

The combination of penicillin and novobiocin is currently available for the treatment of bovine mastitis, but methods are not available for susceptibility testing of the combination by veterinary diagnostic laboratories. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and disk diffusion data were determined for penicillin, novobiocin, and a combination of the two in a 1:2 ratio for 225 staphylococcal, streptococcal, and Gram-negative isolates from bovine intramammary infections. Based on the drug concentrations in milk following infusion, linear regression analysis, and error rate bounding, the interpretive zone diameters selected were < or = 16 mm for resistant isolates and > or 17 mm for susceptible isolates with a disk containing 10 U of penicillin and 30 micrograms of novobiocin. Additionally, MIC breakpoints of < or = 2 micrograms/ml of penicillin and 4 micrograms/ml of novobiocin were selected to categorize isolates as susceptible and > or = 4 micrograms/ml of penicillin and 8 micrograms/ml of novobiocin were selected to categorize isolates as resistant. The MIC and disk diffusion results, as well as studies to monitor bacterial killing by antimicrobial agents over time, indicated that the combination of penicillin and novobiocin in a 1:2 ratio was more active than were the individual drugs. Kinetics of the kill curves with the penicillin and novobiocin combination (1:2 ratio) showed that the combination was bactericidal for Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus xylosus.
Bone Formation Around Titanium Implants in the Rat Tibia: Role of Insulin

Background and PurposeClinical and experimental studies show, with few exceptions, that type 1 diabetes mellitus is associated with a delay in bone repair around endosseous implants. The effect of insulin in bone repair/remodeling is not completely understood. The aim of this study was to investigate the course of histological and ultrastructural changes of the osseointegration process under the influence of insulin. Materials and MethodsTitanium implants were inserted into the tibiae of male Wistar rats. Animals were divided into three groups: 1) rats with alloxan-induced diabetes; 2) diabetic rats treated with isophane insulin (2 IU/day); and 3) matching controls. Histological and histomorphometric analysis of bone-implant sections were performed 10 and 21 days after implant placement. ResultsRelative to control values, rats with alloxan-induced diabetes exhibited a 50% reduction in the area of formed bone (P < 0.001) and in the surface of contact between bone and implant (P < 0.01) 21 days after implant placement. There were no significant differences between groups 10 days after surgery. Values returned to normal levels in diabetic rats after insulin treatment. Presence of chondrocytelike cells surrounded by a cartilaginouslike matrix in diabetic rats suggests a delay in the process of bone repair. Ultrastructural characteristics of bone-implant interface in diabetic rats treated with insulin resembled those observed in controls. ConclusionThe data presented suggest that bone repair around endosseous implants is regulated, at least in part, by insulin. The results imply that the control of the metabolic status of the diabetic patient is essential for a successful osseointegration.
A comparison of two techniques in image-guided thoracic pedicle screw placement: a retrospective study of 37 patients and 277 pedicle screws.

OBJECT The goal of this study was to compare the accuracy of thoracic pedicle screw placement aided by two different image-guidance modalities. METHODS The charts of 40 consecutive patients who had undergone stabilization of the thoracic spine between January 2003 and January 2005 were retrospectively reviewed. Three patients were excluded from the study because, on the basis of preoperative findings, small pedicle diameter precluded the use of pedicle screws. Thus, a total of 37 patients had 277 screws placed with the aid of either virtual fluoroscopy or isocentric C-arm 3D navigation. The indications for surgery included trauma, degenerative disease, and tumor, and were similar in both groups. All 37 patients underwent postoperative computed tomography scanning, and an independent reviewer graded all screws based on axial, sagittal, and coronal projections for a full determination of the placement of the screw in the pedicle. RESULTS The rate of unintended perforations was found to depend on pedicle diameter (p < 0.0001). There were no statistical differences between groups with regard to rate or grade of cortical perforations. Overall, the rate and grade of perforations was low, and there were no neurological or vascular complications. CONCLUSIONS The authors have shown that either image-guidance system may be used with a high degree of accuracy and safety. Because both systems were found to be comparably safe and accurate, the choice of image-guidance modality may be determined by the level of surgeon comfort and/or availability of the system.
Neocuproine, a Copper (I) Chelator, Potentiates Purinergic Component of Vas Deferens Contractions Elicited by Electrical Field Stimulation

Effects of the specific copper (I) chelator, neocuproine, on the purinergic and adrenergic components of nerve-evoked contractions were investigated in the prostatic rat vas deferens. Electrical field stimulation (EFS; 4 Hz) induced bimodal contractions of vas deferens tissue in the presence of α1-adrenoceptor antagonist prazosin (to isolate the purinergic component) or purinoceptor antagonist suramin (to isolate the adrenergic component). Neocuproine significantly potentiated the purinergic component of the contractile responses to EFS. However, the same agent failed to elicit any significant effect on the adrenergic component of nerve-evoked contractions. The copper (II) chelator cuprizone could not affect the purinergic component of contractions. The potentiating effect of neocuproine which was reversible after washout of the drug, did not occur following the application of the pre-prepared neocuproine-copper (I) complex. A nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, L-nitroarginine; a cyclooxygenase inhibitor, indomethacin or an α2-adrenoceptor antagonist, yohimbine, failed to alter the responses to neocuproine on the purinergic component of the contraction to EFS. Neocuproine did not elicit any significant effect on preparations in which the purinergic receptors were desensitized with α,β-methylene ATP. In conclusion, our results suggest that neocuproine potentiates the purinergic component of rat vas deferens contractions elicited by EFS, presumably by facilitating purinergic neurotransmission and that copper (I)-sensitive mechanisms can modulate purinergic transmission in this tissue.