Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Influence of Gender and Hormone Status on the Severity and Progression of Keratoconus

Purpose: To assess the effects of gender and hormone status on the severity and progression of keratoconus in patients enrolled in the Collaborative Longitudinal Evaluation of Keratoconus Study. Methods: The severity and progression of keratoconus in both men (M) and women were evaluated over a 4-year period that encompassed menopausal transition for hormone-active women (HA) and hormone-inactive women (HI). Four outcome measures were selected as indicators of the severity of keratoconus: high-contrast best-corrected visual acuity, low-contrast best-corrected visual acuity, the steep keratometric measurement, and corneal scarring (yes/no). Results: There were no statistically significant differences among the 3 groups (M, HA, and HI) in race, history of atopic disease, family history of keratoconus, or rigid contact lens wear in the right and left eyes. At baseline, there were no significant differences among the 3 groups in high-contrast best-corrected visual acuity, low-contrast best-corrected visual acuity, or steep keratometric reading. Progression of keratoconus, as assessed by changes in these 3 continuous variables, was equal for the 3 groups. M had more corneal scarring than did HA or HI; however, there was no progression of scarring for any of the groups. Conclusion: Keratoconus progressed in both men and women, aged 48-59 years; however, there were no differences among the groups in progression.
Identification of Minimal Clinically Important Difference Scores of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory in Children, Adolescents, and YoungAdults With Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODSdParticipants in the SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth study aged.5 years and parents of youth aged,18 years completed PedsQL surveys at their initial and 12-month study visits. MCIDs for each PedsQL module were calculated using one standard error of measurement. Demographic and clinical characteristics associated with QOL change were identified through multiple linear and logistic regression analyses.
Pipelle: a more acceptable technique for outpatient endometrial biopsy

169-175. Comeau J., Shaw L. , Marcell C. C. Rr Lavery J. P. (1983) Early placenta praevia and delivery outcome. Obstet Gynecol61,577-580. Grannum P. A. & Hobbins J. C. (1983) In Ultrasonography in Obstetrics and Gynaecology (Callen P. W. ed), Saunders, Philadelphia, pp. 141-157. Haynes R. B. (1981) How to read clinical journals: I1 to learn about a diagnostic test. Can Med J 124, 703-7 10. King D. L. (1973) Placental migration demonstrated by ultrasonography. A hypothesis of dynamic placentation. Rudio/ogy 109, 167-170. Ruparelia B. A. & Chapman M. G. (1985) Early lowlying placentae-ultrasonic assessment, progress and outcome. Europ J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol 20, 209-213. Received 24 October I989 Accepted 31 May 1990
Brain blood flow in anxiety disorders

Background We compared regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in three groups of patients with DSM–III–R anxiety disorders. Method Fifteen patients with obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), 15 with panic disorder with agoraphobia (PA), and 16 with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and a similar group of healthy controls were assessed on brain-dedicated high-resolution SPET. Results MANOVA revealed significant rCBF differences between diagnostic groups (F=4.4; d.f.=3, 57; P=0.007) and between cerebral regions (F=6.4; d.f.=1, 57; P=0.01) in OCD and PTSD compared with PA and healthy controls, limited to bilateral superior frontal cortices and right caudate nuclei. Whole brain blood flow correlated positively with anxiety (r=0.24, n=46, P=0.05). Beck depression scores correlated significantly negatively with left caudate rCBF (r= –0.24, n=46, P=0.05) and right caudate rCBF (r= –0.31, n=46, P=0.02). PTSD syndrome severity correlated significantly negatively with the left caudate (r=-0.49, n=16. P=0.03) and with right caudate rCBF (r=-0.7, n=16, P=0.001) Conclusions Functional rCBF differences in anxiety disorders could relate to repetitive, intrusive, distressing mental activity, prominent in both OCD and PTSD.
Salvage of Lisfranc's Tarsometatarsal Joint by Arthrodesis

Sixteen patients with fractures or fracture-dislocations of the tarsometatarsal (Lisfranc) joint who failed initial treatment were salvaged by arthrodesis using a technique of rigid internal fixation. Preoperative symptoms included local pain in all patients, progressive flatfoot deformity with forefoot abduction in 12 patients, and ankle or lateral impingement pain in five. The technique involved exposing the joint, denuding it of cartilage and scar, and reduction and fixation with lag screws. A total of 49 joints were fused. When significant deformity was present, reduction was performed before arthrodesis. Clinically symptomatic and radiographically proven nonunion occurred in four sites in three patients. One healed after revision. Good to excellent results were obtained in 11 patients (69%). Five patients had a fair or poor results. All but one of the patients were subjectively improved. Four patients were symptom free and returned to their preinjury lifestyles. Accurate reduction and early treatment had a significant positive relationship with outcome. Injuries that occurred in the workplace and those that incurred a long delay until treatment showed a significant negative correlation to outcome. Neither the age of the patient nor the number of joints fused had a significant impact on result
A Wavelet Network Model for Short-Term Traffic Volume Forecasting

Wavelet networks (WNs) are recently developed neural network models. WN models combine the strengths of discrete wavelet transform and neural network processing to achieve strong nonlinear approximation ability, and thus have been successfully applied to forecasting and function approximations. In this study, two WN models based on different mother wavelets are used for the first time for short-term traffic volume forecasting. The Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm is used to train the WN models because it has better efficiency than the other algorithms based on gradient descent. Using the traffic volume data collected on Interstate 80 in California, the WN models are compared with the widely used back-propagation neural network (BPNN) and radial basis function neural network (RBFNN) models. The performance evaluation is based on mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) and variance of absolute percentage error (VAPE). The test and comparison results show that the WN models consistently produce lower average MAPE and VAPE values than the BPNN and RBFNN models, suggesting that the WN models are a better predictor of accuracy, stability, and adaptability.
In Situ Labeling of Dying Cortical Neurons in Normal Aging and in Alzheimer’s Disease: Correlations with Senile Plaques and Disease Progression

We examined the degeneration of neocortical neurons in normal aging and Alzheimer's disease (AD) using terminal transferase (TdT)-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate (d-UTP)-biotin nick-end labeling (TUNEL), a method that identifies DNA strand breaks and constitutes a positive marker for dying neurons. TUNEL was positive in neurons, glia, and microglial cells in AD but not in younger or age-matched cognitively characterized controls. Neuronal labeling in AD was most conspicuous in cortical layer III in the early stages of the disease and became more widespread as the disease progressed. In addition, we observed TUNEL of lamina III neurons in a subset of older subjects who had normal cognition but abundant neocortical senile plaques. In concert, the availability of a direct marker of dying neurons allows for specific correlations of cell death with other neuropathological markers as well as clinical variables. Observations from the present study suggest that the death of cortical neurons precedes the symptomatic stage of AD and evolves in parallel with the clinical progression of the disease and that there appears to be an association between the degree of cell death and the severity of senile plaques.
Changes on transmittance mode of different composite resins

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the transmittance of seven different composite resins. Ten specimens were prepared (10 mm diameter, 2 mm thickness) for each experimental group, as follows: G1- Charisma® A2 (Heraeus-Kulzer); G2- FiltekTM Supreme A2E (3M/ESPE); G3- FiltekTM Supreme A2B (3M/ESPE); G4-FiltekTM Supreme YT (3M/ESPE); G5- Esthet-X® A2 (Dentsply); G6- Esthet-X® YE (Dentsply); G7- Durafill® A2 (Heraeus-Kulzer) and G8- FiltekTM Z-100 A2 (3M/ESPE). The transmittance mode was measured using a UV-visible spectrophotometer (Cary Instruments) at 400-760 nm. The specimens were evaluated at three different times: zero hour (initial), 24 hours and 10 days after immersion in artificial saliva. The differences in transmittance were determined by two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey's test. The various composite resins showed significant differences in the wavelength dependence of transmittance. The mean values of transmittance increased significantly, with wavelengths increasing from 400 to 760 nm. The performance of the experimental groups was similar in terms of immersion time, considering that at time zero and after 10 days, all the groups showed similar results, which were statistically higher than the values obtained after 24 hours of immersion. The FiltekTM Supreme YT composite resin presented the highest mean transmittance values along the wavelengths at the three measured times. Esthet-X® YE and Durafill® yielded similar mean transmittance values, which were higher than those of the other groups. This study shows that the transmittance values of composite resins are directly related with the type, size and amount of inorganic filler particles.
Computational Methods of Information Geometry with Real-Time Applications in Audio Signal Processing. (Méthodes Computationnelles en Géométrie de l'Information et Applications Temps Réel au Traitement du Signal Audio)

This thesis proposes novel computational methods of information geometry with real-time applications in audio signal processing. In this context, we address in parallel the applicative problems of real-time audio segmentation, and of real-time polyphonic music transcription. This is achieved by developing theoretical frameworks respectively for sequential change detection with exponential families, and for non-negative matrix factorization with convex-concave divergences. On the one hand, sequential change detection is studied in the light of the dually flat information geometry of exponential families. We notably develop a generic and unifying statistical framework relying on multiple hypotheses testing with decision rules based on exact generalized likelihood ratios. This is applied to devise a modular system for real-time audio segmentation with arbitrary types of signals and of homogeneity criteria. The proposed system controls the information rate of the audio stream as it unfolds in time to detect changes. On the other hand, non negative matrix factorization is investigated by the way of convex-concave divergences on the space of discrete positive measures. In particular, we formulate a generic and unifying optimization framework for non negative matrix factorization based on variational bounding with auxiliary functions. This is employed to design a real-time system for polyphonic music transcription with an explicit control on the frequency compromise during the analysis. The developed system decomposes the music signal as it arrives in time onto a dictionary of note spectral templates.
Breastfeeding is protective against early childhood asthma

Commentary on: Silvers KM, Frampton CM, Wickens K, et al. New Zealand Asthma and Allergy Cohort Study Group. Breastfeeding protects against current asthma up to 6 years of age. J Pediatr 2012;160:991.e1–6.e1. [OpenUrl][1] Previous prospective cohort studies have observed protective effects of breastfeeding on respiratory illnesses in early childhood. Silvers and colleagues aimed at studying whether breastfeeding protects against current asthma and wheezing in older children up to the age of 6 years. This prospective birth cohort study among 1105 children in New Zealand collected detailed information on exclusive breastfeeding (at an age when infant formula, food or other drinks, except water, were introduced) and any breastfeeding (at an age when … [1]: {openurl}? query=rft.jtitle%253DJ%2BPediatr%26rft.volume%253D160%26rft.spage%253D991.e1%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx
Golimumab for the treatment of axial spondyloarthritis

Axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) is a chronic, immune-mediated inflammatory disease of the axial skeleton that includes ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (nr-axSpA). Patients with AS experience chronic pain due to sacroiliac joint and spinal inflammation, and may develop spinal ankylosing with syndesmophyte formation. Tumor necrosis factor α inhibitors (TNFi) have shown promise in the management of AS and axSpA by targeting the underlying inflammatory process, and providing symptomatic relief. Whether they alter the progression of the disease is uncertain. Golimumab is a fully human IgG1 monoclonal antibody that targets and downregulates the pro-inflammatory cytokine TNF-α. The use of golimumab has been shown to reduce the signs and symptoms of axSpA as well as improve patient function and quality reported outcomes. This review focuses on the biological rationale and the results of clinical trials with golimumab for the treatment of axSpA.
The effects of oral plain kefir supplementation on proinflammatory cytokine properties of the hyperglycemia Wistar rats induced by streptozotocin.

AIM to validate the effect of plain kefir on immune responses of hyperglycemia wistar rats induced by Streptozotocin. METHODS the randomized pretest - posttest control group study design was conducted in male hyperglycemia Wistar rats induced by streptozotocin (STZ). Rats were randomized into four groups: (1) STZ-induced group were given insulin treatment 0.76 UI/200 g bw, (2) STZ-induced group and treated with plain kefir 3.6 cc/200 g bw/day for 30 days, (3) STZ-induced group as control, (4) normal animal group as a negative control. Blood glucose was measured from whole blood that was taken 0.1 ml from retroorbitalis vein by microhematocrit on day 1 (pretest) and day 30 (post test) by enzymatic methods. Immune responses (cytokines IL1, IL6, IL10, TNF) were measured by ELISA. Data were analyzed by one way Anova, Mann Whitney test and Duncan with significant level of p<0.05. RESULTS plain kefir supplementation 3.6 cc/day affect blood glucose, proinflamatory cytokines (IL1, IL6, TNF) and antiinflamatory cytokine (IL10). Statistical analysis showed decrease of glucose -111.00±44.23 ml (p<0.001) and proinflamatory cytokines IL1 about -18.62±23.59 and IL6 -3.21±7.57 mU/mL (p<0.001), respectively compared to the control groups. TNF decreased 1.65±4.62 mU/mL, but not significant (p>0.05), except for controls group. In addition, antiinflammatory (IL10) showed also increase about 15.11±2.16 (p<0.05), except for the control. CONCLUSION plain kefir supplementation significantly decreased blood glucose, level of cytokines (IL1, IL6) and lowered TNF level. On the contrary, the level of IL10 is increased compare to control groups.
Biochemical analyses of human osteoarthritic and periprosthetic synovial fluid

Biochemical analyses were performed on osteoarthritic and periprosthetic synovial fluid in order to propose changes to lubricant specifications currently outlined in orthopaedic wear testing standards. Osteoarthritic and periprosthetic synovial fluid samples were obtained from the hip and knee joints of 40 patients. The samples in each group were analysed and compared in order to identify differences between the protein concentration, constituent fractions, osmolality, thermal stability and the hyaluronic acid concentration and molecular weight distribution of osteoarthritic and periprosthetic synovial fluid. The average total protein concentration was approximately 30 g/L, which was much higher than the 20 g/L currently specified in the knee wear testing standard; however, the 30 g/L protein concentration matched the recently revised standard for hip simulator wear testing. No significant difference was found between the protein concentration, osmolality, thermal stability, and hyaluronic acid concentration of osteoarthritic and periprosthetic synovial fluid. The clinical data provided should be used to better define the composition of a more clinically relevant lubricant for orthopaedic wear testing.
Transition of adult patients with cystic fibrosis from paediatric to adult care--the patients' perspective before and after start-up of an adult clinic.

UNLABELLED Although most patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) survive into adulthood, many CF centres are still run by paediatricians. A transition programme from the paediatric CF unit to a newly established CF clinic at the Department of Internal Medicine was carried out for the whole group of patients > or =18 years. We aimed to evaluate our patients' opinion of the transition by analysing the results of two surveys performed before and after the transition. Nine months before the transition, we mailed an anonymous questionnaire. Statements regarding the forthcoming transition were to be answered on scales from 1 to 4, and the patients had to check a list of adjectives describing the current treatment in the paediatric CF centre as well as the presumed care in the adult unit. Fifteen months after the transition, a second survey with similar questions was carried out. RESULTS 44 of 68 patients (65%) aged 18 to 33 years replied to the first and 56% of patients to the second questionnaire. Mean duration of treatment at the paediatric CF centre was 7.5 years (range: 1 to 22 years). Twelve patients each were classified as supporters or opponents of the transition, the remaining patients as intermediates. Older patients and those who had not required hospitalisation during the preceding year had a more positive attitude to the transition (p <0.05). There was a linear relationship between the transition attitude score and the presumed quality of care in the Internal Medicine Department (r = 0.62, p <0.001), but no relation to the quality of present paediatric care (r = -0.09, p = 0.59). In the second survey, patients rated the quality of care in the adult CF unit better than prior to the transition. CONCLUSIONS The transition from paediatric to a newly established adult CF centre was accepted by most adult CF patients. Thorough training of all staff of the new adult unit and a close co-operation between both departments are pre-requisites to guarantee a smooth transition of all patients.
Fungal Infections After Liver Transplantation.

A study done at our institution between 1981 and 1983 showed that 42% of liver recipients developed invasive fungal infections, mostly due to Candida and Aspergillus.1 Between July 1984 and September 1985 we studied 101 consecutive adult liver transplant recipients at Presbyterian University Hospital for the incidence and risk factors associated with invasive fungal infection. The risk factors that were analyzed included age, sex, underlying liver diagnosis, clinical status and laboratory values before transplantation, antibiotic use before and after surgery, total surgical time and number of laparotomies, immunosuppression, and the amount of blood products used.
Evaluation of health‐related physical fitness parameters and association analysis with depression, anxiety, and quality of life in patients with fibromyalgia

The purpose of this study was to investigate the physical fitness parameters (maximal aerobic capacity, muscle strength and flexibility), daily physical activity, resting metabolic rate (RMR), pulmonary function tests (PFTs), body composition, depression, anxiety and health‐related quality of life (HRQoL) changes as well as the associations among these parameters in patients with fibromyalgia and to compare them with healthy controls.
Innervation of the elbow joint: Is total denervation possible? A cadaveric anatomic study

The aim of this anatomical study was to find out if total denervation of the elbow joint is technically feasible. The endbranches of the brachial plexus of eight fresh‐frozen upper arm cadavers were dissected with optical loupe magnification. All major nerves of the upper limb (except the axillary and the medial brachial cutaneous nerve) give some terminal articular endbranches to the elbow. The articular endbranches arise from muscular endbranches, cutaneous endbranches, or arise straight from the main nerves of the brachial plexus. A topographic diagram was made of the different nerves innervating the elbow joint. The ulno‐posterior part of the elbow is innervated by the ulnar nerve and some branches of medial antebrachial cutaneous nerve. The radial‐posterior part of the elbow is innervated exclusively by the radial nerve. The ulno‐anterior part of the elbow is innervated by the median nerve and the musculocutaneous nerve. The radio‐anterior part of the elbow is innervated by the radial nerve and the musculocutaneous nerve. These elbow innervation findings are relevant to both anatomical and clinical field as they provide evidence that the total denervation of the elbow joint is impossible. Nevertheless, partial denervation, like denervation of the lateral epicondyle or the ulnar part of elbow, is technically possible. Clin. Anat. 25:746–754, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The polybasic region of Rho GTPases defines the cleavage by Yersinia enterocolitica outer protein T (YopT)

Pathogenic Yersinia strains evade the innate immune responses of the host by producing effector proteins (Yersinia outer proteins [Yops]), which are directly injected into mammalian cells by a type III secretion system (TTSS). One of these effector proteins (YopT) disrupts the actin cytoskeleton of the host cell resulting in cell rounding. YopT is a cysteine protease that cleaves Rho proteins directly upstream of the post‐translationally modified cysteine. Thereby, it releases the GTPases from the membrane leading to inactivation. Small GTPases are modified by isoprenylation of the cysteine of the CAAX box, cleavage of the –AAX tripeptide, and methylation of the cysteine. We have shown that isoprenylation and the endoproteolytic cleavage of the tripeptide of Rho GTPases are essential for YopT‐induced cleavage, whereas carboxyl methylation is not required. In the present study, we post‐translationally modified RhoA, Rac, Cdc42, and several mutants in vitro and characterized the YopT‐induced cleavage with recombinant YopT. We show that farnesylated RhoA is a preferred substrate of YopT compared with the geranylgeranylated GTPase. Geranylgeranylated RhoA, however, is the preferred substrate for YopT‐catalyzed cleavage with a threefold faster turnover rate over Rac and Cdc42. Moreover, our data indicate that the composition of the polybasic region of the GTPases defines the specificity and efficiency of the YopT‐induced cleavage, and that a space between the polybasic stretch of amino acids at the C terminus and the CAAX box enhances the turnover rate of YopT‐catalyzed cleavage.