Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Non-arteritic anterior ischaemic optic neuropathy is nearly systematically associated with obstructive sleep apnoea

Aim: To evaluate newly diagnosed non-arteritic anterior ischaemic optic neuropathy (NAION) patients for the existence of an associated sleep apnoea syndrome. Methods: Newly identified NAION patient underwent polysomnography. The prevalence of sleep apnoea in NAION patients was compared to the prevalence previously found in the general population. Hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidaemia, and atheromatous lesions of carotid vessels as classic risk factors associated with NAION were also identified. Results: 27 consecutive newly diagnosed NAION patients (18 men and nine women, mean age 65 (SD 8) years, body mass index 27.2 (3.8) kg/m2) were included in the study. 24 of these 27 NAION patients (89%) exhibited a sleep apnoea syndrome (respiratory disturbance index: 37.2/h (SD 18.3/h). Risk ratio for a NAION patient to have sleep apnoea was 4.9 compared to the general population (p<0.001). Sleep apnoea was 1.5–2-fold more frequent than the rate of the other identified risk factors typically associated with NAION (hypertension, diabetes). Conclusions: Sleep apnoea is the most frequent disorder associated with NAION and should be screened in this population. At least a questionnaire related to obstructive sleep apnoea symptoms and assessment of sleepiness should be systematically proposed to patients with NAION.
Cardiorespiratory fitness effect may be under-estimated in ‘fat but fit’ hypothesis studies

Abstract Background: Both cardiorespiratory fitness and body fat have been independently related to metabolic syndrome in adolescents; however, the strength of these relationships seems to be dependent on the outcome composition. Aim: To analyse the relationship between cardiorespiratory fitness and body fat combined with different indicators of metabolic risk in adolescents. Subjects and methods: The sample was composed of 957 adolescents (58.7% girls). Cardiorespiratory fitness was obtained using the 20-metre shuttle run test and skinfold thickness was collected for body fat estimation. Metabolic risk score was calculated from waist circumference, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, glucose, HDL cholesterol and triglycerides measurements and an alternative outcome without the central obesity indicator was adopted. Chronological age and somatic maturity were used as covariates. Results: Higher metabolic risk was observed in the highest fat/lowest fit adolescents (p < .05), regardless of sex and outcome. In the regression models, for full metabolic risk score, body fat presented higher coefficients compared to cardiorespiratory fitness in both sexes (boys: 0.501 vs −0.097; girls: 0.485 vs −0.087); however, in the metabolic risk without waist circumference, the coefficients became closer (boys: 0.290 vs −0.146; girls: 0.265 vs −0.120), with a concomitant decrease in body fat and increase in cardiorespiratory fitness coefficients. Conclusion: These findings suggest that body fat is strongly related to cardiovascular risk, but, when the outcome is calculated without the central obesity indicator, cardiorespiratory fitness becomes more related to metabolic risk.
Serum and Peritoneal Fluid Immunological Markers in Adolescent Girls With Chronic Pelvic Pain

&NA; The aim of this study was to determine serum and peritoneal interleukin (IL)-2, IL-4, and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 levels as diagnostic markers of endometriosis in adolescent girls. The design of the study encompassed 50 adolescent girls, aged 13 to 19 years after menarche, with chronic pelvic pain who qualified for diagnostic laparoscopy. The patients were allocated into 2 groups: group I (endometriosis) consisted of subjects with diagnosed endometriosis (n = 33, 66%) and group II (control) whose laparoscopic examinations revealed no evidence of endometriosis (n = 17, 34%). IL-2, IL-4, and Monocyte chemotactic protein 1 concentrations in serum and peritoneal samples were assessed using commercially available human enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits. The results were analyzed statistically with the Statistica 8.0 computer software. The value of P < 0.05 was the level of statistical significance. The results in adolescents with endometriosis had significantly higher concentrations of serum IL-4 (3.90 ± 1.58 pg/mL vs. 3.04 ± 1.72 pg/mL; P = 0.04) and peritoneal fluid IL-4 (5.03 ± 8.92 pg/mL vs. 2.74 ± 1.11 pg/mL; P = 0.03), and lower peritoneal fluid IL-2 (92.44 ± 292.75 pg/mL vs. 174.23 ± 389.77 pg/mL; P = 0.01) compared with the control. In a receiver-operating characteristic analysis, serum IL-4 as well as peritoneal fluid IL-2 and IL-4 provided the best discriminative ability between subjects with endometriosis and controls. Using cutoff points for serum IL-4 (3.00 pg/mL), peritoneal fluid IL-2 (21.00 pg/mL) and IL-4 (2.7 pg/mL), relatively high odd ratios were obtained in the prediction of endometriosis in adolescents (3.2; 6.4; 3.3). The Serum IL-4, peritoneal IL-2 and IL-4 provided a good method of discrimination between subjects with endometriosis and controls. Target Audience: Obstetricians & Gynecologists, Family Physicians Learning Objectives: After completion of this educational activity, the reader will be able to Analyze the prevalence and clinical presentation of endometriosis in adolescents, which is significantly different from typical symptomatology observed in adult women. Assess the role of serum and peritoneal fluid IL-2, IL-4, and MCP-1 levels as diagnostic markers of endometriosis in adolescent girls. Use the cutoff value of serum IL-4 as well as peritoneal fluid IL-2 and IL-4 levels as the discrimination method between subjects with endometriosis and controls.
Scaling Continuous Query Services for Future Computing Platforms and Applications

The ever increasing rate of digital information available from on-line sources drives the need for building information monitoring applications to assist users in tracking relevant changes in these sources and accessing information that is of interest to them in a timely manner. Continuous queries (CQs) are standing queries that are continuously evaluated over dynamic sources to track information changes that meet user specified thresholds and notify users of new results in real-time. CQ systems can be considered as powerful middleware for supporting information monitoring applications. A significant challenge in building CQ systems is scalability, caused by the large number of users and queries, and by the large and growing number of information sources with high update rates. In this thesis we use CQs to shepherd through and address the challenges involved in supporting information monitoring applications in future computing platforms. The focus is on P2P web monitoring in Internet systems, location monitoring in mobile systems, and environmental monitoring in sensor systems. Although different computing platforms require different software architectures for building scalable CQ services, there is a common design philosophy that this thesis advocates for making CQ services scalable and efficient. This can be summarized as "move computation close to the places where the data is produced. " A common challenge in scaling CQ systems is the resource-intensive nature of query evaluation, which involves continuously checking updates in a large number of data sources and evaluating trigger conditions of a large number of queries over these updates, consuming both cpu and network bandwidth resources. If some part of the query evaluation can be pushed close to the sources where the data is produced, the resulting early filtering of updates will save both bandwidth and cpu resources. In summary, in this thesis we show that distributed CQ architectures that are designed to take advantage of the opportunities provided by ubiquitous computing platforms and pervasive networks, while at the same time recognizing and resolving the challenges posed by these platforms, lead to building scalable and effective CQ systems to better support the demanding information monitoring applications of the future.
Socioeconomic disparities in preventive care persist despite universal coverage. Breast and cervical cancer screening in Ontario and the United States.

OBJECTIVE To compare the association of income and education with breast and cervical cancer screening in Ontario, Canada, and the United States. DESIGN Survey using data from the Ontario Health Survey and the US National Health Interview Survey. PARTICIPANTS A multistage random sample of women aged 18 years and older living in households in Ontario (N = 23,521) and the United States (N = 23,932) in 1990. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Persons were considered screened if they reported a Papanicolaou test within the previous 2 years, a clinical breast examination within the previous year, or a mammogram within the previous year. RESULTS Papanicolaou test and clinical breast examination rates were similar between countries, but mammography rates were two to three times higher in the United States across all age groups. Compared with women with less than a high school degree, college graduates were more likely to receive screening (odds ratio [OR], 1.5; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.2 to 1.7) and there was no difference between countries. Across all procedures, women with higher incomes were more likely to receive screening. For Papanicolaou test and clinical breast examination, there was no difference between countries. Compared with the lowest income, the OR was 1.7 (95% CI, 1.3 to 2.1) in Ontario and 1.9 (95% CI, 1.6 to 2.2) in the United States for Papanicolaou test and 2.1 (95% CI, 1.6 to 2.8) in Ontario and 2.1 (95% CI, 1.8 to 2.6) in the United States for the clinical breast examination for women with income greater than $45,600 (US dollars). For mammography screening, the association of income with use was greater in the United States: the OR was 1.8 (95% CI, 1.3 to 2.6) in Ontario and 2.7 (95% CI, 2.3 to 3.2) in the United States for women with income greater than $45,600 (US dollars). CONCLUSIONS Despite the long-time presence of universal insurance coverage in Ontario the disparities in the use of cancer screening procedures by the poor were similar to the United States. Universal coverage is not sufficient to overcome the large disparities in screenings across socioeconomic status demonstrated in both countries.
Making the Transition to Hospice: Exploring Hospice Professionals' Perspectives

Hospice care is available for 6 months before death but the length of use varies widely, suggesting that there are different perspectives on the appropriate timing for this transition. This qualitative study explored hospice professionals' views on the appropriate timing for and communication about hospice. Ethnography of team meetings informed the development of questions for focus groups and written follow-up surveys with 53 hospice professionals. Results suggest timely admissions are situation-specific and involve a terminal prognosis, terminal decline, and a mutual understanding. Important aspects of communication among families, physicians, and hospice teams are described.
Compact TL-RLC-TL model extraction from FW field solution for RF MEMS capacitive switch

This paper is focused on the extraction process of the radio frequency macromodel for a capacitive RF MEMS switch operating at microwave frequencies, which can accurately describe the RF response of the switch in the Off and On state. The procedure has three steps, first the per unit length parameters of the TL are determined then the Off state capacitance and finaly the RLC parameters in the actuated position of the switch. At each step the relative error between the compact model and the full-wave simulation is minimized, using as initial values analytically determined parameters coresponding to each step.
Pediatric rehabilitation of severe acquired brain injury: a multicenter survey.

BACKGROUND Epidemiological and descriptive data concerning the clinical and socio-demographic characteristics of severe acquired brain injuries (ABI) in pediatric age are meager. In particular, in Italy we only find data concerning traumatic brain injury (TBI) in adults. Earlier data show that the most prevalent etiology in ABI is traumatic and that greater clinical impairments are reported for patients with non-traumatic etiologies. AIM The main aims of the GISCAR (Gruppo Italiano per lo Studio delle Gravi Cerebrolesioni Acquisite e Riabilitazione) study are: 1) to define the clinical features of pediatric patients with severe neurological disabilities; 2) to determine the etiology and onset modality of the cerebral lesions; and 3) to analyse the characteristics of the rehabilitation processes and patient outcome in terms of disability, strategies for treatment and clinical picture. DESIGN Quasi-epidemiologic. SETTING In-patient. POPULATION 184 pediatric patients with severe ABI were recruited. METHODS Data collection was done by means of an assessment protocol created and used by a group of Italian neurorehabilitation centers. Traumatic and non traumatic aetiologies (NTBI) have been treated separately. RESULTS Traumatic etiology of ABI is the most prevalent (51.6%, N. 95) and about twice as many males as females are involved. Of these cases, 70.5% (N. 67) are the result of a car accident, either as a pedestrian or as a passenger, representing a crucial area for preventive action by the public health services. Eighty-six (46.7%) patients were in the acute state, 19 (10.3%) in subacute state and 76 (42.9%) in chronic condition. The results show that the positive trend for the TBI group was steeper than for NTBIs. Neuropsychological data are also discussed. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL REHABILITATION IMPACT: We report the first Italian descriptive study on pediatric patients affected by ABI of traumatic or non traumatic etiology. The main points concerning rehabilitation are that major differences between aetiologies must be taken into account and that ABI of any severity in the acute phase may lead to long term disability, confirming the high social and economic impact of this pathology. Our study demonstrates the great importance of providing specialised rehabilitation centers for pediatric patients, and increases awareness of the importance of ABI prevention.
Effects of St. John's Wort Supplementation on Ibuprofen Pharmacokinetics

Background: St. John's wort is a popular herbal supplement that has been involved in various herb–drug interactions. Experimental findings suggest that the supplement may impact CYP2C9 metabolism. CYP2C9 is responsible for the irreversible metabolism of ibuprofen, Objective: To examine the effect of 3 weeks of St. John's wort administration on the stereoselective pharmacokinetics of ibuprofen. Methods: Eight male subjects participated in this study. The single-dose pharmacokinetics of ibuprofen were evaluated before and after 21 days of St. John's wort administration. Plasma ibuprofen concentrations were determined, using a stereoselective, reversed-phase HPLC assay. Model independent methods were used to evaluate the pharmacokinetics of each ibuprofen enantiomer. Data were analyzed by 2 way ANOVA testing and confidence interval testing. Results: S(+)-ibuprofen mean ± SD AUC and maximum concentration (Cmax) values were 131.6 ± 26.8 μg•h/mL and 31.8 ± 7.33 μg/mL, respectively, for control samples and 122.4 ± 32.9 μg•h/mL and 33.6 ± 7.83 μg/mL, respectively, after St. John's wort treatment. R(–)-ibuprofen mean AUC and Cmax values were 85.1 ± 26.6 μg•h/mL and 28.4 ± 8.72 μg/mL, respectively, for control samples and 87.7 ± 30.1 μg•h/mL and 30.0 ± 8.97 μg/mL, respectively, for St. John's wort treatment samples. St. John's wort administration resulted in no significant effects on the Cmax and AUC of either stereoisomer. A 31% decrease in S(+)-ibuprofen mean residence time (p = 0.02) was observed. Conclusions: St. John's wort administration for 21 days had no apparent clinically important impact on the single-dose pharmacokinetic parameters of S(+)- and R(–)-ibuprofen. Although St. John's wort treatment appears to significantly reduce the mean residence time of S-ibuprofen, no ibuprofen dose adjustments appear warranted when the drug is administered orally with St. John's wort, due to the lack of significant change observed in ibuprofen AUC and Cmax for either enantiomer.
Evaluation of Sensorimotor Training in Children with Adhd

Reduced ability to regulate motor behavior seems to be an essential aspect of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and may reflect deficits in behavioral response inhibition. In this respect, pragmatic clinical experience over the last two decades, in daily practice, training of motor control has played an important role within multimodal treatment approaches, although an adequate proof of its efficacy is still lacking. Therefore, to examine the efficacy of sensorimotor training, 12 children with ADHD (two groups of six) were treated with both sensorimotor training and (as control) cognitive behavioral training using a within-subject cross-over design. Each treatment had a duration of 4 months (20 sessions), yielding a total of 40 sessions for the completed cross-over design. Results showed that Sensorimotor Training improved sensorimotor coordination slightly, while Cognitive Behavioral Training ameliorated cognitive impulse control. Hyperactivity and anxious-depressive/aggressive behavior were markedly reduced by Sensorimotor Training but not by Cognitive Behavioral Training. In conclusion, a combined treatment may be recommended since compensation and regulation of inhibitory deficits in ADHD come into play within the framework of both kinds of training.
Interleukin-17 Contributes to Generation of Th1 Immunity and Neutrophil Recruitment during Chlamydia muridarum Genital Tract Infection but Is Not Required for Macrophage Influx or Normal Resolution of Infection

ABSTRACT Interleukin 17 (IL-17) contributes to development of Th1 immunity and neutrophil influx during Chlamydia muridarum pulmonary infection, but its role during C. muridarum genital tract infection has not been described. We detected similar numbers of Chlamydia-specific Th17 and Th1 cells in iliac nodes of wild-type mice early during genital C. muridarum infection, while Th1 cells predominated later. il17ra − / − mice exhibited a reduced chlamydia-specific Th1 response in draining iliac nodes and decreased local IFN-γ production. Neutrophil influx into the genital tract was also decreased. However, il17ra − / − mice resolved infection normally, and no difference in pathology was observed compared to the wild type. Macrophage influx and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) production were increased in il17ra − / − mice, providing a compensatory mechanism to effectively control chlamydial genital tract infection despite a reduced Th1 response. In ifnγ− / − mice, a marked increase in cellular infiltrates and chronic pathology was associated with an increased Th17 response. Although neutralization of IL-17 in ifnγ− / − mice decreased neutrophil influx, macrophage infiltration remained intact and the bacterial burden was not increased. Collectively, these results indicate that IL-17 contributes to the generation of Th1 immunity and neutrophil recruitment but is not required for macrophage influx or normal resolution of C. muridarum genital infection. These data highlight the redundant immune mechanisms operative at this mucosal site and the importance of examining site-specific responses to mucosal pathogens.
Clotting Factor Concentrates – Whither Purity?

It seems obvious that during replacement therapy of any deficiency, only the essential missing component needs to be replaced. For example, the defect in pernicious anaemia is absence of vitamin B l2, and for many years there has been no need to feed patients raw liver. Similarly, in patients with hereditary deficiency of a clotting factor, a specific purified protein is needed to replace the missing factor. Patients with haemophilia A lack factor VIII, and they do not need other proteins that separate along with Factor VIII during conventional plasma fractionation. At first glance, this argument seems irrefutable, and it should therefore be relatively easy to demonstrate that patients receiving highly purified Factor VIII concentrates fare better than those given less purified material. However, convincing evidence that more highly purified concentrates bring enhanced clinical benefit has proved remarkably elusive. While many clinicians believe that such concentrates are indicated because of in vitro data that they stabilize immune function in HIV positive patients, it is still unproven that this delays clinical progression of disease (1). The rationale behind the use of high-purity products rests on the assumption that by minimizing the alloantigenic burden, the immuno­ logical deterioration that occurs in HIV-infected haemophiliacs may be slowed (1). Early randomized studies in patients showed that the CD4 count in those given high-purity material fell less rapidly than in patients who were given intermediate purity products (2, 3). Other studies, where patient assignment was non-random, tended to support this conclusion (4-7). Mannucci (1) has calculated the annual decline in CD4 counts in patients in randomised studies receiving intermediate purity products as being between 63 and 141 cells/mm3/year; in con­ trast, in patients receiving either immunoaffinity purified Factor VIII or recombinant F.VIII, there was a mean CD4 count decrease between 8 and 35 cells/mm3/year. He concluded that while the use of high purity concentrates does indeed slow the fall of CD4 cells in HIV-positive haemophiliacs, only a large prospective randomized trial based on clinical end-points will settle whether high-purity Factor VIII brings demonstrable benefit (1). Not all studies have been able to substantiate the beneficial effect of high purity material on the CD4 count. For example, in a study of 309 patients, treated with lowor intermediate-purity clotting factors and followed for up to 7 years, no overall or dose related deleterious effect on the CD4 trend was found for any form of treatment (8). The authors concluded that their results did not support the assertion that inter­ mediate-purity concentrates accelerate the rate of CD4 decrease in HIV-1 infected haemophiliacs. Bemtorp (9) also concluded that repeated exposure to large doses of intermediate-purity concentrates had not been shown to have an adverse effect on the outcome of HIV infection. While the issue may still be sub judice for HIV-positive patients, there is certainly no convincing evidence for the clinical superiority of
Mechanism of post‐segregational killing: Sok antisense RNA interacts with Hok mRNA via its 5′‐end single‐stranded leader and competes with the 3′‐end of Hok mRNA for binding to the mok translational initiation region.

The hok/sok system of plasmid R1, which mediates plasmid stabilization by killing of plasmid‐free segregants, codes for two RNA species, Hok mRNA and Sok antisense RNA. The lethal expression of hok is inhibited post‐transcriptionally by the 67 nt Sok‐RNA. In this paper, we analyse the secondary structure of Sok‐RNA and the binding of Sok‐RNA to Hok mRNA in vitro. The reaction between the two RNAs leads to the formation of a complete duplex in which Sok‐RNA is hybridized over its entire length to Hok mRNA. The second‐order rate constant of duplex formation was determined to be approximately 1 × 10(5) M‐1s‐1. Mutations in the 5′‐end single‐stranded leader of Sok‐RNA severely reduced the binding rate to wt Hok mRNA, whereas loop mutations in Sok‐RNA had no such effect. The reduced binding rates were paralleled by abolished in vivo regulatory properties. These results suggest that, unlike in other well‐characterized antisense/target RNA systems, the initial recognition reaction between Sok‐RNA and Hok mRNA takes place between the single‐stranded 5′‐end of Sok‐RNA and the complementary region in Hok mRNA, without the involvement of an antisense loop in the initial binding step. Furthermore, the finding that Sok‐RNA competes with the 3′‐end of full‐length Hok mRNA for binding to the mok translational initiation region adds to the complexity of killer gene regulation.