Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Radiologic and Surgical Findings in Chronic Suppurative Otitis Media

Abstract Our aim in this study was to evaluate the efficiency of preoperative temporal bone computed tomography (CT) in detecting pathologic conditions in patients with chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM). The intraoperative findings and temporal bone CT results of 350 patients who were diagnosed with CSOM between September 1, 2010, and June 1, 2013, were compared. Comparison parameters were as follows: the presence of cholesteatoma, erosion of the outer ear bone canal, erosion of the middle ear chain, erosion of the dural plate, erosion of the lateral semicircular canal, erosion of the sigmoid sinus wall, and dehiscence of the facial canal. The contribution of CT was limited in showing the outer ear canal destruction, dural plate destruction, facial canal destruction, lateral semicircular canal destruction, and destruction of the sigmoid sinus wall. However, CT was more sensitive in detecting cholesteatoma and erosion of the ossicular chain. These results indicate that preoperative CT of patients with CSOM serves as an important guide for otolaryngologists, although there are limitations in the evaluation of the CT results.
We are failing to identify disorders of fetal movement – why?

In only one fourth of patients affected by the most common form of multiple congenital contractures (arthrogryposis) – amyoplasia – is a diagnosis made prenatally. Considering the sophisticated ultrasound techniques that are available and the increasing number of well-trained sonographers – technicians and physicians – it is surprising that the absence of fetal movement in limbs is almost entirely overlooked. Among 317 collected patients with amyoplasia involving all four limbs, we have data on the prenatal history and ultrasound examinations in 107 patients born after 1990, when prenatal ultrasound became widely available (Hall JG, unpublished data). In only 28 of these patients (26.2%! ) was the diagnosis made prenatally, the other remaining 79 were entirely missed prior to birth in spite of most having had documented ultrasound studies. Those correctly diagnosed were initially identified either by bilateral clubfeet prompting further detailed sonographic evaluation, or occasionally becausemothers perceived reduced fetal movement and requested further testing.
Investigations on the role of flagella in the colonization of infant mice with Campylobacter jejuni and attachment of Campylobacter jejuni to human epithelial cell lines

SUMMARY The biochemical and biological properties of the flagella of Campylobacter jejuni have been investigated using two variants selected from a flagellate, motile clinical isolate (strain 81116): a flagellate, non-motile variant (SF-1) and an aflagellate variant (SF-2). Phenotypic and biochemical analysis of the strains and amino acid analysis of the isolated flagella suggest that the variants differed from the wild-type strain only in the absence of flagella and/or motility. The aflagellato variant poorly colonized the gastrointestinal tract of infant mice but the flagellate, non-motile variant colonized the mice as successfully as the wild-type strain.35S-labelled organisms were used to investigate the attachment of the variants to human epithelial cell monolayers in vitro. The flagellate, non-motile strain attached more efficiently to the cells than the wild-type strain or the aflagellate strain. Differences in attachment suggest that an adhesin is intimately associated with flagella of C jejuniand that active flagella mediate only a tenuous association with host cells. This adhesin attached most efficiently to cells of intestinal epithelial origin and was not specifically inhibited by various sugars.
Constrictive pericarditis in a contemporary Danish cohort: Aetiology and outcome

Abstract Objectives. The aetiology and outcome of constrictive pericarditis vary between geographic regions and has changed over time. We describe the diagnostic work-up and outcome in a contemporary cohort of Danish patients with constrictive pericarditis. Design. Hospital databases were searched for patients undergoing cardiac catheterisation for suspected constrictive pericarditis or for patients undergoing pericardiectomy or discharged with the diagnosis of constrictive pericarditis. Results. We identified 57 patients with constrictive pericarditis diagnosed from 1998 to 2012. Previous surgery and inflammatory disease were the most prevalent underlying conditions. Diagnosis was made primarily by echocardiography and right- and left-sided cardiac catheterisation. Echocardiography was particularly notable for dilated inferior caval vein, increased E/A ratio, and high septal tissue velocity in addition to the presence of septal bounce. Pericardiectomy was performed in 47 patients with a 30-day mortality of 8.5%. Clinical improvement was noted in 69% of cases. Several echocardiographic parameters normalised with time, including markers of diastolic function. Conclusions. Long-term outcome after pericardiectomy is acceptable with clinical improvement and partial resolution of the echocardiographic parameters in the majority of patients.
Acceptance of a pandemic avian influenza vaccine in pregnancy.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate acceptance of a pandemic avian influenza vaccine among obstetric patients and nonphysician obstetric office personnel. STUDY DESIGN Two separate office-based questionnaires were administered to patients and nonphysician personnel. Questions included demographics, vaccine beliefs and acceptance of a potential pandemic avian influenza vaccine in pregnancy. RESULTS Questionnaires were completed by 394 of 600 (65.7%) eligible patients and 101 of 134 (75.3%) eligible office personnel. Only 15.4% of the patients stated they would definitely accept a pandemic influenza vaccine in pregnancy despite most (68%) reporting they would first consult their obstetrician for information. Fifty percent of the office personnel would not recommend a pandemic influenza vaccine to pregnant women and 40% reported unwillingness to accept the same vaccine if they were pregnant. CONCLUSION Barriers exist that may hinder mass vaccination efforts among the pregnant population during the next influenza pandemic. Preemptive educational efforts may assist in the acceptance of a pandemic vaccine among pregnant women and enable obstetricians to better provide disease prevention during the next influenza pandemic.
Intranigral Transplants of GABA-Rich Striatal Tissue Induce Behavioral Recovery in the Rat Parkinson Model and Promote the Effects Obtained by Intrastriatal Dopaminergic Transplants

Intrastriatal transplantation of fetal ventral mesencephalon (VM) is currently explored as a potential clinical therapy in Parkinson's disease (PD). Although providing substantial benefit for the patient, behavioral recovery so far obtained with intrastriatal VM grafts is not complete. Using the 6-hydroxydopamine lesion model of PD, we show here that near-complete restoration of the striatal dopamine (DA) innervation can be achieved by multiple intrastriatal microtransplants of fetal DA cells; nevertheless, complete recovery in complex sensorimotor behaviors was not obtained in these animals. In line with the current model of basal ganglia function, this suggests that the lesion-induced overactivity of the basal ganglia output structures, i.e., the substantia nigra (SN) and the entopeduncular nucleus, may not be completely reversed by intrastriatal VM grafts. In the present study, we have transplanted fetal VM tissue or fetal striatal tissue, as a source of DA and GABA neurons, respectively, into the SN of DA-depleted rats. Intranigral VM grafts induced behavioral recovery in some sensorimotor behaviors (forelimb akinesia and balance tests), but the effect did not exceed the recovery observed after intrastriatal VM grafts. Intranigral grafts of striatal tissue induced a pattern of functional recovery which was distinctly different from that observed after intranigral VM grafts, and recovery in coordinated forelimb use in the paw-reaching test was even more pronounced than after intrastriatal transplantation of VM cells. Combined transplantation of DA neurons into the striatum and GABA-rich striatal neurons into the SN induced additive effects of behavioral recovery observed in the forelimb akinesia test. We propose that intranigral striatal transplants, by a GABA-mediated inhibitory action, can reduce the overactivity of the host SN projection neurons and can induce significant recovery in complex motor behavior in the rat PD model and that such grafts may be used to increase the overall functional efficacy of intrastriatal VM grafts.
Anatomical demonstration of vagal input to nicotinamide acetamide dinucleotide phosphate diaphorase‐positive (nitrergic) neurons in rat fundic stomach

Recent pharmacological evidence suggests that the nonadrenergic, noncholinergic (NANC) vagal inhibitory input responsible for receptive relaxation of the fundic stomach is mediated by nitric oxide‐synthesizing enteric neurons. To demonstrate anatomically such direct vagal inputs to neurochemically identified enteric neurons, we utilized the nicotinamide acetamide dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH)‐diaphorase histochemical reaction in conjunction with selective anterograde labeling of vagal efferents or afferents.
Comparison of type 2 and type 6 fimbriae of Bordetella pertussis by using agglutinating monoclonal antibodies

Two types of fimbriae have been identified on the pathogenic gram-negative organism Bordetella pertussis. Monoclonal antibodies to these fimbriae were produced to better understand the role of fimbriae as serotype-specific agglutinogens and to investigate the antigenic relationship between these fimbriae. Three monoclonal antibodies were identified that specifically agglutinated B. pertussis cells containing the U.S. Reference Factor 2 agglutinogen, and six monoclonal antibodies were produced that agglutinated only those strains containing the U.S. Reference Factor 6 agglutinogen. Indirect immunofluorescence studies and immunogold electron microscopy demonstrated that these monoclonal antibodies bind to an outer membrane component on serotype-specific strains of B. pertussis. All of the monoclonal antibodies reacted with native or partially assembled type-specific fimbriae but not with monomeric fimbrial subunits as indicated by Western blot (immunoblot) analysis. The fimbrial agglutinogens recognized by the monoclonal antibodies were also uniquely reactive with either U.S. Reference Factor 2 or 6 antiserum (Eldering agglutinogen 2 or 6 polyclonal antiserum) in an indirect ELISA. No cross-reactivity of the monoclonal antibodies with the unrelated fimbriae was observed in any of the comparative immunological studies. Some of the monoclonal antibodies agglutinated certain strains of B. bronchiseptica, suggesting that this closely related species can contain antigenically similar fimbriae. These monoclonal antibodies should prove useful for further structural and functional analysis of Bordetella fimbriae and for studies on the role that these antigens play in prevention of infection and disease.
Aerosol and cloud interaction observed from high spectral resolution lidar data

[1] Recent studies utilizing satellite retrievals have shown a strong correlation between aerosol optical depth (AOD) and cloud cover. However, these retrievals from passive sensors are subject to many limitations, including cloud adjacency (or three-dimensional) effects, possible cloud contamination, uncertainty in the AOD retrieval. Some of these limitations do not exist in High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL) observations; for instance, HSRL observations are not affected by cloud adjacency effects, are less prone to cloud contamination, and offer accurate aerosol property measurements (backscatter coefficient, extinction coefficient, lidar ratio, backscatter Angstrom exponent, and aerosol optical depth) at a fine spatial resolution (<100 m) in the vicinity of clouds. Hence the HSRL provides an important data set for studying aerosol and cloud interaction. In this study, we statistically analyze aircraft-based HSRL profiles according to their distance from the nearest cloud, assuring that all profile comparisons are subject to the same large-scale meteorological conditions. Our results indicate that AODs from HSRL are about 8–17% higher in the proximity of clouds (∼100 m) than far away from clouds (4.5 km), which is much smaller than the reported cloud three-dimensional effect on AOD retrievals. The backscatter and extinction coefficients also systematically increase in the vicinity of clouds, which can be explained by aerosol swelling in the high relative humidity (RH) environment and/or aerosol growth through in-cloud processing (albeit not conclusively). On the other hand, we do not observe a systematic trend in lidar ratio; we hypothesize that this is caused by the opposite effects of aerosol swelling and aerosol in-cloud processing on the lidar ratio. Finally, the observed backscatter Angstrom exponent (BAE) does not show a consistent trend because of the complicated relationship between BAE and RH. We demonstrate that BAE should not be used as a surrogate for Angstrom exponent, especially at high RH.
Tolerogenic Dendritic Cells: All Present and Correct?

Although well‐recognized for their sentinel role and, when activated, their immunostimulatory function, bone marrow‐derived dendritic cells (DC) possess inherent tolerogenic (tol) ability. Under quiescent conditions, these cells maintain central and peripheral self tolerance. When appropriately conditioned, in vitro or in vivo, they inhibit innate and adaptive immunity to foreign antigens, including memory T‐cell responses. This suppressive function is mediated by various mechanisms, including the expansion and induction of antigen‐specific regulatory T cells. Extensive experience in rodent models and recent work in nonhuman primates, indicate the potential of pharmacologically‐modified, tol DC (tolDC) to regulate alloimmunity in vivo and to promote lasting, alloantigen‐specific T‐cell unresponsiveness and transplant survival. While there are many questions yet to be addressed concerning the functional biology of tolDC in humans, these cells offer considerable potential as natural, safe and antigen‐specific regulators for long‐term control of the outcome of organ and hematopoietic cell transplantation. This minireview surveys recent findings that enhance understanding of the functional biology and therapeutic application of tolDC, with special reference to transplantation.
The epidemiology of injury in the Republic of Lithuania

Aims: The overall goal of this paper is to highlight the epidemiology of injury in Lithuania between 1998 and 2006. Such a situation analysis will inform the important dialogue happening in Lithuania with respect to renewal of the trauma programme and help to profile the burden of injury in the country. Methods: Review of the literature, and secondary analysis of data from the Lithuanian Health Information Center and the European Detailed Mortality database. Results: Sixteen articles were identified as population-based studies; only incidence of burn injuries was reported as 240 per 100,000 per year. According to our analysis, the overall incidence of injury increased from 76 cases per 1,000 individuals in 1998 to 121 cases per 1,000 individuals in 2006. The total number of deaths from external causes remained similar with an average of 5,301 per year, as did the age-standardized mortality rates of 152 in 1998 and 150 per 100,000 in 2006. The mortality rate in men was four times higher than in women. Suicide was the most frequent cause of death (34% in 2006); while road traffic injuries were the second most frequent accounting for 17—19% of deaths. There were 429 deaths due to exposure to natural cold in 2006, which constituted 8% of all deaths due to injury. Conclusions: Injury incidence and mortality from external causes in Lithuania has not declined over an eight year time frame. New efforts should be launched in the health sector to address this major cause of deaths.
Teledynamic evaluation of oropharyngeal swallowing.

PURPOSE The objective of the present investigation was to test the feasibility and clinical utility of a real-time Internet-based protocol for remote, telefluoroscopic evaluation of oropharyngeal swallowing. METHOD In this prospective cohort study, the authors evaluated 32 patients with a primary diagnosis of stroke or head/neck cancer. All patients participated in 2 separate fluoroscopic swallowing evaluations--one traditional on site and one telefluoroscopic off site--through the use of a telemedicine system. Agreement between sites was tested for 3 categories of variables: (a) overall severity of swallowing difficulty, (b) presence and extent of laryngeal penetration and aspiration as rated by the 8-point Penetration-Aspiration scale, and (c) treatment recommendations. RESULTS Results showed overall good agreement in subjective severity ratings (κ = 0.636) and in Penetration-Aspiration scale ratings (mean absolute difference = 1.1 points) between the onsite and offsite clinicians. Agreement in treatment recommendations was moderate to high, ranging from 69.3% to 100%. CONCLUSIONS The present study supports the feasibility and clinical utility of a telemedicine system for evaluating oropharyngeal swallowing. Given the difficulty and expertise needed to complete such evaluations, this study offers promising clinical avenues for patients in rural, remote, and underserved communities and countries where expert swallowing specialists are not available.
Overuse Injuries in Professional Ballet: Influence of Age and Years of Professional Practice

Background: In spite of the high rate of overuse injuries in ballet dancers, no studies have investigated the prevalence of overuse injuries in professional dancers by providing specific diagnoses and details on the differences in the injuries sustained as a function of age and/or years of professional practice. Hypothesis: Overuse injuries are the most prevalent injuries in ballet dancers. Professional ballet dancers suffer different types of injuries depending on their age and years of professional practice. Study Design: Descriptive epidemiology study. Methods: This descriptive epidemiological study was carried out between January 1, 2005, and October 10, 2010, regarding injuries sustained by professional dancers belonging to the major Spanish ballet companies practicing classical, neoclassical, contemporary, and Spanish dance. The sample was distributed into 3 different groups according to age and years of professional practice. Data were obtained from the specialized medical care the dancers received from the Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery Service at Fremap in Madrid. The dependent variable was the study of the injury. Results: A total of 486 injuries were identified over the study period, with overuse injuries being the most common etiology (P < .0001); these injuries were especially prevalent in junior professional dancers practicing classical ballet and veteran dancers practicing contemporary ballet (P = .01). Specifically, among other findings, stress fractures of the base of the second metatarsal (P = .03), patellofemoral syndrome, and os trigonum syndrome were more prevalent among junior professionals (P = .04); chondral injury of the knee in senior professionals (P = .04); and cervical disc disease in dancers of intermediate age and level of experience. Conclusion: Overall, overuse injuries were more prevalent in younger professionals, especially in women. This finding was especially true for the more technical ballet disciplines. On the other hand, in the athletic ballet disciplines, overuse lesions occurred mainly in the more senior professionals. Clinical Relevance: This study provides specific clinical diagnoses obtained through physical examination as well as details on the different injury types sustained as a function of age and/or years of professional practice, an important aspect for ballet and sports practice in general.
A Proposed Feature Extraction Method for EEG-based Person Identification

We propose in this paper a feature extraction method to extract brain wave features from electroencephalography (EEG) signal. The proposed feature extraction method is based on an assumption that EEG signal could be considered as stationary if the time window is sufficiently short. With this assumption, EEG signal has some similar properties to speech signal and hence a feature extraction method that is currently used to extract speech features can be applied to extract brain wave features from EEG signal. Mel-frequency cepstral coefficients are features extracted and evaluated in EEG-based person identication. Experimental results show that the proposed method could provide very high recognition rate.
Syngeneic transplantation of newborn splenocytes in a murine model of neonatal ischemia-reperfusion brain injury

Abstract Objective: Neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is caused by brain injury that occurs in a developing fetus or infant. Stem cell transplantation can reportedly induce functional recovery in animal models of HIE. Murine neonatal splenocytes are enriched with immature blood stem cells and are used for the investigation of murine models of syngeneic transplantation. The aim of this study was to investigate the therapeutic potential of newborn splenocytes in a murine model of neonatal ischemia-reperfusion brain injury. Methods: C57BL/6N mice (postnatal day 7) underwent right common carotid artery occlusion with an aneurysm clip. Following hypoxic exposure, reperfusion was achieved by unclamping the artery. Newborn splenocytes were transplanted intravenously at 3 weeks after injury. Results: The splenocytes transplanted group tended to show an improvement in behavioral tests, but it was not significantly different compared with the control groups. The transplanted cells were localized in various organs including injured brain tissue over 3 weeks. In the penumbra region of the brain, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression was upregulated after transplantation. Conclusions: These results showed that syngeneic transplantation of newborn splenocytes achieved the long-term survival of the grafts and exerted influence the microenvironment in the injured brains of mice.
Reference range for serum parathyroid hormone.

OBJECTIVE To determine whether the reference range for parathyroid hormone (PTH) should be lowered (from 65 pg/mL to a proposed value of 46 pg/mL) with use of the Allegro radioimmunometric assay. METHODS We examined the reference range for PTH, adjusted for serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD), in 503 healthy African American and white women, who were 20 to 80 years old. We also analyzed other factors that are thought to influence PTH levels. RESULTS Univariate predictors of PTH were identified, and a multivariate model was developed with use of the variables and PTH. Serum PTH was significantly higher in black study subjects than in white study subjects (P<0.02). Increasing PTH was also significantly correlated with increasing body mass index, age, and serum creatinine and with decreasing dietary calcium intake and serum 25-OHD levels. A stepwise multiple linear regression analysis yielded the following predictors of PTH: body mass index (R2=9.4%), age (R2=1.0%), and serum 25-OHD (R2=0.8%). In our study population, many PTH values were above the proposed new upper limit of 46 pg/mL. CONCLUSION The upper limit of the reference range for serum PTH should not be changed. Factors to be considered in analysis of serum PTH values in the upper reference range in patients with normocalcemia include obesity, race, 25-OHD levels, advanced age, serum creatinine, and dietary calcium intake.