Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of antiemetic effect of intravenous palonosetron versus intravenous ondansetron in laparoscopic cholecystectomy: A randomized controlled trial

Objectives: Incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV), without active intervention, following laparoscopic cholecystectomy is unacceptably high. We evaluated the effectiveness of intravenous (IV) palonosetron in counteracting PONV during the first 24hrs following laparoscopic cholecystectomy, using ondansetron as the comparator drug. Materials and Methods: In a randomized, controlled, single blind, parallel group trial, single pre-induction IV doses of palonosetron (75mcg) or ondansetron (4mg) were administered to adult patients of either sex undergoing elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy. There were 49 subjects per group. The pre-anesthetic regimen, anesthesia procedure and laparoscopic technique were uniform. The primary effectiveness measure was total number of PONV episodes in the 24 hrs period following end of surgery. The frequencies of individual nausea, retching and vomiting episodes, visual analog scale (VAS) score for nausea at 2, 6 and 24hrs, use of rescue antiemetic (metoclopramide), number of complete responders (no PONV or use of rescue in 24 hrs) and adverse events were secondary measures. Results: There was no statistically significant difference between the groups in primary outcome. Similarly, the frequencies of nausea, retching and vomiting episodes, when considered individually, did not show significant difference. Nausea score was comparable at all time points. With palonosetron, 14 subjects (28.6%) required rescue medication while 13 (26.5%) did so with ondansetron. The number of complete responders was 14 (28.6%) and 16 (32.7%), respectively. Adverse events were few and mild. QTc prolongation was not encountered. Conclusion: Palonosetron is comparable to ondansetron for PONV prophylaxis in elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy when administered as single pre-induction dose.
Protective effect of Trigonella foenum-graecum Linn. on monosodium glutamate-induced dyslipidemia and oxidative stress in rats

Objectives: The present study was designed to evaluate the effect of aqueous extract of Trigonella foenum-graecum(AqE-TFG) seeds on monosodium glutamate (MSG)-induced dyslipidemia and oxidative stress in Wistar rats. Materials and Methods: Neonatal Wistar rats were treated subcutaneously with MSG (4 g/kg b.w.) from day 2 to 14 after birth, on alternate days. After attaining six-weeks of age, MSG-treated rats were administered with AqE-TFG (0.5 and 1 g/kg b.w., orally) or orlistat (10 mg/kg b.w., orally) for 28 days, respectively. Serum chemistry and relevant enzymes in hepato-cardiac tissues were assessed on day 29. Results: AqE-TFG produced significant reduction in serum total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TGs), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), aspartate amino transferase (AST), alanine amino transferase (ALT), hepatic and cardiac lipid peroxides (MDA) levels and elevation in serum high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), hepatic and cardiac antioxidant enzymes [glutathione (GSH), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT)] levels. Conclusion: Results were comparable with orlistat, a standard anti-obesity drug, and provide clear evidence that the AqE-TFG treatment offered significant protection against MSG-induced dyslipidemia and oxidative stress, and may play an important role in amelioration of the free radical generated consequences like dyslipidemia and atherosclerosis.
Comparison of the pattern, efficacy, and tolerability of self-medicated drugs in primary dysmenorrhea: A questionnaire based survey

Objective: To compare the pattern, efficacy, and tolerability of self-medicated drugs and to assess the adequacy of their dose in primary dysmenorrhea (PD). Materials and Methods: A survey using a self-developed, validated, objective, and structured questionnaire as a tool was conducted among subjects with PD. Statistical analysis was carried out using Chi-square test and ANOVA with post-hoc Tuckey's test. Results: Out of 641 respondents, 42% were self-medicated. The pattern of drugs used was: Dicyclomine, an unknown drug, mefenamic acid, mefenamic acid + dicyclomine, and metamizole by 35%, 29%, 26%, 9%, and 1% of respondents, respectively. Mefenamic acid + dicyclomine, the combination was the most efficacious in comparison to other drugs in moderate to severe dysmenorrhea. There was better tolerability with mefenamic acid + dicyclomine group compared to other drugs. Sub-therapeutic doses were used by 86% of self-medicating respondents. Conclusions: The prevailing self-medication practices were inappropriate in a substantial proportion of women with inadequate knowledge regarding appropriate drug choice, therapeutic doses, and their associated side effects.
Effects of cognate status and language of therapy during intensive semantic naming treatment in a case of severe nonfluent bilingual aphasia

As bilingualism becomes less exceptional in the world, and with the growing incidence of stroke and aphasia, a better understanding of how bilingualism affects aphasia recovery is increasingly important. The present study examined the effect of intensive semantic naming therapy in three phases (Spanish, English and mixed) on within- and across-language generalization for cognates and non-cognates, in a bilingual individual with chronic, severe expressive aphasia. We hypothesized that cognates would positively influence cross-linguistic generalization, which might be more likely to occur from L2 to L1. Results indicate relative increases in confrontation naming ability in the following conditions: trained versus untrained, L1 versus L2 or mixed and non-cognates versus cognates. This participant demonstrated a pattern of results consistent with a differential recovery pattern in which presentation of treatment in both languages and training of cognates may have promoted interference, thus increasing the activation threshold, and lowering performance under these conditions.
Antidepressant-like effect of novel 5-HT3 receptor antagonist N-n-butyl-3-ethoxyquinoxalin-2-carboxamide (6p): An approach using rodent behavioral antidepressant tests

Objective: The present study was designed to investigate the antidepressant potential of N-n-butyl-3-ethoxyquinoxalin-2-carboxamide (6p), a novel 5-HT3 receptor antagonist in rodent behavioral models of depression. Materials and Methods: The compound 6p was examined in various behavioral models like forced swim test (FST), tail suspension test (TST), mechanistic models [5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP)-induced head twitch and reserpine-induced hypothermia (RIH)], and in chronic surgery model-olfactory bulbectomy in rats. Results: Compound 6p (1, 2, and 4 mg/kg, i.p.) exhibited antidepressant-like effect in FST and TST after acute treatment without having an effect on baseline locomotor activity. Moreover, 6p (2 mg/kg, i.p.), potentiated the 5-HTP–induced head twitch responses in mice and inhibited the RIH in rats. Chronic treatment (14 days) with 6p (1 and 2 mg/kg, p.o.) and paroxetine (10 mg/kg, p.o.) in rats significantly reversed the behavioral anomalies induced by bilateral olfactory bulbectomy using open field exploration. Conclusion: The preliminary studies reveal that compound 6p exhibits antidepressant-like effect in behavioral rodent models of depression.
The transition from the core vowels to the following segments in Japanese children who stutter: The second, third and fourth syllables

, Syllable weight and phonological encoding in Japanese children who stutter. Japanese Journal of Special Education, 44, 451–462; 2008, Syllable weight and frequency of stuttering: Comparison between children who stutter with and without a family history of stuttering. Japanese Journal of Special Education, 45, 437–445; 2009, Difference in frequency of stuttering between light and heavy syllables in the production of monosyllables: From the viewpoint of phonetic transition. The Japanese Journal of Logopedics and Phoniatrics, 50, 116–122 (in Japanese)) proposed the hypothesis that in Japanese the transition from the core vowels (CVs) to the following segments affected the occurrence of stuttering. However, the transition we investigated was in the first syllables only, and the effect of the transition in second, third and fourth syllables was not addressed. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the transition from the CVs in the second, third and fourth syllables affected the occurrence of stuttering. The participants were 21 Japanese children. A non-word naming task and a non-word reading task were used. The frequency of stuttering was not significantly different where the number of transitions from the CVs differed on either task. These results suggest that the transition from the CVs in the second, third and fourth syllables does not have a significant effect on the occurrence of stuttering in Japanese.
Testing the language of German cerebral palsy patients with right hemispheric language organization after early left hemispheric damage

Language functions are generally represented in the left cerebral hemisphere. After early (prenatally acquired or perinatally acquired) left hemispheric brain damage language functions may be salvaged by reorganization into the right hemisphere. This is different from brain lesions acquired in adulthood which normally lead to aphasia. Right hemispheric reorganized language (RL) is not associated with obvious language deficits. In this pilot study we compared a group of German-speaking patients with left hemispheric brain damage and RL with a group of matched healthy controls. The novel combination of reliable language lateralization as assessed by neuroimaging (functional magnetic resonance imaging) and specific linguistic tasks revealed significant differences between patients with RL and healthy controls in both language comprehension and production. Our results provide evidence for the hypothesis that RL is significantly different from normal left hemispheric language. This knowledge can be used to improve counselling of parents and to develop specific therapeutic approaches.
Use of potentially inappropriate medications in hospitalized elderly at a teaching hospital: A comparison between Beers 2003 and 2012 criteria

Objectives: To detect the prevalence and pattern of use of Potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) in hospitalized elderly patients of a tertiary care teaching hospital using Beers 2012 criteria and to compare the same with Beers 2003 criteria. Materials and Methods: Prescriptions of the elderly patients aged 65 years and above were collected from the medicine ward and analyzed. PIMs were identified with help of Beers 2003 and Beers 2012 criteria and comparison was made between the two criteria. Predictors associated with use of PIM were identified using bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis. Results: A total of 210 patients received 2,267 drugs. According to Beers 2003 criteria, 60 (28.57%) elderly patients received at least one PIM and 2.9% drugs were prescribed inappropriately. According to Beers 2012 criteria, 84 (40%) elderly received at least one PIM while 22 (10.47%) received multiple PIMs and about 5% drugs were prescribed inappropriately. The most commonly prescribed PIM was mineral oil-liquid paraffin (30, 14.3%) followed by spironolactone (25, 11.9%), digoxin (19, 9%), and benzodiazepines (14, 6.7%). There was a significant association between the number of patients receiving more than six drugs and the use of PIMs (P < 0.01). Use of more than 10 drugs was a significant predictor for use of PIMs in the elderly. Conclusion: The study shows high prevalence of prescribing PIMs in hospitalized elderly patients. Beers 2012 criteria are more effective in identifying PIMs than Beers 2003 criteria.
Neuroprotective effect of a triterpenoid saponin isolated from Momordica cymbalaria Fenzl in diabetic peripheral neuropathy

Objectives: To investigate the neuroprotective potential of a saponin isolated from the roots of Momordica cymbalaria against peripheral neuropathy in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Materials and Methods: A steroidal saponin (SMC) was isolated from M. cymbalaria Fenzl and purified by preparative high-performance liquid chromatography. Diabetes was induced in male Wister rats by injecting streptozotocin 45 mg/kg. Diabetic rats were divided into six groups for neuroprotective effect—three each for preventive and curative groups. Neuropathic analgesia was assessed by tail-flick and hot-plate methods. Dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons and sciatic nerves were isolated, and histopathological analysis was performed. Antioxidant activity (superoxide dismutase, catalase, and inhibition of lipid peroxidation) of the saponin was also carried out on the isolated DRG neurons and sciatic nerves to assess total oxidative stress. Results: In both preventive and curative protocols, rats administered with SMC showed significant decrease in tail immersion latency time and increase in pain sensitivity when compared to diabetic control group. There was improvement in the myelination and degenerative changes of the nerve fiber in both the groups, and an obvious delay in the progression of neuropathy was evident. SMC treatment showed significant decrease in superoxide dismutase, catalase activity, and lipid peroxidation in the nerves. Conclusions: The steroidal saponin of M. cymbalaria (SMC) possesses potential neuroprotective effect in diabetic peripheral neuropathy with respect to neuropathic analgesia, improvement in neuronal degenerative changes, and significant antioxidant activity.
Comparison of efficacy, safety, and cost-effectiveness of various statins in dyslipidemic diabetic patients

Background and Aim: To determine efficacy safety and the cost effectiveness, of the four most commonly prescribed statins (rosuvastatin, atorvastatin, pravastatin, and simvastatin) in the treatment of dyslipidemia among diabetic patients. Materials and Methods: This is a cohort, observational, population-based study conducted at diabetic clinics of the Hamad Medical Hospital and Primary Health Care Centers (PHCC) over a period from January 2007 to September 2012. The study included 1,542 consecutive diabetes patients above 18 years of age diagnosed with dyslipidemia and prescribed any of the indicated statins. Laboratory investigations were taken from the Electronic Medical Records Database (EMR-viewer). The sociodemographic, height, weight, and physical activities were collected from Patient's Medical Records. Information about statin was extracted from the pharmacy drug database. The effective reductions in total cholesterol using rosuvastatin with atorvastatin, simvastatin, and pravastatin in achieving cholesterol goals and improving plasma lipids in dyslipidemic diabetic patients were measured. Serum lipid levels measured a 1 week before the treatment and at the end 2nd year. Results: Rosuvastatin (10 mg) was the most effective in reducing low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C; 28.59%), followed by simvastatin 20 mg (16.7%), atorvastatin 20 mg (15.9%), and pravastatin 20 mg (11.59.3%). All statins were safe with respect to muscular and hepatic functions. Atorvastatin was the safest statin as it resulted in the least number of patients with microalbuminuria (10.92%) as compared to other statins. Treatment with rosuvastatin 10 mg was more effective in allowing patients to reach European and Adult Treatment Plan (ATP) III LDL-C goals as compared to other statins (P < 0.0001) and produced greater reductions in LDL-C, total cholesterol, and non-HDL-C, produced similar or greater reductions in triglycerides (TGs) and increased in HDL-C. Conclusion: Rosuvastatin 10 mg was the most effective statin in reducing serum lipids and total cholesterol in dyslipidemic diabetic patients.
Fall Risk Assessment & Prevention in Home Care

Falls happen. Fortunately, there are usually no serious consequences in the general population. However, when looking at the microcosm of the older person, falls frequently occur and are often life changing. In the home care world, where the majority of patients are either older and/or infirmed, falls are even more frequent and result in serious consequences to patients and their families. Although the impact of falls on patients is well documented, the impact of falls on home health providers is more indirect and deserves discussion.
Human Leukocyte Antigen Class I and Ii Alleles and Response to Interferon-A Treatment, in Taiwanese Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C Virus Infection

To investigate the influence of immunogenetics on response to interferon (IFN)–a treatment human leukocyte antigen alleles were characterized in 100 unrelated Taiwanese patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. A11 B51 Cw15 and DRB1*15 were positively correlated with sustained response whereas A24 was inversely associated with response to IFN-a after adjustment for cirrhosis pretreatment virus load and viral genotype. Homozygote-genotype analysis showed that A24 and DQB1*05 probably had gene-dosage effect on sustained response. DRB1*15 was in strong linkage disequilibrium with DQB1*05 and DQB1*06 but only haplotype DRB1*15-DQB1*05 was associated with response to IFN-a. Haplotype A11-DRB1*15 was strongly associated with sustained response. This suggests a role for a complex hostimmunogenetics interplay in the response to IFN-a in patients with chronic HCV infection. (authors)
The influence of the frequency of functional markers on repetitive imitation of syntactic constructions in children with specific language impairment, from their own language productions

Several studies provide considerable insight into the role that frequency plays in language development. However, no study has investigated the direct relationship between frequency and grammatical acquisition in children with specific language impairment (SLI). In this study, we focus specifically on the influence of the frequency of functional words on the ability of children with SLI to produce grammatical constructions based on the children's own previous production but containing previously unused functional words. To test our hypothesis, the children were administered an imitative repetition task, tailored to their current level of language development. Results showed that children with SLI performed more poorly than language-matched children with typical language development. The difference between the two groups was more marked when the previously unused functional words were infrequent rather than frequent. Consequently, it would seem that the token frequency of functional words influences grammatical acquisition in children with SLI. The results and their implications for linguistic theories are discussed.
Protective effect of L-arginine on gentamicin-induced nephrotoxicity in rats

Introduction: L-arginine has a protective effect on gentamicin-induced renal failure and it may decrease the tubular reabsorption of another cationic substance, gentamicin due to its cationic structure. The aim of this study is to compare the possible protective effects of L-arginine and its inactive isomer D-arginine on gentamicin-induced nephrotoxicity in rats. Materials and Methods: Wistar albino rats were housed in metabolic cages and assigned to six groups as: control group, gentamicin (100 mg/kg), gentamicin + L-arginine (2 g/l), gentamicin + D-arginine (2 g/l), gentamicin + L-arginine + Nv-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) (100 mg/l) and gentamicin + D-arginine + L-NAME. Gentamicin was administered by subcutaneous injections and the other drugs were added in drinking water for seven consecutive days. The animals were killed by decapitation and intracardiac blood and urine samples were obtained on the seventh day. Blood urea nitrogen, serum creatinine, sodium, potassium, urine gamma glutamyl transferase, creatinine, sodium, potassium and gentamicin levels were measured using High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) technique. Results: Gentamicin treated group had significant increase in blood urea nitrogen, serum creatinine, fractional Na excretion and urine gamma glutamyl transferase levels, and significant decrease in creatinine clearance compared to the control group. L-arginine and D-arginine reversed these findings. L-NAME abolished the nephroprotective effect of L-arginine. The urinary levels of gentamicin were significantly increased in rats treated with L-arginine or D-arginine compared to those treated with gentamicin. L-arginine and D-arginine reversed the advanced degenerative changes due to gentamicin administration in histopathological examination. Conclusion: Our study revealed the protective effect of L-arginine on gentamicin-induced nephrotoxicity, the contribution of the cationic feature of L-arginine, and the major role of NO in this protective effect.
Evaluation of the Greiner Bio-One serum separator BCA Fast Clot tube

Abstract Background: Current commercial tubes have difficulties in producing “true” serum from all blood samples even within the recommended clotting times. Hence, Becton Dickinson (BD) and now Greiner have produced tubes containing thrombin as the procoagulant to reduce the clotting time and increase the possibility of producing serum from anticoagulated blood samples. Methods: The Greiner BCA Fast Clot (GBBCAFC) tube was evaluated in a hospital environment using 40 participants, (30 healthy and 10 undergoing renal dialysis) for 32 analytes against the Greiner lithium heparin tube and the BD Rapid Serum Tubes (BD RST) tube measured on Beckman DxC 800 and DxI 800 analyzers. Clotting strength was also examined using thromboelastography (TEG). Results: The analytes results showed there was a very close agreement between the BD RST tube and GBBCAFC tube in comparison with lithium heparin plasma. The result comparison data showed equivalent performance with lower levels of hemolysis. The prolonged storage study also showed very similar agreement between the BD RST and the GBBCAFC tubes. Likewise, the TEG data showed there was very little difference in clotting ability between the tubes, and neither was capable of producing true serum from blood spiked with 2 U heparin/mL of blood. Conclusions: The study showed the GBBCAFC tube with the combination of the two procoagulants blood clotting activator and thrombin produced comparable performance with the lithium heparin plasma and the BD RST serum samples.
Impact of syllable stress and phonetic context on the distribution of intermittent aphonia

Abstract The occurrence of intermittent aphonia, perceived as sudden interruptions of voicing in connected speech, often reflects high stiffness of the vocal fold mucosa as part of a voice disorder. This retrospective study aimed to investigate the overarching hypothesis that the aphonic instances in voices with intermittent aphonia are not totally randomly appearing, but related to syllable stress and phonetic context. Recordings of 31 dysphonic patients with intermittent aphonia reading a standard text were analyzed perceptually. All vowels of the text were labelled and categorized with regard to syllable stress and character of the phoneme preceding the vowel. The occurrence of aphonic instances within each syllable category was analyzed. Four different hypotheses were formulated and analyzed by the non-parametric Wilcoxon’s signed-ranks test. The results showed a significantly higher occurrence of aphonic instances in unstressed syllables as opposed to stressed, in vowels following an unvoiced phoneme as opposed to a voiced, and in vowels following two or more unvoiced phonemes as opposed to one unvoiced phoneme. No significant difference was found between vowels following aspirated stops [p], [t], [k] as opposed to unaspirated stops [b], [d], [g]. The findings support the theory that both physiological and functional aspects may contribute to the phenomenon of intermittent aphonia.