Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prophylactic ephedrine to prevent postspinal hypotension following spinal anesthesia in elective cesarean section: A prospective cohort study in ethiopia

Introduction: Spinal anesthesia is commonly used for cesarean section (CS); however, hypotension is a common clinical problem after spinal anesthesia. Prophylaxis ephedrine can safely be administered by bolus intravenous (IV) route which is simple and cheap, because of its longer duration of action than other vasopressors. Methods: A sample size of 88 consecutive parturients scheduled for elective CS under spinal anesthesia was recruited for this study. Based on the responsible anesthetist's management plan, prophylactic group (Group 1) received IV prophylaxis ephedrine (10 mg) with fluid co-loading, while the nonprophylactic group (Group 2) received fluid co-loading only. The drug norepinephrine was used intraoperatively for the treatment of hypotension in both groups. The primary outcome was the incidence of hypotension. Secondary outcomes were blood pressure (BP), first hypotension incidence time, vasopressor for hypotension treatment, and pulse rate (PR). Results: Hypotension occurred in 22 [50.0% (95% confidence interval, CI, 35%–65%)] of patients in nonprophylactic group (Group 2) and 10 [22.7% (95% CI, 10%–36%)] of the patients in prophylactic group (Group 1) [X2 (1, N = 88) = 7.07,P= 0.008]. Mean values of systolic and diastolic BP were significantly different between groups from 5th min until the 20th min [P < 0.05]. The first hypotension incidence time was significantly different between groups with log rank test [P = 0.003]. Number of patient that required rescue vasopressor and total dose of rescue vasopressor were significantly different between the groups [19 (43.2%) vs. 6 (13.6%) and 7.5(5) vs. 15(15)], respectively. Differences in heart rate and Apgar score between groups were not statistically different. Conclusion: Prophylaxis IV bolus 10 mg ephedrine reduced the incidence of hypotension and greater arterial pressure stability was achieved following spinal anesthesia in parturient undergoing elective CS.
Comparisons of Resistance Training and “Cardio” Exercise Modalities as Countermeasures to Microgravity-Induced Physical Deconditioning: New Perspectives and Lessons Learned From Terrestrial Studies

Prolonged periods in microgravity (μG) environments result in deconditioning of numerous physiological systems, particularly muscle at molecular, single fiber, and whole muscle levels. This deconditioning leads to loss of strength and cardiorespiratory fitness. Loading muscle produces mechanical tension with resultant mechanotransduction initiating molecular signaling that stimulates adaptations in muscle. Exercise can reverse deconditioning resultant from phases of detraining, de-loading, or immobilization. On Earth, applications of loading using exercise models are common, as well as in μG settings as countermeasures to deconditioning. The primary modalities include, but are not limited to, aerobic training (or “cardio”) and resistance training, and have historically been dichotomized; the former primarily thought to improve cardiorespiratory fitness, and the latter primarily improving strength and muscle size. However, recent work questions this dichotomy, suggesting adaptations to loading through exercise are affected by intensity of effort independent of modality. Furthermore, similar adaptations may occur where sufficient intensity of effort is used. Traditional countermeasures for μG-induced deconditioning have focused upon engineering-based solutions to enable application of traditional models of exercise. Yet, contemporary developments in understanding of the applications, and subsequent adaptations, to exercise induced muscular loading in terrestrial settings have advanced such in recent years that it may be appropriate to revisit the evidence to inform how exercise can used in μG. With the planned decommissioning of the International Space Station as early as 2024 and future goals of manned moon and Mars missions, efficiency of resources must be prioritized. Engineering-based solutions to apply exercise modalities inevitably present issues relating to devices mass, size, energy use, heat production, and ultimately cost. It is necessary to identify exercise countermeasures to combat deconditioning while limiting these issues. As such, this brief narrative review considers recent developments in our understanding of skeletal muscle adaptation to loading through exercise from studies conducted in terrestrial settings, and their applications in μG environments. We consider the role of intensity of effort, comparisons of exercise modalities, the need for concurrent exercise approaches, and other issues often not considered in terrestrial exercise studies but are of concern in μG environments (i.e., O2 consumption, CO2 production, and energy costs of exercise).
Bioprospecting Plant Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria That Mitigate Drought Stress in Grasses

This study reports the application of a novel bioprospecting procedure designed to screen plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) capable of rapidly colonizing the rhizosphere and mitigating drought stress in multiple hosts. Two PGPR strains were isolated by this bioprospecting screening assay and identified as Bacillus sp. (12D6) and Enterobacter sp. (16i). When inoculated into the rhizospheres of wheat (Triticum aestivum) and maize (Zea mays) seedlings, these PGPR resulted in delays in the onset of plant drought symptoms. The plant phenotype responding to drought stress was associated with alterations in root system architecture. In wheat, both PGPR isolates significantly increased root branching, and Bacillus sp. (12D6), in particular, increased root length, when compared to the control. In maize, both PGPR isolates significantly increased root length, root surface area and number of tips when compared to the control. Enterobacter sp. (16i) exhibited greater effects in root length, diameter and branching when compared to Bacillus sp. (12D6) or the control. In vitro phytohormone profiling of PGPR pellets and filtrates using LC/MS demonstrated that both PGPR strains produced and excreted indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and salicylic acid (SA) when compared to other phytohormones. The positive effects of PGPR inoculation occurred concurrently with the onset of water deficit, demonstrating the potential of the PGPR identified from this bioprospecting pipeline for use in crop production systems under drought stress.
Association Between Circulating Lymphocyte Populations and Outcome After Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy in Patients With Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Background and Objective: Radiation-induced lymphopenia has a tangible impact on overall survival (OS) in multiple solid tumors. We investigated the association between circulating lymphocyte populations (CLPs) before and after stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) and OS in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Materials and Methods: Seventy-eight HCC patients treated with SBRT between January 2013 and June 2017 were retrospectively analyzed. Baseline and post-treatment total peripheral lymphocyte counts (TPLCs) and values of different CLPs were obtained and analyzed for clinical outcomes. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were used to explore the independent prognostic factors for patient survival. Results: The one-, two- and three-year OS rates were 94.8, 75.9, and 63.3%, respectively. The mean TPLCs before and 10 days after SBRT were 1.4 × 109/L and 0.7 × 109/L, respectively. The TPLC recovered to its baseline value 1 year after SBRT. Multivariate analysis results revealed that variables, including tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) level <5.5 ng/mL and post-treatment TPLC <0.45 × 109/L were independent factors for inferior OS. Further analysis showed that the values of CLPs, including CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, CD19+, and CD16+56+ cells dropped profoundly 10 days after SBRT, among which CD19+ B cell count was mostly depleted and gradually recovered after 2 months. Univariate analysis showed that both baseline and post-treatment TPLC and CLP (except post-treatment B cell) counts were significantly associated with patient OS (p < 0.05 for each). Further stratified analysis performed according to OS at 2 years demonstrated that the CD16+CD56+ NK cell counts remained significantly elevated in patients with better survival (OS > 2 years) compared to those in short-term survivors at 10 days, 1 month, and 2 months after SBRT (p < 0.05 for each). In addition, there were significant differences in TPLC and CD8+ T cell counts in patients with long-term and short-term OS at 2 months after SBRT (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Peripheral lymphopenia after SBRT might be an independent prognostic factor for poorer outcome in HCC patients. Post-treatment lymphocyte subsets, including CD8+ T cell and NK cell counts were also associated with 2-year OS rates.
Positive Coping and Resilience as Mediators Between Negative Symptoms and Disability Among Patients With Schizophrenia

Objective: This study proposes a schizophrenia disability model to describe the associations between negative symptoms and disability to test the possible mediating roles of positive coping and resilience and to compare the relative weights of the indirect effects of these two mediators in an integrated whole. Methods: A total of 407 hospitalized Han Chinese patients diagnosed with stable schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder were included. Patients were evaluated using the following scales: the Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire (SCQ) for positive coping, the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) for resilience, the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) for negative symptoms, and the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule, Version II (WHO-DAS II) for the severity of disability. The schizophrenia disability distal mediation model was constructed using the structural modeling (SEM) approach. Bootstrapping procedures and the PRODCLIN program were used to examine the mediating roles of positive coping and resilience. Results: The schizophrenia disability model was well-fitted to the observed data. Positive coping and resilience together with negative symptoms explained 66% of the variance in disability. Positive coping and resilience partly mediated the negative symptoms–disability relationship. The bootstrapped unstandardized indirect effect was 0.319, and the direct effect was 0.224. Positive coping also has a significant positive effect on resilience. In addition, the ratio of the specific indirect effect of positive coping to the total indirect effect (48%) is higher than that of resilience (30%). Conclusion: Positive coping and resilience are two key causal mediators of the negative symptoms–disability relationship. Positive coping and resilience are important personal resources for patients with schizophrenia. We found that the indirect effect of positive coping was relatively more important than that of resilience. This result suggests that personalized treatments aimed at resilience and positive coping can effectively buffer the impact of negative symptoms for patients with schizophrenia and promote rehabilitation.
Ear-EEG Forward Models: Improved Head-Models for Ear-EEG

Computational models for mapping electrical sources in the brain to potentials on the scalp have been widely explored. However, current models do not describe the external ear anatomy well, and is therefore not suitable for ear-EEG recordings. Here we present an extension to existing computational models, by incorporating an improved description of the external ear anatomy based on 3D scanned impressions of the ears. The result is a method to compute an ear-EEG forward model, which enables mapping of sources in the brain to potentials in the ear. To validate the method, individualized ear-EEG forward models were computed for four subjects, and ear-EEG and scalp EEG were recorded concurrently from the subjects in a study comprising both auditory and visual stimuli. The EEG recordings were analyzed with independent component analysis (ICA) and using the individualized ear-EEG forward models, single dipole fitting was performed for each independent component (IC). A subset of ICs were selected, based on how well they were modeled by a single dipole in the brain volume. The correlation between the topographic IC map and the topographic map predicted by the forward model, was computed for each IC. Generally, the correlation was high in the ear closest to the dipole location, showing that the ear-EEG forward models provided a good model to predict ear potentials. In addition, we demonstrated that the developed forward models can be used to explore the sensitivity to brain sources for different ear-EEG electrode configurations. We consider the proposed method to be an important step forward in the characterization and utilization of ear-EEG.
No Morphological Markers, No Problem: ERP Study Reveals Semantic Contribution to Distinct Neural Substrates Between Noun and Verb Processing in Online Sentence Comprehension

Neural mechanisms behind noun and verb processing during the course of language comprehension are ubiquitously separate, yet it remains highly controversial as to which factor, syntax or semantics, should be responsible for this separation. This paper conducted an event-related potential (ERP), sentence comprehension experiment as an attempt to resolve this issue. The experiment used Chinese sentences in the configuration of noun phrase + (“not/no”) + noun/verb/noun-verb-ambiguous-word, which excluded grammatical or syntactic factors that could hint at the lexical categories of sentence-final target words. Results showed significantly distinct ERP components of P200, N400, and P600 between noun and verb processing in native speakers, indicating that semantic factors are essential for the differentiated neural mechanisms behind noun and verb processing. Distinct P200, N400, and P600 also manifested between noun and noun-verb-ambiguous-word processing, but not between verb and noun-verb-ambiguous-word processing. This suggests that lacking clues on lexical category renders the dynamic properties of the ambiguous words more salient than the static properties, thus causing interpretation of such words more likely as verbs. This further elaborates the crucial role of semantic factors in noun and verb processing.
MC4R Is Involved in Neuropathic Pain by Regulating JNK Signaling Pathway After Chronic Constriction Injury

Background Neuropathic pain can develop after nerve injury, when deleterious changes occur in injured neurons and glia cells. Melanocortin 4 receptor (MC4R) is involved in the regulation of pain due to its high expressions in brain. Moreover, MC4R could mediate the c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) signaling pathway, but whether the MC4R-regulated JNK signaling pathway participated in neuropathic pain after chronic constriction injury (CCI) is still unclear. Methods A total of 128 Sprague-Dawley rats were allocated into four experiment groups: the SHAM group, CCI + NaCl group, CCI + HS group, and CCI + SP + HS group. For the CCI + NaCl group, the sciatic nerves were ligated. For the SHAM group, an identical manner to the CCI without ligation was performed. For CCI + HS and CCI + SP + HS groups, rats were injected with MC4R inhibitor (HS014) and HS014 plus JNK inhibitor (SP600125), respectively, from days 3 to 14 after CCI. Paw withdrawal latency (PWL) and paw withdrawal threshold (PWT) were used to assess the nociceptive behavior. ELISA was used to detect the levels of inflammatory cytokines. qRT-PCR and Western blots (WB) were utilized to examine the mRNA and protein expressions of JNK signaling pathway-related genes. Meanwhile, the expression levels of MC4R and p-JNK were further evaluated by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and immunofluorescence (IF) experiments. Finally, in order to confirm the in vivo results, astrocytes were isolated and transfected with MC4R-overexpression plasmid. Furthermore, the protein expressions of JNK signaling pathway-related genes were tested by WB. Results It was showed that the values of PWL and PWT were significantly increased in CCI + HS group and CCI + SP + HS group compared with CCI + NaCl group. The increased interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-1β, and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) secretion in CCI + NaCl group was lowered by HS and SP + HS. MC4R, p-JNK, ATF3, and c-Jun levels were up-regulated with CCI surgery, but down-regulated with HS and SP + HS treatments. Moreover, the IHC and IF results further revealed that MC4R and p-JNK expressions in CCI + NaCl group were remarkably higher than those in HS group and HS + SP group. In vitro data also indicated that HS, SP, and SP + HS could down-regulate the expressions of MC4R, p-JNK, ATF3, and c-Jun in M1830 astrocytes. Conclusion Our findings indicated that MC4R is involved in neuropathic pain by regulating JNK signaling pathway after CCI.
EFFECT OF VITAMIN C ON MALONDIALDEHYDE (MDA) IN PREGNANT NIGERIAN WOMEN

The experiment was carried out to evaluate the effects of vitamin C on lipid peroxidation and non-enzymatic antioxidant status during second trimester in normal pregnancy in Nigerians. The study comprised 60 age-matched subjects divided into 3 groups of a) 20 healthy non-pregnant women, b) 20 pregnant women and c) 20 pregnant women with vitamin C treatment. Estimation of lipid peroxidation was done by thiobarbituric reactive substance (TBARS) by standard method. Data analysis was by repeated-measures analysis of variance, using SPSS software (version 11.0; SPSS Inc, Chicago IL). Statistically significant increase in levels of lipid peroxidation antioxidants were observed in pregnant women as compared to levels in non-pregnant women and vitamin C treatment significantly reduced lipid peroxidation during pregnancy. Normal pregnancy is associated with increased malondialdehyde production, and ingestion of vitamin C reduced its production.
Prevalence of smoking among dentists in Catalonia--Spain (2006) . Literature review of smoking cessation practices in the dental office.

Objective: The objective of this study was to collect data on the prevalence of smokers among Catalonian dentists (by age and sex) and compare them with existing data on the general population, doctors, registered nurses and pharmacists. The overall prevalence of smokers in Catalonia (2006) was 34.5% of men and 24.3% of women. Data available on the prevalence of smoking among doctors (26.3% men and 22.1% women), pharmacists (19.8% men and 20.6% women) and registered nurses (34.1% men and 35.3% women) relates to the year 2002. Study design: In September 2006, Catalonian dentists (n=3,799) were asked about their habits in relation to tobacco in a self-administered questionnaire, on use and opinions with respect to dental amalgam. Five hundred and seventynine questionnaires were received, of which 538 answered the question on smoking (14.2% of the sample universe). Results: The prevalence of smokers among dentists is lower (24.9% of men and 18.4% of women) than in the general population and other healthcare professionals. In dentists in the age group between 25 and 34 years, the prevalence was 26.1% in men and 14.9% in women, while the prevalence in this age group in the general population was 43.6% and 37.1%, respectively. Conclusion: Catalonian dentists have a much lower prevalence of tobacco use than the general population and lower even than other healthcare professionals. Given that non-smoking healthcare professionals have better awareness for providing recommendations for smoking prevention and cessation, Catalonian dentists may be a valid group for performing this task for which there is scientific evidence.
Elective nodal irradiation after total laryngectomy in T3N0 supraglottic squamous cell carcinoma

ABSTRACT Objective To evaluate patients who received bilateral elective nodal irradiation (ENl) alone as a sole treatment to clinically negative neck. Methods We retrospectively reviewed clinical records of 55 T3N0 supraglottic squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) patients with cord fixation treated in Imam Hospital, Tabriz from January 2001 to January 2007. The primary site was treated with laryngectomy and radiotherapy (RT), and their NO necks were treated with RT alone. RT was delivered in standard fractionation and field arrangement with median dose of 5000 cGy. Results Out of fifty five patients, six were excluded because of the preoperative treatment with chemotherapy and/or radiation, or positive margins. Four had insufficient follow up, leaving 45 patients with N0 necks who completed radiation in both side. On median follow up of 24 months, the clinically negative neck was the first site of failure in 4.4% of patients (2/45). Median time to recurrence was 11 months. Conclusion Our data support the use of ENI as a prophylactic treatment for clinically negative neck in T3 supraglottic SCC. We suggest that routine neck dissection may not be necessary, and ENI may be a safer modality is an oncologically acceptable alternative in T3N0 supraglottie SCC patients. Prospective trials are necessary to further define role of RT in this patient population. (Rawal Med J 2010;35: ). Keywords Squamous cell carcinoma, radiotherapy, supraglottis. INTRODUCTION Management of the N0 neck in supraglottic laryngeal carcinoma (SGLC) remains controversial. There is a strong debate on when and how to treat the neck in patients with SGLC and N0 neck. Embryologic and clinical studies in the past have shown that the cancer of supraglottic larynx has a tendency to spread bilaterally to the cervical lymphatic.1 Cervical lymph node metastases represent the single most important prognostic factor influencing the outcome in patients with SCC of the head and neck.2 For SGLC, the incidence of occult metastases has been reported to vary from 21-41%, compared to the glottis.3 Modern imaging techniques such as ultrasonography, CT, MRI and PET, probably may never detect microscopic disease in neck nodes.4 Three treatment options are available for management of the clinically negative neck (cN0): elective neck dissection, elective neck irradiation or observation with therapeutic neck dissection performed if regional metastases become clinically apparent.4,5 Most of the current literature favors elective treatment for T3No neck in supraglotic carcinoma, because of improved survival6 and significantly decreased cervical recurrence.7 Albert et al suggested use of RT as a prophylactic treatment for the clinically negative neck.8 The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of elective nodal irradiation for patients with T3N0 SG
A Secure Receive Spatial Modulation Scheme Based on Random Precoding

With the rapid growing demand for transmission rate, transmission security is becoming increasingly important. This paper proposes a novel scheme aiming at transmission security enhancement on the basis of the spatial modulation technology. In the proposed scheme, the transmitter maps the information bits to the index of a receive antenna, then a precoding vector is randomly selected in the null space of the targeted antenna. Due to the randomness of the precoding vector, it’s difficult for the eavesdropper in unknown locations to detect the index of the targeted antenna using maximum-likelihood detection, hence its receiving performance can be greatly degraded compared with the legitimate receiver. Both theoretical analysis and simulation results verified the secure enhancement performance of the proposed scheme. Moreover, unlike most of the existing schemes which require that the transmitter should equip more antenna than the receiver, our scheme works well even if the transmitter has less antennas than the receiver.