Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Perimenopausal risk factors and future health.

BACKGROUND Lifestyle changes around the time of menopause have the potential to impact on morbidity and eventual mortality. Here we review this topic to identify how such changes may improve health at perimenopause and beyond. METHODS Searches were performed in Medline and other databases. Each subject summary was presented to the ESHRE Workshop Group, where omissions or disagreements were resolved by discussion. RESULTS Body weight increases because the decline in physical activity during the perimenopause is greater than the concomitant decline in energy intake. It is imperative to stop smoking before menopause because the risk of acute myocardial infarction rises sharply thereafter. Cardiovascular events can be reduced by managing risk factors, such as hypertension and increased lipids and body weight. Breast cancer risk is increased to a similar extent by hormone use, decreased physical activity, increased calorie intake and alcohol use, all reflecting lifestyle decisions. Smoking, alcohol and exercise may increase or decrease risk of aging brain disorders, especially dementia and Parkinson's disease, while stress is consistently associated with increased risk and a prudent diet is consistently associated with reduced risk. Osteoarthritis frequency increases after 50 years of age and risk is elevated 3-fold by obesity, while risk of osteoporosis can be minimized by smoking cessation, adequate vitamin D intake and regular weight-bearing exercise. CONCLUSIONS Lifestyle changes around the time of the perimenopause can reduce the likelihood and severity of heart disease and chronic illness in later years and the cost of care of elderly women.
Phase II trial of radiosurgery for one to three newly diagnosed brain metastases from renal cell carcinoma, melanoma, and sarcoma: an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group study (E 6397).

PURPOSE Long-term brain metastases survivors are at risk for neurologic morbidity after whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT). Retrospective radiosurgery (RS) reports found no survival difference when compared with WBRT. Before RS alone was evaluated with delayed WBRT in a phase III trial, the feasibility of RS alone was tested prospectively. PATIENTS AND METHODS Patients with renal cell carcinoma, melanoma, or sarcoma; one to three brain metastases; and performance status of 0 to 2 were enrolled. Exclusion criteria were leptomeningeal disease; metastases in medulla, pons, or midbrain; or liver metastases. On the basis of tumor size, patients received 24, 18, or 15 Gy RS. At recurrence, management was discretionary. The primary end point was 3- and 6-month intracranial progression. RESULTS Between July 1998 and August 2003, 36 patients were accrued; 31 were eligible. Median follow-up was 32.7 months and the median survival was 8.3 months (95% CI, 7.4 to 12.2). Three- and 6-month intracranial failure with RS alone was 25.8% and 48.3%. Failure within and outside the RS volume, when in-field and distant intracranial failures were scored independently, was 19.3% and 16.2% (3 months) and 32.2% and 32.2% (6 months), respectively. Approximately 38% of patients experienced death attributable to neurologic cause. There were three grade 3 toxicities related to RS. CONCLUSION Intracranial failure rates without WBRT were 25.8% and 48.3% at 3 and 6 months, respectively. Delaying WBRT may be appropriate for some subgroups of patients with radioresistant tumors, but routine avoidance of WBRT should be approached judiciously.
An Evaluation of the Abbott TDX Serum Cortisol Assay

The Abbot TDx system! is widely used for the measurement of therapeutic drugs in serum using fluorescence polarisation immunoassay. The stability of the reagents, which are supplied in readyto-use packs, and the infrequent need for calibration? suggest that the method may be useful for providing a reliable and cost-effective service for small workload tests such as cortisol. In this report we present data which supports this suggestion. The Abbott TDx analyser (Abbot Diagnostics, Maidenhead, Berks, UK) was calibrated with material supplied by Abbott and used according to the manufacturer's instructions without further calibration throughout the 4-month period of the study. All tests were analysed singly. The calibrator values used were 20% lower than stated on the pack, a change advised by Abbott following discussions with UKEQAS and detailed investigations by a number oflaboratories. Abbott have since produced new calibrators incorporating this change which should produce cortisol values comparable to those found by GCMS reference methods. The yB coated tube radioimmunoassay (RIA) kit (Immunodiagnostic Systems, Washington, Tyne and Wear, UK) was used as a comparative method. Samples were analysed in duplicate as recommended and the mean of duplicates was used for statistical analyses. Lyphochek Immunoassay controls (Biorad, Watford, Herts, UK) levels I, 2 and 3, were used for imprecision studies. Bias was assessed by analysing samples supplied by the UKEQAS for steroid hormones (Cardiff) and patient samples by both methods. The recovery of cortisol (Sigma Chemical Co, Poole, Dorset, UK) was studied by analysing serum from a dexamethasone suppressed volunteer to which cortisol had been added to give concentrations of approximately 100, 200, 400, 800, 1000 or 1600 nmol/L, The within-run coefficients of variation (CVs) for the TDx on 10 consecutive replicates were < 5% for all three controls. Findings were similar for the RIA method except for a CV of 11·5% for
Language of interview, self-rated health, and the other Latino health puzzle.

OBJECTIVES We investigated whether the conventional Spanish translation of the self-rated health survey question helps explain why Latinos' self-rated health is worse than Whites' despite more objective health measures showing them to be as healthy as or healthier than are Whites. METHODS We analyzed the relationship between language of interview and self-rated health in the Chicago Community Adult Health Study (2001-2003) and the 2003 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. RESULTS Being interviewed in Spanish was associated with significantly higher odds of rating health as fair or poor in both data sets. Moreover, adjusting for language of interview substantially reduced the gap between Whites and Latinos. Spanish-language interviewees were more likely to rate their health as fair (regular in Spanish) than as any other choice, and this preference was strongest when compared with categories representing better health (good, very good, and excellent). CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that translation of the English word "fair" to regular induces Spanish-language respondents to report poorer health than they would in English. Self-rated health should be interpreted with caution, especially in racial/ethnic comparisons, and research should explore alternative translations.
Report on Finds from the Saint‐Quay‐Portrieux Wreck, France

In 1987, some divers discovered the cargo of a merchant ship which was wrecked off the rocks of the Saint‐Quay Islands in Brittany. Several expeditions were conducted by the discoverer, DRASSM and the Art and History Museum of Saint‐Brieuc on the site between 1987 and 2003 but the wreck remains unidentified. The ship is believed to have traded with Africa in the first part of the 18th century. Though no remains of the ship's structure were found, the artefacts recovered, including trading goods, ship's equipment, and domestic utensils, allow comparisons to be made with other contemporary materials. © 2004 The Nautical Archaeology Society
Mice with an anterior cleft of the palate survive neonatal lethality

Many genes are known to function in a region‐specific manner in the developing secondary palate. We have previously shown that Shox2‐deficient embryos die at mid‐gestation stage and develop an anterior clefting phenotype. Here, we show that mice carrying a conditional inactivation of Shox2 in the palatal mesenchyme survive the embryonic and neonatal lethality, but develop a wasting syndrome. Phenotypic analyses indicate a delayed closure of the secondary palate at the anterior end, leading to a failed fusion of the primary and secondary palates. Consistent with a role proposed for Shox2 in skeletogenesis, Shox2 inactivation causes a significantly reduced bone formation in the hard palate, probably due to a down‐regulation of Runx2 and Osterix. We conclude that the secondary palatal shelves are capable of fusion with each other, but fail to fuse with the primary palate in a developmentally delayed manner. Mice carrying an anterior cleft can survive neonatal lethality. Developmental Dynamics 237:1509‐1516, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Atopy and serum eosinophil cationic protein in 110 white children with vernal keratoconjunctivitis: differences between tarsal and limbal forms

Background A predominance of Th2 response has been suggested in vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VKC), and a high prevalence of IgE‐sensitized (IgE‐S) patients has been reported (positive skin prick test or serum‐specific‐IgE). Palpebral and bulbar VKC are considered to be expressions of the same disease and only occasional racial and histopathological differences are described between the two forms. Tear levels of eosinophil cationic proteins have been correlated with the severity of ocular symptoms; however, there is no published study that demonstrates the presence of serum markers of disease activity.
Fish nodavirus lytic cycle and semipermissive expression in mammalian and fish cell cultures

In this study, Dicentrarchus labrax encephalitis virus (DlEV), which causes sea bass encephalitis, was propagated in cell culture, thus allowing study of its lytic cycle. DlEV infection of mammalian and fish cells induced different patterns of expression of capsid proteins, which were assembled as virus-like particles, accumulating in the cytoplasm either as diffuse masses or in vesicles, as shown by electron microscopy. These particles correspond to virions, as shown by their ability to induce secondary infection. Fish cells proved to be more permissive for DlEV than mammalian cells, although virus yield remained low. RNA analysis of infected sea bass cells revealed DlEV RNA3, in addition to genomic RNA1 and RNA2, and the presence of the RNA2 minus strand, thus demonstrating the replication of the DlEV genome. In addition, DlEV RNA-dependent RNA polymerase was associated with mature virions even after purification by a CsCl gradient, but it was dissociated when capsids were destabilized. In addition to providing more information about the relatedness of DlEV to the members of the family Nodaviridae, this study shows that fish nodaviruses may not be able to infect as wide a variety of cells as insect nodaviruses can.
Influence of the Fiber Origin on its Structure and Geometrical Indices

ABSTRACT It is known that surface characteristics of protein fiber are important in the functional properties of wool fabrics. Fiber diameter and length determine processing performance and end use of wool. This paper studied the structure and geometrical indices (diameter, length, and linear density) of German blackface sheep and different breeds of dog’s (Bobteil, Flemish Bubje, and Shih-Tzu) hair fiber. This study was aimed to analyze results of protein fiber structure and geometrical indices, obtained by different methods and to investigate the relationship between the kind of protein fiber and the structure of them. Three methods for measuring mean fiber diameter (MFD) were compared: optical microscope “Ascania,” Sirolan Laserscan equipment and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Results of structure, mentioned by “Diapan” microscope and SEM showed that sheep’s wool and dog’s hair fibers have different types of scale shape, cross-section, even some of them have medulla inside hair. It was found that MFD, mentioned in three different methods, was varied in small interval. So, each of investigated methods can be used for determining diameter of these protein fiber. Differences between the scale shapes, scale frequency, and scale edge size of sheep’s wool and dog’s hair fibers were explained in details. There were discrepancies between results of theoretical and experimental linear density of all mentioned fibers in this research. These discrepancies not exceed 15%. Results of this study show that there are the substantial differences between surface and cross-section of sheep’s wool and dog’s hair fiber. Moreover, it was observed that quality of measured fibers can also be optimized to produce blends, which could be used for woolen yarns.
Effects of a Disrupted Blood-Brain Barrier on Cholesterol Homeostasis in the Brain*

Background: The role of the blood-brain barrier for cholesterol homeostasis in the brain is not known. Results: Significant influx of cholesterol into the brain and increased efflux of 24(S)-hydroxycholesterol were observed in mice with a defect blood-brain barrier. Conclusion: A defect blood-brain barrier increases permeability for steroid flux in both directions. Significance: Elucidation of the role of the blood-brain barrier for brain cholesterol turnover. The presence of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) is critical for cholesterol metabolism in the brain, preventing uptake of lipoprotein-bound cholesterol from the circulation. The metabolic consequences of a leaking BBB for cholesterol metabolism have not been studied previously. Here we used a pericyte-deficient mouse model, Pdgfbret/ret, shown to have increased permeability of the BBB to a range of low-molecular mass and high-molecular mass tracers. There was a significant accumulation of plant sterols in the brains of the Pdgfbret/ret mice. By dietary treatment with 0.3% deuterium-labeled cholesterol, we could demonstrate a significant flux of cholesterol from the circulation into the brains of the mutant mice roughly corresponding to about half of the measured turnover of cholesterol in the brain. We expected the cholesterol flux into the brain to cause a down-regulation of cholesterol synthesis. Instead, cholesterol synthesis was increased by about 60%. The levels of 24(S)-hydroxycholesterol (24S-OHC) were significantly reduced in the brains of the pericyte-deficient mice but increased in the circulation. After treatment with 1% cholesterol in diet, the difference in cholesterol synthesis between mutants and controls disappeared. The findings are consistent with increased leakage of 24S-OHC from the brain into the circulation in the pericyte-deficient mice. This oxysterol is an efficient suppressor of cholesterol synthesis, and the results are consistent with a regulatory role of 24S-OHC in the brain. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration that a defective BBB may lead to increased flux of a lipophilic compound out from the brain. The relevance of the findings for the human situation is discussed.
Open Boundary Eddy-current Problems Using Edge Elements

The impedance-type boundary condition based on the Biot-Savart law is used in the tangential vector element formulation, and the results are presented. The advantage of the impedance-type boundary condition over the Dirichlet type is the assurance of the continuity of the fields. Even though the zeroth-order elements are easy to apply, there are some difficulties in implementing the interface condition for the normal component and the impedance-type boundary conditions. First-order elements partly overcome the problem. Still, the normal vector element formulation must be used to solve for B, since the solution obtained by using B= mu H may not satisfy the divergence equation. >
Toward a framework for conceptual and formal outlines of programs

The author proposes the re-documentation of programs with outlines. The interesting feature of outlines is that they allow one to contract, as in a zoom, the amount of information necessary to understand programs, easing the localization of given computations or identification of the role of a piece of code. As a first stage toward a framework of program outlines, she has defined a model suited to the representation of computations performed within loops. The main feature of the outlines is that they are both formal and conceptual: they are represented within frames which are semantically equivalent to the outlined loop and help understanding what is computed by revealing how this is computed. In order to re-document loops, she implemented a system, PRISME, able to automatically construct outlines of a subset of Lisp looping functions. PRISME allowed one to validate the implementation of the model. Currently, she uses it intensively to experiment the role of outlines for debugging and reverse specification of programs.
A clinical and radiographic 13-year follow-up study of 138 Charnley hip arthroplasties in patients 50–70 years old: Comparison of university hospital data and registry data

Background and purpose Arthroplasty registers provide rates of implant survival in large populations based on implant revision. In an unrevised prosthesis population, some patients may have implants with clinically poor outcome or radiographic failure. We therefore evaluated medium-term clinical and radiographic results in patients with Charnley hip arthroplasties and compared our results with data from the Norwegian Arthroplasty Register (NAR). Patients and methods From 1989 through 1991, 138 Charnley arthroplasties with plain Palacos cement were performed in 123 patients who were 50–70 years old. At follow-up after 13 (12–15) years, 26 patients had died (28 hips). The 84 unrevised patients (93 hips) were interviewed and underwent clinical and radiographic assessment. Prosthesis survival was estimated by the Kaplan- Meier method. Results At follow-up, 83% of the patients were completely satisfied with their hip replacement. Mean Harris hip score (HHS) was 83 (SD 15), mean EQ-5D index was 0.75 (SD 0.24) and mean EQ-VAS score was 69 (SD 21). Most clinical assessments had poorer scores for Charnley category C (n = 47) than for Charnley category A + B (n = 46). Function, according to Charnley's modified Merle d'Aubigné and Postel scoring system, was improved compared to preoperative values. The survival at 10 years was 89% (95% CI: 84–95) and at 13 years it was 85% (95% CI: 79–92) with revision for any reason as endpoint. In addition to 20 revised hips, 8 implants were radiographically loose and 13 hips had HHS < 70, giving a clinical success rate of 76%. Only 4 primary operations (0.8%) had not been reported to the NAR, but all revisions had been reported. Interpretation Clinical follow-up studies give essential information that is additional to that gained from revision-based outcome studies. To fully appreciate the clinical effectiveness of an implant, specific hip function, patient satisfaction, quality of life, and radiographic analysis must also be considered. The functional status of the patient has an important influence on the clinical outcome after hip replacement.
Lactogenic Hormone Requirement for Pseudopregnancy in Normal and Hysterectomized Rats∗

Summary Female albino rats were injected subcutaneously with 17 IU of ovine lactogenic hormone/day continuously. While normal rats had 2 consecutive pseudopregnancies of 14 and 12 days, respectively, hysterectomized rats had only one of 21 days after which normal estrous cycling occurred in spite of the continued lactogen. Injection of lactogenic hormone for 5-7 days from the day of estrous was required to induce pseudopregnancies in normal or hysterectomized rats, the latter always having diestrous periods of about 7 days longer than normal rats. When lactogenic hormone was discontinued for 3 estrous cycles and reestablished, pseudopregnancies again resulted in both normal and hysterectomized rats.
German S2k guidelines for the therapy of pathological scars (hypertrophic scars and keloids)

© Deutsche Dermatologische Gesellschaft • Journal compilation © Blackwell Verlag GmbH, Berlin • JDDG • 1610-0379/2012/1010 JDDG | 10 ̇2012 (Band 10) Preamble The present guideline was primarily prepared by representatives of the field dermatology and dermatosurgery and is based on the S1 guideline of the German Society of Dermatology from 2004 [1]. Besides the dermatologists many other disciplines are involved in the treatment of keloids. The German Society of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons participated in the review process of this guideline and fundamentally agrees with the content. For further update inclusion of all relevant medical societies already in the initial stage as well as an even more detailed depiction of surgical therapy options are planned.
DNA extraction from archival Giemsa‐stained bone‐marrow slides: comparison of six rapid methods

The ability of six rapid DNA extraction procedures to provide DNA for the polymerase chain reaction from archival Giemsa‐stained bone marrow slides was tested on 120 samples. Boiling in distilled water, freeze–thaw method, boiling in 10% Chelex‐100 resin solution, proteinase K/Tween 20/NP‐40 method coupled with simplified phenol/chloroform/isoamyl alcohol protocol or salting‐out procedure using saturated NaCl and modification of commercial QIAamp procedure (Qiagen, Chatsworth, Calif.) gave DNA extraction efficiencies of 50%, 70%, 85%, 95%, 100% and 100%, respectively. Our results demonstrate that rough DNA extraction methods have decreased efficiencies compared to complete DNA extraction protocols and that the latter are required to ensure highly reproducible results from archival Giemsa‐stained bone marrow slides.
Local pulse pressure and regression of arterial wall hypertrophy during long-term antihypertensive treatment.

BACKGROUND Local pulse pressure (PP) is an independent determinant of carotid artery wall thickness, stronger than mean blood pressure (BP). The present study was designed to assess whether a beta-adrenoceptor antagonist-based or an ACE inhibitor-based treatment was able to reduce carotid artery wall hypertrophy through a reduction in carotid PP rather than by lowering mean BP and whether the influence of local PP reduction could also be detected at the site of a muscular artery, the radial artery. METHODS AND RESULTS Ninety-eight essential hypertensive patients were randomized to 9 months of double-blind treatment with either celiprolol or enalapril. Arterial parameters were determined with high-resolution echo-tracking systems. PP was measured locally with applanation tonometry and independently of mean BP. After 9 months of treatment, mean BP, carotid PP, and intimal-medial thickness (IMT) decreased significantly, with no difference between the 2 groups. The reduction in carotid PP but not in mean BP was a major independent determinant of the reduction in carotid IMT. Radial artery IMT and PP decreased significantly with both treatments. However, the reduction in radial artery IMT was not related to the changes in radial artery PP. CONCLUSIONS The regression of carotid artery wall hypertrophy during long-term antihypertensive treatment was dependent on the reduction in local PP rather than on the lowering of mean BP. The effect of PP lowering on IMT reduction was observed at the site of an elastic artery but not at the site of a muscular artery.