Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Malnutrition in children with food allergies in the UK.

BACKGROUND The mainstay of dietary management of food allergies remains the elimination diet. However, the removal of major food groups may predispose children to an inadequate nutrient intake. We therefore set out to establish growth status in food allergic children receiving dietetic input in the UK. METHODS Dietitians were approached via the Food Allergy and Intolerance Specialist Group from the British Dietetic Association and asked to submit anthropometrical data for children with food allergies. Data collected related to the systems involved and number of foods excluded. Malnutrition was defined according to World Health Organization standards. RESULTS Data from 13 different centres yielded 97 patients (51 male and 46 female) of which 66 excluded ≤2 foods and 31 excluded ≥3 foods. Data indicated that 8.5% had a weight for age ≤ -2 Z-score and, conversely, 8.5% were ≥2 Z-score. For height for age, 11.1% were ≤ -2 Z-score and, for weight for height, 3.7% were ≤ -2 Z-score and 7.5% ≥2 Z-score. Type of allergy, system involved and specific food elimination did not impact on the level of malnutrition. However, the elimination of ≥3 foods significantly impacted on weight for age (P = 0.044). CONCLUSIONS The present study demonstrates that children with food allergies are more underweight than the general UK population, which appears to be linked to the number of foods excluded. However, the impact of the disease process itself should not be disregarded. Additionally, obesity can also occur in this population despite dietary elimination.
PHOTODEGRADATION OF DOXORUBICIN, DAUNORUBICIN and EPIRUBICIN MEASURED BY HIGH‐PERFORMANCE LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY

The degradation kinetics of doxorubicin, daunorubicin and epirubicin in aqueous solution under fluorescent light and sunlight were studied using high‐performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) methods. The rates of photodegradation of all three drugs were similar, they were inversely proportional to the drug concentration and were accelerated by an increase in the pH of the vehicle. Photodegradation followed first‐order kinetics. At concentrations greater than or equal to 500 ug/ml no special precautions appeared to be necessary to protect freshly prepared solutions of these agents from light. Photolysis was very rapid, however, at concentrations in the low microgram range therefore, when these solutions are used for in‐vitro work or stability studies, they should be protected from light at all times. In addition, adsorptive losses, which may also be pronounced in low concentration solutions, should be prevented by storage in polypropylene containers.
FBG-based bidirectional optical cross connects for bidirectional WDM ring networks

This paper proposes a new bidirectional optical cross connect (BOXC) using fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) and optical circulators for bidirectional wavelength-division-multiplexing ring networks. Dynamic and independent wavelength routing is achieved by employing cascaded tunable FBGs. The proposed BOXC requires a small tuning range equal to wavelength channel spacing for tunable FBGs. Therefore, the wavelength count of the proposed BOXC could be increased easily without imposing constraint on the tuning range of FBGs. Coherent and incoherent crosstalk arising in the proposed BOXC and their impact on the power penalty are studied in detail. The Monte Carlo simulation is used to characterize the probability distribution of the power penalty due to both coherent and incoherent crosstalk under various conditions. The specification requirements are then obtained for the FBGs used in BOXC nodes with a different number of wavelengths. The study in this paper reveals that the requirement for the isolation of FBGs is more stringent than that for the reflectivity of FBGs at the Bragg wavelength. It is also shown that a large BOXC can be built based on the Benes network structure, and a method to reduce the complexity is also presented.
The total infrared luminosity may significantly overestimate the star formation rate of quenching and recently quenched galaxies

The total infrared (IR) luminosity is very useful for estimating the star formation rate (SFR) of galaxies, but converting the IR luminosity into an SFR relies on assumptions that do not hold for all galaxies. We test the effectiveness of the IR luminosity as an SFR indicator by applying it to synthetic spectral energy distributions generated from three-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations of isolated disc galaxies and galaxy mergers. In general, the SFR inferred from the IR luminosity agrees well with the true instantaneous SFR of the simulated galaxies. However, for the major mergers in which a strong starburst is induced, the SFR inferred from the IR luminosity can overestimate the instantaneous SFR during the post-starburst phase by greater than two orders of magnitude. Even though the instantaneous SFR decreases rapidly after the starburst, the stars that were formed in the starburst can remain dust-obscured and thus produce significant IR luminosity. Consequently, use of the IR luminosity as an SFR indicator may cause one to conclude that post-starburst galaxies are still star forming, whereas in reality, star formation was recently quenched.
Osmotic and ionic regulation.

It is ten years since the last review on Osmotic and Ionic Regulation in Animals appeared in the Annual Review of Physiology (1). Since that time the field has been reviewed by Shaw (2), by Potts & Parry (3), and by Prosser & Brown (4 ) . In addition a number of the more important groups of animals have been reviewed in the Academic Press series of books on the physiology of selected groups. In the light of these later works this review will be confined largely to the more recent papers on the subject. It is difficult to define exactly the scope of this subject as it overlaps with the field of renal physiology, which is reviewed almost annually in this periodical, and also with transport through biological membranes re­ viewed by Rothstein ( 5) in the present volume. The limits covered in this review are defined in the last resort by the personal prejudices of the writ­ er, but the main emphasis will be placed on the regulation of the salt and water balance of the whole animal. Active transport and excretory systems will be discussed from this point of view. The material for this review has been arranged largely in a systematic fashion for the convenience of readers interested in particular groups. An exception has been made in the discussion of the fine structure of salt­ transporting tissues where the number of papers is limited and interphylet­ ic comparisons are more profitable.
Polymorphisms of the cholesterol 24-hydroxylase (CYP46A1) gene and the risk of Alzheimer's disease in a Chinese population

Background: An increasing number of studies have suggested a link between cholesterol metabolism and Alzheimer's disease (AD), which may be mediated by its effect on amyloid processing. Intracranial cholesterol is primarily eliminated into the bloodstream through conversion into 24-hydroxycholesterol by the enzyme cholesterol 24-hydroxylase (encoded by the CYP46A1 gene). CYP46A1 is an essential gene modulating cholesterol metabolism in the brain. Method: To investigate whether polymorphisms in the CYP46A1 gene modulate the risk of AD, we studied four common polymorphisms (IVS1-192, IVS2-150, IVS3-128 and IVS4-122) in 182 Chinese AD patients and 179 age-matched healthy Chinese subjects. Results and conclusion: We found that the IVS3-128 polymorphism was associated with the risk of AD (p < 0.05). Subjects homozygous for the C alleles were protected from AD with an adjusted odds ratio (OR) of 1.53 [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.98–2.37, p = 0.047]. However, another minor allele, IVS1-192 C, was more prevalent in the AD group and was associated with an increased risk. Haplotype analysis revealed that two of the eight common haplotypes formed by the four polymorphisms were rarely found in the AD group, suggesting a protective effect of these two haplotypes (GTCA and CCTA). The results supported the involvement of the CYP46A1 gene and cholesterol metabolism in the pathogenesis of AD.
Developmental pharmacology across species: promise and problems.

I nfants and children have been described as “therapeutic orphans” (1) because, historically, they have had limited support for inclusion in clinical trials of drug therapies, leading to a limited body of information regarding safe and effective prescribing practices. The vast majority of medications used for children do not have pediatric labeling, and in most cases, the package inserts or listings in the Physicians’ Desk Reference include phrases to the effect that “safety and effectiveness are not established for children ages 12 and under. ” The history of pediatric and perinatal therapeutics is replete with examples of drugs whose toxicities for infants and children were not anticipated by adult studies: congenital limb malformations caused by thalidomide, bilirubin encephalopathy caused by sulfonamides in neonates, “gray baby syndrome” from chloramphenicol, and bone and tooth deformities from tetracycline. The process of introducing new drugs for human use begins with Phase 1 studies. These typically involve drug administration to consenting adults, either as healthy volunteers or as patients. In the case of healthy volunteers, there is little or no expectation of a specific therapeutic benefit for the participant, but there is the potential for adverse effects. As a dramatic example, consider the studies by Scott (2) and Scott et al. (3) conducted to determine surrogate measures of cardiac and central nervous system risks of bupivacaine and ropivacaine. The investigators administered incremental doses of these local anesthetics IV to adult volunteers until they observed initial signs of systemic toxicity, including symptoms of central nervous system depression and electrocardiographic changes. This study confirmed observations in animal models, indicating that ropivacaine may have comparatively less cardiotoxicity than bupivacaine. However, it would be practically and ethically impossible to perform this sort of study in infants and children. Instead, pediatric clinical trials generally involve the administration of drugs to patient populations for whom the drug has potential benefit for the participants. Initial dosing is often extrapolated from adult studies using formulas based on body weight or surface area. Ethical, financial, and logistical considerations often restrict the sample size of many pediatric studies. Thus, numerical estimates of the risk of adverse reactions in children may be very imprecise. For these reasons, it is attractive to pursue studies of drug safety and efficacy in developing animals. Infant animal studies have several theoretical advantages:
Determination of Reduced Glutathione and Glutathione S-transferase of Poultry Birds Exposed to Permethrin Insecticide

The experiment was carried out to determine the effect of a permethrin insecticide on reduced Glutathione (GSH) and Glutathione S-transferase (GST) activity in the liver and serum of poultry birds. Six weeks old poultry birds (broilers) weighing between 400-600 g, divided into four groups of five birds each. The poultry birds were exposed for 30 days to different concentrations (1, 5 and 10%) of a locally manufactured insect powder called 'Rambo' which contains 0.6% permethrin. The control group had no insecticide added to their feed. The levels of reduced glutathione in the treated groups were significantly higher than those in the control group (p<0.05) in both the serum and liver of the poultry birds. Liver and serum Glutathione S-transferase activity was significantly lower (p<0.05) in 1, 5 and 10% insecticide concentrations as against the control. The total liver protein was significantly higher at all levels of pesticide exposure compared with the control while serum protein content was significantly higher at 5 and 10% insecticide concentrations. Results of this experiment confirmed the use of GST as a biomarker in ecological evaluation of environmental pollutants.
Helping Crisis Responders Find the Informative Needle in the Tweet Haystack

Crisis responders are increasingly using social media, data and other digital sources of information to build a situational understanding of a crisis situation in order to design an effective response. However with the increased availability of such data, the challenge of identifying relevant information from it also increases. This paper presents a successful automatic approach to handling this problem. Messages are filtered for informativeness based on a definition of the concept drawn from prior research and crisis response experts. Informative messages are tagged for actionable data -- for example, people in need, threats to rescue efforts, changes in environment, and so on. In all, eight categories of actionability are identified. The two components -- informativeness and actionability classification -- are packaged together as an openly-available tool called Emina (Emergent Informativeness and Actionability).
Reference intervals of common serum analytes of Hong Kong Chinese

Aim: Setting up reference intervals from the local service populations is one of the major responsibilities of clinical laboratories. Yet, this task is difficult to achieve because it is costly and time consuming when compared with validating reference intervals from assay manufacturers. Methods: Following the recommendations of the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry, healthy local Chinese adults were recruited to set up reference intervals for common serum analytes. Statistical methods recommended by the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards were used for defining the reference limits. Results: Data from 335 subjects were analysed. The reference intervals set up were broadly similar to those provided by the assay manufacturer, except for sodium and potassium. Glomerular filtration rate was estimated by the modification of diet in renal disease equation, with or without modification for Chinese. Body mass index had a significant impact on serum urate and alanine aminotransferase levels. Conclusion: Reference intervals of common serum analytes have been set up for the local Chinese population. A good example of quality laboratory service has also been set up to provide clinicians with reliable reference intervals that they can confidently rely on for the diagnosis and management of patients.
Interprofessional education in chronic non-cancer pain

Chronic non-cancer pain (CNCP) affects approximately 25% of Canadians (Boulanger, Clark, Squire, Cui, & Horbay, 2007). Opioids are frequently prescribed to decrease pain and improve function in CNCP; however, there have been concerns with underand overutilization (Morley-Forster, Clark, Speechley, & Moulin, 2003; Fischer, Rehm, Goldman, & Popova, 2008). Physicians and pharmacists are well-positioned to collaborate on managing CNCP and minimize the abuse of prescription opioids (Strickland, Huskey, & Brushwood, 2007). Dentists may also prescribe opioids for pain and have an important role in managing CNCP patients (Titsas & Ferguson, 2002). For example, patients on long-term opioids are more susceptible to oral disease and may respond less to analgesics for dental procedures. Given the involvement of multiple professions, interprofessional education (IPE) presents an opportunity to improve collaboration and patient care in managing CNCP (Irajpour, Norman, & Griffiths, 2006). In response to concerns about opioid abuse in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada, we collaborated with local community partners to develop IPE for CNCP. Our evaluation objectives were to determine the impact of IPE for CNCP on primary care providers’:
The effect of brushing time and dentifrice on dental plaque removal in vivo.

PURPOSE Routine toothbrushing is the principal method by which individuals remove plaque and control plaque-related diseases, such as periodontitis and caries. Oral health care professionals generally recommend at least 2 minutes brushing with an appropriate technique, and yet the average brushing time in the general population is closer to 45 seconds. Our understanding of the relationship between brushing time and plaque removal, in an untutored general population using a conventional manual toothbrush and dentifrice, is limited. The role of dentifrice in plaque removal is also unclear. METHODS This study was undertaken to measure plaque removal during untutored brushing over timed periods between 30 and 180 seconds with 1.5 g dentifrice, using an Aquafresh Flex brush and Aquafresh Advanced dentifrice. Plaque removal after brushing without dentifrice was also determined (at the 60 second time point only). Forty-seven subjects participated in the study, in which plaque level was assessed using the Quigley-Hein (Turesky-modification) Index. RESULTS Plaque removal increased with brushing time across the range studied, tending towards a maximum at longer brushing times. At the extremes, brushing for 180 seconds removed 55% more plaque than brushing for 30 seconds. Brushing for 120 seconds removed 26% more plaque than brushing for 45 seconds. The use of dentifrice did not increase plaque removal during 60 seconds of brushing. CONCLUSIONS Oral health care professionals should reinforce efforts to persuade patients to brush for longer periods of time, as increasing brushing time to the consensus minimum of 2 minutes from a more typical 45 seconds increases plaque removal to an extent likely to provide clinically significant oral health benefits.
Cardiorespiratory consequences of expiratory chest wall compression during mechanical ventilation and severe hyperinflation

To measure and compare the effects of manual expiratory compression of either the rib cage or abdomen on cardiac output, end-expiratory lung volume, and other cardiorespiratory variables in an animal model that mimics the severe pulmonary hyperinflation and hemodynamic impairment occurring in patients with severe acute asthma during mechanical ventilation. Design:Prospective, randomized, crossover trial. Setting:Research laboratory. Subjects:Seven cross-bred, anesthetized, supine dogs. Interventions:The following sequence was employed: a) spontaneous breathing without pulmonary hyperinflation; b) positive-pressure ventilation with severe pulmonary hyperinflation (produced by an external variable expiratory flow resistor); c) ∼7 mins of manual expiratory compression of either the rib cage or abdomen during positive-pressure ventilation-hyperinflation. This sequence was then repeated, incorporating the alternative type of expiratory compression. Measurements and Main Results:Cardiac output (measured by thermodilution), aortic pressure, pleural (esophageal) pressure, and changes in end-expiratory lung volume were measured. The decrease in cardiac output due to mechanical ventilation with pulmonary hyperinflation was exacerbated by rib cage compression (p < .001; spontaneous breathing 2.9 ± 0.2 L/min, hyperinflation 1.5 ± 0.1 L/min, and rib cage compression 1.0 ± 0.1 [SEM] L/min). However, the positive-pressure ventilation-hyperinflation-induced decrease in cardiac output was attenuated by abdominal compression (p < .001; spontaneous breathing 3.3 ± 0.2 L/min, hyperinflation 1.4 ± 0.1 L/min, and abdominal compression 2.1 ± 0.1 L/min). Mean aortic pressure returned to prehyperinflation levels during abdominal compression (p < .001; spontaneous breathing 126 ± 2 mm Hg, hyperinflation 75 ± 5 mm Hg, and abdominal compression 120 ± 3 mm Hg). Both types of compression were similarly effective (p > .75) in increasing mean expiratory pleural pressure, so that end-expiratory lung volume ‘was similarly (p > .25) reduced (0.45 ± 0.05 and 0.40 ± 0.05 L for rib cage and abdominal compressions, respectively) in this non-air flow, limiting animal model. Conclusions:The cardiorespiratory effects of manually compressing the rib cage or abdomen during expiration in this animal study suggest that these techniques should be carefully evaluated in mechanically ventilated patients with severe acute asthma. (Crit Care Med 1993; 21: 1908–1914)
– Incontinence Five-Year Outcomes of the Tension-Free Vaginal Tape Procedure for Treatment of Female Stress Urinary Incontinence

Chin Kyung Doo , Bumsik Hong , Byung Joo Chung , Ji Yoon Kim , Hee Chang Jung , Kyu-Sung Lee , Myung-Soo Choo * Department of Urology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea Department of Urology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea Department of Urology, Yeungnam University Hospital, Daegu, Korea e u r o p e a n u r o l o g y 5 0 ( 2 0 0 6 ) 3 3 3 – 3 3 8
Suprachiasmatic control of melatonin synthesis in rats: inhibitory and stimulatory mechanisms

The suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) controls the circadian rhythm of melatonin synthesis in the mammalian pineal gland by a multisynaptic pathway including, successively, preautonomic neurons of the paraventricular nucleus (PVN), sympathetic preganglionic neurons in the spinal cord and noradrenergic neurons of the superior cervical ganglion (SCG). In order to clarify the role of each of these structures in the generation of the melatonin synthesis rhythm, we first investigated the day‐ and night‐time capacity of the rat pineal gland to produce melatonin after bilateral SCN lesions, PVN lesions or SCG removal, by measurements of arylalkylamine N‐acetyltransferase (AA‐NAT) gene expression and pineal melatonin content. In addition, we followed the endogenous 48 h‐pattern of melatonin secretion in SCN‐lesioned vs. intact rats, by microdialysis in the pineal gland. Corticosterone content was measured in the same dialysates to assess the SCN lesions effectiveness. All treatments completely eliminated the day/night difference in melatonin synthesis. In PVN‐lesioned and ganglionectomised rats, AA‐NAT levels and pineal melatonin content were low (i.e. 12% of night‐time control levels) for both day‐ and night‐time periods. In SCN‐lesioned rats, AA‐NAT levels were intermediate (i.e. 30% of night‐time control levels) and the 48‐h secretion of melatonin presented constant levels not exceeding 20% of night‐time control levels. The present results show that ablation of the SCN not only removes an inhibitory input but also a stimulatory input to the melatonin rhythm generating system. Combination of inhibitory and stimulatory SCN outputs could be of a great interest for the mechanism of adaptation to day‐length (i.e. adaptation to seasons).
Nonanesthesia Magnetic Resonance Enterography in Young Children: Feasibility, Technique, and Performance

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to demonstrate the effectiveness and cost savings of a nonanesthesia approach to magnetic resonance enterography (MRE) in 14 young pediatric patients (age 4–7 years) with clinically suspected early-onset inflammatory bowel disease using an MRE protocol. Methods: MRE was performed using a combination of an abbreviated imaging protocol, magnetic resonance imaging video goggles, and Child Life Services support. MRE results were correlated with both colonoscopy and pathology results using Pearson correlation coefficient. Sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values were calculated. Results: MRE was performed successfully in 13 of 14 patients (age range 4 years 0 months to 7 years 6 months). MRE findings matched with results in 12 of 13 patients in whom colonoscopy was successfully performed. Both MRE and colonoscopy demonstrated a high specificity (100%) and a positive predictive value (100%), but a low sensitivity (43%) and a negative predictive value (50%). Conclusions: MRE can be successfully performed in children ages 4 to 7 years using this approach. In addition to decreased risks to the child, the lack of anesthesia also offers a potential overall cost reduction.