Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY IN CANCER PATIENTS IN OUTPATIENT DEPARTMENT OF A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL IN PAKISTAN

Objective: To examine the prevalence of depression and anxiety in patients with cancer in an outpatient department of a tertiary care hospital in Pakistan. Methodology: This study was conducted between May 2006 and January 2007. The sample consisted of 60 diagnosed cancer patients (30 males/30 females). DSM- IV criteria and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) were used to diagnose and assess anxiety and depression. Results: Fifty two percent (31 patients, 10 males/21 females) of the subjects reported having symptoms of anxiety, depression or both according to DSM IV Criteria, (anxiety =14, males six / females eight, depression = 6, males two / females four , and depression + anxiety both = 11, males two / females nine). A total of 70% (21/30) of the entire female sample met the criteria for depression, anxiety or both. A total of 33% (10/30) of the entire male sample met the criteria for depression, anxiety or both. Conclusion: This study shows high prevalence rates of depression and anxiety in cancer patients in Pakistan. The oncologists and internists treating cancer patients should screen their patients for symptoms of depression and anxiety.
Early decompressing craniectomy in patients with traumatic brain injury and cerebral edema

Abstract Background: Decompressing craniectomy (DC) is an important method for the management of severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Objective: To analyze the effect of prophylactic DC within 24 hours after head trauma TBI. Methods: Seventy-two patients undergoing prophylactic DC for severe TBI were included in this retrospective study. Both of the early and late outcomes were studied and the prognostic factors were analyzed. Results: In this series, cumulative death in the first 30 days after DC was 26%, and 28 (53%) of 53 survivors in the first month had a good outcomes. The factors including Glasgow Coma Score (GCS) score at admission, whether the patient had an abnormal pupil response and whether the midline shift was greater than 5 mm were most important prognostic factors for the prediction of death in the first 30 days and the final outcome at 6 months after DC. Conclusion: Prophylactic DC plays an important role in the management of highly elevated ICP, especially when other methods of reduction of ICP are unavailable.
Genetics of Young Onset Colorectal Cancer

In the United States, more than 150, 000 cases of colorectal cancers are diagnosed annually, making colorectal cancers a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Hereditary colorectal cancers are thought to account for up to 30% of the total number, 5% of which have a known genetic background. Colorectal cancers occurring at ages less than 50 are considered young-onset and are thought to make up 2% to 8% of all cases. They are often a hallmark of a hereditary cancer predisposition. This review covers both the major and the less common hereditary syndromes associated with young-onset colorectal cancers and provide a brief overview of current genetic testing guidelines in place.
Building Strong Libraries and Library Associations through Continuing Professional Development: The Case of Ghana Library Association

A paper presented at the World Library and Information Congress 2011, 77th IFLA General Conference and Assembly, which took place at the Puerto Rico Convention Center, in San Juan, Puerto Rico from 13-18 August 2011. Available at http://conference.ifla. org/past/ifla77/125-lamptey-en.pdf
Pediatric Pulmonary Hypertension in the Netherlands: Epidemiology and Characterization During the Period 1991 to 2005

Background— Incidence and prevalence rates for pediatric pulmonary hypertension (PH) and pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) are unknown. This study describes the nationwide epidemiological features of pediatric PH in the Netherlands during a 15-year period and the clinical course of pediatric PAH. Methods and Results— Two registries were used to retrospectively identify children (0–17 years) with PH. Overall, 3263 pediatric patients were identified with PH due to left heart disease (n=160; 5%), lung disease/hypoxemia (n=253; 8%), thromboembolic disease (n=5; <1%), and transient (n=2691; 82%) and progressive (n=154; 5%) PAH. Transient PAH included persistent PH of the newborn and children with congenital heart defects (CHD) and systemic-to-pulmonary shunt, in whom PAH resolved after successful shunt correction. Progressive PAH mainly included idiopathic PAH (n=36; iPAH) and PAH associated with CHD (n=111; PAH-CHD). Pulmonary arterial hypertension associated with CHD represented highly heterogeneous subgroups. Syndromes were frequently present, especially in progressive PAH (n=60; 39%). Survival for PAH-CHD varied depending on the subgroups, some showing better and others showing worse survival than for iPAH. Survival of children with Eisenmenger syndrome appeared worse than reported in adults. For iPAH and PAH-CHD, annual incidence and point prevalence averaged, respectively, 0.7 and 4.4 (iPAH) and 2.2 and 15.6 (PAH-CHD) cases per million children. Compared to studies in adults, iPAH occurred less whereas PAH-CHD occurred more frequently. Conclusions— Pediatric PH is characterized by various age-specific diagnoses, the majority of which comprise transient forms of PAH. Incidence of pediatric iPAH is lower whereas incidence of pediatric PAH-CHD is higher than reported in adults. Pediatric PAH-CHD represents a heterogeneous group with highly variable clinical courses.
Prevalence of Vancomycin Resistant Enterococci in Various Clinical Specimens in Tertiary Care Hospital in North Delhi

Emergence of Vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) is becoming a major problem in hospitals worldwide. This study was aimed to determine the occurrence, species prevalence and antibacterial resistance of Enterococci isolated in Jaipur Golden hospitals, Delhi. Sixty isolates of enterococcal species were recovered from various clinical samples and dentified to species level and were found to consist of E. faecalis (46.6%), E. faecium (35%), E. gallinarum (10%), E. avium (1.6%), E. hirae (1.6%), E. caecorum (1.6%), E. amnioenus (1.6%) and E. casseliflavus (1.6%) species. VRE accounted for 11.6% of the isolates and out of them 71.4% were E. faecium and 28.6% were E. gallinarum detected in urine, and blood specimens. seven (11.6%) out of 60 isolates were found to be VRE. This study illustrates the emergence of multidrug resistant enterococci along with increased rate of VRE. Thus there is a need for routine screening of bacterial isolates from clinical samples for VRE and regular surveillance should be conducted for the determination of risk factors.
Inhibitory Effect of Budesonide Alone and in Combination with Formoterol on IL-5 and RANTES Production from Mononuclear Cells

Background:The use of a budesonide (BUD)/formoterol (FOR) combination (Symbicort®) for both maintenance and reliever therapy reduces the exacerbation of asthma better than the traditional fixed-dose regimens. In the early stage of exacerbation, the combination therapy could intervene with the development of subsequent airway inflammation. The objective of the study was to evaluate whether in the early stage of cell activation the use of BUD/FOR combination would modify the adhesion of eosinophils or production of cytokines from mononuclear cells. Methods:Human peripheral blood eosinophils, pretreated with BUD (0.1 µM), FOR (0.1 µM) or BUD/FOR combination for 30 min at 37°C, were stimulated with IL-5, leukotriene D4 or phorbol myristate acetate, and eosinophil adhesion was evaluated using an eosinophil peroxidase assay. BUD (0.1 µM), FOR (0.1 µM) or BUD/FOR combination was added to the peripheral blood mononuclear cells stimulated with ionomycin plus phorbol myristate acetate. Concentrations of IL-5 and RANTES in the cell supernatant were measured using ELISA. Results:BUD, FOR or BUD/FOR combination did not modify the eosinophil adhesion induced by any stimulators. In contrast, BUD or BUD/FOR combination significantly reduced the productions of IL-5 and RANTES in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (BUD: p < 0.0001, p = 0.027 vs. control; BUD/FOR: p < 0.0001, p = 0.031 vs. control) when the drugs were added 15 min, but not 4 h, following cell stimulation. Conclusion: In the early stage of exacerbation of asthma, inhaled BUD may suppress the progression of the allergic inflammatory cascade by inhibiting the mononuclear cells. These results also underline the importance of using BUD in rescue inhaler.
Does GnRH agonist enhance the final adult height in girls with precocious puberty

Background: Girls with sign of secondary sexual characteristic before the age of 8 years are defined as precocious puberty (PP). Early activation of hypothalamo-pituitary-gonadal axis causes central PP. Without treatment, some become short adult height and early menstruation may develop. Objective: Report the final adult height in precocious puberty girls who have been treated with GnRH agonist. Methods: Seventy girls with PP and early puberty (EP) who were treated with GnRH agonist have been followed up until they reach final height (FH). FH was compared with predicted adult height (PAH) before treatment and mid-parental height (MPH). Results: All subjects were treated with GnRH agonist for a mean duration of 1.90. 6 years. FH was significantly higher than PAH before treatment (156.6±5.1 vs. 151.6±6 cm, p Conclusion: GnRH agonist can enhance FH in girls with PP. Early treatment in those with bone age of less than 12.5 years or before menstruation may result in good outcome. Keywords: GnRH agonist, early puberty, final adult height, precocious puberty
MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTION EXAMINATIONS IN PRE-CLINICAL COURSES AS POTENTIAL ENDPOINTS FOR ANALYSIS OF QUALITY OF MEDICAL SCHOOL ADMISSION CRITERIA

The quality of the exams was assessed by establishing the level of simplicity and differentiating power of particular questions and the reliability of the exam was assessed by estimating Cronbach's α coefficient. Moreover, the analysis involved the correlation between the results of physiology and pathophysiology exams as well as between particular results of these exams and scores obtained by a candidate during the admission procedure. The Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient was used to assess the correlation. The significance level for all analyses was established at p 0.08). Furthermore, neither the number of distractors, nor the number of test versions significantly influenced the quality of these tests. Optimisation of examination tools consisting in elimination of questions with a negative correlation improved the quality of tests (on average by +0.02). Difficulty of particular tests was diverse and fell within 0.55 and 0.80. A correlation analysis showed a statistically significant relation between the physiology exam results and pathophysiology exam results (r value between 0.521 and 0.624, p < 0.001). The total reliability of preclinical exams was also high and fell within α = 0.872 ‐ 0.922. Assessment of the selective ability of the adopted admission criteria demonstrated that, while in the case of students admitted to the full-time programme the total score obtained in the three key courses (biology, chemistry and physics) had a positive correlation with the results of pre-clinical exams (p<0.01), there was no such correlation in the case of part-time students. Moreover, the analysis of individual criteria showed that chemistry was the best independent selection criterion, whereas biology and physics indicated low or no correlation. Conclusions The accuracy of admission of appropriate candidates for medical school should be evaluated on several levels during the course of studies as well as when monitoring a medical career of a graduate.
EXPRESSION OF ESTROGEN RECEPTOR α AND PROGESTERONE RECEPTOR IN CHILDREN WITH UNDESCENDED TESTICLE PREVIOUSLY TREATED WITH HUMAN CHORIONIC GONADOTROPIN

ABSTRACTPurpose: The aim of this study was to investigate expression of estrogen receptor α (ERα) and progesterone receptor (PR) in paratesticular tissues obtained from boys with undescended testes.Materials and Methods: A total of 65 boys with unilateral cryptorchidism and failed human chorionic gonadotropion treatment underwent orchiopexy. A small sample of gubernaculum, cremasteric muscle and processus vaginalis was obtained. A total of 57 boys who underwent inguinal hernia repair served as the control group. All boys in the control group had testes in the scrotum. The expression of estrogen receptor α and progesterone receptor was measured by counting the number of ERα or PR positive cells detected by immunohistochemical analysis.Results: ERα and PR density was higher in cremasteric muscle and processus vaginalis obtained from boys with undescended testes than in the control group. Density of progesterone receptor in the examined groups was lower than the density of estrogen receptor.Conclusions: ERα .
Study of Genetic Variation in Different Hatchery Populations of Common Carp ( Cyprinus carpio ) of Mymensingh District in Bangladesh using Microsatellite DNA Markers

Genetic variation of two strains (Scaled and Mirror) of six hatchery populations of common carp ( Cyprinus carpio ) was studied using three microsatellite loci ( MFW13 , MFW17 and MFW28 ). The loci were amplified by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). The PCR products were electrophoresed on 6% polyacrylamide gel and the alleles were visualized by silver nitrate staining. All the three loci were found polymorphic. The average number of alleles was the highest in the population *SC-SMK (5.00) and lowest in **MC-SMK (4.00). Total number of null allele was more in mirror carp populations (6) than scaled carp populations (4). The average observed heterozygosity ( Ho ) ranged from 0.54 to 0.67. The average observed heterozygosity ( Ho ) was lower than the average expected heterozygosity ( He ) in case of all the populations. The population ***SC-BCH had high level of genetic variation in comparison to other five populations because this population had negative 1- Ho/He values in case of two loci out of three analyzed. The rest five populations had negative 1- Ho/He values only in one locus. In 6 of a total of 18 tests, significant deviations from Hardy-Weinberg expectations (HWE) were detected. Pairwise Fst values were used to detect the genetic distance between the pairs of populations. The Fst value was highest (0.153) between the population MC-AFF and MC-SMK. Nei’s genetic distance value was also highest (0.462) between these populations. The Fst value of 0.153 represents a high level of population differentiation. The lowest Fst value (0.001) was found between SC-SMK and MC-SMK. This value was statistically insignificant. *SC–SMK- scaled carp from Sagor Matsho Khamar **MC – SMK- mirror carp from Sagor Matsho Khamar ***SC-BCH- scaled carp from Brahmaputra Char Fishery Key words: Genetic variation, common carp, Microsatellite DNA markers J. bio-sci. 14: 113-120, 2006
Digestive Discomforts and Effect of Ingested Food in People Performing Hajj

Abstract: A variety of health issues have been investigated in the Hajj pilgrims (HPs) in KSA. However, it is still obscure to decide which meals contribute to health related issues specifically gastrointestinal disorders and allergies. Hence present study was planned to compare the effect of using different meals on GIT disorders and allergies. The data was categorized into two groups. Group 1 of age matched HPs comprised a Functional Digestive System Questionnaire (FDSQ) to study digestive disorders. Group 2 HPs were compared for those received Toafa Corporation Meals (TCM) and those did not received Toafa Corporation Meals (NTCM). The FDSQ showed some of the gastrointestinal symptoms in male and female Hajj pilgrims differing significantly (p<0.05). The efficacy of the treatment was evaluated by subject recovery scoring (SRS). The 61.7% HPs taking TCM revealed various discomforts and food allergy and the 50.6% HPs using NTCM did not suffer from any disorders. However, the pilgrims taking the meals provided by the Toafa corporation but not showing allergy were more significant in number (p=0.0002). The existing study presents a new method (construction of a FDSQ) for comparing gastrointestinal and other disorders. The present study recommends that Toafa Corporation should provide suitable meals for the pilgrims to meet their actual needs during Hajj and health situation.
The complete mitochondria genome of Sarcophaga africa (Diptera: Sarcophagidae)

Abstract Sarcophaga africa (S. africa) is a significant medical and forensic insect which belongs to the Sarcophagidae. The species identification of the forensically important genus Sarcophaga is difficult and requires strong morphology and taxonomic expertise. With the sequencing technique improved, we report the complete mitochondrial genome of the S. africa for the first time to assist species identification. The 37 genes presented in the 15,144 bp circular genome has been found which include 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNA genes, and 2 ribosomal RNA genes. The array of the genes has much resemblance with other discovered insects. The overall base compositions of A, G, C and T are 39.43%, 9.64%, 14.61% and 36.31% respectively. The complete mitochondrial genome of S. africa could be valuable to enriching the Dipteran mitochondrial genomes and be helpful for entomologists to screen reliable molecular markers in the species identifications with forensic entomology purposes or phylogenetic analysis.
Predicting adherence to use of remote health monitoring systems in a cohort of patients with chronic heart failure.

BACKGROUND It is unclear whether subgroups of patients may benefit from remote monitoring systems (RMS) and what user characteristics and contextual factors determine effective use of RMS in patients with heart failure (HF). OBJECTIVE The study was conducted to determine whether certain user characteristics (i.e. personal and clinical variables) predict use of RMS using advanced machine learning software algorithms in patients with HF. METHODS This pilot study was a single-arm experimental study with a pre- (baseline) and post- (3 months) design; data from the baseline measures were used for the current data analyses. Sixteen patients provided consent; only 7 patients (mean age 65.8 ± 6.1, range 58-83) accessed the RMS and transmitted daily data (e.g. weight, blood pressure) as instructed during the 12 week study duration. RESULTS Baseline demographic and clinical characteristics of users and non-users were comparable for a majority of factors. However, users were more likely to have no HF specialty based care or an automatic internal cardioverter defibrillator. The precision accuracy of decision tree, multilayer perceptron (MLP) and k-Nearest Neighbor (k-NN) classifiers for predicting access to RMS was 87.5%, 90.3%, and 94.5% respectively. CONCLUSION Our preliminary data show that a small set of baseline attributes is sufficient to predict subgroups of patients who had a higher likelihood of using RMS. While our findings shed light on potential end-users more likely to benefit from RMS-based interventions, additional research in a larger sample is warranted to explicate the impact of user characteristics on actual use of these technologies.
Decreased DJ-1 leads to impaired Nrf2-regulated antioxidant defense and increased UV-A-induced apoptosis in corneal endothelial cells.

PURPOSE To investigate the role of DJ-1 in Nrf2-regulated antioxidant defense in corneal endothelial cells (CECs) at baseline and in response to ultraviolet A (UV-A)-induced oxidative stress. METHODS DJ-1-deficient CECs were obtained by transfection of an immortalized normal human corneal endothelial cell line (HCECi) with DJ-1 small interfering RNA (siRNA) or by isolation of CECs from ex vivo corneas of DJ-1 knockout mice. Levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), protein carbonyls, Nrf2 subcellular localization, Nrf2 target genes, and protein interaction between Keap1/Nrf2 and Cul3/Nrf2 were compared between normal and DJ-1-deficient CECs. Oxidative stress was induced by irradiating HCECi cells with UV-A, and cell death and levels of activated caspase3 and phospho-p53 were determined. RESULTS DJ-1 siRNA-treated cells exhibited increased levels of ROS production and protein carbonyls as well as a 2.2-fold decrease in nuclear Nrf2 protein when compared to controls. DJ-1 downregulation led to attenuated gene expression of Nrf2 and its target genes HO-1 and NQO1. Similar levels of Nrf2 inhibitor, Keap1, and Cul3/Nrf2 and Keap1/Nrf2 were observed in DJ-1 siRNA-treated cells as compared to controls. Ultraviolet A irradiation resulted in a 3.0-fold increase in cell death and elevated levels of activated caspase3 and phospho-p53 in DJ-1 siRNA-treated cells compared to controls. CONCLUSIONS Downregulation of DJ-1 impairs nuclear translocation of Nrf2, causing decreased antioxidant gene expression and increased oxidative damage. The decline in DJ-1 levels leads to heightened CEC susceptibility to UV-A light by activating p53-dependent apoptosis. Targeting the DJ-1-Nrf2 axis may provide a potential therapeutic approach for enhancing antioxidant defense in corneal endothelial disorders.
Characterization of long non-coding RNA expression profiles in lymph node metastasis of early-stage cervical cancer

Pelvic lymph node metastasis (PLNM) is an independent prognostic parameter and determines the treatment strategies of cervical cancer. Increasing evidence indicates that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play a crucial role in the process of tumor biological functions. This study aimed to mine lymph node metastasis-associated lncRNAs and investigate their potential pathophysiological mechanism in cervical cancer lymph node metastasis. We applied the lncRNA-mining approach to identify lncRNA transcripts represented on Affymetrix human genome U133 plus 2.0 microarrays from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) and then by validation in clinical specimens. The biological role and molecular mechanism of these lncRNAs were predicted by bioinformatic analysis. Subsequently, a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and survival curve were conducted to evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic value of candidate lncRNAs. In total, 234 differentially expressed lncRNAs were identified to significantly associate with pelvic lymph node metastasis in early-stage cervical cancer. Our qRT-PCR results were consistent with the mining analysis (P<0.05). The functional enrichment analysis suggested that these lncRNAs may be involved in the biological process of lymph node metastasis. The ROC curves demonstrated satisfactory discrimination power of MIR100HG and AC024560.2 with areas under the curve of 0.801 and 0.837, respectively. Survival curve also indicated that patients with high MIR100HG expression had a tendency of poor prognosis. This is the first study to successfully mine the lncRNA expression patterns in PLNM of early-stage cervical cancer. MIR100HG and AC024560.2 may be a potential biomarkers of PLNM and these lncRNAs may provide broader perspective for combating cervical cancer metastasis.
Differences in stroke damage in aged mice may not be due to differential cerebral blood flow dynamics

Stroke is the leading cause of death and adult disability. [1-3] Aging is the most important nonmodifiable risk factor for stroke, and aged patients exhibit impaired stroke recovery. [4] Consistent with clinical data, findings from animal models have demonstrated that aged mice have higher mortality and worse outcomes when subjected to same duration of occlusion compared with young mice, yet paradoxically, the infarct damage is smaller in the aged mice. [5,6] Impaired recovery has been linked to several underlying mechanisms, including altered peripheral immune responses, enhanced neuroinflammation, and reductions in neurogenesis. [7-9] However, it was not known whether the discrepancy in histological outcome is associated with age-induced changes in the cerebral vasculature or cerebral blood flow.