Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of Stress and Pain in Young Children with Cerebral Palsy During Early Developmental Intervention Programs: A Descriptive Study

Objective The aim of this study was to use the Face, Legs, Activity, Cry, Consolability Scale; salivary cortisol levels; and withdrawal reflex thresholds to assess pain, stress, and pain sensitivity in young children with cerebral palsy during early developmental intervention programs. Design A total of 40 children with cerebral palsy (age range, 1–4 yrs) participated in the early intervention programs, which included neurodevelopmental treatment, neuromuscular electrical stimulation, occupational therapy, head acupuncture, and Chinese traditional manipulation five times per week for 3 wks. The Face, Legs, Activity, Cry, Consolability Scale was applied during the course of each treatment, and salivary cortisol samples were obtained from each child 10 mins before and 10 mins after each treatment. Withdrawal reflex thresholds were assessed via mechanical stimulation of the foot with von Frey hairs. Results All treatment programs caused some degree of pain. In descending order, the extents of the pain caused by each treatment were head acupuncture, neurodevelopmental treatment, neuromuscular electrical stimulation, Chinese traditional manipulation, and occupational therapy. There were statistically significant increases in salivary cortisol levels after the head acupuncture (P < 0.001), neurodevelopmental treatment (P < 0.001), neuromuscular electrical stimulation (P < 0.001), and Chinese traditional manipulation (P < 0.001) treatments. No significant changes were found in the withdrawal reflex thresholds during the study (P > 0.05). Conclusions The results of this study demonstrate that early developmental intervention programs cause pain and stress in young children with cerebral palsy.
Chemical composition, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of Centaurea ensiformis Hub.-Mor. (Asteraceae), a species endemic to Mugla (Turkey)

The n-hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate and ethyl alcohol extracts of the aerial parts of Centaurea ensiformis, endemic to Turkey, have been assessed for antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. The chemical composition of the hexane extract of this plant was determined. The antimicrobial activities on microorganisms, including multiple antibiotic resistant bacteria, were evaluated using the disc diffusion method. The antioxidant activities were determined by using four complementary in vitro assays: inhibition of 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical, total antioxidant activity, and the total amount of phenolic and flavonoid compounds. The structure of the active extract was elucidated by: thin layer chromatography, column chromatography, gas chromatography or gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The various extracts of C. ensiformis inhibited the growth of tested bacteria. All the C. ensiformis extracts had no effect on the yeasts. The total antioxidant activity increased with the increasing amount of the extracts (20, 40, 80 and 160 µg), which contained linoleic acid emulsion. The major compounds of the hexane extract of the plant were caryophyllene oxide (28.72%), spathulenol (17.81%), eudesmol (13.03%) and β–bourbonene (8.51%).
Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Ovarian Function in Menstruating Women with Turner Syndrome (45,X)

ABSTRACT: The hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian hormone secretion patterns were evaluated in two women with 45,X Turner syndrome, spontaneous sexual development, and monthly menstrual periods. Each woman had serum gonadotropin and sex steroid determinations during two or more menstrual cycles. During the follicular phase of a menstrual cycle, both women received 100 µg gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) s.c. , and serum LH and FSH responses were determined. In addition, one woman collected daily overnight urine specimens for 40 consecutive days, spanning two menstrual periods, for the measurement of LH, FSH, estriol, and free progesterone. The randomly measured hormone results showed low serum progesterone concentrations during luteal phases, consistent with the interpretation of anovulation or inadequate corpus luteum function. At the time of the GnRH stimulation tests, baseline serum FSH concentrations and FSH responses to GnRH were within normal limits, whereas baseline LH levels and LH responses to GnRH were low. The pituitary gonadotropin secretion patterns were more consistent with patterns seen during early puberty than in the perimenopausal state. This interpretation was further confirmed by the urinary excretion patterns of gonadotropins, which were not significantly elevated. Furthermore, the urinary hormone profiles revealed that, although the intermenstrual period was of normal length, the follicular phase was prolonged, with normal levels of LH, FSH, and estriol excreted. The menstrual cycle studied was ovulatory but had a short luteal phase. The hormone results indicated that the dysgenetic ovary of women with 45,X Turner syndrome is capable of producing sufficient quantities of sex steroids and other regulatory factors to maintain gonadotropin secretion patterns that are reminiscent of early puberty. Some of the menstrual periods may be anovulatory, whereas others exhibit prolongation of the follicular phase, presumably due to difficulty in follicle recruitment, and short luteal phase due to inability to maintain normal corpus luteum function.
Asthma Symptoms and Airway Narrowing in Children Growing up in an Urban versus Rural Environment

The development of asthma and allergy appears to be the result of gene-environment interaction. Potential environmental risk factors such as outdoor and indoor air pollution, infections, allergen exposure, diet, and lifestyle patterns may trigger respiratory symptoms and compromise lung function in children. Specific features of urban and rural lifestyle may constitute distinct risk factors but may also coexist within certain socioeconomic levels. Children of rural environments are at lower risk for asthma and aeroallergen sensitization. The protective effect has been associated with close contact with large animals, but the genetic factor also plays a contributory role. Children with prolonged exposure to urban environment are at increased risk of reduced lung function and those that reside in polluted areas exhibit slower lung growth. It is possible that polluted urban environment per se facilitates subclinical small airway disease. Evidence to date supports a strong relation between residential area as a potential risk factor for childhood asthma symptoms and airway obstruction and a western type of socioeconomic development.
Housing foreclosure and racial transition in New Orleans

We explore housing foreclosure as a mechanism that links economic shocks and neighborhood change, particularly the process of racial transition. A panel data set of the 1980 and 1990 New Orleans, Louisiana Census of Population and Housing was merged with mortgage foreclosure data aggregated to the block group level. The analysis indicates that housing foreclosures added momentum to the process of racial transition and neighborhood change, net of the effects of exogenous economic shocks and other variables like median income of residents, change in the value of owner-occupied housing, or the existing racial distribution of population in the neighborhood. Foreclosure appears to have the strongest effect on racial transition in block groups where resident incomes are above the lowest levels, and there is a preexisting and increasing black population.
Obesity and postoperative complications of abdominal operation.

Revue concernant 473 malades parmi lesquels 31 hommes et 42 femmes sont obeses, soumis a des interventions abdominales. Les infections des plaies sont plus frequentes chez les obeses. D'autres complications (thrombose veineuse profonde, autres infections) ne sont pas plus frequentes dans ce groupe
Expression and function of the inhibitory Fcγ‐receptor in CIDP

The inhibitory Fc‐gamma receptor (FcγR) IIB, expressed on myeloid and B cells, has a critical role in the balance of tolerance and auto‐immunity, and is required for the anti‐inflammatory activity of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) in various murine disease models. We found that treatment‐naÏve patients with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) showed an impaired expression of FcγIIB levels on naÏve B cells, and failed to upregulate or to maintain upregulation of FcγIIB, as B cells progressed from the naÏve to the memory compartment. The impaired expression of FcγRIIB was, at least partially, restored by clinically effective IVIg treatment. It remains to be determined whether FcγRIIB expression is a candidate for pre‐treatment assessment and might thus be used as a prognostic marker of treatment response to IVIg. Nonetheless, our data suggest that new strategies specifically targeting FcγRIIB expression might have therapeutic merit in CIDP.
Manual handling: differences in perceived effort, success rate and kinematics between three different pushing techniques

This study examined the perceived effort, success rates and kinematics for three push strategies in a simulated lateral patient transfer (horizontal slide). Thirteen healthy subjects (four males) completed three repetition pushing loads of 6, 10 and 14 kg in random order; with a spontaneous push strategy, then with a straight-back bent-knees (squat) strategy and the preparatory pelvic movement (‘rockback’) strategy in random order. Perceived effort and kinematic parameters measured at the onset of movement and at maximum push excursion were compared between strategies and between loads with repeated measures ANOVA. The spontaneous and ‘rockback’ strategies achieved the pushing task with less perceived effort across all loads than the squat push (P < 0.001). Only 3/13 participants were successful on all attempts at pushing the 14 kg load using a squat strategy, which contrasted with 12/13 participants when the spontaneous strategy or the ‘rockback’ strategy was used. Forward movement of the pelvis and forward trunk inclination may be positively associated with lower perceived effort in the push task. Practitioner Summary: In a manual-handling task that simulated a lateral patient transfer (horizontal slide), perceived effort and success rates of three push strategies were compared. A straight-back bent-knees push (squat) strategy demonstrated greater perceived effort and lower success rates than a spontaneous push strategy, or a push strategy with preparatory ‘rockback’ pelvic movement.
Short- and long-term outcomes of heatstroke following the 2003 heat wave in Lyon, France.

BACKGROUND During August 2003, Europe sustained a severe heat wave that resulted in 14 800 heat-related deaths in France. Most of these excess deaths occurred in urban areas, where maximal temperatures broke all records. Heatstroke is the most severe form of heat-related illness. The clinical course of heatstroke in urban areas of temperate countries is poorly documented. METHODS During the French heat wave (August 1-20, 2003), we conducted a prospective study in a university hospital located in Lyon, one of the largest metropolitan areas in France. We evaluated survival and functional outcome for 2 years and looked for factors influencing the prognosis. RESULTS A total of 83 patients presented with heatstroke. The 28-day and 2-year mortality rates were 58% and 71%, respectively. Mortality was influenced as early as admission by the level of fever and the number of organ dysfunctions. Multivariate analysis revealed an independent contribution to mortality if patients came from an institution (hazard ratio [HR], 1.98; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.05-3.71), used long-term antihypertensive medication (HR, 2.17; 95% CI, 1.17-4.05), or presented at admission with anuria (HR, 5.24; 95% CI, 2.29-12.03), coma (HR, 2.95; 95% CI, 1.26-6.91), or cardiovascular failure (HR, 2.43; 95% CI, 1.14-5.17). Most surviving patients exhibited a dramatic alteration of their functional status at 1 and 2 years. CONCLUSIONS Heatstroke is associated with poor outcomes in temperate urban areas. This could be explained at least in part by our lack of experience. Western temperate countries need to be more prepared for future heat waves.
Is the nephritogenic antigen in post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis pyrogenic exotoxin B (SPE B) or GAPDH?

BACKGROUND Acute glomerulonephritis can follow infection by group A streptococci. An immune-complex pathogenesis is accepted, but the causative antigen(s) is still controversial. In recent years, 2 streptococcal antigens, the cationic cysteine proteinase exotoxin B (SPE B) and the plasmin receptor, a glyceraldehyde phosphate dehydrogenase (Plr, GAPDH) have attracted attention because: (1) they were localized in glomeruli in patients with acute post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis (APSGN); and (2) serum antibody to these antigens was associated with nephritogenic streptococcal infections. To date, putative nephritogens were always tested independently. Here, the relevance of SPE B and GAPDH was evaluated in the same renal biopsies and serum samples of well-defined APSGN patients. METHODS Renal biopsies (17 patients) and serum samples (53 patients) with APSGN and appropriate controls were examined. Immunofluorescent staining of frozen sections was performed using specific antibodies to SPE B and GAPDH. Serum antibodies were investigated by both enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and Western blot methodology. RESULTS Glomerular deposits of SPE B were demonstrated in 12/17 APSGN biopsies, and 2 cases were borderline; circulating antibodies were found in all instances (53/53 patients). Glomerular deposition of GAPDH was detected in 1/17 biopsies, and 2 cases were borderline; circulating antibodies were found in 5/47 patients. In 31 control biopsies, only weak staining for each antigen was found in 2 cases. CONCLUSION In this study, glomerular deposits of and antibody response to zymogen/SPE B are more consistently present in APSGN than deposits and antibody response to GAPDH. Zymogen/SPE B is likely to be the major antigen involved in the pathogenesis of most cases of APSGN.
Decreased plasma ghrelin levels in patients with advanced cancer and weight loss in comparison to healthy individuals.

BACKGROUND Ghrelin is a growth hormone-releasing acylated peptide found to be an appetite stimulant and low levels of it are detected in cachexia. The aim of the present study was to investigate the plasma ghrelin levels in cancer patients with a low performance status and weight loss and compare them with those of healthy individuals without weight loss. PATIENTS AND METHODS Thirty patients (median age 65 years) with different malignancies, mainly pancreatic and gastric, and 27 healthy individuals (median age 62 years) were examined. The gender of both groups was well balanced. Plasma ghrelin was measured by a radioimmunoassay kit that uses a polyclonal antibody which recognizes the C-terminal of ghrelin. RESULTS There was a statistically significant difference in the plasma ghrelin levels of the patients vs. the controls, with the patients having much lower levels (p<0.001). CONCLUSION The notable reduction of ghrelin levels might be due to the severity and progression of the disease.
Protection by cyclosporine A against normothermic liver ischemia-reperfusion in pigs.

BACKGROUND Cyclosporine A (CYA) is primarily utilized as an immunosuppressant, but its mechanisms of action (including decreased neutrophilic free radical production and stabilization of mitochondrial and lysosomal membranes) may have beneficial effects in ischemia and reperfusion (IR) injury. This study was undertaken to examine the effect of CYA pretreatment on porcine liver histopathologic changes and enzymatic release caused by ischemia and reperfusion. MATERIALS AND METHODS CYA was administered orally for 4 days prior to surgery in two doses (10 or 20 mg/kg) while controls received only the control vehicle. Pigs were then exposed to 4 h of hepatic ischemia followed by 2 h of reperfusion. RESULTS Significant decreases in AST levels compared to controls were seen in high dose CYA pigs at the end of ischemia and at 30-min intervals during the reperfusion period. Controls exhibited necrotic hepatocytes and severe inflammatory cell infiltration, while high dose CYA animals demonstrated mild inflammatory cell infiltrates. Controls had decreased survival--20% did not survive reperfusion. CONCLUSIONS This study indicates that CYA may be useful in decreasing initial damage resulting from warm hepatic IR injury.
Sifting the wheat from the chaff: prioritizing GWAS results by identifying consistency across analytical methods

The curse of multiple testing has led to the adoption of a stringent Bonferroni threshold for declaring genome‐wide statistical significance for any one SNP as standard practice. Although justified in avoiding false positives, this conservative approach has the potential to miss true associations as most studies are drastically underpowered. As an alternative to increasing sample size, we compare results from a typical SNP‐by‐SNP analysis with three other methods that incorporate regional information in order to boost or dampen an otherwise noisy signal: the haplotype method (Schaid et al. [ 2002 ] Am J Hum Genet 70:425–434), the gene‐based method (Liu et al. [ 2010 ] Am J Hum Genet 87:139–145), and a new method (interaction count) that uses genome‐wide screening of pairwise SNP interactions. Using a modestly sized case‐control study, we conduct a genome‐wide association studies (GWAS) of age‐related macular degeneration, and find striking agreement across all methods in regions of known associated variants. We also find strong evidence of novel associated variants in two regions (Chromosome 2p25 and Chromosome 10p15) in which the individual SNP P‐values are only suggestive, but where there are very high levels of agreement between all methods. We propose that consistency between different analysis methods may be an alternative to increasingly larger sample sizes in sifting true signals from noise in GWAS. Genet. Epidemiol. 2011. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. 35:745‐754, 2011
Improving G2p from wiktionary and other (web) resources

We consider the problem of integrating supplemental information strings in the grapheme-to-phoneme (G2P) conversion task. In particular, we investigate whether we can improve the performance of a G2P system by making it aware of corresponding transductions of an external knowledge source, such as transcriptions in other dialects or languages, transcriptions provided by other datasets, or transcriptions obtained from crowd-sourced knowledge bases such as Wiktionary. Our main methodological paradigm is that of multiple monotone many-to-many alignments of input strings, supplemental information strings, and desired transcriptions. Subsequently, we apply a discriminative sequential transducer to the multiply aligned data, using subsequences of the supplemental information strings as additional features.
Aflatoxin M1 in human breast milk in Shahrekord, Iran and association with dietary factors

ABSTRACT This survey was conducted to determine the occurrence and levels of aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) in 250 breast milk samples of lactating mothers, obtained from urban and rural regions of Shahrekord, Iran. Moreover, the association between AFM1 occurrence levels and dietary factors was assessed. AFM1 analysis was carried out using the competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay technique for screening and high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection (HPLC–FLD) for confirmatory purposes. The toxin was detected in 39 samples (15.6%), ranging from 11.1 to 39.3 ng/l, of which 8 samples (3.2%) had levels above the Iranian national standard limit (25 ng/l). AFM1 occurrence and levels in breast milk samples obtained from rural regions were significantly higher (P ≤ 0.05) than those obtained from urban ones. It might be due to the different dietary patterns in these regions. It was found that dietary habits with more tendencies to consume bread, rice and non-alcoholic beer beverage significantly increased (P ≤ 0.05) the risk of AFM1 occurrence in breast milk. In addition, higher consumption of bread, olive and traditional cream significantly increased (P ≤ 0.05) the levels of AFM1 in breast milk samples. Further investigations should be performed to determine more precisely the association between AFM1 occurrence and dietary factors and also the risk of infant exposure to this mycotoxin.
In-group bias in children's intention to help can be overpowered by inducing empathy.

An experimental vignette study was conducted among children (8-13 years) to examine whether inducing empathic understanding is an effective intervention to overpower peer group boundaries in children's helping. Children were induced or not induced to empathize with the recipient of help, who was or was not part of their (imagined) group of friends. Results showed that children intended to help in-group peers more compared to outgroup peers when empathic understanding was not induced. However, when empathy was induced, they intended to help friends and non-friends equally. Inducing empathic understanding was effective independent of the recipient's level of need, and children's advanced social perspective-taking ability. Encouraging children to imagine how a recipient of help feels might thus be a useful strategy to prevent peer group-based biases in children's helping behaviour.