Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
“What Do You Think about Genetic Medicine?” Facilitating Sociable Public Discourse on Developments in the New Genetics

An important aspect of any meaningful public discussion about developments in gene technology is the provision of opportunities for interested publics to engage in sociable public discourse with other lay people and with experts. This article reports on a series of peer group conversations conducted in late 1996 and early 1997 with sixteen community groups in Perth, Western Australia, interested in gene therapy technology. With the case of cystic fibrosis as a particular focus, and using background resource material as a stimulus for discussion, the participating groups explored a range of value issues arising from the new genetic medicine. This more discursive context enabled participants to express a number of background or life-world concerns about genetic medicine, concerns that are often obscured by the dominant biomedical and bioethical discourses.
Stress in infants and parents : Studies of salivary cortisol, behaviour and psychometric measures

The aims of the present study were to investigate whether the cotton-tipped applicators (cotton buds) used to collect saliva in infants can be stored un-centrifuged prior to cortisol analysis, and to test whether there is any difference in results between wooden and plastic-shafted sticks. Saliva was collected from 10 healthy adults using 6 cotton buds, i.e. 3 with wooden sticks and 3 with plastic sticks. The samples were then centrifuged at three different time-points: immediately after collection, after 24 h and after 48 h. Using cotton buds with wooden sticks, median salivary cortisol was significantly lower after 24 h (40 %) (p<0.001) and after 48 h (49 %) (p<0.001) of storage than it was of the samples centrifuged immediately. There was no significant difference between the samples centrifuged immediately and those centrifuged after 24 h and 48 h when saliva was collected using the cotton buds with plastic sticks. It is concluded that cotton buds with wooden sticks should not be used in studies of salivary cortisol unless it is possible to centrifuge the saliva immediately. Moreover, it is inadvisable to alternate between cotton buds with wooden and plastic sticks in the same study when collecting saliva for analysis of cortisol.
Comparison of the Behavioral and Cardiovascular Effects of Intranasal and Oral d‐Amphetamine in Healthy Human Subjects

Recent reports indicate an increase in intranasal use of prescription oral stimulant medication. However, there do not appear to be any published clinical studies that have characterized the behavioral and cardiovascular effects of intranasally administered d‐amphetamine, which is commonly prescribed for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. In this study a range of d‐amphetamine doses (0, 16, 24, and 32 mg/70 kg) were administered as an intranasal solution delivered using a mucosal atomization device. Equal oral doses were included for comparison. Assessments were conducted before and at regular intervals for 3 hours following drug administration and included self‐reported drug‐effect questionnaires, cardiovascular indices, a performance task, and 2 measures of impulsivity d‐Amphetamine produced prototypical stimulant effects (eg, increased subject ratings of Stimulated and Like Drug, elevated heart rate and blood pressure and improved rate and accuracy on the digit symbol substitution task) irrespective of dose, but the onset of these effects was generally earlier following intranasal administration, with significant effects emerging 15 to 30 minutes after intranasal dosing and 45 to 60 minutes after oral dosing. These results demonstrate that intranasal administration of d‐amphetamine results in a more rapid onset compared to oral dosing, which could be associated with the popularity of intranasal prescription stimulant use and an enhanced potential for abuse.
Extrapulmonary Tuberculosis in Patients with Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection

The annual number of cases of culture-proven extrapulmonary tuberculosis (TB) at our hospital increased from 47 cases in 1983 to 113 cases in 1988. At least 43% (199) of 464 consecutive patients with extrapulmonary TB during this 6-year period were infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV); since HIV serologic testing was not performed routinely the true HIV prevalence is likely to be higher. Of the HIV-infected patients, 59% were intravenous drug users, 31% were Haitian, 3% were homosexual males, 1% were perinatally-infected infants, and 6% did not have a known risk factor for HIV infection. Ninety-eight percent of the HIV-infected patients were black (84%) or hispanic (14%). The HIV-infected patients were more likely than the control patients to have either disseminated, genitourinary, intra-abdominal, mediastinal, or concurrent pulmonary TB. Fever was nearly universal among the HIV-infected patients, but was absent in about one-third of the control patients. Among untreated HIV-infected patients, disease progression was rapid and nearly always fatal. Among HIV-infected patients who received treatment, the response to therapy, as judged by hospital survival and time to defervescence, was similar to that of the control patients. Despite the extensive tuberculous dissemination among the HIV-infected patients, the diagnosis of TB was difficult and often delayed. In addition to the decrease in tuberculin reactivity and the atypical chest radiograph patterns, there was a need to consider other HIV-related infections in the differential diagnosis. Although sputum specimens grew M. tuberculosis in greater than 90% of the HIV-infected patients in whom they were obtained, sputum AFB stains were positive in less than 50%. Blood and urine specimen cultures were positive in 56% and 77% of the HIV-infected patients in whom these specimens were obtained, but did not provide a means of early diagnosis. Cerebrospinal fluid and pleural fluid were abnormal in nearly all patients with involvement of these sites but were rarely AFB-positive and were, therefore, only suggestive of TB. Procedures such as biopsies and aspirates of peripheral lymph nodes, visceral lymph nodes, liver, and bone marrow provided the highest immediate diagnostic yields with rates between 50% and 90%. These procedures must be considered early in the course of illness in HIV-infected patients with suspected extrapulmonary TB due to the rapidly progressive nature of this often fatal but usually treatable infection.
Cyst‐Theca Relationship and Phylogenetic Position of Impagidinium caspienense Incubated from Caspian Sea Surface Sediments: Relation to Gonyaulax baltica and Evidence for Heterospory within Gonyaulacoid Dinoflagellates

We investigate the cyst‐theca relationship of Impagidinium caspienense. Through an incubation experiment, we succeeded in examining the motile stage. Additional molecular analysis of single‐cyst PCR (LSU and SSU rDNA) reveal that the cyst is related to the species Gonyaulax baltica Ellegaard et al. ( ). The ability of this species to belong to two types of cyst‐based genera (spiniferate and impagidinioid) suggests that environmental (particularly salinity) and not genetic factors explain the formation of both morphotypes by G. baltica, which provides evidence for heterospory in this species. The affiliation to G. baltica demonstrates that I. caspienense is not endemic to the Caspian Sea. The phylogenetic position of several other gonyaulacoid species is also documented: Impagidinium pallidum, Ataxiodinium choane, Pyxidinopsis psilata, Spiniferites belerius, and Spiniferites ramosus. The LSU and SSU rDNA based phylogenies suggest that the genera Impagidinium and Spiniferites are not monophyletic, and that P. psilata and A. choane are close to Gonyaulax verior and Gonyaulax polygramma, respectively. In addition, this study accentuates the importance of cyst morphology in the classification of the Gonyaulacales.
Postoperative Extracorporeal Life Support in Pediatric Cardiac Surgery: Recent Results

We retrospectively reviewed the files of 19 extracorporeal life support (ECLS) applications performed after cardiac surgery in 15 patients from January 2002 to December 2004. We placed 16 arteriovenous ECLS applications with oxygenator, 2 venovenous ECLS applications with oxygenator, and 1 biventricular ECLS application without oxygenator (graft dysfunction after heart transplant). Mean age was 4.9 ± 7 years (median 5.9 months, range 11 days to 21 years). All patients underwent surgery for congenital heart disease, except for one patient who had a heart transplant. Indications were hemodynamic failure in 12 cases, respiratory failure in 5 cases, and mixed failure in 2 cases. Four patients were undergoing cardiopulmonary resuscitation during ECLS placement (no deaths). Mean delay between surgery and ECLS placement was 3.2 ± 3.4 days (median 2 days). Mean ECLS duration was 3.4 ± 5.8 days (mean 6 days, range 3–16 days). Three patients had further surgery for residual lesions. Thirteen patients (86.7%) survived to ECLS weaning; 12 patients survived to hospital discharge (80%). No survivor presented obvious neurologic damage. Specific morbidity included re-entry for bleeding, multiple transfusions, and mediastinitis. These results support early placement of ECLS in children whenever a severe postoperative hemodynamic or respiratory failure, refractory to medical treatment, is present.
Bipolar II and unipolar comorbidity in 153 outpatients with social phobia.

Previous studies on social phobia (SP) have focused largely on comorbidity between SP and major depression. Less attention has been devoted to the comorbidity between SP and bipolar disorder. In this retrospective study, we investigated family history, lifetime comorbidity, and demographic and clinical characteristics among 153 outpatients who met DSM-III-R diagnostic criteria for SP. Information regarding axis I diagnoses was obtained using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM III-R (SCID-UP-R). Social phobic symptoms and the severity of the illness were assessed by the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS) and the Liebowitz Social Phobic Disorders Rating Scale, Severity (LSPDRS). Patients completed the Hopkins Symptom Checklist (HSCL 90). Fourteen patients (9.1%) satisfied DSM-III-R criteria for lifetime bipolar disorder not otherwise specified (NOS) (bipolar II), while 71 (46.4%) had unipolar major depression and 68 (44.4%) had no lifetime history of major mood disorders. Comorbid panic disorder/agoraphobia (PDA), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and alcohol abuse were reported more frequently in the bipolar group than in the other two subgroups. Unipolar patients showed higher rates of comordid PDA and OCD compared with SP patients without mood disorders. Severity and generalization of the SP symptoms, prevalent interactional anxiety, multiple comorbidity, and alcohol abuse appeared to be the most relevant consequences of SP-bipolar coexistence. In a significant minority of cases, protracted social anxiety may hypothetically have represented, along with inhibited depression, the dimensional opposite of gregarious hypomania.
An adaptive fuzzy-logic variable forgetting factor RLS algorithm

We propose a fuzzy forgetting factor recursive leastsquares (RLS) algorithm, in which a time-varying forgetting factor is chosen by a fuzzy inference system (FIS), to achieve a faster convergence rate and a lower steady-state meansquared error (MSE). Simulations of a DS-CDMA interference suppression receiver demonstrate the bit-error-rate (BER) and convergence/tracking superiority of the proposed RLS algorithm with various RLS algorithms and receiving antenna sizes.
Orbito-Ocular Malignant Tumours in Zaria, Nigeria: A 10-Year Review

Background: Malignant orbito-ocular tumours are common, frequently affect the young and cause morbidity and mortality. There was no prior published report from our centre. Method: This study was a ten-year retrospective histopathological analysis of orbito-ocular malignant tumours seen at the Department of Pathology of the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital Zaria (January 1993 to December 2002). Histopathology diagnosis of specimens of the eye and adnexae were retrieved from the laboratory bench books and relevant information on the age of the patient and histopathologic type were analysed. Results: A total of 124 orbito-ocular malignant tumours were recorded. There were 2480 malignant tumours and these constitute 5% of all malignant lesions seen. The most frequent histological types encountered were retinoblastoma (40.3%), squamous cell carcinoma (33.1%) and Burkitt’s lymphoma (9.6%). There was equal sex distribution and infants were affected in 49.2% of cases with a mean age of 4.5 years. The most common sites in 82 cases were intraocular (54.8%), the orbit (23.2%) and conjunctiva in 17.1% of cases. Conclusion: Malignant orbito-ocular tumours are not uncommon in this environment and frequently affect infants; therefore appropriate medical facilities should be put in place to aid in diagnosis and management of these lesions.
Clinical usefulness of the rotatory, caloric, and vestibular evoked myogenic potential test in unilateral peripheral vestibular pathologies

Abstract Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the diagnostic capacity of three different rotatory tests, and to investigate the clinical effectiveness of the caloric, rotatory, and vestibular evoked myogenic potential (VEMP) test. Design and study sample: Several rotatory tests—sinusoidal harmonic acceleration test (SHAT), pseudorandom rotation test (PRRT), velocity step test (VST)—and a caloric and a VEMP test, were given to 77 patients (mean age 52 years) with a unilateral peripheral vestibular pathology, and 80 control subjects (mean age 48 years). Results: For the rotatory test, the highest diagnostic capacity was obtained with the 0.01 Hz SHAT frequency, followed by 0.1 and 0.05 Hz. A higher diagnostic accuracy was reached for the caloric and VEMP test. The caloric test demonstrated high sensitivity and specificity values, but the 0.01 Hz SHAT rotation appeared more sensitive, and the VEMP more specific, than the caloric test. Conclusion: A selection of the 0.01, 0.05, and 0.1 Hz SHAT rotations is suggested as the most ideal rotatory test protocol, and a combination of rotatory, caloric, and VEMP testing will result in a more complete examination of our vestibular system. Sumario Objetivos: El objetivo de este estudio fue investigar la capacidad diagnóstica de tres diferentes pruebas rotatorias e investigar la efectividad clínica de las pruebas calóricas, rotatorias y de potenciales evocados vestibulares biogénicos (VEMP). Diseñ: Se aplicaron algunas pruebas rotatorias (prueba de aceleración sinusoidal armónica (SHAT), prueba de rotación pseudo-aleatoria (PRRT), prueba de velocidad de pasos (VST), prueba calórica y VEMP, a setenta y siete pacientes (edad promedio de 52 añs) con patología vestibular periférica unilateral y a 80 sujetos de un grupo control (edad media de 48 añs). Resultados: Para la prueba rotatoria, la más alta capacidad diagnóstica se obtuvo con la frecuencia SHAT 0.01, seguida por 0.1 y 0.05 Hz. La máxima precisión diagnóstica se alcanzó con las pruebas calórica y VEMP. La prueba calórica demostró altos valores de sensibilidad y especificidad, pero la de rotación SHAT en 0.01 pareció más sensitiva y el VEMP, más específico que la prueba calórica. Conclusiones: Se sugiere una selección de rotaciones SHAT de 0.01, 0.05 y 0.1 como protocolo ideal de pruebas rotatorias y una combinación de las pruebas rotatorias, calóricas y de VEMP, para lograr un examen más completo del sistema vestibular.
Control of two simultaneous voluntary motor acts in normals and in parkinsonism.

BECAUSE of the multiple and varied aspects of Parkinsonism, the therapeutic approach has been exceedingly difficult. Most efforts have been directed toward symptomatic control of rigidity and tremor. The atropine-like drugs have been relatively successful in alleviating rigidity in patients able to tolerate adequate amounts.1Parsidol (10-[2-diethylamino-1-propyl] phenothiazine hydrochloride)2has been reasonably effective in some patients in reducing tremor, and by various drug combinations and the individualizing of dosages3many Parkinsonian patients continue to lead active, useful lives. A common complaint of the Parkinsonian patient is related, however, to fatigue and slowness in performing the chores of ordinary life. This is attributed to the interference caused by the muscle rigidity and tremor. In 50 patients with Parkinsonism, visual-motor reaction time tests have been routinely performed, and the values are close to normal in mild and moderately severe cases. In the course of observing a large number of
A nootropic effect of Moringa oleifera on Ach and ChAT activity in colchicine induced experimental rat model of Alzheimer ’ s disease : Possible involvement of antioxidants

Context: The fruit and leaf of Moringa oleifera (MO) is an important ingredient of ‘Kusmanda lehyam’ (Ayurvedic medicine), which is widely used, in nervous disorders. Objective: To determine the cognition facilitating effect of MO leaf extract in colchicine induced experimental rat model of AD and to investigate the role of central cholinergic system in the nootropic effect of MO leaf extract with the possible involvement of antioxidant enzymes. Materials and methods: The behavior study, Acetylcholine concentration, cholineacetyl transferase activity, antioxidant level such as, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), reduced glutathione (GSH) and lipid peroxidation (LPO) level were studied in different parts of the brain such as frontal cortex (FC) and hippocampus (HPC) in colchicine induced experimental Alzheimer rat model before and after treatment with MO. Results: MO (250 mg/kg p.o.) induced statistically significant reversal of colchicine induced cognitive deficits. MO (250 mg/kg p.o.) markedly induced frontal, cortical and hippocampal concentrations of Ach and ChAt activity, the effects being statistically significant on days 7, 14 and 21 respectively. Moreover, MO significantly increased SOD, CAT, GSH activities and significantly decreased LPO level on day 7, 14 and 21 respectively. Discussion and conclusion: The aqueous pulp extract of MO (250 mg/kg body weight) containing vitA, C, E results significant protection in the level of antioxidant status in frontal cortex and hippocampus after a certain period of co administration on colchicine induced oxidative stress without causing any general and metabolic toxicity and possibly thereby induced frontal cortical and hippocampal concentration of Ach and ChAT activity.
Intra- and post-operative blood loss and haemodynamics in total hip replacement when performed under lumbar epidural versus general anaesthesia.

The effects of lumbar epidural anaesthesia and two types of general anaesthesia on blood loss and haemodynamics during and after hip replacement were compared in three groups of patients. One group (n = 14) received continuous lumbar epidural anaesthesia, another group (n = 10) was given inhalational anaesthesia and spontaneous breathing after endotracheal intubation, and the third group (n = 14) received artificial ventilation after intubation and pancuronium and fentanyl intermittently i.v. Intra-operative blood loss in patients under epidural anaesthesia was 950 +/- 300 ml (mean +/- SD) and blood loss during the following 24 h-i.e. as long as the epidural anaesthesia was maintained-was 370 +/- 80 ml. These figures were significantly lower than the intra- and post-operative blood losses in patients under general anaesthesia with narcotics as post-operative pain treatment: 1140 +/- 200 ml (inhalational anaesthesia) followed by 480 +/- 70 ml and 1540 +/- 340 ml (artificial ventilation) followed by 500 +/- 110 ml. The intra-operative blood loss in the general anaesthesia group with spontaneous breathing was significantly smaller than the blood loss in the artificially ventilated group, whereas the post-operative blood loss in the two general anaesthetic groups was similar. Haemodynamic differences explain these differences in blood loss. Thus epidural anaesthesia induced hypotension on the arterial and venous sides. Intra-operatively, inhalational anaesthesia also induced hypotension on the arterial and venous sides compared with general anaesthesia using artificial ventilation. Post-operatively, the general anaesthesia groups behaved haemodynamically similarly and no differences in blood loss were seen. The reduction in blood loss, notably associated with lumbar epidural anaesthesia, is beneficial in decreasing the hazard and cost of blood transfusion.
DUSP3 Genetic Deletion Confers M2-like Macrophage–Dependent Tolerance to Septic Shock

DUSP3 is a small dual-specificity protein phosphatase with an unknown physiological function. We report that DUSP3 is strongly expressed in human and mouse monocytes and macrophages, and that its deficiency in mice promotes tolerance to LPS-induced endotoxin shock and to polymicrobial septic shock after cecal ligation and puncture. By using adoptive transfer experiments, we demonstrate that resistance to endotoxin is macrophage dependent and transferable, and that this protection is associated with a striking increase of M2-like macrophages in DUSP3−/− mice in both the LPS and cecal ligation and puncture models. We show that the altered response of DUSP3−/− mice to sepsis is reflected in decreased TNF production and impaired ERK1/2 activation. Our results demonstrate that DUSP3 plays a key and nonredundant role as a regulator of innate immune responses by mechanisms involving the control of ERK1/2 activation, TNF secretion, and macrophage polarization.
Antibiotic residues in meat in the United Kingdom; an assessment of specific tests to detect and identify antibiotic residues

SUMMARY Investigations were conducted between 1977 and 1979 to assess the performance of microbiological tests for detecting and identifying residues of therapeutic-type antibacterial substances in meat and offal. Of the 5442 home-produced meat samples examined, 34 (0·63%) showed inhibitory activity in the screening test, which used Bacillus subtilis BGA and Micrococcus luteus as indicator organisms. Identification by electrophoretic and thin-layer chromatography/bio-autography techniques confirmed that only two of the 34 screen failures were due to true antibacterial residues: a pig sample contained a trace of penicillin and a horse sample contained a trace of an incompletely identified substance resembling a tetracycline. Twelve of the other 32 failures in the screen test were due to naturally produced inhibition and were, thus, falsely positive, whilst the remainder were shown to be negative. All of the 85 (8·7%) screen test failures from the 972 imported meat and offal samples tested were falsely positive. Additional samples from certain animals known to have been given antibiotic treatment were tested concurrently to give a more searching indication of screen and identification test efficacy.