Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Antimicrobial resistance and antimicrobial use associated with laboratory-confirmed cases of Campylobacter infection in two health units in Ontario.

AIM A population-based study was conducted over a two-year period in the Perth District (PD) and Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph (WDG) health units in Ontario to document antimicrobial resistance and antimicrobial use associated with clinical cases of laboratory-confirmed campylobacteriosis. METHODS Etest (bioMérieux SA, France) was used to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration of amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, ampicillin, chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin (CIP), clindamycin, erythromycin (ERY), gentamicin, nalidixic acid and tetracycline. Data regarding antimicrobial use were collected from 250 cases. RESULTS Of the 250 cases, 165 (65.7%) reported staying home or being hospitalized due to campylobacteriosis. Fifty-four per cent of cases (135 of 249) reported taking antimicrobials to treat campylobacteriosis. In 115 cases (51.1%), fecal culture results were not used for treatment decisions because they were not available before the initiation of antimicrobial treatment and/or they were not available before the cessation of symptoms. Of the 250 cases, 124 (49.6%) had available Campylobacter isolates, of which 66 (53.2%) were resistant to at least one of the antimicrobials tested. No resistance to ampicillin, chloramphenicol or gentamicin was found in these isolates. Six isolates (4.8%) were resistant to CIP. Two isolates (1.6%) were resistant to ERY; however, no isolates were resistant to both CIP and ERY. CONCLUSION Prudent use practices should be promoted among physicians to reduce the use of antimicrobials for the treatment of gastroenteritis in general and campylobacteriosis in particular, as well as to minimize the future development of resistance to these antimicrobials in Campylobacter species.
Failure of reflex venoconstriction during exercise in patients with vasovagal syncope.

BACKGROUND In this study, we tested two hypotheses. First, we tested the hypothesis that reflex constriction of the venous capacitance beds in patients with vasovagal syncope is impaired during both subhypotensive lower-body negative pressure. Second, we proposed that splenic venoconstriction may be impaired during exercise in patients with vasovagal syncope. METHODS AND RESULTS We evaluated 25 patients with vasovagal syncope (age, 45.0 +/- 15.9 years; 12 men, 13 women) and 24 control subjects (age, 41.3 +/- 13.7 years; 16 men, 8 women). A nuclear technique was used to assess changes in forearm venous tone during lower-body negative pressure and in splenic venous volume during cycle exercise. Changes in forearm vascular resistance (FVR) during cycle exercise were assessed with a strain-gauge plethysmography technique. The percentage reduction in unstressed forearm vascular volume during lower-body negative pressure was similar in patients and control subjects (9.0 +/- 8.0% versus 9.7 +/- 5.9%, P=NS). During exercise, splenic venous volume decreased less in patients than in control subjects (15.8 +/- 21.7% versus 42.6 +/- 12.6%, P < .0001). FVR decreased by 2 +/- 32% in patients but increased 108 +/- 90% in control subjects (P < .0001). There was no relation between percentage change in splenic volume and percentage change in FVR during exercise in either patients or control subjects (r= -.06, P=NS and r= -.18, P=NS, respectively). CONCLUSIONS Patients with vasovagal syncope exhibit a failure of the normal increase in tone in the splenic capacitance bed and in forearm resistance vessels during dynamic exercise. Forearm venous tone increases normally during lower-body negative pressure.
ATP release and Ca2+ signalling by human bronchial epithelial cells following Alternaria aeroallergen exposure

• Exposure of human bronchial epithelial (HBE) cells to fungal aeroallergens derived from Alternaria alternata stimulates Ca2+‐dependent and Ca2+‐independent ATP release across the apical membrane. • The Ca2+‐dependent component was blocked by inhibitors of both ATP uptake and transport of exocytotic vesicles to the plasma membrane. • Treatment with inhibitors that target cysteine proteases significantly blocked Ca2+‐dependent ATP release evoked by Alternaria in normal HBE cells, but not in cells derived from asthmatic patients. • The magnitude of ATP release and associated intracellular Ca2+ mobilization was significantly greater in bronchial epithelial cells obtained from patients with asthma. • These findings establish a novel role for ATP release as a mechanism underlying Alternaria aeroallergen activation of airway mucosal immunity and that cells derived from patients with asthma exhibit greater responsiveness to these allergens.
Are the 2002 American College of Rheumatology guidelines for the management of rheumatoid arthritis being followed in Canada's largest academic rheumatology center?

OBJECTIVE To determine whether rheumatologists working in Canada's largest academic rheumatology center (University Health Network/Mount Sinai Hospital) adhere to the 2002 American College of Rheumatology (ACR) guidelines for the management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS Ten patients with RA seen between January 1 and December 30, 2005, were randomly selected from each rheumatologist. A standardized form was used to verify whether the following items were collected at each visit: (1) degree of joint pain, (2) duration of morning stiffness, (3) degree of fatigue, (4) number of tender/swollen joints, and (5) assessment of function. Items recommended for periodic assessment were also collected and included: (1) examination for joint damage, (2) erythrocyte sedimentation rate and/or C-reactive protein, and (3) radiographic assessment of joint damage (radiograph/magnetic resonance imaging). RESULTS One hundred thirty charts and 313 total visits met inclusion criteria. No rheumatologist consistently assessed each ACR item. Of the recommended items, tender and swollen joint counts and pain were most commonly assessed (95%, 95%, and 69%, respectively). Functional assessment, morning stiffness, and fatigue were least commonly reported (48%, 46%, and 33%, respectively). Items recommended for periodic assessment were not regularly recorded. There was a trend for the recommended items to be reported more regularly for new patients, patients taking a disease modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD), and patients for whom a DMARD was added or increased in dosage. CONCLUSION Rheumatologists follow many but not all of the recommendations included in the revised ACR guidelines. The reasons underlying the noncompliance to some of the recommendations are not fully understood. In order to improve the adoption of future clinical practice guidelines, the ACR may have to plan specific dissemination and implementation strategies and fund studies to formally assess the effect of guideline use on clinical outcomes.
Predictors of tooth loss in two US adult populations.

OBJECTIVES This study determines tooth loss rate over a 10-year period and identifies predictors of tooth loss in two separate US adult longitudinal study populations. METHODS Subjects from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA), consisting of 47 men and 47 women, ages ranging from 30 to 69 years, were compared to subjects from the VA Dental Longitudinal Study (VADLS) in Boston, MA, consisting of 481 men in the same age range. Baseline and follow-up examinations were performed on each cohort over a 10-year period. Using multivariate regression models, significant predictors of tooth loss were identified. RESULTS A mean rate of tooth loss of 1.5 teeth lost per 10 years was noted in the VADLS cohort compared to 0.6 teeth lost per 10 years in the BLSA (P < .001). Combining subjects from both populations, significant predictors of tooth loss were baseline values of: percent of teeth with restorations, mean probing pocket depth score, age, tobacco use, alcohol consumption, number of teeth present, and male sex. However, the set of significant predictor variables differed between the two populations and sexes. In BLSA men, number of teeth present, percent of teeth with restorations, mean probing pocket depth score, and alcohol consumption, but not age, were significant, while in BLSA women, only age was a significant predictor. CONCLUSIONS Over a 10-year period, the incidence of tooth loss, the rates of tooth loss, and the predictors of tooth loss were found to vary by population and by sex. These results illustrate the limits of generalizing tooth loss findings across different study cohorts and indicate that there may exist important differences in risk factors for tooth loss among US adult populations.
Central pattern‐generating neurons and the search for general principles 1

This paper selectively reviews cellular‐level studies of neurons and neural networks that function to generate rhythmic physiological and behavioral events. Studies of biological rhythms during the last 75 years have modified Sherrington's concept of nervous tissue as primarily reflexive to include the fact that some neuronal activity is also endogenously rhythmic. As a functional group, neurons that initiate and maintain physiological or behavioral rhythms are referred to as central pattern generators. Comparative studies reveal a disorienting variety of biological rhythms and underlying central pattern generator control mechanisms. This paper outlines the taxonomic diversity of biological rhythms, the strengths and limitations of various models for studying central pattern generators, and the ongoing search for general principles of rhythm generation. Studies of rhythmic phenomena displayed by intact, unanesthetized mammals have been greatly enriched by data and concepts derived from invertebrate central pattern generators. This multidisciplinary influence is illustrated by reviewing recent work that aims to localize and characterize the cellular bases of circadian rhythms, reproductive rhythms, and rhythmic changes in motor control related to the sleep cycle. The paper concludes by describing studies that aim to derive a cellular‐level account for oscillator interaction, sensory feedback, and the homeostatic modulation of biological rhythms. — Lydic, R. Central pattern‐generating neurons and the search for general principles. FASEB J. 3: 2457‐2468; 1989.
Effects of reinforcer sweetness and the D2/D3 antagonist raclopride on progressive ratio operant performance

Previous studies have reported that DA receptor antagonists suppress most behaviours; however, a paradoxical increase in performance may be seen in tests of operant or consummatory behaviours maintained by very sweet rewards, which lie on the descending limb of the inverted U-shaped concentration-performance function (i.e., under conditions where performance decreases as sweetness increases). Despite the low performance levels associated with very sweet reinforcers, preference studies indicate that they are nonetheless more rewarding. In the present study, the hypothesis that reinforcer efficacy is monotonically related to reinforcer sweetness was tested using a geometric progressive ratio reinforcement schedule, in which increasing numbers of responses were required to earn successive reinforcers (1, 2, 4, 8,…); the amount of work the animal emits in order to obtain an increasingly infrequent reinforcer is assumed to provide a measure of the magnitude of its rewarding effect. Three groups of rats were trained on this schedule, using as reinforcers food pellets containing 1%, 10% and 95% sucrose, respectively. Under conditions of continuous sucrose-pellet reinforcement, the highest response rates were maintained by the 10% sucrose pellets. However, under the progressive ratio schedule, performance was monotonically related to sucrose concentration. The dopamine D2/D3 receptor antagonist raclopride dose-dependently suppressed progressive ratio performance in all three groups.
Experimental Inoculation of Pigeons (Columba livia) with Mycobacterium bovis

Abstract The purpose of this pilot study was to determine if pigeons (Columba livia) are susceptible to infection with Mycobacterium bovis by either oral or intratracheal inoculation and to assess their possible role in the lateral transmission of bovine tuberculosis. Six pigeons were orally inoculated with 1.3 × 105 colony-forming units of M. bovis, six pigeons were intratracheally inoculated with the same dose, and six pigeons served as noninoculated controls. The study continued for 90 days postinoculation (PI), with groups of birds necropsied at 30-day intervals, and fecal samples and tissues were collected for mycobacterial culture. Two pigeons, one intratracheally inoculated and one orally inoculated, shed M. bovis in their feces at 1 day PI, and one intratracheally inoculated bird shed M. bovis in its feces 60 days PI. Whereas no illness or weight loss was present during the course of the study, 2 of 12 inoculated birds exhibited microscopic lesions of mycobacteriosis, and the organism was isolated from tissues of three inoculated birds. Pigeons are susceptible to infection with M. bovis after high dose inoculation and can shed the organism in their feces for up to 60 days PI; intratracheally inoculated birds appear more likely to become active fecal shedders of M. bovis. Although these were high dose inoculations under experimental conditions, pigeons may potentially play a role in the lateral transmission of bovine tuberculosis between infected and uninfected mammalian hosts.
Cephalomedullary Screws as the Standard Proximal Locking Screws for Nailing Femoral Shaft Fractures

Objectives: In 2004, we modified our technique for the stabilization of femoral shaft fractures so that all fractures were stabilized using a reconstruction nail with proximal locking screws oriented into the femoral head. The rationale for this was twofold: first, potentially “missed” associated femoral neck fractures would be stabilized. Second, hip fractures that might occur later in life above the intramedullary nail might be avoided. The purpose of this study therefore was to determine whether there were any risks to patients treated for femoral shaft fractures with antegrade nails using cephalomedullary proximal locking screws. Design: Retrospective. Setting: Two regional trauma centers. Patients/Participants: Eighty-seven consecutive patients were treated for a femoral shaft fracture treated with antegrade femoral nailing with a cephalomedullary locked nail. Intervention: Reamed, trochanteric insertion of an intramedullary nail with proximal locking screws placed in a cephalomedullary direction. Main Outcome Measurement: Patient and injury data, radiographic analyses, and complications of treatment were assessed at a minimum of 12 months. Results: Sixty-one of 87 patients (70%) were available at a mean of 19.8 months (range, 12-44 months). Sixty of 61 fractures united after the index procedure. Complications included one delayed union successfully treated with exchange nailing, one distal locking screw fracture (allowing dynamization and completion of fracture healing), two patients with postoperative deformity that required a derotation procedure, and two drill bits that broke intraoperatively and were retained. There were no major complications at the hip, no migration or failure of proximal locking screws, and no screws required removal. Conclusions: Using a reconstruction nail and cephalomedullary proximal locking screws for antegrade femoral nailing of femoral shaft fractures was not associated with major complications in this series. This modification of standard femoral nailing offers potential advantages, including fixation of any “missed” associated femoral neck fractures and prevention of late hip fractures that might occur above the nail.
Immunization with Pneumocystis carinii gpA Is Immunogenic but Not Protective in a Mouse Model of P. carinii Pneumonia

ABSTRACT Immunization with whole Pneumocystis carinii has been shown to protect mice from the development of P. carinii pneumonia (PCP) when they are subsequently immunosuppressed and challenged with viable organisms. To determine whether these results could be duplicated by using a subunit vaccine, we examined the immunogenicity and efficacy of an immunization strategy based on P. carinii gpA. This antigen was chosen for study because passive immunoprophylaxis, based on gpA, has been shown to be partially protective in various animal models of infection. Immunization with gpA produced an anti-gpA specific antibody response comparable to that resulting from immunization with whole organisms. However, in contrast to immunization with whole P. carinii, which was protective, immunization with gpA did not protect T-cell-depleted mice from the development of PCP. These studies suggest that other antigens in addition to gpA need to be evaluated for their role in protective immunity against P. carinii.
Evaluation of circulatory and salivary levels of heat shock protein 60 in periodontal health and disease.

BACKGROUND Self-antigens such as heat shock protein 60 (HSP 60) have recently been implicated in the periodontal disease pathogenesis. There is scant evidence regarding HSP 60 levels in circulation and saliva following periodontal disease and its possible relation to systemic inflammation. AIM OF THE STUDY The aim was to evaluate the circulatory and salivary levels of HSP 60 in periodontal health and disease and to correlate it with high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP). MATERIALS AND METHODS Forty-five peripheral blood samples were collected from two groups of patients (periodontally healthy - Group A [22 patients] and periodontal disease - Group B [23 patients]). Serum, cell lysates, and saliva samples were used to detect HSP 60 levels in both groups by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay technique. Measurement of hs-CRP was performed using an immunoturbidimetric assay. Statistical analysis was done using the student t-test and Pearson's correlation. RESULTS Circulatory HSP 60 was significantly increased in periodontal disease compared to health (P - 0.038). There was a significant correlation between the totals circulating HSP 60 and hs-CRP (P - 0.052), but there was no significant correlation between the salivary HSP 60 and hs-CRP levels in periodontal disease. CONCLUSION Circulating HSP 60 levels may play a role in the systemic inflammatory state produced by periodontal disease. Salivary HSP 60 may not be used as a surrogate to determine systemic inflammation.
Finite Large Antenna Arrays for Massive MIMO: Characterization and System Impact

Massive MIMO is considered a key technology for 5G. Various studies analyze the impact of the number of antennas, relying on channel properties only and assuming uniform antenna gains in very large arrays. In this paper, we investigate the impact of mutual coupling and edge effects on the gain pattern variation in the array. Our analysis focuses on the comparison of patch antennas versus dipoles, representative for the antennas typically used in massive MIMO experiments today. Through simulations and measurements, we show that the finite patch array has a lower gain pattern variation compared with a dipole array. The impact of a large gain pattern variation on the massive MIMO system is that not all antennas contribute equally for all users, and the effective number of antennas seen for a single user is reduced. We show that the effect of this at system level is a decreased rate for all users for the zero-forcing MIMO detector, up to 20% for the patch array and 35% for the dipole array. The maximum ratio combining on the other hand, introduces user unfairness.
Phase III study of PSC‐833 (valspodar) in combination with vincristine, doxorubicin, and dexamethasone (valspodar/VAD) versus VAD alone in patients with recurring or refractory multiple myeloma (E1A95)

Preliminary studies have shown valspodar (PSC‐833: Novartis Pharmaceuticals, East Hanover, NJ) to be a potent inhibitor of multidrug resistance (MDR), one cause of resistance to chemotherapy. An international randomized control study (Phase III) evaluated the use of vincristine, doxorubicin, and dexamethasone (VAD) with (n = 46) and without (n = 48) valspodar in the treatment of patients with recurring or refractory multiple myeloma.
Alternating combination VCMP/VBAP chemotherapy versus melphalan/prednisone in the treatment of multiple myeloma: a randomized multicentric study of 487 patients.

PURPOSE To determine whether combination chemotherapy with alternating cycles of vincristine, cyclophosphamide, melphalan, and prednisone (VCMP) and vincristine, carmustine (BCNU), Adriamycin (doxorubicin; Farmitalia, Carlo-Erba Laboratories, Spain), and prednisone (VBAP) is better than the standard melphalan-prednisone (MP) regimen in multiple myeloma (MM). PATIENTS AND METHODS From January 1985 to December 1989, 28 institutions of the Spanish Cooperative Group for Hematological Malignancies Treatment, Spanish Society of Hematology (PETHEMA) entered 487 eligible patients with symptomatic MM into the study. Patients were randomized to receive either MP or alternating courses of VCMP and VBAP. Logistic regression and the Cox proportional hazards models were used to assess the association between patients' characteristics and response rate and survival, respectively. RESULTS Among 449 patients who were assessable for response, the overall response rate to MP was 51.8% (31.5% objective response plus 20.3% partial response) as compared with 62.7% (45.2% objective response plus 17.5% partial response) to VCMP/VBAP (P = .025). Also, a significantly higher proportion of objective responses was observed with combination chemotherapy (45.2% v 31.5%; P = .004). The factors associated with an unfavorable response rate in the overall series were low platelet count, treatment with MP, high creatinine level and immunoglobulin, (IgG) monoclonal (M)-component. No significant differences were found when survival rates of both groups of patients were compared. However, patients with IgA myeloma treated with VCMP/VBAP survived significantly longer than those who received MP (median, 20.2 v 38.4 months; P < .005). CONCLUSION These results indicate that combination chemotherapy improves response rate in MM. However, this does not result in a significantly different survival rate, except for patients with IgA myeloma, who survive significantly longer with combination chemotherapy.