Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Preliminary report of a prospective, randomized trial of underwater seal for spontaneous and iatrogenic pneumothorax.

BACKGROUND Management of pneumothorax has traditionally been tube thoracostomy and -20 cm H2O suction. The purpose of our study was to determine if underwater seal in iatrogenic and spontaneous pneumothoraces is safe and efficacious and if small-caliber chest tubes are appropriate for routine use in pneumothorax. STUDY DESIGN From April 2001 through October 2003 patients with iatrogenic or spontaneous pneumothorax were enrolled in this prospective, randomized trial. Small-bore catheters were inserted. Initial management was 1 hour -20 cm H2O suction, chest radiography, and randomization into -20 cm H2O suction, -10 cm H2O suction, or underwater seal. Tubes were discontinued at 48 hours if there were no pneumothoraces and no air leaks. Those with air leaks and recurrent pneumothoraces persisting 5 days underwent pleurodesis. The primary end point was successful chest tube removal at 48 hours. The secondary end point was need for pleurodesis. RESULTS Twenty-nine patients were analyzed. Seven were randomized to -20 cm H2O suction, 11 to -10 cm H2O suction, and 11 to underwater seal. Most (59%, 17 of 29) chest tubes were successfully removed 48 hours after placement: 57% (4 of 7) after -20 cm H2O suction, 73% (8 of 11) after -10 cm H2O suction, and 45% (5 of 11) after underwater seal (p = 0.48). Seven (24%) required pleurodesis: 29% (2 of 7) after -20 cm H2O suction, 27% (3 of 11) after -10 cm H2O suction, and 18% (2 of 11) after underwater seal (p = 0.70). CONCLUSIONS Early underwater seal appears to be safe for treating iatrogenic and spontaneous pneumothoraces. It can achieve comparable frequencies of early chest tube removal and avoidance of operation compared with traditional management. A larger, multi-institutional study should be performed to demonstrate that pneumothorax treatment can effectively incorporate small-caliber tubes and underwater seal.
Patterns of muscarinic cholinergic binding in the striatum and their relation to dopamine islands and striosomes

The distribution of muscarinic cholinergic binding sites in the striatum was studied in relation to the locations of other neurochemical markers in the developing rat, cat, ferret, and human. In addition, patterns of striatal muscarinic binding were studied in the adult cat. Receptor binding autoradiography was carried out with tritiated propylbenzilylcholine mustard ([3H]‐PrBCM), an irreversible muscarinic antagonist, and subsequent serial section analyses involved comparisons among patterns of muscarinic binding, catecholamine histofluorescence, acetylcholinesterase (AChE) staining, Nissl staining, and cell labeling with [3H]‐thymidine.
Channel modeling and BER performance of an implant UWB body area link

The objective of this study is to investigate the feasibility of an ultra wideband (UWB) impulse radio system for in-body to out-of-body wireless communication for biomedical applications. At first, a UWB antenna is designed in the UWB low band for implant use in the chest. Then the channel model is extracted and established based on finite difference time domain (FDTD) simulation with an anatomical human body model. The established channel model consists of a small set of parameters for generating discrete time impulse responses. The generated model shows good agreement with the FDTD-calculated result in terms of key communication metrics. For effective communication over the multipath-affected channel, the pulse position modulation is employed and a 2-finger RAKE structure with a constant temporal delay is proposed in the receiver. The bit error rate performance has shown the validity of the system in the in-body to out-of-body chest channel.
[Metabolic syndrome in women with polycystic ovary syndrome].

UNLABELLED Aim of the present study is to determine the frequency of Metabolic Syndrome (MS) and its distinct elements in women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), as well as the dependency of MS on various phenotypes of PCOS. MATERIAL AND METHODS The study included 65 women diagnosed with PCOS, according to the Rotterdam criteria. MS was diagnosed according the criteria of the American National Cholesterol Panel (ATP-III criteria). The following tests were made: IRI, total testosterone (T), sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS), total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), cholesterol and triglycerides (TG). The Free Androgen Index (FAI) and insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) were determined. RESULTS Twenty-nine (44.6%) of the women had two of the elements of MS. The total group of women with PCOS was 65; 7 of these women (10.8%) had the MS criteria (3 out of 5). Five of these women had the combination of increased levels of triglycerides (TG), decreased HDL-C and waist circumference over 88 cm. The other 2 women had high blood pressure, high blood sugar levels and increased levels of TG or decreased HDL-C. All but one woman with MS were overweight. All women had the typical picture of PCOS and belonged to phenotype A or B, an only one woman belonged to phenotype D. CONCLUSION The Metabolic Syndrome and its elements occur frequently in women with PCOS, particularly those with the classic picture of the syndrome. The latter combination places them at risk for cardiovascular diseases and screening for those disturbances is required.
A Common Cortical Metric for Spatial, Temporal, and Social Distance

Distance describes more than physical space: we speak of close friends and distant relatives, and of the near future and distant past. Did these ubiquitous spatial metaphors arise in language coincidentally or did they arise because they are rooted in a common neural computation? To address this question, we used statistical pattern recognition techniques to analyze human fMRI data. First, a machine learning algorithm was trained to discriminate patterns of fMRI responses based on relative egocentric distance within trials from one distance domain (e.g., photographs of objects relatively close to or far away from the viewer in spatial distance trials). Next, we tested whether the decision boundary generated from this training could distinguish brain responses according to relative egocentric distance within each of two separate distance domains (e.g., phrases referring to the immediate or more remote future within temporal distance trials; photographs of participants' friends or acquaintances within social distance trials). This procedure was repeated using all possible combinations of distance domains for training and testing the classifier. In all cases, above-chance decoding across distance domains was possible in the right inferior parietal lobule (IPL). Furthermore, the representational similarity structure within this brain area reflected participants' own judgments of spatial distance, temporal soon-ness, and social familiarity. Thus, the right IPL may contain a parsimonious encoding of proximity to self in spatial, temporal, and social frames of reference.
Cryoablation:

The use of cryoablation in the electrophysiology lab provides some distinct advantages not seen with conventional radiofrequency ablation. Ice mapping allows a functional assessment of a putative ablation site prior to the formation of a permanent lesion. This provides a distinct advantage adjacent to the AV node for para‐hisian pathways and difficult cases of AVNRT. Cryoablation also produces minimal endothelial disruption and thrombus formation and causes no collagen shrinkage. This is likely advantageous when ablation is required within venous structures. There is also mounting experimental evidence that cryoablation is safe adjacent to the arterial system, especially within the middle cardiac vein or distal coronary sinus. As the technology evolves and further iterations of the catheter proceed, the role for this new but well‐established technology is likely to grow.
Neural Correlates of Topographic Mental Exploration: The Impact of Route versus Survey Perspective Learning

There are two major sources of information to build a topographic representation of an environment, namely actual navigation within the environment (route perspective) and map learning (survey perspective). The aim of the present work was to use positron emission tomography (PET) to compare the neural substrate of the topographic representation built from these two modes. One group of subjects performed a mental exploration task in an environment learned from actual navigation (mental navigation task). Another group of subjects performed exploration in the same environment learned from a map (mental map task). A right hippocampal activation common to both mental navigation and mental map tasks was evidenced and may correspond the neural substrate of a "dual-perspective" representation. The parahippocampal gyrus was additionally activated bilaterally during mental navigation only. These results suggest that the right hippocampus involvement would be sufficient when the representation incorporates essentially survey information while the bilateral parahippocampal gyrus would be involved when the environment incorporates route information and includes "object" landmarks. The activation of a parietofrontal network composed of the intraparietal sulcus, the superior frontal sulcus, the middle frontal gyrus, and the pre-SMA was observed in common for both mental navigation and mental map and is likely to reflect the spatial mental imagery components of the tasks.
Comprehensive language mapping in children, using functional magnetic resonance imaging: what's missing counts

Noninvasive language mapping is a frequently used application of functional magnetic resonance imaging. The examination of children, however, poses both practical and technical challenges. To this effect, we have developed two new paradigms mainly requiring passive listening to stories from which several key words were removed. Results were compared with a standard active verb-generation task, particularly with regard to hemispheric dominance in frontal brain areas. Fifteen healthy children (seven boys, eight girls, 6–14 years) were scanned. Distinct frontal activation was seen in our new tasks, which was stronger when the tasks were analyzed specifically with regard to the missing words. This confirms the hypothesis that the removal of these words is the key in inducing frontal activation. Frontal lateralization was consistent and strong in all three paradigms. Additionally, receptive language areas are also mapped by our new tasks. We conclude that our two new, child-friendly functional magnetic resonance imaging paradigms are useful in determining hemispheric dominance for language in children too young or too impaired to execute an active task. They also allow robust mapping of receptive language areas.
Lower pH Limit for the Existence of Blue-Green Algae: Evolutionary and Ecological Implications

Observations on a wide variety of acidic environments, both natural and man-made, reveal that blue-green algae (Cyanophyta) are completely absent from habitats in which the pH is less than 4 or 5, whereas eukaryotic algae flourish. By using enrichment cultures with inocula from habitats of various pH values, the absence of blue-green algae at low pH was confirmed.
The coralline genera Sporolithon and Heydrichia (Sporolithales, Rhodophyta) clarified by sequencing type material of their generitypes and other species

Interspecific systematics in the red algal order Sporolithales remains problematic. To re‐evaluate its species, DNA analyses were performed on historical type material and recently collected specimens assigned to the two genera Sporolithon and Heydrichia. Partial rbcL sequences from the lectotype specimens of Sporolithon ptychoides (the generitype species) and Sporolithon molle, both from El Tor, Egypt, are exact matches to field‐collected topotype specimens. Sporolithon crassum and Sporolithon erythraeum also have the same type locality; material of the former appears to no longer exist, and we were unable to PCR amplify DNA from the latter. A new species, Sporolithon eltorensis, is described from the same type locality. We have not found any morpho‐anatomical characters that distinguish these three species. No sequenced specimens reported as S. ptychoides from other parts of the world represent this species, and likely reports of S. ptychoides and S. molle based on morpho‐anatomy are incorrect. A partial rbcL sequence from the holotype of Sporolithon dimotum indicates it is not a synonym of S. ptychoides, and data from the holotype of S. episporum confirm its specific recognition. DNA sequences from topotype material of Heydrichia woelkerlingii, the generitype species, and isotype material of Heydrichia cerasina confirm that these are distinct species; the taxon reported to be H. woelkerlingii from New Zealand is likely an undescribed species. Type specimens of all other Sporolithon and Heydrichia species need to be sequenced to confirm that they are distinct species; morpho‐anatomical studies have proved inadequate for this task.
The Involvement of Adenosine Neuromodulation in Pentobarbital-Induced Field Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials Depression in Rat Hippocampal Slices

We investigated the contribution of adenosine neuromodulation to mechanisms of pentobarbital-induced depression of excitatory synaptic transmission in vitro. Transverse hippocampal slices were prepared from brains removed from isoflurane-anesthetized male Wistar rats. Field excitatory postsynaptic potentials (fEPSPs), elicited by orthodromic electrical stimulation of Schaffer collateral at 0.05 Hz, were recorded from the CA1 region in oxygenated artificial cerebrospinal fluid. Amplitude of fEPSP was analyzed for assessing drug effects. Pentobarbital (100 &mgr;M) transiently depressed fEPSPs (P < 0.01); i.e., fEPSP was initially depressed to approximately 60% of control and then recovered to approximately 80% of control. The fEPSP depression was partially suppressed by pretreatment with 50 &mgr;M aminophylline, a nonselective adenosine receptor antagonist, and 0.2 &mgr;M 3, 7-Dimethyl-1-propagylxanthine, an adenosine A1 receptor antagonist (P < 0.01 each). However, the fEPSP depression was not affected by pretreatment with 10 &mgr;M 8-cyclopentyl-1, 3-dipropylxanthine, an A2 receptor antagonist, or 10 &mgr;M bicuculline, a &ggr;-aminobutyric acid (GABA) A receptor antagonist. The results indicate that adenosine neuromodulation through A1 receptors and other undefined mechanisms, which are independent from GABAergic mechanisms, are involved in pentobarbital-induced depression of excitatory synaptic transmission. Implications Adenosine neuromodulation contributes to mechanisms of pentobarbital-induced excitatory postsynaptic potentials depression.
Lipo-prostaglandin E1 modifies cognitive impairment in rats with vascular cognitive impairment by promoting angiogenesis via the VEGF/VEGFR pathway

The pathological mechanism of vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) involves ischemic lesions in the hippocampus. Prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) serves roles in the promotion of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression, angiogenesis and enhances blood flow to ischemic regions. However, the effect of PGE1 on cognitive function in VCI rats and the underlying mechanism are unknown. In the current study, learning and memory function in VCI rats treated by lipo-PGE1 injection was assessed through Morris Water Maze test. Furthermore, the histological alterations, blood vessel numbers in the hippocampal CA1 region and relative VEGF protein and mRNA expression were researched. The results confirmed that VCI rats treated with lipo-PGE1 presented improved cognitive function, less neuronal cell loss, a greater number of blood vessels in the hippocampal region and higher VEGF protein and mRNA expression. However, the role of lipo-PGE1 in VCI rats can be inhibited by SU5416 (a specific VEGFR2 antagonist). The results indicated that lipo-PGE1 may alleviate cognitive deficits in VCI rats. The underlying mechanism may be associated with angiogenesis promoted by lipo-PGE1, which may involve the VEGF/VEGFR pathway. These findings may have therapeutic implications for cognitive impairment induced by hypoperfusion or chronic ischemic lesions.
The Measurement of Subjective Probability: Evaluating the Sensitivity and Accuracy of Various Scales

The RISK of an event generally relates to its expected severity and the perceived probability of its occurrence. In RISK research, however, there is no standard measure for subjective probability estimates. In this study, we compared five commonly used measurement formats—two rating scales, a visual analog scale, and two numeric measures—in terms of their ability to assess subjective probability judgments when objective probabilities are available. We varied the probabilities (low vs. moderate) and severity (low vs. high) of the events to be judged as well as the presentation mode of objective probabilities (sequential presentation of singular events vs. graphical presentation of aggregated information). We employed two complementary goodness‐of‐fit criteria: the correlation between objective and subjective probabilities (sensitivity), and the root mean square deviations of subjective probabilities from objective values (accuracy). The numeric formats generally outperformed all other measures. The severity of events had no effect on the performance. Generally, a rise in probability led to decreases in performance. This effect, however, depended on how the objective probabilities were encoded: pictographs ensured perfect information, which improved goodness of fit for all formats and diminished this negative effect on the performance. Differences in performance between scales are thus caused only in part by characteristics of the scales themselves—they also depend on the process of encoding. Consequently, researchers should take the source of probability information into account before selecting a measure.
Dopamine D2 Receptor Occupancy and Clinical Effects: A Systematic Review and Pooled Analysis

Positron emission tomography (PET) studies proposed a therapeutic window of D2 receptor occupancy (65%-80%) of antipsychotics for the treatment of schizophrenia in young adults. However, this conclusion has been drawn from clinical PET studies using small sample sizes (<20). Prospective PET studies that measured D2 occupancy levels and assessed extrapyramidal side effects (EPS) and/or treatment response induced by antipsychotics (excluding partial agonists) were identified, using MEDLINE and EMBASE (last search: March 2010). Individual subjects were divided into 2 groups based on EPS status (ie, presence or lack of newly emergent EPS) and treatment response (ie, a ≥25% or ≥50% reduction in the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale or Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale). To evaluate the performance of this binary classification, sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of consecutive cutoff points in the D2 occupancy were calculated: Accuracy = (True Positive + True Negative) / Total N. Twelve studies, including a total of 82 subjects, were included in our analyses. The cutoff points associated with 0.5 or greater in both sensitivity and specificity with the greatest accuracy were 77% to 78% for EPS, 60% for a 25% or greater symptom reduction, and 72% for a 50% or greater symptom reduction. These findings support the presence of a therapeutic window of 60% to 78% D2 occupancy of antipsychotics in young adults with schizophrenia and may suggest the presence of a continuum of effectiveness with increasing occupancy within this therapeutic window.
MgATP binding to the nucleotide‐binding domains of the eukaryotic cytoplasmic chaperonin induces conformational changes in the putative substrate‐binding domains

The eukaryotic cytosolic chaperonins are large heterooligomeric complexes with a cylindrical shape, resembling that of the homooligomeric bacterial counterpart, GroEL. In analogy to GroEL, changes in shape of the cytosolic chaperonin have been detected in the presence of MgATP using electron microscopy but, in contrast to the nucleotide‐induced conformational changes in GroEL, no details are available about the specific nature of these changes. The present study identifies the structural regions of the cytosolic chaperonin that undergo conformational changes when MgATP binds to the nucleotide binding domains. It is shown that limited proteolysis with trypsin in the absence of MgATP cleaves each of the eight subunits approximately in half, generating two fragments of ∼ 30 kDa. Using mass spectrometry (MS) and N‐terminal sequence analysis, the cleavage is found to occur in a narrow span of the amino acid sequence, corresponding to the peptide binding regions of GroEL and to the helical protrusion, recently identified in the structure of the substrate binding domain of the archeal group I1 chaperonin. This proteolytic cleavage is prevented by MgATP but not by ATP in the absence of magnesium, ATP analogs (MgATPyS and MgAMP‐PNP) or MgADP. These results suggest that, in analogy to GroEL, binding of MgATP to the nucleotide binding domains of the cytosolic chaperonin induces long range conformational changes in the polypeptide binding domains. It is postulated that despite their different subunit composition and substrate specificity, group I and group I1 chaperonins may share similar, functionally‐important, conformational changes. Additional conformational changes are likely to involve a flexible helix‐loop‐helix motif, which is characteristic for all group II chaperonins.