Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
[Striatal dopamine transporter density decrease in first episode schizophrenic patients treated with risperidone].

UNLABELLED Extrapyramidal symptoms and Parkinsonism (PS) are side effects commonly observed with antipsychotic treatment. However, about 24% of never-treated schizophrenic patients may suffer from PS, which contrast with that 1% observed from the general population. 123I-FP-CIT SPECT has probe useful to differentiate degenerative from non-degenerative PS, so it could be interesting using it for establishing the functional state of presynaptic dopamine neurons of these patients. AIM To determine the dopamine transporter binding (DAT) in a homogeneous group of first-episode schizophrenic patients. METHODS An open, transversal study. Thirty schizophrenic in-patients and 15 healthy subjects were recruited. Patients were treated with similar doses of risperidone and all subjects were scanned with 123I-FP-CIT. Extrapyramidal symptoms and psychopathological status was assessed by Simpson-Angus, CGI and PANSS. Semi-quantitative analyses of SPECT images were performed using ROIs placed in caudate nucleus, anterior, medium and posterior putamen and occipital cortex. RESULTS Whole striatum 123I-FP-CIT binding ratio was significantly lower in patients than healthy subjects (t = 2.56, p < 0.014). This was observed in whole putamen (t = 2.66, p < 0.011), anterior (t = 2.35, p < 0.023), medium (t = 2.38, p < 0.022) and posterior putamen (t = 2.09, p < 0.042). No differences were observed in caudate nucleus (t = 1.81, p = 0.076). Females obtained higher binding ratios than males (t = -3.13, p < 0.003). No correlation was observed between 123I-FP-CIT binding ratios and clinical scales. CONCLUSION In our series, first episode schizophrenic patients treated with risperidone have a decrease striatal DAT binding assessed with 123I-FP-CIT SPECT. This alteration could be related to their own schizophrenia disease or be secondary to the antipsychotic treatment.
Improvements in cardiometabolic risk markers, aerobic fitness, and functional performance following a physical therapy weight loss program

ABSTRACT Objective: The objectives of this study were to determine the efficacy of a current physical therapy and weight loss program model on exercise performance, physical function, and cardiometabolic risk factors in obese patients. Design: Retrospective pre-post design. Subjects: A total of 192 patients who previously underwent testing of anthropometric measurements, cardiovascular biomarkers, and lower extremity function scale (LEFS) were included. Results: There was a significant reduction in body weight [5.91 ± 3.47 (95% CI, 5.4 to 6.4) kg; p < 0.001; n = 187] and waist circumference [7.1 ± 5 (95% CI, 6.3 to 7.9) cm; p < 0.001; n = 187]. Submaximal exercise capacity (VO2ex) increased by [5.29 ± 4.74 (95% CI, 4.38 to 6.19) ml/kg/min; p < 0.001; n = 107], and lower extremity functional scale (LEFS) improved by [9 ± 11 (95% CI, 7 to 12) scale points; p < 0.001; n = 75]. Both systolic (pre SBP: 125.7 ± 15 vs. post SBP: 118.4 ± 12 mmHg; p < 0.001; n = 150) and diastolic (pre DBP: 78.5 ± 10 vs. post DBP: 74 ± 8.5 mmHg; p < 0.001; n = 150) blood pressures as well as fasting blood glucose (pre FBG: 112.8 ± 37 vs. post FBG: 99 ± 18 mg/dL; p < 0.001; n = 132) were significantly reduced. Conclusions: This study indicates the importance and significance of weight loss in improving physical function and cardiometabolic risk profiles across a cohort of outpatient physical therapy patients. Our study also suggests that weight loss can be achieved in a comprehensive exercise intensive physical therapy program for obese patients.
Robust control and state estimation of micro aerial vehicle using sliding mode technique

Micro Aerial Vehicles (MAVs) are smaller version of UAVs and operate at very small velocities, which makes it very vulnerable to external disturbances. Also, MAV being a small vehicle, obtaining accurate aerodynamic data is difficult. The vulnerability of the vehicle towards external disturbances and the model inaccuracies calls for a robust control. Sliding Mode Control with its invariance property against external disturbances and the model inaccuracies is seen as a potential solution. The Sliding Mode Control algorithm needs all the states, which may not be measurable always. This calls for the design of an observer in order to estimate the unmeasurable states. The application of Sliding Mode Observer is one way to overcome this hurdle. In this paper, the various steps involved in estimating states with a Sliding Mode Observer using Linear Matrix Inequalities (LMI) approach for Longitudinal and Lateral channels of an MAV is discussed. During aggressive maneuvering requirements, it is useful to have a tighter control of Body Accelerations. However, measurement of Angular Acceleration or numerical differentiation of Body Rate measurements is not practical. A Super Twisting Algorithm (STA) based Differentiator to estimate Angular Accelerations from Body Rates is proposed in this paper, which may be useful for tight Body Acceleration control.
Bullous Keratopathy and Corneal Decompensation Secondary to Iridoschisis: A Clinicopathological Report

Purpose: To report a case of localized bullous keratopathy and total corneal decompensation secondary to iridocorneal touch in iridoschisis. Design: Single interventional case report with pathologic correlation. Methods: An 80-year-old man with bilateral iridoschisis presented with loss of vision in the left eye (OS). Examination of the OS showed shallow anterior chamber (AC), cortical cataract, and free-floating iris fibers causing iridocorneal touch, leading to localized bullous keratopathy and total corneal decompensation. Ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM) confirmed the area of iridocorneal contact. Results: Penetrating keratoplasty combined with cataract extraction and posterior chamber lens implantation was performed in the OS. Histopathology of the corneal button showed features of corneal edema and endothelial cell loss with evidence of iridocorneal contact. Conclusions: Iridoschisis is an uncommon cause of bullous keratopathy and corneal decompensation. Patients with iridoschisis may need specular microscopy to determine the status of the corneal endothelium.
Prevalence of Corynebacterial 16S rRNA Sequences in Patients with Bacterial and “Nonbacterial” Prostatitis

ABSTRACT The etiology of chronic prostatitis syndromes in men is controversial, particularly when positive cultures for established uropathogens are lacking. Although identification of bacteria in prostatic fluid has relied on cultivation and microscopy, most microorganisms in the environment, including some human pathogens, are resistant to cultivation. We report here on an rRNA-based molecular phylogenetic approach to the identification of bacteria in prostate fluid from prostatitis patients. Positive bacterial signals were seen for 65% of patients with chronic prostatitis overall. Seven of 11 patients with bacterial signals but none of 6 patients without bacterial signals were cured with antibiotic-based therapy. Results indicate the occurrence in the prostate fluid of a wide spectrum of bacterial species representing several genera. Most rRNA genes were closely related to those of species belonging to the generaCorynebacterium, Staphylococcus,Peptostreptococcus, Streptococcus, andEscherichia. Unexpectedly, a wide diversity ofCorynebacterium species was found in high proportion compared to the proportions of other bacterial species found. A subset of these 16S rRNA sequences represent those of undescribed species on the basis of their positions in phylogenetic trees. These uncharacterized organisms were not detected in control samples, suggesting that the organisms have a role in the disease or are the consequence of the disease. These studies show that microorganisms associated with prostatitis generally occur as complex microbial communities that differ between patients. The results also indicate that microbial communities distinct from those associated with prostatitis may occur at low levels in normal prostatic fluid.
Type I and Type II Interferons Inhibit the Translation of Murine Norovirus Proteins

ABSTRACT Human noroviruses are responsible for more than 95% of nonbacterial epidemic gastroenteritis worldwide. Both onset and resolution of disease symptoms are rapid, suggesting that components of the innate immune response are critical in norovirus control. While the study of the human noroviruses has been hampered by the lack of small animal and tissue culture systems, our recent discovery of a murine norovirus (MNV) and its in vitro propagation have allowed us to begin addressing norovirus replication strategies and immune responses to norovirus infection. We have previously demonstrated that interferon responses are critical to control MNV-1 infection in vivo and to directly inhibit viral replication in vitro. We now extend these studies to define the molecular basis for interferon-mediated inhibition. Viral replication intermediates were not detected in permissive cells pretreated with type I interferon after either infection or transfection of virion-associated RNA, demonstrating a very early block to virion production that is after virus entry and uncoating. A similar absence of viral replication intermediates was observed in infected primary macrophages and dendritic cells pretreated with type I IFN. This was not due to degradation of incoming genomes in interferon-pretreated cells since similar levels of genomes were present in untreated and pretreated cells through 6 h of infection, and these genomes retained their integrity. Surprisingly, this block to the translation of viral proteins was not dependent on the well-characterized interferon-induced antiviral molecule PKR. Similar results were observed in cells pretreated with type II interferon, except that the inhibition of viral translation was dependent on PKR. Thus, both type I and type II interferon signaling inhibit norovirus translation in permissive myeloid cells, but they display distinct dependence on PKR for this inhibition.
The impact of health status and smoking behaviour on Indonesian labor wage

In this research, we try to estimate the relationship between health status and smoking behaviour on the labour wage in Indonesia. We investigate using Indonesian Family Life Survey (IFLS) data and two-step Heckman correction to deal with sample selection bias. We found that there is significance relationships between all socioeconomic variables and wage both for smokers and non-smokers. The interesting thing is that the effect on wage is less for smokers than non-smokers.
Reintroduction of oxaliplatin is associated with improved survival in advanced colorectal cancer.

PURPOSE In the OPTIMOX1 trial, previously untreated patients with advanced colorectal cancer were randomly assigned to two different schedules of leucovorin, fluorouracil, and oxaliplatin that were administered until progression in the control arm or in a stop-and-go fashion in the experimental arm. The randomly assigned treatment groups did not differ significantly in terms of response rate, progression-free survival, and overall survival (OS). However, the impact of oxaliplatin reintroduction on OS was potentially masked by the fact that a large number of patients did not receive the planned oxaliplatin reintroduction or received oxaliplatin after second-line therapy in both treatment groups. PATIENTS AND METHODS A Cox model was fitted with all significant baseline factors plus time-dependent variables reflecting tumor progression, reintroduction of oxaliplatin, and use of second-line irinotecan. A shared frailty model was fitted with all significant baseline factors plus the number of lines of chemotherapy received by the patient and the percentage of patients with oxaliplatin reintroduction in the center. An adjusted hazard ratio (HR) was calculated for three reintroduction classes (1% to 20%, 21% to 40%, and > 40%), using centers with no reintroduction (0%) as the reference group. RESULTS Oxaliplatin reintroduction had an independent and significant impact on OS (HR = 0.56, P = .009). The percentage of patients with oxaliplatin reintroductions also had a significant impact on OS. Centers in which more than 40% of the patients were reintroduced had an adjusted HR for OS of 0.59 compared with centers in which no patient was reintroduced. CONCLUSION Oxaliplatin reintroduction is associated with improved survival in patients with advanced colorectal cancer.
Complete mitochondrial genome of Sebastes vulpes (Scorpaenidae, Scorpaeniformes) from the East Sea, Korea

Abstract Sebastes vulpes is considered a valid species despite the presence of extensive hybrids. To obtain the basic genetic intraspecific structure, we analyzed the complete mitogenome of S. vulpes using next-generation sequencing. The complete mitogenome was 16,462 bp in length containing 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 2 rRNAs, 22 tRNAs and 1 control region. The complete mitogenome comprised 27.7% A, 26.5% T, 17.1% G and 28.6% C, showing a minor AT bias (54.3%). The initial codon in all PCGs was ATG, excluding COX1 (GTG). The majority of stop codons in the PCGs were TAA, excluding ND1 and ND3 (TAG), ND4 (AGA) and Cytb (incomplete termination codon, T). All tRNAs had a typical cloverleaf structure, excluding tRNASer (AGY), which lacked the DHU arm. The complete mitogenome of S. vulpes can be used to study hybridisation and on-going speciation.
Sex differences in brain developing in the presence or absence of gonads

Brain sexual differentiation results from the interaction of genetic and hormonal influences. This study used a unique agonadal mouse model to determine relative contributions of genetic and gonadal hormone influences in the differentiation of selected brain regions. SF‐1 knockout (SF‐1 KO) mice are born without gonads and adrenal glands and are not exposed to endogenous sex steroids during fetal/neonatal development. Consequently, male and female SF‐1 KO mice are born with female external genitalia and if left on their own, die shortly after birth due to adrenal insufficiency. In this study, SF‐1 KO mice were rescued by neonatal adrenal transplantation to examine their brain morphology in adult life. To determine potential brain loci that might mediate functional sex differences, we examined the area and distribution of immunoreactive calbindin and neuronal nitric oxide synthase in the preoptic area (POA) and ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus, two areas previously reported to be sexually dimorphic in the mammalian brain. A sex difference in the positioning of cells containing immunoreactive calbindin in a group within the POA was clearly gonad dependent based on the elimination of the sex difference in SF‐1 KO mice. Several other differences in the area of ventromedial hypothalamus and in POA were maintained in male and female SF‐1 KO mice, suggesting gonad‐independent genetic influences on sexually dimorphic brain development. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol, 2008
A Rewarding Framework for Network Resource Sharing in Co-Channel Hybrid Access Femtocell Networks

With the explosive growth in mobile data traffic, femtocell technology is regarded as the most effective way to enhance the mobile service quality and system capacity of cellular networks. However, the major problem with femtocell deployment is finding an appropriate access control mode that mobile operators and users are willing to adopt. Among the various kinds of access control modes, the hybrid access mode is considered the most promising because it allows femtocells to give preferential access to femtocell owners, while other public users can only access femtocells with certain restrictions. Because all femtocell owners are selfish, how to provide sufficient incentives so that they will share their femtocell resources is a challenging issue. To address the problem, we propose an economic framework for mobile operator and femtocell users based on game theoretical analysis. We also exploit the concept of revenue sharing, which provides a positive cycle to sustain the femtocell service. In the framework, a femtocell game is formulated where the femtocell owners determine the proportion of femtocell resources they will share with public users, while the operator maximizes its benefit by setting the ratio of the revenue distributed to femtocell owners. We analyze the existence and uniqueness of the Nash Equilibrium of the game. The results of extensive simulations show that the proposed framework maximizes the operator's benefit and satisfies the users' service requirements.
Surgical Anatomy of the Ophthalmic Artery: Its Origin and Proximal Course

OBJECTIVE: We examined the surgical anatomy of the ophthalmic artery (OA) by dissection of cadaver heads, evaluating the anatomic relationships between the origin of the OA and both its proximal course and surrounding structures. In addition, we demonstrated the surgical application of these anatomic features for safe surgical exploration of this region. METHODS: Through anatomic dissection, the origin of the OA was examined in both sides of 25 formalin-fixed and 10 fresh cadaver specimens. The following parameters were evaluated: the location of the origin of the OA in relation to the dural rings, the topographic relationship of the paraclinoid region, and the location of the dural penetrating point of the OA in the optic canal. RESULTS: The OA originated from the internal carotid artery within the intradural space in 49% of cases, just above the upper dural ring in 37%, at the clinoid segment in 7%, and within the cavernous sinus in 6%. The dural penetrating point of the OA was anterior to the falciform ligament, and thereby in the optic canal, in 74% of cases, ventral to the falciform ligament in 19%, and posterior to the falciform ligament in 7%. The anterior circumference point of the upper dural ring, the point at which the upper dural ring intersects the anterior edge of the internal carotid artery, was more anterior to the falciform ligament in 40% of cases and ventral and posterior to the falciform ligament in 16.4% and 43.6%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Our anatomic findings demonstrate anatomic variation of the OA in terms of its region of origin. Several anatomic points that were noteworthy during surgical exploration of this region are discussed.
A genetic approach to study H2O2 scavenging in fission yeast – distinct roles of peroxiredoxin and catalase

The main peroxiredoxin in Schizosaccharomyces pombe, Tpx1, is important to sustain aerobic growth, and cells lacking this protein are only able to grow on solid plates under anaerobic conditions. We have found that deletion of the gene coding for thioredoxin reductase, trr1, is a suppressor of the sensitivity to aerobic growth of Δtpx1 cells, so that cells lacking both proteins are able to grow on solid plates in the presence of oxygen. We have investigated this suppression effect, and determined that it depends on the presence of catalase, which is constitutively expressed in Δtrr1 cells in a transcription factor Pap1‐dependent manner. A complete characterization of the repertoire of hydrogen peroxide scavenging activities in fission yeast suggests that Tpx1 is the only enzyme with sufficient sensitivity for peroxides and cellular abundance as to control the low levels produced during aerobic growth, catalase being the next barrier of detoxification when the steady‐state levels of peroxides are increased in Δtpx1 cells. Gpx1, the only glutathione peroxidase encoded by the S. pombe genome, only has a minor secondary role when extracellular peroxides are added. Our study proposes non‐overlapping roles for the different hydrogen peroxide scavenging activities of this eukaryotic organism.
Frequency of Irritable Bowel Syndrome Among Healthcare Personnel

This study aims to investigate the frequency of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) among healthcare professionals. A total of 394 healthcare professionals and 207 individuals who were selected as a control group were included in the study. A questionnaire form containing Rome III diagnostic criteria was administered to health workers and the control group. The study groups were evaluated according to age, gender, occupation, profession, presence of chronic disease, drug usage, smoking, awareness of IBS, alarm symptoms, and the type of IBS they have. Irritable bowel syndrome was diagnosed in 44 healthcare workers and 10 control group participants. Of the 44 healthcare professionals with IBS, 6 had alternate, 13 had constipated-dominant, and 25 had diarrhea-dominant IBS. Of the 10 persons in the control group who were diagnosed as having IBS, 5 were diarrhea-dominant and 5 were constipated-dominant type. Irritable bowel syndrome was more frequent in healthcare professionals than in the control group. Healthcare workers are more prone to IBS due to their stressful working environment.
The influence of carbamazepine plasma level on blood pressure and some ECG parameters in patients with acute intoxication.

BACKGROUND Carbamazepine (CBZ) is an antiepileptic drug with tricyclic structure which implies its potential cardinotxic properties, especially in acute poisoning. AIM To evaluate some cardiovascular effects connected with CBZtoxicity and tofind the relation between them and CBZ plasma level. MATERIAL AND METHODS 34 patients (18 males, 16 females; median age 24.5) hospitalized in our Department in 1996-1997 and 2005-2006 due to acute CBZ poisoning. Analysis included following parameters: systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) blood pressure, ECG parameters: heart rate (HR), duration of QRS complex, PQ interval and corrected QT interval (QTc) calculated with Bazett's (QTc(B)) and Hodges's (QTc(H)) formulas. These parameters were compared with reference values for general population available in the literature. Relations between above mentioned parameters and CBZ plasma level were studied by means of Generalized Additive Model (GAM). RESULTS The reference values were exceeded most often for QRS (62%), DBP and QTc(B) (53%, both) and SBP (50%). The mean number of parameters with exceeded norms was 3.1 per patient (SD = 1.71). We failed to find any significant correlation between CBZ plasma level and any of the studied parameters. Positive correlation between SBP and DBP (r = 0.68; p < 0.001) and negative correlation between QRS and HR (r = -0.50; p = 0.003) were found. CONCLUSION CBZ could affect different cardiovascular parameters which should be monitored in cases of acute drug poisonings.