Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Clinical pitfalls of pain recurrence in endometriosis arising in the posterior vaginal fornix

Endometriotic nodules in the lower genital tract often cause dysmenorrhea and dyspareunia. We report here a case of posterior vaginal fornix endometriosis that was overlooked for several years. We performed a trans‐vaginal resection after the associated pain was not relieved by repetitive gonadotropin‐releasing hormone agonist (GnRHa) therapy or abdominal surgery. After the resection, the patient's symptoms disappeared. The patient subsequently conceived and proceeded to a full‐term delivery. The pathological diagnosis was ‘endometriosis of the vagina. ’ Immunohistochemical staining revealed that the progesterone receptor‐positive cells outnumbered the estrogen receptor‐positive cells. We emphasize that the existence of vaginal lesions should be considered in cases in which pain has not improved despite long‐term GnRHa administration, or in cases involving dyspareunia. To provide appropriate treatment, attentive evaluation and careful examination of the disease are necessary for a patient with prolonged unsatisfactory progress.
Which method for quantifying urinary albumin excretion gives what outcome? A comparison of immunonephelometry with HPLC.

BACKGROUND Microalbuminuria has recently been identified as an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease in the general population. Immunochemical urinary albumin assays only detect immunoreactive intact albumin. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is able to detect both immunoreactive and immunounreactive intact albumin. We compared both measurement methods respectively in subjects with normo-, micro-, and macroalbuminuria in the general population. METHODS We used 24-hour urine samples that were collected within the framework of the second screening for the PREVEND Study, a prospective cohort study on albuminuria in the city of Groningen, The Netherlands. RESULTS With nephelometry as immunochemical reference method, we classified 986 subjects as normoalbuminuric, 283 as microalbuminuric, and 43 subjects as macroalbuminuric. The mean +/- SD albumin concentration was 6.8 +/- 4.3 mg/L for nephelometry in the urine samples of the 998 subjects with a concentration <20 mg/L according to nephelometry versus 17.6 +/- 10.3 mg/L for HPLC (P < 0.001, HPLC 159% higher). These values were 58.9 +/- 40.6 mg/L for nephelometry versus 74.0 +/- 51.8 mg/L for HPLC (P < 0.001, N = 280, HPLC 26% higher) in the concentration range between 20 to 200 mg/L, and 436.3 +/- 371.8 mg/L for nephelometry versus 399.1 +/- 329.2 mg/L for HPLC above 200 mg/L (P = 0.048, N = 34, HPLC 8.5% lower). Associations of 24-hour urinary albumin excretion with cardiovascular risk factors were generally somewhat stronger for nephelometry than for HPLC. Logistic regression analyses with an abnormal ankle-brachial index as outcome parameter revealed adjusted odds ratios of 1.78 (95%CI 1.01-3.12, P < 0.05) and 4.67 (95%CI 1.68-12.9, P < 0.05) respectively for micro- and macroalbuminuria as determined by HPLC, compared to 1.37 (95%CI 0.77-2.41, P = NS) and 3.85 (95%CI 1.53-9.67, P < 0.05) respectively for nephelometry. The ROC-curve showed similar sensitivity and specificity for both methods (P = 0.25). CONCLUSION The use of HPLC for determination of urinary albumin concentrations reveals higher values compared to nephelometry, especially in the lower concentration range, resulting in a higher prevalence of microalbuminuria. With HPLC compared to nephelometry, we found a 21% higher independent odds ratio for microalbuminuria with the presence of peripheral vascular disease, and a 30% higher independent odds ratio for macroalbuminuria. This higher prevalence of microalbuminuria, accompanied with a similar absolute risk for peripheral vascular disease compared to patients with microalbuminuria detected by nephelometry, suggests HPLC to identify more people at risk, which is of great importance, especially when screening in large populations is concerned.
Gene expression and production of tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin 1, interleukin 6, and gamma interferon in C3H/HeN and C57BL/6N mice in acute Mycoplasma pulmonis disease

Studies were conducted to determine whether the production of various cytokines is associated with Mycoplasma pulmonis disease expression. Susceptible C3H/HeN and resistant C57BL/6N mice were inoculated intranasally with 10(7) CFU of virulent M. pulmonis UAB CT or avirulent M. pulmonis UAB T. Expression of genes for tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin 1 alpha (IL-1 alpha), IL-1 beta, IL-6, and gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) in whole lung tissue and TNF-alpha gene expression in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) cells was determined by reverse transcription-PCR using specific cytokine primers at various times postinoculation. In addition, concentrations of TNF-alpha, IL-1, IL-6, and IFN-gamma were determined in BAL fluid and serum samples at various times postinoculation. Our results showed that there was a sequential appearance of cytokines in the lungs of infected mice: TNF-alpha, produced primarily by BAL cells, appeared first, followed by IL-1 and IL-6, which were followed by IFN-gamma. Susceptible C3H/HeN mice had higher and more persistent concentrations of TNF-alpha and IL-6 in BAL fluid than did resistant C57BL/6N mice, indicating that TNF-alpha and possibly IL-6 are important factors in pathogenesis of acute M. pulmonis disease in mice. Serum concentrations of IL-6 were elevated in C3H/HeN mice, but not C57BL/6N mice, following infection with M. pulmonis, suggesting that IL-6 has both local and systemic effects in M. pulmonis disease.
An entity-centric query expansion approach to cumulative citation recommendation in Knowledge Base acceleration

Most existing Knowledge Bases (KBs) are maintained manually and difficult to be kept up-to-date. To address this problem, Cumulative Citation Recommendation (CCR) is introduced to filter relevant documents for target entities from a temporally ordered stream of documents and detect centrally relevant documents as candidate citations. This paper proposes an entity-centric query expansion approach to address CCR task. Given a target KB entity, we first extract its related entities from three sources, including its profile page, existing citations in the KB and annotation documents. Then the three kinds of related entities are leveraged as expansion terms in different combination strategies. Extensive experiments have been conducted on KBA-CCR-2012 dataset, and experimental results have validated the effectiveness and robustness of our approach.
Heat Shock Protein 70 Binds to Human Apurinic/Apyrimidinic Endonuclease and Stimulates Endonuclease Activity at Abasic Sites*

The interaction of human heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) with human apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease (HAP1) was demonstrated by coimmunoprecipitation. A combination of HSP70 and HAP1 also caused a shift in the electrophoretic mobility of a DNA fragment containing an apurinic/apyrimidinic site. The functional consequence of the HSP70/HAP1 interaction was a 10–100-fold enhancement of endonuclease activity at abasic sites. The physical and functional interaction between HSP70 and HAP1 did not require the addition of ATP. The association of HSP70 and a key base excision repair enzyme suggests a role for heat shock proteins in promoting base excision repair. These findings provide a possible mechanism by which HSP70 protects cells against oxidative stress.
Prevalence and risk factors of elevated blood pressure, overweight, and dyslipidemia in adolescent and young adults in rural Nepal.

BACKGROUND Chronic disease begins early in life, yet population data are sparse on potential causal factors in children and young adults in South Asia. METHODS We assessed risk factors for chronic disease in two population cohorts, aged 9-23 years, in rural Nepal. Assessed variables included short height (less than -2 z), high body mass index (BMI) (z>0.42), waist circumference (WC) >90 cm (male) or 80 cm (female) or age-adjusted child cutoff], high blood pressure (>120/80 mmHg), fasting glucose (≥100 mg/dL), glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) (>7%), blood lipids [triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and total cholesterol], diet, smoking, alcohol, and socioeconomic status (SES) factors. RESULTS The population was stunted (46%) and few were overweight (∼2%-4% with high BMI or WC). Twelve percent had high blood pressure. Plasma hypertriglyceridemia (≥150 mg/dL) affected ∼8.5%, and 78% had low HDL-C concentrations <40 mg/dL (male) or <50 mg/dL (female)], while few (≤3%) had elevated total cholesterol (≥180 mg/dL), glucose, and HbA1c. Females were at higher risk than males for high blood pressure [odds ratio (OR) 1.9; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.6-2.3] and overweight (4.2; 3.0-5.8), but had lower risk of dyslipidemia (0.7; 0.6-0.9). Ethnic plains Madheshi were less likely to be overweight (0.3; 0.2-0.4), but had greater risk of dyslipidemia (1.4; 1.1-1.7) versus those of Hill origin. Some dietary factors were significantly associated with high blood pressure or dyslipidemia, but not overweight. CONCLUSIONS Dyslipidemia and high blood pressure are emerging health concerns among young adults in rural Nepal.
Assessment of Common Bile Duct Using Laparoscopic Ultrasound During Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy

Background Several reports have shown that laparoscopic ultrasound (LUS) examination of the bile duct is promising and suggest it as a primary method for bile duct imaging during laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC). This study was designed to evaluate the feasibility of LUS during LC, and the occurrence rate of common bile duct (CBD) stones during LC. Materials and Methods One hundred and fifteen consecutive patients with gallstones were enrolled into this study. LUS was used to assess the CBD routinely during LC, which was successfully performed in 112 cases. Choledocholithiasis was rated before LC as being of low, intermediate, or high probability on the basis of clinical, laboratory, and/or imaging findings (Cotton criteria). Duct calculi were defined as echogenic material within the CBD, which cast discrete acoustic shadows. Sludge was defined as mobile or floating low-amplitude echogenic material without discrete acoustic shadowing. Results The CBD could be evaluated in 112 of 115 LC (97.4%) patients (72 females and 40 males). The mean age was 54±16 years old. The occurrence rate of CBD stones in the low-risk group was 7%, that in the intermediate group was 36.4%, and the high-risk group was 78.9%. The overall incidence of CBD stones was 25.0%. Conclusions With increasing experience, LUS can become the routine method for evaluating the bile duct during LC. A more aggressive preoperative evaluation of CBD is mandated in the intermediate and high-risk groups of patients suspected of having CBD stones.
Genetic relationship of 32 cell lines of the Euplotes octocarinatus species complex revealed by random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) fingerprinting

Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) fingerprinting was used in this study to determine the genetic relationship of different cell lines of the hypotrichous ciliate Euplotes octocarinatus. Stocks isolated from different habitats in the USA, and from a group of genetically recombined laboratory strains, were characterized. Band‐sharing indices (D) for all possible pairwise comparisons revealed a remarkable genetic diversity between the different cell lines. Investigation of the genetic structure in natural populations found diversity — although to a different extent — in all populations investigated. No clonal structure could be observed, as proposed for several protozoa and recently shown for E. daidaleos. These findings suggest frequent conjugation in the populations of E. octocarinatus. No correlation between the genetic relationship of cell lines from different habitats and the distance between the corresponding sampling locations was found. Once separated geographically, the exchange of genetic material between populations appears to be nearly impossible. Therefore, these groups tend to separate into sibling species. The data generally support the occurrence of different syngens in the E. octocarinatus species complex. This finding is in accordance with our observation that the morphological ‘species’ of E. octocarinatus consists of several syngens or sibling species, similar to findings for the Paramecium aurelia‐, Tetrahymena pyriformis‐ and E. vannus‐species complexes.
The economic impact of esophageal variceal hemorrhage: Cost‐effectiveness implications of endoscopic therapy

Esophageal variceal hemorrhage (EVH) is a serious and expensive sequela of chronic liver disease, leading to increased utilization of resources. Today, endoscopic sclerotherapy (ES) and endoscopic ligation (EL) are the accepted, community standards of endoscopic treatment of patients with EVH. However, there are no published studies comparing the economic costs of treating EVH using these interventions. As part of a prospective, randomized trial comparing ES and EL for the treatment of EVH, we estimated the direct costs of health care utilization and cost‐effectiveness for the prevention of variceal rebleeding and patient survival at 1‐year follow‐up. Treatment groups were similar in incidence of variceal rebleeding (41.9% vs. 42.9%), variceal obliteration (41.9% vs. 40.0%), hospital days, blood transfusions, shunt requirements, and survival (71.0% vs. 60.0%). There were significantly more treatment failures for active bleeding using EL (42% vs. 0%; P = .027) and esophageal stricture formation in the ES‐treated patients (19.4% vs. 2.9%; P = 0.03). Median total direct cost outcomes were similar between groups (EL = $9,696 and ES = $13,197; P = .46). EL and ES had similar cost/variceal rebleeding prevented ($28,678 vs. $29,093) and cost/survival ($27,313 vs. $23,804). In the subgroup of active bleeders, ES had a substantially lower cost/survival ($28,523 vs. $51,696). We conclude that resource utilization was similar between treatment groups and that the choice of endoscopic therapy for EVH must still rely on clinical grounds. Further studies comparing costs and resource utilization in this patient population are needed.
An Animal Model of Local Breast Cancer Recurrence in the Setting of Autologous Fat Grafting for Breast Reconstruction

Autologous fat grafting after breast cancer surgery is commonly performed, but concerns about oncologic risk remain. To model the interaction between fat grafting and breast cancer cells, two approaches were employed. In the first approach, graded numbers of viable MDA‐MB‐231 or BT‐474 cells were admixed directly into human fat grafts and injected subcutaneously into immune‐deficient mice to determine if the healing graft is a supportive environment for the tumor. In the second approach, graded doses of MDA‐MB‐231 cells were suspended in Matrigel and injected into the mammary fat pads of mice. Two weeks after the tumor cells engrafted, 100 μL of human adipose tissue was grafted into the same site. Histologically, MDA‐MB‐231 cells seeded within fat grafts were observed and stained positive for human‐specific pan‐cytokeratin and Ki67. The BT‐474 cells failed to survive when seeded within fat grafts at any dose. In the second approach, MDA‐MB‐231 cells had a strong trend toward lower Ki67 staining at all doses. Regression analysis on all groups with fat grafts and MDA‐MB‐231 revealed fat tissue was associated with lower cancer cell Ki67 staining. Healing fat grafts do not support the epithelial BT‐474 cell growth, and support the mesenchymal MDA‐MB‐231 cell growth only at doses ten times greater than in Matrigel controls. Moreover, fat grafts in association with MDA‐MB‐231 cancer cells already present in the wound resulted in decreased tumor proliferation and increased fibrosis. These findings suggest that clinical fat grafting does not induce breast cancer cell growth, and may even have a suppressive effect. Stem Cells Translational Medicine 2018;7:125–134
Processing of vibrissa sensory information within the rat neocortex.

Neuronal response properties were compared among different layers of the urethan-anesthetized rat vibrissa cortex. Measurements were made of the receptive-field (RF) size, the degree of directional selectivity, the latency of driving, the velocity threshold, and the tuning-curve slope. The RF size was defined by the number of whiskers that, when deflected individually, activated a neurons. For the center whisker of the RF (usually whisker C3), the response to deflection in the most preferred direction was compared with that in the opposite direction to classify the neuron as either strongly directional, weakly directional, or nondirectional. For the most preferred direction of the center whisker, the minimum velocity of deflection required to drive the unit was defined as the velocity threshold, the latency of driven response to a standard supramaximal velocity was measured, and finally, using exponential ramp-and-hold deflection, the threshold amplitude was determined at different values of time constant to construct a tuning-curve slope. Cortical layer IV neurons, as a whole, have the lowest threshold velocity. Layer Vb neurons stand on the opposite extreme in having the highest mean velocity threshold value. Although this difference is consistent with the generally held view that the "barrels" in layer IV represent the input stage of cortical information processing, the lack of laminar differences in latency and RF size support the idea that neurons of other cortical layers also receive direct thalamocortical inputs. The population of cortical neurons thus appears quite homogeneous across different layers as far as the results of examination with short-pulsed stimulation are concerned. Correlation of pairs of parameters (RF, directionality, velocity threshold, and latency) was tested in the two layers (layer IV and layer Vb). The latency and velocity threshold are highly correlated within both layers. Also, most of correlation coefficients of the corresponding pairs of the two layers are similar. However, the use of exponential ramp-and-hold deflection of whiskers revealed a difference in tuning-curve slope between layer IV and layer Vb (also layers II-III); layer IV neurons show flatter tuning-curve slopes (more oriented for detection of the amplitude component of whisker deflection) than neurons of layer Vb and layers II-III, which are more oriented for velocity detection. During the hold phase of whisker deflection, layer IV neurons tend to show sustained discharges, whereas layer Vb (also layers II-III) neurons mainly exhibit transient responses. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Harms from other people's drinking: an international survey of their occurrence, impacts on feeling safe and legislation relating to their control

Objective To examine factors associated with suffering harm from another person's alcohol consumption and explore how suffering such harms relate to feelings of safety in nightlife. Design Cross-sectional opportunistic survey (Global Drug Survey) using an online anonymous questionnaire in 11 languages promoted through newspapers, magazines and social media. Subjects Individuals (participating November 2014–January 2015) aged 18–34 years, reporting alcohol consumption in the past 12 months and resident in a country providing ≥250 respondents (n=21 countries; 63 725 respondents). Main outcome measures Harms suffered due to others’ drinking in the past 12 months, feelings of safety on nights out (on the way out, in bars/pubs, in nightclubs and when travelling home) and knowledge of over-serving laws and their implementation. Results In the past 12 months, >40% of respondents suffered at least one aggressive (physical, verbal or sexual assault) harm and 59.5% any harm caused by someone drunk. Suffering each category of harm was higher in younger respondents and those with more harmful alcohol consumption patterns. Men were more likely than women to have suffered physical assault (9.2% vs 4.7; p<0.001), with women much more likely to suffer sexual assault or harassment (15.3% vs 2.5%; p<0.001). Women were more likely to feel unsafe in all nightlife settings, with 40.8% typically feeling unsafe on the way home. In all settings, feeling unsafe increased with experiencing more categories of aggressive harm by a drunk person. Only 25.7% of respondents resident in countries with restrictions on selling alcohol to drunks knew about such laws and 75.8% believed that drunks usually get served alcohol. Conclusions Harms from others’ drinking are a threat to people's health and well-being. Public health bodies must ensure that such harms are reflected in measures of the societal costs of alcohol, and must advocate for the enforcement of legislation designed to reduce such harms.
Cloning and Functional Analysis of the Gene Encoding the 33- to 36-Kilodalton Outer Membrane Protein Associated with Carbapenem Resistance in Acinetobacter baumannii

ABSTRACT We investigated a multiresistant strain of Acinetobacter baumannii isolated in our hospital. Analysis of the N-terminal peptide sequence of the outer membrane proteins (OMPs) purified from the strain allowed us to clone and sequence the nucleotides of the gene encoding the 33- to 36-kDa OMP associated with carbapenem resistance in A. baumannii
Clinical Value of Preoperative Mechanical Bowel Cleansing in Elective Colorectal Surgery: A Systematic Review

AbstractPURPOSE: This study was designed to establish scientific evidence for and clinical results of preoperative mechanical bowel cleansing before elective colorectal surgery. METHODS: Systematic literature searches in electronic databases, conference proceedings, and hand searches of reference lists of previously retrieved literature without any language restrictions were used. Only randomized trials were included. A quality assessment of each retrieved trial was performed. Outcome measures were surgical infections, mortality, and anastomotic dehiscence. Meta-analyses of the selected trials were performed using the Peto odds ratio. RESULTS: The results of each outcome were as follows. 1) Overall anastomotic leakage —six studies: 5.5 percent with cleansing compared with 2.9 percent without cleansing; odds ratio 1.94, 95 percent confidence interval: 1.09 to 3.43 (P = 0.02). 2) Peritonitis— three studies: 5.1 percent with cleansing compared with 2.8 percent without cleansing; odds ratio 1.90, 95 percent confidence interval: 0.78 to 4.64 (not significant). 3) Wound infection —six studies: 7.4 percent with cleansing compared with 5.7 percent without cleansing; odds ratio 1.34, 95 percent confidence interval: 0.85 to 2.13 (not significant). CONCLUSIONS: There is no evidence in the literature for beneficial effects from the use of bowel cleansing before elective colorectal surgery. Cleansing seems to be associated with an increased risk of more anastomotic dehiscence. Further studies stratifying between rectal and colonic surgery are warranted.