Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Infliximab Pharmacokinetics in Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patients

Infliximab, a chimeric monoclonal antibody, has profoundly modified the treatment of several inflammatory diseases, but no satisfactory description of its pharmacokinetics is available. The objective of this study is to describe the pharmacokinetics of infliximab and to explore the sources of its interindividual variability. Thirty-three chronic inflammatory bowel disease patients were studied. Infliximab serum concentrations, obtained during therapeutic drug monitoring, were analyzed using a population approach. Influence of sex, weight, age, concomitant immunosuppressive treatment, and development of antibodies toward infliximab (ATI) on pharmacokinetic parameters was investigated. A two-compartment model with first-order distribution and elimination constants allowed a satisfactory description of infliximab serum concentrations. Mean population distribution and elimination half-lives were 4.3 and 18.5 days, respectively. Weight and sex were found to significantly influence volume of distribution of the central compartment, which increased with weight and was higher in men. Clearance was 2.7 times higher, and elimination half-life was 34% lower in the presence of ATI. In two patients, an increase in infliximab dose or a decrease in dosing interval lead to a decrease in infliximab clearance toward its value in patients without ATI. Infliximab pharmacokinetics are similar to those of other monoclonal antibodies, notably with an elimination half-life of approximately 3 weeks. Both body weight and sex were found to influence infliximab pharmacokinetics, and its clearance increased thrice in the presence of ATI.
Increasing Incidence of Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamase-Producing Enterobacteriaceae (ESBL) and the Relation to Consumption of Broad-Spectrum Antimicrobial Agents 2003-2011 in a Large Area of Copenhagen, Denmark

Purpose: To investigate 1) the development in the incidence of ESBL-producing bacteria in hospitals and primary health care, 2) the contribution of primary health care to the incidence of ESBL-producing bacteria, and 3) the development in resistance patterns for all Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates in relation to antimicrobial consumption in hospitals and primary health care. Methods: ESBL-data were retrospectively collected from bacterial isolates from all specimens received at the Department of Clinical Microbiology from 2003 to 2011 together with the corresponding patient data. ESBL-production was detected in isolates from 1067 of 59,373 patients (1.8%) with an E. coli infection and in 263 of 8660 patients (3.0%) with a K. pneumoniae infection. Results: From 2003 to 2009, an increase in patients with an ESBL-producing isolate occurred in both hospitals and primary health care at the same time as an increased consumption of broad-spectrum antimicrobial agents was seen. Interventions to reduce prescription of cephalosporins and ciprofloxacin at the hospitals from 2010 resulted in a remarkable decrease in patients with ESBL-producing K. pneumoniae whereas a continuing increase was seen in patients with ESBL-producing E. coli both at hospitals and in primary health care. The proportion of patients with community-acquired ESBL-producing E. coli was stable with an increase of only 1.4% from 2007 to 2011. Conclusions: Reduction in prescription of broad-spectrum antimicrobial agents at the hospital level had an important impact on the incidence of ESBL-producing K. pneumoniae, but not on ESBL-producing E. coli.
Hair Analysis of Fatty Acid Ethyl Esters in the Detection of Excessive Drinking in the Context of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

A serious challenge in diagnosing fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is the need to document alcohol use during pregnancy. Maternal/paternal alcohol abuse affects the likelihood of fetal alcohol exposure, and hence the occurrence of FASD. The objective of the current study was to document the use of the fatty acid ethyl ester (FAEE) hair test, a biomarker of excessive alcohol use, in parents at risk of having children with FASD and quantify the prevalence of alcohol use in this population. Hair samples submitted for FAEE testing between October 2005 and May 2007 were evaluated (n = 324). Subjects consisted of the parents of at-risk children. Samples were analyzed using a previously published method. Briefly, samples underwent a liquid-liquid extraction, followed by headspace solid phase microextraction, and were then analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry using deuterated FAEE as internal standards. Limit of detection and limit of quantification values were between 0.01-0.04 ng/mg and 0.04-0.12 ng/mg, respectively. Positive levels for excessive drinking were ascertained using a cutoff level of 0.5 ng/mg, offering 90% sensitivity and specificity. The rate of positive hair samples for excessive drinking was 33.3% (32.4% among women and 35.4% among men) (n = 324). The majority of samples (62%) had cumulative FAEE levels above a level that excludes strict abstinence (0.2 ng/mg) and many (19%) were highly positive (above 1.0 ng/mg). Of 26 FAEE hair tests for which women were reported to be pregnant, 38% had FAEE hair levels above 0.2 ng/mg and 19% tested positive for excessive drinking, with levels above 0.5 ng/mg; 12% had levels above 1.0 ng/mg. The high rate of positive FAEE results demonstrates that the FAEE hair test corroborates the clinical suspicion of alcohol use in parents of children at risk for FASD. Our results suggest that FAEE hair analysis may be a powerful tool in detecting excessive alcohol use in the perinatal period.
Plant antimicrobial peptides snakin-1 and snakin-2: chemical synthesis and insights into the disulfide connectivity.

Antimicrobial peptides and proteins represent an important class of plant defensive compounds against pathogens and provide a rich source of lead compounds in the field of drug discovery. We describe the effective preparation of the cysteine-rich snakin-1 and -2 antimicrobial peptides by using a combination of solid-phase synthesis and native chemical ligation. A subsequent cysteine/cystine mediated oxidative folding to form the six internal disulfide bonds concurrently gave the folded proteins in 40-50 % yield. By comparative evaluation of mass spectrometry, HPLC, biological data and trypsin digest mapping of folded synthetic snakin-2 compared to natural snakin-2, we demonstrated that synthetic snakin-2 possesses full antifungal activity and displayed similar chromatographic behaviour to natural snakin-2. Trypsin digest analysis allowed tentative assignment of three of the purported six disulfide bonds.
Predicting fears of intimacy among individuals with post-traumatic stress symptoms by their sensory profile

Introduction The purpose of the research was: (1) to compare fears of intimacy between people with post-traumatic stress symptoms and healthy controls; (2) to examine the relationships between sensory processing patterns and fears of intimacy among people with post-traumatic stress symptoms; (3) to examine the ability of post-traumatic stress symptoms and sensory processing patterns to predict fears of intimacy. Method The study consisted of 60 people between 24 and 62 years old. Thirty of the participants had post-traumatic stress symptoms and the other 30 were healthy controls. All participants were involved in an intimate relationship. Participants completed the Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Symptom Scale, the Adolescent/Adult Sensory Profile, and the Fear of Close Personal Relationship Questionnaire. Findings Higher prevalence of extreme sensory sensitivity, avoidance, and low registration was found among the study group. These patterns significantly correlated with impaired emotional responses associated with intimacy. Low registration and group membership predicted fears of intimacy. Conclusion Sensory processing difficulties may contribute to the impaired intimate relationships of people with post-traumatic stress symptoms. Occupational therapists may help people with post-traumatic stress symptoms to be aware of their sensory processing difficulties and their impact on social/intimate relationships. This awareness may contribute to the person's ability to cope with post-traumatic stress symptoms, enable better emotional performance, and elevate quality of life.
Transporting critically ill patients by ambulance

medical orchidectomy given a choice; all the patients receiving decapeptyl preferred to continue receiving it as long as they were in remission. As far as relative costs are concerned, all patients receiving decapeptyl can be treated from the time of diagnosis as outpatients, while most surgical patients are treated as inpatients using a general anaesthetic. About 8-10 /% of these patients develop some minor complication, such as infection or wound breakdown, which delays their discharge, thus using up valuable hospital beds. Furthermore, 20-30% of patients treated with surgical orchidectomy fail to respond to it and have therefore been subjected to an operation which is unnecessary, possibly psychologically damaging, certainly not a universal choice of well informed patients, and expensive. Indeed, one can argue that all patients should be given long acting luteinising hormone releasing hormone analogues and only those patients who have a clinical response should be selected for surgical orchidectomy, which works out cheaper the longer remission is maintained. Clearly, the costs of these long acting analogues will come down because of the competition that will result from the different analogues soon to be available from different pharmaceutical companies. The statement that surgical orchidectomy is cheaper is still debatable, and it is not possible to make a simple comparison of, say, 100 patients treated by either means since 20-30% of these patients will not receive the luteinising hormone releasing hormone analogue beyond three months, while surgical orchidectomy is not reversible.
Influence of immobilized quaternary ammonium group surface density on antimicrobial efficacy and cytotoxicity

Abstract Bacterial colonization of medical devices causes infections and is a significant problem in healthcare. The use of antibacterial coatings is considered as a potential solution to this problem and has attracted a great deal of attention. Using concentration density gradients of immobilized quaternary ammonium compounds it was demonstrated that a specific threshold of surface concentration is required to induce significant bacterial death. It was determined that this threshold was 4.18% NR4+ bonded nitrogen with a surface potential of + 120.4 mV. Furthermore, it is shown for the first time that adhesion of constituents of the culture medium to the quaternary ammonium modified surface eliminated any cytotoxicity towards eukaryotic cells such as primary human fibroblasts. The implications of this type of surface fouling on the antimicrobial efficacy of surface coatings are also discussed.
Risk factor for isoniazid-resistance among pulmonary tuberculosis patients in Northern Thailand

Abstract The objective of this study was to analyze factors associated with isoniazid-resistance among pulmonary tuberculosis patients in Northern Thailand. Data was obtained from 36 hospitals in the area under supervision of The Office of Communicable Disease Prevention and Control Region 10, Chiang Mai, in which information of tuberculosis patients who had received isoniazid and was tested for resistance to the drug between 2003 and 2007 was collected. There were 504 patients who could be included in the analysis. These patients were divided into 2 groups through matching method (1:3) by using genders and age variables. There were 126 patients who were put into a “Case” group where patients showed resistance to isoniazid and 378 patients who were put into a “Control” group where patients showed no signs of resistance to the drug. Factors associated with isoniazid-resistance were assessed using univariate and multivariate conditional logistic regression analyses. It was found that 23.0% of patients in the case group and only 7.4% in the control group were relapsed patients. And, of these relapsed patients, the percentages of patients who had received treatment more than twice before were 27.6 and 10.7, respectively. After a univariate analysis, the following statistically significant factors contributing to the drug resistant condition were found: 1) type of patient 2) drug resistant tuberculosis mycobacterium infection 3) nontuberculoses mycobacterium infection 4) type of standard drugs treatment used, and 5) drugs’ side effect. When other variables were controlled, it was found that relapsed patient is 5.5 times more likely to be drug resistant than new patient. (95% confidence interval: 2.3–13.0). The results of this research indicated that doctors and healthcare personnel should be aware of whether the patient is a relapsed or a new patient and to closely monitor patient’s reaction to the treatment.
Creation of New Services: Collaboration Between Mental Health Consumers and Occupational Therapists

In order to improve polices and practice in mental health services, a study was carried out in Iceland to explore users' perspectives about recovery. Qualitative research methods were used with a diverse cross-section of subjects who considered themselves “survivors” of mental illness. The study identified supports and barriers to recovery from the user's perspective. A group of users and occupational therapists worked together to utilize the results and create new ideas in service delivery for individuals with mental health problems. They expanded their partnership by involving occupational therapy students to work on a quality assurance project. This collaboration has already promoted the development of new services in Iceland, which are driven by user's perspectives on recovery and empowerment and concepts from the Model of Human Occupation.
Bacterial populations on brewery filling hall surfaces as revealed by next-generation sequencing

Abstract Due to the presence of moisture and nutrients, brewery filling line surfaces are susceptible to unwanted microbial attachment. Knowledge of the attaching microbes will aid in designing hygienic control of the process. In this study the bacterial diversity present on brewery filling line surfaces was revealed by next generation sequencing. The two filling lines studied maintained their characteristic bacterial community throughout three sampling times (13–163 days). On the glass bottle line, γ-proteobacteria dominated (35–82% of all OTUs), whereas on the canning line α-, β- and γ-proteobacteria and actinobacteria were most common. The most frequently detected genera were Acinetobacter, Propinobacterium and Pseudomonas. The halophilic genus Halomonas was commonly detected, which might be due to its tolerance to alkaline foam cleaners. This study has revealed a detailed overall picture of the bacterial groups present on filling line surfaces. Further effort should be given to determine the efficacy of washing procedures on different bacterial groups.
Furvina inhibits the 3-oxo-C12-HSL-based quorum sensing system of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and QS-dependent phenotypes

Abstract Disruption of cell–cell communication or quorum sensing (QS) is considered a stimulating approach for reducing bacterial pathogenicity and resistance. Although several QS inhibitors (QSIs) have been discovered so far their clinical use remains distant. This problem can be circumvented by searching for QSI among drugs already approved for the treatment of different diseases. In this context, antibiotics have earned special attention. Whereas at high concentrations antibiotics exert a killing effect, at lower concentrations they may act as signaling molecules and as such can modulate gene expression. In this study, the antibiotic furvina was shown to be able to cause inhibition of the 3-oxo-C12-HSL-dependent QS system of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Furvina interacts with the LasI/LasR system. The data were validated by modeling studies. Furvina can also reduce biofilm formation and decrease the production of QS-controlled virulence factors.
P450 Oxidoreductase *28 (POR*28) and Tacrolimus Disposition in Pediatric Kidney Transplant Recipients—A Pilot Study

Background: Both age and CYP3A5 genotype are important determinants of tacrolimus disposition in pediatric kidney transplant recipients. In a recent study in adults, POR*28 was associated with increased dosing requirements early after transplant of CYP3A5-expressing kidney transplant recipients. The authors aimed to evaluate the additional contribution of POR*28 to early tacrolimus disposition in pediatric kidney transplant recipients. Methods: Retrospective data of 43 pediatric kidney transplant recipients up to 14 days posttransplant were evaluated on tacrolimus dose and tacrolimus predose blood concentrations. Recipient POR*28 and CYP3A5 genotype were determined. Results: CYP3A5 expressers carrying at least 1 POR*28 allele had on average 18.3% lower tacrolimus predose concentrations and 20.2% lower concentration/dose ratios compared with CYP3A5 expressers with POR*1/*1 genotype (P = 0.002 and P = 0.001, respectively). In CYP3A5 nonexpressers, tacrolimus disposition did not significantly differ between POR genotypes. Conclusions: In this small cohort of pediatric kidney transplant recipients, POR*28 genotype seems to explain part of the variability found in tacrolimus disposition, in addition to age and CYP3A5 genotype. This finding should be validated in a larger population, and it would be worthwhile to evaluate the clinical impact of this genotype.
Alanine-based peptides containing polar residues presumably favour α-helical structure entropically

To evaluate the enthalpic and entropic contributions of polar residues in alanine-based peptides to α-helical propensities of peptides, we applied a Brownian dynamics simulation, together with the umbrella sampling, to two alanine-based 21-residue peptides: one composed of alanine only (AAA), the other composed of 18 alanines and 3 arginines (ARA). Higher α-helical propensity of ARA than that of AAA was obtained. However, they showed similar conformational stability in enthalpy, considering the contribution of the solvation energy and the potential energy. As an evaluation of entropic effects, the fluctuation of a dihedral angle, ψ, was investigated. Arginine residue showed smaller fluctuation than alanine in elongated states. Higher α-helical propensity might originate from entropic effects. Furthermore, arginine seems to affect the α-helical propensity of alanines interacting with arginine.
Elder Abuse and Barriers to Help Seeking in Chennai, India: A Qualitative Study

This qualitative study attempts to understand why older persons abused by their family members in India do not seek help. In-depth interviews over three visits were conducted with six adults aged 65 years and above who had been physically abused by their sons/daughters-in-law. The interviews were transcribed and themes identified using a thematic analysis method. The barriers preventing a person from seeking help were service-related (accessibility, lack of trust); religious (Karma); family (deleterious effects on family, family members’ responses to help seeking); and individual (socioeconomic dependency, self-blame). The unique findings that surfaced were fear of losing one's identity by losing one's family, attributing abuse to past sins, and concern over not attaining salvation if one's sons did not perform funeral rites. The authors propose a checklist to explore and assess the barriers to seeking help. Recommendations for geroprofessionals in overcoming barriers include implementing outreach programs and changing the misconceptions regarding Karma.
Use of computers among students of dental college in Saudi Arabia

Background: The Riyadh Colleges of Dentistry and Pharmacy (RCSDP) is in the process of implementing a total computer based information system to improve the delivery of curricula, clinical teaching and administration. In order to measure the level of acceptance and the degree of training that would be required, a survey was undertaken to investigate the current knowledge and skills of students with respect to information communication technology (ICT). Materials and Methods: Data collection took place by means of a questionnaire which included items on computer access, computer skills and training, computer activities used for study at college, internet access and activities involving the internet and dentistry. Results: An overall response rate of 81.8% (226 out of 276) was obtained. Besides having free and unlimited access to computers at the college, 82.7% of the students had access to computers at home also and 93% owned their own laptop. About 63.7% students gained their knowledge about computers from personal study and experience. Academic uses of the computer were mainly by PowerPoint programs (61%) and 91% had access to Internet. Around 85% preferred lectures to be available on the college website. Google was the most commonly used search engine (60%), and only 10% accessed PubMed or other medical and dental sites for academic purposes. Conclusion: It can thus be concluded that students of RCSDP had adequate access to substantial ICT resources and demonstrated an excellent attitude towards the computer and Internet technology. However, the educational use of ICT among these students has great scope for improvement.
Detection of elder abuse: Exploring the potential use of the Elder Abuse Suspicion Index© by law enforcement in the field

ABSTRACT There are no known instruments to aid law enforcement officers in the assessment of elder abuse (EA), despite officers’ contact with older adults. This study aimed to identify: 1) officers’ perceptions and knowledge of EA, 2) barriers in detecting EA in the field, 3) characteristics officers value in a detection tool, and to explore 4) the potential for officers to use the Elder Abuse Suspicion Index (EASI)©. Data was collected from 69 Connecticut officers who confirmed that barriers to effectively detecting EA included a lack of EA detection instruments, as well as a lack of training on warning signs and risk factors. Officers indicated that the important elements of a desirable tool for helping to detect EA included ease of use, clear instructions, and information on follow-up resources. Approximately 80% of respondents could see themselves using the EASI© in the field, and a modified version has been developed for this purpose.
A Proactive Approach to Aging Well for Women Over 45

ABSTRACT This paper reports on an exploratory two-group, pre- and posttest design study, which employed data triangulation with a convenience sample (n = 120) of women over 45 years aged between 45 and 83 years, living and/or working within the South East Sydney and Illawarra areas of New South Wales. Sixty-nine women recorded the Health Check Log (HCL) (33 were health professionals) to assess and monitor their health over 12 months. The majority found the HCL greatly assisted in monitoring and maintaining their health, and the analyses of the SF-36 health survey suggest that women 45 years and over may benefit by regular use of the HCL.
Older Women's Comfort with 3-D Body Scanning Technology as Compared with Younger Women

This study examined older women's comfort with 3-D body scanning and explored its use for enhancing quality of life. Women (66 old; 66 young) were scanned and surveyed pre- and post-imaging. Comfort with the process and viewing the images were ascertained. Few differences between the groups emerged. Higher Body Mass Indices were related to greater body dissatisfaction, but age was not a factor. Implications for body scanning having the potential to improve quality of life for older women are presented.