Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Preserved diagnostic performance of dual-source CT coronary angiography with reduced radiation exposure and cancer risk.

PURPOSE To evaluate the effects of standard and optimal electrocardiographic (ECG) pulsing on diagnostic performance, radiation dose, and cancer risk in symptomatic patients in a "real-world" clinical setting. MATERIALS AND METHODS The institutional review board approved the study, and all patients gave informed consent. Dual-source computed tomographic (CT) coronary angiography was performed in 436 symptomatic patients (301 men, 135 women; mean age, 61.6 years +/- 10.6 [standard deviation]; age range, 23-89 years) referred for conventional coronary angiography. Standard and optimal ECG pulsing was performed in 327 and 109 patients, respectively. The diagnostic performance of dual-source CT coronary angiography for detection of significant stenosis (>or=50 luminal diameter reduction), with quantitative coronary angiography as the reference standard, was reported as sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and positive and negative likelihood ratios. The mean effective radiation dose, additional fatal cancer risk, and age- and sex-specific cancer risks related to one CT coronary angiographic examination were determined from data averaged over the study population. RESULTS Mean effective doses with standard and optimal ECG pulsing were 14.2 mSv +/- 3.2 and 10.7 mSv +/- 3.6, respectively. Optimal ECG pulsing resulted in a 43% overall reduction in mean effective radiation dose and cancer risk compared with a nonpulsing protocol (18.8 mSv +/- 3.5) and a 25% overall reduction in mean effective dose compared with the standard pulsing protocol. At patient-by-patient analysis, CT coronary angiography with standard ECG pulsing yielded sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of 100% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 99%, 100%), 85% (95% CI: 81%, 88%), 94% (95% CI: 91%, 96%), and 99% (95% CI: 98%, 100%), respectively, for detection of significant stenosis. Optimal ECG pulsing yielded similar results: Sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values were 100% (95% CI: 100%, 100%), 88% (95% CI: 82%, 94%), 97% (95% CI: 93%, 100%), and 100%, respectively. CONCLUSION Compared with a nonpulsing protocol, optimal ECG pulsing resulted in significant (P < .001) reductions in patient radiation dose and cancer risk (up to 55% reduction in patients with high heart rates) while preserving the diagnostic performance of dual-source CT coronary angiography.
Chronic Low Back Pain Frequency and its Risk Factors in Clinical and Office Staff of Hospitals

Background: Some occupations have risk factors for chronic low back pain; clinical staff of hospitals are good examples for encountering many risk factors yet office staff encounter a few or may be at risk of unknown factors for occupational low back pain. Objectives: The objective of this study was to compare chronic low back pain frequency and risk factors between clinical and office staff. Patients and Methods: A cross-sectional study on clinical and office staff at hospitals was done by completing a questionnaire with interviews and a checklist. Data were analyzed with the SPSS software version 16 using chi-2, T-test and regression with significance level of P < 0.05. Results: No significant difference was observed between the two groups in terms of chronic low back pain; frequency of low back pain in clinical staff was 18% (18 individuals) and in office staff this was 17% (17 individuals) (P < 0.05). Chronic low back pain in the clinical group might be related to flexion and extension, twisting, pulling or pushing, carrying, handling of patients, and sitting (P value < 0.001), and in office staff it might be related to flexion and extension, twisting and long durations of time spent driving (P value < 0.001). Conclusions: Frequency of low back pain was not significantly different between clinical and office staff. Chronic low back pain in clinical staff was related to work while in office staff it was related to some occupational and non-occupational risk factors.
Neuropsychological Predictors of Rapidly Progressing Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease

Background: Alzheimer disease (AD) has heterogeneous clinical manifestations. Different neuropsychological profiles in AD patients might be indicative of the diffusion of the pathological process and might be associated with differences in rates of disease progression. Methods: We studied 154 newly diagnosed AD patients (65.6% women; mean age: 73 years). Performance in memory, executive functions, praxis and language domains was categorized into mild, moderate and severe impairment. The time-dependent probability of losing 5 points on the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) over 2 years was considered as disease progression and evaluated by survival analysis. Results: One fourth of the patients decreased by ≧5 MMSE points over the 2-year follow-up. Rapid disease progression was more frequent in more educated patients and in those with moderate severity of global cognitive impairment. In univariate analysis, more severe memory and executive functioning impairment were associated with higher probabilities of progression. The association with memory was explained by differences in executive function impairment that remained statistically significant in multivariate analyses. Conclusions: Patients with more severe executive functioning impairment have a worse prognosis over 2 years. This might be due to involvement of the prefrontal cortex by the pathological process of AD in patients with severe executive deficits.
The Influence of Speech Rate on Acceptable Noise Levels

Abstract Background: Older adults often struggle with accurate perception of rate-altered speech and have difficulty understanding speech in noise. The acceptable noise level (ANL) quantifies a listener’s willingness to listen to speech in background noise and has been found to accurately predict hearing aid success. Based on the difficulty older adults experience with rapid speech, we were interested in how older adults may change the amount of background noise they willingly accept in a variety of speech rate conditions. Purpose: To determine the effects of age and speech rate on the ANL. Research Design: A quasi-experimental mixed design was employed. Study Sample: Fifteen young adults (19–27 yr) and fifteen older adults (55–73 yr) with audiometrically normal hearing or hearing loss within age-normed limits served as participants. Data Collection and Analysis: Most comfortable listening levels (MCLs) and background noise levels (BNLs) were measured using three different speech rates (slow, normal, and fast). The ANL was calculated by subtracting BNL from MCL. Repeated measures analysis of variances were used to analyze the effects of age and speech rate on ANL. Results: A significant main effect of speech rate was observed; however, a significant main effect of age was not found. Results indicated that as speech rate increased the ANLs increased. This suggests that participants became less accepting of background noise as speech rates increased. Conclusions: The findings of the present study provide support for communication strategies that recommend slowing an individual’s speaking rate and/or reducing background noise, if possible. Participants in the present study were better able to cope with background noise when the primary stimulus was presented at slow and normal speaking rates.
Increased hepatic fat in overweight Hispanic youth influenced by interaction between genetic variation in PNPLA3 and high dietary carbohydrate and sugar consumption.

BACKGROUND Recently, a genetic variant (rs738409; C→G) of the PNPLA3 gene was identified to be associated with increased hepatic fat deposition, and the effect was more pronounced in Hispanics. Animal models have also shown that PNPLA3 expression can be regulated by dietary carbohydrate. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to examine whether the influence of PNPLA3 genotype on hepatic fat is modulated by dietary factors in Hispanic children. DESIGN PNPLA3 was genotyped in 153 Hispanic children (75% female, ages 8-18 y) by using the TaqMan method. Dietary intake was assessed by using three 24-h dietary recalls or diet records. Visceral adipose tissue (VAT), subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue (SAAT), and hepatic fat fraction (HFF) were assessed in multiple abdominal slices by magnetic resonance imaging. Analysis of covariance was used to assess the diet × genotype interaction in liver fat, with the following a priori covariates: sex, age, energy, VAT, and SAAT. RESULTS HFF was influenced by a significant interaction between genotype and diet (genotype × carbohydrate, P = 0.04; genotype × total sugar, P = 0.01). HFF was positively related to carbohydrate (r = 0.31, P = 0.04) and total sugar (r = 0.34, P = 0.02) intakes but only in the GG group, independent of covariates. Dietary variables were not related to HFF in the CC or CG group or to other fat depots in all genotype groups. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that Hispanic children carrying the GG genotype are susceptible to increased hepatic fat when dietary carbohydrate intake, specifically sugar, is high. Specific dietary interventions based on genetic predisposition in this population may lead to more effective therapeutic outcomes for fatty liver. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00697580, 195-1642394A1, and NCT00693511.
Collaborative care for depressed patients with chronic medical conditions: a randomized trial in Puerto Rico.

OBJECTIVE This study examined whether a collaborative care model for depression would improve clinical and functional outcomes for depressed patients with chronic general medical conditions in primary care practices in Puerto Rico. METHODS A total of 179 primary care patients with major depression and chronic general medical conditions were randomly assigned to receive collaborative care or usual care. The collaborative care intervention involved enhanced collaboration among physicians, mental health specialists, and care managers paired with depression-specific treatment guidelines, patient education, and follow-up. In usual care, study personnel informed the patient and provider of the diagnosis and encouraged patients to discuss treatment options with their provider. Depression severity was assessed with the Hopkins Symptom Checklist; social functioning was assessed with the 36-item Short Form. RESULTS Compared with usual care, collaborative care significantly reduced depressive symptoms and improved social functioning in the six months after randomization. Integration of collaborative care in primary care practices considerably increased depressed patients' use of mental health services. CONCLUSIONS Collaborative care significantly improved clinical symptoms and functional status of depressed patients with coexisting chronic general medical conditions receiving treatment for depression in primary care practices in Puerto Rico. These findings highlight the promise of the collaborative care model for strengthening the relationship between mental health and primary care services in Puerto Rico.
Inferior Frontal Cortex Contributions to the Recognition of Spoken Words and Their Constituent Speech Sounds

Speech perception and comprehension are often challenged by the need to recognize speech sounds that are degraded or ambiguous. Here, we explore the cognitive and neural mechanisms involved in resolving ambiguity in the identity of speech sounds using syllables that contain ambiguous phonetic segments (e.g., intermediate sounds between /b/ and /g/ as in “blade” and “glade”). We used an audio-morphing procedure to create a large set of natural sounding minimal pairs that contain phonetically ambiguous onset or offset consonants (differing in place, manner, or voicing). These ambiguous segments occurred in different lexical contexts (i.e., in words or pseudowords, such as blade–glade or blem–glem) and in different phonological environments (i.e., with neighboring syllables that differed in lexical status, such as blouse–glouse). These stimuli allowed us to explore the impact of phonetic ambiguity on the speed and accuracy of lexical decision responses (Experiment 1), semantic categorization responses (Experiment 2), and the magnitude of BOLD fMRI responses during attentive comprehension (Experiment 3). For both behavioral and neural measures, observed effects of phonetic ambiguity were influenced by lexical context leading to slower responses and increased activity in the left inferior frontal gyrus for high-ambiguity syllables that distinguish pairs of words, but not for equivalent pseudowords. These findings suggest lexical involvement in the resolution of phonetic ambiguity. Implications for speech perception and the role of inferior frontal regions are discussed.
Heterozygous Nonsense Mutation in the Androgen Receptor Gene Associated with Partial Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome in an Individual with 47,XXY Karyotype

There are only 2 patients with 47,XXY karyotype and androgen receptor (AR) gene mutation reported in the literature, and both are diagnosed as complete androgen insensitivity syndrome (CAIS). We report a 22-year-old female with 47,XXY karyotype and atypical external genitalia. Sequencing of AR revealed the heterozygous p.Asn849Lys*32 mutation, and extensive X chromosome microsatellite analysis showed homozygosity for Xp and heterozygosity for Xq, suggesting partial X maternal isodisomy. Partial androgen insensitivity syndrome (PAIS) developed in this case, probably because of the presence of the heterozygous AR mutation and random X- inactivation of the healthy allele. This is the first report of a female patient with 47,XXY karyotype and PAIS phenotype.
Preparation of Pharmaceutical Nanobeads and Nanofibers via Electrospinning Method

Copyright: © 2014 Adibkia K. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited Novel drug delivery systems have attracted the interest of many researchers because of some advantages such as targeting the drug to the special tissues, less toxicity, patient compliance and convenience as well as improvement of the drug physicochemical properties and pharmacokinetics [1,2]. In the recent years, nanoformulations have become a major concept of modern drug delivery due to their increased surface area, [3,4] and improved dissolution rate of the less water-soluble drugs [5]. There are different technologies applied for preparation of the nanoparticles such as emulsification solvent evaporation, self-assembly, nanoprecipitation, drawing template synthesis [6], aerosol flow reactor [7] and electrospinning methods [8].
Effects of IQP, VEP and Spirulina platensis hydrolysates on the local kidney renin angiotensin system in spontaneously hypertensive rats.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the antihypertensive effects of the bioactive Spirulina platensis peptides Ile‑Gln‑Pro (IQP), Val‑Glu‑Pro (VEP), as well as Spirulina platensis hydrolysates (SH), and assessed whether the synthesis of components of the myocardial and renal local renin angiotensin system (RAS) are regulated differentially in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). The SHR were administrated with IQP, VEP and SH respectively (10 mg/kg/day) for 6 weeks and received continuous monitoring of blood pressure (BP) for two more weeks. During the trial, the rats' kidney tissues were removed from these rats and collected at weeks 3, 6 and 8. The expression of the main components of local kidney RAS was measured at the mRNA levels by reverse transcription‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and at the protein levels by ELISA or western blotting. Oral administration of IQP, VEP and SH into SHR resulted in marked antihypertensive effects. IQP, VEP and SH decreased rats' BP by affecting the expression of local kidney RAS components via downregulating the angiotensin‑converting enzyme (ACE), Ang II and angiotensin II (Ang II) and angiotensin type‑1 receptor (AT 1), while upregulating ACE2, Ang (1‑7), Mas and AT 2. The comparisons of SH effects on local tissue RAS demonstrated that local kidney RAS regulated BP via the ACE‑Ang II‑AT 1/AT 2 axis and the ACE2‑Ang (1‑7)‑Mas axis primarily at the mRNA level, while the local myocardium RAS mainly at the protein level. This preliminary study suggests that the main components of local RAS presented different expression levels in myocardium and kidney, which is important to the development of bioactive peptides targeting for lowering BP by changing the levels of some components in local RAS in specific tissues.
New microsatellite markers for the rare plant Cercidiphyllum japonicum and their utility for Cercidiphyllum magnificum.

UNLABELLED PREMISE OF THE STUDY Microsatellite markers were developed for Cercidiphyllum japonicum to study population genetics of this endangered species native to both eastern China and Japan. • METHODS AND RESULTS Using the Fast Isolation by AFLP of Sequences Containing Repeats (FIASCO) protocol, 12 microsatellite markers that were successfully amplified showed polymorphism when tested on 33 individuals from two populations in eastern China and Japan. Overall, the number of alleles per locus ranged between 5 and 18. Eleven markers could be easily amplified and were polymorphic in C. magnificum. • CONCLUSIONS These results indicate that these microsatellite markers are adequate for detecting and characterizing population genetic structure in Cercidiphyllum at fine and range-wide geographical scales.
Dietary Fats and Chronic Noncommunicable Diseases

The role of dietary fat has been long studied as a modifiable variable in the prevention and treatment of noncommunicable cardiometabolic disease. Once heavily promoted to the public, the low-fat diet has been demonstrated to be non-effective in preventing cardiometabolic disease, and an increasing body of literature has focused on the effects of a relatively higher-fat diet. More recent evidence suggests that a diet high in healthy fat, rich in unsaturated fatty acids, such as the Mediterranean dietary pattern, may, in fact, prevent the development of metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes mellitus, but also reduce cardiovascular events. This review will specifically focus on clinical trials which collected data on dietary fatty acid intake, and the association of these fatty acids over time with measured cardiometabolic health outcomes, specifically focusing on morbidity and mortality outcomes. We will also describe mechanistic studies investigating the role of dietary fatty acids on cardiovascular risk factors to describe the potential mechanisms of action through which unsaturated fatty acids may exert their beneficial effects. The state of current knowledge on the associations between dietary fatty acids and cardiometabolic morbidity and mortality outcomes will be summarized and directions for future work will be discussed.
ANTI-CANCER ACTIONS IN COMMONLY USED DRUGS: EPIDEMIOLOGY LED BY LABORATORY SCIENCE

Despite considerable research on cancer treatments and preventatives, poor outcomes in cancer patients are common. The vital search for effective cancer drugs often begins in the laboratory, where unfortunately the effects of a drug in humans cannot be perfectly modelled. Epidemiology can play a vital role in determining the real world efficacy of a drug currently used for other purposes before clinical trials begin. This thesis therefore used primarily laboratory evidence to identify potential anti-cancer uses for existing common drugs. The drugs and cancers studied were; tricyclic antidepressants and both incidence and survival in a number of cancer types, particularly glioma; aspirin and colorectal cancer survival; and angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) incidence. A series of studies using The General Practice Research Database as a data source assessed any potential associations: A case-control study for tricyclic antidepressant use and cancer incidence; cohort studies to examine mortality in colorectal cancer and glioma in relation to tricyclic use, and for colorectal cancer mortality in aspirin users; and a case-control study in relation to ACE inhibitor use and HCC. A strong, cancer type specific, dose and time dependant protective effect was found for the incidence of glioma and colorectal cancer. This led to a further study examining mortality for these cancer types in tricyclic users. While no significant protective effects in all-cause mortality of tricyclic users were found, a larger study could still find such an effect in glioma. For aspirin and colorectal cancer mortality, a small but significant reduction in mortality was observed, though these effects were not entirely consistent throughout the study. There were no significant associations found between ACE inhibitors and HCC. These findings contribute to the knowledge of the anti-cancer effectiveness of these drugs, and may assist in designing future clinical studies.
Functional movement assessment for individuals with knee osteoarthritis

The relationships between dynamic stability, lower extremity strength, and functional performance are not well-understood for individuals with knee pain due to osteoarthritis. The series of studies presented in this dissertation incorporate the assessment of functional movements for healthy older adults, individuals with symptoms of knee osteoarthritis, and individuals following total knee arthroplasty. The functional activities investigated in these populations included stair descent and sit-to-stand. This research was completed through a combination of kinematic techniques of motion analysis and kinetic assessment using multiple force platforms to evaluate joint moments, center of pressure parameters and weight-bearing asymmetry. The findings can be summarized as follows: 1) Kinetic and kinematic indicators of sit-to-stand movement may be standardized for healthy individuals of various ages without regard to initial positioning; 2) Individuals post-total knee arthroplasty compensate for residual physical deficits by utilizing upper extremity support and altered joint loading to perform sit-to-stand successfully; and 3) Altered joint loading and compensatory weight-bearing asymmetry allows individuals with mild to moderate knee pain to perform sit-to-stand and stair descent while maintaining dynamic stability. Older adults with symptoms of osteoarthritis appear to compensate for physical limitations of reduced joint mobility, strength deficits, and pain by adjusting joint loads and altering patterns for movement.
A balancing act: Children's experience of modified constraint-induced movement therapy

Objective: This qualitative study explored the experiences of children participating in modified constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT) within a circus-themed day camp. Methods: Individual semi-structured interviews were performed with 32 children (15 girls, 17 boys; mean age 10.1 years) to gain insights into their experience of CIMT. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim and independently read by two authors to identify common themes. Results: Three themes emerged from the data: children's experience of wearing the glove employed in the modified CIMT, their reactions to the camp format and the gains they made during the camp. Conclusion: The results highlighted the need to achieve a balance between the frustration of participating in modified CIMT and what was seen as motivators to sustain involvement. Findings are interpreted in the context of self-determination theory and remind clinicians to ensure interventions consider autonomy, competence and relatedness.