Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Loss of drug effects during continuation therapy.

OBJECTIVE This study sought to determine what proportion of relapses during continuation therapy with antidepressants can be attributed to loss of nonspecific placebo effects while the patients are taking the drugs. METHOD Depressed patients were studied over a 12-week period. One hundred sixty-four patients were randomly assigned to placebo, 174 to imipramine, and 169 to phenelzine. At 6 weeks 35 were judged to be responders to placebo, 70 to imipramine, and 96 to phenelzine. These patients continued their double-blind treatment for weeks 7-12. RESULTS Thirty-one percent of the patients who were taking placebo, approximately 12% who were taking imipramine, and approximately 9% who were taking phenelzine relapsed in the 7- to 12-week phase. Two different methods of estimating relapses suggested that during the first 3 months of treatment, a large percentage of the relapses of patients taking drugs was attributable to the loss of nonspecific placebo effects rather than true drug effects. CONCLUSIONS A considerable proportion of relapses in the first 3 months of treatment with antidepressants appears to be due to loss of placebo effects. These clinically relevant data may be used to encourage patients who relapse during this period, and who erroneously conclude that anti-depressant effects are temporary, to try another medication.
Death, dying and donation: organ transplantation and the diagnosis of death

Refusal of organ donation is common, and becoming more frequent. In Australia refusal by families occurred in 56% of cases in 1995 in New South Wales, and had risen to 82% in 1999, becoming the most important determinant of the country's very low organ donation rate (8.9/million in 1999). Leading causes of refusal, identified in many studies, include the lack of understanding by families of brain death and its implications, and subsequent reluctance to relegate the body to purely instrumental status. It is an interesting paradox that surveys of the public continue to show considerable support for organ donation programmes—in theory we will, in practice we won't (and don't). In this paper we propose that the Australian community may, for good reason, distrust the concept of and criteria for “whole brain death”, and the equation of this new concept with death of the human being. We suggest that irreversible loss of circulation should be reinstated as the major defining characteristic of death, but that brain-dead, heart-beating entities remain suitable organ donors despite being alive by this criterion. This presents a major challenge to the “dead donor rule”, and would require review of current transplantation legislation. Brain dead entities are suitable donors because of irreversible loss of personhood, accurately and robustly defined by the current brain stem criteria. Even the dead are not terminally ill any more.1
Competitive displacement among post-Paleozoic cyclostome and cheilostome bryozoans

Abstract Encrusting bryozoans provide one of the few systems in the fossil record in which ecological competition can be observed directly at local scales. The macroevolutionary history of diversity of cyclostome and cheilostome bryozoans is consistent with a coupled-logistic model of clade displacement predicated on species within clades interacting competitively. The model matches observed diversity history if the model is perturbed by a mass extinction with a position and magnitude analogous to the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary event. Although it is difficult to measure all parameters in the model from fossil data, critical factors are intrinsic rates of extinction, which can be measured. Cyclostomes maintained a rather low rate of extinction, and the model solutions predict that they would lose diversity only slowly as competitively superior species of cheilostomes diversified into their environment. Thus, the microecological record of preserved competitive interactions between cyclostome and cheilostome bryozoans and the macroevolutionary record of global diversity are consistent in regard to competition as a significant influence on diversity histories of post-Paleozoic bryozoans.
Suppression of adrenal function in children on inhaled steroids

Abstract Inhaled steroid therapy is one of the mainstays of treatment of asthma in children. Side effects, including suppression of the hypothalamic‐pituitary‐adrenal (HPA) axis, have been noted with high doses of inhaled steroids. Most studies concerning side effects have been done with mechanical nebulization devices or hand‐held metered‐dose inhalers. The present study attempts to ascertain if dry powder inhalation of beclomethasone diproprionate is associated with any significant suppression of the HPA axis. Fifteen children (10 male and 5 female) between the ages of 4 and 14 years were followed for several years in our outpatient department. They were on inhaled beclomethasone diproprionate at dosages ranging from 6.9 to 25 μg/kg per day for 4‐24 months. The short adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) test was used to evaluate function of the HPA axis. Mild suppression of the HPA axis was noted in one of the cases. The study therefore concludes that at therapeutic doses of dry powder beclomethasone diproprionate, suppression of the HPA axis can occur. However, the extent of this complication does not appear to be greater than with hand‐held or mechanical nebulization devices.
NUCLEAR MAGNETIC RESONANCE AS A NEW TOOL IN CANCER RESEARCH: HUMAN TUMORS BY NMR

Present research in cancer, as well as its diagnosis, is impeded by the limited availability of techniques for direct analysis of cancerous tissues that are capable of both quantitation and chemical specificity. Methods to date are mainly descriptive, relying chiefly on the appearance of tumor specimens in the light microscope. Apart from acknowledging the added power of discrimination implicit in the assignment of a number to an observation, it is worth noting that although a chemical reagent is the ultimate objective of a cure for cancer, study of this disease is largely devoid of a chemical data base and remains rooted in morphology. In the main, the absence of a chemical characterization of malignant tissue can be traced to the lack of a technique for efficiently obtaining chemically specific information from intact tissue. * The high degree of resolution implicit in the nuclear resonance phcnomenon and the radiolucency (rf translucency) of biologic tissue in general combine to endow the nmr technique with an unprecedented power for rapidly cataloging the chemical details of the cancerous change. Thus, because of the increased efficiency with which nmr yields chemical information, it is possible to think of reclassifying tumors according to their chemistry rather than by their appearance in a light microscope. Perhaps a material obstruction to the successful trial of antitumor agents in the past has been that tumors of similar appearance in the microscope are not necessarily equivalent in chemistry. As a result, tumors classified equally on the basis of morphology might well not respond equally to the same antitumor agent. Ambiguous returns from the trial of a new drug might discourage further testing of the drug even though it might be 100% effective if reserved for tumors of appropriate chemistry. Further, development of an instrumental method for assaying the malignancy of tissue leads to the possibility of an instrument to assist in the pathological diagnosis of surgical specimens and to the possibility of instrumentation within the operating room for “on-line” discrimination of biopsy materials. Moreover, specific radiofrequency emissions from atomic nuclei within
App Information Privacy Concerns

Due to the new technological developments and solutions a new user of information systems evolved. Smart Mobile Devices (SMD) and software in form of mobile applications (apps) diffused into the everyday life of users. The download and usage of apps became ubiquitous and by giving away personal data while using apps, individuals put their privacy at risk. Privacy concerns are generally used to measure information privacy. However, privacy is highly context dependent and needs to be adapted to the investigated environment. Therefore, the authors developed a measurement for app information privacy concerns (AIPC), based on existing literature. A data set of 269 participants was analyzed. For the AIPC three first-order dimensions (anxiety, personal attitude, and requirements) were revealed.
Binding of an octylglucoside detergent molecule in the second substrate (S2) site of LeuT establishes an inhibitor-bound conformation

The first crystal structure of the neurotransmitter/sodium symporter homolog LeuT revealed an occluded binding pocket containing leucine and 2 Na+; later structures showed tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) in an extracellular vestibule ≈11 Å above the bound leucine and 2 Na+. We recently found this region to be a second binding (S2) site and that binding of substrate to this site triggers Na+-coupled substrate symport. Here, we show a profound inhibitory effect of n-octyl-β-d-glucopyranoside (OG), the detergent used for LeuT crystallization, on substrate binding to the S2 site. In parallel, we determined at 2.8 Å the structure of LeuT-E290S, a mutant that, like LeuT-WT, binds 2 substrate molecules. This structure was similar to that of WT and clearly revealed an OG molecule in the S2 site. We also observed electron density at the S2 site in LeuT-WT crystals, and this also was accounted for by an OG molecule in that site. Computational analyses, based on the available crystal structures of LeuT, indicated the nature of structural arrangements in the extracellular region of LeuT that differentiate the actions of substrates from inhibitors bound in the S2 site. We conclude that the current LeuT crystal structures, all of which have been solved in OG, represent functionally blocked forms of the transporter, whereas a substrate bound in the S2 site will promote a different state that is essential for Na+-coupled symport.
Prevalence of hepatitis C virus infection and related risk factors among Iranian haemodialysis patients

SUMMARY: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is common among patients undergoing haemodialysis, and liver disease is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in this population. Management of HCV‐related liver disease is a major health concern in patients with end‐stage renal disease (ESRD) undergoing haemodialysis. To investigate the prevalence of HCV infection in patients on haemodialysis and its associated risk factors, we conducted a prospective case series study of 838 patients on haemodialysis in Tehran, Iran. Patients were selected randomly (cluster sampling) and all were screened for anti‐HCV antibodies, using ELISA 3rd generation and confirmed by using RIBA 2nd generation. We found that 111 patients (13.2%) were infected. By applying univariate analysis, longer duration on haemodialysis (P = 0.000), more weekly dialysis sessions (P = 0.03), history of blood transfusion (P = 0.03) and history of previous renal transplantation (P = 0.01) were found to be associated with a higher rate of HCV infection. Multivariate analysis revealed that only length of time on dialysis (P = 0.000) and history of blood transfusion (P = 0.02) were significantly associated with HCV infection. The more the units transfused, the higher the rate of HCV infection. Our results suggest that early transplantation and avoidance of blood transfusion, as much as possible, are the two most important practical interventions to reduce the HCV exposure rate in our patients on haemodialysis.
DNS-Based Authentication of Named Entities (DANE) Bindings for OpenPGP

OpenPGP is a message format for email (and file) encryption that lacks a standardized lookup mechanism to securely obtain OpenPGP public keys. DNS-Based Authentication of Named Entities (DANE) is a method for publishing public keys in DNS. This document specifies a DANE method for publishing and locating OpenPGP public keys in DNS for a specific email address using a new OPENPGPKEY DNS resource record. Security is provided via Secure DNS, however the OPENPGPKEY record is not a replacement for verification of authenticity via the "web of trust" or manual verification. The OPENPGPKEY record can be used to encrypt an email that would otherwise have to be sent unencrypted.
Impaired ipsilateral smooth pursuit and gaze-evoked nystagmus in paramedian pontine lesion

A 27-year-old man developed sudden dysarthria and left-sided weakness and paresthesia. Gaze-evoked nystagmus (GEN) was evident in bilateral horizontal gazes (see the video on the Neurology Web site at www.neurology.org). Rightward pursuit was interrupted by catch-up saccades while leftward pursuit was normal (figure, A, and video). Saccadic eye movements and vestibulo-ocular reflex were normal. Brain MRI …
Diabetes screening in primary care: the PRE.DI.CO. study.

BACKGROUND The prevalence of type 2 diabetes is rapidly and constantly increasing worldwide. The PRE.DI. CO project (Prevention of Diabetes in the Val di Cornia area) is a prevalence survey that aims to identify individuals at high risk for type 2 diabetes or unknown diabetes. METHODS A total 658 subjects, aged 35-70 years, were administered the FINDRISC (Finnish Diabetes Risk Score) questionnaire to identify persons at risk of diabetes. Using anamnestic data (age, sex, total cholesterol, blood pressure and cigarette smoking), we calculated the European Heart Score to estimate the individual cardiovascular risk, and we also collected information on fasting glucose, HDL cholesterol, triglycerides and the main current therapies. Persons at high risk took an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). RESULTS In total, 45.3% of the subjects were at low risk, 33.1% at moderate risk, 17.0% at high risk and 4.9% at very high risk. The OGTT was performed for 124 patients, and 42.7% of the cases showed normal glucose tolerance. Impaired Glucose Fasting (IFG) was identified in 30.6% of subjects, impaired glucose tolerance with or without IFG in 12.1%, and newly diagnosed diabetes in 14.5% of the cases. With the rise in the FINDRISC score, we also observed an increased risk of mortality at 10 years for cardiovascular disease, estimated by the Heart Score. CONCLUSIONS The intervention methodology and applicability of the FINDRISC questionnaire are valid for identifying persons at risk of diabetes in primary care.
Characterization of TMPRSS 2-ETS Gene Aberrations in Androgen-Independent Metastatic Prostate Cancer

Recurrent gene fusions between the androgen-regulated gene TMPRSS2 and the ETS transcription factor family members ERG, ETV1 , and ETV4 have been identified as a critical event in prostate cancer development. In this study, we characterized the prevalence and diversity of these rearrangements in hormone-refractory metastatic prostate cancer. We used a fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) split probe strategy to comprehensively evaluate TMPRSS2-ETS aberrations across 97 nonosseous metastatic sites of prostate cancer from 30 rapid autopsies of men who died of androgen-independent disease. Tissue microarrays were constructed representing multiple metastatic sites from each patient, and split signal FISH probes for TMPRSS2, ERG, ETV1 , and ETV4 were used to assess for TMPRSS2-ETS rearrangements. In patients exhibiting these aberrations, multiple sites from an individual case harbored the same gene fusion molecular subtype suggesting clonal expansion of disease. The most common prostate cancer gene fusion, TMPRSS2-ERG , can be generated by the mechanism of interstitial deletion (Edel) about 39% to 60% of the time in clinically localized disease. Interestingly, we observed that all of the androgen-independent metastatic prostate cancer sites harboring TMPRSS2-ERG were associated with Edel. These findings suggest that TMPRSS2-ERG with Edel is an aggressive and, in this study, uniformly lethal molecular subtype of prostate cancer associated with androgen-independent disease. [Cancer Res 2008;68(10):3584–90]
Evaluation of prognostic criteria for determining hospice eligibility in patients with advanced lung, heart, or liver disease. SUPPORT Investigators. Study to Understand Prognoses and Preferences for Outcomes and Risks of Treatments.

CONTEXT Many individuals involved with care of the dying advocate expanding access to hospice care for persons with advanced lung, heart, or liver disease. However, to be eligible, these patients generally must have a prognosis for survival of less than 6 months. OBJECTIVE To test the ability of currently available criteria to identify a population with a survival prognosis of 6 months or less among seriously ill hospitalized patients with 1 of 3 commonly fatal chronic diseases. DESIGN Validation study using data from the Study to Understand Prognoses and Preferences for Outcomes and Risks of Treatments (SUPPORT) phase 1 (June 1989-June 1991) and phase 2 (January 1992-January 1994), with a 6-month follow-up. SETTING AND PATIENTS Consecutive sample of 2607 seriously ill patients from 5 US medical centers who were hospitalized with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, congestive heart failure, or end-stage liver disease, and who survived to hospital discharge. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Descriptive and operating characteristics of 5 general and 2 disease-specific clinical criteria for identifying patients with a survival prognosis of 6 months or less, and 3 sets of combination criteria (broad, intermediate, and narrow inclusion) aimed at providing low, medium, and high thresholds for hospice eligibility based on National Hospice Organization guidelines. RESULTS Seventy-five percent of the sample survived more than 6 months after hospital discharge; 44% expressed a preference for palliative care. Broad inclusion criteria identified 923 patients eligible for hospice care, of whom 70% survived longer than 6 months. Intermediate inclusion criteria identified 300 patients, of whom 65% survived longer than 6 months. Narrow inclusion criteria identified 19 patients, of whom 53% survived longer than 6 months. Sensitivities and specificities of the combination criteria were 41.7% and 66.7% (broad inclusion), 16.2% and 90.1 % (intermediate inclusion), and 1.4% and 99.5% (narrow inclusion), respectively. CONCLUSIONS These data indicate that for seriously ill hospitalized patients with advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, congestive heart failure, or end-stage liver disease, recommended clinical prediction criteria are not effective in identifying a population with a survival prognosis of 6 months or less.
Microparticles in stored red blood cells as potential mediators of transfusion complications

This article reviews evidence for the involvement of cell‐derived microparticles (MPs) in transfusion‐related adverse events. The controversy concerning possible added risk of older versus fresher stored blood is also reviewed and is consistent with the hypothesis that MPs are involved with adverse events. Although all types of circulating MPs are discussed, the emphasis is on red blood cell–derived MPs (RMPs). The evidence is particularly strong for involvement of RMPs in transfusion‐related acute lung injury, but also for postoperative thrombosis. However, this evidence is largely circumstantial. Work in progress to directly test the hypothesis is also briefly reviewed.
Structured Additive Synthesis: Towards a Model of Sound Timbre and Electroacoustic Music Forms

We have developed a sound model used for exploring sound timbre. This model is called Structured Additive Synthesis, or SAS for short. It has the exibility of additive synthesis while addressing the fact that basic additive synthesis is extremely dicult to use directly for creating and editing sounds. SAS consists of a complete abstraction of sounds according to only four parameters: amplitude, frequency, color, and warping. These parameters are inspired by the vocabulary of composers of electro-acoustic music as well as by the literature and constitute a solid base for investigating scientic research on the notion of timbre. Several analyses of electro-acoustic pieces have been performed in collaboration between scientists and musicians. We have identied the need for a certain number of manipulations of sound, that we have determined to be straightforward in our model. Applications of the SAS model are numerous. A new language for musical composition has been implemented and should provide a way to validate and enrich the model.
Kikuchi's disease in a 9-year-old girl: case report

A 9-year-old girl was admitted with a 2month history of continuous, moderate-tohigh-grade fever, weight loss and gradual onset of pallor. There was no history of cough, diarrhoea, urinary symptoms, rash or arthralgia. On examination, she was emaciated, febrile and pale. There were multiple, matted, tender cervical lymph notes of firm consistency, predominantly on the right side. Axillary and inguinal lymph nodes were not palpable. There was hepatomegaly of 3 cms. The spleen was not palpable. Hb was 6 g/dl and blood film showed a hypochromic, microcytic picture; WBCs were 2.1610/L, neutrophil count 1.2610/L and platelets 253610/L. ESR was 121 mm in the 1st hour. Cultures of blood and urine and throat swabs were sterile. Serology for cytomegalovirus (CMV) was positive, both IgG and IgM, and negative for Epstein–Barr virus. However, PCR for CMV in blood and urine was negative. A Mantoux test and PCR for mycobacteria in blood were also negative. Anti-nuclear antibody, double-stranded DNA and anti-nuclear cytoplasmic antibody were all below the reference range. Bone marrow aspirate revealed normal haematopoiesis, and trephine was normal. Chest X-ray and ultrasound of the abdomen were normal. However, CT scan of the chest showed enlarged axillary lymph nodes with dense nodules within the parenchyma of the right lung but there were no mediastinal lymphadenopathy. Gallium and bone scans were normal. Lymph node histology demonstrated multiple areas of necrosis with preservation of only a few irregular follicles. The areas of necrosis were situated peripherally and were of irregular shape and bordered by proliferating histiocytes. Within the areas of necrosis there was abundant nuclear debris. The nucleus of the histiocytes appeared to be crescent-shaped as a result of being pushed away by abundant pink cytoplasm. Polymorphonuclear leucocytes were conspicuously absent and there were no granulomas. The findings were compatible with necrotising lymphadenitis.
The Role of Nursery Educators in the Promotion of Mental Health of Children from 0-18 Months

Childcare in infancy has been proven to significantly reduce the incidence of mental disorders in childhood. Nursery educators must therefore be prepared to keep up with the psychic development of children under their care. The IRDI (Clinical Risk Indicators for Child Development) is a psychoanalytically-based instrument able to point out developmental problems in children from 0-18 months. This paper intends to present the initial results of a research project aimed at evaluating the IRDI methodology as a tool to promote mental health in the early stages of child development. The 31 IRDI risk indicators served as a guide for educators when following the psychic development of children under the supervision of psychoanalysts. The results of the first phase of the study showed that there was a change in the teachers’ perception of childcare.