Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Formulations of deoxycholic for therapy: a patent review (2011 – 2014)

Introduction: Deoxycholic acid (DOCA) is involved in many physiological functions and has been used in various fields of pharmaceutical formulations as a natural active solubilizing and permeation-enhancing agent. Although DOCA has been suggested to be a promoter of colon cancer, it has also been used extensively as a starting material to obtain new derivatives for potential therapeutic applications. Area covered: In this review, we focus on patents and research reports from 2011 to 2014 related to pharmaceutical formulations and therapeutic applications using DOCA and its derivatives as surfactants or absorption enhancers, drug delivery carriers, and anti-cancer agents. Expert opinion: In recent few years, DOCA and its derivatives have been used mostly as pharmaceutical excipients for solubilizing lipophilic compounds to improve their bioavailability. Other studies have expanded its applications to include enhanced drug permeability and have designed more effective drug carriers by conjugation with polymeric materials. Recently, a synthetic DOCA injection, ATX-101, has shown long-term efficacy in the non-surgical treatment of unwanted submental fat and acceptable tolerability in humans. Thus, it may be used for reducing specific localized fat accumulations. Additionally, DOCA has been a starting material for anti-cancer drugs, and some derivatives showed strong inhibitory activities against several carcinoma cells.
Implementing a minimal intervention for chronic fatigue syndrome in a mental health centre: a randomized controlled trial

Background Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) for chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is an effective but intensive treatment, requiring trained therapists. A minimal intervention based on CBT for CFS, guided self-instruction, was shown to be an effective treatment when delivered in a tertiary treatment centre. Implementing this intervention in a community-based mental health centre (MHC) will increase the treatment capacity for CFS patients. This study evaluated the effectiveness of guided self-instruction for CFS implemented in an MHC, delivered by nurses. Method One hundred and twenty-three patients were randomly assigned to either guided self-instruction (n=62) or a waiting list (n=61). Randomization was computer generated, with allocation by numbered sealed envelopes. Group allocation was open to all those involved. Patients fulfilled US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) criteria for CFS. Primary outcome variables were fatigue severity and physical and social functioning, measured with the Checklist Individual Strength (CIS) and the Medical Outcomes Survey Short Form-36 (SF-36) respectively. Results After 6 months, patients who followed guided self-instruction reported a significantly larger decrease in fatigue compared to the waiting list [mean difference –8.1, 95% confidence interval (CI) −3.8 to −12.4, controlled effect size 0.70]. There was no significant difference in physical and social functioning. However, post-hoc analyses showed a significant decrease in fatigue and physical disabilities following the intervention in a subgroup of patients with physical disabilities at baseline (SF-36 physical functioning ⩽70). Conclusions Implementation of guided self-instruction in a community-based MHC was partially successful. The minimal intervention can be effectively implemented for CFS patients with physical impairments.
Detoxification of genotoxic compounds as a threshold mechanism limiting their carcinogenicity.

In vitro metabolic trends were assessed for 100 genotoxic agents detected in two bacterial test systems, i.e., the Ames reversion test and a liquid DNA-repair test in Escherichia coli. Seventy-five compounds were found to undergo a more or less pronounced decrease of genotoxicity, in at least one of these models, in the presence of rat liver homogenates or in other metabolic systems (up to 40 different preparations, from various sources, for chromium compounds). A number of these deactivable compounds are reported in the literature to yield negative or equivocal results in animal carcinogenicity assays, which may imply the existence of metabolically regulated thresholds in the initiation of cancer. Several examples are provided to support this hypothesis. The in vitro treatment with a pharmacologic agent (N-acetylcysteine) enhanced detoxification mechanisms, either by stimulating enzyme activities promoting glutathione formation in liver homogenates or by reacting itself with direct-acting mutagens and with the genotoxic metabolites of procarcinogens.
The Value of Jamshidi Core Needle Bone Biopsy in Predicting Postoperative Osteomyelitis in Grade IV Pressure Ulcer Patients

&NA; We present a retrospective review of 108 patients with spinal cord injury who underwent reconstruction of grade IV pressure ulcers between 1989 and 1994. Complications of reconstruction secondary to undetected osteomyelitis, namely, deep abscess and sinus tract formation, and their effect on hospital course after the flap reconstruction were quantitatively evaluated. Specifically, this study assesses whether the use of Jamshidi core needle bone biopsy allows for the accurate diagnosis, and therefore treatment, of osteomyelitis before pressure ulcer closure. Early diagnosis and treatment of osteomyelitis would presumably reduce the complication rate of reconstruction. The 108 patients in the study all underwent intraoperative Jamshidi core needle bone biopsy, and postoperative complications were evaluated by reviewers blinded to results of the biopsies. Of the 25 (23 percent) postoperative complications noted, 14 (13 percent) were attributed to underlying osteomyelitis. Patients with pressure ulcer complicated by osteomyelitis were hospitalized significantly longer than those with no osteomyelitis. On average, the former group stayed for 57 days and the latter 21 days (p < 0.001). All 14 patients who developed complications because of deep abscess and sinus tract formation had intraoperative Jamshidi core needle bone biopsy abnormality consistent with osteomyelitis (positive Jamshidi core needle bone biopsy results). The Jamshidi core needle bone biopsy compares favorably with other published modalities used to diagnose osteomyelitis, including white blood cell count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, radiologic study, and bone biopsy culture. We propose an algorithm for the management of spinal cord injury patients with grade IV pressure ulcers. This algorithm incorporates the use of preoperative Jamshidi core needle bone biopsy to allow for the diagnosis and treatment of osteomyelitis before the flap reconstruction and to prevent complications of undiagnosed osteomyelitis after reconstruction.
Mutation of p53 in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma correlates with Bcl‐2 expression and increased susceptibility to cisplatin‐induced apoptosis

The p53 protein, a well‐known tumor suppressor that functions primarily as a transcription factor, initiates cell cycle arrest and apoptosis after genotoxic stress. The antiapoptotic regulator Bcl‐2 is a downstream modulator of p53‐induced apoptosis. Loss of function of the p53 tumor suppressor through mutation is an important event that contributes to cellular transformation. Mutation of p53 is one of the most common genetic alterations in squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck (SCCHN). We hypothesized that p53 mutation is associated with Bcl‐2 expression and susceptibility to apoptosis in SCCHN.
GASTRIC SECRETION IN PREGNANCY

Review of Literature Strauss and Castle (1932), using an alcohol test meal and small doses of histamine, studied 24 normal women throughout pregnancy and the early puerperium. They concluded that there was a 50 per cent decline in the maximum free acidity of the gastric contents from the third to the sixth month of gestation with a rise in the last month to the level observed in the third month. After delivery the free gastric acidity was higher than at any time during pregnancy. Goodall and Gottlieb (1936) performed 115 gastric analyses in a group of women of whom 60 were pregnant and 55 were in the early puerperium. Each individual was studied under basal conditions and one hour after the ingestion of toast and tea; no histamine was used. In the first trimester more than one third showed hypochlorhydria and slightly less than 10 per cent had achlorhydria. Within one week of delivery more than three-quarters of the patients showed a return of acidity. Low gastric acidities during pregnancy have 37 been reported also by Nakai (1925), Arzt (1926). Mason (1931) and Way (1945). Nakai suggested that the apparent hypochlorhydria was not caused by deficiency of secretion, but resulted from the neutralization of acid by alkaline salts regurgitated from the duodenum. This was disputed by Strauss and Castle (1932) and Way (1945), because they found bile in only very few of their specimens of gastric juice. While most reports have described hypochlorhydria in pregnancy Labate (1939), working in New York, studied 56 women, nine-tenths of whom were in the last trimester and found that if alcohol was used to stimulate secretion a normal acidity was found in three-quarters of them. Sixteen per cent showed complete posthistamine achlorhydria. It is interesting to note however that 2 women observed to have hypochlorhydria during the twentieth and thirtysecond week respectively developed normal concentrations of hydrochloric acid later in the pregnancy, the former at 32 weeks and the latter at 34 weeks. The group of 42 women with normal gastric acidity had an average maximum concentration of free hydrochloric acid of 49 mequiv/l . Way (1945), using a fractional test meal without histamine (Dodds and Whitby, 1931). reported that in pregnancy there appeared to be some relationship between free acid in the gastric juice and the amount of anterior pituitary-like hormone secreted in the urine. As the amount of .
Hardware efficient FIR compensation filter for delta sigma modulator analog to digital converters

A design procedure is presented for a hardware efficient FIR compensation filter as a component in a delta sigma modulator analog to digital converter using cascaded sine low pass filters. The combination of the sine low pass filters and the hardware efficient FIR compensation filter results in a 21% saving in hardware (chip area) compared to a single FIR low pass filter
Organismos transgênicos no Brasil: regular ou desregular?

A analise de risco de OGM ou transgenicos segue protocolos internacionais atraves das quais se pergunta sobre o possivel dano (efeito adverso), a forma de aparecimento do dano (riscos), os riscos significativos que merecam analise detalhada e de que forma o risco identificado sera observado e medido (avaliacao). Assim como no Brasil, analises de risco efetuadas em outros paises nos ultimos quinze anos nunca evidenciaram, nos produtos liberados, efeitos adversos a saude humana e animal ou ao ambiente. O excesso de regulamentacao favorece as grandes empresas que tem recursos e tempo para atender a todas as demandas regulatorias. No entanto, pequenas empresas ou estatais como a Embrapa nao tem orcamento para cumprir com os exageros do excesso de regulamentacao. Por isso, o Brasil, tendo em vista a experiencia dos outros paises, alem de sua propria experiencia, deve introduzir mais racionalidade no debate e comecar a desregular o que esta regulado em demasia. As plantas transgenicas, alem de inocuas, trazem vantagens economicas e ao meio ambiente. Comprovadamente, reduzem o uso de agua por exigir menos inseticidas e economizam o uso de oleo diesel reduzindo a emissao de CO2 na atmosfera.
The Global Ocean Data Analysis Project version 2 (GLODAPv2) – an internally consistent data product for the world ocean

Abstract. Version 2 of the Global Ocean Data Analysis Project (GLODAPv2) data product is composed of data from 724 scientific cruises covering the global ocean. It includes data assembled during the previous efforts GLODAPv1.1 (Global Ocean Data Analysis Project version 1.1) in 2004, CARINA (CARbon IN the Atlantic) in 2009/2010, and PACIFICA (PACIFic ocean Interior CArbon) in 2013, as well as data from an additional 168 cruises. Data for 12 core variables (salinity, oxygen, nitrate, silicate, phosphate, dissolved inorganic carbon, total alkalinity, pH, CFC-11, CFC-12, CFC-113, and CCl4) have been subjected to extensive quality control, including systematic evaluation of bias. The data are available in two formats: (i) as submitted but updated to WOCE exchange format and (ii) as a merged and internally consistent data product. In the latter, adjustments have been applied to remove significant biases, respecting occurrences of any known or likely time trends or variations. Adjustments applied by previous efforts were re-evaluated. Hence, GLODAPv2 is not a simple merging of previous products with some new data added but a unique, internally consistent data product. This compiled and adjusted data product is believed to be consistent to better than 0.005 in salinity, 1 % in oxygen, 2 % in nitrate, 2 % in silicate, 2 % in phosphate, 4 µmol kg−1 in dissolved inorganic carbon, 6 µmol kg−1 in total alkalinity, 0.005 in pH, and 5 % for the halogenated transient tracers. The original data and their documentation and doi codes are available at the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center ( http://cdiac.ornl.gov/oceans/GLODAPv2/ ). This site also provides access to the calibrated data product, which is provided as a single global file or four regional ones – the Arctic, Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans – under the doi:10.3334/CDIAC/OTG. NDP093_GLODAPv2 . The product files also include significant ancillary and approximated data. These were obtained by interpolation of, or calculation from, measured data. This paper documents the GLODAPv2 methods and products and includes a broad overview of the secondary quality control results. The magnitude of and reasoning behind each adjustment is available on a per-cruise and per-variable basis in the online Adjustment Table.
Pharmacotherapy of Alcohol Use Disorders and Concurrent Psychiatric Disorders: A Review

Alcohol use disorders (AUDs) are among the most prevalent psychiatric disorders. Epidemiologic studies have shown a high prevalence of concurrent psychiatric disorders among people with AUDs as well as a higher prevalence of AUDs in people with psychiatric disorders than in the general population. Though psychiatric patients with concurrent AUDs are at increased risk for morbidity and mortality, they are commonly undertreated for their alcohol-related disorders. The efficacy of pharmacotherapy for AUDs is well documented. Our paper reviews the common pharmacotherapies available for AUDs and focuses on the available research regarding treatment of AUDs among psychiatric populations with mood, anxiety, and psychotic disorders. Despite the high prevalence of concurrent AUDs and psychiatric disorders, very limited information has been collected using a randomized controlled trial design targeting those concurrent conditions. Several prevalent psychiatric disorders have not been studied when co-occurring with AUDs. Further research of pharmacological treatments for concurrent AUDs and psychiatric diagnoses is urgently needed.
BMP7 acts in murine lens placode development.

Targeted inactivation of the Bmp7 gene in mouse leads to eye defects with late onset and variable penetrance (A. T. Dudley et al., 1995, Genes Dev. 9, 2795-2807; G. Luo et al., 1995, Genes Dev. 9, 2808-2820). Here we report that the expressivity of the Bmp7 mutant phenotype markedly increases in a C3H/He genetic background and that the phenotype implicates Bmp7 in the early stages of lens development. Immunolocalization experiments show that BMP7 protein is present in the head ectoderm at the time of lens placode induction. Using an in vitro culture system, we demonstrate that addition of BMP7 antagonists during the period of lens placode induction inhibits lens formation, indicating a role for BMP7 in lens placode development. Next, to integrate Bmp7 into a developmental pathway controlling formation of the lens placode, we examined the expression of several early lens placode-specific markers in Bmp7 mutant embryos. In these embryos, Pax6 head ectoderm expression is lost just prior to the time when the lens placode should appear, while in Pax6-deficient (Sey/Sey) embryos, Bmp7 expression is maintained. These results could suggest a simple linear pathway in placode induction in which Bmp7 functions upstream of Pax6 and regulates lens placode induction. At odds with this interpretation, however, is the finding that expression of secreted Frizzled Related Protein-2 (sFRP-2), a component of the Wnt signaling pathway which is expressed in prospective lens placode, is absent in Sey/Sey embryos but initially present in Bmp7 mutants. This suggests a different model in which Bmp7 function is required to maintain Pax6 expression after induction, during a preplacodal stage of lens development. We conclude that Bmp7 is a critical component of the genetic mechanism(s) controlling lens placode formation.
Assessment of Atrial Fibrillation–Specific Symptoms Before and 2 Years After Atrial Fibrillation Ablation Do Patients and Physicians Differ in Their Perception of Symptom Relief? Differ in

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to evaluate patient-reported and physician-assessed atrial ﬁ brillation (AF) – related symptoms after AF ablation. BACKGROUND Success of AF ablation is usually de ﬁ ned as freedom from AF, although symptom relief is often patients ’ desire. METHODS Symptom relief was assessed as perceived by patients using the short, validated, AF-speci ﬁ c symptom questionnaire AF6 and as classi ﬁ ed by physicians using the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA) classi ﬁ cation at baseline and 6, 12, and 24 months after AF ablation. Recurrence of arrhythmia was documented by continuous electrocardiographic monitoring. RESULTS In total, 54 patients completed the 24-month follow-up. All 6 items on the AF6, AF6 sum score, and EHRA class improved signi ﬁ cantly over time. The greatest improvement was seen during the ﬁ rst 6 months after ablation, but AF6 scores showed continued improvement up to 12 months, in contrast to EHRA class. There was a low correlation between AF6 score and EHRA class, but the predictive ability was low. Both AF6 scores and EHRA class were signi ﬁ cantly correlated with AF burden at all times after ablation. A change of > 9 points in AF6 sum score corresponded to a meaningful reduction in symptom severity. CONCLUSION Patient-reported and physician-assessed outcomes were both useful in assessing symptom relief after AF ablation, although patient-reported outcomes were more sensitive tools. There was also a discrepancy between patient-reported and physician-assessed outcomes after ablation. Freedom from AF and a low AF burden most often resulted in a reduction of symptoms, but symptom relief also occurred despite little effect on the
Specific immune response in the respiratory tract after administration of an oral polyvalent bacterial vaccine

An oral killed polyvalent bacterial vaccine was assessed in a double-blind trial involving healthy volunteers. Three courses of oral vaccine were given over a 2-month period; each course contained 10(10) Haemophilus influenzae and 7 X 10(9) Staphylococcus aureus organisms. Immunity was assessed by monitoring antibody in saliva and serum over a 3-month period. No evidence of a nonspecific effect on immune parameters (immunoglobulin levels and Escherichia coli antibody) was detected in saliva or serum. An increase in H. influenzae antibody in saliva was detected in 55% of subjects receiving the vaccine compared with 6.7% of the placebo group. Antibody was associated with immunoglobulin A (IgA), IgG, and IgM, but the greatest increases over preimmunization levels were detected in the IgA class. No increase in serum antibody levels was detected. Subjects with higher preimmunization levels of salivary antibody to H. influenzae were less likely to respond to the oral bacterial vaccine. No increase in S. aureus antibody was detected in saliva or serum.
The application of augmented reality technologies for factory layout

The concept of factory digital mock-up is put forward by adopting the concept of digital mock-up to the research of factory layout. It includes all the digital archive for the whole life-cycle of a factory. With the factory digital mock-up, we can optimize the plant layout, resolve conflicts between different parts and avoid loss which is due to irrational design. To avoid some limitations of virtual reality in factory layout, augmented reality is used to help the planning of factory layout, so we can omit lots of modeling work which is imperative when virtual reality technology is used. Augmented reality technology overlays virtual image and information generated by computer on the image of real world. It helps planners intuitively determine whether the plant layout meet qualitative indicators such as safety and aesthetics. It is one of the hot issues in the field of computer vision, and a new area in the research of virtual reality.
A Case of Burn Due to Sadomasochism

We report here a case of a burn that was caused by sadomasochistic sexual behavior. A 49-year-old male, a wholesale market worker, visited our department, complaining of painful cutaneous ulcers on the lateral side of the left thigh and in the groin. According to the patient, the ulcers were caused by something fiery firmly squeezed to the affected sites by someone, and began to develop two weeks previously. A granulomatous ulcer, 15 × 8 cm in size, was found on the lateral side of the left thigh (Fig. 1). It consisted of six irregularly-shaped, protuberant-margined, crater-like ulcers with poorly formed granulation and necrotic tissues, red or yellow in color. Similar granulomatous ulcers about the size of a thumb tip were seen bilaterally in the groin region (Fig. 2). The peripheries of these ulcers were colored black. The patient asserted that the ulcers were burns, but because of their unusual appearance, the doctor in charge at first suspected that he had pyoderma gangrenosum although there were no other indicative findings. We offered to do a skin biopsy but were rejected. A few days later, however, after persistent questioning, the patient confessed that the burns were caused by sadomasochistic behavior and that the black material surrounding the wounds was activated charcoal, placed there under the orders of his female partner. We were then able to diagnose a dermal burn modified by a foreign substance. Staphylococcus aureus was isolated from the wounds. Peripheral blood tests for syphilis and for hepatitis B and C antibodies were negative. The wounds healed completely after approximately one month of rinsing with saline and applying bucladesine sodium ointment. Although the patient admitted that the wounds were caused by sadomasochistic behavior, he was reluctant to offer any additional information regarding how the wounds were formed or what the relationship was like with his partner. We suppose The Journal of Dermatology Vol. 29: 463–464, 2002