Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in males: a review of pathophysiology

Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) refer to the symptom complex that is the common pathway for diseases affecting the lower urinary tract. It manifests as either irritative or obstructive symptoms. LUTS have long been recognised as a significant cause of morbidity in both sexes. The long term sequelae of the underlying cause are also a significant cause of mortality. LUTS have been noted to have a recognisable progression pattern that worsens with age. This is of particular concern in African countries that continue to evolve in terms of the population dynamics. This evolution has resulted in an increase in the geriatric population in both developed and developing countries. There has been a concordant increase in the recognition of the symptom complex with age. This results in a significant percentage of males presenting with LUTS and secondary complications. Several factors interact to produce LUTS. Complex pathophysiological pathways have been investigated to define the roles of individual and cumulative risk factors in an attempt to provide better therapeutic options. It is imperative for scientists to identify reversible factors that influence LUTS. Treatment of the complex of symptoms has the potential to utilise a significant proportion of the healthcare budget. Identification of modifiable risk factors in the pathogenesis of LUTS allows for more cost effective prevention and management of the disease. This article will discuss the definition and pathogenesis of LUTS with particular emphasis on the role of metabolic factors. An algorithm for assessment, initial management and referral criteria is also included.
Electric and magnetic fields of 50 Hz are not associated with sudden infant death syndrome

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is a multifactorial condition. Power frequency magnetic fields have been implicated in SIDS. Through the use of a case-control study measuring 50 Hz electric and magnetic fields at the SIDS baby's last head position, no association could be found between SIDS and either electric (p = 0.327) or magnetic (p = 0.827) 50 Hz fields.
Structured Multi-Skill Assessment (SMSA) in pharmacy: A contextual adaptation for authentic assessment for colleges of pharmacy and beyond

There is a need for a contextual adaptation model of the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) procedures and assessment methods into diverse contexts with great cultural diversity that is both affordable and achievable. This manuscript aims to describe the principles, organizational structure and theoretical framework of the Structured Multi-Skill Assessment (SMSA), a modified version of the OSCE and a performance-based assessment method developed at the Qatar University College of Pharmacy (QU CPH) that addresses contextual and cultural considerations when used in undergraduate pharmacy curricula.
Acute Appendicitis in a Woman with Eclampsia Complicated By a Stroke at 28 Weeks Gestation: A Case Report

Eclampsia is defined as the occurrence of one or more convulsions superimposed on pre-eclampsia. Pre-eclampsia is pregnancy-induced hypertension in association with proteinuria >0.3g in 24 hours and virtually any organ system may be affected. In eclampsia, the case fatality rate has been reported as 1.8% and a further 35% of women experience a major complication. Acute appendicitis in pregnancy is not frequently encountered (0.05-0.13% pregnancies). This condition is associated with delayed diagnosis and management. We report a 20-year-old Afghani primigravida, who presented at 28 weeks with multiple eclamptic fits at home and fever. Caesarean section was performed. The baby was stillborn with features of intra-uterine growth restriction. Her appendix was acutely inflamed and appendectomy was done. She sustained a minor stroke but recovered completely.
A randomised, controlled, double blind, escalating dose study of alicaforsen enema in active ulcerative colitis

Objective: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of an enema formulation of alicaforsen, an antisense inhibitor of intercellular adhesion molecule, after 1, 3, and 6 months. Methods: This was a randomised, placebo controlled, double blind, escalating dose multicentre study in 40 patients with mild to moderately active distal ulcerative colitis (disease activity index (DAI) 4–10). Patients were assigned to four dosing cohorts of 10 patients each (eight active, two placebo). Each patient received 60 ml of alicaforsen enema (0.1, 0.5, 2, or 4 mg/ml or placebo) once daily for 28 consecutive days. Safety and efficacy (DAI and clinical activity index) scores were evaluated up to six months after initiation of dosing. Results: At day 29, alicaforsen enema resulted in dose dependent improvement in DAI (overall p = 0.003). Alicaforsen 4 mg/ml improved DAI by 70% compared with the placebo response of 28% (p = 0.004). Alicaforsen 2 and 4 mg/ml improved DAI status by 72% and 68% compared with a placebo response of 11.5% at month 3 (p = 0.016 and 0.021, respectively). Specifically, DAI improved from 5.6 to 1.6 and from 6.3 to 2.5 in the 2 and 4 mg/ml groups compared with placebo (7.5 to 6.1). None of the patients in the 4 mg/ml group compared with 4/8 placebo patients required additional medical or surgical intervention over baseline during the six month period after starting the enema treatment. The safety profile was favourable. Conclusions: Alicaforsen enema showed promising acute and long term benefit in patients with mild to moderate descending ulcerative colitis. Alicaforsen enemas had a favourable safety profile. These findings require verification in larger randomised controlled clinical trials.
Microbiota and Probiotics in the Treatment of Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Summary of the Clinical Literature

The mammalian intestinal tract contains a complex and diverse society of both pathogenic and non-pathogenic bacteria. While it is estimated that there are more than 400 bacterial species inhabiting the human intestinal tract, many of these are uncultivated microorganisms that have complex interactions with other microflora and their host. Recent advances in molecular biology and genetics will facilitate the identification of some unknown organisms through the science of metagenomics. Subsequent analyses of genetic code may inform microbiologists how to create suitable culture conditions for these unknown organisms to facilitate further study and characterization. Although environmental factors and the genetic make-up of the host can modulate the distribution of microbial strains, diet appears to be a major factor in regulating the concentration of individual species of microorganisms that colonize the gut. In addition, several gastrointestinal diseases have been associated with imbalances in the endogenous microflora population. Recent research has classified three distinct groups of intestinal microorganisms: (1) pathogenic, (2) neutral or innocuous, and (3) beneficial microorganisms. This review focuses on known microbiota imparting a protective or curative effect when the gut environment is challenged. These probiotic microorganisms have a potential therapeutic role in the maintenance of human health and the treatment of various gastrointestinal diseases. Through the examination of results obtained from high-quality open-label studies and controlled trials, the value of probiotic therapy in a variety of gastrointestinal diseases is discussed and areas for future research are identified.
A case study of the history matching of a sector of the Norne field using the ensemble Kalman filter

In the history matching process reservoir parameters are estimated so they can be further used in a simulator to reproduce the past behaviour of the reservoir. During the last two decades the methodology evolved from manual methods to computer assisted procedures which can handle larger amounts of data. Now, when the computational power has increased enough, it is possible to perform more complicated computations and use more advance methods and at the same time choose more realistic simulation models. In spite of that, the field cases which are chosen to history match, even if more realistic they often are still synthetic. Therefore, the history matching procedure has been applied as a real case study based on Norne Field located near the Norwegian coastline. The preliminary results and the experience of handling realistic dataset are shared in this paper. The Ensemble Kalman Filter, which is recently a very popular method, has been chosen to match the well production rates and bottom-hole pressures to the real observations acquired in the segment of the field. Within the numerical experiment, permeability and porosity were estimated. Obtained results are a basis for continuation and the further improvement of the history matching process of the Norne Field. In addition, the issues encountered during the study are discussed i.e. the treatment of the flow conditions on the segment boundary and construction of initial ensemble.
Need for a Jordanian National Registry of Chronic Renal Disease

Objective: There is sparse information on Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) in developing countries which harbor the vast majority of the population with End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). Data for children are inaccurate, with frequent underreporting of CKD. Methods: With the escalating incidence of chronic kidney disease, it becomes obvious that there is a need for a Jordanian National Renal Registry (JNRR). This should be accomplished by the Ministry of Health, after establishing a national kidney foundation. Conclusion: The Jordanian Society of Nephrology should be actively involved. The Registry should have representatives from the universities, government, armed forces, and private sectors. The registry should be considered as a national treasure.
Children walking to school: Parent perceptions of environmental and psychosocial influences

Background and Aims: Children's declining physical activity has attracted attention from those concerned with the health and well-being of the young. The present study aims to determine if the extent of walking to and from a school with an active participation program differed from that in another school without a program. METHOD and Results: Data from 21 parents of Grade 7 children from School A, sourced from a previous study, were compared with data from parents of Grade 7 children in School B, collected using the same questionnaire. No significant difference in the mean number of days walked to (t= 0.098, P= 0.92) or from school (t= 0.251, P= 0.80) was identified. CONCLUSIONS: This small-scale project suggests that a melange of variables has the potential to influence children's incidental activity levels. KW: SR2S Language: en
Aerobic bacteria associated with symptomatic gallstone disease and their antimicrobial susceptibility

Introduction: Gallstone disease is a major health problem throughout the world. Apart from surgery prompt administration of appropriate antibiotics to control the biliary tract infection is important. Objective: Illustrate the bacteriology of gallstone disease. Design: The bile stones and bile of patients with symptomatic gallbladder disease, who underwent cholecystectomy, over a period of one year, were cultured aerobically in blood agar and MacConkey agar. Enrichment was not done, as it was not indicated in previous studies. The isolates were identified according to standard microbiological procedures and were tested for their sensitivity pattern. Settings: Department of Microbiology, University of Sri Jayawardenapura and Colombo South Teaching Hospital, Kalubowila, Sri Lanka. Results: Twenty percent of the patients were positive for bacteria in either bile or stones. Escherichia coli (40%), Klebsiella spp (35%) and Enterobacter spp (20%) were the commonest isolates. Ninety one percent of all isolates were Coliforms. Conclusions: We recommend obtaining of cultures of bile and gallstones at the time of cholecystectomy so that appropriate antibiotics can be administered in the event of a positive culture to prevent serious complications like gram negative septicaemia. According to our results, co-amoxiclav in combination with an aminoglycoside for aerobic bacteria along with metronidazole to cover anaerobic bacteria is an empirical therapy that can be used before the results of bacteriological cultures. Cefotaxime or imipenem can be used for aerobic bacteria as an alternative treatment. doi: 10.4038/gmj.v11i1. 1110 Galle Medical Journal Vol.11(1) 2006 9-13
11PADVANCING APOPTOSIS BY MIR-122-5P IN COMBINATION WITH TRASTUZUMAB IN SKBR3 CELL LINE

ABSTRACT MiRNAs are negative regulators of protein coding genes. Cancer cell survival, metastasis, differentiation and tumor progression have been regulated by a lot of miRNAs having very important functions. Recently, miR-122-5p was proved to play a tumor suppressor role in breast cancer. Apoptosis which takes a crucial act to conserve homeostasis in tissue is the most frequent type of cell death in multicellular living systems. Defects in the regulation of cell death via apoptosis have been associated with many disorders such as cancer. Previous studies suggest that trastuzumab, which shows its activity through its antibody characteristics affecting the immunological control of neoplastic HER2+ breast cancer cells, exhibits an anti-proliferative effect in HER2+ breast cancer cells by triggering caspase-dependent apoptosis. So, we aimed to analyze advancing of apoptosis by miR-122-5p in combination with trastuzumab in the SKBR3 (HER2+) cell line. For this purpose, we firstly transfected SKBR3 cells with miR-122-5p mimic, inhibitor and miRNA negative control for 48 hours. Afterwards, 0.5 µM trastuzumab was administered to miRNA transfected and non-transfected SKBR3 cells for 24 hours. AnnexinV and 7AAD emissions were detected in the FL1 and FL2 channels of a FACSCalibur flow cytometer (Becton-Dickinson, USA), respectively. The data were analyzed using CellQuest program from Becton-Dickinson. We revealed significantly more apoptotic cells upon miR-122-5p administration in combination with trastuzumab and also less apoptotic cells upon miR-122-5p interference with inhibitor miRNA in combination with trastuzumab. The number of apoptotis cells were 34.9 %, 38.9 %, 48.8 % and 27.7 % in trastuzumab, trastuzumab + miR-122-5p-NC, trastuzumab + miR-122-5p-mimic and trastuzumab + miR-122-5p-inhibitor administrations, respectively. All in all, the apoptosis advancing effect of miR-122-5p treatment in combination with trastuzumab may provide new therapeutic treatment choices for HER2+ breast cancer cases. Disclosure All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.
Neutrophil Apoptosis in Patients with β-Thalassemia Major

Increased susceptibility to infection is reported in patients with g -thalassemia major due to toxic effect of iron on neutrophil functions and reticuloendothelial system dysfunction. This study investigated the association between the neutrophil apoptosis and frequency of infection episodes, desferrioxamine treatment, and serum ferritin levels in patients with g -thalassemia major. A total of 35 children diagnosed with g -thalassemia major were enrolled. Group 1 consisted patients who were receiving desferrioxamine (DFO) and group 2 consisted of patients who did not start to receive DFO. A total of 15 healthy children were enrolled to serve as a control group. Frequency of infection episodes within a year was noted from hospital records. In all patients, the same method based on flow cytometry (annexin V labeled with FITC) was used to assess neutrophil apoptosis. Neutrophil count and percentage of apoptotic neutrophils did not differ significantly between the groups. When frequency of infection episodes among groups was evaluated, frequency of infection episodes of the patients who were receiving DFO was significantly higher than in the other groups. When correlation between neutrophil apoptosis and frequency of infection episodes, serum ferritin levels, and neutrophil count of the patients was analyzed according to groups, no significant correlation was found. The results indicate that high serum ferritin level and DFO use in patients with g -thalassemia major do not enhance neutrophil apotosis in vivo and enhanced neutrophil apoptosis cannot be a possible cause for increased susceptibility to infections in these patients.
Thrombolysis for Intraventricular Hemorrhage

The most common causes of intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) are extension of a hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage into the ventricles, rupture of an intracranial aneurysm or vascular malformation, trauma, and neonatal germinal matrix hemorrhage. IVH causes brain damage by impairing cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) circulation, leading to increased ventricular size, hydrocephalus. and increased intracranial pressure. There may be additional injury to the surrounding brain tissue secondary to the IVH. IVH is removed by fibrinolysis and hemolysis, although fibrinolysis is deficient in the CSF, such that spontaneous clearance of IVH is slow. IVH is an independent adverse prognostic factor for outcome after hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage and aneurysmal rupture. Current treatment generally includes external ventricular drainage, but this is frequently inadequate because the IVH occludes the catheter. Intraventricular administration of fibrinolytics such as tissue plasminogen activator has been reported but no adequate randomized controlled trials have been conducted. Systematic review of the literature suggests that this treatment can hasten clearance of IVH, but no conclusions can be drawn as yet regarding effect on clinical outcome or on what the risk of intracranial hemorrhage is with this treatment.
Preventing Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV-1: An International Perspective

After completing this article, readers should be able to: 1. Compare the rates of vertical human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) transmission in industrialized and nonindustrialized countries. 2. Describe the antiretroviral regimens being investigated to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV-1. 3. List barriers to implementation of prevention programs in resource-poor countries. 4. Describe the impact of feeding choices on vertical transmission of HIV-1. Globally, the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 pandemic continues to advance at an alarming rate. The latest estimates from the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS indicate that approximately 34.7 million people worldwide were infected with HIV-1 at the end of 2000 (Table 1⇓). 1 More than 95% of the global total of HIV-infected individuals live in the developing world, predominantly in sub-Saharan Africa. The pediatric HIV-1 epidemic is driven by maternal HIV-1 infection, with the vast majority of infants acquiring infection from their mothers. Limited data from countries in sub-Saharan Africa show that HIV-1 seroprevalence rates among women of childbearing age have exceeded 25% in many urban populations.2 With an estimated 2.4 million infected women giving birth annually, 600,000 children worldwide acquired HIV-1 infection during 2000 alone, primarily through mother-to-child transmission. Current estimates suggest that more than 1,600 infants become infected with HIV-1 each day.1 View this table: Table 1. Global Disease Burden Associated with HIV-1 Infection (December 2000)1 Prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV-1 is a major public health challenge in many resource-poor countries. Important issues include limited access to antenatal care and HIV-1 testing and counseling services as well as postnatal HIV-1 transmission through breastfeeding. Poor funding, social and cultural norms, and lack of political power compound the dilemma further. This article examines current understanding of mother-to-child transmission of HIV-1 in resource-poor countries, with particular emphasis on transmission through human milk. In addition, results of recent antiretroviral and nonantiretroviral intervention trials …
Enfermedad por meningococo, Neisseria meningitidis: perspectiva epidemiológica, clínica y preventiva

La meningitis bacteriana continua siendo uno de los grandes problemas de la salud publica mundial. En particular, la infeccion por Neisseria meningitidis afecta tanto a paises desarrollados como subdesarrollados, y se presenta en formas endemicas y epidemicas. La enfermedad meningococcica se puede manifestar clinicamente no solo como meningitis, sino con cuadros fulminantes de meningococcemia. La persistencia de N. meningitidis se debe al gran porcentaje de portadores y a la dinamica de transmision de la bacteria. Aproximadamente 500 millones de personas en el mundo son portadoras de N. meningitidis en la nasofaringe. Los factores de transmisiblidad identificados han sido el tabaquismo activo o pasivo, la presencia de infecciones virales del tracto respiratorio superior, epocas de sequia, y el hacinamiento. Por lo anterior, se han descrito brotes de enfermedad meningococcica en cuarteles militares, escuelas, carceles y dormitorios. Algunos determinantes que permiten la invasion sistemica incluyen danos en la mucosa nasofaringea de portadores, cepas virulentas con formacion de capsula, ausencia de anticuerpos bactericidas y deficiencias del sistema del complemento. El control de la enfermedad meningococcica en circunstancias endemicas y epidemicas se logra por el tratamiento de casos con antibioticos adecuados (penicilina, ceftriaxona o cloranfenicol), la quimioprofilaxis de contactos cercanos (ciprofloxacina, rifampicina o ceftriaxona), y la vigilancia clinica de estos. Sin embargo, es fundamental subrayar que la clave para el control efectivo de la enfermedad meningococcica es la inmunoprofilaxis. Las vacunas disponibles incluyen las de polisacaridos monovalentes o bivalentes (serogrupos A y C), tetravalentes (A, C, Y, W-135), la conjugada (C) o la combinada de proteinas de membrana celular y polisacarido (B y C). Recientemente nos hemos visto forzados a establecer planes nacionales de respuesta que incluyen la disponibilidad de vacuna y de medicamentos para quimioprofilaxis, debido a que se ha documentado un incremento de casos de enfermedad por N. meningitidis, serogrupo C, en el pais. Es por lo anterior que esta revision esta dirigida a proporcionar al personal de salud un recordatorio de los aspectos relevantes de la epidemiologia, y de los clinicos y preventivos de la enfermedad meningococcica.
Efficacy and safety of TNF-blocker therapy in systemic lupus erythematosus

Background: There is still unmet medical need in the therapy of severe organ manifestations of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Therapeutic agents targeting pro-inflammatory cytokines may be an interesting option. Objective: To review available data on the efficacy and safety of tumour necrosis factor (TNF) blockade in SLE. Methods: A review of the literature was conducted. Results/conclusions: Open-label experience suggests that TNF blockade is effective in SLE patients with arthritis, nephritis and skin disease. In particular, nephritis may remain in long-term remission after just four infusions of infliximab administered. Despite the induction of lupus-specific autoantibodies, short-term therapy with infliximab in combination with azathioprine appears feasible and relatively safe. The data call for controlled clinical trials, at least one of which has been initiated.