Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Botulinum Toxin Type A for Chronic Pain and Pelvic Floor Spasm in Women: A Randomized Controlled Trial

OBJECTIVE: To estimate whether botulinum toxin type A is more effective than placebo at reducing pain and pelvic floor pressure in women with chronic pelvic pain and pelvic floor muscle spasm. METHODS: This study was a double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. All participants presented with chronic pelvic pain of more than 2 years duration and evidence of pelvic floor muscle spasm. Thirty women had 80 units of botulinum toxin type A injected into the pelvic floor muscles, and 30 women received saline. Dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, dyschezia, and nonmenstrual pelvic pain were assessed by visual analog scale (VAS) at baseline and then monthly for 6 months. Pelvic floor pressures were measured by vaginal manometry. RESULTS: There was significant change from baseline in the botulinum toxin type A group for dyspareunia (VAS score 66 versus 12; χ2=25.78, P<.001) and nonmenstrual pelvic pain (VAS score 51 versus 22; χ2=16.98, P=.009). In the placebo group only dyspareunia was significantly reduced from baseline (64 versus 27; χ2=2.98, P=.043). There was a significant reduction in pelvic floor pressure (centimeters of H2O) in the botulinum toxin type A group from baseline (49 versus 32; χ2=39.53, P<.001), with the placebo group also having lower pelvic floor muscle pressures (44 versus 39; χ2=19.85, P=.003). CONCLUSION: Objective reduction of pelvic floor spasm reduces some types of pelvic pain. Botulinum toxin type A reduces pressure in the pelvic floor muscles more than placebo. Botulinum toxin type A may be a useful agent in women with pelvic floor muscle spasm and chronic pelvic pain who do not respond to conservative physical therapy. Clinical Trial Registration: Australian Clinical Trials Registry, http://www.actr. org.au/, ACTRN012605000515695 LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: I
Evolution of hair transplantation

Aim: Numerous non-surgical methods and surgical options are available for the solution of baldness in the practice. Technology provides mighty weapons in this field. Thus, individualized solutions are best carried out with well-trained and qualified practitioners. Here, a modification of follicular unit extraction, direct hair implantation is introduced with previously licensed unique pens. Methods: Follicular unit extraction and direct hair implantation methods were carried out in 207 hair transplantations between January and December of 2014. The nests for the grafts were created via pieces of hand-cut razor blade in follicular unit extraction. In addition, a new modification of follicular unit extraction, direct hair implantation, is done via pens that are produced for this purpose. Results: Thirty-eight direct hair implantations were performed in addition with 169 follicular unit extractions. An average number of 2973 grafts were transplanted. Mean operation time was calculated as 385 min. Conclusion: Hair transplantation is still the best solution for hair loss. In conjunction with the surgery, the addition of non-surgical interventions may give a better result to the patient. On the other hand, the promising results in the field of regenerative medicine with cell-based solutions may alter hair transplantation and change the options solely into this field.
P-glycoprotein is overexpressed and functional in severely heat-shocked hepatoma cells.

BACKGROUND Hyperthermia is used in the treatment of some human malignancies. Thermotolerance may interfere with the efficacy of hyperthermic treatment, and thermotolerant cells may also display an enhanced resistance to some anticancer drugs. We have earlier isolated stable heat-resistant rat hepatoma variants and examined whether heat resistance influenced the drug sensitivity of the cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS Heat-resistant variants were isolated by ten repeated cycles of heat exposure at 45 degrees C for 80 min. Highly multidrug-resistant variants were isolated by stepwise selection with colchicine. RESULTS The heat-resistant variants became moderately multidrug resistant. This resistance was further increased by stepwise selection with colchicine (highly multidrug resistant variants). The levels of P-glycoprotein were elevated both in moderately and highly drug resistant variants. Decreased retention of antitumor drugs was observed in the multidrug resistant variants, verapamil increased doxorubicin retention significantly. Estradiol was almost without effect, while tamoxifen increased the drug uptake. Amplification of the MDR gene occurred in a part of the highly multidrug resistant variants. CONCLUSIONS Acquired stable heat resistance of cancer cells can prevent the efficacy not only of hyperthermic treatment, but also the success of chemotherapy.
Cardiometabolic Phenotype and Arterial Stiffness in HIV-Positive Black African Patients

Objective: To test the hypothesis that Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection in Black patients is associated with increased cardiometabolic risk factors that may increase aortic stiffness assessed by pulse wave velocity (PWV). Methods: We matched 96 Cameroonian Controls to 238 (Un) treated HIV-positive patients [HIV] for age. In each participant, aortic PWV (ComplioR), blood pressures (BP), lipid profile and fasting blood glucose (FPG) were measured. Results: Waist circumference was lower in HIV than in Controls (both p g·dl-1), and of diabetes (FPG > 125 mg·dl-1) were higher in HIV than in the Controls (50% vs 27%, and 23% vs 1%, respectively; both p p = 0.02). Fasting triglycerides (TG) and the atherogenic dyslipidemia ratio [log(TG)/HDL-C] were higher in HIV than in the Controls (both p p > 0.05). HIV patients exhibited a twice-higher prevalence of MetS (AHA/NHLBI score 33/5) than that of the Controls (41% vs 21%; p 0.01). Similarly, severity of MetS phenotype was higher in HIV as compared to the Controls (2.14% vs 1.59%; p p = 0.036). Conclusions: HIV infection is associated with higher prevalence of MetS and its phenotype in Black African patients that may induce increased aortic stiffness.
A Nose for Death: Integrating Trophic and Informational Networks for Conservation and Management

Non-lethal management of wildlife, both ‘problem wildlife’ and pest species, to protect crops and threatened species is becoming increasingly important as non-human animals and humans come into closer proximity. A particularly promising approach is to apply predator scents to manipulate the cost/benefit ratio that influences the behavioral decisions made by prey and other predators about where to forage or rest. However, such olfactory manipulations are not always successful. Using insights from size-structured food webs, we develop a novel integrative model of the information that animals acquire from eavesdropping on predator and conspecific scents. We show how animals can use the information content in predator scents to derive knowledge of other predators and competitors and thus influence their decision to stay in or leave an area. This model framework clarifies how predator scents can influence all trophic levels, from interference competition directed at smaller predators, to predation and herbivory, and exploits direct and indirect pathways to promote landscapes of fear that influence spatial and temporal patch use in target animals. We illustrate how the application of this conceptual model can focus future research to enhance the use of predator scent-based deterrents in conservation and management. This integrated model shows great promise for addressing wildlife management concerns and for eventually improving the success and efficacy of traditional management techniques.
Escherichia coli molecular phylogeny using the incongruence length difference test.

Molecular phylogeny of the species Escherichia coli using the E. coli reference (ECOR) collection strains has been hampered by (1) the absence of rooting in the commonly used phenogram obtained from multilocus enzyme electrophoresis (MLEE) data and (2) the existence of recombination events between strains that scramble phylogenetic trees reconstructed from the nucleotide sequences of genes. We attempted to determine the phylogeny for E. coli based on the ECOR strain data by extracting from GenBank the nucleotide sequences of 11 chromosomal structural and 2 plasmid genes for which the Salmonella enterica homologous gene sequences were available. For each of the 13 DNA data sets studied, incongruence with a nonnucleotide whole-genome data set including MLEE, random amplified polymorphic DNA, and rrn restriction fragment length polymorphism data was measured using the incongruence length difference (ILD) test of Farris et al. As previously reported, the incongruence observed between the gnd and plasmid gene data and the whole-genome data was multiple, indicating numerous horizontal transfer and/or recombination events. In five cases, the incongruence detected by the ILD test was punctual, and the donor group was identified. Congruence was not rejected for the remaining data sets. The strains responsible for incongruences with the whole-genome data set were removed, leading to a "prior-agreement" approach, i.e., the determination of a phylogeny for E. coli based on several genes, excluding (1) the genes with multiple incongruences with the whole genome data, (2) the strains responsible for punctual incongruences, and (3) the genes incongruent with each other. The obtained phylogeny shows that the most basal group of E. coli strains is the B2 group rather than the A group, as generally thought. The D group then emerges as the sister group of the rest. Finally, the A and B1 groups are sister groups. Interestingly, the most primitive taxon within E. coli in terms of branching pattern, i.e., the B2 group, includes highly virulent extraintestinal strains with derived characters (extraintestinal virulence determinants) occurring on its own branch.
A distributed consensus control under disturbances for wind farm power maximization

In this paper we address the problem of power sharing among the wind turbines (WTs) belonging to a wind farm. The objective is to maximize the power extraction under the wake effect, and in the presence of wind disturbances. Because of the latter, WTs may fail in respecting the optimal power sharing gains. These are restored by employing a consensus control among the WTs. In particular, under the assumption of discrete-time communication among the WTs, we propose a distributed PID-like consensus approach that enhances the rejection of the wind disturbances by providing the power references to the local WT controllers. The latter are designed by employing an approximated feedback linearization control that, acting simultaneously on the WT rotor speed and the pitch angle, guarantees the tracking of general deloaded power references. The obtained results are validated on a 6-WT wind farm example.
Highly Somatizing Young Adolescents and the Risk of Depression

Objective. To determine if high levels of somatization symptoms in 13- to 16-year-olds from the general population predict risk of major depression and other psychiatric disorders 4 years later. Method. Cohort study, using interview and self-report survey data from the 1983 Ontario Child Health Study (OCHS) and 1987 OCHS Follow-up. The study population included 1015 13- to 16-year-olds from the general community within Ontario. Baseline levels of somatization and emotional disorder were measured by the Survey Diagnostic Instrument, a checklist based on DSM-III criteria. Data were also collected for a range of sociodemographic factors, as well as the presence of chronic health problems. Major depression, anxiety disorders, and substance abuse and dependency at follow-up were measured using a self-administered questionnaire derived from the Diagnostic Interview Schedule. Bivariate and multiple logistic regression techniques were used to assess the relationship between high levels of somatization symptoms (>90th percentile) and later emotional morbidity, with adjustment for potential confounding factors, including gender and baseline disorders. Results. Highly somatizing adolescents are at increased risk of major depression 4 years later, an association that is not explained by detectable emotional disorder at baseline or gender differences between groups. There is an important interaction between somatization and emotional disorder in predicting risk of major depression. It is primarily the group of 13- to 16-year-olds not recognized as being emotionally disordered at the initial OCHS survey in which somatization symptoms increased risk of later depression. The young teen with high levels of somatic complaints had as much risk of later depression as his/her peer with more typical symptoms of emotional disorder. Highly somatizing adolescents were also more likely to describe panic attacks at 4-year follow-up. There was no increased risk of substance abuse/dependency in the highly somatizing group or in generalized anxiety. Conclusions. High levels of somatic symptoms identified in young adolescents in the community represent a significant risk factor for major depression 4 years later, particularly in those individuals who do not present with more typical symptoms of emotional disorder. To detect the emergence of this serious emotional morbidity, adequate follow-up and continuity of care for these challenging patients are needed.
Clinical significance of aminopeptidase N/CD13 expression in human pancreatic carcinoma.

PURPOSE We previously established a novel murine monoclonal antibody(MH8-11) that recognized aminopeptidase N (APN)/cluster of differentiation antigen 13 (CD13). This monoclonal antibody inhibited human umbilical vein endothelial cells migration and capillary-like tube formation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells on Matrigel. In this study, we investigated the expression of APN/CD13 and the intratumor microvessel density (IMD) as the number of microvessel counts in 50 patients with pancreatic carcinoma. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN We investigated APN/CD13 gene expression using the reverse transcriptase-PCR. We also used immunohistochemistry with MH8-11 to investigate APN/CD13 protein expression. Moreover, we investigated the relationship between APN/CD13 expression and tumor angiogenesis by measuring the IMD. RESULTS APN/CD13 gene expression detected by reverse transcriptase-PCR was positive in 50.0% (25 of 50) of the tumors, and APN/CD13 protein positive was detected by immunohistochemistry in 48.0% (24 of 50). APN/CD13 gene expression agreed well with the immunohistochemical findings (90.0% concordance). APN/CD13 was also significantly associated with an increase of the IMD (r = 0.71, P = 0.0003). However, APN/CD13 expression was not associated with various prognostic factors. The median survival time of patients with APN/CD13 expression was significantly shorter than that of patients without APN/CD13 expression (P = 0.009), and multivariate analysis showed that the APN/CD13 status was a significant independent factor (P = 0.016). CONCLUSIONS Our data suggest that APN/CD13 may be a new prognostic marker for patients with pancreatic carcinoma and may have a relationship with the angiogenesis for this cancer.
Height-diameter models with random coefficients and site variables for tree species of Central Maine

Height-diameter models were developed for nine tree species common to the northeastern United States: Abies balsamea, Acer rubrum, Betula papyrifera, B. populifolia, Picea rubens, P. mariana, Pinus strobus, Populus tremuloides, and Tsuga canadensis. Stem heights and diameters were collected from 6 146 trees (between 136 and 2615 trees per species) on 50 plots within 10 structurally diverse stands that are part of a long-term silvicultural experiment in central Maine. The models were developed using both generalized nonlinear least squares (GNLS) and multi-level, mixed-effects approaches. Mixed-effects approaches were superior to GNLS, with inclusion of site covariates (tree density and basal area) accounting for some of the variability explained by the random coefficients in the full mixed-effect models. Analysis of plot-level parameter estimates suggested that differences in stand structure (even-aged vs. uneven-aged silvicultural practices) had a significant influence on the height-diameter relationships. RésuméDes modèles hauteur-diamètre ont été développés pour neuf essences courantes dans le Nord Est des USA : Abies balsamea, Acer rubrum, Betula papyrifera, Betula populifera, Picea rubens, Pinus strobus, Populus tremuloides et Tsuga canadensis. Le diamètre et la hauteur des troncs ont été recueillis sur 6 146 arbres (entre 136 et 2615 arbres par espèce) dans 50 placeaux de 10 des peuplements de diverses structures qui font partie d’une expérimentation à long terme dans le centre du Maine. Les modèles ont été développés en utilisant à la fois les moindres carrés non linéaires généralisés (GNLS) et des approches multi-niveaux à effets mixtes. Les démarches à multi-niveaux ont été supérieures au GNLS, avec des covariables de station (densité et surface terrière) représentant une partie de la variabilité expliquée par les coefficients aléatoires dans l’ensemble des modèles à effets mixtes. L’analyse des estimations des paramètres au niveau des placeaux suggère que les différences de structure de peuplement (pratiques sylvicoles en peuplement équiennes ou inéquiennes) ont un effet significatif sur les relations hauteur —diamètre.
Solid fuel use and cooking practices as a major risk factor for ALRI mortality among African children

Background: Almost half of global child deaths due to acute lower respiratory infections (ALRIs) occur in sub-Saharan Africa, where three-quarters of the population cook with solid fuels. This study aims to quantify the impact of fuel type and cooking practices on childhood ALRI mortality in Africa, and to explore implications for public health interventions. Methods: Early-release World Health Survey data for the year 2003 were pooled for 16 African countries. Among 32 620 children born during the last 10 years, 1455 (4.46%) were reported to have died prior to their fifth birthday. Survival analysis was used to examine the impact of different cooking-related parameters on ALRI mortality, defined as cough accompanied by rapid breathing or chest indrawing based on maternal recall of symptoms prior to death. Results: Solid fuel use increases the risk of ALRI mortality with an adjusted hazard ratio of 2.35 (95% CI 1.22 to 4.52); this association grows stronger with increasing outcome specificity. Differences between households burning solid fuels on a well-ventilated stove and households relying on cleaner fuels are limited. In contrast, cooking with solid fuels in the absence of a chimney or hood is associated with an adjusted hazard ratio of 2.68 (1.38 to 5.23). Outdoor cooking is less harmful than indoor cooking but, overall, stove ventilation emerges as a more significant determinant of ALRI mortality. Conclusions: This study shows substantial differences in ALRI mortality risk among African children in relation to cooking practices, and suggests that stove ventilation may be an important means of reducing indoor air pollution.
Estudio estructural y polimórfico de ácidos dicarboxílicos alfáticos de cadena larga

En este trabajo se ha realizado estudio de metodos de cristalizacion y del polimorfismo de los acidos dicarboxilicos con un numero de atomos de carbono entre diez y veinte. Se han analizado las diversas formas polimorficas y las transiciones de fase identificadas a partir de tecnicas complementarias como analisis termico y difraccion de rayos X en funcion de la temperatura. A partir de los resultados obtenidos se ha establecido la estabilidad relativa de las fases solidas para cada compuesto. Se han determinado las estructuras de las distintas formas polimorficas de los acidos dicarboxilicos a partir de datos de difraccion de rayos X de polvo cristalino, combinando un refinamiento Rietveld con una minimizacion energetica; en muchos casos tambien se han utilizado datos difraccion de rayos X de monocristal. El estudio del empaquetamiento de las moleculas en cada forma polimorfica, comparando las interacciones intermoleculares e intramoleculares responsables de la organizacion estructural, ha permitido explicar la alternancia en las temperaturas de fusion y densidades, asi como la tendencia de estas propiedades en la familia estudiada.
Candida albicans Mutations in the Ergosterol Biosynthetic Pathway and Resistance to Several Antifungal Agents

ABSTRACT The role of sterol mutations in the resistance of Candida albicans to antifungal agents has not been thoroughly investigated. Previous work reported that clinical C. albicans strains resistant to both azole antifungals and amphotericin B were defective in ERG3, a gene encoding sterol Δ5,6-desaturase. It is also believed that a deletion of the lanosterol 14α-demethylase gene, ERG11, is possible only under aerobic conditions when ERG3 is not functional. We tested these hypotheses by creating mutants by targeted deletion of the ERG3 and ERG11 genes and subjecting those mutants to antifungal susceptibility testing and sterol analysis. The homozygous erg3/erg3 mutant created, DSY1751, was resistant to azole derivatives, as expected. This mutant was, however, slightly more susceptible to amphotericin B than the parent wild type. It was possible to generate erg11/erg11 mutants in the DSY1751 background but also, surprisingly, in the background of a wild-type isolate with functional ERG3 alleles under aerobic conditions. This mutant (DSY1769) was obtained by exposure of an ERG11/erg11 heterozygous strain in a medium containing 10 μg of amphotericin B per ml. Amphotericin B-resistant strains were obtained only from ERG11/erg11 heterozygotes at a frequency of approximately 5 × 10−5 to 7 × 10−5, which was consistent with mitotic recombination between the first disrupted erg11 allele and the other remaining functional ERG11 allele. DSY1769 was also resistant to azole derivatives. The main sterol fraction in DSY1769 contained lanosterol and eburicol. These studies showed that erg11/erg11 mutants of a C. albicans strain harboring a defective erg11 allele can be obtained in vitro in the presence of amphotericin B. Amphotericin B-resistant strains could therefore be selected by similar mechanisms during antifungal therapy.
Carbohydrate metabolism of iron-rich and iron-poor Staphylococcus aureus.

Surmmary Comparative studies were made of the metabolic activities of a strain of Staphylococcus aureus grown in iron-poor and iron-rich trypticase medium, with and without glucose. Four nutritionally distinctive types of organisms were produced: iron-rich without glucose (Fe + G —); iron-poor without glucose (Fe— G —); iron-rich with glucose (Fe+ G +); iron-poor with glucose (Fe— G-). Fe+ G— cocci oxidized glucose, L- and D-lactate, pyruvate, acetate, formate, and Krebs cycle intermediates to completion. Of these substrates, only glucose and the lactates were oxidized by the Fe — G — organisms. These latter oxidations proceeded at decreased rates and incompletely to acetate and acetoin. Fe+ G + cocci in comparison with the Fe+ G— cocci showed glucose inhibition of oxidative capacity by metabolizing only glucose, L-lactate and pyruvate to acetate and failing to oxidize D-lactate, acetate and Krebs cycle intermediates. The Fe— G + cocci showed the most severe restriction of oxidative capacity by oxidizing only glucose with the accumulation of much lactate and minor amounts of pyruvate, acetate and acetoin. The Fe — G —, Fe — G +, and Fe + G + cocci glycolysed glucose at comparable rates, while the highly oxidative form Fe+ G— showed a markedly decreased glycolytic activity. The catalase activity of both types of iron-poor cocci was very much lower than that of the iron-rich organisms. Of the latter, the Fe + G+ cocci showed a catalase activity only 20% that of Fe + G — cocci.