anthonyyazdaniml/gliner-biomed-curated-corpus huggingface dataset:
Dysphagia and chronic aspiration are common post-irradiation complications in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) survivors. Expiratory Muscle Strength Training (EMST) is a simple device-driven exercise therapy for swallowing training. This study investigates the effectiveness of EMST in a group of post-irradiated NPC patients. This prospective cohort, including twelve patients with previous irradiation for NPC and with swallowing disturbance, was performed between 2019 and 2021 in a single institution. Patients were trained with EMST for 8 weeks. Non-parametric analyses examined effects of EMST on primary outcome, maximum expiratory pressure. Secondary outcomes were measured with Penetration-aspiration scale, Yale pharyngeal residue severity rating scale (YPRSRS) by flexible endoscopic evaluation of swallowing, and Eating Assessment Tool (EAT-10) and M.D. Anderson Dysphagia Inventory questionnaire. Twelve patients, with a mean (SD) age of 64.3 (8.2) were recruited. There was no patient dropout with 88.9% overall compliance of training. Maximum expiratory pressure improved by 41% (median 94.5 to 133.5 cmH2O, p = 0.003). There was reduction in Penetration-aspiration scale with thin liquid (median 4 to 3, p = 0.026), and in YPRSRS at pyriform fossa with mildly thick liquid (p = 0.021) and at vallecula with thin liquid (p = 0.034), mildly thick liquid (p = 0.014) and pureed meat congee (p = 0.016). Questionnaire scores did not significantly change statistically. EMST is an easy-to-use and effective exercise therapy to improve airway safety and swallowing function in post-irradiated NPC survivors.
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain the subject composition having effects on whitening of skin color without toxicity at the same time by combining two kinds of plant extracts as an active ingredient. SOLUTION: This composition contains (A) an extract of Petroselinum satirum and (B) an extract of Roman camomile respectively having inhibiting actions on melanogenesis. The amounts of the ingredients are preferably 0.1-10 wt.% of the ingredient A and 0.1-10 wt.% of the ingredient B. (C) A vitamin C derivative (preferably ascorbic acid magnesium phosphate) in an amount of 0.5-4 wt.% is preferably further contained in the composition. The ingredient A can be prepared by extracting, e.g. a fresh leaf of the Petroselinum satirum with an aqueous solution of propylene glycol. The ingredient B is obtained by extracting a fresh flower of the Roman camomile with an aqueous solution of propylene glycol. Thereby, effects on whitening of skin based on inhibition of the melanogenesis can be expected.
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The purpose of this review and meta-analysis is to characterize the changes in body composition of children and adolescents who underwent bariatric surgery and identify possible negative effects of performing this procedure during pediatric ages.
RECENT FINDINGS: Bariatric surgery in children and adolescents is an emerging strategy to promote higher and faster body weight and fat mass losses. However, possible negative effects usually observed in surgical patients' muscle-skeletal system raise a major concern perform this intervention during growth. Despite these possible issues, most experimental studies and reviews analyze bariatric surgery's effectiveness only by assessing anthropometric outcomes such as body weight and BMI, disregarding the short- and long-term impact of bariatric surgery on all body composition outcomes. Bariatric surgery is effective to reduce fat mass in adolescents, as well as body weight, waist circumference, and BMI. Significant reduction in lean mass and fat-free mass is also observed. Bone mass seems not to be impaired. All outcomes reduction were observed only in the first 12 months after surgery. Sensitivity analysis suggests possible sex and type of surgery-related differences, favoring a higher fat mass, body weight, and BMI losses in boys and in patients who underwent RYGB.
OBJECTIVES: To assess the feasibility of long-term muscle monitoring, we implemented an AI-guided segmentation approach on clinically indicated Computed Tomography (CT) examinations conducted throughout the hospitalization period of patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) with acute pancreatitis (AP). In addition, we aimed to investigate the potential of muscle monitoring for early detection of patients at nutritional risk and those experiencing adverse outcomes. This cohort served as a model for potential integration into clinical practice.
MATERIALS: Retrospective cohort study including 100 patients suffering from AP that underwent a minimum of three CT scans during hospitalization, totaling 749 assessments. Sequential segmentation of psoas muscle area (PMA) was performed and was relative muscle loss per day for the entire monitoring period, as well as for the interval between each consecutive scan was calculated. Subgroup and outcome analyses were performed including ANOVA. Discriminatory power of muscle decay rates was evaluated using ROC analysis.
RESULTS: Monitoring PMA decay revealed significant long-term losses of 48.20% throughout the hospitalization period, with an average daily decline of 0.98%. Loss rates diverged significantly between survival groups, with 1.34% PMA decay per day among non-survivors vs. 0.74% in survivors. Overweight patients exhibited significantly higher total PMA losses (52.53 vs. 42.91%; p = 0.02) and average PMA loss per day (of 1.13 vs. 0.80%; p = 0.039). The first and the maximum decay rate, in average available after 6.16 and 17.03 days after ICU admission, showed convincing discriminatory power for survival in ROC analysis (AUC 0.607 and 0.718). Both thresholds for maximum loss (at 3.23% decay per day) and for the initial loss rate (at 1.98% per day) proved to be significant predictors of mortality.
CONCLUSIONS: The innovative AI-based PMA segmentation method proved robust and effortless, enabling the first comprehensive assessment of muscle wasting in a large cohort of intensive care pancreatitis patients. Findings revealed significant muscle wasting (48.20% on average), particularly notable in overweight individuals. Higher rates of initial and maximum muscle loss, detectable early, correlated strongly with survival. Integrating this tool into routine clinical practice will enable continuous muscle status tracking and early identification of those at risk for unfavorable outcomes.
Spinocerebellar ataxia type 7 (SCA7) is a genetic neurodegenerative disorder caused by a CAG-polyglutamine repeat expansion. Purkinje cells (PCs) are central to the pathology of ataxias, but their low abundance in the cerebellum underrepresents their transcriptomes in sequencing assays. To address this issue, we developed a PC enrichment protocol and sequenced individual nuclei from mice and patients with SCA7. Single-nucleus RNA sequencing in SCA7-266Q mice revealed dysregulation of cell identity genes affecting glia and PCs. Specifically, genes marking zebrin-II PC subtypes accounted for the highest proportion of DEGs in symptomatic SCA7-266Q mice. These transcriptomic changes in SCA7-266Q mice were associated with increased numbers of inhibitory synapses as quantified by immunohistochemistry and reduced spiking of PCs in acute brain slices. Dysregulation of zebrin-II cell subtypes was the predominant signal in PCs of SCA7-266Q mice and was associated with the loss of zebrin-II striping in the cerebellum at motor symptom onset. We furthermore demonstrated zebrin-II stripe degradation in additional mouse models of polyglutamine ataxia and observed decreased zebrin-II expression in the cerebella of patients with SCA7. Our results suggest that a breakdown of zebrin subtype regulation is a shared pathological feature of polyglutamine ataxias.
Programmed cell death 1 (PD-1), a key immune checkpoint receptor, has been extensively studied for its role in regulating immune responses in cancer. However, recent research has unveiled a complex and dual role for PD-1 in tumorigenesis. While PD-1 is traditionally associated with immune cells, this article explores its expression in various cancer cells and its impact on cancer progression. PD-1's functions extend beyond immune regulation, as it has been found to both promote and suppress tumor growth, depending on the cancer type. These findings have significant implications for the future of cancer treatment and our understanding of the immune response in the context of cancer. This article calls for further research into the multifaceted roles of PD-1 to optimize its therapeutic potential and improve patient outcomes in the fight against cancer.
BACKGROUND: New immunoglobulin free light chain (FLC) assays are available. Despite analytical differences, it seems possible to use free light chain ratios (FLCr) generated by different assays and apply similar cut-points for the diagnosis of multiple myeloma. It is still unknown if we can use different assays for risk stratification of patients with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS).
METHODS: Patients diagnosed with MGUS (N = 923) had FLC tested using a nephelometric FreeLite (Binding Site) assay on BNII instruments (Siemens) and a Sebia FLC assay (Sebia) on a DS2 ELISA analyzer (Dynex). Patients were followed up for progression to any plasma cell dyscrasia (PCD) for several decades. The Mayo MGUS risk stratification model for progression was assessed with both assays (M-spike >1.5 g/dL; non-IgG isotype and abnormal FLCr), using package insert reference intervals (RI) and a new metric called principal component 2 (PC2).
RESULTS: There were 94 events of progression to PCD in the cohort during a median of 38 years of follow-up. Freelite and Sebia FLC showed similar hazard ratios in the risk models for elevated FLCr. An alternative clinical decision point lower than the package insert RI was evaluated for the Sebia assay, which improved risk stratification for patients with a low FLCr. The PC2 metric showed similar performance to the FLCr in models, without superior benefit.
CONCLUSIONS: The Sebia ELISA-based FLC assay can be employed in an MGUS risk stratification model with similar performance to the original 2005 risk stratification model using the FreeLite assay.
Parents of children admitted to the PICU often face challenging decisions. Research demonstrates deficiencies in communication in the PICU which could impact decision making. This study team has developed a navigator-based intervention call PICU Supports. PICU Supports aims to provide the following types of support to parents of patients in the PICU: emotional; communication (between healthcare team members and parents/families as well as among healthcare team members ); decision making; transitions out of the PICU (i.e. discharge transitions to a non-PICU hospital bed, a long term care facility, or home); and information. Support is accomplished by navigator engagement with parents and healthcare team members and the guided use of navigator supported ancillary tools provided to parents and healthcare team members as needed. During the patient's PICU stay, the navigator activities and use of ancillary tools is directed by the family's needs. Thus PICU Supports uses a predefined framework of activities and tools to provide individualized support directed by the needs of the parent and the patient situation. This research will test PICU Supports in the clinical setting. This will be accomplished by conducting a pilot study of PICU Supports at Ann \& Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago (Lurie Children's Hospital), followed by a randomized controlled trial (RCT) comparing the intervention, PICU Supports, to a control, parental receipt of an educational brochure. The RCT will be conducted at Lurie Children's Hospital and at University of Chicago Medicine Comer Children's Hospital (Comer Children's Hospital).
BACKGROUND: Sensory impairment in older adults is associated with cognitive decline, elevated depressive symptoms, and low levels of life satisfaction. However, these relationships are usually investigated separately and in pairs. This study examined these relationships comprehensively, for the first time.
METHODS: The analysis included 5,658 community-dwelling older adults from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (aged 50 to 108 years, 52.1% male) who completed the Jorm Informant Questionnaire Cognitive Decline in the Elderly and the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression-short form. A questionnaire was used to collect information on hearing, visual status, and life satisfaction. Structural equation modelling was used to examine the direct and indirect relationships between these variables.
RESULTS: Self-reported hearing and vision problems are directly associated with cognitive decline and elevated depressive symptoms. In addition, hearing and vision problems are indirectly related to cognitive decline through elevated depressive symptoms. Although hearing and vision problems had no direct effect on life satisfaction, they were indirectly associated with life satisfaction through cognitive decline and depressive symptoms.
CONCLUSIONS: This study provides the first epidemiological evidence of the comprehensive relationships between hearing and vision problems, cognitive decline, depressive symptoms, and life satisfaction. When older adults report hearing and/or vision problems, clinicians and caregivers should be aware of the concurrence of declined cognition, elevated depressive symptoms, and compensated life satisfaction. Future studies should examine the causal relationships and potential mechanisms of these relationships.
<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sheet impregnated with a medical fluid having a two-ply structure comprising a hydrophilic fiber web and a hydrophobic fiber web and capable of sweeping away a sticky feeling or an unpleasant feeling accompanied by the adhesion of a medical fluid to keep the skin from chapping by certainly inhibiting the transfer of the medical fluid infiltrated in the hydrophilic fiber web to the hydrophobic fiber web.  <P>SOLUTION: The hydrophilic fiber web 1 and the hydrophobic fiber web 2 are fused thermally through the water non-absorbent fusion-bonding resin particulate 4 arranged between both webs 1 and 2. A water repellent layer 5 for preventing the stagnation of the medical fluid is formed between both webs 1 and 2 by the molten thermally fusing resin particulate 4. The hydrophilic fiber web 1 is impregnated with the medical fluid containing 10% or above of an organic solvent. The transfer of the medical fluid infiltrated in the hydrophilic fiber web 1 to the hydrophobic fiber web 2 is prevented by the water repellent layer 5.  <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI
Intervention group oncologists will complete the BC/WC-GeriOnc communication tool training. Cancer treatment decision-making discussions will be recorded with 2 patients per oncologist to understand baseline oncologist practices and communication. Patients and oncologists will be asked to complete study questionnaires over a 2 month follow-up and 1 semi-structured interview. For each randomized oncologist, cancer treatment decision-making discussions will be recorded with 5 patients per oncologist. Both patients and oncologists will also be asked to complete study questionnaires over a 2 month follow-up and 1 semi-structured interview about the decision-making process and communication. Each patient will be given the option to select 1 caregiver to participate. Caregivers will be asked to complete study questionnaires and a semi-structured interview about their decision-making experience.
Instill two drops of Sulfacetamide Sodium and Prednisolone Sodium Phosphate Ophthalmic Solution topically in the eye(s) every four hours. Not more than 20 mL should be prescribed initially. If signs and symptoms fail to improve after two days, patients should be re-evaluated (see PRECAUTIONS).

Care should be taken not to discontinue therapy prematurely. In chronic conditions, withdrawal of treatment should be carried out by gradually decreasing the frequency of application.

FOR OPHTHALMIC USE ONLY
OBJECTIVE: Infants with neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS) have disrupted neurobehavior that requires hospitalization and treatment. This article aimed to evaluate electroencephalography (EEG) abnormalities using amplitude-integrated EEG (aEEG) in NOWS.
STUDY DESIGN: Eighteen term born infants with NOWS were recruited prospectively for an observational pilot study. aEEG monitoring was started within 24 hours of recruitment and twice weekly through discharge. aEEG data were analyzed for background and seizures. Severity of withdrawal was monitored using the modified Finnegan scoring (MFS) system.
RESULTS: Fifteen neonates had complete datasets. Thirteen (87%) had continuous aEEG background in all recordings. None had sleep-wake cyclicity (SWC) at initial recording. Brief seizures were noted in 9 of 15 (60%) infants. Lack of SWC was associated with higher MFS scores. At discharge, 8 of 15 (53%) had absent or emerging SWC.
CONCLUSION: aEEG abnormalities (absent SWC) are frequent and persist despite treatment at the time of discharge in the majority of patients with NOWS. Brief electrographic seizures are common. Neonates with persistent aEEG abnormalities at discharge warrant close follow-up.
KEY POINTS: · EEG abnormalities are common and persist after clinical signs resolve in patients with NOWS.. · Short subclinical seizures may be seen.. · aEEG may identify neonates who need follow-up..
Provided are compositions that include one or more natural, recombinant and/or modified allergens; with a pharmaceutically acceptable non-aqueous solvent to form an immunotherapy composition that includes the active ingredient and solvent, wherein the immunotherapy composition is formulated for administration to a subject in need of immunotherapy. The solvent is miscible with water and interstitial fluid. The at least one active ingredient is soluble in the solvent and insoluble in water and in an aqueous phase of interstitial fluid. The present compositions may be administered to a patient for example, as part of an immunotherapy regimen to help induce a state of immunologic tolerance to one or more allergies, or as treatment for an autoimmune disease. Also provided are methods of making such compositions. Further provided are methods that include administering the composition to a mammal.
Vancomycin will be administered intravenously over 1 hour. Doses will be given from one to four times a day according to corrected gestational age.
This study aims to investigate the effects of hypoxically stored Red Blood Cells (RBCs) in a rat model of traumatic brain injury followed by severe hemorrhagic shock (HS) and resuscitation. RBCs were made hypoxic using an O2 depletion system (Hemanext Inc. Lexington, MA) and stored for 3 weeks. Experimental animals underwent craniotomy and blunt brain injury followed by severe HS. Rats were resuscitated with either fresh RBCs (FRBCs), 3-week-old hypoxically stored RBCs (HRBCs), or 3-week-old conventionally stored RBCs (CRBCs). Resuscitation was provided via RBCs transfusion equivalent to 70 % of the shed blood and animals were followed for 2 h. The control group was comprised of healthy animals that were not instrumented or injured. Post-resuscitation hemodynamics and lactate levels were improved with FRBCs and HRBCs, and markers of organ injury in the liver (Aspartate aminotransferase [AST]), lung (chemokine ligand 1 [CXCL-1] and Leukocytes count), and heart (cardiac troponin, Interleukin- 6 [IL-6] and Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha[TNF-α]) were lower with FRBCs and HRBCs resuscitation compared to CRBCs. Following reperfusion, biomarkers for oxidative stress, lipid peroxidation, and RNA/DNA injury were assessed. Superoxide dismutase [SOD] levels in the HRBCs group were similar to the FRBCs group and levels in both groups were significantly higher than CRBCs. Catalase levels were not different than control values in the FRBCs and HRBCs groups but significantly lower with CRBCs. Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances [Tbars] levels were higher for both CRBCs and HRBCs. Hypoxically stored RBCs show few differences from fresh RBCs in resuscitation from TBI + HS and decreased organ injury and oxidative stress compared to conventionally stored RBCs.
To our knowledge our study is the first study showing persistent apoptosis in a subgroup of patients with complete viral suppression in association with poor immune recovery. Immune alterations independent of active viral replication may be responsible. Recent data suggests that immune responses to antiretroviral therapy depend on residual or restored thymic function. Improved CD4+ counts in patients despite virologic treatment failure are associated with greater thymic function, while poor T cell responses despite suppression of HIV are seen with decreased thymic function. Discordant immune responses may also be due to differential effects of particular antiretroviral agents on T cell apoptosis independent of viral suppression. For example, protease inhibitors have been shown to decrease rates of apoptosis of uninfected T cells. Viral replication is never completely suppressed with HAART, even when patients have undetectable plasma HIV RNA. Therefore, varying degrees of low level viral replication or replication in certain cellular compartments may continue to drive T cell apoptosis. Finally, our data suggests that ex vivo rates of Peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) apoptosis could potentially be used predict immune recovery or identify subgroups of patients who may benefit most from changes in HAART or adjunctive immunomodulatory therapies.

At this time, although there are excellent guidelines for how to evaluate and change therapy for patients with virologic failure, there are no recommendation and little data on approaches or strategies to change therapy for patients with poor immune responses. Kaletra (lopinavir/ritonavir) may be of benefit to patients with poor immune responses to HAART despite viral suppression. Kaletra may have greater potency and better suppression of viral replication that is below the level of detection by plasma polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for HIV-1 RNA. Kaletra also has an excellent pharmacokinetic profile which may result in superior inhibition of T cell apoptosis in vivo.