rudyvdbrink/CitationDatabase huggingface dataset:
The science of medicine and the art of medicine: A student perspective on the U.S. medical education system.
Medical teacher, 2020

This personal view about the overemphasis placed on United States Medical Licensing Examination scores and how the U.S. undergraduate medical education system currently assesses medical student competency is based on my personal experience as both a medical student and a hospitalized patient. In this unique perspective piece, I describe my story as a patient and how that experience led me to consider if the current pressure placed on students to master scientific concepts ('Science of Medicine') is hindering our ability to develop the skills that are required to connect with patient at the bedside ('Art of Medicine'). I propose a restructuring effort of the current training environment and methods of assessing medical student competency in the U.S. could improve the future quality of patient care provided by trainees.
Treatment Response Score to Glatiramer Acetate or Interferon Beta-1a.
Neurology, 2021

To compare the effectiveness of glatiramer acetate (GA) vs intramuscular interferon beta-1a (IFN-β-1a), we applied a previously published statistical method aimed at identifying patients' profiles associated with efficacy of treatments.
A Randomized Crossover Pilot Study Examining the Effect of Carvedilol and Terazosin plus Enalapril on Urinary Symptoms of Patients with Hypertension and Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia.
Urology journal, 2021

The present study aims to assess and compare the effects of carvedilol and terazosin plus enalapril on lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), the urine flow, and blood pressure (BP) in patients with moderate hypertension (HTN) and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).
'Posture second' strategy predicts disability progression in multiple sclerosis.
Multiple sclerosis (Houndmills, Basingstoke, England), 2021

We assessed 168 patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) by force platform to obtain the dual-task cost (DTC) of balance, that is, the change in postural sway from quiet standing to dual-task condition (Stroop test). After a median follow-up time of 3.5 years from this assessment, disability progression occurred in 45 (27%) patients. Disability progression was predicted by the adoption of a 'posture second' strategy, that is, values of DTC of balance exceeding those obtained from 62 healthy controls, even after controlling by demographic and clinical characteristics. The DTC of balance may potentially represent a novel and easy tool to predict MS progression.
Muscle hardness and masticatory myofascial pain: Assessment and clinical relevance.
Journal of oral rehabilitation, 2018

The impression of increased muscle hardness in painful muscles is commonly reported in the clinical practice but may be difficult to assess. Therefore, the aim of this review was to present and discuss relevant aspects regarding the assessment of muscle hardness and its association with myofascial temporomandibular disorder (TMD) pain. A non-systematic search for studies of muscle hardness assessment in patients with pain-related TMDs was carried out in PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase and Google Scholar. Mechanical devices and ultrasound imaging (strain and shear wave elastography) have been consistently used to measure masticatory muscle hardness, although an undisputable reference standard is yet to be determined. Strain elastography has identified greater masseter hardness of the symptomatic side in patients with unilateral myofascial TMD pain when compared to the contralateral side and healthy controls (HC). Likewise, shear wave elastography has shown greater masseter elasticity modulus in patients with myofascial TMD pain when compared to HC, which may be an indication of muscle hardness. Although assessment bias could partly explain these preliminary findings, future randomised controlled trials are encouraged to investigate this relationship. This qualitative review indicates that the muscle hardness of masticatory muscles is still a rather unexplored field of investigation with a good potential to improve the assessment and potentially also the management of myofascial TMD pain. Nonetheless, the current evidence in favour of increased hardness in masticatory muscles in patients with myofascial TMD pain is weak, and the pathophysiological importance and clinical usefulness of such information remain unclear.
Capsaicin and Gut Microbiota in Health and Disease.
Molecules (Basel, Switzerland), 2020

Capsaicin is a widespread spice known for its analgesic qualities. Although a comprehensive body of evidence suggests pleiotropic benefits of capsaicin, including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-proliferative, metabolic, or cardioprotective effects, it is frequently avoided due to reported digestive side-effects. As the gut bacterial profile is strongly linked to diet and capsaicin displays modulatory effects on gut microbiota, a new hypothesis has recently emerged about its possible applicability against widespread pathologies, such as metabolic and inflammatory diseases. The present review explores the capsaicin-microbiota crosstalk and capsaicin effect on dysbiosis, and illustrates the intimate mechanisms that underlie its action in preventing the onset or development of pathologies like obesity, diabetes, or inflammatory bowel diseases. A possible antimicrobial property of capsaicin, mediated by the beneficial alteration of microbiota, is also discussed. However, as data are coming mostly from experimental models, caution is needed in translating these findings to humans.
Prenatal greenspace exposure and cord blood cortisol levels: A cross-sectional study in a middle-income country.
Environment international, 2020

Exposure to greenspace has been associated with reduced stress; however, the available evidence on such an association for the fetus is still very scarce. We, for the first time, investigated the association between maternal greenspace exposure and the level of cortisol, a stress hormone, in the cord blood. Our study was based on a cohort of 150 pregnant women in Sabzevar, Iran (2018). We comprehensively assessed greenspace exposure for each participant through (i) residential surrounding greenspace (using two satellite-derived vegetation indices), (ii) residential proximity to green spaces, (iii) maternal visual access to greenspace, (iv) use of public and private green spaces, (v) having a private garden, and (vi) the number of plant pots at home. Linear regression models were developed to assess the association of each indicator of greenspace exposure with cord blood cortisol levels, controlled for the relevant covariates. We observed that a higher residential surrounding greenspace (100 m buffer), having a window with greenspace view, window greenspace coverage of more than 50%, frequently looking at greenspace through window, residential proximity to large green spaces, and more time spent in green spaces were associated with lower cortisol levels in the cord blood. The findings for residential surrounding greenspace at 300 m and 500 m buffers, residential proximity to any green space regardless of its size, having a private garden, and number of plant pots at home were not conclusive. While about one-third of the association between residential surrounding greenspace (100 m buffer) could be mediated through reduction in exposure to air pollution, we did not observe any strong evidence for such a mediatory role for the visual access to greenspace. The findings stratified for parental education and housing type showed mixed patterns. Our findings suggest that more greenspace exposure might reduce cortisol level in the cord blood.
Targeted repositioning identifies drugs that increase fibroblast growth factor 20 production and protect against 6-hydroxydopamine-induced nigral cell loss in rats.
Scientific reports, 2019

Endogenous fibroblast growth factor 20 (FGF20) supports maintenance of dopaminergic neurones within the nigrostriatal pathway. Moreover, direct intracerebral infusion of FGF20 protects against nigrostriatal tract loss in the 6-hydroxydopamine lesion rat model of Parkinson's disease. Increasing endogenous FGF20 production might provide a less-invasive, more translational way of providing such protection. Accordingly, we adopted a targeted repositioning approach to screen for candidate FDA-approved drugs with potential to enhance endogenous FGF20 production in brain. In silico interrogation of the Broad Institute's Connectivity Map database (CMap), revealed 50 candidate drugs predicted to increase FGF20 transcription, 16 of which had profiles favourable for use in Parkinson's disease. Of these, 11 drugs were found to significantly elevate FGF20 protein production in MCF-7 cells, between two- and four-fold. Four drugs were selected for examination in vivo. Following oral dosing in rats for 7 days, salbutamol and triflusal, but not dimethadione or trazodone, significantly elevated FGF20 levels in the nigrostriatal tract. Preliminary examination in the unilateral 6-hydroxydopamine-lesioned rat revealed a modest but significant protection against nigral cell loss with both drugs. Our data demonstrate the power of targeted repositioning as a method to identify existing drugs that may combat disease progression in Parkinson's by boosting FGF20 levels.
Issues and recommendations from the OHBM COBIDAS MEEG committee for reproducible EEG and MEG research.
Nature neuroscience, 2020

The Organization for Human Brain Mapping (OHBM) has been active in advocating for the instantiation of best practices in neuroimaging data acquisition, analysis, reporting and sharing of both data and analysis code to deal with issues in science related to reproducibility and replicability. Here we summarize recommendations for such practices in magnetoencephalographic (MEG) and electroencephalographic (EEG) research, recently developed by the OHBM neuroimaging community known by the abbreviated name of COBIDAS MEEG. We discuss the rationale for the guidelines and their general content, which encompass many topics under active discussion in the field. We highlight future opportunities and challenges to maximizing the sharing and exploitation of MEG and EEG data, and we also discuss how this 'living' set of guidelines will evolve to continually address new developments in neurophysiological assessment methods and multimodal integration of neurophysiological data with other data types.
Echoic memory in pigeons.
Behavioural processes, 2008

It is unknown whether birds are able to retain the memory of purely sensory auditory information such as white noise over an extended period of time. In a Pavlovian heart rate conditioning paradigm, four pigeons were trained to associate a mild electric shock with periodic random waveforms, and no shock with aperiodic noise. Periodic waveform detection requires echoic memory, i.e., the online retention of a waveform pattern over a limited time. Starting with 40ms, the waveform period was increased after successful learning until no significant stimulus discrimination could be found. Significant discrimination was achieved at periods of up to 2560ms. This is the first demonstration that echoic memory performance in birds is clearly superior to cats and gerbils, and comparable to naive human performance.
Putative adverse outcome pathways for female reproductive disorders to improve testing and regulation of chemicals.
Archives of toxicology, 2020

Modern living challenges female reproductive health. We are witnessing a rise in reproductive disorders and drop in birth rates across the world. The reasons for these manifestations are multifaceted and most likely include continuous exposure to an ever-increasing number of chemicals. The cause-effect relationships between chemical exposure and female reproductive disorders, however, have proven problematic to determine. This has made it difficult to assess the risks chemical exposures pose to a woman's reproductive development and function. To address this challenge, this review uses the adverse outcome pathway (AOP) concept to summarize current knowledge about how chemical exposure can affect female reproductive health. We have a special focus on effects on the ovaries, since they are essential for lifelong reproductive health in women, being the source of both oocytes and several reproductive hormones, including sex steroids. The AOP framework is widely accepted as a new tool for toxicological safety assessment that enables better use of mechanistic knowledge for regulatory purposes. AOPs equip assessors and regulators with a pragmatic network of linear cause-effect relationships, enabling the use of a wider range of test method data in chemical risk assessment and regulation. Based on current knowledge, we propose ten putative AOPs relevant for female reproductive disorders that can be further elaborated and potentially be included in the AOPwiki. This effort is an important step towards better safeguarding the reproductive health of all girls and women.
Hyperoxia blunts renal sympathetic nerve activity response to acute intermittent hypercapnia in rats.
Journal of physiology and pharmacology : an official journal of the Polish Physiological Society, 2019

Activation of the sympathetic nervous system plays an important role in the pathophysiology of sleep-related breathing disorders. The aim of the present study was to examine the effects of different levels of hypercapnia in the presence of various background oxygen levels on the magnitude of sympathoexcitation, measured by the renal sympathetic nerve activity (RSNA) in the acute intermittent hypercapnia (AIHc) rat model. The study was conducted on 56 urethane-anesthetized, vagotomized and mechanically ventilated Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 7/group). Each experimental group was subjected to a distinct AIHc protocol that varied in the applied levels of hypercapnia and background oxygen. Mean arterial pressure and RSNA were analyzed in 7 experimental time points: baseline, five hypercapnic episodes (each lasting 3 min) and 15 minutes following the last hypercapnic episode. Exposure to severe hypercapnia (FiCO
Impact of exercise on older adults' mood is moderated by sleep and mediated by altered brain connectivity.
Social cognitive and affective neuroscience, 2020

Older adults comprise the fastest growing global demographic and are at increased risk of poor mental health outcomes. Although aerobic exercise and sleep are critical to the preservation of emotional well-being, few studies have examined their combined mood-enhancing effects, or the potential neural mechanisms underlying these effects. Here, we used a randomized crossover design to test the impact of acute exercise on mood and the intrinsic functional connectivity (iFC) of the cingulo-opercular network in physically healthy older adults. Wrist actigraphy provided objective indices of sleep. Results revealed that 30 min of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise acutely enhanced positive affect (PA) and reduced iFC between the cingulo-opercular network and the hippocampus. Both effects were magnified among older adults with greater sleep disturbance. Exercise-induced changes in hippocampal iFC mediated relations between sleep disturbance and exercise-induced increases in PA. These findings provide evidence that aerobic exercise enhances mood, that it does so by altering connectivity between the anterior insula-a key hub in the cingulo-opercular network-and the hippocampus and that lower sleep quality is a stronger predictor of these effects among older adults. These observations underscore the benefits of moderate-intensity exercise-a safe and scalable behavioral intervention-and provide new clues about the neural circuitry underlying the interactive effects of sleep and exercise on mood.
The genetic landscape of crystallins in congenital cataract.
Orphanet journal of rare diseases, 2020

The crystalline lens is mainly composed of a large family of soluble proteins called the crystallins, which are responsible for its development, growth, transparency and refractive index. Disease-causing sequence variants in the crystallins are responsible for nearly 50% of all non-syndromic inherited congenital cataracts, as well as causing cataract associated with other diseases, including myopathies. To date, more than 300 crystallin sequence variants causing cataract have been identified.
Complex spinal fixation of a cervical vertebra Brown tumour: report of an unusual case.
British journal of neurosurgery, 2019

Brown tumours affecting the cervical spine are a rare but recognised complication of renal failure-related secondary hyperparathyroidism. We present a case of a 26 year-old female with radiculopathy who was managed successfully with 360° cervical spine fixation and parathyroidectomy.
The GAP between axon pruning and repulsion.
Developmental cell, 2012

Stereotyped axonal pruning and growth cone repulsion, modulators of neuronal connectivity, share many ligands and receptors systems. Riccomagno et al. (2012) show in Cell that common ligands can link functionally specialized downstream pathways, demonstrating that the Rac GAP β2-Chimaerin is needed in Semaphorin-mediated axonal pruning but not growth cone repulsion.
Role of Circular Ribonucleic Acids in the Treatment of Traumatic Brain and Spinal Cord Injury.
Molecular neurobiology, 2020

The causal and pathogenetic factors linked to traumatic brain injury (TBI) and spinal cord injury (SCI) are complex. This complexity is a contributive factor in the minimal improvement outcomes of injured individuals. Several studies have demonstrated the potentiality of stem cells in facilitating neuronal growth and improve outcome in various neurological conditions, including TBI and SCI. However, the efficiency concerning stem cell delivery at injured sites is open to question. Circular ribonucleic acids (circular RNAs) have recently been the focus of attention owing to their disparate functions and features in vivo. Exosomes have close relationship with circular RNAs and might have a significant impact on circular RNA expressions. Herein, we reviewed the specific functions of circular RNAs, exosomes, and stem cells in central nervous system conditions, particularly TBI and SCI, and attempted to show the connection among them. Our analyses showed the role of circular RNAs in brain/spinal cord injuries to be multifaceted, as they can modulate several signaling mechanisms while also acting as sponges for microRNAs and binding to their sites. Additionally, circular RNAs can activate several biological, molecular, and cellular activities in the wake of brain/spinal cord injuries. Thus, both non-pharmacological and pharmacological interventions centered on the regulation of circular RNAs could be promising for TBI and SCI.
Award for Distinguished Scientific Early Career Contributions to Psychology: Timothy F. Brady.
The American psychologist, 2020

The Early Career Awards, given for the first time in 1974, recognize the large number of excellent early career psychologists. Recipients of this award may not have held a doctoral degree for more than nine years. For purposes of this award, psychology has been divided into 10 areas: animal learning and behavior, comparative; developmental; health; cognition/human learning; psychopathology; behavioral and cognitive neuroscience; perception/motor performance; social; applied research; and individual differences. Five areas are considered each year, with areas rotated in two-year cycles. The areas considered in 2020 were animal learning and behavior, comparative; developmental; health; cognition/ human learning; and psychopathology. Each year, panels are selected for the areas under consideration, and these panels recommend nominees to the Committee on Scientific Awards. The 2020 recipients of the APA Scientific Contribution Awards were recognized by the 2019 Board of Scientific Affairs and selected by the 2019 Committee on Scientific Awards. For outstanding research on the relationship between perception and memory. Timothy F. Brady's work relies on creative psychophysics experimentation and advanced computational modeling of learning to reveal the fidelity of memory systems, particularly in situations at the scale of real-world experiences. His work has revealed important continuities between working memory and long-term memory systems, including the formation of structured representations, decay of object features, limits on fidelity, and the importance of psychological similarity and scaling in modeling of storage and capacity. He has led the way in pursuing modern views of how perception relates to memory with elegant and powerful theoretical frameworks. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
Neuropathic Itch.
Cells, 2020

Neurologic insults as varied as inflammation, stroke, and fibromyalgia elicit neuropathic pain and itch. Noxious sensation results when aberrantly increased afferent signaling reaches percept-forming cortical neurons and can occur due to increased sensory signaling, decreased inhibitory signaling, or a combination of both processes. To treat these symptoms, detailed knowledge of sensory transmission, from innervated end organ to cortex, is required. Molecular, genetic, and behavioral dissection of itch in animals and patients has improved understanding of the receptors, cells, and circuits involved. In this review, we will discuss neuropathic itch with a focus on the itch-specific circuit.
A case of type 1 facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) with restrictive ventilatory defect and congestive heart failure.
eNeurologicalSci, 2020

[Background] Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) is an autosomal dominant muscle disease characterized by asymmetric involvement of muscles in the face, upper extremity, trunk, and lower extremity regions, with variable severity. It was recently reported that restrictive respiratory involvement is more frequent and severe than previously recognized, while cardiac dysfunction other than arrhythmia is still considered extremely rare in FSHD. [Case report] A 59-year-old man presenting with marked muscle atrophy in the trunk and asymmetrical muscle atrophy in the legs was hospitalized because of dyspnea and edema in the face and limbs. Shortness of breath with body movement started from approximately 40 years of age. Muscle biopsy revealed myopathic change with mild to moderate variation in fiber size. The diagnosis of FSHD was made by D4Z4 contraction to three repeats on genetic testing. A pulmonary function test revealed a decline of forced vital capacity (FVC) and a preserved FEV1/FVC indicating restrictive ventilatory defect (RVD). Ultrasonic echocardiogram (UCG) showed diffuse left ventricular hypokinesis, ventricular septum thickening, pericardial effusion, and decreased ejection fraction (LVEF 30%). [Conclusion] Although restrictive ventilatory defect and congestive heart failure are uncommon in FSHD, respiratory and cardiac evaluation may be necessary in patients with FSHD.
Are the Predictions of the Dynamic Dominance Model of Laterality Applicable to Children?
Developmental neuropsychology, 2020

According to the dynamic dominance model, the left cerebral hemisphere is specialized for the control of intersegmental dynamics and the right hemisphere for impedance control. Our aim was to test predictions from the dynamic dominance model in children by comparing performance between the right (preferred) and left hands in aiming. Three groups were compared: 4-7, 8-11, and 18-38 years old. Results showed higher movement linearity in the performance with the right hand in all age groups (