Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Rebound of Ankle Valgus Deformity in Patients With Hereditary Multiple Exostosis

Background: Temporary screw epiphysiodesis of the distal tibia is employed to correct ankle valgus deformity in patients with a wide spectrum of underlying etiologies. For patients with hereditary multiple exostosis it is unclear whether a rebound phenomenon may play a role after screw removal (SR) and successful management of ankle valgus deformity. Methods: From January 2002 to July 2013, 10 boys and 2 girls with HME and an ankle valgus deformity were included in this study. To be included the following criteria had to be met: patients had to have undergone temporary medial malleolar screw epiphysiodesis, SR at the time of skeletal maturity or correction of the deformity, a follow-up (FU) at least 6 months after SR, and consistent radiographs obtained preoperatively at the time of SR as well at FU. The average age at the time of operation was 11.6±1.5 years (range, 9.6 to 14.7 y). The tibiotalar tilt (TT) was analyzed preoperatively, at SR and at FU. Results: The average preoperative TT was 13.2±4.9 degrees. Twenty-four months (±10) after epiphysiodesis all screws were removed. At SR, the TT was normalized to 0.8±4.8 degrees (P<0.001), according to an average rate of correction of 0.63±0.28 degrees per month. Twenty-two months (±13) after SR, the TT increased up to 3.2±4.9 degrees (P<0.05), a rebound (>5 degrees) occurred in 43%, managed by repeated epiphysiodesis. No deep infections or implant complications occurred. No permanent damage of the physis was observed in any case. Conclusions: Medial malleolar screw epiphysiodesis is a successful treatment for the correction of ankle valgus deformity in patients with HME. A rebound after SR in the growing child or adolescent occurs in almost 50% of patients with HME, which can easily be managed by repeated epiphysiodesis. Therefore, we do not recommend overcorrection into a slight varus deformity. Because of the varying correction and recurrence rates, close FUs are of paramount importance. Level of Evidence: Level IV.
Serum regulates adipogenesis of mesenchymal stem cells via MEK/ERK-dependent PPARγ expression and phosphorylation

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) provide us an excellent cellular model to uncover the molecular mechanisms underlying adipogenic differentiation of adult stem cells. PPARγ had been considered as an important molecular marker of cells undergoing adipogenic differentiation. Here, we demonstrated that expression and phosphorylation of PPARγ could be found in bone marrow–derived MSCs cultured in expansion medium without any adipogenic additives (dexamethasone, IBMX, insulin or indomethacin). Then, PPARγ was dephosphorylated in MSCs during the process of adipogenic differentiation. We then found that inhibition of MEK activation by specific inhibitor (PD98059) counteracted the PPARγ expression and phosphorylation. However, expression and phosphorylation of PPARγ did not present in MSCs cultured in medium with lower serum concentration. When these MSCs differentiated into adipocytes, no phosphorylation could be detected to accompany the expression of PPARγ. Moreover, exposure of MSCs to higher concentration of serum induced stronger PPARγ expression, and subsequently enhanced their adipogenesis. These data suggested that activation of the MEK/ERK signalling pathway by high serum concentration promoted PPARγ expression and phosphorylation, and subsequently enhanced adipogenic differentiation of MSCs.
Influence of age of chicks on maternal behaviour in domestic hens

Newly hatched and eight day-old chicks induced maternal responses in hens without previous maternal experience. However, maternal behaviour emerged sooner in hens confined with younger chicks. Replacement of eight or 15 day-old chicks by newly-hatched ones, clearly indicated that all hens, whatever their prior experience, were capable of immediately expressing appropriate maternal responses, including high brooding amount. Brooding stances were mainly exhibited towards very young chicks (i.e. one or two days old).
Is there correlation between pancreatic enzyme and radiological severity in acute pancreatitis?

AIM To investigate the correlation between the changes of pancreatic enzyme, the biochemical markers and the clinical results according to the Balthazar computer tomography (CT) grade. METHODS Between July 2004 and July 2005, we reviewed the charts of 119 patients who were admitted to our hospital with acute pancreatitis. RESULTS Eighty-three patients (69.7%) were male, and the mean age of the patients was 57 +/- 15.7 years. The biliary pancreatitis patients had an older mean age. Forty-nine patients (41.1%) had biliary pancreatitis and forty-six (38.6%) had alcoholic pancreatitis. Group 3 patients had a longer duration of pain (2.51 +/- 1.16 vs 3.17 +/- 1.30 vs 6.56 +/- 6.13, P < 0.001), a longer period of fasting (7.49 +/- 4.65 vs 10.65 +/- 5.54 vs 21.88 +/- 13.81, P < 0.001) and a longer hospital stay (9.17 +/- 5.34 vs 14.63 +/- 8.65 vs 24.47 +/- 15.52, P < 0.001) than the other groups. On the univariate analysis, the factors that affected the radiological grade were the leukocyte count at admission (P = 0.048), the hemoglobin (P = 0.016) and total bilirubin concentrations (P = 0.023), serum lipase (P = 0.009), the APACH II scores at admission (P = 0.017), the APACH II scores after 24 h (P = 0.031), the C-reactive protein (CRP) titer (P = 0.0001) and the follow up CRP titer (P = 0.003). But the CRP level (P = 0.001) and follow up CRP titer (P = 0.004) were only correlated with the radiological grade on multivariate analysis. According to the ROC curve, when we set the CRP cut off value at 83 mg/L, the likelihood ratio for a positive test was 3.84 and the likelihood ratio for a negative test was 0.26 in group 3. CONCLUSION In conclusion, our study suggests that the CRP with the radiological severity may be used to estimate the severity of acute pancreatitis.
Negative Findings on Laparotomy for Trauma

A retrospective review of 428 exploratory laparotomies for trauma included 199 patients with blunt trauma, 96 with gunshot wounds, and 133 with stab wounds. In the blunt trauma group, 16 laparotomies (8%) showed no injury and 24 (12%) showed that no repair was needed. Physical examination (68 cases) and diagnostic peritoneal lavage (DPL) (121) were used as the primary indication for laparotomy. In the stab wound group, there was a high incidence of negative or nontherapeutic operation when proximity to the abdomen or deep fascial penetration was the indication for operation. Patients sustaining gunshot wounds had a 27% incidence of negative laparotomy, with proximity being the primary indication for operation. Two deaths in the negative laparotomy group occurred due to associated injuries. Complications were minimal. DPL has decreased the number of negative operations but has increased the nontherapeutic operations. The high incidence of negative laparotomy for stab wounds shows the need for selective management rather than routine exploration.
Conserved and Diverged Functions of the Calcineurin-Activated Prz1 Transcription Factor in Fission Yeast

Gene regulation in response to intracellular calcium is mediated by the calcineurin-activated transcription factor Prz1 in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Genome-wide studies of the Crz1 and CrzA fungal orthologs have uncovered numerous target genes involved in conserved and species-specific cellular processes. In contrast, very few target genes of Prz1 have been published. This article identifies an extensive list of genes using transcriptome and ChIP-chip analyses under inducing conditions of Prz1, including CaCl2 and tunicamycin treatment, as well as a ∆pmr1 genetic background. We identified 165 upregulated putative target genes of Prz1 in which the majority contained a calcium-dependent response element in their promoters, similar to that of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae ortholog Crz1. These genes were functionally enriched for Crz1-conserved processes such as cell-wall biosynthesis. Overexpression of prz1+ increased resistance to the cell-wall degradation enzyme zymolyase, likely from upregulation of the O-mannosyltransferase encoding gene omh1+. Loss of omh1+ abrogates this phenotype. We uncovered a novel inhibitory role in flocculation for Prz1. Loss of prz1+ resulted in constitutive flocculation and upregulation of genes encoding the flocculins Gsf2 and Pfl3, as well as the transcription factor Cbf12. The constitutive flocculation of the ∆prz1 strain was abrogated by the loss of gsf2+ or cbf12+. This study reveals that Prz1 functions as a positive and negative transcriptional regulator of genes involved in cell-wall biosynthesis and flocculation, respectively. Moreover, comparison of target genes between Crz1/CrzA and Prz1 indicate some conservation in DNA-binding specificity, but also substantial rewiring of the calcineurin-mediated transcriptional regulatory network.
Design of Linear Induction Drives by Field Analysis and Finite-Element Techniques

Two-dimensional field and finite-element analyses are complementary in evaluating the performance of single-sided linear induction machines, and can be used to develop a machine design for a given drive application. Electromagnetic analysis leads to an equivalent circuit of the machine with speed-and frequency-dependent parameters, in which top cap geometry, core hysteresis and saturation, skin effect, eddy current reaction, and both transverse-edge and longitudinal-end effects can be included. Finite-element analysis provides detailed information on the magnetic field distribution to aid in machine design.
Pattern of Head Injury in the Emergency Department of the Delta State University Teaching Hospital, Oghara, Nigeria

Background: Head injury (HI) is a common condition presenting to Emergency Departments (EDs), accounting for a significant proportion of morbidity and mortality of the productive age of the world’s population. Aim: This study aims to highlight head injured patients’ epidemiological pattern as seen in the Emergency Department of the Delta State University Teaching Hospital (DELSUTH), Oghara, Nigeria. Methodology: This was a prospective study of all consecutive head injured adult patients seen in the ED of DELSUTH from January to December, 2014. The variables assessed included age, gender, aetiology, severity of injury and mortality. Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) was used to assess the severity of head injury. Results: Eighty-eight head injured patients were seen in the ED in the period under review. The
Airborne measurements of organic bromine compounds in the Pacific tropical tropopause layer

Significance This study reports an extensive set of in situ measurements of natural organic bromine species at the tropical tropopause. Compared with prior estimates, this study reduces the uncertainty of the contribution of reactive bromine to stratospheric ozone depletion. We compare measurements over the Eastern and Western Pacific, two regions characterized by different transport dynamics, to show the influence of convective events on the chemistry of the tropopause region. Using measurements and modeling, we describe the budget and partitioning of bromine at the tropical tropopause and evaluate the contribution of bromine to ozone destruction in the lower stratosphere. Very short-lived brominated substances (VSLBr) are an important source of stratospheric bromine, an effective ozone destruction catalyst. However, the accurate estimation of the organic and inorganic partitioning of bromine and the input to the stratosphere remains uncertain. Here, we report near-tropopause measurements of organic brominated substances found over the tropical Pacific during the NASA Airborne Tropical Tropopause Experiment campaigns. We combine aircraft observations and a chemistry−climate model to quantify the total bromine loading injected to the stratosphere. Surprisingly, despite differences in vertical transport between the Eastern and Western Pacific, VSLBr (organic + inorganic) contribute approximately similar amounts of bromine [∼6 (4−9) parts per thousand] to the stratospheric input at the tropical tropopause. These levels of bromine cause substantial ozone depletion in the lower stratosphere, and any increases in future abundances (e.g., as a result of aquaculture) will lead to larger depletions.
Amyloid Fibrils Activate Tyrosine Kinase-Dependent Signaling and Superoxide Production in Microglia

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a devastating neurological disorder characterized by loss of cognitive skills and progressive dementia. The pathological hallmark of AD is the presence of numerous senile plaques throughout the hippocampus and cerebral cortex associated with degenerating axons, neurofibrillary tangles, and gliosis. The core of the senile plaque primarily is composed of the 39–43 amino acid β-amyloid peptide (Aβ), which forms fibrils of β-pleated sheets. Although considerable genetic evidence implicates Aβ in the pathogenesis of AD, a direct causal link remains to be established. Senile plaques are foci of local inflammatory processes, as evidenced by the presence of numerous activated microglia and acute phase proteins. Aβ has been shown to elicit inflammatory responses in microglia; however, the intracellular events mediating these effects are largely unknown. We report that exposure of microglia and THP1 monocytes to fibrillar Aβ led to time- and dose-dependent increases in protein tyrosine phosphorylation of a population of proteins similar to that elicited by classical immune stimuli such as immune complexes. The tyrosine kinases Lyn, Syk, and FAK were activated on exposure of microglia and THP1 monocytes to Aβ, resulting in the tyrosine kinase-dependent generation of superoxide radicals. The present data support a role for oxidative damage in the pathogenesis of AD, provide an important mechanistic link between Aβ and the generation of reactive oxygen intermediates, and identify molecular targets for therapeutic intervention in AD.
How to Conduct a Good Meta-Analysis in Gifted Education

This methodological brief introduces basic procedures and issues for conducting a high-quality meta-analysis in gifted education. Specifically, we discuss issues such as how to select a topic and formulate research problems, search for and identify qualified studies, code studies and extract data, choose and calculate effect sizes, analyze data, conduct heterogeneity and moderator analysis, assess publication bias, as well as interpret and report meta-analysis results. We discuss why meta-analysis is needed in gifted education. We also review the history of meta-analyses in gifted education and discuss topics that are conducive to meta-analysis. Furthermore, we provide an overview of the challenges and recent advancements in meta-analysis methodology. Last, we introduce useful resources for further learning of meta-analysis.
Side effects of oral misoprostol for the prevention of postpartum hemorrhage: Results of a community-based randomised controlled trial in rural India

Objective. To investigate the side effects of 600 μg oral misoprostol given for the mother and the newborn to prevent postpartum hemorrhage (PPH). Methods. One thousand six hundred twenty women delivering at home or subcentres in rural India were randomised to receive misoprostol or placebo in the third stage of labour. Women were evaluated for shivering, fever, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea at 2 and 24 h postpartum. Newborns were evaluated within 24 h for diarrhea, vomiting and fever. Symptoms were graded as absent, mild-to-moderate or severe. Results. Women who received misoprostol had a significantly greater incidence of shivering (52%vs. 17%, p < 0.001) and fever (4.2%vs. 1.1%, p < 0.001) at 2 h postpartum compared with women who received placebo. At 24 h, women in the misoprostol group experienced significantly more shivering (4.6%vs. 1.4%, p < 0.001) and fever (1.4%vs. 0.4%, p < 0.03). There were no differences in nausea, vomiting or diarrhea between the two groups. There were no differences in the incidence of vomiting, diarrhea or fever for newborns. Conclusions. Misoprostol is associated with a significant increase in postpartum maternal shivering and fever with no side effects for the newborn. Given its proven efficacy for the prevention of PPH, the benefits of misoprostol are greater than the associated risks.
Reduced parahippocampal cortical thickness in subjects at ultra-high risk for psychosis

Background Grey matter volume and cortical thickness represent two complementary aspects of brain structure. Several studies have described reductions in grey matter volume in people at ultra-high risk (UHR) of psychosis; however, little is known about cortical thickness in this group. The aim of the present study was to investigate cortical thickness alterations in UHR subjects and compare individuals who subsequently did and did not develop psychosis. Method We examined magnetic resonance imaging data collected at four different scanning sites. The UHR subjects were followed up for at least 2 years. Subsequent to scanning, 50 UHR subjects developed psychosis and 117 did not. Cortical thickness was examined in regions previously identified as sites of neuroanatomical alterations in UHR subjects, using voxel-based cortical thickness. Results At baseline UHR subjects, compared with controls, showed reduced cortical thickness in the right parahippocampal gyrus (p < 0.05, familywise error corrected). There were no significant differences in cortical thickness between the UHR subjects who later developed psychosis and those who did not. Conclusions These data suggest that UHR symptomatology is characterized by alterations in the thickness of the medial temporal cortex. We did not find evidence that the later progression to psychosis was linked to additional alterations in cortical thickness, although we cannot exclude the possibility that the study lacked sufficient power to detect such differences.
Tissue-engineered ligament: implant constructs for tooth replacement.

AIM A tissue-engineered periodontal ligament (PDL) around implants would represent an important new therapeutic tool to replace lost teeth. The PDL is the key to tooth anchoring; it connects tooth root and alveolar bone, and it sustains bone formation. MATERIALS AND METHODS Cells were isolated from PDL and cultured in a bioreactor on titanium pins. After the formation of multiple cellular layers, pins were implanted in enlarged dental alveolae. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Cell-covered implants integrated without adverse effects, and induced bone in their vicinity. RESULTS A histological examination of a dog model revealed that cells were arranged in a typical ligament-like fashion. In human patients, product safety was ascertained for 6-60 months. Probing and motility assessments suggested that the implants were well integrated with mechanical properties similar to those of teeth. Radiographs demonstrated the regeneration of deficient alveolar bone, the development of a lamina dura adjacent to a mineral-devoid space around the implant and implant migration in an intact bone structure. CONCLUSIONS New tissue consistent with PDL developed on the surface of dental implants after implantation. This proof-of-principal investigation demonstrates the application of ligament-anchored implants, which have potential advantages over osseointegrated oral implants.
Characterization of an ADP-ribosylation Factor-like 1 Protein inSaccharomyces cerevisiae *

ADP-ribosylation factors (ARFs) are highly conserved ∼20-kDa guanine nucleotide-binding proteins that enhance the ADP-ribosyltransferase activity of cholera toxin and are believed to participate in vesicular transport in both exocytic and endocytic pathways. Several ARF-like proteins (ARLs) have been cloned fromDrosophila, rat, and human; however, the biological functions of ARLs are unknown. We have identified a yeast gene (ARL1) encoding a protein that is structurally related (>60% identical) to human, rat, and Drosophila ARL1. Biochemical analyses of purified recombinant yeast ARL1 (yARL1) protein revealed properties similar to those ARF and ARL1 proteins, including the ability to bind and hydrolyze GTP. Like other ARLs, recombinant yARL1 protein did not stimulate cholera toxin-catalyzed auto-ADP-ribosylation. yARL1 was not recognized by antibodies against mammalian ARLs or yeast ARFs. Anti-yARL1 antibodies did not cross-react with yeast ARFs, but did react with human ARLs. On subcellular fractionation, yARL1, similar to yARF1, was localized to the soluble fraction. The amino terminus of yARL1, like that of ARF, was myristoylated. Unlike Drosophila Arl1, yeastARL1 was not essential for cell viability. Like rat ARL1, yARL1 might be associated in part with the Golgi complex. However, yARL1 was not required for endoplasmic reticulum-to-Golgi protein transport, and it may offer an opportunity to define an ARL function in another kind of vesicular trafficking, such as the regulated secretory pathway.
suBJeCTiVe WeLLBeinG AnD The CiTy

The Quality of Life surveys administered biennially in New Zealand provide an opportunity to estimate the contribution different places make to our happiness, satisfaction and quality of life. While the greater part of the variance in our responses to subjective wellbeing questions is typically due to our health, age, employment status, income, family and household relationships, the particular city in which we live may also contribute to our wellbeing. How we measure that contribution, its magnitude and its source, is of considerable interest both conceptually and to local authorities seeking to improve the social wellbeing of their residents. This paper presents the results of an ordered probit regression model of the distribution of respondents over levels of happiness, satisfaction and quality of life in 2004. Even after controlling for characteristics of individuals known to influence their ratings of their own wellbeing, there remain marked place effects, which suggest characteristics of cities may also have an independent influence on wellbeing. Discerning the reasons for these place differences requires further work both conceptually and empirically. In the meantime, these initial results do raise important questions about why we choose to live where we do, the scope of that choice and its consequences for our wellbeing.