Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dental erosion among 12-year-old schoolchildren: a population-based cross-sectional study in South Brazil.

OBJECTIVE To assess the epidemiology and risk indicators for dental erosion among 12-year-old schoolchildren in South Brazil. METHODS A population-based cross-sectional survey was conducted in Porto Alegre, Brazil, using a representative sample of 12-year-old schoolchildren (n = 1,528). Dental erosion was recorded according to the Basic Erosive Wear Examination (BEWE) index. Parents answered questions on socio-economic status, brushing frequency and general health. Schoolchildren answered questions on dietary habits. Anthropometric data were collected. Statistical analysis included logistic and Poisson regression models. RESULTS The prevalence of dental erosion was 15% [95% confidence interval (95% CI): 13.6-16.5], being mainly mild erosion. Boys [odds ratio (OR) = 1.57, 95% CI: 1.17-2.10], private school attendees (OR = 1.45, 95% CI: 1.01-2.06) and schoolchildren reporting the daily consumption of soft drinks (OR = 5.04, 95% CI: 1.17-21.71) were more likely to have at least one tooth with dental erosion. Gender [boys, rate ratio (RR) = 1.66, 95% CI: 1.28-2.17], type of school (private, RR = 1.89, 95% CI: 1.53-2.35), the consumption of soft drinks (sometimes: RR = 5.27, 95% CI: 1.46-19.05; daily: RR = 6.82, 95% CI: 1.39-33.50) and the daily consumption of lemon (RR = 1.49, 95% CI: 1.11-2.00) were significantly associated with the number of affected surfaces. CONCLUSIONS The present study found a moderate prevalence of dental erosion among young schoolchildren, with mild erosion being the most prevalent condition. Socio demographic variables and dietary habits were associated with dental erosion in this population.
Systemic Therapy for Unresectable Metastatic Melanoma: Impact of Biochemotherapy on Long-Term Survival

The impact of systemic therapy on survival of patients with metastatic melanoma is uncertain. This retrospective analysis aimed to compare the response rates and survival of patients without prior therapy with cisplatin, vinblastine, dacarbazine and interleukin (IL)-2 who were treated with biochemotherapy (containing these drugs plus interferon-α) with those of patients who received combination chemotherapy with and without interferon-α (chemotherapy ± IFN). Records for 616 chemo-naïve patients with unresectable metastatic melanoma who were treated on eight Phase II/III clinical trials between 1987 and 2001 were combined and reviewed The database included patients with melanoma of the skin (497 cases), unknown primary melanoma (83 cases), mucosal melanoma (21 cases), and uveal melanoma (15 cases). Two hundred sixty-four patients received biochemotherapy, and 352 received chemotherapy ± IFN. The overall response rate (complete and partial) of patients treated with biochemotherapy was 52% (138/264) compared with 35% (122/352) among patients treated with chemotherapy ± IFN regimens. The median survival times for patients in the biochemotherapy and chemotherapy ± IFN groups were 12.2 mo (95% CI: 10.9, 13.5) and 9.1 mo (95% CI: 8.1, 10.4), respectively (p < 0.0001). Five-year overall survival rates of patients treated with biochemotherapy and chemotherapy ± IFN were 17% and 7% (p = 0.0004), respectively. Ten-year overall survival rates were 15% and 5% (p = 0.0001), respectively. We conclude from these studies that patients benefited more from biochemotherapy than other regimens.
Transforming healthcare: a safety imperative

Ten years ago, the Institute of Medicine reported alarming data on the scope and impact of medical errors in the US and called for national efforts to address this problem. While efforts to improve patient safety have proliferated during the past decade, progress toward improvement has been frustratingly slow. Some of this lack of progress may be attributable to the persistence of a medical ethos, institutionalized in the hierarchical structure of academic medicine and healthcare organizations, that discourages teamwork and transparency and undermines the establishment of clear systems of accountability for safe care. The Lucian Leape Institute, established by the US National Patient Safety Foundation to provide vision and strategic direction for the patient safety work, has identified five concepts as fundamental to the endeavor of achieving meaningful improvement in healthcare system safety. These five concepts are transparency, care integration, patient/consumer engagement, restoration of joy and meaning in work, and medical education reform. This paper introduces the five concepts and illustrates the meaning and implications of each as a component of a vision for healthcare safety improvement. In future roundtable sessions, the Institute will further elaborate on the meaning of each concept, identify the challenges to implementation, and issue recommendations for policy makers, organizations, and healthcare professionals.
Living with Moebius syndrome: adjustment, social competence, and satisfaction with life.

CONTEXT Moebius syndrome is a rare congenital condition that results in bilateral facial paralysis. Several studies have reported social interaction and adjustment problems in people with Moebius syndrome and other facial movement disorders, presumably resulting from lack of facial expression. OBJECTIVE To determine whether adults with Moebius syndrome experience increased anxiety and depression and/or decreased social competence and satisfaction with life compared with people without facial movement disorders. DESIGN Internet-based quasi-experimental study with comparison group. PARTICIPANTS Thirty-seven adults with Moebius syndrome recruited through the United States-based Moebius Syndrome Foundation newsletter and Web site and 37 age- and gender-matched control participants recruited through a university participant database. MEASURES Anxiety and depression, social competence, satisfaction with life, ability to express emotion facially, and questions about Moebius syndrome symptoms. RESULTS People with Moebius syndrome reported significantly lower social competence than the matched control group and normative data but did not differ significantly from the control group or norms in anxiety, depression, or satisfaction with life. In people with Moebius syndrome, degree of facial expression impairment was not significantly related to the adjustment variables. CONCLUSIONS Many people with Moebius syndrome are better adjusted than previous research suggests, despite their difficulties with social interaction. To enhance interaction, people with Moebius syndrome could compensate for the lack of facial expression with alternative expressive channels.
MRI Evidence of Impaired CSF Homeostasis in Obesity-Associated Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Impaired CSF homeostasis and altered venous hemodynamics are proposed mechanisms for elevated pressure in IIH. However, the lack of ventricular expansion steered the focus away from CSF homeostasis in IIH. This study aims to measure intracranial CSF volumes and cerebral venous drainage with MR imaging to determine whether increased CSF volume from impaired CSF homeostasis and venous hemodynamics occur in obesity-related IIH. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two homogeneous cohorts of 11 newly diagnosed pretreatment overweight women with IIH and 11 overweight healthy women were prospectively studied. 3D volumetric MR imaging of the brain was used to quantify CSF and brain tissue volumes, and dynamic phase contrast was used to measure relative cerebral drainage through the internal jugular veins. RESULTS: Findings confirm normal ventricular volume in IIH. However, extraventricular CSF volume is significantly increased in IIH (290 ± 52 versus 220 ± 24 mL, P = .001). This is even more significant after normalization with intracranial volume (P = .0007). GM interstitial fluid volume is also increased in IIH (602 ± 57 versus 557 ± 31 mL, P = .037). Total arterial inflow is normal, but relative venous drainage through the IJV is significantly reduced in IIH (65 ± 7% versus 81 ± 10%, P = .001). CONCLUSIONS: Increased intracranial CSF volume that accumulates in the extraventricular subarachnoid space provides direct evidence for impaired CSF homeostasis in obesity-associated IIH. The finding of larger GM interstitial fluid volume is consistent with increased overall resistance to cerebral venous drainage, as evident from reduced relative cerebral drainage through the IJV. The present study confirms that both impaired CSF homeostasis and venous hemodynamics coexist in obesity-associated IIH.
Predictive Value of National Football League Scouting Combine on Future Performance of Running Backs and Wide Receivers

Abstract Teramoto, M, Cross, CL, and Willick, SE. Predictive value of National Football League scouting combine on future performance of running backs and wide receivers. J Strength Cond Res 30(5): 1379–1390, 2016—The National Football League (NFL) Scouting Combine is held each year before the NFL Draft to measure athletic abilities and football skills of college football players. Although the NFL Scouting Combine can provide the NFL teams with an opportunity to evaluate college players for the upcoming NFL Draft, its value for predicting future success of players has been questioned. This study examined whether the NFL Combine measures can predict future performance of running backs (RBs) and wide receivers (WRs) in the NFL. We analyzed the 2000–09 Combine data of RBs (N = 276) and WRs (N = 447) and their on-field performance for the first 3 years after the draft and over their entire careers in the NFL, using correlation and regression analyses, along with a principal component analysis (PCA). The results of the analyses showed that, after accounting for the number of games played, draft position, height (HT), and weight (WT), the time on 10-yard dash was the most important predictor of rushing yards per attempt of the first 3 years (p = 0.002) and of the careers (p < 0.001) in RBs. For WRs, vertical jump was found to be significantly associated with receiving yards per reception of the first 3 years (p = 0.001) and of the careers (p = 0.004) in the NFL, after adjusting for the covariates above. Furthermore, HT was most important in predicting future performance of WRs. The analyses also revealed that the 8 athletic drills in the Combine seemed to have construct validity. It seems that the NFL Scouting Combine has some value for predicting future performance of RBs and WRs in the NFL.
Role of Spinal Cyclooxygenase in Human Postoperative and Chronic Pain

Background:Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs are commonly used to treat postoperative and chronic pain. Animal studies suggest that these drugs act, in part, by blocking prostaglandin production in the spinal cord. The authors tested intrathecal ketorolac in patients with chronic or postoperative pain. Methods:After approval of the institutional review board and the Food and Drug Administration, three clinical studies were performed. First, 15 patients receiving chronic intrathecal morphine received 0.5–2.0 mg of intrathecal ketorolac. Second, 12 patients receiving chronic intrathecal morphine received, in a double-blinded, randomized, cross-over design, intrathecal saline or 2.0 mg of ketorolac, with pain intensity as the primary outcome measure. Third, 30 patients undergoing total vaginal hysterectomy received, in a double-blinded, randomized, controlled design, intrathecal saline or 2.0 mg of ketorolac, with bupivacaine with time to first morphine dose after surgery as the primary outcome measure. Results:Patients with chronic pain had many symptoms before intrathecal injection, without worsening of these symptoms from ketorolac. Pain intensity was reduced by intrathecal ketorolac, but this did not differ from placebo. In the first study, pain was reduced by intrathecal ketorolac in patients with high cerebrospinal fluid prostaglandin E2 concentrations but not in those with normal concentrations. Intrathecal ketorolac did not alter time to first morphine after surgery. Conclusions:Intrathecal ketorolac did not relieve chronic pain or extend anesthesia or analgesia from intrathecal bupivacaine administered at the beginning of surgery. Under the conditions of these studies, it seems that spinal cylcooxygenase activity does not contribute to chronic or postoperative pain.
EGFR Gene Variants Are Associated with Specific Somatic Aberrations in Glioma

A number of gene variants have been associated with an increased risk of developing glioma. We hypothesized that the reported risk variants may be associated with tumor genomic instability. To explore potential correlations between germline risk variants and somatic genetic events, we analyzed matched tumor and blood samples from 95 glioma patients by means of SNP genotyping. The generated genotype data was used to calculate genome-wide allele-specific copy number profiles of the tumor samples. We compared the copy number profiles across samples and found two EGFR gene variants (rs17172430 and rs11979158) that were associated with homozygous deletion at the CDKN2A/B locus. One of the EGFR variants (rs17172430) was also associated with loss of heterozygosity at the EGFR locus. Our findings were confirmed in a separate dataset consisting of matched blood and tumor samples from 300 glioblastoma patients, compiled from publically available TCGA data. These results imply there is a functional effect of germline EGFR variants on tumor progression.
Effects of elastic taping, non-elastic taping and static stretching on recovery after intensive eccentric exercise

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of elastic tape (Kinesio tape) to placebo tape or static stretching on delayed onset muscle soreness. Fifty-one untrained female healthy volunteers were randomly assigned into three groups (n = 17/group), elastic tape, placebo tape and stretching group. Muscle soreness was induced by 4 sets of 25 maximal isokinetic (60°.s−1) eccentric contractions of dominant quadriceps on an isokinetic dynamometer. Compared with placebo tape, the elastic tape participants had less muscle soreness at 72 h post-exercise (p = 0.01). The elastic tape also increased isometric strength at 72 h post-exercise compared with the placebo (p = 0.03) and stretching group (p = 0.02). However, there was little effect between groups for changes in thigh circumference, jumping, pressure pain threshold, rate of perceived exertion, creatine kinase activity and joint motion. Elastic taping increased muscle strength recovery and reduced muscle soreness after intensive exercise.
Long‐term botulinum toxin treatment of focal hand dystonia

We treated focal hand dystonia in 53 patients with botulinum toxin injections for up to 6 years. Eighty-one percent of the patients improved with at least one injection session. Sixty-five percent of the injections produced transient weakness. We followed 37 of the patients for at least 2 years from the start of treatment, 24 of whom discontinued treatment because of inadequate response, loss of response, inaccessibility of a treatment provider, or the expense of the toxin. Women, who had a greater extent and longer duration of benefit than men, were more likely to continue treatment. The mean interval between injection sessions was 6 months. In most patients, we injected the toxin into the same combination of muscles at each session. The dose of toxin generally fluctuated within a range of 20 units. Side effects were mild and transient and unrelated to the long-term use of botulinum toxin. Botulinum toxin injection is safe and effective for the long-term management of focal hand dystonia.
Persistent Diet-Induced Obesity in Male C57BL/6 Mice Resulting from Temporary Obesigenic Diets

Background Does diet-induced obesity persist after an obesigenic diet is removed? We investigated this question by providing male C57BL/6 mice with free access to two different obesigenic diets followed by a switch to chow to determine if obesity was reversible. Methodology/Principal Findings Male C57BL/6 mice were randomly assigned to five weight-matched groups: 1) C group that continuously received a chow diet; 2) HF group on a 60% high fat diet; 3) EN group on the high fat diet plus liquid Ensure®; 4) HF-C group switched from high fat to chow after 7 weeks; 5) EN-C group switched from high fat plus Ensure® to chow after 7 weeks. All food intake was ad libitum. Body weight was increased after 7 weeks on both obesigenic diets (44.6±0.65, 39.8±0.63, and 28.6±0.63 g for EN, HF, and C groups, respectively) and resulted in elevated concentrations of serum insulin, glucose, and leptin and lower serum triglycerides. Development of obesity in HF and EN mice was caused by increased energy intake and a relative decrease of average energy output along with decreased ambulatory activity. After the switch to chow, the HF-C and EN-C groups lost weight but subsequently maintained a state of persistent obesity in comparison to the C group (34.8±1.2, 34.1±1.2 vs. 30.8±0.8 g respectively; P<0.05) with a 40–50% increase of body fat. All serum hormones and metabolites returned to control levels with the exception of a trend for increased leptin. The HF-C and EN-C groups had an average energy output in line with the C group and the persistent obesity was maintained despite a non-significant increase of energy intake of less than 1 kcal/d at the end of the study. Conclusion Our results illustrate the importance of considering the history of energy imbalance in determining body weight and that a persistent elevation of body weight after removal of obesigenic diets can result from very small increases of energy intake.
Comparative effects of carvedilol and losartan alone and in combination for preventing left ventricular remodeling after acute myocardial infarction in rats.

It has been verified that losartan has beneficial effects on ventricular remodeling (VRM) after acute myocardial infarction (AMI), but the effects of carvedilol alone or in combination with losartan on this condition have not been defined. The present study used rats to compare the effects of carvedilol and losartan alone and in combination for preventing VRM after AMI. After ligation of the left coronary artery, 100 surviving female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 groups: (1) AMI control (n=25), (2) carvedilol (Car, 1 mg x kg(-1) x day(-1)) (n=25), (3) losartan (Los, 3 mg x kg(-1) x day (-1)) (n=25), and (4) Car (1 mg x kg (-1). day(-1)) + Los (3 mg x kg(-1) x day (-1)) (n=25). A sham-operated group (n=17) was also randomly selected. Drugs were administered by gastric gavage for 4 weeks. After hemodynamic studies, the hearts were fixed and analyzed pathologically. Exclusive of the rats that had died or had an infarct size <35% or >55%, complete data were obtained for 65 rats, comprising AMI control (n=13), Car (n=12), Los (n=13), combination (n=14), and sham (n=13) groups. There were no significant differences in the size of infarct among the 4 AMI groups (45.8 approximately 46.7%, all p>0.05). Compared with the sham group, left ventricular (LV) end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP), volume (LVV), weight (LVW) and septal thickness (STh) were all significantly increased (all p<0.001), whereas +/-dp/dt was significantly decreased (both p<0.001) in the AMI group. In comparison with the AMI group, LVEDP, LVV, LVW and STh were all significantly decreased (LVEDP: 12.7+/-2.3, 9.7+/-2.8, and 8.6+/-3.5 mmHg vs 20.6+/-2.7 mmHg, all p<0.001; LVV: 0.74+/-0.07, 0.76+/-0.07, and 0.70+/-0.09 ml vs 0.86+/-0.05 ml, all p<0.05; LVW: 668.4+/-52.0, 702.6+/-45.4, and 683.9+/-67.7 mg vs 787.3+/-76.7 mg, p<0.05 approximately 0.001; STh: 1.57+/-0.05, 1.48+/-0.07, and 1.46+/-0.07 mm vs 1.71+/-0.04 mm, all p<0.05), whereas +/-dp/dt was significantly increased (all p<0.05) in the Car, Los, and combination groups, with LVEDP decreasing more in both Los and the combination groups than in the Car group alone (p<0.05) and STh decreasing more in the combination group than in the Car group alone (p<0.05). Carvedilol and losartan alone and in combination all prevent VRM after AMI in rats, with almost equivalent effect.
Onset of puberty, menstrual frequency, and body fat in elite rhythmic gymnasts compared with normal controls

Objectives: To assess the prevalence of delayed menarche and abnormal menstrual patterns, as well as the association of menstrual status with physical training in elite rhythmic gymnasts from Greece and Canada. Methods: Fifteen Greek (mean (SEM) age 14.5 (0.2) years) and 30 Canadian (mean (SEM) age 14.7 (0.4) years) rhythmic gymnasts were surveyed for age at menarche, menstrual frequency, and training profile, and measured for height, weight, and percentage body fat (%BF). Seventy eight healthy adolescents served as country specific non-active controls: 38 Greek non-athletes (mean (SEM) age 14.5 (0.1) years) and 40 Canadian non-athletes (mean (SEM) 14.2 (0.1) years). Results: Of the Greek gymnasts, 79% had not yet menstruated compared with 34% of the Canadian gymnasts. Menarche was significantly (p<0.01) delayed in the rhythmic gymnasts (composite mean 13.8 (0.3) years, n = 45) compared with the controls (composite mean 12.5 (0.1) years, n = 78). There was no significant difference between Greek and Canadian gymnasts for the age at menarche (14.2 (0.3) v 13.6 (1.2) years respectively). Menstrual irregularities were reported in 78% (61% oligomenorrhoeic and 17% amenorrhoeic) of the menarcheal athletes. Menarcheal gymnasts were found to be significantly (p<0.05) taller and heavier, with a higher %BF and a lower training frequency and training duration (p<0.05) than the premenarcheal gymnasts. Overall, the mean %BF of the gymnasts was significantly lower (p<0.05) than that of the control subjects. The Canadian controls exhibited a significantly (p<0.05) greater %BF than the Greek controls of the same age. Conclusion: Delayed menarche, menstrual irregularities, and low body fat are common in elite rhythmic gymnasts. Premenarcheal gymnasts train more often and for longer, and have a lower body mass index and less body fat, than menarcheal gymnasts. Prospective studies are needed to explore further these and other factors associated with delayed menarche and menstrual irregularities in female athletes.
Automatic Extraction of Opinion Propositions and their Holders

We identify a new task in the ongoing analysis of opinions: finding propositional opinions, sentential complements which for many verbs contain the actual opinion, rather than full opinion sentences. We propose an extension of semantic parsing techniques, coupled with additional lexical and syntactic features, that can produce labels for propositional opinions as opposed to other syntactic constituents. We describe the annotation of a small corpus of 5,139 sentences with propositional opinion information, and use this corpus to evaluate our methods. We also present results that indicate that the proposed methods can be extended to the related task of identifying opinion holders and associating them with propositional