Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Differential effects of sex hormones on peri- and endocortical bone surfaces in pubertal girls.

CONTEXT The role of sex steroids in bone growth in pubertal girls is not yet clear. Bone biomarkers are indicators of bone metabolic activity, but their value in predicting bone quality has not been studied in growing girls. OBJECTIVE This study examines the association of sex hormones and bone markers with bone geometry and density in pubertal girls. DESIGN The study was designed as a 2-yr longitudinal study in pubertal girls. Measurements were performed at baseline and at 1- and 2-yr follow-ups. SETTING The study was conducted in a university laboratory. PARTICIPANTS A total of 258 10- to 13-yr-old healthy girls at the baseline participated. METHODS Peripheral quantitative computed tomography was used to scan the left tibial shaft. Serum 17beta-estradiol (E2), testosterone (T), SHBG, osteocalcin (OC), bone-specific alkaline phosphatase, and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase isoform 5b were assessed. Data were analyzed using hierarchical linear models with random effect. RESULTS E2 was a positive predictor for total bone mineral density (BMD), cortical thickness, and a negative predictor for endocortical circumference but had no predictive value for total bone cross-sectional area or periosteal circumference. T was a positive predictor for total cross-sectional area and periosteal circumference as well as endocortical circumference, and a negative predictor for total BMD. OC was negatively correlated with cortical BMD (R2 = 0.325; P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS In pubertal girls, E2 and T have different influences on bone properties at the long bone shaft. The results suggest that, at the endocortical surface, E2 inhibits bone resorption during rapid growth, and later, after menarche, acts at higher concentrations to promote bone formation. At the periosteal surface, T promotes bone formation, whereas E2 does not affect it. In addition, OC might be used as a predictor of cortical BMD.
Stabilization of a locally damped thermoelastic system

We show that the solutions of a thermoelastic system with a localized nonlinear distributed damping decay locally with an algebraic rate to zero, that is, given an arbitrary R > 0, the total energy E(t) satisfies for t > 0: E(t) < C (1 + t)-γ for regular initial data such that E(0) < R, where C and γ are positive constants. In the two-dimensional case, we obtain an exponential decay rate when the nonlinear dissipation behaves linearly close to the origin.
Metronidazole in conjunction with penicillin neither prevents recurrence nor enhances recovery from peritonsillar abscess when compared with penicillin alone: a prospective, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial.

OBJECTIVES The objectives of this study were to evaluate the efficacy of metronidazole in conjunction with penicillin in preventing the recurrence of peritonsillar abscess (PTA) and to learn whether metronidazole enhances the recovery from PTA when compared with penicillin alone. METHODS In this prospective, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial, 200 adult outpatients with PTA at our ear, nose and throat emergency department received either penicillin (1 000 000IU) × 3 and metronidazole (400 mg) × 3 for 10 and 7 days orally (combination group, N = 100) or penicillin and placebo (penicillin group, N = 100) after incision and drainage of the PTA. Afterwards they received a symptom questionnaire via e-mail daily for 2 weeks, then weekly for 6 weeks. The primary outcome was efficacy of metronidazole in conjunction with penicillin in preventing PTA recurrence in 56 days; the secondary outcome was ability of metronidazole plus penicillin to enhance recovery from PTA in 28 days. All healthcare contacts were registered during follow-up. Registered on www.clinicaltrials. gov with the identifier NCT01255670. RESULTS Of the 200 patients, 20 returned to hospital with recurrent symptoms, 10 in each group (P = 1.00). In the combination group, the mean (SD) duration of throat-related symptoms was 5.6 (5.0) days and in the penicillin group it was 5.3 (2.7) days, values for fever were 1.5 (0.9) and 1.6 (1.0) days, respectively, and those for poor overall physical condition were 4.0 (3.9) and 4.5 (4.9) days; there were no significant differences between groups. The adverse effects nausea and diarrhoea lasted longer in the combination group (P = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS For healthy adult PTA patients treated with incision and drainage, metronidazole neither prevents recurrence nor enhances recovery when combined with penicillin compared with penicillin alone, but instead leads to increased adverse effects.
Functional and immunological analysis of recombinant mouse H- and L-ferritins from Escherichia coli.

The production and characterization of recombinant mouse H- and L-ferritin chains from Escherichia coli are described. The proteins were efficiently expressed and purified with yields of 7-40 mg per liter of cell culture. They had the expected molecular mass and showed a physical stability analogous to that of the corresponding human ferritins. Mouse H- and L-ferritins had a very similar mobility on denaturing SDS-PAGE, but could be readily separated on nondenaturing PAGE because of the distinct slow mobility of mouse L-ferritin. Direct comparative experiments showed that mouse and human H-ferritins had the same iron incorporation activity, whereas mouse L-ferritin incorporated iron less efficiently than human L-ferritin. The difference was attributed to the substitution of a residue exposed on the cavity surface (Glu140 --> Lys) in mouse L-ferritin, a hypothesis confirmed by the finding that the mouse L-ferritin mutant Lys140-Glu incorporated iron as efficiently as human L-ferritin. Rabbit antisera elicited by the recombinant mouse ferritins were specific for the H- and L-chains and did not cross-react with the human ferritins. The antibodies and the derived specific ELISA assays allow the determination of H- and L-ferritins in mouse tissues.
Prevalence of Hypodontia and Developmental Malformation of Permanent Teeth in Saudi Arabian Schoolchildren

This study was carried out to determine the prevalence of hypodontia and congenital malformation in permanent teeth of Saudi Arabian male children. Five-hundred schoolchildren were investigated, selected randomly from Riyadh city. The age group of the examined sample ranged from 13 years and 6 months to 14 years and 6 months. Clinical and radiographic examinations were performed. The findings indicated that hypodontia was present in about 4 per cent of the children; most frequently affected was the mandibular second premolars, maxillary laterals, and maxillary second premolars. Tooth malformations, mainly peg-shaped upper lateral incisors were also observed in about 4 per cent of the sample.
Boas and beyond: Migration and craniometric variation

Migration is expected to affect craniometric variation in three ways: 1) movement into a different environment leading to developmental plasticity; 2) movement into a different environment followed by in situ adaptation through natural selection; and 3) changes in among‐group differentiation and genetic distance through the action of gene flow. The relative influence of these three factors has been argued in the literature, most recently in a series of articles debating the statistical and biological significance of Boas's immigration studies as they relate to cranial plasticity. The Boas debate is discussed within the broader context of debate over genetic and environmental influences on craniometric variation. Additional examples are provided from an ongoing study of global craniometric variation. Although developmental plasticity and climatic adaptation have had an impact on craniometric variation, these factors tend not to erase, or even obscure greatly, underlying patterns of population structure and history that fit a neutral model of quantitative variation. Thus, craniometric data can be used to explore questions of gene flow and genetic affinity. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 16:379–386, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The Role of Information Technology in Organization Design

We introduce a set of information technology variables which can be used in designing organizations. We fast discuss traditional design variables and then present a series of options enabled by modern information technology (IT). We use these IT design variables to describe four prototypical organizations that are beginning to appear in the workplace: virtual, negotiated, traditional, and vertically integrated. It is argued that an organization designer must also consider how structure and technology influence job tasks and people in order to be successful. We then discuss potential implementation difficulties, particularly in motivating traditional organizations to take advantage of IT design variables. We conclude that the design of information technology and the design of organizations are largely becoming the same task.
A simian virus 40 large T-antigen segment containing amino acids 1 to 127 and expressed under the control of the rat elastase-1 promoter produces pancreatic acinar carcinomas in transgenic mice

The simian virus 40 large T antigen induces tumors in a wide variety of tissues in transgenic mice, the precise tissues depending on the tissue specificity of the upstream region controlling T-antigen expression. Expression of mutant T antigens that contain a subset of the protein's activities restricts the spectrum of tumors induced. Others showed previously that expression of a mutant large T antigen containing the N-terminal 121 amino acids (T1-121) under control of the lymphotropic papovavirus promoter resulted in slow-growing choroid plexus tumors, whereas full-length T antigen under the same promoter induced rapidly growing CPR tumors, T-cell lymphomas, and B-cell lymphomas. In those instances, the alteration in tumor induction or progression correlated with inability of the mutant large T antigen to bind the tumor suppressor p53. In the study reported here, we investigated the capacity of an N-terminal T antigen segment (T1-127) expressed in conjunction with small t antigen under control of the rat elastase-1 (E1) promoter to induce pancreatic tumors. The results show that pancreases of transgenic mice expressing T1-127 and small t antigen display acinar cell dysplasia at birth that progresses to neoplasia. The average age to death in these mice is within the range reported for transgenic mice expressing full-length T antigen under control of the E1 promoter. These results indicate that sequestering p53 by binding is not required for the development of rapidly growing acinar cell carcinomas. In addition, we provide evidence that small t antigen is unlikely to be required. Finally, we show that the p53 protein in acinar cell carcinomas is wild type in conformation.
The cost‐effectiveness of testing for NS5a resistance‐associated polymorphisms at baseline in genotype 1a‐infected (treatment‐naïve and treatment‐experienced) subjects treated with all‐oral elbasvir/grazoprevir regimens in the United States

The presence of baseline NS5A resistance‐associated variants (RAVs) impacted treatment response in HCV genotype 1a (GT1a)‐infected patients treated with elbasvir/grazoprevir (EBR/GZR) for 12 weeks, but not patients treated with EBR/GZR and ribavirin (RBV) for 16 weeks.
The Burden of Acute Kidney Injury and Related Financial Issues.

BACKGROUND Acute kidney injury (AKI) is one of the most common complications in acutely ill patients. The epidemiology, clinical presentation, and outcome vary between patients and countries. SUMMARY Patients with AKI often exhibit multiple organ dysfunction that is caused, in part, by marked cross-talk between the kidney and other organs and tissues. These deleterious interactions arise, at least in part, from systemic inflammatory changes, an increased cytokine load, increases in leukocyte trafficking and activation of neurohormonal processes. Typical short-term complications of AKI include acute lung injury, liver dysfunction, cardio-renal syndrome, brain dysfunction, systemic inflammation, and increased mortality. Survivors of AKI are at risk of chronic kidney disease, cardiovascular morbidity, strokes, infections, bone fractures and increased mortality. AKI is associated with high healthcare costs as a result of a longer stay in hospital, increased costs for investigations and interventions and the development of long-term complications including dialysis dependence, chronic comorbidities and re-hospitalisations. The outcomes and financial implications are worse in low-income countries compared to high-income countries. Key Message: AKI is common among hospitalised patients and associated with serious short- and long-term complications, increased mortality, and high health care costs. There are important differences in epidemiology and outcomes between low- and high-income countries.
Incidence and Effect of Traumatic Lumbar Puncture in the Neonate

The incidence of non‐traumatic, traumatic and unsuccessful lumbar punctures in 181 neonates was similar whether a needle with a stylet, a butterfly needle without stylet, or a standard venipuncture needle without stylet was used. Comparison of 20 lumbar puncture pairs in 17 patients showed that traumatic lumbar puncture does not result in a cerebrospinal fluid pleocytosis between two and 13 days after initial traumatic lumbar puncture.
Internal DNA pressure modifies stability of WT phage

dsDNA in bacteriophages is highly stressed and exerts internal pressures of many atmospheres (1 atm = 101.3 kPa) on the capsid walls. We investigate the correlation between packaged DNA length in λ phage (78–100% of WT DNA) and capsid strength by using an atomic force microscope indentation technique. We show that phages with WT DNA are twice as strong as shorter genome mutants, which behave like empty capsids, regardless of high internal pressure. Our analytical model of DNA-filled capsid deformation shows that, because of DNA-hydrating water molecules, an osmotic pressure exists inside capsids that increases exponentially when the packaged DNA density is close to WT phage. This osmotic pressure raises the WT capsid strength and is approximately equal to the maximum breaking force of empty shells. This result suggests that the strength of the shells limits the maximal packaged genome length. Moreover, it implies an evolutionary optimization of WT phages allowing them to survive greater external mechanical stresses in nature.
Low back pain in eight areas of Britain.

STUDY OBJECTIVE--The aim was to assess the geographical variation in low back pain and associated disability in Britain. DESIGN--This was a cross sectional survey with information collected by postal questionnaire. SETTING--General practices in seven British towns and one rural district. SUBJECTS--1172 men and 1495 women aged 20-59 years were selected from the age-sex registers of 136 general practitioners in the study areas. MAIN RESULTS--The overall lifetime and one year period prevalences of low back pain were 58.3% and 36.1%. Rates in men and women were similar. Symptoms were more common in men with manual occupations than in those with non-manual jobs, but in women there was no clear trend in relation to social class. Geographical differences in prevalence were small, but the threshold for consulting general practitioners about symptoms varied markedly from place to place. After allowance for age, sex, social class, and severity of symptoms, subjects in the northern towns of Arbroath and Peterlee who had suffered from low back pain in the past year were three to four times as likely to have consulted their doctor about the problem as those living in the southern towns of St Austell and Dorking. Consultation rates in the Midlands were intermediate. CONCLUSIONS--Geographical variation in rates of general practice consultation for low back pain in Britain is due largely to differences in patient behaviour once symptoms have developed. The distribution of important causes of low back back pain across the country is probably fairly uniform.
Predictors of parkin mutations in early-onset Parkinson disease: the consortium on risk for early-onset Parkinson disease study.

BACKGROUND Mutations in the parkin gene are the most common genetic cause of early-onset Parkinson disease (PD). Results from a multicenter study of patients with PD systematically sampled by age at onset have not been reported to date. OBJECTIVE To determine risk factors associated with carrying parkin mutations. DESIGN Cross-sectional observational study. SETTING Thirteen movement disorders centers. PARTICIPANTS A total of 956 patients with early-onset PD, defined as age at onset younger than 51 years. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Presence of heterozygous, homozygous, or compound heterozygous parkin mutations. RESULTS Using a previously validated interview, 14.7% of patients reported a family history of PD in a first-degree relative. Sixty-four patients (6.7%) had parkin mutations (3.9% heterozygous, 0.6% homozygous, and 2.2% compound heterozygous). Copy number variation was present in 52.3% of mutation carriers (31.6% of heterozygous, 83.3% of homozygous, and 81.0% of compound heterozygous). Deletions in exons 3 and 4 and 255delA were common among Hispanics (specifically Puerto Ricans). Younger age at onset (<40 years) (odds ratio [OR], 5.0; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.8-8.8; P = .001), Hispanic race/ethnicity (OR compared with white non-Hispanic race/ethnicity, 2.7; 95% CI, 1.3-5.7; P = .009), and family history of PD in a first-degree relative (OR compared with noncarriers, 2.8; 95% CI, 1.5-5.3; P = .002) were associated with carrying any parkin mutation (heterozygous, homozygous, or compound heterozygous). Hispanic race/ethnicity was associated with carrying a heterozygous mutation (OR compared with white non-Hispanic race/ethnicity, 2.8; 95% CI, 1.1-7.2; P = .03) after adjustment for covariates. CONCLUSIONS Age at onset, Hispanic race/ethnicity, and family history of PD are associated with carrying any parkin mutation (heterozygous, homozygous, or compound heterozygous) and heterozygous mutations alone. The increased odds of carrying a parkin mutation among Hispanics warrants further study.
Sequence Polymorphisms at the REDUCED DORMANCY5 Pseudophosphatase Underlie Natural Variation in Arabidopsis Dormancy1[OPEN]

DELAY OF GERMINATION18 QTL encodes a pseudophosphatase, involved in seed dormancy regulation. Seed dormancy controls the timing of germination, which regulates the adaptation of plants to their environment and influences agricultural production. The time of germination is under strong natural selection and shows variation within species due to local adaptation. The identification of genes underlying dormancy quantitative trait loci is a major scientific challenge, which is relevant for agricultural and ecological goals. In this study, we describe the identification of the DELAY OF GERMINATION18 (DOG18) quantitative trait locus, which was identified as a factor in natural variation for seed dormancy in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). DOG18 encodes a member of the clade A of the type 2C protein phosphatases family, which we previously identified as the REDUCED DORMANCY5 (RDO5) gene. DOG18/RDO5 shows a relatively high frequency of loss-of-function alleles in natural accessions restricted to northwestern Europe. The loss of dormancy in these loss-of-function alleles can be compensated for by genetic factors like DOG1 and DOG6, and by environmental factors such as low temperature. RDO5 does not have detectable phosphatase activity. Analysis of the phosphoproteome in dry and imbibed seeds revealed a general decrease in protein phosphorylation during seed imbibition that is enhanced in the rdo5 mutant. We conclude that RDO5 acts as a pseudophosphatase that inhibits dephosphorylation during seed imbibition.
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Schools are increasingly scaling back physical education programs in favor of increasing time spent on subjects such as reading and math. However, the link between physical activity and academic performance is not well understood. This review seeks to inform the discussion on that link to assist teachers and policymakers in making decisions regarding the school day. Results suggest physical activity, including school physical education programs, has no effect on academic performance and that certain types of coordinated activity may improve student concentration and attention. Implications for teaching include taking short breaks during long subject lessons and capitalizing on student attention immediately after breaks. More rigorous and varied research is needed, including objective and qualitative studies.
Gender, Power, and Violence in the Family

Attributions for parent-child relationship outcomes were assessed as a function of childhood maltreatment history. In Study 1, the attributions of maltreated children were compared with those of nonmaltreated children from a similar background. Maltreated girls (but not boys) were found to be more likely than nonmaltreated girls to attribute lower power or control to self than to parents. Effects of maltreatment on children's attributions were found for physical but not sexual abuse. In Study 2, the attributions of parents with a history of abuse as children were compared with those of parents who had not been abused. Women (but no men) with a history of abuse attributed less power or control to self than to children. Implications are drawn for gender differences in the role of biased attributions as a consequence of physical abuse.
Interaction between patient and physiotherapist: a qualitative study reflecting the physiotherapist's perspective.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The interaction between patient and physiotherapist (PT) is central in physiotherapeutic treatment. The purpose of this study was to investigate expert physiotherapists' perception of important factors influencing the quality of the interaction in physiotherapeutic treatment. METHOD Ten experienced PTs working in primary healthcare were interviewed twice, triangulating a sort of important events, an exemplar and a key informant interview. The data were transcribed, coded and analysed for main themes and categories according to the qualitative technique described by Shepard et al. (1993) and Merriam (1988). RESULTS Important factors in interaction could be divided into the 'Prerequisites dimension' and the 'Interaction dimension'. In the former, the most dominant theme was 'Internal prerequisites of the PT'. The most-cited category in this theme was 'Practical professional skills and patient experience'. In the latter, the themes 'Establishing contact', 'Ways of contact', 'Frames' and the 'Therapeutic process' emerged. Here, the most-cited categories were 'Establishing contact and confidence', having a 'Therapeutic role', 'Being sensitive and intuitive', 'Encountering', 'Listening' and 'Identification of patient resources'. These factors were seen as essential for promoting a positive patient outcome. Interaction skills were reinforced by reflection on patients' experiences. CONCLUSIONS Interaction skills of the expert PT were thought to enhance the resources of the patient and lead to a positive patient outcome. Within professional development more emphasis ought to be put on reinforcing the reflective process of the PT, for instance by the use of supervision by an experienced colleague.