Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A histomorphometric assessment of collagen-stabilized anorganic bovine bone mineral in maxillary sinus augmentation - a randomized controlled trial in sheep.

OBJECTIVE To histomorphometrically compare the use of collagen-stabilized anorganic bovine bone (ABBM-C) (test) to anorganic bovine bone + autogenous bone (ABBM + AB) (control) in maxillary sinus augmentation. MATERIALS AND METHODS Nine sheep underwent bilateral sinus augmentation. Each sinus was randomized to receive either control or test bone graft. Three animals were sacrificed at 8 weeks, and six animals were sacrificed at 16 weeks post-grafting. The 18 sinuses were processed for histomorphometry, which assessed the area fraction of new bone (%NB), residual graft (%RG) and soft tissue components (% STM), as well as graft particle osseointegration (% OI), within three zones equally distributed from the augmented sinus floor. RESULTS At week 16, a significant increase in %NB was evident across all three zones in the control group when compared to week 8. A significantly greater %NB was evident in the control group when compared to the test group in zones 2 (P < 0.001) and 3 (P < 0.001). There was a significant increase in %OI in week 16 when compared to week 8 across all three zones in the control group (P < 0.001). %OI in the control group was significantly greater across all three zones when compared to the test group at week 16 (P < 0.001). Zone was found to be a significant main effect (P < 0.001) that was independent of time and treatment with decreasing %OI in distant zones. %RG did not significantly change with time for both groups. There was a significant reduction in %ST in week 16 when compared to week 8 across all three zones in the control group (P < 0.001). %ST in the test group was significantly greater across all zones when compared to the control group at week 16 (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION Both groups exhibited very similar histomorphometric measurements in the zones proximal to the resident sinus wall. The % NB and % OI were greatest in the zones proximal to resident bony walls and gradually decreased as the distance from the proximal walls increased. There was greater % NB and % OI in the control group when compared to the test group in the distant zone.
Prevalence of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa in a geographically defined area in Japan.

OBJECTIVE Little has been understood regarding the frequency of eating disorders in Japan. This study was designed to identify the prevalence of anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN) in Japan. METHOD We asked doctors in all of the relevant medical facilities (130 hospitals and 1,326 clinics) in Niigata Prefecture to report patients with DSM-IV-diagnosed eating disorders who appeared or were admitted between 20-24 October 1997. The response rate was 94.4%. RESULTS The estimated point prevalences of AN and BN were 4.79 and 1.02, respectively, per 100,000 females. Specifically for the age group of 15-29 years, the prevalence of AN was 17.10 and that of BN 5.79. DISCUSSION The prevalence of AN and BN in Japan is lower than that for European Caucasian populations. This result may be due to cultural and ethnic differences and/or it may be a transient phenomenon.
Sun protection and sunburn in primary school children: the influence of age, gender, and coloring.

BACKGROUND Childhood is a high-risk period for skin damage due to excessive sun exposure. This damage may lead to skin cancer later in life. METHODS The present study measured children's knowledge and attitudes, and reported usual behavior relevant to sun protection and parents' encouragement of their children's sun protection among a sample of 735 primary school students and their parents, in Victoria, Australia. The incidence of sunburn among the children over late spring and early summer was monitored weekly for 8 weeks. RESULTS The results indicate that children's knowledge of sun protection is moderately high and that positive sun protection attitudes, reported frequency of parents encouraging protection, and children carrying out sun protection are generally high. Trends for age indicate that while knowledge of sun protection increases with age, attitudes and behaviors supportive of sun protection decline. Sunburn rates increase with age. There was some evidence to suggest that children with fairer coloring receive greater encouragement from parents to protect themselves and are marginally better protected than children with darker coloring. However, this highly susceptible group still suffers more burns. There was little variation based on children's gender. CONCLUSIONS The mid-primary school years may be a critical time for interventions promoting sun protection.
A Survey of Reprocessing Methods, Residual Viable Bioburden, and Soil Levels in Patient-Ready Endoscopic Retrograde Choliangiopancreatography Duodenoscopes Used in Canadian Centers

Objectives: To obtain information about current reprocessing practices and to obtain samples from the biopsy channel to quantitate soil levels and bioburden in patient-ready flexible duodenoscopes used for endoscopic retrograde choliangiopancreatography (ERCP). Design: Participating centers were sent a questionnaire and a kit for on-site collection of samples from the biopsy channel of the duodenoscope. Setting: Thirty-seven hospitals from across Canada participated. The only criterion was that they currently used and reprocessed flexible duodenoscopes for ERCP procedures. Methods: The questionnaire obtained information on reprocessing practices. The kit included a detailed instruction booklet outlining sample collection and all of the tubes, sterile water, and brushes needed for it. Samples were collected on-site from all ERCP scopes in each center on Monday morning and shipped by overnight courier on ice to the research center. Each sample was assayed by routine microbiologic methods for total viable count and protein, blood, carbohydrate, and endotoxin levels. Results: Microbial overgrowth was present in 7% of 119 scope samples. Cleaning appeared to be reasonably well done in most of the centers, and 43% of the centers were in total compliance with basic national guidelines. The data from the scope samples indicated that there was significantly greater buildup of protein, carbohydrate, and endotoxin associated with ERCP scopes from centers using glutaraldehyde, compared with those using peracetic acid. Carbohydrate was the soil component detected most frequently and in the highest concentration in scope channels. Conclusions: Although cleaning was generally well done, areas for improvement included ensuring the availability of written reprocessing protocols, immersion of scopes during manual cleaning, use of adequate fluid volume for rinsing, adequate drying of scopes prior to storage, and the separation of ERCP valves from scopes during storage.
Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of Sudanese Women Regarding the Pap Smear Test and Cervical Cancer.

BACKGROUND Despite the established role of the Pap smear test (PST) in prevention and early detection of cervical cancer, it is still rarely practiced in Sudan. Many challenges hinder the establishment of an effective cervical cancer screening program, including socio-cultural factors. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of Sudanese women with regard to the Pap smear test and cervical cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 500 married women aged 14 to 58 years were recruited from obstetric clinics, hospitals and universities in Khartoum in 2014. Data were collected using a standardized, pretested questionnaire that inquired socio-demographic characteristics and their KAP about cervical cancer and the PST. RESULTS More than 52% of participating women were above 30 years of age, and the majority (78.8%) were university degree holders. A total of 486 (97.2 %) of participants were resident in urban areas of Khartoum State. However about 48% of the respondents had never heard about PST, and only 15.8% of the participants had undergone a Pap smear test previously; 46.6% (233/500) knew that the human papilloma virus (HPV) was the causative agent, but only 39.2% (196/500) had heard about HPV vaccination, and only 11.4% (57/500) had received the vaccine. However 68% of the respondents agreed to do Pap smear if properly informed about the test and 75.4% of the respondents agreed to participate in a cervical cancer screening program. CONCLUSIONS Despite a high educational level, less than half of our participants had accurate knowledge about cervical cancer, HPV, and cervical cancer screening. Health education about cervical cancer, HPV and sexually transmitted infections and the role of PST in cervical cancer prevention are crucial when designing interventions aimed at improving cervical cancer screening for Sudanese women.
Towards cooperation between European start-ups : the position of the French, German, and Dutch engineer

People who want to start their own business often try to survive or to die again on their own. The very fact that "others", apart from family, friends and fools who invest in their venture, are quickly seen as probable competitors, who want the steal the idea, prevent start ups from cooperation with partners. Setting up a personal network might even cause more risk, since one has to share ideas for technological development of the idea or look for a market for it. The consequence is that within 5 years most new start ups are already out of business (OECD, 1998). The key would be cooperation with others, but with whom and to what extent? Since most of the engineers know that they to develop an innovation, they might need up to a whole R&D lab to help, they might be less reluctant to cooperate than others. On the other hand, they might forget to look for a market or cooperate with a potential customer to design the product, for instance in the ICT-sector (see Van Luxemburg et al.), because of a technology push syndrome? Authors, such as Birley (Several publications from 1985 on) have not failed during the last ten years to develop the idea of and study the effect of networking and strategic alliancing between start ups, entrepreneurship as team work and at least a shared concept for starters who have the same objective in mind. University incubators, such as the one of the Imperial College in London are very successful in promoting the idea (see Theunissen, 2002), but is this the case only in the UK or the US, where the culture of free enterprise is more strongly developed? What about countries, such as France, The Netherlands, and Germany? What is the position, for instance of the entrepreneurial and innovative engineer who wants to start his/her own business? May a lack or a fear to cooperate with others be a result of how engineers traditionally educated in those countries? In 1998 Albert Rubinstein identified “technical entrepreneurship in the firm” as the focus of the future of our intellectual discourse on technology and innovation management. How entrepreneurial are French, German and Dutch engineers and what is their innovation culture and that of the firms they work for? Are those who are leaving those firms to start their own business, willing to cooperate with others, not to fade away in splendid isolation? This chapter certainly cannot answer all those questions, but it can try to develop a model of the entrepreneurial and innovative European engineer and his/her interaction with the environment through networks and cooperation illustrated with examples from the selected countries. This is backed up with some answers to 8 research questions related to data about the general economic environment the entrepreneur works in, the rate and difficulty of self-employment, such as the costs, satisfaction levels, and the possible effect of national culture on willingness to start and the profile traits of the
Novel pan‐neuronal Cre‐transgenic line for conditional ablation of genes in the nervous system

Tissue‐specific gene ablation is accomplished by combining conventional gene targeting approaches with site‐specific recombinases such as the Cre/loxP system. Despite the use of a cardiac‐specific rat myosin light chain II promoter, our transgenic line (CRE3) had little or no Cre expression in the heart; however, strong Cre activity was detected in the brain as early as gestation day E11.5. This was determined by several methods including crossing our mouse line with a lacZ indicator line (ROSA26). Transgenic Cre, in this mouse line, mediated DNA recombination of loxP‐flanked genes selectively in neurons throughout the gray matter of the brain, cerebellum, spinal cord, as well as retina, dorsal, and sympathetic ganglia. Cre protein was also detected by immunohistochemistry exclusively in neurons, but not in other types of cells or tissues. Thus, our transgenic CRE3 mice provide pan‐neuronal expression of CRE for carrying out conditional deletion of genes in neurons and their progenitors. genesis 42:6–16, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Pre-transplant weight loss predicts inferior outcome after allogeneic stem cell transplantation in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome

Allogeneic stem cell transplantation (alloSCT) represents a curative therapeutic option for patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), but relapse and non-relapse mortality (NRM) limit treatment efficacy. Based on our previous observation in acute myeloid leukemia we investigated the impact of pre-transplant weight loss on post-transplant outcome in MDS patients. A total of 111 patients diagnosed with MDS according to WHO criteria transplanted between 2000 and 2012 in three different transplant centers were included into the analysis. Data on weight loss were collected from medical records prior to conditioning therapy and 3–6 months earlier. Patient, disease and transplant characteristics did not differ between patients with weight loss (2–5%, n = 17; > 5%, n = 17) and those without (n = 77). In a mixed effect model, weight loss was associated with higher risk MDS (p = 0.046). In multivariable analyses, pre-transplant weight loss exceeding 5% was associated with a higher incidence of relapse (p < 0.001) and NRM (p = 0.007). Pre-transplant weight loss of 2–5% and > 5% were independent predictors of worse disease-free (p = 0.023 and p < 0.001, respectively) and overall survival (p = 0.043 and p < 0.001, respectively). Our retrospective study suggests that MDS patients losing weight prior to alloSCT have an inferior outcome after transplantation. Prospective studies addressing pre-transplant nutritional interventions are highly warranted.
Functional and Morphological Aspects of Impaired TRH Release by Mediobasal Hypothalamus of STZ-Induced Diabetic Rats

Streptozocin-induced diabetes (STZ-D) in rats is associated with marked hypothyroidism characterized by functional impairment and structural lesions of the pituitary-thyroid axis. Degenerative axonal lesions, which can be prevented by insulin administration, have been reported in the mediobasal hypothalamus (MBH) of STZ-D rats. However, direct evidence connecting anatomic MBH lesions with functional impairment is still missing. We therefore performed a combined functional and morphological investigation in 4-mo-old STZ-D male rats (diabetes lasted 1 mo), applying an in vitro model to study in the same isolated MBH 1) the basal and depolarization-induced thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) release during two successive incubations of 20 min each and 2) morphological and morphometric aspects, including distribution and amount (densitometric evaluation) of immunoreactive TRH in the incubated tissue. In basal conditions, TRH release was much lower in diabetic than control MBH during both incubations (P < .01 vs. P < .05). In depolarizing conditions, TRH release was increased during the second incubation in control (P < .05) and during both incubations in diabetic (P < .01) rats, the percentage increase of the TRH release due to ionic stimulation being much higher in diabetic than control animals (P < .01). As determined by light-microscope morphometry, the total area of dilated-axon cross sections was larger in diabetic than control MBH under basal conditions (P < .01), thus confirming degenerative axonopathy in diabetic rats. By densitometry determination, the amount of immunoreactive TRH was higher in stimulated diabetic MBH compared with both stimulated control and basal diabetic MBH (P < .01). The total area of immunoreactive TRH was increased in stimulated diabetic MBH (P < .05). Our findings show impaired in vitro TRH secretion without reduced TRH content in diabetic MBH. This should play an important role in the pathogenesis of the pituitary and thyroid lesions responsible for the hypothyroidism observed in STZ-D rats.
Change in bone mineral density at one year following glucocorticoid withdrawal in kidney transplant recipients

Ing SW, Sinnott LT, Donepudi S, Davies EA, Pelletier RP, Lane NE. Change in bone mineral density at one year following glucocorticoid withdrawal in kidney transplant recipients. Clin Transplant 2011: 25: E113–E123. © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S.
A Comparison of the Stability of Single-Piece and Segmental Le Fort I Maxillary Advancements

This study retrospectively evaluated the stability of Le Fort I maxillary advancements and compared segmental and one-piece maxillary osteotomy procedures. A cephalometric analysis was performed on 26 cases of maxillary advancement. The sample comprised 11 cases of one-piece and 15 cases of segmental maxillary procedures. The tracings were superimposed and digitized by computer software, and the skeletal changes were analyzed before surgery, immediately after surgery, and at a minimum of 1 year of follow-up. Different values were compared by the paired and nonpaired t tests and were correlated by the Pearson correlation test. The significant value was set at a 95% confidence interval. The maxilla was advanced by a mean of 5.0 ± 1.6 mm (P < 0.001), and the anterior maxilla was repositioned inferiorly by a mean of 1.5 ± 3.3 mm (P < 0.05). The maxilla relapsed posteriorly by a mean of 0.6 ± 1.2 mm (P < 0.05) and superiorly at the anterior maxilla by a mean of 0.8 ± 1.1 mm (P < 0.001). Overjet and overbite did not significantly change (P > 0.05). It was concluded that maxillary advancement using rigid fixation and interpositional bone grafting in both groups was a stable procedure, particularly in the horizontal plane. In the one-piece group, there was a significantly higher relapse in the vertical plane than in the segmental group (P < 0.05), however. Minor skeletal relapse was compensated for by postoperative tooth movement, and segmental procedures are recommended when required to enhance occlusal results.
Investigative Clinical Study on Prostate Cancer Part III: Exploring Total PSA and Free Testosterone Distributions and Linear Correlations in Groups and Subgroups of Operated Prostate Cancer Patients according to the Total PSA/FT Ratio

Objectives: Prostate cancer is an interesting tumor for endocrine investigation. The prostate-specific antigen/free testosterone (PSA/FT) ratio has been shown to be effective in clustering patients in prognostic groups as follows: low risk (PSA/FT ≤0.20), intermediate risk (PSA/FT >0.20 and ≤0.40) and high risk (PSA/FT >0.40 and ≤1.5). In the present study we explored the total PSA and FT distributions, and linear regression of FT predicting PSA in the different groups (PSA/FT, pT and pG) and subgroups (pT and pG) of patients according to the prognostic PSA/FT ratio. Patients and Methods: The study included 128 operated prostate cancer patients. Pretreatment simultaneous serum samples were obtained for measuring free testosterone (FT) and total PSA levels. Patients were grouped according to the total PSA/FT ratio prognostic clusters (≤0.20, >0.20 and ≤0.40, >0.40), pT (2, 3a and 3b+4) and pathological Gleason score (pG) (≤6, = 7 >3 + 4, ≧7 >4 + 3). The pT and pG sets were subgrouped according to the prognostic PSA/FT ratio. Linear regression analysis of FT predicting total PSA was computed according to the different PSA/FT prognostic clusters for the: (1) total sample population, (2) pT and pG groups, (3) intraprostatic (pT2) and extraprostatic disease (pT3a/3b/4), and (4) low-intermediate grade (pG ≤6) and high-grade (pG ≧7) prostate cancer. Results: Analysis of variance always showed highly significant different PSA distributions for (1) the different PSA/FT, pT and pG groups; and (2) the pT and pG prognostic subgroups. Significant FT distributions were detected for the (1) PSA/FT and pT groups; and (2) the pT2, pT3a and pG ≤6 prognostic PSA/FT subgroups. Correlation, variance and linear regression analysis of FT predicting total PSA was significant for (1) the PSA/FT prognostic clusters, (2) all the pT2 and pT3a subgroups, and (3) the pT3b/4 subgroup with PSA/FT >0.20 and ≤0.40, and (4) all the pG subsets. Linear regression analysis showed that the slopes of the predicting variable (FT) were always highly significant for patients with (1) intraprostate and extraprostate disease, and (2) low-grade and high-grade prostate cancer. Conclusions: According to the prognostic PSA/FT ratio, significantly lower levels of FT are detected in prostate cancer patients with extensive and high-grade disease. Also, significant linear correlations of FT predicting PSA are assessed in the different groups and subgroups of patients clustered according to the prognostic PSA/FT ratio. Confirmatory studies are needed.
Expression of Laminin Isoforms, Receptors, and Binding Proteins Unique to Nucleus Pulposus Cells of Immature Intervertebral Disc

Intervertebral disc (IVD) disorders are believed to be related to aging-related cell loss and phenotypic changes, as well as biochemical and structural changes in the extracellular matrix of the nucleus pulposus (NP) region. Previously, we found that the laminin γ1 chain was more highly expressed in immature NP porcine tissues, in parallel with the expression pattern for a laminin receptor, integrin α6 subunit, as compared to adjacent anulus fibrosus region. This result suggests that cell-matrix interactions may be unique to the immature NP. However, the identity of laminin isoforms specific to immature or mature NP tissues, their associated receptors, and functional significance are still poorly understood. In this study, we evaluated the zonal-specific expression of the laminin chains, receptors (i.e., integrins), and other binding proteins in immature tissue and isolated cells of rat, porcine and human intervertebral disc. Our goal was to reveal features of cellular environment and cell-matrix interactions in the immature NP. Results from both immunohistochemical staining and flow cytometry analysis found that NP cells expressed higher levels of the laminin α5 chain, laminin receptors (integrin α3, α6, β4 subunit, and CD239), and related binding proteins (CD151), as compared to cells from adjacent anulus fibrosus. These differences suggest that laminin interactions with NP cells are distinct from that of the anulus fibrosus and that laminins may be important contributors to region-specific IVD biology. The revealed laminin isoforms, their receptors, and related binding proteins may be used as distinguishing features of these immature NP cells in the intervertebral disc.