Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Alendronate Inhibits Spine Fusion in a Rat Model

Study Design. A posterolateral lumbar fusion model in rats. Objective. To study the effects of alendronate on posterolateral lumbar fusion in rats. Summary of Background Data. To our knowledge, there are no studies that show a significant inhibition of manual palpation-assessed spine fusion by alendronate. Methods. A total of 75 Sprague-Dawley rats underwent intertransverse fusion with 7-tailbone autograft at L4–L5. Animals received saline (control), alendronate equivalent to human dose (dose1, 5 &mgr;g/kg/day), or 10 times the human dose (dose10, 50 &mgr;g/kg/day) via subcutaneous osmotic pumps starting the day of surgery. Eight weeks after surgery, animals were euthanized, and fusion was assessed by manual palpation. Radiographic area and optical density of fusion masses were calculated. Histomorphometry was used to assess the percentage area of fusion masses occupied by bone or marrow tissues. Results. Manual palpation fusion rates were lower in alendronate groups (50% and 40%, respectively) than in the control group (95%, P = 0.002). Interobserver and intraobserver kappa values were high (0.97−1.00). There were dose-dependent and statistically significant (P < 0.001) increases in fusion mass area and optical density with increasing alendronate dose. Fusion masses in dose10 animals had significantly higher percent area of bone tissue (P = 0.01) and lower percent area of marrow elements (P < 0.001) when compared to control animals. Conclusions. Alendronate inhibits spine fusion in rats. Fusion masses in alendronate-treated animals appeared radiographically larger and denser than those in control animals despite lower fusion rates. Quantitative histomorphometry confirmed that alendronate inhibited bone graft resorption and incorporation. We recommend that patients undergoing spine arthrodesis should not take alendronate until fusion is achieved.
Trapping of the S2 to S3 state intermediate of the oxygen-evolving complex of photosystem II.

Photosystem II preparations poised in the S(2). Q(A) state produce no detectable intermediate during straightforward illumination at liquid helium temperatures. However, upon flash illumination in the range of 77-190 K, they produce a transient state which at -10 degrees C advances to S(3) or after rapid cooling to 10 K gives rise to a 116 G wide metalloradical EPR signal. The latter decays with half-times on the order of a few minutes, presumably by charge recombination, and can be regenerated repeatedly by illumination at 10 K. The constraints for Tyr Z oxidation are attributed to the presence of excess positive charge in S(2). Elevated temperatures are required presumably to overcome a thermal barrier in the deprotonation of Tyr Z(+) or most likely to allow secondary proton transfer away from the base partner of Tyr Z. Treatment with 5% (v/v) MeOH appears to remove the constraints for Tyr Z oxidation, and a 160 G wide metalloradical EPR signal is produced by illumination at 10 K, which decays with a half-time of ca. 80 s. Formation of the metalloradical signals is accompanied by reversible changes in the Mn multiline signal. The intermediates are assigned to Tyr Z(*) magnetically interacting with the Mn cluster in S(2), S(2)Y(Z)(*). A molecular model which extends an earlier suggestion and provides a plausible explanation of a number of observations, including the binding of small molecules to the Mn cluster, is presented.
The Relationship of Silicone Breast Implants and Cancer at Other Sites

Background: Although most attention regarding the effects of silicone breast implants on cancer risk has focused on breast cancer, there have also been concerns regarding effects on other cancers. This includes malignancies that could occur as a result of foreign-body carcinogenesis (sarcomas) or immune alterations (hematopoietic malignancies), or cancers suggested as possibly elevated on the basis of previous epidemiologic studies (cancers of the cervix, vulva, lung, and brain). Methods: Searches of the English language literature on the topic of silicone breast implants and cancer risk were conducted and reviewed to determine relationships that might have etiologic relevance. Results: Epidemiologic studies provide no support for an increased risk of either sarcoma or multiple myeloma among breast implant recipients, disputing clinical and laboratory findings suggesting such a link. Although a number of epidemiologic studies have demonstrated elevated risks of cervical, vulvar, and lung cancers among breast implant patients, it is likely that these excesses relate more to lifestyle characteristics (e.g., cigarette smoking, sexual behavior) than to the effects of the implants. Brain cancer excesses, suggested in one study, have not been confirmed in either an update of the mortality experience in this study or on the basis of other investigations. Conclusions: At present, there is no convincing evidence that breast implants alter the risk of nonbreast malignancies. Breast implant patients should continue to be monitored for longer term risks and to assess whether cancer risk is influenced by various patient and implant characteristics.
Gene Expression Profiles of B-lineage Adult Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia Reveal Genetic Patterns that Identify Lineage Derivation and Distinct Mechanisms of Transformation

Purpose: To characterize gene expression signatures in acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) cells associated with known genotypic abnormalities in adult patients. Experimental Design: Gene expression profiles from 128 adult patients with newly diagnosed ALL were characterized using high-density oligonucleotide microarrays. All patients were enrolled in the Italian GIMEMA multicenter clinical trial 0496 and samples had >90% leukemic cells. Uniform phenotypic, cytogenetic, and molecular data were also available for all cases. Results: T-lineage ALL was characterized by a homogeneous gene expression pattern, whereas several subgroups of B-lineage ALL were evident. Within B-lineage ALL, distinct signatures were associated with ALL1/AF4 and E2A/PBX1 gene rearrangements. Expression profiles associated with ALL1/AF4 and E2A/PBX1 are similar in adults and children. BCR/ABL+ gene expression pattern was more heterogeneous and was most similar to ALL without known molecular rearrangements. We also identified a set of 83 genes that were highly expressed in leukemia blasts from patients without known molecular abnormalities who subsequently relapsed following therapy. Supervised analysis of kinase genes revealed a high-level FLT3 expression in a subset of cases without molecular rearrangements. Two other kinases (PRKCB1 and DDR1) were highly expressed in cases without molecular rearrangements, as well as in BCR/ABL-positive ALL. Conclusions: Genomic signatures are associated with phenotypically and molecularly well defined subgroups of adult ALL. Genomic profiling also identifies genes associated with poor outcome in cases without molecular aberrations and specific genes that may be new therapeutic targets in adult ALL.
Bone marrow-disseminated tumor cells in patients with carcinoma of the esophagus or cardia.

BACKGROUND The long-term prognosis after surgical therapy for esophageal carcinoma depends on tumor stage and completeness of resection. Similarly to other epithelial tumors, the presence of micro deposits of neoplastic cells in the bone marrow may indicate residual disease and the potential for recurrence. This study assesses the prevalence of bone marrow-disseminated tumor cells in patients undergoing surgical resection for esophageal carcinoma. In addition, we investigated the agreement between immunohistochemical and molecular techniques for the detection of micrometastases in a subgroup of patients. METHODS Between January 1998 and November 1999, forty-eight patients with adenocarcinoma of the esophagogastric junction (n = 29) or squamous cell carcinoma of the thoracic esophagus (n = 19) and no evidence of overt metastatic disease entered the study. An immunohistochemical assay (capable of detecting 1 carcinoma cell in 7 x 10(5) bone marrow cells) was used to test bone marrow obtained by flushing a resected rib or by needle aspiration either of the iliac crest or of a rib. A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) molecular technique was also used to identify bone marrow and peripheral blood epithelial cells. RESULTS Cytokeratin-positive cells were found in 79.1% of the bone marrow samples obtained from the rib, and in only 8% of the needle aspirates either from the iliac crest or from a contiguous rib: This difference is probably explained by the improved removal of metastatic cells with the flushing of the rib. Comparable results were obtained at a qualitative level by the PCR technique on bone marrow. In addition, PCR-positive results were found in 3 of 18 peripheral blood samples. There was no association with tumor type, neoadjuvant therapy, or lymph node status. Patients with a pT3 or pT4 tumor showed, at a borderline statistical level, a higher proportion of cytokeratin-positive cells in the flushed rib. CONCLUSIONS Bone marrow-disseminated tumor cells are present in the resected rib of a high proportion of patients undergoing esophagectomy for carcinoma, and immunohistochemistry seems to be the method of choice for their quantitative assessment. However, the prognostic and therapeutic implications of this finding need further investigation.
Intraday Rallies and Crashes: Spillovers of Trading Halts

This paper analyses a set of intraday rally and crash events at the firm level during the single stock circuit breaker (SSCB) program, and documents the cross-sectional spillover effects of such events on non-halted stocks. We test whether such major price jumps, and subsequent trading halts, affect related stocks through the destabilizing arbitrage channel. We find that extreme price movements that trigger the circuit breakers at the firm level are accompanied by a massive surge in volume, spread and short-term volatility, which gradually revert back to normal. Speculative strategies of arbitrageurs such as momentum and pairs trading cause cross-sectional spillovers in volume and volatility during the trading halt.
Fiscal transparency and the cost of sovereign debt

This article analyses the factors that seem to play an important role in determining the cost of sovereign debt. Specifically, we evaluate to what extent transparency, the level of corruption, citizens’ trust in politicians and credit ratings affect interest rates. For that purpose, we create a transparency index matching the 2007 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development/World Bank Budgeting Database items with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Best Practices for Budget Transparency sections. We also check our assumptions with the International Budget Partnership’s Open Budget Index and with a non-linear transformation of our index. Furthermore, we use several control variables for a sample of 103 countries in the year 2008. Our results show that better fiscal transparency, political trust and credit ratings are connected with a lower cost of sovereign debt. Finally, as expected, higher corruption, budget deficits, current account deficits and unemployment make sovereign interest rates increase. Points for practitioners The key implications for professionals working in public management and administration are twofold. First, despite the criticism raised by credit ratings, it is clear that poorer ratings are connected with higher financing costs for governments. Therefore, governments should enhance those indicators that impact the credit rating of their sovereign debt. Second, governments should seek to be more transparent, since transparency reduces uncertainty about the degree of cheating, improves decision-making and therefore decreases the cost of debt. Transparency reduces information asymmetries between governments and financial markets, which, in turn, diminishes the spread requested by investors.
Anatomical complications of epidural anesthesia: A comprehensive review

Epidural anesthesia is a versatile technique widely used in treating lumbar spinal pain syndromes. Complications during these procedures can arise either from needle placement or from administration of medication. Potential risks include infection, hematoma, intravascular or subdural injections of medication, direct nerve trauma, air embolism, entry into a disc space, urinary retention, radiation exposure, and hypersensitivity reactions. The objective of this article is to review the complications of lumbar epidural injections and discuss the potential pitfalls related to these procedures. We searched Medline comprehensively for relevant case reports, clinical trials, and review articles. Complications from lumbar epidural injections are extremely rare. Most if not all of them can be avoided by careful techniques with accurate needle placement, sterile precautions, and a thorough understanding of the relevant anatomy and contrast patterns on fluoroscopic imaging. Clin. Anat. 30:342–346, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Investigating the Impact of Inquiry Mode on Self-Reported Sexual Behavior: Theoretical Considerations and Review of the Literature

Measurement of sexual behaviors is typically reliant on retrospective self-reports of behaviors. Historically, self-reported sexual behavior data were primarily collected through face-to-face interviews or paper-and-pencil questionnaires, as these were the only modes of inquiry available. In recent decades, technological innovations such as telephones, computers, and the Internet have expanded the self-report inquiry modes available. The addition of these new inquiry modes further complicates the ability of sex researchers to evaluate the quality of research results and compare findings across studies. Self-report sexual behavior data are vulnerable to participation biases, as well as to sources of bias in individual responses, such as recollection and social desirability bias. This is true regardless of the inquiry mode being used, but some modes may be more vulnerable to bias than others. This review examines the available research regarding self-report sexual behavior research, inquiry mode, and relative bias across modes. The review also provides recommendations for advancing the current understanding of inquiry mode effects within sexual behavior research. Specifically, by shifting the focus away from evaluating specific modes of inquiry toward examination of factors common across all modes, researchers will be better able to interpret existing research and improve the designs of future studies as well.
PHYLOGENETICALLY NESTED COMPARISONS FOR TESTING CORRELATES OF SPECIES RICHNESS: A SIMULATION STUDY OF CONTINUOUS VARIABLES

Abstract Explaining the uneven distribution of species among lineages is one of the oldest questions in evolution. Proposed correlations between biological traits and species diversity are routinely tested by making comparisons between phylogenetic sister clades. Several recent studies have used nested sister-clade comparisons to test hypotheses linking continuously varying traits, such as body size, with diversity. Evaluating the findings of these studies is complicated because they differ in the index of species richness difference used, the way in which trait differences were treated, and the statistical tests employed. In this paper, we use simulations to compare the performance of four species richness indices, two choices about the branch lengths used to estimate trait values for internal nodes and two statistical tests under a range of models of clade growth and character evolution. All four indices returned appropriate Type I error rates when the assumptions of the method were met and when branch lengths were set proportional to time. Only two of the indices were robust to the different evolutionary models and to different choices of branch lengths and statistical tests. These robust indices had comparable power under one nonnull scenario. Regression through the origin was consistently more powerful than the t-test, and the choice of branch lengths exerts a strong effect on both the validity and power. In the light of our simulations, we re-evaluate the findings of those who have previously used nested comparisons in the context of species richness. We provide a set of simple guidelines to maximize the performance of phylogenetically nested comparisons in tests of putative correlates of species richness.
Factors associated with prescription drug expenditures among children: an analysis of the Medical Expenditure Panel survey.

OBJECTIVE Pharmaceutical costs have reached 14% of total health care costs in the United States and continue to rise. Many studies have looked at factors that influence utilization of hospital and ambulatory care services in the pediatric population. This study examines the factors that influence utilization of prescription drugs in the pediatric population. METHODS Data from the 1996 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) were used in the analysis. A 2-part multivariate regression analysis was conducted using pediatric (ages 0-17) prescription drug expenditures as the dependent variable. Independent variables were constructed using demographic variables, socioeconomic variables, health status, and medical conditions. RESULTS Black children are less likely than white children to use any prescription drug (odds ratio: 0.67). Similarly, uninsured children are less likely than privately insured children to use any prescription drug (odds ratio: 0.62). Among children who had any prescription drug expenditure in 1996, children who are black, Asian, and Hispanic had lower prescription drug expenditures than children who are white. Children who are uninsured had lower expenditures than children who are privately insured. Children in near-poor families had lower prescription drug expenditures than those in high-income families, even after controlling for insurance status. Children who are covered by Medicaid had comparable prescription drug expenditures to children who are covered by private insurance. CONCLUSION Socioeconomic characteristics such as race, insurance status, and family income levels had significant impact on pediatric prescription drug expenditures, even after controlling for the influences of health status and medical conditions.
Role of cGMP-inhibited phosphodiesterase and sarcoplasmic calcium in mediating the increase in basal heart rate with nitric oxide donors.

Nitric oxide (NO) donors increase heart rate (HR) through a guanylyl cyclase-dependent stimulation of the pacemaker current I(f), without affecting basal I(Ca-L). The activity of I(f)is known to be enhanced by cyclic nucleotides and by an increase in cytosolic Ca(2+). We examined the role of cGMP-dependent signaling pathways and intracellular Ca(2+)stores in mediating the positive chronotropic effect of NO donors. In isolated guinea pig atria, the increase in HR in response to 1-100 micromol/l 3-morpholino-sydnonimine (SIN-1; with superoxide dismutase, n=6) or diethylamine-NO (DEA-NO, n=8) was significantly attenuated by blockers of the cGMP-inhibited phosphodiesterase (PDE3; trequinsin, milrinone or Ro-13-6438, n=22). In addition, the rate response to DEA-NO or sodium nitroprusside (SNP) was significantly reduced following inhibition of PKA (KT5720 or H-89, n=15) but not PKG (KT5728 or Rp-8-pCPT-cGMPs, n=16). Suppression of sarcoplasmic (SR) Ca(2+)release by pretreatment of isolated atria with ryanodine or cyclopiazonic acid (2 micromol/l and 60 micromol/l, n=16) significantly reduced the chronotropic response to 1-100 micromol/l SIN-1 or DEA-NO. Moreover, in isolated guinea pig sinoatrial node cells 5 micromol/l SNP significantly increased diastolic and peak Ca(2+)fluorescence (+13+/-1% and +28+/-1%, n=6, P<0.05). Our findings are consistent with a functionally significant role of cAMP/PKA signaling (via cGMP inhibition of PDE3) and SR Ca(2+)in mediating the positive chronotropic effect of NO donors.
Detection and Diversity of Expressed Denitrification Genes in Estuarine Sediments after Reverse Transcription-PCR Amplification from mRNA

ABSTRACT The expression of five denitrification genes coding for two nitrate reductases (narG and napA), two nitrite reductases (nirS and nirK), and nitrous oxide reductase (nosZ) was analyzed by reverse transcription (RT)-PCR of mRNA extracted from two sediment samples obtained in the River Colne estuary (United Kingdom), which receives high nitrogen inputs and for which high denitrification rates have been observed. The presence of all five genes in both sediment samples was confirmed by PCR amplification from extracted DNA prior to analysis of gene expression. Only nirS and nosZ mRNAs were detected; nirS was detected directly as an RT-PCR amplification product, and nosZ was detected following Southern blot hybridization. This indicated that active expression of at least the nirS and nosZ genes was occurring in the sediments at the time of sampling. Amplified nirS RT-PCR products were cloned and analyzed by sequencing, and they were compared with amplified nirS gene sequences from isolates obtained from the same sediments. A high diversity of nirS sequences was observed. Most of the cloned nirS sequences retrieved were specific to one site or the other, which underlines differences in the compositions of the bacterial communities involved in denitrifrification in the two sediments analyzed.
5‐HT2A receptor gene promoter polymorphism – 1438G/A and mood disorders

A-HT2A receptor promoter polymorphism, −1438G/A, was reported to be significantly increased in patients with anorexia nervosa when compared with controls. In practice, many patients with anorexia nervosa suffer from mood disorders. Furthermore, 5-HT2A receptors are thought to play a role in the etiologies of mood disorders. Thus, we studied the polymorphism in 95 Japanese patients with mood disorders and 106 healthy Japanese controls. The allele frequency for the −1438G/A polymorphism did not differ between the patients and controls. In addition, the genotype frequencies did not differ according to the subdiagnosis, age of onset, family history of psychiatric illness or suicide attempts.
The Growing Discontents of Older British Employees: Extended Working Life at Risk from Quality of Working Life

A key component of sustainable welfare policy is the extension of working life (EWL). Currently this aim is chiefly pursued by financial policies, neglecting the potential role of quality of working life (QWL) in attracting people to remain employed. National survey data for Britain in the years 1992, 2006 and 2012 demonstrate deteriorating overall job attitude among older employees, following the changed competitive and technological conditions of the 1990s. The investigation goes on to diagnose aspects of the work situation implicated in adverse experience of work among older employees. Work demands and the nature of work emerge as key areas of discontent, with additional evidence of insecurity, and dissatisfaction with pensions, emerging over the recent recession. Policies potentially addressing QWL, with particular attention to the role of employers, are reviewed in the conclusion.