Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Incidence of foot rotation, pelvic crest unleveling, and supine leg length alignment asymmetry and their relationship to self-reported back pain.

OBJECTIVE To determine the incidence of pelvic unleveling, foot rotation, and supine leg length alignment asymmetry in a nonclinical population and to examine the validity (sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values) of these visual tests and their relationship to self-reported back pain. DESIGN Volunteers answered a questionnaire regarding back pain and were then examined by a chiropractor who was unaware of the status of their back pain. PARTICIPANTS Seventy-four unscreened volunteers answered the questionnaire. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The association of visual tests with back pain and their validity indices; Visual Analogue Scale ratings. RESULTS Fifty-one percent (n = 74) of volunteers examined had supine leg length alignment asymmetry (LLA). Pain intensity on a Visual Analogue Scale was significantly higher (P <.001) for those demonstrating supine LLA than for those without LLA. Those with back pain and recurrent back pain were significantly (P <.001) more likely to have supine LLA. The validity indices of the supine leg check showed acceptable levels for sensitivity (74%), specificity (78%), and positive predictive value (82%) [corrected] in recurrent back pain. Findings also indicated a high incidence of supine LLA in volunteers with chronic back pain (85%). CONCLUSION The results indicated that, in this group of volunteers, the supine leg length alignment check had clinical validity as a stand-alone test for recurring back pain. Further testing on a larger, statistically defined cross-section of the population is recommended.
A New Color Allele at the E Locus of Drosophila Polymorpha from Northern South America.

HE general phenomenon of polymorphism and its advantages for understanding evolutionary processes have recently been reviewed by HUXLEY (1955). Color polymorphism is not common in Drosophila but when it does occur, in species that may be bred in the laboratory, it affords excellent material for genetic analysis. In 1949 BRITO DA CUNHA established that the three phenotypes of Drosophila polymorpha DOBZHANSKY and PAVAN in Brazil are controlled by two alleles. The three morphs are distinguishable by the color and pattern of the abdomen, the heterozygote being intermediate to the light and dark forms. The frequencies of the three morphs in collections from seven localities in southern Brazil in different seasons of the year show that the allele for the dark abdomen fluctuates in frequency from 60 to 80 percent. Most assuredly this is a case of polymorphism as defined by FORD (1953), and in all probability it is due to balanced selective forces, even though they are not known. Recent collections of Drosophila throughout the Caribbean area by the Genetics Foundation of the University of Texas have established that D. polymorpha ranges as far north as Colombia, Venezuela, Trinidad and the small island of Grenada, in the West Indies 92 miles north of Trinidad. The species does not inhabit Central America, even, apparently, in the lower Darien Provence of the Republic of Panama (HEED 1962). Interestingly enough, the species is almost completely monomorphic for the light abdomen in the northern limit of its range. Our field records indicate that this is so, and all but one of the 11 laboratory populations from northern South America are true breeding for the light form. The exceptional laboratory population was kindly sent to us from El Colegio, Colombia, by DR. ALICE HUNTER while the manuscript was in preparation. This population is analysed in another paper (HEED 1963). Hybridization tests between three light northern and two dark southern populations were initiated by the junior author in order to investigate their fertility relationships. In the first generation it was discovered that the northern light phenotype from Trinidad is effectively dominant to the dark phenotype from Brazil. The purpose of the present report is to present data clarifying two questions which immediately present themselves. First, what is the genetic mechanism underlying the dominance and second, how widespread is the effect? The results indicate the dominance effect is caused by a third allele at locus e, as established by DA CUNHA, and that two of the three northern populations tested, Trinidad, West Indies, and Santa Marta, Colombia, are homozygous for
Electrocatalytic Oxidation of Hydroxylamine on Glassy Carbon Electrodes Modified by Hybrid Copper-Cobalt Hexacyanoferrate Films

An electrochemical sensor for amperometric detection of hydroxylamine was developed by electrodeposition of hybrid copper-cobalt hexacyanoferrate films on a glassy carbon electrode. The modified electrode could reduce the overpotential of the hydroxylamine oxidation by about 400 mV. This sensor exhibited a linear relationship between the response current and the hydroxylamine concentration in the range of 1.8 × 10^–3 M to 4.6 × 10^–6 M with a detection limit of 2.1 × 10^–7 M. Good agreement was obtained between results from the present method and conventional UV-visible spectrophotometry results. The sensor had good recovery, stability and anti-interference ability.
Team adaptation and postchange performance: effects of team composition in terms of members' cognitive ability and personality.

The present study extended research on relationships between individual differences and individual-level adaptation (J. A. LePine. J. A. Colquitt, & A. Erez, 2000). This study focused on team-level relationships (N = 73 teams) and demonstrated that after an unforeseen change in the task context, performance was superior for teams with members who had higher cognitive ability, achievement, and openness and who had lower dependability. These relationships were mediated by a measure of role structure adaptation (i.e., the effectiveness with which teams adapted their role structure when faced with an unforeseen change in their task context). Members' individual differences did not explain variance in team performance prior to the unforeseen change in the task context. Overall, results suggest differential relationships for team composition across routine and changing task contexts.
Volatile anesthetics affect the morphology of rat glioma C6 cells via RhoA, ERK, and Akt activation

Treatment of rat glioma C6 cells with the β‐receptor agonist isoproterenol induces a massive increase in cAMP. Concomitantly the cells change their morphology from a fibroblast‐type to an astrocyte‐like (stellated) cell shape. The stellated morphology can be completely reverted by thrombin and sphingosine‐1‐phosphate (S‐1‐P) but also to a certain extent by clinical concentrations of volatile anesthetics. The anesthetic‐induced reversion of the stellated cell shape seems to be mediated by a number of cellular alterations. Central to the effect is most likely a RhoA/Rho‐kinase activation, but also the MAPKK/MEK and the Akt/protein kinase B pathway are activated by the anesthetics. With the use of specific inhibitors we were able to show that activation of the MAPKK/MEK pathway inhibits, whereas activation of the Akt/protein kinase B pathway stimulates the reversal of the stellated cell shape by the anesthetics. In summary, volatile anesthetics affect the morphology of rat glioma C6 cells by activation of the RhoA/Rho kinase, the MAPKK/MEK, and the Akt/protein kinase B signaling pathways. J. Cell. Biochem. 102: 368–376, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Effect of screening for cystic fibrosis on the influence of genetic counseling

We studied the influence of genetic counseling for cystic fibrosis on family planning, using neonatal screening, family size at time of diagnosis, and maternal age as possible determinants for reproductive behaviour. The expected number of children born to mothers of equal age and parity in the same period was approximated on the basis of population statistics. These numbers were compared to the numbers of children born in the study group after a CF diagnosis and information on the 25% recurrence risk were given. A 50.8% reduction in childbirth was found in the study group, although 77% of families had decided against further high‐risk pregnancies. No statistically significant influence of neonatal screening could be demonstrated, but this may be due to the small number of families involved.
Treatment with twice-weekly tacrolimus ointment in patients with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis: Results from two randomized, multicentre, comparative studies

Abstract Background: Twice-weekly tacrolimus ointment for mild to severe atopic dermatitis (AD) significantly reduced the number of flares and prolonged flare-free intervals compared with standard treatment in the CONTROL studies. Methods: Post hoc analysis of data from the CONTROL studies was carried out on patients with moderate to severe disease. Patients applied tacrolimus 0.1% (adults; n = 183) or 0.03% (children; n = 166) ointment twice-daily for ≤ 6 weeks to treat flares, entering the 12-month disease control period (DCP) when an Investigator Global Assessment (IGA) score of ≤ 2 was achieved. Patients were randomized to twice-weekly tacrolimus or vehicle ointment. Disease flares were treated with twice-daily tacrolimus ointment for 1–6 weeks until an IGA ≤ 2 was achieved. Results: Twice-weekly treatment significantly reduced the number of flares and time to first flare (p < 0.001). Around three times as many patients in each study had no flares of any severity throughout the double-blind period in the twice-weekly treatment group compared with the standard treatment group (p < 0.001). Improvements in symptoms and quality of life with twice-weekly treatment were above those observed with standard treatment. Twice-weekly treatment was well tolerated. Conclusions: A twice-weekly tacrolimus ointment regimen was effective in adults and children with moderate to severe AD.
Genesis of fat emboli.

In pathological terms fat embolism may be defined as the blockage of blood vessels by liquid fat globules. As Szabo (1970) emphasizes, on page 123 of this issue, a clear distinction must be drawn between the histopathological findings and the much less common clinical syndromes of fat embolism. Fat emboli in the lungs have been reported in a great variety of associations, but by far the most common and the most important association is with major fractures and accompanying soft tissue damage due to severe trauma. Controversy exists regarding the clinical significance of the emboli and there is even a suggestion that they are not essential for the changes underlying the 'fat-embolism' syndrome. This is one of the many anomalies with which this intriguing condition is beset. A wide divergence of opinion exists regarding the genesis of fat emboli. According to the classical 'mechanical' explanation fat droplets are set free from disrupted fat cells, enter torn venules at sites of injury or fracture, and are carried to the lungs. Globules 10 ,t or more in diameter being unable to pass immediately through the lung capillaries are retained as emboli. The alternative explanation, which also has many adherents, envisages fat emboli as derived partly or entirely from plasma lipids, possibly after increased mobilization from depot fat. If prophylactic and therapeutic measures are to be well founded, it is important to ascertain which explanation is correct. Fat emboli are initially arrested in the lungs which act as a filter to protect the systemic circulation. They have certain peculiarities qua emboli. Often they are very numerous: in the most heavily embolized lungs thousands of emboli per cubic millimetre of lung tissue may be seen. They are relatively small: their diameter in lung vessels ranges from about 10 to 100 ,u, and therefore they lodge in capillaries and arterioles. Some may be stuck fast, but there is evidence that others continue to flow slowly through the small vessels and recirculate, returning eventually to the lungs (Scriba, 1880; Scuderi, 1953; Moser and Wurnig, 1954). When the lungs are heavily embolized, the globules passing through the lung vessels into the systemic circulation may become very numerous. Possibly this is the most serious consequence because of the multifocal brain damage which results from cerebral embolization (Scriba, 1880; Sevitt, 1962) and may in turn lead to secondary lung changes. But some would give pride of place to the pulmonary changes and regard the cerebral damage as secondary to hypoxaemia (Peltier, 1967; Szabo, 1970).
A Closer Look at Chaotic Advection in the Stratosphere. Part II: Statistical Diagnostics

Statistical diagnostics of mixing and transport are computed for a numerical model of forced shallow-water flow on the sphere and a middle-atmosphere general circulation model. In particular, particle dispersion statistics, transport fluxes, Liapunov exponents (probability density functions and ensemble averages), and tracer concentration statistics are considered. It is shown that the behavior of the diagnostics is in accord with that of kinematic chaotic advection models so long as stochasticity is sufficiently weak. Comparisons with random-strain theory are made. In the first part of this study, Ngan and Shepherd (1999, hereafter Part I), it was shown that chaotic advection occurs in both a shallow-water model of the winter stratosphere and a middle-atmosphere general circulation model. Specifically, the ‘‘cat’s eye’’ structure in the surf zone organizes mixing and transport in a manner akin to the heteroclinic structure of a temporally aperiodic chaotic system; consequently velocity derivatives decorrelate along particle trajectories rather than at fixed spatial locations. This behavior is robust, and is consistent with previous studies of stratospheric mixing and transport, as well as with analytical and numerical results for Rossby wave critical layers. The analysis of Part I was largely qualitative, the primary objective of that paper being to clarify the notion of chaotic advection in the stratosphere and determine conditions under which it may occur. It is the objective of the present paper to characterize chaotic advection in the shallow-water and middle-atmosphere models by computing a number of representative statistical diagnostics. Since there does not exist a single diagnostic by which chaotic advection can be fully characterized, such an approach cannot establish unequivocally the ‘‘definitive’’ features of chaotic advection in the stratosphere,
Insulin Sensitivity and Insulin Secretion Determined by Homeostasis Model Assessment and Risk of Diabetes in a Multiethnic Cohort of Women: the Women’s Health Initiative Observational Study

We read with interest the article (1) on the risk of incident diabetes in the Women’s Health Initiative Observational Study (WHI-OS) in relation to homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and β-cell function (HOMA-B). In this letter, we raise a number of issues that we believe require further clarification. The aim of Song et al.’s study was “to prospectively examine the relations of HOMA … with diabetes risk” (1). Why, then, are 766 women with a fasting glucose at baseline ≥126 mg/dl included in the analysis? Although these women were excluded from other analyses, it is unclear why they …
Self-Productivity in Early Childhood

Self-productivity is a crucial feature in the process of skill formation. It means that skills and health acquired at one stage in the life cycle enhance skills and health formation at later stages. This paper presents an empirical investigation of self-productivity in early childhood in Germany. The data are drawn from the mother-child questionnaire of the German Socio-Economic Panel for the birth cohorts 2002-2005. The magnitude of self-productivity varies between skills and over time. A one percent increase in birth weight increase child's noncognitive skills by 0.34 percent and child's health by 0.64 percent at the age of 3-18 months. Until the age of 42 months a one percent increases in child's noncognitive skills enhances child's verbal skills by 0.57 percent and child's everyday skills by 1.04 percent. Furthermore, our estimates suggest synergies between child's health and child's noncognitive skills.
MTR and T1 provide complementary information in MS NAWM, but not in lesions

MTR and T1 relaxation times are abnormal in MS lesions and NAWM, and may reflect tissue damage such as demyelination and axonal loss. Their relationship and potential to provide complementary information in tissue characterisation is explored. The aim of this study was to document the relationship between magnetisation transfer ratio (MTR) and T1 relaxation time in Multiple Sclerosis (MS) lesions and normal appearing white matter (NAWM) in order to determine whether the combination provides a more comprehensive tissue characterisation than either parameter in isolation. Ten patients with relapsing remitting MS and 10 age matched healthy controls underwent imaging using a protocol which included the measurement of both MTR and T1 relaxation times. The MTR and T1 values were compared statistically using a commonly adopted correlation approach and a mixed-model regression approach. There was a strong correlation between MTR and T1 in MS lesions (r=0.74). The correlation was seen equally in T1 hypointense and isointense lesions. The relationship was much weaker in MS NAWM (r=0.24) and no correlation was found in control white matter (r=0.06). Mixed-model regression analysis confirmed that the relationship between T1 and MTR is strongly dependent upon tissue type (MS lesion, MS NAWM, or control white matter). The relationship between MTR and T1 relaxation time measurements varies markedly between pathological and normal tissue types. In MS, the complementary information obtained from MTR and T1 is most apparent in NAWM. The results emphasise the potential for combinations of MR parameters to improve tissue characterisation, which in turn should improve understanding of disease pathology and treatment monitoring.
HOST‐INDUCED ASSORTATIVE MATING IN HOST RACES OF THE LARCH BUDMOTH

Abstract The likelihood of sympatric speciation is enhanced when assortative mating is a by‐product of adaptation to different habitats. Pleiotropy of this kind is recognized as important in parasites that use their hosts as a long‐range cue for finding mates, but is generally assumed to have limited applicability for most other organisms. In the larch budmoth, Zeiraphera diniana (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), sympatric host races feed on larch or pine. Zeiraphera diniana females attract males (call) by releasing host‐independent long‐range pheromones. Pheromone composition differs strongly between host races, but we show in an experimental field study that cross‐attraction can occur at a rate of 0.03–0.38. Cross‐attraction to larch females increases when they call from neighborhoods (8‐m radius) rich in pine or from pine trees. Cross‐attraction to pine females similarly increases when calling from neighborhoods rich in larch, but there is no significant effect of calling substrate. Males, as well as females, of this species preferentially alight on their own host, and in neighborhoods where their own host is common. This effect of tree species and host neighborhood on assortative mating is therefore due, at least in part, to the numbers of males of each host race present within approximately 200 m2 surrounding the female. This proximity effect is enhanced by the clumped distributions of the hosts themselves. Host chemistry might also affect pheromone production and/or response directly, but we have evidence neither for nor against this. This work provides empirical evidence that host adaptation has a pleiotropic effect on assortative mating in a species with host‐independent long‐range mating signals. Sympatric speciation via pleiotropy between ecological traits and assortative mating may thus be more common than generally supposed: Clumped resource distributions and habitat choice by adults are widespread.
High prevalence of corrected QT interval prolongation in acutely ill patients is associated with mortality: Results of the QT in Practice (QTIP) Study*

Objective: To test the potential value of more frequent QT interval measurement in hospitalized patients. Design: We performed a prospective, observational study. Setting: All adult intensive care unit and progressive care unit beds of a university medical center. Patients: All patients admitted to one of six critical care units over a 2-month period were included in analyses. Interventions: All critical care beds (n = 154) were upgraded to a continuous QT monitoring system (Philips Healthcare). Measurements and Main Results: QT data were extracted from the bedside monitors for offline analysis. A corrected QT interval >500 msecs was considered prolonged. Episodes of QT prolongation were manually over-read. Electrocardiogram data (67,648 hrs, mean 65 hrs/patient) were obtained. QT prolongation was present in 24%. There were 16 cardiac arrests, with one resulting from Torsade de Pointes (6%). Predictors of QT prolongation were female sex, QT-prolonging drugs, hypokalemia, hypocalcemia, hyperglycemia, high creatinine, history of stroke, and hypothyroidism. Patients with QT prolongation had longer hospitalization (276 hrs vs. 132 hrs, p < .0005) and had three times the odds for all-cause in-hospital mortality compared to patients without QT prolongation (odds ratio 2.99 95% confidence interval 1.1–8.1). Conclusions: We find QT prolongation to be common (24%), with Torsade de Pointes representing 6% of in-hospital cardiac arrests. Predictors of QT prolongation in the acutely ill population are similar to those previously identified in ambulatory populations. Acutely ill patients with QT prolongation have longer lengths of hospitalization and nearly three times the odds for mortality then those without QT prolongation.
Pelvic malignant hemangiopericytoma mimicking an ovarian neoplasm; a case report.

BACKGROUND Malignant hemangiopericytoma (MHPC) is a rare vascular tumor and has been reported to occur in the musculature of the extremities, retroperitoneum and pelvis. Omental hemangiopericytomas (HPCs) are extremely rare. Synovial sarcomas and solitary fibrous tumors share histologic features with HPCs, causing diagnostic difficulties. Immunohistochemistry is essential for the diagnosis. CASE A 74-year-old woman presented with an abdominopelvic mass. A malignant ovarian tumor was suspected on clinical features, ultrasound and computed tomography. Staging laparotomy revealed a large, vascular tumor adherent to loops of small bowel, colon, cecum and appendix, but the ovaries and uterus were normal. The tumor was completely removed after extensive dissection. Histopathology and detailed immunohistochemistry established the diagnosis of a malignant hemangiopericytoma arising from the omentum. The patient developed recurrent subacute bowel obstruction and died 4 months after the initial diagnosis. CONCLUSION MHPCs are rare tumors and not likely to be diagnosed preoperatively. Treatment is therefore individualized and based on the findings at laparotomy. Some tumors, such as the one described here, exhibit very aggressive behavior.