Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Efficacy of four lining materials in sandwich technique to reduce microleakage in class II composite resin restorations.

OBJECTIVES The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of four different sandwich techniques on gingival microleakage of Class II direct composite resin restorations. MATERIALS AND METHODS Fifty sound human premolars were selected and randomly divided into five groups (n=10). Class II box only cavities were prepared in one of the proximal surfaces of each tooth with a gingival margin located approximately 0.5 mm below the cemento-enamel junction. Group A (control) was restored incrementally with composite resin (Tetric Ceram). Groups B, C, D, and E were restored with the sandwich technique using a compomer (Compoglass F), flowable composite resin (Tetric Flow), self-cure composite resin (Degufill SC), or resin modified glass ionomer (Fuji II LC), respectively. After thermal-load cycling, the specimens were immersed in 0.5% basic fuschin for 24 hours. Dye penetration (10(-1) mm) was detected using a sectioning technique. Data were analyzed with repeated measurements and Duncan test at α=0.05. RESULTS The least amount of microleakage was detected in the incremental group (1.28 ± 0.98). The sandwich technique using resin modified glass ionomer (7.99 ± 9.57) or compomer (4.36 ± 1.78) resulted in significantly more leakage than did the sandwich technique using flowable (1.50 ± 1.97) or self-cure composite (2.26 ± 1.52). CONCLUSION According to the results of this study, none of the four sandwich technique composite resin restorations used in this study could reduce gingival microleakage to a greater degree than the incremental technique.
The RESID Database of Protein Modifications as a resource and annotation tool

The RESID Database of Protein Modifications is a comprehensive collection of annotations and structures for protein modifications and cross‐links including pre‐, co‐, and post‐translational modifications. The database provides: systematic and alternate names, atomic formulas and masses, enzymatic activities that generate the modifications, keywords, literature citations, Gene Ontology (GO) cross‐references, protein sequence database feature table annotations, structure diagrams, and molecular models. This database is freely accessible on the Internet through resources provided by the European Bioinformatics Institute (http://www.ebi.ac.uk/RESID), and by the National Cancer Institute – Frederick Advanced Biomedical Computing Center (http://www.ncifcrf.gov/RESID). Each RESID Database entry presents a chemically unique modification and shows how that modification is currently annotated in the protein sequence databases, Swiss‐Prot and the Protein Information Resource (PIR). The RESID Database provides a table of corresponding equivalent feature annotations that is used in the UniProt project, an international effort to combine the resources of the Swiss‐Prot, TrEMBL and PIR. As an annotation tool, the RESID Database is used in standardizing and enhancing modification descriptions in the feature tables of Swiss‐Prot entries. As an Internet resource, the RESID Database assists researchers in high‐throughput proteomics to search monoisotopic masses and mass differences and identify known and predicted protein modifications.
Dietary fat intake and risk of prostate cancer: A prospective study of 25,708 Norwegian men

The relationship between incidence of prostate cancer and intake of dietary fat and foods rich in fat was studied in 25,708 men aged 16–56 years attending a Norwegian health screening in 1977–1983. Linkage to the Cancer Registry of Norway and the Central Bureau of Statistics of Norway ensured a complete follow‐up until December 31, 1992. Diet was recorded on a semi‐quantitative food‐frequency questionnaire at the time of screening, and 72 cases of prostate cancer were identified during follow‐up. At the end of follow‐up, mean age of the total study sample was 56 years (range 19–68), while mean age at diagnosis of prostate cancer was 60 years (range 47–67). No association was found between energy‐adjusted intake of total fat, saturated fat, mono‐unsaturated fat or poly‐unsaturated fat and the incidence of prostate cancer. Significant positive associations were found for body mass index (BMI) and consumption of hamburgers/meatballs, while no association was found with consumption of frankfurters/sausages and a significant negative association with the weekly number of main meals with meat. A significantly increased risk of prostate cancer was associated with skim milk as compared to whole milk. Milk preference (skim vs. whole) was associated significantly positively with BMI. Our study of a relatively young cohort does not confirm previous case‐control and cohort studies suggesting that dietary fat, especially from animal sources, is associated positively with risk of prostate cancer. Int. J. Cancer 73:634–638, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Parent Involvement in End-of-Life Care and Decision Making in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit: An Integrative Review

Survival rates for very preterm and critically ill infants are increasing, raising complex ethical issues for health-care providers and parents who face the challenge of making end-of-life decisions for newborns. The purpose of this integrative literature review was to evaluate parental involvement in end-of-life care and decision making for their infant in the newborn intensive care unit. Findings revealed that establishing good relationships and clear communication between health-care providers and parents builds trust and eases stress placed on parents making decisions about the care of their infant. Palliative care programs provide support for parents and facilitate their decision making. Parents can be educated about how to communicate with health-care providers. Educating nurses on how to provide end-of-life care may also help improve support for parents during this difficult time. Additional research is recommended to examine parents’ needs during and after end-of-life care decisions for their newborn.
Efficacy of Pursed-Lips Breathing: A BREATHING PATTERN RETRAINING STRATEGY FOR DYSPNEA REDUCTION

PURPOSE: Breathing pattern retraining is frequently used for exertional dyspnea relief in adults with moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. However, there is contradictory evidence to support its use. The study objective was to compare 2 programs of prolonging expiratory time (pursed-lips breathing and expiratory muscle training) on dyspnea and functional performance. METHODS: A randomized, controlled design was used for the pilot study. Subjects recruited from the outpatient pulmonary clinic of a university-affiliated Veteran Affairs healthcare center were randomized to: 1) pursed-lips breathing, 2) expiratory muscle training, or 3) control. Changes over time in dyspnea [modified Borg after 6-minute walk distance (6MWD) and Shortness of Breath Questionnaire] and functional performance (Human Activity Profile and physical function scale of Short Form 36-item Health Survey) were assessed with a multilevel modeling procedure. Weekly laboratory visits for training were accompanied by structured verbal, written, and audiovisual instruction. RESULTS: Forty subjects with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [age = 65 ± 9 (mean ± standard deviation) years, forced expiratory volume 1 second/forced vital capacity % = 46 ± 10, forced expiratory volume 1 second % predicted = 39 ± 13, body mass index = 26 ± 6 kg/m2, inspiratory muscle strength = 69 ± 22 cm H2O, and expiratory muscle strength (PEmax) = 102 ± 29 cm H2O] were enrolled. No significant Group × Time difference was present for PEmax (P = .93). Significant reductions for the modified Borg scale after 6MWD (P = .05) and physical function (P = .02) from baseline to 12 weeks were only present for pursed-lips breathing. CONCLUSION: Pursed-lips breathing provided sustained improvement in exertional dyspnea and physical function.
Induced changes in the thresholds for voluntary activation of human spindle endings.

1. Recordings were made from forty‐two muscle spindle afferents from the pre‐tibial muscles of human subjects. For each afferent, the contraction level at which its discharge accelerated (its ‘threshold for activation') was defined using isometric voluntary contractions of the receptor‐bearing muscle. The effects on these thresholds of various manoeuvres designed to activate descending pathways or segmental sensory inputs were studied to determine whether the balance between the skeletomotor and fusimotor drives to the contracting muscle could be altered. 2. The Jendrassik reinforcement manoeuvre raised the threshold for voluntary activation of one spindle ending slightly but had no significant effect with seven other endings. It is concluded that the Jendrassik manoeuvre does not excite fusimotor neurons selectively or even preferentially. 3. Caloric vestibular stimulation altered the thresholds for voluntary activation of eight of eleven spindle endings, the most common effect being lowering of the threshold during the irrigation and for 1‐‐1 . 5 min after its cessation. 4. Cutaneous stimulation by vibration lowered the thresholds for voluntary activation of some spindle endings when applied to the dorsum of the foot, and raised thresholds when applied to the lateral plantar surface. 5. Passive stretch of the receptor‐bearing muscle by plantar flexion of the ankle and passive stretch of synergistic muscles in isolation raised thresholds for spindle activation; passive stretch or vibration of triceps surae lowered thresholds. 6. These studies suggest that the relationship between the skeletomotor and fusimotor drives to a muscle during a voluntary contraction is not rigidly fixed, but can be varied appropriately with the changing motor role demanded of the muscle by supraspinal drives and with the changes in sensory feed‐back generated by the movement itself. 7. It is concluded that, provided the skeletomotor effects of a stimulus are known, changes in the threshold for spindle activation in a voluntary contraction can provide a means of determining the effects of that stimulus on fusimotor neurons even when the stimulus alone is not adequate to alter fusimotor drive.
Biochemical effects of the monoamine neurotoxins DSP‐4 and MDMA in specific brain regions of MAO‐B‐deficient mice

Previous studies reported that drugs acting as monoamine oxidase (MAO)‐B inhibitors prevented biochemical effects induced by the neurotoxins N‐(2‐chloroethyl)‐N‐ethyl‐2‐bromobenzylamine (DSP‐4) and 3,4‐methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, “ecstasy”). In this study, we administered DSP‐4 (50 mg/kg) or MDMA (50 mg/kg ×2, 2 h apart) to MAO‐B deficient mice. Monoamine content in various brain regions (cerebellum, frontal cortex, hippocampus, hypothalamus, striatum, substantia nigra) was assayed 1 week after neurotoxin administration. Injection of DSP‐4 to wild‐type mice caused a marked norepinephrine (NE) loss in specific brain regions. Unexpectedly, DSP‐4 caused similar effects in MAO‐B‐deficient and in wild‐type mice in all brain regions investigated. These results suggest that MAO‐B is not involved in DSP‐4 toxicity. In wild‐types, the neurotoxin MDMA induced both serotonin (5HT) and dopamine (DA) depletion in specific brain areas. In MAO‐B‐deficient mice, 5HT depletion observed in wild‐types did not occur. In contrast, MDMA produced a more pronounced DA loss in knockout mice compared with wild‐types. The present findings, together with previous data obtained using selective enzyme inhibitors, suggest that MAO‐B is not involved in the mechanism of action of DSP‐4, whereas it plays opposite roles in MDMA‐induced DA and 5HT depletions. Synapse 39:213–221, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
[Virological sustained response to former young intravenous drug abusers with chronic hepatitis C treated by pegylated interferon-α plus ribavirin].

INTRODUCTION The most risk group with high rate of infection of viral hepatitis C represents the former drug abusers (IDUs). OBJECTIVES The objectives of the clinical study were to assess the sustained virological response (SVR) in the group of former IDUs with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) treated with pegylated interferon-α and ribavirin. PATIENTS AND METHODS Of 293 previously untreated (naive) former IDUs with CHC who have started treatment, we assessed 239 (69 women, 170 men) with an average age of 27 years who completed treatment and received a follow-up examination after 24 weeks. Prior to therapy abstinence to drug abuse 6 and more months has been required. The CHC has been diagnostics by the standard virological diagnostic tests, increased activity of aminotranferases (ALT) and histology of liver biopsy. Patients were treated with combined immunomodulatory therapy in the standard duration and standard regimen. SVR was considered if qualitative test HCV RNA was negative 24 weeks after the completion of the treatment. RESULTS End-of-treatment virological response was in 224/94 % patients. Overall SVR rate was 95 %, 227 subjects had negative HCV RNA and only 12 patients no response. During treatment there was a statistically significant decrease in ALT. Treatment was accompanied by the expected side effects. CONCLUSION Young age, short duration of HCV infection, high prevalence of genotype 3 and low grade of liver fibrosis in majority of patients and good adherence of patients to treatment were crucial predictive factors resulting in high SVR.
Youth Engagement in Pediatric Rehabilitation: Service Providers' Perceptions in a Real-Time Study of Solution-Focused Coaching for Participation Goals

ABSTRACT Aim: Client engagement is assumed to affect therapy outcomes. This study examined service providers' perceptions of youth engagement in solution-focused coaching sessions focusing on participation-oriented goals for youth with cerebral palsy. Method: Service providers completed the Pediatric Rehabilitation Intervention Measure of Engagement—Service Provider version (PRIME-SP) at the end of each session of the brief solution-focused coaching intervention (3–5 sessions) for 10 youth. Results: Youth engagement was high yet fluctuated over the sessions. Service providers noted a range of components of engagement/disengagement (affective, cognitive, and behavioral) and related factors, including client states, components of behavior change (success or nonsuccess between therapy sessions, and pleasure with success), and service provider strategies. Four preliminary patterns involving engagement, client-reported success, and goal difficulty (personally achievable or dependent on others) appeared to be meaningfully related to quantitative measures of youth outcomes. Conclusions: The study provides insights into the highly engaging nature of solution-focused coaching and the relational, co-constructed nature of the therapeutic interaction. The study indicates the utility of the PRIME-SP as a tool for recording observations of components of engagement and related factors that may be useful for clinical decisions about the use of engagement strategies and for general reflections on practice.
Ultrastructure of gallstones produced in mice fed a high cholesterol diet

Mice fed a high cholesterol‐cholic acid diet for two to six months develop gallstones; these were studied by transmission electron microscopy after glutaraldehyde‐digitonin fixation. Examination of the contents of mouse gallbladders presents views of layered structures and surrounding amorphous material. We interpret these images of gallstones to suggest that they may arise by cohesion of material rich in cholesterol to form more ordered structures. Gallbladder contents of mice fed the diet for five to six months were found to contain occasional crystals and rectangular areas similar to those observed in thin sections of human gallstones (unpublished observations). Recent findings that human gallstones can be dissolved with chenodeoxycholic acid are discussed, with reference to their applicability to studies of gallstones in mice.
Periodontal aspects in menopausal women undergoing hormone replacement therapy.

AIMS Currently, an important number of women use HRT to control their hormonal problems during menopause. A large percentage of these have problems at periodontal level. The present study aims at examining the effects that menopause, due to a decline in the synthesis of hormones, mainly of estrogens, can cause on the oral dental health of such women; in particular on the characteristics of the gingiva and periodontium, checking whether characteristics such as gingival recession, pain, tooth mobility and periodontal pocket formation might permit physicians to evaluate the degree of bone loss in menopausal woman. PATIENTS Menopausal women aged 40 to 58 years of age undergoing hormone replacement therapy that had gingival periodontal disturbances. The total population of the study comprised 210 patients, divided into two groups. One group received HRT administered in patches and the other group did not receive this therapy. METHOD Gynecologic and odonto-stomatologic protocols were established for data collection. In order to assess the efficacy of the treatment a descriptive statistical study for sociodemographic variables, analysis of variance, McNemar's test and the Stuart-Maxwell test were performed. RESULTS The mean age of the patients studied was 49.6 years. HRT acts as a protective factor in dental pain and improves tooth mobility and depth of the probing of periodontal pockets. With respect to the variable gingival recession, no significant results were found either for the group not receiving HRT or for the group being treated with patches. CONCLUSIONS The response to the HR therapy in periodontal disease is probably due to the existence of estrogen receptors localized in the gingiva and in the periodontal ligament.
Timing of palatal surgery and speech outcome

Objective: To examine the impact of age and lexical status at the time of primary palatal surgery on speech outcome of preschoolers with cleft palate. Participants: Forty children (33 to 42 months) with nonsyndromic cleft palate participated in the study. Twenty children (Group 1) were less lexically advanced and younger (mean age = 11 months) and 20 children (Group 2) were more lexically advanced and older (mean age = 15 months) when palatal surgery was performed. Main Outcome Measures: Samples of the children's spontaneous speech were compared on 11 speech production measures (e.g., size of consonant inventory, total consonants correct, % correct for manner of articulation categories, compensatory articulation usage, etc.). Next, listeners rated a 30-second sample of each child's connected speech for articulation proficiency and hypernasality, separately, using direct magnitude estimation (DME). Results: Group differences were noted for 4 of the 11 speech production measures. Children in Group 1 exhibited larger consonant inventories (and true consonant inventories) and more accurate production of nasals and liquids compared to children in Group 2. On the DME task, significant group differences were found for ratings of articulation proficiency and hypernasality. Children in Group 1 exhibited better articulation and less hypernasality than children in Group 2. Conclusions: The findings suggested that children who were less lexically advanced and younger at the time of palatal surgery exhibited better articulation and resonance outcomes at 3 years of age.
Associations and Lags between Air Pollution and Acute Respiratory Visits in an Ambulatory Care Setting: 25-Month Results from the Aerosol Research and Inhalation Epidemiological Study

Abstract Particulate matter (PM) has been associated with adverse respiratory outcomes in numerous studies that utilized data from emergency room visits, hospital admissions, and mortality records. This study is unique in its investigation of associations of air pollution measures, including components of PM, with health outcomes in an ambulatory-care setting. Visit data were collected from Kaiser Permanente, a not-for-profit health maintenance organization in the metropolitan Atlanta, GA, area. Kaiser Permanente collaborated on the Aerosol Research Inhalation Epidemiological Study (ARIES), which provided detailed information on the characteristics of air pollutants. The Kaiser Permanente study was a time-series investigation of the possible associations between daily levels of suspended PM, inorganic gases, and polar volatile organic compounds and ambulatory care acute visit rates during the 25-month period from August 1, 1998, to August 31, 2000. For this interim analysis, the a priori 0–2 days lagged moving average, as well as the 3–5 days and 6–8 days lagged moving averages, of air quality measures were investigated. Single-pollutant Poisson general linear modeling was used to model daily visit counts for asthma and upper and lower respiratory infections (URI and LRI) by selected air quality metrics, controlling for temporal trends and meteorological variables. Most of the statistically significant positive associations were for the 3–5 days lagged air quality metrics with child asthma and LRI.
A study of blood serotonin and serotonin transporter promoter variant (5-HTTLPR) polymorphism in Egyptian autistic children

Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex, heterogeneous neurodevelopmental disorder with onset during early childhood. Most studies have reported an elevation in platelet serotonin in persons with autism. The serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT) transporter in the brain uptakes 5-HT from extracellular spaces. It is also present in platelets, where it takes up 5-HT from plasma. Polymorphisms in serotonin transporter gene (SLC6A4) were frequently studied in many neuropsychiatric disorders. Materials and Methods: We have measured the plasma 5-HT levels in 20 autistic male children and 20 control male children by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. In addition, the SLC6A4 promoter region (5-HTTLPR) insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism was studied, using whole genomic DNA. Results: Plasma serotonin was significantly low in autistic children compared to control (P = 0.001), although correlation to severity of autism was not significant. The frequency of short (S) allele in autism cases was 10% and in the control group it was absent. Conclusion: Our study demonstrated an increased prevalence of 5-HTTLPR S allele in autism subjects. Significantly decreased plasma serotonin was detected in autism subjects, with no significant relationship between 5-HTTLPR genotype and plasma 5-HT being evident.
Asthma Attack Associated with Oxidative Stress by Exposure to ETS and PAH

Asthma is primarily an airways inflammatory disease, and the bronchial airways have been shown to be particularly susceptible to oxidant-induced tissue damage. Objective. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether pulmonary inflammation in asthma is associated with exposure to environmental oxidants such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) and environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). Method. We assessed the exposure level of PAH and ETS by using urinary 1-hydroxypyrene glucuronide (1-OHPG) and cotinine. We estimated oxidative damage and inflammatory cytokine levels from 16 asthma patients and 16 patients in stable conditions 1 to 2 months later. Results. Our study showed that the levels of oxidative damage, as measured by malondialdehyde (MDA), were significantly increased (p = 0.006) during the asthma attacks. Proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines were both increased during the asthma attacks compared to the stable conditions at follow-up. Interleukin (IL-6) and IL-10 were especially increased significantly (p = 0.015 and p < 0.001, respectively). Correlations were observed between inflammatory cytokines such as IL-6 and IL-1β (p = 0.034). Conclusion. This study supports the results of in vitro studies that oxidative stress, specifically lipid peroxidation, contributes to the pathophysiology of asthma. Therefore, environmental interventions based on this better understanding are needed to significantly reduce oxidant stress and prevent or minimize the development of asthmatic symptoms.