Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nanoscale studies of protein‐membrane interactions in blood clotting

Summary. Most of the steps in the blood clotting cascade require clotting proteins to bind to membrane surfaces with exposed phosphatidylserine. In spite of the importance of these protein‐membrane interactions, we still lack a detailed understanding of how clotting proteins interact with membranes and how membranes contribute so profoundly to catalysis. Our laboratories are using multidisciplinary approaches to explore, at atomic‐resolution, how blood clotting protein complexes assemble and function on membrane surfaces.
Lessons from genome‐wide association studies in venous thrombosis

Summary. From the first genome wide association studies (GWAS) conducted on age‐related macular degeneration back in 2005 until now, hundreds of studies have applied this strategy to identify novel genetic loci associated with hundreds of human diseases and related quantitative risk factors. While the GWAS revolution has just started to shift towards the next generation sequencing’s burst, it is important to illustrate how the genetics research in venous thrombosis has benefit from the GWAS paradigm.
Effect of Alloxan Diabetes on Fluoride Retention and Caries Incidence in Rats

The literature concerning the effect of alloxan diabetes on the initiation and progression of dental caries is contradictory. Everett, Lal, and Phatak,1 using Syrian hamsters, reported that alloxan diabetic animals had greater caries scores than did controls. However, Nichols and Shaw,2 using Harvard caries-susceptible rats, observed no statistically significant differences between the control and the diabetic groups for any of the three categories evaluated-the number of carious molars, as well as the number and extent of carious lesions. Hartles and Lawton3 utilized rats with relatively low caries activities, which were descendants of the Harvard caries-susceptible strain. By injecting alloxan subcutaneously, they produced a mild diabetes, manifested by glucosuria but without a discernible difference in concentration of blood glucose between the injected and control groups. Despite the mildness of the diabetes, they observed a significantly greater mean caries score in the diabetic animals. In comparing their data with that of Nichols and Shaw,2 they noted that the mean number of carious molars of the control group, in the latter experiment, approached the maximum number possible (10.5 of a possible 12.0). Therefore, they postulated that any caries-potentiating influence of diabetes might have been obscured by the high level of decay in the control rats. Because of the interest in fluoridation of communal water supplies, it would be of importance to know whether diabetes would cause abnormal fluoride retention in excess of that in healthy animals. Two experiments were undertaken to seek an answer to this question. During the course of these experiments, certain data on caries occurrence indicated the desirability of a third trial repeating the work of Nichols and Shaw2 more closely than in the first two experiments.
Return to Sport After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction in the Skeletally Immature Athlete

Objective:Determine the percentage of skeletally immature athletes returning to sports after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury and reconstruction. Design:Retrospective case series. Setting:Boston Children's Hospital Division of Sports Medicine. Patients:Eligible participants were identified by chart review. Males and females aged ⩽14 year old who were greater than 2 years after ACL reconstruction surgery seen between January 2001 and May 2009. A total of 250 patients completed the questionnaires. Assessment of Risk Factors:Age, sex, mechanism, and sport played at time of ACL injury. Main Outcome Measures:Response to the survey was 75% (250 of 333) which was analyzed using descriptive statistics to provide a summary of the study cohort. Kaplan–Meier survivorship analysis was applied to determine time to return to sports participation after ACL reconstruction with Greenwood formula used to calculate 95% confidence intervals around the estimated percentage returning at 6, 9, 12, 18, and 24-month follow-up. Results:After undergoing ACL reconstruction, 96% of skeletally immature athletes are able to return to sports at the same skill level. Median time to return to sports was 9 months postoperative, with most athletes returning to sports (85%) by 12 months. Conclusions:After undergoing ACL reconstruction, most child athletes are able to return to sports and 50% of these athletes return within 9 months after surgery. Clinical Relevance:After undergoing ACL reconstruction, 96% of athletes ⩽14 year old are able to return to sports at the same skill level. Median time to return to sports was 9 months postoperative, with most athletes returning to sports (85%) by 12 months. In our study, patients cited physical limitation, loss of interest in sport, and fear of reinjury as reasons for not returning to previous level of sport. Return to sport may be improved by additional research into sports-specific training and rehabilitation in this cohort.
Adapting Family-Based Treatment for Adolescent Anorexia Nervosa Across Higher Levels of Patient Care

An increasing body of evidence supports the use of family-based treatment (FBT) in medically stable outpatient presentations of adolescent anorexia nervosa, although there is relatively less research on adapting evidence-based treatment approaches in more intensive levels of patient care. The integration of FBT, which centrally leverages parental involvement in more intensive levels of care which typically require greater clinical management, requires careful consideration. We provide an overview of several key practical and theoretical considerations when adjusting the delivery of FBT across more intensive levels of patient care, providing clinical guidelines for the delivery of FBT while ensuring fidelity to the core theoretical tenets. Implications for clinical practice and future research are discussed.
Physical activity participation of female students: Prevalence and change during the first academic year

Abstract Objectives This study aimed to explore the prevalence, and change over time, of participation in vigorous exercise and moderate lifestyle physical activity (PA) in a female student population in Scotland. Methods A survey was carried out to assess Stages of Behaviour Change (SOBC) for exercise and moderate PA at the start of the first academic year (n=425, response rate: 67.6%). At the start of the second year a sample of the previously surveyed female students (n=16), stratified by SOBC, were interviewed to retrospectively explore change in their activity choices throughout the first academic year and summer vacation. Results Greater participation in moderate lifestyle PA than in exercise was noted, with a high prevalence of inactivity: 50.6 per cent in the survey. Qualitative data suggested a decrease in participation during semester one. Interview responses indicated that students were affected by transitions, including the move into higher education and intermittent vacations. Although some adjusted to the changes over time, others experienced sporadic activity patterns in response to frequent changes in circumstances. A response bias towards mature students from health-related courses was noted throughout the study. Conclusions The high prevalence of inactivity in this female student population raises concerns regarding their current and future health. Although higher education is thought to provide a useful forum for health promoting activities, the impact of regular transition periods must be addressed.
In Another Tongue

The baby is screaming again. My baby. I hoist her off the narrow hotel bed again and try to cradle her as I rock my torso back and forth in an uncomfortable straight-backed chair. This baby does not cradle. She doesn't know how to cuddle, to be soothed in anyone's arms. She howls and arches away, squirms and flops, a sixteen-pound fish out of water. I'm not used to holding babies, and she's not used to being held, but when I try to put her down, she wails. My arms feel chafed, raw, and my wrists ache from the hours of straining to hang onto her. Huge tears pool in her eyes. These tears could break my heart. These screams could break my eardrums. God, I'm weary. Sometimes it startles me how beautiful this baby is despite the rash that inflames her face, the nick in the corner of her eye where her fingernail caught the skin, sores and scars up and down her arms from her incessant scratching. The beauty of her bright eyes and even features surprises me again and again, as does the sheer power of her small lungs. She has barely rested them in the two days since she was placed in my arms. Outside the window, many floors below, China is an abstraction. I am too lost in the foreign country of parenthood to focus on the birthplace of this baby. Despite Chinese language classes, when I go outside, indistinct words swirl around me, a womb-like roar. In contrast to the stifling heat out there, the hotel is cool and quiet, guards stationed at the doors of the lobby, marble-floored and thick-carpeted. My friend Sara used to write to me about squat toilets without stalls, Chinese women gaping openly at tampons and pale pubic hair. She told me about rats falling into her bathwater and people blowing their noses on bus floors. She described visiting a zoo containing nothing but a snake, some goldfish, and a housecat.
Exploring the association between eating disorders and gender dysphoria in youth

ABSTRACT This study reviews the overlap between eating disorders (EDs) and gender dysphoria (GD) in an adolescent population. A retrospective chart review was conducted on a clinical population presenting for concerns of GD. It was noted that five of the 97 patients had been found to be suffering from an ED at presentation. An additional 10 patients were noted to have ED-related symptoms. Although ED risk was elevated in trans males and females, absolute risk was higher in trans males when compared to population based prevalence rates. Our results suggest that rates of EDs and ED-related symptoms are high in patients presenting with GD, and that standard screening for these symptoms should be considered in both populations at assessment and over the course of treatment.
Cell-mediated Immunity in Diabetes Mellitus Lymphocyte Transformation by Insulin and Insulin Fragments in Insulin-treated and Newly-diagnosed Diabetics

Using a radioisotope labeling technic, the ability of bovine and porcine insulin antigens to induce lymphocyte transformation was tested with cells from the peripheral blood of thirty nondiabetic controls, fifty established insulin-dependent diabetics with no evidence of insulin allergy, and ten newly diagnosed diabetics (five untreated, five insulin-treated for less than three weeks). Lymphocytes from twenty-six (42 per cent) of the diabetics showed significant blastogenesis to bovine or porcine insulin, as compared with two (7 per cent) of controls; the phenomenon was shown by both established and newly diagnosed patients including four who had never received insulin. The results indicate that cellular hypersensitivity to insulin, as judged by an in vitro test, is relatively common in insulin-treated diabetics without in vivo evidence of allergy, and suggest that hypersensitivity may also be present in untreated diabetics. Lymphocytes from twenty-one of the twenty-six diabetics who responded to intact insulin were further tested using bovine and porcine insulin A chain and bovine B chain as antigens. The A chain of either insulin induced significant blastogenesis in only one diabetic but bovine B chain induced significant blastogenesis in fourteen (67 per cent) of the patients tested. These results suggest that B chain is the major antigenic site determining cellular hypersensitivity to insulin.
Clinical evaluation of demineralized freeze-dried bone allograft with and without enamel matrix derivative for the treatment of periodontal osseous defects in humans.

BACKGROUND Beneficial clinical effects have been demonstrated with the addition of enamel matrix derivative (EMD) to demineralized freeze-dried bone allograft (DFDBA) compared to EMD alone. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of DFDBA combined with EMD compared to DFDBA alone in the treatment of intraosseous defects of chronic periodontitis. METHODS Thirty-two patients with 41 intrabony defects > or = 3 mm were randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups. Intrabony defects were treated with DFDBA alone or in combination with EMD. Soft tissue measurements included probing depth (PD), gingival recession, and clinical attachment level (CAL). Hard tissue measurements included height of the alveolar crest, defect depth, and defect morphology. Following 6 months of healing, all measurements were repeated with the use of a surgical reentry procedure on 29 patients. Data were analyzed to determine PD reduction, CAL gain, change in recession, crestal resorption, defect fill, defect resolution, percentage of defect fill, and percentage of defect resolution. RESULTS Analysis of soft and hard tissue measurements demonstrated a statistically significant difference from baseline within each group (P <0.001); however, there was no statistically significant difference between the groups. CONCLUSION Both treatments were shown to be safe and effective therapy for periodontal defects; however, the addition of EMD to DFDBA provided no statistically significant improvement to the soft and hard tissue parameters measured.
Robust microbial cell segmentation by optical‐phase thresholding with minimal processing requirements

High‐throughput imaging with single‐cell resolution has enabled remarkable discoveries in cell physiology and Systems Biology investigations. A common, and often the most challenging step in all such imaging implementations, is the ability to segment multiple images to regions that correspond to individual cells. Here, a robust segmentation strategy for microbial cells using Quantitative Phase Imaging is reported. The proposed method enables a greater than 99% yeast cell segmentation success rate, without any computationally‐intensive, post‐acquisition processing. We also detail how the method can be expanded to bacterial cell segmentation with 98% success rates with substantially reduced processing requirements in comparison to existing methods. We attribute this improved performance to the remarkably uniform background, elimination of cell‐to‐cell and intracellular optical artifacts, and enhanced signal‐to‐background ratio—all innate properties of imaging in the optical‐phase domain. © 2017 The Authors. Cytometry Part A published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of International Society for Advancement of Cytometry.
The Effect of Amiloride during Infusion of Oxytocin in Male Sprague-Dawley Rats: A Study of a Possible Intrarenal Target Site for Oxytocin

A possible natriuretic mechanism of action of oxytocin was investigated in male Sprague-Dawley rats. The effects of an intravenous bolus injection of amiloride on urine volume, potassium and sodium excretion, and osmolality were measured with and without an intravenous infusion of oxytocin in saline. Control values were obtained during the infusion of saline. Amiloride administered during an oxytocin infusion increased sodium excretion from 0.1 ± 0.0 to 16.6 ± 2.1 μmol/min. In animals treated with amiloride only, the sodium excretion was 4.5 ± 0.8 μmol/min. The administration of oxytocin only resulted in a sodium excretion of 1.2 ± 0.3 μmol/min. After the administration of oxytocin, amiloride increased urinary flow from 4.3 ± 0.6 μl/min to 48.8 ± 6.1 μl/min. In animals treated with amiloride only, the flow after the bolus dose was 17.7 ± 1.8 μl/min. The administration of oxytocin only resulted in a flow of 8.5 ± 1.6 μl/min. The amiloride-caused change in potassium excretion was not inhibited by oxytocin. In summary, the effects of amiloride were not inhibited by the actions of oxytocin. Amiloride administrated after reaching a near steady-state effect of oxytocin was found to give rise to an effect far greater than that after the administration of oxytocin or amiloride alone. It is concluded that the intrarenal natriuretic mechanisms of oxytocin do not emanate from the amiloride-sensitive sodium channels.
Comparison of the Effect of Lipophilic and Hydrophilic Statins on Serum Adiponectin Levels in Patients with Mild Hypertension and Dyslipidemia: Kinki Adiponectin Interventional (KAI) Study

The plasma level of adiponectin, which is known as an anti-atherogenic adipocytokine, correlates inversely with the progression of atherosclerosis. An increase in the serum adiponectin level has been reported after the administration of hydrophilic pravastatin, but not after the administration of lipophilic statins thus far. We investigated whether hydrophilic pravastatin acts distinctly from simvastatin, which has the highest lipophilicity, on the favorable effect on adiponectin in dyslipidemic patients. A total of 27 dyslipidemic patients with mild hypertension were enrolled in this study. The patients were initially treated with simvastatin 10 mg/day for six months or more (mean 7.1 months), and then were switched to pravastatin 20 mg/day. The serum adiponectin, cholesterol fractionated components, and C-reactive protein (CRP) were evaluated after six-month intervals. Switching from simvastatin to pravastatin caused little change in the low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels (103 mg/dl to 104 mg/dl, p = 0.782) and blood pressure (133/70 mmHg to 132/69 mmHg), while the serum adiponectin level significantly increased (11.9 μg/ml to 13.1 μg/ml, p = 0.009, respectively), and the serum CRP significantly decreased (0.078 mg/dl to 0.062 mg/dl, p = 0.040, respectively). Hydrophilic pravastatin increased the serum adiponectin level and decreased the CRP after switching from lipophilic simvastatin in the absence of any difference in the low-density lipoprotein cholesterol level and blood pressure. It remains possible, however, that this difference was due not only to pharmacologic lipophilicity, but also to some other specific characteristics such as the formula of statins, the subject characteristics, race, body size, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, etc.
Long-Term Effects of Angiotensin II Receptor Blockade with Valsartan on Carotid Arterial Stiffness and Hemodynamic Alterations in Patients with Essential Hypertension

Increased arterial stiffness and intima media thickness (IMT) in the common carotid artery (CCA) are related to cardiovascular risk in essential hypertension. Angiotensin II plays an important role in structural and functional changes in the vasculature. In this study, we evaluated the long-term effect of the angiotensin II receptor blocker, valsartan, on IMT, arterial stiffness, and hemodynamics in the CCA in patients with essential hypertension. A prospective 24 month study of treatment with valsartan (80–160mg/day) was performed in 24 hypertensive patients. An ultrasound of the CCA was carried out to determine IMT, the cross-sectional distensibility coefficient (CSDC), the carotid arterial stiffness index β, and diastolic flow velocity to systolic flow velocity ratio (Vd/Vs). Treatment with valsartan for 24 months reduced systolic and diastolic blood pressure significantly. Compared to baseline, the decrease in pulse pressure was greater after 24 months treatment than after 12 months treatment. Valsartan did not influence IMT; however, after 24 months, it caused a significant increase in CSDC and a decrease in stiffness index β compared to baseline. These changes were not observed after 12 months of treatment. In addition, Vd/Vs, a sensitive marker of relative diastolic blood flow, increased after 24 months' treatment with valsartan. These results suggest that long-term treatment with valsartan improves vascular wall function and hemodynamics in patients with essential hypertension.
Effect of sexual steroids on boar kinematic sperm subpopulations

Here, we show the effects of sexual steroids, progesterone, testosterone, or estradiol on motility parameters of boar sperm. Sixteen commercial seminal doses, four each of four adult boars, were analyzed using computer assisted sperm analysis (CASA). Mean values of motility parameters were analyzed by bivariate and multivariate statistics. Principal component analysis (PCA), followed by hierarchical clustering, was applied on data of motility parameters, provided automatically as intervals by the CASA system. Effects of sexual steroids were described in the kinematic subpopulations identified from multivariate statistics. Mean values of motility parameters were not significantly changed after addition of sexual steroids. Multivariate graphics showed that sperm subpopulations were not sensitive to the addition of either testosterone or estradiol, but sperm subpopulations responsive to progesterone were found. Distribution of motility parameters were wide in controls but sharpened at distinct concentrations of progesterone. We conclude that kinematic sperm subpopulations responsive to progesterone are present in boar semen, and these subpopulations are masked in evaluations of mean values of motility parameters. © 2017 International Society for Advancement of Cytometry
The unique contribution of ion channels to platelet and megakaryocyte function

Summary. Ion channels are transmembrane proteins that play ubiquitous roles in cellular homeostasis and activation. In addition to their recognized role in the regulation of ionic permeability and thus membrane potential, some channel proteins possess intrinsic kinase activity, directly interact with integrins or are permeable to molecules up to ≈1000 Da. The small size and anuclear nature of the platelet has often hindered progress in understanding the role of specific ion channels in hemostasis, thrombosis and other platelet‐dependent events. However, with the aid of transgenic mice and ‘surrogate’ patch clamp recordings from primary megakaryocytes, important unique contributions to platelet function have been identified for several classes of ion channel. Examples include ATP‐gated P2X1 channels, Orai1 store‐operated Ca2+ channels, voltage‐gated Kv1.3 channels, AMPA and kainate glutamate receptors and connexin gap junction channels. Furthermore, evidence exists that some ion channels, such as NMDA glutamate receptors, contribute to megakaryocyte development. This review examines the evidence for expression of a range of ion channels in the platelet and its progenitor cell, and highlights the distinct roles that these proteins may play in health and disease.
Aggregated low‐density lipoprotein induce impairment of the cytoskeleton dynamics through urokinase‐type plasminogen activator/urokinase‐type plasminogen activator receptor in human vascular smooth muscle cell

Summary. Background: Urokinase‐type plasminogen activator (UPA) regulates vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) functions relevant in vascular remodeling by facilitating proteolysis at the cell surface and inducing cell signaling pathways. Our previous results demonstrated that aggregated low‐density lipoprotein (agLDL) impair cytoskeleton dynamics, a key event contributing to VSMC behavior during progression of atherosclerotic plaques.