Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Musculoskeletal pain in elite professional musicians from British symphony orchestras.

BACKGROUND Professional musicians have high rates of musculoskeletal pain, but few studies have analysed risks by work activities or the psychosocial work environment. AIMS To assess the prevalence and impact of musculoskeletal pain, and its relation to playing conditions, mental health and performance anxiety, in musicians from leading British symphony orchestras. METHODS Musicians from six professional orchestras completed a questionnaire concerning their orchestral duties and physical activities at work, mental health (somatizing tendency, mood, demand, support and control at work, performance anxiety) and regional pain in the past 4 weeks and past 12 months. Prevalence rates were estimated by anatomical site and associations with risk factors assessed by logistic regression. RESULTS Responses were received from 243 musicians (51% of those approached), among whom 210 (86%) reported regional pain in the past 12 months, mainly affecting the neck, low back and shoulders. Risks tended to be higher in women, in those with low mood, and especially in those with high somatizing scores. Only weak associations were found with psychosocial work stressors and performance anxiety. However, risks differed markedly by instrument category. Relative to string players, the odds of wrist/hand pain were raised 2.9-fold in wind players, but 60% lower in brass players, while the odds of elbow pain were 50% lower among wind and brass players. CONCLUSIONS Musculoskeletal pain is common in elite professional musicians. A major personal risk factor is somatizing tendency, but performance anxiety has less impact. Risks differ substantially by instrument played, offering pointers towards prevention.
Recent Ice-Sheet Growth in the Interior of Greenland

A continuous data set of Greenland Ice Sheet altimeter height from European Remote Sensing satellites (ERS-1 and ERS-2), 1992 to 2003, has been analyzed. An increase of 6.4 ± 0.2 centimeters per year (cm/year) is found in the vast interior areas above 1500 meters, in contrast to previous reports of high-elevation balance. Below 1500 meters, the elevation-change rate is –2.0 ± 0.9 cm/year, in qualitative agreement with reported thinning in the ice-sheet margins. Averaged over the study area, the increase is 5.4 ± 0.2 cm/year, or ∼60 cm over 11 years, or ∼54 cm when corrected for isostatic uplift. Winter elevation changes are shown to be linked to the North Atlantic Oscillation.
Bone augmentation procedures in localized defects in the alveolar ridge: clinical results with different bone grafts and bone-substitute materials.

PURPOSE The objective of this review was to evaluate the efficacy of different grafting protocols for the augmentation of localized alveolar ridge defects. MATERIALS AND METHODS A MEDLINE search and an additional hand search of selected journals were performed to identify all levels of clinical evidence except expert opinions. Any publication written in English and including 10 or more patients with at least 12 months of follow-up after loading of the implants was eligible for this review. The results were categorized according to the presenting defect type: (1) dehiscence and fenestration-type defects, (2) horizontal ridge augmentations, (3) vertical ridge augmentations, and (4) maxillary sinus floor elevations using the lateral window technique or transalveolar approach. The review focused on: (1) the outcome of the individual grafting protocols and (2) survival rates of implants placed in the augmented bone. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION Based on 2,006 abstracts, 424 full-text articles were evaluated, of which 108 were included. Eleven studies were randomized controlled clinical trials. The majority were prospective or retrospective studies including a limited number of patients and short observation periods. The heterogeneity of the available data did not allow identifying one superior grafting protocol for any of the osseous defect types under investigation. However, a series of grafting materials can be considered well-documented for different indications based on this review. There is a high level of evidence (level A to B) to support that survival rates of implants placed in augmented bone are comparable to rates of implants placed in pristine bone.
Effects of torcetrapib in patients at high risk for coronary events.

BACKGROUND Inhibition of cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) has been shown to have a substantial effect on plasma lipoprotein levels. We investigated whether torcetrapib, a potent CETP inhibitor, might reduce major cardiovascular events. The trial was terminated prematurely because of an increased risk of death and cardiac events in patients receiving torcetrapib. METHODS We conducted a randomized, double-blind study involving 15,067 patients at high cardiovascular risk. The patients received either torcetrapib plus atorvastatin or atorvastatin alone. The primary outcome was the time to the first major cardiovascular event, which was defined as death from coronary heart disease, nonfatal myocardial infarction, stroke, or hospitalization for unstable angina. RESULTS At 12 months in patients who received torcetrapib, there was an increase of 72.1% in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and a decrease of 24.9% in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, as compared with baseline (P<0.001 for both comparisons), in addition to an increase of 5.4 mm Hg in systolic blood pressure, a decrease in serum potassium, and increases in serum sodium, bicarbonate, and aldosterone (P<0.001 for all comparisons). There was also an increased risk of cardiovascular events (hazard ratio, 1.25; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.09 to 1.44; P=0.001) and death from any cause (hazard ratio, 1.58; 95% CI, 1.14 to 2.19; P=0.006). Post hoc analyses showed an increased risk of death in patients treated with torcetrapib whose reduction in potassium or increase in bicarbonate was greater than the median change. CONCLUSIONS Torcetrapib therapy resulted in an increased risk of mortality and morbidity of unknown mechanism. Although there was evidence of an off-target effect of torcetrapib, we cannot rule out adverse effects related to CETP inhibition. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00134264 [ClinicalTrials.gov].).
Linkage of E2F1 transcriptional network and cell proliferation with respiratory chain activity in breast cancer cells

Mitochondria are multifunctional organelles; they have been implicated in various aspects of tumorigenesis. In this study, we investigated a novel role of the basal electron transport chain (ETC) activity in cell proliferation by inhibiting mitochondrial replication and transcription (mtR/T) using pharmacological and genetic interventions, which depleted mitochondrial DNA/RNA, thereby inducing ETC deficiency. Interestingly, mtR/T inhibition did not decrease ATP levels despite deficiency in ETC activity in different cell types, including MDA‐MB‐231 breast cancer cells, but it severely impeded cell cycle progression, specifically progression during G2 and/or M phases in the cancer cells. Under these conditions, the expression of a group of cell cycle regulators was downregulated without affecting the growth signaling pathway. Further analysis suggested that the transcriptional network organized by E2F1 was significantly affected because of the downregulation of E2F1 in response to ETC deficiency, which eventually resulted in the suppression of cell proliferation. Thus, in this study, the E2F1‐mediated ETC‐dependent mechanism has emerged as the regulatory mechanism of cell cycle progression. In addition to E2F1, FOXM1 and BMYB were also downregulated, which contributed specifically to the defects in G2 and/or M phase progression. Thus, ETC‐deficient cancer cells lost their growing ability, including their tumorigenic potential in vivo. ETC deficiency abolished the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) from the mitochondria and a mitochondria‐targeted antioxidant mimicked the deficiency, thereby suggesting that ETC activity signaled through ROS production. In conclusion, this novel coupling between ETC activity and cell cycle progression may be an important mechanism for coordinating cell proliferation and metabolism.
Impacts of cultural difference on knowledge sharing, relationship quality and performance in IT-based service outsourcing

We established a conceptual model of the association between cultural difference, knowledge sharing, relationship quality, and performance in IT-based service outsourcing, posed some hypotheses. In the survey that we conducted in the companies specialized in IT-based service outsourcing in Xi'an Software Park, we collected 170 valid answered questionnaires from the employees who involve in the outsourcing projects. We used AMOS 16.0 to analyze the collected data. The results show that good relationship quality and effective knowledge sharing can improve outsourcing performance; moreover, the relationship between knowledge sharing and cultural difference is supported.
Changes Over One Semester in Drinking Game Playing and Alcohol Use and Problems in a College Student Sample

One-hundred ninety-five alcohol-using college students completed a questionnaire in early September, at the beginning of the fall semester, then completed a follow-up questionnaire in mid-November, near the end of the semester. The questionnaires included items on levels of alcohol use, the Eysenck I.7 measure of impulsiveness and venturesomeness, alcohol expectancies, perceived norms for alcohol use, reasons for drinking, and aspects of drinking game playing. As predicted, those students who were 18 years of age and younger, nearly all of them 1st-year students, significantly increased their levels of alcohol use during their first semester in college. While increases in reasons for drinking were significantly predictive of increased alcohol use and problems in first-year and older students, increases in expectancies of alcohol effects and in frequencies of drinking game playing were significantly predictive of increases in alcohol use and problems only for first-year students. The present results provide further evidence of the importance of drinking games in the socialization of college students into problematic alcohol use.
Heterogeneity and evolution of thymidine kinase and DNA polymerase mutants of herpes simplex virus type 1: implications for antiviral therapy.

BACKGROUND Infections caused by acyclovir-resistant isolates of herpes simplex virus (HSV) after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) are an emerging concern. An understanding of the evolutionary aspects of HSV infection is crucial to the design of effective therapeutic and control strategies. METHODS Eight sequential HSV-1 isolates were recovered from an HSCT patient who suffered from recurrent herpetic gingivostomatitis and was treated alternatively with acyclovir, ganciclovir, and foscavir. The diverse spectra and temporal changes of HSV drug resistance were determined phenotypically (drug-resistance profiling) and genotypically (sequencing of the viral thymidine kinase and DNA polymerase genes). RESULTS Analysis of 60 clones recovered from the different isolates demonstrated that most of these isolates were heterogeneous mixtures of variants, indicating the simultaneous infection with different drug-resistant viruses. The phenotype/genotype of several clones associated with resistance to acyclovir and/or foscavir were identified. Two novel mutations (E798K and I922T) in the viral DNA polymerase could be linked to drug resistance. CONCLUSIONS The heterogeneity within the viral populations and the temporal changes of drug-resistant viruses found in this HSCT recipient were remarkable, showing a rapid evolution of HSV-1. Drug-resistance surveillance is highly recommended among immunocompromised patients to manage the clinical syndrome and to avoid the emergence of multidrug-resistant isolates.
Prevention and Treatment of White Spot Lesions in Orthodontic Patients

Decalcification of enamel, appearing as white spot lesions (WSLs), around fixed orthodontic appliances is a major challenge during and after fixed orthodontic treatment by considering the fact that the goal of orthodontic treatment is to enhance facial and dental esthetic appearance. Banded or bonded teeth exhibit a significantly higher rate of WSLs compared to the controls with no braces as fixed appliances and the bonding materials promote retention of biofilms. These lesions are managed in the first step by establishing good oral hygiene habits and prophylaxis with topical fluorides, including high-fluoride toothpastes, fluoride mouthwashes, gels, varnishes, fluoride-containing bonding materials, and elastic ligatures. Recently, other materials and methods have been recommended, including the application of casein phosphopeptides-amorphous calcium phosphate, antiseptics, probiotics, polyols, sealants, laser, tooth bleaching agents, resin infiltration, and microabrasion. This article reviews the currently used methods to manage enamel demineralization during and after orthodontic treatment and the risk factors and preventive measures based on the latest evidence.
Screening for mental disorders in residential aged care facilities

ABSTRACT Introduction: The International Psychogeriatric Association Task Force on Mental Health Services in Long-Term Care Facilities seeks to improve care of persons in residential aged care facilities (RACFs). As part of that effort the current authors have contributed an overview and discussion of the uses of brief screening instruments in RACFs. Methods: While no current guidelines on the use of screening instruments in nursing homes were found, relevant extant guidelines were consulted. The literature on measurement development, testing standards, psychometric considerations and the nursing home environment were consulted. Results: Cognitive, psychiatric, behavioral, functional and omnibus screening instruments are described at a category level, along with specifics about their use in a RACF environment. Issues surrounding the selection, administration, interpretation and uses of screening instruments in RACFs are discussed. Issues of international interest (such as translation of measures) or clinical concern (e.g. impact of severe cognitive decline on assessment) are addressed. Practical points surrounding who can administer, score and interpret such screens, as well as their psychometric and clinical strengths more broadly, are articulated. Conclusions: Guidelines for use of screening instruments in the RACF environment are offered, together with broad recommendations concerning the appropriate use of brief screening instruments in RACFs. Directions for future research and policy directions are outlined, with particular reference to the international context.
Pelvic Inflammatory Disease Among Privately Insured Women, United States, 2001-2005

Background: We explored the utility of using insurance claims data for surveillance of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). PID rates are an important indicator of population level trends in reproductive morbidity; however, data available to monitor PID trends are limited. National survey data are currently used to estimate PID rates in the United States, but a declining number of cases threaten their future usefulness. Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of PID diagnosis rates using administrative claims data from 2001 to 2005. Diagnostic codes were used to identify women aged 15 to 44 in the study population that were diagnosed with acute PID as inpatients, in emergency departments, and in outpatient ambulatory settings. Results: Rates of PID diagnoses among privately insured women declined significantly from 2001 to 2005 among all age groups examined and within all geographic regions. Annual PID diagnosis rates decreased from 317.0 to 236.0 per 100,000 enrollees, representing a 25.5% decline over the study period. The highest rates of PID were among 25- to 29-year-olds (352.8 per 100,000 in 2005) and among those residing in the South (314.3 per 100,000 in 2005). Most women (70.1%) received PID care through physician offices and other outpatient facilities; of these women, approximately 40% were treated by an obstetrician/gynecologist. Conclusions: The decline in PID diagnoses corresponds with previous reports from national surveys. Claims data offer a much needed new data source that will allow for continued monitoring of PID among a broad population in both inpatient and outpatient clinical settings.
Estimates from two survey designs: national hospital discharge survey.

The methodology for the National Hospital Discharge Survey (NHDS) has been revised in several ways. These revisions, which were implemented for the 1988 NHDS, included adoption of a different hospital sampling frame, changes in the sampling design (in particular the implementation of a three-stage design), increased use of data purchased from abstracting service organizations, and adjustments to the estimation procedures used to derive the national estimates. To investigate the effects of these revisions on the estimates of hospital use from the NHDS, data were collected from January through March of 1988 using both the old and the new survey methods. This study compared estimates based on the old and the new survey methods for a variety of hospital and patient characteristics. Although few estimates were identical across survey methodologies, most of the variations could be attributed to sampling error. Estimates from two different samples of the same population would be expected to vary by chance even if precisely the same methods were used to collect and process the data. Because probability samples were used for the old and new survey methodologies, sampling error could be measured. Approximate relative standard errors were calculated for the estimates using the old and new survey methods. Taking these errors into account, less than 10 percent of the estimates were found to differ across survey methodologies at the 0.05 level of significance. Because a large number of comparisons were made, 5 percent of the estimates could have been found to be significantly different by chance alone. When there were statistically significant differences in nonmedical data, the new methods appeared to produce more accurate estimates than the old methods did. Race was more likely to be reported using the new methods. "New" estimates for hospitals in the West Region and government-owned hospitals were more similar than the corresponding "old" estimates to data from the census of hospitals conducted by the American Hospital Association. The numerous significant differences in estimates for bed size categories between the two survey methodologies reflected the change in the universe and definition of beds for the new survey. Few statistically significant differences were found in the medical data using the old and the new survey methods. Two main differences, in estimates for cataract and alcohol dependence syndrome, may have resulted from problems with the new survey. A measurement error, reporting outpatients to the NHDS, is one possible explanation of the higher estimates for diagnosis of cataract using the new survey methods. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
APRIL levels strongly correlate with IL-17 in systemic lupus erythematosus

Introduction Activated self-reactive B cells play an important part in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). A proliferation-inducing ligand (APRIL) and B cell-activating factor (BAFF) are B-cell specific stimulators, but activate B cells through different receptors. We investigated the reciprocal association between serum APRIL (s-APRIL), serum BAFF (s-BAFF) and immunological and clinical findings in SLE patients. Methods A cross-sectional case-control study was performed in 100 SLE patients (87% female, age 49 years, disease duration 12 years). APRIL and BAFF levels were measured by sandwich ELISA, compared with healthy controls and correlated with autoantibody, cytokine (IL-6 and IL-17) and clinical findings through nonparametric and multivariate regression analyses. Results Both median s-APRIL (478 vs. 0 pg/ml, p = 0.01) and s-BAFF (1720 vs. 0.9 pg/ml, p < 0.001) were higher in SLE patients than controls. Increased s-BAFF was observed in 86% of patients, while s-APRIL was increased only in 17% (p < 0.01). S-APRIL correlated with s-BAFF in controls (p = 0.04), but not in SLE (p = 0.8). Increased s-APRIL was strongly and independently associated with IL-17 activation (p < 0.001), while increased s-BAFF levels were associated with anti-nucleosome antibody presence (p = 0.001). Disease activity and organ damage were associated with s-BAFF but not s-APRIL. Conclusions While both s-BAFF and s-APRIL levels are elevated in SLE patients, they reflect different immunologic and clinical pathways. The strong association between s-APRIL and IL-17 activation supports a role for Th17 helper cells in B cell activation in SLE.
Involvement of Rad52 in T‐DNA circle formation during Agrobacterium tumefaciens‐mediated transformation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Agrobacterium tumefaciens cells carrying a tumour inducing plasmid (Ti‐plasmid) can transfer a defined region of transfer DNA (T‐DNA) to plant cells as well as to yeast. This process of Agrobacterium‐mediated transformation (AMT) eventually results in the incorporation of the T‐DNA in the genomic DNA of the recipient cells. All available evidence indicates that T‐strand transfer closely resembles conjugal DNA transfer as found between Gram‐negative bacteria. However, where conjugal plasmid DNA transfer starts via relaxase‐mediated processing of a single origin of transfer (oriT), the T‐DNA is flanked by two imperfect direct border repeats which are both substrates for the Ti‐plasmid encoded relaxase VirD2. Yeast was used as a model system to investigate the requirements of the recipient cell for the formation of T‐DNA circles after AMT. It was found that, despite the absence of self‐homology on the T‐DNA, the homologous repair proteins Rad52 and Rad51 are involved in T‐DNA circle formation. A model is presented involving the formation of T‐DNA concatemers derived from T‐strands by a process of strand‐transfer catalysed by VirD2. These concatemers are then resolved into T‐DNA circles by homologous recombination in the recipient cell.
The hidden, nonexchangeable pool of 3,5,3'-triiodothyronine and 3,3',5'-triiodothyronine in man: does it exist?

The validity of estimation of the production rates of T3 and rT3 in man based on noncompartmental analysis of blood-derived data has been questioned owing to incomplete exchangeability of T3 and rT3 between plasma and extrathyroidal tissues in which a local production of these iodothyronines takes place. The possible existence of a nonexchangeable or hidden pool of T3 and rT3 would result in an underestimation of the daily production. By contrast, the production rate of T4 can be estimated reliably using noncompartmental analysis. We have studied 16 women with pretreatment severe hypothyroidism on constant levothyroxine therapy. Simultaneous measurements of T4, T3 and rT3 production rates were performed using bolus injection of radiolabelled iodothyronines. The tracers were isolated from plasma using gel separation/antibody extraction, and production rates were calculated by noncompartmental analysis. Mean (+/- SD) production rate of T4, T3 and rT3 were: 119 +/- 43, 40.0 +/- 22.0 and 54.9 +/- 20.0 nmol.day-1. (70 kg)-1, respectively. Thus 79.5 +/- 7.0% of T4 was deiodinated into T3 and rT3. This leaves 20.5% to other metabolic pathways of T4 and to a possible underestimation of T3 and rT3 production rate. Based on conservative estimates from the literature, the other metabolic pathways of T4 amount: oxidative deamination 1.1%; ether link cleavage 0%; urinary excretion 2.5%; and fecal excretion 14%. Thus, the various metabolic pathways seem to explain 97% of daily produced and degradated T4 in man. Therefore the understimation of T3 and rT3 production rates in man using noncompartmental analysis seems of little if any importance, and existence of a hidden pool of these iodothyronines may be questioned.