Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Value of Serial Serum Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Determinations in Hospitalized Patients with Lung Disease

Abnormal serum angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) activity has been reported in various human lung disorders and in laboratory animals with acute lung injuries. To test the value of serum ACE activity as an indicator of lung damage and its assistance in diagnosis or prognosis, 328 serum samples were obtained from 108 hospitalized patients with lung disease and 26 normal subjects. When patients were clinically grouped by disease entity, only the sarcoidosis group showed elevated mean serum ACE. Significantly increased serum ACE was found in 17 patients with various lung diseases (15% of hospitalized patients) 12 of whom also had concomitant liver disease. It is hypothesized that the liver may play a role in the normal metabolism of ACE being released by lung endothelial injury. Significantly low levels were seen in many acute and chronic lung injuries; specifically the groups with chronic obstructive lung disease, lung cancer, acute pneumonia, aspiration pneumonitis, gram-negative sepsis, acute myocardial infarction, and congestive heart failure. Serial measures of ACE in 71 patients with lung injuries showed that significantly decreasing levels over successive days were associated with a very high mortality. A single ACE measurement did not predict the presence or extent of lung injury, or aid in diagnosis or prognosis, but serial levels are of value prognostically. [Am J Med Sci 1984; 288(5):200–207. ]
Biofilm formation by algae as a mechanism for surviving on mine tailings

Photosynthetic biofilms successfully colonize the sediments of a mine tailings reservoir (Guanajuato, Mexico) despite the high metal concentrations that are present. To elucidate the mechanisms of biofilm survival despite metal ores, experiments were performed to evaluate the response of seminatural biofilms to Cu, Zn, and a combination of both metals at concentrations observed in the field. The biofilms were composed mostly of the chlorophyte Chlorococcum sp. and the cyanobacterium Phormidium sp. , and their response to the two added metals was described by measurements of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) and in vivo fluorescence. The photosynthetic efficiency and the minimal chlorophyll fluorescence of dark‐adapted cells were measured by multiwavelength pulse amplitude–modulated fluorometry. The photosynthetic efficiency of light‐adapted cells (ϕPSII) also was measured. Metal exposure increased the EPS production of biofilms, as visualized with confocal laser‐scanning microscopy. Extracellular polymeric substances enhanced the extracellular metal accumulation from the first day of metal exposure. Metals provoked changes in the relative abundance of the dominant taxa because of a species‐specific response to the metals when added individually. Metals affected the ϕpsii less than the total biomass, suggesting ongoing activity of the surviving biofilms. Survival of individual biofilm photosynthetic cells was found to resume from the embedding in the mucilaginous structure, which immobilizes the metals extracellularly. The survival of biofilms under mixed‐metal exposure has practical applications in the remediation of mine tailings.
Case-control study on self-reported osteoporotic fractures and mandibular cortical bone.

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this case-control study was to determine whether the radiographic appearance of the mandibular cortical bone in patients who were elderly and noninstitutionalized was related to a self-reported history of osteoporotic fractures. STUDY DESIGN Patients who had a billing statement at the School of Dentistry dated between 1993 and 1996, who were older than 60, and who had a panoramic radiograph were invited to be interviewed regarding fracture history (circumstances and year of fracture) and risk factors for osteoporosis. Cases (n = 93) were individuals reporting osteoporotic fractures (fractures occurring after minor impact). Controls (n = 394) were individuals reporting traumatic fractures (n = 105) or no fractures (n = 289). Blinded to case-control status, we evaluated the mandibular cortex on a panoramic radiograph and classified them as normal (even and sharp endosteal margin), moderately eroded (evidence of lacunar resorption or endosteal cortical residues), or severely eroded (unequivocal porosity). In addition, cortical thickness was measured below the mental foramen. RESULTS After adjustment for potentially confounding factors, the odds ratio for an osteoporotic fracture associated with moderately eroded and severely eroded mandibular cortices was 2.0 (95% CI, 1.2 to 3.3) and 8.0 (95% CI, 2.0 to 28.9), respectively. After adjusting for all potentially confounding factors, we found that the cortex was 0.54 mm (or 12%) thinner in subjects with an osteoporotic fracture compared with controls (95% CI, 0.25 to 0.84 mm). CONCLUSIONS Subjects with a self-reported history of osteoporotic fractures tend to have increased resorption and thinning of the mandibular lower cortex.
Bicomponent Trend Maps: A Multivariate Approach to Visualizing Geographic Time Series

The most straightforward approaches to temporal mapping cannot effectively illustrate all potentially significant aspects of spatio-temporal patterns across many regions and times. This paper introduces an alternative approach, bicomponent trend mapping, which employs a combination of principal component analysis and bivariate choropleth mapping to illustrate two distinct dimensions of long-term trend variations. The approach also employs a bicomponent trend matrix, a graphic that illustrates an array of typical trend types corresponding to different combinations of scores on two principal components. This matrix is useful not only as a legend for bicomponent trend maps but also as a general means of visualizing principal components. To demonstrate and assess the new approach, the paper focuses on the task of illustrating population trends from 1950 to 2000 in census tracts throughout major U.S. urban cores. In a single static display, bicomponent trend mapping is not able to depict as wide a variety of trend properties as some other multivariate mapping approaches, but it can make relationships among trend classes easier to interpret, and it offers some unique flexibility in classification that could be particularly useful in an interactive data exploration environment.
Metrical Encoding in Adults Who Do and Do Not Stutter.

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to explore metrical aspects of phonological encoding (i.e., stress and syllable boundary assignment) in adults who do and do not stutter (AWS and AWNS, respectively). METHOD Participants monitored nonwords for target sounds during silent phoneme monitoring tasks across two distinct experiments. For Experiment 1, the 22 participants (11 AWNS, 11 AWS) silently monitored target phonemes in nonwords with initial stress. For Experiment 2, an additional cohort of 22 participants (11 AWNS, 11 AWS) silently monitored phonemes in nonwords with noninitial stress. RESULTS In Experiment 1, AWNS and AWS silently monitored target phonemes in initial stress stimuli with similar speed and accuracy. In Experiment 2, AWS demonstrated a within-group effect that was not present for AWNS. They required additional time when monitoring phonemes immediately following syllable boundary assignment in stimuli with noninitial stress. There was also a between-groups effect, with AWS exhibiting significantly greater errors identifying phonemes in nonwords with noninitial stress than AWNS. CONCLUSIONS Findings suggest metrical properties may affect the time course of phonological encoding in AWS in a manner distinct from AWNS. Specifically, in the absence of initial stress, metrical encoding of the syllable boundary may delay speech planning in AWS and contribute to breakdowns in fluent speech production.
Genomics and proteomics in multiple myeloma and Waldenström macroglobulinemia

Purpose of reviewMultiple myeloma and Waldenström macroglobulinemia are incurable hematologic malignancies with similar clinical phenotypes characterized by over-production of monoclonal immunoglobulins. Translocations into the immunoglobulin heavy chain locus and aneuploidy are nearly universal in multiple myeloma, whereas Waldenström macroglobulinemia generally does not harbor translocations. Deletion of 6q is identified in 50% of patients with Waldenström macroglobulinemia, however. The genetic abnormalities in multiple myeloma and Waldenström macroglobulinemia have implications for disease progression, and the subsequent proteomic expression associated with each disease influences therapeutic decisions. Recent findingsGene expression profiling in these hematologic malignancies demonstrated distinct differences in mRNA expression patterns. Following profiling, Waldenström macroglobulinemia samples clustered with chronic lymphocytic leukemia and normal B-cell samples. Profiling performed after separation of Waldenström macroglobulinemia samples into populations with plasma cell or B-cell morphology revealed that plasma cell Waldenström macroglobulinemia samples most closely resembled multiple myeloma samples rather than chronic lymphocytic leukemia or normal control samples. SummaryDiverse genetic abnormalities have been identified in these hematologic malignancies, although they have similar clinical features. Gene expression profiling has elucidated the impact of genetic abnormalities. Furthermore, it may be used to identify a specific pathway for therapeutic targeting, such as interleukin-6 in Waldenström macroglobulinemia.
Prediction of differential adult health burden by conduct problem subtypes in males.

CONTEXT A cardinal feature of the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for conduct disorder is the distinction between childhood- vs adolescent-onset subtypes. Whether such developmental subtypes exist in the population and have different prognoses should be rigorously tested to inform the DSM-V. OBJECTIVES To evaluate the epidemiological validity of childhood- vs adolescent-onset conduct problems in a prospective birth cohort, and to assess whether life-course-persistent conduct problems are associated with a greater adult health burden. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Our sample includes 526 male study members in the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study, a 1-year birth cohort (April 1, 1972, through March 30, 1973). Developmental trajectories were defined using prospective ratings of conduct problems at 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 18, 21, and 26 years of age. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Health burden was assessed as mental and physical health problems at 32 years of age measured via diagnostic interviews and physical examinations. RESULTS We identified the following 4 developmental subtypes of conduct problems through general growth mixture modeling: (1) childhood-onset/life-course-persistent, (2) adolescent onset, (3) childhood limited, and (4) low. At 32 years of age, study members with the life-course-persistent subtype experienced the worst health burden. To a lesser extent, those with the adolescent-onset subtype also experienced health problems. A childhood-limited subtype not specified by DSM-IV was revealed; its adult health outcomes were within the range of the cohort norm. CONCLUSIONS Results support the epidemiological validity of the DSM-IV conduct disorder distinction based on age of onset but highlight the need to also consider long-term persistence to refine diagnosis. Preventing and treating conduct problems has the potential to reduce the adult health burden.
Overcoming limitations of Rate Integrating Gyroscopes by virtual rotation

Rate Integrating Gyroscopes (RIGs) excel at measuring high rates of rotation, however for rotation rates less than the drift due to frequency or damping mismatch the measured angle will not track the rotation angle and the gyro will effectively fail to operate. Here we show that by applying large virtual rotation using the gyroscope's control electrodes, the drift due to damping mismatching is averaged out, which reduces the error due to damping mismatch and also allows the RIG to measure rates smaller than the damping mismatch. An explicit solution for the angle drift is also derived for the first time in this work.
Cultural factors and children's oral health care: a qualitative study of carers of young children.

OBJECTIVE This qualitative study sought to identify cultural beliefs, practices and experiences that influence access to preventive oral health care for young children from different racial and ethnic groups. METHODS Four to six focus groups in each of the African-American, Chinese, Latino and Filipino communities in San Francisco, California were included in the study. Participants were carers of children aged 1-5 years. The 22 groups (n = 177 participants) were stratified by carer's age and, except in the African-American community, by whether US or non-US born. Sessions were conducted in different languages as needed. RESULTS Lack of knowledge and beliefs about primary teeth created barriers to early preventive care in all groups. In Chinese groups more than others, health beliefs regarding disease causation and prevention influenced access to preventive dental care. In all groups, multiple family carers, especially elders, influenced access to preventive care. Dental fear, whether derived from prevailing community beliefs or personal negative dental experiences, greatly influenced attitudes regarding accessing preventive care. CONCLUSION There are both similarities and differences between racial/ethnic groups in how cultural beliefs and experiences influence young children's access to dental care and how it might be improved.
The use of sublingual fentanyl for breakthrough pain by using doses proportional to opioid basal regimen

Abstract Objective: The aim of this study was to prospectively assess the efficacy and safety of sublingual fentanyl (SLF) in doses proportional to opioid doses used for background analgesia for the treatment of BTP of cancer patients. Methods: A sample of patients admitted to an acute palliative care unit, presenting breakthrough pain (BTP) episodes and receiving stable doses of opioids for background pain was selected to assess the efficacy and safety of SLF used in doses proportional to the basal opioid regimen used for the management of BTP. For each patient, data from four consecutive episodes were collected. For each episode, nurses collected changes in pain intensity and adverse effects when pain got severe (T0), and 5, 10, and 15 minutes after SLF was given (T15). Results: Seventy patients were recruited for the study. The mean age was 61.7 (±11.5). Forty-one patients were males. A total of 173 episodes of BTP were recorded (mean 2.5 episodes/patient). In 19 events, documentation regarding changes in pain intensity was incomplete. Of the 154 evaluable episodes, 143 were successfully treated (92%). Mean doses of SLF were 637 µg (SD 786), and 51 patients (72.8%) received SLF doses ≥800 µg. When compared to younger adult patients, older patients received significantly lower doses of FBT (p < 0.0005), similarly to their lower basal opioid regimen. Pain intensity significantly decreased at T5, 10 and T15 (p < 0.0005). The number of patients with a pain reduction of more than 33% at T5, T10, and T15 were 11, 79, and 137, respectively, and the number of patients with a reduction in pain intensity of more than 50% were 1, 21, 114 at the same intervals, respectively. No differences in changes in pain intensity for gender (p < 0.9) or age (p < 0.85) were observed. No significant changes in the number of patients reporting adverse effects of mild–moderate intensity were reported after SLF administration in comparison with baseline, and no adverse effects severe enough in intensity to require medical intervention were observed. Limitations of this study are represented by the uncontrolled design. Conclusion: This study suggests that SLF given in doses proportional to the basal opioid regimen for the management of BTP is safe and effective in clinical practice.
SMALL POPULATION GENETIC VARIABILITY AT LOCI UNDER STABILIZING SELECTION

Genetic variability at a locus under stabilizing selection in a finite population is investigated using analytic methods and computer simulations. Three measures are examined: the number of alleles k, heterozygosity H, and additive genetic variance Vg. A nearly‐neutral theory results. The composite parameter S = NVM/Vs (where N is the population size, VM the variance of new mutant allelic effects and Vs the weakness of stabilizing selection) figures prominently in the results. The equilibrium heterozygosity is similar to that of strictly neutral theory, H = 4Nμc/ (1 + 4Nμc), except that μc = μe=μ/1+cS where c is about 0.5. Simulations corroborate Vg=4μVs1+1/S except for very low N. Genetic variability attains similar equilibrium values at both a “lone” locus and at an “embedded” locus. This agrees with my earlier work concerning molecular clock rates. These results modify the neutralist interpretation of data concerning genetic variability and genetic distances between populations. Low H values are proportional not to N but to N . This may explain the narrow observed range of H among species. Heterozygosities need not be highly correlated to genetic variances. Genetic variances are not highly dependent on population size except in very small populations which are difficult to sample without bias because the smallest populations go extinct the fastest. Nearly neutral evolution will not be easily distinguished from strictly neutral theory under the Hudson‐Kreitman‐Aguade inter‐/intraspecific variation ratio test, since a similar effective mutation rate holds for genetic distances and D = 2μct, where μe=μ/1+S . As with strictly neutral theory, comparisons across loci should show D and H to be positively correlated because of the shared μc. But unlike neutral theory, for a given locus, comparisons across species should show D and H to be negatively correlated. There is no obvious threshold of population size below which genetic variability inevitably declines. Extinction depends on both genetic variation and natural selection. Neither theory nor observation presently indicates the measure of genetic variability (k, H, VG or other) that best indicates vulnerability of a small population to extinction.
A Key Role of Autophagy in Osteoblast Differentiation on Titanium-Based Dental Implants

Autophagy plays an important role in embryogenesis, for the maintenance of tissue homeostasis and the elimination of damaged subcellular structures. Furthermore, autophagy could be a mode of physiological cell death and also be implicated in cell differentiation. Thus, we hypothesized that autophagy may have an impact on the differentiation of osteoblast cells influenced by various titanium-based surfaces. Interactions between smooth, commercially available pure titanium (Ti cp), rough Ticer, acid-etched Ti cp (SS) and M1-M3 (comprised of the monoclinic phase of sodium-titanium oxides and rutile; M2 contains amorphous calcium phosphates) and human osteoblast cells were investigated. Immunofluorescent staining was used for detecting autophagy, cell cluster formation and collagen type I (Col-1) expression. Flow cytometry was employed to identify autophagy, the production of endogenous nitric oxide (NO) and the size and granularity of the cells. Rough surfaces caused osteoblast differentiation via the autophagic-dependent PI3/Akt signalling pathway. These surfaces induced the formation of discrete populations of large, granular cells, i.e. mature osteoblasts. In addition, M1-M3 provoked the development of a third population of small, granular cells, responsible for cell cluster formation, which are important for the formation of bone noduli and mineralisation. The same surfaces induced faster osteoblast maturation and enhanced NO production, a hallmark of the already mentioned processes. Neither the mature osteoblasts nor the small cells appeared after the inhibition of autophagy. Inhibition of autophagy also prevented cell cluster formation. We demonstrate that autophagy plays an essential role in the osteoblast differentiation on titanium-based surfaces with rough topography.
Osteoblasts stimulated with pulsed electromagnetic fields increase HUVEC proliferation via a VEGF‐A independent mechanism

The clinically beneficial effect of low frequency pulsed electromagnetic fields (ELF‐PEMF) on bone healing has been described, but the exact mechanism of action remains unclear. A recent study suggests that there is a direct autocrine mitogenic effect of ELF‐PEMF on angiogenesis. The hypothesis of this study is that ELF‐PEMF also has an indirect effect on angiogenesis by manipulation of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)‐A‐based paracrine intercellular communication with neighboring osteoblasts. Conditioned media experiments measured fetal rat calvarial cell (FRC) and human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) proliferation using tritiated thymidine uptake. We demonstrate that ELF‐PEMF (15 Hz, 1.8 mT, for 8 h) has an indirect effect on the proliferation rate of both endothelial cells and osteoblasts in vitro by altering paracrine mediators. Conditioned media from osteoblast cells stimulated with ELF‐PEMF increased endothelial proliferation 54‐fold, whereas media from endothelial cells stimulated with ELF‐PEMF did not affect osteoblast proliferation. We examined the role of the pro‐angiogenic mediator VEGF‐A in the mitogenic effect of ELF‐PEMF‐stimulated osteoblast media on endothelial cells. The production of VEGF‐A by FRC as measured by ELISA was not changed by exposure to PEMF, and blocking experiments demonstrated that the ELF‐PEMF‐induced osteoblast‐derived endothelial mitogen observed in these studies was not VEGF‐A, but some other soluble angiogenic mediator. Bioelectromagnetics 30:189–197, 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Restrictions in social participation of young adults with spina bifida

Purpose. To determine participation restrictions of young adults with spina bifida (SB) in relation to health condition and activity limitations. Method. A total of 179 persons aged 16–25 years and born with SB participated in a cross-sectional study. The main outcome on four domains of participation (independent living, employment, education and partner relationships) was assessed using a structured questionnaire. Results. At the mean age of 21 years only 16% were living independently, more than one-third of the participants went to special secondary education, 53% of those who finished education did not have a regular job and 71% did not have a partner. Health condition variables (type of SB, hydrocephalus and level of lesion) and to a lesser extent activity limitations (wheelchair dependence and incontinence) were significant determinants for having participation restrictions. Perceived hindrances in participation included long-distance transportation (19–36%), accessibility (10–42%), physical impairments (22–40%), emotional barriers (20–32%) and financial limits (3–17%). More severe SB, defined as hydrocephalus, high level of lesion and wheelchair dependence, was related with more experienced hindrances due to long-distance transportation accessibility of buildings. Conclusions. Many young adults with spina bifida experience participation restrictions. Severity of SB was negatively related to participation. Social integration should be a major focus in the professional guidance of youngsters with physical disabilities.