Impact of screw thread shape on stress transfer in bone: a finite element study.

Gradual screw loosening is a well-known failure mechanism in internal fixation. Loosening is primarily due to progressive bone loss caused by stress shielding, a phenomenon in which a medical device absorbs a disproportionate amount of load within the screw-bone construct. The proximity of elastic moduli of magnesium and bone presents the potential for alleviating screw loosening by allowing optimum stress to be transferred between screw and bone, and in turn, supporting bone remodeling around the screw.

RGS4 promotes allergen- and aspirin-associated airway hyperresponsiveness by inhibiting PGE2 biosynthesis.

Background: Allergens elicit host production of mediators acting on G-protein-coupled receptors to regulate airway tone. Among these is prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), which, in addition to its role as a bronchodilator, has anti-inflammatory actions. Some patients with asthma develop bronchospasm after the ingestion of aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, a disorder termed aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease.

Genetic Predictors of Circulating 25-Hydroxyvitamin D and Prognosis after Colorectal Cancer.

Background: Low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentrations in patients with colorectal cancer have been consistently associated with higher mortality in observational studies. It is unclear whether low 25(OH)D levels directly influence colorectal cancer mortality. To minimize bias, we use genetic variants associated with vitamin D levels to evaluate the association with overall and colorectal cancer-specific survival.

The role of Candida albicans candidalysin ECE1 gene in oral carcinogenesis.

Oral squamous cell carcinoma is associated with many known risk factors including tobacco smoking, chronic alcoholism, poor oral hygiene, unhealthy dietary habits and microbial infection. Previous studies have highlighted Candida albicans host tissue infection as a risk factor in the initiation and progression of oral cancer. C albicans invasion induces several cancerous hallmarks, such as activation of proto-oncogenes, induction of DNA damage and overexpression of inflammatory signalling pathways.

Red and Processed Meat, Poultry, Fish, and Egg Intakes and Cause-Specific and All-Cause Mortality among Men with Nonmetastatic Prostate Cancer in a U.S. Cohort.

Background: Research on the relationship of meat, fish, and egg consumption and mortality among prostate cancer survivors is limited.

Methods: In the Cancer Prevention Study-II Nutrition Cohort, men diagnosed with nonmetastatic prostate cancer between baseline in 1992/1993 and 2015 were followed for mortality until 2016. Analyses of pre- and postdiagnosis intakes of red and processed meat, poultry, fish, and eggs included 9,286 and 4,882 survivors, respectively.

Are women more likely to wear red and pink at peak fertility? What about on cold days? Conceptual, close, and extended replications with novel clothing colour measures.

Evolutionarily minded researchers have hypothesized that women advertise their ovulatory status by wearing red or pink clothing on relatively cold days. Many of these studies have been based on samples of women who have self-reported their clothing choices, a practice that raises questions about accuracy. In two studies, we evaluated the relationship between women's fertility and their clothing choices using four methods for measuring clothing colour: self-reports; trained raters' judgements of garment coloration in outfits that women drew onto mannequins to represent what they would wear to a party with single attractive people in attendance; automated colour coding of the mannequins; and trained raters' judgements of garment coloration as evinced in photographs that women took of themselves.

Prospective Association of Energy Balance Scores Based on Metabolic Biomarkers with Colorectal Cancer Risk.

Background: Energy balance-related factors, such as body mass index (BMI), diet, and physical activity, may influence colorectal cancer etiology through interconnected metabolic pathways, but their combined influence is less clear.

Methods: We used reduced rank regression to derive three energy balance scores that associate lifestyle factors with combinations of prediagnostic, circulating levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), C-peptide, and hemoglobin A (HbA) among 2,498 participants in the Cancer Prevention Study-II Nutrition Cohort. Among 114,989 participants, we verified 2,228 colorectal cancer cases.

Glomangioma of Uncertain Malignant Potential: A Case Report.

Glomus tumors are rare benign tumors which commonly affect the hand but are seldom seen extradigitally. Less commonly seen is the glomangioma, a variant of benign glomus tumor, and even rarer is the glomangiosarcoma, a malignant variant. Determining malignancy can be difficult and an intermediate diagnosis, glomus tumor of uncertain malignant potential, has been proposed.

Surgical Outcomes, Complications, and Long-Term Functionality for Free Vascularized Fibula Grafts in the Pediatric Population: A 17-Year Experience and Systematic Review of the Literature.

Background:  In the pediatric population, bony defects of the extremities pose a significant challenge for which free vascularized fibular grafts (FVFGs) represent a valuable reconstructive option. The purpose of this study was to explore surgical outcomes, complications, and long-term functionality of FVFG for this patient group.

Methods:  Using MEDLINE and PubMed databases, studies were identified of pediatric extremity reconstruction using FVFG which reported functional outcomes and/or complications.

A review of drugs that contribute to bleeding risk in general dental practice.

The risk of postoperative bleeding is a daily concern for many general dental practitioners. A thorough medical and medication history must be taken to consider all risk factors, particularly drugs, that contribute to bleeding risk. While the risk from drugs such as aspirin, warfarin and clopidogrel are well known, the extent to which new antiplatelet agents and direct oral anticoagulants affect bleeding risk is less well understood.

Extracellular Vesicles in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Oral Potentially Malignant Disorders: A Systematic Review.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are secreted from most cell types and utilized in a complex network of near and distant cell-to-cell communication. Insight into this complex nanoscopic interaction in the development, progression and treatment of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and precancerous oral mucosal disorders, termed oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMDs), remains of interest. In this review, we comprehensively present the current state of knowledge of EVs in OSCC and OPMDs.

Grief-induced reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome (RCVS).

Stress is under-recognised as a potential causative factor for reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome (RCVS). Here we present a case of RCVS occurring during a time of extreme emotional duress. A 46-year-old female patient with medical history of bipolar disorder developed a severe headache during her father's funeral.

Family Meal Frequency, Diet, and Family Functioning: A Systematic Review With Meta-analyses.

Objective: To examine the direction and magnitude of the relation between family meal frequency and dietary and family functioning outcomes in children (aged 2-18 years).

Design: Systematic literature review with meta-analysis.

Methods: Independent electronic searches, 1 for each outcome of interest, were conducted across 5 databases: PubMed, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Web of Science, Scopus, and PsycINFO.

Inhibition of matrix metalloproteinase-2 modulates malignant behaviour of oral squamous cell carcinoma cells.

Background: Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) play a crucial role in the malignant phenotype of cancer cells. In particular, active levels of MMP2 in cancer cells have been associated with invasion and metastasis through the degradation of basement membrane extracellular matrix proteins. However, little is known about the role of this potential biomarker in oral cancer.

Design of a new magnesium-based anterior cruciate ligament interference screw using finite element analysis.

Background/objective: In anterior cruciate ligament ​reconstruction, a tendon graft, anchored by interference screws (IFSs), is frequently used as a replacement for the damaged ligament. Generally, IFSs are classified as being either metallic or polymeric. Metallic screws have sharp threads that lacerate the graft, preventing solid fixation.

Forgiveness takes place on an attitudinal continuum from hostility to friendliness: Toward a closer union of forgiveness theory and measurement.

Researchers commonly conceptualize forgiveness as a rich complex of psychological changes involving attitudes, emotions, and behaviors. Psychometric work with the measures developed to capture this conceptual richness, however, often points to a simpler picture of the psychological dimensions in which forgiveness takes place. In an effort to better unite forgiveness theory and measurement, we evaluate several psychometric models for common measures of forgiveness.

Prediagnostic plasma polyunsaturated fatty acids and the risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Objective: To examine the association between prediagnostic plasma polyunsaturated fatty acids levels (PUFA) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Methods: We identified 275 individuals who developed ALS while enrolled in 5 US prospective cohorts, and randomly selected 2 controls, alive at the time of the case diagnosis, matched on cohort, birth year, sex, ethnicity, fasting status, and time of blood draw. We measured PUFA, expressed as percentages of total fatty acids, using gas liquid chromatography and used conditional logistic regression to estimate risk ratios (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the association between PUFA and ALS.

Clinical Outcomes After Left Ventricular Assist Device Implantation in Older Adults: An INTERMACS Analysis.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine outcomes after left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation in older adults (>75 years of age).

Background: An aging heart failure population together with improvements in mechanical circulatory support (MCS) technology have led to increasing LVAD implantations in older adults. However, data presenting age-specific outcomes are limited.

Metabolomic Profiles Associated with BMI, Waist Circumference, and Diabetes and Inflammation Biomarkers in Women.

Objective: This study was undertaken to identify metabolites associated with BMI and waist circumference (WC) in women and to determine whether these metabolites are associated with biomarkers of metabolic health.

Methods: Untargeted metabolomic analysis was done on serum from 1,534 women. Metabolites associated with BMI and WC were identified using linear regression with a Bonferroni-corrected P value.

Is Empathy the Default Response to Suffering? A Meta-Analytic Evaluation of Perspective Taking's Effect on Empathic Concern.

We conducted a series of meta-analytic tests on experiments in which participants read perspective-taking instructions-that is, written instructions to imagine a distressed persons' point of view ("imagine-self" and "imagine-other" instructions), or to inhibit such actions ("remain-objective" instructions)-and afterwards reported how much empathic concern they experienced upon learning about the distressed person. If people spontaneously empathize with others, then participants who receive remain-objective instructions should report less empathic concern than do participants in a "no-instructions" control condition; if people can deliberately increase how much empathic concern they experience, then imagine-self and imagine-other instructions should increase empathic concern relative to not receiving any instructions. Random-effects models revealed that remain-objective instructions reduced empathic concern, but "imagine" instructions did not significantly increase it.

Neurohormonal Blockade and Clinical Outcomes in Patients With Heart Failure Supported by Left Ventricular Assist Devices.

Importance: Left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) improve outcomes in patients with advanced heart failure, but little is known about the role of neurohormonal blockade (NHB) in treating these patients.

Objective: To analyze the association between NHB blockade and outcomes in patients with LVADs.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This retrospective cohort analysis of the Interagency Registry for Mechanically Assisted Circulatory Support (INTERMACS) included patients from more than 170 centers across the United States and Canada with continuous flow LVADs from 2008 to 2016 who were alive with the device in place at 6 months after implant.

Post-mitotic odontoblasts in health, disease, and regeneration.

Objective: Description of the odontoblast lifecycle, an overview of the known complex molecular interactions that occur when the health of the dental pulp is challenged and the current and future management strategies on vital and non-vital teeth.

Methods: A literature search of the electronic databases included MEDLINE (1966-April 2019), CINAHL (1982-April 2019), EMBASE and EMBASE Classic (1947-April 2019), and hand searches of references retrieved were undertaken using the following MESH terms 'odontoblast*', 'inflammation', 'dental pulp*', 'wound healing' and 'regenerative medicine'.

Results: Odontoblasts have a sensory and mechano-transduction role so as to detect external stimuli that challenge the dental pulp.

Clinical Implications of Respiratory Failure in Patients Receiving Durable Left Ventricular Assist Devices for End-Stage Heart Failure.

Background: The impact of respiratory failure on patients undergoing left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation is not well understood, especially since these patients were excluded from landmark clinical trials. We sought to evaluate the associations between immediate preimplant and postimplant respiratory failure on outcomes in advanced heart failure patients undergoing LVAD implantation.

Methods And Results: We included all patients in the Interagency Registry for Mechanically Assisted Circulatory Support who were implanted with continuous-flow LVADs from 2008 to 2016.

Irregularity in breakfast consumption and daily meal timing patterns in association with body weight status and inflammation.

Irregular breakfast consumption and food timing patterns in relation to weight status and inflammation were investigated in a cross-sectional manner among 644 participants in the Cancer Prevention Study-3 Diet Assessment Sub-study. Breakfast consumption, and the individual means and the intra-individual standard deviation (isd) of time at first intake of the day, duration of daily intake window and midpoint of daily intake window were collected via six 24-h recalls and examined in relation to BMI, waist circumference (WC) and inflammation (glycoprotein acetyl (GlycA)). Compared with consuming breakfast on all six recalls, linear regression models showed those who consumed breakfast on 4 or 5 of the days had a 1·29 (95 % CI 0·19, 2·38) and 1·64 (95 % CI 0·12, 3·16) kg/m2 higher BMI; no association was found for consuming breakfast ≤3 d.