Exercise treatment for postconcussion syndrome: a pilot study of changes in functional magnetic resonance imaging activation, physiology, and symptoms.

Purpose: To compare functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) activation patterns during a cognitive task, exercise capacity, and symptoms in postconcussion syndrome (PCS) patients who received exercise treatment (n = 4) with a PCS placebo stretching group (n = 4) and a healthy control group (n = 4).

Methods: Subjects completed a math processing task during fMRI and an exercise treadmill test before (time 1) and after approximately 12 weeks (time 2). Exercise subjects performed aerobic exercise at 80% of the heart rate (HR) attained on the treadmill test, 20 minutes per day with an HR monitor at home, 6 days per week.

The Buffalo Cardio-Metabolic Occupational Police Stress (BCOPS) pilot study: methods and participant characteristics.

Purpose: The Buffalo Cardio-Metabolic Occupational Police Stress (BCOPS) study is one of the first population-based studies to integrate psychological, physiological, and subclinical measures of stress, disease, and mental dysfunction. This pilot study was undertaken to establish a methodology and descriptive results for a larger police study.

Methods: A stratified sample of 100 officers was randomly selected from the Buffalo, NY Police Department.

Parkin stabilizes microtubules through strong binding mediated by three independent domains.

Mutations of parkin, a protein-ubiquitin isopeptide ligase (E3), appear to be the most frequent cause of familial Parkinson's disease (PD). Our previous studies have demonstrated that parkin binds strongly to alpha/beta tubulin heterodimers and microtubules. Here we show that the strong binding between parkin and tubulin, as well as that between parkin and microtubules, was mediated by three independent domains: linker, RING1, and RING2.

Noncarious cervical lesions and abfractions: a re-evaluation.

Background: The concept of abfraction is controversial. The authors present the fundamental basis of abfraction and review studies that describe the condition.

Types Of Studies Reviewed: The authors used data on masticatory forces, enamel and dentin properties, as well as stress studies related to abfraction, for background information.

Characterization of a missense mutation at histidine-44 in a pyruvate dehydrogenase-deficient patient.

Genetic defects in pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDC) cause lactic acidosis, neurological deficits, and often early death. Most mutations of PDC are localized in the alpha subunit of the pyruvate dehydrogenase (E1) component. We have kinetically characterized a patient's missense mutation alphaH44R in E1alpha by creating and purifying three recombinant human E1s (alphaH44R, alphaH44Q, and alphaH44A).

Role of alpha-helical conformation of histatin-5 in candidacidal activity examined by proline variants.

Human salivary histatin-5 (Hsn-5) is a potent in vitro anticandidal agent. The aim of this study was to investigate the importance of alpha-helical structure of Hsn-5 for its candidacidal activity. The following three Hsn-5 variants, where one or more functionally nonessential residues were replaced with proline (potent alpha-helix breaker), were produced by Escherichia coli expression system: H21P (1P), H19P/H21P (2P), and E16P/H19P/H21P (3P).

Long term relations between earthquake experiences and coronary heart disease risk factors.

The authors analyzed the relations between a variety of earthquake-related experiences incurred in 1983-1984 (financial loss, evacuation, indices of disruption of social networks) and coronary heart disease risk factors (heart rate, blood pressure, total serum cholesterol) assessed in 1987 among 693 Italian male factory workers. Multivariate analyses (adjusting for age, body mass index, smoking, and educational level) revealed no long term relations between the quake-related experiences and blood pressure or cholesterol level. However, higher resting heart rates were observed for individuals who reported financial loss, increased distance from family/friends, or decreased visiting as a result of relocation after the quakes.

The role of antioxidants in protection from impulse noise.

The hearing loss from exposure to noise and ototoxic drugs share a number of audiological and pathological similarities. Recent research has shown that reactive oxygen species (ROS) may be a common factor in both noise- and drug-induced hearing loss. This review describes three experiments that point to ROS as a causative factor in both noise- and drug-induced hearing loss and antioxidants as a protective agent.

Effect of beta-sitosterol, a plant sterol, on growth, protein phosphatase 2A, and phospholipase D in LNCaP cells.

Previous work from this laboratory suggests an activation of the sphingomyelin cycle as a mechanism for growth inhibition with the incorporation of beta-sitosterol (SIT) into human prostate cancer LNCaP cells. In the present study we examined two key enzymes that have been shown to play a role in the sphingomyelin cycle. Dietary sterols (SIT and cholesterol) were compared for their effect on LNCaP cell growth, phospholipase D (PLD) activity, and protein phosphatase 2A (PP 2A) activity and expression.

Operation of bad breath clinics.

The diagnosis and management of bad breath can be easily incorporated in routine dental care by attending dentists. This article outlines the information necessary to establish a differential diagnosis of oral malodor. This includes evaluation of medical, dental, and halitosis history.

Giant cell angiofibroma of the buccal mucosa.

We report a case of a patient with a recently described entity (giant cell angiofibroma) occurring in the oral cavity. A submucosal solid tumor arising in the right buccal mucosa of a 46-year-old woman was histologically characterized by a patternless spindle-cell proliferation within a generally myxoid stroma containing areas of perivascular sclerosis. Numerous multinucleated giant cells of the floret type were present.

Comparability of nutrient estimation by three food frequency questionnaires for use in epidemiological studies.

Replication of results is an important issue in studies of diet and disease, possibly dependent on data collection method. We compared assessments from the Health Habits and History Questionnaire (HHHQ), the Harvard Semiquantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire (HFFQ), and the New York State Cohort Food Frequency Questionnaire (CFFQ) for estimates of daily intakes of energy, protein, carbohydrates, total fat, dietary fiber, cholesterol, vitamins A, C, and E, and carotenoids. Fifty-nine men and 50 women aged 35-73 years completed the HHHQ and HFFQ as interviews and the 44-food CFFQ as a self-administered mailed questionnaire.

Zygomatic air cell defect (ZACD). Prevalence and characteristics in a dental clinic outpatient population.

Objectives: To determine the prevalence and characteristics of zygomatic air cell defect (ZACD) among a general dental clinic population.

Methods: The panoramic radiographs of 2734 dental clinic outpatients were examined for the presence of ZACD. ZACD was defined as a nonexpansile, nondestructive cyst-like radiolucency in the zygomatic process of the temporal bone which appears similar to the mastoid air cells and which does not extend further anteriorly than the zygomaticotemporal suture.

Retinoic acid: its biosynthesis and metabolism.

This article presents a model that integrates the functions of retinoid-binding proteins with retinoid metabolism. One of these proteins, the widely expressed (throughout retinoid target tissues and in all vertebrates) and highly conserved cellular retinol-binding protein (CRBP), sequesters retinol in an internal binding pocket that segregates it from the intracellular milieu. The CRBP-retinol complex appears to be the quantitatively major form of retinol in vivo, and may protect the promiscuous substrate from nonenzymatic degradation and/or non-specific enzymes.

Tissue-specific expression of human salivary mucin gene, MUC7, in transgenic mice.

The MUC7 gene encodes the protein core of the low molecular weight human salivary mucin (MG2, mucin glycoprotein 2) and is expressed in a tissue-specific manner in salivary glands. The purpose of this study was to examine MUC7 expression by transgenic mouse technology. A 16 kb DNA fragment, containing the MUC7 gene (10 kb) and 3 kb of the upstream and 3 kb of the downstream sequences, was used to generate transgenic mice.

Structure/function analysis of human cystatin SN and comparison of the cysteine proteinase inhibitory profiles of human cystatins C and SN.

Cystatins are reversible, competitive inhibitors of cysteine proteinases. Their inhibitory profiles, as well as their affinities for target enzymes, vary with different cysteine proteinases. Human cystatin C and salivary cystatin SN are 120- and 121-amino-acid (a.

Medical faculty use of the journal literature, publishing productivity and the size of health sciences library journal collections.

Objectives: This 1990-1991 study explored the relationship between the size of health sciences library journal collections and the number of different journals cited by medical school faculty in departments of biochemistry and medicine.

Methods: Two regression equations, including variables associated with a national stratified sample of 622 faculty who published articles during those two years, were used to explore factors correlated with variations in faculty use of the journal literature and faculty publishing productivity.

Results: Results suggest that, after controlling for other variables in the models, neither the number of different journals those faculty cited, nor the number of articles they published, had statistically significant correlations with the number of journals in the health sciences library collection.

Analysis of the 60 S ribosomal protein L27a (L29) gene of Trypanosoma brucei.

The Trypanosoma brucei gene encoding the 60 S ribosomal protein L27a (L29) homologue has been cloned and characterised. The complete open reading frame encodes a small basic protein of 145 amino acids with a predicted molecular weight of 15,950. The L27a amino acid sequence shares 45-58% identity with other L27a (L29) homologues.

Adaptation of the bioprogressive philosophy to use brackets with .022" slots.

The Bioprogressive orthodontic treatment philosophy is traditionally associated with the use of brackets that have .018" slots. Proponents of the Bioprogressive philosophy suggest this slot configuration largely because they believe that lighter wires provide force levels that are within the biological limits of the periodontal support system.

Restriction fragment-length polymorphism analysis of 16S ribosomal RNA genes amplified by polymerase chain reaction for rapid identification of cultivable oral treponemes.

Although oral treponemes are among the most frequently found bacteria in periodontal pockets, identification of these organisms can be difficult. In this study, restriction fragment-length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-amplified 16S ribosomal RNA genes (16S rRNA gene PCR-RFLP) was used to generate restriction profiles of reference strains of oral treponemes including Treponema denticola, Treponema socranskii, Treponema vincentii. Treponema pectinovorum and Treponema medium as well as for Treponema phagedenis and Treponema pailidum and five treponeme strains isolated from human peridontal pockets.