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Heavy metals are widely used in many industries in Thailand and found in the environment. Occupational exposure to heavy metals is often chronic and caused by environmental contaminations, potentially leading to mutations and cancer. Although the genotoxic effects of occupational exposure to multiple heavy metals have been extensively studied, the findings regarding their genotoxicity are conflicting. In this study, we focused on investigating the genotoxic effects of certain heavy metals mixtures, including lead (Pb), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), and tin (Sn), to which workers are exposed in the manufacturing industry. The cytokinesis-blocked micronucleus (CBMN) assay in peripheral blood lymphocytes was performed, and DNA damage was assessed by measuring tumour-associated protein levels and 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) generated by oxidative stress that causes cytotoxicity. The occupational exposure group included 110 workers exposed to heavy metal mixtures and 105 matched control subjects. We found statistically significant differences in the blood Pb, Sn, and Cu levels between the exposed workers and the control subjects (p0.001). Analysis of micronuclei (MN) in peripheral blood lymphocytes revealed a significantly increased frequency of MN in exposed workers compared with that in control subjects (p0.05). Non-smoking exposed workers were selected for 8-OHdG formation and mutant p53 tests, and significant differences in the mean plasma 8-OHdG concentration (p0.001) were found between the occupational exposure and the control group, but no differences were found in the levels of mutant p53. Thus, chronic exposure to different heavy metals causes genotoxic effects in humans. Furthermore, the CBMN assay and 8-OHdG formation can be used as surrogate biomarkers to identify and monitor groups with higher carcinogenic risk in the early stages of toxicity. In summary, our results indicate that mixtures of heavy metals (Pb, Sn, and Cu) in manufacturing industries pose an elevated health risk due to DNA damage.

In early nineteen century, a gas field was operational in southern part of Sindh, Pakistan for power production. The plant was completely un-operational for last three decades, whereas all wastage and raw materials are still dumped there, which might be the source to contaminate the ground water. The most of the workers population still living in different villages nearby the gas field. In present study, evaluated the undesirable effects of the toxic metals (lead and cadmium) via consuming groundwater for drinking and other domestic purpose especially in children of ≤5.0 years. For comparative purpose groundwater of nonindustrial area (nonexposed) was also analysed and their impact on age matched children was carried out. Biological samples (scalp hair and blood) were collected from children of exposed and nonexposed areas. The Cd and Pb in scalp hair and blood samples were carried out by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. Whereas, Cd and Pb in groundwater obtained from both areas were determined prior to applied preconcentration method as reported in our previous works. The Cd and Pb contents in the groundwater of villages of exposed area were found in the range of 5.18-10.9 and 19.9-69.5 μg/L, respectively. Whereas, the groundwater of nonexposed area contains Cd and Pb in the range of 1.79-3.78 and 5.07-24.3 μg/L, respectively. It was observed that the concentrations of Cd and Pb in scalp hair and blood samples of children belongs to exposed area have ≥2.0 fold higher than the resulted data attained for age matched control children, indicating as the exposure biomarkers of toxic metals. The children belong to exposed area have poor health, anemic and low body mass index (13 kg/m2). A significant positive correlations among Cd and Pb concentrations in biological samples of exposed subjects and groundwater was observed (p 0.01).

High on-treatment platelet reactivity (HPR) on P2Y12-inhibitors in patients treated with dual antiplatelet therapy is strongly associated with adverse ischaemic events. Studies have shown conflicting results with regard to the correlation and agreement between the different tests. Several assays are available to establish HPR. A composite advice based on more than one test might be a better way to identify HPR patients. To compare HPR rates and agreement between individual platelet function tests and a panel of three tests In our large percutaneous coronary intervention centre, all patients who suffered a stent thrombosis were invited back to a dedicated clinic. Platelet function testing was performed in all patients and matched control patients. HPR rates were compared between individual tests and with a composite comprised of three tests. A total of 242 patients were included, of whom in 193 patients all tests were available. HPR rates ranged from 14.6% [VerifyNow cut-off >235 platelet reactivity units (PRU)] to 49.7% (Vasodilator-Stimulated Phosphoprotein Assay). HPR according to the composite advice (≥2 out of 3 tests indicating HPR) was present in 29.8% of patients. The best correlation with the composite advice was observed with light transmittance aggregometry (kappa = 0.78) and VerifyNow (lower cut-off >208 PRU; kappa = 0.68). VerifyNow with cut-off more than 235 PRU identified the smallest proportion of patients with HPR, whereas Vasodilator-Stimulated Phosphoprotein Assay seemed to 'over-identify' HPR. In this real life patient cohort, a large variability was observed between four different platelet function tests. The use of a composite advice based on three tests is a promising alternative.

There is little literature concerning clinical outcomes following revision joint arthroplasty in solid organ transplant recipients. The aims of this study are to (1) analyze postoperative outcomes and mortality following revision hip and knee arthroplasty in renal transplant recipients (RTRs) compared to non-RTRs and (2) characterize common indications and types of revision procedures among RTRs.A retrospective Medicare database review identified 1020 RTRs who underwent revision joint arthroplasty (359 revision total knee arthroplasty [TKA] and 661 revision total hip arthroplasty [THA]) from 2005 to 2014. RTRs were compared to their respective matched control groups of nontransplant revision arthroplasty patients for hospital length of stay, readmission, major medical complications, infections, septicemia, and mortality following revision.Renal transplantation was significantly associated with increased length of stay (6.12 ± 7.86 vs 4.33 ± 4.29, P.001), septicemia (odds ratio [OR], 2.52; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.83-3.46; P.001), and 1-year mortality (OR, 2.71; 95% CI, 1.51-4.53; P.001) following revision TKA. Among revision THA patients, RTR status was associated with increased hospital readmission (OR, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.03-1.47; P = .023), septicemia (OR, 1.82; 95% CI, 1.41-2.34; P.001), and 1-year mortality (OR, 2.65; 95% CI, 1.88-3.66; P.001). The most frequent primary diagnoses associated with revision TKA and THA among RTRs were mechanical complications of prosthetic implant.Prior renal transplantation among revision joint arthroplasty patients is associated with increased morbidity and mortality when compared to nontransplant recipients.

ObjectivesTo evaluate alterations of top-down and/or bottom-up attention in migraine and their cortical underpinnings.Methods19 migraineurs between attacks and 19 matched control participants performed a task evaluating jointly top-down and bottom-up attention, using visually-cued target sounds and unexpected task-irrelevant distracting sounds. Behavioral responses and MEG/EEG were recorded. Event-related potentials and fields (ERPs/ERFs) were processed and source reconstruction was applied to ERFs.ResultsAt the behavioral level, neither top-down nor bottom-up attentional processes appeared to be altered in migraine. However, migraineurs presented heightened evoked responses following distracting sounds (orienting component of the N1 and Re-Orienting Negativity, RON) and following target sounds (orienting component of the N1), concomitant to an increased recruitment of the right temporo-parietal junction. They also displayed an increased effect of the cue informational value on target processing resulting in the elicitation of a negative difference (Nd).ConclusionsMigraineurs appear to display increased bottom-up orienting response to all incoming sounds, and an enhanced recruitment of top-down attention.SignificanceThe interictal state in migraine is characterized by an exacerbation of the orienting response to attended and unattended sounds. These attentional alterations might participate to the peculiar vulnerability of the migraine brain to all incoming stimuli.HighlightsMigraineurs performed as well as healthy participants in an attention task.However, EEG markers of both bottom-up and top-down attention are increased.Migraine is also associated with a facilitated recruitment of the right temporo-parietal junction.

Summary Objective To determine whether the morphology of proximal tibiofibular joint (PTFJ) is associated with increased risk of incident radiographic osteoarthritis (iROA) over 4 years in the OA Initiative (OAI) study. Methods A nested matched case–control study design was used to select participants from OAI study. Case knees were defined as those with iROA. Control knees were matched one-to-one by sex, age and radiographic status with case knees. T2-weighted MR images were assessed at P0 (the visit when incident ROA was found on radiograph), P1 (1 year prior to P0) and at OAI baseline. The contacting area of PTFJ (S) and its projection areas onto the horizontal (load-bearing area, Sτ), sagittal (lateral stress-bolstering area, Sφ) and coronal plane (posterior stress-bolstering area, Sυ) were assessed, respectively. Results 354 case knees and 354 matched control knees were included, with a mean age of 60 and a mean body mass index (BMI) of 28 kg/m2. Baseline PTFJ morphological parameters (S, Sτ and Sυ) were significantly associated with iROA over 4 years, and these associations remained unchanged after adjustment for BMI, number of knee bending activities, self-reported knee injury and surgery. S, Sτ and Sυ were also significantly associated with iROA at P1 and P0. In subgroup analysed, S, Sτ and Sυ were associated with risks of incident joint space narrowing in the medial, but not the lateral tibiofemoral compartment. Conclusion Greater contacting area, load-bearing area and posterior stress-bolstering area of PTFJ were associated with increased risks of iROA, largely in the medial tibiofemoral compartment.

During sleep, the hippocampus plays an active role in consolidating memories that depend on it for initial encoding. There are hints in the literature that the hippocampus may have a broader influence, contributing to the consolidation of memories that may not initially require the area. We tested this possibility by evaluating learning and consolidation of the motor sequence task (MST) in hippocampal amnesics and demographically matched control participants. While the groups showed similar initial learning, only controls exhibited evidence of overnight consolidation. These results demonstrate that the hippocampus can be required for normal consolidation of a task without being required for its acquisition, suggesting that the area plays a broader role in coordinating memory consolidation than has previously been assumed.

Type 1 diabetes affects the structure and function of the brain, with psychomotor speed as the most commonly reported deficit. The current study sought to uncover the dynamics underlying motor processing in the brain of adults with type 1 diabetes using an arrow-based Flanker task. Adults (ages 19-35, N = 39) with type 1 diabetes and no major complications and a matched control group (N = 40) underwent magnetoencephalography (MEG) while performing the task. During the task, participants were presented with a row of five arrows facing right or left, and participants were instructed to respond by button press to the direction of the middle arrow. Analyses focused on the time period around movement execution to examine motor-related dynamics. Time series analyses were performed on the peak beta and gamma responses from the motor cortices. An ANOVA model and follow-up regression analyses were used to delineate the predictive value of each neural response in driving behavioral outcomes. Subsequent t-tests between frequent (3+ episodes per week) and infrequent (0-1 episodes per week) hypoglycemic groups were performed to examine response differences within the adults with type 1 diabetes. Responses driving behavior differed between adults with and without type 1 diabetes. In adults with type 1 diabetes, beta frequency responses were significant predictors of reaction time, where greater ipsilateral recruitment led to faster reaction times (b = .58, t = 3.64, p = .001). In contrast, gamma drove behavioral outcomes in the control group (b = -.43, t = -2.96, p = .005). Further, within group analyses revealed that more frequent episodes of hypoglycemia were associated with alterations specific to beta responses during the pre-movement baseline period (p < .05). These results show frequency specific alterations in motor dynamics in adults with type 1 diabetes, with an added effect of increased hypoglycemia. These findings strongly indicate that diabetes directly impacts motor control components in the brain, regulating behavioral outcomes. Disclosure C.M. Embury: None. V.A. Were: None. G.H. Lord: None. A. Drincic: Board Member; Self; Corcept Therapeutics. C. Desouza: Consultant; Self; Novo Nordisk A/S, Sanofi US. T.W. Wilson: None. Funding National Institutes of Health (R01MH103220, R01MH116782)

Patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) display disturbances in self and other understanding, which is also evident when they narrate events from their own and significant others' lives. In a recent study, we found that patients described both their own and their parents' life stories as more negative and with fewer themes of agency and communion fulfillment. Hence, we examined whether 12 months of psychotherapy would change how patients described their own and their parents' life stories. At baseline, 30 BPD patients and 30 matched control participants described and answered questions about their personal and their parents' life stories. At follow-up, 23 patients and 23 control participants repeated the same procedure after patients had completed 12 months of psychotherapy. At both baseline and follow-up, the life stories were coded for complexity and themes of agency, communion, communion fulfillment, and self-other confusion. BPD patients' personal life stories increased significantly in agency from baseline to follow-up compared with the control group, whereas other aspects of personal and parents' life stories did not change significantly after therapy. Development of agency through the reconstruction of personal life stories may be a crucial mechanism in psychotherapy with BPD patients. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

BackgroundThe average energy consumption during walking of children with cerebral palsy (CP) is over two times of that of typically developing (TD) children and fatigue is one of the top complaints of children with CP and their families. Spasticity has been theorized to contribute to increased energy consumption during walking in CP, but its role remains unclear.MethodsWe retrospectively compared the energy consumption of walking in children with diplegic CP before and after selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR), a surgery that reduces spasticity. A control group of participants with CP who also underwent gait analysis but did not undergo SDR was matched to the SDR group by pre-surgery age, spasticity, and energy consumption. Energy consumption and spasticity were compared at baseline and follow-up for both groups.FindingsAs expected, the SDR group has a significantly greater decrease (−44%) in spasticity compared to matched peers with CP who did not undergo SDR (−16%, PP=0.4).Interpretation: Reducing spasticity did not contribute to greater reductions in energy consumption, suggesting that spasticity has minimal impact on elevated energy consumption during walking for children with CP. Energy consumption and spasticity decrease with age among children with CP. Identifying matched control groups of peers with CP is critical for research involving children with CP to account for changes due to development.HighlightsEnergy consumption is not reduced after rhizotomy compared to matched peersSpasticity has minimal contribution to elevated energy during walkingMatched control groups are critical in cerebral palsy research

Background and Objective: Altered Pattern of the Global Muscle system is presented in literature among individuals with sacroiliac Joint Dysfunctions. However, the pattern of changes in the Latissimus dorsi (LD) and gluteal maximus (GM) among sacroiliac joint dysfunctions (SIJD) is not reported. This study aimed to investigate the changes in the resting muscle thickness of the Latissimusdorsi and gluteal maximus in SIJD. Method: A total of 88 subjects (44 individuals with SIJD and 44 healthy individuals as matched control) was included in this study. The resting thickness of the Latissimusdorsi and gluteal maximus was measured using real time musculoskeletal ultrasonography and data was compared between the ipsilateral side and contra lateral side among subjects with SIJD as well as healthy subjects. Independent sample t test was used to analyze the data by using SPSS version-25. Results: The results showed that contralateral LD were reduced significantly among subjects with SIJD when compared with the other side and with control. It also showed that ipsilateral IO, TrA and GM were reduced significantly among subjects with SIJD when compared with the controls and with contralateral side. Conclusion: The reduced resting muscle thickness showed an altered motor pattern of Deep Muscles of local system and Gross muscles of global system among patients with sacroiliac joint dysfunction. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.35.3.62 How to cite this:Bashir MS, Noor R, Hadian MR, Olyaei G. Pattern of changes in latissimus dorsi, gluteus maximus, internal oblique and transverse abdominus muscle thickness among individuals with sacroiliac joint dysfunction. Pak J Med Sci. 2019;35(3):818-823. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.35.3.62 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of morbidity and mortality in patients with seropositive rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods: Data were obtained from national population-based registries in the period 1998–2009. Prior to the seropositive RA diagnosis (International Classification of Disorders 10th revision M05), we identified a total of 21,558 patients and 87,384 age- and sex-matched control subjects. Odds for morbidity were calculated before and after the RA diagnosis. We estimated the overall survival based on the Kaplan–Meier method. Results: Patients with RA had statistically significantly higher odds for a number of co-morbidities prior to the onset of RA including diseases of the musculoskeletal system (odds ratio (OR) 3.10, 95% confidence interval (CI) 3.00–3.21), diseases involving the immune system (OR 1.45, 95% CI 1.29–1.64), endocrine diseases (OR 1.09, 95% CI 1.01–1.17), diseases of the circulatory system (OR 1.08, 95% CI 1.03–1.14) and diseases of the respiratory system (OR 1.30, 95% CI 1.22–1.38), compared with age- and sex-matched control subjects. After the RA diagnosis, the same trend was seen with higher odds for the same co-morbidities. We found a 5-year survival of 80% (95% CI 78–81%) for patients with RA, while for control subjects it was 88% (95% CI 88–89%). Conclusion: Compared with age- and sex-matched controls, patients with seropositive RA have higher odds for several co-morbidities prior to and, particularly, after the diagnosis of RA. Furthermore, patients with RA have a lower overall survival compared with age- and sex-matched controls.

Little is known about the molecular pathogenesis of schizophrenia, possibly because of unrecognized heterogeneity in diagnosed patient populations. We analyzed gene expression data collected from the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) of post-mortem frozen brains of 189 adult diagnosed schizophrenics and 206 matched controls. Transcripts from 633 genes are differentially expressed in the DLPFC of schizophrenics as compared to controls at Bonferroni-corrected significance levels. Seventeen of those genes are differentially expressed at very high significance levels (−8 after Bonferroni correction). The findings were closely replicated in a dataset from an entirely unrelated source. The statistical significance of this differential gene expression is being driven by about half of the schizophrenic DLPFC samples, and importantly, it is the same half of the samples that is driving the significance for almost all of the differentially expressed transcripts. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) of the schizophrenic subjects, based on the transcripts differentially expressed in the schizophrenics as compared to controls, divides them into two groups. “Type 1” schizophrenics have a DLPFC transcriptome similar to that of controls with only four differentially expressed genes identified. “Type 2” schizophrenics have a DLPFC transcriptome dramatically different from that of controls, with 3529 expression array probes to 3092 genes detecting transcripts that are differentially expressed at very high significance levels. These findings were re-tested and replicated in a separate independent cohort, using the RNAseq data from the DLPFC of an independent set of schizophrenics and control subjects. We suggest the hypothesis that these striking differences in DLPFC transcriptomes, identified and replicated in two populations, imply a fundamental biologic difference between these two groups of diagnosed schizophrenics, and we propose specific paths for further testing and expanding the hypothesis.

Tail damage within the production of finisher pigs is an animal welfare problem. Recent research suggests that removal of known risk factors may not be enough to eliminate tail biting, especially in undocked pigs, thus a different strategy is worth investigating. This could be early detection of tail biting, using behavioural changes observed before tail damage. If these early stages of tail biting can be detected before tail damage occurs, then tail damage could be prevented by early interventions. The first step in developing such a strategy is to identify the types of behaviour changes that emerge during early stages of tail biting. Thus, the aim of the current study was to investigate whether pen level activity and object manipulation evolved differently during the last 7 days before the scoring of tail damage (day 0) for pens scored with tail damage (tail damage pens) and pens not scored with tail damage (matched control pens). The study included video recordings for twenty-four tail damage pens and thirty-two matched control pens. Activity level and object manipulation were observed the last 7 days before day 0 during the morning (0600 to 0800 h), afternoon (1600 to 1800 h) and evening (2200 to 2400 h, only activity level). Both activity level and object manipulation were analysed using generalised linear mixed effects models with a binomial distribution for activity level and a negative binomial distribution for object manipulation. The probability of being active was higher in tail damage pens compared to control pens during the afternoon the last 5 days before day 0 (P

Studies in consistent orthographies using reading-level (RL) match design have produced conflicting results, possibly because of problems with general ability and RL matching in many studies. We matched the participants on both verbal and nonverbal ability and on reading tasks with no ceiling effects and compared the performance of Grades 4 and 6 Greek-speaking children with dyslexia to those of chronological age (CA) and RL matched control groups across a variety of tasks associated with dyslexia (phonological awareness, rapid naming, phonological memory, and orthographic processing). The results showed that although both Grade 4 and Grade 6 dyslexics performed poorer than the CA groups in most tasks, they did not perform poorer than the RL group in any of the tasks included. We conclude with a discussion of the theoretical ramifications of the results and the appropriateness of the RL match design in studying dyslexia in consistent orthographies.

Various studies have consistently shown that collocations are processed faster than matched control phrases, both in L1 and in L2. Most of these studies focused on adjacent collocations (e.g., provide information). However, research in corpus linguistics normally uses a span to identify collocations (e.g., ± 4 words), and these non-adjacent collocations (e.g., provide some of the information) occur very frequently in language. Nevertheless, how they are processed is less established. A recent study on reading non-adjacent collocations seems to suggest similar processing advantages as for adjacent collocations (Author 2016), but this study was limited to the performance of native speakers. The present study addresses the question of whether advanced non-native speakers also show processing advantages for nonadjacent collocations as native speakers do. Forty advanced non-native speakers of English read collocations in either adjacent or non-adjacent conditions, and their eye-movements were recorded. Mixed-effects analysis of their eye-movements was carried out. The results suggest that non-native speakers read adjacent collocations faster than non-formulaic controls, but this facilitation almost disappears for non-adjacent collocations.

We use data on all middle and high school aged children who survived a mass shooting incident on July 22, 2011 in Utoya, Norway, to understand how such events affect survivors, their families, and their peers. Using a difference-in-differences design to compare survivors to a matched control group, we find that in the short run children who survive have substantially lower GPA (nearly 0.5 SD) and increased utilization of health care services and more mental health diagnoses. In the medium run, survivors have fewer years of schooling completed and lower labor force participation. Parents and siblings of survivors are also impacted, experiencing substantial increases in doctor visits and mental health diagnoses. However, there appear to be limited impacts on school aged peers of survivors. While this event affected the entire country, we show that survivors and their families bear significant costs despite robust social safety nets and universal access to healthcare.

In many cities, high land vacancy has contributed to negative outcomes including visual blight, loss of sense of community and safety, and high crime rates. Although studies show that vacant lot greening programs reduce crime rates in high-vacancy areas, little is known about the impacts of resident-owner-based vacant lot repurposing initiatives on crime. We evaluated the impacts of one such initiative, the Chicago Large Lot Program, on crime reduction. Through this program, qualified property owners could purchase one or two nearby city-owned vacant lots for one dollar each. Focusing on two study sites on the South and West sides of Chicago, we performed difference-in-differences analyses to examine whether blocks with at least one purchased ‘large lot’ (n = 234) showed greater reductions in various types of crime compared to matched control blocks without large lots (n = 702) in the years following program implementation (2015–2018). We found that, starting in the second year of implementation, the program contributed to significant reductions in overall crime density as well as a few types of crime. We also found that visual condition and care of purchased lots was associated with reduced crime density in one of our study sites where the percentage of purchased lots and mean condition-care rating were more than twice as much as those of the other site. Our findings support the usefulness of vacant land repurposing programs that transfer ownership to residents, and suggest that greening activities encouraged by these programs help improve neighborhood safety and quality of life.

COVID-19 is a global pandemic associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Convalescent plasma (CP) infusion is a strategy of potential therapeutic benefit. We conducted a multicenter phase II study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of CP in patients with COVID-19, grade 4 or higher. To evaluate the efficacy of CP, a matched propensity score analysis was used comparing the intervention (n = 59) to a control group (n = 59). Sixty patients received CP within a median time of 7 days from symptom onset. During a median follow-up of 28.5 days, 56/60 patients fully recovered and 1 patient remained in the ICU. The death rate in the CP group was 3.4% vs. 13.6% in the control group. By multivariate analysis, CP recipients demonstrated a significantly reduced risk of death [HR: 0.04 (95% CI: 0.004–0.36), p: 0.005], significantly better overall survival by Kaplan–Meir analysis (p < 0.001), and increased probability of extubation [OR: 30.3 (95% CI: 2.64–348.9), p: 0.006]. Higher levels of antibodies in the CP were independently associated with significantly reduced risk of death. CP infusion was safe with only one grade 3 adverse event (AE), which easily resolved. CP used early may be a safe and effective treatment for patients with severe COVID-19 (trial number NCT04408209).

Background Despite perceived economic barriers to hosting physiotherapy students in private practice settings, no research to date has investigated the effect of hosting students on service delivery and income during clinical placements. Objectives The aim of this study was to determine the effect of student placement provision on service delivery and income in private practice settings. Methods A retrospective economic analysis using a temporal synthetic control period was undertaken. Physiotherapy private practices who had hosted at least one pre-registration physiotherapy student with a matched control period in the subsequent or previous year were invited to participate. Direct service and economic comparisons were conducted across five-week periods and individual placement weeks. Results No significant differences in occasions of service and income were found when students were hosted and not hosted, and this remained non-significant after controlling for practice-specific characteristics. The overall mean income per practice was higher for week one of the student placement (95% CI: 657.35 to 1240.95) as compared to week one of the control period, but this finding was not significant. Overall mean income per practice was significantly higher in weeks two to five of the student placement (95% CI: 29.03 to 1732.19) when compared to weeks two to five of the control period. Conclusion Hosting pre-registration physiotherapy students within private practice settings is not associated with a reduction in service and economic outcomes. Hosting physiotherapy students has a positive economic effect following their initial placement week.

Autism has been characterized by atypical task-related brain activation and functional connections, coinciding with deficits in sociocommunicative abilities. However, evidence of the brain's experience-dependent plasticity suggests that abnormal activity patterns may be reversed with treatment. In particular, neurofeedback training (NFT), an intervention based on operant conditioning resulting in self-regulation of brain electrical oscillations, has shown increasing promise in addressing abnormalities in brain function and behavior. We examined the effects of ≥ 20 h of sensorimotor mu-rhythm-based NFT in children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and a matched control group of typically developing children (ages 8-17). During a functional magnetic resonance imaging imitation and observation task, the ASD group showed increased activation in regions of the human mirror neuron system following the NFT, as part of a significant interaction between group (ASD vs. controls) and training (pre- vs. post-training). These changes were positively correlated with behavioral improvements in the ASD participants, indicating that mu-rhythm NFT may be beneficial to individuals with ASD.

We thank all the participating children and their parents. Special thanks go to the participating schools, Ten Bunderen (Moorslede), De Puzzel (Kleine‐Brogel), and De Schommel (Lommel). We also thank the following students for their assistance with data collection: Nele Berghmans, Stéphanie Deckmyn, Sanne Drees, Tine Herreman, Ellen Janssen, Loes Steegmans, Lotte van Esch, Alysée Van Laeken, and Leen Vercammen, and Bart Machilsen for his assistance with data preparation. This research was funded by the Methusalem program by the Flemish Government (METH 08/02) awarded to Johan Wagemans; by a grant from the Research Council of the KU Leuven (IDO/080/013) awarded to Jean Steyaert, Johan Wagemans, and Ilse Noens; and by grants from the Marguerite Marie Delacroix Support Fund (GV/B‐141) and the Fund for Scientific Research (12L6916N) awarded to Kris Evers.

Here we provide data describing the time-course of blood-glucose and fluid-intake profiles of diabetic hemizygous human-amylin (hA) transgenic mice orally treated with rutin, and matched control mice treated with water. We employed “parametric change-point regression analysis” for investigation of differences in time-course profiles between the control and rutin-treatment groups to extract, for each animal, baseline levels of blood glucose and fluid-intake, the change-point time at which blood glucose (diabetes-onset) and fluid-intake (polydipsia-onset) accelerated away from baseline, and the rate of this acceleration. The parametric change-point regression approach applied here allowed a much more accurate determination of the exact time of onset of diabetes than do the standard diagnostic criteria. These data are related to the article entitled “Rutin suppresses human-amylin/hIAPP misfolding and oligomer formation in-vitro, and ameliorates diabetes and its impacts in human-amylin/hIAPP transgenic mice” (J.F. Aitken, K.M. Loomes, I. Riba-Garcia, R.D. Unwin, G. Prijic, A.S. Phillips, A.R.J. Phillips, D. Wu, S.D. Poppitt, K. Ding, P.E. Barran, A.W. Dowsey, G.J.S. Cooper. 2016) [1].

This paper examines how mandatory quarterly reporting affects managers' business decisions in terms of real activities manipulations. For our analyses, we use the setting of the European Union, where the reporting frequency was increased with the introduction of a mandate to issue Interim Management Statements (IMSs) on a quarterly basis. Controlling for accrual-based earnings management, we find an increase in real activities manipulations for firms mandated to switch from semiannual to quarterly IMS reporting, relative to matched control firms. This finding is in line with the notion of higher managerial short-termism resulting from increased reporting frequency requirements. Further, we provide evidence that reporting frequency-induced real activities manipulations are more pronounced if the price pressure from investors is high and if the informativeness of IMS disclosure is low. We also document that reporting frequency-induced real activities manipulations are followed by a short-term increase and then a decrease in firms' operating performance. Data Availability: Data are available from the commercial databases and public sources identified in the paper.

To evaluate early visual rehabilitation, post-operative pain, epithelial healing and haze after transepithelial photorefractive keratectomy (TransPRK) using the SmartPulseTechnology (SPT) of Schwind Amaris (Schwind eye-tech-solutions GmbH, Kleinostheim, Germany).This was a retrospective comparative evaluation of a cohort of myopic patients undergoing TransPRK with SPT (group 1), with one matched control group that underwent conventional TransPRK (group 2). All cases had a 6-month post-operative follow-up including visual acuity and slit-lamp examination. Subjective evaluation of pain was recorded post-operatively.49 eyes of 25 patients in group 1 and 40 eyes of 20 patients in group 2 were enrolled. The patients' visual rehabilitation was significantly faster in group 1, one day and one week post-operatively (P0.05). From one month onward there was no significant difference between the groups. The epithelial defect size was significantly smaller on post-operative days 1 and 2 for group 1 (P0.05 in both cases). The pain score was also significantly less in group 1 (P0.05). The haze level had no significant difference between the groups at any post-operative point (P0.05).TransPRK using SPT provides promising results in the early post-operative period. Visual rehabilitation, re-epithelialization and pain were faster in the early post-operative period in group 1 in comparison with group 2. Haze formation was not significantly different between the two groups; however, it was consistently less in group 1.

Objective To evaluate the impact of a population-based telephonic wellness coaching program on weight loss. Methods Individual-level segmented regression analysis of interrupted time series data comparing the BMI trajectories in the 12 months before versus the 12 months after initiating coaching among a cohort of Kaiser Permanente Northern California members (n = 954) participating in The Permanente Medical Group Wellness Coaching program in 2011. The control group was a 20:1 propensity-score matched control group (n = 19,080) matched with coaching participants based on baseline demographic and clinical characteristics. Results Wellness coaching participants had a significant upward trend in BMI in the 12 months before their first wellness coaching session and a significant downward trend in BMI in the 12 months after their first session equivalent to a clinically significant reduction of greater than one unit of baseline BMI (P < 0.01 for both). The control group did not have statistically significant decreases in BMI during the post-period. Conclusions Wellness coaching has a positive impact on BMI reduction that is both statistically and clinically significant. Future research and quality improvement efforts should focus on disseminating wellness coaching for weight loss in patients with diabetes and those at risk for developing the disease.

This article presents findings from a school counselor-operated creativity enrichment program targeting academically underperforming second-grade students. Results from this pre/posttest study indicate that students in the treatment groups significantly increased their creative ability as measured by the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking when compared to a matched control group. Implications for school counselor advocacy, leadership, and programming are discussed.

Purpose. To determine the characteristics of MSCs from hip and compare them to MSCs from knee. Methods. Synovial tissues were obtained from both the knee and the hip joints in 8 patients who underwent both hip and knee arthroscopies on the same day. MSCs were isolated from the knee and hip synovial samples. The capacities of MSCs were compared between both groups. Results. The number of cells per unit weight at passage 0 of synovium from the knee was significantly higher than that from the hip (P<0.05). While it was possible to observe the growth of colonies in all the knee synovial fluid samples, it was impossible to culture cells from any of the hip samples. In adipogenesis experiments, the frequency of Oil Red-O-positive colonies and the gene expression of adipsin were significantly higher in knee than in hip. In osteogenesis experiments, the expression of COL1A1 and ALPP was significantly less in the knee synovium than in the hip synovium. Conclusions. MSCs obtained from hip joint have self-renewal and multilineage differentiation potentials. However, in matched donors, adipogenesis and osteogenesis potentials of MSCs from the knees are superior to those from the hips. Knee synovium may be a better source of MSC for potential use in hip diseases.

Copy number variations (CNVs) are structural variants associated with human diseases. Recent studies verified that disease-related genes are based on the extraction of rare de novo and transmitted CNVs from exome sequencing data. The need for more efficient and accurate methods has increased, which still remains a challenging problem due to coverage biases, as well as the sparse, small-sized, and noncontinuous nature of exome sequencing. In this study, we developed a new CNV detection method, ExCNVSS, based on read coverage depth evaluation and scale-space filtering to resolve these problems. We also developed the method ExCNVSS_noRatio, which is a version of ExCNVSS, for applying to cases with an input of test data only without the need to consider the availability of a matched control. To evaluate the performance of our method, we tested it with 11 different simulated data sets and 10 real HapMap samples’ data. The results demonstrated that ExCNVSS outperformed three other state-of-the-art methods and that our method corrected for coverage biases and detected all-sized CNVs even without matched control data.

The ability of Congress to override judicial interpretations of statutory language is central to legislative supremacy. Both political science and legal scholarship assume, often implicitly, that enactment of a legislative override will effectively replace the pre-existing precedent, akin to a judicial overruling of a prior decision. Yet, because the superseding language comes from Congress rather than the courts, it is often unclear precisely how an override interacts with the pre-existing precedent. Our study is the first to empirically address this issue. We built an original dataset of annual citations to three different groups of Supreme Court decisions: (i) cases overridden by Congress (ii) cases subsequently overruled by the Court, and (iii) a matched control group of Supreme Court decisions that were neither overridden nor overruled. Using a differences-in-differences research design, we find that, on average, citation levels to cases that have been at least partially superseded — what we call “shadow precedents” — decrease only minimally after an override, while they decrease dramatically after a judicial overruling. Our results suggest that when faced with competing signals from Congress and the courts above them, trial courts look for interpretive guidance from other judicial actors, and that courts often continue to rely extensively on overridden precedents.

It has been hypothesized that ADHD is associated both with difficulties in mathematical problem solving and in updating information in working memory. However, the relationship between updating and performance on mathematical word problems has never been studied for children with ADHD. The present study examined these issues comparing the performance of solving mathematical word problems (with no updating request vs high updating request) in a group of 11-12year old children with ADHD compared to a matched control group with typical development (TD). Results showed that children with ADHD solved fewer problems correctly than typically-developing children; moreover they made more errors in solving problems with updating requirements than those without updating requirements. In contrast, typically-developing children did not show any differences in problems performance on problems with and without updating requirements. Fine grained analyses of children's problem solving processes showed that children with ADHD found more difficult to select the appropriate data prior to calculation and to choose and execute the correct solution than typically-developing children. The difficulty to select the appropriate data results more severe in problems with updating requirements. Overall, these results support the hypothesis that the learning difficulties of children with ADHD are related to their executive dysfunctions, that negatively affect complex tasks requiring updating of to-be-processed information.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is associated with altered cerebellar volume and cerebellum is associated with cognitive performance. However there are mixed results regarding the cerebellar volume in young patients with ADHD. To clarify the size and direction of this effect, we conducted the analysis on the large public database of brain images. The aim of this study was to confirm that cerebellar volume in ADHD is smaller than in control subjects in currently the largest publicly available cohort of ADHD subjects.We applied cross-sectional case control study design by comparing 286 ADHD patients (61 female) with age and gender matched control subjects. Volumetric measurements of cerebellum were obtained using automated segmentation with FreeSurfer 5.1. Statistical analysis was performed in R-CRAN statistical environment. Patients with ADHD had significantly smaller total cerebellar volumes (134.5±17.11cm3 vs.138.90±15.32 cm3). The effect was present in both females and males (males 136.9±14.37 cm3 vs. 141.20±14.75 cm3; females 125.7±12.34 cm3 vs. 131.20±15.03 cm3). Age was positively and significantly associated with the cerebellar volumes. These results indicate either delayed or disrupted cerebellar development possibly contributing to ADHD pathophysiology.

In this paper, we employ board monitoring mechanisms and within-firm governance variables to investigate the operating performance of 340 mergers and acquisitions in China over the 2004–2011 period. Our results document a significant deterioration in post-acquisition operating performance of acquiring firms over 12–36 months. We find independent directors, managerial shareholding, ownership concentration have a positive and significant impact on operating performance of acquiring firms. However, the related party transactions exert a negative and significant effect on matched control adjusted ROA. Further analysis of our sub-sample indicates that privately owned enterprises are better monitors compared to the state owned enterprises.

Context The relationship between opioid use and sexual problems among males is complex one, as some are using opioids to increase their sexual performance while others are suffering from sexual problems due to its use. And research addressing this relationship is still limited. Aims The aim of the current study was to assess and evaluate sexual dysfunction in male subjects seeking treatment for opioid dependence and to compare it with healthy control group. Methods and material 60 male subjects with opioid dependence for more than one year (ICD-10 criteria) were compared to 120 healthy age & tobacco abuse matched control group (case: control = 1:2) using standard questionnaires evaluating various domains of sexual dysfunction. Results Opioid dependents were found to have sexual dysfunction ranging from 53.3% to 81.7% which was significantly greater than the healthy control group (15.8% to 41.7%). Conclusions Sexual dysfunctions are highly prevalent in opioid dependents and this should be addressed properly while assessing and treating a patient of opioid dependence.

Abstract. There is a growing interest in embitterment as psychological concept. However, little systematic research has been conducted to characterize this emotional reaction. Still, there is an ongoing debate about the distinctiveness of embitterment and its dimensions. Additionally, a categorical and a dimensional perspective on embitterment have been developed independently over the last decade. The present study investigates the dimensions of embitterment by bringing these two different approaches together, for the first time. The Bern Embitterment Inventory (BEI) was given to 49 patients diagnosed with “Posttraumatic Embitterment Disorder (PTED)” and a matched control group of 49 patients with psychological disorders with other dominant emotional dysregulations. The ability to discriminate between the two groups was assessed by t-tests and Receiver Operating Characteristic Curves (ROC curve analysis). PTED patients scored significantly higher on the BEI than the patients of the control group. ROC analyses indicated diagnostic accuracy of the inventory. Further, we conducted Confirmatory Factor Analyses (CFA) to examine the different dimensions of embitterment and their relations. As a result, we found four characteristic dimensions of embitterment, namely disappointment, lack of acknowledge, pessimism, and misanthropy. In general, our findings showed a common understanding of embitterment as a unique but multidimensional emotional reaction to distressful life-events.

BACKGROUND Cleft lip and palate (CLP) anomaly is one of the most prevalent congenital defects causing disturbances of dental arch dimensions. This study aimed at investigating differences in these dimensions between preschool children with cleft lip/palate and a matched control group representing healthy individuals with normal occlusion (NO). MATERIALS AND METHODS The sample of this cross-sectional analytical study consisted of 108 plaster models of children aged from 4 to 5.5 years. They were divided into five groups: the cleft lip group, the cleft palate (CP) group, the unilateral cleft lip and palate group, the bilateral cleft lip and palate group, and the NO group. The NO group was used as a control group. All cleft-affected children were treated only with surgery. Dental arch length and widths were measured. RESULTS The dental arch dimensions of the cleft lip group were nearly similar to those in the controls. Moreover, the mandibular transverse widths of the CP group were close to those in the controls. However, the mandibular arch length and all maxillary dimensions of the CP group were smaller than those in the controls. In the unilateral cleft lip and palate group, the arch lengths in both jaws and the maxillary transverse widths were smaller than those in the controls, whereas the mandibular transverse widths were similar to those in the controls. In the bilateral cleft lip and palate group, the arch lengths in both jaws were close to those in the controls, but both arches were narrower than those in the controls. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS The various types of CLP were found to be associated with differences in most maxillary and some mandibular arch dimensions. These data can be used for cleft patient counseling and treatment planning.

There are large individual differences in the ability to recognise faces. Super-recognisers are exceptionally good at face memory tasks. In London, a small specialist pool of police officers (also labelled ‘super-recognisers’ by the Metropolitan Police Service) annually makes 1000’s of suspect identifications from closed-circuit television footage. Some suspects are disguised, have not been encountered recently or are depicted in poor quality images. Across tests measuring familiar face recognition, unfamiliar face memory and unfamiliar face matching, the accuracy of members of this specialist police pool was approximately equal to a group of non-police super-recognisers. Both groups were more accurate than matched control members of the public. No reliable relationships were found between the face processing tests and object recognition. Within each group, however, there were large performance variations across tests, and this research has implications for the deployment of police worldwide in operations requiring officers with superior face processing ability.

Background Studies on mortality following trauma have been restricted mainly to in-hospital or 30-day death. Mortality risk may be sustained several years after trauma, but the causes of late death have not been elucidated. The aim was to investigate mortality and analyse causes of late death after trauma. Methods All injured patients from a regional trauma registry with long-term follow-up were matched in a 1 : 5 ratio with uninjured controls by age, sex and municipality. By linkage to national registries, long-term mortality, causes of death and co-morbidity status were identified. Excess mortality was examined by calculating the all-cause mortality rate ratio (MRR). Results Among the trauma cohort of 7382 patients, 662 (9·0 per cent) died within 3 years after the index trauma; the 30-day mortality rate was 5·0 per cent. Compared with the control group (36 759 individuals), there was a sustained increase in mortality up to 3 years after trauma; the MRR was 2·88 (95 per cent c.i. 2·37 to 3·50) for days 31–365, 1·59 (1·24 to 2·04) for years 1–2 and 1·43 (1·06 to 1·92) for years 2–3. External causes, including new trauma, were far more common causes of late death in injured patients than in matched controls. Conclusion Postinjury mortality is increased for several years after trauma. Excess mortality is largely attributed to recurrent trauma and other external causes of death.

To describe the clinical findings associated with labral ossification (LO), report the outcomes of arthroscopic treatment, and compare this condition to a control group with femoroacetabular impingement (FAI).A retrospective review of hip arthroscopy patients from 2004 to 2013 was performed to identify patients with a diagnosis of pincer FAI with LO and at least 2 years of follow-up. Diagnosis was made by plain radiograph, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, or intraoperatively. The LO cohort was compared to a chronologically matched control group of FAI patients with pincer FAI but no LO. Patients were prospectively assessed with modified Harris Hip Score (mHHS) preoperatively and then postoperatively at 3, 12, 24, 60, and 120 months.The LO group included 56 hips in 52 patients whereas the control group included 56 hips in 56 patients. Mean follow-up was 36 months for the LO group and 38 for the control group (P = .28). Patients in the LO group were older than those in the control group, with a mean age of 45 versus 30 years (P.0001), and had more women: 58% female versus 32% male (P.0001). The LO group patients were more likely to have pain while sitting (65% v 18%) and restricted activities of daily living (40% v 11%) than the control group (P.0001), and more likely to have pain during a flexion, abduction, external rotation (FABER) test (67% v 36%) (P = .002). Both groups experienced a similar magnitude of improvement in mHHS, but the LO group had a significantly lower preoperative mHHS (49 v 63, P.001) and final postoperative mHHS (75 v 87, P.0001) than the control group.Patients with LO represent a unique subset of pincer FAI and are more likely to be older, female, and have more severe symptoms. Hip arthroscopy can be used to treat LO with excision of the ossified fragments or rim, with a reasonable expectation of improvement of symptoms.III, retrospective case-control.

To determine the incidence, risk factors and outcomes associated with transient and/or persistent periventricular echodensities (PVED) among preterm infants.Medical records of preterm infants born at ≤ 32 weeks gestational age (GA) with PVED and no other brain pathology were reviewed and compared to matched control infants in a case-controlled retrospective study. Neurodevelopmental outcomes at 8-24 months corrected age were documented.A 17.8% incidence of PVED was recorded, with the highest incidence of 30-40% recorded at 29-31 weeks GA. Study and control groups were similar for all maternal parameters and neonatal morbidities, except for a higher incidence of respiratory distress syndrome among the study group. PVED at one month of age was predicted by 5 min Apgar score 7 [OR = 33.78 (CI 2.94-388.06, p = 0.005)]. PVED was not associated with long-term neurodevelopmental disability.No risk factors or specific associated morbidities were identified among preterm infants with transient PVED. PVED at one month of age was predicted by low 5 min Apgar scores, possibly suggesting different pathogenesis or timing between the groups. Long-term outcome studies are needed to determine PVED impact.

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) are characterised by impaired social communication and restricted repetitive behaviours. Researchers posit that these core features may be underpinned by disrupted structural connectivity. A tract based spatial statistical analysis of diffusion MRI data was performed to investigate white matter organisation (an indication of structural connectivity) in a well-defined cohort of 45 ASD and 45 age and IQ matched control participants. Aberrant structural connectivity characterised by reduced fractional anisotropy was observed in several fiber pathways in ASD relative to controls. Disrupted white matter organisation was associated with social deficits and restricted repetitive behaviours in ASD. Abnormal structural connectivity is apparent in ASD and may be linked to the core behavioural features of the disorder.

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the cognitive deficits associated with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their impact upon the skills necessary for fitness to plead (FTP) to a criminal charge at trial.Methodology: A between-groups study compared the performance of a group of adult participants with a diagnosis of ASD (N = 15) with a matched control group of adults with no diagnosis of ASD (N = 15) on an ecologically valid 15-min filmed vignette of typical Crown Court proceedings, during which they answered questions based upon cognitive skills required for FTP. The cognitive abilities of the participants were also assessed.Findings: Participants in the ASD group scored significantly lower than the control group on the measure of FTP. Specifically, the ASD group scored lower on questions relating to the procedures and processes of the courtroom.Research Implications: Future research using a larger ASD sample and comparisons to a nonforensic ASD sample is recommended to confi...

Background: It is commonly held that individuals with the non-fluent/agrammatic variant of primary progressive aphasia (nfvPPA) show difficulties with syntactic production, but that the production of individuals with the semantic variant of primary progressive aphasia (svPPA) is intact. Much of this evidence to date is derived from results of unconstrained language production tasks. There is emerging evidence however that the syntactic production of individuals with svPPA may not be as accurate as was previously thought.Aims: The goal of the current study was to investigate the sentence production abilities of participants with nfvPPA and svPPA (in comparison to matched control participants) using a constrained task eliciting syntactically complex utterances.Methods & Procedures: A constrained picture description task, which elicited active, passive, dative, and dative–passive sentences, was administered to three groups of participants (individuals with nfvPPA and svPPA and matched controls) on up...

Threatening cues and surrounding contexts trigger specific defensive response patterns. Potential threat evokes attentive immobility; attack evokes flight when escape is available and immobility when escape is blocked. Tonic immobility installs when threat is overwhelming and life-risky. In humans, reduced body sway characterizes attentive and tonic immobility, the former with bradycardia, and the later with expressive tachycardia. Here, we investigate human defensive strategies in the presence or absence of an escape route. We employed pictures depicting a man carrying a gun and worked with participants exposed to urban violence. In pictures simulating more possibility of escape, the gun was directed away from the observer; in those simulating higher risk and less chance of escape, the gun was directed toward the observer. Matched control pictures depicted similar layouts, but a non-lethal object substituted the gun. Posturographic and electrocardiographic recordings were collected. Amplitude of sway and heart rate were higher for gun directed-away and lower for gun direct-toward. Compared to their respective matched controls, there was a general increase in the amplitude of sway for the gun directed-away pictures; and a reduction in back-and-forth sway and in heart rate for gun directed-toward pictures. Taken together, those measures suggest that, when exposed to threat invading their margin of safety in a context indicating possible escape route, humans, as non-human species, engage in active escape, resembling the flight stage of the defensive cascade. When facing threat indicating less possibility of escape, humans present an immobile response with bradycardia.

We investigate whether and how the complexity of derivatives influences analysts’ earnings forecast properties. Using a difference-in-differences design, we find that, relative to a matched control sample of non-users, analysts’ earnings forecasts for new derivatives users are less accurate and more dispersed after derivatives initiation. These results do not appear to be driven by the economic complexity of derivatives, but rather the financial reporting of such economic complexity. Overall, despite their financial expertise, analysts routinely misjudge the earnings implications of firms’ derivatives activity. However, we find evidence that a series of derivatives accounting standards has helped analysts improve their forecasts over time.

Over 90% of oral cancers are oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Hitherto, early detection marker for OSCC has not been available. Hence, this study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic ability of salivary matrix-metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) and 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) for OSCC. Total of 318 participants with 106 cases and 212 controls were included: OSCC cases were from Seoul National University Dental Hospital and age, sex, and smoking matched controls were from Yangpyeong cohort. Unstimulated saliva was collected to determine MMP-9 and 8-OHdG using sensitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Multivariable linear regression and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) were applied to evaluate the adjusted association of markers with OSCC. Wilcoxon sign rank sum test and Friedman test for median were applied to evaluate follow-up level of MMP-9 after surgery. Receiver operating characteristic curve was obtained for diagnostic ability. Salivary MMP-9 was associated with OSCC (ANCOVA and multivariable linear regression, p

Many people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) show a photographic memory and visual strength. Geometric forms and serial structures are described as characteristic features in autistic art. However, there is little awareness of the artistic expression of persons with ASD and an intellectual disability. In order to assess the specific design elements displayed in this group we developed a list of design characteristics based on 120 drawings of adults with intellectual disability. Reoccurring features were grouped in the areas of form and content. The list was tested psychometrically in N = 40 patients; tn = 20 with ASD and an age and IQ matched control group. All drawings were rated by three independent experts, who were blinded to patients’ characteristics; inter-rater reliability was measured by the mean absolute agreement. Salient features were identified based on their discriminant power. Overall, 60 design features were identified. Inter-rater-reliability was good (M = 82.6 %). Nine items discriminated distinctly between individuals with and without ASD; thus, ‘line structure’ and ‘repetition’ were shown to be significant markers. In conclusion, the artwork of adults with intellectual disability and ASD displays specific formal design characteristics compared to those with intellectual disability only. This may give important clues to support multidimensional ASD-diagnostics in this group.

Metformin has protective effects on diabetic nephropathy. However, the mechanism underlying the renoprotective action of metformin in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) is not completely understood. We determined the role of metformin in proteinuria and investigated the mechanism. We measured the urinary protein concentration (mg/day) in 48-week-old SHR. Matched control animals were of the same genetic strain, Wistar-Kyoto (WKY). The rats received metformin (100 mg/kg/day) or vehicle for 10 months. Metformin improved renal function and reduced the proteinuria (urine protein: 48.4 ± 3.7 vs. 25.4 ± 1.8 mg, P 0.01) induced by long-term high blood pressure. Metformin increased the production of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-A in rat kidneys and cultured rat podocytes. Metformin activated hypoxia-inducible factor-2α (Hif-2α) in response to VEGF but did not affect Hif-1α in rat kidneys and cultured rat podocytes. Metformin reduced the proteinuria induced by long-term high blood pressure in vivo and increased the VEGF-A production in rat kidneys and cultured rat podocytes, probably by activating the Hif-2α-VEGF signaling pathway. These findings provide a new mechanism for the renoprotective effects of metformin.