FaceBase: A Community-Driven Hub for Data-Intensive Research.

The FaceBase Consortium, funded by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research of the National Institutes of Health, was established in 2009 with the recognition that dental and craniofacial research are increasingly data-intensive disciplines. Data sharing is critical for the validation and reproducibility of results as well as to enable reuse of data. In service of these goals, data ought to be FAIR: Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable. The FaceBase data repository and educational resources exemplify the FAIR principles and support a broad user community including researchers in craniofacial development, molecular genetics, and genomics. FaceBase demonstrates that a model in which researchers "self-curate" their data can be successful and scalable. We present the results of the first 2.5 y of FaceBase's operations as an open community and summarize the data sets published during this period. We then describe a research highlight from work on the identification of regulatory networks and noncoding RNAs involved in cleft lip with/without cleft palate that both used and in turn contributed new findings to publicly available FaceBase resources. Collectively, FaceBase serves as a dynamic and continuously evolving resource to facilitate data-intensive research, enhance data reproducibility, and perform deep phenotyping across multiple species in dental and craniofacial research.

Self-Reported Barriers to Healthcare Access for Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients in Rural and Northern Saskatchewan: A Mixed Methods Study.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the present study was to identify potential barriers for access to medical and allied health services from the perspective of rural and Northern Saskatchewan rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. METHODS: A total of 100 adults with established RA, residing in rural and Northern Saskatchewan, were recruited from two rheumatology practices. Structured interviews with standardized scripts solicited patient perspectives on appointment waiting times, travel required to access medical services and satisfaction with healthcare provision. Thematic analysis was employed for qualitative data. RESULTS: Patients-reported concerns regarding waiting time for their first rheumatology appointment. There was reduced access to allied health professionals, with only 53% of the participants having seen a physiotherapist (PT), and only 26% an occupational therapist (OT). Patients had similar driving distances to their family physician, PT, pharmacy and laboratory services but commuted significantly further for rheumatologist and OT services. There were high levels of satisfaction with their rheumatologist and family physician appointments (8.96 and 8.04 on a ten-point scale). Patients with longer travel times had higher satisfaction with their health care appointments: Patients who travelled one, two and more than two hours had satisfaction scores of 0.93, 0.88 and 1.32 points higher on a ten-point scale (p < 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: Access to medical services is a concern for this population. Patients were dissatisfied with the waiting time for their first specialist appointment and with decreased access to allied health professionals. Patients travelling longer distances were more satisfied with their health care provider's care, suggesting that good patient-care giver relationships helped to ameliorate the difficulties of travelling to their appointments. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Rapid progressive extramedullary plasmacytoma in the orbit.

BACKGROUND: Plasma cell tumors of the orbit are uncommon and mostly the first manifestation of a multiple myeloma (MM). Primary extramedullary plasmacytoma (EMP) of the orbit is exceedingly rare and only a few cases have been reported so far. Differentiation of an EMP from a MM is important, since 9.5 years have been reported as the mean survival of EMP, compared with a mean survival of 3 to 4 years for multiple myeloma. HISTORY AND SIGNS: A 68-year-old man presented with a history of rapid progressive extramedullary plasmacytoma in the right orbit, increasing in size within a few weeks. MR imaging revealed an intraorbital mass measuring 5.2 x 4.7 x 3 cm. The earlier performed biopsy was positive for plasmacytoma of the lambda light chain type. Systemic work-up was negative for further tumor spread. THERAPY AND OUTCOME: Irradiation (a maximum of 80 Gy) and several chemotherapy cycles showed no effect. Exenteration with sparing of the upper and lower lid skin was performed. The residual defect was covered by a Thiersch graft. Although the orbit had been irradiated with the maximal dose, the Thiersch graft healed well. CONCLUSION: Normally, EMP is slow to increase in size. In our patient, marked growth of tumor was noted within one week. One underlying reason is the poorly differentiated, blastic morphology leading to this rapid tumor growth. However, particular molecular features, like a t(4;14), could not be demonstrated.

Strategies for the development of a peptide computer.

MOTIVATION: We devise a computational model using protein-protein interactions. RESULTS: Peptide-antibody interactions can be used to perform a large number of small logical operations in parallel. We show for example how a sequence of operations can be used to compare the number of occurrences of an element in two sets and how to estimate the number of occurrences of an element in a set. Similar to DNA-computing, these techniques could in principle be extended to solve instances of NP-complete problems. We give as an example a procedure to solve examples of the satisfiability problem.

[Artifact detection and signal reconstruction in the pupillogram]. / Artefakterkennung und Signalrekonstruktion im Pupillogramm.

Just as the EEG reflects different wake and sleep stages, changes in pupil dynamics reflecting different levels of vigilance are also to be found. The literature contains numerous reports on experimental set-ups for the recording of the pupillogram. Interesting methods of signal processing are to be found in [7] and [5]. Currently, such recordings are being used to check the success of sleep therapy. A problem that still needs solving is the optimal handling of artifacts caused by blinking. The present article proposes a procedure for artifact detection by back-propagation networks, and subsequent reconstruction of the signal by an AR model. Estimation of the signal is first demonstrated by a test signal, and then by a corrupted pupillogram.

Significance of saliva for the denture-wearing population.

UNLABELLED: This paper summarises a series of studies already published in German and presents new data related to the aetiology of the 'dry mouth' and its associated problems. AIMS: To study factors affecting mucous and serous salivary gland secretion, the aetiology of the 'dry mouth' and its associated problems, causative factors for hyposalivation and it's treatment. SETTING: Two university dental hospitals. SUBJECTS: 587 denture wearers and 521 control subjects, and autopsy material. INTERVENTIONS: Exercise, chewing, water, oestrogen, pilocarpine, and anetholtrithion therapy, biopsy of the minor glands. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Palatal secretion (PAL, microL/cm2/min) and parotid salivary flow (PAR), subjective complaints and clinical findings. RESULTS: Resting flow rates for PAL between 0 and 65 microliters/cm2/min were seen in every age group. The flow rates of PAR (0 to 3.7 ml/10 min) were not correlated with PAL. Most patients with a resting flow rate of PAL < or = 6.0 microliters/cm2 suffer from a 'dry mouth' and Burning Mouth Syndrome (BMS) or oral dysaesthesia (OD) with or without chronic lesions of the oral mucosa. Etiological factors for the incidence of reduced PAL and associated problems include xerostomic drugs, oestrogen deficiency, radiotherapy, thyroid dysfunction, smoking or continuous wearing of complete upper dentures. PAL also correlated with the retention of upper complete dentures. PAL was correlated with the water content of epithelial tissues. PAL and PAR were both increased by drinking ample fluid, improving their circulation by physical exercises, chewing intensively, or taking oestrogens, pilocarpine, anetholtrithion. CONCLUSIONS: Variation in palatal salivary secretion occurs and is clinically important.

The transition from home to nursing home mortality among people with dementia.

OBJECTIVES: This article examines the impact of nursing home admission on mortality among persons with dementia, comparing social selection and social causation explanations of excess deaths occurring immediately after relocation. METHODS: Data from a multiwave panel survey of caregivers to persons with Alzheimer's Disease (N = 555) are analyzed with proportional hazard models of time from illness onset to death of the care recipient and, for those admitted to a nursing home (N = 272), time from admission until death (N = 272). RESULTS: Relocation is associated with a two-fold increase in mortality risk net of health status. Social selection effects were found for poor health, advanced age, being male, and being White. Patients admitted for reasons other than poor health also experienced elevated mortality immediately following admission, which is inconsistent with a social selection interpretation. However, none of the specific indicators of stressful admission or unsatisfactory nursing home conditions are significantly related to mortality. DISCUSSION: These data demonstrate selection processes for postadmission mortality, but indicate that the admission of patients in poor health may not fully account for the elevation in mortality that occurs immediately following admission.

Body image, perceived pubertal timing, and adolescent mental health.

PURPOSE: To examine the impact of gender, racial-ethnic group, and perceived pubertal timing on body image and adolescent mental health. METHOD: A three-stage, area probability sample was selected which included 877 teens (13-18 years) with diverse social and demographic characteristics. Interviews in English or Spanish were conducted in person. The content emphasized emotional distress and problematic behavior, exposure to social stressors, coping resources and behaviors, and socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of the adolescent and his or her family. RESULTS: Girls were more depressed and had lower self-esteem than boys, but not after controlling for body image. Hispanics were more depressed and had lower self-esteem than other racial-ethnic groups, a difference that remained when controlling for body image. African-Americans had the most positive body image, a finding that could not be attributed to higher self-esteem or fewer depressive symptoms. The impact of perceived pubertal timing on body image varied considerably by gender and across racial-ethnic group. CONCLUSIONS: Negative feelings about their bodies contribute to the higher prevalence of depressive symptomatology and lower self-esteem among girls. African-Americans appear to take pride in their bodies in a manner that sets them apart from other teenagers, suggesting they hold a different ideal. Relative to teenagers of other racial-ethnic backgrounds, Hispanics may be at elevated risk for mental health problems.

Modified gas-permeable silicone rubber membranes for covalent immobilisation of enzymes and their use in biosensor development.

Novel enzyme membranes are introduced. Modified polymeric gas-permeable layers were developed enabling biological components which have available reactive groups (-NH2, -OH, -SH, -COOH) to couple covalently on to their surfaces. Therefore, gas-permeable two component room temperature vulcanizing (2K-RTV) silicone rubber was modified using additional cross-linking agents. Triethoxysilanes with functional groups on their side chains such as epoxy or amino groups were used. A special attribute of the resulting gas-permeable membranes is that their formation and modification occur simultaneously during one reaction step. IR spectroscopy was used to observe the changes in the polymeric structure due to the reaction with the additional cross-linking agents. Sensors equipped with these layers are suitable to measure dissolved gases such as O2, CO2 and NH3 consumed or produced by enzymes converting their substrates. Determination of glucose, a well investigated enzymatic detection process, was chosen to demonstrate the applicability of the enzyme immobilisation. Glucose oxidase was immobilised on the membranes and glucose was detected by amperometric measurement of oxygen consumption. It is expected that this immobilisation method will also be useful for miniaturised planar biosensors.

Agricultural safety efforts by county health departments in Wisconsin.

OBJECTIVE: The authors sought to improve the agriculture safety prevention efforts of county health departments in Wisconsin by examining current programs, staffs' perceptions of the farm safety problem, and the need for new resources. METHODS: A survey instrument was completed by a professional staff member of the local health department in each of Wisconsin's 69 counties. RESULTS: Usable responses were obtained from 84% of the counties. Forty-five percent of the responding staff members conducted some agricultural safety and health programs, most often health screenings or group meetings conducted collaboratively with county agricultural Extension agents. There were no major differences in county demographics or other service provision variables between staff members who conducted programs and those who did not. Staff members perceived the largest barriers to better safety as lack of staff time and difficulty getting farmers to attend safety programs. Most failed to place more emphasis on training agricultural workers to permanently correct hazards than on training them to work safely around hazards. However, the staff members ranked safety inspection checklists as the most needed new material and ranked Extension agents and farmers as the most appropriate people to conduct inspections using such checklists. CONCLUSION: County public health professionals want more staff time and new materials to increase the effectiveness of their agricultural safety efforts. Encouraging agricultural workers and family members to identify and correct hazards would be a more effective use of staff time than training people to work safely around hazards.

Farm-work hazard prevention efforts by school-based agricultural education instructors.

OBJECTIVE: To assess current prevention efforts, we examined agricultural work-related safety and health activities by school-based agricultural education instructors in Wisconsin. METHODS: Questionnaires were administered to 284 high school agricultural education instructors. RESULTS: Instructors taught agricultural safety and health to 61.5 students during 20.4 hours during the previous year. Extension agents were used most often as resources during preparation and presentation of coursework. Only a minority of instructors (13.6%) agreed that modifying the work to eliminate hazards should be emphasized over training people to work safely around hazards. After issues of time pressures and lack of student interest, the most important problems the instructors felt they faced were the needs for materials and other resources. CONCLUSION: Safety education alone is unlikely to reduce injuries unless unsafe conditions are modified. Instructors need to emphasize teaching of skills in hazard recognition, identification, and control. Instructors felt they could be more effective with better materials and more time for injury and disease prevention.

Agricultural work safety efforts by Wisconsin extension agricultural agents.

This study investigated the agricultural work-related safety and health programming of county-level cooperative extension agents who work through land grant universities to provide a range of educational programs to agricultural producers. A questionnaire was designed and administered to all 89 Wisconsin agriculture and agribusiness extension county faculty. The questionnaire obtained valid responses from 98.9 percent of the agents. Ninety percent of all agents conducted some occupational safety and health promotion programming in the last year. These activities occupied an average of 4.8 days per agent per year. Most of the reported activities were group programs for the agricultural labor force that involved other extension agents and included the use of videotapes. The greatest barrier to more programming was lack of time on the part of both the agricultural work force and the agents. Most extension agents placed greater emphasis on training in how to work safely around hazards than on how to recognize and permanently correct hazards. For future programs agents requested more short format materials to use in programming, such as fact sheets, videotapes, and farm hazard inspection checklists. Agents are important training delivery resources for controlling farm-related injury and disease. Agents could be more effective with more time, better materials, and with more emphasis on hazard correction in workplace safety programs.

Stress, role captivity, and the cessation of caregiving.

Difficulties experienced when caring for an impaired elderly relative, including decisions to place this person in institutional care, are examined as a function of caregiver stress. Three annual interviews were conducted with 555 caregivers to parents or spouses with Alzheimer's Disease. All patients were initially cared for at home, but 192 were subsequently placed in institutional care and 146 died. Background-contextual factors and disease characteristics have only limited associations with institutionalization. Two secondary stressors--consequences of caregiving that do not directly involve care-related tasks--exert the most proximal impact upon placement: role captivity and economic strain. Role captivity is stable over time when in-home care continues, but institutionalization alleviates this sentiment. The odds of patient death increase substantially following institutionalization, even when health status is controlled. These results illustrate that in-home care may be beneficial for care-recipients, but increase role-related stress for the care provider.

Demographic and health characteristics of heavy marijuana smokers in Los Angeles County.

The demographic, life-style, and self-reported health characteristics of a convenience sample of 207 male and 70 female, non-Hispanic White, heavy marijuana users in Los Angeles County were compared with those of more representative county and national samples. Consistent with other researchers' findings, heavy marijuana users were found to differ significantly in living arrangements, job stability, and income. Heavy marijuana users did not differ in completed education, self-reported physical health, or use of alcohol and cigarettes. Heavy marijuana users were less likely to be married than nonusers, but reported the same number of close friends with whom they interacted more frequently than same-aged comparison groups. Our findings suggest that heavy marijuana users are not homogeneous, and that female users differ significantly from male users.