The catechol-O-methyltransferase Met158 low-activity allele and association with nonvertebral fracture risk in elderly men.

Context: Because sex steroids play an important role in bone development, variants in genes encoding proteins involved in estrogen synthesis and metabolism could contribute to interindividual variation in bone parameters and fracture risk. An example is catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT), an estrogen-degrading enzyme involved in inactivation of catechol-estrogens. Its gene contains a functional valine to methionine substitution at codon 158.

How swifts control their glide performance with morphing wings.

Gliding birds continually change the shape and size of their wings, presumably to exploit the profound effect of wing morphology on aerodynamic performance. That birds should adjust wing sweep to suit glide speed has been predicted qualitatively by analytical glide models, which extrapolated the wing's performance envelope from aerodynamic theory. Here we describe the aerodynamic and structural performance of actual swift wings, as measured in a wind tunnel, and on this basis build a semi-empirical glide model.

The activin A-follistatin system: potent regulator of human extracellular matrix mineralization.

Bone quality is an important determinant of osteoporosis, and proper osteoblast differentiation plays an important role in the control and maintenance of bone quality. We investigated the impact of activin signaling on human osteoblast differentiation, extracellular matrix formation, and mineralization. Activins belong to the transforming growth factor-beta superfamily and activin A treatment strongly inhibited mineralization in osteoblast cultures, whereas the activin antagonist follistatin increased mineralization.

Intrinsic differentiation potential of adolescent human tendon tissue: an in-vitro cell differentiation study.

Background: Tendinosis lesions show an increase of glycosaminoglycan amount, calcifications, and lipid accumulation. Therefore, altered cellular differentiation might play a role in the etiology of tendinosis. This study investigates whether adolescent human tendon tissue contains a population of cells with intrinsic differentiation potential.

Crossover from reptation to Rouse dynamics in the cage model.

The two-dimensional cage model for polymer motion is discussed with an emphasis on the effect of sideways motions, which cross the barriers imposed by the lattice. Using the density matrix method as a solver of the master equation, the renewal time and the diffusion coefficient are calculated as a function of the strength of the barrier crossings. A strong crossover influence of the barrier crossings is found and it is analyzed in terms of effective exponents for a given chain length.

Extremely high-power tongue projection in plethodontid salamanders.

Many plethodontid salamanders project their tongues ballistically at high speed and for relatively great distances. Capturing evasive prey relies on the tongue reaching the target in minimum time, therefore it is expected that power production, or the rate of energy release, is maximized during tongue launch. We examined the dynamics of tongue projection in three genera of plethodontids (Bolitoglossa, Hydromantes and Eurycea), representing three independent evolutionary transitions to ballistic tongue projection, by using a combination of high speed imaging, kinematic and inverse dynamics analyses and electromyographic recordings from the tongue projector muscle.

Vitamin D receptor gene haplotype is associated with body height and bone size.

Context: Adult stature is a complex genetic trait. The vitamin D endocrine system has pleiotropic effects on several physiological processes, especially on skeletal metabolism. We recently identified promoter and 3'-untranslated region (UTR) haplotype alleles that influence vitamin D receptor (VDR) mRNA expression.

Long-term fluoxetine administration does not result in major changes in bone architecture and strength in growing rats.

Many studies have indicated that serotonin and its transporter play a role in bone metabolism. In this study we investigated the effect of selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor (SSRI), fluoxetine (Prozac) on bone architecture and quality in growing female rats. We therefore administrated rats with clinically relevant doses of fluoxetine for a period of 6 months.

UBPY-mediated epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) de-ubiquitination promotes EGFR degradation.

Whereas poly-ubiquitination targets protein substrates for proteasomal degradation, mono-ubiquitination is known to regulate protein trafficking in the endosomal system and to target cargo proteins for lysosomal degradation. The role of the de-ubiquitinating enzymes AMSH and UBPY in endosomal trafficking of cargo proteins such as the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) has only very recently been the subject of study and is already a matter of debate. Although one report (Mizuno, E.

Severe anemia in pregnancy in rural Ghana: a case-control study of causes and management.

Background: Various factors contribute to severe anemia in pregnancy in low-income countries. This study assesses which of these are of importance in rural Ghana, and evaluates management.

Methods: Prospective case-control study in two (sub)district hospitals in rural Ghana among 175 severely anemic pregnant women (Hb < 8.

Evidence for auto/paracrine actions of vitamin D in bone: 1alpha-hydroxylase expression and activity in human bone cells.

Vitamin D is an important regulator of mineral homeostasis and bone metabolism. 1Alpha-hydroxylation of 25-(OH)D3 to form the bioactive vitamin D hormone, 1alpha,25-(OH)2D3, is classically considered to take place in the kidney. However, 1alpha-hydroxylase has been reported at extrarenal sites.

The novel vitamin D analog ZK191784 as an intestine-specific vitamin D antagonist.

Vitamin D [1,25(OH)2D3] plays a crucial role in Ca2+ homeostasis by stimulating Ca2+ (re)absorption and bone turnover. The 1,25(OH)2D3 analog ZK191784 was recently developed to dissociate the therapeutic immunomodulatory activity from the hypercalcemic side effects of 1,25(OH)2D3 and contains a structurally modified side chain characterized by a 22,23-double bond, 24R-hydroxy group, 25-cyclopropyl ring, and 5-butyloxazole unit. We investigated the effect of ZK191784 on Ca2+ homeostasis and the regulation of Ca2+ transport proteins in wild-type (WT) mice and mice lacking the renal epithelial Ca2+ channel TRPV5 (TRPV5-/-).

A fatal pseudo-tumour: disseminated basidiobolomycosis.

Background: Basidiobolomycosis is a rare disease caused by the fungus Basidiobolus ranarum, member of the class Zygomycetes, order Entomophthorales, found worldwide. Usually basidiobolomycosis is a subcutaneous infection but rarely gastrointestinal manifestations have been described; 13 adults and 10 children and a few retroperitoneal or pulmonary cases. In gastrointestinal basidiobolomycosis the colon is most frequently involved, usually presenting with subacute mild abdominal pain.

Endurance exercise differentially stimulates heart and axial muscle development in zebrafish (Danio rerio).

Mechanical load is an important factor in the differentiation of cells and tissues. To investigate the effects of increased mechanical load on development of muscle and bone, zebrafish were subjected to endurance swim training for 6 h/day for 10 wk starting at 14 days after fertilization. During the first 3 wk of training, trained fish showed transiently increased growth compared with untrained (control) fish.

Estrogen receptor beta (ESR2) polymorphisms in interaction with estrogen receptor alpha (ESR1) and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF1) variants influence the risk of fracture in postmenopausal women.

Unlabelled: In this large population-based cohort study, variants in ESR2 were associated with increased risk of vertebral and incident fragility fracture in postmenopausal women. Interaction of ESR2 with ESR1 and IGF1 was determined and revealed a deleterious genetic combination that enhances the risk of osteoporotic fracture.

Introduction: Osteoporosis is a complex disease with strong genetic influence, but the genes involved are ill-defined.

Quantification of subchondral bone changes in a murine osteoarthritis model using micro-CT.

In the past few years there has been a considerable interest in the role of bone in osteoarthritis. Despite the increasing evidence of the involvement of bone in osteoarthritis, it remains very difficult to attribute the cause or effect of changes in subchondral bone to the process of osteoarthritis. Although osteoarthritis in mice provides a useful model to study changes in the subchondral bone, detailed quantification of these changes is lacking.

The association between common vitamin D receptor gene variations and osteoporosis: a participant-level meta-analysis.

Background: Polymorphisms of the vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene have been implicated in the genetic regulation of bone mineral density (BMD). However, the clinical impact of these variants remains unclear.

Objective: To evaluate the relation between VDR polymorphisms, BMD, and fractures.

Crossover from reptation to Rouse dynamics in a one-dimensional model.

A simple one-dimensional model is constructed for polymer motion. It exhibits the crossover from reptation to Rouse dynamics through gradually allowing hernia creation and annihilation. The model is treated by the density matrix technique which permits an accurate finite-size-scaling analysis of the behavior of long polymers.

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual homeless youth: an eight-city public health perspective.

This article reports on results of a one-day public health survey conducted in six states by homeless youth providers to measure and compare risk factors between lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) homeless youth and non-LGB homeless youth. This article intends to inform the child welfare field on existing gaps in services and areas where more training and technical support is necessary in providing services to homeless LGB youth. The findings point to substantial differences within the homeless youth sample and demonstrate that in addition to the public health risks young people face merely by being homeless, the risks are exacerbated for those who self-identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual.

Service-oriented architecture for grid-enabling medical applications.

Grid technologies have the potential to enable healthcare organizations to efficiently use powerful tools, applications and resources, many of which were so far inaccessible to them. This paper introduces a service-oriented architecture meant to Grid-enable several classes of computationally intensive medical applications for improved performance and cost-effective access to resources. We apply this architecture to fiber tracking [1,2], a computationally intensive medical application suited for parallelization through decomposition, and carry out experiments with various sets of parameters, in realistic environments and with standard network solutions.

Exact solution for a one-dimensional model for reptation.

We discuss the exact solution for the properties of the recently introduced "necklace" model for reptation. The solution gives the drift velocity, diffusion constant, and renewal time for asymptotically long chains. Its properties are also related to a special case of the Rubinstein-Duke model in one dimension.

The placebo effect in the pharmacologic treatment of patients with lower urinary tract symptoms.

Objectives: We reviewed placebo responses in randomised controlled trials (RCTs) for pharmacologic treatment of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), including urinary incontinence (UI), overactive bladder, and benign prostatic hyperplasia. Review papers on placebo effects in non-urologic disorders were assessed to compare the magnitude of placebo responses in drugs for LUTS with those reported for other diseases.

Methods: Data were retrieved from registration trials for LUTS drugs on the Web sites of the Food and Drugs Administration and the European Medicines Agency.

Effects of genital prolapse surgery on sexuality.

Objective: A prospective study was performed to evaluate the effects of genital prolapse surgery on sexuality. Additionally we investigated which variables are risk factors for persistence or development of sexual problems after surgery.

Methods: All 82 patients participating in a randomized trial comparing vaginal and abdominal surgical correction of descensus uteri, were asked to complete the Questionnaire for screening Sexual Dysfunctions (QSD) before and at six months and one year after surgery.

Evidence that both 1alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 and 24-hydroxylated D3 enhance human osteoblast differentiation and mineralization.

Vitamin D plays a major role in the regulation of mineral homeostasis and affects bone metabolism. So far, detailed knowledge on the vitamin D endocrine system in human bone cells is limited. Here we investigated the direct effects of 1alpha,25-(OH)2D3 on osteoblast differentiation and mineralization.