Plos One
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Callus distraction is sometimes associated with a delay in the maturation process and serious complications. It is believed that these complications are often caused by instability of the bone segment fixation. Typical fixation devices, such as ring-fixators, show significant deformations in all directions under external loading and muscle forces. ⋯ The amount of bone was significantly higher in Group C (25.6% ± 13.0%) than in Group T (13.5 ± 4.9%) (p < 0.05). Group S showed a similar amount of bone (14.0 ± 10.7%) to Group T. The results show that bone formation and revascularization are dependent on the direction of interfragmentary movement and that the cyclic compression best stimulates the healing process.
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Pharmacogenetics practice has been successfully implemented in many developed countries to enhance personalized medicine and improve clinical and economic outcomes. An understanding of healthcare providers' knowledge, perceptions, confidence towards pharmacogenetics, and their active enrollment with pharmacogenetic testing is essential for test acceptance and utilization. This study was designed to assess physicians' and pharmacists' knowledge, perceptions, and confidence towards pharmacogenetics, determine the preferred learning format for their future education in pharmacogenetics, and identify the barriers to its application in their practice settings. ⋯ These findings highlight important concerns and will aid in the assessment of current pharmacogenetics practice. Also, they will provide further insight in designing future targeted multifaceted interventions to promote the adoption and utilization of pharmacogenetics testing in Kuwait.
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The present study aims to elucidate the state of gender equality in high-quality research by analyzing the representation of female authorships in the last decade (from 2008 to 2016). ⋯ 29.8% of all authorships and 33.1% of the first, 31.8% of the co- and 18.1% of the last authorships were held by women. The corresponding female-to-male odds ratio is 1.19 (CI: 1.18-1.20) for first, 1.35 (CI: 1.34-1.36) for co- and 0.47 (CI: 0.46-0.48) for last authorships. Women are underrepresented at prestigious authorships compared to men (Prestige Index = -0.42). The underrepresentation accentuates in highly competitive articles attracting the highest citation rates, namely, articles with many authors and articles that were published in highest-impact journals. More specifically, a large negative correlation between the 5-Year-Impact-Factor of a journal and the female representation at prestigious authorships was revealed (r(52) = -.63, P < .001). Women publish fewer articles compared to men (39.0% female authors are responsible for 29.8% of all authorships) and are underrepresented at productivity levels of more than 2 articles per author. Articles with female key authors are less frequently cited than articles with male key authors. The gender-specific differences in citation rates increase the more authors contribute to an article. Distinct differences at the journal, journal category, continent and country level were revealed. The prognosis for the next decades forecast a very slow harmonization of authorships odds between the two genders.
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Vision impairment from corneal fibrosis is a common consequence of irregular corneal wound healing after injury. Intermediate-conductance calmodulin/calcium-activated K+ channels 3.1 (KCa3.1) play an important role in cell cycle progression and cellular proliferation. Proliferation and differentiation of corneal fibroblasts to myofibroblasts can lead to corneal fibrosis after injury. ⋯ Pharmacological treatment with TRAM-34 significantly attenuated corneal fibrosis in vitro, as demonstrated in HCFs by the inhibition TGFβ-mediated transcription of pro-fibrotic collagen I mRNA and α-SMA mRNA and protein expression (p<0.001). No evidence of cytotoxicity was observed. Our study suggests that KCa3.1 regulates corneal wound healing and that blockade of KCa3.1 by TRAM-34 offers a potential therapeutic strategy for developing therapies to cure corneal fibrosis in vivo.
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Civil war, flight, escape and expulsion are extremely stressful and assert a negative impact on refugees' mental health. However scientific research about resilience and coping of refugees is scarce. Especially in the recent refugee crisis, calls have been made to consider factors contributing to coping and resilience in this vulnerable population. ⋯ These results contribute to the coping literature in demonstrating that under certain conditions problem-focused coping can be maladaptive and extend the scarce previous work on self-regulation and coping. Most importantly, they highlight a promotion focus as a clear resilience factor and the role of maladaptive coping in increasing vulnerability. As such, they might inform the design of effective interventions among Syrian refugees and beyond.